Page:The Marquess of Dalhousie.djvu/39

Rh note to his whole administration. Meanwhile it may save space, if I clearly exhibit at the outset what manner of man Lord Dalhousie appeared to his colleagues and contemporaries throughout his eight years of Indian rule.

Small of stature, but with a noble head, a most penetrating glance, and a haughty demeanour, 'the little man' of Government House first inspired awe in those with whom he came in contact; then trust; and finally an ardent admiration, in which loyalty to the master mingled strangely with personal love. He was the only one of the long list of Governors-General for whom both the great services in India, civil and military, and also the non-official British public, felt a real and lasting enthusiasm. For during eight years of trials, and sorrows, and successes, he presented to our countrymen in India the loftiest type, I had almost said the apotheosis, of the great qualities with which we in distant lands love to associate the name of Englishman.

His masterful character made enemies during his life; his policy towards the Native States raised a tempest of hostile criticism after his death. But during the long period of his actual rule, enmity lay spell-bound by his commanding nobility of soul, criticism was by degrees almost hushed by his splendid successes, and throughout the vast continent, from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin,