Page:Life in India or Madras, the Neilgherries, and Calcutta.djvu/143

Rh honesty of the people. This is truly indescribable. You cannot take it for granted that a thing is true because a Hindu says that it is true, even though it may be probable. It may or it may not be so; you need further evidence than his word, especially if it be a matter in which he has any interest. You doubt at times the evidence of your senses when you hear the clearness and vehemency with which they will deny what you have seen with your own eyes, and the earnestness with which they will call the gods to witness the truth of their assertion. But what else can we expect, when they believe that the gods themselves are liars and thieves? A nation will not be better than its gods; the Hindus are not.

The lady of the house, if she cannot afford to be cheated, must be constantly on the watch. Coffee, sugar, tea, oil, and other stores, must be weighed in her presence. Bundles of wood, grain, potatoes, salt, &c. must be measured or counted before her. The cow must be brought by the milkman to the door, his pot be turned upside down to show that there is no water in it, and the cow be milked in the sight of some of the household. Every day the rice and other articles of food must be unlocked and measured