102 
THE ORIENTAL ANNUAL. 
form of the aged Brahmin, his skull literally beaten to 
atoms, and his brains scattered about the floor. Beside 
him lay a small marble image of the god, besmeared 
with blood, and which had evidently been used as the 
implement of murder. Terror-stricken at this awful 
sight — for Menu has declared the murder of a Brah- 
min to be the most inexpiable of all crimes, and one 
which brings the vengeance of Heaven upon the very 
soil itself, and upon all dwellers in the neighbour- 
hood where the deed is perpetrated, no less than 
upon the murderer — the Durwan and the rest of the 
guard fell upon their faces to implore the protection 
of the insulted god ; and at that moment the culprit, 
taking advantage of the confusion, fled from the 
temple and leaped over the battlements. Down, down., 
he was hurled, about a hundred and fifty feet, over 
the rugged precipice, expecting to terminate his flight 
in the waters of the reservoir below ; but as the all- 
knowing Maliadeo had purposely broken away the 
embankment and drawn off the water, in the night- 
time, the murderous Gossein was plunged head- 
foremost into soft mud, in which he sunk up to his 
blood-stained feet. He was immediately rescued, 
though in an insensible state, by some persons who, 
from below, had witnessed his headlong fall ; and, 
before he was restored to consciousness, he was again 
in the custody of the guards. 
He now made a full confession of his crime, and an 
enormous amount of the Brahmin’s treasure was 
