184 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
leather, which they will not touch, being repelled by the 
strong odour that escapes from this valuable material. 
After we quitted Juanpoor nothing occurred worth 
recording until we came in sight of Benares — that 
celebrated city called the splendid, containing the 
most renowned seminaries of Hindoo learning to be 
found in Hindostan, a, more detailed account of which 
will be found in the first volume of this work. As 
we approached the city we were induced to moor our 
budgerow and land, in order that we might witness 
the Churrack Pooja — one of those revolting inflictions 
which some particular orders of devotees undergo, to- 
gether with such unhappy Hindoos as have had the 
misfortune to lose their caste ; the former to enhance 
their claims to a blessed immortality, the latter to 
recover that temporal superiority over a large portion 
of their fellow beings which the well known distinc- 
tion of caste confers. A man frequently loses his 
caste by circumstances over which he can have no 
control, such as the casual contact of a pariah whom 
he might not have known to be within his vicinity, 
or eating out of a polluted vessel, though not at the 
time aware of its pollution. 
I once happened to be present when a sepoy, of 
high caste, falling down in a fit, the military surgeon 
ordered one of the pariah attendants of the regimental 
hospital to throw some water over him, in consequence 
of which none of his class would associate with him, 
and he was considered to have forfeited the privileges 
of clanship. The result was, that as soon as the after- 
noon's parade was over, he put the muzzle of his 
musket to his head and blew out his brains. Al- 
