When a death occurs in a Mussulmaun family, the survivor provides dinners on the third, seventh, and fortieth days succeeding, in memory of the deceased person; these dinners are sent in trays to the immediate relatives and friends of the party,—­on which sacred occasion all the poor and the beggars are sought to share the rich food provided.  The like customs are observed for Hosein every year.  The third day offering is chiefly composed of sugar, ghee, and flour, and called meetah[6]; it is of the consistence of our rice-puddings, and whether the dainty is sent to a king or a beggar there is but one style in the presentation—­all is served in the common brown earthen dish,—­in imitation of the humility of Hosein and his family, who seldom used any other in their domestic circle.  The dishes of meetah are accompanied with the many varieties of bread common to Hindoostaun, without leaven, as sheah-maul,[7] bacherkaunie,[8] chapaatie,[9] &c.; the first two have milk and ghee mixed with the flour, and nearly resemble our pie-crust.  I must here stay to remark one custom I have observed amongst Natives:  they never cook food whilst a dead body remains in the house;[10] as soon as it is known amongst a circle of friends that a person is dead, ready-dressed dinners are forwarded to the house for them, no one fancying he is conferring a kindness, but fulfilling a duty.

The third day after the accomplishment of the Mahurrum ceremonies is a busy time with the inmates of zeenahnahs, when generally the mourning garb is thrown off, and preparations commence at an early hour in the morning for bathing and replacing the banished ornaments.  Abstinence and privation being no longer deemed meritorious by the Mussulmauns, the pawn—­the dear delightful pawn, which constitutes the greatest possible luxury to the Natives,—­pours in from the bazaar, to gladden the eye and rejoice the heart of all classes, who after this temporary self-denial enjoy the luxury with increased zest.

Again the missee[11] (a preparation of antimony) is applied to the lips, the gums, and occasionally to the teeth of every married lady, who emulate each other in the rich black produced;—­such is the difference of taste as regards beauty;—­where we admire the coral hue, with the females of Hindoostaun, Nature is defaced by the application of black dye.  The eyelid also is pencilled afresh with prepared black, called kaarjil[12]:  the chief ingredient in this preparation is lampblack.  The eyebrow is well examined for fear an ill-shaped hair should impair the symmetry of that arch esteemed a beauty in every clime, though all do not, perhaps, exercise an equal care with Eastern dames to preserve order in its growth.  The mayndhie is again applied to the hands and feet, which restores the bright red hue deemed so becoming and healthy.