use the noose for strangulation, and one to take away the clothes and money of the victim, and one to dig a grave, and another to put into it the murdered man, and still another to fill it. In this manner they are able to use great dispatch. As they are not distinguished by any peculiarity of costume, and as there are found among them persons of all castes, they can mingle with travelers without exciting suspicion. Many are their victims. Before setting out upon an expedition of this kind, they ask counsel of the gods. They all unite with uplifted hands in this prayer,-"If it be thy will, O Ishwar, and thine, O Bhawání, to prosper our undertaking for the sake of the blind and the lame, the widow and the orphan, vouchsafe we pray the call of the female jackall on the right." They conse crate a portion of the spoils to their patron goddess, and appropriate the rest to their own use. The East Indian government has taken measures, which are hastening the extermination of this dreadful system of plunder and murder.

Shiva is always seen with the figure of the moon upon his forehead. The cause of this is thus stated; Chandra the regent of the moon, was traveling the earth in company with his wife Rohini, and they unwarily entered the forest of Gauri, where some men having surprised Mahadeva, caressing that goddess, had been formerly punished by a change of their sex, and the forest had retained the power of effecting the like change upon all males who should enter it. Chandra instantly becoming a female, was so afflicted and ashamed, that she hastened far away to the West, and sent Rohini to her seat in the sky. She then concealed herself in a mountain, where she performed acts of the most rigorous devotion. Darkness then covered the world; the fruits of the earth were destroyed; and the universe was in such dismay, that all the gods imploringly besought the aid of Mahadeva. He had no sooner placed Chandrí on his forehead, than she became Chandra. And now being restored to his sex, he

rejoined Rohini, and all things resumed their wonted state.

Durga is seen in the accompanying picture. This is her origin. There was a certain demon who had, by the practice of religious austerities in honor of Vishnu, acquired a degree of merit which gave him a supremacy over Indra, and he took possession of Swarga. He subsequently made such a display of his power and consequence, that all the gods began to tremble for their thrones. It was found upon inquiry that Vishnu, the preserver, had given the demon a pledge, on condition of this service, that no being then existing should be able to deprive him of life. And now all the energies of the indignant gods were concentrated and united in the production of the veritable and horrible Durgá. She is therefore an incarnation of wrath. Himálaya supplied her with a lion, upon which she mounted and went in pursuit of the demon King of Terrors. To elude the pursuit he took the form of the buffalo.

But

this did not succeed. Durgá approached him, and with her broad-sword severed his head from the body. Forth with there came in the place of it the head of a man, and she grasped it by the hair with her left hand, and with her right hand plunged her trident into his heart. And thus the monster died.

Krishna has been said to be the darling god of the Hindu women. Whatever may be the partiality of the women for this person, it is most certain that he is esteemed by the men in a measure which does them no honor. For history cannot furnish the record of an individual whose life, in childhood, youth, and manhood, has been so utterly vicious, libidinous, and impious, as the Hindu Scriptures show the life of this god to have been. Any notice of his exploits can be interesting only in the way of illustrating the character of the Hindu gods, and the nature of the Hindu Bible. Krishna was born at Mathurá, in the province of Agra. When yet an infant he was