some parts of India whose husbands are alive; widows do not use it.]

After dressing she came back to the room where her dying husband was and
approached the bed. Those who were there made way for her in surprise.
She sat down on the bed and finally lay down by her dying husband's
side. This demonstration of sentimentalism could not be tolerated in a
family where the Purda is strictly observed and one or two elderly
ladies tried to remonstrate.

But on touching her they found that she was dead. The husband was dead
too. They had both died simultaneously. When the doctor arrived he found
the lady dead, but he could not ascertain the cause of her death.

Everybody thought she had taken poison but nothing could be discovered
by _post mortem_ examination.

There was not a trace of any kind of poison in the body.

The funeral of the husband and the wife took place that afternoon and
they were cremated on the same pyre.

The stomach and some portions of the intestines of the deceased lady
were sent to the chemical examiner and his report (which arrived a week
later) did not disclose anything.

The matter remains a mystery.

It will never be found out what force killed the lady at such a
critical moment. Probably it was the strong will of the Suttee that
would not allow her body to be separated from that of her husband even
in death.

* * * * *

Another very strange incident is reported from a place near Agra in the
United Provinces.

There were two respectable residents of the town who were close
neighbours. For the convenience of the readers we shall call them Smith
and Jones.

Smith and Jones, as has been said already, were close neighbours and the
best of friends. Each had his wife and children living with him.

Now Mr. Smith got fever, on a certain very hot day in June. The fever
would not leave him and on the tenth day it was discovered that it was
typhoid fever of the worst type.

Now typhoid fever is in itself very dangerous, but more so in the case
of a person who gets it in June. So poor Smith had no chance of
recovery. Of course Jones knew it. Mrs. Smith was a rather uneducated
elderly lady and the children were too young. So the medical treatment
as well as the general management of Mr. Smith's affairs was left
entirely in the hands of Mr. Jones.

Mr. Jones did his best. He procured the best medical advice. He got the
best medicines prescribed by the doctors and eng