152 Indian Racing Reminiscences. 



somewhat out of gear. Take Mr. Laurence Crowdy, 

 who manages the large factory of Munjoul, near Mou- 

 ghyr, as an instance. Whenever an assistant in the 

 district loses " his berth " he, quite naturally, packs up 

 his things, goes straight to Munjoul, and stays with 

 Laurence, who takes it as a matter of course that he 

 should provide for him until he can obtain another 

 situation. Laurence, like all the Behar planters, being 

 a skilful and enthusiastic polo player, is fond of a game ; 

 so, during the season, every hard - riding youngster, 

 within a radius of ten or twelve miles, comes over to 

 Munjoul, once a week or once a fortnight, as the 

 fixture may be, to stay for a couple of days and 

 play polo. He is also a captain in that splendid 

 corps, the Behar Mounted Rifles. When his troop 

 parades for training they of course " fall in " at Mun- 

 joul, and horses and all " put up " with their gallant 

 commanding officer, who has the rare knack of making 

 his guests thoroughly " at home " and comfortable. 



My readers who do not know the country may think, 

 from what I am writing, that a planter's life is all " beer 

 and skittles." Such, indeed, is far from being the case, as 

 they have, on the contrary, an immense amount of work 

 and anxiety at certain times, especially during the 



