DRESS-CLOTHES 57 



Ranbir Sing of Patiala, and Nawab Saiyid Muham- 

 mad of Madras. 



They all came in ordinary evening-dress, except 

 one, who wore a really beautiful dress of dove- 

 coloured satin, embroidered with gold. Patiala 

 and many others, of course, wore turbans, and 

 one guest wore a black astrakhan cap. The 

 excellent cut and fit of the dress-clothes worn by 

 Indian gentlemen is very noticeable. Their dress- 

 clothes are frequently better in all respects than 

 those of the average Anglo-Indians, myself in- 

 cluded. The only jarring note at the dinner in 

 regard to dress was the large butterfly yellow 

 tie of a European guest. Although I was the 

 host, I may be permitted to say that the Bengal 

 Club provided a very good dinner, and the wines 

 were excellent. 



The whole thing went off remarkably well, and 

 I was much gratified by the cordiality and good- 

 fellowship which prevailed. The bright and in- 

 telligent conversation, which never flagged, and 

 the cheery good-humoured expression on every- 

 one's face, led me to hope that my object had been 

 attained viz., the establishment of a feeling of 

 bonne camaraderie between the many, very dis- 

 similar, representatives of the first approach to 

 Indian elective constituencies and the Indian 

 Civilian nominees of the Provincial Governments. 



I should find it difficult in London, or indeed in 

 any European capital, to get together a set of men 

 more intelligent, more interesting, and of more 

 refined manners than the Indians who dined with 

 me on February I5th, 1910, at the Bengal Club 

 in Calcutta. 



