istance from his country he may be, he finds a roof and
a hearthstone which he may make his own for the time. If gone for years, he
will find the house and the field of his fathers undisturbed, of which he
may take possession. This institution may remove care and anxiety from the
mind of the man, and make him, as we find here, calm and contented, but
without the ambition of the business-man. I have taken most of this from a
book I found in Bombay."

"The most influential caste here are mostly Jains and Buniahs; and though
they belong to different tribes, they are united in business matters. They
wear their own costumes; but they have done more than any others for the
prosperity of the place," said Lord Tremlyn. "They are the speculators in
cottons and other goods, and many of them have immense wealth. The Buniahs
are always intelligent, and somewhat aristocratic. You may know one of them
by his tall turban, like a shako, though sometimes it is rolled like a
conch-shell. Around his dress he wears a red band, which he twists about
his limbs, and has a long calico tunic closely fitted to his chest. His
chosen calling is that of a commercial broker.

"These rich Hindus, while adhering to everything required by their
religion, adopt English fashions, and revel in British luxuries. You will
see them late in the afternoon on the public roads, in elegant carriages,
drawn by the finest horses, and attended by servants in rich liveries.
Their houses are magnificent, furnished like the Parsee's we visited the
other evening. The social intercourse between them and their European
neighbors is very limited.

"The Mohammedans here are an important class of people, and some of them
are very wealthy, and are honest and upright merchants. They are very
strict in the observance of their religion, and not one of them would eat
pork or drink wine or liquors. If it were the beginning of their year,
which is different from ours, you might witness a celebration of the day.
It is called the Mohurrum, and takes place on the shore of the Back Bay.
They construct a great number of temples of gilt paper, and after marching
with them in procession through the city, they cast them into the sea. I do
not quite understand what it means; but the first month is usually a time
of mourning and fasting in commemoration of the sufferings of the two
nephews of the Prophet. The ceremony at the water is very ancient."

"The wives of Mussulmans here have more