42 



APPENDIX "A" 



By the courtesy of the " Asiatic Society of Bengal,^'' I am permitted to 

 reproduce the following two notes by me, from its " Journal " of 1906 



1. — A Note on the Mercantile Sign-language of India 



In the open-air markets of India, where idle spectators are by- 

 ancient custom entitled to increase the noise and confusion of 

 bargaining, secrecy in dealing would be impossible were it not for some 

 simple code of manual signs known to all Indian brokers and merchants. 

 The signs are simple and distinctive, and mistakes are hardly possible. 

 Suppose, for instance, it is a horse that is to be bargained for at a fair : 

 the unit in this case would be a hundred rupees. The buyer and seller 

 extend their right hands, over which one of them casts a concealing 

 handkerchief or the end of his coat or pagri. The seller will, of course, 

 at first indicate an exhorbitant figure ; the buyer, one much lower than 

 he intends to give. If the difference between the two sums is very 

 great, it is usually an indication that the negotiations will terminate 

 abruptly. Now, suppose that the buyer wishes to offer Es. 266 : he 

 grasps the forefinger and the second finger of the seller's hand to 

 express two units or two sums of a hundred rupees each. He next 

 doubles up the third finger to express half the unit, or Ks. 50 : 

 total Bs. 250. The value of the fingers now drops from Bs. 100 to 

 Bs. 10 : he, therefore, to add ten to the figure expressed, grasps the fore- 

 finger and makes the price Es. 260. The second finger doubled up adds 

 half, or Ks. 5, and makes the sum Es. 265. The value of the fingers 

 now drops from ten to one : he, therefore, grasps a forefinger and makes 

 the price Bs. 261. 



The bystanders, though in complete ignorance of the sums asked and 

 refused, take an active part in the proceedings and champion the cause 

 of the buyer — at least if the buyer be a Sahib. " Ghar ha, dushman, 

 enemy of your own house," they say to the seller, " Why don't 

 you sell ? " 



Mules are, in the Punjab, generally owned by Khatris ; so when it is 

 a mule that is being bargained for, the proceedings are prolonged, and 

 the excitement sometimes becomes excessive. The seller is thumped 

 violently on the back, and pushed and shaken till he breaks away in a 

 huff. He is then forcibly brought back, sulky and frowning, and made 

 to extend his hand and continue the negotiations. When the bargain is 



