Englishman would find any difficulty in procuring a Brahmin to perform worship on his account, and to serve him as a family priest; and I am convinced that any tribe, even English or Muhammedan, might, by adopting the same means, in the course of time become a sort of Hindu, and be recognised as such: their specific appellation would be “Moslem Hindu,” and “Foringhee Hindu.” True, few other castes would eat with them, but that is nothing against the above observations, since, among the orthodox Hindus, there are many castes none of whom will eat with any other. There is a curious circumstance connected with conversion to be found among a large number of Muhammedans in Saharunpoor. The ancestors of these men were Rajpoots, and were converted about three centuries ago: they have intermarried with the Puthans, or Rohillas, and in personal appearance bear a striking resemblance to these; yet, to this day, they pride themselves on their Rajpoot origin, and if one of them were pledging himself to any service of difficulty or danger, he would say, “I am the descendant of a Rajpoot,—I will not deceive you, or fail to do my utmost.”
The above remarks are thrown together in a desultory manner, for the subject is one which it is difficult to treat with method or regularity; the institution of caste, as it exists in practice, is so full of absurdities and contradictions, that it is impossible to deduce any rules founded on a general principle; and I have only given the result of several years’ practical observation, without attempting to arrange the data in any connected form. There can be no doubt that caste is gradually losing the influence it once held over the people of India; and, although it has, upon the whole, been productive of more evil than good, its sudden abolition, supposing this were practicable, would be by no means beneficial, as it would remove one check before another was imposed. It will gradually die away as the people become more educated and enlightened, and it is probable that much good might be effected by a judicious interference on the part of the official functionaries in the mode above mentioned. The institution of caste, in itself, whatever may be imagined, forms but a very small bar against conversion to Christianity; the
