Page:Malabari, Behramji M. - Gujarat and the Gujaratis (1882).djvu/201

Rh door of the Court, and, looking round to see if the eye of the public was on us, we rushed in breathless with suppressed excitement. Inside we were besieged by a number of daláls offering their services. I had no occasion for such services, as my friends said there was an excellent Vakeel to plead the cause. But the case was to come on late in the day; and as the feeling of horror subsided by degrees, I allowed myself to be taken to various parts of the court-house just to divert my thoughts. At every step almost we encountered a knot of Márwáris engaged in hasty but animated conversation with the harpy of a dalál. These, we were told, were concocting a story to ruin some poor debtor. False documents, false witness, and perjury were here gone through in open daylight, and almost in the presence of the judge. The Márwári seldom gets a Vakeel to conduct his case. Between himself and the Mooktiár they can hoodwink justice quite successfully.

From here we moved on to the court of the last judge, a native gentleman. His Honour had just then a case before him. A house-owner