e out of his pipe, or drink
out of his jug; and he can get restored to caste only by a feast to
the whole body of sweepers. If any housekeeper within a particular
circle happens to offend the sweeper of that range, none of his filth
will be removed till he pacifies him, because no other sweeper will
dare to touch it; and the people of a town are often more tyrannized
over by these people than by any other.[12]

It is worthy of remark that in India the spirit of combination is
always in the inverse ratio to the rank of the class; weakest in the
highest, and strongest in the lowest class. All infringements upon
the rules of the class are punished by fines. Every fine furnishes a
feast at which every member sits and enjoys himself. Payment is
enforced by excommunication--no one of the caste will eat, drink, or
smoke with the convicted till the fine is paid; and, as every one
shares in the fine, every one does his best to enforce payment. The
fines are imposed by the elders, who know the circumstances of the
culprit, and fix the amount accordingly. Washermen will often at a
large station combine to prevent the washermen of one gentleman from
washing the clothes of the servants of any other gentleman, or the
servants of one gentleman from getting their clothes washed by any
other person than their own master's washerman. This enables them
sometimes to raise the rate of washing to double the fair or ordinary
rate; and at such places the washermen are always drunk with one
continued routine of feasts from the fines levied.[13] The cost of
these fees falls ultimately upon the poor servants or their masters.
This combination, however, is not always for bad or selfish purposes.
I was once on the staff of an officer commanding a brigade on
service, whose elephant driver exercised an influence over him that
was often mischievous and sometimes dangerous;[14] for in marching
and choosing his ground, this man was more often consulted than the
quarter-master-general. His bearing was most insolent, and became
intolerable, as well to the European gentlemen as to the people of
his caste.[15] He at last committed himself by saying that he would
spit in the face of another gentleman's elephant driver with whom he
was disputing. All the elephant drivers in our large camp were
immediately assembled, and it was determined in council to refer the
matter to the decision of the Raja of Darbhanga's driver, who was
acknowledged the head of the cla