n my appearance is deepened by my recent adventures in
Afghanistan and letters partly descriptive of the same that have appeared
in late issues of the Indian press. A mile or so from the Artillery
barracks are the quarters of a detachment of the Connaught Rangers. A
couple of non-commissioned officers in the Rangers, I am happy to
discover, are wheelmen, and when the tidings of the Around the World
rider's arrival reaches them, they wheel over and endeavor to have me
become their guest. The Royal Artillery boys refuse to give their protege
up, however, and the rivalry is compromised by my paying the Rangers a
visit and then coming back to my first entertainers' quarters for the
night.

The evening is spent pleasantly in telling stories of camp-life in India
and Afghanistan. Some of the soldiers present have been recently
stationed at Peshawur and other points near the northern frontier, and
tell of the extraordinary precautions that had to be adopted to prevent
their rifles being stolen at night from the very racks within the
barrack-rooms where they were sleeping.

An officer at the cantonment claims to have cured himself of enlarged
spleen, the bane of so many Anglo-Indian officers, by daily riding on a
tricycle. He then disposed of it to advantage to a native gentleman who
had noted the marvellous improvement it had wrought in his health, and
who was also affected with the same disease. The native also cured
himself, and now firmly believes the tricycle possessed of some magic
properties.

Reliefs of punkah-wallahs are provided for the barracks, a number of
punkahs being connected so that one coolie fans the occupants of a dozen
or more charpoys. In talking about these useful and very necessary
servants, some of the comments indulged in by the gentleman who first
invited me into the barracks are well worth repeating: "Be jabbers, an'
yeez have to kape wide awake all night to swear at the lazy divils, in
orther to git a wink av shlape"--and--"The moment yeez dhrap
ashlape, yeez are awake," are choice specimens, heard in reference to the
punkah-wallahs' confirmed habit of dozing off in the silent watches of
the night.

The two wheelmen of the Connaught Rangers, accompany me five miles to the
Bane River ferry, in the cool of early morning. They would have escorted
me as far as Umballa, they say, had they known of my coming in time to
arrange leave' of absence. Twenty-five miles of continuously smooth and
level kunk