NOTES TO THE CURSE OF KEHAMA.

Calmly she took her seat. — I. 10, p. 18.

"She," says Bernier, "whom I saw burn herself, when I parted from Surat to travel into Persia, in the presence of Monsieur Chardin of Paris, and of many English and Dutch, was of a middle age, and not' unhandsome. To represent unto you the undaunted cheerfulness that appeared in her countenance; the resolution with which she marched, washed herself, spoke to the people; the confidence with which she looked upon us, viewed her little cabin, made up of very dry millet-straw and small wood, went into this cabin, and sat down upon the pile, and took her husband's head into her lap, and a torch into her own hand, and kindled the cabin, whilst I know not how many Bramins were busy in kindling the fire round about; - to represent to you, I say, all this as it ought, is not possible for me: I can at present scarce believe it myself, though it be but a few days since I saw it."

They strip her ornaments away. — I. 11, p. 19.

"She went out again to the river, and, taking up some water in her hands, muttered some prayers, and offered it to the sun. All her ornaments were then taken from her; and her armlets were broken, and chaplets of white flowers were put upon her neck and hands. Her hair was tucked up with five combs; and her forehead was marked with clay in the same manner as that of her husband."- Stavorinus.

"When the time for consummating the marriage is come, they light the fire Homan with the wood of Ravasiton. The Bramin blesses the former; which being done, the bridegroom takes three handfuls of rice, and throws it on the bride's head, who does the same to him. Afterwards the bride's father clothes her in a dress according to his condition, and washes the bridegroom's feet; the bride's mother observing to pour out the water. This being done, the father puts his daughter's hand in his own, puts water into it, some pieces of money, and, giving it to the bridegroom, says at the same time, 'I have no longer any thing to do with you, and I give you up to the power of another.' The tali, which is a ribbon with a golden head hanging at it, is held ready; and, being shown to the company, some prayers and blessings are pronounced; after which the bridegroom takes it, and hangs it about the bride's neck. This knot is what particularly secures his possession of her; for, before he had had the tali on, all the rest of the ceremonies might have been made to no purpose; for it has sometimes happened, that, when the bridegroom was going to fix it on, the bride's father has discovered his not being satisfied with the bridegroom's gift, when another, offering more, has carried off the bride with her father's consent. But, when once the tali is put on, the marriage is indissoluble; and, whenever the husband dies, the tali is burnt along with him, to show that the marriage bands are broke. Besides these particular ceremonies, the people have notice of the wedding by a pandal, which is raised before the bride's door some days before. The whole concludes with an entertainment which the bride's father gives to the common friends, and during this festivity, which continues five days, alms are given to the poor, and the fire Homan is kept in. The seventh day, the new-married couple set out for the bridegroom's house, whither they frequently go by torchlight. The bride and bridegroom are carried in a sedan, pass through the chief streets of the city, and are accompanied by their friends, who are either on horseback or mounted on elephants."— - A. Roger.

They force her on, they bind her to the dead.

"'Tis true," says Bernier, "that I have seen some of them, which, at the sight of the pile and the fire, appeared to have some apprehension, and that perhaps would have gone back Those demons the Bramins, that are there with their great sticks, astonish them, and hearten them up, or even thrust them in; as I have seen it done to a young woman, that retreated five or six paces from the pile; and to another, that was much disturbed when she saw the fire take hold of her clothes, these executioners thrusting her in with their long poles.

"At Lahore, I saw a very handsome and a very young woman burnt: I believe she was not above twelve years of age. This poor unhappy creature appeared rather dead than alive when she came near the pile: she shook, and wept bitterly. Meanwhile, three or four of these executioners, the Bramins, together with an old hag that held her under the arm, thrust her on, and made her sit down upon the wood; and, lest she should run away, they tied her legs and hands; and so they burnt her alive. I had enough to do to contain myself for indignation."

Pietro della Valle conversed with a widow who was about to burn herself by her own choice. She told him, that, generally speaking, women were not forced to burn themselves; but sometimes, among people of rank, when a young woman, who was handsome, was left a widow, and in danger of marrying again (which is never practised among them, because of the confusion and disgrace which are inseparable from such a thing), or of falling into other irregularities, then indeed the relations of the husband, if they are at all tenacious of the honor of the family, compel her to burn herself, whether she likes it or no, merely to prevent the inconveniences which might take place.

