Volume 1 — THE EAST INDIA VADE-MECUM. (continued 6)

348‘The very confined knowledge which Europeans have of the domestic manners and customs of the inhabitants of the Company’s territories, and of their ally the Nabob Vizier, arising principally from the total want of familiar intercourse with the natives, and a consequent ignorance of the language, is a circumstance which, by the inquisitive European traveller, would scarcely be credited. There are few countries in which a year’s residence would not give a more intimate knowledge of the language and manners of the inhabitants, than is generally to be acquired during a whole life spent in India; particularly in Bengal and the eastern provinces. Europeans have little connection with the natives, of either religion; except what relates to business of a public, or of a private, nature: and, though acquaintances, which originate from such intercourse, may continue after the causes which gave rise to them have ceased, yet seldom or never do they extend to domestic communication. A native will attend rather in a ceremonious way at a nautch^[1], or other exhibition given by an European; but no Hindu, and very few Mussulmans, would eat in an European’s house; at least at his table. The native will, in his turn, invite his English friend to a nautch, to an exhibition of wild beasts, and so 349forth; and sometimes an entertainment may be given, (of which, however, the master rarely partakes,) while his conduct and behaviour on such occasions can afford but a slight insight into the domestic manners of the people when free from that constraint, which the eye of a stranger, who is generally treated, if not considered as a superior, throws upon all their actions.

‘With the native women, of any rank in society, the European has not the most distant communication. It will be observed, therefore, how impossible it is for an European to speak from his own personal knowledge of the familiar manners of the native of Hindostan. The following sketch is collected from the various accounts received from sensible and respectable people of different ranks in society. It will probably correct some prejudices respecting the fair sex in Eastern countries, or at least afford some reasonable explanation of the manner in which they are treated. Their confinement is in general solely ascribed to the jealousy of the husband, and to the number of wives allowed to one man, to which the voluptuousness of a warm climate is supposed to conduce. But, in speaking themselves of the confinement of their women, they offer the following reasons for the custom, viz. the variety of tribes, and intermixture of strange people; the instability of their 350government, and consequent confusion in the country, requiring that their families should be placed in secure places; the tyranny of their former rulers and their favorites, with whom it was no unusual occurrence to seize by force the wives of others; and, lastly, because a passage in the Koran^[2] seems to recommend a reserved deportment in women. It says, ‘You shall not shew your zeenut^[3] to any one except your husband, your own father, or your husband’s; (the present custom in Bengal precludes him;) your own son, or your husband’s son; or your brother, or his son, or your sister’s son; or your own female servants, being of your own faith; or your male servants of the following description: such as old men, eunuchs, debilitated men, or fools, who think of nothing but eating, or little children, unto such are you allowed to shew your zeenut^[3].’ Such exceptions from so sacred an authority, which leaves little but the fingers and toes for general inspection, would seem to render the seclusion of a Mussulman lady a matter of necessity, not choice.

‘Neither the husbands, nor the wives, will, 351by any means, allow jealousy to be the cause; for they say, ‘Were a woman viciously inclined, even encircled by walls of iron, she would, by some contrivance or other, find means for accomplishing her purpose. It is not,’ say they, ‘against such their precautions are aimed: it is, that the minds of those who are really pure may not be contaminated through the force of bad example; and, that women, being naturally weak, and easily led astray, as may be inferred from the story of poor Eve, it becomes the duty of the husbands to guard them from the flowery paths of temptation.’ Such, indeed, is the force of education, that a lady of Hindostan, of decent parentage, would rather suffer death than exposure to public view. In imprecating the greatest evils on the head of an enemy, a female could not conceive any term so severe as those which conveyed a wish that the veil of concealment might be rent asunder. However, notwithstanding the seclusion of the ladies is so much talked of, and deemed so harsh, it will, probably, on investigation, be found, that the prohibition extends only to such as could have but a slight intercourse with them, even if the full influence of social communication obtained. Their rules respecting muhrem and na muhrem, words implying forbidden and not forbidden, are, in their principle, simple enough, viz. ‘That a woman may be seen by any man whose relationship 352to her precludes marriage’; though custom has established many deviations from this rule; all which seem to have arisen, not from jealousy, but from a mistaken sense of modesty.

‘In the upper provinces, all the brothers visit each other’s wives without distinction; but, in Bengal, only those junior to the husband. Indeed, in Bengal, the distinctions of muhrem, and na muhrem, are so whimsical, and amount to such a mixture of Hindu superstition and Mahomedan prejudice, as would render a detailed account of them disgusting to the reader. I shall therefore comprize what I have to say on the subject in as few words as possible.

‘A wife, even in Bengal, may enjoy the society of all her own male relations. In this light are considered chellas, children brought up in the family, and the relations of the nurse; the nurse being considered as standing in the same relationship as the natural parents; and often, among the great in the upper provinces, where two females are solicitous to form an intimate connection, it is accomplished, as completely as marriage could do it, by obtaining a female of one family to suckle a child belonging to the other. Male friends, of the respectable class, though never permitted to see each other’s wives, make enquiries after the ladies’ healths, send and receive compliments, and are sometimes permitted (with the precaution of the curtain) 353to free and unrestrained conversation. It may be seen from the above, that the circle of a lady’s male acquaintance may be much more extensive than Europeans would in general suppose; for, taking advantage of the spirit of the regulations, and waiving the more preposterous, half a dozen sisters might enjoy the society of a number of men, little less limitted than falls to the lot of most ladies of the middle ranks in colder climates; and it must be remembered, that, what is said here generally applies to the middle ranks, including the lesser Ameers.^[4]

‘In the upper provinces, the ladies and gentlemen, at least among the Sheeaus,^[5] generally eat together; but in Bengal this is not the case; there the wife does not even presume to eat in the husband’s presence, and never partakes of any of his amusements. In the upper provinces the social qualities are better understood; for when the company consists of persons admissible into the zenanah, they all go in; the men and women dine together, and, in general, sit on opposite sides. The ladies, like ours, indulge in tiffings, (slight repasts,) it being delicate to eat but little before company.

‘When there is an assemblage of fair visitors, 354the husband seldom enters the zenanah, that he may not disturb their amusements, which, when unobserved by men, take a free range. The wife never mentions her husband by name. This respect, as it is termed, is reciprocal. Indeed, people in general avoid addressing each other by name, substituting some title; as ‘your ladyship;’ or by the name of a favorite child, as ‘William’s mother;’ or by a periphrasis. It is so strictly observed by some wives, that they would not mention an indifferent matter by the same name as their husband is called by. Should, for instance, the husband’s name be ‘Year,’ the wife would say, ‘I am sixteen twelvemonths old,’ rather than sixteen ‘years.’ However, this excessive nicety will only be found among villagers.

‘Some ladies pride themselves much in the arts of needle-work and cookery: excellence in the former being deemed a good criterion to form a judgment of a lady’s education: a wife, therefore, who did not take upon herself the whole internal management of the household, would be held in great disrepute. They are, in general, allowed a certain sum yearly for cloaths, and all expences of the house within doors, from which, by good management, they often save considerable sums of money, and, in times of distress, when the inconsiderate husband thinks his all is 355gone, often does his wife relieve his distresses from her little treasury.

‘In addition to the established allowance, there are other fixed sums appropriated. In their holidays, which frequently occur, dinner is always dressed within the zenanah, except upon occasions of great feasts and entertainments, when, of course, the arrangement must be made by men. When only a few friends are expected, the wife, being informed of their number and rank, issues her orders accordingly, through her female attendants, to the male servants of the house. The education of the daughters, and sons also, whilst young, is entirely entrusted to the mother. Should one of the former forget those lessons of chastity, and of correctness of behaviour, which it is her mother’s constant solicitude to impress on her mind; nay, should her conduct even be such as to create suspicion; immediate death from the hand of the parent would be the consequence. I am speaking here of rather the higher orders; for people in the middle ranks of life are more restrained in their conduct, more within the reach of the law, and, besides, the point of honor which acts with such force in high-minded families, loses its impetus with them.—Such is the influence the women possess in Hindostan, that, whenever Soonees andand 356Sheeaus^[6] intermarry, (a circumstance not unusual,) the children are always instructed in the tenets of the mother, and often their first prattle consists in a ridicule of their father’s faith.

‘At all marriages, (the ceremonies of which will be hereafter detailed,) or on the occurrence of much-wished-for events, such as the return of a son safely from the wars, the recovery of a lost child, &c., or when a lady wishes to be enrolled among the naik zuns, or pure matrons, a feast is given in honor of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet, which is termed kundooree, a word implying off-falls.—No woman can partake of this feast, unless she be of the purest morals; and it is generally imagined, that an impure person, even tasting the sacred food prepared on that occasion, would surely die. The lady who gives the feast, performs menial offices to the guests, such as washing their feet, &c. The victuals served up, consists of such articles as Fatima is supposed to have preferred, viz. rice, ghee, sugar, pulse, and vegetables. A share is sent to the men; but not of that set apart for the offering; of which the pure matrons may alone partake. To be considered as such, a woman must have regularly kept all the annual feasts, and be married; or, if a virgin, she must then at least disclaim all intentions of 357changing her condition. No woman contracted in marriage only for a time, such as the moota^[7] of the Sheeaus, and the nekaw^[7] of the Soonees, can be admitted. The word nekaw, among the vulgar, implies, but improperly, the secondary kind of marriage. No woman, who has married a second time, though she may not have conversed with the first husband, can partake of the kundooree.

