MAHOMETAN SCRUPLES. 173 



the moat would be wasted. Alan took him on one side, 

 so that the coolies should not hear, and assured him 

 that the halal had been done in the most orthodox 

 fashion, so hoped the Mussulman log would not object to 

 it as food. 



Rahman had no particular scruples for himself ; and 

 said certainly a Christian was not an idolater, still he feared 

 one could not perforin a Mahometan rite. He was sure 

 none of these Punjabi Mahometans would eat the flesh. 

 If he (Rahman) did, his co-religionists, who here are 

 very bigoted, would be scandalised, and consider him an 

 unbeliever. 



We had a haunch for our dinner the next day. It 

 was excellent, just like four-year-old Southdown mutton. 

 But except our two Hindoo servants, none of the others 

 would eat a bit of the ram. 



December 19th. — Our time in these hills is now drawing 

 to a close. The next two months we intend to devote to 

 Rajputana, and every day is allotted to visits to different 

 States. En route, we have promised to stay with the 

 Lieutenant-Governor at Lahore, and are due there on 

 Christmas Eve. We decide therefore to return by Pail 

 to the hills below Nurpoor, which are a sort of preserve 

 of the Salt Range officials, and conveniently situated 

 only a day's journey from the railway. 



Pad is a very long inarch, nearly twenty miles 



