aid in their development, and which, in proportion as observed and respected and developed, will be conducive to the animal's happiness, and to man's use and profit. Now, I beg to say that I do not think that even the best educated amongst us consider, as we might and ought to do, the character and claims of even our domestic animals-observing them but in the light of things created for our use. We look upon the horse but as the means of carrying us along; or on the cow as supplying us with meat and milk. To be sure the dog forces himself, almost whether we will or not, upon our attention, and even a bull-baiting butcher is constrained to fondle and make much of his dog. Now, what I want, is to excite in my readers a greater attention to, and therefore a greater respect for, the animals that are domesticated around them. I am quite sure that a study of their characters will add greatly to our amusement and convenience. I am quite sure that it will induce us more and more to use our influence in future to protect them from abuse, and that as it is very true that the master's eye makes the beast fat, so also the master and mistress's respect will make the beast happy. I remember an observation made to me by one of the most gifted of the human race-one of the stars of this generation-the poet of nature and of feeling-the good and the great Mr. Wordsworth-having the honour of a conversation with him, after he had made a tour through Ireland-I, in the course of it, asked what was the thing that most struck his observation here as making us differ from the English; and he, without hesitation, said it was the ill-treatment of our horses; that his soul was often, too often, sick within him at the way in which he saw these creatures of God abused. Now I am sure you will agree with me, that here is a great evil, and you will allow that it depends very much on the upper classes to discountenance and counteract especially the hard usage of horses. "Would you believe it, that in Ireland, though there was an express act of parliament passed against it 300 years ago, the practice of harrowing by horses drawing from the tail, is still resorted to; the following is part of a letter I received yesterday: 666 The good old custom of harrowing by the tail is still followed in Erris. In justice to those who continue the practice, it is said that it is not cruel, for the horses submit to it quietly. Indeed, some people here assert, that it is the most humane way of doing the work; in proof of which, I shall sketch the following anecdote. I was on my way to dine with a worthy old gentleman, who resided here on my first arrival, 19 years ago; and observing, as I went through the farm, this practice, it was natural for a foreigner to express strongly his feelings on the barbarity of the thing. 'I beg your pardon,' said my host, "you are quite mistaken; for I assert, and feel assured I will induce you to agree with me in opinion that it is the most humane way of working the beast, and for this reason, that he harrows with more ease to himself." "Impossible," said I. "I will prove it to a sailor as you are with ease," replied the old gentleman. Pray, when you anchor your ships, why do you give them a long scope of cable when it blows hard?" | "Because," said I, "the hold the anchor has of the ground is in an inverse ratio to the sine of the angle the cable makes with the ground." "Oh!" says my old friend, being neither an orangeman nor ribbonman, I know nothing about your signs, though I guess at what you mean. Now, if you give a long scope of cable to increase the resistance, don't it stand to reason that a short scope must have a contrary effect; and, therefore, must not harrowing by the tail be easier to the animal than from the collar, inasmuch as, in the latter case, the harrow-rope is shortened by the whole length of the horse?" My host, chuckling with delight, seemed to consider this argument a floorer. And my, "But, dear sir, there is a vast difference between securing a cable to the bolt and making it fast to the rudder pintles," neither diminished his glee, nor induced him to change his opinion. He continued this practice to his dying-day: and up to last year it was, and now, 1840, it will be, practised. It is hard to break a custom attended with no expense. "Of what use is a tail," says the Erris man, "if not to save all sorts of harness ? "' ' [To be concluded.] 