"The Man who
would be King"

Notes on the text

These notes, by John McGivering, are partly new, and partly based on the ORG. We are indebted to Alastair Wilson for some technical details, and to George Kieffer for advice on matters Masonic. The page and line numbers below refer to the Macmillan (London) Standard Edition of Wee Willie Winkie and Other Stories, as published and frequently reprinted between 1899 and 1950.



[April 22 2007]

[Title] This title has a echo of O’Shaughnessy’s Ode “We are the Music-Makers” about it, but we have a feeling that it rings another bell somewhere and suggestions will be appreciated: Ed.
One man with a dream, at pleasure.
Shall go forth and conquer a crown;
And three with a new song’s measure
Can trample a kingdom down. (Arthur William Edgar O’Shaughnessy 1844–1881)
[Heading] Brother to a Prince and fellow to a beggar if he be found worthy an echo of the last verse of the Masonic verse “Banquet Night”.

[Page 200, line 1] The Law 'This refers to the Masonic Law, which lays down rules for the conduct of life by teaching the freemason morality, equality, and justness and uprightness of life and actions.' [G.K.]

[Page 200, line 13] Mhow town and cantonment, Indore State, Central India.

Ajmir capital of Rajputana Province – see Letters of Marque in From Sea to Sea, volume I page 42.

[Page 200, line 13] upon the road to Mhow from Ajmir This is the line on which Kipling travelled from Ajmir to Chitor in order to reach Udaipur, described in Letters of Marque No.VI, which was written shortly before "The Man who Would be King".

[Page 200, line 19] Eurasian people of mixed race, usually an Indian mother and an European father. See “His Chance in Life” (Plain Tales from the Hills) and “Among the Railway Folk” (From Sea to Sea, vol II).

[Page 200, line 20] Loafer discussed in From Sea to Sea, vol. I, pp. 118 – 9.

[Page 202, line 1] resume touch with the Treasury The ORG maintains that Kipling had no sense of money and it was just as likely he would find himself penniless when away from home; in later years his wife was in charge of his finances, and very successfully, too. However, here - to support the story-line - he has to explain why the Narrator is travelling in the acute discomfort of Intermediate Class.

[Page 202, line 21] Marwar Junction ... Jodhpore see “Letters of Marque", pp. 110 ff.

[Page 202, line 29] the Backwoodsman a nickname for The Pioneer which Kipling represented – a stratagem often used by blackmailers.

[Page 203, lines 14-18] going to the West ... From the East ... on the Square ... for the sake of my Mother 'These words come from the Lodge ritual of the Third Degree, where a Mason is said to be coming from the East and directing his course to the West, looking for the lost secrets of a Master Mason, which were lost with the death of Hiram Abiff. The latter, one of the three Grand Masters, was said to be a widow’s son and all Masons are therefore considered to be the sons of a widow, which serves to explain the reference to ‘Mother’. See also the poem "The Widow at Windsor." ' [G.K.]

[Page 204, line 6 and line 15] Degumber ... Chortumna These are disguised names for two notorious rajahas of the time.

[Page 204, line 29] barouches four-wheeled horse-drawn carriages to seat four people and a driver.

[Page 205, line 4] Harun-al-Raschid (763–809) Caliph of Baghdad and hero of the stories of the Arabian Nights. He plays a prominent part in “Railway Reform in Great Britain” (Sussex Edition, vol XXX and reprinted in KJ 310/19) See also “Letters of Marque” (From Sea to Sea, vol. I, page 195)

[Page 205, line 8] Politicals British military officers or diplomats accredited to Rajahs and other Indian rulers as 'Agents' or 'Residents' in an endeavour to moderate their behaviour and assist them to adhere to government policy - Colonel Nolan holds such a post in The Naulahka [See David Cannadine, Ornamentalism - How the British saw their Empire, Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 2001.]

[Page 205, line 18] Jodhpore see “Letters of Marque” pp. 108 ff. (From Sea to Sea, vol. I) for the author’s visit

[Page 206, line 18] little rat-trap states some Rajahs did not administer their states as well as could be wished – see “Namgay Doola” (Life’s Handicap) and The Naulahka.

