eir own, unless they can
pay the severe penalties prescribed for it. If either marries or forms
a connection with a man or woman of a lower class they descend into
that class. Similarly, one who marries a widow goes into the Lohri Seg
or lowest class. Other castes have a similar system of divisions. Among
the great body of Hindus cases of men living with women of different
caste are now very common, and the children of such unions sometimes
inherit their father's property. Though in such cases the man is
out of caste this does not mean that he is quite cut off from social
intercourse. He will be invited to the caste dinners, but must sit in
a different row from the orthodox members so as not to touch them. As
an instance of these mixed marriages the case of a private servant, a
Mali or gardener, may be quoted. He always called himself a Brahman,
and though thinking it somewhat curious that a Brahman should be
a gardener, I took no notice of it until he asked leave to attend
the funeral of his niece, whose father was a Government menial,
an Agarwala Bania. It was then discovered that he was the son of a
Brahman landowner by a mistress of the Kachhi caste of sugarcane and
vegetable growers, so that the profession of a private or ornamental
gardener, for which a special degree of intelligence is requisite,
was very suitable to him. His sister by the same parents was married
to this Agarwala Bania, who said his own family was legitimate and he
had been deceived about the girl. The marriage of one of this latter
couple's daughters was being arranged with the son of a Brahman, father
and Bania mother in Jubbulpore; while the gardener himself had never
been married, but was living with a girl of the Gadaria (shepherd)
caste who had been married in her caste but had never lived with her
husband. Inquiries made in a small town as to the status of seventy
families showed that ten were out of caste on account of irregular
matrimonial or sexual relations; and it may therefore be concluded
that a substantial proportion of Hindus have no real caste at present.

4. Legend of origin

The Vidurs say that they are the descendants of a son who was born
to a slave girl by the sage Vyas, the celebrated compiler of the
Mahabharata, to whom the girl was sent to provide an heir to the
kingdom of Hastinapur. This son was named Vidur and was remarkable
for his great wisdom, being one of the leading characters in the
Mahabharata and givin