The Life and Times of General Sir James Browne. By
General J. J. McLeod lanes. (John Murray. 18s.)—This book, which, by the way, is not only agreeably but ably written, relates the strenuous life-story of one of those valuable military servants of India who, owing to their being engineers, are but little known to the British public till after their death. " Buster " Browne—his nickname was really an inheritance from a brother who died before him—stands revealed in the portrait which is given in this book, and it almost seems superfluous to tell us that "his sturdy physique and giant strength were alone sufficient to command respect among the tribes who are themselves remarkable for physical beauty and vigour. In spite of his quiet, gentle manners, the flash of his eye sufficed to indicate the great force of character behind, and all, whether English or native, who had business to transact with him would recognise at once that they were face to face with a ruler of men." But he was a ruler of men on a comparatively small and "native" scale, and largely in those times of peace which in or on the frontiers of India are utilised in preparing for war. He took part in various enterprises, such as the Mahsood-Wuzeeree Expedition of 1860, the Afghan War of eighteen years later, and the Egyptian Campaign of 1882, in which he commanded the Royal Engineers. Finally, in 1889, Lord Roberts, who thought very highly of him, made him Quartermaster-General of the Indian Army. But the work in which "Buster" Browne was most busily engaged, and in virtue of which mainly he will live, was that of constructing roads, railways, and bridges on the North-Western Frontier. In such work natives were of course employed, and Browne's know- ledge of their dialects and his tact in managing men stood him in good stead. The story is told, in particular, of the difficulties overcome—amidst official troubles too—in the con- struction of the Hurnai Railway, including overwhelming floods and devastating epidemics. But the railway which connects Beloochistan and Afghanistan may prove of great value if Browne's distrust of Russia and belief in a forward policy for the Indian Empire—a belief in which his biographer backs him up—are well founded. " Buster " Browne led a happy, honour- able, and strenuous life ; it was perhaps too strenuous, for he died at the comparatively early age of fifty-six. General Innes, as we have said, writes well, although occasionally he indulges in an effusiveness which on personal grounds is excusable, and his volume is well worth the careful study of all who are interested in the various problems associated with our Empire in India. Personal details are worked out with affectionate care; thus the account of the ancestry of the "Buster "—his grand- father was a doctor in Falkirk—is eminently re.adable.
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