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dish in the cold collation: as he was going on horseback, he de- 

 sired the beef might be covered with a cloth, and put into his 

 palanquin to keep it cool; the bearers refused to carry a vehicle 

 which contained such a pollution. The gentleman, on finding 

 that neither remonstrances, entreaties, or threatenings, were of any 

 avail, cut off a slice of the meat, and eating it in their presence, 

 desired them to carry him to the place of rendezvous. This produced 

 the desired effect; the bearers were the first to laugh at their folly, 

 and exclaimed " Master come wise-man, with two eyes; while 

 poor black- man come very foolish, with only one:" and taking up 

 the palanquin with the beef, set off towards the tents in great good 

 humour. 



Such scruples are not confined to any particular caste; they 

 more or less pervade every tribe in India, and are cherished by 

 the active soldier, as well as the pious brahmin. In the Ayeen 

 Akbery we read of Narrain Doss, a principal chief in the Rahtore 

 tribe, in command of five hundred cavalry and two thousand in- 

 fantry, who lived with such austerity, that his only food was grain 

 which had passed through oxen, and been separated from their 

 dung: an aliment considered by the brahmins as the purest of 

 all food. 



The Indians are also very scrupulous about the water they 

 drink, and the vessels which contain it. The rich generally have 

 the water of the Ganges carried with them on a journey. Most of 

 the Mogul emperors travelled with it for their own beverage; and 

 Akber, who never drank any other, called it, when cooled with salt- 

 petre, " the water of life." 



