and the struggling and scuffling which ensues is very apt to bring the college tutors who perform als the duties of proctors in America) down upon the offenders. The punishments for these and like offences consist of marks of demerit, a certain number of which entail successively letters home,'' warnings,' and suspension or expulsion;

or if the offence is a very serious one, the latter severe remedy is at once applied. There are many differences between American and English universities, as will be seen by what has already been written and I hope to make the contrast yet more apparent in a second article.

GEO. MAKEPEACE TOWLE.

JUNGLEPORE was one of the

JUN

most charming stations in the North-west provinces of India. It was open to only one objection: it had been burnt down. It had played too serious a part in the draina known as 'The Mutinies' to e-cape some of their most striking effects; and when the piece had at last ceased to run, the place was quite unfit to be seen, and ought to have denied itself to visitors.

There was nothing to object to as far as Nature was concerned. Our ancient friend, in fact, had favoured Junglepore rather more than most parts of the provinces. It was green rather than otherwise, even in the hottest weather, and in compliment to its grass, was made the headquarters of a troop of Horse Artillery. A native proverb says that, in the absence of any other, the castor oil plant may pass as a tree; but though some dusty, dark hedges here and there indicated the presence of that particularly ugly shrub, there was no occasion for it to do duy in its more dignified capacity; for the spreading peepul was in profusion, while topes of mangoes contributed to make things pleasant to the eye, and to keep the rays of the sun at a respectful distance.

But as regards the works of man, the best friend of Junglepore must have admitted that it looked simply awful. People managed to live in it, but only the grossest flattery could describe it as habitable. A few months before the time of which

I write, everybody not prevented by Sepoys over whom they had no control, ran away; and when some of them came back they might well be excused for not recognizing their former home. The church had no spire to speak of; and though its walls had insisted upon standing, its interior had been very hardly dealt by. As suggestive of other details, I may mention that the pulpit was found in the middle of the road outside. The jail and the public offices were utterly unfit for purposes of punishment or government; and as for the private houses -bungalows for the most part-the mildest damage done to them was the demolition of their roofs, window-frames, and furniture; so you may be sure that a great deal of patching-up was required before a few of them could be made available for shelter.

The society of the place was but as partially restored as the place itself. There was understood to be a judge who occasionally appeared in a ruined kutcherry, supported by ruined clerks; and a magistrate who exercised his functions in a similarly mournful manner, with the support of a blighted police. But of these and other officials little was seen in private life. From force of habit they gave one another dinner-parties now and then; but the effort was melancholy, and sociality evidently did not thrive. Some of the younger men of the station got more together, and tried to give a tone to

amusement, foremost among these being some of the officers of the troop of Horse Artillery before alluded to. But the reader will understand the state of things better if I introduce him to a party of the youth of the station.

II.

It is in a verandah of the Artillery Barracks that our friends are assembled, just as the sun is setting behind the barren hills which bound the peepuls and the mangoes and the castor-oil plants of the immediate vicinity. The building is one of a series of similar ranges, and is appropriated as the officers' quarters. It is a row of single rooms, open both back and front, the doors, made of green jalousies, being windows as well, and having a tiled roof, which will not burn quite so soon as tinder, as is the case with a thatched one. The doors are mostly open, so there is no difficulty in seeing that the furniture within is of a very primitive character, a campbed and a camp-table being the principal items in each. Outside one of the doors is a group of young men, one stretched on a charpoy, which has been brought out for the purpose; another in a rocking chair; and the rest sitting as much at their ease as circumstances will allow. They are mostly smoking -the eternal Manilla, of courseand looking listlessly out upon the open space before them, where the horses of the troop are picketed in a double line, and indicating by obvious impatience as to halters and heel ropes, and a general chorus of neighing, that the time has come for the distribution of their evening gram.

The conversation is intermittent, and in the nature of a sustained growl.

'This is certainly the most confounded hole that ever a man was sent to,' remarks one.

'I've seen nobody outside our own mess-counting, of course, the honorary members-for six weeks,' says another.

'Nobody has asked me to dinner

for three months,' is the plaint of a third.

'I heard that the Brig. had some people last night-some of the civilians and the Staff,' said the first speaker. There was no champagne, and the little claret that there was was boiling.'

'Well, of course wine will be boiling this weather if there's no ice,' was the practical rejoinder; and the speaker added, 'But I should not care so much about that if there was something like society; but what's to be done in the way of fun with only two ladies. It's a thousand pities that we did not begin sooner to make up to the other set. They are the only people who do anything, and I hear they enjoy themselves immensely. I'll wager what you like that we shall not get to this ball of theirs. For my part, I think the Myrtle girls are just as much ladies as anybody I've met in India. If they did not keep that infernal shop-but, however, I'm quite ready to forgive that, as far as I am concerned.'

