4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



very carefully, to detect a slight Oriental darkness under the 

 powder on some otherwise unimpeachable cheeks. It is the an- 

 nual opportunity of rich East India to proclaim itself connected, 

 however remotely, with " society." Society looks on and smiles 

 and covertly inquires, " How many annas, do you suppose, to 

 the rupee ? " This is a euphuism expressive of proportion — of 

 Aryan proportion. For the rest, the attitude of society may be 

 expressed by an inveterate shrug. It is not invidious or actively 

 contemptuous ; it represents the acceptance of the inevitable, and 

 the determination — if that is not too energetic a term — to have as 

 little to do with it as possible. Society recognizes that Eurasia 

 has certain claims — to charities and commissions of inquiry, to 

 humane treatment, to commiseration, to good advice. It holds 

 meetings, raises subscriptions, discusses the Eurasian problem in 

 the newspapers, and supplies inquiry commissioners from among 

 its most honorable and distinguished. But the claims of Eurasia 

 upon society must be made distinctly in forma pauperis j it is 

 only the lower classes who have any. For the well-to-do in the 

 landaus society has only a somewhat amused and cynical tolera- 

 tion, and does not dream of bowing. The attitude is natural 

 enough. For the claims of that cousinship also must be more 

 than ignored — they must be trampled upon. 



I have hinted at the amplitude of Mrs. De Souza — it is largely 

 characteristic of Eurasia, more marked, perhaps, in the women 

 than in the men. The dusky chin has a tendency to grow early 

 double — the comfortable shoulder to shake prematurely in the 

 plenitude of what one might call semi-tropical nature. This 

 sometimes carries with it a perfunctory jollity of appearance, the 

 look of well-being that goes inseparably with solid development, 

 the cheerfulness of curves. The prevailing Eurasian expression, 

 however, is not one of exhilaration, at least in Bengal. The Ben- 

 gali is not merry, and his paler-faced connections have inherited 

 his unsmiling look at life. The few whose color is of a Mongo- 

 lian strain are gay by contrast, but East India generally is of a 

 sad countenance — languor, lethargy, and depression being of tener 

 written there than anything else. There are easy physical rea- 

 sons for this. The Eurasian is a poor creature among men. The 

 death-rate of the community is tabulated with that of the Eu- 

 ropean element, so can not be ascertained accurately, but it is 

 known to be high. He is an easy victim to all the diseases that 

 follow poverty and crowded living. He has not such immunity 

 as is enjoyed by the Bengali by virtue of simpler conditions of 

 life ; his habits and requirements are of the complex European 

 order, that bring, inadequately gratified, swift consequences, 

 which he lacks the strength of the European to combat. When 

 he is not abnormally fat, the Eurasian is apt to be painfully thin, 



