4.

which are almost, if not altogether, on a level with those of the subject of his biography. He does not forget the fact that the story of Outram has "furnished one able biographer with matter enough to fill two bulky volumes." At the same time, the present biography claims to be something more than a mere abridgment of Sir Frederick Goldsmid's valuable work. "Through the unfailing kindness of Sir Francis

Outram I have been enabled to extract some interesting details from the mass of documents which passed through Sir Frederick's hands." Captain Trotter, in addition to the fresh material he is able to offer to the admirers of Outram, possesses this advantage, that he tells the story of his hero in a single volume running to little more than three hundred pages. Some of the quite fresh material which has been obtained

is, if not of the first importance, distinctly interesting as illustrating the vicissitudes of Outram's career. Here, for example, is the first full account of an incident which very

nearly brought his career to an untimely close in Persia, where he did what, from the purely professional point of view, may be regarded as his most successful work :— "A mishap befell the Farm, for a full account of which I am indebted to Captain Hewison, then a young naval officer on board the steam-frigate which carried Outram and his staff. We were towing a large sailing-ship full of troops from Bushahr, and on entering the river, grounded on a mud-bank, and stuck fast until the tide rose. The sailing-ship, requiring less depth of water, ran into us, and embedded her stem in the centre of our stern, at the same time upsetting the large deckhouse (where Outram and his staff were) with her bowsprit. We thought they were all killed by the roof falling on them; but strange to say, with the exception of Dr. Badger, who had his face and eye badly cut, the others were hauled from under the roof unhurt owing to four heavy brass stanchions round the hatchway that led to the sleeping-deck below preventing the roof falling flat, also a strong black wood table. It created some little excitement on board, as you may imagine."

In the main, of course, Captain Trotter trusts to, leans upon, and summarises Sir Frederick Goldsmid's narrative. Never- theless, the references in the footnotes to the Outram papers and other sources of information show clearly how much of what may be regarded as independent and fresh material has come Captain Trotter's way and been taken advantage of.

One of the leading reasons why this book will be thoroughly enjoyed, as perhaps the best, and certainly the most readable, estimate of Outram, is that while it quotes and endorses Napier'a celebrated estimate, it makes no attempt to represent Outram as a military saint of the Havelock or any other pattern. He was not without temper or ambition; he had his grievances, and did not hide them; and while he was a devotee to duty, he was passionately fond of outdoor sport. Captain Trotter is able to demonstrate this with the help of papers

furnished by Sir Francis Outram. Among these is a private letter written by Dr. Henry Johnston, the surgeon in charge of a wing of Outram's regiment during the march from Kathiawar to Malegaon in 1824 :—

"Outram was at that time adjutant of the regiment, and it will show the confidence that was thus early reposed in him that he should have been intrusted with such a command when he was only twenty-one years of age. The march was one of about 250 miles through a fine country not wanting in game. The strict discipline maintained by the young commanding officer did not allow of our interfering with it on the line of march. But after reaching our ground, encamping the men, and discussing a good breakfast in the mess-tent, we generally sallied out in quest of game, and many a wild boar bit the dust on these occasions. Outram was always ready to join those under his command in the field-sports, of which, indeed, he was the great promoter, and in which he took more first spears than any other man. But this, so far from leading them to be • The Bayard of India We of General Sir James Outran:, Bart., G.C.B. By aCaptain Lionel J. Trotter. London: W. Blackwood and Bone. [16e. net.] lax in their duties, made every man try to do his best. Duty was always a labour of love with those under him, for he inspired all who were capable of any elevation of feeling with some portion of his own ardour, and made all such willing assistants rather than mere perfunctory subordinates. Thus early did he show that wonderful tact of commanding which few have possessed in such high degree."

Sir James Outram was born in 1803, and died in 1863. His life, therefore, cannot be accounted a long one as even military lives go nowadays. But he packed into it an enormous deal of that most strenuous of all British military work, the kind which is done in, or indirectly for, India. He is beat known, of course, for the great part he played in connection with the

relief of Lucknow, the suppression of the Indian Mutiny, and the self-sacrifice—although Captain Trotter clearly accounts it a military mistake—which made him give the first place in the crisis of the campaign to Sir Henry Havelock. But the Persian War of 1856-57, in which the honours were

all his own, should not be forgotten. And, indeed, it strikes one, reading Outram's story afresh, as being a possibility, if not a probability, that he was better cut out to be a British

Resident of the reforming order than even to be a com- mander,—a fact, by the way, which probably explains why his promotion was not so rapid and continuous all it should, and doubtless otherwise would, have been. Of his work in

Baroda Captain Trotter writes :—

" The task to which our modern Hercules addressed himself might have taxed the courage of him who slew the Hydra and achieved the cleansing of the Augean stables. Outram's own particular monster was called by the natives Khatput, a term which included every kind of corrupt influence from bribery to blackmailing. In Baroda the trail of this serpent was over all departments of public business, and its poisonous breath seems to have tainted the official atmosphere of Bombay itself. "rho great art of life,' as Kaye has well observed, 'is to make things pleasant. A troublesome man is the despair of his superiors ; he must have in him as good stuff as you, James Outram, if his stirrings do not bring him to grief."

Perhaps the most memorable controversy of Outram's life was over the book on the conquest of Scinde, written by Sir William Napier, whose brother Charles had given him the designation of "The Bayard of India." "Wild words wandered to and fro for several years between the partisans on either side, and even Outram was stung into making rash charges against Sir Charles Napier which he afterwards saw reason to qualify or withdraw." Captain Trotter inclines to the belief that, as to the main question at issue between Outram and Sir Charles Napier, each of them may have acted rightly from his own point of view. "While Outram clung to his belief in the good faith of the Amirs, and their readiness to accept with certain limitations the terms proposed by

the Indian Government, Napier, on the other hand, had started with a firm conviction of their secret hostility to a. Power whose real strength they had been tempted to under- value." Captain Trotter, in spite of his hero-worship, is con-

strained to sum up :—" In the light of subsequent history it may be argued that Outram's policy of trust in the Amin would have proved less wise for practical purposes than Napier's policy of vigilant coercion."

The valuable work done by Captain Trotter alike in sum- marising and in supplementing the biography of Sir Frederick Goldsmid is perhaps best exhibited in the sidelights which are thrown, not only upon the character of Outram, but upon the subsidiary, and yet valuable, labour he did on behalf of the private soldier. At the present time, when everything referring to the constitution of the Army must be considered of prime importance, we cannot do better than quote Captain Trotter's deliverance on Outram's sentiments on this subject, as expressed when he was Military Member of the Viceroy's Council :-

Outram's fatherly care for the well-being, moral and physical, of the British soldier shone forth in every line of a supple- mentary minute,' too long to be quoted or even summarised here. It set forth in minute detail his carefully pondered views on the soldier's training, equipment, and instruction, from the moment of his leaving home to the end of his career. Beginning, for instance, with the young soldier's life on board ship, he expressed 'a very decided opinion that, daily (before breakfast), the troops should be assembled for the public worship of God. I do not ask for a long service But a service of some sort there should be, were it to embrace no more than the singing of the morning or some other hymn, the reading of a few verses from the Bible, and thejecitation of one or two collects, or the Litany on those days on which the Church prescribes that the Litany shall be used.' He insisted on the great value of theatricals as a means of affording amusement to soldiers. In every regiment there are several men of mercurial temperament, and often of considerable intellectual ability and good education, for whom it is very difficult to find any innocent amusement. Often among the best and most useful men in an emergency, they are trouble- some, and sometimes even dangerous, in quiet quarters. The rough outdoor amusements of their coarser comrades have few charms for them, and they are too apt to degenerate into hard drinkers, or to find a most mischievous vent for their mental activity as soldier-lawyers.' 'Nothing,' remarked his colleague, Sir Bartle Frere, can be more profoundly true than what he says of the necessity for developing to a greater degree the " indi- vidualism " of the soldier—in other words, training him to think and judge and act for himself, in place of training him to con- sider himself merely as a small portion of a great machine, pro- hibited from all independent action.' 'In the various gradations of military control,' said Outram in the concluding words of his own minute, all depends on the spirit in which the controlling power is exercised, and on the tact of him who exercises it. Be kind, considerate, and conciliatory ; scrupulously regard the feelings of those under you; avoid aught that can weaken their legitimate authority or diminish the respect of their inferiors ; treat not a blunder as a crime ; assume that what is evidently unknown is simply something forgotten; and if you have to do with well-conditioned men, they will regard your constant interest in their proceedings as a compliment, not as an offence. I speak from the experience of more than forty years, both in civil and military life. I can only plead my conviction that the British soldier, even of the roughest stamp, is, if wisely and kindly treated, susceptible of a culture—physical, intellectual, moral, and professional—far in excess of that which is generally supposed to be attainable by him, that just as you approximate a private intellectually, morally, and professionally, to the standard of his officers, do you increase his value comtru3rcialky as a soldier; and the interests of India (politically, financially, and morally considered) demand that the very highest possible culture of all kinds should be bestowed on the members of her European garrison, and the highest possible development given to their capacities, both individual and corporate! His care for the British soldier extended even to the soldier's wife and daughters, who ought, he said in effect, to be treated by their officers with all the courtesy due from gentlemen towards women of whatever class. The women should feel, and their husbands and husbands' comrades should see, that the most trifling matters affecting their comfort and happiness engaged their officers' constant and solicitous attention. They should be addressed as if it were assumed that every woman was in feelings a lady, and in moral tone all that her best friends could wish."