i6 HAUNTS AND HOBBIES 



extend beyond the walls of the house, and so is not 

 much noticeable from without. 



As the house has no passages, so neither has it any 

 special windows. The outer doors, those that open on 

 the verandahs, are fitted with panes of glass, and though 

 always spoken of as doors, they form also the windows. 

 Immediately before these window-doors are other doors. 

 They are of wood, painted dark green, and, in place of 

 panels, contain arrangements of flat bars much re- 

 sembling Venetian blinds. These arrangements are 

 termed "jilmils." I may often hereafter have occasion 

 to mention them. 



I will conclude this account of the house with a few 

 words regarding its grounds, or, as in India they are 

 termed, its " compound." 



The compound is some five acres in extent, and of 

 this about half the area is occupied by the garden ; the 

 rest is open space dotted with trees. Along the eastern 

 end of the compound runs the river; the opposite end 

 is bounded by one of the station roads. Here, with 

 their back to the road, are the stables, and close by 

 them are the entrance gates. In about the centre of 

 the compound stands the house. The huts of the 

 servants and a variety of sheds and outhouses stretch 

 along one of the sides ; and beyond them, but well 

 apart, is the kitchen, usually here in India described 

 as the "cook-room." The boundaries on either side 

 are the compounds of my neighbours. 



And now, having described my house, I will endea- 

 vour to depict the life I lead within it at this season 

 of the year. I rise at earliest dawn. It is hardly 



