"tuft," on the head. After this first educational ceremony, the future pupil is sent to the pagodas, where he is condemned to pass a certain portion of his life in studies, which, in nine cases out of ten, are for all purposes of future utility useless, or even worse than useless-as they are simply an excuse for a wasteful consumption of time, and a medium for the contraction of habits of idleness, which generally influence the whole tenor of the students' future existence.

It is an undoubted fact, peculiarly illustrated by Oriental example, that, where women take a low social position, the community at large follows them in a corresponding degree. The influence of the mother over the immatured mind of childhood cannot be too highly estimated; and, where her authority as a mother is set aside, her influence as such destroyed, the effects must be, as we invariably see they are, calamitous. Thus it is in Siam. The wife, although holding a better position than in some other Oriental nations, is still considered something in the light of household furniture. She may be pawned or sold to pay her husband's debts, unless she should chance to have brought him a dowry; in which case she is exempt from the latter fate, and is held in some what greater consideration than she would be had she come to him a portionless maiden. Besides, she is independent, as, in case of divorce, the dowry is returned to her.

Polygamy is permitted, but it must not be understood from this that the different grades of wives all occupy a similar position in the husband's household for this is not the case. There is only one legitimate wife; she who has been made so by the Khan mak, or Siamese marriage ceremony-a mere civil form which, however, has the effect of making the woman who passes through it the veritable wife, her children the sole legitimate offspring.

Some of the preliminary arrangements incidental to this nuptial ceremony are singular. The negotiation is generally entered into by a third party, a mediator in fact, who is chosen by the bridegroom to intercede with the father of the bride, arrange her dowry, if she have any, and settle all other particulars. Should this negotiation be successful, the bridegroom himself, accompanied by his friends in procession, repairs to the residence of his future wife, with a suitable offering of garments, jewellery, fruits, flowers, and cakes. The garments, we may well imagine, are not of very great value or number, as the attire of a Siamese woman consists of a piece of linen cloth wound round the loins, a scarf for the neck, and a palm leaf hat to be worn out of doors, as a protection from the sun; additions are sometimes made to this costume, but these are the general garments. The jewellery would form a more important item in the trousseau, the Siamese women having a passion for trinkets of every description. They wear rings, bracelets, and necklaces whenever they can even on their ankles and feet.

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When the wedding present has been offered and received, the matrimonially disposed parties are considered finally engaged to each other, and then the bridegroom removes his residence to the vicinity of the bride elect, where it is her business, for three days before the ceremony, to convey his meals to him. For our own part if we were one of the Siamese women, we should look upon this portion of the marriage ceremony with suspicion; it seems very much like a breaking in for the future; but it is the custom of the country and the women of Siam yield to it, as the women of England yield to many an institution of society in our own land, simply in obedience to "custom."

In cases of divorce, the rules relating to the disposal of children are primitive to a degree. Should there be but one child, that one belongs to the mother; if there happens to be two, the second belongs to the father; if more than two the odd numbers belong to the mother, the even to the father; thus, Nos. 3, 5, 7, etc., would be the maternal portion -2, 4, 6, would appertain to the sire. This is certainly a very easy mode of deciding matters, whether satisfactory or not remains a question.

We have elsewhere noticed the despotic power of the monarch, and, now that we speak of the social position of women in Siam, we are reminded of an anecdote in connection with these subjects, and illustrative equally of both. As briefly as may be, we will relate it:

No

Nuntai, the heroine of the tale, was one of the most beautiful of the Laos girls; indeed the fatal gift had been lavishly bestowed on her, and the rumour of her charms spread far and near. one could dance as gracefully as Nuntai; and her voice was so melodious, that even the birds stopped to listen to it, as she carolled forth her notes, while the thrush with its mocking tones tried to emulate the sounds in vain.*

How gentle she was, this poor, simple Nuntai; how gentle and loving! and then so guileless, so unskilled in the world's deep treachery and cunning, but then she was little more than a child, or she would have been a child in England, for she could only number thirteen summers; however, tropical plants and tropical children mature quickly, and so it was with Nuntai.

Now the rumour of her beauty, spreading as it did, found a resting place at last in the palace of the great king, Nai Dua; and, while it rested there, it could not be content with merely resting, but it must go flitting about, here and there, and everywhere, and doing great and irremediable mischief; for, during its flittings, it entered the ears of the monarch, and flew right down to his heart, or to that cold, bad thing, which should have been a kind, good, human heart, and inspired him with the wish to see Nuntai, and if he

There is a peculiar kind of thrush in Siam, which is said to imitate various sounds, the barking of dogs, mewing

of cats, and even the intonations of the human voice.

approved her, to have the girl among the train of his wives. He never thought of making her his queen, for he had one queen already, and the Siamese monarchs only have one queen; SO Nuntai, the poor, dear child, was meant to swell the infamous train of concubines, and have her pure heart sullied by legalised guilt.

