on the stage, as the female parts are almost exclusively performed by Hindu women.

"We had the pleasure of attending at a play one evening during the last full moon; and we must acknowledge that we were highly delighted. The house was crowded by upwards of a thousand visitors, of all sorts, Hindus, Mahammadans, and some Europeans and East-Indians, who were equally delighted. The play commenced a little before twelve o'clock, and continued, the next day, till half-past six in the morning. We were present from the beginning, and witnessed almost the whole representation, with the exception of the last two scenes. The subject of the performance was Bidya Sundar. It is tragic-comic, and one of the master-pieces in Bengáli, by the celebrated Bhárut Chandar. The play is commonly known by every person who can read a little Bengáli; yet, for the sake of our English readers, we must observe, that this play is much like that of Romeo and Juliet in Shakspeare. It commenced with the music of the orchestra, which was very pleasing. The native musical instruments, such as the sitâr, the sáranghi, the pakhwáz, and others, were played by Hindus, almost all Bráhmans. Among them the violin was admirably managed by Bábu Brajonáth Gosháin, who received frequent applauses from the surrounding visitors; but, unfortunately, he was but imperfectly heard by the assembly. Before the curtain was drawn, a prayer

was sung to the Almighty, a Hindu custom in such . ceremonies, and prologues were chaunted likewise, previous to the opening of every scene, explaining the subject of the representation. The scenery was generally imperfect the perspective of the pictures, the clouds, the waters, were all failures; they denoted both want of taste and sacrifice of judicious principles; and the latter were scarcely distinguished except by the one being placed above the other. Though framed by native painters, they would have been much superior had they been executed by careful hands. The house of Rájá Bira Singha, and the apartment of his daughter, were, however, done tolerably well. The part of Sundar, the hero of the poem, was played by a young lad, Shámácharn Bánarji, of Barranagore, who, in spite of his praiseworthy efforts, did not do entire justice to his performance. It is a character which affords sufficient opportunity to display theatrical talents by the frequent and sudden change of pantomime, and by playing such tricks as to prevent the Rájá, who is the father of the heroine of the play, from detecting the amorous plot. Young Shámácharn tried occasionally to vary the expression of his feelings, but his gestures seemed to be studied, and his motions stiff. The parts of the Rájá and others were performed to the satisfaction of the whole audience. The female characters, in particular, were excellent. The part of Bidyá (daughter of Rájá Bira Singha), the lover of

Sundar, was played by Rádhá Moni (generally called Moni), a girl of nearly sixteen years of age, and was very ably sustained; her graceful motions, her sweet voice, and her love-tricks with Sundar, filled the minds of the audience with rapture and delight. She never failed as long as she was on the stage. The sudden change of her countenance amidst her joys and her lamentations, her words so pathetic, and her motions so truly expressive, when informed that her lover was detected, and when he was dragged before her father, were highly creditable to herself and to the stage. When apprised that Sundar was ordered to be executed, her attendants tried in vain to console her; she dropped down and fainted, and, on recovering, through the care of her attendants, fell senseless again, and the audience was left for some time in awful silence. That a person, uneducated as she is, and unacquainted with the niceties of her vernacular language, should perform a part so difficult with general satisfaction, and receive loud and frequent applause, was, indeed, quite unexpected. The other female characters were equally well performed, and, amongst the rest, we must not omit to mention that the part of the Rani, or wife of Rájá Bira Singha, and that of Málini (a name applied to women who deal in flowers), were acted by an elderly woman, Jay Durgá, who did justice to both characters; in the two-fold capacity, she eminently appeared amongst the other performers, and delighted

the hearers with her songs; and another woman, Raj Cumari, usually called Ráju, played the part of a maidservant to Bidya, if not in a superior manner, yet as able as Jay Durgá.

"We rejoice that, in the midst of ignorance, such examples are produced, which are beyond what we could have expected. Ought not the very sight of these girls induce our native visitors present on this occasion to spare no time in educating their wives and daughters?"

The Englishman states, on the authority of a wellinformed correspondent, that, so far from these Hindu theatricals being attended with any advantage, moral or intellectual, to the Hindus, "it behoves every friend to the people to discourage such exhibitions, which are equally devoid of novelty, utility and even decency. A correspondent has lifted the veil with which the writer of the sketch sought to screen the real character of these exhibitions, and we hope we shall hear no more of them in the Hindu Pioneer, unless it be to denounce them."

Anglomania.-Saiyud Keramut Ali, now second Sudder Amin, under the superintendent, at Ajmir, in Rajpootana, has amused the public there by his staunch Anglomania. Having imbibed a taste for several European customs, during his intercourse with Englishmen, he set up a chair and table in the hall of justice, at which he presided on the opening of the

Ajmir term time, with all the gravity of a judge of the Court of King's Bench, sitting on the nisi prius side, at the Assizes. On taking up a case, however, one of the vakeels, a Mahomedan, refused to plead standing. The saiyud remained firm in defending the strength of his position and principle. The vakeel then went off to Mr. Edmonstone, before whom he protested that he and all the rest of the advocates would throw up their gowns, if the new judge was upheld in his innovations. Mr. Edmonstone, who

knows too well that lawyers are the last article likely to be inconveniently scarce in any market, replied quietly, that the vakeels might please themselves about continuing practice, but that he thought too much respect could not be paid to any seat of justice, and the more any officer of Government under him modelled his sittings on English rule, the firmer would be the fundamental principles of judicial administration. As soon as the result of the appeal became known, the gentlemen of the Ajmir bar hastened to disown the offended member, who had acted as the mouth-piece of the body. The senior Sudder Amin lost no time in following Keramut Ali's example, and the practice may now be considered a settled one.—Agra Ukbar, June 25, 1836.

Mendicity in India.-Beggars in this country so easily get a living, that all sorts of idle and loose cha