The marauders. A gallop of three miles brought the troop suddenly within sight of the enemy, when, instead of a small party, as they had expected, they found themselves confronted with the whole force of Mulraj's cavalry. apparition of so superior a force might well have checked the ardour of the pursuers; but 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 their 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, before they could decide whether to retreat or retaliate, once again their dauntless foes bore down upon them. This settled the issue of the combat: before the whirling line of Guides horsemen could close with them a third time the enemy broke and fled, closely pursued by Fateh Khan and his victorious band, nor did either side draw rein till the walls of Multan gave shelter to the vanquished and checked the career of the pursuers. joined shortly before the end of the war by Lieutenant Lumsden with the cavalry, relieved from their arduous work at Multan by the fall of that city. In February 1849 the whole corps joined Lord Gough's "army of the Punjab " just in time to be present at the final battle of Gujrat, and to accompany Sir Walter Gilbert in his pursuit of the beaten foe to the northern frontier of the Punjab. The services of the corps had been so conspicuous during the war that its strength was immedi-_ ately afterwards increased to three troops of cavalry and six companies of infantry. For the next eight years the Guides were almost incessantly engaged with the frontier tribes of the Peshawar district, and the despatches relating to the numerous expeditions and raids of this period never fail to refer to the exploits of the men and the gallantry and judgment of their leaders. When, in May 1857, the news of the Bengal mutiny reached Peshawar, the command of the Guides was in new hands. Only two months before, Lieutenant Lumsden had started on a political mission to Kandahar, escorted by a party of his own men, nor did he return thence till the war of the Mutiny was over. But though he was thus deprived of the distinction of Meanwhile the news of the re- commanding his men. at one of the volt of Mulraj had kindled the most famous periods of their hisflames of discontent, which had tory, yet his services during the been smouldering throughout the previous ten years had already Punjab. In the dying struggle earned for him no common repuof the Sikhs, which thus began, tation. "A braver or a better the Guide Corps had not the good soldier," wrote Sir Charles Napier fortune to be present at the prin- and Sir Colin Campbell of Lumscipal battles of the beginning of den in 1851, "never drew a sword;' the campaign; but the infantry and Lord Dalhousie, the greatest under Hodson nevertheless distin- of India's Governors-General, corguished themselves in the harass-dially endorsed their praises. Lieuing guerilla warfare of the Jul- tenant Lumsden's after lundur Doab, and there they were amply proved how well merited career at Lahore came the news of the tragedy at Multan, where Vans Agnew and Anderson were sacrificed by the treachery of the Diwan Mulraj, and the first blow was struck in that final struggle between Sikhs and British, which ended in the annexation of the Punjab. The story of how Herbert Edwardes, at the head of a few raw levies, hastened to the assistance of the British officers at Multan, is famous among the golden deeds" of the British in India. He arrived only to hear of the massacre in the Idgah, and to find the whole army of Mulraj arrayed against him. Nevertheless he held his ground with his little force, and by his firmness and determination did much to check the effects of the rising. With him was a party of twentyfive of the Guides, and at the end of June he was joined by Lieutenant Lumsden with the whole of the cavalry of the corps. In the siege of Multan which followed, the Guides again and again distinguished themselves, either individually or as a corps; but one instance must suffice of the fearlessness and dash which thus early made them remarkable, and for which they have ever since been famous. One August day news was brought hurriedly to the British camp that a W. S. R. Hodson, of the 1st Bengal Fusiliers, who was appointed to do duty as adjutant and second in command. Hodson, whose name afterwards became a household word as that of one of the bravest of the many daring spirits who upheld the British power in India in 1857, was at this time a subaltern of but two years' service; but he had already learned experience of hard fighting in the Sikh battles, and his energy and dash had attracted the notice of so keen an observer of men as Henry Lawrence. "Young Hodson has been appointed to do duty with our Punjab Guide Corps," wrote Herbert Edwardes, "I think he will do it justice. He is one of the finest young fellows I know, and a thorough soldier at heart." Some time was now spared, in the midst of more stirring duties, for completing the organisation and outfit of the Guides, and the Rev. George Hodson, in his brother's Memoirs,1 gives an amusing picture of the perplexity of the quiet English clergyman confronted with requests to select helmets, uniform, and carbines for the frontier soldiers