10. When the author wrote the rupee was worth more than two
shillings, the members of the Indian services were few in number, and
mostly well paid, while living was cheap. Now all is changed. The
rupee has an artificial value of 1_s_. 4_d_., the members of the
services are numerous and often ill paid, while living is dear. The
sharp fall in the value of silver, and consequently in the gold
equivalent of the rupee, began in 1874. 'Corroding cares and
anxieties' are now the lot of most people who serve in India. They
now have the privilege of paying taxes.
11. This perfect religious freedom, still generally characteristic of
Anglo-Indian society, is one of its greatest charms; and the charms
of the country do not increase.
12. The author probably had in his mind the famous lines of
Lucretius:-
Suave, mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis,
E terra magnum alterius spectare laborem;
Non quia vexari quemquam 'st jucunda voluptas,
Sed, quibus ipse malis careas, quia cernere suave 'st.
(Book II, line 1.)
13. This delightful philosophic calm is no longer an Anglo-Indian
possession; nor can the modern Indian official congratulate himself
on his immunity from 'injuries, indignities, and calumnies'.
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