‘The females are seldom married before the age of fifteen. (I wish it to be understood, when I speak indefinitely of the Mussulmans, that I allude to those of the upper provinces; for the manners of the Bengal Mussulman partake so much of the Hindu, as to leave but few traces of their original character perceptible). An earlier period is frequently fixed on, where purposes of interest and policy may be answered. Old maids, at least among the great, are not at all uncommon; caused by a kind of false pride, or I know not what to term it, of the parents, who cannot bear that their daughters’ nakedness should be known to any one. Nadir Shah, it is said, either from a prejudice of this nature, or more probably from a jealousy of too highly honoring any of his subjects, destroyed all his female children, which were extremely numerous, 358immediately on their birth, except one; who was concealed from him till she had attained her thirteenth year. It was then contrived that she should be brought into his presence. She is said to have been all that was beautiful in nature! She flew to his embrace, which he fondly returned, ignorant that he clasped his own daughter. But, when this devoted child addressed him as her father, the hardened monster seized the innocent victim by the legs, and kept her head immersed in a fountain till she expired! Such an account, even of the unfeeling Nadir Shah, is scarcely to be credited; but the story may shew the name he has left behind him in Hindostan.

‘The late vizier, Asoph ul Dowlah, left about thirty sisters unmarried; not that I believe his delicacy would have suffered from any such fastidious notions as above alluded to; their celibacy was owing to the difficulty of obtaining suitable matches for women of their rank; which, in the present state of the country, must be almost impracticable.

‘Reading and writing are not usual accomplishments with the ladies of Hindostan. Among the great, there are, however, some who read such books as the Koran, &c. and some few who write; but of all delightful intercourse by letter they are entirely debarred; it being deemed indecent even for a wife directly to address 359her husband; therefore, whether she employ an amanuensis to pen a letter, or be capable of transcribing it herself, it must be written as from a third person; such as a son, or near relation.

‘Among the better order, about ten in a hundred can read the Koran; but it must not be understood by reading, that they thence comprehend one single word of it; that book being to them, what our Bible, in a Latin version, must formerly have been to our common people. The mode of passing their time, though apparently not affording all that variety which an European lady enjoys, is not devoid of amusement. They generally rise, or should do so, at daybreak; that they may have time to purify themselves before the rising of the sun, at which time the first prayer is repeated.—After prayers, the important business at the toilette commences, in which, as is usual among ladies, two or three hours, at least, are profitably spent. The missee is applied to the feet and sweet-smelling oils, &c. to the body; while their flowing ringlets (those nets which entangle unhappy lovers, and which their poets are so fond of describing) are now nicely adjusted. In short, the toilette is become with them a perfect art, and much of a young lady’s time is engrossed in attending to instructions on this head. After the toilette, comes the breakfast; which does not, like ours, consist of fixed articles, 360but varies agreeably to the taste of the parties, and to the management of the mistress. It will not appear unnecessary to observe, that they never use knives or spoons; and, indeed, they seem to think that we lose much of the relish of the food by the artificial aids we employ on such occasions.

‘After breakfast, and having issued the necessary orders for dinner, the lady of the house, attended by her daughters and slave-girls, sits down to needle-work; an excellence on which, as well as all kinds of embroidery, they greatly pride themselves. Among the middle ranks, such as can write, often employ themselves in copying the Koran, which, when compleated, is either sold for, or given to, some poor person, to be converted into property more needful to him.

‘The sound of the cherky, or spinning wheel, is always considered indicative of poverty, and is therefore seldom heard in the houses of the great; but women of a middling class, often spin large quantities of cotton-wool into fine thread, intended to be wove into mulmuls, &c. for their own apparel. The coarser skeans being allotted to their baundees, or female slaves.

‘Between twelve and one they generally dine, every person washing the face and hands before the company sits down at table, or rather table-cloth; which is spread on the ground, and 361around which all the party arrange themselves: except it be among the Bengal Mussulmans, or among such as have adopted the Hindu manners, by whom a wife is not permitted to eat in the presence of her husband. This meal generally consists of boiled rice, or of wheaten cakes, stewed or curried vegetables. Curry is made of fowls, kid, and goats’ flesh. Beef is seldom sought after, except in cities; and mutton is by most considered as an inflating, unwholesome food. The head, heart, lights, feet, &c. of animals, are rejected. The dinner is usually divided into as many shares as the company consists of, and brought in that way from the cook-room; except on great occasions, when the servant serves it out. They have no change of plates until the sweetmeats are brought in. Tooth-picks, and the wash-hand bason, are presented to each, except there should be a large company; in that case, they perform the ablution apart.

‘They have not the custom of any particular person saying grace before or after meals; each repeating in a low voice the name of God. After meals, thanks are returned by the male part, but not by the female: a curious distinction! the reason for which, my Mussulman narrator ungallantly alleges to spring from the nature of woman in general. Immediately after dinner, the parties retire to take their afternoon-nap; on 362arising from which the toilette again engages the ladies’ attention. Disengaged from it, they walk round their gardens (which are enclosed,) to enjoy the evening air. After sun-set, when the evening prayers are over, the relations and friends visit each other; and this is the hour in which the husband withdraws himself from general intrusion, and retires to the zenanah. Here, surrounded by his wife and children, he enjoys the pleasing converse of the one, and the innocent diversions of the other. The young folks of both sexes play at blindman’s buff, and such-like sports, which are generally succeeded by the proposing of enigmas, the narration of enchanting tales, unpremeditated rhymes, and other various, and not unuseful, exhibitions of wit. In such disports, great part of the night glides away unnoticed, as the female visitors do not return home till the next morning. Games are not much encouraged among them. Patchees, a game in high vogue among the ladies, is, I believe, the only one allowed. The word means twenty-five. The game is played with cowries, which answer for dice.

‘It is a well-known circumstance, that no Mussulman, or Mussulmanee, ever thinks of dancing for the pleasure of the thing. The meerassen, (a set of women whose province it is,) are called in on particular occasions: but, 363among people of high rank, it is usual to have a number of slave-girls, termed gaeen,^[8] taught music and dancing, who are always ready to amuse the family.

‘Europeans may, on such a subject, be surprized with the singular sound of ‘the wife’ so often repeated, so impressed as they generally are with the idea of a Mussulman and his seraglio of ‘wives.’ However, it will be found, by such as will take the trouble of investigation, that those travellers, whose relations have given rise to such erroneous ideas, have deceived themselves, by mistaking individual instances for general traits; thus holding up the picture of one man as the exact portraiture of a nation. We are not to suppose, that it is common for men to avail themselves of the example of their prophet, or the option he has allowed to others of having four wives. In fact, not one man in twenty, of the class now under consideration, has more than one wife, nor one in five hundred more than two. Even the permission given by Mahomed is not free from restriction; for his words are, ‘Marry, O ye people, whomsoever pleases you among women, even to two, three, or four: but, if ye apprehend that you cannot do them justice, be content with one.’ This considerate advice of the prophet however would 364probably carry but small weight, if there did not exist other obstacles, not so easily surmounted; for it frequently forms a clause in the quballa,^[9] (or cabooleat,) in a marriage contract, that the husband shall not take a second wife: besides, no parent, possessed of a proper regard for his child, would willingly place her in that degraded situation a second wife is always considered to be; and subjected, as she is, to the entire control of the first; who, it may be supposed, must, from various motives, in general prove a harsh and unpleasant mistress. Neither ought we to be led away by the idea that any influence of the husband will prevent such consequences; for the wives of Hindostan, however problematical it may sound, will be found to have, in reality, even more power than those of Europe. It is true, a husband is allowed by law the privilege of divorcing his wife whenever displeased with her conduct; and this, on the first glance, appears to leave no alternative but implicit obedience in the woman: but it will be found otherwise, in fact; for the relations of the bride take care, in the marriage-settlement, that the mahir, or marriage-portion, payable in case of separation, shall be fixed at an amount far exceeding the circumstances of the husband to pay; which, of course, proves an effectual check to a divorcement. 365In addition to this, general opinion strongly opposes a separation, though not a second marriage, where there exists no sufficient cause to justify the step; such as barrenness, chronic disease, &c., in the woman.

‘Wherever there are two or more wives, an equal distribution of favors is rigidly insisted on, (unless the secondary one happens to be of inferior rank;) yet, let it not be inferred that any lady could be so lost to delicacy as to urge her claims in direct terms. The sex have always the command of general signs, whereby to intimate their expectations in the most delicate manner. But, though jealous of her rights, a wife of rank and education would, during the whole period of her existence, deem it highly indelicate to neglect, in the most secluded moments, a modest reluctance to comply with the solicitations of her husband.

‘Among the slave-girls, there are always two or three who are considered as the handmaids of the husband, and with whom, even by their religion, an intercourse is permitted: however, this must be conducted in a concealed manner. They, too, aping the manners of their mistresses, are not always at the command of the master; and I have been assured, by men of eminence and affluence among them, that, even in the midst of plenty, they have suffered all the tantalization of want.

366‘It is said, that Soojah Dowlah, whenever he paid a visit to any other lady, always imposed on himself a fine of two thousand rupees, which he sent to his wife. The prophet himself had only five wives, one of whom he preferred to all the rest; yet, though much inclined, he durst not visit her oftener than the others; two of whom, however, he ventured to divorce, that the period of his enjoyment might more quickly revolve.

