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while I followed man official capacity through different provinces of the Peninsula, my late lamented master Col. Colin Mackenzie; surveyor General of India; the unhappy demise of that meritorious officer has for ever destroyed the prospect which I had been led sanguinely to hope would be realized, but I cannot retrace in my memory the various scenes we passed through, during our arduous labours, without feeling those sensations, which it is impossible for me to express and which will never pass away from my mind.
The meaner in which I have executed the task I had undertaken, I leave an enlightened public to judge, well knowing they will not expect well-turned periods, or elegance of diction from the pen of a native. Some typographical errors will be found in the work, which my harrassed state of mind has prevented me correcting, and I implore the indulgence of the Public towards a native, who has endeavored to merit approbation.
