140 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



priests, Salvation Army evangelists, and mission people 

 generally, who in their quiet heroism go unshrinkingly 

 everywhere, rarely contract this, the ordinary leprosy of 

 the country. 1 



I believe it to be no more than leucoderma (white skin), 

 a diseased condition of the skin, in which there is a defi- 

 ciency of colouring matter, but which is harmless and 

 unimportant ; to the eye it consists of palish blotches, 

 showing up in a startling manner on a dark skin. Some- 

 times it occurs merely in spots ; sometimes almost the entire 

 body is covered. I have seen it myself in one or two 

 instances when no brown at all was visible, only that dread- 

 ful sickly hue ; most dreadful in appearance, but, as I 

 have said, not in the least painful ; nor does it disqualify 

 the subjects of it in their business. The children of such 

 persons may or may not be thus marked. 



It happened once that some mat-makers had been sent 

 for to fit rattan matting all over a bungalow we had just 

 taken. I saw them coming along under their twenty to 

 thirty-foot sheaves of springy cane ; amongst them were 

 several ' piebalds,' who had large pinkish-white patches on 

 their brown bodies. It gave me quite a turn, and I said as 

 much to the servants, who assured me that there was nothing 

 the matter with the men that could affect other people ; 

 1 only country leprosy ' they called it, evidently having no 

 prejudices against it personally. Nevertheless, so unpleas- 

 ant did they look to me that I gave orders they should be 

 paid their day's wage, and asked to change themselves for 

 others of one colour all over. They were not the least 

 offended at the request, and laying down their bundles 

 (which I would rather they had taken with them) salaamed 

 and retired, much marvelling doubtless, but looking 

 jubilant at being paid for doing nothing ! The others, 



1 Compare Matt. xxv. 6. Simon's leprosy must have been of this harmless 

 sort. 



