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TWELVE YEARS 
 
 SOLDIER'S LIFE IN INDIA, 
 
If a soldier, 
 Choose brave emplojanents with a naked sword, 
 Throughout the world. 
 
 Georgb Herbert. 
 

^^^JL^ 
 
 /^ 
 

 TWELVE YEARS 
 
 SOLDIER'S LIFE IN INDIA: 
 
 BEING EXTRACTS FKOM THE LETTERS OF 
 
 MAJOR W. S. R. HODSON, B.A. 
 
 TBINITY COLLEGE^ CAMBBIDGB; 
 
 FIRST BSKGAL BUEOPEAN FUSILIERS, COMMANSAM OF HODSON's* 
 
 HORSE. 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 A PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF THE SIEGE OF DELHI AND 
 CAPTURE OF THE KING AND PRINCES. 
 
 THE REV. GEORGE H. HODSON, M.A. 
 
 FELLOW OF TUIMITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 LONDON: 
 JOHN W. PARKER AND SON, WEST STRAND. 
 
 1859- 
 
Pi 
 
 [ The Author reservet the right of Tramlatim.^ 
 
 (HRYMOr.SSS'-FfHEIi* 
 
 •A/ 
 
Co tf)e iHemorg 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR HENRY LAWRENCE, K.C.B. 
 
 TRB TBDE CHRISTIAN, THE BRAVE SOLDIER, 
 
 THE FAITHFUL FRIEND, 
 
 THESE EXTRACTS PROM THE LETTERS OF 
 
 ONE WHOM HE TRAINED 
 
 TO FOLLOW IN HIS FOOTSTEPS, AND WHO NOW 
 
 . RESTS NEAR HIM AT LUCKNOW, 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, 
 And in their deaths they were not divided. 
 
 512440 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 TT can scarcely be needful to make any 
 apology for offering to the public this 
 record of one who has attracted to himself 
 so large a measure of attention and admira- 
 tion. Many, both in this country and in 
 India, have expressed, and I doubt not many 
 others have felt, a desire to know more of the 
 commander of Hodson's Horse, and captor of 
 the King of Delhi and his sons. 
 
 My original intention was to have compiled 
 from my brother's letters merely an account of 
 the part he bore in the late unhappy war. I 
 very soon, however, determined to extend the 
 work, so as to embrace the whole of his life in 
 India. 
 
 I felt that the public would naturally in- 
 quire by what previous process of training he 
 had acquired, not merely his consummate skill 
 in the great game of war, but his experience 
 of Asiatics and marvellous influence over their 
 minds. 
 
VIU PREFACE. 
 
 The earlier portions of this book will serve 
 to answer such inquiries ; they will show the 
 gradual development of my brother's character 
 and powers, and that those exploits which asto- 
 nished the world by their skill and daring, were 
 but the natural results of the high ideaof the sol- 
 dier's profession which he proposed to himself, 
 honestly and consistently worked out during ten 
 years of training, in perhaps the finest school 
 that ever existed for soldiers and administrators. 
 They will explain how it was that, in the midst 
 of a struggle for the very existence of our 
 empire, he was able to call into being and bring 
 into the field around Delhi an ' invincible and 
 all but ubiquitous' body of cavalry. 
 
 The dragon's teeth which came up armed 
 men, had been sown by him long before in his 
 earlier career in the Punjab. There, by many 
 a deed of daring and activity, by many a suc- 
 cessful stratagem and midnight surprise, by 
 many a desperate contest, he had taught the 
 Sikhs first to dread him as an enemy, and then 
 to idolize him as a leader. Already in 1849 
 the Governor- General had had * frequent occa- 
 ' sions of noticing not only his personal gal- 
 ■' lantry, but the activity, energy, and intelli- 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 ' gence with which he discharged whatever 
 ' duties were entrusted to him/ Even then 
 the name of Hodson, although unknown in 
 England, except to the few who watched his 
 course with the eyes of affection, was a sound 
 of terror to the Sikhs, and a bugbear to their 
 children. In 1852 he earned this high praise 
 from one best qualified to judge : ' Lieutenant 
 ' Hodson, marvellously attaching the Guides 
 
 * to himself by the ties of mutual honour, 
 
 * mutual daring, and mutual devotion, has on 
 
 * every opportunity proved that the discipline 
 
 * of a public school and subsequent University 
 ' training are no disquahfication for hazardous 
 
 * warfare, or for the difficult task of keeping 
 
 * wild tribes in check.' 
 
 The title given to this book will sufficiently 
 indicate the principle on which, particularly in 
 the first part, I have made selections from my 
 brother's letters. My object has been to show 
 what a soldier's life in India may be, and what 
 in his case it was ; how wide and varied is the 
 field which it opens for the exercise of the 
 highest and noblest qualities, intellectual and 
 moral, of our nature; and how magnificently he 
 realized and grasped the conception. 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 His letters, written in all the freedom of 
 unreserved intercourse, will give a truer notion 
 of his character than the most laboured de- 
 scription ; they exhibit the undercurrent of deep 
 feelings that ran through even his most playful 
 moods, the yearning after home that mingled 
 with the dreams of ambition and the thirst for 
 the excitement of war, the almost womanly 
 tenderness that co-existed with the stern 
 determination of the soldier. They show that 
 though his lot was cast in camps, he was 
 not a mere soldier ; though a hanger-on on the 
 outskirts of civilization amidst wild tribes, he 
 had a keen appreciation of the refinement and 
 elegancies of civilized life ; that though in 
 India, he remembered that he was an English- 
 man ; that though living amongst the heathen, 
 he did not forget that he was a Christian. 
 
 I have not attempted to write a biography, 
 but have allowed my brother to speak for 
 himself, merely supplying such connecting 
 links as seemed absolutely necessary. 
 
 Indeed, I could do no otherwise ; for un- 
 happily, during the twelve years of his soldier's 
 life — those years in which his character 
 received its mature development — I knew him 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 only by his letters, or by the reports of others : 
 when we parted on board the ship that 
 carried him from England, in 1845, we parted 
 to meet no more in this world. My recollec- 
 tions of him, vivid as they are, are not of the 
 leader of men in council and the battle-field, 
 but of the bright and joyous boy, the life of 
 the home circle, the tender and affectionate 
 son, the loving brother, the valued friend, the 
 popular companion. 
 
 Of what he became afterwards my readers 
 will have the same means of judging as myself 
 He seems to me to have been one of whom 
 not only his family, but his country may well 
 be proud — a worthy representative of the 
 English name and nation amongst the tribes 
 of India, an impersonation of manly straight- 
 forwardness, and unhesitating daring, and irre- 
 sistible power. 
 
 I cannot doubt but that the verdict of his 
 countrymen will confirm my judgment. 
 
 Many too, I believe, will agree with me in 
 thinking that these pages prove that the 
 poetry and romance of war are not yet extinct, 
 that even the Enfield rifle has not reduced all 
 men to a dead level, but that there is still a 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 place to be found for individual prowess, for 
 the lion-heart, and the eagle eye, and the 
 iron will. One seems transported back from 
 the prosaic nineteenth century to the ages of 
 romance and chivalry, and to catch a glimpse, 
 now of a Paladin of old, now of a knightly 
 hero sans peur et sans reproche ; now of a 
 northern chieftain, 'riding on border foray,' 
 now of a captain of free-lances; yet all dis- 
 solving into a Christian soldier of our own 
 day. 
 
 Most striking of all, it has appeared to me, 
 is the resemblance to the romantic career of 
 that hero of the Spanish ballads, who, by his 
 many deeds of heroic daring, gained for him- 
 self the distinguished title of ' El de las 
 Hazanas,' — ' He of the exploits.' Those who 
 are acquainted with the chronicles of the Con- 
 quest of Granada, will almost fancy in reading 
 these pages that they are hearing again the 
 story of Fernando Perez del Pulgar ; how at 
 one time by a bold dash he rode with a hand- 
 ful of followers across a country swarming with 
 the enemy, and managed to force his way into 
 a beleaguered fortress; how at another he 
 galloped alone up the streets of Granada, then 
 
PREFACE. XUl 
 
 in possession of the enemy, to the gates of the 
 principal mosque, and nailed a paper to the 
 door with his dagger ; how again he turned the 
 tide of battle by the mere charm of his eagle 
 eye and thrilling voice, inspiring the most 
 timid with a courage equal to his own ; how 
 he made the enemy lay down their arms at his 
 word of command ; how the Moorish mothers 
 Mghtened their children with the sound of 
 his name; how he was not only the hair- 
 brained adventurer, delighting in peril and 
 thirsting for the excitement of the fight, but 
 also the courteous gentleman, the accomplished 
 scholar; as profound and sagacious in the 
 council as he was reckless in the field, and 
 frequently selected by the wily Ferdinand to 
 conduct afiairs requiring the greatest prudence 
 and judgment.* 
 
 It may be, however, that affection has 
 biassed my judgment, and that I shall be 
 thought to have formed an exaggerated 
 estimate of the grandeur and nobleness of the 
 subject of tliis memoir. Even if this be so, 
 I shall not take much to heart the charge 
 
 • See Washington Ii-viiig, A'c. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 of haviag loved such a brother too v^ell, and I 
 shall console myself with the thought that I 
 have endeavoured to do something to perpe- 
 tuate his memory. 
 
 If, however, any young soldier be in- 
 duced, by reading these pages, to take a 
 higher view of his profession, to think of it as 
 one of the noblest fields in which he can serve 
 his Grod and his country, and enter on it in 
 a spirit of self-sacrifice, with ' duty ' as his 
 guiding principle, and a determination never 
 to forget that he is a Christian soldier and an 
 Englishman, I shall be abundantly rewarded ; 
 my main object will be attained. 
 
 COOKHAM DeANE, 
 
 December, 1858. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS, 
 
 PART I. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY LIFE — RUGBY TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 
 
 GUERNSEY MILITIA pp. I 5 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ARRIVAL IN INDIA CAMPAIGN ON THE SUTLEJ, BATTLES OF 
 
 MOODKEE, FEROZESHAH, SOBRAON OCCUPATION OF 
 
 LAHORE — 1845-6 6 — 26 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST BENGAL EUROPEAN FUSILIERS CASHMERE WITH 
 
 SIKH ARMY LAWRENCE ASYLUM APPOINTMENT TO 
 
 GUIDE CORPS — Ju7ie 1 84 6 — Oct. 1847 • • 27 — 47 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 EMPLOYMENT IN THE PUNJAB AS SECOND IN COMMAND OF 
 THE CORPS OF GUIDES, AND ALSO AS ASSISTANT TO THE 
 
 RESIDENT AT LAHORE ROAD-MAKING AND SURVEYING 
 
 — CAMPAIGN OF 1 848-9 — CAPTURE OF FORTS BATTLE 
 
 OF GUJERAT ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB — Oct. 1 847 
 
 March 1849 48—88 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 : ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB — INCREASE OF CORPS OF GUIDES 
 AT PESHAWUR TRANSFER TO CIVIL DEPARTMENT AS 
 
 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER — April 1 849 — April 1850, 
 
 89 104 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TOUR IN CASHMERE AND THIBET WITH SIR HENRY LAW- 
 RENCE — TRANSFER TO CIS-SUTLEJ PROVINCES — Ju/ne 
 
 1851 — Oct. iS^i 105 — 126 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MARRIAGE COMMAND OP THE GUIDES PESHAWUR 
 
 EUZOFZAI — . FRONTIER WARFARE MURDIN Jan. 
 
 1852 — Nov. 1854 pp. 127 — 154 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 reverses unjust treatment- official enmity — loss 
 
 of command — suppression of report return to 
 
 regimental duties better prospects major 
 
 Taylor's report — testimony of sir r. napier — mr. 
 MONTGOMERY — Nov. 1 854 — May 1857 . 155 — 178 
 
 PART II. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF THE DELHI CAMPAIGN, 1857, 1858. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 OUTBREAK OF REBELLION — MARCH DOWN TO DELHI FROM 
 
 DUGSHAI WITH FIRST EUROPEAN BENGAL FUSILIERS 
 
 APPOINTMENT TO INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT — RIDE 
 FROM KURNAL TO MEERUT TO OPEN COMMUNICATION — 
 ORDER TO RAISE REGIMENT DEATH OF GENERAL 
 
 ANSON — May loth — June 8th .... 179 — 198 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 SIEGE OF DELHI — June — August 199 — 264 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SIEGE OF DELHI, CONTINUED ROHTUCK EXPEDITION — 
 
 ASSAULT DELHI TAKEN — CAPTURE OF KING 
 
 CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF SHAHZADAHS AugUSt 
 
 i)th — Sept. 2^th 265 — 320 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 SHOWERS'S COLUMN SEATON's COLUMN ACTIONS AT GUN- 
 
 GEREE, PUTIALEE, MYNPOREE — RIDE TO COMMANDER- 
 IN-CHIEf's CAMP JUNCTION OF FORCES — SHUMSHABAD 
 
 — Oct. — Jan 321 — 347 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 LUCKNOW THE BEGUm'S PALACE BANKs' HOUSE — THE 
 
 soldier's DEATH — Feb. — March 1 2th . . 348 — 365 
 
tjmy. 
 
 •^•i 
 
 m 
 
 TWELVE YEAES 
 
 OF 
 
 SOLDIER'S LIFE IN INDIA, 
 
 PAET I. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EAULY LIFE. RUGBY. CAMB RIDGE. — GUERNSEY. 
 
 William Stephen Eaikes Hodson, third son 
 of Eev. George Hodson, afterwards Archdeacon 
 of Stafford and Canon of Lichfield, was born 
 at Maisemore Court, near Gloucester, on 19th 
 March, 182 1. 
 
 As a boy, his affectionate disposition and 
 bright and joyous character endeared him 
 greatly to his family, and made him a general 
 favourite with all around him, old and young, 
 rich and poor. That which characterized him 
 most was his quickness of observation and his 
 interest in everything going on about him. 
 By living with his eyes and ears open, and 
 never suffering anything to escape his notice, 
 he acquired a stock of practical knowledge 
 which he turned to good account in his after- 
 life. With the exception of a short time spent 
 
RUGBY. 
 
 with a private tutor, the Eev. E. Harland, he 
 was educated at home till he went to Eugby, 
 in his fifteenth year. Home life, however, 
 had not prevented l#in from growing up an ac- 
 tive, high-spirited boy, full of life and energy. 
 His feats of activity at Eugby still live in 
 the remembrance of his cotemporaries and the 
 traditions of the school. The following is an 
 extract from a paper in the Book of Hughy 
 School, published in 1856 : — 
 
 Who does not remember the fair-haired_, light- 
 complexioned active man whose running feats^ whether 
 in the open fields or on the gravel walks of the Close, 
 created such marvel among his cotemporaries. He 
 has carried his hare and hounds into his country's 
 service^ and as commandant of the gallant corps of 
 Guides, has displayed an activity and courage on the 
 wild frontier of the Punjab, the natural development 
 of his early prowess at Crick and Brownsover. 
 
 A very similar notice appeared in a periodical 
 during the recent campaign : — 
 
 The Rugboeans have had their Crick run. Six 
 nailes over heavy country, there and back, to the 
 school gates by the road^ is no mean distance to be 
 done in one hour twenty-nine minutes. 
 
 There was a day when the gallant leader of 
 Hodson^s Horse always led in this run. We think we " 
 see * larky Pritchard,' as he was familiarly designated, 
 in his blue cloth jacket, white trousers, his well- 
 known belt, and his ^ golden hair,' going in front with 
 
RUGBY. 3 
 
 * 
 
 his nice easy stride (for he never had any very great 
 pace, though he could last for ever), and getting back 
 coolly and comfortably to ' Bons' when the rear 
 hounds were toiling a mile belj^nd. There never was 
 such a boy to run over, after second lesson, to Dun- 
 church to see the North Warwickshire, or to give 
 himself a ' pipe-opener' to Lutterworth and back 
 between callings over, till the doctor vowed he would 
 injure his heart. How true it is that men who have 
 distinguished themselves most in school sports come 
 out the best at last. 
 
 It was not, however, only in active sports 
 that lie showed ability. As head of a house, 
 during the later portion of his Rugby life, 
 he gave equal indications of ' administrative 
 capacity.' 
 
 His tutor (the present Bishop of Calcutta), 
 speaking of his having been transferred to his 
 house, in which there were then no praepostors, 
 'because, from his energetic character and 
 natural ability, he seemed to Dr. Arnold likely 
 to give me efficient help,' continues : — ' He 
 gave abundant proof that Arnold's choice had 
 been a wise one. Though he immediately 
 re-established the shattered prestige of prse- 
 positorial power, he contrived to make himself 
 very popular with various classes of boys. The 
 younger ones found in him an efficient pro- 
 tector against bullying. Those of a more 
 literary turn found in him an agreeable and 
 
 B a 
 
4 CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 intelligent companion, and were fond of being 
 admitted to sit in liis study and talk on matters 
 of intellectual interest. The democrats had 
 got their master, and submitted with a good 
 grace to power which they could not resist, 
 and which was judiciously and moderately 
 exercised. The regime was wise, firm, and 
 kind, and the house was happy and pros- 
 perous. 
 
 'From all that I knew of him, both at 
 Eugby and afterwards, I was not surprised at 
 the courage and coolness which the Times 
 compared ' to the spirit of a Paladin of old.' 
 I cannot say how much I regret that I shall 
 not be welcomed in India by the first head of 
 my dear old house at Eugby.' 
 
 From Eugby my brother went, in October, 
 1840, to Trinity College, Cambridge. Here, 
 as might have been expected from his previous 
 habits, he took an active interest in boating 
 and other athletic amusements, while at the 
 same time he by no means neglected the more 
 serious and intellectual pursuits of the Uni- 
 versity. He had a very considerable acquain- 
 tance with, and taste for, both classical and 
 general literature, but a constitutional ten- 
 dency to headache very much stood in the 
 way of any close application to books ; and, 
 after he had taken his degree in 1844, was 
 
GUERNSEY MILITIA. 5 
 
 one strong reason for his deciding on an active 
 rather than a studious life.. The Indian army- 
 seemed to offer the best opening, but while 
 waiting for a cadetship, in order to prevent 
 superannuation he obtained a commission in 
 the Guernsey Militia through the kindness of 
 Lord de Saumarez, and there commenced his 
 military life. From the first he felt that the 
 profession of a soldier was one that required 
 to be studied, and took every opportunity of 
 mastering its principles. 
 
 On his leaving Guernsey to enter the Hon. 
 East India Company's service, Major-General 
 W. Napier, Lieutenant-Governor, bore this tes- 
 timony to his character : — ' I think he will be 
 an acquisition to any service. His education, 
 his ability, his zeal to make himself acquainted 
 with military matters, gave me the greatest 
 satisfaction during his service with the militia.' 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 AREIVAL IN INDIA. CAMPAIGN ON THE SUTLEJ, 
 
 1845—46. 
 
 TV/TY brother landed at Calcutta on the 13th 
 of September, 1845, and with as little 
 delay as possible proceeded up the country to 
 Agra, where he found a hearty welcome 
 beneath the hospitable roof of the Hon. James 
 Thomason, Lieutenant-Governor of the North- 
 West Provinces, an old family friend and con- 
 nexion, who from that time to his death 
 treated him with as much affection, and took 
 as deep an interest in his career, as if he had 
 been his own son. 
 
 He was appointed to do duty with the 
 2nd Grenadiers, then forming a part of the 
 Governor-General's escort, and accordingly left 
 Agra on November 2nd. In the following 
 letter he describes his first impressions of 
 camp life in an Indian army. 
 
 After mentioning a delay caused by an 
 attack of fever and dysentery on his way to 
 the camp, he proceeds : — 
 
 I was able^ however^ to join the Grenadiers at 
 four o^ clock on the morning of the 7th, and share 
 
CAMP. 7 
 
 their dusty march of ten miles to the village near 
 which the Governor-General's camp was pitched. 
 Since that day we have been denizens of a canvas 
 city of a really' astonishing extent, seeing that it is 
 the creation of a few hours, and shifts, with its 
 enormous population, some ten or fifteen miles a day. 
 I wonder more every day at the ease and magnitude 
 of the arrangements, and the varied and interesting 
 pictures continually before our eyes. Soon after four 
 A.M., a bugle sounds the reveille, and the whole mass 
 is astir at once. The smoke of the evening fires has 
 by this time blown away, and everything stands out 
 clear and defined in the bright moonlight. The 
 Sepoys, too, bring the straw from their tents, and 
 make fires to warm their black faces on all sides, and 
 the groups of swarthy redcoats stooping over the 
 blaze, with a white background of canvas, and the 
 dark clear sky behind all, produce a most picturesque 
 effect as one turns out into the cold. Then the 
 multitudes of camels, horses, and elephants, in all 
 imaginable groups and positions — the groans and 
 cries of the former as they stoop and kneel for their 
 burdens, the neighing of hundreds of horses mingling 
 with the shouts of the innumerable servants and 
 their masters' calls, the bleating of sheep and goats, 
 and louder than all, the shrill screams of the Hindoo 
 women, almost bewilder one's senses as one treads 
 one's way through the canvas streets and squares to the 
 place where the regiment assembles outside the camp. 
 A second bugle sounds ' the assembly.' There is a 
 blaze of torches from the Governor's tents ; his palan- 
 quin carriage, drawn by four mules, and escorted by 
 jingling troopers, trots to the front. The artillery 
 
8 CAMP. 
 
 thunder forth the morning gun_, as a signal that the 
 great man is gone — the guns rattle by — the cavalry 
 push on after them — and then at length our band 
 strikes up. ^ Forward ' is the word^ and the red (and 
 black) column moves along, by this time as com- 
 pletely obscured by the dense clouds of dust as though 
 they were in London during a November fog. We 
 are not expected to remain with our men, but mount 
 at once, and ride in a cluster before the band, or ride 
 on a quarter of a mile or so, in twos and threes, com- 
 plaining of the laziness of the great man\s people, 
 and of the dust and cold, as if we were the most 
 ill-used of her Majesty^s subjects. As soon as we're 
 off the ground, and the road pretty clear, I dismount, 
 and walk the first eight miles or so, this being the 
 time to recover one's powers of locomotion. The cold 
 is really very great, especially in the hour before 
 sunrise — generally about one and a half or two hours 
 after we start. It soon gets warm' enough to make 
 one glad to ride again, and by the time the march is 
 over, and the white city is in sight, the heat is very 
 great, though now diminishing daily. It is a sudden 
 change of temperature, truly — from near freezing at 
 starting, to 90° or 100° at arriving; and it is this, I 
 think, which makes us feel the heat so much in this 
 climate. In the daytime we get on very well ; the 
 heat seldom exceeding 86°, and often not more than 
 84° and 8^° in tents. It sounds hot, but a house or 
 tent at 84° is tolerably endurable, especially if there 
 is a breeze. My tent is twelve feet square inside, 
 and contains a low pallet bed, a table, chair, two 
 camel trunks, and a brass basin for washing. I will 
 get a sketch of the camp to send you. 
 
CAMP. 9 
 
 Nov. i^th. — This nomad life is agreeable in many- 
 respects, and very healthy, and one sees a great deal 
 of the country, but it destroys time rather, as the 
 march is not over generally till half-past nine or ten, 
 and then breakfast, a most eagerly desired com- 
 position, and dressing afterwards, do not leave much 
 of the day before the cool evening comes for exercise, 
 or sight-seeing and dining, and by nine most of us 
 are in bed, or near it. 
 
 Dec. 2. — Umbala. — We had a short march of six 
 miles into Umbala this morning, and I got leave from 
 our colonel to ride on and see the troops assemble to 
 greet the Governor-General. I never saw so splendid 
 a sight : 1 2,000 of the finest troops were drawn up in 
 one line, and as I rode slowly along the whole front, 
 I had an excellent opportunity of examining the 
 varied materials of an Indian army. First were the 
 English Horse Artillery ; then the dashing dragoons 
 of the 3rd Queen's, most splendidly mounted and 
 appointed ; then came the stern, determined-looking 
 British footmen, side by side with their tall and 
 swarthy brethren from the Ganges and Jumna — 
 the Hindoo, the Mussulman, and the white man, all 
 obeying the same word, and acknowledging the same 
 common tie ; next to these a large brigade of guns, 
 with a mixture of all colours and creeds ; then more 
 regiments of foot, the whole closed up by the regi- 
 ments of native cavalry: thequiet-looking and English- 
 dressed Hindoo troopers strangely contrasted with 
 the wild Irregulars in all the fanciful wwuniformity of 
 their native costume : yet these last are the men / 
 fancy for service. Altogether, it was a most inte- 
 resting sight, either to the historian or soldier, espe- 
 
10 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 
 
 cially as one remembered that these were no men of 
 parade, but assembled here to be poured across the 
 Sutlej at a word. 
 
 The 'pomp and circumstance' of war were 
 soon to be exchanged for its stern realities, as 
 will be seen in the following letter to his 
 father, dated Christmas Day, 1845 :— 
 
 Camp, Sultanpoor. 
 I take the first day of rest we have had to write 
 a few hurried lines to relieve you from any anxiety 
 you may have felt at not hearing from me by the 
 last mails, or from newspaper accounts, which will, I 
 fear, reach you before this letter can. I am most 
 thankful to be able to sit down once more to write to 
 you all but unharmed. Since I wrote, I have been 
 in four general engagements of the most formidable 
 kind ever known in India. For the first time we 
 had to contend with a brave and unconquered people, 
 disciplined, and led- on like our own troops by 
 European skill ; and the result, though successful to 
 our arms, has been fearful indeed as to carnage. You 
 will see accounts in the papers giving details more 
 accurate than I can possibly furnish, both of our 
 wonderfully rapid and fatiguing marches, and of the 
 obstinate and bloody resistance we met with. On 
 the tenth of this month, on our usual quiet march to 
 Sirhind with the Governor- (reneraPs camp, we were 
 surprised by being joined by an additional regiment, 
 and by an order for all non-soldiers to return to 
 Umbala. From that day we have had the fatigues 
 and exertions of actual warfare in their broadest 
 forms — marching day and night unprecedented dis- 
 
SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 11 
 
 tances, scarcity of sleep and food, and all the varieties 
 of cold and heat. I enjoyed all, and entered into it 
 with great zest, till we came to actual blows, or 
 rather, I am [now) half ashamed to say, till the blows 
 were over, and I saw the horrible scenes which 
 ensue on war. I have had quite enough of such 
 sights now, and hope it may not be my lot to be 
 exposed to them again. Our loss has been most 
 severe, especially in officers. Our Sepoys could 
 not be got to face the tremendous fire of the Sikh 
 artillery, and as usual, the more they quailed the 
 more the English officers exposed themselves in vain 
 efforts to bring them on. The greatest destruction 
 was, however, among the Governor-General's staff — 
 only two (his own son and Colonel Benson) escaped 
 death or severe wounds. They seemed marked for 
 destruction, and certainly met it most gallantly. On 
 the 15th we joined the Commander-in-Chief, with his 
 troops from Umbala, were put off escort duty, and 
 joined General Gilbert's division. On the 17th we 
 had a march of thirty miles (in the daytime, too), 
 with scanty food; on the 18th, after a fasting march 
 of twenty-five miles, we were summoned, at half-past 
 four in the afternoon, to battle, which lasted till long 
 after dark. Almost the first shot which greeted our 
 regiment killed the man standing by my side, and 
 instantly afterwards I was staggered by a ball from a 
 frightened Sepoy behind me grazing my cheek and 
 blackening my face with the powder — so close was it 
 to my head ! We were within twenty, and at times 
 ten, yards of three guns blazing grape into us, and 
 worse than all, the bushes with which the whole 
 ground was covered were filled with marksmen who, 
 
12 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 
 
 unseen by us, could pick us off at pleasure. No efforts 
 could bring the Sepoys forward, or half the loss might 
 have been spared, had they rushed on with the 
 bayonet. We had three officers wounded out of our 
 small party, and lost many of the men. We were 
 bivouacked on the cold ground that night, and 
 remained under arms the whole of the following day* 
 Just as we were going into action, I stumbled upon 
 poor Carey, whom you may remember to have heard 
 of at Price's, at Rugby. On going over the field on 
 the 30th, I found the body actually cut to pieces by 
 the keen swords of the Sikhs, and but for his clothes 
 could not have recognised him. I had him carried 
 into camp for burial, poor fellow, extremely shocked 
 at the sudden termination of our renewed acquain- 
 tance. On Sunday, the 21st, we marched before day- 
 break in force to attack the enemy, who had entrenched 
 themselves behind their formidable artillery. The 
 action began in the afternoon, lasted the whole 
 night, and was renewed with daybreak. They 
 returned again to the charge as often as we gained 
 any advantage, and it was evening, before they were 
 finally disposed of by a charge of our dragoons, and 
 our amimmition ivas exhausted ! — so near are we in our 
 most triumphant successes to a destruction as com- 
 plete ! The results are, I suppose, in a political point 
 of view, immense indeed. We took from them nearly 
 one hundred large guns, and routed their vast army, 
 prepared, had they succeeded in beating us, to overrun 
 Hindoostan ; and it must be owned they had nearly 
 succeeded ! It will scarcely be believed, but they had 
 actually purchased and prepared supplies as far into 
 the interior of our country as Delhi, and unknown to 
 
SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 13 
 
 our authorities ; and the whole of Northern India was, 
 as usual, ready to rise upon us at an hour's notice. 
 On the evening of the 2ist, as we rushed towards the 
 guns, in the most dense dust and smoke, and under 
 an unprecedented fire of grape, our Sepoys again gave 
 way and broke. It was a fearful crisis, but the 
 bravery of the English regiments saved us. The 
 Colonel (Hamilton), the greater part of my brother 
 officers, and myself, were left with the colours and 
 about thirty men immediately in front of the bat- 
 teries ! Our escape was most providential, and is, I 
 trust, thankfully acknowledged by us. A ball (from 
 a shell, I fancy) struck my leg below the knee, but 
 happily spared the bone, and only inflicted a flesh 
 wound. I was also knocked down twice — once by a 
 shell bursting so close to me as to kill the men behind 
 me, and once by the explosion of a magazine or mine, 
 I am most thankful indeed for my escape from death 
 or maiming. The wound in my leg is nothing, as 
 you may judge when I tell you that I was on foot or 
 horseback the whole of the two following days. Last 
 night we moved on here about five miles from the 
 scene of action, and got some food, and into our beds, 
 after four days and nights on the ground, alternately 
 tried with heat and cold (now most severe at night), 
 and nothing but an occasional mouthful of black 
 native bread. I think, during the four days, all I 
 had to eat would not compose half a home breakfast- 
 loaf, and for a day and night we had not even water ; 
 when we did get water, after driving the enemy from 
 their camp, it was found to have been spoiled with 
 gunpowder ! It was like eating Leamington water, 
 but our thirst was too great to stick at trifles. 
 
14 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Dec. i6th. — We are resting here comfortably again 
 in our tents, and had a turkey for our Christmas 
 dinner last night. The rest is most grateful. We 
 had only nine hours in bed out of five nights, and 
 then the next four were on the ground. So you see 
 I have come in for the realities of a soldier's life 
 pretty early in my career ; and since I am spared, it 
 is doubtless a great thing for me in every way. 
 There never has been anything like it in India, and 
 it is not often that an action anyivhere has lasted 
 thirty-six hours, as ours did. It is called a succession 
 of three engagements, but the firing never ceased for 
 a quarter of an hour. Infantry attacking guns was 
 the order of the day, and the loss occasioned by such 
 a desperate resort was fearful. How different your 
 Christmas week will have been from mine ! This 
 time last year I was quietly staying at Bisham, and 
 now sleeping on the banks of the Sutlej, with a sea 
 of tents around me for miles and miles ! The last 
 few days seem a year, and I can scarcely believe that 
 I have only been four months in India, and only two 
 with my regiment. 
 
 To the Hon. James Thomason, Lieutenant-Governor of 
 North- West Provinces. 
 
 Camp, Bootawallah, January 22nd, 1846. 
 There is very much in the state of things in this 
 army both discouraging and deeply disappointing to 
 one who like myself comes into the service with a 
 strong predilection for the profession, and a wish to 
 enter into its duties thoroughly and earnestly. I do 
 not like to enter into particulars, for I hold it very 
 
SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 15 
 
 un military, especially in so young a soldier, to attempt 
 to criticise the acts and motives of one^s superior, 
 but I may in piivate again express my extreme dis- 
 appointment at the state in which the Sepoys are at 
 present, and as far as I can judge from what is said 
 in conversation, there are but few officers in the army 
 who do not deplore it. In discipline and subordi- 
 nation they seem to be lamentably deficient, espe- 
 cially towards the native commissioned and non-com- 
 missioned officers. On the march, I have found these 
 last give me more trouble than the men even. My 
 brother officers say that I see an unfavourable 
 specimen in the 2nd, as regards discipline, owing to 
 their frequent service of late, and the number of 
 recruits ; but I fear the evil is very wide-spread. It 
 may no doubt be traced mainly to the want of 
 European officers. This, however, is an evil not likely 
 to be removed on any large scale. Meantime, unless 
 some vigorous and radical improvements take place, 
 I think our position will be very uncertain and even 
 alarming in the event of extended hostilities. You 
 must really forgive my speaking so plainly, and 
 writing my own opinions so freely. You encouraged 
 me to do so when I was at Agra, if you remember, 
 and I value the privilege too highly as connected 
 with the greater one of receiving advice and counsel 
 from you, not to exercise it, even at the risk of your 
 thinking me presumptuous and hasty in my opinions. 
 I imagine (in my own defence, be it said) that three 
 months of marching and of service give you more 
 insight into the real efficiency or evils of an army, 
 than a much longer time spent in cantonments. It 
 is, of course, a deeply interesting subject to me, and 
 
16 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 
 
 one of deep and anxious reflection. I think the 
 period of ' doing duty ' which I shall have passed 
 ere joining my future regiment, of the greatest 
 consequence and benefit, as enabling me to form a 
 judgment, to the best of my abilities, of the course to 
 be steered in the difficult voyage. It seems to me 
 that the great problem to be solved is how ' to do 
 your own business/ at the same time that 'you study 
 to he quiet J i.e., how unostentatiously to do your 
 appointed duty thoroughly, without being deterred 
 by the fear of being thought over-zealous or osten- 
 tatious. 
 
 At a later period, wlien it was proposed to 
 erect a monument in Lichfield Cathedral to 
 the 8oth Queen's, he wrote with reference to 
 their conduct in this action : — 
 
 It is, you know, a Staffordshire regiment, having 
 been raised originally by the Marquis of Anglesey, 
 and has still a great number of Staffordshire men in 
 its ranks. It is a splendid corps, well-behaved in 
 cantonments, and first-rate in action. I lay between 
 ' them and my present regiment (ist E. B. Fusiliers) 
 on the night of the 2ist of December, at Ferozeshah, 
 when Lord Hard in ge called out * 8oth ! that gun 
 must be silenced/ They jumped up, formed into 
 line, and advanced through the black darkness silently 
 and firmly : gradually we lost the sound of their tread, 
 and anxiously listened for the slightest intimation of 
 their progress — all was still for five minutes, while 
 they gradually gained the front of the battery whose 
 fire had caused us so much loss. Suddenly we heard 
 a dropping fire — a blaze of the Sikh cannon followed. 
 
SOBRAON. 17 
 
 then a thrilling cheer from the 8othj accompanied by 
 a rattling and murderous volley as they sprang upon 
 the battery and spiked the monster gun. In a few- 
 more minutes they moved back quietly, and lay down 
 as before in the cold sand ; but they had left forty-five 
 of their number and two captains to mark the scene of 
 their exploit by their graves. 
 
 Camp, Army of the Sutlej, 
 Feb. J 2th, 1846. 
 
 The fortune of war has again interfered between 
 me and my good intentions of answering all my cor- 
 respondence by this mail. We have been knocked 
 about for some days so incessantly that there has been 
 no chance of writing anything ; and even this scrawl, 
 I fear, will hardly reach you. You will hear publicly 
 of our great victory of the loth,^ and of the total and 
 final rout of the Sikh force. But first, I must tell 
 you that the and Grenadiers were sent back about 
 a week ago to the villages and posts in our rear, to 
 keep open the communication. Not liking the notion 
 of returning to the rear while an enemy was in front, 
 I applied immediately to do duty with another regi- 
 ment; my petition was granted; and I joined the 
 1 6th Grenadiers on the evening of the 9th inst. 
 About three in the morning we advanced towards the 
 Sikh intrenchments along the river's bank. Our guns 
 and ammunition had all come up a day or two before, 
 and during the night were placed in position to 
 shell their camp. At daybreak, seventeen heavy mortars 
 and howitzers, rockets, and heavy guns, commenced a 
 
 * At Sobraon. 
 
18 SOBRAON. 
 
 magnificent fire on their position ; at half-past eight 
 the infantry advanced — Sir R. DicVs division on the 
 right, and ours (Gilbert^s) in front — covered by our 
 fire from the batteries. On we went as usual in the 
 teeth of a dreadful fire of guns and musketry, and 
 after a desperate struggle we got within their triple 
 and quadruple intrenchments ; and then their day of 
 reckoning came indeed. Driven from trench to trench, 
 and surrounded on all sides, they retired, fighting 
 most bravely, to the river, into which they were driven 
 pell-mell, a tremendous fire of musketry pouring on 
 them from our bank, and the Horse Artillery finishing 
 their destruction with grape. The river is literally 
 choked with corpses, and their camp full of dead and 
 dying. An intercepted letter of theirs shows that 
 they have lost 2^0,000 in killed, wounded, and missing ; 
 all their guns remaining in our hands. I had the 
 pleasure myself of spiking two guns which were turned 
 on us. Once more I have escaped, I am thankful to 
 say, unhurt, except that a bullet took a fancy to my 
 little finger and cut the skin off the top of it — a mere 
 pin scratch, though it spoiled a buckskin glove. I 
 am perfectly well : we cross in a day or two, but I 
 fancy have done with fighting. 
 
 To his Sister. 
 
 Lahore, Feb. 2'jth, 1846. 
 In honour of your birthday, I suppose, we crossed 
 the Sutlej on the 17th, and are now encamped close 
 to old Runjeet Singh^s capital without a shot having 
 been fired on this side the river ! The war is over — 
 sixty days have seen the overthrow of the Sikh army. 
 
SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 19 
 
 which, when that period commenced, marched from 
 the spot on which the victors are now encamped, 
 with no fewer than 100,000 fighting men, now 
 
 A broken and a routed host, 
 
 Their standards gone, their leaders last. 
 
 So ends the tale of the mightiest army, and the best 
 organized, which India has seen. 
 
 I hope you will have got a scrap I wrote after the 
 fight at Sobraon in hopes it would reach you before 
 the newspapers, as I have no doubt you were all 
 anxious enough on my account, and indeed you well 
 might be, for I can hardly imagine (humanly speaking) 
 how it was possible to go through that storm of 
 bullets and shot unhurt. I have indeed much to be 
 thankful for, and I hope I shall not forget the lesson. 
 A campaign is a wonderful dispeller of false notions 
 and young imaginations, and seems too stern a hint 
 to be soon forgotten. 
 
 About this time Mr. Thomason says, in a 
 letter to my father : — 
 
 ' I hear of William constantly from friends 
 ' in camp, and am glad to find that he is a 
 ' great favourite in his regiment. I had some 
 * little fear that his great superiority in age and 
 ' attainments to those of his own standing in 
 ' the army might make him the object of envy 
 ' and disparagement. T felt that he had no 
 ' easy task before him, and that it would be 
 ' difficult to conduct himself with discretion 
 ' and becoming bumility in such a position. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 LAHORE. 
 
 ' He was quite aware of the difficulty when we 
 ' talked the matter over at Agra, and I am 
 ' much pleased to see the success which has 
 * attended his prudent exertions/ 
 
 Lahore, March /^th, 1846. 
 
 The army breaks up now very soon^ but I shall 
 be posted before that. I am trying to get into the 
 1st European Regiment^ now stationed at Umbala, 
 who have just been styled Fusiliers for their distin- 
 guished service. It is the finest regiment in India, 
 with white faces, too, and a very nice set of officers. 
 I have been brigaded with them all along. 
 
 It seems an age since the campaign opened. One 
 day of fighting such as we have had fastens itself on 
 the memory more than a year of peaceful life. We 
 must really have a natural taste for fighting highly 
 developed, for I catch myself wishing and ^asking 
 for more,' and grumbling at the speedy settlement of 
 things, and the prospect of cantonments instead of 
 field service. Is it not marvellous, as if one had not 
 had a surfeit of killing ? But the truth is, that is 
 not the motive, but a sort of undefined ambition. 
 .... I remember bursting into tears in sheer rage 
 in the midst of the fight at Sobraon at seeing our 
 soldiers lying killed and wounded. Don't let any of 
 my friends forget me yet. I have found a new one, 
 I think, in Major Lawrence,* the new President at 
 this Court, thanks to the unwearying kindness of 
 Mr. Thomason. 
 
 Sir H. Lawrence, K.C.B. 
 
SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 21 
 
 In a letter of the same date to Hon. J. 
 Tliomason the folljwing sentence occurs : — 
 
 I must thank you very much for making me 
 known to Major Lawrence, from whom I have re- 
 ceived every sort of attention and kindness. I have 
 been very much struck with his superiority, and 
 freedom from diplomatic solemnity and mystery, 
 which is rather affected by the politicals and officials. 
 
 Camp, Nuggur Ghat, on the Sutlej, 
 March 2ph, 1846. 
 The last returning regiment of the army of the 
 Sutlej crossed that river yesterday morning, and by 
 to-morrow every man will have left its banks, on their 
 way to their stations. It was a most interesting and 
 picturesque sight to see the army filing across the 
 splendid bridge of boats constructed by our engineers 
 at this place. So many of the native corps have been 
 required for the new province and for the Lahore 
 garrison, that w^e had hardly any but Europeans 
 homeward-bound, which gave an additional and home 
 interest to the passage of the river. Dusty, travel- 
 stained, and tired, but with that cool, firm air of 
 determination which is the most marked characteristic 
 of English soldiers, regiment after regiment passed 
 on, cavalry, artillery, and infantry in succession, their 
 bands playing quick steps and national tunes, as each 
 stepped upon the bridge. To ^ou the sight would 
 have been only interesting; but to those of us who 
 had seen the same corps three months ago, their 
 reduced numbers and fearfully-thinned ranks told a 
 
22 SUTLEJ CAMPAIGN. 
 
 sadder tale. Regiments cut down to a third, indi- 
 vidual companies to a fourth or fifth of their former 
 strength, gave a silent but eloquent reply to the 
 boastful strains of martial music, and to the stirring 
 influence of the pageant. As each regiment moved 
 up on this side the river, our fine old chief addressed 
 a few words of congratulation and praise to each; 
 they pushed on to their tents, and a genuine English 
 cheer, caught up and repeated from corps to corps, 
 and a thundering salute from the artillery, proclaimed 
 the final dispersion, and bid an appropriate farewell 
 to the army of the Sutlej. 
 
 Thus ends my first campaign ! To-morrow I 
 march with the 26th Native Infantry to Umbala, 
 where I hope to be transferred to the ist Europeans. 
 I was posted to the 26th a few days ago, but have 
 not joined yet, as I applied at once for an exchange. 
 Marching and living in tents is becoming unplea- 
 santly hot now, and in another fortnight will be very 
 bad. Yesterday we had a regular storm of wind and 
 dust, filling everything with sand, and darkening 
 the air most effectually; one's mouth, eyes, ears, 
 and pockets get filled with dust ; you sit down to 
 breakfast, and your plate is ready loaded with sand, 
 your cofiee is excellently thickened, and your milk 
 would pass for clotted cream — but for the colour. 
 Then you get a sheet of paper, and vainly imagine 
 you're writing, but the sand conceals the last word 
 you write ere the ink can dry, and your pens split of 
 themselves with the dryness of the air. In truth, it 
 is next to impossible to do anything while the storm 
 lasts, for one's eyes smart and cry with the plenitude 
 of grit ; and if you talk, you are set coughing with 
 
UMBALA. 23 
 
 eating small stones ! Yet all this is far better than 
 the damp-exhaling heat of Bengal. Here the ground 
 and air are as dry by night as by day, and no exhala- 
 tion poisons the freshness of any wind that may be 
 stirring. 
 
 UmbIla, April i^thj 1846. 
 
 Here I am once more. I am writing in a com- 
 fortable house, and actually slept in one last night — 
 the first time I have eaten or slept under a roof since 
 the 3rd of November; and on the loth I saw a 
 lady again ! 
 
 I find General Napier has written to his brother 
 about me. Scindh has been given over to the Bombay 
 army, so that Sir Charles can't do anything for me, 
 but still the kindness is all the same. Unfortunately, 
 the note reached me three days after Sir Charles left 
 the army to return to Scindh, or I might have had 
 the pleasure of seeing him and speaking to him. 
 
 Camp, Moradabad, Rohilcund, 
 April 2gth, 1846. 
 It is time indeed to be getting under cover, for we 
 have been in the thick of the ' hot winds.' This 
 sounds a very mild word, but you should only just try 
 it ! Do you remember ever holding your face over a 
 stove when it was full of fire ? and the rush of hot air 
 which choked you? Well, something of that sort, 
 of vast volume and momentum, blowing what they 
 call at sea ' half a gale of wind,' comes quietly up, at 
 first behind a wall of dust, and then with a roar 
 bursts upon you, scorching you, and shrivelling you 
 
24 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 up as if you were ' a rose that was plucked/ It feels 
 as if an invisible^ colourless flame was playing over 
 your face and limbs, scorching without burning you, 
 and making your skin and hair crackle and stiffen 
 until you are covered with ^ crackling' like a hot roast 
 pig. This goes on day after day, from about eight 
 or nine o'clock in the morning till sunset; and, accom- 
 panied with the full power of the blazing sun of 
 India, produces an amount of heat and dryness almost 
 inconceivable. The only resource is to get behind a 
 tattee (or wet grass mat) hung up at one of the doors 
 of the tent, and to lie on the ground witli as little 
 motion as possible, and endeavour to sleep or read it 
 out. Nunc veterum lihrisj nunc somno et inertibus 
 horis — I cannot go on, for the ' sweet forgetfulness' 
 of the past is too much to expect ! To-day we have 
 a new nuisance in the shape of a plague of wood-lice ; 
 our camp is pitched in an old grove of mango-trees, 
 and is literally swarming with huge pale lice, in 
 numbers numberless. You cannot make a step with- 
 out slaying them, and they have already (noon) 
 covered the whole sides of the tents, chairs, beds, 
 tables, and everything. But one is really getting 
 used to everything, and I hardly expect to be proud 
 again. Our rest has been terribly destroyed by this 
 last month's marching, the usual hour for the reveille 
 being two a.m., and this morning a quarter to one ! ! 
 and no power of quizzing can move our worthy major 
 to let us take it easily, though I don't scruple to tell 
 him that he has sold his shadow or his soul to the 
 evil powers, and forfeited the power of sleep, he is 
 such a restless animal ! We breakfast at seven, or 
 even a quarter past six, constantly, and dine at seven 
 
HILL SCENERY. 25 
 
 * 
 
 P.M. ; so one lias a fair opportunity of practising 
 abstinence, as I rigidly abstain from eating in the 
 meantime, or drinking. After all, it is very healthy 
 weather, and I imagine there is less harm done to the 
 health in the hot winds than even in the cold weather. 
 I have never been so well in India. 
 
 Nynee Tal, May 14th, 1846. 
 I am writing from the last new Hill Station, dis- 
 covered about three years ago by an adventurous 
 traveller, and now containing forty houses and 
 a bazaar. It is a ' tal^ or lake, of about a mile in 
 length, lying in a basin of the mountains, about 
 6200 feet above the sea ; the hills rising about 1 800 
 feet on all sides of it, and beautifully wooded from 
 their very summits down to the water's brink. How 
 I got here remains to be told. You will remember 
 that I had applied some time ago to be transferred 
 to the 1st Bengal European Fusiliers. Well, after 
 keeping me in suspense some seven weeks, and send- 
 ing me the whole way from Lahore to "Bareilly in 
 April and May, I received notice that my application 
 was granted, and a civil request to go back again. I 
 had had enough of marching in the plains, and 
 travelling dak would have been madness for me, 
 so I determined on going up into the hills, and making 
 my way across the mountain ranges to Subathoo, 
 where my regiment is stationed. A good-natured 
 civilian at Bareilly offered to take me with him to 
 this place, from whence I could make a good start. 
 We started on the morning of the nth, and drove to 
 Barapoor, stayed there till midnight, and then set off 
 
26 HILL SCENERY. 
 
 for the hills. By daylight we got to the edge of the 
 * Terai/ the far-famed hot-bed of fever and tigers, 
 swamps and timber, along the whole ridge of the 
 Himalayas, stretching along the plains at their feet 
 in a belt of about twenty miles from the Indus to the 
 Burhampooter. Here we found horses awaiting us, 
 and mounting at once, started for a ride of twenty- 
 seven miles before breakfast. The first part of the 
 ' Terai^ is merely a genuine Irish bog, and the oily, 
 watery ditches and starved looking cows shout out 
 ' Fever' on all sides of you. The last ten miles to 
 the foot of the hills is through a dense mass of ragged 
 trees in all stages of growth and decay, *^horrida, 
 inculta, hirsuta,' — moist, unpleasant, and ugly. At 
 length we reached the first low woody ranges of the 
 hills, and following the dry bed of a mountain stream, 
 by noon we doubled the last ridge, and descended upon 
 our lake. None of these hills are to be compared in 
 beauty with Scotland and Wales, though very fine, 
 and inexpressibly refreshing, almost affecting, after 
 the dead flat we have lived in so long. As soon as 
 my servants arrive, I start hence by myself, through 
 an unfrequented sea of vast mountains, by way of 
 Landour, for Mussoorie, to Simla and Subathoo. It 
 is about 340 miles, and will take me thirty-two or 
 thirty-four days to accomplish. I mean to take no 
 pony, but trust that my old powers of walking and 
 endurance will revive in the mountain air. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST BENGAL EUROPEAN FUSILIERS. LAWRENCE 
 
 ASYLUM. ^APPOINTMENT TO GUIDE CORPS. 
 
 SuBATHOO, June i6th, 1846. 
 TT7HEN I wrote to you last from Sireenuggur, I 
 ' ' hoped to have been able to reach this place by way 
 of the hills and Simla ; but before I got to Mussoorie, 
 the early setting in of the rains made it so difficult 
 and unpleasant (and likely to be dangerous) to get on, 
 that after spending two days thei*e, I rode down to 
 Deyra Dhoon, and came dak through Saharunpoor 
 and Umbala to Kalka, at the foot of these hills, where 
 I found my beast awaiting my arrival, and mounted 
 the seventeen miles of hill at once. Here I am 
 at last with my own regiment, and with the prospect 
 of being quiet for four months. I am eighth Second 
 Lieutenant ; a distinguished position (is it not?) at 
 the age of five-and-twenty. The campaign, I am 
 sorry to say, did me no good in the way of promotion, 
 owing to my not having been ' posted^ permanently 
 before it commenced. 
 
 SuBATHOO, Juhj 3rd, 1846. 
 I hope you will congratulate me on getting into 
 my present splendid corps, the ist Fusiliers, now, 
 alas, a mere shadow of what it was six months ago. 
 We could only muster 256 men under arms when we 
 were inspected by Sir R. Gilbert on the 1st; but then 
 
28 FIRST FUSILIERS. 
 
 there was a most picturesque body of convalescents 
 present with their empty sleeves, pale faces, and 
 crutches, but looking proudly conscious of their good 
 conduct, and ready ' to do it again/ We are under 
 much stricter discipline in this corps, both officers and 
 men, and obliged to be orderly and submissive. No 
 bad thing for us either. I hold there is more real 
 liberty in being under a decent restraint than in abso- 
 lute freedom from any check. I have been much 
 more reconciled to India since I joined this regiment. 
 It is pleasant to have white faces about one, and hear 
 one's own tongue spoken; and then, besides, there is 
 a home-loving feeling in this corps which I have 
 never met with in India. I believe we would each 
 and all migrate to England, if we had our own way. 
 
 To his Father. 
 
 Simla, Sept. 2nd, 1846. 
 I came here on the 31st for a week, to stay with 
 Major Lawrence (now a Colonel and C.B.), who dined 
 and slept with me at Subathoo last week, and 
 pressed me to come here. I am nothing loth, as I 
 like him amazingly, and value his friendship very 
 much, and pick up a great deal of information as to 
 India, and Indians black and white. He has kindly 
 oflPered to take me with him for a tour through 
 JuUunder Do4b, and up to Jummoo, Rajah Gholab 
 Singh's camp and court. He says he can give or 
 get me leave to accompany him. My colonel says 
 he wont give any one leave after the 14th of this 
 month. Which is right remains to be seen, but 
 I think you may calculate that the ^ Agent to the 
 
VISIT TO SIMLA. 29 
 
 Governor-General' will prevail, and I shall see 
 Jummoo. 
 
 I am now writing in his room with the incessant 
 entrances and exits of natives — rajahs, princes, 
 vakeels, &c. &c., and officers civil and military; 
 and the buzz of business and confusion of tongues, 
 black and white, learned and unlearned, on all 
 subjects, political, religious (at this minute they are 
 disputing what 'the Church means'), and military, 
 so that I am tolerably puzzled. I have been taking a 
 tremendously long walk this morning about the hills 
 and valleys, with Mr. and Mrs. Currie, and enjoying 
 the beauties of Simla. 
 
 Simla, Sept. 14th, 1846. 
 My original week at Simla has grown into a 
 month, thanks to Colonel Lawrence's pressing, and 
 Colonel Orchard's {my colonel's) kindness. I should 
 hardly like staying so long with Colonel Lawrence 
 (especially as I live day and night in the same room 
 with him and his papers, regularly camp fashion), but 
 that he wishes it, and I manage to give him a slight 
 helping hand by making precis of his letters, and 
 copying confidential papers. He is amazingly kind, 
 and tells me all that is going on, initiating me 
 into the mysteries of 'political' business, and thus 
 giving me more knowledge of things and persons 
 Indian than I should learn in a year of ordinary 
 life, aye ! or in three years either. This is a great 
 advantage to my ultimate prospects, of course inde- 
 pendently of the power he possesses of giving me a 
 lift in the world when I am of sufficient standing 
 to hold any appointment. 
 
30 COLONEL LAWRENCE. 
 
 He makes me work at Hindustanee^ and has given 
 me a lesson or two in the use of the theodolite^ and 
 other surveying instruments^ to the end that I may- 
 get employed in the Surveying Department, after two 
 years of which he says ' I shall be fit for a Political/ 
 I have been very fortunate in many ways, more so 
 than I had any right to expect. If I were only 
 nearer to you all^ and had any old friends about me, 
 I should have nothing to regret or wish for. It is 
 there that the shoe especially pinches. All minor 
 annoyances are easily got rid of, but one does find a 
 wonderful lack of one^s old friends and old associa- 
 tions. Society is very different here from ours at 
 home, and different as it is I have seen very little of 
 it. Nor am I, with my previous habits, age, and 
 education, the person to feel this an indifferent 
 matter; but on the contrary, all the drawbacks of 
 Indian existence come with redoubled force from the 
 greatness of the contrast. Still, I do not let these 
 things annoy me, or weigh down my spirits, but 
 strive, by keeping up English habits, tastes, and 
 feelings, and looking forward to a run home (thus 
 having a motive always in view), to make the best of 
 everything as it 'occurs, and to act upon the principle, 
 that mere outward circumstances don't make a man's 
 happiness. If I have one feeling stronger than 
 another, it is contempt for a ' regular Indian,' a man 
 who thinks it fine to adopt a totally different set of 
 habits and morals and fashions, until, in forgetting 
 that he is an Englishman, he usually forgets also that 
 he is a Christian and a gentleman. Such characters 
 are happily rare now, but there are many fragments 
 of it on a small scale, and always must be so, so long 
 
COLONEL LAWRENCE. 31 
 
 as the men who are to support the name and power 
 of England in Asia are sent out here at an age 
 when neither by education nor reflection can they have 
 learnt all or even a fraction of what those words 
 imply. It would be a happy thing for India and for 
 themselves if all came out here at a more advanced 
 age than now, but one alone breaking through the 
 custom in that respect made and provided, must not 
 expect to escape the usual fate, or at least the usual 
 annoyances, of innovators. 
 
 I have enjoyed my visit here very much, and 
 though I have not sought them, have made one or 
 two very pleasant acquaintances, or improved them. 
 I have been very little out, and passed my time 
 almost entirely with Colonel Lawrence and his family, 
 i.e.f his brother and the two sisters-in-law. Things are 
 not looking well on the frontier. Cashmere and the 
 hill country wont submit to Ghoolab Singh, to whom 
 we gave them over, and have been thrashing his 
 troops and killing his ministers ; and I expect October 
 will see an army assembled to frighten them into 
 submission, or interfere with a strong arm, as the case 
 may be. 
 
 We seem bound to see him established on the 
 throne we carved out for him, and it is our only 
 chance of keeping peace and order ; though at the 
 best he is such a villain, and so detested, that I 
 imagine it will be but a sorry state of quietness : — 
 
 The torrent's smoothness ere it dash below. 
 
 In a letter to his wife, written during this 
 visit, Sir H. Lawrence says : — 
 
 Sejot. isf. — *I brought up with me from 
 
32 COLONEL LAWRENCE. 
 
 ' Subatlioo a fine young fellow, by name 
 ' Hodson, son of the Archdeacon of Stafford. 
 ' He is now (lo p.m.) sleeping in my little 
 * oflBice-room, where I am writing. Thomason 
 ' recommended him to me, and I have seldom 
 ' met so promising a young fellow. He left 
 ' the native branch of the army at the expense 
 ' of some steps, because he did not like the 
 ' conduct of the Sepoys. He was for four 
 ' years with Dr. Arnold, and two in the sixth 
 ' form under his eye. He speaks most affec- 
 ' tionately of him. I will try to get leave 
 ' for him for a month to accompany me to 
 
 ' Lahore and Jummoo in October I g^t 
 
 ' a good deal of help from Hodson, who works 
 ' willingly and sensibly. Perhaps you may meet 
 ' the family at Lichfield.' 
 
 Lahore, October 14th, 1846. 
 
 As I hoped when I wrote last, I am again writing 
 from the capital of the ^Singhs,' but, alas for the Hions/ 
 their tails are very much down in the world since 
 this time last year, when the ' fierce and formidable 
 army^ assembled to invade our tempting provinces. 
 Nearly half the garrison has marched across the 
 Ravee, and not more than 5000 or 6000 British 
 troops now hold the far-famed capital of Runjeet 
 Singh. 
 
 You must not be alarmed by the accounts you will 
 see in the papers by this mail of the advance of two 
 forces from Lahore and Jullunder towards Jummoo. 
 
JOURNEY TO CASHMERE. 33 
 
 They are not to take any active part in the operations 
 of Gholab Singh for the recovery of Cashmere from 
 the rebellious Sheikh Imaumoodeen — our troops are to 
 hold the Maharaja's country for him while he 
 advances with his whole disposable force, augmented 
 by a Sikh auxiliary army. 
 
 It is probable that the Sheikh will give in without 
 fighting as soon as he hears the preparations made 
 by both Powers for his coercion. Indeed, a letter 
 has arrived from Cashmere to say he has given 
 in ; but he is a wily fellow, and I mightily distrust 
 him. I only know if / was in Cashmere with my 
 army at my back, / would not give in as long as a 
 man was left to pull a trigger ! The Agent (Colonel 
 Lawrence) and I start to-morrow evening, going 
 seventy miles the first day, and hope to reach 
 Bhimbur, at the foot of the hills,* on the 17th, 
 thence to go up and join the Maharaja, and accom- 
 pany his army to Cashmere. If he fights we shall 
 see the fun; if not, we are to accompany him and 
 keep him from excesses and injustice in the valley, 
 and return here, I fancy, in about a month or six 
 weeks. Of course, in event of the two armies coming 
 to blows, it will probably be some time longer ere 
 we return. I am delighted at the thoughts of seeing 
 Cashmere, and am gaining great advantage from 
 being with these ' politicals ' in the way of learning 
 the languages, and method of governing the natives. 
 I have been hard at work day and night for some 
 time now, writing for Colonel Lawrence. I left 
 Subathoo on the ist, and after a ride of some twenty 
 miles through the hills, joined Colonel Lawrence and 
 Mr. Christian, and after a shake-down in a little 
 
 D 
 
34 CASHMERE. 
 
 mud bungalow, and an amusing dinner (served up in 
 two brass basins, standing on a bed), and a breakfast 
 to match, we rode down to Roopur, on the Sutlej. 
 Here we took boat, and floated down the river to 
 Ferozepore, and came across to Lahore during the 
 night in a capital barouche belonging to the E-anee, 
 with relays of horses and an escort of cavalry. 
 
 Thanna, at the foot of the Pass into Cashmere, 
 
 Oct. 26th, 1846. 
 
 Our tent is pitched on the top of a little spur from 
 the mountain side, and beneath us lie, in quaint 
 picturesque confusion, scattered over the valley and 
 the little staircase-like rice fields, the mingled hosts 
 of Lahore and Jummoo. The spare stalwart Sikh, 
 with his grizzled beard and blue turban of the scantest 
 dimensions, side by side with the huge-limbed Aff- 
 ghan, with voluminous head-gear and many-coloured 
 garments. The proud Brahmin in the same ranks 
 with the fierce "Children of the Faithful;" the little 
 active Hillman ; the diminutive, sturdy, platter-faced 
 Ghoorka, and the slight-made Hindoostanee, collected 
 in the same tents, and all alike clothed in a caricature 
 of the British uniform. I have been very much in- 
 terested and amused by this march with a native 
 army, so different from our own proceedings and 
 our own military power — albeit the British army 
 will soon be as varied in its composition. 
 
 I have seen a great deal of the native Sirdars or 
 chiefs, especially Tej Singh who commanded the Sikh 
 forces in the war, and of the Maharaja. The former 
 a small, spare little man, marked with the small-pox. 
 
CASHMERE. 35 
 
 and with a thin and scanty beard, but sharp and 
 intelligent, and by his own account a hero. The 
 Maharaja is a fine, tall, portly man, with a splendid 
 expressive face, and most gentlemanly, pleasing man- 
 ner, and fine-toned voice — altogether the most pleas- 
 ing Asiatic I have seen — to all appearance the 
 gentlest of the gentle, and the most sincere and truth- 
 ful character in the world ; and in his habits he is 
 certainly exemplary : but he is the cleverest hypocrite 
 in the world -, as sharp and acute as possible, devoured 
 by avarice and ambition, and when roused, horribly 
 cruel. This latter accusation he rebuts, by alleging 
 the necessity of the case and the ferocity of those he 
 has to deal with. To us, however, his fondness for 
 flaying men alive, cutting off their noses and 
 ears and hands, &c., savours rather of the inexcusable. 
 He was accused of having flayed 1 2,000 men, which 
 he indignantly asserted was a monstrous calumny, as 
 he only skinned three ; afterwards he confessed to three 
 hundred ! Yet he is not a bit worse, and in many 
 ways infinitely better, than most native princes. 
 Lawrence doubts whether one could be found with 
 fewer faults, if placed in similar circumstances. Avit- 
 abile, to the disgrace of his European blood, was far 
 more cruel. The stories current in the Punjab of his 
 abominations are horrible. The costumes of these 
 chiefs would delight you. They never make a mistake 
 in colours, and the effect is always good, however 
 bright they may be. This force is (as I told you) 
 moving up to turn the Sheikh Imaumoodeen, the 
 rebellious vassal of the Lahore Government, out of 
 Cashmere, in virtue of the treaty ceding it to Gholab 
 Singh. Up to yesterday, I expected it would be a 
 
 D 2 
 
36 CASHMERE. 
 
 fightj but yesterday the Sheikh sent letters to say 
 he was sorry and repentful, and was on his way to 
 tender his submission. So we wait here to receive 
 him. This will not, however, prevent my visit to the 
 valley, as Colonel Lawrence intends to accompany the 
 Maharaja to pacify and take possession. 
 
 It is very cold here, though not much above 5000 
 feet above the sea. 
 
 To his Father, 
 
 Shupyen, in Cashmere, 
 Nov. 6th, 1846. 
 I write a hurried line to announce my safe arrival 
 in the valley. On the 1st instant we got hold of 
 the rebellious Sheikh, and sent him down to the 
 plains ; and yesterday. Colonel Lawrence, Captain 
 Browne, and myself, rode into the valley, amid the 
 acclamations of an admiring population — of beggars ! 
 I am writing at sunrise in a little tent, and in spite 
 of two coats and waistcoats, I am nearly ' friz.^ We 
 crossed the Pir Punjal Pass on the 4th, 12,000 
 feet above the sea, with snow all around us, and 
 slept on this side in an old serai ; I say slept^ because 
 we went to bed ; but sleeping was out of the question, 
 from the cold, and uproar of all our followers and 
 their horses, crowded into a courtyard thirty feet 
 square, horses and men quarrelling and yelling all 
 night long. The view from the top of the Pass was 
 very fine, but the wind far too high to take more 
 than a peep of it without losing one's eyes ; but the 
 road from Thanna to the summit was most lovely the 
 whole way, winding up a glen wooded magnificently, 
 and the rocks towering above us on all sides; the 
 
CASHMERE. 37 
 
 trees were all in their varied autumn dress, sur- 
 mounted by forests of pine : altogether, I never saw 
 so grand a scene. As the Sheikh's submission has cut 
 the Gordian knot of politics here, we shall only stay 
 a few days to see the valley, and instal the Maharaja 
 (who is following us \vith his force by slow stages), 
 and then rush back to Lahore and Subathoo. 
 
 This is said to be the largest town but three in the 
 valley. It is a poverty-stricken scattered hamlet 
 of mud-houses with wooden roofs, the upper half 
 being generally rough open lattice-work or railing, 
 with alternate supports of unbaked bricks; low mud 
 enclosures, and open waste spaces between, dedicated 
 to dogs and dunghills. The whole is thickly grown 
 over with fine apple and walnut trees, the staple 
 fruits (with the grape) of the valley, and the food of 
 the people. They are a poor wretched set, only good 
 for beasts of burden — and certainly they can carry a 
 vast load — their dress, both men and women, being a 
 loose wide-sleeved smock-frock of dirty sackcloth- 
 looking woollen. The men wear a dirty skull-cap on 
 their shaven ' nobs,' and the women a crimson machine, 
 like a flowerpot saucer inverted, from which depends 
 a veil or cloth of the same texture as the frock ; legs 
 and feet clothed in their native dirt. The women 
 are atrociously ugly, and screech like the witches in 
 Macbeth — so much so, that when the Agent asked 
 me to give them a rupee or two, I felt it my duty to 
 refuse, firmly but respectfully, on the ground that it 
 would be encouraging ugliness ! I fancy the climate 
 and the soil are unrivalled, but years of poverty and 
 oppression have reduced to a nation of beggars what 
 ought to be a Paradise. We go hence after breakfast 
 
38 CASHMERE. 
 
 to Islumabad, at the eastern end of the valley; and 
 spend a day or two in looking about us, and floating 
 down the river to Cashmere itself, by which time our 
 ^prince' will have arrived. I am the luckiest dog 
 unhung to have actually got into Cashmere. I fancy 
 I am the first officer of our army who has been here, 
 save the few who have come officially. These delight- 
 ful breezes are most invigorating. I only wish you 
 could all enjoy these travels with me. I expect to be 
 back at Subathoo by the ist of December. 
 
 In a letter to my father about this time, 
 Mr. Thomason says : — 
 
 ' I am very glad to observe that such an 
 ' intimacy has sprung up between Colonel 
 
 * Lawrence and your William. He could not 
 ' be under better direction. 
 
 * Colonel Lawrence has evidently taken him 
 ' entirely into his confidence, which cannot but 
 ' be of the greatest use to him in his future 
 ' career. He will have opportunities of obser- 
 
 * vation and instruction now, which very few 
 ' possess after a long period of service. To be 
 ' selected, too, as his confidant by a man of 
 ' Colonel Lawrence's stamp, is no small feathei: 
 ' in the cap of any young man. He stands 
 ' deservedly high also in the esteem of all who 
 ' know him ; and if it please God to spare his 
 ' life and give him health, his prospects are 
 ' as good as any man's can be in this country.' 
 
 Colonel Lawrence having discovered that 
 
LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 39 
 
 my brother could work, was by no means 
 disposed to let him remain without full occu- 
 pation, as his next letter will show : — 
 
 SuBATHOO, April 1st, 1847. 
 I am wonderfully well and flourishing, and have 
 lots to do. Lawrence has made me undertake the 
 secretaryship of the new Asylum for European Chil- 
 dren, building some ten miles hence, which will give 
 me volumes of correspondence, and leagues, nay lati- 
 tudes, of riding. Nevertheless, it is well, and it is a 
 good work. The responsibility will be great, as a 
 committee of management, on an average three hun- 
 dred miles apart, are rather nominal in their super- 
 vision of things. 
 
 SuBATHOO, April ist, 1847. 
 If my locomotive instinct has been brought into 
 play in India, as you suggest, my constructive organs 
 are likely to have their share of exercise. I have the 
 entire direction and arrangement of the new Hill 
 Asylum on my hands just now. It is seven miles 
 hence, of mountain roads, and what with going and 
 coming, planning, instructing, and supervising, my 
 time is pretty well occupied, to say nothing of my 
 regiment, and private affairs. Building a house in 
 India is a different affair from one's previous expe- 
 riences. You begin from the forest and the quarry, 
 have to get lime burnt, trees cut down, bricks 
 made, planks sawn up, the ground got ready, and 
 then watch the work foot by foot — showing this 
 'nigger' how to lay his bricks, another the proper 
 proportions of a beam, another the construction of a 
 door, and to the several artisans the mysteries of a 
 
40 LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 
 
 screw,, a nail, and a hinge. You cannot say to a man, 
 ' Make me a wall or a door/ but you must with your 
 own hands measure out his work, teach him to saw 
 away here, to plane there, or drive such a nail, or 
 insinuate such another suspicion of glue. And when 
 it comes to be considered that this is altogether new 
 work to me, and has to be excuded by cogitation on 
 the spot, so as to give an answer to every inquirer, 
 you may understand the amount of personal exertion 
 and attention required for the work. 
 
