if I
did not like to see it I might go farther off, and desired me to go. I
told them that I would not go, that I was determined to stay and see
the murder, and that I should certainly bear witness of it at the
tribunal of God. I exhorted the woman not to throw away her life; to
fear nothing, for no evil would follow her refusal to burn. But she in
the most calm manner mounted the pile, and danced on it with her hands
extended, as if in the utmost tranquillity of spirit. Previous to her
mounting the pile the relation, whose office it was to set fire to the
pile, led her six times round it, at two intervals--that is, thrice at
each circumambulation. As she went round she scattered the sweetmeat
above mentioned among the people, who picked it up and ate it as a very
holy thing. This being ended, and she having mounted the pile and
danced as above mentioned (N.B.--The dancing only appeared to be to
show us her contempt of death, and prove to us that her dying was
voluntary), she lay down by the corpse, and put one arm under its neck
and the other over it, when a quantity of dry cocoa-leaves and other
substances were heaped over them to a considerable height, and then
Ghee, or melted preserved butter, poured on the top. Two bamboos were
then put over them and held fast down, and fire put to the pile, which
immediately blazed very fiercely, owing to the dry and combustible
materials of which it was composed. No sooner was the fire kindled
than all the people set up a great shout--Hurree-Bol, Hurree-Bol, which
is a common shout of joy, and an invocation of Hurree, or Seeb. It was
impossible to have heard the woman had she groaned, or even cried
aloud, on account of the mad noise of the people, and it was impossible
for her to stir or struggle on account of the bamboos which were held
down on her like the levers of a press. We made much objection to
their using these bamboos, and insisted that it was using force to
prevent the woman from getting up when the fire burned her. But they
declared that it was only done to keep the pile from falling down. We
could not bear to see more, but left them, exclaiming loudly against
the murder, and full of horror at what we had seen." In the same
letter Carey communicates the information he had collected regarding
the Jews and Syrian Christians of the Malabar coast.

Mr. G. Udny had now found his private indigo enterprise to be
disastrous. He resolved to give it up and retire to