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BANDOBAST AND KHABAR 
 
,♦ • • •• 
 • • • • -• 
 
B4ND0BAST AND KHABAR 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF INDIA 
 
 BY 
 
 COLONEL CUTHBERT LARKING 
 
 IHttsirateb 
 
 FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 
 LONDON; 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED, 
 
 13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 1888. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
1 .2. 
 
 • • * c 
 
 •: •*: ♦•• ••• • • 
 
i fcbxtaie tips $ook 
 
 TO 
 
 THE NAWAB IKBAL-UD-DOWLAH 
 VIKAR-UL-UMRA, 
 
 OF HYDERABAD, 
 
 THROUGH WHOSE GENEROUS HOSPITALITY 
 
 I ENJOYED SEVEN WEEKS' BIG GAME SHOOTING 
 
 IN THE DECCAN JUNGLES. 
 
 C. L. 
 
 47612? 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In presenting these pages to the public, I do 
 not wish it to be imagined for one moment 
 that I pretend to give any fresh information 
 about the people, customs and sport of India, 
 well known as they are, and so often described 
 by abler pens than mine. 
 
 My book is simply the record of a very 
 pleasant time passed in the country, and 
 if it induces others in the slightest degree to 
 follow in my footsteps, they will, I am sure, 
 not regret the time and money spent in the 
 journey. For my own part, 1 cannot better 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 express ray feelings towards India than by 
 saying, that I am impatiently looking forward 
 to the day when I may revisit it. and the many 
 friends I feel I have left there. 
 
 During one part of my travels I was regarded 
 as in an official capacity, and although I saw 
 many things of great interest and thoroughly 
 enjoyed that part of my tour, yet as at the 
 time I was not travelling independently, I 
 have thought it best for that reason to entirely 
 omit it from my book, lest my views and 
 opinions might be thought to reflect those, 
 however indirectly, of the personages with 
 whom I had the honour of being associated. 
 
 CUTHBERT LARKING. 
 
 Layston House, Bcntingford, 
 December, 1887. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I am Invited to Stay with the Duke and Duchess of Connaught in 
 India — I Leave London — My Travelling Companion, Colonel 
 Arthur Paget — Storm — Gibraltar— Royal Yacht Osborne — 
 Malta — Curious Coincidence — Port Said — Its Amenities — 
 Opening of Suez Canal — Aden — A Contest of Opinion — 
 Arrive at Bombay 3 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 First Impressions of the East — A Motley Crowd — Parsees, Hin- 
 doos, Agents, etc. — Byculla Club — Its Specialities — Govern- 
 ment House — Enormous Population — Elephanta — Funeral 
 Procession — Funeral Ceremonies of Parsees — The Number of 
 Parsees — Their Morality and Religion — Towers of Silence 
 Described — Advantages and Disadvantages of the System 
 
 19 
 
* CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Malabar Point — Leave Bombay for Poona — Indian Railways — 
 Ghauts — Club at Poona — Bazaar and Kinkob Work — Leave 
 for Hyderabad — Journey — Birds on Telegraph Wires — 
 Scenery near Hyderabad — Residency at Chudderghaut — 
 City of Hyderabad — Dine with the Nawab Vikar Ul Umra 
 — Arrange Big-game Shooting — Attar of Roses — Meer Alum 
 Tank — Tombs of Golconda — Diamonds not Found There — 
 African Cavalry — Lunch with the Nizam — Nawab Said 
 Hussein — Nautch Dance— Black-buck Hunting witli Cheetah 
 — Lunch with Vikar Ul Umra — Return to Poona — Bombay 
 — Delhi — Dak Bungalow — Anecdote .... 39 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Agra — Jubilee Day — Grand Parade of Troops — The Gaol — 
 Carpet-making — Gymkana Meeting — Bhurtpore — Jubilee 
 Procession — Maharajah's Durbar and Dinner — Fireworks — 
 Loyalty of Native Princes — Benares — Indian Hotels — Mad- 
 dessar Kothi— Rajah Sivaprasfid — His Aversion to Bengal 
 Baboos — Sights of Benares — The Sacred Monkeys— Mr. 
 Davis defends Maddessar Kothi against Vizier AH — Mr. 
 Davis's Gallant Defence of Maddessar Kothi— River Sights- 
 Leave for Poona and Hyderabad 69 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Arrive at Hyderabad— Dr. and Mrs. Lauder at Chudderghaut— 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 Mr. Gerald Loder— Prepare for Shooting Expedition — My 
 Battery— List of Articles most Kequired — Postal Arrange- 
 ments — A Large Cortege — Curing Skins — Assur Jung — A 
 Country little Shot Over — Panther Spearing — Assur Jung's 
 Little Son 93 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Our Preparations Completed — We Leave Hyderabad — Scenery 
 on Road — Kazapet — Loder 111 — Dine at Station — Leave 
 Kazapet — Railway nearly Constructed — Singarenny Coal- 
 Fields — Dangerous Bridges — Arrive at Rail Head — Holy 
 City of Pokur — Ride to First Camp at Gala — Mango Topes 
 — Tappal and Nuzzer — Jackals — Panthers — Anecdotes of 
 Same — Midnight Visitor — Leave for Next Camp — Jungle 
 Scenery — Ride 109 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Camp at Semalpah — Mewah-trees — Bears Fond of the Flowers — 
 Green Pigeons — Roseate-headed Paraquettes — Kishtia> the 
 Shikari — No Kill — Manner of Shooting Tiger in the Deccan 
 — Pea- fowl and Jungle -fowl Shooting — Shoot Green Pigeons 
 — Hallal Ceremony — See Tiger's Track — Rohillas and Tame 
 Tiger — Panther and Monkey — Story of Panther — Doctor in 
 Camp — No Kill Again — Beat for Tiger — Poisonous Snakes 
 — Anecdotes — Recovery from Cobra Bite — Telagu Spoken 
 
 131 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Paget Arrives— Flying Foxes — Change Camp — Lingumpah — 
 Natives Arrive with a Grievance — First Sight of a Tiger — 
 Gharra Hua — Tiger's Escort — Futile Beat— Bears— Anec- 
 dote — Elephants Discarded — Tiger Beat— Paget Shoots First 
 Tiger— Tomasha for Dead Tigress— Skinning Tigress — Loder 
 sits in a Macham — Pig-sticking Extraordinary, and Sequel — 
 Gharra Hua Again— Tiger Headed by Nawab — Paget Kills 
 Second Tiger— King-fishers 157 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Move to Julumpah— A Fine-looking Jungle — Tracks of 
 Game — Hunt Herons with Hawks — Cooling Soda-water 
 — Shoot Jungle-fowl — All guns in Trees save Myself — 
 Pet Monkey— The Mother Follows Us— Sick Child— Tigers 
 on Foot — Three Shot — Great Day's Sport — Man Wounded 
 by Tiger — Elephant Bolts — Narrow Escape — The Talk at 
 Dinner 175 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Idle Day in Camp — Move Camp — Jungle Plants — Birds — Dak 
 Arrives — English Letters — Palms Planted in other Trees — 
 Gharra Hua — I Shoot a Bear — Curious Bone — Gymkana in 
 Camp — Duck-shooting — Fear of Natives — Camp Moved to 
 Pengudpah— Jungles Fired — Toddy Palms — Paget nearly 
 Shot by Me— Sudden Storm— White Ants— Skill of Indian 
 Cooks — Move Camp to Paloncha — Loder's Boy meets a Bear 
 
CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 — Bad Luck — English Mail — Gharra — More Bad Luck — 
 Herbert Leaves Us — Panther in Camp . . .191 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Luck Considered with regard to Sport — Great Quantities of Ban- 
 dah Monkeys — Buddrachellum with its Sacred Temples — 
 Nux Vomica Trees — Move to Baggumalpah — First Sight of 
 Godaverry — Great Storm — Natives Collecting Toddy— Visit 
 Buddrachellum — Fish for Muggar — Take River to Hum- 
 warum — Khabar — The Nawab's Toilette— Gymkana — Black- 
 buck Shooting — I Shoot Black Buck from the Train in 
 Kiithiawar — Nawab Kills Big Tiger —Shoot Muggar . 209 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Want of Vegetables — Settle to Move to Pengudpah — Long Hide 
 — Lose our Way — Great Thirst — An Awful Fix — Jungle 
 seemed Interminable — Arrive at Pengudpah — Great Day's 
 Sport — Five Tigers Bagged — Man Killed by Tigress — I am 
 Given a Hornbill — Native Railway Magistrate — His View of 
 Affairs in the Deccan — Dolly — Chetal Shot — Leave Pengud- 
 pah — Birds — Arrive at Semalpah .... 225 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 In our First Camp Again — Sowar Returns from Herbert — Jungle- 
 fowl, Partridges, Spur-fowl — Langoor Monkey — Paradise 
 Fly-catchers — ' Soldier's Pheasant ' not Figured in Goulds 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 1 Birds of Asia ' — Great Heat — Gharra — liger Missed — Two 
 Gharras — Both Unsuccessful Beats — Ismael Khan bags two 
 Tigers— Ride to Gala — Hornbill Dies— Farewell to Kishtia 
 —Railway — Monkey and Dog — Heat in Train — Mr. Sheffer 
 at Mankota— Arrive at Warungul — Fortifications — Parsee 
 Official — Carpets and Cutlery — Aniline Dyes — Colonial 
 Exhibition Stimulated Trade — Sleep in Train — Arrive at 
 Hj T derabad — Gold Mohur-trees — Crowd at Hyderabad Sta- 
 tion — Dr. and Mrs. Lauder — Leave for Poona — Climate of 
 Poona — Leave for Mahableshwar — Scenery on the Road 
 — Panchganni — Produce — Strawberries— Want of Gardens 
 in India— Arrival at Mahableshwar — Woodlawn — Bulbuls 
 
 245 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Hill Stations — Rainfall — Mahableshwar — Flowers— General Lod- 
 wick — Club — Amusements — Jungle — Game — Wolves — 
 Tiger-shooting — Poona to Wara — Fort of Pratapgharh — 
 Account of Alzal Khan's Murder by Shivaji — Heads of 
 Enemy buried under Towers in India — Wild Boar — Duke 
 of Connaught's Leave — Old Law, and Reason Why — Leave 
 Mahableshwar — Strike of Coach Proprietors — Wai — Big 
 Banian-tree at Wairalghath — Leave Poona for Bombay — 
 Embark on Peninsular and Oriental Steamer Sutlej — Mon- 
 soon — Jumna Troopship — Wreck of Tasmania — Arrive in 
 England 269 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The Nawab's big Tiger . 
 Evening on the Indian Ocean 
 Parsee Towers of Silence, Bombay 
 Hunting Black Buck with Cheetahs 
 Hyderabad Station .... 
 A Midnight Intruder 
 The Start for a Tiger Beat . 
 Tomasha Bringing in Dead Tigress 
 Beset by Perils .... 
 
 MUGGAR-FlSHING IN THE GODAVERRY 
 
 Floating Down the River Godaverry 
 Up a Tree 
 
 Frontispiece 
 page 15 
 ,, 25 
 „ 59 
 „ 109 
 „ 125 
 ,, 146 
 m 167 
 „ 185 
 „ 215 
 „ 217 
 „ 233 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 I AM INVITED TO STAY WITH THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CONNAUGHT IN 
 INDIA —I LEAVE LONDON — MY TRAVELLING COMPANION, COLONEL 
 ARTHUR PAGET — STORM — GIBRALTAR — ROYAL YACHT * OSBORNE ' — 
 MALTA — CURIOUS COINCIDENCE — PORT SAID — ITS AMENITIES — OPEN- 
 ING OF SUEZ CANAL— ADEN — A CONTEST OF OPINION — ARRIVE AT 
 BOMBAY. 
 
 B 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught 
 was appointed to the command of the Rawul 
 Pindi division of the Indian army during the 
 summer of 1886, and, with the Duchess, sailed 
 for India, to take up his command in the begin- 
 ning of September. Before their departure, and 
 whilst I was staying with them at Bagshot, I 
 had expressed my great wish to see India, arid 
 they kindly invited me to go out and pay them 
 a visit. This opportunity of seeing the country, 
 I felt, was not to be missed, for I should probably 
 witness scenes and phases of Indian life which 
 do not fall to the lot of the ordinary tourist, 
 and in this I was not disappointed. 
 
 b2 
 
° i ? : • t ^°t. r fcl i >° c c - . < v COLONIAL EXHIBITION. 
 
 The Colonial Exhibition in London had inspired 
 many with a desire to see the great dependencies 
 of the empire ; but the Indian courts, with the 
 natives at work, the gorgeous embroideries, silver, 
 gold, and brass-work, and the picturesque arrange- 
 ment of the whole section, seemed to attract more 
 attention and interest than all the rest, so that, 
 towards the end of the summer, every second 
 person one met talked of going to India, and every 
 available passage was taken in the Peninsular and 
 Oriental steamers for months beforehand. 
 
 Colonel Arthur Paget and I had agreed to 
 travel out together. I was anxious for as much 
 sea-air as possible, and decided to go round by 
 the Bay of Biscay ; but as he preferred the short- 
 est route, wishing to do duty with his regiment 
 to the last, we agreed to meet at Port Said, he 
 sailing by way of Brindisi. I took my passage 
 on board the Peninsular and Oriental steamer 
 Mirzapore, which, however, being bound for Cal- 
 cutta, I arranged to leave at Port Said, and from 
 thence to continue my journey in the steamer 
 
MY FELLO W-PASSENGERS. 5 
 
 Assam, belonging to the same company, and in 
 which T should meet Paget. 
 
 I left London on the morning of the 4th of 
 November, and joined the ship at Tilbury. There 
 were crowds of passengers of all sorts — nuns, 
 missionaries, young men about to join the Civil 
 Service in India, older men returning from leave, 
 newly-married couples, officers of the Army and 
 Navy, and, in fact, members of every known 
 profession. Amongst all this gathering I was 
 glad to see Mr. Robert and Lady Susan Bourke 
 (now Lord and Lady Connemara), he being on 
 his way to take over the governorship of Madras. 
 He was also accompanied by Lord Marsham, Mr. 
 Rees, and Mr. Wingfield, members of his staff. 
 Besides these, I had other friends in Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gerard Leigh, Mr. Gordon, and Lord Gilford, 
 &c. ; so that altogether we formed a very cheery 
 party, and agreed to dine at the same table. 
 
 The weather, which was fine at starting, under- 
 went a great change during the night, when it 
 came on to blow a gale, and the glass fell so 
 
6 MISERABLE HOURS. 
 
 rapidly that Captain Harvey determined to put 
 in to Portland Harbour, and to remain there till 
 the worst was over. There we stayed for thirty 
 hours, the wind blowing a perfect hurricane, and 
 the rain pouring in torrents, whilst the tempera- 
 ture was bitterly cold. Never shall I forget the 
 misery of those hours. No one had had time 
 to settle down, and many were regretting their 
 friends and relations, with whom, they felt, they 
 might have spent another day. Although in 
 harbour, we were some miles from land, and 
 there was a heavy swell on, so that no one could 
 get on shore. Altogether, it was a wretched 
 time, and I was very glad when, the gale having 
 moderated a little, the captain decided to go 
 out of harbour, and proceed with the journey. 
 
 The sea outside was running mountains high, 
 and we had a very rough time of it, twice shipping 
 green seas through the saloon skylight. But we 
 finally reached Gibraltar at two p.m. on the 10th. 
 
 As soon as our ship stopped, I saw the steam- 
 cutter of the Osborne come alongside, and I was 
 
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, GIBRALTAR. 7 
 
 carried off in her to the yacht, where we had a 
 gathering of old friends. The Osborne was in dock, 
 coaling, and undergoing some slight repairs. She 
 had suffered in, and was much knocked about by, 
 the late gales whilst taking Her Royal Highness 
 the Duchess of Edinburgh from Marseilles to 
 Malta, and was now minus her crown ; her bowsprit 
 having been also carried away. 
 
 I went on to Government House, the old con- 
 vent, and called on Sir Arthur Hardinge, who, it 
 turned out, had sent me off an invitation to 
 lunch, but my friends in the Osborne had been so 
 quick that they had carried me off before it 
 arrived. He had just received the news of the 
 Duke of Connaught's appointment to the com- 
 mand of the Bombay army, and it was here also 
 that I heard the sad account of poor Archer the 
 jockey's death. 
 
 As we had to sail off again at half-past five, we 
 had not much time to enjoy the luxury of terra 
 jirma after our long tossing, and the time for 
 leaving came all too soon, especially as here at 
 
8 A PLEASANT DAY AT MALTA. 
 
 Gibraltar we dropped some of our friends, who 
 had come out to join their yacht. Fortunately, 
 the weather was now fine, and, with the Bay of 
 Biscay behind us, we felt that the disagreeable 
 part of the journey was over, and everyone 
 seemed to rise to the fact that something should 
 be done to pass the time pleasantly. Passengers 
 who had not hitherto been seen appeared on deck, 
 whilst sports and concerts were organised, and 
 lotteries on the day's run were drawn each 
 morning. The thermometer now registering 
 seventy-two degrees, and the sea being calm, the 
 journey was pleasant enough, and we reached 
 Malta at eleven p.m. on November 13th. It was 
 too late to go ashore with any comfort, and, as 
 the coaling was not to begin till half-past five in 
 the morning, I determined to turn in till then, 
 when all deck cabins were to be locked up, to 
 keep out the dirt and dust. 
 
 I passed a pleasant day in Malta, where I 
 found many friends, both in the Army and in the 
 Fleet. Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and 
 
A CURIOUS COINCIDENCE. 9 
 
 Duchess of Edinburgh very kindly asked two or 
 three of us to lunch at St. Antonio, and Prince 
 George of Wales was also there, serving as a 
 lieutenant in the Dreadnought. The gardens of 
 St. Antonio are a mass of orange-trees, which, 
 at that time, were laden with fruit ripening, and 
 presented a very pleasant and gay aspect to me, 
 coming straight from the cold and fogs of 
 England. 
 
 We left Malta the same evening at five, 
 taking Captain and Lady Eva Quin on board, en 
 route to Madras, as he is one of Mr. Bourke's 
 aides-de-camp. 
 
 It was a curious coincidence that we arrived at 
 Port Said on November 17th, the day of the year 
 on which the Canal was opened in 1869. I was 
 present on that occasion, and was one of the first 
 to go through it. What a grand sight it was ! 
 The Empress of the French, then in the height of 
 her glory, the Emperor of Austria, the Crown 
 Prince of Prussia, and many minor potentates, 
 all meeting in friendship to witness one of the 
 
10 POUT SAID. 
 
 wonders of modern civilization ; and yet, but one 
 short year afterwards, these same people were 
 plunged in deadly warfare, the poor Empress an 
 exile in a foreign country, and her husband a 
 prisoner in Germany. 
 
 Port Said has grown immensely since those 
 days, and is increasing in size and prosperity 
 every year. If it had but a railway to Ismalia, 
 to give it direct land communication with Cairo, 
 it would soon eclipse Alexandria. Owners of 
 property in the latter town make every opposition 
 possible to this railway, but it is bound to come 
 in time. 
 
 Port Said boasts of a cafe chantant and casino 
 called ' The Eldorado,' with an orchestra com- 
 posed of Hungarian women, and a roulette-table 
 with twenty-four numbers and two zeros. As 
 soon as a passenger-ship arrives in port, the 
 orchestra tunes up and the tables are in full 
 swing. It is said that the troop-ships alone are 
 worth four thousand a-year to this establishment. 
 
 Mr. Royle, the Peninsular and Oriental agent 
 
ON BOARD THE 'ASSAM.' 11 
 
 at Port Said, and his wife, have a most charming 
 house here, which they built themselves and have 
 furnished in excellent taste and with every 
 luxury. Here they entertained me whilst I was 
 waiting for the Assam to come into port, and 
 they made my visit very pleasant. It was such a 
 comfort to find oneself once more in an English 
 house, with a big bed to sleep in, after being 
 boxed up for a fortnight in a little cabin on board 
 ship. 
 
 The Assam arrived at 3.30 p.m. on the 18th, 
 and I got my things together and put them on 
 board, as we sailed that evening, using the 
 electric light to go through the Canal. I was 
 sorry to lose my fellow-passengers in the Mirzapore, 
 where we had been so cheery, but found others on 
 the Assam in Lord Fife, Mr. Newton Ogle, and 
 Colonel Paget. The Assam is a comfortable ship, 
 but small, and on this journey was very full, so that 
 whereas on the Mirzapore I had a deck cabin to 
 myself, now I was relegated to a cabin below with 
 two other passengers ; not very pleasant, especially 
 
12 ADEN. 
 
 in hot weather. In the Red Sea it was dreadfully 
 hot, although most days we had a nice head wind 
 to keep us comfortable, and I had my bedding 
 brought up every night and slept on deck. The 
 worst of this arrangement is that it entails get- 
 ting up at five o'clock in the morning, when they 
 begin to scrub the decks, and we used to turn 
 out as reluctantly as a parcel of school-boys on 
 being called, and refresh ourselves with those vile 
 decoctions which the Peninsular and Oriental 
 Company are pleased to call tea and coffee. 
 
 We reached Aden at twenty-two minutes and 
 a half past eleven o'clock on the morning of the 
 24th. The reason I give the time so minutely is, 
 that a lottery was got up on board as to the hour 
 at which we should cast anchor, the time to be 
 decided by the captain's watch. Now, when the 
 time was announced, there were two claimants 
 for the prize, namely the passenger who had 
 drawn number twenty-two and the owner of 
 number twenty-three. There was a great differ- 
 ence of opinions as to who was entitled to it ; all 
 
SOMALI BOYS. 13 
 
 the passengers were canvassed for their opinions, 
 but I forget how it was decided. 
 
 No sooner were we in port than the ship was 
 surrounded by numbers of black Somali boys in 
 canoes, who made a fearful noise clamouring for 
 the passengers to throw them coins, for which 
 they dived. As the place is infested with sharks, 
 this would seem highly dangerous work, but they 
 did not appear to mind, although one poor boy 
 is minus a leg, it having been snapped off by 
 one of these voracious monsters a year or two 
 back. As a rule, I believe sharks rarely touch 
 blacks, though very fond of white men, and I was 
 told that quite recently one of the telegraph 
 clerks who had gone out to bathe was never seen 
 again, the supposition being that he was taken 
 by sharks. 
 
 General Hogg, the governor of Aden, was away 
 on leave, and Colonel Gossett, commanding the 
 54th Regiment, was acting in his place. He 
 kindly asked us — i.e., Fife, Paget, Ogle, and 
 myself — to lunch at Government House, and 
 
li AN AWFUL PLACE TO LIVE IN. 
 
 afterwards took us over the fortifications, which 
 are in course of construction. The new fort will, 
 when completed and armed, be a most formidable 
 work ; it thoroughly commands all the approaches 
 to Aden. 
 
 This must be an awful place to remain in for any 
 length of time ; not a tree, not a shrub or blade 
 of grass to be seen. It looks a veritable desolation 
 of desolations. 
 
 A regiment is always sent here for a year on 
 its way home from service in India, and the gallant 
 54th seemed very glad that their year was nearly 
 at an end, and that they would soon be home. I 
 am sure that this thought has a good deal to do 
 with the officers and men keeping up their health 
 and spirits when one day passes like another, 
 without the slightest relaxation or amusement. 
 
 All meat has to be brought one hundred and 
 sixty miles from the African coast, and there are 
 no fruit and vegetables except what can be 
 procured from passing ships. Fresh water is all 
 made in huge condensers, as the rainfall is too 
 
ARRIVE A T BOMB A Y. 1 5 
 
 small to be calculated upon for a regular supply. 
 
 We were none of us sorry to leave Aden and to 
 find ourselves in the Indian Ocean, which was 
 many degrees cooler than the Red Sea, and we 
 congratulated ourselves that the back of our 
 journey was broken, and that the next time we 
 landed would be at Bombay. 
 
 The next six days were spent much as usual, 
 in sports, reading, drawing, and watching the 
 flying fish as they darted through the air along- 
 side the ship. At last, on the evening of the 
 30th of November, we came in sight of the lights 
 on the high tower at Bombay, and were soon 
 anchored oiF the Apollo Bunda. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE EAST— A MOTLEY CROWD — PARSEES, HINDOOS, 
 AGENTS, ETC. — BYCULLA CLUB— ITS SPECIALITIES — GOVERNMENT 
 HOUSE — ENORMOUS POPULATION— ELEPHANTA — FUNERAL PROCES- 
 SION—FUNERAL CEREMONIES OF PARSEES — THE NUMBER OF PARSEES 
 — THEIR MORALITY AND RELIGION —TOWERS OF SILENCE DESCRIBED 
 —ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE SYSTEM. 
 
19 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Who can ever forget their first sight of the 
 Oriental world ? , Its glorious colouring, its 
 strange faces and still stranger guttural tongues. 
 It is like being suddenly transported into a 
 different sphere, and wherever it may be — 
 whether in Algiers, Tunis, Alexandria, Port Said, 
 or any of the many ports on the southern shores 
 of the Mediterranean — the feeling of intense 
 novelty and admiration for the picturesque scene 
 must be the same. 
 
 I, who have spent some years of my early youth 
 in the East, cannot, of course, recall in myself the 
 feelings and look of astonishment I have frequently 
 seen on the faces of my fellow-passengers at their 
 first introduction to an Oriental town, but still 
 
 c 2 
 
20 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BOMBAY. 
 
 I no less enjoy the picture, and am always glad 
 to return and gaze on it. 
 
 Of the many places I have seen in the East, 
 none has ever impressed me so much as Bombay 
 on my first drive through it. I arrived there 
 after sundown on the evening of the 30th of 
 November. As soon as the ship was stopped, it 
 was surrounded with innumerable shore-boats 
 and hundreds of natives in different costumes or 
 with no costumes at all. They scrambled up the 
 sides in all directions, and seemed to take entire 
 possession of the ship and passengers. There 
 were Parsees busy trying to get hold of any 
 gold the passengers might have in exchange 
 for rupees or notes ; touts from hotels ; boys (as 
 the native servants are called) showing their 
 4 chits ' and trying to get engaged on the spot ; 
 agents anxious to pass luggage through the 
 custom-house ; boatmen plying for hire ; and a 
 heap more, either on business or pleasure bent. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Paget and I were 
 travelling together, and we were met by a kind 
 
THE CROWDED STREETS. 21 
 
 friend who had given up his dinner to come 
 and take us ashore, and had made all arrange- 
 ments for our comfort. He had engaged two 
 boys for us, and our luggage was soon on board 
 a private steam-launch, and we steamed off to 
 the Apollo Bunda, that best known of all landing- 
 places in the southern world. We had been 
 made honorary members of the Byculla club, 
 and bed-rooms had been engaged for us. Our 
 friend had his carriage ready, and we drove off at 
 once. 
 
 The Byculla club is about three miles from the 
 landing-stage, and the road lies right through 
 the native town and bazaars. Never shall I 
 forget the sight. It was like a glimpse of the 
 L Arabian Nights.' The streets were crowded with 
 natives, the shops illuminated with hundreds of 
 little oil lamps. All kinds of strange-looking 
 fruit and vegetables were being sold, and the 
 brilliant colours, the dusky forms, the babble 
 and gesticulations completed the picture. 
 
 One of the things that must impress the 
 
22 THE BYCULLA CLUB. 
 
 stranger in India is the enormous population. 
 The streets and houses seem always crowded, and 
 it is the same wherever one goes. In travelling 
 by rail, a large crowd is always to be seen at 
 every station, all waiting for their turn, and 
 that in the most patient and orderly manner. 
 They each carry a small bundle, and a brass c lota ' 
 for water, and are contented to be packed like 
 sardines and locked up for hours together. 
 
 The Byculla club is a fine building, surrounded 
 by lovely gardens, and built in one of the suburbs 
 of Bombay. The members are most hospitable, 
 and admit strangers, proposed and seconded by 
 two members who are acquainted with them, to 
 all the privileges of the club ; and when I add 
 that of all the clubs I was ever in, whether in 
 England or the Continent, the Byculla is second 
 to none in every comfort, I think it will be 
 admitted that I am saying a good deal. We 
 were shown two comfortable bed-rooms, with 
 bath-room attached to each, as is, indeed, the 
 case everywhere in India. As it was very sultry, 
 
BREAKFAST AT THE BYCULLA CLUB. 23 
 
 our beds were put out on the balcony, with thick 
 nets over them to keep out the mosquitoes. 
 
 We were awakened early in the morning by the 
 noise made by the crows and mynahs, of which 
 there seemed to be an innumerable quantity, and 
 soon after our ' boys ' brought us ' chota hazri ' 
 of tea, biscuits, and plantains. 
 
 I am very fond of the sensation of awaking in 
 a strange place, and am always in a hurry to 
 explore fresh ground, and on this occasion I dressed 
 as soon as possible and went down. The rooms 
 at the Byculla are large and lofty and the win- 
 dows all open to the ground, so that there is 
 always a delicious breeze through them. The 
 gardens were ablaze with poincettias, red and 
 yellow, and a mass of different kinds of crotons 
 growing like laurels in England, whilst close to 
 the front entrance stands a magnificent cocoa- 
 palm ; but, lovely as all this was, the sight of our 
 breakfast appealed still more to our feelings. A 
 broiled pomfret and a Byculla prawn curry are 
 things to live for, and are themselves worth all 
 
24 A LOVELY DRIVE. 
 
 the journey to Bombay. The first is a delicious 
 flat fish, more delicate than anything I have ever 
 tasted, the nearest approach I can make being 
 that it seems like a cross between a flounder and 
 a brook-trout. I believe it is only to be found 
 near Bombay, and, though there it is plentiful 
 enough, it is ever esteemed a great delicacy. 
 With these two dishes, some small iced tomatoes, 
 the size of grapes, and winding up with some of 
 those delicious, loose-jacketed Indian oranges, we 
 felt as if all the world went smoothly with us. 
 
 It was very hot, and regular Indians do not 
 think of going out in the middle of the day, 
 unless obliged to do so ; but we were anxious to 
 see all we could and as soon as possible, so, order- 
 ing a carriage, we drove off through Bombay to 
 Government House at Malabar Point. It is a 
 lovely drive, the road passing through groves of 
 cocoa-nut palms and banana-trees, and gradually 
 winding up-hill between villas and gardens, with 
 the sea lying below like a huge lake, and covered 
 with picturesque fishing-boats. 
 
• * * • *» • 
 
THE TOWERS OF SILENCE. 25 
 
 But why should I describe places and scenes of 
 which volume after volume has been written? 
 Who has not read about the Caves of Elephanta? 
 and, if they have not, they will find them and 
 other sights far better described in' Arnold's 
 ' India Re- visited ' than my feeble pen can por- 
 tray ; so, with one exception, I will pass them all 
 over, but the one exception interested me so 
 much that I cannot refrain from writing about it. 
 I refer to the Towers of Silence, or burial-place of 
 the Parsees. I had heard a great deal about it, 
 and had long been anxious to see it. On inquiry 
 I found that an order had to be obtained from 
 the secretary ; so, calling at his office, I was most 
 kindly received by Mr. Nusserwanjee Byramjee, 
 who said he would meet us at the compound 
 gateway at four o'clock, and show me over and 
 explain everything I wished to know. We 
 arrived there at the hour named, and were quite 
 charmed with the beautiful view of Bombay and 
 the harbour. The towers stand in a large garden 
 or compound at the top of Malabar Hill, and the 
 
26 THE PARSEES. 
 
 view of the town and sea is obtained over what 
 seems a dense forest of cocoa-nut palms, though in 
 reality this large grove is full of native houses 
 and life. A funeral procession passed in whilst 
 we were looking at the view, so that we had an 
 opportunity of seeing the whole ceremony ; but I 
 think that, instead of using language of my own, 
 I cannot do better than copy the admirable 
 description of the Parsee religion and of the 
 whole death-rites as written by Professor Monier 
 Williams, and published in the Times of January 
 28, 1876; which description Mr. Byramjee gave 
 me to read. Mr. Williams says : 
 
 'Your readers are doubtless aware that the 
 Parsees are descendants of the ancient Persians, 
 who were expelled from Persia by the Mahomedan 
 conquerors, and who first settled at Surat about 
 eleven hundred years ago. According to the last 
 census, they do not number more than seventy 
 thousand souls, of whom about fifty thousand are 
 found in the city of Bombay and the remaining 
 twenty thousand in different parts of India, but 
 
ZOROASTRIANISM. 27 
 
 chiefly in Guzerat and the Bombay presidency. 
 Though a mere drop in the ocean of two hundred 
 and forty million inhabitants, they form a most 
 important and influential body of men, emulating 
 Europeans in energy and enterprise, rivalling 
 them in opulence, and imitating them in many 
 of their habits. Their vernacular language is 
 Guzerathi, but nearly every adult speaks English 
 with fluency, and English is now taught in all 
 their schools. Their religion, as delivered in its 
 original purity by their prophet Zoroaster, and as 
 propounded in the Zend-Avesta, is monotheistic, 
 or perhaps rather pantheistic, in spite of its 
 philosophical dualism, and in spite of the apparent 
 worship of fire and the elements, regarded as 
 visible representations of the Deity. Its morality 
 is summed up in three precepts of two words 
 each : good thoughts, good words, good deeds ; of 
 which the Parsee is constantly reminded by the 
 triple coil of his white woollen girdle. In its 
 origin the Parsee system is allied to that of the 
 Hindu Aryans — as represented in the Veda — and 
 
•28 THE DAKHMAS. 
 
 has much in common with the more recent 
 Brahmanism. Neither religion can make any 
 proselytes. A man must be born a Brahman or 
 a Parsee ; no power can convert him into either 
 one or the other. One notable peculiarity, 
 however, distinguishes Parseeism, nothing simi- 
 lar to its funeral rites prevails amongst other 
 nations. 
 
 ' The dakhmas, or Parsee towers of silence, are 
 erected in a garden, on the highest point of 
 Malabar Hill. The garden is approached by a 
 private road, all access to which, except to 
 Parsees, is barred by strong iron gates. The 
 courteous secretary of the Parsee Punchayet, Mr. 
 Nusserwanjee Byramjee, awaited my arrival at the 
 entrance to the garden. He took me at once to 
 the highest point in the consecrated ground, and 
 we stood together on the terrace of the largest of 
 the three Sagris, or houses of prayer, which over- 
 look the five towers of silence. The principal 
 Sagri contains the sacred fire, which when once 
 kindled and consecrated by solemn ceremonial, is 
 
GARDEN OF THE TOWERS. 2£ 
 
 fed day and night with incense and fragrant 
 sandal, and never extinguished. 
 
 'Beneath lay the city of Bombay, partially 
 hidden by cocoa-nut groves, with its beautiful bay 
 and harbour glittering in the brilliant December 
 light. Beyond stretched the magnificent ranges 
 of the ghauts, while immediately around us 
 extended a garden such as can only be seen in 
 tropical countries. No English nobleman's garden 
 could be better kept, and no pen could do justice 
 to the glories of its flowering shrubs, cypresses, 
 and palms. It seemed the very ideal, not only of 
 a place of sacred silence, but of peaceful rest. 
 
 1 But what are those five circular structures 
 which appear at intervals rising mysteriously out 
 of the foliage? They are simply masses of 
 masonry, massive enough to last for centuries, 
 built of the hardest black granite, and covered 
 with white chunam. Towers they scarcely deserve 
 to be called, for the height of each is quite out of 
 proportion to the diameter. The largest of the 
 five, built with such solid granite that the 
 
30 DATE OF THE SEPARATE TOWERS. 
 
 cost of erection was three lakhs of rupees, 
 seemed about ninety feet in diameter and not 
 more than twenty-five feet in height. The oldest 
 and smallest of the live was constructed two 
 hundred years ago, when the Parsees first settled 
 in Bombay, and is now only used by the Modi 
 family, whose forefathers built it, and here the 
 bones of many kindred generations are com- 
 mingled. The next oldest was erected in 1756, 
 and the other three during the succeeding 
 century. A sixth tower stands quite apart from 
 the others. It is square in shape and only used 
 for persons who have suffered death for heinous 
 crimes. The bones of convicted criminals are 
 never allowed to mingle with those of the rest of 
 the community. 
 
 4 But the strangest feature in these strange, 
 unsightly structures, so incongruously intermixed 
 with graceful cypresses and palms, exquisite 
 shrubs and gorgeous flowers, remains to be 
 described. 
 
