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carried back to the mother-in-law. To do so would be to add fuel to the flame and raise up persecution. It is contrary to recognised custom for the parents of a wife to come with complaints to the parents of a husband. Stifled anger is therefore a thing of frequent occurrence. The visits of the husband to his mother-in-law are short and infrequent, so that whatever influence might be exercised in favour of the wife in this way is almost nothing; there is very little opportunity, and custom, as we have already said, makes it prohibitory.

The native mother-in-law is not free from the infirmities of woman-kind; the limit of her occupation is co-extensive only with her heart; her domestic duties are of a drudging nature; and her ambitions are not elevating. Moreover, native married life makes the mother-in-law prematurely old. By the time her son becomes a husband the world has lost its charms for her, and her sympathies with the young have almost completely decayed. The daughter-in-law holds an inferior position, and is ordered about not only by her mother-in-law, but too frequently by her own household servants. From the most careful observation we believe that very often the husband disapproves of the position assigned to his wife and disapproves also of the treatment which she receives. If he would stand by his wife and assert her position, he must accept the odds that will be brought against him - he must enter the lists against his own mother. If it is a virtue to acquiesce in a mother's will upon all occasions, then native society does possess this virtue in a remarkable degree; the husband will permit his wife to be beaten without defending her in the belief that his mother will not do what is wrong. Violent conduct is not however very frequent on the part of the mother-in-law. Violent and irritating language is far more frequent, as it is the most frequent cause of domestic misery. When custom all around proclaims what a wife is entitled to or what she may expect from her husband's relations, the mind is easily broken into the new life and the position is accepted with a child-like faith in its correctness. If discontent seizes the daughter-in-law and the worm of regret pierces her soul, she may sicken and die or commit suicide. It is under these circumstances, and often when sickness strikes down the wife, that her own parents lake her way and prevent her return. Then it is that a permanent fued arises between the two families, and foremost amongst the combatants are the two mothers-in law. There are several reasons why native mothers rejoice when sons are born to them, not the least important of which is the consideration that they (The mothers), will be the future ruling mothers-in-law. The departure

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