 I have the sole direction and control of nearly four 
 hundred and fifty workmen, including paying them, 
 keeping accounts, drawing plans, and everything. I 
 have to get earth dug for bricks, see the moulds made, 
 and watch the progress of them till the kiln is full, 
 get wood for the kiln, and direct the lighting of the 
 same, and finally provide a goat to sacrifice to the 
 demon who is supposed to turn the bricks red ! 
 Then I must get bamboos and grass cut for thatching, 
 and string made for the purpose; send about the 
 hills for sand for mortar, and limestone to burn, see 
 it mixed and prepared, and then show the niggers 
 how to use it. Then the whole of the woodwork 
 must be set out and made under one^s own eye, and a 
 lump of iron brought from the mine to be wrought 
 (also under one^s direction) into nails and screws, 
 before a single door can be set up ; and when to all 
 this is added the difficulty of getting hands (I mean 
 in the hills), and the bother of watching the idlest 
 and most cunning race on earth, you may suppose 
 my ^unpaid magistracy' is no sinecure. I am not 
 exaggerating or indeed telling half the difficulty, for 
 fear you should think the whole a romance. You will 
 
LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 41 
 
 naturally ask how I learnt all these trades. I can 
 only say that you can^t be more astonished than I am 
 myself, and can only satisfy you by the theory that 
 ' necessity is the mother of invention.' I am seldom 
 able to sit down from sunrise to sunset, when I get 
 a hasty dinner, and am then only too glad to sleep 
 off the effects of the day. How I have escaped fever 
 during the last month I cannot think, as it has been 
 terribly hot in the sun, even in the hills, and I have 
 lived in the blaze of it pretty constantly. Colonel 
 Lawrence seems determined I shall have nothing to 
 stop me, for his invariable reply to every question 
 is, ' Act on your own judgment ;' ' Do what you 
 think right ;' ' I give you carte hlanche to act in my 
 name, and draw on my funds,' and so forth. 
 
 Are you aware of the nature of the institution? 
 It was started in idea by Colonel Lawrence some two 
 or three years ago, and a sufficient sum of money for 
 a commencement having been raised, he charged me 
 with the erection of the necessary buildings, and the 
 organization and setting in motion of the great 
 machine which is to regenerate and save from moral 
 and physical degradation, sickness, and death, the 
 children of the British soldiers serving in India. 
 The object is to teach them all things useful, while 
 you give them the advantage of a healthy climate, 
 removed from the evil influence of a barrack-room. 
 The children are to remain in the Asylum until their 
 parents- return to England, or till old enough to 
 join the ranks, or be otherwise provided for. 
 
 Another drag upon my hands is the care of a small 
 European boy who was lately found up in Cabul, and 
 is supposed to be the son of some soldier of the 
 
42 LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 
 
 destroyed army. He has been brought up as a Mussul- 
 maiij and made to believe his father was such, and is 
 a very bigot. Colonel Lawrence sent him to me from 
 Lahore, but forgot to write about him, so I know no 
 more of him than I have seen in the newspapers, and 
 have no idea what to do with him, or where he is to 
 go. He is rather a nuisance, and I shall be glad 
 when he goes, as there is little but his odd fate to 
 interest one in him ; and I have considerable doubts 
 as to his genuine origin. He is more like a half- 
 caste than an 'European.' Oar communication is 
 brief, as he speaks but little Hindoostanee and I less 
 Persian. The Asylum is a much more interesting 
 occupation, as independently of its object, there is 
 a pleasure in covering a fine mountain with buildings 
 of one's own designing. 
 
 A few days later lie writes : — 
 
 My last few days at the Asylum were enlivened by 
 the arrival of Mrs. George Lawrence, whose tent was 
 pitched close to mine on the hill-top. She is a great 
 acquisition in a forest life, and a very nice person — the 
 wife of the Captain Lawrence who was one of the 
 Cabul prisoners. She is to be superinten dress until 
 the arrival of the future man from England. I have 
 fourteen little girls to take care of, by the same token, 
 and listen to the grumblings of their nurses. In 
 short, I don't know myself, and that is the long and 
 short of it. I am going to Simla for a day or two, 
 to see Mr. Thomason. 
 
 And again, to his brother : — 
 The state of things is so provokingly quiet and 
 placid, that there seems but small chance of our being 
 
LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 43 
 
 called upon for another rush across country (called a 
 ' forced march'), like the one of December, 1845 ; and 
 one is obliged to take to anything that offers to avoid 
 the 'taedium vitae' which the want of employment 
 engenders in this ' lovely country/ in those, at least, 
 who have not learnt to exist in the philosophical 
 medium of brandy and cheroots. Did I tell you, 
 by the bye, that I abjured tobacco when I left 
 England, and that I have never been tempted by even 
 a night 'al fresco* to resume the delusive habit ? Nor 
 have I told you (because I despaired of your believing 
 it) that I have declined from the paths of virtue in 
 respect to beer also, this two years past, seldom or 
 never even tasting that once idolized stimulant ! ! It 
 has not been caused alone by a love of eccentricity, 
 but by the very sensitive state of my inner man 
 (achieved in India), which obliges me to live by rule. 
 This is all very edifying, no doubt, to you ; to me it 
 is especially so, for I believe if 1 get on well in India, 
 it will be owing, physically speaking, ta my digestion. 
 
 SuBATHOO, June iSth, 1847. 
 I am getting on famously at the Asylum just 
 now, and have succeeded in getting the children 
 under cover before the rains. I have narrowly 
 escaped a "bad fever through over -work in the sun, 
 but by taking it in time I got right again. The 
 weather has since taken a turn, and become much 
 cooler, besides which my principal anxiety is over 
 foi* the season. I have certainly had a benefit of 
 work, both civil and literary, for the Institution, and 
 since Colonel Lawrence put an advertisement in the 
 
44 LAWRENCE ASYLUM. 
 
 papers, desiring all anxious persons to apply to me, 
 I have had enough on my hands. It is all very 
 well, but interferes with my reading no little ; and I 
 am sure to get more kicks than thanks for my pains 
 from an ungrateful and undiscerning public. How- 
 ever, as long as Colonel Lawrence leaves everything 
 so completely in my hands, and trusts so implicitly 
 to my skill and honesty, it would be a shame not to 
 work ^ un-rWke a nigger.' 
 
 It is intended that the children should remain in 
 the Institution until they are eighteen years of age, 
 if their fathers be alive, and until somehow or other 
 provided for, should they be orphans. The majority 
 of the boys will, of course, become soldiers ; but my 
 belief is, that having been brought up in the delight- 
 ful climate of the Himalaya, they will, after ten or 
 fifteen years, settle down in the various stations and 
 slightly elevated valleys in these hills, as traders and 
 cultivators, and form the nucleus of the first British 
 colony in India. My object is to give them English 
 habits from the first, which they have in most cases 
 to learn, from being brought up by native nurses 
 from infancy. Part of the scheme is to make the 
 Institution support itself, and I am very shortly going 
 to start a farm-yard. I have already got a fine large 
 garden in full swing ; and here you may see French 
 beans, cabbages, strawberry plants, and fine potatoes 
 (free from disease). I steadfastly refuse the slightest 
 dash of colour in admitting children. People may 
 call this illiberal if they please ; the answer is obvious. 
 Half-castes stand the climate of the plains too well 
 to need a hill sanitorium, and by mixing them with 
 English children you corrupt those whom you wish 
 
NEW APPOINTMENT. 45 
 
 to benefit. The little boy who was lately redeemed 
 from Cabul, and whom Colonel Lawrence consigned 
 to my care, is the plague of my existence. He has 
 the thoroughly lying, deceitful habits, and all the 
 dirt, of the Afi'ghan races, and not a single point of 
 interest to counterbalance them. 
 
 SuBATHOO, August, 1847. 
 
 I have some hopes, though but faint ones, of being 
 relieved from the necessity of a move to Cawnpore 
 (whither his regiment had been ordered), by obtain- 
 ing a berth under Colonel Lawrence. I know that 
 he has asked for me, and, I believe, for an appoint- 
 ment which would please me more than any other he 
 could find, as being one of the most confidential 
 nature, and involving constant locomotion, and plenty 
 of work both for head, nerve, and body. But I must 
 not be sanguine, as we have already a large pro- 
 portion o£ officers away from the regiment, and I 
 am a young soldier, though, alas ! growing grie- 
 vously old in years. 
 
 The appointment alluded to was to the 
 * Corps of Giiides,' then recently organized by 
 Colonel Lawrence for service in the Punjab. 
 While this question, however, was stiU pending, 
 there seemed a prospect of Lieut. Hodson's 
 succeeding to the adjutancy of his .regiment, 
 and Colonel Lawrence, as will be seen from 
 the subjoined letter, recommended his accept- 
 ing it, if offered : — 
 
46 LETTER FROM COL. LAWRENCE. 
 
 ' Simla, Sept. nth. 
 ' My deau Hodson^ — I have spoken to the Governor- 
 ' General about you, who at once replied, " Let him 
 ^ take the adjutancy." He wishes you well, but is 
 ' puzzled by the absentee question. We are all, more- 
 ' over, agreed on the usefulness to yourself of being 
 ^ employed for a time as adjutant to a regiment. 
 ' There are always slips, but I know of no man of 
 ' double or treble your standing who has so good a 
 ^ prospect before him. Favour and partiality doocca- 
 ' sionally give a man a lift, but depend upon it that his 
 ' is the best chance in the long run who helps himself. 
 ' So far you have done this manfully, and you have 
 ' reason to be proud of being selected at one time for 
 ^ three different appointments by three different men.* 
 ' Don^t, however, be too proud. Learn your duties 
 ' thoroughly. Continue to study two or three hours 
 ' ' a day ; not to pass in a hurry, but that you may do 
 ' so two or three years hence with eclat. Take advan- 
 ' tage of Becher's being at Kussowlee to learn some- 
 ' thing of surveying. All knowledge is useful ; but to 
 ' a soldier, or official of any sort in India, I know 
 ^ no branch of knowledge which so well repays the 
 ' student. 
 
 * In Oriental phrase, pray consider that much is said 
 ' in this hurried scrawl, and believe that I shall watch 
 ' your career with warm interest. 
 
 ' I am, very sincerely yours, 
 
 ' H. M. Laweence.' 
 
 The expected vacancy, hovi^ever, did not 
 
 * At this very juncture, the Adjutant- General of the 
 array had also applied for Lieut. Hodson. 
 
GUIDE CORPS. 47 
 
 occur, and Colonel Lawrence accordingly re- 
 newed his application for my brother's services 
 in. the Punjab, and, as will be seen, with 
 success. In the beginning of October he 
 writes : — 
 
 I have every reason to expect that before many 
 days I shall be gazetted as attached to the Guide 
 Corps. The immediate result of my appointment 
 will be a speedy departure to Lahore with Colonel 
 Lawrence, who returns there to arrange matters 
 before going home. 
 
 And on the 1 6th : — 
 
 You will, I am sure, rejoice with me at my un- 
 precedented good fortune in being appointed to a 
 responsible and honourable post, almost before, by 
 the rules of the service, I am entitled to take charge of 
 a company of Sepoys. I shall even be better off 
 than I thought ; instead of merely ' doing duty ' 
 with the Guide Corps, I am to be the second in 
 command. 
 
 The next chapter will show how well Lieut. 
 Hodson justified Colonel Lawrence's selection 
 of him for so responsible a command, one 
 which the course of events made far more 
 important than could then have been foreseen. 
 It was in this that he laid the foundations of 
 his reputation as an * unequalled partisan 
 leader,* and acquired his experience of the 
 Sikhs, and extraordinary influence over them. 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 EMPLOYMENT IN THE PUNJAB AS SECOND IN COMMAND 
 
 OF THE COUPS OP GUIDES, AND ALSO AS ASSISTANT 
 
 TO THE RESIDENT AT LAHOEE. 
 
 From October, 1847, during tlie Campaign of 1848—9, to 
 the Annexatio7i of the Punjab in March, 1849. 
 
 Camp, Kussook, Nov. i^th, 1847. 
 T ALMOST forget the many events that have 
 -*- happened since I wrote last : I believe I was ' at 
 home ' in my snug little cottage in Subathoo, and 
 now I am in a high queer-looking native house 
 among the ruins of this old stronghold of the Pathans ; 
 with orders ^ to make a good road from Lahore to the 
 Sutlej, distance forty miles,^ in as brief a space as 
 possible. On the willing-to-be-generally-useful prin- 
 ciple this is all very well, and one gets used to 
 turning one's hand to everything, but certainly (but 
 for ^ circumstances over which I had n*o control ') I 
 always laboured under the impression that I knew 
 nothing at all about the matter. However, Colonel 
 Lawrence walked into my room promiscuously one 
 morning, and said, ' Oh, Hodson, we have agreed that 
 you must take in hand the road to Ferozepoor — you 
 can start in a day or two ; ' and kere I am. Well, I 
 have galloped across the country hither and thither, 
 and peered into distances with telescopes, and 
 inquired curiously into abstruse (and obtuse) angles, 
 rattled Gunter's chains, and consulted compasses and 
 
ROAD -MAKING. 49 
 
 theodolites, till I have an idea of a road that will 
 astonish the natives not a little. Last night I was 
 up half the night, looking out for fires which I had 
 ordered to be lighted in sundry places along the 
 line of the Sutlej at a fixed hour that I might 
 find the nearest point. This morning, I had a 
 grand assembly of village 'punches,' to discuss 
 with them the propriety of furnishing able-bodied 
 men for the work. By a little artful persuasion, I 
 succeeded in raising 700 from a small district, and 
 am going onwards to hold another such 'county 
 meeting' to-morrow. The mode and fashion that 
 has always obtained in public works under native 
 governments, has been to give an order to seize all 
 the inhabitants, and make them work — and not pay 
 them then. These gentry, therefore, have been so 
 bullied by their Sikh masters, that they hardly 
 believe my offers of ready-money payments. My 
 predecessor, an artillery officer, who came here on 
 the same errand, was turned off for resorting to 
 violent measures in his anxiety to get hold of work- 
 men, having hung some of the head men up by the 
 heels to trees till they were convinced. He got no 
 good (nor hands either), by his dodge. So I was 
 sent here on the other persuasion, and you will be glad 
 to hear, for the credit of the family, that I am gam- 
 moning the dear old punches most deliciously . They'd 
 give me anything, bless their innocent hearts ! when 
 I get under the village tree with them, or by the 
 village well, and discourse eloquently on the blessing 
 to society of having destroyed the Sikhs, and on the 
 lightness of their land tax. I hope to be relieved 
 in a month, and go up to Peshawur to join ' the 
 
 E 
 
50 PUNJAB. 
 
 Guides/ for this is cruelly hard work, and I have 
 had enough for one year of native workpeople. 
 Besides, I am not strong yet, and have a horrid cold. 
 I would give anything to be able to sit down and 
 read a book quietly, a luxury I have not enjoyed for 
 many a long day. Colonel Lawrence starts for 
 England on the 30th for two years. I hope you will 
 contrive to see him, and make his acquaintance. Sir 
 r, Currie is to be his successor during his absence. 
 
 Dec. 1st. 
 I have been at Lahore to receive Colonel Lawrence's 
 parting instructions, and say good bye to him, poor 
 fellow. He is a genuinely kind-hearted mortal, and 
 has been a brother to me ever since I knew him. I 
 hope to see him back in two years, invigorated and 
 renewed, to carry out the good work which he has 
 so nobly begun. 
 
 To his Sister. 
 
 Camp Kussooe, Dec. i^th, 1847. 
 Your letter met me on my road two days ago, and 
 emerged from the folds of a Sikh horseman's turban, 
 to my great delight. I got off my horse, and walked 
 along, driving him before me till I had read the 
 packet. You must not conclude, because I am writing 
 to you a second time from this place, that I have been 
 here ever since I first commenced operations in these 
 parts. I have been twice to Lahore, and several 
 times to various intermediate and more distant places, 
 since then. In short, you may give up all idea of 
 being able to imagine where I may be at any given 
 time. My work has progressed considerably. In 
 
ROAD-MAKING. 61 
 
 three weeks I have collected and got into working 
 order upwards of a thousand most unwilling labourers, 
 surveyed and marked out some twenty miles of road 
 through a desert and forest, and made a very large 
 piece of it. I am happy to say I am to be relieved 
 in a day or two, and sent to survey another district. 
 I have had one or two visitors the last few days, and 
 therefore not been so lonely as usual ; but my time 
 has been even more than ever occupied. My duties 
 are nearly as various as there are hours in the day ; 
 at one time digging a trench, at another time inves- 
 tigating breaches of the peace. I am a sort of justice 
 of the peace for general purposes, and have to listen 
 to and inquire into complaints, and send cases which 
 I think worthy of it for trial to Lahore. I caught 
 as neat a case of robbing and murder the other day as 
 ever graced Stafford Assizes ; to say nothing of end- 
 less modes of theft, more or less open, according to 
 the wealth or power of the stealer. This is the most 
 remarkabje scene of ruin I have met with for many a 
 long day ; erst, a nest of the abodes of wealthy Pathkn 
 nobles, and now a desert tract, of many miles in ex- 
 tent, covered with ruins, with here and there a dome, 
 or cupola, or minaret, to mark what has once been. 
 
 I am happy to say that I have succeeded in obtain- 
 ing a respite on Sundays. Hitherto, all the works I 
 have had in hand have gone on the same every day, 
 and consequently one's annoyance and responsibility 
 continued equally on Sundays. This is happily put 
 an end to, and I shall have one day's rest a week at 
 least, to say nothing of higher considerations. An 
 order on the subject was issued six months ago, but 
 great difficulties were in the way of its execution. 
 
 B 2 
 
52 PUNJAB. 
 
 Camp, Deenanuggur, Jan. i^th, 1848. 
 Here I am, off again like a steam-engine, calling 
 at a series of stations, puffing and panting, hither and 
 thither, never resting, ever starting ; now in a cut- 
 ting, now in a tunnel ; first in a field, next on a hill : 
 thus passes day after day, week after week, a great 
 deal of work going through one^s hands, and yet one 
 can give very little account of oneself at the end of it. 
 At present I am moving rapidly along the banks of a 
 small canal which traverses the Doab, between the 
 Ravee and Beas Rivers, for purposes of irrigation; 
 accompanying Major Napier,^ to whom the prosecution 
 of all public improvements throughout the Land of 
 the Five Rivers belongs. We (the ^ Woods and 
 Forests' of the day) have nearly reached the point 
 where the river debouches from the hills, and have 
 put up for the day in a little garden-house of Runjeet 
 Singh's, in the midst of a lovely grove of great extent, 
 through whose dark-green boughs we have a splendid 
 panorama of the snowy range to back our horizon. We 
 have great projects of extending the canal by various 
 branches to feed and fertilize the whole extent of the 
 Doab, which wants nothing but water to make it a 
 garden, so fertile is the soil. We have come along a 
 strip of beautiful country, richly cultivated, lying 
 along the banks of this life-giving little watercourse, 
 and the weather is perfect, so I am as happy as mere 
 externals can make one. Certainly we whose lot 
 has fallen on this side of India, are much to be envied . 
 Here, all day long one rides about, clothed as warmly, 
 and even more so, than in England at this season. 
 
 Now Sir Robert Napier, K.C.B. 
 
SURVEYING. 53 
 
 enjoying the bright clear sunshine, and never troubled 
 with thinking of the sun ; whilst at Calcutta they are 
 running into their houses at nine o'clock to avoid the 
 heat of the day ! I imagine two years in Calcutta 
 would be more wearing than ten up here; by the 
 same token, I have achieved the respectable weight 
 of eleven stone ten pounds, being an increase of 
 seventeen pounds since July. May my shadow 
 never be less ! 
 
 I live from the arrival of one mail in expectation 
 of the next. I had meant to have written a long 
 series of despatches for this opportunity, and have 
 asked you to do some commissions for me, but I must 
 postpone it now to another time, as Major Napier has 
 lots of work for me. I want a pair of thick blankets ; 
 mine were plundered at Ferozeshah, and I have 
 always mourned over them since, when cold nights 
 and long marches come together. In these far 
 countries it is next to impossible to get anything 
 decent. > 
 
 Camp, Raja Ke BIgh, Jan. 2gih, 1848. 
 For some days I was staying in, and intend return- 
 ing again to, a fine picturesque old castle or fort built 
 by the Emperor Shahjehan. Its lofty walls, with 
 their turrets and battlements, enclose a quadrangle of 
 the size of the great court of Trinity, while from the 
 centre rises a dark mass of buildings three stories high, 
 forming thi keep; presenting externally four blank 
 walls pierced with loopholes, but within, arches and 
 pillars and galleries, with an open space in the centre, 
 in which they all face. The summit rises sixty-four feet, 
 which, in addition to the great elevation of the mound 
 
54 PUNJAB. 
 
 on which the castle stands, gives a noble view of 
 mountain, river, and plain, covered with the finest 
 timber and green with young corn ; the whole backed 
 by range on range, peak after peak, of dazzling snow. 
 Another, nearly similar, lies about ten miles to the 
 north, and I am now ' pitched' at the foot of a third to 
 the west ; all monuments of the taste and grandeur of 
 the Mogul Emperors. That Goth, Runjeet Singh and 
 his followers have as much to answer for in their way, 
 as Cromwell and his crop-eared scoundrels in England 
 and Ireland. They seem only to have conquered to 
 destroy — every public work, every castle, road, serai 
 or avenue, has been destroyed ; the finest mosques 
 turned into powder magazines and stables, the gardens 
 into cantonments, and the fields into deserts. I had 
 a pretty specimen the other day of the way in which 
 things have been managed here. I was desired to 
 examine into, and report on, the accounts of revenue 
 collected hitherto in i8o villages along the ' Shah 
 Nahr,' or Eoyal Canal. By a convenient mixture of 
 coaxing and threats, compliment and invective, a 
 return was at last effected, by which it appeared that 
 in ordinary cases about one-half the revenue reached 
 the treasury, in some one-third, and in one district 
 nothing ! To my great amusement when I came to 
 this point, the gallant collector (a long-bearded old 
 Sikh) quietly remarked — ' Yes, Sahib, this was in- 
 deed a great place for us entirely.' I said, ' yes, you 
 villain, you gentry grew fat on robbing your master.' 
 ^ Don't call it robbing,' he said ; ' I assure you, I 
 wouldn't be dishonest for the world. I never took 
 more than my predecessors did before me.' About the 
 
SURVEYING. 55 
 
 most naive definition of honesty I have had the luck 
 to meet with. I fancy our visit to these nooks and 
 corners of the Punjab has added some 50,000^. a year 
 to the revenue. My present role is to survey a part 
 of the country lying along the left bank of the Ravee 
 and below the hills, and I am daily and all day at 
 work with compasses and chain, pen and pencil, 
 following streams, diving into valleys, burrowing into 
 hills, to complete my work. I need hardly remark, 
 that having never attempted anything of the kind 
 hitherto, it is bothering at first. But one is compelled 
 to be patient under this sort of insult, and I should 
 not be surprised any day to be told to build a ship, 
 compose a code of laws, or hold assizes, — in fact, 'tis 
 the way in India ; every one has to teach himself his 
 work, and do it at the same time ; if I go on learning 
 new trades as fast during the remainder of my career 
 as I have done at its commencement, I shall have to 
 retire as a Jacksonian professor at least, when ' my 
 dog has had his day.' Well ! I have fairly beaten 
 the cold this time — I turned back one side of the tent, 
 and had a big fire lighted outside, protected from 
 draughts by a canvas screen, and the whole tent is 
 now in a jolly glow ; a gipsy light reflected on the 
 trees around, and on the two tall picturesque Afighans 
 who, seated cross-legged on each side of the fire, either 
 replenish it with sticks, fan it into a flame, or watch 
 my pen with the large, black, inquisitive eye of a dog 
 looking out for a crust. 
 
 They make much better servants for wandering 
 folks like myself than the Hindoostanee servant-tribe, 
 have fewer or no prejudices (save against clean 
 
56 PUNJAB. 
 
 water), and trudge along the live-long day as merrily 
 as if life was a joke to them, instead of the dull heavy 
 reality it is.* 
 
 Feb. 2)th, 1848. 
 
 I really have very little to tell you of my new 
 Guide Corps duties, from the somewhat strange fact 
 that I have never yet actually entered upon them; 
 this will soon come to an end, however, as I have 
 directions to proceed to Peshawur as soon as the 
 survey I have been at work on is completed. The 
 grand object of the corps is to train a body of men in 
 peace to be efficient in war ; to be not only acquainted 
 with localities, roads, rivers, hills, ferries, and passes, 
 but have a good idea of the produce and supplies 
 available in any part of the country ; to give accurate 
 information, not running open-mouthed to say that 
 
 * Lieutenant (now Col.) Herbert Edwardes wrote as 
 follows to his family in England : — 
 
 ' Young Hodson has been appointed to do duty with 
 
 * our Punjab Guide Corps, commanded by Lieutenant 
 ' Lumsden. The duties of a Commandant or Adjutant 
 ^ of Guides are at once important and delightful. It is 
 ' his duty in time of peace to fit himself for leading 
 ' armies during war. This necessitates his being con- 
 ' stantly on the move, and making himself and his 
 ' men acquainted with the country in every quarter. 
 
 * In short, it is a roving commission, and to a man of 
 ' spirit and ability, one of the finest appointments 
 
 * imaginable. 
 
 ' I think Hodson will do it justice. He is one of the 
 ' finest young fellows I know, and a thorough soldier 
 
 * in his heart.' 
 
GUIDE CORPS. 57 
 
 io,oco horsemen and a thousand guns are coming 
 (in true native style), but to stop to see whether it 
 maj not really be only a common cart and a few wild 
 horsemen who are kicking up all the dust : to call 
 twenty-five by its right name, and not say fifty for 
 short, as most natives do. This of course wants a 
 great deal of careful instruction and attention. 
 Beyond this, the officers should give a tolerably correct 
 sketch and report of any country through which they 
 may pass, be au fait at routes and means of feeding 
 troops, and above all (and here you come close upon 
 political duties), keep an eye on the doings ' of the 
 neighbours' and the state of the country, so as to be 
 able to give such information as may lead to any out- 
 break being nipped in the bud. This is the theory , 
 what the practice may be I'll tell you some day or 
 other when I know. Hitherto I have been making 
 myself generally useful under the chief engineer, and 
 learning to survey. One has to turn one's hand to 
 everything if one wishes to get on. 
 
 Meanwhile, I am busily collecting every species of 
 information about the people and the land they live 
 in. Hard work and fatigue, of course, but a splendid 
 opening and opportunity for making oneself known 
 and necessary. 
 
 Beekanugqur, March i4<A, 1848. 
 The night your letter reached me, Napier (our 
 chief engineer) and I were encamped on a spur of 
 grass land separating two streams of the river 
 'Chukkir,' and had been so for some days. That 
 evening it began to rain (if a sluice of water, appa- 
 rently struck down from the heavens by a flood of the 
 
58 FLOOD. 
 
 fiercest llgMning, can be called so), and for thirty- 
 six hours the torrent descended without intermission, 
 as only Asiatic storms can descend. At length a 
 pause ensued, and the sky was visible, and we emerged 
 from our sodden tents only to be threatened with water 
 in a worse form. The hills, valleys, and mountains began 
 to send down to us w^hat they had so plentifully received 
 from above, and the hitherto quiet stream, whose wide 
 stony channel surrounded us, was in a single hour a 
 powerful torrent, tearing over the country as if to 
 prove what it could do. By one of the singular freaks 
 common to all tropical rivers, it dammed up one of its 
 own widest outlets by the quantity of stones which 
 it brought along with it, and came tearing down 
 the one nearest to us. Across this, not a hundred 
 yards from our tents, we had just built a powerful 
 breakwater some sixteen feet wide, but the water 
 quietly walked over, under, and round it; roared, 
 groaned, stormed, and swelled angrily for two hours, 
 and our breakwater was a Hhing of history :' meantime, 
 we were gradually getting more and more surrounded 
 with water, it rose and rose until only four inches 
 were wanting to set us well afloat. The pegs of my 
 tent-ropes were undermined, and a notice to quit was 
 as plainly written on the face of the water as ever on 
 a legal process. There was but one way of escape, so 
 mustering the whole of a neighbouring village, we 
 loaded all our valuables and moveables on their backs, 
 and made a dash at the hamlet. Once having suc- 
 ceeded in turning us out, the valiant Chukkir was 
 content, and we slept in our tents as usual, but not 
 without, as it turned out, considerable risk of finding 
 ourselves landed in some unknown field on waking. 
 
ROBBER HUNT. 59 
 
 When this flood subsided, it appeared that the scene 
 of our unfortunate dam had become the deepest part 
 of the channel, and the old course choked with stones 
 and boulders which you and I couldn't lift in a week 
 of Sundays. Is not this an incident. 
 
 Since I wrote last, in consequence of represen- 
 tations I sent to head quarters as to the amount of 
 plundering going on, a large party of horse, with one 
 of the principal chiefs, was sent out here, with direc- 
 tions to act an the information I gave them. We 
 have accordingly had a robber-hunt on a large and 
 tolerably successful scale. Numbers have been 
 caught. One shot pour eneourager les autres, and we 
 have traces of others, so that my quiet practice 
 (originally for my own amusement and information) 
 has been very useful to the State. I found out the 
 greatest part of it by sending clever fellows disguised 
 as ' faqueers ' (you know what they are, I think ; — 
 religious beggars) to the different villages to talk to 
 the people and learn their doings. Some of the 
 stories of Sikh violence, cruelty, and treachery which 
 I have picked up are almost beyond belief. The 
 indifference of these people to human life is something 
 appalling. I could hardly get them to give a thought 
 or attempt an inquiry as to the identity of a man 
 whom I found dead, evidently by violence, by the 
 road-side yesterday morning ; and they were horrified 
 at the thought of tying up or confining a sacred ox, 
 who had gored his thirteenth man the evening before 
 last ! They told me plainly that no one had a right 
 to complain of being hurt by so venerable a beast. 
 
 In such pursuits, combined with surveying, my 
 time passes away tolerably well. I am alone again. 
 
60 PUNJAB. 
 
 Napier having gone to Lahore ; but this is a sweet 
 place^ and I am staying in a pleasant summer house 
 of Eunjeet Singh's, in the midst of a fine garden or 
 grove of mango and orange trees. 
 
 Camp oit Eayee, March 2gth, 1848. 
 Just as I had completed my somewhat lengthy 
 reply to your question, I was interrupted by a camel- 
 rider, who had come in hot haste with a letter from 
 Sir F. Currie at Lahore, with the most agreeable in- 
 telligence in the world — voila, 
 
 'My dear Mr. Hodson, — Pray knock off your 
 ' present work,^and come into Lahore as quickly as you 
 ' can. 
 
 ' I want to send you with Mr, Agnew to Mooltan. 
 ' Mr. Agnew starts immediately with your acquaint- 
 ' ance, Sirdah Sumshere Singh, to assume the govern- 
 ' ment of that province, Moolraj having sent in his 
 ' resignation of the Nizamut. Lieutenant Becher is 
 ' to be Agnew's permanent assistant, but he cannot 
 ' join just now, and I wish you to go with Agnew. It 
 ' is an important mission, and one that, I tliink, you 
 ' will like to be employed in. When relieved by 
 ' Becher, you will join the Guides at Lahore, and be 
 ' employed also as assistant to the Resident. The 
 ' sooner you come the better. 
 
 ' Yours sincerely, 
 
 ' F. Currie.' 
 
 The last line of Sir Frederick's letter was not lost 
 on me, and to keep up my character for locomotion, I 
 started at daybreak for Deenanuggur, finishing off my 
 work en route ^ remained there the rest of the day to 
 
MOOLTAN. 61 
 
 wind up matters and add my surveying sketch to the 
 large plan I had commenced beforehand, and hurried 
 onwards this morning. You will perceive that I 
 have crossed the Doab, and am now writing on the 
 banks of the Ravee, some sixty miles above Lahore. 
 I marched twenty-four and a half miles with tent 
 and baggage this morning, and hope to continue 
 at that pace, with the difference of marching by 
 night, the weather having suddenly become very hot 
 indeed. 
 
 I am much interested in the thought of going to 
 so new a place as Mooltan — new, that is to say, to 
 Europeans, yet so important from position and com- 
 merce. The only drawback is the heat, which is 
 notorious throughout Western India. I am not 
 aware, however, that it is otherwise unhealthy. 
 
 As you may suppose, I am much gratified by the 
 appointment, both for its own sake and also as 
 evincing so very favourable and kindly a disposition 
 toward myself on the part of the new potentate. 
 
 To his Sister, 
 
 Camp, Ma/rch 2gt\ 1848. 
 Of incidents to amuse you I have not many to 
 narrate, save the usual ' moving * ones by ' flood and 
 field.' On the i8th I was very nearly becoming a 
 damp unpleasant corpse to celebrate my birthday. 
 In attempting a ford, my horse sank up to the girths 
 in a quicksand. I managed to extricate myself and, 
 dry land being near, he got up without damage. 
 Sending a man ahead, I tried again in another place. 
 Here it was fair to the eye but false to the foot. 
 
62 PUNJAB. 
 
 Down he went again, this time in deeper water, and 
 got me under him by struggling. However, I 
 realized the old proverb, and escaped with a good 
 ducking and a mouthful of my native element, rather 
 gritty. Next I tried a camel, but the brute went 
 down at the first stride. So giving it up in despair, I 
 put on dry clothes, and then waded through the river. 
 Not content with one attempt on my existence, 
 the horse gave me a violent kick the same evening 
 when I went up to him to ask ' How d^ye do.' So I 
 completed my year, in spite of myself, as it were. 
 
 Lahore, A'pril 2nd. 
 
 Since the above was written, I have succeeded in 
 reaching the metropolis, as you see, at a greater ex- 
 penditure of animal heat and fatigue than I have 
 gone through for some time. I was very friendlily 
 and pleasantly greeted by Sir F. and Lady Currie, and 
 tumbled at once again into the tide of civilization — loaf 
 bread, arm-chairs, hats, and ladies — as philosophically 
 as if I had been for months in the calm and unrestrained 
 enjoyment of such luxuries. 
 
 On my arrival, I found that the arrangement pro- 
 posed in Sir E. Curriers note had already become 
 matter of history, not of fact. The new one is still 
 better for me. I am to remain at Lahore, and be an 
 assistant to the Resident, having my Guide duties to 
 discharge also, when Lumsden arrives from Peshawur 
 with the Corps. He is expected in twenty days. 
 Nothing could possibly have been better for me. I 
 shall have the advantage of learning in the best 
 school, head-quarters, and have many more oppor- 
 tunities of making myself ' generally usefuL' I am 
 
LAHORE. 63 
 
 most rejoiced at the plan, and Sir F. Curriers con- 
 siderate kindness in devising it. We wont say- 
 any thing of the regularity or consistency of making 
 a man of two and a half years' service, and who has 
 passed no examination, a political officer, nor will we 
 be ungrateful enough to say that he is unfit for the 
 appointment, but that he should do his utmost to 
 show that the rule is more honoured ' in the breach 
 than in the observance.' 
 
 Residency, Lahore, April i6tky 1848. 
 I shall not have the same variety to chronicle 
 now that I seem to be fixed here, but more interest 
 and a higher style of work. Since I wrote last I 
 have been six hours a day employed in court, hearing 
 petitions and appeals in all manner of cases, civil and 
 criminal, and in matters of revenue, as there are but 
 two officers so employed. You, perhaps, will com- 
 prehend that the duty is no sinecure. It is of vast 
 importance, and I sometimes feel a half sensation of 
 modesty coming over me at being set down to 
 administer justice in such matters so early, and with- 
 out previous training. A little practice, patience, 
 and reflection settle most cases to one's satisfaction, 
 however; and one must be content with substantial 
 justice as distinguished from technical law. In any 
 point of difficulty one has always an older head to 
 refer to, and meantime, one has the satisfaction of 
 knowing that one is independent and untrammelled 
 save by a very simple code. Some things, such as 
 sentencing a man to imprisonment for seven years 
 for killing a cow, are rather startling to one's ideas of 
 
64 MOOLTAN. 
 
 right and wrong ; but then to kill a cow is to break a 
 law, and to disturb the public peace — perhaps cause 
 bloodshed ; so the law is vindicated, and one's con- 
 science saved. I have many other duties, such as 
 finishing my map, for which I was surveying at 
 Deenanuggur ; occasionally translating an official 
 document ; going to Durbars, &c. ; and when the 
 Guides arrive (on the 20th) I shall have to assist in 
 drilling and instructing them; to say nothing of 
 seeing that their quarters are prepared, and every- 
 thing ready for them. I am not, therefore, idle, and 
 only wish I had time to read. 
 
 On the 26tli lie writes from Lahore : — 
 
 I mentioned to you that Sir F. Curriers plan of 
 sending me to assist Agnew at Mooltan had been 
 altered, and that Anderson had gone with him in my 
 stead. At the time I was disposed to be disappointed ; 
 but we never know what is for our good. In this 
 case I should doubtless have incuried the horrible 
 fate of poor Anderson and Agnew, Both these poor 
 fellows have been barbarously murdered by the 
 Mooltan troops. 
 
 He then gives a detailed acconnt of their 
 tragical fate, and the treachery of the villain 
 Moolraj, and adds : — 
 
 The Sikh Durbar profess their inability to coerce 
 their rebel subject, who is rapidly collecting a large 
 army, and strengthening himself in the proverbially 
 strong fort of Mooltan. 
 
 One cannot say how it will end. The necessary 
 delay of five months, till after the rains, will give 
 
GUIDE CORPS. 65 
 
 time for all the disaffected to gather together, and no 
 one can say how far the infection may extend. The 
 Sikhs were right in saying, ' We shall have one more 
 fight for it yet.' 
 
 Lahore, May *jth, 
 I expect to be busy in catching a party of rascals 
 who have been trying to pervert our Sepoys by bribes 
 and promises. We have a clue to them, and hope to 
 take them in the act. We are surrounded here with 
 treachery. No man can say who is implicated, or 
 how far the treason has spread. The life of no 
 British officer, away from Lahore, is worth a week's 
 purchase. It is a pleasant sort of government to 
 prop up, when their headmen conspire against you, 
 and their troops desert you on the slightest temp- 
 tation. 
 
 Lumsdeo, the commandant of the Guides, and I 
 want something sensible for the protection of our 
 heads from sun and blows, from coups de soleil equally 
 with coups d^epee. There is a kind of leathern helmet 
 in the Prussian service which is light, serviceable, and 
 neat. Will you try what you can do in the man- 
 millinery line, and send me a brace of good helmets ? 
 We don't want ornament; in fact, the plainer the 
 better, as we should always wear a turban over them, 
 but strong, and light as a hat. I have no doubt your 
 taste will be approved. I hope this wont be a bore 
 to you, but one's head wants protecting in these 
 stormy days. 
 
 The helmets on their arrival were pro- 
 nounced * maddening.' This was the first of a 
 
66 GUIDE UNIFORM. 
 
 series of commissions connected with the 
 clothing and arming of the Guide Corps, 
 which was left mainly, if not entirely, in my 
 brother's hands, and was a matter of much 
 interest to him. The colour selected for their 
 uniform was 'drab,' as most likely to make 
 them invisible in a land of dust. Even a 
 member of the Society of Friends could 
 scarcely have objected to send out drab 
 clothing for 900 men, but to this succeeded 
 directions to select the pattern of, and send 
 out, 300 rifled carbines, which seemed scarcely 
 a clerical business. The result, however, was 
 satisfactory, and in the following year my 
 brother wrote : — 
 
 Many thanks for the trouble you have taken about 
 the clothing for the Guides. Sir C. Napier says 
 they are the only properly dressed light troops he 
 has seen in India. 
 
 Camp, Deenanugger, June ^th, 1848. 
 
 You will hardly have been prepared to hear that I 
 am once more on the move, rushing about the 
 country, despite climate, heat, and rumours (the most 
 alarming). 
 
 I wrote last the day after our successful capture of 
 the conspirators, whom I had the satisfaction of see- 
 ing hung three days later. I then tried a slight 
 fever as a variety for two days; and on the 14th 
 started to ' bag' the Eanee in her abode beyond the 
 
THE RANEE. 67 
 
 Ravee, she having been convicted of complicity in 
 the designs of the conspirators. Lumsden and myself 
 were deputed by the Resident to call on her, and inti- 
 mate that her presence was urgently required. A 
 detachment was ordered out to support us, in case any 
 resistance should be offered. Fortunately it was not 
 required, as the Ranee complied at once with our 
 'polite* request to come along with us. Instead of 
 being taken to Lahore, as she expected, we carried 
 her off to Kana Kutch, on the Ferozepoor road, where 
 a party of Wheeler's Irregulars had been sent to 
 receive her. It was very hard work — a long night 
 march to the fort, and a fourteen hours' ride across 
 to Kana Kutch, whence I had two hours' gallop into 
 Lahore to report progress, making sixteen hours in 
 the saddle, in May, when the nights are hot. On 
 the next Sunday night I was off again, to try and 
 seize or disperse a party of horse and foot collected by 
 a would-be holy man, Maharaja Singh, said to amount 
 to four or five hundred. I made a tremendous 
 march round by Umritsur, Byrowal-Ghat on the Beas, 
 and up that river's bank to Mokeiia, in the Jullundur 
 Doab, whence I was prepared to cross during the 
 night with a party of cavalry, and attack the rascals 
 unawares. Everything succeeded admirably up tr 
 the last, when I found that he had received notice 
 from a rogue of a native magistrate that there would 
 be attempts made to seize him, when he fairly bolted 
 across the Ravee, and is now infesting tlie Doab 
 between that river and the Chenab. I have scoured 
 this part of the country (which my late surveys 
 enabled me to traverse with perfect ease), got posses- 
 sion of every boat on the Ravee from Lahore to the 
 
 P 2 
 
68 SIKH CONSPIUACY. 
 
 Hills, placed horsemen at every ferry, and been 
 bullying the people who supplied the Saint with 
 provisions and arms. I have a regiment of Irregular 
 Horse (Skinner^ s) with me, and full powers to sum- 
 mon more, if necessary, from the Jullundur Doab. 
 Meantime, a party from Lahore are sweeping round 
 to intercept the fellow, who is getting strong by 
 degrees; and I am going to dash across at midnight 
 with a handful of cavalry, and see if I cannot beat up 
 the country between this and Wuzeerabad. I am 
 very well, hard at work, and enjoying the thing very 
 much. I imagine this will be the sort of life we shall 
 lead about once a week till the Punjab is annexed. 
 Every native official has fraternized with the rebels 
 he was ordered to catch. 
 
 Lahoke, July ^th, 1848. 
 
 I wrote last from Deenanuggur, on the eve of 
 crossing the Ravee to look after the Gooroo, Maharaja 
 Singh. I remained in the Rechnab Doab some days, 
 hunting up evidence and punishing transgressors. 
 
 I was very fairly successful in obtaining informa- 
 tion of the extent of the conspiracy which has been 
 keeping the whole country in a ferment these two 
 months past. All that has occurred is clearly 
 traceable to the Ranee (now happily deported) and 
 her friends, and has been carried out with a fearful 
 amount of the blackest treachery and baseness. There 
 have been stirring events since I wrote last. Twice 
 within a fortnight has Herbert Edwardes fought and 
 defeated the Mooltan rebels in pitched battles, and 
 has succeeded, despite of treacherous foes and doubtful 
 
NIGHT MARCHES. 69 
 
 friends, in driving them into the fort of Mooltan. 
 His success has been only less splendid than the 
 energy and courage which he has shown throughout, 
 especially that high moral courage which defies re- 
 sponsibility, risks, self-interest, and all else, for the 
 good of the State, and which, if well directed, seems 
 to command fortune and ensure success. I have been 
 longing to be with him, though after my wonder- 
 fully narrow escape of being murdered with poor 
 Agnew at Mooltan, I may well be content to leave 
 my movements in other hands. I was summoned 
 into Lahore suddenly (as usual !) to take command 
 of the Guides and charge of Lumsden's duties for 
 him, as she had been sent down the river towards 
 Bhawulpoor. I came in the whole distance (one 
 hundred miles), with bag and baggage, in sixty hours, 
 which considering that one can^t travel at all by day, 
 and not more than four miles an hour by night, 
 required a great amount of exertion and perseverance. 
 It is strange that the natives always knock up sooner 
 than we do on a march like this. The cavalry were 
 nine days on the road, and grumbled then ! I know 
 few things more fatiguing than when exhausted by 
 the heat of the day, to have to mount at nightfall, 
 and ride slowly throughout the night, and for the 
 two most disagreeable hours of a tropical day, viz., 
 those after sunrise. One night, on which I was 
 making a longer march than usual, had a fearful 
 effect on a European regiment moving upon Feroze- 
 poor, the same hot night-wind, which had completely 
 prostrated me for the time, fell upon the men as 
 they halted at a well to drink; they were fairly 
 beaten, and lay down for a few minutes to pant. 
 
70 PUNJAB. 
 
 When they arose to continue their march, a captain 
 and nine or ten men were left c^ead on the ground ! 
 It was the simoom of Africa in miniature. I have 
 happily escaped fever or sickness of any kind, and 
 have nothing to complain of but excessive weakness. 
 Quinine will, I trust, soon set me up again. 
 
 Lahore, Sept. ^rd, 1848. 
 
 We have had stirring times lately, though I 
 personally have had little share in them. Mooltan 
 is at last invested, and we expect daily to hear of its 
 fall. Meanwhile, a new outbreak has occurred in 
 Huzkra, a wild hilly region on the left bank of the 
 Indus, above Attok^ where one of the powerful 
 Sirdars has raised the standard of revolt. 
 
 I suppose I may say to you at so great a distance, 
 what I must not breathe here, that it is now morally 
 certain that we have only escaped, by what men 
 call chance and accidents, the effects of a general 
 and well-organized conspiracy against British supre- 
 macy in Upper India. Our ' ally ^ Ghoolab Singh, the 
 creature of the treaty of 1848, the hill tribes, the whole 
 Punjab, the chiefs of Eajpootana, and the states 
 round Umbala and Kurnkl, and even the King of 
 Cabul, I believe, have been for months and months 
 securely plotting, without our having more than the 
 merest hints of local disturbances, against the supre- 
 macy of the British Government. They were to 
 unite for one vast effort, and drive us back upon the 
 Jumna. This was to be again the boundary of British 
 India. The rising in Mooltan was to be the signal. 
 
SIKH CONSPlRACr. 71 
 
 All was prepared, when a quarrel between Moolraj 
 and the treacherous khan, Singh Man, who was sent 
 to commence the war, spoilt their whole scheme. 
 The proud Rajpoot, Ghoolab Singh, refused to follow 
 in the wake of a Mooltan merchant, and the merchant 
 would not yield to the soldier. We have seen the 
 mere ebullitions of the storm, the bubbles which 
 float at the surface. I believe that now we are safe 
 from a general rising, and that the fall of Mooltan 
 will put a stop to mischief. If, however, our rulers 
 resort again to half measures, if a mutinous army is 
 retained in existence, the evil day will return again. 
 Absolute supremacy has been, I think, long demon- 
 strated to be our only safety among wild and treache- 
 rous races. Moderation, in the modern sense, is the 
 greatest of all weakness. 
 
 Sept. iSth, 1848. 
 
 You will have seen that our troops have been hard 
 at it in Mooltan, and now I have to tell you that it 
 has all been in vain ; Rajah Shere Singh, and the 
 whole of our worthy Sikh allies, have joined the 
 rebel Moolraj, and General Whish has been compelled 
 to raise the siege and retire. 
 
 I have just despatched every available Guide to 
 try and get quietly into the far-famed fort of 
 Govindghur, and hope in a few hours to hear of 
 their success. They have forty friends inside, and 
 only a few score wavering enemies. I have not a 
 moment which I can call my own, and have put oft' 
 this (which is merely an assurance that I am alive 
 and very well) to the last moment, so as to give you 
 
72 GOVINDGHUR. 
 
 the latest tidings. I am all agog at the prospect of 
 stirring times, and the only single drawback is the 
 fear that you all will be very anxious. I shall not, 
 however, run my head unnecessarily into a scrape, 
 and see no cause for your frightening yourselves. 
 
 One comfort is, that the farce of native govern- 
 ment has been played out. It was an experiment 
 honestly tried, and as honestly a failure. 
 
 A few days later he says : — 
 
 My Guides have covered themselves with glory 
 (and dust) by the way in which they got into, and got 
 possession of, the famed fort of Govindghur. A 
 hundred of my men, under a native officer — a fine 
 lad of about twenty, whom I have petted a good 
 deal — went up quietly to the gates, on pretence of 
 escorting four State prisoners (whom I had put in 
 irons for the occasion), were allowed to get in, and 
 then threw up their caps, and took possession of the 
 gateway, despite the scowls, and threats, and all but 
 open resistance of the Sikh garrison. A day after- 
 wards a regiment marched from Lahore, and went 
 into garrison there, and so Runjeet Singh's treasure- 
 fort is fairly in our hands. 
 
 Kov. 1st, 1848. 
 I left Lahore — but stay, I must get there first. 
 Well, I wrote from Eamnuggur, on the Chenab, last ; 
 whence, after a fruitless sejour of six days, in the vain 
 hope of meeting Mrs. George Lawrence, I returned 
 suddenly to Lahore by an order which reached me 
 the evening of the 5th. I started at sunset, and 
 pushing my way on various borrowed steeds across 
 
RUNGUR NUGGUL. 73 
 
 that dreary region during the night, accompanied by 
 a single camel -rider, I reached Lahore, a distance 
 of seventy miles, by nine the following morning. 
 
 On the 8th I was off again at daybreak on a longer 
 journey still, having to cross the Country to Brigadier 
 Wheeler's camp in the Jullundur Doab, to convey 
 orders to him relative to the reduction of two re- 
 bellious forts in the Doab, between the Ravee and 
 Beas. A ' grind ' of some twenty-six hours on camel- 
 hack, with the necessary stoppages, took me to the 
 camp, whence (because I had not had enough) I re- 
 crossed the Beas the same night, after examining 
 and reporting on the state of the ferries by which the 
 troops were to follow me. This time I was escorted 
 by a troop of Irregular Horse, and being thereby, 
 according to my estimation of* Sikh prowess, rendered 
 tolerably independent, I marched the next morning 
 for the fort of Rungur Nuggul, some fourteen miles 
 from the right bank of the Beas. 
 
 On approaching it, and the village which covered 
 one side of it, I was welcomed by a discharge of 
 matchlocks, &c., as a sort of bravado, which served to 
 point out exactly the range of my friends' pieces. I 
 lost no time in getting the horsemen into a secure 
 position (which means, one equally good for fighting 
 or running away), and advanced under shelter of the 
 trees and sugar-canes to within easy distance of the 
 fort. Hence I despatched a message to the rebels, to 
 say that if they did not come to reason within an hour, 
 they should have no choice but that between cold steel 
 or the gallows. The hour elapsed without result, so 
 mentally consigning the garrison to annihilation, I 
 set to work to reconnoitre the ground round the fort. 
 
74 CAPTURE or FORTS. 
 
 This accomplished — with no further interruption than 
 a shower of unpleasant bullets when I ventured too 
 near — I sat down^ and drew a little pencil plan of the 
 ground and fort, despatched a trooper with it to the 
 Brigadier, and then retired to a little village about a 
 mile off for the night. Another day and night 
 passed in this precarious fashion, without (as is my 
 usual fate) servants, clothes, or traps, until at length 
 my own men (Guides) arrived from Lahore with my 
 baggage and horses. I could now muster a hundred 
 rifles, and eighty horsemen, so we set to work to 
 invest the place , being the only way to render the 
 escape of the rebels difficult or impossible. The fort, 
 though very small, was immensely strong, and well 
 garrisoned with desperadoes, and we had sharp work 
 of it during the two nights and day which elapsed 
 before the Brigadier* appeared with his troops. By 
 keeping my men scattered about in parties, under 
 cover, the superiority of their weapons enabled them to 
 gall the defenders of the fort whenever they showed 
 their heads, day or night, and whenever they made a 
 sally they got driven back with the loss of one or 
 two of their companions. At last the Brigadier 
 appeared, pounded the place with his guns during the 
 
 • Extract from Despatch o/Brigadiek Wheeler to the 
 
 Adjutant- General. 
 
 Camp, Rungur Nuggul, Oct. i^th, 1848. 
 
 ' Lieut. W. S. Hodson, with his detachment of Corps 
 ■ of Guides, has done most excellent service, and by his 
 
 • daring boldness, and that of his men, gained the admi- 
 
 • ration of all.' 
 
MORARA. 75 
 
 day, and let the garrison escape at night. Then 
 came the bore of destroying the empty fort, a work 
 which consumed a week of incessant labour, and 
 forty-one mines loaded with an aggregate of 8000 
 pounds of powder. Having destroyed house, fort, 
 stables, and everything, and removed the grain and 
 property, we at length moved on to a second fort, 
 called ' Morara,' about a mile from the left bank of the 
 Ravee, near this place. I cannot now go into details of 
 the second failure of the Brigadier in attempting to 
 punish the rebels, for they bolted before he fired a 
 shot, nor of my attempts to prevent their escape. 
 I have had loads of w^ork, what with soldiering, 
 providing supplies for the force, and all the multifarious 
 duties which come on the shoulders of a ' political ' 
 out here. I am quite well, and the weather is lovely, 
 so work is easy comparatively, and an active life like 
 this is, as you know, my particular weakness. I hope 
 to cross the Ravee in a few days with the troops col- 
 lecting to punish the rebel (or patriot) Sikh army. 
 We want Sir C. Napier sadly. What with the 
 incapacity shown at Mooltan, and the dilatory pro- 
 ceedings at head-quarters, our reputation is suffering 
 cruelly, and every one knows that that is a stain only 
 to be dyed out in blood. Every week's delay adds 
 thousands to our present foes and future victims. 
 
 To his Sister, 
 
 Deenanuggur, Dec. 4th, 1848. 
 You must not suppose that because I have written 
 twice from this place that therefore I have been here 
 all the time. On the contrary, I have been inces- 
 
76 'politicals.' 
 
 sautly on the move. So mucli so as to have pretty- 
 nearly established a claim to the medal for discovering 
 perpetual motion. I have been moving in an orbit 
 whose gyrations have been confined to a space bounded 
 by the Chenab and the Beas, and a line drawn E. and 
 W. through Umritsur and Lahore. Nearly the whole 
 of this vast ^ tracl^ of country has been under my 
 sole charge. I have had also to feed an army daily 
 of 3000 odd fighting men, 2000 odd horses, and 
 14,000 to 15,000 camp followers. Also to take care 
 of and work my Guides ; to point out the haunts and 
 obtain information of the strength of ^ the enemy/ 
 and give him over to the tender mercies of fire and 
 sword ; itewij to fight him personally ; item, to destroy 
 six forts, and sell by auction the property therein 
 found ; item, to be civil to all comers; item, to report 
 all the said doings daily to Government; item, to 
 march ten to twenty miles a day at a slow pace ; 
 item, to eat, drink, dress, and sleep, to rest one- 
 self from all these labours. In the above com- 
 pendious epitome of the work of that much-abused 
 and ill-used class called ' politicals ^ in India, you will, 
 I trust, observe no vacant places or ' hiati' in which 
 you would expect to see inscribed, ' item, to write to 
 one^s friends.' No; one is a white slave, and no 
 mistake ; day and night, early or late, week day or 
 Sunday, one is the slave of the public, or rather of 
 the Government, to a degree which cannot be credited 
 until it is experienced. The departure of Brigadier 
 Wheeler across the Beas, and therefore out of my 
 beat, has made a slight break in the work, but there 
 is still more than I can get through in the day. I 
 am grinding my teeth all the time at being kept 
 
INSURGENTS. 77 
 
 away from the scene of what must be the grand 
 struggle between the cow-killers and cow-worship- 
 pers on the banks of the Chenab. 
 
 On the 8th of last month I marched hence to 
 overtake Brigadier Wheeler and his troops, and 
 accompany them across the Ravee. On reaching 
 the river, I represented to the Brigadier (who of 
 course does not know friend from foe until he is 
 told) the urgent necessity of attacking a party of 
 insurgents who were within fourteen miles of us, but 
 could not persuade him to do so. The old gentleman 
 was intent on pushing on to the main army, flatter- 
 ing himself he was going to command a division of 
 it. When within twenty-five or thirty miles of the 
 head- quarter camp at Ramnuggur, I rode over to 
 Lahore, and talked to Sir F. Currie, who was just 
 despatching an express to me about these very people 
 we had left unattacked two days before. He sent 
 me off there and then to see the Commander-in- 
 Chief, who was very polite ; asked my opinion (and 
 acted on it too !) ; told me all his plans for carrying on 
 the war; and on my telling him the facts of the 
 case, sent an order to the Brigadier to retrace his 
 steps, and attack the party he had passed by at 
 once, with something very like a rap over the 
 knuckles. After a delay of some days, caused by 
 a sudden counter summons to move to reinforce 
 Campbell,* who was vainly expecting that the Singhs 
 would fight, we at length turned back for Kuldll- 
 wdla, the name of the fort occupied by my friends. 
 We got within twenty-five miles of it on the 20th, 
 
 Sir Colin. 
 
78 CAPTURE OF rORTS. 
 
 and I urged the Brigadier to move on like lightning, 
 and crush them. He would not, and began to make 
 short marches, so I was compelled to out-manoeuvre 
 him by a bold stroke. On the morning of the 31st 
 I left his camp, and pushed on some ten miles to a 
 place on the straight road for Kulallwala. Here 
 was a fort belonging to a doubtful Sirdar, and I 
 determined to get possession of it if possible. I had 
 with me only 100 men, and the enemy was only 
 eight miles off with 4000 — rabble, to be sure, and 
 fellows who have no heart for fighting ; but the 
 odds were great, and it was necessary to put a bold 
 face on matters. I therefore ^ boned ^ the Chiefs 
 two confidential servants, who were in his dwelling- 
 house outside the fort, and taking one on each side of 
 me, walked up to the gateway, and demanded admis- 
 sion; they hesitated, and made excuses. I signi- 
 ficantly hinted that my two companions should be 
 responsible if a shot was fired; the stout Sikh heart 
 failed, and I was admitted. My proceeding was 
 justified, and rendered most opportune by the dis- 
 covery that the garrison were preparing munitions of 
 war, mounting guns, and looking saucy. I turned 
 them out by the same means as I had gained ad- 
 mittance, viz., by hinting that if any resistance was 
 made the headmen by my side were doomed. Putting 
 in sixteen of my Guides to hold it until further orders, 
 I took up my quarters outside for the night, and pre- 
 pared to attack another small mud fort near at hand 
 in the morning. 
 
 However, my friends ran away in the night in a 
 fright, and thus I had opened the road to Kulallwala 
 without firing a shot. In the morning I marched 
 
 # 
 
KULALLWALA. 79 
 
 with my little party towards the enemy, sending back a 
 messenger to the Brigadier to say that I was close 
 to the place, and that if he did not come on sharp 
 they would run away or overwhelm me. He was 
 dreadfully angry, but came on like a good boy ! 
 When within a mile or so of the fort, I halted my 
 party to allow his column to get up nearer, and as 
 soon as I could see it, moved on quietly. The ruse 
 told to perfection ; thinking they had only loo men 
 and myself to deal with, the Sikhs advanced in 
 strength, thirty to one, to meet me, with colours 
 flying and drums beating. Just then a breeze 
 sprung up, the dust blew aside, and the long line 
 of horsemen coming on rapidly behind my party 
 burst upon their senses. They turned instantly, 
 and made for the fort, so leaving my men to advance 
 quietly after them, I galloped up to the Bri- 
 gadier, pointed out the flying Sikhs, explained their 
 position, and begged him to charge them. He melted 
 from his wrath, and told two regiments of Irregulars 
 to follow my guidance. On we went at the gallop, 
 cut in amongst the fugitives, and punished them 
 fearfully. The unfortunate wretches had cause to 
 rue the day they turned rebels, for we left them 
 thickly on the ground as we swept along. I had 
 never charged with cavalry before, or come so directly 
 into hand to hand conflict with the Sikh, save of 
 course in the trenches at Sobraon. About 300 to 
 400 escaped into the fort, while the remainder threw 
 down their arms and dispersed over the country. 
 The garrison ran away during the night, unfor- 
 tunately, and we had only to take peaceful possession 
 in the morning. We had killed some 250 to 300 
 
80 KULALLWALA. 
 
 of them, which will be a lesson to them, I hope. My 
 men got into the village contiguous to the fort early, 
 while we pitched into those of the enemy who re- 
 mained behind, to a great extent. Since then we 
 have been pursuing other parties, but only came 
 into collision with them to a very trifling extent 
 once. They had learnt how to run away beautifully. 
 The Brigadier has grown quite active, and very fond 
 of me since that day at Kulallwala, though he had the 
 wit to see how very ' brown I had done him ^ by making 
 him march two marches in one.* 
 
 Jan. 1849. 
 
 I have just completed the first series of my duties 
 in this Doab, by driving the last party of the insur- 
 gents across the Chenab. 
 
 As soon as I had settled matters a little at Deena- 
 nuggur, and made some arrangements to prevent 
 further troubles if possible, I crossed the Ravee again, 
 and got upon the track of the rebel party who had 
 
 * Extract from an Order issued hy Brigadier-Genekal 
 Wheeler. 
 
 *Camp, KulIllwAla, Nov. 2'^rd, 1848. 
 * The detachment of the Corps of Guides moved in the 
 ' morning direct on the village, whilst the other troops 
 ' were moving on the fort. It was occupied in force by 
 
 * the enemy, who were dislodged in a most spirited manner, 
 
 * and the place afterwards retained as commanding the 
 ' works of the fort, the men keeping up a sharp fire on all 
 ' who showed themselves. The thanks cf the Brigadier- 
 ' General are due to Lieut. Hodson, not only for his 
 ' services in the field, but for the information with which 
 
 * he furnished him, and he ofiers them to him and to his 
 ' men.' 
 
GUMROLAH. 81 
 
 given US so much trouble. On the 15th, I heard that 
 a large party had collected at a village called Gumrolah 
 (near Dufferwal), but they had so many spies in my 
 camp, that it was difficult to avoid their ken ; at the 
 same time their tendency to run away made a surprise 
 the only feasible mode of reaching them. We there- 
 fore turned in as usual at night, but soon after mid- 
 night I aroused my men, and got them under arms 
 and off before any one was aware of our move. I 
 had with me one hundred of my Guides and fifteen 
 sowars. 
 
 We marched quietly but swiftly all night, and came 
 upon the insurgents just at daybreak. I had ridden 
 forward about half-a-mile, with a couple of sowars, to 
 reconnoitre, and got unobsers'^ed within 'X^o yards of 
 the insurgents, numbering at least 150 horse and foot. 
 
 They looked at me, and hesitated whether to come 
 at me or not, apparently, while I beckoned to the 
 remaining sowars to come up. I was in great hopes 
 that they would have waited for ten minutes, by 
 which time my men would have been up, with their 
 rifles, and we should have given a good account of 
 them. However, before five minutes had elapsed, they 
 moved off sulkily like a herd of frightened deer, half 
 alarmed, half in doubt. I saw at once that there was 
 but one chance left, and determined to go at them as 
 I was — though 15 to 150 is an imprudent attempt. 
 
 The instant we were in motion they fled, and had 
 gone half-a-mile before we could overtake them ; the 
 mounted men got ofi*, but a party of Akhalees''^ on foot 
 stopped and fought us, in some instances very fiercely. 
 
 * Fanatics. 
 
82 DESPERATE FIGHT. 
 
 One fine bold ' Nihung^ beat ofi" four sowars one after 
 another, and kept them all at bay. I then went at 
 him myself, fearing that he would kill one of them. 
 He instantly rushed to meet me like a tiger, closed 
 with me, yelling, 'Wah Gooroo ji,^ and accompany- 
 ing each shout with a terrific blow of his tulwar. I 
 guarded the three or four first, but he pressed so 
 closely to my horse's rein that I could not get a fair 
 cut in return. At length I pressed in my turn upon 
 him so sharply that he missed his blow, and I caught 
 his tulwar backhanded with my bridle hand, wrenched 
 it from him, and cut him down with the right, having 
 received no further injury than a severe cut across the 
 fingers ; I never beheld such desperation and fury in 
 my life. It was not human scarcely. By this time 
 the rest of the party had gone a long way, and as we 
 had already pursued further than was prudent, where 
 the spectators even were armed, and awaiting the 
 result, I was obliged to halt, not without a growl at 
 General Wheeler for having left me without any men. 
 We had killed one more than our own number, how- 
 ever, and five more were so severely wounded that they 
 w^ere removed on ' charpoys.' 
 
 I insert here a portion of Sir F. Cnrrie's 
 despatch, to the Governor- General with refe- 
 rence to this affair, with the Governor- 
 General's reply. 
 
 They will show the high opinion enter- 
 tained at the time of my brother's services by 
 his superiors. 
 
 'Lahore Presidency, Jan. 6, 1849. 
 
 ' The affair at Buddee Find was a most 
 
THANKS OF GOVERNMENT. 83 
 
 ' gallant one — far more so than Lieutenant 
 *Hodson's modest statement in his letter 
 'would lead me to suppose. I have accounts 
 
 * from parties who were eyewitnesses to the 
 
 * personal gallantry and energy of Lieutenant 
 
 * Hodson, by whose hand, in single conflict, the 
 
 * Akhalee, mentioned in paragraph 5, fell, after 
 
 * he had beaten off four horsemen of the 15th 
 
 * Native Cavalry, and to whose bold activity 
 
 * and indefatigable exertions, and the admirable 
 
 * arrangements made by him, with the small 
 
 * means at his disposal, the successful issue of 
 
 * this expedition is to be attributed.' 
 
 To this his Lordship repHed as follows, 
 through his secretary. 
 
 From the Secretary to Government to Sir 
 F. CuRRiE, Bart. 
 
 ^Jan. 4th, 1849. 
 
 * I am directed to request that you will 
 
 * convey to Lieutenant Hodson the strong 
 
 * expression of the Governor-General's satis- 
 
 * faction with his conduct, and with the mode 
 ' in which he discharges whatever duty is en- 
 
 * trusted to him. The Governor-General has 
 
 * had frequent occasions of noticing the activity, 
 
 * energy, and intelligence of his proceedings, 
 
 * and he has added to the exercise of the same 
 
 * qualities on this occasion an exhibition of 
 'personal gallantry which the Governor- 
 
 G 7, 
 
84 HUNTING RAM SINGH. 
 
 ' General has mucli pleasure in recording and 
 ' applauding, although Lieutenant Hodson has 
 ' modestly refrained from bringing it to notice 
 ' himself. The Governor-General offers to 
 ' Lieutenant Hodson his best thanks for these 
 ' services. 
 
 (Signed) ' H. M. Elliott, 
 
 ' /Secretary to the Government of India 
 * with the Governor-GeneraV 
 
 Camp under the Hills on the Ravee, 
 Jan. i8th, 1849. 
 ... A few days afterwards^ Lumsden having joined me 
 with our mounted men_, we surprised and cut to pieces 
 another party of rebels, for which we have again been 
 thanked by Government. Since then, I have been 
 with Brigadier-General Wheeler's force again, employed 
 in hunting after one Ram Singh and his followers, and 
 have been day and night at work — examining the hills 
 and rivers, trying fords, leading columns, and doing 
 all the multifarious duties thrust on that unhappy 
 combination of hard work, a ' Guide ' and ' Political ' 
 in one. Ram SingVs position was stormed on the i6th, 
 and I had been chosen to lead one of the principal 
 columns of attack; but we had to march by a cir- 
 cuitous route across the hills, darkness came on, 
 accompanied by dreadful rain, the rivers rose and were 
 impassable, and after twenty-four hours of the most 
 trying work I ever experienced, in which cold, hunger, 
 and wet were our enemies, we succeeded in reach- 
 ing our ground just in time to be too late; however, 
 I'had done all that human nature could effect under 
 
HEIGHTS OF DULLAH. 85 
 
 the circumstances, and one cannot always be success- 
 ful. Two poor fellows, one a nephew of Sir R. PeeFs, 
 were killed; otherwise the loss was trifling on our side.* 
 We have just received intelligence of another great 
 fight between the army under Lord Gough and the 
 Sikhs,t in which the latter, though beaten, seem to 
 have had every advantage given away to them. Our 
 loss has been severe, and the mismanagement very dis- 
 gi-aceful, yet it will be called a victory and lauded 
 accordingly. Oh for one month of Sir Charles 
 Napier. 
 
 Deenanuggur, Feb. 4th, 1849. 
 I had one of my narrowest escapes two days ago ; I 
 went into Lahore for a few days to see Sir H. 
 Lawrence (who is again the Resident), and laid relays 
 of horses along the road to this place, so as to ride in 
 at once. I left Lahore on the morning of the 31st, 
 and stopping at Umritsur to breakfast, reached my 
 camp at nightfall, having ridden one hundred miles 
 in ten hours and a half. A party of Sikhs had col- 
 
 * Extract from an Order isstted hy Brigadier-General 
 Wheeler, C.B., dated 
 
 *Camp below Dullah, Jan. iph, 1849. 
 
 * This order cannot be closed without the expression of 
 ' the Brigadier-General's high opinion of the services of 
 
 * Lieuts. Lumsden and Hodson, who have spared no 
 ' labour to obtain for him an accurate knowledge of the 
 
 * mountain of Dullah and its approaches ; and Lieut. 
 ' Hod»on has entitled himself to the sincere thanks of the 
 ' Brigadier-General for his endeavours to lead a column 
 
 * to turn the enemy's position, which failed only from 
 
 * causes which rendered success impracticable.' 
 
 t Chillian walla, Jan. 13th, 1849. 
 
86 NARROW ESCAPE. 
 
 leeted at a village by the roadside to attack me and 
 ' polish' me off, but not calculating upon the rapidity 
 of my movements^ did not expect me until the morn- 
 ing. I am sorry to say that they surrounded my 
 horses which were coming on quietly in the morning, 
 asked for me, and finding I had escaped, stole my best 
 horse (a valuable Arab, who had carried me in three 
 fights), and bolted, not, however, without resistance, 
 for two horsemen (Guides) of mine who were with 
 the horse tried to save it. One got four wounds and 
 the other escaped unhurt. Had I ridden like any 
 other Christian instead of like a spectre horseman, and 
 been the usual time on the road, I should have been 
 ' a body.' We gave chase from hence as soon as we 
 heard, and rode for eleven hours and a half in 
 pursuit ! which was pretty well after a hundred miles' 
 ride the day before. 
 
 But my horse it is another's, 
 And it never can be mine ! 
 
 Camp, Wuzeerabad, Feb. igth, 1849. 
 I have at length reached the ^ army of the Punjab,' 
 almost by accident,asit were, though I was most anxious 
 to be present at the final grand struggle between the 
 Khalsa and the British armies. I am at present vi^ith 
 my men, attached to a brigade encamped on this (the 
 left) bank of the Chenab, to prevent the enemy 
 crossing until Lord Gough is ready to attack them on 
 the right bank, where he is now encamped with his 
 whole force minus our brigade. The Sikhs quietly 
 walked away from him the other day, and instead of 
 
BATTLE OF GOOJERAT. 87 
 
 having their backs to the Jhelum, passed round his 
 flank, and made steadily for this place, intending, 
 boldly enough, to march upon Lahore. I came across 
 the Do^b with a handful of men, and reached this 
 place just as they took up a position on the opposite 
 bank of the river. At the same moment a brigade 
 arrived by a forced night march from Ramnuggur, 
 and for the present the Sikhs have been sold. Yet 
 I should not be surprised at their evading us again, 
 and going off to a higher ford. The game is getting 
 very exciting, and I am quite enjoying the stir and 
 bustle of two large armies in the field. The grand 
 finale must, one would think, come off in a day or two. 
 It is possible however that, as I say, the Sikhs may 
 out-manoeuvre us and prolong the campaign. The 
 Affghans have joined the Sikhs, contrary to the ex- 
 pectations of every one (but myself), and there is now 
 no saying where the struggle will end. 
 
