Chapter IV (3)

"The General will see by the list of casualties, that
Captain Hodson's newly raised body of Horse was not
backward, and rendered excellent service. It could not do
less under its distinguished commander, whom I beg
particularly to mention to the Major-General, as having on
every possible occasion rendered me the most efficient
service, whether in gaining information, reconnoitring the
country, or leading his regiment."

[63] _Extract from a Despatch from_ LIEUTENANT-COLONEL T. SEATON, _dated_

"PUTTIALEE, _Dec. 18th, 1857_.

"After the action at Gungeree I specially mentioned Captain
Hodson and his regiment. I can but repeat what I then said,
and beg that the Major-General will be good enough to bring
this officer, and his great and important services, to the
special notice of the Commander-in-Chief."

[64] The following extract from a private letter of an artillery officer, describing the state of the roads, will give some notion of the danger of this ride:--

"MYNPOOREE, _December 29th_.

"Since the 20th of October, no letters have passed this
road. The 'Kossids,' whose trade it is to carry letters
through an enemy's country, would not and could not do it,
and no wonder. At one place we saw a poor brute who had gone
from us with a letter to the Chief, and had been caught by
the rebels. He was hanging by the heels, had his nose cut
off, had been made a target of, and roasted alive.

"Pleasant fellows, these rebels, and worthy of all
consideration."

[65] Lieutenant R. Mitford, 3d Bengal Fusileers, now Adjutant of Hodson's Horse and V. C.

[66] Mr. Charles Raikes, in his interesting _Notes on the Revolt_, p. 109, says: "At night I warned Mr. Power for duty, to go out with the Brigade. I found it difficult to convince him that 2,000 men, quietly slumbering around, would, in the course of an half hour, be under arms, and on the march to attack the enemy. Scarce a creature in the camp, save General Mansfield, Adrian Hope, Hodson, and I, knew the plans of the Commander-in-Chief. The men had gone to bed as usual, when quietly orders were issued, and by half-past ten, Hope, with his Brigade, was on his march." He then gives several amusing native accounts of the action at Shumshabad, and afterwards adds,--"Rode to see Hodson; he is much cut up about Macdowell's loss, but treats his own wounds very lightly. Being in his sword arm, we shall lose his invaluable services for a time."

[67] Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 2nd son of the late James Macdowell, Esq., of Bengal Medical Service, born 29th October, 1829, appointed to Honorable East India Company's Service, 1846. Served in Punjaub campaign of 1848-9, including passage of Chenab at Ramnuggur, and battles of Chillianwallah and Goojerat, in which he carried the colors of his regiment, 2d Bengal European Fusileers (medal and clasp). Served in Burmah, marched with his regiment to Delhi, and served with it in various engagements, till in August he was appointed second in command of Hodson's Horse.

"This excellent officer, who was Captain Hodson's second in command, and right-hand man, sunk under his wound, to the sorrow of all who knew his rare value as a soldier."--Raikes's _Notes_.

[68] His father's old parish.

CONCLUDING CHAPTER.

ALUMBAGH, LUCKNOW.--THE BEGUM'S PALACE.--BANKS'S HOUSE.--THE
SOLDIER'S DEATH.--NOTICES.--CONCLUDING REMARKS.

_To his Wife._

CAMP, ALUMBAGH, NEAR LUCKNOW, _February 24th_.

We arrived here last night at dusk, after a terribly dusty
march of thirty-six miles. To-day we had a bit of a fight.
The Pandies, ignorant of the reinforcements which had
arrived, had as usual come round one flank of the camp, so
we moved out and caught them as they were trying to get back
again, and took two of their guns. By "we," I mean my own
men and the Military Train men from home. Young Gough, my
adjutant, was wounded, and had his horse shot. I was luckily
in the way, or it would have gone worse with him;[69] my own
horse too (pretty "Child of the Desert") was wounded, and I
was obliged to mount a sowar's horse. Gough will be laid up
for a month, I fear; it is a flesh wound in the thigh. I do
not think Master Pandy will try the same trick again. We
have been out so long that there is time for no more to-day
than this assurance of my safety.

ALUMBAGH, _February 25th_.--I have been calling on Sir James
Outram this morning, and had a most pleasant interview; the
brave old warrior greeted me most cordially, professing his
satisfaction at having _at last_ met one of whom he had
heard so much, &c. &c. The pleasure was certainly mutual,
for I have long wished to meet _him_. He made many inquiries
about you also, and asked whether you had not been in the
hills during the panic, and helped the refugees, &c. How
proudly I could answer all his praise in the affirmative. He
also asked my opinion of Lord William's administration, and
I was glad of the opportunity to testify in his favor.
Altogether this good old soldier's compliments were pleasing
to me, particularly as he was not one of those who in my
time of trouble passed me by on the other side.

The enemy is quite quiet to-day. I fancy we were too much
for his philosophy yesterday. Fancy the Queen Regnant coming
out on an elephant to meet us, to encourage her wavering
followers! I wish the Chief would make haste and finish this
business, it is getting cruelly hot already.

_27th._--All quiet still with the enemy. A packet of letters
has arrived, and brought me all the comfort I am capable of
receiving in this torturing absence; would it were over! I
hear the Chief has crossed the Ganges and is coming on here.
I believe we had some [Greek: kudos] for the affair of the
25th, though beyond being exposed to a very galling fire, I
did not think much of it myself. Gough's wound is a serious
misfortune to me just now; a gallant, go-a-head boy like him
is not to be easily replaced, any more than poor Mac is. I
myself am laid up with a sore leg; I would not nurse it at
first, and now it is so painful I cannot mount my horse or
even stand without pain, so I shall go into the next
scrimmage on an elephant! Dr. Brougham, however, says it
will be well in four or five days. I did not know Greville
was going home so soon, I hoped to have shaken him by the
_sain_ hand once more before we parted for so long.

ALUMBAGH, _1st March_.--Nothing of public importance is
occurring. I am still unable to ride, so I do regimental
work. I dined with Sir J. Outram (he is the General
commanding here) and with Colonel Haggart, 7th Hussars, last
night; the former is quite affectionate in his manner to me.
He would quite charm you, and were I not out of love with
vanity, would spoil me; but I confess the respectful homage
of the soldiers is pleasanter to my spirit than the praise
of great men. I study to be quiet and do my own business
without elation and pride, satisfied with the testimony of
my own conscience that I strive to do my duty.

_March 2d._--The Commander-in-Chief arrived with a large
part of the force this morning, marched straight through our
camp, and _at_ the enemy (who of course ran away), and
occupied the Dilkoosha, a large garden-house and park near
the city. My unfortunate leg prevented my sharing in the
fray, I grieve to say, and I am actually in a fright lest he
(the Chief) should take Lucknow before I am able to ride!

ALUMBAGH, _March 6th_.--I had time for but the merest line
yesterday, written from Dilkoosha, where the
Commander-in-Chief is encamped, and whither we were
erroneously brought yesterday to return here to-day. I had a
long talk with Sir Colin, who was even more than commonly
kind and cordial. I am not very well, I am sorry to say;
this leg troubles me, and is the effect of the erysipelas
which attacked my arm in consequence of the wounds closing
too quickly. The truth is that I lost about a pound and a
half of blood when I was wounded, and having had two slight
bouts of fever since, I am not so strong as I would be;
however, I am getting on, and am dosed with steel, quinine,
and port wine _ad lib_. My arm is pretty well, but the wound
opened again partially after the 25th, and I have been
obliged to submit to bandages, &c.; still I hope three or
four days will set me all right again, though I fear the arm
will never be quite straight again, or the thumb quite
flexible. I shall have to go home for rest to my body, if
not for comfort to my heart. I have seen Osborn Wilkinson;
he is as nice as possible, and he is now Deputy Assistant
Quartermaster-General to the Cavalry Brigade, to which my
Horse is attached, so I hope to see more of him than of
late. I breakfasted yesterday at head-quarters with Napier,
and grieved to see that he looked worn and troubled. I fear
his health is very precarious.

CAMP, NEAR LUCKNOW, _March 6th_.--... I grieve that you
should be anxious on my account; the same merciful
Providence which has so wonderfully preserved us both
through so many and great dangers, will, I earnestly pray,
continue the same gracious guardianship; yet I strive to be
prepared for all....

I had to march again this morning; a message from Sir Colin
last night to the Brigadier having directed him to put me in
charge of the line of communications with Jellalabad, the
Alumbagh, and his camp. So I had to bring my men up here,
half-way between the two camps, and to make arrangements for
insuring the safety of the roads, and protecting the convoys
on which the existence of the army depends. The worst part
of it is I cannot ride, and have had, for the first time in
my life, to do outpost duty in a dog-cart! _driving_ across
country to post videttes and picquettes, &c. What with this
continued movement and the rest which I am _compelled_ to
take recumbent, I have had no time for writing as I fain
would do. I have heard from Reginald; he is so earnest in
his wish to do duty with my regiment, that I have asked for
him. May God preserve the dear boy from all evil! I shall
never forgive myself if harm comes to him. There is no
decided move at present; the net is gradually closing round
the enemy, some of the Goorkhas and Brigadier Frank's column
having already arrived. You must not expect more than a
Majority for me yet, though I have good reason to believe
that more will come.

