BY ORDEAL. gg£ 



occafion ; and, having written a ftate of the cafe, and 

 the point in ilfue, on a Palmyra-leaf, together with the 

 mcntra prefcribed in the Veda, they tie the leaf on the 

 head of the accufed. All being prepared, they heat an 

 iron ball, or the head of a lance, weighing two ser and a 

 half, or five pounds, and throw it into water ; they heat 

 it again, and again cool it in the fame manner. The 

 third time they keep it in the fire till it is red hot ; then 

 they make the perfon accufed (land in the firft circle ; 

 and, having taken the iron from the fire, and read the 

 ufual incantation over it, the Pandits place it with tongs 

 in his hands. He muft ftep gradually from circle to 

 circle, his feet being conftantly within one of them, and 

 when he has reached the eighth, he mud throw the iron 

 into the ninth, fo as to burn fome grafs, which muft be 

 left in it for that purpofe. This being performed, the 

 magiftrate and Pandits again command him to rub fome 

 rice in the hulk between both his hands, which they 

 afterwards examine; and if any mark of burning appear 

 on either of them, he is convicted ; if not, his inno- 

 cence is confideredas proved. If hishand fhake through 

 fear, and by his trembling any other part of his body is 

 burned, his veracity remains unimpeached ; but, if he 

 let the iron drop before he reach the eighth circle, and 

 doubt arife in the minds of the fpeftators whether it had 

 burned him, he mult repeat the whole ceremony from 

 the beginning. 



In the year of the Mejfcah 1783, a man was tried by 

 the hot ball at Benares, in the prefence of me Alt 

 Ibrahim Khan, on the following occafion. A man had 

 accufed one Sancar of larceny, who pleaded that he 

 was not guilty j and as the theft could not be proved 

 by legal evidence, the trial by fire-ordeal was tendered 

 to the appellee, and accepted by him. This well-wilher 

 , to mankind advifed the learned magistrates and Pandits, 

 to prevent the decifion of the queltion by a mode not 



Ee? conformable 



