mere fact of crossing the seas to a foreign country constitutes a
breach of caste, according to strict Hindu law, which will have to be
atoned for on return, further breaches do not make much difference,
and many of these travellers appear to enjoy their newly found liberty
and eat freely all that is set before them, except that beef and pork
are respectively avoided by Hindus and Mohammedans. Modern-minded
Hindus even contend that to cross the seas does not break caste, and
that their sacred writings support this view, and the matter has
become the subject of long-drawn-out litigation by aggrieved Hindus
who have been out-casted on their return from foreign travel.

One of the voyagers belonged to the Jain sect amongst the Hindus, who
take the most elaborate precautions to avoid even the accidental
destruction of the smallest animal life. He had been prudent enough to
bring a Jain with him to act as his cook; but this man becoming
completely incapacitated by sea-sickness, his employer had to fall
back upon such stores of dry food as he had with him, until the cook
recovered. Indians are not good sailors, and a very moderate sea sent
most of them to the seclusion of their cabins.

This Jain was going to London to become a barrister. He told me that
his sect believes in the immortality of God, the soul, and matter.
Hence the two last are as indestructible as the first. The world,
therefore, will always exist, and each soul will continue to be
transmigrated for any number of ages until it gets absorbed into God.
Not to lead an exemplary life involves the unpleasant risk of
reappearing in some debased form, and also delays the realisation of
the final absorption. Their particularity about the taking of life
presumably arises from the possibility that if you destroy even the
humblest insect it may be a relation who has unfortunately had to
assume this form, and causes even eggs to be classed amongst forbidden
articles, because they contain the germ of life.

Three brothers, Sikhs, kept in their little inside cabin almost all
the voyage, with the door and ventilators generally closed, and seemed
perfectly content, except when prostrated by sea-sickness. They took
all their meals there, and they were heard imploring their steward to
be careful not to bring them any "beef." The smallness and stuffiness
of their cabin perhaps recalled pleasantly their Indian home. They
talked and laughed the whole day, and would have certainl