66 MUSICAL ANECDOTE. ONE morning a neat little gentleman came into the shop of Mr. Howell, a music-seller of Bristol, and asked to look at some pianoforte music, and he laid before him some sonatas of Haydn just published. He turned them over and said, "No, I don't like these." Howell replied, "Do you see they are by Haydn, Sir ?" "Better !" Well, Sir, I do; but I wish for something better." anxious to serve;" and was turning away, when the customer indignantly cried Howell; "a gentleman of your taste I am not made known that he was Haydn himself. Howell in astonishment embraced him; and the composer was so flattered by the interview, that a long and intimate friendship succeeded. · Music and Friends. CHINA AND THE CHINESE. NO. VI. VISIT TO THE FA TE GARDENS, AND RETURN TO MACAO BY THE INNER PASSAGE. VISIT TO THE FA TE GARDENS. first As the Fa Te Gardens occupy a place upon the Map, No. 66, they deserve a passing notice. They have long been the favourite resort of strangers, who find their owner kind and obliging, with a superaddition of that courtesy and hospitality for which the Chinese are so remarkable. He had about a twelvemonth before m visit been unjustly accused of having had some share in a robbery, and was thrown into prison, though a great many of his neighbours went to the magistrate and stated their readiness to lay down their own necks if he should be found guilty. In our own happy country a man is examined before a magistrate, committed for trial, and confined several weeks, who may after all be declared innocent by a verdict of his peers; but in this no more harshness is used than is necessary to confine his person. In China the prison is a most loathsome hell, as they call it themselves,-the keepers a demoniacal set of fellows, and the examination a series of the most excruciating tortures. To these innocence is as liable as guilt. Wealth to excite the longings of official avarice, and the mildewed breath of colourable suspicion, will at any time introduce the most virtuous man in China to all the horrors of such an ordeal. Of this the worthy fellow who entertained us with tea, and so forth, could give us a striking example in the recent history of himself. For though he was acquitted, his sufferings had been of no ordinary kind, and would have been still more fearful had he not paid liberally for his release. The principal characteristic of a Chinese garden consists in low parapet walls, or fences of earthenware ballusters, which run in lines, or surround the several compartments into which the ground is divided. On the broad top or cornice of these are ranged pots of orange, lee che, and many other kinds of fruit trees in a dwarf condition. This practice is highly favourable to the development and flavour of the fruit, qualities that generally bear an inverse ratio to the magnitude of the tree. To increase the effect, the pots were ranged in tiers one above another in certain parts of the garden, like our greenhouses. These dwarf trees, so often loaded with their large and well-tasted fruitage, are obtained by what I may term the Asiatic:mode of propagation, which is executed in the following way :-A quantity of soil prepared for the purpose is applied to the branch of a tree, and allowed to remain in form of a tumid knot, till a number of roots are shot into it, when it is cut off, and planted in one of the pots just referred to. By this simple method the Chinese gardener can obtain a young tree of any size he pleases, which, after having been thus taught to provide for itself, will scarcely feel the difference occasioned by its removal from the parent stock. He is aware that the branch derives its nourishment through the bark, and therefore pares it off before he applies the ball of earth. It is customary with him to get the young shoot in a position inclined at an angle of 45° to the horizon, to promote budding, and to place it below the general sweep of cold winds at the same time. The last time I visited the Fa Te,which was in Nov. 21, 1828, orange trees formed no inconsiderable part of the display, and were then in full leaf. A middling-sized 1840.] THE LONDON SATURDAY JOURNAL. pot was sold for half a dollar, and one of large dimensions for three-fourths of the same. The chrysanthemums were all in their prime, and made a garish figure with the imperial yellow; some pretty sorts of bamboo occupied some of the pots, which, like all other plants subject to cultivation, runs into many varieties, differing from each other in size, texture of the leaf, colour of the stem, and so on. They are all great favourites with the natives, not less for their utility than for their beauty. A shrub with small leaves and white flowers, called by the gardener yu su, was seen in several pots. It has a very odd and fantastic stem which commends it much to the Chinese, who see in it the natural emblems of antiquated tastes and fashions. Neatness is one of the leading features of a Chinaman's garden, and I think I may add simplicity is another. The small assortment of plants and the frequent occurrence of parapet walls are apt to give his pleasure-ground a sameness, which he endeavours to relieve by the introduction of rock-work of the most grotesque and fanciful kind. Nature has provided him with a broken sort of limestone, full of caverns and rough with ridges, of