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miins r the : « nd of » cord about two yards long , attached at the other end to the bead of the bier , was taken by the w ^ dowy and jth ^ v ^ Uo |^ . jm ox ^ M sjowly toward ^ the pile . The corpse was then Jai 4 9 & th £ rig ^^ i ^ upo ^ the | traV with which it was eofered ; and four men furnished with shagpf ISWTds ^ cine ^ t ^ j ; iQiie 4 jyt ^ eaclx corner ^ jn oif . drew- them from their scu % a ¥ < dS . Vne ' trfemblfag , g 6 astfyonerLtfi io ttie 'Moloch of Hindboism tlr ^ tt ?) % gtm her Seven to
circuits rdtftfa-tlrt" fatal Me / tod ftfraUy ftdfte # offposit ^ fe * husband ' s corpse , attIf # il ^ M < i& ^ f ^ t ^ 1 ^^ die wBte « videtttt ] f ^ rfeatl ]^ s ^ itated . Five or six Brafrmtms Efeg&i to talk to her with mueh vehemence , tiil in ftparoxy ^ m of desperation , assisted by theMrahmum , the hapless widow asceaded . the bed of destruction . >• Her mother and sister too stood l > y , weeping" and agonized , but aU w * g in vam--the blood-thirsty men prevailed , The devo t ^ a . wornaji then proceeded to disengage the rings from her fingers , wrists , and ears , her murderers , stretchinjf out their greeay hands to receive them : afterwards all the sam rel
her trinj : iet ^ &c * were proaucea ^ ana distribute ^ anioag' e entless and r % pa 4 lous priests : While in the act of taking a rrng ^ from her eaf , hfer mother' antf Mste ¥ , Unable diiV tong-er to snstaltt the extremity of their anguish , went np to the side of ih& ^ pite , atid entreated thai the horrid purpose might J * ^ aridimfad i but tlte woman ; fearing * the encounter and the strength ; of her resolution , without uttering" a word , or even easting a parting glance ^ t her supplicating- ^ parent and sister , threw herself down on the pile , and clasped the h&lf-piitrKl cprme in her arms . Straw in abundance was heaped on the
d $ aa and the living : gums , resins , and other inflammable substances , were thrown upon the straw which covered the bodies , by one p ^ rty of the Branmuns , while muntrams were repeated at their heads by the ottier : six or eight pWc ^ s of kindled cow-dung cake were in troduced amoilg the st raw , at different part&of the pile ; ghee and inflammable materials were applied , and the whole &iaze < fcmTi 3 many places . The men with swords at each corner thealiacked tl ^ eord ^ which supported the flat canopy of faggots—it fell , ami covered th ^ e lifel « B * corpse and the living woman ! A piercing souad caught tnyrear ; ^ 1 listened a few seconds , and notwithstanding the noise of the multitude , hearxl
the ahrteks of misery which issued from the burnmg p ile . In an agony of ieeMag ^ rttfe directed Uie attention of the Brahmuns to this ; and w ^ Il e sq dpu ^ j , dgain , still louder and more piercing than before , the burning woinan rent the air with her shrieks . Several of the Brahmuns called out to the half-con su m med , still conscious and impJorinc- widow , to comfort her . The pile was now enveloped : in names , and so intense was the heat , that , as by one consent , the Ifcahmunsaftd spectators retreated several paces ; they then sang a Sanscrit hymn ; the hytnn ended , but not the shrieks and groans of the agonized
sujFferer : 4 hey still pierced our ears , and almost rent our hearts ! Scarcely conscious of what I tiid , ia the . midst of these vain repetitions I left this scene of ftendbh barbarity ^^ -Pw II . - Tfedilgh descriptions like these of bodil y suffering are perhaps the most h ^ rovtfittg jn the contemplation , the rites of the sacrifice are by no means the worst biBrrt of the evil . The effects of this system on social happiness famil
inqst fe considerecl—the prospective anxiety of the members of a y , the misfortune \ o the children of losing both parents at once , the demoralizing influences of every kjnd which exert a fatal power over domestic peace . The miseries of an epidemic in India can be understood no where else ; for even then the practice of the Suttee is not suspended . An attack of disease in a family is the signal for the destruction of all its members . The father dies , the mother forsakes her sick children , and leaves them to perish while
she sacrifices herself . " When , therefore , the country is afflicted with a destructive epidemic , the numerous victims t 6 disease * the augmented ntimber of ^ -ftjnifcle immolations , the number of relatives who trembleTW their sfstefs of their datiflit ^ rs , added
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India * * € riet to British Humanity . 333
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VOL . HI . 3 M
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1829, page 833, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2579/page/17/
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