^7x ^/J/l&r&e ^fe^y?^ 
 
This book is supplied by MESSRS. SMITH, 
 ELDER & Co. to Booksellers on terms which will 
 not admit of their allowing a discount from the 
 advertised price. 
 
fa 
 
EECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 A LIFE IN THE BEITISH AKMY 
 
Photo by ELLIOTT & FEY.J 
 
 GENERAL SIR RICHARD HARRISON IN 1897. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 L LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 DUKINQ THE 
 
 LATTEE HALF OF THE IQra CENTUEY 
 
 BY 
 
 SENEBAL SIE EICHAED HAEEISON, G.C.B., C.M.G. 
 
 COLONEL-COMMANDANT B.B. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SMITH, ELDEE, & CO., 15 WATEELOO PLACE 
 1908 
 
 [All rights reserved] 
 
HENRY MORSE STEPHENS 
 

 INTBODUCTION 
 
 ON retiring from active service, I found time to look 
 through my journals and letters, and commenced putting 
 them into shape under the title of ' Notes on my Life for 
 my Children.' My intention was to publish these notes 
 for private circulation only. 
 
 However, at the request of relations, notably my 
 cousin, Kose Harrison, who undertook in concert with 
 my wife to revise them and prepare them for publication, 
 I consented to their being brought out under the title 
 that heads this book. 
 
 I hope that what I have thus written will prove 
 interesting, not only to personal friends and relatives, but 
 also to a larger circle of the reading public to whom I am 
 at present unknown. 
 
 It need only be added that, in the account of what 
 took place in Eastern Countries, the spelling has been 
 maintained that was in use when the events described 
 were in progress. 
 
 The names, given shortly in the text, are repeated 
 with such explanation as seems necessary in the Index. 
 
 511613 
 
vi A LIFE IN THE BKITISH ARMY 
 
 Some of the officers and others to whom I have 
 alluded are still alive; a large proportion, however, are 
 dead. To the memory of these latter, among whom were 
 many of my best friends, I dedicate with all affection the 
 following pages. 
 
 EICHAED HAKKISON. 
 
 ASHTON MANOB, NEAR EXETER. 
 September 1908. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OHAPTXB PAGE 
 
 I. EARLY LIFE . . . . 1 
 
 II. INDIAN CAMPAIGNS, 1857-59 21 
 
 III. THE CHINA WAR OP 1859-60 61 
 
 IV. HOME SERVICE 98 
 
 V. THE ZULU WAR 136 
 
 VI. THE BATTLE OF ULUNDI 164 
 
 VII. THE TRANSVAAL IN 1879 191 
 
 VIII. THE SEKUKUNI WAR 212 
 
 IX. STAFF WORK IN PEACE 237 
 
 X. STAFF WORK IN WAR 256 
 
 XI. COMMANDS IN ENGLAND 294 
 
 XII. THE WAR OFFICE 328 
 
 APPENDIX 365 
 
 INDEX 373 
 
ILLUSTBATIONS 
 
 GENERAL SIR BICHARD HARRISON IN 1897 . . . 
 
 THE KING OF DELHI . . 
 
 THE IRON BRIDGE, LUCKNOW . . . 
 THE FIGHTING BAM FROM SHUNKERPORB . 
 
 TARTAR INFANTRY 
 
 DASH' 
 
 FEDERAL PICKET ON BAILWAY 
 
 FEDERAL AND CONFEDERATE OUTPOSTS 'IN TOUCH' . 
 
 ISANDLWANA HlLL, APRIL 1879 
 
 BORKE'S DRIFT AFTER THE FIGHT .... 
 MY ZULU BOY 
 
 SIR GARNET WOLSELEY WHEN HIGH COMMISSIONER 
 IN SOUTH AFRICA 
 
 SEKUKUNI AND FAMILY WHEN PRISONERS AT PRE- 
 TORIA IN 1880 
 
 ARABI PASHA, HEAD OF BEVOLT IN EGYPT IN 1882 
 CHARMING LASS ' AT DEVONPORT IN 1890 . 
 
 FACSIMILE OF THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF THE PRINCE 
 IMPERIAL'S BEPORT TO COLONEL HARRISON, 
 B.E.,A.Q.M.G 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 To face p. 24 
 
 38 
 
 51 
 
 86 
 
 100 
 
 130 
 
 no 
 
 146 
 146 
 186 
 
 210 
 
 228 
 254 
 320 
 
 371 
 
A 
 
 LIFE IN THE BRITISH AEMY 
 
 CHAPTEE I 
 
 EABLY LIFE 
 
 Ancestry Childhood Private Schools Harrow How I entered the Army 
 Woolwich Chatham The East Malta. 
 
 IT is known that in the year 1140 a Bobert Harrison 
 founded Burscough Abbey ; he was the son of Harry 
 Tarbock Lord of Lathom. An old chronicler says ' He 
 was called Kobert FitzHenry by the Normans, but the 
 Saxons called him Kobert Harrison.' Whether, or not, 
 our family is descended from the above is a debated 
 point ; but the connecting chain of our ancestry is intact 
 as far back as Richard Harrison of Freckleton, who was 
 living in Lancashire in 1580. 
 
 The third in descent from this Richard was the 
 Rev. Joseph, Vicar of Cirencester, whose picture we 
 possess. The youngest son of the Vicar was Sir Thomas 
 Harrison, Chamberlain of the City of London, whose 
 picture, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, is also in our 
 possession. My great-grandfather, Benjamin, second 
 son of Sir Thomas Harrison, was educated at West- 
 minster School. He was Treasurer of Guy's Hospital. 
 In 1753 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Captain John 
 Pelly, R.N., of Upton House, near Wickham, in Essex. 
 He died in 1797 at Clapham and was buried there. 
 
 B 
 
2 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 My grandfather, Matthew, tenth child of Benjamin, 
 was born in 1773. He married Maria, daughter of Colonel 
 Alexander Patterson, of Montreal, Canada, who was killed 
 by the poisoned arrow of an Indian in the American War 
 of Independence, whilst defending the frontier close to his 
 own property at Montreal. Matthew Harrison joined the 
 London and Westminster Light Horse in 1794 and be- 
 came a captain in 1799. He was one of the Lieutenancy 
 of the City of London, J.P. for the county of Surrey, 
 Governor of the South Sea House, of Guy's and St. 
 Thomas's Hospitals, and Chairman of the Albion Life 
 Insurance Office. For many years he lived at Croydon, 
 but towards the end of his life he moved to London, 
 where I used to see him on my way to and from school. 
 He died in December 1850, aged 77, and my grandmother 
 died seven years afterwards, aged 83. 
 
 My father, Benjamin John, sixth child of Matthew 
 and Maria Harrison, was born in 1803. He was educated 
 at Westminster, and from there obtained a Studentship 
 at Christ Church, Oxford. Among his friends at that 
 College were his cousin Benjamin, who became Arch- 
 deacon of Maidstone, and William Ewart Gladstone, 
 who became Prime Minister of England. Not many 
 years ago I think it was in 1888 that distinguished 
 statesman was opening a new Medical College at Guy's 
 Hospital, and while luncheon was proceeding he asked 
 the Treasurer, Mr. Lushington, who was sitting next him, 
 who I was. When told he bent forward and asked me 
 my father's Christian name and what happened to him. 
 On hearing that it was Benjamin, and that he had taken 
 orders, he said ' But there were two Benjamin Harrisons,' 
 
 I replied ' The other one, his cousin, afterwards be- 
 came Archdeacon of Maidstone." 
 
 Then he remembered all about the old time, and said 
 it was owing to his college friendship with the two 
 
CHILDHOOD 3 
 
 Benjamin Harrisons that he had made the acquaintance 
 of the Treasurer of Guy's (Archdeacon Harrison's father) 
 and afterwards was made a Governor of that Hospital. 
 
 My father took his degree at Christ Church, and was 
 ordained. He was licensed to the curacy of Trinity 
 Church, Upper Chelsea, under the then rector the Rev. 
 Henry Blunt, and after a few years of active parochial 
 work in that locality was appointed Rector of Beaumont, 
 Chelmsford. 
 
 In 1835 he married Emily, the second daughter of 
 Richard Hall, Esq., of Copped Hall, Totteridge, Herts, 
 and 28 Portland Place. 
 
 Two sons were born to them : John Francis Henry 
 in April 1836, and Richard (myself) in May 1837. To- 
 wards the middle of that year my father's health began 
 to fail, and in September he left England with his wife 
 and two infant sons and took up his residence at Pau. in 
 the South of France, where he remained for about fourteen 
 months, and where he died on December 7, 1838, in the 
 thirty-sixth year of his age. 
 
 The earliest days of my childhood that I can recall 
 were those spent at a house named 'Hill House,' Hatfield, 
 which my mother rented when, as a widow, she returned 
 from Pau in 1839. The house stood on the borders of 
 Hatfield Park, and its occupants had the privilege of 
 a private key which admitted them from the garden to 
 any part of the beautiful pleasure grounds. My brother 
 and I were never tired of the walks down the avenues, or 
 over the mossy rides among the bracken. How we counted 
 the rabbits to ascertain the number that would appear on 
 a summer's evening on each favourite drive ; how, when 
 we had counted them, we clapped our hands and laughed 
 to see them disappear in their bolt holes ; how we revelled 
 in the celebrated vineyard ; how we made friends with 
 some of the upper servants at the old Elizabethan house 
 
 B 2 
 
4 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 and were shown all its grandeur and all its curiosities ; 
 how, now and then, we took an extra long walk past the 
 old oak under which kings and queens were said to have 
 lingered, until we reached a cottage surrounded by sand- 
 martins' nests; and how, when we pulled out a young 
 bird we were taught to put it carefully back for the sake 
 of its anxious mother all this and more I can remember 
 as if it had happened yesterday ! I can recollect, too, the 
 visits we used to pay to my grandmother at Christmas 
 time; the drive from Hatfield to Totteridge, in a fly 
 drawn by one horse which could hardly face the last steep 
 hill ; and, when we arrived, the welcome we received from 
 our uncles and aunts, with all of whom we two little 
 boys were great favourites, and by whom we were, I am 
 afraid, terribly spoilt. I can still fancy I see my brother 
 in his velvet coat tottering along by the side of his grand- 
 mother, who was especially fond of him, pretending to 
 help her carry a big bundle of keys when she visited one 
 of the well-filled store cupboards. Then, as years rolled 
 on, and we had to learn more than my mother was 
 prepared to teach us, I remember what discussions took 
 place about schools, many friends and relations being 
 consulted in the matter. The result, at first at all events, 
 was a compromise ; my brother was taught at a neigh- 
 bouring school as a home boarder, and then I was sent 
 away altogether from the nest, a little mite of eight years 
 old, to learn my first severe lesson how to shift for myself, 
 and how to make my own way in the world of study. 
 From this time my brother's path divided from mine ; we 
 never went together to the same school, our holidays even 
 did not always agree, and almost imperceptibly we drifted 
 further and further apart. 
 
 It may be well therefore to relate briefly what happened 
 to him. Educated at private schools and at the Brighton 
 College, he started life in 1855 in a London bank, and 
 
EARLY SCHOOLDAYS 5 
 
 subsequently exchanged it for the office of a friend who 
 was a stockbroker. But he very much disliked his 
 London experiences, and gladly accepted the offer made 
 to him by an uncle to take a commission in the Lan- 
 cashire Artillery Militia. This corps was embodied during 
 the Indian Mutiny, and he served with it at Dover, Spike 
 Island, &c. In November 1860 he obtained a commission 
 in the 3rd West India Kegiment, and served with it at 
 Jamaica, Honduras, Barbadoes, and Sierra Leone. From 
 the latter place he was invalided. 
 
 In 1864 he obtained his company, and effected an 
 exchange into the 16th Foot, which was then in Canada. 
 In this regiment he served at various stations in Canada 
 and Nova Scotia until October 1869, when he exchanged 
 into the 53rd Foot, then at Quebec. Subsequently this 
 regiment was moved to Bermuda; and there he was 
 made Staff Officer to the Governor, with the title of Fort 
 Adjutant. But his health broke down under the con- 
 tinuous strain of foreign service in unwholesome climates ; 
 and having been invalided home, he died in his step- 
 father's house at Blackheath, November 16, 1874, aged 
 38 years. 1 
 
 The first private school I went to was a small one at 
 Headley Rectory, near Epsom, kept by the Rev. Ferdinand 
 Faithfull. He was the younger brother of the Rector 
 of Hatfield, and it was by the advice and recommendation 
 of the latter that I went to Headley. I was only eight 
 years old, as already stated, when I first left home. Very 
 strange it seemed at first, and I was somewhat wilful, 
 I am afraid. 
 
 I remember what an awful fright I was in at having 
 to conform to the rule of the house and repeat a text of 
 
 1 A window has been put up to his memory in Barming Church, and 
 a monument has been erected in Shrewsbury Parish Church, by his brother 
 officers of the Shropshire Light Infantry. 
 
6 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Scripture, before the whole establishment, at prayer time. 
 I also recollect, when I had done something to displease 
 the master, getting under the table and fighting him with 
 a chair. His weapon was a ruler. I forget who got the 
 best of it, but I know I was very angry, and that I wrote 
 a long letter home ; in fact, the friction was so great that 
 my mother thought it best to remove me. 
 
 I was then sent to a larger school kept by the Kev. 
 J. C. Chase, who did no other duty. This school was at 
 the village of Iver, near Uxbridge. I remained there 
 about three years. During this period two memorable 
 events happened that impressed me very much. One 
 was an outbreak of cholera, and the other was the Chartist 
 Biots. I might have remembered the scourge of sickness 
 by the tiresome but, I suppose, necessary sanitary pre- 
 cautions that had to be taken : the washings and scrapings, 
 the purifyings, and restrictions put on plums, apples, and 
 all such fruits in which a schoolboy delights. But what 
 impressed me most was the way in which the funerals 
 were conducted. Instead of the pomp of black hearses, 
 and nodding plumes, long hat bands, and tightly bitted 
 black horses, as was then the custom, nothing appeared 
 but a rough box on a wheeled platform, drawn by one old 
 pony; in front of this shabby concern the gravedigger 
 walked, and as he proceeded, he shouted to everyone 
 to avoid the pestilence. People were too frightened, as 
 a rule, to join in anything like an ordinary procession. 
 
 With the Chartist Eiots we were only distantly con- 
 nected ; the chief excitement was in London, but there 
 was a good deal of stir even in our quiet little village over 
 the swearing in of special constables, and the arrange- 
 ments for putting extra bars and bolts wherever anything 
 was kept that might be worth taking away. There was 
 a talk, I know, of swearing in some of the elder boys at 
 our school, but it never went quite so far as that. 
 
EARLY SCHOOLDAYS 7 
 
 It has always been my custom, from the time when 
 I first went to school, to keep a journal, in which I have 
 recorded briefly the events of each day. I have not been 
 in the habit, especially lately, of putting anything down 
 in this journal beyond bare facts ; no opinions, or con- 
 jectures, or effusions of any sort ; consequently there is 
 nothing in it that may not be read by anyone ; and it 
 serves the purpose of a useful book of reference, because 
 it simply records an event as it occurred, and leaves my 
 memory free and unfettered to fill in the blanks. In the 
 earliest school journal that I possess, written during the 
 first half-year of my stay at Mr. Faithfull's, I find the 
 following entry : 
 
 'The boys and Elizabeth went with the pony, and, 
 when I got on, it kicked and reared and leaped ditches, 
 and then it ran away, and all the boys after it. We had 
 such fun. I did not tumble off.' 
 
 Towards the end of my sojourn at my first private 
 school my mother was married again to Lieut. -Colonel 
 Edward Stanton, who had retired from the Bombay 
 Artillery, after spending the whole of his service in 
 India. 
 
 For a time my holiday home was a changing one. 
 My step-father's native county was Gloucestershire; so 
 we visited many places in that neighbourhood Bath, 
 Cheltenham, Clifton, Weston-super-Mare, &c. Then we 
 settled for a few months at Hare Hatch, near Twyford, 
 in Berkshire, which was within easy distance of the 
 Thames at Wargrave. From thence we moved to Barm- 
 ing House, near Maidstone, in Kent, where we remained 
 some sixteen years. 
 
 When I was about thirteen years of age I had reached 
 the top of Mr. Chase's school, and was removed to 
 Harrow, where Dr. Vaughan was then Head Master. 
 
 I lodged about a mile from the school, in the house of 
 
8 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the Rev. G. T. Warner, and was placed in the fourth 
 form. 
 
 At that time there were in the whole school twelve 
 forms, viz. (beginning from the bottom), the third form, 
 the upper and lower fourth, the first, second, third, and 
 fourth shell, the first, second, third, and fourth fifth, and 
 the sixth. There are now, I bslieve, many more. Even 
 while I was at the school there were changes. For 
 instance, the sixth form was divided into two ; the first, 
 including the monitors, numbered thirty boys, and the 
 second ten. 
 
 At the end of my first term (which at Harrow was 
 called a quarter) I was removed into the third shell, and 
 from that time I kept going up pretty regularly until I 
 reached the second fifth, which was under the care of 
 Ben Drury, a well-known and much-honoured name on 
 1 The Hill.' 
 
 When I, with two or three others, was moved up into 
 this form, he met us with the announcement that ' How- 
 ever fast boys got on, and however quickly they were 
 moved from form to form, the second fifth was a resting 
 place. No boys could pass through it in less than two 
 quarters at least, and. as far as he was concerned, nobody 
 should.' 
 
 At first we were inclined to be sceptical about this 
 assurance ; but our new master soon brought us to our 
 bearings. I shall never forget the smile of contempt with 
 which he listened to one of his new pupils translating 
 a well-known passage of Greek verse. The boy went 
 on glibly enough until a peremptory order came to stop. 
 Then he called upon another, and then another, until all 
 the new ones had been tried. Finally he turned to one 
 of his old pupils who had had the advantage of remaining 
 several quarters in his form, and seemed likely to remain 
 there ad infinitum, and said in an encouraging voice : 
 
AT HARROW 9 
 
 ' Jones Major, will you go on ? ' 
 
 I need not say we were not much impressed by the 
 way in which that old pupil carried out the order ; but 
 the master lay back in his chair, and seemed to listen 
 with thorough appreciation and content; and when a 
 convenient point was reached he turned to us and said, 
 ' There, that is the way to do it in my form.' We learnt 
 a lesson that day, though not in Greek. 
 
 After staying the regulation time in this form, I was 
 moved into the first fifth, then under Mr. Harris, and 
 subsequently into the under sixth, which was just formed. 
 But in the midst of my second quarter in the sixth, when 
 I was looking forward to removal into the upper half of 
 the form and becoming a monitor, I suddenly left the 
 school to go to Woolwich, as will be described later on. 
 
 When I went to Harrow I was supposed to be 
 delicate, and I carried with me a doctor's certificate that 
 I was unfit to go through the ordeal of compulsory 
 football. At that time (perhaps even now) there existed 
 a custom that every boy below a certain form in the 
 school must go down to the football ground three days in 
 the week and take part in the game, under penalty (if he 
 shirked) of a monitor's cane. 
 
 As may be imagined, a certificate of exemption was 
 looked down upon. I had been one of the first in all 
 games at a private school; and, though occasionally 
 troubled by headaches, when my head was all right I was 
 full of spirits, and did not at all like giving up the 
 exercise with my fellows, as well as the chance of dis- 
 tinction in the muddy football fields. So I tore up my 
 certificate, accepted the compulsory system, did my best 
 to learn the game, and ended by playing in the school 
 eleven in the big annual football match against the old 
 boys. I may say that I continued playing all my life, 
 until I became Governor of the Military Academy of 
 
10 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Woolwich, when the Governor's eleven played against 
 one captained by the Sergeant-Major. 
 
 I also played cricket at Harrow, and was elected by 
 the school ' Club Keeper,' in other words, captain of the 
 fifth form game. This was the second game, and it was 
 at that time the nursery of the eleven, for the sixth form 
 game was often filled up by strangers, and by boys high 
 up in the school, as well as by old members of the cricket 
 eleven. 
 
 "Whether I should have got into the eleven in 1855 or 
 not I cannot say. I should have been somewhat near it 
 had I not left, as I said before, at the beginning of the 
 summer season. 
 
 I expect the education given at public schools must 
 be better now than it was in my time. Otherwise we 
 should never hear of boys getting into Woolwich, or 
 Sandhurst, or the Civil Service of the country direct from 
 school, as is sometimes the case now. 
 
 When I joined at Harrow I knew a fair amount of 
 mathematics for my age ; and the knowledge I then 
 possessed helped me in the periodical examinations, and 
 enabled me to establish myself as heir to the only 
 mathematical prize then existing, although I never 
 actually went in for it. But the amount I learnt at the 
 school was almost nil. I remember that at one period of 
 my life there I became somewhat slack about work, 
 owing, perhaps, to the fact that I was then in a form 
 which it was said to be impossible to get through under 
 two or three quarters. Whatever it may have been, the 
 slackness took the form of standing absolutely still in 
 algebra ; and the mathematical master never found it out. 
 As far as I remember, our total instruction in mathe- 
 matics consisted in going three times a week, for an hour, 
 to a special master. It was sufficient to take one sum 
 worked out on a piece of paper and hand it in to the 
 
AT HARROW 11 
 
 master on arrival at school, then to work out another 
 sum in the room, and hand it to him at the termination 
 of the hour. A series of questions repeated over and over 
 again lasted me a whole quarter. Needless to say they 
 were always right, and obtained for me full marks for 
 work in school, and work out of school. I could have 
 done any of them blindfold. At last, just before the 
 examination, when I took up to the master one of the 
 well-known examples, he looked at me and said, ' I think 
 we have seen this before ? ' I could not help laughing ; 
 and he seemed to think it a joke and laughed too. 
 
 I said that I lived in the house of the Rev. GL T. 
 Warner, who was also, by custom, my tutor out of school. 
 About two years after I joined, his health broke down, 
 and he had to give up work and live in the West of 
 England. He was succeeded by Mr. Pears, who after a 
 short tenure went away to be Head Master at Rep ton. 
 We then had Edwin Vaughan, brother of the Head 
 Master, a first-rate man, and a thorough gentleman, who 
 knew how to manage high-spirited boys. No wonder 
 his house became, as it did, one of the best at Harrow : 
 eagerly sought after by all parents who cared for the 
 welfare of their sons. 
 
 My journal during Harrow days was not well kept; 
 there are lengthy omissions, and many incidents are left 
 out. No doubt I did not like to insert them for fear 
 they might be seen. I can remember that, at one period 
 perhaps when I became slack at work I was not careful 
 to comply with school rules, and nearly brought myself 
 into serious trouble. This state of things, I fancy, grew 
 gradually. It may have begun at my first entry into the 
 life of a public school. I remember when Mr. Warner 
 selected a room to put me in he did not add to my 
 mother's peace of mind by telling her that he had ' put 
 her lamb into a den of wolves ' ! 
 
12 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 The wolves did not devour the lamb all at once. In 
 fact they were somewhat tender to it, and did not 
 encourage it to take part in their rough if not evil ways, 
 but I expect the example had its after-effects. Anyhow 
 I learnt gradually to get callous about things that would 
 at first have frightened me ; and at last I used to perform 
 certain exploits which would, I suppose, have entailed my 
 being sent away from the school if they had been found 
 out. Such a one was letting myself out of a back 
 window by night with the sole object of creeping to the 
 Head Master's house, and throwing small pebbles up at 
 his study window, or going to the old churchyard, and 
 picking a sprig from the tree that overhangs Byron's 
 grave. Useless expeditions these, and dangerous for the 
 future of a schoolboy. 
 
 During the last part of my stay at the school I am 
 glad to say that I abandoned these practices. What 
 influenced me to do so was an exceedingly kind letter 
 from my tutor, Mr. Edwin Vaughan. I have not the 
 letter by me I do not know what happened to it ; but I 
 remember that it was very tenderly worded, that it 
 brought no accusations, and that it gave me the option of 
 leaving the school quietly if I felt that the temptations 
 were too great, and that I could not accept the high 
 responsibility that would be mine, if I returned, as a 
 member of the sixth form, to keep not only myself, but 
 others in order, and to maintain discipline. 
 
 It was just the kind of letter to touch me ; and with- 
 out hesitation I wrote and said I would return and do my 
 best to maintain the good reputation of his house. And 
 I hope I did. Anyhow the Head Master, Dr. Vaughan, 
 gave me what I considered far too good a character when, 
 not many months afterwards, I went up before the Master 
 General of the Ordnance with a view to an appointment. 
 
 Now, I must tell of an event that was the turning 
 
AT HARROW 13 
 
 point in my life. But before doing so I must go back a 
 little to the commencement of 1854, when Great Britain, 
 in concert with France, and eventually with Italy, went 
 to war with Russia in order to prop up the decaying 
 Turkish Empire, and keep open Constantinople and the 
 Bosphorus. 
 
 In the Spring of that year I was getting high up in 
 the school, and was old enough to appreciate newspapers, 
 and take an interest in what was going on in the world 
 around me. 
 
 Like many another Harrow boy, my blood was at 
 fever heat. For England was engaged in hostilities with 
 what was at that time the most powerful military nation 
 in the world. Day by day we followed in the papers the 
 events that crowded thick and fast one after another, 
 events which sent a thrill to many a heart in the king- 
 dom more hardened by time than ours. First came the 
 preparation of the force that was destined for the seat of 
 war in the East. Then the landing at Varna. Then the 
 expedition to the Crimea and the glorious battle of the 
 Alma. After that the flank march and the unsuccessful 
 bombardment of Sebastopol, and then the battles of 
 Balaclava and Inkerman, and that terrible winter on the 
 bleak slopes in rear of the newly made siege works. 
 
 All through the winter of 1854-55, which was one of 
 the most severe that has ever been felt even in England, 
 there was but one topic of conversation, What news from 
 the trenches? In almost every house women were 
 knitting warm clothes for the soldiers in the Crimea, or 
 picking lint for the wounded in the hospitals at Scutari. 
 
 I need hardly say that we boys thought little of the 
 dangers and inconveniences of war ; our imagination was 
 full of all its pomp, all its excitement, and our one wish 
 was to be with the Army. 
 
 On March 17, 1855, I was sent for by the Head 
 
14 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Master and told that Sir Hew Eoss, who was the Master 
 General of the Ordnance, had offered the school an 
 appointment to Woolwich ; and that, if I liked to take it, 
 he would recommend me for it. I did not quite know 
 what it meant, or whether my parents would allow me to 
 accept it, but I had a strong idea that it might lead to 
 my joining the Army in the East, and I jumped at the 
 offer. An interview with the Master General made me 
 cognisant of the circumstances namely, that the Eoyal 
 Military Academy could not supply officers fast enough 
 to fill the gaps made by the war in the ranks of the 
 Ordnance Corps, and that batches of young men were 
 being obtained from the universities and public schools as 
 temporary stopgaps. The next year even this help was 
 found insufficient, and the service was thrown open to 
 competition, an advertisement in the newspapers an- 
 nouncing the fact. 
 
 The day I saw Sir Hew Eoss I went back to school, 
 packed up my things, said good-bye to friends, and was 
 told by the Head Master that I was * throwing myself 
 away.' Within a week I was posted, as a full corporal, 
 in the first or practical class of gentlemen cadets, at that 
 time quartered in the Eoyal Arsenal; and about six 
 months later I went to Chatham, having been gazetted as 
 a lieutenant in the Eoyal Engineers. In another six 
 months time I found myself, at the age of 18, on board 
 ship, en route for the Crimea. 
 
 With reference to the Head Master's remark, which 
 was, I consider, a disparaging one to the noble profession 
 I had taken up, instead of going to the University and 
 reading for the Bar, I cannot refrain from mentioning 
 a little incident. Many years afterwards, when I had 
 become a general officer and had been put in charge of 
 one of the largest and most important districts in 
 England, I met him living in a quiet deanery in my 
 
AT CHATHAM 15 
 
 command. When we talked of old days, and I wished 
 to bring myself back to his memory, I reminded him of 
 his remark addressed to me on leaving school, viz. ' that 
 I was throwing myself away,' but he only answered in a 
 gentle voice, 
 
 ' Well, didn't you ? ' 
 
 My six months at Woolwich Arsenal was a very busy 
 time, for we had to go through nearly the whole course 
 usually learnt at the Academy ; and not having looked 
 forward to it, or prepared in any way, the work was all 
 the harder. 
 
 Curiously enough, what I had taken up for pleasure 
 at Harrow, drawing and making maps, was a great help 
 to me ; and having always taken plenty of active exer- 
 cise, drills, gymnastics, and riding came quite naturally 
 to me. Of the new subjects I mastered Artillery the 
 best ; and this put me sufficiently high up in the list 
 to give me the privilege of choice as to which service I 
 should join. At the instigation of my parents I chose 
 the Engineers. 
 
 When I went to Chatham I found no particular 
 stimulus to industry. Things were very disjointed owing 
 to the number of young officers passing through before 
 anything like the usual syllabus of work could be com- 
 pleted. I learnt a little field-works and engineering ; but 
 what I learnt more of than anything else was boxing. 
 In the day we used to practise with one or two pro- 
 fessors of the art ; and often in the evening we used to 
 go down into the towns of Chatham and Kochester, and 
 test our proficiency against the citizens, who turned out 
 readily for the purpose. I can hardly believe that so 
 short a time ago such scenes as I can remember went 
 on in the neighbourhood of the Cathedral and quiet 
 cloisters of the old town of Rochester. But it must be 
 borne in mind that there were then no police ; and, if a 
 
16 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 watchman put in an appearance, both sides bonneted 
 him. 
 
 Among the events of that time recorded in my some- 
 what meagre diary is a visit paid by the Queen and Prince 
 Consort to Chatham : they came to console the sick and 
 wounded from the Crimea who were quartered in the 
 regular barracks, and to see the huts in which we were 
 lodged to make room for them. 
 
 One day at the beginning of the year 1856 I was 
 posted to a company under orders for the Crimea. It 
 was commanded by Captain Pelly, a distant cousin of 
 mine, who was always very kind to me. 
 
 On March 11 we left Chatham for the East, and on 
 the 12th we sailed from Southampton. 
 
 The fuss and excitement of our departure had been 
 all and more than I had ever expected. Parting speeches, 
 bands, the good-bye of friends, the shouts of the mob 
 pursued us all the way from Chatham to Portsmouth. 
 But we had no right to the ovation, for before we reached 
 Constantinople an armistice had been agreed upon be- 
 tween the belligerent forces ; and this armistice led to 
 peace. 
 
 The company to which I belonged was landed at 
 Scutari, and pitched camp between the hospitals. There, 
 except for a trip to the Crimea, I remained for four 
 months employed on a survey of the country. 
 
 During my visit to the Crimea I, of course, visited all 
 the spots of interest, and heard many a story of the 
 campaign from the time when, the first bombardment 
 having failed, it was realised that the allied armies had 
 a harder nut to crack than had at first been anticipated, 
 until the capture of the earthworks which went by the 
 name of the Redan and the Malakhoff brought about the 
 surrender of the south side of Sebastopol, and eventually 
 closed the war. 
 
LIFE AT MALTA 17 
 
 Great credit has, with justice, been given to French 
 and English soldiers for the determined bravery with 
 which they fought in frozen trenches all through that 
 awful winter of 1854-55, and for the success that at last 
 attended their arms ; but I am not sure, were it a question 
 of degree, if the palm of merit should not be given to the 
 Russians for the magnificent defence that they made 
 under such overwhelming difficulties. 
 
 When Scutari was evacuated by British troops, the 
 company to which I belonged went back again to 
 England ; but I was transferred to the 17th (Capt. 
 Lochner's) company, and sent to do service in Malta. 
 
 Soon after my arrival in that famous but hot little 
 island I had a slight attack of that which nearly every- 
 one suffers from more or less, Maltese fever, but it onij 
 lasted a few days, and I was none the worse for it. 
 
 My life at Malta was the usual one of a young officer 
 in a garrison town. Perhaps it was somewhat gayer than 
 the average ; for the island was full of troops, and many 
 people came out in the winter to see relations and to 
 enjoy the climate ; moreover the Fleet was in great force. 
 I find the following in my journal of that time : 
 
 1 Here I am in our house at Malta, which I share with 
 Dumaresq and Brooke of our corps. The former is at pre- 
 sent at St. George's Bay, with the 1st Company E.E. for 
 rifle practice. The latter is reading the ' Orbs of Heaven ' 
 in an arm-chair by the side of a nice fire, while I sit and 
 write at the table. The room is Dumaresq's, but we sit 
 in it because it contains the only fireplace in the house. 
 It has a stone floor, is on the second story, and is about 
 fourteen feet square with three doors and two windows, 
 so that there is plenty of draught. Downstairs, in one of 
 the rooms, my horse eats and sleeps; the latter occupation 
 is shared by the groom, who associates with him wrapped 
 in a horse-rug. In my room, opening out of this one, 
 
 c 
 
18 A LIFE IN THE BKITISH AKMY 
 
 my dog ' Vic f (secured in a cupboard) snarls and growls 
 over three horrid puppies. The servants are in bed. 
 The wind and rain beat against the windows, and the 
 rain trickles in, forming a river down the centre of the 
 room. 
 
 ' I ought to be at St. George's Bay doing a survey, but 
 as I hurt my knee by a fall from my horse I am on the 
 sick list. I expect, however, every day to be able to 
 return to my duties.' 
 
 In this journal there are allusions to the opera, which at 
 that time was a very good one ; to balls at the Governor's, 
 and elsewhere ; to picnics in various parts of the island, 
 and also to work, such as superintending the men who 
 were employed on the fortifications, making fresh surveys 
 of positions, and designs for new works. 
 
 In reference to the last named, I remember having to 
 design an entirely new work for the defence of a portion 
 of the harbour ; and, inasmuch as my mind had not been 
 saturated at Woolwich by the orthodox methods, I took 
 a line of my own, and designed a fort unlike anything 
 that had appeared before in the office of the Inspector- 
 General of Fortifications. The C.E.E. at Malta, an 
 exceedingly able man, but one who hated diverging a 
 straw's breadth from established custom, took occasion in 
 forwarding my design to animadvert on the mistaken 
 policy of giving commissions in the Royal Engineers to 
 anyone who, like myself, had not been through the 
 regular mill, and consequently could not be expected to 
 know how to make a proper design of anything. But, 
 strange to say, the design was accepted; and the fort, 
 built in accordance with it, formed for many years an 
 important part of the defences of Malta harbour. 
 
 Not long after my arrival in Malta, cholera broke out 
 among our men. In a casemate next to the one in which 
 I was stopping a whole family died in one night : a 
 
LIFE AT MALTA 19 
 
 Sergeant-Major, his wife, and all his children. Our com- 
 pany was at once sent under canvas to a solitary ravelin, 
 where they could be locked in, and where no communica- 
 tion could be kept up with the outer world. 
 
 It was my lot to be sent with them. Our food was 
 hoisted up in a basket from the ditch ; and I had to exert 
 all my energies to get up sports and entertainments, and 
 keep the drooping spirits of the men from dwelling on 
 the sickness. Fortunately, no death occurred after our 
 isolation, and not many days passed before we were 
 allowed out. 
 
 I am convinced that there is nothing like exercise and 
 occupation of mind and body to keep people well, especially 
 in an unhealthy climate. At Malta our sappers used to 
 work all day in the sun, and were all the better for it. 
 
 I do not think I need linger any longer on the life at 
 Malta, which was somewhat hot in the summer, but very 
 pleasant in the winter months from November to March. 
 I remained at my work (which included a good deal of 
 play) all through the winter of 1856-57. Towards the end 
 of August I obtained a little ordinary leave, and went 
 home to England. 
 
 At this time the great Mutiny broke out in India. As 
 the news came bit by bit to England, and people began 
 to realise how widely the spirit of discontent had spread, 
 and how strong the mutineers were in numbers, arms, 
 and discipline, great fear arose, not only for the lives of 
 those who were in the midst of the storm, but for the 
 safety of the country, and even for the future of the 
 Empire. 
 
 While on leave I saw in some newspaper that troops 
 would possibly be sent out from Malta to assist in 
 putting down the rebellion. I at once posted up to 
 London, saw the Deputy- Adjutant-General of E.E., 
 General John Gordon, and offered to give up my leave 
 
 c 2 
 
20 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 and return without delay so that I might not miss the 
 chance of going if my company was one of those to be 
 sent. Having delivered my message I waited to hear 
 what he would say ; but he went on writing and said 
 nothing. I made no further remark, but waited for a 
 reply. Presently he looked up and said, ' Well, what are 
 you waiting for ? ' I answered, ' For your decision, 
 whether or not I am to return at once to Malta.' * Go 
 home,' he said, * and wait for orders.' 
 
 His manner was short and somewhat ungracious ; 
 but he was, I knew, a first-rate man, as good as he was 
 brave, and one who had done many an act of kindness 
 that had never seen the light ; and I expect he was really 
 pleased at my coming to London to see him. Anyhow 
 I was ordered to India very soon after I had returned to 
 my station at Malta. 
 
CHAPTEK II 
 
 INDIAN CAMPAIGNS 1857-59 
 
 From Malta to India via Egypt The great Mutiny Arrival at Calcutta 
 and march up country Siege of Lucknow Rohilcund Campaign Best 
 at Boorkee Oude Campaign of 1858-59 Made Adjutant E.E. in India 
 Trans-Gogra Campaign Bridge over the Gogra Simla Ordered to 
 China. 
 
 ON November 15, 1857, having returned to Malta, I re- 
 ceived a letter from home informing me that I was to 
 proceed to India in charge of a detachment of twenty-four 
 men to reinforce the 23rd Company Koyal Engineers, 
 which had already been sent there. The day I received 
 these orders my monkey died. But I was evidently not 
 disturbed by the omen, for in a letter which I wrote 
 to my mother the day after I received my orders I ex- 
 pressed my great delight at having been selected to go 
 out. On the same day I went to report to my com- 
 manding officer and to get all possible instructions. 
 Then I made what private arrangements were necessary, 
 and held myself in readiness to start on the shortest 
 notice. 
 
 Everyone was very kind to me ; the Governor, Sir 
 William Reid, took especial notice of me, and the General, 
 Sir John Pennefather (the hero of Meeanee), said he 
 only wished he were in my place ; for at that time I was 
 the only officer of the Malta garrison going to the war. 
 
 On the 30th I embarked with my small force on board 
 the P. & 0. Company's steamship Nemesis. There 
 were a great many passengers going out, among others 
 
22 A LIFE IN THE BEITISH A.KMY 
 
 Major Bickerstaff of the Carabineers, whom I had known 
 at Maidstone. 
 
 On December 4 we arrived at Alexandria, and early 
 the same day I saw the officer of the Quartermaster- 
 General's Department (Colonel Pocklington), who had been 
 specially stationed there to help British troops across the 
 country. According to treaty, no troops were allowed 
 to pass through Egypt ; but we got over the difficulty by 
 putting the rifles away in chests, and making the men 
 wear ' smock ' frocks over their uniform and become for 
 the time civilians ; and, as far as I know, no one objected 
 to this masquerade, which was considered pardonable 
 under the circumstances. If troops had not crossed 
 Egypt it might have gone hard with those who were 
 stemming the first tide of the Mutiny, however bravely 
 they fought. My men from Malta were some of the first 
 to go out by the overland route. But, thanks to the good 
 arrangements made by the officer above named, we 
 experienced no difficulty. In fact at this stage the whole 
 thing was more like a picnic than a campaign. 
 
 A special train took my party of soldier-civilians, 
 increased by a few Artillerymen ; we started about noon, 
 reached Cairo at 9 P.M., and the station in the desert 
 where the railway line then ended about two hours after 
 midnight. 
 
 Here we got into mule vans, and were driven across 
 the desert, about thirty-five miles, to Suez. From there 
 we went off in a boat to the receiving ship the Oriental, 
 where we remained until the mail steamer to Calcutta 
 was ready to start. 
 
 The headquarters of the 69th Eegiment were on 
 board the Oriental ; they were also going by the first 
 mail to Madras. 
 
 Let me give an extract from one of my letters of the 
 time, written, as most of them were, to my mother. 
 
BOUND FOR INDIA 23 
 
 ' On board the P. & 0. steamer Bengal, 
 
 ' Somewhere in the Bed Sea, 
 ' December 8, 1857.' 
 
 'Here we are pounding down the Ked Sea about 
 twelve miles an hour. We embarked from the Oriental 
 receiving ship on Sunday evening, after all the passengers 
 were in, and are fearfully crammed. I am under the 
 command of Colonel McKerlie of the 69th, who also came 
 on board from the Oriental with the headquarters of 
 the regiment ; so there are prospects before me of night 
 watches, &c., which I thought I should have escaped. 
 However, it won't matter much in this warm weather. . . . 
 You won't get this letter until after Xmas ; I shall spend 
 mine on board. I shall think of home and you as I raise 
 my solitary glass to my lips ; for there is solitude even at 
 a dinner-party of 150. . . . 
 
 December 12. Here we are, still all right and safe, 
 and getting near Aden, where I shall post this/ 
 
 The letter then describes some of the passengers on 
 board, and how we used to get up dances to the band of 
 the 69th, or, when it was too rough for dancing, concerts 
 old songs and choruses. 
 
 But though we beguiled some of the long hours on 
 board ship by amusements such as these, we did not 
 at all forget the circumstances of the country for which 
 we were bound, or the difficulties and dangers that lay 
 before us. There was not, I expect, a passenger in the 
 Bengal who had not followed with deep interest the 
 events that had been taking place during the last six 
 months in India. Many were the discussions on board 
 regarding the causes of the great Mutiny ; many the 
 incidents related of heroic action, or hair- breadth escapes. 
 The causes of the uprising have been investigated, 
 and the stories of heroism carefully analysed by more 
 than one reliable historian, so I do riot propose to do more 
 than call to mind what had been going on in the country 
 
24 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 before we got there, in order to make my own experiences 
 more intelligible. 
 
 Early in May 1857 the first overt act of rebellion 
 took place at Meerut, and the mutineers marched to 
 Delhi, where the garrison joined them. The King of 
 Delhi, descendant of the Great Mogul, but a pensioner 
 of the East India Company, proclaimed himself Emperor 
 of India, and the war of the Mutiny began. 
 
 Soon from all parts of the country news kept pouring 
 in to Calcutta, where Lord Canning was established as 
 Governor-General, of outbreaks of native troops accom- 
 panied by deeds of cruelty to Europeans, not excluding 
 women and children. The events that took place showed 
 that we were face to face not only with a military mutiny, 
 but also with a national insurrection against our rule. 
 
 Fortunately, at this crisis British troops were return- 
 ing from a successful war in Persia ; and an expedition 
 on its way to China was stopped at Singapore and 
 diverted to India. Besides which, able men, such as Sir 
 John Lawrence in the Punjaub, and Sir Henry Lawrence 
 at Lucknow, were turning up in every direction to aid 
 the Governor-General in weathering the fearful storm 
 that had gathered all round the horizon. On June 17 
 Colonel Havelock arrived at Calcutta from Persia, and 
 was given the command of the force marching up country 
 to Cawnpore and Lucknow. The situation at this time 
 was as follows : 
 
 Against Delhi, which had been seized by the muti- 
 neers at the commencement of the outbreak, where there 
 was a fine arsenal and ample munitions of war, a little 
 army, collected from the Punjaub, was waging an unequal 
 and doubtful contest ; at Lucknow, the capital of Oude, 
 and at Cawnpore, a station on its border, two little bands 
 of fugitives, men, women, and children, were hemmed in 
 by armies of the rebels. 
 
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GENERAL HAVELOCK'S MARCH 25 
 
 General Havelock's first object was (as he says in one 
 of his letters) 'to relieve Cawnpore, where Sir Hugh 
 Wheeler is threatened, and support Lucknow, where Sir 
 Henry Lawrence is somewhat pressed/ He goes on to 
 say, ' May God give me wisdom and strength to fulfil the 
 expectation of the Government, and restore tranquillity 
 in the disturbed Provinces/ 
 
 So with every available soldier that could be laid 
 hands on, he posted up from Calcutta to Allahabad, a 
 station that had been saved from utter loss, partly by 
 means of the fort, but chiefly by the presence there of the 
 fearless Colonel Neill, who had preceded his chief so far. 
 
 On July 7 Havelock, with only about 1200 men, left 
 Allahabad for Cawnpore. On the 10th, by a forced 
 march, he joined his advanced guard under Major Eenaud, 
 and was attacked by a force of about 3500 rebels des- 
 patched from the enemy's main body; but the Enfield 
 rifle, with which the British troops had lately been armed, 
 and our superior artillery proved too much for the Indian 
 mutineer, and the battle of Futtehpore was soon decided 
 in our favour. 
 
 A forced march, however, of twenty-four miles over 
 swampy ground and under a burning sun gave our troops 
 a first taste of the fearful conflict in which they had 
 embarked. No one who has not experienced it has any 
 idea of the heat of an Indian sun in July. It is con- 
 sidered by many almost madness to go out in it. I 
 remember even in May, under . the shade of a tree, inside 
 a good tent, the thermometer standing at 110, and at 
 the same date out of fifty men of my company five were 
 struck down in one day by sunstroke. 
 
 Yet through heat such as this the soldiers of Havelock 
 had to march and fight, day after day, week after week, 
 often without tents or usual Indian necessaries, and 
 always with a climate-inured foe in their front. 
 
26 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 After a short rest, Havelock pressed on. At Aong and 
 at Pandoo-Nuddee the mutineers were beaten. 
 
 Spite of heat, weariness and danger, the British soldier 
 will not give in. His countrymen are in peril, and while 
 this is the case every other consideration must be laid 
 aside. 
 
 Up to that time little was known of the treachery that 
 some Hindoos were capable of, or of the cruelty that lay 
 concealed under the somewhat placid visage of the man 
 who went by the name of * The Nan a Sahib.' 
 
 The mutineers, who had been driven by the bullets 
 and bayonets of the Fusiliers from the Bridge at Pandoo- 
 Nuddee, carried to Cawnpore the tale of their defeat. 
 And then that fearful butchery of women and children 
 was ordered that makes one's blood run cold to hear of. 
 
 On July 16 Havelock's little army still ignorant of 
 their countrymen's fate, and eager to rescue them com- 
 menced their march on Cawnpore. It was known that 
 the Nana's force had taken up a position at the junction 
 of two roads, near the Military Cantonment, where 
 several villages enabled him to give cover to his infantry, 
 and place his guns in a strong and secure position. To 
 attack in front would be to expose the British troops to a 
 murderous fire from an enemy comparatively safe. It 
 was determined, therefore, to take the mutineers in flank. 
 The army, including the Madras Fusiliers (NeilTs 
 corps), the 78th Highlanders, the 64th and 84th Foot, 
 Maude's Battery of Artillery, and the Volunteer Cavalry, 
 leaving the road, began to circle round the enemy's left, 
 and for some time were concealed by clumps of trees. 
 When they were perceived, a large body of the enemy's 
 horse was pushed forward, and the mutineers opened 
 fire from all their guns. Havelock's troops, however, 
 continued their steady progress until, the flank gained, 
 they formed line, and bore down upon the foe. The 
 
GENERAL HAVELOCK'S MARCH 27 
 
 enemy lost heart. A general rout ensued, and by 
 evening the roofless barracks of the Artillery were seen, 
 and Cawnpore was once more in English hands. 
 
 That night, as the exhausted soldiers lay down to 
 sleep on the hard-won field, a terrific explosion gave 
 notice that the Nana had in his retreat blown up the 
 Cawnpore magazine. The next morning a general order 
 told of the murder in cold blood of the helpless women 
 and children. 
 
 It is a long tale to tell, but one that was received in 
 England with extraordinary interest at the time, how 
 Havelock forced his way from Cawnpore to Lucknow, 
 and eventually brought about the first relief of the 
 garrison there. 
 
 Among those who came up country to help Havelock 
 was the new High Commissioner for Oude, Sir James 
 Outram. This General, though the senior in rank, would 
 not take military command until the relief was accom- 
 plished, but did duty as one of the Volunteer cavalry. 
 On reaching the Residency he assumed command of the 
 whole force, and found that, though there was no pressing 
 danger of the garrison being massacred, yet they could 
 not fight their way out without further succour. They 
 had, however, to hold their own and fortify an extended 
 position ; and this they did, holding it until they were 
 finally relieved by the force under that fine old General, 
 Sir Colin Campbell, who had been appointed the new 
 Commander-in-Chief in India. 
 
 As soon as Sir Colin arrived in India he posted up 
 country in the same track, but much quicker than his 
 predecessor, for the road was, comparatively speaking, 
 clear. 
 
 Arrived at Cawnpore, he collected all the troops he 
 could muster (among others the company of Royal 
 Engineers that I was on my way to join) and, having 
 
28 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 received a despatch from Outram in Lucknow, formed his 
 plans for action. But seven weeks passed over the heads 
 of the relievers and relieved in Lucknow before Sir Colin 
 Campbell could collect his troops and come to the 
 rescue. 
 
 Instead of going by the same route as Havelock, he 
 diverged with his army at the Alumbagh, and turning 
 through gardens in the suburbs, stormed the palaces of 
 the Dilkoosha and Martiniere. He then took the 
 Secundrabagh, a strong walled enclosure not far from the 
 King's palace in the city. 
 
 Still continuing his progress, the old European mess 
 house, the Infantry barracks, and the Motee-Mahal Palace 
 were taken and fortified. Then the garrison under Outram 
 and Havelock sallied forth from the Kesidency and its 
 vicinity, and that afternoon there was a memorable 
 meeting of all the gallant chiefs in the heart of 
 Lucknow. 
 
 By a successful ruse, which made the enemy think 
 that his design was to dislodge them from their position 
 round the Residency, and by a masterly and well-man- 
 aged retreat, Sir Colin Campbell brought all the garrison, 
 all the baggage, and even all the treasure safe out of 
 Lucknow. 
 
 The news that the garrison was at last relieved was 
 received with great joy and exultation in England, but 
 the joy was damped by the tidings that the man on whom 
 for so long every eye had been turned was struck down 
 by a fatal malady. 
 
 Almost as soon as the troops of Sir Colin Campbell 
 made their way into Lucknow, General Havelock had to 
 give in to the dysentery which no doubt had been 
 attacking him for some time before. Though tended 
 with every care, and moved to a healthy spot near the 
 Dilkoosha, in four days he died. His end was as calm 
 
DEATH OF HAVELOCK 29 
 
 and full of hope as his life had been, throughout, real and 
 earnest. 
 
 On the morning of November 25 the garrison of 
 Lucknow (Havelock's soldiers and the army of Sir Colin 
 Campbell) set out upon their return to Cawnpore. 
 
 In the midst of their march was borne a dhoolie. 
 Few knew what was shrouded by its curtains. The dead 
 body of Havelock lay inside. At the Alumbagh the 
 bearers turned into the gateway, and bore their burden 
 through the trees of the garden, to a spot surrounded by 
 luxuriant vegetation. Here a grave was dug, and amid 
 the tears of a few friends the good soldier was laid to 
 rest. The letter H., cut in the bark of a sheltering tree, 
 marked the spot. Outside the garden walls rolled all the 
 thunder of an Indian march, and many a soldier in that 
 long column has since passed away on the field of battle 
 or in the hospital tent ; but, though friends and country 
 mourned them all, there was an unequalled intensity of 
 grief for Havelock, because the nation only just found out 
 its hero to learn that he was gone for ever. 
 
 Sir Colin Campbell arrived at Cawnpore to find the 
 garrison he had left there hemmed into the fort by a force 
 of rebels known as the Gwalior Contingent. 
 
 Having disposed of these latter, and having sent the 
 women and children down to Calcutta, he could for the 
 first time turn his undivided attention to the great task 
 before him, viz. the complete suppression of the Mutiny 
 throughout the country. 
 
 By the end of the year 1857 the situation throughout 
 India had very materially changed. The city of Delhi 
 had been conquered, and its king was a prisoner in our 
 hands ; a force under Sir Hugh Eose had started on a 
 march through Central India ; and the Commander-in- 
 Chief was preparing to take Lucknow, which had become 
 the great rallying point of the mutineers. 
 
30 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 And now to return to myself. We arrived at Aden, 
 and had a run on shore there on December 12, 1857. 
 On the 22nd we reached Point-de-Galle, and here we 
 heard of Havelock's death. 
 
 At Madras we landed the 69th Eegiment, and I was 
 left in charge of the few troops on board. On the 30th 
 we arrived at Calcutta, and were disembarked by the 
 D.A.Q.M.G. (Captain Evans), and quartered in Fort 
 William. Here I found Colonel Harness, K.E., who had 
 been my commanding officer at Malta. He had been 
 sent out as Commanding Royal Engineer to India, and 
 on landing had gone up country as far as Cawnpore, and 
 taken part in the fights there under General Windham 
 against the Gwalior Contingent. But when he reported 
 to the Commander-in-Chief he was sent back to Calcutta, 
 on the plea that the Headquarter Staff must be kept 
 small. However, before long he went up again, and 
 remained great friends with Sir Colin all through the rest 
 of the campaigns. 
 
 Immediately on landing I set to work to get my men 
 ready for a march, and, after two days, proceeded by train 
 to Raneegunje, the head of the railway, which was a sort 
 of dep6t for troops waiting to go to the front. 
 
 When I arrived there I found some 500 of the old 
 Bengal Artillery, a similar number of recruits of the 
 Bengal European Eegiments, and some East India 
 Company Sappers. The next day I got orders to proceed 
 by bullock train up country. The little force consisted of 
 about 100 artillerymen, my detachment of sappers, and 
 odds and ends going up to join their regiments, or take 
 their chance of employment. To my astonishment I was 
 put in orders to command, and an officer of Madras 
 Rifles (Captain Stafford) was detailed as my interpreter. 
 We travelled continuously, except for a halt in the middle 
 of the day, when we changed bullocks. A third of the 
 
MARCH UP COUNTRY 31 
 
 men marched as an escort, and two-thirds were carried in 
 the wagons. 
 
 We heard rumours of small parties of mutineers as 
 we went along, and I took all the precautions possible, 
 occasionally making all the men march, and closing up. 
 But we saw nothing worse than a tiger, which crossed 
 the road between our advanced guard and main body. 
 
 We arrived at Benares on January 13, 1858, and at 
 Allahabad on the 15th. At the latter station I came 
 across the captain of the company I was marching up 
 to join (Captain A. Clerke, E.E.). He had been shot 
 through both legs in a fight with the enemy on the road 
 up country. 
 
 We left Allahabad on the 17th, and went a short 
 distance by train, and then took to bullock wagons again ; 
 reaching Cawnpore on the 19th. On arrival at that 
 memorable town I was placed under the orders of Major 
 Macleod, of the Bengal Engineers, and was employed with 
 my men in strengthening the defences around Bruce's 
 Bungalow. I also set about providing myself with what 
 was absolutely necessary for the approaching campaign, 
 viz. servants and horses, camp equipment and transport. 
 
 On February 4 the Commander-in-Chief and Head- 
 quarter- Staff arrived in Cawnpore ; and on the 7th the 
 army marched in from Futtyghur, and with them my 
 company (the 23rd Company K.E.). I immediately joined 
 them with my detachment, which amounted then to sixty- 
 four men. The engineer mess which I found with the 
 army consisted of some thirty officers, some the so-called 
 Eoyal, and others the East India Company's Engineers. 
 There were two companies of Eoyal Engineers with this 
 force : the 23rd had originally belonged to the expedition 
 on its way to China, and in it there were Capt. Clerke, 
 who had been wounded and left at Allahabad, Lieu- 
 tenants Lennox, Malcolm, Pritchard, and myself ; and 
 
32 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the 4th, in which were Major Nicholson, with Lieutenants 
 Scratchley, Wynne, Swetenham, and Keith. 
 
 We heard that Colonel Napier, with the rank of 
 Brigadier-General, was to command the Engineer Brigade 
 at the Siege of Lucknow, and that, under him, Colonel 
 Harness was to command the Koyal Engineers, and 
 Captain Taylor (who had done very good work at Delhi) 
 the Bengal Engineers. 
 
 I was much struck with the luxury and magnificence 
 of Indian campaigning : the size of the tents, the number 
 of servants, and the amount of transport. As a junior 
 lieutenant I had two horses, ten servants, and three 
 camels for my personal luggage ! 
 
 On February 10 we received orders to march towards 
 Lucknow, and the next morning we started. Up at 4 A.M. ; 
 first bugle at 5 ; all tents packed and everything started 
 at 6 ; and then we left all further arrangements to our 
 servants, who marched in a long and more or less confused 
 column, the fighting troops being in front, with a strong 
 rearguard behind. 
 
 On arrival outside Lucknow we were placed under 
 the command of Sir James Outram, who held a position 
 near the Alumbagh, until the Commander-in- Chief had 
 assembled all the necessary troops and decided in what 
 way the town could be taken, and the large rebel army 
 collected therein beaten and dispersed. 
 
 It was an honour to commence my fighting service 
 under such a General as Outram, who has been called 
 and with justice the Bayard of India. An uncle of mine 
 (Colonel George Hall, of the Bengal Horse Artillery) 
 was a friend of his, and they had often been out together 
 in the pursuit of big game. Many a time, as a boy, 
 I have listened entranced to my uncle's stories of 
 adventure with bears and tigers, in which Outram always 
 figured as the hero. One I remember particularly 
 
WITH OUTRAM AT LUCKNOW 33 
 
 delighted me. It told how they had tracked a bear 
 through very rugged ground as far as a deep pit into which 
 they thought the animal had descended. The pit was 
 overgrown in places and they could not see down into it. 
 Nothing would satisfy them but to let one of their 
 number penetrate its mystery by means of a rope, so that 
 he might explore the place, and try and find out where 
 the bear had gone. Outram insisted upon being the 
 explorer, and consequently he was let down by his com- 
 rades. He shouted to inform them that he had found 
 the entrance to a cave and would throw a lighted match 
 into it to try and ' draw ' the bear. He had hardly spoken 
 before an ominous scuffle took place in the pit, and they 
 hauled him up as quickly as possible. Fortunately he 
 was not seriously injured, but he had lost his hunter's cap, 
 which the bear had seized instead of his head, and had no 
 doubt torn to shreds. 
 
 I have already told how Outram accompanied Have- 
 lock in the fights which preceded the first relief of 
 Lucknow ; and when honour was to be gained, handed 
 over the command to his splendid subordinate. But I 
 did not mention that, when Sir Colin Campbell brought 
 the women and children out of the Kesidency, he left 
 Outram on guard at the Alumbagh, outside the city, to 
 watch the rebel army until his return. 
 
 From November 1857 to the end of January following, 
 with a force of 5,000 men, he maintained his position in 
 the face of an army said to be more than twenty times as 
 strong as his own. Almost daily he was attacked, and 
 constantly he was surrounded. But want of Generals 
 and respect for the European troops at close quarters 
 prevented anything like a concentrated and determined 
 attack. 
 
 The Alumbagh garden was on the left centre of the 
 British position; and from the house in the midst of 
 
 D 
 
34 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 it you could get a good view of the doings of Sepoy 
 regiments in the immediate front. We used to see them 
 carrying on their parades exactly as they had been taught 
 to do by the European officers whom they had shot or 
 deserted ; and we could even hear some of the words of 
 command still given in English, and the well-known airs 
 played by the bands, always ending with ' God Save the 
 Queen.' 
 
 Between the Alumbagh position and the earthworks 
 which the sepoys had constructed on that side of Lucknow 
 were some rifle pits. I forget by which side they had 
 been originally made, but they were too far out to be 
 conveniently held by our troops at night ; so every 
 evening they were occupied by the mutineers, and every 
 morning at daybreak there was an attack on them, and 
 they were re-occupied by the British outposts. More 
 than once I found time to go and watch the manoeuvres 
 of our troops in the process of taking these rifle pits, and 
 exceedingly clever as well as daring they became in doing 
 it. I fancy that our General allowed this to go on 
 because it afforded a good lesson to all the Infantry 
 regiments under him in the art of war, and made them 
 all the more useful when the time came to undertake 
 attacks on a larger scale. 
 
 The position occupied by the Engineer Brigade in 
 Outram's lines was on the right, and it included a fort 
 called Jellalabad on the extreme right flank. It was in 
 an attack by the mutineers on this fort that I had my 
 first experience of being under fire. The day was a 
 Sunday, and the time chosen was in the morning when 
 the troops were on Church Parade. 
 
 An orderly rode up to us while service was going on, 
 to report that a somewhat formidable attack was 
 threatened against Jellalabad, and the Colonel sent me 
 off at once to tell the Commanding Officer there that 
 
WITH OUTRAM AT LUCKNOW 35 
 
 reinforcements would be sent him as soon as possible. 
 All sorts of missiles, jingall balls, smooth bore bullets, 
 round shot, and shells, seemed coming from every 
 direction ; but, once in the fort, the hard mud walls gave 
 cover. I remained with the troops in Jellalabad until 
 about 1 P.M., when the attack, having been beaten back, 
 was practically over, and then I returned to camp. 
 
 I find it stated in my journal that this was the most 
 formidable attack that had been made. There were 
 about 10,000 on the right, a similar number on the left, 
 and some 7,000 in the centre, attacking the Alumbagh. 
 In a letter which I wrote at the time, it is stated that 
 our Cavalry took two of the enemy's guns in this engage- 
 ment, and that the number of casualties on our side was 
 small. 
 
 At one of the attacks made on Outram's position the 
 assaulting party was led by a Hindoo fanatic, dressed up 
 as a monkey, and called the monkey god. So determined 
 was his rush that, notwithstanding wounds all over him, 
 he succeeded in jumping over the parapet among our men. 
 Taken into hospital the medical officers took the greatest 
 interest in him, and kept him alive for some days, if not 
 weeks. Among his wounds was a fracture of the skull 
 which exposed the brain ; and over the aperture a piece 
 of glass was carefully laid to keep out the dust. 
 
 Ever since our arrival in the vicinity of Lucknow 
 every exertion had been made to prepare gabions and 
 fascines for the siege, to make cask piers for bridges, and 
 to bring up the necessary stores ; and, when Sir Colin 
 Campbell led forward the remainder of his army, on 
 March 2, energetic steps were at once taken to advance 
 against the town. 
 
 The mutineers had erected very strong earthworks on 
 all the roads that had been used for previous advances 
 towards the Residency. But Sir Colin discovered that 
 
 P 2 
 
36 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 several of these lines of works rested on the Goomtee, 
 and could be taken in reverse by troops on the left, or 
 eastern bank of that river. 
 
 So his general plan was to form his army into two 
 divisions, sending one under Outram, across the Goomtee, 
 while with the other, under General Lugard, a direct 
 attack was made through the suburbs on the right bank 
 against the Kaiser Bagh, i.e. the King's Palace. A force 
 was to be left at the Alumbagh position, and the cavalry, 
 under Sir Hope Grant, was to be held in readiness to 
 pursue should the enemy break out on the opposite side of 
 the city. 
 
 The plan was carried out as intended. On March 6, 
 General Outram, with six battalions and fifty guns, 
 crossed the river by a bridge of casks. On the 9th he 
 made an attack on the eastern suburbs of the town, and 
 conquered them up to the iron bridge, thus occupying a 
 position from which he could take in reverse with his 
 guns the first line of works on the other bank, and enable 
 General Lugard to assault them with very little loss. 
 Batteries were then placed in position on both sides of 
 the river, and a shower of heavy projectiles rained on the 
 Kaiser Bagh, the Begum's Palace, and other fortified 
 buildings. 
 
 On the llth another determined advance was made, 
 and the Begum's Palace, the Secundra Bagh, and the 
 Shah Nujjif were taken ; and on the 14th, the Kaiser 
 Bagh (the palace of the Kings of Oude) was stormed by 
 our troops. 
 
 From the commencement of the siege 1 had been 
 put in charge of all sketching operations, and had also 
 been detailed to keep up an official journal. This duty 
 exempted me from ordinary Brigade duty, but not from 
 any special work, and consequently I had plenty to do, 
 and my private journal was not kept up as fully as I 
 
SIEGE OF LUCKNOW 37 
 
 could have wished. In such an undertaking as the siege 
 of Lucknow, there were, of course, incidents in plenty, 
 which it might be interesting to relate ; but I will only 
 tell one or two, and these concerning myself. 
 
 Our outposts had taken a garden called the Moham- 
 med Bagh ; but the enemy had the exact range, and our 
 troops found it so difficult to maintain their position that 
 sappers were called for to strengthen it. It fell to my lot 
 to have to take some men down and do what was 
 wanted ; and I remember well how hard we worked, and 
 how tired I was before we had done what was necessary. 
 It took us all night to finish the job, and in the morning 
 I lay down under cover of the works we had built, so that 
 I might get a few winks of sleep before the time came for 
 me to be relieved. I was just dreaming of the refreshing 
 bath and good breakfast that awaited me on my return to 
 the Headquarter Camp, when someone woke me up ; and 
 there I saw the Commanding Engineer of the Army 
 (Brigadier Napier), who was riding round to see how 
 matters were going on. He asked me for a report, and I 
 showed him what we had done, and said that I was wait- 
 ing to be relieved. * Believed ! ' he said, ' there are no 
 reliefs all the officers are at work to-day ; you must 
 remain here on duty another twenty-four hours.' 
 
 I muttered something about breakfast, upon which he 
 took out of his holster a piece of chupattie (native bread 
 or, rather, dough) about half as big as the palm of my 
 hand, and said, * Here my boy, here is some breakfast for 
 you.' 
 
 Upon which he rode away. Fortunately one of my 
 native servants, finding that I did not return, crept out 
 from the camp, and brought me some better food in the 
 course of the day ; and before another night fell I was 
 taken away to do other duty. 
 
 When General Outram with his Division crossed the 
 
38 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Goomtee by the bridge of casks that our men had made, 
 I was ordered to follow him and make a sketch and 
 report of the road. This took me two days. I see in my 
 journal that, on the return journey, I was given an escort 
 of 200 men and two guns. Five days afterwards I was 
 sent by the Commander-in-Chief to General Outram to 
 learn what he was doing, and bring back a full report the 
 same day. I suppose I was sent on this special mission 
 because I knew the road. Before I reached the General 
 a fight had begun, and I had some difficulty in making 
 my way along. I remember seeing some riflemen attack 
 a house held by a few determined Sepoys, and while I 
 was watching them four of the Rifles came by me carrying 
 Captain Try on to the rear. Soon afterwards I was riding 
 up a narrow lane when a Sepoy Grenadier, with his face 
 all covered with blood, stepped out from a side street 
 across my path. I had, at the time, no arms, and did not 
 quite know what to do, but I stooped down while he fired 
 at me, and put my pony into a canter while he made a 
 charge at me with his bayonet. I escaped with a slight 
 scratch, which, in those days, we did not think worth 
 reporting. 
 
 Eventually I found General Outram near the iron 
 bridge, and gave him my message ; he said, ' Stay with 
 me and see what I do, and then you can take the report 
 to Sir Colin.' 
 
 Soon after this we were sitting down in the shade of a 
 wall near the iron bridge when an officer came to tell him 
 that his Quarter-Master-General, Lieutenant Moorsorn, a 
 great favourite of his, and a most promising officer, who 
 had been with him throughout the war, was killed. 
 Moorsom was quite young; he had been with me at 
 Harrow in the same house, and, for a time, in the same 
 room, and I had hoped to have in him a friend in India 
 when the busy times were over. 
 

 I 
 
 / > 
 
 *> 
 
 11 
 
 
 
SIEGE OF LUCKNOW 39 
 
 Having remained with General Outram throughout 
 the day, and taken notes of what had been done, I rode 
 back to Sir Colin's camp. On arrival there, in the even- 
 ing, I found him receiving Jung Bahadoor in state. This 
 chief had come from Nepaul with a force of Goorkhas to 
 help the British in their trouble ; and, for political 
 reasons, it was considered advisable to make much of the 
 occasion. I arrived, dirty and dishevelled, on a pony as 
 miserable looking as myself, and hesitated at the outskirts 
 of the show ; but Sir Colin Campbell saw me, and insisted 
 on my being brought up before him and relating what 
 had happened on the other side of the Goomtee. What 
 I said was translated to the Goorkha Chief, and all 
 seemed pleased, because a considerable advance had been 
 made by both Divisions during the day, and at a com- 
 paratively speaking small loss. 
 
 The next day the Goorkha army took up the position 
 that had originally been held by Outram's force near the 
 Alumbagh, and eventually, after we had taken the Kaiser 
 Bagh, they made an advance against the town. When 
 Lucknow was taken they returned to Nepaul. 
 
 From the day when the first line of works was turned, 
 and taken by our troops, fighting went on almost inces- 
 santly. Batteries for guns and mortars were built 
 wherever a good site could be found, and a torrent of 
 iron and fire was poured on the devoted city from 
 morning till night, and from night till morning. 
 
 On the 12th, I was sent into the town to confer with 
 Colonel Harness and Lennox, the senior subaltern of our 
 company, both of whom never left the advanced sap, and 
 seemed to revel in the business. 
 
 On the 13th we moved our camp to a point nearer 
 Lucknow, and I was detailed to move a bridge of casks 
 along the river to keep up the communication between 
 Outram's and Lugard's divisions. On the 14th an attack 
 
40 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 was made by General Lugard's division on the Imaum- 
 Bara where the enemy's second line of works was 
 situated. This being taken, the troops pushed on, and 
 little by little got into the Kaiser Bagh almost without 
 knowing it. By doing this they turned the third and 
 innermost line, and thus took the key of the position. 
 
 But, although the soldiers were thus in a corner of 
 the Kaiser Bagh, the work was not over. Many dispersed 
 to get ' loot,' which was especially attractive to the native 
 troops, others lay down to get some rest after their 
 exertions, others scattered to get food. In fact the force 
 became somewhat demoralised; and it was not without 
 great exertion on the part of a few officers and others that 
 the ground which we had gained was maintained during 
 the night. 
 
 Early the next morning (the 15th) reinforcements 
 were sent forward, among others my company of Royal 
 Engineers, which from that time took up its quarters in 
 the Kaiser Bagh. 
 
 Our chief, Colonel Harness, was always in the front, 
 and seemed never to tire. It was chiefly by his exertions, 
 and owing to his example, that the Kaiser Bagh was held 
 after it had been stormed by the troops. For, besides his 
 bravery, he had a high sense of honour ; and, when the 
 army dispersed to loot, and became, so to speak, drunk 
 with the unwonted luxury that surrounded them, he 
 assembled his officers and told us that he trusted us, as 
 Royal Engineers, to do our work, keep our men together, 
 and prevent them from ' looting.' Then, forming us up, 
 and collecting together as many other troops as he could 
 find, chiefly officers, he proceeded to secure one by one 
 the buildings that surrounded the great central square of 
 the Kaiser Bagh. One corner of the square was still held 
 by the mutineers, and, while we were advancing, they 
 made a great effort to retake what they had lost. Find- 
 
SIEGE OF LUCKNOW 41 
 
 ing that they could not drive us back, they endeavoured 
 to set light to a building in the centre of the square used 
 as a powder magazine. So I was detailed with a party of 
 Sappers to destroy the powder there. Brazier's Sikhs were 
 told off to guard us while we were at work, and a strong 
 cordon of sentries was posted round the building, while I 
 went to see how the powder was stored. Most of it was 
 in barrels, in a cellar under the building. Some of it I 
 tried to drown with water which I found in a little fancy 
 fish-pond near at hand. But most of it I spread out on the 
 ground and fired. When this work was done, I went to see 
 Colonel Brazier, who told me that he had had a difficult 
 job to keep the mutineers from throwing lighted torches 
 into the place before I had removed the powder. They 
 ran out of the surrounding houses with these torches in 
 their hands and, even when desperately wounded, tried to 
 throw them into the magazine. If a spark had reached 
 us we must all have been blown to atoms, and half the 
 Kaiser Bagh would have been destroyed. 
 
 That evening, on my way back to our bivouac at the 
 other end of the palace, I passed through the Treasury, 
 where I saw men sitting on the ground and throwing 
 gold mohurs about, just as a juggler plays with balls, or a 
 lunatic with dust. The gold was of no use to them they 
 would have exchanged any quantity of it for a little 
 drink. 
 
 We dined and slept that night in the quarters that had 
 been occupied only the day before by the nautch girls of 
 the harem. The whole place was strewn with their 
 dresses, and musical instruments, and property of all sorts. 
 
 We did not think it wrong, notwithstanding our 
 Colonel's advice, to use china basins to wash in, and 
 china bowls for our soup ; but the Colonel himself would 
 use nothing except his camp kit of galvanised iron. 
 
 The next day (the 16th) I was ordered to sketch the 
 
42 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Kaiser Bagh, which gave me a good opportunity of 
 examining it. The soldiers were destroying everything 
 that they could not carry away. Mirrors were smashed 
 all over the place, and numbers of pictures were ripped to 
 pieces and wantonly destroyed. Two of them I managed 
 to save from the general destruction ; and, rolling them 
 up as plans, sent them to England (not without obtaining 
 leave from our Chief to do so). 
 
 In the evening we heard that General Hope Grant 
 with the cavalry had been sent forward to cut up or take 
 fugitives. 
 
 On the morning of the 17th I was detailed by Captain 
 Clerke (who had come up from Allahabad, and rejoined 
 us before the siege) to accompany him on an expedition, 
 under General Outram, against a part of the city that had 
 not yet been conquered. But, just as I was starting, 
 Colonel Harness looked out of a window, and told Clerke 
 that he Wished me to go with him, with a few men, in 
 another direction. So I was left behind. The work I 
 had to do was similar to that in which the bulk of my 
 company was engaged, viz., destroying barricades in the 
 streets, blowing open gates of houses, making holes 
 through walls, destroying stores of powder, etc., and I was 
 hard at it all day under the general direction of the 
 Colonel. In the evening, when we were returning, dusty 
 and tired, to our bivouac in the Kaiser Bagh, I met an 
 officer who seemed surprised to see me, and said, 'You 
 are not all killed then ? ' 
 
 I did not know what he meant, but I soon found out 
 that a terrible calamity had befallen the other part of 
 my company with which I had originally started off in 
 the morning. They were employed in removing some 
 powder from a house, and were throwing it down a well, 
 when suddenly where, exactly, no one could say a 
 terrific explosion took place. The effect was great. All 
 
ROHILCUND CAMPAIGN 43 
 
 the troops in the neighbourhood were more or less shaken, 
 and about one hundred were killed or wounded. Of the 
 Engineers, Captain Clerke, Lieutenant Brownlow, and 
 fourteen non-commissioned officers and men of my com- 
 pany were killed. Besides which there were casualties 
 in the 23rd Kegiment, 79th Highlanders, and Sikhs. The 
 next day, all the available officers being present, we buried 
 our comrades in a garden near the smaller of the two 
 mosques in the Kaiser Bagh. 
 
 A few more days saw the entire city of Lucknow in 
 our possession ; and arrangements were made for its civil 
 government, barracks being extemporised for the troops 
 told off as its garrison. 
 
 By the end of March the force that had been collected 
 for the siege was broken up ; and small columns were 
 organised to go out in different directions for the sub- 
 jugation of other parts of the country. 
 
 My company of B.E. (the 23rd), with some Bengal 
 Sappers and Muzbee Sikhs, were detailed to a field force, 
 under Major-Gen eral Walpole, which was to undertake a 
 hot weather campaign in Eohilcund. The other troops 
 with the force were the 42nd, 79th and 93rd Highlanders, 
 4th Sikhs, 9th Lancers, two regiments of Irregular 
 Horse, two troops of Horse Artillery, and one heavy 
 field battery drawn by elephants. We started off from 
 Lucknow on April 9, and after a few ordinary marches, 
 reached a place called Eoodemow on the 15th. 
 
 We had started, as usual, about half -past three in the 
 early morning, and, as the light began to dawn, our force 
 was formed up in battle order. How well I remember 
 the scene ! The country was more open than usual ; and 
 the whole of the Highland Brigade was deployed into 
 line; and in that formation, with bands in front of 
 battalions, moved steadily and with their usual swing 
 over the broad plain. At about 8 o'clock we halted, and 
 
44 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 a report came from the cavalry that a fort called Rooeah 
 was close in front of us, and that the walls were manned, 
 and there was all the appearance of resistance. 
 
 Some preparations were made : that is to say, the 
 cavalry and horse artillery went on ahead, and swept 
 round the fort, halting on the further side, where they 
 could see what was going on. The heavy battery and 
 our company of engineers went at first to the left ; but 
 eventually moved across and took up a position on the 
 right, where the artillery came into action ; and we got 
 our ladders and powder-bags ready, and lay down waiting 
 for orders to assault. The infantry sent skirmishers to 
 the front, and they advanced straight against the place. 
 But no orders were received to attack, and after waiting 
 in position till three o'clock in the afternoon, one by one 
 the regiments retired into the camp, where the General 
 had preceded them, and allowed the defenders of the 
 fort to bury their dead, and go away during the night 
 unmolested. 
 
 It was my lot to be told off to the powder-bags that 
 day ; and, with my small party of sappers, we crouched 
 down so close to the works that we could almost hear 
 what the enemy said behind the parapets. But we could 
 not attack alone, and without orders ; yet it was with the 
 greatest reluctance, and almost insubordination, that we 
 obeyed the only orders we received, which were to retire 
 on the camp. Our men shook their fists at the men of 
 Oude who were manning the parapets, and the latter sent 
 up a cheer as we slowly left them to their devices. 
 
 The losses on our side amounted to over two hundred, 
 among whom were Brigadier-General Hope of the High- 
 land Brigade, and some six or seven other officers killed. 
 I had a narrow escape from a jingall ball of hammered 
 iron, which penetrated through the little hillock behind 
 which I was lying and lodged in my hair. 
 
MARCH TO BAREILLY 45 
 
 That night there was a council of war in our camp, 
 and it was decided to attack the fort at daybreak. But, 
 when we went down to reconnoitre it, we found that the 
 enemy had gone ; and all that could be done was to bring 
 back our dead and wounded. 
 
 A week after this occurrence we fell in again with the 
 enemy in the neighbourhood of Allegunje, and our cavalry 
 and horse artillery, supported by the advanced guard, 
 had a successful encounter with them, killing some five 
 hundred and taking four guns. 
 
 On April 27, Sir Colin Campbell, accompanied by 
 Colonel Harness and other staff officers, joined our force. 
 We were, moreover, reinforced by the 78th and 82nd 
 regiments and a siege train. Our destination was Bareilly, 
 and we reached the outskirts of that town on May 5, 
 having had more or less fighting all day. At one time 
 some of the mutineer cavalry got right round our force, 
 and did considerable damage among our transport and 
 camp followers. 
 
 Most soldiers who have had experience of war know 
 that there are times when, for some reason or other, a 
 few determined men will make a dashing attack on an 
 advancing force, with no other apparent reason than to 
 sell their lives as dearly as possible. Such attacks, coming 
 unexpectedly, are severe tests of the courage and discipline 
 of the troops against whom they are delivered. One of 
 the most vigorous of these attacks that I ever saw took 
 place the day before we got to Bareilly. We had been 
 marching and fighting from early morning under a fierce 
 Indian sun. A regiment of Sikhs had been sent into a 
 village supported by the 42nd Highlanders in line ; when, 
 all at once, without a moment's warning, the Sikhs came 
 running out from among the houses, pursued, and all 
 mixed up with a body of two or three hundred Ghazies l 
 1 These are men who have taken an oath to fight to the death. 
 
46 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 (or fanatics) dressed in green. Eight into 'the middle of 
 the line of Highlanders broke this confused mass of 
 friend and foe. Some rear rank men even were cut 
 down, yet the line of the Black Watch never wavered. 
 There was a scattered volley, a little bayonet exercise, an 
 advance in line for about two hundred yards, and then a 
 halt. Behind lay the dead bodies of the infatuated 
 Mussulman fanatics ; while the line of the 42nd was as 
 regular and as unmoved as if it were on an inspection 
 parade in Scotland. 
 
 The next day we pitched tents in the old cantonments 
 at Bareilly, and for a month I was engaged in the town, 
 clearing roads, and preparing houses as barracks for the 
 troops that were to be left there during the rest of the 
 hot weather and rains. 
 
 About the middle of June my company received 
 orders to go to Eoorkee, the headquarters of the Bengal 
 sappers and miners. There we were sheltered and 
 looked after, until the rains were over, and colder 
 weather had set in, when, with renewed health and 
 strength, we again took the field against the enemy. 
 
 Curiously enough I had not been seriously ill all 
 through the campaign ; but, no sooner was the order 
 given to go to Eoorkee, than I broke down. However, 
 I was sent on ahead in a dhoolie, and soon got all right 
 in one of the comfortable bungalows of the Bengal 
 Engineers, who were quartered at that station. 
 
 When our men arrived at Eoorkee, on June 21, 
 the officers and others who turned out to meet them 
 said that they looked like a company risen from 
 the grave, so thin and worn and emaciated were they 
 after their work of the past nine months in helping 
 to put down the Mutiny, and practically re-conquering 
 the country in which the Mutiny had broken out. 
 Of those who thus arrived, one or two died ; but 
 
AT ROORKEE 47 
 
 great majority pulled round with a few weeks' rest and 
 care. 
 
 About the middle of July we heard that Wynne, of 
 Major Nicholson's company, who had been quartered at 
 Lucknow since the siege, had died of apoplexy. He was 
 one of my batch at Woolwich, and was a good officer and 
 a pleasant companion. He had been recommended by 
 General Outram for the Victoria Cross, for removing the 
 enemy's parapet from the iron bridge, under a close and 
 severe fire. 
 
 While at Koorkee I began to learn Hindoostanee 
 systematically. I also found plenty of amusement in 
 hunting, rackets, theatricals, &c. 
 
 On September 1, 1 got leave for a few days, and went 
 up to Mussourie, the nearest hill station, where I enjoyed 
 the beautiful mountain scenery immensely, and also the 
 gay society which is nearly always to be found in these 
 stations in the hot weather. 
 
 But my amusement in the hills was cut short, on the 
 18th, by orders to rejoin my company at once, at Eoorkee, 
 whence we were to march to Cawnpore for further opera- 
 tions. 
 
 We left Koorkee, on September 18, 1858. Our com- 
 pany consisted then of only three officers (Lennox, 
 Pritchard, and myself), and fifty-seven non-commissioned 
 officers and men. One officer (Malcolm) and a few men 
 were detached, and there were a few invalids. But we 
 had buried during the past year one captain and twenty- 
 seven rank and file. 
 
 As usual in anything like hot weather, we started 
 long before day-break, and arrived in camp before the sun 
 had attained its full power. 
 
 On the 23rd we reached Meerut, and there received 
 instructions to go on by bullock train, because the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief wanted us with him as soon as possible. 
 
