NO PINT BOTTLES. 
with rioe, salt- fish, and curry-stuffs, and let ns just 
dwell (Hi tills subject a little and also fancy what 
without doubt was the case. The boy at the bunga- 
low or rather grass or talipot hut, and feeling very 
hungry on a Sunday afternoon, the rice having been 
all done on Saturday evening, going out to the top of 
a rising ground or round the turn of some jungle 
path, casting longing glances to see if there was no 
appearance of master with that rice. It was get- 
ting dark, and nobody was to be seen, and just further 
suppose the bitter disappointment of that boy, at 
having no rice that night. He would bewail his 
hard fate. He would leave. He could not stop wdth 
a master who treated him so, who w^as no doubt 
enjoying himself at Pussellawa, making a “ night of 
it ” with his friends with plenty of rice and curry, 
even beer, while he w'as left here alone very hungry. 
It had been dark for half-an-hour ; the boy, as a 
last and only resource, had gone to sleep, when he 
suddenly W'akes up. Master is shouting out, “ You 
lazy rascal ; asleep, fire out, nothing to cook rice 
wdth, alter having carried it for twenty miles, ” The 
boy would start up, become all animation, and say 
he (lid not think that master was coming, for he had 
been down the path, down to the very river to meet 
master, and to help him to carry that rice. The 
master might believe this or not, as he liked, as this 
WTi,s thirty-one years ago. Very probably he did, and 
supposed he had secured the services of a most af- 
fectionate and considerate servant. And thus it was 
the old Pussellawa restliouse was a general rendez- 
vous of the old Dimbula planters. 
W e cannot get the old pony out of our head : how 
comfortable he looks after his feed of dry paddy straw. 
We a3*e getting very uncomfortable, muster up courage, 
and say , ‘ ‘ Boy, we will take something before start- 
ing ; w^e suppose you have no bread ? ” “ None,” was 
the prompt reply. ‘‘Well, some hard biscuits, a bit 
of cheese, and a pint bottle of beer. The reply was, 
“No pint bottles got.” This used to be a very com- 
mon answer. Now we don’t mean to make any posi- 
tive assertion, but simply suspect, had very grave 
suspicions, that the keeping of ‘ no pint bottles ’ was 
‘ a dodge, ’ because the result of this reply almost in- 
variably was, “ Well, bring a quart.” The resthouse- 
keepers might well reason, what is the use of having 
pints when they just prevent us from selling quarts, 
double the quantity. Now here was a pretty mess ; 
we had committed ourselves by saying rashly we 
would take something before starting ; a bottle of 
beer would be Is 9d or 2s ; there were no pints, and 