 The Affghans are contemptible in the plains ^ 
 generally speaking ; but numbers become formidable, 
 even if armed with broomsticks. 
 
 This was written two days before the decisive 
 engagement of Goojerat, at which he was pre- 
 sent, attached to the personal staff of the 
 Commander-in-Chief. His letter giving an 
 account of the action was unfortunately lost, 
 but I suhjoin a despatch from the Commander- 
 in-Chief to the Governor-General : — 
 
 *Camp, Kullala, March i^th, 1849. 
 * On the re-perusal of my despatch relative to 
 * the operations of February 21st at Goojerat, 
 
88 LORD gough's despatch. 
 
 * I regret' to find tliat I omitted to mention tlie 
 ' names of Lieutenants Lumsden and Hodson of 
 ' the corps of Guides, and Lieutenant Lake of 
 *tlie Engineers, attached to the Political 
 ' Department. These officers were most active 
 'in conveying orders throughout the action, 
 
 * and I now beg to bring their names to the 
 
 * favourable notice of your Lordship/ 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB. — INCREASE OF CORPS OP 
 GUIDES AT PESHAWUR. ^TRANSFER TO CIVIL DEPART- 
 MENT AS ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER. 
 
 April I'jth, 1849. 
 
 YOU will have heard of the great events of the last 
 month ; how on the 26th March, the Punjab became 
 ' for ever ' a British Province, governed by a Trium- 
 virate ; and how the Koh-i-noor was appropriated as 
 a present to the Queen — and all the rest of it : you 
 may imagine the turmoil and unrest of this eventful 
 time ; but I defy you to imagine the confusion of the 
 process which converts a wild native kingdom into 
 a police-ridden and civilian-governed country. 
 
 I had anticipated and wished for this measure. I 
 did not, however, expect that it would be carried out 
 so suddenly and so sweepingly as it has been. . . 
 
 I have been annexed as well as the Punjab ! my 
 ' occupation's gone,' and although efforts have been 
 and are making for my restoration to ' the department,' 
 yet at present I am shelved. I shall know more 
 next month. Meanwhile, I am off with the new 
 Commissioner to instruct him in the details of his 
 province, which I had governed and won from the 
 rebels during the last six months, but in which I am 
 not now accounted worthy to be a humble assistant. 
 There's fame ! Well, something will turn up, I sup- 
 pose. I hope to remain here, however, under the 
 Commissioner, for a time, that I may get acquainted 
 
90 ANNEXATION OF PUNJAB. 
 
 Avith this wonderful civil system. It is as well to 
 know how the mill works. 
 
 I quite got fond of Lord Gough. I was his guest 
 at Lahore for a month, and his noble character and 
 fire made one condone his mistakes. 
 
 We are now on the ' qid vive ' for his successor. I 
 long for Sir C. Napier, but the Court of Directors 
 seem determined to hold out. 
 
 The Guides are at Peshawur, where I shall probably 
 join them. 
 
 Lieutenant Hodson's descent inposition upon 
 the annexation of the Punjab was perhaps un- 
 avoidable, though it was very natural that he 
 should feel it. So soon as the country was 
 placed under the government of the East India 
 Company, the regulations of the service with 
 regard to seniority of course took effect, and 
 it was not to be expected that a subaltern of 
 less than fiveyears' standing should be continued 
 in so important a charge, however well qualified 
 he might have proved himself for it in the most 
 trying times . His position altogether had been 
 a peculiar and exceptional one. 
 
 We shall see, however, that his disappoint- 
 ment did not prevent his throwing himself 
 with his usual energy into whatever duties 
 were assigned to him. 
 
PESHAWUR. 91 
 
 To his Brother. 
 
 Peshawur, May 14th, 1849. 
 
 My stay here is very uncertain. I merely came to 
 settle affairs with Lumsden relative to the increase of 
 the Guides. Meantime, I have been much interested 
 with my first visit to this Affghan province and to 
 the Indus. You will see at once that though it gives 
 us a very strong military frontier, only passable to 
 armies in half a dozen points, and therefore infinitely 
 less difficult to hold than a long line of river, which is 
 ever ' a silent highway for nations,' yet at the same 
 time we have once more established a footing in 
 Affghanistan from which there is no receding, as we 
 did when we went as allies to the puppet Shah Soojah. 
 Our next stride must be to Herat, I fancy ; when, the 
 day will come no man can say, but ' the uncontrollable 
 principle,' which, according to Sir R. Peel, took us 
 there before, will not be the less active in its operation 
 now that we have no longer the court and camp of 
 Runjeet Singh between us and these wild tribes. It is 
 to be hoped that 'the uncontrollable principle' will 
 not appear so ver^ like an i^wcontrollable want of it 
 as it did in days gone by ! However, go we must, 
 and shall some day — so hurrah for Cabul ! 
 
 I wish you would hit upon some plan for keeping 
 me more ' au fait ' with the events of your home world. 
 My time has been occupied so constantly since I came 
 to India, that though I may have made some progress 
 in the knowledge of men, I have made but little in 
 that of boohs. We are sadly off for military works in 
 English, and few sciences require more study than 
 the art of war. You might get me a list of good 
 works from the 'United Service Institution' at 
 
9S DRILLING GUIDES. 
 
 Charing Cross. I want the best edition of Csesar pro- 
 curable; also Xenophon and Arrian. I fancy the last 
 has been very well edited. 
 
 PeshawuRj June ^th, 1849. 
 This is the first time I have written to you from 
 Affghanistan. Who shall say whence my letters may 
 be directed within a few months. Are we to advance 
 on Cabul and Candahar, and plant the Union Jack 
 once more on the towers of Ghuznee ? or are we to 
 lie peacefully slumbering on the banks of the Indus ? 
 Are our conquests at an end ? or will it be said of Lord 
 Dalhousie — 
 
 Ultra et Garamantas et Indos 
 
 Proferet imperium. ? 
 
 My own belief is, that I shall live to see both the 
 places I have mentioned,, and Herat, occupied by 
 British troops ; at least, I hope so. 
 
 I think I told you how it had pleased the Governor- 
 General to reward ' my distinguished services/ toils, 
 troubles, and dangers, by kicking me out of the coach 
 altogether. Did I not ? Well, after that close to 
 my civil duties, after having 'initiated' the new 
 Commissioner into his duties, I was sent up hither to 
 augment recruits and train the Guides. And now 
 daily, morning and evening, I may be seen standing 
 on one leg to convince their Affghan mind of the 
 plausibility and elegance of the goose step. I am 
 quite a serjeant-major just now, and you will well 
 believe that your wandering brother is sufficiently 
 cosmopolized to drop with a certain ' aplomb ' into 
 any line of life which may turn up in the course of 
 
DEARTH OF BOOKS. 93 
 
 his career. I was always fond of 'soldiering/ and 
 there is a species of absurdity in dropping from the 
 minister of a province into a drill-serjeant, which is 
 enlivening. By the next mail I may have to report 
 my transformation into some new animal. So ' vive 
 la gloire.^ 
 
 PfiSHAWUR, July igth, 1849. 
 I hope that you got my letter about sending me 
 books. There is a remarkable dearth of them here just 
 now. You know it was a flying column which came 
 on hereafter Goojerat, composed of regiments hurried 
 up to the field from Bombay, Scinde, and Hindoostan. 
 They came in light marching order. Books are not 
 a part of that style of equipment. Suddenly a 
 Government order consigned them to Peshawur, for 
 seven months at least — 10,000 men, with an un- 
 usually large number of Europeans and officers, a7id 
 no books ! Pleasant during the confinement caused by 
 the hot season. I was better off, because, being a 
 Domad by profession, I carry a few books as a part even 
 of the lightest equipment, but I have read them all 
 till I am tired, except Shakspeare. My time is 
 pretty fully occupied, but there are dozens of regi- 
 mental officers who have not an hour's work in two 
 days, and I do pity them from my heart. Then of 
 course there are no ladies here, and consequently no 
 society, or reunions (as they are called when people 
 live together), and people are pitched headlong on to 
 their own resources, and find them very hard falling 
 indeed! I have nothing personal to tell you, except 
 that when the last mail went out I was in bed with 
 a sharp attack of fever, which left me without 
 
94 ASSISTANT COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 strength^ flesh, or appetite^a regular blazing eastern 
 fever, the sort of thing which burns so fast, that if it 
 don^t stop quickly, it burns you well down into the 
 socket, and leaves you there without strength to 
 splutter or flicker, and you go out without the satis- 
 faction of a last flare-up at expiring. I am thankful to 
 say I am well again now, and picking up strength fast. 
 They are increasing our corps of Guides to looo men, 
 so that I shall have enough on my hands, especially 
 as our Commandant leaves almost everything to me. 
 Sir H. Lawrence writes from Simla that I am to be 
 appointed an Assistant Commissioner under the new 
 Board of Administration. I was the only one of the 
 late Assistants to the Resident who was not included 
 at first in the new 
 
 Lahore, Sept. ^rd, 1849. 
 On my arrival here I found your note of i8th 
 June. You may imagine how wild I was with 
 pleasure at seeing your handwriting again^ as I had 
 been deeply anxious since the arrival of my father^s 
 and George's letters of the 4th June. These brought 
 me the first tidings of our darling's death. Happily I 
 saw no newspaper by that mail, and the black edges 
 first startled me from the belief that you were all well 
 and happy. The blow was a bitter one indeed, and 
 its utter suddenness was appalling. Indeed, the pre- 
 vailing impression on my mind for days was simple 
 unbelief of the reality of that sweet child's actual 
 death. I have been so long alone — home has been 
 for so long a time more a pleasant dream than a 
 reality— I have been for so many a weary day, as it 
 
NEWS OF sister's DEATH. 95 
 
 were, dead to you all, and the sense of separation has 
 grown so completely into one's being, that I find it 
 difficult to separate that which it is possible to see 
 again from that which is impossible. Thus it seems 
 to me incredible that any greater barrier can sever 
 me from this darling child than that ever-present one 
 which divides me from all of you. Can you under- 
 stand this ? I know it to be a delusion, and yet I 
 cannot shake it off. Yet 'tis a good delusion in one 
 way. It deadens the sense of the grief which the 
 full realization of her death would overwhelm me with. 
 I have been unfortunate again, and had a second 
 sharp attack of fever since my arrival. I am about 
 again, but not able to work. Sir H. Lawrence 
 is very unwell : I fear that his constitution is utterly 
 broken down, and that he will either have to go away 
 from India for two years or more, or that another hot 
 season will kill him. He is ten years older in every 
 respect than he was during our Cashmere trip in 1846. 
 This is a hard, wearing, dry climate, which, though pre- 
 ferable to Hindoostan, is destructive to the weak and 
 sickly. It is quite sad to feel how, little by little, 
 one's strength and muscle and energy fade, and how 
 one can perceive age creeping in upon one so early. 
 
 Lahore, Sept. 24th, 18^9. 
 You know that I have left the Guides (alas !) and 
 have been transformed into a complete civilian, 
 doomed to pass the rest of my career in the ad- 
 ministrative and executive duties of the Government 
 of this last acquisition of the 'English in India.' 
 To tell the truth, I had much rather have remained 
 
96 commissioner's dxjties. 
 
 with the Guides ; a more independent, and very far 
 pleasanter life, and I think one that will in the end 
 be more distinguished. However, I was guided by- 
 Mr. Thomason's and Sir H. Lawrence^s advice, and 
 must take the consequences. It would be difficult 
 to define or explain the exact nature of my new 
 calling, but in brief, you will comprehend that in 
 their respective districts the Deputy-Assistant Com- 
 missioners perform the whole of the judicial, fiscal, 
 and magisterial duties which devolve upon the 
 Government of a country in Europe, with the 
 addition of collecting from the cultivators and land- 
 holders the rent of all lands under cultivation 
 and pasture, and the duties which in Europe 
 devolve on an owner of landed property. Police, 
 gaols, quarter sessions, committals to prison, jury, 
 judge, excise, stamps, taxes, roads, bridges, ferries, 
 woods and forests, and finally rent ! think what these 
 imply, and you will form some idea of the employ- 
 ment of an official in the Punjab under the ' Board of 
 Administration.' I have not yet dipped very deep 
 into this turbid stream of ever-recurring work, 
 since the great amount of arrears consequent on the 
 break-up of one Government, and the establishment 
 of another, including the paying-up and discharge 
 of vast civil and military establishments, have ren- 
 dered it necessary to employ any available head and 
 pair of hands for some months at head-quarters. 
 The army has fallen to my share, and I have to 
 examine into the claims of innumerable fine old 
 hangers-on of the Lahore State to grants or pensions, 
 to record their rights, and report on them for the 
 decision of Government. Then there are upwards of 
 
PUNJAB BOARD. 97 
 
 2000 old women, wives and mothers of soldiers 
 killed in war, whom I have to see and pay the pit- 
 tance decreed by their masters. Lord Dalhousie and 
 his secretaries and officials are stern and hard task- 
 masters, and are not unworthily represented by the 
 new Board, the only merciful member of which (Sir 
 H. Lawrence) is left in a minority, and is, moreover, 
 too ill to do much. 
 
 Camp, Patankote, Jan. 2isf, 1850. 
 I at length got away from Lahore on the 7th. I 
 had been ordered merely to seek change of air, but 
 Sir H. Lawrence was starting on a long tour of 
 inspection, and offered me the option of accompanying 
 him, and doing a little work by the way, which I 
 very much preferred ; so here we are, after visiting 
 the sacred city of Umritsur, and the scenes of my 
 last year's adventures in Butala, Deenanuggur, and 
 Shahpoor, all between the Ravee and Beas ; and are 
 now on our way to the mountain stations of Kangra, 
 &c. We then go to the westward again, and I hope 
 to see. 
 
 Our coursers graze at ease, 
 
 Beyond the blue Borysthenes, 
 
 as I have dubbed the Indus, ere we again return 
 to civil life, which does not suit my temperament or 
 taste half as well as this more nomad life. I am 
 able to ride again, though not quite with the same 
 firmness in the saddle as of yore. I have no doubt 
 however, that ere we do see the 'Borysthenes,' I 
 shall be as ' game ' for a gallop of one hundred miles 
 on end, as I was last year at this season. 
 
98 UMRITSUR. 
 
 TJmritsur, March 4th, 1850. 
 
 I am at last in a fair way of being stationary for a 
 time at Umritsur^ the sacred city of the Sikhs, and a 
 creation entirely of their genius. Lahore, as of 
 course you know, was the old Mussulman capital, and 
 was liot built by the Sikhs, though used by them as 
 the seat of government and head quarters of the 
 army. TJmritsur is larger than Lahore by a third or 
 more of people, and half as much again of space. It 
 is five miles in circumference, very strongly fortified, 
 and covered by the fortress of Govindghur on the 
 west, and by a large fortified garden on the north. 
 I am Assistant-Commissioner under the Deputy- 
 Commisioner in charge of the district, Mr. Saunders, 
 a civilian, a very nice sort of fellow, with an exceed- 
 ingly pretty and nice wife. Mr. Montgomery is our 
 Commissioner. I like all I have seen of him very 
 much indeed. He is a very able man, and at the 
 head of his service in many respects. Lahore is only 
 about thirty-five miles hence — quite within visiting 
 distance in India. 
 
 You must not talk of getting 'acclimatized.' 
 There is no way of becoming so but by avoiding the 
 climate as much as possible. I have had a bad time 
 of it since I left Peshawur, three and a-half months 
 almost entirely on my back, which reduced me 
 terribly. Then just as I was getting well, the other 
 day I had a fit of jaundice, which has only just left 
 me : altogether, in health and in prospects I have come 
 ' down in my luck' to a considerable extent ; not that, 
 per sCj I ought, as a subaltern of not quite five years' 
 service, to grumble at my present position, if I was 
 now starting in the line for the first time; but I can't 
 
SERVICES IN PUNJAB. 99 
 
 forget that I came into the Punjab two years and a 
 half ago, and have had no little of the ^ burden and 
 heat of the day' to bear, when to do so required utter 
 disregard of comfort and personal safety and of rest. 
 It is now two years since I was made an assistant to 
 the Resident, and within a few months of that time 
 I took absolute charge of a tract of country (in a state 
 of war, too) comprising three modern districts, in one 
 of which I am now playing third fiddle. Surely 
 annexation was a 'heavy blow and a great discourage- 
 ment' to me, at least. In the military line, too, I 
 have been equally unlucky, from the fact of my 
 services having been with detachments instead of with 
 the main army. I held my ground (and cleared it of 
 the enemy, too) for weeks, with only 120 men at my 
 back, and when every officer, from General Wheeler 
 downwards, entreated me to withdraw and give it up j 
 I fed 5000 men and horses for six months by personal 
 and unremitting exertion ; collected the revenues of 
 the disturbed districts, and paid 15,000^. over and 
 above, into the treasury, from the proceeds of property 
 taken from the rebels. Besides this, I worked for 
 General Wheeler so satisfactorily, that he has declared 
 publicly that he could have done nothing without me. 
 So much were the Sikhs enraged^ at my proceedings, 
 that party after party were sent to ^polish* me off, 
 
 • Such an impreasion had my brother's daring and 
 activity produced upon the minds of the Sikhs, that 
 several years afterwards it was found that the Sikh 
 mothers still used his name as a threat of terror to their 
 children, reminding one of the border ballad — 
 Hark ye, hark ye, do not fret ye, 
 The black Douglas shall not get ye, 
 
 H % 
 
100 SYSTEM OF PROMOTION. 
 
 and at one time I couldn^t stir about the country 
 without having bullets sent at my head from every 
 bush and wall. However^ I need not go on with the 
 catalogue, I have been egotistical enough as it is. 
 The ^ reward^ for these services was losing my civil 
 appointment, and being reduced to half pay or little 
 more for three months, and the distinction of being 
 the only subaltern mentioned in despatches for whom 
 nothing has been done either 'in presenti^ or '^in 
 prospectu.^ ' Had your name been Hay or Eamsay,' 
 said General Wheeler to me the other day, ' no 
 honours, no appointments, no distinctions would have 
 been considered too great to mark the services you 
 have rendered to Government.' Well, we shall live 
 to see more wars, or I am sadly mistaken, and lAen — 
 I leave you to finish the sentence. 
 
 Speaking of the system of the Indian army : — 
 
 March i8th, 1850. 
 At the age at which oflScers become colonels and 
 majors, not one in fifty is able to stand the wear and 
 tear of Indian service. They become still more worn 
 in mind than in body. All elasticity is gone; all 
 energy and enterprise worn out; they become, after 
 a fortnight's campaign, a burden to themselves, an 
 annoyance to those under them, and a terror to every 
 one but the enemy ! The ofiicer who commanded the 
 cavalry brigade which so disgraced the service at 
 Chillian walla, was not able to mount a horse without 
 the assistance of two men. A brigadier of infantry, 
 under whom I served during the three most critical 
 days of the late war, could not see his regiment 
 when I led his horse by the bridle until its nose 
 
SYSTEM Of 'PROMOTION.' •*> • ' • • 101 
 
 touched the bayonets ; and even then he said faintly, 
 ' Pray which way are the men facing, Mr. Hodson ?* 
 This is no exaggeration, I assure you. Can you 
 wonder that our troops have to recover by desperate 
 fighting, and with heavy loss, the advantages thrown 
 away by the want of heads and eyes to lead them ? 
 
 A seniority service, like that of the Company, is all 
 very well for poor men ; better still for fools, for 
 they must rise equally with wise men ; but for main- 
 taining the discipline and efficiency of the army in 
 time of peace, and hurling it on the enemy in war, 
 there never was a system which carried so many evils 
 on its front and face. 
 
 I speak strongly, you will say, for I feel acutely ; 
 though I am so young a soldier, yet the whole of 
 my brief career has been spent in camps, and a year 
 such as the last, spent in almost constant strife, and 
 a great part of it on detached and independent com- 
 mand, teaches one lessons which thirty years of 
 peaceful life, of parades and cantonments, would 
 never impart. 
 
 There are men of iron, like Napier and Radetzky, 
 aged men, whom nothing affects ; but they are just 
 in sufficient numbers to prove the rule by establish- 
 ing exceptions. Depend upon it, that for the rough 
 work of war, especially in India, your leaders must be 
 young to be effective. 
 
 If you could but see my beautiful rough and ready 
 boys, with their dirt coloured clothes and swarthy 
 faces, lying in wait for a Sikh, I think it would amuse 
 you Dot a little. I must try and send you a picture 
 of them. Alas ! I am no longer a ' Guide,' but only 
 a big-wig, administering justice, deciding disputes, 
 
1G2 Jjii. ARNOLD. 
 
 imprisoning thieves,, and assisting to hang highway- 
 men, like any other poor old, fat, respectable, hum- 
 drum justice of the peace in Old England 
 
 TJmritsur, April ^th, 1850. 
 
 I quite agree with all you say about Arnold. His 
 loss was a national misfortune. Had he lived he 
 would have produced an' impression on men's minds 
 whose effects would have been felt for ages. As it 
 is, the influence which he did produce has been most 
 lastina: and strikino^ in its effects. It is felt even 
 in India ; I cannot say more than that. 
 
 You should come and live in India for five years if you 
 wished to feel (supposing you ever doubted it) the benefit 
 of our ' established' forms of Christianity. Even the 
 outward signs and tokens of its profession — cathedrals, 
 churches, colleges, tombs, hospitals, alms-houses — have, 
 I am now more than ever convinced, an influence on 
 men's minds and principles and actions which none 
 but those who have been removed from their influence 
 for years can feel or appreciate thoroughly. The 
 more I think of this the more strongly I feel the 
 effect of mere external sights and sounds on the inner 
 and better man. Our Gothic buildings, our religious- 
 looking churches, have, I am sure, a more restraining 
 and pacifying influence than is generally believed by 
 those who are habituated to them, and have never 
 felt the want of them. A few cathedrals and vener- 
 able-looking edifices would do wonders in our colonies. 
 Here we have nothing physical to remind us of any 
 creed but Islamism and Hindooism. The compara- 
 tive purity of the Moslem's creed is shown admirably 
 
INFLUENCE OF OUTWARD FORMS. 103 
 
 in the superiority in taste and form of their places of 
 prayer. Christianity alone is thrust out of sight ! 
 A barrack-room, a ball-room, a dining-room, per- 
 haps a court of justice, serve the purpose for which 
 the 'wisdom and piety of our ancestors' constructed 
 such noble and stately temples ; feeling, justly, that 
 the human mind in its weakness required to be 
 called to the exercise of devotion by the senses as 
 well as by reason and will ; that separation from the 
 ordinary scenes of everyday life, its cares, its toils, 
 its amusements, is necessary to train the feelings and 
 thoughts to that state in which religious impressions are 
 conveyed. I have not seen a church for three years and 
 more, nor heard the service of the Church read, save 
 at intervals, in a room in which, perhaps, the night 
 before, I had been crushed by a great dinner party, 
 or worn out by the bustle and turmoil of suitors. 
 The building in which one toils becomes intimately 
 associated with the toil itself. That in which one 
 prays should at least have some attribute to remind 
 one of prayer. Human nature shrinks for lojig from 
 the thought of being buried in any but consecrated 
 ground; the certainty of lying dead some day or 
 other on a field of battle, or by a roadside, has, I 
 have remarked, the most strange effect on the soldier's 
 mind. Depend upon it the same feeling holds good 
 with regard to consecrated places of worship. You 
 may think this fanciful, but I am sure you would 
 feel it more strongly than I do, were you to live for a 
 time in a country where everything bid religion has 
 its living and existent memorials and evidences. 
 
 But to return to reality : I have just spent three 
 days in Sir Charles Napier's camp, it being my 
 
104 SIR C. NAPIER. 
 
 duty to accompany him through such parts of the 
 civil district as he may have occasion to visit. He 
 was most kind and cordial; vastly amusing and 
 interesting, and gave me even a higher opinion of 
 him than before. To be sure, his language and mode 
 of expressing himself savour more of the last than 
 of this century — of the camp than of the court ; but 
 barring these eccentricities, he is a wonderful man ; 
 his heart is as thoroughly in his work, and he takes 
 as high a tone in all that concerns it, as Arnold did 
 in his ; that is to say, the highest the subject is 
 capable of. I only trust he will remain with us as 
 long as his health lasts, and endeavour to rouse the 
 army from the state of slack discipline into which it 
 has fallen. On my parting with him he said, ' Now, 
 remember, Hodson, if there is any way in which I 
 can be of use to you, pray don't scruple to write to 
 me.' I didn't show him his brother's* letter — that 
 he might judge for himself first, and know me 'per 
 se,' or rather ' per me ;' I will, however, if ever I see 
 him again. 
 
 Sir W. Napier. 
 
CHAPTEE YT. 
 
 TOUR IN CASHMERE AND THIBET WITH SIR HENRY 
 LAWRENCE. — PROMOTION AND TRANSFER TO CIS 
 SUTLEJ PROVINCES. 
 
 Camp, en route to Cashmere, 
 June loth, 1850. 
 TrOUR letter from Paris reached me just as I was 
 -■- preparing to start from Umritsur to join Sir 
 Henry Lawrence and accompany him to Cashmere. 
 I fought against the necessity of leave as long as pos- 
 sible, but I was getting worse and worse daily, and 
 so much weakened from the effects of heat and hard- 
 work acting on a frame already reduced by sickness, 
 that I was compelled to be off ere worse came. We 
 yesterday arrived at the summit of the first high ridge 
 southward of the snowy range, and have now only 
 some sixty miles to traverse before entering the valley. 
 To me, travelling is life, and in a country where one 
 has no home, no local attractions, and no special 
 sympathies, it is the greatest comfort in the world. 
 I get terribly enmiye if I am in one place for three 
 months at a time; yet I think I should be just as 
 tame as ever in England, quite domestic again. 
 
 Cashmere, Jvly %th, 1850. 
 You would enjoy this lovely valley extremely. I 
 did not know it was so beautiful, having only seen it 
 before in its winter dress. Nothing can exceed the 
 
106 CASHMERE. 
 
 luxuriant beauty of the vegetation, the plane trees and 
 walnuts especially, except the squalor, dirt, and 
 poverty of the wretched Cashmerians. The King is 
 avaricious, and is old. The disease grows on him, and 
 he wont look beyond his money bags. There is a 
 capitation tax on every individual practising any 
 labour, trade, profession, or employment, collected 
 daily. Fancy the Londoners having to go and pay a 
 fourpenny and a sixpenny bit each, per diem, for the 
 pleasure of living in the town. Then the tax on all 
 shawls, goods, and fabrics, is about seventy-five per 
 cent, including custom duty ; and this the one solitary 
 staple of the valley. The chief crops are rice, and of 
 this, what with one half taken at a slap as ^ revenue,' 
 or rent, and sundry other pulls for dues, taxes, and 
 offerings, so little remains to the farmer, that in 
 practise he pays all or within a few bushels of all, his 
 produce to the King, and secures in return his foodj 
 and that not of the best. Thus the farmer class or 
 ^ Zemindars' are reduced pretty well to the state of 
 day-labourers ; yet the people are all well clothed, and 
 fuel is to be had for the asking. What a garden it 
 might be made. Not an acre to which the finest 
 water might not be conveyed without expense worth 
 naming, and a climate where all produce comes to 
 perfection, from wheat and barley to grapes and silk. 
 We go northwards on the 20th, first to Ladakh and 
 Thibet, thence to Iskardo, and then across the Indus 
 to Gilghit, a terra incognita, to which, I believe, only 
 one European now living has penetrated. Sir Henry 
 Lawrence is not well, and certainly not up to this 
 trip, but he has made up his mind to go. I do not 
 gain strength as fast as I could wish, but I fancy 
 
THIBET. 107 
 
 when once thoroughly unstrung, it takes a long time 
 to recover the wonted tone. 
 
 We shall have another frontier war in the cold 
 weather evidently, and I fancy a more prolonged and 
 complete affair than the last. The cause of the only 
 loss sustained in the last scrimmage was the panic of 
 the Sepoys. They are as children in the hands of 
 these Affghans and hill tribes. Our new Punjab 
 levies fought ' like bricks,' but the Hindoostanee is not 
 a hardy enough animal, physically or morally, to con- 
 tend with the sturdier races west of the Sutlej, or the 
 active and fighting * Pathkns.' The very name sticks 
 in John Sepoy's throat. I must try and see the next 
 contest, but I do not quite see my way to it at 
 present. 
 
 To his Sister. 
 
 Camp, near LadAkh, August 4th, 1850. 
 . Who would have thought of my writing to you 
 from Thibet. I am sitting in a little tent about eight 
 feet long, which just takes a narrow cot, a table, and 
 chair of camp dimensions, and my sac-de-nuit, gun, 
 &c., and a tin box containing books, papers, and the 
 materials for this present epistle. Under the same 
 tree (a veritable chesnut) is Sir Henry Lawrence's 
 tent, a ditto of mine, in which he is comfortably 
 sleeping, as I ought to be ; outside are my pets — that 
 is, a string of mules who accompany me in all 
 my travels, and have also in the mountains the 
 honour of carrying me as well as my baggage. The 
 kitchen is under a neighbouring tree; and round a 
 fire are squatting our gallant guards, a party of 
 
108 THIBET. 
 
 Maharaja Ghoolab Singh^s household brigade. 
 Some of his people accompany us, and what with 
 followers, a Moonshee or two for business, and their 
 followers, I dare say we are a party of two or three 
 hundred souls, of all colours and creeds — Christians, 
 Mussulmans, Hindoos, Buddhists, Sikhs, and varieties 
 of each. The creeds of the party are as varied as 
 their colours; and that's saying a good deal, when 
 you contrast my white face and yellow hair with. Sir 
 Henry's nut-brown, the pale white parchmenty-colour 
 of the Kashmeree, the honest brunette tinge of the 
 tall Sikh, the clear olive brown of the Rajpoot, down 
 through all shades of dinginess to the deep black of 
 the low-caste Hindoo. I am one of the whitest men 
 in India, I fancy, as instead of burning in the sun, 
 I get blanched, like endive or celery. How you 
 would stare at my long beard, moustache, and 
 whiskers. However, to return from such personalities 
 to facts. The Indus is brawling along five hundred 
 feet below us, as if in a hurry to get ' out of that ; ' 
 and above, one's neck aches with trying to see to the 
 top of the vast craggy mountains which confine the 
 stream in its rocky channel. So wild, so heaven- 
 forsaken a scene I never beheld ; living nature there 
 is none. In a week's journey, I have seen three 
 marmots, two wagtails, and three jackdaws : and 
 we have averaged twenty miles a day. 
 
 We met a lady the other day, in the most romantic 
 way possible, in the midst of the very wildest of glens, 
 and almost as wild weather. She is a young and very 
 pretty creature, gifted with the most indomitable 
 energy and endurance (except as regards her husband, 
 whom she cayiH endure, and therefore travels alone). 
 
STRANGE MEETING. 109 
 
 But conceive, that for the last three months she has 
 been making her way on pony-back across a country 
 which few men would like to traverse, over the most 
 formidable passes, the deepest and rapidest rivers, 
 and wildest deserts in Asia. For twenty days she 
 was in the extreme wilds of Thibet, without ever 
 seeing a human habitation; making such long day's 
 journeys as often to be without food or bedding, 
 traversing passes from sixteen to eighteen thousand 
 feet above the sea where you can hardly breathe 
 without pain, enduring pain, sickness, and every 
 other mortal ill, yet persevering still ! Poor 
 creature, she is dying, I fear. It is evident that 
 she is in a deep consumption, created by a terrible 
 fall she had down a precipice, at the commencement of 
 her journey. Well, one day we met her between this 
 place and Cashmere. She was sixteen or twenty 
 miles from her tents, and the rain and darkness 
 were coming on apace; the thermometer down 
 below fifty degrees. So we persuaded her to stop at 
 our encampment. I gave her my tent and cot; 
 acted lady's maid ; supplied her with warm stockings 
 and shoes, water, towels, brushes, &c., and made her 
 comfortable, and then we sat down to dinner ; and a 
 pleasantef evening I never spent. She was as gay 
 as a lark, and poured out stores of information and 
 anecdotes, and recounted her adventures in the 
 ' spiritedest ' manner. After an early breakfast the 
 next morning I put her on her pony, and she went 
 on her way, and we saw her no more. I hope she will 
 live to reach the end of her journey, and not die in 
 some wild mountain-side unattended and alone. 
 
110 THIBET. 
 
 Another letter of same date : — 
 
 Camp, Kulsee in LadIkh, August 4th, 1850. 
 
 Until you cross the mountain chain which 
 
 separates Cashmere from Tibet (or Thibet), all is green 
 and beautiful. Itis impossible to imagine a finer combi- 
 nation of vast peaks and masses of mountain, with 
 green sloping lawns, luxuriant foliage, and fine 
 blustering woods, than is displayed on the sides of 
 the great chain which we usually call the Himalaya, 
 but which is better described as the ridge which 
 separates the waters of the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravee, 
 and Beas from those of the Indus. When once, 
 however, you have crossed this vast barrier, the scene 
 changes as if by magic, and you have nothing but 
 huge convulsive-looking masses of rock, tremendous 
 mountains, glaciers, snow, and valleys which are more 
 vast watercourses than anything else. On the more 
 open and less elevated spots along these various 
 feeders of the Indus, one comes to little patches of 
 cultivation, rising from the banks of the rivers in 
 tiers of carefully-prepared terraces, and irrigated by 
 channels carried along the sides of the hill from a 
 point higher up the stream. Here, in scattered 
 villages ten and twenty miles apart, live the ugliest 
 race on earth, I should imagine, who'm we call 
 Thibetians, but who style themselves ' Bhots ' or 
 ' Bhods,^ and unite the characteristic features, or 
 rather want of them, of both Goorkhas and Chinese. 
 I went yesterday to see a monastery of their Llamas, 
 the most curious sight, as well as site, I ever beheld. 
 Perched on the summits of a mass of sandstone-grit, 
 conglomerate pudding stone, worn by the melting 
 snows (for there is no rain in Tibet) into miraculous 
 
LLAMA MONASTEEIES. Ill 
 
 cones, steeples, and pinnacles rising abruptly from 
 the valley to the height of 600 feet, are a collection 
 of queer little huts, connected together by bridges, 
 passages, and staircases. In these dwell the'worthies 
 who have betaken themselves to the life of religious 
 mendicants and priests. They seem to correspond 
 exactly with the travelling friars of olden times. 
 Half stay at home to perform chants and services 
 in their convent chapel, and half go a begging about 
 the country. They are not a distinct race like the 
 Brahmins of India, but each Bhot peasant devotes 
 one of two or three sons to the church, and he is 
 thenceforward devoted to a life of. celibacy, of shaven 
 crown, of crimson apparel, of mendicancy, of idle- 
 ness, and of comfort. They all acknowledge spiritual 
 allegiance to the great Llama at Lhassa (some two 
 months' journey from Ladakh), by whom the abbot 
 of each convent is appointed on a vacancy occurring, 
 and to whom all their proceedings are reported. 
 Nunneries also exist on precisely the same footing. 
 I saw a few of the nuns, and their hideous appearance 
 fully justified their adoption of celibacy and seclusion. 
 From their connexion with almost every family, as 
 I have said, they are universally looked up to and 
 supported as a class by the people. Even Hindoos 
 reverence them ; and their power is not only feared, 
 but I fancy tolerably freely exercised. Their chapel 
 (a flat-roofed square building supported on pillars) 
 is furnished with parallel rows of low benches 
 to receive the squatting fathers. Their services 
 consist of chants and recitative, accompanied by 
 the discord of musical (?) instruments and drums, 
 while perpetual lamps burn on the altars before 
 
112 LLAMA MONASTERIES. 
 
 their idols, and a sickly perfume fills the air. Eound 
 the room are rude shelves containing numberless 
 volumes of religious books ; not bound, but in sepa- 
 rate leaves secured between two painted boards. I 
 will try and send you one, if I can corrupt the mind 
 of some worthy Llama with profane silver. They 
 are genuine hloch hooksj strange to say, apparently 
 carved on wood, and then stamped on a Chinese 
 paper. The figures of their images, and their 
 costume and head-dress {i.e. of the images), are 
 Chinese entirely, not at all resembling the Bhot 
 dress, or scarcely so, and though fashioned by 
 Thibetian hands, you might fancy yourself gazing on 
 the figures in the Chinese Exhibition at Hyde Park 
 Corner. Their language is a sealed book to me, of 
 course, and though they all read and write well, yet 
 they were unable to explain the meaning of the 
 words they were repeating. The exterior appearance 
 and sites of their conventual buildings reminded me 
 very strongly of the drawings I saw in a copy of 
 Curzon's Monasteries of the Levant, which fell in my 
 way for five minutes one day. I need hardly say 
 that, in a country composed of mountains ranging 
 from 14,000 feet upwards, the scenery is magnificent 
 in the extreme, though very barren and savage. 
 Apricots and wheat are ripening in the valley whence 
 I now write (on the right bank of the Indus, some 
 fifty miles below the town of Ladakh), and snow is 
 glistening on the summits above me ; the roads have 
 been very easy indeed, and enabled us to make long 
 day's marches, from sixteen to twenty-five miles. 
 This is more than you could do in two days in the 
 ranges south of the Himalaya, with due regard for 
 
THIBET. 113 
 
 your own bones, and the cattle or porters which 
 carry your traps and tents. I am very seedy, and 
 twenty miles is more than I can ride with com- 
 fort (that I should live to say it). I have not as 
 yet derived much, if any, benefit from change of 
 climate. 
 
 From Ladakh we go to Iskardo, some twelve 
 marches lower down the Indus, where it has been 
 joined by the water of Yarkund; and thence to 
 Gilghit, a valley running up from that of the Indus, 
 still lower down, and bordering on Budakhstan. We 
 (Sir Henry Lawrence and I) then return to Cashmere ; 
 I expect it will be two more months' journey. We 
 have already been out a fortnight, and it is very 
 fatiguing. I am not sure that I was wise in under- 
 taking it, but he (Lawrence) is a greater invalid than I 
 am, and two or three men fought shy of the task of 
 accompanying him. 
 
 Camp, Iskardo (in Little Thibet), 
 August 2^th, 1850. 
 
 Only think of my setting down peaceably to write to 
 you from this outside world. Had I lived a hundred 
 years ago, I should have been deemed a great 
 traveller, and considered to have explored unknown 
 countries, and unknown they are, only the principal 
 danger of visiting them is past, seeing that they have 
 been subdued by a power (Ghoolab Singh) with whom 
 we have ' relations.' Yet if I were to cross the moun- 
 tains which stare me in the face a few miles off, I 
 should be carried off and sold for a slave. It were 
 vain to try to compress the scenes of a two months' 
 
 I 
 
114 LADAKH. 
 
 journey into a sheet of note-paper. We liave travelled 
 very rapidly. Few men go the pace Sir Henry 
 Lawrence does. So we have covered a great extent 
 of country in the past month ; and seeing that the 
 valleys are the only inhabited parts of the country, 
 the rest being huge masses of mountains, one really 
 sees in these rapid flights all that is to be seen of the 
 abodes of man. We have collected a good deal of 
 information too, which, if I had time to arrange it, 
 might be of value. We were eleven long days^ journey 
 from Cashmere to Ladakh, besides halts on the way 
 at Ladakh itself, or, as the people call it, Leh. We 
 remained a week, and saw all the ^foreigners' who 
 came there to sell furs and silk. It is called the 
 ' Great Emporium' of trade between Yarkund and 
 Kashgar and Llassa, and Hindoostan. Fine words 
 look well on paper, but to my unsophisticated mind 
 the Meading merchants' seemed pedlars^ and the 
 ^ Emporium' to be a brace of hucksters' shops. How- 
 ever, 'tis curious, that's a fact, to see (and talk to) 
 a set of men who have got their goods from the 
 yellow-haired Russians at the Nishni-Novogorod fair, 
 and brought them across Asia to sell at Ladakh. It 
 is forty days' journey of almost a continuous desert for 
 these caravans from Yarkund to Leh : and there is no 
 small danger to life and limb by the way. The 
 current coin is lumps of Chinese syce silver of two 
 pounds weight each. I bought a Persian horse for 
 the journey, and paid for it in solid silver four 
 pounds weight, i66 rupees, or about i6l. I shall sell 
 it for double the money when the journey is over. 
 Leh is a small town, of not more than 400 houses, on 
 a projecting promontory of rock stretching out into 
 
THE BODHS. 115 
 
 the valley formed by one of the small feeders of the 
 Indus. For the people, they are Bodhs, and wear 
 tails, and have flat features like the Chinese, and black 
 garments. The women, unlike other Asiatics whom 
 I have seen, go about the streets openly, as in civilized 
 countries ; but they are an ugly race, and withal dirty 
 to an absolutely unparalleled extent. They wear no 
 head-dress, but plait their masses of black hair into sun* 
 dry tails halfway down their backs. Covering the divi- 
 sion of the hair from the forehead back and down the 
 shoulders, is a narrow leathern strap, universally adorned 
 with rough turquoises and bits of gold or silver. The 
 old Ranee whom we called upon had on this strap (in 
 her case a broader one, about three fingers wide) 156 
 large turquoises, worth some hundreds of pounds. Over 
 their ears they wear flaps of fur which project forward 
 with precisely the efiect of blinkers on a horse. 
 
 The climate is delightful ; it never rains ; the sky is 
 blue to a fault, and snow only falls sparingly in winter, 
 though the climate is cold, being 10,000 feet (they say) 
 above the sea. In boiling water the thermometer was 
 only 188°. I never felt a more exhilarating air. That 
 one week quite set me up, and I have been better ever 
 since. The llamas or monks, with their red cardinal's 
 hats and crimson robes, look very imposing and 
 monastic, quite a travestie of the regular clergy, and 
 they blow just such trumpets as fame does on monu- 
 ments in country churches. Jolly friars they are, and 
 fat to a man. From Leh we crossed the mountain 
 ridge which separates the two streams of the Indus, and 
 descended the northern (or right) stream to this place, 
 the capital of Bultistan or Little Thibet. It is a 
 genuine humbug. In the middle of a fine valley some 
 
 I 2, 
 
116 ISKARDO. 
 
 6000 feet above the sea, surrounded by sudden rising 
 perpendicular mountains 6000 feet higher, stands an 
 isolated rock washed by the Indus, some two miles by 
 three-quarters : a little Gibraltar. The valley may be 
 ten miles by three, partially cultivated, and inha- 
 bited by some 300 scattered houses. There^s Iskardo. 
 There was a fort on the rock, but that is gone, and all, 
 as usual in the East, bespeaks havoc : only nature is 
 grand here. The people are Mussulmans, and not 
 Bodhs, and are more human-looking, but not so well 
 clad. It is warmer by far, much more so than 
 it ought to be. The thermometer was at 92° 
 in our tents to-day, a thing for which I cannot pos- 
 sibly account, since there is snow now on all sides of 
 us. We go hence across the Steppe of Deo Sole 
 towards Cashmere for four days' journey, and then 
 strike west ward to cross the Indus into Gil ghit, whence 
 we return to Cashmere by the end of September. 
 We have been making very fast marches, varying from 
 sixteen to thirty-two miles a day — hard work in a 
 country with such roads, and where you must take 
 things with you. I enjoy it very much, however, and 
 after a year's sickness, the feeling of returning health 
 is refreshing. I shall return to work again by the 
 1st of December : but I propose paying a flying visit 
 to Mr. Thomason in October, if possible ; but the dis- 
 tances are so vast, and the means of locomotion so 
 absent, that these things are difiicult to achieve. I 
 suppose I have seen more of the hill country now 
 than ninety-nine men out of a hundred in India. 
 Indeed, not above four Europeans have been here 
 before. But travelling suits my restless spirit. Sir 
 Henry and I get on famously together. 
 
INTEREST OF FORMING SOLDIERS. 117 
 
 On October 7tli, 1850, he writes from Simla 
 to his father : — 
 
 I have had a long and fatiguing march from Cash- 
 mere across the mountains and the valleys of the ^ five 
 rivers/ nearly four hundred miles, which I accom- 
 plished in fifteen days. I left Sir Henry Lawrence 
 in Cashmere. I have since heard from him, urging 
 me to use all the influence I can muster up here to 
 procure a brevet majority inposse {i.e., on attaining my 
 regimental captaincy), and a local majority in esse for 
 ' my services in the late war / and adding, that if I 
 did not find civil employment to suit me, he would, 
 when I had given it a fair trial, try and get me the 
 command of one of the regiments in the Punjab. I 
 am going to consult Mr. Thomason on the subject, and 
 will let you know the result. I hate the least suspicion 
 of toadyism, and dislike asking favours, or I should 
 have been better off ere now; but on Sir Henry 
 Lawrence's suggestion, I will certainly use any oppor- 
 tunity which may offer. I thought, however, you 
 would be gratified with the opinion which must have 
 dictated so perfectly spontaneous an offer. I confess 
 that I very much prefer the military line myself, al- 
 though I like civil work much, and it is the road to 
 competence. Nevertheless, military rank and distinc- 
 tions have more charm for me than rupees ; and I 
 would rather cut my way to a name and poverty 
 with the Bword, than write it to wealth with the 
 pen. 
 
 There is something to me peculiarly interesting in 
 the /arming and training soldiers, and in acquiring 
 that extraordinary influence over their minds, both 
 
118 INFLUENCE OVER GUIDES. 
 
 by personal volition and the aid of discipline, which 
 leads them on through danger, even to death, at your 
 bidding. I felt the enthusiasm of this power success- 
 fully exerted with the Guides during the late war ; 
 and having felt it, am naturally inclined to take ad- 
 vantage of it on future occasions. 
 
 To his Sister. 
 
 Simla, Oct. 21st, 1850. 
 It is rather too late to tell you ' all about Cashmere,^ 
 as you desire ; but I can say that I saw some beauties 
 this time who were really so to no common extent ; 
 and that I was much more pleased with the valley 
 than on my first visit, which was a winter one. If 
 you see what wonderfully out of the way places we 
 got into, I think you will marvel that I managed to 
 write at all. We traversed upwards of fifteen hundred 
 miles of wild mountainous countries, innocent of roads, 
 and often for days together of inhabitants, and carry- 
 ing our houses on our backs. The change to the 
 utter comfort and civilization of this house was some- 
 thing 'stunning f and I have not yet become quite re- 
 conciled to dressing three times a day, black hat, 
 and patent leather boots. I need hardly say, how- 
 ever, that I have very much enjoyed my visit and 
 my ' big talks ^ with Mr. Thomason. He is very 
 grey, and looks older than when I saw him in 1847, 
 but otherwise he is just the same, working mag- 
 nificently, and doing wonders for his province. Al- 
 ready the North-West Provinces are a century in 
 advance of the Bengal Proper ones. As a Gover- 
 nor, he has not his equal; and in honesty, high- 
 
MR. THOMASON. 119 
 
 mindedness, and indefatigable devotion to the public 
 good, he is facile princeps of the whole Indian service. 
 Nor is there a household in India to match his, 
 indeed, it is about the only ' big-wig * house to which 
 people go with pleasure rather than as a duty. I 
 saw Sir Charles Napier, too, and dined with him 
 last week. He is very kind and pleasant, and I 
 am very sorry on public grounds that he is going 
 away. 
 
 KussowLEE, Nov. 4th, 1850. 
 I had a most pleasant home-like visit to Mr. 
 Thomason, and was most affectionately entertained. 
 He will have told you of the power of civility I met 
 with at Simla from the ' big-wigs,' and that even 
 Lord Dalhousie waxed complimentary, and said that 
 ' Lumsden and Hodson were about the best men he 
 had (that I write it that shouldn't !), and that he 
 promised to do his best to get me a brevet majority 
 as soon as I became, in the course of time, a regi- 
 mental captain. And Sir Charles Napier (the 
 best abused man of his day) was anxious to get 
 for me the Staff appointment of Brigade-Major to the 
 Punjab Irregular Force — i.e., of the six newly raised 
 cavalry and infantry regiments for frontier service. 
 He did not succeed, for the berth had been pre- 
 viously filled up, unknown to him ; but he tried to do 
 so, and that's a compliment from such a man. I hope 
 I need not say that this good deed of his was as 
 spontaneous as a mushroom's birth. 
 
120 APPOINTMENT TO CTS-SUTLEJ STATES. 
 
 To his Father. 
 
 KussowLEE, Nov. 6th. 
 I am to be liere next year^ I find, by tidings just 
 received, whicb will be a splendid thing for my con- 
 stitution. My connexion with Umritsur is dissolved 
 by my having been appointed to act as personal as- 
 sistant to the Commissioner of the Cis-Sutlej States, 
 which is, I believe, a piece of promotion. The great 
 advantages are, first, the capital opportunity it affords 
 of experience in every kind of civil work, and of 
 being under a very able man — Mr. Edmonstone ; and 
 secondly, that the Commissioner's head-quarters are 
 ' peripatetic' in the cold weather, and in the hills during 
 the remainder of the year. But I confess that I 
 hanker after the 'Guides' as much as ever, and 
 would catch at a good opportunity of returning to 
 them with honour. I fear I have been remiss in ex- 
 planations on this subject. The matter lies in this 
 wise — I left the Corps, and took to civil employment 
 at the advice of Sir Henry Lawrence, Mr. Thomason, 
 and others, though against my own feelings on the 
 subject. The man or men who succeeded me are 
 senior to me in army rank. When one of them re- 
 signed six months ago, I was strongly disposed and 
 urged to try and succeed to the vacancy. There was 
 a hitch, however, from the cause I have mentioned, and 
 Lumsden was anxious that his lieutenants should 
 not be disgusted by supercession. I might have had 
 the appointment, but withdrew to avoid annoying 
 Lumsden. Now, both Sir Henry Lawrence and 
 Mr. Thomason are very sorry that I ever left the 
 Corps, and that they advised the step. Things have 
 
LAHORE. 121 
 
 taken a different turn since then, and it is confessedly 
 the best thing a young soldier can aspire to. I 
 know that my present line is one which leads to 
 more pecuniary advantages ; but the other is the finer 
 field, and is far more independent. I shall work away, 
 however, cheerfully in the civil line until I see a good 
 opening in the other; and then, I fear you will hardly 
 persuade me that sitting at a desk with the ther- 
 mometer at 98° is better than soldiering — i.e., than 
 commanding soldiers made and taught by yourself! 
 I will give you the earliest warning of the change. 
 
 Umritsur, Nov. 24th, 1850. 
 I returned here on the i6th, and have been up to the 
 neck in work ever since, having the whole work, civil, 
 criminal, police, &c. &c., on my shoulders, Sanders, 
 the Deputy Commissioner, my superior, being engaged 
 dancing attendance on the Governor- General, who is 
 here on his annual tour of inspection ; and Macleod, 
 my co-assistant, dead. Directly the Governor- 
 General has gone onwards I shall be relieved here, and 
 join my new appointment with Mr. Edmonstone. 
 
 Lahore, Jem. 2nd, 1851. 
 I broke up from Umritsur early in December, and 
 came into Lahore to join my new chief. He did 
 not arrive till the i8th, so I had a comparative 
 holy day. I have got into harness, however, again 
 now, and am up to the elbows in work and papers. 
 The work is much more pleasant than that I had at 
 Umritsur, and more free from mere routine. 
 
122 KUSSOWLEE. 
 
 Lahore, Feb. 21st. 
 This is an interesting anniversary to many of us, 
 and an overwhelming one to this country — that of 
 the day on which ' the bright star of the Punjab' set 
 for ever. It has been curiously marked by the an- 
 nouncement that the net balance of receipts over 
 expenditure for the past year for the newly acquired 
 provinces has reached upwards of a million sterling. 
 Lord Dalhousie's star is in the ascendant. His 
 financial measures are apparently all good, when tried 
 by the only standard admissible in the nineteenth 
 century — their success. 
 
 KussowLEE, March 22nd, 1851. 
 I broke down again most completely as soon as the 
 hot weather began, but my flight to this beautiful 
 climate has wonderfully refreshed me. Talk of Indian 
 luxuries ! There are but two, cold water and cool 
 air ! I get on very comfortably with my new ' Chief.' 
 He is a first-rate man, and has a most uncommon 
 appetite for work,- of which there is plenty for both 
 of us. We cover a good stretch of country — com- 
 prising five British districts and nine sovereign states ; 
 and as the whole has been in grievous disorder for 
 many years, and a peculiarly difficult population to 
 deal with, you may imagine that the work is not 
 slight. My principal duty is hearing appeals from 
 orders and decisions by the district officers in these 
 five districts. It is of course not ' per se,' but as the 
 Commissioner's personal assistant, that I do this. I 
 prepare a short abstract, with my opinion on each case, 
 
soldier's profession. 123 
 
 and he issues his orders accordingly. I was at work 
 a whole day lately over one case, which, after all, in- 
 volved only a claim to ahout a quarter of an acre of 
 land! You will give me credit for ingenuity in 
 discovering that the result of some half dozen 
 quires of written evidence was to prove that neither 
 of the contending parties had any right at all ! If 
 that's not 'justice to Ireland/ I don't know what is ! 
 I have been staying with Captain Douglas, and I 
 hope I shall see a great deal of him. There is not 
 a better man or more genuine soldier going. This 
 may appear faint praise, but rightly understood, and 
 conscientiously and boldly worked out, I doubt 
 whether any other profession calls forth the higher 
 qualities of our nature more strongly than does that 
 of a soldier in times of war and tumults. Certain 
 it is that it requires the highest order of man to 
 be a good general, and in the lower ranks (in this 
 country especially), even with all the frightful draw- 
 backs and evils, I doubt whether the Saxon race is 
 ever so pre-eminent, or its good points so strongly 
 developed, as in the 'European' soldier serving in 
 India, or on service anywhere. 
 
 KussowLEE, A'prH ph, 1851. 
 I have the nicest house here on a level spot on the 
 very summit of the mountain ridge, from which a most 
 splendid view is obtainable for six months in the year. 
 In the immediate foreground rises a round-backed 
 ridge, on which stands the former work of my hands, 
 the ' Lawrence Asylum ;' while to the westward, and 
 down, down far off in the interminable south, the 
 
124 KUSSOWLEE. 
 
 wide glistening plains of the Punjab, streaked with 
 the faint ribbon-like lines of the Sutlej and its tribu- 
 taries, and the wider sea-like expanse of Hindoostan, 
 stretch away in unbroken evenness beyond the limits 
 of vision, and almost beyond those of faith and ima- 
 gination. On the other side, you look over a mass 
 of mountains up to the topmost peaks of Himalaya. 
 So narrow is the ridge, that it seems as though you 
 could toss a pebble from one window into the Sutlej, 
 and from the other into the valley below Simla. I 
 like the place very much. I have seven or eight 
 hours' work every day, and the rest is spent (as 
 this one) in the society of the 6oth Rifles, the 
 very nicest and most gentlemanly regiment I ever 
 met with. 
 
 KussowLEE, May \th, 1851. 
 . Your budget of letters reached me on the 2nd. It 
 is very pleasant to receive these warm greetings, and 
 it refreshes me when bothered, or overworked, or 
 feverish, or disgusted. I look forward to a visit to 
 England and home with a pleasure which nothing but 
 six years of exile can give. 
 
 The Governor- General has at last advanced me to 
 the higher grade of ^assistants' to Commissioners. 
 The immediate advantage is an increase of pay — the 
 real benefit, that it brings me nearer the main step of 
 a Deputy-Commissioner in charge of a district. It is 
 satisfactory, not the less so that it was extorted from 
 him by the unanimity of my official superiors in 
 pressing the point upon him, Mr. Edmonstone having 
 commenced attacking him in my favour before I had 
 been under him four months. I am not in love with 
 
KUSSOWLEE. 125 
 
 the kind of employment — I long with no common 
 earnestness for the more military duties of my old 
 friends the ' Guides ;' but I am not therefore in- 
 sensible to the advantages of doing well in this line 
 of work. Ambition alone would dictate this, for my 
 success in this civil business (which is considered 
 the highest and most arduous branch of the public 
 service) almost ensures my getting on in any other 
 hereafter. 
 
 To his Father. 
 
 KussowLEE, Oct. 2oth, 185 1. 
 
 I am much stronger now, and improving rapidly. 
 By the end of next summer I hope to be as strong 
 as I ever hope to be again. That I shall ever again 
 be able to row from Cambridge to Ely in two hours 
 and ten minutes, to run a mile in five minutes, or 
 to walk from Skye (or Kyle Hatren Ferry) to Inver- 
 ness in thirty hours, is not to be expected, or perhaps 
 desired. But I have every hope that in the event of 
 another war I may be able to endure fatigue and ex- 
 posure as freely as in 1848. One is oftener called 
 upon to ride than to walk long distances in India. 
 In 1848, I could ride one hundred miles in ten hours, 
 fully accoutred, and I don't care how soon (saving 
 your presence !) the necessity arises again ! I have 
 no doubt that matrimony will do me a power of 
 good, and that I shall be not only better, but happier 
 and more care-less than hitherto. 
 
 I have been deeply grieved and affected by the 
 death, two days ago, of Colonel Bradshaw, of the 60th 
 Rifles. He will be a sad loss, not only to his regi- 
 
126 COLONEL BRADSHAW. 
 
 ment, but to the army and the country. He was the 
 beau ideal of an English soldier and gentleman, and 
 would have earned himself a name as a general had 
 he been spared. A finer and nobler spirit there was 
 not in the army. I feel it as a deep personal loss, 
 for he won my esteem and regard in no common 
 degree. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 MARRIAGE, COMMAND OF THE GUIDES. FRONTIER 
 
 WARFARE. MURDAN. 
 
 r\^ the 5 til of January, 1852, Lieut. Hodson 
 ^ was married, at the Cathedral, Calcutta, to 
 Susan, daughter of Capt. C. Henry, E.N., and 
 widow of John Mitford, Esq., of Exbury, 
 Hants. By the first week in March he had 
 resumed his duties at Kussowlee as Assistant 
 Commissioner.. On the breaking out of the 
 war with Burmah he expected to rejoin his 
 regiment (the First Bengal European Fusiliers), 
 which had been ordered for service there, but in 
 August he writes from Kussowlee : — 
 
 My regiment is on its way down the Ganges to 
 Calcutta, to take part in the war, but the Burmese 
 have proved so very unformidable an enemy this time, 
 that only half the intended force is to be sent on 
 from Calcutta; the rest being held in reserve. 
 Under these circumstances, and in the expectation 
 that the war will very speedily be brought to a close, 
 the Governor- General has determined not to allow 
 officers on civil employment to join their regiments 
 in the usual manner. I am thus spared what would 
 have been a very fatiguing and expensive trip, with 
 very little hope of seeing any fighting. 
 
128 KUSSOWLEE. 
 
 It was not long, however, before an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing active service presented itself, 
 and in a way, of all others, most to liis taste. 
 His heart had all along been with his old 
 corps, ' the Guides,' as his letters show. He 
 had taken an active share in raising and train- 
 ing them originally, and as second in command 
 during the Punjab campaign of 1848-9, had 
 contributed in no small degree to gain for the 
 Corps that reputation which it has recently so 
 nobly sustained before Delhi. 
 
 The command was now vacant, and was 
 offered to him ; but I must let him speak for 
 himself: — 
 
 KussoWLEE, Sept. 2'^rd, 1852. 
 
 Lumsden, my old commandant in the Guides,, goes 
 to England next month^ and the Governor- General 
 has given me the command which I have coveted so 
 long. It is immense good fortune in every way, 
 both as regards income and distinction. It is 
 accounted the most honourable and arduous com- 
 mand on the frontier, and fills the public eye, as the 
 papers say, more than any other. 
 
 This at the end of seven years' service is a great 
 thing, especially on such a frontier as Peshawur, at 
 the mouth of the Kyber Pass. You will agree with 
 me in rejoicing at the opportunities for distinction 
 thus offered to me. 
 
 Mr. Thomason writes thus : ' I congratulate you 
 ' very sincerely on the fine prospect that is open to 
 'you, and trust that you will have many opportu- 
 
COMMAND or GUIDE CORPS. 129 
 
 ' nitles of showing what the Guides can do under 
 'your leadership. I have never ceased to reproach 
 ' myself for advising you to leave the Corps, but now 
 ' that you have the command, you will be all the 
 'better for the dose of civilianism that has been 
 ' intermediately administered to you.' 
 
 KussowLEE, Oct. ph, 1852. 
 
 Here I am still, but hoping to take wing for 
 Peshawur in a few days. It is only 500 miles ; and 
 as there are no railways, and only nominal roads, and 
 five vast rivers to cross, you may suppose that the 
 journey is not one of a few hours^ lounge. 
 
 I am most gratified by the appointment to the 
 command of the Guides, and more so by the way in 
 which it was given me, and the manner of my 
 selection from amidst a crowd of aspirants. It is 
 no small thing for a subaltern to be raised to the 
 command of a battalion of infantry and a squadron 
 and a half of cavalry, with four English oflficers 
 imder him ! I am supposed to be the luckiest man 
 of my time. I have already had an offer from the 
 Military Secretary to the Board of Administration 
 to exchange appointments with him, although I should 
 gain, and he would lose 300^. a year by the ' swop;' 
 but I would not listen to him ; I prefer the saddle to 
 the desk, the frontier to a respectable, wheel-going, 
 
 dinner-giving, dressy life at the capital ; and 
 
 ambition to money ! 
 
 But though his ' instincts were so entirely 
 military' (to use his own words), this did not 
 prevent his discharging his civil duties in a 
 
130 LETTER FROM MU. EDMON STONE. 
 
 manner that called forth the highest eulogium 
 from his superiors, as the subjoined letter from 
 Mr. Edmonstone, now Secretary to Govern- 
 ment at Calcutta, will testify : — 
 
 'KUSSOWLEE, Oct. 12th, 1852. 
 
 * My deau Hodson, — I am a bad hand at talking, 
 ' and could not say what I wished, but I would not 
 ' have you go away without thanking you heartily 
 ' for the support and assistance which you have 
 'always given me in all matters, whether big or 
 ' little, since you joined me, now twenty months and 
 ' more ago. I have in my civil and criminal reports 
 ' for the past year recorded my sense of your services, 
 ' and your official merits, but our connexion has been 
 ' peculiar, and your position has been one which few 
 ' would have filled either so efficiently or so agreeably 
 ' to all parties. You have afforded me the greatest 
 ' aid in the most irksome part of my duty, and have 
 ' always with the utmost readiness undertaken any- 
 ' thing, no matter what, that I asked you to dispose 
 ' of, and I owe you more on this account than a mere 
 ' official acknowledgment can repay adequately. I 
 'hope that though your present appointment will 
 ' give you more congenial duties and better pay, 
 ' you will never have occasion to look back to 
 ' the time you have passed here with regret ; and I 
 ' hope too that all your anticipations of pleasure and 
 'pride in commanding the Corps which you had a 
 ' chief hand in forming, may be realized. 
 
 ' Believe me to be, with much regard, 
 
 ' Yours very sincerely, 
 ' G. F. Edmonstone.' 
 
HUZARA. 131 
 
 Camp in HuzIra, Dec. i6th, 1852. 
 
 I took command of the Guides on the ist Novem- 
 ber, and twenty-four hours afterwards marched ^ on 
 service ' to this country, which is on the eastern or 
 left bank of the Indus, above the parallel of Attok. 
 "We are now in an elevated valley, surrounded by 
 snowy mountains, and mighty cold it is, too, at night. 
 We have come about 125 miles from Peshawur, and 
 having marched up the hill, are patiently expeet- 
 iner the order to march down a«^ain. We have 
 everything necessary for a pretty little mountain 
 campaign but an enemy. This is usually a sine qua 
 non in warfare, but not so now. Then we have to 
 take a fort, only it has ceased to exist months ago ; 
 and to reinstate an Indian ally in territories from 
 which he was expelled by some neighbours, only he 
 wont be reinstated at any price. 
 
 My regiment consists of five English officers, includ- 
 ing a surgeon. Dr. Lyell, a very clever man. Then I 
 have 300 horse, including native officers, and 550 foot, 
 or 850 men in all, divided into three troops and six 
 companies,* the latter armed as riflemen. My power 
 is somewhat despotic, as I have authority to enlist 
 or dismiss fi*om the service, flog or imprison, degrade 
 or promote any one, from the native officers down- 
 wards, always remembering that an abuse of power 
 might lose me the whole. This sort of chiefdom is 
 
 * No two troops or companies were of the same race, in 
 order to prevent the possibility of combination. One com- 
 pany was composed of Sikhs, another of Afireedees, others 
 of Patliknn, Goorkhas, Punjabee Mahomedans, &c., with 
 native officers, in each case, of a different race from the 
 men. 
 
 K a 
 
132 HUZARA. 
 
 necessary with a wild sort of gentry of various races 
 and speeches, gathered from the snows of the Hindoo 
 Koosh and the Himalaya, to the plains of Scinde 
 and Hindoostan, all of whom are more quick at blows 
 than at words, and more careless of human life than 
 you could possibly understand in England by any de- 
 scription. I am likely to have civil charge as well as 
 military command of the Euzofzai district, comprising 
 that portion of the great Peshawur valley which lies 
 between the Cabul river and the Indus. So you see 
 I am not likely to eat the bread of idleness, at least. 
 I will tell you more of my peculiar duties when I 
 
 have more experience of their scope and bent 
 
 I am, I should say, the most fortunate man in the 
 service, considering my standing. The other can- 
 didates were all field officers of some standing. 
 
 Our good friend and guest. Captain Powys, of the 
 6oth, who has spent the first six months of our 
 married life under our roof, is on the way to England. 
 He will see you very soon, and give you a better 
 account of us than you could hope for from any one 
 else. 
 
 Notwithstanding all appearance to tlie con- 
 trary at its opening, the campaign lasted seven 
 weeks, and supplied plenty of fighting. It 
 was afterwards characterized by my brother 
 as the hardest piece of service he had yet 
 seen. One engagement lasted from sunrise to 
 sunset. He had thus an opportunity of dis- 
 playing his usual gallantry and coolness, and 
 showing how well he could handle his ' Guides' 
 in mountain warfare. They suffered much 
 
HUZARA. 133 
 
 from cold, as the ground was covered with 
 snow for a part of the time, and from want of 
 supplies. 
 
 Colonel (now Sir E.) Napier, speaking after- 
 wards of this expedition, said : — 
 
 'Your brother's unfailing fun and spirits, 
 ' which seemed only raised by what we had to 
 
 * go through, kept us all alive and merry, so 
 
 * that we looked back upon it afterwards as a 
 
 * party of pleasure, and thought we had never 
 
 * enjoyed anything more.' 
 
 In reply to congratulations on his appoint- 
 ment my brother wrote from — 
 
 Peshawur, March i^th, 1853. 
 
 I have certainly been very fortunate indeed, and 
 only hope that I may be enabled to acquit myself of 
 the trust well and honourably, both in the field and 
 in the more political portion of my duties. It was a 
 good thing that I had the opportunity of leading the 
 regiment into action so soon after getting the com- 
 mand, and that the brunt of the whole should have 
 fallen upon us, as it placed the older men and myself 
 once more on our old footing of confidence in one 
 another, and introduced me to the younger hand* as 
 their leader when they needed one. Susie says she 
 told you all about it ; I need therefore only add that 
 it was the hardest piece of service, while it lasted, I 
 have yet seen with the Guides, both as regards the 
 actual fighting, the difliculties of the ground (a rugged 
 mountain, 7000 feet high, and densely wooded), and 
 the exposure. You will see little or no mention of it 
 
134 EuzorzAi. 
 
 publicly, it being the policy of Government to make 
 everything appear as quiet as possible on this frontier, 
 and to blazon the war on the eastern side of the empire 
 (some 2000 miles away) as much as they can. I 
 am, as you justly imagined, to be employed both 
 civilly and in a military capacity — at least, it is under 
 discussion. I was asked to take charge of the wild 
 district of ^ Euzofzai ^ (forming a large portion of the 
 Peshawur province), where the Guides will ordinarily 
 be stationed. I refused to do so unless I had the 
 exclusive civil charge in all departments, magisterial, 
 financial, and judicial, instead of in the former only, 
 as proposed, and I fancy they will give in to my 
 reasons. I shall then be military chief, and civil 
 governor too, as far as that part of the valley is con- 
 cerned, and shall have enough on my hands, as you 
 may suppose. In the mean time, I shall have the 
 superintendence of the building of a fort to contain 
 us all — not such a fortress as Coblentz, or those on 
 the Belgian frontier, but a mud structure, which 
 answers all the purposes we require at a very, very 
 small cost. 
 
 Peshawur, April ^oth, 1853. 
 I am sorry to say my wife is ordered to the hills, 
 and we shall again be separated for five or six months. 
 My own destination for the hot season is uncertain, 
 but I expect to be either here, or on the banks of the 
 Indus. 
 
 Camp, near Peshawur, June 4th, 1853. 
 . . . . I hope to get away from work and 
 heat in August or September for a month, if all things 
 remain quiet. But for this sad separation, there 
 
LIFE IN CAMP. 135 
 
 would be much charm for me in this gipsy life. To 
 avoid the great heats of the next three months in 
 tents, we are building huts for ourselves of thatch, 
 and mine is assuming the dignity of mud walls. We 
 are encamped on a lovely spot, on the banks of the 
 swift and bright river, at the foot of the hills, on the 
 watch for incursions or forays, and to guard the 
 richly cultivated plain of the Peshawur valley from 
 depredations from the hills. We are ready, of course, 
 to boot and saddle at all hours ; our rifles and car- 
 bines are loaded, and our swords keen and bright : 
 and woe to the luckless chief who, trusting to his 
 horses, descends upon the plain too near our pickets ! 
 Meanwhile, I am civil as well as military chief, and 
 the natural taste of the Euzofzai Pathdns for broken 
 heads, murder, and violence, as well as their litigious- 
 ness about their lands, keeps me very hard at work 
 from day to day. Perhaps the life may be more suited 
 to a careless bachelor, than to a husband with such a 
 wife as mine ; but even still it has its charms for an 
 active mind and body. A daybreak parade or in- 
 spection, a gallop across the plain to some outpost, 
 a plunge in the river, and then an early breakfast, 
 occupy your time until 9 a.m. Then come a couple 
 of corpses whose owners (late) had their heads broken 
 over night, and consequent investigations and exami- 
 nations : next a batch of villagers to say their crops 
 are destroyed by a storm, and no rents forthcoming. 
 Then a scream of woe from a plundered farm on the 
 frontier, and next a grain-dealer, to say his camels 
 have been carried off to the hills. ' Is not this a 
 dainty dish to set before — ^your brother.' Then each 
 of my nine hundred men considers me bound to listen 
 
186 COMPETITIVE SYSTEM. 
 
 to any amount of stories he may please to invent or 
 remember of his own private griefs and troubles ; and 
 last, not least, there are four young gentlemen who 
 have each his faney^ and who often give more trouble 
 in transacting business than assistance in doing it. 
 However, I have no right to complain, for I am 
 about, yes, quite, the most fortunate man in the 
 service ; and have I not the right to call myself the 
 happiest also, with such a wife and such a home? 
 
