On the City Wall (Unabridged)

First published in In Black and White (Volume 3 of the Indian Railway Library) in January 1889, and collected in Soldiers Three and Other Stories in 1892. This many-layered tale is set in Lahore, where Lalun, a talented and beautiful courtesan, entertains in her chamber on the city wall. Her 'little white room' is a centre of gossip, and she knows as much as anyone about what is going on in the City. Lalun is visited by many men, distinguished and otherwise, including the narrator and a young Muhammadan, Wali Dad, with whom he has many talks. Wali Dad has had an English education, and feels uneasily poised between the Indian and European worlds.