The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1890-01-09
ANoLo-uNpnN Houseke1plaa.


EsIals Put Upoa the IIsmsahIb By Her
H0ussfal q Peculiar Native SSFVAntA
The memsahibS housekeeping 70
solves itself much into O close scrutiny
Of accounts and watching Of supplies.
This Is easy, since she does not feed
her numberless servants, and orders
her substance only through one. He
Is the khansamah, the head butler,
usually q person Of great pomposity
and spotlesS raiment with O dignified
capacity for robbing you Of annas and
pico which would qualify him any
where TO represent a municipal ward.
Especially when a visitor arrives does
the heart Of the khansamah rejoice
within him, for then is his glorious op.
portunity. Lines every day for the
visitors bathI But the visiting memsa-
bib has ordered Il, according 10 the
khansamah, and you cannot very well
ask her. The towels, even the sheets Of
the visitors bed, disappear the day Of
her departurel The khansamah looks
sorrowful and deprecating, but thinks
the visitors ayah must have been an
extremely dishonest person. And the
unhappy visitor has probably had one
lime for her bath during the entire
length Of her stay; and the towels
have brought two annAS apiece at the
bazaar, which goes into the secret
wallet Of the khanSamah.
Next In rank comes the kitmutgar,
who brings the dishes from the
kitchen, helps 10 wait at tables, but il
an inferior person. A favorite term
Of obloquy among Anglo Indians L
HE looks like kitmutgar," which ID
much worse than being compared TO q
khansamah. The baburchi Is the
cook, and he has q mental in the mus.
salchi, who washes the dishes. Bear
er" il more or less general term, but
when you call the bearer among your
household staff you mean the man
who trims the lamps and dusts. He
will not sweep-not hel-you must
have q mater TO sweep, who Il Of very
low caste indeed.
The ayah il the memsahibs maid,
and she cannot get on without one.
The durwan il the gate keeper, who
sits all day long beside the door to at
tend TO callers and messengers, and
does nothing else. Beside these the
sahib must have q syce-groom-for
each horse. No syce will take double
pay and attend 10 two horses-that ID
not the Aryan way. And II there Is q
garden there must be o malice to take
care Of il, and for the most mental
work Of the house there IL q beestic or
water carrier, whose name II admira-
bly, APPROPRIATE, and who skulls about
his business under the opprobrium Of
all the rest.
The dhoby Is the washerman, whose
peccadilloes are interestingly 'naife.
he has been known, for Instance, 10
dismember certain garments Of the sa.
hib and send them in separate legs, in
order to show the proper number on
his list and yet retain a shirt or q
handkerchief. There Is the dhurzie,
too, who is a joy in India, and who
comes and sits and sews all day on
your veranda for fOurpencel Very
Initiative, indeed, is the dhurZie, not
to be trusted with anything, even Ia
bodices and skirts. for which he has q
pattern.
Anglo. India tempers are short, and
the khansamah knows their brevity
better than anybody in the world. A
favorite expression Of abuse in con-
nection with undergone mutton per
haps, IL in exciting Hindustanee
son Of q pigr which hurts the gen.
tie Hindoos feelings as much
as anything. But the gentle Hin
doc usually replies conciliatorily
in some term Of deep respect and
admiration; and certainly the uncon'
scious khansamah got Ehe best Of Il
who replied 10 this expression on the
lips Of his irate sahib, "Sir, you arr
my father and my motherI"-Gartf
Grafton in Montreal Star.