to unburden the parents by marrying their daughters. These men do not _always_ support their hosts of wives, who frequently stay in their father’s houses, and occasionally receive visits from them. I know of some unfortunate women who never saw the faces of their husbands more than once! Early marriages are prevalent among the Hindoos. There is no fixed age for the marriage of a man, he can marry when he pleases; but if he be a Brahmun, he cannot marry under twelve, that is, without being “_born again_.” The marriage age for a girl is between six and twelve. You would scarcely see a girl of thirteen, out of thousands, unmarried. She is known (if there be any) as a real _thoobree_, spinster, and there is little hope of her ever being married without difficulty. My poor younger sister, only eleven years old, was (I am sorry to tell it) dragged to the altar to marry a man of the age of her grandfather, and of little refinement. Among the Hindoos of the present day there are no such things as courting and engagement. In olden times the system was quite different from what we see now, and was called “_itcha boree_,” or marriage of choice. But I do not mean that they of old used to know each other well, attend to the meetings on holidays, or enjoy the grand spectacles and music in theatres and operas. No, nothing of this sort was known to them. They used simply to glance at each other’s accomplishments, both external and internal, in the shortest time possible. This, though a little defective to the Americans and English, at any rate is far better than the present fashion of no acquaintance and no interview until at once before the altar. Shith-ă, Drou-pothe, Doymonthee, and other renowned women, have married in noble ways. The caste system does not allow the Hindoos to select their own brides. For, suppose a young man found out a girl of promise, how will he know that she belongs to that peculiar caste or order from which he is to have his wife? There is another obstacle. There are no promiscuous gatherings of the sexes in Bengal, either in the temples or in the dwelling-houses. Hindoo women of high caste rarely come even to the outer department of the house in which they live.