THE VISIT OF THE WASHERMAN. 
wife’s brother.” “You are both quite wrong,” was 
the reply, “for master stroked my shoulder, took me 
to the sideboard, giving me a full glass of brandy,” 
and he put his mouth close to those of the coolie and 
washerman, and breathed hard, so that they said 
“ Brandy !” and looked at each other in a bewildering 
amazement : looked as if they would very much like to 
Jump through the window also, on the top of master, 
with the same result. But, after a pause, they 
all re-echoed in chorus, “No master like our master..” 
But they all suddenly started up, trembled, and 
looked at each other in speechless terror, when a loud 
and angry voice was heard proceeding from the back 
verandah, saying, “ What are you all chattering there, 
about, like a lot of monkeys ? You boy, where is that 
washerman, whose arrival you were so anxious to 
make known, that you leaped into my bedroom win- 
dows right on the top of me? Boy I Dhobi! Are 
you there?” These two worthies now poked their 
fists into the washerman’s ribs, saying, “ Don’t you 
bear? He is angry, calling, and it is you ] go away 
quick, or he will be in bad humour all day, and won’t 
we catch it ? Go away, and mind, it is no use asking 
him for any advance of money, for he wdll not give 
it. When you go in, make a very profound salam, 
and take particular care not to speak, for, when he 
is in the quiet afterstage of an attack of temper, he 
must not be spoken to the least word will bring it 
all back, but, if you do require to say anything, there 
is one thing you must not say: never contradict him> 
for nothing will rouse him up worse than that. If 
he says, ‘Clothes badly washed,’ you just say, ‘master 
is right ; in great hurry, please excuse, only this once,’ 
— and he will excuse you. But if you say, ‘ Clothes 
very well washed, no fault,’ you just see what will 
happen, and if he says” — “Dhobi,” is again heard in a 
very angry tone. “ Coming, sar, ” shouts the boy, as 
he runs away out of the kitchen, into the coffee, in 
order to be clear of the coming storm, in utter for- 
getfulness that the washing-book, is in his possession. 
The washerman seizes hold of the bundle of clothes ; 
raising it on the ground, he rests it upon his breast, 
his arms clasp it, reaching about half way round, 
while his body has a considerable bend backward, in 
order to afford the requisite rest for the bundle. In 
this state he staggers into the back verandah and 
the bedroom, letting the burden drop down on the 
floor. He then stoops down, and unties the knot, 
arranges all the clothes upon the bed, in their correct 
order: handkerchiefs, socks, shirts, trousers, &c., then 
gives his cloth a shake out, folds it neatly up, placing 
it under his arm, stepping back behind the door, and 
