36 MAJOR W. HODSOX. 



peace of the Sikh capital. Colonel Henry Law- 

 rence, who had been summoned from Nipal on 

 the death of the gallant Major Broadfoot, was 

 selected for the post of British Resident and 

 general adviser at the Lahore Court. Such were 

 the measures by which Lord Hardinge hoped to 

 stave oflf for many years 'the final day of reckon - 

 ino; between the Indian Government and the 

 recognised rulers of the Punjab. 



When the Governor-G-eneral put his seal to the 

 treaty of March 9 the hot weather was fast setting 

 in, and most of the troops composing the army of 

 the Satlaj were already hurrying back to their 

 respective cantonments. Hodson himself had once 

 more exchanged into the 26th Sepoys, with whom 

 he marched towards Umbala. By March 26 the 

 last of the homeward - bound regiments had re- 

 crossed the Satlaj by the noble bridge of boats 

 which our engineers had got ready. The sight of 

 the regiments, mostly European, filing across the 

 bridge, struck Hodson with keen admiration of 

 the dusty, travel -stained, war-worn remnants of 

 the troops who had fought so doggedly at 

 Firozshah and Sobraon. "With that cool firm air 

 of determination which is the most marked charac- 

 teristic of English soldiers, regiment after regiment 

 passed on, cavalry, artillery, and infantry in suc- 

 cession, their bands playing quick steps and 

 national tunes as each stepped upon the bridge. 

 ... 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 



