A RELIGIOUS HOAX.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 125, 17 November 1911, Page 4

A RELIGIOUS HOAX.

SEWERAGE AS ''HOLY WATER." One of the most extraordinary religious hoaxes ever recorded, even in India, occurred in the northern part of Calcutta (says tire Englishman). A pool of stagnant water formed from the accumulation of sewerage from roadside drains suddenly began, according to the local inhaibtants, to emit a sweet perfume which had a lovely lemon flavor. Many people came, smelt, and were conquered, and the rumor spread that the pool was 'holy, and that a new goddess would soon rise from its waters to redeem the world. The pool became a place of pilgrimage. Diseased people bathed in it and drank of it, and those of uneasy conscience washed their sins in it. The water was carried away in jugs, phials and bottles, and a brisk trade sprang up under the aegis of an astute young Bengalee in selling the "holy water" in all parts of the city at as much as Cs a phial News of the •holy perfume came to the ears of Messrs Bose and Company, scent manufacturers, who took a professional interest in the matter, and sent a connoisseur to investigate. His nose immediately provided him with a clue to the mysterious disappearance of several cases of essential oils belonging to Messrs Bose. The police examined the tank, and found that several broken bottles of the oils had been thrown into it. This was the explanation of the holy smell. The young Bengalee and a carter, suspected of having stolen .the oils, suddenly vanished, but were found and arrested later.