ers, and rich gold
embroidery was woven about his shoes. His brother, a youth of nineteen,
wore a white turban, with a costly clasp of diamonds and pearls. Large
pearls hung from his ears; rich massive bracelets clasped his wrists.

The guests having taken their seats, a large silver basin was brought in,
with elaborately-wrought narghillies, and they were invited to smoke.
This honour they declined. The rajah then smoked in solitary dignity--his
pipe being changed as soon as he had taken a few whiffs.

A nautchni, or dance by nautches, was next provided for the visitors'
entertainment. There were three musicians and two dancers. The latter
were dressed in gay gold-woven muslin robes, with wide silk
gold-broidered trousers, reaching to the ground, and quite covering their
bare feet. One of the musicians beat a couple of small drums; the others
played on four-stringed instruments not unlike a violin. They stood
close behind the dancers, and their music was wholly innocent of melody
or harmony; but to the rhythm, which was strongly accentuated, the
dancers moved their arms, hands, and fingers in a very animated manner,
and at intervals their feet, so as to ring the numerous tiny bells that
cover them. Their attitudes were not ungraceful. The performance lasted
a quarter of an hour, after which they accompanied the dance with what
was intended for singing, but sounded like shrieking. Meantime,
sweetmeats, fruits, and sherbet were handed round.

As a contrast to this gay scene, Madame Pfeiffer describes the
performance of the wretched fanatics called fakeers. These men inflict
upon themselves the most extraordinary tortures. Thus: they stick an
iron hook through their flesh, and allow themselves to be suspended by it
at a height of twenty or five-and-twenty feet. {105} Or for long hours
they stand upon one foot in the burning sunshine, with their arms rigidly
extended in the air. Or they hold heavy weights in various positions,
swing round and round for hours together, and tear the flesh from their
bodies with red-hot pincers. Madame Pfeiffer saw two of these
unfortunate victims of a diseased imagination. One held a heavy axe over
his head, in the attitude of a workman bent on felling a tree; in this
position he stood, rigid as a statue. The other held the point of his
toe to his nose.

* * * * *

In her tour through India our traveller passed through Allahabad,
situated at the junction of the Jumna an