FURTHER EXPERIENCES OF MR. STALE. 
they all made a sudden dart into the kitchen, where they 
remained for a considerable time. What the confer- 
ence was all about, what the ultimate decision finally 
determined upon, was, never came to light. For when they 
came out, they walked quietly away, and said nothing. 
A short time after they were gone, the boy stepped 
into the verandah, where Mr Stale was sitting, stood up 
right in front of him and boldly said, “I amafool.’’ 
Master merely looked up and told him to go away 
— he neither required nor desried any information on 
this subject, upon which the boy slowly retired, look- 
ing sorrowful, 
The next morning, after coffee was served, Mr 
Stale told his servant to remain, he opened a 
small account book, explained to him the state of 
his account, and handed him the balance of fifteen shil- 
lings. He took it, and, after eyeing it in a mournful way, 
placed it down on the table, but said never a word ; 
he clasped his hand in front, and looked fixedly on 
the ground. He then looked his master full in the fice, 
pressed the knuckles of his fists into his eyes so very 
forcibly, as to force out a deal of water which trickled 
down his cheeks in the form of tears, and in a trembling 
tone of voice, declared, that he could not leave mas- 
ter. The kitchen coolie did not understand how to 
make proper curry, master would have no proper 
food, master would get sick, and all the blame would, 
be his ; no he might desert his old blind father, he 
might leave his aged mother to starve, but to leave 
his own master with only that kitchen coolie to pre- 
pare his food,, was what he w^ould never do ; he was bad 
enough, but his character was not so gone as to do 
this. Master now began to have a pretty correct 
idea of how the wind lay, and was very glad of it, 
for of all the unpleasant pests that beset the planter, 
one of the most uncomfortable, is being left without 
a servant, with only a raw ignorant coolie in the 
kitchen, but at the same time he had sense enough, 
nob only to conceal his satisfaction, but to assume 
dubious manner, as if this arrangment was not exactly 
in acordance with his own plans. He had before gome 
through all the sad experiences of “ no servant got,” and 
had no desire for their return. He had had 
his morning coffee served with more ground than liquid 
in it, and floating on the top of the cup were large 
pieces of bruised coffee, so that he used to say, if 
it had not been for his moustache, that coffee would not 
be fit for drink, for bis moustache acted as a very 
good sieve or strainer, through which the coffee filtered, 
leaving all the grounds attached to it. After his cou- 
ple of cups were finished, the table napkin with which 
he had occasionally to clean the strainer, was so 
covered with lumps and grains of the powder,, or 
