l occasions of rejoicing the first person to be
considered in the distribution of gifts; she is, indeed, only second in
the estimation of the parents to the child she has reared and nourished;
and with the child, she is of more consequence even than his natural
parents. The wet-nurse, I have said, is retained in the family to the end
of her days, and whatever children she may have of her own, they are
received into the family of her employer without reserve, either as
servants or companions, and their interest in life regarded and watched
over with the solicitude of relations, by the parents of the boy she has
nursed.

At seven years old the boys are circumcised, as by their law directed. The
thanksgiving when the child is allowed to emerge from confinement, gives
rise to another jubilee in the family.

At Lucknow we see, almost daily, processions on their way to the Durgah
(before described),[12] where the father conveys the young Mussulmaun to
return thanks and public acknowledgements at the sainted shrine. The
procession is planned on a grand scale, and all the male friends that can
be collected attend in the cavalcade to do honour to so interesting an
occasion.

When the prayer and thanksgiving have been duly offered in the boy's name
at the Durgah, money is distributed amongst the assembled poor; and on the
way home, silver and copper coins are thrown to the multitude who crowd
around the procession. The scrambling and tumult on these occasions can
only be relished by the Natives, who thus court popularity; but they
rarely move in state without these scenes of confusion following in their
train. I have witnessed thousands of people following the King's train, on
his visiting the Durgah at Lucknow, when his Majesty and his Prime
Minister scattered several thousands of rupees amongst the populace. The
noise was deafening, some calling blessings on the King, others
quarrelling and struggling to force away the prize from the happy one who
had caught, in the passing shower, a rupee or two in his drapery. Some of
the most cunning secure the prize in their mouths to save themselves from
the plunderer; some are thrown down and trampled under foot; the sandy
soil, however, renders their situation less alarming than such a calamity
would be in London, but it is altogether a scene of confusion sufficient
to terrify any one, except those who delight in their ancient customs
without regarding consequences to individuals.

T