[Page 206, line 30] Zenana-mission ladies Persian zanana from zan, meaning ‘woman’; these were the private apartments where the women were kept in seclusion (purdah). Western missionaries often endeavoured to improve their conditions. [see the Old Lady of Kulu in Chapter 4 of Kim and Chapter 9 of The Naulahka].

[Page 207, line 3] Seniority versus Selection a perennial subject of discussion which has not been resolved to this day.

[Page 207, line 21] Grand Trunk Road See the notes on Kim page 64.

[Page 207, line 24] telephone in use in India at an early date.

[Page 207, line 27] Mister Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) a Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and so detested by Kipling, who calls him “Mister” in a slighting manner, rather as the boys in the 'Stalky' story “The United Idolaters” called Brownell, the unpleasant temporary master.

[Page 207, line 31] Modred’s shield blank, as he had not done a noble deed to earn a device: see Tennyson’s Idylls of the King and Malory’s Morte d’Arthur.

[Page 208, line 9] prickly-heat Lichen Tropicus - an intensely uncomfortable disorder of the sweat-glands common in hot countries. See Dr Gillian Sheehan's note on the subject.

[Page 208, line 12] Khuda Janta Khan an invented name which translates as 'God Knows Town'.

[Page 208, line 27] the dark half of the moon it is not clear if this refers to the other side of the moon which is not visible from earth, or to the interlunation when the moon is not visible at all. We have a feeling that this has a Shakespearian ring to it. [Suggestions will be welcomed: Ed.]

[Page 209, line 16] the loo the hot dry wind of the tropics.

[Page 209, line 24] night-jars 'Goatsuckers', or nighthawks, birds of the family Caprimugidæ with a curious cry like a stone skimming over ice.

[Page 210, line 30] Contrack Contract, see page 215 for a copy of it.

[Page 211, line 7] Brother Freemasons so address each other.

[Page 212, line 20] two strong men an echo of Kipling’s “Ballad of East and West” (1889)
When two strong men stand face to face,
though they come from the ends of the earth !
[Page 212, line 20] Sar-a-whack Sir James Brooke (1803–1868) served in the army of the East India Company, assisted the Sultan of Brunei to reduce the warring tribes of Sarawak and was created Rajah of the province in 1841. Also, perhaps, a pun on sarwat, meaning “wealth”, but the language has not yet been traced.

[Page 212, line 21] Kafiristan a territory of some five thousand square miles on the south slope of the Hindu Kush mountains between Afghanistan and Kashmir, and of strategic importance as an outpost of the Indian frontier, commanding as it does the passes of the Hindu Kush. The country was subdued by the Emir of Afghanistan in 1895-6 and converted to Islam; 'Kafir' is a Mohammedan word for infidel. [Harmsworth] See also our notes on the heading of “His Chance in Life”.

[Page 212, line 22] top right-hand corner of Afghanistan an approximation as the country was unexplored by Europeans at the time

[Page 212, line 23] three hundred miles from Peshawar probably less, see the note above.

[Page 213, line 11] no Englishman has been through it Kipling later met Robertson, author of Kafirs and Kafiristan, 1896. ( Lycett, p. 290)

[Page 213, line 28] volume INF-KAN Volume XIII of the 9th Edition of The Encyclopædia Britannica contains an article on Kafiristan by Colonel Sir Henry Yule (1820–1889) which supplied most of Kipling’s references and local colour. [Yule and Arthur Coke Burnell (1840–1882), are joint compilers of the invaluable Hobson-Jobson glossary of Anglo-Indian words and phrases.]

[Page 213, line 32] Roberts’ army In the Second Afghan war of 1878-1880 the then Major-General Roberts took the Kurram Valley and Kabul and then made the famous march to Kandahar. There is a portrait of him in Martin Fido's illustrated biography. [See also Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game (O.U.P., 1990) (pp. 400 ff.)]

