Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 1.djvu/235

 and holding on, easily crosses over with her; sometimes he aids the cow by using one hand in swimming.

"What is that going down the river?" exclaimed a gentleman. On applying a telescope, we found fifty or sixty buffaloes all in a heap were coming down with the stream, whilst ten natives swimming with them kept thrashing them with long bamboos to make them exert themselves, and keep all together: the natives shouting and urging on the animals, and the buffaloes bellowing at every blow they received. At what a rate they come down! the stream flows with such rapidity during the rains! This is the first time I have seen such a large herd driven in this curious fashion.

Methodism is gaining ground very fast in Cawnpore; young ladies sometimes profess to believe it highly incorrect to go to balls, plays, races, or to any party where it is possible there may be a quadrille. A number of the officers also profess these opinions, and set themselves up as New Lights.

9th.—I was remarking to an officer to-day, I thought it very unlikely any one would attempt the life of the Governor-general. He replied: "The danger is to be feared from the discharged sipahīs, who are in a most turbulent and discontented state. Squadrons of them are gone over to Runjeet Singh, who is most happy to receive well-disciplined troops into his service."

I have just learned how to tell the age of a stud-bred horse. All stud horses are marked on the flank, when they are one year old, with the first letter of the stud and the last figure of the year. Our little mare, Lachhmī, is marked K. 0., therefore she was foaled at Kharuntadee in 1819, and marked in 1820—making her age now eleven years.

Oct. 10th.—I see in the papers—"A member in the House of Commons expressed his satisfaction that so abominable a practice as that of s[)u]tēē should have been abolished without convulsion or bloodshed. Great credit was due to the noble lord at the head of the Government there, and to the missionaries, to whom much of the credit was owing."

How very absurd all this is, was proved to me by what came to my knowledge at the time of the s[)u]tēē at Allahabad. If