'Through Persia on a side-saddle' [‎83] (114/360)

HOUSEKEEPING AT KERMAN 83
Khanum ' (Yes, yes, mistress!) when I gave an order,
became a weariness to the soul, as I got by degrees to
understand that nothing would be accomplished unless I
saw to it personally, or at least reiterated my commands
several times.
It is no exaggeration to say that to keep things up to
even a very low European standard is an exceedingly
exhausting task. And every lady in Persia with whom I
discussed the 'servant question,' confessed to an intense
irritation of the nerves, engendered by struggling with these
lazy Orientals.
It is disagreeable to feel that there is seldom much
personal attachment between master and servant, such as
is the rule in India; and certainly the Persian domestic's
idea of service, which is to purloin as much as he possibly
can, is hardly calculated to produce such a feeling. Once
I called Hashim, who was an adept in such practices, a
thief. He was deeply hurt, and explained to me at con
siderable length that it is not accounted stealing to take
food, as the more of his master's food a servant eats, so
much the stronger is he to serve him—a novel idea!
All our servants had a perfect passion for soap and
matches, expecting me to supply them with these articles
whenever they asked for them, which was every two or
three days, and it was some time before it dawned upon
me that they sold them in the bazaar.
As soon as we were settled down at Kerman each ser
vant started a ( slavey' who, as far as I could see, did the
entire work, for which he got no money, but was fed with
our food as payment. The cook had picked up a grimy
kitchen-boy at Bahramabad; Hashim and Shah Sowar In the East India Company army and later Indian Army, an ordinary native cavalryman or mounted cavalryman. had
a youth in common, as had the fcrashes ; while every