Punctually at midday, he opened his bag and spread out his professional equipment, which consisted of a dozen cowrie shells, a square piece of cloth with obscure mystic charts on it, a notebook, and a bundle of palmyra writing. His forehead was dazzling with sacred ash and vermilion, and his eyes sparkled with a sharp, abnormal gleam which was really an outcome of a continual searching look for customers, but which his simple clients took to be a prophetic light and felt comforted.

The power of his eyes as considerably enhanced by their positionplaced as they were between the painted forehead and the dark whiskers which streamed down his cheeks: even a half-wits eyes would sparkle in such a setting. People were attracted to him as bees are attracted to mos or dahlia stalks. He sat under the boughs of a spreading tamarind tree which Hanked a path running through the town hall park. It was a remarkable place in matil ways: a surging crowd was always moving up and down this narrow road morning the night, A variety of trades and occupations was represented all along its way: medicine sellers, sellers of stolen hardware and junk, magicians, and, above all, an auto hier of cheap cloth, who created enour din all day to attract the whole town.

Next to ame in vociferousness came a vendor of fried groundnut, who gave his ware a fay mond, and on the third ”Raja’s Delicacy,” and day, calling it ”Bombay do of fried grounday, and on the next ”Delhi Almond.” A considerable portion o Delicacy,” and i en before the astrologer too. The astrologer ” and so on and so forth, and people flocked to him.transacted his business by the light of a flare which crackled and smoked up above the groundnut heap nearby.

When did the astrologer usually start his day’s business?