When they are married the man and woman come to the water side, where there is an old bramin or priest, a cow and calf, or a cow with calf.  Then the man and woman, together with the cow and calf, go into the river, giving the old bramin a piece of cloth four yards long, and a basket cross bound, in which are sundry things.  The bramin lays the cloth on the back of the cow, after which he takes hold of the end of the cows tail, and says certain words.  The woman has a brass or copper pot full of water; the man takes hold of the bramin with one hand, and the woman with the other, all having hold of the cow by the tail, on which they pour water from the pot, so that it runs on all their hands.  They then lave up water with their hands, and the bramin ties the man and woman together by their clothes[408].  When this is done, they go round about the cow and calf, and then give some alms to the poor, who are always present, and to the bramin or priest they give the cow and calf, after which they go to several of the idols, where they offer money, lying down flat on the ground before the idol, and kissing the earth several times, after which they go away.  Their chief idols are black and very ugly, with monstrous mouths, having their ears gilded and full of jewels, their teeth and eyes of gold, silver, or glass, and carrying sundry things in their hands.  You may not enter into the houses where they stand with your shoes on.  In these houses there are lamps continually burning before the idols.

[Footnote 408:  This tying of new married folks together by the clothes, was used by the Mexicans in old times.—­Hakluyt.]

From Benares I went down the Ganges to Patenaw, [Patna] passing many fair towns and a very fertile country, in which way many great rivers enter the Ganges, some as large as itself, by which it becomes so broad that in time of the rains you cannot see across.  The scorched bodies which are thrown into the water swim on the surface, the men with their faces down, and the women with theirs up.  I thought they had tied some weight to their bodies for this purpose, but was told no such thing was done.  There are many thieves in this country, who roam up and down like the Arabs, having no fixed abode.  Here the women are so decked with silver and copper that it is strange to see them, and they wear so many rings on their toes that they cannot use shoes.  Here at Patna they find gold in this manner:  They dig deep pits in the earth, and wash the earth in large holes, and in these they find gold, building the pits round about with bricks, to prevent the earth from falling in.