the womb-and the noise of this is gone over all the village. With such a person therefore we cannot eat. Ramu-Raya. If this is true, it is very bad; and nobody can have intercourse with him; but let him be called. Hůlŭdhůru arrives, and says to Ramă-Rayŭ, Why have you called me, Sir? Ramu-Rayŭ. Why?-You know, that, for a long time back, you have been in a disorderly way nobody has visited you; but through my influence your friends did not wholly discard you. Now, I hear, that you have been guilty of destroying your illegitimate child in the womb: you have broken down the fence, and gone into forbidden ground and your friends have now utterly renounced you.-He goes away very sad. [After two years, during which time Huludhuru had solicited forgiveness by the most humiliating intreaties, he again appears before the village council. ] Ramu-Rayŭ, addressing the villagers assembled, says, O Sirs! may I be heard? They reply, what commands, Sir. Ramu-Rayй. You are all assembled: here is a person without a friend; he lays hold of your feet. If ten persons decide on a question, the authority of ten makes even that which is wrong, right; and the strength of ten united becomes that of a lion. You see this man, cast off by you for many days; he has endured misery equal to his sin; and he comes to me with his distress continually, whether I am sitting, eating, or sleeping. I have told him to solicit pardon from door to door; and that against your will I can do nothing. He says, 'God is now on my left; I cannot shew my face, and nobody speaks a kind word to me.' He knows that you respect me, and therefore he comes to me. Whatever may have been his fault formerly; let that go; he is now very anxious to be restored; and he is now afraid of incurring your displeasure: you will do well, therefore, to shew him favour. One of the company. Favour! How can that be, Ramu-Ray! Do you mean to receive him back, or his concubine? I suppose, you, S.r, have before this bestowed your favours on the concubine. Do you wish us all to become Musulmans? Well— you are at the head of the village-all respect you-nobody will run back if you advance; let the wedding feast be kept at your house. Another. Dismiss this filthy subject: let us repeat the name of God, and some thing good will come on it. Besides, how can you go into this business; he was warned by a thousand persons not to go into this connection. Day and night he staid at this woman's; and I suppose he has eaten with her: what should hinder? And now you hear of an abortion; and this has been proclaimed as by the sound of the drum. True, he is a very proper subject for favour; two or three others in the village are anxious to follow his footsteps. But you, Sir, can do every thing; you can kill, and then cook, what you please; but we are poor people; we cannot. If I could do this, I might have taken a gift the other day, and have sat down with the Musulmans. Another. Oh! friend, don't forbid it-let the thirty-six casts all eat together. Ramu-Rayй, (to himself) I suppose then, Hülüdhůru's sin is still upon him; for if ten persons are not well disposed towards him, it seems that God is still angry with him. To the villagers. Do you intend then, Sirs, to pursue this man to death? When we come into the world, every one does good and evil, and sometimes a person falls into a snare; but you have already punished this culprit as far as possible: for two years he has been enduring every sort of misery, lying in his house as a corpse. Whispering to Hulŭdhŭrů, and advising him to put his garment round his neck, and fall at their feet Huludhurů does so, and Ramu-Rayu continues, See, Gentlemen, would you tread on the dead? Is there any thing left to punish? However, do as you like, if you wish to destroy him, do so-and if you wish to save, he is in your hands. I will only add one word, For my sake, forgive him-bestow this alms on me. One of the village. Sir, your words are irresistible. Well-a bramhun has fallenit is right to pity the miserable; but, if it is beyond our power? We can lift a hundred weight, but we cannot raise a ton. We can stop one mouth, but how shall we stop a thousand? Ramu-Rayu. Gentlemen I only want your consent-and then, I will manage all the rest: you know, that money can do all things; only pardon the culprit, and two or three of us will see what he is worth, and examine how every thing can be brought about. They consent, and the assembly breaks up. [Sometimes, when the persons who have been bribed to consent, are called to eat with the culprit, they hang back, complaining that the money has been unequally distributed; they reproach the culprit, and the food he has prepared, and at last go into the measure with much disgust, and with a thousand hard words against the person to be restored.] SECTION VI. Specimens of Letters. শ্রীশ্রীহরিঃ শরণ পৌষ্য শ্রীরামমোহনদের শানঃ প্রনামা নিবেদনঞ্চ বিশেষঃ ১৭ আশ্বিন শুক্রবার শ্রীশ্রী — শারদীয়া পূজা হইবেক। মহাশয়েরা কলিকাতার বাটীতে