Then the messengers of the potent Nai Dua went to the girl, and delivered the command, and from that command, she, poor star, knew there was no appeal.

She trembled like a palm-leaf when shaken by the western blast, and turned her timid eyes to her parents; but there was no hope there, they thought the mandate an honour, and when they saw the silken scarf, with its glittering embroidery, which the myrmidons of the sovereign threw over the girl's neck and shoulders, and beheld the gold and gems with which they decked her, and sought to enhance a beauty which could not be increased by such aid as that they prostrated themselves again and again, and uttered over and over again their praise, and thanks, and fulsome adulation. And for what?-the profanation of their child. Born in degradation-bred in subserviency every feeling warped-every noble attribute destroyed by the grovelling condition of their lives-they had lost all sense of shame, and gloried in their child's dishonour.

But with Nuntai, poor rose-bud! the case was different. The thirteen summers of her young life had not borne the weight of sin to crush each feeling of innate purity from her heart, and death, although she was not tired of life, would have been a more welcome fate than that which awaited her. But the poor victim was in the snare; there

was no escape.

A gaily decorated barge floated on the Meinam's broad bosom. Thither they, these royal messengers, led the maiden. She scarcely knew where they took her, for her gentle eyes were fixed longingly on her home, and her graceful arms were stretched towards that home, supplicating a return to it. But the painted barge floated on, aud soon her home was lost to sight; and then, heart-sick and wretched, she sank down on the deck of that cruel vessel which so fatally held on its course.

She wept bitterly for some time, until her sorrow wept itself away, and then, in her childlike innocence, she began to look about her. The

trees which bordered the river were very beautiful, and so green, no emerald was ever half so bright; and the birds, with their varied plumage, resting on the branches, and looking like gems in the golden rays of the setting sun; fish leaped in the still water, and even the banks of the river seemed teeming with buoyant life. Nor was it the animal and insect world alone which embellished the scene; man in his various phases passed through the panorama; the peasant from his bamboo hut watched the royal gilded bark; the merchant vessel, adorned with the leaves of the Atap palm, seemed to tarry, that its crew might gaze on the gaudy vessel; while, from the floating houses, curious faces appeared, looking with habitual awe on this appendage of the monarch. Farther on still, past the temples of their gods where priestly occupants, with shaven crowns, sit in seeming unconcern of all mundane creation, their own most saintly selves excepted, the barge passed, in its splendour hiding a heart in sorrow.

On, once more, to the great city, with its merchandise, its traffic, its toil.

It was night now, and the fireflies danced in the murky air. The heart of the maiden sank again; there was something in the city which made her sad. She looked at the great houses, and they frightened her; she looked at the one great house, the one she dreaded more than ever, and her heart sauk-sank never to rise again.

Weeks and months passed, and Nuntai became the favourite mistress of the king. He loved her loved her well enough to sorrow for the sorrow he had caused.

"Nuntai," and he took her hand, "you are free! You pine for your lost home; your cheek is as pale as the white flowers in your wreath, while those restless eyes shine with wild lustre. Go, poor child! Nai Dua will sorely grieve for the light of his own bright star, but he must live sadly, darkly, without it."

The freedom came too late! The grasp of Death was on that girl; she became weaker and weaker, and in a few days ceased to breathe. Within six months of her incarceration in her royal prison, to which she had been brought in health and strength, she died-a victim to the despotism under which she lived.

And such is the social position of the women of Siam-a contrast, certainly, to that held by the feminine part of England's inhabitants.

THE cost of the Indian mutiny is not to be measured by the expense of conveying and subsisting the European troops alone, who will necessarily be sent to subdue the outbreak, and to preserve future peace, but there must also be taken into

Within

calculation the immediate commercial loss, and the retrogression of commercial enterprise. the last thirty years, since men still comparatively young were boys, no country has been so extensively developed by the aid of British capital

and enterprise, as British India. Australia it is true, has risen more quickly; but its rise is solely owing to the gold discoveries. An immense trade is carried on between the two countries, but little or nothing has been done towards advancing the introduction here of its timber, gums, fibre, or other natural products. Wool, its original, still remains its staple commodity. To this may be added copper; but gold forms the basis of the whole of the exports and imports. If that source of wealth were to fail, the country, per se, would be but very little advanced beyond what it was some ten years since.

