i6o                        ALBERUNTS INDIA.

boil them in a kettle. Then they throw a leaf into it,
which by getting flaccid and burned is to them a sign
of the boiling of the mixture. When the boiling is at
its height, they throw a piece of gold into the kettle
and order the defendant to fetch it out with his hand.
If he has spoken the truth, he fetches it out.

The highest kind of ordeal is the following: They
make a piece of iron so hot that it is near melting, and
put it with a pair of tongs on the hand of the defen¬
dant, there being nothing between his hand and the
iron save a broad leaf of some plant, and under it some
few and scattered corns of rice in the husks. They
order him to carry it seven paces^ and then he may
throw it to the ground.