 '' Though wholly destitute of ornament, and 
 
PLAN OF THE TOWERS. 31 
 
 even of the simplest moulding, the parapet of 
 each tower possesses an extraordinary coping, 
 which instantly attracts and fascinates the gaze. 
 It is a coping formed, not of dead stone, but of 
 living vultures. These birds, on the occasion of 
 my visit, had settled themselves side by side in 
 perfect order, and in a complete circle, around 
 the parapets of the towers, with their heads 
 pointed inwards ; and so lazily did they sit there, 
 and so motionless was their whole mien, that, 
 except for their colour, they might have been 
 carved out of the stone-work. After the towers 
 have been once consecrated, no one except the 
 corpse-bearers is allowed to enter, nor is any- 
 one, not even a Parsee high-priest, permitted to 
 approach within thirty feet of the immediate 
 precincts. An exact model of the interior was, 
 however, shown to me. 
 
 c Imagine a round column, or massive cylinder, 
 twelve or fourteen feet high, and at least ninety 
 feet in diameter, built throughout of solid stone, 
 except in the centre, where a well, fifteen feet 
 
32 SACRED NUMBERS. 
 
 deep and forty-five feet in diameter, leads down 
 to an excavation under the masonry, containing 
 four drains at right angles to each other, termin- 
 ated by holes filled with charcoal. Round the 
 upper surface of this solid circular cylinder, and 
 completely hiding the interior from view, is a 
 stone parapet fourteen feet in height. The upper 
 surface of the solid stone column is divided into 
 seventy-two compartments, or open receptacles, 
 radiating like the spokes of a wheel from the 
 central well, and arranged in three concentric 
 rings, separated from each other by narrow ridges 
 of stone, which are grooved to act as channels 
 for conveying all moisture from the receptacles 
 into the well and into the lower drains. 
 
 1 It should be noted that the number 3 is 
 emblematical of Zoroaster's three precepts, and 
 the number 72 of the chapters of his Yasna — a 
 portion of the Zend-Avesta. 
 
 4 Each circle of open stone coffins is divided 
 from the next by a pathway, so that there are 
 three circular pathways. In the. outermost circle 
 
A FUNERAL. 33 
 
 are placed the bodies of males, in the middle 
 those of females, and in the inner and smallest 
 circle, nearest the well, those of children. 
 
 1 While I was engaged with the secretary in 
 examining the model, a sudden stir amongst the 
 vultures made us raise our heads. At least one 
 hundred birds collected round one of the towers 
 began to show symptoms of excitement, whilst 
 others swooped down from neighbouring trees. 
 The cause of this sudden abandonment of their 
 previous apathy soon revealed itself. A funeral 
 was approaching. 
 
 c However distant the house of a deceased 
 person, and whether he be rich or poor, high or 
 low rank, his body is always carried to the towers 
 by the official corpse -bearers, called Nasasalar, 
 who form a distinct class, the mourners walking 
 behind. As the bearers are supposed to contract 
 impurity in the discharge of their duty, they are 
 forced to live quite apart from the rest of the 
 community, and are therefore highly paid. 
 
 ' The body, swathed in a white sheet, is placed 
 
 J) 
 
34 THE VULTURES. 
 
 on a curved metal trough, open at both ends, 
 and the corpse-bearers, dressed in pure white 
 garments, proceed with it to the towers. They 
 are followed by the mourners at a distance of 
 at least thirty feet in pairs, also dressed in white, 
 and each couple joined by holding a white hand- 
 kerchief between them. When the two corpse- 
 bearers reach the path leading by a steep incline 
 to the door of the tower, the mourners turned 
 back and entered the prayer-houses. The bearers 
 carried the body into the tower, passing through 
 the side door, and laid it, uncovered, in one of 
 the open stone receptacles. In about five minutes 
 they reappeared, with the empty bier and white 
 cloth, and scarcely had they closed the door 
 when a dozen vultures swooped down upon the 
 body, and were rapidly followed by others. In 
 five minutes more we saw the satiated birds fly 
 back, and lazily settle down again on the parapet. 
 Soon nothing is left but a skeleton. Meanwhile, 
 the bearers are seen to enter a building shaped 
 like a huge barrel. Then they changed their 
 
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 35 
 
 clothes, and washed themselves. Shortly after- 
 wards we saw them come out and deposit their 
 cast-off funeral garments on a stone receptacle 
 near at hand. Not a thread leaves the garden 
 lest it should carry deplement into the city. 
 Perfectly new garments are supplied for each 
 funeral. 
 
 1 In a fortnight the same bearers return, and 
 with gloved hands and implements resembling 
 tougs, place the dry skeleton in the central well.' 
 
 I have copied out this long extract from Mr. 
 Monier Williams' account, as it so exactly describes 
 what I saw myself. There is a great deal to be 
 said both for and against the system. It is 
 excellent from a sanitary point, but I think it is 
 most revolting to think of our dear dead exposed 
 naked by a set of corpse-bearers and devoured by 
 vultures. Stories are told of people living in 
 houses in the neighbourhood who have sometimes 
 found fingers or other parts of a human body on 
 their verandah, carried there and dropped by 
 these vultures. I may add that a Parsee believes 
 
 d 2 
 
36 ODD PARSEE BELIEFS. 
 
 that if the right eye is plucked out first by the 
 birds the soul goes to heaven, but if the left eye 
 is taken first it goes to hell, the consequence 
 being that on the amount received by the corpse- 
 bearers depends a good deal the place where the 
 soul of the deceased is supposed to go. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MALABAR POINT— LEAVE BOMBAY FOR POONA— INDIAN RAILWAYS — 
 GHAUTS — CLUB AT POONA — BAZAAR AND KINKOB WORK — LEAVE FOR 
 HYDERABAD — JOURNEY — BIRDS ON TELEGRAPH WIRES — SCENERY 
 NEAR HYDERABAD— RESIDENCY AT CHUDDERGHAUT — CITY OF 
 HYDERABAD — DINE WITH THE NAWAB VIKAR UL UMRA — ARRANGE 
 BIG- GAME SHOOTING — ATTAR OF ROSES — MEER ALUM TANK — TOMBS 
 OF GOLCONDA — DIAMONDS NOT FOUND THERE — AFRICAN CAVALRY 
 — LUNCH WITH THE NIZAM — NAWAB SAID HUSSEIN — NAUTCH DANCE 
 — BLACK-BUCK HUNTING WITH CHEETAH — LUNCH WITH VIKAR UL 
 UMRA— RETURN TO POONA— BOMBAY— DELHI— DAK BUNGALOW — 
 ANECDOTE. 
 
39 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Paget and I spent a very pleasant week in 
 Bombay. We lunched at Government House, 
 Malabar Point, that most delightful of residences. 
 It consists of several bungalows grouped together 
 amidst trees and shrubs on a high promontory 
 with lovely views all round and the sea beating 
 against the rocks below. There is always a breeze, 
 no matter how hot the day ; but during the mon- 
 soon it blows so strongly that it is almost impossible 
 to live here, and the trees on the north side grow 
 lob-sided in consequence. However, at the season 
 of which I am now writing, what with the poin- 
 cettias and bourgonvillias in full bloom, the gar- 
 den of geraniums and other flowers, and the fine 
 banian-trees which are here so carefully tended, 
 
40 FIRST JOURNEY ON INDIAN RAILWAY. 
 
 and the beautiful little striped squirrels running 
 about all over the place, it seemed an earthly 
 paradise. These squirrels had for me a great 
 charm all over India. They are everywhere, and 
 so tame that they will run about one's room, and 
 add perpetual animation to the scene. 
 
 At the end of the week we went to Poona. 
 This, our first journey on an Indian railway, was 
 most interesting to us. Leaving the Byculla station 
 at two p.m., we met two of our Peninsular and 
 Oriental fellow-passengers in the train. All the 
 railways in India keep Madras time, which, being 
 half-an-hour earlier than that at Bombay, makes 
 it somewhat awkward for people not accustomed 
 to think of the difference and who naturally rely 
 on their watches ; the consequence on this occasion 
 was that we very nearly missed our train. 
 
 The railway-carriages are all arranged as sleep- 
 ing compartments to hold six people, the upper 
 berths coming down at night ; but when they are 
 full, which fortunately is seldom the case, are not 
 very comfortable, for with the heat and dust of 
 
THE INEVITABLE BEDDING. 41 
 
 India, and the amount of bedding and small 
 packages usually carried, space is most essential. 
 On this occasion, although only four, it was 
 lucky that we were not to pass the night in the 
 train, for our c boys ' crammed so much luggage 
 of all sorts into the carriage that we looked very 
 much as if we were travelling in a luggage- 
 van. 
 
 In India everyone carries about his bedding, so 
 that also takes up a considerable space. I remem- 
 ber on one occasion forgetting mine, or rather, 
 I may say, thought it was unnecessary to take it, 
 as I was going to stay at a large Residency. I 
 arrived late, and on going to bed, found I was 
 only supplied with a mattress and pillow, without 
 a pillow-case. It being very cold, I covered 
 myself with the room carpet, and slept soundly. 
 
 It was excessively hot during the first part of 
 our journey from Bombay to Poona, but on 
 reaching Kalyan we began to ascend the ghauts, 
 and then the air became sensibly cooler and the 
 scenery very fine. These hills are covered with 
 
42 POONA. 
 
 teak and mango-trees, with a dense undergrowth 
 of jungle, the haunts of many tigers, panthers, 
 and sambur, but the jungle is always so thick 
 that it is next to impossible to get at them, and 
 so they mostly live a life of peace to themselves, 
 whilst preying on the cattle to a great extent. 
 The railway passes over bridges with the valley 
 lying one thousand to fifteen hundred feet 
 beneath, and in places gives one a very unpleas- 
 ant feeling of insecurity. There were one or two 
 horrible accidents when it was first opened, but 
 now every possible precaution is taken, so that 
 really there is no danger. My barometer showed 
 a rise of two thousand feet between Bombay and 
 Karjat, and Poona itself is about nineteen hun- 
 dred feet above the sea. 
 
 We arrived at Poona at half-past seven. Here 
 again we had been made honorary members of 
 that most excellent establishment, ' The Club of 
 Western India.' Comfortable bed-rooms, a lovely 
 house and garden, an excellent dinner at a most 
 moderate price, and, last but not least, the com- 
 
ARTISTIC PRODUCTS. 43 
 
 pany of some pleasant members, and what more 
 could we desire ? 
 
 Coming from the heat of Bombay we felt the 
 cold a good deal, but, after all, it was seventy-two 
 degrees in our rooms at night. 
 
 The next day we spent in driving about the 
 native bazaar, looking at the kinkob manufactory 
 and buying several pieces of this most beautiful 
 stuff. It is a mixture of gold thread and silk 
 interwoven, and is made here to perfection in the 
 most artistic patterns. It is very expensive, 
 ranging from thirty-four to fifty rupees a yard, 
 but, when one considers the labour and the 
 amount of gold used, it is not really extravagant, 
 especially to people drawing money from Eng- 
 land ; for, the rupee having now gone down to 
 sixteen-pence, anyone banking at home at this 
 price gains forty per cent. 
 
 No wonder poor, hard-working Indians grumble, 
 when sending home money for the education of 
 their children, at being mulcted forty per cent, for 
 it. 
 
U PARYATPS TEMPLE. 
 
 We drove out to Parvati's temple on a hill four 
 miles off; but beyond the view, which is fine, and 
 the fact that it is from this spot that the last 
 Guicowar, in 1817, saw his army defeated by the 
 British in the Battle of Kirkee, there is nothing 
 very remarkable about it. 
 
 We were anxious to see Hyderabad in the 
 Deccan, and, having received a telegram from 
 Mr. Cordery, the Resident there, inviting us to 
 spend a few days with him, we left Poona by the 
 half-past seven train on the evening of December 
 7th. This time we had a carriage . to ourselves, 
 and passed a comfortable night, arriving at Wadi 
 junction, where the main line branches off for 
 Madras, at half-past eight the next morning. At 
 most Indian stations they have very good refresh- 
 ment rooms, and we found that Wadi station was 
 no exception in this particular, for they provided 
 us with an excellent repast, and sent us off happy 
 as we got into the train of the Nizam's state rail- 
 way at ten o'clock. 
 
 I was much struck with the beauty of the 
 
RA 1L WA Y ST A TION GARDENS. 45 
 
 stations on this line. Each of them is a per- 
 fect garden ; a blaze of flowers and beautiful 
 shrubs. Roses, crotons, poincettias in masses, 
 and the beautiful foliage of the banana and 
 various palms towering above them, whilst the 
 trellis- work of the station bungalows was covered 
 with a blue convolvulus, of a size and of an 
 intense hue never to be seen in our cold climate. 
 A great majority of the plants and shrubs are in 
 pots, in fact the gardens in India are essentially 
 pot-gardens, for in this way they can be moved 
 and protected from the intense sun in the hot 
 season, and the heavy rain during the monsoon. 
 
 The company on this line have a good system 
 of giving money prizes to the station-masters for 
 the best-kept gardens, which, while a source of 
 profit to themselves — in that besides the prize 
 they can make money by selling plants — renders 
 travelling far more agreeable than it would be 
 if the eye had nothing to rest on but the glare 
 and dust of the natural Indian landscape. It 
 is interesting to watch the different birds along 
 
46 LOVELY BIRDS. 
 
 the line. Most of them do not seem to take 
 the slightest notice of the passing train, but sit 
 perched upon the telegraph wires, quite indifferent 
 to the noise and smoke of the engine and carriages. 
 Of the numerous kinds the most common are the 
 king-crow, with i£§ long black tail, the feathers 
 bending out like those of a blackcock ; the green 
 and yellow merops, or bee-eater; and the beautiful 
 blue jay, which, as it opens its wings and flies 
 away, displays its lovely colour to perfection. 
 The impertinent mynahs are of course to be 
 seen strutting about in every station and village, 
 looking as if they thought the whole place 
 belonged to them. 
 
 The country is flat and uninteresting until 
 within four miles of Hyderabad, where the jungle 
 begins. The mixture of foliage of peepul and 
 mango-trees, and the toddy and cocoa-nut palms, 
 makes the scene wild and attractive. About 
 fifteen miles from Hyderabad, a curious formation 
 is reached. The whole plain is covered with 
 large rocks, at the top of which huge rocking 
 
ARRIVAL AT HYDERABAD. 47 
 
 stones, weighing several tons, are to be seen. 
 They look as if an ordinarily high wind would 
 blow them over, so fragile is the base upon 
 which they stand ; and yet they have endured 
 century after century. This formation of country 
 is the same all the way to Hyderabad, and gives 
 one the idea of a series of ruined cities. 
 
 We arrived about five p.m. Mr. Cordery had 
 sent his carriage to the station for us, and we 
 drove at once to the Residency, which is about 
 a mile-and-a-half off. It is an imposing-looking 
 building, standing in a large compound in a 
 suburb called Chudderghaut. The house reminds 
 one somewhat of the British Museum, and a 
 curious fact about it is that a great deal of the 
 furniture, and in particular all the gilt chairs in 
 the front hall, came from the Pavilion at Brighton, 
 where it was sold. We were most hospitably 
 received, and nothing can exceed the comfort and 
 luxury of the house. 
 
 The evening of our arrival there was a large 
 dinner-party, given by one of the great Hyderabad 
 
48 THOROUGHLY ORIENTAL. 
 
 nobles — the Nawab Vikar Ul Umra — to which we 
 were invited. So at half-past seven we started in a 
 carriage and four horses with Mr. Cordery, Lord 
 Fife, Mr. Ogle (who were staying at the Residency), 
 Colonel and Mrs. Rawlins, and several others, 
 escorted by a guard of honour of sowars of the 
 Hyderabad contingent. 
 
 A very few years back it was most dangerous 
 for a European to enter the native city, and 
 even now no one but natives can do so without 
 an order from the Resident. But things have 
 become much quieter, and, beyond the occasional 
 meeting with a fanatic running amuck, there is 
 little or no danger in visiting the town. As we 
 drove along, I could not help remarking how 
 thoroughly Oriental the whole place had remained, 
 much more so than most of the big Indian cities. 
 We passed some fine buildings, and the town 
 looked tidy and clean. Our coachman drove 
 uncommonly well, steering us through the narrow, 
 crowded, and winding streets in a wonderful 
 manner to our host's house, which is about two 
 miles from the Residency. 
 
A DINNER PARTY. 49 
 
 The Nawab, with his English private secretary, 
 Dr. Lauder, received us at the door. He is a good- 
 looking man of about thirty, with a charming 
 manner, and speaking English fluently. He led 
 the way to a beautiful suite of rooms, furnished 
 in English style, and introduced me to his son, 
 a nice, intelligent boy of ten years old, who also 
 speaks English well, and who, next year, is to 
 be sent to school in England, to complete his 
 education at Eton. 
 
 The dinner and wines were excellent, and a 
 good band discoursed some lovely music during 
 the meal. We sat down a party of about thirty 
 people, and after dinner adjourned to a large 
 marble court, with a tank full of gold fish, and 
 fountain in the middle, and illuminated with 
 hundreds of small oil-lamps of various colours. 
 Here, whilst we were drinking our coffee and 
 smoking our cheroots, a nautch-dance was per- 
 formed before us by the elite of the Hyderabad 
 dancing-girls, who were covered with heav}' bangles 
 and jewellery from head to foot. 
 
 E 
 
50 A GENEROUS OFFER. 
 
 The Nawab talked to me for some time. He, 
 as I before mentioned, has a charming manner, 
 and expresses himself very well in English, and 
 is, I hear, a fine rider and polo-player ; in fact, 
 takes great interest in all sports. Hearing 
 that Paget and I were both looking forward 
 to getting some big-game shooting, he kindly 
 asked us if we would join the party he was 
 getting up at the end of February or beginning 
 of March, when he proposed passing six or seven 
 weeks in the jungle. He tolcl us that everything 
 would be provided, and that all we had to do 
 was to bring our rifles and bedding. Such a 
 proposal is not come across every day, and we 
 eagerly accepted his kind offer. Dr. Lauder was 
 also very nice about it, and, as he is to make 
 all the ' bandobast,'* or arrangements, he told 
 us to write to him about anything we wished 
 to know concerning the expedition. 
 
 We were also introduced to another agreeable 
 native gentleman, Nawab Said Hussein, well 
 known as a thorough English scholar, and a 
 
 * Pronounced bunderbust. 
 
MEER ALEM TANK. 51 
 
 man whose opinion is much valued in most 
 matters. I have hardly ever met a more pleasant 
 companion ; and, hearing that we were fond of 
 sport, he promised to organise a black-buck hunt 
 with cheetahs for our amusement. 
 
 As we left the Nawab's house, he presented 
 each of his guests with three or four bottles of 
 attar of roses. This is a very old Hyderabad 
 custom, which, though dying out in some houses, 
 is always strictly kept up by the Vikar Ul Umra. 
 
 Next day was spent in driving through the 
 city to the great Meer Alem tank, which is about 
 eleven miles long, and supplies water to the 
 whole country round. Like many of these large 
 Indian lakes, or tanks, it is formed by damming 
 up a valley with what is called a bund, and so 
 keeping in the water during the rains. In this 
 case the bund is well worth an inspection, as it 
 is built of very strong stone arches, like a bridge 
 lying on its side. The city was even more 
 picturesque by day than by night, and the variety 
 of costumes, the men armed to the teeth, the 
 
 e 2 
 
52 THE TOMBS OF GOLCONDA. 
 
 crowds of elephants and camels, made it altogether 
 a gay sight. Numbers of fakirs, or religious 
 beggars, implored us for alms in loud, sing-song 
 voice, as we passed. The crowds were so dense 
 in some of the streets that it was with difficulty 
 we could get the horses and carriages through 
 them. The handsomest building in the town is 
 the Chuhar Minar, a lofty tower two hundred and 
 fifty feet high at the junction of the four city 
 main streets. 
 
 We drove out and visited the tombs of Gol- 
 conda, which are about five miles off. They 
 stand in well-kept compounds full of orange and 
 guava-trees, and are very handsome ; like all 
 Mahomedan tombs, they are dome-shaped and 
 covered with inscriptions from the Koran. Some 
 of them were also decorated with a pattern in 
 blue and yellow enamel, painted on earthenware. 
 I regret to say that little of the original now 
 remains, but what does is as fresh in colour as on 
 the day it was made. I picked up some pieces 
 that were lying on the ground, knocked down, 
 
FLYING FOXES. 53 
 
 probably, by the parrots which have made these 
 tombs their regular abode, and kept flying about 
 shrieking from every crevice. 
 
 The town of Golconda now only consists of a 
 fort and palace of the Nizam, built on a rocky 
 hill about two miles from the tombs. I had 
 always imagined, in common with many others, 
 that the famous diamond- mines of Golconda were 
 situated here, but I was now undeceived, and 
 discovered that there never were any diamond - 
 mines at Golconda, although these precious stones 
 were formerly brought here and stored in great 
 quantities with the Nizam's treasure, and conse- 
 quently the place got the reputation of producing 
 the stones ; the real Golconda mines were situated 
 on the coast of Coromandel, a little to the north 
 of Mazulipatam. 
 
 A curious sight in the Residency gardens is the 
 colony of flying foxes. They hang all day from 
 the branches of two large trees, and look like so 
 many black bags. At night they fly about and 
 feed upon any fruit which they can pick up. We 
 
54 A NEGRO REGIMENT. 
 
 threw stones and disturbed them for a short time, 
 but after flying about for a few minutes in a 
 very lazy and heavy way, pursued by the crows, 
 they invariably returned to their former perches 
 in the trees. 
 
 The morning of December 11th, Paget and I 
 were up early, and at seven o'clock drove off to 
 Major and Mrs. Nevill's house, to see his regi- 
 ment of African cavalry. 
 
 They are all recruited from the Somali coast, 
 and are veritable black negroes, fine, tall, strong- 
 looking men, but, I should imagine, much more 
 useful as infantry than as cavalry, for they cer- 
 tainly did not seem at home on their horses, 
 which I thought were very badly bitted, the bits 
 in most cases being far too large and heavy for 
 such small animals. 
 
 They did some wheels very creditably, but in 
 the charge two men cut voluntaries and four or 
 five lungis were left on the battle-field. 
 
 The band of the regiment, also composed of 
 blacks under a German band-master, played ex- 
 
THE CITY PALACE. 65 
 
 ceedingly well. After the drill, Mrs. Nevill, who is 
 a daughter of the late Charles Lever, the famous 
 novelist, gave us some ' chota hazri,' and took us 
 to see her tame sambur, and at ten o'clock we 
 drove back to the Residency. 
 
 At eleven o'clock we left again, with Mr. Cor- 
 dery and a guard of honour, to lunch with His 
 Highness the Nizam. He is the greatest of the 
 Indian sovereigns, the Guicowar of Baroda coming 
 next, and the Maharajah Holkar being the third. 
 The city palace is neither grand nor imposing in 
 any way, in fact the approach looks very much 
 like that to an ordinary private-house. We were 
 received by an aide-de-camp in green uniform 
 and aiquillettes, who led us up some steps into a 
 verandah, where the Nizam was seated. He came 
 forward and shook hands with us. He is a small- 
 built and delicate-looking young man, with black 
 beard and long hair hanging down his back. He 
 seemed shy of talking English, but all he said 
 was well expressed. 
 
 Since my visit, the Nizam's name has come very 
 
56 TEE NIZAM. 
 
 prominently before the British public by his dis- 
 play of unexceptional talents in the way of gov- 
 ernment, and also by his thorough, business-like 
 ways. He goes heart and soul into all matters 
 affecting his people, and is exceedingly popular 
 and highly respected all over the country. He 
 has a great opinion of Englishmen, and is lucky 
 in having such advisers as Mr. Cordery and 
 Colonel Marshall. 
 
 His late magnificent gift of sixty lacs of 
 rupees, or four hundred thousand pounds, towards 
 the defences of India, proves above all things how 
 loyal he is towards England. Besides possessing 
 statesman-like qualities, he is a very fine rider; 
 a first-rate shot, and good at tent-pegging and 
 polo. 
 
 We were a party of twenty at lunch, and I sat 
 at the Nizam's right and Mr. Cordery on his left. 
 The meal consisted of a large variety of Oriental 
 dishes, most of them very rich and full of spice ; 
 but the pilau and curries were excellent. Amongst 
 the latter was an orange currie, quite a new dish, 
 
NAUTCH DANCERS. 57 
 
 which I was told was made in honour of us, but 
 I cannot say that I cared much for it. I talked 
 to the Nizam a great deal about sport. He told 
 me that he had heard we wished to see a cheetah- 
 hunt, and had arranged one for us for the next 
 day. 
 
 After lunch, we smoked our cheroots on the 
 verandah, and His Highness had the whole of 
 his stud trotted out for our inspection. We 
 looked at about one hundred Arabs, Walers, and 
 native-bred horses, some of the former being the 
 handsomest I have ever seen, and all wonderfully 
 broken by the native stud-groom. 
 
 That evening we dined with our friend Nawab 
 Said Hussien, in his comfortable new house in 
 Chudderghaut. He had a wood-fire burning in 
 one of the drawing-rooms, thinking it would 
 remind us of home, and after dinner we witnessed 
 a series of nautch-dances, both Mahomedan and 
 Hindoo. These entertainments are somewhat 
 disappointing, the women are generally very ugly, 
 the music, singing, and dancing are most mono- 
 
58 MAHOMET ALI BEG. 
 
 tonous. The nautch troupe consists of two or 
 more women who dance and sing to an accom- 
 paniment played by the men on the tomtom, 
 flute, and a kind of fiddle. The dancers have 
 their ankles covered with heavy bangles, so that 
 it must be very tiring work. In intervals of the 
 dance they chant a monotonous song, clapping 
 their hands the whole time, and generally have a 
 large piece of betel-nut in their mouths. On 
 this particular evening the performance began 
 with a Mussulman troupe, followed by another 
 one of Hindoos, but the dances were all much 
 alike, and we soon had enough of them. 
 
 We were introduced to another native gentle- 
 man, Mahomet Ali Beg, now Assur Jung, secre- 
 tary of the Nizam, and famous through India as 
 one of the best riders and sportsmen of the whole 
 empire. He was to conduct the cheetah-hunt in 
 the morning. 
 
 Next day w r e left the Residency at seven o'clock 
 in three carriages for our hunting expedition. 
 Besides Paget and myself, our party was made 
 
ON AN ELEPHANT. 59 
 
 up of Mr. Cordery, Mr. and Mrs. Cornish, Mrs. 
 Stead, Mr. Herbert Gladstone, Mr. Tennant, Mr. 
 Maxse, Mr. Winthrop, Herr Von Dyke, and Dr. 
 Du Bois, with Mahomet Ali Beg to show us the 
 sport. After a drive of five-and-twenty minutes, 
 we came to a large maidiin, or plain, covered 
 with long grass and shrub, and here we left our 
 carriages, some of us mounted elephants, while 
 others got on the horses which had been sent on. 
 I had never been on an elephant, and was 
 anxious to make the experiment, so I chose it 
 instead of a horse. The beast was made to kneel 
 down, a ladder placed at his side, and Mrs. Stead, 
 Mr. Cordery, and I got into the howdah. The 
 sensation as the elephant gets up is very odd, 
 it feels as if you were being thrown backward 
 and then forward again, like a shuttle-cock. The 
 motion in walking is not unpleasant, though 
 now, after a good deal of experience, I am bound 
 to say there is a vast difference between a rough 
 and a smooth animal. 
 
 The cheetahs were tied on common native 
 
60 BUCK-HUNTING WITH CHEETAHS. 
 
 bullock- carts, and hooded. We did not move 
 until we had given them a good start, then, fol- 
 lowing slowly about four hundred yards behind, 
 we traversed the plain spying for game. It seems 
 that the black buck are so used to seeing bullock- 
 carts in the ordinary course of work that they 
 take little or no notice of them. 
 
 And such was the case in this instance. On 
 spying a herd, we on the elephants and horses 
 immediately halted about four or five hundred 
 yards off, whilst the carts went slowly on, getting 
 gradually nearer and nearer to the game. When 
 within seventy yards the cheetah was unhooded,and 
 on seeing the quarry bounded off at a tremendous 
 pace and pulled a buck down by the throat. The 
 shikari then ran up, cut the animal's throat, and 
 fed the cheetah with the blood collected in a tin 
 basin. We had two stalks, and then, being 
 engaged to breakfast with the Nawab Vikar Ul 
 Umra, we left off, and went back home as we 
 came. I was rather disappointed in the sport, for 
 I had expected to see more of a run between the 
 
A PLEASANT DAY. 61 
 
 cheetah and buck, whereas it was all over in a 
 few seconds after the cheetah was unhooded. 
 
 Changing at the Residency, we drove to the 
 Vikar's garden between four or five miles off. 
 Here, in a lovely kiosk, surrounded with shrubs 
 and flowers of all sizes and colours, was served a 
 real Persian breakfast. The courses seemed end- 
 less ; some dishes were really excellent, whilst 
 others I should require a good deal of education 
 in Persian cookery to like. Saffron was the 
 prevailing flavour, and all were rather greasy and 
 rich. Breakfast over, we drove up the hill to see 
 the Vikar's new palace ; it is not nearly finished, 
 and has already cost six lacs of rupees. The hill 
 is all of solid rock, and the Vikar is making a 
 garden round the palace, every particle of soil 
 having to be carried up, and pipes for water also 
 laid the whole way. The stables are good, and 
 full of fine-looking animals. On leaving, we were 
 again all presented with bottles of attar of roses, 
 and returned to the Residency after spending a 
 pleasant day. 
 
62 WE LEAVE HYDERABAD. 
 
 I do not know when I spent a more agreeable 
 time than I did at Hyderabad under Mr. Cordery's 
 hospitable roof. Each day we went for drives in 
 the neighbourhood, and passed many a delightful 
 hour with the officers of the different regiments 
 quartered at Secunderabad and Tremulgherry, so 
 that it was with sincere regret that I said good- 
 bye to my host and took the train back to Poona ; 
 but having received a telegram from the Duke of 
 Connaught's aide-de-camp, saying that Their 
 Roval Highnesses would be there on the following 
 morning and wished me to meet them at the sta- 
 tion, I had no time to spare. Paget travelled with 
 me as far as Poona, going straight on to Bombay. 
 He wished to see Burmah, and so we parted, agree- 
 ing to meet again at Hyderabad at the end of 
 February, for our big-game shooting expedition 
 with the Nawab Vikar Ul Umra. 
 
 The following months I spent chiefly with the 
 Duke and Duchess. I accompanied them in the 
 Duke's tour of inspection all through the Bombay 
 Presidency, and saw the places of interest under 
 
RAJKOT COLLEGE GUARD OF HONOUR. 63 
 
 most favourable circumstances. Their Royal 
 Highnesses received a most loyal and hearty 
 welcome everywhere, but nowhere more so than 
 in Kathiawar, where the young nobles of the 
 Rajkot college, at their own special request, 
 formed a guard of honour and escorted their 
 illustrious visitors into their city. 
 
 We returned to Bombay from this tour on 
 the 3rd of February, and were encamped at the 
 Cooperage, the head-quarters of the commander- 
 in-chief when in Bombay. His Royal Highness 
 Prince Frederick Leopold of Prussia, the Duchess 
 of Connaught's brother, Count Kanitz, and Major 
 von Nickisch were also of our party there, and 
 we altogether formed a very large camp. Bombay 
 was most agreeable just then, with a lot of 
 gaieties coming on ; but I was anxious to see the 
 north of India, so most reluctantly I left, and 
 went through Rajpoot ana, part of the north- 
 west provinces, and the Bengal Presidency. 
 
 Never did I know before what real hospitality 
 meant. In England, when we have asked a 
 
64 REAL HOSPITALITY. 
 
 stranger to dinner or lunch, we think we have 
 been very civil, and done all that can be expected 
 of us ; but in India one finds houses open, and 
 people ready to give you their best, pressing you, 
 in good faith, to stay as long as possible. Wher- 
 ever I went I was received in this kind and 
 hospitable manner, and I thoroughly enjoyed my 
 trip from beginning to end. 
 
 In this short sketch of my visit to India I 
 have purposely avoided giving descriptions of 
 places, native customs, and ceremonies, all so 
 well known to readers of books of Indian travel, 
 and of which many who have not even wit- 
 nessed the scenes may know more than I, who 
 have visited them. I shall therefore confine 
 myself mostly to incidents which happened to 
 myself. 
 
 On my visit to Delhi, I had a letter of intro- 
 duction to one of the chief officials, but I had 
 a friend with me who had resided there for some 
 time, and he proposed that we should go to the 
 dak bungalow and be thoroughly independent. 
 
A VACANT ROOM. 65 
 
 We arrived at Delhi after dark, and, walking 
 straight from the station to this bungalow, were 
 disappointed to find it quite full. We therefore 
 had to go to a dirty and uncomfortable little 
 place, rejoicing in the grand name of the Great 
 Northern Hotel. The food was quite uneatable, 
 and we took all our meals at the refreshment- 
 room of the railway-station. 
 
 The morning after our arrival, and whilst I 
 was cursing my fate at being in such an uncom- 
 fortable place, my boy announced the manager 
 of the dak bungalow, who came to inform me 
 that he now had a vacant room, which I agreed 
 to go and see as soon as I was dressed. Off we 
 went accordingly ; but, on getting there, the first 
 thing that met our eyes was a police-officer 
 packing up and sealing luggage in the room that 
 was to be mine. 
 
 I asked him what was the matter, and he 
 quietly answered, 
 
 'A gentleman died here last night. We are 
 moving his things. The body was taken away 
 
 F 
 
66 A HOBSON'S CHOICE. 
 
 just now, and the room will be quite ready for 
 you gentlemen in ten minutes/ 
 
 He could give us no information as to what 
 the poor old man had died of, and although, 
 afterwards, we found out that it was from heart 
 disease, and that his death had occurred in his 
 carriage whilst driving from the Kootab and not 
 in this room; yet, as we did not learn these 
 details at the time, we preferred to stay in the 
 hotel, bad as it was. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AGRA— JUBILEE DAY— GRAND PARADE OF TROOPS — THE GAOL— CARPET 
 MAKING— GYMKANA MEETING — BHURTPORE — JUBILEE PROCESSION 
 — MAHARAJAH'S DURBAR AND DINNER — FIREWORKS — LOYALTY OF 
 NATIVE PRINCES — BENARES — INDIAN HOTELS— MADDESSAR KOTHI — 
 RAJAH SIVAPRASAD — HIS AVERSION TO BENGAL BABOOS — SIGHTS OF 
 BENARES — THE SACRED MONKEYS — MR. DAVIS DEFENDS MADDESSAR 
 KOTHI AGAINST VIZIER ALI — MR. DAVIS'S GALLANT DEFENCE OF MAD- 
 DESSAR KOTHI — RIVER SIGHTS — LEAVE FOR POONA AND HYDERABAD. 
 
 F 2 
 
69 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 On Jubilee Day, the 16th of February, I was 
 staying at Agra with Dr. Tyler, governor of the 
 gaol there. The day w T as kept as a general holiday 
 throughout all India, the natives seeming to enter 
 thoroughly into the spirit of the auspicious occa- 
 sion, and certainly Agra was no exception to the 
 rule. Early in the morning four hundred prisoners 
 were to receive their liberty ; so I went over the 
 gaol to see them, Dr. Tyler sitting at a desk and 
 ticking off their names as they came up, whilst 
 their female relatives were squatting down out- 
 side the big gates waiting for them. I took the 
 opportunity of going round the whole of the 
 prison, which is an immense building, and very 
 well kept. I saw large gangs of prisoners squat- 
 ting in the various yards, and amongst them a 
 
70 AGRA GAOL. 
 
 number of Burmese dacoits, who were easily to 
 be distinguished from the rest by their high 
 cheek-bones and thorough Malay type. They 
 were about as unprepossessing a looking lot as I 
 ever gazed on. 
 
 Agra gaol is famous for the carpets made by 
 the prisoners, and I went over most of the 
 looms. There were some very fine ones in pro- 
 gress for Princess Beatrice, Prince Frederick 
 Leopold, Count Kanitz, and others, though they 
 did not advance very quickly, for just then many 
 of the prisoners who did this particular work had 
 been liberated; but Dr. Tyler told me most of 
 them would be back in prison before the year was 
 out, and this, I afterwards heard, was the case all 
 over India, for the majority of the criminal 
 classes live a much more comfortable life in 
 prison than out of it. 
 
 There was a grand parade of troops in Agra 
 that morning, but, as I had not brought my 
 uniform with me, I could not attend it. I 
 lunched with General Rogers, the commandant, at 
 
AT BHURTPORE. 71 
 
 its conclusion, after which I went on to the 
 Gymkana meeting, where a huge crowd was 
 assembled to see the various sports, consisting of 
 Ecca and buffalo races, and other eccentric and 
 amusing games. But we had been invited by 
 the Maharajah of Bhurtpore to spend Jubilee 
 evening with him at his capital, so we drove off 
 to the station. The Duke and Duchess of Man- 
 chester and Lady Alice Montagu were of our 
 party, which was large enough to fill several 
 carriages of a special train. 
 
 Reaching Bhurtpore station at six o'clock, we 
 were met by the Resident, Colonel Euan Smith, a 
 quantity of carriages, and an escort of the Ma- 
 harajah's sowars. We drove to the Residency, 
 dressed for dinner, and, again entering our 
 carriages, drove in procession through the bazaar. 
 
 The whole town was illuminated with thou- 
 sands of little oil-lamps, stuck into trellis-work 
 made of bamboo, all along the side- walks, and 
 had a very pretty effect. On arriving at the 
 police-station we got out of our carriages and 
 
72 THE DURBAR. 
 
 went to a long balcony, also illuminated with 
 these lamps, and as we sat there the procession 
 filed past down the street. It was headed by 
 eight elephants most gaudily decorated ; these 
 were followed by a native band of music, and 
 then came a regiment of sowars, again eight more 
 elephants, amongst which was one with a golden 
 howdah and covered with kinkob, or cloth of 
 gold from head to foot. The Maharajah sat in 
 this howdah, and, as he passed our balcony, stood 
 up and bowed. 
 
