Year: 1879

Marryatt, in one of his naval novels.
/ advises every ships captain TO keep a
monkey on board idleness breeds mis-


chief, and if Jack has a lOng-tailed pet
to tease he will have no leisure to plot.
| The officers of the 31st Bengal have evil
| dently read Marryatt to some purpose,


for they have with them a regimentaf
| jester, an old fellow who had been a
famous wrestler in his prime, but has
developed humorous qualities since that


brings him still greater renown. He is


no mere follower, but q fighting man


with many medals, and holds the rank
of havildar.


My request to have a taste of his quail
ity was graciously acceded to; he was


summoned, and stood at tension in the


middle Of an ordinary group Of his COM
rades, who were anxious to discover how
the performances of their favOrite would


affect the stranger. "FavOrite," Irepeat,


for the Jester is not teased like the
monkey, but held in as much Difference


as the pipe-majOr Of a killed regiment;


his privilege is to entertain his cOmpan-


ions when they are well conducted, his


officers when they are weary. The per-


tOrmanCe was curious one.


Casting a selfcOnsciOus llOk around


by way of preface, he assumed a stolid


air, and presently emitted a succession


Of noises like the barking of a Pariah


dog. The imitation was perfect. 1t


only required a screen between me and
the jester TO have made the illusion


complete. The barking was now angry,
now plaintive, and by and by heightened
into a dismal howl. The dog had been
kicked or disturbed from his bone. Then
the gamut changed to the hollow bay of
a large hound, the weird call of the


iackal, the hOarse gurgling of the camel,
the shrill scream of the peacock, the
chorus of frogs in a marsh, and so on
through the voices of innumerable deni-
zens of the farmyard and the forest. No
YeHtTilOQUist could have done it more
naturally. This man would make his
fortune in a London music hall. He
next gave limitations of a dancing bear,
q cOmrade leading him with an UnwOund
turban; of a sOwar trying to put an un-
ruly charger over a fence; of the music
master of his own regiment leading the
band with his baton and the most pain
fully realistic of all, of a drunken
European soldier in the bazaar. He
reeled and staggered, made incOherent
mutterings, flung his arms around imag-
mary brother tOpers, and at last fell IN
heap. A comrade tried to lift him, and
he thanked him bv vicious kick in the
stomach. Another whispered that his
captain was coming, and he made
futile endeavor to put himself together,
cooking his head knowingly, standing
in an upright position, as he could, sway
ing backward and forward, and at last
Joppling over like a tOp-heavy sack, and
lying in a helpless stupOr. George
Cruikshank never painted a more elO-
uuent sermon on the folly of intemper-
ance.


The athlete of the regiment was next
called, and gave a fair sample Of his
skill with the Indian clubs. He whirled
the ponderous blocks round his skull
very easily and prettily, but his per-
formance did not strike me as much as
the previous exhibition. The other was
unique; the club exercise 1 have seen
gone through better by smaller men at
assault-at-arnls at home.


Then the pipers-yes, the pipers were
brought up, and played a native air on
the old, old theme of love. They pulled
away like TritOns on a reed Of ClariOnet
shape, with a slender brass mouthpiece,
but the music theySal lEnduced had mar
veIlous resemblance to that Of the High
land bagpipes. There was the piercing
concord of disccrds dear to the "land
of brown heath and shaggy wood" in
every note. As a finale they played
Aud Larg-Syne, with variations. The
compliment was neat, but severe truth
compels me to declare that the varia-
tions yelled the original so thickly that
the composer would have been puzzled
to recognize his own offspring.