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will be the finest appointment
in the country, being the right
hand of the army and the left
of the political. I am to have
the making of this new regi-
ment all to myself.
The arm-

ing and dressing is to be ac-
cording to my own fancy. I
consider it as good as a major-
ity and C.B.-ship to any man
in the first campaign he may
get into." The Guides were to
be not only the hand of the
army, but its eyes. Guides
they literally were scouts,
skirmishers, and intelligencers.
They were thrown out as en-
fants perdus, in advance alike
of irregular horse and undis-
ciplined allies. When a column
moved into the mountains, the
Guides headed the advance;
when it fell back after the con-
flagration had been got under,
Lumsden and his men were
always left behind to look after
the smouldering embers. The
system of recruiting reminds us
of the familiar proverb of set-
ting a thief to catch a thief.
The original members of the
corps were some horse and foot,
chiefly down-country men and
Pathans," whom Lumsden had
picked up
in the bazaars at
Peshawar. With these he was
doing rough revenue collec-
tion work among recalcitrant
Afridis when it struck him
that those troublesome villagers
might be turned into capital
troopers. Recruits were readily
found among the sons and rela-
tives of the headmen. The
service seems immediately to
have become so popular, that
the difficulty was to pick and
choose. Elsewhere it might
have been a serious objection
that the soldiers of a border

force sent out on punitive ex-
peditions might have to burn
and raid their native villages.
But family ties sit lightly on
the Afridis and their kinsfolk,
with whom parricide and fratri-
cide are tribal institutions. It
can have been no light task the
getting well in hand a mixed
gang of unreclaimed ruffians,
as bloodthirsty and treacherous
as they were undeniably brave.
Reprimand might have been
resented with a stab, or a day
in the cells with a pistol-shot.
Their very virtues were akin to
vices, and their devotion was
apt to be misdirected. Lums-
den could tell a good story of
a favourite Afridi orderly. Sir
John Lawrence had come on a
tour of inspection, and as he
made a point of looking min-
utely into everything, had en-
gaged Lumsden for some days
over papers. Not unnaturally,
Lumsden seemed anxious and
abstracted, and his troopers
had taken it into their heads
that he was being called over
the coals. So the orderly, after
some expressions of soldierly
sympathy, hinted that his chief
had only to make a sign, and
the Commissioner should never
go
back to Lahore. It was but
a chance that the Afridi did
not act without seeking an
explanation.

But the methods of our frontier officers in dealing with such men remind us of Rarey with the vicious Cruiser. Pluck, patience, and coolness were indispensable. Courage they must have in a leader; but what they prize even more is the prompt decision, the cool determination in moments of emergency, which commands, or at least deserves,

success. The Guides were not only strangely soon amenable to discipline, but deeply imbued with esprit de corps. They had soon learned to stand by each other through thick and thin, and their leader could absolutely rely on their staunch

ness.

writer in that article in ‘Maga' to which we already referred :—

"One instance must suffice of the fearlessness and dash which thus

early made the Guides remarkable, and for which they have ever been famous. One August day news was the British brought hurriedly to camp that In the first year of their enlistment they showed it on a night-march into the hills, when Lumsden ventured to "bluff it" with them. Approaching a village full of fighting men in the dark, he discovered that his Sikh horse had fallen behind, and he had only twenty-five sowars of the Guides. "Fortunately the villagers could not see the strength of our party, and we put them in a horrid fright by keeping our horses clattering round the place and calling on the men to come out and give up their arms. The men did come out, one by one, and as they came they were tied up. "Swagger did the trick," said Lumsden, writing to his father.

A more notable feat of arms was performed before Mooltan in sight of three armies, when the veteran corps had been one under the colours. Lumsyear den-it was again his ill-luck not to be there-describes it in his offhand style: "Only think, when I was on duty elsewhere, sixty-six of my men rode slap through and through ten times their number, in the hope of recovering some camels. They did not get the camels, but covered themselves with glory in the presence of the whole army." So brilliant was the exploit that we cannot refrain from quoting the picturesque account by a disinterested

