"You observe that it calls together a great crowd of people of all
classes, and you see fat Brahmin ladies here in palanquins, very richly
dressed, and looking as sweet as sugar. You notice the rich standards and
the torches, the trumpeters, and the girls playing on tom-toms and cymbals.
But we must get nearer to the centre of the show."
"Not too near," pleaded Mrs. Woolridge.
The crowd opened for the sahibs and the ladies, treating them with the
utmost deference, as though they were superior beings; and they obtained a
position where they could see the entire performance. A group of
_sapwallahs_, or serpent-charmers, each bearing a basket about fifteen
inches in diameter at the bottom, but not more than ten at the top, each
containing several cobras, marched into the centre of the crowd. Pious
Hindus brought forward bowls of the milk of buffaloes, of which the
serpents are very fond, and placed them on the ground. The snakes were
released from their confinement, and they made for the bowls of milk
without any delay.
Some of the tourists had never seen a cobra, though they are found in
Egypt. The ladies shrank back when they appeared, and some of them
shuddered at the sight of the reptiles. The body was somewhat enlarged near
the head, and the spectacles could be distinctly seen in this part. The
instruments played, the standards and the torches were waved; but the
snakes continued their milk feast undisturbed.
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