f of Chitral.

Two minor expeditions took place this year: one against the Thibetans
in retaliation for their having invaded the territory of our ally, the
Raja of Sikim; the other to punish the Black Mountain tribes for the
murder of two British officers. Both were a success from a military
point of view, but in the Black Mountain the determination of the
Punjab Government to limit the sphere of action of the troops, and
to hurry out of the country, prevented our reaping any political
advantage. We lost a grand opportunity for gaining control over this
lawless and troublesome district; no survey was made, no roads opened
out, the tribesmen were not made to feel our power, and, consequently,
very soon another costly expedition had to be undertaken.

In November, 1888, Lord Dufferin left India amidst a storm of regret
from all classes of Her Majesty's subjects. He was succeeded by Lord
Lansdowne, one of whose earliest communications to me rejoiced my
heart, for in it His Excellency inquired whether anything could be
done towards improving our relations with the frontier tribes. This
augured well for the abandonment of the traditional, selfish, and,
to my mind, short-sighted policy of keeping aloof, and I hoped that
endeavours would at last be made to turn the tribesmen into friendly
neighbours, to their advantage and ours, instead of being obliged
to have recourse to useless blockades or constant and expensive
expeditions for their punishment, or else to induce them to refrain
from troubling us by the payment of a heavy blackmail.

[Illustration: THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE, K.G., G.C.M.G., G.M.S.I.,
G.M.I.E.. VICEROY OF INDIA.
_From a photograph by Cowell, Simla_.]

After a visit to the frontier in the autumn to see how the defences
were advancing, I attended a Cavalry Camp of Exercise at Delhi, and
an Artillery Practice Camp at Gurgaon, and then went to Meerut to
be present at the first meeting of the Bengal Presidency Rifle
Association, which was most interesting and successful. We spent
Christmas in camp--the first Christmas we had all been together for
ten years. Our boy, having left Eton, came out in the early part
of the year with a tutor, to be with us for eighteen months before
entering Sandhurst.

At the end of December I proceeded to Calcutta rather earlier than
usual, to pay my respects to the new Viceroy, and in January of the
following year, accompanied by my wife and daughter, I started off
on a long