between Englishmen, or the descendants of Englishmen, settled in India, and native ladies of rank and respectability. The domestic economy of these families resembles in every point that which obtains amongst persons of the lady's religious faith, which is very rarely changed, the ladies themselves only consenting to appear unveiled before, and to converse with, those gentlemen whom their husbands consider to be their most particular friends. Amongst the natives themselves, particularly those of a lower rank, the zenana is sometimes left in the charge of some supposed confidential companion. Such a circumstance occurred in a sepoy regiment: a venerable soubadah, who was obliged to absent himself upon military duty, having given the surveillance of his women to a jemadar, with whom he was upon a footing of intimacy. It so happened, that the jemadar betrayed his trust, a circumstance which came to the knowledge of the adjutant of the wing, the corps being detached in two bodies, at some distance from each other. This gentleman, well acquainted with the fiery nature of the man whose confidence had been so shamefully abused, came to the commanding officer with the tale, recommending the speedy despatch of the jemadar to the head-quarters of the regiment, in order to prevent the bloodshed which he had little doubt would ensue, if the injured party should return before the caitiff' could escape his vengeance.

Though in India the women, generally speaking, are little scrupulous respecting the songs and tales which are introduced into the zenana, attaching, perhaps, no idea of impropriety to the sentiments they express, there are some exceptions, and more particularly in families who are strongly devoted to religion. There are a great many pious ladies, who employ the whole of their leisure, that is, all the time not employed in eating, dressing, and sleeping,— in devotional exercises; they celebrate the Mohurrum and other festivals with great pomp in their own apartments, and are fond of having the Koran read and expounded to them by the learned of their own sex. Amongst the four grand classes of Mahommedans in India, the Syuds hold the highest rank; they are the descendants of the Prophet, and, therefore, all born to nobility, every man being a meer, and every female a begum. Each family is careful to preserve its genealogy with the utmost strictness, the children being taught to repeat their pedigree, mounting upwards until they come to the Prophet himself. As it does not follow that all who enjoy this honorable distinction are equally gifted with the means of supporting it, many of the Syuds are extremely poor, and are obliged to resort to means of maintaining themselves not usual with people of rank, or to accept the charity of those who are wealthy as well as pious. The pride of birth renders them unwilling to contract marriages for their daughters, with persons who, though rich, cannot boast the same advantage; therefore, it follows that many are unable to obtain suitable matches, and must live single, unless a bridal portion, bestowed by some benevolent person, shall enable them to marry a Syud, who could not otherwise burthen himself with a lady of rank. This piece of good fortune, though not uncommon, cannot occur to all who need it; consequently, there are numbers who must endeavour to support themselves by their own industry. Of these, some are taught to read the Koran (which is not allowed to be translated) in Arabic, and, in order to understand it thoroughly, they must also be acquainted with the Persian commentary. They thus become learned in two languages beside their own, and turn their knowledge to account, by expounding the sacred writings of the Prophet, and by assisting at the celebration of the Mohurrum. The selections from the Dahá Majális, Persian MSS., relating the history of the sons of Ali, recited during the ten days of the

Mohurrum, are of a dramatic character, and the effect produced by the impressive manner of the person employed to narrate the events recorded, is heightened by artificial means: thus the sound of many battalions of cavalry, gallopping over a plain, is imitated by an instrument somewhat resembling the Spanish castanet, beaten with considerable skill by persons employed for the purpose, when the events of the battle are recounted. But this is reserved for the recitations, which take place during the processions, on the concluding day of the Mohurrum; the ladies being obliged to be content with a less vivid representation of the last fatal conflict, in which the sainted martyrs perished. While the moollahs rehearse the stirring and tragical events in the history of the Emaums, to a large concourse of their brethren, the well-instructed daughters of Syuds perform the same office in the zenanas. Upon these occasions, when an Emaun Baareh, or place for the celebration of the Mohurrum, is set up in the female apartment, the lady of the house, who thus commemorates the festival, invites her female acquaintance to be present, and the same ceremonials are observed which are going on in the assemblage of the gentlemen, with perhaps less of those imposing observances, which the more extended means of the latter enable them to bestow upon this affecting commemoration. During the period in which the ladies are employed in the solemnization of the service appointed in honour of the slaughtered sons of Ali, the gentlemen of the family cannot obtain admission into the sacred apartments without giving previous notice; a precaution necessary to afford time to the female guests to secrete themselves, in order that they might not incur the danger of being seen by unprivileged eyes. It is almost needless to observe that, under such circumstances, nothing can be more easy than the introduction of visitors of the proscribed sex, who, upon any intrusion on the part of a husband, have ample means of concealment in apartments which the master of the family, though certainly not the master of his own house, may not dare to enter.

