EXPERIENCES OF MR. STALE. 
round the corner, and master calls ont, “Sar.^’ 
‘ Now yon look out and see that none of the women come 
and gather marigolds.’^ “Very good ” responds the 
b >y, highly delighted. And why ? Just because 
now he will gather them himself, and take them as 
presents to the ladies, with whom, of course, he will 
now be a person of some importance ; he will even 
make necklaces himself, when master is out at work, 
arid take them to the lines as presents, and of course 
he will ask and obtain leave to fit them on, and he 
will make them to fit and join just under the chin ; 
and it would always take some time to do this, as 
also require a very close inspection, and he would 
never be troubled with suspicious husbands and jealous 
lovers ; for how could they suspect him when merely, 
as in duty bound, performing a common place act of 
gallantry. And thus it was he became very zealous 
in protecting the garden : “ No flowers, master’s orders.” 
So of course, just to hear all about these new rules, 
they would go into the kitchen, from which after a 
time “the boy” would come sauntering out, in a 
careless way, as if he did not know what he was going 
to do, but, if you watched him narrowly, he was pick- 
ing marigolds ! and he took a large quantity into the 
kitchen, from which after a time the ladies would 
emerge all covered over with the usual floral decora- 
tion. What a sly fellow that boy was ; no doubt he 
tried them on, looked well that they fitted under the 
chin, but of course this is only a surmise. But 
the ladies would come to the kitchen for other purposes 
than flowers. Master would perhaps see a heavy shower 
of rain coming dowm the valley, and would suddenly 
recollect that he had some work to get through 
in his office, which he had entirely forgotten, until the 
rain put him in mind of it. So he came in at a very 
unexpected and unusual time, and sat do vn at his 
pen, but the noise in the kitchen was such that he 
could do nothing; it was quite evident they did not 
know master w^as in. The noises consisted of a general 
talking and laughing, and the constant monotonous 
sound, pound, pound, pound, of the rice pounder. He 
became so irritated, as to be on the point of getting 
up, and stopping the pounding, by pounding their heads, 
but just as he had come to this conclusion, the noises 
ceased and the boy came into the bungalow, gave a 
searching glance all round, and then went away, ap- 
parently satisfied that there was nobody there — that 
master was not in ! After this master got up, and 
gave a few searching glances also from behind the 
chink of the door ! and became aware that Minatchi 
was in the kitchen, where she had come for the bene- 
fit of the rioe pounder, in order to clean her rice, as 
