who had ventured to approach him so unceremoniously, believed-a delusion that others have shared with him-that he might obtain justice by a personal petition to the ruler of the land. Sir Richard Temple was a phenomenally ugly individual. His complexion was SO sunburnt that it was almost dark coppercoloured, he had a thick, bulbous nose, prominent jaws, while his mustachios, as Protap Chandra Majumdar once wrote, curled up like the horns of a Kathiawar bull. Sir Richard Temple was afterwards appointed Governor of Bombay, but he resigned that appointment after some time to become a Member of Parliament. In the House of Commons he used to fall asleep sometimes and Punch published a cartoon describing him. as "the Sleeping Beauty." Sir Richard Temple was a man of extra-ordinary and tireless energy and he was a terror to the district officers, who were usually ease-loving people in those days and found it impossible to emulate the energetic activity of the Lieutenant-Governor. Mr. Barlow, the Commissioner of Bhagalpur, was an indolent man, while Mr. Taylor, the Collector used to smoke a gorgeous hookah of crystal in his chamber in the office. Sir Richard Temple would frequently remain on horseback for hours together and he never knew fatigue. I remember one morning Sir Richard Temple was to inspect the Central Jail at Bhagalpur and some other institutions accompanied by the Commissioner. When Mr. Barlow came up harrying and panting to the steamer he found that Sir Richard had already left, and the Commissioner had to follow him as best he could. DURGAGATI BANERJI Durgagati Banerji was Personal Assistant to the Commissioner of Patna and a great friend of my father. He was one of the ablest men of his time in the Provincial Executive service and was the de facto Commissioner of the Patna Division, for the Commissioner of the Patna, Division whoever he happened to be, left everything to him. Durgagati Banerji was black as ebony, with a noble forehead and bright, clear eyes, and the nickname given to him was Kala Commissioner. I may note in passing that the Indian Members of the Governor-General's Executive Council are called "Kala Councilli" by the rickshawalas and others in Simla. There was a story that a Collector once sent for Durgagati Banerji under the usual formula of sending him his salams. Durgagati replied by sending his salams to the Collector The latter in high dudgeon complained personally to the Commissioner, but to his great chagrin the Commissioner took the part of his Assistant and explained that Durgagati was not an ordinary, Deputy Magistrate, neither was he a subordinate of the Collector. When Sir (then Mr.) Stewart Bayley was appointed Commissioner of Patna. he heard of the immense power and influence wielded by his Personal Assistant, and with a view to curtail them desired Durgagati to place all papers before him. Durgagati promptly followed his instructions. Mr. Stewart Bayley, in spite of all his industry, saw that the work began to get into while the heap of files on his table went on steadily growing higher. At length he was compelled to call Durgagati Banerji to his help and the arrears were cleared off in no time. Later on, Durgagati Banerji was appointed the first Indian Collector of Calcutta. THE RETORT COURTEOUS ? arrears, Sarat Chandra Mukerji was an able Munsif and afterwards became a District Judge. Judge. While at a mofussil station he had before him the District Engineer, a European, as a witness. His name was Mr. Seely. Thinking that under all circumstances a European is equal, if not superior, to an Indian, he coolly walked up to the dais on which the Munsif was sitting and sat down on a chair. Mr. Mukerji did not know the man and was much surprised, but still he politely asked him his business. The reply given in an offensive and superior tone was that the visitor was no less a personage than the District Engineer and he was there as a witness. The Munsif required from his Peshkar and the Pleaders, and after verifying Mr. Seely's statement asked him to step into the witness-box. Mr. Seely angrily enquired why he could not be examined where he was sitting. "No," replied the Munsif sharply, "Your place is the witnessbox and you had no business to come up to the bench. If you do not go into the witnessbox at once I shall proceed against you for contempt of court." Cowed by the words and the attitude of the Munsif Mr. Seely went into the witness-box and proceeded to take the usual oath. The Munsif was thorough another on this platform, and are never sists in a little rag to serve as a 'langoti' loin cloth, and another just enough to wra round the circumference of the head leavin the whole of the crown uncovered. Th trunk, the arms and the legs seldom find covering. The women are less naked and tr to put on a petticoat, a bodice and a sort o salla, i.e., a coarse cloth with some colou design in red and blue, worn in lieu of the more aristocratic 'sari.' The youngsters both sexes, right up to adolescence and even after, do not usually have even that scanty apparel. Of ornaments, the male has nil. He seems to consider the bow and arrow as a part of his ceremonial dress, and even on peaceful occasions would prefer to be seen with the Inmates of the Jesawada Ashram playing Ras have collected. On the walls or stuck up in the rifts of bamboos in the roofs are bows and arrows, the inseparable possession of every Bhil. The man that has nothing to dress and