The virgin widow Author:William Hickey Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: NOTES TO THE VIRGIN WIDOW. Canto % (first. 1 And worn, like her jessamine, only to fade.—Page 1. The jessamine is the distinguishing flower of India, as... more » the rose is that of England. 2 Loses itself 'many Vyga's daughters.—Page 3. The Vyga is a river in Madura, which has its chief sources on the high range of hills which take the general name of Pulney. 3 A. Cita grove extends its shade.—Page 4. This is a shady tree growing at the foot of mountains. When in blossom, it is covered with small white flowers, which shed a peculiarly strong but grateful odour. These trees grow up into mountain forests, and are called umbrellas, from their spreading horizontally upward, and casting shade, which keeps out the rays of the sun effectually. 1 A leopard's skin is spread fir seat.—Page 4. Sunyasis are always provided with the skin of a leopard, or tiger, or antelope, on which they sit toavoid pollution from contact with the impurities of the ground. It is also a mark of their rigid devotedness to the life of an anchorite. Canto % Smral). 5 That the great Lutchmi here they saw.—Page 19. The wife of Vishnu, and the first of goddesses. 6 They deem'd portended ills to come, And priestly prayers but made her dumb.—Page 19. The Hindus worship Yogis in their belief in divine incarnations ; and, as their appearance is rare, the veneration paid to them is often accompanied by an- thropomorphistic divination. 7 What sound is that which wakes my fear t The great owl hoots, the cricket shrilly cries, Tin: toad croaks hoarse, and supplicates the skies. —Page 21. The Hindus have a great horror of owls, and they believe that the croaking of toads is a sure sign of rain. vmto 8 And kiss'd with awe the ground they trod.—Page 25. When a Hindu comes int...« less