 The procession being over, we again got 
 into our carriages, drawn by four horses, and 
 proceeded to the palace. We were all presented 
 to the Maharajah, who held a grand Durbar, 
 in which Colonel Euan Smith read a letter from 
 the Viceroy thanking His Highness for all his 
 loyal expressions on this auspicious occasion, and 
 at nine we sat down to a magnificent banquet in 
 the large hall. The Maharajah, being a strict 
 Hindoo, was not present at the dinner, but as 
 soon as the dessert was handed round he came in 
 
THE JUBILEE IN INDIA. 73 
 
 and sat next Colonel Euan Smith, who rose r 
 and, in a very eloquent speech, proposed the 
 Queen -Empress's health. The toast was most 
 loyally drank, and then the Duke of Manchester 
 gave the Maharajah's health, which was also 
 received heartily. After dinner we adjourned to 
 the terrace and witnessed a really fine display of 
 fireworks; these were followed by a nautch -dance 
 in the Durbar-room, and at one o'clock in the 
 morning we again left for Agra in a special train, 
 having passed an interesting day. 
 
 The jubilee had been celebrated in similar ways 
 all through this vast empire, the native chiefs 
 vieing with each other, and showing their loyalty 
 by the magnificence of the tomasha. This display 
 should have done a great deal to dissipate the 
 foolish fears of the croakers who imagine that 
 these maharajahs and chieftains are hostile to our 
 rule in India. By the enormous sums they have 
 spent in celebrating the Queen-Empress's jubilee^ 
 I think they have clearly shown that such is not 
 the case. 
 
74 BENARES. 
 
 Of all the cities I visited in India, Benares 
 struck me as the most interesting. Situated on 
 the sacred river Ganges, it is the chief of the 
 sacred cities, and thousands of pilgrims flock from 
 all parts of India to bathe from the ghats. It is 
 esteemed a blessed thing amongst Hindoos to die 
 at Benares, and plunging sick persons into the 
 water is the cause of a good many deaths. The 
 town is picturesque, and the streets near the 
 river are excessively narrow, everyone wishing to 
 be as near as possible to the sacred stream. 
 
 I arrived at Benares at a quarter to nine on 
 the morning of the 20th of February, and drove 
 straight to Clarke's Hotel, where I was received 
 by the proprietress, a showily-dressed lady, with 
 an ebony complexion, who seemed to think she 
 was doing a great act of condescension in per- 
 mitting me to enter her house. 
 
 It surprises me to note how bad Indian hotels 
 are as a rule. It is true that owing to the kind- 
 ness and hospitality of friends I did not visit 
 many of them, but the few I stayed in, with 
 
INDIAN HOTELS. 75 
 
 the exception of the Royal Hotel at Lucknow, 
 were horrible and filthy places. Watson's 
 Hotel at Bombay is about as uncomfortable a 
 hostelry as is to be found anywhere in the 
 civilized world, yet everyone goes there because 
 it is the best in the place. Everyone grumbles, 
 and I only wonder no one has the enterprise to 
 establish a really first-rate hotel at Bombay, for 
 I am confident a fortune might be made out 
 of it. 
 
 After dressing and breakfastincr with a consider- 
 able party of globe-trotters, a card was brought 
 me from Mr. Akshaya Kumur Mitra, the private 
 secretary of the Maharajah of Benares, and I found 
 him waiting in the hall. He told me that he 
 had orders from the Maharajah to take me to one 
 of his palaces, and to see that I wanted for no- 
 thing. I soon put my things together, and was 
 not sorry to see the last of Clarke's Hotel. 
 
 The palace in which I was put up is called 
 Maddessar Kothi. It has large lofty rooms, is 
 comfortably furnished, and surrounded by a 
 
76 RAJAH SIVAPRASAD. 
 
 lovely flower-garden. The eves of the house are 
 the haunts of a numerous colony of green parrots, 
 who kept up a continual concert, and occasionally 
 even came into the rooms. I was all alone in 
 this house, save the servants, twenty in number, 
 and felt rather like a state prisoner. When at 
 Poona, Lady Win ford had kindly given me a 
 letter of introduction to the Rajah Sivaprasad of 
 Benares, so I sent this off by a messenger, and 
 at four o'clock received a visit from this most 
 charming and interesting old gentleman. In the 
 course of conversation he told me that the dream 
 of his life was to visit England, but that being a 
 very high caste Hindoo this was impossible, for 
 by his religion he would lose caste were he more 
 than three days at sea. 
 
 ' Oh,' he said, ' if they would only make a 
 railway I would go at once ; or even if I were 
 now ordered to give evidence in London on a 
 Royal Commission on Indian Affairs I could go, 
 for a man obeying the government does not lose 
 caste.' 
 
THE MONKEY TEMPLE. 77 
 
 He took me in his carriage to see all the sights 
 of this wonderful city. We went to the college, 
 a fine Gothic building about fifty years old, and 
 then threaded our way through the brass-workers 
 and kinkob-makers to the golden temple, followed 
 by a dense crowd of fakirs and pilgrims shouting 
 for c backsheesh.' The most curious sight of all 
 is the cow temple, where a lot of sacred bulls and 
 cows are tied up round the inside of the place, 
 which in consequence smells much more like 
 a farm-yard than a place of worship. Some of 
 these animals are so old that they can hardly see 
 or stand. Wreaths of flowers are sold to the 
 visitors, who feed the beasts on them. I visited 
 the well of knowledge, a very smelly hole, and 
 added some flowers to the many thrown in by the 
 pilgrims ; then again we threaded our way through 
 the crowds to the Manmandira Observatory, where 
 I had a splendid view of the river and ghats 
 from the platform at the top. We now returned 
 to our carriage, and drove to the monkey temple 
 a little way off. In this large, red-brick building 
 
78 THE STORY OF MADDESSAR KOTHI. 
 
 are innumerable sacred monkeys, which come 
 down to be fed by boys with plates of fruit, 
 but they get so much to eat that they are 
 decidedly dainty. The monkeys had increased 
 so rapidly that, a short time before my visit, 
 many of them had been caught and transported 
 to the other side of the river. 
 
 As I drove home that evening, Rajah Sivaprasad 
 informed me that there w T as a very interesting 
 event connected with the house where I was 
 staying, and gave me a small book with an 
 account of it, which I read during my solitary 
 dinner that night. As it may probably interest 
 my readers, I will here give a short resume of the 
 way in which Mr. Davis, on the 14th of January, 
 1799, defended this house with a single spear 
 against the rebel ex-king of Oude, Vizier Ali, and 
 a following of three hundred men. 
 
 In 1798, the British found it necessary to 
 depose Vizier Ali, King of Oude, on account of his 
 numerous excesses and his misgovernment. They, 
 however, granted him a large pension, viz., a lac 
 
VIZIER ALPS PLOTS. 79 
 
 and a half of rupees, about fifteen thousand pounds, 
 and settled him in Benares as a resident. Here, 
 on the borders of his former kingdom, surrounded 
 by a numerous retinue, he began intriguing against 
 the British, with the object of getting back into 
 power. At length the government awoke to the 
 danger of leaving him so near to Oude, and ordered 
 him to Calcutta, entrusting the execution of the 
 order to Mr. Cherry, the political agent of the 
 Governor-General. Unfortunately for himself, Mr. 
 Cherry could not be brought to see that Vizier 
 Ali meant any mischief; but on the 13 th of Janu- 
 ary, 1799, the native superintendent of police came 
 and warned Mr. Davis, the judge and magistrate 
 of the district, who lived in the house I was 
 now occupying, that Vizier Ali was collecting 
 a number of armed men, and had no intention 
 of proceeding to Calcutta, as ordered by the 
 government. Mr. Cherry was also given this 
 information, and ordered the police to keep a 
 watch on his movements. 
 
 Vizier Ali, suspecting that he was under sur- 
 
SO VIZIER ALPS GRIEVANCES. 
 
 veillance, gave out that lie would proceed to 
 Calcutta in a day or two, and sent to tell Mr. 
 Cherry that he would call on him next morning 
 at breakfast. 
 
 Early the following day accordingly, Vizier Ali 
 appeared, with a retinue of about two hundred 
 men, but, as he was accustomed to go about with 
 a large following, it did not alarm Mr. Cherry, 
 who met him at the door, and showed Vizier 
 Ali, who was accompanied by his friends Waris 
 Ali and Izzut Ali, into his house. Mr. Evans, 
 a private secretary to the government, was also 
 there. Four armed followers entered the break- 
 fast-room with the Vizier. 
 
 Mr. Cherry offered his guest some tea, but 
 instead of drinking it, he began to complain of 
 the treatment he had received from the late 
 Governor-General, Sir John Shore, and said that 
 he had been originally promised a pension of 
 six lacs of rupees, which was now reduced to 
 a lac and a half. He proceeded to upbraid Mr. 
 Cherry for not looking after his interests ; and, 
 
MR. CHERRY ATTACKED. 81 
 
 whilst this was going on, Waris Ali approached 
 Mr. Cherry's seat. This seems to have been a 
 signal arranged between them; for Vizier Ali 
 now got up. and seized Mr. Cherry by the collar 
 whilst his two friends held him down. As he 
 tried to free himself, the other men rushed on 
 him and cut him down with their swords. Mr. 
 Evans was now attacked, but was rescued for 
 the time by one of the Resident's attendants, and 
 managed to leave the house, only, however, to be 
 shot by the men outside. Captain Conway, another 
 British officer, happening to come up at the time, 
 was also killed. 
 
 Mr. Davis had been out riding that morning, 
 and had passed Vizier Ali and his followers on 
 their way to Mr. Cherry's ; he, however, like that 
 unfortunate gentleman, was in nowise alarmed at 
 the numerous retinue. On getting home, the 
 head of the police came to inform him that Vizier 
 Ali had been collecting armed men from the 
 neighbourhood, so he at once despatched a note 
 to Mr. Cherry to inform him of this circumstance. 
 
82 MR. DAVIS'S DEFENCE. 
 
 Whilst waiting for an answer, he saw Vizier 
 Ali and his party returning and some of them 
 entering his compound, where they fired at the 
 sentry, whom they killed. Without a moment's 
 hesitation he sent Mrs. Davis and the two 
 children with the servants to the terrace at the 
 top of the house, whilst he searched for arms. 
 He came across a spear which was lying in his 
 bed-room, one of the kind used by the running 
 footmen of India. It was six feet lono:, with a 
 triangular blade and sharp edges. With this 
 weapon in his hands he rushed up the narrow, 
 spiral staircase leading to the flat roof, where he 
 had already sent Mrs. Davis with the two ayahs 
 and children, and which could be closed at the 
 top by a trap-door. In order not to expose the 
 women to the fire from below he made them sit 
 down close to this entrance, whilst he, pike in hand, 
 looked down the steps, ready to give the first 
 comer a warm reception. It was a long, narrow 
 staircase, so that only one man could possibly 
 
MR. DAVIS SHOT AT. 83 
 
 mount at a time, and this gave Mr. Davis a 
 considerable advantage. 
 
 Shortly afterwards steps were heard and one of 
 the natives, with drawn sword, appeared at the 
 bottom of the staircase and began to abuse Mr. 
 Davis, whose only answer was that he had sent 
 off for troops from camp and that they would 
 soon be here. The rooms below were now full of 
 armed men, and Mr. Davis, having shown him- 
 self, was instantly fired at, but without effect. 
 The assault began in earnest, a man rushing up 
 the stairs, but he got a hard prog from the spear 
 and soon disappeared, and must have been seri- 
 ously hurt for the stairs and the table-cloth in 
 the room below were afterwards found covered 
 with blood. The firing now began again, so Mr. 
 Davis thought it prudent to draw on the trap- 
 door, and, looking over the side of the terrace, he 
 could see them on the verandah below trying to 
 get a shot at him ; but, finding this was impos- 
 sible, they began to break the furniture. This 
 
 g2 
 
84 A DREADFUL TIME OF SUSPENSE. 
 
 noise was followed by a dead silence, and, think- 
 ing the enemy had withdrawn, one of the women 
 looked over the parapet wall, but was at once 
 shot through the arm. 
 
 Mr. Davis felt sure that the firing would have 
 been heard in General Erskine's camp outside 
 Benares, and was now anxiously waiting for the ' 
 troops to come to his relief ; but it was a dreadful 
 time of suspense, for, although he had been 
 already an hour on the roof, no signs of succour 
 appeared. Soon again he heard footsteps of 
 people coming up the stairs, and, drawing back 
 the cover, was about to make a lunge with the 
 spear when, just in time, he recognised one of his 
 old servants coming up with plate which he had 
 saved from the general wreck. This man was 
 followed by the other servants and a native 
 officer of his police with some sepoys. Finding 
 he had now fifteen armed men, he considered the 
 immediate danger over, although a police peon 
 from the town brought news that Vizier Ali 
 intended to renew the attack; he was now 
 
A LUCKY RESPITE. 85 
 
 engaged in setting fire to European property in 
 the neighbourhood. This respite was a lucky 
 thing for Mr. Davis and his party, as, during the 
 delay, a body of cavalry under Major Pigot and 
 Captain Shubrick arrived, and they were soon 
 followed by General Erskine and the remainder of 
 the troops, who at once prepared to defend the 
 house in case of attack. 
 
 Vizier Ali's party presently returned and fired 
 several shots, under cover of a wood, but on the 
 first shot from a field-gun withdrew to Madhoo 
 Doss's garden, where they were pursued by 
 General Erskine, who left a sufficient guard 
 for Mr. Davis and the Europeans now collected 
 together. The rebels were soon dispersed and 
 the city recovered, but not without some loss to 
 the British. The victims to Vizier Ali's treachery 
 were five Englishmen, viz. : Mr. Cherry, Mr. 
 Evans, Captain Conway, Mr. Robert Graham, and 
 Mr. Hill, who had a shop in the city. 
 
 Vizier Ali succeeded in escaping for a time, and 
 went off to Betaul, but he was eventually 
 
86 A PICTURESQUE SIGHT. 
 
 captured, and it is a singular coincidence that he 
 was taken as a prisoner through Benares on the 
 first anniversary of his revolt. He was interned 
 first in Fort William at Calcutta, and afterwards 
 in the fort of Vellore, and there died. 
 
 Next morning I inspected the staircase of the 
 house, and found it exactly as described in the 
 account of the massacre, the trap-door and the 
 whole details of the place being in the same 
 condition as in 1 799. 
 
 The Rajah Sivaprasad drove me down to the 
 ghats, where we got on board a barge with 
 paddles worked by men on the principle of an 
 English tread-mill. In this we floated down the 
 stream, and 1 witnessed one of the most pictur- 
 esque sights. Hundreds of natives of both sexes 
 and of all ages covered the wide flights of stone 
 steps leading down to the river, whilst numbers 
 of them were bathing in the sacred stream. 
 Native music played from the terraces above, and 
 worshippers threw garlands of flowers to float 
 down the waters ; pilgrims from all parts of India 
 
VIEWS ON EDUCATION OF NATIVES. 87 
 
 dressed in every conceivable colour added to the 
 beauty of the scene. 
 
 The Rajah is a great admirer of the English 
 government and a staunch Conservative, who has 
 no patience with the ideas and aspirations of the 
 young educated Indian, whom he would suppress 
 as much as possible. On this subject we had 
 long arguments. I maintained, and will always 
 do so, that if we educate the native and thus 
 enable him to reason freely, we must follow this 
 up by giving him some share and interest in the 
 government of his country, otherwise we are fill- 
 ing the land with a very dangerous element, viz. : 
 a large population, increasing year by year, of 
 men of the middle class, well-educated and with- 
 out employment, men who care for their country, 
 who have ideas of their own on the subject of 
 reforms in government, and who yet have not the 
 slightest opportunity of giving vent to these 
 pent-up ideas. 
 
 The Rajah has a particular aversion to the 
 Bengal Baboos, and sneered at them on every 
 
88 BODIES IN THE RIVER. 
 
 occasion. Talking of Lalmohun Ghose, who stood 
 for Deptford at the last general election, he was 
 much tickled when I said I supposed he would 
 call him c Lamentable Goose.' 
 
 We came across three human bodies float- 
 ing about the river, with crows picking at 
 them ; it was a disgusting sight, and annoyed 
 the Rajah very much, as it is now strictly 
 forbidden to throw bodies in the river, but 
 it is still done to a certain extent by the very 
 poor in order to avoid the expense of cremation. 
 The Rajah called the constables and pitched into 
 them ; then, turning to me, said, 
 
 4 Here you have an example of the uselessness 
 of a native in authority ; if the police were Eng- 
 lish, such a thing could not occur, for they have 
 strict orders to prevent it.' 
 
 We were now opposite the burning ghat. 1 
 had long wished to see the Hindoo funeral rites, 
 and here they were in full force. Four bodies 
 were being burnt, whilst four more came in, two 
 men and two women. Place aux dames seemed to 
 
CREMATION IN BENARES. 89 
 
 hold good, for they were disposed of first. The 
 bodies were brought by the relatives on litters, 
 and placed with their feet in the water of the 
 Ganges. The relatives sprinkle water over the 
 rest of the body, which is then taken out and 
 placed on the logs of wood with more wood piled 
 over them, and the whole set on fire. Mean- 
 while, the relations squat close by till all is burnt, 
 when they throw the ashes into the river : the 
 burning occupying from two to three hours. We 
 landed, and looked at the sacred spring, a loath- 
 some place, with the water as thick as pea-soup, where 
 the pilgrims wash on first arrival. Again entering 
 the boat, we floated further down, and saw a 
 prostrate figure of a god, about thirty feet long, 
 made of coloured sand. This figure is begun 
 every November, and is washed away as the 
 river rises during the following summer. 
 
 After staying at Government House, Allahabad, 
 I returned to Poona, arriving there on the 24th 
 of February. Here I met Captain Herbert, aide- 
 de-camp to the Duke of Connaught, who was to 
 
00 HARD WORK. 
 
 be one of our party in our big-game shooting 
 expedition. 
 
 We bad bard work packing and making our 
 arrangements, but, everything being ready, we 
 left for Hyderabad by the half-past seven train 
 on the evening of the 25th of February. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 ARRIVE AT HYDERABAD — DR. AND MRS. LAUDER AT CHUDDERGHAUT — 
 MR. GERALD LODER — PREPARE FOR SHOOTING EXPEDITION— MY 
 BATTERY — LIST OF ARTICLES MOST REQUIRED— POSTAL ARRANGE- 
 MENTS — A LARGE CORTEGE — CURING SKINS — ASSUR JUNG — A COUN- 
 TRY LITTLE SHOT OVER — PANTHER SPEARING — ASSUR JUNG'S LITTLE 
 SON. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 After a hot and dusty journey, we arrived at 
 Hyderabad at four o'clock in the afternoon of 
 the 26th. At the station a chuprassi handed 
 me a note from Dr. Lauder, in which he said 
 that he had sent a carriage for us, and begged 
 that we would come and stay at his house in 
 Chudderghaut. He has a comfortable bungalow, 
 surrounded by a garden, which, from being con- 
 tinually watered, was a mass of flowers and green 
 grass. People who have not been much in the 
 East can hardly appreciate how delicious this 
 is to eyes that have been gazing for days on 
 an arid and dusty landscape. 
 
 We were hospitably welcomed by Dr. and Mrs. 
 Lauder, and introduced to Mr. Gerald Loder, 
 
94 OVERHAULING OUR KITS. 
 
 who was staying in the house, and was to form 
 one of our shooting-party in the jungle. 
 
 After a change, a drive through the city, and 
 by the Meer Alem tank, we returned to the 
 bungalow to dinner and a smoke in the verandah, 
 at which the sole topic of conversation was our 
 coming expedition. All of us, except Lauder, 
 were quite new to big-game shooting; so that 
 we drank in his anecdotes of former shikars with 
 the greatest avidity, and he sent us all to bed 
 dreaming of tigers, panthers, and other quarry. 
 
 Next day was devoted to overhauling our kits 
 and seeing that everything was in order. My 
 battery consisted of a -500 Empress, by Holland 
 and Holland, a No. 10 smooth-bore, by Moorson, 
 and a pair of No. 12 smooth-bores, by Boss. I 
 had ball-cartridges made for all my smooth-bores, 
 and provided myself with an immense amount 
 of ammunition from Rodda & Sons, of Calcutta. 
 On an expedition like this, it is always as well to 
 have a great deal more ammunition than is really 
 required, for so many accidents may happen to 
 
CAMP EQUIPMENT. 95 
 
 it, carried about as it is on coolies' heads, or in 
 rough bullock-bandies, through the jungle, and, 
 as we should probably be between two and three 
 hundred miles away from our base, it would have 
 been very annoying to run short. 
 
 Dr. Lauder, who managed the whole expedition, 
 made a most excellent bandobast, and seemed to 
 have provided every luxury he could think of — 
 such as champagne, hock, claret, -sherry, two 
 hundred dozen of soda-water, pates-de-fois-gras, 
 liqueurs, and other similar things too numerous 
 to mention. His Highness the Nizam kindly lent 
 Paget and myself two of his staunch elephants, 
 which, with the Vikar's three, had already gone 
 on some days. The Vikar had also sent on eleven 
 riding horses, three camels, seventy-two bullock- 
 bandies, twenty sowars, and a like number of 
 Rohillas, two complete sets of camp tents and 
 cooks, and had arranged that we were to have 
 a post backwards and forwards every two or 
 three days, though sometimes this would entail 
 a ride of from one hundred and fifty to two 
 
96 OUR ARRANGEMENTS. 
 
 hundred miles for the sowars who carried it. 
 We calculated that our party, including soldiers, 
 servants, and followers, would number about two 
 hundred and fifty men, a large body to move 
 in a country with no roads, and where most 
 of the provisions had to be carried about with 
 us. 
 
 It was arranged that we should leave Hydera- 
 bad for our expedition on the 1st of March. We 
 were therefore very busy the next two days after 
 our arrival there, providing ourselves with the 
 numerous but very necessary little things which 
 one invariably puts off getting till the last mo- 
 ment. We ransacked Badham & Piles' large 
 store at Secunderabad for solar-topes, cartridge- 
 bags, &c, &c, and we bought several bottles of 
 carbolic acid and some small glass syringes, for 
 squirting any specimens of small birds we might 
 like to keep, but did not care for the trouble 
 of skinning. It is a dodge well worth knowing 
 in a hot country, where nothing will keep more 
 than three or four hours, and when one feels 
 
HINTS ABOUT BIRD SKINS. 97 
 
 too lazy to go through the long and tedious 
 operation of skinning. The method is as follows : 
 As soon as the bird is killed, dilute some of the 
 crystallized carbolic acid with water, put it in 
 the syringe, and squirt down the bird's throat. 
 The specimen should then be hung up for twenty- 
 four hours in a place where no flies or ants can 
 get at it ; and then it may be put away. It will 
 thus keep for months, eventually getting as hard 
 as a stone. 
 
 I am here, however, bound to admit that these 
 specimens give some trouble to the taxidermist 
 afterwards ; for they have to be thoroughly 
 damped and softened before they can be skinned, 
 and the feathers are apt to come out during the 
 latter process ; but when one considers how many 
 beautiful birds are lost during the hot weather 
 through the lack of energy to sit down and skin 
 them after a long day's work, it is a great thing 
 to have this simple plan of carbolic acid and a 
 squirt to fall back upon. Great care should be 
 taken in handling this acid, for it is very cor- 
 
 H 
 
98 WHAT TO TAKE. 
 
 rosive ; and I had the unpleasant experience of 
 losing the skin off two fingers, through letting 
 some fall upon them. The least touch of it in 
 the eyes will destroy the sight instantly. 
 
 People starting for the first time on a shooting 
 expedition in India, are apt to take a quantity 
 of useless things, and at the same time to omit 
 some most necessary ones. I fell into this error ; 
 so, for the benefit of future shikaris who may 
 follow in my footsteps, I will here give a few 
 hints as to what I consider the things most 
 required in the jungle. First of all, a good 
 supply of flannel shirts, then a couple of shikari 
 suits, made by a native darzi.* who will faithfully 
 copy any pattern given to him, as demonstrated 
 in the old Anglo-Indian story of the patched 
 trousers. Two pairs of sambur leather boots, 
 with cotton soles, are also useful for walking in 
 the jungle: they prevent one slipping on the 
 smooth rocks, and also deaden the crackling 
 sound as one treads over the dry leaves. A 
 
 * Pronounced dersy. 
 
NECESSARIES. 99 
 
 couple of pairs of leather-gauntlets, with air-holes 
 in the back, will save the hands from a good 
 many scratches while riding through the thorny 
 jungle ; and a belt carrying a small pocket 
 hatchet and saw, to clear the front on a tree, 
 or to cut tempting-looking walking-sticks, will be 
 found handy. Two solar-topes, and a pad to go 
 down the back, are also absolutely necessary. 
 
 My shikari suits were made at a native shop in 
 Bombay ; the man supplied the stuff and made 
 the whole suit for fourteen rupees, a little over 
 one pound according to the value of the rupee at 
 that time, — a not very extravagant price. 
 
 Last but decidedly not least of the comforts I 
 had with me in the jungle was a spray diffuser 
 and a good allowance of Penhaligon's bay rum. I 
 cannot express how refreshing this was after a 
 hard day in the hot jungle. So popular was it 
 amongst our party that I got quite accustomed to 
 see the different servants come to my tent as I 
 was washing and changing for dinner in the 
 
 h 2 
 
100 CURING SKINS. 
 
 evening, and saying, with their hands folded in 
 front of them as though in prayer, ' Sahibs 
 salaams please lend spray.' 
 
 I almost forgot to mention that it is as well to 
 carry a thin gauze veil to keep the troublesome 
 flies and bees off one's face and neck when sitting 
 up in a tree waiting for big-game. 
 
 A large supply of arsenical soap and spirits of 
 turpentine must be carried for preserving the 
 skins ; but, although it is absolutely necessary to 
 use these two things freely on them when in the 
 jungle, I must caution any future shikaris that it 
 is quite as necessary to have the skins properly 
 cured as soon as an opportunity occurs, and by 
 no means to think of sending them home to 
 England without doing so. I was told that my 
 skins would keep as they were until they got 
 home, and foolishly did not take the precautions 
 I am here recommending ; the consequence was 
 that although on arrival I sent them at once to 
 that excellent taxidermist, Mr. Ashmead, of 
 Bishopsgate Street, they were very much damaged, 
 
PREPARATIONS COMPLETED.' ^ // : ^'/ t \\i 
 
 and the following is an extract from the letter I 
 got from him : 
 
 c We regret to say that the tiger skins have 
 broken up in the dressing process, the leather 
 having completely perished. We entrusted this 
 work to the most experienced dressing firm. 
 When no curatives have been applied, the heat 
 of India appears to act on the fat on the skin, and 
 the skin itself becomes technically burnt, and by 
 keeping some months this tenderness becomes 
 much worse.' 
 
 I do not pretend to have given a full and 
 exhaustive list of all things required or even of 
 those which are a comfort in the jungle, for it is 
 difficult to remember afterwards things which at 
 the time suggested themselves as being useful ; 
 but I merely mention some which are impressed 
 upon my memory, and I hope my hints may 
 prove useful. 
 
 All our preparations were completed on the 
 28th of February, and our heavy baggage and 
 cartridges sent on that morning, we ourselves 
 
: 102 £ v fc t ^ ' « "* MAHOMET ALI BEG. 
 
 intending to start the next day ; but in the after- 
 noon the Nawab sent us word that he found the 
 Nizam would require him on business, so that he 
 could not possibly leave before the 2nd of March. 
 This at first was a severe blow to us, as we were 
 all keen to be off and have our first shot at a 
 tiger ; but there was nothing for us but to grin 
 and bear it, and, I am bound to say, we had not 
 much to complain of, as our lot had fallen in 
 most comfortable and hospitable quarters. 
 
 Assur Jung Bahadur, better known to English- 
 men as Mahomet Ali Beg, paid us a visit, and 
 gave us a great deal of information about the 
 jungle we were going to beat. He told us there 
 were a good many wild elephants about, but he 
 did not think our batteries were heavy enough for 
 them. As it turned out, however, we did not come 
 across any of these beasts, so it did not matter. 
 He had much to say about panther spearing, a 
 sport in vogue here, and somewhat dangerous to 
 the novice, for the panther, unless speared in a 
 vital part, is apt to turn round and charge horse 
 
PANTHER SPEARING. 103 
 
 and rider. Last November, when the Viceroy 
 was at Hyderabad, they got up one of these meet- 
 ings, and Lord William Beresford had what might 
 have been a very nasty fall, the panther charging 
 him and rolling him and his horse over, when it 
 was luckily dispatched by Assur Jung. 
 
 Herbert got very much excited over the 
 account of this sport, and was promised a day on 
 his return to Hyderabad. He did get his day, 
 but, on that occasion, there was also an accident, 
 for the wounded panther sprang up a tree in 
 which were a number of natives, and killed one 
 of them. 
 
 We learnt from Assur Jung that it is a great 
 many years since anyone shot over the district 
 for which we were bound, and that there are an 
 immense quantity of tigers about ; in fact, from 
 what I could learn, they seem to be very much 
 on the increase all through India, for the native 
 rulers are preserving them strictly in some parts, 
 and will allow no one to shoot them without 
 special permission. The Nizam himself has lately 
 
104 A GREAT MANY TIGER. 
 
 issued an order that the country fifteen miles 
 round the Packall lake, a large piece of water 
 about thirty miles long, is to be strictly preserved 
 for him, and that no one is to shoot them on any 
 pretence whatsoever; and so particular is he 
 about it, that, although our host, the Nawab 
 Vikar Ul Umra, is his brother-in-law, he would 
 not give us leave to go over that particular 
 district. As it is, there are a great many tiger, 
 bison, and bear in the neighbourhood, and in the 
 course of a few years, if they continue unmo- 
 lested, that part will be simply overrun with 
 them. They will kill all the cattle, so the people 
 will perforce quit their villages and abandon 
 their cultivated ground for securer habitations, 
 and much now fertile land will soon revert to 
 dense jungle. 
 
 We were all sorry to hear that afternoon that 
 Assur Jung's plucky little son, a boy of eight, 
 who is being brought up like an English boy and 
 who is going to school in England with the 
 Nawab Vikar Ul Umra's son, had had a fall off 
 
A BRAVE LITTLE FELLOW. 105 
 
 the horizontal bar whilst doing his gymnastic 
 exercise, and had broken his arm. The brave 
 little fellow never uttered a cry, and was carried 
 off to the hospital, where his arm was set and 
 he was going on well. 
 
 We had now given up all hope of Colonel 
 Paget being able to join us here from Burmah 
 before our start, but he, having telegraphed that 
 he was on his way, Dr. Lauder had made all 
 arrangements for him to catch us up in the 
 jungle, by going to rail head and then riding on 
 about fifty miles to our first shooting-camp, where 
 we would wait for him. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 OUR PREPARATIONS COMPLETED — WE LEAVE HYDERABAD — SCENERY ON 
 ROAD — KAZAPET — LODER ILL — DINE AT STATION — LEAVE KAZAPET 
 — RAILWAY NEARLY CONSTRUCTED — SINGARENNY COAL-FIELDS — 
 DANGEROUS BRIDGES— ARRIVE AT RAIL HEAD — HOLY CITY OF POKUR 
 — RIDE TO FIRST CAMP AT GALA— MANGO TOPES — TAPPAL AND 
 NUZZER — JACKALS — PANTHERS— ANECDOTES OF SAME — MIDNIGHT 
 VISITOR— LEAVE FOR NEXT CAMP — JUNGLE SCENERY' — RIDE. 
 
109 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 At last our preparations were completed, and on 
 Wednesday, March the 2nd, 1887, one of the 
 fondest dreams of my life seemed about to be 
 realised, for I was starting on a tiger-shooting 
 expedition. I was as excited as when, a school- 
 boy, I was looking forward to shooting my first 
 partridge, and six o'clock found me up and busy 
 packing. 
 
 At half-past nine, Dr. Lauder, Herbert, Loder, 
 and I drove to Hyderabad station, where we met 
 our host, the Nawab Vikar Ul Umra, surrounded 
 by a crowd of courtiers, retainers, and servants, 
 some destined to accompany him, others come to 
 wish him good-bye and God-speed. The platform 
 was also covered with the numerous things which 
 a native grandee and his suite always consider 
 
1 1 INDIAN CO URTESIES. 
 
 necessary for a journey. The retainers, and even 
 the junior branches of a great man's family, in 
 this country, are most servile and respectful in 
 their manners, and not one of these people would 
 think of addressing the Nawab without bringing 
 his hands together as though in an attitude of 
 prayer, and prefacing their sentence with the 
 word 'Taxir/ which, being interpreted, signifies 
 4 Guilty wretch that I am !' 
 
 This custom seems strange at first, but one 
 soon gets so used to it as to feel almost inclined 
 to copy it. The Nawab himself, when addressing 
 the Nizam, who is his cousin and brother-in-law, 
 invariably begins conversation with this formula, 
 which it would be considered the height of pre- 
 sumption and ill-breeding to omit. 
 
 The train was already drawn up, and two first- 
 class carriages of two compartments each reserved 
 for our party, one for ourselves, into which our 
 4 boys ' were putting our bedding and bags, whilst 
 the second was being prepared for the Vikar and 
 his friends: a young Nawab, by name Murad 
 
STRIKING JUNGLE SCENERY. Ill 
 
 Hussein Khan, but we always called him { Chota 
 Nawab,' Mahomet Ismael Khan, master of the 
 horse, Fuzlusul Khan, and Iman Ali Khan, two 
 officers of the cavalry regiment. Besides these, 
 there were numerous body-servants, pipe-bearers, 
 valets, cooks, barbers, and such like. 
 
 The day was warm, and my thermometer soon 
 rose to ninety-eight degrees in the carriage and 
 well out of the sun. We passed through a wild 
 and curiously formed country. Great rocks 
 jutted out of the surrounding jungle everywhere. 
 At a place called Bhonaghir, one of these rocks 
 rises to a height of five hundred feet above the 
 plain. It resembles a gigantic round shot, and is 
 of the same colour. It has a face as smooth as 
 glass, and on its summit stand the ruins of an 
 old fort, access to which must have been most 
 difficult. 
 
 The neighbouring jungle was very striking, for, 
 though most of the trees were dried up and 
 losing their leaves from the hot weather now just 
 setting in, there were studded about amongst 
 
112 ARRIVAL AT KAZAPET. 
 
 this brown mass two kinds covered with brilliant 
 flowers, one a bright crimson and the other a 
 lemon-yellow colour. It is a curious fact that, 
 whereas with us the leaves fall in the cold, in 
 India it is during the hot weather that Nature is 
 dormant and the trees are leafless. 
 
 At one o'clock, during a long wait at the 
 station, which is a disagreeable concomitant of 
 Indian railway travelling, we opened our lunch- 
 baskets and began tiffin. The Nawab sent a 
 servant to us bearing four or five dishes of 
 different kinds of curry. As a rule in India the 
 curries are very mild, but in this case, though 
 excellent, they were so hot one could scarcely 
 eat them, and a few mouthfuls brought out beads 
 of perspiration on our foreheads. 
 
 At half-past four we arrived at Kazapet. The 
 line is open for traffic as far as Warungal, about 
 six miles further on, but Kazapet is the head- 
 quarters of the engineering staff, and the place 
 from whence the trains of construction start 
 every morning to rail head. As our carriages 
 
AN EXCELLENT DINNER. 113 
 
 were to be attached to one of these trains the 
 next morning, we remained here for the night. 
 Mr. Molesworth, the resident engineer, gave us 
 tea in his bungalow, and afterwards showed us 
 his various hunting trophies, all the animals 
 having been shot in this neighbourhood. He 
 told us there were a great many bear in the 
 rocks round the station, but, having sent on our 
 guns and ammunition, we were obliged to leave 
 poor Bruin in peace, and instead of going out 
 shooting, we refreshed ourselves by taking a bath 
 in the waiting-room of the station ; for in India 
 all the stations are arranged so that travellers 
 can wash, sleep, and dress there. Dinner was 
 spread on a table on the platform. It was 
 excellent and did great credit to old Cassim, the 
 Nawab's house steward and chief travelling cook, 
 who throughout this expedition seemed literally 
 to rise to the occasion, for the more difficulties 
 he had to contend with the better was the 
 result. 
 
 On this evening the insects were a perfect 
 
 i 
 
114 OBNOXIOUS INSECTS. 
 
 pest, for as soon as the candles were lighted 
 they came down in swarms ; the table-cloth was 
 made black with them, and we had to put plates 
 over our tumblers to keep them out. Even 
 then enough went down our throats to have 
 caused the damnation of many a poor Jain, who, 
 by his religion, being strictly forbidden to take life, 
 wears a veil over his mouth to avoid the possi- 
 bility of swallowing any animals floating in the 
 air. 
 
