"Only three days ago," he continued, "I required a power of attorney from a lady of rank, to enable me to act for her in a case pending before the court in this town. It was given to me by her brother, and two witnesses came to declare that she had given it. 'Now,' said I, 'this lady is known to live under the curtain, and you will be asked by the judge whether you saw her give this paper: what will you say?' They both replied: 'If the judge asks us the question without an oath, we will say "_Yes_;" it will save much trouble, and we know that she _did_ give the paper, though we did not really _see_ her give it; but if he puts the Koran into our hands, we must say "_No_," for we should otherwise be pointed at by all the town as perjured wretches--our enemies would soon tell everybody that we had taken a false oath.' "Now," the native lawyer went on, "the form of an oath is a great check on this sort of persons. "The third class consists of men who will tell lies whenever they have a sufficient motive, whether they have the Koran or Ganges-water in their hand or not. Nothing will ever prevent their doing so; and the declaration which you propose would be just as well as any other for them." "Which class do you consider the most numerous of the three?" "I consider the second the most numerous, and wish the oath to be retained for them." "That is, of all the men you see examined in our courts, you think the most come under the class of those who will, under the influence of strong motives, tell lies, if they have not the Koran or Ganges-water in their hands?" "Yes." "But do not a great many of those whom you consider to be included among the second class come from the village-communities--the peasantry of the country?" "Yes." "And do you not think that the greatest part of those men who will tell lies in the court, under the influence of strong motives, unless they have the Koran or Ganges-water in their hands, would refuse to tell lies, if questioned before the people of their villages, among the circle in which they live?" "Of course I do; three-fourths of those who do not scruple to lie in the courts, would be ashamed to lie before their neighbors, or the elders of their village." "You think that the people of the village-communities are more ashamed to tell lies before their neighbors than the people of towns?" "Much more--there is no comparison." "And the people of towns and cities bear in India but a small proportion to the people of the village-communities?" "I should think a very small proportion indeed." "Then you think that in the mass of the population of India, _out of our courts_, the first class, or those who speak truth, whether they have the Koran or Ganges-water in their hands or not, would be found more numerous than the other two?" "Certainly I do; if they were always to be questioned before their neighbors or elders, so that they could feel that their neighbors and elders could know what they say."