It is said, that the rare endowments of the well-educated portion of the Syud ladies often induce offers of marriage from wealthy suitors, who, prizing their virtue, accomplishments, and, above all, the distinctions attached to their descent, would gladly take them for wives themselves, or give them to their sons, without a portion, but are rejected by these high-souled women, who are determined never to wed excepting into families boasting honours equal to their own. In many cases, they are obliged to support themselves by the work of their hands, and though the needle is not a very common implement with the women of India, some there are who excel in all kinds of embroidery. It is not considered to be beneath the dignity of the most illustrious female, to obtain money by the sale of the labours of the fingers, for even Nourmahal, who was the widow of an Omrah, when transferred to the zenana of Jehanguir,—and, from some unaccountable feeling, either of caprice, or remorse for the guilty means he had taken to obtain her, neglected by him,-resorted to this mode of maintaining her state and dignity. She had either no allowance granted for her support, or one totally inadequate for the purpose; but, too high-spirited to petition for a subsistence, she determined upon supplying the means herself. With the assistance of some female slaves, she executed various specimens of workmanship, which attracted universal attention, and sold at so high a price, that she was enabled to clothe her women in the magnificent manner so much affected by persons of rank, who take pride in the splendour of the raiment lavished upon their slaves. The haughty Nourmahal, it is said, in this era of her life, disdained to owe any part of her attraction to the aid of dress, and therefore, while her women were sumptuously clad,

contented herself with robes of the simplest nature. The emperor found her, at the visit which the report of her independent manner of living induced him to make, attired in plain white muslin, busily plying the needle in the midst of her handmaidens, all of whom were arrayed in a manner befitting the rank of their mistress. Every industrious lady in India is not equally fortunate; for it often happens that, notwithstanding the most unremitting exertion in the pursuit, they are not able to obtain more than a few shillings for the labour of many days, and, therefore, if left entirely to such a resource, would scarcely be able to support existence. The Syuds, fortunately, are permitted to receive what may be called charity, without incurring contempt or degradation; the more dignified amongst them do not make their poverty or pecuniary embarrassments the subject of conversation, but they are usually known, and they entertain no scruples in the acceptance of any gift that they are pr ivileged to receive. Charity of the most unbounded nature is enjoined to the followers of the Prophet, and there can be no class of persons on whom it can be so properly bestowed as the indigent descendants of his family.

In the dearth of amusement, during the interval between the festivals, the Moollah, or religious guide of the family, if an artful person, generally contrives to gain great influence over the minds of those with whom he is intimately associated. The generality of these priests have some learning, those bearing the title of Moolvee or Mulavi, being doctors of divinity: all must be able to read the Koran in the original language, and their wives and daughters, who are entitled Mulaanee, dividing with the Syud females the task of instructing Mahommedan ladies in the doctrines of their religion. The Moollahs themselves are frequently admitted to the purdah, and, with this barrier between them, can converse freely with the most scrupulous females. When it becomes necessary to admit a man to the interior apartment, a peculiar dress is provided for the interview, the woman being enshrouded in a stiff garment, which is put over her head, reaching down to her feet, and in which there are holes for the eyes, and slits for the hands, so that she stands, as it were, in a sentry-box, or like Jack-in-the-Green, seeing, but not being seen, and able to put forth her wrist to have the pulse felt by her medical attendant. An intriguing Moollah has ample scope for the exercise of his art; but there is another class of persons who surpass them both in the power and inclination to take advantage of the credulous. These are the Nujoomee, properly speaking, astronomers, but who blend with the celestial science that of judicial astrology: the skill, real or pretended, of these men, has rendered them at all times objects of great veneration to every class of the Moslem community. In many families, Nujoom, as he is called, becomes the arbiter, from whose opinion there is no appeal; he is supposed to know all the lucky and unlucky days, and he is consulted about the proper period for marriage, the proper person to marry, the day on which the bride should be brought home, the time to sow, the time to reap, and, in fact, upon everything connected with the domestic arrangement or the prosperity of the family. Where one of these pretenders to all kinds of divination is entertained, every individual belonging to the establishment must submit unhesitatingly to his dicta; they have no longer wills of their own, and it is scarcely necessary to add, that this influence is often employed for the worst purposes. A woman who is desirous to get rid of her husband, should he be taken ill, induces the Nujoom to interdict the use of the proper remedies: a Moslem widow can inherit her husband's wealth, or, at any rate, it is in her power to accumulate large sums during his life-time, upon which she can retire to enjoy the remain

