UC-NRLF 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 GIFT OF 
 HORACE W. CARPENTIER 
 
A SOJOTJM IN INDIA : 
 
 HER MANNERS, CUSTOMS, RELIGION 
 AND ITS ORIGIN, 
 
 BY 
 
 S. SARBADHICARY, F.S.Se. 
 
 Editor of " The Speeches on Early Marriage , etc.," and 
 
 Author of'A Sojourn in the United States of America /" 
 
 Late Manager of Western Union Telegraph Office ', 
 
 Broad Channel., Long Island, U.S. America ; 
 
 Member of the University College of 
 
 Edinburgh, and that of the Hon. 
 
 Society of Gray^s Inn, London. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY ARLISS ANDREWS, MUSEUM STREET. 
 
 1890. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA: 
 
 HER MANNERS, CUSTOMS, RELIGION 
 AND ITS ORIGIN, 
 
 BY 
 
 S. 'SARBADHICARY, F.S.Sc. 
 
 Editor of " The Speeches on Early Marriage, etc.," and 
 
 Author of'A Sojourn in the United States of America /" 
 
 Late Manager of Western Union Telegraph Office, 
 
 Broad Channel, Long Island, U.S. America ; 
 
 Member of the University College of 
 
 Edinburgh, and that of the Hon. 
 
 Society of Gray's Inn, London. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY ARLISS ANDREWS, MUSEUM STREET. 
 
 1890. 
 
CARPENT.ER 
 
S3 
 
 I HAVE the pleasure of writing the preface of this 
 interesting- book of Mr. Sarbadhicary, whose style of 
 writing impresses me with the idea that he has received 
 very good education. 
 
 The Earl of Aberdeen, of England, told him, " your book 
 is excee dingly interesting ; the composition is very good 
 so I shall read it with great pleasure. I beg to reciprocate 
 my good wishes to you in giving you a cheque of five 
 pounds.' 7 
 
 Earl Compton, Professor ]. Kirkpatrick, M.A., LL.B.,* 
 University College of Edinburgh, Professor Elphinstone, 
 M.A., Barrister-at-Law, of London, Dr. ]. Garment, LL.D., 
 an eminent lawyer of Edinburgh, Colonel Davies, and many 
 others of England and Scotland have spoken very highly 
 of his former works. When they reached this country I 
 saw in The Electric Age, a widely-circulated journal, a very 
 flattering notice, in which Mr. Wm. ]. Dealy, manager of 
 the largest telegraph office in the world, remarked, " I 
 marvel at Mr. Sarbadhicary's book ; it is in many respects 
 one of the most interesting works I have ever read. He 
 is a scholar and evidently a man of grand character. He 
 is worthy of encouragement," The editor himself remarks, 
 " the book has been written in vivid English style." Another 
 journal, named The Critic, remarks, " one of the most 
 
 * This gentleman certifies that Mr. Sarbadhicary has written two 
 essays on historical subjects exhibiting his best English knowledge. 
 
 M8S0676 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 interesting- books we have ever read is ' A Sojourn in the 
 United States of America, by S. Sarbadhicary.' Should 
 he return to New York, the London Times would com- 
 mission him to write a series of papers on the States,, 
 which will be more strikingly original than the articles 
 of its commissioner." 
 
 The first chapter of the present work was submitted to 
 Professor Elphinstone, M.A., who said, " your manuscript 
 does not require any correction." 
 
 Reverend Filian, graduate of the Chicago University,, 
 inquired of Mr. Sarbadhicary, " How did you learn such 
 good English ? I can honestly say that few English and 
 American graduates can write better style. You not only 
 have very good English knowledge but a great descriptive 
 power." My own opinion is the same. But when I con- 
 sider that the author was a poor Indian orphan of high 
 caste, who received no help from his relatives who usurped 
 all his defenceless property and left him to combat with 
 poverty and starvation, I can say his work is unrivalled. 
 
 Goldsmith says, " the loss of fortune simply serves to 
 increase the pride of the worthy/' and this gentleman, 
 profitting by the idea, rose from orphanage and destitution^ 
 to the position of one of the most eminent authors. 
 
 During his infancy, several attempts were made to 
 induce him to liquor, but he resolutely declined the over- 
 tures of the drunkards and lead the life of a total 
 abstainer. 
 
 My statement will excite the curiosity of the public, to 
 know how Mr. Sasi (which is his first name) could bring 
 himself up. To satisfy their eagerness I beg to say that 
 the premature death of his father, when only one year old 
 and the loss of his paternal property (a mango grove, rice 
 fields, an unfinished building and moveable household 
 
PREFACE. V~ 
 
 property) left him dependent on his maternal uncle, who 
 nobly sheltered him beneath his hospitable roof at Mohes- 
 pore, a village in Bengal, East India. At five years of age 
 he was sent to the village school where he made consider- 
 able improvement in vernacular studies. The fear of a 
 tiger, not an unfrequent visitor of that locality, the incessant 
 showers of rain, the thunderstorm, and the knee-deep mud 
 could seldom furnish an obstacle to the unfailing regularity 
 with which he attended his school. 
 
 His scholastic studies however, were disturbed by the 
 death of his uncle, who suffered from an attack of a 
 lingering disease and breathed his last, leaving to the 
 aspiring infant, Natma a village, two gardens, rice-fields,, 
 cattle and a building. Their management was entrusted 
 to several of his relatives who appropriated the property 
 and left the boy destitute. 
 
 At the age of seven he went to Calcutta and was 
 admitted in the Queen's College. The progress of his 
 studies was further arrested by a dangerous attack of 
 spleen-fever. When dying, he was handed to a native 
 physician, who took off his clothes and held a piece of 
 burning wood on his belly under the pretence of killing the 
 " alive pilla " (spleen). He was subsequently handed to 
 another murderer who thrusted red-hot iron into his belly. 
 Instead of killing the pilla, they inflicted such wounds the 
 scars of which will never be removed from the belly of 
 Mr. Sarbadhicary. When the appeal to gods and god- 
 desses and the attempts of native physicians proved useless 
 an Englishman cured him. On recovery, he commenced 
 his studies at Kishnaghur, the expenses of which, in spite 
 of his close connection with Prince Bigumber Mittra and 
 the princely family of Shava Bazar, Calcutta, were defrayed 
 by his own acquired money. 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 He is a liberal and " home ruler " and has addressed 
 meetings in support of his views both in Edinburgh and in 
 London. 
 
 The Edinburgh Daily Review, Edinburgh Evening 
 Dispatch and Scotsman reported that on the 3<Dth of May, 
 a very short speech of Mr. Sarbadhicary, to the electors 
 of the Southern division of Edinburgh, under the chairman- 
 ship of Right Hon. W. Me Wan, was most enthusiastically 
 received by the audience. Another short address deliv- 
 ered by him on the Irish Question, in Clerkenwell, London, 
 under the chairmanship of Right Hon. Rowlands, M.P., 
 .(not to be confounded with Right Hon. Rowlands, M.P., 
 Treasurer of Gray's Inn,) was received with equal enthu- 
 siasm. 
 
 My views echo the prophecy of princess Burra Rani, of 
 Shava Bazar, Calcutta, who predicted that " persevering, 
 as Sarbadhicary is, he will cut a prominent figure on some 
 future day." 
 
 I sincerely hope that this book of my talented friend, 
 should have a larger sale than those of its predecessors. 
 
 E. T. PARDEE, 
 
 W. Chief, 
 Syracuse, Main Office, 
 
 New York, Western Union Tel. Co. 
 
 U.S. America, 
 January, 1890. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 My departure from Calcutta The description and fall of 
 Pandua The description of Burdwan Allahabad and 
 Benares .. .. .. .. .. i 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Cawnpore Patiala ' Mahabharata [Delhi Agra and 
 
 Cashmere. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Lahore My career in Bombay My journey to Simla and 
 
 Ludhiana . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Kalka Amritsur Rawul Pindi Attock Jamrud The 
 
 Afghan War My journey to Sibi and Bolan Pass . . 21 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Marriage rules and social rules The sufferings of the 
 
 widow girl . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The ghost story The funeral The abolition of the Suttee 
 
 My participation in a funeral . . . . . . 39 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Indian priests The Hindu religion The description of 
 King Vicramaditta My difficulty from leopards The 
 description of Nrishingha The description of Hiranna 
 Kashupa . . . . . . . . . . 46 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The attempt of Hiranna Kashapa to kill his youngest son 
 He himself was killed A comparison between the Indian 
 and the Rockaway Beach Picnics . . ... . . 55 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Goddess Lakshmi Goddess Shashthi and goddess Vasuki . . 62 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The description of Rama, incarnation of Vishnu, and the 
 
 origin of the worship of goddess Durga . . . . 69 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 My career in the United States of America . . . . 77 
 
 [CHAPTER XII. 
 
 My departure The description of Kama and the description 
 
 of Sributhsha Conclusion.. .. .. .. 83 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 My Departure from Calcutta The description and fall of Pandua 
 The Description of Burdwan Allahabad and Benares. 
 
 (HAVING promised several of my American friends that I 
 would write " A Sojourn in India " on my return to England, 
 I hereby beg" to fulfil my promise.) 
 
 The death of my maternal uncle (who nobly sheltered 
 me beneath his hospitable roof) and other domestic diffi- 
 culties which followed, so materially affected my health, 
 that but for the kindly intervention of a merciful Provi- 
 dence, my own life might have ended here and these 
 pages would have remained unwritten. 1'he series of 
 misfortunes which followed the event, impressed me with 
 the idea that a blight had fallen over my fortune. A few 
 thoughtless friends advised me to repair my prospects by a 
 wealthy marriage, but to marry, to enjoy a nice house and / 
 a garden with grass plot and lake, a carriage, and other / 
 auxiliaries to domestic felicity on the one hand, and may ' 
 be subjected to a domineering mother-in-law on the other 
 are so alien to my views, that I indignantly declined to 
 entertain the idea. I was but fifteen when I left Calcutta, 
 October, 1876. The only luggage I carried was a carpet 
 bag, a piece of thin linen cloth and a few shirts. The 
 cold season was approaching, and I was not accustomed 
 to severe weather in Calcutta which was so mild that a 
 
2 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 woollen shirt is sufficient to keep a person warm throughout 
 the year, and I imagined that the cold of other parts of 
 India would not exceed that of Calcutta. 
 
 I crossed the Hughly River to Howrah, where I was 
 introduced to some persons about to leave for Patna. They 
 inquired with kindly interest of me, my intentions and 
 my projected movements. Uncertain where to go and 
 unwilling to acquaint strangers with my real destination, I 
 mentioned Pandua. They afterwards proved to be very 
 good people and walked with me to the Howrah Railway 
 Station. We bought our tickets, went to the train and 
 reached Pandua, once the seat of a Hindu Rajah and 
 strongly fortified by a trench five miles in circumference. 
 Pandua has a tower 120 feet high, which commands a 
 grand view of the surrounding orchards, mango groves, 
 arborial gardens and rice fields. It has defied the rain 
 and storm of the tropical climate of Bengal for a period of 
 500 years, and will yet resist for scores of years both time 
 and weather. Singularly enough, the downfall of the last 
 of its princes may be attributed to a battle for a cow. On 
 the birth of a child of the prince, the event was celebrated 
 with great pomp. The festivity lasted several days, and 
 thousands of guests were most liberally entertained . Among 
 them was a Mahommedan named Munshi Mirdulla. A 
 feast of such importance in the eyes of a Mahommedan 
 would be incomplete without a nice beefsteak ; so repugnant 
 is it to the Hindu feeling that a man of high caste is more 
 willing to die than see a melacha (the Hindus call all others 
 who are not Hindus melachas, or barbarians) take beef in 
 his neighbourhood. The Mahommedan who was the 
 Persian translator of the Court could hardly resist his 
 temptation : he killed a cow, and for fear of detection buried 
 the unconsumed portion. But a pack of quick-scented 
 animals (jackals) appeared on the spot at sun-down, disin- 
 terred the carcase, and feasted on it the whole night. The 
 wrath of the Hindus at a discovery so offensive to their 
 religious feelings admitted no bounds. The terrified 
 Munshi appealed to the people of his own sect for help. 
 The Mahommedans and the Hindus ranged themselves for 
 battle and fought with desperate valour. When the latter 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 3 
 
 were outnumbered, the former defiled the water of a tank 
 which the Hindus used for drinking* and cooking" by throwing 
 beef* and starved the enemy, so the Mahommedans won 
 the battle and commemorated the victory by erecting- the 
 tower. Most of the Hindus were killed or reduced to slavery, 
 their houses were razed to the ground, and the animosities 
 of the race-distinction were perpetuated. The Munshi was 
 placed on the throne, but conscience-stricken with the 
 thought that he had purchased territory and dignity by guilt, 
 and stung by the reflection that a little prudence would have 
 avoided the sad catastrophe, and that he might have enjoyed 
 a long peaceful life, receiving his rice and salt from the 
 hand of the reigning prince, sought to atone for his offence 
 by cruel self-inflicted penance and incessant prayer until 
 he died. 
 
 In a tank, between 40 and 45 feet deep, there is a tame 
 alligator, which always obeyed the call of a fakeer to whom 
 he was accustomed ; when hungry, he hesitated to leave 
 the presence of the fakeer until food was served. 
 
 We reached Burdwan at 12 o'clock p.m. The only 
 passengers who got in were two ladies and a young man 
 in English dress. One of the men in our compartment, 
 dressed in Indian costume, passed the remark, " Native 
 Christian." The youth, as it appeared to me, tainted with 
 all the defects from which precocious, half-educated lads 
 of quick parts are seldom free, at once reported to the 
 station-master, and begged the removal of the man. The 
 station-master took up the cause and strove to remove him, 
 when I made an apology on his behalf, and guaranteed 
 his future good behaviour. 
 
 Legend tells us that in antiquity the daughter of 
 one of the princes of Burdwan, who was named Bidda 
 (Learning), was so well educated that she challenged 
 any male individual to controversy in any branch of 
 literature or science. In case he succeeded, she would 
 marry him, if not, she would not marry at all. This vow 
 affected her mother so much that she shed tears, as an 
 
 * The cow is held sacred and when killed the flesh is the most 
 .abhorrent of all objects to the eyes of a Hindu. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 unmarried person is subject, by a Hindu custom, to many 
 social disabilities. Her literary fame astounded every 
 person in India, and at length attracted the attention of a 
 youth named Sundra, of Kanchipore. He had extremely 
 limited education, but this defect was amply compensated 
 by his quality in other directions. He was a good mechanic, 
 a fine horseman, and a beautiful archer. By a subter- 
 ranean excavation, Sundra made his way incognito into- 
 the chambers of Bidda, and the young pair, being of the 
 same caste, same creed, and of princely origin, were 
 united by a marriage which was celebrated with great 
 pomp and festivity.* 
 
 Here is a nice menagerie, wherein are placed two 
 alligators in a tank which is constantly resorted to by a 
 rhinoceros, but he never received any injury from the 
 destructive animals. 
 
 The train started fromBurd wan, and reached Ranegunge,. 
 which, being situated in an open extensive plain, with its 
 pretty whitewashed buildings, with geeen painted windows, 
 the busy coaleries, clustered columns and huts, interspersed 
 with shrubs and trees, present a picturesque appearance in 
 the valley of the fantastic Damudar. f 
 
 From the train we could see distinctly the Grand Trunk 
 Road, which runs from Bengal to Peshawar. Formerly 
 tigers lurked there in great numbers, and on the approach 
 of night all traffic was stopped by the dread of the Royal 
 Bengal man-eater. Now, perhaps on account of the noise 
 of the train, they prowl in the neighbouring jungle, but 
 never make their appearance on the road. Their neigh- 
 bours, the santhals, are the most successful destroyers of 
 the tigers. The former fight with their arrows, the latter 
 with their paws, armed with cruel retractile claws, but 
 human intelligence invariably succeeds in overcoming brute 
 strength and ferocity. 
 
 The train passed through Bankipore, and arrived at 
 Allahabad, which is situated at the confluence of the Jumna 
 (a sacred river) and the Ganges (the most sacred of rivers). 
 
 * I get the account from a book published by Bharut Chunder, a. 
 courtier of the prince of Kishnaghur. 
 f A river subject to sudden overflows. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 5 
 
 It is a matter of common belief that if a person can drown 
 himself in the latter, he goes to heaven. The eternal 
 river, as it is sometimes called, fertilizes many valleys 
 and fields. It is the highway of traffic throughout the year, 
 and forms one of the chief sources of the income of India. 
 The Jumna, with its teeming animal life, the crocodiles, 
 the tortoises, and rich flora, presents the most interest- 
 ing sight to zoologists. The crystal blue water rolls nimbly 
 between the craggy banks, and subsequently obtains an- 
 other name, Kalidah.* 
 
 I drove to a pretty villa on the banks of the Ganges, 
 where the bloom and the beauty of its parterres furnish a 
 lovely picture. In a little tub a number of parthenopes 
 being placed, moved about with great agility. I was fur- 
 nished with an introductory note to the owner of the house, 
 whose judicious selection of the building as much evidenced 
 his taste as his management did his capacity. After some 
 refreshment, I took leave of my kind host, who hospitably 
 invited me to stay a day or two. I caught the 9 p.m. down 
 train for Benares. 
 
 Benares is a holy city, immortalized by the vivid de- 
 scription of Macaulay. It is the chief seat of Sanskrit 
 learning. Pundits of Lahore Oriental College are the 
 scholars of the noble institutions of this sacred city. The 
 priestly caste, the temples, the Ganges, the bulls, and the 
 monkeys, are perhaps the most notable of the many 
 sacred things here. It is affirmed by popular opinion that 
 earthquakes happen only in cities where the weight of sin 
 is very great, and so it is maintained that this city, being 
 entirely exempted from sin, will never be subjected to even 
 the most moderate of shocks. Believing that beatific 
 fate awaits all who die here, people from all parts of 
 India journey to Benares, with a view to be transferred to 
 heaven by dying in so propitious a death-place. I learned 
 from a friend of mine that an old man from Bangalore 
 
 * It is said that Krishna, the incarnation of Vishnu, Indian God, 
 one day grazed his cows on the banks of Kalidah, at Brindabun. 
 Some cows and a shepherd boy were killed by drinking water which 
 had been maliciously poisoned by a large serpent. Krishna, after 
 two hours' hard fighting, defeated and killed the animal. 
 
O A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 went there to die, but fearing- that whilst absent from the 
 city in his daily walk, he might die suddenly elsewhere and 
 so lose the benefit of the sanctity of Benares, he mutilated 
 himself. One day his desire for a ride was so great that he 
 ordered his servant to bring- a saddled horse. The servant, 
 in obedience to his master's direction, obtained a horse, but 
 the rider, after proceeding; some miles, was thrown and 
 killed. From the surrounding- country, Benares presents a 
 mag-nificent view to the delighted eye of the traveller. It is 
 the chief seat of Hindu theology, philosophy, logic, science, 
 and jurisprudence. It has the highest appellate religious 
 jurisdiction over Mithila, Nuddea, and Dravira, which, in 
 return, exercise jurisdiction over other cities and towns. 
 The pundits are profound Sanskrit scholars, and have 
 given us to understand that the city is really the city of 
 Saraswattee (goddess of Learning), as Athens was the 
 city of Minerva. Benares holds the thread of learning and 
 civilization in India, as Athens did in Europe. Cicero says, 
 " Recollect, Quintus, that you govern the Greeks who 
 civilized all nations by teachingthem mildness and humanity, 
 and to whom Rome is indebted for all the knowledge she 
 possesses." An author tells us, "Now the Athens which 
 civilized Europe had in her turn been civilized by Benares ; 
 the city of Saraswattee, has the precedence over the city of 
 Minerva. The Hindus are acknowledged as the first to 
 have started in the race of civilization." We actually see 
 that Cicero and Atticus went to Athens to study eloquence 
 and its source, and Lycurgus and Pythagoras went to India 
 to learn law and philosophy, with a view to assimilate those 
 of Greece ; whilst India has invited the greatest men of the 
 greatest country, who ostensibly admitted the superiority 
 of the Indian system of study ; decidedly our ancestors* 
 deeds rest beyond the range of our criticism. We modern 
 Indians are very short-sighted, so we often undervalue our 
 forefathers' institutions, but great statesmen like Edmund 
 Burke and Mr. John Bright alas ! now dead men of 
 universally admitted knowledge, capacity, and foresight, 
 admired Indian institutions of antiquity. Sir William Jones,. 
 a great Sanskrit scholar, visited Benares, and was so. 
 astonished to hear even ordinary students converse in 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 7 
 
 Sanskrit with such dignified style, with such judicious 
 diction and logical cogency, that he regretted his separation 
 from such educated companions and noble institutions, in 
 the same way as Julian did when a royal message from 
 Rome disturbed his academical life, inviting him to 
 exchange the life of a school for that of a palace. I lived 
 in a Hindu hotel in Benares, and left it for Cawnpore. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Cawnpore Patiala Mahabharata Delhi Agra and Cashmere. 
 
 Nana Sahib and Cawnpore are so strangely associated 
 with each other and so painfully impressed upon British 
 memory, that the name of one is sure to recall that of the 
 other. Nana was but a lad of twenty, when the mutiny 
 broke out. He had an ample share of bull-dog- courage 
 which never flinched from any danger. He might have 
 heightened his glory to epic heroism, even in the opinion 
 of those antagonistic to his views, had he openly challenged 
 the English and disputed the palm of military prowess. 
 He had undoubted capacity, aided by an unblushing face 
 and specious lying tongue, adamantine heart and tiger-like 
 ferocity. He strongly asserted that he would be able to form 
 an Indian Empire which would outshine the glory of that of 
 his renowned forefather, the great Sevajee.- Accordingly 
 he went to Delhi and forced the nominal -'Emperor to aid 
 him ; he induced the Queen of Jhansi to fight on his behalf, 
 and kindled the conflagration of mutiny by a false rumour 
 that the British intended to destroy the caste of both the 
 Hindus and the Mahommedans. &jrch a fanatic can never 
 be found outside the pale of "i "madhouse. Since the 
 unlucky event, (mutiny), his name has been associated with 
 that terrible dark massacre which we can never name, 
 even at this distant day, without shuddering horror, com- 
 bined with a tribute to the noble services of the arms of 
 the avengers. 
 
