ACCOUNT‘ OF BOOKS.

female relations, to one corner of the pile; on the pile was an arch- ed harbour, formed of dry ﬂicks, boughs, and leaves, open only at one end to admit her entrance; in this the body of the deceafed was depolited, his head at the end oppolite to the opening-At the corner of the pile, to which {he had been conducted, the Bramin had made a fmall ﬁre, round which {he and the three Bramins {at for fome minutes; one of them gave into her hand a leaf of the bale tree (the wood commonly confecrated to form part of the funeral pile,) with {undry things on it, which {he threw into the ﬁre; one of the others gave her a {econd leaf, which {he held over the ﬂame, whillt he dropped tbree time: {ome ghee on it, which melted, and fell into the ﬁre (thefe two operations were prepa- ratory fymbols of her approaching difliolution éyﬁre ;) and whilﬁ they were performing this, the third Bramin read to her fome portions Of the ﬂugbtorra/nB/Jade, and aﬁzed her {ome queliions, to which {he anfwered with a lieady and {erene countenance; but the noife was {o great, we could not underlland what {he faid, although we were within a yard of herr-fllhefe over, {he was led, with great fclernnity, rbree time: round the pile, the Bra- mins reading before her; when {he came the third time to the {mall ﬁre, {he ﬂopped, took her rings off her toes and ﬁngers, and put them to her other ornaments; here {he

took a {olemn majellic leave of her

319 children, parents, and relations ; after which, one of the Bramins dipped a large wick of cotton in fome ghee, and gave it ready light- ed into her hand, and led her to the open {ide of the arbour; there all the Bramins fell at her feet;-af- ter {he had bleﬂed them, they re- tired weeping;-- by two {leps {he afcended the pile, and entered the arbour; on hcr entrance {he made a profound reverence at the feet of the deceafed, and advanced and feated herfelf by his head; {he looked in {ilent meditation on his face, for the {pace of a minute, then fet ﬁre to the arbour, in tbree flares. Obferving that {he had {et {ire to leeward, and that the ﬂames blew from her, inllantly {eeing her error, {he rofe, and fet fire to wind- ward, and refurned her ﬁation, Enﬁgn Daniel, with his cane, fe- parated the grafs and leaves on the windward ﬁde, by which means we had a diilinct view of her as {he fat. With what dignity and un- daunted a countenance, {he {et ﬁre t0 the pile the laPt time, and allhm- ed her feat, can only be conceived, for words cannot convey a juPt idea of her.—-'l‘he pile being of com- bullible matters, the fupporters of the roof were prefently confumed, and it fell in upon her,”

The victim has fometimes been forcibly relcued from the ﬁre by the Europeans, who have been pre- fent, and it is generally believed that the prefent ivife of Mr. job Charnock was thus taken from the pile t0 his bei.

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