heated brains, are scarcely worth noticing, considering the really undeserved approval I have met with for the last twenty years at the hands of a large majority of the indulgent British public. It was particularly my last lecturing tour in England which has given me the full conviction that my various writings, although derided in certain quarters and at certain periods, have not fallen to the ground. The warning voice which I have raised at various times, when a seemingly cloudless sky deluded the intentionally careless crowd of politicians, has not echoed away, but left an impression on the minds of a few thinking Englishmen. My gratitude to them is boundless; it is owing to this gratitude that I undertook to write the present book, which, destined for a larger circulation, will, I fondly hope, rouse the masses also to the necessity of an active, patriotic, and decisive policy as to Russia. And lastly, it is this feeling of thankfulness which animates me to go on as before, unflinchingly, in the path of my political writing. By doing so I am in hopes to achieve two purposes-one, to draw the attention of Europe in general, to the excessive increase of the power of barbarous and despotic Russia; a power obtained through the connivance of our miserable diplomacy, and fraught with dangers to the liberal institutions of all Europe. In looking around amongst the European nations to discover the one fittest to form an effective barrier against this ruthless aggression, I found that Germany still wants a good deal of time before she matures into such a manhood as to come forward as the real defender of liberty; and that France, being a large room full of enfants gátés, offers less security to the sacred cause of liberty, owing to the fickle minds and puerile freaks of her citizens. It is only the solid rock of Anglo-Saxon character which will furnish the necessary material for effective bulwarks ; and my second purpose in view is, therefore, to strengthen this national element, as far as it lies in the power of a writer; to animate the English to maintain their position in Asia, which is inseparably connected with their power in Europe. If I have in the least succeeded in my aspirations to that effect, I shall deem myself abundantly rewarded. INDEX. Abdurrahman, Emir of Afghanistan, Acquisitions in Turkestan by Russia, 31-36. Adam Kirligan, 21. Affluents of the Murghab River, 78. Afghanistan and India, 9; a neutral Akhal, 29; fertility of, 34; work of the people, 37; civilisation in, 40. Alai Mountains in Khokand, 135. how he got into Merv, 45; sub- Altai, 5, 169. Anglo-Afghan war, Origin of, 60, 68, 129. Anglo-Saxon character, Strength of, 208. Argyll, Duke of, on Russian conquest, Army, English and Russian, 136. Asiatic professions, Value of, 133. B. Bagtche-Sarai, Khans of, 4. Barrier in Asia inevitable, 158. Bokhara, 4; Emir of, 8; assists Kho- Borkhut Mountains, 81. Brahmins and English culture, 151. C. Calais to Calcutta, 26. Cavagnari, Sir Louis, Murder of, 69. 71. Eastern Question, Solving the, 163. tions thereon, 128; change of policy defence, 147; a bulwark for India, 148. English indifference respecting Central English opinion variable, 191. Europeanism in the East, 190. Exactions of the Russians, 37. F. Famine Commission in India, 178. Frere, The late Sir Bartle, on Afghan- Frontier, Afghan, Delimitating Com- G. Galkin's geographical report on Central Galtcha, or Persian mountaineers, 112. slaughter at, 30; victory of Sko- Ghilghit, 135. Gladstone, W. E., on Russian ex- tension, 125. Gortschakoff, Prince, 16, 65; circular Grand Duchy of Muscovy, 3. strength of India, 157. Grodekoff, Colonel, at Herat, 122. Gurgan River, 28. H. Hazreti-Turkestan, 14. Herat, 9; Russian designs upon, 73; Hindoo Koosh, The, 114, 135. I. Imperial policy in England, Champions Increase of Russian influence in Asia, 207. India, Conquest of, 2; Russia in, 125; |