New History of the Marathas v1.c5.108

v1.c5.108

“The Maratha peasantry possess manly fortitude under suffering and misfortune. Though patient and good-tempered in the main, they have a latent warmth of temper and if oppressed beyond a certain endurable limit, they will fiercely turn and rend their tormentors. Cruelty is also an element in their character. Traditions of plunder have been handed down to them from early times and many of them retain the predatory instincts of their forefathers. The neighbourhood of dense forests, steep hill-sides and fastnesses hard of access, offers extraordinary facilities for the display of valour and the preservation of liberty. They work hard in the fields and possess a fund of domestic virtue. The Marathas are born equestrians and sportsmen. As a rule they are not moderate in living and are not infrequently addicted to intemperance. They often feel proud of their low origin even after attaining greatness. The Sindhias boasted of having been the slipper-bearers of the Peshvas.”