There was a general expression of opinion that the Myrtles might keep fifty shops if they would only make themselves agreeable. Mrs. Myrtle, it may be here mentioned, was the milliner, or rather one of the milliners, of the station; and her daughters, Flora and Adelaide, the most admired girls, almost, in the provinces. The infernal shop' was against them, as we have seen, and kept them out of society proper, otherwise the girls might have made the best matches in India. Even when the station was full, and there were plenty of places to go to, these young ladies always had a following of men who were very handsomely prepared, for the sake of the beaux yeux, to be affable, and forget the claims of their own elevated social position. But Mrs. Myrtle, though a very good natured person- she was too stout to be otherwise-carried prudence to any extent, and 'did not choose her daughters to mix with people who would not know them upon equal terms, and whose intentions were not to be trusted.' Besides, as she well remembered, some experiments which

та

had been made in the way of exceptions to the rule had not turned out quite successful. Youthful officers who had been admitted to balls at which her daughters were present had not always conducted themselves like models of propriety. Some had exaggerated refreshment; others had exaggerated affection; and a few, still more scandalously, had exaggerated a combination of the two. As Mrs. Myrtle remarked, 'Gentlemen who were gentlemen ought to behave themselves as such;' and it happened, unfortunately, that scarcely any of the gentlemen, so called, with whom she had been brought into social contact, had come up to her ideal. There was a general jealousy, too, on the part of the 'second class' society, as it called itself, half seriously and half cynically, of the intrusion of the first class. The latter, in India, draw rather a sharp line in their associations; not sharper, perhaps, than they draw in England, but marked in a greater degree, because they have a more or less personal knowledge of those whom they do not include in their circle, and those whom they do not include in their circle have a more or less personal knowledge of them. These are conditions inseparable from a limited community, in which the small people are a little larger than they would be at home, and, though living in a society which has only an official standard, are apt to take colonial views as to one person being as good as another. These are very small matters to discuss, but they will intrude themselves in India; and I am referring to things as they are, rather than things as they ought to be.

Apart, too, from the awkward fact of gentlemen not always behaving as such when admitted to inferior circles, there was a special jealousy on the part of the second class' men, who fared far worse than their female friends when exposed to the inroads of the superior rank. The one sex could make some allowances for offences committed in their cause; but the other sex found themselves inconveniently supplanted, and by no means able to hold their own

against the attractions of their rivals. So, between one consideration and another, there was, at the time to which I refer, a more than usually strong line drawn between classes in Junglepore; and the hopes of any of the first class being admitted to the second class ball-a subscription affair just coming off- seemed very small indeed. Valiant attempts had been made on the part of our Artillery friends and others to make acquaintance with the Misses Myrtle, but with a strong tendency towards failure rather than success.

Had

the ladies exclusively adhered to the millinery line there would have been no hope; for unmarried gentlemen, even though 'behaving themselves as such,' could not go to the shop with the continual excuse of wanting bonnets and ball-dresses. But, happily for occasional opportunities, Mrs. Myrtle had found it necessary, in the absence of ladies in the station, to extend her commercial operations to articles required by men. She very prudently, in fact, enlarged her stock-in-trade to such matters as wine, beer, brandy, gunpowder, riding-whips, and other odd things, including a couple of saddles, which were very carefully avoided by everybody— buying a saddle in a milliner's shop would have been rather too strong a concession even for the distracted days of the mutinies. But the wine, the beer, the brandy, the gunpowder, and the riding-whips, notwithstanding the appalling prices of those articles, gave an excuse for gentlemen who had nothing else to do to pay visits to the establishment; and there, if they were very fortunate, they might chance to see one of the Miss Myrtles. But even then a glimpse included most of the gratification; for those young ladies were understood to be 'above the business,' and never interfered in commercial transactions. Their shop, too, was quite like a private house; you could not enter the drawing-room, in which the stock-. in-trade was displayed, without a sense of interference with an interesting family. So exclusive, indeed, were the beauties of Junglepore, that their numerous admirers

of the upper class had very little opportunity of gratifying their admiration except at church on Sundays, when staring, at any rate, was privileged, and indulged in, I am afraid, to a very improper extent.

The party in the verandah were in the last stage of laziness. Talking, even, had become a bore. And the horses in front being now engaged with their gram, the only sound heard was the occasional popping of a bottle of soda-water, as one after another-of the men, not the horses-sought the resource of a 'peg.' A very ordinary incident, or rather an incident which would have been ordinary in ordinary times, came to their relief; a gentleman on foot was heard inquiring of a native servant which was the mess kote.'

Somebody going to drop us a ticket. That's a novelty, at any rate-reminds one that one is a gentleman.'

This remark was made by Honeydew, the junior lieutenant of the troop, a 'pretty' specimen of a boy, who sought to carry off his juvenile appearance by treating things in general with a cool air of patronage, and measuring them by a 'gentlemanly' standard upon all possible occasions.

'Don't think he looks much like one himself,' observed Captain Gallivant, the senior officer of the group. 'Competition Wallah, I suspect; wonder if he's brought a wife.'

'He's new at any rate,' said Larkall, another lieutenant, and if he brings us some fun I'll forgive him.'

'You and your fun will ruin us with the Myrtles,' growled Gallivant. He was about to explain why, when Honeydew exclaimed

'By Jove!-friend of mine-have him in.'

