so. Now, a native officer would satisfy himself
on the subject before he took charge.
Don't you see?"

Here our conversation was interrupted by
a havildar (native sergeant), who appeared at
the door of the tent, saluted the lieutenant,
and uttered in a deep and solemn tone of
voice the word Sa-hib!

"Well. What's the matter?" said the
lieutenant.

"Maun Singh Sipahee is very ill."

"What ails him?"

"He has fever."

"Then I will come and see him in one
moment." With these words the lieutenant
threw down his cards, and invited me
to accompany him to the tent wherein the
patient was lying.

Maun Singh Sipahee was a powerful Brahmin,
who stood upwards of six feet two. He
was a native of Oude, and had a very dark
skin. When we entered the tent, he attempted
to rise from the charpai (native bedstead)
on which he was reclining; but the
lieutenant told him to be still, then felt the
sick man's pulse, and placed his small white
hand across the broad black forehead of the
soldier.

"Carry him into my tent. The ground is
too damp for him here," said the lieutenant,
and forthwith the bedstead was raised by
half-a-dozen of the man's comrades. In the
tent medicine was administered—a small quantity
of tartar emetic dissolved in water, and
given in very small doses—until nausea was
produced, and a gentle perspiration stood
upon the skin of the patient.

''You are all right, now, Maun Singh,"
said the lieutenant.

"No, Sahib, I am dying. Nothing can save
me."

"Then you know better than I do"

"Forgive me, Sahib."

"Listen. Lie very quiet; and, before we
march, I will give you another sort of medicine
that will set you up."

The sepoy covered his head over with his
resaiee (counterpane), and lay as still as possible.

"They always fancy they are going to die,
if there is anything the matter with them,"
said the lieutenant to me. "I have cured
hundreds of fever cases by this treatment.
The only medicines I ever use in fever, sir,
are tartar emetic and quinine. He has taken
the one, which has had its effect; the other
he shall have by and bye. I wouldn't lose
that man on any account. His death would
occasion me the greatest grief."

"Is he a great favourite?" I asked.

"Not more than any of the rest of them,
who were with the regiment in Affghanistan,
where they not only proved themselves as
brave as the European soldiers; but where
they showed themselves superior to prejudices
most intimately connected with their religion
—their caste. That man, whom you see lying
there, is a Brahmin of the highest caste;
yet, I have seen him, and other Brahmins now
in my regiment, bearing upon their shoulders
the remains of an officer to the grave. Of
course, you are aware that to do a thing of
that kind—to touch the corpse of an unbeliever
—involves a loss of caste?"

"Yes."

"Well, sir, these fellows braved the opinion
and the taunts of every Hindoo in the country,
in order to pay respect to the memory of
those officers whose dangers and privations
they had cheerfully shared. You are aware,
perhaps, that at last the government found it
necessary to issue a general order to the
effect that any sepoy of any other regiment
who insulted the men of this regiment, by
telling them they had lost their caste, would
be severely punished and dismissed the
service? Such was the case, sir; and many
courts-martial were held in various stations
for the trial of offenders against this order;
and many Hindoo sepoys and Mussulman
native officers were very severely dealt with.
And the thing was put down, sir; and now-
a-days there is nothing more common than
for the Hindoo sepoys, in all the regiments, to
ask permission to carry the remains of a
popular officer to the grave. Indeed, ladies
are often thus honoured, and children. They
seem to have agreed amongst themselves
that this does not involve a loss of caste—so
much for caste, if it can be got over by an
understanding amongst themselves! Caste!
More than four-fifths of what they talk about
it is pure nonsense and falsehood, as any
straightforward native will confidentially
confess to you. I don't mean to say that some
Hindoos are not very strict. Many, indeed,
are so. But I mean to say that a very small
proportion live in accordance with the Shasters,
and that when they cry out, "if we do
so and so we shall lose our caste," it is
nothing more than a rotten pretext for
escaping some duty, or for refusing to obey
a distasteful order. There are hypocrites in
all countries, but India swarms with them
more thickly than any country in the world.
And the fact is that we foster hypocrisy. Our
fellows, and most of them Brahmins, released
a good many cats from the bag, when they
were taunted with having lost their caste!
If you are not in a frightful hurry to get on,
stay till we march, and go with us; and I'll
tell you and show you something more about
caste. You can send on your palkee and
bearers to the next encampment ground, and
I'll drive you in my old trap of a buggy. It
is not a remarkably elegant affair, but it is
very strong and roomy. By the bye, we shall
have to travel 'three in a gig;' for I must
put Maun Singh, my sick sepoy, between us;
and you will find him a very intelligent
fellow, I can tell you, and the dose I intend
giving him will make him as chirpy as possible."

The conversation and the manners of