On the second day, the worship and sacrifices are much the same as on the first, except that the bathing of the goddess, called the great suanu, is attended with more ceremonies. In this ceremony the priest first brings some earth said to have been thrown up by the teeth of a wild hog, and, mixing it with water, presents it with prayers to the goddess, to be used as soap. Then, in succession, earth from before the door of the king, or lord of the soil; from before that of a courtezan; from the side of the Ganges; earth raised by ants; and, lastly, earth from any river side, not the Ganges is presented with the same ceremonies. After this, turmeric, fruits, and spices; the water of the cocoa nut, and of the watermelon ; the juice of the sugar cane; honey, clarified butter, sour milk, milk, cow's urine, cow-dung, sugar, treacle, and different sorts of oil, are presented in succession, with the necessary formulas. While the officiating Bramhun is going through these ceremonies, he resolves in his mind that he is making these gifts to assist the goddess in bathing. At the close, he presents some water of the Ganges, and after this, the water of four seas; or, if unable to obtain this, the water of the Ganges again, and then the water of some other river. The bathing ceremonies are closed by a present of cloth for the loins. In the evenings, or else in the night, according to the conjunction of the stars, worship is again performed, in which only one bloody sacrifice is offered; and in some cases none. Widows fast on this day, particularly a widow with children; the latter deriving great benefits from the meritorious actions of the mother.

On the third day, the goddess is worshipped only once, but the offerings and sacrifices are many; buffaloes are offered only on this day. A respectable native once told me that he had seen one hundred and eight buffaloes sacrificed by one Hindoo at this festival: the number slain in the whole country must therefore be very great. Formerly some of the Hindoo kings killed a thousand animals on these occasions. The males only are sacrificed and they are in general young and tame, costing from five to sixteen roopees each. None of the Hindoos eat the sacrificed buffaloes, except the shoemakers. Each animal is bathed before it is slain; after which the officiating bramhun puts red lead on its horns, and, with a red string, ties a piece of wool smeared with red lead on the fore part of the breast: he also puts a piece of cloth covered over with turmeric on his back, and a necklace of vilwu leaves on his neck, repeating prayers during these actions. The ceremony of cutting off the heads of the buffalos, and presenting

them to the goddess, is similar to those already described respecting the sacrifice of goats and sheep.

After the beasts are all slain, the multitude, rich and poor, daub their bodies all over with the mud formed with the blood which has collected where the animals are slain, and dance like furies on the spot; after which they go into the street, dancing and singing indecent songs, and visit those houses where images of the goddess have been set up.

At the close of the whole, the officiating bramhun presents a burnt offering, and gives to the goddess a sum of money, commonly about four roopees: some indeed give one hundred, and others as many as a thousand roopees; which they at length return into the hands of the officiating bramhun.

[Such are the gods and the worship paid to them, of the Hindoo Pantheon; and such, to use the language of Dr. Ward, is the deplorable state into which the mind continues to sink, after it has once renounced the doctrine of the unity of God! Neither is the worship paid to these wretched deities of a more pure or dignified character. The Bacchanals of the ancients were not so licentious as the rites of the Hindoo religion. These pages must not, however, be polluted by a recital of the shocking indecencies practised on those occasions. One or two instances more, from other writers, of the cruelties of these eastern modes of conciliating their deities may be noticed; together with some account of the four chief sects, or tribes into which they are divided. Forbes, Mrs. Graham, and other writers, besides Dr. Ward, have described these at some length. From these authors we learn, that the Hindoos have, from all antiquity, been divided into four great tribes, each of which comprehends a variety of inferior casts,

The first, and most noble tribe, are the Bramhuns, who are the priesthood. They are not excluded from government, trade, or agriculture, though they are strictly prohibited from all menial offices. They derive their name from Bramha, who they allegorically say, produced the Brahmins from his head, when he created the world.

The second in order is the Sittri tribe, who, according to their original constitution, ought to be all military men ; because Bramba is said to have produced them from his heart, as an emblem of that courage which warriors should possess. The name of Beise is given to the third tribe. These are for the most part merchants, bankers, and shop keepers, and are said to have sprung from the belly of Bramha, the word Beish signifying a provider or nourisher.

The fourth tribe is that of Sudder, who are menial ser

vants, incapable of raising themselves to any superior rank; they are supposed to have sprung from the feet of Bramha.

If any one of the four tribes be excommunicated, he and his posterity are for ever shut out from the society of every person in the nation, excepting that of the Haricasts, who are held in utter detestation by the other tribes, and are employed only in the meanest and vilest offices. This circumstance renders excommunication so dreadful, that any Hindoo will suffer torture, and even death, rather than deviate from one article of his faith.

The devotion of the Hindoos to the Supreme Being, and the inferior deities, consists in a regular attendance at the dowels, or temples, especially at the solemn festivals ; in performing particular religious ceremonies in their own houses : in prayers, ablutions, fastings, and penances; but especially in oblations, which consist chiefly of spices, incense, rice, fruits, and flowers; and, although they have been in former times accused of offering human sacrifices, they now, as some assert, very rarely shed even the blood of an animal in their religious services.