 At Cawnpore lived a class of people called Bengalees. 
 They were the natives of Lower Bengal. One of their 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 9 
 
 forefathers, Rajah Deva Pal Deva enjoyed the whole of 
 the Indian territory and military glory during" the ninth 
 -century, but since then, the Bengalee having- greatly 
 degenerated, has never assumed a conspicuous position or 
 any position in Indian history. He may make a com- 
 petent lawyer, doctor, clerk, but is never likely to distinguish 
 himself as a captain in the army or navy. Some of this 
 class settling in Cawnpore, raised themselves to affluence 
 by rendering faithful services to the British Government. 
 On the outbreak of the mutiny, they concealed themselves 
 in a small building, to avoid the ferocity of the mutineers. 
 The place of their concealment was revealed to Nana, who 
 summoned them and accused them for giving information 
 to the English. Accordingly the sentence of death and 
 mutilation was passed on them. But Lord Canning, in 
 spite of empty treasury, and mutinied troops, sent General 
 Havelock, with a handful of soldiers by land and a small 
 boat with an army by water. Nana seeing he was about 
 to be attacked both by land and water, ran away ; his troops 
 having lost their leader, submitted, and order was restored. 
 
 I left Cawnpore for Patiala, and reached the residence of 
 Babu Avinash Chunder Chatterjee, the Director of Public 
 Instruction. He was away on his holiday, but I was very 
 kindly admitted by Babu Birashur Chatterjee, the principal 
 of the Patiala College, who united a commanding presence 
 to a handsome face and melodious voice. I was temporarily 
 appointed a private tutor to the children of the former 
 gentleman. This was a turning point in the incidents of my 
 life. In Bengal, I v.as a student, then a traveller, and 
 here I found myself a teacher. As soon as I received the 
 first month's pay, I bought some warm clothes and set out 
 for Delhi. 
 
 Under the name of Delhi are comprised the three 
 cities, India Prastha, Mediaeval Delhi, and Modern Delhi. 
 Tradition affirms that there lived a prince named Bharat, 
 who conquered the whole of India and transmitted it to his 
 posterity. The inheritance, at length descended to his 
 great great grandson, Santanu, who during his old age 
 desired to marry a young maiden. No one, however, would 
 give his daughter to the old man, unless his boy, Vishma, 
 
IO A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 guaranteed that he would devote himself to a life of 
 celibacy. To gratify the doting father, the lad vowed 
 as to the idea of his leading a single life. The marriage 
 was completed, and a son named Vichitravirya was born 
 of Santanu. Vichitravirya had three children, of whom 
 the second, named Pandu, succeeded to the territory. On 
 his death, the sovereignty descending to his children was 
 disputed by those of the eldest brother, Dhritarastra, whose 
 eldest son, Durjodhana, was a lad of bad principles, turbu- 
 lent temper, insatiable cupidity and implacable malevolence. 
 Early feuds among the cousins led to the banishment of the 
 Pandavas, (children of Pandu*). They selected Baranabat 
 as the place of their banishment, but the tyrant, Durjodhana 
 sent there a number of working men, with instructions to 
 erect a building, and to receive the children with their 
 mother Kunti, and, anon set it on fire. The brothers, 
 honest and incapable of deceit, so unsuspecting of it in 
 others entered the building. At night, when asleep, it was 
 fired. A providential inspiration had induced Bidura, the 
 second uncle, to dig a subterranean passage. Bhima, the 
 second brother, who was the strongest man in the world, 
 managed to carry the remaining inmates through the 
 passage. When they crossed the tunnel, Bhima met 
 Hidimba, the cannibal prince of that region. In a desperate 
 duel, the former killed the latter and married his sister, 
 Hidimbi, the imperious and reckless vixen who succeeded 
 to the throne of her deceased brother. Bhima with his 
 brothers and the mother went to Ekachakra, a village 
 where they all resided in disguise. Here Bhima killed 
 another cannibal named Baka. 
 
 Hearing the Draupadi Sayambara (marriage) would be 
 celebrated in Panchala (Punjab), the Pandavas reached 
 that territory, and fairly won the girl. A reconciliation 
 having been effected with Durjodhana through the medium 
 of King Drupada, the father of the bride, the Pandavas 
 were allowed to return to Hasthinapore. They gave a 
 
 * I very much regret to say that for want of space I cannot write 
 this legendary incident in detail, but I sincerely hope that on some 
 future occasion I shall be able to give a full account of this ancient 
 story. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. I I 
 
 grand banquet on account of a great festivity (horse 
 sacrifice), and invited all princes, potentates, and kings of 
 the then known world, who did their homage to the Pandava 
 chief, Judishthira. This spectacle was more than enough 
 for Durjodhana, the Kaurava chief, to bear. It broke his 
 spirit, soured his temper, and ultimately impaired his health. 
 Having- lost his head and heart, he strove hard to banish the 
 Pandavas again. He challenged Judishthira to play a 
 game of chess with him, on condition that his maternal 
 uncle, named Sakuni, to whom forgery, chicanery and other 
 evil practices were quite familiar, should conduct the play. 
 In this unfair contest the sincere-hearted man lost every- 
 thing-. The five brothers were treated as slaves in the 
 public durbar. Draupadi, the wife, a lady of stainless 
 virtue and reputation, and who, according to Indian custom,, 
 kept always inside her palace, was caught by the hair 
 and brought to the presence of the whole court. During 
 this critical conjuncture, the pious Judishthira submitted 
 patiently to the galling- restraints, bore such cruel indig- 
 nities with external serenity, and forgave offences which 
 moved Bhima to such resentment as to vow, " I shall kill 
 the monster Dushashana," second son of Dhritarashtra, 
 "on some future day," and Draupadi vowed with dishevelled 
 hair, " I will never regulate my hair until retribution falls 
 on the perpetrator." But the devout Judishthira alone 
 could hide the indignity under the show of stoical serenity. 
 The sympathy of the whole court was with the Pandavas 
 and Durjodhana had no strength of mind to stop the evil 
 tide, of which he himself was the author, and to which the 
 whole family would be victims. 
 
 At length Judishthira was banished with all his brothers 
 for thirteen years. They travelled in disguise for miles, 
 and at length reached a beautiful spot, having a majestic 
 mountain in front, with crystal lake, streams and trees,, 
 the branches of which were bent down by the weight of 
 delicious fruits and blooming flowers. They pitched their 
 humble tent, fetched fruits from the neighbouring jungle,, 
 and appeased their hunger, and very comfortably slept on 
 the bed of leaves. Their cousin Durjodhana, accompanied 
 by the greatest archers, including Kama, with great 
 
12 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 magnificence pitched his gig-antic tents in front, but a 
 gandharva having- done the same, provoked his haughty 
 neighbour, Durjodhana, who ordered him to withdraw, and 
 was maddened with the contumelious reply, " Come and 
 -execute your order." A battle was fought, and he was 
 taken prisoner with all his troops. The melancholy 
 news reached the propitious ears of Judishthira, who 
 forthwith ordered his third brother, Arjuna, to release 
 the tyrant, for, said he, " unless he is liberated, the gand- 
 harva would tauntingly declare the Kurava chief was taken 
 prisoner in the face of the Pandavas." Accordingly 
 Arjuna set Durjodhana and his troops free. The latter, 
 with heavy heart, returned to his court. 
 
 Soon after this event, the Pandavas went to the territory 
 of Prince Birat who was subsequently invaded by Durjod- 
 hana with a mighty army, and was dispersed by Arjuna 
 alone. On the completion of full thirteen years, the 
 Pandavas returned to Hastinapore, but nothing diminished 
 the claim of the Kauravas to the fovour of Judishthira. 
 He embraced them heartily, and proposed the terms of 
 peace, but to no purpose. At last war was declared, and 
 the battles were fought on the vast plain of Kurukshetra. 
 Arjuna, at the first onset, gallantly upheld the flag of 
 victory, and the timid Durjodhana passed from haughty 
 -apathy to abject terror, but at the close of the day, Vishma 
 the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army, killed 
 10,000 troops of Arjuna, and returned victorious to his 
 camp. He valiantly fought for nine days, and on the 
 tenth he fell on the battle-field, and with his dying words 
 said to Durjodhana that he never ceased to regret to the 
 last moment of his long life of prosperity and success the 
 unlucky war, and requested him to compromise. Durjod- 
 hana neglected to profit by such laudable advice ; he con- 
 tinued the war, and was killed with his ninety-nine brothers 
 and other relatives. The sight of the dreary marshes of 
 field and neighbouring desolate villages awakened many a 
 sad recollection in the heart of their descendants who could 
 but deplore the want of strength of mind of Durjodhana for 
 which he lost the inheritance and life so prematurely. 
 
 Modern Delhi is but a few miles from Hastinapore. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 13 
 
 During the reign of the Emperor Kutubooddeen it was 
 about thirty miles in circumference. About five miles 
 distant stands the majestic Kutub-minar, which is about 
 300 feet high. It is divided into five stories, every one of 
 which has a projecting balcony, supported upon rich stone 
 brackets. It has 376 stone steps. Some say it was built 
 by a Hindu prince to enable his daughter to see the Jumna 
 and the Ganges every morning at sun-rise. The iron 
 pillar is the oldest of all monuments. It is of solid metal, 
 sixty feet long and sixteen broad. It weighs seventeen tons. 
 It attests the engineering capacity of the ancient Hindus 
 and commemorates their glory. Some say it was 
 erected during the reign of the Pandavas, and others 
 during the reign of Deva Pal Deva. Its foundation is so 
 deep beneath the ground that the pundits said to a prince 
 of the Tomara Dynasty, " if he did not interfere with the 
 pillar which rests on the head of Vasuki (the goddess of 
 snakes), he would transmit his throne to posterity," but 
 doubting the veracity of this statement, he displaced it,. 
 and found blood at the end, when he bitterly regretted,, 
 and attempted to fix it again, but it was too late. He was 
 subsequently killed. 
 
 I greatly enjoyed the Delhi-Durbar, where Her Majesty, 
 the Queen was proclaimed, with great enthusiasm, the 
 Empress of India. The Governor-General delivered a 
 number of addresses to the princes, chiefs and the nobles. 
 When the Durbar was complete, I was advised by a gentle- 
 man to learn telegraphy ; accordingly he sent me with an 
 introductory note to Agra. 
 
 Delhi, 7th January, 1877. 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 I hereby beg to send you a young lad, named Babu Sasi Bhushan 
 Sarbadhicary. He is honest, active and intelligent. I shall be 
 highly obliged if you kindly appoint him as a telegraph probationer. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 To Babu Prasana, JADU NATH GOSH. 
 
 Coomer Chukerbutty, 
 
 Shajadimundi, 
 Agra. 
 
 On my arrival at Agra, I appeared in the preliminary 
 examination. I passed and joined the telegraph school. 
 
H A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 ~Wnen I was considered competent, Mr. Rutherford, the 
 telegraph superintendent, with a strong- recommendation, 
 sent me to the line. 
 
 I joined my new calling- in February, 1877, at Delhi. 
 I worked telegraphy for four months only, when, in hopes 
 of getting a post of better salary, I started for the 
 province of Cashmere. 
 
 Srinaggur is the capital of Cashmere. Jhelum, a noble 
 river, intersects the city. Cashmere has about 68.000 
 square miles, and over a million of population. From 
 time immemorial it has been g-overned by the Hindu 
 princes, but at intervals the predatory Tartars disturbed 
 their quiet possession. Akbar was the first Moghul emperor 
 who conquered and added it to his domain. During the 
 period of the greatest glory of the Sikhs, Maharajah 
 Golab Singh, the grandfather of the present reigning 
 prince, was appointed governor of Jummu as a reward 
 for his gallantly upholding the flag of victory against 
 Akbar Khan. Golab Singh at last extended his sway 
 from Jummu to Ladak, with a large revenue. 
 
 Cashmere has several fine gardens. It is famous as the 
 seat of the manufacture of shawls. Under Prince Ranabir, 
 property was more secure than formerly. From Jummu to 
 Cashmere I travelled on horseback. On my arrival I was 
 appointed temporarily in the silk manufactory. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 15 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Lahore My Career in Bombay My Journey to Simla and 
 Ludhiana. 
 
 I subsequently set out for Lahore and was temporarily 
 engaged in the Railway Offices. Having- made a little 
 money, I joined the Lahore District School and passed the 
 entrance examination (1878), with a scholarship which 
 enabled me to continue my studies in the Government and 
 Oriental Colleges and in the junior and senior law classes 
 over two years. The Superintendent of the Oriental 
 College gave me a very kind certificate : 
 
 "This is to certify that Babu S. B. Sarbadhicary has been a 
 student in this Institution for the last two years. He is an active 
 and diligent young man and is well aquainted with the Sanskrit 
 language and literature. 
 
 GURU PERSHAD, 
 
 Oriental College, 
 
 Officiating Superintendent." 
 
 Dr. Leitner the late principal of the Government College 
 gave me a very gratifying certificate. In the law class 
 our prescribed text was (i.) Civil Law including Hindu 
 and Mahommedan Law. (2.) Penal Code and Criminal 
 Procedure. (3.) Civil Procedure Code and Tagore Law. 
 (4). Evidence and Contract Acts. (5.) Registration and 
 Limitation Acts and judicial interpretation. These are the 
 principal books but a number of minor acts are attached to 
 
i6 
 
 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 every one of the branches. I studied all the prescribed 
 books but scholarship being the only source of my income 
 it proved inadequate to defray all my expenses. Accor- 
 dingly I suspended my studies. 
 
 During- Maharajah Runjit Singh's reign Lahore the 
 capital of the Punjab, was the most prosperous city. It 
 has a strong fort at a distance of two miles from which runs 
 the Ravi River a branch of the Indus (Attock) from which 
 the name India is derived. I went to Rawul Pindi one of 
 the chief towns of the Punjab and established an elemen- 
 tary school. Whilst still struggling to make the school a 
 success I was requested by a friend to give the school to 
 him. On refusal, a society was established and when I was 
 requested to comply with the wishes of the society, I sub- 
 mitted the school to it, desiring the society to perpetuate 
 the Institution. I eventually left Rawul Pindi for Bombay. 
 
 Bombay is on an island, the hills of which are decorated 
 with beautiful trees with rich fruits and exquisite flowers. 
 Contiguous to the General Post Office, stands the Central 
 Telegraph Office, in a building not far from which is 
 the signaller's quarter where the operators, like the 
 telegraphists of Madeira, resided free of charge. 
 
 I lived in a building situated in the interior of the city and 
 passed the preliminary examination. On entering the Civil 
 Training School I worked 4 forthe final which was of a difficult 
 nature. Three years' study is necessary for a student in 
 Otukmund to qualify himself for the examination. There 
 are but four branches, namely, Electricity, Magnetism ; 
 Knowledge of Instrument Traffic Code, Foreign Guide, 
 Indian Guide ; Receiving and Signalling. Mr. Alfred Perkins 
 a most able and popular officer, was the chief of our seminary. 
 Several of the candidates appeared on different occasions 
 and having failed, I became nervously anxious on my own 
 account and worked with redoubled vigour. The energy 
 displayed by our excellent instructor could hardly be exag- 
 gerated. He encouraged all his students in every possible 
 way. The day of the examination battle drew near and 
 Mr. Alfonso S. A. superintendent, reputed an extremely 
 strict examiner, made his appearance. At the close of the 
 examination, we went away with all the glee of American 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. IJ 
 
 schoolboys who leave the monotony of school life a harsh 
 teacher and quarrelsome companions to spend a Merry 
 Christmas with the friends and relatives of a happy home 
 circle. Mr. Alfonso being* transferred was succeeded 
 by Mr. Parrot a most popular official, the superintending 
 telegraph master who according- to official rules, sent 
 our papers to Calcutta. In a few weeks a very satisfactory 
 result reached Mr. Parrot who invited me to his office, g-ave 
 me ten pounds informing- me that I passed with credit in 
 three subjects and in the remaining- branch I obtained just 
 enough marks to pass. I was placed in an office named 
 Mombadevie on a salary of 6 a month. Eventually in 
 a general examination having- done well I was transferred 
 to the Punjab on a salary of 7 ics. a month. 
 
 Simla is a cool and salubrious place situated on the 
 summit of the Himalaya mountain. Sabatu, Kasauli and 
 Simla, combined, present a grand view to the traveller. 
 The hilly rang-es rise one above the other, the summits 
 of which are crowned with perpetual snow, the roads 
 ascending- and descending- with alternating levels. The 
 only conveyance admitted in Simla is a jhapan carried 
 on the shoulders of the coolies but horses can be hired at 
 moderate charges. From Bombay en route to Simla I 
 paid a visit to Mr. Bignell the superintendent of telegraph at 
 Ambala where I hired a dak gari from the Post Office and 
 set out on my jonrney. Hardly had I left the town for a 
 couple of hours when I found an isolated mud-house 
 thatched with straw, on the premises of which a huge 
 elephant was fastened to a sycamore-like tree. I asked the 
 driver why an elephant was kept in that desolate land. 
 The man said pointing out an open space " this is a river 
 the bed of which is dry throughout the year but when 
 subject to inundations its current is so strong as to cut even 
 a reed in twain and wash away men, ekka and dak-gari, so a 
 competent man sufficiently skilful to declare the precise 
 moment of the inundation is kept to stop the traffic and 
 convey it by means of the elephant which being a robust 
 animal is not easily washed away. At sun-rise I reached 
 Kalka and through the help of the telegraph master a 
 tonga was hired. This is a light conveyance drawn by a 
 
 c 
 
1 8 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 pair of stalwart mountain horses which can climb to the 
 topmost pinnacle of a mountain with steady steps. Here 
 I found another signaller named Sweeni an Englishman. 
 We travelled together until we arrived at a village named 
 Dogshai where both being thirsty I went to the neigh- 
 bouring waterfall and quenched my thirst by drinking cold 
 water and my companion to a coffee-house provided by a 
 Mahommedan whose conduct was greatly criticised for 
 furnishing coffee to a Kafir (all those who are not 
 Mahommedans are called Kafirs) on a festive day. 
 On reaching Simla, we assumed our duties and its accom- 
 panying liabilities. We had a number of instruments to 
 which were attached lightning-dischargers to protect the 
 signaller whilst at key. Occasionally I went to the 
 Sabatu telegraph master and a commissariat official named 
 Rameshawur Babu from whom I always enjoyed a Denial 
 welcome. The sedateness of his deportment, the regularity 
 of his life, the liberality of his habit, delighted the austere 
 moralists of Simla. I proposed here I would establish an 
 elementary school but local prejudice and the absence of 
 funds proved almost insurmountable difficulties. 
 
 At length a gentleman promised me a room, another a 
 few students and a third a teacher thus all obstacles by 
 degrees were overcome. The number of pupils gradually 
 increased. Whilst the enterprise was about to be made a 
 success, I was ordered to proceed to Ludhiana. I made 
 proper arrangement for the maintenance of the school 
 during my absence and left Simla with David another 
 signaller for the above station. We journeyed the distance 
 of 300 miles by tonga dak-gari and rail respectively and 
 reached the station of our destination. Two English 
 signallers named Toohey and Cumber went to the railway 
 station in hopes of accompanying us to the office. The 
 only means by which they could recognise us were our 
 warm clothes of the hilly country but the fact of our 
 having changed the dress defeated their kind intentions. 
 David drove away to the office and I to the house of a 
 Bengalee a man with a brilliant wit and ready invention, 
 but with exceptionally singular opinions, who believes that 
 no Asiatic can ever hope to reach England because he has 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 1 9 
 
 never seen a native of Ludhiana leave it for this country. 
 The journey having- proved too much to my chronic eyes, 
 I went to the hospital instead of the office. 
 
 Ludhiana is situated on the bank of the Sutlej. In 1620 
 it was conquered by the Rais of Rajkote. Runjit, the lion 
 of the Punjab, pulled the prince down and set up Rajah 
 Bhag Sing- of Jhind. Soon after Runjit's death, the English 
 occupied it. In antiquity Ludhiana was the favourite 
 resort of the princes and Nawabs. The descendants of 
 Shah Shoojaho, Dost Mahommed and Yar Mahommed 
 can still be seen. 
 
 When my eyes were recovered, I commenced to work 
 In the office under Mr. Wilson the telegraph master whose 
 delicacy of feeling- and generosity of sentiment were well 
 calculated to win the esteem even of a stranger. We all 
 including Mr. Wilson and his children lived in the 
 signallers' quarter. Beside all those above mentioned we 
 had another signaller named Murray a young man of 
 great ambition. He fought with the soldiers of Ambala, 
 and with their S. A. superintendent by wire, fought with 
 other signallers at home and in the office cleared his 
 official work by his superabundant activity, although none 
 liked to stay in the office when he was there. He arrived 
 at a stage of life (17 years) when youth could no longer 
 be pleaded as an excuse for a fault. In the evening we 
 walked together after instructing our servants as to the 
 place where we should sleep at night. Sometimes we slept 
 on the veranda and sometimes in the garden as the 
 prickly heat did not allow us to sleep indoors but during 
 the hurricane called andhi, we were forced to go in. When 
 I fulfilled my mission by clearing the work I was re- 
 transferred to Simla. I joined the office and had hardly 
 worked for a fortnight, when I was ordered to proceed to 
 Kalka. Here the English system of working was introduced. 
 The Government by this change intended to base other 
 offices on the same principle, abolish the post of Director- 
 General and make the Post-Master-General the supreme 
 authority for both the telegraph and the post offices, as in 
 this country. The amalgamation of two departments 
 would save 3,500 a year. Whilst at Simla Mr. Doneghey, 
 
 c 2 
 
2O A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 the S. A. superintendent of a Simla office having- promised 
 me in a private interview, the acceptance of my resigna- 
 tion without the usual ceremony, I secured a passage by 
 the Rebatino Italian mail steamer from Bombay to Genoa 
 and resigned. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 21 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Kalka Amritsur Rawul Pindi Attack Jamrud The Afghan 
 War My Journey to Sibi and Bolan Pass. 
 