which, when fragments are piled up by the best reference to symmetry, they compose a rock with all the rudest touches of chance about it. Our visits to the Fa Te gardens are generally made in pleasureboats belonging to foreign residents, as the boat-women are not allowed to carry strangers thither. Each one in his turn among the passengers addresses himself to the labour of the oar, which, as we have to steer our way among so many hundreds of craft, is often of the most perplexing sort. The hour of sunset is the time for the principal meal among the Chinese; and hence it is usually one of great tranquillity, for they are of all people I ever met with most impatient of interruption at the season of refreshment. As we glide upon the smooth surface of the river, the stork sweeps over our heads in an oblique direction, retiring from its day's work to rest at night. He knows the hour of the day from the impression which the elements of light, heat, and air make upon it, and moves in synchronous cadence with man in the grateful vicissitudes of labour and repose. RETURN TO MACAO. the circulation of the tiller, the cooking-stoves, and the several means well matched, and so their efforts availed nothing. Then, THE first preliminary of a little voyage from Canton to Macao by the Inner passage, is an application to the Custom-house for a chop, or licence, as only native vessels are allowed to go by that route. A day or two after this is obtained, a party of Custom-boat off, by the help of the tide; and when some of us awoke a few house officers seat themselves in one of the long passages, on the two sides of which the dwellings and warehouses of each hong, or factory, are built, and our goods and chattels are brought and placed at their feet. The trunks are examined one by one, and after rcceiving a stamp, are surrendered again to the owner's care, who may change or modify their contents at his pleasure or convenience, so great a reliance is there placed upon the honour of the "fan-memory. kwei." At the hour appointed, the porters belonging to the household where the stranger has lodged, place the trunks, boxes, and all the other items in slings, and bear them cheerfully down to the landing-place, with as little trouble to the owner as possible. Every variety of articles for ease and comfort accompany the train, and nothing remains for him to do but to walk in company with some of his friends to the spot, where a plank or a tanka-boat will convey him to the junk or passage-boat. He finds this with an ample room fitted up with broad benches whereon he may lie at night, or rest by day. This room is quadrangular, and occupies the middle of the vessel. Behind it is usually one of less dimensions, for the use of the attendants, where they smoke and talk in friendly chit-chat till a late hour, unless checked by the reproof of their masters, who find their slumbers impeded by such neverending gossip. The roof of these twin apartments forms an elevated deck, which affords space for exercise, when cold or tedium renders it desirable. The fore part or forecastle of the vessel has its deck just raised above the surface of the water, to allow the rowers to The hind part reach it with a commanding sweep of their oars. or stern is surrounded by high bulwarks, and furnishes room for hours after, we were surprised to see that we were gliding smoothly has laid him up a store sufficient for all his wants. In a medical work treating upon the remedies proper for various cutaneous disorders, the author, when he recommends lime, thinks it right to teach his reader how it may be obtained. Take, says he, a certain quantity of oyster-shells, and burn them in a hole of the ground till all the steam has escaped, and they will be reduced to a fine powder, which you may apply with or without water to the sores in question. Had I not been aware that this was the common mode, I should have imagined that the writer ascribed a part of the virtue to the particular way in which the lime was prepared. I have often heard it adverted to with surprise, that the assiduous Chinese should not have exhausted these beds, seeing that they are always drawing upon their resources. Some of the Chinese that live upon the river in boats, and maintain themselves by breeding ducks in the artificial way, have a very forlorn appearance, which is owing to the neglect of the hair, the skin, and the vestments. Whether they be more stricken with poverty than their more seemly looking countrymen, I know not, but suspect that it is their distance from town that makes them so careless, while it compels them to pay a higher price for what they buy, and to demand a lower one for what they sell. It is truly instructive to reflect upon the nice calculations we must enter into, before we can account for the comparative poverty or affluence of the labouring classes. The fishermen upon