The National tribune., 1888-04-05
WASHINGTON G., THURSDAY s.
IS he pleased with his first wife as well as the

as he pleased with his first wife as well as the
secoRd2"
"My betrothal would have bindered him,
because the usual age for girl to be promised
in marriage IS or 10, though she is not mar
ried till maturity, and as soon as she Is engaged
she is taken from her own parents and sent to
live with those of her future husband, her
own parents having no longer the least control
of her. Ny fathers parents objected to his
spelling his first wife by educating her, but, as
l said before, he moved away from everybody
with the second, and thus could do as he
pleased"
DO a mans parents control his wife still,
after he has married her, then?"
" Yes, always; or rather he would be thought
no better than an outlaw were he to reject
their advice"
How did you happen to come to this coun-
try, and with whom did you Gomez"
Il came alone" said she answering the last
question first. and I came because I had
work to perform which required a preparatory
work among more enlightened people than my
own. In my country, the condition Of high
caste widow is deplOTable, unless she has learn
ed to be selfsuppOrting. ! am a widow myself,
and realize therefore what boon my parents
bestowed upon me when they gave me learning
for when my husband died l did not become
slave. l wanted my sisters to share my adj
vantages, so I conceived the idea of establish
ing a school to teach high-caste widows to
be selfsuppoTting, and I came here to study
your educational systems and get the money to
start the school"
The custom of burning your widows was
hardly as good as the plan you propose?"
We never burned our widows. 1t was al
ways a voluntary act on their part, because
they knew what a terrible life they would
have if they did not get rid of it some way,
and they do not regard suicide as a sin. In my
country a widow is thought accursed, because
the Hindu believes in the transmigration Of
souls, and she is supposed to have committed
some crime in her former life for which the
loss Of her husband is given as punishment.
She is looked upon, therefore, as no better than
his murderer Of course she can never marry
again, for no man in India at least cares to die
for love IN such a very cOmmOn-p place way
and she could never get a second husband, so
she must live with her mOther-in-law, which
is not the joke that you deem it in this coun-
try, for she makes a drudge of this outcast Civ
ing her but one poor meal day and the
coarsest clothing, with but two things in plenty,
hard work and hard treatment.
" / want to establish a school where these
poor creatures will be supported as well as edu-
Gated till they are able to support themselves.
My people, who oppose female education, will
not, as matter Of course, help me- so | must
raise the funds elsewhere. / have computed
that l Will need SO 900 in alI-$25, 900 to erect
and furnish the building, and $1,000 annually
for 10 years TO meet current expenses, after
which time | am sure it will be self-suppOrting.
This is part Of the work l hoped to &C
complish by coming here. but only part 1
am studying your schools, your civilization
aud your textbooks. Here is one | hope to
have adopted, for l think it is a most admira-
bic work-physiol made easy. 1t is called
/ The Man Wonderful in the House Beautiful"
and treats the subject allegorcally, the house
being the body aud the man the soul My
/ 81 will ipl 1ir1or
story aud get knowledge without knowing it,"
" Are your impressions of this country as
good as you expected ?"
- Yes, even better, far better; though I ex-
pected much, had never conceived half"
To q suggestion that she had only seen the
better side, she answered brightly:
" All that IS the side wanted to see. I came
here for that"
The Pundta was suffering from a sore
throat, and one Of the numerous lady doctors
Of the Convention was called in.
" We have it this way in my country" said
Ramabai. It would be considered shockingly
improper there to invite a man into lady's
cd-chamber, and the real Hindu lady would
suffer the greatest pain before she would have
q male physician. The missionaries. taking
advantage Of this fact, have educated Christian
women in medical science, and thus they have
sent healing to the soul as well as the body"
But | think it is cruel to teach our women
religion while they are not free, because they
viii not be permitted to accept it, and thus
their state will be made worse instead Of bet
ter, for they viii have the torture Of conscience
added to al the rest.
" It seems that the Hindu is little in ad-
vance Of our women in this matter, then B."
" You cannot expect to excel in everything,
even in this great country" said she, with the
rOguish twinkle in her eyes that made one feel
like he was being laughed at.
This wee woman. vino looks so child-lke has
a daughter seven years old in England.
EASTER MONDAY EGGS.
Easter Monday to children here in Wash
ington IS Of more interest than Easter Sunday
to their older sisters and brothers.
White, black, yellow aud brown, the chill
dIen dockcd last Monday to the hillsides about
the Capitol, but by far the largest numbers went
at some time during the day 10 the spacious
grounds in rear Of the Presidents Mansion to
/ roll eggs. Egg-roIling is a Washington insttu-
ton, for / never saw or heard Of it elsewhere
in this or other countries, aud | don't know
where or how it originated. Early last Mon
day, before half the population had finished
breakfast, squads OF little ones, from the baby
Of four to the Miss and boy Of IA, thronged
through the streets aud crowded the street cars
en- route to the White House grounds, and a
few hours later fully half Of the older people
/ followed to see the rOllcking mirlh If the
youngsters.
The process Of egg rolling requires youngster
with hard-boiled eEgs-one to half hundred.
lie or she climbs one Of the little knobs that
abound in the White House grounds, and starts
an egg down the slope and follows Oh tie run.
Dozens are started AT the same time and each