India, and especially Bengal, presents a most striking contrast. It has risen to what it was by slow and imperceptible degrees, like the British empire. It is scarcely a century since a few merchants blockaded themselves in a fort on the Ganges; it is hardly half that period since Indian productions were of no esteem; but until this outbreak, India was likely to prove the great producing country of the globe. The direct trade between Calcutta, America, and France is enormous, when compared with what it is with other countries. The French too well understand the value of their settlements on the south-western coast to give them up (by purchase), though negotiations were entered into a few years since to effect that object. They then bound themselves not to erect forts, &c.; but a requisition has been recently revived in Paris, for a strong squadron of vessels of war to be sent out to insure the safety of the colony. The Portuguese have been equally tenacious in regard to Goa, though to either nation the trade of the places themselves are of little value to the mother country. It is at Calcutta, and the British ports exclusively, that the great business is transacted. Forty years since, the great staples of what were then the northern provinces of Bengal, were indigo, cotton, saltpetre, rice, and sugar; and at present these articles form the bulk, in value, of their exports. From Bengal a large proportion of world's consumption of them is derived.

The indigo planters depend upon advances on the probable yield, for the due cultivation of the land, and upon the north-western provinces for their seed. Both these sources are cut off. It cannot be expected either that the bankers have now the money, or, if they have it, that they will lend it on the uncertainty which must prevail in reference to the future produce. The value of the crop of this dye, at the lowest estimate, must be a million and a quarter per annum. To this must be added the value of the works, and other appliances for carrying them on, before a correct judgment can be formed of the mischief done by the outbreak. East Indian indigo has long superseded that from Guatemala and Carraccas, which formerly supplied the whole wants of the dyers. From local circumstances the growth of the plant in South America has gradually fallen off, and the superior make in Bengal has driven South American completely from the markets. The Russians and

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French pay extremely high prices for finer qualities, and will have them; hence it is that articles of a blue colour-cloths, for instance-are always dearer than those of any other tinge. For some time past Oude has been producing indigo of a quality approaching that of Bengal. From these two countries the larger part of the importation was divided. Indigo is made in considerable quantities in the presidency of Madras; but, owing to peculiar properties, it is seldom taken, except for certain descriptions of goods. Some approximation may be formed from these facts of the loss to trade, by the revolt, in this article alone. It is not to be measured by the value of the lost cultivation, but by the enhanced prices of manufactures, and the closing of markets where cheapness is necessary to effect sales. Previously to the outbreak being known here, indigo was rapidly declining, though the price was then low. The first intelligence of it caused a reaction, and as the mutiny has spread, so have prices advanced, until they are higher by 2s. per lb.-or 40 per cent. on the average of those quoted in May; and this, not owing to a speculative, but to a real demand.

Bombay has so long rivalled the Eastern coast in producing cotton, that the receipts of this article from the latter are not of moment beyond native consumption. The growth of rice has been so extended in other parts of India, as to render the imports from Calcutta comparatively of little moment. To give an idea of the amount of trade in this article, we may state that the total quantity landed from all parts in Great Britain was 172,238 cwts. in 1828, and from British India only, in 1856, it was 3,602,126 cwts., while from all other parts but 82,875 cwts. came in. Except the finer qualities for table use, this grain forms the sole food of the population. If it be not cultivated, another of the horrible famines among the natives may be again known, but not to the same extent as former famines which have prevailed. The annexed province of Arracan will prevent this, but the enhanced price which must be paid for importations will create much distress, and occasion a further serious loss to the overburdened Bengal treasury.

Upon Bengal alone are we dependent for our supply of saltpetre, now so necessary to almost every art and manufacture. Some small quantities are brought from Bombay and Madras, but of so inferior a quality as not to be noted. Nitrate of soda, from South America, is employed as a substitute in a very few purposes, but may hardly be said to supersede saltpetre.

The supply of sugar is, next to cotton, perhaps, that which most excites general attention to the whole civilised world,. the one being equally a necessity with the other. In a very valuable work, published not forty years ago, speaking of Bengal, it is stated :

The process of obtaining sugar is simple, and far less expensive than in the other hemisphere. The juice is ex

pressed by the rollers of a mill, and collected into large iron boilers, where it is boiled down smartly to a proper

consistence, the scum being carelessly taken off. The liquor is suffered to cool, and becomes thick; it is then stirred about with sticks till it begins to take the form of sugar, when it is put into mats made of the leaves of the Palmyra tree, and the stirring continued until is cold. This process affords a raw or powdered sugar, but clammy, and apt to attract moisture; by the addition of quick lime to the juice the sugar loses these properties.

