several extra millions which, to every intent
and purpose, is our just due?]

"There is a line in Shakespeare, sir,"
Nobinkissen continued, "which the government
of India should adopt as its motto, and act
up to consistently—
    "Caesar never does wrong without just cause."

Our conversation was here interrupted by
a noise in the road. I went to the window,
and, observing a great crowd, inquired of
one of my servants who was standing in the
verandah:—

"What is the matter?"

"A bullock has fallen down, and they are
trying to get him up — that is all, sahib," was
the reply.

I rushed to the spot, followed by Nobinkissen,
and there beheld a scene which in no
other country would have been tolerated by
the crowd assembled.

One, of a pair of bullocks drawing an
overladen cart, had from weakness and fatigue,
sank beneath the burden. The driver of the
animals (a Hindoo) had broken, by twisting
it violently, the tail of the poor beast, which
was nothing but skin and bone, and was
covered with wounds from ill-treatment.
Heavy blows, and the tail breaking having
failed to make the jaded ox stand upon his
legs, the driver —heedless of my
remonstrance — collected some straw and sticks,
and lighted a fire all round him. The poor
beast now struggled very hard, but was
unable to rise, and presently he resigned
himself to be scorched to death.

"I always thought that the cow was a
sacred animal with Hindoos?" said I, to
Nobinkissen.

"Yes," said he.

"And here is a Hindoo who works one of
his gods till he drops down with sheer
fatigue, and then cruelly puts him to
death!"

"Yes, that often happens," said
Nobinkissen, smiling.

"Then, what an absurdity and inconsistency
for the Hindoos at Benares, and other
holy places, to make such a noise if an
European only strikes a sacred animal with a
whip! Why, it was only the other day that
a mob collected around the house of the
magistrate and set the authorities at defiance:
all because the magistrate had ordered that
one of the bulls which crowd the streets
should be shut up, on the ground that he
had gored several people."

"That is the doing of the Brahmins who
incite the people to such acts; and every
concession on the part of the government leads
those Brahmins to believe that they have
great power, and leads the people also to
believe it. If a Mahommedan finds one of
those bulls in the way, and gives him a
thrashing with a thick stick, or probes him
in the side with a sword, the Brahmins say
nothing, nor do the people of Benares."

"Why is that?"

"Because it would not be worth while.
The strife would be profitless; for, you see,
sir, the Mahommedans are not the rulers of
this country, but the Sahibs are; and hence
the jealousy with which they are watched. In
time, the Government of India will see the
necessity of forbidding Hindoo festivals in
the public streets — abolishing them — just as
Suttee was abolished. It is only the dissolute
rich and the rabble who take any delight
in these festivals, many of which are indecent
and disgusting. Sensible and respectable
Hindoos take no part in them; on the
contrary, they avoid them, and think them a
nuisance. Hindooism will never become
extinct, so long as this world lasts; but the
British government has the power of doing
away with those obnoxious observances in the
public thoroughfares, which only disfigure the
religion."

"Well, in that case, you would have to
do away with the Mahommedan festivals?"

"Most certainly,—  in the public streets.
In private, the Mahommedans as well as
the Hindoos, might be permitted to keep
their festivals in whatever way they thought
proper. Do you suppose that the
Mahommedans, when in power suffered the
Hindoos to block up the streets continually with
their processions, as they do now? Think
you that they entertained the same consideration
for the bulls and monkeys at Benares
as the British now entertain? And when, in
turn, the Mahrattas over-run this part of the
country, think you that Agra was ever
deafened, as it now is, with the din of the
Buckree Ede and the Mohurrum?"

"Perhaps not. But then you see,
Nobinkissen, we are a tolerant people, and wish to
convince both creeds that we have no desire
to interfere with their religious prejudices in
any way whatsoever."

"Yes; but then you are inconsistent, and
the consequence is, that you not only get the
credit of being insincere, but are imposed
upon at the utmost."

"How, inconsistent?"

"Why, you declare that you have no
desire to interfere with the religious
prejudices of the Hindoo and the Mahommedan;
but you, nevertheless, encourage missionary
gentlemen to go from station to station to
preach in the open air concerning the
superiority of your religion over all others.
Believe me, sir, this does a great deal of
harm."

"Ah! but we make converts !"

"How many do you suppose?"

"I cannot say."

"I can. Take India from one end to the
other and you make, annually, one out of fifty
thousand."

"No more ?"

"No more, sir! That is the result of
preaching in the open air, all over the country,
and the distribution of thousands and