Page:Devil-Worship in France 1896.djvu/127

 § 4. A House of Rottenness.

Who would possess a lingam which was an Open Sesame to devildom and not make use thereof? By effecting an exchange with another ship’s doctor, the exploiter of Lucifer found himself presently at Pondicherry, with three months of comparative freedom before him to explore the mysteries of the oriental peninsula. Need I say that he had scarcely landed at the French seaboard town when he at once made acquaintance with the very person who of all others was most suitable to his scheme? This was Ramassamiponnotamly-palé-dobachi—quite a short name, he assures us, for the natives of this part. All Pondicherry more or less abounded in lingams and Lucifer, but as he carried his right hand clenched, the doctor at once suspected the half-naked Ramassam to be more than commonly devoted to the persuasion of perdition; nor was he mistaken, for the latter promptly inquired: “What is your age?” “Eleven years,” said the doctor. “Whence do you come?” “From the eternal flame.” “Whither do you