‘Neither the husbands, nor the wives, will, by any means, allow jealousy to be the cause; for they say, ‘Were a woman viciously inclined, even encircled by walls of iron, she would, by some contrivance or other, find means for accomplishing her purpose. It is not,’ say they, ‘against such their precautions are aimed: it is, that the minds of those who are really pure may not be contaminated through the force of bad example; and, that women, being naturally weak, and easily led astray, as may be inferred from the story of poor Eve, it becomes the duty of the husbands to guard them from the flowery paths of temptation.’ Such, indeed, is the force of education, that a lady of Hindostan, of decent parentage, would rather suffer death than exposure to public view. In imprecating the greatest evils on the head of an enemy, a female could not conceive any term so severe as those which conveyed a wish that the veil of concealment might be rent asunder. However, notwithstanding the seclusion of the ladies is so much talked of, and deemed so harsh, it will, probably, on investigation, be found, that the prohibition extends only to such as could have but a slight intercourse with them, even if the full influence of social communication obtained. Their rules respecting _muhrem_ and _na muhrem_, words implying _forbidden_ and _not forbidden_, are, in their principle, simple enough, viz. ‘That a woman may be seen by any man whose relationship to her precludes marriage’; though custom has established many deviations from this rule; all which seem to have arisen, not from jealousy, but from a mistaken sense of modesty. ‘In the upper provinces, all the brothers visit each other’s wives without distinction; but, in Bengal, only those junior to the husband. Indeed, in Bengal, the distinctions of _muhrem_, and _na muhrem_, are so whimsical, and amount to such a mixture of Hindu superstition and Mahomedan prejudice, as would render a detailed account of them disgusting to the reader. I shall therefore comprize what I have to say on the subject in as few words as possible.