THE SECOND SIKH WAR. 83 



the fort of Morari, on the left bank of the Ravi, 

 a few miles north - west of Dinanao^ar. He had 

 hoped that Major Fisher, acting in concert with 

 Hodson, would be in time to prevent the escape 

 of the enemy; but Fisher was too late for such a 

 purpose. On the night of the 24th the rebels, says 

 Hodson, " bolted before he [the brigadier] fired a 

 shot. ... I have had loads of work," he adds, 

 "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." 



In the last days of October the leading brigades 

 of Gough's army of the Punjab had marched past 

 Lahore across the Ravi to the camping-ground at 

 Shahdara, where, on November 3, 7000 good troops 

 were assembled, eager to move forward under the 

 best of Gough's cavalry leaders, Brigadier-General 

 Cureton. By the 21st Lord Gough himself was 

 encamped ten miles from Ramnagar, at the head 

 of some 16,000 troops of all arms, preparing to 

 drive the enemy across the Chinab. Hodson had 

 hoped to cross the Ravi and join the commander- 

 in-chief. "We want Sir Charles Napier sadly," 

 he wrote. " What with the incapacity shown at 

 Multftn, and the dilatory proceedings 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." 

 But his energies were still " confined to a space 

 bounded by the Chinab and the Biyas, and a line 



