Neither the Egyptians, whose vessels consisted merely of papyrus, nor the Greeks and the Romans, who were not very expert in the art of navigation, and whose ships were built in an exceeding slight manner, ever ventured to double Cape _Comari_, where such violent storms sometimes prevail, that the Portuguese called it _The Little Cape of Good Hope_. The mariners of these nations ran their vessels, therefore, either into the small harbours of _Covalam_ or _Coleci_, where the sea forms a bay or haven, in which ships of a moderate size can lie at anchor in perfect security. It was necessary that every article of merchandize from Bengal and Pegu, the island of Ceylon, the coast of _Coromandel_, _Tanjaur_, and _Madura_, should be sent to both these places, which was done more frequently by Land than by water. A part of them were then transported up the Red Sea to Alexandria; the rest were conveyed through the Persian gulph to the Tigris and the Euphrates, and thence they made their way to Greece and Rome; as has been very justly remarked by Strabo, Pliny, Arrian, Marco Polo, Schmidt, Montesquieu, and lately by the celebrated Robertson. The kingdom of _Madura_ or _Pandi_, said to have been founded by one of the five brothers _Pandu_ or _Pandava_, A. M. 1550, was always governed by its own lawful sovereigns, natives of the country. _Porus_, or _Puru_, sat upon the throne in the time of Octavius Augustus. King _Cerambotti_, who is mentioned by Pliny, Arrian, and Ptolemy, under the names of _Cuprobottes_, _Celebothras_, or _Cerobothron_, was descended from this family; and his government extended both over _Malabar_ and the kingdom of _Canara_. The kings of _Travancor_, who about sixty years ago were very obscure princes, had their origin also in _Madura_. The kings of _Madura_ kept their court in the city of the same name, and their vassals shewed them a veneration almost without bounds. After the death of _Virabhanàyaguen_, no fewer than three hundred of his wives ascended the funeral pile, and voluntarily suffered their bodies to be burnt with that of the king. In the year 1740 the Marattas made an incursion into _Madura_, and since that period the dominion of the national kings has been at an end. After the Marattas _Nisam al Malek_ penetrated into the country, and at last came _Mohamed Aly Khan_, in the year 1742. The latter caused the viceroy of _Madura_, named _Khan Saheb_, to be put to death; took possession of the throne; entered into an alliance with the English at _Madraspatnam_, and divided the kingdom of _Madura_ between himself and his allies. The English then converted the city of _Tricinapalli_ into a place of arms; beset the high ways with guards, and got into their hands the whole trade. By these means the ancient _Madura_ fell totally into ruin. The English have also another army at _Tirunaveli_[40], a city lying to the south of _Madura_. This place is separated from _Paliamcotta_ only by a river, which serves as a boundary between