‘A wife may, in certain cases, insist on a divorce, such as inefficacy in the husband, &c. under which circumstances she receives the marriage-portion. It must be remarked, that, although the mahir is always fixed in the marriage articles, yet that there does not exist any method of settling it on the wife independently, as among us; therefore, this settlement consists only of terms, except in cases of divorce. The word mahir means, literally, the price paid for any thing.

‘A wife never brings a dowry to her husband, except her plentiful stock may be so considered, such as cloaths, jewels, &c., which her parents send with her, sometimes to so great an extent, as to preclude for years the necessity of any supply from the husband.

‘When a divorce occurs, even on the demand of the wife, the husband is obliged to support her as long as any possibility remains of her affording 367nourishment to his offspring; and, should she then be pregnant, the allowance must be continued to her, agreeably to her rank in life, until the period of her delivery, when the child is taken from her; unless she chooses to support it at her own expence, and is allowed to do so by the father.

‘Should a man catch his wife in the act of adultery, and revenge himself by the death of both parties, the Mahomedan law would acquit him of murder; but, should he take the life of only one of the offenders, they would sentence him to death. The laws of the Koran, relative to trials for adultery, one would almost think were framed with the sole view of prohibiting such suits; for, whereas, in common cases, two respectable male witnesses are deemed competent to establish a fact; in cases of adultery, four male witnesses must be produced. The testimony of a thousand women would be of no avail, and that of the men must be clear and circumstantial. The smallest disagreement would invalidate the depositions of the whole. In short, such are the difficulties, or rather impossibilities, the law throws in the way of substantiating the charge, that causes of the score of adultery, or of fornication, are seldom heard of.

‘They seem not to have distinguished these two crimes by different appellations, though the punishment is different. For the first, the criminal 368is stoned to death; for the second, a hundred lashes are deemed an adequate punishment. So the award to a married man and unmarried woman, convicted of zinnah, (a general term for unlawful co-habitation,) would be death to the man, and flagellation to the woman. Such is the law; but custom has left the injured parties to pursue private measures of revenge, in which the courts never interfere.

‘Mutual intercourse among female friends and relations is kept up by visits; for which, however, previous permission from the husbands must be obtained, except when the wife intends a visit to her parents. In such a case, she intimates her intention; and, though he may dissuade, he has not the power to restrain. When first informed of this privilege, so contrary to received opinion, it excited my surprize, which I evinced by minute enquiry. The following is the answer I received from a person of rank and character: ‘A wife’ (said he) ‘is not a slave to a husband. He is her guardian, it is true; and, when she pursues a path that would lead to disgrace, it is his duty to control her, on common occasions, by advice: should that prove ineffectual, her relatives are informed of her refractoriness, and they lend their aid. If still untractable, she may be confined to her room. He may abstain from her bed; but where is the Mussulman of character that would lift his hand to the 369wife of his bosom? Is he devoid of all regard to his own honor, that he should treat the mother of his children with disgrace? or has he become regardless of the good opinion of his brethren? or could he, for a moment, forget that her relations, to a man, would start forward to resent an insult offered to their family? No man’ (continued he) ‘can, with impunity, oppose that general opinion which has for its foundation both propriety and justice. A wife must, therefore, be permitted to visit her parents whenever she is inclined to do so.’

‘It must appear curious, however, that custom has made it indecent for her to return, without an invitation from her husband! This may produce considerable effect, when a mutual regard, or children, attach them to each other; but, while the lady continues young, if she be any way coquetish and takes a pleasure, as is sometimes the case, to teaze her husband, she will, under various pretexts, continue obdurate for months, until his patience, and his ample stock of promises of future kindness, are expended. In short, the Hindostanee ladies are possessed of a thousand arts whereby to secure their influence, and to domineer over the lords of creation.

‘In the absence of her husband, a wife, though she may receive, pays no visits. When the women travel, or move from one house to another, they are concealed with all the precaution 370generally attributed to an Eastern journey; their palanquins are carefully shut up, and attended, when the rank of the person demands it, by guards composed of eunuchs, and sometimes by armed women, who are called, from their countries, Toorknees, Zillmaknees, Oorda-Bignees, &c. This jealous care, however, is not taken by all classes. The Rohillas, for instance, are less scrupulous: among themselves, their women travel unveiled, and without ceremony. Indeed, among the northern nations, we can trace but little of that guarded precaution so conspicuous in the cities of Hindostan.

‘No ceremony is observed at the naming of a child. The parents choose a name, which habit soon confirms. The great are credulous, and often call in an astrologer, who is mostly a Bramin, to cast the child’s nativity, and to fix on, or to approve of, a name; but this is not usual, nor is feasting, nor merry-making, as at our christenings.

‘A son is at no age debarred from freely entering the zenanah, though it may contain numbers of women not at all related to him; and, should the encreased bulk of any of the slave-girls shew symptoms of his attention, it will hardly be deemed a crime in either party. However, as the parents are solicitous to prevent such an intercourse, they rarely fail to 371provide the young gentleman with a wife, so early as circumstances will admit. Should this be delayed, a slave-girl would be allowed him, but the intercourse must proceed in such a manner, as if the parents were ignorant of the affair; the progeny from this connection would be received into the family on equal terms with those born in wedlock; being once acknowledged, they are entitled to every privilege of inheritance. Primogeniture, among the Mahomedans, gives no superior claims to their real, or personal property: the division of the estate is easy, for a son gets double the share of a daughter.

‘The evidence of women of rank is taken by male relations, or by women properly authorized by the Cazee^[10] for that purpose; but female testimony is inadmissible in cases of life and death. A woman of rank never suffers public punishment, for the parents or husbands, to prevent her disgrace, would themselves cause her death; the only kind of punishment, indeed, that a woman of this description seems liable to undergo.

‘When they are indisposed, application is made to the doctor; who, upon enquiring into the symptomssymptoms, and examining certain QUACKISH tokens, prescribes accordingly; but, if the disorder 372be obstinate, the doctor is permitted to approach the purdah, (i.e. curtain, or screen,) and to put his hand through a small aperture, purposely made, in order to feel the patient’s pulse. The lady’s hand or arm is never exposed to view, at least not to any male: on this occasion, the doctor’s hand is guided to the pulse by a female attendant.

‘Widows seldom take a second husband, though allowed to do so. Young widows are sometimes married to the husband’s brother, but even this is not frequent. Women of rank sometimes suckle their own children. In the choice of a wet-nurse, they are extremely particular, as all her family are by that means considered in the light of relations; a custom so far adhered to, as to preclude the possibility of intermarriage between the child thus suckled, and the children of its nurse.

‘Women in India never go to public baths. Each house in general is furnished with hot and cold baths. Where the former cannot be afforded, a boiler is always in readiness. Bathing is commanded as a necessary purification after most of the common occurrences of life. So much so, that most married ladies, under certain circumstances, are obliged to perform the ablution even in the middle of the night; and, as in these ceremonies if the parties are at all particular, 373it requires the hair to be wet, it affords occasion the next morning for their female friends to exercise their wit on the occasion.

‘The dresses of the single, and of the married, ladies, differ but little. The former never wear ornaments at the nose, ungeeas, or supporters to the breast, no black ointment^[11] to fill up the interstices of the teeth, nor antimony to the eye-lids. It has been erroneously supposed, that a turban was peculiar to a spinster, from the similarity of the words cheerna and cheera; the latter meaning a colored turban, which would be disgraceful for any modest woman to wear. The word cheerna has a very different etymology, which will be sufficiently evident to any one acquainted with the Hindostanee.^[12]

‘The present fashionable dress of our fair country-women, having had for its object the imitation of the Hindostanee, might be supposed to preclude the necessity of a particular description, did not the same inconstancy equally pervade their taste. Within these few years, the shoes with the long-turned-up tops have been introduced and abolished, in consequence (as the story goes,) of a lady in Asoph ud Doulah’s haram being thrown down by the entanglement of the string of a kite round the curvature 374of her shoe. The n’hut, or large ring, worn at the nose, is also going out of fashion: indeed, considering the inconvenience that must have been experienced from this ornament, it is strange it should so long have continued in use. The disuse of it is accounted for in the following manner. On the death of a married woman, or of her husband, (for no widows wear it,) this ornament, according to long-established usage, becomes the property of the meeraseens, a particular kind of nautch women. A lady of Oude, of a delicate way of thinking, being in possession of a n’hut of great value and elegance, thought she observed the longing eye of the meeraseens continually fixed on this jewel; and, dreading the effects of their envy on her own life, or on that of her husband, took off the n’hut and threw it away; a circumstance that created much consternation in the family, and astonishment in the husband, as it had hitherto been deemed a necessary part of a married woman’s dress, and was guarded with as much superstitious care as the marriage-ring among us. However, the explanation of her motives set all to rights again; the husband applauded her prudence, and the neighbouring families, taking up the same idea, the long-established rights of the meeraseens in that part of the country suffered almost total abolishment.

