There were days when the ordinary chappati could not be kneaded or the meat cooked with the ingredients dear to the sepoy’s heart, and there were times when perhaps men were glad to eat their flour wetted and mixed with gur (Indian sugar), but this was seldom, and as time went on hardly ever; and after all when the enemy is only thirty, and never more than two or three hundred yards away, and a lively tune is singing overhead, the beginner at the game is not too squeamish whether his dinner is served hot or cold nor whether it is up to Savoy standard. These are the natural accompaniments of rough war, and the Indians are the easiest soldiers in the world to feed when they understand it is part of the game. The rations consisted of meat for those who ate it, several days in the week according to the circumstances of the time; for non meat-eaters extra gur (sugar), dall (lentils), ghee (clarified butter), potatoes, tea, atta (flour), and five kinds of tasty ingredients; in addition dried fruits such as raisins, etc., and various kinds of vegetables as procurable. But this did not end their rations, for mixed sweetmeats were frequently supplied by friends and retired British officers; cigarettes in abundance for such classes as smoked them; European and Indian tobacco and chillums (native clay pipes) were sent by some of the Indian Princes. Rum was issued to those who were not prohibited from taking alcohol, and extra tea to those who could not indulge in the former. Goats were purchased from Southern Europe in large numbers; slaughtered at fixed stations on the line of communications by men of the various units; labelled with distinctive tapes and conveyed to destination by men of the different denominations. Nothing could have been more considerate than the details carried out to observe the customs of the sepoy; and Indian officers and men have said to me over and over again, “The British Government is wonderful; here in the midst of the Mahabharat (great war) they even label our meat. Truly the Badshah (King) is a Rustam and a Hatim (a hero and a just man).” As for clothing and necessaries; beginning with somewhat scanty garments, the sepoys were gradually supplied with an outfit which it became an impossibility to move; vests, balaclava caps, warm coats, goatskin overcoats, extra flannel shirts, socks, drawers, woollen mufflers, and gloves poured into their wardrobes or kit-bags until a man could neither put on nor even stagger under the burden, but the cry was, “Still they come.” Kindly ladies in England and Regimental Committees continued to send gifts for the Indian soldiers, and I was obliged at last to cry a halt and find storage room for all that could not be moved forward from rest billets. There were occasional complaints of shortage of warm clothing from units, chiefly Departmental ones; but though this may have been the case during the first month or so in France, the exact contrary was the case later on.