226 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



fid, if mysterious. There are no rules as to not pocketing 

 these, and it is considered a compliment if one ask per- 

 mission to take some away, so I ventured the request ; 

 whereupon a packet was given me wrapped in gilt paper, 

 and when we left we found such a parcel of these metais in 

 the carriage ! Jellabies, most fascinating of all, are com- 

 posed of honey, rosewater, flour of some special grain, and 

 butter — or ghee, the native form of it — boiled and strained 

 with some other ingredient that I could never find out, 

 but which makes all the difference to those rather ordinary 

 materials. The mixture is fried in the shape of flat circles, 

 something like curled macaroni, in pipes ; what these pipes 

 contain I cannot say, but it is a most delicately flavoured 

 syrup, quite indescribable. To taste jellabies freshly made 

 would be a revelation to a European confectioner. Hulwa, 

 though quite different, is equally captivating. This is a 

 paste of cream, nuts, camels' milk, and honey, also with 

 something mysterious in its flavour which one could not 

 name or even describe. Hulwa is like nougat in appear- 

 ance, though in no other respect. There are many other 

 sorts, but these two were my favourites ; and one need not 

 wait for an entertainment to get them, for they are to be 

 bought in perfection in the bazaars everywhere. 



At the close of these parties, while host and guests take 

 leave of each other, attendants stand by with huge trays 

 laden with gifts, one for each person, all receiving the same. 

 Attar-of-rose, in delicate glass phials covered with gold 

 tracery, was very often the gift, and a coveted one, this 

 being the pure attar. 



On one occasion, during the regency of Sir Salar Jung, 

 H.R.H.'s Prime Minister, one of the guests, who had already 

 passed out with his gift, contrived to come round a second 

 time, thinking to receive a second gift ; upon which Sir 

 Salar, withholding his hand, and without an instant's 

 hesitation, ordered the entire remaining trayful of attar to 



