166 



when life and property were unsafe, a man usually invested 

 his gains and savings in jewelry and gold and silver orna- 

 ments for his women. These could be buried in the ground 

 in time of danger or sold to procure funds in time of distress. 

 It seems therefore probable that the increase of expenditure 

 under this head will be found rather in more exquisite work- 

 manship, the greater use of precious stones, and more valu- 

 able materials generally, than in the greater number of 

 articles worn by native ladies. On this subject, one of the 

 gentlemen, already quoted, writes as follows : ' It would be 

 tedious to enumerate the different items of jewelry ; simple 

 gold is now despised and a profusion of precious stones is 

 considered indispensable. A lady in the class of society to 

 which I belong would be considered poorly adorned on three 

 thousand rupees. Five thousand would be nearer the 

 mark. ' 



" With the progress of knowledge and science the old 

 system of native medicine with its charms, incantations and 

 other superstitions is fast dying out, and resort is freely had 

 to the European method of treatment. The good derived 

 from this change is great and ])alpable, and no man be- 

 grudges even heavy expenditure to save the lives of himself or 

 his family. Many, however, look back, with some regret, to 

 the native system, which, whatever its failings, was remark- 

 ably cheap. There was no such thing as the settled daily 

 fee of a physician, much less a fee for each visit. The 

 remuneration of a native physician (kabiraj) generally de- 

 pended on the pecuniary means of the patient. For ordinary 

 cases requiring three or four days' treatment, a fee of a 

 couple of rupees, including the price of medicine, was 

 considered fair for a family man whose income was Rs. 20 

 or Rs. 30 per mensem ; at the present time and under the 

 altered system, four times the sum would meet the require- 

 ments of such a case. In mofussil stations the amla class 

 suffer great distress owing to their inability, for want of 

 means, to obtain good medical advice and medicine for their 

 family and children." 



There can be no doubt that the higher and middle classes 

 live much more respectably than in the old days, and, as 

 there is nothing in the present regime to sj)ecially favour these 

 classes, and, as there are no such sharp differences in wealth 

 between the several grades of society as exist in European 

 countries, the rise in the standard of living above noticed 

 may be taken as an index of general prosperity. - The rise 

 in the standard of living is sometimes very erroneously attri- 



