The late Baboo Ram Gopal Ghose, a distinguished merchant and reformer of this City, had a country residence at Bagati, near Tribani, in the Hooghly district, about 100 miles east of Calcutta. He had a mother who was, as might be expected, a superstitious old lady. Baboo Ram Gopal on principle never wounded her feelings by interfering with her religious belief. On the occasion of the Doorga Poojah at his country house, his mother as usual directed the servants to distribute the _noybidhi_, or offerings, consisting of rice, fruits and sweetmeats, among the Brahmins of the neighbourhood; but they all, to a man, refused to accept the same, on the ground that Ram Gopal was not a _Hindoo_, which was tantamount to declaring that he had no faith in Hindooism, and was an outcast from Hindooism. On seeing the offerings brought back, his mother's lamentations knew no bounds, because the refusal of the Brahmins to accept the offerings was a dishonor, and involved the question of the loss of caste. Apprehending the dreadful consequences of such a refusal, especially in a village where bigotry reigned supreme, the old lady became quite disconsolate. Ram Gopal, who with strong common sense combined the benefit of a liberal English education, thought of the following expedient: He at once suggested that every _noybidhi_ (offering) should be accompanied by a sum of five Rupees. The temptation was too great to be resisted, the very Brahmins who, two hours back, openly refused to take the offerings, now came running in numbers to Ram Gopal's house for their share, and regularly scrambled for the thing. In fact, he had more demands than he could meet. Thus a few Rupees had the marvellous effect of turning a _Sahib_ into a pure Hindoo, fully illustrating the truth of Ramdoolal Dey's saying, that "Caste was in his iron chest." Examples of this nature may be multiplied to any extent, but they are not necessary. Thus we see the decadence of this artificial system is inevitable, as indeed of every other unhealthy institution opposed to the best interests of humanity.