aroundworldortra00peebiala-1

INDIA'S EELIGIONS AND SOCIAL CHAEACTEEISTICS. 233
nounce them old; and then, smiling among themselves,
would add, " Western scholars are tardily following in the
footsteps of our sages who lived full three thousand years
ago."
The streets of Benares, as in all old Asian cities, are exceedingly
narrow ; but the palaces of the wealthy, the mossy
ruins, the massive masonry fringing the river, and the magnificent
architecture, gorgeous even in decay, beggar description.
Taking an open dinghy^ and drifting down the Ganges
one morning by the city, we not only saw floating corpses,
but saw them bring their dead to the burning Ghaut ; saw
them take the muddy waters in their mouths ; saw them
perform their religious ablutions and immersions, expecting,
lilvc sectarian Baptists, to wash away their sins ; and saw them
bring their offerings, and lay them upon the altars of their
gods ; and then, climbing a long stone stairway, we went up
the Mohammedan Man-Mandil, on the roof of which are
astronomical charts, drawn by old Indian sages ; then to the
Golden Temple, the domes of which are literally washed
with gold ; and then to the Monkey Temple, sacred to
Durgha, where hundreds of monkeys are kept and petted,
if
not worshiped, by the lower-caste Hindoos.
EASTERN FAKIES.
Like the dervishes of Islam, these fakirs go by various
names, and belong to different orders. Some continually
chant praises to Vishnu. Others, inflicting tortures upon
themselves, engage in constant prayers ; and others still seek
to suspend the breath, restrain natural desires, and abstract
the mind, preparatory to deeper communion with Brahm.
While smiling at their superstitions, let us not forget their
sincerity. Their subdued hearts seem to continually sing
this sad refrain, —
" Oh ! where shall rest be found,
Eest for the weary soul ? "