among the colleges and schools for
football and a more open-handed hospitality than in Hyderabad, the
capital of the Nizam's Government, and here our team experienced
their first defeat in this tour.

We had had thirty hours' travelling from Ahmadnagar, in the North,
and the stations on this line were so ill supplied with refreshments
that we had been unable to get anything except some biscuits and
sweets, and, arriving at Hyderabad at midday, we found the match
had been fixed for 4 p.m., so that the team had only time for a
hastily-prepared meal before the match. The college of the Nizam
put a strong team against us, and for the first time in the tour the
Bannu boys were distinctly outmatched. It was, however, nice to see
what good feeling was evinced by both teams in this and nearly all
the matches of the tour, both sides fraternizing with the greatest
bonhomie both before and after the matches, and friendships were made
which continued long after our team got back to Bannu.

Tours such as this undoubtedly tend to promote that feeling of
friendship and union between the races of various parts of India
which has hitherto been so little in evidence. It also tends to
widen sympathies and to lessen religious prejudices. Not only did the
members of our team sink the prejudices which might have arisen from
diversity of religious opinion, but our hosts, too, represented all
classes and faiths. Thus, in Hyderabad the organizer of hospitality
was a Christian missionary, the Rev. Canon Goldsmith. A house was
lent us for residence by a Parsi gentleman, and dinners were given
us by the Muhammadans of the place.

Further south the Hindus were more in evidence, and entertained us
royally at Bezwada and Masulipatam. In the latter place we were the
guests of the staff of the Noble College, belonging to the Church
Missionary Society, and here an amusing incident took place. The boys
in these parts are accustomed to play football with bare feet, and are
light, lithe, and wiry, while our Northerners were heavy, big-boned,
and wore the usual football boots; so it came about that when they
saw our team arrive, their hearts melted within them for fear, and
they refused to play unless our boys consented to play barefooted;
and this they refused to do, as they had had no practice in playing
like that. It seemed as though we should have to go away without a
match, but a missionary there had a boarding-house of Christian lads
of the distr