Page:Wanderings of a Pilgrim Vol 2.djvu/38

12 foreheads,' 'Tie up your horses and make them fat for fighting, and wipe off the dust from their foreheads and rumps; and tie bells to their necks.

This latter command is curious, as in the "Rites of Travelling" it is mentioned, "The angels are not with that party with which is a dog, nor with that party with which is a bell." "A bell is the devil's musical instrument." "Kill black dogs having two white spots upon their eyes; for verily this kind of dog is the devil."

The natives cannot understand why Europeans cut off the tails of their horses, and consider it a disgusting and absurd practice. An officer in the artillery related a story of having sold an old Persian horse, with a tail sweeping the ground, to a friend at Fathïghar. When the sā'īs returned, Captain A asked him how the horse was liked, and if he was well. "Ahi, Sāhib!" said the sā'īs, "I had no sooner delivered him up than they cut off his tail, and the poor old horse was of such high caste that he could not bear such an indignity, and next morning he died of shame!" "Sharmandī ho mar-gayā." The English may be a very civilized nation, but this cutting off the tails of their horses, nicking the bone, and scoring fish alive, savour somewhat of barbarism: all that can be urged in its defence is, it is the custom (dastūr).

The natives are extremely superstitious, and delight in incantations. "God save you, uncle!" is the address of a Hindoo to a goblin, of which he is afraid, to prevent its hurting him.

Her Highness the Bāiza Bā'ī, having heard of the great fame of my cabinet of curiosities, requested some tigers' claws for the Gaja Rājā. I wrote to a friend in Assam, who sent me a quart of tigers' claws! regretting he was unable to procure more. If you kill a tiger, the servants steal his claws as quickly as possible to send to their wives to make into charms, which both the women and children wear around their necks. They avert the evil eye and keep off maladies. The Gaja Rājā was pleased at having procured the claws, and her horse's neck was