 These insects were of all sizes and shapes, from 
 the common, or garden-midge, to the large red 
 cock-roach, and amongst them was a very 
 peculiar one, looking like a needle on legs and 
 which the natives call ' God's Horse/ 
 
 That night we slept in our railway-carriages, 
 but it was so hot and close that I got very little 
 sleep, besides which, Loder, who was in the same 
 compartment as myself, was so ill and in such 
 pain, caused by an internal chill, that at last I 
 routed up Dr. Lauder, who gave him a strong 
 dose of opium to relieve him. 
 
THRO UGH DENSE JUNGLE. 1 15 
 
 At five o'clock next morning, we were attached 
 to a construction train, consisting of a number 
 of trucks full of iron sleepers, which are used 
 all along this line instead of wooden ones, on 
 account of the ravages made on the latter by 
 the white ants ; and now we made our start for 
 rail head which was near Mankota, forty-five 
 miles distant. 
 
 The line passes through dense jungle, which 
 had only just been cleared sufficiently to allow 
 of the rails being laid down. Huge trees, lately 
 felled, lay everywhere at the sides, and large 
 gangs of coolies were at work in many places. 
 They looked with great astonishment at our car- 
 riages, never having seen anything of the sort 
 before, and the women covered their faces with 
 their veils, a habit they have when a sahib looks 
 at them. 
 
 This line is a continuation of the Nizam's state 
 railway, and will, eventually, be a connecting 
 link between Hyderabad, Madras, and Nagpore, 
 opening out a country very rich in minerals and 
 
 i2 
 
116 TEMPORARY BRIDGES. 
 
 agricultural produce, besides shortening the jour- 
 ney between Allahabad and Madras by many 
 hundred miles. 
 
 At the time of which I am writing, the main 
 object of the company was to get as quickly 
 as possible to the newly discovered coal-fields of 
 Singarenny. It is considered the best coal in India, 
 the output was already very great, so that a 
 large quantity had been collected at the pit's 
 mouth, and was only waiting for the trains to 
 carry it off. I forget the actual figures as to 
 the output, given me by Mr. Molesworth, but at 
 the time it struck me as being something enor- 
 mous, and I should imagine that this company 
 will be one of the best investments of the day. 
 
 The rails, as I have already mentioned, had 
 only just been laid down, and but few of the 
 permanent bridges had been built, most of those 
 over which we passed being merely temporary 
 structures, shored up with pieces of timber which 
 looked anything but secure; and once or twice 
 Mr. Molesworth felt rather nervous about them, 
 
EXCITING WORK. 117 
 
 and was not sure whether they would stand the 
 weight and strain put upon them by our heavy 
 carriages in addition to the trucks full of rails, 
 so he insisted on remaining on the engine, where 
 he could the better superintend our progress. 
 Altogether it was rather exciting work, for we 
 never could tell when we might find ourselves 
 precipitated into a nullah, and a premature end 
 put to our expedition. However, no contretemps 
 occurred, and we arrived safely at rail head about 
 half-past eight. 
 
 Here we found a large body of coolies and our 
 horses all ready for us. After getting out the 
 luggage and loading it on the backs of coolies, 
 we started our 'boys' on foot, and, getting on the 
 steeds, rode off for the first camp, at a place 
 called Galah, some twenty-five miles off. 
 
 Loder's condition made us extremely anxious. 
 He had been very ill all night, and was still in 
 great pain. This long ride in the heat of the 
 day was about the very worst thing he could do, 
 under the circumstances : but there was no alter- 
 
118 THE NAWAB. 
 
 native, and we had great faith in the doctor, who 
 remained with him, promising to bring him on 
 slowly, after he had rested a short time in one 
 of the engineers' tents, whilst we cantered on 
 ahead, and saw that everything was comfortable 
 for him in camp. 
 
 The Nawab had done everything in his power 
 to make our expedition comfortable, and, amongst 
 other things, he had sent men on some days pre- 
 viously, to place stones covered with chuman, or 
 whitewash, on each side of the jungle path we 
 were to follow, so that there was no fear of losing 
 the way in the numerous tracts made by natives 
 and wild animals, and which here serve the pur- 
 pose of roads. 
 
 The Nawab, mounted on a beautiful Arab, and 
 escorted by his personal friends, pipe-bearers, and 
 four armed sowars, went on at once, but Herbert 
 and I, being detained by poor Loder, started half 
 an-hour later ; we, however, caught him up after 
 a few miles, and found him dismounted and 
 smoking his hookah comfortably, under the shade 
 
A LONG RIDE. 119 
 
 of a huge tamarind-tree. We followed his 
 example and also dismounted, not being at all 
 sorry for half-an-hour's rest in the shade as the 
 sun was terrifically hot, and, this being our first 
 ride for some time past, we were not in as hard 
 condition as desirable. 
 
 The jungle hereabouts was very grand with 
 the number of big tamarinds and peepul-trees, 
 large mimosas and clumps of bamboo, but never 
 shall I forget the heat of that ride. The men 
 entrusted with the work had marked out such a 
 roundabout road that, after two hours, we struck 
 the railway again only eight or nine miles from 
 the place where we had left our train, whereas 
 we must have ridden a good fourteen miles. This 
 was annoying ; however, there was nothing for 
 it but to continue our ride on our now somewhat 
 jaded steeds, and, after another short halt or two, 
 we were much relieved to get the first glimpse of 
 the camp pitched under a huge mango tope. This 
 tope, or grove, consisted of from twelve to fifteen 
 giant trees, which, from their size and the amount 
 
120 MANGO TREES. 
 
 of shade given by their huge, spreading branches, 
 must be very old. Close at hand were some 
 paddie-fields and a running stream, whilst groves 
 of toddy and cocoa-nut palms were dotted about 
 the plain. Altogether, it was a lovely spot, and 
 looked so fresh after our long, hot, and dusty 
 ride. 
 
 Topes, or clumps of mango-trees, are very com- 
 mon all through India, for it is an article of faith 
 that a good Hindoo should do three things, 
 namely : beget a son, sink a well, and plant a 
 mango-tope. How we blessed the memory of the 
 pious man who had planted this one, but we had 
 no voices for our benediction until after we had 
 swallowed two or three iced whisky-pegs, as our 
 throats were literally dried-up and parched with 
 the heat and dust of the ride. 
 
 Mango-trees are useful in other ways besides 
 that of giving shade, for they produce a large 
 and valuable crop of fruit, and although these 
 common mangoes are very different from those 
 grown in Bombay, being stringy and with a 
 
A NUZZAR. 121 
 
 strong taste of turpentine, yet the natives are 
 fond of the fruit, and they are largely used for 
 pickles and chutnee. The trees belong to the 
 government and are farmed out to different 
 people. 
 
 Our tents were comfortably arranged and 
 furnished with beds and baths. A good tiffin 
 was ready, to which we did ample justice, after 
 which we passed most of the afternoon lying 
 in our baths and on our beds. 
 
 Dr. Lauder and Locler came in about five 
 o'clock ; happily the latter seemed no worse for 
 the journey, though very tired. We soon got 
 him into a comfortable bed and to sleep. 
 
 The tapal, or head official of the village, came 
 in to offer a nuzzar to the Xawab. This is the 
 Indian homage from an inferior to a superior, and 
 consists generally of a few coins laid on a piece of 
 white linen or handkerchief, and presented in the 
 palms of the hands. The great man to whom it is 
 offered simply touches it and the donor then 
 retires, but sometimes, to his dismay, the offering 
 
<**& 
 
 122 JACKALS AND PANTHERS. 
 
 is taken. This the Nizam frequently does and 
 gives it to a charity. 
 
 Our dinner-table was spread in a rice stubble- 
 iield, being more airy in the evening than under 
 the trees. As soon as it was dark, we were greeted 
 by most melancholy music from hundreds of 
 jackals who had scented our whereabouts. These 
 animals travel in large packs and exchange con- 
 versation with one another. One party is sup- 
 posed to say, ' I smell the body of a dead Hindoo- 
 oo-oo.' Then in the distance is heard, ' Where ! 
 Where ! Where !' followed by the reply, ' Here ! 
 Here !' This noise goes on at intervals through 
 the night, and the effect is weird and melancholy 
 to a degree. 
 
 Our camp had been visited by a panther the 
 previous night, so we tied up all the dogs for 
 safety in our tents. Panthers seem to prefer 
 dogs' flesh to any other, and, although naturally 
 shy beasts, will come boldly into a camp at night 
 after their favourite food. As an instance of the 
 boldness of their pursuit of this quarry, even in 
 
PANTHER TRAPS. 123 
 
 the day-time, I may mention that when I was up 
 at Mount Aboo in Rajpootana, in January, a lady 
 and gentleman were walking close to their 
 bungalow, accompanied by their favourite little 
 dog, a fox-terrier, which was trotting on not ten 
 yards in front of them, when suddenly they 
 heard a rush, saw a cloud of dust in the road 
 before them, and their pet was gone for ever. A 
 panther had darted out of the jungle and seized 
 him before their eyes and before they had even 
 time to realise what had happened. 
 
 On the road between Ajmeer and the holy 
 city of Pokur I saw numerous panther-traps let 
 into the low walls by the side of the road, and 
 made like gigantic mouse-traps, with a wretched 
 dog tied up inside them as a bait. As soon as 
 the panther seizes it the door of the trap comes 
 down and leaves the two together as in a cage ; 
 very little of the poor dog remains when the 
 trap is visited next morning. 
 
 Having mentioned the town of Pokur, I hope 
 I may be excused a further digression in saying 
 
124 MAJOR CREAGH, V.C. 
 
 something about this interesting yet rarely visited 
 place. It is in Rajpootana, about eight miles 
 from Ajmeer, and is such a holy city that no 
 life is permitted to be taken there. The conse- 
 quence is that the birds are so tame they hardly 
 take the trouble to move out of the way, and 
 the streets are full of impertinent mynahs and 
 thousands of blue pigeons. It contains a large 
 sacred tank with ghats and temples on its borders, 
 and there is also a fine temple to Brahma, the 
 only one in this part of India. Hundreds of 
 people of both sexes were bathing in the tank, 
 which also supplies the drinking water. 
 
 On the occasion of my visit, I was staying with 
 Major Creagh, V.C, commanding the Merwera 
 battalion, who did such gallant service in the late 
 Afghan war. He is well known and liked by the 
 natives in this district, and had taken me through 
 Pokur on our way to some famous duck and 
 snipe ground where I enjoyed a good day's sport. 
 On riding back, we were met at the outskirts of 
 the town by four or five young women, carrying 
 
strai 
 
 the one he most 
 
 much about 
 town, ^ 
 
126 MIDNIGHT INTRUDERS. 
 
 was moving close to me. I listened, and heard 
 heavy breathing ; it was certainly not Herbert. I 
 tried to peer through the gloom, but could see 
 nothing. At length I shouted to Herbert to 
 get up, and, on our both looking round, we found 
 two buffaloes coolly eating the straw on the floor 
 of the tent and drinking the water out of our 
 baths. Somewhat relieved that they were not 
 wild or dangerous beasts — for we had no guns 
 with us — we proceeded to drive them out, and 
 presently were much amused at hearing them 
 repeat their visit in the next tent, where Lauder 
 and Loder were quietly slumbering. 
 
 At half-past five next morning, we were all 
 up and dressed, and, after c chota hazri,' Herbert 
 and I mounted our horses, and started ahead of 
 the rest of the party. In these parts it is most 
 difficult to ascertain the distance from place to 
 place. Everyone asked gives a different answer ; 
 and, whilst some said it was twenty, others put 
 it at thirty miles between our first and second 
 camps, the distance being calculated in coasts l/rf^ 
 
MAGNIFICENT TREES. 127 
 
 (a coast is about two miles). I afterwards cal- 
 culated this morning's ride as twenty-five miles. 
 And how delicious it was ! I know of nothing 
 so enjoyable as a ride in early morning through 
 an Indian jungle. The air is fresh, and the 
 whole country teems with animal life, whilst 
 the scenery is so different from anything to 
 be met with in Europe. This particular morning 
 the sunrise, as seen through the jungle, was 
 magnificent. 
 
 The trees about here were of a great size, 
 and mostly covered with flowering creepers, 
 amongst which I noticed passion-flowers of 
 various kinds, and alamandas ; every now and 
 then we came upon the beautiful red and yellow 
 flowering trees I had remarked on the road from 
 Hyderabad to Warungal, and the air was scented 
 with a sweet flower like jasmine. In the animal 
 kingdom we passed numerous flocks of big Lan- 
 goor monkeys, with their silky coats glittering 
 in the sun, taking huge and seemingly impossible 
 jumps from tree to tree, and yet never missing 
 
128 THE SEVEN SISTERS. 
 
 their mark. Peacocks and jungle-fowl darted 
 into the dense jungle at our approach, whilst 
 golden oriels, doves, and other bright birds flew 
 about us. The seven-sisters, a kind of a shrike, 
 which always move about in small families, from 
 whence the name is derived, were of course there, 
 as they are throughout India, but the oddest 
 sight of all was a family of large hornbills sitting 
 in solemn conclave on the branches of a big 
 tree, and looking like so many wise judges. 
 Never can I forget the pleasing impressions made 
 on me by this my first morning's ride through 
 the jungle, and this feeling was ever the same; 
 so that through our expedition I looked forward 
 to these early morning rides as one of its most 
 agreeable features. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 CAMP AT SIMALPAH — MEWAH-TREES — BEARS FOND OF THE FLOWERS — 
 GREEN PIGEONS — ROSEATE-HEADED PARAQUETTES — KISHTIA, THE 
 SHIKARI — NO KILL — MANNER OF SHOOTING TIGER IN THE DECCAN — 
 PEAFOWL AND JUNGLE-FOWL SHOOTING — SHOOT GREEN PIGEONS — 
 HALLAL CEREMONY — SEE TIGER'S TRACK — ROHILLAS AND TAME TIGER 
 — PANTHER AND MONKEY — STORY OF PANTHER — DOCTOR IN CAMP — 
 NO KILL AGAIN— BEAT FOR TIGER— POISONOUS SNAKES — ANECDOTES 
 — RECOVERY FROM COBRA BITE — TELAGU SPOKEN. 
 
 K 
 
131 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 About half-way through our ride we approached 
 Singarenny, but, being anxious to get to the 
 new camp, we merely skirted the village, and 
 therefore saw nothing of the famous coal-fields. 
 My poor pony soon afterwards began to show 
 signs of distress ; so I got off him, and rested a 
 bit under the shade of a tree, when the Nawab 
 and his party trotted up. Seeing how matters 
 were, the Nawab mounted me on a beautiful 
 waler which Ismael Khan had been riding, and, 
 as he wished to remain there a few moments, 
 asked him to put the animal through some of his 
 tricks, to show me how thoroughly he had broken 
 him in. It seems that this horse was bought at 
 Calcutta, and had the reputation of being most 
 vicious and unmanageable, but Ismael Khan, who 
 
 k2 
 
132 FIRST REGULAR SHOOTING CAMP. 
 
 looks after the Nawab's stud, has quite tamed 
 him, and he is now quiet with everyone. He 
 was made to lie down, get up again, and then, 
 two of us taking a lungi, or turban, which we 
 stretched out, each holding an end, Ismael jumped 
 the horse over it. He had excellent paces, and 
 was much more up to my weight than the small 
 animal I had been riding, so that we got comfort- 
 ably into our new camp in time for breakfast. 
 
 This, our first regular shooting-camp, was close 
 to a village called Simalpah, situated in a valley 
 at the foot of a range of hills covered with very 
 thick j ungle, the home of a large family of tigers 
 which had been committing great ravages 
 amongst the herds of cattle in the neighbourhood, 
 though, to judge from the enormous numbers 
 grazing about, one would think a few might well 
 be spared, especially as they are never killed or 
 knowingly sold by the natives for food. 
 
 Our camp had been pitched on either side of 
 a dry nullah, whose banks were covered with 
 bamboo clumps and various shrubs. The Nawab 
 
MEWAH TREES. 133 
 
 and his friends were on the left, whilst our three 
 tents were on the right bank, and in the dry bed 
 of the river, which becomes a swift and dangerous 
 stream during the rains, we had our kitchen, 
 stables, and servants' quarters. 
 
 Our tents were shaded by two large mewah - U^^t^ja^^U 
 trees,* then covered with a mass of sweet-smelling 
 flowers, and the ground was strewed with their 
 fallen blossoms. The natives collect them each 
 day, for, when fermented, they produce an 
 intoxicating liquor. Bears are particularly fond 
 of the mewah flower, and are nearly always to be 
 found in their neighbourhood. They are also a 
 favourite food of birds, and always at daybreak 
 and sunset flights of beautiful green pigeons and 
 little, crimson-headed paraquettes pay them a 
 visit, and, having feasted, fly off again. 
 
 The jungle close by was very thick, and had many 
 fine trees, whilst the bushes and shrubs were of all 
 varieties, clumps of bamboos, waving their grace- 
 ful tops in the breeze, adding, as they do every- 
 
 * Mewah is the Hindostani word for fruit, but I found that the 
 natives always called this particular tree by that name. 
 
134 OUR HEAD SHIKARI. 
 
 where in India, to the charm of the landscape. 
 
 The horses were tethered in the nullah behind 
 us ; the elephants and camels formed a little camp 
 of their own, whilst the bullock-bandies made a 
 zereba at the back of us. Altogether, with these 
 and the numerous groups of camp-followers round 
 their fires, busy cooking rice, the scene was very 
 picturesque. 
 
 During breakfast, our head shikari, a small, 
 wiry-looking man about sixty years of age, called 
 Kishtia, came in, and a group of eager faces was 
 soon formed round him to hear the news. He 
 reported that he had tied up sixteen bullocks the 
 night before, in various parts of the jungle, but 
 there had been no kill, so there was nothing to be 
 done that day. He knew of four tigers close by, 
 amongst which was a man-eater, and he had no 
 doubt that, with patience, we should bag some, if 
 not all, of them. 
 
 For the benefit of the uninitiated, I will here 
 give a short account of the way in which tiger- 
 shooting is managed in this part of India. When 
 
A SENSIBLE RULE. 135 
 
 it has been decided to shoot in a certain district, 
 the shikari are sent out some weeks or even 
 months beforehand to get khabar,* or information 
 as to the number and habits of tigers about the 
 different villages, and also to study the best 
 means of circumventing them. 
 
 Once a shikari has taken up a district for his 
 masters, it is not etiquette for anyone else to 
 shoot in that part during the same time. This 
 is a very sensible rule; for, were it otherwise, 
 sport would be spoilt by different parties collid- 
 ing. In our case Kishtia had been sent out in 
 December, and, being one of the most reliable 
 and experienced shikaris in the Nizam's terri- 
 tories, he seemed to know each tiger for miles 
 round as well as a porter recognises the members 
 of his club. On arriving in the neighbourhood 
 of known animals, the shikari gets a certain 
 number of cattle from the villagers, and these 
 he ties up at night to stakes at intervals in the 
 jungle haunted by the tigers. They are sup- 
 
 * Khabar, signifying news or information, is pronounced khuber. 
 
136 FOLLOWING TRACKS. 
 
 plied with grass and water, and made, as it 
 were, comfortable, but they always seem to know 
 what they are put there for, and generally bellow 
 loudly on being left. Next morning at daybreak, 
 the shikari visits the different baits, or ' cool- 
 ghars/ as they are called. Should one have been 
 killed, he approaches it very stealthily, not to 
 disturb the tiger, but he follows the track, and 
 makes quite certain as to the whereabouts of 
 the beast, who, after his meal, will lie up and 
 sleep in a shady place, if possible near water. 
 The tiger always kills the bullock in the same 
 manner, viz., by a blow on the spine close to 
 the neck, after which he sucks the blood, and 
 then eats the hind-quarters. 
 
 The shikari, having made sure of the where- 
 abouts of his quarry, returns to the village, 
 secures two or three hundred beaters, and comes 
 into camp with his news. Then, in the heat 
 of the day, when the tiger is generally asleep, 
 the sportsmen proceed to the ground. In some 
 parts it is most difficult to procure bullocks to 
 
1 GHARRA HUA: 137 
 
 tie up as coolghars, for they are the sacred 
 animals of the Hindoos, who do not like them 
 to be killed ; but, when this was the case, we 
 could always get buffaloes, about which they 
 are not so particular, and paid a rupee for each 
 one tied up. When one was killed by the tiger, 
 the price was five rupees, not an extravagant 
 sum according to English ideas. 
 
 There was great excitement waiting for Kish- 
 tia's arrival in camp of a morning, and the cul- 
 minating point was reached when we heard from 
 him the words, c Gharra hua,' ' There has been 
 a kill,' whereas deep depression stole over us 
 at the announcement, ' Gharra nay,' ' There is 
 no kill/ as that generally meant an idle day in 
 camp and broiling in our tents. We soon learnt 
 to know what the news would be, by watching 
 Kishtia's step in the distance as he approached 
 the camp ; for, if he had good news, he walked 
 with an elastic tread, very different from his 
 slow, dejected gait when there was no kill. Be- 
 sides wanting to show us sport, it was a matter 
 
138 SLEEPING OUTSIDE. 
 
 of considerable moment to him, for we always 
 gave him the government reward, which is twenty- 
 five rupees for a tiger, fifteen for a panther, and 
 five for a bear, and he generally got ten rupees 
 from the gun lucky enough to bag the beast. 
 
 On our first day, having no kill, there was no 
 alternative but to lie in our tents. The heat was 
 tremendous, and, our luggage being on the backs 
 of coolies, we did not get it until the afternoon, so 
 in consequence were somewhat uncomfortable. At 
 last they arrived, and at iiye o'clock we dressed and 
 walked up the nullah, with our guns, in search 
 of small game for the pot ; but in this we were 
 not successful, for, although we heard many pea 
 and jungle-fowl about, we did not get a shot, and, 
 the darkness coming on, we returned to camp 
 and squirted, with carbolic, some specimens of 
 small birds we had shot. 
 
 That and every succeeding night we slept in 
 our beds just outside the tents, with loaded guns 
 beside us, in case of midnight prowlers. This was 
 a very primitive place ; the inhabitants had seen 
 
GREEN PIGEONS. 139* 
 
 few white men, and the day before our arrival 
 had nearly all left the village in fear of us, and 
 were only just beginning to return to their 
 homes. 
 
 Next morning I was awoke at daybreak by 
 hearing the green pigeons ftying for food into the 
 branches of the trees above me, and, taking up 
 my gun, I soon shot several. Their plumage is 
 beautiful, and they are excellent eating. As the 
 Nawab and all his followers are strict Mussulmen, 
 I had to keep one of the men by me to cut 
 each bird's throat as it fell ; this he did whilst 
 uttering a short prayer. Without this ceremony, 
 which is called 'Hallal,' no Mahometan would 
 touch the game, and many a time have I cursed 
 this custom, when a rare specimen I have wished 
 to preserve has been brought to me with the 
 throat cut from ear to ear, and thus completely 
 spoilt. The sound of my shots soon awoke the 
 rest of the party, who joined in the sport ; but it 
 did not last long, for the pigeons' feeding-time 
 never exceeded half-an-hour, after which they 
 
110 IN SEARCH OF PEACOCK. 
 
 flew away and disappeared, until the time came 
 round for their evening meal. 
 
 I dressed quickly, and, having got hold of one 
 of the village shikari to carry my rifle and show 
 me the way, went for a walk in the jungle with 
 my shot-gun in search of peacock. My shikari 
 saw a good many as he crept along, but they 
 were always too sharp for me. I find it is the 
 invariable experience of sportsmen that the pea- 
 cock is one of the hardest things to approach. 
 When beating for tigers, and therefore unable to 
 fire, they would often fly so near that I could 
 have knocked them over with a walking-stick, but 
 I never had any luck when going deliberately after 
 them. Of course, in Rajpootana, where they are 
 sacred and therefore unmolested, they are to be 
 seen feeding about like tame door-fowls ; but in the 
 Deccan they are as sharp and cunning as hawks in 
 England. The Nawab also went out this morning 
 and shot a very fine hornbill, which I should have 
 much liked to preserve, but, alas ! it had been 
 hallaled, and therefore quite spoilt as a specimen. 
 
THE TABLES REVERSED. 141 
 
 On my way back to camp, I came across the 
 fresh track of a tiger, which my shikari assured 
 me had passed but a few minutes before, so I 
 hurried back for fear of disturbing him, but to- 
 day again 'no kill' was reported, so we had to get 
 through the long hot hours as best we could, 
 reading, writing, drawing, and sleeping. 
 
 After breakfast, some Rohillas came into camp 
 with tame performing bears and a three-quarter- 
 grown tiger, secured by five ropes attached to a 
 collar and dragged along by five men. The poor 
 brute looked harmless enough, and proved to be 
 so, for, wishing to see how a tiger attacked a 
 bullock, the Nawab bought one, and had the 
 tiger led up to it, when, instead of its attacking 
 the ox, the tables were reversed, for the latter 
 put down its head and went at the tiger with its 
 horns, whilst the monarch of the forest beat a 
 swift retreat behind his keepers. The Nawab 
 now got out his photographic apparatus and did 
 a picture of the tiger and another of our party in 
 camp. 
 
142 .4 PANTHER. 
 
 This evening I again strolled out with my gun 
 to shoot some small birds for preserving. I had 
 a walk of four or five miles and was returning in 
 the dusk, when about a hundred yards from camp 
 I suddenly heard a fearful roar close by me, 
 followed by a scream from a monkey. Looking 
 in the direction of the noise, which was in the 
 nullah to my right. I saw the trees full of chatter- 
 ing monkeys, and took in the situation. A tiger 
 or panther had succeeded in catching one of them 
 and was lying close beneath the trees with his 
 victim. I had two Mead's explosive shells in my 
 pocket ; I changed them quickly for the shot in my 
 gun and stepped into the nullah, but, the darkness 
 having set in, I could see nothing, so returned to 
 camp. On telling my tale I was assured that I 
 had done a very risky thing, for a panther, which 
 it turned out to be, disturbed at his food, especi- 
 ally at night, is a most dangerous beast, and, as I 
 had been within a very few paces of him, it was a 
 wonder he had not sprung at me. We all took 
 our rifles and returned to the spot. The monkeys 
 
A CURIOUS ADVENTURE. 143 
 
 were still chattering, and we could hear the 
 panther growling in a bamboo clump four or five 
 yards off, but it was pitch dark, and therefore too 
 dangerous to advance, so we reluctantly left him 
 to his supper and returned to camp. 
 
 The next evening I had a curious adventure in 
 connection with this panther which, whilst on the 
 subject, I may mention. I had been out all day 
 after small game, and at six o'clock in the even- 
 ing was returning to camp very hungry, not 
 having tasted food since early morning. Under 
 these circumstances one's interior is apt to feel 
 put out and to utter groans and pleading appeals 
 for help. I had just shot a lovely little bird 
 which I wished to skin. It fell into the nullah 
 close to the spot where I had heard the panther 
 the night before. There was a rather steep 
 descent to this place, and I was sliding down it, 
 when I heard a deep growl quite close to me. I 
 cocked my gun and sat quite still, every moment 
 expecting the animal to spring upon me. It was 
 a short period of intense excitement, but still no- 
 
144 THE DOCTOR BESIEGED. 
 
 thing stirred. Suddenly the thought flashed 
 through my mind, could it be that it was only an 
 internal appeal such as I have alluded to ? This 
 was possible, but not being certain, and thinking 
 discretion, &c, I scrambled up the bank, aban- 
 doned my bird, and hurried into camp, only to be 
 greeted with derisive laughter when I told my 
 story. 
 
 The report soon spread amongst the natives 
 that we had a doctor in camp, and in consequence 
 Lauder's tent was besieged every morning by a 
 crowd of the halt and the lame, and all manner 
 of diseased. It was an interesting sight to see 
 him sitting in his cane-chair, with a large box of 
 medicine before him, and to observe with what 
 faith they all went off with their doses, some 
 being strong enough for a horse ; but then a 
 native is not satisfied unless he gets something 
 he can feel. 
 
 We had been having very bad luck, as far as 
 our tiger-shooting was concerned. We knew as 
 a fact there were several about within a mile of 
 
GETTING DOWN ON OUR LUCK. 145 
 
 our camp, and could see their fresh puds each q 
 day as we walked into the jungle, and yet they 
 would not look at our coolghars, the fact being 
 that, there were so many deer and other game 
 about, they got quite enough to eat without. 
 Two of our baits had been killed, but they had 
 fallen victims to a panther and hyaena respective- 
 ly, so their lives had been thrown away. 
 
 A good shikari can always tell what animal has 
 killed the bullock, both by the pud marks and by 
 the way in which it has been destroyed, as each 
 one seems to have its own peculiar method. 
 
 We were getting rather down on our luck, 
 having now been three days without any real 
 khabar. At last Kishtia came in to say that, 
 although none of our bullocks had been taken, a 
 tiger had killed one of the village cows and 
 dragged the carcase into the jungle about two 
 miles from our camp. He added that he was 
 positive there were five if not six tigers about. 
 The shikari was busy all the early morning 
 collecting the villagers to act as beaters, and at 
 
 L 
 
146 THE BANDOBAST COMPLETED. 
 
 half-past eleven the camp presented a very 
 animated appearance. About two hundred men 
 were squatted in a semi-circle, nearly naked, 
 armed with sticks, rattles, tomtoms, and squibs, 
 and some had old match-locks, with fusees a foot 
 long. In the centre of this circle were the five 
 elephants being loaded with rifles, chargals,* and 
 the various things necessary for shooting. The 
 Nawab's tonga, to which two lovely pure white oxen 
 were harnessed, Avas also there, as well as four or 
 five horses, for those who preferred going to cover 
 in that way instead of on the backs of elephants. 
 
 The bandobast being completed, we left the 
 camp in a long line at twelve o'clock, the Nawab 
 and myself in the tonga and the others on the 
 horses. On reaching the jungle side, we each of 
 us mounted our elephants, the beaters were sent 
 round, and, guided by Kishtia, we proceeded 
 through the forest to our stands. The jungle 
 was very thick, and one had to keep a sharp look- 
 out to avoid the branches of the trees. It was 
 
 * Skin bottles containing drinking water. 
 
BEATING FOR A TIGER. 147 
 
 most important to be as quiet as possible, and 
 no talking above a whisper was allowed ; but the 
 branches at times made a fearful row by scraping 
 against the iron howdahs, and then Kishtia would 
 look round with disgust and alarm depicted on 
 his swarthy countenance. 
 
 It had been arranged amongst us that we 
 should take it in turns to go into the best place. 
 I being the eldest of the party was told off for 
 that honour to-day, and my elephant was halted 
 close to a large tree, with a clear place in front 
 where the tiger was likely to show himself. The 
 other elephants were posted in similar places 
 about fifty yards apart. After waiting patiently 
 for an hour, the first tomtom sounded and the 
 beat commenced. I was intensely excited, and 
 strained my eyes for the first glimpse of the lord 
 of the forest. As the beat approached, the noise 
 was quite awful : tomtoms, rattles, crackers, gun- 
 shots, and shrieks combined, sounded as if all 
 the devils from hell were loose. Still no tiger 
 appeared ; and at last Kishtia came up in front 
 
 l2 
 
148 VERY MUCH DISAPPOINTED. 
 
 of the beaters in a most dejected state to say that 
 the animal was not in the beat, his (Kishtia's) 
 theory being that the noise made by the branches 
 scraping against the howdahs had frightened the 
 beast away. "We had another beat with no better 
 result, and returned to camp at four o'clock very 
 much disappointed. We amused ourselves till 
 dark shooting green pigeons. 
 
 One hears a great deal in India about the 
 ravages of snakes, and with good reason too when 
 it is considered that their bites cause the deaths, 
 on an average, of about twenty thousand people 
 yearly. The Government pay a very good reward 
 for any cobras, kyrites, or other venomous snakes 
 that are killed; but the Hindoos are by their 
 religion so averse from taking life, that they will 
 generally merely step out of the way of one of 
 these deadly creatures, instead of killing it, so 
 that the number of snakes in India increases 
 rather than diminishes. Although I lived in dis- 
 tricts where they abound, and where I heard of 
 them almost daily, I must confess I saw but few. 
 
SNAKES AND SNAKE-CHARMERS. 149 
 
 The Indian snake-charmer is a wonderful con- 
 juror, — for a conjuror he certainly is. One day 
 at Poona, when I was lunching with the Duke and 
 Duchess of Connaught, one of these men appeared 
 in the compound. He declared that the place 
 was full of snakes, and so it turned out ; but I 
 think he must have brought them with him. Any- 
 how, the way he did it was most marvellous. He 
 was in a state of nature, except for a small waist- 
 cloth, and this I examined to see that it contained 
 no snakes. He stood up in front of the verandah, 
 which was covered with creepers, and began to 
 play on a reed instrument, at the same time peer- 
 ing sharply into the foliage ; all of a sudden he 
 would make a spring forward and pull out a 
 snake. Close to my tent he caught a very large 
 cobra in this way, seizing it by the back of the 
 neck as it lay under a stone, and showing us 
 the fangs, which he afterwards extracted with a 
 knife and stick. If he had placed it there, it was 
 a marvellous feat of legerdemain, and yet the 
 most credulous amongst us could scarcely believe 
 
150 A CURIOUS ADVENTURE. 
 
 that the compound was such a preserve for 
 reptiles. He produced them from all corners of 
 the garden. After he left, we saw no more of 
 them. 
 
 That evening I had a curious adventure. I 
 was sleeping in a tent close to the spot where the 
 cobra had been taken, and had just got into bed, 
 when I felt a strange kind of waving movement 
 between the two mattresses under me. I at once 
 jumped to the conclusion that it was a snake, and 
 so getting up in my bed I stamped as hard as I 
 could on the mattress, by way of killing it ; then 
 all being still I lay down. I was just dozing off, 
 when again I felt the same undulating motion, so 
 getting up I lit my candle, got my stick, pushed 
 the mosquito-net aside, and prepared to investi- 
 gate the matter with my left hand, whilst with 
 my right I grasped the stick ready to strike. No 
 sooner had I raised the corner of the mattress 
 than a huge rat jumped out, and afforded me 
 some fine sport, but eventually got away. How- 
 
FATAL SNAKE BITES. 151 
 
 ever, I was greatly relieved to find it was not a 
 cobra, as I had expected. 
 
 It is very dangerous in the hot weather to go 
 about one's bath-room with bare feet, for snakes 
 are apt to crawl into cool and damp places out of 
 the great heat. Major Creagh told me that he 
 once found a kyrite wound round his washing- 
 basin, and only saw it just in time, for in another 
 moment he would have placed his hands on it, 
 and a bite from one of this species means certain 
 death in ^.\e or ten minutes. 
 
 I never but once saw a man who had recovered 
 from the bite of a cobra, and this was an officer 
 whom I met in Kathiawar. He had just come in 
 from playing tennis, and was examining the grass 
 brought in by the grass-cutters for his horses. 
 They always place it in small heaps, and it is 
 necessary to examine it thoroughly in order 
 to see no soil is mixed with it. My friend thrust 
 his hand into one of these heaps, when it was laid 
 hold of by a cobra and severely bitten. He 
 
152 A WONDERFUL RECOVERY. 
 
 described his feelings to me as very awful, and 
 was convinced in his own mind that his fate was 
 sealed. However, without a moment's hesitation 
 he bound up his arm as tightly as possible above 
 the place and plunged it into nearly boiling 
 water, which took off the skin. A doctor, now 
 arriving, cauterized the wound, an agonising 
 operation, and made him drink a whole bottle of 
 brandy. When, as very soon happened, he be- 
 came drowsy, four sepoys w r ere told off to keep 
 him awake and walking about. He was quite 
 sensible, and knew that sleep meant death, yet 
 the longing for it was so great that he was 
 constantly imploring them to let him lie down. 
 He had fearful pains all up his arm and down the 
 side of his body, which lasted several days ; but 
 at length it subsided, and after six months he felt 
 as well as ever. This was a wonderful recovery, 
 and the only way he accounts for it is that the 
 cobra must have bitten some animal a short time 
 before, and thus got rid of part of its venom. 
 One hears endless horrible tales of snakes in 
 
THE TELAGU TONGUE. 153 
 
 India, but I have to thank my good luck that T 
 never had any adventures with them myself. 
 
 The language spoken all about this part of 
 India is Telagu, and Hindostani is very little 
 understood amongst the village people, so that in 
 many places we should have found it difficult to 
 get on with the natives had it not been for an 
 Englishman, who was in the Nawab's service, and 
 who spoke Telagu as well if not better than his 
 own language, as he had never been in England 
 since he was a baby in arms. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAGET ARRIVES — FLYING FOXES— CHANGE CAMP — LINGUMPAH— NATIVES 
 ARRIVE WITH A GRIEVANCE— FIRST SIGHT OF A TIGER — GHARRA 
 HUA — TIGER'S ESCORT — FUTILE BEAT — BEARS — ANECDOTE— ELE- 
 PHANTS DISCARDED — TIGER BEAT — PAGET SHOOTS FIRST TIGER — 
 TOMASHA FOR DEAD TIGRESS— SKINNING TIGRESS — LODER SITS IN A 
 MACHAM — PIG- STICKING EXTRAORDINARY, AND SEQUEL — GHARRA 
 HUA AGAIN — TIGER HEADED BY NAWAB — PAGET KILLS SECOND TIGER 
 — KING-FISHERS. 
 
