LETTER X3U A. PET HOESE 135

melons, encumbers, grapes, and cotton, bnt in bad seasons
have to import wheat. There, as at every village since, the
Jcetchuda has called upon me, and some of these men have
been intelligent and communicative, and have shown such
courtesies as have been in their power. It is an unusual,
if not an unheard-of, thing for a European lady, even if
she knows Persian, to travel through this country without
a European escort; but there has been no rudeness or
impertinent curiosity, no crowding even; the headmen all
seemed anxious for my comfort, and supplies at reason-
able rates have always been forthcoming.

The heat at Deswali was overpowering, the mercury
in my tent standing for hours on 17th August at 120°,
the temperature in the shade being 104°.

It is vain to form any resolution against making a pet
of a horse. My new acquisition, "Boy" insisted on being
petted, and his winning and enticing ways are irresistible.
He is always tethered in front of my tent with a rope so
long as to give him a considerable amount of liberty, and he
took advantage of this the very first day to come into the
tent and make it very apparent that he wanted me to
divide a melon with him. Grapes were his next penchant,
then cucumber, bread, and biscuits. Then he actually
drank milk out of a soup plate. He comes up to me
and puts his head down to have his ears rubbed, and if I
do not attend to him at once, or cease attending to him,
he gives me a gentle but admonitory thump. I dine
outside the tent, and he is tied to my chair, and waits
with wonderful patience for the odds and ends, only
occasionally rubbing his soft nose against my face to
remind me that he is there. Up to this time a friendly
snuffle is the only sound that he has made. He does not
know how to fight, or that teeth and heels are of any
other use than to eat and walk with. He is really the
gentlest and most docile of his race. The point at which