_March 8th._--I went up myself to-day to the head-quarters'
camp, to look for letters and see our friend, but failed in
both; but I breakfasted and had a long chat with that
pleasantest of persons, Lugard, now Sir Edward, and while
there I had a letter from Norman to say that Reginald had
been appointed to do duty with my Horse. I can but think he
is too young; but if he must see hard service so early,
better with me than elsewhere. God grant it may be for his
good. I am looking for the end with an eager longing for
rest which I cannot control. Dear Sir Henry used to say I
was ambitious, and I know I was proud and thirsty of
success; but now all desires for the future settle down into
the one thought of home.

_March 9th._--I grieve that report should cause you fear and
anxiety whenever there has been a fight, particularly as the
chances are against my being in it. You should remember that
our force extends now round three sides nearly of Lucknow.
The extreme right of our position, or rather camps, being at
least nine miles from the left; so that engagements occur at
one part which those at the other never perhaps hear of
till next day! This was the case with the Dilkoosha affair.
The Chief passed our camp on the left, moved on some miles,
and occupied "Dilkoosha" (a fine palace, three stories
high), and the ground up to the banks of the Goomtee, almost
without opposition. I was never within miles of him. Indeed,
I have not been on horseback since the 25th, as I am forced
to save myself for emergencies. If anything important
occurs, be sure I will send a telegram somehow. I have
written to Reginald, and sent him a copy of the General
Order appointing him to do duty with my regiment. I have
also got a Lieutenant Meecham, of the Madras army,--a great
artist and good-looking fellow, and, what is much more to my
purpose, a fine soldier I believe. I have also asked for
young Blackburne, whom you may remember in the 20th Native
Infantry at Peshawur,--a friend of Edward Loyd's. He is much
"come out" since then. I do hope Hugh Gough will soon be
well; I do ill without such a dashing fine fellow.

In the affair of the 25th we were leading, and took the
guns,--_i. e._, we fairly captured one, and drove the enemy
away from the other, and kept them at bay until the "train"
came up and secured it. I was not altogether satisfied with
my men in this part of the affair. They hesitated, and let
me go ahead unsupported except by Nihal Singh; old Mahommed
Reza Khan, and one or two others, with Gough, being near.
The consequence was that the enemy concentrated their fire
on our little party. However, the Europeans of the Military
Train hesitated to do what I wanted _my_ men to do, and they
behaved very well immediately afterwards. There has been a
great fuss about the matter; Sir Colin having taken great
and very just offence at its being reported to him that the
cavalry were "led" by Colonel ----, a staff-officer.... He
got wounded, and then was officially reported to have "led
the cavalry," whereas we had Brigadier Campbell (a capital
officer), and Colonel Haggart, of the 7th Hussars, present,
besides the officers commanding regiments, "quorum pars
fui." Sir Colin denounced Colonel ----'s "leading" as "an
insufferable impertinence," called me up, and asked me
before them all, "Were you present with your regiment on the
25th?" and on my saying, "Yes," he cried out, "Now, look
here; look at my friend Hodson here, does _he_ look like a
man that needs 'leading?' Is that a man likely to want
'leading?' I should like to see the fellow who'd presume to
talk of 'leading' _that_ man!" pointing to me, and so forth.
I nearly went into convulsions; it was _such_ a scene....

The Martiniere was taken to-day without loss except poor
Captain Peel, who, I grieve to say, is wounded.

_March 10th._--The mail is come with my Majority. The brevet
has given general dissatisfaction. Some of the double honors
are marvellous; but it should be remembered that these
promotions are given _sponte sua_ by the home authorities,
no recommendations having gone from hence till lately. I am
content myself, having no interest. It proves they perceive
I have done something, or I should not have this beginning;
and it is satisfactory to find that it is universally
considered that I have been shabbily used. Better this by
far than to have people lifting up their eyes and saying I
had got too much! Inglis is justly rewarded, and some
others. I dare say more will come with time. I hope devoutly
that when Lucknow falls I shall be released. We shall know
in a few days,--for even while I write Lucknow seems to be
"falling" fast. Immense progress was made yesterday, with
not more loss than some 18 or 20 wounded, and I hear to-day
they are going ahead again. Pandy has quite given up
fighting, except pot-shots under cover, and runs at the very
sight of troops advancing. I stood on the top of the
Dilkoosha palace yesterday, and watched the capture of as
strong a position as men could wish for (which at Delhi
would have cost us hundreds) without the enemy making a
single struggle or firing a shot. At this rate Lucknow will
soon be in our hands. We (of the cavalry) are kept on the
_qui vive_ watching the southern outlets from the town to
prevent escape, and I expect to see Lucknow taken without
being under fire again. Well, it must be confessed that I
have had my share of the dangers of the war, and whether I
receive honors or not, I have the testimony of my own
conscience that I have done one man's work towards the
restoration of our power in India.... I have been occupied
to-day in trying to get the Victoria Cross for the two
Goughs. Hugh certainly ought to have it.[70]

_March 11th._--Just as I sit down to write comes an order to
move our camp towards Alumbagh again; Jung Bahadoor having
at last arrived with his army and taken up ground between me
and the enemy.... If anything occurs, I will get Colonel
Napier or Norman to send you a service telegram....

