stories were confirmed, and she determined to govern herself
accordingly, fully believing that her husband would have the good sense
to remove any such persons as might be at the Bungalow in Pallamcotta
before her arrival. Caring nothing personally for Sir Lexicon, it gave
her little or no concern whether he chose to keep native ladies at the
other plantations or not, but she certainly did not intend that any of
them should reside under the same roof with herself, therefore she was
much annoyed and disgusted to find that her husband had not thought it
necessary to give any orders concerning their removal, and she had only
been a few days at Pallamcotta, when she learned that there were three
Circassian beauties sumptuously cared for and absolutely residing in
apartments fitted up for them; though not actually in the Bungalow, they
communicated with it by means of a short covered way leading from the
back drawing-room.

Taking advantage of Sir Lexicon's absence shortly after, she sent for
the head servant, who dared not disobey her orders, and desired him to
have the ladies turned out of their quarters and expelled from the
premises, and their rooms put to another use.

This was accordingly done and they were afforded shelter and protection
at the house of the overseer of the plantation, but at some distance
from the Bungalow.

The history of these Circassian girls was anything but an uncommon one
in many parts of the country thirty or forty years ago.

Their father, a horse-dealer, had been lured by the glowing accounts of
the fortunes that were to be made at the different Presidencies of
India, by a traffic in horses, and he determined to test the truth of