for the reception of the natives on ceremonial occasions, and for the meetings of his officers. In the early days of British rule the progress of the highest authorities on the march was often like a procession, many miles in length, of elephants, camels, horses, carriages, wagons, carts, draught animals, trappings and paraphernalia innumerable; his march was far simpler, still it comprised long lines of transport for the tents, the baggage, the camp furniture, and the selected records.
The refreshment of spirit and the physical invigoration, afforded by these tours, baffle description. For the march the start is at sunrise or even a little earlier, at an hour called 'gun-fire'; and the halt is in the early forenoon. Just before and after the appearance of the sun over the cloudless horizon, the cold is sharp and biting. During the day the sun in the pale-blue sky may strike with his vertical rays. Some degree of heat may be felt inside the tents during the mid-day hours if the camp be standing on open shelterless ground. But this effect is mitigated if it be pitched in any of those umbrageous groves of mangoes or other trees frequently found in many districts. Under any circumstances the dry air, the still drier ground, the fresh breeze sweeping over the young verdure of the rising crops, are delightful and salubrious. The afternoon invites to short excursions in the neighbourhood. The shades of eventide are accompanied by a rapid accession of cold, and the chilly temperature, often followed by frost,
