But this is not all; very cruel deeds are committed by the side of the river.  It is supposed that all who die there will go to the Hindoo heaven.  It is therefore the custom to drag dying people out of their beds, and to lay them in the mud, exposed to the heat of the broiling sun, and then to pour pails of water over their heads.

One sick man, who was being carried to the water, covered up as if he were dead, suddenly threw off the covering, and called out, “I am not dead, I am only very ill.”  He knew that the cruel people who were carrying him were going to cast him into the water while he was still alive:  but nothing he could say could save him:  the cruel creatures answered, “You may as well die now as at any other time;” and so they drowned him, pretending all the while to be very kind.

It is thought a good thing to be thrown into the river after death.  The Ganges is the great burying-place; and dead bodies may be seen floating on its waters, while crows and vultures are tearing the flesh from the bones.  There would be many more of these horrible sights were it not that many bodies are burned, and their ashes only cast into the river.

Some foolish deceived creatures drown themselves in the Ganges, hoping to be very happy hereafter as a reward.  The Brahmins are ready to accompany such people into the water.  Some men were once seen going into the river with a large empty jar fastened to the back of each.  The empty jar prevented them from sinking; but there was a cup in the hands of each of the poor men, and with these cups they filled the jars, and then they began to sink.  One of them grew frightened, and tried to get on shore; but the wicked Brahmins in their boats hunted him, and tried to keep him in the water; however, they could not catch him, and the miserable man escaped.  There are villages near the river whither such poor creatures flee, and where they end their days together; for their old friends would not speak to them if they were to return to their homes.

BEGGARS.—­As you walk about Hindostan, you will sometimes meet a horrible object, with no other covering than a tiger’s skin, or else an orange scarf; his body besmeared with ashes, his hair matted like the shaggy coat of a wild beast, and his nails like birds’ claws.  The man is a beggar, and a very bold one, because he is considered as one of the holiest of men.  Who is he?

A sunnyasee.  Who is he?

A Brahmin, who wishing to be more holy than other Brahmins (holy as they are), has left all and become a beggar.  As a reward, he expects, when he dies, to go straight to heaven, without being first born again in the world.  It is wonderful to see the tortures which a sunnyasee will endure.  He will stand for years on one leg, till it is full of wounds, or, if he prefers it, he will clench his fist till the nails grow through the hands.

These holy beggars are found in all parts of India, but they are particularly fond of the most desolate spots.  Near the mouth of the Ganges there are some desert places, the resort of tigers, and there many of the sunnyasees live in huts.  They pretend not to be afraid of the tigers, and the Hindoos think that tigers will not touch such holy men; but it is certain that tigers have been seen dragging some of these proud men into the woods.