The nearest relatives and friends of the family are invited to partake of the _Bowbhat_ or bridal dinner consisting of boiled rice, dhall, fish and vegetable curries, frumenty, _polowya_, &c., served to the guests by the bride's own hands, which is tantamount to her recognition as one of the members of the family. To eat _unna_ (boiled rice) is one thing and to eat _jalpan_ (loochees and sweetmeats) is quite another. A Hindoo can take the latter at the house of one of inferior caste, but he would lose his caste if he were to eat the former at the same place. Even among equals of the same caste, and much more among inferiors, boiled rice is not taken without mature consideration, and some sort of compensation from the inferior to the superior for condescending to eat the same. The compensation is made in money and clothes according to the rank of the _Koolins_. Before departing, the guests invited to the _Bowbhat_ at which they eat boiled _rice_ from the hands of the bride, give her one, two, or more Rupees each. The day following is a very interesting day or rather night, being the night of _Foolsajya_[42] or flowery bed. At about eight o'clock in the evening the father of the bride sends to his son-in-law ample presents of all sorts of fruits in or out of season, home and bazar made sweetmeats, some in the shape of men, women, fishes, birds, carriages, horses, elephants, &c., &c., each weighing from 6 to 10 lbs., sweet and sour milk (_batasa_,) a kind of sweet cakes, _chineere moorkey_, paddy, fried and sugared comfits, spices of all sorts, betel and prepared betel-nuts, sets of ornaments and toys made of cutch, representing railway carriages, gardens, house, dancing girls, &c., imitation pearl necklaces made of rice, imitation gold necklace made of paddy, colored imitation fruits made of curd[43], butter, sugar, sugar-candy, _chana_ (coagulated milk), otto of rose, rose-water, chaplets of flowers and flower ornaments, in great variety, Dacca and embroidered Benares _dhooty_ and _saree_ for the boy and the girl, clothes for all the elderly females, couch-cot, beddings, sets of silver and brass utensils, carpet, embroidered shoes, gold watch and chain, &c., &c. Between 125 and 150 servants, male and female, carry these articles, some in banghy, some in baskets, and some in large brass _thalas_ or trays. These presents being properly arranged in the _Thacoor-dallan_ the male friends of the family are invited to come down and see them, some praising the choice assortment and large variety, as well as the taste of the father of the bride, while others more calculating make an estimate as to the probable cost of the whole. These articles are then removed into the inner apartment, where the females, naturally loquacious, criticise them according to their judgment; the simple and the good-natured say they are good and satisfactory, others more fastidious find fault with them. They are, however, soon silenced by the