THE CASTES.—­The Hindoos pretend that when Brahma created men, he made some out of his mouth, some out of his arms, some out of his breast, and some out of his foot.  They say the priests came out of Brahma’s mouth, the soldiers came out of his arm, the merchants came out of his breast, the laborers came out of his foot.  You may easily guess who invented this history.  It was the priests themselves:  it was they who wrote the sacred books where this history is found.

The priests are very proud of their high birth, and they call themselves Brahmins.

The laborers, who are told they come out of Brahma’s foot, are much ashamed of their low birth.  They are called sudras.

You would be astonished to hear the great respect the sudras pay to the high and haughty Brahmins.  When a sudra meets a Brahmin in the street, he touches the ground three times with his forehead, then, taking the priest’s foot in his hand, he kisses his toe.

The water in which a Brahmin has washed his feet is thought very holy.  It is even believed that such water can cure diseases.

A Hindoo prince, who was very ill of a fever, was advised to try this remedy.  He invited the Brahmins from all parts of the country to assemble at his palace.  Many thousands came.  Each, as he arrived, was requested to wash his feet in a basin.  This was the medicine given to the sick prince to drink.  It cost a great deal of money to procure it; for several shillings were given to each Brahmin to pay him for his trouble, and a good dinner was provided for all.  It is said that the prince recovered immediately, but we are quite certain that it was not the water which cured him.

In the holy books, or shasters, great blessings are promised to those who are kind to a Brahmin.  Any one who gives him an umbrella will never more be scorched by the sun; any one who gives him a pair of shoes will never have blistered feet; any one who gives him sweet spices will never more be annoyed by ill smells; and any one who gives him a cow will go to heaven.

You may be sure that, after such promises, the Brahmins get plenty of presents; indeed, they may generally be known by their well-fed appearance, as well as by their proud manner of walking.  They always wear a white cord hung round their necks.

But we must not suppose that all Brahmins are rich, and all sudras poor; for it is not so.  There are so many Brahmins that some can find no employment as priests, and they are obliged to learn trades.  Many of them become cooks.

There are sudras as rich as princes; but still a sudra can never be as honorable as a Brahmin, though the Brahmin be the cook and the sudra the master.

But the sudras are not the most despised people.  Far from it.  It is those who have no caste at all who are the most despised.  They are called pariahs.  These are people who have lost their caste.  It is a very easy thing to lose caste, and once lost it can never be regained.  A Brahmin would lose his caste by eating with a sudra; a sudra would lose his by eating with a pariah, and by eating with you—­yes, with you, for the Hindoos think that no one is holy but themselves.  It often makes a missionary smile when he enters a cottage to see the people putting away their food with haste, lest he should defile it by his touch.