MISCELLANEOUS. 



G85 



from injury, is a necessary condi- 

 tion ; for otherwise, the liberty of 

 one would be destructive of the 

 liberty of another : tlius, if a per- 

 son be at liberty to do with his 

 own house what may endanger 

 the safety of his neighbour's, this 

 must be in direct opposition to the 

 liberty of that neighbour ; or if, in 

 order to free himself from the in- 

 conveniences of the hot weather, 

 he should visit his friends in his 

 dressing-gown or night-shirt, al- 

 though it wouldbe ease and liberty 

 to him, yet it would be sowing the 

 seeds of ill-breeding : thereforethe 

 observance of these rules is essen- 

 tial. 



Those things which make the 

 liberty of the Asiatic women ap- 

 pear less than that of the Eu- 

 ropeans, are, in my opinion, six. 

 The first is, " The little inter- 

 coursewith men, and concealment 

 from view," agreeably to law and 

 their own habits ; and this is the 

 chief of these six ; for it has been 

 the cause of those false notions 

 entertained by the European wo- 

 men, that the inclination of the 

 Asiatic women leads them to walk 

 out in the streets and market- 

 places, but that their husbands 

 keep them shut up, and set guards 

 over the door. It may be here 

 observed, that the advantages of 

 this little intercourse, which pre- 

 vents all the evils arising from the 

 admittance of strangers, and af- 

 fords so much time for work and 

 useful employments, are so very 

 manifest, that they need not be 

 enlarged upon ; and besides, the 

 practice, in London, of keeping 

 the doors of the houses shut, and 

 the contemptible condition of the 

 Dutch at the Cape, are sufficient 

 proofs. Notwithstanding this, the 



custom of the intercourse of the 

 sexes is allowed in England, and 

 it is owing both to the force of 

 virtue and good manners generally 

 to be found in the English, and to 

 the apprehension of other greater 

 inconveniences, the chief of which 

 are four, as here mentioned, and 

 whose effects are not felt in Asia. 

 One of these is, the high price of 

 things, and the small number of 

 servants and rooms; for were there 

 a separate house and table and 

 equipage for the wife, the expense 

 would be too great to be borne ; 

 and therefore, of necessity, both 

 husband and wife eat their food, 

 with their guests, in one place, 

 sleep together in the same cham- 

 ber, and cannot avoid being always 

 in each other's company ; contrary 

 to the custom in Asia, where, by 

 reason of the cheapness of work, 

 the women have separate apart- 

 ments for themselves and have 

 not to make their time and conve- 

 nience suit that of their husbands ; 

 and when their particular friends 

 are with them, they do not desire 

 their husband's company for seve- 

 ral days, but send his victuals to 

 him in the murdannah (or male 

 apartments) ; and, in like manner, 

 when the husband wishes to be 

 undisturbed, he eats and sleeps in 

 the murdannah. 



A second cause h " the coldness 

 of this climate, which requires ex- 

 ercise and walking, and the hus- 

 band to sleep in the same bed with 

 his wife :" but concealment from 

 view is incompatible with walking ; 

 and, as for the second case, ano- 

 ther cause is the want of room ; 

 for, otherwise, it is the natural dis- 

 position of mankind, when under 

 distress and affliction of mind, to 

 wish frequently for privacy and 