‘The dress of the ladies of rank has become 375comparatively simple, and seems to evince a considerable improvement in the national taste. Instead of both ears being weighed down, as was formerly the case, they now only wear a slight ornamented ring in the left ear, in general. The having both ears ornamented they consider as the height of vulgarity. A pearl necklace, slight golden rings at the wrists and ancles, termed zewaree ichanjeeree, include all the ornaments worn by a lady of fashion. For the wrists they prefer silken bracelets, decorated with jewels. The hair, which was brought down over the brow in two semi-circles, so as almost to bear on the eye, is divided as before, but not permitted to conceal any part of the forehead.

‘The pyjama, or drawers, were formerly worn so tight, as to render it a work of some labor to get them on. Indeed, to such a length did this taste go at one time, that many of the famous courtezans had themselves painted in imitation of keemkab^[13] from the waist downwards. In the upper provinces, they are now made to fit exactly above the knee, but from thence downwards quite loose, and so long as to press on the shoe. In the lower provinces, the exact reverse takes place. In Bengal, it is 376deemed immodest to wear the ungeeas, or supporters to the breast. In the upper provinces, a woman would be ashamed to be seen without them.

‘The coortee, or kind of banian, must be of the thinnest muslin, so that the tapering waist, which they so much admire, and of which our ladies now deny us the view, may be distinctly seen. The sleeves short, and the coortee itself so much so, that the nicfa, a different colored cloth at the top of the pyjama, may not be concealed, the doo-puttah, or two breadths of muslin, formed into the shape of a scotch plaid, and worn nearly in the same manner, is thrown over the whole.

‘The paishwaz, meaning open in front, is not now in fashion. This is the robe from which our ladies have taken their present dress, but which they have modestly closed before, having no painted keemkabs to shew. Petticoats, (called bandanas,) are sometimes worn by Mahomedan ladies, especially in the rainy season, when the diversion of swinging commences, but never without drawers under them.—Widows should not wear cloaths stained with any but what are termed pukka, or lasting colors; nor should these be of the glaring kind. Their pyjamas must always be white, which a married lady never wears.

‘On the commencement of the seventh, in 377Bengal, and the ninth month up the country, of pregnancy, it is usual to give a great entertainment to the friends of the parties; on which occasion the mistress of the feast is decked with flowers, and dressed with new cloaths and ornaments. One of the females, to whom Lucinda may have been more propitious than to the rest, comes forward with a present, consisting of seven kinds of fruits, and of the flower of rice, kneaded into round and oval pieces: this part of the ceremony is confined to Bengal. The first is said to be emblematic of girls, the latter of boys. This offering is poured out into the pregnant lady’s lap, who, without tasting the fruits herself, distributes them among the company. This feast, if practicable, is given at her father’s house, where the lady is generally delivered. Here the midwife attends, who is seldom, or can be, expert in her business. Hence, unlucky births are very frequent. I need not observe, that males never officiate in this line; however, the old ladies sometimes, in dangerous cases, venture to perform chirurgical operations. A few lines from the Koran, sent by some celebrated religionist, and placed at the bed-head, or a little water sanctified by being poured on the Koran, is supposed to be wonderfully efficacious; but, in difficult births, some person, woman, boy, or girl, who has been fortunate enough to come feet foremost into the world, is 378called in to jump seven times over the womb of the person in labor. On these occasions, all the keys are taken out of the locks, doors opened, boxes unlocked, and a sword hung up in some part of the room, to frighten away the evil demons. If the danger encreases, the husband opens his turban, and spreads it over the patient’s womb, and then makes it up the wrong way. They have a stone called k’ho, or the power of seals, which is tied about the neck, and many other superstitious practices; the same as in all countries, among the common people. The child being born, the rooms are kept as close as possible, and it is not permitted to get milk for three days. During the first six, the mother tastes nothing but light caudle. On the night of the sixth, the child is brought to the door, that the starlight may shine upon it. Pen and ink are placed at the head of the bed, that the angel of fate may write on its forehead its future destiny. The first ablution is performed by the lady on the fortieth day. When the child is four months old, a feast called keer chittaee is given, to which all friends and relations are invited. Keer is a preparation of rice and milk, which the child is now made to taste, or to lick or lap, as the term chittaee implies.

‘Smoking the urqu^[14] is not so general a practice 379as is supposed, at least among the middle ranks. The great, in this, as in other luxuries, indulge themselves more freely. Zeebool Nissa daughter of Alc Geer, and Noor Jehan, invented the present form of the goorgooree snake;^[15] and Khummer Mahomed Shah, the arched snake now in use; which is said to have been contrived by him for the convenience of smoking as he travelled. Zeebool Nissa appears to have been a lady of great accomplishments, whose hard fate it was to lead a single life, as may be gathered from the following lines of which she was the author.

‘Ill-luck befall that arm that never has encircled the neck of a love! O may the eyes be dim that draw not enjoyment from the glance of a beloved. A hundred seasons have passed away, and every favorite rose has been plucked to ornament a turban:

‘But the rose-bud in the garden of my heart has been allowed to decay, and has not been plucked as a nosegay by any one.’^[16]

‘And yet, when her father proposed a husband to her, she replied: “that learning was only to be found among the lower orders, and with such she could not wed, that princes 380were in general ignorant, and with such she could not be happy.”

‘In the zenanahs, the ladies divert themselves by bringing up pets of different kinds, such as minas, (a kind of starling,) fowls, goats, pigeons, &c. The cat, in particular, has an exclusive privilege, in consequence of the prophet’s having had a favorite puss, which he took much pleasure in feeding: hence, that animal is held sacred, and the murder of it considered as the highest sacrilege. They tell a story, that Mahomed, when ascending into heaven, happened to take a peep, en passant, into hell, where, observing an old woman making a sad lamentation, he asked the angel Gabriel why she suffered? The angel referred him for information to the old lady herself, who replied, that she underwent such torments for having caused the death of a cat! When this holy personage returned to the earth, he told the story as a warning to his disciples; but, notwithstanding such holy interference, the cat is considered as an envious animal, wishing the decrease of the family, that the mistress of it may caress her the more; whereas, the dog, (though deemed an unclean animal,) is thought to pray for encrease, that he may have more bones to pick!

‘It is a general custom among the Soozees^[17], 381both men and women, to choose some holy man to be their guide and instructor, (not dissimilar to the office of a confessor,) whom they call their peer;^[18] designating themselves his mooreed, or disciple. When a lady of rank has fixed on this holy personage for her peer, he is invited to the house, where the following ceremony ensues. Standing on the outside of the purdah, or curtain, he holds one end of a handkerchief, the other end of which is held by his intended mooreed within the purdah. In this position he reads aloud select passages from the Koran, allusive to the subject, and finishes with a lecture on morality. Thus adopted, he is thenceforward to her as her God and the prophet. In all difficult situations, she looks to him for relief, calling on his name in danger; and the death of the peer does not even dissolve the contract. After the first ceremony, the peer seldom visits his mooreed; indeed, as thousands may choose the same spiritual guide, such duty would prove too much even for his spirit to bear. However, there are instances of a peer being chosen from motives very different from what may be supposed in general to operate; hence, we sometimes discover, that, under the cover of a peer, the lady indulges herself with a private lecture from a 382young lover. Indeed, the Sheeaus give this as a reason for their discontinuance of the practice.

‘Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter, is invoked under different appellations. Her general name is Khatoon ul junet, or Mistress of Paradise. There are, besides, several male saints, whose peculiar province is the protection of the fair sex; but Peer Bawhoor, is the hastener of lovers’ return. Among the lower ranks, Shaik Saddoo is often invoked. This was a good and great man, whom the devil tempted in the shape of a beautiful young lady; and, as he happened to die before he had time for purification, he was (as is usual in such cases,) turned into a kubbeess, or wandering wicked spirit, of whom the women are much afraid; for he is said often to enter them in the shape of the devil, such as in the times of our forefathers were used to possess the females. They give great feasts in honor of Shaik Saddoo, at which a goat forms part of the sacrifice. Hence, when a woman is in her tantrums, she is ironically said to require a slice of the Shaik’s goat. At the entertainment given in his honor, one of the women personates the Shaik, being dressed in male habiliments, and furnished with sword and target. When a woman is said to be possessed, she undergoes all the agitations of the prophetic beldames of former times; she foams at the mouth, 383and appears in strong convulsions. In this deplorable situation, true answers are supposed to be received to all questions put to her relating to past, or to future events. Some women affect to be married to this saint, and, consequently, become very, very devils to their husbands and neighbours. Zaen Khan, particularly in the upper provinces, is a saint of a similar complexion and history. One of the bhaguts, or doctors, famous for his dexterity in exorcism, gave me the following detail of his proceedings.

‘When a woman appears heavy and unwell, her friends, suspecting the cause, call in a bhagut, who generally, as may be imagined, accords with them in opinion. On hearing this sentence from so learned a personage, the patient’s imagination begins to operate, and, in a short while, she feels the spirit move within her. The bhagut loses no time in making up a magic sacrifice, which he sets on the fire under the woman’s nose. The devil being thus smoked out, loses no time in mounting upon the body of the patient, and begins (permit me the use of a vulgar, though not inapplicable term) to ride away “at a devil of a rate.” The patient now suffers violent agitation, tossing her arms, head, and legs about, in a dreadful manner, in consequence of the kicks and buffetings from the fiend; who all this while is totally invisible to every one except the bhagut. This is the moment for the display 384of the doctor’s art and dexterity! He springs forward, and seizes the possessed by the hair; which he holds fast, as it gives him an entire command over the spirit, whom he now interrogates in the following peremptory and bold manner:—“Who art thou? whence comest thou? and why disturbest thou this woman?”