the river have a very ingenious method of taking the fish by means of a net suspended from one end of a long bamboo pole, which rests upon a fulcrum, like the beam of a balance. The fisher takes hold of the other end, and, availing himself of the property of the lever, raises or depresses his net at pleasure. Near a village not far above the chief town of the district, called Hwang poo, the plantations of mulberry trees refreshed our eyes with their verdure, and the regularity of their lines of arrangement. They are not allowed to assume the form of trees, since the leaves are larger and more juicy when gathered from a shrub, than when plucked from a tree. The difference is something like that between youth and old age among us, and would excite sad reflections in us all, did we not perceive that the heart softens, the intellect mellows, by time, and there is a never-fading youth for the good in another and better world. Near this spot I sketched a cluster of hills variegated with knolls, protuberances, and winding valleys. The Pinus sinensis is scattered over many hills, sometimes in thin and distant clumps, at others in well-set groves. It braves the keen blasts of the north-east wind, and disregards the hungry soil in which it is planted, generally, I believe, by the hand of nature. Its stem is knotty, and seldom attains a considerable height; the leaves are in pairs, like those of the Scotch fir, but of a finer description ;-the cone is not unlike that of Scotch fir;-circumstances which induced some to think it the same. It is in full flower during the coldest part of the year, and seems to rejoice in the chill blast, while the traveller is shivering under its shelter. It yields a fine banquet for botanical investigation, when the other parts of nature are stripped of all their essential honours. As we draw near to the city of IIeangshan, our landscape greatly improves, as the pine trees assume a goodlier size and form, cover the tops of the hills, and present a sylvan scene. The river is fringed with clusters of bamboo, which wave their high and plumy tops in the passing gale. Little variety, however, appears in the trees; one must be content with the pine and the bamboo, | with here and there something of a different figure. The first object that excites your attention is a lofty pagoda upon the top of a hill, as if it were intended to get near heaven by it to offer prayers for propitious seasons, though I am not aware that this practice is ever resorted to. The town, or rather, as I said, the city, of Heangshan, is a fac-simile of all other Chinese towns in the south, a collection of buildings without anything in the way of architecture to keep the rest in good liking. Boats of various sizes crowd the river, and houses skirt its banks, where all is business, health, and good-humour. Where the dwelling does not abut upon the margin of the briny tide, there a wall is reared, and perforated by a gate, over which a sentence, conveying in brief and pithy terms the supreme good, or the primal wish, of the inmates, is written. We were obliged to stay an hour near the custom-house, till a couple of officials had done us the honour of a visit. They were dressed on one occasion in the blue gown and tasseled hat of the country, and had a sleek and comfortable bearing. They solicited a little writing-paper, which they adroitly thrust into their leggings or netherstocks, and drank off a glass of cherry-brandy with much satisfaction. They set great value upon our paper, a compliment which we might return them in reference to their own. On another occasion, we had to wait a long time before the officers could find leisure to come on board, and so were fain to put up with delay as well as we could, but not with an exceeding good grace, as we were anxious to reach Macao in time to see our friends ere bed-time. The cause of delay was not at first apparent; but we supposed that the chief magistrate was hearing a cause, as we saw him seated in a large semicircle of officers, with great dignity and composure. At length we learned that his honour was looking at a trial of strength and skill among a few candidates for the reputation of being the best swimmer. Each man in his turn displayed his talents and perseverance in effort, till all had tried their hand. They were required, I think, for some naval service; but my recollection is imperfect, or I did not ascertain the truth sufficiently to be positive about the matter. The last time I returned by the Inner passage, the officers met with cold entertainment from the chief individual among us; and, though a modicum of paper was bestowed upon each, they rose from their seats to say farewell with a cloud upon their countenances. One of the twain was a man well stricken in years, and felt some difficulty in mounting the deck. In the midst of his perplexity, I seized his arm, and