[Footnote 5:  I was much gratified at receiving subsequently from His Imperial Majesty the Emperor William I. and from the Crown Princess of Prussia autograph letters of acknowledgment of, and thanks for, the reception accorded and the attention paid to Majors von Huene and von Hagenau, the two representatives of the German army who attended these manoeuvres.]

[Footnote 6:  Words used by Mr. Gladstone when asking for a vote of credit for L6,500,000 for special preparations in connection with the Afghan difficulty.]

[Footnote 7:  The late Major-General Sir James Browne, K.C.S.I., C.B., who, like Sir Robert Sandeman, died while holding the important and responsible position of Governor-General’s Agent in Baluchistan.]

[Footnote 8:  A Statesman of high reputation in England was so strong in his disbelief of the necessity for making any preparations in India, that he publicly stated that if the only barrier between Russia in Asia and Britain in Asia were a mountain ridge, or a stream, or a fence, there would be no difficulty in preserving peace between Russia and the United Kingdom.—­Speech delivered by the Right Hon. John Bright, M.P., at Birmingham on the 16th April, 1879.]

* * * * *

CHAPTER LXVI. 1886

  Nursing for the soldier—­Pacification of Burma considered
  —­Measures recommended—­The Buddhist priesthood
  —­The Regimental Institute—­The Army Temperance Association

Many interesting and important questions had to be dealt with during this my first year as a member of the Viceroy’s Council, and it was pleasant to me to be able to bring before the Government of India a scheme which my wife had had very much at heart for many years—­for supplying skilled nursing to the military hospitals in India.  That our sick soldiers (officers and men) should be entirely dependent for nursing, even in times of the most dangerous illness, on the tender mercies of ‘the orderly on duty,’ who, whether kind-hearted or the reverse, was necessarily utterly untrained and ignorant of the requirements of sickness, was a source of unhappiness to her, and had been felt as a cruel want by many; but whenever she had discussed the subject with those who might have helped her, she was told that proposals for supplying this want had already been made, that the Government could not, nor would they ever be able to, act on such proposals, on account of the prohibitory expense, so she felt there was no use in making any appeal until I might be in a position to see that any suggestions made by her would be certain to receive the careful consideration of Government.  This time had now arrived, and almost directly Lady Roberts returned to India in 1886 she drew up a scheme for supplying lady nurses to the military hospitals throughout India, and set to work to try and get the support of some of the principal Medical officers.  To her