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 hangs heavy in the air, through all this moves the grey-headed Commander, in a dignified manner carrying out his inexorable portion of the ritual; stepping over the heaps of blossom, poor simple flowers with their petals dabbled with gore, he blesses the colours one by one according to the time-honoured tradition of the Durga Puja. Among the minor celebrations of this festival, two curious customs are observed which occupy two consecutive days. The first of these is called the "Kaka boli," and on this occasion it is the practice of all the people to show kindness to the common crow. These birds in almost all parts of India are a great pest, and their persistent thieving makes them the enemies of all. It must, therefore, be a puzzling matter for the crow tribe to find their predations unchecked, and even large quantities of food placed in prominent positions, which they are permitted to devour unmolested. San Vicente and his Crow may have some remote association with this custom, which also strangely reflects the old ballad—