THE DHOBI. 
house. His senrfiiit always duly represented to Inio 
what he required, and an order on the ba,zar-man. 
was given for ti em, and these were the orders now 
brought up for settlement. When the orfiers Wrre 
all gone through, everything written down with the 
price attached, the sum told was added up, and foond 
to amount to £4 10s. Mr. Brown then took a large 
piece of paper and wrote down Karuppen Chetti — I 
owe you four pounds and ten shillings. 
Andrew Brown, 
“10 11 / 45 .’^ 
This paper he gave to the bazar-man, who held it in 
his hand in a sort of stupid astonishment, before he 
had recovered from which Mr. Brown had collected 
all the small orders lying in a heap on the table, 
taken them into the cook-house, and burnt them. The 
bazar-man at last said r What is this paper ? ” and was^ 
told of its contents. ‘ ^But, ” says he, ‘ ‘I want the money, ” 
the reply to wdiich was: “Come on pay-day and so 
the bazar-man went away slowly with his head hanging 
down, intently examining the piece of paper. But, as 
if he could read it, or rather as if he were reading it, 
he walked slower and slower,, and at last stood still,, 
and put the piece of paper very carefully into his^ 
cloth. Before he was well out of sight the head 
kangani made his appearance, and stated that master’s 
servant had bought a fowl from bim some time ago, 
for the ‘ ‘ periy a durai’s ” dinner. Mr. Brown asserted 
e had not’^Tm-goTSeiT the circumstance. The kangani 
required payment, the price was six shillings, master’s 
‘ ervant h 'd bought it for this price. On calling the 
servant this statement was confirmed, although Mr. 
j^.lBrown dit^clired it was a swindle altogether, and that 
.^^"l^%hree shillings was enough. The kangani was firm, such 
was the bai’gain. So Mr, Brown sat down at the table 
and wrot»‘ out an order on Karuppen (^hetti to pay the 
kangani ^ix shillings on his acoount ; this he delivered 
to the kangani, told him to run off as fast as lie- 
eotild, he would soon overtake the bazar-man, as he 
had not gone many minutes. This the kangani did:: 
he required no second telling, and as he did not 
return it was correctly concluded that he had over- 
taken the bazar-man and received his six shillmiis. 
i^gain the window is darkened, and a tall black man,, 
bare legs and shoulders, with a very bulky load on 
his h‘"ad, wrapped up in a sheet, stands in the 
verandah. The load seems too big for the man, he 
is top-heavy, but it, is not so heavy as it looks — • 
this is the dhobi or washerman, # who has brought, his 
master’s clean clothes., The bundle is taken inside, a 
|;)Ook is produced, and the clothes all laid down 
