the contest, by entering into a conditional agreement with Beenoo, that if she would establish the validity of her caste, and in proof thereof prevail on some creditable members of her own tribe to partake with her of an entertainment of her providing, he would not only defray the expense of it, but would also discharge her debts. The conditions were accepted by Beenoo, who fulfilled her part of the obligation; and her antagonist, without hesitation, defrayed the charges of the entertainment. But the non-performance of his engagement to discharge her debts induced Beenoo Bhai to institute a suit against him; and the practice of the dherna, with the proofs of it, were thus brought forward to official notice. It is not unworthy of remark, that some of the pandits, on being consulted, admitted the validity of an obligation extorted by dherna, provided the obligation were to obtain a just cause or right, wickedly withheld by the other party, but not otherwise. Others again rejected the validity of an engagement so extorted, unless it should be subsequently confirmed by the writer, either in whole or in part, after the removal of the coercion upon him."

Sir William Jones, on farther information, added: "Any one who sits in dherna on another's door or in his house, for the realization of a debt, or for other purpose, takes with him some weapon or poison and sits down; he does not eat himself, nor allow the party against whom he is sitting, or his family to eat; nor does he allow any person ingress into that person's house, nor egress from it; and addressing himself in terms of the strongest oaths to the people of the house, he says, 'If any of those of your house shall eat victuals, or go into your house, or go out of it, I shall either wound myself with this weapon or swallow this poison;' and it does sometimes happen that both these events take place, and that he who sits in dherna does not remove from it without the entreaty of those on whom he is sitting, or the order of the hakim."

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The following instance is of late occurrence. Mohun Panreh, an inhabitant of a district in the province of Benares, sat down in dherna before the house of some Rajpoots, for the purpose of obtaining the payment of birt, or a charitable subsistence, to which he had a claim, and in that situation poisoned himself. Some of the relations of the deceased retained.

his corpse for two days before the house of the Rajpoots; who thus were compelled to forego taking sustenance, in order to induce them to settle the birt on the heir of the deceased Brahman."

The celebrated Scindiah was not exempt from this mortifying ceremony. Two of his chiefs once sat down in dherna with drawn swords, &c. to obtain from him arrears of pay due to their troops, who were reduced to the utmost distress. He contrived, however, to remove them by promises from the entrance of his tent, and then surrounded them with two batallions of his troops and artillery, and compelled them to quit the camp.

Another practice, of a very singular and cruel nature, is called erecting a koor. This term is explained to mean a circular pile of wood which is prepared ready for conflagration. Upon this, sometimes a cow, and sometimes an old woman, is placed by the constructors of the pile, and the whole is consumed together. The object of this practice is to intimidate the officers of government, or others, from importunate demands, as the effect of the sacrifice is supposed to involve in great sin the person whose conduct forces the constructor of the koor to this expedient. An instance of this practice is thus described. "Three Brahmans had erected a koor, upon which an old woman had suffered herself to be placed. The object of temporary intimidation was fully attained by it, and the timely interposition of authority prevented the completion of the sacrifice. It cannot be uninteresting to know the cause which urged the three Brahmans to this desperate and cruel resource. Their own explanation is summarily this: That they held lands in partnership with others, but that the public assessment was unequally imposed upon them, as their partners paid less, whilst they were charged with more than their due proportion; they therefore refused to discharge any part of the revenues whatever, and erected a koor, to. intimidate the government's officers from making any demands upon them. Their sole object, as they explicitly declared, was to obtain an equal distribution of the public assessment between themselves and their partners. A woman, nearly blind from age, had in this instance been placed upon the koor: she was summoned to appear before the English superintendant of the province, but absolutely refused to attend him, de

claring that she would throw herself into the first well rather than submit. The summons was not enforced."

