the practice I had learned, and the poor
woman, restored to health and peace, was no more troubled by her enemy."

When this story was related, I fancied it a mere fable of the relator's
brain to amuse his audience; but on a more intimate acquaintance with him,
I find it to be his real opinion that he had been instrumental in the way
described, in removing evil spirits from the possessed; nor could I ever
shake his confidence by any argument brought forward for that purpose
during many years of intimate acquaintance; which is the more to be
regretted as in all other respects he possesses a very superior and
intelligent mind, and as far as _I_ could judge of his heart by his life,
always appeared to be a really devout servant of God.

It is not surprising that the strongly grounded persuasion should be too
deeply rooted to give way to my feeble efforts; time, but more especially
the mercy of Divine goodness extended to them, will dissolve the delusion
they are as yet fast bound by, as it has in more enlightened countries,
where superstition once controlled both the ignorant and the scholar, in
nearly as great a degree as it is evident it does at this day the people
of India generally. Here the enlightened and the unenlightened are so
strongly persuaded of the influence of supernatural evil agency, that if
any one is afflicted with fits, it is affirmed by the lookers on, of
whatever degree, that the sick person is possessed by an unclean spirit.

If any one is taken suddenly ill, and the doctor cannot discover the
complaint, the opinion is that some evil spirit has visited the patient,
and the holy men of the city are then applied to, who by prayer may draw
down relief for the beloved and suffering object. Hence arises the number
of applications to the holy men for a written prayer, called taawise (
talisman) which the people of that faith declare will not only preserve
the wearer from the attacks of unclean spirits, genii, &c., but these
prayers will oblige such spirits to quit the afflicted immediately on
their being placed on the person. The children are armed from their birth
with talismans; and if any one should have the temerity to laugh at the
practice, he would be judged by these superstitious people as worse than a
heathen.

[1] Kanhaiya, a name of the demigod Krishna, whom Kansa, the wicked King
of Mathura, tried to destroy. For the miracle-play of the
destruction of Kansa by Krishna and his brother