The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-04 00:00:00

AN INDIAN' S:..TEBSTITION.

. .
L The ceremony of " treading the fire" irer-
formed in the vicinity of the Fort, at Bangalore;
on the evening of Sunday, the 15t.h of
.April.
There was an enclosure of about forty feet square
.)formed with bamboos and ropes. In. the middle
'or the etiltisure was a trowghy some 18. feet by
12, and at. upper end a- smaller trough, per-
haps 12 by' rrEB• IM:ger trough was dry ;
the smaller one had vlit&r: ih'it neither of them
was more than nine inches' Thinking.
that the water was impregnated win!? senib sub-
stance calculated to render the feet innocti to
fire, we had a little of it brought to us and tasted if,
bat it was per fectly fresh and sweet. In the centre of
the larger trough was a bonfire. The faggots blazed
briskly, fanned by a strong breeze which prevailed -
at thie eih*,atici required no "poking." At about
half-past tiveitth approach of the performers was
announced with a tinkling of bells,- and cries of
" Govindoo." They were atoni 25' in number,
and consisted of men, boys, and orie*Wordan.- They
bore branches of oleander in their hfintl4;• and
Were dressed iu what we should call Indian sack-
cloth. Entering the enclosure at its upper end
they fra+fersed the fire to the east, stood at the
lower end of the' enclosnre, and saluted the fire
by raising the stanches` th'e air and clasping
their hands in the attittide of prayer. Pim, we
presumed, was to propitiate the Pee of Clod, or
the personage that dwells in that clohibiat;, in
otho words, the devil. After doing this, they
retired,' As the evening advanced, the scene be-
came e±eiting. The thousands who were scattered

over Ai& actiicent ftelds drew round the enclosure
and the siltm' as" dense a mast of heads as we
remember having seeiY ai London I.3ridge on the
occasion of the entrance of ili&Emperor lqapoisma
into the British capital. Externp4ititboaB music
sprung into existence on every side, and des!-Ot cos
with matted hair flagellated themselves, whilst cries
of "sweetmeat" deafened the ear! Two or three
alert were engaged during this time in spreading
the live coals over the area of the larger trough,
and some ragged boys supplied the smaller one
With additional water. When it was almost too
dark to observe their facts, the performers
re-apliedied, Preceded by a procfessiof of idols on
. _

litters, Mid the shrill and dense sounds of small
and big drums'. The litters were arrested at the
lower end of the enclosure.), as if to see that all
was right, came round it to ths west., and
then took up their position at the -ap-p'er end.
The idols here, we understood, performed Me
part of presiding deities.- The performers
now shkoWect themselves at the lower end of
the enclostite, a ynissage having been cleared
for. them. They Weft round the troughs
once. A cocoanut was braked,• and some fire
taken out of the trough was put into a vessel like
an incense burner. A second perambulation,. a'n4
on they came, helter skelter right over the fire as
fast as their legs would carry them. This was
done three times; the smaller trough being leaped
on esth occasion; and then the water in it was
thrown oveftio tre fel extinguiskit. There was
no dipping. of the feet ni the Water after each
run, as we had been led to expect by a bystander
would be the case. It was a clear "go" Without
dny cooling operation, and no mistake. Such was
the certinen7 of " treading the lire," as we wit-
nessed it. It is sip to be a trick, but to us it
appeared a devotional ad adallegous to the " eked-
dul" and the " suttee."—Earigider'S

The Pharmaceutical Idurnal publishes• a subscriptiet
list, by which we learn that more than £l,BOO has
already been subscribed for:the Jacob Bell memorial.

The Weekly Peyister states that the rope has com-
missioned Vonsignot Howard (late an officer of the
foots 11trsil4r Gnards, bat now t priest) to meet the
Irish voliftfeets at. Ancona, and give them the "apostolic
blesSing and weleotrW.l4
A WORCESTER FARMER'S OriNloll bF THE FRENCH

