ARAB STORY-TELLER. 43 



native houses here of the better class have a 

 verandah below, often constructed of blackwood 

 tastefully carved. There are also a number of 

 Hindu temples and Mahomedan mosques, with gilt 

 domes and slender minarets to call the faithful to 

 prayer. 



Owing to the cooler climate, the town standing 

 nearly two thousand feet above the level of the sea, 

 the natives here wear more clothing than they do 

 in the plain, and those in Government situations 

 adopt a very becoming fashion of winding their 

 snow-white muslin cloth in graceful folds round the 

 lower part of the body, often touching the heel, 

 a white jacket and a small embroidered skull cap 

 completing their costume. Nearly all the women 

 I saw here were ugly, and wrapped up in endless 

 muslin, or other coloured material. Adjoining the 

 south side of the city there is a very large tank, 

 around which, during the cool hours of the evening, 

 ,gaily-dressed natives squat in groups, either talking 

 and gesticulating violently, or else listening to a pro- 

 fessional raconteur. It is amusing to watch the people 

 attentively taking in every word, and in the end 

 readily rewarding their benefactor with a few coppers. 

 This custom of relating wonderful stories Is pre- 

 valent all over the East, and especially amongst 



