"Gloster—Knowest thou the way?
Edgar—Both stile and gate, horseway and footway.
Poor Tom shall lead thee.—Take my hand."—Shakspere.
SECOND EDITION.
LONDON:
Wm. H. ALLEN AND Co.,
7, LEADENHALL-STREET.
1850.
LONDON:
LEWIS AND SON, FINCH-LANE, CORNHILL.
TO THE
CIVIL AND MILITARY SERVICES
OF
BRITISH INDIA,
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED,
WITH GRATEFUL RESPECT
AND
CORDIAL GOOD WISHES,
BY
THEIR OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.
The purpose of this little volume, which I have now the honour tosubmit to the public, is to combine, in a compact and convenientform, all the information necessary to the prosecution of the journeyOverland to India and vice versâ.
Scarcely a day passes that I am not asked, either personally or byletter, to guide some intending traveller in his arrangements for thetrip, and even to advise him as to the preferable routes, the expense,the manner of the voyage, &c. Ignorance on all these points inducesinapposite and irrelevant questions; and it is not unusual to find, atthe end of correspondence or a prolonged interview, that the querist isas far from the possession of the knowledge he desired to acquire as hewas when he first preferred his application. No clear and satisfactoryinformation can possibly be obtained by a desultory conversation orfragmentary epistles; hence the value of a systematic and comprehensivearrangement of all the facts and suggestions pertaining to the subject.
There is another reason why I should put forth this Guide,—itcompletes, in a measure—as far, at least, as the great Overlandscheme is in itself complete—my humble labours in the mighty cause ofsteam-communication between England and India. For the past fourteenyears, I have earnestly and ardently advocated the accomplishmentof this great object; and, though treated as a vain and visionaryenthusiast, when I have presumed to predict the establishment of asemi-monthly intercourse (which I did in 1836!), my endeavours neverrelaxed, nor did my hope in the least degree abate. I may be pardoned,therefore, some measure of exultation and self-approval, when, lookingback upon the state of the steam question some years ago, and tracingits rise and progress through a thousand difficulties and obstructions,I venture to associate my own zeal and exertions with the triumphantconsummation apparent in the scheme now adopted and carried out bythe "Peninsular and Oriental Company," and the "East India Company,"not only with the Presidencies of India, but also with our Chinesepossessions.
I laboured long and strenuously; for I could not persuade myself thatBritish enterprise and public spirit would suffer so obvious a means ofextending commerce and civilisation, and of the approximation of ourvast Indi