6 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



to say that he was coming immediately, I told the servants 

 to hasten in every way, for ' that very common fellow, your 

 master, is coming ! ' the termination of an ' n ' in the word 

 verdn (coming), as I spoke it, instead of the strong ' r ' sound 

 in verdr, making all the difference in what I said, and what 

 they, in their innate courtesy, understood and accepted 

 with deep salaams, as meaning ' that greatest of living 

 masters, your master.' 



The very general ' n ' termination to Low Tamil words 

 gives a nasal sound, or impression, whereas the final ' r ' 

 has a sonorous, rolling, and fine effect, conveying to the ear 

 the knowledge that it is a question of a personage, not of a 

 mere person. Herein lies the distinction between the two 

 varieties of the one language. 



High Tamil, again, is spoken in the Courts of Justice, in 

 lectures and so on, and is familiar to all educated natives, 

 as has been already said ; even they do not employ it in 

 common life. 



The third grade of Tamil, though understood, is never 

 used by any one with pretension to breeding. This was 

 amusingly illustrated one day when we heard a lordly- 

 looking Brahmin gentleman trying to give an order to a very 

 low-caste person — his baggage coolie — circumstances at the 

 moment obliging him so to condescend. 



The Brahmin could very well have explained himself, and 

 fluently too ; would, no doubt, have done so, had we not 

 been within hearing. As it was, F. gave the order, and the 

 two solemnly exchanged salaams, not a smile on either face. 

 That Brahmin knew that we knew ; so did the coolie, for 

 there was an amused grin as he now did what he understood 

 was wanted of him. 



Most of us, mistresses of households, knew somewhat 

 more of the language than we owned to, finding it to be a 

 good plan on the whole, though we did not always relish what 

 we caught. 



