revenge of some offence, and that the latter must be
propitiated by the sacrifice or pujah of the dead
animal, which, in consequence, was given up, for had
it been buried, they would have dug it up and eaten
it all the same. The ceremony was performed in the
evening on the slope of a hill not far oif, under a large
Mohwa tree, and in front of a rough stone slab or altar,
about five feet high by three feet wide, leaning against
its trunk. Here the big beast was roasted whole, the
blood sprinkled upon the stone, the intestines examined
for good or for evil, and incantations pronounced.
Dancing and singing, and all sorts of
abominations while away the time until the feasting
begins, and they seldom leave off as long as there is
anything to devour. I f the task is beyond their
power, they dry the remainder in slices to eat at their
leisure. I t afterwards transpired through the Ayah
that the deity was supposed to have been offended
by the dhorasani, in her walk on the previous day,
having passed, or perhaps even touched, the stone
which their superstition had dubbed into an emblem
of the Godhead. Stocks and stones, or a lump of clay,
and frequently trees smeared over with a little red
paint, are converted into an idol and reverenced by
the ignorant Hindu; the natives generally adorn
them with little earthenware pots or chatties, and
strings of white and yellow flowers. At a marriage
feast the bride walks three times round this improvised
shrine in her bridal dress.
Flower gardens are generally neglected in these
regions, as they require much attention and are sure
to suffer during the long dry season; still Pore does
sport one of modest dimensions in front of the
bungalow, surrounded on three sides by a hedge of
the evergreen-rose, enclosing small beds of pretty
flowers; plenty of Zinnias in half-a-dozen colours,
these indeed grow all over the jungle; a slender
pink iris, the fuchsia, geranium, a light blue convolvulus,
as large as a cheese-plate, called the “morning
glory ” and others, also two magnificent lime trees
(Citrus acida),—altogether not much to boast of, if
compared with European gardens. There was also a
fine grove of plantains, consisting of a great number
of young plants luxuriating under the shade of tall
trees overlooking a narrow valley, whose slopes are
planted with coffee, and at the bottom with cardamoms
of bright green, following the winding of a clear rivulet
which springs at the upper end from a tiny lake,
barely 80 yards in diameter, with a lofty Indian elm-
tree (Ulmus integrifolia) in the centre, the tout-
ensemble forming a pretty bit of scenery as seen
from above Of plantains there are a great many