The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-10-20 00:00:00

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fondest wishes. They pearled her jet black hair with
'many $ coati) transparent row; their rubies in burning
low, were iktitlant frcm her delinte'ean ; their sapphires
from her gracefttl nose; while many a far-famed mine Flit- 1
tercel on het bowon, sparkled on her finger* end arms, and
shed its light on her toes and ankles. Gold and silver 11
gave splendour to her dress, in short in the impassioned
phrase of Lord Byron, and perhaps, with leas of poetical
yperbole--
She was a Porn of life and tight,
That seen ()creme a part of right !"
This charming young Pante* or Peri was about fourteen
year, old, an age at which the female figure attains the
sound I:infection of 'beautiful ripeness, in India. Indeed 1
marriages take place at a much earlier period of life; but,
in Yarrerna's case,, the young man to whom she was
affianced had been detained-it Surat nearly two years by
important commercial affairs, in which he was deeply con-
cerned, and the expensive ceremony on solemnisation of
wedlock had been postponed from time to time, in anxious
expectation of leis return.
" Yamma's prospects were height es the star of Venus.
In her tribe women -are treated with great consideration.
They act an important part in the public and private con-
cerns of their husbands, go unveiled, and, in point of
personal freedom, they are under no restraint beyond that
which delieacy and the-custom of their mothers impose.
The Parsee usages,- with respect to marriages, are founded
upon the happiness of domestic life, ins they provide for
preservation of purity in the fair sex so effectually that it is
the boast of this admirable class of the Indian community
that their wives never. prove unfaithini ; nor is there an
instance of prostitution among their daughters. Indeed,
their character in this respect is so well established at Bom-
bay, that it is believed:every aberration from virtue in their
tribe is punished With immediate death, and the notoriety
of the family disgrace carefully suppressed. The Parsee
lawaand usage...ay ao well framed fur the prevention of
crime and- the adjustment of disputes, that an instance
scarcely ever ocean of a reference to British justice. A
Parsee can have but one wife. If she ate, her family are
bound to find a 'widow for the forlorn one's second mate,
for he is not allowed to marry a young girl, as with up, in
his old age, nor is be obliged to marry again, should he
be desirous of preserving fidelity to his departed half. The
same rule holds, if the husband die; his family are
bound to find a widower, in compliance with a wish on
the aultjeet, indicated by the lady a friend.. By this ju-
dicious arrangement, the frailties :of human nature are
restrained, and even converted into public. benefit. The
Parsee women receive the ativantagrs of education ; many
of them can read, write, play on the Indian guitar, make
up accounts-accurately, and in some transactions I hive
had with them, they appeared very sensible and intelli-
gent. All public business, however, is trensacted by the
men. fhe women do not appear in mixed company, but
in influencing affairs, and in private negotiations, they
are powerful instruments.
" Such was thAovely Yacnnta, and such were the pro-
mises of hope, when it was her fate to be rescued from im-
minent peril by the intrepidity of Capt. s—. She had
accompanied her mother, in a covered and gorgeously deco-
rated }trickery, to a garden which belonged to her father,
on Colabah. They staid' in tht-garden rather longer than
their attendant* wished, pleased with its cooling fruits,
neat walki,:silver streams, and shady trees. The golden
banana !glittering mango, and imperial jack attracted their
gaze and touch. At length their bullocks, in splendid hous-
ings, proud of the music of the silver bells which played in
ofspension from their necks, approached the bed of the
title, which I have before described as separating the island
of Colabah from Bombay. The raft was beginning to ply
in that lower part of the channel, but the carriage road,
along the crest of the high rock, was practicable, though
the rising tide might be seen glittering in streams across
its black ravines. The drivers and runners calculated that
the bullocks would cross before 'the title covered the rocks,
and they urged them at full speed. A strong breeze., how-
ever, came Into Bombay harbour with the flow from the
ocean, and before the hackery reached the shore, the ladies
' saw with terror that the devouring element was floating
them, that their footmen were swimming anti in great agi-
tation, striving to keep the bullocks' heads towards the
land. Alarm soon finds utterance. The mother and
daughter mingled their cries, and wept in pity more for
each other than for themselves ; but their agony wee
drowned by the roar of the flood, and the crowd at the
ferry were too much absorbed in their own views, and too
distant, had it been otherwise, to afford them aid.
" At this awful moment Cant. S. was galloping from the
fort, and hopingthot he should be in time to cross the rocks,
he made. directly- for the course of Abe 'hackery, saw the life
struggle of the alien, heard. the piercing cry for help
by thy women, anti plunged in to their assistance. His
hone was I strong docile Arab, and Captain S. being ex-
ceedingly fond of field sports, had accustomed him to swim
rivers, and enn the lower part of this ferry, though a
quarter of a mile wide. The horse, therefore, swam as
directed to the haekery, and Captain S. having perfect con-
fidence in his strength and steadiness, placed the daughter,
-who was as light as a fairy, before hitn; and with the
mother clinging behind, gained the shore in safety, while
the hackery and bullocks were swept away by the force of
the tide. The terror of the animals preventing their
effectual struggle, destroyed them ; for, a moment after the
perilous escape of the ladies, the hackery was upset, and
the bullocks were drowned.

