As I have mentioned before, the Musseeah narrative of the sufferings at Kraabaallah is a really pathetic and interesting composition; the work being conveyed in the language of the country, every word is understood, and very deeply felt, by the females in all these assemblies, who, having their hearts softened by the emphatic chantings of the readers, burst into violent tears and sobbings of the most heart-rending description. As in the gentlemen's assembly, they conclude with Mortem, in which they exercise themselves until they are actually exhausted; indeed, many delicate females injure their health by the violence and energy of their exertions, which they nevertheless deem a most essential duty to perform, at all hazards, during the continuance of Mahurrum. This method of keeping Mahurrum is not in strict obedience to the Mahumudan laws; in which code may be found prohibitions against all violent and excessive grief--tearing the hair, or other expressions of ungovernable sorrow.[41] I have observed that the Maulvees, Moollahs,[42] and devoutly religious persons, although mixing with the enthusiasts on these occasions, abstain from the violent exhibition of sorrows which the uninformed are so prone to indulge in. The most religious men of that faith feel equal, perhaps greater sympathy, for the sufferings of the Emaums, than those who are less acquainted with the precepts of the Khoraun; they commemorate the Mahurrum without parade or ostentatious display, and apparently wear mourning on their hearts, with their garb, the full term of forty days--the common period of mourning for a beloved object; but these persons never join in Mortem, beating breasts, or other outward show of sadness, although they are present when it is exercised; but their quiet grief is evidently more sincere. I have conversed with many sensible men of the Mussulmaun persuasion on the subject of celebrating Mahurrum, and from all I can learn, the pompous display is grown into a habit, by a long residence amongst people, who make a merit of showy parades at all their festivals. Foreign Mussulmauns are equally surprised as Europeans, when they visit Hindoostaun, and first see the Tazia conveyed about in procession, which would be counted sacrilegious in Persia or Arabia; but here, the ceremony is not complete without a mixture of pageantry with, the deeply expressed and public exposure of their grief.[43]