The two boys looked up in surprise. They had been accustomed to horses from their earliest remembrance, and it seemed to them incredible that their tall cousin should require to be taught. Dick smiled at their look of astonishment. "It is not, with us in England, as it is here," he said. "Boys who live in the country learn to ride, but in London, which is a very great town, with nothing but houses for miles and miles everywhere, few people keep horses to ride. The streets are so crowded, with vehicles of all sorts, and with people on foot, that it is no pleasure to ride in them, and everyone who can afford it goes about in a carriage. Those who cannot, go in hired vehicles, or on foot. You would hardly see a person on horseback once in a week." "I do not like walking," Doast said gravely. "Well, you see, you have no occasion to walk, as you always have your horses. Besides, the weather here is very hot. But in England it is colder, and walking is a pleasure. I have walked over twenty miles a day, many times, not because I had to do it, but as a day's pleasure with a friend." "Can you shoot, cousin?" "No," Dick laughed. "There is nothing to shoot at. There are no wild beasts in England, and no game birds anywhere near London." Dick saw, at once, that he had descended many steps in his cousins' estimation. "Then what can you find to do?" the younger boy asked. "Oh, there is plenty to do," Dick said. "In the first place, there is school. That takes the best part of the day. Then there are all sorts of games. Then I used to take lessons in sword exercise, and did all sorts of things to improve my muscles, and to make me strong. Then, on holidays, three or four of us would go for a long walk, and sometimes we went out on the river in a boat; and every morning, early, we used to go for a swim. Oh, I can tell you, there was plenty to do, and I was busy from morning till night. But I want very much to learn to shoot, both with gun and pistol, as well as to ride." "We have got English guns and pistols," Doast said. "We will lend them to you. We have a place where we practise. "Our father says everyone ought to be able to shoot--don't you, Father?" The Rajah nodded. "Everyone out here ought to, Doast, because, you see, every man here may be called upon to fight, and everyone carries arms. But it is different in England. Nobody fights there, except those who go into the army, and nobody carries weapons." "What! Not swords, pistols, and daggers, Father?" Doast exclaimed, in surprise; for to him it seemed that arms were as necessary a part of attire as a turban, and much more necessary than shoes. "But, when people are attacked by marauders, or two chiefs quarrel with each other, what can they do if they have no arms?"