 Camp, near Peshawur, August 6th, 1853. 
 I hear that the new system for India is to throw 
 open Addiscombe and Haileyb«rry to public competi- 
 tion : that this public competition will be fair and 
 open, and free from jobbery and patronage, I suppose 
 no sane person in the 1 9th century, acquainted with 
 public morals and public bodies, would believe for an 
 instant. The change may, however, facilitate admis- 
 sion into the service to well-crammed boys. There are, 
 I doubt not, many clever and able men who would in 
 a year put any boy with tolerable abiHties into a state 
 of intellectual coma which would enable him to write 
 out examination papers by the dozen, and pass a tri- 
 umphant examination in paper-military affairs. I am 
 not called upon to state how much of it would avail 
 in the hour of strife and danger. India is _par ex- 
 cellence the country for poor men who have hard con- 
 stitutions and strong stomachs. I fear you will add, 
 when you have read thus far, that it is not favourable 
 to charity, or to the goodness which, under the pious 
 wish to think no evil, gives every one credit for every- 
 thing, and believes that words mean what they appear 
 to express, and that language conveys some idea of the 
 
GEOGRAPHY OF PUNJAB. 137 
 
 thoughts of the speaker ! ... It is very trying 
 that I cannot be with Susie at Murree ; but with a 
 people such as these it is not safe to be absent, lest 
 the volcano should break out afresh. Since I began 
 this sheet a dust-storm has covered everything on my 
 table completely with sand. My pen is clogged and 
 my inkstand choked, and my eyes full of dust ! What 
 am I to do ? Oh the pleasures of the tented field 
 in August in the valley of Peshawur ! It has been 
 very hot indeed, lately. We have barely in our huts 
 had the thermometer under 100°, and a very steamy, 
 stewy heat it is, into the bargain. 
 
 Murree, Sept. 14th, 1853. 
 I am enjoying a little holiday from arms and 
 kutcherry up in the cool here with Susie. Murree is 
 not more than 140 miles from Peshawur. You say 
 that you do not know ' what I mean by hills in my 
 part of India.' This is owing to the badness of the 
 maps. The fact is, that the whole of the upper part 
 of the country watered by the five rivers is moun- 
 tainous. The Himalaya extends from the eastern 
 frontiers of India to Affghanistan, where it joins the 
 ' Hindoo Koosh,' or Caucasus. If you draw a line 
 from Peshawur, through Rawul Pindee, to Simla or 
 Subathoo, or any place marked on the maps there- 
 abouts, you may assume that all to the north of that 
 line is mountain country. Another chain runis from 
 Peshawur, down the right bank of the Indus to the 
 sea. At Attok the mountains close in upon the 
 river, or more correctly speaking, the river emerges 
 from the mouiitains, and the higher ranges end there. 
 The Peshawur valley is a wide open plain, lying on 
 
138 EUzorzAi. 
 
 the banks of the Cabul river^ about sixty miles long 
 by forty broadj encircled by mountains, some of them 
 covered with snow for eight or nine months of the 
 year. Euzofzai is the north-eastern portion of this 
 valley, embraced between the Cabul river and the 
 Indus. Half of Euzofzai (the ^ abode of the children 
 of Joseph') is mountain, but we only hold the level 
 or plain part of it. Nevertheless, a large part of my 
 little province is very hilly. In the north-east corner 
 of Euzofzai, hanging over the Indus, is a vast lump of 
 a hill, called ' Mahabun' (or the ' great forest'), 
 thickly peopled on its slopes, and giving shelter to 
 some 1:^,000 armed men, the bitterest bigots which 
 even Islam can produce. The hill is about 7800 
 feet above the level of the sea. This has been iden- 
 tified by the wise men with the Aornos of Arrian, 
 and Alexander is supposed to have crossed the Indus 
 at its foot. Whether he did so or not, I am not ^ at 
 liberty to mention,' but it is certain that Nadir Shah, 
 in one of his incursions into India, marched his host 
 fco the top of it, and encamped there. This gives 
 colour to the story that the Macedonian did the same. 
 As in all ages, there are dominating points which are 
 seized on by men of genius when engaged in the 
 great game of war. The great principles of war seem 
 to change as little as the natural features of the 
 country. Well, you will see how a mountain range 
 running ^ slantingdicularly' across the Upper Punjab 
 contains many nice mountain tops suited to Anglo- 
 Saxon adventurers. If you can find Rawul Pindee on 
 the maps, you may put your finger on Murree, about 
 twenty-five miles, as the crow flies, to the north- 
 east. You should get a map of the Punjab, Cashmere 
 
DEATH OF MR. THOMASON. 139 
 
 and Iskardo, 'published by Arrowsmith in 1847, 
 George sent me two of them. They are the best 
 published maps I have seen. As to the Euzofzai 
 fever, that is, I am happy to say, now over. It was 
 terrible while it lasted. Between the ist March and 
 the 15th June, 1853, 8352 persons died out of a 
 population of 53,500. It was very similar to typhus, 
 but had some symptoms of yellow fever. It was 
 confined to natives. It appeared to be contagious or 
 infectious, but I am so entirely sceptical as to the 
 existence of either contagion or infection in these 
 Indian complaints, that I cannot bring myself to 
 believe that the appearances were real. 
 
 Poor Colonel Mackison, the Commissioner at 
 Peshawur (the chief civil and political officer for the 
 frontier), was stabbed, a few days ago, by a fanatic, 
 while sitting in his verandah reading. The fellow 
 was from Sw^t, and said he had heard that we were 
 going to invade his country, and that he would try 
 to stop it, and go to heaven as a martyr for the faith. 
 Poor Mackison is still alive, but in a very precarious 
 state, I fear. I hope this may induce Government 
 to take strong measures with the hill tribes. 
 
 He had soon to mourn the loss of a still 
 more valued friend : — 
 
 Oct. i^th, 1853. 
 
 You will have been much shocked at hearing of 
 poor dear Mr. Thomason's death. 
 
 It is an irreparable loss to his family and friends, 
 but it will be even more felt in his public capacity. 
 He had not been ill, but died from sheer debility and 
 exhaustion produced by overwork and application in 
 the trying season just over. Had he gone to the 
 
140 BOREE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 hills, all would have been right. I cannot but think 
 that he sacrificed himself as an example to others. 
 You may imagine how much I have felt the loss of 
 my earliest and best friend in India, to whom I was 
 accustomed to detail all my proceedings, and whom I 
 was wont to consult in every difficulty and doubt. 
 
 On the 2nd November lie wrote from Eawul 
 Pindee to announce the birth of a daughter. 
 He had been obliged previously to return to his 
 duties ; but by riding hard all nigbt, had been 
 able to be with his wife at the time, and after 
 greeting the little stranger, had immediately 
 to hasten back to his Guides on the frontier. 
 
 The Grovernment, with a view to secure the 
 Kohat Pass, were now preparing an expe- 
 dition against the refractory tribe of the Borees, 
 one of the bravest and wildest of the Affghan 
 race, in order to prove that their hills and 
 valleys were accessible to our troops. 
 
 Accordingly, a force consisting of 400 men 
 of her Majesty's 2 and, 450 Goorkhas, 450 
 Guides, and the mountain train, marched at 4 
 A.M. on the morning of the 2 9th November, under 
 the command of Brigadier Boileau, to attack 
 the villages in the Boree valley. 
 
 I must supply the loss of my brother's own 
 account by a letter from an officer with the 
 expedition : — 
 
 * Our party, after crossing the hills between* 
 
BOREE CAMPAIGN. 141 
 
 ' Kundao and the main Affreedee range at 
 ' two points, re-united in the valley at 
 ' 10.30 A.M., and with the villages of the Borees 
 
 * before us at the foot of some precipitous crags. 
 ' These it at once l)ecame apparent must be 
 
 * carried before the villages could be attacked 
 
 * and destroyed. The service devolved on two 
 
 * detachments of the Goorkhas and Guides, 
 ' commanded by Lieutenants Hod son and 
 
 * Turner, and the style in which these gallant 
 ' fellows did their work, and drove the enemy 
 ' from crag to rock and rock to crag, and finally 
 
 * kept them at bay from 1 1 a.m. to 3 p.m., was 
 
 * the admiration of the whole force. We could 
 ' plainly see the onslaught, especially a fierce 
 
 * struggle that lasted a whole hour, for the 
 
 * possession of a breastwork, which appeared 
 ' inaccessible from below, but was ultimately 
 
 * carried by the Guides, in the face of the 
 
 * determined opposition of the Afireedees, who 
 
 * fought for every inch of ground. 
 
 * Depend upon it, this crowning of the Boree 
 
 * heights was one of the finest pieces of light 
 
 * infantry performance on record. It was, 
 ' moreover, one which Avitabile, with 10,000 
 ' Sikhs, was unable to accomphsh. During 
 
 * these operations on the hill, the villages were 
 
 * burnt, and it was only the want of powder 
 
 * which prevented the succession of towers 
 
142 BOREE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 ' wliicli flanked them being blown into the air. 
 
 * The object of the expedition having been thns 
 
 * fully achieved, the skirmishers were recalled 
 ' at about three, and then the difficulties of the 
 
 * detachment commenced'; for, as is well 
 
 * known, the Affghans are familiar with the 
 ' art of following, though they will rarely meet 
 ' an enemy. The withdrawal of the Guides 
 ' and Goorkhas from the heights was most 
 ' exciting, and none but the best officers and 
 
 * the best men could have achieved this duty 
 ' with such complete success. Lieutenant 
 
 * Hodson's tactics were of the most brilliant 
 
 * description, and the whole force having been 
 ' once more re-united in the plain, they marched 
 ' out of the valley by the Turoonee pass, which, 
 ' though farthest from the British camp, was 
 
 * the shortest to the outer plains. Tlie force 
 ' did not return to camp till between ten and 
 ' eleven at night, having been out nearly 
 ' eighteen hours, many of the men without 
 ' food, and almost all without water, the small 
 
 * supply which had been carried out having 
 ' soon been exhausted, and none being pro- 
 ' curable at Boree. 
 
 ' Not an officer of the detachment was 
 ' touched, and only eight men killed and 
 ' twenty-four wounded. "When the force first 
 
 * entered the valley, there were not more than 
 
BOREE CAMPAIGN. 143 
 
 ' 200 Borees in arms to resist ; but before they 
 
 * returned, the number had increased to some 
 ' 3000, tens and twenties pouring in all the 
 
 * morning from all the villages and hamlets 
 
 * within many miles, intelligence of the attack 
 ' being conveyed to them by the firing.' 
 
 My brother's services on this occasion were 
 thus acknowledged by the Brigadier command- 
 ing. Colonel Boileau, her Majesty's 22nd Eegi- 
 ment, in a despatch dated Nov. 29th, 1853. 
 
 ' To the admirable conduct of Lieutenant Hodson 
 ' in reconnoitring, in the skilful disposition of his 
 ' men, and the daring gallantry with which he led 
 ' his fine Corps in every advance, most of our success 
 ^ is due ; for the safety of the whole force while in 
 ' the valley of the Tillah depended on his holding his 
 ' position, and I had justly every confidence in his vigi- 
 
 * lance and valour. 
 
 (Signed) 'J. B. Boileau, 
 
 * Brigadier Commanding the Force 
 at Boree.' 
 
 'To Lieutenant W. S. R.. Hodson, I beg you will 
 
 * express my particular thanks for the great service 
 ' he rendered the force under your command, by his 
 ' ever gallant conduct, which has fully sustained the 
 
 * reputation he has so justly acquired for courage, cool- 
 ' ness, and determination. 
 
 (Signed) ' W. M. Gomm, 
 
 * Commander-in-Chief.^ 
 
144 CAMP, murdAn. 
 
 Before Cliristmas, to Ms great deliglit, he 
 was joined in camp by his wife and child. The 
 following letters bring out still more promi- 
 nently the tender loving side of his character, 
 both as a father and a son : — 
 
 To his Father. 
 
 Camp, MurdIn, Euzofzai, Jan. 2nd, 1854. 
 
 I have been sadly long in answering your last most 
 welcome letter, but I have been so terribly driven 
 from pillar to post, that I have always been unable to 
 sit down at the proper time. My long holiday with 
 
 dear S , and journeyings to and fro to see her at 
 
 Murree, and our short campaign against the Affreedees 
 in November, threw me into a sea of arrears which 
 was terrible to contemplate, and still worse to escape 
 from. I am now working all day and half the 
 night, and cannot as yet make much impression on 
 them. 
 
 I wish you could see your little granddaughter 
 being nursed by a rough-looking AiFghan soldier, 
 or bearded Sikh, and beginning life so early as a 
 dweller in tents. She was christened by Mr. Clarke, 
 one of the Church Missionaries who happened to be 
 in Peshawur. The chaplain, who ought to have been 
 there was amusing himself somewhere, and we could 
 not catch a spare parson for a fortnight. 
 
 You evidently do not appreciate the state of things 
 in these provinces. There are but two churches in 
 the Punjab; and there will be an electric telegraph to 
 Peshawur before a church is commenced there, though 
 the station has been one for four years. In the first 
 
ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION. 145 
 
 season a large Roman Catholic Chapel was built 
 there, and an Italian priest from the Propaganda busy- 
 in his vocation. I offered Mr. C. all the aid in my 
 power, though I told him candidly that I thought he 
 had not much chance of success here. A large sum 
 has been raised at Peshawur for the Mission, but un- 
 fortunately they have gone wild with theories about 
 the lost tribes and fulfilment of prophecies respecting 
 the Jews, which has given a somewhat visionary 
 character to their plans. Mr. C. wanted me to 
 think that these Euzofzai Pathkns were Ben-i-Israel, 
 and asked me whether I had heard them call them- 
 selves so ; and he was aghast when I said they were 
 as likely to talk of Ben d'Israeli. All I can say is, 
 that if they be ' lost tribes' I only wish they would 
 find out a home somewhere else among their cousins, 
 and give me less trouble. . . . My second in command 
 was stabbed in the back by a fanatic the other day 
 while on parade, and has had a wonderful escape for 
 his life. 
 
 You would so delight in your little granddaughter. 
 She is a lovely good little darling; as happy as pos- 
 sible, and wonderfully quick and intelligent for her 
 months. I would give worlds to be able to run home 
 and see you, and show you my child, but I fear 
 much that, unless I find a 'nugget,' it is vain 
 to hope for so much pleasure just now. Meantime, I 
 have every blessing a man can hope for, and not the 
 least is that of your fond and much prized aflfec- 
 tion. 
 
 A few months later, again apologizing for 
 long silence, he says : — 
 
146 BUILDING FORT. 
 
 May 1st. 
 
 In addition to the very onerous command of 876 
 wild men and 300 wild horses, and the charge of the 
 civil administration of a district almost as lawless as 
 Tipperary, I have had to build, and superintend the 
 building of, a fort to give cover to the said men and 
 horses, including also within its walls three houses 
 for English officers, a police station, and a native 
 collector's office. He who builds in India builds not 
 in the comfortable acceptation of the term which 
 obtains at home. He sends not for his Barry or his 
 Basevi; calls not for a design and specifications, and 
 then beholds his house, and pays his bill; but he 
 builds as Noah may have built the Ark. 
 
 Down to the minutest detail of carpentry, smithery, 
 and masonry, and of ' muddery/ too, for that matter, 
 he must know what he is about, and show others 
 what to do, or good-bye to his hopes for a house. 
 
 Altogether, I am often fourteen hours a day at 
 hard work, and obliged to listen for a still longer 
 period. 
 
 Our poor little darling had a very severe attack 
 of fever the other day, but is now well again, and 
 getting strong. I never see her without wishing 
 that she was in her grandfather's arms. You would 
 so delight in her little baby tricks and ways. She is 
 the very delight of our lives, and we look forward 
 with intense interest to her beginning to talk and 
 crawl about, Both she and her dear mother will 
 have to leave for the hills very soon, I am sorry to 
 say. We try to put off the evil day, but I dare not 
 expose either of my treasures to the heat of Euzofzai 
 or Peshawur for the next three months. . , , The 
 
LIFE IN WILDERNESS. 147 
 
 young lady abeady begins to show a singularity of 
 taste — refusing to go to the arms of any native women, 
 and decidedly preferring the male population, some 
 of whom are distinguished by her special favour. Her 
 own orderly, save the mark, never tires of looking at 
 her ' beautiful white fingers,' nor she of twisting them 
 into his black beard — an insult to an Oriental, which 
 he bears with an equanimity equal to his fondness for 
 her. The cunning fellows have begun to make use of 
 her too, and when they want anything, ask the favour 
 in the name of Lilli Baba (they cannot manage 
 
 * Olivia' at all) . They know the spell is potent. 
 
 The following letters from his wife's pen 
 give a lively picture of ' domestic' life in the 
 wilderness, and of the wilderness itself : — 
 
 January, 1854. 
 ' Picture to yourself an immense plain, flat as a 
 ' billiard table, but not as green, with here and there 
 ' a dotting of camel thorn about eighteen inches 
 ' high, by way of vegetation. This far as the eye 
 ' can reach on the east, west, and south of us, but on 
 
 * the north the lasting snows of the mighty Hima- 
 ' lay a glitter and sparkle like a rosy diadem above 
 ' the lower range, which is close to our camp. What 
 ' would you say to life in such a wilderness ? or how 
 ' would you stare to see the officers sit down to table 
 ' with sword and pistol? The baby never goes for 
 ' an airing without a guard of armed horsemen : what 
 ' a sensation such a cortege would create in Hyde 
 ' Park ! ' 
 
 A'pril i^ih. 
 * You ask for some detail of our life out here, and 
 
 L 2 
 
148 EUZorzAi. 
 
 ' the histoiy of one day will be a picture of every one, 
 
 * with little variation. 
 
 ' At the first bugle, soon after daylight, W. gets 
 ' up and goes to parade, and from thence to super- 
 ' intend the proceedings at the fort. 
 
 ' By nine o'clock we are both ready for break- 
 ^ fast, after which W. disappears into his business tent, 
 
 * where he receives regimental reports, examines 
 ' recruits, whether men or horses, superintends stores 
 ' and equipments, hears complaints, and settles dis- 
 ' putes, &c. &c. The regimental business first dis- 
 ' patched, then comes " kutcherry,^^ or civil court 
 ' matters, receiving petitions, adjusting claims, with 
 
 * a still longer &c. You may have some small idea 
 ^ of the amount of this work, when I tell you that 
 ' during the month of March he disposed of twenty- 
 ' one serious criminal cases, such as murder, and 
 *" " w^ounding with intent," and nearly 300 charges of 
 ' felony, larceny, &c. At two o^clock he comes in for 
 ' a look at his bairn, and a glass of wine. Soon after 
 ' five a cup of tea, and then we order the horses, and 
 ' in the saddle till nearly eight, -when I go with him 
 
 ^ again to the fort, the garden, and the roads, 
 ^ diverging occasionally to fix the site of a new 
 ^ village, a well, or a watercourse. 
 
 ' You can understand something of the delight of 
 ' galloping over the almost boundless plain in the 
 ^ cool fresh air (for the mornings and evenings are 
 ' still lovely), with the ground now enamelled with 
 ^ sweet-scented flowers, and the magnificent mountains 
 ' nearest us assuming every possible hue which light 
 ' and shadow can bestow. On our return to camp, 
 ' W. hears more reports till dinner, which is some- 
 
LIFE IN WILDERNESS. 149 
 
 ' times shared by the other officers, or chance 
 ' guests. 
 
 ' When we are alone, as soon as dinner is over, 
 ' the letters which have arrived in the evening are 
 
 * examined, classified, and descanted on, sometimes 
 
 * answered ; and I receive my instructions for next 
 
 * day's work in copying papers, answering letters, &c. 
 ' And now do you not think that prayers and bed 
 
 * are the fitting and well-earned ending to the labours 
 
 * of the day ? 
 
 ' When you remember, too, that in building the 
 ' fort, roads, and bridges, W. has to make his bricks 
 
 * and burn them, to search for his timber and fell it, 
 t you will not deny that his hands are full enough ; 
 ' but in addition, he has to search for workmen, and 
 ' when brought here, to procure them food and means 
 ' of cooking it. Some are Mussulmans and eat meat, 
 ' which must be killed and cooked by their own 
 ' people. Some are Hindoos, who only feed on grain 
 ' and vegetables, but every single man must have his 
 ' own chula or fireplace, with an enclosure for him 
 ' and his utensils, and if by chance any foot but his 
 ' own overstep his little mud wall, he will neither 
 ' eat nor work till another sun has arisen. Then 
 ' some smoke, while others hold it in abhorrence ; 
 ' some only drink water, others must have spirits ; so 
 ' that it is no easy matter to arrange the confiicting 
 ' wants of some i loo labourers. I shall b6 very thank- 
 ful when this MurdAn Kote is finished, for it will re- 
 
 ' lieve my poor husband of half his labour and anxiety. 
 
 ' By way of variety, we have native sports on great 
 
 ' holidays — such as throwing the spear at a mark, or 
 
 " Nazabaze," which is, fixing a stake of twelve or 
 
150 NATIVE SPORTS. 
 
 ' eighteen inclies into tlie ground, which must be taken 
 ' up on the spear's point while passing it at full gallop, 
 ^ or putting an orange on the top of a bamboo a yard 
 ' high, and cutting it through with a sword at full 
 ' speed. W. is very clever at this, rarely failing, 
 ' but the spears are too long for any but a lithe 
 ' native to wield without risking a broken arm. The 
 ' scene is most picturesque — the flying horsemen in 
 ' their flowing many-coloured garments, and the 
 ' grouping of the lookers-on, make me more than 
 ' ever regret not having a ready pencil-power to put 
 ' them on paper. 
 
 ' The weather has been particularly unfavourable 
 ' to the progress of the fort, so that we are still in 
 ' our temporary hut and tents. Of course we feel 
 ^ the heat much more so domiciled. W. is grievously 
 ' overworked, still his health is wonderfully good, and 
 ' his spirits as wild as if he were a boy again. He is 
 ' never so well pleased as when he has the baby in 
 ' his arms.' 
 
 Attok, JuTie gth, 1854. 
 . . . We are so far on the way to Murree, and here, 
 I grieve to say, we part for the next three months. I 
 hope to rejoin them for a month in September, and 
 accompany them back to our new home, for by that 
 time I trust that my fortified cantonment will be 
 ready, and our house too. This said fort has been a 
 burden and a stumbling-block to me for months, 
 and added grievously to my work, as I am sole 
 architect. It is built regularly, but of earth-works 
 and mud, and as it covers an area of twelve acres, you 
 may believe that it has been no slight task to super- 
 
LOSS OF CHILD. 151 
 
 intend its construction. It is a sad necessity, and the 
 curse of Indian life, this repeatedly recurring sepa- 
 ration, but anything is better than to see the dear 
 ones suffer. I am fortunately very well, and as yet 
 untouched by the unusual virulence with which the 
 hot weather has commenced this year. 
 
 To his Father. 
 
 MuRREE, July I'jth, 1854. 
 
 I was summoned from Euzofzai to these hills, on 
 the 26th June, by the tidings of the dangerous illness 
 of our sweet baby. I found her in a sinking state, 
 and though she was spared to us for another fortnight 
 of deep anxiety and great wretchedness, there was, from 
 the time I arrived, scarcely a hope of her recovery. 
 Slowly and by imperceptible degrees her little life 
 wasted away until, early on the morning of the joth, 
 she breathed her soul away, so gently that those 
 watching her intently were conscious of no change. 
 The deep agony of this bereavement I have no words 
 to describe. We had watched her growth, and prided 
 ourselves on her development with such absorbing 
 interest and joy ; and she had so won our hearts by 
 her extreme sweetness and most unusual intelligence, 
 that she had become the very centre and light of our 
 home life, and in losing her we seem to have lost 
 everything. Her poor mother is sadly bowed down 
 by this great grief, and has suffered terribly both in 
 health and spirits. 
 
 I have got permission to remain with her a few days, 
 but I must return to my duty before the end of the 
 month. 
 
152 LOSS OF CHILD. 
 
 We had the best and kindest of medical advice^ 
 and everything, I believe, which skill could do was 
 tried, but in vain. She was lent to us to be our joy 
 and comfort for a time, and was taken from us again, 
 and the blank she has left behind is great indeed. 
 
 I dare not take Susan down with me, much as she 
 wishes it, at this season, and in her state of health. 
 I must therefore leave her here till October. It is 
 very sad work to part again under these circumstances, 
 but in this wretched country there is no help for us. 
 Your kind and affectionate expressions about our little 
 darling, and your keen appreciation of the ' unfailing 
 source of comfort and refreshment she was to my 
 w^earied spirit,^ came to me just as I had ceased to 
 hope for the precious babe's life. 
 
 . . . It has been a very, very bitter blow to us. 
 She had wound her little being round our hearts to 
 an extent which we neither of us knew until we woke 
 from the brief dream of beauty, and found ourselves 
 childless. 
 
 Camp, Murdan, Sept. i)th, 1854. 
 I am alone now, having none of my officers here 
 save the doctor. But the border is quiet, and, ex- 
 cept a great deal of crime and villainy, I have not any 
 great difficulties to contend with. My new fort to 
 hold the regiment and protect the frontier is nearly 
 finished, and my new house therein will be habitable 
 before my wife comes down from Murree. So after two 
 years and a quarter of camp and hutting, I shall enjoy 
 the luxury of a room and the dignity of a house. 
 
COMPLETION OF FORT. 153 
 
 Fort, Murdan, Oct. ^\st^ 1854. 
 
 I can give better accounts of our own state than 
 for many a long day. Dear Susan is much better 
 than for a year past, and gaining strength daily, and 
 I am as well as possible. We are now in our new 
 house in this fort, 'which has caused me so much 
 labour and anxiety ; and I assure you, a most com- 
 fortable dwelling we find it. Our houses (I mean 
 the European officers') project from the general front 
 of the works at the angles of the bastions, and are 
 quite private, and away from the noisy soldiers ; and 
 we have, for India, a very pretty view of the hills and 
 plains around us. Above all, the place seems a very 
 healthy one. To your eye, fresh from England, it 
 would appear desolate from its solitude and oppressive 
 from the vastness of the scale of scene. A wide plain, 
 without a break or a tree, thirty miles long, by fifteen to 
 twenty miles wide, forms our immediate foreground on 
 one side, and an endless mass of mountains on the other. 
 
 We have just heard by telegraph of the en- 
 gagement at Alma, but only a brief electric shock 
 of a message, without details. We are in an age of 
 wonders. Ten months ago, there was not a telegraph 
 in Hindoostan, yet the news which reached Bombay on 
 the 27th of this month, was printed at Lahore, 1200 
 miles from the coast, that same afternoon. 
 
 MurdAn, November 16th, 1854. 
 
 As yet, we have only felt the surging of the storm 
 
 which convulses Eastern Europe. The only palpable 
 
 sign of the effects of Russian intrigue which we have 
 
 had, has been the commencement of negotiation with 
 
154 NATIVE ALLIANCES. 
 
 the Dost Mahomed Khan, of Cabul, who under the 
 pressure from without, has been fain to seek for 
 alliance and aid from us. Nothing is yet known of 
 his demands, or the intentions of Government, but 
 one thing is certain, that the commencement of nego- 
 tiations with us, is the beginning of evil days for 
 Affghanistan. 
 
 In India, we must either keep altogether aloof or 
 absorb. All our history shows that sooner or later con- 
 nexion with us is political death. The sunshine is not 
 more fatal to a dew-drop than our friendship or alliance 
 to an Asiatic Kingdom. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 REVERSES. UNJUST TREATMENT. LOSS OF COMMAND. 
 
 RETURN TO REGIMENTAL DUTIES. 
 
 TTP to tliis time my brother's career in India 
 ^ had been one of almost uninterrupted 
 prosperity. He had attained a position un- 
 precedented for a man of his standing in the 
 service, and enjoyed a reputation for daring, 
 enterprise, and ability, only equalled by the 
 estimation in which he was held by all who 
 knew him, for high principle and sterling 
 worth. He was, as he described himself, the 
 most fortunate and the happiest man in India. 
 But now the tide of fortune turned. 
 
 A storm had for some time been gathering, 
 the indications of which he had either over- 
 looked or despised, till it burst with its full 
 force upon him, and seemed for the moment 
 to carry all before it, blasting his fair fame and 
 sweeping away his fortunes. Many circum- 
 stances had conspired to bring about this result, 
 some of which will only be fully appreciated by 
 those who are acquainted with the internal 
 politics of the Punjab at that period. His 
 appointment to the command of the Guides, 
 
156 JEALOUSY. 
 
 over the heads of many of his seniors, had 
 from the first excited much jealousy and ill- 
 will among the numerous aspirants to so dis- 
 tinguished a post. In India, more than in any 
 other country, a man cannot be prosperous or for- 
 tunate without making many enemies; and every 
 ascent above the level of your cotemporaries 
 secures so many additional 'good haters;' nor is 
 there any country where enmity is more un- 
 scrupulous in the means to which it has 
 recourse. This mattered comparatively little 
 to my brother, so long as Sir Henry Lawrence, 
 to whose firm and discriminating friendship he 
 owed his appointment, remained in power. 
 He, however, had been removed from the Admi- 
 nistration of the Punjab, and those who had 
 effected his removal, and now reigned supreme, 
 were not likely to look with very favourable 
 eyes upon one who, like my brother, was 
 known as his protege and confidant, and had 
 not perhaps been as guarded, as in prudence 
 he ought to have been, in the expressions of 
 his opinion on various transactions. More 
 recently still. Colonel Mackeson, the Eesident 
 at Peshawur, his. immediate superior, for whom 
 he entertained the highest regard and affection, 
 which was, I believe, reciprocated, had fallen a 
 victim to the dagger of the assassin. This 
 had, if possible, a still more injurious influence 
 
CALUMNIES. 157 
 
 on my brother's position, as the new Resident 
 was, both on public and private grounds, opposed 
 to him, and made no secret of his wish to get 
 rid of him from the charge of the frontier. 
 
 With a prospect of such support, my 
 brother's enemies were not likely to be idle. 
 He had been warned more than once of their 
 undermining operations ; but strong in con- 
 scious integrity, and unwilling to suspect 
 others of conduct which he would have scorned 
 himself, he * held straight on' upon his usual 
 course, till he found himself overwhelmed by a 
 mass of charges affecting his conduct, both in 
 his military and civil capacity. 
 
 All that malice could invent or ingenuity 
 distort, was brought forward to give impor- 
 tance to the accusations laid against him. 
 Every trifling irregularity or error of judg- 
 ment was so magnified, that a mighty fabric 
 was raised on a single grain of truth ; and the 
 result was, that towards the close of the year 
 
 I he was summoned before a court of inquiry at 
 JPeshawur. 
 That which seemed principally to give 
 colour to the charges against him was, that 
 there was undeniably confusion and irregularity 
 in the regimental accounts ; but this confusion, 
 far from having originated with him, had been 
 very materially rectified. He had succeeded 
 
158 REGIMENTAL ACCOUNTS. 
 
 to tlie command in October, 185:^, and witMn 
 twenty-four hours started on a campaign which 
 lasted between seven and eight weeks, without 
 any audit of accounts between himself and his 
 }3redecessor, who had, immediately on making 
 over the command, left for England ; so that 
 he found a mass of unexplained confusion, 
 which he had been endeavouring, during his 
 period of command, gradually to reduce to 
 some order. This he had to a certain extent 
 accomplished when summoned unexpectedly 
 to undergo an investigation and meet the 
 gravest accusations. 
 
 I will, however, in preference to any state- 
 ments of my own, which might not unnaturally 
 be suspected of partiality, insert here, though 
 it was written at a later period, a letter, giving 
 an account of the whole affair, from one whose 
 opinion must carry the greatest weight with 
 all who know him either personally or by repu- 
 tation, Sir E. Napier. It has somewhat of an 
 official character, as it was addressed to the 
 colonel of the ist Bengal European Fusiliers, 
 when my brother subsequently rejoined that 
 regiment. 
 
 And I may here observe, with regard to 
 anything which I may now or hereafter say 
 reflecting on the conduct and motives of those 
 concerned in this attempt to ruin my brother's 
 
LETTER FROM SIR R. NAPIER. 159 
 
 prospects, that I should not have ventured to 
 make these remarks simply on his authority, 
 unless I had had them confirmed, and more 
 than confirmed, by men of the highest cha- 
 racter, both civil and military, who were cogni- 
 zant of all the transactions, and did not scruple 
 to express their indignation at what they 
 characterized as a most cruel and unjust* perse- 
 cution. 
 
 From Colonel (now Sir K.) Napier, Chief Engineer, 
 Punjab, to Colonel Welchman, ist Bengal Fusiliers. 
 
 Umbala, March, 1856. 
 ' My dear Col. Welchman, — I have great pleasure 
 ' in meetingyour request, to state in writingmy opinion 
 ' regarding my friend Lieutenant Hodson's case. 
 ' Having been on intimate terms of friendship with 
 ' him since 1846, I was quite unprepared for the 
 ' reports to his disadvantage which were circulated, 
 ' and had no hesitation in pronouncing my utter dis- 
 ' belief in, and repudiation of them, as being at 
 ' variance with everything I had ever known of his 
 ' character. On arriving at Peshawur in March, 1 855, 
 ' I found that Lieutenant Hodson had been under- 
 ' going a course of inquiry before a Special Military 
 ' Court, and on reading a copy of the proceedings, I 
 ' perceived at once that the whole case lay in the cor- 
 ' rcctness of his regimental accounts ; that his being 
 ' summoned before a Court, after suspension from 
 
 * One of his principal accusers on his deathbed de- 
 clared that Dotbingcaused him so much regret as his shame- 
 ful conduct towards Lieutenant Hodson in this business. 
 
160 LETTER OF SIR R. NAPIER. 
 
 ' civil and military duty, and after an open invita- 
 ' tion (under regimental authority) to all complainants 
 ' in his regiment, was a most unusual ordeal, such as 
 ' no man could be subjected to without the '^greatest 
 ' disadvantage ; and notwithstanding this, the proceed- 
 ' ings'^ did notcontain a single substantial case against 
 ' him, provided he could establish the validity of his 
 ' regimental accounts; and that he could do this I felt 
 ' more than confident. The result of Major Taylor's 
 ' laborious and patient investigation of Lieutenant 
 ' Hodson's regimental accounts has fully justified, but 
 ' has not at all added to, the confidence that I have 
 ' throughout maintained in the honour and upright- 
 ' ness of his conduct. It has, however, shown (what I 
 ' believed, but had not the same means of judging of) 
 ' how much labour Lieutenant Hodson bestowed in 
 ' putting the affairs of his regiment in order. Having 
 ' seen a great deal of the manner in which the Guide 
 ' Corps has been employed, I can well understand 
 ' how difficult it has been to maintain anything like 
 ' regularity of office ; and how impossible it may be 
 'for those who. remain quietly in stations with eflfi- 
 ' cient establishments, to understand or make allow- 
 ' ance for the difficulties and irregularities entailed 
 ' by rapid movements on service, and want of proper 
 ' office means in adjusting accounts for which no 
 ' organized system had been established. The man- 
 ' ner in which Lieutenant Hodson has elucidated his 
 ' accounts since he had access to the necessary sources 
 ' of information, appears to be highly creditable. I 
 ' have twice had the good fortune to have been as- 
 • sociated with him on military service, when his 
 ' high qualities commanded admiration. I heartily 
 
MR. MONTGOMERY. 161 
 
 ' rejoice, therefore, both as a friend and as a member 
 ' of the service, " at his vindication from most grievous 
 ' and unjust imputations." And while I congratulate 
 < the regiment on his return to it, I regret that one of 
 
 * the best swords should be withdrawn from the frontier 
 ' service. — I remain yours very sincerely, 
 
 ' R. Napier.' 
 
 On the receipt of Major Eeynell Taylor's 
 report, to which reference is here made, Mr. 
 Montgomery (then one of the Commissioners 
 for the Punjab, now the Chief Commissioner 
 in Oude), one of the men who, under Grod, 
 have saved India, wrote as follows : — 
 
 * To me the whole report seemed more satis- 
 ' factory than any one I had ever read ; and 
 
 * considering Major Taylor's high character, 
 ' patience, and discernment, and the lengthened 
 
 * period he took to investigate every detail, 
 
 * most triumphant. This I have expressed to all 
 ' with whom I have conversed on the subject.' 
 
 All this, however, is an anticipation of the 
 due order of events. I must go back again to 
 the Court of Inquiry, in order to show more 
 clearly the injustice to which Lieutenant 
 Hodson was exposed. The proceedings of the 
 Court terminated on the 15th January, 1855. 
 Till they were submitted to the Governor- 
 General, no decision could be given, nor any 
 report published, though every publicity had 
 been given to the accusations made.. Up to 
 
162 SUPPRESSION OF REPORT. 
 
 the last week in July, the papers had not been 
 forwarded from Lahore to be laid before him. 
 Meanwhile, not merely had my brother been 
 suspended from civil and military duty during 
 the inquiry, but without waiting for the result, 
 he had been superseded in his command, on the 
 ground that his continuing in Euzofzai, where 
 his corps was stationed, was inconsistent with 
 the public interest. This will appear scarcely 
 credible, but worse remains behind. 
 
 Ten months after the conclusion of the 
 inquiry, in consequence of repeated applications 
 from my brother for a minute investigation of 
 his accounts. Major Taylor, as had been men- 
 tioned, was appointed to examine them, and on 
 the i3tli February, 1856, made his report. The 
 document itself is too long and technical for 
 publication, but the written opinions I have 
 already quoted of Sir E. Napier and Mr. Mont- 
 gomery are sufficient to show that it completely 
 established Lieutenant Hodson's innocence, 
 and cleared him from the grievous and unjust 
 imputations cast upon him. Yet in March, 
 1857, he discovered that this report had never 
 been communicated to the Commander-in- 
 Chief, or Secretary to Government. It had 
 been quietly laid aside in some office, and no 
 more notice taken. Lord Dalhousie left India, 
 having heard all that could be said against him, 
 
OFFICIAL ENMITY. 163 
 
 and nothing in his vindication. I might give 
 many other details illustrative of the manner 
 in which, even in the nineteenth century, 
 official enmity can succeed in crushing one who 
 is so unfortunate as to be its victim, and of 
 the small chance which exists of redress, but I 
 will not weary my readers with them. 
 
 I give a few extracts from my brother's 
 letters at different times in the course of these 
 proceedings, to show the spirit in which he 
 bore this trial, bitter though it was, peculiarly 
 grievous to one of his sensitive feelings on all 
 points of honour. 
 
 In August, 1855, he wrote to me : — 
 
 They have not been able, with all their efforts, to 
 fix anything whatever upon me ; all their allegations 
 (and they were wide enough in their range) have 
 fallen to the ground ; and the more serious ones have 
 been utterly disproved by the mere production of 
 documents and books. The most vicious assertion 
 was, that I had been so careless of the public money 
 passing through my hands, that I had not only kept no 
 proper accounts, but that paper had never been inked on 
 the subject, and consequently it would be impossible 
 to ascertain whether or not any deficiency existed 
 in my regimental treasure chest; and this after I 
 had laid my books on the table of the Court, and 
 begged that they might be examined, and after I had 
 subsequently officially applied for their examination 
 by proper accountants. Well, after seven months' 
 delay, I was offered the opportunity of producing 
 
 M 2, 
 
164 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TROUBLES. 
 
 them; and tlius I have now at last a chance of 
 bringing out the real state of the ease. Up to the 
 present time, the most critical and hostile examination, 
 lasting a month, has only served to prove my earliest 
 assertion, and my only o'ne, that I could give an 
 ample account of every farthing of money intrusted 
 to me whenever it might please the powers that be 
 to inquh-e into it. The sum total of money repre- 
 sented by my account amounts to about 120,000^. 
 passing through my hands in small fractional sums of 
 receipt and expenditure. 
 
 Not only do they find that I have regular con- 
 nected accounts of everything, but that these are sup- 
 ported by vouchers and receipts. It has been a severe 
 trial, and the prolonged anxiety and distress of the 
 past nine months have been nearly insupportable. 
 
 I almost despair of making you, or any one not on 
 the spot, understand the ins and outs of the whole 
 affair; and I can only trust to the result, and to the 
 eventual production of all the papers, to put things in 
 their proper light. In the mean time, I must endea- 
 vour to face the wrong, the grievous, foul wrong, 
 with a constant and unshaken heart, and to endure 
 humiliation and disgrace with as much equanimity as 
 I may, and with the same soldier-like fortitude with 
 which I ought to face danger, suffering, and death in 
 the path of duty. 
 
 Naosherah, Nov. 4th, 1855. 
 Your two sad letters came close upon one another, 
 but I could not write then. The blow* was over- 
 whelming ; coming, too, at a time of unprecedented 
 suffering and trial, it was hard to bear up against. 
 
 * The news of his father's death. 
 
WAITING, 165 
 
 What a year this has been ! What ages of trial 
 and of sorrow seem to have been crowded into a 
 few short months. Our darling babe was taken 
 from us on the day my public misfortunes began, 
 and death has robbed us of our father before their end. 
 The brain-pressure was almost too much for me, coming 
 asthetidingsdidat a time of peculiar distress. . . . 
 The whole, indeed, is so peculiarly sad that one's 
 heart seems chilled and dulled by the very horror of 
 the calamity. ... I look with deep anxiety for 
 your next letters, but the mail seems exclusively occu- 
 pied with Sebastopol, and to have left letters behind. 
 
 Again, to his sister, some months later : — 
 I trust fondly that better days are coming ; but 
 really the weary watching and waiting for a gleam 
 of daylight through the clouds, and never to see it, 
 is more harassing and harder to bear up against than 
 I could have supposed possible. I have been tried to 
 the utmost I do think. A greater weight of 
 public and private calamity and sorrow surely never 
 fell at once on any individual. But it has to be 
 borne, and I try to face it manfully and patiently, and 
 to believe that it is for some good and wise end. 
 
 By the way, I was much gratified and surprised at 
 seeing, in an article in the Calcutta Heview written 
 and signed by Sir Henry Lawrence, a most flattering 
 testimony* to my military character. Coming at 
 such a time it is doubly valuable. 
 
 • * Lieutenant Hodson, who has succeeded to the com- 
 
 * mand of the Guides, is an accotnplislied soldier, cool in 
 
 * council, daring in action, with great natural ability im- 
 
 * proved by education. There are few abler men in any 
 
 * service.' 
 
166 PRESSURE OF WORK. 
 
 In another letter lie says : — 
 
 It is pleasant indeed to find that not a man who 
 knows me has any belief that there has been anything 
 wrong. They think I have been politically wrong 
 in not consulting my own interests by propitiating 
 the powers that be^ and they know that I am the 
 victim of ofiicial enmity in high places ; but I am proud 
 to say^ that not one of them all (and indeed I believe 
 I might include my worst foes and accusers in the 
 category) believes that I have committed any more 
 than errors of judgment, and that, owing to the pres- 
 sure of work which came upon me all at once, and which 
 was more than one man could manage at once, with- 
 out leaving something to be done at a more convenient 
 season. 
 
 I can honestly say, that for months before I was 
 summoned into Peshawur for the inquiry, I had never 
 known what a half hour's respite from toil and anxiety 
 was ; in fact, ever since I first traced the lines of the 
 fort at Murdan, in December, 1853, I was literally 
 weighed down by incessant calls on my time and at- 
 tention, and went to bed at night thoroughly ex- 
 hausted and worn out, to rise before daylight to a re- 
 newed round of toil and worry. 
 
 I remember telling John Lawrence, that if they 
 got rid of me, he would require three men to do the 
 work which I had been doing for Government ; and it 
 has already proved literally true. They have had to 
 appoint three different officers to the work I had done 
 single-handed, and that, too, after the worst was 
 over ! 
 
REJOINING REGIMENT. 167 
 
 TJmbala, March 2^th, 1856. 
 
 Of myself I have little to tell you : things have 
 been much in statu quo. Major Taylor^s report, of 
 which I am going to send you a copy, is most 
 satisfactory. There is much which you will probably 
 not understand in the way of technicalities, but the 
 general purport will be clear to you. 
 
 I expect to join my regiment in about three weeks. 
 They are marching up from Bengal to Dugshai, a 
 hill station sixty miles from hence, and ten from 
 Kussowlee and Subathoo respectively, so I shall be 
 close to old haunts. I am very glad we shall be in 
 a good climate, for though I have not given in or 
 failed, I am thankful to say, still the last eighteen 
 months have told a good deal upon me, and I am not 
 up to heat or work. If the colonel (Welchman) can, 
 he is going to give me the adjutancy of the regiment, 
 which will be a gain in every way, not only as 
 showing to the world that, in spite of all which has 
 happened there is nothing against my character, but 
 as increasing my income, and giving me the oppor- 
 tunity of learning a good deal of work which will be 
 useful to me, and of doing, I hope, a good deal of 
 good amongst the men. It will be the first step up 
 the ladder again, after tumbling to the bottom. 
 
 Soon afterwards. Lieutenant Hodson rejoined 
 the ist Fusiliers at Dugshai. It may be 
 necessary, for the sake of unprofessional 
 readers, to explain that during the whole time 
 that he had been Assistant-Commissioner in 
 the Punjab, or in command of the Guides, he 
 
168 MR. C. RAIKES. 
 
 had continued to belong to this regiment, as 
 political or staiF appointments in India do 
 not dissolve an officer's connexion with his 
 own regiment. 
 
 On April 8th he writes from Dugshai : — 
 
 1 have but little to tell you to cheer you 
 
 on my account. My health which had stood the trial 
 wonderfully, was beginning to fail, but I shall soon 
 be strong again in this healthy mountain air, 7000 
 feet above the sea. 
 
 This is a great thing, but it is very hard to begin 
 again as a regimental subaltern after nearly eleven 
 years* hard work. However, I am very fond of the 
 profession, and there is much to be done, and much 
 learnt, and, under any other circumstances, I should 
 not regret being with English soldiers again for a 
 time. Everyone believes that I shall soon be righted, 
 but the ' soon * is a long time coming. I was much 
 gratified the other day by an unexpected visit from 
 Mr. Charles Eaikes, one of the Punjab Commissioners, 
 who was passing through Umbala, on his way to 
 take a high appointment at Agra. I had no personal 
 knowledge of him, but he came out of his way to 
 call upon me, and express his sympathy and his 
 appreciation of (what he was pleased to call) my high 
 character. 
 
 He said much that was encouraging and pleasing, 
 which I need not repeat. It served pleasantly, how- 
 ever, to show that the tide was turning, and that in 
 good men's minds my character stood as high as ever. 
 
 In addition to his other troubles, my brother 
 
MR. C. RAIKES. 169 
 
 was suifering all this time from a dislocated 
 ankle. He says in June : — 
 
 I have nothing to tell you of myself, save that I 
 have to-day, for the first time for eight weeks, put 
 my foot to the ground; I cannot, however, yet walk 
 a yard without crutches. 
 
 DuGSHAi, Sept. 24th, 1856. 
 
 I strive to look the worst boldly in the face as I 
 would an enemy in the field, and to do my appointed 
 work resolutely and to the best of my ability, 
 satisfied that there is a reason for all ; and that even 
 irksome duties well done bring their own reward, 
 and that if not, still they are duties. 
 
 But it is sometimes hard to put up with the 
 change ! I am getting a little stronger on my ankle, 
 but am still unable, at the end of five months, to do 
 more than walk about the house. Fancy my not 
 being able to walk 200 yards for half a-year. 
 
 DUGSHAI, ^ov. 6th. 
 I yearn to be at home again and see you all, but 
 I am obliged to check all such repinings and longings, 
 and keep down all canker cares and bitternesses, and 
 set my teeth hard and will earnestly to struggle on 
 and do my allotted work as well and cheerfully as m 
 be, satisfied that in the end a brighter time 
 come. 
 
 I know nothing in my brother's whole 
 career more truly admirable, or showing more 
 
170 REGIMENTAL DUTIES. 
 
 real heroism, than his conduct at this period 
 while battling with adverse fates. 
 
 Deeply as he felt the change in his position, 
 he accommodated himself to it in a manner 
 that won the admiration and esteem of all. 
 Instead of despising his regimental duties, irk- 
 some and uninteresting, comparatively speak- 
 ing, as they were, he discharged them with a 
 zeal and energy, as well as cheerfulness, which 
 called forth the following strong expressions 
 of commendation from the colonel of his regi- 
 ment. They are taken from a letter addressed 
 to the Adjutant-General of the army : — 
 
 ' Umbala, Jan. i^th, 1857. 
 . . .' I consider it a duty, and at the same time feel a 
 ' great pleasure_, in requesting you to submit^ for the 
 ' consideration of his Excellency the Commander-in- 
 ' Chief, this my public record and acknowledgment 
 ' of the very essential service Lieutenant Hodson has 
 ' done the regiment at my special request. On the 
 * arrival of the regiment at Dugshai I asked Lieu- 
 ' tenant Hodson to act as quartermaster. I pointed 
 ' out to him that, mainly owing to a rapid succession of 
 ' quartermasters when the regiment was on field-service, 
 ' the office had fallen into very great disorder ; . . and 
 ' that he would have to restore ,order out of com- 
 ' plicated disorder, and to organize a more efficient 
 ' working system for future guidance and observance. 
 ' To my great relief and satisfaction. Lieutenant Hod- 
 ' son most cheerfully undertook the onerous duties ; 
 ' he was suffering at the same time severe bodily 
 
TESTIMONY OF COLONEL WELCHMAN. 171 
 
 ' pain, consequent on a serious accident, yet this did 
 ' not in any way damp his energy, or prevent his 
 ' most successfully carrying out the object in view. . . 
 ' It is impossible to do otherwise than believe that 
 ' this officer's numerous qualifications are virtually lost 
 ' to the State by his being employed as a regimental 
 ' subaltern, as he is fitted for, and capable of doing 
 ' great justice to, any staff situation ; and I am con- 
 ' vinced, that should his Excellency receive with 
 ' approval this solicitation to confer on him some 
 ' appointment suited to the high ability, energy, and 
 ' zeal which I fear I have but imperfectly brought to 
 ' notice, it would be as highly advantageous to the 
 
 * service as gratifying to myself. An officer whose 
 
 * superior mental acquirements are fully acknowledged 
 ' by all who know him ; who has ably performed the 
 ' duties of a civil magistrate in a disturbed district ; 
 ' whose knowledge of engineering has been practi- 
 ' cally brought into play in the construction of a fort 
 ' on the North-Western frontier ; whose gallant con- 
 
 * duct in command of a regiment in many a smart 
 ' engagement has been so highly commended, and by 
 ' such competent authorities, is one whom I have con- 
 
 * fidence in recommending for advancement ; and in 
 ' earnestly, yet most respectfully, pressing the recom- 
 ' mendation, I plead this officer's high qualifications 
 ' as my best apology. ... 
 
 ' I have, &c. 
 (Signed) ' J. Welchman, 
 
 ' LieiU.-Col. Commanding ist Bengal 
 * Fusiliers' 
 
 Quite as strong was the testimony borne by 
 Brigadier-General Johnstone : — 
 
172 GENERAL JOHNSTONE. 
 
 * To the Adjutant-General of the Army. 
 
 * SiRHiND Division, Head Quarters, Umbala, 
 
 Jan. ^oth, 1857. 
 
 ' Sir, — My mere countersignature to ColoneJ 
 ' Welchman's letter in favour of Lieutenant Hodson 
 ' seems so much less than the occasion demands, that 
 ' I trust his Excellency will allow of my submitting 
 ' it in a more special and marked manner. I beg to 
 ' accompany Colonel Welchman's letter with a testi- 
 ' mony of my own to the high character of the 
 ' officer in question. 
 
 ' Rejoining his regiment as a lieutenant, from the 
 ' exercise of an important command calling daily for 
 ' the display of his energy, activity, and self-reliance, 
 ' and frequently for the manifestation of the highest 
 ' qualities of the partisan leader, or of the regular 
 ' soldier, Lieutenant Hodson, with patience, perse- 
 ' verance, and zeal undertook and carried out the 
 ' laborious minor duties of the regimental staff as 
 ^ well as those of a company; and with a diligence, 
 ' method, and accuracy such as the best trained 
 ' regimental officers have never surpassed, succeeded, 
 ' in a manner fully justifying the high commendation 
 * bestowed on him by his commanding officer. As a 
 ' soldier in the field. Lieutenant Hodson has gained 
 ' the applause of officers of the highest reputation, 
 ' eye-witnesses of his ability and courage. On the 
 ' testimony of others, I refer to these, and that 
 ' testimony so honourable to his name I beg here- 
 ' with to submit to his Excellency. 
 
 ' On my own observation, I am enabled to speak to 
 ' Lieutenant Hodson's character and qualities in 
 
WINTER CAMP. 173 
 
 ' quarters, and I do so in terms of well-earned com- 
 ' mendation, and at the same time in the earnest 
 ' hope that his merits and qualifications will obtain 
 ' for him such favour and preferment at the hands of 
 ' his Excellency as he may deem fit to bestow on 
 ' this deserving officer. 
 
 ' I have, &c. 
 (Signed) 'M. C. Johnstone, 
 
 ^ Brigculier- General, (he* 
 
 I must add a few more extracts from Lieu- 
 tenant Hodson's letters to myself and others, to 
 complete this part of his history : — 
 
 DuGSHAi, April "jth, 1857. 
 Your letter written this day three months reached 
 me at Umbala, at our mildest of ' Chobhams' in the 
 middle of February, and deserved an earlier reply, 
 but I have been quite taken out of the private corres- 
 pondence line lately, by incessant calls on my time. 
 Regimental work in camp in India, with European 
 regiments, no less than in quarters, is contrived to 
 cut up one's time into infinitesimal quantities, and 
 keep one waiting for every other half- hour through 
 the day. I had more time for writing when I com- 
 manded a frontier regiment, and governed a province ! 
 These winter camps are very profitable, however, and 
 not by any means unpleasant ; and as Umbdla was 
 very full, we had an unusual amount of society for 
 India, and some very pleasant meetings. I was too 
 lame to dance, but not to dine, and take part in 
 charades or tableaux, and so forth, and so contrived 
 to keep alive after the day's work was over. I got 
 some KvSoc and vast kindness for performing the 
 
174 GENERAL ANSON. 
 
 more strictly professional role of brigade-major to 
 one of the infantry brigades, and had excellent oppor- 
 tunities of learning the essential, but so seldom 
 taught or learned, art of manoeuvring bodies of troops. 
 My service has been so much on the frontier and 
 with detached corps, that I had previously had but 
 small opportunities for the study. I had an interview 
 with General Anson the other day, and I hope a 
 satisfactory one. He is a very pleasant mannered and 
 gentlemanly man, open and frank in speech, and 
 quick to a proverb in apprehension, taking in the 
 pith of a matter at a glance. As I always thought, 
 it turned out that Major Taylor's report had never 
 reached the Commander-in-Chief, and they had only 
 the old one-sided story to go upon. I explained the 
 whole to him, and as he had already very kindly 
 read the papers relating to the matter, he quite 
 comprehended it, and begged me to give him a copy 
 of Taylor's report, when he would, if satisfied, try 
 and see justice done me. I trust, therefore, that at 
 last something will be done to clear me from all 
 stigma in the matter. As soon as that is done he 
 will give me some appointment or other, unless 
 Government do it themselves. Sir Henry Lawrence 
 writes to me most kindly, and is only waiting a 
 favourable opportunity to help me. 
 
 We are in a state of some anxiety, owing to the 
 spread of a very serious spirit of disaffection among 
 the Sepoy army. One regiment (the 19th of the 
 line) has already been disbanded, and, if all have 
 their dues, more yet will be so before long. It is our 
 great danger in India, and Lord Hardinge's prophecy, 
 that our biggest fight in India would be with our 
 
HOPES OF REDRESS. 175 
 
 own army, seems not unlikely to be realized, and 
 that before long. Native papers, education, and 
 progress are against keeping 200,000 native merce- 
 naries in hand. 
 
 To a Friend in Calcutta. 
 
 DuGSHAi, May ^th, 1857. 
 Unless I hear of something to my advantage 
 meanwhile, I propose starting for Calcutta about the 
 middle of this merry month of May, with the object 
 of endeavouring to effect by personal appeal and ex- 
 planations the self-vindication which no mere paper 
 warfare seems likely to extort from Government. I 
 had waited patiently for nearly two years, ' striving to 
 be quiet and do my own business,' in the hope that 
 justice, however tardy, would certainly overtake me, 
 when an incident occurred which showed that I must 
 adopt a more active mode of procedure if I wished 
 for success. On applying for employment with the 
 force in Persia, I met with a refusal, on the ground of 
 what had occurred when in command of the Guides. 
 This you will allow was calculated to drive a man to 
 extremities who had been under the impression all 
 along that his conduct, whensoever and howsoever 
 called in question, had been amply vindicated. 
 
 It appeared that while everything to my dis- 
 advantage had been carefully communicated by the 
 Punjab authorities to army head-quarters, they had, 
 with true liberality and generosity, suppressed 'in 
 toto' the results of the subsequent inquiry which had, 
 in the opinion of all good men, amply cleared my 
 good name from the dirt lavished on it. Even the 
 secretaries to Government had never heard of this 
 
176 PROPOSED JOURNEY TO CALCUTTA. 
 
 vindication, and were going on believing all manner 
 of things to my discredit. Lord Canning also being 
 utterly ignorant of the fact that subsequently to Lord 
 Dalhousie's departure, the results of the second inves- 
 tigation had been communicated to Government. 
 
 There were clearly three courses open to me, ' ^ la 
 Sir Robert Peel.' 
 
 1st. Suicide. 
 
 2nd. To resign the service in disgust and join the 
 enemy. 
 
 3rd. To make the Governor-General eat his words 
 and apologize. 
 
 I chose the last. 
 
 The first was too melodramatic and foreign; the 
 second would have been a triumph to my foes in the 
 Punjab ; besides, the enemy might have been beaten ! 
 
 I have determined, therefore, on a trip to Calcutta. 
 
 You will, I have no doubt, agree with me that I am 
 perfectly right in taking the field against the enemy, 
 and not allowing the Government to rest until I 
 have carried my point. 
 
 In another letter of the same date : — 
 
 I have had another interview with General Anson 
 at Simla, and nothing could have been more satis- 
 factory. He was most polite, even cordial, and while 
 he approved of my suggestion of going down to Cal- 
 cutta to have personal explanations with the people 
 there, and evidently thought it a plucky idea to un- 
 dertake a journey of 2500 miles in such weather 
 (May and June), yet he said that I had better wait 
 till I heard again from him, for he would write him- 
 self to Lord Canning, and try to get justice done me. 
 
OUTBREAK OF MUTINY. 177 
 
 I do trust the light is breaking through the dark- 
 ness, and that before long I may have good news to 
 send you, in which I am sure you will rejoice. 
 
 It did break from a most unexpected 
 quarter. 
 
 This was the last letter received in England 
 from my brother for some months. Six days 
 after it was written, the outbreak at Meerut 
 occurred, and almost immediately India was 
 in a blaze. 
 
 * Fortunate was it' (my brother afterwards 
 said) * that I was delayed by General Anson 
 
 * till he received an answer from Lord Canning, 
 
 * or I should undoubtedly have been murdered 
 
 * at some station on the road. The answer 
 
 * never came. It must have been between Cal- 
 
 * cutta and Allygurh when disturbances broke 
 
 * out, and was, with all the daks for many days, 
 ' destroyed or plundered.' 
 
 Most fortunate, too, was it (if we may use 
 such an expression), that in the hour of India's 
 extremity. Lieutenant Hodson was within 
 reach of the Commander-in-Chief, and avail- 
 able for service. It was no longer a time to 
 stand on official etiquette. In that crisis, which 
 tried the bravest to the utmost, when a strong 
 will and cool head and brave heart were 
 needed, he at once rose again to his proper 
 place in counsel and in action. 
 
178 TURN OF FORTUNE. 
 
 But I must not anticipate what belongs to 
 the next chapter. One fact, however, I cannot 
 refrain from stating here, as an appropriate 
 conclusion of this narrative, that within six 
 weeks of the date of the last letter, Lieutenant 
 Hodson was actually commanding in the field, 
 before the walls of Delhi, by General Barnard's 
 special request, the very corps of Guides from 
 which he had been so unjustly ousted two years 
 before. 
 
 * Was there ever,' he says in reference to it, 
 ' a stranger turn on the wheel of fortune ? I 
 ' have much cause to be grateful, and I hope I 
 ' shall not forget the bitter lessons of 
 ' adversity.' 
 
b 
 
 PART II. 
 
 NARRATIVE OF THE DELHI CAMPAIGN, 1857. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MARCH DOWN TO DELHI. 
 
 ON the loth May occurred the outbreak at 
 Meerut, closely followed by the massacre 
 at Delhi. 
 
 On the 13th, orders were received at Dugshai, 
 from the Commander-in-Chief, for the ist 
 Bengal European Fusiliers to march without 
 delay to Umbala, where all the regiments from 
 the hill stations were to concentrate. They 
 set out that afternoon, and reached UmbMa, a 
 distance of sixty miles, on the morning of the 
 second day. From this point Lieutenant 
 Hodson's narrative commences. It is com- 
 piled from the letters or bulletins which he 
 sent day by day to his wife, written as besir 
 they might, in any moments which he could 
 snatch from the overwhelming press of work, 
 sometimes on the field, sometimes on horse- 
 back. It is almost unnecessary to observe, 
 
 N 2 
 
180 DELHI CAMPAIGN. 
 
 that they were not intended for the public eye, 
 and would never have been published had my 
 lamented brother been alive, as he had the 
 greatest horror of any of his letters appearing 
 in print. Now, unhappily, the case is different, 
 and I feel, in common with many of his 
 friends, that in justice both to himself and to 
 the gallant band who formed the ' army before 
 Delhi,' this record of heroic fortitude and 
 endurance ought not to be withheld. It does 
 not profess to be a history of the siege, or mili- 
 tary operations connected with it ; though it 
 is a most valuable contribution to any history, 
 as Lieutenant Hodson, from his position as 
 head of the Intelligence Department, knew 
 better, probably, than any other man what 
 was going on both amongst the enemy and in 
 our own force ; and his incidental notices will 
 tell, better, perhaps, than the most laboured 
 description, what our men did and what they 
 suffered. Full justice will probably never be 
 done them, nor their trying position appre- 
 ciated as it ought to be; besiegers in name, 
 though more truly besieged ; exposed to inces- 
 sant attacks night and day; continually thinned 
 in numbers by the sword, the bullet, the sun- 
 stroke, and cholera, and for many weeks 
 receiving no reinforcements ; feeling sometimes 
 as if they were forgotten by their countrymen. 
 
CHEERFUL SPIRIT. 181 
 
 and yet holding their ground against a nation 
 in arms, without murmuring or complaining, 
 and with unshaken determination. All ac- 
 counts agree in speaking of the cheerful and 
 
 * plucky' spirit that prevailed, both amongst 
 officers and men, notwithstanding fatigue, pri- 
 vation, and sickness, as something quite 
 remarkable even amongst British soldiers. 
 And if there was one more than another who 
 contributed to inspire and keep up this spirit, 
 if there was one more than another who 
 merited that which a Eoman would have con- 
 sidered the highest praise, that he never de- 
 spaired of his country, it was Lieutenant 
 Hodson. I have seen a letter from a dis- 
 tinguished officer, in which he says : — 
 
 * Affairs at times looked very queer, from the 
 ' frightful expenditure of life. Hodson' s face 
 
 * was then like sunshine breaking through 
 ' the dark clouds of despondency and gloom 
 ' that would settle down occasionally on all but 
 
 * a few brave hearts, England's worthiest sons, 
 
 * who were determined to conquer.' 
 
 If any should be disposed to think that my 
 brother, in these letters, speaks too exclusively 
 of his own doings, they must remember, in the 
 first place, to whom they were addressed ; and 
 secondly, that in describing events — quorum 
 
182 DELHI CAMPAIGN. 
 
 pars magna fuit — it would be almost impossible 
 not to speak of himself. 
 
 He himself, even in writing to his wife, 
 thinks it necessary to apologize for being 
 * egotistical.' I believe, on the other hand, 
 that the highest interest of the following nar- 
 rative will be found to consist in its being 
 a personal narrative, a history of the man, 
 an unreserved outspeaking of his mind and 
 feelings ; nor am I afraid of others thinking 
 apology called for. Nor, however much they 
 may disagree from his criticisms on men and 
 measures, will they deny that he was well 
 qualified, both by his opportunities of observa- 
 tion at the time, and his past experience of 
 Asiatic character, to form a judgment and 
 express an opinion without exposing himself to 
 the charge of presumption. 
 
 Umbala, May i^th, 1857. 
 We got here after two nights of very harassing 
 marching. We started badly, the men having been 
 drinking before they came to parade, and they were 
 hurried too much in going down hill, consequently 
 there was much straggling ; but, thanks to tattoos 
 (ponies) and carts and elephants, sent out to meet 
 us, we got in to-day in tolerable completeness. Affairs 
 are very serious, and unless very prompt and vigorous 
 measures are taken, the whole army, and perhaps a 
 large portion of India, will be lost to us. Delhi is in 
 the hands of the mutineers — no European that we 
 
ALARM AND INDECISION. 183 
 
 can hear of being left alive there — men, women, and 
 children, all who were caught, have been butchered ! 
 Brigadier Graves, Abbott, and some others have es- 
 caped. Willoughby, the Ordnance Commissary in 
 charge of the magazine and arsenal, is said to have 
 fired it himself to prevent the mutineers having pos- 
 session of the contents to arm themselves with — of 
 course, sacrificing his own life to such a duty. A lac 
 and a half of muskets would otherwise have been in 
 the hands of the insurgents. The Commander-in- 
 Chief came in this morning. Here alarm is the pre- 
 valent feeling, and conciliation, of men with arms iu 
 their hands and in a state of absolute rebellion, the 
 order of the day. This system, if pursued, is far more 
 dangerous than anything the Sepoys can do to us. 
 There is an outbreak at Ferozepoor, but the Europeans 
 have the fort in their possession ; if not, we should be 
 without arms, for the regiments here have no ammu- 
 nition, and Philour, our nearest source of supply, was 
 nearly falling into the hands of the Sepoys. Even 
 now, some say it is at their mercy. Fortunately the 
 Maharaja of Puttiala is stanch, and so are other 
 Sikh chiefs hereabouts. We shall go on to Delhi in 
 a few days. That city is in the hands of the in- 
 surgents, and the king proclaimed Emperor of Hindoo- 
 stan ! I do trust that the authorities will act with 
 vigour, else there is no knowing where the affair will 
 end. Oh for Sir Charles Napier now ! 
 
 1 6tA, — Little is known for certain of what is 
 going on, as there is no communication with, or from, 
 below. At present, the native troops have all gone 
 off bodily; none remain in cantonments. We march, 
 I believe, on Monday — 9th Lancers, 75th Queen's, 1st 
 
184 DELHI CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Fusiliers, and nine guns/ taking the 5th, 60th Native 
 Infantry and 4tli Cavalry with us — nice companions ! 
 However, they can do ns no harm, and they might 
 do great mischief if left here. There has heen an out- 
 break at Ferozepoor and Philour, but the magazine 
 and bridge at the first place are safe in the hands of 
 her Majesty's 60th, and the authorities at Jullundur 
 sent off a party of Europeans and Horse Artillery at 
 once, who secured the fort at Philour ; otherwise we 
 should have had no ammunition but what the soldiers 
 carried in their pouches. The times are critical, but 
 I have no fear of aught save the alarm and indecision 
 of our rulers. All here is sheer confusion, and there 
 is a tendency to treat these rebellious Sepoys with a 
 tenderness as misplaced as it would be pernicious. 
 There is actually a talk of concentrating troops, and 
 waiting to be joined by others before marching on 
 Delhi ; and they utterly refuse to detach even a party 
 on Kurnal to protect the officers and treasury there. 
 This is all very sad, and sometimes makes one disposed 
 to question whether we are not suffering from the 
 ' dementia' which Providence sends as the forerunner 
 of ruin. However, our course is not yet run, and 
 whatever clouds may gather over us, there are good 
 results in store. " The Punjab is quiet. The native 
 troops at Mean-Meer were quietly disarmed, and do 
 their guards with bayonets only. This excellent ar- 
 rangement is Sir John Lawrence's doing. Nothing 
 is known of Lucknovv, or indeed of any place below 
 Meerut. AUygurh is supposed to have gone. Some 
 details of the massacre at Delhi, which I have just 
 heard from one of the escapees, are awful beyond 
 belief. Charlie Thomason is said to have escaped, but 
 
APPOINTMENT TO INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT. 1S5 
 
 Miss Jennings, the clergyman^s daughter to whom 
 he was engaged, was among the victims. Mr. 
 Beresford, his wife, and five daughters all massacred. 
 Poor Colonel Ripley lived long enough to say he was 
 killed by his own men. De Teissier's native artillery- 
 men joined the rebels. with their guns — he escaped, 
 though severely wounded. 
 
 I'jtk. — We are all terribly anxious about the 
 hill stations, reports having reached us that the 
 Goorkhas have mutinied and attacked Simla. loo 
 men, with ammunition, have gone off this morning to 
 Kussowlie. Dugshai is easily defended. Simla is 
 
 most to be feared All this has put out 
 
 of my head for the time the good news for us. 
 Yesterday, I was sent for by the Commander-in- 
 Chief, and appointed Assistant Quartermaster-Gene- 
 ral on his personal staff, to be under the immediate 
 orders of his Excellency, and with command to 
 raise loo horse and 50 foot, for service in the In- 
 telligence Department, and as personal escort. All 
 this was done, moreover, in a most complimentary 
 way, and it is quite in my line. I am prepared to 
 set to work vigorously ; but I confess my anxiety 
 on account of the reports we hear respecting the 
 
 hill stations makes me cruelly anxious 
 
 General Anson, it seems, wrote about me to Talbot, 
 but could get no answer before the outbreak oc- 
 curred, which makes this act of his, on his own 
 responsibility, the more complimentary. It is very 
 uncertain now when we move on. All is quiet in 
 the Punjab, I am thankful to say, and the rebels 
 have had a lesson read them at Ferozepoor which 
 will do good. The 45th Native Infantry were nearly 
 
186 DELHI CAMPAIGN. 
 
 cut to pieces by theioth Light Cavalry,* who pur- 
 sued them for twelve miles, and cut them to pieces. 
 This last is a great fact. One regiment at least 
 has stood by us, and the moral effect will be great : 
 nothing known yet from below. Poor Macdonald, 
 of the 2oth Native Infantry, his wife, and their 
 three babes, murdered, with adjuncts not to be men- 
 tioned. John Lawrence is acting with great vigour, 
 and they have organized a moveable force at 
 Jhelum, composed of her Majesty's 24th and 27th, 
 the Guides, Kum^on Battalion, and other Irregu- 
 lars, to move in any required direction. Montgomery 
 writes in great spirits and confidence from Lahore. 
 I am just sent for by the chief. 
 
