Page:The Marquess of Dalhousie.djvu/27

 CHAPTER II

The Man

First of all it is needful to distinctly realize the man. The strong personality of Lord Dalhousie formed so dominant a factor in his Indian administration, that any attempt to exhibit his public career without a clear view of his private character must fail. His character, indeed, was built on such solid foundations, and presented so majestic a front to his fellow-men, that the temptation is to allow the portrait in the foreground to occupy too much of the canvas available for my whole picture.

Fortunately, however, the life of Lord Dalhousie has been already written, although from inadequate materials, yet by able hands. Dr. George Smith's sketches in The Friend of India in 1861, and subsequently in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, form models of their kind. The narrative lately drawn up by Captain L. J. Trotter deserves the highest praise for its conscientious labour and artistic skill. I only hope that this little book may prove as meritorious in its own way, as an historical retrospect, as Captain Trotter's is excellent