The author, a younger brother of Admiral Sir James Douglas, 1st Baronet, of Springwood Park, saw service in the British army before going to Holland in 1747. His autobiography, written in 1805, is mainly concerned with military, family, and social life in Holland.

The present text is a copy (perhaps a translation) made after 1864, with copies of additional material, including: a small water-colour portrait of Robert Douglas (folio i); extract of a letter, 1772, concerning his service in the East Indies (folio 29); report in French of a conversation between Douglas and the Emperor Joseph II in 1781; copy of a long testamentary letter to his children, 1806 (folio 37); and a genealogical table of his forebears and descendants (folio 43). 'A Note of Lieutenant-Genl. Douglas's Children and Grand Children', 1802, in his own hand, has been added (folio 45).