48 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Lennox went on ahead by carriage dak, and as soon as we 
 could collect sufficient waggons, and make arrangements 
 for bullocks, we followed him. I like this mode of travel- 
 ling : you rumble along all night in the wagons, and 
 arrive at a halting-place in time for breakfast ; then you 
 halt in the hot part of the day, and start off again in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 But for this particular journey we had considerable 
 difficulty in getting bullocks at some of the stages, and 
 the bullocks, when found, were not always of the best. 
 
 Soon after our start Pritchard got fever, and I was the 
 only available officer. I remember at this time how we 
 used to watch the wonderful comet that appeared every 
 night near the Great Bear, and lit up the whole sky. 
 This was called the Mutiny Comet. It had been long 
 predicted by the Hindoo Astrologers, who said that it 
 portended the destruction of the English Kule in India. 
 
 On October 6 we reached Cawnpore, and on the 9th 
 we went on by train to Allahabad ; here the Engineer 
 Brigade was being organised. Major Lennox commanded 
 the troops, under the general direction of Colonel Harness, 
 who was now Commanding Koyal Engineer at head- 
 quarters. 
 
 The warlike Province of Oude, which had been 
 annexed by the British Authorities in India not long 
 before the mutinies, is dotted all over with forts, large 
 and small. 
 
 When the King of Oude had his capital in Lucknow 
 it was often with great difficulty that the revenue could 
 be collected. A chief would shut himself up in his castle, 
 or fort, and defy the King's power, until the royal army 
 brought him into subjection. This practice made almost 
 every man a soldier ; and, when the regular troops who 
 started the war of the mutinies had been beaten in the 
 field, and the big centres, such as Delhi and Lucknow, had 
 
ASSEMBLY AT ALLAHABAD 49 
 
 been taken, the Oude forts still remained as centres, round 
 which the remnants of the old Sepoy regiments and all 
 the disaffected men in the country rallied and defied our 
 power. 
 
 The assembly at Allahabad and the preparation of 
 a siege train and an engineer park were ordered by the 
 Commander-in-Chief in the autumn of 1858 as a kind of 
 reserve. He wished to be ready to strike hard at any fort 
 that seemed likely to be able to resist the movable 
 columns that he had set in motion to subdue the country. 
 But his plans were very properly kept secret, and when 
 we left Allahabad on October 24 we were ignorant as to 
 our destination. All we knew was that fighting was 
 expected, and that it was a kind of fighting that required 
 Artillery and Engineers in the forefront. 
 
 Before we left Allahabad I had been put in charge of 
 the engineer park. I had also passed the colloquial 
 examination in Hindoostanee. The force that we started 
 with consisted of the 79th Highlanders, two native Sikh 
 regiments, a regiment of Punjaub Cavalry, a battery of 
 heavy Artillery, and a troop of Horse Artillery, the 4th 
 and 23rd Companies Koyal Engineers, and about 1,200 
 Pioneers. The 6th Dragoon Guards joined us later. The 
 force was under the immediate command of Brigadier- 
 General Wetherall, but the Comraander-in- Chief himself 
 (Lord Clyde) directed the operations. 
 
 It was supposed that we were marching in the 
 direction of Pertabgurh and Fyzabad, and that several 
 columns were converging on those places. 
 
 In a letter to my brother, written from Pertabgurh on 
 October 28, I find the following : 
 
 ' We are waiting here for the Commander-in-Chief. 
 Malcolm and Pritchard, the other subalterns of my 
 Company, have been left behind sick, one at Cawnpore 
 and the other at Allahabad, and the consequence is that 
 
 
 
50 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 I am worked off my legs. I am officer on perpetual duty, 
 Quartermaster, Interpreter, and Adjutant, in charge of 
 the engineer park, and the pontoon train, and of the 
 Brigade Mess. Thousands of rupees are constantly going 
 through my hands, and I am sitting up to-night to write 
 to you. I continue, thank God, in capital health. I 
 think lots of work agrees with me. . . . My arab is 
 a lovely creature ; he eats out of my hand, and rubs his 
 head against me when I go out to pat him, picketed near 
 my tent ; he is, however, very fiery when ridden. I have 
 two dogs and a monkey. One of the dogs, a black 
 spaniel, I am very fond of. He never leaves me.' 
 
 On November 1 a proclamation was read everywhere 
 that the Queen took to herself the Government of India, 
 and also that all rebels would be pardoned who had not 
 actually killed Europeans. 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief then undertook what is 
 called the Oude Campaign. On Sunday, November 7, 
 1858, we received orders to march. Lord Clyde was 
 with our column, and Brigadier Pinkey commanded the 
 Infantry, consisting of the 5th and 54th Royal Regiments 
 and some Sikhs. Our destination was a strong fort called 
 Ameatie. Two other columns were converging on the 
 same place, one under Sir Hope Grant and the other 
 under Major-General Wetherall. On the 9th we reached 
 the vicinity of the fort, having come across country by 
 a road cut by our Pioneers. Sappers, with ladders and 
 powder bags, were near the fort all day, an attack being 
 anticipated. On the 10th we were joined by the two 
 other columns. It was said that about 10,000 fighting 
 men were in the place under Madoo Singh. But, in 
 consequence of the proclamation, and probably, too, of 
 the great show of force against him, this Rajah accepted 
 terms and surrendered. We found ten guns in the fort, 
 and a lot of ammunition. The site was a very strong 
 
OUDE CAMPAIGN 1858-69 51 
 
 one, with a lake on one side, and an almost impenetrable 
 jungle on the other three. 
 
 On the 12th we were off again, being this time 
 attached to General Wetherall's column, the Command er- 
 in-Chief still with us. On the 15th we reached the 
 vicinity of another strong fort called Shunkerpore, which 
 had been held by a Kajah called Beni Madhoo, with some 
 5,000 followers. But this one was evacuated before we 
 could attack it. We took possession of it the following 
 day, the only enemy being a ' must ' elephant and a fight- 
 ing ram. The latter caused great excitement, charging 
 out of the main gate as soon as it was opened, and dis- 
 persing in all directions the leading company of Infantry. 
 Just behind this company were some of my men, and, 
 with their aid, I succeeded in capturing our furious 
 assailant. When we got him back to camp I detailed 
 a special Hindoo servant to look after him and feed him, 
 and after a time he became quite quiet and gentle. 
 Whenever he had a fight, however, he became terribly 
 excited, and for about twenty-four hours would eat 
 nothing. He had, to my knowledge, a good many 
 encounters, for he was a celebrated animal ; and later on, 
 when our fighting was over, and it became known that 
 I was his possessor, challenges from other rams used to 
 come in from all parts of the country. In these contests 
 as far as I remember he always won. When I left India 
 I gave him away, on condition that he should be well 
 taken care of. 
 
 Now the Chief (as we called Lord Clyde) was very 
 anxious to catch Beni Madhoo, who had escaped from us 
 at Shunkerpore. So on the 18th we had a long and 
 tiring night march. But I fancy that the information as 
 to the Rajah's whereabouts must have been incorrect, for 
 we did not march again the next day, and on the 20th I 
 was ordered to hand over the engineer park to Captain 
 
 2 
 
52 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Goodwyn, Bengal Engineers. On the 21st, however, we 
 were off again, going towards Lucknow, and marching 
 nearly 25 miles. The next day we went 10 miles in the 
 morning, and another 10 miles in the afternoon ; and on 
 the 23rd we covered 20 more miles, thus doing 65 miles 
 in sixty consecutive hours. That day we joined hands 
 with Brigadier Evely's Brigade. The next day, leaving 
 all our baggage behind, we marched off with combined 
 forces, under the Commander-in-Chief, to attack Beni 
 Madhoo, whom we had been pursuing so long. The 
 intelligence was that, with an army 15,000 strong, he was 
 drawn up ready to fight at a place on the Ganges called 
 Buxar Ghat. Lord Clyde arranged his forces as follows : 
 Brigadier Evely's Brigade, with some irregular Cavalry, 
 and Bruce's Battery of Horse Artillery on the right, 
 where the jungle was thick ; Her Majesty's 5th Kegiment, 
 a Belooch Battalion, the Engineer Brigade, and a mortar 
 Battery in the centre, to advance on the village of Buxar, 
 and the Carabineers, and Captain Gordon's Battery of 
 Artillery on the left. At about 10 A.M. a brisk firing 
 commenced on the right, and soon the troops were hard 
 at work driving the enemy at the point of the bayonet 
 into a nuddee which ran into the Ganges. Meantime, the 
 centre advanced against the village, and the Carabineers 
 charged those who were trying to escape from it. The 
 Horse Artillery and Cavalry from the right then joined 
 the Carabineers, and, crossing the nuddee at the Ghat, 
 took up the pursuit along the bed of the river, and after 
 an eight miles' chase succeeded in cutting up a good many 
 of the enemy. In this day's engagement we took seven 
 guns and killed about 500 men. Our own losses being 
 only about eight killed and thirty wounded. 
 
 Soon after this engagement, Captain Cox, Adjutant 
 B.E. in India, was sent to Calcutta to appear before a 
 Medical Board; and Colonel Harness appointed me in 
 
MADE ADJUTANT 53 
 
 his place. The appointment was that of Senior Staff 
 Officer of the Royal Engineers in India ; and his location 
 was at the headquarters of the army. Altogether it was 
 an exceedingly good position for so young and inexperi- 
 enced an officer as myself, and I fully appreciated the 
 kindness of the C.K.E. in giving it to me. On the 25th I 
 took over the Adjutant's papers from Captain Cox, and 
 pitched my tent at the headquarters camp; and from 
 that date on till I left India I remained with Army Head- 
 quarters. 
 
 On the 28th we reached Lucknow, and pitched camp 
 the other side of the Kiver Goomtee near a palace called 
 the Del Aram. We found Lucknow very much altered 
 since we left it in March, over nine months ago. The 
 new forts had been very solidly and well built. 
 
 On December 5 the Headquarters moved off east- 
 ward with a force consisting of the 7th Hussars, 20th 
 and 23rd regiments, a battalion of Rifles, a Belooch 
 battalion, some heavy guns and bridge equipment, 
 and two Horse Artillery troops. Our first march was 
 twenty-one miles ; and on the following day we marched 
 twenty-two more, and reached the banks of the Gogra, 
 with the Commander-in-Chief, at a gallop : only to see 
 some of the rebels, who had just crossed, on the other side 
 of the river. After a few rounds we pitched camp. 
 
 The forces under the Commander-in-Chief, for the 
 approaching campaign, were organised in several in- 
 dependent brigades or columns. These were directed 
 against the places stated to be the centre of revolt, or 
 against known bodies of troops which were still in arms. 
 As far as I remember, very few of the Sepoys took ad- 
 vantage of the Queen's proclamation and gave themselves 
 up. But most of them crept away to their homes, threw 
 away their uniform, and hoped to remain unnoticed and 
 unmolested, and I suppose they were. 
 
54 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 But I must return to the banks of the Gogra, which, 
 as I said, we reached just too late to catch the rebels ; 
 and tell you what we saw of the Trans-Gogra Campaign, 
 which was the last one undertaken during the war of the 
 Mutinies. Colonel Harness was left at the point where 
 we struck the river, and I was left with him. Brigadier 
 Parnell's Brigade was also left there, to advance from 
 that direction, while the Commander-in- Chief with the 
 rest of the force made a detour, and crossed at Fyzabad. 
 On December 15, 1858, Colonel Harness and I crossed the 
 river, and rode to join the Commander-in-Chief, finding 
 him the same evening on the road to Buraech. On the 
 17th we reached that town, and cleared out the few rebels 
 that we found there. 
 
 At this time those of us who had guns used to shoot 
 on the line of march whenever it was considered safe to 
 do so. But this means we not only replenished the mess 
 larder, but also acquired an appetite which enabled us to 
 appreciate thoroughly whatever the cook provided for our 
 benefit. On Christmas day there were great preparations 
 for the annual feast in all the military camps. Our 
 campaigns were nearly over, and many looked forward 
 to a return home as soon as the last spark of the Mutiny 
 was extinguished. 
 
 The Staff mess at Headquarters was not behind 
 others in doing their best to celebrate the occasion. 
 Loyal and other toasts were drunk, and patriotic songs 
 were sung. Eventually each member remaining at the 
 table was called on for a song or a sentiment. Much 
 amusement, I know, resulted, but of all the sentiments 
 I can only remember one. It was given by a well known 
 Highlander with a strong Scotch accent, and was to the 
 effect that ' Prince Charlie ' was the rightful heir to the 
 English throne. It was immediately pointed out by 
 W. Eussell (of the Times) and others that the sentiment 
 
TRANS-GOGRA CAMPAIGN 55 
 
 was not in agreement with the loyal toasts that had 
 already been given, moreover that * Prince Charlie ' had 
 died many years ago. But the more objections were 
 raised to the sentiment, the greater was the determination 
 of our Scotch friend to have it recognised. Eventually 
 he seized an empty bottle, and exclaimed that he would 
 throw it at the head of anyone who continued to disagree 
 with him. This cleared the tent, and the last I saw 
 of the proposer of the sentiment was when, bottle in hand, 
 he was pursuing Russell among the tent ropes of the 
 camp. I think, at last, one of these got the better of 
 him. 
 
 On the 26th we had a morning fight with the rebels, 
 in the course of which Lord Clyde's horse fell and the 
 General's shoulder was dislocated. He was, however, 
 soon up and about again. It was wonderful how active 
 and energetic he was. When Commander-in-Chief of 
 the Armies in India, and having to quell the Mutinies 
 and conduct one of the biggest wars of our time he was 
 sixty-seven years of age ; and yet he would ride all day 
 as well as any of us. It was a sight to see him when 
 intelligence came of the nearness of some body of the 
 enemy. His face would brighten, and his whole figure 
 seem to become young again, inspired by the excitement 
 of the moment ; and he would suffer no one to interfere 
 with him in making all the arrangements for the disposi- 
 tion of the troops, and the attack of the hostile forces. 
 
 The day after our fight when the gallant Commander- 
 in-Chief was disabled, we advanced against a strong fort 
 called Mudjudea, and took it after some resistance. 
 
 On December 31, the last day of 1858, after another 
 night march we came up with the enemy near the 
 Kaptee, and had a sharp encounter with them, driving 
 them across the river into Nepaul. We were then close 
 to the hills, and the scenery was lovely. In that day's 
 
56 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 fight, among other casualties, we lost Major Home of the 
 7th Hussars, who fell in a skirmish while crossing the 
 river and was drowned in the stream. The celebrated 
 Nana Sahib of Cawnpore was said to have been with the 
 rebels this day. In fact, a man on an elephant was 
 pointed out to me as the Nana. I could see him quite 
 plainly through glasses. 
 
 The day after this fight I was sent off by myself to 
 make a bridge of boats over the Gogra river, with the 
 object of facilitating combinations of troops, and thus 
 subduing the country before the cold weather ended. 
 I started on January 2, 1859, with my small retinue of 
 servants, and a few Sikh Cavalry as an escort, and, after 
 six days' marching, reached the river, and selected a site 
 for the bridge. The site chosen was near the deserted 
 fort of Chulari, where the river was divided into two 
 channels by an island 1 mile across. One of these 
 channels, about sixty yards wide, was fordable, the other 
 was from one to thirty feet deep, and was 427 yards 
 across at the narrowest point. Between the two channels 
 the ground was under water in many places in time of 
 rain. The main stream was always very rapid, at times 
 almost a torrent. Having selected the site, I pitched my 
 little camp, and sat down to consider how to begin my 
 task. My only assistant was a sergeant, K.E., by name 
 Foster, who afterwards became Sergeant-Major at 
 Chatham. So there I was with one white man and a 
 few natives, without tools or materials of any sort, in an 
 enemy's country, on the brink of a large and rapid river, 
 which it was my duty so make practicable for all arms. 
 Having a note book with me, I jotted down a scheme, 
 and at once commenced to put it into execution. It was as 
 follows : I sent two of my Sikhs to the nearest treasury, 
 with a note to the officer in charge asking him, on the 
 strength of my orders from the Commander-in-Chief, to 
 
BRIDGE OVER THE GOGRA 57 
 
 send me some money and an escort to guard it. I then 
 sent the rest of my men into the neighbouring villages, 
 with an order to bring in at once all arms they could find, 
 and pile them in front of my tent, on pain of serious 
 punishment to any village that refused to give them up. 
 By this process I at the same time obtained iron for my 
 bridge and disarmed any near neighbours who might 
 have been troublesome. I myself, with Sergeant Foster, 
 proceeded to mark out the exact site for the bridge, to 
 choose spots on which to collect material, and to make 
 the necessary arrangements for commencing work. Two 
 days sufficed to bring some money and a goodly show of 
 arms. Meantime I had also, by means of my escort, 
 advertised in the surrounding country that I required 
 smiths, carpenters, and rope makers whom I would pay 
 well and regularly. I also searched the river for boats, 
 offering a reward for every sound one brought to me. 
 The commencement of the work was very slow. Only 
 two half-starved smiths appeared the first day. Now, 
 Indian mechanics, like Indian cooks, are almost indepen- 
 dent of mechanical assistance. They scrape a small hole 
 in the ground for a fire-place, collect a few sticks, rub 
 them together, and kindle a fire with a fan, and are then 
 ready for work. Well, my two friends (for I hailed them 
 as such in my difficulties) had nothing with them but a 
 piece of linen wrapped round their waists. Nevertheless 
 they squatted down on the ground, kindled their fire, and 
 with the old arms I gave them soon produced a rough 
 hammer and chisel. The latter they sharpened on a 
 stone. They then made a saw, and other necessary tools. 
 In the evening I paid them, and sent them home. The 
 next day I had several smiths, and a few carpenters. 
 The former supplied the latter with tools, and means 
 were thus furnished to cut down and saw up trees, and 
 to make baulks and planks as superstructure for my 
 
58 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 bridge. In a few days I had hundreds of contented 
 mechanics and labourers at work ; and the bridge went 
 on steadily to completion. After a time, some native 
 pioneers were sent to assist me, but I employed them on 
 the road which had to be made, some miles in length, in 
 addition to the bridge. Everything for this bridge was 
 made on the spot : rope out of grass ; nails from the 
 arms I took ; anchors from the bamboos framed together 
 basket-fashion, and weighted with stone ; baulks and 
 chesses from the fort which I destroyed, and from trees 
 which had to be sawn down. 
 
 It took three weeks from the time when a number of 
 mechanics were collected, and the work thoroughly 
 commenced, until the completion of the bridge; and it 
 may give some idea of the difficulty of the undertaking 
 when I mention that the stream, at all times rapid, had 
 a peculiarity of shifting its bed. Thus a small island was 
 carried away in a night, and where one day large trees 
 were growing, on the next there was a foaming torrent 
 ten to twelve feet deep. When the bridge was finished 
 elephants were trotted over it to test its strength. I was 
 not disturbed by any hostile demonstration during the 
 work, though rather startled one morning by the advent 
 of a miniature army of some five hundred horsemen and 
 footmen, in every conceivable dress, and with all sorts of 
 curious arms. But they turned out to be only the 
 tributaries of some Rajah who had been away in the 
 jungle, but was induced by the success of the British arms 
 into becoming a faithful servant of the Queen instead of 
 a rebel, and was returning my way to resume his residence 
 on his ancestral acres. On February 8, I left the bridge 
 in charge of the Civil Authorities, and rode back over the 
 seventy-two miles that divided me from the Headquarter 
 Camp, then at Lucknow, to report myself to my good 
 chief, Colonel Harness. 
 
AT SIMLA 59 
 
 We remained at Lucknow until the end of the month, 
 and on March 1, 1859, the Commander-in-Chief's camp 
 was moved by easy stages to Simla. This experience 
 was an exceedingly pleasant one. We had everything 
 necessary in the way of good tents and food. We 
 marched when it was convenient, and had plenty of good 
 servants to look after us. We visited the famous Taj at 
 Agra, that marvel of Italian Art, built with the prodigal 
 wealth of an Asiatic despot. Then we went to Delhi and 
 explored, under the guidance of those who had taken part 
 in it, the scenes of the late siege; we also visited the 
 ancient city, the Kootub, and the palace of the Great 
 Moguls. Thence we proceeded to Umballa, and so 
 through Kurnaul to Kalka at the foot of the hills. On 
 the 26th we arrived at Simla, and I put up with Colonel 
 Harness in a most comfortable bungalow that he had 
 taken from Colonel Becher. Here our native servants 
 readily formed themselves into a peace establishment, and 
 we lived a cheerful and most pleasant life. 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief's house was not far from 
 ours, and he frequently came to see his old friend Colonel 
 Harness ; and sometimes, when the latter could not go 
 out, I used to accompany the old Chief, and he would tell 
 me about the campaigns he had experienced, going 
 through all the exciting episodes, and using the same 
 strong language that I suppose he used when the scenes 
 he was describing were actually in progress. 
 
 A good many ladies were then at Simla ; most of 
 them married, but their husbands on duty in the Plains ; 
 and there were balls, and concerts, and theatricals, and 
 picnics, and rides. So altogether we had a very good 
 time. 
 
 But on September 12 an end came to all this ; for I re- 
 ceived orders to give up my appointment as Adjutant to 
 Colonel Harness, and join my Company (the 23rd Co. E.E.) 
 
60 A LIFE IN THE BKITISH ARMY 
 
 which was on its way to Calcutta, from whence it was to 
 proceed to China. 
 
 It was not thought at that time that there would be 
 any war in China, and so Colonel Harness tried to keep 
 me. But the Chief -of-the- Staff (Sir William Mansfield) 
 would not allow it. He asked me to dinner, and talked 
 very kindly to me afterwards, saying that for my own 
 sake he wished me to go China as there was a chance of 
 active service there, so I bid good-bye to all friends, male 
 and female, at Simla, and made my way as rapidly as 
 possible to Calcutta, where I joined my Company on 
 October 2. 
 
CHAPTEE III 
 
 CHINA WAR 1859-1860 
 
 Calcutta to Hong Kong Canton Expedition to the North Ta-lien-wan 
 Bay Pehtang and the Takoo Forts Tientsin and march up Country 
 Pekin and the Summer Palace Treaty of Peace Return Home. 
 
 I SUPPOSE that all the wars in China in which England 
 has been engaged were brought about by the jealousy on 
 the part of the Chinese government and Chinese officials 
 of the increasingly powerful European nations (called by 
 them ' Barbarians ') who had opened an extensive trade 
 all along their coast. The first of these wars occurred in 
 1842, the scene being the Yangtsee Kiver as far as 
 Nanking. The one in which I was engaged began in 1857 
 by the taking of Canton, and ended in 1860 by the landing 
 at the Takoo Forts, and the eventual advance on and 
 capture of the Imperial City of Peking. 
 
 After the capture of Canton there was a pause in 
 hostilities caused by the diversion to India of a force on 
 its way to Hong-Kong, which I have already alluded to 
 in Chapter II. 
 
 This weakening of the force available for an attack on 
 Northern China did not, however, prevent our Fleet from 
 going up with a few troops to the mouth of the Peiho 
 river, and did not prevent us from making certain 
 demands on the Chinese government ; and, when those 
 demands were refused, from bombarding the forts there, 
 and endeavouring to take them by assault. 
 
 The position of the Takoo Forts was, however, too 
 
62 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 strong for the force that was brought against it and, 
 after a gallant but ineffectual struggle, and the loss of 
 two or three gunboats which were sunk by the enemy's 
 guns, the Admiral (himself severely wounded) had to put 
 to sea and await the termination of the Mutinies and 
 the arrival of a land force sufficient for the required 
 purpose. 
 
 It is more than probable that the fact of our defeat at 
 the Peiho in 1859 was, after all, an advantage to us. 
 For it caused our Government to take up the matter in 
 earnest, and to send eventually such a strong and well 
 organised force that success was practically assured. 
 
 When the news of the repulse at the Takoo forts 
 reached Hong Kong a fear arose that the garrison which 
 was holding Canton would require strengthening. It 
 was known that the work of the Mutinies was nearly over, 
 so help was asked for from India, and two battalions of 
 Infantry, a battery of Artillery, and a company of En- 
 gineers were ordered off without delay. 
 
 The company of Engineers that went with this force 
 was my Company (the 23rd), under Major Graham (who 
 was posted to it when Lennox went to England), with 
 Malcolm, Pritchard, and Hime as Lieutenants, and 
 Henry as Medical Officer. When the orders for this 
 move were issued I was with Colonel Harness, at Simla ; 
 and as soon as possible I posted down country by what 
 is called ' Gharrie ' (or carriage) dak, and caught up my 
 company at Calcutta. 
 
 After a few days in that town we embarked on board 
 the * Lightning,' a small steamer that traded in opium 
 between Calcutta and Hong Kong. Our company of 
 Sappers were the only troops on board. On October 25, 
 1859, the early morning saw us ' up anchor ' and steam- 
 ing steadily down the river. At first villas of more or 
 less importance were visible along the river banks ; then 
 
THROUGH THE CHINA SEAS TO HONG KONG 63 
 
 here and there a solitary village with mud huts and lofty 
 trees of luxuriant foliage ; but after a time the scene 
 changed ; the banks grew further apart, long low islands 
 of mud stretched out as far as the eye could reach ; then 
 only a few fishing boats, and a ship struggling up to 
 Calcutta or hauled along by a panting, hurrying tug 
 connected our minds with the shore; finally the pilot 
 station at the river mouth where the latest telegraphic 
 news was communicated to us was past, and we felt the 
 slow, steady motion that told plainly we were on the open 
 sea. 
 
 Six days of smooth water and easy steaming brought 
 us to Poulo-Penang, a beautiful station embodying all 
 one's fancy of the wild rich scenery of the East. From 
 Penang we steamed down the Straits of Malacca to 
 Singapore. In this part of the world, which is close to 
 the equator and yet quite healthy, it rains nearly every 
 day throughout the year. Here we stopped a short time 
 to coal and take in fresh provisions, and then off we went 
 up the China seas to Hong Kong. We had a rough 
 voyage. One of our yards was broken by the wind, and 
 a man was washed overboard. I remember the latter 
 event well. I was on deck holding on to the bulwarks. 
 Our small, though seaworthy, ship was plunging heavily 
 against a head sea. The sky was murky ; and low, driv- 
 ing clouds chased each other, thick and fast, over our 
 heads. The great waves as they rolled on looked as if 
 they would engulf us ship, masts, sails, and all beneath 
 their high, foaming crests. At last there came one larger 
 than the rest ; and, though the little vessel rose bravely 
 to her work, part of the sea broke over her, and a surge 
 of green water washed her deck from stem to stern. 
 There was a cry to ' hold on.' Each one on deck clutched 
 for his life at what was nearest to him, mast, rigging, or 
 bulwarks. Each one drew a long breath as the wave 
 
64 A LIFE IN THE BRI1ISH ARMY 
 
 passed. But immediately there was another cry, a cry 
 once heard never to be forgotten ' Man overboard ! ' 
 The lifebuoys were cut away and thrown over. The 
 engines were stopped, the little ship lay broadside to the 
 sea, and rolled horribly. The order was given to lower 
 the life-boat. It could hardly live in such a sea, but there 
 was a chance to save life, and the British sailor in such a 
 case risks his own with pleasure. Time flew rapidly by 
 in preparation, and though every exertion was made, the 
 man who fell overboard was never seen again, and the 
 boat returned to disappoint the expectation of all those 
 comrades watching by the ship's side. He was a fine old 
 soldier we had lost; a long-bearded veteran, decorated 
 with medals for the Crimea, the Baltic, and the Indian 
 campaigns ; and we little thought that he would find his 
 last home amid the billows of the China Ocean, without 
 a mark to note his resting place. 
 
 We arrived at Hong Kong one Sunday evening; to 
 get into smooth water was truly a day of rest for us after 
 a perpetual buffeting for ten long weary days. 
 
 Victoria, the town of Hong Kong, is on the north of 
 the island. Between the headlands on either side, stretch- 
 ing out towards Kowloon (a promontory on the mainland 
 of China), lies a magnificent bay in which all the navies 
 of the world might rest in safety. Behind the town a 
 rocky hill rises boldly, some 1,500 feet high, while all 
 around are granite rocks and islands which shut out the 
 changing winds, and account for the heat of the climate, 
 so trying to the European constitution. 
 
 On first arrival we were not, however, kept in Hong 
 Kong, but were sent up at once to Canton, a place 
 reached in one day steaming up the Canton river in one 
 of Her Majesty's gunboats. A letter that I wrote from 
 Canton describes the life we led there and the military 
 situation, so I will quote extracts from it : 
 
AT CANTON 65 
 
 'Two RE. companies are at Canton, and they have 
 a nice mess, where we were warmly welcomed. All the 
 Engineers are quartered in an entrenchment made by our 
 troops on some high ground close to the north gate of the 
 town. I am in a hut which is at the top of one of the 
 hills ; and the wind whistles through its chinks and makes 
 me glad of a warm coat. I feel the change a good deal 
 from the heat of India. However, they say that this 
 place is very hot in the summer months, and I daresay 
 it is. Colonel Mann commands the Engineers here, and 
 Courtney is his adjutant. The garrison consists of H.M. 
 67th and part of the 3rd Buffs from India (the rest are 
 coming), one battalion of Marines, two native Indian 
 regiments from India, three companies of Artillery, some 
 Marine Artillery, and three companies of Eoyal Engineers, 
 besides a small force of French. 
 
 1 We are utterly ignorant of what is going to be done ; 
 but the talk is that more regiments are coming out from 
 India, and that there will be an expedition to the north 
 in the spring. I daresay you know all about it in Eng- 
 land. There is a small theatre here, a racket court, 
 cricket ground, and bowling alley, and also some boats in 
 which we pull up the river and have little picnics. So 
 we have lots of amusement, and I have no doubt I shall 
 enjoy a short stay here very much. I have dismissed my 
 Hindoostanee servant, and got a little Chinese boy with 
 a long pigtail. His name is Amman. Canton is a good 
 sized place, about ten miles in circumference, surrounded 
 by a wall. The people are very friendly, and we can go 
 about anywhere without any danger.' 
 
 From the middle of November 1859 to the middle of 
 February 1860 we remained in Canton, doing the ordinary 
 duty of British troops in a garrison town, and as much at 
 home as if we had been at Chatham. There were, of 
 course, many strange sights in a place like Canton, 
 
 F 
 
66 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 which had never before been so open to foreigners as it 
 was when we were there. But two things come back to 
 my mind as I write with greater vividness than anything 
 else, and these are the boats on the river, and the arrival 
 at the place of an American circus. 
 
 The boats on the Canton Eiver are of various sizes 
 and shapes, and very numerous. I heard when I was 
 there that as many as 200,000 human beings in Canton 
 lived entirely afloat. The river was their home, and 
 a boat their house, in which they were born, lived, traded, 
 carried passengers, married, slept, and died. As a rule 
 the after part of the boat is covered in and divided into 
 cabins, while the bow furnishes seats for the rowers ; and, 
 quite at the stern, stands one of the family (generally an 
 old woman) who uses an oar, not only as a- rudder, but 
 also as a means of propelling the vessel when the rowers 
 are absent. 
 
 The circus came, I believe, from California. It was 
 furnished with all the usual paraphernalia of horses, 
 piebald and otherwise, acrobatic riders, young ladies, and 
 clowns. The officers of the garrison, pining for excite- 
 ment, were much interested in the strange arrival and 
 patronised the show very freely. Some of us took lessons 
 in the noble art of standing erect on a horse's back as he 
 cantered quietly round the arena ; and, when we got to 
 know the company well, those of us who acted joined with 
 the professional staff in getting up a five-act tragedy called 
 * Mazeppa, or the wild horse of Tartary.' We played it 
 before a distinguished company comprising the Chinese 
 Governor of the city, and the General commanding the 
 British forces. I remember that, when taking the part 
 of the King of the Country, I had to order Mazeppa to be 
 tied to a wild horse. In a loud voice I shouted, ' Bring 
 forth the fiery untamed steed.' Then a poor old horse 
 was whipped on to the stage. * Prepare,' I continued, 
 
AT CANTON 67 
 
 ' strong hempen lashings, and secure them round the 
 villain's loins.' 
 
 With some difficulty the senior clown, as Mazeppa, 
 was tied to the horse's back, and with many kicks and 
 flicks we succeeded in inducing the poor animal to con- 
 tinue his journey with the smallest possible show of 
 speed. Fortunately our audience was not too critical ; 
 and the whole thing caused a good deal of amusement. 
 
 Among the circus company were three girls who had 
 been apprenticed to the manager by their father for a 
 considerable sum. The eldest was about eighteen. She 
 was the Prima Donna of the show, and used to ride round 
 the ring in a sedate and modest way, standing on a well- 
 stuffed flat saddle. Needless to say a good many of the 
 garrison were more or less in love with her. But one was 
 head-over-ears in that condition, and he used to follow 
 her about wherever she went, until, one evening at a 
 supper in an upstairs room after the performance, the 
 clown thought that he was getting too attentive, and, 
 being somewhat excited, kicked him down stairs. I 
 remember his coming to me in terrible perturbation of 
 spirit ; and it was all I could do to prevent him calling 
 his rival out. I think this officer went off to the war. 
 Anyhow, soon after the little adventure that 1 have 
 described the lovely rider married the clown ! The other 
 two sisters were about twelve and thirteen. One of them 
 rode very well, and was learning to do all sorts of tricks 
 on horseback, when a rich merchant of Hong Kong took 
 compassion on them, bought their discharge, and settled 
 300?. a year on each of them for life. What eventually 
 became of them I never heard. 
 
 It is a curious fact worth mentioning, because it 
 shows what peculiar people the Chinese are, that, while 
 the authorities at Pekin had defied us and were making 
 all preparations for war, the people of Canton were not 
 
 F 2 
 
68 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 only at peace with us, but were full of civility, and 
 traded with our merchants to their hearts' content. 
 
 On February 20 I was sent in command of the 23rd 
 Company to Stanley, a little fishing village on the south 
 side of the Island of Hong Kong, to make preparations 
 for the troops that were coming from India to take part 
 in the expedition to the north. Our work consisted in 
 making a pier, putting up bamboo huts, restoring some 
 old barracks, and making them habitable, &c. Later on 
 we had to put up stables at a place call Deep Bay, some 
 miles from Stanley. 
 
 On March 14 the Commander-in-Chief of the expedi- 
 tion (General Sir Hope Grant) arrived at Hong Kong. 
 Among the Staff, as recorded in my journal, I may men- 
 tion that Colonel Stephenson, Coldstream Guards, was 
 Adjutant-General, Colonel Mackenzie Quartermaster- 
 General, Colonel Wolseley Assistant to the latter, and 
 Colonel Mann Commanding Royal Engineer. 
 
 All through March troops were collecting at Hong 
 Kong, and at the end of the month Major Graham came 
 down from Canton and took over from me the command 
 of the 23rd Company. 
 
 A preliminary expedition was sent to Chusan, an 
 island on the east coast of China. I had expected 
 to go, but the 10th Company E.E. was sent; also a 
 battery of Artillery, the 67th Regiment, and a battalion 
 of Marines. The Buffs were ordered to remain as the 
 garrison of Canton. 
 
 On April 14 we heard that the Emperor of China had 
 refused to accept the ultimatum that our diplomatists had 
 sent to him. 
 
 On May 2 I went with the 23rd Company through 
 Victoria to Kowloon, a piece of ground on the mainland 
 that we had hired from the Chinese for a camp of 
 concentration. 
 
EXPEDITION TO THE NORTH 69 
 
 On May 7 orders were issued about transport for the 
 expedition. The old Indian scale was much reduced. An 
 officer was only allowed 100 Ib. of baggage, and three 
 officers were to share a bell tent. Lord Elgin was ex- 
 pected to act as the chief political authority, with the 
 rank of Ambassador. 
 
 The force in China at this time, destined for the 
 northern expedition, consisted of eight battalions of 
 British and four battalions of Indian Infantry, six field 
 batteries of Eoyal Artillery, two companies of Koyal 
 Engineers (Fisher's and Graham's), Probyn's and Fane's 
 Horse, and, in reserve, some Heavy Artillery and Dragoon 
 Guards, &c. There were also the Marines and the Naval 
 Brigade. The 87th Kegiment and two Madras regiments 
 were left at Hong Kong and Canton. 
 
 On the 29th we went on board the Arracan, a 
 trading steamer, which was to take us north, but the 
 weather was so heavy that she could not get out of the 
 harbour. There were fifteen officers in all on board. We 
 eventually started on June 1 with three sailing vessels in 
 tow ; but after buffeting about for some time, and cast- 
 ing off our attached vessels one by one, we had to put back 
 into Deep Water Bay and wait for better weather. On 
 the 4th we were ordered back into Victoria Harbour, and 
 on the 8th, the sea having moderated, we made our third 
 attempt to get away, with a sailing vessel and a gunboat 
 in tow. This time we were successful ; and on the 19th we 
 reached a bay called Ta-lien-wan, which had been 
 appointed the place of concentration for the British 
 Fleet. 
 
 Here we found Admiral Jones, and also the Generals 
 of Division (Napier and Mitchell), and some Infantry 
 transports. 
 
 In a letter written from this place the day after our 
 arrival I explained that our rendezvous was a magnificent 
 
70 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 bay at the entrance of the Gulf of Pechele. One of the 
 E.E. companies had arrived before us, and the men were 
 digging wells and collecting water. I went on shore 
 with Graham and walked about the country. The houses 
 were good, made of stone, and well thatched. The 
 villages were clean. Few inhabitants were left, but what 
 there were were fine strong men, the average being over six 
 feet in height. 
 
 We were quite in the dark as to what was being done, 
 and whether or not there would be war, but we heard 
 that Lord Elgin was making his way to Shanghai, where 
 he intended to meet the General and the Admiral, and 
 the representatives of the French who were acting in 
 China at the time as our allies. 
 
 Towards the end of June we landed and set to work 
 to make watering places for horses ; and shortly after- 
 wards I was sent away by myself with some sixty 
 Sappers to make reservoirs for the Navy at Bustard 
 Creek. Here I fared rather badly, and the naval officers, 
 with their usual kindness, wanted me to come on board, 
 but I would not because I thought it might impede the 
 work. However, at last I got a little * seedy ' and the 
 Admiral, having come on shore with a party of men, 
 carried me off to his ship. From thence I went on 
 board the Scout (Captain Corbett), where I was taken 
 care of, and got so strong that I was soon able to go 
 again on shore, and had not a day's illness throughout the 
 war. 
 
 A sad thing happened at this time in the bay. A 
 Marine, who had shot an officer on board one of the 
 gunboats, was tried by court-martial and condemned to 
 death. I happened to be passing the gunboat when the 
 execution took place. The vessel had been placed in the 
 centre of the Fleet; all the boats of the Fleet, fully 
 manned, officers in cocked hats, were ranged up on either 
 
TA-LIEN-WAN BAY 71 
 
 side of her, and the condemned man (accompanied by a 
 priest reading the Service) was led out by the Provost 
 Sergeant on to the bridge. The rope was then fitted 
 round his neck, and the other end passed through a block 
 on the yard-arm, and carried forward on the deck by a 
 party of men who had been chosen by lot for the hated duty 
 of executioners. The cap was then drawn over the con- 
 demned man's eyes. The priest shook his hand ; and all 
 were breathless till the fatal gun boomed from the flag- 
 ship, when the men ran away with the line and he was 
 slung up to the yard-arm. Not a movement showed that 
 he had any feeling in death. The scene was very im- 
 pressive, and I felt my heart in my mouth. I have seen 
 hundreds of rebels shot and hung, and blown from guns 
 in India ; but these sights never affected me as did this 
 naval execution. 
 
 The expeditionary force was for nearly two months 
 on shore in Ta-lien-wan Bay. The delay was caused 
 chiefly by our allies (the French) not being ready. But 
 it did not come amiss to concentrate, drill, and organise 
 our own somewhat motley army. It was very hot at the 
 time, and we felt it a good deal in our little bell tents, 
 with now and then scanty provisions ; and diarrhoea 
 began to show itself among the troops. At length notice 
 came that the French were ready. A position intended 
 for a dep6t was fortified at Odin Ba} 7 , on one side of 
 Ta-lien-wan, and on July 23 and 24 the whole force, 
 guns, horses, and followers, was embarked without a 
 single mishap. 
 
 On the 26th the men-of-war and the transports, 
 numbering in all some 200 vessels, wended their way 
 from the bay into the open sea. It was a beautiful 
 morning, with a light favourable breeze; the immense 
 ships with every stitch of canvas set, the powerful 
 steamers, pre-eminent among the latter being the Chesa- 
 
72 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 peake and Imperieuse (flagships), occasionally firing a 
 gun to attract attention, all constituted an animated 
 picture not easily to be forgotten. In the afternoon we 
 saw smoke on our left and soon discovered the French 
 fleet, which numbered about thirty ships. 
 
 On July 28, the sea, become a yellow colour, reminded 
 us that we were in shallow water, and we anchored in 
 the most careful line under the supervision of our naval 
 brothers in arms. Those mounds that we saw against 
 the evening sun as it set on our western horizon were the 
 memorable Takoo forts, and pointed out the entrance to 
 the Peiho river and the road to Pekin ; and many a heart 
 in our army beat high at the sight, in expectation of the 
 battle and glory to be won on those little heaps of mud. 
 
 It was not till the commencement of August that the 
 1st Division of the English Army and a force of the 
 French, some in gunboats and some in large troop 
 boats towed astern, started off to make good a landing. 
 They were prepared to resist all efforts to oppose their 
 disembarkation. But the point at which they were to 
 land was some miles distant from the Peiho, at the mouth 
 of another river called the Pehtang, from which it was 
 intended to march and assault the formidable Peiho forts 
 on their land front. There were some forts also at the 
 mouth of the Pehtang ; but the Chinese soldiers there 
 were unprepared for resistance, and the only enemy our 
 troops had to encounter was mud a nasty enemy enough. 
 That day you might have seen Infantry and Staff officers, 
 with trousers tucked up and boots in hand, wading side 
 by side with the stalwart private through the knee-deep 
 slosh, until ground a little harder could be gained to 
 support them. The force was halted and formed up on 
 the raised road leading from Pehtang to the Peiho forts 
 the only dry place as far as the eye could reach; and 
 there, as night fell, they passed the weary hours of 
 
PEHTANG AND TAKOO FORTS 73 
 
 darkness, with a muddy pool for a bed, and a stone for a 
 pillow. No resistance was offered the next morning, and 
 the allied forces occupied the village of Pehtang, which 
 lies on the river of the same name, and owes its existence 
 to the salt trade in which the inhabitants are engaged. 
 
 All the army had now to be landed at Pehtang. 
 Piers were made, houses were apportioned out, and the 
 engines of the indefatigable gunboats spouted steam 
 from morning to night and from night to morning, as 
 there was work to do and they had no idea of stopping 
 till it was finished. Once or twice during the disem- 
 barkation there had been a reconnaissance of the enemy's 
 position, and a game at long bowls had been played 
 between European metal and the Tartar jingalls. 
 
 On August 12 the force advanced, 2nd Division to 
 the front ; and the latter, assisted by the cavalry, gave 
 the Tartar horsemen a lesson such as they little expected 
 to learn. 
 
 I think it may be interesting to give my own ex- 
 periences at this time a little more in detail. I take the 
 facts from letters. On August 7 we embarked on board 
 a gunboat from the Impfratrice and landed at Pehtang 
 among dirt, filth, and confusion impossible to describe. 
 We were then told off to a Chinese house, or hotel, into 
 which we shook ourselves and our baggage ; and after a 
 dinner of a biscuit and a glass of brandy and water were 
 glad to turn into bed. Till the 12th we stopped in that 
 pigsty (Pehtang) trying to make roads, and having our 
 clothes and boots in a perpetual state of sop. On the 12th 
 we marched. For miles around the Peiho forts great 
 efforts had been made, for years past, to fortify every 
 village, every road, and every canal; so that the whole 
 country became one large fortress, strongly defended by 
 nature in the shape of water and mud, and by art in the 
 way of canals, walls, camps, and field works. 
 
74 A LIFE IN THE BKITISH ARMY 
 
 The first place that had to be taken, after leaving 
 Pehtang, was a village called Sinho, to which only one 
 road led, with water on each side. Moreover the place 
 itself was defended by two lines of works. The 1st 
 Division and the French advanced along this road and 
 took the works and the village ; and the 2nd Division, to 
 which the 23rd Company E.E. belonged, made a detour 
 to the right, and, after an arduous march with mud 
 nearly up to our knees, we came upon the enemy's flank, 
 were charged by hordes of Tartar cavalry which lapped 
 completely round us and actually killed some men in our 
 rear, and finally formed line and drove them before us, 
 taking all their camps, forage, and horses, and killing a 
 good number of them. On this day the Armstrong guns 
 fired their first shots in anger, and the result was more 
 effective than anyone had anticipated. Our irregular horse 
 from India also did very well, and rode the Tartars down 
 by the superior weight and mettle of their horses. Our 
 casualties were but slight. That night we bivouacked 
 on the ground. We had no baggage. 
 
 On the 13th I had a long ride to bring up engineer 
 stores, with which our officers and a working party threw 
 up an entrenchment against a large fortified village called 
 Tangkoo. 
 
 At 5 A.M. on the morning of the 14th the 1st Division 
 was paraded for the attack on this place. I was told off 
 with two other officers for the assaulting party. The 
 enemy were first driven out of some junks on the river, 
 from which they were firing on our right flank. Our 
 field guns then advanced in line, supported by Infantry, 
 and opened on the village : the enemy replied well with 
 guns and jingalls, but our fire was too hot and accurate 
 for them, and gradually it subdued all opposition ; and 
 when the rifles crept round by a gap in the lines close to 
 the river, the battle was won. My duty was the making 
 
GALLANT GUNNERS 75 
 
 of a pontoon bridge over the wet ditch, but the enemy's 
 fire had slackened before I was called upon to do this work. 
 
 The Tartars who were killed at their guns were torn 
 by the Armstrong and other shells in a most ghastly 
 manner. Certainly these men fought as bravely as any 
 soldier of any nation could have done. I noticed 
 particularly one gun, which had been protected in a very 
 weak and imperfect manner, but which never stopped 
 firing until every gunner had been killed. When all but 
 one had fallen, nothing daunted, that gallant soldier, who 
 was left actually alone, loaded, ran up, and fired the gun 
 himself three times, and then at last a shell hit him and 
 blew him to bits. Directly we got into the work I walked 
 up to see what had happened at this gun ; and there, 
 lying about it, in various attitudes, were the sixteen 
 gunners who had formed the original detachment ; and, 
 about twenty yards within the fortification, was the 
 brave heart of the last survivor lying by itself, almost 
 uninjured ; I should have liked to preserve that heart in 
 a glass case, but I had other things to do. 
 
 That night we took up our quarters in the village that 
 lay within the fortifications. Men and officers slept in 
 silks, and satins, and furs, all more or less spoiled by the 
 mud which pervaded everything. 
 
 In the afternoon the 2nd Division came up to garrison 
 the place, and General Napier, who commanded it, was 
 entrusted with the operations against the Takoo Forts. 
 
 The village of Tangkoo was situated on the left bank of 
 the Peiho river, about two miles from the most western 
 of the great forts on the north bank that guards the river's 
 mouth. 
 
 There was a considerable dispute between the French 
 and ourselves as to which forts to attack : the French 
 thought that we ought to cross the Peiho and attack the 
 south forts, while Sir Hope Grant, under the advice, I 
 
76 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 believe, of General Napier, determined to advance against 
 the northern ones. For the latter purpose the village of 
 Tangkoo formed a convenient artillery and engineer park, 
 and all the officers and men of these branches of the 
 service who could be mustered were assembled there, and 
 set to work to make such preparations as our limited siege 
 train allowed and the circumstances seemed to warrant. 
 
 Personally I was employed chiefly on a survey of the 
 country. But I had time to do some siege work too. I 
 remember going out one night with Major Graham, who 
 commanded our company, to reconnoitre ; and we crept 
 close enough up to one of the Chinese forts to hear the 
 sentries talking on the parapet. 
 
 The following incident may be of interest, as showing 
 the sort of work I was sometimes called upon to perform. 
 
 I had been out surveying, and had come in to our 
 bivouac in the village of Tangkoo, and was ' plotting ' my 
 work in a Joss House that we had taken for our mess, 
 when the Commanding Royal Engineer (Colonel Mann) 
 came in and said : 
 
 ' The General wants someone to volunteer for a 
 dangerous duty,' and then he saw me and continued, 
 
 * Oh, Harrison, will you undertake it ? ' 
 
 Of course I said ' Yes.' 
 
 He then explained that it consisted in crossing the 
 river and ascertaining the nature of the ground on the 
 other side, the other side being under fire of the southern 
 forts, and also more or less held by Tartar horsemen. I at 
 once set about getting things ready, viz : I looked up my 
 personal kit and saw that my boots were sound and my 
 revolver in good order. I gave instructions about an old 
 boat that our men had found and patched up, and obtained 
 the services of two sappers whom I knew, one to land 
 with me on the other side, and one to remain in the boat 
 when we had crossed, and be ready to bring us back if 
 
PEHTANG AND TAKOO FORTS 77 
 
 we succeeded. Just as I was on the point of starting, 
 General Napier rode up and stopped me, saying it was not 
 worth the risk, and he would not let me go ; so I had to 
 give it up and return, a good deal disappointed, to my 
 sketch. If he had come half a minute later I should have 
 gone. 
 
 From the moment when the fortified village of 
 Tangkoo was taken, no time was lost in making prepara- 
 tions for the attack of the more formidable works that 
 guarded the mouth of the Peiho river. The French, as 
 I have said, thought that the key of the position lay on 
 the south side of the river ; and we did our best to 
 support them in that view, making a bridge of casks to 
 enable them to get across. At the same time, arrange- 
 ments were being made for an advance on the north side, 
 approaches being pushed forward from our base, and 
 roads and bridges constructed across the numerous water- 
 courses that traversed the country in every direction. 
 Skirmishing went on daily on both sides of the river; 
 and the Chinese made an advanced battery of sand bags 
 to bombard the village in which we had established our 
 Headquarters, and where we had thought ourselves fairly 
 secure. 
 
 On Sunday, August 19, we held ' Church Parade ' in 
 an old Chinese temple. It was a curious and somewhat 
 impressive sight to see the huge ugly figures that repre- 
 sent the Chinese ideas of a God looking down upon 
 the British soldier as he stood at attention during the 
 reading of the simple Church of England service, or as he 
 sang with perhaps more than usual earnestness the 
 touching words of Keble's morning hymn. Almost before 
 the service was over, sudden orders came to push on our 
 approaches against the northern fort, and I was sent out 
 with a party consisting of half the 23rd Company E.E., 
 some Madras Sappers, Milward's guns, some Madras 
 Artillery, and the 67th Kegiment, to a point about 2000 
 
78 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 yards from that fort, from which we constructed six roads 
 of approach, and established our advanced pickets within 
 600 yards of it. All night we continued hard at work, 
 and the next morning returned to our bivouacs, dead 
 tired. But we had not much time for rest, for that same 
 day (the 20th) the General carried out an armed recon- 
 naissance, getting as near the fort as he could ; and then 
 the sites for breaching batteries were chosen, and final 
 preparations put in hand for an assault. As soon as 
 possible a column, as follows, was sent out, with three 
 days' rations, under the immediate command of Sir B. 
 Napier to carry out the work, viz : H.M. 67th and 44th 
 Kegiments, a battalion of Marines, some Madras Artillery, 
 two batteries of light and two of heavy artillery, some mor- 
 tars, the 23rd Company B.E,, and some Madras Sappers 
 and Miners. Before evening batteries were marked out, 
 and all troops were in position ; and at dusk work began. 
 Four batteries, with bridges leading to them, at a distance 
 of 400 to 600 yards from the fort, were constructed and 
 armed during the night, and by daybreak all were ready 
 to open fire. My own special work was a battery for 
 four heavy guns, which I constructed with a few Sappers 
 and an Infantry working party. All through the night 
 the Chinese kept throwing lightballs in our direction ; 
 and they fired shot and shell too, whenever they thought 
 we were at work. These salutes somewhat disturbed my 
 working party, who were new to the duty ; and whenever 
 a lightball blazed more than usual, or a shot came 
 whizzing over our heads, they took advantage of the 
 opportunity to leave their tools on the partly made 
 parapet and lie down in the most secluded place they 
 could find. I do not think I should ever have got that 
 work done if it had not been for the extraordinary energy 
 of a young sergeant of Sappers l (by name Hanson), whom 
 1 Afterwards one of the King's Body Guard of Yeomen of the Guard. 
 
PEHTANG AND TAKOO FORTS 79 
 
 nothing seemed to tire ; but with his aid the battery was 
 ready by about 3 A.M., and we lay down to get a few 
 winks of sleep before the bombardment and the assault 
 took place. 
 
 I had been told by one of the Staff that, as the 23rd 
 Company had been employed during the night, they 
 would not be detailed for the storming party of the first 
 fort to be assaulted, but would be held in reserve for use 
 as required. I was somewhat disappointed at this, but I 
 came to the conclusion that it was no use grumbling, and 
 that we were sure to have our turn of active work before 
 the day was out. Lying on the mud in my cloak, I was 
 awakened by the arrival of reinforcements to strengthen 
 the regiments that had been at work during the night 
 and help them when the attack began. It was about half- 
 past four in the cold grey morning when the first of these 
 reinforcements arrived. I noted the powder bags (which 
 I had hoped would have been our care), borne by men 
 of another company; then some rather heavy ladders 
 and pontoons of the Chatham pattern, carried, I think, by 
 Marines. When we were preparing for the attack on the 
 Takoo Forts I had ventured to suggest to the Commanding 
 Koyal Engineer to use a light ladder made of bamboo such 
 as we had used in India ; but he would not do so, because 
 1 he did not see them mentioned in the book of regulations.' 
 The French, not being so much tied by regulation, used 
 the ladders I suggested, and the result was that they 
 beat us easily in the race for the post of honour on the 
 walls of the fort. The French, as I said before, thought 
 that the key to the Peiho River was the southern forts ; 
 but they sent a few of their troops to accompany our 
 assaulting columns on the north side, because they did 
 not like to be out of anything, and there was always a 
 chance that we might succeed. It was this party that I 
 saw with the bamboo ladders just behind our men. 
 
80 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Soon after the troops passed I heard the sound of a 
 gun, and saw a round shot tumble into their midst. It was 
 one fired by the Chinese, who had ceased firing during 
 the late hours of the night, but awoke early to the fact 
 that there was unusual movement in the English lines. 
 As a reply to this gun all the batteries that we had made 
 during the night opened fire; and soon a general bom- 
 bardment took place from every gun that could be 
 brought to bear on the scene of action. Before long 
 three or four gunboats steamed up the Peiho channel 
 and added their fire to the general ' row.' At half -past 
 six a tremendous explosion took place in the north fort. 
 The principal powder magazine had blown up ; and for 
 a few seconds all fire ceased, and every man looked in his 
 neighbour's face with an inquiring expression : ' It must 
 be all over now ! ' * No ! ' * We have certainly caught 
 a Tartar in his lair ! ' for, almost before the smoke of the 
 explosion had cleared away, the guns were again in action 
 in the very fort where the magazine had exploded, and 
 soon all were at it again, hammer and tongs, as hard as 
 ever. 
 
 When the enemy's fire was slightly subdued, the storm- 
 ing party, which had been lying down in the trenches, 
 was ordered to advance. The pontoons started up a 
 narrow road, water and mud on either side. But a heavy 
 fire soon stopped the party carrying that ponderous 
 bridge. Two officers and thirteen men were killed and 
 wounded at the leading pontoon, and a barricade of 
 wounded men and pontoons was formed that completely 
 stopped the passage along the road. But the soldiers had 
 received the orders to go forward. Her Majesty's 44th 
 and 67th Regiments supplied the companies for the assault, 
 and into the fort, bridge or no bridge, they would go. 
 The Engineers and the Marines, nothing loth to follow 
 suit, plunged with their ladders into the mud and water, 
 
THE TAKOO FORTS 81 
 
 and breast deep, they waded along. Meantime the French, 
 with their light bamboo ladders, had reached the angle 
 of the fort, and planted them against the parapet. The 
 English ladders were used to facilitate the crossing of 
 the ditches, and the two nations raced for the post of 
 honour on the breach. I saw a gallant French officer 
 stand for a few moments almost alone on the wall, 
 firing into the mass of Tartars below him, and then 
 at last fall himself shot through the heart. He met his 
 fate, but it was a noble one : to die for his country ! 
 Another was soon up, followed by a young Engineer 
 officer ; and soon both at the angle and also by the gate 
 eager officers and men were in ; and then European 
 discipline and better arms carried all before them ; in a 
 few minutes, as it seemed, the fort was taken, and the 
 French and English flags waved side by side on the 
 highest point of the lofty cavalier. 
 
 At about 10 A.M. two regiments from the reserve and 
 the 23rd Company B.E. were ordered up to advance 
 against the other northern fort, which was nearer the 
 mouth of the river, and considerably stronger than the 
 one we had taken. But whether it was our rapid 
 advance, or the demoralisation caused by the fighting 
 of the past night and morning, or the fall at the moment 
 of a heavy shower of rain, or perhaps the combination 
 of all these three causes, the Chinese made no further 
 resistance, and we escaladed the ramparts without loss and 
 secured some 2,000 armed men as prisoners of war. Soon 
 afterwards boats were sent across the Peiho; and the 
 whole of the south forts fell into our hands without 
 resistance. The rain then came down in torrents, and 
 our return home was more like a flight than the march 
 of a victorious army. 
 
 Our casualties in this engagement had been nineteen 
 officers and 150 men killed and wounded, and the French 
 
 G 
 
82 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 had lost about the same. Among the wounded officers 
 was Major Graham, who had behaved most gallantly. 
 I sat with him for some time when we got back to our 
 bivouac. The next day he was taken on board the hos- 
 pital ship ; and I became the commander of the 23rd Com- 
 pany, and also senior officer of K.E. in Sir K. Napier's 
 Division. My first business was to complete a sketch 
 of the position, and of the forts that had been taken. My 
 sketch went forward with Sir K. Napier's dispatch. 
 
 Within two days all the forts and guns, as well as the 
 surrounding country, were handed over by the Chinese 
 officials to the allied forces. The booms across the river 
 were then removed by the Navy, and the Admirals and 
 Ambassadors steamed up to Tientsin, where Headquarters 
 were soon afterwards established. We heard that the 
 Chinese Commander-in-Chief, by name Sangolinskin, had 
 retreated through Tientsin with a small retinue the night 
 after the forts were taken ; and that the two next senior 
 Generals had been killed in the forts. 
 
 In addition to my sketching duties, which I did not 
 drop, I set to work to organise a portable equipment for 
 the E.E. company of which I was in command, in fact 
 to turn it from a garrison company into a field one. The 
 equipment included a small bridge train. I also engaged 
 some Chinese coolies as labourers and to look after the 
 stores. Sir E. Napier was much pleased when he saw 
 this arrangement. 
 
 On September 1 we marched across the bridge of 
 casks that our troops had made over the river and started 
 on the road to Tientsin. The other troops with us were 
 a wing of the Buffs, a Marine battalion, and the 67th 
 Kegiment. On the way we joined Govan's and Milward's 
 batteries, and the 8th Punjabees. The route lay through 
 a highly cultivated country. The gardens were full of 
 fruit, and the bunches of grapes that the Chinese brought 
 
ARRIVAL AT TIENTSIN 83 
 
 in to sell in our camp reminded one of the story of the 
 spies, who were sent forward by the children of Israel to 
 reconnoitre the land of Canaan. Strict orders were 
 issued that our men were not to 'loot/ The villagers 
 were returning to their homes and did not seem at all 
 afraid of us. On the 5th we arrived at Tientsin, and a 
 large camp was formed on the plain just outside the walls 
 of that city. 
 
 As soon as we had shaken down into our tents I went 
 to Headquarters, which had been established in the city, 
 and was informed by the Commanding Royal Engineer 
 (Colonel Mann) that I had been appointed to the Quarter- 
 master-General's Staff to assist in the topographical 
 work, and was to hand over my company to the next 
 senior officer and join at Headquarters at once. This 
 arrangement, which had only just been made, was in 
 consequence of a sudden determination of the Authorities 
 to advance on Pekin. After the Takoo Forts were taken 
 an immediate advance was made on Tientsin (as I have 
 already stated), and the Chinese Governor there was all 
 civility. But as days passed away and nothing definite 
 was settled, it became evident that the Chinese were only 
 trying to delay us until the cold weather arrived; and 
 that there were no officials at Tientsin of sufficiently high 
 rank to be able to make any binding treaty with the 
 allies. So it was settled to push on towards the capital, 
 the only point of discussion being the strength of the 
 escort that should accompany Lord Elgin to Pekin. At 
 first, I believe, it was wished to take a very small one, on 
 the plea that too many troops would only stir up resistance. 
 But Sir Hope Grant held out for a sufficiently strong one 
 to be able to hold its own if attacked ; and, fortunately 
 for us all, he got his way. Eventually it was settled that 
 an English force of all arms, and a force of French, 
 chiefly Infantry, should accompany the Ambassadors of 
 
 Q 2 
 
84 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY . 
 
 the two nations, whose business it would be to make 
 some lasting treaty with China under the walls of the 
 Imperial City. The English Infantry was taken from 
 Sir John Mitchell's division, and that officer accompanied 
 the force, Sir B. Napier being left for the time in 
 command at Tientsin, where the main portion of our 
 army was concentrated. 
 
 Before I left I went to say good-bye to my chief 
 (Sir B. Napier) in whose division I had served throughout 
 (latterly, when Graham was wounded, as Commanding 
 Boyal Engineer), and he was particularly kind to me, and 
 said he had looked after my interests, and if there was 
 any engineer work to be done he would get me back again 
 with my company to take part in it. 
 
 On September 9 I started my new work. I found 
 that I belonged to a small party told off under the Quarter- 
 master-General of the Army (Colonel Mackenzie) to do 
 all the reconnaissance work, and also, to a certain extent, 
 that of intelligence. Lieut. -Colonel Wolseley, A.Q.M.G., 
 was in command, I was his assistant in sketching, &c. ; 
 and Mr. Swinhoe, who knew the language, in intelligence 
 work. A small body of Fane's Horse was detailed as our 
 escort, and our soldier servants, with a clerk or two, formed 
 the baggage guard. We had authority to march where 
 and when we liked. We were sometimes in front of the 
 army, sometimes behind it, and sometimes with it our 
 usual place was in front. 
 
 The road ran in a parallel line to the river known in 
 England as the Peiho, but it seems to have had a different 
 name for nearly every mile of its course. Our journey 
 lay through the most highly cultivated land ; the millet 
 and Indian corn grew everywhere as high as a horseman's 
 head, and quite shut out the view from the marching 
 soldier. We used to mount on brick kilns, which were 
 plentiful, or on the high river bank, to get an idea of the 
 
CHINESE TREACHERY 85 
 
 flat country that stretched out around us, thickly dotted 
 with villages on every side. 
 
 On the 17th we reached a village called Matow. All 
 still seemed peace ; the Chinese authorities kept saying 
 that they would treat, but at the same time they would 
 not send a representative of sufficient rank or with proper 
 credentials ; and Lord Elgin said he would not waste 
 another word till he had established his headquarters at 
 Tungchow, a large walled town on the banks of the river, 
 about twelve miles from Pekin. From Matow Mr. Parkes, 
 the British Commissioner, Colonel Walker, one of the 
 Staff, Mr. Loch, Lord Elgin's private Secretary, Captain 
 Brabazon, Captain Anderson, and Mr. Bowlby, the 'Times' 
 correspondent, with an escort of some twenty men, besides 
 a French party, went into Tungchow to treat with the 
 Chinese. The latter seemed perfectly friendly, and 
 expressed their willingness to arrange a site on which 
 our army could encamp close to Tungchow. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th Colonel Walker, Mr. Parkes, 
 and a French officer, with part of the escort, rode out to 
 look at the position that was thought suitable for a camp ; 
 and when they arrived they found a large Chinese army 
 drawn up in battle array, with guns in position, and 
 batteries constructed, and everything seemingly prepared 
 for a fight. This did not look like peace, so Mr. Parkes 
 determined to go back to Tungchow and ask the Mandarin 
 there what it meant. This he did, leaving Colonel Walker, 
 the French officer, and seven of the escort on the ground 
 to wait for his return. Meantime the allies had marched, 
 and from Colonel Walker's position in front of the Chinese 
 army the British Infantry and the horses of the Dragoon 
 Guards could be seen dotted along the plain as they halted 
 in expectation of the return of the party that had been 
 sent to Tungchow. After a time the Chinese soldiers 
 began to be very uncivil to Colonel Walker, and tried to 
 
86 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 take his sword. Soon afterwards he saw them cutting 
 down the French officer. He rode at once to the rescue, 
 but a rush was made upon him, his sword was taken from 
 him, and he was nearly dragged off his horse. Fortunately 
 his animal was a good one, and a touch of the spur made 
 him shake off the assailants, and dash away towards the 
 British lines. Colonel Walker called out to his men to 
 ride for their lives, and, amid a shower of bullets and the 
 fire of five or six guns, they galloped as hard as they 
 could and escaped with only a few trifling wounds. It 
 was this fire that first intimated to our force that all was 
 not right, and, when Colonel Walker's party rode in, 
 orders were at once issued by Sir Hope Grant to put the 
 army in motion and advance against the Chinese. The 
 odds in numbers were greatly against us, but we succeeded 
 in storming their lines, charging their cavalry, taking 
 their camps and villages, besides a walled town called 
 Chang-chia-wan, and capturing seventy-six guns. Our 
 Irregulars behaved splendidly. Probyn's Horse attacked 
 a force five times their own strength, and went through and 
 through them. Fane's Horse was attached to the French, 
 their own cavalry being almost non-existent ; these fine 
 Indian troopers were much admired by our gallant 
 military allies, and were of the greatest use to them in 
 the action. 
 
 But I must not omit to tell what happened to me 
 personally that day. Our little party (as I have already 
 mentioned) had a camp of its own, which was not always 
 in the same place as that of the army. That morning 
 we had not planned our start at the same time as the 
 others, and were quietly eating our breakfast when we 
 heard the firing that preceded the action. Soon after- 
 wards a Staff officer rode back to tell us that the enemy's 
 cavalry were out, and that it was not safe for us to remain 
 in our present isolated position. So we packed up our 
 

 TARTAR INFANTRY. 
 
ADVANCE ON PEKIN 87 
 
 goods and started off, sword and pistol in hand, to join 
 the army. We had reached a hollow road and were 
 advancing in the following order : first Colonel Wolseley 
 and myself, immediately behind us the mounted escort, 
 and, a little further behind, the transport with the dis- 
 mounted men, when we saw a considerable body of 
 Tartar cavalry coming in our direction. Wolseley im- 
 mediately dismounted and stationed himself sword in 
 hand on the bank that protected the hollow road. I 
 could not at first think what he was doing, until he said 
 very quietly, 'We can't leave the dismounted men,' and 
 then I remembered our baggage party, and, getting off 
 my horse, took up my station by the side of my gallant 
 chief. Fortunately the Tartars either did not see us or, 
 what is more probable, did not know our strength, and 
 had already had enough fighting that morning. Anyhow 
 they passed by about 200 yards from the position we 
 occupied. 
 
 I have often since then remembered this little episode, 
 and thought how much better was the quiet calculating 
 courage that my chief displayed on the occasion, which 
 won him nothing but my admiration and esteem, than 
 the headlong and somewhat rash bravery which fre- 
 quently wins more tangible recognition. 
 
 When the Tartar cavalry had passed we continued 
 our march ; and, having brought our carts up to the rear 
 guard of the army, we cantered along and joined the 
 Commander- in-Chief. That night (as I say in a long 
 letter written at the time) we took up our quarters in the 
 town of Chang-chia-wan, which was given up to plunder, 
 and presented a scene of indescribable confusion. The 
 only house not looted was the one in which Wolseley and 
 I lived ; and the old man to whom it belonged was very 
 glad to supply us with eggs and fowls, &c., to save his 
 goods and chattels. 
 
88 A LIFE IN THE BKITISH ARMY 
 
 On the 19th and 20th we halted, and I sketched the 
 ground where the fight had taken place. The Chinese 
 position was very well chosen and very strong. Some 
 more French came up from the rear, and our entire force 
 on the morning of the 21st was about 6000 men. 
 
 We heard that Mr. Parkes and his party were safe in 
 Pekin, having been taken there in a cart from Tungchow. 
 We also heard that the enemy had as many as 100,000 
 men in camp between us and Pekin, and that forty-eight 
 Princes from Tartary had each sent 1000 men to defend 
 the Emperor on his throne. However, though the odds 
 against us were so great, and we had no knowledge 
 whatever of the country, it was agreed that we should go 
 on. Early on the morning of the 21st we moved off, 
 having left our baggage under a guard in the village, and 
 formed up in order of battle. The French were on the 
 right, resting on the river, and the English with the 
 Cavalry on the left. The enemy's horsemen appeared in 
 great numbers, and charged down upon us ; but the fire 
 of our rifles and of our Armstrong guns checked them, 
 and then a splendid charge of our Cavalry (King's 
 Dragoon Guards and Indian Irregulars) put them to 
 flight, and we pursued them for about eight miles over a 
 flat country. Whenever we halted for a minute they 
 turned round on us. Behind our Cavalry came the 
 Infantry, who secured the villages and camps. The 
 country we passed over was very highly cultivated ; and 
 the stumps of the newly cut millet and Indian corn, as 
 well as the large deep ditches, were great obstacles to our 
 Cavalry, much more so than to the nimble Tartar ponies 
 ridden by the Chinese. But the English must have 
 killed two or three hundred of them at least. I do not 
 know what the French did, as the fight extended over 
 ten or twelve miles of country. 
 
 We heard that in this battle Sangolinskin commanded 
 
ADVANCE ON PEKIN 89 
 
 in person, and that he was the leader of the war party, a 
 good many of those in authority being in favour of peace. 
 
 On the night of the 21st we pitched our camp near 
 the walled town of Tungchow. The next day messengers 
 came from the Emperor, but Lord Elgin refused to re- 
 ceive them until the prisoners who had been treacherously 
 taken were given up. 
 
 Meantime reinforcements, including a siege train, 
 were being rapidly pushed up from Tientsin and else- 
 where, to strengthen the force in the front. And the 
 sick and wounded were sent down to the hospital ships 
 at the mouth of the Peiho. 
 
 On the 26th a reconnaissance was made in the direc- 
 tion of Pekin. Colonel Wolseley was in command, and 
 the troops consisted of Fane's Horse and a few French 
 Cavalry. Of course I was there too. We advanced along 
 a paved road to about 1000 yards from the great gate of 
 the city, and then branched off right and left to examine 
 the canal and the wall of the town itself. A few Tartars 
 came out and fired on us, but they bolted when we 
 advanced. We found out all that was wanted, and with 
 our glasses could see the armed sentries, standing firm 
 and motionless on the walls. No wonder, for, as we after- 
 wards found out, they were dummy figures ! Surely this 
 was the height of civilisation : to argue, as the Chinese 
 did, that is was no use to employ, in guarding the city 
 and the palace, living men who had to be fed and paid, 
 if men of straw would do what was required. The 
 argument seemed good enough as long as no real enemy 
 appeared at the gate ; and a considerable saving must 
 have been made by the imperial exchequer in the many 
 years of peace during which the dummies did duty. Be- 
 fore we retired we learned from the inhabitants that the 
 Tartars were concentrated in a large camp at the north- 
 east angle of the city. 
 
90 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 On the 29th the 23rd Company K.E. (the one to 
 which I belonged) came up and joined the force. It 
 was commanded by Major Graham, its old Chief, who 
 had recovered from the wound he received at Takoo. 
 A few days afterwards Captain C. G. Gordon, lately 
 arrived from England, came to take the command of the 
 8th Company, vice Fisher, who had been invalided. 
 
 On October 5 the whole force marched at 6 A.M., 
 leaving behind them tents and baggage, and taking only 
 rations for three days. The French were with us this 
 day, and we halted within sight of Pekin, at some brick 
 kilns about two miles from the north-east angle of the 
 city. 
 
 The next morning we started again at 6 A.M. and 
 halted for breakfast at another brick kiln, from which we 
 had a good view of the north and east faces of the city, 
 and an old entrenchment jutting out from the north side. 
 The arrangements for an expected fight were then made 
 as follows: The French were to go straight for the 
 entrenchments in a westerly direction ; and the English 
 were to make a detour, and attack opposite the north- 
 west gate, cutting off all communication between the 
 Emperor's summer palace and the city. 
 
 The English force started as arranged, and about 
 10.30 A.M. came upon some Tartar picquets, which ex- 
 changed a few shots with us and then retired. The 
 country was thickly wooded, and it was difficult to find 
 our way, but at last we came out opposite the north-west 
 gate; there we halted and took up our quarters. The 
 Staff bivouacked in an old monastery. Wolseley and 
 myself had a small room between us which had been 
 until then occupied by monks. 
 
 We heard nothing of the French or of our Cavalry 
 which had accompanied them. So on the 7th I went out 
 early, with Colonel Wolseley, and a troop of the King's 
 
THE SUMMER PALACE 91 
 
 Dragoon Guards, to search for them, and, after some 
 beating about, we found them at the gates of the 
 Emperor's summer palace, about four miles from Pekin. 
 
 The entrance to this famous pleasure ground was not 
 unlike that of a first-class country seat in England. On 
 each side of the main gate was a lion couchant. Every- 
 one thought that these lions were made of stone; but, 
 when we got back to Canton, the Chinese there would 
 not at first believe we had been to the summer palace, 
 because, they said, ' If you had, you would surely have 
 brought away the golden lions from the gates ! ' l 
 
 When we got to the entrance gate we found that the 
 French had taken it, having met with no resistance 
 except from some diminutive spaniels that frequented the 
 palace. The principal building, which was usually 
 occupied by the Emperor himself, was close by the main 
 gate, and into this we went, led by our interpreter, who 
 knew by repute something of the place, and also had 
 gained information from some Chinese servants who were 
 hanging about. Only a few French officers were inside, 
 looking about like ourselves. The rooms were hand- 
 somely decorated in French style ; we did not know at 
 the time how richly, but we could not fail to notice the 
 collection of curiosities and fancy articles, spread out on 
 tables on every side, gifts to the Emperor presented by 
 kings and queens and ambassadors of all the nations of 
 the earth. Here were clocks and watches of French and 
 Italian make, richly set with diamonds and rubies ; there 
 ornaments of jade and antique enamel ; in another place 
 images of gold and ivory, and strings of pearls so large 
 and quaintly shaped that one could not believe they were 
 real. Passing through the rooms in which these treasures 
 lay, we followed our conductor to a much simpler apart- 
 ment where the Emperor had lived, and from which we 
 1 The Chinese had painted them. 
 
92 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 heard he had fled only a short time before we entered. 
 There was the couch on which he had been lying, with a 
 handkerchief dropped on it. There by the couch's head 
 a small table on which was a scroll, a seal, and some 
 tablets of green jade. Curiously enough the seal was of 
 copper, and I took it in memory of the occasion together 
 with the scroll. l 
 
 On our way out of the palace we saw the French in 
 increased numbers in the rooms, and the tables not so 
 full of treasure as they had been when we entered. Very 
 soon the news spread through the armies that the 
 palace taken by the French was full of treasure, and 
 a rush took place which cleared away all that could 
 be removed easily. Of the riches of the palace no 
 one had the least idea. It was first looted by the 
 French for two or three days ; then by the 1st 
 Division of the English Army which was sent out to burn 
 it. After which it was left to the rabble of Pekin, who 
 went out to scrape up the gold that had melted and 
 streamed away during the conflagration. Marvellous to 
 say, the curtain rods, the door handles, and all the fittings 
 were of pure gold ; and some huge pagodas and images, 
 that were too heavy for the soldiers to move, were of the 
 same precious metal. 
 
 When we arrived at Headquarters, and described 
 what we had seen, Sir Hope Grant issued an order that 
 all loot taken by any English officer or man was to be 
 put into a common heap and sold, and the produce 
 divided among the troops, so that all might share alike. 
 And he trusted to the honour of the officers to see that 
 this order was carried out. He also sent prize agents 
 to try and arrange for an equal division of spoil between 
 the French and ourselves. The next day he went himself 
 
 1 I subsequently put these things, with some others, into the prize sale 
 and bought them out. 
 
THE SUMMER PALACE 93 
 
 to see the palace, and we accompanied him. By this time 
 the place was pretty well gutted. The lust of loot was 
 upon the troops, and what they could not take away they 
 destroyed. The French camp, as we passed through it, 
 was strewn with furs, and silks, and satins ; men kicked 
 gold about like footballs, and would sell a necklace of 
 pearls for a tumbler of rum. 
 
 On October 8, the day after Sir Hope Grant's visit to 
 the summer palace, the Chinese sent back those of the 
 prisoners that were still alive, including Mr. Parkes, 
 Loch, and a French officer. The terms that the allies 
 imposed upon them were, I believe, to surrender all the 
 prisoners, dead or alive, to make a commercial treaty, and 
 to surrender a gate of the city until the treaty was 
 finally ratified. Gradually the prisoners were handed 
 over. Those who were alive came first, and the bodies of 
 those who had died came afterwards in coffins, until all 
 were accounted for. 
 
 But there was a demur about handing over to us a 
 gate of the city, and so Sir B. Napier, who had now 
 arrived with the siege train, was put in charge, and took 
 measures to breach the city wall. For this work I was 
 sent back to join my company under Graham. The 
 Headquarters of the Engineers were established in the 
 Temple of the Earth, near the north-west gate, and 
 all night as well as all day we worked at our batteries 
 and in getting our guns into position. Emplacements 
 were made for four heavy guns, three mortars, and six field 
 guns. The Chinese did not molest us while we were at 
 this work, and I remember that, taking advantage of their 
 forbearance, we went out of our trenches as soon as it 
 became dark, and pasted pieces of paper on the walls of 
 the city for the Artillery to fire at when the bombardment 
 began. The construction of the batteries took us two 
 days and two nights, and it was all finished and everything 
 
94 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 ready on October 13. C. G. Gordon and myself were 
 told off for the assaulting party, and we waited for the 
 order to commence firing with no little impatience. But 
 a quarter before the specified hour the Chinese gave in, 
 and opened the great gate ; and by the middle of the day 
 the British and French flags waved side by side on the 
 walls of Pekin. 
 
 After this episode I returned to Army Headquarters 
 and continued my sketching under instructions from the 
 Quartermaster-General. Among other places in the 
 neighbourhood, I had to make a drawing of the summer 
 palace and its environs. The land that formed the 
 pleasure ground for this summer residence of the Em- 
 peror extended over about twenty square miles, and was 
 laid out in an original manner. Here and there were 
 lakes of water, over which hung weeping willows ; while 
 little arches, grottos, and fancy pagodas were scattered 
 about everywhere. 
 
 Two things were left for the diplomatists to do one 
 was to mark in some way our feeling in regard to the 
 prisoners who had been treacherously seized by the 
 Chinese authorities, and for the most part very brutally 
 treated ; and the other was to complete a commercial 
 treaty. 
 
 The first was done, after' careful deliberation, by 
 burning the Emperor's summer palace. On October 18 
 the 1st Division under Sir John Mitchell was sent out to 
 do this work. It was, no doubt, a good thing to do, 
 because it punished the authorities, especially the Imperial 
 Party, and did not in any way injure the poorer classes, 
 who simply did what they were told in making war 
 against us. But its effect was somewhat marred by the 
 troops looting before they burned, and setting fire not 
 only to the inhabited parts of the palace, but to those 
 that were not used to live in, and were simply buildings 
 
TREATY OF PEACE 95 
 
 of imperial and even world- wide interest, such as the 
 library and certain temples. For days the smoke of 
 the burning hung in a dark cloud over the palaces, and 
 marked the avenging power of the allies. 
 
 On October 24 the treaty of peace, which was similar 
 to the one that had been previously agreed on at Tien- 
 tsin, was ratified in the Hall of Ceremonies in Pekin. At 
 about 1 o'clock Lord Elgin, in a state sedan chair, 
 attended by his diplomatic staff in gorgeous clothing, 
 and by a guard of honour, the General, and three officers 
 from every regiment, marched into the city; and going 
 through a large portion of it came to the hall where 
 Prince Kung and about five hundred mandarins were 
 awaiting him. The Prince and Lord Elgin sat on two 
 chairs, side by side, with a half circle of mandarins and 
 officers around them ; and for about two hours they 
 nodded and signed and the whole thing was over. 
 
 The streets as we went along were rather empty 
 except at places, but there was a great crush at the hall 
 itself. 
 
 Prince Kung, the brother of the Emperor, was a 
 young intellectual looking man of about three and 
 twenty, but he did not look over pleased during the cere- 
 mony. In the procession I rode with Wolseley at the 
 head of the column. I was also sent to inspect the cellars 
 under the hall, and see that they were clear of any 
 dangerous substances. 
 
 The next day the French had a similar procession to 
 ours, and signed treaties. 
 
 All that day I was completing our series of sketches by 
 making a plan of the city of Pekin. I saw several Tartar 
 camps, and also tents pitched in some of the broader 
 streets. I thought the ordinary buildings in the town 
 somewhat poor. The houses were low and flat roofed ; 
 each one was surrounded by a wall having on its inner 
 
96 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 side lean-to outhouses and stables ; each house had its 
 garden. The main wall of the city was very fine ; it was, 
 according to my measurement, 40 feet high and 60 feet 
 broad at the top. I was not allowed to go into any of the 
 palaces or temples. The extent of wall around the two 
 cities, Tartar and Chinese, was, I computed, about twenty 
 miles. A wall separated one city from the other. 
 
 The treaty being now signed, and everything that was 
 possible done, steps were taken to break up the forces. 
 On the 26th Colonel Wolseley was sent to Tungchow to 
 arrange water transport to take the baggage of the army 
 back to the Peiho forts. I was still with him. But our 
 interpreter left us, and our escort was diminished. The 
 weather suddenly became cold, and we were glad of any 
 furs we could pick up, and also of fires in the evening. 
 On the 30th, after a heavy rain, we noticed that all the 
 hills on the north were covered with snow. The first 
 boats we sent off were filled with the sick. 
 
 At this period whenever I had any time to spare I 
 used to take my gun out and get a duck or a snipe, a 
 welcome addition to the ordinary salt ration. In the 
 evenings I used to read aloud ' Hypatia,' or some similar 
 book, while my companion drew or smoked. 
 
