Early on the 26th, the Gaihálud (turmeric smearing) ceremony took place.

It is the great neutral centre of the Continent, where the fiery enthusiasms of the South and the keen fanaticisms of the North meet at their outer limits, and result in a compound that turns neither litmus red nor turmeric brown.

crucible, reagent, check, touchstone, pix^; assay, ordeal; ring; litmus paper, curcuma paper^, turmeric paper; test tube; analytical instruments &c 633. empiricism, rule of thumb.

Put it into jars, and fill up with boiling vinegar, prepared with the usual spices; if the cabbage is red, a little cochineal powdered, or a slice or two of beet-root is necessary to make the pickle a fine colour; if it is white cabbage, add instead, a little turmeric powder.

Smeared with turmeric water, they all bathe and return home, throwing away the mat and other things that were in the room.