ustom and the festival--of which Lacshmee,
the goddess of wealth, is the patroness--being purely Hindu.

The Parsees of India, sole remnant of the ancient fire-worshippers,
have sadly degenerated from that pure faith held by their forefathers,
and for which they became fugitives and exiles. What persecution
failed to accomplish, kindness has effected, and their religion has
been corrupted by the taint of Hinduism, in consequence of their long
and friendly intercourse with the people, who permitted them to dwell
in their land, and to take their daughters in marriage. Incense was
burning on a tripod placed upon the floor, and the priests muttering
prayers, which sounded very like incantations, ever and anon threw
some new perfume upon the charcoal, which produced what our friend
Dousterswivel would call a "suffumigation." These preliminaries over,
they caused each person to write a few words in the open book before
him, and then threw upon the leaves a portion of grain. After this had
been distributed, they made the circle again, and threw gold leaf upon
the volumes; then came spices and betel-nut, cut in small pieces,
and lastly flowers, and a profusion of the red powder (_abeer_) so
lavishly employed in Hindu festivals. More incense was burned, and
the ceremony concluded, the merchants rising and congratulating
each other. Formerly, when our host was a more wealthy man than, in
consequence of sundry misfortunes, he is at present, he was in the
habit of disbursing Rs. 10,000 in gifts upon this day: everybody that
came to the house receiving something.

The custom of blessing the books, after the Hindu manner, will in all
probability shortly decline among the Parsees, the younger portion
being already of opinion that it is a vain and foolish ceremony,
borrowed from strangers; and, indeed, the elders of the party were
at some pains to convince me that they merely complied with it in
consequence of a stipulation entered into with the Hindus, when
they granted them an asylum, to observe certain forms and ceremonies
connected with their customs, assuring me that they did not place any
reliance upon the favour of the goddess, looking only for the blessing
of God to prosper their undertakings.

This declaration, however, was somewhat in contradiction to one
circumstance, which I omitted to mention, namely, that before the
assembled Parsees rose from the floor, they permitted the officiating
brahmins to mark their foreheads w