| of kin frequently pass ma ny hours in vigils over the grave. Some confide this unpleasant duty to a priest; who , for a few annas, performs various ceremonies and does all in his powcr to keep the deceased from troubling his surviving relatives and friends ; most of, whom, at such times, are partaking of sweetmeats, which, being prep ared on Thursdays, (joomah-raat,) are called joomah-raut ke metie; that is to say, ' Thursday's confectionary.'

Many of the native ladies, as well as the men, but especially 'the Mahomedans, are very dexterous in flying kites, called by them puttungs. The construction of these varies greatly from such as our boys use in their pastimes ; they are made more in imitation of a bird with its wings distended, though the extremities are short and rounded off. In order to preserve that figure, they are bordered with bamboo-wire, on which paper, of the lightest kind, but very tough, is pasted. The loop fastens to a very slight bamboo-rod passing down the centre. These kites have not tails, like ours, but are, nevertheless, easily managed by persons accustomed from their infancy to raising them; which they can do to an incredi-ble height. The lines used for this purpose are chiefly of cotton, well twisted, thin and strong: about forty or fifty yards of the upper end, nearest to