 On November 6 we ourselves started off in boats for 
 Tientsin. The next day the bulk of the army left the 
 neighbourhood of Pekin, and on arrival at Tientsin they 
 were told off either to remain as part of the winter 
 garrison in the North, or to go to Shanghai or Hong 
 Kong, or to return to England. 
 
 My old company (the 2 3rd), under Graham, went 
 down to Hong Kong, in the Adventure, en route for 
 England. I was detailed to take command of the 8th 
 Company as far as Hong Kong. So I said good-bye to 
 Wolseley and the Headquarter Staff, and became once 
 more a regimental officer. 
 
RETURN TO ENGLAND 97 
 
 One of my last experiences in the north of China was 
 dining at a grand dinner given to the British officers by 
 the Chinese authorities at Tientsin. I sat at the high 
 table, and was helped to soup by a red-buttoned (the 
 highest) Mandarin. 
 
 The night before I sailed I dined with Gordon and the 
 officers of the 10th Company RE. 
 
 On November 20 I went on board the Banterer gun- 
 boat with my company, amidst a storm of snow. We 
 were very crowded and were anything but comfortable. 
 After two days in the river we got out to the fleet, were 
 put on board the Adventure, and arrived at Hong Kong 
 on December 2, where we landed and got warm again. 
 
 A few days later I was ordered to take the 8th 
 Company to Canton and hand it over to Malcolm. 
 There I remained till the end of the year, getting the 
 men's accounts in order ; and then I went back to 
 Hong Kong, and rejoined my old company (the 23rd). 
 
 It was not until January 22, 1861, that we sailed from 
 China in the s.s. Adelaide and, after a somewhat tedious 
 voyage, reached England in May, as will be told in the 
 next chapter. 
 
98 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 HOME SERVICE 
 
 Return to England after six years' absence Chatham 1861 International 
 Exhibition 1862 Aldershot 1863 -Canada and the States 1864 
 Adjutant and Brigade-Major R.E. Prince Arthur Plymouth 1869 
 The Pontoon troop. 
 
 BEFORE leaving Kong Kong I had rejoined my old 
 company (the 23rd), the three officers ordered to go home 
 with it being Graham (a Brevet Lieut.-Colonel), Pritchard 
 and myself (subalterns). The ship we voyaged in was 
 the Adelaide, a four-master, with auxiliary steam power. 
 Her steam power was certainly very auxiliary ; moreover 
 her owners were paid by the day, and it took her a long 
 time to convey us to the shores of England. It was not 
 until May 22, or four months after our start, that we 
 steamed into Portsmouth harbour. Our voyage, though 
 hideously slow, as it seemed to us, who were eager to 
 get home, was not an uneventful one. We put into 
 Singapore and Anjer, were driven by the edge of a 
 hurricane to the Mauritius, stopped for some time at 
 Simon's Bay and Cape Town, and had to put in for coal 
 at St. Vincent and Vigo Bay on the coast of Spain. 
 
 There were officers of all branches of the Service on 
 board, but only eight subalterns for the duties of orderly 
 officer and watch on deck. What are called combatant 
 officers perform those duties. The others lounged about 
 and did nothing, but at the same time were very tenacious 
 of their relative rank, when it came to a question of choice 
 
WELCOMED HOME 99 
 
 of cabins, or any other privileges. I was one of the 
 duty subalterns, and had to share a cabin with another 
 officer, at least as far as the Cape. Being a bad sailor the 
 night watches were particularly irksome to me, but perhaps 
 they stirred me up and did me good. Anyhow I find in 
 my journal that I was always getting up theatricals and 
 other entertainments on board ; and at the same time 
 I did a regular course of reading. 
 
 On the night of May 21 we arrived at Spithead and 
 anchored, and early on the 22nd we steamed into 
 Portsmouth harbour, and disembarked some of our troops. 
 Those of the 87th Regiment that we had on board went 
 off to Dublin, and those of * the Queens ' remained at 
 Portsmouth. On our way into harbour we passed the 
 Prince Consort and the King of the Belgians on board the 
 Eoyal Yacht Fairy. All the ships were dressed in their 
 honour. 
 
 In the course of the day we heard that the Adelaide 
 was to go to Woolwich, to disembark the remainder of 
 the troops, and discharge her cargo, and I obtained leave 
 to land, on the understanding that I would rejoin the 
 ship again at Woolwich. I had no plain clothes only 
 the grey uniform that we used to wear in China ; and the 
 people whom I met stared somewhat at me. But I 
 did not care a bit. I was full of spirits, and delighted 
 to be in old England again, and I posted off as hard as I 
 could travel for Banning, near Maidstone, where my 
 mother and step-father were living. I arrived there 
 rather late in the evening, but received a warm welcome. 
 I remember, as if it were yesterday, my sensations when 
 I awoke the next morning and found myself actually at 
 home : the home that I had been thinking about so often 
 on the long voyage, and during all the adventures, in camp 
 and on the march, which I had been going through during 
 the past six years. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 On the 23rd I went to Gravesend, to catch the ship. 
 But as there was no sign of her, and those who knew 
 said that she could not be in until the next day, I went 
 over to Chatham. There I found my brother quartered 
 in the Depot barracks. He had left the Artillery Militia 
 and obtained a commission in the 3rd West India 
 Kegiment, and was awaiting orders to go out and join his 
 corps in the West Indies. I also saw Colonel Harness, 
 my old chief in India, who was then Commandant of the 
 School of Military Engineering at Chatham. The next 
 day I caught the Adelaide at Gravesend, and went in her 
 to Woolwich ; and on the 25th, after some delay, our 
 company was disembarked and sent by train to Strood, 
 whence we marched up behind the R.E. band, escorted 
 by a varied and noisy crowd, to Brompton barracks. 
 There is a note in my journal that my dog ' Dash,' with 
 his medal on, was in great glory. 
 
 For a time I remained at Chatham with the 23rd 
 Company E.E., getting odd days' leave to go and see my 
 people at Banning, or to go to London to see friends 
 and relations there. 
 
 On June 16 I went with my brother to Southampton, 
 to see him off to join his regiment in Jamaica; and 
 towards the end of July I obtained the usual long leave, 
 and left Chatham, being at the same time removed from 
 the 23rd Company. In the course of my leave I visited 
 a good many friends and relations. Among others I 
 went to stay with my uncle, Colonel George Hall, who 
 had a hunting-box at Heighington, near Darlington, and 
 who had taught me to ride and shoot. 
 
 When I went to Barming I used to be asked to shoot 
 by Mr. Betts of Preston Hall, Aylesford. He was one 
 of the firm of Peto, Brassey & Betts. When I first 
 knew him he was at the height of his riches and power. 
 I remember, among other things, that he had his dining- 
 

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CHATHAM 1861 101 
 
 room panels painted by the best artists of the day 
 Maclise, Cope, Stanfield, Landseer, and others. They 
 used to come down and paint while on a visit. I often 
 met Landseer there, and played billiards with him. His 
 contribution to the collection had a fine stag in the fore- 
 ground, and was called, I think, the * Children of the 
 Mist.' It filled the whole panel over the sideboard at 
 the end of the room. I saw it from its first commence- 
 ment as a rude chalk sketch, done one day after dinner, 
 until it appeared as the finished work of that great artist. 
 Mr. Betts always interested me. He was full of practical 
 information, and had great ideas though not a bit too 
 great on the revolution that mechanics would make in 
 war. He was for ever talking of the steel boxes that 
 would one day take the place of our wooden men-of-war, 
 of iron forts, and powerful guns and long-range rifles. 
 Poor man ! I was with him the very last day he shot at 
 Preston Hall. When we had had our last stand, and 
 were counting the birds, he came up to me and said, 
 ' Well, my boy, this is the last time you will shoot here 
 with me.' I replied ' I hope not.' 
 
 And then I heard that the once rich firm were bank- 
 rupt ; that Preston Hall, which Mr. Betts had entirely 
 rebuilt, and where he had spent a fortune, was to be sold 
 with all that it contained, and that he and his children, 
 who had been brought up in every luxury, had to com- 
 mence the battle of life afresh. 
 
 Just before my leave was over I had an ' official ' to 
 say that I was appointed to command a depot company 
 (the 36th) at Chatham. So back I went to that centre 
 of military learning, and busied myself in looking after 
 recruits, and trying to fit them, as quickly as possible, for 
 their various duties as sappers in the Corps of Royal 
 Engineers. 
 
 Among other things I took up again football, which I 
 
102 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 had been obliged to drop while on active service, and 
 I also played rackets and other games. 
 
 One day in December I met our old chief in India, 
 formerly Sir Colin Campbell, now Lord Clyde. He was 
 staying with General Eyre, who commanded the Chatham 
 Garrison. He seemed very pleased to see me and talked 
 about the old days at Simla and elsewhere. 
 
 Just at this time there was great excitement in the 
 military world in England about an expedition to Canada. 
 The great civil war was going on in America, and the 
 Northerners had seized some Confederate ambassadors 
 who were on their way to Europe under the protection 
 of the British Flag. Great Britain demanded an apology, 
 and at the same time sent a force to strengthen the garrison 
 in Canada. Matters looked very much like war, but, 
 after a certain amount of bluster, an apology was tendered 
 and the danger blew over. 
 
 Colonel Mackenzie, who had been Quartermaster- 
 General in the China War, was sent out in the same 
 capacity to Canada, and Wolseley was sent as his assis- 
 tant. Colonel Mackenzie was good enough to apply 
 for me to go with him, and I believe the matter was 
 settled as far as the Horse Guards were concerned. But, 
 when the Eoyal Engineer authorities were referred to, 
 they refused to allow me to go, and I was much dis- 
 appointed. 
 
 On Sunday, December 15, as we were marching to 
 church at Chatham, we heard the sad news of the Prince 
 Consort's death, after a short illness. A general mourn- 
 ing was ordered, and it was a real one. By many private 
 individuals, and by many institutions throughout the land, 
 his loss was deeply felt, but by none, perhaps, more than 
 by the army, in which he had always taken such a wise 
 and far-seeing interest. 
 
 On February 16, 1862, I was transferred from the 
 
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION 1862 103 
 
 depot company at Chatham to the 2nd (service) company 
 at Kensington Barracks, London. This company, which 
 was under the command of Major Bevan Edwards, was 
 employed at the International Exhibition. The appoint- 
 ment to it was given to me by the Deputy-Adjutant- 
 General, R.E., because he had not allowed me to go out 
 on the staff to Canada ; but it was a very different thing, 
 and I do not think I benefited by it in any way whatever. 
 The work to be done was not scientific, and a great deal 
 of our time was spent in the pleasures of a London 
 season. The Exhibition itself, too, was not a success, 
 chiefly owing to the death of the Prince Consort, who 
 had inaugurated it, and whose energy and judgment were 
 badly wanted everywhere. 
 
 The officers of the company consisted of Major 
 Edwards, myself, Cautley, and Buckle. The men were 
 employed as mechanics in executing repairs to the build- 
 ing, which had been built by contract, and in arranging 
 the various stalls on which goods were exhibited. We 
 officers had, of course, the military command over them, 
 and we looked after them in barracks ; but, besides this 
 work, we were distributed in the Exhibition as assistants 
 to the administrative staff. For myself, I was told off to 
 assist Mr. P. C. Owen on the foreign side, our chief work 
 being to apportion space and regulate the in-coming of 
 men and material. We had the privilege of introducing 
 friends into the building at times when it was not open 
 to the general public ; and a good many came in this way, 
 especially on Sunday, when there was a private view of 
 the fine loan collection of pictures. 
 
 In the course of this year I naturally went about a 
 good deal in London, and did duty in many ball rooms. 
 But what I remember best was hearing Lord Palmerston 
 make his famous speech in the House of Commons on 
 the defences of England, in which he particularly alluded 
 
104 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 to the changes that iron and steam must inevitably bring 
 about in the construction of the battleships of the future. 
 I also heard the famous Jenny Lind sing in the ' Elijah ' 
 at Exeter Hall, and I saw Mr. Sothern act his celebrated 
 part of Lord Dundreary in ' Our American Cousin ' at the 
 Haymarket. 
 
 Not long after my transfer to London I was offered 
 by the Deputy- Adjutant-General an appointment on the 
 Ordnance Survey of England ; but I preferred to remain 
 and take my chance, performing the ordinary duties of 
 the corps. 
 
 In September I was promoted captain, but was allowed 
 to remain in the company. The following incident that 
 occurred to me in the course of the year may be interest- 
 ing. Wishing to consult some good physician in regard 
 to my general health, I determined to go and see Dr. 
 William Gull, whose reputation was great even then, and 
 became greater in after years. On entering his study he 
 looked hard at me, and asked me to tell him of my birth 
 and parentage. I thought it somewhat odd that he 
 should catechise me in this way, but, looking upon it as 
 a doctor's privilege, I told him all I knew. Upon which 
 he said very quietly but impressively : 
 
 ' I will do all I can for you for the sake of your father, 
 who started me in life.* 
 
 And then I heard that, when my father was rector 
 of Beaumont, in Essex, he had come across Gull as a boy, 
 had noticed his talent, and had sent him up to Guy's 
 Hospital (where my great uncle, Benjamin Harrison, 
 was Treasurer), with a view to his starting in life as a 
 medical student. Once there, under the wing of the well- 
 known Treasurer, the young man made rapid progress, 
 and ended by becoming one of the most famous of the 
 many good men turned out by Guy's medical school, 
 eventually having the honour of saving, under Providence, 
 
ALDERSHOT 1863 105 
 
 the life of the Prince of Wales and being created a 
 Baronet. 
 
 When the Exhibition of 1862 closed I was put in 
 command of the 2nd Company K.E. and sent with 
 it to Aldershot. On December 31 the buildings where 
 we had worked throughout the year were handed over 
 to the contractors, who had for some time been running 
 the whole show, and had done it, I understand, at a 
 money loss. 
 
 The General commanding at Aldershot at that time 
 was Sir John Pennefather, who had seen a good deal of 
 service in the Crimea and elsewhere, and had commanded 
 the one British regiment at Meeanee. The Command- 
 ing Royal Engineer, my immediate chief, was Colonel 
 Simmons. My duties at first were the ordinary ones of a 
 Military Station, viz. orderly duty, courts-martial, boards, 
 and drills, and also the work incidental to the command 
 of a company of Sappers. 
 
 On March 7 I went up to London to see the Prince 
 of Wales escort his bride (the Princess Alexandra of Den- 
 mark) through the City. There was a big demonstration, 
 the biggest ever known up to that time. A large force of 
 Volunteers paraded in the Park. Three days afterwards 
 there was a field day at Aldershot to celebrate the 
 wedding, which took place at Windsor. 
 
 In May I was sent with my company to a place 
 called Bourley, on the south-western side of the ' Long 
 Valley,' to make a reservoir ; and I remained there some 
 weeks, varying the time with a good deal of short leave 
 to London and to my home at B arming in Kent. 
 
 Among other people whom I met at this time was 
 Mrs. Daniell, a good hearted lady who came to Aldershot 
 to work among the soldiers. She started the first 
 Soldiers' Home, the foundation-stone of the building 
 being laid by Lord Shaftesbury. At the time when she 
 
106 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 commenced work at Aldershot very little was done for the 
 soldier. At the present day, besides a number of Homes 
 built by good people of all denominations in garrison 
 towns, a great deal has been done by the Government 
 and by his officers to civilise the soldier in his own Lines ; 
 and I think more good work is done with the mass of the 
 men in this way than by outside attractions. 
 
 I went on with the work at Bourley up to the end of 
 May, a battalion of Infantry being placed at my dis- 
 posal to furnish workmen, my company supplying the 
 mechanics. 
 
 But a new sphere of duty was opening up for me. 
 In September I was detailed to accompany Colonel 
 Jervois, E.E., Deputy-Inspector-General of Fortifications, 
 on a special service tour in Canada and the United 
 States. So I handed over my company to the subaltern, 
 Lieutenant Buckle, said good-bye to friends and relations, 
 packed up my kit, and left London on September 4 for 
 Liverpool. On the 5th I went on board the Cunard 
 steamship Arabia, which started the same day, and on 
 the 6th picked up Colonel Jervois at Cork harbour. 
 After a day or two pitching about, we settled down, and 
 on the 10th were singing songs on deck after dinner. 
 There were 120 first-class passengers on board, chiefly 
 1 travellers ' for the big Canadian houses. But a few 
 were Americans from north as well as south. The latter 
 were looking forward to an attempt to run the blockade 
 from Bermuda, and so get back to their own country. 
 On September 13, on arrival at Cape Kace, we heard 
 that the southern forts of Sumner and Wagner, at 
 Charleston, had been taken by the Northern forces. On 
 the 15th we arrived at Halifax, went on shore, and stayed 
 by invitation at the hospitable house of the General 
 commanding the troops (Hastings Doyle) . No time was 
 lost by the energetic colonel whom 1 was accompanying. 
 
SERVICE TOUR IN CANADA 107 
 
 For we began inspecting the afternoon of the day we 
 landed ; and in the evening there was a dinner party, at 
 which we met the Governor (Lord Normanby), the 
 Admiral (Sir Alexander Milne), and others. The next 
 day, and the two following ones, we made a tour of all the 
 defences and barracks at the station, and considered the 
 question of additions and alterations. On the 19th we 
 left Halifax for Windsor, and thence made our way, by 
 Scarborough and the Bay of Fundy, to St. John's, New 
 Brunswick, where we put up at the Waverley Hotel. 
 The next day the Governor of St. John's (Mr. Gordon) 
 arrived at the town from a tour he had been taking in- 
 land. He was accompanied by Lord Lyons, the British 
 Ambassador at Washington. We were much impressed 
 by the town of St. John's, and, after a thorough inspec- 
 tion, went on in an American steamer to Portland. 
 
 Here we were, in America, and I thought our official 
 inspections were over, particularly as the relations be- 
 tween Great Britain and Yankee-land were at the time 
 very strained, and the latter was more than usually 
 careful to guard her forts and military buildings from the 
 inquisitive eye of the foreigner. But I was mistaken : 
 Colonel Jervois was for seeing everything possible where- 
 ever we went, and even at the risk of being tarred and 
 feathered, or receiving some worse treatment, I had not 
 only to go and look about, but also to take notes and 
 drawings of all I saw. On our return to England, some 
 months later, I had to put all our notes into shape, and 
 supplement them by such observations as I thought 
 might be useful, if at any time we went to war with our 
 American cousins. 
 
 In the steamer from St. John's to Portland I made 
 friends with a young Boston lady, who was fully 
 persuaded that her country was on the eve of war with 
 Great Britain, and she was kind enough to promise that, 
 
108 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 when I was wounded and taken prisoner, she would nurse 
 me in her father's house in that city. When we arrived 
 at Boston I went to pay my respects and was greeted 
 with much warmth. But I am getting on too fast. 
 
 While at Portland we stayed at the Preble House 
 Hotel, where I was initiated into /American manners and 
 customs, at all events as far as eating and drinking were 
 concerned. When we had learned all we could of what 
 we had come to see, we continued our journey to Boston, 
 where we put up at the Revere Hotel. Here we took a 
 yacht and made a careful inspection of all the forts in 
 the harbour, noting their state of preparation. Having 
 also visited the Navy Yard, and gone up the famous 
 Bunker's Hill, where we obtained a good view of the 
 town, we went, partly by steamer and partly by train, to 
 Newport. 
 
 From thence we worked our way to Niagara, and 
 walked out in the evening to see the rapids, and the edge 
 of the falls on the American side by starlight. On 
 Saturday, September 3, we crossed the suspension bridge 
 to the Canadian side of the falls, and put up at the 
 Clifton House. The view of the falls from this point was 
 more extensive. Like many other travellers who had 
 been there before us we could not fail to admire the mass 
 of green water as it rolled smoothly over the rocky 
 precipice, twenty feet deep at least, and was dashed into 
 a cloud of foam that tumbled into the seething basin 
 below. It is curious to mark the change above and below 
 the cataract: above, the stream is tossed and troubled, 
 and dashes madly on in countless eddies and whirlpools, 
 as if impatient to take the final leap; while below, it 
 glides smoothly away as if tired with its work, and, but 
 for a little foam on the surface, there is scarcely any 
 indication of the tremendous turmoil through which it 
 has passed. One of the great beauties of the falls 
 
SERVICE TOUR IN CANADA 109 
 
 consists in their being so broken, Goat Island dividing 
 the waters into two unequal halves. The autumn tints, 
 too, on the trees add much to the beauty of the scene. 
 
 Now Canada and its defence was the immediate 
 object of our trip from England, and so, wherever we 
 went, we inspected everything and took the most copious 
 notes. I heard at the time (with what truth I cannot 
 say) that the report which Colonel Jervois eventually sent 
 forward, and which was laid on the table of the House of 
 Commons, did a good deal to start the question of 
 federation which has made Canada one of the greatest 
 countries in the world. Our route lay through Toronto 
 and Kingston to Montreal, where we stayed with Sir 
 Fenwick Williams, the Commander-in-Chief at that time 
 of the British forces in the country. From thence we 
 continued our journey to Quebec, where we met the 
 Governor-General, Lord Monck. 
 
 When we had gained all the information required we 
 went on again down the Hudson river to New York, 
 which we reached on October 27. Curiously enough, in 
 this town, great in size even then, but much greater now, 
 there was little or no sign of the stupendous war that was 
 going on between the North and the South. 
 
 On the 31st we went on to Washington, the capital 
 of the country. Things were very different there ; on 
 every side there were signs of the war ; officers, more or 
 less disabled by sickness or wounds, were met at every 
 corner ; and the scene in church when the congregation 
 stood up to sing was most impressive ; hardly a lady who 
 was not in deep mourning, many in the deepest weeds, 
 and the words of the Litany never seemed so touching, and 
 yet so applicable, as when uttered there : ' From battle, 
 and murder, and from sudden death, good Lord, deliver us/ 
 We put up in Washington at a lodging obtained for us by 
 one of the Embassy, and, as soon we had dressed, we called 
 
110 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 on Lord Lyons, the British Ambassador. We also called 
 on the American Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Chase. 
 In the evening we dined with a General of the American 
 Army, and at his house we met several officers who had 
 been in one or other of the big engagements. All were 
 full of stories of adventure. The stories were told in a 
 quiet and natural way, without any bluster, and con- 
 sequently were all the more appreciated. 
 
 The day after our arrival we were shown plans of the 
 forts round the city, and we visited the Capitol and other 
 public buildings. We also visited the house on Arlington 
 Heights once owned by the great General Lee, who was 
 at that time in command of the Southern Army. 
 
 Being very anxious to see something of the armies in 
 the field, I obtained leave from Colonel Jervois, and a 
 pass from the Embassy ; and, armed with letters of intro- 
 duction to officers at the headquarters of the Northern 
 forces, I posted off by a primitive railway to the army 
 under the command of General Meade on the Bapahan- 
 nock. I have already described this trip in an article that 
 appeared in * Black wood,' so I will say no more now than 
 that I had a most interesting ride along the outposts of 
 the Northerners ; and then, giving a promise to return, 
 I established communications with a Southern vedette by 
 means of a white handkerchief, and rode across from one 
 army to the other. I was much struck by the efficient 
 smartness of the young Southern horsemen whom I 
 encountered. I saw where the Southern army lay. A 
 hill only was between the combatants. But they had 
 been fighting too long and too seriously to keep up an 
 incessant conflict between outposts. In fact they had 
 arrived at the condition experienced by our troops and 
 the French at the end of the Peninsular War. Sentries 
 and vedettes signalled when an advance was imminent 
 from either side, and, unless special orders had been 
 
FEDERAL PICKET ON RAILWAY. 
 
 FEDERAL AND CONFEDERATE OUTPOSTS " IN TOUCH." 
 
RETURN TO LONDON 111 
 
 received to the contrary, the opposing outposts retired 
 before the signal, without an attempt to shed blood. 
 
 Leaving the Southern picket on the hill side, I rode 
 back to my Northern escort, and returned somewhat late 
 to Headquarters. On arrival I found that General 
 Meade had sent a regiment of cavalry to look for us, 
 because guerillas were reported to be about, and officers 
 had been killed, a short time before, on the very road that 
 we had followed. Everyone in the army was most civil 
 to me, from General Meade downwards, and I was very 
 sorry to go away. But I had to keep my promise to 
 Colonel Jervois, not to overstay my leave, and so went 
 back to Washington, and thence to New York. 
 
 On Saturday, November 7, I left New York with 
 Colonel Jervois in H.M.S. Medea for Bermuda. We 
 reached that island on the 14th, and put up with the 
 Governor, Colonel Ord, R.E. As usual we spent a large 
 part of each day in inspecting everything. On the 19th 
 we left in the same man-of-war for Halifax, and from 
 thence took the ordinary mail steamer to England. 
 
 Arrived in London, I reported at the War Office, and 
 was told that I was to be employed, for the present, in 
 writing the report from the notes that we had made in 
 Canada. So I made my home with my old aunt, Miss 
 Bird, at Hyde Park Street, and through the early part 
 of 1864 lived quietly there, now and then going to see 
 my people at Barming, or paying visits. 
 
 On January 26 I was put in temporary charge as Com- 
 manding Boyal Engineer of the London District, in place 
 of Colonel Nicholson, who had broken his ribs out hunting, 
 
 In February of this year there took place the memor- 
 able war in which Prussia and Austria were opposed to 
 Denmark, and wrested from that small kingdom the 
 Provinces of Schleswig and Holstein. The English 
 people were much excited about this war, because of the 
 
112 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Princess of Wales, who was the daughter of the King of 
 Denmark. But our politicians would not interfere. Yet 
 this was a case in which we might have done something, 
 because eventually all hung on the ability to hold a 
 narrow position the flanks of which rested on the sea. 
 
 Early in July I had finished the reports that Colonel 
 Jervois gave me to write on Canada and the States (I 
 was going to say the United States, but at that time they 
 were not so). My next job was to take up from Colonel 
 Fisher, B.E., the work of a special service officer in the 
 office of the Inspector-General of Fortifications. This 
 consisted in looking over and criticising fortification 
 designs, and sometimes in making designs oneself. I 
 remember being much interested during the short time I 
 was there in working out a scheme for supplying ammuni- 
 tion to a battery of heavy guns in one of our modern 
 coast defences. I never knew whether or not my design 
 was approved at Headquarters, but I suppose it must 
 have been, because, many years afterwards, I saw it in 
 use in one of our sea fortresses. 
 
 I was not destined, however, to stay long at this work. 
 For at the commencement of September I was informed 
 that Colonel Jervois was going out again to Canada, and 
 that I was to go with him. On September 5 we left 
 Liverpool in the Cunard steamer Arabia, and, after a 
 wet and stormy voj r age, arrived at Halifax on the 14th. 
 The next day we began our old work of inspecting, but 
 this time it was to see how the fortifications, started since 
 our last visit, were getting on. On the 17th we moved to 
 St. John's, and thence worked our way by road to Quebec, 
 which we reached on the 24th. There we met Lord 
 Monck, the Governor- General, and Lord Lyons, who 
 was staying with him, and others. On the 28th we 
 went on to Montreal, where we stayed with Sir Fenwick 
 Williams, and on October 1 we went to Ottawa. There 
 
SERVICE TOUR IN CANADA 113 
 
 we divided, Colonel Jervois going back to Quebec, to 
 confer with the Government on the general question of 
 defence, and I going westward to make detailed reports 
 to him on the country in that direction. 
 
 My journey took me through Kingston and Toronto, 
 to Hamilton, and thence to London. While in the latter 
 place I heard from Colonel Jervois that he would not want 
 me to meet him at Toronto for a week. So I took leave, 
 and posted off to see what I could of the war which was 
 still raging as fiercely as ever between the North and the 
 South. In the west, Price, the Southern General, was 
 opposed to Rosencranz. The latter was, I heard, some- 
 where near St. Louis. So, with a light kit and a lighter 
 heart, I started off for a week's trip to the west. My 
 route by rail was through Hamilton and London, and 
 then by the Great Western Railway, through Thamesville 
 and Chatham, to Windsor. Here I had to cross over the 
 river from Canada to America by a ferry. As soon as 
 I got across I rushed off to secure a sleeping car on the 
 central Michigan line for Chicago. Arriving at the 
 the latter city in the early morning, I put up at the 
 Sherman Hotel, conducted on what at that time was called 
 the Yankee principle, but which at the present day 
 would not be dissimilar to what one meets with in all 
 continental and most English hotels in big towns. 
 
 In the course of the day I wandered about the town, 
 and, among other places of interest, I visited a camp on 
 the north side of the city, where I encountered two 
 regiments of 100-days-men, just returned from their 
 short campaign at St. Louis. These men were the 
 dirtiest, most undisciplined and worst body I ever saw 
 that called themselves soldiers. 
 
 While I was in Chicago General Hooker (commonly 
 called ' fighting Joe Hooker ') arrived to take command 
 of the military district. 
 
 I 
 
114 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 The next day I visited another camp on the south 
 side of the town. I was rather struck by the fact that 
 the enclosure was surrounded, not only by a high 
 palisade but also by platforms, on which sentries were 
 posted with loaded rifles to prevent desertion. The 
 regiments in the camp were said to be as good as any in 
 the American army and chiefly composed of veterans. 
 Their movements were smart, something like those of 
 French troops. They were quartered in rough wooden 
 huts, the beds being fitted in cribs, one on top of the 
 other, like berths on board ship, with the object of 
 economising space. 
 
 I left Chicago by the night express. It was almost 
 impossible to sleep, because on every side there were 
 newly raised troops going down to Nashville, en route 
 for Sherman's army at Atlanta. They did not look well ; 
 their clothes hung on them like sacks, and their accoutre- 
 ments were filthy. They had no arms, and a scanty supply 
 of food; but they were shouting and making a great 
 noise. A party of conscripts, who were also in the train, 
 were being marched along between rows of bayonets, and 
 guarded with as much care as convicts. The train did 
 not arrive at St. Louis until half-past eleven on Octo- 
 ber 17. The Mississippi was crossed in a steam ferry, 
 and a four-in-hand with a remarkably good team took us 
 to our hotel, the Lindell House. 
 
 Price's army had been raiding within a few miles 
 of the city ; and I was anxious to see something of his 
 plans, and ascertain what the Northerners had done to 
 enable them to drive him off. I called on General 
 Kosencranz's Adjutant-General, who told me that it would 
 take five or six days to get to the front, where the fighting 
 was then going on. I had no time to go so far, but I 
 determined to go part of the way and see what I could. 
 The town of St. Louis, which had been a thriving com- 
 
DETAINED AS A SPY 115 
 
 mercial centre before the rebellion broke out, lies near 
 the junction of two great rivers, the Missouri, and the 
 Mississippi. At the time when I visited it trade was 
 in nothing like its usual flourishing condition. But 
 there were numbers of troops on every side. 
 
 On October 18, starting early in the morning on the 
 Pacific Eailway, I got as far as Washington, Missouri. 
 The railway was guarded by pickets, and there were 
 watch fires and patrols all along the line. At Washing- 
 ton, steamers were loading up to take men and provisions 
 along the Missouri river, to the point fixed upon by Kosen- 
 cranz as the rendezvous of the army with which he in- 
 tended to demolish Price. The last-named general was a 
 native of the state, and found sympathisers wherever he 
 went. His troops, however, by all accounts were little 
 better than banditti, and had no discipline or cohesion. 
 
 Walking into the country near Washington, I was 
 caught by a Northern picket, the men of which thought, 
 or pretended to think, that I was a Southern spy, and 
 made strong allusions to the fate that was in store for 
 me as one of that class. Fortunately, before they pro- 
 ceeded to extremities, an officer appeared on the scene, 
 and I was able to convince him that I was not what the 
 men imagined, and so he ordered my release. Naturally, 
 I was very glad to get away ; I had had a bad * quarter 
 of an hour.' The men, who were extremely rough and 
 looked as if they would have committed murder on very 
 slight provocation, had already fastened a cord to a 
 branch of a tree and made a running noose at the end 
 of it. 
 
 In the afternoon I returned to St. Louis, and the next 
 day, after some trouble in changing Canadian notes for 
 American money, I made my way back to Chicago, and 
 thence, by the same route as I used on my westward 
 journey, to Toronto. 
 
 i r 2 
 
116 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 On October 24 Colonel Jervois arrived, and, as he 
 wanted to see a little more of the country, and had to 
 return to Quebec afterwards, plans for going home were 
 changed. Eventually, after returning to Montreal, where 
 we put up at the comfortable house of Sir Fen wick 
 Williams, we got back to Quebec, and then we went to 
 New York, and returned to England on November 16 in 
 the Persia. 
 
 On October 29 I had heard that I was promoted a 
 brevet major, and appointed Adjutant to the Eoyal 
 Engineers at the headquarters of the corps at Chatham. 
 
 Among the passengers in the steamer that carried us 
 home were Campbell of Islay, Lord Mahon, and Hayter 
 of the Grenadier Guards, Woodruffe of the Blues, and 
 G. A. Sala, the writer. There were also one or two 
 pleasant American ladies. Sala describes this voyage in 
 one of his books. When we arrived in England I reported 
 at headquarters, and then got leave to go and rub up drill 
 with the Guards at Wellington Barracks. 
 
 In January 1865 I took up my new appointment as 
 Adjutant E.E. at Chatham, and occupied the house in 
 Brompton Barracks, just opposite the mess, which was 
 being vacated by Captain Harvey, the officer whom I 
 was succeeding. There were at that time two adjutants 
 at the School of Military Engineering, which was also the 
 headquarters of the Corps of Koyal Engineers. The 
 duties were divided between the two. The senior (Major 
 Gosset) did the office work, and was the Staff officer of 
 the Commandant, or Director of the School; and the 
 junior (myself) had to look after drills and parades, courts- 
 martial, and orderly room work in fact, the military part 
 of the business. A new appointment was being started, 
 viz. a military commander, whose business it would be 
 to command the battalion on parade, and look after the 
 training of recruits, and the junior adjutant was to be his 
 
ADJUTANT AT CHATHAM 1865 117 
 
 assistant. But when I joined this arrangement was not 
 in full swing. The officer who held it was Colonel 
 Browne. The commandant of the whole place was my 
 old Chief at Malta, and afterwards in India Colonel 
 Harness. Mr. Edghill (afterwards Chaplain-General to 
 the Forces) was our chaplain and was much appreciated 
 by all ranks. Sir K. Walpole, under whom I had served 
 in the Rohilcund campaign, commanded the garrison of 
 Chatham. 
 
 One of the earliest things noted in my journal after 
 joining was that Dickens came to call on me. This 
 celebrated writer lived at a place called Gad's Hill, not 
 far from Kochester, and we used frequently to see him. 
 He was a capital host, full of fun and anecdote, so we all 
 liked going there. 
 
 I remember that one of my especial friends at that 
 time was Fleetwood Edwards, who was for so long a time 
 with Queen Victoria, and latterly her Privy Purse. Our 
 work was not the same, for he was at the School of 
 Engineering, while I was on the Staff ; but we met at all 
 games, and frequently walked and rode together. 
 
 In February I was appointed president of a com- 
 mittee to inquire into the system of canteens in the Army. 
 While on this duty I visited Portsmouth, and saw Lord 
 William Paulet, who commanded the troops, Colonel 
 Shadwell his Quarter-Master-General, and other officers, 
 in the matter. I cannot remember what was the imme- 
 diate result of our investigations ; but I presume we 
 recommended the regimental system, because it was 
 adopted at that time. Anyhow it has been of considerable 
 benefit to the pocket and general well-being of the soldier. 
 
 In March there was a debate in the House of Com- 
 mons on Canadian defences, prompted, no doubt, by 
 Colonel Jervois' report which I have already spoken 
 about. Constant reference was made by speakers to 
 
118 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Colonel Jervois and the opinions he had expressed in the 
 above document. 
 
 On March 18 Colonel C. G. Gordon was entertained 
 at the Headquarter Mess at Chatham, as a compliment 
 for the extraordinary work he had achieved in assisting 
 the Chinese officials to put down the great Tae-ping 
 rebellion. He had, in the first instance, been lent by 
 the British General, Sir C. Staveley, to clear a space 
 round the neutral town of Shanghai. But, when the 
 Chinese found out how well he did that work, and what 
 a true and able man he was, they made further use of 
 him. Eventually, with a small force of Chinese, raised 
 and organised by himself, and recruited from the ranks 
 of those he defeated, he won some thirty pitched battles, 
 took several walled towns, and did not stop until Nankin, 
 the headquarters of the rebellion, was at the mercy of 
 the Chinese Emperor. The story of this war is well 
 worth perusing. At the dinner Colonel Harness pro- 
 posed our guest's health in stirring and vigorous lan- 
 guage, and the toast was supported by Sir John Gordon, 
 who had charge of the right attack in the Crimea. 
 
 Charlie Gordon (as he was called by us), Chinese 
 Gordon (as he was called in England), was at this time 
 quartered at Gravesend in the position of Commanding 
 Royal Engineer. Here I often used to see him ; and listen 
 to the stories he told me of the difficulty he experienced 
 in carrying on his duties owing to want of sympathy and 
 trust on the part of the officials under whom he served. 
 He never minded saying what he thought right, no matter 
 who heard him. I remember what hot water he got into 
 when, at an inspection made by the Headquarter Staff 
 accompanied by the General commanding the district, the 
 Commander-in-Chief was taken to see a certain battery, 
 constructed under War Office supervision, and with the 
 supposed approval of everyone. His Eoyal Highness, on 
 
CHINESE GORDON 119 
 
 arrival at the spot, turned, as a matter of form, to the 
 local C.K.E. and said: 'A good battery this, Gordon, 
 very good, does you every credit ' ! To which a reply 
 was received : ' I had nothing to do with it, sir ; it was 
 built regardless of my opinion, and, in fact, I entirely 
 disapprove of its arrangement and position ' ! 
 
 I wish I had kept the letters he wrote to me, or even 
 notes of what he used to say to me at this time. But 
 enough has been recorded by others to show what a 
 magnificent spirit he had even then, which gave promise 
 of the noble deeds he performed later on in life when an 
 opportunity was afforded him. 
 
 In April we heard of Richmond being taken by the 
 Northern armies under General Grant. This practically 
 ended the great war between the North and South in 
 America. Soon afterwards news arrived that President 
 Lincoln had been assassinated. 
 
 This month Colonel Harness left Chatham, and was 
 succeeded as Director of the School of Military Engi- 
 neering by Colonel Lintorn Simmons. 
 
 In July I was invited to go to Scotland, but was 
 prevented from accepting the invitation by an order to go 
 through a course of musketry at Hythe. A rather 
 curious incident occurred during this course, which was 
 remarked upon at the time. Only two prizes were given 
 at the school, one for judging distance, the other for 
 shooting ; the former was won by myself, the latter by 
 my cousin, Arthur John Harrison, of the 7th Eoyal 
 Fusiliers. 
 
 While I was at Hythe, Major de Vere, E.E., who was 
 doing my duty as Adjutant at Chatham, was shot on 
 parade by a young sapper of the name of Currie. He 
 lingered a few days in a house looking on to the parade 
 ground, and then died. The sapper was tried at Maid- 
 stone, condemned to death, and hanged. There was a good 
 
120 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 deal of excitement about the case, not only at Chatham 
 but throughout the country ; and there were many 
 opinions regarding the reason that had led the young 
 man to commit the crime. I naturally did all I could to 
 ascertain the true cause ; and, from the best possible 
 evidence that I could obtain, I was led to the conclusion 
 that it was a personal grudge, and a mistaken feeling of 
 sacrifice on the part of the young man ; but that there 
 was no general discontent among the soldiers. 
 
 In January 1866, after the usual winter's leave, 
 which I spent chiefly at my London home, I continued 
 my work as junior adjutant at Chatham. Colonel 
 Browne, who commanded the R.E. battalion, had 
 left, and been succeeded by Lieut. -Colonel Fitz Koy 
 Somerset. 
 
 On February 1 the new regimental canteen, on the 
 system advocated by the committee I have alluded to, was 
 opened. 
 
 In March I had, as adjutant, to superintend the 
 flogging and drumming out of a sapper (named McMillan). 
 The attendant circumstances of this punishment, which 
 exists no longer in our army, made a great impression 
 upon me. The story is briefly as follows : The man in 
 question was notorious for his bad character. No 
 amount of imprisonment seemed to make any impression 
 upon him. He was as well known in the orderly room 
 as the sergeant-major. His courts-martial were so 
 numerous that they took nearly an hour to read on 
 parade, and it was with something like a sigh of relief 
 that I heard one day that, at last, a general court-martial 
 had sentenced him to be flogged and dismissed the 
 service. 
 
 As soon as possible there took place the trying 
 spectacle : the early parade, the erection of the triangle, 
 the muster of the troops, the march of the prisoner along 
 
FLOGGING IN THE ARMY 121 
 
 his comrades' ranks, the reading of the court-martial and 
 the sentence ; then the stripping off all the uniform to the 
 waist, the lashing of the upstretched arms to the machine 
 while the body shivered in the cold morning air, the order 
 of the bugle-major as he called out the numbers, followed 
 by the thud as it fell on the cringing flesh a sob seemed 
 to come from the silent ranks when the last stroke was 
 given. 
 
 But all was not over. There was the visit to the 
 hospital, the dressing of the wounded back, the degrading 
 ceremony of cutting off the facings on the barrack square, 
 and lastly the ignominious kicking out at the barrack gate 
 to the accompaniment of the rogue's march ! All through 
 this long ceremony the prisoner had not uttered a word of 
 fear, of bitterness, or of complaint ; and his manner had 
 been without fault. I could not help feeling that if, 
 while in the service, he had behaved half as well as he 
 had done while undergoing his punishment, he would 
 have made a good soldier. 
 
 On May 1 I was made senior adjutant, and took up 
 my work in the office of the commandant, Colonel 
 Simmons ; Captain Marindin became junior adjutant, 
 Gosset having left the station. 
 
 I was also the same month made secretary of the 
 Eoyal Engineer Committee, in addition to my duty as 
 adjutant. 
 
 On June 13 we heard of the Fenian attack on 
 Canada, and their defeat at Port Erie. At this time, too, 
 the famous war commenced between Austria and Prussia, 
 which, to the astonishment of Europe, was concluded in 
 six weeks by the complete victory of the latter Power a 
 victory gained not only by the breechloading rifle, but by 
 the admirable way in which Prussia had carried out the 
 war training of her troops. 
 
 In September, after a hard summer of office work and 
 
122 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 gaiety, I got a month's leave and went with an old 
 Harrow friend (A. E. Northey) to Biarritz. There we 
 saw the Emperor Napoleon III., and the beautiful 
 Empress, enjoying the sea air in that best of watering- 
 places. But, as it seemed to me, the Emperor looked 
 somewhat worn and infirm. 
 
 From Biarritz my friend went on into Spain, while 
 I diverged to Pau in order to visit my father's grave. 
 Thence I went on to Bagneres-de-Bigorre, where an uncle 
 of mine (Henry Harrison, of the Bengal Civil Service) 
 and his family were staying. While there I went on a 
 very pleasant expedition with some of my cousins to the 
 Pic-du-Midi, riding some capital little horses that took us 
 and our saddle-bags over the rough mountain roads for a 
 distance of some forty miles a day. After one or two 
 shorter trips, I left Bagneres and returned to Biarritz, 
 and thence went by railway to Madrid. Some beautiful 
 scenery is passed as the train makes its way through the 
 western passes of the Pyrenees, and one gets a glimpse of 
 St. Sebastian near the frontier, and further on of the 
 Escurial before reaching the capital of the country. At 
 Madrid I fell in again with my friend, and we visited the 
 picture-galleries where Murillo, Velasquez, and Kibera 
 are seen to perfection. After witnessing a bull fight, 
 which we did not appreciate, and paying a visit of a 
 couple of days to Toledo, we turned our heads home- 
 wards. At St. Sebastian we stopped a day that I might 
 make a careful inspection of the ground where our 
 batteries were placed for the siege of that town in the 
 Peninsular War. Then we came leisurely back by Biarritz, 
 and Paris, to England. 
 
 On return to Chatham I found that the appointment 
 I held as senior Adjutant was to be turned into that of 
 Brigade-Major, which meant a prettier coat, but no addi- 
 tional pay, at all events during my tenure. The date of 
 
AFTER-DINNER GAMES 123 
 
 this new ' billet ' was November 23, 1866. The year 
 1867 found me still at work on the staff of the School of 
 Military Engineering at Chatham. Colonel Simmons, 
 the director of that establishment, was a man full of 
 energy, who saw the faults in anything placed under 
 his command, and did his utmost to cure them. This 
 reforming temperament was the cause of considerable 
 extra work, not only to himself but to all the staff who 
 were co-operating with him, and I found my time pretty 
 well taken up. 
 
 On January 1 this year General Freeman Murray 
 took over the command of the garrison at Chatham. He 
 was, I remember, very particular about his figure ; and 
 great pains were taken to make his uniform fit him well. 
 He always reminded me in appearance of what I knew 
 of French officers of middle age. He was very fond of 
 coming to our mess, and joining in the music and games 
 that frequently took place after dinner. Our own 
 Commandant, though a very different man, also liked a 
 bit of fun ; and I remember well a cock-fight that took 
 place on the well-polished mahogany table in our ante- 
 room one evening after dinner, when the two senior 
 officers of the garrison, in Generals' shell jackets, were 
 trussed as cocks and pitted against each other, while we 
 juniors stood round applauding and encouraging one or 
 other of the combatants until the defeated one rolled 
 backwards, and was picked up and set on his legs by his 
 admiring backers. 1 
 
 In the following year I was installed as the first 
 master of a new military and naval lodge, called the 
 ' Pentangle,' at Chatham. I had been made a Free- 
 mason some years before, at a lodge under the Scotch 
 
 1 The trussing consisted in a walking-stick thrust under each knee and 
 held in place by the arms which grasped the bended legs ; the two belligerents 
 in a sitting posture fought with their toes. 
 
124 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 jurisdiction, which was carried on at the time of the 
 Crimean war in Constantinople. This latter went by 
 the name of the ' Star of the East.' Subsequently I 
 advanced considerably in the craft at that great centre 
 of Freemasonry, Malta. I remained for two years in 
 charge of the Chatham lodge, but found it impossible to 
 be a regular attendant, because of the quantity of writing 
 that I had to do, by night as well as by day, in connec- 
 tion with my military appointment. 
 
 Notwithstanding my office and other work I find that I 
 still kept up my interest in games ; for in this year I not 
 only won the challenge racket cup at the Royal Engineer 
 Court, but was one of the eleven playing in a football 
 match against the ' Wanderers/ at that time the strongest 
 club in England, but whom we had the good fortune to 
 beat by three goals to none. Probably the combination 
 of severe mental and bodily exercise at this time was 
 somewhat overdone ; for I find that soon after the foot- 
 ball match above mentioned I had an attack of rheumatic 
 fever, which laid me up for two months. Towards the 
 end of June, however, I was well enough to show myself 
 in my position on the Staff, when Prince Arthur arrived 
 at Chatham, as a Lieutenant R.E.,to go through a course 
 of military engineering at our school. He was accom- 
 panied by Colonel, afterwards Sir Howard, Elphinstone, 
 as Comptroller. His temporary home was the admiral 
 superintendent's house, in the Dockyard, lent to him by 
 Admiral Houston Stewart. He also had two rooms in 
 my house at Brompton barracks, as a place of refuge 
 when he was not actually at work. 
 
 He was placed in a squad of officers going through 
 a field-work course under Colonel Lennox. This course 
 came to an end at the beginning of August, when there 
 was a grand review to celebrate the occasion. The review 
 included some of the operations of a siege, i.e. the con- 
 
TOUR WITH PRINCE ARTHUR 125 
 
 struction of a flying bridge over the ditch of a fortress, 
 blowing in a portion of the counterscarp to form a breach, 
 and charging over the breach. At the rehearsal some 
 Marines who were crossing the flying bridge were 
 ordered to ' mark time ' by their officer, a custom contrary 
 to all rule, and the result was that the bridge broke, and 
 a number of men were precipitated into the ditch. One 
 Marine was killed, and fourteen were wounded. Fortu- 
 nately the coroner's inquest, which investigated the cir- 
 cumstances, exonerated everyone from blame. 
 
 After the review Prince Arthur left Chatham, and 
 went on short leave, pending his being transferred, aa 
 a lieutenant, to the Koyal Artillery. 
 
 As I had not yet recovered strength after my attack, 
 His Royal Highness was good enough to invite me to 
 accompany him in a walking tour among the mountains 
 of Switzerland. This I did, and it completely set me up, 
 besides being a very pleasant experience. The party 
 consisted of Prince Arthur, Elphinstone (who made all 
 the arrangements), and myself. We left Dover in a 
 special steamer on August 21, dined at Paris with Lord 
 Lyons (where we met Sheffield and Malet), and went on, 
 the same evening, in a saloon carriage, to Lucerne, which 
 we reached the next morning. There we put up at the 
 Schweitzerhof, and remained a few days, because the 
 Queen was living in a chateau (Pension Wallis) near the 
 town. On our arrival, however, Her Majesty was away 
 for a short excursion ; and so we went for a preliminary 
 walk on the 24th over the Kinsing Pass, to Muotta, and 
 thence by carriage to Brunnen ; then, after a rest, starting 
 at 11.30 P.M., we walked up the Kigi, getting to the top in 
 time to see the sunrise on the morning of the 25th. 
 Thence we walked to Weggis, and returned to Lucerne by 
 steamer. 
 
 For the next two or three days Prince Arthur went 
 
126 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 about chiefly with the Queen, and I went for short 
 excursions with friends, or alone. On September 2 we 
 started for our regular walking trip. That morning at 
 6 A.M. we left Stanzstadt, and, after two hours in a carriage 
 and one hour and a half on foot, reached Engelberg in time 
 for breakfast ; thence we started again at 11, and, walking 
 over the Joch pass, reached Meyringen about 6.45 P.M. 
 The next day, having engaged a celebrated guide, called 
 ' Youn,' we made an expedition to the Eosenlaui glacier. 
 
 On September 4, having sent our knapsacks to the 
 Grimsel by our courier (Courtroy), we started off in 
 walking trim, accompanied by ' Youn/ two local guides, 
 and two porters, and about 6 P.M. reached a hut (called 
 the Urnen Alp) near the Gauli glacier. There we pre- 
 pared our own dinner, Prince Arthur being cook and 
 I footman. Afterwards we slept on a truss of hay. 
 When we first arrived at the hut there was a heavy 
 thunderstorm ; but it soon passed off, and the view, with 
 a lovely moon shining on the snow all round us, was quite 
 superb. On the 5th (Saturday) we were up at 4 A.M., and 
 off on our tramp by 5. We walked across the Gauli 
 glacier, to the top of the Ewig Schneehorn (about 12,000 
 feet high), where we had a good view and where we 
 breakfasted. Then crossing the Lauteraar glacier, we 
 reached the Grimsel Hospice about 6. After a short 
 walk on the Sunday, we started again at 4 A.M. on the 
 7th, with guides as before, and walked to the top of the 
 Oberaar-joch (about 10,000 feet high) ; then continuing 
 by way of the Oberaar glacier, and Viescher glacier, 
 reached the little inn on the ^ggischhorn at 8 P.M. (a 
 tramp of sixteen hours). We had found the Viescher 
 glacier very difficult. It was said to have been worse than 
 it had been for years. We were frequently obliged to 
 climb the rocks at the mountain side, and at one place 
 had to descend a torrent by ropes. 
 
TOUR WITH PRINCE ARTHUR 127 
 
 On the 9th we went to the * Bel Alp,' and so on by 
 way of Visp to Zermatt, where we put up at the Eiffel 
 Hotel. From here we had intended going up Monte 
 Rosa, or one of the big mountains, but the weather was 
 against us, and Elphinstone was not quite the thing, so 
 we contented ourselves with a walk to the Matterjoch or 
 Col-de-Theodule (11,000 feet high). It was only then I 
 discovered that the manager of our trip, who had walked 
 with us the whole way, was suffering from an old illness 
 that he had contracted in the Crimea. Although often in 
 great pain, he had never said a word, but had borne it 
 all, not only without complaint, but with cheerfulness, 
 because he did not wish to spoil our pleasure. At the 
 Eiffel he managed to doctor himself a bit, and was able to 
 continue the trip into Italy. 
 
 Having dismissed our capital guide (Youn), we went 
 on September 14 down again to Visp, and the next day 
 we walked over the Simplon Pass into Italy. There we 
 passed a few very pleasant days on the Italian Lakes, 
 visiting Baveno, Lugano, and Bellagio. Thence to Milan, 
 and so by the Mont Cenis railway to Geneva. After this 
 we returned to Paris, and on the 30th to London, where 
 we stayed until the Prince and Elphinstone went north 
 to visit the Queen at Balmoral. 
 
 Before I returned to Chatham I visited my people at 
 Banning, and my aunt at Walmer, and I had a few days' 
 shooting at Windlestone and other places in the vicinity 
 of my Uncle George Hall's home at Heighington. 
 
 After these pleasant experiences I took up my work 
 at Chatham with renewed vigour. Colonel Gallwey had, 
 during my absence, taken the place of General Simmons 
 as Director of the School of Military Engineering ; but 
 he had no wish to make any changes in the system that 
 had been inaugurated by his predecessor, so my work 
 consisted only in carrying on the usual routine. Nothing 
 
128 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 of particular importance occurred. Now and then I 
 continued my intercourse with Charlie Gordon, who was 
 still at Gravesend. I little thought at that time what he 
 would eventually go through. 
 
 In the autumn of 1869, my term of service on the 
 Staff of the school having come to an end, I received 
 orders to proceed to Devonport and take up the regular 
 work of my rank in the Western District. On October 1 
 I reported at the E.E. Office at Devonport, and was 
 put in charge of what was then called the Home division. 
 Colonel Westmacott was Commanding Eoyal Engineer, 
 and General Sir Charles Staveley commanded the District. 
 I soon had a number of acquaintances in the neighbour- 
 hood, and made great friends with Harry Denison, E.E., 
 Collins of the 57th Regiment, and Justice and Prior of 
 the Staff. I lodged first in Tamar Terrace, which looked 
 on to the park, the rooms having been previously occupied 
 by Major Colley. Later on I went to a little house close 
 to the sea, near Mount Wise, which was called ' Marina 
 Villa.' Being a brevet-major, I did field-officer's duty in 
 the garrison as well as nay ordinary E.E. work. 
 
 I find that in November, not much over a month 
 after I joined, we got up a sort of social paper called the 
 'Devonport Army and Navy Gazette,' and I was its 
 editor. It only lasted a few months, because we could 
 not get anyone to take it over when I left the station, to 
 go through a course of instruction at Chatham. Besides 
 field officer's duty, E.E. work, editing a paper, and going 
 out a good deal into society, I played at all sorts of games, 
 such as badminton, rackets, cricket, and football, and 
 I did a lot of shooting and a little hunting, so the time 
 passed away very quickly and pleasantly. The actual 
 work in my office was light because the staff was good, 
 and the principal foreman of w r orks more than usually 
 active and zealous. 
 
MARRIAGE 129 
 
 In the year 1870 there took place the momentous war 
 between Germany and France, which not only made the 
 Prussian King a German Emperor, but showed to all 
 military students throughout the world the enormous 
 advantages to be gained in war by organisation and train- 
 ing. To me, among others, the lessons came home, and 
 I turned to my military books with renewed ardour. 
 
 An event, too, happened this year which was the 
 turning-point of my life. While at Chatham, in the 
 autumn of 1868, I first met my wife, Amy, daughter of 
 the late Lieut.-Colonel J. D. O'Brien, and adopted 
 daughter of Dr. Griffith, one of the Canons of Rochester, 
 and we often met at his hospitable house in the Precincts, 
 and elsewhere. On July 31 of the year 1870 we became 
 engaged, and on December 8 we were married, by the 
 Bishop (Claughton) at Rochester Cathedral. After the 
 wedding we went to Walmer, to a little house belonging 
 to Miss Bird, and then we paid one or two visits. The 
 weather was very cold and there was a good deal of ice 
 and snow everywhere. Later on we commenced house- 
 keeping in Durnford Street, Stonehouse, and in 1872 we 
 moved to a house on a higher level (10 St. Michael's 
 Terrace, Stoke), where we remained until 1875. During 
 this period the only event of local interest that touched 
 my military career was my being transferred from the 
 charge of the Home division, to the position of assistant 
 to the Commanding Royal Engineer in other words, 
 executive officer, in place of Major Durnford, 1 ordered to 
 the Cape. Colonel Sir Henry Freeling became Command- 
 ing Royal Engineer in place of Colonel Westmacott. 
 
 But, irrespective of my duties at Devonport, in 
 August 1872 I was ordered to take part in the manoeuvres 
 on Salisbury Plain. These were the first military exer- 
 
 1 This officer a few years later behaved very gallantly in the Zulu war, 
 and was killed at the head of his men at the battle of Isandlwana. 
 
 K 
 
130 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH AEJVIY 
 
 cises that had ever taken place in England on anything 
 like a large scale, and they created a good deal of 
 interest in the civil as well as the military world. The 
 troops were divided into two Army Corps, the one on 
 the north, under Sir Koberfc Walpole, concentrated at 
 Aldershot, the other on the south, under Sir John 
 Mitchell, assembled in the vicinity of Blandford. These 
 two forces were to manoeuvre against each other, under 
 certain conditions (called ' general ' and ' special ' ideas) 
 issued to them from Headquarters. The chief umpire 
 was the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, H.E.H. the 
 Duke of Cambridge, whose regular Staff was increased for 
 the occasion by a certain number of selected officers. 
 My appointment was that of Brigade-Major Royal 
 Engineers in the Southern Army Corps, my immediate 
 chief being Colonel Belfield. I shared a tent with the 
 Brigade-Major K.A., Captain Kothe. Colonel Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley was Chief -of-the- Staff of this Army Corps. To 
 relate what happened day by day would be to describe a 
 bloodless campaign, in which the umpires settled each 
 evening which side had won, and made arrangements 
 accordingly for the next day's battle. This I do not 
 propose to do, but I will say that, notwithstanding their 
 harmlessness, manoeuvres are extremely valuable, if not 
 necessary, for the proper training of troops in time of 
 peace. Regimental officers and men learn by them the 
 art of campaigning, and also how to march and manoeuvre 
 in large bodies, which is quite a different thing to 
 the exercises and drills that can be done at a military 
 station in the vicinity of the barracks. Staff officers also 
 learn by them how to deal with the larger units, such as 
 the brigade and the division, as well as the smaller ones, 
 such as the battalion and the squadron. Moreover, by 
 manoeuvres the existing systems of supply and transport 
 are practically tested, and the articles required for use 
 with an army in the field are experimented with. 
 
MANOEUVRES 1872 131 
 
 For the manoeuvres that I am dealing with, the 
 organisation of the troops, and the details of stores to be 
 carried, were worked out by Colonel Home of the Intelli- 
 gence Department. The result of that officer's labour 
 was circulated throughout stations some months before 
 the concentrations took place, in the shape of ' Tables,' 
 so that the necessary stores might be obtained before the 
 troops moved. Among the instructions thus issued there 
 was a list showing what officers were required to provide 
 themselves with, and what was the maximum weight 
 allowed to each rank. Directly I heard that I was to go 
 to Blandford I provided myself with such articles on the 
 approved list as I did not already possess, taking care that 
 the weight was not exceeded. "When our camp was 
 established, an energetic officer on Sir John Mitchell's 
 Staff informed us that on a certain day all our kits were 
 to be weighed, to ascertain whether or not they were in 
 accordance with the regulations. On the day fixed for 
 this test I was on duty away from the camp. When I 
 returned, I found a commotion among the tents, which 
 I learned was caused by the result of the investigation, 
 and by a subsequent order issued by the Chief-of-the-Staff 
 to reduce all the kits to the required maximum. My 
 servant informed me that mine had to be reduced a con- 
 siderable amount. I did not understand this, because I 
 knew how careful I had been to supply myself according 
 to rule. On making further inquiries I found that my 
 things and those of the officer who shared the tent with 
 me were weighed together, and the total halved, and I 
 discovered that one article alone of my comrade's kit a 
 pair of old-fashioned boot-trees weighed nearly as much 
 as a subaltern's allowance. 
 
 Early in 1873 I met in London an officer l who had 
 shared my house with me when I was Brigade-Major at 
 
 1 Lieutenant J. J. Curling, R.E. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Chatham, and he asked me to come and play a game of 
 rackets with him at 'Prince's.' I did so, and when the 
 game was over he said : ' I wanted to play with you once 
 more ; it will be the last time, because I am going out as 
 a missionary to Newfoundland.' This necessitated his 
 giving up the corps, his house in London, his box at the 
 opera, his yacht, and many other pleasures of which he 
 was fond. Truly, this was a noble resolve ; and he 
 carried it out thoroughly, doing good work, and under- 
 going much privation and danger on the west coast of 
 that colony. I am glad to say that he lived to come 
 home, take his degree at Oxford, and settle down with 
 wife and children at a quiet English vicarage. I think, if 
 ever his Life is written, it will be seen that his character 
 was not dissimilar to that of Charlie Gordon. 
 
 In the autumn of that year there were manoeuvres on 
 Dartmoor, and the Staff at Devonport were more or less 
 employed in preparing for them. But we took no part in 
 the operations, except as umpires. I remember that in 
 July I was sent for by Colonel Mackenzie (my old chief 
 in China), who had been deputed by the War Office to 
 make the preliminary arrangements, to help him in fixing 
 sites for camps, &c. Just then the expedition to Ashanti, 
 under Sir Garnet Wolseley, was leaving England, and 
 I could not help regretting that I was not one of those 
 who were going. I said so, and Mackenzie remarked, 
 'Why want to go to such a pestilential place as the 
 west coast? Wolseley and his companions will die, or 
 certainly lose their health there, and gain no credit. Why 
 not be content with taking part in these manoeuvres, as 
 I do?' 
 
 To which I replied that I did not think there was 
 more danger in one place than another. But, when I 
 said this, I did not foresee that the lesson was so soon to 
 be brought home. A month from that time Colonel 
 
PASSED THE STAFF COLLEGE 133 
 
 Mackenzie was upset from a cart, and drowned in one of 
 the Dartmoor brooks, swollen by a few hours' rain ; and 
 two or three weeks later Wolseley came home safe and 
 sound, and was made a Major-General and K.C.B. for his 
 victory over the Ashanti King at Coomassie ! 
 
 The year 1874 proved a very eventful one for us. On 
 January 16 our son was born, and shortly afterwards I 
 was summoned to London on account of the serious 
 illness of my aunt, Miss Bird, who died a few days after 
 my arrival. She left a good many legacies, making me 
 residuary legatee, giving me besides the London house 
 and its contents. 
 
 In order that I might work undisturbed, in quiet 
 surroundings, for the Staff College, we went in August to 
 stay at Lausanne, on the Lake of Geneva. We put up 
 at the Hotel Gibbon, and I secured a French master, and 
 commenced my studies. But they were put a stop to by 
 a telegram on September 21, from England, informing me 
 that my brother had arrived home from Bermuda, and 
 was very ill, and that my mother, who had gone to stay 
 for a few days at our house in Hyde Park Street, was also 
 very ill and could not be moved. On receipt of this 
 message I started the same day by the quickest route for 
 London, leaving the others to follow at an ordinary 
 pace. I have already, in the first chapter of these notes, 
 given a brief account of my brother's life. He died on 
 November 16. My mother died, without seeing him, a 
 few days earlier. On my return to England I had to go 
 and be examined at the Staff College. The examination 
 lasted a good many days, off and on, and between the 
 various exercises I had to go to London or to Blackheath 
 to see my mother or my brother, the result of these con- 
 flicting duties being that I failed to pass. But, under the 
 circumstances, I was allowed to go up again the following 
 year, when I was successful. Meantime I returned to 
 
134 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Devonport, and resumed my work as Assistant to the 
 Commanding Royal Engineer of the Western District. 
 
 In the year 1875 we were still living at St. Michael's 
 Terrace, where Mr. Edward Stanhope, an old Harrow 
 friend, who came down to defend a colonel of Marines 
 at a court-martial, visited us ; I went about with him and 
 showed him all I could. Some years afterwards he 
 became Secretary of State for War, and I believe in that 
 capacity proved himself very efficient. While he held 
 this appointment he did me the honour to consult me 
 more than once regarding matters of military organisa- 
 tion. 
 
 On leaving the Western District, in April 1876, I was 
 appointed to the command of the Pontoon Troop R.E. 
 which was quartered in the South Camp, Aldershot. 
 There were no quarters attached to the appointment, so 
 we took a house situated in the vicinity of the village of 
 Farnborough, on some building-land adjoining what was 
 then called the North Camp, but is now named Marl- 
 borough Lines. On reporting my arrival at the camp I 
 was attached to the 5th Lancers, to go through the prac- 
 tical part of the Staff College course. I did all the Cavalry 
 work pretty thoroughly, from recruit instruction to the 
 command of a regiment on parade. Two months later 
 I was attached to a battery of Horse Artillery. For the 
 rest of the year and all through 1877 I remained in 
 command of the Pontoons, but at the same time I was 
 employed in many Staff and outside duties, such as 
 Assistant-Adjutant-General for Cavalry on the occasion 
 of a march to Windsor, and a grand review before the 
 Queen. 
 
 I may mention that in this year I had the good 
 fortune to win the Royal Engineer gold medal for an 
 essay on ' The duties of Royal Engineers in time of war, 
 and the best organisation to enable them to carry out 
 
NEWS FROM THE CAPE 135 
 
 those duties.' I also received an ' honourable mention ' 
 for an essay that I wrote for the United Service In- 
 stitution on the ' Use of field works in war.' 
 
 The year 1878 was a very busy one at Aldershot and 
 in the military world generally. Much interest was 
 taken in the war between Russia and Turkey, which 
 brought about, in diplomatic circles, a reconsideration 
 of the Eastern question, and nearly led to a general 
 European conflagration. Field companies of Royal 
 Engineers were established for the first time as a regular 
 peace organisation, and an Army Corps on a war scale 
 was formed at Aldershot, and worked experimentally 
 during the summer drills in the vicinity. My appoint- 
 ment (temporary) in this Army Corps was that of 
 Assistant-Adjutant-General of the 1st (General Ward- 
 law's) Division. 
 
 On February 11, 1879, news reached England of a 
 terrible disaster at the Cape. A British column con- 
 sisting of a wing of the 24th Foot, some native levies 
 and others were annihilated by the Zulus on January 21, 
 500 men and about forty officers being killed. The next 
 day orders were received at Aldershot to prepare certain 
 regiments of Cavalry and Infantry, &c., to go out at once, 
 and I received notice to hold myself in readiness to go to 
 Chatham, and take command of the 30th Field Company, 
 R.E., which had been ordered to concentrate there. 
 The account of my doings in this company and what 
 happened at the Cape when we got there will be given in 
 the following chapter. 
 
136 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 CHAPTEE V 
 
 THE ZULU WAR 
 
 Ordered to South Africa The Zulu fighting system Position of affairs at 
 the Cape Voyage out Joined Lord Chelmsford's Headquarters Pre- 
 parations for the Campaign. 
 
 MANY a time have the people of England been startled 
 by the accounts received from some seat of war; but 
 never, I think, has such a shock been felt at home as 
 when the morning papers proclaimed that an organised 
 British force had been almost annihilated by the badly 
 armed though brave warriors of the Kaffir king, Ketch- 
 wayo, on the borders of Zululand. 
 
 The news of this catastrophe arrived at Aldershot on 
 February 11, 1879. The next day several regiments at 
 that station, and a good many individual officers, received 
 orders to hold themselves in readiness to proceed to the 
 Cape at short notice. I was among the number, my 
 command being a Field Company, E.E., which was to be 
 raised at Chatham, and then sent to Aldershot to be 
 prepared for the approaching campaign. 
 
 At that time no complete system of mobilisation 
 existed in our Army all making up of units to war 
 strength, all equipment, all organisation, including 
 the appointment of generals and staff, had to be elabo- 
 rated on the spur of the moment. Thus my company 
 had to be made up from others that were remaining at 
 home only one officer and some twenty men of the old 
 
ORDERED TO SOUTH AFRICA 137 
 
 company remained with it, all the other officers, sergeants, 
 and rank and file, having to be taken from elsewhere ; 
 and every man had to be equipped, specially clothed, 
 and his accounts adjusted before we started. Then we 
 had to get horses, and harness, wagons, and special 
 engineer stores, some of the patterns of which were not 
 yet settled ; and all this had to be accomplished with the 
 greatest rapidity, because the day and hour of our 
 embarkation was an uncertain quantity. 
 
 Then, too, private affairs had to be arranged ; where 
 my wife and children were to live, what servants we 
 should keep, what horses we must sell. Finally, 
 my own kit and clothing for the war had to be 
 looked up and bought. So there was not much time to 
 think, and I put off, until we got on board ship, any con- 
 sideration regarding the work on which we might be 
 employed when we landed, or whether any improvements 
 might be made in organisation and equipment, to enable 
 us the better to face the special circumstances of the 
 war. 
 
 The weather was extremely cold at this time, snow lay 
 all over the roads and was piled up between the huts. 
 
 On February 17 my company, numbering about two 
 hundred men, arrived at Aldershot from Chatham ; and 
 the next day we were paraded for inspection by the 
 Commander-in-Chief, H.K.H. the Duke of Cambridge. 
 I had been officially transferred to the company that 
 morning from the Pontoon troop. I was then a regi- 
 mental major and brevet lieutenant-colonel, and I became 
 a full colonel soon after our arrival at the Cape. The 
 other officers were Captain B. Blood (who has since 
 distinguished himself very much in India), Lieut. Sherrard, 
 Lieut. McKeen, and Lieut. Littledale. We had nearly 
 all the men on parade, and six of our wagons, though not 
 all our stores. 
 
138 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 The Commander-in-Chief complimented us on our 
 appearance, but did not examine our stores. On asking, 
 as usual, if there were ' any complaints,' I replied that 
 ' I thought under the circumstances of the campaign, the 
 drivers should be supplied with a pistol or some arm, 
 in case they were detached and fell in with any stray 
 Zulus.' My remark caused some excitement among the 
 Headquarter Staff, but it had its effect, and the arms 
 I asked for were issued. 
 
 Having sent an advanced party to Portsmouth, and 
 packed our wagons and heavy baggage on railway trucks 
 the previous evening, on February 27 we left Aldershot 
 for the war. 
 
 My journal for that day is as follows : 
 
 'Company marched at 7.45 in a snowstorm. Train 
 from Aldershot at 9.0. Beached Portsmouth about 11.30, 
 and got all on board the Palmyra by 2.30. Horses 
 unharnessed on shore, and slung on to the main deck. 
 Men marched to their messes (eight in a mess). Wagons 
 unpacked, and all taken to pieces and carried on board. 
 Men quiet and well behaved, not one the least the worse 
 for drink, no absentees, and no equipment left behind. At 
 3.0 we steamed away.' 
 
 As senior army officer I commanded the troops on 
 board and made Captain Blood adjutant. As soon 
 as I had issued the necessary orders for the routine on 
 board ship, I set to work to consider the position at the 
 Cape, and make such notes as I thought might be useful 
 for the approaching campaign. 1 will state very briefly 
 what that position was, and then we will get back to the 
 voyage. 
 
 Not many years ago the Zulus were one of a number 
 of pastoral tribes spread over the country now occupied 
 by Natal and Kaffirland. Without going into their his- 
 tory, or that of the Dutch settlers with whom they were 
 
ZULU FIGHTING SYSTEM 139 
 
 frequently in conflict, it will be enough for our present 
 purpose to say that, under the leadership first of Chaka 
 and afterwards of his brother Dingaan, they became one 
 of the best organised savage despotisms of the nineteenth 
 century. All the young men in the community had to 
 be soldiers and were concentrated for several months in 
 the year, at the will of the king, in one or other of the 
 large military kraals that he possessed. There they were 
 trained in the arts of war, and there they were assembled 
 whenever the king wished to make an expedition against 
 some tribe that had offended him. None of these young 
 soldiers were allowed to marry without his permission ; 
 but this was usually given after a successful raid at which 
 they had, as it was called, ' washed their spears.' Even 
 after their marriage, however, they were held available 
 for use in war, if specially required. It was the custom 
 in the country for the women to do all the work, ever/ 
 that of building the huts in which they lived, the men 
 doing very little more than hunting and fighting. 
 
 Besides the extraordinary hold that this system gave 
 to the king over the fighting power of the nation, the 
 material, i.e. the trained soldier, was exceptionally good, 
 and the tactics they employed were well suited to the 
 warfare in which they usually engaged. The Zulus have 
 been described as lithe and active, well-knit, and capable 
 of great endurance. My own experience of them bears 
 this out. A young Zulu chief, who had been attached to 
 the intelligence department of our army, and joined me the 
 evening of the battle of Ulundi, afforded me a good oppor- 
 tunity of observing the characteristics of the fine race to 
 which he belonged. I will tell more about him later 
 on. Meantime I will confine myself to saying that he 
 never seemed to tire. Only give him a gun and a few 
 cartridges to carry, and he would follow you all day, even 
 if you had a change of two or three horses, and he seemed 
 
140 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 just as fresh at the end of a long march as he was at the 
 start. 
 
 The well-known tactics of the Zulus consisted of an 
 attack with a central body, and two wings (or horns). 
 When advancing, previous to an attack, they formed in a 
 snake-like column, which wound its way through hill and 
 valley, keeping concealed as much as possible. Then 
 when they arrived at what their leaders considered the 
 striking point, they deployed very rapidly, and en- 
 deavoured with their ' horns ' to sweep round both flanks 
 of the enemy, and, if possible, surround him. 
 
 In early days their weapons were two or three javelins, 
 or throwing assegais, a stabbing assegai, and a shield ; but 
 of late years rifles, when they could be procured, took the 
 place of the throwing assegais. In skirmishing they 
 acted very much in the same way as they did in the 
 attack by large bodies, always trying with a few men to 
 turn your flank, while others came straight at you ; but, 
 until they actually charged, they took every advantage of 
 ground to conceal their advance. 
 
 I can give an instance from my own experience of 
 their skill and rapidity in utilising ground. During the 
 advance against Ulundi it became necessary to recon- 
 noitre some rough wooded hills that lay across our path. 
 It was thought probable that these hills would be held 
 by Zulus ; how strongly no one could say. Evidently it 
 was advisable to be prepared for any contingency. The 
 reconnaissance was entrusted to Major-General Marshall, 
 the leader of the Cavalry Brigade. Colonel Buller, of 
 Wood's Column, with his Irregular Horse, were to be at 
 that General's disposal for the day. I was to go out 
 independently with my own escort to see what happened 
 and report to the Commander-in-Chief. 
 
 Starting in good time I found Buller engaged with 
 some Zulus at the foot of the hills. Eventually he drove 
 
ZULU FIGHTING SYSTEM 141 
 
 them back into the rocks and bush that covered the hill- 
 side, and then he directed his men to feed their horses 
 and cook their coffee, so as to be ready for further action. 
 I did the same, my little bivouac being on the flank of 
 the one occupied by the Irregulars, but, owing to a 
 depression in the ground, not in view of it. While I was 
 sitting on a rock, looking at the position with my field- 
 glasses, Buller came over from his bivouac to talk to me. 
 I pointed out to him some Zulus creeping down into a 
 donga about 1000 yards from where we were sitting, and 
 said * From your experience of Zulu fighting, how long 
 would it take those men to get to us if they wanted to 
 attack?' He replied 'Ten minutes,' and then he went 
 away. I ordered the horses to be saddled, but I did not 
 stop the cooking of the coffee, because it was nearly ready, 
 and I thought there was quite time enough to issue it to 
 the men before we moved. I should add that there was 
 no apparent ' cover ' for men between the place where 
 I saw the Zulus and our bivouac. But, by the watch 
 I held in my hand, not five minutes had gone before a 
 volley was fired at us from what looked like a few tufts 
 of grass 200 to 300 yards off. This disconcerted my 
 cooks and they spilt the coffee. My escort then retired 
 as usual by alternate wings, firing as they went, and the 
 Zulu advance at this point was checked until Marshall 
 and the Kegulars arrived. We suffered nothing more 
 than the loss of our breakfast. 
 
 It is obvious that troops such as I have described 
 must have certain advantages over the slow-moving, 
 cumbersome forces that form the fighting strength of 
 European nations. The Zulu warrior could move as 
 quickly and as far as Cavalry, and at the same time 
 conceal himself in folds of the ground as readily as 
 Infantry ; he required no transport except a few women 
 and boys to carry his simple food, and these advanced as 
 
142 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 quickly as he did ; and so a Zulu army could inarch forty 
 or fifty miles in any direction, and then fight a battle. 
 
 But, at the same time, it is obvious that as a fighting 
 force they had their weaknesses. They had no artillery ; 
 they were indifferent shots with a rifle, and never, I 
 believe, used a bayonet. Throughout the Zulu war the 
 rifle was used by them only as a secondary weapon in 
 place of a throwing assegai ; and, as often as not, it was 
 thrown away when the charge took place, to enable the 
 stabbing assegai to be used with a freer arm and more 
 deadly effect. 
 
 Then they could not carry on any prolonged cam- 
 paign. Assembled at one of the King's kraals, by a 
 message from village to village, to be ' doctored,' i.e. put 
 through a certain superstitious ceremonial, under the 
 direction of one or other of the royal chiefs, they were 
 formed into an ' impi ' or fighting force, and then sent on 
 the raid for which they were called together. The raid 
 over, whether successful or not, the ' impi ' broke up, 
 and the warriors dispersed to their villages , and, if 
 further operations were required, another assembly had to 
 be made. 
 
 Similar arrangements were carried out, on a smaller 
 scale, by chiefs at a distance from the royal kraal, when 
 it was so ordered by the king ; and besides these * impis,' 
 the warriors of a village would, without having been 
 ' doctored,' make attacks on small parties known to be 
 hostile. It was not difficult to find out whether or not 
 ' impis ' were being formed and to take such precautions 
 against their attack as were necessary ; while against 
 minor attacks by a few villagers you had to be always 
 prepared day and night. 
 
 Evidently it was for us British officers in conduct- 
 ing a war against the Zulus to consider all the advan- 
 tages and disadvantages of their system, and to frame our 
 
ZULU FIGHTING SYSTEM 143 
 
 own plans accordingly. So, on the voyage to the Cape, 
 I not only read the history of what had taken place in 
 South Africa since white men had first landed in the 
 country, but also studied the nature and peculiarities of 
 each race existing on the soil, and tried to make up my 
 mind what would be likely to happen when the troops I 
 had the honour to command put foot on shore, and how I 
 could help them to do all that was possible to carry out to 
 the full any duty that they might be required to perform. 
 
 The result of my cogitations I communicated to my 
 men in the shape of standing orders, which I will not 
 recapitulate here they are dry reading even to those 
 concerned ; but I may say that in those standing orders 
 I endeavoured to convey to those who read them, in as 
 concise and clear a manner as possible, what were the 
 peculiar dangers of the war, and how they could best be 
 guarded against. 
 
 Before returning to my own personal narrative I will 
 tell you very shortly what was the position at the Cape 
 when we left England to go there. 
 
 The Governor of Cape Colony, who was also the High 
 Commissioner in South Africa, was Sir Bartle Frere ; the 
 General commanding the troops was Lord Chelmsford ; 
 the Governor of Natal was Sir Edward Bulwer ; and the 
 Administrator of the Transvaal was Sir Owen Lanyon. 
 After some experience with the Kaffirs in Cape Colony, 
 Sir Bartle Frere had come to the conclusion that the 
 country would never settle down as long as Ketchwayo, 
 the new king in Zululand, continued in power. 
 
 The Zulus had had a quiet time under the rule of 
 Impanda, the youngest brother of Dingaan and Chaka ; 
 but when Impanda died and was succeeded by his son 
 Ketchwayo, it soon became evident that the young king 
 had every intention of following in the steps of his uncles 
 rather than in those of his father. When, in September 
 
144 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 1873, Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the clever Minister for 
 Native Affairs in Natal, attended by request the installa- 
 tion of Ketchwayo as ruler of the Zulu people, the entire 
 assembly agreed that indiscriminate shedding of blood 
 should cease. But not many months after the new ruler 
 was placed on the throne, the Governor of Natal had to 
 complain that, in a fit of savage caprice, he had ordered 
 the slaughter of some girls who had endeavoured to elude 
 his fiat that they should be married to the soldiers of one 
 of his old regiments. To this complaint the king replied : 
 * I do kill, but do not consider yet I have done anything 
 in the way of killing. Why do the white people start at 
 nothing ? I have not yet begun ; I have yet to kill ; it is 
 the custom of our nation, and I shall not depart from it.' 
 
 The immediate cause of the war was a violation of 
 British territory. Two Zulu women in some sudden 
 terror fled across the border into Natal. They were pur- 
 sued by an armed band, and forcibly taken back in face 
 of a party of Natal native police, and it is believed killed. 
 The Governor of Natal, and later the High Commissioner, 
 demanded that the leaders of the raid should be given up 
 and put on their trial in a court of law, and if this re- 
 quirement was not complied with within thirty days, 
 the General commanding the British forces would be 
 instructed to compel compliance. No satisfactory reply 
 was made to this intimation, and on January 11, 1879, 
 the British troops crossed the frontier into Zululand. 
 
 If the reader will look at a map of South Africa he 
 will see that, eastward of the British Colony of Natal, 
 and divided from it by a river that in its lower reaches is 
 called the Tugela, lies Zululand. Speaking roughly, it is 
 a square, with sides of about one hundred miles; and 
 almost in its centre are situated Ketchwayo's great 
 military kraals, known by the name of Ulundi. Lord 
 Chelmsford's plan of campaign was to advance simul- 
 
ZULU FIGHTING SYSTEM 145 
 
 taneously from west and north towards these kraals. In 
 order to carry this out he formed three columns operating 
 from Natal, viz. one under Colonel Pearson near the 
 mouth of the Tugela, one under Colonel Glyn near 
 Borke's Drift, and one under Colonel Durnford about 
 halfway between the other two. Then there was a 
 fourth column, operating from Utrecht, under Brigadier- 
 General E. Wood ; and a fifth in the Transvaal, keeping 
 in check a great chief called Sekukuni, a friend and ally 
 of Ketchwayo's, whose stronghold was in the Lulu 
 Mountains near Lydenburg. 
 
