The title explains the nature of this work. It is merely a narrative of a ride to Khiva. I have added a short account of Russia’s Advance Eastward. In the course of my journey I had the opportunity of conversing with many Russians in Central Asia. India was a topic which never failed to produce numerous comments. Another advantage which we have gained consists in the fact that from our present position our power of threatening British India has become real and ceased to be visionary. In this respect our Central Asian possessions serve only as an étape on the road to further advance and as a halting-place where we can rest and gather fresh strength. If in the time of Paul I an overland expedition to India was considered feasible, it is certainly much more so at the present time, when we have shortened the interval by such an immense stretch of country. "Asia will not of course ever form the avowed object of dispute between England and Russia, but in the event of a war produced by European complications, we shall clearly be obliged in our own interests to take advantage of the proximity to India which is afforded by our present position in Central Asia.
