26 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



ill. We suspected smallpox at once, and this it turned out 

 to be, declaring itself unmistakably. Of course, he had to 

 be carried down immediately to the hospital at Coimbatore, 

 the nearest town, and our headquarters. It was a distressing 

 journey for a sick, fevered man ; the very rough, jolting 

 descent to the foot of the hills, to begin with, and then a 

 sixty-mile stretch of well-nigh shadeless road ; but the level 

 portion was quickly covered, as arrangements were made 

 with the Tahsildars l to have plenty of fresh bearers in readi- 

 ness that the litter might go with the least delay possible. 

 Though marked, the man recovered, to our infinite relief , for 

 he was an especially valued and trusted servant. No one 

 else took the infection ; but scares like this are upsetting for 

 the time, and we felt uneasy for days. Nothing could be 

 done, however, so we had to chance it and be hopeful. 



We always had a good supply of medicines, lint, and so 

 on with us, and ordinary fever or accident cases F. could 

 deal with himself ; he had plenty of practice in both ! A 

 man is said to be either a fool or a physician by the time 

 he is forty ; my husband was not forty then ; but living, as 

 we did for months together, far away from a medical man, 

 experience had taught him, at any rate, the ' next best ' to 

 do in all cases. 



1 Head-men of villages and in Government service. 



