opened for another passenger to get in,
the guard said:--

"'You cannot have all those boxes inside the carriage; some of them must
be taken out.'

"'Oh, sir,' said the Brahmin in good English, 'I assure you these
articles are by no means necessary to my comfort, and I hope you will not
hesitate to dispose of them as you please.'

"Accordingly, therefore, the boxes were taken away. Then the newcomer
stepped in; he was also a native, but dressed in quite a different manner
from the Brahmin, his clothing being blue, green, red, and all the
colours of the rainbow, so that one saw at once the two persons were from
different parts of India. Presently he surprised me by saying to the
Brahmin,

"'Pray, sir, excuse me for having given you the trouble of removing any
part of your luggage; I am really quite sorry to have given you any
inconvenience whatever.'

"To which the Brahmin replied, 'I beg sir, you will make no apologies; it
is impossible you can have incommoded me by causing the removal of those
trifling articles; and, even if you have done so, the pleasure of your
society would afford me perfect compensation.'"

MR. FRANK BUCKLAND AND HIS BOOTS.

Mr. Spencer Walpole furnishes some interesting and amusing gossip about
the late Mr. Frank Buckland, describing some of his many eccentricities,
and telling many stories relative to his peculiar habits. He had, it
seems, a great objection to stockings and boots and coats, his favourite
attire consisting of nothing else than trousers and a flannel shirt.
Boots were his special aversion, and he never lost an opportunity of
kicking them off his feet.

"On one occasion," we are told, "travelling alone in a railway carriage,
he fell asleep with his feet resting on the window-sill. As usual, he
kicked off his boots, and they fell outside the carriage on the line.
When he reached his destination the boots could not, of course, be found,
and he had to go without them to his hotel. The next morning a
platelayer, examining the permanent way, came upon the boots, and
reported to the traffic manager that he had found a pair of gentleman's
boots, but that he could not find the gentleman. Some one connected with
the railway recollected that Mr. Buckland had been seen in the
neighbourhood, and, knowing his eccentricities, inferred that the boots
must belong to him. They were accordingly sent to the Home Office, and
were at once claimed."

DRINKING FROM THE WR