142 SPORT IX BENGAL. 



appear convincing, but the concluding one caused, to my 

 surprise, some to smile and others to laugh outright ; nor 

 did the reason for this hilarity become clear to me till I had 

 gained more experience, and learned that although generosity 

 and open-handed liberality were to be looked for from 

 European gentlemen, anything beyond hard and bare justice 

 was not to be expected from Government, much less spon- 

 taneous generosity and unprofitable liberality; accordingly 

 my suggestion was received as a joke not to be passed 

 over without recognition even under present melancholy 

 circumstances. Finally, on my proposing that some one 

 then present, who had not the full tale of wives, should 

 take the widow to complete his happiness, public opinion 

 veered round in my favour, and the Darogha, a grave and 

 bearded Mahomedan official, coming to my aid, dismissed the 

 woman rather abruptly with uncomplimentary remarks, and 

 then dispersed the laughing crowd, incited thereto by the 

 mere mention of the awful name of Government, or per- 

 adventure by the possibility of his being esteemed the most 

 fit and eligible person to appropriate the widow, as having 

 but very recently divorced one of his four fair partners. 

 I have reason to believe that had I been weak enough to 

 have admitted the validity of the claims made upon me by 

 this widow, at least forty more were held in reserve for sub- 

 sequent presentation, to my utter bankruptcy for life. 



This expectation on the part of natives for presents, 

 compensations, and rewards from Europeans, for almost every 

 conceivable thing, is curious, and leads to the conjecture that 

 in former days when the two Europeans and natives first 

 became acquainted with each other, either the former having 

 more money than they knew how to squander, flung it about 

 the country in alms, charities, and complimentary donations 

 upon all of black complexion willing to accept the same; 

 or that they were so gullible and so wanting in common sense, 

 that any cock-and-bull story would induce them to "fork out." 

 It is quite certain that a form of gift, recognised throughout 

 the length and breadth of the land as " bamboo-bukshish," 



