_dhobie_ for some of his wife's
garments and his white Sunday suit. He is expected to contribute
liberally towards church expenses; and where the number of Christians
in a place is few, this burden falls rather heavily on each.
Occasionally he needs a new prayer book or hymn book. He would like to
take in a weekly paper. He has begun to understand a little what is
meant by home life, and so he is tempted to buy pictures and other
ornaments to make his house look pleasant. Without a clock he cannot
make much progress in the practice of punctuality, and he buys one in
order that he may get to church at the proper time. Greater regard for
cleanliness means soap and towels. He can no longer have a share in
the periodical Hindu feasts when poor people, at any rate once in a
way, get a full belly. On the contrary, the traditional spirit of
hospitality, especially at the time of great festivals, is often a
serious drain on the resources of many Christians, who, like most
Indians, are generally generous beyond their means to all comers. The
Indian Christian also desires to have his children educated, and
though he gets a good deal of help from mission schools he does so
less than formerly, and he is often told (and no doubt rightly) that
if he wishes education for his children he must pay for it like other
people.

It would probably be considered almost a heresy even to suggest that
the various styles of dress worn by Indian men are not really more
picturesque than many other styles. A street in an Eastern city, with
its throng of quaintly dressed people, is much more fascinating in
appearance than the sombre hues of an average London crowd in the
winter time. The rich colours and the sparkling jewels of an assembly
of Indian nobility attract the eye by their brilliance. But if you
separate the individuals who make up the crowd, and take their costume
into individual consideration, you are conscious of defects. The
glittering array of an Indian chief appears more adapted to feminine
needs than those of a king or noble. The _dhota_, which takes the
place of trousers amongst Hindus, is not really a particularly comely
garment, and its loose folds are not at all convenient for working
men, especially masons and carpenters, who have to climb about on
scaffolds.

The dresses of Indian women in general may safely be accepted as being
more picturesque and more convenient than the styles of female costume
prevalent in Europe. And th