had seen, that the cocoa-nut would follow the thief until it would break his head.  He consented, however, to give him a little grace—­to spare his life until the next day; adding his advice, that the thief, whoever he might be, had better come to him privately, and tell him where the property was.  In the dead of the night, a tap was heard at the door of the priest; the thief presented himself, and delivered up the property.  The priest received a present from the owner of the property, and rewarded the thief for his promptness.  After this man was converted, he was asked how he contrived to make the cocoa-nut move towards him.  “Why, sir,” he answered, “if you will carefully divide a cocoa-nut, scoop out the kernel from one-half of it, enclose a strong, lively rat, put the parts of the cocoa-nut together, and bind the whole with saffron-cords, to prevent the crack being seen, and then place it on a declivity previously prepared, it is clear, that if you place yourself at the foot of this declivity the rat will twirl the cocoa-nut, and cause it to descend until it reaches your feet.”

CHAPTER XIX.

SUPERSTITION OF THE HINDOOS.

My dear Children—­In my Sermon to Children, before alluded to, I mentioned a few particulars to prove that the people of India are very superstitious.  Let me mention a few more.  It is said that no act, however good it may be, if performed on Sunday, will succeed.  Some will not eat at all on Sunday, until they have seen a certain bird—­the bird on which the god Vrishnoo rides.  If a man rubs oil on his head on Monday, and bathes, he will commit a sin equal to the sin of destroying a temple of Siva.  If he has his hair out on Tuesday, he will become poor.  Even to worship the gods on Wednesday, is bad.  If a person takes medicine on Thursday, his sickness will be increased.  Should he lend any thing on Friday, he will lose his property.  If he should buy a new cloth on Saturday, take it home, and keep it there, death may be the consequence.  Should he die on this day, some other member of the family will die on the following week.

If the foundation of a house is laid in June, the destruction of that house will follow.  Should a family enter a new house in March, some member of the family will die.  If a marriage is celebrated in September, the husband and wife will fight with each other.

Should a thunderbolt fall on a house, or a vulture alight on it, some evil will befall the people living in it.  If a crow should strike any person on the head with its wings, some of his relations will die.  Should a cat or a snake cross his path, it would be an indication of evil.  In the latter case, one of his relations will die.  If, when returning home, a person should meet him bearing a light, a quarrel will be the result.

After a person has left his house, should he meet a single Brahmin, or a woman who has had her head shaved, or a dumb or a blind man, or a washerman or a barber, the object for which he left would not succeed.  Or, when going out, should he hit his head against the top of the door-frame, or should any one ask him where he was going, or should he happen to sneeze, he would consider these things as hinderances to his going, and reenter the house.