Forty-one years in India

Forty-one years in India

Project Gutenberg's Forty-one years in India, by Frederick Sleigh Roberts This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Forty-one years in India From Subaltern To Commander-In-Chief
Author: Frederick Sleigh Roberts
Release Date: August 14, 2005 [EBook #16528]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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_PUBLISHED JANUARY 4, 1897._
* * * * *
_First Edition (before publication), two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. January 2, 1897.
_Second Edition (before publication), two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. January 2, 1897.
_United States Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 12 dollars January 4, 1897.
_Indian Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 32 rupees January 4, 1897.
_Third Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. January 4, 1897.
_Fourth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. January 4, 1897.
_Fifth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. January 14, 1897.
_Sixth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. January 16, 1897.
_Seventh Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s January 21, 1897.
_Eighth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. January 27, 1897.
_Ninth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. February 3, 1897.
_Tenth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. February 8, 1897.
_Eleventh Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. February 12, 1897.
_Twelfth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. February 17, 1897.
_Thirteenth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. February 23, 1897.
_Fourteenth, Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. February 26, 1897.
_Fifteenth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. March 8, 1897.
_Sixteenth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. March 18, 1897.
_Seventeenth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. April 6, 1897.
_Eighteenth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. April 28, 1897.
_Nineteenth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. May 31, 1897.
_Twentieth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. July 7, 1897.
_Twenty-first Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. July 31, 1897.
_Twenty-second Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. August 28, 1897.
_Twenty-third Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. September 21, 1897.
_Twenty-fourth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. October 21, 1897.
_Twenty-fifth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. November 18, 1897.
_Twenty-sixth Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. December 14, 1897.
_Twenty-seventh Edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. January 4, 1898.
A Braille type edition for the blind (Nearly ready.)
_Twenty-eighth edition, two volumes, demy octavo_, 36s. May 11, 1898.
_Twenty-ninth Edition, one volume, small demy octavo_ (Now ready.)
[Illustration: Frontispiece.]
* * * * *

FORTY-ONE YEARS IN INDIA
FROM
Subaltern to Commander-in-Chief
BY
FIELD-MARSHAL LORD ROBERTS OF KANDAHAR V.C., K.P., G.C.B., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E.
[Illustration: Seal]
FIRST EDITION IN ONE VOLUME
WITH FORTY ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON Publishers in Ordinary to Her Majesty the Queen 1898 [_All rights reserved_]

_A NEW EDITION, BEING THE TWENTY-NINTH_

_TO THE COUNTRY TO WHICH I AM SO PROUD OF BELONGING,
TO THE ARMY TO WHICH I AM SO DEEPLY INDEBTED,
AND TO MY WIFE,
WITHOUT WHOSE LOVING HELP
MY 'FORTY-ONE YEARS IN INDIA'
COULD NOT BE THE HAPPY RETROSPECT IT IS,
I DEDICATE THIS BOOK._
* * * * *

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
* * * * *
I would never have ventured to intrude upon the public with my personal reminiscences had I not been urged to do so by friends who, being interested themselves in what I was able to tell them of India as my father knew it, and as I found it and left it, persuaded me that my experiences of the many and various aspects under which I have known the wonderful land of my adoption and its interesting peoples would be useful to my countrymen. It was thought that I might thus contribute towards a more intimate knowledge of the glorious heritage our forefathers have bequeathed to us, than the greater number of them possess, and towards helping them to understand the characteristics and requirements of the numerous and widely different races by whom India is inhabited.
It is difficult for people who know nothing of Natives to understand and appreciate the value they set on cherished customs, peculiar idiosyncrasies, and fixed prejudices, all of which must be carefully studied by those who are placed in the position of their Rulers, if the suzerain Power is to keep their respect and gain their gratitude and affection.
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 three hundred 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 honourable men who sympathize with the Natives, respect