CHAPTER XIV. JOURNEY FROM DELHI TO BOMBAY.

The evening was passed in all kinds of amusements. The good doctor would have made me acquainted with all the arts of the Hindoos; however, the greater number of them were no longer new to me. A snake-charmer exhibited his little society, which performed very clever tricks, and also allowed the most poisonous serpents to twine themselves round his body, and the largest scorpions ran over his arms and legs. Afterwards, four elegant female dancers appeared dressed in muslin, ornamented with gold and silver, and loaded with jewellery, - ears, forehead, neck, breast, loins, hands, arms, feet, in short, every part of the body was covered with gold, silver, and precious stones; even the toes were ornamented with them, and from the nose, a large ring with three stones hung over the mouth. Two of the dancers first commenced. Their dance consisted of the same winding movements which I had already seen in Benares, only they were far more animated, and twisted their fingers, hands, and arms about in every conceivable manner. They might well be said to dance with their arms but not with their feet. They danced for ten minutes without singing, then they began to scream, without however keeping time, and their motions became more violent and wild, until in about half an hour both strength and voice failed, they stopped quite exhausted, and made way for their sisters, who repeated the same spectacle. Dr. Rolland told me that they represented a love story, in which every virtue and passion, such as truth, self- devotion, hate, persecution, despair, etc., played a part. The musicians stood a little behind the dancers, and followed all their movements. The whole space which such a company requires, is at the most ten feet in length and eight broad. The good Hindoos amuse themselves for hours together with these tasteless repetitions.

I remember having read in books that the Indian female dancers were far more graceful than the European, that their songs were highly melodious, and that their pantomime was tender, inspiring, and attractive. I should scarcely think the authors of such books could have been in India! Not less exaggerated are the descriptions of others, who affirm that there are no dances more indelicate than those of the Indians. I might again ask these people if they had ever seen the Sammaquecca and Refolosa in Valparaiso, the female dancers of Tahiti, or even our own in flesh-coloured leggings? The dresses of the females in Rajpootan and some parts of Bundelkund are very different from those of other parts of India. They wear long, coloured, many-folded skirts, tight bodies, which are so short that they scarcely cover the breasts; and, over this, a blue mantle, in which they envelop the upper part of the body, the head, and the face, and allow a part to hang down in front like a veil. Girls who do not always have the head covered, nearly resemble our own peasant girls. Like the dancers, they are overloaded with jewellery; when they cannot afford gold and silver, they content themselves with some other metals. They wear also rings of horn, bone, or glass beads, on the fingers, arms, and feet. On the feet they carry bells, so that they are heard at a distance of sixty paces; the toes are covered with broad heavy rings, and they have rings hanging from their noses down to the chin, which they are obliged to tie up at meal time. I pitied the poor creatures, who suffered not a little from their finery! The eyebrows and eyelids are dyed black while the children are very young, and they frequently paint themselves with dark-blue streaks of a finger's breadth over the eyebrows, and with spots on the forehead. The adult women tattoo their breasts, foreheads, noses, or temples with red, white, or yellow colours, according as they are particularly attached to one or the other deity. Many wear amulets or miniatures hung round their necks, so that I at first thought they were Catholics, and felt gratified at the brilliant successes of the missionaries. But, when I came nearer to one of the people, that I might see these pictures better, what did I discover there? Perhaps a beautiful Madonna! - a fair- haired angel's head! - an enthusiastic Antonio of Padua! Ah no! I was met by the eight-armed god Shiva grinning at me, the ox's head of Vishnu, the long-tongued goddess Kalli. The amulets contained, most probably, some of the ashes of one of their martyrs who had been burned, or a nail, a fragment of skin, a hair of a saint, a splinter from the bone of a sacred animal, etc.

13th February. Dr. Rolland conducted me to the little town of Kesho-Rae-Patum, one of the most sacred in Bunda and Rajpootan. It lies on the other side of the river, six miles from Kottah. A great number of pilgrims come here to bathe, as the water is considered particularly sacred at this spot. This belief cannot be condemned, when it is remembered how many Christians there are who give the preference to the Holy Maria at Maria-Zell, Einsiedeln, or Loretto, which, nevertheless, all represent one and the same.

Handsome steps lead from the heights on the banks down to the river, and Brahmins sit in pretty kiosks to take money from believers for the honour of the gods. On one of the flights of steps lay a very large tortoise. It might quietly sun itself there in safety - no one thought of catching it. It came out of the sacred river; indeed, it might, perhaps, be the incarnation of the god Vishnu himself. {204} Along the river stood numbers of stone altars, with small bulls, and other emblematical figures, also cut in stone. The town itself is small and miserable, but the temple is large and handsome.