used to stay out on deck till ever so late | esting, or both, that we saw in Alaska watching the long streamers flashing and among this stern-looking people. across the sky, while the Aurora Borealis like a huge glory lit up the dark

ness.

There were the Indian graveyards, with their legends and stories ; there were the medicine dances, and strange, Another incident I think I must men- weird customs and ceremonies, and a tion which happened on the return hundred and one other things that come journey, but it was one not down in the crowding back on my memory. I have original programme. Between two and never even mentioned another great three o'clock early one morning, as I glacier that we visited, the Taku, which lay comfortably in my berth, I felt a it is too ungrateful of me to have omitsudden jerk, then there was a scraping, ted, seeing that though not so vast in scrawing sound along the bottom of the size as the Muir, yet all agreed that in ship, and then another bump; unmis- beauty of form and color it bore away takably the ship had struck something; the palm. All this and much else is in a second cabin doors were opening not fated to be recorded here. I have and shutting, and there were murmur- merely given an outline of our trip, and ings and voices in the corridor. I as there is no guide-book to Alaska in looked out of my door and heard, of course, how that the ship had run aground in the fog and they could not get her off. Almost immediately word was passed along that the passengers were to dress, though for our comfort it was added that there was no danger. Nevertheless, danger or no danger, in five minutes everybody had emerged from their cabins apparently in full war paint; and on going on deck you could just distinguish through the fog and darkness that the forepart of the ship was firmly fixed in among tall fir-trees; odd enough to see there instead of the usual water, but comfortably disposing of any fears as to a watery grave. The tide was rising fortunately, so after a wearisome wait of a couple of hours the vessel was afloat again, very little the worse for the mishap. Exactly at the end of twelve days we were once more landed at Vancouver, ready to take up again our journey round the world, in which we had paused for this Alaskan expedition; and before doing so it only remained to us to bid an affectionate farewell to our fellow-passengers, those Americans, who had seemed so strange to us at first, but with whom we had now become fast friends, and who had helped so much by their kindness and attention to make the voyage pleasant and a success to us two lone women.

It must not be supposed that in this short sketch I have been able to describe half the things curious or inter

existence; and as, before starting, Vancouver was ransacked in vain for books on the subject, the long-suffering captain was our sole authority. I must say he deserved the greatest credit for the care he took during the voyage to show all he could that was worth seeing, and to give us all possible information thereon. Alaska can scarcely be considered a convenient spot to revisit soon a second time; and every one on the ship seemed to have a lurking feeling that, while there, it was as well to do it as thoroughly as possible, with the result that we carried away deep but delightful impressions of the strangeness of those twelve days of travel among the mountains and glaciers and trackless forests of far-distant and seldom-explored Alaska.

HENRIETTA GREY EGERTON.

From Macmillan's Magazine.

IN THE DAYS OF JOHN COMPANY.

ELECTRICITY, steam, and modern progress have so completely changed the conditions of life in India during the past quarter of a century, that the manners and customs of the days before the Mutiny have become a somewhat interesting study. A retrospect such as this might almost take us back to the time of Colonel Newcome and Mr. Joseph Sedley, for it is probable that until the troubles of 'Fifty-Seven and

'Eight were overpast, and the influence | that appealed to you pleasantly a second of railways began to assert itself, the time.

