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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
575
may say of itsfser vices :— Quorum pars magna fui. The page in
which is recorded its deeds, forms no inconsiderable portion of
that chapter of the history of the British Empire, where may be
read the marvellous episode of the conquest of India.
Warren Hastings wisely said" We hold India by a thread,
but if you draw it too tight it will break." One false step, one
ill-j udged act, whether political or military, and the tension may
cause that thread to snap. The duty of those administering and
guarding the great Dependency, not inaptly called " the brightest
jewel in England's crown," is to prevent the disruption, by
violent means, of the fabric of Empire, reared at such cost of
treasure and precious lives, though History warns us that the
tenure of an alien power over such a vast and populous country
must be insecure and cannot be prolonged. Great and ex
hausting as is the drain upon the flower of this country's
manhood to maintain the occupation of India, it is certain that
on the day we lose our hold the sun of Britain's glory will set
for ever. So it has been with our ancient rivals for Eastern
sovereignty, Holland and Portugal, and the experience of history
will not be changed in our favour.
" But come they must the days decreed by fates,
My heart trembles while my tongue relates,
The days when thou Imperial Troy must bend,
And see thy warriors fall, thy glories end."
We are now at peace with India, but for how_ long ? 'Tis
true that " grim-visaged war has smoothed his wrinkled front,
and at least it should be a cause for satisfaction that the protection
and maintenance of that vast Empire is committed to hearts as
brave as those which acquired and held it against all comers,
whether from without or from within. To the British Aavy,
whose blood, shed in countless battles, «the multitudinous seas
incarnadine," and which, less than any other martial torce known
in the history of the world, has experienced the humiliation ot
defeat, that Indian sister, whose pride it has ever been to
emulate its deeds, commits the safe keeping of the seaboara ot
our Eastern possessions. „ ^ j iv/r ^
Our task is now completed, and to the Officers and Men o
the Old Service, who, without stint and ungrudgingly, gave
their lives in their Country's service, we would app y, m
conclusion, the epigram of Simonides on those who tell with
Leonidas :—
" These won for Sparta fame through endless days.
When Death's dark cloud upon themselves they drew,
But dying, died not, for their valour's praise,
From Hades' dwelling leads them up anew.
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