154 MAJOR W. HODSON. 



freebooter very hard to manage. Under Hodson's 

 more masterful rule it was not long before Fathi 

 Khan and several other of the native officers were 

 weeded out of the Guides in order that their places 

 might be filled by trustier men. 



He appears also to have annoyed his English 

 subalterns in various ways, especially by getting 

 rid of many Pathans and Afridis on whose merits 

 they had pinned their faith. Stories to his dis- 

 credit found their way to the Chief Commissioner, 

 who had never looked with favour on his appoint- 

 ment to the Guides. In May 1854 he writes to his 

 brother, Sir Henry Lawrence, " I am in great tribu- 

 lation about Hodson of the Guides. I don't know 

 what to make of him. His courage and ability are 

 unquestioned. I could excuse his not getting on 

 with his subalterns, for a man like Lumsden would 

 spoil most men under him, at least for any other 

 commander. Lumsden also seems to have left the 

 accounts in great disorder, and Hodson has not 

 gone about gettino^ them right. . . . Now I hear 

 that all the European people dislike him, and that 

 mischief may get up there. ... To me, personally, 

 he has always been amiable and most courteous, but 

 I would give a good deal to see him elsewhere, for I 

 fear a row." ^ 



It is clear from this letter that John Lawrence 

 had been judging from hearsay rather than actual 

 evidence on some of the points to which he refers. 

 As far back as December 1852 Hodson had written 

 to his wife, "I am very busy here unravelling the 

 confusion left by Lumsden." And we have seen 

 how in a previous letter he had spoken of his 



1 Bosworth Smith's ' Life of Lord Lawrence.' 



