( 7 )
And it appears that about one third of all those afflicted have drifted into
beggary. Indeed, if to the total of 496 beggars the 80 persons supported by rela-
tions or friends, and the three prisoners are added, the ratio of persons dependent on
charity will be nearly 38 per cent, of the total afflicted. This deplorable result is to
be expected, of course, in a lingering condition of disease which, in its aggravated
form, destroys the hands and feet and otherwise renders the sufferer unfit to
labour.
18. Yet, the list of persons still able to support themselves is a goodly one
and provides undeniable evidence that so long as a leper can work, there is little or
no prejudice in this country against Ms employment in his special line of business
or profession, and this not in cases so slight as to be easily concealed from the general
public.
19. In illustration of these points, I record two typical cases, received from
Muzaffarnagar—one of the man reduced to beggary, the other of a man who
supports himself as a grain-seller.
" The case of Kesri, 30 years of age, a beggar, was formerly a gardener. The
whole body insensible, marks of accidental burns on the left hip and shoulder,
felt no pain when burnt. The palms of the hands without fingers, all the
toes of the feet dropped off and healed, a large ulcer on the ball of the left great
toe."
" The case of Dewan, aged 45, grain-seller in the bazaar : patches of discoloura-
tion with anæsthesia over the whole body. The right index finger hypertro-
phied. The fingers of the left hand contracted. Both feet swollen, and a large
ulcer over the balls of the toes of the left foot."
20. I could quote many such cases in support of the opinion that lepers do
not find themselves denied the means of livelihood while able to work. They may
be shunned by their relations and caste people as disgracefully afflicted or unpleasant,
but do not apparently lose caste, or find the general public unwilling to buy of
them, or employ them, because of their suffering condition. And, when a leper
becomes a beggar, it is, as a rule, by reason of his having fallen into a helpless
condition as the disease advances. Even leper prostitutes, apparently, are not
debarred from gaining a livelihood by the practice of their calling.
21. I think from these facts it may be gathered that the people of this country,
as the result of experience, do not believe in any contagious nature of leprosy.
22. The ages of the 1,531 persons of the histories appear in the following state-
ment, and to these I am able to add the ages of 47 lepers recorded in the Agra City
nominal roll :
Age at date of examination.
Age.
Number at
each
period of age.
Total
3
1
4
1
...
1
51
51
213
...
213
318
3
321
40 to 50 years.
438
12
450
332
14
346
130
12
142
45
5
50
1,531
47
1,578
Remarks.
History state-
ments.
Agra City roll.
The table shows that 62·6 per cent, of those examined were above 40 years of age,
and 12·2 per cent, had lived to be more than 60 years old—a great age for people of
this country. Of the 50 persons more than 70 years old, 29 are returned as between
70 and 75, 2 from 75 to 80, 14 from 80 to 85, 3 from 85 to 90, and 2 from 90
to 95.
It is likely that these latter figures are in excess of the actual facts. But still the
evidence of age, as a whole, goes to prove undoubtedly that to suffer from leprosy
does not forbid the expectation of long life.
23. The age at time of first appearance of the complaint is a fact perhaps of
greater importance than the age at the time of examination, and the following is the
statement, as compiled from the histories recorded and from the nominal roll of 530
lepers of the Agra City and Agra District, in which the age at time of attack is
recorded :