, we read of the
_Svayamvara_ of the lovely princess Draupadi. It was the occasion when she
had attained womanhood and was entitled to the right to choose her own
husband. How graphically are the royal suitors described as they press
their claims to her heart and hand in knightly tournament. It is one of
those scenes which reveal woman in the possession of some of her most
queenly rights and attractions.

The ancient ideals of womanly character have come down the centuries writ
large in their songs and annals; and these ideals are today held as
dearly, and are loved and sung with as much ardour, as at any time in the
history of India.

Every boy and girl of that land, today, knows the lovely Sita, wife of the
noble and heroic Rama,--how, while in the power of the terrible Ravana, and
at risk of life, she withstood every temptation and lived in unspotted
purity and in supreme devotion and faithfulness to her royal lord.

Who does not know of the faithful Saguntala, whose legend is woven into
one of the most beautiful and touching love stories the world has ever
known. This drama was the first translation from Sanskrit into the English
tongue and elicited the astonishment and lively admiration of such a man
as Goethe.

India has always boasted of the constancy and devotion of the beautiful
Savitri to her beloved Sattyavan. After the death of her husband, she
followed his soul into the spirit-world with fearless devotion and pleaded
with the King of Death with so much passion and persistence for his return
to life that he was finally restored to her in youthful vigour.

These are some of the stock illustrations of the model wife used
everywhere and at all times in India. And they have had an extensive and
wonderful influence in the molding of wifely ideals.

It is, as we see, a glorification of devotion, faithfulness,
constancy--traits that have always beautified the character of the Hindu
woman. It is true that, apart from her husband and from the kitchen, woman
has had few ideals urged upon her in that great country. Her ambitions
have not crossed the doorsteps of her house and home. She is measured
entirely by her relation to her husband or children. She is her lord's
companion and servant. Love to him is the wand which alone can transform
her life into gold. Her usefulness and her glory are the reflections of
his pleasure and of his satisfaction in her. She has no separate
existence. Apart from man, she is an abs