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and the unceasing vivacity which are everywhere in evidence. 
While in India Mr. Heap was fortunate in having as guide, 
philosopher and friend, a Parsee, through whose kind offices 
he saw phases of Indian life which the ordinary tourist 
seldom or never sees. He was in this way privileged to 
attend a Parsee baptism and during the ceremony was 
accorded a place of honour. In a pithy and picturesque way 
the lecturer recounted how the aged priest, surrounded by 
elders, admitted the novitiate to full communion. The 
ritual was described — the burning of sandal-wood, the donning 
of the “ sudra,” the making of presents to the boy, the 
casting of garlands upon the guests. On another occasion 
Mr. Heap was an invited guest at a large Parsee reception 
given in honour of Lord Brassey. It took place on a January 
evening and in the grounds of the house were English military 
bands playing, among other items, selections from “ The 
Gondoliers.” In the reception room itself, the traditional 
pearl and gold of the opulent East seemed typified in the 
lavish and gorgeous display of dress and jewels which met 
the eye on all sides. During the evening our lecturer was 
accorded the honour of a special personal introduction to 
Lord Brassey and a few days later enjoyed Lord Brassey ’s 
hospitality on board the famous “ Sunbeam.” Mr. Heap 
recounted to the Club, some interesting personal memories 
which his lordship retained, of Mr. Gladstone. 
The lecturer then went on to speak of the Taj Mahal, 
at Agra, and, in exquisitely chosen words, very skilfully 
pictured something of the witchery and glamour of that 
noted shrine. It is a building the charm of which increases 
with familiarity, for the mind needs time and preparation 
before it will register all the finer distinctions which here lie 
open to it. To see this wonderful edifice at its best the trav- 
eller should arrange to visit it during the period of full moon. 
He should first see it in burning sunshine, then at the sunset 
hour when it appears like warmly tinted ivory, and again at 
moonrise when its dome seems to assume a mysterious 
fullness and to be enveloped in a blue translucent haze. 
Though the Taj Mahal cost some three or four hundred 
million pounds to build its great scenic charm lies not so 
much in the costly detail of its fabric as in its proportions, 
its setting, and the charm which the varied play of light 
and atmosphere create about it. 
In the course of the evening, various photographs taken by 
the lecturer himself at different points in his tour, were 
thrown upon the screen. They consisted of snapshots of 