This was the last letter which my brother wrote. Having given directions to his Adjutant, Lieutenant Gough, he said he would ride on and look out a nice spot for their new camping-ground, and be back in time to march with them. On his way he heard firing, and riding forward, found that the Begum's Palace was to be attacked. He immediately rode to the place, and finding his friend Brigadier Napier directing the attack, said laughingly, "I am come to take care of you; you have no business to go to work without me to look after you." The assault was successful.[71] He entered the breach with General Napier and several others. In a few minutes they were separated in the _melee_, and General Napier saw nothing more of him till he was sent for to him "dangerously wounded." The surgeon of his regiment gives the following account:--

"We struck our tents and were saddled, waiting for him till
it became so dark that we were forced to go without him, and
reached our ground after sunset. I had gone to the
post-office and was five minutes behind the regiment. When I
came up, I found that Hodson's orderly had come in great
haste, saying that his master had sent for me, but with no
other message. He said that his master had been hit when
advancing with the troops on the Begum's Kotee on foot.

"I mounted and rode off with him at once. From the darkness
of the night and the difficulty of passing the Goorkah
sentries, I did not get to Dilkooshah till 9 P. M. There no
one knew where he was. I then went on to the artillery mess
and learnt that he was in Banks's House which I reached
about 10 P. M. I found him in a dooly and Dr. Sutherland
with him, whom I at once relieved, and learnt the following
particulars from him and from the orderly who remained with
Hodson, and who had been by his side when hit. He had
arrived at Banks's House just as the party going to attack
the Begum's Palace were starting, and fell in with them. The
place had been taken before he was wounded. When the
soldiers were searching for concealed Sepoys in the
court-yard and buildings adjoining, he said to his orderly,
'I wonder if any of the rascals are in there.' He turned the
angle of the passage; looked into a dark room, which was
full of Sepoys; a shot was fired from inside. He staggered
back some paces and then fell. A party of Highlanders,
hearing who had been hit, rushed into the room and bayoneted
every man there.

"The orderly, a large powerful Sikh, carried him in his arms
out of danger, and got a dooly and brought him back to
Banks's House, where his wound was looked to and dressed.

"He was shot through the right side of the chest, in the
region of the liver, the ball entering in front and going
out behind. There had been profuse bleeding, and I saw that
the wound was most likely mortal.

"He was very glad to see me, and began talking of his wound,
which he thought himself was mortal. I lay beside him on the
ground all night, holding his hand, on account of the great
pain he suffered. He was very weak when I arrived, but by
means of stimulants rallied wonderfully, and slept for an
hour or two during the night. At daylight he was much
better, his hands were warm and his pulse good, and I had
hopes that, if the bleeding, which had ceased, did not
return, he might recover. He drank two cups of tea, and said
he felt very well. His account of his being wounded agreed
with the orderly's.

"About 9 A. M. I had the dooly lifted into a room, which I
had had cleared out, where he was much quieter. At 10 A. M.,
however, bleeding came on again profusely, and he rapidly
became worse. I told him that recovery was impossible. He
then sent for General Napier, to whom he gave directions
about his property and messages to his wife. After this he
rapidly sank, though he remained sensible and was able to
speak till a quarter past one, when he became too weak; and
at twenty-five minutes past one died.

"His orderly[72] actually cried over him, he was so attached
to him.

"He was buried that evening by the Rev. Dr. Smith. The
Commander-in-Chief and his staff were present."

General Napier says, in a letter to Mrs. Hodson:--

"I regret bitterly now, that I did not insist on your dear
husband going back, but you know how impossible it was to
check his dauntless spirit."

He and others who were present give the following particulars:--

... "He lay on his bed of mortal agony and met death with
the same calm composure which so much distinguished him on
the field of battle. He was quite conscious and peaceful,
occasionally uttering a sentence:--

"'My poor wife,' 'My poor sisters.'

"'I should have liked to see the end of the campaign and
gone home to the dear ones once more, but it was so
ordered.'

"'It is hard to leave the world just now, when success is so
near, but God's will be done.'

"'Bear witness for me that I have tried to do my duty to
man. May God forgive my sins for Christ's sake.' 'I go to my
Father.'

