200 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
the police, the most horrible murders may be com- 
mitted under their name. This struck me forcibly 
from two facts which were incidentally told me. It 
is not necessary, it seems, for the widow who offers 
herself, to burn actually with the body of her husband. 
His garments, his slippers, his walking-staff, — any- 
thing which has at any time been in his possession 
will do as well. Brahmin widows, indeed, are by 
the Shaster not allowed this privilege, but must burn 
with the body, or not at all. This, however, is un- 
known or disregarded in the district of Ghazipoor and 
most other regions of India. But the person of 
whom I was told was no Brahmin : he was a la- 
bourer, who had left his family in a time of scarcity, 
and gone to live, as was believed, in the neighbour- 
hood of Moorshadabad, whence he had once in the 
course of several years sent his wife a small sum of 
money from his savings, by a friend who was going up 
the country. Such remittances, to the honour of the 
labouring class in India, are usual, and, equally to 
their honour, when entrusted to any one to convey, 
are seldom embezzled. Some years after, however, 
when the son of the absentee was grown up, he re- 
turned one day from a fair at a little distance, saying 
he had heard bad news, and that a man unknown 
had told him his father was dead. On this authority 
the widow determined to burn herself ; and it was 
judged sufficient that an old garment of the supposed 
dead man should be burned with her. Now, it is 
very plain how easily, if the son wanted to get rid of 
his mother, he might have brought home such a story 
to induce her to burn ; and it is also very plain, that 