 The campaign commenced by the advance of Glyn's 
 column, which pitched its tents at Isandlwana, not far 
 over the frontier. The Commander-in- Chief of the army 
 (Lord Chelmsford) accompanied this column, and on the 
 morning of January 22 left the camp in charge of six 
 companies of the 24th Regiment, two guns, and some 
 eight hundred native troops ; and, having sent for Colonel 
 Durnford, with the mounted troops of his column, to join 
 them, went forward with the rest of the force to reconnoitre 
 and choose the road for a further advance. But what 
 happened? While he was away following some Zulus, 
 who fell back slowly before his troops, the main body of 
 the enemy poured down on the camp. An excellent little 
 book, describing the Zulu system and the Zulu tactics, 
 had been brought out by the British Staff in South 
 Africa, and distributed before the campaign ; but the 
 special lessons therein inculcated were either distrusted 
 or forgotten. Anyhow, the camp was not prepared for 
 defence; the troops were not kept together, and there 
 was no concerted plan of action. The result was the 
 complete destruction of the force that Lord Chelmsford 
 had left behind to guard his line of communication at the 
 Isandlwana camp. Fortunately for the safety of Natal, 
 a small post at Rorke's Drift, which had been hastily 
 
146 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 fortified by Chard of the Engineers and Bromhead of the 
 24th, sufficed to stop the Zulus after their victory at 
 Isandlwana. So the warriors broke up and returned to 
 their villages, and, when Glyn's column returned in the 
 evening, they found nothing but the bodies of their 
 comrades and other signs of the hard-fought battle. 
 
 The result of this first engagement of the Zulu war 
 was to bring out from England the reinforcements of 
 which my field company of Royal Engineers formed a 
 part. While we were on our way, the British columns did 
 not continue their advance into Zululand, but strengthened 
 themselves in their various positions, and made such 
 preparation as was possible for the combined advance, 
 whenever it might take place. I will now return to our 
 voyage. 
 
 As I have before said, we left Portsmouth Harbour on 
 the afternoon of February 27 for the Cape. Our trans- 
 port was one of the smaller vessels of the Cunard line, 
 called the Palmyra, which steamed about twelve knots 
 an hour. 
 
 On the night of March 4 we passed Madeira, and on 
 the 8th we reached St. Vincent, where we had to stop 
 and coal. Here we found five transports in the harbour, 
 waiting to coal, viz. the Russia with the 58th Kegiment 
 on board, the England and the France with the 17th 
 Lancers, and the Egypt and the Spain with the King's 
 Dragoon Guards. The coal was brought alongside 
 in lighters, and, the amount of procurable labour being 
 very limited, the process of supply was a tedious one. It 
 is a matter for reflection how far, in a country like ours 
 which is governed by party, the actual government of 
 the day should be held responsible for the conduct of 
 naval and military operations. I cannot help hoping that 
 the Council of Imperial Defence, which has lately been 
 put on a more or less permanent footing, may define that 
 
ISANDLWANA HILL, APRIL 1879. 
 
 RORKE'S DRIFT AFTER THE FIGHT. 
 

TRANSPORTS BADLY LOADED 147 
 
 responsibility. Surely the misfortune that befell our arms 
 in South Africa was not the fault of the government that 
 happened to be in power at the time. Consequently it 
 should not have been thought necessary, in order to ease 
 their shoulders from blame, to send reinforcements to the 
 seat of war before the whole matter had been properly 
 thought out, and full preparations made. 
 
 In order to show how quickly an expedition could be 
 sent from England, even to so distant a colony as the 
 Cape, the transports that left our shores were loaded 
 anyhow, and sent to coal at a place where the supply was 
 limited, where all the water had to be condensed, and 
 where all fruit, vegetables, and meat had to be imported. 
 The Russia had all her army stores pitched on board 
 helter-skelter, and shied into the hold anyhow by the 
 numerous dockyard hands supplied for the purpose at 
 Portsmouth ; and when she got to sea it was dis- 
 covered that the things required on the voyage were at 
 the bottom of the hold, and the troops had to be supplied 
 from the officers' stock of provisions until their own stores 
 were got up. The Palmyra (our ship) was laden with 
 800 tons less cargo than she could have carried, which 
 made her too light to steam well in the trade winds. If 
 she had been filled up, even with coal, we should have 
 saved several days of time and a considerable quantity of 
 money. 
 
 Among the officers on board the transports that we 
 found at St. Vincent there were no fewer than four 
 generals : Marshall, commanding the Cavalry ; E. New- 
 digate and Crealock, sent out to command divisions ; and 
 Clifford, commanding the communications, a new appoint- 
 ment in our Army, but a very necessary one. I had 
 known all these officers in England, especially at 
 Aldershot, where I used frequently to be employed in 
 Staff duties ; and while we were waiting I went round 
 
 L 2 
 
148 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 and paid them all visits. As it was thought that the 
 Engineers were wanted at the front as soon as anyone, 
 and the Palmyra only required a small supply, we were 
 allowed to coal out of our turn, and got away soon after 
 midday on the 9th. On the 27th we arrived at Simon's 
 Bay, and I reported to Captain Adeane, E.N., the senior 
 naval officer. 
 
 We were told that the cavalry transports were to coal 
 at Table Bay, and the infantry ones at Simon's Bay, and 
 then all go on to Durban. The only orders we received 
 were ' to land heavy baggage.' No one knew what this 
 meant, whether it included men's bags. I interpreted it 
 as not doing so, and, having given the men what boots 
 and clothes they wanted for the campaign, ordered the 
 rest of the clothing and any spare officers' baggage to be 
 sent on shore. 
 
 The only war news we received was that a convoy of 
 the 80th Regiment had been destroyed by a Zulu * impi ' 
 in the vicinity of Luneberg, and that a force had been 
 collected to relieve Colonel Pearson's column, which had 
 been shut up for some weeks in a fort at Etshowe. At 
 the same time we heard more details about the Isandlwana 
 fight. It appears that some 900 Europeans and as many 
 native troops on our side were killed. It is understood 
 that Colonel Durnford arrived in camp about half an hour 
 before the Zulus appeared, and went out at once with his 
 mounted men to attack them. Colonel Pulleine supported 
 him with the infantry, and formed his men up in line in 
 front of the camp. The camp was not in any way pre- 
 pared for defence, and no guards or reserves were left in 
 it. The Zulus attacked as usual in front and on both 
 flanks (just as described in Lord Chelmsford's book), and, 
 sweeping round, came through the camp and on to the 
 rear of Colonel Pulleine 's fighting line, after which the 
 affair was over in a few minutes. 
 
GALLANTRY OF NATAL HORSE 149 
 
 Although I am not giving the history of this battle, 
 I cannot refrain from mentioning the dauntless courage of 
 Durnford and the Natal Horse at this juncture. Arriving 
 at Isandlwana, with his mounted men, soon after Lord 
 Chelmsford had left it, Colonel Durnford, in a short con- 
 versation with Pulleine, 24th Regiment, the officer in local 
 command, explained that he would at once advance 
 against the Zulus, in order to find out what they were 
 doing, and then, if necessary, he would fall back on the 
 camp. But, on going out as arranged, he discovered that 
 the Zulu force in the immediate neighbourhood was much 
 greater than he had anticipated. It was with some 
 difficulty that he could even for a time hold in check that 
 portion of the army (the central body) that he found in 
 front of him. He did not cover sufficient ground to have 
 any influence at all on the two wings (or horns) that were 
 being pushed forward by the Zulu leaders, to carry out 
 their usual tactics of surrounding their enemy. Under 
 these circumstances he fell back slowly, by alternate 
 squadrons, holding on as long as possible to each position 
 occupied, and causing considerable loss by his fire to the 
 brave savages who were attacking him. On arriving at 
 the neck of land that connects Isandlwana Hill with the 
 low range to the southward, Durnford saw that the Zulu 
 horns had got in rear of the camp. A scattered fight 
 was in progress all over the plain, and a crowd of 
 fugitives, chiefly Natal natives, were streaming away, in 
 an endeavour to cross the river and get into Natal. He 
 came to the conclusion that the only chance of saving 
 any of those who were thus trying to escape, if not of 
 retrieving the day, was to endeavour with a disciplined 
 force to hold the neck. So he formed up and addressed 
 his troopers, explaining the situation, and stating that he 
 himself intended to stop on the neck. To a man, I be- 
 lieve, these horsemen from Natal caught their leader's 
 
150 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 enthusiasm. They had already done a good day's work ; 
 they could, without fear of blame, have ridden off, and 
 given the alarm at Borke's Drift and elsewhere ; but they 
 preferred to risk their lives to the last, in defence of their 
 weaker comrades, and for the honour of their country. 
 So they dismounted and let their horses go, and then sold 
 their lives as dearly as possible on that fateful ridge. 
 
 Who can tell how the future of the gallant little 
 colony of Natal has been influenced by the heroism of 
 her sons on that memorable occasion ? 
 
 While we were at Simon's Bay some of us went to 
 Cape Town, where we met Colonel Hassard, the Com- 
 manding Royal Engineer. He had been invalided from 
 the front, and he told us a good many stories about what 
 had been going on there. Having heard while at Cape 
 Town that a Bemount Committee had been collecting 
 horses for the war, and that we could buy them at a fixed 
 price, we secured a few for our officers, and also to make 
 up the numbers required by the mounted men of my field 
 company. The average price of those we bought was 
 32. 
 
 While we were lying in Simon's Bay we had two 
 interesting visitors. On my way home from China with 
 the 23rd Company in 1860 we touched at the Cape, and 
 volunteers were called for to stay in that colony instead 
 of continuing the homeward journey. I remember one 
 particularly who elected to stay. He was a nice-looking 
 young Scotchman, named Tennant, and he consulted me 
 in regard to his prospects if he did so. I thought, with 
 the qualifications he possessed, he was just the sort to 
 get on in a rising colony, and I advised him to stay. 
 I must say I did not recognise my old friend the corporal 
 in the well-to-do-looking gentleman who came on board 
 the Palmyra at Simon's Bay. But when he reminded 
 me of the circumstances I recognised him. Asking him 
 
'CAPE SMOKE' 151 
 
 what he was doing, he replied that he was Colonial 
 Engineer, with a salary of 600 a year. When I re- 
 marked that he was doing very well he said : ' Yes, but 
 not so well as Mr. Jones (the other gentleman who came 
 on board), whom you may remember, Sir, as Sapper Jones. 
 He is now a contractor and one of the richest men at the 
 Cape.' 
 
 Needless to say, I was very pleased that these former 
 members of ' the corps ' had done so well, and so were all 
 their comrades on board. 
 
 I must tell one more story before we go on, and not 
 such a pleasant one. Before arriving at the Cape all the 
 men on board were warned of the peculiar drink that 
 is sold on shore, called ' Cape smoke.' It is a strong 
 stimulant, and the effect even a small quantity has on 
 some men is very great. While our vessel was coaling at 
 Simon's Bay, leave was given, as usual, to a certain 
 number of well-conducted men to go on shore. 
 
 Among them was one excellent young fellow, whose 
 name I won't mention ; but he did not return with the 
 others. The next morning his body was found close to 
 the landing stage ; and from inquiry it was believed that, 
 overcome by the drink of the country, he had walked into 
 the water and been accidentally drowned. We paraded 
 as many of the company as possible to attend his funeral 
 in the naval cemetery at the station, and I took the 
 opportunity to emphasise, by the poor young soldier's 
 example, the necessity of avoiding, with more than usual 
 care, the wine shops of the Cape. I may add that the 
 lesson had a good effect, for, while regiments could not as 
 a rule be left at Durban on account of the drink there, 
 our men were for over a fortnight in camp at that port 
 without a single crime of any sort being recorded against 
 them. 
 
 On April 1, 1879, we left Simon's Bay, and in four 
 
152 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 days reached Port Natal, or, as it is now called, Durban. 
 The harbour was very shallow, and at that time large 
 vessels had to lie outside the bar, disembarkation being 
 effected by means of lighters. We took a whole day 
 getting on shore with our horses and stores in this way, 
 and then had to struggle along a heavy sandy road, for 
 about two miles, to a standing camp that had been 
 established for the convenience of the troops on first 
 landing. 
 
 We soon learned that in South Africa the maxim 
 applied with more than usual force : ' If you want a 
 thing done, do it yourself/ Army requirements were 
 very numerous, and the sappers, the Army's workmen, 
 were much appreciated when they landed and got their 
 tools on shore; and soon the whole company were as 
 busy as bees, either getting their own equipment and 
 transport into order, or carrying out the innumerable 
 small services that the Staff of the expedition called upon 
 them to perform. 
 
 We heard when we landed at Durban that Brigadier- 
 General Evelyn Wood had repulsed a determined attack 
 by a Zulu ' impi ' on his camp (which was really a fort) 
 at Kambula. In the operations that preceded the 
 attack, Captain Campbell of the Coldstream Guards was 
 killed. In this business the Zulus are said to have lost 
 some 3000 men, while the British had nine officers and 
 ninety men killed. We heard also that Lord Chelmsford, 
 with a column from Durban, had relieved Colonel Pear- 
 son's force at Etshowe, and had beaten off an attacking 
 column of Zulus at a place called Gingilhovo. The 
 British loss was small, but Lieut. -Colonel Northey, of the 
 60th Kifles, was wounded, and shortly afterwards died. 
 
 Major-General Clifford landed on April 7 and took 
 over his new charge, the line of communications. His 
 base was the seaport Durban, where he stayed for a time 
 
CAMPAIGN ARRANGEMENTS 153 
 
 to start business. Afterwards he went to Pietermaritz- 
 burg, the capital of Natal, where he established his 
 headquarters. 
 
 It will, I think, be convenient to recount now in 
 general terms Lord Chelmsford's arrangements for the 
 approaching campaign. Having seen personally to the 
 safety of the southern column, he proposed to strengthen 
 it and put it under the command of Major-General 
 Crealock, who had been sent out from England to com- 
 mand a division. This was called the first division. The 
 second division, under the command of Major-General 
 Newdigate, and the Cavalry under Major-General Marshall 
 were to proceed up country by regiments, and rendezvous 
 in the vicinity of Dundee. This force was based on Natal, 
 being supplied with ammunition and other special stores 
 by way of Newcastle and Pietermaritzburg. Brigadier- 
 General Evelyn Wood was to command an independent 
 column, called the flying column, based on Utrecht 
 and the Transvaal, but with another line of communica- 
 tion through Newcastle to the sea at Durban. Colonel 
 Redvers Buller commanded the mounted troops attached 
 to this column. Thus three independent columns, besides 
 the Cavalry Brigade, were put in position and organised 
 for the advance against the central power of the Zulus at 
 Ulundi. 
 
 While at Durban I saw General Clifford, who wished 
 to consult me regarding various engineer matters. 
 
 On the 10th I also saw Lord Chelmsford, who had 
 returned after his successful fight with the Zulus at 
 Gingilhovo. He suggested that, if possible, we should 
 bridge the Tugela at its mouth with such pontoons as we 
 had brought out with us from England, supplemented 
 by casks and other material that we could collect locally. 
 This was eventually done by the company. Meantime 
 Captain Blood had completed the equipment of the Field 
 
154 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Company with transport suited to the country. On 
 April 13 I bought a good-looking horse from a man 
 named Lowry for 47. I also bought a gelding from 
 Commissary-General Strickland for 42. 
 
 On this day orders were issued for the distribution of 
 the force. Those relating to the Engineers were as 
 follows : 
 
 * Lieut. -Colonel Steward, Commanding Royal En- 
 gineers in the field, will relieve Captain Hime, Colonial 
 Engineer, from his duties as Divisional Officer B.E. in 
 Natal from this date ; Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Harrison 
 will accompany and be attached to Headquarters in the 
 field ; Captain Blood will be attached to Headquarters of 
 the 1st Division ; and Captain Anstey to the 2nd 
 Division ; Lieut. Wat kins will act as Adjutant under 
 Lieut.-Colonel Steward ; Lieut. Cameron will be stationed 
 at the base of operations.' 
 
 This very important order, as far as I was concerned, 
 took me away from the command of my Field Company. 
 I did not see it again during the war, for it went to the 
 southern force, i.e. the 1st Division, under General 
 Crealock, while I went with Headquarters, which accom- 
 panied the 2nd Division. 
 
 On April 15 I was ordered to Pietermaritzburg to 
 await the rest of the Staff there. I utilised this journey 
 to test the marching power of my horses, and to learn a 
 little of the ' art of travelling ' in South Africa. On 
 arrival at the capital of Natal, I put up with Captain 
 Hime (E.E.), who at that time was Colonial Engineer 
 and a member of the Government of the colony. While 
 with him I fitted myself out for the approaching 
 campaign. It may be asked what I had to do more than 
 had been done already, partly in England before we 
 started, and partly on landing at Durban. Anyone who 
 has had experience of campaigning as a Staff officer, or 
 
ATTACHED TO THE STAFF 155 
 
 who knows the difference between travelling with a 
 party conducted by one of Cook's dragomen, and 
 travelling by oneself in a wild country, could answer the 
 question. I left England and landed in Durban as a 
 regimental officer. My rations were drawn by the 
 quartermaster- sergeant, my cooking was done by the 
 company cooks, my baggage was carried in regimental 
 transport, my tent was pitched and trenches dug by a 
 regimental fatigue party ; but when I became a Staff 
 officer, and was liable to march and pitch my camp either 
 by myself or with others, it became necessary to make 
 oneself entirely independent. I knew that the more 
 carefully I organised my establishment before I started, 
 the less would be my trouble afterwards, and the more 
 time I should have to carry out whatever Staff work I 
 might be ordered to do. 
 
 So I refreshed my memory from the heading ' Kit for 
 Staff ' in the ' Officers' Memorandum Book,' I consulted 
 my host and other officers in Pietermaritzburg on the 
 peculiar requirements of the country, and in a few days 
 I was ready for a start. At my suggestion a young officer 
 (Lieut. Heneage, A.D.C. to the General of Cavalry) was 
 to go with me and sketch the road for the benefit of 
 those who followed. My cavalcade, as follows, reached 
 Pietermaritzburg on April 22, viz. Lance- Corporal Martin, 
 R.E. (a Draughtsman), riding my bat pony ; Driver 
 Cook, R.E. (my groom), on my third charger ; a Scotch 
 cart, drawn by three horses with one native driver, carry- 
 ing our baggage and provisions ; Driver Burdett, R.E. 
 (my head servant and cook), on my first charger ' Rocket ' ; 
 and I myself on my second charger, ' Durban.' We 
 carried with us all arrangements for pitching a small 
 camp, and a reserve of food for men and horses. Each 
 mounted man had a saddle-bag, and so we could divide 
 up into two parties at short notice if required. 
 
156 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 The first day we reached Howick, a distance of four- 
 teen miles, and there we met the new battalion of the 
 24th Kegiment that had been sent from England to take 
 the place of the one destroyed at Isandlwana, and also 
 some of the Headquarter Staff. 
 
 The route we were travelling was through Estcourt, 
 Colenso, and Lady smith. Our immediate destination 
 was Dundee, where the Headquarter Staff was to 
 assemble, and where later on the 2nd Division under 
 General Newdigate, and the Cavalry Brigade under 
 General Marshall, were to concentrate and organise for 
 the advance into Zululand. The road at that time had 
 no special interest, but it was a pretty rough one, and 
 the places along it at which food and forage could be 
 obtained were not regulated with a view to the require- 
 ments of an army marching along in detachments. Then 
 our horses were in bad condition, our drivers were 
 ignorant of the country and of a traveller's requirements, 
 so that we were rather proud of arriving at Dundee on 
 the day that I had calculated before we left Pietermaritz- 
 burg, thereby stultifying the prognostications of our 
 knowing friends, who told us that keeping to time was 
 a thing unknown in South Africa. 
 
 The day before we reached Lady smith my second 
 charger (' Durban ') got horse-sickness. The day follow- 
 ing he was worse, and, though he was treated with all 
 the usual remedies, he died at night. This was the first 
 occasion on which I met the Prince Imperial of France, 
 who was travelling up country with the General com- 
 manding. He took the greatest interest in the illness 
 of my horse, sitting up by him, and helping to apply the 
 remedies ordered by the veterinary surgeon who had 
 charge of the case. 
 
 On arriving at Dundee on April 30 I joined the 
 Headquarter Staff. The same day the General held a 
 
MY COMPANIONS 157 
 
 review of the troops already collected there, viz. 21st and 
 58th Foot, two companies of the 24th, Harness's battery 
 of four guns, and Dartnell's Horse. 
 
 Soon after joining I reaped the benefit of the way in 
 which my own personal following had been organised at 
 Pietermaritzburg. For when orders were issued for the 
 force at Dundee, accompanied by the Headquarter Staff, 
 to move to Landman's Drift on the Buffalo Eiver, while 
 the General commanding, with only his Military Sec- 
 retary, two aides-de-camp and myself were to go in 
 light order and inspect Wood's force at Kambula, I was 
 ready to fall into the arrangement without any trouble 
 whatever. 
 
 On this trip Lord Chelmsford discussed with us the 
 whole position, and made all arrangements for the 
 approaching campaign, as I will proceed to relate. But 
 first let me say a word or two regarding my companions. 
 The General commanding at the Cape, who now had 
 charge of the war against the Zulus, had previously been 
 in command of one of the infantry brigades at Aldershot, 
 where I had known him. He was over the average 
 height, good at games and outdoor pursuits, and very 
 fond of his profession, which he had studied carefully 
 when acting as Adjutant-General in India, and elsewhere. 
 He was a most reasonable and pleasant chief to deal with, 
 and would always listen to whatever one had to say. 
 I do not think I had a word of disagreement all the 
 time I was with him. Then he was simple and moderate 
 in his habits, and set an example of frugality to all around 
 him. His Military Secretary (Lieut. -Colonel North 
 Crealock, 95th Kegiment) was a clever Staff officer, 
 particularly skilful with his brush, as was his brother, 
 Major-General H. Crealock, who commanded the 1st 
 Division. His aides-de-camp were Captain Molyneux 
 (22nd Kegiment), a good Staff officer, who was ready to 
 
158 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 help in any way if wanted ; and the young Prince Louis 
 Napoleon, Prince Imperial of France. 
 
 The latter, having been educated at the Eoyal Military 
 Academy, Woolwich, came out as a volunteer to the army 
 in South Africa. He bore a letter from the Commander- 
 in-Chief to Lord Chelmsford, requesting that assistance 
 should be rendered him to see as much as possible with 
 the columns in the field, and with this view Lord 
 Chelmsford attached him to his personal staff. At this 
 time he was a particularly smart, nice-looking young 
 officer, with perhaps a touch of sadness on his face. He 
 was very keen to learn all he could of the manner in 
 which we carried on our wars, and of the organisation of 
 our Staff and departments, and I had many conversations 
 with him on the subject. He was also anxious to take 
 his part in anything that was going on, and was only too 
 eager for employment in the face of the enemy. 
 
 In regard to myself I will only say that for several 
 years I had devoted many hours that might have been 
 otherwise spent to the study of the profession of arms, and 
 just before coming out to the Cape I had passed the final 
 examination at the Staff College. 
 
 Starting on May 2, we had a look at the preparations 
 then in progress for the 2nd Division camp at Landman's 
 Drift, passed some men of the 80th Eegiment from 
 Wood's Camp cutting firewood on the Doornberg, and a 
 little farther on the 94th Eegiment and the 5th Company 
 E.E. (in which was Chard of Eorke's Drift fame). We 
 arrived in the evening at Baltee Spruit, where we found 
 the Headquarters of the 80th in an old Dutch laager. 
 The next day we crossed the Blood river and reached 
 Wood's Camp at Kambula, which he had defended not 
 long before against a determined attack by a large Zulu 
 'impi.' After a ride to Zunguin Neck, and a look at 
 Inslobani Mountain, where Wood's mounted troops were 
 
DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSPORT 159 
 
 so severely handled the day before the Kambula attack, 
 we saw an alarm practised at the camp ; and on the 6th 
 we went to Utrecht, where Headquarters were to be 
 established until the troops were ready for the advance. 
 
 Now, the little party that left Dundee in light order 
 on May 2 had not been idle. Not only had it travelled 
 fast and far, but it had taken part in long animated 
 discussions with all whose opinions were worth having 
 about the conditions of the country, and the best manner 
 of carrying out the approaching war. 
 
 There were already in Natal quite sufficient troops to 
 subjugate the Zulus, but there were more than the usual 
 difficulties in regard to transport. The rivers were not 
 navigable ; the only railway ran from Durban to Pieter- 
 maritzburg ; and all movement depended upon sufficient 
 wheel and pack carriage being obtainable to keep the 
 troops supplied with food and ammunition and such other 
 stores as were necessary for the campaign. 
 
 Many people think that in a temperate climate you 
 have only to send enough horses and mules with an army 
 to enable it to go anywhere. There was never a greater 
 mistake. Given a seat of war in which no food can be 
 furnished for horses by the country, and it is a simple 
 matter to calculate the distance from the base of supplies 
 that a horse or mule can carry or draw a useful load. It 
 must be borne in mind that under these conditions each 
 animal must bring along his own food as well as whatever 
 else he has to carry ; and, even if there are good roads, he 
 will not take a useful load beyond four or five marches 
 say sixty miles. 
 
 In Natal and Zululand it cannot be said that there 
 was no food to be obtained for horses. Some mealies are 
 usually grown on white men's farms as well as by Kaffir 
 kraals ; and at certain times of the year there is plenty of 
 grass. But English horses had to be taught to eat the 
 
160 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 grass of the country; and mealies, unless carefully ad- 
 ministered, often disagree with them. Besides which 
 there was the terrible horse-sickness, not to mention 
 various tormenting flies ; so they could not be considered 
 good transport animals. 
 
 Although the fact may be overlooked by those who 
 have only known South Africa since it has been crossed 
 and recrossed by railways, the real transport animal in 
 that country is the bullock. You must treat him properly 
 if you want to get good work out of him. You must not 
 try and make him go too fast ; you must give him time 
 to eat the grass that he finds by the roadside, and drink 
 the water of the streams, and also to take periodical rests, 
 and he will be to you on the veldt of South Africa what 
 the camel is in the north the ship of the desert. 
 
 The problem before Lord Chelmsford and his Staff, 
 while the columns were concentrating and organising for 
 the advance into Zululand, was how to bring to the various 
 rendezvous the necessary supplies, and where to get the 
 bullock wagons required to move those supplies across 
 the dongas of Zululand as far as the capital of that 
 country the king's kraals at Ulundi. 
 
 Transport being the ruling factor, only such troops 
 could be taken as could be fed ; and the farther the troops 
 marched from the bases of supply, the more difficult 
 it became to feed them. This meant organisation. 
 Which troops were to form the columns of the moving 
 army, and which were to serve on the line of communica- 
 tions ? How were the columns themselves to be formed, 
 and what was to be the organisation of the guiding and 
 controlling staff? These questions had, no doubt, been 
 carefully considered by the General commanding ever 
 since he knew what troops were coming out from England 
 to take part in the war. Now was the time to put the 
 finishing touches to the machine, and to set it in motion. 
 
ACTING QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL 161 
 
 On the morning of May 8 Lord Chelmsford came 
 into my tent and told me that he had determined to 
 appoint me acting Quartermaster-General of the Army, 
 pending approval from England. Of course I was much 
 honoured by the confidence thus shown in me, and I said 
 I would do my best ; but I was well aware of the 
 difficulties that had to be faced. At that time there was 
 no Quartermaster-General's Department in the country. 
 The work was supposed to be done by the Adjutant- 
 General's Staff and a new organisation which had charge 
 of the base and the lines of communication, of which 
 General Clifford was the head. 
 
 The troops were scattered along a line of communica- 
 tion over 300 miles, which had to be kept up chiefly by 
 runners or special orderlies. No road reports or military 
 sketches of the country existed. There was very little 
 information regarding the enemy, and I had no office 
 whatever, only Lance-Corporal Martin, whom I had 
 brought with me from Pietermaritzburg, and my own 
 private sketching case and stationery. 
 
 I knew that three matters were urgent, viz. First, 
 the completion of the organisation of the forces ; second, 
 the collection of supplies and transport ; third, recon- 
 noitring the enemy's country. 
 
 That same afternoon an officer, Lieut. Carey, 98th 
 Regiment, was appointed to assist me in military sketch- 
 ing ; and the Prince Imperial was lent to me to collect 
 and compile information in regard to the distribution of 
 troops and depots. Having set these two officers to work 
 I drafted and sent off a number of telegrams regarding the 
 collection of supplies. 
 
 The next day I was put in orders 1 as Assistant- 
 
 1 On receipt of Lord Chelmsford's telegram on the subject, the 
 War Office appointed Major East, from the Intelligence Department, 
 J)eputy Q.M.G., and gave him the rank of Lieut. -Colonel to enable him to 
 
 M 
 
162 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Quartermaster-General attached to Headquarters, and it 
 was clearly laid down that I was to be the head of a 
 department, distinct from the Adjutant-General, and 
 having authority to send instructions to all officers of 
 the Army by means of memoranda. Work began to 
 pour in from all sides, and from that date until I handed 
 over to an officer sent out specially from England I spent 
 the greater part of every day in the saddle, and the 
 greater half of every night writing letters and instruc- 
 tions in my tent. My lamp was the only one allowed to 
 be kept alight after hours. 
 
 Of the three urgent matters that required attention 
 when I was appointed A.Q.M.G., the organisation of the 
 forces was taken in hand by Lord Chelmsford himself, 
 in consultation with his Staff, while the collection of 
 supplies and transport and the reconnaissances were 
 left to me. I have said that on the evening of my 
 appointment I sent out to all commanding officers 
 instructions in regard to transport. Looking forward a 
 little. I may say that the transport and supplies for 
 the 1st (Crealock's) Division, operating in the south of 
 Zululand, were furnished by Natal ; the transport for the 
 cavalry, concentrating at Dundee, consisted chiefly of 
 Army Service Corps; while that for the 2nd Division 
 (Newdigate's) and Wood's flying column were, to a large 
 extent, hired in the Transvaal. The latter had the 
 advantage that the owners (Boers) came with their own 
 wagons and bullocks, and naturally took especial care 
 that they were properly looked after. There was no fear 
 of their running away, and, as far as I know, they were 
 thoroughly efficient throughout the whole business. I 
 may add that some months afterwards, when I was 
 
 hold the appointment ; but he did not arrive until a day or two before the 
 battle of Ulundi, when the Q.M.G.'s work for the campaign was nearly 
 over, 
 
ACTING QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL 163 
 
 commanding in Pretoria, I was able to catch a number 
 of these wagons returning to their farms, and re-engage 
 them for extended service in the war against Sekukuni. 
 Without this timely assistance it would have been 
 difficult, if not impossible, to bring the latter war to 
 a conclusion as rapidly as our new Commander-in-Chief 
 (Sir Garnet Wolseley) desired. 
 
 But to return to the Zulu war. As soon as I was 
 satisfied that everything that could possibly be done had 
 been accomplished to start the collection of transport and 
 supplies for the reorganised forces, I obtained leave from 
 the Chief to start the reconnaissances. 
 
 The position of the forces at the beginning of May 
 was as follows : Wood's column was still at Kambula ; 
 Newdigate's Division was at Landman's Drift; and 
 about half way between the two a fortified post had been 
 established as a base of supply at Conference Hill, on the 
 Blood River. The Cavalry Brigade was at Dundee, and 
 the Headquarters of the army at Utrecht. 
 
164 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 CHAPTEE VI 
 
 THE BATTLE OF DLUNDI 
 
 Keeonnaissances Advance into Zululand The Prince Imperial Ulundi 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley. 
 
 IT was known that the country between the Black and 
 White Umvaloosi Rivers was very difficult, if not imprac- 
 ticable. At the same time it was known that there were 
 tracks practicable for wagons between Rorke's Drift and 
 the capital. What was required was to ascertain if 
 sufficiently good roads could be made between the 
 rendezvous of the 2nd Division and Wood's column, to 
 enable these forces to join hands and then advance as one 
 army on Ulundi. 
 
 The troops available for escort duty were the Cavalry 
 Brigade at Dundee, the mounted troops of Wood's 
 column under Lieut.-Colonel Buller, and Bettington's 
 Natal Horse, at that time at Conference Hill. The 
 Cavalry Brigade were still somewhat unfit for work 
 after their long voyage from England, and they had not 
 yet learned the ways of campaigning in South Africa, 
 while Wood's mounted troops were in good condition, 
 thoroughly acquainted with Zulu customs, and moreover 
 were under the command of an officer who had an eye for 
 country second to none in the Army, and who was an 
 exceptionally good leader of mounted men. So I 
 arranged that for the first reconnaissance I should 
 accompany a mounted party led by Buller. We were to 
 
RECONNAISSANCES 165 
 
 rendezvous at Conference Hill, and a small detachment of 
 Bettington's Horse were also to go with us. 
 
 On May 13 the General Officer commanding, with his 
 Military Secretary, left the Headquarter Camp at Utrecht 
 for a trip to Newcastle, and I went off to take part in the 
 reconnaissances in Zululand. I was accompanied by two 
 officers of the Headquarter Staff, viz. the Hon. J. 
 Drummond, Chief of the Intelligence Department, and 
 the Prince Imperial, extra aide-de-camp to Lord Chelms- 
 ford. Each of us took one servant and three horses ; all 
 our requirements were carried in saddle-bags. 
 
 An easy day's march took us to Conference Hill, 
 where we drew rations for men and horses. The next 
 morning Colonel Buller arrived with some two hundred 
 frontier Light Horse and Basutos, and we went all 
 together to Koppie Allein, where we bivouacked in a 
 deserted farm. The horses were knee-haltered and turned 
 into a mealie field for the night. Fires were lit and food 
 prepared, each one for himself, and then we lay down and 
 slept, in great coats and blankets, on the mud floor of the 
 farmhouse. 
 
 At daylight on the 15th we were off in a southerly 
 direction, Buller leading. At about 10.35 we halted to 
 rest the animals, and boil water to make tea or coffee. 
 All meals on these occasions are much the same a little 
 tinned meat, some ration bread or biscuit, occasionally as 
 a treat a little potted meat or, perhaps, jam, and then the 
 fragrant and soothing cup of tea or coffee, after which 
 a talk round the smouldering fires, and, if there is time 
 enough, a pipe or cigar. 
 
 About the middle of this day we saw a few Zulu 
 scouts among the hills, some on foot and one or two 
 mounted. We pursued them for some distance and then 
 gave it up, because they did not go in the direction 
 that we wanted to spy out. Once we entered a kraal 
 
166 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 from which the inhabitants had departed, leaving only a 
 few diseased cattle ; and then we continued on our way 
 until it was quite dark, when we made a ring of our 
 horses, heads inwards, saddles and bridles on, riders lying 
 down by them on the grass. It was not safe in such a 
 situation to feed by night, because the horses might stray 
 away too far in the darkness ; and we could not light fires, 
 because so doing might attract attention. As a rule, the 
 time for rest and food during a reconnaissance is in the 
 daytime, and in a position that can be protected by out- 
 posts. 
 
 On the 16th we arrived at a new camp that had been 
 established for Wood's column, near Wolf Hill. 
 
 Now the three days' march that we had just accom- 
 plished, under the guidance and direction of Buller and 
 his mounted men, had no doubt been useful to all of us, 
 and it had established certain facts in connection with 
 the Zulus ; but it had not discovered a route for the 2nd 
 Division, and so I determined to make a further recon- 
 naissance. This matter I discussed with Colonel Wood 
 when we got in, and we had a long talk regarding plans 
 for the campaign, and then I wrote to Lord Chelmsford 
 and others until far into the night. The next morning 
 Wood went off early to Utrecht to see the Commander-irj- 
 Chief, and I went to Conference Hill, to make arrange- 
 ments for the further reconnaissance. Drummond went 
 back to Headquarters, but the Prince Imperial, having 
 obtained leave from the Commander-in-Chief, returned to 
 go with me. My immediate party for this expedition 
 consisted of the Prince and his servant, Captain Carey, 
 D.A.Q.M.G., Captain Bettington with five of his men 
 leading spare ponies, and twenty Basutos under an 
 officer. We had arranged to meet Colonel Buller and 
 some four hundred mounted men at a point eastward of 
 the Ingutu Mountains, but on arrival there we saw 
 
RECONNAISSANCES 167 
 
 nothing of them. The day wore on while we were 
 searching, and we had to spend the night in that vicinity, 
 taking all precautions in case our position and circum- 
 stances should become known to any of the Zulus who 
 lived in the neighbourhood. 
 
 The next morning, after a further fruitless search for 
 Buller's men, we had to make up our minds what to do : 
 should we return to Conference Hill or get back on to 
 the Ingutu Kange, and, proceeding eastward along the 
 ridge, endeavour to find a road leading into the valley of 
 the Nondweni Eiver, and so to Ibabanango Mountain? 
 Captain Bettington told me that he had frequently been 
 in that part of the country with quite a few men, and 
 that safety lay in proper precautions rather than in the 
 size of the escort. So I agreed to go on. The Prince 
 and Captain Carey were both sketching, and Captain 
 Bettington took immediate command, under me, of the 
 mounted men. 
 
 Our order of march was as follows : Bettington 
 leading ; in front and on the flanks, guided by their 
 leader's hand, Bettington's troopers ; close behind, taking 
 notes of the ground as we went along, the Prince 
 Imperial ; then myself ; and behind me Carey and the 
 Basutos. Our direction was south-east, and our object to 
 find a way up to the top of the Ingutu Ridge. 
 
 When ascending a very steep path, up which our 
 horses could hardly scramble, some Zulus lined the rocks 
 at the top and opened fire. The Prince dismounted and 
 drew his sword ; Bettington pressed on in front, his men 
 firing as they went ; and I waved my helmet to urge on 
 the Basutos. Two of the latter galloped up at once, and 
 joined us in the attack, but the rest hung back a little 
 and did not come up until we had won our way to the 
 top. The Zulus began their usual tactics of trying to 
 surround us, but the side of the hill, except on the path, 
 
168 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 was too steep even for them. Moreover, I think they 
 were surprised by our rapid attack, and did not know 
 what our strength was. Anyhow, they gave way in the 
 centre as we mounted the path, and then the Basutos 
 came up and completed their discomfiture. 
 
 At the top we found a large kraal, and in it some 
 saddles and other stores taken at Isandlwana. After a 
 short halt there we continued our march. I had started 
 slightly ahead of the escort, when I saw three men in red 
 coats advancing towards me. They were coming along 
 in a leisurely manner, evidently returning to the kraal in 
 ignorance of the skirmish that had taken place there, and 
 thinking that it was still occupied by their own people. 
 Their only arms, as far as I could see, were assegais. 
 
 Not realising at first who they were, whether Natal 
 Kaffirs in British service or followers of Ketchwayo, 
 I approached nearer to them, at the same time changing 
 direction slightly to the right in order to avoid being 
 caught on the path they were using, which ran along the 
 edge of the steep northern slopes of the Ingutu Ridge. 
 At that moment I heard a shout behind me, and saw 
 Bettington, the commander of my escort, coming along 
 the path at a gallop, with his revolver in his hand. Clearly 
 he did not want any nearer approach to show him who 
 my three friends were, and, riding past me, he shot one 
 of them, while the other two jumped into the bush on the 
 mountain side and disappeared. When the war was over 
 I was asked to verify this little incident ; and, in con- 
 nection with other service, it obtained for Captain 
 Bettington the honour of a decoration. Later on we 
 came upon some horses grazing and captured some of 
 them. 
 
 We then went on again along the ridge, descending 
 into the valley of the Nondweni, and reconnoitring up to 
 the slopes of Alarm Hill, near which ran the wagon track 
 
RECONNAISSANCES 169 
 
 from Borke's Drift to Ulundi. It seemed to me that we 
 had found the road we wanted for the 2nd Division ; the 
 ' going ' on the top of the Ingutu Hills was good and 
 easily protected, and the only difficulty along the route 
 was the descent to the valley at the eastern end. 
 
 Having done what we started to accomplish, we 
 retired. Towards evening we found some wood in a 
 kraal, and were able to cook. Then, leaving our fires 
 alight, we went on again. Some Zulus followed us, and 
 when they came to one of our fires they danced round it, 
 making the most hideous noise. So we did not think it 
 safe to stay long anywhere, but worked our way by stars 
 and compass throughout the night, and early the next 
 morning reached Conference Hill. Even then our 
 troubles were not quite over. We knew that it was the 
 custom of British troops in South Africa, at that time, to 
 turn out before daybreak, and man the defences around 
 the laager that they had occupied during the night, as 
 a precaution against possible attacks at dawn of day. 
 
 We were aware also that many of the troops were 
 young and inexperienced, and did not always await their 
 officers' orders to fire. So we approached the laager at 
 Conference Hill with caution. It was well we did so. 
 The men were lining the trench that had been dug around 
 the encampment, and we could hear their colonel talking 
 to them : * Now, boys, be ready when I give the word 
 to fire, fire low I see them coming look out, boys 
 remember to fire low ' ; and so on, until, by signals, 
 without showing our bodies, we convinced the gallant 
 defenders of the post that we were not Zulus, but only 
 hungry and tired comrades anxious to obtain food and 
 rest. 
 
 The same afternoon the Prince and I rode back to 
 Headquarters at Utrecht, leaving our companions at 
 Conference: Hill. 
 
170 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Since we left a week ago we must have ridden over 
 200 miles. During the last thirty-six hours we were 
 twenty-five in the saddle, but the Prince enjoyed it all 
 immensely, and, besides making a very good report, 1 
 which I forwarded to Lord Chelmsford, he wrote a long 
 account to the Empress of the French in England of all 
 he had seen and done. 
 
 At our bivouacs, and elsewhere, we frequently dis- 
 cussed military and other matters, and I had to reply to 
 his many questions about what was the organisation of 
 this and that in the English Army by telling him that 
 the word with us was hardly understood the usual 
 custom being for our generals to make such arrangements, 
 in the field, as they thought most likely to meet the 
 circumstances of the time. Then he took great interest 
 in hearing from Captain Bettington how he had spent his 
 early life in New Zealand, driving cattle, assisting as a 
 dispenser, keeping a livery stable, and for a time even 
 acting as ' boots ' at an hotel, until he found himself in 
 Natal at the time of the Zulu War, and obtained the com- 
 mand of the irregular mounted corps that bore his name. 
 
 Arrived at Utrecht, I reported to the General com- 
 manding the result of our reconnaissances, soon after 
 which Buller came in, and said that he had gone to what 
 he thought was the rendezvous where I was to meet him, 
 and, not finding us there, had reconnoitred on his own 
 account. His recommendations in regard to the route for 
 the 2nd Division differed from mine, and as he had had 
 considerable experience in the country, and I had had 
 none, the General naturally inclined to his. 
 
 At this time the Cavalry Brigade, under General 
 Marshall, made a reconnaissance on a large scale into 
 Zululand ; but they did not go much beyond the battle- 
 
 1 A facsimile of this report, given to me by the Empress, is printed as an 
 appendix to this book. 
 
DEATH OF THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 171 
 
 field of Isandlwana, and their reports threw no light on 
 the best line of advance for the columns. So it was 
 settled that the 2nd Division was to enter the country by 
 way of Koppie Allein, and to follow generally the route 
 taken by Wood's column, each force being complete in all 
 arms and forming its own laager for the night bivouac. 
 Headquarters were to accompany the 2nd Division. The 
 general line of advance being settled, it became necessary 
 to make detailed reconnaissances, and road sketches, for 
 the convenience of the troops. To carry out this I had 
 at my disposal Captain Carey, who worked from Con- 
 ference Hill, and the Prince Imperial, who was to remain 
 at Headquarters, but was to be held available to carry out 
 such Quartermaster-General's work as from time to time 
 I might entrust to him. By direction of Lord Chelmsford 
 I gave the Prince written instructions that he was never 
 to leave the immediate precincts of the camp without a 
 proper escort. His ordinary work was to sketch the 
 camps occupied by Headquarters, and the roads they 
 traversed when on the march. 
 
 The latter part of May was spent in carrying out the 
 details connected with the organisation of the forces for 
 the combined march, in collecting supplies, and in train- 
 ing the troops of all arms for the anticipated fighting. 
 Wood's column was moving steadily southward, and on 
 May 28 the 2nd Division and Army Headquarters moved 
 to Koppie Allein. 
 
 On June 1 the 2nd Division made its first march into 
 Zululand, and the same afternoon one of the most un- 
 happy events in this or any war took place the death of 
 the gallant young Prince, who had come out to share 
 with his comrades of the English Army the risks and 
 dangers of war. 
 
 The evening before, he came to me and asked that he 
 might extend his sketch beyond the camp to be occupied 
 
172 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the next day, and make a reconnaissance of the road to be 
 traversed the day following. I saw no objection to this, 
 provided he took with him the usual escort. Many of us 
 had been over the ground, and we knew there was no 
 ' impi ' in the neighbourhood. Moreover, I thought that 
 the cavalry which accompanied the division, w r ould be ex- 
 tended over the country far in advance of the camp, so I 
 gave permission. Shortly afterwards Captain Carey came 
 to my tent, and asked that he might go with the Prince's 
 party, as he wished to verify his sketch of the country, 
 and I said ' yes,' and added that he could look after the 
 Prince, and see that he did not get into any trouble. 
 
 On the morning of the 1st I was told that Carey and 
 the Prince were ready to go, but that the escort had not 
 turned up. So I walked over to see the General of 
 Cavalry, and he sent his brigade-major to make the 
 necessary arrangements. I then took in hand my own 
 work for the day. I rode ahead with the Staff officer of 
 the division, and showed him the site for their camp on 
 the ridge between the Incenci and the Itelezi Hills. I 
 then went to see to the watering arrangements. While 
 so engaged I came across Carey and the Prince, and found 
 that they had with them the European part of their 
 escort, a detachment of Bettington's Horse, but none of 
 the Basutos, whom I had specially ordered to be detailed, 
 because they have a much keener sense of sight and hear- 
 ing than Europeans, and consequently make better scouts. 
 They told me that they were to get their Basutos from 
 the regiment that was out scouting in front of the camp, 
 and I enjoined them not to go forward without them. 
 Returning to camp, I accompanied Lord Chelmsford 
 round the laager, and then went to my tent and drafted 
 the orders for the next day's march. 
 
 About six o'clock in the evening Captain Carey came 
 to see me, and reported that the reconnoitring party he 
 
DEATH OF THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 173 
 
 was with had off-saddled the other side of the Ityotyozi 
 River, and had been surrounded by Zulus, and that the 
 Prince, two of the white men, and the interpreter were 
 missing, as well as five horses. I said : ' You don't mean 
 to say you left the Prince ? ' 
 
 And he replied : * It was no use stopping ; he was shot 
 by the first volley.' And I said: 'You ought to have 
 tried, at all events, to bring away his body.' 
 
 Much overcome by what I said to him, he told me, as 
 far as he could remember, the story of what had happened, 
 accepting full responsibility for what had taken place. 
 Immediately afterwards I went to see Lord Chelmsford, 
 and asked him to allow me to go out at once and look for 
 the Prince. After what Carey had said I hardly expected 
 to find him alive, but anyhow I thought I might bring 
 home his body. The Chief, however, would not let me 
 go ; all he said was, ' I don't want to lose you too.' 
 
 Later on it was settled that the cavalry were to go 
 out at daybreak and search the spot where the fight had 
 taken place ; and reports were called for from Carey, 
 Bettington's men, and myself. 
 
 The story as it evolved itself was briefly as follows : 
 
 When Captain Carey and the Prince left me on the 
 Itelezi Hill, they did not, as I had instructed them, look 
 for the Basuto escort, but went on without them. The 
 party consisted of these two officers, six troopers of 
 Bettington's Horse, and a native interpreter (told off by 
 the Chief of the Intelligence Department). The Prince 
 did not, as usual, take his servant with him on this 
 occasion, and Captain Bettington did not accompany his 
 men. If either of these had gone, matters might have 
 been different. 
 
 1 About half-past twelve they reached a flat-topped 
 
 1 This paragraph and the four following ones are taken from the 
 published official account of the War. 
 
174 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 hill, on the summit of which they dismounted while the 
 Prince made a rough sketch of the surrounding country. 
 After spending an hour on this hill they moved along the 
 ridge between the Tombokala and Ityotyozi Rivers, and 
 about 2.30 P.M. descended from the high ground towards 
 a kraal some 200 yards from the latter stream. This kraal 
 was of an ordinary type, and consisted of a circular stone 
 enclosure outside of which there were five huts. The huts 
 were unoccupied, but some dogs were prowling about, and 
 fresh remains of food could be seen, and it was evident 
 that the inhabitants had only recently gone away. The 
 ground near the kraal was covered with coarse grass and 
 Indian corn, growing to a height of five or six feet, and 
 surrounding the huts on all sides except the north and 
 north-east. Here the ground was open for about 200 
 yards, but at that distance from the kraal there was a 
 donga or dry watercourse, some six or eight feet deep, by 
 which, in the rainy season, the storm waters found their 
 way into the Ityotyozi. On arriving at the kraal, at about 
 3 P.M., the Prince ordered the escort to off-saddle and 
 knee-halter the horses for grazing. This was done, and 
 the men made coffee and rested until nearly four, when 
 the native guide reported that he had seen a Zulu come 
 over the hill. The horses were at once caught and 
 saddled, and the men prepared to mount. The Prince 
 gave the word to ' mount/ and as the word was uttered a 
 volley was fired at the party by a number of Zulus who 
 had crept unobserved through the long grass to within 
 fifteen yards of the huts. Though no one was hit by this 
 volley, the surprise was complete, and the troopers, not 
 yet settled in their saddles, could hardly control their 
 horses, which, terrified by the shots and the yells of the 
 Zulus, bore them across the open ground towards the 
 donga. The Prince himself was in the act of mounting 
 when the volley was fired, but his charger becoming 
 
FINDING THE PRINCE'S BODY 175 
 
 restive he appears to have failed to get into the saddle, 
 and to have run alongside the animal, which followed the 
 horses of the escort. The Prince, who was extremely 
 active, now endeavoured to vault on to his horse while in 
 rapid motion, but his efforts seem to have been foiled by 
 the tearing of the wallet which he had seized, and on this 
 giving way he fell to the ground, and his horse broke 
 away from him. 
 
 As the escort were galloping away from the kraal the 
 Zulus kept up a fire by which one trooper was hit in the 
 back and fell. The native guide and another trooper, 
 who had not mounted with the rest, were left behind at 
 the kraal, and neither was again seen alive. The 
 remainder of the party, consisting of Captain Carey and 
 four troopers, crossing the donga at different points, 
 galloped on for several hundred yards. Captain Carey, 
 after crossing the donga, was joined by the rest, and 
 learnt that the Prince was not with them, and that he 
 had been last seen between the kraal and the donga, dis- 
 mounted and pursued by the Zulus. 
 
 Many of the enemy being now on the ground, and the 
 Prince's horse being seen galloping riderless at some 
 little distance, Captain Carey came to the conclusion that 
 the Prince must have fallen and that it would be useless 
 for the few survivors to return. The party accordingly 
 proceeded in haste to bear the news to the camp of the 
 2nd Division. 
 
 The next morning, early, General Marshall, with a 
 cavalry escort, went to the kraal where the reconnoitring 
 party had been surprised. The dead bodies of the two 
 troopers were first found one in the donga and the other 
 between it and the kraal ; and soon afterwards the body 
 of the Prince was found in the donga, where he had made 
 his way on foot. Being overtaken there, he had evidently 
 turned on his pursuers, but after emptying his pistol his 
 
176 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 sword had been of little use against the assegais of the 
 enemy, and he had fallen where he stood. 
 
 The body, which bore sixteen wounds, all in front, 
 was placed on a bier formed of lances and a blanket, and 
 was carried to an ambulance, on which it was conveyed 
 to the Itelezi Hill Camp. There it was received with all 
 honour, and a service read at a parade of the whole 
 division. Then it was despatched by way of Landman's 
 Drift and Dundee to Pietermaritzburg and Durban, and 
 from thence conveyed in H.M.S. Orontes to England, 
 and laid to rest in the mortuary chapel at Chislehurst, 
 from which place it was eventually transferred to Farn- 
 borough. 
 
 A few words on the events that followed the death of 
 the young Prince, and my connection therewith, and 
 then I will return to the march of the columns on 
 Ulundi. 
 
 The reports furnished by those who were associated 
 with the Prince Imperial, or who accompanied him on his 
 last fatal ride, led to a court of inquiry, and the court of 
 inquiry led to a court-martial on Captain Carey. While 
 this was in progress war correspondents and others wrote 
 many letters to the papers, and the people in England 
 took much interest in the matter. It was so sad a thing 
 that a gallant young prince, whose mother lived in 
 England, who had been educated in an English military 
 school, and who had gone out to South Africa to take 
 part in the war that was being carried out there by the 
 land of his adoption, should not only have been killed in 
 a reconnaissance, but have been left behind among the 
 enemy, when some of his comrades galloped off and 
 escaped! Questions innumerable were discussed: Why 
 was he employed on a reconnaissance at all? Why was 
 not the escort larger? Why was it not composed of 
 regular cavalry ? What was Captain Carey's business in 
 
CAPTAIN CAREY COURT-MARTIALED 177 
 
 the matter? &c., &c., and, without waiting for the report 
 of the court of inquiry, or the court-martial, many drew 
 their own conclusions and added to the correspondence. 
 
 Among soldiers in South Africa the whole blame for 
 the disaster rested on Captain Carey. In England, at 
 first, it was the same ; but when Carey's friends joined 
 in the correspondence, some of the Press took up the 
 line that he was being made a scapegoat of, and, in order 
 to foster this idea, it was necessary to suggest that there 
 were others who were not blameless. I was attacked 
 because there had been a mistake in regard to the escort, 
 and because the duties of the Prince when he went out 
 were not defined with greater clearness. Naturally I saw 
 nothing of these Press criticisms until long afterwards, 
 and, even then, I did not think it my duty to answer 
 them; and so blame rested on me until I returned to 
 England. 
 
 I have already said that the court of inquiry led to 
 a court-martial to try Captain Carey. The charge pre- 
 ferred against him by the Adjutant-General in South 
 Africa was to the effect that he had shown cowardice 
 in the face of the enemy when in command of an 
 escort. 
 
 Naturally Carey did all he could to refute the charge, 
 directing his attention particularly to that part of it 
 which combined the alleged act of cowardice with the 
 fact that he was in command of the party. He was 
 assisted in his defence by an able officer detailed for the 
 purpose, and no one connected with the court-martial 
 thought it necessary to take exception to the statements 
 made in his defence, even though, in trying to save 
 himself, he threw blame on others. 
 
 When the court-martial had completed their work, 
 the proceedings were sent to the Horse Guards for the 
 decision of the Commander-in-Chief. On August 16 an 
 
 N 
 
178 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 official letter was written to the General commanding in 
 South Africa, stating that the charge against Captain 
 Carey was not sustained by the evidence, and that he was 
 to be released from arrest, and sent to do duty with his 
 regiment. 
 
 This letter was sent to me when I was commanding 
 the troops in the Transvaal, and as it contained some 
 observations on my conduct, evidently based on state- 
 ments made by Captain Carey and others at the court- 
 martial, I replied in full, giving my own version of the 
 occurrence. 
 
 The answer to my protest was to the effect that the 
 matter should now be allowed to rest. So I tried to 
 forget the circumstance, and turned with all the zeal in 
 my power to the work that I had to do in the Transvaal. 
 When that work was over, I was offered a renewal of my 
 appointment by the High Commissioner. At the same 
 time he said that, as he anticipated that I should only 
 have ordinary routine peace work to carry out, and no 
 opportunity for active service, he would advise me not to 
 take it, but to go home. I acted on his advice and 
 returned to England. Not long afterwards I was given 
 one of the best appointments open to a young officer in 
 England that of Assistant Quartermaster-General at 
 Aldershot. 
 
 I will now return to the campaign in Zululand. 
 
 We left Newdigate's Division on June 2 encamped 
 between the Incenci and Itelezi Hills. Wood's column 
 on the same day reached a position near the junction of 
 the Tombokala and Ityotyozi Eivers. Henceforward the 
 movements of the two forces were regulated by orders 
 from Headquarters. 
 
 It was anticipated that an attack might be made by 
 the Zulus on the marching columns by day, or against 
 the encampments by night ; and so all the troops were 
 
ADVANCE INTO ZULULAND 179 
 
 drilled to take up defensive positions round the baggage 
 wagons by day, or to man the laagers by night. 
 
 The system of the advance was as follows : First 
 thing in the morning the cavalry of each column left the 
 camp of the previous night, and, passing through the 
 infantry outposts, spread out over the country so as to 
 protect the other troops. As soon as a report was 
 received from the commanding officer of cavalry that all 
 was safe, the infantry outposts were withdrawn. The 
 marching columns were then formed, and the march 
 began. Later on Staff officers were sent forward to select 
 the bivouacs for that evening, and, when the troops 
 arrived there, the wagons were formed into a laager, 
 trenches were made, if thought necessary, the troops 
 encamped round the wagons, outposts were thrown out, 
 and animals were sent to feed and water. The cavalry 
 then came in. 
 
 In case of alarm at night the troops pulled down their 
 tent poles and ran to their stations in the trench around 
 the wagons, or, in case there was no trench, to those on 
 the wagons themselves. 
 
 Naturally it took time to teach the men how to make 
 these arrangements quickly and easily, especially as many 
 of those in the ranks were exceptionally young and inex- 
 perienced. But careful training and constant practice 
 for the first few days worked wonders. 
 
 While, however, the men and officers were learning 
 their duties, the progress made towards Ulundi was far 
 from satisfactory. The route taken was found more 
 difficult than was expected. The ' impedimenta ' of the 
 columns were greater than necessary. The English 
 horses had not yet learned to feed on the grass, and their 
 officers demanded for them full rations ; fuel had to be 
 supplied to the troops for cooking purposes ; and, finally, a 
 reconnaissance in force, undertaken by the General of 
 
 K 2 
 
180 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Cavalry, showed that the regular trooper fresh from 
 England was of no use against the Zulus in rough and 
 bushy country. 
 
 Three days' experience of the organisation under 
 which we had commenced the campaign convinced Lord 
 Chelmsford of the truth of what I had been putting 
 forward to him by word of mouth and in writing for some 
 time past, viz. that unless we reduced very materially 
 the size of our marching columns, and established posts 
 on the line of communications, we should never get to 
 Ulundi. 
 
 On June 5th, having found some wood on the Zunguin 
 Range sufficiently good for cooking-purposes, a change in 
 the plan for the advance was approved by the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. The 2nd Division were to cut and pile 
 wood, while a portion of the flying column, with all spare 
 wagons, was to go back to Landman's Drift and Confer- 
 ence Hill, and bring to the front as much food as they 
 could carry. 
 
 At the same time orders were issued about horses 
 grazing, and the horse ration was diminished. Moreover, 
 posts were established at certain points, and provided 
 with garrisons, which included a portion of mounted men 
 to enable them to scout the neighbouring country, and 
 render the transmission of convoys possible. 
 
 By these means the forces were able to start again on 
 the 17th inst., and to march without any further delay 
 to Ulundi. 
 
 From the time when the advance began a permanent 
 escort had been detailed for me, so that I could go from 
 column to column, or visit the cavalry outposts, and thus 
 keep the Conimander-in-Chief acquainted with all that 
 was going on. 
 
 The columns starting from the vicinity of the Upoko 
 Kiver on June 18th, 1879, were: Brigadier-General 
 
ADVANCE INTO ZULULAND 181 
 
 Wood's, comprising three battalions of British Infantry, 
 two batteries of Artillery, one company of Engineers, and 
 some Irregular Horse under Colonel Buller ; and Major- 
 General Newdigate's, with four battalions of Infantry, 
 two batteries of Artillery, one company of Engineers, 
 besides two squadrons of the 17th Lancers, and a few 
 Irregular Horse under Colonel Drury Lowe. 
 
 Wood's column led, as it had done from the com- 
 mencement ; but orders for the operations were issued 
 from Headquarters, which accompanied Newdigate's force. 
 Some instructions were issued for the posts on the line 
 of communications, and also for Major-General Marshall, 
 who, with the larger part of the Cavalry Brigade, was put 
 in charge of the general defence of the country, and the 
 line of communications of the advancing columns. 
 
 On the 18th I accompanied Buller on a reconnaissance 
 to within a mile or two of the Umlatoosi Kiver. We 
 saw a few Zulu scouts on the hills, burning grass. 
 
 Comparatively speaking, short marches were made by 
 both columns on the 18th, 19th, and 20th. The inex- 
 perience of the troops, officers and men, to which I have 
 already alluded, was very evident, especially in the 2nd 
 Division. I find a remark in my journal to the effect that 
 '1 used to take far more pains about the march-out of 
 the pontoon troop that I commanded at Aldershot than is 
 shown here by the Staff in arranging for the march of a 
 division in an unknown country, with such an active 
 enemy as the Zulu in our front. The whole Army 
 requires instruction in the art of war.' 
 
 But Lord Chelmsford was indefatigable in his en- 
 deavours to put things straight, and established some 
 system in the business. 
 
 On June 21 I made the usual arrangements for the 
 marches, and selected a site for the new fort on the line of 
 communications. In the afternoon I took a few Koyal 
 
182 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Engineers out to blow up rocks on the road. The next 
 day I rode out reconnoitring with some of Buller's cavalry, 
 and we had a good view of Ulundi. The Quartermaster- 
 General's work was nearly complete that is to say, the 
 troops had been brought safe and sound to within sight of 
 the enemy, and it only remained to issue the orders for 
 the battle, which, as a rule, is the business of the 
 Adjutant-General's branch. At this juncture Major East 
 arrived at our camp, and took charge of the Quarter- 
 master-General's duties. At the special request of Lord 
 Chelmsford I remained as his assistant; but it was not 
 the same thing. Whenever I reconnoitred I could not go 
 straight to the General Commanding, as I had done 
 hitherto, and tell him what I had seen, and settle at once 
 any required action. I had to report through my new 
 chief. Moreover, not being the head of a department, 
 I no longer attended at Staff conferences, and conse- 
 quently did not always know what was going on. Nearly 
 the last thing I did, while I was still in charge, was to 
 send a special messenger to General Crealock, who com- 
 manded the 1st Division in the south of Zululand, 
 directing him what action to take in concert with the 
 northern columns. 
 
 As Assistant Quartermaster-General I continued to 
 carry out the daily reconnaissances in front of the 
 columns, usually in company with Buller, who com- 
 manded the mounted troops of the leading column. East 
 came part of the way with us on June 24, along what 
 was known as the Jackal Ridge. The next two days 
 there were some skirmishes with the Zulus, and one or 
 two military kraals were burned. 
 
 On the 27th both columns reached the end of the 
 Entonjaneni Eange, from whence we looked down over 
 the bush country to the valley of the White Umvolosi 
 River, on the left bank of which lies Ulundi. 
 
BEFOKE ULUNDI 183 
 
 Here we made a fortified laager, and left all weak men 
 as well as a large number of wagons and oxen, and about 
 one hundred effective horsemen; and, with the balance 
 of the force, lightly equipped, without tents, but with 
 ten days' food, and a good reserve of ammunition, we 
 marched down from the high ground to come to close 
 quarters with the Zulu king. Some oxen and tusks had 
 been sent out from Ulundi as a peace offering, to try and 
 detain us ; but Lord Chelmsf ord would not stop unless all 
 the conditions laid down when we crossed the frontier 
 were fulfilled to the letter. 
 
 While we were forming the laager, alarming but 
 quite unnecessary reports were circulated about an * impi ' 
 being near at hand. Those of us who had been con- 
 stantly with the mounted troops in touch with the Zulus, 
 and had learned something of their manners and customs, 
 knew better. The alarms were started by officers pro- 
 vided with telescopes, who mistook the meaning of the 
 drills and ' doctoring ' going on in Ulundi. 
 
 On June 20 the two columns, each with one hundred 
 wagons, left the Entonjaneni camp at 9 A.M. More 
 reports were received of possible ' impi ' attacks, and the 
 oxen were hurried along as quickly as possible, and laager 
 formed by 1 P.M. More messengers came from the Zulu 
 king, bringing the Prince Imperial's sword, but our 
 chief would no longer delay the advance. At this time it 
 was quite warm in the plain, compared to what we had 
 experienced on the hillsides during our advance. 
 
 On July 1 we started again at 7 A.M., Wood's column, 
 as usual, in front. I went ahead to choose camping- 
 ground, or ground to fight on, if fighting became 
 necessary. I arrived at a koppie near the drift across the 
 Umvolosi at 10.40, and from there watched the Zulu 
 Army manoeuvring in and around Ulundi. 
 
 Every now and then it looked as if they were coming 
 
184 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 against us, especially about 11.40 ; but those who knew 
 their habits felt pretty sure that these demonstrations did 
 not mean an attack, so I proceeded to choose the camp- 
 ing-ground for the two columns close together, about 
 three-quarters of a mile from the drift, and directed the 
 Staff officers on them. But before the flying column had 
 completed its laager, and while the 2nd Division wagons 
 were on the road, an order came to me from Lord 
 Chelmsford to complete the laagers in half an hour, ' as 
 the Zulus were advancing rapidly towards us, and were 
 then only three miles off.' I knew that both the laagers 
 could not be formed at the place I had chosen under two 
 to three hours, and so I ordered the 2nd Division wagons 
 to park on a hill which I remembered about a mile back. 
 This was done, and the troops formed round them, and 
 set to work with a will to dig the usual defence trenches, 
 so that by the time given both columns were ready for 
 the attack. The Zulus, however, halted near us and did 
 not come on. The laagers were then finished with more 
 or less regularity. 
 
 That evening we received messages from Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley that he had arrived in Natal, and was going to 
 join General Crealock's column, and from Crealock that 
 he was ' burning kraals.' 
 
 About 12 o'clock at night there was a scare in both 
 laagers. One of the sentries on outpost duty over the 
 2nd Division fired at an officer who had not answered his 
 challenge, and this so alarmed the native troops that 
 they rushed helter-skelter into the laager. I shall not 
 easily forget the occurrence. I was lying down with my 
 great coat on, under one of the wagons, my head sheltered 
 in my saddle, as was the usual custom in South Africa, 
 when I was awakened from my first sleep by the noise of 
 the rush, and saw a naked Zulu dripping with blood, his 
 assegai in his hand, standing over me. In my waking 
 
BEFORE ULUNDI 185 
 
 moments the truth flashed upon me, that my visitor was 
 one of the Natal Zulus fighting on our side, who had been 
 frightened by the outpost fire, and had dashed through 
 the thorny abattis, which accounted for his appearance. 
 But others did not come so quickly to the same con- 
 clusion, and there was a considerable stampede, that it 
 took some time to settle. Among others, the officer who 
 was bivouacking next to me disappeared with my sword, 
 and I did not find it until the next day. Directly I got 
 up I went to where I knew Lord Chelmsford was lying, 
 and I found him just starting round the laager, and so I 
 accompanied him. We were pleased to find the regulars 
 all at their alarm-posts and everything ready for a real 
 attack if one had taken place. 
 
 The next day the laagers were rearranged, and a small 
 stone fort commenced. It was the intention again to 
 divide the force, leaving in the fort and laagers all 
 transport and all troops not actually required, and to 
 march against Ulundi with only effective rifles and the 
 pick of our mounted men. A few shots were fired by the 
 Zulus at our men bathing in the river, but, notwith- 
 standing this attention, I could not refrain from going to 
 have a dip too. 
 
 On July 3, Buller, with all his mounted men, made an 
 armed reconnaissance, with a view to choosing a good 
 position for the morrow's battle. 
 
 There was a great row that afternoon, and nearly all 
 that night, among the Zulu kraals. We heard that it 
 was caused by the arrival of Dabulamanzi and his army, 
 who had come from his position in front of Crealock's 
 Division to help his royal brother. 
 
 The orders for the battle detailed the troops to defend 
 the laager under Colonel Bellairs, the Adjutant-General, 
 and also those to advance against the kraals. The latter 
 numbered some 3000 rifles and 900 cavalry. 
 
186 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 At about 6.30 A.M. on July 4 our advanced guard of 
 mounted infantry crossed the drift over the river. Mean- 
 while the cavalry under Buller had crossed lower down, 
 and turned the hill that fronted our advance. Our 
 column, which was composed partly of the flying column, 
 and partly of the 2nd Division, was so organised that it 
 could at any moment be formed into a hollow square, the 
 sides being British Infantry, guns at the angles, and 
 inside all the native troops, and mounted officers, and 
 hospitals, &c. There was room also for the cavalry 
 inside the square, and they came there as soon as they 
 had finished their first work of drawing on the enemy. 
 
 At about 8 A.M. the combined column arrived at the 
 first ridge, and we saw the Zulus collecting, viz. about 
 six companies to the west and twelve companies to the 
 north, some 1500 yards off; also a large number to east- 
 ward near Ulundi. 
 
 We passed the Nondwengo kraal, and arrived on the 
 ridge l chosen the day before by Colonel Buller as the 
 site for the battle, and here we at once formed our 
 square. 
 
 The Zulus seemed to spring out of the ground and 
 advanced against us from all sides. They were at first 
 met by the cavalry, which, retiring before superior 
 numbers, took refuge, as arranged, inside the square. 
 The fight began at nine. In twenty minutes to half an 
 hour the fire was pretty hot ; a mounted officer on my 
 left had his horse wounded; the animal was in great 
 agony, and the rider, who could not steady his hand 
 sufficiently to shoot his favourite, asked me to perform 
 the merciful act of putting the horse out of its misery. 
 So I dismounted and did as he requested. At 9.30, the 
 Zulus appearing to waver, the men cheered ; at 9.40 they 
 
 1 Curiously enough this was also the position which the Zulu king had 
 chosen for his attack on us. 
 
MY ZULU BOY. 
 
BATTLE OF ULUNDI 187 
 
 began to retire, and the cavalry were let out of the square 
 to attack them. 
 
 Prisoners told us that the whole Zulu army were 
 present, numbering some 25,000 men, and that the king 
 watched the fight from a hill. 
 
 After the battle I rode up to the king's kraal, which, 
 like the others, was simply a large barrack, with an 
 apartment at the end ; I got from there two wooden 
 milk jugs and some assegais and shields. At about two, 
 after the wounded had been attended to, the force started 
 to return to camp. My horse had been grazed by a 
 bullet, and my servant Burdett's gaiter was grazed too. 
 
 Among the killed was the Hon. J. Drummond, chief 
 intelligence officer ; and the same evening his Zulu 
 scout, by name ' Melinder,' came and attached himself to 
 me, and would not leave me until the war was completely 
 over and I started for England. 
 
 By the action of Ulundi the Zulu military power was 
 completely broken, and a conviction was brought home 
 to the fighting men whom Ketchwayo had assembled 
 there that their superiority in numbers was of no avail 
 against the weapons and discipline of British troops, even 
 on the open ground where there were no entrenchments. 
 
 The news of Lord Chelmsford's victory reached Sir 
 Garnet Wolseley on his way to Port Durnford, where he 
 had intended to join the 1st (Crealock's) Division. This 
 led to various changes in the disposal of the troops 
 throughout the seat of war, but, pending the receipt of 
 fresh instructions, Lord Chelmsford acted on those 
 previously received ; thus the Flying Column was ordered 
 to march to Kwamagwasa, and the 2nd Division to return 
 to Koppie Allein. The Staff accompanied the Flying 
 Column, and we arrived at our destination on July 11, 
 having suffered a good deal from wet and cold while 
 marching along the high ground. 
 
188 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 At Kwamagwasa, which was an old mission station, 
 we commenced the construction of a fortified post, and 
 then we continued our march to another mission station 
 called St. Paul's, from whence there was a lovely view 
 over the thorn bushes that abound in the valley of the 
 Umlatoosi as far as the mouth of the river and the sea. 
 Here we met Sir Garnet Wolseley and his Staff. On the 
 16th he inspected the Flying Column, which had been 
 brought to a very efficient condition under the command 
 of Colonel Evelyn Wood. 
 
 That evening Sir Garnet told me that he had ap- 
 pointed me to the command of the Flying Column 
 in place of Wood, who was going to England on sick 
 certificate. 
 
 The next day our new Chief, who was also High 
 Commissioner, went off to a conference of Zulu chiefs at 
 Amangwene kraal, while Lord Chelmsford with his 
 personal Staff 1 rode off by way of Ekowe to Durban, to 
 go home by the next mail. I rode with them to say 
 good-bye, and was very sorry to part with my old Chief, 
 who was as kind and nice as ever. 
 
 It rained more or less all day and continued raining 
 hard all night. On return I shifted my things to the 
 Headquarter camp of the Flying Column, and took over 
 my new command. 
 
 On July 18, E. Wood, Buller, and Moysey went away, 
 accompanied by Basutos, who were going back to their 
 homes in Basutoland. As I had done the day before, I 
 rode part of the way with these three officers with whom 
 I had been so closely connected throughout the campaign. 
 On leaving them Buller was kind enough to express his 
 satisfaction at the way in which we had worked together, 
 
 1 Lieut.-Colonel J. N. Crealock, 95th Regiment; Captain Molynenx, 
 22nd Regiment ; Lieut. Frere, Rifle Brigade ; Lieut Milne, R.N. ; Captain 
 E. Buller, Rifle Brigade ; Surgeon-Major Scott. 
 
SIR GARNET WOLSELEY 189 
 
 saying : ' I shall be glad to serve under you again.' 
 To which I replied : ' It will be the other way next 
 time.' 
 
 My Staff with the column consisted of Major Clery, 
 Captain Woodgate, and Captain Prior. The latter was 
 my orderly officer. 1 
 
 My command was not of long duration ; for when Sir 
 Garnet had sent home all the Generals except Clifford, he 
 divided the forces as follows : Two columns, one under 
 Lieut.-Colonel Baker Kussell, and one under Lieut.- 
 Colonel M. Clarke, to occupy Zululand and capture the 
 King Ketch way o ; a force under me to hold the Transvaal 
 and reconnoitre Sekukuni's stronghold ; and the rest 
 under Major-General the Hon. A. H. Clifford, with head- 
 quarters at Pietermaritzburg. 
 
 Previously to taking up my new command I was to 
 assist in the organisation of the columns in Zululand, 
 and establish certain posts on the lines of communication. 
 In carrying out these duties I was again impressed by the 
 want of war training in our Army. In many cases the 
 marches were without order, the camps without protec- 
 tion. 
 
 On August 2, accompanied by Captain Prior and with 
 a small party of servants and transport, I left St. Paul's. 
 
 1 Major J. E. H. Prior was a brave and capable officer. When with his 
 Regiment (the 80th) at Luneberg he heard that some mounted Zulus were 
 in the vicinity of the camp. Attended only by his soldier servant he went 
 out on horseback to find them, and pursuing them for some miles, came up 
 with them and commenced a rifle duel, his servant holding his horse while 
 he dismounted and fired. The Zulus returned the fire. Eventually he 
 killed two, and the rest got away. The next day it was discovered that 
 tbose he had shot were men of note, one being the celebrated chief, 
 Umbelini. After this adventure Prior became orderly officer to Colonel 
 Redvers Buller, who commanded the mounted troops of Wood's column, 
 and he was mentioned in despatches for gallant conduct. 
 
 On leaving me he rejoined the 80th and eventually commanded the 2nd 
 battalion of that regiment. He was a good steeplechase rider. 
 
190 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 My destination was the new Headquarter camp, which 
 was to be established near Ulundi, and where I was to 
 meet Sir Garnet Wolseley and his Chief of the Staff 
 (Colley), to report what I had done so far, and receive 
 fresh instructions. As soon as we had organised our 
 camp and marching arrangements, we got along very 
 well and comfortably, and we made good marches. 
 Nothing of special interest occurred on the road, and we 
 reached our destination on August 7. 
 
 The next day I had interviews with the Staff and 
 received definite orders to go to the Transvaal. My 
 instructions were to proceed in the first place to Lyden- 
 burg, Fort Weeber, and the posts in the vicinity of 
 Sekukuni's country ; and then to take over the command 
 of the troops in the Transvaal, with headquarters at 
 Pretoria. Sir Garnet favoured me with his personal 
 views of the situation, and his Intelligence Officer 
 (Maurice) gave me all the information he was in 
 possession of. The Chief of the Staff (Colley) then 
 gave me my orders, and on August 10 I set off on 
 my new errand, the adventures of which I will record 
 in the next chapter. 
 
CHAPTEE VII 
 
 THE TEANSVAAL IN 1879 
 
 Appointed Commandant of the Transvaal The Boers Inspection of 
 Sekukuni's country Preparations for the anticipated campaign. 
 
 THE Zulu War was practically over Lord Chelmsford, 
 Evelyn Wood, Buller, and other officers who had not been 
 so much before the public as those named, had gone to 
 England to be made much of and Sir Garnet Wolseley, 
 the new Commander-in-Chief, had redistributed the 
 troops in South Africa as follows : a column, under 
 Lieut.-Colonel Baker Eussell, was to operate in Northern 
 Zululand with orders to capture Ketchwayo, the fugitive 
 King of the Zulus, and pacify the country; another 
 column, under Lieut.-Colonel Mansfield Clarke, was to 
 operate in Southern Zululand ; while I was to proceed to 
 Sekukuni's stronghold, with orders to reconnoitre there 
 and report on the position, and then take command of 
 the troops in the Transvaal. Besides these, Major- 
 General the Hon. H. Clifford was to take charge of all 
 communications and command the troops in Natal. 
 
 On August 10, 1879, at the Headquarter Camp near 
 Ulundi, where the decisive battle against the Zulus had 
 lately been fought, I received my final instructions 
 contained in a memorandum from Sir George Colley, 
 the Chief of the Staff, and a vivd-voce communication 
 from Sir Garnet Wolseley. The former gave me all 
 instructions regarding my approaching journey, while the 
 
192 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 latter explained what was known of the situation of 
 affairs in the Transvaal and expressed the wishes of the 
 Commander-in-Chief. As was natural, on the receipt of 
 these orders I did my utmost to make myself acquainted 
 not only with the present circumstances of the country 
 to which I was going, but also what was the feeling of 
 the inhabitants in regard to English rule. Having 
 previously (though only for a short time) succeeded 
 Colonel Evelyn Wood in the command of the Flying 
 Column, I had had the opportunity of talking to some of 
 the Boers who belonged to that force, and from them I 
 gained a good deal of information. I knew that the South 
 African Boers were the descendants of the early Dutch 
 settlers who had held the whole of the Cape Colonies 
 until their territory was conquered by the English, and 
 formally ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of Paris in 
 1815. I knew that the domination of the English had 
 always been more or less unwelcome to the Dutch inhabi- 
 tants, and that about 1834 the antagonism grew into a 
 strong feeling of disaffection towards the English Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The story of the Boers in South Africa, told very 
 briefly, is as follows : 
 
 From the year 1830 to 1840 large parties of them, in 
 their endeavour to get away from English rule, crossed 
 the Orange River, the northern frontier of the Cape 
 Colony, and established an independent community, which 
 they called the Orange Kiver Republic. In 1845, soon 
 after the settlement of Natal as an English colony, an 
 Act of Parliament was passed in England providing thai 
 the English courts at the Cape should have jurisdictior 
 beyond the Orange Eiver ; and Sir Harry Smith, the 
 Governor, issued a proclamation constituting the territorj 
 beyond the Orange River a British dependency. On this 
 the Boers, who had established the settlement betweer 
 
THE BOERS 193 
 
 the Orange and the Vaal Elvers, aided by those who had 
 gone north of the Vaal, took up arms, under the leader- 
 ship of Andries Pretorius, the conqueror of the Zulu King 
 Dingaan. But after a short campaign they were beaten 
 by the British troops under Sir Harry Smith, in a pitched 
 battle at Boom Plaats. Notwithstanding this victory, 
 however, it was arranged that the British supremacy 
 should not extend further north than the Vaal Kiver, the 
 Boers being permitted to establish an independent State 
 there called the Transvaal Kepublic. This arrangement 
 was ultimately confirmed by a formal treaty concluded in 
 1852, and the Dutch emigrants then proceeded to elect 
 a President and constitute themselves into a State. It 
 seems worth mentioning that, in forming their constitution, 
 they included in it an important declaration which they 
 called the * Fundamental Law,' to the effect that they did 
 not admit equality of persons of colour with white 
 inhabitants, either in State or Church. This was in 
 direct contradiction to the English custom, which had 
 been accepted in Natal, that there should be no distinc- 
 tion of language, colour, origin, or creed under the British 
 Flag. In 1854 the English Government, after some 
 discussion in Parliament, arrived at the conclusion that it 
 would be as well to let the Boers do what they liked, not 
 only across the Vaal, but also over the Orange Eiver. 
 Moreover, they handed over to the young Eepublic there 
 three guns, and all the public offices and furniture. 
 Upon this the Dutch re-established the ' Orange Free State* 
 with a constitution altogether separate from that of the 
 Transvaal ; and, being fortunate in its government, this 
 little State soon became compact and prosperous. It was 
 not the same, however, with its sister State, ' The Trans- 
 vaal Eepublic,' which from the first got into trouble with 
 the natives occupying the border territory. In the year 
 1877 disagreements regarding land boundaries arose 
 
 o 
 
194 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 between the Boers of the Transvaal and the Zulus ; and 
 this brought the Eepublic into collision with Sekukuni, 
 a powerful ally of Ketchwayo, who lived with a large 
 following in a natural fortress near the Lydenburg 
 Settlements, and who was persuaded by the Zulu king to 
 take sides with him against the white colonists. 
 
 When the Boers advanced against Sekukuni's strong- 
 hold they were signally defeated ; and when, added to 
 this defeat, they seemed also to be on the point of being 
 over-run by the Zulus from the South, the English 
 Government as a matter of defence took possession of the 
 country. The ostensible reason given for this step was 
 that a strong majority of inhabitants of the Transvaal 
 desired annexation by the English. To this reason might 
 be added the hope that, by the action thus taken, a 
 widely spread conflict between the white and black races 
 in South Africa would be prevented. But, whatever the 
 reason given or imagined, the fact remains that there was 
 at the time no opposition. The annexation was carried 
 out by Sir Theophilus Shepstone, the English Com- 
 missioner, with a force consisting of twenty-five police. 
 In one particular, however, this somewhat hasty act was 
 attended by a result that was not anticipated. It proved 
 to be more distasteful to Ketchwayo than to the Boers, 
 and probably was the cause of the Zulu war. 
 
 The Zulu war I have dealt with in Chapters V. and VI. 
 It attracted a good deal of attention in England because of 
 the disaster that attended our arms at the first com- 
 mencement of hostilities, when a Zulu 'impi' broke in 
 upon and completely annihilated the British camp at the 
 advanced base of the principal attacking force. This 
 interest was kept up by the departure to the seat of war 
 of large reinforcements, including much extra Staff and 
 many war correspondents. But no sooner did the war 
 show signs of coming to a conclusion, than the bulk of 
 
THE BOERS 195 
 
 the Staff and special correspondents returned home, and 
 the people of England busied their heads no more with 
 the affairs of South Africa. 
 