157 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Our bad luck continued for some days ; the tigers 
 seemed determined not to take our ' bails.' The 
 shikari came in one morning to say that two of 
 the ' bails ' (bullocks) had been killed, but by 
 panthers, and that there were a great many tiger 
 puds about, so we organised two beats, hoping to 
 come across something, but again we were dis- 
 appointed, and then determined to move our camp 
 as soon as Colonel Paget arrived. This he did on 
 the afternoon of the 9th. He had had a long 
 ride, but looked very well, and gave us some 
 interesting details of the Burmah campaign, 
 where he had been attached to the mounted 
 infantry. 
 
158 FLYING FOXES. 
 
 On the morning of the 18 th I was up at half- 
 past four, and was surprised to see the trees above 
 me full of flying-foxes, instead of green pigeons. 
 It was still dark, and they continued feasting 
 until daybreak. Herbert and I rode off ahead of 
 the rest of our party to our new camp at half-past 
 five. We had only fifteen miles to go, but it was 
 very pleasant. The first part was through a 
 dried-up jungle, reminding me forcibly of an 
 English covert in winter ; but as we approached 
 the village of Lingumpah the scenery underwent 
 a thorough change, and we came across green 
 fields, cultivation, and lastly a jungle composed 
 of bamboo clumps and various shrubs and trees 
 scattered about, with broad paths intersecting it, 
 giving one the idea of vistas in botanical 
 gardens. 
 
 On arrival we discovered that the man in 
 charge of the tents had pitched the camp very 
 badly. The Nawab's tents and the cooking 
 arrangements were all together on a piece of 
 marshy ground surrounded by paddy fields, 
 
AN IDLE DAY. 159 
 
 whilst ours was nearly a mile off, and with a 
 ploughed field between us. 
 
 Being very hungry after our ride, we break- 
 fasted at once, after which the Nawab ordered his 
 tents to be struck, and moved close to ours under 
 the shade of a huge banyan-tree, so big that it 
 covered three large tents with its branches. 
 While we were having our smoke, a man and his 
 wife came in with a regular ' ewe lamb ' story. 
 They went down on their knees before the Xawab 
 and complained that his shikari had forcibly 
 taken their only buffalo and tied it up as bait for 
 a tiger. The Nawab told them they should be 
 well paid for it, but this did not seem to console 
 them at all, and they were sent away in great 
 distress of mind. Later on Kishtia came in to 
 say that there was no kill, so I am in hopes these 
 poor creatures recovered their pet. 
 
 As usual, when no kill, we had an idle day. 
 Paget and Lauder developed a great capacity for 
 sleep, and were in a state of unconsciousness 
 nearly the whole time, and much annoyed when 
 
160 < GHARRA HUA: 
 
 now and then I looked in and inquired after their 
 health. 
 
 Towards evening I took my gun and strolled 
 through the jungle. Just as I turned the sharp 
 angle of a nullah, I came face to face with a tiger 
 standing not ten yards from me. Having only No. 
 8 shot in my gun, I fumbled in my pockets for some 
 bullets, but before I could get them out the beast 
 had seen me and disappeared in the dense jungle. 
 
 Next day we were cheered with the news, 
 ' Gharra hua.' It seems that one of our bails* had 
 been killed within half-a-mile of our camp, and 
 close to the spot where I had seen the tiger the 
 evening before. After the usual preparations, we 
 started off at twelve o'clock, and passed the dead 
 buffalo with the marks of the tiger's teeth in its 
 throat and the whole of the hind quarters eaten, 
 so he must have had a good appetite. A shikari, 
 who had been on the watch, came up here 
 and said that he had tracked the tiger to a hill 
 about three miles off. The jungle was very thick, 
 
 * Hindostani for bull, or bullock. 
 
LANGOOR MONKEYS. 161 
 
 and it was hard work making our way through it 
 on the elephants, for, unless continually on the 
 look-out, one was liable to decapitation from the 
 branches which spread out in dense masses about 
 the height of our heads. Besides this, our great 
 object was to prevent branches scraping against 
 the sides of the howdahs. In this we were 
 decidedly unsuccessful, for so great was the noise 
 made by our progress that when we got into our 
 places, and before the beat began, we heard the 
 growls of the langoor monkeys, a sure sign that 
 the tiger was on the move. He managed to sneak 
 out of the beat without our getting a shot at 
 him. 
 
 It is curious the way in which the big langoor 
 monkeys always accompany a tiger and give notice 
 of his approach, and it must be annoying to him 
 to be continually accompanied by this noisy suite. 
 They are generally to be found in large flocks, 
 some run in front of him, some at his side, and 
 others jump from tree to tree above him, all the 
 while uttering a sound something between a bark 
 
 M 
 
162 THE INDIAN BEAR. 
 
 and a growl. The tiger occasionally has his 
 revenge on an over-rash member of this family by 
 despatching it with one blow of his powerful fore 
 arm. 
 
 We went off to another rocky hill full of caves 
 known to contain bears, but, although we threw in 
 a number of squibs and hand grenades, we could 
 not induce Bruin to show himself. 
 
 The Indian bear is a very shy animal, and 
 seldom found out in the daytime, except quite 
 early in the morning, when returning from his 
 nightly prowl, or again in the evening when 
 leaving home, but is rarely to be seen during the 
 heat of the day. He will always attack when 
 prevented from entering his cave, but on going 
 out will try to run past his molesters. 
 
 A friend of mine, a great Indian shikari, told 
 me of a curious adventure he had with bears. 
 He was walking through the jungle in early 
 morning when he came across two. He fired at 
 the first and wounded it, and then gave his 
 second barrel to the other one. They both went 
 
A BEAR STORY. 163 
 
 on and were tracked by the blood to a cave in 
 the side of a hill. My friend felt confident that 
 he had hit both of them, but the natives were of 
 a different opinion, declaring that the first was 
 hard hit and would certainly die in a few minutes, 
 but that the second, not being touched, would 
 quit the cave very soon after he discovered that 
 his companion was dead. Such being the case, 
 it was best to leave them for the present and to 
 return after breakfast in an hours time. This 
 was done, but the coolies still refused to enter the 
 cave to haul out the dead bear, so my friend, 
 having placed a pistol in his belt and lighted a 
 torch, went in himself, with one of the men's 
 lungis, or turbans, in his hand, intending to put 
 it round the dead animal and drag it out. Sure 
 enough he soon found the body and was busy at 
 his work, when, in the gloom, his hand came in 
 contact with warm fur heaving under the 
 pressure, which clearly proved that it was a 
 living animal. In spite of the torch, the darkness 
 was so great that he could not make out which 
 
 m 2 
 
164 THE EVER WELCOME NEWS. 
 
 was the head and which the tail of the beast, but 
 putting his pistol quite close to the side he fired. 
 No sooner had he done so than a huge bear got 
 up and came at him. He was standing with his 
 back to the entrance of the cave, and all he could 
 do was to shove the lighted torch in the bear's 
 face. Twice he did this, repelling his foe each 
 time, but on the third occasion Master Bruin 
 knocked him over and bolted out of the cave 
 without doing him any further injury. The 
 appearance of the bear outside was, however, 
 greeted by a volley of shots from the natives, the 
 bullets splashing on the rock a few inches from 
 my friend, and being much more dangerous to 
 him than the bears claws. Eventually both 
 animals were bagged and taken to camp. 
 
 On the 13th of March, Kishtia came in with 
 the ever welcome news that a tiger had killed a 
 bullock within a mile of camp, and, having eaten 
 the greater part of his victim, was lying up close 
 by. Most of the party were so disgusted by their 
 numerous disappointments when mounted on 
 
< WOUNDED TIGER ' 165 
 
 elephants that they resolved to discard them, and 
 to sit on trees. The Nawab and myself, however, 
 determined to give hati * another trial, especially 
 as we were told that the covert was not very 
 thick. 
 
 It was a beautiful piece of jungle, looking 
 more like a private shrubbery than a wild forest. 
 The Nawab and his elephant were placed close to 
 a dry nullah on the right of the line, well con- 
 cealed by bamboo clumps. I came next about 
 fifty yards to his left, whilst Arthur Paget was in 
 a tree forty yards to my left, and the other guns 
 at similar intervals further on. No sooner had 
 we all got to our places than the tomtoms of the 
 beaters began to sound, and five minutes after- 
 wards the Nawab fired a double shot into the 
 jungle followed by the cry of ' Sachmie sher!' 
 (' Wounded tiger.') This warning is very necessary 
 to enable the beaters to get up trees and out of 
 the way of the infuriated beast. We kept very 
 still as the beat was some way off, and presently 
 
 * Hindostani for elephant. 
 
166 A FINE TIGRESS. 
 
 I heard the langoor monkeys coming in my 
 direction. A rush through the grass to my left 
 caused me to look round just in time to see 
 Arthur Paget bowl over a fine tigress within 
 twenty yards of me. If he had missed, I should 
 have had a splendid shot, as she was making 
 straight for me ; but he killed her very cleverly, 
 having hit her close behind the shoulder with a 
 bullet out of his *450 Ejppress, which knocked 
 
 A 
 
 her completely over. She crawled about twenty 
 yards, and on going up to the spot on my 
 elephant I found her stone dead under a tree. 
 The beaters now came up, but on the news 
 spreading that another tiger and a wounded one 
 also was about, they climbed up the nearest trees, 
 and looked like so many chattering monkeys. Dr. 
 Lauder, having brought out his camera, now did 
 two pictures of us round the dead tigress, after 
 which we organised a beat for the one seen by 
 the Nawab, but in vain, and we returned to camp 
 at two o'clock. 
 
 The dead tigress was put on a pad elephant, 
 
POTENT NATIVE CHARMS. 167 
 
 and the march back was a curious sight, all the 
 villagers turning out. They and the beaters 
 carrying branches of trees surrounded the elephant 
 bearing the beast, and dancing in front of it, with 
 their tomtoms playing and amidst hideous yells, 
 brought it into camp. The Nawab photographed 
 and I sketched this scene : we then went off to 
 see the tigress skinned. 
 
 It is very necessary to watch this process, or 
 the natives are apt to carry off the whiskers and 
 claws, both of which are considered potent 
 charms. A tiger has also two small bones em- 
 bedded in the flesh of the chest and disconnected 
 with all other bones, which the natives will in- 
 variably carry off, if they can. The fat, too, is 
 used by them as a specific against rheumatism, 
 and in these parts some of the lowest castes will 
 eat the flesh of the tiger, as, in fact, of any 
 animal they can get. 
 
 We cut open the body and examined the 
 wound. The bullet was split up into small pieces, 
 and had completely shattered the lungs. 
 
168 A PL UCKY ANIMAL. 
 
 That night, there being a fine moon, Loder 
 had a macham or platform of boughs, built in a 
 tree overlooking a piece of water, and sat up all 
 night in hopes of getting a shot at some beast 
 coming to drink, but he saw nothing ; and, from 
 all I could glean from the Indian shikaris I have 
 spoken to on the subject, this plan is seldom 
 successful, so I never tried it myself. 
 
 If there is one thing more than another which 
 makes my blood boil it is wanton cruelty to 
 animals. One morning the young Nawab was 
 very anxious to try his hand at pig-sticking ; 
 as there were no wild pigs handy, he procured a 
 village boar, and riding after him with a spear 
 proceeded to stick him. The poor beast got two 
 fearful wounds, and was making off, pelted and 
 otherwise ill-treated by the natives, whilst the 
 Nawab came to breakfast rather pleased with 
 himself. I could not stand the sight, and calling 
 to Paget, who had a revolver with him, we went 
 off together to put the poor creature out of its 
 misery. The plucky animal, although so seriously 
 
ANOTHER KILL. 169 
 
 wounded, no sooner saw Paget approach than he 
 turned round and charged, giving him barely 
 time to put a bullet into his head, which killed 
 him at once. As the boar had really large 
 tusks, it might have been no joke had the bullet 
 not taken effect. 
 
 Another kill was reported early on the 15th of 
 March. It was about five miles off this time, and 
 entailed a hot ride in the middle of the day ; but 
 it was my turn for first place, so I was all excite- 
 ment. The j ungle on the way was full of magni- 
 ficent tamarind-trees. I plucked the fruit as I 
 went along, and found it most refreshing, as it is 
 acid and astringent. 
 
 I had a capital place in the beat close to a dry 
 nullah, with an open place in front of me, where 
 the tiger would probably break covert. I was on an 
 elephant, with Lauder in the howdah behind me. 
 Soon we heard the sound of the tomtoms and 
 guns. A beautiful civet cat was the first thing to 
 appear, running close under my elephant ; he was 
 soon followed by numerous jungle fowls and pea- 
 
170 A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT. 
 
 cock, some of which I could almost have touched 
 with my rifle ; then I saw some langoor monkeys, 
 sure sign that the tiger was not far off. They 
 kept streaming past me fifty or sixty at a time. I 
 cocked my rifle and redoubled my attention, 
 when to my disgust the Nawab came straight in 
 front of me on his elephant. This was fearfully 
 annoying just as I was expecting a shot. I 
 whistled to him, but the din made by the beaters 
 was so great, he could not hear me. His elephant 
 kept on moving, and I knew he would head the 
 tiger back. Just then I heard a terrific roar, and 
 sure enough there was the tiger, which would 
 have come out close to me, rushing back through 
 the beaters. 
 
 I never felt so disappointed in my life, 
 but I am bound to say that no one could have 
 been more sorry for what had happened than the 
 Nawab himself. It seems that the beaters having 
 come up and passed the place where he was 
 stationed, he fancied the beat was over, and came 
 on. I was hidden from his sight by a clump of 
 
ANOTHER BEAT. 171 
 
 trees. So vexed was he with himself at having 
 spoilt my sport, though, as it turned out, it was 
 a very pardonable mistake, that he went straight 
 home. 
 
 But my bad luck was not to end here. We 
 started for another beat in the direction the tiger 
 had taken, the shikari saying that he had eaten 
 so much of the bullock that he could not go far. 
 We took up our positions again, but this time no 
 power on earth would keep my elephant quiet. 
 He whisked his trunk about, groaned, and kept- 
 changing his feet, so that it would have been 
 almost impossible to get a steady shot. The 
 mahout dug the iron spike he carried into his 
 head until it was a mass of gore, but with no 
 effect. Lauder, who was behind me, and has 
 very keen sight, saw the tiger in the jungle just 
 in front of me about to break, when noticing my 
 elephant he went off to the left, and broke under 
 a tree in which Paget was seated. The latter 
 soon despatched him, the first bullet passing 
 through the stomach, the second through the 
 
172 • 0MN1C0L0R HALCYON.' 
 
 spine, whilst a third in the heart put him out of 
 his suffering. I was very glad that we had bagged 
 another tiger, but much disgusted at my indivi- 
 dual bad luck. It was a curious fact that Paget 
 should kill the only two tigers he had come 
 across, and that I should have seen both shot with- 
 in twenty yards of me without being able to fire. 
 Whilst in this camp I saw several of those 
 beautiful many-coloured king-fishers (Omnicolor 
 Halcyon), and procured a very good specimen, 
 which I regret to say was afterwards destroyed 
 by white ants. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 MOVE TO JULUMPAH — A FINE-LOOKING JUNGLE — TRACKS OF GAME — 
 HUNT HERONS WITH HAWKS — COOLING SODA-WATER — SHOOT JUNGLE- 
 FOWL — ALL GUNS IN TREES SAVE MYSELF — PET MONKEY — THE 
 MOTHER FOLLOWS US — LAUDER MISSES THROUGH CRAMPED POSITION 
 IN TREE — SICK CHILD — GREAT DAY'S SPORT — MAN WOUNDED BY 
 TIGER — ELEPHANT BOLTS— NARROW ESCAPE — THE TALK AT DINNER. 
 
175 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 I was not sorry when it was decided that we were 
 to change camp and move on eight miles to a place 
 called Julumpah. I had met with such bad luck 
 in this last camp that I hated the very recollection 
 of the place. Our new one was pitched in the 
 midst of a fine mango tope, with a large tank 
 close by, the banks of which were covered with 
 storks and herons. As ' no kill ' was reported, 
 the Nawab had out his falcons, and it was very 
 pretty to see them go for the white herons, and 
 to watch the manoeuvres of the latter to avoid 
 their enemy. When tired, the herons would 
 perch amongst the mango-trees, taking care to 
 have some protecting branches above them. The 
 weather was getting hotter each day, and now the 
 
176 A BEAT FOR SMALL GAME. 
 
 thermometer in our tents registered one hundred 
 and two degrees at mid-day. The heat made one 
 very thirsty, so that the pop of the soda-water- 
 bottle was to be heard at all hours of the day. 
 Having no ice, we cooled our drink by placing 
 the bottles into an empty crate and covering 
 them with straw ; the crate was hung by ropes to 
 the largest branch of a tree, and water poured 
 over it at intervals, whilst a native swung it back- 
 ward and forward by another rope. Sometimes 
 the swinger would go to sleep or neglect his 
 work, but the next customer for a drink invari- 
 ably found him out by the temperature of the 
 liquid, and would visit his wrath on the body of 
 the delinquent. 
 
 There was a very fine-looking jungle here, and 
 some distance from the place, where we tied up for 
 tigers ; so, as there was no fear of disturbing these 
 beasts, we therefore organised a beat for small game 
 in this other direction, and went off about half-past 
 three in order to shoot in the cool of the evening. 
 No doubt there was lots of game about, as we 
 
A GREAT PET. 177 
 
 saw numerous tracks of sambur, chetal, or spotted 
 deer, and bear, but the beat was badly managed, 
 and all the animals broke back. The only chetal 
 that came forward broke under Ismael Khan's tree, 
 and he missed him. A fine wild boar also passed 
 close to Paget ; he could not, however, get a shot. 
 Luckily a lot of jungle-fowl had got into a nullah, 
 and, surrounding this, we had a nice hot corner of 
 rocketting j ungle murgi,* one bag being eighteen 
 jungle-fowl, one peacock, five hares, and a few 
 quail. I worked very hard skinning some of the 
 best specimens when I got into camp. 
 
 Some of the men had caught two young 
 monkeys, and the Nawab made me a present of 
 one. Pat, as I called him in honour of the day 
 (the 1 7th of March) on which he was caught, was 
 quite a baby, and I made a great pet of him. I 
 put a collar on him and attached him by a rope 
 to a box full of straw close to my bed, but was 
 disturbed all night by the mother-monkey calling 
 in the trees above to her offspring. She must 
 
 * Hindostani for fowls. 
 
 N 
 
178 A CURIOUS CASE. 
 
 have come at least ten miles after her infant, 
 which had been caught that distance from camp 
 the day before. He was what nurses call very 
 1 fractious/ and gave me a great deal of trouble 
 for the first two or three days. 
 
 At Dr. Lauder's morning dispensary here, a 
 curious and horrible case was brought in. It was 
 that of a little girl about six months old, with a 
 tumour the size of a cocoa-nut growing out of 
 her spine. There was no cure for it, but Dr. 
 Lauder offered to pay the father all his expenses 
 if he would take the child to the Hyderabad 
 Hospital; this, however, he refused to do, so the 
 poor little thing must linger on until death 
 releases her. She was a bright-eyed, interesting- 
 looking child, and seemed free from pain. She 
 gave me much more the idea of a European child 
 of three years old than an infant of six months. 
 
 Now at last I have to chronicle one of the best 
 and most exciting day's sport that it will probably 
 ever be my good fortune to witness. 
 
 On the morning of the 19th of March, Kishtia 
 
A GOOD DAY'S SPORT. 179 
 
 came in at nine o'clock to say that a tiger had 
 killed a buffalo tied up about two miles from 
 camp in the middle of the jungle. We made our 
 preparations and started off on ponies about 
 twelve o'clock. On getting to the place we found 
 a very dense piece of dried-up jungle, with large 
 white smooth-barked trees scattered about it, 
 and in front of us a small rocky hill full of caves. 
 Flocks of vultures and hawks were hovering above 
 our heads, indicating by their movements the 
 place where the dead buffalo lay. The tiger had 
 dragged his prey part way up the hill, and then 
 eaten nearly the whole of it. 
 
 All the guns, except myself, were to be in 
 trees. I was on one of the Nizam's elephants, 
 which had the character of being a very staunch 
 beast, and from whose back many a tiger had 
 been shot. 
 
 It was Herbert's turn for first place, so he 
 climbed into a well-placed white tree, commanding 
 a full view of the hill in front. Loder had second 
 place to Herbert's left, and was close to the 
 
 n2 
 
180 A TIGER'S ROAR. 
 
 gharra, or dead beast. Paget was on a tree on 
 Herbert's right. I came next to him on my 
 elephant, and Lauder was in a tree beyond me 
 again. Lauder and I were virtually out of the 
 beat, and did not expect to see anything of the 
 sport. 
 
 It was two o'clock before the first tomtom 
 sounded ; but hardly three minutes later I heard 
 a tiger's roar to my right, followed by a shot 
 from Lauder's rifle. I stood at the ready position, 
 straining my eyes through the jungle for fully 
 twenty minutes, when again I heard a roar to 
 my right, and through the dense undergrowth 
 could just make out part of a tiger, trying to 
 break out quietly between Lauder and myself. 
 He was from seventy to eighty yards off, and 
 there was a mass of trees and shrubs between us, 
 so that I had little chance of killing him ; but 
 I fired so as to turn him to Lauder. In this I 
 was successful, for I heard his shot ; but, as I 
 learned afterwards, poor Lauder was so cramped 
 up in his tree that, although the tiger came and 
 
A TERRIBLE MOMENT. 181 
 
 stood close to him, he could not take proper aim 
 and missed entirely. 
 
 In the meanwhile I heard four or five shots to 
 my left in Herbert's direction, and wondered 
 what it could mean, as the tiger was on our side. 
 Kishtia soon came up and asked me to go on my 
 elephant to Herbert's help. I did so, and found 
 him still sitting on his tree, in great glee, having 
 shot two tigers, whilst Loder had killed a panther. 
 I took Herbert up into my howdah, and we soon 
 found his first animal lying stone-dead, shot 
 through the heart. We were all looking at it, 
 and the beaters were coming down the brow of 
 the hill in front of us, when we were startled by 
 a fearful roar in that direction, and turned round 
 just in time to see a tiger rush out of a cave, 
 seize a man, and roll over a rock with him. It 
 was a terrible moment, and made me feel quite 
 sick, but to our intense relief the man got up and 
 the tiger left him, and bolted into another cave. 
 All the beaters were up trees in a second, and 
 looked like so many langoor monkeys, chattering 
 
182 SMOKING OUT A TIGER. 
 
 in mortal terror. Lauder had now joined us in 
 the howdah, and we took the elephant to a place 
 about thirty yards from the cave containing the 
 tiger, and where I got a clear view. Kishtia and 
 all the shikari stood on the rock above it, and 
 called Paget to them. He had only two cart- 
 ridges, and shouted to his boy John to bring his 
 second rifle and some more ammunition, but 
 John was safely up a tree one hundred yards 
 away, and, whether he heard his master or not, 
 held fast to his safe position, and Paget had to do 
 without him. 
 
 The shikari lit some squibs and rockets, and 
 threw them into the cave. The tiger roared, 
 showed part of his head for a second, and bolted 
 back again. Kishtia now, with the greatest pluck, 
 crawled down to the mouth, lighted some straw 
 and flung it in. Some fell outside, and soon the 
 whole of that part of the hill was a-blaze. The 
 trees crackled, and the smoke and heat were 
 terrific. Presently the tiger rushed out roaring, 
 and Paget and Kishtia both firing at the same 
 
FOLLOWING UP WOUNDED TIGER. 183 
 
 time, the brute rolled dead in the flames. I 
 made sure that from where I stood I should have 
 had a shot, but my bad luck still pursued me, for 
 the tiger had bolted out of a side hole. 
 
 Having secured the body from the flames, we 
 now went off* on the elephant in search of the 
 other wounded animals. A number of vultures 
 were sitting on a tree, and, knowing they would 
 not remain there for nothing, we steered through 
 some dense jungle, getting our faces much 
 scratched by the thorny creepers, and under a 
 tree we found a beautiful panther stone-dead. 
 
 The only thing now was to get Herbert's second 
 tiger. Kishtia and another shikari searched every 
 blade of grass, and at last came upon blood. It 
 was a beautiful sight to see them tracking it 
 through the densest bushes. Sometimes they 
 were at fault, but invariably got on the trail 
 again, although it was so faint that an inexperi- 
 enced eye could detect nothing. We on the 
 elephant followed them with our guns ready to 
 give the wounded tiger a warm reception should 
 
184 'TIGER! TIGER!' 
 
 he come out and charge us. In this way we went 
 on for four or five hundred yards ; our progress 
 was slow, the sun was sinking low in the sky, and 
 we seemed to be getting no nearer our quarry. 
 Kishtia came back to say that we should have to 
 give it up, as the darkness coming on made it- 
 dangerous business ; but he felt sure we should 
 find the tiger in the morning. 
 
 The words were hardly out of his mouth when 
 a native shouted, c Sher ! Sher !' (' Tiger ! Tiger !') 
 We were just then in a most awkward place, 
 passing under a tree with a big branch, which 
 threatened to decapitate me, on a level with my 
 chin. I had cleared it partly away, when I saw 
 a huge tiger bounding towards us, with open 
 mouth, eyes dilated with rage, ears back, and tail 
 in the air. It was a magnificent but terrifying 
 sight, for our men were scattered about on the 
 ground around us, and an accident seemed 
 inevitable. Kishtia rolled under an ant-hill, and 
 the tiger cleared him at a bound without seeing 
 him, his whole attention being concentrated on 
 

 </3 
 
BOWLED RIGHT OVER, 185 
 
 our elephant. He was now not ten yards from 
 us, and we were about to fire when the elephant 
 trumpeted, turned suddenly round, and bolted as 
 fast as he could lay legs to the ground. The 
 tiger was close to us, and I felt sure that in two 
 more bounds he would be upon us, and drag 
 Lauder out of the howdah. We were rendered 
 utterly helpless by the branches, which knocked 
 the guns out of our hands as we tried to get 
 them up. At last, in a clearer spot, I was bring- 
 ing my rifle to my shoulder, when a branch 
 knocked me over. Herbert was luckier, and had 
 just time to let off his rifle before he was knocked 
 down. He had made a beautiful shot, bowling 
 the tiger right over. Still the elephant went on, 
 and every moment we expected the howdah to be 
 smashed and its occupants killed by the branches. 
 The mahout behaved capitally, and, though 
 severely wounded and cut about, he stuck to his 
 work, and by dint of hammering the elephant's 
 head with his iron spike at last stopped him. I 
 had often heard of the danger of an elephant's 
 
186 A GLORIOUS BAG. 
 
 bolting, but never realised the awful horror of 
 such a catastrophe. The moments seemed like 
 hours. 
 
 We brought the elephant back and found the 
 tiger, or rather tigress, in her last gasps. Her- 
 bert's final shot had gone through her mouth to 
 her brain. How we all congratulated each other 
 on our escape ! Now the danger was past, we felt 
 it was well worth undergoing for the excitement. 
 We had encountered all the dangers of tiger- 
 shooting to-day : a man mauled, a charging 
 tiger, and a bolting elephant. We quickly 
 hoisted the dead tiger on the elephant and made 
 for camp. 
 
 It was a glorious bag, and one rarely exceeded ; 
 three tigers and a panther. As we rode back in 
 the dark, the hill was lit up by a mass of flame, 
 and the sky all aglow with the lurid glare. We 
 had surely destroyed a stronghold, and were de- 
 lighted with our day's work, the more so when 
 we learned that these identical tigers had killed 
 no fewer than twelve men during the last rains. 
 
A PAINFUL OPERATION. 187 
 
 The villagers ought to have been grateful, but, if 
 they were, they kept it to themselves. 
 
 The wounded man was now brought in on a 
 charpoy. He was one of the shikari, and a very 
 useful and plucky young fellow. His leg had 
 five teeth-marks in it, two of which were an inch 
 and a half deep, and yet he did not make the 
 slightest fuss. He told us that the tiger had 
 made for his throat, but that he had beaten it off 
 Avith his gun, and had then been seized by the 
 leg. Dr. Lauder syringed the wounds with car- 
 bolic acid diluted with one hundred parts of 
 water. It must have been a painful operation, 
 but the man never winced. We got up a good 
 subscription for him, and collected enough to 
 make him rich, according to his own humble 
 ideas, for many a long day to come. 
 
 At dinner that night the talk was of nothing 
 but tigers. We assisted till a late hour at the 
 skinning of the beasts by torchlight. None of 
 the party, I think, are ever likely to forget the 
 19th of March, 1887. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 IDLE DAY IN CAMP — MOVE CAMP — JUNGLE PLANTS — BIRDS — DAK ARRIVES 
 — ENGLISH LETTERS — PALMS PLANTED IN OTHER TREES — GHARRA 
 HUA—I SHOOT A BEAR— CURIOUS BONE — GYMKANA IN CAMP— DUCK- 
 SHOOTING— FEAR OF NATIVES — CAMP MOVED TO PENGUDPAH — 
 JUNGLES FIRED — TODDY PALMS — PAGET NEARLY SHOT BY ME — 
 SUDDEN STORM — WHITE ANTS — SKILL OF INDIAN COOKS — MOVE 
 CAMP TO PALONCHA — LODER'S BOY MEETS A BEAR — BAD LUCK — 
 ENGLISH MAIL — GHARRA — MORE BAD LUCK — HERBERT LEAVES US 
 —PANTHER IN CAMP. 
 
191 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Next day there was c no kill/ a fact we did not 
 reoret, for the shikari wanted a rest from their 
 hard work of the day before. They had been 
 given as usual, after a good day's sport, a goat 
 or two and a bottle of whisky ; but, although told 
 to take a holiday, little wiry Kishtia could not 
 keep still. He had an idea that the tiger I had 
 shot at yesterday might have been hit, and was 
 not satisfied until he had scoured the jungle for 
 some miles round the place, but, finding no signs 
 of blood, he gave up the pursuit. 
 
 The camp was rendered somewhat disagreeable 
 by the smell of the dead tigers' bodies ; they 
 were, however, made short work of by hundreds 
 of vultures, and we amused ourselves firing at 
 
192 MOVE CAMP. 
 
 the birds with our rifles at long ranges, rather 
 to the danger of the surrounding villages. So 
 thoroughly had we disturbed this district with 
 noise and the jungle fire that it was determined 
 to move on, and on the morning of the 21st we 
 struck camp at half-past iive^ and rode off to 
 Sellnacunda, about fifteen miles off. It was a 
 lovely ride, and, as usual, Herbert and I got in 
 ahead of the party. The camp was again pitched 
 under a mango tope, being both cool and shady. 
 The jungle here was very green, a fact that made 
 it appeal more to our sense of the beautiful than 
 to sport, for where there is verdure there is 
 plenty of water, and in such districts it is diffi- 
 cult to find the tigers, as they are not obliged to 
 return to the same places to drink. 
 
 I strolled into the jungle, and noticed a good 
 many trees and shrubs hitherto unknown to me, 
 and several orchids ; there were also numbers of 
 birds with brilliant plumage flitting about, a 
 pleasant change after the everlasting ' Tom ! torn ! 
 torn!' of the coppersmith-bird and the 'We feel 
 
RECEIVING LETTERS IN CAMP. 193 
 
 it !' of the hot- weather, or brain-fever bird, as it is 
 called. This latter's call is most peculiar. It 
 begins by c We feel it P in low notes, and repeats 
 these sounds three or four times each in a higher 
 key, until at last it is drawled out to a high 
 1 We-ee-e-e feel it !' Besides these two birds, I 
 must mention the Indian plover, which flies about 
 when disturbed uttering, ■ Did he do it !' as dis- 
 tinctly as a human being. 
 
 The excitement of the day in our new camp 
 was that of receiving letters by a camel dak, or 
 post. After being for some weeks out of the 
 world, we read our letters with avidity, and de- 
 voured the contents of newspapers six weeks old. 
 None of us received any bad news, so there was 
 not the slightest cloud to mar our enjoyment. 
 
 I noticed one peculiarity about the trees in 
 these parts, which is, that the natives are very fond 
 of planting the seed of the cocoa-nut and toddy- 
 palm into the heart of another kind of tree. The 
 palm grows and flourishes at the expense of the 
 parent tree, which invariably looks sickly and 
 
 o 
 
194 ANOTHER BEAT. 
 
 delicate ; but it is a curious sight to see these tall 
 palms jutting out and waving their heads thirty- 
 feet above the foliage of the tree it grows from. 
 
 On the 22nd, a sowar rode to camp at eight 
 o'clock in the morning with the news that there 
 had been a 4 gharra,' or kill, six miles off, and that 
 two tigers had been seen. The Nawab had a 
 slight attack of fever, so he and Dr. Lauder 
 stayed in camp, whilst the rest of us rode off at 
 eleven. 
 
 It was excessively hot, but the jungle was lovely 
 with the numerous creepers hanging from the 
 trees, the flowering shrubs, and the gay-plumaged 
 birds. 
 
 After going five miles, we met Kishtia coming to 
 tell us that the tigress and her cubs, who had killed 
 one bullock, had gone right away after their break- 
 fast, and that it was no use beating for them ; but 
 he added, there were some ' bearish ' looking hills 
 a mile or two off, so we decided to have a beat 
 there. 
 
 I was posted on the Nawab's favourite elephant 
 
A HUGE BLACK BEAB. 195 
 
 on the left of the line, close to a ledge of rock 
 leading from one small hill to the other. Soon 
 after the beginning of the beat, I heard the dead 
 leaves crackling in front of me, and, looking imthe 
 direction from whence the sound proceeded, I saw 
 a huge black bear about thirty yards off apparent- 
 ly coming straight to me. He would have given me 
 a splendid shot, but just then my elephant saw him 
 too, and, trumpeting loudly, wheeled completely 
 round. This was exasperating. The bear, hearing the 
 noise, looked up, gave a grunt, and went off to the 
 right. I had only just time to fire at him with 
 my *500 Holland Express : he gave another grunt 
 and rolled on his head, but in a second was up 
 again and disappeared towards the other guns, 
 where he was received with a succession of shots 
 and eventually expired close under the tree in 
 which Herbert was sitting. We examined him 
 carefully, but could only find one bullet-hole just 
 behind the shoulder, and, as we traced the blood 
 from the place where I had rolled him over, he 
 was undoubtedly mine ; but it is wonderful to think 
 
 o 2 
 
196 A BONE CHARM. 
 
 how he could have gone off at all with a wound 
 right through his lungs. 
 
 That evening I superintended the skinning, and 
 was still more surprised when I saw the havoc 
 made by the bullet which had traversed both 
 lungs. He was a very large bear of the kind, 
 being six feet long by three in height. The 
 natives are fond of bears-meat, and numbers of 
 them came and dipped rags in the blood, which is 
 considered a cure for convulsions amongst children. 
 
 The bear also possesses a bone which is much in 
 request amongst the natives, its supposed value 
 being that the owner of it will be blest with a 
 numerous family. As soon as a bear is killed, it 
 is surrounded by an eager crowd anxious to get 
 hold of this bone. Knowing this, I put my ser- 
 vant on guard, and told him on no account to lose 
 it. He brought it in to me next day, saying there 
 were great heart-burnings over it, for they said, 
 'The Burra* saib ' (as they called me) * has a large 
 family, so he cannot require the bone.' I offered 
 
 * Burra means big or old. 
 
TENT-PEGGING. 197 
 
 to lend it to them to stir up their rice, but this I 
 heard was of no use unless they actually owned the 
 bone, and that I would not give up. 
 
 By way of a little change, we organised a gym- 
 kana in camp, and arranged a long list of events, 
 some of which, owing to the darkness, did not 
 come off. One meeting began with tent-pegging, 
 and, as Mahomet Ismael Khan is one of the 
 champions of India at this feat, it was very in- 
 teresting. There seemed to be no way of puzzling 
 him, for, riding at a gallop at the small bamboo 
 pegs, his lance never missed its mark ; we tried 
 split pegs and also putting them sideways, but 
 always with the same result. Herbert also was 
 very good at this. We placed small onions on 
 posts about ten yards apart; Ismael Khan rode 
 full speed past them, sword in hand, and, although 
 it was then nearly dark and the onions not much 
 larger than filberts, he never missed cutting one 
 of them in two. 
 
 Our sports ended by hanging up the carcase of 
 a goat, riding past it at a gallop, and cutting it 
 
198 DUCK SHOOTING. 
 
 in two with a sword ; at this exercise, one of the 
 most difficult for a novice, Mahomet Ismael Khan 
 was again undefeated. The night had now come 
 upon us, so we returned to our tents and got 
 ready for dinner. 
 
 The tigers in this particular district seemed very- 
 shy, and we had to content ourselves for the most 
 part with small-game shooting. There was a tank 
 six or seven miles off which afforded us good sport 
 with duck and snipe. We shot several kinds of 
 the former, viz., the great Indian grey duck, 
 pintail, whistling teal, and common teal. All are 
 good eating except the first, which is coarse and 
 fishy. The inhabitants of the village close to the 
 tank came out in force to stare at us, most of them 
 never having seen a sahib before. I went up to 
 one boy to examine a silver ornament round his 
 neck, but he ran away screaming as if in dread of 
 his life. This state of things will soon come to an 
 end, for the railway is fast approaching, and in 
 another thirty or forty years all the novelty and 
 charm of India will be at an end, when the 
 
PENGUDPAH. 199 
 
 country will be full of hotels and overrun by- 
 Cook's tourists and hoc genus omnia. 
 
