The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-12-21

man brute and woman the lowest
type of slave, Iwould rather be horse
or a COW or dog in India than be d
woman. The greatest disaster that can
happen to u Hindoo is that he was born
at oil,
A City of Illusions.
Benares is imposing in the distance as
you look at it from tho other side Of
the Ganges, The AZ CHATS or flights Of
stone steps, reaching from the waters
edge to the buildings high up OH the
banks, mark place for the ascent and
descent of the sublimities. The eye is
lost in the bewilderment of tombs,
shrines; minarets palaces aud temples!
1t Is the Qualification Of steps, the tri.
umph of stairways. But looked at close
by the temples though large and ex-
pensive, are anything but attractive.
The seeming gold in many cases turns
out to DO brass The precious stones in
the wall turn ont to be paint. The mar
Bile Is stdcco The slippery and disgust
ing steps lead you to images of horrible
visage and the flowers put upon the
altar have their fragrance submerged
by that which is the opposite Of aromat-
les.
After you have seen the CHATS the
two great things in Benares that you
must see are the Golden and Monkey
temples. About the vast Golden temple
there Is not as much gold as would
make an English sovereign. The arr it
self is asphyXiated. Here we see men
making gods out of mud and then put
ting their hands together in worship of
that which themselves have made. Sa-
cred COWS walk up and down the tenn
pie Here stood fakir with right
arm uplifted and for so long time
that he could hot take 1t down, and the
halls of the hand had grown until they
looked like serpents winding in and
around the palm.
The god of the Golden temple is ST.
va, or the poison god Devils wait upon
him. He is the god of war, of famine,
of pestilence. He is the destroyer. He
has around his neck a string of skulls.
Before him bow men whose hair never
knew comb They eat carbon and
that which is worse. Bells and drums
here set up racket Pilgrims come
from hundreds of miles away, spending
their last piece of money and exhaust
ing their last item of strength in order
to reach this Golden temple, glad to die
in or near it and have the ashes Of their
bodies thrown into the Ganges.
The Monkey Temple.
We took Il carriage and went still far
ther on to see the Monkey temple, SO
called because in and around the build
ing monkeys abound and arc kept as sa-
cred All evolutionists should visit this
temple devoted to the family from which
their ancestors came. These monkeys
chatter and wink and climb and look
wise and look silly and have full pos
session of the place. We were asked at
the entrance of the Monkey temple to
take of our shoes because of the sacred
ness of the place, but small contribu-
ton placed in the hands of an attend
ant resulted in permission to enter
with our shoes on. AS the Golden tenn
pie is dedicated to silva, the poison god,
this Monkey temple is dedicated to ST.
vas wife, deitess that must be propi-
tiated, or she will disease and blast and
destroy. For centuries this spitfire has
been worshiped. She is the goddess Of
scold and slap and termagancy. She is
supposed to be supernatural Xantippe;
hence to her are brought flowers and
1.ipa and bora and tbora tho do,uorc ora
spattered with the blood Of goats slain,
in sacrifice.
AS we walk today through this Mon
key temple we must not hit or tease or
hurt one Of them. Two Englishmen
years ago lost their lives by the NAL
treatment of monkey. Passing along
one of these Indian streets, a monkey
did not soon enough get out of the way,
and one of these Englishmen struck it
with his cane Immediately the people
and the priests gathered around these
strangers, and the public wrath incrcas-
ed until the two Englishmen were
pounded to death for having struck
monkey. No land in all the world SO
reveres the monkey as India, as no 9TH
er land has temple called after it.
One Of the rajahs Of India spent 100,-
900 rupees in the marriage Of two mon
keys. A nuptial procession was formed
in which moved camels elephants, IT,
gers, cattle and palanquins of richly
dressed people. Bands of music sounded
the wedding march. Dancing parties
kept the night sleepless. TWAS IL days
before the monkey and monkeyess were
free from their round of gay attentions.
In no place but India could such car
nival have occurred. But, after all,
while we cannot approve of the Monkey
temple, the monkey is sacred to hilari-
ty. defy any one to watch a monkey
one minute without laughter Why was
this creature made? For the worlds
amusement The mission of some ami
mails is left doubtful, and we cannot see
the use of this or that quadruped or this
or that insect, but the mission of the ape
is certain-all around the world it en-
tertains. Whether seated at the top of
this temple in India or cutting up its
antics on the top Of hand organ, it
sulIS tllo stIsS VI tNS tlChlSS
the diaphragm into exclamation, top
Piles gravity into play and accomplishes
that for which it was created. The ca
gle, and the lion, and the gazelle, and
tho robin no more certainly have their
mission than has the monkey. But it
implies low form of Hindooism when
this embodied mimicry of the human
race is lifted into worship
An Obliging Faizir.
In one of the cities for the first time
in my life I had an opportunity of talk
ing with fakir or Hindoo who has
renowned the world and lives on aims.
He sat under a rough covering on
platform of brick He was covered with
the ashes of the dead and was at the
time rubbing more Of those ashes upon
his arms and legs. He understood and
spoke English. / said to him, How
long have you been seated here?" He
replied, "lFiftecn years. - Have those
idols which SEQ power to help or de-
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