 * 
 
 I left Kalka on the 4th of October for Amritsur the 
 wealthiest and most populous city of the Punjab. The 
 famous place of worship called the Golden Temple is 
 situated in a tank, erected in the centre of Amritsur ; when 
 the mellow effulgence of the setting- sun reflects the golden 
 dome the beauty of this edifice makes a lasting- impression 
 on our minds. It was erected by Maharajah Runjit Singh. 
 When visiting- India the Prince of Wales in ignorance of 
 the local custom that no one is permitted to enter a building 
 dedicated to religion wearing shoes violated the rule but 
 on being- informed of the prevailing custom, the Prince 
 immediately conformed and won universal golden opinion. 
 (I mention this upon approved information, but I cannot 
 guarantee the accuracy of the statement.) There is a 
 tower dedicated to Athal Rai who is said to have been 
 sternly reprimanded by his father Har Govinda, for 
 raising a child from the dead. Har Govinda recommended 
 his son to display his supernatural power in purity of doctrine 
 and purity of life rather than by a miracle whereupon the 
 son declared that if he erred in giving life to one he would 
 take it away from another. So saying he prostrated himself 
 and rose no more.* From Amritsur I went to the healthful 
 post of Rawul Pindi. It is divided by a small stream 
 called Leh which according to the season presents three feet 
 
 * Cunningham's " Sikhs." 
 
22 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 deep water or a perfectly dry bed. The surrounding- 
 country is mountainous and the fords are extremely 
 dangerous and although the water seldom exceeds the 
 shallowness mentioned, the stream is a most rapid one. 
 Once a foreigner regardless of caution attempted to 
 cross without a guide but the strength of the current 
 overturned him and his body was not discovered until three 
 days afterwards. Paying- a flying visit to Muree I went 
 to Attock where a gentleman named Gopal Babu Godown 
 Gomastha resided. Whilst at Rawul Pindi I was often 
 invited to see him but the nature of my duty did not allow 
 me to avail myself of his kind invitation. I crossed the 
 Attock River and started for Peshawur which is the limit 
 of the Indian territory and which can be visited by the 
 persons of the highest caste without being subject to excom- 
 munication. From Peshawur I went to Jamrud where I 
 was much impressed by the mountainous grandeur of the 
 Khyber Pass the opening of which, flanked by two 
 sentinel-like isolated snowy hills, forms the entrance of the 
 narrow gorge which barely allows two horsemen to travel 
 abreast. Here one day, perhaps within our lifetime, 
 history may record that a modern Leonidas may check 
 the inroad of the hordes of present Xerxes on the Indian 
 side of the Asiatic Thermopylae. At Jamrud the Afghan 
 women, almost as fair as the English, descend from their 
 mountain hovels and offer fruits and vegetables for sale in 
 thfe streets. They are, however, almost unsexed by their 
 national ferocity and would not scruple to use their knives 
 to any person who remarked that their charges were above 
 those of the Saddar Bazar (Cantonment Market) of 
 Peshawur. At the English cemetery here the band-master 
 of an English regiment was found sleeping by a number 
 of Afghans who at once carried him off but subsequently 
 contrary to their practices, they sent him back uninjured.* 
 The fort of Jamrud was occupied by Hari Singh after a 
 desperate battle which conferred such a halo of terror to 
 his name that it is said the Afghan mothers even to this 
 day employ that name to frighten their children to sleep. 
 
 * Morris's Guide to the Punjab. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 2J. 
 
 Not far from this city in 1879 a battle was fought between 
 the Indian and Afghan armies to the complete overthrow 
 of the latter. Yakub Khan signed a treaty to the effect 
 that the British Government should control the Khyber and 
 Michni Passes and that a mission should be received in 
 Cabul. The ambassador Sir Louis Cavagnari and his 
 suite being sent in compliance with the treaty were 
 accommodated in the Bala Hisar contiguous to the palace 
 of the Ameer. Eventually a small knot of Afghan soldiers, 
 mutinied for their arrears of pay and attacked the 
 residency, which was gallantly defended by the sepoys 
 until aft were killed, together with the embassy. The 
 British expeditions, the one by the Khyber Pass and the 
 other by the Korum Valley, were immediately undertaken 
 for chastisement. At this time I made several applications 
 for a post in Afghanistan but the result proving unsatis- 
 factory I went to Babu Ram Chunder Mukherjee Head 
 Assistant of the Commissariat Department Multan and 
 personally represented my case saying if I could make a 
 little money, I intended to continue my legal studies in 
 England but I failed to obtain satisfaction as the gentleman 
 considered I was too young to endure the perils of the field. 
 Baffled in this attempt, I applied to Colonel Sibli at 
 Ambala who held out hope and remembered his promise 
 only after the termination of the war. 
 
 The remains of the Hindu and the Budhist temples- 
 between Peshawur and Cabul, and the Sanskrit names of 
 the villages, as for instance, Penjdah (five villages) strongly 
 impress me with the idea that caste-distinction was very 
 little known to our Aryan forefathers. The restriction to 
 travel over this country might advantageously be with- 
 drawn, on condition that the Hindus of high caste, should 
 keep to their Hindu diet, rice and lentils. It is incompatible 
 with sound reason to assert that Indian diet impairs the 
 health of a Hindu, or that English diet impairs the health 
 of an Englishman, or that a cow should live on beef, and 
 a tiger should thrive on grass. It is quite obvious that 
 Nature has prescribed our food, dress, and other indispens- 
 able things, and it does not sound prudent on our part to 
 act contrary to the rules oi Nature by eating and 
 
2,4 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 drinking- that which is repugnant to the Hindu feeling-. 
 In spite of our constant association with the English 
 people, in spite of our western civilization, we are not so 
 heartless as to ignore the feeling's of our countrymen. But 
 whilst the humble Indian peasant is dying- of famine, 
 with half-chewed grass in his mouth, no price appears 
 to some of my countrymen exorbitant to buy a ticket for 
 a theatre, to buy a bottle of champagne and other useless 
 thing's ; and on their arrival in India, they find that their 
 manners and customs, ideas and views are so alien to the 
 established principles of the Hindus, that the amalgama- 
 tion of the parties is as impossible as the amalgamation of 
 oil and water. My case is entirely different. My income 
 is drawn not from India but from that country to which I 
 have the pleasure of rendering- some service. I can 
 positively assure the world that I have never wasted even 
 a farthing- in buying- a ticket for a theatre or a bottle of 
 champagne, and several journals published in different 
 parts of the giobe will guarantee my statement as perfectly 
 correct. The substance of one published in Madeira in 
 Africa, March 1886, is as follows: 
 
 " The new African Direct who arrived at Madeira on the yth of 
 February, under the aegis of Mr. Thomas, is a Hindu of high caste, 
 and is named Sasi Bhushan Sarbadhicary, and it is by the gracious 
 and readily granted permission of this gentleman that the present 
 Note finds itself in the columns of the Monthly Correspondent. 
 
 " Sasi, which means moon, is a pranomen (one can scarcely call it a 
 Christian name,) Rhushan, which signifies ornament, is a cognomen, 
 whilst Sarbadhicary, the correct signification of which is possessor 
 of all things^ truly a proud title, is a family name, a special title 
 bestowed on an ancestor centuries ago, by a great potentate, as a 
 reward for a signal service to the state. 
 
 11 Sarbadhicary belongs to the second of the four great Hindu 
 catfeti, which are the Brahmin, Kyasthu, Kshatria, Bhassa, but 
 although being of the second caste, his family by possessing the 
 title of Sarbadhicary is elevated to a rank superior to that of many 
 Brahmins 
 
 14 Sarbadhicary was born in Bengal, but removed to the Punjab, 
 where he became a Member of the University College. He left 
 India for England at the age of nineteen, for the purpose of com- 
 pleting his studies. He entered Edinburgh University, where he 
 remained for some time, taking advantage of his vacations, for 
 making interesting and at the same time instructive tours through 
 all the countries on the continent excepting Russia, visiting with 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 25 
 
 special interest the old cities of classic Italy, the ancient edifices of 
 which are now, alas, undergoing such ruthless treatment at the 
 hands of modernizing " Philistines," would-be Hausmanns. Look 
 for instance at Milan and Genoa. Sarbadhicary does not appear 
 to have allowed one blade of the proverbial grass to grow under his 
 feet, for whilst in Edinburgh, he took up amongst his other studies 
 that of telegraphy, and since his arrival at Madeira, he has proved 
 himself a very good sound reader. His favourite studies have been 
 History and Law. He professes himself well acquainted with 
 Roman and Scotch Law, and now he is about to tackle English ! 
 I wish him joy. I have seen his law books ; the merest glance 
 through thir pages gave me a headache. Here during office hours 
 his heart and soul are with his Recorder and Mirror signals, and he 
 seems bent upon knowing everything all at once. The letters I have 
 seen from Edinburgh professors could not be couched in more 
 flattering terms, whilst letters from the Marquis of Ripon, Mrs. 
 Gladstone, Mr John Bright and others, betoken a sincere and 
 lively interest in his welfare. I have read a speech by our friend at 
 Exeter Hall on the subject of the abu\e of early marriage in India, 
 in which social question he has taken a profound interest. As a 
 proof that his sympathies in this direction are sincere, it suffices to 
 say that * for tenets he would not forsake he suffered pain, and' 
 if he did not ' court death ' he at least ran the gauntlet of 
 exasperated relations and left Bengal rather than marry young, to 
 the detriment of his studies, the expenses of which have always 
 been defrayed by his own earnings. Here in Madeira our Hindu 
 recruit spends the greater portion of his spare time in reading up 
 and improving his mind. He does not, however, treat his body 
 with the like amount of consideration or care, at least so it would 
 appear, at first sight to the average Englishman ; for no growing 
 young Briton, Scot or Celt would thrive on rice for breakfast, rice 
 and a little fish curry for dinner, and rice for " tea" with water 
 ad libi'.nm. The disappearance of a large water bottle, or rather its 
 contents, at a meal draws many a sigh from the rascal Jose, who be 
 it known supplied bottled Bass, &c., &c. Well after all Sasi (as we 
 all call him for short) is quite right. Heavy English food would 
 very likely damage him quite as much as rice and water every day 
 would play old Harry with me." 
 
 " Whatever man has done, man may do " therefore, as 
 I have thrived on rice, my countrymen can do so too. 
 
 I left Jamrud and reached Sukkur and Rohri Bunder 
 vid Multan. I spent but a short time in both the towns, 
 which are separated by the Indus river. At the time of 
 my visit a railway ferry crossed and re-crossed every now 
 and then for the convenience of passeng-ers ; but the 
 sanction of the Government for building- a bridg-e, had 
 been obtained, and perhaps an useful structure now spans 
 
26 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 the Indus. From Sukkur a road runs to Sibi, where 
 Mr. Alfred Perkins, the late Instructor of the Civil Train- 
 ing- School, Bombay, has been transferred as a Telegraph 
 Master ; from the energy of his character, there is little 
 doubt that under his guidance, the condition of the 
 Telegraph Office has been considerably improved, but 
 the former, I regret is sinking into oblivion. Mr. Perkins, 
 with all his vivacity and invention, with all his multifarious 
 knowledge, with his fluent speech and clear diction, cart 
 make the institution emerge from the eclipse with fresh 
 splendour. 
 
 Sibi is in the valley of the Nari River which runs 
 throug-h the territory of the Khan of Khelat. It 
 commands the entrance of the Bolan Pass. At no great 
 distance is the Candahar State Railway where Bharu Mull, 
 who worked under me as a signaller when in connection 
 with the Indus Valley State Railway, has been employed 
 as a Station Master. Rolan Pass is but 120 miles from Sibi ; 
 it is flanked by two higii ranges of mountains and 
 culminates in the plain Dashti Bidalat or Destitute Plain, 
 The Pass is very narrow, sixty miles long- and has two 
 majestic hills about 8,500 feet hig-h tapering- to the clouds. 
 Politicians and soldiers interested in the defence of our 
 Indian Empire from aggression on the frontier should visit 
 this pass, and see how Nature has provided for its defence ; 
 those who do so will return with the conviction that it is 
 waste of money to reg-ard Afghanistan as essential to the 
 defence of India. Khandilani and Siribolan are very 
 narrow passes which a score of well-trained soldiers could 
 defend ag-ainst overwhelming- superiority of numbers. 
 This is my own opinion, and I am glad to say an American 
 soldier of distinction has confirmed it. There runs the 
 Bolan River, which like others of mountainous origin, is 
 rapid and frequently shifts its bed. In 1841 a detachment 
 of British Troops was washed away. The Beluchis in the 
 pass are professional robbers of relentless ferocity. I 
 reached Kurrachee via Sukkur and Rohri, and went to 
 the Telegraph Office, where I met two fellow signallers 
 named Delastic, an Englishman, and Dusuiza, a Portuguese, 
 who had worked with me in Bombay, for which place I 
 eventually started. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 2 7 
 
 Bombay has a fine harbour where scores of steamers 
 belonging- to various companies lay anchored. A strong- 
 stone wall protects the city from the encroachments 
 of the sea, the waves of which strike the stone steps of the 
 bathing- quay with much violence and make such a great 
 noise, as to suggest the idea that hundreds of crocodiles are 
 engaged in ojie simultaneous conflict. It is said that the 
 people even from the interior, go thither to take a sea-bath 
 earnestly believing that a singular fate attends those who 
 survive the effect of the immersion as sometimes they are 
 borne away by the waves, sometimes lacerated by the sharks 
 and devoured by crocodiles. The visitor to Bombay will 
 find in its market amongst other local manufactures, silk of 
 such gossamer delicacy, as is unknown even to the palace of 
 Versailles or in the ball of St. James. In the course of his 
 walk, he will see the muslins of Bengal, sabres of Oudh, 
 jewels of Golconda, shawls of Cashmere, and filigree gold 
 and silver work, ivory carvings, scarcely to be excelled in 
 the world. This city in ancient time was subject to a 
 Mahratta Chief. The Portuguese occupied it and granted 
 it as a marriage-dowry to the Queen Infanta of Portug-aL 
 Bombay is a most beautiful city, on one side is the sea 
 dotted with fleets laden with merchandize, on the other 
 hills covered with date palm groves, the majestic palms,, 
 the supple banana, the crackling bamboo and the venerable 
 mango and jack trees heavy with delicious fruits. On the 
 breast of the sea stands Cape Elephanta which attests the 
 antiquarian glory. Amidst such picturesque surroundings 
 stands the Government telegraph office. Outside the com- 
 pound is the nicely coloured terminal post, whence the 
 wires are all skilfully led to the veranda and then to the 
 battery room. There are about twenty-four wires which 
 are almost as busy as the single wires of the main office of 
 London. In the city there are four branch offices, the 
 business excepting Mombadevie where I was, was slack. 
 In the main office the signallers are of various creeds and 
 colour, such as the English, Eurasians, Portuguese, Goanies,. 
 Hindus and Parsees. The Bombay Civil Training Institution 
 furnished the best hands, but since the transference of Mr. 
 Perkins Otukmund has assumed the best position. 
 
28 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Marriage Rules and Social Rules The Sufferings of the Widow 
 Girl. 
 
 Whilst in Bombay, I received a note from a highly 
 educated man named Dr. Sridhur of Lahore, recommend- 
 ing- that before I left India for England, I should marry 
 conditionally that the expenses of my education would be 
 borne by the father of the bride and that if I signified my 
 acceptance of this proposal, which was, as he said perfectly 
 sound, the marriage could be legalized by a gentleman 
 named Dutta Mahashaya* then residing in his house. 
 
 An English, Scotch or American will laugh at such a 
 stipulation as he knows marriage is seldom undertaken in 
 his country until after a considerable period of mutual 
 acquaintance ; during which time the courting couple walk 
 together, visit each other in their houses, and address each 
 other in terms of affection. But the Indian marriage rule 
 is entirely different. In the west, there are no inequalities 
 of social position. Marriages can be celebrated as soon 
 as an attachment proves mutual. 
 
 Our social rules are entirely different from those of the 
 Western Countries. In India, no girl can be seen, as she 
 
 * Mahashaya means Sir. It is a title and is always placed after 
 the name. Babu means Esquire, and is always placed before the 
 name unlike Esquire which is placed after. Another peculiarity we 
 have that in India when we show our respect to a party, we put on 
 our caps, whereas in Western Countries, under similar circum- 
 .stances, the people take off their hats. We enter a room with shoes 
 off and caps on, and they enter with shoes on and hats off. Such is 
 tthe characteristic difference which still exists. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 29 
 
 is detained within the walls of her residence. The inside 
 is reserved for ladies and the outside for men. The meals 
 are cooked either by the ladies or by a professional cook 
 of priestly caste. Rice and fish are our chief food which 
 are distributee? by the cook twice a day. In the West the 
 parties distribute themselves. Their stewards are detailed 
 to bring food and place it on tables. We do not eat on 
 tables. No knife or fork is provided for the Indians. 
 They sit on a square carpet a yard long- and broad. The 
 cook serves rice on round brass plates. Dal or soup,, 
 vegetables and currie are also provided. As soon as we 
 finish our meals, we wash our hands, and as soon as the 
 ladies finish theirs, they go to a pond, sometimes situated in 
 a garden attached to the building and purify themselves by 
 complete immersion. They pass and repass by a private 
 passage. 
 
 Rice is called Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth) but when 
 cooked its sanctity disappears to such an extent that if it 
 be merely touched by a foreigner or by a lower class of 
 Hindu, for instance a shoemaker or a carpenter, a higher 
 caste will have great objection to use it, should he do so,, 
 he would be subject to excommunication. 
 
 My friends will think what a mysterious thing is caste 
 and will be curious to know something about it, but in a 
 small work like this, I cannot possibly advance and discuss 
 the subject in all its multifarious details ; but I have 
 classified them as follows : - 
 
 Old begotted Hindus who are very good Sanskrit 
 scholars and have gone through philosophy, logic and 
 other branches of studies, think that they are the best people 
 on the face of the earth. The association of others would 
 prove ruinous to the growth of their religious as well as 
 social and moral welfare. Secluded as they are, their 
 knowledge dies with them. 
 
 A man named Wilson believing India a great place 
 for money, desired to share in it by some honest means. 
 On his arrival in Calcutta, he became a proprietor 
 of a Hotel. His methodical arrangement soon won 
 for him a great reputation and invited a large number 
 of Indians, who despite their caste, freely partook of the 
 
3O A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 food provided by Wilson Now the question is whether 
 the men are justified in violating- the caste which 
 ihas been suffered to exist from time immemorial. Beef is 
 most abhorrent to the Hindu population ; is it wise on the 
 part of the fractional portion of such population to 
 use it to the greatest annoyance of the Hindus ? Sup- 
 posing- an Englishman inhabits a region where monkey- 
 meat is considered the food of highest flavour, having- 
 partaken of it, will he continue to do so even on his return 
 to his native country, I reply negatively. Personally, I can 
 only say, it would be a matter of great regret had I been 
 induced to partake of beef or other food repugnant to the 
 usages of my countrymen ; but my feeling in this matter 
 always protected me from such an offence. I am entitled to 
 call this class Wilson's Hindus. The other class is called 
 .quasi English ; as they are neither Indians nor English. 
 In dress and food they are English, in colour they are like 
 the Indians, and in education they are neither. 
 
 The evening meal also is served in the same way, the 
 men claiming- prior opportunity lo feed themselves and 
 leave the residue for the ladies. The migration of the 
 ladies having- been strictly confined from their house to 
 the tank and vice versa, no males can see them. Accordingly 
 a class named Ghatack is appointed to select suitable boys 
 and girls for marriage. His duty is the observation of 
 young- people to ascertain to what class they belong, whether 
 either of the parties is of noble family, mukha, or chief, 
 if so, then what number. The education of the bridegroom 
 is tested by the father of the bride. 
 
 It had never been my intention to marry and settle in 
 India, but I would have acceded in consideration that my 
 pecuniary difficulty would be removed, had not the same 
 social custom forced me to postpone the idea until I finished 
 my studies in the Western countries. 
 
 It is an all-pervading rule that on the death of the 
 husband the young- wife, no matter what her age, has to 
 subsist on one meal, consisting- of rice and vegetables, 
 daily. On special fast days, named Akadashi, she is not 
 allowed food at all, and in every month there are two such 
 unfortunate Akadashis, which, owing to the extreme youth 
 

 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 3 
 
 of many of the Indian widows, is severely trying" to im- 
 mature constitutions. I feared if I died whilst in the pursuit 
 of my studies in the Western countries, my wife would 
 submit herself to all the hardships of the social custom. It 
 seems not a little selfish that the men should thus reserve 
 feasting- days for themselves, allowing the fasting- ones to 
 devolve on the weaker sex. This is but the minutest 
 fractional part of the sadness of her life. 
 
 As soon as the death is announced to the family the 
 members weep bitterly and loudly, when, according to the 
 customary law, some lady, who must be a member of the 
 bereaved family, as none of other family should interfere 
 with her as she has been subject to what Roman law calls 
 wapitis diminutio on account of the death, takes the left 
 hand of the girl and knocks off the ornament called Louha 
 which is made of gold or silver and which is the sure 
 prognostic of the existence of the husband, she subse- 
 quently removes the vermillion from the forehead of the 
 girl. The absence of these two signs indicates the death 
 of her husband. Forthwith the rest of her ornaments are 
 taken off. At length her nice linen cloth, called Sari worn 
 by married girls is removed and a coarse linen is substituted. 
 
 This, is but the commencement of the indignities to which 
 her bereavements subject her. She is now universally 
 hated as Randi, or husbandless girl. She is no longer 
 permitted the companionship of girls of similar age. They 
 believe, if they kept company with this unfortunate one, 
 they might share her fate. Ao (the girls with husbands) 
 will not condescend even to speak to her. She can only 
 relieve her monotony by the company of widows like her- 
 self, but according to the Hindu proverb, Bedar barra 
 bamanar chuta (the youngest member of the highest caste 
 and the eldest member of the lowest are destined to serve), 
 this girl is constrained to work hard to satisfy the elder 
 widows and the slightest disobedience is reported to the 
 domineering mother-in-law. 
 
 It is maintained there are three classes of men and 
 women Deb (godly) Rakshashas (cannibal) and Nara 
 (men). A deb girl can be united in marriage to either of 
 these classes, but if the cannibal girl is united to a Nara 
 
32 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 boy and if he meets his fate, which is quite possible, the 
 death is attributed to the result of the unfortunate union. 
 Such is the type of many of the superstitions which prevail 
 in our community. But God, our Almighty Father, is the 
 arbiter of our destinies. None can interfere with His 
 decree. 
 
