A ride to Khiva : travels and adventures in Central Asia / by Fred Burnaby ; with maps and an appendix, containing ... a series of march-routes, translated from several Russian works.

  • Burnaby, Fred, 1842-1885.
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A ride to Khiva : travels and adventures in Central Asia / by Fred Burnaby ; with maps and an appendix, containing ... a series of march-routes, translated from several Russian works. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    present time, when we have shortened the interval by such an immense stretch of country. “ Asia will not of course ever form the avowed object of dispute between England and Russia, but in the event of a war produced by European complica- tions, we shall clearly be obliged in our own interests to,take advantage of the proximity to India which is afforded by our present position in Central Asia. ***** “ Besides the English,” the author continues, “ there is another nation whose attitude is also one of expect- ancy for the Russians—namely, the natives of India. “ The East India Company is nothing less than a poisonous unnatural plant engrafted on the splendid soil of India—a parasite which saps away the life of the most fertile and wealthy country in the world. “ This plant can only be uprooted by forcible means; and such an attempt was made by the natives of the country in 1857, though it failed for want of sufficient skill. “ Sick to death, the natives are now waiting for a physician from the North. Some time will naturally elapse before they care to repeat the experiment of 1857; and, as far as can be foreseen, the English will have to deal only with disconnected outbreaks ; but it cannot be said with any certainty that such small .sparks of rebellion may not, if supported by an impetus from without, produce a general conflagration through- out the length and breadth of India. In this case the