PREFACE TO NEW EDITION. 



In prefacing this. new and revised edition of ' Hindu-Koh,' 

 its author has little more to say than to thank his readers 

 and reviewers for the kind and indulgent way in which the 

 book has been received. An opinion was frequently ex- 

 pressed that an index would have been an advantage, and 

 this has now. been added. 



PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 



The subject of Himalayan travel and sport is now so old a 

 story, that an attempt to create further interest in it is an 

 almost hopeless undertaking, especially for one who has been 

 more accustomed to handling the mountain-staff than the 

 pen. But, old though it be, the field it embraces is so vast, 

 that it may still afford scope for variety even should it lack 

 originality ; and such the author would fain trust may be 

 the case in this instance. The following pages, however, 

 are in no wise embellished with a vein of romance, which, 

 whilst perhaps rendering a narrative of this kind more 

 attractive to the general reader, is apt to give a fanciful 



