The hospitable Englishman was Lieutenant Kell, South Staffordshire Regiment. He was a good specimen of the linguists in our army who surprised our Continental allies. A passed Interpreter in Russian and Chinese, he spoke French, German, and Italian fluently; and, as I discovered afterwards, although he had never been to India, he was rapidly picking up Hindustani from the sepoys with whom he was brought in contact through his station duties. He had served on General Dorward’s staff during the hard fighting in Tientsin and had been mentioned in his despatches. His linguistic powers had caused him to be appointed as Railway Staff Officer at Shanhaikwan, where his ready tact and genial qualities endeared him to the Russians and contributed greatly to the harmonious working of affairs in that debatable garrison. Before we parted for the night our Russian friend gave us both a cordial invitation to dine with him the following night and meet some of his comrades. And then I retired again to bed, feeling no longer a lost sheep and a homeless orphan. In the morning I was awakened by Lieutenant Kell’s servant, who brought me my _chota hazri_, the matutinal tea and toast dear to the heart of the Anglo‐Indian. He had taken my luggage into his master’s quarters, where a bath and a dressing‐room awaited me. I found my host busily engaged in his railway work, interviewing soldiers of every nationality. As I was in the act of wishing him “Good morning” we suddenly observed a heavy transport waggon, drawn by two huge horses, being driven across the line and right on to the platform by a Cossack, who thus thought to save himself a _détour_ to the level crossing at the far end of the station. It was done in flat defiance of well‐known orders. Kell spoke to him in his own language, and told him to go back. The soldier, muttering some impertinent remark, took no notice and drove on. At that moment a Russian colonel entered the station. Kell immediately reported the man’s disobedience to him. The officer flew at the culprit, abused him in loud and angry tones; and if the Cossack had not been out of reach where he sat perched up on the waggon, I am sure he would have received a sound thrashing. Crestfallen, he turned his horses round and drove away; while the colonel apologised profusely to Kell for the fault of his subordinate and promised that the man would receive a severe punishment for his disobedience and impertinence to an English officer. After breakfast one of my companions, Captain Labertouche, 22nd Bombay Infantry, who, like me, had been unable to find quarters among the Gurkhas the night before, but who had been given shelter by the officers of the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry, rode up to look for me. Sending away his horse, we set out on foot to hunt up the rest of our party in the Gurkha mess.