 KuRNAL, May \^th, — According to orders, I left 
 Umbala at 8 30 p.m., and reached here at 4 30 a.m., 
 having prepared everything at Peeplee en route. I 
 had only 'Bux'f with me, and did not apprehend 
 any danger until within a few miles of Kurn^l, but 
 nothing whatever happened ; the road was deserted, 
 and not a soul to be seen. I am sheltered in a house 
 occupied by the refugees from Delhi and the civil 
 officers of Kurnal, about fifteen in all, with Mrs. 
 Wagentrieber, her husband, and sundry sergeants, 
 &c. The European troops will be here to-night. 
 What would I not give for a couple hundred of my 
 old Guides ! I flatter myself I could do something 
 then. As it is, I must bide my time until I can get 
 a few good men together on whom I can depend. I 
 have been so busy all day, writing letters on my knee, 
 sending off electric messages, cum multis aliis. I can 
 
 They afterwards mutinied t His bearer. 
 
NEW REGIMENT. 187 
 
 but rejoice that I am employed again; certain, too, 
 as I am, that the star of Old England will shine the 
 brighter in the end, and we shall hold a prouder 
 position than ever. But the crisis is an awful 
 one ! 
 
 May 19M. — This morning the Commander-in- 
 Chief ordered me to raise and command an entire 
 new regiment of Irregular Horse. I do not know 
 who or what has been at work for me, but he 
 seems willing enough to give me work to do, and I 
 am willing enough to do it. The European troops 
 arrived this morning (I sent a telegraphic message to 
 say so); and the Rajah of Jheend, with his men, last 
 night. I have offered to clear the road and open the 
 communication to Meerut and Delhi with the Rajah's 
 Horse. If the Chief will consent, I think I am sure 
 of success. It is believed that nothing has occurred 
 at Agra. The Punjab all quiet up to last night ; as 
 long as that is the case we shall do. With God and 
 our Saxon arms to aid us, I have firm faith in the 
 result. 
 
 2oth, — Deep anxiety about the safety of the hill 
 stations continues unabated ; no letters — no certainty 
 — only rumours. Were it not for this, I should 
 enter with full zest into the work before me, and the 
 fresh field which I owe to General Anson's kindness. 
 He has at last consented to my trying to open com- 
 munication with Meerut, so I start this afternoon to 
 try to make my way across with a party of the Jheend 
 Horse ; and I have, under Providence, little doubt of 
 success, though I would rather have a party of my 
 dear old Guides. There has been an outbreak at 
 Agra, but all the Europeans are shut up in the fort ; 
 
 .-._ p 
 
1S8 DELHI CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Allygurh and Moradabad have mutinied, but by God^s 
 help we shall get safely through. 
 
 lothj 1 P.M. — Just one line to say I am starting, 
 and shall not be able to write to-morrow or next day. 
 Still no tidings from the hills ! This is a terrible 
 additional pull upon one's nerves at a time like this, 
 and is a phase of war I never calculated on. 
 
 May i\th. — I returned from my expedition to 
 Meerut late last night. It was eminently successful, 
 and I am off immediately to Umbala to report pro- 
 gress to the Chief. Much relieved by a letter from 
 you. 
 
 l^tJi. — A hurried line only to say I am safe and 
 well, but dead beat. I went yesterday to Umbala 
 by mail cart to report to the Commander-in-Chief. 
 Got there at 6 p.m., and started back again at 1 1 p.m. 
 As I have only had one night in bed out of five, I am 
 tolerably weary. The Commander-in-Chief arrived 
 this morning. I will give you more particulars when 
 I have slept. 
 
 From a letter written from camp before 
 Dellii, in August, to Colonel D. Seaton : — 
 
 . . . ^ As soon as the Commander-in-Chief reached 
 ' Umbala he sent for me, and put me in charge of 
 ' the Intelligence Department, as an Assistant 
 ' Quartermaster-General under his personal orders. I 
 ' left Umbala by mail-cart that night for Kurnal, ascer- 
 ' tained the state of things, made arrangements for the 
 ' protection and shelter of the advanced party, and 
 ' offered to open the road to Meerut, from Kurnal. 
 ' He replied by telegraph. Seventy-two hours after- 
 ' wards, I was back in Kurnal, and telegraphed to him 
 
RIDE TO MEERUT. 189 
 
 ' that I had forced my way to Meerut,"^ and obtained 
 ' all the papers he wanted from tlie general there. 
 ' These I gave him four hours later in Umbala. The 
 ' pace pleased him, I fancy, for he ordered me to raise 
 ' a Corps of Irregular Horse, and appointed me com- 
 ' mandant. 
 
 May 2^thy Evening. — I wrote this morning a few 
 hurried lines to keep you from anxiety. I was too 
 tired to do more, the continued nightwork had 
 wearied me out, and when I got back here at half- 
 past six this morning I was fairly dead beat. Poor 
 
 * Letter from an Officer. 
 'When the mutiny broke out, our communications 
 
 * were completely cut off. One night, on outlying picket 
 ' at Meerut, this subject being discussed, I said, " Hodson 
 
 * is at Umbala, I know ; and I'll bet he will force his way 
 'through, and open communications with the Com- 
 
 * mander-in-Chief and ourselves." At about three that 
 ' night I heard my advanced sentries firing. I rode off 
 
 * to see what was the matter, and they told me that a 
 'party of enemy's cavalry had approached their post. 
 'When day broke, in galloped Hoc^son. He had left 
 
 * Kumal (seventy-six miles off) at nine the night before, 
 ' with one led horse and an escort of Sikh cavalry, and, 
 ' as I had anticipated, here he was with despatches for 
 
 * Wilson ! How I quizzed him for approaching an armed 
 
 * post at night without knowing the parole. Hodson 
 'rode straight to Wilson, had his interview, a bath, 
 ' breakfast, and two hours' sleep, and then rode back the 
 
 * seventy-six miles, and had to fight his way for about 
 ' thirty miles of the distance.' 
 
 Another officer, writing to his wife at this time, says : — 
 * Hodson's gallant deeds more resemble a chapter from 
 
 * the life of Bayard or Amadis de Gaul, than the doings 
 'of a subaltern of the nineteenth century. The only 
 ' feeling mixed with my admiration for him is envy.' 
 
190 DELHI CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Charlie Thomason is with me. I am happy to have 
 been in some measure instrumental in getting him 
 in in safety, by oflPering a heavy sum to the villagers. 
 He had been wandering about in the jungles, with 
 several other refugees, for days, without food or 
 shelter. I am deeply grieved for him, poor fellow ! 
 He was engaged to Miss Jennings, the chaplain's 
 daughter at Delhi, and both father and daughter are 
 among the victims of that dreadful massacre. Even 
 infants were massacred. The state of panic at 
 Meerut was shocking ; all the ladies shut up in an 
 enclosed barrack, and their husbands sleeping in the 
 men's barracks for safety, and never going beyond 
 the sentries. 
 
 General Hewitt is in a state of helpless imbecility. 
 The best and boldest spirit there was our friend 
 Alfred Light, doing his work manfully and well. 
 He had had some miraculous escapes. My com- 
 mission is to raise a body of Irregular Horse on the 
 usual rates of pay and the regular complement of 
 native officers, but the number of troops to be 
 unlimited — i.e., I am to raise as many men as I please ; 
 2000 if I can get them. The worst of it is, the 
 being in a part of the country I do not know, and the 
 necessity of finding men who can be trusted. Mr. 
 Montgomery is aiding me wonderfully. He called 
 upon some of my old friends among the Sirdars to 
 raise men for me. Shumshere Singh is raising one 
 troop ; Tej Singh ditto ; Emaumoodeen ditto ; Mr. 
 Montgomery himself one or two ditto. All these wnll 
 be ready in about three weeks. I am to remain 
 Assistant Quartermaster-General, attached to the 
 Commander-in-Chief. This allows me free access to 
 
DEATH OF GENERAL ANSON. 191 
 
 him at any time, and to other people in authority, 
 which gives me power for good. The Intelligence 
 Department is mine exclusively, and I have for this 
 line Sir Henry's old friend, the one-eyed Moulvie, 
 Rujub Alee, so I shall get the best news in the 
 country. Montgomery has come out very, very 
 strong indeed, and behaved admirably. The native 
 regiments at Peshawur have been disarmed. One at 
 Naoshera (the 55th) was sent over to occupy 
 Murdan in the absence of the Guides. They have 
 mutinied, and seized the fort, and confined the Assis- 
 tant-Commissioner. General Cotton is going against 
 them, and the Euzofzai folks will do their best to 
 prevent a man escaping. As yet the Punjab is quiet, 
 and the Irregulars true. The Guides are coming 
 down here by forced marches. 
 
 Camp, Paneeput, 27^/^. — I wrote to you this 
 lorning, but as I shall not probably be in the way 
 >f daks to-morrow, I write a few lines to be sent 
 jr I start onwards. You will have heard of the 
 death of General Anson. He was taken with 
 lolera yesterday, and died without pain from collapse 
 lis morning. He made over command to General 
 larnard with his last breath. Sir Henry only 
 ived from Umbala just in time. His death is 
 >litically a vast misfortune just at this crisis, and 
 "personally I am deeply grieved, and the natives will 
 be highly elated. I am even now hard at work, 
 raising my men, or taking means to do so, and have 
 already had applications for officers ; but I shall not 
 settle on officers till the men begin to collect, and 
 this time I will take care to have none but gentle- 
 men, if I can help it. I am going downwards to- 
 
192 DELHI CAMPAIGN. 
 
 night to look after the bridge* on this side of Delhi, 
 about thirty miles hence, by which the Meerut 
 troops will move to join us. I take the Jheend 
 Horse ; Colonel T. Seaton is commanding the 6oth 
 Native Infantry, and will be here to-night with them. 
 I don't envy him his new command, but he is a good 
 man, and a brave soldier, and if any man can get 
 them over the mess, he will do it. Sir H. Barnard 
 is a fine gentlemanly old man, but hardly up to his 
 work. However, we must all put our shoulders to 
 the wheel, and help him over the crisis. I trust he 
 will act with vigour, for we have delayed far too 
 long already. 
 
 2^tli, — There is nothing new. I travelled 
 eighty miles between % p.m. yesterday, and ten 
 this morning, besides heaps of business. I am tired, 
 I confess, for the heat is awful. The treasuries are 
 empty, and no drafts are to be cashed, so how we 
 are to get money I cannot imagine. We hear that 
 a request has gone to Lord Canning to send for 
 Pat Grant as Commander-in-Chief, pending in- 
 structions. I grieve for poor General Anson, and 
 I ought to do so, for he was a good friend to me. 
 
 SuMALKA, Q^otli. — My earnest representations and 
 remonstrances seem at last to have produced some 
 effect, for at 7 p.m. yesterday we got an order to 
 move on. The head-quarters follow us to-night from 
 Kurnal. The Sve,^ means three squadrons of 9th 
 Lancers, Money^s troop of Horse Artillery, and ist 
 Fusiliers. Brigadier Hallifax is in command, but so 
 ill from heat and anxiety, that I begin to be anxious 
 
 * At Bhagput. 
 
MARCH TO DELHI. 193 
 
 about him, and whether he will be able to remain 
 with the force is doubtful. Colonel T. Seaton has 
 gone on to Rohtuck with the 6oth Native Infantry^ 
 who, I have no doubt, will desert to a man as soon 
 as they get there. It is very plucky of him and the 
 other officers to go ; and very hard of the authorities 
 to send them ; a half-hearted measure, and very dis- 
 creditable, in my opinion, to all concerned ; affording 
 a painful contrast to Sir John Lawrence^s bold and 
 decided conduct in this crisis. The old Guides are to 
 be here on the 8th or loth to join us. The heat 
 here is a caution, and writing in this melting climate 
 anything but easy, especially as chairs and tables are 
 not common. This regiment (ist Fusiliers) is a 
 credit to any army, and the fellows are in as high 
 spirits and heart, and as plucky and free from croaking 
 as possible, and really do good to the whole force. 
 
 KussowLEE, A/ay ^ist. — Here we are one more 
 stage on our road to Delhi ; we are, however, to halt 
 a couple of days or so at the next stage (Race), to 
 await the arrival of General Barnard. Poor Brigadier 
 Hallifax was so ill that he would clearly have died 
 had he remained here, so we had a medical committee, 
 put him into my sliigram (a travelling wagon), and 
 sent him off to Kurnal for Umbdla and the hills. I 
 sent a telegraphic message for Mrs. Hallifax to meet 
 him at UmbMa. This is but the beginning of this 
 work, I fear ; and before this business ends, we who 
 are, thank God, still young and strong shall alone 
 be left in camp ; all the elderly gentlemen will sink 
 under the fatigue and exposure. I think of asking 
 for Mr, Macdovvell as my second in command ; he is 
 a gentleman, and onJy wants opportunity to become 
 
194 MARCH TO DELHI. 
 
 a gallant soldier. The whole onus of work here is 
 on my shoulders ; every one comes to me for advice 
 and assistance, which is purely absurd. I shall do 
 all the work and others get the credit, as usual ; but 
 in these days we cannot afford to spare ourselves. 
 The Empire is at stake, and all we love and reverence 
 is in the balance. I tried to persuade them to send 
 General Johnstone to Meerut to supersede Hewitt. 
 I wish he had been there and was here ; we have 
 few as good. 
 
 Raee, June \st. — I have just been roused up from 
 the first sleep I have had, for I don't know how long, 
 (lying under a peepul tree, with a fine breeze like 
 liquid fire blowing over me), by the news that the dak is 
 going, so I can only say that all is well, and that we 
 are here, about twenty miles from Delhi, and I hope 
 ere night to capture some of the rascals who stripped 
 and ill-treated two ladies near this the other day on 
 their flight to the hills. 
 
 Colonel Hope Grant has arrived to command the 
 force until General Barnard comes, which will be on the 
 4th, and the Meerut people also. The Delhi mutineers 
 marched out ten miles, and attacked Brigadier Wil- 
 son on the night of the 30th, at Ghazeenuggur, on his 
 way to this place. He drove them back, and captured 
 all their guns. Some 8000 or 10,000 of them came 
 out, and he had only about 1000 men. Long odds, 
 this ; but of course all his men were Europeans. I 
 fear the 14th Irregulars have joined the mutineers. 
 If they would only make haste and get to Delhi we 
 might do something. 
 
 Haee, incl. — You will have been as much shocked as 
 I was by the tidings of poor Brigadier Hallifax's death 
 
MARCH TO DELHI. 195 
 
 at Kumal, only a few hours after I had put him into 
 the carriage, with the comfortable assurance that his 
 wife would meet him at Umbala. He died from 
 congjstion of the brain. I have been much affected 
 by this for I had a warm regard for him, and 
 his very helplessness the last few days seemed to 
 strengthen the tie. I feel deeply for his poor wife 
 and children. Colonel Mowat of the artillery is 
 dead too, of cholera. The weather is undoubtedly 
 very trying for old and infirm men ; but we are all 
 well here, and there is no sickness to speak of among 
 the troops. All will be here to-morrow. Head- 
 quarters, 75th, Queen's, and remainder of 9th Lancers ; 
 the heavy guns and 2nd Fusiliers are only a short 
 way behind. Colonel Hope Grant commands. The 
 Meerut folks have had another fight (on the 3Tst) 
 with the Delhi mutineers, and again beaten them ; 
 but this constant exposure is very trying to Europeans. 
 I wish we were moving nearer Delhi more rapidly, 
 as all now depends on our quickly disposing of this 
 mighty sore. I wish from my heart we had Sir 
 Henry Lawrence here ; he is the man for the crisis. 
 We are all in high spirits ; only eager to get at the 
 villains who have committed atrocities which make 
 the blood run cold but to think of. I trust the retri- 
 bution will be short, sharp, and decisive. 
 
 Another batch of half-starved, half-naked Europeans, 
 men, women, and children (a deputy collector and 
 his family), were brought into camp to-day, after 
 wandering twenty-three days in the jungle. 
 
 Rake, yd, — Things are so quiet in the Punjab 
 that I begin to hope that, if we do but make haste 
 in disposing of Delhi, the campaign may not be so 
 
 o 2 
 
196 MARCH TO DELHI. 
 
 long, after all. Everything depends on that; we 
 dare not_, however, calculate on such good fortune 
 either to our arms or ourselves. The Head-quarters 
 people joined this morning; they seem to stand it 
 better than I expected. Congreve complains a good 
 deal, but Keith Young and Arthur Becher are well. 
 I have not yet seen Sir H. Barnard. I was kept up 
 and out half the night, and then out again at day- 
 break, so I am too tired andbusy to pay visits. There 
 has been no further fight that we know of. Charlie 
 Thomason rejoined us this morning; he has picked 
 up a little since his starvation time ended, and does 
 not look so like a wild beast as he did. Still good 
 news from Agra ; there are, however, reports which 
 tend to show disturbances in the Allyghur and 
 Bolundshur districts. 
 
 Aleepore, 5th. — You must not be anxious on my 
 account : I am in as good a position as possible for a 
 subaltern to be, unless, indeed, I had my regiment 
 ready for service. I am second only to Becher in 
 the Quartermaster- General Department, and the Intel- 
 ligence Department is entirely my own. I feel deeply 
 for poor Mrs. Hallifax and her large family, and am 
 delighted that you are able to aid them. I have tried 
 everywhere to get a bearer, but the natives will not 
 serve us now, and I could get no one even on double 
 pay. Only two days ago I succeeded in getting a 
 Bheestie. If we could but get all the seventy-four native 
 infantry regiments in one lump we could manage them, 
 butthey will never stand after we get our guns to work. 
 I rode right up to the Delhi parade-ground this 
 morning to reconnoitre, and the few Sowars, whom I 
 
MARCH TO DELHI. 197 
 
 met, galloped away like mad at the sight of one white 
 face. Had I had a hundred Guides with me I would 
 have gone up to the very walls. 
 
 Aleepore, 6th. — All the force is assembled to-day 
 save the Meerut portion, and they will be up to-night ; 
 the heat is severe, but not unhealthy. The siege 
 guns came in this morning, and the 2nd European 
 Bengal Fusiliers, and we are all ready to move on. 
 About 2000 of the rebels have come out of Delhi, 
 and put themselves in position to bar our road. Even 
 your pride would be satisfied at the cry v?^hen I ride 
 to the front or start on any little excursion. I think 
 I am more than appreciated by the Head-quarter's 
 people. I had barely finished the word when I was 
 sent for by the General, and had a pretty strong 
 proof of the estimation I am held in. He had been 
 urged to one particular point of attack ; and when I 
 went into the tent, he immediately turned to the 
 assembled council, and said, ' I have always trusted 
 to Hodson's intelligence, and have the greatest con- 
 fidence in his judgment. I will be guided by what 
 he can tell me now.' So the croakers, who had 
 been groaning, were discomfited. This is of course 
 for your own eye and ear alone, but it is pleasant, as 
 the General has only known me since he has now 
 joined the force.* 
 
 Aleepore, June ']tk. — ^I have little to do mth the 
 ' Jheend Rajah's troops,' further than that I am em- 
 powered to demand as many as I want, and whenever 
 
 ♦ I am told that one day about thb time, General 
 Barnard said at the council table, * We must have our 
 best man to lead that column — Hodson, will you take 
 itV—Ed. 
 
198 DELHI. 
 
 I -want them. I have twenty-five men on constant 
 duty with me, and to-day have asked for double that 
 number for extra duty ; beyond this, I have not, and 
 do not wish to have, further to do with them. All 
 Eohilcund is in mutiny. In fact, the district of Agra 
 is the only one in the North- West Provinces now under 
 our control. What a terrible lesson on the evils of 
 delay ! It will be long yet, I fear, ere this business 
 is over. Oh for Sir Henry Lawrence ! Yet per- 
 sonally I have no reason to complain. 
 
 Camp, Delhi, June Wi, 1857. — Here we are, safe 
 and sound, after having driven the enemy out of their 
 position in the cantonments up to and into the walls 
 of Delhi ! I write a line in pencil on the top of a 
 drum to say that I am mercifully untouched, and 
 none the worse for a very hard morning^s work. Our 
 loss has been considerable, the rebels having been 
 driven from their guns at the point of the bayonet. 
 Poor Colonel Chester killed at the first fire. Alfred 
 Light (who won the admiration of all) wounded, but 
 not severely. No one else of the staff party killed or 
 wounded ; but our general returns will, I fear, tell a 
 sad tale. Greville slightly hurt. The enemy ^s guns 
 captured, and their dispersion and rout very complete. 
 God has been very good to me. May his gracious 
 protection still be shown. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 Camp before Delhi, June gth. 
 T WROTE you a few hurried lines on the field of 
 -■- battle yesterday, to say that we had beaten the 
 enemy, and driven them back five miles into Delhi. 
 How grateful rest was after such a morning ! The 
 Guides came- in to-day, and it would have done your 
 heart good to see the welcome they gave me — cheer- 
 ing and shouting and crowding round me like frantic 
 creatures. They seized my bridle, dress, hands, and 
 feet, and literally threw themselves down before the 
 horse with the tears streaming down their faces. 
 Many officers who were present hardly knew what to 
 make of it, and thought the creatures were mobbing 
 me; and so they were — but for joy, not for mischief,"'*' 
 All the staff were witnesses of this, and Colonel 
 Becher says their reception of me was quite enough 
 to contradict all the reports of my unpopularityf with 
 the regiment. There is terrible confusion all along 
 the road, and we can only get the daks carried at all 
 by bribery stage by stage. 
 
 June loth, — When I hastily closed my letter yes- 
 terday, I hoped to be able to write a long one for 
 
 * One of the officers who witnessed this scene told me 
 that the exclamation of the men on meeting him was, 
 ^ t* Burra Serai- wallah,' or G/eat in battle. — Ed. 
 ^ t This had been one of the unfounded charges against 
 ^ him two years before. 
 
 <rr 
 
200 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 to-day's dak, and to have had some hours' quiet to 
 myself; but before the post had well started, our 
 troops were again under arms, the mutineers having 
 thought proper to attack our position : consequently 
 I was on horseback the whole day, and thankful to 
 get at night a mouthful of food and a little rest. I 
 had command of all the troops on our right, the 
 gallant Guides among the rest. They followed me 
 with a cheer for their old commander, and behaved 
 with their usual pluck ; but I grieve deeply to say 
 that poor Quintin Battye was mortally wounded. He 
 behaved most nobly, Daly tells me, leading his men 
 like a hero. Poor Khan Singh Rosah, who had come 
 down from tbe Punjab to join me only the same 
 morning, was badly shot through the shoulder. In- 
 deed, I did ' not expose myself unnecessarily, for 
 having to direct the movements of three or four 
 regiments, I could not be in the front as much as I 
 wished. God has mercifully preserved me, and I 
 humbly pray will continue His gracious care. The 
 warmth of the reception again given me by the 
 Guides was quite affecting, and has produced a great 
 sensation in camp, and had a good effect on our 
 native troops, insomuch that they are more willing to 
 obey their European officers when they see their own 
 countrymen's enthusiasm. Numbers of the men want 
 to come and join my new regiment — in fact, the 
 largest proportion of the cavalry; but of course I 
 cannot take them now, nor until this business is over. 
 I am wond*erfully well, and only a little anxious about 
 the hill stations, though I have full confidence in Lord 
 William Hay's management. There is not much sick- 
 ness in camp, though many wounded, and there 
 
ENTHUSIASM OF GUIDES. 201 
 
 will be many more, I fear, before we get into 
 Delhi. We have been fortunate in the weather 
 hitherto. 
 
 The enemy are at least four or five times our 
 strength, and their numbers tell when we come near 
 them, despite their want of discipline. They are 
 splendid artillerymen, however, and actually beat ours 
 in accuracy of fire. 
 
 Light works on magnificently, despite a severe and 
 painful wound in the head. I was very nearly coming 
 to grief once this morning, for the sabre I thought 
 such a good one went the first blow, and the blade 
 flew out of the handle the second, the handle itself 
 breaking in two. I had to borrow a sword from a 
 horse artilleryman for the remainder of the day. 
 
 The Jheend men with me fought like excellent 
 soldiers. The good General came up when it was 
 over, and shook hands with me, and then wdth the 
 men nearest. Their Rajah has given the native ofiicer 
 a pair of gold bangles, and doubled his pay. This is 
 the way to encourage soldiers, European as well as 
 native : reward them, if but with thanks, on the spot. 
 
 Colonel Thomas Seaton is at Rohtuck, in command 
 of the 6oth Native Infantry. How much longer they 
 will refrain from mutiny one cannot say ; certainly 
 not long; though if any man can keep them steady, 
 Seaton will. 1 hear some 300 or 400 men are ready 
 for me ; a few have already arrived with Khan Singh. 
 Meantime my position is Assistant Quartermaster- 
 General on the Commander-in-Chiers personal staff. 
 I am responsible for the Intelligence Department, and 
 in the field, or when anything is going on, for direct- 
 ing the movements of the troops in action, under the 
 
202 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 immediate orders of the General : I have no other 
 master, and he listens to my suggestions most readily. 
 Charlie Thomason is here, working away as an en- 
 gineer. Macdowell is well and merry, and much 
 gratified at my having asked for him. 
 
 June i^th. — We were roused up three times during 
 the night, and I have been deep in business with the 
 General all the morning. I was also interrupted by 
 the mournful task of carrying poor Battye to his 
 grave ; the brave boy died last night, with a smile on 
 his lip, and a Latin quotation on his tongue, " Dulce 
 et decorum est pro patria mori.'' Poor fellow ! he 
 had quite won my heart by his courage and amiable 
 qualities, and it is very, very sad, his early death. It 
 was a noble one, however, and worthy of a soldier. We 
 have just been excited in camp by the hasty arrival of 
 Colonel Seaton and the officers of the late 6oth Native 
 Infantry, which mutinied yesterday, and, spite of all 
 Seaton could do, they fired on their officers, who, how- 
 ever, all escaped, and came into camp safe, after a ride 
 of fifty miles. Seaton is with me, looking terribly 
 worn and harassed, but he says quite well in health, 
 though disgusted enough. Dr. Coghlan (75th Regi- 
 ment) died of cholera last night, but, thank God, there 
 are no other cases in camp. I am much vexed at 
 the Lahore Chronicle ^ butter,' and wish people would 
 leave me alone in the newspapers. The best ' butter ' 
 I get is the deference and respect I meet with from 
 all whose respect I care for, and the afiectionate en- 
 thusiasm of the Guides, which increases instead of 
 lessening. 
 
 June i^fh.—We were turned out early this morn- 
 ing by an attack on our outposts and position generally 
 
PROJECT OF ATTACK. 203 
 
 hy the rebel army. A sharp fight ensued, which lasted 
 some four hours. The enemy came on very boldly, 
 and had got close to us, under cover of the trees and 
 gardens, before they were seen ; however, the troops 
 turned out sharp, and drove them back quickly 
 from our immediate vicinity ; they were then followed 
 up, and got most heartily thrashed. They have never 
 yet been so punished as to-day. I estimate their loss 
 in killed alone at 400, while our loss was compara- 
 tively trifling. The Guides behaved admirably, so did 
 the Fusiliers, as usual. Jacob's wing was the admira- 
 tion of all ; one officer (Captain Knox, 75th) was 
 killed and one or two wounded, I do not know how 
 many European soldiers ; but on the whole the affair 
 was a very creditable one. I am safe and sound still, 
 and again have to thank the Almighty for my preser- 
 vation. 
 
 Yesterday I was ordered by the General to assist 
 Greathed and one or two more engineers in forming 
 a project of attack, and how we would do to take 
 Delhi. We drew up our scheme and gave it to the 
 General, who highly approved, and will, I trust, carry 
 it out ; but how times must be changed, when four 
 subalterns are called upon to suggest a means of carry- 
 ing out so vitally important an enterprise as this, one 
 on which the safety of the Empire depends ! Wilber- 
 force Greathed is next senior-engineer to Laughton. 
 Chesney is Major of the Engineer Brigade, and 
 Maunsell commands the Sappers, so they had official 
 claims to be consulted. 
 
 I was added, because the General complimentarily 
 told me he had the utmost value for my opinion, and 
 though I am known to counsel vigorous measures, it 
 
204 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 is equally well known I do not urge others to do what 
 I would not be the first to do myself. It is a much 
 more serious business than was at first anticipated. 
 Delhi is a very strong place, and the vast resources 
 which the possession of our arsenal has given the 
 mutineers has made the matter a difficult one to deal 
 with, except by the boldest measures ; the city should 
 be carried by a coup-de-main, and that at once, or we 
 may be many weeks before Delhi, instead of within 
 it. All is safe at Agra, and the 3rd Europeans are 
 quietly under cover. A large party of us have just 
 been listening to a letter from Lord W. Hay, in 
 which he speaks in the highest terms of the conduct 
 of some of the ladies at Simla, and says that the 
 sense and courage exhibited by one or two of them 
 has given a severe lesson to those who ought to 
 know better than to require it from the weaker sex. 
 
 June i-^th. — We were to have taken Delhi by as- 
 sault last night, but a ' mistake of orders ' (?) as to 
 the right time of bringing the troops to the ren- 
 dezvous prevented its execution. I am much annoyed 
 and disappointed at our plan not having been carried 
 out, because I am confident it would have been suc- 
 cessful. The rebels were cowed, and perfectly igno- 
 rant of any intention of so bold a stroke on our part 
 as an assault ; the surprise would have done every- 
 thing. I am very vexed, though the General is most 
 kind and considerate in trying to soothe my disap- 
 pointment — ^too kind, indeed, or he would not so readily 
 have pardoned those whose fault it is that we are 
 still outside Delhi. 
 
 June \\th. — There was another smart engagement 
 last night, the 60th Native Infantry having thought 
 
ANXIETY ABOUT SIMLA. 205 
 
 fit to signalize their arrival at Delhi, by an attack 
 upon our position ; they suffered for it, as usual, but 
 also as usual, we lost several good men whom, God 
 knows, we can ill spare. Mr. Kennedy was wounded, 
 and a Subadar and some men of the Guides killed. 
 I was not very much under fire, though I had to run 
 the gauntlet now and then of a rain of shot and 
 shells with which the rebels belaboured us. Our 
 Artillery officers themselves say that they are out- 
 matched by these rascals in accuracy and rapidity of 
 fire ; and as they have unlimited supply of guns and 
 ammunition from our own greatest arsenal, they are 
 quite beyond us in many respects. I am just returned 
 from a long ride to look after a party of plunderers 
 from the city, who had gone round our flank ; I dis- 
 posed of a few. 
 
 June i^th. — I have had a night and day of great 
 anxiety, owing to fresh rumours of an outbreak at 
 Simla. I have much confidence in Lord W. Hay^s 
 judgment and management of the natives, but this 
 would not be sufficient were the station once attacked. 
 The dak, however, has arrived, and quieted our appre- 
 hensions. There was a sharp fight again this morning, 
 which lasted some hours ; our loss was not great, but 
 every man is a loss. Our project for the assault is 
 still approved of, and entertained, but put off from 
 day to day, till it will be too late. It is now noon, and 
 I have been out since daybreak, and must get break- 
 fast. 
 
 June i6th. — Everybody here is infinitely disgusted 
 at learning the truth about the report of a riot at Simla, 
 and the opinion is universal that ought to be re- 
 moved. Neville Chamberlain is Adjutant-General of 
 
206 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 the army, and Pat Grant Commander-in-Chief. I do 
 not think either of them will approve of any ' soldier ' 
 showing his prowess in fighting helpless women and 
 children, or of one whose only courage is exhibited on 
 a peaceful parade, or when an unfortunate subaltern 
 is to be bullied. The weather is intense to-day, 
 and I am uncomfortable from having caught a heavy 
 cold, but it will soon go off, I daresay. I men- 
 tioned that four of us had been ordered to prepare a 
 project of attack, and that we had suggested and 
 arranged a bold but perfectly feasible coup-de-main : 
 it was approved and ordered, but in consequence of 
 
 's not bringing up his troops, was forced to be 
 
 abandoned: it has again been ordered, countermanded, 
 and finally abandoned. A council of war sat yester- 
 day, and resolved to wait for reinforcements ! ! our 
 scheme, however, is on record, and our names 
 attached. General Barnard told me yesterday he 
 wished I was a captain, for he would pledge himself 
 to get me a majority for what I had already done ; 
 he thought he ' might safely promise l/iat at least/ 
 But, alas ! I am not a captain. 
 
 June iStk. — I was not able to write yesterday, for 
 the cold, I mentioned as having caught in common 
 with many others in camp, turned into a sharp attack 
 of bronchitis, or inflammation on the chest, and I was 
 really very ill for some hours. To-day I am thankful to 
 say I am much better, though very weak ; the inflam- 
 mation has disappeared, and I hope to be on my horse 
 again to-morrow in spite of all the doctor says. Every- 
 one is very kind, the General particularly so; he insists 
 on having me in his own tent, as being so much larger 
 than my own, and he takes the most fatherly care of 
 
GENERAL BARNARd's KINDNESS. 207 
 
 me. I can see no reason strong enough to induce 
 me to consent to any ladies coming to camp ; it is 
 
 true that a Captain , who with his wife escaped 
 
 from Delhi to Umbala, has dragged the unfortunate 
 woman back here again, though expecting her con- 
 finement, and with not a shadow of comfort or shelter 
 
 except a tent. Even Mrs. * and all the others 
 
 of her sex have been sent back to Meerut ; they never 
 ought to have been allowed to come with us : the 
 greatest consolation to us here is the thought that 
 those dearest to us are in safety, and free from the 
 heat and dangers and annoyances of our life here. 
 Poor Brown was badly wounded last night in the 
 shoulder. I much fear that Dr. Hay has been 
 murdered at Bareilly ; his name is among the missing, 
 and scarcely a hope remains. 
 
 June \^th. — I am up and dressed, and crawling 
 about a little to-day, but much weaker than I fancied, 
 and dizzy with quinine, and vexed at being useless 
 at such a time. The General nurses me as if I were 
 his son. I woke in the night, and found the kind old 
 man by my bedside, covering me carefully up from 
 the draught. The delay, and absolute want of pro- 
 gress here is very disheartening. There have been 
 repeated attacks upon us ; all of course with the 
 same result (but, for that matter, we are as nearly 
 besieged as the rebels themselves are), and we lose 
 valuable lives in every encounter, the sum total of 
 which would swell the catalogue to the dimensions of 
 that of a general engagement. Our plan of carrying 
 the city by a coup-de-main was frustrated the first 
 
 A Persian lady. 
 
208 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 night by the fears and absolute disobedience of orders 
 
 of _, the man who first lost Delhi, and has now by 
 
 folly prevented its being recaptured. The General 
 has twice since wished and even ordered it, but has 
 always been thwarted by some one or other; latterly 
 by that old woman — - — , who has come here for no- 
 thing apparently but as an obstacle; is also a cry- 
 ing evil to us. The General knows this, and wants to 
 get rid of him, but has not the nerve to supersede 
 him ; the whole state of affairs here is bad to a 
 degree ; it is true we always thrash the fellows when 
 we can get at them, for they are contemptible as an 
 enemy in the open, being formidable in numbers only ; 
 but the immense resources placed in their hands by 
 the possession of our magazine and arsenal inside a 
 walled and fortified town, make it very difficult for 
 an army, unless provided with a proper siege equip- 
 ment and engineer park, to drive them out in orthodox 
 fashion : we have certainly plenty of guns, but we 
 have not men to work them ; and of the latter, thanks 
 
 to , we have absolutely nothing, so we do nothing 
 
 but fire away long shots at the distance of a mile, 
 and repel the enemy's attacks ; instead of which we 
 ought to have had our batteries close up to the walls, 
 and been through them, days ago. It was from the 
 conviction that we had no regular means of reducing 
 the place by the fire of our artillery, and at the dis- 
 tance we now are from the walls, and that it was 
 vain to expect our commandant of artillery to 
 attempt any bolder stroke than ordinary with the 
 few guns for which he had hands, which induced me to 
 press the capture of the place by assault, blowing 
 open the gates with powder bags, and rushing in 
 
COMMAND OF GUIDES. 209 
 
 with the bayonet. All was arranged, and under 
 Providence I venture to believe success was cer- 
 tain, but as I say, all was frustrated by terror and 
 disobedience. I fear now nothing can be done for 
 many days, and until other troops arrive; mean- 
 while the evil is spreading, and disaffection, to use a 
 mild term, increasing. I fear there is no room to 
 doubt that Dr. Hay is dead ; he was actually hung, 
 with other civilians, in the marketplace at Bareilly, 
 after going through a mock form of trial. All the 
 Europeans at Shahjehanpoor have, we hear, been 
 murdered while they were in church, at the same 
 moment as nearly as possible that the Bareilly tragedy 
 was going on. 
 
 June loth. — I am much better to-day, but still 
 very weak, yet work I must. There was a sharp 
 fight again last evening. The enemy came down 
 and attacked our rear, and a sharp conflict ensued 
 between some 2000 Sepoys with six guns, and 300 
 Europeans with one gun. The result was as usual, 
 but two events occurred which were important for 
 me. Colonel Becher was shot through the right 
 arm, and Captain Daly badly hit through the 
 shoulder. 
 
 The consequence is, that I have in eflPect to see to the 
 whole work of the Quartermaster-General of the army ; 
 and in addition, the General has begged me as a 
 personal favour to take command of the Guides until 
 Daly has recovered. I at first refused, but the Gene- 
 ral was most urgent, putting it on the ground that 
 the service was at stake, and none was so fit, &c. &c. 
 I do feel that we are bound to do our best just now 
 to put things on a proper footing, and after consult- 
 
210 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ing Seaton and Norman, I accepted the command. 
 
 How will gnash his teeth to see me leading my 
 
 dear old Guides again in the field. If I can but keep 
 it till Delhi is taken I shall be satisfied, for I think 
 I shall be able to do something towards so favourable 
 a result. Shebbeare was appointed second in com- 
 mand at my request. He is an excellent soldier. 
 General Barnard* has written most strongly in my 
 favour, and has voluntarily pledged himself to get me 
 my majority as soon as ever I am a captain. I con- 
 fess I feel a little proud at being earnestly requested 
 to take again the command of which the machina- 
 tions of my enemies had deprived me. Our loss 
 altogether last night was not more than 50 killed 
 and wounded ; we took two guns — enemy^s loss about 
 500. 
 
 June list. — I have been on horseback to-day for 
 
 * From Major-General Sir H. Barnard, Commanding 
 
 Field Force, to the Adjutant-General of the Army. 
 
 'Camp, Delhi, June 16th, 1857. 
 
 * Sir, — While enclosing for the information of the 
 ' Commander-in-Chief the reports of the late attack 
 ' made by the enemy on the force under my command, I 
 
 * would wish to bring to his notice the assistance I have 
 ' received in every way from the services of Lieut. W. S. 
 
 * Hodson, ist Bengal European Fusiliers. 
 
 * Since the arrival of his regiment at TJmbala, up to 
 
 * the present date, his untiring energy and perpetual 
 ' anxiety to assist me in any way in which his services 
 ' might be found useful, have distinguished him througli- 
 ' out, and are now my reasons for bringing this officer 
 ' thus specially to the notice of the Commander-in- 
 ' Chief. 
 
 (Signed) ' H. M. Barnard, 
 
 ^ Major-GeneraV 
 
COMMAND OF GUIDES. 211 
 
 the first time since this attack of illness, so I may 
 he considered finally recovered, only I still feel con- 
 siderable weaknessr It is very annoying not to be 
 quite up to the mark in these stirring times, especially 
 when so much work has fallen to my lot. I am 
 fortunate, however, in not being, like many of our poor 
 fellows, laid up with wounds and serious ailments. 
 God has been very good to me, and in nothing 
 more so than in preserving what is most precious 
 to me from the horrible danger and suffering of 
 so many of our poor countrywomen and children. 
 How thankful I am now that Reginald exchanged 
 into an European corps. I never see any of these 
 unhappy refugees, as we call the poor officers whose 
 regiments have mutinied, wandering about the camp, 
 without uttering a mental thanksgiving that he is 
 safe from that at least. I feel more strongly every 
 hour that I should not have been justified in refusing 
 the command of the Guides under present circum- 
 stances. We are, in point of fact, reduced to merely 
 holding our own ground till we get more men. The 
 drain on our resources has been enormous, while those 
 of the enemy have proved so much greater, both in 
 men, ammunition, and strength of position, than we 
 expected, and they have fought us so much more per- 
 severingly than was deemed possible, that it has 
 become imperatively necessary to be stronger before 
 striking the final below. The plan for carrying the 
 city* by assault, which I feel convinced would then 
 
 * Egctract of a FrivcUe Letter from Camp to 
 Lord W. Hay. 
 * Hodson volunteered to lead the assault on the night 
 * of the I ith, but the plan unfortunately was not adopted : 
 
 P 2, 
 
212 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 have been successful, has now become impracticable. 
 The enemy are stronger, we are weaker ; besides that, 
 they would be prepared for any cowp-de-main now. 
 General Johnstone is to be here by the 23rd, we hope 
 with considerable reinforcements, and more will follow. 
 I trust that a few days then will end this business, as 
 far as Delhi is concerned, and so enable a part at 
 least of the force to move on towards Allygurh, and 
 re-open the roads and daks, and restore order for the 
 time ; but when the end will be who can say ? 
 
 The rising in Eohilcund will, I fear, assume 
 formidable proportions and give us much trouble, as 
 I think we shall scarcely be able to do anything 
 there before the cold weather. There is in fact every 
 prospect of a long and tedious campaign. May God's 
 wisdom direct and His mercy defend us. 
 
 June %%ncl. — The hottest day we have had yet ; 
 but while I know that the hill stations are quiet, I 
 can bear anything with equanimity. The rumours 
 down here, of all that has been doing and feared at 
 Simla, have been enough to unnerve any one who does 
 not know the truth. Lord W. Hay's judgment and 
 energy deserve every praise. Personally, I cannot 
 but feel gratified at the marked pleasure all hands, 
 high and low, have shown at my renewed command 
 
 ' a small building in front of the gate, which he had 
 ' fixed on as the rendezvous, is called " Hodson's Mosque." 
 ' It would probably have been his tomh, for few of the 
 ' devoted band would have escaped, though the city would 
 ' have been ours.' 
 
 A private letter from Camp of the loth June, says, 
 
 * Hodson, of the ist Fusiliers, and old Showers, are 
 
 * admitted to be the best officers in the field.' 
 
ENGLISH PLUCK. 213 
 
 of the Guides. All congratulate me as if they were 
 personally interested ; and as to the men themselves, 
 their vociferous, and I really believe honest, delight 
 is quite overpowering. The wounded generally are 
 doing well, poor fellows, considering the heat, dirt, 
 and want of any bed but the dry ground. Their 
 pluck is wonderful, and it is not in the field alone that 
 you see what an English soldier is made of. One 
 poor fellow who was smoking his pipe and laughing 
 with the comrade by his side, was asked, what was 
 the matter with him, and he answered in a lively 
 voice, ' Oh, not much, sir, only a little knock on the 
 back; I shall be up and at the rascals again in a day 
 or two.' He had been shot in the spine, and all his 
 lower limbs were paralysed. He died next day. 
 Colonel Welchman* is about again ; too soon, I fear, 
 but there is no keeping the brave old man quiet. 
 Poor Peter Brown* is very badly wounded, but he is 
 cheerful, and bears up bravely. Jacob* has ' come out* 
 wonderfully. He is cool, active, and bold, keeps 
 his wits about hiin under fire, and does altogether well. 
 We are fortunate in having him with the force. 
 Good field-officers are very scarce indeed ; I do not 
 wonder at people at a distance bewailing the delay in 
 the taking of Delhi. No one not on the spot can 
 appreciate the difficulties in the way, or the painful 
 truth, that those difficulties increase upon us. The 
 very large reinforcements which the enemy are 
 receiving (the whole Bareilly and Rohilcund force, 
 some 5000 men, are on their way to join) more than 
 counterbalance the aid which can reach us, so that 
 
 * I8t European Bengal Fusiliers. 
 
214 SIEGE OE DELHI. 
 
 when the last party arrives, the odds will still he 
 immensely against us. It would not so much signify 
 if we could but get them into the open field, but for 
 every gun we can bring to bear upon them they can 
 bring four heavier ones against us. We drive them 
 before us like chaff in the field, but they can and do 
 attack us in two or three quarters at once, and our 
 unfortunate soldiers are worked off their legs. , I do 
 not say this to make matters look gloomy, for I am as 
 confident as ever of the result ; but we may be a long 
 while yet, and a weary while too, before that result is 
 arrived at. Baird Smith will be here as Chief Engi- 
 neer in a day or two, and if we can manage to get 
 some batteries made suddenly, we may carry the city 
 shortly; but there are great obstacles. I regret more 
 than ever that the assault was not made on the night 
 of the I ith, when they were unprepared for us, and so 
 much fewer in numbers. Now they increase daily, 
 and the city is so overflowing, that the rascals are 
 encamped outside the gates under cover of their for- 
 midable batteries, and in the glacis; so much for 
 giving our arsenal into native keeping. All is well 
 at Agra ; beyond that, we know nothing. 
 
 June 'xyrd. — The rebels came out again this morn- 
 ing in considerable force, with the avowed intention 
 of attacking us on all sides. They have been frus- 
 trated, however, save on one point, and firing is still 
 going on. They do little more than annoy us, and 
 the only great evil they cause, is the keeping our men out 
 forhours in this scorching heat. The worst of all is, that 
 we can do but little harm to them, as they are well 
 under cover. The rascals most forward to-day are the 
 Jullundur troops, who ought never to have been 
 
SUBJECT FOR SKETCH. 215 
 
 allowed to join the king of the rebels here at Delhi ; 
 why they were not pursued and cut up is at present a 
 mystery, but indignation is strong in camp against 
 those who suffered their escape. 
 
 General Johnstone has met with a serious accident 
 at Paneeput, I hear ; most unfortunate indeed. 
 
 June 2^rcl. — An amusing story is told a joropos of 
 the fight this morning. A rascally Pandy, thinking 
 all was over, put his head out of the window of one of 
 the houses, in the shade of which a few Europeans 
 and Goorkhas were resting. One of the latter jumped 
 up, laid hold of the rebel by his hair, and with one 
 chop of his * kookrie ' took off his head. Atkinson 
 should make a sketch of this for the Illustrated 
 News, Sarel, of the 9th Lancers, came in this morn- 
 ing, in an incredibly short space of time, from his 
 shooting expedition in the interior, ten days' journey 
 beyond Simla. He reports all quiet there, thank 
 God. I am sadly weak, I find, and have been obliged 
 to change my work from the saddle to the pen more 
 than once to-day. This want of physical strength 
 depresses me. It is a burden to me to stand or walk, 
 and the excessive heat makes it difficult for me to 
 recover from that sharp attack of illness. The doctors 
 urge me to go away for a little to get strength — as 
 if I could leave just now, or as if I would if I 
 could. 
 
 June 2^th. — I have been in the saddle nearly all 
 day, though obliged occasionally to rest a bit when I 
 could find shelter. One of my halts was by the side 
 of Alfred Light, who has behaved magnificently under 
 trial and diflSculty. It does me good to see the ' Light 
 of the ball-room' working away at his guns, begrimed 
 
216 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 with dust aud heat^ ever cheery and cool, though dead 
 beat from fatigue and exposure. He is one of a 
 thousand, and a host in himself. 
 
 The enemy turned us out very early, and the firing 
 continued without intermission till dark, and such a 
 day; liquid fire was no name for the fervent heat. 
 Colonel Welchman got an ugly wound in the arm, 
 .and Dennis was knocked down by the sun, and 
 numbers of the men ; but nothing less than a knock- 
 down blow from sun, sword, or bullet, stops a British 
 soldier. How well they fought to-day ; and to do 
 them justice, so did my old Guides and my new Sikhs, 
 while the little Goorkhas vied with any in endurance 
 and courage ; but the mismanagement of matters is 
 perfectly sickening. Nothing the rebels can do 
 will equal the evils arising from incapacity and inde- 
 cision. 
 
 Fortunately Neville Chamberlain has arrived, and 
 he ought to be worth a thousand men to us. I can 
 but remember when Lord Dalhousie gave me the 
 command of the Guides, how anxious he was for 
 me to exchange it with him for the Military Secre- 
 taryship at Lahore. Spite of all, I can never regret 
 not having yielded, for I feel that these two years of 
 persecution and suffering have been of service to me. 
 I can truly say, it is good for me to have been afflicted, 
 and I am conscious of being more fitted either for 
 the Victoria Cross or the soldier^s grave ! I do not 
 think either that Chamberlain bears me any ill will, 
 rather the contrary ; but did he do so, I would lose 
 anything personally, for the sake of having his in- 
 fluence predominant at head-quarters. I am neither 
 down-hearted nor desponding when I say that with 
 
NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN. 217 
 
 our present chiefs I see no chance of taking Delhi. It 
 might have been done many days ago (certes, it was 
 not for want of a distinct plan being before them or 
 a willing leader), but they have not the nerve nor the 
 heart for a bold stroke requiring the smallest as- 
 sumption of responsibility. Horses are very scarce 
 here, and I have the greatest difficulty in getting my 
 own men mounted. Mr. Montgomery is helping me 
 wonderfully with men, and I receive offers for service 
 daily, but in these mutinous times it is necessary to 
 be cautious. A telegraph from Agra says, ' Heavy 
 firing at Cawnpore ; result not known.' 
 
 June 2^th. — There is little doing to-day, save a 
 vain fire of long shots, and I fear nothing effective 
 will be done till the 8th and 6ist arrive. I hope 
 much from Chamberlain. The General, though one 
 of the kindest and best of men, has neither health 
 nor nerve enough for so responsible, and really very 
 difficult, a position as that he is now in. Our loss in 
 officers and men bears a sadly large proportion to our 
 successes. In the ist Fusiliers it is, too, melancholy : 
 Colonel Welchman with a very bad hit in the arm, 
 in addition to his sickness when he came to Delhi 
 from Dugshai ; Greville down with fever ; Wriford 
 with dysentery ; Dennis with sun-stroke ; Brown 
 with wounds. Jacob and the 'boys' have all the 
 work to themselves, and well indeed do the boys 
 behave, with a courage and coolness that would not 
 disgrace veterans. Little Tommy Butler, Owen, 
 Warner, all behave like heroes, albeit with sadly 
 diminishing numbers to lead. I am vexed at the 
 mistakes or falsehoods of the newspaper reports. So 
 far from having been wounded in the fight of the 
 
218 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 19th, I was not even present, but ill in bed. When 
 Colonel Becher came into camp wounded, I got up 
 and struggled into the saddle, and tried to get far 
 enough to send up fresh troops ; but I had not got 
 ten yards before I fell from my horse, and was all but 
 carried back to my tent again. 
 
 I am more and more convinced that I was right 
 not to persist in my refusal to take again the com- 
 mand of the Guides. It was so pressed on me, and 
 surely the best eradication of the reproach of removal, 
 was the being asked to re -assume it in times of 
 difficulty and danger like these. 
 
 That this is the general view of the case is shown 
 by the warm and hearty congratulations I meet with 
 on all sides. There is but one rule of action for a soldier 
 in the field, as for a man at all times, to do that 
 which is best for the public good ; to make that your 
 sole aim, resting assured that the result will in the 
 end be best for individual interest also. I am quite 
 indifferent not to see my name appear in newspaper 
 paragraphs and despatches; only content if I can 
 perform my duty truly and honestly, and too thankful 
 to the Almighty if I am daily spared for future 
 labours or future repose. 
 
 The story prevalent in the hills, that 7000 of the 
 enemy are pitched* in the open plain, is a mere 
 magnification of the simple fact, that a surplus 
 portion of the rebels have encamped under cover 
 of their guns, and close up under the wall of 
 the city, and remain there all night, but this is on 
 the side opposite us. We are not very well oif 
 quant a la cioisine. I never had so much trouble in 
 getting anything fit to eat, except when I dine with 
 
RETURN TO GUIDES. 219 
 
 the General. Colonel Seaton * lives in my tent, 
 and is a great companion ; his joyous disposition is a 
 perpetual rebuke to the croakers. Don't believe 
 what is said about our batteries doing no harm. The 
 same was said of Muttra, yet when we entered 
 scarcely a square yard was uuploughed by our shot. 
 One of the native officers of the Guides (you know 
 how ingenious they are at disguise) got into the 
 city as a spy, and remained there four days. He 
 reports great dissension and quarrelling among them- 
 selves. Robbery and fighting, and everything that is 
 bad, between the newly arrived rebels and the 
 city people. This account my own native news 
 letters confirm. The 9th Native Infantry had already 
 decamped, and thousands would follow if they dared. 
 This last I doubt ; the spirit of bravado, if not of 
 bravery, is as yet too strong. The rascals in the 
 last engagement came out in their red coats and 
 medals ! 
 
 June 26th. — I have been so hard at work the whole 
 day, that I can only find time to say the enemy has 
 made no feortie to-day, but Pandy amuses himself 
 with firing long shots incessantly ; all well, however. 
 
 2^th. — We were turned out before I had hardly 
 turned in, by another attack of the rebels. This 
 time a faint one, which has been already repulsed 
 with trifling loss on our side. For a short time, how- 
 ever, the cannonade was very heavy, and I have seldom 
 been under a hotter fire than for about three quarters 
 of an hour at our most advanced battery, covered 
 every moment with showers or rather clouds of dust, 
 
 ♦ Sir Thomaa Seaton, K.C.B. 
 
220 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 stones, and splinters ; but we kept close, and no one 
 was hurt. There has been an outcry throughout 
 
 camp at 's having fled from Bhagput, the 
 
 bridge which caused me so much hard riding and 
 hard work to get, some time ago. A report came 
 that a portion of the mutineers were moving in that 
 direction, and he fairly bolted, leaving boats, bridge 
 and all ! Yet he had with him all the Rajah of 
 of Jheend's men, horse, foot, and guns, and never 
 even saw the twinkle of a musket. In fact, it is not 
 at all sure that an enemy was ever near him. By 
 this conduct he has not only cut us off from all com- 
 munication with Meerut, but actually left the boats 
 to be used or destroyed by the enemy. Our rein- 
 forcements are in sight, at least the camp of the 8th, 
 and I do trust no further delay will take place in our 
 getting possession of Delhi. The insurgents are 
 disheartened, and I have no doubt but that the 
 moment we get possession of a single gate the 
 greater portion of them will run out through the 
 opposite ones. The only formidable part of the 
 enemy is their artillery, which is amazingly well- 
 served, and in prodigious abundance, as my experience 
 this morning abundantly proved. Harris, of the 2nd 
 European Bengal Fusiliers, was wounded this morning, 
 but not dangerously. All quiet at Agra, we believe, 
 but no particulars known. 
 
 June i^th. — I have just got orders to proceed to 
 Bhitgput some twenty-five miles off" on the Jumna, and 
 see what the real state of afiairs is, and try to save 
 the boats, so I have only time to say I am much 
 better and stronger, which is a great comfort, for I 
 could not have ridden the distance a few days ago. 
 
RIDE TO BHAGPUT. 221 
 
 The rains have begun, and the air i§ colder and more 
 refreshing, though not exactly what one could wish. 
 Certainly the hot season in India is not the pleasantest 
 time in the year for campaigning, and this the rascally 
 mutineers were fully aware of before they begun. 
 Colonel Greathed and the 8th came in this morning, 
 and the 6ist will be here to-morrow. 
 
 June 2()th. — I was thirteen hours and a half in 
 the saddle without intermission yesterday, and got 
 back to camp after midnight, very tired, but none the 
 worse ; fortunately, I had a cloudy day and a tolerably 
 cool breeze for my work. I recovered the boats and 
 
 found all quiet, in spite of 's disgraceful flight. 
 
 He had not even the sense or courage to draw the 
 boats over to our side of the river, consequently three 
 were burnt and the whole place plundered. So much 
 for acting on native reports, without at least at- 
 tempting to ascertain their accuracy. The conse- 
 quences are bad and discreditable to a degree. 
 
 I doubt whether General Barnard used the exact 
 expression reported regarding Tombs, but he did say, 
 and well he might, that he was as gallant and good 
 a soldier as any in camp, and so indeed he is. 
 
 The fight of the 23rd was a much more severe one 
 than was reported. It was not over till dark, and 
 our loss was the heaviest we have yet had to deplore 
 since we got here on the 8th. 
 
 Reports must not be depended on. The fact was. 
 Major Olpherts arrived early in the morning. I my- 
 self galloped out to meet him, and as he passed, when 
 the fight fiad just commenced, he fired once at the 
 enemy, and then came into camp to rest his men after 
 their long march. We were out the whole day until 
 
222 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 dark, and half dead with fatigue. Colonel Welchman 
 suffers severely from his wound, but bears it bravely, 
 as does Peter Brown. 
 
 Everything quiet to-day, no firing on either side. 
 I do hope this part of the business will soon be over, 
 and that they will only wait for the 6ist and Coke's 
 regiment, both of which will be here to-morrow or 
 next day. Colonel Seaton himself recommended the 
 disarming of his old Corps, the 35th Native Infantry. 
 To-day we hear it has been done. All was safe at 
 Cawnpore and Luckuow up to our last news. 
 
 July 'xnd. — I have been quite unable to write since 
 the 29th, on the night of which, I was ordered off 
 again to Bhagput, to try to bring the boats down to 
 camp, either to make a bridge here or a ' stop ' for the 
 enemy. The order was given with the complimen- 
 tary addenda from the General, ' because I can trust 
 your judgment quite as much as your energy.' I ex- 
 pected to be back in good time on the 30th, but the 
 winds and waves were against me, and I could not 
 get my fleet of boats down the river. 
 
 Shebbeare was with me, and we worked like a couple 
 of ' navvies, ' passing the two days and one night on 
 the banks of the river, without shelter, and almost with- 
 out food, for we had nothing but a couple of ^chupatties' 
 each, and a small tin of soup and a little tea, which I 
 fortunately took with me. Poor Shebbeare would soon 
 lose the graceful rotund of his figure if he were long 
 on such short commons, but I do not think any 
 amount of starvation could reduce my horizontal 
 dimensions. 
 
 AlFs well that ends well, however, and I succeeded 
 in getting every boat safe into camp last night. I 
 
PROGRESS OF REGIMENT. 223 
 
 missed the skirmish of the 30th by being at Bhagput. 
 The 6ist have arrived, rich in twenty officers. We 
 are getting more supplies now, and I have set my- 
 self up with plates and dishes for the small charge 
 of one rupee. Colonel Seaton^s traps and servants 
 will be here to-day, and then we shall be comfortable, 
 for hitherto a very limited allowance for one has been 
 but small accommodation for two. For my new regi- 
 ment two complete troops are on their way from Lahore 
 and will be here on the 8th, and another troop from 
 Jugraon should be here in a week. Two more troops 
 are preparing at Lahore. 
 
 Montgomery takes the most kind interest in my 
 new Corps, and I am rejoiced and comforted to find 
 that he cordially approves of my having accepted the 
 Guides. I have as much confidence in his judgment 
 
 as in his kindness. has been shelved, and 
 
 allowed to get ' sick ' to save him from supercession. 
 I do not like euphuisms. In these days men and 
 things should be called by their right names, that 
 we might know how far either should be trusted. 
 
 Sir E. Campbell arrived here to-day by mail-cart, 
 and will be a valuable addition to the 60th, or he will 
 belie his descent from the Bourbons and Fitzgeralds. 
 He is a man you can always trust, which is saying 
 something in these hard times. 
 
 July yd. — Whatever I may have sacrificed of 
 pride and personal feeling to a sense of duty, I shall 
 be fully rewarded by entering Delhi at the head of 
 the Guides. Here at least there is but one opinion 
 on the subject. My poor gallant Guides ! they 
 have suffered severely for their fidelity to our cause, 
 above a fourth of the whole having been killed or 
 
224 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 wounded, including some of our best men. Koor 
 Singh, the little Goorkha Subadar who won the 
 Order of Merit in that stiflP affair at Boree in '53, is 
 gone, and others whom we could ill afford to lose, 
 now that so much depends on the fidelity of the 
 native oflficers — ^the Guides more than all. Surely, 
 then, I am right, knowing and feeling that my 
 influence with them is so great, to sink every personal 
 consideration before the one great end of public 
 safety, which implies that of ourselves and those 
 dear us. If we fail here at Delhi, not a soul in the 
 Punjab or Upper Provinces would be safe for a 
 day. 
 
 July ^th, — It was impossible for me to write by 
 yesterday^s dak, for the rebels got into our rear during 
 the night of the 3rd, and attacked Alipoor, the first 
 stage from hence on the Kurnal road. I was out 
 reconnoitring, and saw them moving out some five 
 miles on our right. I reported their position at 
 7 P.M. on the 3rd, but not until 3 a.m. of the 4th 
 were any measures taken, by which time of course 
 they had attained their end, and were in full march 
 back to Delhi. At daybreak yesterday I pointed out 
 their exact whereabouts to Coke (who commanded 
 the party sent to attack them), and I did not get 
 back to camp till 8 p.m. ; a hard day's work, especially 
 as I had no breakfast, nor indeed food of any kind, 
 and hunger makes the heat tell. 
 
 We beat 5000 of the rebels in the morning, and 
 were twice attacked by upwards of 3000 in the 
 course of the day. I took the Guides in pursuit (as 
 soon as our guns had driven the enemy from their 
 position), and drove them into a village. Unfor- 
 
CLOSE WORK. 225 
 
 tunately we did not do half as well as we ought, for 
 though Coke is a good commandant of a regiment, 
 and a good man for the frontiers, he is no general, 
 and did not manage well, or we should have cut up 
 numbers of the enemy and taken their guns. 
 
 Our loss was about thirty or forty Europeans, 
 and three of my native officers temporarily disabled. 
 Both men and horses were terribly knocked up towards 
 the end of the day, and could hardly crawl back to 
 camp, and no wonder. I was mercifully preserved, 
 though I am sorry to say my gallant ^ Feroza' was 
 badly wounded twice with sabre cuts, and part of his 
 bridle cut through, and a piece of my glove shaved 
 off, so it was rather close work. My men, who were 
 most engaged of all, escaped with the loss of one 
 killed and six wounded, and six horses put hors de 
 combat. I am dissatisfied with the day's work, inas- 
 much as more might have been done, and what was 
 done is only satisfactory as a proof of the ease with 
 which Anglo-Saxons can thrash Asiatics at any odds. 
 Yesterday they were at least from ten to fifteen to 
 one against us. To-day General Barnard has been 
 attacked with cholera, I grieve to say; and Colonel 
 Welchman is very ill indeed. The doctors dread 
 erysipelas, which at his age would be serious ; beyond 
 this, the wounded are generally doing well. 
 
 July 6ih. — Poor General Barnard- died last night, 
 and was buried this morning. He sank rapidly, for 
 anxiety, worry, over-exertion and heat had prepared 
 his system, and it was impossible for him to bear up 
 against the virulence of cholera. Personally, I am 
 much grieved, for no kinder or more considerate or 
 more gentlemanly man ever lived. I am so sorry 
 
 Q 
 
226 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 for his son, a fine brave fellow, whose attention to his 
 father won the love of us all. It was quite beautiful 
 to see them together. 
 
 I have just seen a copy of a very strong minute 
 anent the Bhagput affair, which shows the General 
 was not disposed to pass It over llghtlj^ The 
 civil authorities, however, are determined to sup- 
 port , though in camp there is but one opinion 
 
 of his conduct. The present state of things is 
 terrible, enough to fret one to death — no head, no 
 brains, no decision. Neville Chamberlain, though of 
 decided excellence as a man of action, is, I begin to 
 fear, but a poor man of business. Prompt decision in 
 council is what we want : there is no lack of vigorous 
 action. There are plenty to obey ; but we want some 
 one to command. We have seen nothing of the 
 enemy outside the walls since the 4th. I am worked 
 off my legs all the same, and the day is not half long 
 enough for what I have to do. To make matters 
 worse, too, poor Macdowell is down with fever ; a 
 sad loss just now to ' Hodson^s Horse,^ as they call 
 my growing corps. I am sadly off for clothes, as we 
 of course are only too glad to help the poor refugees 
 who come into camp with none. 
 
 July Wi. — We left camp at 2 a.m. wuth a consider- 
 able force, and marched to a bridge some ten miles off, 
 which we blew up to prevent the enemy annoying us, 
 and then marched back again. I tried hard to induce 
 Chamberlain, who commanded, to march back by 
 another road, which I had reconnoitred, and which 
 would have brought us close along the rear and flank 
 of the enemy, but he would not do so, though ad- 
 mitting that I was right. We have had eleven hours 
 
RAINS. 227 
 
 in the saddle and in the sun_, merely for this trifling 
 gain. My face is like ^ General Gascoigne's/ and my 
 hands perfectly skinless. I must get some dogskin 
 gloves, for it is as much as I can do to hold a sword, 
 much less a pen. There has been no fighting since 
 the 4th, and my news-writers from the city speak of 
 much disheartenment, and symptoms of a break oip ; 
 but I doubt this latter being more than a report, 
 while the enemy are so well provided both with 
 ' materieV and * personnel.' 
 
 I have just returned from a long chase after a party 
 of the enemy's hoi*se, safe and unhurt, but drenched to 
 the skin by a cataract of rain. There has been some 
 hard fighting to-day. The 8th Irregulars from Bareilly 
 came into our camp, thanks to the defection of a 
 party of the 9th Irregular Cavalry who were on 
 picket duty. The rascals consequently were enabled 
 to get into our very lines, and cut down one officer at 
 his guns. There was a tremendous row and confu- 
 sion for a short time, but we soon put it to rights. 
 I had warned the authorities repeatedly that the 
 Irregulars were not to be trusted, but they were too 
 faint-hearted or 'merciful' (Heaven forgive me for 
 using such a word about such villains) to disarm 
 them, and both the regiments, about which I re- 
 ported, have since gone wrong. 
 
 July loth, — We are nearly flooded out of camp by 
 the rain, and everything is wet and wretched but 
 ourselves. I have no respite from work, however, and 
 have only time to say that the ladies in the hills 
 could not employ themselves better or in a greater 
 work of charity than in making flannel-shirts for the 
 soldiers^ for our stores are either in the enemy** 
 
228 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 hands or not come-at-able. The soldiers bear up like 
 men, but the constant state of wet is no small ad- 
 dition to what they have to endure from heat, hard 
 work, and hard fighting. I know by experience 
 what a comfort a dry flannel-shirt is. 
 
 There is a sad joke against me in camp, and I 
 cannot help joining in the laugh against myself, 
 though enraged at having been the victim of such a 
 sell. Fancy my riding up to a party of horse, and 
 asking who they were, being told they were our 
 own men, 9th Irregulars, and then marching parallel 
 to them for three miles, and not three-quarters of a 
 mile apart, when, had I known who they were, I 
 could have destroyed every man.* Mr. Saunders 
 arrived in camp to-day, looking as fat and well as 
 possible^ though he and his pretty wife had a narrow 
 escape and hard day^s riding from Moradabad. 
 
 July 11th. — Pen- work again all day, as the enemy 
 seem to prefer keeping under cover from the rain. 
 
 Mr. 's story is so far true, that I did 
 
 earnestly urge the construction of a bridge with the 
 boats I brought down from Bhagput, but without 
 success. There are difficulties, I admit, and great ones, 
 but I humbly think they might be overcome now, 
 as they certainly could three weeks ago, when our 
 plan of assault was suggested, and adopted by General 
 Barnard. There is a sad outcry in camp against 
 Chamberlain for having used his influence to pre- 
 vent the disarming of what remains of the 9th Irregu- 
 
 * ' They went into the city, and reported that they had 
 ' defeated the great Lall Bahadoor (Red Warrior) and a 
 ' large party of his horse, and were rewarded accordingly.' 
 — Letter from Camp. [Ed.] 
 
hodson's horse. 229 
 
 lars. Numbers of them had deserted, and one native 
 officer, and those who were on picket duty, actually 
 admitted a party of the enemy into our camp ; and 
 yet forsooth, because they were Chamberlain's regi- 
 ment once on a time, the order to disarm them, 
 which the General had actually issued, was cancelled. 
 I confess I expected better things than this weak- 
 ness, when our very lives depend on firmness and 
 decision. Light has just come in off duty, so be- 
 grimed with smoke and powder as scarcely to be dis- 
 tinguished even by his own men. He is admitted 
 to be one of the best of our officers, and certainly 
 one of the hardest working. Tombs always dis- 
 tinguishes himself, 
 
 Jul_^ 12M. — 300 of my new regiment have just 
 arrived. 100 more left Lahore on the 7th, and 100 
 will be here very soon from the Sutlej, Mr. Mont- 
 gomery has done me most essential service, as I 
 could never by myself (with another regiment to 
 command, and so much pen-work to do) have got so 
 many men together; and everything he does is so 
 complete. He sends figured statements giving all 
 details regarding men and horses (these last are very 
 difficult to get), which will save me much time and 
 labour hereafter. He has been really most kind, and 
 has, morepver, during this troublous time, evinced 
 an energy, decision, and vigour for which I believe 
 the world hardly gave him credit. For officers, I 
 hope to have permanently, Maedowell, Shebbeare (now 
 acting as my 2nd in command of the Guides, and a 
 most excellent officer), and Hugh Gough of the 3rd 
 
 Cavalry. Saunders made 's removal a 'sine qua 
 
 non* before he would take charge of the district. 
 
230 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 He came to me to recommend a good officer to com- 
 mand the Jheend troops. I named that merry grig, 
 George Hall, who is, I believe, available, and a really- 
 good soldier. I have got a very nice lad ' pro tem^ in 
 the Guides, young Craigie Halkett, who promises 
 very well indeed. I have seven officers attached to 
 the Guides, but two are wounded, and Chalmers is 
 very ill. Young Ellis of the ist Fusiliers is down 
 with cholera, poor boy; and Colonel Welchman 
 dangerously ill and in great agony. I grieve deeply 
 for the brave old man, for I fear we shall lose him. 
 
 Jul^ j^tk. — We have had news from Agra to-day 
 up to the 7th. The Neemuch rebels and others ap- 
 proached Agra from the south. The 3rd Europeans 
 and D^Oyly's Battery went out to meet them with the 
 Kotah Contingent. The Contingent turned against 
 us as soon as they came in sight of the enemy. A 
 fight ensued, in which the mutineers got well beaten, 
 despite the treachery and great disparity of numbers ; 
 two of their guns were taken. On our side we lost 
 one gun, the tumbrils having been blown up and the 
 horses killed. All our men's ammunition was ex- 
 pended, and they had to retire in good order into 
 the fort. D'Oyley was killed and two officers wounded. 
 Thirty casualties in all. The mutineers then rushed 
 into cantonments, which they burnt and pillaged; then 
 broke open the great jail and released the prisoners. 
 They did not venture near the fort, but marched off 
 towards Muttra, and will, I suppose, come here. The 
 delay here is sickening; if it continues much longer, 
 we shall be too weak-handed to attempt to take the 
 place until fresh regiments arrive. 
 
