UNASKED-FOR ADVICE. 
was not 80 much talking his adversary down, as that 
the adversary sees it is no use, who does not give 
in one bit, but merely gives up opposition, being 
tired of the tiresome talking and knowing that 
epposition is just adding fuel to the fire instead of 
putting it out, for the more you oppose your excess- 
ive talker, in order to silence or put to an end his 
talking, the more talkative he becomes ! His charac- 
ter is at stake ; you have dared to oppose and question, 
him ! He must explain, and explains away at such, 
a rate, and gives such a number of explanations, that 
they all just pass in succession through the brain, 
which is very briefly and proper!}^ deflned b}^ * ‘pass- 
ing in at one ear and out at the other.” Mr. Skulk 
was never at a loss, always i-eady : and his weapon, 
was talk. After talking for a long lime on (he subject 
you had disputed, you had dared to question, with- 
out stopping for any reply, and just in the s tme 
run of talk, the subject of discourse would com- 
pletely change, not once, but often, so tJiat, -when 
his argument about the land or rather wdiicli com- 
menced with the land, came to an end, and he rap- 
ped his knuckles on the table, saying, “It’s the best 
quality I er evsaw,” the hearer would he bewildered. 
“I say. 1 thought you were insisting a little ago 
it was bacl, that land,” Mr. Skulk would give an- 
other indignant rap, and say, “So it is, but it’s 
rice, rice I’m speaking of just now.” 
In return for the hospitality of his host, Mr. Skulk 
would deem it necessary to give all manner of advice 
relative to the works going on. “You are all wrong 
in your mode of erecting buildings. How that bun- 
galow is just absurd. If you had only seen the 
one I built for myself, over on the coast. That was 
something like a bungalow.” So he would talk 
you over, and, as he had nothing to do and under- 
stood all about it, he would amuse himself superin- 
tending the work. You might give him a trial, but 
his demands for coolies were so excessive, that the 
whole force on the estate was not nearly enough to 
meet his requirements, and you would be fain to 
exclaim, “Coffee even at 100/ will never stand this.” 
He would casually state, he bad once been in the 
Engineering or Survey Department, and that the road 
you had traced, and were cutting would never do. 
Just to oblige you, he would take a turn at the 
road tracer himself, and, as it was hot dusty work, 
he hoped you had plenty of beer. Having completed 
a short trace before breakfast, he would come in and 
consume that half-dozen of beer, which you had 
calculated would, on a pinch, last till next “ cooly 
to Kandy day,” bravely stating he had exhausted 
