in Bengal; and whenever a case comes to the notice of the public
the newspapers report it in a manner which shows that respect for the
Suttee is not yet dead.

Sometimes a verdict of "Suicide during temporary insanity" is returned,
but, of course, whoever reads the report understands how matters stand.

I know of a recent case in which a gentleman who was in Government
service died leaving a young widow.

When the husband's dead body was being removed the wife looked so jolly
that nobody suspected that anything was wrong with her.

But when all the male members of the family had gone away with the bier
the young widow quietly procured a tin of Kerosine oil and a few bed
sheets. She soaked the bed sheets well in the oil and then wrapped them
securely round her person and further secured them by means of a rope.
She then shut all the doors of her room and set the clothes on fire. By
the time the doors were forced open (there were only ladies in the house
at that time) she was dead.

Of course this was a case of suicide pure and simple and there was the
usual verdict of suicide during temporary insanity, but I personally
doubt the temporary insanity very much. This case, however, is too
painful.

The one that I am now going to relate is more interesting and more
mysterious, and probably more instructive.

Babu Bhagwan Prasad, now the late Babu Bhagwan Prasad, was a clerk in
the ---- office in the United Provinces. He was a grown-up man of 45
when the incident happened.

He had an attack of cold which subsequently developed into pneumonia
and after a lingering illness of 8 days he died at about 8 o'clock one
morning.

He had, of course, a wife and a number of children.

Babu Bhagwan Prasad was a well paid officer and maintained a large
family consisting of brothers--their wives and their children.

At the time of his death, in fact, when the doctor went away in the
morning giving his opinion that it was a question of minutes, his wife
seemed the least affected of all. While all the members of the family
were collected round the bed of their dying relative the lady withdrew
to her room saying that she was going to dress for the journey. Of
course nobody took any notice of her at the time. She retired to her
room and dressed herself in the most elaborate style, and marked her
forehead with a large quantity of "Sindur" for the last time.

["Sindur" is red oxide of mercury or lead used by orthodox Hindu women
in