 I inspected my three new troops this morning; 
 
SHARP ENCOUNTER. 231 
 
 very fine-looking fellows, most of them. I am 
 getting quite a little army under me, what with the 
 Guides and my own men. Would to Heaven they 
 would give us something more to do than this de- 
 sultory warfare, which destroys our best men, and 
 brings us no whit nearer Delhi, and removes the end 
 of the campaign to an indefinite period. 
 
 July \jijth. — Only time* to say I am again mercifully 
 preserved, safe and unhurt, after one of the sharpest 
 encounters we have yet had. Shebbeare got wounded 
 early in the fight, so I led the Guide Infantry myself 
 in the skirmish of the villages and suburbs. I charged 
 the guns with some eight horsemen, a party of the 
 Guide Infantry and ist Fusiliers. We got within 
 thirty yards, but the enemy's grape was too much 
 for our small party. Three of my officers, Shebbeare, 
 Hawes, and De Brett, slightly wounded, and several 
 men ; but though well to the front, my party suffered 
 proportionably least. 
 
 Of the Fusiliers who were with us, some sixty men 
 were wounded ; Daniell's arm broken by a shot, Jacob's 
 horse shot dead under him. Chamberlain shot through 
 the arm, little Roberts wounded, and several more. 
 
 Everybody wonders I was not hit; none more than 
 myself. God has been very merciful to me. Colonel 
 
 ♦ Extract from Letter (/Colonel (now Sir T.) Seaton, 
 
 from Campj at this time : — 
 
 'Hodson's courage and conduct are tlie admiration of 
 'all, and how he gets through the immense amount o 
 
 * work and fatigue he does is marvellous. 
 
 * He ha« the soundest heart and clearest head of any 
 < man in campi' 
 
232 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 Welchman better. Brown also. More particulars 
 hereafter. 
 
 July i^tJi. — I could only write a few words last 
 night on my return from the fight, worn out as I was 
 with a severe day's work. It is pretty much the same 
 now, and while I write I am obliged to have two men 
 to keep the candle alight with their hands, for the 
 breeze gets up at night, and we have all the ' Kanats' 
 of the tents down to enable us to breathe ; and having 
 no shades to the candlesticks,, it is rather difficult to 
 write even that I am safe. 
 
 July i6th. — I have just bade good-bye to Colonel 
 Welchman. The poor old man is better, but sadly 
 pulled down and aged. The doctors now think his 
 arm may be saved, that it may remain on, but it will 
 never be of the slightest use to him again, the elbow- 
 joint is so much injured. He and Captain Brown 
 start to-morrow night with a convoy of sick and 
 wounded men and officers for Umbala and the hills. 
 Of these, the ist Fusiliers form a sad proportion. 
 With one or two exceptions, nothing could be better 
 or more gallant than the conduct of this regiment, 
 Jacob, Greville, Wriford, all admirable in the field, 
 and the younger officers beyond all praise; Butler, 
 F. Brown, Owen, and Warner, markedly so. In all 
 the worst of the awful heat, dust, fatigue, work, and 
 privation — and all have been beyond description — our 
 plucky fellows have not only kept up their own spirits, 
 but been an example and pattern to the camp. If any 
 one was down in his luek he had only to go to the 
 Fusiliers' mess and be jolly. 
 
 The story in the papers about the boot was essen- 
 tially correct for once, though how they should 
 
NARROW ESCAPE FROM TULWAR. 233 
 
 have got hold of it I do not know, for I never 
 mentioned it even to you, since it certainly could 
 not be called a wound, though a very narrow escape 
 from one. A rascally Pandy made a thrust at my 
 horse, which I parried, when he seized his ' tulwar' in 
 both hands, bringing it down like a sledge-hammer ; 
 it caught on the iron of my antigropelos legging, 
 which it broke into the skin, cut through the stirrup- 
 leather, and took a slice off my boot and stocking; 
 and yet, wonderful to say, the sword did not penetrate 
 the skin. Both my horse and myself were staggered 
 by the force of the blow, but I recovered myself 
 quickly, and I don't think that Pandy will ever raise 
 his 'tulwar' again. I should not have entered into all 
 these details about self but for those tiresome papers 
 having made so much of it. The fight on that day 
 (the 14th) was the old story. An attack in force on 
 the right of our position ; the enemy were allowed to 
 blaze away, expending powder, and doing us no harm, 
 until 4 P.M., when a column was sent down to turn 
 them out of the gardens and villages they had occupied, 
 and drive them back to the city. I had just returned 
 from a long day's work with the cavalry, miles away in 
 the rear, and had come back as far as Light's advanced 
 battery. I was chatting with him for a few minutes 
 en passant, when I saw the column pass down. I 
 joined it, and sent for a few horsemen to accompany 
 me, and when we got under fire, I fcund the Guide 
 Infantry, under Shebbeare, had been sent to join in 
 the attack. I accompanied them, and while the 
 Fusiliers and Coke's men were driving the mass of 
 the ^emy helter-skelter through the gardens to our 
 right, I went, with the Guides, Goorkhas, and part of 
 
234 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 the Fusiliers^ along the Grand Trunk Road leading 
 right into the gates of Delhi. We were exposed to a 
 heavy fire of grape from the walls, and musketry from 
 behind trees and rocks ; but pushing on, we drove 
 them right up to the very walls, killing uncounted 
 numbers, and then were ordered to retire. This was 
 done too quickly by the artillery, and some confusion 
 ensued, the troops hurrying back too fast. The con- 
 sequence was, the enemy rallied, bringing up infantry, 
 then a large body of cavalry, and behind them again 
 two guns to bear on us. There were very few of 
 our men, but I managed to get eight horsemen to 
 the front. Shebbeare, though wounded, aided me in 
 rallying some Guide Infantry, and Greville and Jacob 
 (whose horse had just been shot) coming up, brought 
 a few scattered Fusiliers forward. I called on the 
 men to fire, assuring them that the body of cavalry 
 coming down would never stand. I got a few men 
 to open fire ; my gallant Guides stood their ground 
 like men; Shebbeare, Jacob, Greville, and little 
 Butler, came to the front, and the mass of the enemy's 
 cavalry, just as I said, stopped, reeled, turned, and fled 
 in confusion;, the guns behind them were for the 
 moment deserted, and I tried hard to get up a charge 
 to capture them ; we were within thirty paces ; 
 twenty-five resolute men would have been enough; 
 but the soldiers were blown, and could not push on 
 in the face of suah odds, unsupported as we were, for 
 the whole of the rest of the troops had retired. My 
 eight horsemen stood their ground, and the little knot 
 of officers used every exertion to aid us, when suddenly 
 two rascals rushed forward with lighted portfires in 
 their hands, fired the guns, loaded with grape, in our 
 
GALLANTRY OF GUIDES AND FUSILIERS. 235 
 
 faces, and when the smoke cleared away, we found, to 
 our infinite disgust and chagrin, that they had 
 limbered up the guns and were off at a gallop. We 
 had then to effect our retreat to rejoin the column, 
 under a heavy fire of grape and musketry, and many 
 men and officers were hit in doing it. I managed to 
 get the Guides to retire quietly, fighting as they 
 went, and fairly checking the enemy, on which I 
 galloped back and brought up two guns, when we 
 soon stopped all opposition, and drove the last living 
 rebel into his Pandemonium. My Guides stood firm, 
 and, as well as my new men, behaved admirably ; not 
 so all who were engaged, and it was in consequence 
 of that poor Chamberlain got wounded ; for seeing a 
 hesitation among the troops he led, who did not like 
 the look of a wall lined with Pandies, and stopped 
 short instead of going up to it, he leaped his horse 
 clean over the wall into the midst of them, and dared 
 the men to follow, which they did, but he got a ball in 
 the shoulder. There is not a braver heart or cooler 
 head in camp; his fault is too great hardihood and 
 exposure in the field and a sometimes too injudicious 
 indifference to his own life, or that of his men. We 
 are in a nice fix here ; General Reed is so ill he is 
 ordered away at once ; Chamberlain is on his back for 
 six weeks at least; Norman, however, is safe and 
 doing admirably, were he to be hit, the ' head-quarters' 
 would break down altogether. There will be no assault 
 on Delhi yet; our rulers will now less than ever 
 decide on a bold course ; and truth to tell, the numbers 
 of the enemy have so rapidly increased, and ours have 
 been so little replenished in proportion, and our losses, 
 for a small army, have been so severe, that it becomes 
 
236 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 a question, whether now we have numbers sufficient 
 to risk an assault. Would to Heaven it had been 
 tried when I first pressed it. How many brave hearts 
 have been sacrificed in consequence. Coke's men 
 suffered severely on the 14th from getting too close, 
 yet not close enough, to the city walls. 
 
 July i']th. — But little private writing for me to- 
 day, as I have only just come back from Brigadier 
 Hope Grant's tent, whither I went on business, and 
 I have been fully occupied with news writers cum 
 multis aliis. I begin to think of giving up this 
 Quartermaster-Generars work now that times are 
 so changed. I began with poor General Anson, 
 ' under his Excellency's personal orders;' I continued 
 this work under General Barnard at his request, and 
 now for these last days under General Reed; but he 
 too is incapacitated by sickness, age, and anxiety, and 
 goes off* to the hills to-night. Colonel Curzon left 
 for Simla yesterday. Colonel Congreve also goes, so 
 the head-quarters of the army are finally breaking 
 up. The Adjutant-General (Chamberlain) is badly 
 wounded, the Quartermaster-General (Colonel Becher) 
 ditto, though he does work a little in-doors, if one 
 may use such an expression of a tent, but he ought 
 not to do even that much, so badly hurt as he is. 
 Colonel Young, Norman, and myself are therefore 
 the only representatives of the head-quarter staff, 
 except the doctors and commissaries. The head 
 quarters of the army are now at Calcutta, General 
 Pat Grant's arrival having been announced, and this 
 army has dropped into merely a field force, commanded 
 by Brigadier Wilson as senior, with the rank of 
 Brigadier-General. I can hardly reconcile myself to 
 
SMART FIGHTING. 237 
 
 throw up the Intelligence Department now that I 
 have had the trouble of getting it into working order, 
 but for my own sake I must do so, for it is a terrible 
 drag on me, and ties me down too much. I am 
 wonderfully well, thank God! and able to get through 
 as much work as any man; but commanding two 
 regiments, and being eyes and ears of the army too, 
 is really too much ! Shebbeare and Macdowell are 
 appointed to my regiment in general orders — the 
 former as second in command, but to continue for the 
 present with the Guides ; the latter as adjutant, but 
 to act as second in command also, for the present. 
 I hope to have another officer or two in a few days, 
 as more now devolves on poor Mac than his fragile 
 frame can well stand. I wish his bodily strength 
 was equal to his will and courage. It is hot, oh ! 
 how hot, and we can have nothing but a hand 
 punkah occasionally ; if our servants were to make 
 off, we should indeed be in a pretty predicament, but 
 hitherto they have been faithful and unmurmuring. 
 
 July \()th. — I was quite unable to write yesterday, 
 as I went out long before daylight ; so with the 
 exception of a few minutes at 8 a.m. I was in the 
 saddle until dark ! We had a smart engagement in 
 the afternoon. I was sent for to take the Guide 
 cavalry down into tjie suburbs to support some guns, 
 and assist in driving the enemy back into the city. 
 We were commanded by a fine old gentleman, who 
 might sit for a portrait of Falstaff, so fat and jolly is 
 he; Colonel Jones of the 6oth Rifles. We got 
 dowTi to our point, close to the walls of Delhi, 
 easily enough, the rascally enemy being ready enough 
 to turn and fly for shelter ; but to return was the 
 
238 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 difficulty ; the instant we began to draw off, they 
 followed us, their immense numbers giving them a 
 great power of annoyance at very slight cost to 
 themselves. The brave old colonel was going to 
 retire ' all of a heap/ infantry, guns, and all in a, 
 helpless mass, and we should have suffered cruel loss 
 in those narrow roads, with walls and buildings on 
 both sides. I rode up to him and pointed this out, 
 and in reply received carte blanche to act as I saw 
 best. This was soon done with the assistance of 
 Henry Vicars (Adjutant 6ist) and Coghill (Adjutant 
 2nd Bengal European Fusiliers), both cool soldiers 
 under fire, though so young, and we got off in good 
 order and with trifling loss, drawing the men back 
 slowly and in regular order, covered by Dixon and' 
 Money's guns. My own men, whose duty was the 
 difiicult one. of enduring a very hot fire without 
 acting, behaved admirably, and I had the satisfaction 
 of losing only one killed, and two wounded, besides 
 a few horses, who generally come off second best 
 where bullets are flying about. My poor ' Feroza ' 
 was hit by one, but not dangerously, and I was again 
 most mercifully preserved unharmed. I was out 
 again early this morning reconnoitring, and have only 
 just returned in time to write even so much, too 
 much of myself as usual for my gwn feeling, but you 
 will have it so.* 
 
 * ' On the return of the detachment from the fight of 
 'the 1 8th, Colonel Jones, who commanded, went to the 
 * General and begged to thank Captain Hodson for his 
 ' most gallant and efficient assistance, adding his hope for 
 ' no better aid whenever he had to lead for the future.' — 
 Extract from a Letter from Camp. 
 
NUMBERS OF ENEMY. 239 
 
 July loth, — I had a very fatiguing, because sun- 
 shiny, ride yesterday, and a troublesome species of 
 reconnaissance, to prevent the enemy getting into our 
 rear. Their name is indeed ' legion ' compared with us. 
 I should say from all I can ascertain by the news- 
 letters, that there cannot be less than 36,000* fighting 
 men in Delhi, while we are barely a fifth of that 
 number, including cavalry and all ! Our position 
 however, is much strengthened, and we now beat 
 them with half the trouble we had at first, their 
 appetite for fighting being considerably lessened by 
 having been so repeatedly driven back ; but alas ! we 
 only drive them back, while we do not advance an 
 inch. The odds have moreover fearfully increased 
 against us by their continued accessions, and I confess 
 I now see less and less hope of success in an assault ; 
 when I first urged it, the enemy had not more than* 
 7000 Sepoys in the city, while we had 2000 infantry 
 alone. -Now, as I said before, the case is very different ; 
 for even were we to undertake an assault with a 
 reasonable prospect of success, if they should in 
 despair determine to defend the city inch by inch or 
 street by street, we should not have men enough to 
 secure our hold upon it. In that case the city people 
 (all of whom are armed) would join in the fray, and 
 considering what the consequences of failure would be, 
 and farther, that to do this much we should be obliged 
 to use up every man available, leaving no one, or 
 next to none, to protect our camp, sick and wounded, 
 from any attempt of the enemy, or of our questionable 
 
 • It was ultimately ascertained that there were 
 70,000 or 75,000! 
 
240 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 friends the country people, it becomes a matter of 
 serious and painful consideration. A want of success, 
 moreover, would now be productive of infinite mischief. 
 Erom hence to Allahabad, the fort of Agra and the 
 Residency of Lucknow are the only spots where the 
 British flag still flies. We are more to be considered 
 now as an isolated band, fighting for our very name 
 and existence in the midst of an enemy's country, 
 than as an avenging army about to punish a rebel 
 force. Sir H. Lawrence is holding out at Lucknow, 
 but Cawnpore has fallen into the hands of the rebels. 
 Sir Hugh Wheeler, after three weeks' contest, with, 
 we hear, only 150 Europeans, in an evil hour 
 capitulated, on condition of being provided with 
 boats and a free passage to Allahabad; as soon as 
 they were on board the boats, the whole were 
 massacred ! What became of the women and children 
 we know not : it is hoped they might have been sent 
 away earlier and escaped ; otherwise it is horrible to 
 think of what may have been their fate. Troops are 
 collecting fast at Allahabad, and I hope moving on 
 towards Cawnpore ; some think we shall be forced to 
 await their arrival at or near Delhi, before we can 
 do anything effective. I trust earnestly that the 
 city will not hold out so long. The people within it 
 are immensely disheartened, and dissensions are rife 
 among them. A split between the Hindoos and 
 fanatic Mahommedans is almost inevitable, and above 
 all, money is getting scarce. Meantime, this ' waiting 
 race ' is very wearying to heart and body. 
 
 .... I have determined on giving up the Assistant 
 Quartermaster-Generalship. It gives me more work 
 than I really can manage in such weather, in addition 
 
FACING DANGER. 241 
 
 to the command of two regiments. Macdowell pro- 
 mises admirably, and I trust there is every hope of 
 our having a nice body of officers with 'Hodson's 
 Horse.' Nothing further from Agra, beyond the 
 assurance that all was well there. 
 
 Jidij % \st. — Just returned from a long reconnaissance, 
 and the post going out, so I have time but for little. 
 Do not believe what the idle gossips say of my ' doing 
 the work of two or three men.' I strive to do my 
 duty, but I cannot consider I do more. I do not 
 run wanton risks, but I cannot stand by and see what 
 ought to be done without risking something to do it. 
 Had I not attempted what I did on the 14th, even 
 with the insufficient means at my command, we 
 should have been exposed to a disastrous loss of life, 
 and to the discredit of a reverse. That we cannot 
 afford. It is not only the possession of India which 
 is at stake, not only our name and fame as English- 
 men, but the safety, life, and honour of those nearest 
 and dearest to us ; were we to fail here, the horrible 
 scenes of Meerut, Delhi, Rohilcund, Jhansee, and 
 others, would be repeated in the Punjab and hill 
 stations. IVho, then, as husband, brother, father, son, 
 would hesitate to face any danger, any risk, which 
 tended to secure victory? I saw that our men were 
 retiring (by order) in great confusion, that five 
 minutes more and the whole party would be destroyed, 
 and the fate of the column sealed, for the enemy's 
 cavalry and guns were opening on us at speed. It 
 was a natural impulse to rush forward, and nobly was 
 I aided by Jacob and Greville, and my handful of 
 gallant Guides; the tide was turned by the sudden- 
 ness of the act ; the enemy were driven back, and our 
 
 B 
 
242 SIEGE or DELHI. 
 
 men had time to breathe. This was not much to do, 
 but it was a great deal to gain. 
 
 July i%nd. — Ag-ain but a few lines, for I have been 
 regularly hunted all day. I told you that Sir H. 
 Wheeler had capitulated, and been treacherously 
 destroyed, with his party ; we have since heard that a 
 force from Allahabad had reached Cawnpore under 
 Colonel Neill of the Madras Fusiliers, that Sir H. 
 Lawrence has been succoured, and that, in point of 
 fact, our power up to Agra had been re-established. 
 God grant this be true. Agra is safe, and all well ; 
 the troops which attacked it are afraid to come on 
 here, and have halted at Muttra. The force in Delhi 
 is much disheartened, and fights with gradually de- 
 caying energy. Already we have beaten them back 
 in twenty-three fights, besides a few such affairs on 
 my own private account, and though with consider- 
 able loss to us, yet with comparative ease, when you 
 consider their overwhelming numbers. We had an 
 engagement on the evening of the 20th, in which 
 Colonel Seaton commanded our column, the 1st 
 Fusiliers, 6ist Foot, and Guides as usual. I had 
 command of the Guide infantry, and led the advance 
 as well as covered the retreat; and though we pushed 
 close up to Delhi, we never had a shot fired from the 
 walls until we had set out on our return to camp 
 some way. They then came howling after us like 
 jackals, but the Guides were mindful of their old 
 leader's voice, and steadily kept them in check during 
 the whole distance, so completely that not a European 
 soldier was under fire, and I only lost four men 
 slightly wounded, while the enemy returned in utter 
 discomfiture. Poor Light has been very ill, and 
 
THE GUIDES AND THEIR LEADER. 243 
 
 Thompson has a bullet through his hg. Bishop 
 also is wounded; he retains the same calm com- 
 posure of manner under the hottest fire and hardest 
 work, as he habitually exhibited on the Mall. These 
 are excellent officers, but Tombs and Light are really 
 splendid. I hope Chamberlain's arm will be saved; 
 he is a noble fellow, but of course has his weak- 
 nesses. 
 
 Ju/j/ 24th. — I was quite unable to write yesterday. 
 Pandy chose an unusually inconvenient hour for his 
 attack, and kept us out until the afternoon, and then 
 I was busied in attending to our poor friend Colonel 
 Seaton, who, I grieve to say, was badly wounded, a 
 musket-ball having entered his left breast and come 
 out at his back, providentially passing outside the 
 ribs instead of through his body ; his lungs are, how- 
 ever, slightly injured, either by a broken rib or the con- 
 cussion, and until it is ascertained to what extent this 
 has gone, he is considered in danger. I do not myself 
 think there is danger, as no unfavourable symptom has 
 yet appeared, except a slight spitting of blood ; but 
 he is so patient and quiet that all is in his favour. I 
 am deeply sorry for him, dear fellow ! and fervently 
 pray that he may be spared to us. There was little 
 actual fighting ; the rascals ran the instant they came 
 in contact with our men ; the only firing being behind 
 banks and garden-walls. Colonel Drought, late 
 60th Native Infantry, was wounded ; Captain Money 
 ol^the Artillery got a bad knock on the knee-joint, 
 and Law of the loth Native Infantry killed; two 
 killed and five wounded in the ist Fusiliers, who as 
 usual bore the brunt. After many discussions pro 
 and con, it has been arranged that I retain the 
 
 R 2 
 
244 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 Intelligence Department and give up the Guides. 
 My own men require great attention^ as they are 
 now in considerable numbers ; so the General has 
 begged me to relinquish the Guides instead of the 
 Assistant Quartermaster- Generalship ; the command 
 of two regiments being an anomaly. I am very 
 ready to do this^ though I regret the separation from 
 the men, and should have liked to have led my old 
 corps into Delhi; but it is best as it is. You at 
 least will rejoice that it greatly diminishes the risk 
 to life and limb, which, I confess, lately has been 
 excessive in my case. The General was very com- 
 plimentary on my doings while commanding the 
 Guides, and ' trusted to receive equally invaluable 
 services from my new regiment.' I have little doubt 
 of this, if I am spared. I find General Barnard 
 reported no less than four times on my doings in the 
 highest terms; and the last public letter he ever 
 wrote was a special despatch to Government in my 
 favour. It was, in fact, the only letter of the kind he 
 ever wrote, for death intervened just as he was 
 setting to work to bring those who had done well 
 to the notice of Government. 
 
 They tell me I shall get pay for the Assistant 
 Quartermaster-GeneraFs Department,* as well as my 
 command allowance. For the Guides, of course I 
 shall get nothing ; but, I must say, I work, not like 
 a ' nigger,' considering their work usually amounts to 
 nil, but like a slave, in the Intelligence Department. 
 
 * It was, however, refused by the Government, though 
 asked for in the strongest terms of praise by Colonel 
 A. Becher, Quartermaster- General, and recommended by 
 the General ! — Ed. 
 
*TOUJOURS l'audace/ 245 
 
 I have been deeply shocked to hear that poor Chris- 
 tian, his young wife, and babes were among the 
 murdered in Oudh. Also Colonel Goldney. ... All is 
 well at Agra; there are about 6000 individuals in 
 the fort, with provisions for six months; they are 
 probably relieved by now, for we hear that six 
 English regiments were at Cawnpore on the nth 
 instant. This cheers up the men, and makes them 
 think that Government has some thought for the 
 gallant fellows here and elsewhere. I sent by Martin, 
 of the 75th, a parcel for Mrs. Hallifax, containing, 
 with other things, the old pistol her poor husband 
 gave me. I should have liked to have kept it as a 
 memorial of him, but as she wished for it, of course I 
 resign it ; the other arms, except the revolver, which 
 Dr. Stewart says he lost, were packed up and sent 
 to Umb^la with other things. 
 
 July 2^th. — Well, yes, I did offer to go down the 
 DoAb towards Agra and Cawnpore, to open the com- 
 munication, and ascertain exactly where the reinforce- 
 ments were, and assist them with cavalry in coming 
 up towards Delhi. It would have been of real use, 
 and not so dangerous as this eternal potting work 
 here. I pro[)osed to take 600 of my Horse, 250 in- 
 fantry of the Guides, and four guns ; could I not have 
 made my way with these ? I humbly opine I could, 
 I do not mean to say it was not a bold stroke, but in 
 Indian warfare I have always found ' toujours I'audace ' 
 not a bad motto. I can never forget how much 
 we have at stake, that we have a continent in 
 arms against us ; and I do think (and certainly shall 
 always act so) that every man should do not only 
 his duty but liis utmost in a crisis like the present. 
 
246 SIEGE or DELHI. 
 
 hily 'z6th. — A parcel with flannel -shirts, &c., arrived 
 last night. Those for the men I sent off to the hos- 
 pital at once, to the doctors' great delight. Macdowell 
 declares that the cap, his ^jumpers,* and the ^haccy' 
 Lord W. Hay was to send, must be in the box, and 
 demands them imperiously. He is doing admirably, 
 and promises to be a first-rate officer of light horse. 
 He rides well, which is one good thing, and is brave 
 as a lion's whelp, which is another. I only fear whether 
 he has physical strength for such work in such 
 weather. The whole country is a steaming bog. I 
 keep my health wonderfully, thank God ! in spite of 
 heat, hard work, and exposure ; and the men bear up 
 like Britons. We all feel that Government ought to 
 allow every officer and man before Delhi to count 
 every month spent here as a year of service in India. 
 There is much that is disappointing and disgusting 
 to a man who feels that more might have been done, 
 but I comfort myself with the thought, that history 
 (if Eussell, not Macaulay, writes it) will do justice to 
 the constancy and fortitude of the handful of English- 
 men who have for so many weeks — months, I may 
 say — of desperate weather, amid the greatest toil and 
 hardship, resisted and finally defeated the worst and 
 most strenuous exertions of an entire army and a 
 whole nation in arms, — an army trained by ourselves, 
 and supplied with all but exhaustless munitions of 
 war, laid up by ourselves for the maintenance of our 
 Empire. I venture to aver that no other nation in 
 the world would have remained here, or have avoided 
 defeat had they attempted to do so. The delay as 
 yet has been both morally and politically bad in many 
 ways, and the results are already beginning to be 
 
ENGLISH NATION. 247 
 
 manifest, but in the end it will increase our prestige 
 and the moral effects of our power. A nation which 
 could conquer a country like the Punjab so recently 
 with an Hindoostanee army, and then turn the 
 energies of the conquered Sikhs to subdue the very 
 army by which they were tamed ; which could fight 
 out a position like Peshawar for years in the very 
 teeth of the Affghan tribes ; and then, when suddenly 
 deprived of the regiments which effected this, could 
 unhesitatingly employ those very tribes to disarm and 
 quell those regiments when in mutiny, — a nation 
 which could do this is destined indeed to rule the 
 world ; and the races of Asia must succumb. This is 
 a proud feeling, and nerves one^s arm in many a time 
 of difficulty and danger, as much almost as the con- 
 viction that we must conquer, or worse than death 
 awaits us. The intelligence of Sir H. Wheeler's de- 
 struction came to us from too true a source to be 
 doubted — it was in dear Sir Henry Lawrence's own 
 handwriting; and has been confirmed, alas, too 
 surely. All we do not know is whether the women 
 and children were massacred with the men, or 
 whether they escaped, or were reserved for a worse 
 Me. 
 
 One of my news-letters reports that eighteen 
 women are in prison under the care (?) of Nana 
 Sahib (Bajee Rao Peish war's adopted son), who at- 
 tacked Cawnpore. You must remember at the 
 artillery review a very ' swell ' looking native gentle- 
 man, accompanied by another educated native, who 
 spoke French and other European languages, and was 
 talking a good deal to Alfred Light. Well, this was 
 the identical Nana Sahib who has done all this, and 
 
248 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 who must even at that very time have been meditating 
 the treachery, if not the murders. 
 
 There is not a word of truth in the report of ^ the 
 King of Delhi coming out for a final struggle.' 
 Rumour has been saying so for weeks with no founda- 
 tion ; the truth is, the King is a mere puppet, a 
 'ruse.' He is old, and well nigh impotent, and is only 
 used as authority for all the acts of rebellion and 
 barbarity enacted by his sons. The rascals talk (in 
 the city) of coming round on our rear, and attacking 
 us in the fij^d. I only wish they would, for in the 
 open plain we should hunt them down like jackals. 
 They escape us now by flying back into the city, or 
 under cover of the heavy batteries from its walls. 
 When (if ever) they do come out, the General has 
 proposed to put the whole of the Irregular Cavalry 
 under my command, and I trust to give a tolerable 
 account of the enemy, and show that ^ Hodson's Horse' 
 are capable of something even already. 
 
 Colonel Seaton is doing admirably, I am thankful 
 to say. He is patient and gentle in suffering as a 
 woman, and this helps his recovery wonderfully. 
 
 July I'jtJi. — Since the 33rd, hardly a shot has been 
 fired here. The- news-letters from the city mention 
 meetings in the marketplace and talkings at the 
 corners of the streets, with big words of what they 
 intend to do ; but they (the people) are actually cowed 
 and dispirited, while their rulers issue orders which 
 are never obeyed. 
 
 I fear our movements wait upon theirs. We have 
 no one in power with a head to devise or a heart 
 to dare any enterprise which might result in the 
 capture of Delhi ; and alas ! one cannot but admit 
 
NEWS OF CHINA FORCE. 249 
 
 that it would require both a wise head and a very- 
 great heart to run the risk with so reduced a force 
 as we have here now. 3200 Europeans* and 1500 
 Native Infantry are all that we can now muster. We 
 have reliable news from below, that on or about the 
 14th, General Havelock, with the first portion of the 
 European force, met and attacked the villain Nana, 
 near Futteypore (between Allahabad and Cawnpore), 
 aud beat him thoroughly, capturing his camp, twelve 
 guns, and seven lac of rupees. The China troops had 
 arrived : Lord Elgin having consented to ." e employ- 
 ment of the whole. 
 
 Sir P. Grant is coming up with these troops, 'on 
 dit,' 60 that in six weeks from the date of the 
 Meerut massacre, 1 1,000 European troops wall have 
 landed in India : what a providential arrival, and what 
 a lesson to Asiatics that they can never contend 
 with England. 
 
 This news has put the whole camp, even the 
 croakers, of whom there are not a few, in high spirits. 
 I only hope it is not too good to be true. 
 
 As a set-off against this, news has arrived that 
 Tudor, Tucker, his wife, and Sam Fisher, are among 
 the victims of this horrible insurrection, also, poor 
 James Thomason: and of his brother-in-law^s. Dr. 
 Hay's, execution, there can be no longer a doubt. 
 How many hecatombs of Sepoys would it require to 
 
 * European force before Delhi, August i : — 
 
 Infantry 2000 
 
 Cavalry 500 
 
 Artillery 550 
 
 3050 
 On actual daily duty 2007. 
 
250 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 atone for their deaths alone. When shall we see the 
 last ; when know the full extent of these horrible atro- 
 cities ? The accounts make one^s blood run fire. 
 Our dear Douglas Seaton has arrived in England, 
 much restored by the voyage, but not, I fear, suffi- 
 ciently recovered to return, as soon as he would hear 
 of the outbreak. A sad blow for him, poor fellow, for 
 had he been here to command the regiment, he would 
 probably have been a full Colonel and C.B. at the 
 end. I am seriously uneasy at receiving no letters 
 from England, though mail after mail must have 
 arrived, and some people get their letters : therefore, 
 why not I mine ? We get none even from Agra, and 
 of course not below it, except by ' Kossid,^ and they 
 but little scraps, written half in Greek characters, to 
 mislead or deceive, if the unfortunate bearer is stopped. 
 They conceal them very ingeniously between the 
 leather of their shoes, or tied up in their hair. I 
 enclose one that came in even a more singular letter- 
 bag than either, rolled up in a piece of wax and 
 packed into a hollow tooth. 
 
 tells me that was furious at my 
 
 having the Guides, but was compelled to acquiesce 
 in it ' as it was undoubtedly the best thing for the 
 public service.' How he must have winced when he 
 was forced to confess that. 
 
 July iWh. — I have no news. The Pandies have 
 not attacked us since the 23rd, and are much dis- 
 pirited. In reply to your and Mrs. 's wish to 
 
 come to Delhi as nurses, I must say honestly that 
 there is no necessity for such a sacrifice. Our position 
 here is very different from that in the Crimea and at 
 Scutari. There the men died from want of care and 
 
LADIES IN CAxMP. 251 
 
 of the ordinary necessaries of life. Here there is no 
 absolute want of anything, except a genial climate 
 and well-built hospitals, neither of which you could 
 supply. The men are attended to immediately they 
 are sick or wounded ; and within an hour, sometimes 
 half that time, of his being wounded, a soldier is in 
 his bed, with everything actually necessary, and the 
 greatest medical attention. Unless any unforeseen 
 emergency should arise, I would strongly dissuade any 
 lady from coming to camp. 
 
 I have always urged the authorities to send away, 
 as fast as possible, those who have arrived as refugees. 
 We have a vast camp, or rather position, five miles 
 in circumference, and we are constantly obliged to 
 take every man into the field. The guard for our 
 sick is trifling enough, and our difficulties would be 
 increased were there women also to be thought of; 
 and God forbid that any more lives should be risked 
 in this dreadful servile war. There is also another 
 consideration of much weijyht a^^ainst the tender 
 sympathy which prompts the offer. How is a deli- 
 cate woman's constitution to bear up against the evils 
 of a tented field in the rains, or render efficient service 
 in such a climate as this is now ? They would all very 
 speedily become patients in the very hospitals which 
 they came to serve and would so willingly support. 
 The flannel garments are invaluable, and this is all 
 that can be done for us by female hands at present. 
 
 Juljf 2^tA. — I have been so occupied with business 
 all day that I have only time to say we have had no 
 more fighting, and the whole atmosphere is still, but 
 hot, oh, 80 hot. General Wilson is unwell, and will 
 probably break down, like the rest. • These sexa- 
 
252 SIEGE OE DELHI. 
 
 genarians are unfit for work in July. I expect Napier 
 will be with the advancing troops. I sincerely hope 
 so. He is the man to do something, if they will 
 but let him. 
 
 July 315^. — I intended writing more fully to make 
 up for my late shortcomings, but the Pandies permit 
 it not. They made an attempt on our position this 
 morning; nothing more, however, than a distant 
 cannonade. A large party have moved round in our 
 rear, and this has kept me in the saddle all day. I 
 have just returned, after some hours of the heaviest 
 rain I was ever out in, drenched to the skin, of course, 
 and somewhat tired, so judge what a comfort a dry 
 flannel-shirt must be. There was no actual fightings, 
 so, with the exception of keeping us out so long, and 
 a great expenditure of powder and shot, no harm 
 was done. 
 
 August ist. — The continued heavy rain promises 
 to give me more time for pen work to-day, if no 
 more takes place on the side of Pandy-monium. The 
 box has arrived safely with the new 'jumpers,' &c. 
 Lord William's additions are invaluable. We have 
 fresh accounts from below that every European woman 
 and child have been ruthlessly murdered at Cawn- 
 pore. The details are too revolting to put on paper, 
 and make one's blood boil. Mothers with infants 
 in their arms murdered with fiendish cruelty, and 
 worse than all, two young girls just arrived from 
 England are said to have been only saved to meet a 
 worse fate in some Mussulman's zenana. There 
 will be a day of reckoning for these things, and a 
 fierce one, or I have been a soldier in vain. You 
 say there is a great difference between doing one's 
 
IDEA OF *DUTY.' 253 
 
 duty and running unnecessary risks, and you say 
 truly ; the only question is, what is one's duty. Now, 
 I might, as I have more than once, see things going 
 wrong at a time and place when I might be merely 
 a spectator, and not ' on duty,' or ordered to be there, 
 and I might feel that by exposing myself to danger 
 for a time I might rectify matters, and I might 
 therefore think it right to incur that danger; and yet 
 if I were to get hit, it would be said ' he had no 
 business there -^ nor should I, as far as the rules of the 
 service go, though in my own mind I should have been 
 satisfied that I was right. These are times when every 
 man should do his best, his utmost, and not say, 
 ' No ; though I see I can db good there, yet, as I have 
 not been ordered and am not on duty, I will not do 
 it.' This is not my idea of a soldier's duty, and 
 hitherto the results have proved me right. Poor 
 Eaton Travers, of Coke's regiment, was killed this 
 morning. He had just come from England via Bom- 
 bay, with a young wife, whom he left at Lahore. Poor 
 young thing, a sad beginning and end for her. We 
 send off convoys of the sick and wounded to Umb^la, 
 where we hear they are well tended and are doing 
 well. Even here everything possible is done for them ; 
 Dr. Brougham is an excellent man and first-rate 
 surgeon, quite the man of the camp in his line, clever, 
 indefatigable, and humane. 
 
 7.nd. — The rebels attacked us about 5 p.m. yester- 
 day, and kept us at it till seven or eight this 
 morning. Our people kept steadily at their posts 
 and behind entrenchments, and drove them back with 
 steady volleys every time they came near. The result 
 was, that they were punished severely, while our loss 
 
254 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 was a very trifling one, not more than half-a-dozen 
 Europeans killed and wounded; it is next to impos- 
 sible ever to ascertain accurately what the enemy ^s 
 loss is. 
 
 Colonel Seaton is doing well ; in three weeks^ time 
 I hope he will be about again. Before this surely 
 our rulers will consent to take Delhi. Sickness is on 
 the increase, and we have been nearly losing another 
 General. General Wilson was very ill for a few days, 
 but is now better. He is older, however, by ten 
 years than he was. The responsibility and anxiety 
 of what is certainly a very difficult position, have been 
 too much for him, and he has got into the way of 
 being nervous and alarmed, and over-anxious even 
 about trifles, which shakes one^s dependence on his 
 judgment. These men are personally as brave as 
 lions, but they have not big hearts or heads enough 
 for circumstances of serious responsibility. This 
 word is the bugbear which hampers all our proceed- 
 ings. Would we could have had Sir Henry Lawrence 
 as our leader ; we should have been in Delhi weeks 
 ago. I hope Colonel Napier is coming up with the 
 force. He has head, and heart, and nerve, and the 
 moral courage to act as if he had. We hear that 
 the crisis is passing ; all below Cawnpore is safe, and 
 all above Kurnal to Peshawur ; while Lord AV. Hay 
 keeps the more important hill stations steady. When 
 all is over, our power will be stronger than ever, 
 principally because we shall have got rid of our great 
 sore, a native army. 
 
 '^rd, — 4 P.M. and I have only just got out of the 
 saddle, and found on my arrival in camp the heaviest 
 news that has yet reached us. Report says that Sir 
 
REPORT OF SIR H. LAWRENCe's DEATH. 255 
 
 Henry is dead ! The news wants confirmation, and 
 God grant that it may be untrue. I should lose one 
 of my best friends, and the country (in Lord 
 Dalhousie's words on poor Mackeson) ' one whose 
 loss would dim a victory.^ I cannot write more to- 
 day ; tlie news has quite unnerved me. 
 
 4M. — Two letters have just arrived from General 
 Havelock at Cawnpore. They were written at an 
 interval of ten days, and mentioned his having had 
 three successful fights, on the 12th, 15th, and i6th of 
 July, and the re-occupation of Cawnpore. The first 
 of these letters mentions a report that Sir Henry had 
 died on the 4th July, of wounds received on the 2nd ; 
 but the second letter, written ten days later, does not 
 even allude to a circumstance of such importance, and 
 the Sikh who brought it, and who left Havelock near 
 Lucknow, on his way to its relief, maintains that it is 
 not true, and that Sir Henry Lawrence was alive when 
 he left, as letters were constantly passing from Have- 
 lock's camp to the ^ Burra Sahib.' God grant, for his 
 country's sake and for mine, that it be not true. To the 
 couutry his death would be worse than the loss of a 
 province ; to me it would be the loss of my truest and 
 most valued friend. I hope, yet fear to hope, that it 
 may be a false report ; yet what soldier would wish a 
 more noble, a more brilliant end to such a career? 
 Havelock has captured all the enemy's guns, and in- 
 flicted severe punishment. The destruction of Sir Hugh 
 Wheeler and his party is fully confirmed, and Havelock 
 was too late to save the unfortunate women and chil- 
 dren, who were massacred in their prison, before his 
 arrival, by their guards. Such fiends as these our arms 
 have never met with in any part of the world. May 
 
256 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 our vengeance be as speedy as it will unquestionably 
 be sure ! 
 
 We (Hodson's Horse) are getting on very comfort- 
 ably, and are going to start a mess on our own 
 account, so as to be ready to march without diffi- 
 culty when required. 
 
 ^tli, — To-day the accounts received from a native 
 Commissariat Agent, arrived at Meerut from Lucknow, 
 are positive as to Sir H. Lawrence being alive a 
 fortnight after he was said to have died. This, if 
 reliable, is good indeed. The letter I annex "^ from 
 Colonel Tytler gives good news, and the man who 
 brought the letter, says there were fourteen steamers 
 and flats at Cawnpore when he left. The troops 
 had taken Bithoor, the Nana^s place, and at first it 
 was uninjured, but the bodies of some English women 
 were found inside the Nana^s house, on which the 
 European soldiers, excited to irresistible fury, de- 
 stroyed every human being in the place, and then 
 demolished the building, not leaving one stone upon 
 another. The Nana himself, with his family, took 
 refuge in a boat on the river, and the native accounts 
 
 * ' Cawnpore, July 26th. 
 ' General Havelock has crossed the river to relieve 
 ' Lucknow, which will be efiected four days hence. 
 
 ' We shall probably march to Delhi to-morrow, with 
 ' 4000 or 5000 Europeans, and a heavy artillery, in 
 * number, not weight. 
 
 ' The China force is in Calcutta, 5000 men. More 
 ' troops expected immediately. We shall soon be with 
 ' you. — Yours truly, 
 
 ' B. A. Tytler, 
 ' Lieut.-Col., Quartermaster-General 
 ' Moveable Column.^ 
 
NANA SAHIB. 257 
 
 add that he sunk it, and all were drowned. This I 
 strongly doubt; such Spartan heroism could scarcely 
 exist in the mind of one who could violate and 
 massacre helpless women and children. Indeed, I 
 hope it is not true ; for it is one of my aims to have 
 the catching of the said Nana myself. The hanging 
 him would be a positive pleasure to me. I trust the 
 day of retribution is not far distant. 
 
 6th. — Small chance of much writing to-day, for 
 just as I have got into camp, after some hours' atten- 
 dance on the pleasure of the Pandies, who came out 
 in force and threatened an attack, I find that I 
 have to start on a long reconnoitring expedition, from 
 which I cannot return till late at night. This is 
 unfortunate, as I have much pen work on hand, my 
 necessary official writing being very onerous. I was 
 obliged to write as long a letter as I could to Lord 
 W. Hay, if but to thank him, in my own and others' 
 name, for the comforts he so thoughtfully sent us. 
 
 I have a very complimentary letter from G. Barnes, 
 the Commissioner, as well as some others, enough to 
 turn one's head with vanity ; but I have had bitter 
 experience of its rottenness, and take the flattery at 
 its full value, namely, ' nil.' I fear from fresh reports 
 arrived, that Havelock will not come and help us, after 
 all. They say he has the strictest orders to relieve 
 Lucknow only, and that however much he may 
 desire to march on to Delhi, it is out of his power to 
 do 80. It is true we do not want him. Delhi surely 
 must be taken as soon as ever the reinforcements get 
 down here from the Punjab, Our rulers must then 
 see the necessity for action. 
 
 7M. — I returned at three o'clock this morning 
 
258 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 from a forty miles' ride over the worst and wettest 
 country I was ever in, and I am thoroughly ex- 
 hausted, though everybody is wanting something, 
 and I must attend to business first, and then to rest. 
 Wi. — I could write nothing but official papers all 
 the sedentary part of yesterday. I did not get in 
 till 9 P.M. The news from below mentions good dear 
 old Br. Lyell as among the killed at Patna. Brave, 
 noble fellow, his gallant spirit has led him to the 
 front once too often. He had always as much of the 
 warrior as of the surgeon in him. The report has 
 again gained ground of dear Sir Henry's death, but 
 my heart refuses credence to so great a misfortune. I 
 do trust that when the 5 and arrive, we may be 
 allowed to do something better than this pot-shot 
 work. Nicholson has come on a-head, and is a host in 
 himself, if he does not go and get knocked over as 
 Chamberlain did. The camp is all alive at the notion of 
 something decisive taking place soon, but I cannot 
 rally from the fear of dear Sir Henry's fate. How 
 many of my friends are gone. My heart is divided 
 between grief for those precious victims, and deep 
 gratitude to God for my own safety and that of those 
 dearest to me. May He in his mercy preserve me 
 for further exertion and an ultimate reunion, and if 
 not, His will be done. I have a letter from an un- 
 fortunate woman, a Mrs. Leeson, who was saved from 
 the slaughter at Delhi, on May nth, by an Affghan 
 lad, after she had been wounded, and her child 
 slaughtered in her arms. She is still concealed in 
 the Affghan's house. I heard that there was a 
 woman there, and managed to effect a commu- 
 nication with her, through one of the Guides, and to 
 
MAID OF DELHI. 259 
 
 send her money, &c., and so I think the poor creature 
 may be preserved till we enter Delhi, if we fail in 
 getting her free before. I fear she is the only 
 European, or rather the only Christian (for she her- 
 self is hardly European), left alive from the massacre. 
 Her husband was the son of Major Leeson, and a 
 clerk in a Government ojQSce in Delhi. I have sent 
 one of our few prisoners up to Forsyth at Umbala, 
 whom we ironically call the ' Maid of Delhi,' though 
 her age and character are questionable/ and her 
 ugliness undoubted. She actually came out on 
 horseback, and fought against us like a fiend. The 
 General at first released her, but knowing how 
 mischievous she would be among those superstitious 
 Mahommedans, I persuaded him to let her be 
 recaptured, and made over for safe custody. It is a 
 moot point whether any assault will be made as soon 
 as the 52nd arrive. I can only go on hoping, but I 
 confess I am not very sanguine about anything being 
 done now. 
 
 Our General since his illness has got a still 
 weaker dread of responsibility, and ceased to be 
 nearly as vigorous even as heretofore. Would indeed 
 that we had had Sir H. Lawrence here : that he may 
 have been, and still be spared to us, is my prayer ! 
 The consequences of longer delay will be more and 
 more disastrous to the health of the troops. Captain 
 Daly has not formally reassumed command of the 
 Guides, though he virtually does all the sedentary 
 work. By an arrangement which I cannot but think 
 unwise, and which deprives the corps of two-thirds 
 of its value, they have separated the regiment into 
 two, putting the cavalry into the Cavalry Brigade 
 
260 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 under Hope Grant, and the infantry at tlie other end 
 of the camp under Shebbeare, and Major E,eid of the 
 GoorkhaSj who commands all the posts and picquets 
 on our right. 
 
 The Guides should not be separated_, and should be 
 kept as much apart as may be from other corps. No 
 regiment in the world have done or will do better 
 than they, with a little prudence, and under an officer 
 whom they like and can trust. My own regiment 
 is also in the Cavalry Brigade, and is very hard 
 worked. It is bad for a young and unformed corps, 
 but there is such a scarcity of cavalry here, that I 
 cannot even remonstrate, and I get no small amount 
 of Kvdog for having so large a number of men fit to 
 be put on duty within two months of receiving the 
 order to raise a regiment. I shall have two more 
 troops in with the 5 and, and Nicholson has given me 
 fifty Affghans, just joined him from Peshawur, which, 
 added to thirty coming with Alee Reza Khan from 
 Lahore, will complete an Affghan troop as a counter- 
 poise to my Punjabees."* 
 
 We expect the moveable column on the 13th or 
 13th, weather permitting, and some other troops a 
 day or two after. Sir P. Grant is supposed to be 
 at Cawnpore, but we have no tidings later than 
 Colonel Tytler's letter. There is no actual fighting 
 going on here, nothing except the usual cannonade. 
 The rebels bring out guns on all sides, and fire away 
 day and night, but bring no troops forward, and as 
 
 * The uniform of ' Hodson's Horse' was a dust-coloured 
 tunic, with a scarlet sash worn over the shoulder, and 
 scarlet turban, which gained them the name of 'the 
 Flamingos.' 
 
DISAFFECTION IN CITY. 261 
 
 we act strictly on the defensive, we merely reply to 
 their guns with ours. The whole affair is reduced to 
 a combat of artillery, our leader's favourite arm, 
 excellent when combined with the other two, but if 
 he expects to get into Delhi with that alone, I guess he 
 will find himself mistaken. The news of disaffection 
 in the city is daily confirmed. On the 7th a powder 
 manufactory exploded, and they suspended the 
 minister. Hakeem Ahsanoolah, and searched his house ; 
 there they found a letter which had been sent him, 
 concocted by Moulvie Rujub Alee, which confirmed 
 their suspicions, so they plundered and burnt his house, 
 while he himself was only saved by taking refuge in 
 the palace with the king, his master, who it seems is 
 kept close prisoner there, his sons giving all orders, 
 and ruling with a rod of iron. They say, however, 
 that the king has got leave to send his wives and 
 women out of the Ajmere gate to the Kootub. I trust 
 it may be so, for we do not war with women, and 
 should be sadly puzzled to know what to do with 
 them as prisoners. 
 
 August iitk. — The bridge over the Jumna resists 
 all efforts for its destruction. Our engineers have tried 
 their worst, and failed. I have tried all that money 
 could do, to the extent of 6000 rupees, but equally in 
 vain. So there it remains for the benefit of the enemy, 
 whose principal reinforcements come from that side 
 of the city. Two messengers of my own, arrived 
 from Lucknow, leave little hope of dear Sir Henry's 
 life having been spared. I grieve as for a brother. 
 . . . Talking of jealousies, one day, under a heavy 
 
 fire. Captain came up to me, and begged 
 
 me to forget and forgive what had passed, and only 
 
262 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 to remember that we were soldiers fighting together 
 in a common cause. As I was the injured party, I 
 could afford to do this. The time and place, as well 
 as his manner, appealed to my better feelings, so I 
 held out my hand at once. Nowadays, we must 
 stand by and help each other, forget all injuries, and 
 rise superior to them, or, God help us ! we should 
 be in terrible plight. 
 
 August iith. — This morning a force under Colonel 
 Showers moved down before daybreak towards the 
 city, or rather the gardens outside the city gates, and 
 gave the enemy, who had been ensconced behind the 
 garden walls for a couple of days, and given our 
 pickets annoyance, a good thrashing, taking four of 
 their guns, and inflicting a heavy loss. All were back 
 in camp by 7 p.m., so it was a very comfortable 
 little affair. Our fellows did admirably. Captain 
 Greville captured one gun with a handful of men, 
 getting slightly wounded in the act. Showers him- 
 self. Coke, and young Owen, were also wounded, and 
 poor young Sheriff of the i^nd mortally so ; the loss 
 among the men was small in proportion to the success. 
 The return to camp was a scene worth witnessing, the 
 soldiers bringing home in triumph the guns they had 
 captured, a soldier with musket and bayonet fixed 
 riding each horse, and brave young Owen astride one 
 gun, and dozens clinging to and pushing it, or 
 rather them, along with might and main, and cheering 
 like mad things. I was in the thick of it by accident, 
 for I was looking on as well as I could through the 
 gloom, when Coke asked me *o find Brigadier Showers 
 and say he was wounded, and that the guns were 
 
BRINGING IN CAPTURED GUNS. 263 
 
 taken. I found Showers himself wounded, and then 
 had to find a field officer to take command,, after which, 
 I assisted generally in drawing off the men — the 
 withdrawal or retirement being the most difficult 
 matter always, and requiring as much steadiness as 
 an attack. 
 
 August 13M. — I wish I could get some pay, but 
 money is terribly scarce and living dear, my favourite 
 beverage, tea, particularly so. I have therefore sent 
 to Umbala for some. 
 
 Ghoolab Singh's death is unfortunate at this 
 juncture, but I fancy we have too much to do just 
 now to interfere with the succession ; we ought not 
 to do so according to treaty, and if Jowahir Singh 
 tries to recover the country from his cousin. Run- 
 beer Singh, the king's son, why that is his aifair, 
 not ours — though we should never be contented to 
 let them fight it out and settle it themselves. Poor 
 Light has been brought very low by dysentery, 
 and can hardly crawl about, but about he persists in 
 
 going, brave fellow as he is. What a contrast to , 
 
 who has got away, sick or pretending to be so, to 
 the hills — anything to escape work. Greville is, I 
 am thankful to say, not badly wounded, and as plucky 
 as ever. All well at Agra : no news from below. 
 
 August i\th. — On returning from a rather dis- 
 heartening reconnaissance to-day, I found letters which 
 soothed and comforted my weary spirit, just as a sud- 
 den gleam of sunlight brightens a gloomy landscape, 
 and brings all surrounding objects into light and dis- 
 tinctness. 
 
 I am no croaker, but I confess sometimes it re- 
 quires all one's trust in the God of battles, and all the 
 
264 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 comforting and sustaining words of those nearest and 
 dearest to us, to bear up boldly and bravely through 
 these weary days. A letter from good Douglas 
 Seaton was among them. He little thought that so 
 soon after his departure we should all be moving down- 
 wards, and that I should receive his letter in his 
 brother's tent in ' Camp before Delhi :' his own dearly 
 loved regiment"^ ' next door ' to us. How wonder- 
 fully uncertain everything is in India. I am inter- 
 rupted by orders to start to-night for Rohtuck, and 
 must go and make arrangements. 
 
 ist European Bengal Fusiliers. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 ROHTUCK EXPEDITION. 
 
 BOHUR, NEAR ROHTUCK, AugUSt I ph. 
 
 I HAVE been unable to write since we left Delhi, as 
 we have been incessantly marching, and had no 
 means of communicating with any one. Even now I 
 am doubtful whether this will reach camp. We 
 left Delhi during the night of the 14th- 15th, and 
 marched to Khurkundah, a large village, in which I 
 had heard that a great number of the rascally Irregu- 
 lars had taken refuge. We surprised and attacked the 
 village, A number of the enemy got into a house, 
 and fought like devils ; but we mastered them and 
 slew the whole. Yesterday we marched on here, in- 
 tending to reconnoitre and harass ' h la Cosaque ' a 
 large party of horsemen and foot, with two guns, 
 who have been moving along from Delhi, plundering 
 the wretched villagers en route, and threatening to 
 attack Hansie. They, however, thought discretion 
 the better part of valour, and hearing of our approach, 
 started off at a tangent before we got near enough 
 to stop them. 
 
 We have been drenched with rain, so I am halting 
 to dry and feed both men and horses, and then we 
 go on to Rohtuck. I have nearly 300 men and five 
 officers — Ward, Wise, the two Goughs, and Macdowell, 
 — ^all first-rate soldiers. I have eighty Guides, and 
 
266 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 the rest my own men, who do wonderfully, consider- 
 ing how sadly untrained and undisciplined they are. 
 We are roughing it in more ways than one, and the 
 sun is terribly hot, but we are all well and in high 
 spirits, for though it is a bold game to play, I am too 
 careful to run unnecessary risks, or get into a fix. I 
 have done a good deal already, and shall, I hope, recover 
 Rohtuck to-day, when I do trust the authorities will 
 consent to keep it, and not let us have the work to 
 do twice over, as at Bhagput. 
 
 To Colonel Becher, Quartermaster-General. 
 
 My deae Colonel, — We are getting on very well. 
 I hope to take Rohtuck to-day, and I trust arrange- 
 ments will be made for keeping it. The country will 
 then be quiet from Hansie to Delhi. The Jheend 
 Rajah should be told to take care of the district. I 
 believe Greathed did make this arrangement, but 
 Barnes put some spoke in the way, so that the Rajah 
 is uncertain how to act. Please tell Greathed from 
 me that there is nothing now to prevent the re- 
 storation of order here. I wish I had a stronger party, 
 for though I feel quite comfortable myself, yet I 
 should like more troops, for the sake of the men, who 
 are not quite so easy in their minds. The road by 
 Alipore, Boanah, and Khurkundah is the best. The 
 canal is easily fordable at Boanah, and just below that 
 place (at the escape) it is quite dry, the banks having 
 given way. We polished off the Khurkundah gentry 
 in style, though they showed fight to a great extent. 
 
ROHTUCK EXPEDITION. 267 
 
 It has had a wonderfully calming effect on the neigh- 
 bourhood. I hope the Jheend troops, or some troops, 
 may be sent here. The Jheend men would more than 
 suffice. — Yours very sincerely, 
 
 W. S. R. HoDSON. 
 
 Camp, Dusseeah, near Rohtuck, 19M Atigtcst. — 
 This is the first rest since Bohur ; w^e have had very 
 hard work, great heat, and long exposure ; but, thank 
 God, are all well and safe, and have done some 
 business. I marched from Bohur on the evening 
 of the 17th. On reaching Rohtuck, we found the 
 Mussulman portion of the people, and a crowd of 
 Irregulars, drawn up on the walls, while a considerable 
 party were on a mound outside. I had ridden for- 
 ward with Captain Ward and a few orderlies to see 
 how the land lay, when the rascals fired, and ran 
 towards us. I sent word for my cavalry to come up, 
 and rode slowly back myself, in order to tempt them 
 out, which had partly the desired effect, and as soon 
 as my leading troop came up, we dashed at them and 
 drove them helter-skelter into the town, killing all we 
 overtook. We then encamped in what was the 
 Kutcherry compound, and had a grateful rest and a 
 quiet night. The representatives of the better disposed 
 part of the population came out to me, and amply 
 provided us with supplies for both man and beast. 
 The rest were to have made their 'amende' in the 
 morning; but a disaffected Rangur went off early, 
 and brought up 300 Irregular horsemen of the muti- 
 neers — ist, 13th, 14th, and other rebels — and having 
 
268 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 collected about looo armed rascals on foot, came out 
 to attack my little party of barely 300 sabres and six 
 officers. The Sowars dashed at a gallop up the road, 
 and came boldly enough up to our camp. I had a few- 
 minutes before fortunately received notice of their 
 intentions, and as I had kept the horses ready saddled, 
 we were out and at them in a few seconds. To drive 
 them scattering back to the town was the work of 
 only as many more, and I then, seeing their numbers, 
 and the quantity of matchlocks brought against us 
 from gardens and embrasures, determined to draw 
 them out into the open country ; and the ' ruse' was 
 eminently successful. I had quietly sent off our little 
 baggage unperceived, half an hour before, so that I 
 was, as I intended, perfectly free and unfettered by 
 impedimenta of any sort. I then quietly and gradually 
 drew off troop after troop into the open plain about 
 a mile to the rear, covering the movement with 
 skirmishers. My men, new as well as old, behaved 
 coolly and admirably throughout, though the fire was 
 very annoying, and a retreat is always discouraging, 
 even when you have an object in view. My officers, 
 fortunately first-rate ones, behaved like veterans, and 
 everything went on to my complete satisfaction. 
 Exactly what I had anticipated happened. The enemy 
 thought we were bolting, and came on in crowds, 
 firing and yelling, and the Sowars brandishing their 
 swords as if we were already in their hands, when 
 suddenly I gave the order, 'Threes about, and at them.' 
 The men obeyed with a cheer ; the effect was elec- 
 trical; never was such a scatter. I launched five 
 parties at them, each under an officer, and in they 
 went, cutting and firing into the very thick of them. 
 
ROHTUCK EXPEDITION. 269 
 
 The ground was very wet, and a ditch favoured them, 
 but we cut down upwards of fifty in as many seconds. 
 The remainder flew back to the town, as if, not the 
 Guides and Hodson's Horse, but death and the devil 
 were at their heels. Their very numbers encumbered 
 them, and the rout was most complete. Unfortu- 
 nately I had no ammunition left, and therefore could 
 not without imprudence remain so close to a town 
 filled with matchlock men, so we marched quietly 
 round to the north of the town, and encamped near 
 the first friendly village we came to, which we reached 
 in the early afternoon. Our success was so far com- 
 plete, and I am most thankful to say with very 
 trifling loss, only two men rather severely wounded, 
 eight in all touched, and a few horses hit. Mac- 
 dowell did admirably, as indeed did all. My new men, 
 utterly untrained as they are, many unable to ride 
 or even load their carbines properly, yet behaved 
 beyond my most sanguine expectations for a first field, 
 and this success, without loss, will encourage them 
 greatly. 
 
 This morning I was joined by a party of Jheend 
 horse, whom my good friend the Rajah sent as soon 
 as he heard I was coming Rohtuck- wards, so I have 
 now 400 horsemen, more or less, fresh ammunition 
 having come in this morning, and am quite indepen- 
 dent. I hear also that the General has at my recom- 
 mendation sent out some troops in this direction ; if 
 so, order will be permanently restored in this district. 
 In three days we have frightened away and demora- 
 lized a force of artillery, cavalry, and infantry some 2000 
 strong, beat those who stood or returned to fight us, 
 twice, in spite of numbers, and got fed and furnished 
 
270 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 forth by the rascally town itself.* Moreover, we have 
 thoroughly cowed the whole neighbourhood, and given 
 them a taste of what more they will get unless 
 they keep quiet in future. We count eighty- 
 five killed, and numbers wounded, since we left 
 Delhi, which is one good result, even if there were no 
 other. One of them was a brute of the J4th Irregular 
 Cavalry, who committed such butchery at Jhansi. No 
 letters have reached me since I left camp, and I am 
 not sure that this will reach there safely. It is a 
 terribly egotistical detail, and I am thoroughly 
 ashamed of saying so much of myself, but you insisted 
 on having a full, true, and particular account, so do 
 not think me vainglorious. 
 
 LuRSOWLiE, August I'l^nd. — I rode over to this place 
 from our little camp at Souput, eight miles off, to see 
 Saunders and Colonel Durnsford. I find that two of 
 my new troops have been detained on the road, but 
 will reach Delhi in a day or two, and others from 
 Lahore will soon arrive. I think the business at 
 Hohtuck has been very creditable to us, but I can 
 
 * Extract from Letter 0/ Major-General Wilson. 
 
 'The Major-General commanding the force having 
 ' received from Lieut. Hodson a report of his proceedings 
 ' and operations from the 1 4th, when he left camp, till 
 ' his return on the 24th, has much pleasure in expressing 
 ' to that officer his thanks for the able manner in which 
 
 * he carried out the instructions given him. The Major- 
 
 * General's thanks are also due to the European and 
 ' native officers and men composing the detachment, for 
 
 * their steady and gallant behaviour throughout the opera- 
 ' tions, particularly on the 17th and 1 8th inst., at E-ohtuck, 
 ' when they charged and dispersed large parties of horse 
 
 * and foot.' 
 
ROHTUCK EXPEDITION. 271 
 
 write no more than the assurance of our safety and 
 well beinof. 
 
 Camp, Souput, August lyd. — I could only write 
 a few hurried lines yesterday. Late in the evening I 
 got a note from General Wilson, desiring me to look 
 out for and destroy the loth Light Cavalry mutineers 
 from Ferozepoor. He authorized my proceeding to 
 Jheend, but without going through the Rohtuck 
 district. Now, as to do this would involve an 
 immense detour, and ensure my being too late, and 
 consequently having a long and fatiguing march for 
 my pains, I wrote back to explain this, and requested 
 more definite instructions. He must either say dis- 
 tinctly 'do this or that,' and I will do it; or he 
 must give me carte blanche to do what he wants in 
 the most practicable way, of which I, knowing the 
 country, can best judge. I am not going to fag my 
 men and horses to death, and then be told I have 
 exceeded my instructions. He gives me immense 
 credit for what I have done, but ' almost wishes I had 
 not ventured so far.' The old gentleman means 
 well, but does not understand either the country or 
 the position I was in, nor does he appreciate a tenth- 
 part of the effects which our bold stroke at Eohtuck, 
 forty-five miles from camp, has produced. * N'importe,' 
 they will find it out sooner or later. I hear both 
 Chamberlain and Nicholson took my view of the case, 
 and supported me warmly. 
 
 I am much gratified by General Johnstone's exer- 
 tions in my favour, though I have not the slightest 
 idea that they will eventuate in anything; but the 
 motive is the same. Let me do what T will, I have 
 made up my mind to gain nothing but the approval 
 
272 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 of my own conscience. I foresee that I shall remain 
 a subaltern, and the easy-going majors of brigade, 
 aides-de-camp, and staff officers will all get brevets, 
 C.B/s, &c., for simply living in camp, and doing their 
 simple duties mildly and without exertion. The 
 Victoria Cross, I confess, is the highest object of my 
 ambition, and had I been one of fortune^s favourites 
 I should have had it ere now even, but I have 
 learnt experience in a rough school and am prepared 
 for the worst; but whether a lieutenant or lieu- 
 tenant-general, I trust I shall continue to do my 
 duty, to the best of my judgment and ability, as long 
 as strength and sense are vouchsafed to me. 
 
 Camp, Delhi, August %^th. — I returned here this 
 morning at ^ p.m., very tired and unwell, and not able 
 to write much, for I have been obliged to have recourse 
 to the doctor. 
 
 People have got an absurd story about my being 
 shut up in a fort, without food or chance of escape ! 
 The GeneraFs aide-de-camp tells me the old man 
 beheved this ridiculous report and was fairly frightened, 
 getting no sleep for two nights. However, he fully 
 admits the good service we have rendered, and every 
 one is making a talk and fuss about it — as if success 
 were uncommon ! I find strong hopes of our making 
 an assault on the city as soon as the siege train 
 arrives, which will be in about thirteen days. Have- 
 lock seems unable or unwilling to move on, but we 
 can hardly want him, for surely we shall have ample 
 means for taking the city shortly. 
 
 I am to have a surgeon attached to my regiment at 
 once, as I represented how cruel it was to send us 
 out on an expedition without a doctor or a grain of 
 
BATTLE OF NUJJUFGHUR. 273 
 
 medicine. We had eight wounded men, and two 
 officers had fever on the road, and nothing but the 
 most primitive means of relieving them. I asked for 
 Dr. Charles, but there are so many senior to him wait- 
 ing for a turn, that I must be content for the present 
 with what I can get. I hope, however, to have Charles 
 ultimately, for he is skilful, clever, a gentleman, and 
 a Christian. 
 
 Nicholson has just gone out to look after a party 
 of the enemy with twelve guns, who had moved out 
 yesterday towards Nujjufghur, threatening to get into 
 our rear. I wanted to have gone with him, but I 
 was laughingly told to stay at home and nurse myself, 
 and let some one else have a chance of doing good 
 service. This was too bad, especially as Nicholson 
 wished me to go. 
 
 2fith. — It is 4 P.M., and I am only just free from 
 people and papers, but good news must make up for 
 brevity. General Nicholson has beaten the enemy 
 gloriously at Nujjufghur, whither he pushed on last 
 evening. He has taken thirteen guns, and all the 
 camp equipage and property. Our loss was small for 
 the gain, but two of the killed were officers — ^young 
 Lumsden of Coke's Corps, a most promising fellow, 
 and Dr. Ireland. The victory is a great one, and 
 will shake the Pandies* nerves, I calculate. All their 
 shot and ammunition were also captured. The ist 
 Fusiliers were as usual 'to the fore,' and did well 
 equally as usual. I am much disappointed at not 
 having been there, but Mactier would not hear of it, 
 as the weather was batl, and I should have run the 
 risk of another attack of dysentery, from which I 
 had been suffering. I am half annoyed, half amused 
 
 T 
 
274 SIEGE OF DELHI, 
 
 at the absurd stories about the Rohtuck business. 
 We were never in any extremity whatever, nor did I 
 ever feel the slightest anxiety, or cease to feel that I 
 was master of the situation. Danger there must 
 always be in war, but none of our own creating, as 
 the fools and fearful said, ever existed ; would that 
 folks would be contented with the truth and reality 
 of our position, and not add to its desagremens by idle 
 fears and false inventions. 
 
 'XTtJi. — I have been up to my eyes in work all day 
 again, and not had the pen out of my hand all day, 
 except when on horseback with the men. Two troops 
 arrived yesterday, and 1 have 250 spare horses to 
 mount them, so that we are getting on by degrees. 
 Such an experiment as raising a regiment actually 
 in camp on active (and very active) service, was never 
 tried before. 
 
 I most decidedly object and refuse to allow 
 
 Mr. to publish any extracts whatever from 
 
 my letters. I say nothing that I am ashamed of, 
 nothing that is not strictly true, but my remarks on 
 men and measures, however just, would make me 
 many enemies, and my misfortunes have taught me, 
 though I may not condescend to conciliate, at least to 
 do nothing to offend. If, however, it will be any 
 amusement to the loved ones at home to have some 
 true sketches of this lamentable siege, and the 
 progress in it of one dear to them, that is quite 
 another affair, and I confess I should like to have 
 some such references myself to look over hereafter. 
 
 28M. — I am somewhat surprised at not hearing 
 from Agra, but I cannot be sure that my letter 
 reached there, as several of the ' Cossids ' have been 
 
TERMS REFUSED. 275 
 
 'scragged' on the road. Sir P. Grant will not have 
 a long course to run, as Sir C. Campbell has been sent 
 out to command, and is in India, I fancy, by this time. 
 Havelock, we hear, has retreated, leaving Lucknow 
 still unrelieved. I cannot understand this, but we 
 have not sufficient information to enable us to judge. 
 After all, Nicholson is the general after my heart. 
 
 If^th. — I have just returned from a ride of twelve 
 hours, leaving camp at three a.m., on a reconnoitring 
 expedition, and have only time before the dlik closes 
 to say that I am safe and well. I found no enemy, 
 and everything quiet in the direction of Nujjufghur, 
 where I was to-day, over and beyond Nicholson's 
 field of battle of the 25th. 
 
 y^th. — I have been writing and listening all this 
 morning till I am tired, a man having come in from 
 Delhi, with much assurance and great promises ; but 
 he was sent back rather humbler than he came, for 
 he fancied he should make terms, and could not get a 
 single promise of even bare life for any one, from the 
 king downwards. If I get into the palace, the house 
 of Timur will not be worth five minutes' purchase, I 
 ween ; but what my share in this work will be, no one 
 can say, as there will be little work for horsemen, 
 and I do not now command any infantry to give me 
 an excuse. I hope Sir C. Campbell will be here to 
 lead us into the city, which seems probable at our 
 present rate of no-progress. He is a very good man for 
 the post of Commander-in-Chief, as he has had great 
 experience in India and elsewhere, and that, recent 
 experience. Mansfield comes out with him as chief 
 of the staff, with the rank of Major-General. 
 
 31*^. — I have little public news for you: all is 
 
 T % 
 
276 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 Expected here. The siege train will be in by the 3rd 
 or 4th, I fancy, and then I trust there will be no more 
 waiting. 
 
