LINES ON FIRE. 
the wonder was, they did not do so ofteiier ; if they 
were of any age, nothing would save them, because 
the stick walls would have become a sort of touch- 
wood. They would sometimes be on fire for days 
and nobody know it 1 Thus, the cooly would light 
his cooking fire against the wall, some of the outside 
mud-plaster having crumbled off, one of the rotten 
wall posts would catch slightly, it would glow and 
spread, communicating itself to others, without being 
noticed, it might simmer in the wall this way for days 
until it got the thatch, when the whole building, of 
course, would burst out into a blaze, and speedily 
be consumed. One night we were awakened by a loud 
chattering of coolies in the lines ; this being nothing 
unusual, we were just putting the pillow over the head, 
instead of below it, in order to deaden the sound, 
when the bed-room seemed in a lurid glow : there was 
a glass window and no shutters. Starting up and 
looking out of the veiandah we saw a bright stream 
of light shooting lip into the darkness. There could 
be no doubt on the subject, a large set of lines, one 
hundred feet by thirty, was on fire ! It did not take 
long to dress and be on the spot. Too late. The fire 
had caught in the thatch, it roared and crackled, the 
blackened rafters were tumbling in, there was no 
hope, it must burn out, and take care it does not 
catch on the coffee. There was upwards of one hun- 
dred men in the lines, who were running about round 
the burning building, shouting and screaming, but 
doing nothing. The sight brought forcibly to mind our 
boyish experiences, at home, in the burning of a wasps’ 
bink. Of course no clue was ever obtained as to the 
origin of the fire, but it was a long time before we 
heard the end of its final result I Did one ask another 
for that small debt due, “ how could he when he had 
lost all his money in the fire ?” The women must have 
an advance of wages to buy bracelets, for had they not 
lost all their jewellery in the fire ? Touchingly and with 
many tears the dusky beauty would spread out her 
bare arms, which used to be hidden under a load of 
armlets and bracelets, all gone. We were tender- 
hearted, and knew^ the weakness of the ladies in favour 
of jewellery, and gave as an advance of wages, the 
sum required to purchase more, and were rew^arded 
with a flood of thanks as the ‘‘protector of the poor. 
But next day, on passing along the road, we met our 
fair friend, off on some excursion, loaded with jewellery, 
a walking shop, and, strange to say, the identical orna- 
ments that had been lost in the fire ! The exclamation 
came out : “Glad to see you have fouud your orna- 
mencs, so you had better return that little balance.” 
A toss of the head, a laugh, and a rush past, was 
