There is no part of the world where one finds a more perfect system of making money out of the patron of a hotel than in India. Only those peddlers who pay a commission to the proprietor or manager are allowed to enter it, even to deliver goods that have been bought outside; and sometimes the manager requires all payments for purchases to pass through his hands, so that he may know the proper amount of his "squeeze," and secure it on the spot. The writer constantly came in contact with this custom during his travels in India, and on several occasions it was managed so openly that a blind man could hardly fail to see it. At the hotel in Delhi the manager stood by to witness transactions between peddlers and strangers, and when he was called away for a brief period he coolly asked if anything had been bought in his absence, and how much was paid. On one occasion the commission was handed over without the least attempt at concealment, and on another the payment was made behind a screen, and so near that the chink of the coin was plainly heard. Some of the hotels farm out the privilege of selling goods under their roofs for a fixed annual sum, and allow no peddlers other than the contracting ones to enter, while others give entrance to everybody, and require a commission on the sales. The same custom prevails in other parts of the East, and it is safe to assume that all goods bought in a hotel will be from twenty to fifty per cent. dearer than if purchased in the bazaars or public shops. Benares brass-ware is in great variety, and our young friends were so delighted with it that they bought liberally. It consists of trays, plates, cups, goblets, vases, and kindred things that are chased with various designs of scroll-work, flowers, animals, deities, and other describable and indescribable things. The trays and plates are sold usually for about three rupees a seer--two pounds avoirdupois--and the goblets, mugs, and vases have a price by the piece or pair for which no exact figure can be laid down. The cheapest mugs cost a rupee each, and the goblets five rupees a pair. Then there are many varieties of idols in brass and bronze, and the visitor to Benares is pretty likely to secure a few of them to show his friends at home what the Hindoo idol is like. The shops for shawls and cloths embroidered with gold and silver had a good many tempting things displayed to the best advantage; Frank bought a couple of the smallest of the shawls, and reserved himself and his money for further efforts in that line at Delhi. The Doctor told him the shawls were not made in Benares, but came from other cities, many of them from Delhi, whither they were going. He further explained that the manufactures of Benares were not at all numerous, and the city derived its principal income from the hosts of pilgrims who come every year to worship at its shrines. [Illustration: A PIOUS PILGRIM.]