show respect to the household god. The floor of the verandas should be
lower than that of the room inside; the Hindus say that the compound
should not see the veranda nor the veranda the house. But this rule
has of course also the advantage of keeping the house-floor dry. If
the main beam of a house breaks it is a very bad omen, as also for
a vulture or kite to perch on the roof; if this should happen seven
days running the house will inevitably be left empty by sickness or
other misfortune. A dog howling in front of the house is very unlucky,
and if, as may occasionally happen, a dog should get on to the roof
of the house and bark, the omen is of the worst kind. Neither the
pipal nor banyan trees should be planted in the yard of a house,
because the leavings of food might fall upon them, and this would
be an insult to the deities who inhabit the sacred trees. Neither
is it well to plant the _nim_ tree, because the _nim_ is the tree
of anchorites, and the frequent contemplation of it will take away
from a man the desire of offspring and lead to the extinction of his
family. Bananas should not be grown close to the house, because the
sound of this fruit bursting the pod is said to be audible, and to
hear it is most unlucky. It is a good thing to have a _gular_ [75]
tree in the yard, but at a little distance from the house so that
the leavings of food may not fall upon it; this is the tree of the
saint Dattatreya, and will cause wealth to increase in the house. A
plant of the sacred _tulsi_ or basil is usually kept in the yard,
and every morning the householder pours a vessel of water over it
as he bathes, and in the evening places a lamp beside it. This holy
plant sanctifies the air which passes over it to the house.

No one should ever sit on the threshold of a house; this is the seat
of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and to sit on it is disrespectful
to her. A house should never be swept at twilight, because it is then
that Lakshmi makes her rounds, and she would curse it and pass by. At
this time a lamp should be lighted, no one should be allowed to sleep,
and even if a man is sick he should sit up on his bed. At this time the
grinding-mill should not be turned nor grain be husked, but reverence
should be paid to ancestors and to the household deities. No one
must sit on the grinding-mill; it is regarded as a mother because
it gives out the flour by which the family is fed. No one must sit
on cowdung cakes because th