20/23 A strike of sweepers on the occasion of a great fair, or of a cholera epidemic, is a most dangerous calamity. The vested rights described in the text are so fully recognized in practice that they are frequently the subject of sale or mortgage. The low-caste Hindoos are generally fond of drink, when they can get it, but seldom commit crime under its influence. An elephant driver, by reason of his position on the animal, has opportunities for private conversation with his master. Elephant drivers (_mahouts_) are Muhammadans, who should have no caste, but Indian Musalmans have become Hinduized, and fallen under the dominion of caste. |