The English reader perhaps has never heard of a beggar such as I shall now depict.  One may happen to be in a reflective mood, and aroused from his meditations by what he supposes to be a cow lowing close to his ear.  He starts up and goes to the window, but instead of that quadruped he finds a man standing with a rope round his neck, and a woful countenance, holding out his palms, indicating that he wants charity.  This man has had the misfortune to lose his cow; and as it died tethered, his religion imposes on him the penalty of begging from door to door without speaking, but imitating the cow, till he has realised enough to purchase one of these sacred animals, and to give something besides in charity to the Brahmins.  This provision was perhaps made by the religion of the country in favour of the cow, to preserve so useful an animal from ill-treatment; and it is astonishing to see how implicitly the Hindoo submits himself to a mere convention, which he might easily evade.

A LATE PRISON REPORT.

In the Sixteenth Report on the state of the Prisons, by Mr Frederic Hill, lately laid before parliament, will be found some passages worthy of general attention.  While speaking favourably of the system of discipline now ordinarily pursued towards prisoners, Mr Hill is obliged to admit that certain prisons are rendered much too attractive; in fact, that they create crime.  It is important that this condition of affairs should be known.  Good food and medical attendance are, it seems, the attractions.  The following are Mr Hill’s words, with the quotations he makes from the statements of prison officials:—­

’Several of the prisons continue to be attractive, to certain classes of persons, instead of repulsive; owing, apparently in some instances, to the better dietary of the prison as compared with that of the workhouse; in others, to the good medical treatment generally provided in prisons; and in others, to a practice of giving prisoners clothing on their liberation, a practice which, did the law permit, might be replaced by a rule enabling prisoners to earn clothing by extra labour.

’The governor of the borough prison at Cambridge stated that many persons were reckless about committing offences, because they preferred being sent to the prison to going to the workhouse, owing chiefly (according to their statements) to their getting better food at the prison.

’The chaplain of the prison at Spilsby stated as follows:—­“I am sorry to observe that the present system of discipline here does not deter people from the commission of crime.  Several have said that they would rather come here than go to the Union workhouse.” ...