:rtvnsiox.-A correspondent being ig6t week in one of

the etl-A--)iroroughs during the assembling of the rifle
corps, he heard u fee:mier asking of what use such chaps
as they were. Some diid " Suppose the French
were to come over ?" '" The french !" sneered the
farmer; "whey, give me a slice of bread' an' a bit o
salt, I could eat a Frenchmen." This, •in the pttnliar
burr and tone of self appreciation of a Worcestershiee
Man, was very racy.
A FAMILY POISONED FROM AN ESCAPE OF GAS.—
The Limerick correspondent of the _Dublin Freeman's
Journal reports that an entire family, residing in an
underground cellar in that town, have been well-nigh
fatally suffocated from the effect of im escape of gas.
The husband, a night watchman, on rettirning home on
Wednesday morning, could not gain admittance and
when the door was forced open the mother and children
were found in an apparently lifeless state. One girl,
aged two years, was dead ;f and of the mother's recovery
there is said to be no hope. Three other children have
been pronounced out of danger, the, most energetic
measures to restore animation having been rer•-ssted to.
PLANTING GRAVES IN WALES.—The custom of plant-
ing aver the graves of departed friends, and Adorning
them at certain seasons of the year with flowers, is very
prevalent throughout Wales. Shakspeare refers to it
with exquisite beauty in tymbeline

" With fairest flower's/
While summer lasts, and I live here, ridge,
I'll sweeten thy sad grave : thou shalt not lack
The flower that's like thy face, pale primrose : nor
The azured harebell, like thy veins; no, nor
The leaf of eglantine, whom, not to slander,
Out-sweeten'd not thy breath."
The flowers are usually placed over the graves at Easter
and Whitsuntide, and always by the nearest relatives
and friends. The custom is of great antiquity, having
been practised by the Greeks and Romans. In Glamor 7
ganshire, the bed on which the corpse lies is usually
strewed with flowers; and this custom is also alluded to
by the Bard of Avon

" White his shroud as the mountain snow,
Larded all with sweet flowers ;
Which bc=rept to the grave did go,
With true-.love showers."
ccgAlade, Guide to NortA Tra

TIIE NATIVE INDIAN AWAY.—Of the 250,000 sabres
and bayonets which the Sepoy army mustered what part
has really vanished In place of about three-fouths of
the old Bengal armyove have now a fOrmidahle array
of Sikhs and northern tribes, who are aekuowleciged by
the best Queen's officers to be little if at all inferior to
European soldiers. The great Madras army of 75,000
men remains exactly as it was ; the Bombay army of,
•includistg irregulars and local levies, nearly 60,000 men,
is in state quo. Even of the old Bengal army there are
abets', 25,000 men left. Instead, therefore, of the Sepoy
army having disappeared, the greater portion remains
entirely unchanged, and the part that is changed has
become ten times more valuable if retained, and ten times
more dangerous if dissolved. We trust the English
public will not be deceiVed by this most dangerous fallacy
that the Sepoy army has vanished. The army remains,
and united is'powerful enough to command respect. We
have had two terrible warnings not to deal carelessly with
great masses of aimed soldiers; let us beware of a third
rash attempt. We risked dominion by invading the pre-
judices of the Bengal Sepoy ; perilled a second rebellion
by slighting the Company's European soldiers—shall we
hazard a combination of the Sikhs and Sepoys against
us by attempting to extinguish the native array at one
stroke ?—Homeward

FUNEILILS IN WALES.—When the parish-bell an-
nounces the death of a person, it is immediately
inquired upon what day the funeral is to be; and
on the .night preceding that day, all the neigh-
bours assemble at the house where the corpse is,
which they call Ty Corph, i.e., " the corpse's house."
The coffin, with the remains of the deceased, is then
placed on the stools, in an open put of the house,
covered with black cloth ; or, if the deceased was un-
married, with a clean white sheet, with three candles
burning by it. Every person on entering the house falls
devoutly on his knees before the corpse, and repeats to
himself the Lord's prayer, or any other prayer that he
chooses. Afterwards, if he is a smoker, a pipe and tobacco
are offered to him. This meeting is called Gwyltios, and
in sonic places Pydreua. The first word means Vigil;
the other is, no doubt, a corrupt word from Paderau, or
Padereuau, that is, Paters, or Paternosters. When the
assembly is full, the parish-clerk reads the common service
appointed, for the burial of the dead; at the coueluNion
of which, psalms, hymns, and other godly songs, are
sung ; and since Methodism has become so univers
some one stands up and delivers an oration on the melan-
choly subject, and then the company drop away by
degrees. On the following day the interment takes place,
between two and four o'clock in the afternOon,
when all the neighbours assemble again. It is not un-
common to see, on such occasions, an assembly of
three or four hundred people, or even more. These
persons are all treated with warm spiced ale, cakes,
pipes, and tobacco; and a dinner is given to all those
that come front a distance : I mean that such an enter-
tainment is given at the funerals of respectable farmers.
They then proceed to the church ; and at the end of
that part of the burial service whieli is usually read in
the church, before the corpse is taken from the church,
every one of the congregation presents the officiating
minister with a piece of money ; the deceased's next
relations usually drop a shilling each, others sixpence,
and the poorer sort a penny a-piece, laving it, on the
altar. This is called offering, and the stun amounts
sometimes
parish-clerk o-cle eight,
lkhastesi or more pounds at a burial.
The also his offering at the grave,
which amounts commonly to about one-fourth of what
the clergyman receives. After the burial is over, the
t
company retire to the public-house, where every one
spends his sixpence for ale ; then all ceremonies are
over.—Coglikas Guide to Arorth Wales.;

