In conclusion, it would not be out of place, I think, to speak, in this connection, of the reverence the Hindoos pay to their Sacred River. The long arms of caste cannot reach a victim if he happens to be on its water. In sailing as well as in row-boats, which crowd on the Ganges, the members of all castes sit side by side, talk to each other, smoke their _hookas_, and take their luncheon; but these things _could not_ be done in a vehicle on land. A Brahmun would eat his luncheon on a boat having a low-caste man,--a shoemaker, perhaps,--only a few feet from him, because the holiness of the river takes away, in some degree, the difference that exists between the two castes.[18] They sprinkle its water upon everything almost, for purifying purposes. Those who bathe in ponds drop a few drops of Gunga water on their heads. A Hindoo who would speak lies, or bear false witness against his brother, with a hard heart, if urged to do it with a cup of Ganges water in his hand, would keep his conscience clear, for he will not dare to speak lies then! In courts of justice the witnesses had to touch the holy water in giving their depositions; now they are simply reminded of its presence. If any one should speak _truth_, calling the Gunga for his witness, it is regarded sinful. It often happens that when a rich man is robbed of his gold or silver, and the police recovers it, he is required to claim it by _oath_, that is, by touching the water of the Ganges, but he would not. The very idea of swearing or taking oath in the presence of an adorable object is abominable to him; he would rather go away poor and suffering than retain or acquire money that way. In order that it might be regarded most solemnly, the Hindoos believe that when a man swears falsely in the name of a holy person or thing, not only he is condemned, but also “fourteen ancestors” suffer for it. There are, however, thousands who do not observe all these rules. I speak of the rules themselves. CHAPTER IV. SHRA-BUN, JULY. THE ROTH JATRA, OR THE CAR OF JOGGER-NAUTH.