signed to the dark shade of the valley of death, unwept by one of all those who had known and loved him in his infancy, and in his childhood. That of all the friends and relatives who had watched his dawning years, there was not one who could know that he was dead, until months had elapsed since the hands of strangers had deposited his mutilated body in a solitary grave, in the midst of the wild deserts of a distant and foreign land.

"We thought as we hallowed his narrow bed,
And smoothed down his lonely pillow,

That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head,
And we far away on the billow.

66

'Lightly they'll speak of the spirit that's gone,

And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him—

But little he'll reck, if they'll let him sleep on,
In the grave where a Briton has laid him."

Wolfe.

Our camp was now arranged, and all made as secure as possible. The force had suffered much in the breastwork, which had been erected as a depot for grain, &c., for transmission up the passes-it was nothing more than a hard wall, about eight feet high, and surrounded by a trench about twelve feet deep and twenty wide-in this there was erected a temporary citadel, for four guns in the centre, a barrack for about two hundred men, stabling for about fifty horses, and rather extensive granaries for stores. During the repeated attack of the enemy for the last five months, the men had never been unaccoutred-were continually under arms,

and for seven weeks previous to our arrival, had all been posted as double sentries, one sleeping 'neath the wall, whilst the other watched, and waking his comrade to relieve him at the appointed time, as mentioned in the last chapter. Every one was alike, and most unremittingly did they labour, and succeeded in keeping possession-and how gladly were they relieved when we approached! their first trial became as nothing, and all was again free. After a few days the enemy began to re-appear, and alarm our guards at night-the weather, too, began to grow very cold, even so much so, that by the end of November, although the heat of the day would raise the thermometer invariably to 125o-I have seen it 139°-the same night would bring ice on our kettles of water, and was, indeed, very trying to the constitution of us young campaigners, having no other protection from these varied powers than the canvas tents. The water we procured, issued from the mountains by which we were surrounded, and was from a spa, the rock producing much lead and copper, and occasioned much unpleasantness amongst the troops, in the shape of large boils breaking out over the body, and our hospital tents became crowded with men in sound health, but disabled in consequence of this painful malady. Almost nightly would our troops be turned out three or four times, owing to some straggling shots being fired at, and exchanged by our pickets, and in consequence all men fit for duty

were constantly accoutred. From the 10th November, 1840, until the 13th of January, 1841, they never knew what a sound night's rest was, nor free from being equipped and lying on their arms. Food was extremely scarce, the Commissariat supplies being very so so. The men, for want of tea or coffee, used to burn small biscuit crumbs black, pound and boil them, and make a sort of wet and warm mixture, minus taste or sweetness-but hunger knows not delicacy. When biscuit became scarce, we had to grind wheat with a hand mill, mix up the coarse flour or chaff, add a little bitter rock salt, &c., like alabaster, and in order to bake it, dig a large hole in the ground, fill it with ashes, throw in the dough, and after it had been in the fire for some hours, it became not a bad though coarse loaf. Our original ideas of cookery were much practised, and many a lesson was learned. A mode of cooking a fowl has since assisted me often when travelling, and is certainly very simple: kill the fowl, enclose in clay, feathers and all together, put it in amongst hot ashes, much the same way as the loaf, and in an hour it will turn out, plucked and deliciously cooked. So much for experience. Thus we carried on for weeks, during which time our small corps of cavalry were always booted and saddled, and our few guns loaded ready for action.

The precautions taken by Major Boscawen, (who just now got his promotion,) to prevent surprise, were most admirable, and were carried out in a

manner that proved the confidence we all felt in our leader. The quiet, gentle, and systematic manner in which Captain White, 40th Regiment, performed the duties of staff officer over our little army, will not be soon forgotten by those who were present at Dadur in November and December, 1840, and January, 1841; he showed in this his preliminary step or outline service, which was most fully appreciated by the Government, how most deserving he was, and it will be seen ere I leave off this narrative, that Captain White proved himself a thorough soldier, and worthy of all he afterwards gained. When the enemy became tired of his ineffectual campaign, he again retired into the mountain fastnesses, and the 38th Regiment Native Infantry, which had been relieved by the 2nd Grenadier Regiment, was sent up the passes to Candahar, but were weather bound by the snow, which completely blocked up their route.

CHAPTER VIII.

Sojourn at Dadur; The Kotra Force; Nusseer still determined; Lieutenant Chamberlain; Colonel Marshall at Kotra; Encampment of the Enemy near Kotra; Secret Expedition; Silent preparations for Battle; Midnight Surprise; Glorious Victory; Escape of Nusseer; Dreadful loss amongst the Enemy; Colonel Stacy at Quetta; His Directions to Negociate; Unjust liberality of the British; General Brooks; A large Force for further Exploits; Evidence of another War; Assembly of a Grand Army at Sukkur; Its March to Mungal Ka Shier; Left Wing 40th with the Grand Army; Orders for the Right Wing to join Head Quarters; Second Grenadier Regiment left at Dadur; March to Mungal Ka Shier; Arrival at Aji Ka Shier; Route thereto; Night marching; Defile; Arrival in Camp at Midnight; Commissariat lost; Bad lookout; Camp Surprises; Recollections of Major Clibborn's mishap; Despatches to Dadur; Collection of a meal; Arrival of a lost friend; Conjunction with the Grand Army; State of the Country; Position and Power of Political Agents; Demand on Kojuk for Tribute; Preremptory Refusal; Attempt at a Breach; Colonel Wilson defeated and wounded; Rascally conduct of the Sepoys; Daring Exploit of fifty European Artillery; Serious loss; The Storm; Fall of its Commander, Lieut. Creed.

As we are sojourning here some time, I cannot do better than collect the exploits of the detached portions of our force together, and let my readers know how they got on. It will be remembered that the 25th Regiment of Native Infantry, with