LATEST tfETTING.
MAN CHESTER.
Ak4r Ctr : 2 to 1 'on Thorinanby, and offered ; 4
to 1 hvt Fromised Land, taken and offered; g'to 1 agst But-
terfly, taken.
ROYAL livret 10 to 1 agst 'Woodburn, taken;. 12 tb 1
aget Old Boberi, takn:2';' 12 to 1 agst Ancient Briton, taken ;
16 to 1 agst Tyrant, taker.
AscOr STAKAS : 6 to 1 agst fq!koli, taken ; Bts 1 agst Farmer's
Daughter, taken; 20 to 1 agst Cl:rcPesdale, taken.
'NorerirrmiirELANo PLATE : sto 1 a'gst Ben Webster, taken
freely; 10 to ,1 agst Gladiolus, taken; 12 to I agst Tiger, taken;
12 to 1 aget 'Wildman, offered ; 100 to 6 agst First Lord, offered.

JONATHAN ON THE PRIZE-FIGHT.

I ain't ne #-gliting man, myself-t ;
l can't word tO reek my pidJec;
ittitb.e than make It avy wuss•
NthSellie'ehatibe o' heir? victor..
An' then if hots so w'en you're hit.'.—
An' hang the ?',/crlastin' tektite!.
An' paoundin' their! air bfw,s•all day-,
.A.n" keepin' up a gineridsfeathin'
Then there's the chance o'
Or niebbe killed, afore you know it L
An' all the crow d a laughin' teiio ,
Or onssin' ye !—No, sir !—can't go it !
'Sides that, it ain't a Yankee's way
To strip hisself, an' go in, " smilin',"
To fight a man that ain't his foe
Jesf like as of his blood wooz !.
He puts hisself to better use,
He ain't ashamed to show his muscle;
But ketch; him " trav'lin' on it," much,
'Copt w'en be's in a real ttresle
But then a comnith man can't help
A-gittin' more or Icio. e excited,
W'en rcadin' baout a big Prize-Fight,
'An' feelin' more or less delighted..
W'en hi: man gits a leetle ahead.
• ki' fetches !'other feller's claret!
het' w'en his man's leetle behind
It's nuts to see him grin and bear it?
In spite' 61 all the blood an' dfrt—
And all the beastly folks that love it—
W'en ten Or twenty raounds are fit
A feller can't keep clear' above it !
An' w'cn the fight's on Births'. silo,
An' ene o' the Boys sings " Yankee' Doodle,"
Ef pesple craiiwd eradund, ad' preachy
elbows off the hull ea' boodle !
saysi "Let &fur chap hey fair play
i'i'ie-lightia? Wrap" ain't stre'ly legal,
But rileisve they're at it, scan' araiiun'
We'rt ffS,:n's o' the' Alnerican Eagle!"
An' w'en the- Eigle's 'baiiut to, wiu,
Ag'in' the wishes o'
Ft ropes arc cut, an' all rtteit
By lightnin' ! put him where the orb it i T.,
Ef Morrisy (lid cut them ropes
To keep John Heenan kiut a' beetle,
He'd better not come back too quick
For fear he won't git civil greetin'.
I think the Englishmen air smart,
Bkiwn even to a plucky " fighter ;"
An' some may like to give 'em sass,
I ain't a bully or backbiter.
I will say, though, of England's brave,
Columbia's a leetle brayer ;
For England tries it now an' then,
An' all her spunk don't seem to save her.
The fight hain't settled much, I know;
But none o' us feel bad abaout it :
We know the "Boy" come ailut first best,
An' not an Englishman 'll daiint it.
—Trent " Vanity Fair," (the "Punch" of Ifeze York).