 The result of this was that little, if anything, has been 
 published describing the events that followed the Zulu 
 war, and what little was written has been forgotten. 
 Even in an important publication like the * Encyclopaedia 
 Britannica * the article on the Transvaal is a very meagre 
 one. The only account given of that period is that, in 
 the beginning of 1879, Shepstone was recalled, and 
 Colonel Owen Lanyon, an entire stranger to the Boers 
 and their language, was appointed administrator ; that in 
 April of the same year Sir Bartle Frere visited Pretoria, 
 and assured the Boers that they might look forward to 
 complete self-government under the Crown of Great 
 Britain ; but that they continued to agitate for in- 
 dependence, and, with the exception of Piet Uys and a 
 small band of followers who served under Colonel Evelyn 
 Wood, they held entirely aloof from our conflict with the 
 Zulus. The only other allusion in that book to the 
 affairs in the Transvaal in 1879 is that when Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley, who succeeded Sir Bartle Frere as High Com- 
 missioner for Natal and the Transvaal, had settled the 
 Zulu question, he proceeded to Pretoria and organised an 
 expedition against Sekukuni, and that Sekukuni's strong- 
 hold was captured and his forces disbanded. 
 
 It is this little known page in history that I am now 
 dealing with. 
 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley's feelings at the time when he 
 gave me the command in the Transvaal can be gathered 
 from the despatch he wrote to the Secretary of State for 
 War at the end of June, when he first arrived in Natal, 
 which was before the Zulus had been beaten at Ulundi. 
 The following is an extract from it : 
 
 ' Colonel Lanyon, C.B., C.M.G., Administrator of the 
 
 o 2 
 
196 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Government of the Transvaal, having informed me that 
 he proposes undertaking operations against Sekukuni at 
 once, I have ordered him not to undertake these opera- 
 tions, to confine himself strictly to defensive measures, 
 and not to raise any more Colonial forces than such as 
 may be absolutely necessary for police and border defence. 
 Not only is the expenditure in the Transvaal apparently 
 growing beyond bounds, but I consider that it would be 
 most unwise to attempt operations against Sekukuni 
 unless with a force sufficient to ensure a certainty of 
 success. Colonel Lanyon has not such a force, and the 
 result of another check from Sekukuni, who can already 
 boast of his successes over the Boers, and the failure of 
 Colonel Kowland's operations against him, might be 
 disastrous, and tend to raise other tribes against us. When 
 Ketchwayo is defeated I hope to be able to arrange 
 matters with Sekukuni amicably, without sending a mili- 
 tary expedition against him. If I fail to do so I shall at 
 least have amply sufficient troops at my command to deal 
 with him by force of arms.' 
 
 On August 10, 1879, I started from Army Head- 
 quarters for the Transvaal. My retinue consisted of 
 Captain Prior, 80th Kegiment, who had been appointed 
 my orderly officer, four soldier servants, Captain Prior's 
 native servant, called 'Jack,' a Zulu chief, by name 
 'Malinder' (who had attached himself to me ever since 
 the battle of Ulundi), four mule drivers and leaders, six 
 horses and twelve mules, with two Scotch carts. This 
 little party was carefully ' told off ' and trained to carry 
 out all the duties of the march and the camp; and, as 
 soon as the animals were in condition, it could do a very 
 fair distance in a day. 
 
 Its route, at first, was back along the road traversed 
 by Lord Chelmsford's columns from Utrecht to Ulundi ; 
 it reached Fort Evelyn (a distance of twenty-eight miles) 
 
OUR ROUTE TO THE TRANSVAAL 197 
 
 the evening of the day it started ; the next day it passed 
 Ibabanango Spruit and Fort Marshall, and reached Fort 
 Newdigate (thirty-two miles) ; on the 3rd day, after halt- 
 ing near the Tombokola Biver, it arrived at Conference 
 Hill on the Blood Biver (thirty miles) ; and the 4th day it 
 reached Utrecht (twenty-four miles). During the halt at 
 the Tombokola Biver I picked some fern and a piece of 
 white stone from the spot on the Donga where the Prince 
 Imperial lay when he was killed by the Zulus ; these I 
 sent to Sir Lintorn Simmons for the Empress of the 
 French. At Conference Hill I found Colonel Alexander 
 and the Headquarters of the King's Dragoon Guards. 
 The squadrons were out in various directions doing useful 
 work under their majors one of them, under Major 
 Marter, not long afterwards captured the Zulu King 
 Ketchwayo, in the forest eastward of the Umvoloosi 
 Biver. 
 
 At Utrecht a halt was made to obtain information, 
 and arrange for further progress. I knew this station 
 well, for it was here that Lord Chelmsford's Headquarters 
 were established while the columns were being organised 
 for the final advance into Zululand. From the first I had 
 wondered why the Boers did not afford more direct help 
 to the British in carrying on the Zulu war. It must 
 have been greatly to their advantage that the powerful 
 savage army, organised by Ketchwayo, which had always 
 been more or less hostile to them, and had disputed their 
 possession of land along the Buffalo Biver, should be 
 suppressed. Certainly a few Boers, old and young, were 
 attached to Wood's column ; and their leader, Piet Uys, 
 who was killed on the Slobani Mountains, was one in a 
 thousand. Moreover a good deal of bullock transport, 
 driven by Boers, was with the British Army in the field ; 
 but this latter was well paid for. 
 
 When halting again at Utrecht, on the outskirts of 
 
198 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 what had been a great Boer Kepublic, but was now, for a 
 time at all events, a portion of the British Empire, I 
 could not help thinking of the problems that faced all 
 administrators in South Africa, and wondering whether 
 in my new command I should be able to solve any of 
 them. In regard to the Boers I wanted to know if it 
 was their wish that Sekukuni, who had been such a thorn 
 in their side hitherto, should be beaten by the English, 
 as Ketch way o had been. What would they do to help in 
 this matter ? Were the majority of them content that the 
 future of their country should be worked out under the 
 British Flag ? Lastly, what description of self-government 
 would satisfy them? Truly much 'intelligence* work 
 would have to be set in motion to find out, even approxi- 
 mately, what were the opinions held by those in authority 
 among the Boers, and what consequent action would be 
 likely to take place. Many careful arrangements, too, 
 would have to be made to carry out the orders received 
 from the Commander-in-Chief at Ulundi. 
 
 My instructions from the Chief of the Staff were to go 
 via Wesselstroom, direct to Lydenburg. But, finding 
 that the post-cart had been taken off that route, and that 
 consequently there would be no chance of getting supplies 
 of food or animals on that road, I determined to go my- 
 self, by the ordinary post-cart, via Pretoria, to Sekukuni's 
 country, and to leave my orderly officer to bring the men 
 and horses by ordinary marches to Pretoria, to wait for 
 me there. 
 
 Before railways existed in South Africa there were 
 only two ways of getting about the country, i.e. by 
 bullock waggon or by post-cart. The first was slow but 
 ' self-supporting ' : that is to say, the transport animals 
 (the bullocks) were able to live on the grass of the country 
 if they were given due time to feed and rest. The second 
 was quicker, but it entailed using a road along which 
 
TRAVELLING BY POST-CART 199 
 
 supplies for men and animals were procurable. If time 
 was no object, and you wanted to take all your goods and 
 chattels with you, you went by bullock waggon, and your 
 comfort depended a great deal on the size of your retinue. 
 But if you wanted to get from one place to another as 
 quickly as possible, you either went in a Government 
 post-cart or chartered carts and horses of your own, 
 using the depots of supplies that always existed on the 
 post-cart routes. 
 
 On August 14 I started from Utrecht in a commis- 
 sariat two-wheeled cart, with only a pair of saddle-bags, 
 for Newcastle. There I put up at the Masonic Hotel, 
 and at once began collecting information from the inn- 
 keeper, who knew Sekukuni's country, and had served 
 in the Boer war against that chief. 
 
 In travelling by post-cart in South Africa in those 
 days there was always a good deal of discomfort, and 
 often a certain amount of adventure. Later on, in passing 
 through the Orange Free State, I found myself on one 
 occasion requisitioned by the High Sheriff to help him 
 in securing a notorious horse-stealer, whom he had caught 
 on the Veldt after an exciting and somewhat dangerous 
 chase. We three (the prisoner in irons) rode together 
 many miles balanced on the post-bags, discussing the 
 advantages and disadvantages of straight shooting in 
 relation to the capture that had just been made. Another 
 time, in a more crowded cart, but still a.two-wheeled one, 
 in galloping recklessly down the slopes or the Drakenberg, 
 I observed that the linch-pin had dropped out of one of 
 the wheels, and I was just able to make the driver pull 
 up, to find that by only one-sixteenth of an inch was the 
 cart saved from a smash over a precipice hundreds of 
 feet deep. But in the journey from Newcastle to Pretoria 
 nothing particular happened, and I reached the capital 
 of the Transvaal on the afternoon of the 18th. At that 
 
200 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH AKMY 
 
 time the Administrator and his Staff were away from 
 Headquarters, so I arranged with the commissariat to 
 lay on special carts; and I started again on the 20th, 
 doing over fifty miles the first day, and reaching Lyden- 
 burg (181 miles) on the afternoon of the 24th. 
 
 In the journey from Utrecht to Pretoria I had stopped 
 at various places on the road to change mules or get 
 refreshments, and I had experienced various kinds of 
 treatment. In every case I had paid for the accom- 
 modation given me, but sometimes civility was great and 
 payment small, at other times it was vice versa. 
 
 Between Pretoria and Lydenburg, where the postal 
 arrangements were precarious, welcome was more rare 
 than further south. At the first farm at which I stopped I 
 got some food with the members of the family, but only 
 the dogs were civil to me. Here and elsewhere I did all 
 I could to show the Boers that I was friendly disposed 
 towards them, and often they seemed to appreciate my 
 endeavours. I was struck with their apparent great wish 
 to have their children taught English, which did not look 
 like any objection to British rule. At the same time, 
 it was borne home to me how ignorant they were of events 
 taking place even in a neighbouring State. At one farm, 
 where the family became quite friendly, I was told that a 
 man who had lately stayed there, and who had just come 
 from Zululand, had informed them that the English 
 had been entirely beaten by the Zulus, and were all killed. 
 All my assurances failed to convince these Boers that 
 their information from Zululand was incorrect. 
 
 The day after my arrival at Lydenburg a patrol was 
 organised to take me round the posts on the south-east of 
 Sekukuni's Mountain. Major Carrington, who com- 
 manded the Volunteers in the Transvaal, and consequently 
 was one of my most important assistants, made the 
 arrangements for the trip. The party, all mounted, con- 
 
INSPECTING SEKUKUNI'S COUNTRY 201 
 
 sisted of myself, Major Carrington, Mr. Steel, Financial 
 Commissioner, Captain Knox, B.A., Captain Owen, com- 
 manding the Lydenburg mounted rifles, two orderlies, and 
 two pack-ponies. 
 
 The first place we inspected was Kruger's Post where 
 Mr. Glyn, a large local landowner and the Government 
 contractor, joined us. Here there were fifteen men of 
 Owen's corps and sixty-two Kaffirs of Eckersley's natives 
 as a garrison. From thence we went on to Walker's Hill, 
 where there was a similar garrison ; and then to Pilgrim's 
 Kest a former gold-digging, where we stayed the night. 
 All along the route the farms were deserted, the houses 
 having been burned by Sekukuni's people. 
 
 The next morning the patrol went on through some 
 beautiful scenery to MacMac, another gold-digging, where 
 also there was a small fort and garrison ; and then we 
 returned to Kruger's Post. The third day, having collec- 
 ted an escort, we marched through Doone's Kloof and 
 over the Spekboom River to Fort Burgers. 
 
 This fort, which was in a good position on the Steel- 
 poort Kiver, and commanded the approaches to Sekukuni's 
 town from the eastward, was originally built by the Dutch. 
 It was occupied by the Volunteers in the 1876 war. 
 When inspected it was found to be only a little ruined 
 and quite capable of being put in order. From the fort I 
 could see the position of Sekukuni's town and the neigh- 
 bouring hills. None of the enemy, however, put in an 
 appearance ; not even a signal fire could be traced on the 
 horizon. Time did not allow a closer inspection from this 
 side, and so in the evening we returned to Spekboom 
 Fort, a work built by the English in 1878, and there we 
 bivouacked for the night. On August 28 we returned 
 along the waterfall valley to Lydenburg. Here, as on the 
 road to Pilgrim's Best, all the farms were deserted, not- 
 withstanding the luxuriant nature of the vegetation. 
 
202 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Oranges, lemons, sweet limes, and other tropical fruits 
 were growing everywhere, but there were no hands to 
 pick them. The owners and the farm labourers had fled 
 owing to the constant raids by Sekukuni's followers. 
 
 On arrival at Lydenburg we heard that some friendly 
 Kaffirs had been killed near Kruger's Post just after we 
 had left it two days ago. 
 
 After a further inspection of posts occupied by small 
 garrisons in the neighbourhood of Lydenburg, another 
 patrol was organised to enable me to reconnoitre Seku- 
 kuni's stronghold on the west and north. The party was 
 much as before, but pack-ponies were done away with, 
 and such baggage as there was went in a cart by road. 
 A start was made on August 30, and that day we reached 
 Steencamp's Farm. It was said that the farmer here 
 paid tribute to Mapoch, a Zulu chief who lived close by 
 and was supposed to be neutral. The next day, starting 
 early, we rode through a marshy plain, over a rocky pass, 
 and off-saddled at a stream near Mapoch's kraal. Another 
 halt was made on the banks of the Steelpoort Biver, and 
 by evening we reached Fort Weeber, eighty-nine miles 
 distant from Lydenburg. This fort was at the time the 
 headquarters of the field force that had been established 
 for the purpose of keeping not only Sekukuni but all the 
 surrounding country in subjection. The post itself was 
 in good order, indicating efficient management on the part 
 of the commanding officer, Major Carrington. But the 
 troops suffered from want of definite orders. At the time 
 of my inspection there were at Fort Weeber a company 
 of the 80th Kegiment, a troop of irregular horse under 
 Captain Macaulay, a small force of Artillery with Krupp 
 and Whitworth guns, partly Volunteers and partly natives, 
 under Captain Knox, B.A., with Captain Biedel as 
 assistant ; also a native contingent from Rustenburg, and 
 a few police enlisted from neighbouring friendly tribes. 
 
INSPECTING SEKUKUNI'S COUNTRY 203 
 
 As soon as I had inspected these various bodies of 
 men, I issued such orders as seemed to me urgent for the 
 redistribution of the forces around the Lulu Mountains, 
 and also in regard to patrolling, the construction of forts, 
 and sanitary arrangements in camps or hutments. On 
 the east of the mountain, the troops, which had been 
 scattered about in small detachments, were concentrated 
 at Forts Burgers and Jellalabad. This enabled regular 
 patrols to be sent out daily, and thus afforded the 
 necessary training to men and horses. All the old posts 
 were abolished, a few troopers only being left at Lyden- 
 burg and other stations for purposes of communication. 
 Before going further it may be worth mentioning that 
 the arrangements thus made had the desired effect. 
 The raids eastward from Sekukuni's stronghold ceased 
 from the date of carrying out the order ; and from the 
 same date the efficiency of the mounted troops began to 
 improve. Certain redistributions were also made for the 
 better training of men and horses on the west side. 
 
 These orders having been sent out, and all necessary 
 correspondence having been completed, we started again 
 to continue our reconnaissances. The first day our party of 
 officers and men, besides an escort of Irregulars, was quite 
 a large one. Leaving Fort Weeber about 7.30 A.M., in 
 two hours we reached a place where the road divided, 
 the right going to Fort Faugh-a-Ballach and the left 
 to Mamolobe. Taking the former, we reached a stony 
 koppie opposite the Photo Pass about 11 A.M. Spreading 
 the escort out, and advancing to the mouth of the gorge 
 or pass, we were greeted with loud shouts and blowing of 
 horns, and occasional firings from a party of Kaffirs 
 among the rocks. Establishing communication with 
 some of them, a distant conversation ensued. From 
 Sekukuni's side they asked what the party consisted of 
 and what they wanted. The interpreter of the Irregulars 
 
204 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 replied that a new chief had been appointed to the com- 
 mand of the British forces, and that he had come with 
 a few followers to look at the stronghold before making 
 his arrangements to attack it. Upon this an invitation 
 was given to me to come and fight single-handed with the 
 Kaffir chief at that spot ; and the Kaffirs added that they 
 would abide by the issue : if their chief won, the recon- 
 noitring party must go back; but if the British chief 
 won, they would fall back and let the party examine the 
 fortifications that protected that part of the mountain. 
 
 The scene was one not easily to be forgotten. On 
 the one side, dotted among the rocks in the rugged 
 mountain pass, the Kaffir warriors of Sekukuni, who, in 
 their interest during the conversation, exposed themselves 
 somewhat freely; on the other, at the entrance to the 
 gorge, the little band of British officers ; and, between 
 the two, the Irregular horsemen who were carrying on the 
 parley. The invitation, too, w r as quaint and peculiar, 
 reminding more than one of the party of the challenge 
 made by the Philistine giant to the advanced guard of the 
 armies of Saul, which was accepted by the shepherd lad 
 who eventually became King of Israel. Perhaps a bullet 
 from the revolver which I carried would have brought 
 about the same result as the stone from David's sling, 
 and laid low the challenger. But there might be 
 treachery in the offer. Moreover I had other duty to 
 perform, and it would not have been right to risk my life 
 without more reason. So the interpreter was told to say 
 that the new chief would come again and give all the 
 Kaffirs on the mountain plenty of opportunity to dis- 
 tinguish themselves. The party then continued their 
 journey along the valley northwards, towards Fort 
 Mamolobe, and so home. 
 
 The next day, visiting on the way a fortified kraal 
 owned by Marrishane, where the people were quite 
 
BACK AT PRETORIA 205 
 
 friendly, we rode to Fort Oliphant, where there was a 
 garrison of Border Horse under Captain Denison. The 
 following day (September 5), leaving our bivouac at 5.30, 
 we rode to Spy-Koppie, to look at the approach to 
 Sekukuni's town from the north. And then, having 
 made all the notes we required, and inspected the troops 
 in the Oliphant Forts, the party separated, Major 
 Carrington going back to Fort Weeber, while I, accom- 
 panied by Captain Knox, made my way by the bush- 
 veldt road to Pretoria. There was no loitering on the 
 road. Three days we marched, doing fifty-three, fifty- 
 nine, and sixty-three miles respectively, and two nights 
 we bivouacked for a few hours, so beset by lions that we 
 could barely, by a ring of fire, keep them off our trembling 
 horses. On September 7 we arrived at Pretoria. It was 
 under a month since I had left the Headquarter camp at 
 Ulundi ; and, besides inspections and other work, I had 
 travelled by cart or on horseback over five hundred 
 miles. 
 
 The evening I arrived I had supper with Colonel 
 Owen Lanyon, the Administrator of the Transvaal, and 
 then I wrote a letter, as a preliminary report, to the 
 Chief of the Staff. The letter is interesting, as giving my 
 views while the impression of what I had seen and heard 
 was fresh upon me. It tells how I had carried out the 
 General's instructions to be back at Pretoria between 
 September 5 and 10 ; it states that there is no doubt 
 about the inhabitants of the Lydenburg district living in 
 daily fear of Sekukuni ; and that, if British troops were 
 withdrawn, that chief would dominate the whole country ; 
 and it winds up with the opinion that the best thing to 
 do would be to strengthen the troops now there sufficiently 
 to compel Sekukuni to submit. It was estimated that 
 one thousand British Infantry, four guns, four hundred 
 good Volunteer Cavalry, and a detachment of Engineers, 
 
206 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 besides some two thousand natives, would be required, in 
 addition to the force now on the spot. I asked authority 
 to re-engage good men who were leaving the authorised 
 corps at the front owing to their term of service having 
 expired. Finally I said that the Administrator, to whom 
 I had shown my proposals, considered that there was no 
 need, because of the feeling of unrest that existed among 
 some of the Boers, to alter in any way the disposition of 
 troops that I had made. 
 
 Two days after the dispatch of this letter I sent my 
 report to the Chief of the Staff. This consisted first of 
 a description of my journey and of the reconnaissance that 
 had been made of Sekukuni's stronghold ; secondly, of a 
 memorandum on the situation of affairs in the Lydenburg 
 district, and a statement of the course that I thought 
 ought to be adopted ; and, thirdly, of a scheme of attack 
 in case it became necessary to undertake active operations. 
 The description has already been given in the account of 
 my journey from Utrecht to Lydenburg and Pretoria. 
 
 Having sent off my reports, I could take no more 
 active steps until I received instructions from the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief . But there was a great deal to do to put 
 in order the military administration at Headquarters. 
 
 On September 8 news was received at Pretoria that 
 the Zulu king Ketchwayo had been caught, with only 
 one or two followers, in the Gnome forest, the capture 
 having been made by Major Marter's squadron of the 
 King's Dragoon Guards. It was felt on all sides that 
 this would make a complete ending of the Zulu war, and 
 enable Sir Garnet Wolseley to arrange a final provision 
 for the government of Zululand. I could not help 
 wondering whether any of the Staff who had come out 
 with Sir Garnet Wolseley, but arrived too late to gain 
 distinction in the Zulu war, would turn their eyes north- 
 ward, and come up to help us in solving the problems 
 
PREPARING FOR THE CAMPAIGN 207 
 
 that still required settling in the Transvaal. Certainly 
 the difficulties that had always confronted British states- 
 men and British soldiers in South Africa from the time 
 when the country had been handed over to the British 
 by the original Dutch settlers, seemed all now con- 
 centrating in the Transvaal, and especially in Pretoria, 
 where I was told to await the arrival of the General 
 commanding. I had previously, when many of the 
 generals and Staff were sent to England after the battle 
 of Ulundi, endeavoured to secure the services of an officer 
 whom I had known well as Brigade-Major of Cavalry in 
 the Zulu War, and whom I thoroughly believed in, 
 Captain Herbert Stewart. But that officer had been 
 appointed to the Staff of the Line of Communications 
 under General Clifford. For the rest I was content to 
 accept gladly any officer that the Chief of the Staff might 
 send me. 
 
 Two immediate problems presented themselves, viz. 
 preparation for a campaign against Sekukuni, which 
 I felt sure must sooner or later take place, and guarding 
 against risings of discontented Boers. As to the first, the 
 principal difficulty was one of transport ; as to the 
 second, to ascertain the real feelings and aspirations of 
 the Boer farmers. The first was entirely a military 
 question, the second a combined civil and military one. 
 My instructions regarding the first were that the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief wished to avoid fighting if possible ; and 
 so no authority had been given to make preparations. 
 Yet, unless preparations were made soon, it would be 
 impossible to undertake any active operations before the 
 unhealthy season set in, and everything would have to 
 be postponed for a year, if not indefinitely. 
 
 Let us see what happened, and what I did at Pretoria 
 while I was waiting for instructions. 
 
 I had, as already stated, done my best from the time 
 
208 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 of my first appointment, not only to learn the Boers' 
 story, but also to find out what they wanted. To this 
 end I prosecuted inquiries in every direction, and took 
 evidence not only from Englishmen and others who 
 thought that the Transvaal and the Orange Kiver State 
 should be British colonies, but from men who thought 
 that the Boers had good grounds for complaint, and also 
 from Boers who thought that the country ought to be 
 handed back to the original settlers, and formed into 
 a Dutch Eepublic. 
 
 In these investigations I took an entirely different 
 line from that taken by the Administrator, Colonel 
 Lanyon. The latter was a clever, hard-working, and 
 courageous officer, but he held aloof on principle from 
 those who had, as he considered, a Boer tendency, 
 because he thought that they might influence him 
 wrongly, and warp his judgment when he had to decide 
 questions of difference as between the Boer and the 
 Briton. 
 
 On September 11 there were rumours of probable 
 risings among the Boers, but I did not think they would 
 come to anything, partly because a good many of the 
 inhabitants were anxious that Sekukuni's power should 
 be destroyed, and it was easier and cheaper to have this 
 done by the British than by themselves ; and partly 
 because the British force in the country at that time was 
 an unusually large one. 
 
 On the 15th, accompanied by Captain Knox, I went 
 to see Mr. Merenski, a Moravian missionary who had 
 lived for some years in Sekukuni's territory, but after- 
 wards had taken charge of a missionary school and 
 colony some seven miles from Middelburg. 
 
 From this gentleman I received information that 
 Sekukuni's main army was well armed and numbered 
 from three to four thousand warriors. It was thought 
 
PREPARING FOR THE CAMPAIGN 209 
 
 that the people's cattle were concentrated on the moun- 
 tain, and that the chief would not give in without a fight. 
 After this interview I felt more sure than ever that there 
 would be war. I knew from experience what difficulties 
 lay before an attacking General, especially one in com- 
 mand of British troops, in a country where supplies 
 were limited, where water, except in certain localities, 
 was scarce, and where organised transport was almost 
 unknown. So, directly I returned to Headquarters at 
 Pretoria, without waiting for more definite orders, I took 
 steps to prevent the depletion by discharge of Irregular 
 troops ; I gave orders through the Commissariat Officer 
 (Colonel Phillips) to fill every depot with supplies ; and, 
 most important of all, I re-engaged the Boer bullock 
 wagons, which, with seasoned teams and experienced 
 drivers, were returning home to their farms in the 
 Transvaal from the Zulu war. By these measures I not 
 only prepared quietly and steadily for a campaign against 
 Sekukuni, but secured to the British side many Boers 
 with their horses and cattle, and separated them, for a 
 time at all events, from taking part in any movement 
 against the Government that might be started by dis- 
 affected countrymen of theirs. 
 
 On September 17 I received a telegram from the 
 Chief of the Staff that Colonel Baker Kussell, who had 
 commanded a column in Zululand against Ketchwayo, 
 was preparing to march to Lydenburg with the 94th 
 Regiment, some mounted Infantry, and some of Ferreira's 
 Horse. The next day the telegraph line was finished to 
 Pretoria, and I obtained authority to enrol volunteers 
 for the Transvaal Artillery and the Border Horse. 
 
 On September 27 I rode out with the Administrator 
 of the Transvaal, who had returned to Pretoria a day or 
 two before, to meet the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley. 
 
210 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 A troop of Pretoria Horse headed the procession, and 
 a squadron of the King's Dragoon Guards brought up the 
 rear. An address, signed by some 200 inhabitants, was 
 presented about two miles from the town. To this 
 address Sir Garnet Wolseley made the memorable 
 reply that ' the Vaal would run back on its course 
 rather than the British nation retreat from any step that 
 they had deliberately taken.' His speech, which referred 
 to the annexation of the Transvaal, was much criticised 
 then and since ; but time has proved him right. 
 
 Sir Garnet was accompanied by General Colley, Chief 
 of the Staff ; but, owing to news received from India of 
 the murder of Cavagnari and the British Embassy at 
 Cabul, the latter officer had to return to India, and his 
 place as Chief of the Staff in South Africa was assigned 
 to Colonel Henry Brackenbury. 
 
 The day after the arrival of the Commander-in-Chief 
 there was a meeting at Government House to consider 
 the distribution of the troops and other important matters. 
 The officers at that meeting were General George Colley, 
 Colonel East, who had been sent from England as 
 Quartermaster-General, but was on the point of return- 
 ing home, Colonel H. Brackenbury, Military Secretary, 
 Major Clarke, E.A., an expert with natives, who knew 
 Sekukuni and his people, and myself. The meeting was 
 instructed to consider not only the present distribution 
 but also what changes should be made if it became 
 necessary to fight against Sekukuni, and also what should 
 be the final distribution to enable law and order to be 
 maintained in the new colony. The result of this con- 
 ference was to adopt, as far as present requirements went, 
 and also in the case of a possible conflict with Sekukuni, 
 the recommendations made by me in my report. The 
 same view of the case was also taken by the Commander- 
 in-Chief, who, in a despatch to the Secretary of State for 
 
SIR GARNET WOLSELEY. 
 When High Commissioner in South Africa. 
 
PREPARING FOR THE CAMPAIGN 211 
 
 the Colonies, dated October 3, 1879, explained that he was 
 sending Major Clarke to propose terms to Sekukuni, but 
 that if that chief refused to submit it would not be neces- 
 sary to attack his stronghold, as he could be brought to 
 subjection by our establishing a post on his mountain, 
 and so preventing the people from planting and the cattle 
 from grazing. 
 
 At the meeting it also came out that, in the event of 
 Sekukuni refusing our terms, any operations that became 
 necessary in the Lydenburg district were to be under the 
 immediate command of Lieut. -Colonel Baker Eussell, 
 who was then on the march from Zululand to Middel- 
 burg. 
 
212 A LIFE IN THE BKITISH ARMY 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII 
 
 THE SEKUKUNI WAR 
 
 Deputation to Sekukuni State of affairs The Commander-in-Chief takes 
 the field Boer disturbances Operations against Sekukuni Constitu- 
 tion given to the Transvaal. 
 
 ON September 29 Sir Garnet Wolseley was sworn in as 
 High Commissioner of the Transvaal. The usual assem- 
 blies and dinners followed. The same day General Colley 
 went off by post-cart to Durban, en route for India ; and 
 Major Clarke went to Sekukuni's country to try and treat 
 for peace. The result of Clarke's mission, as told in the 
 official account of the war, was briefly as follows. The 
 conditions that were offered to Sekukuni were : 
 
 1. He was to admit our Sovereignty and pay taxes. 
 
 2. He was to be responsible for the maintenance of 
 peace and order in his own location. 
 
 3. He was to pay a fine of 2500 head of cattle (500 
 more than he had previously promised to pay). 
 
 4. He was to accept a military or police post on his 
 mountain. 
 
 The message was sent to Sekukuni by Clarke from 
 Fort Weeber, by the hand of two Basutos, with an 
 explanation that it came from a great Chief specially 
 deputed by the Queen to make terms with him. The 
 messengers saw Sekukuni, who told them that Ketch- 
 way o was not captured, and that if they came again with 
 such messages they would be killed. However, in sending 
 them back, he sent with them Mangakani, his mother's 
 
DEPUTATION TO SEKUKUNI 213 
 
 brother, Moxapoxapo, an old councillor, Jim, a personal 
 attendant, and six other men. When this party arrived 
 at Fort Weeber on October 11, Major Clarke explained 
 to them in detail the terms offered to Sekukuni, and sent 
 them back with his own messengers to Sekukuni's town. 
 Before going they asked if sheep and goats or money 
 would be accepted in lieu of cattle, and Major Clarke 
 obtained authority to tell them that money could be given 
 instead of cattle at the rate of 5 per head. 
 
 On October 21 the messengers returned to Fort 
 Weeber, saying that Sekukuni was a poor man and could 
 not pay the fine, but that he would like Major Clarke to 
 come to his kraal and talk matters over. Major Clarke 
 declined to go until Sekukuni agreed to the terms ; but 
 once more he sent back the chief's messengers (Moxa- 
 poxapo and Jim) accompanied by three messengers, one 
 of whom was his own servant, a man who knew Sekukuni 
 well and had frequently been to his kraal. This last 
 embassy did its best to get Sekukuni to agree to the 
 proposed terms, modified as above mentioned, but the 
 chief absolutely refused, saying he would never give in 
 but would fight to the last. 
 
 While this palaver had been going on between Clarke 
 and Sekukuni, I took up again the double task that I had 
 started before the arrival of Headquarters, viz. intelligence 
 work regarding the Boers and preparation for a possible 
 campaign on the Lulu Mountains. In regard to the 
 former I was much assisted by a Boer who came to call 
 on me at this time, and became my firm friend and trusty 
 councillor as long as I remained in the country. This 
 Boer had fought on the British side during the late 
 campaign ; he had learned the art of war in the school of 
 experience, and had made his mark as a leader of men. 
 Many were the discussions held between me and this 
 rough soldier, how certain features of ground should be 
 
214 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 attacked or defended, or what should be done by a named 
 force under certain assumed circumstances. 
 
 Little did either of us think at the time that the 
 knowledge acquired by this Boer while fighting on the 
 side of the British would ever be used against them. 
 Many were the talks also regarding what might be the 
 conduct of the Boers under certain political treatment, 
 and what was the best way of governing them. It may 
 be remarked here, that all through the various rumours 
 and threats of risings that took place while this Boer was 
 at Pretoria the advice he gave me was absolutely reliable. 
 When the Sekukuni war was over, and the Boers had for 
 the time settled down, and I had been told that there 
 was no more likelihood of active work, and I might 
 
 return to England, I said to my friend, ' Well, F , 
 
 I suppose the Boers won't break out any more now ? ' To 
 which he replied, ' They won't, commandant, as long as 
 you are here.' ' But,' said I, ' when I am gone, another 
 commandant will be appointed in my place, and he will 
 see that a sufficient force is kept up, and will arrange 
 for their proper distribution and efficiency.' However, 
 he would not commit himself, and only said, 'We shall 
 see, we shall see if the Boers don't get their rights, and 
 if proper military measures are not taken, they will rise 
 against the British rule.' 
 
 But to return to our story : 
 
 On October 1, having been somewhat shaken by the 
 unusually hard work of body and brain that I had lately 
 undergone, I went by way of change to stay with the 
 Administrator at Government House. While there I 
 constantly came across the best of the British who were 
 living at or passing through Pretoria. Among others, 
 I met Dr. William Kussell, the famous war corre- 
 spondent, whom I had known in former days during the 
 Indian Mutinies, and elsewhere. 
 
STATE OF AFFAIRS 215 
 
 On the 3rd the Constitution arranged by Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley for the Government of the Transvaal appeared 
 in the Gazette. There was to be an executive council of 
 five ex officio members, and three elected by the Adminis- 
 trator. The ex officio ones were the Officer Commanding 
 the troops (the Commandant), the Chief Justice (Mr. 
 Coetzee), the Colonial Secretary, the Secretary for Foreign 
 Affairs, and one other. The council was only to be 
 called upon to advise when required to do so by the 
 Administrator (or Governor). 
 
 I could not help feeling that this was hardly a liberal 
 enough arrangement to meet the aspirations of the people. 
 By it the whole power was placed in the hands of the 
 Administrator, and on him it depended in a great measure 
 whether or not it was a success. 
 
 At this time the Boers from the country round about 
 were assembling at Pretoria, as is their custom once in 
 three months, to attend the Sacraments of their Church. 
 This assembly was taken advantage of by them to discuss 
 the political position. Consequently, by means of my 
 friends in the town, I was able to gain a good deal of 
 useful information. My feeling at the time was that 
 much might be done by sympathetic treatment to win 
 the people over and reconcile them to British rule. The 
 Englishmen they had usually met hitherto at gold- 
 diggings, or even in the towns, were not of the best ; and 
 at the same time they imagined that those they met were 
 typical of the nation. All the more was it necessary that 
 those in authority should mix freely with the people they 
 governed and endeavour to show them what were the 
 thoughts and feelings towards them of English gentlemen. 
 
 On October 9, Captain Herbert Stewart, the Staff 
 Officer of the General of Communications, arrived at 
 Pretoria, and was given a table in my office. To this 
 officer all the arrangements that were being made for a 
 
216 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 possible campaign against Sekukuni were explained. 
 Advantage also was taken of his arrival to send the 
 regular Staff Officer of the Transvaal District (Major 
 Creagh) to Lydenburg, to settle various disputes that had 
 arisen among the Volunteers, and to see that the orders 
 issued from Headquarters were being properly carried 
 out. 
 
 The same day a report was received of a slight Boer 
 disturbance at Middelburg. Some fifty Boers had inter- 
 fered with the law taking effect on a man for ill-using a 
 native. The news was brought in by Captain Raafe, 
 who had commanded a troop of horse in the Zulu war. 
 The distance (about ninety miles) was covered by him on 
 one horse in eleven hours. On receipt of this news, I 
 accompanied the Administrator to a conference held by 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley, with the result that a troop of 
 Cavalry was ordered to the disturbed town from Heidelburg, 
 to be relieved a day or two afterwards by a company of 
 regular Infantry. The Administrator also went there 
 with his Private Secretary to inquire personally into the 
 matter. 
 
 At this time (October 11) a somewhat peculiar corre- 
 spondence reached me at Pretoria. It was written by the 
 officer commanding the column that was supposed to be 
 on the march from Zululand to the Lydenburg district, 
 and was addressed to the senior Commissariat officer. 
 The purport was as follows : 
 
 ' Six drivers and five leaders have deserted and the 
 force is at a standstill. This is most serious. You should 
 take decided steps to have these deserters captured and 
 flogged, and be very careful that they forfeit all their 
 
 pay.' 
 
 Fortunately a date was added (viz. Intombi Eiver, 
 4-10-79), which was the only useful part of the message, 
 because it enabled a Staff Officer who knew the country 
 
STATE OF AFFAIRS 217 
 
 to calculate when the column might turn up. There was 
 no chance of catching the native drivers. 
 
 Anxious, no doubt, to a certain extent, at the delay 
 attending the march of this column, and also of other 
 troops that were ordered up to the Transvaal, and 
 douhtful as to what might result any day from the 
 seditious movements of the Boers in various parts of the 
 country, the Commander-in-Chief determined to push on 
 the preparations for a possible campaign against Sekukuni, 
 and with that object he directed that Headquarters 
 should be moved to Middelburg. No doubt he judged 
 that active operations against that chief would, for a time 
 at all events, quiet the Boers ; and that, if the war were 
 carried on successfully and quickly, he would have a large 
 force available for any eventualities. 
 
 In order to make the necessary arrangements I 
 shifted my office from Government House to a central 
 hotel, where I could personally direct all movements. 
 Here Captain Stewart worked with me ; but not for long, 
 because it was thought necessary to take him away from 
 the Line of Communications, and attach him as Staff 
 Officer to Colonel Baker Kussell, where his great zeal and 
 natural abilities, and the knowledge he had gained, while 
 at Pretoria, of the whole situation, would be invaluable in 
 enabling the expedition to be carried out with the best 
 chance of success. 
 
 On October 17 the Commander-in-Chief held a review 
 of the few troops left in Pretoria, and the next day he 
 took his departure, accompanied by Colonel Brackenbury, 
 Dr. Jackson, Mr. Herbert, and Major MacCalmont, to 
 personally superintend the operations in the Lydenburg 
 district. 
 
 For a time, until Colonel Lanyon returned, I was in 
 sole civil and military charge at Pretoria. This town 
 was not only the centre of Government, but also the 
 
218 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 advanced base of supplies and organisation for the forces 
 collecting round Sekukuni's country, and the dep6t where 
 military stores were looked over and sorted. The 
 garrison at the time was extraordinarily weak, only one 
 troop of Eegular Cavalry (King's Dragoon Guards), and 
 the Headquarters and one company of the 80th Foot. 
 The 21st Kegiment, which had been destined for Pretoria 
 and was on the way there, was diverted to Middelburg. 
 
 Before Headquarters left, the Chief of the Staff and 
 I went through together the Commissariat arrangements 
 for the troops that were going to be employed at the 
 front and on the lines of communication if war took 
 place. This was no doubt a judicious thing to do ; 
 but, as before stated, unless I had made preparations 
 steadily and incessantty from the time when I arrived 
 in the country, and especially if I had not secured 
 the Boer ox-wagons returning from the Zulu war, 
 the necessary supplies for the forces detailed for the 
 attack on Sekukuni's stronghold could not have been 
 collected until after the wet season that is to say, for 
 another year. Even as it was, there was great difficulty 
 in making the arrangements because of the lack of energy 
 on the part of some of the contractors and others con- 
 cerned, and because of the frequent changes that were 
 made in the detail of troops sent to the front. From the 
 time when Headquarters left Pretoria the Chief of the 
 Staff and I kept up a running correspondence. The 
 letters of the former were taken up for the most part 
 with demands for stores, mine with statements of what 
 could be done locally to comply with the demands. 
 
 But, although supplying the force that was concen- 
 trating at Middelburg and in the Lydenburg district was 
 an urgent matter, it was not so critical at the time we 
 are dealing with (the latter part of October) as the hostile 
 movements of a portion of the Boer community. Had 
 
DISAFFECTED BOERS 219 
 
 these movements been allowed to continue, and had any 
 real outbreak taken place, the troops operating against 
 Sekukuni would have been cut off from supplies, and the 
 position would have been a critical one. No sooner had 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley established his Headquarters at 
 Middelburg, than rumours of threatened Boer attacks 
 and proposed concentrations ' in laager ' came in from all 
 sides. But, with his usual determination and courage, 
 once having made up his mind to carry on war against 
 Sekukuni, nothing would divert him from his purpose. 
 He had placed me at Pretoria in military command, and 
 he left me, in concert with the Administrator, to protect 
 the country in his rear, in the full assurance that the 
 best would be done, whatever turned up. No wonder 
 those who served under such a General did so gladly 
 and loyally. 
 
 Among the dangers that threatened British rule in 
 the Transvaal from disaffected Boers, one of the most 
 serious was a scheme to attack Pretoria. The news of 
 this reached me while in church on the 26th instant. 
 The circumstances were somewhat sensational. The 
 Bishop of Pretoria (Dr. Bousfield), an eloquent preacher, 
 was in the middle of his morning discourse at the 
 Cathedral. I was one of the congregation, and was 
 sitting just opposite the pulpit. The interest in the 
 sermon was so great that you might have heard a 
 pin drop, when the sound of an approaching horse- 
 man mingled with the preacher's words. The times 
 were exciting ones, nearly everyone in that church was 
 expecting news of some sort or another. The horseman 
 was heard to dismount at the western door and to enter 
 the Cathedral. After a glance to see where I was sitting, 
 he marched up the aisle, his spurs and sword clanking as 
 he went along. Evidently he had travelled far and fast 
 to deliver his message. The Bishop stopped his sermon. 
 
220 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 I took from the messenger the despatch that he was 
 carrying, glanced at it, put it in my pocket, and motioned 
 to the preacher to continue his discourse. The con- 
 gregation naturally thought that the message was not 
 of much importance, and settled down to hear the rest 
 of the sermon. But they were deceived. The message 
 came from Headquarters, and intimated that most reliable 
 information had been received to the effect that the Boers 
 intended making an attack on Pretoria the following 
 night. Now, as has before been said, I had friends 
 among the Boers and had already been warned of possible 
 attacks, and had made all necessary arrangements to 
 guard against them. But I could not help, during the 
 rest of the sermon, thinking more of my plans than of 
 the preacher's words ; and, when service was over, I went 
 round the different posts in the town to see that all my 
 officers knew their orders and were on the alert. Whether 
 or not those who led the Boers had an inkling that their 
 plans were discovered, I do not know, but the attack on 
 Pretoria did not take place. 
 
 There were, however, other movements in the Trans- 
 vaal that showed considerable unrest, if nothing else. 
 For instance, reports were received on the 27th that some 
 Boers had been taking ammunition from a general store 
 at Potchefstrom about forty of them going in at a time 
 and taking it without the legal permits, but putting the 
 price of it on the counter. Also that Boers were collecting 
 at Christian Pretorius's farm, with the object of attack- 
 ing Standerton. In addition to these reports, further 
 rumours were received that the Boers were collecting 
 in Pretoria with the object of * a demonstration,' if not 
 an attack that very night. All possible arrangements 
 having been made, I could do nothing more. But during 
 that night I walked to the barracks to caution the com- 
 manding officer there, and I also again visited the posts 
 
DISAFFECTED BOERS 221 
 
 in the town, where all was quiet except for some glee- 
 singing in one of the houses. Till quite a late hour 
 I wrote letters and drafts of orders in my room at the 
 hotel ; and then, hot and tired, I opened the glass door 
 for another breath of fresh air and another turn in the 
 moonlight. Stepping out, without precaution, I stumbled 
 and nearly fell over something lying on the doorsill, and 
 found that it was my Zulu boy ' Malinder,' who, with rifle 
 and ammunition, and wrapped in a large barrack blanket, 
 had stationed himself there because he had heard that 
 the Boers were going to make an attack that night, and 
 he wished 'to take care of master.* But even he had 
 gone to sleep on that particular evening. 
 
 The morning of the 28th broke without any attack. 
 But the rumours of disturbances were as plentiful as 
 ever. That day I had a long talk with the Field-Cornet 
 from Heidelburg, and gathered that the Boers' chief 
 grievance at that time was a sentimental one, but that 
 several acts by the Government had much irritated them 
 the last few months, such as restrictions on the sale 
 of ammunition, &c. 
 
 By the end of the month, after careful consideration 
 of the whole matter, I came to the conclusion that some- 
 thing more than local precautions were necessary against 
 possible Boer risings ; and so, acting on the authority that 
 I had received from the Commander-in-Chief, I set on foot 
 a movement of troops up country, to strengthen the force 
 at Pretoria, without weakening the garrison of any 
 fortified post on the lines of communication between 
 that place and Natal. 
 
 Then, when all was arranged, I managed through an 
 influential friend to hold a secret conference with the 
 wire-puller of the Boers who at that time was in Pretoria. 
 Over coffee and pipes we held a prolonged discussion which 
 lasted well into the night. The friend acted as inter- 
 
222 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH AftMY 
 
 preter, when it was needed, and the conversation was 
 practically as follows : 
 
 Commandant : ' What is the meaning of the various 
 movements of Boers which are taking place through- 
 out the country ? ' 
 
 Wire-puller: 'The people are not satisfied with the 
 way they are being treated by the British Government 
 in the Transvaal, and they want their independence.' 
 
 Commandant : ' But was it not the case that, when 
 Shepstone came to Pretoria, with nothing more than an 
 escort of policemen, the great majority of the people were 
 in favour of the country being handed over to the 
 British?' 
 
 Wire-puller : ' Maybe. But those who voted were 
 not really representative of the country. Many farmers 
 in far-off places never had a chance of giving an opinion 
 in the matter. ' 
 
 Commandant : ' We can't go into that now. Let us 
 consider the present situation. Would the majority of 
 the people be contented to live under the British flag 
 if they were given a fair amount of self-government ? ' 
 
 Wire-puller : ' It is difficult to say. There are many 
 shades of opinion. Some, no doubt, would prefer the 
 British flag, others would never be content except with 
 a pure Dutch Eepublic ; but a good many are wavering, 
 and would be influenced by the amount of self-govern- 
 ment granted to them, and also by the way in which they 
 are treated by those in authority.' 
 
 Commandant : ' Assuming that those who are dis- 
 contented cannot be pacified, what will they do ? ' 
 
 Wire-puller : ' We are getting on dangerous ground. 
 As you know, nearly all the British troops have been 
 concentrated in Sekukuni's country. Suppose a number 
 of young Boer farmers were to "form laager" between 
 those troops and Pretoria, and cut off all supplies ? ' 
 
A SECRET CONFERENCE 223 
 
 Commandant : ' I should march against the laager 
 and destroy it.' 
 
 Wire-puller : ' But, from our experience of British 
 troops in the Zulu war, many of the regiments are made 
 up of boys, quite untrained in the art of war, and not to 
 be compared in shooting power with our hardy farmers.' 
 
 Commandant : ' No doubt you are referring to the 
 British Infantry, but if I had to march against a Boer 
 laager I should use Cavalry and Artillery.' 
 
 Wire-puller (quickly) : ' But you have none of those 
 troops here, and telegraph lines can be cut.' 
 
 Commandant : * They are on their way, some will be 
 here to-morrow; I am satisfied that I have at hand 
 enough for my purpose. The Boer farmers may be good 
 and brave I believe they are. They may have wrongs, 
 some imaginary and some real ; I sympathise with them. 
 I would, if I had the power, give them as free a hand as 
 possible in the management of the affairs of the country 
 that they occupy. But I am a British officer, serving 
 under a British General who is now employed at the 
 Lulu Mountains in subduing the common enemy of Boer 
 and Briton, and if any hostile gathering takes place 
 which might in any way endanger the success of Sir 
 Garnet Wolseley's work, I am prepared to attack it, and, 
 I believe, to beat it. The Boers have no guns and no 
 organised Cavalry. I could bombard their laager from 
 a distance, and if their horsemen attacked my guns 
 I could ride them down with my Cavalry. Moreover, 
 if they break out in open rebellion against the flag 
 that they have already acknowledged, the grant to them 
 of self-government would, no doubt, be postponed in- 
 definitely.' 
 
 The Boer leader was evidently impressed, not only 
 with what I said, but with the confidence that I showed 
 in the troops coming up country to put down any risings 
 
224 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 that might take place on the part of the Boers. My 
 friend also, besides interpreting, supplemented the argu- 
 ments with advice of his own. 
 
 When the Boer wire-puller had gone away, and I and 
 my friend were left alone, we came to the conclusion that 
 orders for an attack on Pretoria would not for the present 
 be issued. And we were right. Sir Garnet Wolseley 
 was freed from any immediate danger of an attack on 
 the most important station of his line of communications, 
 and could do what he liked in Sekukuni's country. 
 
 Let us now turn to the field operations, and briefly 
 recount what took place in the theatre of war from the 
 time when Sir Garnet Wolseley and his Staff established 
 Headquarters at Middelburg on October 18, until he 
 returned to Pretoria on December 9, 1879. 
 
 On October 21 Colonel Baker Russell's column reached 
 Middelburg from Lake Chrissie. The same day the 
 21st Fusiliers, under the guidance of Herbert Stewart, 
 arrived from Heidelburg. Colonel Baker Kussell was put 
 in command of the forces, which consisted of a troop of 
 regular Cavalry, a detachment of Mounted Infantry, 
 some Irregular Horse, two 7-pdr. guns, a detachment of 
 Royal Engineers, and two battalions of Infantry. 
 
 On the 24th the greater part of this force marched for 
 Fort Weeber, and on the 25th was followed by Army 
 Headquarters. By this time Sir Garnet Wolesley knew 
 that Major Clarke had failed to persuade Sekukuni to 
 give in, and that thus there was no alternative but war. 
 So he took the necessary steps to concentrate the troops 
 for the campaign, and arrange for their supplies of food 
 and ammunition. Among his measures was one instruct- 
 ing Captain MacLeod to bring a Swazi contingent to 
 Burgers Post. 
 
 Headquarters arrived at Fort Weeber on the 28th, 
 and, on investigating the state of supplies there, it was 
 
PLAN OF OPERATIONS 225 
 
 found that the amounts were far below what had been 
 anticipated, especially in regard to meat and forage. 
 Urgent representations on the subject were made to the 
 General of Communications at Pietermaritzburg and 
 to me at Pretoria. But stores were on the road. The 
 General Commanding (Sir Garnet Wolseley) also made 
 a reconnaissance in the direction of Mamolobe's Moun- 
 tain, to get an idea of the nature of the mountains, and 
 of the difficulties attending an advance from the western 
 side. Having then obtained all the information they 
 could give him regarding the situation from Major 
 Carrington, commanding the troops on the spot, and 
 Major Clarke, the political officer, he decided upon his 
 plan of operations. 
 
 Establishing a post on the Lulu Mountains, which 
 had hitherto been adopted as the measure to be taken if 
 Sekukuni refused to accede to terms, would at the best be 
 only a preliminary operation, and the result it brought 
 about might take some time to realise ; whereas a direct 
 attack on the stronghold itself from the north would, if 
 successful, end the war by one blow. Under the circum- 
 stances of the delay that had occurred in bringing 
 reinforcements to the theatre of operations, and of the 
 hostile movements of discontented Boers, rapid action 
 was very important. So the Commander-in-Chief decided 
 to follow the latter course, and, transferring his advanced 
 post from Fort Weeber to Mapashlela's Drift, to make 
 his main attack by the entrance to the valley in which 
 Sekukuni's town was situated. This being settled, the 
 line of supply from Pretoria was shifted along the bush 
 veldt road to Fort Oliphants, the line from Wakkerstrom 
 through Middelburg still continuing to supply Lydenburg 
 and Fort Oliphants through Fort Weeber. A force based 
 on Fort Burgers and Lydenburg was to attack from the 
 heights east of the town simultaneously with the attack of 
 
 Q 
 
226 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the main body in the valley. With the Lydenburg force 
 would be the Swazis. 
 
 It will not, I think, be necessary to go into details 
 regarding the assembly and organisation of the little 
 army of Eegulars and Colonials and Native Levies that 
 were collected by Sir Garnet Wolseley for the attack on 
 Sekukuni. It will give an idea of the magnitude of the 
 business if I say that, according to the monthly returns 
 signed by me as head of all the troops in the Transvaal, 
 there were in September 3020 men and 866 horses ; in 
 October 4140 men and 800 horses ; in November 4630 
 men and 1295 horses ; and in December some 16,000 
 men and 1300 horses. This included the force detailed 
 for the Sekukuni campaign. 
 
 On November 11 Sir Garnet, writing from Fort 
 Weeber, informed the Secretary of State for War of his 
 plans (as already briefly described), and indicated some of 
 the difficulties of the situation. 
 
 The operations were being undertaken at a distance of 
 more than 500 miles from the sea base at Durban. The 
 nearest farmhouse was fifty miles off, and no supplies 
 could be purchased within 100 miles. Pretoria and 
 Wakkerstrom, the dep6ts whence supplies were sent, 
 were 150 and 230 miles distant, and fifty more had to 
 be covered to reach Mapashlela's Drift. The lines of 
 communication had to be guarded as if in an enemy's 
 country in consequence of the hostile attitude of some of 
 the Boers. 
 
 At the same date as this despatch, orders were issued 
 for a further movement of troops on the line of com- 
 munications, with a view of strengthening the position 
 at Pretoria; and I, as Commandant, was given power 
 to order up troops from the Utrecht district, as well as 
 from anywhere else in the Transvaal, if I thought it 
 necessary. 
 
ATTACK ON SEKUKUNI'S STRONGHOLD 227 
 
 By November 23 the state of supplies enabled a con- 
 centration to be made of troops for the attack on 
 Sekukuni's town as already arranged. On the 24th the 
 Water Koppie was occupied, and on the 28th the strong- 
 hold was stormed. The following report was sent by 
 special messenger to Pretoria the next day, and telegraphed 
 from there to the Cape and England : * Headquarters, 
 Sekukuni's Town, November 29. Baker Kussell's column 
 encamped before this place yesterday, as previously 
 planned. Arrangements made for simultaneous attack 
 this morning from both sides of the mountain. At 
 daybreak the attack commenced. Ferreira led the right 
 attack, and took Sekukuni's own kraal, from the heights 
 to the south. Colonel Murray commanded central attack 
 with detachment Eoyal Engineers, 21st Fusiliers, 94th 
 Eegiment, detachment 80th Kegiment, four guns Trans- 
 vaal Artillery, and Kustenburg contingent. . . . 
 
 'This attack was chiefly directed on the fighting 
 Koppie. Major Carrington led the left attack with 
 Mounted Infantry, Border Horse, Transvaal Mounted 
 Rifles, and Zoutspansberg native contingent. He cap- 
 tured the lower town, and cleared the hills above, 
 sweeping round to Sekukuni's own kraal. About seven 
 o'clock the Swazis appeared on the hills above, having 
 fought their way up from the eastward of the town ; and, 
 most of the caves having been cleared and burnt, at 
 ten o'clock the fighting Koppie was stormed. All the 
 corps took part in the assault, which was completely 
 successful. Fighting Koppie and town now in our 
 hands/ 
 
 On December 2 Sekukuni, who had hidden in a cave 
 at the top of the mountain, surrendered to Ferreira. 
 Orders were then issued to break up the field force, 
 and distribute the regular troops at Lydenburg and 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Q2 
 
228 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Headquarters, with Sekukuni as prisoner, returned to 
 Pretoria, where they arrived on December 9. 
 
 The day of arrival was marked by as much ceremony 
 as Pretoria and its scratch garrison could provide. 
 Sekukuni did the last part of the journey in state in 
 a mule-wagon. A squadron of the King's Dragoon 
 Guards supplied the escort. The chief, who had a 
 wretched worn-out look, sat on a box in the centre of the 
 wagon with a skin round him. His appearance was 
 hardly up to expectation, for he was supposed to be the 
 cleverest native in South Africa. Two Indunas were 
 with him, and a wife and one or two children. After 
 lodging the chief in the jail, an address of congratulation 
 was presented to Sir Garnet, the guard of honour on the 
 occasion consisting of a company of the 4th King's Own 
 Infantry, the band of the 80th Regiment, and a squadron 
 King's Dragoon Guards. Nearly all Pretoria turned out 
 for the double event. 
 
 On December 11 there was a review of all the troops 
 before the Commander-in-Chief. The total on parade 
 amounted to 1625 men, 392 horses, and six guns. 
 
 This was a large force for the protection of the capital, 
 if it be compared with the one considered sufficient two 
 months earlier, when the Sekukuni expedition was in full 
 swing. Moreover it was largely increased by troops 
 coming south when that war was over. 
 
 This concentration of troops at Pretoria brought about 
 a certain amount of gaiety. It also caused an increase in 
 military and civil crime, and in consequence added very 
 materially to my work. In this, however, I was much 
 helped by Captain Yeatman Biggs, who was appointed 
 Staff Officer in the Transvaal, in place of Major Creagh, 
 who had left to take up a command at Lydenburg. 
 
 In the Transvaal, at the time we are dealing with, the 
 administration of civil law was rendered very difficult by 
 
MEETINGS OF BOERS 229 
 
 the paucity of Courts of Justice, the weakness and in- 
 efficiency of police arrangements, and the absence of 
 proper prisons ; while that of military law was rendered 
 almost impossible by the alterations lately made in the 
 Army Act. Corporal punishment had been abolished in 
 favour of solitary confinement, or hard labour, and there 
 were no prisons in which such sentences could be carried 
 out. 
 
 On December 11 news was received at Pretoria that 
 the Boers had congregated at Wonderfontein, seventy 
 miles off, to the number of some two thousand men, and 
 from four hundred to five hundred wagons. In con- 
 sequence of this, outposts were established round Pretoria, 
 and rallying points fixed upon in case of alarm, but 
 difficulties were experienced in issuing orders to the 
 troops because it was not known whether the position 
 might be considered as ' a state of war.' 
 
 Eesolutions, said to have been passed by the people at 
 the Boer meeting, were reported in the local newspapers, 
 to the effect that Mr. Paul Kruger should become State 
 President, that independence should be recovered, and 
 that the Boer Committee should take the necessary steps. 
 But this Committee was not prepared to face the 
 measures that would have to be taken to carry out the 
 wishes of the people ; and so the meeting gradually broke 
 up, and the farmers returned to their homes. 
 
 On December 15, having received a report from the 
 outposts that one hundred and fifty armed Boers were 
 marching on Pretoria, I rode, accompanied by Ferreira 
 (who had just returned from Fort Weeber) and a small 
 escort, to meet them ; but we only encountered small 
 groups of men who were returning home, and we were 
 informed that the meeting had been adjourned until April 
 next. 
 
 With matters in this state, orders were issued from 
 
230 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Headquarters to disband all local corps, and to send off 
 to the coast the regular units that were returning to 
 England. 
 
 The latter part of December saw a permanent post, 
 called Fort Albert, established on the Lulu Mountains, 
 and the troops forming the permanent garrison of the 
 Transvaal distributed at their various stations. It was 
 the intention that at each of these stations there should 
 be a fortified post properly equipped with supplies ; and 
 that, besides the garrisons of these posts, there should be 
 a carefully organised movable column ready to march in 
 any direction, and put down at once any rising of dis- 
 contented Boers. 
 
 At the commencement of Chapter VII. it was stated 
 that when I left Sir Garnet Wolseley's Headquarters at 
 Ulundi to take up the military command in the Transvaal, 
 I was faced by two great difficulties, the subjugation of 
 Sekukuni and the pacification of the Boers. The result 
 as regards Sekukuni may be told in the words of the 
 Kev. Mr. Merenski, who knew more about this chief and 
 his followers than any living man. 'It is my firm belief,' 
 he says, * that the result of this year's campaign against 
 Sekukuni will settle the native question in the Transvaal, 
 and that by skilful and reasonable management of the 
 native affairs in this country, the Basuto and Matabele 
 tribes will be induced without trouble to pay taxes 
 regularly to the Government.' 
 
 The result as regards the Boers could not be predicted 
 so confidently by any one. For a time, as has already 
 been told, the discontented members of the community 
 had been overawed by a judicious display of force, and 
 the loyal ones had been buo}^ed up by the anticipation 
 that under the British Flag they would be granted a fair 
 amount of representative government. If a good system 
 had been continued, there is every reason to believe that the 
 
THE BOER CONSTITUTION 231 
 
 country would have settled down and become in a few years 
 fully fit for responsible government. But this was not 
 to be. The Constitution that was granted to them from 
 home was not acceptable to the great bulk of the people. 
 At the same time there was want of harmony in the local 
 government, even between the civil and military heads ; 
 and, lastly, the garrison was reduced below the point of 
 safety before order had been established, and before a 
 sufficient force of police had been organised to take the 
 place of the soldiers. 
 
 What took place in the Transvaal after I left is not 
 part of my reminiscences ; but before this story is finished, 
 a few words should be said regarding the Constitution 
 that was given to the country, and what I thought of it. 
 
 A temporary arrangement in the shape of an Executive 
 Council had been started by the Governor, Sir Garnet 
 Wolseley, on October 3. The letters patent, which 
 provided for an Executive Council and a Legislative 
 Assembly for the Transvaal territory, accompanied a 
 despatch written by Sir Michael Hicks-Beach on Nov- 
 ember 20, 1879. They were issued on January 8, 1880. 
 After a statement confirming the promise made by Sir 
 Theophilus Shepstone in April 1877, that the Transvaal 
 should remain a separate Government with its own laws 
 and legislature, and should, in the Legislative Assembly, 
 use either the Dutch or English language, they intimated 
 that General Sir Garnet Wolseley was temporarily the 
 Governor and Commander-in-Chief, and Colonel Owen 
 Lanyon the Administrator of the territory. The Executive 
 Council was to consist of the Administrator, the Senior 
 Military officer (the Commandant), the Secretary to 
 Government, the Attorney-General, the Secretary for 
 Native Affairs, and three members to be appointed by the 
 Governor. It was to proceed to the despatch of business 
 when summoned by the authority of the Governor. 
 
232 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Except in urgent cases the Governor was to consult with 
 the Executive Council, and, in such cases, was to inform 
 them as soon as possible of any action he had taken. The 
 Legislative Assembly was to consist of the Governor, the 
 Administrator, the Chief Justice, the members of the 
 Executive Council, and such persons (not exceeding six in 
 number at any one time) as the Governor might summon : 
 at least three being burghers holding no office of profit 
 under the Crown. 
 
 In regard to this Constitution I thought at the time 
 that it would not satisfy the people. There was no 
 safety valve, in the shape of a representative assembly, to 
 discuss questions referred to them by the Executive 
 Council, or started, under certain restrictions, in their own 
 chamber. I thought, too, that the Governor should not sit 
 in the Legislative Assembly, but should, with the advice 
 of his Executive Council, have the power of veto. 
 
 Of course the success or otherwise of this Constitution 
 depended, in a great measure, on the man who had to 
 work it ; and, in a lesser degree, on those who were named 
 by the Home Government to assist him. When Sir 
 Garnet left the country the late Administrator became 
 Governor of the Transvaal ; and when General Clifford left, 
 the new Commandant and the new Governor did not 
 work harmoniously together. 
 
 What was the result ? The Boers on every side began 
 to plot and organise in order to obtain, at the first favour- 
 able opportunity, by force of arms, what they had failed 
 to secure by peaceful means. The Government of the 
 Transvaal, civil and military, were wanting in reliable in- 
 telligence, and failed to appreciate what was going on. 
 The military posts which had been formed on the Lines 
 of Communication to maintain the touch with Natal were 
 changed. The troops lost their fitness for war, and, worse 
 than all, the Cavalry, on whom depended the formation of 
 
BOERS REVOLT 233 
 
 the Flying Column, which was the chief feature in the 
 defence of the country, were dismounted and ordered 
 home. 
 
 The opportunity that the Boers were looking for 
 arrived. They rose in revolt. The British garrisons 
 were isolated; the marching columns were shot down 
 before they knew that there was war ; and the scratch 
 force that the new High Commissioner of Natal (Sir 
 George Colley) brought up to regain the country was 
 beaten at the attack on Laing's Neck, chiefly for want of 
 Cavalry to turn the Boer flank. Later on, though troops 
 in ample numbers were brought to Natal, the British 
 Government gave back their country to the Boer farmers 
 and started the conflict between Boer and Briton that led 
 to all the loss of Life and waste of treasure in the subse- 
 quent years. 
 
 To return to our story. On January 1, 1880, there 
 was a meeting of the Executive Council at which the 
 Constitution for the Transvaal was read. A letter was 
 also laid before the meeting stating what had been done 
 by the Boer leaders at the Conference lately held by them 
 at Wonderfontein. In consequence of this latter the 
 80th Kegiment under Colonel Tucker, which was march- 
 ing to Cape Town via Kimberley, was ordered to stop at 
 Potchefstrom. The next day Mr. Pretorius and Mr. Bok, 
 the President and Secretary of the Boer Committee, were 
 arrested for high treason. 
 
 According to news received from outside, there was 
 considerable excitement in the country at Pretorius 
 being taken. But nothing came of it at the time. He 
 owed his position on the Committee to his name. For 
 himself, as far as I know, he was content with things as 
 they were, and had no wish to raise the standard of 
 rebellion. But he had not sufficient strength of will to 
 keep in order the turbulent spirits that existed among the 
 
234 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Boers. After a short time in custody with Colonel Tucker, 
 his wants and those of his family being supplied from the 
 80th Mess, he was released. 
 
 All through January the troops were taking up their 
 position in their new quarters, and making arrangements 
 for the semi-permanent occupation of the country. All 
 seemed quiet, and it was thought at Headquarters that the 
 hostile feeling among the Boers would soon die out, and 
 the Transvaal become settled and prosperous. In regard 
 to the higher appointments, it was arranged that Sir 
 Owen Lanyon should remain as Governor, but be under a 
 new High Commissioner at Natal, who would be directly 
 responsible for the government of that colony, and also 
 superintend the working of the newly established native 
 locations in Zululand, and the new Constitution in the 
 Transvaal. I was offered by Sir Garnet Wolseley the 
 permanent post of Commandant in the Transvaal, but 
 was told that no active work was expected, and that con- 
 sequently it would probably be better for me to go to 
 England, and so I took the Governor's advice and went 
 home. General Clifford was put in command in the 
 Transvaal in my place and remained there until a new 
 Commandant (Colonel Bellairs) was appointed by the 
 War Office. 
 
 On January 22 Sir Garnet Wolseley with his secre- 
 tary (Mr. Herbert) went by special post- cart to Pieter- 
 maritzburg. 
 
 On the 24th General Clifford arrived at Pretoria, and 
 I took him round the place and handed over to him all 
 the necessary papers : Captain Yeatman-Biggs remaining 
 as his Staff officer. 
 
 On the 26th I said good-bye to all my many friends, 
 Boer as well as Briton, and had my last dinner with the 
 hospitable Administrator at Government House ; and the 
 next day, surrounded by a crowd of cheering soldiers and 
 
VISIT THE DIAMOND FIELDS 235 
 
 civilians, I left Pretoria on the top of the Kimberley coach, 
 having obtained leave to visit the diamond fields and the 
 Orange Free State. While at Kimberley I took advantage 
 of the occasion to make a thorough inspection of the 
 great diamond industry that has made the place famous. 
 I had the best possible conductor in the Government 
 Inspector of Mines, Mr. Ward, to whom my friend 
 Colonel Lanyon had written to introduce me. At the 
 commencement of 1880, when I was there, a good many 
 small companies and even private individuals owned 
 shares in the mines, and the inspector had plenty to do 
 to settle disputes between one owner and the other. 
 Since then the De Beers Company have gradually bought 
 up all the others, and have established almost a monopoly 
 in the sale of the beautiful and popular jewels that are 
 found in the locality. 
 
 The principal mine is the crater of an extinct volcano. 
 The diamonds are found scattered pretty evenly in the 
 earth that forms the sides and bottom of the crater ; and 
 the process by which they are obtained is first to dig up 
 the earth, then to spread it out so as to expose it to sun 
 and air until it breaks into small pieces, and then finally 
 to wash it in various sieves until nothing is left but a 
 little gravel. Out of this gravel the diamonds are picked 
 by hand. But even then they are not what one sees 
 hanging round the necks of English and American ladies. 
 They are like the white pebbles that children pick up on 
 the beach by the seaside, and they have to go through 
 the difficult and expensive process of cutting (or grinding) 
 before they become articles of commerce. 
 
 Having walked with Mr. Ward down and up the 
 great De Beers mine, and having been shown by him the 
 whole process of winning the diamonds from the earth, he 
 kindly instructed me how to obtain them, and assisted 
 me in choosing some. Naturally, when the diamond- 
 
236 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 bearing earth is spread abroad on the ground, and even 
 when it is being passed through the mills, it is frequently 
 accessible to workmen who are employed in the industry, 
 so it is safeguarded by very strict local laws. To possess 
 an uncut diamond without a written * permit ' is a criminal 
 offence, and a large proportion of the occupants of the 
 Kimberley prison, many of them quite respectable in 
 appearance, had got there simply by disobeying the 
 regulations in this respect. Warned by my conductor 
 and having selected a certain number of stones at a 
 diamond merchant's, and had them weighed, I obtained 
 a ' permit ' to buy the number of carats that the weight 
 amounted to, and then put my stones into a little bag, 
 and carried them home to England. Those to whom 
 I showed them in their natural state, on the voyage and 
 in England, did not think much of them. Even the 
 jeweller in Bond Street to whom I took them was 
 not particularly impressed until they came back from 
 Belgium, where he had sent them to be cut. After that 
 process, however, their beauty fully justified the choice 
 of my friend, the Inspector at the Kimberley mine. 
 
CHAPTEK IX 
 
 STAFF WOKK IN PEACE 
 
 Zanzibar Home through Egypt Farnborough and Knellwood Appointed 
 Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General at Alder shot Com- 
 mittees on War Organisation Trip to Egypt in 1881 Proposed 
 mobilisation. 
 
 ON February 19, 1880, I left Durban in the steamship 
 Asiatic, under the command of Captain Owen, and pro- 
 ceeded, vi& Delagoa Bay and Mozambique, to Zanzibar. 
 Here I stopped a few days until the connecting steamer 
 started for Aden, to catch the mail liner from the Far 
 East bound for England. At the time of my visit, 
 Zanzibar was not much frequented by ordinary travellers, 
 and the arrival of even so humble an individual as myself 
 caused something of a sensation. 
 
 I was entertained by the British resident, Dr. Kirk, 
 and his pleasing wife; and I had a special audience of 
 the Sultan, who ordered a review of his troops to take 
 place in my honour. 
 
 I was also introduced to Bishop Steere, who showed 
 me the cathedral that was being built and the head- 
 quarters of the Universities' Mission. The cathedral 
 was sited on ground formerly used as a slave market, and 
 the young slaves captured in local dhows by the British 
 men-of-war, who could not be sent back to their homes 
 in the centre of Africa, were taken care of and educated 
 in the mission schools, The mission, which does a large 
 
238 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 amount of Christian pioneer work on the African main- 
 land, has its bases of operation at Zanzibar and Mombasa. 
 From the latter a railway, built by our Government, now 
 runs to the neighbourhood of Uganda and the equatorial 
 lakes. 
 
 My first interview with the Bishop was somewhat out 
 of the ordinary. I had gone to the mission buildings to 
 find him. From thence I was directed to the cathedral. 
 Arrived there I saw no sign of him, but I told a workman 
 whom I encountered what I had come for. Shortly 
 afterwards I saw another workman coming down a ladder 
 in the church tower. On reaching the floor, this latter 
 came to where I was standing, and introduced himself to 
 me as the Bishop. When I looked at him more closely 
 I saw that there was something clerical about his collar ; 
 but the rest of his dress was that of a native mechanic, 
 and he was covered with dirt and dust. He told me that 
 he was obliged to work himself on the roof because the 
 local mechanics were not sufficiently skilled to do that 
 part of the building without a good deal of supervision 
 and explanation. Truly it was a fortunate thing for the 
 cathedral that the head of the mission had received a 
 liberal education before he left England. 
 
 On March 6 I went on board the British Indian 
 Company's steamer Java (Captain Macaulay), and was 
 glad to get away from the hotel, where the heat was 
 intense, and where all the Europeans seemed suffering 
 from low fever. In eight days we reached Aden, and two 
 days afterwards went on board the Mirzapore (Captain 
 Parish) which was on its way from Calcutta to England. 
 
 I was now once more on the ' overland route.' My 
 last experience of it was when, as a young subaltern, 
 I was going to take part in the war of the Mutinies. 
 There is always something to entertain one on this route ; 
 the people you meet are generally interesting, occasionally 
 
RETURN HOME THROUGH EGYPT 239 
 
 famous. The ports you touch at are full of life. But at 
 the same time it is very well known in these days of 
 much travelling, so I propose omitting my experiences of 
 it and only mentioning one incident. While detained at 
 Suez I made an expedition into the Arabian desert and 
 saw the rock reputed to be the one that Moses smote 
 with his staff to procure water for the Children of Israel. 
 The brook gushing out of the arid stone, and trickling 
 away until it loses itself in the sand, is a perpetual 
 reminder to those who visit the spot of the famous 
 exodus of the Jews from Egypt, and of their subsequent 
 life in the wilderness where they acquired that splendid 
 training which enabled them to fight and conquer the 
 giant defenders of the land of Jordan. 
 
 In passing through Egypt, I noted the unsettled state 
 of that country, and determined to come out again soon, 
 if possible, in order to look about and obtain such in- 
 formation as would be useful if ever a war broke out 
 there. 
 
 From Alexandria I returned to England by the 
 Brindisi route, passing through the lately made Mont 
 Cenis Tunnel. 
 
 Arrived at Dover, I met my wife who had come there 
 with our children to greet me, after an absence of fourteen 
 months. 
 
 The next day (April 1), I reported myself to the 
 Adjutant-General at the War Office. Shortly afterwards 
 I went by appointment to see the Commander-in-Chief of 
 the Army, H.E.H. the Duke of Cambridge. He was very 
 friendly, and said he would give me some good post. He 
 asked me a great many questions about the discipline of 
 the troops at the Cape, the efficiency of the Staff, the 
 necessity for a war in Zululand, &c. questions somewhat 
 difficult to answer, especially without consideration. 
 
 At this time we were living in London, and, having a 
 
240 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 short respite from work, we were able to see a good many 
 friends and relations. 
 
 Having been told that I ought to be presented on 
 return from active service, we attended a Drawing Eoom 
 at Buckingham Palace on May 13. Her Majesty was 
 most gracious, and, on return to our house, I received an 
 invitation to go and stay at Windsor on the following 
 Saturday. I got there in time for dinner, and found, 
 besides the Queen and Princess Beatrice, a party consist- 
 ing of the Grand Duke of Hesse, Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone, 
 and others. At dinner I sat between Mr. Goschen and 
 Sir Henry Ponsonby. After dinner Her Majesty spoke to 
 me for some time about the war, and also about the Duke 
 of Connaught. Princess Beatrice and the Grand Duke 
 also talked to me. The latter remembered having met 
 me when he came to visit Prince Arthur at Chatham. 
 The next day the Queen sent me a likeness of herself, 
 which we still possess. I then attended the service at 
 St. George's Chapel, said good-bye to Fleetwood Edwards 
 and Sir Henry Ponsonby, and went back to London. 
 
 After a few days' tour with my wife in the neighbour- 
 hood of Windermere, I went to Aldershot on June 1, to 
 take up the appointment of second-in-command of the 
 Eoyal Engineer (mounted) troops at that station. Sir 
 Howard Elphinstone was at that time in command of 
 these troops, while Colonel FitzEoy Somerset was chief 
 of all the Eoyal Engineers with the title of Colonel on 
 the Staff C.E.E. The General of the District (or, as 
 it was then called, the Aldershot Division) was Sir 
 Thomas Steele, who had been military secretary to Lord 
 Eaglan in the Crimea. But his time was up, and Sir 
 Daniel Lysons had been named as his successor. 
 
 As there were no married quarters attached to my 
 appointment, we entered into negotiations to buy the 
 house at South Farnborougb that Sir Thomas Steele had 
 
AT ALDERSHOT 241 
 
 occupied while in command. Later on, when its builder, 
 Mr. Knell, died, I acquired more land to add to it, and we 
 carried out a good many alterations there. At the same 
 time we sold our London house, and brought all our 
 furniture to our country home. While I am on this 
 subject I may mention that South Farnborough, where 
 Knellwood was situated, lay between the old village of 
 Farnborough and the North Camp. A large portion of it 
 had been bought by a land company and laid out in the 
 usual way. But the company became bankrupt, and the 
 various plots were bought up by land speculators. None 
 of the roads or drainage works which were originally 
 contemplated were put in hand, and little, if any, pro- 
 vision was made for water or other supplies. So upon 
 the one or two dwellers in the place it fell to organise the 
 new township that sprang up in the neighbourhood of the 
 North Camp barracks. This meant a good deal of work 
 for me for a number of years, in addition to the duties 
 that fell to my lot as an Army officer. But at the same 
 time it gave me some experience of local government in 
 England. 
 
 The usual life at Aldershot, with its round of royal 
 and other reviews, besides the work of training recruits 
 and breaking young horses, the many distractions, such 
 as race meetings and cricket matches in the summer, and 
 hunting and shooting in the winter, not to mention 
 frequent trips to London, kept us very fully occupied. 
 
 But before the end of the year a change came over 
 the scene. On December 21 news arrived of an outbreak 
 of Boers in the Transvaal Heidelberg seized, and a 
 republic proclaimed. The next day troops were ordered 
 to the Cape. But more than a month elapsed before the 
 full import of what was taking place in South Africa 
 dawned on the people in England. 
 
 On January 30, 1881, further news was received that 
 
 B 
 
242 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the troops collected by Sir George Colley, the High Com- 
 missioner in Natal, to restore order in the Transvaal had 
 been beaten by the Boers at Laing's Nek, with severe 
 loss, including that of Colonel Deane, A.A.G., and Major 
 Poole, Koyal Artillery. This stirred up the feeling in the 
 country and caused urgent measures to be adopted by the 
 War Office. 
 
 What immediately concerned us was that Colonel 
 Buller, the A.Q.M.G. at Aldershot, was ordered out as 
 Chief Staff Officer in place of Colonel Deane, and I took 
 his appointment at the home camp of instruction. 
 
 While on the subject of the Transvaal I ought 
 perhaps to mention that another unsuccessful fight 
 against the Boers at Majuba Hill, where Sir George 
 Colley lost his life, caused the despatch of more troops to 
 the Cape under the command of Sir Frederick Eoberts. 
 But before these latter reached the theatre of war, Sir 
 Evelyn Wood, who was in command on the spot, had, 
 under instructions from the British Government, made 
 terms with the enemy, and this led to the handing back 
 of the country to the Boer farmers. 
 
 Before accepting the Aldershot billet I had to make 
 up my mind to vacate Knellwood, where we had just 
 settled, and go into the A.Q.M.G.'s hut, in the North 
 Camp, it being made a sine qua non that we should live 
 there. This entailed making rather extensive alterations 
 at the hut itself. It was at this time, at the sale of 
 Buller's horses at Tattersall's, that I bought the three- 
 year-old mare called * Charming Lass,' which became my 
 first charger and carried me without a fault for twenty 
 years. Her hoof stands on my table as I write. 
 
 On February 16, 1881, I took up my work on the 
 General Staff at Aldershot. At that time this was the 
 only station in Great Britain where modern military 
 training could be carried out. The winter garrison, 
 
ON THE STAFF AT ALDERSHOT 243 
 
 quartered in huts of wood or brick, consisted of three 
 brigades of Infantry, a brigade of Cavalry, and a pro- 
 portionately large force of Artillery, Engineers, and Army 
 Service, Medical, and Ordnance Corps. There were also 
 several special training schools ; and in the summer 
 months a good many camps were pitched for the benefit 
 of regular and auxiliary troops who came there from 
 other stations to learn the art of war. Each brigade 
 was commanded by a Major-General, with a Brigade 
 Major and an Aide-de-Camp ; and over all there was 
 the Lieut. -General in chief command, with two Staff 
 officers who both enjoyed the same comprehensive title, 
 viz. Assistant-Adjutant and Quartermaster-General. In 
 theory these Staff officers were interchangeable, but in 
 practice one did the duty of Adjutant-General, which com- 
 prised discipline and drill, and the other did manoeuvres, 
 and was the intermediary between the General and the 
 Departments. 
 
 When I commenced work Sir Daniel Lysons was the 
 General-in-Command. Colonel the Hon. E. Curzon did 
 the Adjutant-General's work, and I was the representa- 
 tive of the Quarter-Master-General. 
 
 On looking back at the way in which the Staff duties 
 were carried out, and reading between the lines in my 
 journal, I am under the impression that there was plenty 
 of room for improvement. But I see no good in trying 
 to criticise all this now. Matters have much changed 
 since then, and I hope for the better. I will only give 
 one specimen of how business was done, by way of 
 example. 
 
 All official correspondence was supposed to be received 
 by the A.A.G. and dealt with by him ; matters of detail 
 being referred at once to those whom they concerned, and 
 important matters being either passed over at once for 
 report or submitted to the General- Officer-Commanding 
 
244 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 for decision. This might have worked all right if it had 
 always been under the direct supervision of a well-read 
 and energetic officer, who was able to do the preliminary 
 work himself. But, as a matter of fact, all correspon- 
 dence was opened and dealt with by the senior clerk in 
 the A.A.G.'s office, an able and hardworking subordinate, 
 but one who was not possessed of much military know- 
 ledge and who had not had the advantage of much 
 military experience. But he had a system of his own 
 in which he believed implicitly. All letters that arrived 
 at the office were treated in the same way they were 
 folded into four, cross- ways, and on the outside was 
 written the date of receipt and a short instruction (such 
 as * passed to A.Q.M.G. for execution '). The letters thus 
 docketed awaited the signature of the A.A.G. when that 
 official arrived at the office a somewhat variable hour. 
 The result of this arrangement was that, sometimes, 
 letters requiring immediate attention did not reach the 
 officer who had to carry out the instruction until it was 
 too late ; sometimes they went to the wrong departments, 
 and frequently the docketed instruction did not agree 
 with the instruction contained in the letter. When first 
 I took up my appointment I frequently went to the office 
 and found no work, while at the same time a pile of 
 letters were lying on the table of the A.A.G. awaiting his 
 signature. I need hardly say that, by getting my clerk 
 to waylay the letters and make extracts of all that 
 concerned my department, I soon became independent 
 of the A.A.G.'s movements, and was able to get my work 
 done without delay. 
 
