Page:The Indian Civil Service as a profession.djvu/32

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The Indian Civil Service

rank, dignity, power, and modest competence.

Besides the official attractions of pay and power, an Indian career has many charms, and few men who have once experienced those charms can lose them for ever without a pang. The feeling of brotherhood and good-fellowship which arises so naturally in the hearts of a small society of Europeans set in the midst of a vast multitude of Orientals, cannot be matched at home, and is a very precious possession. Most of us have something of the sportsman in our natures; and in spite of all the havoc wrought in the old hunting-grounds by the spread of cultivation and the increase of population, the man of moderate means can still find use for gun and rifle in India. Life in camp gives many delightful opportunities for combining business with pleasure; and the best sportsman is very often the best official. There are diversities of gifts; and the duties of the Indian Civil Service are so diverse that there is room for men of all