 Pengudpah, eight miles off, was our next camp. 
 Never shall I forget the heat of that ride, although 
 taken in the early morning. A hot wind was 
 blowing, the jungle was very dry, and a large tract 
 of it was on fire. The natives fire the jungle at 
 this time of year, in different parts, as it much 
 improves the quality of the grass which comes up 
 with the June rains, but at the same time it is 
 an extravagant method of manuring, for many 
 valuable and beautiful trees are annually destroyed 
 in this way. Often looking out of my tent at 
 night have I seen a whole hill-side ablaze, and much 
 animal and insect life must be thus destroyed. 
 
 We were thankful to see masses of toddy-palms 
 about Pengudpah. What meant toddy to the 
 natives was bread to us, for we used the toddy 
 instead of yeast, and when we could not get it we 
 had to subsist on stale bread and biscuits. 
 
 Many tigers were reported about here, but there 
 was no kill, and again we went duck-shooting on 
 
200 A DANGEROUS SHOT. 
 
 a large tank close to camp. We managed to get 
 eighteen or twenty, although we lost many more 
 in the thick rushes and weeds ; but it was ample 
 for the pot, and after mutton chops and tough 
 chicken they proved a welcome change. 
 
 What might have been a nasty accident, hap- 
 pened to-day. My servant gave me my cartridge- 
 bag with what I supposed to be all shot cartridges, 
 and I loaded my gun without examining them. 
 Paget and I were at opposite sides of the tank, 
 about three hundred yards apart. There were a 
 great many duck on the water, and in order to 
 put them up I told Paget I would fire at them 
 aiming towards him. My astonishment and horror 
 may be imagined when, on firing, I heard the ping 
 of a bullet which ricocheting from the water went 
 within a couple of feet of Paget. He took it very 
 coolly, merely shouting out, ' Please don't do that 
 again.' But it made me feel horribly uncom- 
 fortable. 
 
 At Pengudpah I had my first experience of an 
 Indian storm. It had been oppressively hot all 
 
WHITE ANTS. 201 
 
 day ; at four o'clock we were drinking tea under 
 Lauder s tent when, suddenly, we heard the sound 
 of distant thunder. In another five minutes it 
 was rolling all round us, and suddenly a territic 
 whirlwind encircled us. The tents began to shake. 
 Some of us clung on to the poles, whilst others 
 made for the ropes, but all in vain, for so strong 
 was the wind that the whole tent soon collapsed 
 burying us in the ruins. Luckily no one was 
 much hurt, and as soon as we could scramble out 
 we made for the other tents which were threaten- 
 ing to follow the example of the first. As it was, 
 hats, clothes, papers, and books were flying all 
 about the ground, but in less than half-an-hour 
 the tempest was over and the sun shining again 
 as if nothing had happened. The ground was 
 strewed with green mangoes torn from the trees 
 by the force of the wind, and every chair and 
 table was covered with white ants. These are 
 veritable pests in India, for they destroy every- 
 thing they can get at, and kill the finest trees in 
 the jungle. The fine mango tope we were under 
 
202 AN INDIAN COOK'S RESOURCES. 
 
 was rapidly succumbing to them ; the natives 
 never attempt to put a stop to these ravages. 
 Sometimes I have seen them in thousands coming 
 up my tent ropes, and would place some carbolic 
 acid at the upper end when they would skedaddle 
 as fast as possible. 
 
 We had an example, after the storm to-day, of 
 the skill of Indian cooks in difficulties under 
 which a European would generally collapse. All 
 the fires had been put out, the cooking-tent blown 
 down, and the whole place covered with dust, yet 
 at the usual hour we had a most excellent dinner 
 of soup, fish, mutton cutlets, poulets sautes, curry, 
 and asparagus : not, I think, a bad bill of fare 
 under the circumstances. 
 
 We were rather tired of Pengudpah, and much 
 to Kishtia's disgust determined to move on to 
 Paloncha. Kishtia maintained that we were 
 wrong, and asserted that he knew of lots of tigers 
 about, and that if we would only have patience 
 we should get them. Our time, however, was 
 limited : Herbert had to be back at Poona on 
 
NATIVE ACCOUNTS. 203 
 
 duty the beginning of April, and we were all 
 anxious to push on to the river Godaverry, of 
 whose beauties we had heard so much. We sent 
 on most of the servants at night, and followed as 
 usual in the early morning, reaching our destina- 
 tion after a charming ride of about twelve miles. 
 This was the prettiest camp of the whole expedi- 
 tion, and that is saying a great deal. The tents 
 were pitched under giant mango-trees, and we 
 were surrounded by a lovely jungle, toddy-palms, 
 and a large grass maidan. 
 
 On arriving, we were told marvellous tales of 
 the amount of game in the neighbourhood. They 
 knew of fifty tigers, whilst the sambur and chetal 
 were so thick that they jostled each other in the 
 jungle. But by this time we knew that native 
 accounts must be taken ' cum grano.' Loder's 
 servant told us a wonderful tale of how a bear 
 had come up to him in the jungle during the night 
 and frightened him considerably ; this same boy 
 was about the ugliest specimen of humanity I had 
 ever cast eyes on, and 1 should say that one look 
 
204 NEWS OF A GHARRA. 
 
 of his would be enough to frighten any bear in 
 Hindostan. 
 
 We tied up eighteen beasts the first night, but, 
 in spite of the fifty tigers, none were killed. 
 Kishtia declared that a tiger had come at one of 
 them, but that the bullock had resisted him 
 successfully. How we cursed that bullock ! 
 
 During a walk through the jungle we saw any 
 amount of tiger puds, and began to grow hopeful. 
 We organised a beat for other game, but with our 
 usual bad luck, for two bear and a quantity of 
 jungli buckri (a small antelope with four horns) 
 broke back through the beaters without giving us 
 a shot. The heat was greater to-day than I have 
 ever felt it ; so we were glad to return to camp, but 
 later, getting into the two tongas, we drove off to 
 a tank a couple of miles distant, and shot some 
 wild duck and sand-grouse for dinner. An English 
 mail in the evening somewhat consoled us for the 
 failure of the day. 
 
 The news of a gharra next morning took us out 
 again. The heat was terrific, and the jungle so 
 
DISAPPOINTMENTS IN TIGER-SHOOTING. 205 
 
 thick that no elephants could go through it. Of 
 this I was glad, for I had begun to lose faith in 
 thein for tiger-shooting as practised in the Deccan. 
 I had what is called a machan, or seat made with 
 crossed boughs, rigged up for me in a tree about 
 twenty feet from the ground. The beat began at 
 one o'clock and lasted till three, but we saw 
 nothing. It turned out afterwards that a tigress 
 with two cubs was in the beat, but, the ground 
 being very steep and rocky, the beaters did not 
 keep a good line, and the tiger broke back through 
 them. Tiger-shooting at the best of times requires 
 a good deal of patience, and the sportsman must 
 be prepared for numberless disappointments ; but 
 we felt we had certainly now had more than our 
 share of both, and looked forward eagerly for the 
 turning-point in our luck. 
 
 Herbert, having received orders that he was to 
 rejoin His Royal Highness the Commander-in- 
 Chief, whose aide-de-camp he was, left us to-day. 
 It is always rather sad to break up a pleasant 
 party, but in this case it was doubly so, for he was 
 
206 A LONG AND TIRING JOURNEY. 
 
 so cheery, his spirits so unflagging under trials 
 and disappointments, that we felt rather down in 
 our luck as he rode out of camp at two o'clock. 
 He had a long and tiring journey before him, a 
 ride of sixty miles through the jungle to rail head, 
 and then a jolt in a construction train to Warungal, 
 where he would get into the regular train for 
 Hyderabad. 
 
 That evening we again shot over our tank with 
 success, whilst Mohamet Ismael Khan, the young 
 Nawab, and other native gentlemen, had a beat 
 in the jungle. They saw quantities of chetal, 
 jungli buckri, and pig, but although they fired ten 
 shots between them, did not hit a thing. 
 
 In the middle of the night, whilst sleeping out- 
 side my tent, I was awakened by a noise, and saw 
 a dog rushing through the camp as hard as he 
 could lay legs to the ground. Next morning I 
 was told that a panther had been after him and 
 had passed close to my bed. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 LUCK CONSIDERED WITH REGARD TO SPORT — GREAT QUANTITIES OF BAN- 
 DAH MONKEYS — BUDDRACHELLUM WITH ITS SACRED TEMPLES — NUX 
 VOMICA TREES— MOVE TO BAGGUMALPAH — FIRST SIGHT OFGODAVERRY 
 — GREAT STORM — NATIVES COLLECTING TODDY — VISIT BUDDRACHEL- 
 LUM — FISH FOR MUGGAR— TAKE RIVER TO HUxMWARUM — KHABAR — 
 THENAWAB'STOILtTTE — GYMKANA — BLACK BUCK SHOOTING — I SHOOT 
 BLACK BUCK FROM THE TRAIN IN KATHIAWAR— NAWAB KILLS BIG 
 TIGER — SHOOT MUGGAR. 
 
209 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Up to this time my record, as regards tiger- 
 shooting, has been one almost entirely of failure, 
 principally owing to sheer bad luck. Sport 
 generally entails vicissitudes of fortune, and it is 
 this very uncertainty that makes the blood flow 
 quicker through the veins and lends its great ex- 
 citement to the chase ; but a continual run of bad 
 luck such as we had experienced is very disheart- 
 ening. We had but a limited time before us, and 
 were anxious to make the most of it, so that each 
 successive blank day was harder to bear. Kishtia 
 urged us to have patience and remain where we 
 were, but of course he could not understand our 
 desire to see and do as much as possible in a 
 short time. We had heard glowing accounts of 
 
 p 
 
210 l A SPORTING ELDORADO : 
 
 the river Godaverry, which had been described as a 
 sort of sporting Eldorado, and we wished to push 
 on, so after our failure with the tigress and cubs 
 it was settled that we should go on the next day. 
 Kishtia had good khabar of some tigers at a place 
 called Nagaramat eight miles oiF, and we event- 
 ually came to a compromise by agreeing to halt 
 there, instead of pushing on straight to the 
 river. 
 
 During the ride between these two camps, I 
 came across great quantities of Bandah monkeys, 
 and in an open maidan some eighty or a hundred 
 of all sizes were congregated together. I set spurs 
 to my horse and rode after them. Such a comical 
 sight as they presented I never before witnessed. 
 The big male monkeys trotted off ahead, stopping 
 and looking round every now and then, whilst the 
 females, with young ones clinging to them, 
 brought up the rear. As soon as they reached 
 the jungle, they scrambled up the trees, and 
 looked down with an expression of tranquil 
 security. 
 
OUR CAMP. 211 
 
 Our camp, though under mango-trees, was in a 
 dusty plain close to a huge nullah, and no sooner 
 had we breakfasted than complaints were lodged 
 as to the quality of the water. Lauder made a 
 thorough investigation, and found that nearly all 
 the trees round us were nux vomica, the roots of 
 which penetrated into the water supply and 
 rendered it highly dangerous. Under these cir- 
 cumstances, we made up our minds to strike camp 
 and to move on eight miles to Baggumalpah on 
 the banks of the river Godaverry. This move, 
 made in the heat of the day, was a real scorcher. 
 Most of the horses were tired after the morning 
 ride, so several of us drove in the tongas. 
 
 What with the heat and jolting, I was very glad 
 when we got to our destination, a large plantation 
 of toddy-palms on a cliff looking down on the river 
 Godaverry. This being the dry season, there was 
 but little water, and a large stretch of sand five 
 hundred yards wide, lay on each side of the 
 stream, which during the rains and some months 
 after them is covered with water. On the bank 
 
 p2 
 
212 A HURRICANE. 
 
 just opposite to us, and which is British territory 
 in the Madras Presidency, is the sacred town of 
 Buddrachellum with its temples. Pilgrims visit 
 it from all parts of India, and just at this time a 
 fair and festival were going on. Crowds of natives 
 were crossing the river all day, and the town was 
 then said to contain twelve thousand pilgrims. 
 
 We had not been more than an hour in camp, and 
 the Nawab's was the only tent pitched, when the 
 wind suddenly got up and in a very few minutes 
 increased to a perfect hurricane. Never did I see 
 such dust. During the fifteen minutes that it 
 lasted, the air was black and we were covered 
 from head to foot with a thick coating of dust. 
 We were almost suffocated, and hid in corners for 
 shelter. 
 
 As soon as the wind ceased, the rain came down 
 in torrents, drenching us through and through 
 and turning the dust on us into mud. After half- 
 an-hour was over the storm subsided, and the sun 
 came out again, but the camp was flooded and we 
 were occupied for some time in digging trenches 
 
PARROTS AND WHITE ANTS. 213 
 
 to carry off the water. In spite of these adverse 
 circumstances, we again sat down to a most ex- 
 cellent dinner provided by the wonderful Said 
 Cassem. 
 
 I never saw so many parrots as there were 
 in this camp. Towards sunset they kept fly- 
 ing in, in hundreds, and we shot a good many 
 for practice, as flying high in the air, with a 
 twist, they are by no means easy to hit. The 
 pests of this place were the white ants which had 
 been disturbed by the rain, and spread themselves 
 over the ground, on our clothes, and in our beds, 
 and hardly gave us a moment's peace till I had 
 saturated my tent with carbolic acid. 
 
 Sleeping outside my tent, I woke next morning 
 at daybreak, and was interested in watching the 
 men come round and collect the toddy from the 
 palm-trees. Toddy is made from the sap of the 
 tree. The tops of the flowering sprouts are cut 
 off and chatties* tied round them, the sap, which 
 would naturally run through to nourish the fruit, 
 
 * Earthenware bowls. 
 
214 COLLECTING TODDY FROM THE PALM. 
 
 thus falls into the chattie, and is collected each 
 morning and fermented. The men climb up the 
 tall smooth stems of the tree, with the help of a 
 fibre girdle, and hang the different chatties, as they 
 remove them, to their waists. 
 
 After i chota hazri,' we started for a visit to 
 Buddrachellum on the opposite bank. We walked 
 over the sands to the bed of the river, then, 
 mounting elephants, rode across the stream, 
 which though rapid is only about five feet deep 
 in the ford. It was a curious sight: five elephants, 
 an escort of sowars, and a large following on foot. 
 As soon as we reached the opposite bank, we were 
 met by a band composed of tomtoms and flutes, 
 the latter shrieking out discordant notes and 
 blown with all the might of the players. The 
 streets were crowded, and we rode through the 
 bazaar to the temple, where, seated in a low dur- 
 bar-room, the Nawab had to listen to a long 
 address and petition in Telagu. The sacred 
 jewels were brought out for our inspection, but 
 there was nothing worthy of remark amongst 
 
NATIVES FISHING FOR ALLIGATORS. 215 
 
 them, so, after the usual ceremony of attar and 
 pan,* we were glad to mount our elephants again, 
 and to return to breakfast. 
 
 In the afternoon we drove to a part of the river, 
 about a mile from camp, to see the natives fish for 
 muggar, or alligators, with nets. It is a curious 
 sight, and, when one considers what a dangerous 
 animal a muggar is in the water, one feels it to be 
 an occupation requiring a great deal of pluck and 
 nerve, yet the men and boys brought up to it 
 seem to think nothing of the risk they run. The 
 muggar fishermen have wonderfully sharp sight, 
 and could make out muggars in the water when 
 we could see nothing. As soon as they have 
 spotted one, they jump and frighten him into a 
 corner of the bank, by beating the water and pok- 
 ing at him with bamboo poles, whilst at the same 
 time they shout at the top of their voices. Hav- 
 ing got him into a handy place, they bring out a 
 
 * This is a custom all over India, and consists in placing a wreath 
 of flowers round each visitor's neck, a leaf full of betel-nut in his 
 hand, and a few drops of attar of roses on his handkerchief. Often 
 some bottles of attar of roses are given as well to the departing guest. 
 
216 FLOATING DOWN THE GODAVERRY. 
 
 large-mesh net and gradually draw it closer in 
 towards the muggar, who at first retires to the 
 hollow of the bank, and under the roots of trees, 
 but he is soon poked out, when, in trying to rush 
 off, he gets entangled in the net, and is drawn on 
 shore. I noticed that the men take good care to 
 jump quickly aside when he makes his final rush, 
 as he would snap off their legs with a single bite 
 of his huge jaws. We caught three muggar, the 
 biggest being ten feet long ; a very large one got 
 under the net and away. 
 
 We spent two very pleasant days here, but as 
 time was getting short, and we wished to make up 
 our game-bag, we settled to leave on the 2nd 
 of April for Humwarum, fourteen miles further 
 down the river. By way of a change, Ave hired 
 two native boats, and, having seen all the bullock 
 bandies and boys off by road, proceeded on our 
 journey by water. It was an excessively hot day, 
 but these boats are provided with awnings made 
 of maize and toddy-palm leaves, so that we were 
 not exposed to the fierce ravs of the sun, and 
 
THE NAWAB'S TOILETTE. 217 
 
 amused ourselves shooting ducks, waders, and 
 different kinds of water birds as we floated down- 
 stream. The scenery reminded me very much of 
 the Nile, especially the large sand-banks in the 
 middle of the river, covered with birds of all de- 
 scriptions. At three o'clock we espied our horses 
 and camels on the bank, and, having brought the 
 boats to, landed and rode to camp, which was 
 barely half-a-mile off, in a mango tope at the 
 edge of a jungle which looked decidedly tigerish. 
 Kishtia soon came up with the news that he had 
 seen one close to camp. 
 
 Next morning, whilst lying in bed, I watched 
 the Nawab at his toilette, and was very much 
 amused to see that he had ten men waiting on 
 him : a man for each boot, one for his brush and 
 comb, one holding a glass, another a towel, and 
 so on. It is true Eastern custom for a great man 
 to have all these followers, and he is never left 
 alone for a second — servants told off to supply 
 every single thing he can wish, even a man to 
 tell him stories to send him to sleep at night. 
 
218 A GYMKANA. 
 
 By way of amusement for the servants and 
 camp-followers, we got up another gymkana, and 
 hundreds of the villagers came to see and to join 
 in the sport. The first event was an obstacle 
 race, in which they had to jump over and crawl 
 under hurdles and tent sheeting, ending up with 
 a small barrel with both ends out, through which 
 they had to crawl. Though barely big enough 
 for one man, they would make for it two or three 
 at a time, and got jammed in the middle, so that 
 it was a wonder none of them were seriously 
 injured. This was followed by elephant and 
 camel-races, the meeting winding up with a 
 menagerie race, or animals, each driven by a dif- 
 ferent man, and included sambur, chetal, a wild 
 cat, a dog, a donkey, fowl, frog, and monkey, and 
 was won by the latter, driven by the Nawab. At 
 our various camps, presents of live animals had 
 been made to the Nawab, so by this time he had 
 a large collection round his tent, and the young 
 deer of different sorts had become quite tame, 
 and would follow their keepers anywhere. 
 
BLACK-BUCK SHOOTING. 219 
 
 There were some black buck about here, and 
 Paget was up before daybreak trying to stalk 
 them, but in vain. They are very shy, and when 
 much disturbed almost impossible to approach. 
 I had had some very good black-buck shooting at 
 Indore in January. Captain Norman Franks, the 
 commissioner there, took me out one morning 
 into the Maharajah Holkar's preserves, and on a 
 large plain we once saw quite a thousand buck in 
 different herds. They were very shy, but we got 
 at them by driving quietly about the plain in a 
 native bullock tonga, and, when within a hundred 
 and fifty yards of them, I would slip out with 
 my rifle, and, resting on one knee, get a quick 
 shot, whilst the tonga still moved on, and before 
 they had time to notice me. In this way we killed 
 five fine buck, and came home to breakfast. 
 
 When travelling in Kathiawar in the train, be- 
 tween Wad wan and Vankaneer, I saw large herds 
 of black buck scattered over the plain through 
 which the railway runs, and, having asked the 
 engine-driver to give me notice if a herd was 
 
220 AN ENORMOUS TIGER. 
 
 crossing the line by blowing his whistle twice, I 
 managed to get a shot or two, and knocked over 
 a fine buck with my rifle whilst the train was 
 going at full speed. The buck was sent back for 
 from the next station and bagged. The venison 
 is excellent, and I know few dishes to come up to 
 black-buck neck cutlets. 
 
 Kishtia came in next day to say that a tiger 
 had killed one of our bullocks within two miles 
 of our camp. Paget had first place to-day, and 
 was posted in a tree beside a nullah, the Nawab 
 in a machan on the opposite bank, and I next 
 him on his left. The beat began at two, and was 
 nearly over when I heard the now well-known 
 roar of a tiger, followed by two cracks from the 
 Nawab's rifle, and a shout announcing that the 
 beast was dead. He proved to be an enormous 
 tiger, with the largest forearm I have ever seen, 
 and measuring nine feet six inches. The doctor 
 got out his camera and photographed him as he 
 lay in the nullah. Later on, when he was skinned, 
 we found an old wound with the bullet still in it, 
 
SHOOTING CROCODILES. 221 
 
 and some of the villagers seem to have had an 
 intimate acquaintance with him. 
 
 During the evening, I strolled down to the 
 banks of the river, rifle in hand, and had a shot 
 at a large muggar, as he lay floating in the water, 
 with his back just above the surface. He sank 
 to the shot, and I could never ascertain whether 
 I had hit him or not. It is almost impossible to 
 get the body of a muggar killed in the water, as 
 they invariably sink to the bottom at once, and 
 this I found the case when shooting at crocodiles 
 on the Nile ; but, whether one gets these animals 
 or not, it is always some satisfaction to think that 
 the world may contain one less of these dangerous 
 brutes. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WANT OF VEGETABLES— SETTLE TO MOVE TO PENGUDPAH — LONG RIDE — 
 LOSE OUR WAY — GREAT THIRST — AN AWFUL FIX— JUNGLE SEEMED 
 INTERMINABLE — ARRIVE AT PENGUDPAH — GREAT DAY'S SPORT — 
 FIVE TIGERS BAGGED — MAN KILLED BY TIGRESS — I AM GIVEN A 
 HORNBILL — NATIVE RAILWAY MAGISTRATE — HIS VIEW OF AFFAIRS 
 IN THE DECCAN — DOLLY— CHETAL SHOT— LEAVE PENGUDPAH — 
 BIRDS — ARRIVE AT SEMALPAH. 
 
225 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 One thing we felt the want of, and missed dread- 
 fully in the jungle, was a supply of fresh fruit 
 and vegetables, these, to us, necessaries, being 
 almost totally unknown in India at any distance 
 from large cities. The natives seem quite con- 
 tented as long as they can get their rice, and the 
 only thing in the shape of vegetables which they 
 cultivate to any extent is the chilli. At some 
 places we got bringals, a sort of egg-plant, but 
 they were very few and far between, so that the 
 only green food we could rely on was in tins, and 
 we soon got heartily sick of ' cotelettes a la tinned 
 Gardiner's wife.' Buggallumpah was the only 
 town where we got plantains, and, although these 
 
 Q 
 
226 A GRAND COUNCIL OF WAR. 
 
 were anything but good, we devoured them 
 eagerly, such is the want felt for fresh fruit. 
 
 We now held a grand council of war as to our 
 future plans. It was the 5th of April, and we 
 had to be back in Hyderabad by the 18th at the 
 latest, so that the time was very short. The two 
 questions before us were whether to break fresh 
 ground or to return to Pengudpah, where, although 
 we had not seen a tiger, Kishtia seemed confident 
 we should have good sport. So confident, indeed, 
 was he about it, and so strongly did he urge the 
 matter, that we finally settled on this latter place. 
 Pengudpah was at least thirty, if not thirty-five, 
 miles from our camp, and it was a case of sending 
 off all our things at once, and making up our 
 minds to a long ride the next day ; however, this 
 we regarded lightly, and we were all ready for a 
 start and on our horses at 4.30 a.m. on the 6th 
 of April. 
 
 Knowing we had a long and hot ride before us, 
 I had put a soda-water-bottle full of cold tea, and 
 a few biscuits in a haversack, which I slung 
 
ON THE BACK TRAIL. 227 
 
 round my shoulders. The Nawab had told us 
 the night before that the road had been chumaned 
 as usual, but after the first half-mile we were 
 quite at fault and could see no white stones ; 
 however, some natives whom we came across put 
 us on a track with the stones clearly marked out. 
 Most of our party went on quickly ahead, but 
 Lauder and I followed at a gentle amble, for 
 which these horses are so famous. By some 
 negligence on the part of my boy, my bottle of 
 tea had not been properly corked, and with the 
 jogging of the horses the stopper came out alto- 
 gether, drenching me ; but of this I did not so 
 much care as for the loss of the drink, for, as 
 the sun was getting very powerful, I felt I should 
 soon require some refreshment. 
 
 At a quarter-past eight, having ridden, as we 
 supposed, about sixteen miles, we were again at 
 fault, and were, moreover, much surprised to see 
 Paget and Loder riding back towards us. Our 
 disgust may be imagined when we discovered that 
 all this time we had been riding on the back trail 
 
 Q2 
 
228 A HOT MARCH. 
 
 laid down from our last camp. We had not 
 discovered our mistake before this, for we came 
 by river the last day and therefore did not recog- 
 nise the country ; but now, there sure enough was 
 the grove of toddy palms not half-a-mile off, 
 and on the opposite bank the temple of 
 Buddrachellum. 
 
 Our faces fell, for we were in an awful fix. 
 Our horses were tired, the sun was scorching, 
 and we were just as far from camp as when we 
 started in the morning. Moreover, the track 
 was not marked, and our only way of getting to 
 Lingumpallah, fourteen miles off, and where our 
 change of horses were waiting for us, was by 
 hiring a native to show us the way, and following 
 him at foot's pace. 
 
 Never shall I forget the heat of that march. My 
 throat was so parched that for my bottle of cold 
 tea I would have given its weight in gold. My 
 horse was so done that he nearly came down on 
 his nose three times, and the only way I could 
 keep him going at all was by digging him with 
 
AT LAST! 229 
 
 my spurs. The jungle seemed interminable. 
 Passing along mile after mile through these 
 dried-up trees and bushes, fearfully damaged by 
 white ants, the dried leaves crackling underfoot, 
 and a blazing sun overhead, reminded me very 
 forcibly of one of Gustav Dore's weird pictures. 
 
 At last, about half-past eleven, we saw a large 
 clump of toddy-palms, and we met several buffalo 
 in the jungle, both sure signs that we were near- 
 ing some village. Digging our jaded beasts with 
 our spurs, we were soon at Lingumpallah. My 
 tongue clove to the roof of my mouth, and I 
 could not speak. Some Brahmins brought us 
 milk, but it was boiling hot, and they would not 
 let us drink out of the chatty, so we were in 
 despair. 
 
 Just then it struck me to ask them whether they 
 had seen anything of our horses, and we got the 
 joyful news that the Nawab was breakfasting 
 under a mango tope not two hundred yards off, 
 and that the horses were all there too. Never 
 shall I forget the delight of finding milk, soda- 
 
230 PENGUDPAH. 
 
 water, and fresh limes. We poured down the 
 liquid in buckets-full before we could speak, and 
 then explained the mistake we had made. The 
 Nawab had not left camp till two hours after us, 
 and had enjoyed his breakfast under the shade of 
 the tope at the end of an easy ride, and could 
 afford to laugh at our misfortunes. 
 
 But we still had sixteen miles before us, so we 
 could not waste much time. I got on a favourite 
 Arab called 'Humdum,' who at first was very 
 fresh, but the heat was so great that he soon 
 caved in, and towards the end of the ride first 
 came down on his nose, and then went through 
 the disagreeable performance of stumbling with 
 his hind legs. However, at one o'clock we got 
 safely to the camp at Pengudpah, and after more 
 drink we got off our things, tubbed, and lay down 
 in our tents till five, when taking up our guns 
 we paid a visit to our old tank, and shot a 
 quantity of wild duck and teal for dinner. 
 
 And now I come to an account of the most 
 successful day's sport of the expedition, though, 
 
A SUCCESSFUL DAY. 231 
 
 unfortunately, a melancholy accident robbed it 
 of a good deal of its pleasure. 
 
 On the morning of Thursday, the 7th of April, 
 Kishtia came in to report a ' Gharra,' and added 
 that, as nearly the whole animal was eaten, he 
 thought that there must be more than one tiger 
 in the place. 
 
 We had great difficulty in collecting beaters, 
 as the villagers were very shy, but, by pressing 
 in the services of the bandy-wallahs* and other 
 camp followers, we mustered one hundred and 
 twenty men. These were not many, but we 
 supplemented them by sending all the elephants 
 into the beat. We left the camp at half-past 
 twelve, and rode through three miles of jungle 
 before coming to our places, which were near 
 a dry nullah, and with a fine clear space in 
 front, through which the animal could be easily 
 seen. The Nawab and Loder were to be in a 
 large machan in the same tree at the left of 
 the line ; but, after two or three unsuccessful 
 
 • Drivers of the bullock-carts. 
 
232 ATTENTION! 
 
 attempts, the Nawab gave it up, as the tree was 
 too high for him, and went to one nearly behind me. 
 I, having first place, was in a good tree fifty yards 
 to Loder's right, whilst Paget was the same dis- 
 tance to my right, and Lauder again beyond him. 
 I had been an hour-and-a-quarter in my tree, 
 had drank nearly the whole of my chargul of 
 water, and was nearly driven wild by the small 
 bees which settled about me, and tickled me 
 dreadfully, when I heard the first tom-tom. This 
 brought me to attention, and a very few minutes 
 afterwards a tiger came out about one hundred 
 and twenty yards to my left front. I made 
 sure he would come straight to me, but some- 
 thing startled him, and he entered some thick 
 bushes, making towards Paget. I gave him both 
 barrels of my *500 Express ; but I must have 
 gone over him, for he never stopped, but, going 
 straight for Paget's tree, was despatched by him 
 when not six yards off. No sooner was this 
 over, than I saw another tiger coming towards 
 me. I fired, and this time he stopped dead 
 
UP A TREE 
 
ANOTHER TIGER. 233 
 
 short, and gave a 'whuff ! whuff!' sure sign that 
 he was hit. However, he seemed soon to recover, 
 and, turning towards Paget, halted midway be- 
 tween us, looking at the former. I was very 
 awkwardly situated for shooting in his direction, 
 and was just getting my legs round for a shot, 
 when Paget fired, and sent him into the nullah 
 behind, where he seemed to receive a warm recep- 
 tion from the Nawab and his party, who gave 
 him three shots between them. 
 
 Again I turned to my front, and saw a tiger 
 coming within thirty yards of me. I fired and 
 knocked him over. I could see I had broken 
 his spine, and he looked up at me with a terrible 
 grin on his face. 1 gave him another shot with 
 my ten bore, and killed him. I had barely time 
 to load, when still again another tiger came 
 on. I fired a snap shot, and hit him in the 
 back near the tail. He bled profusely, but went 
 on towards Paget, who fired two shots without 
 stopping him ; and I saw him disappear in the 
 nullah, when the Nawab again shot. Paget now 
 
23<1 A MAN WOUNDED. 
 
 got a shot at a fifth tiger, which I did not 
 see, and soon after the beaters came up. 
 
 With the help of an elephant, I got out of my 
 tree. We ought now all to have assembled, 
 sent the beaters into trees, and walked up in 
 line to the wounded tigers, whose whereabouts, 
 with the help of the elephants, we should have 
 soon discovered; but, to our dismay, just at 
 this moment we heard a rifle shot, followed by 
 a tiger's roar, and found that the Nawab had 
 gone on on his elephant, independently, after a 
 wounded tiger. This was a dangerous proceed- 
 ing ; for all the men were about, and the enraged 
 beast would be sure to attack the first man he 
 could lay hold of. 
 
 Everyone was alarmed, and, sure enough, we 
 had not long to wait, for just then a shikari ran 
 towards us saying that a wounded tigress had 
 killed one of the men. Walking carefully, with 
 our rifles at full cock, we went to the spot and 
 there found the poor wretch, who was a body- 
 servant of the Nawab's, not dead but fearfully 
 
FIVE TIGERS BAGGED. 235 
 
 wounded. His scalp was nearly torn off and 
 hanging over his face, he had a huge bite in the 
 neck, and a very bad wound in the arm, which 
 exposed the biceps. We made him get up and 
 walk to the elephants ; he was quite sensible, and 
 got into one of the howdahs, which took him off 
 at once to camp. The tigress had gone on, but, 
 after four or five more shots from the Nawab, 
 was despatched, and we found her stone dead 
 under a tree. The other tiger was dead in the 
 nullah, so that we had now bagged all five. The 
 shikari declared that there was a sixth tiger in 
 the beat, but none of us saw anything of him. 
 
 In tiger-shooting whoever draws first blood 
 claims the animal. I had therefore got three, 
 and Paget two of those killed to-day. 
 
 We laid out the five tigers close to the spot 
 where they had been killed, and Lauder took a 
 photograph of us with our game, which proved 
 to be a tigress and four full-grown cubs. 
 
 We rode back to camp and went to see Lauder 
 dress the poor man's wounds. He was a fearful 
 
236 THE WOUNDED MAN DIES. 
 
 sight, but bore the pain without flinching, 
 Lauder told me that eight out of ten Europeans 
 would die at once under the circumstances, but 
 he has great faith in a native subject owing 
 to the very healthy life they lead and from 
 the fact that they take no stimulants and eat 
 very little meat, thereby keeping their blood 
 cool. 
 
 Next morning, early, Lauder and I went over 
 to see how he was. The people who had sat up 
 with him said he had passed a very bad night, 
 and was continually getting up and imagining 
 • that he was wrestling with the tiger. At the 
 time we went in to see him he was unconscious, 
 but his pulse was very strong. However, an hour 
 afterwards Lauder was again sent for, and re- 
 turned to tell me that the poor fellow was dead. 
 The shock to his system must have been tremend- 
 ous, and he seems to have gone out suddenly at 
 the end. He, it seems, has no one to blame but 
 himself; he had been warned that it was simply 
 madness to follow the track of a wounded tiger, 
 
A NATIVE RAILWAY MAGISTRATE. 237 
 
 but he would listen to no one, and wished to show 
 the Nawab how keen he was. 
 
 This tragic circumstance threw a complete gloom 
 over the camp, but the natives never waste much 
 time in grieving. At twelve o'clock he was 
 buried, and after that no one seemed to think 
 anything more about it. 
 
 The Nawab made me the present of a live 
 Hornbill which had been brought into camp. The 
 poor thing had had an eye poked out, but other- 
 wise was in perfect health. I sent for a lot of 
 jungle fruit, which it ate freely. It was certainly 
 a most uncanny bird to look at, but soon got 
 tame. 
 
 One of the native railway magistrates came in 
 to pay his respects to the Nawab, and was invited 
 to stay with us for a few days. He was an intelli- 
 gent man, speaking English fluently, having served 
 the British government in the North-West Pro- 
 vinces for some years before entering the Nizam's 
 service. I was very glad to have a talk with him 
 on the state of the native population in the 
 
238 NAWAB VIKAli UL UMRA. 
 
 Nizam's dominions. He greatly deplored the 
 state of the country where we were shooting, and 
 told me that the jungle now covers vast tracts of 
 valuahle land which used to be in a high state 
 of cultivation and yielding large crops, that 
 there are a great number of old wells and tanks 
 all over the country which, though now . dry 
 through neglect, might be restored at a small 
 expense, thereby bringing the country to its 
 former prosperity; for, as I think I mentioned 
 before, water is the only thing required to 
 fertilize any Indian soil. He was a great advocate 
 for peasant proprietorship, and I am of his 
 opinion, for, from what I have observed in my 
 wanderings, a man always takes more pride and 
 pains in what is his own. The Nizam's territories 
 are divided amongst feudal chiefs, of whom the 
 Nawab Vikar Ul Umra is one of the most 
 powerful; we came across large villages and 
 districts belonging to him, and over whose 
 inhabitants he has power of life and death. He 
 is obliged to keep up two regiments at his own 
 
OFFERINGS TO THE NAWAB. 239 
 
 expense, one of cavalry and one of infantry, and 
 to pay besides a large sum yearly to retainers and 
 pensioners whom he cannot possibly dismiss, 
 though they are of little or no service to him ; 
 therefore, although his income is very large, a 
 great portion of it is spent in this way, and he is 
 unable to make the reforms and improvements 
 which his cultivated and educated mind would 
 suggest. 
 
 Whilst I was talking to this official, a number 
 of men came in with a dolly or offering for the 
 Nawab, consisting of a live peacock and a young 
 jungli buckri, or four-horned antelope. These 
 presents were continually arriving, until the 
 Nawab possessed a regular menagerie. This 
 afternoon we inspected all the animals, and found 
 that they consisted of three sambur, seven chetal, 
 or spotted deer, one jungli buckri, one monkey, 
 two muggars, and several jungle-fowl and pea- 
 cock. The muggars were tied by a rope to a 
 tree and continually drenched with water ; they 
 looked very unhappy and soon died. The Nawab 
 
240 ON THE MOVE TO SEMALPAH. 
 
 gave me three of the chetal, which are now all 
 living and doing well at Windsor Castle. 
 
