accused
has been bathed in sacred water, the homa, or
oblation, presented to fire, and the deities
worshipped, he is carefully weighed; and, when he is
taken out of the scale, the Pandits prostrate
themselves, and pronounce a certain mentra or
incantation, agreeably to the Sastras, and having
written the substance of the accusation on a piece of
paper, bind it on his head. Six minutes after, they
place him again in the scale, and, if he weigh more
than before, he is held guilty; if less, innocent; if
exactly the same, he must be weighed a third time;
when, as it is written in the Mitacshera, there will
certainly be a difference in his weight. Should the
balance break down, it would be considered a proof of
guilt.

"II. For the fire ordeal, an excavation, nine hands
long, two spans broad, and one span deep, is made in
the ground, and filled with a fire of pippal wood:
into this the person accused must walk bare-footed,
and, if his foot be unhurt, they hold him blameless;
if burned, guilty.

"III. Water ordeal is performed by causing the person
accused to stand in a sufficient depth of water,
either flowing or stagnant, to reach his navel; but
care must be taken that no ravenous animal be in it,
and that it be not moved by much air: a Brahman is
then directed to go into the water, holding a staff in
his hand, and a soldier shoots three arrows on dry
ground from a bow of cane; a man is next despatched to
bring the arrow which has been shot farthest, and,
after he has taken it up, another is ordered to run
from the edge of the water; at which instant the
person accused is told to grasp the foot or the staff
of the Brahman, who stands near him in the water, and
immediately to dive into it. He must remain under
water till the two men who went to fetch the arrows
are returned; for, if he raise his head or body above
the surface before the arrows are brought back, his
guilt is considered as fully proved. In the villages
near Banares, it is the practice for the person who is
to be tried by this kind of ordeal to stand in water
up to his navel, and then, holding the foot of a
Brahman, to dive under it as long as a man can walk
fifty paces very gently; if before