He will stand for years on one leg, till it is full of wounds, or, if he
prefers it, he will clench his fist till the nails grow through the
hands.

These holy beggars are found in all parts of India, but they are
particularly fond of the most desolate spots. Near the mouth of the
Ganges there are some desert places, the resort of tigers, and there many
of the sunnyasees live in huts. They pretend not to be afraid of the
tigers, and the Hindoos think that tigers will not touch such holy men;
but it is certain that tigers have been seen dragging some of these proud
men into the woods.

There is another kind of beggars called fakirs; they are just as wicked
and foolish as the sunnyasees; but they are Mahomedans and not Brahmins.

ANIMALS.--Some of the fiercest and most disagreeable animals are highly
honored in India.

The monkey is counted as a god; the consequence is, that the monkeys,
finding they are treated with respect, grow very bold, and are
continually scrambling upon the roofs of the houses. In one place there
is a garden where monkeys riot about at their pleasure, for all in that
garden is for them alone, the delicious fruits, the cool fountains, the
shady bowers, all are for the worthless, mischievous monkeys.

But if it be strange for men to worship _monkeys_, is it not stranger
still to worship _snakes_ and _serpents_? Yet there is a temple in India
where serpents crawl about at their pleasure, where they are waited upon
by priests, and fed with fruits and every dainty. How much delighted must
the old serpent be with this worship!