had; but their cattle died for want of food, for there was
no grass any where to be found.'

'Still they were better off than those who had no wells to draw water
from for their fields; and the only way to provide against such evils
in future is to have a well for every field. God has given you the
fields, and he has given you the water; and when it does not come
from the clouds, you must draw it from your wells.'[16]

'True, sir, very true; but the people are very poor, and have not the
means to form the wells they require.'

'And if they borrow the money from you, you charge them with
interest?'

'From one to two per cent. a month according to their character and
circumstances; but interest is very often merely nominal, and we are
in most cases glad to get back the principal alone.'[17]

'And what security have you for the land of your grove in case the
landholder should change his mind, or die and leave sons not so well
disposed.'

'In the first place, we hold his bonds for a debt of nine thousand
rupees which he owes us, and which we have no hopes of his ever
paying. In the next, we have on stamped paper his deed of gift, in
which he declares that he has given us the land, and that he and his
heirs for ever shall be bound to make good the rents, should
Government sell the estate for arrears of revenue. We wanted him to
write this document in the regular form of a deed of sale; but he
said that none of his ancestors had ever yet sold their lands, and
that he would not be the first to disgrace his family, or record
their disgrace on stamped paper--it should, he was resolved, be a
deed of gift.'

'But, of course, you prevailed upon him to take the price?'

'Yes, we prevailed upon him to take two hundred rupees for the land,
and got his receipt for the same; indeed, it is so mentioned in the
deed of gift; but still the landlord, who is a near relation of the
late chief of Hatras, would persist in having the paper made out as a
deed, not of sale, but of gift. God knows whether, after all, our
grove will be secure--we must run the risk now we have begun upon
it.'

Notes:

1. This phrase is misleading. There is no want of trees in Upper
India generally; only certain limited areas are ill wooded. Most of
the districts in the plains of the Ganges and Jumna are well wooded.

2. This is a favourite doctrine of the author, often reiterated. The
absence of a powerful middle class is a characteristic, not of