ut
round Bhagalpur and part of the Bara-Banki districts. Northward of
Jamalpur, as near as may be, lies the Ganges and Tirhoot, and eastward
an offshoot of the volcanic Rajmehal range blocks the view.

A station which has neither Judge, Commissioner, Deputy, or 'Stunt,
which is devoid of law courts, _ticca-gharies_, District Superintendents
of Police, and many other evidences of an over-cultured civilisation, is
a curiosity. "We administer ourselves," says Jamalpur, proudly, "or we
did--till we had local self-government in--and now the racket-marker
administers us." This is a solemn fact. The station, which had its
beginnings thirty odd years ago, used, till comparatively recent times,
to control its own roads, sewage, conservancy, and the like. But, with
the introduction of local self-government, it was ordained that the
"inestimable boon" should be extended to a place made by, and maintained
for, Europeans, and a brand-new municipality was created and nominated
according to the many rules of the game. In the skirmish that ensued,
the Club racket-marker fought his way to the front, secured a place on a
board largely composed of Babus, and since that day Jamalpur's views on
government have not been fit for publication. To understand the
magnitude of the insult, one must study the city--for station, in the
strict sense of the word, it is not. Crotons, palms, mangoes,
_mellingtonias_, teak, and bamboos adorn it, and the _poinsettia_ and
_bougainvillea_, the railway creeper and the _bignonia venusta_, make it
gay with many colours. It is laid out with military precision to each
house its just share of garden, its red brick path, its growth of
trees, and its neat little wicket gate. Its general aspect, in spite of
the Dutch formality, is that of an English village, such a thing as
enterprising stage-managers put on the theatres at home. The hills have
thrown a protecting arm round nearly three sides of it, and on the
fourth it is bounded by what are locally known as the "sheds"; in other
words, the station, offices, and workshops of the company. The E. I. R.
only exists for outsiders. Its servants speak of it reverently, angrily,
despitefully, or enthusiastically as "The Company"; and they never omit
the big, big C. Men must have treated the Honourable the East India
Company in something the same fashion ages ago. "The Company" in
Jamalpur is Lord Dufferin, all the Members of Council, the Body-Guard,
Sir Frederick Roberts,