James Kennedy
Published: 1993
Total Pages: 428
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Excerpt from Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877 A glance at the contents of this volume will show it takes up a number of subjects, some of which are merely touched in most books on Missions, and others not at all. Reminiscences, especially when they spread over many years, and embrace great events, admit of very discursive treatment. They leave the writer unfettered to take up any subject within his wide scope which he may deem fitted to interest his readers. I have allowed myself the freedom thus afforded me. My aim has been to take my readers with me to our Indian home, to see us at our work, to hear us conversing with the people, to accompany us on our journeys, to surround them in thought with our surroundings, so that they may realize our position, trials, difficulties, and joys. I have through out maintained the standpoint of one Whose Indian life has been devoted to Mission work. My two spheres of labour - Benares during the greater part of my course, and Ranee Khet, in the Hill Province of Kumaon, in later years - have come in for extended remark. My attention has not, however, been confined to Missions. I have endeavoured to write as one interested in everything which ought to interest a resident in the land. I have given some account of the climate, aspect of the country, condition and character of the people, changes which have taken place, modes of travelling, and the British Government. I have again and again travelled in the north-west, and some account of these journeys has been given. On one occasion I spent the greater part of two months in Ceylon, and to that beau tiful island a chapter is devoted. I have recorded at some length my experiences of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. N 0 one who was in that terrible storm can ever forget it and the European inhabitants of Benares at that time have special reason for thankful ness for their marvellous escape. I have found it convenient to follow, as a rule, the chronological order, but I have not kept closely to it. When recording the more remote past, the nearer past has been continually coming into view, and the contrast has found expression. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.