 During the afternoon Mahomet Ismael Khan 
 rode into camp in an excited state, having shot a 
 fine buck chetal. It was in the velvet and in 
 good condition, so we dined that night on venison 
 cutlets, which were excellent. 
 
 Kishtia came in to say that the villagers had 
 been so terrified by yesterday's fatal accident that 
 even if we had a kill it would be impossible to 
 get beaters, and he therefore advised us to move 
 on. He had been so correct in all his previous 
 advice that we determined to be guided by what 
 he said, and, as he had a great hankering after 
 Semalpah, we settled to strike camp and to move 
 off there the next day. 
 
 The Nawab and his followers went on soon after 
 daybreak, but we breakfasted comfortably and 
 started at ten o'clock, my first horse being a bay 
 Arab, called c Bairam,' very showy, but much 
 more suitable for the parade than the jungle. 
 The ride was decidedly hot, and we were glad to 
 
JUNGLE SCENERY. 241 
 
 halt half-way, where we changed horses, and had 
 taken the precaution to send on some refreshment. 
 The jungle scenery was very striking, with its 
 fine trees and clumps of bamboos, and I saw 
 several jungli buckri, hares, and pretty birds. 
 As a rule, although India teams with animal 
 life, nothing is to be seen during the hot hours 
 of the day, but between six and nine o'clock 
 in the morning the whole place seems alive with 
 peacock, jungle-fowl, coppersmith and brain-fever 
 birds, and doves calling, but after that they dis- ^« 
 appear until the cool of the evening. 
 
 We reached Semalpah at half-past three, just 
 a month to the day on which we had left it, and 
 were told by the villagers that thirty-one head 
 of cattle had been taken by tigers since we had 
 been gone. I found my hornbill, which I had 
 sent on, very well, and feeding satisfactorily, and 
 I wasted a good deal of time in watching this 
 solemn-looking bird. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 IN OUR FIRST CAMP AGAIN — SOWAR RETURNS FROM HERBERT— JUNGLE- 
 FOWL, PARTRIDGES, SPUR-FOWL — LANGOOR MONKEY — PARADISE 
 FLY-CATCHERS — ■ SOLDIER'S PHEASANT ' NOT FIGURED IN GOULD'S 
 ' BIRDS OF ASIA ' — GREAT HEAT— GHARRA — TIGER MISSED — TWO 
 GHARRAS — BOTH UNSUCCESSFUL BEATS — ISMAEL KHAN BAGS TWO 
 TIGERS — RIDE TO GALA — HORNBILL DIES — FAREWELL TO KISHTIA — 
 RAILWAY — MONKEY AND DOG — HEAT IN TRAIN — MR. SHEFFER AT 
 MANKOTA — ARRIVE AT WARUNGUL — FORTIFICATIONS — PARSEE OFFI- 
 CIAL — CARPETS AND CUTLERY — ANILINE DYES— COLONIAL EXHIBI- 
 TION STIMULATED TRADE — SLEEP IN TRAIN — ARRIVE AT HYDERABAD 
 — GOLD MOHUR TREES — CROWD AT HYDERABAD STATION — DR. AND 
 MRS. LAUDER — LEAVE FOR POONA — CLIMATE OF POONA — LEAVE 
 FOR MAHABLESHWAR— SCENERY ON THE ROAD — PANCHGANNI— PRO- 
 DUCE— STRAWBERRIES— WANT OF GARDENS IN INDIA — ARRIVE AT 
 MAHABLESHWAR — WOODLAWN — BULBULS. 
 
 R 2 
 
245 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 It seemed very odd to be back in the same place 
 in which we had spent so many fruitless days at 
 the beginning of our expedition, and which we 
 had been so eager to leave, never wishing to see 
 it again. The only change we could discover in 
 it since our departure was in the mewah-trees 
 underneath which our tents were pitched. Their 
 sweet flowers had turned to pods, and we looked 
 in vain for green pigeons, or even for the lovely 
 blossom-headed parakeets (Palceorius Rosa) of 
 which I had seen so many on our former visit. 
 
 The sowar who had accompanied Herbert on 
 his return to rail head rejoined us here. He 
 reported that, whilst riding through the jungle 
 not far from our present camp, they came across 
 
246 SONNERALS JUNGLE-FOWL. 
 
 a tiger thirty yards from them. Being both 
 unarmed, they turned their horse's heads before 
 he saw them, and, making a detour, gave the 
 dangerous customer a wide berth ; for, although 
 tigers seldom attack people in cold blood, cases 
 of it have been known. 
 
 We were up early the morning after our arrival 
 to shoot jungle-fowl and partridges for the pot, 
 and organised a beat down the nullah, which was 
 successful in so far that we got several birds, and 
 some spur-fowl as well. The jungle-fowl of these 
 parts is what is known to naturalists as Sonnerals 
 jungle-fowl, or Gallus Sonnerati, and is quite 
 different from the species found in the Terrai. 
 It is a handsomer bird, and has beautiful hackels, 
 ending with tips which look like yellow wax. 
 These hackels are much prized by salmon fisher- 
 men for tying flies, and I brought home a good 
 many. The grey partridge, which is common 
 here, is much like the English bird, but has no 
 horseshoe mark on its breast, and, moreover, it 
 often flies up and settles in trees. I shall never 
 
A BIG LANGOOR MONKEY. 247 
 
 forget how astonished I was the first time I saw 
 a partridge sitting on a branch. The spur-fowl 
 are something between a partridge and a hen of a 
 reddish colour, and are known as the Rufous 
 spur-fowl, or Galloperdix Spadiceus. Some of 
 our beaters caught two young ones about a fort- 
 night old, and the Nawab placed them under a 
 coop with a hen and brood of chickens, but they 
 were very wild and would not feed. 
 
 On this occasion we saw several jungli buckri, 
 but, as usual, they broke back, and we did not 
 get a shot. 
 
 I was much amused by a big langoor monkey, 
 who came up and sat in a tree not three yards 
 from me without having seen me. At first I 
 remained quite still and watched him ; then, 
 making a little noise, he turned round, and, in 
 his alarm at discovering my vicinity, put on so 
 comical an expression that I fairly burst out 
 laughing. These monkeys have beautiful silky 
 coats, and are sometimes shot for them ; but I 
 never could bring myself to fire at one. One 
 
248 ' THE SOLDIER'S PHEASANT: 
 
 day, in riding from camp to camp, Tsmael Khan 
 came across a large troop of them in an open 
 maidan. He rode for one of the biggest, and, on 
 getting alongside of him, leaned over his horse, 
 seized the monkey by his tail, and swung him 
 completely round. This was no mean feat with 
 his horse going at full speed. 
 
 I now for the first time saw the Paradise 
 flycatchers (Muscepeta Paradisi). Their bodies 
 are about two inches, while their tails are fully 
 a foot long, and consist of two feathers. The 
 males are white, with emerald-green heads and 
 crests, whereas the females are of a bronze colour. 
 I thought them the most graceful and lovely 
 birds I had ever seen, and shot two as specimens ; 
 but, alas! my No. 2 shot blew them to pieces, 
 and so it was useless trying for any more. But 
 that morning I obtained two fine specimens of 
 the bird vulgarly called the c soldier's pheasant,' 
 and which is a kind of magpie, with indigo- 
 coloured head and body, with cinnamon wings 
 and tail. It is common all over India, and its 
 
HOT WEATHER. 249 
 
 deep note was always to be heard in our com- 
 pound at Poona; but, although I have searched 
 through Gould's ' Birds of Asia/ I cannot find 
 it figured. In fact, I miss a good many common 
 Indian birds, such as the coppersmith, kingcrow, 
 and even the great hornbill, in that work. 
 
 The weather was now hotter than ever. We 
 had two thunderstorms, but that did not cool 
 the atmosphere ; and it was very trying work 
 sitting all day in our tents with nothing to do. 
 We had brought out a largish stock of light 
 literature, but, owing to the number of blank 
 days, it was pretty nearly exhausted ; so we had 
 to devise various methods of getting through 
 the time, such as shooting at marks and vultures 
 with our rifles, and getting up little gymkanas. 
 
 At last, after four days, Kishtia reported a 
 'gharra' in a part of the jungle not more than 
 a mile from camp. We were all in our various 
 trees, I being to the right of the line, where, 
 before the beat had begun, one of the stops 
 close to me sprung his rattle ; and this was 
 
250 TWO MORE TIGERS. 
 
 immediately followed by the roar of a tiger, 
 who, having been disturbed, was sneaking out 
 of the beat. The noise of the rattle turned 
 him towards the Nawab, who, however, missed 
 him, and sent him running on to the young 
 Nawab's tree. Here three shots were fired with- 
 out effect, and he went off none the worse, but 
 much to our disgust. 
 
 There seemed to be a fate against our getting 
 a tiger at Semalpah, and this was still further 
 illustrated by events in the subsequent two days. 
 After our recent bad luck, we resolved to go 
 on to Gala as soon as possible, and so sent on 
 spare tents, luggage, and everything not actually 
 necessary ; that is to say, we kept one change 
 of clothes and one rifle apiece, in case of acci- 
 dents. We were up at six, and just thinking 
 of starting, when a sowar rode in to say that 
 there had been two gharras during the night. 
 One in the same place as the last, and the other 
 six miles off. This changed all our plans. We 
 could not possibly go away with the chance of 
 
OUR FIRST BEAT. 251 
 
 adding two more tigers to our bag; but the 
 difficulty was to decide how we were to manage 
 the two beats that day. For, although we our- 
 selves could easily do it on horseback, it must 
 be remembered that it takes some time to move 
 three hundred beaters through the jungle. 
 
 We held a council of war, and eventually 
 decided to take the far gharra first, come back 
 towards camp to the near one, then, sleeping 
 in our tents for one more night, to leave for 
 Gala next morning at daybreak. All our things 
 having gone on, this involved some discomfort, 
 but we were willing to put up with that for the 
 sake of two more skins. 
 
 We started off for our first beat at half-past 
 eight, but had great difficulty in getting beaters. 
 Eventually we reached our trees, and were ready 
 by one o'clock. I never saw so many peacocks 
 as in this beat. They kept streaming out, like 
 pheasants in England when driven to a corner ; 
 but, alas ! there was no tiger. He had had his 
 meal and gone off. 
 
252 NOTHING CAME OF IT 
 
 With as little loss of time as possible, we were 
 ao-ain on our horses and made for the other beat. 
 The Nawab was not keen enough to come with 
 us, and he and his following rode straight off to 
 Gala, about thirty miles, where he would find 
 everything comfortable. Ismael Khan also left 
 us on a little expedition of his own to our 
 second camp, which was not five miles from our 
 present position, and later on I had the news 
 that he had bagged two tigers there to his own 
 rifle. 
 
 We got to our beat at half-past four. This 
 was much too late in the day to expect sport, but 
 it was worth chancing. I was in a beautiful 
 white tree, perched about twenty feet from the 
 ground, with a clear space all round, in fact it 
 was the very tree from which the Nawab had had 
 his shot two days before, but, alas ! nothing came 
 out. It was some time after the beat before they 
 came to me with the ladder, and in the mean- 
 while I amused myself by carving my name and 
 the date, April 15th, 1887, ' 'Arry ' fashion, on the 
 
ON TO GALA. 253 
 
 tree. I wonder if anyone will ever sit in that 
 tree tiger-shooting. It is a beautiful place, and 
 if anyone ever does occupy it, I hope he may 
 have better luck than I did. 
 
 We felt very down on our luck on returning to 
 camp. This was our last day's shooting, and we 
 were so much in hopes of ending the expedition 
 with a good bag. 
 
 We had a long day before us, so were up at 
 half-past four, and rode through Singarenny to 
 Gala, following our old track. It was melancholy 
 to pass all the land-marks which we remembered 
 nearly two months ago, and to think that our 
 expedition was now at an end. We had expected 
 to get a bigger bag, but still, taken as a whole, 
 we had not done badly ; for we had accounted for 
 thirteen tigers, one panther, and a bear, and there 
 is no doubt that if we had had average good 
 luck we should have got from twenty to twenty- 
 five tigers, which was what we expected would 
 have been our number. 
 
 At eight o'clock we reached our old camp 
 
254 MY POOR HORN BILL. 
 
 under the big mango tope of Gala. The railway 
 had got on a pace during the last seven weeks 
 and was now not half-a-mile off, and a special 
 train was in waiting. 
 
 After breakfast, all the shikari came in to say 
 good-bye, and to ask for certificates. We were 
 delighted to give first-rate characters to old 
 Kishtia and his son-in-law, Lucksnia, both most 
 excellent and painstaking men, doing all they 
 knew to show us sport, and never sparing them- 
 selves. At eleven o'clock we drove to the station, 
 and found Mr. Moles worth had come down for us. 
 I congratulated him on the progress made in the 
 line, and he told me they were doing all they 
 could to get it to Singarenny, where so much coal 
 was waiting ready to be taken off. This line 
 was only costing in its construction about three 
 thousand pounds per mile, whereas the line to 
 Wadi, though not a bit better made, had through 
 mismanagement cost ten thousand pounds per 
 mile. 
 
 My poor hornbill died this morning ; of this I 
 
AT MANKOTA. 255 
 
 was very sorry, for he had become much tamer 
 and seemed getting reconciled to captivity ; but 
 the jolting at night in a small basket on a camel 
 proved fatal to him. I had collected numerous 
 pets in the jungle, but they had all died off 
 except my monkey, which grew tamer every day 
 and was now a very decent size, and afforded 
 great amusement to everyone in camp. The 
 Nawab had a second monkey, which had grown 
 so fond of a big dog that he was quite miserable 
 if taken away from him, and they used always to 
 go about together, the monkey's chains attached 
 to the dog's collar, and the monkey himself riding 
 on the dog's back. 
 
 The day was very hot, my glass in the railway- 
 carriage went up to one hundred degrees, but by 
 this time we were so used to heat that it did not 
 distress us much. At Mankota, one of the stations 
 on the line, and the scene of many of Dr. Lauder's 
 shikar feats, Mr. Sheffer, another engineer and a 
 great shikari, came to the station. The night 
 before our arrival he had shot two large panthers 
 
256 WARUNGAL. 
 
 right and left, and we went on to his tent, about 
 fifty yards off, to see them. He also showed us 
 the skin of a very large muggar which he had 
 caught in the tank close by, and, on Paget's ad- 
 miring it, he presented it to him. Further on, 
 at another station, we got out again and had tea 
 with the engineer, arriving eventually at Warun- 
 gal about five o'clock. 
 
 Warungal, the capital of this part of the 
 Deccan, is an interesting old place, and was 
 formerly of great importance. It was very 
 strongly fortified, and the outside lines cover a 
 space of twenty-seven miles, whilst, besides this, 
 there were two inner lines of fortifications. 
 
 The head official, a Parsee, speaking English 
 fluently, met us at the station to pay his respects 
 to the Nawab and to see if he could be of any 
 use. 
 
 Warungal is now famous for its carpet and 
 cutlery manufactures. A large collection of both 
 was spread out for our inspection near the station. 
 The Nawab presented us each with a carpet, and 
 
• PUCKAR ' CARPETS. 257 
 
 I bought one or two more. They are very pretty, 
 but it is a great pity that they use aniline dyes 
 in the manufacture. The colours are very 
 brilliant but never last, and will come off when 
 rubbed with a wet rag ; however, the natives are 
 always taken with gaudy-looking things, and thus 
 their sale is insured. This Parsee gentleman, 
 whose name I regret to say I forget, takes a great 
 interest in the progress and prosperity of Warun- 
 gal, and for that reason has issued an order for- 
 bidding the use of these dyes, and imposing a 
 fine when the order is disobeyed. It would be a 
 very good thing were his example followed 
 throughout India, where aniline dyes are so much 
 in vogue. The carpets with fast colours are 
 always known as being ' puckar ' ones. The 
 knives, daggers, &c, are well-made, although the 
 steel is not so good as those of English manufac- 
 ture ; but I think Warungal has a great future 
 before it, and, now that the railway is opening 
 out, the whole country trade will rapidly increase. 
 There is no doubt that the Colonial Exhibition 
 
 s 
 
258 DEMAND FOR INDIAN MANUFAC1 URES. 
 
 of 1886 has done a great deal towards stimulating 
 trade and manufactures throughout India, for it 
 brought products of the country to the notice of 
 thousands of people who had never seen them. 
 Labour being cheap, most of these articles can be 
 supplied at very reasonable rates in England, in 
 fact I have frequently seen Indian products 
 offered for sale in London shops for the same 
 price as I was asked for them out there. I feel 
 confident also that the Imperial Institute, when 
 completed, w T ill do a great deal towards this good 
 and important work. 
 
 We dined in a tent near the station, and 
 thoroughly enjoyed the luxury of an iced c peg ' 
 after so many days of lukewarm soda-water in 
 the j ungle ; then returning early to our railway- 
 carriages, which had been shunted to the siding, 
 we turned in for the night. 
 
 Next morning saw us all up soon after day- 
 break. The vendors of carpets surrounded the 
 train and did a good trade with the Nawab's 
 suite, who took back many as presents to their 
 
GOLD MOHUR-TREES. 259 
 
 families, and, in selecting them, I noticed that 
 they chose those with the brilliant aniline dyes. 
 
 I telegraphed for a room at the Poona Club, 
 and, after a breakfast winding up with iced Bom- 
 bay mangos, the king of fruits, which had been 
 sent up as a present to the Nawab, we left for 
 Hyderabad at nine o'clock, arriving after a hot 
 and very slow journey at 5.20 p.m. At the Secun- 
 derabad station, I saw for the first time in my 
 life the beautiful gold mohur-trees in full bloom, 
 and was very much impressed by the sight of an 
 avenue of them. They were one mass of flower, 
 some being of a golden and others of a deep red 
 colour. They are a very favourite tree about 
 here, and are planted at the sides of many of 
 the roads, where they give a brilliant tone to 
 the landscape. 
 
 An immense crowd had assembled at Hydera- 
 bad station to greet the Nawab on his return 
 home, and as the train drew up they prostrated 
 themselves in front of him, salaaming and taxiring. 
 Here, with regret, we bade good-bye to our hos- 
 
 s 2 
 
260 AT POONA. 
 
 pitable host, and drove off to Dr. Lauder's house, 
 the Nawab, before leaving, having begged the 
 loan of all our trophies to show to the ladies of 
 his zenana, who were, we heard, much interested 
 in the results of our expedition. 
 
 I should have much liked to stay again for a 
 few days at Hyderabad, and Dr. and Mrs. Lauder 
 were kind and pressing in their invitations for 
 me to remain, but I was obliged to hurry off 
 to Poona, and Mahableshwar, so I left by the 
 quarter-to-nine train next morning, arriving in due 
 time at Poona, where I had two days hard work 
 before me, packing up and sending to England my 
 purchases, presents, and hunting-trophies, before 
 starting for Mahableshwar, the hill-station seventy 
 miles off, and five thousand feet above the sea, 
 where I was to rejoin their Royal Highnesses the 
 Duke and Duchess of Connaught. 
 
 The climate of Poona, I must say, is delightful, 
 and personally I should never wish for cooler 
 weather than one gets there ; but of course the 
 hills are more bracing, and so everyone who can get 
 
TO MAHABLESHWAR. 2GL 
 
 away flies to them at this season of the year. 
 It was now the height of the hot weather, but 
 the club at which I stayed was always pleasant, 
 and I did not require a punkah in my bed-room, 
 as one does in most parts of India ; there were 
 no mosquitoes to trouble one at night, and the 
 thermometer never rose above ninety-one degrees 
 in the house, though that meant a good many 
 more degrees in the sun. 
 
 I decided to travel by night to Mahableshwar, 
 and hired a tonga and a phaeton ; in the former 
 I put my heavy luggage, servant, and monkey, 
 whilst I went in the latter. They had arranged 
 some boards across it on which I laid my bedding 
 and pillows, so that it was far from uncomfort- 
 able, and I slept nearly all through the night, 
 waking, however, to see the glorious sun rise in 
 the ghauts. 
 
 I was then about thirty miles from Mahable- 
 shwar. The road is very steep, and extra 
 horses have to be put on, and even then these 
 poor lean brutes require a great deal of urg- 
 
262 LOVELY SCENERY. 
 
 ing and physical arguments to do their work. 
 The scenery is quite lovely. Mountain rises 
 beyond mountain, and one gazes right down into 
 the plain several thousand feet, and sees the 
 cultivation of various crops, whilst higher up is 
 nothing but dense green jungle. The soil is of a 
 bright red colour, and gives a warm glow to the 
 whole scene, whilst the atmosphere is so clear that 
 I could see the sea forty-two miles away. 
 
 The trees are covered with orchids, hyd ranges, 
 roses, and a beautiful flower both white and 
 yellow, and the gardenia montana grow about 
 the hedgerows. Altogether it was a lovely and 
 refreshing scene, especially to anyone coming up 
 from the hot plains, and I could quite realise now 
 what the hills meant to people who had been struck 
 down by illness, and were ordered there to recruit 
 their health. 
 
 About ten miles from Mahableshwar a very 
 pretty village is reached, called Panchganni, 
 which much reminds one of England, with its 
 neat cottages and villas studded about. Here 
 
MARKET-GARDENS. 263 
 
 the extra horses are taken off, for the great 
 piece of collar work is over, and here, too, I 
 had some chota hazri at the dak bungalow before 
 finishing my journey. The rest of my drive was 
 through alternate patches of cultivated land and 
 green jungle, the whole watered by a running 
 stream winding about through grassy banks like 
 an English brook. It is in this district that most 
 of the potatoes consumed in the Bombay Presi- 
 dency are grown ; and two enterprising China- 
 men, some years back, had the brilliant idea of 
 starting some market-gardens here, and of grow- 
 ing strawberries. It proved a highly remuner- 
 ative speculation, and is now one of the features 
 of the place. Small native children ran after 
 the carriage with baskets of strawberries, rasp- 
 berries, and melons, offering them for a mere 
 trifle. 
 
 It is a curious fact that Englishmen, who at 
 home are so fond and proud of their gardens, in 
 India rarely think of cultivating such a thing, 
 and in most districts it is very difficult to get 
 
264 COLONEL RAWLINS. 
 
 fresh fruit and vegetables. When I was in Hy- 
 derabad, I was told that all the best vegetables 
 I saw there came from Ootacamund in the Neil- 
 gherry hills ; and here, at Mahableshwar, all the 
 pretty little bungalows are surrounded by dense 
 green jungle a few feet from the hall door without 
 the vestige of an attempt to a garden. 
 
 The approach to Mahableshwar is lovely. Pass- 
 ing by a lake, the road runs through a shade 
 of thick evergreens, through which are seen 
 peeps of the blue mountains, with their abrupt, 
 precipitous flanks. 
 
 At the entrance to the town, I was met by 
 my friend Colonel Rawlins, who came to tell 
 me that the Duke of Connaught had no room 
 for me in his house, and that instead of going 
 into a tent he asked me to come to his bungalow. 
 This was a very kind offer, which 1 eagerly 
 accepted; and soon afterwards I found myself 
 most comfortably installed in Woodlawn, which 
 is built on the side of a hill, with the jungle 
 for a foreground, whilst over the tree-tops the 
 
A PLEASANT RESIDENCE. 265 
 
 eye gazes on range after range of blue mountains. 
 Everything looked so fresh and green. The 
 jungle-fowl were calling in the thick undergrowth 
 close by, the Mahableshwar bulbuls, those beauti- 
 ful little grey birds with red cheeks and crests, 
 were hopping all about the place ; the breakfast- 
 table was laden with lovely ' melons, figs, straw- 
 berries, and mangos, whilst the verandah was a 
 mass of convolvulus creeper in full bloom. I 
 had the kindest of hosts and hostesses ; so that, 
 altogether, the scene was quite enchanting, and 
 made one feel that life was worth living. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HILL STATIONS— RAINFALL — MAHABLESHWAR — FLOWERS — GENERAL LOD- 
 WICK — CLUB — AMUSEMENTS — JUNGLE — GAME — WOLVES — TIGER 
 
 SHOOTING PICNIC AT WARA — FORT OF PRATAPGHARH — ACCOUNT OF 
 
 ALZAL KHAN'S MURDER BY SHIVAZI — HEADS OF ENEMY BURIED 
 UNDER TOWERS IN INDIA — WILD BOAR— DUKE OF CONNAUGHT'S 
 LEAVE — OLD LAW, AND REASON WHY — LEAVE MAHABLESHWAR — 
 STRIKE OF COACH PROPRIETORS — WAI — BIG BANIAN-TREE AT WAI- 
 RALGHATH — LEAVE POONA FOR BOMBAY — EMBARK ON PENINSULAR 
 AND ORIENTAL STEAMER ' SUTLEJ '—MONSOON— ' JUMNA ' TROOP- 
 SHIP — WRECK OF 'TASMANIA' — ARRIVE IN ENGLAND. 
 
269 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The life is pretty much the same at all the hill- 
 stations of India, and it is a very pleasant change 
 after some months in the plains. Everyone puts 
 business aside for a time, and gives himself up 
 to pleasure ; the younger members of society to 
 dancing, tennis, and other amusements, whilst 
 the older and hard-worked officials go in for a 
 thorough rest of mind and body. 
 
 As in all small societies made up of idle folk 3 a 
 great deal of gossip is spread, and for want of better 
 occupation people are interested in the slightest 
 trifles concerning their neighbours. Mahableshwar 
 is in no way free from this foible ; but, being the 
 head-quarters of the Governor and Commander- 
 in-Chief of Bombay during the hot season, society 
 
270 THE RAINFALL. 
 
 is a little more sacred, and is, therefore, not such 
 a hot bed of cancans and gossip as the smaller hill 
 stations. 
 
 The rainfall at Mahableshwar is so great that 
 few people remain after the bursting of the 
 monsoon in June, when the whole place is 
 enveloped in thick mists and the roads to the 
 plain are almost impassable. The bungalows are 
 then covered with taties and other contrivances 
 to keep out the wet and damp. All pot-plants 
 are sent off to places in the neighbourhood, 
 especially to Panchganni, where the climate is 
 more genial, and where many English take up 
 their abode during the rains. 
 
 The orchids and lilies growing w ild in the sur- 
 rounding jungle are perfectly lovely, and are 
 brought in by the natives in great quantities, and 
 sold for a few annas, forming charming decora- 
 tions for the dinner-table ; and to one fresh from 
 England, where such things are so costly and 
 precious, it seems incredible that so many lovely 
 flowers should be so little thought of. There are 
 
GENERAL LODWICK. 271 
 
 said to be thirty distinct kinds of ferns growing 
 in the hills around. 
 
 General Lodwick was the first discoverer of 
 Mahableshwar as a fine hill station, and he had it 
 turned to account as a sanatorium. It was in 
 1824 that he was quartered at Satara, when he 
 undertook the difficult and dangerous task of 
 walking alone and unarmed through the dense 
 jungle to Mahableshwar. He got through it safely, 
 but his dog was killed by a panther on the second 
 day. Lodwick Point, a fine spur of the hills near 
 the town, is named after him, and a monument 
 has been erected to his memory. 
 
 A most magnificent view is to be got from this 
 spot, as indeed from almost any part of Mahable- 
 shwar when it is not enveloped in the dense mists. 
 These, however, clear away as suddenly as they 
 come. 
 
 As usual, in most Indian towns which are the 
 head-quarters of English society, there is a good 
 club, where, as at London clubs, ladies are 
 admitted. Tuesday was the fashionable night, 
 
272 THE MAHABLESHWAR CLUB. 
 
 and then the dining-room was always gay, filled 
 as it was with a cheery party of members and 
 their lady friends, who afterwards adjourned to a 
 dance in the big reading-room, the music being 
 supplied by the Governor's excellent band. As I 
 write, I look back to many a pleasant evening 
 spent at the Mahableshwar Club, and from this 
 my experience of an Indian hill station I am 
 inclined to think that the man should consider 
 himself happy whose lines take him to so pleasant 
 a place. 
 
 There are a polo ground and numerous tennis 
 courts, where I have witnessed many an exciting 
 match, whilst the little race-meetings, though 
 generally a benefit for one or two particular 
 sportsmen, were always more or less exciting. 
 When one adds to this list picnics, dinners, thea- 
 tricals, strawberry-parties, &c., it will be seen 
 that life in Mahableshwar passes pleasantly 
 enough. 
 
 The jungle all round the station is full of game 
 both big and small, but the foliage is so thick that 
 
A MAN-EATING TIGRESS. 273 
 
 it is almost impossible to get at or to see any of 
 the animals ; that they are there is amply testified 
 by the pud marks of tiger, panther, and deer of 
 all kinds, to say nothing of the depredations 
 committed every now and then on man and beast 
 by the former of these dangerous animals. As 
 usual, however, the natives are apathetic about 
 it, and take no steps to protect themselves. 
 
 One day when I was walking out with the 
 Duke of Connaught near Bombay Point, and 
 close to Government House, we saw six wolves in 
 the road about thirty yards in front of us ; they 
 looked at us for a few seconds, and then vanished 
 into the jungle. 
 
 Tigers abound and do a lot of damage. There 
 is a well-known man-eating tigress about, for which 
 a government reward of one hundred rupees has 
 been offered ; but, although she has been c wanted ' 
 now for some years, she has as yet always suc- 
 cessfully evaded the numerous shikari who have 
 been after her. We did our best to bag her 
 whilst there, but without success ; for, although 
 
 T 
 
274 HARD WALKING. 
 
 she killed the beasts we tied up, she never lay- 
 up near the dead carcase. 
 
 I went out one day, with a large party of 
 friends, to a piece of jungle near Elphinstone 
 Point, and we were very sanguine of success, as 
 she had killed the bail and eaten a great part 
 of it. We were all placed in trees, with comfort- 
 able machans rigged up for us, but, when there, we 
 could not see more than half-a-dozen yards around, 
 so that the animal might have easily slipped past 
 between two guns unnoticed. On the second 
 occasion of a kill, I did not go out, and this time 
 the tigress came under Colonel Rawlins's tree. 
 He, unfortunately, was only armed with a Win- 
 chester repeating rifle; and, although he fired 
 two shots, and is confident that he hit her, she 
 was never seen again. 
 
 Altogether, the shooting at Mahableshwar was 
 not satisfactory, but it served very well as an 
 excuse for a pleasant outing, combined with 
 exercise, and that of a severe kind, as I never 
 came across harder walking in my life. 
 
PANTHERS MOST DANGEROUS. 275 
 
 About thi9 time a tiger was found in the Karli 
 caves, near Poona, and wounded by a man who, 
 unfortunately, was so mauled by the infuriated 
 animal that he died a few days afterwards. It 
 is awful to read of the number of deaths each 
 year in India from wounded tigers and panthers ; 
 but of the two the latter inflict by far the most 
 dangerous injuries, for, not being such clean 
 feeders as tigers, their claws are often impreg- 
 nated with decomposed matter, which gets into 
 the wounds, and produces blood poisoning. There 
 is no doubt that the dangerous part of tiger 
 shooting is following up a beast that has been 
 hit ; and this should never be undertaken alone, 
 but by two or three steady shots walking in 
 line armed with heavy rifles. The tiger is natur- 
 ally a great coward, and will rarely face a reso- 
 lute body of men, unless wounded. 
 
 Lord and Lady Reay contribute a great deal 
 towards the gaieties of Mahableshwar, by giving 
 dinners, dances, and theatricals at Government 
 House ; and whilst I was there the Gaekwar of 
 
276 FORT OF PRATAPGHARH. 
 
 Baroda entertained all the residents at an after- 
 noon fete with theatricals in the open, followed 
 by a magnificent display of fireworks after dark. 
 Another time we all went to a picnic at Wara, 
 given by Mr. Crow, the well-known judge. Wara 
 is about eleven miles off. It is a lovely drive 
 right down the ghauts, and lies two thousand 
 feet below Mahableshwar ; so that the change of 
 temperature is most distinctly felt in descending. 
 The party included about thirty persons, besides 
 the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. 
 
 Near Wara, on one of the spurs of the ghauts, 
 stands the ruins of the old Mahratta fort of 
 Pratapgharh, which played so important a role 
 in their history. Most of the party paid it a 
 visit. The ladies were carried by coolies in chairs, 
 whilst the men scrambled up the steep path. 
 Their return in the dark, as seen from Wara, 
 was most picturesque, the numerous coolies carry- 
 ing lighted torches ; so that the whole hill-side 
 was studded with lights gradually descending 
 into the plain. 
 
STORY OF ALZAL KHAN. Til 
 
 The fort of Pratapgharh is situated about eight 
 hundred feet above this plain, and is almost in- 
 accessible, except in one spot. It contains two 
 temples, and tanks for collecting water. The 
 old tower is shown under which the head of 
 Alzal Khan, the Bijapur general, was buried in 
 1659 by Shivaji, who murdered him, and by this 
 treacherous means greatly increased his power. 
 As the story is interesting, and, I think, not much 
 known, I will here relate it. 
 
 Alzal Khan was sent with an army from the 
 neighbouring state of Bijapur to take the fort of 
 Pratapgharh and destroy the power of Shivaji. 
 The approach to the place being difficult, Alzal 
 Khan left his army at some distance, and, with 
 a numerous suite, advanced as an envoy to 
 to Shivaji. He was received by the latter in 
 durbar with great civility, and afterwards returned 
 to his camp ; but, in the middle of the night, 
 Shivaji, disguised as a Brahmin, visited Pantoji 
 Gopinath, Alzal Khan's chief lieutenant, also a 
 Brahmin, and, addressing him as his superior? 
 
278 SHIVAJTS BRIBE. 
 
 promised money, protection, and the village of 
 Hewra to him and his heirs in perpetuity if he 
 would betray Alzal Khan into his hands. 
 
 Pantoji yielded to the bribe and swore fidelity 
 to Shivaji. They now consulted as to the best 
 means of putting their plan into operation, and 
 Pantoji suggested asking Alzal Khan to a con- 
 ference. Shivaji, therefore, sent for Krishnaji 
 Bhaskar, his vakel, who was also a Brahmin, and 
 to whom he confided the plot, and ordered him, 
 with Pantoji Gopinath, to Alzal Khan's camp, 
 when they told the latter that Shivaji was in 
 great fear of the Bijapur army, and that, if Alzal 
 Khan would give him personal assurance of his 
 life being spared, he might be induced to give 
 himself up. 
 
 Alzal Khan fell at once into the trap and 
 agreed to send his army to Jaoli, a matter of some 
 difficulty on account of the nature of the country, 
 whilst he would meet Shivaji below the fort of 
 Pratapgharh. 
 
 A road was now cleared for the Khan, but 
 
THE PLOT SUCCEEDS. 279 
 
 every other approach was carefully guarded. 
 Shivaji ordered up all his available army under 
 his two generals, Moro and Nestaji Palkar. The 
 latter, with several thousand men, he hid in the 
 jungle near the fort, whilst the picked men, under 
 Moro Trimnial, were sent to the vicinity of the 
 Bijapur army at Jaoli. It was agreed that the 
 signal for Nestaji to attack should be the blast of 
 a horn, whilst Moro, on hearing five guns fired 
 from the Pratapgharh, was to commence his 
 attack. 
 
 Alzal Khan approached with fifteen hundred 
 men, but was told by Pantoji Gopinath that such 
 a large body might alarm Shivaji and prevent his 
 coming out of the fort, so he consented to halt 
 them some few hundred yards away, and to him- 
 self approach, attended by but one armed follower, 
 whilst he only carried a sword. 
 
 Shivaji placed a chain cap under his lungi, chain 
 armour under his cotton gown, and concealed 
 in his hands a most fearful weapon called a wagh- 
 nakh, of which I have seen a facsimile. It is 
 
280 THE END OF ALZAL KHAN. 
 
 fixed by rings round the fingers, whilst under the 
 palm it consists of four, sharp knife-blades, bent 
 inwards with a circular twist, so that the hand 
 can be closed and nothing shows but the rings 
 outside. With this instrument in his left hand 
 and a dagger concealed in his dress, he left the 
 fort for the interview. 
 
 Alzal Khan had already been some time at the 
 rendezvous, and was getting impatient at the 
 delay, when he saw Shivaji approaching, but 
 halting every now and then as if fearing to 
 advance. 
 
 By way of reassuring him, Alzul sent his armed 
 attendant to some distance, though he allowed 
 Shivaji to be closely followed by his two armed 
 men. Alzul Khan now advanced, and they em- 
 braced in the usual Oriental fashion ; but, whilst 
 so doing, Shivaji struck at his enemy with the 
 waghnakh concealed in his left hand, and ripped 
 him open ; at the same time, drawing a dagger 
 out of his clothes with his right hand, he plunged 
 it into his side. 
 
SHIVAJFS PRIZES. 281 
 
 Alzar Khan, having for a moment freed him- 
 self from his enemy, struck at him with his 
 sword, but without effect, on account of the chain 
 armour, and before his attendant could come to 
 his assistance he reeled over and died. Said 
 Banden, the attendant, refused to surrender, and 
 was killed. Shivaji's men then cut off Alzal 
 Khan's head, and carried it to the fort, where it 
 was buried and a tower built over it. 
 
