to whom she may be introduced, and who evinces an interest in her comfort, and a disposition to invite her confidence. It is impossible to lay down a fixed set of rules for the guidance of a lady: a thousand circumstances imparts a speciality to her condition. On one

point only will we venture to say a word—the just and agreeable employment of time.

An English lady who has been accustomed to the performance of various household duties, is surprised, on her becoming an inmate or the mistress of a dwelling in India, to find that there is nothing for her to do-or, at least, that there is nothing which is not done for her by the domestics of the house. The climate, and (excepting at Calcutta) the markets, are of a nature to put it quite out of the question that she should act as the purveyor to her own establishment. This duty is entrusted to the khansuma, who lays in the day's supplies very soon after day-break. As all the groceries, spices, &c. are likewise purchased at the market, shopping- a source at once of entertainment and economy in England-is not to be named amongst a lady's occupations in India. Hams, cheeses, pickles, and other luxuries of the table sent from England for European consumption in the East, are procurable at the European

shops, or godowns (stores) of Parsees or Englishmen; and a note addressed to either of them, and despatched by a peon (or messenger) ensures the immediate supply of the required article. In fact, it is only when the commencement of the cool season, and its round of gaieties, renders an addition to the wardrobe, and an alteration of its fading fashions necessary, that ladies have a reasonable excuse for hieing to the milliners, the jewellers, and similar ministrants to female

costume.

It follows from this, that excepting in the matter of overlooking the accounts of the butler (khansuma), and counting and examining the linen as it comes from the dhobee, or washerman -duties which the lassitude engendered by the climate too frequently induces a lady to commit to an ayah (lady's maid), or sircar or purvoe (house clerk)-there is little to engage the attention in those departments of a ménage which engross so much attention in England. Happy, then, is the woman who has acquired a taste for reading, music, painting, or the employment of the needle. Blessed with refined tastes and industrious habits, and assisted by the conver→ sation of intelligent friends, the morning and evening promenade, occasional soirées, and the companionship of her husband and family (if

she is blessed with such things), the demon ennui may be conquered, and health effectually preserved. Without these resources the position of a European lady in India is not to be coveted. Yielding to the influences of climate, and the evil suggestions of domestics, who are ever about her person, she falls a victim to indolent habits and coarse indulgences-the sylphlike form and delicate features which distinguished the youth of her arrival, are rapidly exchanged for an exterior of which obesity and swarthiness are the prominent characteristics, and the bottle and the hookah become frequent and offensive companions.

We would recommend all ladies who are about to settle in India, and have it in their power to take a pianoforte with them, to be careful that it is properly clamped and knit, with brass or other material, to prevent its starting. The alternate damp and heats of the climate cause an expansion of the wood, which utterly ruins an instrument, if the greatest care be not taken to preserve it in an equable temperature. Entire coverings of leather, lined with a thick flannel, or an envelope of quilting, are excellent preservatives; but they do not entirely supersede the necessity of clasps at the various joints and edges.

As instrument-repairers and tuners do not

abound at every station in India, a lady will do well to learn the art of tuning her instrument, so as to be independent of such assistance.

All the necessary apparatus for painting, tambour, or Berlin work, should be taken from this country. Knitting-needles are better of silver than of steel, for the warmth of the hand has a tendency to rust the latter; but there is no occasion to procure them here; the goldsmiths (sonars) of India will make any implements that may be required if proper patterns be given them.

Ladies who are accustomed to equitation should provide themselves with saddles, bridles, and a riding-habit, before they proceed to India, for it is very probable that all these articles will be required in their new position, and they are procurable at much more reasonable prices here than in India.

HEALTH IN INDIA.

YOUTH, confident in its strength and the excellence of the digestive organs, seldom troubles itself to inquire how far a change in the quality of its nutriment is calculated to disturb the stomach and affect general health. Appetite and curiosity by turns rule the palate; and the first few weeks of a residence in the tropics is devoted to an indiscriminate consumption of spiced curries and luscious fruits. Men of mature age, on the other hand, pay immense deference to the epigastric regions. They not unreasonably conclude, that their tenure of life is less firm than that possessed by their juniors; and that it is, therefore, unwise to tamper with the organs on which prolonged existence materially depends. Hence we find such persons exceedingly minute in their inquiries into the virtues or vices of every article of diet new to their system, and even going the length of consulting a physician before venturing upon an esculent or a condiment,