Dellon also, whom I consider as one of the best travellers in the East, expressly asserts that widows are burnt there de gré, ou de force. L'on n'en voit que trop qui après avoir désiré et demandé la mort avec un courage intrépide, et après avoir obtenu et achété la permission de se brûler, ont tremblé à

la vue du bucher, se sont repenties, mais trop tard, de leur imprudence, et ont fait d'inutiles efforts pour se retracter. Mais lorsque cela arrive, bien loin que les Bramènes soient touchés d'aucune pitié, ils lient cruellement ces malheureuses, et les brûlent par force, sans avoir aucun égard à leurs plaintes, ni à leurs cris."- Tom. i. p. 138.

It would be easy to multiply authorities upon this point. Let it suffice to mention one important historical fact: When the great Alboquerque had established himself at Goa, he forbade these accursed sacrifices. The women extolled him for it as their benefactor and deliverer ("Commentarios de Alb." ii. 20); and no European in India was ever so popular, or so revered by the natives. Yet, if we are to believe the antimissionaries, none but fools, fanatics, and pretenders to hamanity, would wish to deprive the Hindoo women of the right of burning themselves! "It may be useful," says Col. Mark Wilks, "to examine the reasonableness of interfering with the most exceptionable of all their institutions. It has been thought an abomination not to be tolerated, that a widow should immolate herself on the funeral pile of her deceased husband; but what judgment should we form of the Hindoo who (if any of our institutions admitted the parallel) should forcibly pretend to stand between a Christian and the hope of eternal salvation? And shall we not hold him to be a driveller in politics and morals, a fanatic in religion, and a pretender in humanity, who would forcibly wrest this hope from the Hindoc widow?". - Hist. Sketches of the South of India, vol. i. p. 499.

Such opinions and such language may safely be left to the indignation and pity which they cannot fail to excite. I shall only express my astonishment, that any thing so monstrous and so miserably futile should have proceeded from a man of learning, great good sense, and general good feelings, as Col. Wilks evidently appears to be.

One drops, another plunges in. — I. 14, p. 20.

When Bernier was passing from Amad-Avad to Agra, there came news to him in a borough, where the caravan rested under the shade (staying for the cool of the evening to march on their journey), that a woman was then upon the point of

burning herself with the body of her husband. "I presently rose," says he, "and ran to the place where it was to be done, which was a great pit, with a pile of wood raised in it; whereon I saw laid a dead corpse, and a woman, which, at a distance, seemed to me pretty fair, sitting near it on the same pile, besides four or five Bramins putting the fire to it from all sides; five women of a middle age, and well enough dressed, holding one another by the hand, and dancing about the pit, and a great crowd of people, men and women, looking on. The pile of wood was presently all on fire, because store of oil and butter had been thrown upon it; and I saw at the same time, through the flames, that the fire took hold of the clothes of the woman, that were imbued with well-scented oils, mingled with powder of sandal and saffron. All this I saw, but observed not that the woman was at all disturbed; yea, it was said that she had been heard to pronounce, with great force, these two words, 'five, two,' to signify, according to the opinion of those that hold the soul's transmigration, that this was the fifth time she had burnt herself with the same husband, and that there remained but two more for perfection; as if she had that time this remembrance, or some prophetical spirit. But here ended not this infernal tragedy: I thought it was only by way of ceremony that these five women sung and danced about the pit; but I was altogether surprised when I saw that, the flame having taken hold of the clothes of one of them, she cast herself, with her head foremost, into the pit, and that after her, another, being overcome by the flame and the smoke, did the like; and my astonishment redoubled afterwards, when I saw that the remaining three took one another again by the hand, continued their dance without any apparent fear, and that at length they precipitated themselves, one after another, into the fire, as their companions had done. I learnt that these had been five slaves, who, having seen their mistress extremely afflicted at the sickness of her husband, and heard her promise him that she would not survive him, but burn herself with him, were so touched with compassion and tenderness towards this their mistress, that they engaged themselves in a promise to follow her in her resolution, and to burn themselves with her."

NOL. VIII.