the question by ordeal. Sometimes the accused individual is ordered to swallow poison; sometimes he walks on redhot iron; sometimes a coin is put in a vessel of boiling oil, into which he plunges his arm and brings out the coin. The arm is previously washed by Bramins, who supplicate the appropriate deities, and afterward pronounce a benediction. If these dangerous experiments prove harmless, it is considered a sufficient proof of innocence.

omens.

Now, as in ancient times, they are firm believers in astrology, and watch the motions of birds and bees for When a child is born, they consult the aspect of the stars to ascertain what were the signs of his destiny. When a ship is about to sail, or a bargain to be concluded, they go to a Bramin or a soothsayer, to decide whether a day is lucky or unlucky. Some days are proper for going to the north, others for going to the south. Some are supposed to be so entirely under evil influence, that they abstain from all manner of business. They have lucky hours, and even minutes, which they carefully appropriate to the transaction of very important affairs. The Bramins annually prepare an astrological almanac, defining what days are lucky or unlucky, for the various actions of life. But even if all other signs are propitious, a clap of thunder will usually make them relinquish any undertaking.

At the commencement of an eclipse, people rush to the rivers to bathe, and throw water toward the sun, with many invocations. Prayers on such occasions are worth a hundred times as much as at any other time; for they believe that a powerful demon seizes on the sun and puts him in great anguish, from which he may be relieved by the prayers and donations of human beings purified by ablutions.

When they travel, they often carry with them the image of a serpent wreathed round a pole six or seven feet high; and every morning the whole company pay adoration to it.

The death of a cow or calf is thought to be a sure indi

cation that the deities are offended. On such occasions there is great lamentation in a family. The owner of the animal often leaves home for two or three years, to perform long pilgrimages of expiation. The water of a cow is used in various ceremonies of religious purification; for similar purposes, they likewise make a preparation from the dung' of a perfectly black cow. When it has lain in the shade till it has become perfectly dry and hard, Bramins carry it to some of the sacred places, burn it on a pile of chaff, and gather the ashes into vessels. They then sift it three times, recite prayers over it, sprinkle it with clean water, and make it into small lumps, which they dry, and perfume with the essence of flowers. They dissolve them in water, and, turning toward the sun, sprinkle it on their foreheads and breasts, with appropriate prayers. They use it to avert misfortunes, and peculiarly to keep off the Spirits of Death, who are sent for human souls. Bramins and saints keep a large supply of this article for devotees. They have great horror of touching the dead, or any thing that has been in contact with a corpse. If a man even hears that a relative has died in a distant country, he is deemed unclean, and must purify himself by religious ceremonies. If a whole year has passed since the death, merely touching water is considered sufficient purification.

Water is supposed to cleanse the soul, and guard from evil. When a child is born, priests sprinkle it, and sprinkle the dwelling, and all the inmates of the house bathe. They do this from an idea that it keeps off Evil Spirits. People perform ablutions before they eat; and priests purify themselves with water, accompanied with prayers, on innumerable occasions. When a man is dying, Bramins hasten to plunge him into a river, believing that the departing soul may be thus freed from impurities before it quits the body. Some rivers are deemed more peculiarly holy and efficacious than others; such as the Ganges, the Indus, and the Crishna. The water of the Ganges is used on all the most solemn occasions. Images of the deities are washed with it; and Bramins are sprinkled with it, when inducted into

the priestly office. Happy above other men is he who is drowned in that sacred stream. Once in twelve years, the waters of Lake Cumbhacum are supposed to be gifted with power to cleanse from all sin. As this period approaches, Bramins send messengers in every direction to announce when the great day of ablution will take place. The shores are crowded with a vast multitude of men, women, and children, from far and near. They plunge at a signal from the officiating Bramin, and in the universal rush, many a one is suffocated, or has his limbs broken. Water from Ganges is kept in the temples, and when people are dying they often send from a great distance to obtain some of it. Before devotees put their feet into a river, they wash their hands, and utter a prayer.

In some processes of purification, the Bramin rubs mud on the man, and then plunges him three times, throwing in a handful of rice each time as an offering. During this process, he says: "O Supreme Lord, this man is impure, like the mud of this stream; but as water cleanses him from this dirt, do thou free him from his sin."