সংসিয়া প্ৰতিমা দর্শনাদি করিবেন । পত্রদ্বারা নিমন্ত্রণ করিলাম । ইতি তারিখ ১৪ অশ্বিন — Translation. Shree Shree Hüree. My Preserver. I Ram-Mohun-dévů-shŭrmănů, who am supported by thee, with respect make this request : On Friday, the 17th of Ashwin, will be the dewy season festival. You will please to come to the house in Calcutta, and see the image, and partake of the offerings, three days. By this letter I invite you. This. 14th Ashwinū. Letter from a Mother to her son. Shree Shree Ramů. My Protector. To the fortunate Huree-nat'hu-bundopadhyayů, my son, more beloved than my own life. Long life to thee. To thee I write as follows: More The highest of blessings, yea let a multitude of such blessings rest on you. particularly; I am happy in always thinking of your prosperity. I received your letter, and am become acquainted with its contents. I received one hundred roopees which you sent by Ram-Mohůn-sénă; and have expended it in the manner directed, as you will perceive. You write, that your employer does not give you leave to be absent, and that thereyou cannot come to be present at the festival of Shree Shree Eeshwŭree.* This fore * The goddess Doorga is here understood, though Eeshwüree signifies merely a goddess. is very strange. It is now almost three years since you went from home. You are my only son; I am constantly full of anxiety to see you; therefore you must speak to your employer, that he may without fail permit you to come to the festival, otherwise, before the festival, I shall come all the way to see you. What more shall I write? The Answer. Shree Shree Doorga. I Hûree-nat'hŭ-dévů-shŭrmůnů, your servant, bowing innumerable times, respectfully write. Through your blessing, my present and my future happiness are secure. I received your letter, and am become acquainted with the particulars; but you do not write what things are prepared for the worship of Shree Shree Eeshwŭree: please to order them to be written. You write, that unless I come to the festival, you will come even thus far to see me. What can I do? My employer does not grant me leave to come; he is a very wicked fellow: he drinks spirits. I dare not repeatedly ask him for leave of absence: who knows but he may be angry? Therefore I I am well in every respect. As write. Be not on any account anxious about me. soon as I get leave, I will hasten home. This. Directions upon the above three letters.-1. To my supporter Ramŭ-chorŭnů-bundyopadhyayй Mühashuyu's excellent feet, I write this. 2. To the fortunate Hŭreenat'hŭ-bandyopadhyayŭ, my son, more beloved than my own life. Long life to thee. To thee I write as follows. 3. To my mother, the worshipful goddess Shree-Mutēē, to your water-lily feet, possessed of the fortune of Shree. hand. The Hindoos write with a reed,* and hold their pen with the whole grasp of the They seldom use a seal for their letters, but write, on the folds of the back, that which they consider equivalent to an oath of secrecy; that is, they make certain signs, which are known to indicate the seven seas, the four védes, and the sun and moon, by the names of all which, each person into whose hands the letter comes Saccharum Sara. is bound, as by an oath, not to violate its contents.-Before the entrance of Europeans into India, there was no post: letters, &c. were always sent to a distance by private messengers. The native merchants are, however, now very glad to avail themselves of the post, by which mercantile transactions are so exceedingly facilitated. SECTION VII. Specimens of Songs. THE songs of the Hindoos, sung at religious festivals, and even by individuals on boats and in the streets, are intolerably offensive to a modest person. When employed about the most trifling concerns, as, to drag along a piece of timber, or any other bulky substance, they animate each other by vociferating certain sounds, some of which are disgustingly obscene.-Igive a specimen of one or two of their most innocent songs, as exhibiting a part of their public manners. By a disappointed Worshipper; addressed to Doorga. O unmerciful daughter of the mountain, To what extent, O Ma!* wilt thou shew thy father's qualities; † O Ma! thou art the wife of the easily-pleased (Shivů); Thou art merciful-the destroyer of fear Thy name is Tara,‡ why art thou then so cruel to thy disciples O Ma! Thou bindest my mind with the cord of delusion, and givest it sorrow. Being a mother, how canst thou be so cruel! Looking with thy compassionate eyes, give wisdom and holiness to thy forlorn (one;) Loosing me from the bonds of this world, save. Another, by a forsaken Mistress. In this unlawful love my heart is burnt to ashes; Sweet in the mouth, but hollow like a cucumber. Giving me the moon in my hand,§ only sorrow surrounds me. * Ma, mother. Tara, saviour. + Doorga is considered as the daughter of the mountain Himalŭyŭ. Himů signifies cold. 1 am overwhelmed in disappointment, The meaning of this is, I thought I had obtained something wonderful, but |