The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-06-12

H=//
William Jennings BRYAN.
river in the early morning. and Such z
sight, Down the steps as far as the
eye could reach. came the bathers,
men. women and children. and up the
steps went a constant stream of those
VINO had finished their additions. Most
Of them carried upon their heads
water pots Of shining brass and some
carried bundles of wearing apparel.
The bathing is lone leiSurely. as if ac-
cording TO a ritual, with frequent Dip
pings: water Is poured out to the sun
and prayers are said. The lame. the
halt and the blind are there, some
picking their way with painful step
others assisted by friends. Here, a
leper sought healing in the stream;
near him q man with emaciated form
J mixed his medicine with the holy wa
ter. and not far off Il fakir with mat
ted hair prayed beneath his big UNI
brella. ON one of the piers a young
man was cultiVating psychic power
by standing on one leg while he told
his beads with his face toward the
sun.
Dressing and undressing is a simple
matter with the mass Of the people.
Men n women emerging from the
water throw n clean robe arOun
themselves n then a~nlooSing the wet
garment wiring it out and are ready to
return. Those who bring water pots
fill them from the stream out of which
they have SO recently come and carry
them away as if some divinity protect
ed the water from pollution. AS the
river contains countless dead and re
ceives the filth Of the city IS we'll as
the flowers cast into it by Worshippers,
it requires q strong faith to believe it
free from lurking disease and seeds Of
peStilence.
When we reached the burning CHAT,
we found one body on the funeral
pHre and another soaking in the water
as a preparation for burning. 50 high
~ is the Gauges reVered that aged
people are brought there that hey
may die, if possible. in the water.
While we We're watching, a third body
was prepared for the burning, and it
was so limp that death could not have
occurred long before. While the
flames were consuming those three
cOrpseS. we saw coming down the steps
a MAJ carrying the body Of a child,
apparently about two years old, wrap
ped in a piece of hin cotton cloth.
(The children of the poor are buried
in the stream because of the cost Of
wood.) The man bore his i~ifeless
burden to a little barge and made the
corpse fast to a heavy stone slab. II
boatman then pushed out from the
shore and when the middle of the
stream was reached the man in charge
of the body dropped it overheard, and
the burial was over.
No one has seen India until he has
seen the GangeS; no one has seen he
Gauges until he has seen it at Benares:
and no one who has seen the Gauges
at Benares will ever forget 1t.
*
In the suburbs of the city stands
the Durga temple. better known as
the Monkey temple because it is the
home Of q large family of monkeys
which are regarded as sacred. Photo
graphs of the temple present rather an
attractive appearance but the original
is anything but beautiful, and the
monkeys and general filth Of the place
deprive it of all appearance of a place
of Worship.
The Golden temple. however, is he
one most visited by tourists and it
would be difficult to picture a less in
viting place. The buildings are old
and greasy, and the narrow streets are
filled with images and thronged with
b~eggarS. one finds his interest in
missionary work quickened if he van
ders through these streets and sees
the offering of incense to the elephant
god and monkey god. and to images
innumerable. The ahr is heavy With
perfume and the odo of decaying
flowers. ana one jostlcs against the
sacred bulls IS he threads his way
through the crowd. We have not seen
in any other land such evidences of
superstition, such effort to ward oft
evil spirits and TO conciliate idols.
The educated Hiudus. and there are
many learned men among the Hindus.
regard these idols as only visible rep
reservations OF an invisible God. but
the masses seem to look no farther
than the ugly images before which
they bow.
1t was a relief to find near this
dark pool of idolatry an institution Of
learning, recently founded, which
promises to be a purifying soring. |
refer to the Central Hindu college of
which Mrs. Annie Eeeant. the We'll
known theosophist. is the head. AL
though the school is but seven years
Ole, il already includes a valuable
group OF buildings and has some 800
students. Among the professors are
several Englishmen who serve with
out compensation. finding sufficient re-
ward in the consciousness of service.
= : = = = =
Next to Renares, A!lahabad is the
most important Hindu center. The city
is on the Ganges. at its junction with
the Jumna. one of its longest branch
cs. There is an old tradition that an
other river, flowing underground,
empties into the Gauges at this point.
and the place is referred to as the
junction OF the three rivers. The
great Mogul Akbar built a splendid
fort where the Ganges and the Jumna
meet, and probably on this account
Allahabad is the CAPITA! of the united
provinces of Agra and Oudh. Within
the walls OF the fort there is another
OF the AsOka pillars, q very we'll pre-
served one. 40 feet high and bearing
/ nl-111n.nl1- I-a,irti~,.
are the famous edicts of A .ka issued
IN - l.. G.. against the taking of
hle. Within the fort in a subterran-
l can room IS another object Of inter