" Many battles and dangers require a longer time in
drscriptiot, than in action. It was just so in this case.
Short, however, as the time had been, a crowd was
gathering, and not only the ladies, but all tongue 3
spoke aloud in thanking Captain S------ for his gallant
conduct. Meanwhile he gazed on Yamma with won-
der, ■nd she on him with grateful surprise. Many of
the Parsees have fair complexions, and Yamma's was
transparently so. Indeed bhe looked. though pale with
fright, and dripping with brine, so much like Vennb ris-
ing from the ncean's bed, that S---- pronounced her, in his
own mind, the loveliest of the creation. He gallopped to 1
the fort, procured palankeens, and saw the fair Parsecs
conveyed home in safety.

" I wish, for Capt sake, I wish, for the sake of a
I happy termination to my story, that his acquaintance with
Yamma had here terminated ; but I am impelled, by the
laws of history and the nature of my intermation, to pro-''
meal, not with the wing of fancy, but h•ith the plume of
'plain matter of fact. In short, then, Cal rain S. used every
means in his power to win the love of Yismina. He cor-
responded with her through the medium of fikiets, or re-
ligious mendicants and fortuneltellent. He loved her to
distraction ; he offered to marry her ; for 8. had a soul too
noble to ruin the object of his adoration. She listened to
the male of his addresses; she forgot all the customs of
her tithe; s'ae affbrded her lover opportunities of seeing.l
her; he visited her in the disguise of a ilinaloo utrologer,
and she agreed to leave father and mother, and follow him
for life. Unfortunately they were discovered, and so-
promptly followed by three stout and well armed Parseea,
S was nearly killed in an unequal contest to preserve his
prize, and poor Yamtna was returned to her enraged and
disgraced family.

" The heads of the tribe were assembled, and an oath of
secresy having heen taken, the fair Timm* was introduced,
arrayed as a lnide, and decorated as the daughter of the
rich jeweller Limjee Dorabjee. After certain ceremonies,
her mother and grandmother approached her, where she
sat like a beautiful statue ; and presenting a poisoned
bowl and a dagger, said in a firm cone-' take your shoicc.: '
' Farewell, mother! farewell, father! farewelloworl4.!' •
replied the heroic Parsee daughter' taking the deadly sup
Fate ordained that this should heYerrima'a'rnarrisge, and
she drained its contents.' Her leaden eyes were watched
till they closed in death ; she was theti ateip.ped, arrayed
as a corpse, and conveyed to the receptacle of,ihe dead, as
I have described.

" When S— heard that Yamma was gone, and suspect-
ed that she had been murdered, according to the customs of
the Parsecs, the noble fabric of his brain gave way, and I
reason fell from her throne. ' NI) horse, my horse ! elied
he ; and u he patted his war-neck, the seise saw the tire of
his tear-starred eye and trembled. Away went horse and
rider—fat behind ran the groom. He 'heard the hoof of
thunder on the ground, and his master's voice urged his
spirited steed towards the foaming surf—then a loud ex-
plosion, at of breaking billows ; and on gaining theta:Julio:me.
he saw a black . point on the stormy surface of tile OCean, 1
but he never saw the brave and his Ar..la more."

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T

. sonnEr sessioss.
The General Quarter Stiminne for the Co.'uty of Sptiry com-
menced' it Kinvon, on Toeudey, before lifthnottex U
Esq. the Chaimtin. and • full Beech or Mintsttatet. •

