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444 Foreign Plants, Sea-shells, &c.—Transpare Screen. [ 
even rise and fall with the undulations 
of the orbs they so carefully protect 5” 
-they are fastened on with straps which’ 
buckle between the shoulders, and are 
generally ornamented with a profusion 
_of gold and silver leaf, and sometimes 
-with pearls and precious stones, accord- 
ing to their means; they bestow great 
“pains on this part of the. dress, particu- 
jarly on the great festivals of the Hindus, 
shat’ public occasions, when several 
‘sets are engaged, who endeavour to 
-outshine each other in the richness and 
-splendour of their apparel. They: still 
_practise the. very ancient custom of 
blackening their eye-lashes with the 
“powder of antimony, as we are told in 
Scripture Jezabel did of old, to render 
herself more agreeable in the eyes of 
king Ahab; it is done by drawing a wire 
dipped in the stibium between their eye- 
lids when shut, by which both sides ac- 
“quire a jetty tint; they pretend that it 
cools and strengthens the eyes, and gives 
additional lustre to their natural bright- 
ness. 
These ladies are trained from their 
infancy in the various modes of exciting 
desire and. promoting pleasure, but 
practise their allurements in a different 
style from the Paphian nymphs of Eu- 
.rope; they have nothing of those bold 
disgusting traits so offensive in the genc- 
rality of the London sisterhood, but 
steal on their gallants by the most gentle 
and winning endearments; cautiously 
avoiding the appearance of experience 
in the profession, they rouse the passions 
by apparently attempting to subdue 
them; and by continuing their fascinat- 
ing atts in the cloying moments of satiety 
they frequently convert a temporary gal- 
dant into a firm protector, Among a 
variety of absurd customs which mark 
the Hindu character, none tends more to 
degrade the female part of the commu- 
nity, and to keep them ina state of abject 
subjection to the men, than their being de- 
_ barred the use of Jetters. A Hindu deems 
all acquired accomplishments in 2 woman 
-meretricious aid’ unnecessary in domes- 
tic life; and such is the force of preju- 
dice, that if it were known that a Hindu 
woman could read and write, her reputa- 
tion, would suffer as much as that of a 
lady in England for committing a faux 
pus: but the dancing girls, whose sale.oc- 
cupation is the amusement and pleasure 
of rnankind, are permitted to acquire 
the use of letters, as the means of prac- 
tising their blandishments with greater 
effect. On this account, when a Hindu 
observes an European lady amusing her- 
self with a novel, or writing a letter, he 
sets her down in his own mind as being 
no better than she should be. I hope, 
however, my fair countrywomen in India 
will net be offended with the simple 
Hindu for his erroneous opmion, bat _ 
continue the practice of those virtues 
which place them so eminently above, 
and endear them to the natives of Hin- 
dustan ; and which, as they become more 
enlightened, will force them to confess 
that modesty and learning in the female 
sex are not incompatible. In the large 
pagodas of Jagernaut, Seringham, and 
others, several sets of dancing girls are 
kept for the purpose of dancing before 
the sacred images on public occasions } 
they are introduced into the temples 
when very young, and never afterwards 
suffered to go beyond the walls. I bave 
been credibly mformed, that in the two 
great pagodas on the island of Sering+> 
ham, near Tritchinopoly, about ten thou- 
sand women of this description are im- 
mured, ostensibly for the purposes of 
religion, but in reality for the private 
pleasures.of the Bramins, of whom up- 
wards of twenty thousand, with their fa- 
milies, reside in these two pagodas, 
where they are supported in ease and 
indolence by the voluntary offerings of 
superstition. 
( To be continued.) 
Fe ; a 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
srt, 
AN any of your Correspondents, or 
the readers of your valuable work, 
conversant with the commercial laws of 
England, assign the reason why seeds 
and reots of foreign plants, sea-shells, 
and other objects of natural history, 
should be considered contraband, and as 
such seized by the Custom-house-officers ; 
thereby preventing persons who go abroad 
from enriching our public museums, or 
those of their friends? 
Your's, &c. Ww.it. 
a 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, f 
I SHALL esteem it a favour if any of 
your obliging Correspondents would 
inform me of the best method of prepar- 
ing a transparent screen, for the exhibi- 
tion of the Phantasmagoria. As this is 
the season for that amusement, your 
early insertion of this will oblige, — — 
Your's, &, ~~ Fy D. L. 
i MEMOIRS 
Tage ei 
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