--MISCELLANEOUS' ESSAYS: 
for the worship of God, two things 
—the one, to have their money and 
effects taken care of, and the other, 
to have their children brought-up, 
so jthat they themselves, being en- 
tirely disengaged of these concerns, 
may turn the whole of their endea- 
vours to the attainment of their va- 
rious pursuits. The chief part, 
therefore, of whatever wealih they 
May acquire, they give in charge to 
their wives, and thus the women 
have it in their power to annihilate, 
in one day, the product of a whole 
life. Although this seldom happens, 
yetit often occurs, that the husband, 
who has amassed a large fortune in 
youth and power, and has delivered 
it in charge to his wife, when he 
demands it back, in old age and ne- 
cessity, she does not allow him more 
than daily support, and lays the 
rest up in a place of security, for 
the sake of her children; and so 
great is the power they possess, as 
to the disposal of their children, 
that frequently they are brought up 
without any education, or die in 
childhood ; for .the women, on ac- 
count of their little sense, are never 
pleased to part with their children, 
by sending them to school, and to 
aequire experience by travelling; 
_ and when they fall sick, they give 
them improper medicines, ‘by the 
advice of their own confidants ; or, 
from their softness of heart, indulge 
them in whatever it is the nature of 
the sick to take a Jonging for, and 
thus they cause tieir death. 
*¢ Second, Theie power, by cus- 
tom, as to the marriage of. their 
children, and choice of their religious 
faith ; for if the husband wishes to 
give one of them in marriage to a 
person the mother disapproves of, 
the match does not take place; but 
i in the other way it generally does, 
"887 
All the children, both male and fe- 
niale, from being mostly in the com- 
pany of the mother, and looking 
upon her as their proteétor against 
the father, whom, on account of his 
wishing to haye them educated, they 
consider as their tormenter, follow 
the religious tenets of their mother, 
and remain perfect strangers to 
those of their father. It often hap- 
pens, when the wife is a Schia, and 
the husband a Sounie, the children 
having been Schias from their own 
natural disposition, and the instruc 
tion of the mother, speak disre- 
spectfully of the chiefs of the Sounie 
sect, in their father’s presence ; and 
he, who never in all his life bore 
such language from any person, but 
was ready to put the speaker of it 
to. death, has no redress, but pa- - 
tiently to hear from them, as, on 
account of their want of under- 
standing, they are excusable; and 
3) 
thus, by frequent repetition, his at- 
tachment to his faith is shaken, and, 
in the course of time, he either for- 
sakes it entirely, or remains in it 
with lukewarmness, 
‘¢ Third, Dheir authority over 
their servants; for the servants of 
the murdannah, the keeping and 
changing of whom is in the hands of 
the husband, throngh fear of ex- 
posing themselves to the displeasure 
of the wife, when she finds a proper 
opportunity, by their committing 
some. fault, which servants are con- 
stantly doing, are more obedient to 
her than their own masters ; and the 
servants of the zenana, whom the 
wife has the care of retaining or 
turning off, stand so much in awe of 
their mistress, that many of them 
pass their whole lives in the zenana, 
without ever once coming into the 
presence of the husband. Some of 
them never perform any service for 
3L4 him 