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a party of Mulraj's cavalry had driven off a herd of Government camels which were grazing in the open country some miles away. Lieutenant Lumsden was absent at the moment, but those of the Guides who were in camp (less than seventy horsemen in all) turned out under a gallant chief, Fateh Khan by name, and within a few minutes of the first alarm they were racing across country in the direction taken by the marauders. A gallop of three miles brought the troop suddenly within sight of the enemy, when, instead of a small party themselves confronted by the whole as they had expected, they found of Mulraj's cavalry... No odds were so great as to appal the Guides. Without check or hesitation the gallant little band charged straight at the opposing mass of horsemen, and before the latter had time to face them, they had cut their way right through the midst. Rapidly rallying and wheeling about, they charged back as they had come, through the ranks of the confused and astonished enemy, dealing destruction as they passed. Stupefied by the impetuosity of the attack, the Sikhs still stood irresolute, when... once again their dauntless foes bore down upon them. This settled the issue of the combat. . . The enemy broke and fled, nor did either side draw rein till the walls of Multan gave shelter to the vanquished and checked the career of the pursuers."

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As the Guides were for the most part on outpost duty, and their commandant was his own reporter, they sometimes, as he complains, got scant credit for their services. They did a dashing piece of work before the battle of Goojerat, much resembling the affair at Multan

but more important in the and
consequences. They seized a
ford over the Chenab, charging
a strong detachment of Sikh
horse, when both parties were
taken equally by surprise.
"Without hesitation we went
straight at them and drove
the lot helter-skelter through a
deep ford."
The Guides re-
mained to mount guard over
the ford, in face of shifting
bodies of the enemy, till ordered
up to take their part at
Goojerat. Goojerat was an
artillery action, and Lumsden's
account of it to the old artil-
leryman at Belhelvie is sharp
and telling as rapid gun-fire:

the and born soldier, and if he
did not get all the advance-
ment and recognition he de-
served, it must be said that
it was partly his own choice.
He was repeatedly offered
political appointments which
must have led to honourable
and lucrative things. His
superiors appreciated him as
an administrator and diplom-
atist as much as a soldier: it
was shown, to his lasting re-
gret, when he was most un-
timeously exiled to Candahar.
But he always preferred the
saddle to the kutcherry, and
we believe he would have
sooner been in command of
his Guides than Governor-
General of India. When the
fighting in the Punjab was
over, he was discharging the
multifarious duties of deputy
quartermaster-general, politi-
cal agent, and captain of the
Guides. "You must admit,"
he writes, "that they are
enough for any man's power."
He won't serve under the
raw civilians who are to be
introduced into the new Lahore
Government. If he must make
election between politics and
can be
soldiering, there
doubt as to the choice. But
his idea is, after having done
good work, to retire in time
on his well-earned laurels.
heart is always in Aberdeen-
shire, his thoughts turn to Dee-
side and the salmon: he owns
to feeling home-sick and long-
ing for his furlough: "My
only desire now is to be quiet
for two years, save enough to
take me home and allow me
to see all my friends once
more: I shall try to pick up
a good sort of young wife who

"A more beautiful sight could not have been on earth than the steady advance of upwards of 100 guns horse-artillery going to the front at a gallop, and then 'Left about!' 'Action front!' supported by our cavalry: the heavy guns all the time smashing away at the Sikh artillery, and breaking up their masses of infantry and cavalry. Three times did the Sikh infantry form line to advance and charge at our horse-artillery, who coolly watched for them till they came within the range of grape, and gave them a shower of such rain as had never come within the range of their conception. Their lines at first halted, shook backwards and forwards like a field of wheat in a heavy wind, and at last broke and bolted like a flock of wild sheep, the horse-artillery following at a gallop, and keeping up a murderous fire on them for miles. Our cavalry took the pursuit when the horse-artillery left off, and finished as pretty a day's work as our army in India ever got through."

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That is as pretty a piece of brisk military description as we have ever read: there is the terseness and fire of Napier, without the enforced gravity of the historian. But Lumsden was an enthusiast

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will look after the cash while I make it, and enable me to cut John Company by the time entitled to a pension. I would not give a rap to go home after all my old friends have gone the way of all flesh, and find myself a stranger in my own country." He writes in another letter to his mother that he does not care to pit himself against the young civilians who have had regular training. If even Edwardes trips now and again-and he is one of the cleverest men in

India with the pen what chance could he have? "On the other hand," as he says with justifiable pride, "at the head of the Guides, I have three fine young officers under me, with 300 sabres and 600 rifles. I rather flatter myself there are not many men in the army who can cut me out, and I have work to do which must sooner or later lead to distinction."

The next few years may be lightly passed over, though full of events which would have been noteworthy in a less adventurous life. He combined military and political duties at Peshawar, whence his Guides patrolled the neighbouring hills, bringing marauding Afridis to justice. He served and fought under Sir Colin Campbell, having many intimate conversations with the gallant veteran, whom he heartily admired. He met Lord Dalhousie, and was consulted as to the defences of the frontier and the policy to be pursued with the crafty Amir of Afghanistan. If he cared for praise, he had more than enough of it, and from the

highest quarters. This passage occurs in an official despatch: "No task could be more agreeable to the Governor-General than to record his very cordial concurrence in the approbation which his Excellency and Sir Colin Campbell have so warmly bestowed on Lieutenant Lumsden. A braver or a better soldier never drew a sword. The Governor-General places unbounded confidence in him." For, thanks to routine, when at last he took his furlough and came home to rest his aching eyes on the green links and grey sands of Belhelvie, Lumsden was still officially lieutenant. It was a wrench to take leave of his Guides, for taking furlough involved resignation; but before his return Lord Dalhousie had written, with warm expressions of satisfaction, to intimate that he would be reinstated.

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The high regard in which he was held for daring sagacity and general adaptability turned against him at a turning-point of his career. Nothing could seem more flattering than the appointment to the Candahar mission, in anxious times and most difficult circumstances. There might be trouble brooding beyond the Khyber, but in India all seemed abnormally tranquil. In no quarter was there any foreboding of the storm which should have brought Lumsdem fresh fame, or given him, like some of his near kinsmen, a glorious death. Meantime the diplomatic duties with which he was charged were likely to try his temper and sterling qualities to the utmost. Cabul and Candahar,

although at peace for the moment, were paved with explosives. Dost Mahomed, who had put down rebellion with the strong hand, and recently conquered Candahar, although the ally and pensioner of England, was no friend at heart to the infidels. He held Cabul firmly with his troops and tribesmen, as his strong garrison in Candahar was commanded by the heir-apparent. But everywhere was sullen discontent: among his most dangerous foes were the men of his own family; the Persians were besieging Herat, and there was fighting in Balkh beyond the northern ranges. Everywhere on the march from the Indus to Candahar, the mission was met with tumultuous demonstrations of hostility. When it entered the city, with but a few of the faithful Guides, and escorted by doubtful Afghans, it might well have anticipated the fate of Cavagnari. The dull months dragged painfully on in an atmosphere of unfriendly suspicion. The heir apparent was civil but mistrustful; the Englishmen could never ride beyond the walls without armed attendants, who were really on guard. Surrounded by spies, they were prisoners at large. But it was when news of the Mutiny reached Cabul that their troubles began. Everywhere they saw sour looks and savage faces. The citizens, already reduced by famine and pestilence to the extremity of misery, were fired by fanatical preachers. The heir was still tolerably friendly; but only one of his Afghan regiments could be depended on. Even the Amir

were

vacillated from time to time; under pressure of the mullahs, proposals were mooted in his privy council of proclaiming a religious war and sweeping down through the passes on the Punjab. There were but two considerations which, as Lumsden felt, held him to his alliance with us-the regular payment of his pension, and his belief in the English power. His faith in both was sorely shaken, when the back-flow of the first English successes was brought to a check, and the defence of Delhi was prolonged. Edwardes corresponded regularly with Lumsden, though occasionally the letters delayed through anxious days. and weeks. It is a strong thing to say, but perhaps no men hung more anxiously on the slow course of operations than our envoys isolated in Candahar. The fate of the mission and the attitude of the Afghan Amir depended upon that hazardous assault which was urged on the hesitating Commander-in-Chief by the soldiers who had come to his help from the Punjab. The Lumsdens may have thought lightly of their own lives, but they cared much for the success of their mission. With the fall of Delhi the tension relaxed.

And there is another side to these pregnant letters from Edwardes, and it is strangely pathetic from the personal point of view. Edwardes was in the thick of the danger and excitement; he could afford to write. humorously of the most serious incidents, though his tone is sad enough when he has to record the fall of their friends,

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