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228 ABOUND THE WOKLD.
VILLAGE LIEE. — BATHIKG IN THE GANGES.
The longer that missionaries and merchantmen remain in
the " land of Ind," the more do they become attracted to
the people, and attached to the country. Old men residing
in India can hardly be induced to return to England. Bookmaking
travelers, of the Rev. Prime school, are shamefully
partial in their descriptions of the effeminate Orientals. It
is chronic with these clergymen to write contemptuously of
the "heathen." Idolatry in any form is deplorable ; but it is
just as absurd to idolize a hook labeled " holy," as a bit of
carved stone.
The native Indians are not only exceedingly social, but
trusting and reverential. They are not as moral, however,
as they were in the days of Warren Hastings and Sir William
Jones. Their habitations, afar back from the great
cities, are all clustered in villages. None reside by themselves
on farms. Ditches, rather than fences, indicate boundaries.
Many of their houses are mere mud hovels, the
flooring matting, the furniture scarce and oddly-shapen.
The wealthy "clothe themselves in costly apparel ; while the
dresses of the poor are mere breech-cloths, the children
sporting in utter nakedness. Wages are exceedingly low.
Women do outdoor work the same as men, even to the
carrying of dirt in baskets upon their heads, where railroads
are in process of construction.
,
Saying nothing of the filth of the poverty-stricken classes,
the Hindoos, as a nation, are noted for physical neatness.
Watching them, the other morning, by the river, I silently
said, " Your bathing is as natural as your breathing." Brahmans
frequently bathe three times per day.
'
Ganges'
banks, along the Ghauts, are often lined by the faithful
before sunrise, performing their ablutions. The women are
clad in loose, robe-like garments ; the men are nude, save
close-fitting lingatees. These Brahmans, by the way, wearing
shoes open upon the top, bathing frequently, being