[Illustration] THE SEPOY _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._ A VAGABOND IN ASIA. THE UNVEILING OF SHARA. THE MANTLE OF THE EAST. THE GENERAL PLAN. SIRI RAM, REVOLUTIONIST. THE YEAR OF CHIVALRY. THE LONG ROAD TO BAGHDAD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE SEPOY By EDMUND CANDLER LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 1919 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ _All rights reserved_ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TO SIR VALENTINE CHIROL ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PREFACE All these sketches, except "The Sikh" and "The Drabi," were written in Mesopotamia. My aim has been, without going too deeply into origins and antecedents, to give as accurate a picture as possible of the different classes of sepoy. In Mesopotamia I met all the sixteen types included in this volume, some for the first time. My acquaintance with them was at first hand. But neither sympathy nor observation can initiate the outsider into the psychology of the Indian soldier; or at least he cannot be certain of his ground. One must be a regimental officer to understand the sepoy, and then as a rule one only knows the particular type one commands. Therefore, to avoid mistakes and misconceptions, everything that I have set down has been submitted to authority, and embodies the opinion of officers best qualified to judge--that is to say, of officers who have passed the best part of their lives with the men concerned. Even so I have no doubt that passages will be found that are open to dispute. Authorities disagree; estimates must vary, especially with regard to the relative worth of different classes; and one must always bear in mind that every company officer who is worth his salt is persuaded that there are no men like his own. It is a pleasing trait and an essential one. For it is the sworn confraternity between the British and Indian officer, and the strong tie that binds the sepoy to his Sahib which have given the Indian Army its traditions and prestige.