188 HINDU TEMPERANCE
that it is possible to contract. In consequence of this praiseworthy opinion drunkenness is looked upon as a degrading and infamous vice, and any one would be promptly and ignominiously expelled from his caste were he found guilty of giving way to it. It is only Pariahs and men of the lowest classes who dare publicly to consume intoxicating drinks. Nevertheless, one does see occasionally in
European settlements and in the large towns high-caste natives, and even Brahmins, breaking the law of temperance; but it is only in strict privacy, and after every precaution has been taken to conceal the unpardonable weakness.
The air one breathes may also be the means of internal defilement; for instance, it would mean defilement if the olfactory nerves of a Brahmin became sensible of the smoke arising from a funeral pyre where a body was being burned, or from the fire on a Pariah ' s hearth where food was being cooked.
In certain parts of the country, if Pariahs perceive that a Brahmin is coming their way, they make a long detour,
in fear lest the effluvia which is given off by their unclean persons should defile the exterior and interior of this noble
personage. When Sudras speak to a Brahmin etiquette obliges them to keep at a respectful distance, or at least
that they should put the right hand before their mouths, so that the taint of their poisonous breath may not reach him. It were very desirable, for the peace and honour of
Sudra husbands, that this excessive delicacy extended also to their wives; but Brahmins are far from feeling the same superb disdain towards them. As for the wives of Pariahs, the feeling of antipathy for everything connected with
this class is so strong, and the defilement which results from even an innocent and accidental touch is so difficult to remove, that one very rarely hears of a Brahmin who has been so blinded by passion as to have had any intercourse with a woman of this class.
It is with regard to their food that Brahmins take the most excessive precautions. They are never allowed to touch meat, and this excludes not only anything that has
had life, fish included, but also anything that has contained a germ of life, such as eggs of all sorts. Vegetables, which