as he is passing, he thinks himself defiled, and is obliged to
bathe immediately.

The Parias are not allowed to enter any temple, and have particular
places set apart for their dwellings. They are miserably poor, and
live in the most wretched huts; their food consists of all kinds of
offal and even diseased cattle; they go about nearly naked, or with
only a few rags at most on them, and perform the hardest and
commonest work.

The four castes are subdivided into an immense number of sects,
seventy of which are allowed to eat meat, while others are compelled
to abstain from it altogether. Strictly speaking, the Hindoo
religion forbids the spilling of blood, and consequently the eating
of meat; but the seventy sects just mentioned are an exception.
There are, too, certain religious festivals, at which animals are
sacrificed. A cow, however, is never killed. The food of the
Hindoos consists principally of rice, fruit, fish, and vegetables.
They are very moderate in their living, and have only two simple
meals a day--one in the morning and the other in the evening. Their
general drink is water or milk, varied sometimes with cocoa wine.

The Hindoos are of the middle height, slim, and delicately formed;
their features are agreeable and mild; the face is oval, the nose
sharply chiselled, the lip by no means thick, the eye fine and soft,
and the hair smooth and black. Their complexion varies, according
to the locality, from dark to light brown; among the upper classes,
some of them, especially the women, are almost white.

There are a great number of Mahomedans in India; and as they are
extremely skilful and active, most trades and professions are in
their hands. They also willingly hire themselves as servants to
Europeans.

Men here do that kind of work which we are accustomed to see
performed by women. They embroider with white wool, coloured silk,
and gold; make ladies' head-dresses, wash and iron, mend the linen,
and even take situations as nurses for little children. There are a
few Chinese, too, here, most of whom are in the shoemaking trade.

Calcutta, the capital of Bengal, is situated on the Hoogly, which at
this point is so deep and broad, that the largest men-of-war and
East Indiamen can lie at anchor before the town. The population
consists of about 600,000 souls, of whom, not counting the English
troops, hardly more than 2,000 are Europeans and Americans. The
town is divided into several porti