 The mother-in-law on a report subjects her to such 
 severe ill-treatment, that the very name Shashoory 
 (mother-in-law), inspires in her the greatest terror. 
 Instances are not rare in which the mistress has employed 
 her cane, in severe chastisement on this unfortunate girl. 
 The young widow is precluded by social law from going 
 out and speaking to anybody of the opposite sex. 
 
 Although debarred from any sympathy, she works much 
 harder than even a maid-servant would be willing to do. 
 Under such dismal surroundings, she avails herself of every 
 leisure moment and withdraws to a lonely room, to relieve 
 herself by weeping, but at every footstep, she hurriedly 
 wipes away her tears and resumes the domestic work 
 assigned to her, as she dreads the approach of her 
 mother-in-law who is sure to punish her for exhibition of 
 useless sorrow (as she calls it) and negligence to her work. 
 
 However, thank God, that her mental distress is not 
 without remedy. She can expect considerable solace and 
 sympathy from her parents, provided they are wealthy. 
 Since they occasionally relieve the monotony of her life, 
 by inviting her to their house by means of an Indian palan- 
 keen carried by four robust coolies. It is covered up on 
 all sides. It has two handles which are placed on the 
 shoulders of the bearers. 
 
 On the arrival at her parents' house, she represents all 
 the malpractices to which she had been subject in her 
 mother-in-law's house. Indeed no maid-servant is con- 
 strained to perform half as much work nor does she bear 
 half as much chastisement ; because she knows, that she is 
 a working woman and that wherever she works, her rice 
 and salt will be provided. 
 
 The cruelties perpetrated during antique period by the 
 task masters towards the Israelites of Egypt, that which was 
 practiced by the Patricians towards the Plebeians, during 
 
v A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 3$ 
 
 the glorious days of the Roman Empire, that \\hich was 
 practiced by the Americans, towards their African slaves 
 before they were emancipated in 1861-1864, were merciful 
 and humane in comparison with the cruelty to which the 
 unfortunate widow girls are exposed, not for a day or so,, 
 not for months, but as long as their lives last. It is 
 owing to this reason and some other reasons that I condemn 
 early marriage. 
 
 In the iQth century when civilization is far advanced, the 
 task masters do not exist to tyrannize over the unfortunate 
 descendants of Jacob ; long before the fall of the Roman 
 Empire, the race-distinction in Rome was so far super- 
 seded as to enable the masters and slaves to meet on a 
 common platform, and to discuss all social and political 
 questions and bind themselves by an indissoluble fraternal 
 tie. Abraham Lincoln, the great Champion of Christian 
 Faith, honestly believing the existence of slavery would be 
 injurious to the prosperity and the growth of the American 
 nation, sealed the manumission by his noble blood. 
 
 In the West, social and domestic cruelty is exposed to 
 public criticism both by the press and on the platform. 
 But in India such a thing is impossible, the ladies being 
 secluded, their domineering influence is confined to their 
 hearth which is never resorted to by any male. 
 
 One day in July 1889, whilst working in the main office 
 Western Union Company Syracuse I went to seek a 
 comfortable boarding house, accompanied by the Assistant 
 Secretary of the Young Men's Association. He knocked 
 at the door of a house situated in his neighbourhood. 
 A young lady opened it and being informed about our 
 mission, admitted us. The landlady being absent, she 
 herself assigned to me one of the most comfort^ jle 
 rooms. My residence in the house, apprised me that the 
 condition of the girl was far from enviable ; as her 
 husband in the heat of liquor, I understood, exposed the 
 innocent one, to most cruel indignities. I further learned 
 that he was out of employment for some time and the 
 wife had to work in an office the whole day long, with a 
 view to support her husband and her baby. On returning 
 home at night, she had to cook for her husband and for the 
 
34 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 baby. The former under pretence of illness never applied 
 to anybody for work but was entirely dependent on the 
 income of his wife. At morning- she arose, prepared 
 breakfast, for the two (as she herself took her meals in her 
 office) and went to her business. The man arose and took 
 his breakfast and went to bed again. He arose for the 
 second time in an advanced hour of the day and placed 
 the baby on a perambulator and went out for a walk. 
 At night they met in the house and the husband began to 
 chastise and ill-use his wife. This happened almost every 
 day. Once I left the office at a late hour of night and 
 reached home only three hundred yards distant. I was 
 received by the lady with her usual vivacity and courtesy, 
 but thete ars trickling down her cheeks, too plainly revealed, 
 the malpractices to which she had been subjected by her 
 husband. With a view to draw him from the company of his 
 wife, I told him " an electric light had just been set up in the 
 neighbourhood and that it was producing such dazzling 
 effect as to deserve special attention." As soon as we were 
 on the high road, I interceded on behalf of the wife, 
 requesting him to desist from any vicious practice and to 
 try to arrive at an amicable settlement, representing how 
 she had satisfied him by the faithful and assiduous discharge 
 of domestic duties, and with what regards she had re- 
 plenished him with money. Her faithful service and 
 devotion should bind him by a tie of gratitude, in 
 remembrance of which he should always respect and 
 appreciate her quality, and that in case Providence dooms 
 her to a sudden death his repentance for the loss of such a 
 wife would be very great. 
 
 I was extremely glad to learn that my words were 
 not without effect as since then, their disagreement sank 
 into oblivion and the man gradually became more 
 amiable to his wife. 
 
 Now in this case the difficulty in restoring harmony 
 to this couple, was lessened by the representation of a 
 few adequate words which would have been quite im- 
 possible in similar case in India; as I have already 
 related that the Indian ladies could not be seen and 
 none knows what happens in the high walls of female 
 department. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 35 
 
 There is no prescribed time for marriage. The 
 parents think it is - their duty to effect it as early as 
 possible, and when the matrimonial tie has been con- 
 summated, they think they have done remarkably well, 
 without giving" any attention whatever to the future 
 happiness of the parties. The outcome of their work 
 has the following disastrous effect. We have at present 
 24,000 widowers and 78,000 widows between six and nine 
 years of age; 75,ooo widowers and 207,000 widows 
 between ten and fourteen years of age, 131,000 widowers 
 382,000 widows between sixteen and nineteen years of 
 -age. Almost all the widows are subject to the same 
 ill-usage as has been already described. I am indebted 
 to my statistics in this matter to Surgeon-General 
 Balfour. 
 
 To such a monstrous evil, no other remedy could be 
 conveniently applied, than the stoppage of early marriage. 
 We feel greatly indebted to Pundit Ishwar Chunder 
 Bidbasagor, for his most valuable work. " Widow 
 Marriage." The amplitude and fertility of his intellect, 
 his great literary talent for controversy and social and 
 administrative faculty, combined with his undaunted moral 
 courage and fervent zeal for the welfare and prosperity 
 of India, entitle him to our best praise. 
 
 Legislative measures which would restrict marriage to 
 the minimum age of twenty for men and fourteen for girls 
 would, in my opinion, remove this terrible state, of affairs, 
 though undoubtedly my idea would encounter considerable 
 opposition from bigotted Hindus. 
 
 A boy can marry as often as he likes. He can marry 
 one ; on her death, he can marry a second ; and on her 
 death a third and so on, but if he likes he can marry a 
 number of them successively though all may be alive ; but 
 widow marriage is very rare. I am acquainted with a 
 gentleman in Patna, who has forty-nine wives. He has no 
 house ; nor does he do any work but he has a note-book 
 wherein he has carefully written the names and addresthe 
 of all his wives and those of their parents, to whom ses 
 gentleman is an object of great love and respect. When 
 lie visits them, he is most cordially received and hospitably 
 
 D 2 
 
36 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 entertained. Unfortunately his stay in each house could 
 be but of limited duration as there are 52 weeks in a year, 
 for the performance of his 49 visits. The death of such 
 a polygamist, which makes all his wives widows, is most 
 bitterly regretted. Hence the number of widows greatly 
 exceeds that of widowers. 
 
 A lower-class girl, comparatively speaking, enjoys more 
 liberty than the higher one, as the former can go wherever 
 she pleases. If widowed, she is entitled to re-marry. In 
 the absence of such re-marriage she is not restricted to 
 one meal a day. She need not observe the rules of fasting. 
 If disinclined to work, she can retire into a garden and 
 enjoy the fruits of the trees which nature has so plentifully 
 lavished on this favoured land, as are unknown to any other 
 part of the globe. 
 
 There are two classes of marriage, Gharjamya and 
 ordinary. The former is prevalent among wealthy people 
 who give their daughter in marriage to such a bridegroom 
 who is a boy of plain good sense, having no desire to be 
 a university man, an author or a debater, but if he can 
 read and write he is amply satisfied. His father is the 
 mukha or the chief, who holds the thread of caste, and is 
 universally respected. No matter whether he has any 
 money or not, the princes and landlords are very glad 
 to receive him most cordially and always gratefully 
 remunerate him if he visits them in their houses on a day 
 of marriage or some other festivity. He is the pater- 
 familias of his house all his sons and daughters and wives 
 (always more than one), and grandchildren, maid-servants, 
 and men servants are under \\ispotestas. According to Roman 
 law his death, makes all his children sui juris, but according 
 to Hindu law his persona descends to his eldest son, or, 
 in other words, the status of a British lord descends to his 
 eldest son, who has the same rights, duties and corres- 
 ponding position as his father had. The younger sons 
 are called lords out of courtesy. Similarly according to 
 Hindu social law, the persona descends to the eldest, 
 provided he is not subject to any capilis deminutio, by doing 
 something contrary to Hindu law, then he assumes his 
 father's caput and all the rest of the members of his 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 37 
 
 family are to the eye of Hindu law as much filius 
 jamilias - under the care of the new man as they were 
 during- the time of his father. But all are invested with the 
 dignities janma-muMi (born chief), or be.ra-mukhi (increased 
 chief). Thus to a certain extent the family resembles the 
 Roman and to a certain extent, it resembles the British 
 lord's family. The younger brothers can represent their 
 -eldest brother in some public meeting's and will be received 
 as cordially and will be as much remunerated as their 
 elder brother. 
 
 According- to Roman law, the death of the paterfamilias 
 makes his children sui juris at once, but according- to Indian 
 law it is entirely different. As soon as the eldest boy 
 arrives at the age of twelve, his father proposes that he 
 should be married to a daug-hter of a mukha (chief). She 
 must be the eldest daug-hter of her father. If her number 
 is twenty-six (which number now-a-days has become 
 obsolete) the boy must be the same, otherwise there is no 
 marriage. If the age of the girl be one year, nay six months 
 or one month, lame or blind, that does not invalidate the 
 marriage. If she be very ugly still the marriage could be 
 completed. But the price of the girl is most exorbitant. 
 Despite all the defects, the father of the bridegroom will 
 receive the girl, with great joy provided he can meet the 
 charge. The father of the girl most probably being the 
 man of the highest caste does not do any work but lives on 
 the income of the sale of his daughter, so he expects an 
 enormous sum of money for this girl ; the other party 
 is quite unable to pay the price, which sometimes amounts 
 to 400 to 500 including ornaments. People who are 
 not conversant with our custom will disbelieve my 
 statement, saying it is improbable ; but they do not know 
 that the main object of the marriage is to secure the head 
 of the family from loss of caste. At the present moment 
 there are men who are quite willing to pay more than the 
 above sum, provided they get a girl number twenty-six 
 which cannot be had. 
 
 To say briefly, as soon as the marriage is complete, the 
 position of the father of the boy is most conspicuous. Then 
 the boy is again united to the daughter of a prince, whose 
 
,$S A SOJOURN IN INDIA, 
 
 caste is not very high but whose wealth is great. The boy 
 gets a palace with servant, garden, carriage and horse. 
 Instances of this are not rare. The prince is willing to give 
 his daughter to this boy because soon after the death of 
 his father he will be the chief and his son will be invested 
 with the double title, the prince on one side and the chief on 
 the other. The glory of the father is not ended here if 
 he has some more sons as it is now unnecessary to pay 
 any money, his caste being well secured, he will get at 
 least 150 in cash and ornaments and other things; 
 and if he has a daughter then his position is still higher, as 
 he will get for her the same amount as he has himself 
 paid. But the price of the second daughter is not much as 
 she cannot secure the title chief on behalf of her husband 
 she can make him only Kanistha or assistant chief. The 
 only son of a chief is forced to marry a number of girls 
 as his first marriage reduces him to poverty, and he 
 wants to ameliorate his condition by wealthy marriages. 
 The first marriage which is very dearly effected is called 
 ordinary and the second is %harjamaya in which the son 
 enjoys the rich dos which under no circumstances could be 
 alienated by the husband and is reserved for the wife, who 
 being under the pptestas of the members of her family 
 cannot interfere with the state consequently she simply 
 enjoys the usufructus. Her son when he arrives at maturity 
 can do what he pleases with the property. 
 
 Another object which forces early marriage is religion. 
 The enjoyment of dowry and other things are rather the 
 accessory motives of marriage. Punnama Narakat tryata 
 ja sha putra. (That person is the son who saves his father 
 from falling into hell). The son attends the funeral 
 ceremony which is different from that of other parts of 
 the globe. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 39, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Ghost storyThe funeral The abolition of the Suttee My 
 participation in a funeral. 
 
 When the owner of a house is dangerously ill, he is 
 attended and served in the same way as the people of 
 other parts of the globe under similar circumstances. On 
 the approach of his dissolution, he is removed to the 
 sacred banks of the Ganges, where death has a most 
 significant effect, as the deceased is thereby trans- 
 ferred to heaven but if he suffers to die in the house, he 
 becomes a ghost and hovers about the neighbourhood. 
 
 It is a proof of the strong belief in supernatural re- 
 appearance that when an Indian dies, the people are 
 more afraid of the corpse, than of tigers and leopards. 
 Ladies and children leave the locality and the persons, 
 who are to handle the dead body sometimes are equally 
 feared. They are not allowed to return to their residence 
 without an ablution in the sacred river, in the absence of 
 that particular river the Ganges any other would be 
 preferable. It is a source of trouble on the part of that 
 individual whose relative or parents are dead. The difficulty 
 arises from the fact that he is constrained to perform most 
 of the works almost single-handed. Specially so if his 
 means are limited. Very few will be disposed to furnish 
 him any useful aid. So the greatest difficulty of a Hindu 
 is that which arises from the death of a relative. Occa- 
 sionally it has been observed that dead bodies have been 
 carried away through villages almost desolate. 
 
 In a village named Valuka there is a tank named Baman. 
 
4O A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 Khali. It is affirmed that on one occasion a priest, being- 
 very thirsty, descended into it to drink water. He was 
 caught by a ghost who killed him, hence it obtained the 
 name " Baman Khali.'' It has now been appropriated for 
 burning- dead bodies only. Above the tank there is a fine 
 building- situated in a fine orchard, where an Englishman 
 resided. It is rumoured that one night a g-hostly visitant 
 entered his room and disturbed him whilst sleeping-. He 
 arose, loaded his g-un and fired, upon which the intruder 
 laughed and vanished into the air. He subsequently retired 
 to a factory five miles distant until his return to England. 
 
 Another story runs thus : On a stormy and rainy night, 
 some people from a fair which happens once a week in the 
 aforesaid village, took shelter in the building to pass that 
 night only as they could not get a shelter anywhere else, 
 the number of the houseless people being more numerous 
 than the villagers could accommodate. A tremendous 
 voice frightened them almost to death and they had to 
 leave their temporary residence in spite of the rain and 
 thunder-storm. Some students having talked about this, 
 provoked one of their bold comrades, who never believed 
 in the existence of ghosts. The student who related this 
 story promised to pay five rupees to any individual who 
 could go to a shashan,* and hammer a peg down as an 
 indication that the party had fulfilled his mission. There- 
 upon the man hesitatingly undertook the task of hammer- 
 ing it in a prescribed shashan. The youth with trembling 
 steps reached the spot and accomplished the object. 
 Fearing the approach of a ghost, he attempted to run 
 away but he could not succeed as some one appeared to 
 be pulling him from behind ; he had heard people say 
 that a ghost pulls a person by his dress, and that he sub- 
 sequently kills the man. Having been subject to such 
 terror he soon expired. The explanation of this tragic 
 death could be given thus : The natives of Bengal wear 
 a thin white linen about five yards long one yard broad 
 hanging from the waist to their feet. The youth had 
 heedlessly hammered the peg through his linen and thus 
 
 * A place where dead bodies are burnt. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 4! 
 
 shackled himself to the spot. When attempting- to run away 
 the pull of his pinned linen (to the ground) was attributed to 
 that of the ghost and thus he died of mere terror. 
 
 I remember during my boyhood, I visited this tank, I 
 swam in it and picked the nice water lilies. I climbed the 
 pear tree and the dwarf orange tree situated in the orchard, 
 without provoking the reputed ghostly residents. 
 
 The moribund is removed to a lonely cottage, situated on 
 the bank of the Ganges. The bearers belong to the same 
 caste with the patient as the priests would not condescend 
 to carry him nor would he submit to the idea of being- 
 carried by inferior class of people. In that desolate place 
 they are forced to spend many a sleepless night with the 
 dying. They cook their own meals and sleep on the bare 
 ground. When rain falls no matter with what violence, 
 they are forced to expose themselves to it, as they cannot 
 leave the patient unprotected. Sometimes he lives long and 
 becomes troublesome, and sometimes he is restored to 
 health and returns home, but generally he perishes. 
 
 Soon after his death he is placed on a pile of wood to 
 which fire is set. Formerly it was the universal practice 
 that the widow of the deceased volunteered to be burnt, 
 with the corpse as a heroic Suttee. Prince Ram Mohun 
 Rai visited Lord William Bentinck, the then Governor- 
 General, and strongly represented the opinion of the 
 enlightened Hindus, that such a horrible practice should 
 be suppressed. Although the British Government had 
 solemnly averred, that they would never interfere with the 
 religious and social customs of the Indian people, Lord 
 Bentinck abolished the Suttee, in spite of the opposition of 
 the priests and other Hindus. Nor are we legitimately 
 entitled to blame the Government for abrogating the cruel 
 practice, as the rulers would respect only those customs 
 which do not encroach upon the claims of humanity, 
 personal freedom and the rights of property. 
 
 Another chivalrous Bentinck is necessary to stop the 
 the system of early marriage, so that girls under ten years 
 of age may not be subject to the cruelty perpetuated by 
 the mother-in-law. The noble Lord has ameliorated the 
 evil but to his successors is left the duty of abolishing the 
 entire malpractice. 
 
42 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 Resuming the description of the disposal of the dead I 
 beg to say, the corpse vhen reduced to ashes, the 
 cinerary remains are washed away in the sacred water 
 of the Ganges and the men plunge and purify themselves. 
 
 During my boyhood at Valuka, I undertook the office of 
 carrying the corpse of a lady, belonging to the same caste as 
 myself. Four of us succeeded in conveying it to the 
 desolate part of the sacred river, but the total absence of 
 wocd in that locality precluded the possibility of our 
 burning it, so we picked up an earthen vessel and filled it 
 with the river sand and attached it to the corpse as a 
 weight and plunged it into the deep water. In the Western 
 Countries there are a select number of people who are- 
 denominated " undertakers," whose business is to undertake 
 the responsibility of giving to the corpse an honourable 
 burial. In India there is a class of people called Mudda 
 Faras the member of which wears a dirty linen, a 
 yard long and six inches broad round his waist ; the rest 
 of his body is as naked as he was when his mother brought 
 him on earth. He is never afraid of a ghost as he 
 himself, I believe, is one of the members of this class, at 
 least his long hair and beard, his black complexion generate 
 equal fear. He could be hired only in cities and towns. 
 No higher class person condescends to accept this office, 
 although we have on our record that similar service had 
 been performed by King Harish Chunder, when reduced 
 to poverty. His wife in disguise entered the service of a 
 gentleman, with her only boy six years old. After three 
 years the boy died, and the corpse remained in the house 
 for several hours, contrary to Hindu law. None assisted 
 the queen to remove the corpse. At length at I a.m. 
 when all asleep she herself quietly conveyed it to the place 
 where the king was an undertaker. The husband and the 
 wife could not recognise each other, but the former refused 
 funeral at that unreasonable hour. whereupon being greatly 
 disappointed, she fell flat and wept bitterly saying " The 
 fate has its way." Ill fated as she was, the all-surveying 
 Providence has pulled her down from a dizzy height. 
 Then the king recognised his wife and they sympathized 
 with each other in their mutual misfortunes. They were 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 4 
 
 subsequently restored. The Bible tells us " Do not hate 
 any condition lest it happen to be thy own." 
 
 Prior to our return home, we had another function to 
 perform, as immersion in the sacred river, after participation 
 in such duties is enforced by our religious customs. But 
 the difficulty to achieve this object was almost insur- 
 mountable. The bank was steep and a crocodile was 
 floating- on the surface of the water, consequently it was 
 hazardous to risk a bathing. It is said as soon as the 
 animal sees a victim, it sinks out of sight. In an instant it 
 re-appears exactly on the same spot, catches the victim 
 and carries it off before any aid can avail. The only 
 remedy a man can employ under such dismal circumstances 
 is to sit down on the neck of the animal and thrust 
 simultaneously both his forefingers into its eyes, which are 
 said to be most vulnerable. Then it rushes towards the 
 bank and upon ridding itself of its rider, plunges again into 
 the water. As soon as the man, who has undergone such 
 a perilous ride, is thrown on dry land, the herdsmen, who 
 work in the fields, promptly run to his assistance and remove 
 him from the path of further danger. I have got this 
 information from two different persons who were them- 
 selves caught and narrowly escaped death by the same 
 means as described. During June and July when the 
 rivers overflow their banks, a milkmaid* was crossing a road 
 where there were about two feet deep Ganges water. She 
 was carried off. The whole of her body was lacerated ; 
 she saved herself by the presence of mind. A student in 
 Calcutta related that he went to drink water into the 
 shallow part of a riverf he was caught and saved himself 
 by the same process. 
 