 In the middle of April of this year I had the honour 
 of being invited by H.K.H. The Duke of Connaught to 
 act as his Assistant-Adjutant-General at one of the big 
 gatherings of Volunteers that used to take place in the 
 early days of that force at Brighton. Advantage was 
 
A VOLUNTEER FIELD DAY 245 
 
 taken of the Easter holiday, because it enabled men 
 to get away from their employment for two or three 
 days without losing pay. My General commanded the 
 1st Division, and put up with his Staff at the Grand 
 Hotel, the men being billeted in various spare buildings 
 throughout the town. On the Saturday we rode, with 
 a large party of officers, round the position that had been 
 chosen for the battle. On Sunday there was Church 
 Parade and calling on the Commander-in-Chief, the 
 Duke of Cambridge, who had arrived and put up at the 
 ' Norfolk,' and on Monday there was a field day, followed 
 by a march-past. The operations lasted the whole day, 
 from dawn until sunset, and must have been of use to 
 many men of the force as well as to the Staff. But a few 
 years later these assemblies by the sea were done away 
 with, giving place to smaller concentrations at one or 
 other of our military camps of instruction. On return 
 to Aldershot, on April 19, we heard that the great Con- 
 servative statesman, Lord Beaconsfield, had died that 
 morning. 
 
 All through the summer of 1881 Aldershot camp was 
 more than usually busy under the command of our 
 energetic and able General, Sir Daniel Lysons. 
 
 On July 16, under instructions from the War Office, 
 I was made President of a Committee on Infantry 
 Equipment. 
 
 This was the beginning of a series of committees to 
 do the work that in most modern armies, and lately in 
 our own, is done by a special branch of the General Staff. 
 This duty naturally took up a great deal of time and 
 caused me much anxiety. I continued to work at it 
 during the tenure of my position as A.Q.M.G. at Aider- 
 shot, and then, under instructions from the Adjutant- 
 General at Headquarters, handed the chief part of it over 
 to the Intelligence Department in London, the remainder 
 
246 A LIFE IN THE BKITISH ARMY 
 
 (which consisted of experimenting and reporting) being 
 taken charge of by my successor at the camp. 
 
 A few words seem necessary to explain what the work 
 consisted of and what it meant. In order to create 
 armies four operations are necessary, viz. to obtain the 
 required number of men ; to provide them with clothing, 
 arms, transport, and stores to enable them to take the 
 field ; to arrange them in units so that they can carry out 
 all the evolutions of war under the command of their 
 generals ; and to train them so that every officer and 
 man shall know what he might be called upon to do in 
 face of an enemy, and be physically fit to undertake 
 a campaign at the shortest notice. These four operations 
 are known to military men under the name of enlistment, 
 equipment, organisation, and training. 
 
 I am not now writing a treatise on Army Organisation, 
 but I mention this to show what was the scope of the 
 work that devolved on me at Aldershot. At the time 
 I was appointed A.Q.M.G. at that station there was no 
 special department of the War Office responsible for what 
 may be called the preparation of an army for war. The 
 Adjutant-General's Department, under the Commander- 
 in-Chief, was responsible for enlistment and training. 
 But training meant little beyond drill ; and enlistment 
 was subject to the constantly changing requirements of 
 the Secretary of State and his financial advisers. The 
 Quartermaster-General's Department was responsible for 
 transport and for consumable supplies ; and the Ordnance 
 Store Department for arms, ammunition, and warlike stores. 
 No branch was specially responsible for the organisation 
 of units for war, and for the work that this responsibility 
 entails. 
 
 Now the want of preparation for war had been 
 brought forcibly home to the nation at the time of the 
 conflict with Eussia in 1855-56. But inasmuch as the 
 
MILITARY MANOEUVRES 247 
 
 principal operations had taken the form of a siege (that of 
 Sebastopol in the Crimea), the organisation required for a 
 moving army had not been fully realised. Little if any- 
 thing had been done to make the British Army a practical 
 one until the successes of Prussia against Austria in 1866, 
 and of Germany against France in 1870, awoke all 
 Europe to the enormous advantage of organisation in 
 military matters, and to the necessity that existed for 
 every nation that wished to hold its own in peace to take 
 stock of its armour, and see how far it met the needs of 
 modern war. 
 
 Mr. Cardwell, 1 the Secretary of State, who managed 
 our Army at that time, among other reforms that he 
 initiated, arranged for military manoeuvres in the vicinity 
 of Salisbury Plain. But no sufficient organisation existed, 
 even on paper, to enable a field force to be formed out of 
 the peace cadres that were scattered about in the country ; 
 and it fell to a hard-working, though subordinate officer 
 in the Intelligence branch of the Quartermaster-General's 
 Department (Colonel Home, E.E.) to make the necessary 
 1 tables ' to enable those manoeuvres to be undertaken. 
 
 The operations on Salisbury Plain in 1873 did for the 
 British Army what the sea does for her navy, viz. showed 
 to all ranks what were the requirements of war. 
 
 The manoeuvres over, Colonel Home continued his 
 organisation business under the direction of the Quarter- 
 master-General ; and a considerable amount of good 
 work seems to have been done. Army tables regulating 
 the size of the units of a field army were drawn up and 
 printed ; regulations were made for the line of communi- 
 cations of an army in the field; manuals of regimental 
 transport were compiled ; and questions of equipment of 
 all sorts were considered and reported on. 
 
 While this work was in progress I met Home, and 
 1 Afterwards Viscount Cardwell. 
 
248 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 noticed that he looked worn and unwell; and in the 
 course of conversation he said : * If anything happens to 
 me take up and carry on the work I have begun; 
 I bequeath it to you.' 
 
 I thought little of what he said at the time, and 
 probably should not have remembered it ; but not long 
 afterwards, in 1879, he died, and a crowd of officers and 
 others, including the Secretary for War, Lord Cardwell, 
 followed his body to the grave. 
 
 It would appear that at his death there was no one 
 ready to take up the work that he had started in con- 
 nection with preparation for war. I suppose his suc- 
 cessor in the Intelligence Department found enough to do 
 in carrying on the ordinary routine, and was not prepared 
 to risk health, and even his life, as his predecessor had 
 done. Anyhow, from that time the work of what later 
 on was called ' Mobilisation ' ceased to be carried out at 
 the Intelligence Department. 
 
 Curiously enough, as I have already said, soon after 
 I took up the work of A.Q.M.G. at Aldershot the question 
 of the pattern of Infantry equipment was handed over to 
 me. This led to other work of a similar nature, and 
 eventually to my being entrusted with keeping up to date 
 the * Army Tables/ and other regulations under which our 
 Army could be changed from peace conditions to those of 
 war. So Colonel Home's legacy came to me without my 
 seeking for it ; and I may say that, with the interruption 
 caused by the two campaigns in Egypt of 1882 and 1884, 
 I continued to do this work, under the direct instructions 
 of the Adjutant-General at Headquarters, until 1887, 
 when I left Aldershot. 
 
 In that year the ' mobilisation ' work, as it was sub- 
 sequently called, was taken up again by the Intelligence 
 Department under Major-General H. Brackenbury. Later 
 on it was transferred to a special branch of the Ad- 
 
INFANTRY EQUIPMENT 249 
 
 jutant-General's office, and in November 1895 it was 
 placed directly under the Commander-in-Chief. Finally, 
 when the office of Commander-in-Chief was done away 
 with, it became a part of the regular duty of the General 
 Staff of the Army. 
 
 So much for my connection with the work. And now 
 a word or two about the work itself. It began, as I have 
 said, with * Infantry Equipment.' As long back as May 
 1864 a Committee, under General Eyre, was appointed 
 to inquire how far lung and heart disease was produced 
 among young soldiers by the accoutrements they wore 
 and by the drill which they were put through with their 
 accoutrements on. This led to an inquiry into the best 
 pattern of accoutrements, and also into the nature and 
 amount of drill advisable for recruits. After more than 
 four years' investigation, a pattern called the * valise 
 equipment ' was recommended and adopted by the Service. 
 This pattern was generally approved of in the Army and 
 it remained in use for eleven years. 
 
 The recommendations of General Eyre's Committee, 
 however, were never fully carried out. They consisted 
 not only in improving the carrying arrangements but 
 also in reducing the load to be carried. It can readily 
 be understood that, adopting a new-fashioned equipment 
 intended to carry only a limited amount of kit for active 
 service, without at the same time settling what the soldier 
 was to carry in time of peace, and what in war, only led 
 to confusion. For instance, when the new equipment 
 was issued to * the Guards,' and they were told that they 
 might carry their great coats when and where they liked, 
 their sense of regularity was disturbed, and they set to 
 work to devise a plan for their immediate needs. The 
 result was what appeared to the rest of the Army a most 
 beautifully folded garment, suspended from the shoulders, 
 in place of the discarded knapsack. But the day of 
 
250 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 revelation was at hand. The Guards from London were 
 ordered to take part in a Royal review at Windsor. 
 While bivouacked beneath the trees of the park a severe 
 and unexpected shower of rain fell upon them. The 
 Commander-in-Chief gave the order * to cloak.' But the 
 order could not be obeyed, the apparent great coats being 
 nothing more than well -constructed dummies, the real 
 articles having been left behind on the barrack shelves. 
 The confusion of language caused by this incident may 
 be imagined. The result was another committee on 
 Infantry Equipment, with special orders to make the 
 valise big enough to carry the great coat, besides such 
 other articles as it was thought necessary that the soldier 
 should keep always with him. 
 
 The new committee, under the presidency of Sir 
 Thomas Steele, carried out their instructions. But, in 
 some respects, the principles advocated by General Eyre 
 were overlooked, and a third committee, of which I was 
 President, was appointed to conduct further experiments, 
 and to endeavour to provide an equipment that would do 
 not only for peace but also for war. 
 
 My committee, having suggested certain small altera- 
 tions in straps, to enable the Steele equipment, which 
 had been made in large quantities, to be worn for the 
 time being, pointed out that the essence of the recommen- 
 dations of the previous committee was, that the articles 
 carried by the soldier should be reduced in number and 
 simplified in pattern. At the same time we made 
 certain recommendations of our own. The views of my 
 committee were approved at Headquarters, and were in 
 process of being attended to when the Soudan Expedition 
 of 1884 interfered with the work. While the Adjutant- 
 General of the Army and other subordinate officers who 
 were concerned in the question were absent from 
 England, an equipment known as the ' Slade-Wallace ' 
 
INFANTRY EQUIPMENT 251 
 
 was adopted in the Service. The inventors of this latter 
 claimed that it enabled the recommendations of my 
 committee to be carried out, partly by a new distribution 
 of the soldier's kit, and partly by allowing it to be carried 
 not only in its entirety, as might be required in peace, 
 but also in part (as would be necessary in war). The 
 principles of General Eyre's committee were, however, 
 again overlooked. The new equipment was not a success 
 in South Africa, and the whole question had to be taken 
 in hand again after the war in that country. 
 
 The importance of the matter is well known to all 
 soldiers. It is especially appreciated by those Staff 
 officers whose business it is to organise troops for war. 
 For, until you know exactly what the dismounted man 
 carries on his back, and what the mounted man carries 
 on his horse, you cannot calculate what has to be 
 provided in the way of transport to accompany troops in 
 the field. 
 
 The necessity for the whole question of preparation 
 for war being considered together, led to my Aldershot 
 committee being instructed to keep up to date the * field 
 tables,' as well as to report from time to time on matters 
 of dress and equipment. 
 
 I will not, however, pursue the subject further now. 
 But I may add that the memorandum we wrote at that 
 time on the organisation of military transport for the 
 English Army was the foundation of the war organisation 
 that was subsequently built up. 
 
 I will now turn to my experiences in Egypt in the 
 years 1882 and 1884. In the former I was absent about 
 four months, and in the latter about six. In each case 
 I returned to my Staff work at Aldershot when the 
 expedition was over. 
 
 I have already mentioned that, passing through Egypt 
 on my return from South Africa in 1880, 1 noticed the 
 
252 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 state of unrest that existed in the country and determined 
 to take the first opportunity to revisit it, and gain all 
 possible military information. This resolution I was able 
 to carry out when the summer drills and manoeuvres were 
 over at Aldershot, in October 1881. Having obtained 
 ordinary furlough, with permission to travel abroad, my 
 wife and I started off with light kit for the land of the 
 Pharaohs. We spent the Sunday at Meurice's at Paris, 
 and on the evening of October 24 took sleeping cars for 
 Vienna, where we arrived in thirty-six hours. The 
 following day I obtained leave, through the Embassy, to 
 see the changes that had been made in the dress and 
 equipment of the Austrian Infantry since their war 
 with Prussia. We then proceeded to Trieste, and got on 
 board the Austrian-Lloyd's steamer Mars. We had 
 rather a rough time passing Corfu, until we got under the 
 lee of the bold rocky cliffs of the Island of Crete. We 
 arrived at Alexandria on November 3, and made ourselves 
 comfortable at the Hotel de 1'Europe. Time being 
 precious, I began without delay to make arrangements 
 for my inspection. In doing so I found that the 
 companionship of my wife was a great advantage : the 
 fact that a lady was with me took off the suspicion that 
 I was anything more than a British traveller searching 
 for antiquities. I found out at once that it was no use 
 asking for any official permission to visit the fortifications 
 and barracks ; and that the best way of seeing anything 
 was to go as an ordinary traveller, and trust to the power 
 of ' baksheesh ' to surmount difficulties. The first day we 
 prowled about the town, and visited some of the old 
 fortifications, and the arsenal, and the Mahmoudieh 
 Canal. We also engaged a dragoman, by name * Ahmed 
 Abdullah,' and settled with him the plans that we wished 
 to carry out. The next day, accompanied by the 
 dragoman, we rode on donkeys to Aboukir Bay, and 
 
A TOUR IN EGYPT 253 
 
 managed to get a pretty good idea of the forts guarding 
 the coast at that notable landing place. The following 
 day we visited the exit of the Mahmoudieh Canal, and 
 inspected the wharves and storehouses, and we also looked 
 at some more forts. On the third day I made another 
 long donkey expedition with ' Ahmed,' visiting the works 
 to the west of Alexandria, as far as Marabout Point. 
 Wherever we went, soldiers ran at us whenever we came 
 near a fort, but I was able to note the actual position of 
 the works and their state of repair, and I could make 
 a good guess at their armament. My inspections were, of 
 course, accompanied by oral evidence regarding the pre- 
 parations being made in the country, and the feelings of 
 the people, and I picked up a good deal of information. 
 
 On November 8 we went to Cairo, and put up at 
 Shepheard's Hotel, where I got hold of a very clever 
 dragoman, by name ' Assad Smart.' I also secured some 
 valuable plans of the Suez Canal and of the subsidiary 
 one that supplies it with fresh water. 
 
 A short week at the capital was occupied in doing the 
 ordinary sightseeing, and also in gaining from every 
 possible source all further information that I could obtain 
 regarding the situation in the country and its military 
 resources. Among other places that I visited was 'the 
 Barrage,' which was intended to do great things in 
 improving the irrigation of the Egyptian Delta, but so far 
 had not been a great success. 
 
 On November 14 we returned to Alexandria, and the 
 next day sailed in the Bangalore for Venice. After a 
 couple of days wandering among the treasures of art in 
 that wonderful city of the past, we worked our way 
 through Milan and Paris to London, where we arrived on 
 November 28. 
 
 On return to Aldershot we found all well at home. 
 Committee work at the War Office was awaiting my 
 
254 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 arrival, and I saw there the Commander-in-Chief, Sir 
 Garnet Wolseley, and others. I at once told Sir Garnet 
 what I had gathered in Egypt, and assured him of my 
 belief that trouble was brewing in that country. I have 
 reason to think that the information I gave him was of 
 use to him, and thus to the State. Anyhow he instructed 
 the Intelligence Department to look up what further 
 information was required, and then he made a scheme 
 for a landing, and a campaign in Egypt, should it ever 
 become necessary to send British troops there. 
 
 It is not my purpose to follow affairs in Egypt, except 
 as far as they concern my own experiences. Ever since 
 our visit to the country I had felt convinced that, sooner 
 or later, some crisis would occur there. But, beyond 
 reading the papers, I took no part in the events that led 
 up to the war. 
 
 Soon after my return I was fully engrossed in my 
 military work at Aldershot and the business entailed by 
 my various committees, and the usual camp life that I 
 have already described. 
 
 Early in February 1882 I gave a lecture at the Prince 
 Consort's Library on ' the Training of Troops for War.' 
 Sir Daniel Lysons was in the chair, and a great deal of 
 interest was taken in the subject. A few days later I 
 gave it again at the Eoyal United Service Institution in 
 London. 
 
 In the course of the summer orders were issued to 
 mobilise a certain portion of the English Army, and place 
 it in camp at Chobham; and on June 30 I went to 
 Chobham Common to meet Sir Edward Hamley, who 
 was named to command there, and discuss with him the 
 arrangements. 
 
 But on July 11 news arrived of the bombardment of 
 Alexandria by the British fleet under Sir Beauchamp 
 Seymour. On the 15th we heard that the town was 
 
ARABI PASHA. 
 Head of Revolt in Egypt in 1882. 
 
CIVIL APPOINTMENT REFUSED 255 
 
 being burned by Arabi Pasha, the mutinous Colonel who 
 had suddenly become a power in Egypt. This put an 
 end to all idea of an instructional camp. All available 
 troops were wanted for actual war. 
 
 On the 20th I received a telegram to go and see Sir 
 Garnet Wolseley at the War Office on an important 
 matter, which turned out to be the offer of a temporary 
 civil appointment. But I refused it, on the ground that 
 I preferred to take my chance in the Army, especially 
 under the possibility of war. 
 
256 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 CHAPTEE X 
 
 STAFF WOBK IN WAR 
 
 Ordered to Egypt in July 1882 Organisation of the Force Line of Com- 
 munications Alexandria The Suez Canal Ismailia Transport of the 
 Field Army Kassassin and Tel-el-Kebir Zagazig Cairo Return to 
 England House of Commons Committee Egypt in 1884 Sent to the 
 Soudan Appointed Colonel-on-the-Staff to command the Advanced Depot 
 Illness Trip to the Holy Land Home in the Poona Again on the 
 Staff at Aldershot. 
 
 ON July 22 I had an official letter to say that H.E.H. 
 The Commander-in-Chief had selected me to serve in 
 Egypt on the Staff, and soon afterwards I was told by 
 Sir Garnet Wolesley that I was to be Assistant- Adjutant- 
 General to General Earle, who had been appointed 
 General-of -Communications for the Expedition. These 
 announcements naturally made me more than ordinarily 
 busy ; for I had but an uncertain day or two to make 
 preparations not only for personal requirements, but also 
 for what might be necesssary to enable the work of the 
 new appointment to be carried on successfully. 
 
 A few words on the general position seem necessary 
 before I continue the personal narrative. 
 
 Without discussing whether or not it was advisable, 
 at the particular moment when it took place, to bombard 
 the sea defences of Alexandria, it must be evident to any- 
 one who knows the circumstances that it was dangerous 
 to do so, unless at the same time a land force, sufficient 
 at all events to hold the town, was available on the spot. 
 
ORGANISING A FORCE FOR EGYPT 257 
 
 True, a small force of Marines and Bluejackets, com- 
 manded by Lord Charles Beresford, was landed under the 
 cover of the guns of the Fleet, and held with great gallantry 
 a rallying point for fugitives in the town. But this w T as 
 not sufficient to prevent the Arabs from destroying the 
 European quarter and the valuable stores of European 
 merchants. Nor was it able to make any attack on 
 Arabi's troops, which came and went where they liked 
 just outside the city. 
 
 As soon as the bombardment had taken place, no time 
 seems to have been lost by the British Foreign Office in 
 dealing with the situation, in concert with the other 
 nations concerned ; and no time seems to have been 
 lost by the War Office in preparing a field force to send 
 to the spot, and take action in conjunction with the 
 Fleet. 
 
 The Fleet, considerably reinforced, was under Sir 
 Beauchamp Seymour, with Sir Anthony Hoskins as second 
 in command ; while the Army for the expedition was 
 under Sir Garnet Wolseley, with Sir John Adye Chief-of- 
 the-Staff, Generals Willis and Sir Edward Hamley com- 
 manding the two Divisions, and Earle commanding the 
 Communications. 
 
 The organisation of the land force was founded on 
 the 'Army Tables' which had been started by Colonel 
 Home, and continued by me when I was quartered at 
 Aldershot. But there were many points in connection 
 with these ' Tables ' that had not yet been authoritatively 
 settled, and there were some which had been approved 
 but not yet practically arranged for. For instance, the 
 * Tables ' indicated various kinds of transport to suit the 
 requirements of the country in which a campaign might 
 take place, all stores being in packages of a certain size 
 and weight, to enable them to be carried either in carts 
 or on a mule's back, or even on a human being's head. 
 
 s 
 
258 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 But many of the stores had not been so arranged. More- 
 over, pack transport, which would have been the most 
 suitable for a campaign in the Egyptian deserts, was 
 not procurable at so short a notice. Consequently carts 
 and wagons, with only a few pack mules for ammunition, 
 were taken out with the force. Then, the system of a 
 Line-of-Communications, apart from the field Army, was 
 being tried for the first time ; and few, if any, of the 
 Staff understood it. 
 
 I was informed by Sir Garnet Wolseley that I was put 
 on the Communication Staff because of my experiences 
 in Natal and the Transvaal ; and I was enjoined by him 
 to do my utmost to assist my General in making it a 
 success. Fortunately for me, the General (Earle) was 
 a man of considerable knowledge of affairs, and of great 
 common sense, and our relations were most friendly 
 all the time I was with him. What we did I will now 
 relate. 
 
 The commencement of the military expedition to 
 Egypt in 1882 consisted in taking over from the Royal 
 Navy the post they had occupied in Alexandria since the 
 bombardment. This was done by troops sent from Malta 
 and elsewhere as rapidly as possible, the command being 
 entrusted to Sir Archibald Alison, who afterwards led the 
 Highland Brigade. 
 
 The scheme for the campaign, as conceived by Sir 
 Garnet Wolseley and approved by the Home Govern- 
 ment, was to use Alexandria as an advanced base, where 
 troops could be landed and refreshed after the voyage ; 
 and at the same time to threaten an advance from it 
 along the line of railway towards Cairo. The real attack 
 was to be a big flanking movement by way of the Suez 
 Canal to Ismailia, and thence along the line of the sweet- 
 water canal towards Cairo. 
 
 It seemed advisable that the Line-of-Communications 
 
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS 259 
 
 Staff should journey to Alexandria as soon as possible to 
 get hold of the work that lay before them. Consequently, 
 on August 2, Earle and I, having confided our horses, 
 servants, and camp equipment to the care of Major 
 Alleyne, an officer of the new Line-of-Communications 
 Staff, and Captain Earle, the General's A.D.C., hurried 
 across France to Marseilles, and took passage in one of 
 the Messageries steamers called La Seyne. We were 
 accompanied by Lord William Seymour, who was to be 
 attached to the Admiral, and Major Wyndham Murray of 
 the Line-of-Communications Staff, and, after a pleasant 
 voyage, we reached our destination on the 9th. 
 
 Five or six British men-of-war were lying outside the 
 harbour ; more were inside. As far as one could see 
 from our steamer, the damage done to the forts by the 
 bombardment was much less than we had expected. 
 
 Landing as soon as possible, we reported at Sir 
 Archibald Alison's Headquarters, which had been estab- 
 lished near the Moharem-Bey gate of the city. There 
 we saw Hutton and Dormer, the acting Staff officers, who 
 told us all about the reconnaissance that had just been 
 made of the Arab position outside Alexandria. 
 
 We then drove to Eamleh to see the British advanced 
 position which defended the town and the waterworks. 
 
 Later on in the day we visited the troops and the 
 Commissariat stores, &c., at Gabari, and then we returned 
 and slept on board La Seyne. 
 
 Naturally Earle discussed with me that evening the 
 general situation as it affected our work, and we settled 
 what to do the next day. Under ordinary circumstances, 
 in European wars the Line-of-Communications deals 
 with everything that has to be done in rear of the active 
 army. But in British expeditions across the sea, when 
 troops are sent by units from various ports in England 
 to some rendezvous near the theatre of operations and 
 
 s 2 
 
260 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 there organised and sent on under orders issued by the 
 General on the spot, it is difficult to say where or when 
 the Line-of- Communications Staff comes in. 
 
 For the expedition to Egypt in 1882, the General-of- 
 Communications seemed to us to have to carry on all the 
 work that, in former expeditions of which we were 
 cognisant, had been done by the Quartermaster-General. 
 But, as I have already said, this was not very clearly 
 defined, and the rest of the Staff knew very little about 
 it. Anyhow, it was clearly our duty to be at hand when 
 wanted, and to do all possible to enable the General in 
 chief command to carry out successfully what he had in 
 his mind. 
 
 Our immediate work was to establish a post at 
 Alexandria, and to place there a sufficient staff of officers 
 and men to conduct, in concert with the naval transport, 
 all embarkations and disembarkations, and do such other 
 business as might be required when the temporary 
 General left the station. 
 
 On August 10 the transport Orient arrived with the 
 Scots Guards, General Willis, who commanded the 1st 
 Division, and the Duke of Connaught, who commanded 
 the Guards Brigade, with others, being on board. 
 
 Sir John Adye, Chief of the Staff, also arrived ; and 
 the same day there was a meeting of Generals and Staff 
 on board the Admiral's yacht, Helicon. This meeting 
 was carried on day by day whenever circumstances 
 rendered it possible all through the campaign. 
 
 On the llth our meeting was honoured by a visit 
 from the Khedive of Egypt, who had not supported the 
 revolution, but had thrown in his lot with the British. 
 He came on board chiefly, I think, to see the Duke of 
 Connaught. 
 
 The next day, having secured as an interpreter the 
 man who had been our dragoman in Cairo last year 
 
PRELIMINARY OPERATIONS 261 
 
 (Assad Smart), we hired a portion of a house and started 
 an office. The following day we left our vessel and 
 located ourselves there. Every hour ships kept arriving 
 and troops landing, and there was no lack of bustle 
 and excitement. But most of the administrative work at 
 that time was done by Sir Archibald Alison's temporary 
 Staff; and we found time in the late afternoons to go 
 round some of the forts and see for ourselves what 
 damage had been done to them. The impressions that 
 we had received when we entered the harbour were 
 confirmed by closer inspection. Though considerable 
 damage had been done to the town of Alexandria by the 
 bombardment, and the fire which followed it, the forts 
 that lined the coast had suffered but little. We found, 
 too, that hardly anything had been done to strengthen 
 the defences since I inspected them the year before. A 
 good many guns were still lying in the sand unmounted, 
 and many that were mounted were unable to be fired. 
 Moreover, no attempt seems to have been made to give 
 protection of any sort to those who had to fight them. 
 It speaks well for the bravery of the Egyptian gunners, 
 that, with such feeble works, and so poor an armament, 
 they had made so gallant a defence. 
 
 But to return to the expedition. 
 
 It was a practical confirmation of what I have said in 
 previous chapters, regarding the importance of an army 
 being prepared to take the field at short notice, and the 
 want of such preparation in our army, that, at an ad- 
 vanced base like Alexandria, where troops were supposed 
 to arrive thoroughly equipped for war, the Chief of the 
 Staff found it necessary to assemble a Board to consider 
 what articles of kit the Infantry soldier should carry. 
 
 I was a member of that Board, and the proposal we 
 made was similar to what the Aldershot Committee had 
 made some months previously, which had not yet been 
 
262 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 approved by Army Headquarters. In addition to this 
 Board another one was ordered to condemn the tip-carts 
 that had been sent out from England, because they were 
 too large and heavy for the mules that were supplied 
 from Syria and elsewhere for transport purposes. 
 
 Besides these Boards I was employed in making a 
 detailed scheme for an imaginary expedition to Ismailia 
 on the 18th instant. 
 
 Looking ahead a little I may say that the imaginary 
 expedition turned out to be a real one, and my scheme, 
 which covered many sheets of foolscap, formed the basis 
 of the orders which were eventually issued. 
 
 On August 12 Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived at Alex- 
 andria. The next day orders went out to embark the 
 1st Division and the Headquarters Staff. 
 
 On the 18th the Line-of-Communications post at 
 Gabari being established under the command of Major 
 Dawes, General Earle, his nephew, and myself went on 
 board the Catalonia, which held the 1st Battalion West 
 Kent Regiment. 
 
 At noon on the 19th an imposing array of transports, 
 escorted by men-of-war, steamed out of Alexandria Har- 
 bour and anchored in Aboukir Bay as if to effect a landing 
 there. But at 7.30 we left again for Port Said. 
 
 This was a ruse to make the Egyptian Army under 
 Arabi Pasha think that there was no truth in the rumour 
 that the British were going by way of Ismailia ; and it 
 was successful, inasmuch as it gave us time to effect a 
 landing at the latter place without opposition, and to get 
 possession of a portion of the sweet-water canal. 
 
 Beaching Port Said at 8 A.M. on the 20th, orders were 
 received from the Admiral to put 600 men in gunboats, 
 and send them at best speed up the canal. It appeared 
 that a vessel had gone aground, and only a gunboat could 
 get along until she was floated again. 
 
ISMAILIA 263 
 
 Not knowing how long it might be before the way 
 was clear, and being very anxious to get to Ismailia and 
 arrange for the disembarkation of the Army as quickly as 
 possible, I urged General Earle to go in one of the gun- 
 boats. At 10.45 A.M. 300 men of the West Kent Kegi- 
 ment were transferred from the transport Catalonia to the 
 gunboat Beacon (Commander Mann), and at 12 noon, 
 just as the latter was starting, we also went on board. 
 Our party consisted of General Earle, his nephew, myself, 
 Assad Smart (our interpreter), and a cook. I was armed 
 with a small plan of Ismailia, torn out of a guide book, 
 which I studied on the way, and marked with notes for 
 our use on landing. 
 
 Passing the breakwater at 12.30 we found at Port 
 Said two French and four British men-of-war and a 
 number of merchant vessels. The Suez Canal had been 
 seized by the British Navy and Marines. Port Said, 
 Kantara, and Ismailia were occupied by shore parties. 
 At the latter place reinforcements were urgently required. 
 
 From Port Said we started at 2 P.M. steaming about 
 six knots. Passing a dredging machine about 3.30, we 
 saw that it was occupied by Bluejackets, who presented 
 arms with the utmost regularity as we passed. Some 
 Arabs in a dhow cheered us. We were the first red-coats 
 in the Canal. We were, moreover, on our way to reinforce 
 the small landing party that the Navy had thrown OD 
 shore at Ismailia, the new advanced post on the line of 
 communications of the Egyptian Field Force. 
 
 At 6 P.M. we reached Kantara. A sentry on a sand 
 hill, with the setting sun as a background, presented 
 a picturesque effect, and helped one to realise the situa- 
 tion. The sun set at 6.22, but there was a moon to light 
 us on our journey. 
 
 At 10 P.M. we reached Ismailia. The same evening 
 we landed and saw Captain Fitzroy, B.N., who commanded 
 
264 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the Naval and Marine force on shore ; and we inspected 
 the position that he had taken up. There had been a 
 good deal of firing, but, so far, no casualties. The troops 
 that had come up in the gunboats were landed under the 
 command of Major-General Graham. 
 
 With the help of our interpreter, we possessed our- 
 selves of an hotel close by the small landing pier, and also 
 got hold of some of the servants. We made this house 
 the Headquarters of Communications until we advanced, 
 when we handed it over to Colonel Sir Owen Lanyon, the 
 Commandant of the Base. All through the night the 
 men-of-war lying off Ismailia kept up a fire on the 
 supposed position of Arabi's camp at the railway station 
 of Nefiche, about two miles off. 
 
 On the morning of the 21st, Graham, with a small 
 Naval and Military force, took, without opposition, the 
 Nefiche position. His troops carried two days' rations ; 
 but these were soon exhausted, and we were obliged to 
 use naval boats on the sweet-water canal, which plied 
 backwards and forwards to provide them with food. 
 
 From an early hour that day we were busy arranging 
 for the distribution of the Staff and departments in the 
 small French settlement at Ismailia, and fixing positions for 
 stores of all sorts. My small plan was invaluable. 
 
 For two days the work of disembarkation went on 
 incessantly. Fortunately there was an exceptionally 
 good naval transport officer, Captain Eawson, B.N., with 
 whom we worked without any sort of friction. But the 
 business was a very difficult one owing to want of space 
 at the port, and also to the troops being required to march 
 off as soon as they landed. 
 
 The only land transport available at first was the 
 small contingent of carts and pack mules that accompanied 
 each unit. 
 
 Our Commander-in-Chief was anxious to push on 
 
ISMAILIA 265 
 
 troops as quickly as possible, not only to secure the sweet- 
 water canal, which was the only drinking supply for men 
 and animals, but also to keep the Egyptian army on the 
 move and thus prevent them from creating obstacles on 
 our road. Advised by the senior Commissariat officer of 
 the Army, Colonel Morris, the Chief alone could tell how 
 far movement was possible. All we could do was to 
 watch events from hour to hour, and to strain every nerve 
 to keep the troops at the front supplied with such food 
 and ammunition as was necessary. With this object 
 Earle and I agreed that one of us should accompany any 
 movement of troops, while the other carried on routine 
 business at the Base. Late on the 23rd we heard that 
 some troops were to move forward the next day, to push 
 back the Arab force in front of Graham's brigade at 
 Nefiche ; and Earle agreed that I should go with it. 
 
 This was a memorable occasion as far as our work 
 was concerned, for (as I will now relate) we were able to 
 make arrangements which not only prevented a retire- 
 ment, but enabled the advance to be continued until the 
 whole Army was brought to the front and placed in line 
 against the concentrated armies of Arabi at Tel-el-Kebir. 
 
 Without going into details regarding the expedition, 
 it is, I think, sufficient to say that, leaving one brigade 
 of Infantry at Alexandria under Major-General E. Wood 
 to ' hold ' the Egyptian troops that were in position there, 
 the rest of the force was taken by sea to Ismailia, to 
 advance against Cairo from that place. This force con- 
 sisted in round numbers of two Infantry divisions and 
 one Cavalry division from England, and an Indian con- 
 tingent which landed at Suez. 
 
 One great difficulty that had to be faced in the plan 
 of campaign adopted by Sir Garnet Wolseley was the 
 uncertainty of our water supply. We always thought 
 that the Egyptians, in falling back from Ismailia, would 
 
266 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 not only make a dam across the sweet-water canal, but 
 endeavour to cut its banks, and let the water run away 
 into the desert. In order to minimise this danger, there 
 was a natural desire on our side to secure as much of the 
 canal as we could as quickly as possible. It was also very 
 essential to keep all we got as carefully as we could, and 
 to prevent it getting fouled. Consequently there was an 
 understanding between the Chief -of-the- Staff and the 
 Admiral-in-charge that the lock at Ismailia was to be kept 
 shut, and that the canal was not to be used for transport 
 purposes. 
 
 At 6.30 A.M. on the morning of August 24 I started 
 from Ismailia to see what was being done. Taught by 
 my South African experiences, I took with me a second 
 horse, ridden by a groom. It was easy enough to follow 
 the troops by their tracks in the heavy sand. As a rule, 
 on this day the transport marched by the side of the 
 railway. Even thus the road was far too heavy for 
 horses not yet recovered from their sea voyage, and 
 they could not draw the regulation load. From the 
 moment I left Ismailia there were signs of trouble. 
 Ammunition of all sorts lying about ; here and there a 
 broken wheel, or an overturned cart ; and, as one got 
 further, men and horses unable to go on, sitting or lying 
 about in helpless confusion. There was no doubt about 
 it, the transport, such as it was, had completely broken 
 down. 
 
 Between El Magfar and the village of Tel-el-Mahuta 
 I came across Sir Garnet Wolseley and a small Staff. 
 He had with him a few troops, viz. Mounted Infantry, 
 Life Guards, the York and Lancaster Kegiment, Koyal 
 Marine Artillery, two guns E.H.A., and a few E.E., and 
 he was confronted by what appeared to be a strong force 
 of the Egyptian Army. I could see them plainly without 
 glasses. I told him what I had seen on the road, and 
 
TRANSPORT OF FIELD ARMY 267 
 
 said I must go back and arrange what could be done to 
 get up supplies. He directed me to find Sir John Adye 
 and tell him to send up the brigade of Guards as soon as 
 possible. He (Sir Garnet) meant to hold on where he 
 was until reinforcements came up. 
 
 As I have stated before, I am not writing a history of 
 the war, but only recounting the part I took in it. So I 
 will only say that by the evening of the 24th a consider- 
 able number of troops, including the Guards, reached 
 him ; that the next day he pushed on again and drove 
 back the Egyptian Army under Eashid Pasha, and by 
 the 26th had taken their camp and a large quantity of 
 stores, and had established Graham's brigade at a very 
 important point on the canal, the lock of Kassassin. 
 
 Before leaving Magfar I had seen the dam that the 
 Egyptians had made across the sweet-water canal there, 
 and I knew that the channel was sound and in our 
 possession from the dam to Ismailia. The situation was 
 as follows : Our road transport had broken down, there 
 were as yet no engines available for use on the railway, 
 and troops were pouring to the front to enable the 
 Commander-in-Chief to beat back the Egyptian advance. 
 
 ' Surely/ I mused, * we ought to establish boat trans- 
 port until the railway becomes available, or other road 
 transport can be organised locally/ 
 
 With these thoughts in my mind, I started to go as 
 fast as I could to Ismailia. At this juncture the horse I 
 was riding went lame, shot through the sinew of the leg. 
 Fortunately I had the other horse, so, leaving the former 
 to the care of my groom, I cantered back on the sound 
 one. 
 
 Finding, on reaching Ismailia, that the Guards had 
 received their orders to march, I lost no time in going to 
 see the Admiral on board his flagship. Saying that my 
 mission was important, I gained immediate access to him 
 
268 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 and told him what I had seen during the advance of the 
 troops that morning. At the same time I explained the 
 state of affairs in regard to transport, and asked him to 
 put a service of boats at once on the sweet-water canal. 
 As I expected, he tried to put me off, saying that arrange- 
 ments were made with the Chief-of-the-Staff to keep the 
 canal for watering purposes only, and under no circum- 
 stances to use it as a means of transport. I said that 
 ' I was on my way to confer with General Earle and the 
 Chief-of-the-Staff, and I felt sure that when they knew 
 the circumstances they would agree ; but, before I went 
 to them, I wanted to know if it was possible for the 
 Royal Navy to do what I asked, and how soon it could be 
 done.' 
 
 He said that 'he would put me in communication 
 with Admiral Hoskins, who was in charge of all the local 
 naval operations.' 
 
 On seeing the latter officer I explained again in detail 
 the whole state of the case, and added that I was con- 
 vinced that, unless what I proposed was done, the advance 
 which the Commander-in-Chief considered so urgently 
 necessary would be checked, if not stopped, until the 
 railway could be put in order, and rolling-stock placed on 
 it. The Admiral was impressed with my arguments and 
 agreed to undertake the work, and start it that afternoon 
 if I would promise to make it all right with the Army 
 authorities. 
 
 Delighted with this assurance, I went off to see my 
 own Chief and the Chief-of-the-Staff, who both agreed to 
 the proposal. We then started the machinery for sending 
 supplies to the advancing troops as far as the Egyptian 
 dam, from whence it had to be fetched by the transport 
 attached to regiments. While we were making these 
 arrangements we were aware that, though the adoption 
 of this water carriage was a very important matter, yet it 
 
LINE-OF-COMMUNICATIONS 269 
 
 could not last long, for the water in the canal was falling, 
 and getting less fit for use every day. So our energies 
 were also directed to getting the Magfar dam cut, and the 
 railway in working order. 
 
 On the evening of the 24th the Headquarters of the 
 Line-of-Communications handed over the Hotel des 
 Bains to the Commandant of the Base, and moved into 
 an empty house called the * Tribunal.' Here we remained, 
 trying to get as much order as possible into the various 
 organisations arriving from England in a more or less 
 experimental state, such as signalling and post-office 
 corps, &c., and generally pushing on supplies to the front, 
 until we moved to Kassassin. 
 
 While we were thus engaged there had been two 
 attacks by the Egyptians on our advanced force, one on 
 August 28 and the other on September 9. 
 
 On August 27 the first engine for the railway arrived 
 by way of Suez, and the line gradually got into working 
 order. On August 31 the Commander-in-Chief put the 
 railways and also the telegraphs under the General-of- 
 Communications instead of the Commanding Royal 
 Engineer. Major Wallace, R.E., who had had Indian 
 experience, was in charge of railways, and Colonel 
 Webber, B.E., of telegraphs. 
 
 On September 7 orders were issued for the general 
 concentration of the Army at Kassassin some twenty 
 thousand fighting men and eight thousand animals and 
 we were more than usually busy making preparations to 
 enable these orders to be carried out. 
 
 On the 9th the Highland Brigade landed, and 
 marched over the plain towards Mahuta. I rode along- 
 side an old Harrow friend (Cluny McPherson, who com- 
 manded the Black Watch) until they were fairly on their 
 way. 
 
 On the llth we left Ismailia for the advanced depot 
 
270 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 of the Army at Kassassin, and on the way there I in- 
 spected our various posts at Nefiche, Mahuta, and 
 Mahsamah. On arrival at Kassassin we found the camp 
 of the General-of -Communications, which had been 
 carefully laid out by Captain Earle ; and then I went on 
 to see the Indian contingent, and also Dormer, who, as 
 Deputy- Ad jut ant -General of the Army, issued all orders. 
 I met there the Duke of Connaught, who seemed very 
 well and full of spirits. We were pleased, before the day 
 was out, to receive reports of the arrival of five trains 
 with supplies. This satisfied all immediate wants, and 
 enabled a reserve to be started. The next day orders 
 were issued for the attack on the Tel-el-Kebir lines. 
 Tents were to be struck at nightfall, and, together with 
 all valises, piled by the railway line. The men were to 
 carry one hundred rounds of ammunition and provisions 
 for three and a half days, and bivouac on the plain about 
 two miles from Kassassin, and about three to four miles 
 from the place to be attacked. The Kassassin depot was 
 to be placed under the immediate command of General 
 Nugent, E.E., with the 50th Kegiment, a garrison battery, 
 and other details. The Field Engineers were to be at 
 the head of the railway, and at the head of navigation on 
 the canal. The Medical Corps were to be collected near 
 the hospital. 
 
 General Earle settled with us that, as soon as the 
 dep6t was clear of the departing troops, he would follow 
 them with his Headquarters, in order to see what went 
 on, and make arrangements accordingly. Our immediate 
 care was to get the wounded looked after, and removed as 
 quickly as possible from the battle-field, and, at the same 
 time, to have everything ready in the way of railways and 
 telegraphs to follow the Army to Tel-el-Kebir, and further 
 as required. 
 
 We had a fairly good base hospital at Ismailia, and an 
 
KASSASSIN AND TEL-EL-KEBIR 271 
 
 advanced one at Kassassin, and we proposed having a 
 dressing station for the wounded on the canal, as close to 
 the lines of Tel-el-Kebir as possible. All this we had 
 worked out in concert with the medical authorities. 
 Major Wallace and the Koyal Engineers who were 
 working with him had the railway in fair working order 
 as far as Kassassin; and Colonel Webber with the 
 telegraph line was following the moving army. Both 
 were ready to act at once on receipt of orders. 
 
 At 3 A.M. on the morning of the 13th General Earle, 
 his A.D.C., Major Alley ne, and myself, with an escort of 
 19th Hussars, started for the battle. The troops that had 
 gone out to bivouac were really about five miles from 
 Kassassin, arranged as follows : on the right, Graham's 
 Brigade, consisting of the Koyal Irish, Koyal Marine 
 Light Infantry, York and Lancaster, and Koyal Irish 
 Fusiliers, were in first line, with the Duke of Connaught's 
 Brigade of Guards in second line ; on the left, the High- 
 landers under Sir Archibald Alison were in first line, and 
 a new brigade, made up of the Duke of Cornwall's Light 
 Infantry and the King's Koyal Kifle Corps, in second 
 line. Between the Infantry divisions were six batteries 
 of Artillery, and well on the right flank the whole of the 
 Cavalry. The Indian contingent marched along the canal 
 with orders, after taking the lines they came across, to 
 push on to Zagazig. The Koyal Navy and the Koyal 
 Engineers were on the canal and railway with material 
 for destroying obstacles, &c. 
 
 We plodded along in the darkness, passing the tele- 
 graph troop and the ammunition column, and then we 
 came upon the Field Artillery. I was leading our little 
 party, and had taken the direction by the stars, which 
 shone very brightly. At 4.30 a glimmer of light was just 
 showing in the East, behind us. Edging away to the left 
 we got into the gap between the Artillery and the second 
 
272 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 division. All were advancing. At five minutes to five, 
 just at dawn, one or two shots were fired, apparently by 
 an Egyptian outpost ; anyhow, a minute or so afterwards 
 a perfect blaze of fire broke out from all the works in our 
 front. What with the smoke and the dim light, we saw 
 nothing but the flashes of fire and the bursting shells, but 
 the earth all round us was cut up with bullets just as if 
 there were a heavy shower of hail falling. Stopping for a 
 minute on the left of the Artillery, I missed the rest of 
 my party. I heard afterwards that, when the fire first 
 broke out, one or two of their horses were hit, and they 
 had dismounted. They came on afterwards, but I did 
 not see them again till the afternoon. On advancing by 
 myself I came across two companies of Eifles who had 
 lost their way, and I directed them towards the lines. 
 Continuing by their right, I came upon a portion of the 
 works that was not being attacked because of a gap in 
 our formation. The Egyptians on the parapet opened 
 fire on me, and I edged away a little to the right where 
 I was behind the Black Watch. Finding a way into the 
 ditch, I led my horse down, and scrambled with him up 
 the other side. I was then inside the Tel-el-Kebir lines. 
 Some Highlanders (I think the Gordons) were in some 
 sort of formation pressing forward after the Egyptians 
 who were retiring in front of them. The Black Watch, 
 whom I had followed across the ditch, were engaged in 
 subduing resistance at some works on the right. I 
 followed the advancing body, which were marching with 
 pipes playing, and acting as a rallying point for the whole 
 brigade. About 6 o'clock we came to a hill, from which 
 we looked down upon the enemy's main camp. The tents 
 were all standing, with pots on the fires for breakfast, and 
 a crowd of five or six thousand Egyptian Cavalry and 
 Infantry were standing in the camp apparently awaiting 
 orders. Two or three trains were on the railway lines 
 
KASSASSIN AND TEL-EL-KEBIR 273 
 
 and two engines were trying to steam away. Before long 
 a battery of Field Artillery arriving at the spot opened 
 fire on the troops in the camp, and broke up all military 
 formations. The whole plain at our feet became covered 
 with retreating Soudanese and Egyptian soldiers. The 
 battle was evidently over. 
 
 While I was waiting on this hill I saw an Egyptian 
 officer, riding a very handsome Arab, coming towards us 
 with a white flag. I went to meet him, and took charge 
 of him until I handed him over to Methuen, Commandant 
 at Headquarters. This Egyptian told me that his name 
 was Ragib Bey, and that he was the Commissary-General 
 of the Army. 
 
 For a time there was a good deal of confusion within 
 the area enclosed by the lines. The fighting had been 
 short but fierce at several points on its eastern side. But 
 from certain portions of the parapet, where there had 
 been no direct attack, the Egyptian troops did not retire 
 until they saw that they were being surrounded by our 
 advancing columns. In moving forward from the point 
 where the Egyptian officer had surrendered to me I was 
 nearly cut off by a body of the enemy's Cavalry who were 
 thus retiring. I should have been cut off entirely if he 
 had not recognised them, and warned me of the danger. 
 
 After I had handed him over, I rode back along the 
 canal to Kassassin ; and, on arrival, endeavoured to make 
 all possible preparations for the advance of the Army, 
 which I felt sure would take place very shortly. 
 
 On the 14th General Earle went to Tel-el-Kebir, to see 
 the Chief of the Staff and obtain orders. 
 
 But, before saying what happened to the Line-of- 
 Communications Staff for the rest of the campaign, I will 
 briefly mention what Sir Garnet Wolseley did on the day 
 of the battle. The Indian contingent had already been 
 ordered to march to Zagazig; so, as soon as they had 
 
 T 
 
274 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 done their share of the work in breaking through the 
 Tel-el-Kebir lines, they set off, and succeeded in taking 
 several trains full of Egyptian troops, arriving at their 
 destination the same afternoon, their total march from 
 Kassassin being 25 miles. Immediately after the battle 
 the Cavalry Division were ordered to make a forced march 
 to Cairo, and they reached that city the next day, the 
 leaders of the rebellion and some ten thousand soldiers 
 surrendering to them there. On the 14th the Guards 
 Brigade under the Duke of Connaught, was sent to Benha, 
 and the next day they proceeded with the Commander-in- 
 Chief and the Headquarters Staff to Cairo. With such 
 rapid successes, it is hardly to be wondered at that the 
 Egyptians were somewhat bewildered, and that the entire 
 subjugation of the country and its restoration to the 
 sway of the Khedive, under the protection of Great 
 Britain, was the work of only a few days. 
 
 Bearing in mind the difficulties that had to be over- 
 come, and the incomplete state of preparation for war 
 that existed in the British Army at that time, never, 
 I believe, has so successful an expedition (anyhow one 
 that cost us so little in lives and money) left our shores. 
 Never has there been one that owed more to the brain 
 that planned it, and the gallant energy that carried it out. 
 
 To return to my own experiences. We spent the 
 14th in visiting the wounded in the hospital at Kassassin, 
 and sending all who could be moved, by rail or canal, to 
 Ismailia. Our two Admirals, Sir Beauchamp Seymour 
 and Hoskins, with Lord William Seymour, went at the 
 same time by train. In the evening orders came for our 
 Headquarters to proceed the next day to Zagazig. 
 Kassassin thus became a station on the line of com- 
 munications, and, as it was the depot where all the 
 baggage of the Army had been stored the day before the 
 battle, it took some time to clear. 
 
ZAGAZIG AND CAIRO 275 
 
 Naturally with the rapid movements of the Army, 
 which I have alluded to, the regularity of supplies and 
 of Army services was somewhat interfered with. But 
 no troops in the world get out of difficulties of this sort 
 better than English ones, especially if the men feel that 
 they are unavoidable. 
 
 On the 15th we started away by rail from Kassassin 
 at 10 A.M. Sultan Pasha, the new Governor of Cairo, 
 and Wilson, E.E., were in the same train. We reached 
 Tel-el-Kebir at 11, and found ourselves in a regular block : 
 the Guards going off to Benha, and several supply trains 
 being on the line. Ardagh, who was acting as a Kailway 
 Staff officer, was very busy, and had no time to speak 
 to us ; so I went to see General Willis, the commander 
 of the 1st Division. His immediate work was collecting 
 and looking after the Egyptian wounded. He showed 
 me a telegram from Sir Garnet Wolesley which said that 
 the base was going to be shifted from Ismailia to 
 Alexandria. 1 
 
 As soon as the line was clear we went on again, and 
 reached Zagazig about 5 P.M. There we put up in 
 the verandah of the Eussian Consulate, and had a 
 successful picnic. Afterwards I called on General Mac- 
 pherson, who, with the Indian contingent, was in the 
 town ; and I also saw Wallace about the railways. He 
 had got hold of Arabi's general manager, and through 
 him had obtained possession of all the rolling stock in the 
 country. I may say here that for a day or two the whole 
 of the railways were worked by the military, but, as soon 
 as possible after getting to Cairo, we handed them back 
 to the Civil Government, stipulating that they were to 
 supply us, whenever we wanted it, with all the transport 
 we required. That evening I tried to telegraph to 
 General Earle, but could not get through. The line was 
 
 1 N.B. But this was not actually done until we arrived at Cairo. 
 
 T 2 
 
276 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 blocked by Press messages ! So the next morning I sent 
 Captain Earle off by a special train to Cairo with a letter 
 to the General. We could do no work in connection 
 with the Army because we had lost our connections with 
 Headquarters. So we busied ourselves with such local 
 arrangements as seemed necessary. 
 
 On the 18th, however, the telegraph line was reopened, 
 and I received a message to proceed to Cairo as soon as 
 possible. I got there by 6.30. After a consultation with 
 my General, we called on Sir Garnet at the Abdin Palace, 
 and had a conference with the Chief of the Staff and 
 others. The change of base and the general disposition 
 of the troops were then arranged. 
 
 It was decided by the Commander-in-Chief that the 
 Line-of-Communications Staff was still to continue and 
 carry on all the business of moving the troops until war 
 conditions were completely over. So we established our 
 Headquarters at Shepheard's Hotel, pitched a camp for 
 our offices, and put our horses into stables close by 
 belonging to a Pasha who had been put in prison. Work 
 soon began to pour in upon us. Every day Army Head- 
 quarters issued orders, and every day we had to give the 
 various departments concerned all the necessary in- 
 structions, and see that they were carried out. 
 
 On September 25 the Khedive came to Cairo. Troops 
 lined the streets, guards of honour were posted at the 
 station and at the Palace, and Sir Garnet received from 
 him the highest decoration that he could bestow. 
 
 On the 30th as many troops as could be collected, 
 including a Naval Brigade, marched past the Khedive in 
 Abdin Square. About eighteen thousand troops were 
 there. Sir Owen Lanyon came up from Ismailia and 
 went with us to the review. 
 
 The next day the homeward movement of troops 
 began. Alexandria, which was the new base, became 
 
RETURN TO ENGLAND 277 
 
 also the port of embarkation for England. As a rule the 
 sick and wounded went there in steamers on the Nile, 
 while men who were sound went by train. This was all 
 done by the Line-of-Communications Staff, in concert with 
 the naval transport officer, Captain Kawson. General 
 Earle remained in charge until October 17, when he was 
 transferred to the Army of occupation. I was then put in 
 orders as General of Communications, and remained in 
 that appointment until all the troops going home had 
 been embarked. I was then permitted to go too, and, 
 journeying by way of Naples and Kome, I reached Dover, 
 where my wife met me, on November 11. 
 
 Before leaving the subject of Egypt in 1882, I should 
 mention that there was a good deal of gaiety and sight- 
 seeing while the British Army was at Cairo. Early in 
 October the Khedive gave a big assembly to the officers 
 in the Ghezireh Palace on the Nile. A week afterwards, 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley gave a very pleasant picnic, at which 
 150 officers rode on donkeys to see the tombs and 
 pyramids of Memphis. Then there were many dinners, 
 and also small expeditions to places of interest in the 
 neighbourhood. Perhaps the most interesting of these 
 was a two-days' trip that a small party, including Sir A. 
 Colvin, W. Russell of the Times,' and Graham, the 
 Commander of the 1st Brigade, made to the scene of the 
 battle at Tel-el-Kebir. Many had been the discussions 
 before then regarding incidents of the fight. But all 
 disputes were settled by our inspection, for the empty 
 cartridges on the parapet, and the marks still plainly 
 visible on the sandy ground, showed clearly the situation 
 and circumstances of each conflict. 
 
 On reporting at the War Office I was told that, like all 
 other Staff Officers who had gone to the war, I was to 
 resume my old appointment at Aldershot. 
 
 On November 18 there was a review before the Queen 
 
278 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 in St. James' Park, in honour of the Egyptian expedition, 
 and then a march through some of the principal streets of 
 London. I rode as one of the Headquarters Staff, in line 
 with Lanyon and Buller. I was also honoured by being 
 one of the officers who were selected to go to Windsor 
 and receive the medal from Her Majesty's hand. A good 
 many brevets and decorations were given to those who 
 had been mentioned in despatches. I was awarded the 
 Companionship of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, 
 and my General (Earle) received that of the Bath. A 
 little later we dined with the Lord Mayor, on the 
 occasion of the Freedom of the City being presented to 
 Lord Alcester and Lord Wolseley, in recognition of their 
 services. 
 
 These excitements over, I resumed the usual routine 
 of life at Aldershot, which I have before described. 
 
 About this time I was appointed president of a general 
 committee on the dress and equipment of the Army (as I 
 have already mentioned in the early part of Chapter VII.). 
 This entailed a good deal of work in connection with 
 ' Army Tables ' and war regulations ; but I had the 
 assistance of an officer (Captain Johnson, R.A., p.s.c.) 
 of the Intelligence Department, who acted as Secretary. 
 
 I was also still president of the committee on the 
 Infantry valise equipment, which terminated as I have 
 already described. 
 
 During March Colonel Mansfield Clarke took up the 
 appointment of Assistant-Adjutant-General at Aldershot, 
 in place of Colonel Curzon. 
 
 I think it may be of interest to relate that this Spring 
 I went, by invitation, to see the Empress Eugenie at 
 Farnborough Hill. She talked to me a good deal about 
 the Prince Imperial, and showed me his rooms and the 
 books and ornaments that once were his. It is hardly 
 necessary to add that she was much affected at meeting 
 
VISIT TO THE EMPRESS EUGENIE 279 
 
 an officer with whom her gallant son had served during 
 the last few days of his life. I, too, was deeply moved by 
 the interview. I had been particularly fond of the young 
 Prince. He was so keen a soldier, so simple in all his 
 tastes and habits, and so anxious to do thoroughly any 
 work that was entrusted to him. I also, like every 
 Englishman, sympathised most heartily with his widowed 
 mother. The only consolation I could offer was to assure 
 Her Majesty that I, for one, distinctly understood that, 
 while working for me, he was one of the Headquarters- 
 Staff, and consequently died in the execution of his duty. 
 
 In August Sir Archibald Alison succeeded Sir Daniel 
 Lysons in the command at Aldershot. The latter had 
 kept the place very much alive to the last. The Duke of 
 Connaught was in command of a brigade, and reviews and 
 field days, and entertainments, at which royalities were 
 present, were quite common occurrences. With all this, 
 and also my committee work, I had enough to do. 
 
 In March 1884, getting leave for a week or two 
 during the slack time at Aldershot, I went for a trip 
 with my wife to Brussels, whence we made excursions to 
 Waterloo, Antwerp, Namur, and other places of interest 
 in the neighbourhood. By this arrangement we obtained 
 a complete change of scene ; and at the same time I was 
 able to study the country where the great Napoleon 
 carried out his last campaign. 
 
 In June of this year I was summoned to give evidence 
 before a select committee of the House of Commons on 
 the transport service in the Egyptian war of 1882. I had 
 heard for some time that this committee was to be 
 appointed ; and I hoped that, by showing the want of 
 preparation for that campaign, it would help along the 
 demands that we at Aldershot were making for improve- 
 ment in the war organisation of our Army. But I was 
 disappointed. For three days I appeared before them. 
 
280 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 On the second I told them the story of what happened 
 when we landed at Ismailia, and how we managed to 
 feed the troops during the advance to Tel-el-Kebir, very 
 much as I have related it in this chapter. But I believe 
 what I said, though supported by notes written at the 
 time, did not agree with other evidence that had been 
 taken. Anyhow the committee did not continue their 
 investigations, and I understand no report was ever 
 published. Who stopped the work of this committee I 
 never knew ; but the fact opened my eyes to what had 
 been gradually dawning upon me before it sat, viz. that 
 the War Office did not mind the work we were doing at 
 Aldershot as long as it was only a paper transaction. 
 When, however, it became something more, and, by 
 changes in pattern, or by the creation of appointments, 
 affected Army funds, they opposed us at every turn. 
 But I will not pursue this subject any further now. 
 Once more I must turn to Egypt, where I was sent 
 to take part in the Soudan struggle before the summer 
 was out. 
 
 Before we left Egypt in 1882 we had heard of the 
 appearance of a Mahdi in the Soudan, who was stirring 
 up the people to revolt against the Egyptian Government. 
 Possibly, if action had been taken at once, the rising 
 might have been suppressed without much trouble. But 
 it was allowed to simmer and spread. And eventually, 
 when an Indian officer, by name General Hicks, was 
 given the command, and marched out against the Mahdi's 
 followers at El Obeid in November 1883, his army was 
 annihilated, and himself and his Staff killed. 
 
 Nearly, if not quite, as unfortunate a business was the 
 attempt made by a force led by Baker Pasha to relieve 
 Tokar, a small fortified town not far from Suakin, in the 
 Eastern Soudan. The force was composed chiefly of 
 constabulary, which included a considerable sprinkling of 
 
EGYPT IN 1884 281 
 
 old soldiers. But it failed to sustain a charge made upon 
 it by a body of Osman Digna's Arabs not a third its 
 strength, and was utterly routed and nearly annihilated 
 by those fierce and fanatical warriors. 
 
 These events startled the British Government, and 
 they sent off Major-General Charles Gordon to Egypt on 
 January 19, 1884, to report on the Soudan question. 
 But before he arrived there it was settled to keep 
 British troops in Egypt, but to abandon the Soudan. 
 
 Gordon's business, which he agreed to try and carry 
 out, was to bring back to Egypt all the regular Egyptian 
 troops, and such civilians as wished to return, and to 
 establish in the Soudan the best Government that he 
 could arrange for under the circumstances. As soon as 
 possible after he arrived in Cairo, he proceeded to 
 Khartoum, vi& Korosko, accompanied by Colonel Stewart. 
 When he reached that city he found it practically in a 
 state of siege : nearly all the Europeans had left it. 
 
 The Mahdi, who was gaining victories and gathering 
 to himself new adherents in every direction, summoned 
 Gordon to surrender. But, as might have been expected, 
 the summons was indignantly refused. 
 
 In February the British Government decided to 
 defend Suakin (as part of Egypt), and sent Major- 
 General G. Graham there with a force of some 4000 
 men. That General relieved Tokar after a severe fight 
 at El-Teb, and subsequently beat Osman Digna's troops 
 again at Tamai, and took their camp. 
 
 After these victories there was some question of 
 opening the desert route through Berber to Khartoum, 
 but the idea was abandoned. In May 1884 Berber was 
 taken by the Mahdists, and regular communication with 
 Gordon practically ceased. 
 
 The excitement in England at the events in the Soudan 
 in 1883-84, especially the close siege of Khartoum, and 
 
282 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the seclusion of Gordon, induced the British Government 
 to send a special expedition up the Nile to his relief. 
 
 I will now take up the story, as far, at least, as it 
 concerns me, from my journal : 
 
 In July my former chief in Egypt (General Earle) 
 came to stay with Sir Archibald Alison, and told me that 
 he had been offered and had accepted an appointment to 
 command a force of British troops in the Nile Valley 
 that he had applied for me to go with him as one of the 
 Staff, and that he had to cut short his leave in order to 
 get back and take up the new appointment. We had 
 a long discussion on the situation, and the steps that it 
 would be necessary to take when the expedition started. 
 
 For more than a month I waited on, expecting every 
 day to receive orders, but, though rumours were plentiful, 
 nothing definite transpired until nearly the end of August, 
 when I heard that Lord Wolseley was going out himself 
 in command of the Nile Valley force. On going to see 
 him, he told me that he had submitted my name to go 
 too, and that I must be ready to start at short notice. 
 In regard to details I heard nothing. No one could tell 
 me what was the nature of the expedition and what it 
 was intended to do. Two days later I received orders to 
 go out forthwith ; and, as the shortest route, I took 
 passage in the Austrian Lloyd's steamer leaving Trieste 
 in five days. This gave me one day to go and say good- 
 bye to my wife and children, who had gone to the sea 
 side, and one day to pack and square up at Aldershot. 
 While there I was told that my appointment as Assis- 
 tant Quartermaster-General was to terminate with my 
 departure. 
 
 Then, on September 2, I left Charing Cross Station 
 at 8 P.M. for Egypt and the Soudan. 
 
 Fortunately for my family, our house at Farnborough 
 (Knellwood) was vacant, so that the move from the hut 
 
EGYPT IN 1884 283 
 
 was not a very difficult one. My horses were sent to 
 Tattersall's. 
 
 Crossing the Channel I found several officers I knew 
 going out by the same route. On September 4 we reached 
 Vienna, and the next day got on board our steamer at 
 Trieste, which brought us to Alexandria on the 10th. 
 The same evening we reached Cairo, and dined with Lord 
 Wolseley in a palace lent him by the Khedive. After 
 dinner he told me that, before he left England, he had 
 intended to make me General-of-Communications for this 
 Expedition, but that he had been obliged to give that 
 appointment to the Sirdar of the Egyptian Army. As it 
 was, I was to go up to Assouan at once, and wait there 
 for orders. Consequently the next day I made what few 
 arrangements were possible, and the following one went 
 by train to Assiout, the end of the existing railway. 
 There I found two steamers just starting for the south, 
 one which had been lent to General Earle by the Khedive, 
 the other the usual postal one. Before leaving Cairo I 
 saw Buller, who had been appointed Chief of the Staff to 
 the expedition, and he confirmed what Lord Wolseley 
 had told me. But when I arrived at Assiout I received 
 a telegram from Earle that I was to go with him to 
 Wady Haifa instead of stopping at Assouan. So I went 
 on board the Khedivial steamer. Here my companions 
 were General Earle and his A.D.C. Captain St. Aubyn, 
 Sir H. Stewart and his Staff officer Lord Airlie, Captain 
 Khodes, Mr. St. Leger Herbert, Commissary-General 
 Hughes, Assistant Commissary-General Nugent, Brigade- 
 Surgeon Norris, and others. I took up the work of Staff 
 Officer, and we soon settled down and had a quiet and 
 pleasant time. During the journey from England, and 
 on board this steamer, I had learned something of Lord 
 Wolseley's plans for the expedition. Assuming that 
 there would be not only a large number of soldiers but 
 
284 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 also of civilians, including women and children, to bring 
 back from Khartoum, he thought that a number of boats 
 would be necessary. So he arranged to carry out the plan 
 that had been found successful on the Eed Kiver in 
 Canada in 1870, of sending troops in whalers heavily 
 laden with supplies. Each whaler was to be fitted with 
 a sail, oars, and a towing line, and to have a Canadian 
 voyageur to act as coxswain and general instructor of the 
 soldiers who formed the crew. The boats were chiefly 
 manned by Infantry. Besides the boats there were to 
 be some specially organised Camel Corps, who would 
 march along the bank of the river, or across stretches of 
 desert when it was required to cut corners. Finally it 
 was intended to put on the river a few light-draught 
 stern-wheel steamers. Herbert Stewart was to command 
 the Camel Corps and rendezvous at Dongola ; Earle was 
 to command the column of boats along the river ; and the 
 Royal Navy were to look after the stern-wheelers and 
 other steamers. The force was to be formed from British 
 troops in Egypt, reinforced by more from England. The 
 Camel Corps were composed of selected men from the 
 Guards, the Rifles, and the Cavalry. There were also some 
 mounted Infantry and some Artillery on camels. 
 
 No doubt, if there had been more time, this arrange- 
 ment would have answered its purpose. But the Nile 
 was falling, and every day that passed the navigation 
 became more difficult and dangerous, especially at the 
 rapids, while the collection and transmission of special 
 boats from England, the making of camel saddles, and the 
 purchase of the camels themselves all took weeks and 
 months to arrange for. 
 
 We of the Staff were pushed to the front very rapidly 
 in order, I suppose, to get things ready ; but we could do 
 little or nothing until the transport that was to take the 
 Army to the front was on the spot and in working order. 
 
THE SOUDAN 285 
 
 On our voyage from Assiout to Wady Haifa in the 
 Khedive's steamer, Earle and Stewart and I fully discussed 
 the situation. If Earle had been in command, as was 
 originally intended, we had meant to push troops up the 
 river bank, using native boats and camels for the trans- 
 port of supplies, and to establish fortified posts on the 
 way ; then to cross the desert where it had been surveyed 
 for a railway between Ambukhol and Metemmeh, and 
 endeavour to communicate with Gordon, and act in con- 
 junction with him as might seem best. 
 
 Looking forward a little, events seemed to show that 
 this would have been practicable. We were at Wady Haifa 
 with two battalions of British Infantry on September 22, 
 and Gordon's steamers were running freely bet wee n 
 Khartoum and Metemmeh for three months afterwards. 
 Moreover there was then no difficulty in obtaining baggage 
 camels at Dongola. Gordon had said that all he wanted 
 was a few Red-coats to give confidence to his troops. 
 But, even if a much larger force had been required, when 
 once we had shaken hands with him in Khartoum, time 
 would not have been of such absolute importance. We 
 could at first have acted on the defensive, until a 
 sufficient force had been collected to cover the retreat 
 from Khartoum, or, if wished, to conquer the Mahdi. 
 
 But I must return from imagination to reality. Four 
 days of easy steaming brought us to Assouan, where 
 Grenfell was in command, and six more to Wady Haifa. 
 Here we found Sir Evelyn Wood, who had been appointed 
 General-of-Communications, besides being Sirdar of the 
 Egyptian Army, and also Colonel Duncan, who com- 
 manded the station. 
 
 Earle and his Staff remained in the Dahabeyah that 
 brought us up from Assouan. Stewart, with his party, 
 rode off to Dongola. I succeeded in getting a horse from 
 an officer who was returning home, and spent my time in 
 
286 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 going about the station and inspecting the railway and 
 the cataracts. But there was no real work for Earle or 
 his Staff at Wady Haifa, now that it was considered part 
 of the Line-of-Communications. 
 
 On October 4 we heard that Gordon, having gone with 
 three steamers through Berber, had sent Colonel Stewart 
 on in one of them to meet the relief expedition. But 
 Stewart's steamer was wrecked near Merawi, and himself 
 murdered by the Sheikh of the Monasir tribe. 
 
 On the 5th Lord Wolseley with a large Staff arrived 
 at Wady Haifa. 
 
 I was appointed a Colonel on the Staff, with the 
 nominal command of the advanced depot. Shortly 
 afterwards I was ordered to report to Sir Evelyn Wood 
 for duty on the Line-of-Communications, and, in order to 
 enable me to do the work, I got a riding camel, which 
 Eundle bought for me at Korosko, and also a caretaker 
 for it (named Achmed Golam), who had his own camel as 
 well. 
 
 My first duty was to get the railway in working order, 
 which I was able to do by putting the technical railway 
 staff in their proper places. Then on the 19th I was 
 instructed to take charge of the river line from Sarras to 
 Hannek. On the 20th I pitched my little camp at Sarras, 
 my soldier servant, Marshall, doing everything. A week 
 afterwards Major Wodehouse, B.A., of the Egyptian Army, 
 came to act as my Staff officer, and on the 27th Sir 
 George Arthur, 2nd Life Guards, came as orderly 
 officer. 
 
 On the 28th Lord Wolseley breakfasted with me on 
 his way to Dongola, where he went, with a limited Staff, 
 to see for himself how affairs were progressing. He was 
 in touch there with Wady Haifa, and also with Cairo 
 and England by telegraph. 
 
 On November 7 General Earle also passed through on 
 
ILLNESS 287 
 
 his way to Dongola. I was very sorry to be separated 
 from him, even, as I thought, for a time. As a matter of 
 fact I never saw him again. 
 
 My camp and office were now in working order, and 
 the business that I had to do seemed progressing, though 
 we were inundated with telegrams and worried with 
 numerous matters of detail. 
 
 Unfortunately at this juncture I fell ill. I had had 
 one or two threatenings which passed away, but on 
 November 8 I had a choleraic attack, and, being worse 
 the next day, thought I had better go to Haifa, and see 
 if Rogers, E. Wood's excellent medical officer, could 
 patch me up. He kept me under his care for about a 
 week, and then I went back to Sarras. 
 
 On November 16 we were astonished by the sudden 
 arrival of Lord Wolseley from Dongola. He only stayed 
 a day and then went back again. While dining with me 
 he said he had received a message from Gordon, which 
 informed him, among other matters, that he could not 
 read any of the messages that had been sent to him 
 because he had sent away his cypher by Stewart. 
 
 Still not feeling quite fit I determined to inspect my 
 command as far as Fatmeh, hoping that the change of 
 scene and the movement would put me right. 
 
 On November 22 we sent camels and horses along the 
 bank, and went up the river in a gig that Butler had told 
 off for my use. The crew consisted of myself, Arthur 
 and his servant, a petty officer and four sailors Eoyal 
 Navy, and an Arab Eeis. 
 
 We found at once that the latter was no use, and 
 I steered the boat to Semneh. Now and then we had to 
 trek. The weather was very hot, and I worked with others 
 at the rope. At Semneh I was rather ' done,' and the doctor 
 there made me lie down. But he did not order me not to 
 go on. So the following day I continued the journey. 
 
288 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 But all that day I had a bad headache, and my face 
 swelled so much that on arriving at Ambigole my servant, 
 Marshall, hardly recognised me. The next day I was 
 worse, in fact quite prostrate, and I had to give in. I 
 was put into a steam launch, and taken back to Semneh. 
 From there Denison and some voyageurs took me to 
 Sarras, whence I was conveyed by train to the station 
 hospital at Wady Haifa. 
 
 I had sent Arthur on in the gig, to give the instruc- 
 tions that we had started together to see about. When 
 this was done, he followed me, with our establishment, to 
 Haifa. At the hospital I was treated by Dr. Green, a 
 Guy's man, who told me that my illness was erysipelas of 
 the head, and that it was well I had got back. Under his 
 skilful treatment, in five days the disease was said to have 
 been cured, leaving me, however, somewhat weak and 
 shaky. Marshall had done everything for me in hospital : 
 no nurse could have been more attentive, no cook more 
 zealous. Many officers took a kind interest in me. For 
 a time no one was allowed to visit my tent, but, as I 
 improved and could move about, I saw a good many old 
 friends. 
 
 At the suggestion of Captain Boardman, K.N., I went 
 for a few days on board the Saidieh, which was cruising 
 about and towing boats on the Korosko reach of the 
 river. There, besides Lieut. Taylor, B.N., who com- 
 manded the steamer, I met Colonel Leith of the Cameron 
 Highlanders, and Bundle, who was engaged in political 
 work at the Station, and with walks and rides on 
 shore I soon got better. On return to Haifa, I was 
 told that I was to go to Cairo and report to the 
 Principal Medical Officer there. Sir E. Wood was 
 just starting to inspect the line as far as Debbeh, and 
 Grenfell had come to take up the work at Wady 
 Haifa, so I parted with horse, camels, stores, &c., and 
 
VISIT THE HOLY LAND 289 
 
 went down the river as ordered. Marshall alone went 
 with me. 
 
 On arrival at Cairo I was ordered to appear before a 
 medical board, and subsequently obtained leave until I 
 could be sent to England in charge of returning troops. 
 
 I was much disappointed, not only by the misfortune 
 of my illness but also by not being able to take up work 
 again at the front. Throughout my service illness had 
 never before prevented my carrying out any work en- 
 trusted to me. The following extract from a kind letter 
 I received from Lord Wolseley, dated Korti, January 1, 
 1885, was, however, some consolation : 
 
 ' Your letter of December 21 only reached me by the 
 last post of course I knew before it arrived of your 
 serious illness, and of the doctors having decided you 
 would not be fit for work again during this campaign. I 
 can assure you that next to yourself I deplored this illness 
 of yours most. I deplore it because it deprives me of your 
 valuable services, and because I shall not now be able to 
 show you how highly I appreciated your worth upon all 
 the many occasions when we have been thrown together 
 on active service. When we left England this time I had 
 intended to place you in a high position, but upon arrival 
 in Egypt I found I could not do so. However, I hope and 
 trust that, when next we serve together in the field, you 
 may occupy a position more on a level with your military 
 ability than the subordinate position which fell to your 
 lot this time. . . .' 
 
 While a transport vessel was being fitted to return 
 to England I went to the Holy Land. I was accom- 
 panied by an excellent dragoman named Jamil, who was 
 returning there from Egypt. He showed me all the in- 
 teresting sights, and also engaged in my name, for a few 
 days, a house in Jericho, where I shot partridges and 
 woodcock in the valley of the Jordan. 
 
 u 
 
290 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 All the time I had been ill, and travelling up and 
 down the Nile, the relief expedition had been pushing on. 
 In regard to the latter I will confine myself to remarking 
 that the energy and determination with which all the 
 difficulties were faced were worthy of the best traditions 
 of the British Army. Whether in working the boats up 
 the river, or in marching across the desert, all ranks, from 
 their gallant and undaunted leader downwards, deserved 
 well of their country. The account of all that was done is 
 carefully and well described in the official ' History of the 
 Soudan Campaign,' by Colonel Colville, viz. how the troops 
 were massed at the advanced depots at Debbeh and else- 
 where, how the camel column marched across the desert 
 to Abu Klea and Gubat, how a desperate attempt was made 
 to reach Khartoum in Gordon's steamers, only to find 
 the town taken by the Mahdists and Gordon killed; 
 finally, how the battle of Kirbekan was fought by the 
 river column, and how eventually the whole force was 
 withdrawn. 
 
 For myself, I received the news, bit by bit, with 
 intense interest, and I grieved as much as anyone when 
 I heard of the death of Gordon, whom I had known and 
 admired so long ; also of that thorough gentleman, Earle, 
 my late chief, by whose side I might have served to the 
 last if it had not been for my illness ; and lastly, of Herbert 
 Stewart, who not so long ago was my Staff Officer in the 
 Transvaal, and who on our journey together to Haifa had 
 done me the honour of offering to make me his partner 
 in his London business if we both survived the approach- 
 ing campaign. 
 
 My voyage home in the hired transport Poona was as 
 unpleasant as any of my experiences in Egypt. My com- 
 mand consisted of a motley lot of invalids, prisoners, and 
 lunatics. There was no other officer doing duty on board, 
 and I had to make a working staff out of the sergeants 
 
UNPLEASANT VOYAGE HOME 291 
 
 who were going home sick. Just as the vessel was 
 starting some 200 Canadian voyageurs came on board. 
 At Malta some drafts for England joined us. Fortunately 
 I was able to get hold of a small guard of the Royal Irish 
 Regiment, for in the Bay of Biscay there was a fight 
 between the Lascar crew and the voyageurs, in which 
 some of the prisoners (convicts) who had broken out of 
 the ship's prison took part. One of these latter I found 
 sitting on the head of the captain of the vessel, whom he 
 had previously hit in the face. Having, with the ready 
 help of my guard of Royal Irish, seized and handcuffed 
 one or two of the ringleaders, we sounded the fire-alarm, 
 which enabled us to account for every one on board. All 
 I could do, as a military Commanding Officer, was to 
 prefer charges against any military offender, for trial 
 when we reached the shore. On the other hand, the 
 captain of the ship had, as I reminded him, the power 
 of life and death. But he did not care to exercise it. 
 
 The day before we reached Queenstown the screw 
 shaft cracked ; but we were able, going slowly, to get 
 into harbour. On arrival there, three of the convicts, 
 aided by the voyageurs, escaped from the ship, and got 
 away on shore. The next day the voyageurs left us, to 
 go back to Canada. 
 
 On February 20, our screw shaft having been patched 
 up, we were sent off again in company with a tug. But 
 on the 21st it broke completely, and the wind having 
 freshened, our tug, as well as another one that had been 
 sent from Liverpool to help us, proved useless. All that 
 our captain could do was to rig up two small fore-and-aft 
 sails, to keep us as much as possible in the wind as we 
 drifted. One tug left us on the 21st, and the other on the 
 23rd. On the 25th, being in the vicinity of Cork harbour, 
 we came across a steamer that towed us in. On the 
 27th, having disembarked all my charge, I went by the 
 
 c 2 
 
292 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 usual Holyhead route to London, and so home to Knell- 
 wood. 
 
 My wife and eldest daughter had had an anxious time 
 at Portsmouth, waiting for the arrival of the Poona, 
 and reading in the daily papers the reports of its sup- 
 posed loss. 
 
 Again I was re-installed as Assistant Quartermaster- 
 General at Aldershot, but this time I was not required to 
 live in the hut, so we remained on at our house in Farn- 
 borough. 
 
 Before starting on the work, I took the leave to which 
 I was entitled, and went with my wife for a tour to the 
 Italian lakes and Switzerland. 
 
 On resuming my Staff employment, I saw the Quarter- 
 master-General at the War Office (Sir Arthur Herbert) 
 about continuing the ' Army Tables/ and it was arranged 
 that Major Gregson, of the Intelligence Department, 
 should carry on the clerical part of the business, while 
 I conducted the experiments at Woolwich and elsewhere. 
 Later on, when Lord Wolseley returned to his post as 
 Adjutant-General, a War Office Committee was appointed 
 to complete, as far as possible, what we had begun. I 
 was president of this committee, and the members were 
 representatives of the Quartermaster-General's and Ord- 
 nance Departments, with Major Gregson as secretary. 
 Later on Colonel Macgregor took over Major Gregson's 
 duties in the matter, and worked with great zeal and 
 energy. With the help of this committee, the war 
 organisation was settled of a Brigade and a Division, 
 including all the units which these bodies contain, also 
 of a Line-of-Communications of a certain assumed length 
 by road, river, or railway. But there was more to do, so 
 I continued the work while on half -pay, until I was given 
 another appointment, when, as I have already stated, it 
 was handed over to the Intelligence Department. 
 
ON HALF-PAY 293 
 
 In regard to Aldershot I may say that the usual life, 
 already described, went on. Prince Edward of Wales 
 was doing duty there at that time, in the 10th Hussars. 
 
 On February 15, 1886, my time on the Staff expired, 
 and I was placed on half-pay, pending further employ- 
 ment. 
 
294 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 CHAPTEE XI 
 
 COMMANDS IN ENGLAND 
 
 Trip to the East Commanding Eoyal Engineer, Dover Transfer to 
 Aldershot The Queen's Jubilee Review Promoted Major-General 
 Governor Royal Military Academy Its State of Discipline Command of 
 Western District. 
 
 AT the commencement of 1886 my five years' tenure of 
 the appointment of Assistant Quartermaster-General at 
 Aldershot was drawing to a close, when I went to one of 
 the Military Secretary's levees, and asked what was likely 
 to be done with me. I was then informed that, for the 
 present, at all events, I must look to the Eoyal Engineer 
 authorities for employment. I had been so long at Staff 
 and special work that I felt doubtful if I should obtain 
 any of the E.E. appointments that my rank entitled 
 me to hold. But, after six months on half -pay, I 
 was gazetted Colonel-on-the-Staff-Commanding-Eoyal 
 Engineer of the South Eastern Military District, with 
 Headquarters at Dover, and four months later I was 
 transferred in the same capacity to Aldershot. 
 
 During the six months of waiting for official employ- 
 ment, we remained at Knellwood, which was a convenient 
 position from which to watch what was going on in the 
 military world. It was also easy from there to keep my 
 special committee work going, or to do umpiring at 
 Aldershot field-days and London war-games. 
 
 But, before settling down, I assumed that a period of 
 non-employment might not occur again for a long time, 
 
VISIT TO TURKEY 295 
 
 and that it would be well to take advantage of the oppor 
 tunity to make a trip abroad. 
 