of India. At any rate, the equipment of his choice was approved of, for in the following year Hodson wrote: "Sir Charles Napier says they are the only properly dressed light troops he has seen in India." The drab uniform thus selected has since become famous wherever Indian soldiers have borne arms, and is indissolubly connected with the many gallant deeds of the Corps of Guides. But it was not long before sterner work claimed the energies of the Guides and their leaders. Within a few weeks of their arrival 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 frontier 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 1 Hodson of Hodson's Horse; or, Twelve Years of a Soldier's Life in India. marauders. A gallop of three miles brought the troop suddenly within sight of the enemy, when, instead of a small party, as they had expected, they found them selves confronted with the whole force of Mulraj's cavalry. The apparition of so superior a force might well have checked the ardour of the pursuers; but 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 their 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, before they could decide whether to retreat or retaliate, once again their dauntless foes bore down upon theni. This settled the issue of the combat: before the whirling line of Guides horsemen could close with them a third time the enemy broke and fled, closely pursued by Fateh Khan and his victorious band, nor did either side draw rein till the walls of Multan gave shelter to the vanquished and checked the career of the pursuers. Meanwhile the news of the revolt of Mulraj had kindled the flames of discontent, which had been smouldering throughout the Punjab. In the dying struggle of the Sikhs, which thus began, the Guide Corps had not the good fortune to be present at the principal battles of the beginning of the campaign; but the infantry under Hodson nevertheless distinguished themselves in the harassing guerilla warfare of the Jullundur Doab, and there they were joined shortly before the end of the war by Lieutenant Lumsden with the cavalry, relieved from their arduous work at Multan by the fall of that city. In February 1849 the whole corps joined Lord Gough's "army of the Punjab" just in time to be present at the final battle of Gujrat, and to accompany Sir Walter Gilbert in his pursuit of the beaten foe to the northern frontier of the Punjab. The services of the corps had been so conspicuous during the war that its strength was immediately afterwards increased to three troops of cavalry and six companies of infantry. For the next eight years the Guides were almost incessantly engaged with the frontier tribes of the Peshawar district, and the despatches relating to the numerous expeditions and raids of this period never fail to refer to the exploits of the men and the gallantry and judgment of their leaders. When, in May 1857, the news of the Bengal mutiny reached Peshawar, the command of the Guides was in new hands. Only two months before, Lieutenant Lumsden had started on a political mission to Kandahar, escorted by a party of his own men, nor did he return thence till the war of the Mutiny was over. But though he was thus deprived of the distinction of commanding his men at one of the most famous periods of their history, yet his services during the previous ten years had already earned for him no common reputation. "A braver or a better soldier," wrote Sir Charles Napier and Sir Colin Campbell of Lumsden in 1851, "never drew a sword;" and Lord Dalhousie, the greatest of India's Governors-General, cordially endorsed their praises. Lieutenant Lumsden's after career amply proved how well merited was this opinion: for years his name was a household word on the Peshawar border, and his death in September of last year brought grief home to many a gallant old Pathan soldier, as well as to the brother officers who had served and fought under him. Worthy successors to Lumsden and Hodson were found in Captain Henry Daly and Lieutenant Quentin Battye, the first of whom, like the founder of his old corps, survived till last year, and passed away, full of years and honour, leaving a name which will be remembered amongst the foremost of Indian soldiers. Under these two, and three other officers, 150 cavalry and 350 infantry of the Guide Corps made one of the most remarkable marches in history, from Peshawar to Delhi, in May 1857. The infantry were mounted on camels to enable them to keep up with the cavalry, but even with this assistance the whole of the marching had to be done by night, as the heat of the summer sun was insupportable. Leaving Peshawar at 6 P.M. on Wednesday, the 13th May, and covering a distance of some thirty miles between each sunset and sunrise, the corps marched into the British camp on the ridge before Delhi on the morning of the 9th June, having halted four days on the road, and having covered nearly 600 miles in the remaining twenty-two days. Kaye has described the welcome they received from the assembled force, and in a very few hours they had fully proved how well they deserved it. "The Guides," wrote Sir H. Barnard, in the orders of of their comrades of the various regiments in camp." Immediate, indeed, was