The

der of her days, in the manner most agreeable to her inclinations. husband is not always acquainted with the extent of his wife's resources, or the sums she may have received from her own family: this is a subject on which it is thought that he has no right to interfere; and it is only when mutual affection has established mutual confidence between the parties, that he knows the amount of property which she may possess. Should there be any domestic unhappiness, the secret is carefully kept, and instances have been known of treasure being buried by the wife, in order that her husband might not obtain any advantage from her decease. It follows, therefore, that women often possess ample means to bribe the astrologer, and thus secure him to their own interests; while, on the other hand, the Nujoom is often employed to terrify the females of a family into compliance with the will of its master. The artifices of these pretenders are well known to those who possess any respectable degree of information and discernment, and their knaveries afford an ample subject for the ridicule of the Bhāāns, whose talents, in embodying the follies and vices of society in amusing dramas, have formed the subject of the preceding pages. The Nujoom, as represented by one of these men, meets with a clown, whose nativity he casts, and whose fortune, he assures him, has been revealed by the infallible testimony of the heavenly bodies. He proceeds to tell his wonderstruck auditor, that there are many pearls in his fate, but, in order to reap so rich a harvest, he must first sow the seed, that is, he must first present him (the Nujoom) with a portion of these precious gems, which, in that case, will be returned in tenfold quantity by the happy destiny which presides over his fortunes. The clown, in much amazement, though delighted with the prospect of gaining pearls, asks, with considerable anxiety, how he, a poor fellow, who is scarcely in the way of seeing a pearl, can procure them for the purpose pointed out. The Nujoom, who is determined to wring something at least from his victim, finding that the pearls are not forthcoming, suggests a substitute, saying that masch ka dall (that is, a round white pea, somewhat resembling the precious product of the oyster) may, under the circumstances, represent the pearls. He thus secures a few seers of a pulse, a good deal in request, for his own consumption, leaving the clown to dream of pearls which he is never likely to obtain. The audience, though perceiving the drift of this exposure, and convinced of the truth of the portraiture, are likely enough to be taken in themselves by a person of the same description; but there are still many of the better educated classes, who treat the less reputable portion of the Nujoomee with contempt. There are a very considerable number of men, who come under this denomination, who have made great advances in science, equalling in their knowledge of the movements of the heavenly bodies the most distinguished pundits amongst the Hindoos; these men calculate the eclipses with great exactness, and some of them foretold the appearance of the comet: they are even said to have proved in the right, in one or two instances in which they have differed from great European authorities. The Hindoos are, of course, not a whit behind the Moslems in their superstitious belief in the prognostics drawn, not only from the stars, but from omens of every description; indeed, the nature of their religion renders them still more liable to be influenced by those, who owe their pecuniary means, and their character for wisdom, to the folly and credulity of the crowd. It is only very lately that medicine has been looked upon as a science independent of supernatural aid. Formerly, and indeed at present, amongst the very ignorant and the very bigoted Hindoos, the Brahmin was and is considered the best physician, because he is supposed to be acquainted with the Mantras, Asiat.Journ.N.S.VOL.22.No.85. F

which consist of exorcisms of various kinds, and by which it is believed that good and evil spirits may be constrained to interfere. A physician, therefore, who could not summon these potent auxiliaries to his aid, was looked upon as a mere pretender; and certainly, as the imagination frequently exerts a very strong influence over the body, the strong belief instilled into the patient's mind, of the efficacy of an invocation of sufficient power to control the gods themselves, may often have an exceedingly beneficial effect. It is very certain that persons both of sense and judgment have been unable to combat successfully against the depression produced by the conviction of having incurred the enmity of those who have so terrible an engine under their control. There are unprincipled miscreants amongst the Hindoos, who turn their acquaintance with the Mantras to account, by working upon the fears of the community. These fellows pretend to have the power of possessing people with evil spirits, which are entirely under their dominion. Many persons, who laugh at these pretensions, and despise the threats held out to induce them to ward off the menaced evil by timely compliance, are unable to withstand the terror which assails them, when they see the methodical manner in which these wretches go to work. The scene of the incantation is usually in the open air, the spot selected being sometimes quite as picturesque and appropriate as the Wolf's Glen in Der Freischutz; a circle is drawn, and a fire kindled, and, under all the circumstances, the fitful shadows, the dancing flame, and the gesticulations of the magician,-it requires no great sketch of the imagination to people the unhallowed spot with fiends almost as palpable to the eye, as those which on similar occasions throng the stage at Covent Garden. The writer has once or twice been sufficiently near to the place in which these ceremonials were going on, to form a judgment of the effect they were likely to produce upon minds embued from infancy with the darkest superstition; whether the intention was good or evil, no opportunity occurred of ascertaining; but certainly it brought very forcibly to mind the blasted heath, the witches' cauldron, and the midnight hags who, from a loyal subject, changed Macbeth to a traitor and a murderer. The Mantras, however, are going out of fashion in India, at least so far as concerns the treatment of bodily ailments; the natives now are beginning to place a stronger degree of faith in European skill; and as both Hindoos and Moslems now study under the system introduced by their British rulers, there can be little doubt that this branch of useful knowledge will spread rapidly and extensively.

HEROISM OF A PERSIAN QUEEN.

In the time of Sultan Mahmood, Sídat, the widow of Fakr-ud-Dowlut, king of Rey, in Persian Irak, finding her son deficient in talents for government, and being a woman of spirit and capacity, assumed the supreme authority, and ruled the kingdom for thirty years. Mahmood sent a message to Sídat, requiring her to acknowledge his supremacy, and threatening, in case of her refusal, to invade Rey with a formidable army. "Tell Sultan Mahmood," said the queen to the envoy, "that, when my husband lived, I believed he dared not attack this state; when the Almighty took him, and the empire devolved upon me, I thought the sultan too noble and generous a prince to make war against a woman. I am, however, ready to meet him. If I am vanquished, it will be no disgrace to me to fly before him; if I conquer, great will be bis ignominy to be chastised by a woman." When this answer was reported to Mahmood, he gave up all idea of invading Rey.