186 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
to China,, whither he had gone as servant to the cap- 
tain of the ship. 
On perceiving the Brahmin’s signal, he advanced 
without the slightest indication of alarm., hut rather 
with an expression of joy on his countenance, at 
the idea of being restored to that position among 
the members of his own peculiar caste, which he 
had unhappily forfeited. He was stripped to the 
loins, having nothing on but the cummerbund and 
a pair of white linen trowsers which reached about 
halfway down his thigh. He was a muscular man 
and rather tall : — he came forward with a firm 
step. Upon reaching the place of expiation, he knelt 
down under the cord to which the two bright hooks 
were attached. Gently raising his hands, and clasp- 
ing them together in a posture of devotion, he con- 
tinued for a few moments silent, then suddenly ele- 
vating his head, declared himself ready to undergo 
the penance that should release him from the stains 
of his recent pollution. The moment his assent 
was announced, a burst of acclamation was heard 
from the surrounding multitude. The officiating Brah- 
min then took the hooks, and with a dexterity that 
showed he was no novice in his sacred vocation, 
slipped them under the dorsal muscles just beneath 
the shoulders. This operation was so instantaneously 
and so adroitly managed, that scarcely a drop of 
blood followed. Not a muscle of the man’s coun- 
tenance stirred : all his features seemed stiffened into 
an expression of resolved endurance which imparted a 
sort of sublime sternness to every lineament. Not 
even the slightest quiver of his lip was perceptible. 
