FIRST WEEKS OF THE SIEGE OF DELHI. 195 



in British history than the results which he attained 

 with such tools." 



What sort of tools Hodson had to work with may 

 be seen from Thomason's own account of his arrival 

 at Karnal. The 23rd of May found Thomason's 

 little party of fugitives at the village of Naolanah, 

 on the left bank of the canal, about twenty miles 

 from Karnal. 



" In the morning," writes General Thomason, 

 "some four sowars rode into the village. . . . After 

 some parley one of the sowars handed me a letter 

 addressed to myself, but the handwriting of it was 

 unknown to me. So opening it I found it begin- 

 ning, ' My dear Charlie,' which naturally excited my 

 curiosity a good deal, until I found at the end ' yours 

 affectionately, W. S. K. Hodson.' . . . 



" It was to this effect : ' I have heard of you, and 

 wish I knew where to catch you ; but 1 have my 

 hands full, and am here, there, and everywhere, and 

 cannot tell where I may be to-morrow ; but on 

 receipt of this don't delay a moment, but push on at 

 once to Karnal, where the "gathering" is to be. 

 You had better put yourself in the hands of the men 

 by whom I am sending this. Promise anything you 

 like, and the chief will see you through with it, but 

 don't delay. I have done the best I can for you, 

 and wish it could be more.' 



" I read the letter and looked at the men, and I 

 confess that an inspection of their faces did not 

 reassure me. I suppose they were emissaries of the 

 Intelligence Department, and perhaps constituted a 

 part of the nucleus of the then future famous 

 ' Hodson's Horse.' However, evidently they believed 

 in W. S. R. Hodson, and so did I, and so off we 



