The first from his mouth, the second from
his shoulders, the third from his belly and thighs, and the fourth
from his feet. From the first class are chosen the highest officers
of state, the priests, and the teachers of the people. Members of
this class alone are allowed to peruse the holy books; they enjoy
the greatest consideration; and if they happen to commit a crime,
are far less severely punished than persons belonging to any of the
other castes. The second class furnishes the inferior officials and
soldiers; the third the merchants, workmen, and peasants; while the
fourth and last provides servants for the other three. Hindoos of
all castes, however, enter service when compelled by poverty to do
so, but there is still a distinction in the kind of work, as the
higher castes are allowed to perform only that of the cleanest kind.
It is impossible for a person of one caste to be received into
another, or to intermarry with any one belonging to it. If a Hindoo
leaves his native land or takes food from a Paria, he is turned out
of his caste, and can only obtain re-admission on the payment of a
very large sum.
Besides these castes, there is a fifth class - the Parias. The lot
of these poor creatures is the most wretched that can be imagined.
They are so despised by the other four castes, that no one will hold
the slightest intercourse with them. If a Hindoo happens to touch a
Paria as he is passing, he thinks himself defiled, and is obliged to
bathe immediately.
The Parias are not allowed to enter any temple, and have particular
places set apart for their dwellings. They are miserably poor, and
live in the most wretched huts; their food consists of all kinds of
offal and even diseased cattle; they go about nearly naked, or with
only a few rags at most on them, and perform the hardest and
commonest work.
The four castes are subdivided into an immense number of sects,
seventy of which are allowed to eat meat, while others are compelled
to abstain from it altogether. Strictly speaking, the Hindoo
religion forbids the spilling of blood, and consequently the eating
of meat; but the seventy sects just mentioned are an exception.
There are, too, certain religious festivals, at which animals are
sacrificed. A cow, however, is never killed. The food of the
Hindoos consists principally of rice, fruit, fish, and vegetables.
They are very moderate in their living, and have only two simple
meals a day - one in the morning and the other in the evening. Their
general drink is water or milk, varied sometimes with cocoa wine.
The Hindoos are of the middle height, slim, and delicately formed;
their features are agreeable and mild; the face is oval, the nose
sharply chiselled, the lip by no means thick, the eye fine and soft,
and the hair smooth and black. Their complexion varies, according
to the locality, from dark to light brown; among the upper classes,
some of them, especially the women, are almost white.
There are a great number of Mahomedans in India; and as they are
extremely skilful and active, most trades and professions are in
their hands. They also willingly hire themselves as servants to
Europeans.
Men here do that kind of work which we are accustomed to see
performed by women. They embroider with white wool, coloured silk,
and gold; make ladies' head-dresses, wash and iron, mend the linen,
and even take situations as nurses for little children. There are a
few Chinese, too, here, most of whom are in the shoemaking trade.
Calcutta, the capital of Bengal, is situated on the Hoogly, which at
this point is so deep and broad, that the largest men-of-war and
East Indiamen can lie at anchor before the town. The population
consists of about 600,000 souls, of whom, not counting the English
troops, hardly more than 2,000 are Europeans and Americans. The
town is divided into several portions - namely, the Business-town,
the Black-town, and the European quarter. The Business-town and
Black-town are very ugly, containing narrow, crooked streets, filled
with wretched houses and miserable huts, between which there are
warehouses, counting-houses, and now and then some palace or other.
Narrow paved canals run through all the streets, in order to supply
the necessary amount of water for the numerous daily ablutions of
the Hindoos. The Business-town and Black-town are always so densely
crowded, that when a carriage drives through, the servants are
obliged to get down and run on before, in order to warn the people,
or push them out of the way.
The European quarter of the town, however, which is often termed the
City of Palaces - a name which it richly merits - is, on the contrary,
very beautiful. Every good-sized house, by the way, is called, as
it is in Venice, a palace. Most of these palaces are situated in
gardens surrounded by high walls; they seldom join one another, for
which reason there are but few imposing squares or streets.
With the exception of the governor's palace, none of these buildings
can be compared for architectural beauty and richness with the large
palaces of Rome, Florence, and Venice. Most of them are only
distinguished from ordinary dwelling-houses by a handsome portico
upon brick pillars covered with cement, and terrace-like roof's.
Inside, the rooms are large and lofty, and the stairs of greyish
marble or even wood; but neither in doors or out are there any fine
statues or sculptures.
The Palace of the governor is as I before said, a magnificent
building - one that would be an ornament to the finest city in the
world. It is built in the form of a horse-shoe, with a handsome
cupola in the centre:
