Forty One Years In India

The author would never has ventured to intrude upon the public with his personal reminiscences had he not been urged to do so by friends who, being interested themselves in what he was able to tell them of India as his father knew it, and as he found it and left it, persuaded him that his experiences of the many and various aspects under which he has known the wonderful land of his adoption and its interesting peoples would be useful to his countrymen. The Natives of India are particularly observant of character, and intelligent in gauging the capabilities of those who govern them; and it is because the English Government is trusted that a mere handful of Englishmen are able to direct the administration of a country with nearly 300 millions of inhabitants, differing in race, religion, and manners of life. Throughout all the changes which India has undergone, political and social, during the present century, this feeling has been maintained, and it will last so long as the services are filled by honorable men who sympathize with the Natives, respect their prejudices, and do not interfere unnecessarily with their habits and customs. The Mutiny was not an unmitigated evil, for to it we owe the consolidation of our power in India, as it hastened on the construction of the roads, railways, and telegraphs, so wisely and thoughtfully planned by the Marquis of Dalhousie, and which have done more than anything to increase the prosperity of the people and preserve order throughout the country. It was the Mutiny which compelled us to reorganize our Indian Army and make it the admirable fighting machine it now is. The book is the product of extensive study of historical facts of this part of the land.