Soon after she had retired, she gently pushed into the room,
to pay his respects to the Sahib, a shy little boy of five years, whom
Karlee presented to me as the child of his only son, a bhearer in the
service of an English officer stationed at Fort William. The mother had
died in blessing her husband with this bright little puttro. In costume
he was the exact miniature of his grandfather, except that he wore no
puggree, and his hair was cut short round the forehead in a quaint
frill, like the small boys one sees running about the streets in Orissa.
His ankles, too, were loaded with massive silver rings, which noticeably
impeded the childish freedom of his steps. When he has begun to
understand what the word "wife" means, these must be laid aside. In his
manners, likewise, little Karlee was the very tautology of his namesake
with the gray moustache,--the same wary self-possession, the same
immovable gravity and nice decorum. Like a little courtier, he made his
small salaam, and through his grandfather replied to some playful
questions I addressed to him, with good emphasis and discretion, without
either awkwardness or boldness, and especially without a smile. When I
gave him a rupee, he construed it as the customary signal, and with
another small salaam immediately dismissed himself.
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