[Page 213, line 33] Jagdalak about forty miles east of Kabul

[Page 214, line 1] Laghmann territory a District on the north side of the Kabul River opposite Jelalabad.

[Page 214, line 5] Wood ... Sources of the Oxus Captain John Wood (1811–1871) A Journey to the Source of the Oxus with an Essay on the Geography of the Valley of the Oxus by Colonel Sir Henry Yule, 1841 and 1872. [See the note to page 213 line 28 above]

[Page 214, line 10] Ashang (Alishang on old maps) to the north of the Laghmann territory.

[Page 214, line 15] United Services’ Institute The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, formed in 1831 and at one time housed in the Banqueting House in Whitehall, in London. (It is now now (in 2004) next door, with the Welsh Office on the other side.) George Cottar was going to a lecture there but changed his mind when he met Miriam in “The Brushwood Boy” (The Day’s Work). There was a local U.S.I. in Simla where lectures and examinations on military subjects were held and Occasional Papers published.

[Page 214, line 16] Bellew Surgeon-General Henry Walter Bellew (1834–1892) author of several works, including Our Punjab frontier, being a concise account of the various tribes… and brief remarks on Afghanistan (1868) which is probably the book in question,

[Page 214, line 19] related to us English legend has it that there was a colony of descendants of soldiers from the army of Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.) at Charikar, fifty miles North of Kabul, and Sir J. Rawlinson said he had heard of white natives and seen a girl in Kabul with golden hair down to her feet. The Encyclopaedia Brittanica quotes Bellew’s description of a Kafir officer as hardly to be distinguished from an Englishman and concludes that fairness was a general characteristic. [See the note below at page 230, line 14.]

[Page 214, line 20] Raverty Major Henry George Raverty (1825–1906) published various works, including Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan in four parts, 1881–1888.

[Page 214, line 27] the Serai the Kumharsen Serai - buildings round a central yard with accommodation for men, animals and goods, similar to the Kashmir Serai at Lahore. [See Kim page 24.]

[Page 215, line 27] There was no need for the last article i.e. 'if one of us gets into trouble the other will stay by him'. The reason Carnehan consider this article of the contract superfluous is that masons are pledged to help each other. [G.K.]

[Page 216, line 16] Balkh an ancient town and capital of the province of the same name, a centre of trade between India and Central Asia.

[Page 216, line 17] Bokhara at one time a vassal state of Russia with the River Oxus as one boundary. Mahbub Ali wears a belt from there in Kim (page 24).

[Page 216, line 18] draw eye-teeth The canines, in the upper and lower jaws, just below the eyes, are proverbially difficult to extract; thus this expression means 'to drive a hard bargain' or 'take the conceit out of a person'.

[Page 216, line 33] Amir Abdur Rahman, King of Afghanistan who appears in “The Emir’s Homily” (Life’s Handicap). [There is a cartoon of him in Hopkirk’s The Great Game (O.U.P. 1990) and he appears in a group with the Duke of Connaught at p. 46 of Fido.] See also “Her Majesty’s Servants” (The Jungle Book), and for a report on the meeting with the Emir, Pinney’s Kipling’s India (pp. 77ff.) Also “The Ballad of the King’s Jest, and “The Ballad of the King’s Mercy”.

[Page 217, line 4] Usbeg a Central Asian people – their language belongs to the Tuekic branch of the Altaic family.

[Page 217, line 4] Hindi a language of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family now (2004) used by some 30% of people in Northern India.

[Page 217, line 7] Shinwaris tribesmen from South of the Khyber Pass which leads from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

[Page 217, line 9] Eusufzai tribesmen from North of Peshawar.

[Page 217, line 9] Rajputana The Indian territory bordered by the Punjab on the North, the Bombay Presidency, and the United Provinces.

[Page 217, line 15] Roum Turkey or perhaps its ancient capital Constantinople, which is now called Istanbul.

[Page 217, line 18] Pir Khan a political and religious leader; Pir is a descendant of a saint, and Khan the leader of a tribe.

