EXPERIENCES Of MR. STALE. 
a permanent warning not to step upon the flowers 
^‘Flowers!” Well, may you exclaim, for they consisted 
merely of those sorts that required no effort at cul- 
tivation, just such as would grow wild anywhere, and 
under any circumstances whatever, such as a rank 
species of marigold, which seeded and propagated itself, 
until at last the whole plot was covered and overrun 
with it, and some evening in desperation you would 
seize hold of a mamoty and root up the whole of this 
wilderness of marigolds, collect it in heaps, get coolies 
to carry it off and deposit it at the edge of the jungle, 
where it revived, raised its bright head, and in revenge 
for your cruel treatment deposited all its seeds far 
and near amongst the coffee. The coolies in weeding, 
unless under strict personal supervision, would not 
pull it up ; the women, tenderlj" and with care, would 
pick off all the fresh full-blown flowers, and stick them 
amongst their hair, on their heads, until they some- 
times presented quite the appearance of a marigold 
bush, which shone forth in bright and brilliant contrast 
against the jet black hair and face besmeared with 
saffron. Nor was this all : they would string the flowers 
on pieces of thread, and wear them as necklaces, and 
would also insert them into the large holes in the flaps of 
the ears, for want of more substantial earrings. But the 
lady must take care, great care, when decked out in this 
inexpensive decoration, for what, it might be on very 
purpose, the suspicious husband or jealous lover would 
purposely suggest, or assist in these adornments, on 
purpose to watch her, and sometime after would cast 
on her a stern glance, and say : “ Minatchi, your 
necklace is all crushed ; has any one dared to put his 
arm round your neck ? Minatchi, your earrings 
are gone; who has been pinching your ears ? who has 
dared to stroke your beautiful glossy hair, redolent with 
the sweet scent of coconut oil, for these bright mari- 
gold flowers which so thickly studded it are all gone? 
Oh, Minatchi, what have you been doing?” The 
lady would toss her head disdainfully. “ Doing, indeed,” 
she would just like to see the man who would 
dare to put his arm round her neck, or lay a 
finger on her head.; and as for any one pinching 
her ears, why two could play at that game. The 
suspicious husband or jealous lover v/ould then 
say, “ Quite right, and as here we are two of 
us, let’s have a game.” The two w’ould then 
commence their little game, and from the howling and 
yelling that ensued, one would be apt to suppose they 
had a very peculiar way of amusing themselves. 
But the result of the game, however much it might 
against the lady at the time, would ultimately end 
m her favour ; and the way she turned the tide in her 