Fakeers. The fakeers, or yogees, of the Senassee tribe,are a set of mendicant philosophers, who travel all over Hindoostan, and live on the charity of the other casts of Hindoos.They are generally entirely naked, most of them robust, handsome men: they admit proselytes from the other tribes, especially youth of bright parts, and take great pains to instruct them in their mysteries. These Gymnosophists often unite in large armed bodies, and perform pilgrimages to the sacred rivers and celebrated temples; but they are more like an army marching through a province, than an assembly of saints in procession to a temple; and often lay the countries through which they pass under contribution.

Many yogees, and similar professors, are devotees of the strictest order, carrying their superstition and enthusiasm far beyond any thing we are acquainted with in Europe: even the austerities of La Trappe are light in comparison with the voluntary penances of these philosophers; they reside in holes and caves, or remain under the banian trees near the temple. They imagine the expiation of their own sins, and sometimes those of others, consists in the most rigorous penances and mortifications. Some of them enter into a solemn vow to continue for life in one unvaried posture; others uBdertake to carry a cumbrous load, or drag a heavy chain;some crawl on their hands and knees for years, around an extensive empire; and others roll their bodies on the earth,

from the shores of the Indus to the banks of the Ganges, and in that humiliating posture, collect money to enable them either to build a temple, to dig a well, or to atone for some particular sin. Some swing during their whole life, in this torrid clime before a slow fire; others suspend themselves, with their head downwards, for a certain time over the fiercest flames.

The engraving exhibits the position of a Hindoo Fakeer who has lived near Calcutta. This man has held his arms upwards till all circulation has ceased; his nails have grown into long claws, and his arms have withered and become dead and stiff, so that they can not be removed from the position. He sits with his legs crossed and placed under him till they also have become almost useless. In this situation he is brought out daily and placed on his seat, which is covered with a leopard skin, his back being supported with a cushion, and thus is he exhibited by the side of a public road. The natives crowd round this Fakeer, (or Mendicant Devotee) and thinking him a most holy man and a wonderful favorite of their gods, they respect him with fear and reverence. Some of these Fakeers make vows to continue all their life time in one posture, and keep it effectually. Others never lie down; but continue in a standing posture all their lives, supported only by a stick or rope under their arm pits: some mangle their bodies with scourges and knives. They look upon themselves to have conquered every passion and triumphed over the world. It has been thought that they submitted to these sufferings to obtain the pardon of their sins, but their chief object undoubtedly is to obtain some favour from the gods, and to excite the wonder and veneration of the ignorant Heathen. They hope by these tortures eventually to become great men and Kings upon the earth. They conceive their own merit to be so great that they can compel their gods to grant them their wishes, and the common people are thoroughly persuaded of their virtue and innocence. Still these Fakeers are accused of committing the most enormous crimes in private.

These tortures are sometimes undergone as proxies on behalf of richer persons, the devotee thus lets out his sufferings to hire, in order thereby to procure, as is imagined, some benefit to a richer neighbour who would rather part with his money than his ease.

Other Fanatics.-A set of very extraordinary Hindoo fanatics are to be met with in various parts of the country:particular villages are appropriated for the ceremony of

swinging, where the swingers assemble at stated seasons. In the centre of an area, surrounded by numerous spectators, is erected a pole, from twenty to thirty feet in height, on which is placed a long horizontal beam, with a rope run over a pully at the extremity; to this rope they fix an iron hook, which being drawn through the integuments of the devoted swinger, he is suspended aloft in the air, amidst the acclamations of the multitude; the longer he is capable of this painful exertion, and the more violently he swings himself round, the greater the merit from the flesh giving way, the performer sometimes falls from this towering height, and breaks a limb; if he escapes that accident, from the usual temperance of the Hindoos, the wound soon heals:-this penance is generally voluntary, in performance of a religious vow, or inflicted for the expiation of sins committed, either by himself, or some of his family. It will be seen how exactly this account agrees with the instances before given from Dr. Ward.

The Pooleahs and Pariars.-The degraded Pooleahs are an abject and unfortunate race, who, by cruel laws and ty rannical customs, are reduced to a wretched state; while the monkeys are adored as sylvan deities, and in some parts of Malabar, have temples and daily sacrifices. I have often, says Forbes, lamented the treatment of the poor Pooleahs, and the cruel difference made by human laws between them and the pampered Brahmins. Banished from society, they have neither houses nor lands, but retire to solitary places, hide themselves in ditches, and climb into umbrageous trees for shelter; they are not permitted to breathe the same air with the other castes, nor to travel on a public road: if by accident they should be there, and perceive a Brahmin or Nair at a distance, they must instantly make a loud howling, to warn him from approaching until they have retired, or climbed up the nearest tree. If a Nair accidently meets a Pooleah on the highway, he cuts him down with as little ceremony as others destroy a noxious animal; even the lowest of other castes will have no communication with a Pooleah. Hunger sometimes compels them to approach the villages to exchange baskets, fruit, or such commodities as they may have for a little grain, having called aloud to the peasants, they tell their wants, leave their barter on the ground, and retiring to a distance, trust to the honesty of the villagers, to place a measure of corn equal in value to the barter which the Pooleahs afterwards take away. Constant poverty and accumulated misery have entirely debased the human form,