custodian of the shrine, who is himself
a faqir, by preference a disciple of the one whose grave he tends.

In one such shrine that I visited there were the remains of what
must once have been a fine sycamore-tree, but which was then, with
the exception of one branch, a mere withered shell, which had to be
propped up to prevent its falling to the ground. The one green branch
was said to be miraculously kept alive by the shadow of the tomb
falling on it; and if any childless pilgrim would take home a few
leaves and give a decoction of them to his wife, he would assuredly
before long be the happy father of a son; while for the relief of the
other ills to which flesh is heir there was a masonry tank outside,
in which the sick, the halt, and the blind bathed, and were said
to receive the healing they came for. Many of our hospital patients
have already been to this and similar faith-healing establishments,
so they are not always efficacious.

CHAPTER XIX

MY LIFE AS A MENDICANT

Dependent on the charitable--An incident on the bridge
over the Jhelum River--A rebuff on the feast-day--An Indian
railway-station--A churlish Muhammadan--Helped by a soldier--A
partner in the concern--A friendly native Christian--The prophet
of Qadian--A new Muhammadan development--Crossing the Beas
River--Reception in a Sikh village--Recognized by His Highness
Yakub Khan, late Amir--Allahabad--Encounter with a Brahman at
Bombay--Landing at Karachi--Value of native dress--Relation to
natives--Need of sympathy--The effect of clothes--Disabilities
in railway travelling--English manners--Reception of visitors.

In this chapter I shall recount a few of the more interesting incidents
that befell me and my disciple when on our pilgrimage as Sadhus. As
we were travelling without money, we were dependent on the offerings
of the charitable not only for our daily food, but for such little
items as the toll required for crossing the bridges over the five
great rivers of the Panjab. The first river we came to was the Indus,
and there being no bridge over that part of the river, it is crossed
in ferry-boats. We had no difficulty here, for we were known; and
one of my pupils was on duty at the ferry and assisted us over. It
was not so easy, however, at the Jhelum River. When we reached the
western end of the bridge, the toll-keeper stopped us for payment. I
told him that I was a Christian Sadhu journeying