"'My love to my wife; tell her my last thoughts were of
her.' 'Lord, receive my soul.'

"These were his last words, and, without a sigh or struggle,
his pure and noble spirit took its flight."

Thus, on the 12th of March, 1858, in his thirty-seventh year, closed the earthly career of one of the best and bravest of England's sons, one of her truest heroes, of whom it may be said,--"Quanquam medio in spatio integrae aetatis ereptus, quantum ad gloriam longissimum aevum peregit."

Great and irreparable as was his loss to his family and his friends, as a husband, a brother, and a friend, I believe that, at the particular juncture at which he was taken away, it was still greater, as a soldier, to his country. It would be difficult to overestimate the value of the services which he might have rendered, if spared, in the pacifying of Oude after the capture of Lucknow, or the influence which he might have had on the fortunes of the war. One of those best qualified to judge declared, that "Hodson with his regiment would have been worth 10,000 men." His peculiar qualifications for Asiatic warfare would have found an appropriate field for their display.

It is unnecessary, however, for me to attempt to pronounce his eulogium. This has been done by those more capable of forming an estimate of his rare excellence as a soldier, and of doing it justice by their words.

Sir Colin Campbell, in a letter of condolence to his widow, thus expressed himself:--

"MARTINIERE, _March 13, 1858_.

"MADAM,--It is with a sentiment of profound regret that I am
compelled to address you for the purpose of communicating
the sad news that your gallant and distinguished husband,
Major Hodson, received a mortal wound from a bullet on the
11th instant. He unfortunately accompanied his friend
Brigadier Napier, commanding Engineers in the successful
attack on the Begum's Palace. The whole army, which admired
his talents, his bravery, and his military skill, deplores
his loss, and sympathizes with you in your irreparable
bereavement. I attended your husband's funeral yesterday
evening, in order to show what respect I could to the memory
of one of the most brilliant officers under my command.

(Signed)
"C. CAMPBELL,
"_Com.-in-Chief in East Indies_."

An officer who was present at the funeral says:--

"When the part of the service came where the body is lowered
into the grave, all the old warrior's courage and
self-possession could no longer control the
tears,--undeniable evidence of what he felt. 'I have lost
one of the finest officers in the army,' was his remark to
General Napier."

Even Sir John Lawrence, no friendly judge, pronounced him in an official paper to be--

"One of the ablest, most active, and bravest soldiers who
have fallen in the present war."

Sir R. Montgomery says:--

"I look round and can find no one like him. Many men are as
brave, many possess as much talent, many are as cool and
accurate in judgment, but not one combines all these
qualifications as he did."

I shall best give an idea of the universal feeling of regret awakened at the tidings of his death by subjoining a few extracts from the public press at home and abroad, and from private letters. The Bombay correspondent of the _Times_, after detailing the assault on the Begum's Palace, wrote thus:--

"At this point fell, mortally wounded, Hodson of the 1st
Bengal Fusileers; Hodson of Hodson's Horse; Hodson, the
captor of the King of Delhi and the princes of his house.
Few of the many losses that have occurred during the
operations consequent upon the mutinies, have caused such
universal regret throughout India as the death of this
excellent officer; and among those in England who have read
of and admired his exploits, not only his comrades of the
Sikh battle-fields, but many an old friend at Rugby or at
Trinity will mourn that his career has been thus early
closed."

The _Times_, in a leading article, thus announced his death:--

"The country will receive with lively regret the news that
the gallant Major Hodson, who has given his name to an
invincible and almost ubiquitous body of cavalry, was killed
in the attack on Lucknow. Major Hodson has been from the
very beginning of this war fighting everywhere and against
any odds with all the spirit of a Paladin of old. His most
remarkable exploit, the capture of the King of Delhi and his
two sons, astonished the world by its courage and coolness.
Hodson was, indeed, a man who, from his romantic daring and
his knowledge of the Asiatic character, was able to beat the
natives at their own weapons. We could better have spared an
older and more highly placed officer."

