where the Jat tribes from time immemorial roamed with their flocks and herds—plains of dormant fertility, which now with the magic touch of water produce splendid crops of golden grain. Railways have been made through the irrigated lands, and there numerous villages and towns have risen from which on a gala day, when a Viceroy or a Lieutenant-Governor visits them, thousands of old soldiers come forth wearing their be-medalled uniforms,—men whose sons follow their fathers as soldiers of the King-Emperor. These settlements form extended lines of defence, where the many owners of the small farmsteads may be depended on to fight for their own should the day ever come of invasion again from the north. They have no fear of invaders, whoever they may be. It remains true for all time that on a hardy spirited peasantry an empire's strength is stayed.
Though the Punjab is not blessed by nature like the rich tropical Gangetic valley, it is fruitful in bold and enterprising men.