‘To these queries, the fiend, through the mouth of the possessed, makes answer, “Be it known to you, that I inhabit a certain tree,” specifying one in the neighbourhood; “and that, being on my rambles, in passing this female, I espied her body to be pure and undefiled, and fit for habitation; therefore I entered into it.” The fiend now offers to quit his habitation, if it be the bhagut’s pleasure; which, after some ceremony, is done. The doctor now receives his fee, and, were it not for the fear of spoiling trade, before his departure, probably would advise the husband not to permit his wife to have too long intervals of undefilement in future, lest the devil should again take possession of her!

‘When speaking of the ornamental parts of the ladies’ dress, mention was not made of their blackening the eyelids with antimony. This practice is supposed, besides giving additional brilliancy to the eyes, to preserve and improve the sight. But, as in that country there is no antimony to be found, they employ in its stead a lead ore, unconscious of the difference; while 385such, as cannot even afford the ore, use caugull, or lamp-black. One reason given for this predilection to antimony is, that, when Mount-Sinai was set on fire by lightning from above, the whole was transfused into that semi-metal; thence their belief that it is not to be found in any other region of the earth. It will naturally be supposed, that this is a singular story, gaining belief only among the ignorant; but, though their men of learning, and science, cannot be comprized under that appellation, yet it may once for all be observed, that all their ridiculous tales, of which they have abundance, gain equal credit among people of all ranks. Rich and poor, learned and unlearned, the cazee and tipstaff, the peer and mooreed, are equally credulous, and very few, if any, instances indeed will be found, wherein they are above the most preposterous prejudices; still, many from interest, and some who choose not to encounter the taunts of Europeans, will, in their presence, affect to be free from the prejudices of the vulgar.

‘Besides the antimony to the eyes, the women apply a black stain to the teeth, called missee: it is made of the rust of iron and kurra compounded.^[19] It is, in fact, ink-powder: for the kurra is a nut equally astringent with galls. The powder is rubbed on, or rather between, 386the teeth, and leaves a black stain, which is deemed both a preservation and an ornament to them. The use of the plant hinna,^[20] has been described by travellers in all Eastern countries. The leaves are pounded and mixed up into a paste, which is applied to their nails, palms, and soles; after an adherence of a few hours, it is shaken off, and leaves a beautiful red stain, which lasts many days. It is supposed to have a cooling quality.

‘The dancing-women are of different kinds. The most respectable are the meeraseen, sometimes called doominca; though the real doominca exhibit in public before men, which the meeraseen never do. The word meeras means an inheritance, and meeraseen an inheritress, from the custom that has obtained in families of never changing the set. Indeed, custom has so far established it as a right, that any deviation would be considered an injustice punishable by law. Many of the different trades claim similar privileges, and a barber prepucian,^[21] if I may use the expression, for instance wishing to retire from business, would dispose of his custom to any individual, in the same manner as he would any part of his private property. As the meeraseem are never accompanied by male minstrels, 387they seldom play on other instruments than drums of different kinds, such as the tubla,^[22] dholuk,^[23] and munjeera;^[24] though the meeraseens never perform before assemblies of men, yet the husband and his sons may be present. They are modest and chaste in their manners, and dress; but, notwithstanding this, it sometimes happens, that a fair meeraseen attracts the attention of the male part of the family; in such cases, any intercourse they may have is conducted with secresy.

‘The kunchenee are of an opposite stamp; they dance and sing for the amusement of the male sex, and in every respect are at their command. They are attended by male minstrels, to whom they are often married. It is said these women always consider their first lover as their real husband, during the rest of their lives; and, on his death, though they should be married to another, they leave off their pursuits for a prescribed period, and mourn agreeably to the custom of widows. They do not consider any part of their profession as either disgraceful or criminal; and are not therefore liable to those pangs 388of conscience which, at some period or other, are supposed to oppress females of this description in other countries. Their profession is emphatically termed the trade, and the female a trader; and I must do them the justice to say, that many a fair trader is to be found among them. There are many other kinds of dancing women, such as hoorkenees, bazeegarnees, dharee, &c. &c.

‘Women do not attend public worship, though particularly commanded thereto in a verse of the Koran. It is not, however, uncommon for ladies of quality to have their own muzjeed, or mosque^[25], within the haram, as is the case with the Begums of Fyzabad. At Mecca there seems to be no distinction kept up; both sexes there offering up their adoration at the same time and place.

‘It is as incumbent on women, as on men, to visit Mecca; however, they generally (I mean ladies of rank) leave orders to depute a representative to perform the pilgrimage after their death. The lower classes, putting on the dress of faqueerens^[26], or religious mendicants, frequently undertake the pilgrimage in company 389with their husbands or other relatives, after the accomplishment of which they are termed hudjeecau.^[27] The various ceremonies required in prayer, demand a long apprenticeship before a proficiency can be acquired. Indeed, so particular are the rules, prescribed for every inflexion of the body, that a new disciple has to undergo as severe a drilling as falls to the lot of a raw countryman in his progress through the various stages of military discipline. One single false motion renders the whole ineffectual, and a re-commencement becomes absolutely necessary.

‘People of respectability seldom have more slave-girls than are absolutely requisite for the common purposes of the house; viz. generally two for the cook-room, one who has charge of the provision, &c., one for the wardrobe and to attend the mistress’s toilette, &c., and two or three others for general purposes. There are, besides these, two or three women hired, (who are termed asseel,^[28]) at the rate of two or three rupees per month, exclusive of food; one of these is always stationed as a kind of running 390sentry at the door of the zennanah,^[29] for the purpose of conveying messages. There may be, besides these, one or two Mogulanees^[30] to instruct the rest in the arts of sewing, &c. The above-mentioned number are equal to all the purposes of the house; where there are more, confusion generally reigns.

‘In the houses of some nobles, where there may be two or three hundred, or even more, slave-girls kept for state, the possessor of them generally has his quiet much disturbed by their endless quarrels and cabals. Indeed, to such lengths do they proceed, as often to force the master even to inflict death on some of the most refractory. After his demise, the whole disperse, like a swarm of bees, many of them to misery and distress. The handsomest are usually selected by the heir, for his own use; while such as may have superior attractions, though they may even have been the favored mistresses of the father, will not, on many occasions, be the less acceptable to the son.

‘It is a very extraordinary fact, and as little known as it is extraordinary, that, among all the Mussulmans who retain slave-girls only for the purposes of the house (with the exception of 391those probably originally from Iran,^[31]) it is an established rule to turn them out when the family retires to bed, to seek husbands for themselves. These women generally attach themselves to some particular persons; and whatever progeny arises from this intercourse, become slaves of course. They are taught to dance, sew, and embroider; and often, in cases of unlooked for distress, the family is supported by their labors. Thus we see, that the situation, in general, of their slave-girls, is, of all others, that which would meet with their own approbation. However, the case is altered with those immured in the zenanahs of nabobs, and men of elevated rank: there, they are strictly confined, and precluded from all possible communication with men.^[32] In such case, they wait anxiously for the moment of escape, or embrace the only means left them to mitigate the natural irritability arising from restraint, by forming a connection with some individual of their own sex. This kind of attachment, it is said, is often carried to the most romantic lengths, and, one would think, must be pretty common, from the circumstance of an appropriate term, viz. moosacqek, being adopted to distinguish that species of amorous dalliance.

392‘It is not allowable, by the Mahomedan laws, to purchase any slaves, except those taken in battle; but, as at present that resource proves not a plentiful one to the true believers, they have been forced into a method of escaping the law, by making out, what they term, a paper of service; by which it appears, that the parents of the child disposed of, in consequence of extreme distress, agree to give up its services for seventy years, the actual age of the child being taken into the account: a trifling sum is fixed on as a yearly stipend for the child’s services, part of which, viz. the real price, is acknowledged to have been received in advance: the remainder, it is supposed, will be expended in raiment, food, &c.

‘Children, thus purchased, are, in general, extremely well used; there being little distinction made between them and those of the family, except in the trifling work they have to perform; when they are married, and have children, the little ones always address the master and mistress of the house with the familiar appellation of grandfather and grandmother; and, indeed, are by them always considered in the light of relations.

‘The following is a detailed account of their marriage ceremonies, as written out at my request by a Mussulman friend of considerable abilities and of a most liberal disposition.

393‘When a daughter reaches the age of fourteen, some youth, of equal condition, makes offers of marriage, by sending letters to the parents, soliciting their favorable notice, (in Bengal the father himself looks out for a proper match,) and begging they will admit him within the chain of relationship. This letter is forwarded to the father in charge of some friend, and never by the hands of a common messenger. The higher the rank, and the greater the beauty, of the fair one, the more numerous are the solicitors.

‘The parents, consulting together, and having made their selection, return a favorable answer to the person approved of, and to the rest such as the occasion demands. This is followed by a ring, and a dress, being sent to the intended bridegroom, which, though it gives him an assurance of ultimate success does not accelerate the consummation of his wishes; for he has still a Jacobian period to toil through in service, and in attentions to the parents: nor is it before he has thus evinced his subjection to their commands, and his devotion to their interests, that their assent is given for the celebration of the nuptials.