 Under such circumstances, thinking it would be mere 
 waste of time to deliberate, I jumped into the water and 
 
 * A milkmaid is a lower class girl, so she is permitted to walk 
 in any thoroughfare. 
 
 f We drink river-water whereas it is very seldom employed in 
 Europe and in America. When we are thirsty we drink water 
 in which drink India still has ascendency over the Western Countries, 
 but I fear she will not retain it long.as all her principal towns Calcutta,. 
 Bombay and Madras have been crowded with drunkards. 
 
44 A SOJOURN IN INDIA* 
 
 plunged my body twice (only one plunge is necessary on 
 the death of a relative) and returned to the bank. My 
 example was followed by one of my comrades but the 
 two remaining returned home after an immersion in a tank, 
 and were regarded as very irreligious. 
 
 From the moment of the death, all the religious rites of the 
 family are suspended for eleven days, if the party is of priestly 
 caste ; otherwise for a month. The man who washes 
 clothes will decline theirs. The barber will decline to 
 shave them. The men should walk barefooted and bare- 
 headed through the streets. A woman never uses shoes 
 but always stays in barefooted. She might be the 
 richest person in the world still she submissively conforms 
 to the social rule of walking in-door barefooted. They 
 restrict themselves to one meal a day. After the prescribed 
 time a propitious day arrives, when the barber about i p.m., 
 shaves them because he shaves others first and this family 
 last, and when purified by an immersion his offence of shaving 
 the bereaved family is forgiven. 
 
 When shaving followed by an immersion is over, a great 
 customary banquet is held, with occasionally a gigantic 
 proportion of magnificence which necessitates the most 
 lavish outlay ; and it is affirmed that the one given by Prince 
 Nobokissen, on the death of his mother, cost him 6,000,000 
 sterling. The people generally spend money in propor- 
 tion to their means and those who do so are ultimately re- 
 instated. 
 
 The children worship family idols and give funeral cakes 
 to the deceased, but in the entire absence of children, the 
 father is supposed to go to hell, so the marriage is based 
 on this superstition. Another motive which induces parents 
 to encourage early marriage is to enable their children to 
 lead virtuous lives. Immorality is visited with severe 
 punishment and frequently both the wrong-doer and the 
 wronged are excommunicated from society. Such ostracised 
 persons are never re-admitted into the family. Their 
 relatives close their doors against them. Food, nay even a 
 glass of water is denied to them. Virtually we lose more 
 by early marriage than we gain ; I have observed instances 
 in which a married youth has led an immoral life whereas 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 45- 
 
 an unmarried one has led a most virtuous life ; as the 
 latter most probably being- attached to some favourite 
 branch of studies, pays very little attention to any criminal 
 objects. 
 
46 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Indian priests The Hindu religion The description of King 
 Vicramaditta My difficulty from leopards The description 
 of Nrishinga The description of Hiranna Kashupa. 
 
 An Indian priest is generally a proficient Sanskrit 
 scholar. His text is the original Sanskrit work written on 
 palm leaves. He carries it wherever he goes and reads 
 out a passage, not to the audience but to the domestic gods 
 for worshipping whom he travels from one house to 
 another. According to the Western custom, the parson 
 goes to his church and reads a passage out of the Bible to 
 the audience and delivers an address upon the application 
 of the passage which he selects as the text. Thus the 
 ways in which the priests of two different religions impart 
 their religious truths to the disciples are so widely diverging 
 -as never to agree. The priests of Nuddea, a place 
 which stands almost on the same platform with Benares, 
 are very highly educated people. The noteworthy priest 
 or pundit (learned man) has a religious institution or tole, 
 where he admits a number of poor students and imparts 
 education free of charge. He also feeds them and 
 defrays the expense out of his own pocket, in recompense 
 of which the student volunteers to pay a certain fee called 
 Dakshina, at the completion of his studies. But he 
 exempts an indigent student from the payment of Dakshina. 
 The pundit is indeed so profound a scholar that I was 
 forced to say to Dr. Peck, Professor of the Columbia 
 College, New York, "the best Sanskrit authority of Europe 
 and America \\i\\ prove unequal to him." Once, one of his 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 47 
 
 favourite (indigent) students, on completing* his studies, 
 applied to the pundit who is called guru or teacher to 
 accept some Dakshina. It is maintained in the absence of 
 some payment to the guru, the education of a man (the 
 women are not allowed to study) is very seldom complete. 
 On refusal he persisted and thereby provoked the teacher 
 who imposed such an enormous charge upon the distressed 
 student that he could not pay. The legend tells us he 
 prostrated before the image of Siva (Supreme Deity) who 
 recommended him to Kuvera, the god of wealth, who 
 replenished the student with such an inexhaustible supply 
 of money, as to exceed the amount, the guru demanded. 
 Whatever be the case the noble institution which the latter 
 keeps, deserves the highest encomium of all philanthropists. 
 
 Nuddea is a great religious seat having the shrines of 
 all gods and goddesses. Durga, Roma and Kali have 
 been most prominently represented. On a great festive day 
 called Potpurnima large images from twenty to thirty feet 
 high are made of straw and worshipped. I visited this 
 place once and was very kindly entertained. The 
 hospitality in this city is proverbial. Wherever a person 
 goes, he is received kindly and amply supplied with prasad 
 {the remnant of the meal eaten by God). The guest is 
 assured of a comfortable resting place to sleep at night. 
 Anything in the shape of payment or gratuity is declined. 
 The object, of extending this open-handed hospitality to 
 the people without being- informed anything about their 
 antecedents, is that they are the children of God and to 
 satisfy the requirements of the children would be to pro- 
 pitiate the All-Father Who will reward the host in the next 
 generation,* with higher status than he enjoys in this. 
 
 It is said that Prince Vicramaditta inquired of his chief 
 pundit Kalidasa " who was he in the past and what made 
 him King of the Universe in the present generation." 
 Believing he would not be able to solve the difficult problem, 
 he returned home and quietly went to bed, instructing his 
 
 * It is maintained that we are re-born on the earth soon after we 
 die. Whosoever has rendered good office will have a noble birth 
 and whosoever has done contrary will have an ignoble one after his 
 death. 
 
48 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 servants under no circumstances should he be disturbed. 
 But his only little daughter seeing- her father had lost his 
 wonted vivacity, knocked at his door and asked him to take 
 his usual meal, and that she would endeavour to relieve him 
 of his trouble. The father pleased with the encouraging- 
 words took his customary meal and went to the court. 
 Now he was the head pundit ; a man of recognised merit 
 and a great scholar so his reputation would have been 
 greatly depreciated had he not succeeded in giving a satis- 
 factory reply. Whatever the educated father failed to da 
 was accomplished by the able daughter. 
 
 It is commonly believed that after the death of a man r 
 he is summoned before the Great Magistrate (God) and is 
 tried. The dead is then re-born in mundane families 
 good or bad according to the merits and demerits of his 
 previous life. If a man has been philanthropic and has 
 improved the value of his life by the establishment of 
 institutions to impart education to destitute children, if he 
 has succored the distressed by giving food to the starved, 
 clothes to the ragged, and worshipped gods and god- 
 desses, then, on his death, he attends the court of the 
 Deity who instructs him to take his birth in the highest 
 caste who are happy, wealthy and comfortable. As 
 soon as he is re-born, he forgets all about his past 
 generation and performs the work of this present one. If 
 he does the same glorious actions with which he signalized 
 his past, he is blessed with even better reward ; but if he 
 be guilty of a crime, he renews his birth under circum- 
 stances of degradation proportionate to his vices. This 
 belief induces even a bad and reckless man to think about 
 futurity remembering on the judgment day, he will suffer 
 or reap the fruit of his iniquity by the circumstances of his 
 subsequent existence. Nor is it known whether on his 
 return to the earth, his birth will be confined to the human 
 family or to the most degraded of the animal species. I 
 have heard people say in the present generation they 
 suffer from the consequence of their past existence, in case 
 they are negligent to fulfil their duties in this, they will 
 suffer more in the next. So they show hospitality and 
 other virtues gladly and willingly. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 49 
 
 We learn from the girl that King- Vicramaditta was a 
 poor man having- a wife, who had borne him five boys 
 and a girl. His name was Shantanu who subsisted 
 entirely by his manual labor. His exertions barely 
 sufficed to support such a larg-e family. So he was 
 forced to live only on one meal a day. Once a 
 hungry Brahmin visited him and implored relief. The 
 owner had neither money nor food to satisfy the necessity 
 of the stranger. But the hospitable entertainment of 
 the guest whom God sends is a sacred office, the per- 
 formance of which could never be refused by such a 
 pious man as Shantanu. Accordingly he invited him to 
 dinner which was ready and was divided into eight parts,, 
 two for the husband and wife and the rest for the 
 children. The customary rule in India is that the guest is 
 fed first. So Shantanu gave him his part which did not 
 appease his hunger, then at the request of her husband, 
 the wife giadly gave hers, but the traveller wanted more. 
 The children successively g-ave theirs with every mark 
 of anger and contempt, with an unkind remark that 
 " whilst the beggar father could not support his own 
 family and children, he invited a stranger." The man 
 consumed all and departed. This was related in the full 
 court of the King, who himself listened with great 
 attention and in credulity. He wanted some proofs for 
 the substantiation of this statement. But he was asked 
 to desist as it is the universal belief among the Hindus, 
 that a person meets his fate, as soon as he becomes 
 cognisant of the circumstances of his previous existence. 
 The King persisted. So Kalidasa communicated his 
 dilemma to his little daughter, who forthwith repaired to 
 the palace in a palankeen. A screen divided the pasture 
 allotted to the gentlemen, from that where the girl was 
 surrounded by the ladies of the King's household. She 
 ordered for the five oxen of a grocer, and a cow of a 
 sweeper. On their arrival the girl said they were his 
 children, upon which some of them dropped dead. They 
 were thus degraded in this generation because in the 
 preceding one, when their father asked for their shares 
 of food, they gave grudgingly and with contemptuous 
 
SO A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 remarks. The King- further sought to be informed of 
 the condition of his wife, whereupon he was requested to 
 desist and not to risk greater harm and misfortune. 
 But the King- was inexorable, so the girl returned to her 
 mother who was anxiously awaiting- some cordial news of 
 the proceedings at the court. The daug-hter, with a 
 heavy heart, represented it was the will of Heaven that 
 she should die and that her duty consisted in trustful 
 resignation and submission to God's will. Having taken 
 an affectionate farewell of her mother and the rest of 
 the family, she returned to the court and informed the 
 King- that she herself was the wife and immediately died, 
 to the greatest regret of the vast concourse of people. 
 Having learned that to the virtuous action of his previous 
 existence, he was indebted for the kingdom over which he 
 then ruled, he displayed even greater philanthropy, 
 justice and generosity than before. He continued to 
 lead a most simple life. The furniture of his sitting- 
 room consisted of a mat and an earthen vessel of cold 
 water. His reputation was universal. His court was 
 visited by the literati and men of genius from afar. 
 Kalidasa the Indian Shakespeare, and Bhababhuti the 
 Indian Milton were his trustworthy courtiers. 
 
 The priests of Bengal appreciative of the blessings 
 which God has bountifully showered upon them, seek 
 by the practice of virtue and hospitality to deserve in 
 the next generation still greater favor at His hand. 
 They seldom refuse shelter or refreshment; but as the 
 guests are admitted without any previous knowledge of 
 them, their hospitality is open to abuse from the un- 
 grateful and dishonest. 
 
 When about twelve years of age, I attended a school 
 at Kishnaghur, but spent the holidays generally at my 
 residence Valuka, about six miles distant from the place of 
 my studies. During the winter months I went home on 
 Saturday, spent the night and Sunday. On Monday 
 morning I attended the school at 10 a.m. This arrange- 
 ment was impracticable during summer, for the heat being 
 very great, the school commenced at 6 a.m. and closed 
 at 10 a.m. So in the warm season I went home on 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 5 I 
 
 Saturday evening-, but unless I left on Sunday and spent the 
 night at Kishnaghur (in the house either of Babus Banku 
 Behary Khan or Ram Chunder Mukherjee, who very 
 graciously sheltered me beneath their hospitable roofs), 
 I could not possibly attend the school at morning-. 
 
 One evening- when I had lingered at Valuka until after 
 sunset, I started on this journey, walking- fast and running 
 at intervals, for the weather was cloudy and stormy when 
 in the semi- darkness the warning-cry " fao," of a fox* which 
 has so often proved serviceable to the belated traveller, 
 announced that a leopard was lurking in the neighbourhood. 
 Unfortunately I had nothing with me useful as a defensive 
 weapon save an umbrella, and although I was aware that 
 there was a small village in the vicinity, the darkness of 
 the night obscured the track. I did not lose the presence 
 of mind, remembering a well-known and often-quoted 
 Sanskrit passage, which says " Don't be afraid, when the 
 object of apprehension is at hand, but take every pre- 
 caution to remedy it." I hastened towards the village with 
 redoubled exertion, and reached the house belonging to a 
 man of priestly caste, who very kindly entertained me, with 
 board and lodge free of charge. The next morning I 
 expressed my gratitude, and went to the school. I was 
 often almost in the grasp of the ferocious animal, but the 
 merciful Providence protected me from harm. 
 
 Once I was travelling by a bullock train from Kishnaghur 
 to Valuka, when the conveyance arrived at the village 
 which is situated between the two, some women warned 
 the drivers of two conveyances, to be careful, as they had 
 seen some ferocious animal, but as they did not mention 
 its name, the drivers took very little notice. Hardly had 
 we gone three hundred yards further, a leopard was found 
 lying beneath a thicket facing us. The driver of the first 
 carriage said to the other, on whose carriage I was, 
 " Have you seen?" The latter was afraid to reply lest the 
 former should point him out with his forefinger, which is 
 such a signal insult, that leopards are said to revenge even 
 
 * The fox invariably notifies the presence of a tiger, leopard or 
 wolf by this cry ; but should the latter run after him, he changes 
 the cry to " fac '' tc fac." 
 
 E 2 
 
52 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 at a most imminent risk. It was just twilight which in India 
 lasts only a few minutes ; although the animal never 
 attempted to dispute our passage, I was rather afraid and 
 much more so when the carriage left me alone, for they 
 were bound for another village. The darkness and the 
 fear of the animal persuaded me to seek a shelter at the 
 first village I arrived at. I went to a Mahommedan, as the 
 village was inhabited only by this class, who very kindly 
 received me but being a member of a higher caste, I could 
 not partake of his meal, so the owner requested me to cook 
 my own, assuring, every necessary arrangement would 
 be made to accomplish this object, to which proposal I 
 reluctantly acceded. 
 
 On another occasion in the same neighbourhood, I was 
 riding a horse, sent to me by a friend of mine named Mr. 
 Bipra Dass Pall Choudry. I informed the groom who was 
 with me, that the locality possessed a notorious character, 
 and related to him an incident, in which a gentleman was 
 passing through the field, (it was actually a large field) in 
 a bullock train, when a leopard disputed his passage, by 
 sitting down on the road. The two oxen shook off their 
 yoke, and ran away in terror. Although strongly fortified 
 inside the train, he was about to faint. The conspicuous 
 courage displayed by his driver could hardly be exaggerated. 
 Armed only with his whip he descended, cried loudly and 
 noisily struck the whip on the yoke, to frighten the 
 adversary, who thereupon withdrew ayard and sat again ; 
 the man occupied the vacant space, by drawing his cart 
 forward and repeated the same process ; and thus for over 
 two hours the one advanced and the other retreated. 
 After so manoeuvring for that time, his cries were heard 
 by a number of villagers, who armed with staves, drove 
 the mighty antagonist. I requested the groom, should we 
 meet any beast of prey, not to run away but to unite our 
 strength and repel the foe. The man replied " I fear 
 you will run away leaving me in the grasp of the animal." 
 I said " I pledge my word that I will never do any such 
 thing," upon which he was satisfied and conformed to my 
 request. We soon reached another village, where some 
 people whom I never saw before, asked me to spend the 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 53 
 
 night with them. But in the aforesaid cases I was alone, 
 whereas now I had some one to help me, so I refused their 
 kirtd offer with thanks. 
 
 The name of the village where people so often meet the 
 animal is Dehpara. It consists of two words Day and Para. 
 The former is the corruption of Deb, which means God and 
 Para means a village, God's village. The name has the 
 following origin. In antiquity a milkman, who resided in 
 that neighhourhood, had a very fine cow which furnished 
 many quarts of milk every day, except that when she 
 entered a very particularly thick jungle. One day the 
 owner followed his cow, which began to graze in an open 
 space, almost surrounded by impervious jungle. He saw 
 the god Nrishingha, who arose from the earth, and began 
 to drink the milk. The man ashamed of his watch, fell 
 prostrate and implored forgiveness. The god pardoned 
 him and informed the prince of Kishnaghur, in a dream 
 that he desired to live on earth. The prince promised 
 the erection of a magnificent building and that pundits, 
 thoroughly conversant with all the various systems of 
 worship and prayer, would be employed to wait upon him. 
 But the god replied a small resting place would suffice. 
 Accordingly the jungle was cleared, a small building 
 erected, the priests appointed and a tank dug. The 
 dignity and sanctity of this god is universally acknowledged 
 as very great, and people, from the remotest parts of India, 
 visit the sacred place to solicit his favors. The persons 
 without family, and those without children apply for the 
 gratification of their desire, and when their applications 
 are granted they give grand feasts. A person whose son 
 is dangerously ill beseeches him for his recovery. The 
 marriage of the daughter of a priest is a source of trouble 
 to the father, and when the difficulty appears to him insur- 
 mountable, he applies to this benign god for divine 
 assistance. As soon as their desired objects are accom- 
 plished, the worshippers in gratitude visit him, and furnish 
 grand banquets in his name. 
 
 A legend tells us that in antiquity, there lived a great 
 potentate named Hiranna Kashupa, whose character was 
 disfigured by odious vices. He had no talent for adminis- 
 
54 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 tration, but had ample share of vicious propensities and 
 sordid avarice. None ventured to whisper in his ear the 
 name of God, for he lived at enmity with the Supreme Being-. 
 His retinue and dependents in the palace, were scantily 
 fed and poorly dressed. All his descendants and ascen- 
 dants were religious men and women. His wife was a 
 model of virtue. His children were taught by a man a 
 true emblem of the character of the monstrous King-, 
 His youngest son named Prahlad baffled all the induce- 
 ments of his father and the teacher. The boy made rapid 
 progress under the tuition of his mother, both in education 
 and in religion. Nature furnished him with a strong- and 
 clear understanding-, rare firmness of temper and intensity 
 of will. From the beginning- of his childhood, he received 
 instructions from his generous mother, in all the several 
 branches of literature and science. 
 
 One day having been in company with his brothers, he 
 persuaded them to be religious people and recommended 
 them not to listen to the fallacious instructions, imparted to 
 them by their irreligious teacher. Thereupon all the 
 brothers pronounced Hari (God). Then the fury of the 
 tyrant rose to madness. But all the attempts to destroy 
 Prahlad the youngest and most pious, were fruitless* 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 55 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The attempt of Hiranna Kashapa to kill his youngest son He 
 himself was killed A comparison between the Indian and 
 the Rockaway Beach Picnics. 
 
 Hiranna Kashapa under the mask of amicability pro- 
 posed an arrangement ; but the boy was a devout servant 
 of God and the man of the Devil, such wide difference 
 admitted of no compromise. The latter ordered his 
 executioner to burn him alive. Accordingly a fire was 
 made and the poor and innocent victim was thrown into it,, 
 and Brahma (the god of fire) protected him from harm. 
 The father subsequently ordered the boy should be thrown 
 into the depths of the sea, where the protection of Brahma 
 would be of no avail. Accordingly the executioner 
 fastened him to a huge stone and placed him in a ferry 
 boat. As soon as the boat reached deep water, he 
 dropped him in. But no fear of danger could force 
 him to renounce his fidelity to the Deity Hari. Varuna 
 the god of water made the stone buoyant, and prevented 
 it from sinking-. On a stormy day, the enraged and 
 malignant father placed his son on a bracketless tower, 
 tapering- high in the air, so that the violence of the wind,, 
 might cause him to fall from the perilous height ; but Pabana 
 the god of wind stopped the storm. The father took 
 him to a high mountain and dropped him from the top of 
 the most elevated peak, but Vasumati the goddess of earth 
 placed him on her lap. The boy was thrown before a mad 
 elephant, in hopes that he might destroy him, but the 
 Supreme Deity conferred special sensibility upon the 
 
56 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 mighty animal, which took him up and seated him on his 
 back. The father inquired of his son, " has any one 
 hitherto seen the God ? " " Yes," was the reply. The former 
 further questioned, pointing- out a room, " Is he in this room ?" 
 " Yes " was the reply. The father with excitement asked 
 " Is he in the pillar ?" The answer being in the affirmative, 
 the enraged father ordered the pillar to be broken down. 
 The god came out and killed him. He was re-born in 
 three successive times, and on every occasion, he is repre- 
 sented to have been one of the most execrable of human 
 fiends. In his next generation, he appeared on earth as 
 Ravana the demon king of Ceylon. In wealth, rank and 
 education, he had few equals ; in cruelty and vice, he was 
 unsurpassed. 
 
 Legend tells us that as soon as the father was killed, the 
 boy knelt down with folded hands, and interceded on behalf 
 of his father so that in parakal (next generation), he might 
 prove a better man. The image portraying the sacrilegious 
 deceased and the prayerful boy with folded hands, graphi- 
 cally describes and represents the glorious action, and by 
 this, convinces the Hindus that the god is the encourager 
 of virtue and discourager of vice. 
 
 During second generation, Hiranna Kushapa had some 
 reverence for the Creator, whom he addressed as grand- 
 father, and this particular God alone helped him ; whereas 
 all men abhorred him and the rest of the gods were 
 inimical to him. He again had a violent death. On 
 account of a virtuous brother named Bivishana, and by the 
 favor of the Creator, he was born a prince for the third 
 and last time. 
 
