CEYLON COCOA ESTATE 59 



CHAPTER V 



March ioth. — A long time has -passed since I 

 last wrote in my journal. An attack of fever 

 necessitated my going for change of air to the 

 higher country, and I had the great delight of 

 an utterly new experience, namely being carried 

 four miles almost straight up hill in a chair, the 

 poles thereof resting on the shoulders of four 

 coolies. It was an experience. To begin with, 

 I am by no means a light weight, and one of 

 the four coolies was such a short, slight, weak 

 looking little man, that I felt very much as if I 

 ought to carry him, and not he me ; the differ- 

 ence in height between him and the others gave 

 the chair a lurching, as well as a swinging move- 

 ment. Sometimes, my little friend put the pole 

 on his head instead of his shoulder, and then we 

 got on better ; but at the most critical moments 

 he had a tendency to totter, which kept one on 

 the "qui vive." In returning, I had four men 

 of the same height, and it made a wonderful 

 difference in my comfort. The chair was of 



