In the Indies, when one man accuses another of a capital crime, it is usual to ask the accused if he is willing to undergo the trial by fire, and if he consents, the ceremony is conducted in the following manner: A piece of iron is heated red hot, and the accused is desired to stretch out his hand, on which they put seven leaves of a certain tree, and above these the red hot iron is placed. In this condition he walks backwards and forwards for some time, and then throws off the iron. Immediately after this his hand is covered with a leathern bag, which is sealed with the prince's signet; and if at the end of three days he appears and declares that he has suffered no hurt, they order him to take out his hand, and if no sign of fire is visible, he is declared innocent of the crime laid to his charge, and the accuser is condemned to pay a fine of a _man_ of gold to the prince. Sometimes they boil water in a caldron, till it is so hot that no one can touch it; they then throw in an iron ring, and the accused is commanded to thrust down his hand to bring up the ring. I saw one who did this and received no manner of harm. In this case, likewise, if the accused remain unhurt, the accuser pays a fine of a _man_ of gold.
When a king dies in the island of Serendib, which is the last of the islands of the Indies, his body is laid in an open chariot, in such a posture, that his head hangs backward, almost touching the ground, with his hair trailing on the earth; and the chariot is followed by a woman, who sweeps the dust on the face of the deceased, while she proclaims with a loud voice: "O man! behold your king! He was yesterday your master, but now the dominion which he exercised over you is at an end. He is reduced to the state you now see, having left the world; and the arbiter of life and death hath withdrawn his soul. Count not, therefore, O man! upon the uncertain hopes of this life." This or a similar proclamation is continued for three days; after which the body is embalmed with sandal wood, camphor, and saffron, and is then burned, and the ashes are scattered to the winds. When they burn the body of a king, it is usual for his wives to jump into the fire and burn along with him; but this they are not constrained to do. The same custom of burning the bodies of the dead prevails over all the Indies.