286 AROUND THE WORLD VIA INDIA. 



I had taken. To pack and to unpack, in a tempera- 

 ture ranging between 92 and 105 F. every day or two 

 and to take care of the baggage and bring it from sta- 

 tion to hotel and from hotel to station in such an un- 

 congenial climate, are tasks that should be avoided by 

 the traveler and assigned to a coolie. At Colombo I 

 engaged Lazarus, a Ceylonese Tamil, about 26 years of 

 age, who was to accompany me as my servant from 

 there to Bombay. The understanding was that I should 

 pay his transportation both ways, third-class, and that 

 he should receive a rupee and a half (48 cents) a day. 

 The whole expense for the required time amounted to 

 $35.66. (Fig. 54.) 



Lazarus was a typical Tamil, slender, lithe, coal- 

 black, with sharp, rather intelligent eyes. He had a 

 wife and two children and lived' near Colombo. He in- 

 herited the Roman Catholic faith and whenever we 

 visited a Catholic church he sprinkled himself with 

 holy water and made the sign of the cross. A closer 

 acquaintance with him, however, threw some shadows 

 on the religious life of this member of the Roman Catho- 

 lic faith. His greatest failing was in money matters. 

 Our accounts did not always agree, but, as the amount 

 was usually small, his bills were generally passed and 

 paid; however, as this was a daily affair, I am satisfied 

 that some rupees, many annas and much copper found 

 their way almost every clay into a corner of his soiled 

 handkerchief instead of back into my pocket. I have 

 learned by a so7newhat expensive experience that a pig- 

 mented skin abhors truth and cherishes to represent 

 things in the wrong light, and that whether yellow or 

 black its owner, heathen or convert can seldom be 

 depended on. I have learned to comprehend why the 

 Devil, the father of lies, when pictured, is usually 

 made to appear in black. Questionable as the little 

 transactions of Lazarus may have been, his services 

 proved invaluable and, in the end, I was the gainer so 

 far as expense was concerned. He was a very good ser- 