 In the succeeding generation, his name was Kansa a 
 prince who lived at Muttra, on the river Jumna. It was 
 . foretold that his nephew would kill him. Accordingly he 
 imprisoned his sister Daboki and her husband Basudeva, 
 in hopes of being able to kill the baby as soon as it was 
 born or to kill the prisoners by starvation. He provided 
 them with such scanty food, as to reduce them almost to 
 skeletons. On the birth of the much expected baby, the 
 father removed him to Brindabana, and a baby girl was 
 substituted. The latter was snatched away from her new 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 57 
 
 mother's arm when she assumed the form of a kite, (hence 
 a kite is regarded as sacred) and fled away. All the 
 male babies, according to the order of the king-, were put 
 to the sword in hopes that his own nephew would be 
 numbered with the slain. But this hope was frustrated by 
 his being promptly removed to the aforesaid place where 
 in the house of a milkman named Nanda, the baby 
 flourished in company with the shepherd boys. He was 
 nominated Krishna who addressed his host and hostess as 
 parents. 
 
 He sat on the same bench with the lower class of boys, 
 ate the same food, grazed the same cattle, lived in the 
 same huts and studied the same books or more appro- 
 priately the same language; but nothing indicated the 
 greatness to which he was destined, and that none believed 
 that he was the nearest relative of their King. 
 
 Rumours, however, reached the suspicious ear of the 
 King, about the survival and the whereabouts of his 
 nephew. Accordingly he sent a woman named Putna to 
 destroy him by poison. Her purpose was discovered and 
 she was put to death. Aghasoora and Boghasoora 
 undertook similar enterprise and shared the same fate. 
 When the boy arrived at maturity, he waged war with his 
 uncle, and slew him with his army. His parents were 
 liberated, and the military and civil administrations were 
 reformed. 
 
 Thus the man was born three times and was killed. As 
 he never made a prominent figure again in the Indian 
 history or fiction, I consider, he was allotted, by the 
 supreme Magistrate, a birth either in animal species or in 
 the family of a lower caste. 
 
 When a child is born, it is taken to Nrishingha. His 
 father, with a large number of his friends and relatives 
 amounting sometimes to five hundred, go to this great 
 religious sanctuary either in carriages, palankeens or in 
 bullock trains. The household priest always leads the 
 van. He appoints a number of priestly caste men to 
 cook food under his supervision. Their cocked food could 
 be conveniently shared by all, but that cooked by any 
 other sect, would be useful only to that particular sect, as in 
 
58 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 India the one caste does not use the food of the other, but 
 that cooked by the priests can be conveniently consumed 
 by all. 
 
 When milkmen appear with their milk before the shrine r 
 no matter what their reputed practice (they increase the 
 quantity of milk with the mixture of water) on other 
 occasions, bring pure milk, since deception on such an 
 occasion would provoke the anger of the god. His house 
 is situated in a fine grove consisting of the tamarind r 
 jack, mango and the majestic banyan. There are no 
 benches beneath the trees, but people take with them long 
 sheets to spread upon the ground where they sit. 
 
 When the congregation is engaged in play, conversation 
 and other amusements, the priests engage in the prepara- 
 tion of rice, which is cooked, on this special occasion, with 
 milk and sugar (as in Europe and America), in large 
 earthen vessels. When prepared, they are placed before 
 the god and the door is securely fastened, so that none 
 should see him when he takes his meal. When he 
 finishes, all the vessels containing the residue, are brought 
 and distributed to the people on large plantation leaves 
 placed on the floor. When the priests finish, the 
 Kyasthu, followed by various other classes sit. Towards 
 the close of the evening they return homewards. 
 
 In contrast to the above fact I may remark, that when 
 I visited some friends of Rockaway Beach U. S. America 
 last year, I was invited to a picnic on an island about six 
 miles distant. At morning I visited a religious lady named 
 Mrs. Brooks, to whom I am indebted for the kind invitation. 
 It had been arranged that all should meet in the school 
 building. So I hastened to the school where after a short 
 mutual conversation, we walked towards the wharf for a 
 ferry. Prior to this, Miss Brook the daughter of the lady 
 above described, at the suggestion of Mr. Frase, wha 
 bore a leading part in this affair, furnished me with a blue 
 ribbon temperance badge. In an instant, the ladies and 
 gentlemen, boys and girls assembled in the dock, and 
 awaited the arrival of a ferry. It anon appeared and was 
 loaded with the assembled population. During the short 
 passage across the water, Long Island, with its rows of 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 59 
 
 buildings more or less shaded by the varied tints of 
 foliage, then in all leafy luxuriance of July, formed a 
 pleasing- attraction to the eyes; whilst the delightful songs 
 of the gay children and their recitations at intervals, were 
 no less harmonious to the ears of the passengers, during 
 their brief trip. 
 
 We landed on the shore of a fine grove which I had 
 never previously visited, and by open car proceeded to a 
 neighbouring village, where benches and tables were 
 amply provided, under the genial shade of Nature's 
 umbrageous plumes. Whilst the majority of the adults 
 rested, the children delighted us with their vivacity, swing-- 
 ing, singing-, running foot-races and engaged in the varied 
 childish games, which are always recalled with feelings of 
 pleasure in after life but are fitted during childhood only, 
 a bell announced the hour of repast which was doled out 
 in the following methodical order : the children were 
 served first, then the ladies and ultimately the adults of the 
 sterner sex. 
 
 I found myself the subject of special hospitality, for 
 noticing my partiality for fresh milk Mr. and Mrs. Brooks 
 supplied me plenteously, and on Mr. Frase's inquiring how 
 I had fared, my expression of satisfaction mirrored my 
 appreciation. Not until all others cf our picnic party had 
 finished, did the parsons sit to their meal, and on my 
 mentioning to Mr. Frase that " the custom here is entirely 
 different from ours, as our priests always secure precedence 
 in a feast," he smiled and said "we feed our children 
 first." 
 
 Mr. Ratan, a member of the choir, sang and his example 
 was followed by Mr. Henderickson and ultimately by all 
 present. On account of my being an indifferent vocalist, 
 my apology for not joining them was accepted. Whilst 
 professional singers are heard with judicial appreciation, 
 amateurs are not, as a rule, greatly valued, but the 
 members of the party sang so beautifully and melodiously, 
 as to attract the attention of all. 
 
 The exactitude of respect demanded of young folks in 
 India, prevents their seniors from singing in the presence 
 of their youngsters, which is regarded as too great a 
 
O A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 familiarity and levity. So tenacious is seniority and its 
 privileges, that a younger brother, be the difference of age 
 ever so little, highly respects his elder and is ready to 
 fulfil his anga or order without question. Joke, laughter 
 and undue familiarity are scarcely displayed by the 
 younger in the presence of his senior brother. The former 
 never smokes in the presence of the latter, and should he, 
 at any time, be so indulging, on the approach of his elder, 
 he conceals his hubble and bubble.* This high respect 
 to the eldest brother alone induced Bhima as previously 
 narrated, to suppress his anger, when the wife of Judishthira, 
 was brought to the court in violation of all the social 
 customs of Hindu society. 
 
 The second bell, having announced the time for supper, 
 put an end to the part and solo songs which became 
 gradually not only attractive but highly impressive. The 
 meal was distributed in the same methodical order as 
 before. I was regaled with a large quantity of milk 
 furnished by Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, and with fruits and 
 sugar furnished by other people. Mr. Frase with unfail- 
 ing equanimity inquired whether I was amply served and 
 my affirmative reply satisfied him. When I finished, I 
 went to a neighbouring apple garden accompanied by 
 some school children, who having known me upwards of 
 two years, wanted to learn something about India. I gave 
 them a description of Indian children, how they are 
 educated, how often in a year they have holidays, what 
 are the principal branches of their studies and other 
 miscellaneous things, to which they listened with great 
 attention. 
 
 At the close of the day we started for Rockaway Beach. 
 On our return to the railway station (which is called depot 
 in America and the Americans substitute the word " car " for 
 " train.") Mrs. Brooks, being greatly interested in religious 
 rites, ceremonies and practices, inquired about Indian 
 
 * A bubble bubble is a kind of pipe, the perforated wooden stem ol 
 which is about two feet long, and is inserted through a hole in a 
 cocoa nut into an earthenware receptacle, about six inches deep 
 where the tobacco is placed. The water in the nut secures a cool 
 temperature for the smoker. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 6 1 
 
 customs, the way in which the idols are worshipped, how 
 the goats are killed and the guests fed ; noticing her great 
 interest, I endeavoured to render my answers as impressive 
 as possible. On returning to Mrs. Henry, a respectable 
 lady of Rockaway Beach, she very kindly assigned to me 
 a large room, free of charge, at a time when the locality 
 (it being a great summer resort) was crowded to the over- 
 flowing, and when the rent of even a small room amounted 
 to three dollars (twelve shillings) per night, assuring me 
 that I could use it for weeks. 
 
 Although the meals of the picnic party might be con- 
 sidered as a repast of special occasion, I noticed that my 
 American friends took their customary number of meals 
 most regularly, and I am of opinion that the Indian practice 
 of confinement to one meal, in a festivity at three o'clock, 
 is insufficient in the majority of cases tc ensure health and 
 strength. 
 
 In the grove where our picnic took place there is a 
 commodious building, open on all sides, which although 
 destitute of architectural beauty, admirably served our 
 purpose, as we could repair there in case of a shower of 
 rain. Otherwise we could achieve all our work in open air. 
 But it is to be regretted no similar shelter has been erected 
 contiguous to the house of god Nrishingha, as the worshippers 
 there are sometimes too numerous to have any quarter, 
 during a terrible shower of rain, which bears little 
 resemblance to the vernal showers of Western Europe nay 
 those of U. S. America. So most of the visitors to the 
 shrine being exposed to such rain, pay the penalty of this 
 want of provision by contracting malaria fever and sub- 
 mitting to an untimely death. I say for the good of 
 Hindu community, that there should be erected a convenient 
 building, that can save a person from exposure and its 
 accompanying result. 
 
62 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Goddess Lakshmi Goddess Shashthi and goddess Vasuki. 
 
 In India gods and goddesses are worshipped. Every 
 Hindu has a household goddess named Lakshmi. She is 
 worshipped four times a year, with offerings of rice and 
 flowers. The priest visits her in every house, chants an 
 anthem called Muntra, salutes her and then withdraws. 
 For this he accepts an offertory of rice, plantain, sweet- 
 meats and cakes to which is added a monetary gift. On 
 his departure the door is secured to enable the goddess to 
 take her meal, without the supervision of human beings. 
 
 The origin of her worship could be attributed to the 
 fact that in antiquity, there was a very poor boy of priestly 
 caste, who was in such circumstances of destitution, as to 
 be unable to procure shoes or decent covering. He went 
 from house to hcuse, worshipping gods and goddesses and 
 imploring an amelioration of his condition, but without 
 avail. One day on his way home, he saw a white owl, 
 supposed to be the carrier of the goddess of wealth, seated 
 on the top of a tree. The boy was greatly pleased to see 
 the auspicious bird, and addressed it thus " Pachn nacha 
 Khabi amar duksha ghuchabi " (Oh, owl ! will you share 
 my food and remove my distress). The bird conformed 
 to his wishes and took some rice, to please the eagerness 
 of the lad, and flew away, enjoining that on the appearance 
 of the goddess who would be conveyed the next morning, 
 to receive her with befitting solemnity and welcome. 
 
 On his return home, the lad informed his mother of whai 
 had passed and desired her to do all she could to propitiate 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 63 
 
 the goddess. The boy went away, the next morning-, to 
 solicit at the shrines of neighbouring- gods, some means of 
 subsistence ; whilst the mother procured a loan of money 
 to buy things, requisite for the reception of the goddess. 
 On its return home, the bird, believing the house of the 
 boy, no favourite resort of its mistress, said nothing of the 
 interview. She for a ride mounted the back of the bird, 
 the following day, and was conveyed, according to its 
 promise, to the house of the boy, but finding it an unsacred 
 place, with every mark of displeasure she was re-conveyed 
 home. 
 
 On his return, the boy inquired of his mother whether 
 the goddess visited her, and on receiving a negative reply, 
 he met the bird at the foot of the aforesaid tree and 
 reminded it about the non-fulfilment of its promise. 
 Whereupon the bird replied that, " your mother kept the 
 house so dirty as to provoke the goddess, who renounced 
 all connection with such a dirty woman ; but, however, to- 
 morrow I would carry her again, subject to the proviso 
 that you would stay home, and ensure the cleanliness of the 
 house to enable yourself to receive her." Having promised 
 compliance, he returned home. The next morning as 
 soon as the goddess arrived at the house, she was respect- 
 fully received and worshipped. Subsequently, by the 
 favour of the goddess the poverty of the boy was removed, 
 and hence throughout India, persons desirous of wealth, 
 pay her special attention. 
 
 This worship has one singular effect, that the belief 
 keeps people neat and clean, but cleanliness alone is not 
 sufficient to keep malaria at a distance. Regular meals, 
 whether two or three a day, are essential to invigorate an 
 ^individual. 
 
 The goddess Shushthi sits beneath a tree encircled by 
 almost an impervious jungle. The ladies are very interested 
 in her, as she is the protector of children. The cat is 
 her beloved animal. If any lady kills a cat her children 
 are never blessed with longevity. But the punishment of 
 killing a cow, is by far greater than that prescribed for any 
 other offence. A man who kills another unintentionally, 
 is sentenced to a few months' imprisonment only ; but he 
 
64 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 who kills a cow unintentionally, is not allowed to speak to- 
 anybody for three years. He is forced to reside in a 
 cottage for the above period in a desolate place. The 
 third penalty is that he is constrained to live on beggary,, 
 and is restricted to one meal a day. He lives in his 
 enviable boarding* house at night, and spends day time in 
 begging from door to door. He need not apply for alms, 
 as the people voluntarily furnish him when they recognize 
 him by his distinguishing badges, a strong rope round his 
 neck and some grass in his mouth. When he visits a house 
 he makes the sound resembling that of a cow. If there be 
 a number of mendicants waiting for alms, the cow-killer 
 has precedence. When the prescribed time expires, he 
 shaves his head, gives a grand banquet and is reinstated. 
 I have experienced only one case, in which a lady accidentally 
 killed a calf. I saw her with the badges in the outer 
 premises of a house, she took the grass described above, out 
 of her mouth and made the sound, the owner thereupon in 
 a great hurry satisfied her requirement and she withdrew. 
 I have already mentioned a lady is not allowed to go out, 
 but in this case she is not entitled to stay in. She was 
 reinstated at the end of the fixed time, after a ceremony. 
 A gentleman on my inquiry, informed me that whosoever 
 accidentally kills a cow and conceals the offence, finds that 
 his meals are besmeared with cow-blood, so he must sub- 
 mit to the penalty. 
 
 The ladies repair (this freedom is granted them during- 
 the festivity) to the jungle with their household priests and 
 worship her in due order, first the priestly caste and secondly 
 the Kyasthu, and finally the lower class. 
 
 In another jungle a goddess named Shitala, the goddess 
 of small pox resides. It is believed whosoever neglects to 
 worship her, dies of small pox. Once a man broke her 
 residence and the death of his son was attributed to 
 the anger of this goddess. 
 
 Vasuki the goddess, of snakes, is also worshipped. 
 Singularly enough in this particular worship the priests 
 have no participations ; and the offerings which are custom- 
 arily sent to the priests, are generally sent to the house of 
 a carpenter, a Sudra, or servile caste. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 65 
 
 On account of the deadly bites, the divine power is 
 attributed to this g-oddess, hence she is regarded as 
 a fitting object of reverence. I know nothing personally 
 about the divine power of a serpent, but I can say, that 
 India abounds with a countless variety and that the annual 
 mortality, from snake bites is immense. The worship is 
 said to have originated thus : 
 
 In antiquity, there lived a Banyan named Chando 
 Sudagor (merchant). He never believed in the divine 
 right of Vasuki. He had six sons whom he long detained 
 at home, for fear that Chang Muri (a contemptuous name 
 given her by the man) should do them some injury. At 
 length circumstances forced him to send them to a distant 
 country to fetch goods. The difficulties of land route 
 induced them to go by sea. The goddess raised a fearful 
 storm in which they were all lost, together with their goods. 
 This catastrophe affected Chando beyond all description. 
 
 After a long time, he had another son named 
 Lakshmindara, whose personal beauty so well accorded, 
 with the excellence of his character as to procure for him, 
 the name " Sonar (golden) Lakshmindara." It was fore- 
 told in the Shastras (holy Indian book), that on the night 
 of his marriage he would die of a serpent-bite. Chando, 
 more willing to keep his only son single, than to propitiate 
 the serpent-goddess, raised obstacle to his son's marriage. 
 When he arrived at an advanced age, public censure 
 forced the father to give way and a girl named Baolo was 
 selected. On an auspicious day* Chando according to the 
 customary rule, accompanied by a large number of his 
 people repaired to the house of the father of the bride. It 
 always happens that both parties should assemble in a 
 large hall where a literary debate between the children of 
 two parties is always encouraged. Anon the father of 
 the bride comes and removes the bridegroom to the con- 
 gregation of the ladies assembled in the inner premises of 
 
 * The day is ascertained out of a religious book by the priests. 
 In some months, as for instance, December there is no marriage so 
 the betrothed couple must wait till January. Marriage cannot be 
 legalized in all the days in a week but on a prescribed day, which 
 none but the sages and the pundits can ascertain. 
 
 F 
 
66 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 the house, with the sanction of the men. After the marriage 
 is over, the couple repair to a room, accompanied by the 
 ladies of the neighbourhood. This ceremony was repeated 
 excepting- that, the father of the bride being- apprised of 
 the prophecy, built an iron room where the pair alone 
 repaired, and the door was fastened. The exclusion of the 
 ladies, in this instance could be attributed to the fact, that 
 their admission would necessitate the repeated opening- of 
 the door, when perchance some serpent might enter unob- 
 served and effect a bite. 
 
 The bridegroom slumbered, but the sleepless bride, 
 revolving- in her troubled mind, the fate to which her 
 husband was destined, soug-ht to discover some mode to 
 elude the prophecy. Restless as she was, she peeped out 
 and saw an immense number of serpents hanging- round 
 the room. Upon which, she opened the massive iron door 
 and feigning- fearlessness, soug-ht an acquaintance with one 
 of them and inquired in her kindest voice, " How was it 
 possible, that you being- so huge proportioned animals " for 
 some of the snakes of India are 30 feet in length " could live 
 in a small place ? " The serpent declared that in case of 
 necessity, they could shorten their bodies, when she 
 -expressed the greatest surprise and entreated them to show 
 lier how could they fulfil this object. She immediately 
 produced a larg-e silver vase of antique pattern, and at her 
 request they all confidently entered and were securely 
 fastened. Having- frustrated the plan of the enemy, she 
 retired to rest and was involved in profound sleep. 
 
 On hearing- the defeat of the prophecy and the capture 
 of her subjects, the g-oddess wept most bitterly, bemoaning 
 that no more snakes remained to fulfil the prediction. At 
 length remembering that she still had an old and faithful 
 reptile, on which she could rely, she commissioned it for 
 the fulfilment of the object. The serpent made every 
 attempt to break through but instead of succeeding in this 
 attempt, it broke its teeth which bled fearfully. It returned, 
 and representing its inability to effect an entrance, greatly 
 mortified the baffled goddess, who now besought the aid of 
 gods. Her prayer and supplication were heard and a 
 piece of white thread was dropped on the large serpent. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 6j 
 
 The thread became a thin white snake.* At the request 
 of the goddess it repaired to the place. Now here com- 
 mences a dismal tragedy. The room was not built by an 
 American workman, but by a superstitious Indian ironsmith, 
 who dreading- the anger of the goddess, left a very small 
 hole, unknown to the owner, which could admit only a thin 
 needle. By this it entered and inflicted a deadly bite on 
 the golden Lakshmindara, from the effect of which he was 
 soon killed. 
 
 Nothing- could exceed the sorrow of the girl to whom 
 widow-marriage was quite unknown, than to see the lifeless 
 body of that one, to protect whom she had left no stone 
 unturned. She piteously bemoaned the loss, and accused 
 the g-oddess of sleep, whose intervention was the cause of 
 her husband's death, as she justly remarked that in the 
 absence of sleep, she would have succeeded in devising 
 some means to baffle the prediction. Whereas the husband 
 died, she thought some mode whereby he could be restored. 
 
 She conveyed the body to the Ganges, took her father's 
 boat and set sail, with a view to proceed thither where the 
 merciful Almighty directs her. The next day she found 
 a human habitation, left the corpse behind and became 
 the guest of the mistress who, on being informed of the 
 doleful history of the tragic death, expressed her kindest 
 sympathy. 
 
 During the interview the mistress was much disturbed by 
 her little boy, and giving way to an impulse she suddenly 
 seized the only child and thrust him into the blazing fire, to 
 the terrified horror of the young widow. In reply to the 
 exclamations of agony of the visitor, the mistress made 
 reply that she simply sent the child to sleep. Then taking 
 a few drops of water and sprinkling the fire, she re- 
 produced her boy. Astonished at the manifestation of 
 such stupendous and surprising power, the widow entreated 
 her kindly to awake her sleeping husband. At her request 
 Baolo brought the corpse, but unfortunately the former 
 
 * During my boyhood, I brought up a bird which one day flew to 
 a neighbouring jungle. I fetched it and found a piece of white 
 thread in its bill. A lady advised me to crush it, saying it was a 
 small snake. I crushed it, but the bird subsequently died. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 failed to accomplish this object, as the body had been 
 mutilated, and a part of it was destroyed by some animal, 
 whilst placed in the boat unprotected. 
 
 The mistress taught her guest dancing, and sent her to 
 the palace of Debraj Indra, the King of gods, where she 
 so far succeeded in delighting the divine King by her 
 grace and proficiency, that he desired her to name some 
 gift he should proffer. Upon this she implored that her 
 husband should be restored to her, which request was 
 readily granted. The girl heartily thanked Debray and 
 returned to her hostess and expressed her gratitude for her 
 kindly advice. The husband who knew nothing of his 
 tragic death and restoration, was quite astonished to see 
 that he was transferred into a different place during his 
 sleep, as he thought that he was in the company of two 
 strangers. The husband, according to the Indian custom, 
 never sees his wife before the marriage is complete and 
 before the wife is removed to the husband's house.* 
 
 The faithful wife informed him all that had passed, 
 during his long sleep and how he had been restored, upon 
 which the husband expressed his gratitude in recognition of 
 her ever-memorable service, and being accompanied by 
 his wife, repaired to the residence of his father. Through 
 the intercession of the gifted girl, a reconciliation took 
 place between the enraged Vasuki and the wronged father. 
 The latter propitiated the goddess, by worshipping, who 
 restored his six sons together with their goods. Hence the 
 Hindus worship the snakes. 
 