 Ever since the Crimean war I had wished to re-visit 
 Turkey, not only to see how that country had progressed 
 after the effort made by three great Powers to set it on its 
 feet, but also to study how and where further dangers to 
 its existence might be anticipated. When I visited it at 
 the time of the Russian war of 1856 it seemed as if it had 
 nearly run its course. Ever since then I had watched 
 with interest the wars that it waged, and the treaties that 
 it entered into ; and I wondered when the great ' break 
 up ' would take place, and what European nations would 
 be ' in at the death.' 
 
 The plan I made was to go first to Constantinople, 
 and there organise a tour in and around the Black Sea ; 
 and on April 10, armed with letters from the Foreign 
 Office, kindly procured for me by Sir Henry Brackenbury, 
 I started away by myself on the expedition. An ordinary 
 Cook's ticket took me in five days through Paris, Vienna, 
 and Buda Pesth, across the Danube at Giurgevo, by train 
 to Varna, and thence by steamship to Constantinople. 
 There I put up at the Hotel d'Angleterre, and, after 
 paying one or two visits, went to Scutari to see the site 
 of the camp that I had occupied thirty years before. 
 Notwithstanding the passing of so many years, the 
 surroundings seemed just as I remembered them. The 
 distant views of the old city of Stamboul were as lovely 
 as ever. Apparently the same ships and boats were 
 passing up and down the Bosphorus ; the same restless 
 birds, that never seem to tire, were still flitting over the 
 water ; and the same shoals of porpoises were still rolling 
 about in the stream. But the hospitals were filled with 
 Turkish soldiers instead of English sick and wounded, and 
 the people were sullen and rude instead of being, as they 
 were in 1855-56, friendly and civil. I also visited the 
 
296 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 English cemetery, which was in beautiful order, and the 
 Turkish one, which was, as usual, neglected and uncared 
 for. After a few days' wandering about in the neighbour- 
 hood, and calling upon the British Ambassador, the 
 American Minister, Major Trotter, Military Attache, and 
 others, I engaged a young man to go with me as 
 a travelling servant, and took passage in a Eussian 
 steamer for Batoum. My servant, whose name was 
 Ferdinand de Paruta, was only eighteen years old, but he 
 had a wonderful gift of languages. He could talk all the 
 local dialects, and never seemed put out. I was somewhat 
 taken aback by the startling pattern of the check suit that 
 he thought it necessary to purchase for our trip, which he 
 wore the day we started. But there was nothing else to 
 take exception to, and he made himself most useful 
 throughout our journey. As a rule I travelled first-class 
 and he second, but we often had meals together. 
 
 Our steamer, the Rustov, left the Bosphorus on the 
 morning of April 21, and . we were able to observe, in 
 passing, the Turkish batteries that guard the eastern 
 entrance of that famous waterway; then we proceeded 
 along the southern shore of the Black Sea, touching at 
 the various Armenian ports where we had to leave or 
 take in passengers and cargo. On the 23rd we had a run 
 on shore at Sansoon, a Turkish village of the usual dirty 
 uncared-for type ; on the 24th we reached Trebizond, and 
 called on the Consul, who informed me that the important 
 road which runs to Erzeroom was in good order and quite 
 practicable for wheels. 
 
 On Sunday the 25th we arrived at Batoum, and, 
 disembarking in a torrent of rain, put up at the Hotel de 
 France. On landing, we observed that there were forty 
 vessels of sorts in the harbour, and that the fort at the 
 point was being reconstructed by the Kussians, who are 
 now its possessors. I called on the Consul (Mr. D. Peacock), 
 
BAKU'S OIL-WELLS 297 
 
 who talks Russian and knows the country thoroughly. 
 He was most pleasant, and took a walk with me in the 
 rain to see the new batteries that are being built on the 
 coast, about a mile from the town. Under Russian rule, 
 Batoum is to be the regular military port, and Poti the 
 commercial one. When I was there English trade was 
 small, however. 
 
 From Batoum we went on by train, through Poti and 
 Tiflis, to Baku, which I had been strongly advised to visit 
 by Mr. Cox, the American Minister, who had at the same 
 time lent me Marvin's graphic description of the place 
 in his book called The Eegion of Eternal Fire/ We 
 arrived at Baku at 5 P.M. on April 27, and put up at the 
 Hotel d'ltalie. The extent of this city, which is the 
 creation of only a few years, is certainly wonderful. 
 
 The next day we drove to see the oil-wells, across 
 a desert about eight miles from the town. We were 
 fortunate in finding Mr. Nobel's chief borer, who showed 
 us the process of making a well, and explained how they 
 were able then to control the flow when oil was struck. 
 In previous times they had no means of doing this, the 
 result being that lakes of liquid oil were formed in various 
 directions ; an overflow which not only wasted valuable 
 material, but was dangerous, because the oil in its crude 
 state is highly explosive : a spark ignites it. 
 
 Under modern arrangements, the oil, when obtained, 
 is conveyed to the works at Baku in pipes, and stored in 
 reservoirs. We were shown over the distillery of the 
 Caspian company near Baku, where the manager (Mr. 
 Hansberg) was kind enough to explain the process by 
 which the crude oil is turned into kerosene and the 
 various other substances that are made from it. Kero- 
 sene, which is the best kind of lamp oil, is a beautiful, 
 clear liquid, with hardly any smell. Its price at Baku 
 is 40 copecks a pood = 40 litres. When the lamp oils, 
 
298 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 such as kerosene, benzine, gaseline, &c., are extracted 
 from the crude oil by distillation, the waste is used for 
 various purposes, viz. lubricating grease, colours, and, 
 lastly, liquid fuel. The liquid fuel requires a special 
 engine, but it is used on all the railways in the country 
 and on all the steamers in the Black Sea. The process 
 of burning it is curious. One tube supplies the oil waste, 
 and through another tube close by there rushes a jet of 
 steam, which plays on the first as it comes out. The 
 spray thus formed is set on fire and a powerful flame is 
 produced. 
 
 When we had seen the way in which the oil issuing 
 from the ground is controlled and utilised in modern 
 days, we went to look at what are called the 'fires' 
 at Sulakhani, where the oil rising from the desert in 
 fountains is kept alight by Persian priests and wor- 
 shipped by pilgrims from far and near. This is one of 
 the principal temples of the fire-worshippers. We also 
 observed the oil floating in large masses on the Caspian 
 Sea, and were told that now and then visitors and others 
 lighted it, the effect being very weird and unnatural. 
 
 On April 29 we returned to Tiflis, and lodged at the 
 Grand Hotel de Caucase, where we were more comfort- 
 able than we had yet been. Having taken places in the 
 diligence over the Caucasus, we wandered about in the 
 bazaar and visited a small chapel, from which there was 
 a fine view of the town. I was rather astonished at 
 seeing so few soldiers about, notwithstanding the fact 
 that the barracks are large enough to hold five or six 
 thousand men. I suppose the Tsar wants them some- 
 where else. 
 
 On April 30, at 8 A.M., we started over the pass, and 
 reached Vladikavkas, which was then the railway ter- 
 minus, at 6 P.M. the next evening, being a total of 
 twenty-eight hours on the road, including the halts that 
 
IN THE TSAR'S COUNTRY 299 
 
 were required to change horses and drivers and to refresh 
 every one. 
 
 Before we started Ferdinand made me promise to 
 carry a revolver, and he also provided himself with one, 
 because he had heard that highway robberies were not 
 uncommon. We found snow at the top of the pass, but 
 enough had been cleared away to enable our carriage to 
 get along comfortably. The gorge on the north side of 
 the pass was wild and magnificent, but it was said to be 
 dangerous on account of falling rocks. A great many 
 men were at work repairing the roadway. We found 
 post-horses at regular intervals all along the road, but 
 the food they offered us was indifferent and dear. The 
 Hotel de France at Vladikavkas was comfortable, but 
 here and at all our stopping-places I owed a good deal 
 to Ferdinand, who was most energetic in getting every- 
 thing that he thought I wanted. One of the most 
 difficult things to get was water for the indiarubber bath 
 I carried. Waiters seemed to think that one small can 
 of hot water (about enough to make tea with) was 
 sufficient for all purposes. 
 
 On May 2 we started from Vladikavkas by train. No 
 one at the hotel or at the station seemed to know at 
 what hour the train would start, so we went by * Brad- 
 shaw's Guide,' and found it correct. I noticed that the 
 little river flowing from the mountains through Vladi- 
 kavkas was full of trout, and I was informed that all the 
 rivers in Circassia are the same. Game was produced 
 freely at hotels and buffets, notwithstanding that shooting 
 at that season was against the law of the land. Railway 
 travelling in Eussia, especially in a first-class compart- 
 ment, was quite comfortable. The seats are turned into 
 beds for night use. 
 
 Passing Rostov, a fine town on the banks of the Don, 
 I noticed a great many windmills on the left bank of 
 
300 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the river. We then skirted the sea shore, and reached 
 Taganrog on the evening of May 3. Finding that the 
 service of steamers from here to Sebastopol was not yet 
 running, I determined to go on by train to the latter 
 place. We arrived in the middle of the night of the 5th, 
 and found rooms at the Grand Hotel. 
 
 The next morning I called on the Consul (Captain 
 Harford), but he was away ; I saw, however, Mr. Grierson, 
 who was acting for him. Having procured a carriage we 
 drove to the Malakhof, the Eedan, and the field of Inker- 
 man, and also to the English cemetery on Cathcart's 
 Hill. Gardens were being made in the Malakhof, and 
 the English cemetery was well looked after. In the 
 Malakhof garden we noticed a pretty, simple cross, with 
 the following inscription : 
 
 Unis pour la victoire, 
 R6unis par la mort, 
 Du soldat c'est la gloire, 
 Des braves c'est le sort. 
 
 The Eussians were at that time rapidly rebuilding 
 Sebastopol. They were not making any fortification 
 works on the land side (trusting, I presume, to their 
 army and the temporary field works), but they had made 
 several strong earthworks to strengthen the coast- 
 defences ; they had built new barracks, and had con- 
 structed a large dock in the place of the two that we blew 
 up after the war. Besides the troops in the barracks 
 there was a camp on the heights. There must have been 
 quite 10,000 men in Sebastopol when I visited it, and 
 more were expected. On the 8th Mr. Harford came 
 back, and he showed me the memorial chapel which was 
 being built in remembrance of the four Eussian Admirals 
 killed during the siege. 
 
 After spending three days in visiting Sebastopol and 
 its environs, I went back by one of the Black Sea 
 
RETURN TO ENGLAND 301 
 
 Company's steamers to Constantinople, the only other 
 first-class passengers on board being the wife of the 
 Russian Ambassador at Constantinople, Madame Nelidoff, 
 and her two sons, who spoke English fluently. 
 
 On arrival I found letters from my wife, to say that 
 she was not able to come abroad, as she had intended ; 
 I also heard that my uncle, Colonel George Hall, whom I 
 have mentioned before in these pages, had died suddenly 
 on April 13, aged 78. I knew I should miss him very 
 much. I always looked upon him as one of the most 
 enthusiastic soldiers and one of the simplest Christian 
 gentlemen that I ever met. It was in the very place that 
 I had just been visiting where he performed his last 
 active service, first as an Assistant Engineer with the 
 Army before Sebastopol, and then as a Brigadier in 
 command of the Horse Artillery of the Turkish Contin- 
 gent. In consequence of these letters I determined to go 
 home direct, so, after a look at the famous Tchataldja 
 lines, which enabled the Turks in the late Russo-Turkish 
 war to hold the Russians at bay until Europe intervened, 
 I took passage for England, and returned by the same 
 route that I had come out by, having been away six 
 weeks. 
 
 Soon after my return from the East I wrote a memo- 
 randum for the Intelligence Department, giving such 
 information regarding the places I had visited as I 
 thought might be useful, and then devoted myself to my 
 committees. 
 
 In August 1886 a flying column was formed at the 
 camp for the double purpose of testing war kit and war 
 arrangements as laid down in the tables made by my 
 committee, and of practising manoeuvres. But the 
 column was not altogether a success. To make the con- 
 ditions similar to what they would be in war, rations and 
 ammunition had to be carried with the troops, and this 
 
302 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 made the transport cumbersome. Then, many of the 
 articles of war kit that the men were supposed to possess 
 were non-existent. Lastly, the officers and men con- 
 cerned were not made aware of the meaning of the 
 experiment, and saw no use in it. 
 
 I visited this column in company with officers of my 
 committee, on the march and also in camp, and I came 
 to the conclusion that our army required a sharper lesson 
 than they had yet experienced before they would 
 thoroughly appreciate the advantages to be obtained by 
 training now and then under war conditions. 
 
 On September 15, 1886, I reported at Dover to the 
 General commanding the district, the Hon. P. Feilding. 
 He lived in the Constable's Tower in the Castle. My 
 quarters were in Archcliffe Fort. 
 
 I have not much to say about my life during the tenure 
 of this appointment. Although I took possession of the 
 quarters we never actually lived there, because, before 
 the necessary repairs were finished, I heard privately that 
 I was to be transferred to Alder shot. In regard to my 
 work, I did not do much more than inspect the various 
 forts and barracks in the district, and act for a short 
 time for the General while he was on leave. 
 
 On January 1, 1887, I reported at Aldershot, and took 
 over the Commanding Royal Engineer's office. I found 
 plenty to do at first, inspecting the various works in hand, 
 and considering the system of Royal Engineer training as 
 it was then being worked at the station. No doubt all 
 this came easier to me than it would have done to many 
 others, because of my previous experience at the camp, 
 and because of my knowledge of the manner in which 
 business was conducted at the Headquarters there. 
 
 As long as the military mind has had cognizance of the 
 place, there has existed by the side of the road running 
 between Farnborough and Farnham a small four-roomed 
 
TRANSFERRED TO ALDERSHOT 303 
 
 cottage. I have been told that it was there when the 
 Prince Consort first introduced Aldershot to the notice of 
 the military authorities as a training-ground for the 
 British Army. Anyhow it was there when troops first 
 encamped on the spot, and it was taken possession of and 
 occupied by the Eoyal Engineer Officer whose business it 
 was to survey the country and carry out such other 
 engineering works as were necessary at the new camp. 
 Eventually it became recognised, under the name of Vine 
 Cottage, as the 'quarters' of the Commanding Eoyal 
 Engineer ; and, as this appropriation gave some fixity of 
 tenure, occupants were in the habit of making improve- 
 ments on the understanding that their successors bore a 
 fair proportion of the cost thus involved. In this way 
 the cottage grew and improved, and from being a small 
 shanty that no one coveted, it became quite a comfortable 
 though a very unpretentious house. It had quite a good 
 garden around it, and convenient stables and a paddock 
 or two. When we took up our abode there it possessed, 
 besides the ordinary rooms, a very small study : less than 
 twelve feet square. This latter had been the original 
 dining-room when Sir Lintorn Simmons was quartered 
 there; and we used to wonder by what arrangements 
 that clever and hospitable officer got into the small space 
 alluded to the ladies and gentlemen that he so often 
 entertained at dinner when he was in office. There 
 could not have been much room for table decorations. 
 
 Without attempting to describe at length our doings 
 at this period, I may say that, Aldershot being near to 
 London and connected with it by a good service of trains, 
 relations and friends often came to see us. We were also 
 able occasionally to visit the metropolis without inter- 
 fering with any of our duties at the camp. 
 
 Among my visits there, I may mention a remark- 
 able dinner held at St. James's Palace by the Order of 
 
304 A LITE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 St. Michael and St. George on April 23 of this year. The 
 Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge were there, 
 and a great many men of note in the Empire, Among 
 others, I met Bishop Perry, of Melbourne, who was a 
 cousin of mine. He was the Prelate of the Order. 
 
 In June of this year (1887) there was celebrated 
 throughout the United Kingdom and the Empire the 
 Queen's Jubilee, that is the fiftieth year of her reign. 
 We went to the service in Westminster Abbey, which was 
 most impressive, and of course we were present at the 
 review at Aldershot on July 9. As I was specially con- 
 cerned in this, I must say something about it. For some 
 time before the review, Sir Archibald Alison, the General 
 Commanding, discussed with his Staff the site for the 
 parade, and the arrangements for the troops and the 
 public. It was arranged to hold the review in the Long 
 Valley, the well-known dusty plain where cavalry and 
 artillery exercise throughout the winter. But there were 
 in Court circles, and at Headquarters in London, great 
 fears about that site. It was thought that, if there was 
 any wind on the day of the review, the Queen might be 
 troubled by the dust, and the lookers-on would see 
 nothing. Not far from the Long Valley on its western 
 side, but divided from it by a more or less grassy ridge, 
 there was a watercourse. This watercourse was dry in 
 the summer, but brought down a considerable quantity 
 of water during the winter months. Foreseeing the 
 possibility of the Long Valley being used for a review, 
 I had taken the precaution of making a dam across this 
 watercourse in the early spring, and thus formed quite 
 a good pond. I then borrowed some engines from the 
 fire brigade in London, and, having thus done all that was 
 possible, waited to see what would happen. As the time 
 for the review drew near, the War Office, prompted by the 
 Court, began to make inquiries about the arrangements 
 
JUBILEE REVIEW 305 
 
 for it. Every known site was suggested, and many 
 messages were sent to the General at Aldershot. But 
 Sir Archibald, who by this time had heard that the 
 review would be of unusual size, felt sure that the only 
 site for it was the one that he had originally selected, viz. 
 the Long Valley. Having notified this to London, he 
 was informed that he would be held personally responsible 
 if Her Majesty was in any way inconvenienced by dust 
 during the review. Sir Archibald communicated this 
 message to me, and said that he held me responsible for 
 this part of the business. I was also held responsible for 
 the erection of a huge wooden stand for spectators, and 
 also for the formation of roads of approach, &c. 
 
 The day before the review the Queen arrived in an 
 open carriage from Windsor, with the Duke and Duchess 
 of Connaught, and others. The first to greet Her 
 Majesty within the camp were my children and their 
 friends in a gaily dressed ' stand ' that had been erected 
 behind the main gate of Vine Cottage. They cheered 
 lustily as soon as the outriders came on the scene, and 
 the Queen gave them a most gracious smile as she 
 passed. That night the Koyal party slept at the 
 Pavilion ; and, during the silent hours, a party of soldiers 
 under the Camp-Quartermaster poured the contents of 
 my pond on to the marching-past ground that had been 
 marked out for the review. The next day 58,000 men 
 were collected in and around the Long Valley. The 
 wind had changed in the night, and blew a gale from the 
 south-west, which sent some of the well-known dust, 
 accompanied by small stones, into the faces of the 
 assembled troops. But it blew from behind the stands, 
 and, as the passing line had been well watered, none of 
 the Eoyal party, and none of the spectators, were 
 inconvenienced in any way. My journal of the day is as 
 follows : ' The watering arrangements of the passing line 
 
 x 
 
306 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 were successful, and all went off well. I marched past 
 (as a Brigadier) at the head of the Royal Engineers. 
 The Queen, and a great many of the Royal Family, and 
 foreign Princes were present. The Infantry took two 
 hours to march by, in double-company column. The 
 mounted branches about an hour more.' 
 
 On March 26 the same year I was doing the duty of 
 senior umpire at the Public School Field Day on the Fox 
 Hills, when a telegram arrived to say that my cousin, 
 Benjamin Harrison, the Archdeacon of Maidstone, had 
 died that day. On the 29th I went to his funeral at 
 Canterbury. The service began in the Cathedral, and 
 ended in the graveyard of a small church about a mile 
 out of the town, where his body was laid. The Cathedral 
 portion of the ceremony was very impressive; a great 
 many people from the town and neighbourhood were 
 present. After the funeral I was informed that the 
 family pictures were to come to me, while the library 
 was left to the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury 
 Cathedral. In regard to the bequest of the pictures, all 
 through my life I had known the Archdeacon and Mrs. 
 Harrison, and had stayed with them now and then at 
 their house in the Precincts, where I was always much 
 interested in looking at the old books and pictures, and in 
 hearing stories about our family. Soon after my return 
 from Egypt I received a letter from the Archdeacon 
 asking me to come and see him at Canterbury at the 
 earliest opportunity, because he had something particular 
 to say to me. On arrival there a few days afterwards he 
 took me into the dining-room, where most of the family 
 pictures were hanging, and pointing to them, said, 
 1 These pictures came to me by inheritance, and have 
 always belonged to a Harrison ; I do not wish them to 
 go to anyone of another name, and I have chosen you to 
 leave them to if you will accept the charge.' They were 
 
A GIFT OF PICTURES 307 
 
 not then in very good order, and I did not quite know 
 where I should put them, or, in fact, where I might be 
 when the Archdeacon died. But I did not like to refuse 
 to carry out his evident wishes, so I said I would accept 
 them, and look upon them as a trust. He seemed quite 
 pleased at my answer, and, calling in his wife, repeated 
 fco her what he had said to me, as well as my reply. 
 Nothing more occurred except that he asked me not to 
 mention the circumstance of our interview as long as he 
 was alive, and we continued our usual friendly relations 
 until the end. After his death Mrs. Harrison remem- 
 bered the incident I have described, and told her nephew 
 that the pictures were to go to me. No written 
 memorandum was found about them, and so practically 
 I received them as a gift from her. By the advice of 
 Sir Charles Eastlake I had them cleaned and put in 
 order by Mr. Buttery of Piccadilly, who did the work 
 exceedingly well. They have wandered about with us in 
 our various residences ever since. 
 
 I will relate one more incident that happened to me 
 while we were living at Vine Cottage. At one time 
 I ' nursed ' a borough with the view of becoming a 
 candidate for parliamentary honours. But for some 
 years I had given that up. I had, however, taken a 
 small part in local government work in Farnborough, 
 a place that was struggling to make itself known in the 
 family of parishes, and I had, while holding the appoint- 
 ment of Assistant Quartermaster-General at the camp, 
 sat as an ex-officio member of the Aldershot District 
 Council ; so I was known in the locality. 
 
 On June 28 I was playing lawn tennis on the ground 
 behind Vine Cottage when I was told that some gentle- 
 men wished to see me. I asked if they would mind 
 coming out and speaking to me on the lawn, when I 
 found that they were a deputation from the Conservative 
 
 x2 
 
308 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 party of Aldershot, who came to know if I would be 
 willing to stand for North Hants at the approaching 
 election. Taking them into a summer-house, we sat 
 down and discussed the situation. It appeared that, at 
 the preliminary meeting of the party at Basingstoke to 
 choose a candidate, the names of one or two county 
 gentlemen had been brought forward. But the Aldershot 
 delegates thought that, because of the growing size and 
 importance of the town they represented, the time had 
 come for them to have a voice in the nomination, 
 and they claimed the right of naming a candidate. 
 After some discussion their claim was agreed to, and 
 the meeting was postponed to enable them to find 
 one. I told them that at one time I had thought 
 of taking up parliamentary life, but that lately I had 
 given up the idea, and that I was only just settled as 
 Commanding-Royal-Engineer at Aldershot ; but, on the 
 other hand, that I was not far off my promotion, and 
 that, when promoted, I thought there was very little 
 chance of my obtaining military employment. On their 
 pressing for a definite answer, I said that I would go up 
 to the War Office and ask permission to contest the 
 seat, on the understanding that, if I got in, I would 
 resign my appointment. To this they agreed. The next 
 day I went to London, but was informed that a similar 
 case had occurred at Portsmouth, when it was decided 
 that the officer must resign his appointment before he 
 allowed his name to be put forward as a candidate, and 
 that the same rule must apply to me. So I had to tell 
 my friends that I could not stand. 
 
 At the next Basingstoke meeting of delegates Mr. 
 Jeffreys, a county landowner, was chosen as the Unionist 
 candidate, and at the election he was returned by a 
 majority of 750 over Mr. Eve, who stood as a G-lad- 
 stonian Liberal. I may add that he held the seat until 
 his death in 1906. 
 
A 'PROMOTION' BOARD 309 
 
 All through 1887 and the first half of 1888 we con- 
 tinued at Vine Cottage, except when we went to Strath - 
 peffer for a week or two in the autumn to drink the 
 waters. 
 
 During the winter I sat on an important committee 
 on the organisation of the Royal Artillery. Lord Harris 
 was its President, and four Generals of Artillery, besides 
 Sir Archibald Alison, Mr. Knox of the War Office, and 
 myself, were members. Major Walford, B.A., was secre- 
 tary. A great deal of evidence was taken, but we never, 
 I think, quite agreed on a report ; anyhow several 
 members wrote * riders,' which went forward with it. 
 
 In the spring of 1888 I was examined by a medical 
 board to report if I was fit for promotion. There was 
 a story going about at the time that at these boards, in 
 order to fully test the active powers of the aspiring 
 General, and his fitness to undertake the duties of a cam- 
 paign, he was required to jump over a number of chairs 
 placed round the room. I wondered whether I should 
 be asked to clear the backs of the chairs or only the 
 seats. I was prepared for either eventuality, but, after 
 an ordinary examination, I was told that nothing more 
 was required of me. 
 
 On July 17 I was gazetted a Major-General, and 
 handed over Vine Cottage to my successor, Colonel Bruce 
 Brine. The same month we went down to Harrow, to 
 our son's first speech-day, when we heard him take part 
 in that pathetic school song that tells the story of the 
 feelings of a small boy when first he enters the rough 
 world of a public school. 
 
 We again took up our abode at Knellwood, and 
 waited for further orders. This time I remained a 
 year on the unemployed list, but I was occasionally 
 utilised for committee work without pay. In January 
 1889, Sir Evelyn Wood, who had succeeded Sir Archibald 
 
310 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Alison in the command of the Aldershot district, took the 
 chair at a lecture which I gave at the Prince Consort's 
 Library on the organisation of an army for war. In 
 February my wife and I went to St. Jean de Luz, and 
 visited with much interest the battle-fields where the 
 final engagements took place between the British and 
 French troops when Wellington had crossed the Pyrenees 
 at the end of the Peninsular war. On return from this 
 tour I was sent for by Mr. Edward Stanhope (then 
 Secretary of State for War) to tell him something more 
 regarding the opinions I had recorded as a rider to the 
 report of the committee on Royal Artillery Organisation. 
 Subsequently I wrote a memorandum for him, to further 
 explain my meaning ; its subject was the Garrisons for 
 Forts and Mercantile Ports in Great Britain. 
 
 On May 24 I was promoted 1 in the Order of the Bath, 
 to be a Knight Commander, and received a number of 
 very kind letters on the subject from Army friends 
 serving in various parts of the Empire. The investiture 
 took place at Windsor on June 1. 
 
 And now we come to my first appointment as Major- 
 General. On June 18, 1889, I received a letter from the 
 Military Secretary in regard to the post of Governor and 
 Commandant at the Boyal Military Academy, Woolwich. 
 It will be remembered by those who have read the first 
 chapter of this book that I myself was not trained at this 
 military school. Moreover, throughout my service I had 
 had little, if any, practical experience in education, and at 
 first I did not feel inclined to accept the appointment. 
 But, having consulted the late Governor (General Hay, 
 B.A.) about the work, I went to see the Adjutant-General, 
 and was told by him that it was the wish of the Commander- 
 in-Chief that I should take it. So I had nothing more 
 to say, and on July 4 I received the ofncial appointment. 
 
 1 I had been made a C.B. after the battle of Ulundi. 
 
GOVERNOR, ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY 311 
 
 Having let Knellwood, we housed ourselves in a 
 lodging on Woolwich Common, until the Governor's 
 house could be got ready for us. On July 9 I was shown 
 round the Academy by Colonel Harness (the Comman- 
 dant), and introduced to the professors and instructors; 
 and from this time I commenced to study the system of 
 education that was being carried out there, in order that 
 I might be able to form an opinion whether or not any 
 improvement was needed in it. 
 
 As far as the Governor went the system was in a 
 transition state. In former days the custom had been to 
 put a distinguished old officer of Royal Artillery or Royal 
 Engineers in the Governor's chair, as a sort of figure- 
 head, the work being done by the second in command, 
 under the title of Commandant, or secretary. The inten- 
 tion, as explained to me when I was given the appoint- 
 ment, was that a young Major-General of Artillery or 
 Engineers, in turn, should, with the title of Governor 
 and Commandant, be the real ruler over the establish- 
 ment, and have an Assistant-Commandant to help him in 
 matters of detail. But at the same time I was told by 
 the director of Military Education that this intention 
 could not be completely carried out until the present 
 Commandant's time was up. Clearly my business, under 
 these circumstances, was to leave things as they were, 
 at all events until I had made myself cognisant of all 
 details regarding the government and management of the 
 place. Anyhow nothing much could be done the first 
 term, because it ended a few days after I had assumed 
 command. On July 26 H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief 
 inspected the cadets and their work, and the Academy 
 broke up for the summer holidays. 
 
 We spent ours for the most part at Seaview, in the 
 Isle of Wight, a German squadron and the German 
 Emperor being at Spithead at that time. 
 
312 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 The Koyal Military Academy opened for the winter 
 term on September 24, and continued through Christmas, 
 until the middle of February 1890. During that term 
 I came to the conclusion that improvement was necessary 
 in the system of discipline as then carried out. Before I 
 relate what steps I took in the matter, and what was the 
 result, I will mention two incidents that occurred at that 
 time. The first was a scratch game at football got up on 
 the last day of the year 1889 between an eleven led by 
 the Governor and one captained by the Sergeant-Major. 
 This was the last game I ever took part in, and I am glad 
 to be able to say that it was won by the Governor's side, 
 the Governor himself playing in the centre and scoring 
 one of the goals. 
 
 The other event was the death of a very distinguished 
 officer of Royal Engineers, Field-Marshal Lord Napier, 
 under whose command I had served at the siege of 
 Lucknow. He had been Coinmander-in-Chief in India, 
 and also Governor of Gibraltar, and for some time was 
 looked upon as the one who would have commanded a 
 British force in the field if war had broken out. He was 
 buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, and a great many officers, 
 of whom I was one, attended his funeral. 
 
 To return to the Eoyal Military Academy, the fact of 
 my being fond of games, especially of rackets and football, 
 at which cadets and officers played together, enabled me 
 to learn what was going on more rapidly than I should 
 have done otherwise. 
 
 I had discovered by a careful study of the crime-book 
 in the orderly room, and also incidentally from the con- 
 versation of cadets themselves, ' that breaking arrest ' had 
 become quite a common thing. Now, without going into 
 the question in detail, I should explain that for some 
 years two forms of punishment had existed at the E.M.A., 
 viz. ' confinement to barracks ' and ' arrest.' The former, 
 
GOVERN OK, ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY 313 
 
 which carried with it certain extra drills, was intended to 
 meet small military offences and carelessness in study, 
 and could be inflicted by any officer or professor. The 
 latter was intended for serious offences, and could only be 
 inflicted by certain specified officers. Besides these there 
 was ' rustication ' till the end of a term, which could only 
 be given by the Governor, and ' dismissal,' which could 
 only be given by the Commander-in-Chief. For some 
 reason that I never fathomed, the light punishment of 
 * confinement to barracks ' had ceased to exist before 
 I became Governor, and all offences were punished by 
 1 arrest ' inflicted by any officer or professor. This custom 
 made the punishment too common ; moreover it was 
 sometimes awarded hastily, without taking into account a 
 cadet's previous character. Thus a sense of injustice 
 grew up, and gradually the feeling of honour, which was 
 the only bolt or bar to keep a cadet in his room when he 
 was placed in ' arrest,' got blunted, and the punishment 
 was evaded. I restored the punishment that had been 
 done away with ; I paraded the cadets and explained to 
 them the system of honour which was the root of all 
 discipline at the Academy, and I said that I looked to 
 the under-officers and corporals to see that discipline 
 was maintained not only in name but in reality. Now I 
 knew that, besides ' breaking arrest,' other irregularities 
 were going on at the Academy, but I hoped that, partly 
 by altering the system of punishments, and partly by 
 cautioning all the officers and under-officers, regularity 
 would gradually be restored. But there was one thing 
 more that I did not discover until nearly the end of 
 the term, viz. the 'ragging' of corporals before the 
 Academy broke up for the holidays. A good deal has 
 appeared in the papers of recent years about ' ragging ' in 
 the Army, and there have been many letters for and 
 against this custom. As a matter of fact, under certain 
 
314 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 conditions, it may be good, under others bad. But the 
 ' ragging ' of corporals as it took place in February 1900 
 at the K.M.A. was a very different thing. A certain 
 number of junior cadets, stimulated by unallowed bever- 
 ages, went into the rooms of some of the corporals, who 
 had tried to do their duty during the term, pulled down 
 their pictures, piled them with their furniture and other 
 possessions in the centre of the room, and completely 
 wrecked the whole place. It was suggested to me that 
 this was only a frolic. But I could not see 'it in that 
 light. How could it be expected that the corporals 
 would do their duty if they knew that a recognised riot 
 was hanging over them at which all old scores would be 
 paid off ? Moreover the outbreak came on the top of the 
 other irregularities that I have already mentioned. So 
 I determined to make an example, and after carefully 
 investigating the whole business in the orderly room, six 
 cadets were rusticated and nine others severely punished. 
 No ill-feeling resulted, and the discipline of the R.M.A. 
 was much improved. 
 
 On February 13 Lord Wolseley, the Adjutant-General, 
 made the final inspection of the cadets, and the same 
 afternoon they all went away to their homes. On 
 March 19 a new term began at the Academy, and I 
 saw the senior classes and spoke to them about discipline, 
 and their duties and responsibilities. 
 
 But another move was impending. Sir Howard 
 Elphinstone, one of the famous Royal Engineer subal- 
 terns in the Crimea, whom I have already alluded to in 
 Chapter IV., had fallen off the bridge of a steamer 
 between Plymouth and Teneriffe and been drowned, to 
 the great grief of all who knew him. 
 
 He was at the time in command of the Western 
 District ; and on the very evening of the day that I was 
 interviewing the returning cadets I received a note from 
 
COMMAND OF WESTERN DISTRICT 315 
 
 the Military Secretary (Sir George Harman), asking me 
 if I would be willing to give up the Governorship of the 
 Academy and take the vacant command. It meant a 
 considerable loss of income, but I thought that the work 
 would be more congenial to me than that upon which 
 I was engaged at Woolwich, and more likely to help me 
 on in a military career. So I accepted the offer. 
 
 The Western District as it existed in 1890 consisted 
 of the English counties of Cornwall, Devon, and Somer- 
 set, and all South Wales ; it contained the so-called 
 regimental districts of Bodmin, Exeter, Taunton, Bristol, 
 Cardiff, and Brecon, in each of which there was a depot 
 for the territorial regiments, where recruits were received 
 and trained, and where men returning from abroad were 
 looked after. It comprised also the fortresses of Milford 
 Haven, the Severn Defences, Falmouth, and Plymouth. 
 Then there were within its area, the training ground for 
 Field Artillery at Okehampton, and that for Mountain 
 Artillery at Hay. Lastly, a good deal of rough land 
 which could be used for drill and manoeuvres could 
 be obtained on Dartmoor, Exmoor, and other smaller 
 commons. 
 
 At that time there was only one General in the 
 Western District, who was directly under the Commander- 
 in-Chief of the Army at the War Office. 
 
 I have often been asked what a General in command 
 of a District has to do in time of peace : why he is ever 
 busy. As an answer to any such questioner who may 
 read these pages, I will indicate very briefly in what the 
 work of the General in Command of the Western District 
 consisted when I was in that position, and how it was 
 carried out. 
 
 First, there was the inspection of all the troops 
 quartered in the District, as well as the inspection of the 
 fortifications, barracks, and store buildings. Next, there 
 
3] 6 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 was the correspondence in the office relating to these 
 inspections, and also to matters of discipline, training, and 
 administration. Thirdly, there were the ceremonial func- 
 tions, some of which were official, some social, and some 
 a combination of both. In regard to inspection I may say 
 that I always looked upon this duty as something far 
 beyond what the word implies ; I considered that, what- 
 ever the attendant ceremony, it was not a mere looking 
 at men or buildings, but that it consisted in looking at 
 them with an eye to improvement. In other words, that 
 the inspecting officer was responsible to do all in his 
 power to help forward what he thought was good, and to 
 put a check on what he considered harmful. 
 
 So much for the work itself ; but how was it carried 
 out ? The General had, as his official residence, a more 
 than usually good house. Eumour said that it had been 
 built originally for some royal duke, and that its occupant 
 was ex officio Lieutenant-Go vernor of Plymouth. I could 
 not trace any authority for this title, notwithstanding 
 that the Mayor, in calling upon me, mentioned the 
 tradition, and notwithstanding that a large key of the 
 Citadel gate was presented to the General to touch and 
 put back in the guard room, whenever he visited that 
 fort. Anyhow there were no duties attending the sup- 
 posed office, and there were no emoluments connected 
 with it, so no one thought much about it. Government 
 House itself had certainly an important appearance, 
 especially when sentry boxes stood on each side of the 
 front door, and a sentry marched up and down between 
 them ; also it was a very fair place of residence inside. 
 On the north there was a small porch, in which the visitors' 
 book was kept ; from this a passage-hall gave access to 
 quite a good suite of rooms opening one into the other. 
 But the best part of the Quarter, perhaps, was its views 
 towards the south. The foreground consisted of the 
 
COMMAND OF WESTERN DISTRICT 317 
 
 antiquated fortifications, a portion of which had been 
 made into a grass terrace ; the middle distance was the 
 entrance to the Hamoaze ; and the background consisted 
 of the soft lights and shadows of the French and Italian 
 gardens of Mount Edgcumbe. 
 
 Often at any hour we went out upon the terrace 
 to see some lately constructed 'ironclad,' which had 
 been launched from the Devonport Dockyard, leave the 
 harbour to try her engines on the measured mile out- 
 side the breakwater; or to watch a fully manned and 
 equipped ' cruiser ' start on her voyage for some distant 
 station. We could, without glasses, see who was standing 
 on the bridge, and what was going on on deck, and we 
 could hear every note of the band as they played the half- 
 cheery, half-melancholy songs that sailors and soldiers 
 know so well : the songs that lighten the parting hour, 
 and brace up hearts to go forward bravely along the 
 path of duty. 
 
 The business part of the house consisted of the east 
 wing. Here were the offices of the General and his aide- 
 de-camp, and of those who performed the duties of 
 Adjutant-General or Quartermaster-General in the dis- 
 trict or garrison. These rooms could, if required, be used 
 in combination with the other rooms in the house for 
 entertainments. For a time, when I was in command, 
 the rooms above alluded to as offices were added to those 
 used by the General and his household ; and new offices 
 to enable the Staff to work all together were built near 
 the Eoyal Engineers' workshops in Kaglan Barracks. But 
 when changes were made in the general distribution of 
 the troops in England, which divided up the old Western 
 District, and gave half of it to the Southern, and half to 
 the new Western one, the rooms in the east wing of 
 Government House were again used as offices. 
 
 Without involving my remarks by too much technical 
 
318 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 detail, I think I ought to say briefly how the work was 
 divided among the various Staff officers. Thus the 
 Assistant-Adjutant-General was in charge of the office, 
 and assisted me in matters of discipline and training, and 
 also in making out and completing the confidential reports. 
 The Assistant-Quartermaster-General was responsible for 
 the distribution and quartering of the troops and for their 
 food and general welfare. The officer Commanding- 
 Boyal-Artillery, the Commanding-Royal-Engineer, and 
 the Ordnance-Store-Officer advised me jointly or sepa- 
 rately on matters of fortification, schemes of defence, 
 lands, buildings, and military stores; the Principal 
 Medical Officer, on health and hospitals ; the Chief 
 Paymaster, on money and accounts. These five officers, 
 who combined the duties of a commanding officer with 
 those of the Staff, carried out all the detailed inspections, 
 under my instructions, of the troops they commanded, 
 whether regulars or auxiliaries. The colonels of regi- 
 mental districts inspected, under my orders, the auxiliary 
 troops in the area of their commands, with the exception 
 of the Yeomanry, for whom there was a regular Cavalry 
 Inspector sent down from the War Office. Besides super- 
 vising the above, I did the detailed as well as the general 
 inspection of all the regular Infantry, including the 
 Depots. In this manner all the troops in the district 
 were periodically visited, their condition and progress 
 noted, and their requirements attended to. Every one 
 had his allotted task to perform, and the machine worked 
 without any local friction. 
 
 Before I leave the subject I should mention that 
 besides the work which I have indicated as having to be 
 done by the General in the Western District in my time, 
 there were what I have called the social functions. To 
 help me in these one aide-de-camp was allowed me 
 while I held the rank of Major-General, and two when I 
 
COMMAND OF WESTERN DISTRICT 319 
 
 became a Lieutenant-General. My first aide-de-camp was 
 G. Lascelles, Koyal Fusiliers, and my second Sir Thomas 
 Pasley, Royal Berkshire Regiment. 
 
 The social duties consisted of ceremonial parades of 
 the troops, calling on naval and military authorities or 
 visitors, and arranging entertainments. 
 
 Before giving an account of any of these, I will allude 
 to a matter apart from my experience as General of the 
 District. Like most sailors and soldiers, I took a great 
 interest in the 'Imperial Question,' which consists in 
 discussing the political measures thought necessary to 
 enable our old colonies to work harmoniously with the 
 Mother Country. It must be at least twenty years ago since 
 I joined an association called the ' Imperial Federation 
 League,' of which Mr. Forster,of educational fame, was the 
 first Chairman. About the time of my taking up the Devon- 
 port Command, at the request of the executive committee 
 of this league, and by the invitation of their president 
 (Lord Eosebery), I attended a meeting of the league at 
 his house and read a paper on the subject of a ' Council 
 of Defence for the Empire.' 
 
 A good deal has happened since then. The * Imperial 
 Federation League ' has become the ' British Empire 
 League ; ' and under its direction, or at all events with 
 its full approval, periodical conferences have been started 
 which will, no doubt, sooner or later bring about either 
 a central form of government or at all events some 
 arrangement by which the great States which have 
 grown out of the original colonies will be able to work 
 harmoniously together for the common good, without 
 checking the natural growth or interfering with the full 
 freedom of any single one of them. 
 
 We began our regular life at Government House 
 on May 15, and a few days afterwards arranged our first 
 social function, viz. 'the Queen's Birthday.' On that 
 
320 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 festive occasion it is usual at all naval and military 
 stations to have a review in the morning and a dinner 
 in the evening. The review at Devonport included a 
 contingent of sailors and marines from the ships and 
 naval barracks, and all the available men of the garrison. 
 The programme for the review consisted of a general 
 salute in honour of the Sovereign at noon, in which 
 the guns of the ships in harbour and of the Artillery 
 at the Citadel took part. Then a march-past, and finally 
 an advance in review order. The ground on which the 
 review took place was very limited ; it was only the glacis 
 of the fortifications that surrounded Devonport ; but 
 there were in the vicinity good places from which to see 
 what went on, and lookers-on came in large numbers. 
 
 There was always a little excitement attending these 
 reviews, because mounted officers could not tell how 
 their horses (many of which were hired for the occasion) 
 would behave under the trying fire of a feu de joie, or in 
 marching by the flagstaff. 
 
 In the evening there were dinners given to Heads of 
 Departments and others by the Admiral Commander-in- 
 Chief, the Dockyard Admiral, and the General, at their 
 official residences. All naval and military officers ap- 
 peared at these dinners in full dress, and the Sovereign's 
 health was drunk with all due solemnity. 
 
 Another social duty was the official visit that took 
 place between the naval and military heads at Devon- 
 port. It occurred when either of these officers first took 
 up his appointment. The date and hour for the ceremony 
 having been fixed, a guard of honour was paraded in front 
 of each quarter, and the junior in rank called on the senior. 
 
 The first of these ceremonies took place a few days after 
 I had taken up my work. At the given hour, accompanied 
 by my aide-de-camp, I walked across the parade, inspected 
 the guard of honour at Admiralty House, and was then 
 
"CHARMING LASS." 
 
 At Devonport in 1890. 
 
COMMAND OF WESTERN DISTRICT 321 
 
 ushered into the Admiral's library, where we were supposed 
 to discuss matters of importance concerning the two 
 services. What we actually said I will not divulge. 
 After a few minutes, I returned to Government House, 
 and the Admiral called on me with the same ceremony. 
 Each visit was accompanied by a salute ; the one for me 
 being fired by the Flagship, and the one for the Admiral 
 by the Royal Artillery at the Citadel. 
 
 While on this subject I may mention that as I held 
 the command at Devonport for the full term of five 
 years, and commenced my tenure just when an admiral 
 was leaving, it fell to my lot to go through this cere- 
 mony three times : first when Sir William Dowell was 
 Admiral Commander-in-Chief, in April 1890 ; next when 
 H.E.H. the Duke of Edinburgh took up that appoint- 
 ment in September of the same year, and thirdly when 
 Sir Algernon Lyons succeeded the Duke in 1893. 
 
 For two to three years, while we were at Government 
 House, the Duke of Edinburgh held the appointment 
 of Admiral Commander-in-Chief at Devonport. Our 
 quarters were close to each other, and, although Admi- 
 ralty House was better in many ways than the one we 
 occupied, it had at that time no grounds attached to it, 
 so, when Her Royal Highness the Duchess arrived, she 
 was glad to take her morning walks undisturbed in our 
 garden. 
 
 The family of the Royal Admiral consisted of one son 
 and four daughters of about the same age as ours; con- 
 sequently they went about a good deal together. Many 
 changes have come to one and another since then ; but, as 
 kmg as they live, our children will remember the games 
 they played in the Government House grounds at Devon- 
 port, the tobogganing on the slopes of the fortifications, 
 the impromptu tableaux, to carry out which many ward- 
 robes were ransacked, the picnics at Mount Edgcumbe 
 
 Y 
 
322 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 and elsewhere, and the bathing in the Admiral's floating 
 bath in Barn Pool. 
 
 Besides official visits, such as I have described, between 
 the Admiral and the General, I had now and then to 
 make my bow to Royal personages and foreign officers 
 putting in at the station. Entertainments on both sides 
 usually followed. Among our Royal visitors I may 
 mention Prince George of Wales, who was going 
 through a practical course of training as a naval officer, 
 and was in command of H.M. Gunboat Thrush. He 
 came twice to the port, remaining two or three days each 
 time. We were also honoured in the spring of 1893 by 
 a visit from H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, who came for 
 a short time to stay with the Duke of Edinburgh. Of 
 course we received him with the usual guards of honour 
 and salutes. In regard to this visit I hope it will not be 
 considered out of place if I mention a small incident. 
 We had a favourite retriever, by name Carlo, who had 
 failed to make his mark in the shooting field, but was 
 a great favourite all the same. He was very fond of 
 running after stones, and if any one humoured him by 
 throwing them for him he would go on fetching them for 
 quite a long time. He nearly always had a stone in his 
 mouth ready for the game, but did not seem to recognise 
 the advantage of a smooth or a moderate sized one. 
 Sometimes the stone he brought would be a tiny pebble, 
 sometimes a huge boulder. When no one else was at 
 hand to play with him, he used to go and lay his stone 
 down in front of the sentry on guard over Government 
 House, and wonder why that official did not stoop down 
 and throw it for him. 
 
 In the course of the visit above mentioned the Prince 
 of Wales honoured us by coming to lunch at Government 
 House, and, after luncheon, we were on the terrace, when 
 Carlo appeared with a large stone in his mouth. The dog 
 
COMMAND OF WESTERN DISTRICT 323 
 
 evidently recognised that we had a guest of importance, 
 for, without hesitation, he went straight up to the Prince, 
 and deposited the stone at his feet. Some of us tried to 
 drive the dog away, but the Duke of Edinburgh, who 
 knew Carlo and his habits, intervened, and informed his 
 royal brother that the dog would not be satisfied until the 
 stone had been thrown, at least once, by the person for 
 whom it was intended. So the Prince graciously accepted 
 the situation, and, stooping down, picked up the stone 
 and threw it for the dog to fetch. 
 
 Sometimes a whole fleet arrived, which caused con- 
 siderable thought and attention, because, if our guests 
 were pleased, good feeling was engendered between our 
 country and theirs. I have a vivid remembrance of the 
 arrival at Devonport of some Japanese ships, the officers 
 of which gave an entertainment on board in return for 
 such civility as we were able to offer them. On this 
 occasion, when I put my foot on the deck I was received, 
 as usual, by a general salute, and the playing of ' God 
 save the Queen ' ; the only difference from the usual 
 custom being that the national anthem was continued 
 through all its verses, instead of being played for only 
 a bar or two. I know that I had to stand at the salute 
 until my arm ached. But it was all done in friendliness : 
 and the entertainment afterwards (a theatrical perform- 
 ance) was most quaint and amusing. 
 
 As soon, after my arrival in the command, as I had 
 inspected the whole District I set to work to do what 
 I could to make the training of the troops really thorough 
 and practical. This meant looking up the provision of all 
 the necessary machinery such as good ranges for musketry, 
 ground for small manoeuvres, gymnasia for indoor exer- 
 cises in bad weather, modern guns for Artillery, &c. It 
 also meant arranging for every unit a carefully worked 
 out ' time table,' and finally it meant inducing the officers 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 to realise their responsibility as instructors, and the need 
 to keep themselves up to the mark, so that they might be 
 able to teach their men with good effect. 
 
 Besides doing what was possible to improve the sys- 
 tem of training as it was carried out in the various units 
 throughout the District, we organised small manoeuvres 
 as far as funds and the time at our disposal would allow. 
 For instance, for three consecutive years we marched 
 a small brigade of Infantry, organised and equipped as 
 for war, to take part in a field-firing exercise with the 
 Artillery at Okehampton. On another occasion we put 
 in a state of defence a portion of the fortress of Plymouth, 
 and started a small column from Tor Bay, to march 
 rapidly against it, and attempt its capture. I do not 
 propose, however, to say anything more regarding the 
 military work done in the Western District, or the 
 incidents of our life while we were living at Devonport ; 
 but will conclude this chapter with a short account of 
 the inspections by H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief of 
 the Army during my command. His first visit was in 
 October 1890. He arrived on the night of the 13th, 
 accompanied by the Adjutant-General and the Quarter- 
 master-General of the Army and others, 1 and the next 
 day he carried out a programme which was somewhat 
 different to those usually undertaken at the station. 
 The troops had been ferried across the Hamoaze in the 
 early morning, and disposed to represent an attacking 
 force between Maker Heights and Fort Tregantle. 
 Permission had been obtained to use the ground in 
 the neighbourhood ; umpires had been detailed, and all 
 arrangements made to carry out a field day similar to 
 those frequently seen at Aldershot. 
 
 1 Lieut.-General Sir Bedvers Buller, A.G., Major- General Sir Thomas 
 Baker, Q.M.G., Lord Algernon Lennox, A.D.C., and Major-General Mark- 
 ham, D.A.G., B.A. 
 
COMMAND OF WESTERN DISTRICT 325 
 
 The inspection began by a visit to Fort Picklecombe, 
 which was manned by Artillery. Then some firing took 
 place seawards from a redoubt ; after which the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief and his Staff took up a position over- 
 looking the ground occupied by the opposing sides. 
 A signal was then given, and the mimic battle took 
 place. As soon as the plans of the commanding officers 
 had been sufficiently developed, the cease-fire sounded. 
 Units then formed up, and marched to Maker Heights, 
 where an ordinary march-past took place, and where 
 H.K.H. was able to speak to the assembled officers. 
 The troops then marched homewards, and the Staff also 
 returned, visiting Mount Edgcumbe on the way. In the 
 evening there was the usual dinner and reception at 
 Government House. The following day it had been 
 intended to go on to Pembroke Dock, but the weather 
 became so bad that this plan was abandoned, and after 
 a parade of the Army recruits in the gymnasium, and 
 a visit to the new naval barracks and the Citadel, the 
 Commander-in-Chief and his retinue returned by an 
 afternoon train to London. 
 
 The next visit was to see the Koyal 1st Devon 
 Yeomanry on Haldon Down in May 1892. 
 
 The third was again to Devonport on April 3, 1894. 
 This time H.B.H., with a similar Staff, arrived in time 
 for the official dinner, and the reception was considerably 
 larger than on the first occasion. The next day we had 
 an ordinary parade on the Devonport lines, and in the 
 afternoon an inspection of batteries and the Brennan 
 torpedo in the Sound. This evening we all dined with 
 the Admiral, Sir Algernon Lyons. The following day 
 I accompanied the Commander-in-Chief to Tenby, and 
 from thence we proceeded all round Milford Haven, 
 inspecting troops and forts as we went along. In the 
 evening H.K.H. and his party returned to London. 
 
326 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Thes fourth visit took place on May 22, 1895. The 
 hour of arrival being uncertain, we had a private dinner 
 that day, and the official one on the next. The inspec- 
 tion on the 23rd was similar to the one in 1894, viz. a 
 parade on Devonport Lines in the morning, and some 
 firing of big guns from forts on the sea front in the after- 
 noon. The morning programme was, however, varied by 
 H.E.H. presenting new colours to the Somerset Light 
 Infantry at Raglan Barracks. The Commander-in-Chief 
 was much pleased with this inspection, and expressed 
 his satisfaction in complimentary terms to the officers 
 present. 
 
 My time being up, I had expected to relinquish the 
 command of the Western District as soon as this inspec- 
 tion was over. But we were kept on for six months 
 more. When, eventually, I left, I was informed that 
 one of the last acts of the Duke of Cambridge before he 
 retired from the command of the Army was to nominate 
 me for a good service pension ; and that I ought to write 
 to him and acknowledge the honour thus conferred on 
 me. I did so, and received the following letter, which 
 I think cannot fail to be of interest. I give it in its 
 entirety. 
 
 November 7, 1895. 
 
 MY DEAR HARBISON, I was delighted to have it in 
 my power to give you the good service pension before 
 leaving office. No general officer deserved it more than 
 you do, for you have always done your work thoroughly 
 and well in whatever position you have been placed, 
 notably in your recent command of the Western District, 
 which you have just vacated. I am much gratified by 
 the very nice and friendly spirit in which your letter to 
 me has been written. Believe me, it is gratifying to me 
 to know and feel that the whole Army regrets my 
 departure from the chief command of a noble service 
 
COMMAND OF WESTERN DISTRICT 327 
 
 of which I have always felt proud, and which I believe 
 to he in as efficient a condition as it is possible that it 
 could have been made during the period I have had to 
 control it. I withdraw with the deepest sorrow and 
 regret, and the feelings of my heart and all my interest 
 in life will continue with and for the Army till the end of 
 my days. 
 
 I remain, yours very sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) GEOKGE. 
 
328 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 CHAPTEE XII 
 
 THE WAE OFFICE 
 
 Half-pay Quartermaster-General Inspector-General of Fortifications 
 South African War Retirement. 
 
 As soon as I was gazetted to a military appointment as 
 a Major-General we made up our minds to sell Knell wood 
 if an opportunity offered, and not long afterwards the 
 tenant bought it. During the early part of our life 
 at Devonport we used to look about in the Western 
 counties for a small country place which we could 
 make our home when I had to retire. This search ended 
 eventually in our buying a house at Hawley, in the 
 Alder shot neighbourhood. This we added to while I was 
 in the Western District, and to it we went when my 
 command came to an end. 
 
 During the move we stayed with our kind and hospit- 
 able neighbours, Sir Algernon and Lady Lyons, and here 
 our last days in the District were spent, and our last fare- 
 wells said. I refused, on official grounds, the dinner that 
 the Staff wanted to give me ; and I hoped that I might 
 have slipped away without any one knowing by what train 
 I went, as my wife had already done. But I had lived 
 for over five years in a position that brought me 
 into close touch not only with the military world of 
 Devonport but also with the Navy at the Port, and the 
 civil authorities in the Three Towns. 1 One and all wished 
 
 1 Devonport, Plymouth, and Stonehouse. 
 
HALF-PAY 329 
 
 to make some outward profession of their kindly feelings 
 towards me on the occasion of my departure. The 
 Admiral with whom I was staying was induced to join in 
 the plot ; and notwithstanding that the train I had 
 chosen to go by was at an inconvenient hour, he insisted 
 on driving me to it in an open carriage. On going through 
 the barracks, the men, who had been given a free hand, 
 ran out of their barrack rooms, and gave me a hearty 
 cheer as I passed along through them, and when I 
 reached the station I was warmly greeted by the crowd 
 of naval and military officers, and civilians and ladies who 
 came to say * good-bye.' The good feeling that was 
 shown to me on this occasion touched me very much. 
 
 On leaving Devonport I was placed on half-pay. I 
 had, while holding the command there, under the rules 
 for promotion then in force, gone through the ranks of 
 Major-General and Lieutenant-General, and had become 
 a General. This quick promotion was a distinct disad- 
 vantage to me, because it curtailed the number of 
 appointments that I could hold. Although I was the 
 youngest General in the Army, and as full of vigour as I 
 had ever been, there were only one or two appointments 
 open to me; and at the same time there were several 
 Generals waiting for employment. For a time I occupied 
 myself in arranging our new house and the small farm 
 that went with it, and in doing such local work as came to 
 hand. 
 
 Being also in the vicinity of Aldershot, I was able to 
 see what was going on there, and so keep in touch with 
 military matters. During the autumn of 1895 and the 
 whole of the year 1896 nothing of general interest 
 happened to us. Towards the end of that year our 
 son obtained a commission, through the University 
 (Cambridge), in the Kifle Brigade, and went to join the 
 1st Battalion at Singapore. About the same time I was 
 
330 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 nominated a member of the Board of Visitors, whose 
 business it was to inspect the Koyal Military College, Sand- 
 hurst, and the Koyal Military Academy, Woolwich, and 
 report on those two institutions to the House of Commons. 
 
 My journal during this period of half-pay is fuller 
 than usual of accounts of meets of the ' Vine ' and Mr. 
 Garth's hounds, and of the * bags ' made at the houses of 
 friends with whom I was able to stay and shoot. In the 
 year 1897 there was another Thanksgiving Service in 
 London, and there were also big reviews of Fleets at 
 Spithead, and Armies at Aldershot, to commemorate the 
 60th year of the reign of Queen Victoria. This was 
 called the Diamond Jubilee. We saw the procession 
 in London from a stand in the garden outside Clarence 
 House, and we also saw something of the Naval Review 
 from on board the Flagship ; moreover some of us went 
 to the military review on Laffan's Plain at Aldershot. 
 
 In the summer and autumn of this year I rode about 
 and saw the manoeuvres that took place under the direc- 
 tion of the Duke of Connaught in the vicinity of Aider- 
 shot, and also those organised by Sir William Butler on the 
 South Downs, near the Duke of Norfolk's place at Arundel. 
 
 On October 23 I received a letter from the Military 
 Secretary asking me if I was willing to undertake for a 
 time the duties of Quartermaster-General of the Army. 
 On my answering in the affirmative, I was gazetted to 
 that appointment on November 3, which entailed going 
 to live in London. 
 
 When I took up this new work Lord Lansdowne was 
 the Secretary of State for War, and Mr. Brodrick was his 
 assistant. Lord Wolseley was the Commander-in-Chief 
 of the Army, Sir Evelyn Wood had just succeeded Sir 
 Redvers Buller as Adjutant-General, I succeeded Wood 
 as Quartermaster-General, Sir Robert Grant was In- 
 spector-General of Fortifications, and Sir E. Markham 
 
QUARTERMASTER-GENERAL 331 
 
 was Director-General of Ordnance. All the above officers 
 were on the War Office Council, there being a special 
 Secretary from the civil side. Under the Order in Council 
 regulating the new departure each officer had his duties 
 and responsibilities carefully denned. The Commander- 
 in-Chief was the senior member of the Council, and the 
 other military men had precedence in the order given 
 above. The military members of the Council were also 
 on the Army Board, with the Commander-in-Chief as 
 chairman, and a specially selected military officer as 
 secretary. This Board received its instructions for work 
 from the Secretary of State. Besides being a member 
 of these two Boards, I found that as Quartermaster- 
 General, I was the President of the Army Sanitary 
 Committee and a member of the Chelsea Board and the 
 Salisbury Plain Committee. The latter was set up as a 
 temporary arrangement, to superintend the business con- 
 nected with the manoeuvring ground which had recently 
 been bought by the Government in Wiltshire. The 
 Chelsea Board carried on the business connected with 
 soldiers' pensions on retirement. 
 
 The first duty that fell to my lot as Quartermaster- 
 General was to accompany the Commander-in-Chief 
 when he inspected the Military Colleges at Sandhurst 
 and Woolwich. This was the more interesting to me 
 because I had been Governor at the latter, and I had 
 been one of the Board of Visitors that made an indepen- 
 dent inspection of both for the information of Parliament. 
 In addition to the Boards I have alluded to, there was, of 
 course, a good deal of correspondence to attend to in the 
 office. But in this I was assisted by a very good staff of 
 officers and clerks ; and the questions that had to be 
 decided were nearly all familiar to me, from a life 
 experience of them, and I did not find the position at all 
 difficult. Whenever possible I went about inspecting, to 
 
332 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 keep in touch with the work that was actually going on 
 under the department. Thus I went to see a regiment 
 embark in one of the P. and 0. liners in the Victoria 
 Docks on the Thames ; I visited the new ground that had 
 been acquired on Salisbury Plain, and made suggestions 
 for laying out ranges and establishing camps ; and I 
 visited Southampton to see the arrangements for disem- 
 barking the sick and taking them to Netley Hospital or 
 to the discharge dep6t. 
 
 But whenever I went on these journeys I had a 
 despatch box with letters sent to my house to await my 
 return, and every evening, as far as possible, I looked 
 through my papers, so that there should be no delay that 
 could be avoided. 
 
 On February 5, 1898, we heard that Sir George White 
 (who had been named as the future Quartermaster- 
 General) had fallen from his horse at Calcutta and broken 
 his leg in two places ; so there did not seem any chance of 
 his being able to take up the appointment for some time. 
 
 On February 15 I was going to attend a meeting of 
 the Army Board in the usual course, when I was asked 
 by the Secretary to keep away, because the appointment 
 of Inspector-General of Fortifications (in place of Sir 
 Eobert Grant, whose time was up) was going to be 
 discussed, and I was one of the few officers eligible for it. 
 When the meeting was over I was told by the Military 
 Secretary that I had not been selected for it, and that I 
 was to remain for the present in the appointment I then 
 held. About a fortnight afterwards I was again excluded 
 from an Army Board meeting, the question of the 
 appointment of Inspector-General of Fortifications being 
 once more under consideration. 
 
 Leaving this question still unsettled, I obeyed a 
 command to dine and sleep at Windsor ; and had the 
 privilege once more of a conversation with Her Majesty 
 
INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF FORTIFICATIONS 333 
 
 the Queen. Among other things, she talked to me about 
 the arrangements for landing the wounded who were just 
 then arriving from India, for which, as Quartermaster- 
 General, I was responsible. It is interesting to note that, 
 in consequence of the interest that Her Majesty took in 
 this matter, we were able to add considerably to the 
 comfort of the sick and wounded on their journey from 
 the ship that brought them home to their beds in Netley 
 Hospital. 
 
 A few days after my return to London I was told 
 privately that it had been arranged that I was to be the 
 new Inspector-General of Fortifications, and soon after- 
 wards I received an official letter from the Adjutant- 
 General to the same effect, and informing me that I was 
 to take over the new work on April 18, 1898. 
 
 When that time arrived, Sir George White was not 
 sufficiently recovered to take up active work, and I had 
 to pass the papers in hand to the officers in charge of 
 branches. A little later on, Major-General Burnett was 
 appointed, as a temporary measure, to act as Quarter- 
 master-General. 
 
 When, under the circumstances above mentioned, I 
 agreed to undertake the duties of Inspector-General of 
 Fortifications I knew that it was a difficult office to fill, 
 chiefly because, in the business connected with the pur- 
 chase and sale of land, and the construction of barracks, 
 it had to represent the Crown. In other words, the 
 Inspector-General of Fortifications acted as an agent 
 between the landlord (the Government) and the tenant 
 (the troops), and had to bear the odium that the business 
 of such an intermediary usually entails. Besides this the 
 Corps of Eoyal Engineers, to whom the Inspector- 
 General of Fortifications had to look to carry on the 
 work of his Department, was only partially under his 
 orders. The military personnel was also, to a certain 
 
334. A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 extent, under the Adjutant-General. But I hoped to 
 reduce to a minimum any friction that might arise from 
 these two causes by my experience in Staff work, and by 
 the friendly relation on which I stood with all those at 
 that time at the War Office. 
 
 The duties of the Inspector-General of Fortifications 
 when I entered upon them were defined by an Order in 
 Council. Besides being a member of the War Office 
 Council, and of the Army Board and Selection Board, he 
 was a member of the joint Naval and Military Defence 
 Committee ; and he was President of the Colonial Defence 
 Committee, and also of all Royal Engineer Committees. 
 Speaking generally his work was divided as follows : 
 (a) Boards and Committees. 
 (6) Inspections. 
 (c) Office. 
 
 His position when I first took over was as fourth 
 military member, i.e. junior to the Adjutant-General and 
 the Quartermaster-General, irrespective of rank. During 
 the second year of my tenure, under a new Order in 
 Council, seniority in rank was to rule the position at 
 meetings of Boards ; but it did not do so on parade or 
 at Court functions, where the Adjutant-General and the 
 Quartermaster-General had special privileges. 
 
 Having obtained the services of an officer of Eoyal 
 Engineers (Captain C. G. Burnaby) as aide-de-camp and 
 secretary, I began my inspections by visiting the barracks 
 in London. The barrack question is one of the most 
 difficult subjects that a military administrator has to 
 deal with. Not so many years ago, owing to the feeling 
 among the people in England that standing armies were 
 only required to carry out the whims of Kings, no 
 barracks to speak of existed in this country. When first 
 they were introduced they were hidden away in corners ; 
 and their construction was unpretentious, if not meagre. 
 
INSPECTION OF BARRACKS 335 
 
 As years rolled by, and the people lost their fear of 
 soldiers in their midst, it became the habit of the politicians 
 to whom the military affairs of the country were en- 
 trusted to talk in the House of Commons about improve- 
 ments in the life of the soldier and, as a means to an end, 
 better housing for the troops. Money was voted for 
 barracks, and buildings were erected on a scale considered 
 good enough at the time, in situations where it was 
 thought they might be most useful. But from that time 
 onwards two great difficulties arose : the types of barracks 
 had to be changed year by year to meet modern ideas in 
 regard to air, and light, and space, and methods of 
 cooking and washing, &c ; and the principles on which 
 sites had been fixed, and troops distributed, changed with 
 every new ruler. It soon became evident to those who 
 had to build the barracks that only by very large and 
 sustained expenditure could the constantly changing 
 requirements be met. Money for the purpose was voted 
 grudgingly in Army Estimates, and doled out to the 
 various districts to make what improvements were pos- 
 sible. But it was not until a Loan system was estab- 
 lished that the problem as a whole was attempted to be 
 met. Even then the distribution of troops was not 
 settled on any fixed principle before the barracks were 
 put in hand. When I was Quartermaster-General I did 
 my best to establish something like a barrack policy, and, 
 with that end in view, had detailed lists prepared of 
 all existing barracks, stating their condition and their 
 capability. To give an instance of the system : when 
 as Inspector-General of Fortifications I inspected the 
 barracks in London, I found that a few, comparatively 
 speaking, small alterations were in hand : adding a storey 
 to one barrack, building a recreation room at another, im- 
 proving a sergeants' mess at a third, and also building 
 sheds for stores on the cramped parade-grounds of all. 
 
336 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 But there was no general scheme to meet the needs of 
 any definite body of troops, or to bring existing buildings 
 up to any fixed standard, and the result was not satis- 
 factory. After my inspection I reported to the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, and made a distinct proposal. But 
 before any building could be put in hand it was neces- 
 sary to define the strength of the London garrison ; and, 
 although I repeated my proposal year by year, I could 
 never get the matter settled, and so it remains, I believe, 
 at the present day. 
 
 Within a month of my appointment I inspected the 
 Royal Engineer troops and companies at Aldershot, 
 where the Duke of Connaught was then in command. A 
 few days later I visited the School of Military Engi- 
 neering, which is the headquarters of the R.E. at Chatham, 
 Sir Thomas Eraser being then the General there. 
 
 Through July and August I carried out inspections 
 that did not keep me long away from my office, so that 
 I should not lose touch of what was going on. Among 
 other places, I went to Dover, Shorncliffe, Portsmouth, 
 and Colchester. In the autumn, when Parliament was not 
 sitting and when the London offices were consequently 
 more or less empty, I carried out my more distant ones, 
 in the north of England, and in Scotland and Ireland. 
 
 But this year I had an interesting duty irrespective 
 of my appointment at the War Office. I was Senior 
 Umpire at the Army Manoeuvres in Wiltshire, at which 
 a force under H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, starting 
 from Aldershot, was opposed to one under the command 
 of Sir Redvers Buller, which was concentrated in the 
 neighbourhood of Blandford. The Commander-in-Chief 
 (Lord Wolseley) was the director of the whole business, 
 and considerable interest was taken by all concerned in 
 the operations. 
 
 I was umpire for the Northern umpires (about thirty 
 
UMPIRE AT MANOEUVRES 337 
 
 in number), and Lieut.-General Sir Henry Brackenbury 
 for the Southern ones (about the same). But in order to 
 prevent any partiality we changed sides every day. Our 
 camps were pitched in central positions, from which we 
 could ride and witness the operations undertaken by the 
 rival commanders. The ' ideas ' were issued daily from 
 Headquarters, and we usually all met at the Commander- 
 in-Chiefs flag when the day's business was over and gave 
 an account of what we had seen. Revised accounts were 
 printed and circulated from the Director's Camp as soon 
 as possible. The weather was hot the first day or two 
 in September, but the manoeuvres were on the whole 
 quite successful. They ended with a big review on Bos- 
 combe Down. While these manoeuvres were in progress 
 news arrived that Kitchener had got to Khartoum and 
 completely beaten the Dervish army, their leader, the 
 Khalifa, having fled. After this Kitchener came to 
 London, arriving on October 2, and was made a good deal 
 of. We (the Royal Engineers) gave him a special dinner 
 at Chatham, the Duke of Cambridge being in the chair. 
 
 In the course of the next month we had to prepare 
 the estimates for the coming year, and I had several con- 
 ferences on the subject with the Secretary of State and 
 the Assistant Secretary (Mr. Wyndham), whose business 
 it was to defend them in the House of Commons. At 
 these conferences I had to explain the advantages in any 
 barrack or fortification scheme of a system of loans as 
 against voting sums year by year. I have already made 
 a few remarks on loans in regard to barracks, and do 
 not propose to say anything more on the subject. But 
 I must say a few words to show what was the position in 
 regard to fortifications, and what I did in the matter. 
 
 I was glad to find how close was the touch between my 
 office and the Admiralty. This was no doubt brought about 
 to a great extent by an appointment which had lately 
 
 z 
 
338 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 been instituted, called Naval Adviser l to the Inspector- 
 General of Fortifications, to fill which the Admiralty 
 usually sent us a young and rising Post Captain, who put 
 in thus about two years of time before going to sea. This 
 officer worked in close conjunction with the Deputy In- 
 spector-General of Fortifications, and saw all fortification 
 letters. He also accompanied the Inspector-General at in- 
 spections of coast fortifications, and was joint Secretary of 
 the Naval and Military Defence Committee. 
 
 The chief work which had been going on in the 
 fortification branch of my office before I took it over had 
 been the perfecting of the system of submarine mines at 
 our Naval dockyards, repairing stations and commercial 
 harbours, improving the Brennan torpedo, and insti- 
 tuting electric light for guns and mines ; besides estab- 
 lishing movable armament in place of fixed defences for 
 the protection of land fronts. But a big business re- 
 mained, viz. to replace the obsolete muzzle-loading guns 
 on the sea fronts by a modern breech-loading armament. 
 This meant not only the provision of a large number of the 
 best guns that could be made but also of mountings 2 for 
 them. It meant choosing new sites for batteries ; buying 
 land ; constructing the required emplacements, as well as 
 magazines, shelters for men, and other accessories. A 
 large sum of money would be required, and a great deal 
 of careful labour would have to be set in motion. It was 
 important to see that nothing more than what was con- 
 sidered absolutely necessary was asked for. 
 
 The Fortification Branch 3 in conjunction with the 
 
 1 Several good naval officers occupied this position while I was I.G.F., 
 viz. Captains the Hon. J. Colville, the Hon. W. Stopford, Farquhar, and 
 Grant. 
 
 2 These mountings were not invented before the guns were authorised. 
 They were then taken in hand by Colonel G. Clarke, who had charge of the 
 carriage department at Woolwich Arsenal. 
 
 3 Colonel Hildebrand, B.E., and Lieut.-Colonel G. Barker, JUS. 
 
REPLACING OBSOLETE GUNS 339 
 
 Director of Artillery (Lieut.- General Markham), and as- 
 sisted by the Naval and Artillery Advisers, 1 worked out a 
 scheme. This we took to the Commander-in-Chief, Lord 
 Wolseley, who entirely approved and backed it up with 
 a strong minute. After which, under the Order in Council, 
 it became my business, as Inspector- General of Fortifica- 
 tions, to submit it to the Secretary of State and do my 
 utmost to push it through. 
 
 At a conference with the Secretary of State for War 
 and the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Lansdowne 
 informed me that a small committee, consisting of Major- 
 General Sir Henry Brackenbury, Hear- Admiral Beaumont, 
 and myself, were to go into the whole scheme station by 
 station, and report if any modification of it were possible. 
 This was done thoroughly, and very little change was 
 suggested. Backed by the opinion of this committee, the 
 scheme as modified was approved, and a loan granted to 
 enable it to be carried out. No time was lost in getting 
 the guns and mountings made and the emplacements 
 built, and when, in the critical period of the South African 
 conflict, war-clouds seemed to be gathering over the 
 Continent of Europe, the fact that behind our sea-going 
 fleets the naval fortresses and mercantile ports of Great 
 Britain were armed with modern guns, and protected 
 with modern submarine mines, was a distinct help to 
 diplomacy in preserving peace. 
 
 Soon after the work of the above-named committee 
 was finished, Sir Henry Brackenbury became Director of 
 Ordnance, in place of Markham, and took his seat in the 
 War Office Council and on the Army Board. For the 
 remainder of 1898 and the spring of 1899 I carried on 
 my work of inspection, committees, and office, as I have 
 already described. But the requirements of the latter 
 seemed to increase every week, and whenever I went 
 
 1 Major Hansard, B.A. 
 
340 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 away, even for a few hours, the pile of correspondence 
 that awaited my return was a real burden. 
 
 I must now tell the story of my connection (such as it 
 was) with the struggle that took place in South Africa 
 between the Boer farmers and the British Imperial 
 Army. As Inspector-General of Fortifications I was a 
 member of every regular board or committee at the War 
 Office. From my previous experiences on the Army 
 Staff, and in Army commands, I had gained a good deal 
 of general knowledge regarding troops of all branches of 
 the Service ; and, when asked to do so, could give an 
 opinion on most military questions. For instance, when 
 mounted troops were wanted at the Cape I was able to 
 point out the value of the British Yeomanry. But, 
 usually, I was only consulted when the employment of 
 the Koyal Engineers was under discussion. 
 
 As far back as November 1898 big questions had 
 come before the Army Board in regard to the action that 
 would be required if the overbearing policy of Mr. Kruger, 
 the President of the Transvaal, brought about war. 
 Would the Orange Free State join the Transvaal? 
 Would Cape Colony be really neutral? What sort of 
 force could the Transvaal Government put into the 
 field ? What arms and military stores did that country 
 possess? What could we do, without appearing to act 
 the part of a bully towards a small neighbouring state, 
 to prepare for eventualities, either in this country or at 
 the Cape ? We knew that we could put into the field an 
 Army Corps equipped for war in a temperate climate ; 
 and that, by purchasing stores, we could, in a few weeks, 
 raise and equip another one. But we could not even do 
 the first without calling out the Keserves, and letting 
 the whole world know that we were putting on our 
 armour. So it was agreed to confine action to intelli- 
 gence work, and to look up organisation and stores as far 
 
PREPARING FOR WAR 341 
 
 as could be done without exceeding the ordinary peace 
 estimates. 
 
 About the middle of July 1899 the Commander-in- 
 Chief's Committee (that gradually resolved itself into 
 the new Army Board) began to sit regularly, and take 
 such steps as are necessary in our country when a force 
 has to be got ready, or, as we call it, mobilised for war. 
 A day or two afterwards I went down to Aldershot, and 
 saw Sir Redvers Buller, who was named to command any 
 force going to the Cape, to inquire what his views were 
 on the subject of the Engineer Stores that it was my 
 business to provide. I also saw the Commanding Royal 
 Engineer (Colonel E. Wood), and put him in communi- 
 cation with my office to consider what pattern of stores 
 would most likely be wanted. When all these prepara- 
 tions were in hand, I continued my usual annual 
 inspections. On September 8 there was a Cabinet 
 Council, followed by an Army Board, at which it was 
 arranged to send out certain reinforcements to the Cape 
 to strengthen the garrison there. The troops thus sent 
 ahead included a contingent from India of some 5000 
 men ready to take the field. Three days afterwards we 
 heard that Sir George White (who had succeeded me as 
 Quartermaster-General) was to go out at once to South 
 Africa to take command of the troops in Natal, his 
 place at the War Office being taken by Sir Charles 
 Mansfield Clarke. At that time Sir William Butler was 
 commanding in Cape Colony. 
 
 News having been received that the Boers refused to 
 accept an ultimatum sent to them by the British Govern- 
 ment, on September 21, a special Army Board was 
 assembled, followed the next day by a Cabinet Council, 
 which gave authority to spend money on necessary 
 preparations. At this time, again, the Board sat nearly 
 every day. 
 
342 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ABMY 
 
 On October 1, I went to Aldershot to inspect the 
 balloons and traction-engines that were being got ready 
 for the field. The next day orders were issued to call out 
 the Army Eeserves and mobilise the First Army Corps. 
 Major Girouard, a young RE. officer, from Kingston, 
 Canada, who had distinguished himself in railway work 
 in Egypt, was appointed Director of Kailways in South 
 Africa. Showing him the plans in my office, I discussed 
 with him the work that he would probably have to do, 
 and the stores that he might require. Knowing from 
 personal experience what were the difficulties of transport 
 in South Africa, I felt sure that for the advance of any- 
 thing like a large force in that country to a distance from 
 the sea base, a railway on the line of communications was 
 absolutely essential; and from this I argued that most 
 probably the lines of main advance would coincide with 
 the existing lines of rail. We arranged that a special 
 officer for railway stores should remain in my office, 
 collecting and shipping all that was agreed on at the time, 
 and ready on receipt of a telegram from Major Girouard 
 when he reached the Cape to send out what more was 
 wanted. We also arranged to get for railway work as 
 many as possible of the officers that Major Girouard had 
 on his list, whether they were in India or elsewhere. 
 
 To look forward a little I can say, without fear of 
 contradiction, that those who did railway work in the 
 South African war of 1899-1902 deserved well of their 
 corps and their country. An admirable book on the 
 subject, published with War Office authority, relates 
 how the existing railways were taken possession of when 
 war broke out; how temporary timber roadways, called 
 ' diversions/ were constructed to enable trains to pass the 
 bridges that the Boers had blown up; how miles of 
 permanent way destroyed by the Boers were repaired; 
 how armoured trains patrolled the line and guarded 
 
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 343 
 
 advancing troops ; and how the stations, and in places 
 the lines themselves, were guarded by block-houses and 
 wire entanglements, and every sort of engineering device. 
 All this is technically very interesting. Parts of it read 
 almost like a fairy tale. 
 
 To return to the events in October 1899. On the 8th 
 of that month I went to Aldershot and saw the K.E. 
 officers who were getting ready to go to the war. I also 
 saw Sir Kedvers Buller, who, the following day, gave over 
 to Lieut. -General Kelly Kenny the command of the camp 
 there, so that he might have time for his own prepara- 
 tions. On the 19th I inspected the Koyal Engineer troops 
 and companies at Aldershot. They had been made up to 
 full strength from the Reserves . The next day the 
 embarkation of the Army Corps began at Southampton. 
 That evening the news arrived of the first battle in the 
 war, when the Boer army invading Natal was met by 
 General Symons' force at Glencoe. From this time 
 onwards our work of preparation, and the sending out of 
 troops, was carried on with the running accompaniment 
 of accounts of actions, and demands for men or stores 
 from the seat of war. Thus, soon after the account of 
 Glencoe, came the story of the fight at Elands-Laagte at 
 which Sir George White was present, but French was in 
 actual command. Then, of the retreat from Dundee 
 under Yule, and the concentration at Ladysmith ; and 
 finally, of the battle under the personal command of 
 White, just outside Ladysmith, where two British 
 battalions and a mountain battery were taken by the 
 Boers, and the rest of the force were pushed back into a 
 defensive position around the town. This may be said to 
 have ended the first phase of the war. 
 
 On October 31 Sir Eedvers Buller and his Army Corps 
 arrived at the Cape. At that time the Boers were not 
 only in possession of the whole of the Transvaal, and of 
 
344 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 the Orange Free State except Mafeking and Kimberley, 
 but they occupied all northern Natal, surrounding the 
 British Army in Ladysmith, and threatening Pieter- 
 maritzburg. Besides which the feeling in the greater 
 part of Cape Colony was strongly with the Boer farmers ; 
 many young men there were only waiting a favourable 
 opportunity to mount their horses and march off to join 
 them. 
 
 What could the General in command have done under 
 these circumstances ? He might have sent a division to 
 Natal to hold the enemy in check ; and have put into 
 operation, as far as possible, the plan that he had in his 
 mind before he left England, viz. of marching through 
 the Orange Free State on Pretoria ; or he might have 
 endeavoured, with the smaller fraction of his force, to 
 keep the Boers from crossing into Cape Colony, while, 
 with the remainder of his army, he attacked the Boers 
 that were invading Natal. I, for one, think that if the 
 Boers in Natal had been left alone, they would have been 
 able to mask Ladysmith, and not only take Pieter- 
 maritzburg, but also Durban and its harbour ; and, if 
 this had been done, it is more than likely that there 
 would have been European complications. Anyhow, 
 Buller chose to send to Natal a sufficient force to 
 warrant his advancing directly against the main Boer 
 army there ; and he went there himself and took the 
 command. At the same time he entrusted to Lord 
 Methuen, at the head of the Guards Division, the task 
 of relieving Kimberley ; and he placed Major-General 
 Gatacre in a central position at Queenstown, based on 
 East London, to hold the lines of railway between the 
 Orange State and the Cape. Finally, he assigned to 
 Lieut. -General Forestier- Walker, who succeeded Butler 
 at Cape Town, the far-reaching and onerous duty of 
 General-of- Communications to all the forces on the 
 
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 345 
 
 Cape side of the theatre of war. The second phase of 
 the operations then began. 
 
