292
Engadine : Swiss district of resorts, the main one St Moritz.
Naick : corporal in the Indian Army.
Ghuznees : there was no such regiment: this is an invented name.
nullah : see note to p. 286.
rapparree : originally an Irish pikeman or irregular soldier, hence Irish bandit, robber, or freebooter. Here it means a disreputable rascal.
293
Bancroft : Sir Squire Bancroft (1841–1926), a famous actor-manager who specialized in drawing-room comedy; at the Haymarket Theatre from 1880–5.
pukka : Anglo-Indian word meaning regular, good, sound, proper.
Bahadur : title of respect in India appended to a person’s name; from a Hindi word meaning gallant.
294
Pledged the State’s ticker, eh? : promised more than he was entitled to. ‘Ticker’ recalls the pawning of Beetle’s watch at school.
image and superscription : Matthew 22: 20.
295
horns of the altar : 1 Kings 1: 50. The popular misconception is that (as Kipling obviously thought) victims could be offered up on the horns of the altar. In fact, they were to provide someone seeking sanctuary with a support to cling to.
basket-hanger : see note to p. 62.
femme incomprise : misunderstood woman; phrase possibly used by Sardou.
296
doab : tongue of land between two rivers.
bhai : brother.