Having described the highest caste or tribe of the Hindus, I proceed to notice that of the lowest, as related by the intelligent Abbé Dubois; who, flying from the atrocities of the French revolution, sought refuge in India, where he became a missionary, and in the performance of his religious functions, lived in intimate communication with the natives during a period of seventeen years, conforming to their manners and prejudices, their dress, and their mode of living, as far as he with propriety could. This respectable authority has stated that "The distance and aversion which the other castes, and the Brahmans in particular, manifest for the Pariahs, are carried so far, that in many places their very approach is sufficient to pollute the whole neighbourhood. They are not permitted to enter the street where the Brahmans live: if they venture to transgress, those superior beings would have the right, not to assault them themselves, because it would be pollution to touch them even with the end of a long pole, but they would be entitled to give them a sound beating by the hands of others, or even to make an end of them, which has often happened by the orders of the native princes, without dispute or inquiry. Any person who, from whatever accident, has eaten with Pariahs, or of food provided by them, or even drank of the water which they have drawn, or which was contained in earthen vessels which they have handled, any one who has set his foot in their houses or permitted them to enter his own, would be proscribed without pity from his caste, and would never be restored without a number of troublesome ceremonies and great expense. The Pariahs are considered to be far beneath the beasts who traverse their forests, and equally share the dominion in them. It is not permitted to them to erect a house, but only a sort of shed, supported on four bamboos and open on all sides. It shelters them from the rain, but not from the injuries of the weather. They dare not walk on the common road, as their steps would defile it. When they see any person coming at a distance, they must give him notice by a loud cry, and make a great circuit to let him pass."

Witches, charms, and amulets, obtain extensive credit in some of the

provinces of Hindustan. Instead, however, of the former appearing, as in Scotland, on the blasted heaths, or, as in ancient times in England, bestriding a broom-stick and decently dressed, in the cavalier hat and cloak of scarlet dye, they are generally discovered dancing naked at midnight, with a broom tied round their waists, either near the house of a sick person or on the outside of a village.

To ascertain with a greater degree of certainty the persons guilty of practising witchcraft, the three following modes are adopted:

First. Branches of the saul tree, marked with the names of all the females in the village, whether married or unmarried, who have attained the age of twelve years, are planted in the water in the morning, for the space of four hours and a half, and the withering of any of these branches is proof of witchcraft against the person whose name is annexed to it.

Secondly. Small portions of rice enveloped in cloths, marked as above, are placed in a nest of white ants. The consumption of the rice in any of the bags establishes sorcery against the woman whose name it bears.

Thirdly. Lamps are lighted at night, water is placed in cups made of leaves, and mustard-seed and oil is poured, drop by drop, into the water, whilst the name of each woman in the village is pronounced. The appearance of the shadow of any woman on the water during this ceremony, proves

her a witch.

In accordance with the policy of the ancient Brahmans to keep the Hindus detached from all communication with other nations, the higher castes of them are prohibited from crossing the river Attock (the name given to the Indus after its junction with that river); but they contrive to avoid the prohibition by passing the stream above the point where the waters unite; or allege, as the channel of the Indus is understood to have formerly ran farther to the westward, that they may cross it without scruple, as its true bed is not now defined. This, however, is not at all times to be done with impunity, when the priests discover that the offending parties are rich, as the following statement will shew.

"When the unfortunate Raghu Nath Raya, or Ragoba, sent two Brahmans as ambassadors to England, they went by sea as far as Suez, but they

came back by the way of Persia, and of course crossed the Indus. On their return they were treated as outcasts, because they conceived it hardly possible for them to travel through countries inhabited by Mlec'h'has, or impure tribes, and live according to the rules laid down in the sacred books. It was also alleged that they had crossed the Attaca or Attock. Numerous meetings were held in consequence of this, and learned Brahmans were convened from all parts. The influence and authority of Raghu Nath Raya could not save his ambassadors. However, the holy assembly decreed, that in consideration of their universal good character, and of the motives of their travelling to distant countries, which was solely to promote the good of their country, they might be regenerated, and have the sacerdotal ordination renewed. For the purpose of regeneration, it is directed to make an image of pure gold, of the female power of nature, in the shape either of a woman or of a cow. In this statue the person to be regenerated is enclosed and dragged through the usual channel. As a statue of pure gold and of proper dimensions would be too expensive, it is sufficient to make an image of the sacred yoni, through which the person to be regenerated is to pass. Raghu Nath Raya had one made of pure gold and of proper dimensions: his ambassadors were regenerated, and the usual ceremonies of ordination having been performed, and immense presents bestowed on the Brahmans, they were readmitted to the communion of the faithful."*

The five great sacraments of the Brahmans are, the study of the Veda; the sacraments of the manes; of deities; of spirits; and the hospitable reception of guests.

On

The rites and ceremonies used on these occasions are numerous. rising from his sleep, a Brahman must clean his teeth with the twig of the ramiferous fig-tree, repeating to himself at the same time a prayer; or on certain days must rinse his mouth twelve times with water. He must then proceed to perform his ablutions, which are accompanied by various prayers and ceremonies. Having finished these, he puts on his mantle after washing

* Asiatic Researches, vol. vi.