14 A Sportswoman in India 



A narrow, intolerant religion is at the root of this 

 crying evil, and the only weapon to be employed 

 against it is knowledge. Knowledge will breed 

 scepticism, scepticism will breed tolerance, and toler- 

 ance will, with the advance of civilisation, open 

 the door. But knowledge, education, must come 

 first. 



Before we dined that night, we went to the great 

 Durbar Hall with the Maharajah and his retinue, 

 and were all shod with rinking skates. The floor 

 was " taken " with considerable grace and agility, 

 considering how little we knew about it. It was, 

 to a certain degree, a childish amusement for a ruler 

 of the land ; and still more so were the varieties 

 of clockwork toys and expensive French knick-knacks 

 which filled the rooms in the Palace, and were dis- 

 played to us that evening when we dined with his 

 Royal Highness. Ranee Canari was excluded from the 

 battery of native eyes round the table. We had 

 a very French meal, of which a pilau gratified the 

 Maharajah, and took, he explained, a whole day to 

 make ; music brought the evening to a close, Kapur- 

 thalah himself singing " Polly winked his eye," out of 

 'The Geisha. 



We were all looking forward to the next day and 

 to our expedition after pig ; and conversation that 

 evening turned, as it always does turn, upon the 

 threadbare comparisons between fox-hunting and 

 pig-sticking. 



" Fox-hunting ! what is it," said F., " but a mob of 



