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My Home-coming and Official Career, 1871-1874

London to Brindisi—taken for German spies at Versailles—Calcutta again: socially ostracized by orthodox Brahmins—work as Assistant Magistrate at Sylhet—racial prejudices—the circumstances of my dismissal from the Service.

As I had made up my mind to appear at the Final examination of 1871, I had to do two years' work in one year's time. For in those days it was a two years' course for the probationers for the Indian Civil Service, and the subjects of examination, which comprised Indian and English Law and Jurisprudence, Political Economy, and Indian Languages, were arranged with special reference to the time allotted. It was hard work, but I did not grudge it. Having won my point in the controversy with the Civil Service Commissioners, I was in high spirits, and, now that my father was dead, I was anxious to return home as quickly as my business permitted. Fifty-five years have now rolled away, and many things of surpassing interest have happened within that time in my country and to myself. But I still retain a vivid recollection of those laborious days when I could think and dream of nothing else, except of my books and the examinations, and there were occasions when the night passed into the day, and the faint, grey streaks of the dawn were visible, and I was still poring over my books, hardly conscious of Nature's change. Without sleep I appeared at the examination and felt none the worse for it. It was the spirit that overmastered the flesh.

I passed the Final examination of 1871 along with my friends, Romesh Chunder Dutt and Behari Lal Gupta, and together we started for home in August, 1871. Previous to our starting we had sketched out a scheme of a tour through some of the European countries, and we carried it out with almost military precision. We visited Paris, went up the Rhine, ascended the heights of St. Gothard, saw the beautiful mountains and lakes of Switzerland, passed through Italy, staying for a few days at Venice, and went on board the P. & O. steamer at Brindisi.

An incident happened at Versailles which is worth recording and which shows that the police can be foolish not only in Calcutta but

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