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 XV.

AN OFF DAY.

January 5.

YOU must not suppose that processions and great state ceremonies are every day occurrences. We have our quiet days in camp, when the exhausted sightseer seeks a little mild recreation and gains strength for the next big function. Such a pause we have experienced to-day. The Viceroy, Lord Kitchener, and the Governor of Madras have taken large parties to the Kutab Minar, fourteen miles away. There is an air of relaxation and of rest about the camps. You can sit before your tent door and prophesy evil regarding the ominous clouds which are threa tening the overdue rain ; if you get up sufficiently early you may by dusk have succeed- ed in booking a berth in a special train leaving in a fortnight's time. For getting into Delhi will be put a pleasant joke compared with getting out again — but this is a story which will be told a week or so hence.

Calling is one of the features of an off day. You make an early start with a well-horsed gharry, a map, and a Camp Directory, and, if the fates are kind, you may make several calls before dinner time. The amusement has in it the spice of adventure. You ^o forth into the unknown, and