 * When the bride entered the iron room she had a veil over 
 her face which rendered it impossible for the husband to see 
 the wife. But when the husband saw them in the house they 
 were without veils, as he was dead, and no lady uses her veil 
 in the presence of a corpse. Our customs are so alien to those of 
 others, that we encounter considerable difficulties in making our 
 facts explicit to those, who have no share of personal knowledge of 
 our customs. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 69 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The description of Rama, incarnation of Vishnu, and the origin of 
 the worship of goddess Durga. 
 
 The idea of worshipping all the gods and goddesses has 
 been inherited from our Aryan* forefathers, who founded 
 Benares, which was a most important and flourishing 
 place anterior to the dawn of the regular history of the 
 world. It is the Mecca of the Hindus, but the obscurity of 
 its antiquity, makes it difficult for us to distinguish facts 
 from fictions. The valiant feats of strength attributed to 
 Bhima, such as his carrying five persons on his shoulders 
 at one time, and other heroic actions must not be dismissed 
 as incredible, whilst I have seen in the museum of Rockaway 
 Beach, is exhibited a gigantic Patagonian, measuring from 
 top to toe 14 feet. On the pedestal of this exhibit is a 
 statement, that another museum contains the skeleton of a 
 giant eleven feet in height. Bhima, if of similar size, and 
 endowed with corresponding strength, might have been 
 equal to such a task, is a fact which could be proved by 
 the clearest evidences. No doubt the discovery of the 
 fossils of the antediluvian period, has much to do with the 
 legends and belief in the colossal proportions of men 
 during the earlier ages. Still the discovery of weapons of 
 a kind such as could only be used by men of gigantic size 
 and immense strength, must evidence the existence of 
 exceptional individuals. Some years elapsed, a British 
 
 * The Aryan or Indo-European peoples are those by whom, the 
 Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Gothic and Celtic languages are employed. 
 
7O A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 officer discovered, at the foot of the Himalaya, a bow far 
 too large and too heavy to permit of its use by the strongest 
 men of the present day. In November, on board the 
 S.S. " City of New York," en route to Liverpool, I had the 
 pleasure of entering- into a disputative argument with 
 Colonel Sadler, a gentleman of highest military distinction 
 in England, about the bridge that connected one day 
 Ceylon and India. It was a long bridge suspended by 
 Rama in antiquity to effect a passage of his troops across 
 the sea, and to this day it has been a great obstacle to the 
 movement of a vessel which, owing to the remains of the 
 bridge, sails for Europe by doubling Ceylon. However, to 
 my intelligent readers I leave the task of distinguishing 
 facts from fictions. 
 
 The origin of the sacred attributes of the monkey 
 is as follows : Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu,* was born 
 in the palace of Dasharatha, a great potentate of antiquity, 
 who had three wives. When Kaikai the most beloved of 
 them, heard that Rama, the eldest and most devout, would, 
 according to the rules of primogeniture, succeed, she 
 exercised her influence on the enslaved King in favour of 
 her only son Bharata, and fearing the popularity of Rama 
 might induce his adherents to draw sword on his behalf 
 if he allowed to reside in the palace, she pursuaded the 
 monarch to banish him for fourteen years. On hearing 
 the rigorous sentence, which had been passed upon him, he 
 exchanged his royal robe for that of a religious devotee, 
 and accompanied by his wife and step-brother, Lakshmana, 
 left the kingdom. He crossed the Ganges and lived in a 
 ungle where his subsistence \vasdependentupon his manual 
 labour. 
 
 * Vishnu the preserver, Brahma the Creator and Siva the de- 
 stroyer. The three form trinity ; as God the Father, God the Son 
 and God the Holy Ghost. They are supreme ; all are worshipped 
 save the Creator for the following reason : he has a quarrelsome 
 son named Narada whose profession is "quarrel." No one pro- 
 nounces his name for the fear of a mishappening. He visits a house 
 or a congregation with intent to effect a breach. The mischievous 
 conduct of the son provoked the father who chastised him. The 
 son, in revenge, issued a proclamation preventing people from 
 worshipping the father. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 7 1 
 
 On the death of Dasharatha, Bharata, the then reigning 
 King-, proceeded to the jungle and representing Rama the 
 exiled prince, about the death of his father and the dis- 
 turbed condition of the country, in vain endeavoured to 
 induce him to return and accept the sovereignty. Dis- 
 appointed in this mission, he placed the wooden shoes of his, 
 elder stepbrother (Rama), on the throne and managed the 
 kingdom for the interim, as guardian of the shoes. Rama 
 built two cottages, the one for himself and the other for his 
 brother. In this jungle named Punchabati, they comfor- 
 tably resided, until their happiness was disturbed by Surpa- 
 nakha the cannibal princess of Ceylon, who desired that 
 the one or the other should marry her ; but was greatly 
 provoked at the refusal of her overtures. Enraged at the 
 conduct of Rama, she made an attempt upon the life of his 
 wife, for the punishment of her husband's denial. 
 Lakshmana mutilated her by cutting off her nose and ears. 
 The disfigured, mutilated and bleeding princess appealed 
 to her brothers Khara and Dushana, who were governing 
 that part of India as Viceroys of Ravana. They led the 
 van of a large army for chastising the transgressor, but 
 were successfully repelled in a sharp encounter, in spite of 
 their numerical superiority and at length were vanquished 
 and dispersed. The princess having failed in this, placed 
 her case before her brother Ravana the demoniac, whose 
 name has already been mentioned, of Ceylon. Aware in 
 his inability, to cope with his mighty enemy in the field, he 
 resorted to a stratagem and begged Marich, one of his 
 courtiers to assist him by assuming the appearance of a 
 golden deer. 
 
 To satisfy the King, Marich appeared on the premises of 
 the cottage, in the shape of a golden deer. The simple- 
 hearted Sitta, fascinated by the graceful play of the 
 beautiful animal, in front of her cottage, easily succeeded 
 in persuading her husband to capture it. Upon following 
 the animal into a thick jungle for that purpose, Rama was 
 astounded to see it suddenly resumed the form of a man 
 and loudly cried for help from Lakshmana, representing 
 that the deer had jeopardized his (Rama's) life. Lakshmana 
 discredited the fact and hesitated to leave Sitta, when she 
 
72 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 fearing the danger of her husband, permitted him to go 
 and remove her husband's difficulty. Accordingly he 
 repaired to the jungle and saw Rama killed the disguised 
 man. 
 
 In the meantime, Ravana well aware that by the success 
 of his decoy, the girl has been left unprotected, he assumed 
 the garb of a religious mendicant, visited the cottage and 
 implored for alms. Influenced by the religious obligation 
 of extending hospitality to all, especially to a jogi (sage) 
 mendicant and unsuspicious of harm, she approached the 
 disguised beggar, upon which she was seized and conveyed 
 across the sea to Ceylon. 
 
 The melancholy news was soon noised about and great 
 sympathy was felt for the abducted wife. A neighbouring 
 prince named Sugriva, who had been dethroned by a 
 faction of his subjects, headed by his brother Baly, 
 promised in the event of Rama assisting him to regain his 
 throne, to place his entire army at his disposal, for the 
 recovery of Sitta and the punishment of Ravana. 
 
 Rama accepted the proposal, and with only a handful of 
 army dethroned and slew the usurper and restored Sugriva. 
 By this success Rama won the confidence of all the neigh- 
 bouring princes, who placed their troops at his disposal. 
 Hanuman, a monkey-general of the army of Sugriva, 
 was selected and advised to proceed for reconnoitring. 
 Having carefully ascertained Ceylon was the place of the 
 detention of Sitta, he look the ring of Rama as an 
 indication that he had come from him, and repaired thither. 
 He visited, delivered the ring which Sitta could easily 
 recognise as belonging to Rama, and was regaled with 
 delicious mango, but his appetite being unappeased, he 
 reached a mango-grove in search of more. The curious 
 animal, as he appeared to the cannibals, gained their 
 favourable opinion by his feats of agility. Believing he 
 would protect their fruits from the predatory birds, they 
 entrusted to him the care of their garden and went to 
 dinner. Taking advantage of their absence, he ate some 
 mangoes, destroyed the rest and at length uprooted the 
 trees. On their return, a scuffle ensued in which many of 
 them, including Aukhoy, one of the sons of Ravana, were 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 73 
 
 slain . Indrajata, the second son, overpowered and captured 
 the animal and carried him home in triumph. Intending- 
 to burn him alive, linen cloths, drenched with oil, were 
 wrapped round him and were subsequently set on fire. The 
 monkey enveloped in the flames, jumped upon the thatched 
 roof of a house, which immediately ignited and then jumping 
 from the one to the other, he soon kindled a great con- 
 flagration. Having effected all the mischief possible, he 
 jumped into the sea and regained the mainland. 
 
 The intercession of Bivishana, the pious brother of the 
 King, although earnestly seconded by those of his wife, 
 failed to induce him to surrender Sitta to her lord. At 
 length the queen pursuaded Ravana to play a game of 
 chess with her, on condition that, should she be successful, 
 he would accede to her wishes and liberate his captive. 
 This is said to be the origin of chess. The queen won it 
 and urged him to desist ; but his fury being unrestrained 
 he assaulted his brother (for his giving such advice), 
 who joined the enemy. 
 
 The success of Hanumana greatly satisfied Rama, who 
 became the captain-general of the allied army and 
 appointed the monkey his assistant and superintendent of 
 the construction of the bridge, which was built up to 
 facilitate the movement of the army. They reached the 
 opposite shore unopposed. At length the war was declared 
 and the troops of the enemy became unsuccessful in every 
 engagement excepting those encounters of which Ravana 
 himself assumed the chief command. In a battle Ravana 
 prostrated both Rama and his brother, who became 
 senseless. On their recovery, they rallied their troops 
 and returning to the charge, created a dreadful havoc, 
 killing almost all the best generals of the enemy. 
 Kumvakarna (a great giant) and Taruni Sen (the pious 
 son of Bivishana) were numbered among the slain. Upon 
 which the troops of Indrajita ran to the thickest of the 
 charge, slew and dispersed them all. He himself fought 
 with great valour, prostrated the two brothers and made a 
 triumphant entry into his father's palace. The next day 
 the brothers having recovered, conducted the battle 
 with unflagging zeal. The enemy retreated with con- 
 
74 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 siderable loss. Indrajita rallied them and renewed the 
 engagement. This man was such a great warrior as to 
 frighten even Debraj Indra himself the King of gods. The 
 troops of Rama could not stand the well-directed arrows 
 of the enemy. Most of them were killed and some ran 
 away. The remainder including the two brothers left 
 senseless on the ground In the first and second battle, of 
 which the chief command was entrusted to Indrajita, he 
 fared well and during the third engagement, he was 
 accidentally killed by an arrow from Lakshmana. 
 
 Mahiravana, another son of Ravana, succeeded his 
 deceased brother. By a stratagem, he defeated the troops 
 of the enemy, captured the two brothers and conveyed 
 them to Fatal (modern America) intending to sacrifice 
 them before his household goddess, and thereby to put an 
 end to the war. The monkey searched for them in every 
 part of the globe and at length visited Fatal. Greatly 
 perplexed as to how and where to proceed in quest of the 
 lost ones, he climbed and sat on the top of a tree. He 
 overheard two young ladies who were passing and con- 
 versing, about the youths and the shrine which was the 
 place of their confinement. The monkey accordingly 
 proceeded to the royal shrine, and found them bound at 
 the foot of the goddess. He demanded her sword but 
 on refusal, he placed her on his head and threatened to 
 plunge her into the Atlantic. Under these threats, the 
 goddess complied, and promised no longer to support the 
 cannibal prince. On the approach of the latter, the 
 monkey concealed himself. Mahiravana unsuspectingly 
 prostrated in adoration of the goddess, when the monkey 
 took her sword and severed the head of the man 
 from his body. He unfastened the brothers and ac- 
 companied them to the rendezvous of Ceylon. Ravana 
 again appeared at the head of his army and in one of his 
 successful engagements Rama and his brother were 
 wounded, and again fell senseless on the field. Susena 
 the doctor, dressed the wounds and prescribed some 
 medicinal herbs which could only be found in the 
 Himalaya. He further added in the absence of such 
 medicine, they would perish before the sun-rise. With 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 75 
 
 mysterious satisfaction, Ravana learned from his spy what 
 the doctor said and commanded the sun to rise without 
 delay. 
 
 The monkey was sent to the Himalaya in search of 
 medicine. He reached the place of his destination, where 
 he met a sage to whom he represented what had passed. 
 The sage furnished him food, and requested to purify 
 himself by an immersion in a neighbouring- tank. The 
 monkey plunged into the water and was attacked by a 
 crocodile, which was immediately killed. The reptile 
 assumed the form of a god, warned him of the false sage 
 whom Ravana had placed there for some mischievous 
 purpose and disappeared. The monkey forewarned of 
 his treacherous host, rushed upon him and. slew him. 
 Having failed to discover the herbs, he took the mountain 
 upon his head and started. On his way, he found the sun 
 was attempting to rise before his usual hour, so he caught 
 him and put him in his pocket. Having secured the death 
 of Rama* in his pocket, he thought himself quite free 
 to test the strength of Bharata the above described 
 reigning half brother of Rama, so he went to his capital 
 Ajodha. Seeing the approach of some stupendous thing 
 Bharata fired and the monkey fell senseless on the ground. 
 On recovery he related the fall of Rama and started for 
 Ceylon. 
 
 The application of the medicine restored the brothers 
 and the sun was allowed to rise. The combat was renewed 
 and Ravana who had ten heads and twenty hands lost 
 nine heads which instantaneously resumed their places. 
 Some hands were chopped and were similarly restored. 
 This greatly astonished Rama who subsequently discovered, 
 the means which could complete the destruction of the 
 monster. The monkey was sent to bring Ravana's death 
 arrowf which was concealed in the house of Ravana. In 
 the garb of a sage, the monkey reached the palace with 
 
 * The wound of Rama was mortal at sunrise but the sun would 
 not rise at all unless he was set free. It was on this consideration 
 the monkey thought he was quite free to proceed wherever he liked. 
 
 f This arrow had a long history the description of which, for the 
 want of space, I beg to reserve for some future opportune moment. 
 
76 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 a nicely bound Shastrus to prophecy some favorable issue 
 of the war. Mondadari, the wife of Ravana, cordially 
 received him and conversed with him. He read a passage 
 out of the book, and interpreted to mean that the danger 
 would soon be over, and that she should not display any 
 anxiety, whilst the death-arrow remained carefully con- 
 cealed in her house. Only a few most reliable people 
 knew the existence of it, but none knew where it was con- 
 cealed. The pretended prophet further requested her not 
 to allow anybody to handle it for fear some emissary of the 
 enemy might take it away, upon which she said, " handling- 
 was impossible as it had been built up in the hollow pillar " 
 pointing it out at the same time. Hardly had she finished 
 this, the false prophet became metamorphosed into a huge 
 monkey, who with a vigorous kick broke the pillar, took the 
 arrow and departed 
 
 Rama received it with great joy, but still his difficulty 
 was not over, as Ravana was protected by Durga (the 
 wife of Siva), the household goddess of Ravana. Rama 
 had to propitiate her by worship ; accordingly he sent the 
 monkey to the Himalaya to bring 1 08 red lilies which were 
 not procurable elsewhere. An image was made and the 
 goddess appeared in it. With a view to try the earnest devo- 
 tion of Rama, she stole one of the flowers, upon which Rama 
 resolved to knock her eyes out and place them at her feet, 
 in substitution of the lost one. Without putting him to 
 the test of such a sacrifice, the goddess was propitiated, 
 and permission was given to destroy the enemy. The 
 battle was renewed and Ravana fell and Bivishana was 
 placed on the throne. Rama subsequently finished the 
 period of his transportation, and on his return home with 
 his wife and brother succeeded to the vacant throne. Owing 
 to the kindly help, the image of the goddess is worshipped 
 in India and the people believe that she appears in the 
 image and answers their prayers. She is celebrated 
 during October with great pomp. The monkey having 
 benefitted mankind, he and his descendants have been 
 recognised as sacred, but cows are considered much more 
 so, as she is supposed to be the wife of the same god, and 
 both Durga and a cow are adored with equal respect and 
 -devotion. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 77 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 My career in the United States of America. 
 
 The limited time and space precluded the possibility of 
 fully describing" the curious legendary origins of many of 
 the Indian deities. However, on some future day if it be 
 the will of the Almighty Father, I intend to write a concise 
 Indian history, descriptive of ancient and modern facts. 
 My efforts in this direction will be restricted by the margin 
 of my means, and although before my departure for 
 Engiand my countrymen, who were most liberal in their 
 proffered assistance, have proved no more reliable than 
 those " who keep the word of promise to our ear and break 
 it to our hope," I am far from being- discouraged of the 
 future. I have encountered considerable difficulties at 
 times but strict economy has enabled me to defray the 
 expenses, not only of my studies, but those of my rice and 
 salt. It is the mistaken belief of my countrymen that an 
 Indian cannot live in England without meat and liquor. To 
 undeceive them, I beg- to say that in my travels I have 
 visited cities, towns and villages where the snow-fall 
 amounted to thirteen feet deep at places, but still I could 
 thrive on Indian rice and dal, and thanked God who 
 furnished them in such abundance, that I have never 
 experienced want althoug-h my position is not at all 
 enviable, as I have to fill four different offices at the same 
 time. The office of earning- money is assigned in India to the 
 paterfamilias ', and I have to earn money for my own subsis- 
 tence ; to buy things in a market is an office performed by 
 servants and I myself am to do it ; the ladies cook food 
 
78 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 for their household people and I am to do so for myself ; the 
 work of studies is confined to the student of the household 
 and I am to study for completing* my own education. 
 Consequently I can devote only my leisure hour to my 
 studies. This is not the worst, because the weakness of 
 my eyes, the left one of which has twice been operated 
 by Moorfield's Hospital, forces me to the constant resort to 
 hospital wherever I roam. 
 
 My work in the U. S. America is of material assistance 
 to me. During- last summer I visited Syracuse and pro- 
 cured a temporary position in the main office Western 
 Union Company. Whilst I resided there I had the 
 pleasure of visiting- some eminent persons, such as Hon, 
 Hiscock, American senator and eminent lawyer, Dr. Vernon 
 who very graciously promised me an introduction to the 
 president of the University Colleg-e at the beginning of the 
 winter session, and other gentlemen. Once I was invited 
 in the Mead's College to address a meeting on temperance. 
 I was greatly pleased to learn the audience was desirous 
 that I should again ascend their platform, but Mr. Behardt 
 the manager of the office, having secured for me a pass 
 to New York, I left Syracuse, assuring them that on some 
 future day I shall again have the pleasure of addressing 
 them. 
 
 On my arrival in New York, Mr. Cochrane, the superin- 
 tendent of the Postal Telegraph, being away, I saw Miss 
 Farmer, who said the gentleman is away on his holidays, 
 but on his arrival, " I guess he would employ you." This 
 lady always guesses something good, as I remember when 
 I applied to Mr. Cochrane for an introductory note to Mr. 
 Patangile, Superintendent of Boston, Mass., she said, with 
 her usual kind deportment, " I guess he would give you." 
 Mr. Cochrane obliged me with the intended note. I have 
 a great friend named Mr. J. Glover, now a lawyer in 
 Edinburgh. Whosoever applies him for a position, hears 
 that it is the harvest time of employment and by this 
 kindly expression he does much good to the applicant as 
 he searches with great zeal and ultimately succeeds. The 
 sympathy which this lady displays, ensures the applicant 
 the approach of harvest time, whereupon, after a strenuous 
 -exertion he finds suitable employment. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 79 
 
 At the recommendation of Mr. Cochrane, on his arrival 
 I was re-appointed by Mr. McClary at 91 Wall Street. 
 Whilst I worked there I visited the main office, and Mr. 
 Shirly, assistant manager, appointed me as night operator; 
 thus I had the pleasure of working- in two offices at the same 
 time. Mr. Shirley, who together with several of the chiefs 
 took most kindly interest in my welfare, received from 
 Mr. McKierman, chief, the following letter on my 
 behalf : 
 
 MR. SHIRLEY ; 
 
 Mr. Sarbadhicary has worked under me and has managed his work 
 very well, although he is a stranger to our office. He is fully entitled 
 to the pay of the day in dispute. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Main Office, McKIERMAN. 
 
 nth October, 1889. 
 
 I am very much obliged to Mr. McClary for the following 
 kindly certificate : 
 
 91 WALL STREET. 
 
 Mr. Sarbadhicary was employed in this office as an operator. He 
 is a scholar and a man of unusual intellect. He is also the author 
 of several books. He is about to proceed to England to complete 
 his legal education. 
 
 JAS. A. McCLARY. 
 1 8th October, 1889. Manager 
 
 A word as to the telegraph reformation achieved by this 
 gentleman, should not be passed over in silence, as his 
 amalgamation of telegraph and caligraph has effected an 
 undeniable success, for, by this arrangement, the customers 
 are furnished with printed messages, an advantage which 
 will never fail to be appreciated by the public. 
 
 My best thanks are due to Miss Farmer, Mr. McClary, 
 Mr. Shirley, Mr. Casey, Mr. Talavtal, editor, New York, 
 Messrs. Riker and Pardee of Syracuse, Mr. Sabold, 
 Manager of Albany, Mr. Smith, (chief train despatcher), 
 Boston, Mass., Mr. Gordon, (Superintendent General Postal 
 Telegraph Office) and Miss Nichols of London, Mr. Gray, 
 Chief Superintendent Postal Telegraph Office, Edinburgh, 
 and Mr. Barker, (Assistant Superintendent), Madeira 
 Africa, for their kindly offices, in disposing, on my behalf, 
 
8o 
 
 A SOJOURN IN INDIA, 
 
 of the books which I have the pleasure of writing-, in the last 
 year. Having- proposed that I should write a book on 
 India, the undermentioned g-entlemsn, have very kindly 
 subscribed to encourag-e me and the publication. 
 
 i. Mr. Jas. A. McClary, Manager, 2 dollars or 8s. ( splendid 
 
 English money ( object 
 L.M. 
 A. King 
 Earl 
 
 W. 
 
