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and Death of Jason,' he stares aghast at 'Christmas Eve and Easter day', 'Atalanta in Calydon' he will not away with, and he moans for the future of English poetry. But the true lover of poetry, who reads it for its own sake, and not through any silly or morbid desire for stories or sensation, will look for stronger food and purer fire.

Shelley's greatness as a poet consists in his excellence at various forms of his art; as a lyric poet, first, one may safely class him with Sappho Pindar and Catullus, as one of the lyrists of the world, and he can hold his place against any, even of these; the lyrical form of verse was the most congenial to his powers, and if ever one were born with the true gift it was Shelley; again there have been great dramatists, and, though one would not put Shelley on a level with Sophocles or Shakespeare, or some others, yet 'The Cenci' proved most triumphantly that this power had been granted to him in no slight degree. He had, then, pre-eminently the lyrical gift, and very remarkably the dramatic gift; it is the combination of these two that is such an uncommon phenomenon. If one reflects, the world has furnished few poets who were great at both lyrics and the dramain old times, Aischulos; on the Continent, Göthe and-I speak unauthoritatively, being here shamefully ignorant-Victor Hugo; in our country, Shakespeare, of course no one in Pope's time, when poetry was unknown, Shelley himself and Swinburne; of these the lyrical tendency probably predominates over the dramatic in Aischulos and Shelley, the dramatic over the lyric in Shakespeare certainly, perhaps in Göthe. I think those are nearly all who are really great poets in both departments. Shelley, then, had this quality. Again, in that department of poetry called Elegiac, he has but one equal, Milton ; for 'In Memoriam' cannot be called an elegy, nor, perhaps, can 'Ave atque Vale', and Mr. Arnold's Thyrsis' does not approach 'Lycidas' and Adonais', although it is a beautiful poem. It is needless to descant on Shelley's peculiar beauties; I must be content with remarking that no one in the annals of English poetry had so fertile, exuberant, and pure an imagination; that the great mass of his poetry is absolutely unblemished by anything objectionable'; that he is unsurpassed among English poets for command and skill in the language and in the music of his verse. But his main claim to the title of a great poet rests on that union of the dramatic with the lyric gift which has been granted only to two of the many good poets of the century, and which has made 'Promethus Unbound' and Atalanta in Calydon' the two greatest poems of the time. Perhaps I should not have ventured on so large a subject as the poetry of Shelley here, where one is obliged to make deniable assertions, but

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my beliefs on this subject are not carelessly formed, and this much I must be excused for saying.

Those last days of Shelley's life were, probably, his happiest, insofar as he was ever happy: out of the reach of the hands of persecutors, almost out of hearing of the lies of calumniators, he passed his days in the companionship of his wife and friends. The Shelleys and the Williams lived together in one house, and a more congenial quartette, as it seems, could not easily be found; and so for those two sunny years the poet lived a tranquil life. And what infinite pleasure he must have found in the Italian sky and sea-he who of all poets of the time perhaps loved nature most truly—we ordinary mortals cannot imagine. There is but left us record of the exuberant and innocent joy which he felt and expressed in his continual sailings on the Gulf of Spezzia where he lived, and where he died: for while those happy days were passing and promise seemed given of many happy days to come, the sand was run out, the thread was broken, and on July 8th, 1822, in the 30th year of his life, as his boat was gliding gaily over the waves of his beloved bay, a sudden squall hid it from sight, and the face of Heaven was veiled, and in that little time of unquiet aud turmoil, amid rushing of wind and sounding of waves, the life of one of earth's divinest was gone for ever, and the relentless waters of the sea, 'blind gods that cannot spare,' threw hither and thither with unfeeling fingers the soulless body of the supreme poet of modern times.

So for him, taken in sea foam and surgings to the bosom of the Nature he had loved and adored, the strife was over and the end come the passionate heart of the poet which folly never trapped nor vice allured, lay, uneaten of the flame, quiet for ever, under the grass of a Roman grave: he had found that place of peace where his weak heart and all its throbs should cease': the yearning sorrow was no more, the divine love for mankind was quenched for ever: the words on his tomb 'Cor cordium,' bear what outward witness we need of the latter, his works are the fittest memorial for both: it needs but an earnest and open-hearted study of these to show to us both the sorrow and the swift spirit which made him the adorable man and the supreme poet, whose memory it is given us as a sacred duty to cherish with the deepest reverence, and the most tender love.

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AVING been asked as to whether I, knowing what I do now, would go through all the worry of the Competitive Examination to enter the Civil Service, I will give the following statement of my experience and prospects, from which the reader may judge for himself whether the conclusions which I draw are right or not.

On first landing in Bombay, the young civilian reports himself to the Under Secretary to Government, who puts him through a mild treatment by examining his progress in Hindustani before leaving England. After this, the student' is allowed a choice of station in which to study Hindustani: he may either remain in Bombay, or go up country at once; and the latter course is the one I should recommend, as being less expensive than staying down in Bombay, where, unless he lives with friends who take him in, it would be impossible for him to live on his pay, which is 200 rupees a month, and allowances, 40 rupees for house rent, and 30 rupees for munshi (native tutor.) Examinations in the vernaculars are held once every three months. On passing in Hindustani, the pay is raised to 250 rupees per month, and the student proceeds to study Gujerati or Mahrati, according to the station to which he has been On passing his second language, the pay rises to 300 rupees a month. If these two first examinations are passed within twelve months from the date of landing, the house and munshi allowances are continued till the completion of the 18th month, as a reward.

