CONDUCTORS AND THEIR WIVES, 
cence, and we fiercely tax the unfortunate man with 
falsely, and calumniously injuring our character, which is 
now completely cleared. The poor man was speechless, 
he shed tears and said : “ Master must excuse, 
for I think I am going mad.” It is very curious the 
infatuation most natives have after their wives, even 
when they are proved beyond all manner of doubt, 
to be worthless characters. They will blame everyone and 
everything, but never the deliquent herself. She had been 
charmed, some one has given her drugs — some poisons 
— or some other potion, she was the victim of sor- 
cery and magic. She is not to be blamed — why — 
she could not help herself, it is all the doings and 
fault of the man. When she comes to herself, she is 
even taken back and resumes her former duties and 
position, for it was not her fault. How different this 
is from Western ideas, where the woman is always 
the sufferer, and the man escapes free, or as com- 
pared with her, free from the consequences. This 
line of conduct proceeds in a great measure from the 
low opinion they have of a woman’s mind as compared 
with a man’s, in fact a number of men look upon 
their women, as scarcely responsible for their moral 
actions, and there can be no doubt but that the 
mind of the woman is more trifling than as a rule that 
of the man, but why is this ? Is it naturally so ? 
we doubt it — it may arise from the comparative 
seclusion in which women are brought up and kept, as 
compared with men, they are not taught to read, write, 
sew, or any other occupation at all. What wonder, 
that their simple minds should run to waste and 
weeds, and also, they are taught simple and implicit 
obedience to the order of the men, they are not even 
allowed to think and act for themselves, the consequences 
of which are, that the good ones lapse into ani- 
mated nonentities, and the bad ones into secret reck- 
less conduct, which is considered quite a matter of course, 
so long as it is not found out, or talked about. It be- 
comes an offence after it is found out and remarked 
upon, not before • the offence mainly resting, not on 
the offence, but on the talk which it causes. Of 
course this opinion is not given as a general rule- 
far from it, but all those who have had any expe, 
rience of Eastern life will coincide with the truth 
of this remark. 
Walking over one evening to visit a friend and 
neighbour a few miles off, on passing the lines, a 
group of women were sitting in front talking. On the 
approach of a stranger of course they all rose up, 
and went inside, but we had caught a glimpse of one, 
a well-known one, she thought she was not noticed, 
but she was wrong, there could be no doubt about it, none 
whatever, for here was the conductor’s wife ! We 