Such was Bengal sugar at that period. Every new appliance of scientific art discovered in this manufacture has been transmitted to India, until Bengal sugar enters most largely into general consumption. All the beautifully crystallised sugar, like powdered candy, seen in the shops, is from Benares, and it is only necessary to compare that with the article manufactured as thus described, to see the rapid progress made in improving it. But increased production at the present time is, perhaps, of greater importance than improvement in quality. It is well known that the growth of sugar has not increased in proportion to the increased consumption, and new sources of supply are anxiously sought after. The total quantity used in this country, in 1856, was 7,240,626 cwts.; of these the West Indies, the great sugar islands,contributed 3,163,386 cwts.; the Mauritius, also exclusively devoted to sugar, and where the cane is reared in ground artificially brought to a barren rock, for such the island is, 1,441,317 cwt.; Cuba, Brazil, and all the other slave states, 1,759,932 cwts.; and British India, 886,991 cwts. A deficiency of 10,000 tons in the general stock has raised the price of sugar ten shillings per cwt., or three halfpence per lb. to the consumer, but this mutiny endangers the supply of 65,000 tons per annum, of which 44,000 tons were used at home, the difference, of course, going to other European countries.

To sugar have to be added rum and molasses; little of the latter comes over, the length of the voyage, and the expense of freight prohibiting its exportation. The former spirit, however, figures extensively in the general consumption of the article. The navy annually uses a great quantity, and for a considerable number of years past has been supplied with the produce of the East Indies. Habitual drinkers do not, however, recommend the use of East India rum as an ordinary table beverage. It is very strong, therefore deceptive, and the flavour, they say, is anything but agreeable; but when mixed with West India, and served out with a proper proportion of water, by those who like such drinks, this Bengal rum is called delicious.

One of the great objects in developing the resources of India has been to render us independent of foreign countries for the supply of necessary articles. The utility of this policy was never so clearly shown as during the late war with Russia. For hemp and linseed we formerly were wholly dependent upon Russia. Had we remained so, we should have been in no small difficulty, since the imports of flax seed and linseed from the north fell from 884,000 quarters, in 1853, to

393,600 quarters in 1855. Napoleon was correct in theory when he issued the Berlin decees, he was wrong only in carrying them out. In 1853, Indía sent to this country 151,000 quarters of linseed, in 1854, 196,600; in 1855, 364,300; and in 1856, 343,000 quarters, a regular and progressive increase from our own empire, making this country independent of Russia. With hemp also a similar effect was produced. Taking the same years, the import declined from 897,380 cwts., in 1853, to 471,000 cwt., in 1855, entirely from the north. In the same time India (almost exclusively from Bengal) sent 310,500 cwts., 630,000 cwts., and 696,000 cwts. in the three years named, and in 1856, 790,760 cwts.

The progress of the cultivation of hemp is, perhaps, greater than of sugar, before mentioned. For a long series of years the officers of the Company made great exertions to render the various fibrous substances useful. It is not long since Sunn was imported for no other purpose than that of making door-mats and tow. It was even put aside for the former use in favour of old rope on account of greater durability. Now, however, some qualities interfere materially with Russian hemp, and there is none that cannot be put to a purpose which to some extent supplants the other, and tends to bring about an equilibrium of price. Jute, which has a large part in the above im portation, is merely a sort of flax, but it now employs many special dealers throughout Britain. It has founded a manufacture in Dundee and Perth, in making Gunny bags for re-exportation to India, particularly to the Eastern Archipælago, where these bags are as regularly quoted in the price currents as pale ale or any other European commodity. The number of hands employed in the north is considerable, and were the price of the raw article to advance materially, much social distress must result.

Rape seed forms a more striking instance of work that has been done in India. In 1853, 53,800 quarters were received; in 1856, 252,700 quarters. The same remark applies to others of a similar description. But beside the seed, an immense amount of seed-oil is exported-a new trade, sprung up within ten years. Ground nuts, "gingelly, teel, sesame, and other seeds, besides rape and linseed, are expressed in considerable quantities, and the product sent here. We all remember how nauseous castor oil was formerly, and many suppose it to be nauseous now. It is not so, however, in reality. We are acquainted with an old purser in the Company's service who always uses castor oil in dressing salad, and accordingly have carefully eschewed supping with him during lamb and salad season. This, perhaps, is prejudice. Certain it is that no one who has partaken of them has complained. This condiment was first introduced at table for the sake of the children, and it remains now as a matter of course. In 1831 there were received 1,900 cwt. of a thick, glutinous, high coloured, and perhaps nasty, castor oil; in 1856,