‘To give publicity to that assent, and to his own happiness on the occasion the favored youth gives a great entertainment: the greater the expence he incurs in preparation, the greater is 394supposed to be the force of his love. The ordinary ceremonies take up three days (in Bengal twenty-one). On the afternoon of the first day, about sun-set, a cavalcade of the friends, male and female, of the bridegroom, issue forth to present a dress, ornaments, and fruits of all kinds, to the bride. The bridegroom always furnishes the marriage-dress, which arises from a refined delicacy on both sides: on his, that he takes her for herself alone; on her’s, or rather her parents, that she may not appear like a loose woman, who ornaments herself on going abroad.

‘The parents of the bride send him, on the second day, a dress in return; which is received about twelve o’clock at night, together with the hinna,^[33] or mehendy, left from the bride’s hands, which he applies to his own in their presence. This is one criterion by which they judge of his devotion and attachment; it being considered, on common occasions, highly disgraceful to use cast-off mehendy. On the night of the third day, about eleven o’clock, the bridegroom, being arrayed in the nuptial dress, and accompanied by all his party, goes in procession, with drums, trumpets, &c., to the bride’s house, making more parade and noise than can easily be conceived by such as may not have been spectator of similar exhibitions.

395‘During three days, the processions are always met at the court of the house, where both parties attack each other with slender branches of trees, on which flowers are fastened. After this kind of sport is finished the party visiting is admitted, and offered sherbet. Each guest, as the bowl is presented, throws in money, according to his circumstances and rank, which becomes the perquisite of the cup-bearer. When about to depart, after refreshments being offered, the visitors are crowned with garlands of flowers.

‘On the third night, when the bridegroom arrives to carry home the bride, he is annoyed by a thousand tricks, passed on him by the servants and other dependants. For instance, the darwan, or porter, shuts the door on him, and, until he supplicates much, and pays well, there is no admittance for him. Some mount his horse, others seize his shoes, &c. none of which are returned till the parties possessing them receive considerable presents, and have had the pleasure of raising a laugh against the bridegroom.

‘After conquering these obstacles, he is introduced to the company that has assembled, and obtains, in honor of the day, the first seat in the assembly. The contract is now drawn up, as prescribed by the laws. Two persons are appointed as the vaqueels, (or attornies,) of the 396parties. The questions being now put to the bride, as she stands concealed behind the curtain, whether she chooses him as her vaqueel?^[34] and whether she is willing to enter into the proposed contract or not? After some little delay, to give the appearance of consultation to what has been already arranged, she gives assent to both questions, uttering, in a voice scarcely audible, the final, I had almost said fatal, “Yes.” (In Bengal, silence gives consent). The two servants who led the vaqueel to the curtain, certify the circumstance of her assent.

‘The vaqueels and relations, on both sides, now proceed to fix on the mahir, (or portion;) the adjustment of which sometimes occasions much altercation and delay; nay, it has even been the cause of much bloodshed, and of total suspension of the ceremonies; but, in general, an umpire is fixed on to determine on a medium sum, which is inserted in the cabala, or marriage contract, between the extravagant demands on the bridegroom, and his unwillingness to comply therewith.

‘The bridegroom is then conducted by the female attendants into the presence of the bride, who sits veiled, on a place raised on purpose, 397in her own apartment. The meeraseens lead him up, and seat him near her. The females of the family, who stand behind a curtain, send him a present of gold mohurs, rupees, &c. The Koran is now placed between the couple, and a looking-glass is placed immediately opposite the bride, who, on modestly refusing to unveil, is forced thereto by the attendant meeraseens, so that one ray, as my author expresses it, from her fine countenance, may illumine the mirror, towards which all the bridegroom’s attention is fixed: however, this ray, transient as it is, cannot be obtained without considerable presents to the meeraseens.

‘This part of the ceremony being concluded, permission is given to the bridegroom to convey the bride home: her parents send with her great quantities of cloaths, jewels, bedding, cooking utensils, &c.; and, in short, every thing she can possibly want for years; nay, frequently, as long as she lives. The bridegroom and his female relations lift up the bride in their arms, and convey her to the palanquin. On their arrival at his house, the bearers, or carriers of the palanquin, refuse to set down their burthen until bribed to do so. The bridegroom takes her out of it, and conveys her, in his arms, into an apartment of the house, where, her feet being bathed with rose-water, the bridegroom repeats a thanksgiving prayer, in gratitude for her safe 398arrival, and for his own deliverance from this scene of harassment, and trouble, which his friends and servants force him to submit to, from the time he quits his own house until he returns to it with his bride: such, indeed, are the effects of his sufferings, that often the unhappy gentleman cannot hold up his head for some days to come.

‘On the following morning, the cloaths in which the bride slept are sent to her parents; a strange, indelicate custom, and highly indicative of a total want of refinement among the people who practise it. In the province of Bengal, this is not done; nay, so particular are they in avoiding the appearance of any thing of this kind, that the bridal bed, with all its appurtenances, is of a deep red. This day, being the fourth from the commencement of the ceremonies, the bride and bridegroom return to her parents’ house, where he has admission into the assembly of the women; and on this day the bride appears in garments furnished by him. (This visit, in Bengal, is not made till the fifth day after consummation). In this assembly, the bridegroom suffers by a general assault of the ladies, who unmercifully pelt him with fruit, flowers, &c.

‘On every Friday, for several weeks, the bride pays a similar visit to her parents; receiving, 399at each visit, a new dress. On these occasions, she never returns home until the husband’s relations wait on her, and entreat her to do so. For a month, at least, after the marriage, she would be considered as deficient in modesty were she to address her husband with her face uncovered: and a considerable time elapses before she appears unveiled to her other relations. She never speaks of her husband, in the presence of men, until she becomes a mother. It is a curious circumstance, that her own relations, ever after the marriage, avoid visiting at her husband’s house, under the fastidious apprehension of being suspected of having bestowed the lady from motives of interest.

‘Should the dispositions of the pair not accord, and the fault appear on the side of the lady, her own relations threaten her with their displeasure. Should this prove ineffectual, the husband refrains from her society, though still leaving the management of the zenanah in her hands; but if, on the contrary, it appears that their unhappiness proceeds from the husband, her relations procure a common friend to expostulate with him on the impropriety of his conduct. Should it, however, after this, continue unaltered, the wife returns to her parents, who retain her until the husband has not only made base submission, but has evinced the strongest 400contrition. In cases where the wife displays any levity of conduct, her parents are more ready than the husband to punish her.

‘From the birth of a child, until they give it the breast, it is fed with boiled cassia. On this occasion, most of the female relations attend, accompanied by a midwife.^[35] This description of people are from the lowest casts. On the sixth day from the delivery, an entertainment is given in the zenanah; when the child’s head is shaved, and its nails cut; while money is distributed to the poor. It may be proper to observe, that the barber will not commence his operations before he has received handsome presents: sensible that he runs no risk in refusing, as they could not, even if so inclined, prevail on others of the tribe to officiate.—The barber, like several other trades in Hindostan, possesses a prescriptive right with particular families, whose custom he considers to be an inheritance, which cannot, without injustice, be taken from him.

‘On the fortieth day, a grand entertainment is given, every one, according to their respective rank and consanguinity, making presents to 401the infant. In general, the children are suckled by hired nurses, but they never are sent out from the parents’ house. In the choice of a nurse they are extremely particular, as she becomes henceforward considered in the light of relative of the family;^[36] she of course is never discharged, unless at her own request. The protection of her, and of her family, is of the greatest consideration; and when the child grows up, and has it in its power, he would be deemed an unnatural being, did he neglect to pension his nurse comfortably. Even the very slave-girls who assisted her are always treated by him with the utmost regard and attention.

‘About the fourth month they allow of light food being given to the child; on which occasion a great entertainment is made, and repeated when a twelvemonth old; when the string which is to mark his future years, receives the first knot. This custom seems to point out the origin of our metaphorical thread of life. They never wean the child before eighteen months sometimes delaying it till two years and a half; on which occasion, great presents, and new dresses, are bestowed on the nurse, and an entertainment is given to the friends.

‘Before the child is put under the direction of 402a schoolmaster, the ceremony of circumcision takes place, which is celebrated with much rejoicing and entertainment. One schoolmaster generally teaches the children of two or three neighbouring families, but the school is always at the house of one of the parents. After being perfected in the alphabet, the children are taught to read, but not to understand, parts of the Koran. Then, in succession, come the Goolestan, Bostan, Secundar-Nameh, and some of the Persian authors; in which language, when the pupil is tolerably well versed, he is led on to the study of the Arabic.

‘All are obliged to be at school a considerable time before sun-rise, that they may be present at prayers, which are ordered to be said previous to that period: from sun-rising to ten o’clock they continue at their book; thence, till dinner-time, at writing. After dinner, a short respite is given; when prayers are again said, and reading re-commenced: this is continued till an hour before sun-set; when they are permitted to separate till summoned for the evening-prayers; after which, they repeat the day’s lesson, and receive their final dismission. We may reasonably conclude, that such severity of restraint must be destructive both to mind and body.

