Page:Life in India or Madras, the Neilgherries, and Calcutta.djvu/350

304 food from any but Brahmins; nor can he have a Sudra as a servant in his house. A man of any other caste, even though a king, is too impure to hand food to a Brahmin beggar.

His holiness is so intense as to give him much trouble, for commonly he must be his own servant; but it brings with it many privileges. When he receives charity at the hands of others, he confers a favour; and if he feasts at their expense, deserves their gratitude, for they have received an honour and done a work of great merit. The revenues of great tracts of land are devoted to their maintenance, and most government offices are held by them. On every occasion of importance, as marriages, births, &c., the Brahmin must be called and receive a fee.

With all their pretended holiness, it is notorious that Brahmins are far more careful to avoid defilement in public than in private, and that when out of sight they violate the rules of caste to gratify their appetites. As liars, they are unrivalled in a land of liars. Though professedly abstinent, when invited to a feast, they will eat nothing the day before, so as to be in readiness for the good cheer they expect; and then will gorge themselves, so as sometimes