THE WEAVER 207 



but one of the sons left for Calcutta about three months ago in 

 search of work, and since his departure has not been heard of. 

 Raza has no land, and is entirely dependent on the proceeds 

 of his weaving. He and his wife are, however, too old to 

 weave, and the second son cannot do more than 5 yards 

 of cloth daily. There is nothing to supplement this beyond 

 the little which the women get when they are employed in 

 harvesting. I question whether such a family as this does not 

 often know what the meaning of a fast is, and whether their 

 daily meal is so regular and sufficient as it should be. A few 

 such families could undoubtedly be found in every populous 

 village, but they are not representative of the condition of any 

 great proportion of their class. Raza, the head of the family, 

 told me that fifty years ago he was far better off than he is 

 now, and that the consumption of country cloth had much 

 diminished of late years in consequence of the import of 

 European goods. This is undoubtedly true, and is one cause 

 why the weaver has, to a great extent, found his occupation 

 gone.' 



