PROMOTION TO COMMAND OF THE GUIDES. 137 



but that you will very soon have a considerable 

 increase to the dear old regiment, which I am sure 

 will delight you all. Don't say a word about this 

 till the order is out, as it would rile the little 

 Lord considerably to hear that the report had got 

 abroad. I write to you, as you may like to think 

 over what lads to promote and in what particular 

 description of men you would make the additions. 

 You will probably get your cavalry made up to 

 400 sabres and the infantry to 600 or 800 rifles. 

 This, of course, is my own speculation, but the 

 increase you may look on as i^ucka. 



Hod son's regiment during the campaign consisted 

 of five English officers, including the surgeon, Dr 

 Lyell : " Then I have 300 horse, including native 

 officers, and 550 foot, or 850 men in ail, divided 

 into three troops and six companies, the latter 

 armed as riflemen." In order to prevent the danger 

 of secret combinations no two troops or companies 

 contained men of the same race. One company, for 

 instance, was composed of Sikhs, another of Afridis. 

 Pathans, Gurkhas, and Punjabi Mussulmans, each 

 formed a separate troop or company ; in each case, 

 also, the native officers were of a different race 

 from the men. 



About this time Hodson had been asked to take 

 civil charge of the wild district of Yuzafzai, on the 

 northern frontier of the Peshawar valley, which 

 would form the usual headquarters of the Guides. 

 This charge he refused to undertake unless he could 

 have the entire control in all departments of civil 

 work. This he presently obtained, as aj^pears from 

 his letter of June 4: "We are encamped [near 

 Peshawar] on a lovely spot, on the banks of the 