The following notice appeared in a Bombay paper:--

"From a Lucknow letter which we publish to-day our readers
will learn, with sorrow and regret, that that most able and
gallant officer, Captain Hodson, who has distinguished
himself on so many occasions since the breaking out of the
rebellion, and whose services have been of so brilliant and
valuable a character, has been killed at Lucknow. As a
leader of Irregular Horse, or indeed as a soldier of any of
the non-scientific forces, Captain Hodson was almost
without an equal. He was one of those squadron leaders which
the Indian army can alone rear up. There are few men who
would have managed the capture of the ex-King of Delhi as
this departed hero did. On that occasion his force was small
compared to that he had to cope with; but the determined
daring of the man made up for the disparity, and the old
King came out of his fortification--for a strong
fortification it was--and surrendered. So also with the
capture of the King's sons, who also surrendered themselves,
but whom Hodson found rescued when he reached them, after
having completed the disarming of their band. That was a
moment to test a man. But he of whom we write was equal to
the emergency. The carts in which the princes were, were
retaken immediately. Still the aspect of the armed Mahomedan
crowd around--growing every moment more numerous--was dark
and threatening. It was a situation which required prompt
decision, and promptly did the British leader decide. He saw
that it was necessary that his prisoners should die, and
resolved himself to become their executioner: a wise
resolve, for, probably, had he asked one of his own
Mahomedan troopers to kill the sons of the Mogul, a refusal
would have followed, and that refusal might have been acted
up to by all. He adopted the wiser course, harangued his
men, ordered the prisoners to take off their robes in the
cart, and shot them with his own hand. Had the prisoners
been allowed to leave the cart, their bodies would have been
left behind; for to touch them would, by the troopers, have
been considered defilement, and, left behind, they might
have been fanatically paraded through the country as an
incitement to a fresh rising. Besides, it was necessary that
their remains should be exposed at the Kotwallie in Delhi
with something of the indignity they themselves had caused
to be inflicted on the murdered victims of the 11th of May."

Another published a letter with this sentence:--

"Hodson, splendid fellow, died the following day, most
deeply regretted by all ranks in his regiment. He indeed was
a brave soldier, a clever and truly esteemed commander. May
we not say he was one of the flowers of the 'old Europeans,'
and an ornament to the Bengal army?"

The writer (in _Blackwood's Magazine_) of a series of papers on the 1st Fusileers, says:--

"Then fell one of the bravest in the Indian army, an officer
whose name has been brought too often before the public by
those in high command to need my humble word in praise.
There was not a man before Delhi who did not know Hodson;
always active, always cheery, it did one's heart good to
look at his face, when all felt how critical was our
position. Ask any soldier who was the bravest man before
Delhi, who most in the saddle, who foremost? and nine out of
ten in the Infantry will tell you Hodson, in the Artillery
as many will name Tombs.

"I once heard one of the Fusileers say, 'Whenever I sees
Captain Hodson go out, I always prays for him, for he is
sure to be in danger.' Yet it was not only in the field that
Hodson was to be valued, his head was as active as his hand
was strong, and I feel sure, when we who knew him heard of
his death, not one but felt that there was a vacancy indeed
in our ranks."

The _Times_ correspondent, (Mr. Russell,) in his letter of March 13th, writes:--

"When I returned to head-quarters' camp this evening, I
found that poor Hodson had died the previous day, and been
buried the same evening.

"He was a zealous and accomplished officer, of great
bravery, ability, and determination, an excellent judge of
the native character, of a humane and clement disposition,
but firm in the infliction of deserved punishment.

"The last time I saw him alive he expressed a decided
opinion that Government must resort to an amnesty, or be
prepared for a long continuance of disturbances."

From the _Delhi Gazette_:--

"He was a perfect gentleman, an accomplished scholar, and we
need scarcely add, (what our columns have so often
recorded,) one of the most brilliant soldiers in this or any
other army. His death is not only a severe family
affliction, but a national calamity, and it will be long
before the name of the capturer of the King and princes of
Delhi will cease to be mentioned with honor, and remembered
with regret."

From private letters of condolence, which would fill a volume, I select a few passages, in which the writers seem to have seized with great felicity upon some of the more remarkable features in my brother's character and actions.

"It is hard to lose one upon whom all eyes were fixed, and
whose noble qualities seemed so certain of recognition, and
of speedy advancement to such employments as his fine
natural abilities well fitted him to discharge.

"The very presence of such a man in India was an element of
power apart from all official rank, and he could ill be
spared from among the very few who have learnt to
impersonate in themselves the power of the English nation,
and to let the natives of India feel the irresistible
character of that power. You must have watched him so
anxiously and so proudly that, though thousands of us have
done the same, none can approach the measure of your sorrow
or mourn as you that he can confer no more honor on your
name, but that the opportunities of the future must be
reaped by other and less capable hands.

"I cannot feel easy without expressing to you the great
grief and consternation with which I read the account of
your brother's death. Certainly it would have been little
less than miraculous if, being what he was, he had lived out
this war. And yet I, for one, had always cherished a hope
that I might have seen once more with my own eyes so noble
and gallant a soldier.

"There is, after all, something about skilful courage which
draws the heart to itself more than eloquence, or learning,
or anything else, and your brother seems to have been endued
with this almost more than any living Englishman, brave as
our countrymen are."

