CONJEVERAM. 90 



or a ball dress, for all I knew to tlie contrary. At 

 dinner there was generally company, and a recherche 

 menu of delicacies ; in fact, during the week I spent 

 with my friend I undoubtedly found myself in clover : 

 a carriage was always at my disposal, and I never had 

 occasion to feel hot, for whenever I moved from one 

 seat to another, or from a room to the verandah, at 

 once its respective punkah was set in motion ; even 

 during the night it continued its function, and finding 

 the constant fanning inconvenient, I, with the greatest 

 difficulty, stopped it by grasping it tight with both my 

 hands. These punkah wallahs, at night, frequently 

 fall asleep during their monotonous occupation, when 

 people requiring their services wake them by emptying 

 a jug of water over their head through the open 

 window. There is, however, one custom that ought 

 to be abolished, that is the final salaming on the pr.rt 

 of all the domestics of the establishment, from the 

 butler to the sweeper, with a view of receiving a rupee, 

 which no guest can escape ; from the moment you have 

 swallowed your last meal they waylay you at every 

 step until you depart. 



About fifty miles south-west of Madras is the pretty 

 town of Conjeveram, celebrated for its silk manufac- 

 tories and temples, moreover familiar to Anglo-Indians 



H 2 



