"Twenty years ago, when a man went out to dinner in India, it was necessary for him to take along his servant to wait upon him, and most persons do so at the present time. The man who neglected this rule was unable to get a morsel to eat, as no servant, not even that of host or hostess, would condescend to bring him anything, even though ordered by his own employer. This custom has been broken down to the extent that you can now go to a private house to dine without taking a servant along, although it is generally expected you will do so." "I remember a picture in an American comic paper," said Fred, "that showed how the same feeling prevails among servants in our own country. A man who looked like a laborer was sitting before an open fireplace where a fire was blazing, and a small child had crept into the flames; a woman was rushing into the room to seize the child, and under the picture was this dialogue: "'You lazy fellow!' screamed the woman, 'why didn't you pull my baby out of the fire?' "'Well, mum,' replied the man, 'I didn't hire out to do housework.'" "Not a bad commentary on the conduct of some of our foreign servants in America," the Doctor remarked, "and the characteristic is not altogether confined to naturalized Americans. Some of our native-born citizens are very fearful of doing something that belongs to others, and very often, for fear of making a mistake, they do nothing whatever." The evening was passed among letters and papers, and it was pretty well into the night before all three of our friends were asleep. They were out in good season in the morning, and went for a stroll through the streets and a ride on the Esplanade of Calcutta. According to the custom of the country they had a _chota hazree_, or light breakfast, before starting, and returned about eleven o'clock for the _burra hazree_, or substantial meal of the first half of the day. The chota hazree consisted of a cup of tea or coffee and a bit of toast with an egg or two; the burra hazree was a more serious affair, and kept the party at table for a full hour before it was finished. There was more sight-seeing in the afternoon; in the evening the boys set at work on their letters describing their first day in Calcutta, on the plan they had followed in visiting other cities of the Far East. They had plenty to occupy themselves with, and after writing till their eyes were heavy, they laid aside their labor for the most convenient hours of the next and the following days. Here is their letter, leaving out the personal messages for friends, and other matters that could have no interest for the general reader: