FURTHEH EXPERIENCES OF MR. FRESH. 
Eravitunge, which means twenty-five— -they were to 
open out twenty. five holes ^ but the bulk of the men 
seemed to consider this a very melancholy joke, and 
quite out of place, as they all gave a very mournful 
and unhappy smile, laid down their tools, sat down 
at the end peg on the allotted line, and looked 
very steadily and reproachfully at it. The kanganis 
now arrived in great haste at the working place, as 
if they were surely going to do some great actions. 
On the state of matters being laid before them they 
raised a great shout, poked their long sticks into the 
ribs of the coolies who w^ere sitting looking at the 
pegs, and called them lazy “ pandies ; this word was 
repeated so often that ^‘master” felt some curiosity to 
know^ what was the meaning of it ; so he called the 
conductor and asked. The conductor replied, that it 
meant “ pigs, ” that “ pandy ’’ was the Tamil word for. 
a pig. So in spite of the very melancholy state of 
matters, Mr. Fresh could not resist his melancholy 
joke also, and said he understood it all now, for it 
was quite natural for pigs to sit looking at pegs. The 
kanganis now got the coolies to stand up, pulled out 
the peg, and said, “ With your mamotie make a hole 
exactly on this spot j” so the cooly threw aside his 
blanket on the top of a large burnt log, fastened his 
hair behind in a gundy ” or knot, bared his shoulders 
and the upper portion of the body, fastening the cloth 
in tiglit folds and rolls round his waist, took the 
mamotie from the hands of the kangani, firmly grasped 
the handle with both his hands, raised his arms high 
over his head, which supported the tool in that posi- 
tion, in which it remained for some seconds of time, 
so that a casual onlooker would be at a loss to know 
whether the man that grasped the tool intended to 
allow it to tumble over harmlessly behind his back 
or to let it fall wfith full force upon his bare feet and 
toes ; but he did neither. He made a very audible 
noise in drawing in his breath, and as the pent up 
breath came out of his mouth again with a loud 
‘‘ wheese, ” down came the mamotie with great force 
and was stuck into the soil nearly up to its hilt in a 
mass of stones and roots. He lets go the handle, and 
looks at the kangani, probably awaiting further in- 
structions. They were soon and easily given, and 
consisted merely of the long stick, the badge of kaii- 
gani-ship, being again pushed into the ribs of our very 
energetic labourer, who began to feel himself some- 
what in the position of the elephant under the goad 
of his driver. So he again seizes hold of the handle 
of the tool, presses it backwards, or from him, in order 
to turn up the sod, but bis strength was insufficient; 
in this extremity his kangani feels hound to lend a 
