it had
undoubtedly most evil effects in just the same way that whisky, which is
certainly the best drink for damp Scotland, is most injurious to those
who make use of it in similar doses in India.

Although I have visited opium dens, merely for the purpose of observing,
in almost every Asiatic country where opium smoking is practised, I have
never seen cases quite so depressing as here. A great proportion of the
population suffered from fever, to allay the sufferings of which opium
was used.

There was, of course, the usual contingent of sick people visiting my
camp to obtain medicine for their various troubles--one fever-stricken
man, with cadaverous face and skeleton-like limbs, collapsing altogether
when reaching me and remaining senseless for a considerable time. As I
never carry medicine of any kind in my travels I was unable to satisfy
them, but I gave them some little present each, which did them just as
much good.

Beggars, too, visited the camp in appalling numbers, and their ways were
quite interesting; but none was so ingenious as that of an old woman, who
waited till there was a goodish crowd of visitors in my camp, and then
rushed at me and made a violent scene, saying that I must pay her 50
tomans--about L10.

"But I have never seen you before! What have you done to earn such a
sum?"

"Oh, Sahib, you have ruined me!" and she yelled as only an angry old
woman can! She plumped herself on my best carpet and proceeded to
explain. She said that she had buried the above stated sum in solid
silver within a pile of straw, which she had sold the day before to a man
to feed his camels upon. She was therefore--according to a reasoning of
her own, since I had not yet arrived here the day before, nor could she
identify the man with any of my party--certain that my camels had
devoured the sum, and I, therefore, must pay the sum back! She was,
nevertheless, sure that I was not to blame in the matter, and was willing
to waive the claim on the immediate payment of two shais--about a
half-penny!

Although it is well to be as kind as one can to the natives, it is never
right to allow them to go unpunished for playing tricks. Of all the
people--and they were many--who applied for charity that day, she was the
only one who received nothing. This punishment, I was glad to see, was
approved of by the many natives who had collected round.

A gentlemanly-looking fellow came forward and asked me to visit his
house, where