the service for which the corps was to prove its readiness- so much so, that the men had scarcely had time to pitch their camp when they were turned out to meet the first of the many efforts of the mutineers in Delhi to drive the British force from the siege. Cavalry and infantry alike distinguished themselves, and behaved, as Hodson (now on the headquarter staff) wrote, "with their usual pluck"; but the corps had to mourn one loss of no ordinary nature. "The heroic Battye fell mortally wounded whilst leading and cheering on his men." Foremost in the fighting, he was shot through the body while struggling at close quarters with one of the mutineers, and died twentyfour hours later-the first to fall of those gallant brothers whose lives were devoted to the service of their country, and whose deaths ennobled their own name and the annals of the corps to which they belonged. "It was close up to the walls," writes Lord Roberts in his Memoirs, "that Quentin Battye, the dashing commander of the Guides cavalry, received his mortal wound. He was the brightest and cheeriest of companions, and although only a subaltern of eight years' service, he was a great loss. Proud of his regiment and beloved by his men, who, grand fellows themselves, were captivated by his many soldierly qualities, he had every prospect before him of a splendid career, but he was destined to fall in his first fight. He was curiously fond of quotations, and the last words he uttered were, 'Dulce et decorum est that day, "notwithstanding their pro patrid mori?" long and rapid march, are in perfect order and ready for immediate service, and the major-general recommends these brave and loyal soldiers to the favourable notice In this first fight outside Delhi a very gallant deed was performed by a native officer, who had already gained a decoration for bravery in a frontier expedition against the Adam Khel Afridis. This was the subadar or senior native officer of the Gurkha company, named Kaur Singh, a man remarkable even amongst Gurkhas for exceptional gallantry. On this occasion, as the Guides were driving the enemy towards the city through the enclosures of the Sabzi Mandi suburb, Kaur Singh saw three of the mutineers firing from the shelter of a house. Without hesitation he dashed into the building, his kukri or Gurkha knife in his hand, and alone engaged and despatched all three of his opponents. He himself escaped unhurt, but unfortunately he was mortally wounded a few days later. On the 3d July Hodson wrote in his diary: "Kaur Singh, the little Gurkha subadar, who won the order of merit in that stiff affair at Boree in '53, is gone." So exceptional were the services of this native officer, that on his death a commission in the Guides was given to his son, Kharak Singh, then a boy of about twelve years old. The reappearance of Hodson's name in connection with the Guide Corps should be explained. On the 19th June Captain Daly, the commandant, was severely wounded at the head of the Guides cavalry, when charging a vastly superior force of mutineers. The enemy had managed to turn the right flank of the British position, and were threatening the rear of the camp. No infantry could be spared to meet this attack, for every available man was in the fighting line against the mutineers' simultaneous onslaught on the main position. Such small force of artillery and cavalry as could be mustered had to bear the brunt of the attack on the rear. The enemy were sheltered by banks and walls, and any free movement of cavalry against them was impossible; but it quickly became evident that if something could not be done to stop their advance, there was danger of the guns being captured and the camp rushed. In this emergency Daly, with a very small body of the Guides, gallantly charged into the enclosed ground in front, and by his timely intervention saved the guns from capture. He was, as has been said, severely wounded, and the corps having now lost its two senior officers, Lieutenant Hodson was placed in temporary command, in addition to his other arduous duties as Intelligence officer with the force, and commandant of a newly raised regiment of horse. Amongst many instances of individual gallantry on the part of the native ranks during the daily fighting outside Delhi, the following is noticeable as illustrating the extraordinarily dauntless spirit which animated the soldiers of the Guide Corps. On the 9th of July the rebel cavalry, aided by the treachery of a picket of the 9th Irregular Cavalry, a regiment which up to that time had been believed to be loyal, managed to surprise the rear of the British position and to charge the camp. As the enemy bore down on the lines, where the cavalry were hastily mounting and the guns being brought into action, a ressaldar of the Guides, Muhammad Khan by name, whose horse happened to be standing ready for him to mount, leapt into the saddle, and without waiting for support galloped alone to meet the advancing rebels. Regardless of the odds against him, or of the almost certain death towards which he was hastening, his only thought was to meet the foe in deadly combat, and it was only with difficulty that he was prevented by Major Tombs of |