The letters contained in this volume were written some years ago, and were not originally intended for publication. They describe at first hand a fascinating part of the world, which is visited by few people, and under conditions which have passed or are rapidly passing away.
It is curious to look back on the opinions expressed and the facts stated just as they happened at the time, for if here and there, in brackets, changes have been noted or comments made, it has been best to leave it all as originally written. People of intelligence can always discern where real changes have taken place, or where time must inevitably alter circumstances, things, and places. There have been many changes, yet, curiously enough, not nearly so many as one might have expected, and Progress in places has made little way. These letters are the flotsam and jetsam of years gone by, but I have been encouraged to publish them by those who are better able to gauge their value and interest than I am. If in places they may seem patchy and discursive this is due to the circumstances in which, and the object with which, they were written.