In

social and domestic status of the days The dinner to which the newly ar-
of Thackeray's nabob of Boggley Wol-rived youngster was bidden by the
lah underwent but little material alter-friends to whom he had brought letters
ation. At all events in the early of introduction at the presidency town
'Fifties much of the old style of thing was quite a revelation, in its way, of
obtained, and the characters described quaint customs which were strange to
in the ancient Anglo-Indian chronicles, him, and food that he had never tasted
with their nankeen suits, brandy pani, before. If the party happened to be a
and peppery diet, were still true to na- homely one, the host laid kindly hands
ture. It is to this particular decade that upon him the moment he arrived, in-
I propose to go back.
For nearly a sisted on his removing his dress-coat,
century before this the Englishman who and made him put on a funny little
resided in the land of peacocks and white jacket similar to that affected
ivory was represented by the naturalist to-day by the Parisian waiter. This
as a wild animal of strange proclivities was an act of good-nature, inviting the
preying upon curry and rice. Old com- stranger, as it were, to enjoy himself
mentators certainly adopted this diag- without ceremony; but if the host's
nosis, and thus it came to pass that the figure differed widely from that of his
enlarged liver, which was of course un- guest (as it well might), the effect was
derstood to be the portion of all those not infrequently rather ludicrous.
who had borne the burden and heat of asmuch however as all were in the
the Indian day, was generated by fiery same boat even the most sensitive man
kabob and fostered by the best chutnee. soon overcame his scruples, and wore
Nevertheless many an old campaigner his disguise bravely. The ladies on the
can still remember, without any serious other hand were arrayed in the gayest
twitches in their right sides, the charm-toilettes, verandah - made, of course,
ing arrangement in the palest primrose according to the last plates in Le Fol-
which captivated them in Ceylon, and let. During dinner the new guest
the many effective combinations in was startled by a series of bows from
warm brown, amber, and golden-russet
that pleased them in India. Curry cer-
tainly formed the pièce de résistance of
our food at the time I speak of. It
appeared at every meal, and, treated by
the native cook according to his national
traditions, the indifferent flesh and fowl
of the country was thus rendered more
acceptable than in any other method
then known. It rejoiced the servants
of honest John Company therefore to
send round at their banquets, preceded
by a great platter piled high with beau-
tifully boiled rice, a large silver dish
specially fashioned in compartments in
each of which was placed a different
sample of curry, together with trays of
various chutneys freshly made and pre-
served, grilled ham, the roes of fishes,
Bombay ducks," and paparum or
paupad biscuits. The course was a meal
in itself and occupied at least half an
hour, for it was the correct thing to
taste each sample and call for those

the men of the party followed by re-
quests to give them "the pleasure of
beer" with them, for beer was the
beverage of the majority at small par-
ties, and civilities were interchanged
with it as with wine at larger festivals.
The general conversation was perhaps
a little too local in character for him to
be able to take part in it, but he was
asked numerous questions in regard to
news from home, and subjected to quite
an inquisition as to his plans and future
destination. Some one was generally
able to help him if he happened to want
a horse or a buggy; another put his
name down for the club; while the
ladies promised him assistance in pro-
curing his servants. For the rest, much
kindness and geniality were shown him,
and by the time he finished his last
brandy pani and cheroot (both a little
too strong for him) he had come to the
conclusion that India was quite as jolly a
place as his fondest hopes had pictured.

7

The journey "up country" (I am slow, and a bon vivant. His bottle of

sherry, arrayed in a white quilted jacket saturated with water, stood on the window-sill to catch the fleeting breeze; while a cooly was swinging backwards and forwards in the verandah a little frame suspended from the ceiling containing three or four bottles of beer similarly clad. A clean white cloth covered the stained surface of the bungalow table, and places for two, marked by pint pewters, were laid. A glass of sherry and bitters refreshed me nicely, and then a rattling of crockery, and the voices of servants, hurrying from the kitchen without, announced that our food was coming. "An old campaign