lifted him up with the most courteous action I was master of. This little act of civility had a magic effect upon his visage; the air and mien thereof were immediately changed, he smiled and bowed most politely. We are told in the best of books, that a cup of cold water, accompanied by the authentic feelings of kindness, shall not lose its reward, which is in some sort true in China; for the merest act of attention, a word, a smile, or a look, flowing from the same source, finds a spontaneous recompense among a grateful and admiring people. In the summer season, or when the weather is mild, our boat is usually surrounded by the skiffs or tanka-boats which are employed in conveying persons across the river. They are manned, if one may use the term, by women, whose husbands, fathers, sons, or brothers, find employment upon the land. These healthy, happy, and good-looking creatures take an appropriate share in the maintenance of the family to which they belong, not from accidental compulsion, but from early habit and discipline. A little girl seizes an oar as soon as she is able to wield it, which renders her familiar with laborious exertion. She takes a humble part in dressing a meal, cleans a fish, pares a vegetable, or washes the rice, and thus becomes acquainted with all the various methods of cookery, in which the Chinese poor excel the poor of all other nations. She commences early to receive money for her toil, and is sent to shop with the full understanding that she must make the best bargain she is able; in this way she is initiated into the mysteries of economy, and learns in her measure how to be frugal in small expenses, that she may be bounteous in great ones. As I was reflecting upon the lively scenes of Heangshan, where labour seemed to constitute amusement, and the end of living its expected rewards,—and marking the health, happiness, and plenty around me,-I sketched the following brief outline of a system of political economy :-Here, thought I, is an overteeming population, which, with its characteristic industry, yields an enormous amount of "capital" in labour. This labour yields an abundance of useful articles, besides all the necessaries and comforts of life. A large supply in the market renders these comforts and necessaries cheap, and of easy purchase. This makes money valuable, as a little will go a great way; and this engenders frugality. "Each cash, or tenth part of a penny, will fetch me something worth having at the shop, therefore I must mind how I spend it," is the logic of a Chinaman. As all the requisites of life are of easy at tainment, a youth finds no hindrance in obeying the dictates of nature, and therefore soon lays by a little money to buy him a beautiful wife. And this brings us back to the point from whence we started, namely, a teeming population. Here is a theory kind and easy, that needs not to have recourse to banishment under the name of cmigration, nor to the unfeeling love of celibacy -a theory that may lift up its head without blushing towards Him who said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." After we leave the town of Heangshan, the passage becomes deep and narrow, and thus assumes more evidently the form of a river. The banks are skirted by lofty hills, and, in many places, adorned by copses of our old friend, the pine-tree, which here puts on its best looks, by obtaining a shelter from the easterly winds. The hills on the island of Heangshan increase in height towards the south end, where we behold a group of lofty summits, which present a barren appearance. These lofty summits, and the pinnacles that flank them, are seen very easily from Macao, which stands upon a peninsula, in which the island terminates in a southern direction. In our course through the inner passage, we view the western aspect of these mountains, which is by far the best; for here the grass is more copiously sown, and the shrub and the tree more frequent. At night some of the ridges presented a very sublime appearance, as the natives had set fire to the dried grass, by way of manure for the next year's crop; which in these parts is not used as fodder for cattle, but as fuel for man. These passages are not free from pirates; and so our Chinese crew were alarmed on one occasion by the suspicious outside of a junk, as it loomed through the misty shades of night. As means of self-defence, they fetched from below two long guns of rude workmanship, and mounted them upon their proper supporters. The passengers, too, began to inquire what sort of weapons they could best arm themselves withal, as they were very short and deficient in this respect. But the imaginary pirates turned out to be as harmless as ourselves, and so our preparations were unnecessary, though dictated by sound prudence, as many of these sea-robbers are cruel as well as thievish. hand; ones. As we have to weather