Fire is deemed a still higher degree of purification than water. Thus whole families were supposed to be redeemed from sin by the self-immolation of a widow on the funeral pile. Saints who destroyed themselves by fire were believed to ascend to the higher degrees of Paradise, and enjoy an immensely long period of heavenly bliss. In honour of some of their deities, they walk over burning coals, to the sound of musical instruments, faster or slower, according to their degree of zeal. Some carry their children in their arms, that they also may receive a share of the benefit. If sins which require fire are not purified in this world, it is supposed they must pass through a fiery process in the next.

Blood, being the seat of life, was always considered a very efficacious atonement for sin. The gods were supposed to be propitiated according to the number and value of the victims. When great national benefits were to be obtained, or evils averted, they sometimes sacrificed VOL. I.-11*

a thousand horses at once. It was an ancient custom for Bramins to lay the sins of the nation on the head of a horse. It was done with solemn imprecations and religious ceremonies, and then the animal was turned loose to carry off the sins of the people. Bulls were rarely sacrificed, on account of their veneration for those creatures. Men, being higher than animals in the scale of existence, their blood was deemed more excellent as an expiation; and by being sacrificed it was supposed that they secured Paradise for themselves also. One of their most solemn sacrifices consisted of a man, a bull, and a horse. There is a tradition that in ancient times a young man and woman, richly decorated, were thrown into the Ganges, as an offering to the god of the river. In later times, they substituted images, instead of living beings. Human sacrifices were abolished at an early period, and animal sacrifices are totally disapproved by numerous sects. Men, horses, and bulls were formerly offered to the grim goddess Cali; but now her altars flow with the blood of kids only. To reconcile this custom with their tenderness for animals, a belief is inculcated that the human soul imprisoned in the brute is thus purified from all its sins, and, freed from degrading transmigrations, rises to the Paradise of Indra, and becomes a musician in his band.

Hindoos have many religious festivals, most of them observed either at the new moon or the full moon. They have six successive festivals, in commemoration of the six periods in which Brahma completed the work of Creation. On the twenty-fifth of December, people decorate their houses with garlands and gilt paper, and universally make presents to friends and relatives. This custom is said to be of very great antiquity. In November, they have a festival, during which they light up vast fires by day, and illuminate all their houses at night. At the full moon in October, they commemorate the circular dance of Crishna with the Gopias, which some learned men suppose to have an astronomical significance. During the great festival called Ramayana, the streets are filled with gorgeous processions,

accompanied by dancers and musicians, playing on horns, gongs, cymbals, and drums. Dramatic representations illustrate the wonderful adventures of Rama; an incarnation of Vishnu, at different periods of his life, prince, conqueror, and holy hermit. Three children are dressed with high tinsel crowns, and painted with vermillion, to imitate the statues of Rama, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshman. Hanuman, Rama's great general, is represented by a man armed with a club, with a mask like an ape, and an ape's tail tied to his back. In ancient times, it is said, these three children were poisoned at the end of the feast, that their souls might be absorbed in the deities they represented; but this was afterward prohibited.

The ignorance and credulity of the people have been at all periods practised upon by artful or self-deluded men. About the end of the year 1829, appeared an extraordinary child named Narayun Powar. He was the son of a peasant, and born in a village belonging to the Rajah of Sattara. When only eight years old, he was famous for his extraordinary power over snakes. He enticed them from among rocks, stones, and ditches, played with them, and ran about naked with them twisted all round his neck and arms. Whether he fondled or chastised them, they took it all in good part. They came when he called, and went away at his bidding; but he was seldom easy without some of his favourite animals around him. Why they had this predilection for each others' company, and how he obtained such singular power over them, each one must explain according to his own theory; but it is a fact that several similar instances of serpent-taming have occurred in the East. In the time of the ancient anchorites, one of the signs of having become perfectly holy, completely identified with God himself, was the power of handling serpents without harm. Whether the parents of Narayun and the Bramins in his neighbourhood really believed his power was derived from such a source, or whether they saw fit so to represent it from motives of self-interest, is known to themselves. There was an old prediction by the poet Toolseedas