SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
schemes for the improvement and betterment of his country, and I would have given a great deal to see him put on his way before leaving.
As soon as they realised the time for my departure was drawing appreciably near, the Maharajas and people of both countries sent petitions signed by all members of the community to the Viceroy, praying for an extension of my services, and when the first petition was rejected, they appealed more than once against the decision, and the Maharaja and Maharani of Sikhim travelled to Calcutta and personally made their request to Lord Minto.
Had the Viceroy’s answer to the petition been favourable, I might have remained on for a year or two more, but my health had begun to fail, and the hard work and exposure to tell on me, and I was really anxious to return to England, so in April, 1908, I took leave preparatory to retirement, and was succeeded by Mr. Bell, I.C.S.
For weeks before my departure the house was besieged by the people from far and near, all anxious to bid me goodbye, or to ask some special favour before I gave up the reins of office. I knew them all and their affairs, their family histories, their small quarrels, and their ambitions, and they always came freely to me for advice and redress, knowing I was always accessible and would not refuse to see any one, Lepcha, Bhutia, or Paharia. I knew their ways and they trusted and liked me, and never thought of withholding anything from me, and in consequence a mutual confidence and affection had sprung up between us which made the parting hard. I was leaving a people I loved, and in whose service I had spent the best years of my life, and they felt they were losing a trusted friend on whom they had learnt to rely.
At last the time came for my final departure, everything was packed and despatched to England, and the house stood bare and dismantled, but the garden and flowers were more beautiful than usual. But we were not to leave even that behind us, for on the last afternoon a terrific hail-
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