and steer round the island, called in the map No.66, the Lapa, our course is necessarily slow, since the wind that was fair for winding round its western side is foul when we attempt to round the eastern. And here we have one of those little trials which by being borne ill becomes a great one. In full persuasion and hope that we should reach our anchorage by nine or ten this evening, we are buffeting with contrary winds, heavy showers, and a ruffled sea. Our mariners become indifferent, or manage with a slack, and not unfrequently with a very unskilful, and we lose the best earthly companion we have-patience. The last time I came to Macao, we had a specimen of all these little mortifications, enlarged by our impatience into very great My concern arose from a lacquered box, which contained the different items of a Chinese lady's dress. This the whimsical Tartar magistrate has made a contraband article, and so I could obtain no chop, or permit, by the payment of a regular duty. It was easy at Canton to put it into one of the trunks which had the custom-house stamp upon it; but at Macao these trunks are examined, and a fresh duty levied upon them; and I had reason to fear that my favourite items of female splendour would be seized, and my servants punished for conniving at the transaction. This made me very anxious to land at night; but herein I was disappointed, and obliged to content myself with the dawn of the following day." But what shall I do with the objects of my solicitude? Take them out of the box, and wrap them up in my cloak, and then, with my umbrella wielded spear-fashion, I think I shall be able to dispute the matter with any Chinese tide-waiter who may think proper to interfere with me." I landed in a little bark, trudged with firm but rapid step over the slippery rocks, and at length reached my dwelling in safety. A few grains of thought, and a little promptitude, will seldom fail to rescue us from difficulty whenever we allow wisdom to take the reins out of the hands of impatience. THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD. His pulse was faint, his eye was dim They chaunted by his side. He knew his parting hour was come; To freedom's rude and lawless home, A faithful follower, standing by, Bring here my trusty bow, My arm that spot shall show." Once more with vain and fond regret Sank back, and breath'd his last! BERNARD BARTON. DESCRIPTION OF A ZEENAHNAH. MRS. MEER HASSAN ALI, from whose work on the Mussulmauns of India the following description of the zeenahnah, or apartments set apart for the use of the female part of the family, is transcribed, is an English lady married to a Mahommedan; a singular connexion, which we do not know enough of the lady's history to account for, but which gave her, during a long residence in India, peculiar facilities for obtaining an intimate and familiar knowledge of the domestic relations of the followers of Mohammed, The book or, as she spells the name of the prophet, Mahumud. is, accordingly, full of interesting details, so that in turning over the leaves, we were at a loss which passage to select as a sample of the whole; but, considering that the description of a European lady's boudoir would undoubtedly interest an Asiatic dame, we fixed upon the zeenahnah, for the gratification of our fair English friends. "Before," says Mrs. Meer Ali Hassan, "I introduce the ladies of a zeenahnah to your notice, I propose giving you a description of their apartments. "Imagine to yourself a tolerably sized quadrangle, three sides of which is occupied by habitable buildings, and the fourth by kitchens, offices, lumber rooms, &c.; leaving in the centre an open court-yard. The habitable buildings are raised a few steps from the court; a line of pillars forms the front of the building, which has no upper rooms; the roof is flat, and the sides and back without windows, or any aperture through which air can be received, The sides and back are merely high walls forming an enclosure, and the only air is admitted from the fronts of the dwelling-place facing the court-yard. The apartments are divided into long halls, the extreme corners having small rooms or dark closets, purposely built for the repository of valuables or stores; doors are fixed to these closets, which are the only places I have seen with them in a zeenahnah or mahul (house or palace occupied by females): the floor is either of beaten earth, bricks, or stones; boarded floors are not yet introduced. "As they have neither doors nor windows to the halls, warmth or privacy is secured by means of thick wadded curtains, made to fit each opening between the pillars. Some zeenahnahs have two rows of pillars in the halls, with wadded curtains to each; thus forming two distinct halls, as occasion may serve, or greater warmth be required: this is a convenient arrangement where the establishment of