At the junction of the rivers the crowd was more dense than elsewhere, and hundreds of persons were clinging to rafts anchored for the safety of those who could not swim. Before a pilgrim enters the water he sits on the bank and submits himself to a barber, who removes his hair and beard and throws them into the river. He is told that for every hair he thus gives to the gods he will have a million years in paradise. After the shaving is over he bathes; the next day he goes through a ceremony in honor of his ancestors, and is then ready to depart for home. From where the boys sat on the back of their elephant, near the junction of the rivers they saw dozens of barbers at work; men with long hair and beards would sit down in front of one of these operators, and rise a few minutes later shorn of what had formed their principal attraction. [Illustration: A PILGRIM CARRYING RELIGIOUS RELICS.] The priests who have charge of this festival make a great deal of money, as the pilgrims are required to pay according to their means for the services of the barbers and the privilege of bathing. Several times it has been proposed to make an end of this idolatrous worship by closing the place altogether, and giving a cash allowance to the owners to replace their revenues. But the Government is unwilling to interfere in the religion of the people, and so the festival is kept up. It occurs in the months of January and February, and is one of the curious sights for a traveller in India. Allahabad means "the city of God." The name was given to it by the great Moslem emperor, Akbar, who conquered it from the Hindoos, and built a fort, which is now occupied by the English garrison. During the Mutiny the European residents took refuge in the fort, where many of them died of cholera before the army came to raise the siege and relieve them from their imprisonment. [Illustration: MOSLEM SCHOOL AT ALLAHABAD.] The population of Allahabad is a mixed one of Moslems and Hindoos, the former descended from the conquerors of 300 years ago, and the latter from the more ancient inhabitants. As the boys drove through the Moslem portion of the city, they passed a school where some bright-eyed boys were learning their lessons under the supervision of a teacher of their race and religion. All were squatted on the floor, and the books they were reading were, according to the Doctor, portions of the Koran. The lessons are studied aloud, each pupil for himself, and consequently a Moslem school is the reverse of quiet. The Koran is the principal text-book, and often the only one; after the pupil has mastered it he is instructed in arithmetic, and sometimes he learns a little geography, but not much. There are higher schools and colleges where scientific instruction is given, but they are not easily entered except by the boys of well-to-do parents.