APPENDIX.

I.

THE following letter of advice, On the Folly and Danger of Loading Children with Valuable Ornaments, by Narayan Dinnanathji, Marathi Interpreter, Supreme Court, Bombay, will be perused with interest by many of my English readers :—

The general practice existing among the inhabitants of this country, of adorning their children with gold and other valuable ornaments, having, in numerous instances, led to the perpetration of the most heinous and atrocious crimes, has brought down from our enlightened press the severest remarks upon the folly and danger of such a custom ; and even the bench has not been wanting in giving expressions to its mingled feelings of surprise and

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regret, that a practice so fraught with mischief should remain in full force, notwithstanding that numerous instances of its frightful consequences have occurred.

On every occasion that an innocent helpless child falls a victim to the cupidity of a wicked and heartless fellow-being, all classes of the community, from the greatest of the Shets that move about in stately carriages, down to the poorest citizen that is obliged to toil in the streets to earn his daily bread; from the most learned Brahmin who spends the greatest portion of his time in the study of the Veda and the Shastras, to the most ignorant of the commonalty that cannot even write his own name— say, all of them, who have any knowledge of these woeful occurrences, hold discussions among them

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selves on the enormous crimes the hateful custom has given rise to, are for the time convinced of the folly and dangerous consequences of the practice, and regret from the very bottom of their hearts that it should have existed among them at all. But this is only the temporary excitement of their feelings. No sooner have a few months, nay, even weeks, rolled over the woeful and atrocious event, than the feelings of astonishment and horror that had for a time completely taken possession of their minds, gradually subside, till at last the frightful

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fact is altogether forgotten, and those very people whose humane feelings had been shocked at the atrocity of the crimes arising from this reprehensible practice, and who had been a short while ago convinced of the folly of keeping up among them. such a dangerous custom, cease to utter a single syllable about the subject, and the baneful custom continues to prevail among them to as great an extent as ever, without even a single voice being raised against it.

Such are the general facts regarding this evil custom, and such the state of mind of those among whom it is kept up; and I do not think any of you here present upon this occasion, will consider it far away from the truth, if I were to give you, as my firm and decided opinion, that the state of mind. of the elder sons of India is such, that as long as they continue to exercise any influence on the state of our society, no great reformation of this custom will ever take place; and that we should therefore look for the much-desired innovation, to that portion of our rising generation that will be blessed by Providence with the benefits of a liberal education, which will liberate their minds from the shackles of this and other similar foolish practices, and teach them to think that that custom, at least, which can in no way have even a shadow of religious sanction,

and is at the same time fraught with such evil consequences, ought above all things to engage their serious attention with a view to its entire discontinuance.

When, therefore, I was called upon, some time ago, to produce an essay, agreeably to the rules of this society, I thought of this subject, which, though not of equal importance with other questions that have engaged our attention, possesses, I should hope, no common interest for us.

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This custom is not, like Chemistry, the wise daughter of a foolish mother, but, on the contrary, it is the foolish daughter of a wise mother. searching for its origin, we can very easily trace it back to the parental affection, which our benevolent Creator has so wisely implanted in our breast with a view to the preservation and multiplication of our species. The Father of the universe has not confined this important affection to the human species alone. The same benevolent motive that has actuated Him to confer this blessing upon man, has likewise induced Him to extend it to most of the lower animals.

This affection for children seems to have gradually degenerated in our country into an anxiety to decorate them with valuable ornaments. But, by our following this custom, we have in some measure

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defeated the very object of our wise Maker. By our folly, ignorance, and vanity, we have converted an affection that the Supreme Being has implanted. in our hearts for the express purpose of the preservation of our offspring, into love for show and finery, which tends in no small measure to their very destruction. In European and other countries, where this evil practice does not exist, there is scarcely an instance to be found of a child being murdered; while in our country, where the custom prevails, there have been numerous cases of childmurders, happening on account of the strong temptations the custom in question holds out to evil-disposed persons to commit them. We have heard instances in which little children have been enticed away by designing rogues from their sweet homes, and murdered by them in the most cruel manner possible, in some dark corner of the town, solely with the view of possessing themselves of their ornaments; and, horrible to say, instances have not been wanting in which the very domestic servants of the family, in the receipt of a small monthly pittance, have acted similarly, yielding to the strong momentary temptation of enriching themselves at once.

Child-murders, which this practice gives rise to, are not generally such as are effected in a speedy