[1815.—"In reference to this mark of strong attachment (of Sati for Siva), a Hindoo widow burning with her husband on the funeral pile is called sutee."—Ward, Hindoos, 2nd ed. ii. 25.]
1828.—"After having bathed in the river, the widow lighted a brand, walked round the pile, set it on fire, and then mounted cheerfully: the flame caught and blazed up instantly; she sat down, placing the head of the corpse on her lap, and repeated several times the usual form, 'Ram, Ram, Suttee; Ram, Ram, Suttee.'"—Wanderings of a Pilgrim, i. 91-92.
1829.—"Regulation XVII.
"A Regulation for declaring the practice of Suttee, or of burning or burying alive the widows of Hindoos, illegal, and punishable by the Criminal Courts."—Passed by the G.-G. in C., Dec. 4.
1839.—"Have you yet heard in England of the horrors that took place at the funeral of that wretched old Runjeet Singh? Four wives, and seven slave-girls were burnt with him; not a word of remonstrance from the British Government."—Letters from Madras, 278.
1843.—"It is lamentable to think how long after our power was firmly established in Bengal, we, grossly neglecting the first and plainest duty of the civil magistrate, suffered the practices of infanticide and suttee to continue unchecked."—Macaulay's Speech on Gates of Somnauth.
1856.—"The pile of the sutee is unusually large; heavy cart-wheels are placed upon it, to which her limbs are bound, or sometimes a canopy of massive logs is raised above it, to crush her by its fall.... It is a fatal omen to hear the sutee's groan; therefore as the fire springs up from the pile, there rises simultaneously with it a deafening shout of 'Victory to Umbâ! Victory to Ranchor!' and the horn and the hard rattling drum sound their loudest, until the sacrifice is consumed."—Râs Mâlâ, ii. 435; [ed. 1878, p. 691].
[1870.—A case in this year is recorded by Chevers, Ind. Med. Jurispr. 665.]
1871.—"Our bridal finery of dress and feast too often proves to be no better than the Hindu woman's 'bravery,' when she comes to perform suttee."—Cornhill Mag. vol. xxiv. 675.
1872.—"La coutume du suicide de la Satî n'en est pas moins fort ancienne, puisque déjà les Grecs d'Alexandre la trouvèrent en usage chez un peuple au moins du Penjâb. Le premier témoignage brahmanique qu'on en trouve est celui de la Brihaddevatâ qui, peut-être, remonte tout aussi haut. A l'origine elle parait avoir été propre à l'aristocratie militaire."—Barth, Les Religions de l'Inde, 39.