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of Sylhet and was my immediate superior. I was supposed to be a sort of apprentice to him, and learn my work from him. He was an Anglo-Indian and not very popular, as I soon discovered. He gave me as much work as I could manage to get through, and he treated me at first with cordiality and with a sense of lofty patronage, of which he liked to make a display.

I rapidly passed the departmental examinations and obtained the powers of a first-class Magistrate. My success was the cause of my official ruin. At any rate I thought it largely contributed to it. Mr. Posford, who was my senior as Assistant Magistrate, and myself appeared together at the departmental examination. I passed; he failed. He was my senior by two years. He was a European and I was an Indian. My success and his failure were necessarily, in a small place like Sylhet, the subject of local gossip and comment. Mr. Sutherland, although an Anglo-Indian, was imbued with a strong racial feeling, which was accentuated by his position as a member of the Indian Civil Service. He did not like it that I should have passed and that Mr. Posford should have failed. The contrast seemed in his eyes to be derogatory to the prestige of the ruling race. I do not know what the practice is to-day; but in 1873, the passing of the departmental examinations was followed by promotion and increase of pay. I was invested with first-class powers, and got the usual increment to my salary. Mr. Sutherland wrote to the Government and had Mr. Posford exempted from further departmental examinations.

At this time, Mr. Anderson was appointed Joint Magistrate of Sylhet. He and I became great friends. He and Mr. Sutherland did not get on at all well. I was new to these little local jealousies and strifes, and in my simplicity I continued to be very friendly with the Andersons. All this led to an alienation between the Magistrate and myself and the suspension of all friendly and personal relations. My troubles now began. Hardly a day passed in which I was not called upon to give an explanation about some case or other. A superior officer can always make things very hot for a subordinate if he wants to; and from the time that these unpleasant relations commenced, my position became extremely uncomfortable, if not absolutely intolerable.

At last the climax was reached in connexion with a theft case in which one Judisthir was the accused. The man was charged with the theft of a boat. The case was originally on the file of Mr. Posford, but was transferred to me. Owing to my heavy work