HAPPINESS AND THE PUKSUIT OP IT. 
and his duty by keeping the good bag, which he had 
borrowed with the rice, and returning in its place 
the most wretched, useless, remnant of a rag, he 
could lay hands on, and, while master would be under 
the pleasing impression that he had done his duty„ 
he would perhaps be quite unable to account for the 
unusual dryness of his friendly neighbour, and wonder 
why he was not so free and hearty in lending rice 
as formerly. But he found it out the next time he 
had occasion to borrow, for, being reduced to great ex» 
tremities, he ventured to send over a note in the 
usual style, ‘‘Hard up for rice, carts not come, due 
in three days, can you lend me twenty bushels 
The answer returned would be, “Yes, when you like, 
provided, and provided only, you send bags to 
carry it in.” The word bags being scored well un- 
der at once let him into the secret. But of course 
“ it was all the fault of the kangani : he ought to have 
seen to this.” Oh yes, of course, we can’t expect 
a manager, who cannot manage his own rice supply, to 
occupy his attention with such a trifling subject as 
bags. Bags used practically to be considered quite 
unworthy of any care or management. Why, when- 
ever there were none, what more simple than to write 
for or buy more. When the order was given to mea- 
sure up coffee, and the storeman told you, with a grave 
countenance, “No bags,” without any question or in- 
vestigation on the subject, more would be purchased, 
and what eventually became of them all has ever 
seemed a hidden mystery. None ever thought of 
keeping a “ bag account,” just a simple receipt and 
issue, as easily kept as a petty cash-book. But, petty 
cash-book ! Why, we have actually known some, who 
did not even keep that ! — on the plea that “ What 
was the use ?” We cannot remember every thingt that 
is spent, and if it is not all spent upon, it is all spent 
on, the estate ! and just in the same degree was their 
reasoning about bags. If they were not on the estate, 
they ought to be : no doubt, but in what form ? Let us 
make a raid into the lines and see, and we see laid 
down in many a fold over the coolies’ plank beds w’hat 
once had been bags, nice comfortable mattresses and 
blankets made of gunny cloth. The seams of the bags 
had all been picked out, so that they were converted 
into square pieces ; these were stitched together, with 
masters’ twine, into the required lengths and breadths 
so as to furnish the required amount of bed and bed- 
ding, for one, two, or half-a-dozen, as the case might be. 
The declaration that there were no bags^ here was quite 
correct, nevertheless we ruthlessly despod all these snug 
beds of all the bedding, pitch them out remorselessly 
into the verandah, have them all conveyed to the store, ^ 
