THE SIEGE OF DELHI. 227 



got hold of it I do not know, for I never mentioned 

 it even to you, since it certainly could not be called 

 a wound, though a very narrow escape from one. A 

 rascally Pandy made a thrust at my horse, which I 

 parried, when he seized his tulwar in both hands, 

 brinoinor it down like a sledo;e-hammer : it caught on 

 the iron of my antigropelos legging, which it broke 

 into the skin, cut through the stirrup-leather, and 

 took a slice off my boot and stocking ; and yet, 

 wonderful to say, the sword did not penetrate the 

 skin. Both my horse and myself were staggered by 

 the force of the blow, but I recovered myself quickly, 

 and I don't think that Pandy will ever raise his 

 tulwar again. I should not have entered into all 

 these details about self but for those tiresome papers 

 having made so much of it." 



On the 16th Hodson took leave of Colonel Welch- 

 man, who was sent off on the following day towards 

 Umbala and the hills. " We are in a nice fix here," 

 writes Hodson, " General Reed is so ill he is 

 ordered away at once ; Chamberlain is on his back 

 for six weeks at least ; Norman, however, is safe 

 and doing admirably, — were he to be hit, the ' head- 

 quarters ' would break down altogether. There will 

 be no assault on Delhi yet ; our rulers will now less 

 than ever decide on a bold course ; and, truth to 

 tell, the numbers of the enemy have so rapidly 

 increased, and ours have been so little replenished 

 in proportion, and our losses, for a small army, have 

 been so severe, that it becomes a question whether 

 now we have numbers sufficient to risk an assault. 

 Would to Heaven it had been tried wdien I first 

 pressed it ! " 



On the 17th Major -General Reed, who had so 