* * * * *

"Closely have I watched, during these last few sad months,
the career of that brave brother of yours. I could estimate
his bold and self-sacrificing courage, and knowing as I did
the sort of people over whom he had acquired such perfect
sway, I knew how much a clear and commanding intellect must
have been called into exercise, to aid a strong and devoted
heart. What victims has Lucknow offered up to the fiendish
treachery of those ungrateful men--Lawrence! Havelock! and
Hodson!"

* * * * *

"My grief is not for him; he had done his work in that
station of life in which God had placed him, nobly,
heartily, and as in the sight of God (would that we all did
our work in half such a Christian spirit); but for you all,
who were looking forward to seeing him again, crowned with
the honors he had so hardly won. Well, it has pleased God
that this was not to be; but there is a good hope, more than
a hope, that a reward of a higher kind is his."

From one who had known him in India:--

"From the love and esteem I bore your brother, you will, I
feel sure, allow me to write and express, however
imperfectly words can do it, my deep and heartfelt sympathy
with you and your sisters under this heavy blow. Our
acquaintance was not of long standing, but had rapidly
ripened into intimacy, and I look back to the days spent in
his society as amongst my happiest in India. His very
presence was sunshine.

"Of my admiration for his talents, and the service he
rendered his country, it would be impertinent to
speak,--they are of public note; but of the tender
sympathies, the ready advice, the forgetfulness of self, and
the ever-mindfulness of others, I may testify. His was,
indeed, a rare and beautiful character, and the better he
was known the more he could not fail to be appreciated."

I will add one more letter from General Johnstone, which will show that even to the last my brother was pursued by the same jealousy and malignity which had caused him so much suffering in former years:--

"He was too noble to pass through the world without
detractors. The ambitious and brave envied him, because the
brilliancy of his acts put theirs in the shade; I mean,
those not possessed of the disinterestedness of Christians.

"The mean and despicable hated him, because they quailed
before the eagle eye that could endure neither dishonesty
nor cowardice. Their base slanders were in whispers during
his life; now that his gallant spirit is gone, they come
forward in unblushing malignity. I heard the whispers only;
my indignation at learning the baseness with which this true
hero has been treated is beyond all my powers of
expression."

Some of my readers may be interested in a description of Major Hodson's personal appearance and manner, given in a letter describing a visit which he paid the writer a few years previously at Calcutta:--

"He was remarkably well made, lithe, and agile; in height
about five feet eleven inches. His hair had slightly receded
from a high and most intellectual forehead, and was light
and curly. His eyes were blue, but animated by a peculiarly
determined, and sometimes even fierce look, which would
change to one of mischievous merriment, for he was keenly
susceptible of the ridiculous, in whatever shape it
presented itself; but usually his look impressed me at once
with that idea of his determination and firmness which have
ever characterized his actions. His nose was inclining to
the aquiline, and the curved, thin nostrils added a look of
defiance in noways counteracted by the compressed lips,
which seemed to denote many an inward struggle between duty
and inclination. These are my impressions of Hodson as I
last saw him; and if you add to this an open, frank manner,
that, _bongre malgre_, impressed you favorably at first
sight with the owner, you will have the charming _ensemble_
that presides over my recollections of three as happy weeks
as I ever passed."

As a pendant to this portrait I give another from a lady's pen, drawn more recently:--

"There was an indescribable charm of manner about him,
combining all the gentle playfulness of the boy, the deep
tenderness of the woman, and the vigorous decision of the
soldier.

"His powers of attraction extended even to animals; and it
was touching to see his large white Persian cat following
him from room to room, escaping from the caresses of others
to nestle by him. I have often watched the pretty creature
as he threw himself, exhausted with the day's work, on an
easy chair or sofa, rubbing himself against his master,
whisking the long white tail against his fair moustache, and
courting the endearments liberally bestowed. Restless with
others, pussy was at rest if established by him.

"At Delhi there was a wild, shy little kitten, which fled
from every one else, but mewed provokingly whenever he
appeared,--would jump on his knee with all the familiarity
of an old friend.

"With his horses he had the same power of domestication.
They yielded to the sound of his voice with the instinct
that seemed to convey to all that in him they had found
master and friend.

"Over the natives that influence seemed almost magic. When
at Umbala, on ten days' leave, in November last, the wounded
and convalescent Guides (his old corps) were all day
straying into the compound simply to 'salaam' the 'Sahib.'
And if, when lingering on the steps, or in front of the
study door, they were questioned what they wanted, their
answer would be, 'Nothing; they liked to look at the Sahib.'
And so they hung about his steps, and watched like so many
faithful dogs. Especially there was an Affghan boy, (he had
once been a slave,) whose very soul seemed bound up in the
master who had rescued him from his degraded position, and
for whom every service seemed light. He would watch his
master's movements with a look of very worship, as if the
ground were not good enough for him to tread.