 The letters from Agra show that a much greater 
 and more formidable amount of insurrection exists, 
 than we were prepared to believe. Large bodies of 
 insurgents have collected in different places all over 
 the country, all well supplied with arms and guns. 
 These are under the orders of different Nawabs, 
 Rajahs, and big men, who think that now is their 
 time for rule. None of these will be formidable as 
 soon as the army is disposed of, but for a long time 
 to come we shall have marching and fighting, 
 punishing and dispersing, and it is to be expected 
 that bodies of the fugitives from Delhi will join the 
 standards of these insurgent leaders, and give us trouble 
 here and there. The fall of Delhi will not be the 
 end, but rather the beginning of a new campaign in 
 the field ; but the very day the active portion of the 
 work is over, I shall ask to go to some good station, 
 and organize and discipline my regiment, and get it 
 properly equipped, and fit for service. At present it 
 is merely an aggregation of untutored horsemen, 
 ill-equipped, half clothed, badly provided with 
 everything, quite unfit for service in the usual sense 
 of the term, and only forced into the field because I 
 have willed that it shall be so ; but it would take six 
 months' constant work to fit it properly for service. 
 Generally when a regiment is raised, it is left quietly 
 at one station until the commanding officer reports 
 it 'fit for service,' and it has been inspected and 
 reproved upon by a general officer, when it is brought 
 ' on duty,' by order of the Commander-in-Chief. My 
 
RAISING REGIMENT ON SERVICE. 277 
 
 idea of being able to raise a regiment when in the 
 field, and on actual, and very active service, was 
 ridiculed and pooh-poohed, but I stuck to it that it 
 could be done, and General Anson was only too 
 willing I should try, hitherto with success, and with 
 the considerable gain, to an army deficient in cavalry, 
 of having a good body of horsemen brought at once on 
 duty in the field. How long it may be before I 
 am able to get to a quiet station for the purpose 
 required it is impossible to foresee. I shall try to 
 get sent to Umbala, or as near the Punjab as possible, 
 because my men are all drawn from thence, and it 
 will be easier to recruit, than at a greater distance 
 from Sikhland. I have got six full troops, and 
 another is on its way down. 
 
 September ist. — This is muster-day, and a very 
 busy one to me, but I have written a minute letter 
 to go by Kossid to Agra once more. The poor wretch 
 who took my last was murdered on the road, so of 
 course the letter never reached Agra. The dak by 
 Meerut is again suspended, so we can only send by 
 Kossid. I have to-day got a new subaltern, a Mr. 
 Baker, of the late 6oth Native Infantry, and a doctor, 
 so we are seven in all. I could not succeed in getting 
 Dr. Charles just yet, but hope to do so eventually. 
 Little Musrub Jung has been allowed to come to me 
 from the Guides, and I have made him a jemadar at 
 once. It is astonishing how well he reads and 
 remembers English. The Testament you gave him 
 is his constant companion, he tells me, and he is as 
 interested as ever in the history of ' our wonderful 
 prophet.' The Persians are certainly a very intelli- 
 gent race, this one particularly so, and the seeds you 
 
278 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 have sown will surely bring forth fruit to his eternal 
 benefit hereafter. More than half the Guides want 
 to come to my new corps, but this is of course out of 
 the question. I am sending for Heratees, and 
 CandahareeSj the farther from Hindoostan the better. 
 Mr. Ricketts, too, is collecting men from his district. 
 I have at present 300 spare horses, but as I am to 
 raise 1200 or 1400 men, I fear mounting them will 
 be a difficulty ; it is very difficult to work in a camp on 
 service where so little can be got or bought. Here 
 come more news-letters from the city, and myriads 
 of notes, besides post time and parade, all at once ! 
 I shall be glad when Delhi falls, and I cease to be 
 Times, Morning Chronicle, and Post, all in one ! ^ 
 
 'Znd. — . . . ' Hodson's liorse' made a very respectable 
 show indeed last evening, when paraded altogether 
 for the first time, and I was much complimented on 
 my success ; there are some in the last batch from 
 Lahore whom I shall ultimately get rid of, wild low- 
 caste fellows, and they did not behave very well the 
 other day at the Ravee with Nicholson ; but taken 
 altogether, I am very well satisfied, and trust they 
 will eventually turn out well, and do credit to the 
 hard work I have with them. Colonel Seaton is 
 better — i.e., his wound is healed — but he suffers much 
 pain from the tender state of the scarce united 
 muscles when he moves. The weather is very trying 
 just now, and very unhealthy. Poor Macdowell is 
 unwell, and I fear he will have to go away sick ; he is 
 far from strong, which is his only fault, poor boy. I 
 
 * Eeferring to his charge of the Intelligence Depart- 
 ment. 
 
SICKNESS IN CAMP. 279 
 
 like him increasingly, he is a thorough gentleman. 
 For myself, I am wonderfully well, that is, as well as 
 most in camp, though somewhat pulled down by 
 heat, fatigue, and dysentery, and I am literally one of 
 the ' lean kine/ All is quite quiet here ; only a few 
 occasional shots from the batteries. The Pandies 
 are quarrelling among themselves, and are without 
 money ; they cannot hold together much longer, and 
 I fear will break up if we do not speedily take the 
 place. Only a chosen band (!) will rally round the 
 king, who after all is but a name, for his villanous 
 sons are the real leaders. The train is to be here to- 
 morrow or next day, and 56 guns are to open on the 
 walls at once. We hear that Captain Peel of Crimean 
 celebrity is on his way up to Allahabad, with a naval 
 brigade and some sixty-eight pounders from his ship 
 the Shannon, Glorious, this. Surely with the brave 
 little army which has withstood all (and none but 
 ourselves can know what that ' all ' comprises) the 
 trials of these last months, and our own brave ' tars,' 
 we shall speedily conquer this rebellious city, and 
 make the last of the house of Timur 'eat dirt.' 
 
 September 3r^.— Nothing is going on here of public 
 importance, and everything is stagnant, save the 
 hand of the destroying angel of sickness ; we have 
 at this moment 2500 in hospital, of whom 11 00 are 
 Europeans, out of a total of 5000 men (Europeans), 
 and yet our General waits and waits for this and 
 that arrival, forgetful that each succeeding day dimi- 
 nishes his force by more than the strength of the 
 expected driblets. He talks now of awaiting the 
 arrival of three weak regiments of Ghoolab Singh's 
 force under Richard Lawrence, who are marching 
 
280 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 from Umbala. Before tKey arrive, if the General 
 really does wait for them, we shall have an equivalent 
 to their numbers sickened and dying from the delay 
 in this plague spot. 'Delhi in September^ is pro- 
 verbial, and this year we seem likely to realize its 
 full horrors. The train will be here to-morrow or 
 next day, and I hope our General will not lose a day 
 after that. He is a good artillery officer, with an 
 undue estimate of his own arm of the service. He 
 seems to realize the old saying, that officers of a 
 'special arm,' such as artillery and engineers, do 
 not make generals. Wilson, for instance, looks upon 
 guns as engines capable mathematically of perform- 
 ing perfect results, and acts as cautiously as if in 
 practice such results were ever attained by Asiatic gun- 
 ners, forgetting all our glorious Indian annals, all 
 the experience of a British army, and hesitating 
 before an Indian foe ! I never hear these old gentle- 
 men talk without thinking of Sir Charles Napier's 
 remarks on the Duke's comments on 'Colonel Monson's 
 retreat,' and the heroic way in which he had read and 
 profited by the lesson. 
 
 As to the extracts from my letters which Mr. B 
 
 has asked for, I must decidedly refuse ; even supposing 
 them to be of the importance which he professes to 
 consider them, there is a vast distinction between 
 my publishing, or allowing to be published, my 
 letters, and letting my friends read or make use of 
 them. I am perfectly at liberty to write and speak 
 freely to my friends, and they may show such parts 
 of my letters as they think fit to men in power and 
 in Parliament; and these may again make use, in 
 debate or in council, of knowledge thus gained. 
 
OBJECTIONS TO PUBLISHING, 281 
 
 and details thus imparted, which would be otherwise 
 beyond their reach. All this is right, fair, and of 
 everyday occurrence; but 1 myself, as a military 
 officer, have no right to publish, or permit to be 
 published, comments written in the freedom of pri- 
 vate correspondence on my superiors, their acts, and 
 proceedings. 
 
 I have not the smallest objection to any of our 
 friends seeing my written opinions, provided they 
 know them to be extracted from private letters, and 
 never intended for publication. I have no objection 
 to Lord William Hay sending a copy, if he chooses, to 
 Lord Dalhousie, or Lord EUenborough himself even ; 
 but I cannot give permission to any one to publish 
 what would be so injurious to my interests. You will 
 think I have grown strangely worldly-wise ; but have 
 I not had bitter experience ? 
 
 September ^th. — There is nothing to tell of public 
 news, and even if there were I have no time to tell 
 it, for I am very busy and hard worked, and only too 
 thankful to get a few minutes to say I am safe and 
 well. I have never written of public matters except 
 as regarded myself. As to the stories about me at 
 Kohtuck, the papers have repeatedly published the 
 true as well as the false version of the tale — even the 
 Lahore Chronicle got it pretty correctly ; and after 
 all, it is of very little consequence what the papers 
 say as long as the correct version goes to Govern- 
 ment and my friends. I sincerely trust we shall be 
 in Delhi before the 15th. 
 
 September ^th. — Poor Macdowell has had a bad 
 attack of fever, which has brought him very low. He 
 will have to go to the hills, I very much fear. The 
 
282 
 
 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 amount of sickness is terrible ; we have 2500 men 
 in hospital, and numbers of officers besides. Another 
 of the 61st, Mr. Tyler, died of cholera to-day. I 
 would give a great deal to get away, if but for a 
 week, but I must go where I can do most towards 
 avenging the past, and securing our common safety 
 for the future. No arrangements are making for 
 any movements after the capture of Delhi ; we sadly 
 want a head over us. 
 
 September 6tk. — To-night I believe the engineers 
 are really to begin work constructing batteries, so 
 that in two or three days Delhi ought to be taken. 
 If General Wilson delays now, he will have nothing 
 left to take; all the Sepoys will be off to their 
 homes, or into Rohilcund, or into Gwalior. News 
 from Cawnpore to 25th August has been received. 
 Up to that date Lucknow was safe, but with only 
 fifteen days' provisions left; and apparently no 
 vigorous measures being taken to relieve the place. 
 Havelock has not enough men, he says ; and report 
 adds that the Governor-General has forbidden other 
 regiments to move on, wishing to keep them at 
 Benares to cover Calcutta. This appears incredible. 
 The Sepoys in Delhi are in hourly expectation of 
 our attack, and the cavalry keep their horses saddled 
 night and day, ready to bolt at a moment's notice — so 
 say the news-letters. I suspect that, the moment 
 we make an attack in earnest, the rebel force will 
 disappear. Of public news I have none beyond this, 
 and I am still, like every one else, in the dark as to 
 what we do after Delhi is taken, or where and when 
 we go. If the campaign lasts very long I shall be 
 forced to go home next year, for even my health will 
 
HOME. 283 
 
 not stand against many more months of wear and 
 tear like the last. Yet who can say what even a day 
 may bring forth, or can venture to make plans for a 
 future year, after the experiences of the last. God^s 
 merciful providence has hitherto preserved me most 
 wonderfully from myriads of no common dangers, 
 and I humbly pray that I may be spared to see my 
 home, and those who make home so dear, once more. 
 Home, altered and bereaved as it is since I left it, 
 still holds the precious sisters and brothers of the 
 past, and the bright new generation with whom I 
 long to make acquaintance. 
 
 Sejjtember 'jth. — News has just been received up to 
 the 27th from Cawnpore : the garrison in Lucknow 
 had been attacked by the enemy in vast numbers, 
 headed by a lot of ' Ghazees.' They were repulsed 
 with such severe loss that the enemy would not 
 venture to try that game again, were the siege to be 
 protracted for two years ; they say 150 Ghazees, and 
 between 400 and 500 Sepoys were killed. Colonel 
 Otter was appointed commandant of Allahabad, at 
 which I rejoice, for he will ' come out strong' when- 
 ever he has a chance. One of our batteries was armed 
 {i.e. guns put into it) last night, and the bigger one 
 will be made to-night ; so that by the 9th I trust 
 Delhi will be ours. 
 
 September ^th. — To-day, two new batteries, con- 
 structed during the night for the heavy guns, opened 
 on the walls and bastions of the city, and the can- 
 nonade on both sides has been very heavy ; to-morrow 
 other batteries will be ready, and on the following 
 day fifty guns, I trust, will be at work on the doomed 
 city. Very little loss was experienced during the 
 
284 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 nighty only two men being hit ; and the casualties 
 to-day have been surprisingly few. I cannot believe 
 there will be any serious resistance when once the 
 enemy's guns are silenced. There is at present 
 nothing to lead one to suppose that the enemy have 
 any intention of fighting it out in the city, after we 
 have entered the breach. All, I fancy, who can, will 
 be off as soon as we are within the walls. The 
 General has not decided yet on the operations which 
 are to succeed Delhi ; he says he shall send a strong 
 column in pursuit, which I hope will be under 
 Nicholson, but he has not settled who is to go, or 
 who to stay. I trust I may be among the pursuers. 
 I am constantly interrupted by business^ and the 
 necessity of watching the enemy, lest any attempt 
 should be made to turn our flank while we are busied 
 with the batteries in front. For myself, I am not 
 necessarily much exposed to fire, except every now 
 and then; I never run into danger unless obliged 
 to do so for some rightful purpose, and where duty 
 and honour call. 
 
 Sept, ()tk. — . . . To descend to life's hard struggle ; 
 our guns are blazing away, but only in partial 
 numbers as yet, the work having been necessarily 
 distributed over two nights instead of one. The 
 garrison at Lucknow is all well, and likely to con- 
 tinue so, for they have plenty of wheat, though no 
 European supplies. However, British soldiers have 
 worked and fought on bread and water ere now, and 
 will do it again : and I have no doubt the gallant 
 32nd will keep up their spirit and their fame. Re- 
 inforcements were reaching Cawnpore, and Sir J. 
 Outram was on his way up with 1500 more soldiers 
 
TRENCHES. 285 
 
 and some artillery. Cholera, their worst enemy, had 
 disappeared, and their communication with Cal- 
 cutta was quite open. Sir Colin had reached Calcutta, 
 and taken command of the army. I do hope he will 
 come up country at once, and Colonel Napier with 
 him. Poor Alfred Light, after five weeks' severe 
 illness, leaves to-night for the hills, to save his life. 
 Hay has been written to, to take him in ; if he cannot, 
 I am sure you will do so. Poor fellow ! I have a 
 real regard for him, and it is a terrible disappointment 
 that he cannot be at the actual taking of Delhi, 
 having been so long before the walls. Sickness is 
 terribly on the increase, and Wilson talks of getting 
 into Delhi on the aist. If the sickness does increase 
 he wont have a sound man left by the 2ist. 
 
 I was up till 2 A.M. in the trenches, examining the 
 work, and helping what little I could,* and almost 
 ever since I have been on horseback, and a terrible 
 hot day it has been in all ways. Some of the enemy's 
 horse came out and began to poach on our preserves, 
 and I had to go after them ; they are such essential 
 cowards that it is impossible to bring them to a 
 regular fight ; they will not come from within reach 
 of their shelter, running off at once to cover, where 
 it would be madness to go after them. The new 
 batteries did not begin to-day, after all ; they were not 
 quite ready, and the engineers would not let them 
 open fire. ... I am very much pleased with 
 
 * An artillery oflScer told me of my brother, that even 
 when he might have taken rest he would not ; but 
 instead, would go and help work at the batteries, and 
 exposed himself constantly in order to relieve some faint- 
 ing gunner or wounded man. — Ed. 
 
286 SIEGE or DELHI. 
 
 's letter, and rejoice that he is out on an ex- 
 pedition : the change of air will do him good after 
 that frightful cholera. His story* of the soldier might 
 be matched by many a rough compliment I get from 
 the men of the ist Fusiliers ; the most genuine per- 
 haps, certainly the most grateful to my feelings, of 
 any I receive; a soldier is generally the best and 
 shrewdest judge of an officer's qualifications. 
 
 September nth. — There is no public news, except 
 that the batteries are working away at the walls ; but 
 our engineers have failed terribly in their estimate of 
 the time required for the works, and all the batteries 
 are even yet not finished. It is now, however, only a 
 question of days, one or two more or less, and Delhi 
 must be ours. I shall be very thankful to get away 
 from here. I look upon this as the very worst climate 
 I have ever been in, and another month would make 
 us all ill. Another of my officers, Captain Ward, is 
 very ill, and two more are ailing. Macdowell, I am 
 thankful to say, is a little better. The natives too 
 are very sick, and a large number are in hospital ; in 
 short, we want to be in Delhi. 
 
 September iith. — I was interrupted in the midst of 
 my pen-work this morning by an alarm (which proved 
 to be a false one) of an attack of cavalry on our rear, 
 
 * The story referred to was told by an officer : visiting 
 the sick in hospital in the fort at Agra, he asked a man 
 severely wounded whether he could do anything for him, 
 ' Oh yes, sir,' was the answer, ' if you would be so good 
 ' as read us anything in the papers about that Captain 
 * Hodson ; he's always doing something to make us proud 
 ' of our country, and of belonging to the same service as 
 ' that noble fellow j it makes one forget the pain.' 
 
ASSAULT. 287 
 
 it turned us all out, and kept me in the saddle till 
 now, 5 P.M., so I can only say I am safe and unhurt. 
 I trust in three days Delhi will be ours. I fancy my 
 share in the assault will be one of duty rather than 
 of danger. The cavalry have but small work on these 
 occasions. I cannot yet tell what will occur after the 
 capture. I fancy a column under Nicholson will be 
 pushed on to Agra or Cawnpore, and I hope my regi- 
 ment will be of the party. 
 
 September 13M. — I find I am to accompany Nichol- 
 son's column at his own request, but where we are 
 to go is unknown ; whether in pursuit of the rebels 
 who are fast evacuating Delhi, or towards Agra, we 
 know not ; Nicholson strongly urges the former. I 
 am very glad for my own sake that I am to go on, 
 for this place is dreadfully unhealthy, and I feel that 
 I shall certainly be ill if I remain here much longer. 
 In fact, I had made up my mind not to remain if 
 possible, and when Nicholson urged my going on 
 with him I was only too ready to second the motion, 
 for I am able to work and to fight, and I must do so 
 as long as I can. Some of the Gwalior troops have 
 crossed the Chumbul river, and are supposed to be 
 threatening Agra. However, the fall of Delhi will 
 make every difference in their proceedings, and show 
 them that we can do something, though so late ; we 
 are looking forward to a little ' active service * to- 
 morrow : may God grant success to our arms, and 
 safety to our brave band as much as may be. 
 
 September i^th. — I was totally unable to leave the 
 field yesterday until dark, and long after post-time, 
 but I ascertained that a telegraphic message was sent 
 to Simla. I sent one up as soon as possible, for trans- 
 
288 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 mission to you through Lord W. Hay, but Colonel 
 Becher had forestalled me. . . . The breaches 
 made by our Artillery were successfully stormed early 
 in the morning, with but little loss then ; our loss sub- 
 sequently, however, I grieve to say, was most distress- 
 ing, and that, in attempting unsuccessfully the 
 capture of the Puhareepore and Kishengunge suburbs. 
 The whole extent of our loss is not yet known, but 
 that already ascertained is grievous to a degree. First, 
 poor Nicholson most dangerously wounded, at a time, 
 too, when his services were beyond expression valu- 
 able.* The ist European Bengal Fusiliers was the 
 
 * The following account of the assault by an officer of 
 the Tst European Bengal Fusiliers will supply many par- 
 ticulars of interest. 
 
 * At 2 o'clock A.M. we formed in front of our camp 250 
 ' strong, and marched down to Ludlow Castle, which we 
 ' reached about daybreak. There we paused some time 
 ' to receive our ladders, and advanced at sunrise to the 
 ' assault. Every man felt this day would repay him for 
 ' four months of hard knocks, and that we should give 
 ' the murderous i-uffians a wholesome lesson, and teach 
 ' them that a hand to hand struggle with armed men was 
 ' quite another affair to one with defenceless women 
 ' and children. We cross the glacis, the fire is hot ; 
 ' descend and reascend the ditch, mount the berm and 
 ' escalade. Hark ! what noise is that ? not the Sepoy's 
 ' war-cry " Bum, Bum ram, ram, Oh King " for which 
 ' you are intently listening ; but the wild, thrilling cheer 
 ' of the British, which announces to friend and foe that 
 ' the ramparts are won. We descend and meet in the 
 ' Cashmere Bastion, and are astonished at our rapid 
 ' success. A general shaking of hands takes place. "Oh, 
 
 * General, is that you ?" " Paddy, my boy, how are you?" 
 ' these and such like greetings take place, whilst the diffe- 
 ' rent regiments form. We moved out rapidly and 
 ' stormed the church and adjacent buildings, and killed a 
 
 * number of Sepoys as they retreated from the Water 
 
THE ASSAULT. 289 
 
 most tried, and suffered out of all proportion, save in 
 the especial case of the Engineers, of whom ten, out of 
 the seventeen engaged, have been killed or wounded. 
 Chesney and Hovenden among the latter, though not 
 badly. Of the Fusiliers, poor Jacob was mortally 
 
 * Bastion. After this, we proceeded round the ramparts 
 
 * to our right without very much opposition, and halted 
 ' at the Cabul Gate for some time ; again the word was 
 
 * forward, and in leading on the men, my glorious friend 
 
 * George Jacob was mortally wounded ; he, poor fellow 
 
 * was shot in the thigh, and died that night. As he lay 
 
 * writhing in his agony on the ground, unable to stand, 
 
 * two or three men went to take him to the rear, but a 
 
 * sense of duty was superior to bodily pain, and he refused 
 ' their aid, desiring them to go on and take the guns. 
 
 * Twice did the enemy repulse us from this strong position, 
 
 * our third attempt was successful, but two guns hardly 
 
 * repaid us for our loss.' " Serjeant Jordan," I said, 
 ' " spike that gun on the rampart. " I can't, sir, I've no 
 ' spikes." " Then take a ramrod, break it in, and throw 
 
 * it down to me ;" and I spiked the other gun in the same 
 
 * way. The enemy eventually retook this position, but 
 
 * found only useless guns. A little in advance, the enemy 
 
 * had a gun and bullet-proof breastwork, behind which 
 
 * they fired on us with impunity. This was on the 
 
 * rampart and we were in a narrow lane about twelve feet 
 
 * below, where not more than four men could go abreast. 
 
 * In one charge, Nicholson, our best and bravest, was 
 ' struck down. Speke, gentle everywhere but in the field, 
 ' was mortally wounded, and I, in reforming the regi- 
 
 * ment for a renewed attempt, was shot through the right 
 
 * shoulder, which will prevent my being bumptious for 
 
 * some time ; out of our small party, seven officers and 
 
 * many, very many men had fallen. It was felt to be 
 
 * madness to continue the struggle where the enemy had 
 
 * all the advantage, and the troops were withdrawu to the 
 
 * Cabul Gate, but the British and Sikh soldiers had done 
 ' their work, they had opened the road for our unrivalled 
 
 * artillery to bring in their guns, and in six days they 
 < cleared the city with very trifling loss on our side.' 
 
290 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 wounded, since dead, I grieve to say : Greville, badly ; 
 Owen, severely; Wemyss and Lambert, slightly; 
 Butler, knocked down and stunned ; F. Brown and 
 Warner, both grazed. Of officers attached to the regi- 
 ment. Captain Mac Barnett was killed; Stafford, 
 wounded ; Speke, mortally so ; what a frightful list. 
 Besides this. Captain Boisragon was wounded badly, 
 with the Kumaon battalion ; so that of the officers of 
 the 1st Fusiliers engaged yesterday, only Wriford, Wal- 
 lace, and myself escaped untouched. My preservation 
 (I do not like the word, escape) was miraculous. For 
 more than two hours we had to sit on our horses 
 under the heaviest fire troops are often exposed to, 
 and that too, without the chance of doing anything 
 but preventing the enemy coming on. Brigadier 
 Hope Grant commanded, and while I doubt his judg- 
 ment in taking cavalry into such a position, I admit 
 that it was impossible for any man to take troops 
 under a hotter fire, keep them there more steadily, 
 or exhibit a more cool and determined bravery than 
 he did. My young regiment behaved admirably, as 
 did all hands. The loss of the party was of course 
 very severe. Of Tombs' troop alone, twenty-five men 
 (out of fifty) and seventeen horses were hit. The 
 brigadier and four officers composing his staff" all had 
 their horses killed, and two of the five were wounded. 
 The brigadier himself was hit by a spent shot ; Tombs 
 escaped, I am delighted to say, from a similar spent 
 ball. Our success on the whole was hardly what it 
 should have been, considering the sacrifice, but the 
 great end of getting into Delhi was attained. About 
 one-third of the city is in our power, and the re- 
 mainder will shortly follow, but that third has cost 
 
macdowell's letter. 291 
 
 us between 5oo and 700 killed and wounded.^ I am 
 most humbly and heartily grateful to a merciful 
 Providence that I was spared. May the God of battles 
 continue His gracious protection to the end, and en- 
 able me once more to be re-united to all most precious 
 to me on earth. 
 
 Letter from Lieutenant Macdowell, 2nd in command 
 Hodson's Horse. 
 
 * Delhi. 
 'On the night of the 13th September, final prepa- 
 ' rations were made for the assault on the city, 
 ' Brigadiers and commanding officers (our little army 
 ' boasts of no generals of divisions) were summoned 
 ' to the general's tent, and then received their instruc- 
 ' tions. At I o'clock a.m. on the 14th, the men all turned 
 ' out silently, no bugles or trumpets sounding, and 
 ' moved down in silence to the trenches. The 
 ' batteries all this time kept up an unceasing fire 011 
 ' the city, which responded to it as usual. On arriving 
 ' at the trenches the troops lay down, awaiting the 
 
 * signal, which was to be given at daybreak, and which 
 ' was to be the blowing in of the Cashmere Gate, 
 ' towards which a party of engineers and sappers 
 ' moved off at about 3 a.m. The assault was to be 
 
 * made in three columns ; the first was to blow open 
 
 * the Cashmere Gate, the second to escalade the Water 
 
 * Bastion, and the third to escalade the Moree Bastion, 
 ' both of which had been pronounced practicable. As 
 
 * I was with the cavalry all the time, I saw nothing of 
 ' the storming, but it is sufficient to say it succeeded 
 ' on every point, and by 8 a.m. we were inside the 
 ' walls, and held all their outworks. 
 
 • 66 officers, 1104 uien, waa the official return. 
 
 i; 2 
 
292 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ' Now began the difficulty^ as from the small force 
 ' we had, it was very hard work to drive a large body 
 ' of men out of such a city as Delhi. It took four 
 ^ days to accomplish, but at length, on the morning 
 ' of the 2oth, the flag of old England floated grace- 
 ' fully out over the palace of the Great Mogul. And 
 ' now for what we (the cavalry) did. At 3 a.m."^ we 
 ' moved down in column of squadrons to the rear of 
 ' our batteries, and waited there till about 5 a.m., when 
 ' the enemy advanced from the Lahore Gate with two 
 ^ troops of artillery, no end of cavalry, and a lot of 
 ' infantry apparently to our front. I think they 
 ' intended to try and take our old position now that we 
 ^ had got theirs. In an instant horse artillery and 
 ' cavalry were ordered to the front, and we went 
 ^ there at the gallop, bang through our own batteries, 
 ' the gunners cheering us as we leapt over the sand- 
 ' bags, &c., and halted under the Moree Bastion, under 
 ' as heavy a fire of round shot, grape, and canister, as 
 ^ I have ever been under- in my life. Our artillery 
 ' dashed to the front, unlimbered, and opened upon 
 ' the enemy, and at it they both went " hammer and 
 ^ tongs.'^ Now you must understand we had no 
 ^ infantry with us. All the infantry were fighting in 
 ' the city. They sent out large bodies of infantry and 
 * cavalry against us, and then began the fire of 
 ' musketry. It was tremendous. There we were (9th 
 ' Lancers, 1st, 2nd, 4th Sikhs, Guide Cavalry, and 
 ' Hodson's Horse) protecting the artillery, who were 
 ^ threatened by their infantry and cavalry. And fancy 
 ' what a pleasant position we were in, under this 
 
 * On the 1 6th. 
 
CAVALRY UNDER FIRE. 293 
 
 ' infernal fire, aad never returning a shot. Our 
 ' artillery blazed away, of course, but we had to sit in 
 ' our saddles and be knocked over. However, I am 
 ' happy to say we saved the guns. The front we 
 ' kept was so steady as to keep them back until some 
 ' of the Guide infantry came down and went at them. 
 ' I have been in a good many fights now, but always 
 ' under such a heavy fire as this was with my own 
 ' regiment, and then there is always excitement, cheer- 
 ' ing on your men, who are replying to the enemy's 
 ' fire ; but here we were in front of a lot of gardens 
 
 * perfectly impracticable for cavalry, under a fire of 
 ' musketry which I have seldom seen equalled, the 
 ' enemy quite concealed, and here we had to sit for 
 
 * three hours. Had we retired, they would at once 
 ' have taken our guns. Had the guns retired with 
 ' us, we should have lost the position. No infantry 
 ' could be spared to assist us, so we had to sit there. 
 ' Men and horses were knocked over every minute. 
 ' We suflfered terribly. With my usual good luck I 
 ' was never touched. Well, all things must have an 
 ' end. Some infantry came down and cleared the 
 ' gardens in our front, and as their cavalry never 
 ' showed, and we had no opportunity of charging, we 
 ' fell back, and (the fire being over in that quarter) 
 ' halted and dismounted.* All this time hard fight- 
 
 • One of the officers present on this occasion, speaking 
 of it in a letter to his wife, says, * I found time, how- 
 
 * ever, for admiration of Hodson, who sat like a man 
 
 * carved in stone, and as calm and apparently as uncon- 
 ' cemed as the sentries at the Horse Guards, and only by 
 
 his eyes and his ready hand, whenever occasion ofiered, 
 could you have told that he was in deadly peril, and the 
 balls flying amongst us as thick as hail.'* 
 
294 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ' ing was going on in the city. The next day, and 
 * up to the morning of the 19th, we did nothing (I am 
 ' now speaking exclusively of the cavalry brigade) but 
 ^ form in line on the top of the ridge, ready to pursue 
 ' the enemy should they turn out of the city in force /"^ 
 
 Sejdemler 16th, — I have just returned from a very 
 long and terribly hot ride of some hours to ascertain 
 the movements, position, and line of retreat of the 
 enemy, and I can do no more than report my safety. 
 I grieve much for poor Major Jacob, we buried him 
 and three Serjeants of the regiment last night; he was 
 a noble soldier. His death has made me a captain, 
 the long-wished -for goal; but I would rather have 
 served on as a subaltern than gained promotion thus. 
 Greville and Owen are doing well, but I much fear 
 there is no hope for poor Nicholson ; his is a cruel 
 wound, and his loss would be a material calamity. 
 You may count our real officers on your fingers now — 
 men, I mean, really worthy the name. General 
 Wilson is fairly broken down by fatigue and anxiety, 
 he cannot stand on his legs to-day; fortunately. 
 Chamberlain is well enough to go down and keep him 
 straight ; and Colonel Seaton also — two good men, if 
 he will be led by them. All is going on well ; the 
 
 * Extract from the Despatch of Brigadier Hope Grant, 
 
 Commanding Cavalry Divisimi. 
 
 *Head Quarters, Delhi, Sept. iph, 1857. 
 * The behaviour of the Native Cavalry was also admi- 
 
 * rable. Nothing could be steadier, nothing more soldier- 
 
 * like, than their bearing. Lieutenant Hodson com- 
 ' mauded a corps raised by himself, and he is a first-rate 
 ' officer, brave, determined, and clear-headed.' 
 
PROGRESS IN CITY. 295 
 
 magazine was carried by storm this morning, with 
 nominal loss, and our guns are knocking the fort and 
 palace about. All the suburbs have been evacuated or 
 taken. I have just ridden through them, and all the 
 enemj^s heavy guns have been brought into camp. 
 In forty-eight hours the whole city, I think, with its 
 seven miles of enceinte, will be ours : our loss has been 
 very heavy, 46 officers killed and wounded, 200 men 
 killed, and 700 or 800 wounded. 
 
 September I'jth. — All is going on well, though 
 slowly; the Sepoys still occupy a portion of the city, 
 and are being gradually driven backwards, while the 
 palace and fort are continually played upon by shell 
 and shot ; not above 3000 or 4000 of the rebel troops 
 remain in the city. Head-quarters are there, and I 
 am going down immediately to take up my quarters 
 with the staff. I expect to-morrow will see the last 
 of it, but there is no calculating with anything like 
 certainty on the proceedings of these unreasoning 
 wretches. I am thankful to say Nicholson is a little 
 better to-day, and there appears some hope of his re- 
 covery, though a very slight one. Mr. Colvin is dead : 
 another celebrity taken away in this time of trial. 
 The home mail oftheioth of August has arrived, 
 but brought no letters for me as yet, but very few 
 have arrived in all. The Government at home seem 
 at last awaking to a sense of the importance of this 
 ciisis in Indian affairs. 
 
 Sepf-ember i^th. — ^There is nothing worth speaking 
 of doing here. We are still shelling the fort and palace, 
 ])ut as slowly, alas, as possible. I am writing in great 
 haste, in order to go down and see my ' intelligence ' 
 people. Some of the enemy are trying negotiation. 
 
29G SIEGE OE DELHI. 
 
 I only hope they may find it is too late, and that 
 we may pursue and destroy the wretches whom we 
 have to thank for so much barbarity and bloodshed. 
 
 Sejotember i^th. — We are making slow progress in 
 the city. The fact is, the troops are utterly demora- 
 lized by hard work and hard drink, I grieve to say. 
 For the first time in my life, I have had to see English 
 soldiers refuse repeatedly to follow their oflacers. 
 Greville, Jacob, Nicholson, and Speke were all 
 sacrificed to this. We were out with all the cavalry 
 this morning on a reconnaissance, or rather demon- 
 stration, for some miles, and got a wetting for our 
 pains ; however, rain at this season is too grateful to 
 be complained of. 
 
 September loth. — I have been much shocked (even 
 familiar as I have become with death) by poor 
 Greathed's"^ sudden death yesterday from cholera ; the 
 strongest and healthiest man in camp snatched away 
 after a few hours' illness. Sir T. Metcalfe also is very 
 ill with the same cruel disease : what a harvest of 
 death there has been during the past four months, as 
 if war was not suflBciently full of horrors. The rebels 
 have fled from the city in thousands, and it is all but 
 empty ; only the palace is still occupied, and that we 
 hope to get hold of immediately, and so this horribly 
 protracted siege will be at an end at last, thank God. 
 None but those who fought through the first six weeks 
 of the campaign know on what a thread our lives and 
 the safety of the Empire hung, or can appreciate the 
 sufierings and exertions of those days of watchfulness 
 and combat, of fearful heat and exhaustion, of trial 
 
 * Hervey H. Greathed, Commissioner and Political 
 Agent. 
 
CAPTURE OF DELHI. 297 
 
 and danger. I look back on them with a feeling of 
 almost doubt whether they were real or only a foul 
 dream. This day will be a memorable one in the 
 annals of the Empire, the restoration of British rule 
 in the East dates from the 20th September, 1857. 
 
 In the Royal Palace, Delhi, September 22nd. — 
 I was quite unable to write yesterday, having had a 
 hard day^s work. I was fortunate enough to eapture 
 the King and his favourite wife. To-day, more for- 
 tunate still, I have seized and destroyed the King's 
 two sons and a grandson (the famous, or rather in- 
 famous, Abu Bukt), the villains who ordered the mas- 
 sacre of our women and children, and stood by and 
 witnessed the foul barbarity ; their bodies are now 
 lying on the spot where those of the unfortunate 
 ladies were exposed. I am very tired, but very much 
 satisfied with my day's work, and so seem all hands. 
 We were to have accompanied the moveable column, 
 but to-day it is counterordered, and we remain here."'*' 
 
 September 2^rd.- — When shall I have time to write 
 really a letter ? It seems as if I were each day doomed 
 to fresh labour and worry, and I long to shake off the 
 whole coil, and go where I can find repose and peace. 
 Fortunately, my health stands the wear and tear, and 
 
 * Extract from the Despatches of General Wilson on the 
 
 Fall of Delhi. 
 
 Delhi, Sept. 22nd. 1857. 
 * I beg also to bring very favourably to notice the 
 
 * officers of the Quartermaster-General's Department, . . . 
 
 * and Captain Hodson, who has performed such good and 
 
 * gallant service with his newly raised regiment of Irre- 
 
 * gular Horse, and at the same time conducted the duties 
 ' of the Intelligence Department under the orders of tlie 
 
 * Quartermaster-General with rare ability and success.' 
 
298 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 as my success has been great I must not grumble. 
 . 1 came to camp this morning to see after 
 the march of a detachment of my regiment which is 
 ordered, after half a dozen changes, to accompany a 
 moveable column which is ordered to proceed towards 
 Agra to-morrow. I am to remain here, and to tell the 
 truth, the business is so mismanaged that I have 
 ceased to care whether I go or stay. I fancy they 
 find me too useful here. We move down bodily to or 
 near the town to-morrow, and everything is in con- 
 fusion and bustle. 
 
 September i\th. — Brigadier Grant, like dear Sir 
 Henry Lawrence (though both married men them- 
 selves), says that soldiers have no business to marry; 
 under the idea that anxiety for their wives^ welfare 
 and safety often induces men to hesitate to run risks 
 which they would otherwise cheerfully undergo. I, on 
 a less selfish principle, question very much whether 
 men have any right to expose their wives to such 
 misery and anxiety as during the last few months have 
 fallen to the lot of so many; and yet it seems hard 
 to say that soldiers, who have so much to endure at 
 times for the sake of others and of their common 
 country, should be denied the happiness of married 
 life, because times of danger will sometimes occur, 
 and certain I am that the love of a noble-hearted 
 woman nerves one's arm to daring and to honour. 
 Happy, however, is the woman whose husband is not 
 a soldier. . . . Really the rumours which travel 
 about are too ludicrous, though hardly more so than 
 those which take rise and are actually believed in camp. 
 
 The true account of the cavalry ' demonstration ' 
 is this : on the morning on which the city and palace 
 
RIDING' ROUND THE CITY. 299 
 
 were finally evacuated {igt\i), the vvliole of the 
 available cavalry (not otherwise employed) moved 
 out through the suburbs in the direction of, though 
 not on the road to, the Kootub, but with strict orders 
 not to go under fire ! Well, we all marched out to the 
 top of the hill on which stands the 'Eedgah/ and thence, 
 from a safe and respectful distance, overlooked the 
 camp of the Bareilly and Nusseerabad force, under 
 'General' Bukt Khan, quondam Subadar of artillery. 
 While minutely examining the camp through my 
 glass (I was with Brigadier Hope Grant, to show the 
 way), I perceived by unmistak cable- signs that it was 
 being evacuated. Shortly after a loud explosion 
 showed that they were blowing up their ammunition 
 previous to a flight ; these signs were on the moment 
 confirmed by the arrival of my ' Harkaras ' (mes- 
 sengers), and I immediately got leave to go and tell 
 the General. I did so, galloping down along the 
 front of the city to see if that was quite clear. 
 I then asked leave to go down through the camp, 
 and see what was really the state of the case ; and 
 Macdowell and I started with seventy-five men, and 
 rode at a gallop right round the city to the Delhi gate, 
 clearing the roads of plunderers and suspicious-looking 
 objects as we went We found the camp as I had 
 been told, empty, and the Delhi gate open ; we were 
 there at ii a.m. at latest, and it was not until 2 p.m. 
 that the order was given for the cavalry to move out, 
 and they were so long about it, that when at sunset 
 Macdowell and I were returning (bringing away 
 three guns left by the enemy, and having made 
 arrangements and collected camels for bringing in 
 the empty tents, &c.), we met the advance-guard 
 
300 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 coming slowly forward in grand array ! We had 
 been on to the jail and old fort, two or three miles 
 beyond Delhi, and executed many a straggler. I 
 brought in the mess plate of the 6oth Native Infantry, 
 their standards, drums, and other things. Macdowell 
 and I had been for five hours inside the Delhi gate, 
 hunting about, before a guard was sent to take charge 
 of it. 
 
 The next day I got permission, after much argu- 
 ment and entreaty, to go and bring in the king, for 
 which (though negotiations for his life had been 
 entertained) no provision had been made and no 
 steps taken, and his favourite wife also, and the young 
 imp (her son) whom he had destined to succeed him 
 on the throne. This was successfully accomplished, 
 at the expense of vast fatigue and no trifling risk.* 
 I then set to work to get hold of the villain princes. 
 It was with the greatest difficulty that the General 
 was persuaded to allow them to be interfered with, 
 till even poor Nicholson roused himself to urge that 
 the pursuit should be attempted. The General at 
 length yielded a reluctant consent, adding ' but don't 
 let me be bothered with them.' I assured him it 
 was nothing but his own order which ' bothered ' him 
 with the king, as I would much rather have brought 
 him into Delhi dead than living. Glad to have at 
 length obtained even this consent, I prepared for my 
 dangerous expedition. Macdowell accompanied me, 
 and taking one hundred picked men, I started early 
 for the tomb of the Emperor Humayoon, where the 
 villains had taken sanctuary. I laid my plans so as to 
 
 Yide p. 303 for more detailed account. 
 
CAPTURE OF PRINCF.S. 301 
 
 cut off access to the tomb or escape from it, and 
 then sent in one of the inferior scions of the royal 
 family (purchased for the purpose by the promise of 
 his life) and my one-eyed Moulvie Rujub Alee, to say 
 that I had come to seize the Shahzadahs for punish- 
 ment, and intended to do so, dead or alive. After 
 two hours of wordy strife and very anxious suspense, 
 they appeared, and asked if their lives had been pro- 
 mised by the Government, to which I answered 
 ' most certainly not,* and sent them away from the 
 tomb towards the city, under a guard. I then went 
 with the rest of the Sowars to the tomb, and found 
 it crowded with, I should think, some 6000 or 7000 of 
 the servants, hangers-on, and scum of the palace and 
 city, taking refuge in the cloisters which lined the 
 walls of the tomb. I saw at a glance that there was 
 nothing for it but determination and a bold front, so 
 I demanded in a voice of authority the instant 
 surrender of their arms, &c. They immediately 
 obeyed, with an alacrity I scarcely dared to hope for, and 
 in less than two hours they brought forth from innu- 
 merable hiding-places some 500 swords and more 
 than that number of fire-arms, besides horses, bullocks, 
 and covered carts called ' Ruths,* used by the women 
 and eunuchs of the palace. I then arranged the 
 arms and animals in the centre, and left an armed 
 guard with them, while I went to look after my 
 prisoners, who, with their guard, had moved on 
 towards Delhi. I came up just in time, as a large 
 mob had collected, and were turning on the guard. 
 I rode in among them at a gallop, and in a few words 
 I appealed to the crowd, saying that these were the 
 butchers who had murdered and brutally used 
 
302 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 helpless women and children, and that the Govern- 
 ment had now sent their punishment : seizing a 
 carbine from one of my men, I deliberately shot 
 them one after another. I then ordered the bodies 
 to be taken into the city, and thrown out on the 
 'Chibontra,' in front of the Kotwalie,^ where the 
 blood of their innocent victims still could be dis- 
 tinctly traced. The bodies remained before the 
 Kotwalie until this morning, when, for sanitary 
 reasons, they were removed. In twenty-four hours, 
 therefore, I disposed of the principal members of the 
 house of Timur the Tartar. I am not cruel, but I 
 confess I did rejoice at the opportunity of ridding 
 the earth of these wretches. I intended to have had 
 them hung, but when it came to a question of ^ they ^ 
 or ' us ' I had no time for deliberation. 
 
 September 'Z^th. — The picture drawn from the usually 
 mendacious reports at Simla, is not even founded on 
 fact. The women of the palace had all escaped be- 
 fore the troops entered. 
 
 The troops have behaved with singular moderation 
 towards women and children, considering their pro- 
 vocation. I do not believe, and I have some means 
 of knowing, that a single woman or child has been 
 purposely injured by our troops, and the story on 
 
 * It was on this spot that the head of Gooroo Teg 
 Bahadoor had been exposed by order of Aurungzebe, the 
 Great Mogul, nearly 200 years before. The Sikhs con- 
 sidered that in attacking Delhi they were ^ paying oflf an 
 old score.' A prophecy had long been current among 
 them, that by the help of the white man they should re- 
 conquer Delhi, After this they looked on Captain 
 Hodson as the ' avenger of their martyred Gooroo,' and 
 were even more ready than before to follow him anywhere. 
 
NICHOLSON. 303 
 
 which your righteous indignation is grounded is quite 
 false ; the troops have been demoralized by drink, but 
 nothing more. 
 
 September i^th. — . . . I miss Colonel Seaton terribly, 
 we have lived in the same tent for months, and had 
 become brothers in affection as well as in arms. I 
 mourn deeply for poor Nicholson : with the single ex- 
 ceptions of my ever revered Sir Henry Lawrence, and 
 Colonel Mackeson, I have never seen his equal in 
 field or council ; he was pre-eminently our ' best and 
 bravest,' and his loss is not to be atoned for in these 
 days. I cannot help being pleased with the warm 
 congratulations I receive on all sides for my success 
 in destroying the enemies of our race ; the whole nation 
 
 will rejoice, but lam pretty sure that however glad 
 
 will be at their destruction, he will take exception 
 to my having been the instrument, in God's hands, of 
 their punishment. That will not signify, however ; 
 I am too conscious of the rectitude of my own motives 
 to care what the few may say while my own conscience 
 and the voice of the many pronounce me right. 
 
 A fuller account of the capture of the King 
 will be found in a letter addressed to me 
 shortly afterwards, and published by me in 
 the Times, which I now reprint : — 
 
 ' I have before explained to you what your brother's 
 ' (Captain Hodson's) position officially was — namely, 
 ' that he was appointed Assistant-Quartermaster-Gene- 
 ' ral and Intelligence Officer on the Commander-in- 
 ' Chiefs own Staff. His reports were to be made to 
 ' him direct, without the intervention of the Quarter- 
 ' master-General^ or any other person. 
 
304 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ' For this appointment, which was then a most re- 
 ' sponsible one, as intelligence of the enemy's move- 
 ' ments and intentions were of the utmost importance, 
 ' his long acquaintance with Sikhs and Affghans, and 
 ' his having been similarly employed in the Punjab 
 ' war, had peculiarly fitted him. Of course, there 
 ' were always plenty of traitors in the enemy's camp 
 ' ready to sell their own fathers for gain, or to avoid 
 ' punishment, and he was invested with full power to 
 ' promise reward or punishment, in proportion to the 
 ' deserts of those who assisted him. 
 
 ' On our taking possession of the city gate, reports 
 ' came in that thousands of the enemy were evacua- 
 ' ting the city by the other gates, and that the King 
 ' also had left his palace. We fought our way inch 
 ' by inch to the palace walls, and then found truly 
 ' enough that its vast arena was void. The very day 
 ' after we took possession of the palace (the 20th), 
 ' Captain Hodson received information that the King 
 ' and his family had gone with a large force out of 
 ' the Ajmere-gate to the Kootub. He immediately 
 ' reported this to the General commanding, and asked 
 ' whether he did not intend to send a detachment in 
 ' pursuit, as with the King at liberty and heading so 
 ' large a force our victory was next to useless, and 
 ' we might be besieged instead of besiegers. General 
 ' Wilson replied that he could not spare a single 
 ' European. He then volunteered to lead a party of 
 ' the Irregulars, but this offer was also refused, though 
 ' backed up by Neville Chamberlain. 
 
 ' During this time messengers were coming in 
 ' constantly, and among the rest one from Zeenat 
 ' Mahal (the favourite Begum), with an offer to use 
 
CAPTURE OF THE KING. 305 
 
 ' her influence with the King to surrender on certain 
 ' conditions. These conditions at first were ludicrous 
 ' enough — viz, that the King and the whole of the 
 ' males of his family should be restored to his palace 
 ' and honours ; that not only should his pension be 
 'continued, but the arrears since May be paid up, 
 ' with several other equally modest demands. I need 
 ' not say these were treated with contemptuous denial. 
 ' Negotiations, however, were vigorously carried on, 
 ' and care was taken to spread reports of an advance 
 ' in force to the Kootub. Every report as it came in 
 ' was taken to General Wilson, who at last gave orders 
 ' to Captain Hodson to promise the King's life and free- 
 ' dom from personal indignity, and make what other 
 ' terms he could. Captain Hodson then started with 
 ' only fifty of his own men for Humayoon's Tomb, three 
 
 * miles from the Kootub, where the King had come dur- 
 ' ing the day. The risk was such as no one can judge 
 ' of, who has not seen the road, amid the old ruins scat* 
 ' tered about of what was once the real city of Delhi. 
 
 ' He concealed himself and men in some old build- 
 
 * ings close by the gateway of the Tomb, and sent 
 ' in his two emissaries to Zeenat Mahal with the 
 ' ultimatum — the King's life and that of her son and 
 ' father (the latter has since died) . After two hours 
 ' passed by Captain Hodson in most trying suspense, 
 ' such as (he says) he never spent before, while wait- 
 
 * ing the decision, his emissaries (one an old favourite 
 ' of poor Sir Henry Lawrence) came out with the last 
 ' offer — that the King would deliver himself up to 
 ' Captain Hodson only, and on condition that he 
 ' repeated with his own lips the promise of the 
 ' Government for his safety. 
 
306 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ' Captain Hodson tlien went out into the middle 
 ^ of the road in front of the gateway^ and said that 
 ' he was ready to receive his captives and renew the 
 ' promise. 
 
 ' You may picture to yourself the scene before that 
 ' magnificent gateway, with the milk-white domes of 
 ' the tomb towering up from within, one white man 
 ' among a host of natives, yet determined to secure his 
 ' prisoner or perish in the attempt. 
 
 ' Soon a procession began to come slowly out, 
 
 ' first Zeenat Mahal, in one of the close native con- 
 
 ' veyances used for women. Her name was announced 
 
 ' as she passed by the Moulvie. Then came the 
 
 ' King in a palkee, on which Captain Hodson rode 
 
 ' forward and demanded his arms. Before giving 
 
 ' them up, the King asked whether he was '' Hodson 
 
 ' Bahadoor,'' and if he would repeat the promise made 
 
 ' by the herald ? Captain Hodson answered that he 
 
 ' would, and repeated that the Government had been 
 
 ^ graciously pleased to promise him his life, and that 
 
 of Zeenat MahaFs son, on condition of his yielding 
 
 himself prisoner quietly, adding very emphatically, 
 
 that if any attempt was made at a rescue he would 
 
 shoot the King down on the spot like a dog. The 
 
 old man then gave up his arms, which Captain 
 
 Hodson handed to his orderly, still keeping his own 
 
 sword drawn in his hand. The same ceremony was 
 
 then gone through with the boy (JummaBukh); and 
 
 the march towards the city began, the longest five 
 
 miles, as Captain Hodson said, that he ever rode, 
 
 for of course the palkees only went at a foot pace, 
 
 with his handful of men around them, followed by 
 
 thousands, any one of whom could have shot him 
 
 
CAPTURE OF THE KING. 307 
 
 e down in a moment. His orderly told me that it 
 < was wonderful to see the influence which his calm 
 ' and undaunted look had on the crowd. They 
 ' seemed perfectly paralysed at the fact of one white 
 ' man (for they thought nothing of his fifty black 
 
 * sowars) carrying off their King alone. Gradually 
 ' as they approached the city the crowd slunk away, 
 ' and very few followed up to the Lahore gate. Then 
 ' Captain Hodson rode on a few paces and ordered 
 
 * the gate to be opened. The oflScer on duty asked 
 
 * simply as he passed what he had got in his pal- 
 ' kees. " Only the King of Delhi/' was the answer, 
 ' on which the officer's enthusiastic exclamation was 
 ' more emphatic than becomes ears polite. The 
 ' guard were for turning out to greet him with a 
 ' cheer, and could only be repressed, on being told 
 ' that the King would take the honour to himself. 
 
 * They passed up that magnificent deserted street 
 ' to the palace gate, where Captain Hodson met the 
 ' civil officer (Mr. Saunders), and formally delivered 
 ' over his Royal prisoners to him. His remark was 
 ' amusing, " By Jove ! Hodson, they ought to make 
 ' you Commander-in-Chief for this.'' 
 
 ' On proceeding to the General's quarters to re- 
 
 * port his successful return, and hand over the Eoyal 
 
 * arms, he was received with the characteristic speech, 
 ' " Well, I'm glad you have got him, but I never ex- 
 ' pected to see either him or you again 1" while the 
 ' other .officers in the room were loud in their con- 
 ' gratulations and applause. He was requested to 
 
 * select for himself from the Royal arms what he 
 ' chose, and has therefore two magnificent swords, one 
 ' with the name of " Nadir Shah," and the other the 
 
 X 2 
 
308 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ' seal of Jeban Gire engraved upon it^ which he in- 
 ' tends to present to the Queen. 
 
 ' On the following day, as you already know, he 
 ' captured three of the Princes : but of this more here- 
 
 * after. I am anxious now that you should fully un- 
 ' ' derstand that your brother was bound by orders from 
 
 * the General to spare the King's life, much against 
 
 * his own will ; that the capture alone was on his 
 ' own risk and responsibility, and not the pledge.'* 
 
 I am allowed to insert here a most graphic 
 letter, written by Lieut. Macdowell, 2nd in 
 command of Hodson's Horse ; — 
 
 ' On the morning of the 1 9th we formed up and 
 ' saw the townspeople coming in thousands out of the 
 ' Delhi gate (still in the enemy's possession), and 
 ' passing through their camp, taking the high road 
 ' to the Kootub. Too far off to do any damage, we 
 ' waited (the ground a mass of hard rocks, imprac- 
 ' ticable for cavalry) till 9 a.m., and then retired. 
 ' Hodson, my commanding officer, then went to the 
 ' General, and at ten I received a note from him, 
 ' " Gallop down with fifty men and meet me at the 
 * Cashmere gate as sharp as possible." Down I 
 
 * All the notice taken of this remarkable exploit in 
 Major-General Wilson's dispatch of September 22nd was — 
 
 * The King, who accompanied the troops for some short 
 ' distance last night, gave himself up to a party of 
 ' Irregular Cavalry whom I sent out in the direction of 
 * the fugitives, and he is now a prisoner under a guard of 
 ' European soldiers.' 
 
 We may well remark on this anonymous version, * id 
 maxime formidolosum, privati hominis nomen supra 
 principis attolli." — Ed. 
 
CAPTURE OF SHAHZADAHS. 309 
 
 ' went, and he told me he had volunteered to ride 
 ' through the enemy's camp and reconnoitre ; that no 
 ' one knew if thej were there in force or not, and he 
 ' asked me if I would accompany him. Of course I was 
 
 * only too glad, and off we went. They fired at us 
 ' as we approached, from gardens and places all round, 
 ' but I imagine they thought more men were coming, 
 ' and bolted, we (only fifty of us) cutting up all their 
 ' stragglers to the tune of some fifty or sixty. As we 
 ' came back we intercepted a whole lot of towns- 
 ' people escaping. Well, I must' not linger on this. 
 ' Having done our work (and it wasn't a bad thing to 
 ' do, to gallop through their camp with fifty men, 
 ' not knowing whether they were there or not), we 
 ' cautiously approached the Delhi gate. It was open, 
 ' but all was silent. Our troops had not as yet 
 ' ventured so far. Afar off we heard the firing in 
 ' the city in other quarters ; leaving our men outside, 
 ' with four Sowars behind us with cocked carbines, we 
 ' rode in, holding our revolvers ready for a row. Not 
 ' a soul was there ; all still as death. I looked round, 
 ' and close to where I was sitting were two bottles of 
 ' beer amidst a heap of plate, silver, clothes, &c. 
 ' Perhaps I didn't jump off sharp ! It was all right ; 
 ' real beer ! madam ; we uncorked, and drank the 
 
 * Queen's health at once. After a little time, as the 
 ' firing approached, and we found all was right, we 
 ' rode away, and reported what we had done. The 
 ' General was very pleased. 
 
 ' And now for my great adventure. On the 2oth 
 'the King gave himself up, and was lodged securely 
 ' in Delhi under a guard. On this day all had 
 ' evacuated the place, of which we were complete 
 
310 
 
 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ' masters. On the 31st a note from Hodson, " Come 
 ' sharp, bring one hundred men/^ Off I went, time 
 ' 6 o'clock A.M. To explain why he wrote to me, I 
 ' must tell you that although he commanded the 
 ' regiment, he was also the head of the Intelligence 
 ' Department, and lived in the General's quarters, 
 ' while I lived with the regiment, commanding it in 
 ' his absence, as being Second in command. Well, 
 'down I went. He told me he had heard that the 
 ' three Princes* (the heads of the rebellion and sons of 
 ' the King) were in a tomb six miles off, and he 
 'intended going to bring them, and offered me the 
 ' chance of accompanying him. Wasn't it handsome 
 ' on his part ! Of course I went : we started at 
 ' about eight o'clock, and proceeded slowly towards 
 ' the tomb. It is called Humayoon's Tomb, and is 
 ' an immense building. In it were the princes and 
 ' about 3G00 Mussulman followers. In the suburb 
 ' close by about 3JOOO more, all armed, so it was rather 
 ' a ticklish bit of work. We halted half a mile from 
 ' the place, and sent in to say the princes must give 
 ' themselves up unconditionally, or take the con- 
 ' sequences. A long half hour elapsed, when a 
 ' messenger came out to say the princes wished to 
 ' know if their lives would be promised them, if they 
 ' came out. " Unconditional surrender," was the 
 ' answer. Again we waited. It was a most anxious 
 ' time. We dared not take them by force, or all 
 ' would have been lost, and we doubted their coming. 
 ' We heard the shouts of the fanatics (as we found 
 ' out afterwards) begging the princes to lead them on 
 
 * Called Shahzadahs. 
 
humayoon's tomb. 311 
 
 ' a^inst US. And we had only one hundred men, 
 ' and were six miles from Delhi. At length, I 
 ' suppose, imagining that sooner or later they must 
 ' be taken, they resolved to give themselves up un- 
 ' conditionally, fancying, I suppose, as we had spared 
 ' the King, we would spare them. So the messenger 
 ' was sent to say they were coming. We sent ten men 
 ' to meet them, and by Hodson^s order I drew the 
 ' troop up across the road, ready to receive them, and 
 ' shoot them at once if there was any attempt at 
 ' a rescue. Soon they appeared in a small " Ruth " 
 ' or Hindoostanee cart drawn by bullocks, five 
 ' troopers on each side. Behind them thronged 
 ' about 2000 or 3000 (I am not exaggerating) Mussul- 
 ' mans. We met them, and at once Hodson and I rode 
 ' up, leaving the men a little in the rear. They 
 ' bowed as we came up, and Hodson, bowing, ordered 
 ' the driver to move on. This was the minute. The 
 ' crowd behind made a movement. Hodson waved 
 ' them back ; I beckoned to the troop, which came up, 
 ' and in an instant formed them up between the 
 ' crowd and the cart. By Hodson's order I advanced 
 
 * at a walk on the people, who fell back sullenly and 
 ' slowly at our approach. It was touch and go. 
 ' Meanwhile Hodson galloped back, and told the 
 ' sowats (i o) to hurry the princes on along the road, 
 ' while we showed a front and kept back the mob. 
 
 * They retired on Humayoon's tomb, and step by step 
 ' we followed them. Inside they went up the steps, 
 ' and formed up in the immense garden inside. The 
 ' entrance to this was through an arch, up steps. 
 ' Leaving the men outside, Hodson and myself (I 
 ' stuck to him throughout), with four men, rode up 
 
312 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 the steps into the arch^ when he called out to them 
 to lay down their arms. There was a murmm*. 
 He reiterated the command, and (God knows why, 
 I never can understand it) they commenced doing 
 so. Now you see we didn't want their arms, 
 and under ordinary circumstances would not have 
 risked our lives in so rash a way, but what we 
 wanted was to gain time to get the princes away, 
 for we could have done nothing had they attacked 
 us, but cut our way back, and very little chance 
 of doing even this successfully. Well, there we 
 stayed for two hours, collecting their arms, and I 
 assure you I thought every moment they would rush 
 lipon us. I said nothing, but smoked all the time, to 
 show I was unconcerned ; but at last, when it was all 
 done, and all the arms collected, put in a cart, and 
 started, Hodson turned to me and said, '^ We'll go, 
 now.'' Very slowly we mounted, formed up the 
 troop, and cautiously departed, followed by the crowd. 
 We rode along quietly. You will say, why did we 
 not charge them? I merely say, we were one 
 hundred men, and they were fully 6000. I am not 
 exaggerating ; the official reports will show you it is 
 all true. As we got about a mile off, Hodson turned 
 to me and said, " Well, Mac, we've got them at 
 last;" and we both gave a sigh of relief. Never 
 in my life, under the heaviest fire, have I been in 
 such imminent danger. Everybody says it is the most 
 dashing and daring thing that has been done for years 
 (not on my part, for I merely obeyed orders, but on 
 Hodson's, who planned and carried it out). Well, 
 I must finish my story. We came up to the princes, 
 now about five miles from where we had taken them,- 
 
DEATH OF SHAHZADAHS. 313 
 
 ' and close to Delhi. The increasing crowd pressed 
 ' close on the horses of the sowars, and assumed 
 
 * every moment a more hostile appearance. " What 
 ' shall we do w^ith them ?" said Hodson to me. " I 
 ' think we had better shoot them here; we shall never 
 ' get them in." 
 
 * We had identified them by means of a nephew of 
 ' the king's whom we had with us, and who turned 
 ' king^s evidence. Besides, they acknowledged them- 
 ' selves to be the men. Their names were Mirza 
 ' Mogul, the king's nephew and head of the whole 
 ' business ; Mirza Kishere Sultamet, who was also 
 ' one of the principal rebels, and had made himself 
 ' notorious by murdering women and children ; and 
 ' Abu Bukt, the commander-in-chief nominally, and 
 ' heir-apparent to the throne. This was the young 
 ' fiend who had stripped our women in the open street, 
 ' and cutting off little children's arms and legs, poured 
 
 * the blood into their mothers' mouths : this is literally 
 ' the case. There was no time to be lost; we halted 
 
 * the troop, put five troopers across the road behind and 
 ' in front. Hodson ordered the Princes to strip and 
 ' get again into the cart, he then shot them with his 
 ' own hand. So ended the career of the chiefs of the 
 'revolt, and of the greatest villains that ever shamed 
 ' humanity. Before they were shot, Hodson ad- 
 ' dressed our men, explaining who they were, and 
 ' why they were to suffer death ; the effect was 
 ' marvellous, the Mussulmans seemed struck with a 
 ' wholesome idea of retribution, and the Sikhs shouted 
 ' with delight, while the mass moved off slowly and 
 ' silently. One of the sowars pointed out to me a 
 ' man ruDDing rapidly across a piece of cultivated 
 
314 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ' ground, with arms gleaming" in the sunlight. I and 
 
 * the sowar rode after him, when I discovered it 
 ' was the king's favourite eunuch, of whose atrocities 
 ' we had heard so much. The sowar cut him down 
 ' instantly, and we returned, well satisfied that we 
 ' had rid the world of such a monster. It was now 
 ' four o'clock : Hodson rode into the city with the 
 ' cart containing the bodies, and had them placed in 
 ' the most public street, where all might see them. 
 ' Side by side they lay where, four months before, on 
 ' the same spot, they had outraged and murdered our 
 ' women. I went quietly home with the troop, 
 ' nearly dead, having had nothing (except water) since 
 ^ six o'clock the previous night. I have not time to 
 
 * write you of my subsequent adventures, but will 
 ^ next mail. We have gained a great deal of Kvdog 
 ' for this business, and I hear are to be rewarded in 
 ' some way or other.' 
 
 Some montlis later my brother wrote with 
 reference to this matter : — 
 
 Camp, on the left bank of the Ganges, 
 
 OPPOSITE CaWNPORE, 
 
 Feb. 1 2th, 1858. 
 ... I see that many people suppose that I had pro- 
 mised the old King his life qfte?' he was caught. Pray 
 contradict this. The promise was given two days be- 
 fore, to induce him to leave the rebel troops and 
 return to the near neighbourhood of Delhi within 
 reach. General Wilson refused to send troops in 
 pursuit of him, and to avoid greater calamities I then, 
 and not till then, asked and obtained permission to 
 ofier him his wretched life, on the ground, and solely 
 
CAPTIVE KING. 315 
 
 Oil the ground, that there was no other way of getting 
 hiin into our possession. The people were gathering 
 round him. His name would have been a tocsin which 
 would have raised the whole of Hindoostan, and the 
 Kajas and Rajpootana in the south would have been 
 forced to have joined in the rising, which would then 
 have been universal. Was it not better to get rid 
 of all this, and secure ourselves from further mischief 
 at the simple cost of sparing the life of an old man 
 of ninety ? It must be remembered, too, that we had 
 no troops left to meet any further augmentation of 
 our enemies. A small force under Colonel Greathed 
 was with difficulty found, some days later, to go to- 
 wards Agra; and it was clear to me then (as ex- 
 perience has since shown) that we had still months 
 to wait for reinforcements from home. Here is 
 February; the King was caught in September, and 
 yet up to this present day the Commander-in-Chief 
 has not been able to send a single soldier of all that 
 have arrived from England up as far as Delhi ; and 
 all Rohilcund, all Oude, a great part of Central 
 India, all Bundelcund, and most of Behar, are still in 
 the hands of the enemy. Would it have been wise 
 to have given, in addition to all this, so strong an 
 incentive to combination, to the warlike men of the 
 north-west, as they would have had in the person of 
 a sacred and ' heaven-born ' monarch, dethroned, 
 wandering and homeless, but backed by a whole army 
 in rebellion ? I am blamed for it now ; but knowing 
 that there was no other way of getting him into our 
 power, I am quite content to take the obloquy. It 
 will hereafter be admitted that one of the greatest 
 blows was struck at the root of the rebellion when the 
 
316 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 old king was led a captive into his own palace on 
 the 2ist of September^ 1857.* Strange, that some of 
 those who are loudest against me for sparing the 
 king, are also crying out at my destroying his sons. 
 ' Quousque tandem ?' I may well exclaim. But in 
 point of fact, I am quite indifferent to clamour either 
 way. I made up my mind at the time to be abused. 
 I was convinced I was right, and when I prepared 
 to run the great physical risk of the attempt, I was 
 equally game for the moral risk of praise or blame. 
 These have not been, and are not times when a man who 
 would serve his country dare hesitate as to the per- 
 sonal consequences to himself of what he thinkshis duty. 
 
 I am indebted to Sir T. Seaton for an 
 answer to inquiries addressed to my brother, 
 which never reached him : — 
 
 ' " I see you are anxious to clear up " the two 
 ' vexed questions : — ^Why did he guarantee the life 
 ' of the king ? Why did he strip the princes ? He 
 ' guaranteed the life of the king, because he was 
 ' ordered to do so by General Wilson ; and I think 
 ' that under the circumstances it was wise and 
 ' prudent (though highly distasteful to the General), 
 ' for it enabled us to get hold of the nominal head 
 ' of the great rebellion, and to secure the capture of 
 
 *From Mr. Montgomery, now Chief Commissioner 
 of Oude. 
 
 ^ Sept. 2gth. 
 ' My dear Hodson, — All honour to you (and to your 
 * " Horse") for catching the King and slaying his sons. I 
 ' hope you will bag many more ! In haste, 
 
 * Ever yours, 
 
 ' B. Montgomery.' 
 
DESCRIPTION OF CAPTAIN HODSON. 317 
 
 ' those greater scoundrels, the princes. No one ever 
 ' thought out here of asking why he stripped the 
 ' princes, or rather why he made them take off their 
 ' upper garments. It certainly was not as the French 
 ' stupidly assert, " pour ne pas g^ter le butin," for if 
 ' the upper corresponded with the nether clothes in 
 ' which the bodies were laid out, they would have 
 ' been dear at a shilling the lot. He made them strip 
 ' off their upper garments, to render their death and 
 ' subsequent exposure at the Kotwalla more impres- 
 ' sive and terrible. Some people ask, " Why did he 
 ' shoot them himself?'' To this I will reply by 
 ' another question, " What would have been the effect 
 ' on that vast crowd of a single moment's hesitation 
 ' or appearance of hesitation ?" ' 
 
 Before this chapter closes, T will insert 
 one or two anecdotes and descriptions of my 
 brother, from letters written at this time by 
 officers before Delhi, which have been kindly 
 placed at my disposal. They will help to fill 
 up the picture of him, which may be drawn 
 from his own diary. 
 
 One says : — 
 
 ' The way Hodson used to work was quite miraculous. 
 ' He was a slighter man and lighter weight than I 
 ' am. Then he had that most valuable gift, of being 
 ' able to get refreshing sleep on horseback. I have 
 ' been out with him all night following and watch- 
 * ing the enemy, when he has gone off dead asleep, 
 ' waking up after an hour as fresh as a lark ; whereas. 
 
318 SIEGE OF DELHI. 
 
 ' if I went to sleep in the saddle^ the odds were I fell 
 ' off on my nose. 
 
 * He was the very perfection of a ^^ free-lance," 
 
 * and such an Intelligence officer ! He used to know 
 ^ what the rebels had for dinner in Delhi. 
 
 ' In a fight he was glorious. If there was only a 
 ' a good hard skrimmage he was as happy as a king. 
 
 * A beautiful swordsman, he never failed to kill his 
 ' man ; and the way he used to play with the most 
 ' brave and furious of these rebels was perfect. I 
 ' fancy I see him now, smiling, laughing, parrying 
 ' most fearful blows, as calmly as if he were brushing 
 ' off flies, calling out all the time, " Why, try again, 
 ' now," " What's that ?" " Do you call yourself a 
 ' swordsman ?" &c. 
 
 'The way that in a pursuit he used to manage his hog 
 ' spear was miraculous. It always seemed to me that 
 *■ he bore a charmed life, and so the enemy thought. 
 
 ' His judgment was as great as his courage, and 
 ' the heavier the fire or the greater the difficulty, the 
 ' more calm and reflecting he became.' 
 
 Another (Sir T. Seaton) : — 
 
 ' You know that during the whole of that terrible 
 ' siege we were together in the same tent ; and it was 
 'to his unremitting care and nursing that in great 
 ' measure I owed my life. 
 
 ' It was there that I saw in all their splendour his 
 ' noble soldierly qualities, never fatigued, never down- 
 ' cast, always cool and calm, with a cheerful counte- 
 ' nance, and a word of encouragement for every one. 
 
 ' I used often to say, '' Here, Hodson, is somebody 
 ' else coming for comfort." ' 
 
NOTICES OF CAPTAIN HODSON. 319 
 
 Another says : — 
 
 ' He has wonderful tact in getting information 
 ' out of the natives, and divining the movements of 
 ' the enemy. He is scarcely out of the saddle day or 
 ' night, for not only has he to lead his regiment and 
 ' keep the country clear, but being Intelligence Officer, 
 ' he is always on the move to gain news of the 
 ' progress of affairs, and acts and intentions of the 
 ' enemy. 
 
