174 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
washed by those consecrated waters supposed by all 
truly pious Hindoos to have their source above the 
highest regions of this lower world. After a long and 
tedious journey he reached this great emporium of 
manufactured divinities, where factitious gods may be 
had at all prices, and composed of all materials, from 
the basest clay to the purest gold. Upon his arrival, 
he placed himself at the doors of the pagodas ; here he 
was relieved by the charitable; but, with the rigid 
conscience of a devotee, he ate nothing except a small 
quantity of rice, very sparingly moistened with ghee, 
and observed the strictest economy in dress, his en- 
tire wardrobe consisting of a single strip of coarse 
muslin, about twice as broad as the palm of his hand, 
which encircled his body. 
No sooner was the light of day visible upon the 
tops of the distant mountains, than the Brahmin re- 
paired to the consecrated ghaut, and purified his wast- 
ing body in the sacred river. This became his daily 
practice ; after which he would place himself upon 
the broad steps, and, absorbed in silent meditation, 
apostrophise in thought the holy stream, detaching 
his mind from all worldly contemplations, and appear- 
ng so completely lapped in devout abstraction, that it 
would have puzzled a conjuror to determine whether 
he was under the influence of reason or of the moon. 
For days and weeks he restricted himself to the 
smallest quantity of food by which life could be sus- 
tained, and was consequently reduced to a shadow. In 
proportion as his flesh wasted, his reputation for sanc- 
tity rose ; and the more he suffered, the more he 
was venerated. Hundreds thronged to behold him, 
