realising her and his own position, and wholly depending, for food, clothing and every thing else, upon his parents. He can be easily influenced, directly and indirectly, to act towards his defenceless wife by his mother and sister in any way they like. The hardships of the unfortunate daughter-in-law in the Patidar caste in the Ahmedabad and Kaira Collectorates, and among the Anavala Desais of the Surat District are unparalleled. I must refer to the sympathising reader to the chapters in which they are faintly described in this book.
Farther on the writer says, “The wife can scarcely appeal to her husband against domestic oppression." Very often in Gujarat there is no one to appeal to even in theory, because the husband, encouraged by his mother takes the principal share in oppressing her. Quite recently I had myself to bear the sorrow of witnesing such oppression towards a young innocent girl of about 14 years, by her dastardly husband, a matriculated young man of about 22 years of age. Shame to him ! Shame to his education! His mother and other relatives, upon whom he depends for his maintenance, instead of checking him, encouraged him in his disgraceful course.
"If discontent seizes the daughter-in-law and the worm of regret pierces her soul, she may sicken and die or commit suicide." This takes place not unfrequently, perhaps more frequently in Gujarat than in any other province in India. Such a sad event causes little or no regret to the fiendish mother-in-law and her son. While the dead body is still burning, the latter is, in many castes, betrothed to a new victim. A common saying among the mothers-in-law, to their eternal shame, is that the death of a daughter-in-law is of as little consequence as that of a female house-rat.' There are also other current phrases expressing similar contempt.
I now present to my readers the other editorial.
"We are indebted to the Deccan Herald for an account of domestic barbarity which occurred the other day in the family of a Brahmin in Poona, and which betrays in its most hideous deformity, not only the cruelty of the unmanly coward, but also the horrible nature of the institution of child marriage. The blood