 In the meanwhile, the signals having been 
 given, Moro rushed upon the Bijapur army and 
 soon caused it to surrender, and by Shivaji's 
 orders spared the lives of all who gave them- 
 selves up. Nestaji, however, gave no quarter, 
 and slew the fifteen thousand men round the fort. 
 Shivaji by this stroke took four thousand horses 
 and a number of elephants and cattle, besides an 
 immense amount of treasure, all of which added 
 greatly to his prestige, such ruses being considered 
 quite fair play in the East. Indian history 
 alone furnishes many such examples of treachery 
 and cruelty. The custom of building a tower 
 
282 A PLEASANT MONTH. 
 
 over the head of an enemy is also common in 
 Indian history. One of the best-known of such 
 cases is that of the Kootab Minar tower near 
 Delhi, which was built by the Emperor of Delhi 
 Kootab aden Altanish, over the head of Prithi raj 
 Shokan, the last Rajpoot King of Delhi. 
 
 On our way to the picnic that day we came 
 across a huge wild boar standing in the road 
 before us. The driver of our tonga for a moment 
 did not quite relish his position, thinking that the 
 pig would probably attack the horses ; but of that 
 the boar evidently had no intention, for he stepped 
 quietly aside at our approach, and disappeared in 
 the jungle. 
 
 Altogether I spent a very pleasant month at 
 Mahableshwar, and was sorry when the time 
 approached for leaving. The Duke and Duchess 
 of Connaught were anxious to be back for the 
 Queen's Jubilee, and had engaged passages in the 
 Peninsular and Oriental steamer Sutlej, leaving 
 Bombay on the 24th of May. This was the 
 
A BENEFIT TO THE SERVICE. 283 
 
 latest date on which we could possibly start to be 
 in time for the functions in London, but the 
 House of Commons were so long in passing the 
 bill granting the Duke leave that at one time it 
 looked very much as if he would not get away. 
 
 By an old law, no commander-in-chief in India 
 can quit the country during the period of his 
 command without resigning office. This was no 
 doubt a very necessary rule in the days when 
 a journey to India occupied six months, in 
 which case an officer might pass a greater part of 
 the time of his command on the high seas ; but, 
 now that the journey only takes seventeen or 
 eighteen days, this law might well be rescinded. 
 It would actually be a benefit to the service that 
 the commanders-in-chief should go home and 
 exchange ideas at head-quarters, for during the 
 rains there are no drills, and it is a period of 
 almost enforced idleness. 
 
 At last the telegram came announcing that 
 three months' leave had been granted. We left 
 
281 A SACKED AND PICTURESQUE PLACE. 
 
 Mahableshwar early in the morning of the 21st 
 of May. There had been a great stir amongst 
 the coach proprietors, on account of a recent 
 order, issued by the Bombay government, to the 
 police, urging them to use more zeal in preven- 
 tion of cruelty to the horses on this hilly road. 
 The consequences of this order were twofold, 
 the police detained several horses they did 
 not consider fit to work, and the Parsees, who 
 were the owners, struck work, and would run 
 no more carriages to Poona. We had, however, 
 made a contract some days previously : so they 
 were obliged to take us, or stand an action for. 
 breach of contract. As it was, we did not drive 
 directly to Poona, but joined the railway at 
 Wathai, passing through the town of Wai, a 
 very sacred and picturesque place, with many 
 temples and bathing ghats, about eight miles from 
 which, at Wairalgarh, is a famous banian-tree, 
 which, they say, shades three-quarters of an acre 
 of ground with its wide-spreading branches. The 
 
BUSY DAYS. 285 
 
 road near Wai is planted on each side with fine 
 mango-trees, which at the time I write of were 
 laden with fruit. We reached Wathai at twelve, 
 but then had to wait over three hours for our 
 train, which was very late, and we did not arrive 
 at Poona till eight o'clock. 
 
 The next two days were very busy ones, for 
 there was a great deal of packing to be done, 
 many bills to be settled, and good-byes to be 
 said. 
 
 We left Poona for Bombay by the eleven 
 p.m. train on the 23rd. A large crowd of 
 friends came to the station to see the party off; 
 and Their Royal Highnesses steamed out amidst 
 ringing cheers, and numerous expressions of 
 regret at their departure, and wishes for a 
 prosperous voyage and speedy return. Having 
 got the luggage and live-stock, and a supply 
 of mangos for friends in England, on board, 
 we left Bombay in the Peninsular and Oriental 
 steamer Sutlej at five p.m. next day, and had a 
 
286 JOURNEY HOME. 
 
 very hot journey through the Indian Ocean and 
 Red Sea. The monsoon had just broken, and 
 for three or four days there was a nasty swell 
 on. This entailed closing the ports, which, in 
 such heat, was not pleasant ; but the ship was 
 comfortable. There was a cheery party on board, 
 and the whole ship's company, from the captain 
 downwards, was courteous and kind ; so that I 
 think nearly everyone really enjoyed the voyage. 
 It seemed almost like a pleasant yachting trip. 
 
 At Suez we came up to the Jumna troopship, 
 which had left Bombay four days before us, but 
 had broken down in her engines, and consequently 
 lost some time patching them up at Aden. She 
 was full of troops invalided home from Burmah, 
 and these poor fellows had suffered dreadfully 
 from the heat, several of them having died since 
 they left India. 
 
 On the morning of the 9th of June we passed 
 close to the wreck of the Peninsular and Oriental 
 steamer Tasmania in the Straits of Bonifacio. 
 
AT HOME. 287 
 
 The sea was as calm as a lake, so we steamed 
 close up to her, and saw the divers at work. It 
 was a melancholy sight, this beautiful ship, now 
 reduced to a perfect wreck, with only a part * of 
 her hull, the top of the funnel, and the masts out 
 of water. 
 
 No incident worthy of note occurred during 
 our journey home. We reached Marseilles on 
 the morning of the 10th of June, and, leaving 
 that town by the mail train the same evening, 
 arrived at Charing Cross at a quarter to six p.m., 
 on June 11th, 1887. 
 
 THE END 
 
 LONDON : PKINTKD BY DUNCAN MACDONALD, BLENHEIM HOUSE. 
 
e- 
 
 -a 
 
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 Table of Precedency among Women. 
 
 The Queen and the Royal Family. 
 
 Peers of the Blood RoyaL 
 
 The Peerage, alphabetically arranged. 
 
 Families of such Extinct Peers as have left 
 Widows or Issue. 
 
 Alphabetical List of the Surnames of all the 
 Peers. 
 
 " This work is the most perfect and elaborate record of the living and recently de- 
 ceased members of the Peerage of the Three Kingdoms as it stands at this day. It is 
 a most useful publication. We are happy to bear testimony to the fact that scrupulous 
 accuracy is a distinguishing feature of this book." — Times. 
 
 "Lodge's Peerage must supersede all other works of the kind, for two reasons: lirst, it 
 is on a better plan ; and secondly, it is better executed. We can safely pronounce it to be 
 the readiest, the most useful, and exactest of modern works on the subject."— Spectator: 
 
 " A work of great value. It is the most faithful record we possess of the aristo- 
 cracy of the day."— .Post. 
 
 6 
 
THE NEW AND POPULAR NOVELS. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY HUKST & BLACKETT. 
 
 THE GOLDEN HOPE : A Romance of the Deep. 
 
 By W. Clark Russell, Author of "A Sea Queen," "The Wreck 
 of the Grosvenor," &c. 1 vol. 6s. 
 
 " Mr. Clark Kussell is at his best in ' The Golden Hope,' which means that this 
 book of his is one of the finest books of its kind in our language." — Academy. 
 
 A HOUSE PARTY. By Ouida. (Second Edition.) 
 
 1 vol. crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 " The sketches of character are hit off with accuracy of observation and with a 
 firm and clear outline."— Daily Telegraph. 
 
 ON THE SCENT. By Lady Margaret Majendie, 
 
 Author of 'Dita,' 'Once More,' • Sisters-in-Law,' &c. 1 vol. 
 crown 8vo. 6s. 
 " A bright and wholesome story." — St. James's Gazette. 
 
 WEEPING FERRY. A Novel. By George Halse. 
 
 2 vols. 
 
 "'Weeping Ferry' is decidedly above the average of contemporary novels." — 
 Saturday Review. 
 
 " Mr. flalse's pages are simply and prettily written." — Scotsman. 
 
 COULD HE DO BETTER? By Arthur A. 
 
 Hoffmann. 3 vols. 
 " The writing is throughout careful yet easy, never tame and never affected, 
 and the structure of the story has compactness, proportion, and symmetry."— 
 Spectator. 
 
 THE SON OF HIS FATHER. By Mrs. Oliphant, 
 
 Author of " It was a Lover and his Lass," " Agnes," &c. 3 vols. 
 "No previous work of Mrs. Oliphant better justifies her high position among 
 English novelists than her new book. It is difficult to speak too highly of the 
 truth, power, and pathos of this tale." — Morning Post. 
 
 CATERINA. By the Author of " Lauterdale." 3 vols. 
 
 " The author is really an able writer, and he has a good grasp of character." — 
 Academy. 
 
 "A moving and animated story."— Daily Telegraph. 
 
 JACOBUS WIFE. By Adeline Sergeant, Author 
 
 of ' No Saint,' ' An Open Foe,' <fec. 3 vols. 
 
 " The story is one of powerful interest." — Illustrated London News. 
 "A thoroughly interesting story, and is worth reading in its entirety." — 
 Literary World. 
 
 A GREAT PLATONIC FRIENDSHIP. By W. 
 
 DUTTON BlJRRARD. 3 Vols. 
 
 " Mr. Burrard's story is free from digressive description, is brightly told, and ita 
 realism never degenerates into coarseness ; the story is from first to last exciting." 
 — Morning Post. 
 
THE NEW AND POPULAR NOVELS. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY HURST & BLACKETT. 
 
 A FAIR CRUSADER; A Story of To-day. By 
 
 William Westall, Author of "Larry Lohengrin," "A Queer 
 Race," &c. 2 vols. 
 
 A BRETON MAIDEN. By A French Lady, 
 
 Author of " Till my Wedding-Day." 3 vols. 
 
 BORN IN THE PURPLE. By Maxwell Fox. 
 
 3 vols. 
 
 A NEW FACE AT THE DOOR. By Jane Stan- 
 lev, Author of " A Daughter of the Gods." 2 vols. 
 " The tale is never dull, and has much to recommend it." — Morning Post. 
 
 THE SPORT OF CHANCE. By William Sharp. 
 
 3 vols. 
 " 'The Sport of Chance ' has prima facie an undeniable advantage to start with : 
 i.e., it is unlike almost anything hitherto written in the shape of a novel in three 
 volumes. The author shows much skill in unravelling the tangled skein of a com- 
 plicated plot." — Morning Post. 
 
 SWEET IS TRUE LOVE. By Katharine King, 
 
 Author of " The Queen of the Regiment," " Off the Roll," &c. 
 
 2 vols. 
 
 " It is in the tender sympathetic treatment of details that the writer is most 
 successful."— St. James's Gazette. 
 
 A DOUBLE WEDDING. By the Author of " St. 
 
 Olave's," " Janita's Cross," &c. 3 vols. 
 
 "The tale is told with quaint and pathetic simplicity, and is in every sense a 
 charming story."— Morning Post. 
 
 " The work is a combination of refined quiet humour and gentle pathos which 
 produce a delightful whole."— Whitehall Review. 
 
 THE GAY WORLD. By Joseph Hatton, Author 
 
 of " Clytie," &c. 3 vols. 
 
 "The chief characters all bavo a certain charm. One follows with genuine 
 anxiety the course of their career."— Globe. 
 
 " The book is interspersed with many clever passages, bits of choice descrip- 
 tion, and happy touches of character ; it is the ablest novel Mr. Hatton has 
 written." — Academy. 
 
 CAST ON THE WATERS. By Hugh Coleman 
 
 Davidson, Author of " The Green Hills by the Sea." 3 vols. 
 
 "The every- day events of the tale are all forcibly and graphically portrayed." 
 — Morning Post. 
 
 "The characters are well drawn in caricaturist's style, and the dialogue apt 
 and amusing."— Scotsman. 
 
 IN BAD HANDS. By F. W. Robinson, Author 
 
 of " Grandmother's Money," " The Courting of Mary Smith," &c. 
 
 3 vols. 
 
 " The volumes are alive with touches of humour and pathos, and are pretty 
 sure to be welcomed by novel-readers."— Athenatum 
 
 THE TREASURE OF THORBURNS. A Novel. 
 
 By Frederick Boyle, Author of " A Good Hater," " Legends of 
 
 my Bungalow," &c. 3 vols. 
 " The story is excellent in its way, more than sufficiently well written, and with 
 certain touches of fresh originality that lift it out of the pale of the common- 
 place."— Literary World. 
 
HURST &BLACKETT'S STANDARD LIBRARY 
 
 OP CHEAP EDITIONS OF 
 
 POPULAR MODERN WORKS. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 Sir J. E. Millais, Sir J. Gilbert, Holman Hunt, Birket Foster, 
 
 John Leech, John Tenniel, J. Laslett Pott, etc. 
 
 Each in a Single Volume, with Frontispiece, price 5s. 
 
 I.— SAM SLICK'S NATURE AND HUMAN NATURE. 
 
 "The first volume of Messrs. Hurst and Blackett's Standard Library of Cheap Editions 
 forms a very good beginning to what will doubtless be a very successful undertaking. 
 'Nature and Human Nature ' is one of the best of Sam Slick's witty and humorous pro- 
 ductions, and well entitled to the large circulation which it cannot fail to obtain in its 
 present convenient and cheap shape. The volume combines with the great recommenda- 
 tions of a clear, bold type and good paper, the lesser, but attractive merits of being well 
 illustrated and elegantly bound." — Morning Post. 
 
 II.— JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN. 
 
 "The new and cheaper edition of this interesting work will doubtless meet with great 
 success. John Halifax, the hero of this most beautiful story, is no ordinary hero, and 
 this his history is no ordinary book. It is a full-length portrait of a true gentleman, one 
 of nature's own nobility. It is also the history of a home, and a thoroughly English one. 
 The work abounds in incident, and many of the scenes are full of graphic power and true 
 pathos. It is a book that few will read without becoming wiser and better." — Scotsman. 
 
 " This story is very interesting. The attachment between John Halifax and his wife is 
 beautifully painted, as are the pictures of their domestic life, and tho growing up of their 
 children; and the conclusion of the book is beautiful and touching." — Athemeum. 
 
 Ill— THE CRESCENT AND THE CROSS. 
 
 BY ELIOT WARBURTON. 
 
 "Independent of its value as an original narrative, and its useful and interesting 
 information, this work is remarkable for the colouring power and play of fancy with 
 which its descriptions are enlivened. Among its greatest and most lasting charms is its 
 reverent and serious spirit." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 "Mr. Warburton has fulfilled the promise of his title-page. The 'Realities of Eastern 
 Travel ' are described with a vividness which invests them with deep and abiding inter- 
 est; while the 'Romantic' adventures which the enterprising tourist met with in his 
 course are narrated with a spirit which shows how much he enjoyed these reliefs from 
 the ennui of e very-day life." — Globe. 
 
 IV.— NATHALIE. 
 
 BY JULIA KAVANAGH. 
 
 "'Nathalie' is Miss Kavanagh's best imaginative effort. Its manner is gracious and 
 attractive. Its matter is good. A sentiment, a tenderness, are commanded by her which 
 are as individual as they are elegant We should not soon come to an end were we to 
 specify all the delicate touches and attractive pictures which place ' Nathalie ' high among 
 books of its class."— Athenaeum. 
 
 V.— A WOMAN'S THOUGHTS ABOUT WOMEN. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF "JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 "These thoughts are good and humane. They are thoughts we would wish women to 
 think: they are much more to the purpose than the treatises upon the women and daugh- 
 ters of England, which were fashionable some years ago, and these thoughts mark the 
 progress of opinion, and indicate a higher tone of character, and a juster estimate of 
 woman's position."— A thenseum. 
 
 " This excellent book is characterised by good sense, good taste r and feeling, and is 
 written in an earnest, philanthropic, as well as practical spirit." — Morning PcsL 
 
HUKST & BLACKETT'S STANDARD LIBRARY 
 
 VI.— ADAM GRAEME OF MOSSGRAY. 
 
 BY MRS. OLIPHANT. 
 
 " ' \dam Graeme ' is a story awakening genuine emotions of interest and delight by its 
 admirable pictures of Scottish life and scenery. The plot is cleverly complicated, and 
 there is great vitality in the dialogue, and remarkable brilliancy in the descriptive pas- 
 sages, as who that has read ' Margaret Maitland ' would not be prepared to expect ? 
 But the story has a ' mightier magnet still,' in the healthy tone which pervades it, in its 
 feminine delicacy of thought and diction, and in the truly womanly tenderness of its 
 sentiments. The eloquent author sets before us the essential attributes of Christian 
 virtue; their deep and silent workings in the heart, and their beautiful manifestations in 
 the life, with a delicacy, a power, and a truth which can hardly be surpassed"— Morning 
 Post. 
 
 VII.— SAM SLICK'S WISE SAWS AND 
 MODERN INSTANCES. 
 
 "We have not the slightest intention to criticise this book. Its reputation is made, and 
 will stand as long as that of Scott's or Bulwer's novels. The remarkable originality of 
 its purpose, and the happy description it affords of American life and manners, still con- 
 tinue the subject of universal admiration. To say thus much is to say enough, though we 
 must just mention that the new edition forms a part of the Publishers' Cheap Standard 
 Library, which has included some of the very best specimens of light literature that ever 
 have been written." — Messenger. 
 
 VIII.— CARDINAL WISEMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 
 OF THE LAST FOUR POPES. 
 
 " A picturesque book on Eome and its ecclesiastical sovereigns, by an eloquent Boman 
 Catholic Cardinal Wiseman has here treated a special subject with so much generality 
 and geniality that his recollections will excite no ill-feeling in those who are most con- 
 scientiously opposed to every idea of human infallibility represented in Papal domination." 
 — Athenxum. 
 
 IX.— A LIFE FOR A LIFE. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 "We are always glad to welcome Mrs. Craik. She writes from her own convic- 
 tions, and she has the power not only to conceive clearly what it is that she wishes to 
 say, but to express it in language effective and vigorous. In ' A Life for a Life ' she is 
 fortunate in a good subject, and she has produced a work of strong effect. The 
 reader, having read the book through for the story, will be apt (if he be of our per- 
 suasion) to return and read again many pages and passages with greater pleasure 
 than on a first perusal The whole book is replete with a graceful, tender deli- 
 cacy; and, in addition to its other merits, it is written in good careful English." — 
 Athenceum. 
 
 "'A Life for a Life' is a book of a high class. The characters are depicted with a 
 masterly hand ; the events are dramatically set forth ; the descriptions of scenery and 
 sketches of society are admirably penned; moreover, the work has an object — a clearly 
 defined moral— most poetically, most beautifully drawn, and through all there is that 
 strong, reflective mind visible which lays bare the human heart and human mind to the 
 very core."— Morning Post. 
 
 X.— THE OLD COURT SUBURB. 
 
 BY LEIGH HUNT. 
 
 || A book which has afforded us no slight gratification."— Athemeum. 
 
 "From the mixture of description, anecdote, biography, and criticism, this book is'very 
 pleasant reading."— Spectator. 
 
 "A more agreeable and entertaining book has not been published since Boswell pro- 
 dpced his reminiscences of Johnson."— Observer. 
 
 10 
 
HUKST & BLACKETT'S STANDARD LIBRARY 
 
 XI.— MARGARET AND HER BRIDESMAIDS. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OP " THE VALLEY OF A HUNDRED FIRES." 
 
 " We recommend all who are in search of a fascinating novel to read this work "for 
 themselves. They will find it well worth their while. There are a freshness and origin- 
 ality about it quite charming, and there is a certain nobleness in the treatment both of 
 sentiment and incident which is not often found." — Athenxum. 
 
 XII.— THE OLD JUDGE ; OR, LIFE IN A COLONY. 
 
 BY SAM SLICK. 
 
 " A peculiar interest attaches to sketches of colonial life, and readers could not have a 
 safer guide than the talented author of this work, who, by a residence of half a century, 
 has practically grasped the habits, manners, and social conditions of the colonists he de- 
 scribes. All who wish to form a fair idea of the difficulties and pleasures of life in a new 
 country, unlike England in some respects, yet like it in many, should read this book." — 
 John Bull. 
 
 XIII.— DARIEN; OR, THE MERCHANT PRINCE. 
 
 BY ELIOT WARBURTON. 
 
 " This last production of the author of ' The Crescent and the Cross ' has the same 
 elements of a very wide popularity. It will please its thousands." — Globe. 
 
 "Eliot Warburton's active and productive genius is amply exemplified in the present 
 book. We have seldom met with any work in which the realities of history^and the 
 poetry of fiction were more happily interwoven." — Illustrated News. 
 
 XIV.— FAMILY ROMANCE ; OR, DOMESTIC ANNALS 
 OF THE ARISTOCRACY. 
 
 BY SIR BERNARD BURKE, ULSTER KING OF ARMS. 
 
 "It were impossible to praise too highly this most interesting book, whether we should 
 have regard to its excellent plan or its not less excellent execution. It ought to be found 
 on every drawing-room table. Here you have nearly fifty captivating romances with the 
 pith of all their interest preserved in undiminished poignancy, and any one may be read 
 in half an hour. It is not the least of their merits that the romances are founded on fact 
 —or what, at least, has been handed down for truth by long tradition— and the romance 
 of reality far exceeds the romance of fiction." — Standard. 
 
 XV.— THE LAIRD OF NORLAW. 
 
 BY MRS. OLIPHANT. 
 
 "We have had frequent opportunities of commending Messrs. Hurst and Blackett's 
 Standard Library. For neatness, elegance, and distinctness the volumes in this series 
 surpass anything with which we are familiar. 'The Laird of Norlaw' will fully sustain 
 the author's high reputation. The reader is carried on from first to last with an energy 
 of sympathy that never flags." — Sunday Times. 
 
 "'The Laird of Norlaw' is worthy of the author's reputation. It is one of the most 
 exquisite of modern novels." — Observer. 
 
 XVI.— -THE ENGLISHWOMAN IN ITALY. 
 
 BY MRS. G. GRETTON. 
 
 "Mrs. Gretton had opportunities which rarely fall to the lot of strangers of becoming 
 acquainted with the inner life and habits of a part of the Italian peninsula which is the 
 very centre of the national crisis. We can praise her performance as interesting, unexag- 
 gerated, and full of opportune instruction." — The Times. 
 
 "Mrs. Gretton's book is timely, life-like, and for every reason to be recommended. It 
 is impossible to close the book without liking the writer as well as the subject The work 
 is engaging, because real."— Athenaeum. 
 
 11 
 
HURST & BLACKETT'S STANDARD LIBRARY 
 
 XVII.— NOTHING NEW. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 '"Nothing New' displays all those superior merits which have made 'John Halifax 
 one of the most popular works of the day. There is a force and truthfulness about these 
 tales which mark them as the production of no ordinary mind, and we cordially recom- 
 mend them to the perusal of all lovers of fiction."— Morning Post. 
 
 XVIII.— LIFE OF JEANNE D'ALBRET, QUEEN OF 
 NAVARRE. 
 
 BY MISS FREER. 
 
 "We have read this book with great pleasure, and have no hesitation in recommending 
 it to general perusal. It reflects the highest credit on the industry and ability of Miss 
 Freer. Nothing can be more interesting than her story of the life of Jeanne D'Albret 
 and the narrative is as trustworthy as it is attractive."— M orning Post. 
 
 XIX.— THE VALLEY OF A HUNDRED FIRES. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " MARGARET AND HER BRIDESMAIDS." 
 
 "If asked to classify this work, we should give it a place between 'John Halifax ' and 
 •The Caxtons.' "Standard. 
 "The spirit in which the whole book is written is refined and good." — Athenaeum. 
 "This is in every sense a charming novel."— Messenger. 
 
 XX.— THE ROMANCE OF THE FORUM; OR, NARRATIVES, 
 SCENES, AND ANECDOTES FROM COURTS OF JUSTICE. 
 
 BY PETER BURKE, SERJEANT AT LAW. 
 
 "This attractive book will be perused with much interest. It contains a great variety 
 of singular and highly romantic stories."— John Bull. 
 
 " A work of singular interest, which can never fail to charm and absorb the reader's 
 attention. The present cheap and elegant edition includes the true story of the Colleen 
 Eawn."— Illustrated News. 
 
 XXL— ADELE. 
 
 BY JULIA KAVANAGH. 
 
 "'Adele* is the best work we have read by Miss Kavanagh; it is a charming Btcry, 
 full of delicate character-painting. The interest kindled in the first chapter burns brightly 
 to the close."— Athenamm. 
 
 '•'Adele' will fully sustain the reputation of Miss Kavanagh, high as it already ranks." 
 —John Bull. 
 
 " ' Adele ' is a love-story of very considerable pathos and power. It a a very clever 
 novel"— Daily News. 
 
 XXII.— STUDIES FROM LIFE. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 "These 'Studies ' are truthful and vivid pictures of life, often earnest, always full o» right 
 feeling, and occasionally lightened by touches of quiet, genial humour. The volume is re- 
 markable for thought, sound sense, shrewd observation, and kind and sympathetic feeling 
 for all things good and beautiful."— Morning Post. 
 
 "These ' Studies from Life ' are remarkable for graphic power and observation. The 
 book will not diminish the reputation of the accomplished author."— Saturday Review. 
 
 12 
 
HURST & BLACKETT'S STANDARD LIBRARY 
 
 XXIIL— GRANDMOTHER'S MONEY. 
 
 BY F. W. ROBINSON. 
 
 " We commend 4 Grandmother's Money ' to readers in search of a good novel. The 
 characters are true to human nature, and the story is interesting." — Atlienceum. 
 
 XXIV.— A BOOK ABOUT DOCTORS. 
 
 BY JOHN CORDY JEAFFRESON. 
 
 " A book to be read and re-read; fit for the study as well as the drawing-room tableland 
 the circulating library." — Lancet. 
 
 "This is a pleasant book for the fireside season, and for the seaside season. Mr. Jeaffre- 
 son has, out of hundreds of volumes, collected thousands of good things, adding thereto 
 much that appears in print for the first time, and which, of course, gives increased value 
 to this very readable book." — Athenceum. 
 
 XXV.— NO CHURCH. 
 
 BY F. W. ROBINSON. 
 
 "We advise all who have the opportunity to read this book. It is well worth the 
 study. ' ' — A thenceum. 
 " A work of great originality, merit, and power."— Standard. 
 
 XXVL— MISTRESS AND MAID. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 " A good wholesome book, gracefully written, and as pleasant to read as it is instruc- 
 tive." — Athenaeum. 
 
 " A charming tale, charmingly told." — Standard. 
 
 " All lovers of a good novel will hail with delight another of Mrs. Craik's charming 
 stories."— John Bull. 
 
 XXVII.— LOST AND SAVED. 
 
 BY THE HON. MRS. NORTON. 
 
 " 'Lost and Saved' will be read with eager interest by those who love a touching story 
 It is a vigorous novel." — Times. 
 
 "This story is animated, full of exciting situations and stirring incidents. The charac- 
 ers are delineated with great power. Above and beyond these elements of a good novel, 
 here is that indefinable charm with which true genius invests all it touches." — Daily News. 
 
 XXVIII.— LES MISERABLES. 
 
 BY VICTOR HUGO. 
 Authorised Copyright English Translation. 
 
 "The merits of 'Les Miserables ' do not merely consist in the conception of it as a 
 whole ; it abounds with details of unequalled beauty. M. Victor Hugo has stamped upon 
 every page the hall-mark of genius." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 XXIX.— BARBARA'S HISTORY 
 
 BY AMELIA B. EDWARDS. 
 
 "It is not often that we light upon a novel of so much merit and interes as 
 'Barbara's History.' It is a work conspicuous for taste and literary culture. It is a ?ery 
 graceful and charming book, with a well-managed story, clearly-cut characters, and 
 sentiments expressed with an exquisite elocution. The dialogues especially sparkle with 
 repartee. It is a book which the world will like. This is high praise of a work of art, 
 and so we intend it." — The Times. 
 
 13 
 
HUKST & BLACKETT'S STANDARD LIBRARY 
 
 XXX.— LIFE OF THE REV. EDWARD IRVING. 
 
 BY MRS. OLIPHANT. 
 
 "A good book on a most interesting theme." — Times. 
 
 " A truly interesting and most affecting memoir. ' Irving's Life ' ought to have a niche 
 in every gallery of religious biography. There are few lives that will be fuller of in- 
 struction, interest, and consolation."— Saturday Review. 
 
 XXXI.— ST. OLAVE'S. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JANITA'S CROSS." 
 
 "This novel is the work of one who possesses a great talent for writing, as well as 
 experience and knowledge of the world. The whole book is worth reading." — Athenaeum. 
 
 " ' St Olave'8 ' belongs to a lofty order of fiction. It is a good novel, but it is something 
 more. It is written with unflagging ability, and it is as even as it is clever. The author 
 has 4 dotermined to do nothing short of the best, and has succeeded." — Morning Post. 
 
 XXXII.— SAM SLICK'S TRAITS OF AMERICAN HUMOUR. 
 
 " Dip'where you will into this lottery of fun, you are sure to draw out a prize. These 
 Traitsj' exhibit most successfully the broad national features of American humour."— Post. 
 
 XXXIII.— CHRISTIAN'S MISTAKE. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 "A more charming story has rarely been written. It is a choice gift to be able thus to 
 render human nature so truly, to penetrate its depths with such a searching sagacity, and 
 to illuminate them with a radiance so eminently the writer's own."— Times. 
 
 XXXIV.— ALEC FORBES OF HOWGLEN. 
 
 BY GEORGE MAC DONALD, LL.D. 
 
 "No account of this story would give any idea of tho profound interest that pervades 
 the work from the first page to the last"— Athenceum. 
 
 "A novel of uncommon merit Sir Walter Scott said he would advise no man to try 
 to read ' Clarissa Harlowe ' out loud in company if he wished to keep his character for 
 manly superiority to tears. We fancy a good many hardened old novel-readers will feei 
 a rising in the throat as they follow the fortunes of Alec and Annie."— Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 XXXV.— AGNES. 
 
 BY MRS. OLIPHANT. 
 
 '"Agnes" is> novel superior to any of Mrs. Oliphant's former works."— Athenceum. 
 
 "MrB. Oliphant is one of the most admirable of our novelists. In her works there 
 are always to be found high principle, good taste, sense, and refinement ' Agnes ' is 
 a story whose pathetic beauty will appeal irresistibly to all readers." — Morning Post. 
 
 XXXVI.— A NOBLE LIFE. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF li JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 "Few men and no women will read 4 A Noble Life' without feeling themselves the 
 better for the effort" — Spectator. 
 
 " A beautifully written and touching tale. It is a noble book."— Morning Post. 
 
 " • A Noble Life ' is remarkable for the high types of character it presents, and the 
 skill with which they are made to work out a story of powerful and pathetic interest" 
 —Daily News. 
 
 XXXVII— NEW AMERICA. 
 
 BY W. HEPWORTH DIXON. 
 
 J "A veryjinteresting book. Mr. Dixon has written thoughtfully and well."— Times. 
 
 "We recommend everyone who feels any interest in human nature to read Mr, 
 Dixon's very interesting book."— Saturday Review. 
 
 U 
 
HURST & BLACKETT'S STANDARD LIBRARY 
 
 XXXVIII.— ROBERT FALCONER. 
 
 BY GEORGE MAC DONALD, LL.D. 
 
 '"Robert Falconer' is a work brimful of life and humour and of the deepest human 
 interest. It is a book to be returned to again and again for the deep and searching 
 knowledge it evinces of human thoughts and feelings." — Atfienceum. 
 
 XXXIX.— THE WOMAN'S KINGDOM. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 «' ' The Woman's Kingdom ' sustains the author's reputation as a writer of the purest 
 and noblest kind of domestic stories." — Athenceum. 
 
 " ' The Woman's Kingdom ' is remarkable for its romantic interest. The characters are 
 masterpieces. Edna is worthy of the hand that drew John Halifax." — Morning Post. 
 
 XL.— ANNALS OF AN EVENTFUL LIFE. 
 
 BY GEORGE WEBBE DASENT, D.C.L. 
 
 "A racy, well-written, and original novel. The interest never flags. The whole] work 
 sparkles with wit and humour."— Quarterly Review. 
 
 XLI— DAVID ELGINBROD. 
 
 BY GEORGE MAC DONALD, LL.D. 
 
 "A novel which is the work of a man of genius. It will attract the highest class of 
 readers."— runes. 
 
 XLIL— A BRAVE LADY. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 "We earnestly recommend this novel. It is a special and worthy specimen of the 
 author's remarkable powers. The reader's attention never for a moment flags." — Post 
 
 "'A Brave Lady' thoroughly rivets the unmingled sympathy of the reader, and her 
 history deserves to stand foremost among the author's works." — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 XLIIL— HANNAH. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 " A very pleasant, healthy story, well and artistically told. The book is sure of a wide 
 circle of readers. The character of Hannah is one of rare beauty." — Standard. 
 
 "A powerful novel of social and domestic life. One of the most successful efforts of a 
 successful novelist." — Daily News. 
 
 XLIV.— SAM SLICK'S AMERICANS AT HOME. 
 
 " This is one of the most amusing books that wo ever read." — Standard. 
 " ' The Americans at Home' will not be less popular than any of Judge Halliburton's 
 previous works." — Morning Post. 
 
 XL V.— THE UNKIND WORD. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 " These stories are gems of narrative. Indeed, some of them, in their touching grace 
 and simplicity, seem to us to possess a charm even beyond the authoress's most popular 
 novels. Of none of them can this be said more emphatically than of that whijh opens the 
 series, ' The Unkind Word' It is wonderful to see the imaginative power displayed iu 
 the few delicate touches by which this successful love-story is sketched out." — The Echo. 
 
 15 
 
HURST & BLACKETT'S STANDARD LIBRARY 
 
 XLVL— A ROSE IN JUNE. 
 
 BY MRS. OLIPHANT. 
 
 "'A Hose in June' is as pretty as its title. The story is one of the best and most 
 touching which we owe to the industry and talent of Mrs. Oliphant, and may hold its own 
 with even ' The Chronicles of Carlingford.' "—Times. 
 
 XLVIL— MY LITTLE LADY. 
 
 BY E. FRANCES POYNTER. 
 
 "This story presents a number of vivid and very charming pictures Indeed, the whole 
 book is charming. It is interesting in both character and story, and thoroughly good of 
 its kind."— Saturday Review. 
 
 XL VIII.— PHGEBE, JUNIOR. 
 
 BY MRS. OLIPHANT. 
 
 "This last 'Chronicle of Carlingford' not merely takes rank fairly beside the first 
 which introduced us to 'Salem Chapel,' but surpasses all the intermediate records. 
 Phoebe, Junior, herself is admirably drawn." — Academy. 
 
 XLIX.— LIFE OF MARIE ANTOINETTE. 
 
 BY PROFESSOR CHARLES DUKE YONGE. 
 
 " A work of remarkable merit and interest, which will, we doubt not, become the most 
 popular English history of Marie Antoinette." — Spectator. 
 
 L.— SIR GIBBIE. 
 
 BY GEORGE MAC DONALD, LL.D. 
 
 4 Sir Gibbie ' is a book of genius."— Pall Mall Gazette. 
 This book has power, pathos, and humour."— Athenceum. 
 
 LI.— YOUNG MRS. JARDINE. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " JOHN HALIFAX, GENTLEMAN." 
 
 "Young Mrs. Jardine ' is a pretty story, written in pure English."— The Times. 
 
 1 There is much good feeling in this book. It is pleasant and wholesome." — Athenceum. 
 
 LIL— LORD BRACKENBURY. 
 
 BY AMELIA B. EDWARDS. 
 
 "A very readable story. The author has well conceived the purpose of high-class 
 novel-writing, and succeeded in no small measure in attaining it. There is plenty of 
 variety, cheerful dialogue, and general ' verve ' in the book."— Athenceum. 
 
 LIII.-IT WAS A LOVER AND HIS LASS. 
 
 BY MRS. OLIPHANT. 
 
 "In' It was a Lover and his Lass,' we admire Mrs. Oliphant exceedingly. It would be 
 worth reading a second time, were it only for the sake of one ancient Scottish spinster, 
 who is nearly the counterpart of the admirable Mrs. Margaret Maitland."— Times. 
 
 LIV.— THE REAL LORD BYRON— THE STORY OF 
 THE POET'S LIFE. 
 
 BY JOHN CORDY JEAFFRESON. 
 
 " Mr. Jeaffreson comes forward with a narrative wnich must take a very important 
 place in Byronic literature ; and it may reasonably be anticipated that this book will be 
 regarded with deep interest by all who are concerned in the works and the fame of this 
 great English poet."— The Times. 
 
 1G 
 
 
1C 38967 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY