-----
When we first took the field, the moment was so obviously unsuitable for the appearance of any literature unconnected with such an absorbing topic, that it was deemed inadvisable to bring out the present book though the manuscript was at that time actually in the hands of the publishers. But with the determination to call our Indian forces to our aid, a new situation was created; for it seemed probable that considerable interest would be excited in England regarding the life, habits, religion, of the rural classes from whom such forces are principally drawn. This fact, and also the kind reception which had been accorded to The Silent India,' were held to justify the appearance of the present volume — which is now presented in its original form.
{{comment.content}}