Benares is on the whole the chief seat of Indian learning.  Among the Brahmins, 6,000 in number, I was told there were many who give instruction in astronomy, Sanscrit, and other scientific subjects.

The sacred apes are another of the curiosities of Benares.  Their principal location is upon some of the immense mango-trees in the suburbs of Durgakund.  The animals seemed as if they knew we had come to see them, for they approached quite close to us; but when the servant, whom I had sent for some food for them, returned, and called them to him, it was amusing to see the merry creatures come running from the trees, the roofs of the houses, and the streets.  We were in a moment closely surrounded by several hundreds, who fought together in the most comical manner for the fruits and grain.  The largest or oldest acted as commander.  Wherever there was quarrelling, he rushed in, and commenced thrashing the combatants, threatening them with his teeth, and making a muttering sound, upon which they immediately separated.  It was the largest and most comical party of monkeys I ever saw.  They were generally more than two feet high, and their skins were a dirty yellow colour.

My kind host took me one day to Sarnath (five miles from Benares), where there are some interesting ruins of three remarkably massive towers.  They are not particularly high, and stand upon three artificially raised mounds, a mile distant from each other.  Both the mounds and towers are constructed of large bricks.  The largest of these towers is still covered in many places with stone slabs, on which traces of arabesques are here and there visible.  Numbers of slabs lie scattered about the ground.  There are no signs of any such covering on the remaining towers.  In each there is a small door and a single apartment.

Excavations were commenced beneath these towers by the English government in the hope of making some discoveries which would throw light upon the origin of these buildings; but nothing was found beyond an empty underground vault.

There is a lake close by of artificial construction, which is supplied with water from the Ganges by a canal.

There is a very singular tradition connected with these towers and the lake.  “In very ancient times three brothers ruled here, who were giants, and had these buildings erected and the lake excavated, and all in one day.  It must, however, be known that a day at that time was equal to two years of modern reckoning.  The giants were so tall that they could go from one tower to the other with a step, and the reason these were built so close was their fondness for each other, and their desire to be always together.”