"His joyousness of nature made him the most charming
companion. There was a certain quaintness of expression
which gave zest to all he said; and yet there was a
reverence, too, so that, were subjects graver than usual
introduced even by allusion, they at once commanded his
earnest response."

It will doubtless excite surprise, perchance indignation, that one whom the Commander-in-Chief pronounced "one of the most brilliant soldiers under his command,"--one whom all ranks of the army in India reckoned amongst their bravest and most skilful leaders,--one whom the popular voice has already enrolled amongst the heroes of the nation,--one whose name was "known, either in love or fear, by every native from Calcutta to Cabul,"--should have received, with the exception of a brevet majority (to which he was entitled for services in 1849), no mark of his Sovereign's approbation, no recognition of gallant services and deeds of daring, one tenth part of which would have covered many of Fortune's favorites with decorations.

That recognition, however, which was officially withheld, has been given in a more marked form by the spontaneous expression of the feelings of his brothers-in-arms. A committee, composed of officers of the highest eminence, has been formed at Calcutta for the sake of recording, by some permanent memorial, their admiration of his gallantry and skill, and it has been determined that it should take the form of a monument in Lichfield Cathedral.

Nor will his name be forgotten in India, even by men in office. The regiment which he raised still is "Hodson's Horse;" and by an order, published in the _Gazette_ of August 13th, is constituted a brigade, consisting of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Regiments of "Hodson's Horse."

I do not know that his warmest friends could desire any more distinguished testimony to his services.

* * * * *

Since these remarks were written, my brother's services have received a still more public acknowledgment. On the occasion of the vote of thanks to the Indian Army, on 14th April, 1859, both Lord Derby in the Upper, and Lord Stanley in the Lower House, mentioned his name in the most honorable manner.

Lord Stanley spoke as follows:--

"And now, Sir, having paid the tribute that is due to those
who live, it is not fitting that we should pass away
entirely from this subject without recognizing the services
of the dead. (Hear, hear.) Operations like those which have
been carried on for the last eighteen months, could not be
conducted without a great and lamentable loss of life, and
their loss to the public service is not one which can be
measured by any numerical test, because it is always the
best and bravest officers who rush to the front,--who
volunteer for every service of danger or difficulty, who
expose themselves to every risk, and among whom, therefore,
there is necessarily the greatest loss of life. There are
two names which are especially distinguished. The first is
that of Major Hodson, of the Guides, (hear, hear,) who in
his short but brilliant military career displayed every
quality which an officer should possess. (Hear.) Nothing is
more remarkable, in glancing over the biography of Major
Hodson that has just appeared, than the variety of services
in which he was engaged. At one time he displayed his great
personal courage and skill as a swordsman in conflict with
Sikh fanatics; was then transferred to the civil service, in
which he performed his duties as though he had passed his
whole life at the desk, afterwards recruiting and commanding
the corps of Guides, and, lastly, taking part in the
operations before Delhi, volunteering for every enterprise
in which life could be hazarded or glory could be won. He
crowded into the brief space of eleven eventful years the
services and adventures of a long life. He died when his
reward was assured, obtaining only that reward which he most
coveted,--the consciousness of duty done, and the assurance
of enduring military renown. The other name to which I shall
refer is a name which will always be received with feelings
of special and individual interest by this House. No words
of mine can add to the glory attaching to the short but
noble career of Sir W. Peel. (Cheers.) He bore a name which
is inseparably connected with the Parliamentary history of
this country, and it was with feelings of almost personal
pride and of personal grief that a great number of the
members of this House received the accounts of his glorious
achievements and of his untimely end. (Hear, hear.) For his
own reputation he had lived long enough; no future acts
could have enhanced his fame. It is England, it is his
country that deplores his loss."

I have also much pleasure in stating that "in testimony of the high sense entertained of the gallant and distinguished services of the late Brevet-Major W. S. R. Hodson," the Secretary of State for India in Council has granted a special pension to his widow.

FOOTNOTES:

[69] Lieutenant Gough says, that my brother saved his life by cutting down a rebel trooper in the very act of spearing him.

[70] It has been given.--_Ed._

[71] At the Begum's Palace the defences were found, after the capture of the place, so much stronger than could be observed or had been believed, that the General said, that, had he known what lay before the assaulting column, he should have hesitated to give the order for advance. They went at it, however, with a rush,--the 93d Highlanders and 4th Punjaub Rifles, old comrades at the Secundrabagh,--and carried it.

[72] This orderly, Nihal Singh, afterwards travelled to Simla at his own expense to see Mrs. Hodson, and beg to be taken into her service and go to England with her. The men of his regiment cried like children when they heard the news of his death.