ppiness. The people believed that asses had
human souls, and, reversing the theory of Darwin that human beings
were the offspring of inferior animals, thought they were formerly
men; but, to punish them for crimes they had been guilty of, the gods
transformed them into their present shape. White elephants were much
esteemed by the people. As the devil was worshipped, altars were
erected in honour of him, and sacrifices were daily offered to appease
his wrath and obtain his favour. Devout persons refused to taste food,
before throwing part of it behind them for the dogs or devils to eat;
for they imagined that every dog was possessed with evil spirits, if
the animal was not Satan himself. It sometimes happened that a man
left his house, swept clean and genteelly furnished, for the devil to
take possession of it for a whole month.

On entering into a solemn agreement, the natives of Siam drank each
other's blood. They attentively listened to the groans and cries of
wild beasts, and prognosticated from them, and believed in witchcraft.
They imagined, as spiritualists of the present time do, that answers
were received from deceased friends or relations. Natives of the
Philippine Islands had a notion that they could know, from seeing the
first objects that presented themselves to them in the morning,
whether they would be successful or unsuccessful in their undertakings
during the day. If one of them happened to tread upon an insect when
setting out on a journey, he would proceed no further. The islanders
of the Moluccas watched the graves of their deceased relations seven
nights, for fear the devil would steal the body away, and during that
time the bed of the deceased was made as if he were alive. Further,
victuals were prepared for him, lest he should return to earth and
require nourishment. Many of the people wore bracelets, and on the
appearance of the new moon a hen's neck was cut, and the bracelets
dipped into the blood. From the appearance of the ornaments after
being taken out, future events were brought to light. When the people
of Ceylon were called upon to make oath, they wrapped their right
hands in a cloth the previous night, and when they appeared in court,
a caldron, containing a mixture of cows' dung and water, kept boiling
over a strong fire, was in readiness for the deponents, subsequent to
removing the bandages, to immerse their hands therein. This being
done, their hands were again wrapped up until next