KINGSTON PRISON.
Me. Pad.uest, in reference to a lideirs that had 'been presented
to the Court, by a Committee to whom it had been roterred. to en.
quire .intn she espedieney nt di..continuer: the further use of the
above prison, sail that IV had appeared, byl/ .the evidence adduced
before the Committee. that the total expense of that prison
amounted to the annual aunt of something oifirive Mt and he Ifi.‘
of opinion, that as this sum did not exited half a farthing in the
pound on the reunty rates, it was below the coosideration of any
gentleman in the county, who was disposed to make any interlace
for public convenience. If eennomy was the ohjtet that had
prompted the abolition of this place of punishment, it was very
sarpeuung that it had not been tneught of before so mach money
had been expended in the repairs. and before a sum exceeding he
believed 60,01511 had been laid out in building and altering the
other houses of correction belonging to the county. Another point
worthy of mature attention was, that it was the only prison in
Surrey where the system of voluntary! /about had been introduced,
and all who had at all watched its influence in improving the con-
dentin of the inmates of a gaol, would acknowledge the great be.
nellis shit had resulted from this species of labour over that of
compulsory employment. The question before the Court was one
that was simple, but was still of great importance in its nature
she principal point, he understood, was to save the tourtfy ex-
penses, for he had never heard the slightest complaint uttered
against any of the officers connected with the establishment, and,
indeed, every individual who had been in the habit of visiting
that prison, would at once say that the duties of the gaol sere
performed with the utmost diligterce and correctness. He
hoped, for the honour and consistency .of character in the mu
gistracy of the county, that this meanie* would not be adopted
They had been going on year after year in spending money
about this building till they had made it quite complete,, and now
that it was all that they wished, they seemed to hays' a desire to
say .` now we have no use for It." proceedings would, he
teased, attach to their .IClier• the inepatation of the unsteadiness
of a asbool.boy, whip to-day would do duet which-te-morrow he
would say was useless. Besides, he considered that It was not
adting fairly by the present officers, Those persons had, it was
well known, been decently appointed to their tituatinns, and they
hid given up the avocations or engagements they had embarked
in, on the presumption that they wave entering on a permanent
undertaking. Since it had been an agitation to remove the-prison-
ers entirely from Kingston, a great portion of the surrounding
gentry and inhabitants had represented that the prison had keen
viewed as a great public convenience; and as these respectable
applications were deserving attention, he hoped the Court would see
the propriety of attending to them before it came to a resolu-
tion to break up a prime that had bun- in use for the last
seventy years. Under these circumstances, he had not the slightest
'hesitation in giving his concurrence to the suggestion the Commit-
tee had made, in their report, of continuing in use ibis old ma-
brnhed place of punishment.
Mr. CIAWFORD said the idea of removing the prisoners from
this town arose train the circumstance of 20(. being wanted for re-
pairs, aqd large sums of money having been previously expended
in repairing the building, the question was rained, whetha• the pri-
soners usually sent to this place could not be provided toe in the
other Houses of Correction In the county. The subject was refer-
, red to a Committee, for them to inquire into; but as he candeeived
the matter had not been fully looked into, he would owe, is an
amendment, that it be again referred to a Comodiute, fbe. Blither
investigat ion. • .
Mr. Bit vacoe supported the report, principally on thy statement
that the Kingston gaol was the only tife 'nigh-o.'oore
the -w, nt ' which, •

E t.
.e system voluntary labilar "Peen ed, and by
man, though not committed to herd r, might. if be chose,
employ himself, and at the expiration of his punishment receive
a portion of the modocts of his labour.' He thought WWII/idea to
the dignity of the County Magistrates that they should not forsake
this place, after they had at different times voted large sums of
money for its repairs; or if they did, he considered, at least, .that
they should come forward and reimburse these sums out of their
their owe pockets, as they would be now declaring that the place
was altogether useless, and not worth the money they had been lay.
in out upon it.
hlr. Hot.mx Stratstn could not COMM' in the motion for the
confirmation of the Report, because he did net me the utility of
thi, prison. The object, it would be seen, in discontinuing the use
of it was to save about 3-301. to the county fur its standing eapeases,
and also an annual increasing expenditure for repairs. TM" ave-
rage number of prisoners confined in this gaol did not exceed 17,
and he could see no objection to them:viral of the mitionetti, on the
supposition that they could not be classified with so muds's:rootlet,
elsewhere as in this place. This bad been started as a great diffi-
cult
y, but he could readily imagine that an arrangemeht.eould be
wedeln any other house of correction for keeping thole prisoners
who were not committed to hard labour distinct from others who
were sentenced to compulsory employment. He objected to theprin-
ciple of keeping up this establishment because its expenditure
bore lightly on the county rates; if it were useless, it ought to be
dispensed with, and If the prisoners could be provided for in any
of the other houses with the same advantsges they possessed in this,
he saw no reason why the Kingston House of Correction was to re-
mains burden to the county.
Mr. Dxxisox voted In favour of the report. If the prime, he
said, was to be rebuilt, he would vote against doing so, biss.
that was not the case, and it was camddered as a convenien Wed
the surrounding country, he hoped to tee the Report emsllnneda
though Ito did not approve of the principle of keepingigqi* this
establishment merely because the expenseswere senall—ok4prin-
ciple once admitted might lead to dangerous consequences, and on
the result SUMS of large magnitude mqtlit be involved. •
Blr. KEWIIICE supported the amendment, conceiving that fur-
ther inquiry was necessary before any decision on a question of so
i mush mportance was determined on.
After some further conversation, the sense of the Court uses
taken, when it appeared that there were seventeen Magistrates in
favour of continuing the prison, and ten for the amendment fur fur-
ther inquiry.
BRIXTON HOUSE OF CORRECTION.
Mrs. Green, the wife of the Governor of this gaol, was unani.
mouldy elected Matron of the Prison, there being no candidate to
oppose her.