, to attend on
ladies when they go out, and to perform the general duties of a footman,
though he does not wait at table. You must know, Fanny, in India each
person has especial duties, and he considers it degrading to perform any
others.

"A groom is called a _syce_, but he will not cut the grass for his own
horse, and requires another man to do so. The head servant, who
performs the duty of butler, and purchases all the food for the family,
is called a _rhansaman_.

"A great deal of water is required in the hot weather for bathing and
wetting the tatties, and one man is employed in bringing it up from the
river to the bungalow in which we lived--he is called a _chestie_. A
different man, however, called an _aubdar_, takes care that proper
drinking water is supplied--we generally used rain water, which was
collected in large sheets stretched out between four poles in the rainy
season, and drained into earthen jars, where it keeps cool and sweet.

"None of those I have mentioned would clean the rooms, and, therefore,
another man a _mehter_ or sweeper was employed. Our clothes were washed
by a man called a _dhobie_; he used to come with his donkey, and carry
them off to the river, where he beat them with a flat stick on a wooden
slab over and over again till they were clean, and then dried them in
the sun.

"When any out-door work was to be done, we hired labourers of the lowest
caste, who were called _coolies_. Then we had a tailor, who made all my
clothes as well as Norman's and his papa's, and he is called a _durize_.
We had six bearers, who were employed to carry our palanquin, when we
went out, and they also had to keep the punkahs at work, besides having
other things to do."

"What a household," exclaimed Mrs Leslie, "I am glad we have not so
many servants to attend to in England. Where did they all live?"

"Some slept rolled up in their sheets on mats in the verandah in front
of the bungalow, others in huts by themselves."

"Had you no maid-servants?" asked Fanny.

"Only one, called an _ayah_, who acted as my lady's maid, and took care
of Norman, but had nothing else to do," answered Mrs Vallery.

"Mamma, what are punkahs and tatties?" inquired Fanny, "I did not like
to interrupt you when you spoke of them."

"The punkah is something like an enormous fan suspended to the roof, and
when a breeze is required, it is drawn backwards and forwards with ropes
by the bearers. Sometimes in hot weather it