In July following I got the appointment of Steward, East India United Service Club, in London, and entered upon those duties immediately. In June, 1850, a gentleman whom I saw at the Club was going to settle in South Africa. He intended to breed horses, and had selected a large tract of land at Georgetown, on the Nysena river, for that purpose. With him I made an engagement, sailing on the good ship Devonshire, on the 15th July, and as I was fortunate in India to arrive on the breaking out of hostilities, so the reader will find I was equally fortunate on reaching the Cape, though a civilian, to find men were wanted to stem the insurrection and rebellious spirit of the Kaffirs, which is portrayed in the next chapter.
[CHAPTER VIII.]
The religion of the Hindoos—Castes—Brahmins—Kshatriyas—Vaisyas—Sudras—Sub-division by mixed marriages—The Triune Godhead: Brahma the centre, Vishnu the preserver or sustainer, and Siva, the destroyer—The Hindoo Pantheon—Brahmin place of worship—The Sacred Cow—Transmigration of souls—Degrees of punishment for various sins—The fate of the murderer, the adulterer, the unmerciful.
Before proceeding further in this work, it will be interesting to the reader to understand something of the religion, what it springs from, and the certain peculiarities in the intermixture of the several Hindoo families, giving rise to the several castes and ranks to which each is born to, and in which they must continue, or progress by marriage in the higher scale when allowed by their code of laws. I have been to a great deal of trouble in procuring this information, as it is not found in many writings of that country, and will, therefore, be new to a great many.