The evening was passed in all kinds of amusements.  The good doctor would have made me acquainted with all the arts of the Hindoos; however, the greater number of them were no longer new to me.  A snake-charmer exhibited his little society, which performed very clever tricks, and also allowed the most poisonous serpents to twine themselves round his body, and the largest scorpions ran over his arms and legs.  Afterwards, four elegant female dancers appeared dressed in muslin, ornamented with gold and silver, and loaded with jewellery,—­ears, forehead, neck, breast, loins, hands, arms, feet, in short, every part of the body was covered with gold, silver, and precious stones; even the toes were ornamented with them, and from the nose, a large ring with three stones hung over the mouth.  Two of the dancers first commenced.  Their dance consisted of the same winding movements which I had already seen in Benares, only they were far more animated, and twisted their fingers, hands, and arms about in every conceivable manner.  They might well be said to dance with their arms but not with their feet.  They danced for ten minutes without singing, then they began to scream, without however keeping time, and their motions became more violent and wild, until in about half an hour both strength and voice failed, they stopped quite exhausted, and made way for their sisters, who repeated the same spectacle.  Dr. Rolland told me that they represented a love story, in which every virtue and passion, such as truth, self-devotion, hate, persecution, despair, etc., played a part.  The musicians stood a little behind the dancers, and followed all their movements.  The whole space which such a company requires, is at the most ten feet in length and eight broad.  The good Hindoos amuse themselves for hours together with these tasteless repetitions.

I remember having read in books that the Indian female dancers were far more graceful than the European, that their songs were highly melodious, and that their pantomime was tender, inspiring, and attractive.  I should scarcely think the authors of such books could have been in India!  Not less exaggerated are the descriptions of others, who affirm that there are no dances more indelicate than those of the Indians.  I might again ask these people if they had ever seen the Sammaquecca and Refolosa in Valparaiso, the female dancers of Tahiti, or even our own in flesh-coloured leggings?  The dresses of the females in Rajpootan and some parts of Bundelkund are very different from those of other parts of India.  They wear long, coloured, many-folded skirts, tight bodies, which are so short that they scarcely cover the breasts; and, over this, a blue mantle, in which they envelop the upper part of the body, the head, and the face, and allow a part to hang down in front like a veil.  Girls who do not always have the head covered, nearly resemble our own peasant girls.  Like the dancers, they are overloaded with jewellery; when they cannot