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Show 55 WOMAN'S EXPONENT. . unable to cook her husany other cause is band's food, he at once brings home another wife V-- . The average age of Hindoo girls when mar- nVd is about seven years, but they are be sometimes at trothed much younger than that, . ..... two months. According j,o ninaoo jaw tnis betrothal is a legal marnr ge, and it the betrothed husband dies, the little girl is a widow. Tf she belongs to a high caste, she must remain Her head is n. widow to the end of her life, shaved in the presence of a jeering multitude; her icwels are taken awayirom ner; sne is lor- bidden to wear the cnou or jacket, eo must go through life with naked arms and shoulders. . " ef Shemustbethe-lrudgeandlav- e the- - household, and no indignity or abuse is too ereat. to be heaped.1 upon Mi-her; She is told that P. ehc is as much tne gumy cause oi ner hus band's death as though she had murdered him. This even when she i3 too young to know what a husband means. At the funeral she inust walk at least two hundred feet behind the other . "women: bo that hr V V - w V J' "- - mm 1 iiorfall iipon shadov-ina- y Her own them and' they tod become widows. lUVtUVt ' 1 - 1 - mm j, - . mm - m , w mm though she herself may be a widow, lest per chance the goda' should" overhear; or the bystanders see that she pities the child. She can only eat one meal a day, and must wholly week, no matter how ieeble jast one day in each 1. sne must may De ner neaun. fast for several days together. Othcrwiseshe loses "caste" and forfeits the respect and care of her. family. She must not be taught to read or receive any instruction whatever. One 1 A ..... 1 . 1 iii-siaiea-ii- of the widows writes: ''The English have abolished suttee, but neither the English or the angels kuow what homes. The only difference for goes on in our .. .1 us since suttee was aDonsnea is in!"'. at, we in en 11 uitu w Ultai l uul uJ j , u u v "v n i uiu nil AM. lives in lingering pain. While our husbands live we are their slaves; when they die Aye are sua worse on. ihey have all they wish here, and promises tor the liie to come, but for us there is nothing. The theory, as enunciated by the ancient law maker "Menu," is. that "a wife ascends to hea VCU 11, HI LCI IUC UClCttSC Ul uxi iuiu - BllU uebut a widow voterterself who slights s her husband again brings disgrace on herself here below, and shall be excluded from the seat of her lord." He directs that she shall emaciate her body by living on roots and fruits, "but let her. hot,; when her Lord is deceased, even pronounce the name of another man. ' Let "her continue till 1 "1 it ' f aeatn, periorming narsn nuues, avoiding eyery pleasure and cheerfully practicing the. incomparable rules which have been followed by such women as were devoted to only one husband." All over India are seen little tomb-lik- e struca certain These show tures, bearing symbol. that widows have been burned there with their dead husbands. Since the government abolished suttee, no widows have been burned alive, except occasionally in native states beyond the reach of British jurisdiction. This happened in Nipaul a few years ago, when the prime minister died, several of his widows being victims to the cruel custom. According to the last census, there are 21000,000 widows in Indiahalf of whom have never been wives, : Manv Hindoo mothers have so miirlv Avon A of their daughters' becoming widows that they marry them to the bael tree, which is said never to die. If the tree does not die, the girte of course cannot become widows. Again, in some castes the reverse of this is practiced. When a father cannot find a suitable husband for his daughter, he marries her to a flower pot. Then he breaks the pot and the girl 13 a widow and he is saved from disgrace. Many girls are married to the gods of the temples. It is never said of a young wife that she is 1 T I'll A - usterity by-marry- It." ing 1 taken to her husband's house, but; to her mother-in-layhich is done when she is ten or eleven years old. Previous to this she has remained in her father's house, and there is a most trying scene when she is separated from her mother. 'Ihe air is lilied with sob3 and cries and groans from both persons. The little girl .now becomes au abject slave to her mother-- : and she may- - not speak in her presence without permission.' She must do the hardest part of the family work the grinding of the grain, carrying of the water, etc., and whatmother-in-laever else-ih-e chooses to put upon her young shoulders. Until she has a sou of her own, she has no authority-or- . place in the '.house.. After, this. she .is treated with'some degree of respect, but she has no individuality. She is "henceforth known' as "the; mother of Rama"," or whatever" his name may be. One would suppose that after her own hard experience as a (laughterLiUjiawshe; would treat her own son's wife differently, but she" will. not. She will domineer over her, and treat her just -- as she' has been treateJrThis-is-her,reveng- e A Hindoo woman is forbidden to pronounce her 'husband's name. She speaks of'him as they, the plural number being considered more respectful. - She. also .addresses him in the plural number, but