[Page 217, line 20] Protected of God a madman.

[Page 217, line 25] King of the Roos the Czar of Russia.

[Page 217, line 31] Huzrut Arabic Huzur – The Presence - a respectful form of address.

[Page 218, line 3] Hazar Get ready.

[Page 218, line 25] Martini a Martini–Henry rifle used in the British Army – see the notes to “His Chance in Life” (82/14) and “The Taking of Lungtungpen” (119/12) (Plain Tales from the Hills} The weight was 8¾ pounds (ORG).

[Page 219, line 3] the Khaiber the famous Pass, some thirty-three miles long, between Afghanistan and India used by the conquerors of India (except Alexander and the British) and always strongly guarded against the ever-present threat of a Russian invasion. Kipling was there on one occasion and a tribesman took a shot at him – fortunately, he missed ! (Something of Myself, p.44); but see Lycett (p.105) who says it was a volley of stones from a young boy who did not like the look of him. The Khaiber (or 'Khyber') Pass is mentioned in many of the Indian stories particularly in “The Man who Was” (Life’s Handicap) and Kim.

[Page 219, line 10] Half my Kingdom an echo of Herod’s promise to Salome in Mark 6, 23: Whatever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. Also the classic fairy-tale reward for the prince who rescues the princess, kills the dragon etc.

[Page 219, line 12] a small charm compass 'The compasses are an emblem of freemasonry, which symbolise the limitations of human desires and ambitions and reminds the freemason of God’s unerring justice. The irony of trading Martini-Henry rifles for a Masonic emblem of this nature is palpable.' [G.K.]

[Page 219. line 33] H.H. His Highness.

[Page 221, line 5] turned up the lamp it would be a paraffin (kerosene) lamp, with a cotton wick moved up and down by turning a screw which increased or decreased the light. Two are shown on the back cover of Mrs. Hauksbee Steps Out, ed. John Whitehead [Hearthstone Publications 1998]

[Page 222, line 14] don’t distrack me do not distract me.

[Page 224, line 27] tremenjus tremendous

[Page 225, line 1] odd and even a gambling game.

[Page 225, line 6] fair men … with yellow hair see note to page 214, line 19 above.

[Page 225, line 28] Imbra Imbra is their chief god. [Hobson-Jobson]

[Page 225, line 33] jim-jams usually slang for delirium tremens (a disorder of the brain brought about by excessive alcohol), but here used for the idols even though the men he addressed did not understand English.

[Page 226, line 10] rope bridges flimsy and dangerous constructions across deep gorges.

[Page 227, line 9] Go and dig the land and be fruitful and multiply echoes of Genesis 1, 28: Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth... and Genesis 3, 23: The LORD GOD sent him forth to till the ground…

[Page 227, line 24] form fours and advance in line drill formations – see “The Magic Square” in A Book of Words.

[Page 227, line 33] blooded a custom of the hunting-field when a newcomer – usually a child – is as it were “ christened” with blood from a dead fox. It may well be the folk-memory of sacrifices in pre-Christian times.

[Page 228, line 10] matchlocks an early form of musket with a burning fuze that ignites the gunpowder when the trigger is pulled. The flint-lock is the next major improvement. [between the matchlock and the flintlock, there came the wheel-lock, though many weapons went straight from the match to the flint; A.W.] See the notes to “His Chance in Life” (82/14).

[Page 228, line 17] the brown to fire into the middle of a flock of birds or other creatures.

[Page 228, line 18] wings one of them shoots him in an arm or other non-fatal part of the body

[Page 228, line 31] Volunteers the predecessors of the Territorial Army (the volunteer auxiliary force for the British Army) sometimes not very highly trained.

[Page 229, line 3] Occupy till I come see Luke 19,13: And he called his ten servants ... and said unto them Occupy till I come.

[Page 230, line 14] the son of Alexander by Queen Semarimis Alexander the Great; see the note to page 214 line 19 above. Legend had it that she was a queen of Assyria who built Babylon and conquered Egypt and Libya, but failed to conquer India. This is, however, an unlikely story as she flourished about 800 B.C. while Alexander was born in 356 B.C.

