INDIA. 291 



a jackknife. The agony I experienced from a combina- 

 tion of humidity, heat, and the lazy, sleeping air dur- 

 ing the two nights and day I spent in Calcutta would 

 be difficult, yes, impossible, to describe ; bathed in sweat, 

 panting for breath, with only partial relief from ice 

 and soda and from vigorous pulling of the bedroom 

 punkah throughout the night, by men employed for that 

 purpose. 



A word concerning the punkah puller. Two men 

 or two women, or one man and one woman are hired 

 for the night, and they receive 8 cents each for their 

 easy work and loss of sleep. One night I had two men 

 at the rope; about midnight the to-and-fro motions of 

 the punkah became less and less and finally almost came 

 to a standstill. I went to the door and found one of 

 them sound asleep and the other barely awake. The 

 slight jerks were directed by the spinal cord exclusively ; 

 the brain was sleeping. A few sharp words brought 

 life to men and punkah. 



I was made to comprehend by a trying experience the 

 meaning of 



"A dem'd, damp, moist, unpleasant body." — 

 Dickens. 



I spent a whole forenoon in visiting the Calcutta 

 Medical College and large government hospital con- 

 nected with it, under th# guidance of Major Drury, 

 I.M.S., principal of the school. We inspected the labora- 

 tories, walked from ward to ward, climbed stairs in- 

 numerable and, although an attendant with an enor- 

 mous fan accompanied us and gave us the full benefit 

 of the useful article, I soon felt the sweat running in 

 streams down my legs and into my shoes and, in spite 

 of frequent wiping of face and neck, the collar soon 

 wilted into a shapeless rag. It was then it occurred to 

 me: 



"Ay, now am I in Arden; the more fool I. 

 When I was at home I was in a good place, but 

 travelers must be content." — Shakespeare. 



