Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1851-10-15
MISC Il l. l. A n Y.
FUQUEER's CURSE.

Among the many strange objects which
an Englishman meets with in India, there
are few which tend so much to upset his
eouanimity as visit from wandering iu-
queer
English settlement Is regarded with much
the same sort of feeling as vagrant cock
roach, when he makes his appearance un-
announced in modern drawing room. 1t
we could imagine the aforesaid cockroach
braadishing his horns in the face OF the
Mortified inmates, exultng IN the disgust
which his presence creates, and intimat-
ing, with a conceited swagger, that in virtue
of his ugliness, he considers himself entitled
to some cake and wine, perhaps the analo-
gy would be more complete.
The fuqueer is the mendicant friar of In
dia. He owns no superior; wears no cloth
ing; performs no work despises every
body and everything; sometimes pretends
to perpetual fasting; and lives on the fat of
the land.
There is this much, however, to be said
! for him, that when he does mortily himself
| for the good of the community, he does it
to some purpose. A lenten fast, Or pen
snce of parched pease in his shoes would
be a mere bagatelle to hIm. We have seen
| fuQueer who was never 'knoW'' to eat at
| all. He carried small black stone about
with him. which had been presented to his
mother by holy man. He pretended that
! bv sucking this stone, and without the aid of
any sort of nutrment he had arrived at the
mature age Of forty; yet he had nest of
supplementary chlns and protuberant
paunch, which certainly did great credit to
the fattenins powers Of the black stone.-
Oddly enough, his business was to collect
eatable$ and drinkabes; but, like Scottish
gentleman who was continually begging
brimStouc they were "no for hissel. but for a
neebour." When | saw him he was soIc-
ting offerings ofrice, milk, fish, and ghee,
for the benefit of hi patron Devi. These
offerings were nightly laid upon the altar
before the Devi.w was supposed to a5Sord
them during the night, considerably leav-
inc the fragments TO be distributed among
the poor of the parish. His godship was
very discriminating in the goodness and
! freshness Of these offerings for he rejected
such as were stale, to be returned next
morning, with his maledlctions, to the frau
dulent donors.
Sometimes a fuquccr will take it into his
head that the community will be benefited
by his trundling himself along, like a cart
wheel, for a couple of hundred miles or so.
He ties his wrists to his ankles, gets tire,
composed Of chopped straw, mud, and cow
dung laid along the ridge OF his backbone );
bamboo staff passed through the angle
formed by his knees and his elbows, by way
Of an axle, and off he goes; brazen cup,
with a bag, and hu6bie-bNbbie, hang Ike
tasSels at the two extremties of the axle.
Thus accoutred, he often starts on Jour
ney which will occupy him for several years,
like Milton's fend,
"O'er hog, or steep, through straight rough dense,
or rare
With head, hands, feet or wing, ,rursues his way"
On arriving in the vicinity Of village, the
whole population turn out to meet and es-
cort him with due honors TO the public well
or tank, the men beating drums, and the
women singing through their noses. Here
his holiness unbendS, washes OFF the dust
and dirt acquired by perambulating sever
al miles Of dusty road; and, after partal-
ing Of 4 slight reCreshmcNt, enters into con-
versation with the assembled villagers, just
as The We're an ordinary mortal-lnaIiin4
very particular inquiries concerning the
state OF their lardcr$, and slight investiga,
lions as to their morals. Or course every
oue is anxious to have the honor of enter
tanning man so holy as to roll to their
presence doubled up into hoop and dis
putes get warm as to who is to have the
preference. Whcreupcn the fuqueer makes
a speech, in which he returns thanks for
the attentions shown him, and intimates that
be intends taking up his quarters with the