The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-09-11

great deal, although camping out is
delightful.
Housekeeping Matters
Keeping house in India seems cheap I'M
til you understand the conditions Sery-
ants charge almost nothing in compari-
son with their class In the United States
! One can get goods cooks for SO a month
and house men for less. The trouble is
that the Englishman has to hire a
dozen servants in India where he has one
at nome. The caste regulations are such
mat each man will do only one kind of
work. The man who washes the dishes
VIII not make the beds and he who
makes the beds will not sweep or carry
the water. The cook Will not act as soul
hon. and SO it goes on. If you keep
horses, you must have a groom to each
horse, and to every two horses a man TO
cut grass for them. Every child has it's
own nurse, and the result is that you
need many servants. The servants are
nearly all men. the women acting only
as ladies' maids and sometimes as
nurses With the other sex the same
rules prevail; the maid who waits upon
your wife will not wait upon you, and
your own body servant must run your
errands
AS to food, 1t is high when the quality
Is considered. Animal meats are invaria-
bly, poor, but the fowls are excellent and
the eggs occasionally fresh, although not
larger than the big white alleys with
which we played marbles in boyhood
The Everlasting Squeeze
One of the big items of expense in In
dia is the oriental squeeze, which one
must pay upon all he buys. 1t is the
same in Japan, China and in all parts of
| &c off
on your purchases and they make more
out of such things than their salaries.
II you order cab your servant wants his
commission and if the cabman takes you
to native merchant he expects to get
his percentage on what you purchase In
| riding through the city you will fire.
quently have men jump to the step of
your carriage, and offer to guide you
where you can get certain things. Such
men do not ask money of you, but the
merchant knows that he must pay them
and he makes your prices accordingly.
The cook has commission on all the
vegetables and meats that come into the
| house, the waiter has his squeeze off the
jam and the hostlers feed fat on your
grass, corn and oats. 1t is the same with
the butler. He gets his rake-off from
every native who calls upon you, and if
not bribed the latter may cool his heels
and you will not get his card
| 1t is the same with the Hindoo officials,
although the British try 10 prevent It,
am told that even the judges are oribed
and that you can buy witnesses who will
testify to anything under the sun. This
custom, however, is not confined to Hin
dustan. Squeezing and bribery are bred
in the bones of these Orientals, and from
! Turkey to Toxic the native official has his
greedy hand open, although it may be
held behind the back when the white man
is present
| In this connection talked the other day
| with British commissioner of education
of one of the most Important Indian prov
inces. Said he
II know that every petition l see has
had to pay toll to my native clerks
have tried to stop it, but found ii i'm
possible. Every contract that comes
through native hands Is accompanied with
bribery and my very doorkeeper makes
money off me. When a native appears
and asks to see the commissioner the
doorkeeper will say that the sahib is
busy. The native knows what he means
and he will drop eight annas or rupee
into his hand. He is then introduced
| to the chief clerk, and If his business
is of sufficient Importance he may have
| to pay rupees more before he goes far
Their. If he does not offer to pay he
will probably be told to- call around to-
morrow and 1t may be days before he
can get to my office. This is so in nearly
| all cases. We know it, but cannot pre-
vent it,
Some Calling Customs
| Returning to the social features of In
dia, the calling bours are different from
those of other parts of the world. If you
want to see friend you must come from
IL o'clock in the morning to about 80
| in the Afternoon. The ladies dress fon
such calls, and at this time only are
you sure to find them at home.
The ordinary meals here are the coffee
and bread and butter upon rising, which
is called chotahazri There is a second
breakfast at 10 o'clock luncheon be-
tween and and dinner along about s
in the evening. No one calls after and
late in the afternoon everybody takes his
| carriage with coachman and footman and
| goes out driving. AT this time there Is
music in the parks or at the country
/ clubs which found at every large sta
ton. At such places tea is usually served
and one is sure to meet all his friends.
The Masque Balls of India
Among the social features of every win
ter are the mask and fancy dress balls
| of one kind or another. Such are often
| given at the government house In Cal
| cutta, at which times the hotels take on
the appearance of the bewigged and be-
| jeweled days of our forefathers. l re-
Gently attended "a Dali nelQ at the wee
| regal mansion. The hall covered, Judge
at least half an acre, and four or five
sets were on the floor at one time 1t
seemed as though all the world and his
wife had come from the pages of history
and were going mad in the dance. 1
noticed a convict In chains gliding across
the floor with a. somber- gowned sister of
| charity. There was Old Mother Goose,
with her broom and cooked hat, arm in
arm with a silk-clad Chinese mandarin.
| One girl was decked out a carrier
| pigeon, having a dress made of feathers
| like the plumage of pigeons. Another
was labeled Dresden china, and a third
| was Galatea, clad all in white. One wom-
an was covered with native newspapers.
| She represented the press, and editorials
about the unrest could be read on her
back. And then there were Burmese no.
blemen and Japanese daimios, and priests
of every religion. AS l walked through
the crowd / observed the fresh, rosy faces
OF the English young ladies' and asked
an official how they were able to keep
their color out here in the hot suns of
the tropics. The reply was:
They do 1t all right, and no wonder,
for they do little else. The sun never
touches their faces. They spend nine
months of the year in the Himalaya
mountains, and come to Calcutta only
during the winter. Some of them go
home every few years. and they leave
us men here to work. l assure you,
India is not a bad place for woman,
Il she has an easy husband and money
to spend"
The Natives and Society
Very few natives are admitted to the
circles OF British society The average