under a tree, and his charges wander and trespass to the great distress of the gardener.
My man impounded wandering animals in an empty stall in the stables. It was illegal, but that fact did not seem to matter. An hour or two after the impounding the owner would appear, and there would be a long palaver with the gardener. If he was accompanied by any of the female members of his family, a good deal of feeling arose between them and the resident women in the stables. I once had the curiosity to watch one of these encounters that took place behind the buildings. There is something strangely fascinating, though it is by no means pleasing, in the display of uncontrolled emotion. In England it is seldom seen except in a baby, but in India extravagant joy, pleasure, grief, anger, and surprise may frequently be witnessed.
The women-there were four of them, two on each side-began with an animated conversation. Gradually they drew closer to each other, gesticulating and speaking with great rapidity in their incomprehensible tongue. It was like a thunderstorm, growing in intensity as they waxed warmer, until it culminated in a torrent of hysterical speech from all four at once. They shook their towsled heads and flourished their arms as though they were coming to blows. They stamped upon the ground with their feet, and beat the air with their fists. Bending their bodies forward they drew themselves up with a furious jerk as they fetched fresh breath to continue the wonderful outpouring of syllables. Occasionally they emphasised their words by spitting on the ground.
The whole thing came to a sudden and inconsequent end. The owner of the buffalo put a coin into the hand of the gardener after an amicable discussion, rose to his feet, and approached the women. In an ordinary businesslike manner he administered a thump with his fist
