Observations on the Mussulmauns of India

Observations on the Mussulmauns of India, credited to Mrs. Meer Hasan Ali, is descriptive of their manners, customs, habits and religious opinions, made during a twelve years' residence in their immediate society. The preface to the second edition says the text of the original edition has been reproduced without change, even the curious transliterations of the vernacular words and phrases having been preserved. The book is humbly dedicated, with permission, to Her Royal Highness the Princess Augusta.

The writer reports having often been obliged to hear the Mussulmauns accused of an ostentatious display of their frequent acts of charity. The writer also says that when the needy benefit by the rich, it is unjust to scrutinize the heart's motive. One description says the infant is submitted to the hands of the barber, who shaves the head, as commanded by their law, and the mother bathes and dresses in her most costly attire. A hunting scene describes a tiger that sprang towards the elephant but was instantly thrown back by her trunk to a good distance.