The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-03-07
Of the brevity Of their breath. Toward

VI tle DreNlGY . Cne1r Dreat1. OWE
the close of the last century a tenant of
Mr.. Way, at Hosketon, in Suffolk, died,
leaving a widow with IA children, the
eldest of whom was q girl under IA Years
of age. He had rented IA acres of pas
ture land, on which he kept TWO cows.
These COWS, with his little furniture and
clothing, were all the property he left.
The parish of which he had been OH in
habitant was within the district of an
incorporated house OF industry where
the rule was to receive proper objects
within the walls, but not to allow any
thing for the outpoor, exceptin peculiar
cases. The directors of the establish
ment offered to relieve the widow by
taking her seven youngest children into
the house. When this was
proposed to her she re-
piled in great agitation that she would
rather die in working to maintain her
children than part with any of them:
or she would go with all OF them into
the house and work for them there but
if her landlord would continue her in
the farm she would undertake to bring
up the whole fourteen without any help
from the parish. She was a strong
woman, about forty-tive years old and
of noble spirit; happily, too, she had to
deal with a benevolent man. He told
her she should continue his tenant and
hold the land for the first year rent free,
and at the same time, unknown to her.
he directed his receiver not to call upon
her afterward. thinking it would be a
great thing if she could maintain so
large q family. But this further liher-
atty was not needed. She brought her
rent regularly every year after the first,
held the land until she had placed
twelve of the children in service. and
then resigned it to take the employment
of II nurse, which would enable her to
provide for the remaining two for the
little time longer they needed support,
aud which was more suited to her
declining years.
The delicate, refined and religious
custom Of the tfindoo widow, lisdainipg
to live after her husband, mounts the
funeral pyreo on which his body is placed,
displays al amiability or faith only
equaled by the doctrines of antique or
thodoxy, which condemns everysbabe
not baptized to eternal torments. 1t is
claimed chat the custom was introduced
with a view of making wives more care
tul of preserving their husbands when
alive. A wife poisoned her husband.
and, to prevent all others from follow
ing her example, it was decreed that
when husbands died their wives should
die with them. This theory is, howey-
er, at variance with the idea that the
sacrifice must be voluntary. Last sea-
son, when the Kiralfy Brothers put
on Around the World in Eighty Days"
.Aonda. the Raiah's widow and heroine
CT the play was not anxious to be burned
up, and she appealed to European
tourists, who rescue her by
strategy from her fate. The tour
lists persuade their valet, Passepartout,
to p~ersonate the deceased, who, mount
ing the grave i'll Hindoo costume, re-
proaches them for burying him alive,
and forbids the unnecessary sacrifice.
a Hindoo oma who resolves to die on
her husbands altar abstains from food
rs soon as her husband is dead. She
ing the god of her husbands sect.
When the fatal hour arrives she adorns
herself with her jewels, puts on her
most costly attire, as if she We're going
to a festival. Her relatives and friends
accompany her to the music of drums
andtrumpets. The victim aff~ectionately
embraces her friends and relations,
among whom she distributes her Jewels
and ornaments. They bless her and en-
treat her prayers that they may have a
like fortitude. The widows generally
meet death with heroic tirmness and
consistency, satisfied that in thus barring
themselves from coniugal attachment
they deliver their husbands from the
torment of the next world, no matter
what crimes they may have committed
in this. Mr.. Howell, who was one of
the prisoners in the famous Black Hole
of Calcutta, tells of one Hindoo wild.
ow who, on being told the pain she
must suffer, put her finger into the fire
and held it there for considerable time,
after which she put fire on the palm of
her hand, laid incense upon it and fun
igated the Brahms who were present.
Forbes, who spent many years in India,
and who wrote Oriental Memoirs" re-
ihVto tile Cdse VI iSiiule WHOSE nus
band had amply provided for her, and
which is unusual among Hindoos. made
her entirely independent of her family.
She persisted in her determination to
accompany him to a better world, and
suffered not the tears of an aged mother
and the cries of three helpless infants
to divert her from her purpose. The
funeral pyre was erected, an immense
%concourse of people of all ranks ASSN
bled and n band of music accompanied
the Brahms, whossuperintended tho
ceremony. The bower of death, en-
wreathed with sacred flowers, was erect
ed over a pile ofssandal woods and spices,
on which lay the body of the deceased,
After various ceremonies the music
ceased, and the crowd in solemn silence
awaited the arrival of the heroine.
She approached. accompanied by her
mother and three beautiful children,
richly attired, and wearing the hymene-
al crown. an ornament peculiar to a
Hindoo bride at her marriage. After a
few religious ceremonies the attendants
took off her jewels anointed her disheve-
led hair with consecrated ghee as also
the skirts offiowing robe of yellow mus
lin. Two prattling babes chung around
her knees to dissuadehe e from her fatal
purpose, The last pledge of conjngal
love was taken from her bosom by her
aged parent, in SPECIFICS agony.
Freed from these h~eartrending mourn
ers the lovely widow, with an air of
solemn majesty, received lighted torch
from the Brahmins, with whom she
walked seven times around the pyre.
Stopping near the entrance of the hover
for the last time she addressed the fire
and worshipei the other d%eities, MS
prescribed in the Suffice We'd; then. set
ting fire to her hair and the skirts of
her robe, to reuder herself the only