to the witness— "they were not
—  not what?"

"Not drunk," said the witness.

"There is nothing about drunkenness in
the charges," said the President; "where are
the charges?"

"Here, sir," said the Deputy-Judge-Advocate-
General.  " But, please let me write
down your remark, before we go any further."

"What remark!" inquired the President.

"That there is nothing about drunkenness
in the charges. According to the last general
order, His Excellency, the Commander-in-
Chief, on the last court martial held in this
station, everything that transpires should be
recorded." And the Deputy-Judge-Advocate-
General then resumed his writing in
the slowest and most provoking manner
imaginable. Several of the audience walked
out of the Court, and went into the room
where the refreshments were. I followed
them. We remained absent for more than
ten minutes; but, when we came back, the
Deputy-Judge-Advocate-General had not
yet written up to the desired point,
previous to going on with Blade's question.
This, at length accomplished, he looked at
the President and said, " Yes, sir?"

"There is nothing about drunkenness, and
the prisoners are not charged with it," said
the President. " The words, ' while in a state
of intoxication,' are to all intents and
purposes surplusage."

"There I differ with you, sir," said the
Deputy-Judge-Advocate-General.

"So do I," said Blade.

'* Clear the Court! " cried the President;
whereupon the audience, the prisoners, the
witnesses in fact, all save the members of
the Court and the Deputy-Judge-Advocate-
General, withdrew, whilst a discussion, which
lasted for three-quarters of an hour was
carried on. Every member giving his opinion,
and most of them speaking at the same time.

When we returned to the Court, after three-
quarters of an hour's absence, the senior
captain resumed his seat near the Deputy-
Judge-Advocate-General. We were not
informed of what had taken place. A pause
of several minutes ensued, when Blade threw
across the table another little slip on which
was written a long sentence. The Deputy-
Judge-Advocate-General handed it to the
President, who, on reading it, looked a good
deal astonished, and shook his head, whereupon
Blade, who was evidently bent on mischief,
called out, "We are all of that opinion
at this end of the table."

The President then handed Blade's written
question to the officer who sat next to him
on his right, and that officer passed it on to
the next, the next to the next, and so on till
it had been seen by every member of the
Court. Some signified by a nod, some by a
shake of the head, others by a shrug of the
shoulders what they thought about it; and,
as there seemed to be a difference of opinion,
the Court was again cleared in order that
the votes for or against might be taken.
So once more we were driven into the
messroom to refresh ourselves and laugh over the
absurdity of the whole proceeding. After
waiting there for about five-and-thirty
minutes, the Adjutant announced, in a loud
voice, " The Court is open! " and we returned
to hear the President say that, as it was now
nearly four o'clock, the Court must be
adjourned—another absurdity in connection
with courts martial. After four o'clock the
Court must not sit, even if twenty minutes in
excess of that hour would end the proceedings,
and render another meeting unnecessary.

The Deputy-Judge-Advocate-General then
locked up his papers in a box, placed it under
his arm, bowed to the Court, walked off,
called for his buggy, and drove home. The
members of the Court, the prisoners, and the
audience, then dispersed, and retired to their
respective bungalows; all very tired, and
very glad of some repose. My friend, on
taking off his coat, asked me to feel the
weight of it out of curiosity. Saturated as it
was, it must, including the epaulettes, have
weighed some five-and-twenty pounds.

The next day, at eleven, the Court again
met. The first thing that was done was to
read the proceedings of the previous day.
This duty was performed by the Deputy-
Judge-Advocate-General, and, slowly as he
read, it was over in twelve minutes, for I
timed him. That is to say, it had taken four
hours and a-half to get through the real
business of twelve minutes, or, giving a very
liberal margin, the business of half an hour.

And now another very curious feature of
an Indian court martial presented itself.
The President asked the Deputy-Judge-
Advocate-General if he had furnished the
prisoners with a copy of the past day's
proceedings. The Deputy-Judge-Advocate-
General said:—

"No; the prisoners had not asked for a
copy."

The President said:—

"That does not signify. Did you tender
them a copy?"

"No, sir."

"Then you ought to have done so."

The prisoners here said that they did not
want a copy.

The President's answer to this innocent
remark was, that whatever they had to say
they must reserve till they were called upon
for their defence.

Desirous of not provoking the animosity of
the President, they bowed, and very respectfully
thanked him for the suggestion. Whereupon
the President, who was a terrible
talker, and passionately fond of allusions to
his own career in the army, mentioned a case
within his own personal knowledge. It was
a case that happened in Canada, and he had
reason, he said, to remember it, because he
was at the time on the staff of that