[Page 230, line 18] footy trifling. This is pronounced footy - because the derivation is from footling.

[Page 230, line 22] Shu this and other places mentioned by Carnehan are imaginary.

[Page 230, line 23] suet in mutton not suet, but the white fat in cold mutton which appears like veins in marble.

[Page 230, line 24] turquoise a mineral, hydrous phosphate of aluminium and copper, opaque and blue–green, it is used as a gem.

[Pagr 230, line 25] garnets silicate minerals used as semi-precious stones, usually pink to deep red, and abrasives.

[Page 230, line 26] amber fossilised gum from prehistoric coniferous trees, usually found on the shores of the Baltic, coloured red or yellow, used in jewellery.

[Page 231, line 1] The Craft Freemasonry. The two men were partly successful in ruling the country as if it were a Lodge of Freemasons. 'Carnehan goes to give the Third Degree Grip to Billy Fish. He must therefore have been a Master Mason or he would not have known the grip. It is rather the natives who acquired freemasonry from Alexander the Great – as is implied – but who never progressed beyond the Second Degree, that of a Fellow Craft. The ‘Word’ means the password of the degree.' [G.K.]

[Page 231, line 5] Mach A railway-station on the Bolan Pass which leads to Quetta. They knew a man who looked like 'Billy Fish' when they were working on the construction of this line.

[Page 231, line 8] the Grip a Masonic handshake which enables members to recognise one another. Each rank has a characteristic Grip.

[Page 231, line 15] they’ve cut the marks on the rocks 'These are the Masonic marks, such as square and compasses, level etc. Interestingly in the obligation of the First Degree a candidate Freemason promises never to carve these symbols anywhere.' [G.K.]

[Page 231, line 23] “It’s against all the law … holding a Lodge without warrant from any one” 'A Lodge requires a warrant issued by a Grand Lodge to be regular and properly constituted. It specifies the number of the Lodge in the Register and when and where it meets. Dispensations are granted for changes of venue or date. Here Dravot assumes the powers of a Grand Master who presides over a Grand Lodge. In India Lodges came under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of England and were organised under District Grand Masters.' [G.K.]

[Page 231, line 27] a four-wheeled bogie on a down grade A curious Americanism which Kipling may have picked up incorrectly from Mrs. Hill; we regard a bogie as a four wheeled truck. Kipling seems to be referring to the complete vehicle which would, in fact, be an eight-wheeler. This is discussed in the notes to “.007” (page 248, line 20) (The Day’s Work) We would call a 'down grade' a descending gradient or an incline. See also Letters of Travel and From Sea to Sea.

[Page 232, line 1] aprons part of the ornamental dress of Masons in Lodge.

[Page 232, line 2] levee (levée) an assembly and Reception by the Sovereign, a Viceroy or Governor. See the note to “His Chance in Life” page 77 line 1 (Plain Tales from the Hills).

[Page 232, line 11] black pavement with white squares the usual pattern of floors in a Masonic Lodge.

[Page 232, line 16] Past Grand-Masters 'The ‘Past Grand-Masters’ are Solomon King of Israel, Hiram King of Tyre and Hiram Abiff. Dravot or Carnehan have never been Masters of a Lodge, as opposed to Master Masons, or even held more junior offices. Alexander the Great was originally considered a Mason until demoted by The Rev James Anderson who wrote the first and fundamental Constitutions of freemasonry in 1723.' [G.K.]

[Page 232, line 25] Bazar-master a non-commissioned officer in charge of the Bazar or native quarter with shops.

[Page 232, line 26] Mhow a military station near Indore, in Central India.

[Page 232, line 30] fudge the Ritual improvise as they did not know the correct procedure.

[Page 233, line 10] the Master’s Mark 'This denotes the markings on the apron of the Master of a Lodge which are three symbols in the shape of an inverted tau, the Greek letter T, often considered a religious symbol. The markings of masons below the rank of Masters are turquoise rosettes. The discovery of lost symbols or marks is important in Masonic symbolism, particularly in Mark Masonry of which Kipling was a member.' [G.K.]