‘When arrived at the age of sixteen, or seventeen, the parents in general provide their son 403with a wife; after which, should he continue to reside with them, his cloaths, &c. are provided for him, as if he were still in a state of pupilage: it is only after marriage that he begins to learn the business of his father, and the rules of conduct necessary in the world; nay, it is often years before he obtains permission, or the proper means, to separate himself and his wife from their superintendance. Should the father die before this separation takes place, though the son should succeed to his property, yet the wife could have no interference in household affairs during the life of his mother; and not till then, could he effect any change in the interior arrangements.

‘The general method of passing their time is as follows. They arise a little before day-light. On coming out of the zenanah, it may be supposed necessary to visit the bath. Then the morning-prayers are repeated: a slight breakfast succeeds, consisting of fried almonds, coffee, &c.: after this, attendance at the Durbar,^[37] and other business of the day. Returning home about ten o’clock, all the male part of the family assemble to partake of a more substantial breakfast than the former. This consists of bread, mint, onions, peas, limes, kubabs, kullia, and pillaw,^[38] &c. After passing a short while 404in conversation, a nap generally concludes the scene; arising from which, ablution and prayers are performed. They then assemble in the hall; coffee &c. are served up; and here they continue to enjoy society, receiving the visits of their friends, &c., till the approach of the evening; when the company separate.

‘After prayers, if the master be a young man, he generally retires to the zenanah, where, in company with his wife, and some of his female relations, he enjoys his hookah, and some trifling refreshment of sweetmeat, &c. till about ten or eleven o’clock, when the rest of the females retire to their own apartments. The husband and wife always sleep on separate bed-steads, placed adjoining to each other. From motives of refinement and delicacy, the wife, without an adequate motive, abstains most rigidly from sleeping on the bed appropriated for the husband.

‘Formerly, a good deal of sociability reigned among them, and they frequently dined at each other’s houses; but at present, the practice is in disuse; owing to frequent acts of treachery having been committed at such meetings: however, sometimes, on sacred days, they still meet; but, if of the higher orders, never without much caution and suspicion.

‘When an assembly is convened to communicate an event of grief, the invited always 405sends the provisions to the habitation of the inviter; who is supposed to be too much afflicted to attend to such circumstances.

‘The hour of audience at the Durbar, is generally soon after sun-rising; when all those in the employment of the great personage, attend to make their obeisance. A few are admitted to the presence; the rest wait the great man’s coming out: but, should he not, they must retire without enjoying the sun-shine of his countenance. The modes of salutation, and the different etiquettes, have been so frequently detailed, that here it becomes unnecessary. Indeed, it is not their public, but their private, manners that we are in search of. When the levee, or Durbar, is over, the great man diverts himself with his companions, and intimate friends, till dinner-time. Their amusement consists, during the first part of the day, of desultory conversation, the repetition of poems, &c., and, towards the end, the learned men, poets, &c., are introduced to rehearse their works. Should the evening not be devoted to the zenanah, buffoons, dancing-girls, &c., are summoned to close the entertainment.

‘On joyful occasions, when an entertainment is given, the males assemble in the outer apartments, and the females in the zenanah; the master of the feast exerting himself to the utmost in providing for his guests: indeed, the 406expences incurred on such occasions are excessive to a fault; even to the utter ruin often of the fortunes of such as give them. First, pawns,^[39] ottah of roses, flowers of various kinds, together with fried coffee, sooparee,^[40] cardamoms, ginger mixed with acids, are offered to the guests, and such as may be unprovided with hookahs are supplied with them. After this, sugar and water, boiled up together, forming a kind of sherbet, is presented. Now the taiffa, or dancing women, buffoons, comedians, &c. exhibit for the amusement of the company. After the repast, various kinds of musicians are introduced, fire-works exhibited, drums, noise, and confusion, continuing not unfrequently for three days successively.

‘Their burials are performed in the following manner. On the death of a person, all the friends attend, the corpse being put into a winding sheet called cuffin.^[41] This being covered with a green canopy, the corpse is borne on the shoulder to the grave, in which it is laid, and the dust thrown, without any funeral services being read, as is usual among us. Sweet cakes and bread being distributed to the poor, the whole 407return to the house of the deceased, where they partake of some refreshment. After this, for three days, no victuals are dressed in the house. On the third day, the whole again assemble, offer up prayers for the manes of the deceased; and a great quantity of victuals being ready, presents of it are sent round to such as attended the funeral, who give it to the poor. They meet again on the tenth and fortieth days, when the apparel of the deceased is given away. On the sixth and twelfth months also, the last being termed the bursee,^[42] or annual commemoration; which is strictly observed by the children of the deceased during the remainder of their lives.

‘It should here be noticed, that green is the color devoted exclusively to the mourning of a Mussulman; thus, in the great festival of what is commonly called ‘HOSSEIN, HOSSAN,’ all the fictitious messengers, combatants, &c. are clothed in green. Hence, we never see a Mussulman habited in that color, nor even wearing a green turban, unless on some funereal occasion; from this, however, we are to except such menials, in the services of European gentlemen, as occasionally receive from their masters pieces of green perpet, shalloon, &c. for the purpose of being made into jammas, or vests. The whole of the Mahometan population seem to avoid the 408use of green, even in the ornaments of their carriages, elephants’ trappings, purdahs, tents, &c. considering it to be, in a certain measure, sacred to the Prophet. In this they are fastidiously scrupulous on some occasions; I have known a Mussulman syce, or groom, object to the handle of a chowry, (or whisk, for keeping flies from horses,) merely because some of the ornaments were of that color. On one occasion, a refractory zemindar reproached me with insulting not only himself, (he being a Seyed, a superior sect of Mahomedans,) but the whole of the population, by pitching a tent, lined with green perpet, within sight of a nimauz, where the pious Mussulmans of the neighbourhood used daily to offer up their prayers to the Prophet. When the same hero perceived that the furniture on a little elephant I used to ride with a saddle, was also of that color, he affected to be perfectly outrageous; and, in all probability, if I had not at that time had possession both of his person and of his means of resistance, under charge of a company of Sepoys, would have used his endeavors to rouse all the fanatics, of the neighbourhood on the occasion.

‘Commonly, a cherauk, or lamp, is kept burning in a little niche, made in the pillar of masonry usually erected at the head of a Mussulman’s grave. For forty nights after the interment, and on Thursdays especially, the nearest 409of kin frequently pass many hours in vigils over the grave. Some confide this unpleasant duty to a priest; who, for a few annas, performs various ceremonies and does all in his power to keep the deceased from troubling his surviving relatives and friends; most of whom, at such times, are partaking of sweetmeats, which, being prepared on Thursdays, (joomah-raut,) are called joomah-raut ke metie; that is to say, ‘Thursday’s confectionary.’

Many of the native ladies, as well as the men, but especially the Mahomedans, are very dexterous in flying kites, called by them puttungs. The construction of these varies greatly from such as our boys use in their pastimes; they are made more in imitation of a bird with its wings distended, though the extremities are short and rounded off.

In order to preserve that figure, they are bordered with bamboo-wire, on which paper, of the lightest kind, but very tough, is pasted. The loop fastens to a very slight bamboo-rod passing down the centre. These kites have not tails, like ours, but are, nevertheless, easily managed by persons accustomed from their infancy to raising them; which they can do to an incredible height.

The lines used for this purpose are chiefly of cotton, well twisted, thin and strong: about forty or fifty yards of the upper end, nearest to 410the puttung, the cord is rubbed with a fine size, in which levigated glass is mixed; this, when dry, gives it something the appearance of very fine sand paper, such as is used for cleaning grates, &c.

Sometimes, in the great cities, thousands of these kites are to be seen floating in the air, to the great amusement of their respective owners; and, indeed, of the spectators; who often take considerable interest in the numerous contests which are perpetually presented, by the intentional crossing of the several cords; which, being armed, as above described, are calculated ‘to cut the thread of life,’ and precipitate their several opponents.

No sooner is the crossing of an adverse cord felt, as may readily be ascertained by the vibrations of that in hand, than a sawing motion is given to each by the respective operators, when, in a very little time, commonly less than a minute, one of the kites is seen to give way. On this sometimes considerable wagers are pending.

The great art appears to be, to pass over the adversary's cord, and then to let the kite lower suddenly, so as to make, momentarily, an angle in the cord thus passed over; an instantaneous pull sometimes succeeds in severing the opponent’s cord; it acting like a drawing cut, and presenting a succession of points, perhaps to the length 411of three or four yards, while the under line, unless managed with similar activity, presents but one point, and thus is subject to friction on that point only; consequently must be considerably injured.

The greatest judgment is, however, necessary, to determine whether, or not, the operator presents an armed portion of his cord to an unarmed part of that of his opponent. Should the former be correct in this instance, he may generally command success; but, if the reverse be the case, he may lose the day. An unpractised eye would be at a loss in computing the proper distance, when the length of line let out may perhaps exceed three or four hundred yards; but the natives in general form a correct estimate, and display great dexterity in avoiding to cross any cord under unfavorable circumstances.

This amusement generally takes place during the cool of the evening, on the flat tops of houses. The inhabitants of the zenanah, (or haram,) enjoy it either from their compounds, (or enclosed areas,) or on the roofs of their chambers, on tarrasses so built up, with thin brick walls, as to prevent their being over-looked by neighbours.

This trait of jealousy is every where apparent: nothing could offend a native more than the erection of an edifice, that should afford a 412command over the interior of that enclosure in which his family resided. An instance of this was attended with considerable trouble and disadvantage. The late Colonel Watson, who was Chief Engineer under the presidency of Fort-William, had obtained the grant of a large piece of land, for the purpose of forming a spacious dock for building and repairing ships.

