in
the whole world. As soon as a woman's husband dies she must have her
hair and her eyebrows shaven off. She must part with all her trinkets,
her earrings, her nose jewels, her bangles and toe-rings. After this is
done she is as good as dead. The lowest outcast would not marry her. A
man is polluted by her slightest touch, and must immediately proceed to
purify himself. The dirtiest work of the household is her duty, and she
must not eat with the married women and the children. The "sati," the
burning of the widows, is abolished, but Brahmans are clever managers,
and the widows often long for the sati.

At last, having examined the family chapel, full of idols, flowers, rich
vases with burning incense, lamps hanging from its ceiling, and aromatic
herbs covering its floor, we decided to get ready for dinner. We
carefully washed ourselves, but this was not enough, we were requested
to take off our shoes. This was a somewhat disagreeable surprise, but a
real Brahmanical supper was worth the trouble.

However, a truly amazing surprise was still in store for us.

On entering the dining-room we stopped short at the entrance--both our
European companions were dressed, or rather undressed, exactly like
Hindus! For the sake of decency they kept on a kind of sleeveless
knitted vest, but they were barefooted, wore the snow-white Hindu dhutis
(a piece of muslin wrapped round to the waist and forming a petticoat),
and looked like something between white Hindus and Constantinople
garcons de bains. Both were indescribably funny, I never saw anything
funnier. To the great discomfiture of the men, and the scandal of the
grave ladies of the house, I could not restrain myself, but burst out
laughing. Miss X----blushed violently and followed my example.

A quarter of an hour before the evening meal every Hindu, old or young,
has to perform a "puja" before the gods. He does not change his clothes,
as we do in Europe, but takes off the few things he wore during the day.
He bathes by the family well and loosens his hair, of which, if he is
a Mahratti or an inhabitant of the Dekkan, he has only one long lock at
the top of his shaven head. To cover the body and the head whilst eating
would be sinful. Wrapping his waist and legs in a white silk dhuti,
he goes once more to salute the idols and then sits down to his
meal.----

But here I shall allow myself to digress. "Silk possesses the property
of dismissing the evil spirits who inhabit