which he had left off to attend his wife's
summons; one of the young men, however, interrupted him by the inquiry,
"Whether he had performed the important business of tying the naarah to the
moosul?"--"Yes," answered the moollah, very mildly, "and by so doing I
have secured peace to my wife's disturbed mind."--"But how is it, reverend
Sir," rejoined the student, "that your actions and your precepts are at
variance? You caution us against every species of superstition, and yet
that you have in this instance complied with one, is very evident."--"I
grant you, my young friend," said the moollah, "that I have indeed done so,
but my motive for this deviation is, I trust, correct. I could have argued
with you on the folly of tying the naarah to the moosul, and you would
have been convinced by my arguments; but my wife, alas! would not listen
to anything but the custom--the custom of the whole village. I went with
reluctance, I performed the ceremony with still greater; yet I had no
alternative if I valued harmony in my household: this I have now secured
by my acquiescence in the simple desire of my wife. Should any evil
accident befall my daughter or her husband, I am spared the reproaches
that would have been heaped upon me, as being the cause of the evil, from
my refusal to tie the naarah to the moosul. The mere compliance with this
absurd custom, to secure peace and harmony, does not alter my faith; I
have saved others from greater offences, by my passive obedience to the
wishes of my wife, who ignorantly places dependance on the act, as
necessary to her daughter's welfare."

'The students were satisfied with his explanation, and their respect was
increased for the good man who had thus taught them to see and to cherish
the means of living peaceably with all mankind, whenever their actions do
not tend to injure their religious faith, or infringe on the principles of
morality and virtue.'

[1] See p. 158.

[2] For the right of the bride to her private property, see N.E.B. Baillie,
_Digest of Moohummudan Law_ (1875), 146 ff.

[3] _Takht._

[4] _Sachaq_, the fruits and other gifts carried in procession in
earthen pots ornamented with various devices.--Jaffur Shurreef,
_Qanoon-e-Islam_, 73.

[5] _Menhdi_.

[6] _Barat, barat_: meaning 'bridegroom's procession'.

[7] Among the Khojas of West India a person from the lodge to which the
parties belong recites the names of the Panjtan-i-pak, the five
holy