Palanquin

(Hind. palki ). A vehicle commonly used in Hindostan, China, Japan, and other Asiatic countries by travelers. The palanquin in use in Hindostan is a wooden box, about 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high, with wooden shutters, which can be opened or shut at pleasure, and constructed like Venetian blinds for the purpose of admitting fresh air, while, at the same time, they exclude the scorching rays of the sun and the heavy showers of rain so common in that country. At each end of the palanquin, on the outside, two iron rings are fixed, and the hammals , or palanquin-bearers, of whom there are four, two at each end, support the palanquin by a pole pa ing through these rings. Traveling in this mode is continued both by day and night, and the palanquin is accompanied by a train of attendants, who carry the traveler’s clothes and whatever articles he may not immediately need. Similar modes of traveling have been at various times in use in Western Europe, but only for short distances. The Roman lectica (“litter”), the French chaise à porteurs , and the English sedan-chair were the forms of vehicles most in use, and the two latter were in general use in towns till they were superseded by coaches, etc. The Roman litter was one of the criteria of its owner’s wealth, the rich man generally exhibiting the prosperous condition of his affairs by the multitude of the bearers and other attendants accompanying him.