tour to inspect the local regiments in Central India and
Rajputana, and to ascertain what progress had been made in organizing
the Imperial Service Troops in that part of India.

Did space permit, I should like to tell my readers of the beauties of
Udaipur and the magnificent hospitality accorded to us there, as well
as at Bhopal, Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Ulwar, but, if I once began,
it would be difficult to stop, and I feel I have already made an
unconscionably heavy demand on the interest of the public in things
Indian, and must soon cease my 'labour of love.' I must therefore
confine myself to those subjects which I am desirous should be better
understood in England than they generally are.

Upon seeing the troops of the Begum of Bhopal and the Maharana of
Udaipur, I recommended that Their Highnesses should be invited to
allow their share of Imperial defence to take the form of paying for
the services of an increased number of officers with their respective
local corps,[5] for I did not think it would be possible to make any
useful addition to our strength out of the material of which their
small armies were composed. The men were relics of a past age, fit
only for police purposes, and it would have been a waste of time and
money to give them any special training. My recommendation, however,
was not accepted, and neither of these States takes any part in the
defence scheme.

At Jodhpur, on the contrary, there was splendid material, and a
most useful force was being organized by the Maharaja's brother,
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Pertap Sing, himself a Rajput, and of the
bluest blood of India. The Cavalry were specially fine. The gallant
Rajput horsemen of Jodhpur had always been famous for their chivalrous
bravery, unswerving fidelity, and fearless self-devotion in their wars
with the Mahrattas and the armies of the Mogul Emperors, and I felt,
as the superbly mounted squadrons passed before me, that they had lost
none of their characteristics, and that blood and breeding must tell,
and would, if put to the test, achieve the same results now as of
old. There could be but one opinion as to the value of the 'Sirdar
Rissala,'[6] so named after the Maharaja's son and heir, Sirdar
Sing, a lad of only nine years old, who led the little army past the
saluting flag mounted on a beautiful thorough-bred Arab.

The Jaipur troops were much on a par with those of Bhopal and Udaipur.
I was glad, therefore, that in lieu of troops, the Ma