servants, slaves, &c., is extensive. "The wadded curtains are called purdahs; these are sometimes made of woollen cloth, but more generally of coarse calico, of two colours, in patchwork style, striped, vandyked, or in some other ingeniously contrived and ornamented way, according to their individual taste. "Besides the purdahs, the openings between the pillars have blinds neatly made of bamboo strips, wove together with coloured cords: these are called jhillmuns, or cheeks. Many of them are painted green; others are more gaudy, both in colour and variety of patterns. These blinds constitute a real comfort to every one in India, as they admit air when let down, and at the same time shut out flies and other annoying insects; besides which the extreme glare is shaded by them,-a desirable object to foreigners in particular. "The floors of the halls are first matted with the coarse dateleaf matting of the country, over which is spread shutteringhies (thick cotton carpets, peculiarly the manufacture of the Upper Provinces of India, wove in stripes of blue and white, or shades of blue); a white calico carpet covers the shutteringhie, on which the females take their seat. inferior; when a superior pays a visit of honour, the prided seat is usually surrendered to her, and the lady of the house takes her place most humbly on the very edge of her own carpet. "Looking-glasses or ornamental furniture are very rarely to be seen in the zeenahnahs, even of the very richest females. Chairs and sofas are produced when English visitors are expected; but the ladies of Hindoostaun prefer the usual mode of sitting and lounging on the carpet: and as for tables, I suppose not one gentlewoman of the whole country has ever been seated at one; and very few, perhaps, have any idea of their useful purposes, all their meals being served on the floor, where dusthakhawns (table-cloths we should call them) are spread, but neither knives, forks, spoons, glasses, or napkins, so essential to the comfortable enjoyment of a meal amongst Europeans. But those who never knew such comforts have no desire for the indulgence, nor taste to appreciate them. "On the several occasions, amongst native society, of assembling in large parties, as at births and marriages, the halls, although extensive, would be inadequate to accommodate the whole party. They then have awnings of white calico, neatly flounced with muslin, supported on poles fixed in the court-yard, and connecting the open space with the great hall, by wooden platforms which are brought to a line with the building, and covered with shutteringhie "The bedsteads of the family are placed, during the day, in and white carpets, to correspond with the floor-furniture of the lines at the back of the halls, to be moved at pleasure to any hall; and here the ladies sit by day and sleep by night very comchosen spot for the night's repose; often into the open court-fortably, without feeling any great inconvenience from the absence yard, for the benefit of the pure air. They are all formed on one of their bedsteads, which could never be arranged for the accomprinciple, differing only in size and quality; they stand about half-modation of so large an assemblage-nor is it ever expected. a-yard from the floor, the legs round and broad at bottom, narrowing as they rise towards the frame, which is laced over with a thick cotton tape, made for the purpose, and plaited in checquers, and thus rendered soft, or rather elastic, and very pleasant to recline upon. The legs of these bedsteads are in some instances gold, silver gilt, or pure silver; others have enamel paintings on fine wood; the inferior grades have them merely of wood painted plain and varnished the servants' bedsteads are of the common mango wood without ornament, the lacing of these for the sacking being of elastic string manufactured from the fibre of the cocoa-nut. "Such are the bedsteads of every class of people. They seldom have mattresses; a soojinee (white quilt) is spread on the lacing, over which a calico sheet, is tied at each corner of the bedstead with cords and tassels; several thin flat pillows of beaten cotton for the head, a muslin sheet for warm weather, and a well-wadded ruzzie (coverlid) for winter, is all these children of Nature deem essential to their comfort in the way of sleeping. They have no idea of night-dresses; the same suit that adorns a lady is retained both night and day, until a change be needed. The single article exchanged at night is the deputtab, and that only when it happens to be of silver tissue or embroidery, for which a muslin or calico sheet is substituted. "The very highest circles have the same habits in common with the meanest; but those who can afford shawls of Cashmere prefer them for sleeping in, when the cold weather renders them bearable. Blankets are never used, except by the poorest peasantry, who wear them