 ' Even wheti he might take rest he will not, but 
 ' will go and help work at the batteries, and expose 
 ' himself constantly, in order to relieve some fainting 
 ' gunner or wounded man.' 
 
 I have this anecdote from another : — 
 
 ' In the camp at Delhi, when the incessant fatigue 
 ' to which the soldiers were exposed forbade the strict 
 ' enforcement of the continual salute, it was remarked 
 ' that Hodson never passed down the lines without 
 ' every man rendering to him that mark of respect. 
 ' The soldiers loved him as their own. " There goes 
 ' "that 'ere Hodson," said a drunken soldier as he 
 ' cantered down the lines ; " he's sure to be in every- 
 ' " thing : he'll get shot, I know he will, and I'd a 
 ' " deal rather be shot myself; we can't do without 
 ' " him." ' 
 
 I venture to quote from Mr. H. Greathed's 
 Letters (published by his widow) some further 
 notices of my brother : — 
 
 ' Hodson keeps an Argus eye on the rear and left 
 ' flank, and is always ready for an adventurous ride. 
 ' I am not surprised at Gough liking him ; he has a 
 
320 NOTICES OF CAPTAIN HODSON. 
 
 ' rare gift of brains as well as of pluck ! The uniform 
 ' of his menj " khakee '* tunics, with a scarlet sash 
 ' and turban, is very picturesque. 
 
 ' Hodson certainly the most wide-awake soldier in 
 ' camp. 
 
 ' A charge of cavalry was turned by a few 
 ' musket shots from a party under Hodson, who 
 ' always turns up in moments of difficulty.' 
 
 Again, speaking of him v^hile absent at 
 Eolituck, August i9tli: — 
 
 ' We have no further intelligence from Hodson. 
 ' He is employed on just the wild work he likes, and 
 ' will be loth to return. The public still amuses 
 ' itself with giving his regiment new names, " the 
 ' Aloobokharas " and " Ringtailed Roarers," are the 
 ' last I have heard of. 
 
 . . . . ' There was some alarm yesterday about 
 ' Hodson's safety. I cannot say I shared the feeling, 
 * I have such confidence in his audacity and resource. 
 
 . . . . ' Hodson is quite safe, he will now return to 
 ' camp, and after being in for an hour, he will be seen 
 ' looking as fresh, clean-shaved, and spruce, as if he 
 ' had never left it/ 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 showers' column. SEATON's column. — GUNGEREE. 
 
 PUTIALEE. MYNPOOREE. RIDE TO COMMANDER-IN- 
 
 CHIEf's CAMP. JUNCTION OF FORCES. SHUMSHABAD. 
 
 ITVTJEING the greater part of October, Capt. 
 ^^ Hodson was employed with a flying 
 column sent out under Brigadier Showers to 
 pacify the country lying to the south-west of 
 Delhi. 
 
 Hodson's Horse had by this time acquired 
 such proportions that they admitted of being 
 divided. One detachment, under Lieut. Gough, 
 were sent with Colonel Greathed's column 
 towards Agra, and afterwards joined Sir Colin 
 Campbell's force, and took part, with much 
 distinction, in the final relief of Lucknow by 
 Sir Colin and Sir James Outram. 
 
 The main body, with their commandant, 
 accompanied Brigadier Showers, and were of 
 great service in anticipating the movements 
 and cutting off the retreat of the flying enemy, 
 as well as in scouring the country and bringing 
 in supplies. Their rapidity of movement and 
 dashing courage made them a terror to the 
 rebel forces, who had on more than one occa- 
 
 T 
 
322 CATTLE. 
 
 sion, painful experience of the keenness " of 
 their sabres. 
 
 In the course of the expedition, the forces of 
 several rebel rajahs were defeated, their strong- 
 holds captured with many guns, and treasure 
 amounting to 70,000/. taken, besides large 
 quantities of cattle. 
 
 On one occasion upwards of 1700 head of 
 cattle had been taken. When they were 
 brought in, Brigadier Showers exclaimed, 
 * Hang me ! what in the world am I to do with 
 them ? It would take half my force to con- 
 voy them back to Delhi. I can't take them." 
 On this Captain Hodson said, * Well, sir, will 
 you sell them to me, and let me take my 
 chance ?' ' Willingly,' said the Brigadier ; 
 so the bargain was struck for two rupees a 
 head. Captain Hodson sent them off, under 
 charge of their drivers, and two or three of 
 his own sowars, to Delhi, where they arrived 
 safely, and were of course sold at a large profit. 
 
 The speculation turned out a good one, but 
 the chances were against it. 'No one else, 
 probably, under the circumstances, would have 
 run the risk, and the cattle would have been 
 left behind. 
 
 I mention this anecdote as showing that in 
 small things as well as great my brother 
 refused to acknowledge difficulties, and de- 
 
\ 
 
 COW-HOUSE. ' 323 
 
 served the character given him of being the 
 most ' wide-awake' man in the army. Shortly 
 afterwards he invested part of the proceeds in a 
 house at Umbala which happened to be then 
 put up for a forced sale at a great depreciation. 
 This consequently went among his friends by 
 the name of the ' cow-house/ 
 
 A short time before the return of the column 
 to Delhi, he applied for a few weeks' leave, in 
 order to join his wife, who had come down 
 from Simla to Umbala. 
 
 On November 3rd he wrote to his sister 
 from Umbrda: — 
 
 After nearly six months of separation, I was 
 happy enough to get back here yesterday night, and 
 find my wife well, and all but recovered from the 
 effects of her frightful accident, the most wonderful 
 escape, perhaps, from imminent peril ever recorded. 
 I- take the first holiday I have had since the 15th 
 May, to write a few lines to you, my dearest sister, 
 to say what deep and real pleasure and comfort your 
 letters bring to me, amidst danger and toil and 
 fatigue ; and how cheering it is to feel that, come 
 what may, I am sure of your loving sympathy and 
 constant affection. I received yesterday your letter 
 of the 4th May, and could not but be most forcibly 
 struck with the contrast between my circumstances 
 individually, and those of the country, then and now. 
 No one will rejoice more than yourself at the sudden 
 change, and at the tolerable success which has been 
 permitted to my labours 
 
324 PROGRESS OF REGIMENT. 
 
 Nov. i^th. — Here my pen was arrested by the news 
 that the niail was gone. In these days all regularity 
 is set at defiance, and again we have been startled by 
 a notice to send our letters within half-an-hour, and 
 that, too, in the midst of preparation for a hurried 
 return to Delhi and Meerut, to rejoin my regiment. 
 We march at once to join Sir Colin Campbell and 
 the army assembling at Cawnpore for the re-conquest 
 of Lucknow. 
 
 I am getting on famously with my regiment : men 
 of good family and fighting repute are really flocking 
 to my standard,* and before the end of the year I 
 hope to have looo horsemen under my command. 
 
 I had a letter the other day from at 
 
 Calcutta, from which I learn that at last the truth 
 is beginning to dawn on the minds of men in power 
 regarding me. They now say that my remonstrance 
 will be placed on record for preservation, ^not for 
 
 * A letter from Delhi, in October, says : — 
 ' The corps raised by that very gallant officer, Captain 
 ' Hodson, is composed more than anything we have 
 ' hitherto had of the old sirdars and soldiers of Runjeet 
 ' Singh's time, in consequence of which, and the skill of 
 ' their commander, they are already an extremely efficient 
 ' corps. 
 
 ' I was talking this morning to a very independent 
 
 * looking Resaldar, who seemed to be treated by his men 
 ' much more as they do a European officer than is ever 
 ' seen in our service, and who bore himself as the inferior 
 ' of no one, and I found that he had been long a colonel 
 ' of artillery in Runjeet Singh's service, and very openly 
 
 * went through the part he had taken against us in the 
 
 * revolt of 1849.' 
 
seaton's column. 325 
 
 justification, which it is fully admitted was not 
 required/ and that ' no higher testimonials were ever 
 produced.' 
 
 How much I have to be thankful for, not only for 
 restored position and means for future distinction, 
 but for safety and preservation during this terrible 
 war, and for my dear wife's escape. 
 
 You must not misunderstand my silence. I was 
 compelled to leave the task of writing letters to Susie : 
 I had barely time to keep her assured of my safety 
 from day to day. 
 
 On the 2nd December, ' Hodson's Horse' 
 were ordered to join a moveable column 
 under Colonel Thomas Seaton, C.B., proceed- 
 ing down the country towards Cawnpore, in 
 charge of an immense convoy of supplies of all 
 kinds for the Commander-in-Chiefs army. 
 The convoy was calculated to extend over 
 fifteen miles of road — hackeries of grain, 
 camels, elephants, horses — and but 1500 men 
 and four guns to protect them all. At AUygurh, 
 the forces marching respectively from Delhi 
 and Meerut united on the i ith. On the follow- 
 ing day Colonel Seaton, leaving the convoy 
 Tinder the protection of the gnns of the fort, 
 proceeded by forced marches to look after some 
 large parties of the rebel army who were en- 
 camped in the Doab. I must again acknow- 
 ledge my obligations to the pen of Lieutenant 
 
326 ENGAGEMENT AT GUNGEREE. 
 
 Macdowell for a fuller chronicle of tlie doings 
 of Hodson's Horse than my brother was able 
 to give himself; — 
 
 ' On the 1 2th we left Allygurh_, and turning out 
 ^ of the Grand Trunk Eoad, marched into the heart 
 ' of the disturbed districts. On the 14th, we heard 
 ^ the rebel army were in great force at a place called 
 ' Khasgunge, but on arriving at Gungeree, about six 
 ' miles from their encampment^ they came out in 
 ' force and boldly attacked us. 
 
 ' The fight is soon told. They advanced in line, 
 ' and opened upon us with artillery, their infantry 
 ' advancing in skirmishing order. Our artillery went 
 ' to the front and opened fire upon them, but their 
 ' advance was so steady that Colonel Seaton ordered 
 ' the Carabineers to charge the guns, which they did 
 ' in the most gallant style, taking them and cutting 
 ' down the gunners, losing, however, three out of 
 ' four ofiicers, Wardlaw, Hudson, and Vyse. This was 
 ' on the right. Our infantry in the centre advanced 
 ' in line, but did not come into action, in consequence 
 ' of the rapid movement of the cavalry and artillery. 
 
 ' On the left, our regiment was placed, to prevent 
 ^ their turning our flank, as they threatened to do. 
 ' The dust was so tremendous that I could see no- 
 ' thing, so the regiment was halted^ and I rode for- 
 ' ward, when I saw the Carabineers charging on the 
 ' right, and the whole of the enemy's infantry and 
 ' cavalry retiring in front of me. Immediately, with- 
 ' out waiting for orders, I sang out " Charge,^' and 
 ' charge we did, and upset them in every direction 
 ' for miles. I was nearly wounded once or twice in 
 
327 
 
 ' the pursuit, by desperate men fighting for their 
 ' lives, but escaped without a scratch. We had twenty- 
 ' three men killed or wounded.* 
 
 ' Well, the next day we marched to Khasgunge, 
 ' which we, pushing on in advance, found evacuated. 
 ' Here we heard that the enemy were in great force 
 ' at Puttialee, about twenty miles off, where they had 
 ' been joined by the remains of the force we had 
 ' beaten the day before ; and also, that they were 
 ' entrenching themselves, and determined to fight. 
 
 * The report was they had fifteen thousand men and 
 ' nineteen guns. We marched the next day to 
 ' Suhawur, enemy still reported to be in front* 
 
 ' On the morning of the 17th we marched in 
 ' order of battle at 8 a.m. to Puttialee. I undertook 
 ' the reconnoitring, with Hodson, and consequently 
 
 * we preceded the column with one hundred men, 
 ' accompanied by two engineer officers. The advance 
 
 * guard consisted of fifty Hodson's Horse ; thirty 
 ' Carabineers, one hundred infantry, and two guns 
 ' following us, and ready to support us if necessary. 
 
 ' About half way we fell in with the enemy's videttes, 
 ' who retreated rapidly on our approach, and soon 
 
 * From Despatch from, Colonel T. Seaton, C.B., to 
 
 Major-General Penny, Commanding at Delhi. 
 
 * The General will see by the list of casualties, that 
 ' Captain Hodson's newly raised body of Horse was 
 
 * not backward, and rendered excellent service. It could 
 
 * not do less under its distinguished commander, whom I 
 
 * beg particularly to mention to the Major-General, as 
 ' having on every possible occasion rendered me the 
 ' most efficient service, whether in gaining information, 
 
 * reconnoitring the country, or leading his regiment.' 
 
328 ACTION AT PUTTIALEE. 
 
 ' after came upon the main body of their cavalry, who 
 ' fired upon us, and then slowly retired before our ad- 
 ' vance. We formed up the hundred men, and went 
 ' on steadily, expecting to be charged by them eveiy 
 ' moment, as they were 400 or 500 strong. They 
 ' retired, however, before us till we came to a thick belt 
 
 * of trees, when suddenly seven guns opened upon us. 
 ' Halting the men, and sending back for the advanced 
 ' guard, we (the officers) rode rapidly forward to recon- 
 ' noitre their position, and found them strongly posted 
 ' across the road, with about eleven guns, with which 
 ' they pitched into us pretty strong. 
 
 ' We sent back to tell the Colonel, and soon, to our 
 ' great delight, we saw our line advancing in beautiful 
 ' order, and shortly after our horse artillery galloped 
 ' up, went 500 yards in advance, and opened on the 
 
 * enemy, who replied with hearty good will, and the 
 ' battle commenced. 
 
 ' I now rejoined my regiment, which was imme- 
 ' diately ordered up in support of the artillery on the 
 ' right, the Carabineers going on the left, and our in- 
 ' fantry advancing in line. Their fire soon slackened 
 ' as our artillery advanced nearer j so did we. By this 
 
 * time we were within 800 yards of their camp, when 
 ' Hodson, seeing that they were beginning to waver, 
 ' gave the order to charge, and on we went slap into 
 ' their camp, our horse artillery limbering up and 
 ' leaping into their saddles, leading the way. They 
 ' turned and ran, and we, galloping through their en- 
 
 * campment, came upon a fortified village : nothing 
 ' could then stop us ; through it we went, and on 
 ' emerging from it, found the whole plain in front of 
 ' us covered with them, cavalry, artillery, and all, run- 
 
seaton's column. 829 
 
 ' ning away. We pursued them for eight miles, and 
 ' I am within the mark when I say that we left up- 
 ' wards of tooo dead on the field. Our infantry 
 ' coming up in our rear, turned those we had passed by 
 ' in our rapid advance, out of the village,- where they 
 ' had secreted themselves, bayoneting and shooting 
 ' them down in every direction. We took thirteen 
 ' guns, the whole of their park, ammunition, camp, and 
 ' stores, killed a great many chiefs, amongst others a 
 ' Nawab who was mounted on an elephant in a silver 
 ' howdah. I received the thanks of our commander, 
 ' together with Hodson and the engineer officers, for 
 ' the reconnoitring part of the expedition. 
 
 ' Well, after this we halted for three days, pushing out 
 ' reconnaissances' in all directions ; and having satisfied 
 ' ourselves that the enemy had broken up in every 
 ' direction, and gone to Futtehgurh, that refuge for 
 ' the destitute, we moved backwards to Gungeree ; 
 ' and then striking across to Etah, pushed down 
 
 * the Grand Trunk Road towards Mynpooree, the 
 ' Rajah of which place, it was reported, was deter- 
 ' mined to stand against us. 
 
 * We reached Koorowlec on the ii6th, having spent 
 ' the day before Christmas-day very merrily. We (Hod- 
 
 * son's Horse) entertained the officers of the column. 
 ' Believe me, I drank all your healths, and fervently 
 ' prayed that I might be spared to spend another 
 ' Christmas -day with you all. 
 
 ' Hearing that the Rajah was in force, and deter- 
 ' mined to fight, we advanced on the morning of the 
 ' 27th, forced the enemy from their position, cap- 
 
 * turing six guns, and routing them in all directions. 
 ' We got possession of Mynpooree, and all their park 
 
330 ACTION AT MYNPOOREE. 
 
 ' stores^ &c. Our cavalry pursued them twelve miles, 
 ' and cut up a great many. So you see between the 
 ' 12th and the 27th we have fought three actions, tra- 
 ' versed the Doab, dispersed the enemy in every direc- 
 ' tion, captured twenty- five guns and vast stores of 
 ^ ammunition, and cut up vast numbers of rebels. 
 ' This is not bad work, considering that our force 
 ^ consisted of only %6oo men of all arms, and eight 
 ' light and three heavy guns.' 
 
 My brotlier's own notices of tliese operations, 
 in his few letters to England, are very brief. 
 On the 1st January he writes from Bewar, to 
 which the column had advanced from Myn- 
 pooree : — 
 
 January 1st, 1858. 
 
 . . . Within the last month, under Colonel T. Seaton's 
 command, we have fought three actions, and captured 
 twenty-five guns, and marched I can't say how many 
 miles. I can only say that on one day — that before 
 yesterday — I rode ninety-four miles between ' morn 
 and dewy eve,' to carry a despatch to the Commander- 
 in-Chief, and bring back his orders to Seaton ; and I 
 generally pass my time in the saddle. My reception 
 by Sir Colin Campbell was most flattering and cordial, 
 and he got some ' chops and ale ' for me, and sat 
 down in a quiet friendly way by my side to help me 
 feed, which would have pleased you to see. 
 
 At last, after twelve years' service, I am a captain, 
 regimentally from the 14th September last; poor 
 Major Jacob's death after the assault having given 
 me my promotion — dearly purchased by the death of 
 such a man ! I have much to be thankful for, not 
 
OPENING COMMUNICATION. 331 
 
 only for the most uulioped-for escapes from wounds 
 and death, but for the position I now occupy, and for 
 the appreciation my work has received from those 
 in power.. 
 
 My new regiment has done good service and got 
 much lai^og. 
 
 We expect to join the Commander-in-Chiers force, 
 and march together on Futtehgurh and Bareilly. 
 There is much work before us still in Rohilcund and 
 Oude. I do not expect to see the end of the war for 
 some months. You will have to keep on sending us 
 more men for some time to come. 
 
 The ride so cursorily mentioned was a most 
 gallant and successful attempt to open commu- 
 cation between the two forces. In tlie course 
 of it, my brother and Lieutenant Macdowell 
 had a most hairbreadth escape, which is thus 
 narrated by the latter : — 
 
 ' Camp, Bewar, Jan. ist, 1858. 
 ' You know we took Mynpooree on the 27th. We 
 'halted that day and the two following. On the 
 ' night of the 29th, Hodson came into my tent, about 
 ' nine o'clock, and told me a report had come in that the 
 ' Commander-in-Chief had arrived with his forces at 
 ' Goorsahaigunge, about thirty-eight miles from Myn- 
 ' poorec and that he had volunteered to ride over to him 
 ' with despatches, asking me at the same time if I 
 ' would accompany him. Of course I consented at 
 ' once, and was very much gratified by his selecting 
 ' me as his companion. At 6 a.m. the next morning 
 ' we started ; with seventy-five sowars of our own 
 
332 DANGEROUS RIDE. 
 
 ' regiment. I do not wish to enhance the danger of 
 'the undertaking, but shall merely tell you that 
 'since Brigadier Grant's column moved down this 
 ' road towards Lucknow_, it had been closed against 
 ' all Europeans ; that we were not certain if the 
 ' Commander-in-Chiefs camp was at Goorsahaigunge 
 ' (which uncertainty was verified, as you will see) ; 
 ' and that, to say the least of it, there was a chance 
 ' of our falling in with roving bands of the enemy ."^ 
 ' We started at 6 a.m., and reached Bewar all safe, 
 * fourteen miles from our camp. Here we halted, and 
 ' ate sandwiches, and then leaving fifty men to stay 
 ' till our return, pushed on to Chibberamow, fourteen 
 ' miles farther on. Here we made another halt, and 
 ' then, leaving the remaining twenty-five men behind, 
 ' we pushed on by ourselves, unaccompanied, for 
 ' Goorsahaigunge, where we hoped to find the Com- 
 ' mander-in-Chief. On arriving there (a fourteen 
 'miles stage), we found the Commander-in-Chief 
 ' was at Mermuka- Serai, fifteen miles further on. 
 
 * The following extract from a private letter of an 
 artillery officer, describing the state of the roads, will 
 give some notion of the danger of this ride : — 
 
 * Mynpooree, December 2gth. 
 ' Since the 20th of October, no letters have passed this 
 ' road. The " Kossids," whose trade it is to carry letters 
 ' through an enemy's country, would not, and could not 
 
 * do it, and no wonder. At one place we saw a poor 
 
 * brute who had gone from us with a letter to the Chief, 
 ' and had been caught by the rebels. He was hanging 
 ' by the heels, had his nose cut off, had been made a target 
 
 * of, and roasted alive. 
 
 ' Pleasant fellows, these rebels, and worthy of all con- 
 sideration.' 
 
commander-in-chief's camp. 333 
 
 ' This was very annoying : but there was no help 
 ' for it, so we struck out for it as fast as we could, the 
 'more so as we heard that the enemy, 700 strong, 
 ' with four guns, was within two miles of us. We 
 ' arrived at Mermuka-Serai at 4 a.m., and found the 
 ' camp there all right. We were received most 
 ' cordially by all, and not a little surprised were they 
 ' to hear where we had come from. Hodson was 
 ' most warmly received by Sir Colin Campbell, and 
 ' was closeted with him till dinner time. Meanwhile, 
 ' I sought out some old friends, and amused mvself 
 ' with looking at the novel sight of English sailors 
 ' employed with heavy guns. I also went to see the 
 ' Highlanders, and magnificent fellows they are, with 
 ' their bonnets and kilts, looking as if they could eat 
 ' up all the Pandies in India. A summons to the 
 ' Commander-in-Chief's table called me away, and off 
 ' I went to dinner, when I found Hodson seated by 
 ' Sir Colin, and carrying on a most animated con- 
 ' versation with him. We had a very pleasant dinner, 
 'and at 8 p.m. started on our long ride (fifty-four 
 ' miles) back. We arrived at Goorsahaigunge all safe, 
 ' and pushed on at once for the next stage, Chib- 
 'beramow. When we had got half way, we were 
 ' stopped by a native, who bad been waiting in ex- 
 ' pectation of our return. God bless him ! I say, 
 ' and I am sure you will say so too when you have 
 ' read all. He told us that a party of the enemy had 
 * attacked our twenty-five sowars at Chibberamow, 
 ' cut up some, and beaten back the rest, and that 
 ' there was a great probability some of them (the 
 ' enemy) were lurking about the road to our front. 
 ' This was pleasant news, was it not ? — twenty miles 
 
334 
 
 HAIRBREADTH ESCAPE. 
 
 ' from the Commander-in-Chiers camp^ thirty from 
 ' our own ; time, midnight ; scene, an open road ; 
 ^dramatis personce, two officers armed with swords 
 ' and revolvers, and a howling enemy supposed to be 
 ' close at hand. We deliberated what we should do, 
 ' and Hodson decided we should ride on at all risks. 
 ' " At the worst,'^ he said, " we can gallop back ; but 
 'we'll try and push through." The native came 
 ' with us, and we started. I have seen a few ad- 
 ' ventures in my time, but must confess this was the 
 ' most trying one I had ever engaged in. It was a 
 'piercingly cold night, with a bright moon and a 
 [ wintry sky, and a cold wind every now and then 
 ' sweeping by and chilling us to the very marrow. 
 ' Taking our horses off the hard road on to the side 
 'where it was soft, so that the noise of their footfalls 
 ' could be less distinctly heard, we silently went on 
 ' our way, anxiously listening for every sound that 
 'fell upon our ears, and straining our sight to see 
 ' if, behind the dark trees dotted along the road, we 
 ' could discern the forms of the enemy waiting in 
 ' ambush to seize us. It was indeed an anxious time. 
 ' We proceeded till close to Chibberamow. " They 
 ' are there," said our guide in a whisper, pointing to 
 ' a garden in a clump of trees to our right front. 
 ' Distinctly we heard a faint hum in the distance — 
 ' whether it was the enemy, or whether our imagi- 
 ' nation conjured up the sound, I know not. We 
 ' slowly and silently passed through the village, in 
 ' the main street of which we saw the dead body of 
 ' one of our men lying stark and stiff and ghastly in 
 'the moonlight; and on emerging from the other 
 ' side, dismissed our faithful guide, with directions to 
 
HAIRBREADTH ESCAPE. 335 
 
 ' come to our camp — and then, putting spurs to our 
 ' horses, we galloped for the dear life to Bewar, 
 ' breathing more freely as every stride bore us away 
 ' from the danger now happily past. We reached 
 ' Bewar at about two o'clock a.m., and found a party 
 ' of our men sent out to look for us. Our troopers 
 ' had ridden in to say they had been attacked and 
 ' driven back, and that we had gone on alone, and all 
 ' concluded we must fall into the hands of the enemy. 
 ' We flung ourselves down on charpoys and slept till 
 ' daylight, when our column marched in, and we 
 'received the hearty congratulations of all on our 
 ' escape. What do you think of it ? The man whose 
 ' information gave us such timely warning, and 
 ' thereby prevented our galloping on, by which we 
 ' should certainly have excited the attention of the 
 ' enemy, has been very handsomely rewarded and 
 ' obtained employment. 
 
 ' It appears from the reports afterwards received, 
 ' that the party that cut up our men were fugitives 
 ' from Etawah, where a column of ours, under General 
 ' Walpole, had arrived. They consisted of about 
 ' 1500 men, with seven guns, and were proceeding 
 ' to Futtypore. We rode in at one end of Chibbera- 
 ' mow in the morning — they rode in at the other. 
 ' They saw us, but we did not see them, as we were 
 'on unfavourable ground. Thinking we were the 
 ' advanced guard of our column, they retired hastily 
 ' to a village some two koss off. Meanwhile, Hodson 
 ' and I, unconscious of their vicinity, rode on. They 
 'sent out scouts, and ascertained only twenty-five 
 ' of our sowars were in the village, upon which they 
 ' resumed their march, sending a party to cut up 
 
336 DANGEROUS RIDE. 
 
 ' our men, and I suppose, to wait for our return. All 
 ' Hodson said when we were at Bewar, and safe, was 
 ' " Bj George ! Mac, IM give a good deal for a 
 *" cup of tea," and immediately went to sleep. He 
 
 * is the coolest hand I have ever jet met. We 
 ' rode ninety-four miles. Hodson rode seventy-two 
 ' on one horse, the little dun, and I rode Alma 
 
 * seventy-two miles also.^ 
 
 Colonel Seaton, in a letter written shortly 
 afterwards to Mrs. Hodson, thus describes the 
 anxiety he felt : — 
 
 * Mahomedabad, Jan. ^th. 
 
 ^ Oh ! what a fright I was in the night before we 
 ' marched from Mynpooree. Your husband knew 
 ' that I was most anxious to communicate with the 
 ' Commander-in-Chief, and volunteered to ride across, 
 ' and as Mr. Cox said that he had most positive 
 ' information that the Commander-in-Chief was at 
 ' Goorsahaigunge, I consented. He started at dav- 
 ' break, taking a strong party of his. own regiment. 
 
 ' At sunset one of his men returned, saying that 
 ' he and Macdowell had left a party at Chibberamow, 
 ^ and ridden forward ; that the party had subse- 
 ^ quently been surpri-sed by the enemy, and cut up. 
 
 ' At first this seemed most alarming, yet I had the 
 ^ greatest faith in his consummate prudence and 
 ' skill. I knew Macdowell was with him, and I 
 ' said to myself, " If those two are not sharp enough 
 
 ' to dodge the black fellows, why the d is in it." 
 
 ' But still I could not help feeling most uneasy, and 
 ' saying, '' Oh ! dear, what should I say to his poor 
 ^ wife." I did not sleep one wink all night. In the 
 
FUTTEHGURH. ^837 
 
 ' morning a sowar galloped in with a note from him. 
 ' Oh ! what a relief to my mind. 
 
 ' The day before yesterday we rode over together to 
 ' the Commander-in- ChiePs camp at GoorsahaigungCj 
 ' and found he had moved on four miles beyond the* 
 ' Kalee Nuddu. We followed, and eame in for the 
 
 * tail of a fight, as there were still some dropping shots. 
 ' I was received with great cordiality by the Com- 
 ' mander-in-Chief, and warmly congratulated on our 
 ' successes. 
 
 ' Your gallant husband has now left me, and I find it 
 
 * most painful to part, for he is a warm friend and 
 ' true soldier ; always ready with his pen, his sword, 
 ' or his counsel at my slightest wish ; indeed, he often 
 ' anticipated my wishes, as if he could divine what I 
 ' wanted. I missed his cheerful manly face at my 
 
 * breakfast this morning, and am not in a good 
 ' humour at all to-day.' 
 
 On the 6th Colonel Seaton's column, with 
 their convoy, joined the Commander-in-Chief, 
 and were merged in his forces. Head-quarters 
 were established at Futtehgurh, which had sur- 
 rendered without fighting. 
 
 On the night of the a6th January,* a force 
 
 * Mr. Charles Raikes, in his interesting ^otes on the 
 Revolt, p. 109, says : — * At night I warned Mr. Power for 
 
 * duty, to go out with the Brigade. I found it difficult to 
 ' convince him that 2000 men quietly slumbering around, 
 
 * would in the course of half-an-hour be under arms, and 
 
 * on the march to attack the enemy. Scarce a creature 
 
 * in the camp, save General Mansfield, Adrian Hope, 
 
 * Hodson, and I, knew the plans of the Commander-in- 
 
338 WOUNDS AT SHUMSHABAD. 
 
 under the command of Brigadier Adrian Hope, 
 93rd Highlanders, were sent out from Futteh- 
 gurh to attack a large body of rebels assembled 
 at Shumshabad, about twelve miles from the 
 city, where they arrived the next morning. 
 The expedition was completely successful in its 
 objects, but it was an ill-starred day for 
 ' Hodson's Horse/ They distinguished them- 
 selves highly as usual, but earned their distinc- 
 tion dearly by the loss they in officers sustained, 
 killed or wounded, as the following letter will 
 show : — 
 
 Camp, Futtehgurh, Jan. ^ist, 1858. 
 (^Written with left hand.) 
 My usual fortune deserted me on the 27th, at 
 Shumshabad, for I got two sabre-cuts on my right 
 arm, which have reduced me to this very sinister 
 style of writing (absit omen). We had a very stiff 
 fight of it, as we were far in advance of the rest of 
 the troops, and had to charge a very superior body of 
 the mutineer cavalry ; but there was nothing for it 
 but fighting, as, had we not attacked them, they 
 would have got in amongst our guns. We were 
 only three officers, and about 180 horsemen — my 
 
 ' Chief. The men had gone to bed as usual, when quietly 
 
 * orders were issued, and by half-past ten, Hope, with his 
 
 * Brigade, was on his march.' He then gives several 
 amusing native accounts of the action at Shumshabad, 
 and afterwards adds — ' Rode to see Hodson ; he is much 
 ^ cut up about Macdo well's loss, but treats his own 
 ' wounds very lightly. Being in his sword arm, we shall 
 
 * lose his invaluable services for a time.' 
 
LIEUTENANT MACDOWBLL KILLED. 339 
 
 poor friend and second in command,^ Macdowellj 
 having received a mortal wound a few minutes before 
 we charged. It was a terrible melee for some time, 
 and we were most wonderfully preserved. However, 
 we gave them a very proper thrashing, and killed 
 their leaders. Two out of the three of us were 
 wounded, and five of my men killed and eleven 
 wounded, besides eleven horses. My horse had three 
 sabre-cuts, and I got two, which I consider a rather 
 unfair share. The Commander-in-Chief is very well 
 satisfied, I hear, with the day's work, and is profusely 
 civil and kind to me. The force moves on to-morrow 
 towards Cawnpore and Lucknow, which has at last to 
 be conquered ; for neither Outram, Havelock, nor the 
 Commander-in-Chief was able to effect a footing in 
 Lucknow. All they could do was to bring away the 
 Residency garrison. All the lion's share of the work 
 in the six weeks which intervened between the 8oi-> 
 duant relief of the Lucknow garrison by Havelock, 
 and the real one by the Commander-in-Chief, was 
 
 ♦ Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 2nd son of the late 
 James IVlacdowell, Esq., of Bengal Medical Service, bom 
 29th October, 1829, appointed to Honourable East India 
 Company's Service, 1846. Served in Punjab campaign 
 of 1848-9, including passage of Chenab at Ilamnuggur, 
 and battles of Chillian wallah and Goojerat, in which he 
 carried the colours of his regiment, 2nd Bengal European 
 Fusiliers (medal and clasp). Served in Burmah, marched 
 with his regiment to Delhi, and served with it in various 
 engagements, till in August he was appointed second in 
 command of Hodson's Horse. 
 
 *This excellent officer, who was Captain Hodson's 
 
 * second in command, and right-hand man, sunk under 
 ' his wound, to the sorrow of all who knew his rare 
 
 * value as a soldier.* — Raikes' Notes. 
 
 z ^ 
 
340 NAPIER AND TOMBS. 
 
 done by our friend Colonel Napier. He is the best 
 man we have left, now that poor Sir Heory Lawrence 
 and Nicholson are gone. The next is Major Tombs, 
 
 or I am much mistaken I hope to return to 
 
 Umbala when this war is over, to be refitted and get 
 my men trained and drilled, which is very necessary. 
 I do hope to be able to get home and see your dear 
 faces once more, as soon as our great task is accom- 
 plished. I want a change after twelve years of 
 work, and I want to try what home and good treat- 
 ment will do for my ankle, which is very bad; in 
 fact, I am unable to walk a hundred yards without 
 pain. Well, I think I have done pretty well with 
 my left hand. They say I shall be well in six weeks. 
 I say in ten days ; I trust so."^ 
 
 A fuller account was given a fortnight 
 later : — 
 
 Camp, opposite Cawnpore, Feb. 12th. . 
 
 Until to-day I have been unable to use my arm 
 suflEiciently even for this attempt at calligraphy, and 
 I can only write with difficulty now. I received two 
 sabre-cuts on the 27th, in a hand-to-hand business 
 we got into near Shumshabad. I was on a-head with 
 
 * Letter from an Officer. Futtehgurh, Jan. ^oth : — - 
 ' Did I tell you that the Corporal of the Lancers tied up 
 
 * the artery, and dressed his (Hodson's) wound ? 
 
 ' Just before the Commander-in-Chief marched, a depu- 
 
 * tation of the men of the Carabineers, headed by their 
 ' Serjeant-Major, went to Hodson to express their regret 
 
 * at his wounds, and hope he would soon be in the field 
 ' to lead them again. He thinks more of this than any 
 
 * of the Commander-in-Chiefs notice, though he pets him 
 
 * greatly.' 
 
ACTION AT SHUMSHABAD. 341 
 
 a few men, showing Remington (Horse Artillery) the 
 road over a nullah for his guns, and pushed on in sup- 
 port of him to within 500 yards of a very strong 
 position, occupied by about 5000 fanatics from Bareilly . 
 As soon as the guns opened on the enemy, a large 
 body of cavalry (men of our old Hindoostanee Irregu- 
 lars) came down boldly at the guns, and I was obliged 
 to charge them at once, to save the guns. They were 
 very superior in number, and individually so as horse- 
 men and swordsmen, but we managed to ' whop ' them 
 all the same, and drive them clean off the field ; not, 
 however, until they had made two very pretty dashes 
 at us, which cost us some trouble and very hard 
 fighting. It was the hardest thing of the kind in 
 which I ever was engaged, in point of regular * in 
 fighting, as they say in the P.R. : only Bellas lAfe 
 could describe it properly .''*■ I got a cut, which laid my 
 thumb open, from a fellow after my sword was through 
 him, and about half an hour later this caused me 
 to get a second severe cut, which divided the muscles 
 of the right arm and put me hors de combat ; for my 
 grip on the sword-handle was weakened and a demon 
 on foot succeeded in striking down my guard, or 
 rather his tulwar glanced off my guard on to my arm. 
 
 * Extract from Despatch from Captain Cox, Com- 
 manding Cavalry, to Brigadier A. Hope, &c. : — 
 
 * Sir, — I have the honour to submit to you the part 
 
 * taken by the cavalry under my command, consisting of 
 
 * 1 96 men of the 9th Lancei's under Captain Steele and 
 ' 230 men of Hodson's Horse, in the operations at Shum- 
 ' sbabad. 
 
 * The enemy's position having been ascertained. Captain 
 
 * Remington's troop of Horse Artillery was ordered by 
 ' you to cross the bridge over the nullah and attack their 
 
342 ACTION AT SHUMSHABAD. 
 
 My horse also got three cuts. I have got well most 
 rapidly^ despite an attack of erysipelas, which looked 
 very nasty for three days^ and some slight fever ; and 
 I have every reason to be thankful. I hope to be in 
 ' at the death ' yet. We move on towards Lucknow 
 to-morrow. I hope to be able to ride in a couple of days. 
 I promised the King his life, simply because there 
 
 ' right flank. Captain Hodson's regiment was sent in 
 ' support; this point, however, was not gained without loss 
 
 * — Lieutenant Macdowell was struck down by a round 
 
 * shot and mortally wounded, and one man and horse 
 ' of the 9th Lancers killed. 
 
 * In Lieutenant Macdowell the service has lost a gallant 
 
 * and valuable oflicer. 
 
 ' On reaching the right flank of the enemy, their 
 
 * cavalry was observed in considerable force to our front 
 ' and left. Captain Hodson immediately advanced his 
 
 * regiment, and attacking them with his accustomed 
 ' gallantry, completely routed them, many of their dead 
 ' being left on the field. I regret to state that both 
 ' Captain Hodson and Lieutenant Gough of his regiment 
 ' were wounded. 
 
 ' The precision of the artillery fire having partially 
 ' dislodged the rebels from their entrenched position, the 
 ^ 9th Lancers were ordered to advance to the support of 
 ' Hodson's Horse, who were already engaged with parties 
 ' of their broken infantry, one squadron being left in 
 
 * reserve, as a detached portion of the enemy's cavalry 
 
 * still threatened the guns. 
 
 ' The attack to the front now became general, and was 
 
 * entirely successful, though not unattended with loss. 
 ' Captain Hodson, who had persevered, in spite of his 
 
 * wound, was again wounded, and this time severely, and 
 
 * compelled to resign command to Lieutenant Wise, who 
 ' ably led the regiment for the remainder of the day. 
 
 ' Captain Steel, commanding the detachment of the 
 
 * 9th Lancers, whilst gallantly charging at the head of his 
 
 * men, was severely wounded j Lieutenant Wills, of the 
 
 * same corps, slightly.' 
 
RECOVERY FROM WOUNDS. 343 
 
 was no other way of catching him open to me. 
 Wilson refused to send troops in pursuit of him, and 
 the old rascal had got a long way on with the rebels. 
 It was only by guaranteeing his life that I could 
 bring him back from the Kootub to Humayoon's 
 Tombj and then went out and brought him in. As 
 events proved, it was right. Had he got away tJieriy 
 the whole country would have flocked to his standard, 
 and we should have very probably been surrounded 
 in Delhi, or at least the pacification of the country 
 would have been put off indefinitely. It is easy to 
 cry out after the event ; at the time they were childishly 
 overjoyed at getting him on any terms ; and without 
 vanity I believe I was the only man in camp who 
 would have tried it on under the then circumstances. 
 The old rascal will not trouble us long. 
 
 To Ms Sister, 
 
 Camp on the left bank of the Ganges, 
 OPPOSITE Cawnpore, Feb. 1 2th. 
 To-day, for the first time, I am able to use my right 
 hand again, shakingly you will see ; but considering 
 that only seventeen days have elapsed since I was 
 wounded, I have every reason to be thankful for so 
 speedy a recovery. A pen is about the biggest thing 
 I can wield, and I am not yet allowed to ride, but 
 in other respects I am as well as if my thumb had 
 not been nearly bifurcated, and my arm bisected, 
 little more than a fortnight ago. I should have been 
 more nearly well even, had it not been for an insidious 
 attack of erysipelas which seized on the maimed limb 
 and nearly finished it off altogether. However, 
 that evil even, added to a slight bout of fever, pro- 
 
344 APPROACH OP PINAL STRUGGLE. 
 
 videntially did me no further harm than delaying the 
 cure; and I trust, if all goes on well, to be able to 
 take the field again within the week. We are 
 gradually collecting for the last grand finale (I 
 sincerely hope) of this terrible tragedy, the conquest of 
 Lucknow. Sir Colin is to follow us in a day or 
 two, and then the curtain will rise. I have no 
 patience with your penny-a-liners at home and the 
 mistakes (or lies) they palm off on that dear British 
 public. I see they say Sir Colin had 13,000 or 32,000 
 men with him when he ^ relieved ^ Lucknow before, 
 i.e., when he succeeded in bringing away the garrison 
 which poor Havelock was supposed to have saved. 
 In fact, he had only 4000 men ! and we shall not 
 now J Siiter all this time, have more than 13,000 men 
 of all arms, European and native ; and we have to 
 drive 50,000 of our own Sepoys, j!?/«^5 100,000 armed 
 men, from the provinces, from the largest and one 
 of the strongest cities in Upper India. 
 
 Mr. Russell reached Cawnpore yesterday. We 
 shall see if he gets to the truth now. He will see 
 some hard knocks I fancy. I hope my left-handed 
 note from Futtehgurh would reach you before any 
 other tidings that I was hurt, and that you would 
 thus have been spared anxiety on my account. I was 
 fortunately able to send dearest Susie timely notice 
 by telegraph, and thus to save her much terror, and 
 I have managed a sinister scrawl every day ; added 
 to which, my friends have been most kind in writing 
 to her. I have every hope now of being with you 
 all by this time next year at latest. We are to have 
 the Delhi prize-money in spite of Lord Canning's 
 efforts to prevent it, and my share will pay my 
 
CAMP OONAO. 345 
 
 passage home and back again, I think. How I 
 shall enjoy a visit to all you dear ones after this 
 long banishment ! 
 
 Notwithstanding his wounds, Captain Hod- 
 son was able to accompany the Commander- 
 in-Chiefs force when it marched from Futtey- 
 ghur to Cawnpore, Colonel Burn kindly driving 
 him in his dog-cart. On his arrival at 
 Cawnpore, he was sent, by the kind conside- 
 ration of Sir Colin, to a camp on the opposite 
 side of the river, to secure a better air. In 
 the course of a few days he went on with a 
 detachment of his horse to Oonao, one march 
 further on the road to Lucknow. 
 
 Nothing could exceed Sir Colin's kind 
 attentions. In one of his visits to him in 
 camp at Oonao he drank his health as Colonel 
 Hodson; on which my brother remarked, how 
 little he expected such promotion as that, for 
 though Lord Dalhousie had promised him his 
 majority for the Punjaub campaign of 1848-9, 
 yet that, as it had never been put on record 
 officially, he had no hope of getting more than 
 that for Delhi. To this Sir Colin replied : 
 'If it was promised, that is quite enough. I 
 
 * will see that it is all arranged ; just make a 
 
 * memorandum of your services during the 
 
 * Punjab war, and I venture to prophesy that 
 
 * it will not be long before I shake hands with 
 
346 JEU d'esprit. 
 
 ' you as Lieutenant-Colonel Hodson, C.B., with 
 * a Victoria Cross to boot.' At this time the 
 Gazette with the honours for Delhi had not 
 reached Cawnpore. 
 
 In a letter at this time my brother gives 
 the following anecdote : — 
 
 A soldier wrote up on the walls of the Delhi palace 
 (alluding to Lord Canning's foolish order about six 
 months' donation of batta, which is but thirty-six 
 rupees and some odd pence for each man) : — 
 
 ' For the salvation of India the British soldier gets 
 ' thirty-six rupees ten annas, or one rupee one anna 
 ' per battle ;' adding : — 
 
 * When danger's rife and wars are nigh, 
 
 * God and the soldier's all the cry : 
 
 * When wars are o'er and matters righted, 
 
 * God is forgotten and the soldier slighted.' 
 
 Would you credit it? The Calcutta wiseacres sent 
 up orders to institute a strict inquiry who wrote this 
 jeu d'esjorit. What nuts for the rascal who did it to 
 see how deep his hit had rankled ! 
 
 Colonel Napier passed through our camp this 
 morning without my knowing it, or his knowing I 
 was here. I hope, however, to see him in a day or 
 two. He is to superintend all the engineering works 
 before Lucknow as Brigadier and Chief Engineer. 
 
 Before the end of the month Hodson s 
 Horse had again an opportunity of distin- 
 guishing themselves, having been meanwhile 
 advanced nearer to Lucknow. The rebels had 
 
ACTION AT JELLALABAD. 347 
 
 made an attack in considerable force on the 
 fort of Jellalabad, about a mile to the right of 
 the camp at the Alumbagh ; but after suffering 
 severely from the fire of the Horse Artillery, 
 they were charged in admirable style by 
 Hodson's Horse and the military train, who 
 drove them back with very great loss, and 
 captured four guns. 
 
 On this occasion my brother saved the life 
 of his Adjutant, Lieutenant Gough, by cutting 
 down a rebel trooper in the very act of spearing 
 him. 
 
CONCLUDINa CHAPTER. 
 
 LUCKNOW, — THE BEGUM^S PALACE. BANKS' HOUSE. 
 
 THE soldier's DEATH. 
 
 T HAVE no intention of attempting any 
 detailed account of the siege operations 
 before Lucknow. They commenced with the 
 throwing two bridges across the river (on the 
 5th), and sending a force under General 
 Outram to the other side. On the 9th the 
 Martiniere was stormed : on the following day 
 the enemy's first line of works on the canal was 
 abandoned : our batteries were then advanced 
 across the canal, and Banks' House, immediately 
 opposite to the Begum's Palace (or Kotee), and 
 within musket range, was occupied. 
 
 On the afternoon of the nth Major Hod- 
 son received orders to move his regiment 
 nearer to the city walls. Having given direc- 
 tions to his Adjutant, Lieutenant Gough, he 
 said he would ride on and look out a nice spot 
 for their new camping ground, and be back 
 in time to march with them. On his way he 
 heard firing, and riding forward, found that the 
 
ASSAULT ON BEGUM's PALACE. 349 
 
 Begum's Palace was to be attacked. He 
 immediately rode to the place, and finding his 
 friend Brigadier Napier directing the attack, 
 said laughingly, * I am come to take care of 
 
 * you; you have no business to go to work with- 
 
 * out me to look after you/ The assault was 
 successful.* He entered the breach with 
 General Napier and several others. In a few 
 minutes they were separated in the melee, and 
 General Napier saw nothing more of him till 
 he was sent for to him 'dangerously wounded.^ 
 The Surgeon of his regiment gives the follow- 
 ing account : — 
 
 ' We struck our tents and were saddled, waiting for 
 ' him till it became so dark that we were forced to go 
 ' without him, and reached our ground after sunset. 
 
 * I had gone to the post-office and was five minutes 
 ' behind the regiment. When I came up, I found that 
 ' Hodson's orderly had come in great haste, saying that 
 
 * his master had sent for me, but with no other 
 ' messajre. He said that his master had been hit 
 ' when advancing with the troops on the Begum's 
 ' Kotee on foot. 
 
 • At the Begum's Palace the defences were found, 
 after the capture of the place, so much stronger than 
 could be observed or had been believed, that the General 
 said that, had he known what lay before the assaulting 
 column, he should have hesitated to give the order for 
 advance. They went at it, however, with a rush — the 
 93rd Highlanders and 4th Punjab Bifles, old comrades at 
 the Secuudrabagh — and carried it. 
 
350 MAJOR HODSON SHOT. 
 
 ' I mounted and rode off with him at once. From 
 ' the darkness of the night and the difficulty of passing 
 ' the Ghoorka sentries, I did not get to Delkooshah 
 
 * till 9 P.M. There no one knew where he was. I then 
 ' went on to the artillery mess and learnt that he was 
 ' in Banks^ House, which I reached about lo p.m. I 
 ' found him in a dooly and Dr. Sutherland with him, 
 ' whom I at once relieved, and learnt the following par- 
 ' ticulars from him and from the orderly who remained 
 ' with Hodson, and who had been by his side when 
 ' hit. He had arrived at Banks' House just as the 
 ' party going to attack the Begum^s palace were 
 ' starting, and fell in with them. The place had been 
 ' taken before he was wounded. When the soldiers 
 ' were searching for concealed Sepoys in the court- 
 ' yard and buildings adjoining, he said to his orderly, 
 ' " I wonder if any of the rascals are in there." He 
 ' turned the angle of the passage ; looked into a dark 
 ' room, which was full of Sepoys ; a shot was fired 
 ' from inside. He staggered back some paces and 
 ' then fell. A party of Highlanders, hearing who 
 ' had been hit, rushed into the room and bayoneted 
 ' every man there. 
 
 ' The orderly, a large powerful Sikh, carried him in 
 ' his arms out of danger, and got a dooly and brought 
 ' him back to Banks' House, where his wound was 
 ' looked to and dressed. 
 
 ' He was shot through the right side of the chest, 
 
 * in the region of the liver, the ball entering in front 
 ' and going out behind. There had been profuse 
 ( bleeding, and I saw that the wound was most likely 
 f mortal. 
 
 ' He was very glad to see me, and began talking 
 
LAST HOURS. 351 
 
 ' of his wound, which he thought himself was mortal. 
 ' T lay beside him on the ground all night, holding 
 ' his hand, on account of the great pain he suffered. 
 ' He was very weak when I arrived, but by means of 
 ' stimulants rallied wonderfully, and slept for an hour 
 ' or two during the night. At daylight he was much 
 ' better, his hands were warm and his pulse good, 
 ' and I had hopes that, if the bleeding, which had 
 ' ceased, did not return, he might recover. He drank 
 ' two cups of tea, and said he felt very well. His 
 ' account of his being wounded agreed with the 
 ' orderly's. 
 
 ' About 9 A.M. I had the dooly lifted into a room, 
 ' which I had had cleared out, where he was much 
 ' quieter. At lo a.m., however, bleeding came on 
 ' again profusely, and he rapidly became worse. I told 
 ' him that recovery was impossible. He then sent 
 ' for General Napier, to whom he gave directions 
 
 * about his property and messages to his wife. After 
 ' this he rapidly sank, though he remained sensible 
 ' and was able to speak till a quarter past one, when 
 
 * he became too weak ; and at twenty-five minutes past 
 ' one died. 
 
 * His orderly^ actually cried over him, he was so 
 
 * attached to him. 
 
 ' He was buried that evening by the Rev. W. 
 ' Clarke. The Commander-in-Chief and his staff 
 ' were present.' 
 
 * This orderly afterwards travelled to Simla at his own 
 expense to see Mrs. Hodson, and beg to be taken into 
 her service and go to England with her. The men of his 
 regiment cried like children when they heard the news of 
 his death. 
 
352 CLOSING SCENE. 
 
 General Napier says, in a letter to Mrs. 
 Hodson : — 
 
 ' I regret bitterly now, that I did not insist on 
 ' your dear husband going back, but you know how 
 ' impossible it was to check his dauntless spirit. 
 
 . . . . ' He lay on his bed of mortal agony and 
 ' met death with the same calm composure which so 
 ' much distinguished him on the field of battle. He 
 ' was quite conscious and peaceful, occasionally utter- 
 ' ing a sentence — 
 
 ' " My poor wife,^^ " My poor sisters.^^ 
 
 ' " I should have liked to see the end of the cam- 
 ' " paign and gone home to the dear ones once more, 
 ' " but it was so ordered.^' 
 
 ' ^'It is hard to leave the world just now, when 
 ' " success is so near, but God's will be done." 
 
 ' " Bear witness for me that I have tried to do my 
 ' ^Muty to man. May God forgive my sins for 
 ' '' Christ's sake." " I go to my Father." 
 
 ' " My love to my wife ; tell her my last thoughts 
 ' " were of her." " Lord, receive my soul." 
 
 ' These were his last words, and without a sigh or 
 ' struggle his pure and noble spirit took its flight.' 
 
 Thus, on the i2tli of March, 1858, in his 
 thirty- seventh year, closed the earthly career of 
 one of the best and bravest of England's sons, 
 one of her truest heroes, of whom it may be 
 said — ' Quanquam medio in spatio integrse 
 ' setatis ereptus, quantum ad gloriam longissi- 
 ' mum sevum peregit.' 
 
 Grreat and irreparable as was his loss to 
 
TESTIMONY OF SIR COLIN CAMPBELL. 353 
 
 his family and his friends, as a husband, a 
 brother, and a friend, I believe that, at the 
 particular juncture at which he was taken 
 away, it was still greater, as a soldier, to his 
 country. It would be difficult to over-esti- 
 mate the value of the services which he might 
 have rendered, if spared, in the pacifying of 
 Oude after the capture of Lucknow, or the 
 influence which he might have had on the 
 fortunes of the war. One of those best qualified 
 to jndge declared that * Hodson with his regi- 
 
 * ment would have been worth 10,000 men/ His 
 peculiar qualifications for Asiatic warfare would 
 have found an appropriate field for their display. 
 
 It is unnecessary, however, for me to attempt 
 to pronounce his eulogium. This has been 
 done by those more capable of forming an 
 estimate of his rare excellence as a soldier, 
 and of doing it justice by their words. 
 
 Sir Colin Campbell, in a letter of condolence 
 to his widow, thus expressed himself : — 
 
 March 13^/i, 1858. 
 ' I followed your noble husband to the grave 
 
 * myself, in order to mark, in the most public 
 ' manner, my regret and esteem for the most brilliant 
 
 * soldier under my command, and one whom I was 
 ' proud to call my friend.' 
 
 An officer who was present at the funeral 
 says : — 
 
 A A 
 
354 EXPRESSIONS OF REGRET. 
 
 ' When the part of the service came where the 
 ^ body is lowered into the grave, all the old warrior's 
 '' courage and self-possession could no longer control 
 ' the tears — undeniable evidence of what he felt. " I 
 ^ '^ have lost one of the finest ofiicers in the army/^ was 
 [ his remark to General Napier/ 
 
 Even Sir John Lawrence, no friendly judge, 
 pronounced him in an official paper to be— 
 
 ^One of the ablest, most active, and bravest 
 ' soldiers who have fallen in the present war/ 
 
 I shall best give an idea of the universal 
 feeling of regret awakened at the tidings of his 
 death by subjoining a few extracts from the 
 public press at home and abroad, and from 
 private letters. The Bombay correspondent of 
 the Times, after detailing the assault on the 
 Begum's Palace, wrote thus : — 
 
 ' At this point fell mortally wounded Hodson 
 ' of the 1st Bengal Fusiliers, Hodson of Hodson's 
 ^ Horse, Hodson the captor of the King of Delhi 
 ' and the princes of his house. Few of the 
 ' many losses that have occurred during the opera- 
 ' tions consequent upon the mutinies, have caused 
 ' such universal regret throughout India as the death 
 ' of this excellent ofiicer ; and among those in 
 ' England who have read of and admired his exploits, 
 ' not only his comrades of the Sikh battlefields, but 
 ' many an old friend at Rugby or at Trinity will 
 ' mourn that his career has been thus early closed.' 
 
 The Times, in a leading article, thus 
 announced his death : — 
 
EXTRACTS FROM NEWSPAPERS. 355 
 
 ' The country will receive with lively regret the 
 ' news that the gallant Major Hodson, who has 
 ' given his name to an invincible and almost 
 ' ubiquitous body of cavalry, was killed in the attack 
 ' on Lucknow. Major Hodson has been from the 
 ' very beginning of this war fighting everywhere and 
 ' against any odds with all the spirit of a Paladin of 
 ' old. His most remarkable exploit, the capture of 
 ' the King of Delhi and his two sons, astonished the 
 ' world by its courage and coolness. Hodson was, 
 ' indeed, a man who, from his romantic daring and 
 ' his knowledge of the Asiatic character, was able to 
 ' beat the natives at their own weapons. We could 
 ' better have spared an older and more highly placed 
 ' officer/ 
 
 The following notice appeared in a Bombay 
 paper : — 
 
 ' From a Lucknow letter which we publish to-day 
 ' our readers will learn, with sorrow and regret, that 
 ' that most able and gallant officer, Captain Hodson, 
 ' who has distinguished himself on so many occasions 
 '. since the breaking out of the rebellion, and whose 
 
 * services have been of so brilliant and valuable a 
 
 * character, has been killed at Lucknow. As a leader 
 ' of Irregular Horse, or indeed as a soldier of any of 
 ' the non-scientific forces. Captain Hodson was 
 ' almost without an equal. He was one of those 
 ' squadron leaders which the Indian army can alone 
 ' rear up. There are few men who would have 
 ' managed the capture of the ex-King of Delhi as 
 ' this departed hero did. On that occasion his force 
 ' was small compared to that he had to cope with, 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 NOTICES OF DEATH. 
 
 ' but the determined daring of the man made up for 
 ' the disparity, and the old King came out of his 
 
 * fortification — for a strong fortification it was — and 
 ' surrendered. So also with the capture of the 
 ' King's sons, who also surrendered themselves, hut 
 ' whom Hodson found rescued when he reached 
 ' them, after having completed the disarming of their 
 ' hand. That was a moment to test a man. But 
 ' he of whom we write was equal to the emergency. 
 ' The carts in which the princes were, were retaken 
 ' immediately. Still the aspect of the armed 
 ' Mahomedan crowd around — growing every moment 
 ' more numerous — was dark and threatening. It was 
 ^ a situation which required prompt decision, and 
 ' promptly did the British leader decide. He saw 
 ^ that it was necessary that his prisoners should die, 
 ' and resolved himself to become their executioner : a 
 ' wise resolve, for probably, had he asked one of his 
 ' own Mahomedan troopers to kill the sons of the 
 ' Mogul, a refusal would have followed, and that 
 ' refusal might have been acted up to by all. He 
 ' adopted the wiser course, harangued his men, 
 ' ordered the prisoners to take off their robes in the 
 ' cart, and shot them with his own hand. Had the 
 '. prisoners been allowed to leave the cart, their bodies 
 ' would have been left behind; for to touch them 
 ' would, by the troopers, have been considered defile- 
 ' ment, and, left behind, they might have been fanati- 
 ' cally paraded through the country as an incitement 
 ' to a fresh rising. Besides, it was necessary that 
 ' their remains should be exposed at the Kotwallie in 
 ' Delhi with something of the indignity they them- 
 ' selves had caused to be inflicted on the murdered 
 
 * victims of the i t th of May/ 
 
'Blackwood's magazine.' 357 
 
 Another published a letter with this sen- 
 tence : — 
 
 ' Hodson, splendid fellow, died the following day, 
 ' most deeply regretted by all ranks in his regiment. 
 
 * He indeed was a brave soldier, a clever and truly 
 ' esteemed commander. May we not say he was 
 ' one of the flowers of the " old Europeans/' and an 
 ' ornament to the Bengal army ?' 
 
 The writer (in Blackwood's Magazine) of 
 a series of papers on the ist Fusiliers, 
 says : — 
 
 ' Then fell one of the bravest in the Indian army, 
 ' an officer whose name has been brought too often 
 ' before the public by those in high command to need 
 ' my humble word in praise. There was not a man 
 ' before Delhi who did not know Hodson ; always 
 ' active, always cheery, it did one's heart good to look 
 ' at his face, when all felt how critical was our 
 
 * position. Ask any soldier who was the bravest 
 ' man before Delhi, who most in the saddle, who 
 ' foremost ? and nine out of ten in the Infantry will 
 ' tell you Hodson, in the Artillery as many will name 
 ' Tombs. 
 
 ' I once heard one of the Fusiliers say, " Whenever 
 ' " I sees Captain Hodson go out, I always prays for 
 ' " him,, for he is sure to be in danger." Yet it was 
 ' not only in the field that Hodson was to be valued, 
 ' his head was as active as his hand was strong, and 
 ' I feel sure, when we who knew him heard of his death, 
 ' not one but felt that there was a vacancy indeed in 
 ' our ranks.' 
 
358 NOTICES OF DEATH. 
 
 The 2\mes correspondent (Mr. Enssell), in 
 his letter of March 13th, writes : — 
 
 ' When I returned to head-quarters camp this 
 ' evening'^ I found that poor Hodson had died the 
 ' previous day^ and been buried the same evening. 
 
 ' He was a zealous and accomplished officer, of 
 ' great bravery,, ability, and determination, an excel- 
 ' lent judge of the native character, of a humane and 
 ' clement disposition, but firm in the infliction of 
 ' deserved punishment. 
 
 ^ The last time I saw him alive he expressed a 
 ' decided opinion that Government must resort to an 
 ' amnesty, or be prepared for a long continuance of 
 ' disturbances.' 
 
 From the Delhi Gazette : — 
 
 ' He was a perfect gentleman, an accomplished 
 ' scholar, and we need scarcely add (what our columns 
 ' have so often recorded), one of the most brilliant 
 ' soldiers in this or any other army. His death is 
 ^ not only a severe family affliction, but a national 
 ' calamity, and it will be long before the name of the 
 ' capturer of the King and princes of Delhi will 
 ^ cease to be mentioned with honour, and remembered 
 ' with regret.' 
 
 From private letters of condolence, which 
 would fill a volume, I select a few passages, in 
 which the writers seem to have seized with 
 great felicity upon some of the more remark- 
 able features in my brother's character and 
 actions. 
 
PRIVATE LETTERS. 359 
 
 ' It is hard to lose one upon whom all eyes were 
 ' fixed, and whose noble qualities seemed so certain 
 * of recognition, and of speedy advancement to such 
 ' employments as his fine natural abilities well fitted 
 ' him to discharge. 
 
 ' The very presence of such a man in India was an 
 ' element of power apart from all official rank, and he 
 ' could ill be spared from among the very few who 
 ' have learnt to impersonate in themselves the power 
 ' of the English nation, and to let the natives of 
 ' India feel the irresistible character of that power. 
 ' You must have watched him so anxiously and so 
 ' proudly that, though thousands of us have done the 
 ' same, none can approach the measure of your sorrow 
 ' or mourn as you that he can confer no more honour 
 ' on your name, but that the opportunities of the 
 ' future must be reaped by other and less capable 
 ' hands.' 
 
 ' I cannot feel easy without expressing to you the 
 ' great grief and consternation with which I read the 
 ' account of your brother's death. Certainly it would 
 ' have been little less than miraculous if, being what 
 ' he was, he had lived out this war. And yet I, tor 
 ' one, had always cherished a hope that I might have 
 ' seen once more with my own eyes so noble and 
 ' gallant a soldier. 
 
 ^' There is, after all, something about skilful cou- 
 ' rage which draws the heart to itself more than 
 ' eloquence, or learning, or anything else, and your 
 ' brother seems to have been endued with this almost 
 
 * more than any living Englishman, brave as our 
 
 * countrymen are.' 
 
360 EXPRESSIONS OF REGRET. 
 
 ' Closely have I watched, during these last few sad 
 ' months, the career of that brave brother of yours. I 
 ' could estimate his bold and self-sacrificing courage, 
 ' and knowing as I did the sort of people over whom 
 ' he had acquired such perfect sway, I knew how 
 ' much a clear and commanding intellect must have 
 ' been called into exercise, to aid a strong and de- 
 ' voted heart. What victims has Lucknow offered 
 ' up to the fiendish treachery of those ungrateful men 
 ' — Lawrence ! Havelock ! and Hodson ! ' 
 
 ' My grief is not for him ; he had done his work 
 ' in that station of life in which God had placed 
 ' him, nobly, heartily, and as in the sight of God 
 ' (would that we all did our work in half such a 
 ' Christian spirit); but for you all, who were looking 
 ' forward to seeing him again, crowned with the 
 ' honours he had so hardly won. Well, it has pleased 
 ' God that this was not to be ; but there is a good 
 ^ hope, more than a hope, that a reward of a higher 
 ' kind is his.' 
 
 rrom one who had known him in India : — 
 
 ' From the love and esteem I bore your brother 
 ' you will, I feel sure, allow me to write and express, 
 ' however imperfectly words can do it, my deep 
 ^ and heartfelt sympathy with you and your sisters 
 ' under this heavy blow. Our acquaintance was not 
 ^ of long standing, but had rapidly ripened into 
 ' intimacy, and I look back to the days spent in 
 ' his society as amongst my happiest in India. His 
 ' very presence was sunshine. 
 
 ^ Of my admiration for his talents, and the service 
 
PRIVATE LETTERS. 361 
 
 ' he rendered his country, it would be impertinent 
 ' to speak — they are of public note ; but of the 
 ' tender sympathies, the ready advice, the forgetful- 
 ' ness of self and the ever-mindfulness of others,*! 
 ' may testify. His was indeed a rare and beautiful 
 ' character, and the better he was known the more 
 ' he could not fail to be appreciated.' 
 
 I- will add one more letter from General 
 Johnstone, which will show that even to the 
 last my brother was pursued by the same 
 jealousy and malignity which had caused him 
 so much suffering in former years : — 
 
 ' He was too noble to pass through the world 
 
 * without detractors. The ambitious and brave envied 
 ' him, because the brilliancy of his acts put theirs 
 ' in the shade ; I mean, those not possessed of the 
 ' disinterestedness of Christians. 
 
 ' The mean and despicable hated him because they 
 ' quailed before the eagle eye that could endure neither 
 ' dishonesty nor cowardice. Their base slanders were 
 
 * in whispers during his life ; now that his gallant 
 ' spirit is gone they come forward in unblushing 
 
 * malignity. I heard the whispers only : my indig- 
 ' nation at learning the baseness with which this true 
 ' hero has been treated is beyond all my powers of 
 
 * expression.' 
 
 Some of my readers may be interested in a 
 description of Major Hodson's personal appear- 
 ance and manner, given in a letter describing 
 
362 PERSONAL DESCRIPTION. 
 
 a visit which he paid the writer a few years 
 previously at Calcutta : — 
 
 <^ He was remarkably well made, Uthe, and agile; 
 ' in height about five feet eleven inches. His hair 
 ' had slightly receded from a high and most intel- 
 ' lectual forehead, and was light and curly. His 
 ' eyes were blue, but animated by a peculiarly deter- 
 ' mined, and sometimes even fierce look, which would 
 ' change to one of mischievous merriment, for he 
 ^ was keenly susceptible of the ridiculous, in what- 
 ' ever shape it presented itself ; but usually his look 
 ' impressed me at once with that idea of his deter- 
 ' mination and firmness which have ever characterized 
 ' his actions. His nose was inclining to the aquiline, 
 ' and the curved, thin nostrils added a look of defiance 
 ' in n.)ways counteracted by the compressed lips, 
 ' which seemed to denote many an inward struggle 
 ' between duty and inclination. These are my im- 
 ' pressions of Hodson as I last saw him ; and if you 
 ' add to this an open, frank manner, that, hongre 
 ' malgre, impressed you favourably at first sight with 
 ' the owner, you will have the charming ensemble 
 ' that presides over my recollections of three as happy 
 ' weeks as I ever passed.' 
 
 As a pendant to this portrait I give another 
 from a lady's pen, drawn more recently : — 
 
 ' There was an indescribable charm of manner 
 ' about him, combining all the gentle playfulness of 
 ' the boy, the deep tenderness of the woman, and the 
 ' vigorous decision of the soldier. 
 
 ' His powers of attraction extended even to animals ; 
 
PERSONAL DESCRIPTION. 363 
 
 ' and it was touching to see his large white Persian 
 ' cat foUoudug him from room to room, escaping from 
 ' the caresses of others to nestle by him. I have 
 ' often watched the pretty creature as he threw him- 
 
 * self, exhausted with the day's work, on an easy 
 'chair or sofa, rubbing himself against his master, 
 ' whisking the long white tail against his fair 
 ^ moustache, and courting the endearments liberally 
 ' bestowed. Restless with others, pussy was at rest 
 ' if established by him. 
 
 ' At Delhi there was a wild, shy little kitten, which 
 ' fled from every one else, but mewed provokingly 
 ' whenever he appeared — would jump on his knee 
 ' with all the familiarity of an old friend. 
 
 ' With his horses he had the same power of domes- 
 ' tication. They yielded to the sound of his voice 
 ' with the instinct that seemed to convey to all that 
 ' in him they had found master and friend. 
 
 ' Over the natives that influence seemed almost 
 ' magic. When at Umballa, on ten days' leave, in 
 ' November last, the wounded and convalescent Guides 
 ' (his old corps) were all day straying into the com- 
 ' pound simply to " salaam" the " Sahib." And if, 
 ' when lingering on the steps, or in front of the 
 ' study door, they were questioned what they wanted 
 
 * their answer would be, " Nothing ; they liked to 
 ' " look at the Sahib." And so they hung about his 
 'steps, and watched like so many faithful dogs. 
 ' Especially there was an Afighan boy (he had once 
 ' been a slave), whose very soul seemed bound up in 
 ' the master who had rescued him from his degraded 
 ' position, and for whom every service seemed light. 
 ' He would watch his master's movements with a 
 
364 UNRECOGNISED SERVICES. 
 
 ' look of very worship, as if the ground were not good 
 ' enough for him to tread. 
 
 ' His joyousness of nature made him the most 
 ' charming companion. There was a certain quaint- 
 ' ness of expression which gave zest to all he said ; 
 ^ and yet there was a reverence, too, so that, were sub- 
 ' jects graver than usual introduced even by allusion, 
 ' they at once commanded his earnest response.' 
 
 It will doubtless excite surprise, perchance 
 indignation, that one wliom the Commander- 
 in-Chief pronounced 'the most brilliant 
 ' soldier under his command' — one whom all 
 ranks of the army in India reckoned amongst 
 their bravest and most skilful leaders — one 
 whom the popular voice has already en- 
 rolled amongst the heroes of the nation — one 
 whose name was ' known, either in love or fear, 
 by every native from Calcutta to Cabul,' — 
 should have received, with the exception of a 
 brevet majority (to which he was entitled for 
 services in 1849), no mark of his Sovereign's 
 approbation, no recognition of gallant services 
 and deeds of daring, one-tenth part of which 
 would have covered many of fortune's favourites 
 with decorations. 
 
 That recognition, however, which was 
 officially withheld, has been given in a more 
 marked form by the spontaneous expression 
 of the feelings of his brothers-in-arms. A com- 
 mittee, composed of officers of the highest 
 
PROPOSED MONUMENT. 365 
 
 eminence, has been formed at Calcutta for the 
 sake of recording, by some permanent memo- 
 rial, their admiration of his gallantry and skill, 
 and it has been determined that it should take 
 the form of a monument in Lichfield Cathedral. 
 
 Nor will his name be forgotten in India, even 
 by men in office. The regiment which he 
 raised still is * Hodson's Horse ;' and by an 
 order, published in the Gazette of August 13th, 
 is constituted a brigade, consisting of the ist, 
 2nd, and 3rd Eegiments of ' Hodson's Horse.' 
 
 I do not know that his warmest friends could 
 desire any more distinguished testimony to his 
 services. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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