Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-01-03
Mr.. RHsltfn's AngIo-Indiau Hero,
PAIL Matilda zcftet


" Among the lives of men known to
me-" says Mr.. Ruskin in the fret chap
ter Of this delightful account of Sir Her.
bert Edwsrdes's work in the Punjaub,
Z" there is not such another course of
unfiinching, straightforward, childlike
belief in Heavens will and help-since
1 don't know when! really remember
nobody quite like him--since st. Martin
Of Tours" In a footnote Mr.. Ruskin
says: "This was written in 1883,
when ] had heard nothing Of General
Gordon. But Gordon, Havelock, and
StoDewall Jackson were all men Of Her.
bert Edwardes's stamp, only there is a
vein Of quiet and natural humor in Ed
wardes which makes him like Martin
OF Tours in sense the others were
not" Mr.. Ruskin has done good
service in reminding Englishmen and
EDglishw Of the young hero
who pacified Bunnoo and convert
ed the valley Of the -Four Hundred
Forts from . congeries Of lairs of
anarchic tribes into tranquil home Of
pastoral and agricultural industry. 1t
were good thing, and an excellent, il
each great worker and teacher of men,
before he passed away, were to write
for the benefit of those who come after
him his own Plutarch--not for sale and
profit, but as q memorial cairn to those
whose examples and counsel have quick
ened his aspirations after the ideal,
strengthened his resolution to war
against evil, and, above all, deepened
and widened his faith in God. Every
man has his own secret eyangelists in
whose lives and teachings he reads,
often in characters all unknown to
others, the message of the " All
Father" to his soul. To place on
record before we pass hence, in some
short and simple fashion, our indebted
ness to these men, with some reference
to those traits in their character, to
those passages in their writings which
were to us as mama in the desert, or
as a spring of living water in dry and
thirsty land, would be labor Of love
to the writers and exceeding profita-
BILE to the readers who come after. For
we each have our own Yalhalla, which
we people with heroes and demigods OF
whose heroism and divinity we have
had clear and manifest revelation aud
it is well that, so far at least as con-
Germs the greater among us, these chosen
ones should be made known to men.
Mr.. Ruskin's object in this record Of
a knights faith, as displayed in deeds OF
.'derring-do " on the far Indian frontier,
is not, he tells us, to show how battles
may be won, but that
I'VE may learn the happier lesson
how men may be won; what affection
there is to be had for the asking what
truth for the trusting what perennial
honor fer moments justice; what
lifelong service for a word of love -
the gospel of anti.cynicism, in short,
of which there is enough need nova
days, and all days. For cynicism is OF
tie devil, devilish, and he, indeed, is
one Of old times. Sir Herbert. who
rode with guard Of twenty-five horse
men right into the heart Of the camp OF
the fierce and war-like Vizeerees, whom
he was bent upon reducing to subjec-
tion-a performance that in its way re.
minds us Of Gordon's famous ride into
the midst of the slave-traders-" one
red-faced man on a camel "-relying
solely upon the honor of its chief, re-
marks as he records the incident
Hoping that many a young soldier
glancing over these pages will gather
heart and encouragement for the stormy
otbefore him, desire above all thingSto
put into his hands the staff Of confidence
in his fellow-man. The man who cannot
trust others is by his own showing I'M
trustworthy himself. If there is any
lesson that | have learned from life, it
is that human nature, black or white,
is better than we think it; and he who
reads these pages to close will see
how much faith have had occasion to
place in the rudest and widest Of the
species, how nobly it was deserved,
and how useless | should have been
without it,"
But then, of course, Sir Herbert was
himself a man of faith and honor and
love, and above all, of sympathy, OF
which Mr.. Ruskin truly says, With
out sympathy in the high sense Of in
tellectual penetration, kindness may
be only folly and intended aid Oppres-
sion," and as such the mere contagion
of his example helped to generate SINH
lar qualities in others. Even that does
not always hold. Judas was trusted,
and Judas betrayed. Nevertheless,
the broad principle remains-better to
trust and be betrayed than never to
have trusted at ALL"
We shall not follow Mr.. Ruskin' S
interesting extracts from Sir Herbert'S
journal, which he collates with loving
care and edits with many appreciatiye
italics ana foot-notes of admiration.
There is in the pacification of Bunnoo,
as Sir Herbert Edwardes remarks,
enough of peril, enough of anxiety
and responsibility, enough of wild
adventure and barbarian life, and
if not of accomplishment, at
least Of good endeavor," to make
the book very interesting and sug-
gestive reading. Sir Herbert writes
excellent English-not so nervous and
forcible as Gordon's, but it is more lit
erary in its form and very clear and
vivid. His success in BunnoO " is a
vivid illustration of one aspect of Anglo
Indian life, to which he alludes in the
following notable passage:
The peace that ensued came home
to so many, and the cultivation it per-
mitted sprang up and fourished so
rapidly under that genial sun, that
ones good wishes seemed to be heard
by better angels md carried out upon
the spot before charity grew cold. And
indeed this is the greaG charm Of civil
employment in the Est. The officer
who has a district unGer his charge has