Page:"Round the world." - Letters from Japan, China, India, and Egypt (IA roundworldletter00fogg 0).pdf/185

 ignorant of the laws of meum and teum, for they steal everything they can put their paws on; brut the Hindoo venerates the spe, and their secred character protects them frem all molestation. They kelisve that these are derc2ndants frem the Monkey God himself who came to India thousands of years ago. At the call of the priests, to whom I gave some money to buy food, they ¢ame noisily flocking from every direction, along roof and parapet, from turret and pin- nacle, down pillars, from every corner and erannia each eager to receive his share, eramring their pouches with frightenad haste, keeping one eye on uz, as if ready for atteck or retreat, Soma were large, ugly- looking customers aa if dieposed to show fight, When I shock my cane af them they acampered away, bri stopped at a rave dis- tances to grin acd “make faers,” mocking every motion in that comical, semi-human vasnner peculiar tothe tribe. My “shaking a stick at them’? mede the attendant priests scowl at me, and to sirlke one would lead to serious consequences.

Arriving atthe yiver’s edge, we embarked ona heat exd floated slowly down the stream, which is about six bkundred yerds wide, keeping just near exough to the shore to witnass one of fhe strangest sights in the world, The Ghavis, or stone eteps rise eighty feot from the water, ang are crowned with splendid palaces of cut atone, four and five stories in height, with carved sarscenic archea over the door-ways and windews. Facing the east the exrly morning eun gave asplendid arehitectural etlecs to this river front; whieh Bayard Taylor gays, “cannot be paralleled or surpsssed by any similar scensin India, or ia the world,” Many of these buildimesara the pslaces ef wealthy Hindeo princes who make peri- odieal visits to Banares te purge themselves from sins eoutracted in less holy habita- tiens. There igno sin so abominstle, not even the crime of murder, whieh a dip in the fetid waters of tha Ganges doa not in- stantiy effice. Atthe foot ef the Gharts were thousands of bathers, men, women and children, ducking and eplashing In the gecred stream. Many were entirely nude, others were “next tonothing”’ in the way ofarapery, and as they stoad walat-deep ia in the water, going throngh their prostra- tions snd pouring the filthy stuff over their heads, thoy seemed perfectly indifferent to the gaze of the crowd around. Mingled together and seemingly quite unconcious [sic] of