a native servant to his European master during
the absence from home of the latter on duty in
the district:

"Sir,—I beg leave to inform you that at
present it rains continually, and consequently I
am very difficult to polish the furniture without
polishing wax. And rather I have a good news
to inform you, sir, that your madam's she goat,
Nany, brought forth two babes last evening;
one is male and the other is female; one is
black and the other is a white spotted one; so I
am trying my best to take care of them, taking
much pains from the dangers come to happen,
that is the neighbouring dogs and guanas
frequently coming to devour them, which is
prevented by my lovely attendance, and sleeping
near them at night.

"Sir, please give the information of this
intelligence to our mistress.

"Sir, please send me the expense for the
animals, and also I like to have some money
from my wages for my expenses, sir.

"Your most obedient servant,
"C. D. CAROLIR APPOO."

The accounts which you receive from your
servants are always written by these scribes,
who have sometimes the merest scintillation of
scholarship to guide their lonely way in the
language. A Bearer of mine up country used
to employ an old cripple, who had only a very
vague smattering of English, to translate his
accounts for him. Most wonderful things
appeared monthly. A small donation to a native
Christian was thus entered:

"Charities for the drunken
beggar .......................................1 R."

Another item was as follows:
"For one wine screws................. 1 R."

I suppose he meant a corkscrew.

Cash was always thus noted:
"Sir, I give, you take.................. 4 Rs."

The amanuensis always concluded with a brief
allusion to himself, generally in the following
terms:

"The above written by one deserving poor
man, and one pony by reason of bad legs, with
very children."

The inconsequential nature of this appeal is
equalled only by the remark of the judge:

"Prisoner at the bar, Providence has blessed
you with health and strength, instead of which
you go about the country stealing ducks."

One letter which I received from a native
servant, concluded with this salutation— "I
remain, sir, your beautiful bearer, Durwasah
Doss."

Correspondence between natives is generally a
much more simple affair than where an European
is concerned. The better classes write through
the post, as we do; but the poor cannot afford
this luxury, though the charge for a letter, not
exceeding something like a quarter of an ounce,
is only a half-anna, or three-farthings sterling.
The Ooriah bearers in Calcutta have a very
primitive way of managing such matters when
they want to communicate with their families
in the country. They write on a leaf, with an
iron style, and ask the first person they meet
walking that way to pass it in the direction
(say) of Cuttack. The droll part of the
arrangement is, that the letter always arrives in
safety.

I mentioned just now that my bearer
described a native Christian, to whom I had given
a donation, as "the drunken beggar." This
may, of course, have been a little piece of
prejudice; but I am afraid the epithet is not
unlikely to be deserved. The Christian converts
are not always among the most respectable of
the native community. Complete outcasts from
their own countrymen, they have no great
congeniality with Europeans, and, unless well taken
care of, they are very apt to relapse, and
become completely demoralised. Indeed, a native
Christian usually considers that the Europeans
are bound to provide for him in return for his
conversion, and not a few, there is every reason
to believe, embrace Christianity with this special
end in view. Doubtless there are many sincere
converts; but even these are reduced to so
helpless a condition, if left to themselves, that
their claims upon European sympathy cannot be
denied. As, however, it is found difficult to
satisfy every native who may honour us by
changing his religion according to his own
ideas, we find them here and there unprovided
for, subsisting by begging, and with no other
consolation than getting drunk.

It may be asked, why not employ them in
domestic service? Some few persons do, but
the plan is attended by many difficulties. In
the first place, the Christian is sure to get
bullied beyond all bounds by his Mussulman
and Hindoo fellow-servants. To get a complete
establishment of Christians would be no easy
task, and, even in the event of success, a new
difficulty would arise. A Christian Khansamah
would be so bullied in the bazaar that the supply
of food for the family would be most
precarious; and few persons, however favourable to
Indian missions, care to run the risk of being
starved three days in the week. Moreover,
unless you managed to convert all the
neighbouring water-carriers, your supply of that
necessary element might be cut off at any time.
There would, in fact, be a dead set made against
a Christian establishment, which could never be
kept in working order. For these reasons we
find that very few persons venture to employ
Christian servants. The great majority will
get them situations as clerks or teachers; will
grant them gratuitous pensions even; but they
will have nothing to do with them in their
own houses, unless they wish to have the said
houses made too hot to hold them—a very
unnecessary arrangement in India.

There is another class of servants which
judicious masters avoid as much as possible. I
mean natives who speak English. I here allude
principally to Bengal; in Bombay and Madras
the accomplishment is more general, and is not
attended with the same inconvenient results.