The Eyes of Asia | Page 2

is a war for young men? The old are not entirely
useless. The Badshah [the King] himself gave me the medal for
fetching in my captain from out of the wires upon my back. That work
caused me the coldness in my stomach. Old men should not do
coolie-work. Your cavalry were useless in France. Infantry can fight in
this war--not cavalry. It is as impossible for us to get out of our
trenches and exterminate the enemy as it is for the enemy to attack us.
Doubtless the cavalry brigades will show what they are made of in
Egypt or Persia. This business in France is all Artillery work and mines.
The blowing up of the Chitoree Bastion when Arjoon went to Heaven
waving his sword, as the song says, would not be noticed in the noise
of this war.
The nature of the enemy is to go to earth and flood us with artillery of
large weight. When we were in the trenches it was a burden. When we
rested in the villages we found great ease. As to our food, it was like a
bunnia's marriage-feast. Everything given, nothing counted. Some of
us--especially among your cavalry--grew so fat that they were
compelled to wrestle to keep thin. This is because there was no
marching.
The nature of the enemy is to commit shame upon women and children,

and to defile the shrines of his own faith with his own dung. It is done
by him as a drill. We believed till then they were some sort of caste
apart from the rest. We did not know they were outcaste. Now it is
established by the evidence of our senses. They attack on all fours
running like apes. They are specially careful for their faces. When
death is certain to them they offer gifts and repeat the number of their
children. They are very good single shots from cover.
It is the nature of the enemy to shower seductions from out of their
air-machines on our troops in the lines. They promised such as would
desert that they would become Rajahs among them. Some of the men
went over to see if this were true. No report came back. In this way we
cleaned out five bad characters from our Company exactly as it used to
be in the little wars on the Border. May the enemy be pleased with
them! No man of any caste disgraced our Regiment.
The nature of the enemy in this war is like the Nat [juggler] who is
compelled to climb a pole for his belly's sake. If he does not climb he
starves. If he stops he falls down. This is my thought concerning the
enemy.
Now that our troops have gone out of France, the war is entirely
between the enemy and the English, etc., etc. Both sides accordingly
increased the number and the size of their guns. The new wounded
officers in the English hospital say that the battles of even yesterday are
not to be compared with the battle of to-day. Tell this to those who
have returned and who boast. Only fools will desire more war when
this war is ended. Their reward will be an instant extinction on account
of the innumerable quantity of arms, munitions, etc., etc., which will be
left in the hands of the experts. Those who make war henceforward will
be as small jackals fighting beneath the feet of elephants. This
Government has abundance of material, and fresh strength is added
every hour. Let there be no mistake. The foolish have been greatly
deceived in these matters by the nature of the English which is in the
highest degree deceptive. Everything is done and spoken upside-down
in this country of the English. He who has a thousand says: "It is but a
scant hundred." The possessor of palaces says: "It is a hut," and the rest

in proportion. Their boast is not to boast. Their greatness is to make
themselves very small. They draw a curtain in front of all they do. It is
as difficult to look upon the naked face of their achievements as in our
country upon the faces of women.
It is not true there is no caste in England. The mark of the high castes,
such as Ul or Baharun [Earl or Baron] is that they can perform any
office, such as handling the dead, wounds, blood, etc., without loss of
caste. The Maharanee of the Nurses in the English Hospital which is
near our Hospital is by caste Baharanee [Baroness]. I resort thither
daily for society and enlightenment on the habits of this people. The
high castes are forbidden to show curiosity, appetite, or fear in public
places. In this respect they resemble troops on parade. Their male