The letters from the emperor of China, to the viceroys, governors, eunuchs, and lieutenants, are conveyed on post-horses, which are distinguished by cut tails, and these are disposed at regular stations, all over the empire, almost like the posts among the Arabs. In China, every man, from the emperor to the meanest of the people, makes water standing160; and for this purpose, persons of dignity have gilded hollow canes, a cubit long, to convey their water to a distance. They are of opinion, that pains in the kidneys, strangury, and even the stone, are occasioned by urining in a sitting posture, as the reins cannot free themselves absolutely from evil humours, except by evacuating in an erect position. They do not mould the heads of new born infants into a round form as we do, as they allege that this practice injures the brain, and impairs the senses. They suffer their hair to grow, which is carefully combed. The nation is divided into tribes, like those of the Arabs and some others, and no man ever marries in his own tribe: just as the children of Thummim among the Arabs never take a wife from that tribe. Or, for example, a man of the tribe of Robayat marries a daughter of the tribe Modzar, and a Modzar marries a Robayat; and they are of opinion, that such alliances add to the dignity and power of their children.

In the kingdom of the Balhara, and all the other kingdoms of the Indies, there are men who burn themselves in consequence of their belief in the doctrine of transmigration. When a man has come to this resolution, he asks leave of the king, which being obtained, he goes in procession round all the public squares of the city, and proceeds to the place appointed, where a pile of dry wood is ready for the purpose, having many persons all round to feed the fire, which blazes prodigiously. At last the person comes forward, preceded by a number of instruments, and moves round the pile in the midst of his friends and relations. During this ceremony, some person places on his head a garland of straw, or dry herbs, filled with burning coals, on which they pour sandrach, which takes fire as strongly as naphtha; notwithstanding of which, he continues his progress without betraying any sense of pain, or change of countenance, though the crown of his head be all on fire, and the stench of his burning flesh is felt all round. At length, he comes up to the pile, and throws himself in, where he is soon reduced to ashes. A credible person says, he once saw an Indian burn himself; and when he came near the pile, he drew out a cangiar, or sharp knife, with which he ripped himself open, and pulling out the lap of his liver with his left hand, cut off a piece of it with his cangiar, and gave it to one of his brothers, talking all the time with the most invincible contempt of death and torture, and at length leaped into the fire, in his passage to hell.

At the accession of some kings of the Indies, the following ceremony is observed: A large quantity of rice is dressed and spread out upon leaves of mousa, in presence of the king. Then three or four hundred persons come, of their own accord, without any constraint whatever; and after the king has eaten of the rice, he gives some of it to all that come forwards in succession, which they eat in his presence; and by this ceremony, they engage to burn themselves on the day when this king dies or is slain, and they punctually fulfil their promise.

In the mountainous parts of India, there are tribes who differ little from those we call Kanisians and Jelidians and who are addicted to all manner of superstition and vice; between whom, and the inhabitants of the people on the coast, there subsists great emulation, each daring the others to imitate them in the performance of strange superstitious tortures. There once came a man from the mountains on this errand, who gathered a multitude of the inhabitants of the coast to the following strange exhibition, daring them to imitate him, or otherwise to acknowledge themselves overcome. He sat down in a place planted with canes, and caused a strong one to be forcibly bent down, to which he strongly fastened the hairs of his head. "Now," said he, "I am going to cut off my own head with this cangiar; and as soon as it is severed from my body, let go the cane, and when my head flies up into the air, I will laugh, and you shall hear me." But the people of the coast had not courage to imitate him161. The person who related this, did it without emotion or wonder; and in our times, these facts are generally known, as this part of the Indies is in the neighbourhood of the country of the Arabs, and we hear from thence every day.

In the Indies, they burn their dead; and it is customary for men and women to desire their families to throw them into the fire or to drown them, when they are grown old, or perceive themselves to sink under the pressure of disease, firmly believing that they are to return into other bodies. It has often happened, in the isle of Serendib, where there is a mine of precious stones in a mountain, a pearl-fishery, and other extraordinary things, that an Indian would come into the bazar or market-place, armed with a kris, and seize upon the most wealthy merchant there present, leading him out of the market, through a throng of people, holding the kris to his throat, while no one dared to attempt his rescue, as the Indian was sure, in such a case, to kill the merchant, and make away with himself; and when he had got the merchant out of the city, the Indian obliged him to redeem his life with a sum of money. To put an end to such outrages, an order was issued to seize such trespassers; but on attempting to execute this order, several merchants were killed, both Arabs and Indians, and the order was obliged to be repealed. In the mountains of Serendib, precious stones are found of various colours, red, green, and yellow162, most of which are washed from caverns or crevices, by rains and torrents. In these places, the king has officers to watch over the people who gather the precious stones. In some places, these are dug out of mines, like the ores of metals, and the rock has often to be broken to come at the precious stones which it contains. The king of Serendib makes laws concerning the religion and government of the country; and there are assemblies held of doctors and learned men, like those of Hadithis among the Arabs, to which the Indians repair, and write down what they hear of the lives of their prophets, and the expositions of their laws. In this island, there are temples in which great sums of money are expended on incense; and in one of these temples, there is a great idol all of pure gold, but concerning the weight of which travellers are not agreed. In the same island, there are great numbers of Jews, and persons of many other sects, even Tanouis, and Manichees, the kings permitting the free exercise of every religion. At the end of the island are vallies of great extent, extending quite to the sea, called Gab Serendib, of extreme beauty, and chequered with groves and plains, water and meads, and blessed with a wholesome air. A sheep may be there bought for half a dram, and for the same as much of their drink, made of palm-honey, boiled and prepared with tari, or toddi, as will suffice for many persons. The inhabitants are much addicted to gaming, particularly draughts. Their other principal diversion is cock-fighting, their cocks being very large, and better provided with spurs than ordinary; and besides this, the Indians arm them with blades of iron, in the form of cangiars or daggers. On these combats, they bet gold and silver, lands or farms; and they game with such fury, that debauchees, and desperate people, often stake the ends of their fingers, when their other property is exhausted. While at play for this extraordinary stake, they have a fire by them, on which a small pot of walnut oil, or oil of sesamum, is kept boiling; and when one has won a game, he chops off the end of the loser's finger, who immediately dips the stump into the boiling oil, to stem the blood; and some will persist so obstinately, as to have all their fingers thus mutilated. Some even will take a burning wick, and apply it to some member, till the scent of the burnt flesh is felt all around, while the stoic continues to play, without betraying the least sense of pain. Both men and women are so exceedingly addicted to debauchery, that a foreign merchant has been known to send even for a king's daughter, to attend him at the fishing grounds, in quality of mistress; wherefore the Mahomedan doctors at Siraff, strictly warn young people not to go there.