 R. G 
 
 Williams 
 
 Hubbard Precious 
 N. Bank Manager 
 J. B. Taltaval, Editor 
 
 10. W. P. Philips, Superintendenta 
 
 11. A. B. Chandler, President 2 
 
 12. Dr. W. S. Stratford.Professor 2 
 
 13. Dr. H. T. Peck, Professor 2 
 
 Total 26 Dollars or 6 los, 
 
 Before I set sail for England, I hud the pleasure of 
 visiting- Hon. G. Cleveland, late President, who very kindly 
 inquired about the Hindu law, and the method of carrying- 
 out sentences in the Courts of Tnda. After some further 
 conversation, I advanced the Irish question, " Home Rule 
 for Ireland," saying that Mr. Gladstone is quite willing- to 
 give, as larg-e share of local autonomy as the expression 
 implies with a view to unite her more closely, not by legal 
 bonds but by the indissoluble ties of kindly interest and 
 friendship, so that the immemorial race-distinction is super- 
 seded by a feeling of sympathy and affection. Thereupon 
 he said " Mr. Gladstone is sure to give it to the Irish." He 
 appears to be much interested in the welfare of the Irish 
 people. 
 
 My frequent recurrence to American incidents may lead 
 some of my readers to think that, I have undertaken to 
 write an account of India and not that of America, any 
 mention of the latter is intrusive. In respond to this, I beg- 
 to say, that on some future day, I hope to return to India 
 where it is quite possible that I might converse about my 
 books with some Hindu people, who would decidedly 
 discredit my statement as there is a highly educated 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 8 1 
 
 gentleman named Dr. S. Sarbadhicary. I am of course, 
 quite indifferent as to individual opinions, nor should I 
 regret to see an article in one of the vernacular newspapers 
 confusing- the personality of two individuals of the same 
 name, but what I regret the most is that the people will pass 
 contemptuous remarks saying, that a man has returned 
 from England, who falsely claims the authorship of a book 
 written by the doctor. In India, a man without money has 
 no status. If he be a very good speaker, he is regarded 
 as phasil (talkative). If he be a mild man he is considered 
 timid. If he be a thoroughly educated man, his education 
 in the popular estimation is of no avail. When he rises 
 to address a public meeting, although he might be a man 
 of recognised merit, he obtains no hearing. 
 
 I am very sorry to have such opinion of my country, but 
 as this opinion has been formed after a good deal of obser- 
 vation, it should not be considered as premature. 
 
 Once I had the pleasure of delivering an address, in 
 support of the Punjab University College, Lahore. The 
 next morning it appeared in a journal 'named Civil and 
 Military Gazette, but as it did not specify which of the two 
 persons of the same name (Babu Sasi Bhashan) delivered, 
 it was rumoured that Professor Sasi Bhashan delivered a 
 fine speech, nor could I successfully contradict it, as the 
 number against me was quite numerous, although I knew 
 the gentleman in question was not only not present in the 
 meeting, but that he was absent from Lahore on that 
 evening, at a festival in a neighbouring village named 
 Meanmeer. Thus the noble professor enjoyed the music 
 and dancing and good cheer provided, in addition to the 
 popular praise for a platform address, and I, who had no 
 share in the pleasures of the festivity, had to join his 
 admirers to praise him for the speech which he had not 
 delivered, lest my silence might be construed into a 
 jealousy of his abilities. 
 
 It might be further asked that identification of the doctor 
 and myself should, however, present no difficulties, as Dr. 
 Sarbadhicary is a medical man, consequently he is no 
 telegraphist, he hardly visited any place, beyond Bengal, 
 so how should such confusion occur ? In reply to this I 
 
82 " A SQJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 beg" to say that people do not observe facts so minutely ; 
 had they done so, they could easily distinguish the one 
 from the other. Professor Sasi Bhushan rarely attends a 
 public meeting", and should he do so, he very seldom 
 remarks on the subject of discussion. He is a great 
 mathematician and is thoroughly conversant with the 
 science which treats of magnitude and number, and readily 
 solves a problem, to accomplish which some other pro- 
 fessors might take hours. Further, the Professor is a 
 member of the Calcutta University, and would not attend 
 to or add a word on behalf of a meeting convened by 
 men of the (adverse) Punjab University. Fearing- my 
 countrymen might overlook these distinctions, I have 
 Initialed my writing by reference to my second American 
 trip. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 My departure The description of Kama and the description of 
 Sributhsha Conclusion . 
 
 I left New York by S.S. City of New York ; but after 
 steaming- a short distance a thick fog forced her to anchor. 
 In the inconvenience of the detention we were not the only 
 sufferers, for many vessels already anchored and others 
 inclusive of the renowned Teutonic, one of the fastest 
 mail steamers in existence, followed the example. The 
 bold departure of the latter, created great impatience 
 among- the passeng-ers who bitterly exclaimed the over- 
 cautiousness of our captain. Some said he was not an 
 enterprising- man ; some remarked he wanted moral 
 courage, some said he would have been wise, had he 
 booked his passage by Teutonic, and whilst the air was 
 filled by the low muttering-s of fierce resentment, a dis- 
 charge of five successive guns announced the apprehended 
 danger of Teutonic and secured the popular good opinion 
 on hehalf of our captain. The very men who accused him 
 of his culpable dilatoriness, said our captain is a very 
 sagacious man and his prudence justifies the confidence of 
 the company which has entrusted to him the magnificent 
 vessel. His wisdom favorably contrasts that of the 
 inconsiderate commander of Teutonic, who now finds it 
 necessary to curb his venturesome daring and submits to 
 the exigencies of the weather. 
 
 This instability of public opinion is a feature of social 
 history. Macaulay tells us of a person who had partaken 
 of a poisonous fruit, the reputed effect of which when made 
 
 G 2 
 
#4 A SOJOURN IN INDI4. 
 
 known to him, caused him to regret his rash and thought- 
 less action ; but he anon perceived that it had cured him 
 of a chronic complaint, from which he had suffered for 
 years, whereupon he claimed a popular acknowledgment 
 of the sagacity of his action and the merits of his 
 discovery. The rise and the fall of popular belief is as 
 constant as the tide and the ebb of the sea. 
 
 Our troubles did not terminate with the subsidence of 
 the fog ; for after proceeding a short distance an important 
 pin of the machinery broke, and as the rectification was 
 impossible at sea, the vessel was restricted to the use of 
 one engine only. 
 
 To enliven the monotony on board the ship, we had 
 several meetings, in one of which, I had the pleasure of 
 delivering a short address on India. By special request, 
 on 2Oth of November last, I had the pleasure of addressing 
 another meeting on the same subject in the second class 
 saloon. On the following afternoon at the desire of 
 Colonel Sadler, an officer in the Army of Her Majesty's 
 Service, now resident at Preston-on-Tees, Darlington, I had 
 great pleasure of addressing in the first class saloon an 
 appreciative audience consisting of Mr. Justice Proudfoot, 
 Chief Justice of Queen's Bench, Toronto Canada, Mr. R. 
 W. Lewis the United States Consul at Morocco, Colonel and 
 Mrs. Sadler, Miss Hylton a lady who graces a select circle, 
 to which none but the highly privileged have admission in 
 London, Rev. A. S. Lyone, a deservedly popular Irish 
 Minister, and many other ladies and gentlemen. I spoke 
 on India past and present, its myths, traditions, history in 
 commercial and social aspects, carefully avoiding such 
 incidents as have been discussed in previous meetings. At 
 the conclusion Miss Hylton kindly presented me with a 5 
 note saying, this is in recognition of your most interesting 
 lecture. The pleasure of this douceur was greatly enhanced, 
 by the interest with which I had been listened to. The 
 above mentioned Colonel, and a lawyer of New York whose 
 name greatly to my regret I have forgotten, deserve my 
 heartiest thanks for the warm interest with which they 
 introduced me to the meeting. It was known to the 
 audience that I was about to write a book on India ; accord- 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 85 
 
 ingly, they give me many a gracious promise of en- 
 couragement. 
 
 The idea of my speaking on board the ship arose thus : 
 On my way to New York by S.S. City of Paris, I saw some 
 passengers of the second-class found fault with everything 
 the crew provided. Accordingly they were about to send 
 a petition to the Captain complaining that they were not 
 amply fed. Although I never partook of their food, nor 
 did I exercise any vote of signing the petition, I was 
 against the motion. Whilst they were noising about, they 
 saw a steerage lady, after days of sickness (as our passage 
 was very rough) eating a sprat, when they begged to have 
 it in their dinner. Not being able to restrain myself any 
 longer, I remarked " during my boyhood in India I 
 visited a lady relation of mine, seeing the beautiful moon, 
 her baby boy cried, ' what is that, mamma ? ' ' the moon, 
 my boy ' said the mother, when he said, ' I shall have it,' 
 * you can't have it because I cannot catch it for you,' replied 
 the mother. I told them, ' you can't have it because in this 
 high sea the crew cannot catch it, nor have they any on 
 board the ship." This remark satisfied an anti-motionist 
 and his party. But they all, some contemptuously and 
 some earnestly, cried for a speech. I agreed to their 
 request and delivered a speech. Having met with no 
 obstacles (as a person whilst speaking might tumble on 
 account of the rolling of the sea or he might be sick) I 
 could undertake to speak, and God helped me during my 
 first and second attempts on board the ship. 
 
 The steamer despite her disability made rapid progress, 
 and brought us much earlier than we expected into the 
 port of Liverpool, where Teutonic arrived only a few hours 
 before us. I spent a night in a hotel and left Liverpool 
 for London. 
 
 On my arrival in London, I met an Indian, who bitterly 
 complained of the rigour of the English winter. I remarked 
 had he experienced the American cold weather he would 
 have never regarded England inclement. On this, his 
 curiosity being greatly excited, he inquired whether I 
 mitigated it by meat and warm port wine. He was greatly 
 surprised to learn that rice sufficed to maintain my health 
 
86 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 and comfort and said, he had spent about 400 on port 
 alone, still he experiences the rigorous inclemency of the 
 climate. 
 
 The supposed necessities imposed by the climate, forces 
 an Indian to find a ready apology for the drinking- habits 
 of the West. The unnecessary expenditure explains the 
 problem of vast wealth, side by side with abject poverty of 
 the majority of the Indian population, whose annual 
 mortality from starvation is very great. 
 
 " 111 fares the land to hastening ills a prey, 
 Where wealth accumulates and men decay. 
 The princes and lords may flourish or may fade, 
 A breath can make them as a breath has made. 
 
 Whilst the laboring- class in India is suffering" from 
 starvation, this man has spent 400 on warm port, under 
 a misconception of its real nutritious value ; and this 
 instance is but a solitary grain among-st the infinities of the 
 seaside sand. Whilst myriads, in India luxuriate in self- 
 indulg-ence reg-ardless of the bitter-biting anguish of his 
 Jess favoured countrymen, this man has come over to this 
 country to display his riches to the vendor of red-bottles. 
 
 The want of sympathy with poverty and suffering is the 
 modern feature of the quasi-English; but the genuine 
 orientalist of the days gone by, was keenly alive to the 
 duties of hospitality and had universal repute for self- 
 denying charity. The merchants of India, still support 
 their traditional name for recognising the inequalities of 
 fortune of mankind, and not unfrequently, have their names 
 appeared, as princely donors, during famine. 
 
 Tradition affirms that there once lived a man named 
 Kama, whose great generosity won for him the title 
 " Data " generous. Once he entertained a priest who 
 informed his host, that the supply of a large quantity of 
 meat was essential to appease his hunger. The host con- 
 sented and the guest further alleged that his meal must be 
 of human flesh, so it was requisite that his only boy 
 Brishakatu, should be sacrificed for that purpose. The 
 host fettered by the obligation of the promise which was 
 inviolable during Satwa, or truthful period, with a doleful 
 heart sent for the boy. In compliance with the injunction 
 
A SOJOURN IN [NDIA. 87 
 
 'of his father, the boy unaware of his fate made his appear- 
 ance. The priest further added that the father himself 
 should behead the child with willingness and alacrity, since 
 .any show of sorrow would convince him of his unwilling- 
 ness to fulfil the obligations of hospitality. Under the 
 threats of sacerdotal displeasure, the parents were com- 
 pelled to kill their only child and cook his flesh. They 
 then begged the inhuman priest to take his horrid meal. 
 But the priest now alleged that soup was the principal dish 
 of his dinner, and without soup he would refuse the meal. 
 Plunged into the extremity of grief on account of the 
 sacrifice, the host could afford no more congenial prospect 
 than the wish that the guest should withdraw, although the 
 .angry departure of a guest was reckoned in those days, a 
 source of misfortune. So he politely represented that all 
 the meat had been cooked and that not a bit was remaining 
 to provide soup. But the host was informed that the 
 hostess intended to burn the head, and retain its ashes in 
 -a cinerary urn. The soup was prepared as the excuse was 
 unavailing. The guest desired that four persons, the host 
 and hostess and their guest, together with a boy from a 
 neighbouring house, should dine together. To gratify the 
 desire of the guest, the bereaved father departed, when to 
 his great astonishment, he found his own boy was playing 
 with the other children of the same age. He accompanied 
 the boy to his house, when he saw the priest assumed the 
 form of a god and said he visited Kama, with intent to 
 try his fidelity and generosity and he had borne that in a 
 manner far exceeding the expectation of the priest, who 
 forthwith disappeared. The narration is but a fable but 
 still it is the finest specimen of the illustrations current 
 throughout India of unquestioned oblig ation to the sacred 
 rites of hospitality. 
 
 Referring to the man of whom I fc have previously spoken, 
 indulging in the port wine as a specific against the frigidity 
 of English climate, I beg to say that I know a priest in 
 India who is a total abstainer. When dying from the 
 effect of a dangerous fever, owing to the prescription of a 
 doctor, he took alcohol. On partial recovery, he found 
 one Sunday, which is the great festive day of drunkards 
 
88 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 throughout the world, a crowd in the heat of liquor created 
 great disturbance, upon which he slowly crawled to the 
 place and standing with the assistance of his stick, he 
 admonished them for their clamours and for their insatient 
 indulgence in intoxicating drink and exhorted them to 
 temperance. By this representation he simply wanted 
 them to shun all kinds of beverages and sow the seed of 
 beneficial actions. 
 
 The dying man, availing himself of the temporary 
 strength conferred under the stimulant, and sucessfully 
 combatting its use, is a spectacle unique in the history of 
 mankind. This is the marvellous temperance address in 
 its noblest aspect. It must not be supposed that all 
 temperance advocates are of such strength of mind. Too 
 frequently they, like the sign post at a cross road do- 
 not take, but merely point the way to healthful prudence 
 and morality. I must confess to have met with such 
 advocates, in several parts of the globe. 
 
 With regard to the liquor question, I beg to say that 
 my conscience forbids my indulgence in such a liquid 
 which takes away the sense of a man. During my boyhood 
 I suffered from the effects of liquor ; although I myself 
 was a total abstainer and will continue to be so as long as- 
 the date of my life shall last ; I had a house built at 
 Valuka, Kishnaghur, at my own expense and by my own 
 exertion. One night a drunkard crept in and set it on fire 
 during my besetted incapacity for carefulness. I escaped 
 with life but all my belongings were reduced to ashes. 
 Since then I have been residing in foreign countries and 
 the sympathy which I have enjoyed from the people of 
 several parts of the globe, has largely sufficed to ameli- 
 orate my memories of sorrow and afflictions ; I would have 
 been able to complete my studies long ago had my enemies 
 not interfered with my property. The memory of the 
 following story has induced me gladly to submit to all the 
 multifarious troubles and difficulties, knowing that on some 
 future day they will be superseded by some propitious and! 
 opportune moment. 
 
 In antiquity there lived a great Indian potentate named 
 Sributsha. Being a very virtuous King he merited the 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 89 
 
 admiration of the universe. For this reason, " Shani," the 
 Devil, determined to subject him to the trial of poverty. 
 The following* day his troops broke out in open mutiny, 
 and set his palace on fire. Upon this unforeseen disaster 
 he started, heedless of the place of his destination. After 
 walking* a few miles, he rested beneath a tree where, to 
 his great astonishment, he saw his wife Chinta, who, as 
 he thought, met her fate in the conflagration, appear with 
 a bag* of money. The pair started on their journey and 
 arrived at the bank of a river diversified with beautiful 
 flowers. There was no ferry to cross the river, save that 
 one, in which a man was catching" fish. On the request of 
 the King", to take them across, the fisherman took them in, 
 alleg-ing" the limited accommodation of the little vessel 
 would not allow him to carry them with the bag", which 
 could conveniently be ferried over in the second load. 
 Hardly they sailed, leaving" the bag behind, a black dog- 
 carried it off and the man and his boat disappeared, and 
 the bed of the river became a dry land. They renewed 
 their journey and reached a fine grove with a tank in its 
 centre, where the men were employed in catching" fish. 
 On the application of the King" they furnished him with 
 two fish which were handed to Chinta, asking" her to fry 
 them for breakfast. Being" absorbed in reflecting" the loss 
 of territory and the tragic disappearance of the bag", she 
 forgot all about the fish, the one burnt to ashes and the 
 other was half burnt. In her attempt to wash, the fish 
 slid away, being restored to life by the Devil. The 
 King on his arrival from a bath was greatly perplexed, 
 with the astounding circumstances of their mysterious de- 
 parture. The royal pair set out and reached the shop of a 
 village carpenter, who assigned to him a commodious 
 cottage at a moderate charge. To meet his necessary 
 charge, he went to a neighbouring jungle, fetched wood 
 and lived on the sale of it. 
 
 One day, during the absence of the King", the ship of a 
 great merchant was aground in the river running at the 
 foot of the village. The crew in vain endeavoured to 
 dislodge it ; accordingly the Devil advised the captain to 
 avail himself of the help of the wife of a carpenter (the King 
 
9O A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 was known here by this name). On the application of the 
 captain she touched her, and the vessel began to move. 
 Representing the great utility of the help of the girl on 
 similar emergencies, the Devil succeeded in inducing the 
 captain, to take her on board. So she was conveyed on 
 board the ship, which subsequently set sail. The empty 
 house greatly affected the King, who knew not to whom to 
 apply and where to find the abducted wife. Dethroned, 
 melancholy and unfriended as he was, he thought to put 
 an end to his sufferings by seeking a shelter beneath the 
 roof of a gentleman, who had been a great friend of him 
 during his halcyon days of prosperity. The gentleman 
 sympathized with his bereavement and showed the 
 hospitality of allowing him to stay a few days only. Drawing 
 was one of the methods employed by the King to beguile 
 his leisure. On the wall of his temporary room he one 
 day drew a peacock ; the Devil gave it life and the bird 
 swallowed a golden necklace. The guest being accused of 
 the theft, was insultingly driven away. Subsequently he 
 visited another friend, who being under the superstitious 
 influences of the Devil and dreading his malignant power, 
 sought to propitiate him by administering poison to the 
 King from the effect of which he died. Two of his 
 tame birds* seeing the corpse of their master placed 
 on the outer premises of the house, restored him to life by 
 means of medicinal herbs fetched from the wood. 
 
 He went to a deep jungle, built a cottage in the neigh- 
 bourhood of a Cabila, a particularly sacred cow, and 
 comfortably resided. He made some bricks, burnt them 
 and temporarily piled them high by the sea-side in hopes 
 of being able to erect a house of his own in future. In 
 the evening, he spent his leisure-hour by observation from 
 the pile. One day the crew of the vessel in which the 
 wife of the unfortunate King had been carried away, 
 observing a large pile of bricks almost unprotected,, threw 
 the man overboard, conveyed his only property and set 
 
 * Birds and beasts are far more reliable companions to the 
 distressed than men, who are sure to forsake their master on the 
 disappearance of his prosperity. 
 
A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 9 1 
 
 sail. The King* was carried away by the waves and under- 
 currents to a distance, when he was discovered by a girl 
 who conveyed him to her house and nursed him until his 
 recovery. Learning- her kind hostess was in the employ 
 of a royal family, he requested her to introduce him as an 
 applicant for an engagement. On her recommendation, 
 he was appointed superintendent of the wharf. One day 
 during- his official hours, he saw the same vessel which 
 carried his wife away and which threw him overboard, 
 and forthwith issued an order of her detention. On 
 claiming- the wife and the bricks, they were restored. 
 Ample compensation was given by the captain for 
 his outrageous actions. Now the Devil forsook him 
 and the prince learned, with transports of joy and surprise, 
 that the superintendent of the wharf was no common 
 man, as he himself was but a feudatory chief of the King-. 
 He made an apology for his not treating- him with the 
 necessary dignity and sent him to his kingdom. His 
 subjects, being- greatly oppressed by a tyrant dethroned 
 and slew him on the approach of their rightful King. 
 He assumed the sovereignty^ built a magnificent palace 
 and reformed the army arid navy. The leg-end further 
 adds, that when he was reinstated, he visited his false 
 friends stated above. The murderer very kindly admitted 
 him and desired him to live with him as long- as he pleased 
 and implored forgiveness for past action. The offence 
 was forgiven but the King was wise enough not to reside 
 with him any more. The accuser also received him 
 cordially and in vain assigned a room for his residence. 
 The King forgave his offence and went to the peacock for 
 the necklace which was restored to its rightful owner. 
 Thus the King spent the remnant of his life in comfort, 
 happiness and peace. 
 
 Examples drawn from myths and fables are not 
 necessary, to assure my readers that the trials of human 
 life give birth to virtues, which otherwise could never be 
 developed. Integrity is displayed only in the face of 
 temptation; patience, fortitude and resignation are evolved 
 only by suffering. Sympathy, philanthropy and charity 
 
92 A SOJOURN IN INDIA. 
 
 can be appreciated only by him, who has been developed 
 by poverty, misfortune and suffering-. Few men in health, 
 appreciate the blessing-, \vith which it is endowed but pain 
 and disease caution us against the evil propensities of our 
 life, and stimulate our gratitude for the immunity, which 
 we enjoy. My departure to the United States of America, 
 proved a turning- point in my career; but although my 
 life's pathway has not hitherto been very rosily strewn, I am 
 still hopeful if God be willing-, of achieving- the particular 
 object, to which the whole of my life has been devoted. 
 
YC190661