in lieu of better garments night and day in the winter season: they are always black, the natural colour of the wool. The ruzzie of the higher orders are generally made of silk of the brightest hues, well wadded, and lined with dyed muslin of assimilating colour; they are usually bound with broad silver ribands, and sometimes bordered with gold brocaded trimmings. The middling classes have fine chintz ruzzies, and the servants and slaves coarse ones of the same material; but all are on the same plan, whether for a queen or the meanest of her slaves, differing only in the quality of the material. "The mistress of the house is easily distinguished by her seat of honour in the hall of a zeenahnah; a musnud not being allowed to any other person but the lady of the mansion. "The musnud carpet is spread on the floor, if possible near to a pillar about the centre of the hall, and is made of many varieties of fabric,-gold cloth, quilted silk, brocaded silk, velvet, fine chintz, or whatever may suit the lady's taste, circumstances, or convenience. It is about two yards square, and generally bordered or fringed, on which is placed the all-important musnud. This article may be understood by those who have seen a lace-maker's pillow in England, excepting only that the musnud is about twenty times the size of that useful little article in the hands of our industrious villagers. The musnud is covered with gold cloth, silk, velvet, or calico, with square pillows to correspond, for the elbows, the knees, &c. This is the seat of honour, to be invited to share which with the lady owner is a mark of favour to an equal or "The usually barren look of these almost unfurnished halls is on such occasions quite changed, when the ladies are assembled in their various dresses; the brilliant display of jewels, the glittering drapery of their dress, the various expressions of countenance, and different figures, the multitude of female attendants and slaves, the children of all ages and sizes in their variously ornamented dresses, are subjects to attract both the eye and the mind of an observing visitor! and the hall, which when empty appeared desolate and comfortless, thus filled, leaves nothing wanting to render the scene attractive. "The buzz of human voices, the happy playfulness of the children, the chaste singing of the domenies, fill up the animated picture. I have sometimes passed an hour or two in witnessing their innocent amusements, without any feeling of regret for the brief sacrifice of time I had made. I am free to confess, however, that I have returned to my tranquil home with increased delight after having witnessed the bustle of a zeenahnah assembly. At first I pitied the apparent monotony of their lives; but this feeling has worn away by intimacy with the people who are thus precluded from mixing generally with the world. They are happy in their confinement; and, never having felt the sweets of liberty, would not know how to use the boon if it were to be granted them. As the bird from the nest immured in a cage is both cheerful and contented, so are these females. They have not, it is true, many intellectual resources; but they have naturally good understandings, and, having learned their duty, they strive to fulfil it. So far as I have had any opportunity of making personal observations on their general character, they appear to me obedient wives, dutiful daughters, affectionate mothers, kind mistresses, sincere friends, and liberal benefactors to the distressed poor. These are their moral qualifications; and in their religious duties they are zealous in performing the several ordinances which they have been instructed by their parents or husbands to observe. If there be any merit in obeying the injunctions of their lawgiver, those whom I have known most intimately deserve praise, since 'they are faithful in that they profess.' "To ladies accustomed from infancy to confinement, this is by no means irksome; they have their employments and their amusements, and though these are not exactly to our taste, nor suited to our mode of education, they are not the less relished by those for whom they were invented. They perhaps wonder equally at some of our modes of dissipating time, and fancy we might spend it more profitably. Be that as it may, the Mussulmaun ladies, with whom I have been long intimate, appear to me always happy, contented, and satisfied with the seclusion to which they were born; they desire no other, and I have ceased to regret they cannot be made partakers of that freedom of intercourse with the world we deem so essential to our happiness, since their health suffers nothing from that confinement, by which they are preserved from a variety of snares and temptations; besides which, they would deem it disgraceful in the highest degree to mix indiscriminately with men who are not relations. They are educated |