Idolatry is the oldest and most prevailing religion in India; but toleration is granted to the Jews, Christians and Mahometans, who are all allowed to perform public worship without being in the least interrupted, provided they do not interfere with the established religion or the government of the country; the former of which is Paganism, and the latter unlimited monarchy. The Christians of St. Thomas, who are considered as noble, make a part of the states; attain to public offices and dignified rank, and form among themselves a kind of Christian republic. The king now on the throne is a Pagan by birth, and named _Rama Varmer_. The king of Cochin is descended from the family of _Perumpadapil_, which is one of the oldest in Malabar. The English are in possession of the town of _Angenga_, together with the city and fortress of _Talicera_. _Cochin_ and the fortress of _Collam_ belong to the Dutch; and the Danes have a factory at _Coleci_. King _Samuri_ reigns at Calicut; and the city of _Cananur_, with the district around it, is under the dominion of queen _Còlatiri_. * * * * * After this general view I shall proceed to a description of particular places on the Malabar coast, and begin with Cape Comari; which, according to John Hamilton Moore, lies in lat. 7° 55′, and according to astronomical observations made on board the Calypso frigate, in which I returned to Europe, in the longitude of 80°. On the western side of Cape Comari lies _Covàlam_, the _Colis_ or _Colias_ of the ancients, at present a town of very little importance. Advancing farther into the country, you arrive at _Arampalli_, the _Arguropolis_ of the Greeks, who from the name of this city called the bay of Manar _Sinus Argaricus_. It was formerly in high repute on account of its cotton stuffs, which were partly manufactured on the spot, and partly brought thither for sale. The next place is _Tovàla_, a fortress belonging to the king of Travancor. It protects the frontiers of the country, and the king maintains in it a strong garrison to prevent any hostile incursion on the side of Madura, which begins there, and extends towards the north-east. Malabar ladies of rank dare not go to Tovàla, for the natives of Malabar believe themselves to be descended of the noblest families, and are unwilling that their wives and daughters should have any intercourse with the female inhabitants of Madura, or of any of the other cities on the coast of Coromandel. Malefactors, who have been banished by government, are carried beyond the boundaries of _Tovàla_; and such cases frequently occur on the coast of Malabar. We next come to Cape _Canymuri_, or _Comari_, lying towards the west, where there is a small harbour, and a Christian church founded by St. Francis Xavier, which stands upon a hill. On another hill, a few miles farther up the country, is a monastery inhabited by Pagan philosophers, known under the name of Gymnosophists, or _Yoqui_[63].