[Page 233, line 15] Mark that no one could understand as 'This must refer to the apron of a Master of a Lodge. (see above).' [G.K.]

[Page 233, lines 18–22] By virtue of the authority…etc 'Only the words By virtue of the authority vested in me are taken from Masonic ritual. Any Master, even a Grand Master, has to be properly installed by his predecessor and does not have the authority to appoint himself.' [G.K.]

[Page 233, line 24] Senior Warden 'The most senior officer in a Lodge after the Master.' [G.K.]

[Page 234, line 5] Communication 'A Grand Lodge holds meetings called Communications, at regular intervals, normally quarterly.' [G.K.]

[Page 235, line 9] Kafuzelum she is the 'Harlot of Jerusalem'. This was a ribald old song that goes to the tune of "In Plymouth Town there lived a Maid / And she was mistress of her trade". The Archangels’ band plays it when they lose the game of polo in “The Maltese Cat” (The Day’s Work).

[Page 235, lines 13-14] Bashkai, Khawak See the note on page 213 line 28 above.

[Page 235, line 17] Ghorband a District in Parwan Province some fifty miles north of Kabul, where rifles were made for the Emir: they were not as valuable as weapons stolen from the British, as the artificers did not know how to harden the head of the bolt. See “The Man who Was” (Life’s Handicap)

[Page 235, line 20] Herati men from Herat, a city some 400 miles west of Kabul.

[Page 235, line 27] Jezails long, heavy Afghan muskets made at a factory on the Peshawar road to Kohat. See the poem “Arithmetic on the Frontier”.

[Page 236, line 3] cork-screwed, hand-made guns barrels not true and probably with erratic rifling.

[Page 236, line 9] niggers American slang for black people generally, now offensive, and not used; sometimes used in the past by Eurasians to refer to lower caste Indians.

[Page 236, line 12] sit on chairs Indians of this social level usually squatted on the ground or on charpoys (beds).

[Page 236, line 13] the Lost Tribes ten tribes from northern Palestine who were carried into captivity in about 720 B.C. and never heard of again. The theory that the British are descended from them has been put forward but is not based on any verifiable evidence. See also “The Propagation of Knowledge” [page 284 line 14] and “Sea Constables” [page 43 line 14] in Debits and Credits.

[Page 236, line 21] Russia's right flank when she tries for India An expansionist Tsarist Russia had been extending her empire southwards into central Asia during the mid-19th century, and the British were very conscious that she might have aggressive intentions towards British India. 'The Great Game' was the British intelligence campaign to detect Russian moves in the north-west, and foil them. This is reflected in a number of Kipling's stories, including Kim, where Kim and Hurree deal with a pair of Russian agents who are intriguing with Himalayan native states, and "The Man who Was", in Life's Handicap in which Dirkovitch is clearly a Russian agent, and the White Hussars are in no doubt that they may need to give his Cossacks a warm welcome if they become a military threat; at the end of the story a Hussar officer hums the refrain from a 'recent Simla burlesque':

I'm sorry for Mister Bluebeard,
I'm sorry to cause him pain;
But a terrible spree there's sure to be
When he comes back again.
Incidentally, unless Kipling has another pass further to the east in mind, he appears to put Kafiristan on the wrong side of the Khyber in referring to Russia's right flank.

[Page 236, line 25] Rajah Brooke see the note to page 212 line 20 above.

[Page 236, line 29] Segowli (Segauli) 85 miles north-west of Patna in Bengal.

[Page 236, line 31 ] Tounghoo Jail Taung-ngu in Lower Burma, 110 miles north of Pegu. Warder Donkin also appears in the poem "The Mother Lodge".

[Page 237, line 2] Dispensation 'A 'dispensation' is given by the authority of the Grand Master to regularise Lodge matters; Dravot dreams that his Grand Lodge will become regular and recognised by United Grand Lodge of England in this manner and that he will become the District Grand Master. (See also the note to page 249 line 25 below) ' [G.K.]

