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?"
"There are no marauders, and no chiefs," Dick laughed. "In the old
times, hundreds of years ago, there were nobles who could call out all
their tenants and retainers to fight their battles, and in those days
people carried swords, as they do here. There are nobles still, but
they have no longer any power to call out anyone, and if they quarrel
they have to go before a court for the matter to be decided, just as
everyone else does."
This seemed, to Doast, a very unsatisfactory state of things, and he
looked to his father for an explanation.
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