233 



" All this I did, when I design'd to prove 

 " Whether I should be happy in my love:— 

 " To Agrlo next, I made the same demand, 

 " A cunning-woman she, I cross'd her hand." 



Wise ladies of this description are now consulted by young peo- 

 ple in India, on the same subject; especially on the jealousy, re- 

 venge, and other passions prevalent in an Asiatic zenana. I 

 could recite many modern anecdotes similar to those in Persian 

 and Arabian tales, but will confine myself to that above al- 

 luded to. 



A young gentleman, when collector in one of the Company's 

 districts in Guzerat, separated from all European society, formed 

 a temporary connection with an amiable Hindoo girl; for this 

 step no justification is offered, though the most rigidly virtuous 

 would, perhaps, make some allowance for influence of climate 

 and custom, a total seclusion from European refinement and 

 elegant society; and the impossibility, thus situated, of forming 

 an honourable union with one of his fair countrywomen. In a 

 christian country, where every man, from the sovereign to the 

 cottager, may wed the object of his affections, and where indivi- 

 dual example influences the circle in which he moves, a deviation 

 from moral rectitude admits not of this extenuation; but when 

 seduction or adultery aggravate the crime, the evil strikes deep at 

 moral and religious principle, and destroys domestic comfort. 



The example of this young Englishman could have little ef- 

 fect among a people who neither professed the religion, nor prac- 

 tised the manners of Europe. His attachment to Zeida was con- 

 stant, delicate, and sincere ; he never saw her at her own house, 



VOL. III. 2 h 



