6 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
Whilst I was in India, an instance of this implac- 
able spirit occurred in the neighbourhood of Sambhul. 
Two brothers had a quarrel about the distribution of 
some property, which they had obtained from a tra- 
veller whom they had robbed and murdered in the 
jungle. Through the mediation of the wife of the 
elder robber the feud was allayed, and they were 
apparently reconciled. The younger brother, how- 
ever, was determined to glut his sanguinary vengeance 
upon the elder, who had obtained a larger share of the 
plunder, which he claimed by right of primogeniture, 
— a claim to which the other, conscious of his infe- 
riority in personal strength and courage, was reluct- 
antly compelled to yield. For months he feigned the 
most ardent attachment towards his intended victim, 
until he had completely lulled every suspicion of 
treachery, which the former seemed at first to enter- 
tain ; for bad men seldom place confidence in those 
whom they have wronged. 
Having at length completely disarmed the appre- 
hensions of his brother, the treacherous Rohillah de- 
termined upon the accomplishment of his fatal pur- 
pose. Repairing to an unfrequented part of the 
forest, he dug a hole about a yard square, and up- 
wards of twenty feet in depth. This he covered with 
twigs, placing over them a layer of jungle-grass and 
dried leaves, so as completely to hide the aperture 
from casual scrutiny. When this was accomplished, 
he repaired to the hut of his brother, who rented a 
small tract of land near the border of the wood, upon 
which he had erected his frail dwelling, composed of 
bamboo and palm-leaves. The traitor was received 