It happened, that, in enclosing the allotted space, he overlooked the untoward circumstance of a claim on the part of a very opulent native, who resided close by, to a part of the circumscribed area, which was the sine quâ non of the undertaking. The native said nothing; and, in all probability, would have given up his land, or at least have sold it on equitable terms, rather than have thwarted the Colonel’s views; but, unfortunately, the latter erected a large wind-mill, so near to the native’s house, as to annihilate all that privacy his family had formerly enjoyed.

The native remonstrated, but to no effect: the grant was urged against him; and, in lieu of soothing measures, defiance was proclaimed. The consequence was, that the matter went into court, when, the plantiff gaining his cause, the wind-mill was stopped in its career, and, with the exception of a slip, on which some vessels have since been built, the 413important, and immense, fabric, has been suffered to fall into decay!

No woman can be more jealous than those of Hindostan: their animosity towards rivals is unparalleled; and this, even when they do not care a farthing for the bone of contention. Yet, on the other hand, when more than two ladies are retained by the same gentleman, the whole generally become perfectly passive, at least in exterior, appearing to associate with tolerable cordiality. The mention of plurality, may possibly startle many of my readers; especially those of the fair sex; but such is common among natives of opulence, and is not unprecedented among Europeans. I have known various instances of two ladies being conjointly domesticated; and one, of an elderly military character, who solaced himself with no less than SIXTEEN, of all sorts and sizes! Being interrogated by a friend as to what he did with such a number, ‘Oh!’ replied he, ‘I give them a little rice, and let them run about!’

This same gentleman, when paying his addresses to an elegant young woman lately arrived from Europe, but who was informed by the lady at whose house she was residing, of the state of affairs: the description closed with, ‘Pray, my dear, how should you like to share a sixteenth of Major ———?’ The courtship 414was allowed to proceed, merely to make sport of the good man’s foible: a term peculiarly appropriate!

Nine in ten of the women domiciliated by gentlemen, are Mussulmans; the Hindus being far more scrupulous: with few exceptions, the small portion not of the former sect are Portugueze. These latter prove, in many instances, very good house-keepers; looking after the disbursements with great acuteness, and, on a thousand occasions, shewing more promptness, and more fitness for such an employment. They are remarkably fond of rearing poultry and swine; in which they certainly succeed. But there is a certain something about this description of women, which few are partial to, and which I never could tolerate. I have already spoken of the pride of these miserable descendants of renowned characters; but it really is beyond my power to describe that fierté, that vindictive spirit, that authoritative consequence, which excite at least contempt, if not hatred, in every person towards whom they are exercised. These viragoes have no scruples as to what they are to eat and drink; many of them, indeed, can manage a bottle as well as any man in the kingdom: they are, however, staunch Catholics, and, on calendar days, dress out in all the finery their kind keepers can be coaxed out of. It is not to be supposed these ladies are more continent than 415Mussulmans, or Hindus of similar condition: far otherwise; but they are extremely crafty, and carefully lay the scene of action at some place to which they resort to offer up their prayers, in common with other equally good Christians: by this means, they are tolerably secure from the prying curiosity of ordinary menials, who are not permitted to enter within the sacred pale!

In regard to the expences attendant upon concubinage in the East, they will depend greatly on the circumstances, and the disposition, of the gentleman, generally speaking; though, after a while, the lady commonly gains a kind of ascendancy, and goes beyond those limits, which, in almost every case, are marked out by previous contract. A certain sum to be paid monthly; the pay of two, or three, female attendants; an allowance for beetle, tobacco, (it is very rarely they chew it,) shoes, cloaths, and gynahs, (i.e. gold and silver ornaments;) are articles in almost every capitulation! Taking a broad outline, we may put down the whole at about forty rupees monthly; equal to sixty pounds sterling per annum; which must certainly be considered no great price for a bosom friend, when compared with the sums laid out upon some British damsels; who are not always more scrupulous than those I have described. But, when we estimate the Asiatic chere amie according 416to her merits as a companion, then, indeed, will my fair country-women, appear most conspicuously pre-eminent! Their agreeable manners, their polished language, their highly cultivated minds, and their pleasing attentions, are so irresistible, as to level the barriers of discretion, and to render every attempt at comparison nugatory; indeed, incompatible!

In taking the above average, viz. forty rupees per month, I have supposed the gentleman to be in easy circumstances; otherwise, that sum will be found to exceed the proportion of his other expences considerably: at the lowest, we cannot estimate the charges at less than twenty-five rupees monthly; which, to say the truth, must be attended with several deficiencies, or privations, by no means creditable. In this particular, the natives are very scrupulous, and hold it the highest disgrace, for a woman to be retained, without due attendance, suitable cloathing, and a participation of the comforts, if not of the luxuries, of life. The men, especially the Hindus, are indifferent in regard to their own apparel; which is often mean to an extreme; but pride themselves on the splendor, and profusion, to be found in their zenanahs. As an instance in point, I must state, that, in the year 1784, a detachment of six companies was sent out from Cawnpore, on the road to Etayah, in compliment to the B’how-Buxey, 417a General of some note in the Maharrattah army, who was proceeding on an embassy to Lucknow. We met him about twenty miles to the Westward of the cantonments; where we were nearly smothered by the dust raised by his immense retinue, and absolutely stunned by the unmerciful clangor of cracked trumpets, and of great bells suspended from the sides of elephants, whose motion caused the pendulous monotonists to ring ‘a sonorous peal’. It was natural to expect that the B’how, who knew we were waiting to receive him, and, that an officer of rank was deputed on the occasion, would have exhibited himself to advantage; but, to our great surprize, when he alighted from his elephant, which was sumptuously caparisoned, he appeared the veriest bunyah, (or petty shop-keeper,) my eyes had ever beheld! His cloaths were absolutely filthy, and of a fabric such as disgraced the wearer. None of our khedmutgars could have changed apparel with him, without being considerable losers by the bargain. The B’how was, nevertheless, attended by a nautch-tuffah, or set of dancing-girls; whose equipage announced his liberality, and whose talents evinced his judgement. Let me not be misunderstood in this last expression: the dancers of India can suit only particular tastes, and those perhaps only from habit: they are not to be classed with persons of the same profession in 418Europe; but are a distinct genus. It cannot, however, be denied, that some among them possess very superior powers in the vocal part of their profession; and that certain individuals dance, in their style, with peculiar effect; indeed, with much graceful delicacy, and with undeviating regard to the measure. The B’how’s zenanah was of course secluded; but the number of the elephants, r’huts, palanquins, doolies and other conveyances, satisfied me that the ladies were in better plight than their most abominably filthy lord!

The Hindostanee ladies do not wear shoes, but when walking, a pair of slippers are put on for the occasion; so soon as the lady returns to her seat on the satrinje, or carpet, they are thrown aside. Such as are formed without heels, and have the back part made to flatten down under the foot, for that part is seldom, if ever, raised, are known by the name of k’hous; while those made without any back-piece, the quarters terminating under the ancles on each side, and that have raised heels, to perhaps the height of an inch, are designated chinauls. In either kind, as well as in the jooties worn by men, the toe-part is terminated by a long pointed strip, usually of leather lined with cloth, that curls inwards over the toes; without this, the shoes would be considered both unfinished, and vulgar. Men commonly wear only embroidered 419shoes, but the women have frequently an abundance of various colored foils, principally purple or green, fastened down to the body of the vamp, (which is of some bright colored broad cloth,) and serving, by the manner in which they are disposed, to fill up the pattern of the embroidery: this may be either of gold or silver thread, or, perhaps, very small bugles, not dissimilar to seed-pearls. Those who cannot afford such decorations, which may raise the price of a pair of shoes to about four or five rupees; content themselves with silken ornaments. The low price of a pair of shoes ornamented as above described, cannot fail to strike the reader, who will be yet more astonished to learn, that an admirably well-dressed hide may be had in any part of the country for less than five shillings; such as would sell with us for about thirty shillings, or even more. Those stout shoes worn by our native soldiery, rarely cost more than from four to eight annas the pair, (equal to from eight to sixteen pence.) Neither men nor women use stockings; though, during the winter months, the more opulent sometimes wear a short kind of sock, called a jooraub, made of cotton, or of silk, perhaps both intermixed, and of various colored patterns. These are remarkably thick, but rarely reach above the ancle. Persons of the first rank, have their jooraubs, as also their dustannahs, or gloves, made of shawl; strange 420to say, these are usually of the form in use among us for children; that is, they have a receptacle for the thumb, but the fingers are all contained in the same bag, or cyst. It is, however, very uncommon to see a woman, of whatever rank, wear gloves: this is, no doubt, owing to the pride they take in their hands, which are invariably ornamented with gold or silver rings, &c., to the utmost extent of their purses. In fact, the whole attention of a Hindostanee woman, retained in the family of an European, is directed towards the accumulation of trinkets, which may be supposed to be tolerably expensive, when it is understood that nothing less than solid silver is admissible. Gilt, or plated, ornaments, are held to be disreputable, and unlucky; hence, the moolumbah, or plating trade, is very little followed in India; though the jewellers will sometimes pass off a coated, for a solid article; especially in gold work.