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He now passes from the student stage to that of an Assistant to the Collector, and having 1st class subordinate powers as a magistrate given to him, begins to try criminal cases. If he elect to take up a third language he can do so; and if he passes it within the eighteen months, he receives a further reward of 1000 rupees. While yet a student he will have more spare time on his hands than he knows what to do with; and this can be employed in two ways, either going to one of the Courts in the station, and hearing cases tried by the sitting magistrate, which will familiarise him with the vernaculars; or reading the various Government Acts and Regulations required for the 1st department at examination. While a Supernumerary Assistant, if he is under a Collector who takes an interest in his juniors, he will probably go into the Districts after a time with that officer, and see something of his future work

as a Revenue official. The Departmental Examinations are held once every six months, and the sooner they are passed the sooner will he have districts of his own. The first Departmental Examination consists of higher tests in the second language, and searching papers in the Government Acts and Regulations. On passing this, he is eligible for, and is generally at once appointed, 3rd Assistant to the Collector, when his pay mounts to 400 rupees, in addition to which he has 100 rupees travelling allowance. Thereupon the Collector assigns him two districts, throughout which he has to travel during eight months of the twelve, viz., the cold and hot seasons, the rains being spent in the station. In the districts an assistant has, if an energetic man, plenty of work to do: he travels about from place to place, pitching his camp where his fancy leads him; and going out thence, he visits all the villages round, inspecting the accounts, documents, &c., in the possession of the Talati, or head man of the village. Once, too, in every three months he inspects the Talooka, or District Treasury and Accounts. All this necessarily involves a grept deal of riding; and a man acts foolishly who neglects to learn in England. About a year after the first departmental examination comes the second (sometimes men go up for it in six months but seldom succeed). This is the same kind of examination with the first, except that it is much more searching in every point, as it is the last examination to be passed, and when once through this a man may say he knows something of the language. After passing he is eligible for a 2nd assistantship, and receiving full powers as a magistrate, or an Assistant Judgeship. It does not follow, however, that he gets these places at once. He often has to wait two or three years. It is not till the second Departmental is passed that a man can go in for the Judicial Department; thus every man is compelled to be in the Revenue for a portion of his service. The pay of a 2nd Assistant is 550 rupees, and 100 rupees for travelling allowance; that of an Assistant Judge 700 rupees a month. From these two positions, promotion depends to a certain extent on the accidents of the service, but far more on a man's own exertions and merits. In almost any case, however, after about 16 years' service, one rises to be a full Collector on 2,500 rupees, or a full Judge on 2,333 rupees a month. On completing his service of 25 years, which period includes his furloughs, he draws £600 a year as pension from Government, and also so much as 6 per cent. on his subscriptions to the Civil Fund amount to. This is about £200 a year, and he can, if he chooses, to bring it up to £400, by subscribing the deficit in a lump. If he is a married man, and dies either during or after

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service, his widow receives a certain allowance (£300 per annum), and his children, if any, sums varying with their ages, and culminating in the case of boys with a donation of £500 on attaining their 16th year: in that of girls in a gift of £500 if married before 21, or an allowance of £100 per annum till marriage, when of course that ceases. So much for the mere service and money portion of

the business.

" The next question is that of furlong and leave, the conditions of which are briefly summarised. After each seven year's service, one year's furlong, with £500 per annum; after ten year's service, three year's furlong with £500 per annum. In addition to this, if in ill health, one year's sick leave, drawing half-pay; six month's private affairs leave (which does not count as service), and one month's privilege leave in each year, accumulative to three month's, but not beyond. Thus, a man by abstaining taking leave for two consecutive years, can on the third take a three months holidaytime, sufficient for a long shooting expedition, or the like.

I hardly know whether I have any right to offer any opinion as to marriage, but at all events I will give a few words on it. If a man will marry early, and submit to know nothing of his children, let him do so, but he will only have himself to blame, if he regrets having taken the step, when he is over head and ears in debt. But in any case let him not carry his madness so far as to marry before coming out, and passing all his examinations. If he does he will find himself in debt before he knows where he is, and he will take two or three years longer to pass the examinations. This I can vouch for, from the cases of men out here. Another folly, almost equal to this, is getting engaged before leaving home.

Before concluding I ought to mention that there are certain deductions from the pay of every Civil Servant. There are the subscriptions to the Retiring and the Widows Funds, at the rate of four and two per cent. respectively. These deductions extend only to pay, and not to allowances.

The amusements of Guyerat are (1) shooting of the following quality :-deer throughout the country; tiger, panther, and bears, in certain parts; duck, calam, quail, partridge, snipe, and hare, in the majority of the districts. (2) Hunting, i.e., pig hunting throughout Abmedabad, Karia, and Broach Collectorater. These are for the cold and hot weather, and during the rains, in the station are Cricket, Horse Racing, Quoits, Balls, and other Athletic Sports.

The chief drawback to coming to India is of course the separation from one's friends and relations in England, and unless

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