The happiness these
simple remembrances shed over the whole party is so enlivening, that
every distress and fatigue seems to be forgotten. When we behold a
servant approaching with a sprig of the _Dona_ in his hand, we hail it
as the olive-branch, that denotes peace and good-will for the rest of
the day, if, as must sometimes be the case, they have been in any way
interrupted.
Even these little incidents speak so warmly in favour of the Hindoo
disposition, that, in spite of much that may be uncongenial to an
European in their character, they cannot fail to inspire him with
esteem, if not affection. I wish that many of my countrymen would
learn to believe that the natives are endowed with feelings, and
surely they may gather such an inference from many a similar trait
to the one I have related. Hardness of heart can never be allied
to artless simplicity: that mind must possess a higher degree of
sensibility and refinement, that can unlock its long-confined
recollections by so light a spring as a wild flower.
I have often witnessed, with wonder and sorrow, an English gentleman
stoop to the basest tyranny over his servants, without even the poor
excuse of anger, and frequently from no other reason than because he
could not understand their language.
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