Honeydew was off the verandah in an instant, and in another minute had brought back the stranger, who had just gained the information he sought, and was proceeding on his way. With cheerful affability Honeydew presented him all round to his friends- Mr. Mildmay, civil service, just appointed

to this lovely place-Bloaker's Joint, you know.' Bloaker was the magistrate and collector, and one of the unpopular officials who were so seldom seen or heard of.

Mildmay was at once made at home, promptly supplied with a peg, and offered his choice of half a dozen cheroot-cases, represented in their extremes by Gallivant's embroidered bijou, in which reposed some delicate Number Threes, and Honeydew's young portmanteau, bursting with an uncompromising crowd of Number Ones. Mildmay was at his ease at once, as men are apt to be who are early placed in positions of respect and responsibility, but there was little in his appearance to distinguish him from the ordinary youth of Britain. He had a keen, clever face, but was insignificant in his general exterior, and might have passed for an industrious clerk on a high stool and a low salary. There are such men in all grades of life, from dukes downwards, and perhaps I might say upwards too. As Honeydew once said in his patronizing way,

Kings are an odd lot to look at in these days.' Honeydew, by the way, who dressed not wisely but too swell, was not very proud of his friend's inattention to outward effect. The matter was probably in his mind when he said presently

'And how came you here in this lowly manner, on foot?'

'I carried myself because I had nothing to carry me,' was the careless answer. My solitary horse is on the road, and so is my heavy baggage. I came up from Calcutta in light marching order for the sake of speed, and am staying at the Dâk Bungalow. I arrived only this morning, and as you were the only man I knew in the station, I thought I would leave my first card at your mess after presenting myself of course to Bloaker.'

'Who did not ask you to dinner, of course, so you'll dine with us.'

'Delighted,' was the quiet reply, involving no reference to the want of hospitality elsewhere. But my walk brought me a pleasant adventure. I met two of the most charm

ing girls you ever saw, the life of the prettiest.'

and saved

'You-you don't say so!' gasped Gallivant, with an earnestness that made them all laugh.

'I do indeed,' proceeded Mildmay. I was passing near the church, not much admiring the edifice by the way-'

'It was a very gentlemanly church,' interposed Honeydew, 'before the Hon. the East India Company's 99th Mutineers spoiled the steeple.'

'Well, I was passing by the church when two young ladies riding ponies came cautering by. There was one of the most hideous faqueers you ever saw, painted like a stage devil, crouching by the side of the road; and the nearest pony shied at him, as the animal well might no ordinary shy, but a bound from one side of the road to the other. The girl must be a very good rider to have kept her seat as she did; but she was in great danger of losing it immediately after; for the pony, upon being urged to pass the monster again, took to rearing, and I thought would have fallen upon his rider. It was at this juncture that I went to her assistance, seized the bridle in what I am bound to pronounce a very dexterous manner, and not only stopped the brute, but caught the girl in my arms just as she had lost her seat and was falling to the ground.'

There was a general murmur of interest, above which was heard a sympathetic, By Jove' from the susceptible Gallivant. And what then?' asked half a dozen voices.

'Well, just as she was safely on her feet, and she and her sister were thanking me in the prettiest manner possible, up came the two syces, of course too late to be of any use, and after them, riding another pony, came a young cub of a fellow, a little younger than the girls, and evidently a brother, from the utter insensibility he showed to their beauty. He thanked me, too, in a surly way, then said that the damsel in distress might have his pony and he would take hers; and this being settled, and the syces

busy changing the saddles, I had no excuse for remaining, so made my most insinuating bow and passed on.'

'And what were the girls like?' chorused the group, and Honeydew added in addition, One was а chestnut and the other was a bay -wasn't it so?'

Honeydew's illustrative mode of description was very properly rebuked by his friends, Gallivant being particularly indignant. I don't think Mildmay either much liked the way of putting the case, but he proceeded good-humouredly

Well, one was dark-I mean as to her hair and eyes-and the other lighter and brighter. They were both beautiful girls, the lighter one especially. I particularly noticed her hair, because her hat fell off, and it all came down; and when she raised her eyes I noticed that they were the colour of the cornflower, with a deep light like that of a sapphire.'

Bravo!' said Gallivant, 'you beat Honeydew at description. You are a lucky fellow-we all know who were the girls you met-they had grey habits, hadn't they?'

'Yes,' interposed Honeydew, 'not quite gentlemanlike. Mofussil, you know, wouldn't do for the Row, or even the course in Calcutta.'

'Yes, they had grey habits,' said Mildmay. And you know them, it seems. What is their name?' 'Myrtle-Flora and Adelaide,' replied Gallivant. They are the belles of the station.' And what are they-military or civil?'

"Neither, in the sense you mean. Their mother keeps the milliner's shop just out of cantonments; the one in the large compound filled with trees.'

'I saw the house this morning, but I saw no signs of its being a milliner's.'

This was a sore point of Gallivant's, to which he had already made allusion.

'No,' he said, 'Larkall and some of his particular friends stole the board last night, as they have done several times before. There are