speaking of southern India) was of course performed in these days by "bullock dawk," a tedious method of progression yet not without a certain pleasantness of its own if properly conducted. The inexperienced traveller often suffered privation, while the wise one fared rather luxuriously than otherwise. The former went forth into the wilderness with no special precaution in the way of creature comforts; the latter journeyed with a roomy case of Messrs. Crosse and Blackwell's provisions, and generally had a bottle or two of beer or claret to spare in case of accidents, and brandy as a matter of course. In this way the sapient pil-er's dish," apologized my kind host, grim was frequently able to stretch forth as a roomy cooking-vessel enveloped in a hospitable hand to a distressed fellow- a napkin was placed before him. Its traveller. Once upon a time in the lid was sealed with paste, but when this early days of my service I arrived at a was released a savory odor steamed public bungalow, or rest-house, hungry forth which would have tempted a and thirsty, travel-stained, hot, and "dying anchoret to eat." "It is a sort bruised from the constant jolting of my of jugged stew," explained he, "of bullock-cart, without a morsel of any-meat, soup, and vegetables combined, thing to supplement the food that the which I concoct myself, and send out to place could furnish except a tin of be cooked by my fellow." Never had sweet biscuits and a bunch of unripe I tasted anything more delicious. plantains. My new butler had informed was helped in soup-plates, and as it me that bungalows were like hotels, contained a fowl, four snipe, a parand that a traveller got all he required tridge, some slices of bacon, a tin of for five rupees a day. The scoundrel hare soup, some onions, wine, and seaaccordingly relieved me of this sum soning, it was as the captain had said daily and fed me on the bungalow both soup and stew, the very thing for 99 commons,' which consisted of a a famished traveller. After this we "spatchcock" like the grilled back of had a teal apiece roasted to a turn, and an old Latin grammar, and a curry de- then a sweet omelette baptized with scribable only as piper Indicum et brandy and set alight like a Christmas præterea nihil. I had hardly finished plum-pudding. When I had been thus dressing, and was awaiting in no very right royally feasted, I was given some happy frame of mind the serving of valuable advice concerning the correct this parody of dinner, when a visitor way of travelling. "Make a rule, my was announced a wayfarer in occu- boy," said my mentor gravely, never pation of the rooms on the other side to travel without a few necessaries of of the house — who introduced him- life such as you see here [there seemed self, said that his dinner would be ready to be sufficient to stock a small shop], in a few minutes, and hoped I would and let nothing on earth induce you to join him for he hated a solitary meal. separate yourself from your commissaI readily accepted the invitation, and riat. Send your baggage in a different shall remember the little symposium cart if you like, but stick to your food. that followed as long as I live. My host I was once obliged after a very hard was a captain of the same branch of the day's work to dine on a pineapple, simservice as myself, an old soldier in every ply because I had trusted my stores to a sense, for promotion was then cruelly servant in another trap which of course

66

It

་

went wrong.

about to proceed to bed rather than to dinner. "Ah, Dan!" cried she to her husband as I approached, "did ye evur see the like of this now? Just look at me coat and me collar! Faith, it's a great travellur ye are entirely, Mr. Dandy, if that's the way ye dress for dinner at a dawk bungalow. Ah well, nevur mind, sure the soup's ready, and collar or no collar, bedad! I've no doubt ye're ready for't. Come on there, Dan." The colonel obeyed, and a most pleasant little meal we had.

I learnt a lesson, and | beaming with good-hearted smiles. She never committed such a mistake again. was arrayed in a fair white cambric The game we have just eaten I shot this garment, with a frill round the neck morning, for I always go out with my but otherwise fashioned with mediæval gun for an hour or so before my bath simplicity, which adjusted itself to the and breakfast, rest during the day, have undulations of her buxom person with a good dinner at five, and push on dur- unconscious fidelity. Her hair was ing the evening and night to the next gathered into a little knot the size of an bungalow." This was the common way orange, and her feet were cased in of performing a journey according to easy canvas slippers. The good old the old style. In still more ancient souls looked in fact as if they were times, when roads were often mere tracks, our great grandsires were carried in state in palanquins with flashing torches and choirs of chanting bearers posted in relays. Business was conducted by night, and cowrie or cavady cases laden with the contents of the larder, storeroom, and cellar, were balanced on the shoulders of lusty coolies who trotted on ahead of the traveller. Talking of wayside hospitality reminds me of another incident which happened in the days of my bright green "griffinage," and may perhaps be amusing. I arrived one afternoon at the Chickalore bungalow, and soon learnt from my servants that some kind friends, Colonel and Mrs. O'Rafferty of the Pallampore Light Infantry, were in possession of part of the premises. As soon as Mrs. O'R's ayah had discovered to her mistress the rank, name, and regiment of the new comer, I received a slip of paper containing these words: Soon after seven o'clock P.M. we "Delighted to hear it's yourself, and drive up to the bungalow in our bullocknot a stranger that's come. Will you carriage, and are received at the door just join us? We dine at four, but by Captain Flitter, the general's son-inbring your own beer for we've run law and aide-de-camp. We enter the short. Yours, etc., KATHLEEN O'RAF- drawing-room, and pause, after exFERTY. P.S. You'll come in your changing salutations all round, to take comfortable things of course." I ac- in the scene. The room is well furcepted with much pleasure, but not quite understanding the postscript, and being as yet by no means indifferent as to my personal appearance, I brushed up and dressed myself as best I could in the circumstances. On proceeding to the other side of the bungalow I found the jovial old colonel sitting in the verandah in his shirt-sleeves and a roomy pair of pyjamas, with his anteprandial glass of sherry and bitters at his elbow, while Kathleen, his wife, stood in the doorway to receive me

