Upon seeing the troops of the Begum of Bhopal and the Maharana of Udaipur, I recommended that Their Highnesses should be invited to allow their share of Imperial defence to take the form of paying for the services of an increased number of officers with their respective local corps,[5] for I did not think it would be possible to make any useful addition to our strength out of the material of which their small armies were composed.  The men were relics of a past age, fit only for police purposes, and it would have been a waste of time and money to give them any special training.  My recommendation, however, was not accepted, and neither of these States takes any part in the defence scheme.

At Jodhpur, on the contrary, there was splendid material, and a most useful force was being organized by the Maharaja’s brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Pertap Sing, himself a Rajput, and of the bluest blood of India.  The Cavalry were specially fine.  The gallant Rajput horsemen of Jodhpur had always been famous for their chivalrous bravery, unswerving fidelity, and fearless self-devotion in their wars with the Mahrattas and the armies of the Mogul Emperors, and I felt, as the superbly mounted squadrons passed before me, that they had lost none of their characteristics, and that blood and breeding must tell, and would, if put to the test, achieve the same results now as of old.  There could be but one opinion as to the value of the ’Sirdar Rissala,’[6] so named after the Maharaja’s son and heir, Sirdar Sing, a lad of only nine years old, who led the little army past the saluting flag mounted on a beautiful thorough-bred Arab.

The Jaipur troops were much on a par with those of Bhopal and Udaipur.  I was glad, therefore, that in lieu of troops, the Maharaja had agreed to organize, as his contribution to the Imperial service, a transport corps of 1,000 fully-equipped animals.

At Ulwar I found the 600 Cavalry and 1,000 Infantry (all Rajputs) well advanced in their drill and training; this was evidently owing to the personal interest taken in them by the Maharaja, who seldom allowed a day to pass without visiting the parade grounds.

By the end of March I had finished my tour in Central India and Rajputana, and as the heat was every day becoming more intense, I was not sorry to turn my steps northwards towards Kashmir, the army of which State still remained to be inspected, and the measures most suitable for its re-organization determined upon.

Our whole family party re-assembled at Murree early in April, and we all went into the ‘Happy Valley’ together, where between business and pleasure we spent a most delightful six weeks.  The Maharaja personally superintended the arrangements for our comfort.  Our travelling was made easy—­indeed luxurious—­and everything that the greatest care and forethought and the most lavish hospitality could accomplish to make our visit happy was done by the Maharaja and by the popular Resident, Colonel Nisbet.