Friday, October 25th, 9:00 AM, 1872:

  So much has happened the past few days I have had no time to write. But now as I sit in on a bench in Calcutta from sitting in a train car that smelled profusely of tobacco, with Mr. Fogg silent in his corner as usual, while Passepartout and Mr. Francis Cromarty attempt to relate to Aouda, the lately deceased rajah's young wife, all the happenings.

  First, however, I must explain that, on the way from Bombay to Calcutta, the train tracks stopped in the hamlet of Kholby. They had not been finished, though papers declared it was so. Then we wandered around in search of transportation, paying dearly for an Elephant, and hiring a Parsee as an escort. We then continued our journey a day, riding without events along the thickly entangled jungle, until  the next day when we heard cries and chants coming toward us. Hiding in the foliage, we experience the sight of a group of Brahmins muttering and singing their way down the narrow path. Behind them was a horror: a statue of the Indian goddess Kali of love and death. Behind again, was a young girl, led by two men, and followed a corpse on a stretcher and other people, singing.

  This girl, no other than Aouda, was in a stupefied state, having been drugged with the fumes of hemp. The man on the stretcher was her husband, a rajah, and she was being led to be burned with him at dawn at his funeral. This was a normal custom.

  Fogg decided to make an effort to save her, but we had trouble entering the pagoda to which she was led. We were able to make a hole, but were soon found out, and had to flee to the jungle nearby.

  We thought all was lost when daylight approached, and Aouda and her deceased husband were laid upon the wood, on top of the sticks that were covered with oil in order to burn, until, in the midst of the flames, the man, very much alive it appeared, got up, and, taking Aouda in his arms, led her out and up to us. With a "Let us go", Fogg, Sir Francis Cromarty, the Parsee, Passepartout (who was no other than the one that led her out of the flames), Aouda, and myself fled to the elephant, and after a hasty mount, went as fast as possible into the jungle. Before long we were found, as it was seen that the real rajah was burning beside the wooden board upon the sticks, but the missed us by a large margin and we escaped.

  From there we continued our journey to Allahabad, where the tracks were resumed. Aouda was still in her incoherent state then, but soon came to, and it was decided to drop her off at Hong Kong, where she had a relative. The Parsee was paid as promised, with an added bonus of the elephant for his devotion. Then we continued to Benares, where Sir Francis Cromarty parted ways with us, for this was his destination. From there, we reached Calcutta at seven o'clock, and now, it is two hours until we board the boat to Hong Kong. As it is, I shall go with Passepartout to get some needed items, so here I end my story.