CONCLUSION. 353 



" having just oj)ened at the table some letters brought 

 in from Delhi, he said, ' So ! Hodson has been at his 

 old tricks again.' I thought it only right to rise 

 and ask for an explanation, and finding that all Mr 

 Barnes had heard of and alluded to were those I 

 have mentioned and one other I will presently 

 explain, I told him and the others present about 

 Eeynell Taylor's report, which none of them had 

 heard of; the purchase of the house at Umbala, and 

 the Ks. 10,000 charge. 



" The fourth was as follows : Some two months 

 before Delhi fell he was sent to destroy a small fort 

 which was being armed against us by a native chief. 

 On his way he met another hostile chief with an 

 array of armed men, much outnumbering his own, 

 whom he defeated after a sharp but short conflict. 

 The chief himself was one of the first to fall, shot 

 through the 'heart ; and as Hodson returned after 

 the pursuit, over the field, he saw something glitter 

 on the ground and picked up a very beautiful and 

 valuable jewelled ornament, a golden butterfly, 

 soiled and dented by its fall upon the hard ground. 

 This he brought and gave to his wife, who was fond 

 of displaying it, with the dirt still adhering. After- 

 wards she wore it, and from this the story spread 

 that it had been looted by him at Delhi, where I 

 had seen it two months before the city fell, and 

 knew, for I heard the story confirmed by others, the 

 true account of its possession. 



" After giving this explanation Mr Barnes thanked 

 me very warmly, and set himself from that time to 

 make Hodson's acquaintance, and this in such a 

 friendly spirit that he came to be looked upon as 

 one of his best and warmest friends. And not he 



