[Illustration: TEMPLE AT MANIKARNIKA.] "We landed at the Manikarnika ghaut to see several things of interest, and among others the holy well which is said to have been dug by Vishnu, one of the Hindoo gods. Thousands of pilgrims come to see it every year, and it is said to have the property of bringing immediate forgiveness for every crime, no matter what its character, to any one who washes in its water. The water has a disagreeable smell, but this does not deter the pilgrims who come to it; there is a flight of stone steps on each of the four sides leading down to the water, and these steps were placed there, according to the tradition, by Vishnu's own hands. Close by the mouth of the well are several altars where the pilgrims place their offerings; and if any of them are worth taking, they are carried away by the priests as soon as the worshipper's back is turned. "The steps of the ghaut were crowded with pilgrims who had come there to bathe, and to say their prayers to the rising sun. The sun was just coming above the horizon as we reached the ghaut and paused to look at the multitude. There were many groups scattered along the ghaut, some of men and others of women, and they showed by their manner that the occasion was a solemn one. They left their heavy garments on the steps farther up, and walked down to the water's edge, clad only in white robes, and repeating their prayers as they went along. Some paused on the steps and stood motionless before small idols, and others, too poor to bring idols, placed little heaps of mud on the steps and worshipped them instead. They brought bunches of jasmine and other flowers to sprinkle on the steps and in the Ganges, and though the morning was frosty, and the water must have been cold, not one of them shivered in the least on entering the sacred river. "There is a curious stone here which is said to bear the impression of Vishnu's feet; of course it is highly venerated, and is visited by every pious Hindoo who comes to Benares. There are temples and shrines all around here, and every foot of the ground is holy in the eyes of the natives. One of the temples contains a figure of the god Ganesh; he has three eyes and a trunk like an elephant, and when he goes about he is supposed to ride on a rat.