he is always careful to address her and the children alike in the singu" w, in-la- A programme of exercises was presented by the children, consisting of songs, recitations, a dialogue and an essay, wnicu were doui and instructive, and showed that the little ones are being taught correct principles. Shqrt addresses were, given by- several of the sisters. of the ward, after winch Sister Bike spoke about the Sabbath day. Said that plain clothes are honorable, and urged the necessity ng - f secret prayer. Her instructions ,1 1.1 it . ana greaiiy appreciated oy ine listeners. j, The officers of the. Association for the previous year were sustained for the coming year, with the addition, of Sister Myra Lamb being appointed Ass't, Counselor. w - lar. A dozen years ago no Hindoo gentleman dared appear in public with his wife. If they were to go to the same place, they went in separate carriages, his a few rods in advance of hers. But now, in the large cities, they go out together, both walking and driving. This is largely due to European influences, and to the "Brahmo Samaj," the memBers of which take their wives and daughters everywhere. Now, the orthodox Hindoos are following their example to some extent. society There is a small "widow in Bombay, the members of which pledge themselves to do all in their power to encourage widowers to take widows for wives, instead of little girls, as is the usual custom. One member of this society ha3 had a dozen of these marriage ceremonies performed in his own house, he beariogthe expense of the wedding festivities. There is another such society in Guieral. and one in Uaiamunury ana Madras, so there, is a gleam of hope for the widows. When a married woman dies, she is carried to in her richest dress 'and the hurnincr-errounjewels, but a' widow is carried in thelplaiu dress which she wore during her widowhood, -- it would J be unseemly for her to appearlbefore her husband in another world with jewelry and fine clothes. J t would appear as though she had not cared for his death. A Brahman woman who dies before her husband, wTl have a ceremony performed in her memory j as will be seen by the following letter by a man to excuse his absence from work: d -- & "Respectable Sir; This being the hospitably auspicious day ion which all the Brahmans whose parental mothers did not die the death of a widow, that is who died- before their husband's dea.th, are immutably required to make perform an annual ceremony in their honor. For this necessity reason, I am compulsorily unable to attend to my office duties at the punctual moment. - II Jlearlfi and Halt. 1 . TT ' . S. F. Korris. HYDE PARK PRIMARY. Editor Exponent: The eighth annual meeting of the Primary Association of Hyde Park, Cache County, was. held on Saturday, July 9th. Sister Emma Pike, of the Stake Presidency, was present. were, timely, 1 1 . Lydia Damks. Secretary. . ORGANIZATION OF WORKING . ; WOMEN. The movement to organize the w'orking- Woman Suffrage Leasue. took shape on Thurs a public meeting day evening, August 18,-i: at Wells Memorial "Half, under the auspices of - the Central Labor. Union. ...Mr3. E. R. Hazel- ton presided, and said that the meeting was called for the purpose of forming an organizain which industrial tion for working-womebo discussed, and should and labor matters . .. i' 1. . .. f. ' ii. . mutual neip De given in inu way ui utueriug existing industrial conditions: au organization, in this city in short, to dofor working-womewhat the various laDor unions nave uone ior . irs. ivirny morion xviaz, 1 resiworKing-mendent of the New England Womaa's Educational and Industrial Union, spoke on the Benefits of Association. Addresses were made by Mrs. S. E. Merryfield, Mr. David Taylor, and Mrs. Charlotte Smith, of' Washington, D. C. f urther meetings 01 a similar character win soon follow. if judiThis movement for working-womeciously managed,, may achieve important, results. In Massachusetts there are more than thousand women who earn their support, by. work outside of their own homes, f the average rate ofjges at less than paid to men. In Boston alone there are twenty thousand women employed in shops and stores at from two to four dollars per week. It i3 high time that these women should organize for. mutual help and protection. "The gods help themselves," and those help those-w- ho "who would be free themselves must strike the n n, lit n n, two-hundre- d one-hal- ki. . ; ' MISCELLANEOUS. It better to be nobly remembered than nobly born. Ituskin. is If you cannot be great, be willing to serve God in things that are small S. F. Smith. Only let us have faith in God, and we shall not lack the means of doing good. Andrew Fuller. A Catholic legend says that the devil gave a hermit the choice of three great vices, one of which was - drunkenness. The Iiermit chose this a3 being the least sinful. He becaiqe drunk and he committed the other two. , The grave cannot hold any portion of the covenant d ones; eternal life is the portion of the whole man, God is the God of our entire manhood, spirit, soul, and body; and all live unto Him in their entirety. The whole of the covenant shall be fulfilled to the whole hi thoc with whom that covenant was made. C. II. .. Spurgeon. |