The Hindoos are very fond of shows and amuse ́ments; but in these the women, especially of the higher classes, have little share. The female pastimes consist principally of bathing, dressing, chewing betel, listening to story-tellers, and playing a species of draughts.

In March the Hindoos keep a great festival called hohlee; and it is a singular coincidence that during one of these holydays it is common to send people on absurd errands, in order to create a laugh at their expense, just as we do on the first of April. They likewise divert themselves with throwing about great quantities of earth used in painting, and known by the name of India red. The sport is to cast it into the eyes, mouth, and nose. Sometimes it is powdered with talc to make it glitter, and then if it gets into the eyes it is very painful. They likewise splash each other all over, with squirts filled with orange-colored water, made of the flowers of the dak tree. These frolics usually take place under the front awning of wealthy houses, or the terraces of the gardens, but sometimes within the buildings. A rajah, surrounded by his numerous wives, has a fair chance to get his full share of powdering and drenching.

The hohlee is observed by all classes throughout Hindostan, with the most boisterous merriment. The utmost freedom is allowed to all ranks. Young men and old parade about the streets, singing indecent songs. Sometimes an individual dresses himself up in the most fantastic style, to personify the

hohlee, and is followed by crowds throwing red dust and orange-colored water. This custom, which is said to be connected with some religious tradition, is very similar to the observance of the carnival in Catholic countries. The Hindoo ladies have their share of the festivities; but no one is allowed to join their parties except their husbands, or very young brothers.

The wives of jugglers follow the same profession as their husbands. It is a common sight to see young women walking on their heads, with their feet in the air, turning round like a wheel, or walking on their hands and feet, with the body bent backward.

A recent traveller thus describes one of the tricks which he saw performed: "A young and beautifully formed woman fixed on her head a stiff strong fillet, to which were fastened, at equal distances, twenty pieces of string, with a noose at the end of each. Under her arm she carried a basket containing twenty eggs. She advanced near us, and began to move rapidly round upon a spot not more than eighteen inches in diameter, from which she never deviated for an instant, though her rotation became so exceedingly rapid as to render it painful to look at her. She absolutely spun round like a top. When her body had reached its extreme point of acceleration, she quickly drew down one of the strings, which had formed a horizontal circle round her, and put an egg into the noose. She then jerked it back to its original position, and continuing her gyrations with

undiminished velocity, she secured all the eggs in the nooses prepared for them, until they were all flying around her head in one unbroken circular line. After this she continued her motions with undiminished velocity for at least five minutes, then seized the eggs one by one, and replaced them in the basket. This being done, she stopped in an instant, without the movement of a limb, or the vibration of a muscle, as if she had been suddenly transformed to marble. She received our applauses with a calm countenance, and an apparent modesty of demeanor, which was doubtless the result of constitutional apathy, rather than refinement of feeling; for these jugglers are generally among the most depraved of their caste."

The reputed wealth and fertile soil of Hindostan have attracted foreigners from all parts of the world. Some entered as conquerors, some sought refuge from persecution, and others went there for commercial purposes. The peculiar manners of these different nations have become too variously modified to be particularly described. The Mohammedans, who obtained certain districts by conquest, are extravagantly fond of pomp and splendor. The nabob Asuf gave a proof of this in the wedding of his adopted son Vizier Aly. The bridegroom was about thirteen years of age, the bride ten. The prince could hardly move under the weight of his jewels. The procession consisted of about twelve hundred elephants richly caparisoned, of which one hundred in the centre had houdas, or castles, on their backs,

covered with silver. In the midst was the nabob himself, within a houda covered with gold and set with precious stones. On both sides of the road was raised artificial scenery of bamboo-work, representing arches, minarets, and towers, covered with lighted glass lamps. On each side were carried platforms, covered with gold and silver cloth, on which were musicians and dancing girls superbly dressed. The ground was inlaid with fireworks, and at every step of the elephants, rockets and fiery serpents shot forth, kindling the night into day. Three thousand flambeaux were likewise carried by men hired for the

occasion.

The palanquins in which the wealthy are carried are sometimes very magnificent. They are painted and gilded, ornamented with gold, silver, and jewels, with cushions and coverings of crimson velvet.

The religion of Brama, as well as that of Mohammed, forbids women to appear in public; but the lower classes of Hindoos do not attempt to comply with the inconvenient requisition. The Mohammedan women, on the contrary, are extremely punctilious on this point; even the poorest never venture out of doors without being enveloped in a cotton veil made like a bag, with a slight net-work over the eyes and mouth. Those who cannot afford to travel. in palanquins, ride astride on a bullock, which has a bell suspended to the neck, and a bridle passed through the nostrils. A more uncouth or unpleasant sight cannot well be imagined, unless it might be a shrouded corpse thus mounted.

Mrs. Graham, in her very entertaining account of India, gives the following description of a visit to the harem of a Mohammedan chief: "My sister and I were allowed to enter, but we could by no means persuade the cazy to admit any of the gentlemen of our family. We ascended to the women's apartment by a ladder, which is removed when not in immediate use, to prevent the ladies from escaping. We were received by the cazy's wife's mother, a fine old woman dressed in white, and without ornaments, as becomes a widow. The cazy's mother, and the rest of his father's widows, were first presented; then Fatima, his wife, to whom our visit was paid; and afterward his sisters, some of them fine, lively young women. They all crowded round us to examine our dress, and the materials of which it was composed. They were surprised at our wearing so few ornaments; but we told them it was the custom of our country, and they replied that it was good. I was sorry they so openly expressed their curiosity, as it gave us a better opportunity of gratifying our own. The apartment in which we were received was about twenty feet square, and rather low. Round it were smaller rooms, most of them crowded with small beds, with white muslin curtains; these were not particularly clean, and the whole suit seemed close and disagreeable. Most of the women were becomingly dressed. Fatima's arms, feet, and neck were covered with rings and chains; her fingers and toes were loaded with rings; her head was surrounded with a fillet of pearls, some strings of

not