Travels in India (Tavernier) 39.2.5

39.2.5

On the 17th and 18th [August] we went again to dine with the English President, and we passed the time with all the amusements which he was able to devise to remove from our bodies and minds the pains and fatigues which we had incurred during so troublesome a journey. On the 19th [August] we went to visit some native Christians who dwell at Madras and live in tolerable comfort. They received us very well, and we heard that they are very generous to the Reverend Capuchin Fathers. On the 20th [August] the Christians whom we went to see also sent presents of some fruits of the country. On the 21st [August] we went to take leave of the English President and the chiefs of the nation, who had regaled us so well. On the 22d [August], in the morning, we left Madras, and, after having travelled 6 leagues, arrived at a large village called Serravaron. On the 23d [August], having travelled 7 leagues, we came to Oudecot. This is a day’s march through a flat and somewhat sandy country. On both sides there is nothing but groves of bamboo. It is a kind of cane which is very tall, sometimes equalling in height our loftiest forest trees. There are some of these forests so thick that it is impossible for a man to enter them, and there are an enormous number of monkeys in them. Those on one side of the road are so hostile to those on the other, that none can venture to pass from one side to the other without running the risk of being at once strangled.