Page:Life in India or Madras, the Neilgherries, and Calcutta.djvu/294

252 Brahmin increased; he ordered us to pull up our stakes, strike our tent, and be gone from the place. On our declining also to do this, he went away with loud threats, and, as he said, to bring the taliari (village watchman) to give the cook his beating. We did not, however, see him again. As his violence had not frightened us into any concession, he probably concluded that discretion would be the better part of valour.

During the day, the common people heard our discourse with much attention. They also brought many sick persons for medicine and healing, to whom we gave such assistance as we could; but the shortness of our stay did not admit of the beginning of treatment in many cases. They seemed much impressed with what was done for them, but the Brahmins were very ill-behaved. At one time, some of them, standing behind me while preaching, tore up two of our tracts, and threw the fragments over my head, much to the disgust of the more decent part of the audience. Of this we took no notice; but when the same men asked again for books, and behaved with increasing rudeness, we called our bearers and made them clear the tent. This they did with much willingness,