1 Messrs. T. Cook & Son issue tickets for these tours and an explanatory pamphlet. For their addresses in Bombay and Calcutta, see Index and Directory.

2 These figures represent the shortest limit of days given by Messrs. T. Cook & Son, for performing the journey.

22.

Karachi

Mooltan

Lahore.

Amritsar

Umballa

Meerut
Delhi

Bombay.

At the beginning.
Madras
Rte. 22.
Calcutta (Darjeeling, Rte. 20),
end of Rte. 1.
Benares

Muttra

Cawnpore

Rte. 1.

Lucknow

Lucknow

16.

Benares

Cawnpore

18.

Allahabad

9. Jubbulpore

Delhi

6. Bombay.

6.

33 days.2

Agra, Rte. 9 (Gwalior, Rte. 5A;
Fatehpur Sikri, Rte. 9).

[India]

b

1 These figures represent the shortest limit of days given by Messrs. T. Cook & Son for performing the journey.

INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

A TRIP to India is no longer a formidable journey or one that requires very special preparation. The Englishman who undertakes it merely passes from one portion of the British Empire to another. The hotel tout who on arrival worries him on board the steamer does his worry in English; at the hotel every one speaks English; and the pedlars who sit in long lines in the verandah importune him to buy in the same language. In the shops he will find expensive but very good articles for all ordinary requirements, and will be attended by a person speaking English fluently.

RAILWAYS

Each railway company publishes an elaborate time-table and list of fares. In Bombay, the Indian A.B.C. Guide and the Indian Railway Travellers' Guide, and in Calcutta, Newman's Indian Bradshaw, give good maps, and the railway routes for all India, besides steamer routes and short notices of the most important places usually visited by travellers. The Railway Companies in India do much for the comfort of travellers throughout the country. Every 1st and 2d class compartment is provided with a lavatory, and the seats, which are unusually deep, are so arranged as to form couches at night. There are refreshment rooms at frequent intervals, and some of them are very well managed and supplied. The Station-masters are particularly civil and obliging, and, as a rule, are most useful to travellers in providing ponies, conveyances, or accommodation at out-of-the-way stations if notice is given them beforehand; they will also receive letters addressed to their care,—this is often a convenience to travellers.

SEASON FOR VISIT TO INDIA

The season for a pleasant visit to the plains of India lies between 15th November and 10th March, but in the Panjab these dates may be slightly extended; then, however, the heat will be found tryi at the ports of arrival and departure. October and April are as months as any in the year, much more so than July, Augus September, when rain cools the atmosphere.

CLOTHING

Not very long ago it was thought essential to have a special outfit prepared for a journey to India. This is scarcely the case now.

For the Voyage a few warm clothes for the northern part and thin ones for the Red Sea and Arabian Sea are required. As regards the lighter clothes, a man will find it convenient to have a very thin suit of cloth or grey flannel for day, and a thin black coat for dinner. It is not necessary to dress for dinner on board ship.

A lady cannot do better than provide herself with thin skirts of tussore-silk or some such material, and thin flannel or silk shirts. Shoes with india-rubber soles are the best for the deck, as they afford good foothold when the vessel is unsteady.

On Baggage-days, which occur once a week, boxes marked wanted on voyage may be brought up from the hold, and suitable clothes taken out or stowed away according to the temperature and weather.

For a winter tour in the plains of India, a traveller requires similar clothing to that which he would wear in the spring or autumn in England, but in addition he must take very warm winter wraps. A man should have a light overcoat in which he can ride, and a warm long ulster for night travelling or in the early morning. A lady, besides a jacket and shawl, should have a very thin dust-cloak, and a loose warm cloak to wear in a long drive before the sun rises, or to sleep in at night when roughing it. Tourists should remember that the evening dews are so heavy as to absolutely wet the outer garment, the nights and mornings are quite cold, and yet the middle of the day is always warm, sometimes very hot, so that the secret of dressing is to begin the day in things that can be thrown off as the heat increases.

In Bombay and Calcutta, and, in fact, all along the coast and in the south of the peninsula, much thinner clothing is required. Cool linen suits for men, and very thin dresses for ladies, also Karkee riding and shooting-suits, can be got cheaper and better in India than in England. Linen and underclothing for at least three weeks should be taken,—with less the traveller on arrival may be inconvenienced, or even detained until his board-ship clothes are washed. The Indian washermen, though not as bad as they used to be, destroy things rather rapidly. Winter clothing will be necessary if it is intended to visit the hill-stations. Flannel or woollen underclothing and sleeping garments and a cholera belt" are strongly recommended.

The hospitality of India involves a considerable amount of dining out, and therefore a lady, unless she intends to eschew society, should be provided with several evening dresses. Riding-breeches or trousers for men, and riding-habits for ladies should not be forgotten.

A good sun hat is an essential. The Terai hat (two soft felt hats fitting one over the other) might suffice for the coolest months, but

even in cold weather the midday sun in India is dangerous, and it is therefore advisable to wear a cork or pith helmet, which is lighter and better ventilated, and affords better protection from the sun than the Terai, and is indispensable in real hot weather. Many London hatters have a large choice of sun-hats and helmets for ladies as well as men. The Sola or pith hats are very light, but brittle and soon spoilt by rain; they can be bought in India very cheaply. A thick white umbrella is also a necessary, especially for a lady, and a straw hat for the cool hours of the morning and evening will be found a great convenience. Travellers in Ceylon will seldom require anything but the thinnest of clothing, except in the mountains, where the temperature becomes proportionately cooler as he ascends. At Kandy he may often require a light overcoat, and at Nuwara Eliya warm wraps and underclothing are necessary.

BEDDING

Every traveller who contemplates a tour must on arrival in India provide himself with some bedding. Except at the best hotels, there is either no bedding at all or there is the chance of its being dirty. The minimum equipment is a pillow and two cotton wadded quilts (Razais), one to sleep on, the other as a coverlet. The readymade ones are usually very thin, but they can be got to order of any thickness. To these should be added a pillow case, cheap calico sheets, and a blanket. A rough waterproof cover to wrap the bedding in must not be omitted, or the first time the bedding is carried any distance by a culi or packed on a pony it may be very much dirtied. A waterproof sheet is a very valuable addition to the bedding, but cannot be called an absolute necessity for a short tour. Without such a modest supply of covering as is here indicated, a traveller may at any time have to spend a night shivering in the cold, which would probably result in an attack of ague. An india-rubber hot-water bottle takes up very little room and will often be found very handy.

TRAVELLING SERVANTS

A good travelling servant, a native who can speak English, is indispensable, but should on no account be engaged without a good personal character or the recommendation of a trustworthy agent. Such a servant is necessary not only to wait on his master at hotels, dak bungalows, and even in private houses, where without him he would be but poorly served; but in a hundred different ways when travelling by rail or otherwise, and as an interpreter and go-between when dealing with natives. Having ascertained beforehand from his agent the fair wages which his servant ought to be paid, the master should take care to come to some definite arrangement with him before engaging him. If the servant proves satisfactory, it is the custom to make him a small