278 MAJOR W. HODSON. 



turquoise armlet and signet rings of the rascally 

 princes whom I shot, — not actually worth tvirenty 

 shillings, but I know they will be prized by you 

 and the dear ones at home." On the 27th he him- 

 self, with the remainder of his Horse, joined the 

 column which Brigadier Showers — " a most gentle- 

 manly person and gallant soldier, but sadly prolix 

 and formal in all his arrangements " — was to lead 

 against the rebels in the adjacent districts of Gur- 

 gaon and Eewari. 



On October 1 he rejoices to hear "that the de- 

 tachment [of Hodson's Horse] under Hugh Gough, 

 who were sent with the column across the Jumna, 

 behaved extremely well in that action at Bolund- 

 shur, and have been much praised. I am very 

 glad, indeed, of this : it is a great thing for a new 

 regiment to be successful at a cheap rate in its first 

 encounters ; it gives a jyvestige which it is long in 

 losing, and gives the men confidence in themselves 

 and their leaders. In this affair our loss was trifling, 

 though the cavalry were principally employed. 

 Poor Sarel, 9th Lancers, wounded severely, I am 

 sorry to say." 



On the 23rd Hodson begs his wife to " tell 



he may unhesitatingly contradict the story about 

 the rupees. It was born in Delhi, and was partly 

 the cause of General Wilson's bad behaviour to me. 

 The money, 10,000 rupees, was brought to me late 

 one night by the men, who had been desired (as 

 Colonel Seaton will corroborate) to secure prize pro- 

 perty for him and the other agents. We marched 

 at daybreak next morning, and I had only time to 

 make it over to M'Dowell to see it locked up in 

 the regimental chest for safety before we started. 



