public assembly. It is only the higher class of females, however, who are kept thus secluded; among the common people, women are to be seen at work in the fields, or going to market with large bundles of wood, or other heavy burdens, borne upon the head.

In engraving, No. 21 you have a representation of the usual method of travelling. With but few exceptions, there are no roads; consequently, wheel carriages are seldom used. This vehicle is called a palankeen. On the sides are sliding doors or venetians. Its construction in other respects will be readily understood. The usual number of bearers is eight. Four of these carry the pa.ankeen thirty or forty rods; then the others take it upon. their shoulders; thus, alternately, they relieve each other. Beside the bearers, several other men are employed to carry the baggage and to bear lighted torches by night. The bearers and other assistants are changed once in about ten miles, or as often as stage-drivers change their horses. The traveller proceeds on his Journey from seventy to ninety miles in twenty-four hours, at an expense of about twenty-five cents per mile.

No. 24 is a Brahmin engaged in reading and explaining a poem containing some hundred thousand stanzas written on palm-leaf. It is one of many others equally voluminous, and has been handed down from generation to generation for more than three thousand years; it is written in Sanscrit, a dead language of a "wonderful construction more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either." It is a portion of the Holy Vedas. In a peculiar tone of voice, he chants the sacred text, stopping at the end of each stanza to translate and explain. His hearers listen attentively to the exciting narrative, now convulsed with laughter at some dexterous exploit, and then thrilled with horror at some dreadful calamity. All the religious books of the Hindus, including the four Vedas, are called Shasters. They are so numerous that an entire human life would not be sufficient for an attentive perusal of them.

No. 23 is a celebration of the Huli festival. On this occasion, the people of all classes use the most obscene and abusive language, and, by means of large syringes, bespatter each other with

See "Specimens of the Shasters or Sacred Books of the Brahmins, consisting of Songs Legendary Tales, &c.," page 247 of this volume.

colored water; they also pelt each other with red and yellow powder, and with the mud and filth of the streets. Should a Hindu be asked why he conducts in this manner at the time of the Huli, he would say, "It is our custom, and it can be proved from the Shasters that it has been the custom of our forefathers for millions of generations." To the mind of a Hindu, whatever is customary is proper; for he believes that the customs of his forefathers, civil, social, and religious, were instituted by the gods, and are therefore incapable of improvement. The effect of this belief is to keep every thing stationary. There is no progress in knowledge no change for the better in any department in life. The fashion of dress, the form of agricultural and mechanical instruments, the manner of erecting habitations, and the performance of various kinds of labor, are the same as they were thousands of years ago. This fact may be illustrated by an anecdote. An English gentleman devised various plans of introducing improvements; among others, he wished to substitute wheelbarrows for the baskets in which the natives carry burdens on their heads. He caused several of these useful articles to be constructed, and labored with much assiduity to introduce them among his workmen. In his presence, they used them with apparent cheerfulness, and even admitted that they were far preferable to the baskets. The gentleman was delighted with his success. On one occasion, however, having been absent a few hours, on returning somewhat unexpectedly, he was surprised to find all his laborers carrying the wheelbarrows filled with earth on their heads.

Their unyielding attachment to ancient customs is the natural result of their religious belief. Any change, however slight, in the mode of labor or business, is a violation of religious duty. It is evident, therefore, that the comforts and improvements of civilized life can never be introduced among the Hindus until they become convinced of the falsity of their Shasters and the foolishness of their traditions. The first step in the process of reform and improvement is to renounce that system of religion which for thousands of years has held them in the most cruel bondage.

The subject of engraving, No. 26 is beautifully sculptured on the surface of a large rock in the Ganges, and is also frequently represented by the Hindus in their paintings. An enormous serpent, having many heads, is coiled up in such a manner as to form. a couch, upon which a Hindu divinity is sleeping. It illustrates a familiar legend in their Shasters. After the destruction of a