ng and general
pandemonium evoked by the _Tolis_ are probably akin to the
extravagance once practised at the beating of the bounds in England and
Scotland and are primarily designed to scare away evil-spirits from the
various quarters of the city. The _Tolis_ are indeed a relic of pure
Hinduism--of aboriginal spirit-belief, and have in the course of centuries
been gradually associated with the great Mahomedan Festival of Tears.
Originally they can have had no connection with the Mohurrum and are in
essence as much divorced from the lamentation over the slaughter at Karbala
as are the mummers, the Nal Sahebs and the Lords of the conchshell (Sain
Kowra) of the modern celebration from the true Mahomedan who wanders back
from the sea-shore uttering the cry of grief--

"Albida, re albida, Ya Huseini albida."
"Farewell, farewell, ah, my Husein, farewell!"

VII.

THE POSSESSION OF AFIZA.

It was quite evident that something was seriously wrong with Abdulla the
Dhobi. His features had lost their former placidity and wore an aspect of
troubled wonder; the clothes which he erstwhiles washed and returned to
their owners with such regularity were now brought back long after the
proper date and occasionally were not returned at all; and the easy good
temper which once characterized his conversation had yielded place to
sudden outbursts of anger or protracted spells of sulkiness. The major-domo
consulted on the point could only suggest that Abdulla's ill-temper was
typical of the inherent "badmashi" of the Dhobi nature and that probably
Abdulla had taken to nocturnal potations, while the youngest member of the
household unhesitatingly laid down that Abdulla had been seized by a "bhut"
or in other words was possessed of a devil. When the former suggestion was
laid before Abdulla, he contemned it with unmeasured scorn and then turned
and rent the spirit of the butler with winged words, but the small boy's
opinion seemed to give him pause. He held his peace for a moment, gazing
earthwards and rubbing a small heap of dust towards him with his toe; and
then on a sudden he burst out into the tale which is here set down in his
own words:--

"Nay, Saheb, I am possessed of no devil, but my wife Afiza is sore troubled
by one. Only three months ago I sent for her from my village, as she was
expecting to become a mother and I was desirous of looking early upon my
first-born child; and for six weeks she dwelt contentedly with me