The officer did not depart for some days, and though I could do nothing, I also remained. The whole of the camp followers, taking their cue from their master, ravaged the gardens and fruit trees. Their delight was in fishing with nets, a score of them, taking loads of small fish, out of sheer sport. I remonstrated with them, but they replied with the insolence of their master that their sahib had told them to catch all the fish they wanted. The result was that there was not a minnow left in the tank. The villagers were terribly wrought up. They proposed to attack the thieves, but this would only have increased the trouble, as my party would have got the worst of it, not in a fight, but in the courts, where they would have been brought up for riotous conduct. Many or all of them would have been taken away from their work or their homes, kept in jail awaiting trial, and then likely be imprisoned for years as criminals, for the sahib and his whole camp would have sworn that my people were the aggressors. “He should hae a lang-shafted spune that sups kale wi’ the deil,” and I knew that our “spune” had a very short shaft compared with that of the English gentleman and his crew. To vindicate myself, I explained to the villagers what I had done, and was obliged to let them know what I thought of the sahib. The whole village was intensely agitated, and nothing was talked of but the tyranny of the settlement officer, comparing him with the collector sahib, who was so kind and pleased. It happened just as I anticipated, the assessments were increased twenty per cent. Great stress was laid on the rich productive land, compared with adjoining villages, on the valuable fruit trees, the comfortable houses, on the tank yielding a large amount of fish. On hearing of the officer’s report I wrote to the Government in the Revenue Department, making a long statement, showing in what condition I had found the villages, a lot of dilapidated huts; that I had contributed several thousand rupees for the construction of houses; that the soil had been very poor, which I had enriched with fertilizers and judicious cultivation; that many acres were absolutely barren, usar land, which I under-drained and fertilized with lime and manure, and after years of labor and much expense, had changed it to productive soil; that I had built drains for the streets, and made the villages healthy; and lastly, I had built the tank and stocked it with fish, employing men to go a great distance, and bring the best kinds. I might have told how the tank had been robbed by the camp of the Settlement Officer, but caution controlled me to say nothing that would irritate, as I was now a supplicant for mercy, since I knew I could not get justice. I prayed that under the circumstances, the assessment might remain as formerly, or at the same rate as of the villages in the vicinity.