it must be idiomatic, not literal and bald. With a bald translation, the student is unable to compare the differences in structure of the two languages, while the baldness of the translation nauseates him. Literal translations do more harm than good.
In studying the text-book, too, the easiest portions should, be selected and read first. When going over the text-book for the third time, the student should keep the English open before him and read an English sentence first ; the Munshi should then read out aloud the corresponding sentence from the text-book. The advantage of this will soon be apparent.
A beginner must recollect that the minds of illiterate people usually work slowly, and that however well he speaks, he has probably a strong foreign accent. When driving in a tam-tam, do not suddenly turn round and ask a question from the sais. First call to him and wake him out of his reverie, and then put your question.
When I first landed in India, I remember walking on the fringe of Lucknow Cantonments with a noted oriental scholar, whose instructive conversation had been making a deep impression on my mind. He suddenly turned to a squatting villager and said : "Are there any black partridges about this spot ? " To me, newly landed, the question seemed a natural one ; for I of course thought that tigers could be shot on the out-skirts of cities, though for elephants it might be necessary to make a long journey of several hours. To the villager, the question seemed appalling ; it acted like a spell, for he refused even to open, or rather to shut, his mouth. Now, admitting that " the fool didn't know his own language," what would be your first thought if you were suddenly stopped in Piccadilly by a Chinaman and asked if you could direct him to the nearest grouse-moor ?
