ng), with diverse novel waist arrangements and a profusion of
jewelry, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and anklets. Men were in their
many-hued turbans of various styles, with no clothing to the waist and a
limited supply below. Then there were boys and small children,--the
former with only a loin cloth, the latter as Nature made them, with
silver chains bearing quite large hearts suspended around their waists,
and with smaller chains around their necks, each supposed to ward off
sudden calamity or disease.

But, if there was color in the dress, there was emaciation in the
figure,--thin features, thin limbs, and flat chests being the prevailing
type, a fair indication that their scanty supply of food does not
furnish them sufficient nutrition. Northern India is the so-termed
"famine district," and the famine of one year is said to have destroyed
over four millions of people; pestilence is always threatening these
natives, and besides, the demands for tribute of an enervated priesthood
(who "toil not," alas! "neither do they spin") have to be met. So is it
any wonder that poverty prevails and that sadness of countenance is
everywhere seen?

[Illustration: _Aden, Arabia_]

The bazars are similar in arrangement to those in Cairo; but more novel
wares are displayed, and less bargaining is resorted to. The European
shops were satisfactory, and we invested at once in white felt topee
hats lined with green, and also in ecru parasols similarly lined, for
dire tales had been told us of the penalty we should suffer if we were
not thus equipped, on account of the great power of the sun in midday;
often the heat was known to bring on insanity (on the authority of a
long-time resident of India). The wearing of that topee hat was a great
personal sacrifice, as it was horribly unbecoming, and after some weeks
of trial one of our party was brave enough to advise a second venture; a
Calcutta style was tried, with no better results, so you can imagine the
joy of the final "giving up"!

If the native quarters revealed to us an unknown life, so did a country
drive, for there were trees and shrubs never before seen, and queer
little thatched houses of the bungalow type. Groups of cocoanut and
other palms were all lacking in freshness, as this was the dry season,
and dust must prevail until the arrival of the "monsoon," or rainy
season, in May. The domestic animals seemed to thrive, such as camels,
donkeys, bullocks, and there were many