Page 116 - AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

Around the World in 80 Days

caught glimpses of its brick houses and clay huts, giving an
aspect of desolation to the place, as the train entered it.
Benares was Sir Francis Cromarty’s destination, the
troops he was rejoining being encamped some miles

northward of the city. He bade adieu to Phileas Fogg,
wishing him all success, and expressing the hope that he
would come that way again in a less original but more
profitable fashion. Mr. Fogg lightly pressed him by the
hand. The parting of Aouda, who did not forget what she
owed to Sir Francis, betrayed more warmth; and, as for
Passepartout, he received a hearty shake of the hand from
the gallant general.
The railway, on leaving Benares, passed for a while
along the valley of the Ganges. Through the windows of
their carriage the travellers had glimpses of the diversified
landscape of Behar, with its mountains clothed in verdure,
its fields of barley, wheat, and corn, its jungles peopled
with green alligators, its neat villages, and its still thickly-
leaved forests. Elephants were bathing in the waters of the
sacred river, and groups of Indians, despite the advanced
season and chilly air, were performing solemnly their pious
ablutions. These were fervent Brahmins, the bitterest foes
of Buddhism, their deities being Vishnu, the solar god,
Shiva, the divine impersonation of natural forces, and

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