THE ORDEAL 



I should possibly have referred to 

 them in the reverse order ; but 

 with Americans the relative import- 

 ance of the members of a family is, 

 as a rule, in an inverse ratio to that 

 which obtains in England. The 

 American fathers and brothers come 

 at the back-end of the list, while the 

 daughter of the house leads at the 

 head.) 



The Clays had been wintering in 

 Meerut, where the good climate and 

 the social cheeriness of the large 

 military station contributed to make 

 it an agreeable substitute for the 

 usual Continental watering - places 

 that form the habitat of Americans 

 blizzarded out of their own country. 



Having many friends among the 

 6th Hussars at Meerut, the ladies had 

 84 



