460 
although mixed with many errors, and bewildered in the mazes of 
polytheism, their definition of the Supreme Being is truly sublime; 
their rites and ceremonies, with a few exceptions, are pious, inof- 
fensive, and suited to the climate. The high caste of brahmins 
are their priests and philosophers; the physicians of their bodies* 
and the guardians of their souls: I now allude to the recluse sects 
of this order, who minister in the temples, and preside in the 
colleges and religious ceremonies; or abstemiously retire from the 
world, to spend their days in pious exercises and superstitious 
penance. 
The brahmins, banians, and superior castes of the Hindoos, 
are generally innocent and peaceable; they never taste any thing 
that either lias or can have life, abstaining even from eggs, be- 
cause they contain the vital principle; nor will they put to death 
the most noxious reptile. Many of these enthusiasts carry a small 
broom to sweep the ground before they sit down, lest they should 
crush some insect, and wear a cloth before their mouth from the 
fear of inhaling them with their breath. The diet of the higher 
tribes of Hindoos consists of grain, pulse, fruit, milk, and vege- 
tables, except onions and garlic: made into curries, seasoned with 
spices and butter, to be eaten with rice, constitute their principal 
meal: the Bajepoots, Mahrattas, and many of the inferior castes, 
eat mutton, pork, goat, venison, and hsh: but no one, on any 
consideration, will taste the flesh of the ox or cow, an animal held 
in the highest degree of veneration by every Hindoo. 
After this brief recapitulation of the Hindoos in general, I shall 
confine myself to the Mahrattas, who are said to derive their name 
and origin from Mah’rat, signifying the great province, or country; 