even to eat has at least his ances tral weapon, the bow and arrow; and though he is now mild and tame and even timid, he does not mind negotiating his enemy, either man or animal, with a creditable pull at the string. Every adult Bhil must have the bow and arrow as his weapon for defence and aggression, and every Bhil boy must have the bow and arrow for his sport. In clothes, the Bhil male has next to nothing Even the adult possesses little fabric to cover his nudity, and the only burden thatlization has imposed upon him con weapon than otherwise. The women have a few trinkets made of 'Kathir,' a white metallic dross formed of some amalgam of tin. The dull jingle of its wristlets and anklets is all that the Bli woman gets to delight her female vanity. The weight and number of the ornaments vary with the taste and condition of the individual Both the male and female love to be tattooed and their necks, forearms, legs and convenient limbs are variegated permanent designs usually outlines of the prime geometrical figures or of the shape of some leaf, flower or animal. with The appearance of the Bhil as he is, fully indicates the whole circumstance of his existence The skin is usually scorched and ta ned fast black, both in the case of the mala and the female. As the Bhil seldom bath and is always exposed to the inclemencies climate and to the dust, dung and mud about him, he carries a swarthy presentment from head to foot. The adult male does not keep a beard. But otherwise he fights shy cleanliness. Even the water that he drinks not pure or fresh. He prefers dirty water pure, and if he has to drink at a stream would even go out of his way to avoid the cleaner side and make sure of a muddier draught. In constitution he is lean and lant and worse than half starved. Ethnologically and by mixture of blood, he does not no differ much from the Aryan in physical traits at if we remember the low economic condition in which the tribe drags on a miserable existence. When a race either human or of the lower animals, is faced with continuous subnutrition, it does not die out entirely, but gradually becomes shrunken, shrivelled, dull and inert, and this is what has actually happened with the Bhils. The only corn that the Bhils get to eat is maize, and their only condiment is salt. The maize is coarse and starchy, not particularly advantageous as a builder. Eggs, game birds and poultry may at times vary the fare, but on the whole their pauperism keeps them in such utter destitution as few ordinary "Bhadra log" would be ready to believe. Very often they bad in fertility and with proper care might yield better crops. Cereals other than maize might be cultivated.. But the Bhil refuses to think even a day ahead. If he has one immediate meal in store, he is neither anxious nor on the look-out for the needs of the morrow. To make things worse, he has a fond pride in the possession of unwieldly herds of cattle, even of worthless cattle that have no economic or other value. Every Bhil family keeps from 20 to 50 heads of cows, bullocks and buffaloes, all starved and dwarfed and shrivelled as the men themselves. As the Bhil himself cultivates next to nothing, and wild nature yields hardly better, there is little for the cattle to eat. It is always Mirakhadi Ashram a problem to maintain the herds, but ther is the sentimental pride in the possession so many heads. To the Bhil, cattle is the best form of wealth, and his ambition is ta convert all possible savings. into cattle. One of Mr. Thakkar's Settlements have to pass days together on wild grains, leaves and wild fruits, and in summers and in years of scarcity they can barely scrape up a miserable morsel once in two days or more that just helps to prolong a hungry existence. It is a story of shame and pity. Neither governments, foreign or native, nor the socalled educated people of India can plead innocence on a charge of neglecting, exploiting and dehumanising these and similar tribes. Perhaps the Bhils might have fared a little better even under existing circumstances but for their native lethargy and unwillingness to work. The land is not uniformly This crude primitiveness of the Bhils b been perpetuated by the unholy trinity of the orthodox, the userer and the liquor vendor. The Sahukar gets the produce of the Bhils labour almost for a song, and sometimes for less. His methods are simple, though not straight. The Bhil has never a pie on h hand to buy his seeds or marry his son (for among the Bhils the bride has to be purcha sed at a price) or propitiate his gods and On the other hand, the Bhil is often a con- THE PSYCHOLOGICAL SIDE On the psychological side, the Bhils are dull and unimaginative. They seem to be reluctant or incapable of speaking five continuous sentences with anything like coherence or logical sequence. To a great extent, their wild life and underfeeding through millenia seem to have powerfully reacted to keep them mentally stunted. All possible forces. of a glorified civilization have conspired to keep them in that state. Except in so far as they might be conveniently squeezed, the upper classes have practised nothing but disdain and terrorism towards them. Petty officials of Government and the Indian States concerned are perhaps the worst offenders in this respect. The presiding genii of His Majesty's government are not known to have disturbed themselves overmuch in the interests ex is not to the criminal apathy and egoism of the |