[Page 237, lines 4 & 6] Sniders ... worn smooth James Snider (1820–1866), was an American inventor who designed the conversion of the Enfield muzzle-loading rifle into a breechloader. It was generally issued to the British infantry, and then the Indian Army from 1867 onwards. (The muzzle loading Enfield rifles and the greased cartridges had been a contributory factor in the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny, referred to a little later in the story. Snider’s invention was therefore revolutionary as it did not require the biting off of the twisted end of the greased cartridge.) [Later, at some time after 1871, the Indian Army was rearmed with the Martini-Henry rifle, and its predecessors were destroyed or sold. The rifling, which imparted a rotary motion to the projectile and kept it gas-tight, would have been worn, resulting in a shorter range and lower muzzle-velocity; A.W.]

[Page 238, line14] Ghorband see the note to page 235 line 17 above.

[Page 239, line 17] Mogul Serai (Mughal Serai) – across the Ganges near Benares, scene of the Queens’ Praying in “The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney” (Life’s Handicap).

[Page 239, line 22] Dadur Junction There are two places named Dadar; the one with the railway junction is in Baluchistan, now in Pakistan, some 60 miles south-east of Quetta.

[Page 239, line 32] waste their strength on women Proverbs 31, 3: Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.

[Page 240, line 1) For the last time of answering a pun on "The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony" in The Book of Common Prayer, the proper form being This the first (second, or third) time of asking. ORG also records that it was an Eastern custom for the question to be asked three times, and that from modesty the lady would not reply until the last time.

[Page 240, line 10] Am I a dog…..? An echo of 2 Kings 8, 13 ...is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing ? (Kipling later used the phrase 'Thy Servant a Dog' as the title of a collection of dog stories.)

[Page 240, line 22] at Home in the United Kingdom.

[Page 241, line 1] daughters of men an echo of Genesis 6, 2: ...the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

[Page 242, line 33] Punch the Italian Punchinello, the classic puppet play Punch and Judy about a husband and wife with a baby. He mistreats both of them and triumphs over all his enemies, being particularly pleased with himself when he does so.. It was probably introduced into England about 1660 or earlier and is a dreadful display of violence and bad manners which is still adored by children!

[ Page 243, line 7] jackass the male donkey, an animal with a loud bray.

[Page 244 , line 1] Neither God nor Devil, but a man because he bled when she bit him.

[Page 245, line 24] our Fifty-Seven The uprising in 1857 by some Indian regiments against the British which was put down after much brutality on both sides, and is referred to by British historians as "The Indian Mutiny". It is mentioned in several of the stories, particularly in “The Bridge-Builders” (The Day’s Work) and “On the City Wall” in Soldiers Three where one character observes '... ’57 is a year that no man, black or white, cares to speak of.'

[Page 247, line 19] punkah-coolies men who pull the ropes that operate the primitive fans of that era.

[Page 249, line 25] Right Worshipful Brother 'This is the mode of address for a Provincial or more appropriately in the case of India a District Grand Master; the Grand Master of UGLE and any independent Grand Lodge would be addressed as Most Worshipful Brother.' [G.K.]

[Page 249, line 28] a black horsehair bag this may well be the bag in which Peachey’s crown came – see page 230, line 28 above.

[Page 249, line 30] the dried withered head see the Medical Notes by Dr. Gillian Sheehan.

[Page 250, line 4] in his ‘abit as he lived an echo of Hamlet III, 4, 136 : My father, in his habit as he liv’d !

[Page 250, line 27 - 28] The Son of Man goes forth to war / A golden crown to gain This is based on Hymn 439 (Old) 539 (New) by Bishop Reginald Heber (1783–1826} in Hymns Ancient and Modern, which has 'kingly' rather than 'golden' in line 2.

[Page 251, line 6] sunstroke See the Medical Notes by Dr. Gillian Sheehan.


[J. McG.]