19th.—I hear such quantities of amusing things from this East Indian friend of my uncle’s, that I scarcely know how to select from them. I wish you were here to listen to his adventures and to see his beautiful drawings. He lent me a sketch of the famous talipot tree of Ceylon, which I have been trying to copy. What a magnificent object it appears, crowned at the top by those immense leaves, one of which, it is said, can shelter fifteen or twenty men from the rain! They seem to be formed purposely for this use, for they fold up like a fan, so that the whole leaf, or any portion of it, becomes portable; and though tough and impenetrable to water, they are easily cut with a knife. When a leaf is spread out, it is nearly circular; but it is cut for use into triangular pieces, one of which every Singhalese soldier carries as his parasol or umbrella by day, and his tent at night. The fruit is not eaten; but the pith, like that of the sago tree, is very good, if the tree be cut down before the seed ripens; when beaten in a mortar, it produces a kind of flour, from which cakes are made, that taste something like wheaten bread.
Colonel Travers made an excursion into the interior of Ceylon, and he described to us to-day a very curious mode of hunting which they have there. Near the side of a large pond, a hole is dug four feet deep, and wide enough to contain two or three persons. It is covered with leaves, branches, and earth, except a small opening, through which the hunters can keep a look out, and when necessary point their guns. Before dark they conceal themselves there, in order to watch the wild beasts, which come from the woods to drink, and the different species of which always come in separate herds. The elephants come first, and stay longest, as they usually bathe before they drink, and when the water is not deep enough, they draw it up into their trunks, and refresh themselves, by spouting it over their bodies. The buffaloes come next; after having satisfied their thirst, they amuse themselves by lying down in the water, and playing and tumbling about. The tigers and the bears also take their separate turns, and towards morning, the wild boars and deer, and other smaller beasts. It is for these that the hunters generally adopt this plan, which, however, is exposed to more dangers than one, for there are instances of elephants falling into the pits and crushing the people; and even of tigers and buffaloes having discovered them by their scent. To avoid such misfortunes, the hunters go in parties, and one person is placed in some secure position, to warn the others, and to frighten away the straggling animals that come too near, by firing upon them, or throwing rockets. Colonel Travers and his companions joined a party of this kind, and here is his history of it.
“We were called at two o’clock, and having carefully loaded our pieces, and filled our pouches with cartridges, we slowly advanced along the river. At a distance on the other side, the noise of various animals was echoed deep and terrible through the forest; and we heard, in almost every watery place around us, rustling and motion. We pitched upon one of the largest of these places, and crept softly, but at a little distance from each other, into the bushes and thorns with which it was surrounded. This pool seemed to be about five or six hundred yards in circumference, and we all agreed not to fire at an elephant, or at any of the large fierce beasts, but to wait patiently the arrival of the smaller animals.
“We had not been long concealed in our thorny hiding place, when two tigers approached at the opposite side, and we observed that they drank one after the other, though there was sufficient space for both. Another half hour elapsed before any thing more made its appearance, but the noise increased on all sides, and made us rather uneasy. At last we heard the deep low of approaching buffaloes, and three soon made their appearance. After having drank for a long time, they waded into the deep part and lay down, so that nothing could be seen but their noses; and no one, who had not seen them go in, could have suspected that such huge animals were concealed there. In a short time a fourth buffalo arrived, and after snuffing round him for some moments, he began to drink. Though the others put their heads out of the water, they did not interfere with him while drinking, but when he appeared inclined to advance farther into the water, one of them instantly attacked him with a hideous roar, and as the moon shone very brightly, I could see distinctly the whole of their furious battle. At every charge they retired some steps backwards, making the sand fly in clouds, and then, with dreadful snortings and at full speed, again rushed upon each other. At last the intruding buffalo received such a tremendous blow, that he fled; and the conqueror, disdaining to pursue him, merely bellowed twice, with a clear and terrific sound, that re-echoed on every side, when he quietly returned his companions.
“The pleasure I had felt in beholding this furious combat, was soon changed into alarm, by the unexpected report of a gun! The three buffaloes started suddenly from the water—for a few moments they stood together snorting with rage, and then two of them rushed off in the direction of the flash, while the third came out near me, as if to search the bushes on all sides. I endeavoured to get out of my bush before the monster could approach; but unfortunately I became entangled in the thorns, and it was impossible to extricate myself in time. By a violent effort, however, I tore myself loose, leaving most of my clothes behind, and instantly began to run—but the furious beast was now close—I almost felt his breath, and looking round saw him not six paces distant, when throwing myself flat on the ground, he passed over me and continued at full speed! I again crept into the thicket, and in a few minutes I heard the voices of my companions, who were in search of me, armed with flaming pieces of wood. I had felt much incensed against them for firing—but I found that they had not been to blame, a branch had struck the lock of one of their guns, which went off, and they had been exposed to as much danger as myself.”
20th.—“And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had said.”[6] My uncle told us to-day that this passage should be expressed thus:—“And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, so that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had foretold.” It is so rendered, he says, in the ancient versions; and the most judicious modern commentators agree that this is the proper meaning.
“Indeed,” said my uncle, “in allowing it to be inferred that the Lord had purposely hardened Pharaoh’s heart, the translators of the Bible have acted inconsistently with their own view of the phrase in several other places.[7] This is very striking in the following chapter, where it is said ‘Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also,’ which plainly implies that his resistance after the former plagues had proceeded from his own perverse and stubborn disposition. I have likewise been assured by some very learned men, that according to the Hebrew idiom, verbs active often signify permission; and in these verses it is much more consonant to our ideas of divine justice so to understand the expression: that is, that God permitted Pharaoh to proceed in his own proud and wicked career, insensible to the threatened judgments, which he had already despised.
“But even supposing that the verb is to be taken in the active sense, it is a remarkable fact, that the event was constantly suspended in order that Pharaoh might have it in his power to relent and to ‘set his heart,’ that is, to humble and change it, and become obedient to the word of the Lord; for after five plagues had already been wrought upon him, and that he still persisted, even then his punishment was withheld; in order to let him repent, if he would. Besides which, the delay afforded a far more conspicuous testimony of God’s patience, and gave greater dignity to his wrath.
“Pharaoh’s final obduracy therefore was not caused by God’s will, but was the effect of his own previous obstinacy;—that he hardened his heart was his sin;—that the Lord permitted him to harden it, was his punishment.”
My uncle said also that a Hebrew scholar told him that the word which is translated by the verb to harden in the above text is, in other parts of the Bible, translated, to grieve or to trouble; and that, in his opinion, the construction of the sentence requires one of those words.