Travel in the Ori Orient nt J I We put up lip at night at the little thatched reserved for the occasional traveler but the permanent ab abode de of rats At the village of Burmah I had as many as six ix rats on my bed all struggling g to reach my boots which I had taken the precaution precaution precaution pre pre- caution to hang from a peg on th the wall leather is mowing knowing how much Russian appreciated by the rodent tribe Sleep was impossible with the enemy on all sides for the rats not bent on supping off my boots were hunting under my pillow for a fragment of candle and a box of matches which I thought might be he safe from their clutches But a arat arat rat at is not easily daunted and with a shove hove they shot pillow matches and candle onto the floor Then my eny blood was vas up and ard 1 I rose in a a. fury and hurled trees boot and everything I could lay hands on at th tn retreating foe Peace reigned for a a. short time then they hey returned to the attack with renewed renewed renewed re re- re- re vigor I have had many funny experiences In n the out out of W ay in the East but the strangest was once on the etan frontier where one night I Ivas Iwas Iwas was vas awakened by a snorting sound close to my ear and to my horror I found that my head was held down by something heavy resting on it The heavy object edg edged edgel l off on my trying to o move and by the light of a splutterIng splutter- splutter Ing ng match I discovered an elderly hen seated on my pillow and the egg she shead had ad laid there For three months we had iad had been traveling at an altitude too great for poultry to exist and I had longed for eggs to vary our limited fare are of tinned meats But such But such is the perversity of human nature nature nature-I I was exceedingly exceedingly exceedingly ex ex- ex- ex annoyed with the layer of that hat egg and hurled her cackling forth Into nto the darkness though I kept the egg for or my breakfast Magazine