But by far the most characteristic entertainment of the time of which I speak was the burra khana. This certainly deserves the passing tribute of a sketch. Let us therefore accept the invitation we have received from Major General McGowlie (commanding the division) and Mrs. McGowlie, and see how the hospitalities of the old régime were dispensed.

nished with guests, the thermometer indicates 92°, and our high-collared mess-jackets are tightly buttoned up. But what of that? The punkah is waving steadily, and nobody thinks of the heat. Young Mr. Lisper, of the Light Company of the Queen's Hundred and Fifty-First, is the buck of the party; observe his ambrosial curls and the jaunty twist of hair that adorns each temple. He is, of course, cleanly shaven, as we all are, for Crimean experiences have yet to bring about the

clock, from beneath a great glass shade, chimes half past seven, and Eleazar, the stout major-domo of the McGowlie household (a native Christian) enters with some dignity and announces that

Was

beard and moustache movement. His yet been exported to India. He is for short-waisted shell-jacket clings like the moment rather put out because wax to his slim figure, and you wonder Lisper has appropriated the fair Luhow on earth he contrived to get into cinda; for Mrs. Norrice and her brood his sleeves. His white ducks are are in England, and his Reverence immoulded tightly as far as the knee, at proves the shining hour, while his freewhich point they are set free in a nau- dom lasts, with mild Platonisms. But tical manner, falling with a small slit in he finds consolation anon in devoting the side-seam so completely over his himself to Mrs. Softwill, a comely and foot that you can only catch an inch of somewhat volatile young matron, whose his toe with your naked eye. He is elderly husband is absent on duty with hanging expressively over the chair in drafts. We have just had time to take which the lovely Miss Lucinda McGow-these notes when a magnificent ormolu lie, the last importation by the good ship Renown, and the belle of our station, is gracefully posed. Her skirt of snowy muslin is garnished with green beetle-wings; she wears long ringlets, and has acquired the languishing eye dinner is ready upon the table." It encouraged by the "Book of Beauty." is a moment of extreme anxiety. The She has a pretty foot, which her rather laws of precedence must be observed to short draperies reveal liberally. Lis- the last tittle, or battle, murder, and per's eyes are fixed upon it; it is set off sudden death may be the result. by a pale pink silk stocking, and a black not poor Captain Scatterly shot by satin slipper secured by riband-sandals Major Gusher, not so very long ago half an inch wide. She wears mittens, either, in the mango grove behind of course, and long earrings; a broad "Dustagir's durgah " for taking in Mrs. sash of pink riband is tied at the back Dovetail, the lady allotted to him, of her gown, and bows of the same be- Major G., or at least on account of comdeck her pretty shoulders. She uses plications which arose out of that unher fan coquettishly, and has lately happy mistake? Have a care then lest read (unknown to her mother) Lord any misunderstanding of the kind be Byron's beautiful poems with much created this evening! In five minutes appreciation. The general is tall and the arrangements are completed by portly, measuring fifty-seven round his Captain Flitter (exactly according to waist-belt. He is florid, and as hard our respective ranks in the civil and as iron. His closely shaven lips are military lists, and according to the occasionally given to anathematism, for positions to which the ladies are enat this epoch in Indian history all in titled by virtue of their husbands' authority with soldiers under them are places in those calendars), and we prone to violent invectives, as we of march in to dinner. The general places course know, but he passes for a pleas- Mrs. Prayter on his right, and Mr. ant, hospitable old fellow when off Prayter, our jovial judge, takes the duty. He has just extracted a frag-place of honor on the side of his ment of naughty gossip (they call it hostess. On the left of our host sits gup) from wicked old Mrs. Prayter, and Mrs. Softwill, and the vacant chair on they are laughing at it together purple the other side of Mrs. McGowlie is in the face. You think that there will occupied by Dr. O'Flirty, our principal be a fit of apoplexy directly, but there is medical officer, a bachelor and a humornot; at least not yet. Padre Norrice, ist. The remainder of the guests seat our chaplain, is of course here; a hand-themselves as they please, for the some man is he, and a favorite among practice of allotting places is as yet the ladies, with no inconveniently ex-unknown. Eighteen or twenty people treme views of any kind. Such things having settled themselves, Padre Norindeed, even if invented, have not as rice upholds the dignity of his office by