40 THE HOLEY DOINGS OF A HOLY MAN 



riage between Walter and Miss Dombey. "Whilst public speculation pointed 

 to some particular direction as a probable one for his next manifestation, a 

 messenger would suddenly arrive in camp with news regarding the ubiquitous 

 one which set all calculation at defiance. The fact that he was wandering 

 about the country instead of being in lYitarla, does not appear to have 

 struck any of his believers as a departure from his original undertaking ; it 

 was possibly thought these Sittings were the performances of his disembodied 

 spirit. 



At the expiration of the appointed seven days the expectant multitude 

 was massed round the shrine, which at a given signal from the inside was 

 opened, and the wonder-worker calmly stepped into the daylight, shaking 

 the soil from his matted locks, and merely seeming a little dazed by the 

 glare of day. He was received as a god, and seated on the figure of the 

 bull. A blanket was spread at his sacred feet by his companions, who 

 regarded this as a favourable opportunity for making the collection — an 

 essential part of religious performances in the East as elsewhere. One eager 

 worshipper after another now pressed forward to touch the holy feet with 

 his forehead, and drop his coin on the rapidly - increasing pile on the 

 blanket. Some gave as much as thirty or forty rupees ; and a sum of 

 upwards of £200 was thus contributed. 



The holy man then made a progress from village to village, levying 

 further contributions with a cupidity scarcely consistent with his unworldly 

 character. He stated the object of his pilgrimage to be the collection of 

 funds for constructing a well for travellers at one of the entrances to 

 Rame'shwaram, and that the amount already subscribed was insufficient for 

 the purpose. If any one declined to contribute, his holiness resorted to 

 the effective practice known in India as "Dherna," which consists in the 

 claimant's seating himself at the entrance of a house, and vowing neither 

 to eat, drink, nor go away until his request is complied with. To avoid 

 incurring the sin of allowing such a sacred character as our hero to suffer 

 at his door, the persecuted tenant was generally impelled to purchase his 

 departure. 



The Gooroo and his two friends shortly proceeded on their pilgrimage. 

 I should mention that the hole into which he had descended had been filled 

 in immediately on his reappearance, in accordance with some superstitious 

 representations made by his attendants, and some months elapsed before the 

 sequel of the story transpired. It was during the following rainy season 

 that some of the ryots of the neighbourhood noticed that the earth had sunk 

 in an extraordinary manner about the scene of the wondrous achievement, 

 and an examination of the place showed that the devotee and his companions 



