istinctly of the thousands bathing, I only saw one man passably well
made. I saw very finely built Sikhs from northern India in Burmah, and
others at Madras, but all the people on the banks of the Ganges had
very poor muscular development. And these lovely women whom Pierre Loti
sees in such numbers--they have no calves--whoever saw beauty without
the rudiments of a calf! But perhaps Pierre Loti does; if he can write
about India, sans les Anglais--(he means British[39]) he may fancy
Hamlet without the Prince, or Venus with an Indian shank. But we forgive
him; for that picture, off Iceland, "the stuffy brown lamplit cabin in
the fishing lugger, the tobacco smoke and the Madonna in the corner, and
outside on deck the silvery daylight and the pure air of the Arctic
midnight."

[39] "L'Inde sans les Anglais."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I think military life in Benares must be slow, the soldier seems to have
so much routine work in India when there is no frontier campaign going
on. It must be irksome for anyone fond of fighting. My cousin here (a
Captain) is Cantonment Magistrate, which means he has to turn his sword
into a foot rule and do Government's factory work--lets you a plot of
land for your house and sees your neighbour hangs out his washing in
proper order--then will hang a man for murder or fine another for
selling you goat instead of mutton, and so on and so forth. Multifarious
little things on to many of which might hang a history--for instance
taking a stray bull across the river with the respect due to such a
sacred encumbrance and without hurting the religious feelings of the
Emperor's Hindoo subjects.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Another soldier host we had in India in Delhi--a Fettesian by the way;
in his palace we studied the Red Chuprassie and received an inkling of
how States are governed, and how the hot-bed of Mohammedan and Hindoo
revolution is kept in order. Five to five were his office hours, you
advocates of eight hour bills! In the rest of the twenty-four hours he
was on the alert for sudden duty calls, yet he painted with me after
five, with more keenness than professional artists I know at home.

So within a few months out here I have met more men of arms, art, and
manners than I meet in as many years at home. It is a very sad part this
of our extended Empire--the good men taken from home to the frontiers,