The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-09-25
A FUQUEER,S CURSE.

The advent Of one of these gentry in an Eng
llsh settlement is regarded with much the sam
sort OF feeling as vagrant cockroach, when h
makes his appearance unannounced in mod
ern drawing-room. II we could imagine tn
aforesaid cockroach brandishng his horns il
the face OF the Mortified inmates, exulting in tn
disgust which his presence creates and intima
ting with Il conceited swagger, that in virtu
; of his ugliness he considers himself entities
to some cake and wine. perhaps the analog
, would be more complete.
The fnqueer il the mendicant friar of India
He owns no superior wears clothing per
forms no work despses everybody and every
thing; sometimes pretends to perpetual fasting
and lives on the fat of the land
There il this much however to he said fol
him, that when he does mortify himself for the
good of the community he does it to some pur
pose. A lenten fast or penanee of parched
pease in his shoes, would be a mere bagatelle Il
him. We have seen fuqueer who was never
known" to eat at all. He carried a small
black stone about with him, which had been
presented to his mother by a holy man. He
pretended that by sucking this stone and with
out the aid of any sort of nutriment he had
arrived at the mature age of forty; yet no had
u nest Of supplementary chins, and protu-
| IHunCH, WHICH tcTldllllN ulu EItdb CTcult
to the fattening powers of the black stone.
Only enough, his business was to collect eat
akles Rad, drinkables; hut Ike the Scottish
fsfhicii,ah v,sI 10, sssIA ~:
stone they were no for hissel. but for nee
bourn When saw him he was soliciting of.
ferings of rice, milk. fish, and ghee, for the
benefit of his patron Dew These offerings were
nightly laid upon the altar before tho Dey, who
| 10 ,Jso.b hon tha nioht
considerably leaving the fragments to be dis
tributed 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 maledictiOns to the fraudulent donors
Sometimes fuqueer will take it into his
head that the community will be benefited by
his trundling himself along, like cart-wheel,
for couple of hundred miles or so tie ties
his wrists to his ankles gets a 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 byway of an axle, and off he goes;
a brazen cup with bag and "a hubbie-bubbie,
hang like tassels Mt the two extremities of the
axle Thus accOutred he often starts on a
journey which will occupy him for several years,
| like Millions tiend,
"0er bog or steep, through straight rough, dense,
With head, hands feet, or wings, pursues his way
On arriving in the vicinity Of q village, the
whole population turn out to meet and escort
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 peram-
bulating several miles of dusty road: and, after
partaking Of "a slight refreshment enters into
conversation with the assembled villagers just
as if he were an ordinary matchmaking very
particular inquiries concerning the state Of
| their larders and slight Investigations as TO
| their morals. OF course every one is anxious
| to have the honor of entertaining a man so
holy as to roll to their presence doubled up into
a hoop, and disputes get warm rs to who is to
have the preference Whereupon the fuqueer
makes u speech, in which he returns thanks for
the attentions shown him. and ntimates that
he intends taking up his quarters with the man
who is most capable of testifyng his apprecia-
ton of the honor After some higgling, he
knocks himself down, u decided bargain, to be
the guest Of the highest bidder, in whose house
he remains giving good advice to the commu,
nifty, and diffusing an Odor of sanctity through
out the whole village. When the supplies be-
gin to fail he ties his hands to his heels again,
gets fresh tire put ON, and is escorted out Of
the village with the same f0rmalties rs accom-
panied his entrance.
Like other vermin of his class he is most apt
to attach himself to the weaker vessels of
humanity, with whom he is generally a prodi-
| gous fayorite. lie is not, certainly indebted TO
his personal advantages for this favor, for a
more hideously ugly race of men is seldom met
with AS if nature had not made him sufi-
GENTLY repulsive he heightens his hideousness
by encircling his eyes with bands of white
paint; daubing his cheeks rich mustard yell
low white streak runs along the ridge of his
nose, and another forms Q circle round his
mouth; his ribs are indioated by corresponding
bars of white paint, which give highly yen-
cradle cross bones effect to his breast. When !
add that he wears no clothes and that the use
of soap is no part Of his religion, some idea may
be gained of the effect the first view of him oc-
casons in the mind Of European,
On the afternoon Of a very sultry day in
June, | had got table out in the verandah of
my bungalow, and was amusing myself with a
galvanic apparatus, giving such of my servants
as had the courage taste Of what they called
W'ulatee boinjee, English lightnipg,) when .
long gaunt figure, with his hair hanging in dis
ordered masses over his face, was observed to
cross the lawn. On arriving within few
PAGES of where stood, he drew himself up in
an imposing attitude--one of his arms akimb0,
while the other held out towards me what ap-
peared to be q pair Of tongs with brass dish
at the extremity OF it,
WHO are you!n ] called out.
"Fuquccr," was the cultural response
| What do you WANT"
"Bheek,' (alms
"Bheekn exclaimed, "alrely You are
joking--a great stout fellow like you can't be
wanting bheekp
The tuqueer paid not the slightest attention,
but continued holding out his tongs with the
dish ut the end Of it.
You had better be OF" ] said; 81 never
give bheek to people who are able to work"
I'VE do khoodas work, replied the fuqueer,
with swagger
"0h! you do-then," answered, ''you had
better ask khooda for bheek" So saying,
turned to thu table, and began arranging the
apparatus for making some experiments, Hap
pcning to look up about FIVE minutes after,
observed that the tuqueer was standing upon
one ieg and struggling to assume as much
majesty Us was consistent with his equilibrium.
The tongs and dish were still extended, while
his left hand sustained his right foot across
his abdomen. ! turned to the table and tried
to 90 on with my work, but Numbered awfully,
broke glass jar, cut my fingers and made a
mess on the table | had consciousness of the
fuqueers staring at me with his extended dish,
and could not get the fellow out Of my head.
looked up at him agajn There he was rs
grand Ms ever, ON his one leg, and with his eyes
riveted on mine. He continued this performance
for nearly an hour, yet there did not seem to be
the faintest indication OF his unfolding himself
rather picturesque ornament 10 the lawn, il
he should take it into bis head-as these fell
lows sometimes do Ito remain in the same po
itiop for twelycmonth, IF" | said, "you
stand there much longer, III give you such q