[7] Secondly, it makes the great staple
articles of general consumption alone liable to the payment of
duties, and thereby does away in a great measure with the odious
right of search.
At Kosi our friend, Charles Fraser, left us to proceed through
Mathura to Agra. He is a very worthy man and excellent public
officer, one of those whom one always meets again with pleasure, and
of whose society one never tires. Mr. Wilmot, the Collector of
Customs, and Mr. Wright, one of the patrol officers, came to dine
with us. The wind blew so hard all day that the cook and khansaman
(butler) were long in despair of being able to give us any dinner at
all. At last we managed to get a tent, closed at every crevice to
keep out the dust, for a cook-room; and they were thus able to
preserve their master's credit, which, no doubt, according to their
notions, depended altogether on the quality of his dinner.
Notes:
1. The place is a small town in the Gurgaon District, Panjab.
2. The term 'uncovenanted' may require explanation for readers not
familiar with the details of Indian administration. The Civil Service
of India, commonly called Indian Civil Service, which supplies most
of the higher administrative and judicial officers, used to be known
as the Covenanted service, because its members sign a covenant with
the Secretary of State.
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