104 EVERYDAY LIFE ON A 



arrange it all for you," he kindly said, and he 

 was as good as his word. He ordered round a 

 light bullock cart into which my luggage was 

 put, and I proceeded on my way comfortably 

 seated on my box, but did not reach Kandy 

 until after dark, having been five hours doing 

 sixteen miles. It is I believe a common trick 

 of the natives to bribe the drivers of hired 

 carriages, and annex them at the ferry, if it 

 suits their own convenience to do so. 



The poor little girl who was taken some 

 weeks ago to India, and married there became 

 so dreadfully homesick when her father and 

 brother left that her mother has had to go to 

 her. Family feeling appears to be very strong 

 amongst the Tamils. How few village mothers 

 in England would undertake a journey as far as 

 to Southern France to see a homesick daughter. 



Our Sinhalese servant did not prove a 

 success, he became more and more stupid until 

 Rob could stand him no longer. We have in 

 his place a remarkably sharp " podian " (young 

 lad) who goes by the name of " Nipper." His 

 father is head servant to our friends the Ms, 

 and is quite a travelled man, having visited 

 London eleven times, when cook on the Clan 

 Line of Steamers. He has nine sons. Nipper 

 has been well trained by him and by a lady in 

 whose service he was. His father has sent him 

 out into the world with a good outfit and three 