 In England, whenever news arrived of British troops 
 being checked or defeated, more were sent out. Then, 
 too, from many parts of the Empire came the offer to 
 send mounted or dismounted men to swell the ranks of 
 the British forces. So, before long, quite a large army 
 was assembled in the vicinity of the forts that guarded 
 our South African harbours. By the end of November 
 the 6th Division was being mobilised at Aldershot out of 
 the troops still remaining with the colours, or being 
 rapidly formed from the newly enlisted recruits that 
 came forward from every side in large numbers. On 
 December 11, 1899, news reached England of the defeat 
 of a night attack undertaken by Gatacre ; this was fol- 
 lowed two days later by the account of Lord Methuen's 
 repulse at Maggersfontein on the Modder River, which 
 stopped his march for the relief of Kimberley. Three 
 days later came the story of Buller's advance against the 
 Boer position on the Tugela, and the reverse of his force 
 at Colenso with the loss of eleven guns. 
 
 Immediately after this week of misfortune the Govern- 
 ment came to the conclusion that it was impossible for 
 the General in command of the Natal Field Force to also 
 superintend the extended operations going on in the 
 Cape Colony, and they determined to send out a Field- 
 Marshal to take general charge. Lord Eoberts, who had 
 been a most successful General in India, notably in the 
 war with the Afghans, was chosen ; and Kitchener was 
 named as his Chief -of -the- Staff. The day after I heard 
 of these appointments I was informed that most probably 
 I was to go out too as Engineer-in-Chief. But the next 
 day I was informed that Lord Eoberts would not take 
 out any new Staff from England ; he would make his 
 Staff from the officers then in South Africa. 
 
346 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 During the first week of 1900 a considerable increase 
 was made in the strength of the Army, viz. 12 battalions 
 of Infantry, 36 batteries of Field Artillery, 6 batteries of 
 Horse Artillery, 8 companies of Royal Engineers, and 
 2000 Army Service Corps. This entailed a recon- 
 sideration of the barrack question. But before I allude 
 to what was done in the matter, I will quite briefly relate 
 what went on this year in South Africa. Our personal 
 interest was chiefly with the armies in Natal, where we 
 had a son in the Rifle Brigade and a son-in-law in the 
 Telegraph Branch of the Royal Engineers. There, Sir 
 Redvers Buller, as soon as his army was reinforced, 
 continued his attempts to relieve Ladysmith, and fought 
 several severe engagements at Spion Kop and elsewhere 
 along the position occupied by the Boers. It was not, 
 however, until quite the end of February that he suc- 
 ceeded in relieving White and the beleaguered garrison. 
 
 Meanwhile, Lord Roberts, who had landed at the 
 Cape in the early part of the year, had organised the 
 troops that he found available, including a Cavalry 
 division which had already been doing excellent work 
 under French on the frontier, and, moving along the 
 western line of railway, effected the relief of Kimberley. 
 Then, disregarding transport, he turned eastward ; and 
 having brought about the surrender of the whole of 
 Cronje's army, numbering 4000 men, at Paardeburg, he 
 scattered the Boer forces that came to attack him, and 
 brought his hungry and tired but victorious troops to 
 Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State. 
 Here he had to wait to collect stores and get remounts. 
 But eventually he marched again along the line of 
 railway, and without any very serious opposition reached 
 Pretoria ; Buller, at the same time, advancing through 
 Natal to the eastern Transvaal. 
 
 In June of this year, besides the extended operations 
 
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 347 
 
 that were found necessary in order to completely subdue 
 the Boers in South Africa, Great Britain became engaged, 
 in concert with other nations, in what was practically a 
 war in China, but for this war India provided everything, 
 and the War Office had no responsibility in connection 
 with it. 
 
 Turning again to the Inspector-General of Fortifica- 
 tions' work at Whitehall, the enormous number of officers, 
 as well as a large proportion of the clerical and building 
 staff from Engineer districts, that were sent to South 
 Africa, and the fact that instead of decreasing in time of 
 war, as had always been anticipated, Engineering works l 
 at home during the Boer conflict largely increased, made 
 it exceedingly difficult to carry on at all. Fortunately we 
 were able to get a good many retired officers to help us in 
 the emergency. Moreover Commanding Koyal Engineers 
 and other senior officers had not forgotten how to work, 
 and the energy they put into the business, and the zeal 
 they displayed, notwithstanding that no tangible reward 
 was before them except a sense of duty fulfilled, spoke 
 volumes for the organisation of the Corps of Eoyal 
 Engineers and its power to meet and overcome difficulties. 
 Most of my inspection work at this time consisted in 
 endeavouring to say a word of encouragement and thanks 
 to the few officers, who were doing each the work of six, 
 wherever I went. 
 
 Providing barrack accommodation for the increases 
 in the Army, and for the troops that were expected to 
 return to England when the fighting in South Africa was 
 over, necessitated a redistribution of the troops. The 
 Engineers could not build until they knew what troops 
 
 1 The work consisted in continuing the mounting of the new armam nt, 
 and revising the magazines and other accessories ; providing accommoda- 
 tion and means of training for the levies of all sorts required to keep up 
 the strength of the Army in the field, &c. 
 
348 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 required housing, where they were to be located, and 
 what was to be the nature of the barracks to be provided. 
 The list of barracks that had been made when I was 
 Quartermaster-General was the foundation for the new 
 problem. But there was difference of opinion where to 
 build, and what should be the nature of the barracks 
 that is to say, whether they were to be of the ' hut ' type 
 or of a permanent one. A ' hut ' type is usually taken to 
 mean a more or less temporary arrangement, applicable 
 only when troops are expected to be quartered in a place 
 from ten to twenty years. 
 
 After several conferences, and a good deal of dis- 
 cussion, it was settled that hut barracks should be built 
 for troops that required to be housed in the next few 
 months, and that permanent barracks should be provided 
 for those that would remain for a time at the Cape, 
 and then be brought to England; but a condition was 
 imposed on the hut barracks, to the effect that they were 
 to be of a permanent nature. The actual number of 
 troops that required housing depended upon the garrison 
 to be left at the Cape after the war : and in regard to this 
 also there was great difference of opinion. From what I 
 knew of the situation I thought the circumstances would 
 be met by building a few hut barracks for Artillery, 
 re-appropriating and enlarging a certain number of single 
 battery stations, and at the same time putting in hand 
 permanent barracks for a few troops of all arms of the 
 Service near the new manoeuvring ground on Salisbury 
 Plain, on the principle advocated by the Prince Consort 
 when he first started the training camp at Aldershot. 
 But the Army Board ruled otherwise, and I was directed 
 to build, at once, hut barracks for a given number of 
 Horse and Field Artillery batteries and a given number 
 of Infantry battalions, and as soon as sites for these were 
 fixed by the Quartermaster-General, contracts were made 
 
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 349 
 
 to erect them. In order to comply with the condition 
 imposed on the huts, the material of which they were 
 constructed was corrugated iron, and the most important 
 buildings were put in hand first, the remainder being left 
 to be provided subsequently. 
 
 In October of this year I had a new aide-de-camp, 
 who had been invalided home from the war (Lieut. 
 C. H. Ley), my former one (Captain Burnaby) having 
 gone out to South Africa. 
 
 But a much greater change took place the following 
 month, when Lord Lansdowne took charge of Foreign 
 Affairs in Lord Salisbury's Government, and was suc- 
 ceeded at the War Office by Mr. Brodrick. 
 
 On November 10 I went to Aldershot to welcome 
 Buller, who arrived there that day from South Africa to 
 resume his old command. The men, who were all very 
 fond of him, turned out in large numbers, and lined the 
 road along which he drove with Lady Audrey to Govern- 
 ment House. 
 
 Before the month was over Lord Wolseley's term of 
 office as Commander-in-Chief came to an end. I was 
 very sorry at his going. He had had a most difficult part 
 to play, especially just before and during the war, in 
 arranging for the organisation and equipment of field 
 armies far in excess of the numbers provided by Parlia- 
 ment. Through times of greater difficulty and danger 
 than many people are aware of, he never lost heart ; but 
 was always ready with a smiling face to meet those who 
 came to him for advice or assistance. 
 
 On November 30 he said good-bye to the Head- 
 quarter Staff collectively at the War Office ; and the next 
 day we gave him a dinner, as a small token of the respect 
 and affection we felt for him. 
 
 On January 3, 1901, Lord Roberts, who had been sent 
 for by the Government to occupy the position of Com- 
 
350 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 mander-in-Chief, in succession to Lord Wolseley, arrived 
 in London, and at once took up his new work. The 
 Headquarter Staff met him at the station, and escorted 
 him to Buckingham Palace, where he had lunch with the 
 Prince of Wales. In the evening he dined with Mr. 
 Brodrick, and was honoured by again meeting the Prince 
 of Wales, and also the Dukes of Cambridge and Con- 
 naught, and Mr. J. Chamberlain, and the Headquarter 
 Staff, and others. The next day the new Commander-in- 
 Chief held an informal levee at the War Office, and we 
 (Heads) went in one by one, and introduced to him all the 
 officers who were doing duty at the War Office under us. 
 
 The changes in Staff that I have alluded to brought 
 about a good deal of alteration in the customs, if not in 
 the policy, as carried out in the Pall Mall buildings. But 
 I will only allude to them as they affected my branch. 
 
 Under instructions from Headquarters, Lord Kitchener 
 had taken up the military command in South Africa. It 
 was not expected by Lord Roberts, when he left the 
 country, that the Boers would have held out much longer. 
 But the farms had been destroyed, and their wives and 
 families had been taken into special camps, arranged for 
 the purpose at Pretoria and elsewhere ; and they and 
 their sons had nothing to do except to keep their horses 
 in condition and their powder dry, and now and then 
 make a raid on the railways and cantonments of the 
 British invaders of their soil. The war that waged after 
 the departure of Lord Eoberts was a difficult one to 
 bring to an end, and considerable time and money was 
 expended before the block-houses and wire obstructions 
 that were put up by the sappers to guard the railways, 
 and the small columns that were organised to carry out 
 the combined movements, eventually drove the mounted 
 South Africans on to British bayonets, and thus brought 
 about their surrender. 
 
DEATH OF QUEEN VICTORIA 351 
 
 On arrival in England Lord Roberts had been made 
 an Earl and a Knight of the Garter by the Queen. This 
 was one of the last acts of this great Sovereign. On 
 January 18 it was stated in the newspapers that Her 
 Majesty was slightly unwell. On the 19th we saw in an 
 evening paper that she was worse ; the Prince of Wales 
 had gone to Osborne, and others of the Eoyal Family had 
 been sent for. On Sunday, the 20th, the German Em- 
 peror and the Duke of Connaught were expected. On 
 the 21st there was a slight rally, but on Tuesday the 
 22nd, at 6.30 in the afternoon, surrounded by her children 
 and her grandchildren, our good and great Queen passed 
 away. The following day the Prince of Wales came to 
 London and was received by the Privy Council as King 
 Edward VII. Guns were fired in St. James's Park in 
 memory of the Queen's reign. The day after, as one 
 of the Headquarter Staff, I attended the proclamation 
 ceremony at St. James's Palace. We met on horseback at 
 8.45 A.M. in front of the hotel where Lord Roberts was 
 staying, and accompanied him to the courtyard of the 
 Palace. There we formed up with a few of the Guards 
 who were on duty. The morning was dull and misty. 
 We were in our great coats. Only a few. passers-by 
 stopped to look on ; there was no crowd. On the roof 
 of the Palace, just in front of us, appeared the State 
 trumpeters, one or two officials from the Heralds' 
 College, and one or two muffled-up figures whose identity 
 we could not determine. Then the Garter King of Arms 
 read all the titles of the new King. The trumpets 
 sounded, the band played the National Anthem, while 
 the Guards presented arms, and we saluted ; and the 
 ceremony was over. 
 
 On February 1 the funeral of the late Queen took 
 place. It lasted altogether four days : the Naval portion 
 on Friday afternoon, February 1 ; the procession through 
 
352 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 London and the service at Windsor on the 2nd ; a 
 resting on Sunday the 3rd ; and the private funeral at 
 Frogmore on Monday the 4th. 
 
 I did not see the Naval ceremony at Portsmouth, but 
 I understand that the passage of the royal yacht, with 
 the coffin on board, through the assembled British fleet 
 lying at anchor between Osborne and Portsmouth, was 
 most impressive. 
 
 At the procession through London, the coffin, covered 
 by a Union Jack, was drawn on a gun-carriage by the 
 cream-coloured horses from the Eoyal stables. On each 
 side of it walked the officers who had been in close 
 attendance on the late Queen, and immediately behind it 
 rode, first, the King, side by side with the Emperor of 
 Germany, and then the other Royal mourners and their 
 staff, followed by Eoyal carriages with the ladies. In 
 front was the massed band, preceded by the Commander- 
 in-Chief and the Headquarter Staff. In the procession 
 and also along the route were representative soldiers and 
 sailors of all branches of the Service ; and on either side 
 of the road, wherever room could be found, there were 
 crowds of mourning people. 
 
 The simplicity of the central carriage, on which all 
 eyes were bent, seemed to touch the hearts of all who saw 
 it that day. Biding as I did, so close to the centre of the 
 procession, I could observe the faces of the crowd when 
 they realised that the purpose for which they had come 
 there was accomplished. There was a hush throughout 
 their serried ranks, a little stretching of the neck here and 
 there to get a better view, the lifting of each man's hat or 
 cap, and everywhere a mingled look of intense respect and 
 affection. I shall never forget it. I expect that most of 
 those who came from far and near to that funeral had 
 read the Queen's own simple story of her life, and felt that 
 they had lost not only a Ruler but a Friend. 
 
QUEEN VICTORIA'S FUNERAL 353 
 
 On arrival at Paddington the coffin was transferred to 
 a special train to take it to Windsor. It was accom- 
 panied by the Eoyal mourners, and by a few others, 
 among whom were three of the Army Staff, viz. Lord 
 Eoberts, Sir Evelyn Wood, and myself. 1 Horse Artillery 
 were waiting at Windsor station to take it to St. George's 
 Chapel, but the horses became restive, and some sailors in 
 in the procession drew the gun-carriage to the foot of the 
 steps and then gently lifted and carried the coffin to its 
 place within the walls of that beautiful church. We had 
 kept to our places in the front of the band, and when we 
 reached the western end of the chapel we waited until 
 the sailors had passed by, and then followed behind for 
 the rest of the service. 
 
 For more than two years after this impressive day 
 I remained on the Headquarter Staff, and took part in 
 several ceremonials of the new reign. The most import- 
 ant one was the Coronation of the King and Queen in 
 Westminster Abbey. This had been arranged for June 25, 
 1902, a year and a half after they came to the throne, 
 and great preparations had been made. Representative 
 troops from all parts of the Empire had come to London 
 and had occupied encampments at Hampton Court, the 
 Alexandra Palace, Kensington Gardens, and elsewhere. 
 The Abbey had been arranged internally for the ceremony 
 with exceeding care, which went to the extent of actually 
 building an annexe, corresponding with the main struc- 
 ture, at the west end, to contain the necessary waiting 
 and dressing rooms. In the streets, especially those 
 along which the procession was intended to pass, the 
 decorations were on a very extensive scale, and were 
 carried out with much taste. But at the last moment the 
 King had to undergo an operation, and the ceremony was 
 
 1 I took the place of the Quartermaster-General, who was unavoidably 
 absent. 
 
 A A 
 
354 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 put off. The tidings of this catastrophe came so un- 
 expectedly upon the people that they seemed stunned. 
 All through the first day knots of men and women were 
 to be seen moving aimlessly about the streets, looking at 
 the decorations, and eagerly scanning every place where 
 bulletins were put up, to learn the latest account of the 
 Hoyal invalid. 
 
 An Intercession Service for the speedy restoration to 
 health of our King was held at St. Paul's, and was largely 
 attended by Royal and other worshippers. The Queen, 
 accompanied by the Duke of York, held reviews of those 
 of the Colonial and Indian troops who could not stay 
 away any longer from their own countries. Gradually 
 such parts of the decorations as would spoil in the open 
 air in London were taken down, poles and scaffoldings 
 being left for use later on. 
 
 When the King got better, another day (August 8) 
 was fixed for the Coronation. The number of Imperial, 
 and Colonial troops, and of visitors, was not so large as 
 had been originally intended. Still there was a good deal 
 of show, and the restored decorations by day and night 
 were probably finer than anything that had ever been 
 witnessed before in our big city. 
 
 The actual Coronation took place in Westminstei 
 Abbey, and was carried out with all its old-fashioned 
 pomp, and the accompaniment of quaint but beautiful 
 music. I rode, with the Headquarter Staff, as usual, ir 
 front of the King's carriage, but did not see much of th< 
 ceremony inside the Abbey. 
 
 To return to the war in South Africa, I have already 
 stated that, owing to certain causes, the Boers continuec 
 fighting after their towns were captured and their country 
 occupied. It was necessary for Lord Kitchener, whil< 
 the ' drives ' that eventually ended the war were in pro 
 gress, to maintain his hold of the country. This mean 
 
SOUTH AFRICAN WAR 355 
 
 the presence of a large body of troops, and keeping these 
 troops up to strength. 
 
 A good deal of the excitement being over, it was 
 found difficult to keep the ranks full by means of ordinary 
 recruitment; and when the subject came before the 
 Army Board I proposed asking the R.E. Volunteers if 
 they would call for a certain number of special Volunteers 
 to go out for a limited period, and help their comrades 
 of the ' Regulars ' to finish the war. This proposal, being 
 approved of at Headquarters, was found to answer when 
 practically tested, and it was also applied to other arms 
 of the Service. 
 
 In the Engineers the organisation was in sections, 
 and the sections went out and were attached to the 
 regular field companies. But in the case of the Infantry 
 it was in companies, a company of Volunteers being 
 attached to a battalion of Regular Infantry. This arrange- 
 ment helped matters a good deal, and was kept going 
 by reliefs until the end of the war in June 1902. 
 
 In regard to my office, during the last two years of my 
 tenure, towards the end of 1901, a new Order in Council 
 was issued. Under it the military members sat at the 
 War Office Council, and at the Army Board, in order of 
 seniority, instead of by appointments. The result of this 
 was that, when Sir Evelyn Wood left, I became the senior 
 member after the Commander-in-Chief, and had to take 
 his place when he was absent. 
 
 In November a committee was appointed, with Lord 
 Esher as President (Colonel E. Leach, E.E., and Mr. 
 Anderson, an architect, being members), to report on the 
 organisation of the works branch of the Royal Engineers. 
 The report showed that there was not complete agree- 
 ment on the subject, and nothing came of it in my time, 
 even when it was brought before the War Office Council 
 nearly a year afterwards. But I expect it had its 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 influence, some three years later, when Lord Esher was 
 made President of a Committee to take in hand the re- 
 arrangement of the whole War Office ; because that 
 Committee not only abolished the Commander-in-Chief, 
 but also the Inspector-General of Fortifications. This 
 reduction was somewhat hard on my successor, who had 
 been specially brought to England from a good appoint- 
 ment in India to take the post, but at least he was in 
 good company. 
 
 I have already in an early part of this chapter 
 mentioned the Colonial Defence Committee as one of the 
 duties carried on by the Inspect or- General of Fortifica- 
 tions. He was its chairman ; a specially selected officer 
 of Koyal Engineers was its secretary, 1 and its members 
 were representatives of the Admiralty, the War Office, the 
 Treasury, and the India Office. These representatives 
 were carefully chosen, and the Committee was a very 
 strong one and did excellent work. Its recommendations 
 had great weight with the Colonial Office. When Mr. 
 Balfour succeeded Lord Salisbury as Prime Minister, the 
 question of improving the Defence Committee of the 
 Cabinet came to the fore ; and, among other changes, it 
 was suggested that the President of the Council should 
 become chairman of the Colonial Defence Committee, in 
 place of the Inspector-General of Fortifications. It was 
 arranged that the then President of the Council should 
 come, informally, to one of my meetings, to ascertain 
 what matters we discussed, and how the business was con- 
 ducted. A chair was put for him a little way back from 
 the table, on my left. I took the papers one by one, in 
 the usual way, merely stating what each subject was ; and, 
 if it had been previously circulated, asking for opinions, 
 and taking the general sense of the meeting. As a rule it 
 
 1 In my time Major Nathan, and afterwards Major Clauson, were the 
 Secretaries. 
 
COLONIAL DEFENCE COMMITTEE 357 
 
 was not necessary to take votes ; if there was any difference 
 of opinion we discussed the matter, and the secretary 
 framed a minute afterwards in accordance with the result, 
 and sent it round for signature. 
 
 We had got through a good part of the business, and 
 I had noticed, through a corner of my eye, that our visitor 
 was much interested, and had gradually drawn his chair 
 a little nearer. 
 
 A subject was taken that, I thought, required no 
 discussion. It had frequently been considered before, and 
 had been well threshed out. But one of the members 
 was there for the first time. He raised the old argument. 
 He was answered by someone on the other side, and, 
 before I could stop it, our visitor, who by that time had 
 edged up close to the table, and was keenly interested, put 
 in a remark. I naturally did not wish to interfere with 
 him. The debate waxed warm, and I was obliged to stop 
 it, and take the usual course. But the secretary found it 
 very difficult to write his usual minute ; and I was sorry 
 that, for the first time in my experience of the Committee, 
 a somewhat unnecessary debate had been witnessed by 
 our noble visitor. Probably it had the effect of prevent- 
 ing him from taking up the reins. 
 
 In regard to private matters I may mention that, on 
 December 15, 1901, our son was gazetted a captain in the 
 Rifle Brigade. This brought him home from the Cape. 
 In July 1902 he was appointed Inspector of Gymnasia 
 for the Western District, and remained there until he left 
 the Army three years afterwards. 
 
 On May 15 this year we heard that our home at 
 Hawley was burned. The next day some of us went 
 down and found that the house itself was almost totally 
 destroyed. The furniture on the ground floor had mostly 
 been saved, through the exertions of neighbours, including 
 the Cadets of the Royal Military College ; but what was 
 
358 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH AKMY 
 
 left upstairs could not be got at in time, the fire having 
 commenced in the roof, so it was destroyed when the 
 floors fell in. I may mention here that though the 
 insurance company 1 were most liberal in their award, 
 we did not rebuild the house, but sold the site. 
 
 One of the last ceremonial parades that I attended 
 officially was a very interesting one. It was the review, 
 by the King, of the Guards, on their return from South 
 Africa. It took place on the Horse Guards Parade. The 
 * turn-out ' was an exceedingly good one. 
 
 After this, although with constant meetings of the 
 Council, and discussions on all sorts of questions affect- 
 ing the Army, I was kept fully occupied, I have nothing 
 of special interest to relate, until just before my time of 
 office expired, when I had the honour of being invited, by 
 command of His Majesty the King, to one of the repre- 
 sentative dinners at Buckingham Palace. My place at 
 the table was between Mr. Arnold Forster, then at the 
 Admiralty, and Mr. Haldane, then a member of the 
 Explosives Committee at Woolwich. Both these gentle- 
 men afterwards became Secretary of State for War. 
 
 On April 16, 1903, I went to say good-bye to the 
 Commander-in-Chief and the Adjutant-General (Sir T. 
 Kelly Kenny), and others with whom I had worked while at 
 the War Office. The next day I handed over my work at 
 the Horse Guards to Major-General Shone, who had been 
 appointed Inspector-General of Fortifications in my place. 
 Captain Ley, A.D.C., remained for a time to assist him. I 
 also wrote a memorandum to inform him of the position 
 of affairs at the time. 
 
 I think I cannot do better, to finish my account of 
 the War Office portion of my life, than quote a letter from 
 General Sir Henry Brackenbury, a very able and highly 
 esteemed officer, with whom, as Director-General of 
 
 The Law Fire Office. 
 
RETIREMENT 359 
 
 Ordnance, I had had more to do than with any other. He 
 writes : ' I am extremely sorry to have missed you when 
 you kindly called to say good-bye. That you are leaving 
 the War Office is to me a matter of the most sincere 
 regret. From my point of view, nothing could possibly 
 have been pleasanter than our relations in all the many 
 subjects in which we have worked together. I cannot 
 remember a difference or a difficulty arising between us, 
 and that is much to be able to say in a period of 
 more than four years. The only thing that consoles 
 me in your leaving, and in many other troubles here, 
 is the proximity of my own retirement. A few months 
 more, and I shall, like you, seek a hardly-earned rest. I 
 congratulate you on being free from all the worries of 
 this office.' On April 18, 1903, 1 was placed on half-pay, 
 and little more than a year afterwards, having arrived 
 at the limit of age for service as a General, I was placed 
 on the retired list. 
 
 On leaving London in April we went to live in the 
 neighbourhood of Exeter, but tried three houses before 
 we finally settled in Ashton, where we now are. 
 
 In June I received a letter from Mr. Brodrick, 
 Secretary of State for War, informing me that His 
 Majesty had approved of my being promoted to be a 
 Grand Cross in the Order of the Bath. The investiture 
 took place on July 18 at Buckingham Palace, the other 
 recipients of the honour being Sir Power Palmer, late 
 Comma nder-in-Chief in India, and Sir Henry Higginson, 
 a distinguished Guardsman in the Crimea and elsewhere. 
 
 The only other event of interest that I will relate is an 
 attempt that made to enter Parliament. I had some 
 years before, when I expected a long detention on half- 
 pay, contemplated associating myself with some borough 
 or county division with the view of standing when there 
 was a vacancy. When my time of service at the War 
 
360 A LIFE IN THE BKITISH AKMY 
 
 Office had expired, and I was placed on half -pay, with 
 the view of retirement altogether in a few months, I 
 called on the Chief Agent of the Conservative party, 
 and asked him to let me know should a candidate be 
 wanted in the South of England. The result of this was 
 that, early in December 1903, 1 received a communica- 
 tion from him informing me that there was a vacancy in 
 Mid-Devon, caused by the death of Mr. Seale-Hayne, 
 and that he had given the local committee my name as 
 a possible candidate. A day or two afterwards I met the 
 committee in Exeter, and discussed the situation. They 
 seemed to think that I had a fair chance of success, and 
 so I agreed to stand if the delegates on being consulted 
 thought it advisable to have a contest with me as Union- 
 ist candidate. I had engagements at the time in South 
 Wales and Bristol, but promised to come back in time 
 for the meeting of delegates whenever one was arranged 
 for. December 10 having been fixed as the day of meet- 
 ing, I went on that day to Newton Abbot, and met the 
 delegates from all parts of the division, numbering about 
 200. Mr. Webster, an old schoolfellow of mine, was in 
 the Chair, and Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, on behalf of 
 the Liberal Unionists, supported him. I said a few words, 
 answered one or two questions, and was chosen unani- 
 mously. Time was short. I had to be introduced to as 
 many as possible of the electors over a large area, and 
 a great many meetings were necessary. I arranged with 
 Mr. G. Hearder, the Conservative organising secretary, 
 to act as my agent, and put the whole management of the 
 meetings in his hands. 
 
 On Monday, December 14, I went with my wife to 
 Newton Abbot and took rooms at the Globe Hotel, where 
 we remained throughout the contest. That same evening 
 we had a good meeting at Dawlish, and I spoke for 
 thirty -five minutes chiefly on what was then called * fiscal 
 
CANDIDATE FOR PARLIAMENT 361 
 
 policy/ but is now named ' tariff reform.' The next 
 day I arranged as far as possible with my agent how best 
 to carry on the campaign. Sub-agents were appointed, 
 and work started. In the evening we went to Teign- 
 mouth, and had informal and formal meetings. The next 
 day I met my opponent (Mr. Eve) at the Newton Fat 
 Stock Show, of which he was President. At the farmers' 
 dinner, which followed the show, I was chosen Vice- 
 President, and sat next to him, which created some 
 amusement. But all were very civil and pleasant to me. 
 Meetings went on daily. Small ones were usually quiet. 
 Larger ones generally contained a rowdy element sitting 
 or standing at the back of the room, consequently the 
 chairman could not always keep good order. Both 
 sides broke off canvassing for three days at Christmas ; 
 after which we all began again as hard as ever. The 
 weather was bad, and the getting about at night often 
 to two or three meetings in detached villages the same 
 evening was not always pleasant. One night my car- 
 riage was upset in a ditch, and I had to crawl out of 
 the window, and walk about two miles to a meeting ; 
 and when I got there I found the speakers, who were 
 entertaining the people until I came, nearly worn out. 
 
 The big meeting in the market-place of Newton was 
 on December 29. Mr. Duke, M.P. for Plymouth, made 
 an excellent speech for about an hour. I followed him. 
 The meeting was rather noisy, but better than was 
 expected. Towards the end of the election a good many 
 speakers, members and others, came to help me at the 
 meetings. A good many agents also came to assist 
 Mr. Hearder. The Tariff Keform League sent some 
 special speakers to hold meetings of their own, but the 
 people would not listen to them, and stormed their 
 platforms. 
 
 It was evident that all this assistance came too late 
 
362 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH AEMY 
 
 The only way to win such a constituency as Mid-Devon 
 was to canvass the whole place thoroughly, and to take 
 time about it. To the uneducated elector, at that time, 
 tariff reform meant nothing more than an attempt to raise 
 the price of bread. 
 
 The poll took place on January 7, and was made 
 known the next day. Mr. Eve received 5034 votes, and I 
 3558. 
 
 The result was disappointing to the many excellent 
 workers who had done their best on my behalf. But it 
 must be remembered that the election was carried on at 
 a time when the tide was turning against the Govern- 
 ment. Then Mr. Eve lived on the spot, farmed his own 
 land, and had been practically canvassing for some two 
 years, while I, on the other hand, was almost a stranger 
 in the constituency; and finally, there was the feeling, 
 which was promoted by the Kadicals in every possible 
 way, that if tariff reform were accepted it would decrease 
 the size of the poor man's loaf. 
 
 I ought to add to my story of this election that, 
 although I was told by the Committee that they would 
 be glad if I would continue as the candidate for the 
 division, financial reasons interfered with my doing so. 
 Fortunately a good candidate was found who was willing 
 to contest the seat at the General Election, which took 
 place about two years after my contest, and then to 
 patiently work among the electors and await his oppor- 
 tunity. This came in the winter of 1907-8, when Mr. 
 Eve was made a judge, and had to resign his seat ; and 
 the Unionist candidate l succeeded in changing a large 
 hostile vote into one of over 500 in his favour. 
 
 It was not until my contest in Mid-Devon was over 
 that we went to live at Ash ton. There, in a pretty 
 
 1 Captain Morrison-Bell, late 9th Lancers. 
 
AT ASHTON 363 
 
 valley, down which a brook runs through our garden 
 into the river Teign, we live a quiet and peaceful life. 
 A branch railway puts us within easy distance of Exeter, 
 and a fair road takes us over four miles of hill and dale to 
 Chudleigh. 
 
 In our secluded home day by day we read, in the 
 astonishing papers of modern days, the accounts of wars 
 and rumours of wars, of political changes, and accidents 
 by sea and land, from all parts of the civilised world. 
 Moreover we watch the practical effect, in our little 
 village, of the numerous and somewhat complicated laws 
 that British legislators are in the habit of providing 
 for us. 
 
 Some years ago I met in London a distinguished 
 namesake 1 of mine, who had been President of the 
 United States. When we were trying to piece together 
 our family history, in order to make out how and when 
 we were connected, he said, ' General, in my life I have 
 always been thinking of the future, I have had no time to 
 think of the past.' Struck by his remark, I wondered if 
 there was any use in looking back. Will so doing give 
 us any increase of wisdom and strength to enable us to 
 avoid past faults in the future ? 
 
 In writing these notes I have had to look back to 
 recall events in which perhaps I might have done my 
 own work better. But I have told them as they hap- 
 pened, and I will leave them alone now. Bearing them 
 in mind, however, I will go forth into the unknown 
 future, with a more humble trust in the Great Disposer 
 of events, and a firmer resolve to do His will to the best 
 of my power as long as I live. 
 
 Mr. Benjamin Harrison. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 KEPOET, BY THE PEINCE IMPEKIAL OP FEANCE, 
 OF A EECONNAISSANCE IN ZULULAND ON 
 MAY 17 AND 18, 1879 
 
 May 23, 1879. 
 Colonel Harrison, E.E., A.Q.M.G. 
 
 Sir, In conformity with your instructions I venture to 
 forward you the following report of the reconnaissance we 
 made on the 17th and 18th of May, in the direction of the 
 Inthlabankozi. 
 
 The 17th of May at 8 A.M. Colonel Harrison, E.E., 
 A.Q.M.G., accompanied by Lieutenant Gary, of the 98th, 
 D.A.Q.M.G., and myself, and escorted by Captain Bettington, 
 with four of his men and from fifteen to twenty Basutos, 
 started from Conference Hill. 
 
 The object of the reconnaissance was to find a road leading 
 along the Ingutu into the Nondwini Valley in the direction 
 of the Inthlabankozi. Colonel Harrison had arranged with 
 Colonel Buller that they should meet in the Ityotyosi Valley 
 in order to spare him the twelve miles between Wolf Hill and 
 Conference Hill. They were from this point to push on 
 together in the same direction. It was hoped that our party, 
 following the sky line for a distance of four miles along the 
 ridge of the Ingutu, would easily be seen by Colonel Buller 's 
 scouts. 
 
 The men took with them three days' provisions (tinned 
 meat and biscuits), the horses having to be fed exclusively on 
 the veldt. 
 
 Our party crossed the Blood River at the drift opposite the 
 
366 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 camp on Conference Hill, and followed the valley on the left 
 bank, keeping halfway between it and the foot of the Incanda 
 mountain in order to avoid the quicksands and bad drifts. 
 
 At 10.45 we reached the centre of the triangular and level 
 valley enclosed between the Halatu, Incanda, and Incenci 
 (eleven miles from Conference Hill). We took bearings to the 
 Intabu 330, to Koppie Allein 294, to Bunbas Kop 22, to 
 Fritz Kop 214, to Incenci 130. 
 
 After having crossed a marsh which wagons would have 
 to head to the east (11.25) two and a half miles distant from 
 point A, 1 we went one and two-thirds mile further and halted 
 on the banks of a spruit, offering no difficulty (11.50). There 
 we off-saddled and lunched. 
 
 At 1.40 we started again, and 1,000 yards further struck the 
 wagon track which follows the Blood River west of the Halatu 
 and Spitz Kop, and runs down (so I was told by Colonel Buller) 
 to Rorke's Drift. Six hundred yards further we crossed a second 
 spruit, which, like the preceding, offers no difficulty (1.55). 
 
 We then inclined five degrees about to the east and proceeded 
 to ascend slantingly the gentle slope of the Itelege, avoiding in 
 this manner the valley which limits the northern spur of the 
 Ingutu. It was twenty minutes past two when we reached 
 the foot of the small koppie which ends the Itelege range. 
 
 We were then on the level of the north Ingutu plateau. 
 The ascent had lasted twenty-five minutes, the distance travelled 
 through being one and two-thirds mile, and the slope about one 
 twenty-fifth. We took the bearing of our new direction parallel 
 to the ridge, and we found it to be 185. As we advanced some 
 200 yards we saw, through the neck under which a tributary 
 river to the Ityotyosi takes it source, the whole of the fine and 
 open valley of the main stream ; we took its bearing (100). 
 
 We then went four miles along the ridge, keeping on the 
 sky line so as to be in sight of Colonel Buller's party, until we 
 found a way into the valley (3.20 P.M.). The descent is steep, 
 though still practicable for wagons. We took 15 minutes getting 
 down into the plain ; the road we followed passing across the 
 saddle formed between the side of the plateau and a conical- 
 
 1 Plan omitted. 
 
APPENDIX 367 
 
 shaped hill. We crossed two dongas, one of which is the bed 
 of the Ityotyosi, neither of them requiring much labour to be 
 rendered easily passable. As we had seen nothing of Colonel 
 Buller, we decided to go along the foot of the eastern Ingutu. 
 After twenty-five minutes' marching we reached the point 
 where the range turns to the westward, and we found our- 
 selves in broken ground full of dongas and quite impractic- 
 able for wagons. We pushed on two miles ahead, as far as a 
 mealie-field, where we halted (5.10). After having off-saddled 
 for one hour and twenty minutes, we retired and bivouacked 
 one and a half mile back. 
 
 We ringed our horses and kept them saddled all night. 
 The next morning, 18th of May, we started at daybreak, 6 A.M., 
 meaning to follow the foot of the southern Ingutu in order to 
 ascertain if there were any means of getting uphill from the 
 plain south of the broken ground already mentioned (and vice 
 versa). 
 
 At seven we passed over the neck formed between the Ingutu 
 and a double-topped hill, which could be compared to a sort 
 of ravine in front of it. At ten minutes past seven we saw some 
 sixty Zulus whom we had already chased some days before, and 
 who are supposed to be scouts and spies, and not inhabitants of 
 the neighbouring kraals. They were standing among the rocks 
 near the summit of the Ingutu. The danger of leaving them 
 on our flank and rear whilst we were surveying the ground, 
 and the impossibility of off-saddling in their presence, induced 
 Captain Bettington to drive them out of their position. We 
 proceeded to ascend the steep mountain side, and at 7.30 we 
 reached the ridge, where we found an unoccupied kraal. We 
 off-saddled and remained there one hour and three-quarters. 
 
 We started at 9.15 A.M. in order to pursue the object of our 
 reconnaissance, but, being on the ridge, we followed the brow 
 instead of the foot of the mountain as we previously intended. 
 We went three miles along the western slope of the Ingutu 
 in a magnetic north direction, until we found ourselves in 
 the middle of the flat and open plateau which separates the 
 Nondwini from the Bashu river and which unites the steep and 
 narrow ridge of the south-west Ingutu to the northern spur. 
 
368 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 We then turned eastwards, passing near the Eed Hill 
 mountain, which commands the whole of the plateau, and went 
 on until we reached, at 10.45 A.M., the south-western extremity 
 of the Ingutu. 
 
 We saw from there our way down into the plain. A spruit, 
 tributary of the Nondwini, takes its source on the central plateau, 
 and forms a relatively smooth and gentle descent into the plain. 
 At 11.15 we started, and during one and a half mile we followed 
 the left bank of the stream, until we found ourselves facing the 
 gap formed by the Nondwini Valley between the south Ingutu 
 and a low spur belonging to the same range. Not being able 
 to trace our way through that opening, we crossed two dongas 
 which would require some work to be rendered practicable, and 
 went through the open plain formed by the upper Nondwini 
 Valley, keeping along the foot of the north-western slope of the 
 already mentioned spur for a distance of five miles. We then 
 turned a little south and reached the extremity of the spur, 
 from which we could see quite distinctly the whole plain 
 extending between us and the Inthlabankozi (1 P.M.). We 
 took a bearing to this mountain and found it to be 140. The 
 intersection of that bearing with that taken some days previ- 
 ously from the top of the south Ingutu fixed the position of the 
 Inthlabankozi, which appeared to be from five to six miles off. 
 
 We then returned across the plain and climbed by a goat- 
 path on to the central plateau. We halted from 2.30 to 4.30 
 and off-saddled near the Eed Hill. We reached from there, 
 keeping on the same level, the north spur, and went along it 
 down to the Itelege. 8 P.M. we halted and off-saddled two 
 hours ; at 10 P.M. we made a fresh start, following in the opposite 
 direction the same track we came by. We halted again at 
 twelve and ringed the horses ; we were then opposite the neck 
 between the Incenci and Itelege Mountains. But we did not 
 wait for daybreak, and started again at two ; at 4.30 we reached 
 an old kraal between the Halatu and Incanda Mountains, and 
 halted there until dawn ; we off-saddled one hour, and marched 
 into Conference Hill camp at 8 A.M. 
 
 From 8 A.M. on the 17th to 6 A.M. on the 18th our horses 
 remained saddled up twenty hours and forty minutes, being 
 
APPENDIX 369 
 
 allowed to graze only during one hour and twenty minutes. 
 We remained nine hours and forty minutes in the saddle. 
 
 From 6 A.M. on the 18th to 8 A.M. on the 19th our horses 
 remained saddled up nineteen hours and fifteen minutes. They 
 were allowed to graze during six and three-quarter hours, and 
 we remained seventeen hours and fifteen minutes in the saddle. 
 This shows what horses living on the veldt can do. 
 
 Remarks on the Hood. 
 
 From Conference Hill to point B l (16 miles) the road is 
 good, needing no work to be rendered practicable for wagons ; 
 however, it would be advisable, if convoys go that way, to 
 indicate the track either by cutting the grass or raising finger- 
 posts or heaps of stones along it. 
 
 From the drift close to Fecht Kop up to B the road is 
 equally good, as it runs between two dongas 
 and parallel to their course. 
 
 In the daytime there is no fear of losing 
 the track, but as the convoys, now that the 
 days are short, have to start before daybreak 
 and travel after sunset, it would be advisable 
 to indicate the drift and road in some prac- 
 tical way. Example: Poles 12 feet high, 
 supporting at their upper end a white box or barrel, 
 figure.) 
 
 From B to C the road needs also to be indicated, for it 
 winds round the mountain side one-third down its slope. 
 
 From C to P, i.e. along the Ingutu spur, no work of any 
 kind is needed ; from P down to the 
 upper Nondwini Valley the road - 
 would require some work loose 
 stones displaced, fascines laid down 
 over the ruts, one small donga blocked 
 up, etc. (two or three hours' work for 
 100 men). 
 
 From the deep Nondwini Valley up to the point G two big 
 dongas have to be crossed (two hours' work for 100 men). 
 1 Plan omitted. 
 
 B B 
 
370 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 From the point G to the Inthlabankozi the ground is but 
 slightly undulated, and one single watercourse would have to 
 be forded. 
 
 From Landman's Drift to Fecht Kop, 12 miles one day's 
 march. From Fecht Kop Drift to point Q, 16 miles one day's 
 march. 
 
 From Q to C, 7 miles. 
 
 From C to the Inthlabankozi, 8 miles. 
 
 If, therefore, the troops from Landman's Drift were to be 
 sent in the direction of the Inthlabankozi along the road we 
 have surveyed, one company of Pioneers would have to be sent 
 from Landman's Drift or Conference Hill one day's march in 
 advance. 
 
 Starting from Conference Hill, the company would bivouac 
 at B, 16 miles, marking out the road and Fecht Kop Drift as it 
 went along. The second day it would reach the point P and 
 mend the road from P down the valley, and bivouac at Q. 
 
 The third day it would make a way through the dongas Z, 
 and bivouac at Q, where the whole column would be assembled 
 and ready to advance. 
 
 In order not to delay the advance of the main column, the 
 Pioneers and Engineers would have to start, as already stated, 
 one day in advance. In order to protect them during the 
 performance of their work, it would be necessary to send a 
 strong force of cavalry to the point Q, whilst another force of 
 mounted men would be sent from Wolf Hill camp or Conference 
 Hill to the point X. 
 
 The point X has been pointed out by Colonel Buller as a 
 good camping ground. As for the point Q the following reasons 
 can be claimed in its favour : 
 
 1. It is situated on a fine open plateau two miles long by 
 one and a quarter mile wide. 
 
 2. Water is found in proximity (reservoir to be constructed 
 at point P). 
 
 3. There is plenty of wood. 
 
 4. Three big kraals, fifteen to twenty huts each, are to be 
 found within two miles of it. 
 
 5. The grass is excellent, and plenty of mealie-fields are to 
 ba found in the neighbouring valleys. 
 
APPENDIX 371 
 
 As a military and defensive position it offers the following 
 advantages : 
 
 1. One line of retreat is always open, whether the enemy 
 comes from the north-east or from the south-west, either along 
 the Bashu Valley or along the Ingutu ridge. 
 
 2. By placing eight outposts, furnishing four double sentries 
 each and four reliefs during the night, the main body bivouacked 
 at Q may have notice of the enemy's advance when he reaches 
 the foot of the Ingutu. Admitting what is in no way probable 
 that the enemy be but little delayed by the resistance of the 
 outposts, the force stationed at Q would still have one hour to 
 bring in the horses and saddle up, which is time enough. 
 
 3. The outposts would be furnished every night by one- 
 fourth of the whole force, which would give the horses sufficient 
 rest. 
 
 4. Reconnaissances starting from Q might be easily pushed 
 on over the Zungvin Eange and afford good information on 
 the country, which is to us unknown at the present moment. 
 
 5. I feel confident that the Cavalry Brigade, with a couple of 
 hundred Basutos, would be quite safe in the position Q, because, 
 in the first place, Zulus do not as a rule make night attacks, 
 and, secondly, because from the 29th of May until the llth of 
 June we shall have moonlight. 
 
 I have nothing else to add to the general remarks I made 
 in my previous letter to Colonel Crealock, but I must, however, 
 mention what struck me in the Basutos' conduct. As long as 
 they have white men by their side, they feel confident, and are, 
 as scouts, of the greatest use, but left alone they cannot be 
 relied upon. 
 
 I think that some few Basutos (200) attached to the Cavalry 
 Brigade, and distributed at night among the outposts, would be 
 of the greatest use. They would so do better service than being 
 kept in separate bodies. 
 
 I am, Sir, very sincerely, your obedient Servant, 
 
 NAPOLEON. 
 
 B B 2 
 
INDEX 
 
 ABOUKIR Bay, 252, 262 
 
 Adeane, Captain, E.N., 148 
 
 Aden, 30, 238 
 
 Adye, General Sir John, 257, 267 
 
 Agra, 59 
 
 Airlie, Earl of, 283 
 
 Albert, H.B.H. the Prince Consort, 
 
 16, 99, 102, 303 
 
 Aldershot, 105, 240, 241, 302, 329 
 Alexander, Colonel, 197 
 Alexandra, H.B.H. Princess, 105 
 Alexandria, 22, 252, 256, 258, 276 
 Alison, General Sir Archibald, Bart., 
 
 258, 279, 304 
 Allahabad, 31, 49 
 Allegunje, 45 
 
 Alleyne, Major, B.A., 259, 271 
 Alumbagh, Lucknow, 28, 32, 33 
 Ambigole, 288 
 Ameatie (Fort) 50 
 Amman (Chinese servant), 65 
 Anderson, Mr., 355 
 Anderson, Captain, 85 
 Anstey, Captain, 154 
 Arabi Pasha, 254, 257, 262 
 Ardagh, Colonel, 275 
 Armstrong Guns, 74 
 Army Corps, 135 
 Arnold-Forster, H. 0., M.P., 358 
 Arthur, H.B.H. Prince (afterwards 
 
 Duke of Connaught), 124, 125, 
 
 127, 240, 244, 270, 279, 330, 336, 
 
 351 
 
 Ashton, 359 
 
 Assad Smart (dragoman), 253, 261 
 Assiout, 283 
 Assouan, 283 
 
 BAKER, Major-General Sir Thomas, 
 
 324 
 
 Baker Pasha, 280 
 Baku, 297 
 Bareilly, 45 
 
 Barker, Colonel G., 338 
 Banning (near Maidstone), 7, 99, 
 
 111 
 
 Basingstoke, 308 
 Basutos, 166, 167, 172 
 Batoum, 296 
 Beaconsfield, Earl, 245 
 Beatrice, H.B.H. Princess, 240 
 Beaumont (near Chelmsford), 3 
 Beaumont Admiral, 339 
 Becher, Colonel, 59 
 Belfield, Colonel, B.E., 130 
 Bellairs, Colonel, 185, 234 
 Benares, 31 
 Beni-Madhoo, 51, 52 
 Berber, 281 
 
 Beresford, Lord Charles, 257 
 Bermuda, 111 
 Bettington (commanding Irregular 
 
 Horse), 164, 166, 168, 170 
 Betts, E., 100, 101 
 Biarritz, 122 
 Bickerstaff, Major, 22 
 Bird, Miss, 111, 133 
 Black Watch (Boyal Highlanders), 
 
 45,46 
 
 ' Blackwood's Magazine,' 110 
 Bloemfontein, 346 
 Blood, Captain, B.E. (afterwards 
 
 Sir Bindon Blood), 137, 138, 153, 
 
 154 
 Boardman, Captain, B.N., 288 
 
374 
 
 A LIFE IN THE BKITISH AEMY 
 
 Boers, 213, 215, 219-224, 229-234, 
 342, 344, 354 
 
 Bok, 233 
 
 Boom-Plaats, 193 
 
 Bosphorus, 295 
 
 Boston, 108 
 
 Bourley (at Aldershot), 105 
 
 Bousfield, Dr., Bishop of Pretoria, 
 219 
 
 Bowlby, 85 
 
 Brabazon, Captain, 85 
 
 Brackenbury, Colonel (afterwards 
 Eight Hon. Sir Henry Bracken- 
 bury, G.C.B.), 210, 248, 295, 336, 
 339, 358 
 
 Brazier, Colonel, 41 
 
 Brennan Torpedo, 338 
 
 Bridge (over Gogra), 56, 58 
 
 Brine, Colonel Bruce, B.E., 309 
 
 Brodrick, Bight Hon. St. John, 330, 
 349, 359 
 
 Bromhead, Major, V.C., 146 
 
 Brooke, Lieutenant, E.E. (retired as 
 General), 17 
 
 Browne, Colonel (afterwards Sir 
 James, K.C.B.), 117 
 
 Brownlow, Lieutenant, E.E., 43 
 
 Bruce, Captain, E.H.A., 52 
 
 Buckle, Lieutenant, E.E., 103, 106 
 
 Buller, Colonel (afterwards Eight 
 Hon. Sir Eedvers Buller), 140, 141, 
 165, 170, 181, 185, 188, 242, 278, 
 324, 336, 341, 343, 345, 346, 349 
 
 Bulwer, Sir Edward, 143 
 
 Buraech, 54 
 
 Burdett, Driver, E.E., 155, 187 
 
 Burnaby, Captain, E.E., 334, 349 
 
 Burnett, Major-General, 333 
 
 Burscough Abbey, 1 
 
 Bustard Creek, 70 
 
 Butler, Colonel (afterwards Sir 
 William Butler, G.C.B.), 287, 341, 
 344 
 
 Butlery, 307 
 
 Buxar Ghat, 52 
 
 CAIRO, 22, 253, 283, 289 
 
 Calcutta, 24 
 
 Cambridge, H.E.H. the Duke of, 
 
 130, 137, 239, 245, 311, 324 
 Cameron, Lieutenant, 152 
 
 Campbell, Sir Colin (afterwards 
 
 Field Marshal Lord Clyde), 27, 
 
 33, 39, 45, 55, 59 
 Campbell, Captain the Hon. Eonald, 
 
 152 
 
 Canada, 102, 109 
 Canning, Earl (Governor-General 
 
 of India during Mutiny), 24 
 Canteens, Committee over, 117 
 Canton, 61, 64, 65, 66, 97 
 Cape of Good Hope, 151 
 Cape Town, 98 
 j Cardwell, Viscount, 247 
 I Carey, Captain, 161, 166, 172-178 
 I Carlo ' (retriever), 322, 323 
 Carrington, Major, 200, 225, 227 
 Cautley, Lieutenant, E.E., 103 
 Cawnpore, 24, 27 
 Ceremonies, Hall of, 95 
 Chaka, 139 
 Chang-chia-wan, 87 
 Chard, V.C., Major, E.E., 146 
 ' Charming Lass ' (charger), 242 
 Chartist Eiots, 6 
 Chase, Eev. J. C., 6 
 Chase (Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 
 in America 1863), 110 
 Chatham, 15, 16, 100, 116 
 Chelmsford, Lord, 143, 145, 152, 
 
 153, 157, 166, 181, 187 
 Chelsea, 3 
 Chicago, 113 
 
 China, Emperor of, 91, 92 
 Cholera, 6, 18 
 Chulari (Fort), 56 
 Chusan, 68 
 
 Circus at Canton, 66, 67 
 Cirencester, Vicar of, 1 
 Clanson, Major, E.E., 356 
 Clapham, 1 
 
 Clarke, Colonel G., 338 
 Clarke, Lieutenant- Colonel C. 
 
 Mansfield (afterwards General 
 
 Sir C. Clarke, Bart., G.C.B.), 189, 
 
 278, 341 
 Clarke, Major, E.A., 210, 212, 213, 
 
 225 
 
 Clerke, Captain A., E.E., 31, 42, 43 
 Clery, Major, 189 
 Clifford, Lord, 360 
 Clifford, Major-General the Hon. 
 
 H., 147, 152, 189, 234 
 Coetzee, 215 
 
INDEX 
 
 375 
 
 Colley, Colonel (afterwards Sir 
 
 George), 190, 210, 212, 233, 242 
 Collins, Captain, 128 
 Colvin, Sir A., 277 
 Conference Hill, 163 
 Connaught, H.R.H. the Duke of 
 
 (see under Arthur, H.R.H. Prince) 
 Constantinople, 295 
 Cook, Driver, R.E., 155 
 Corbett, Captain, R.N., 70 
 Courtney, Lieutenant (afterwards 
 
 Major- General), 65 
 Cox, Captain, R.E., 52 
 Cox, Mr., 297 
 Creagh, Major, 216, 228 
 Crealock, Major-General H., 147, 
 
 182 
 Crealock, Lieutenant- Colonel North, 
 
 157 
 
 Crimea, 16 
 Cronje, General, 346 
 Croydon, 2 
 
 Curling, Rev. J. J., R.E., 131, 132 
 Currie, Sapper, 119 
 Curzon, Colonel the Hon. E., 243 
 
 DABULAMANZI, 185 
 
 Daniell, Mrs., 105 
 
 ' Dash ' (spaniel), 100 
 
 Dawes, Major, 262 
 
 Deane, Colonel, 242 
 
 De Beers (company), 235 
 
 Deep Bay, Hong-Kong, 68 
 
 Delhi, 24, 29, 59 
 
 Delhi, King of, 24, 29 
 
 Denison, Colonel (Canada), 288 
 
 Denison, Captain, R.E., 128 
 
 Denmark, 111, 112 
 
 De Vere, Major, R.E., 119 
 
 Devonport, 128, 132, 320, 321, 324 
 
 * Devonport Gazette,' 128 
 
 Diamond Jubilee, 330 
 
 Diamond Mines, 235, 236 
 
 Dickens, Charles, 117 
 
 Dilkoosha, the, Lucknow, 28 
 
 Dingaan, 139 
 
 Dongola, 287 
 
 Dormer, Colonel the Hon. J. C., 259, 
 
 270 
 
 Dover, 332 
 
 Dowell, Admiral Sir William, 321 
 Doyle, General Hastings, 106 
 
 Drummond, the Hon. J., 165, 187 
 Drury, the Rev. Ben, 8 
 Dublin, 99 
 
 Duke, H. E., K.C., 361 
 Dumaresq, Lieutenant, R.E., 17 
 Duncan, Colonel, 285 
 Dundee, Natal, 156 
 Durban, 148, 152 
 
 Durnford, Colonel, R.E., 129, 145, 
 149, 150 
 
 EARLE, Major-General, 256, 257, 
 259, 263, 270, 271, 273, 277, 282, 
 285, 286, 290 
 
 Earle, Captain, 259 
 
 Earth, Temple of the, 93 
 
 East, Major (afterwards Sir Cecil 
 East, K.C.B.), 161, 182 
 
 Edghill, Rev. J. C., Chaplain (after- 
 wards Chaplain-General) 117 
 
 Edinburgh, H.R.H. the Duke of, 
 321, 322 
 
 Edward VIL, H.M. King, 351, 353, 
 354, 358 
 
 Edwards, Major, R.E. (afterwards 
 Major-General Sir Bevan Edwards, 
 K.C.M.G., C.B.), 103 
 
 Edwards, Lieutenant, R.E. (after- 
 wards the Right Hon. Sir Fleet- 
 wood Edwards, G.C.B.), 117, 240 
 
 Egypt, 239 
 
 Elands Laagte, 343 
 
 Elgin, Earl of, 69, 95 
 
 Elphinstone, V.C., Colonel, R.E. 
 (afterwards Sir Howard Elphin- 
 stone, K.C.B.), 124, 125, 127, 240, 
 314 
 
 ' Encyclopaedia, Britannica,' 195 
 
 Entonjaneni Range, 182 
 
 Equipment, 245-251 
 
 Esher, Lord, 355 
 
 Essay, 134, 135 
 
 Evans, Captain, 30 
 
 Eve, H. T., K.C., 361, 362 
 
 Evely, Brigadier, 52 
 
 Exhibition, 1862, 103 
 
 Eyre, General, 102, 249, 250 
 
 FAITHFULL, Rev. F., 5 
 Fane, Colonel (commanding Fane's 
 Horse), 84, 86, 89 
 
376 
 
 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Farnborough, 241 
 
 Feilding, General the Hon. Percy, 
 
 302 
 Ferreira, (commanding Irregular 
 
 Horse), 227, 229 
 
 Fisher, Colonel, B.E., 69, 90, 112 
 FitzEoy, Captain E. V., 263 
 Flogging in Army, 120, 121 
 Forestier- Walker, Lieut.-General, 
 
 344 
 
 Forster, Eight Hon. J., 319 
 Fort Burgess, 201 
 Fort Weeber, 202, 224 
 Foster, Sergeant, E.E. (afterwards 
 
 Sergeant-Major), 56, 57 
 France, H.M. Empress of, 278-9 
 France, H.I.H. Prince Imperial of, 
 
 156, 158, 161, 165, 171-6 
 Fraser, Major-General Sir Thomas, 
 
 336 
 
 Freckleton, Eichard Harrison of, 1 
 Freeling, Colonel Sir Henry, Bart. 
 
 E.E., 129 
 
 Freeman-Murray, General, 123, 124 
 Freemasonry, 123 
 French, General, 343 
 Frere, Sir Bartle, Bart., 143 
 Fyzabad, 54 
 
 GALLWEY, Colonel (afterwards Sir L. 
 Gallwey), 127 
 
 Gatacre, General, 344, 345 
 
 German Emperor, H.M. the, 351 
 
 George, H.E.H. Prince (see Wales) 
 
 Ghazies, 45, 46 
 
 Girouard, Major, E.E. (afterwards 
 Sir Percy Girouard, K.C.M.G.),342 
 
 Gladstone, Eight Hon. W. E., 2, 240 
 
 Glencoe, 343 
 
 Glyn, Colonel, 145 
 
 Glyn, Mr., 201 
 
 Gogra Eiver, 53, 54, 56 
 
 Gold Medal, E.E., 134 
 
 Goodwyn, Captain (Bengal En- 
 gineers), 52 
 
 Goomtee Biver, 38, 53 
 
 Goorkhas, 39 
 
 Gordon, Captain C. G., E.E. (after- 
 wards Major-General, C.B.), 90, 94, 
 118, 285, 287, 290 
 
 Gordon, General Sir John (in charge 
 
 of right attack against Sebastopol), 
 
 19, 118 
 Gordon, Governor, of New Brunswick, 
 
 107 
 
 Goschen, J. G., M.P., 240 
 Gosset, Major, E.E., 116 
 Govan, Major, E.A., 82 
 Graham, Major, V.C., E.E. (after- 
 wards Sir Gerald Graham, G.C.B.), 
 
 62, 68, 76, 82, 90, 92, 93, 98, 264, 
 
 267 
 
 Grant (American General), 119 
 Grant, General Sir Hope, 36, 42, 68, 
 
 86 
 Grant, General Sir Eobert, E.E., 
 
 G.C.B., 330, 332 
 Gravesend, 100, 118 
 Green, Dr., 288 
 Gregson, Major, E.E., 292 
 Grenfell, Colonel (afterwards Field 
 
 Marshal Lord Grenfell), 285 
 Griffith, Eev. Dr. (Canon of 
 
 Eochester), 129 
 Gull, Dr. (afterwards Sir William 
 
 Gull, Bart.), 104 
 Guy's Hospital, 104 
 Gwalior Contingent, 30 
 
 HALDANB, E., E.G., 358 
 
 Haldon Down, 325 
 
 Halifax, 106, 111 
 
 Hall, Colonel George, 32, 33, 100, 
 
 127, 301 
 HaU, E., 3 
 Hamley, General Sir Edward, 254, 
 
 257 
 
 Hansard, Major, E.A., 339 
 Hansberg, 297 
 Hanson, Sergeant (afterwards a 
 
 Yeoman of the Guard), 78 
 Harford, Captain, 300 
 Harman, Colonel (afterwards Sir 
 
 George), 315 
 Harness, Colonel, E.E. (afterwards 
 
 Sir Henry Harness, K.C.B.), 30, 32, 
 
 40, 42, 100, 117, 118 
 Harness, Colonel, 311 
 Harris, 9 
 
 Harrison, Colonel A., 119 
 Harrison, Benjamin (great-grand- 
 father), 1 
 
INDEX 
 
 377 
 
 Harrison, Benjamin (Archdeacon of 
 
 Maidstone), 2, 306, 307 
 Harrison, Benjamin J. (father), 
 
 2,3 
 Harrison, Benjamin (President of 
 
 the United States of America), 
 
 363 
 Harrison, Captain J. F. H. (brother), 
 
 3, 4, 5 
 
 Harrison, Matthew (grandfather), 2 
 Harrison, Robert, 1 
 Harrison, Sir Thomas (ancestor) 1 
 Harrow-on-the Hill, 7, 300 
 Harvey, Captain, R.E., 116 
 Hassard, Colonel, R.E., 150 
 Hatfield, 3 
 Havelock, Colonel (afterwards Sir 
 
 Henry, who relieved Lucknow), 24, 
 
 29 
 
 Hawley Hill, 328, 357 
 Hay, General, R.A., 310 
 Hayter, Captain (Grenadier Guards), 
 
 116 
 
 Headley, near Epsom, 5 
 Hearder, Mr., 360 
 Heidelberg, 224 
 Heighington (near Darlington), 100, 
 
 127 
 Heneage, Lieutenant, R.E., A.D.C., 
 
 155 
 
 Henry, Surgeon, 62 
 Herbert, Mr., 217, 283 
 Herbert, General Sir Arthur, 292 
 Hesse, H.R.H. the Grand Duke of, 
 
 240 
 
 Hicks, General, 280 
 Higginson, General Sir Henry, 
 
 359 
 
 Hildebrand, Colonel, 338 
 Hime, Captain, R.E. (afterwards 
 
 Prime Minister of Natal), 154 
 Hime, Lieutenant, R.E., 62 
 Home, Colonel, R.E., C.B., 131, 247, 
 
 248, 257 
 
 Hong-Kong, 61, 97 
 Hooker, General, 113 
 Hope, Brigadier-General, 44 
 Home, Major (7th Hussars), 56 
 Hoskins, Admiral Sir Antony, 257, 
 
 268 
 
 Hudson River, 109 
 Hughes, Colonel, 283 
 Hutton, Colonel, K.R.R.C., 259 
 
 IMAUM-BARA at Lucknow, 40 
 
 Impanda, 143 
 
 Imperial Federation League, 319 
 
 Impi (a Zulu army on the war- 
 path), 142 
 
 Indian Mutiny, 23, 48 
 | Inslobani Mountain, 158 
 ! Isandlwana, Battle of, 145 
 ! Islay, Campbell of, 116 
 I Ismailia, 258, 263 
 ! Iver (near Uxbridge), 6 
 
 | JACKSON, Dr., 217 
 j Jamil (dragoman), 289 
 ! Jeffries, Mr., M.P., 308 
 I Jellalabad Fort, 34 
 ; Jericho, 289 
 
 Jervois, Colonel, R.E. (afterwards Sir 
 Drummond Jervois,G.C.M.G.), 106, 
 107, 109, 117 
 
 Johnson, Captain, R.A., 278 
 
 Jones, Admiral, 69 
 
 Jones, Sapper, 151 
 
 Jordan, River, 289 
 
 Jubilee of H.M. Queen Victoria, 304 
 
 Jung Bahadoor, 39 
 
 Justice, Major (afterwards Major- 
 General, C.M.G.), 128 
 
 ' KAISERBAGH, Lucknow, 36, 40 
 i Kambula Fort, 152, 158 
 ! Kassassin, 270, 274 
 
 Keith, Lieutenant, R.E., 32 
 
 Kelly-Kenny, General, 343, 358 
 
 Kensington Barracks, 103 
 
 Ketchwayo, 136, 143, 144, 194, 206 
 
 Khartoum, 281 
 
 Khedive of Egypt, 260, 276 
 
 Kingston, Canada, 109 
 
 Kirk, Dr., 237 
 
 Kitchener, General Lord, 337, 345, 
 350 
 
 Knellwood, 241, 294, 309, 328 
 
 Knox, Captain, R.A. (afterwards 
 Major-General), 201, 202 
 
 Knox, Mr. (War Office), 309 
 
 Koppie-AUein on the Blood River, 
 171 
 
 Kowloon (near Hong-Kong), 64, 68 
 1 Kruger, Paul, 229, 340 
 1 Kruger's-Post, 201 
 
378 
 
 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Kung, Prince, 95 
 Kwamagwasa, 187, 188 
 
 LADYSMITH, 343, 344 
 
 Laing's Neck, 233 
 
 Landman's Drift, 157 
 
 Landseer, Sir E., 101 
 
 Lansdowne, Marquis of, 330, 339, 
 349 
 
 Lanyon, Colonel Sir Owen, 143, 
 205, 234, 235, 264, 276, 278 
 
 LasceUes, Captain G. (Eoyal 
 Fusiliers), 319 
 
 Lausanne, 133 
 
 Lawrence, Sir Henry, 24 
 
 Lawrence, Sir John (afterwards 
 Lord Lawrence), 24 
 
 Leach, Colonel E., 355 
 
 Lee (American General), 110 
 
 Leith, Colonel, 288 
 
 Lennox, Lord Algernon, 324 
 
 Lennox, V.C., Colonel, E.E. (after- 
 wards Sir Wilbraham, K.C.B.), 31, 
 39, 47, 48, 124 
 
 Ley, Captain C. H., B.E., 349, 358 
 
 Lincoln, President, 119 
 
 Lind, Jenny (singer), 164 
 
 Littledale, Lieutenant, E.E., 137 
 
 Loch, H. B. (afterwards Lord Loch), 
 85,93 
 
 Lochner, Captain, E.E., 17 
 
 Lowe, Colonel Drury, 181 
 
 Lucerne, 125 
 
 Lucknow, 24, 27, 29, 32, 35, 41 
 
 Lugard, General Sir Edward, G.C.B., 
 36,40 
 
 Lulu Mountains, 203, 225, 230 
 
 Luneburg, 148 
 
 Lushington (Treasurer Guy's Hos- 
 pital), 2 
 
 Lydenburg, 201, 202 
 
 Lyons, Admiral Sir Algernon, 321 
 325, 328, 329 
 
 Lyons, Lord, 107, 110 
 
 Lysons, General Sir Daniel, 240, 
 243, 245 
 
 MACAULAY, Captain, 202 
 McCalmont, Major, 217 
 MacGregor, Colonel, 292 
 McKeen, Lieutenant, E.E., 137 
 
 Mackenzie, Colonel, Q.M.G., 68, 84, 
 
 102, 132 
 
 McKerlie, Colonel (69th Eegt.), 23 
 Macleod, Major (Bengal Engineers), 
 
 31 
 
 Macleod, Captain, 224 
 McMillan, Sapper, 120 
 McPherson, Colonel Cluny, 269 
 Macpherson, General, 275 
 Madrid, 122 
 Magfar, E. C., 266 
 Mahdi, the, 280 
 Mahmoudieh Canal, 253 
 Mahon, Lord, 116 
 Majuba Hill, 242 
 
 Malcolm, Lieutenant, E.E. (after- 
 wards Colonel, C.B., of Poltalloch), 
 
 31, 47, 62, 97 
 
 Malinder (Zulu scout), 187, 221 
 Malta, 17, 18, 19 
 Mandarin, 97 
 
 Mann, Colonel, E.E., 65, 76 
 Manoeuvres, 129, 132, 336 
 Mansfield, General Sir W. (after- 
 wards Lord Sandhurst), 60 
 Mapashlela's Drift, 225 
 Mapoch, 202 * 
 Marindin, Captain, E.E. (afterwards 
 
 Sir F.), 121 
 Markham, General Sir E., 324, 330, 
 
 338, 339 
 Marshall, Major-General F., 140, 
 
 147, 170, 175, 181 
 Marshall, Sapper, 286, 288 
 Marter, Major, K.D.G., 197, 206 
 Martin, Lance- Corporal, E.E., 155, 
 
 161 
 
 Matow, China, 85 
 Maude, Major, V.C., E.A., 26 
 Maurice, Major, E.A. (afterwards 
 
 Sir Frederick Maurice, K.C.B.), 
 
 190 
 
 Mauritius, 98 
 Meade (American General), 110, 
 
 111 
 
 Meerut, 24, 47 
 Merenski, 230 
 Methuen, Colonel the Hon. Paul, 
 
 273, 344, 345 
 Middelberg, 217 
 Milford Haven, 325 
 Milne, Admiral Sir A., 107 
 Milward, Major, E.A., 77, 82 
 
INDEX 
 
 379 
 
 Mitchell, General Sir John, 69, 84, 
 
 94, 130 
 
 Mobilisation, 136, 137 
 Molyneux, Captain, 157 
 Monck, Lord, 109 
 Monkey-god, 35 
 Montreal, 109 
 Moorsom, Lieutenant, D.A.Q.M.G., 
 
 38 
 
 Morris, Colonel, 265 
 Mount-Edgecumbe, 317, 325 
 Moysey, Lieutenant-Colonel, R.E., 
 
 188 
 
 Mudjudeah, 55 
 Murray, Colonel, 227 
 Murray, Major Wyndham, 259 
 Mussoorie, 47 
 Mutiny Comet, 48 
 
 NANA Sahib, the, 26, 56 
 
 Napier, Colonel, B.E. (afterwards 
 
 F.M. Lord Napier of Magdala), 
 
 32, 37, 69, 75, 77, 78, 82, 84, 93, 
 
 312 
 Napoleon, H.I.H. Prince Louis (see 
 
 France) 
 
 Natal, 144, 149, 150 
 Nathan, Major, 356 
 Nautch Girls' Quarters, 41 
 Naval Adviser, 338 
 Nefiche (near Ismailia), 264 
 Neill, Colonel, 26 
 Nelidoff, Madame, 301 
 Newcastle, 199 
 Newdigate, Major-General E., 147, 
 
 181 
 
 Newport, 108 
 New York, 109 
 Niagara, 108 
 Nicholson, Major, B.E. (afterwards 
 
 Sir Lothian Nicholson, K.C.B.), 
 
 32, 111 
 
 Normanby, Marquis of, 107 
 Norris, Brigade Surgeon, 283 
 Northey, Colonel, K.B.B.C., 152 
 Northey, Bev. A. E., 122 
 Nugent, Brigadier, B.E., 270 
 
 OBEID, El, 280 
 
 O'Brien, Amy M. S. P., (now Lady 
 Harrison), 129 
 
 Odin Bay, 71 
 
 Officers' Memo.-book, 155 
 
 Oliphant (Fort), 205 
 
 Orange Biver, 192 
 
 Ord, Colonel, B.E., 111 
 
 Ordnance Survey, 104 
 
 Osman Digna, 281 
 
 Ottawa, 112 
 
 Oude, 24, 48 
 
 Outram, General Sir James, 27, 32, 
 
 33, 38 
 
 Owen, Captain, 201 
 Owen, P.C., 103 
 
 PALMER, General Sir Power, 359 
 
 Palmerston, Viscount, 103 
 
 Parkes, Mr. H. S. (British Commis- 
 sioner at Pekin), 85, 93 
 
 Parnell, Brigadier, 54 
 
 Paruta, Ferdinand de, 296, 299 
 
 Pasley, Captain Sir Thomas, Bart., 
 319 
 
 Patterson, Colonel, 2 
 
 Pau, 3, 122 
 
 Paulet, Lord William, 117 
 
 Peacock, Mr., 296 
 
 Pearson, Colonel (afterwards Sir 
 Charles Pearson, K.C.M.G.), 145, 
 148, 152 
 
 Pechele, Gulf of, 70 
 
 Pehtang, 72 
 
 Peiho Forts, 72, 78, 81 
 
 Peiho Biver, 61, 72, 75, 79, 84 
 
 Pekin, 61, 83, 89, 90, 95, 96 
 
 Pelly, Captain, B.E., 16 
 
 Pennefather, General Sir John, 21, 
 105 
 
 Perry, Bishop, 304 
 
 Phillips, Colonel, 209 
 
 Pietermaritzburg, 154 
 
 Piet Uys, 195 
 
 Pilgrim's Best, 201 
 
 Pinkney, Brigadier, 50 
 
 Pocklington, Colonel, 22 
 
 Ponsonby, Bight Hon. Henry, 240 
 
 Pontoon Troop, 134 
 
 Poole, Major, B.A., 242 
 
 Poona (transport), 290, 292 
 
 Portland (America), 107, 108 
 
 Port Said, 262, 263 
 
 Portsmouth, 16, 99, 138 
 
 Poti, 297 
 
380 
 
 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Poulo-Penang, 63 
 
 Pretoria, 207, 228, 229, 235, 346 
 
 Pretorius, Andries, 193, 233 
 
 Price (American General), 113, 114 
 
 Prince Consort, H.K.H. the (see 
 under Albert) 
 
 Prince Imperial of France (see under 
 France) 
 
 Prince's Tennis and Eacket Club, 
 132 
 
 Prior, Captain G. U. (afterwards 
 Major-General), 128 
 
 Prior, Major J. E. H. (orderly 
 officer), 189 
 
 Pritchard, Lieutenant G. D. (after- 
 wards Lieut. -General Sir Gordon 
 Pritchard, K.C.B.), 31, 47, 48, 62, 
 98 
 
 Probyn, Colonel, V.C. (afterwards Sir 
 Dighton Probyn, G.C.B.), 86 
 
 Pulleine, Colonel, 148, 149 
 
 QUEBEC, 109 
 
 BAAFE, Captain, 216 
 
 ' Bagging,' 313, 314 
 
 Bagil Bey, 273 
 
 Bam, Fighting, 57 
 
 Banugunge (near Calcutta), 30 
 
 Bapahannock Biver, 110 
 
 Baptee Biver, 55 
 
 Bashid Pasha, 267 
 
 Bawson, Captain, B.N., 264, 277 
 
 Beconnaissances, 164-173, 200-205 
 
 Beid, Sir William, B.E., 21 
 
 Benaud, Major, 25 
 
 Beynolds, Sir Joshua, 1 
 
 Bhodes, Captain, 283 
 
 Bichmond, 119 
 
 Boberts, Sir F., V.C. (afterwards 
 
 Earl Boberts), 242, 345, 346, 349, 
 
 350, 351, 353, 358 
 Bochester, 15, 117, 129 
 Bogers, Dr., 287 
 Bohilcund, 43 
 Boocah (Fort), 44, 45 
 Eorke's Drift, 145 
 Bose, Sir Hugh (afterwards Field 
 
 Marshal Lord Strathnairn), 29 
 Bosebery, Earl of, 319 
 
 Bosencrantz, General, 113, 114 
 
 Boss, Sir Hew (Master-General of the 
 Ordnance), 14 
 
 Bothe, Captain, B.A., 150 
 
 Bowland, Colonel, 196 
 
 Boyal Military Academy, Woolwich, 
 310, 315 
 
 Bundle, Colonel (afterwards Sir 
 Leslie Bundle), 288 
 
 Bussell, Lieut.-Colonel Baker (after- 
 wards Sir Baker Bussell, G.C.B.), 
 189, 209, 211, 224, 227 
 
 Bussell, W. (of the ' Times '), 55, 214, 
 277 
 
 SAID, Port, 262, 263 
 
 St. Aubyn, Captain the Hon. J., 283 
 
 St. Jean de Luz, 310 
 
 St. Louis, 114, 115 
 
 St. Paul's (mission station), 188 
 
 St. Sebastian, 122 
 
 St. Vincent, 98, 146 
 
 Sala, G. A. (writer), 116 
 
 Salisbury Plain Manoeuvres 1872, 
 
 129 
 Sangolinskin (Chinese general), 82, 
 
 88,89 
 
 Schleswig (and Holstein), 111 
 Scratchley, Lieutenant, B.E., 32 
 Scutari, 16, 17, 295 
 Seale-Hayne, Mr., M.P., 360 
 Sebastopol, 16, 300 
 Secundrabagh, Lucknow, 28 
 Sekukuni, 145, 194, 208, 211, 213, 
 
 227, 228 
 
 Sekukuni War, 225-228 
 Semneh, 287, 288 
 Seymour, Admiral Sir Beauchamp, 
 
 (afterwards Lord Alcester), 254, 
 
 257 
 Seymour, General Lord William F., 
 
 259 
 
 Shadwell, Colonel, 117 
 Shaftesbury, Earl of, 105 
 Shanghai, 118 
 
 Shepstone, Sir Theophilus, 144, 194 
 Sherrard, Lieutenant, B.E., 137 
 Shone, Major-General, 358 
 Shunkerpore (Fort), 51 
 Simla, 59 
 
 Simon's Bay, 98, 148 
 Simmons, Colonel, B.E (afterwards 
 
INDEX 
 
 381 
 
 Field Marshal Sir Lintorn Sim- 
 mons, Q.C.B.), 105, 119, 123, 303 
 
 Singapore, 63, 98 
 
 Sinho on the Peiho, 74 
 
 Smith, Sir Harry, 192 
 
 Somerset, Colonel FitzBoy, B.E., 
 120, 240 
 
 Sothern (actor), 104 
 
 Southampton, 100 
 
 Spithead, 99 
 
 Staff College, 133 
 
 Stafford, Captain, 30 
 
 Stanhope, the Hon. Edward, 134, 
 310 
 
 Stanley, Mr., Hong-Kong, 68 
 
 Stanton, Lieut.-Colonel E. (step- 
 father), 7 
 
 Staveley, General Sir Charles, 118 
 
 Steel, Mr., 201 
 
 Steele, General Sir Thomas, 240, 
 250 
 
 Steere, Bishop, 237, 238 
 
 Stephenson, Colonel (afterwards 
 General Sir Frederick), 68 
 
 Stewart, Captain (afterwards Sir 
 Herbert Stewart, K.C.B.), 207, 215, 
 217, 224, 283, 285, 290 
 
 Stewart, Admiral Houston, 124 
 
 Stewart, Colonel, 286, 287 
 
 Stewart, Lieut.-Colonel, E.E., 154 
 
 Strathpeffer, 309 
 
 Strood, 100 
 
 Suez, 239 
 
 Suez Canal, 253, 258 
 
 Sultan Pasha, 275 
 
 Swazis, 226, 227 
 
 Swetenham, Lieutenant, E.E., 32 
 
 Swinhoe (Chinese Civil Service), 84 
 
 Symons, Major-General, 343 
 
 TAJ, at Agra, 59 
 
 Takoo Forts, 61, 62, 72 
 
 Talienwan Bay, 69 
 
 Tangkoo Village, 74, 75, 77 
 
 Tartars, 87, 88 
 
 Taylor, Captain, E.E. (afterwards Sir 
 
 Alexander Taylor, G.C.B.), 32 
 Taylor, Lieutenant, B.N., 288 
 Teb, El, 281 
 
 Tel-el-Kebir, 270, 271, 272 
 Tennant, Corporal, 150 
 Tientsin, 82, 83, 97 
 
 Tiflis, 298 
 Tokar, 281 
 Toledo, 122 
 Tor Bay, 324 
 Toronto, 109 
 
 Totteridge (near Barnet), 4 
 Trans-Gogra, 54 
 Transport, 161, 162, 163 
 Transvaal, 190, 207 
 Trebizond, 296 
 Trotter, Major, 296 
 Tryon, Captain E. B., 38 
 Tucker, Colonel, 233, 234 
 Tungchow, 85, 89, 96 
 
 ULUNDI, Battle of, 144, 186, 187 
 Umballa, 59 
 Umbelini, 189 
 Utrecht, 159 
 
 VAAL Eiver, 193 
 Vaughan, Dr., 7, 12, 14, 15 
 Vaughan, Edwin, 11, 12 
 Victoria, H.M. Queen, 16, 50, 240, 
 
 277, 278, 305, 332, 333, 351, 352 
 Victoria, Hong-Kong, 64 
 Vienna, 252 
 Vigo Bay, 98 
 Visitors, Board of, 330 
 Vladikavkas, 298, 299 
 
 WADY Haifa, 285, 288 
 
 Wales, H.E.H. the Prince of, 105, 
 
 322, 323, 351 
 Wales, H.E.H. Prince Edward of, 
 
 293 
 
 Wales, H.E.H. Prince George of, 322 
 Walford, Major, E.A., 309 
 Walker, Colonel, 85 
 Wallace, Major, E.E., 269, 275 
 Walmer, 127, 129 
 Walpole, Major-General Sir E., 43, 
 
 117, 130 
 Ward, Mr., 235 
 Wardlaw, General, 135 
 Warner, Eev. G. T., 8, 11 
 Washington, 109 
 Washington, Missouri, 115 
 Watkins, Lieutenant, 154 
 Webber, Colonel, E.E., 269 
 
382 
 
 A LIFE IN THE BRITISH ARMY 
 
 Webster, 360 
 
 Weeber (see under Fort Weeber) 
 
 Western District, 317 
 
 Westmacott, Colonel, 128 
 
 Wetherall, Brigadier, 49, 50, 51 
 
 Wheeler, General Sir Hugh, 25 
 
 White, General Sir George, V.C. 
 (afterwards Field Marshal, etc.), 
 332, 333, 341, 343 
 
 Williams, Sir Fenwick, of Ears, 109 
 
 Willis, General, 257, 275 
 
 Wilson, Colonel, K.E., 275 
 
 Windham, General, 30 
 
 Windsor, 105, 353 
 
 Wodehouse, Major, E.A., 280 
 
 Wolseley, Colonel (afterwards Field 
 Marshal Viscount Wolseley, K.P., 
 etc.), China in 1860, 68, 84, 87, 
 89, 96; Canada in 1862, 102; 
 Salisbury Plain, 130, 132; the 
 Cape 1879, 184, 187, 188, 210, 225, 
 226, 228, 234 ; Egypt in 1882, 254 
 255, 257, 258, 262, 265, 273, 277 ; 
 the Soudan in 1884, 282, 284, 286, 
 
 287, 289 ; as Commander-in-Chief 
 in 1897, 330, 336, 339, 349 
 
 Wood, Colonel E., V.C. (afterwards 
 Field Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood, 
 G.C.B.), 145, 152, 166, 181, 188, 
 240, 265, 285, 309, 330, 353, 355 
 
 Wood, Colonel E., RE., 341 
 
 Woodgate, Captain, 189 
 
 Woodruffe, Lieutenant (Eoyal Horse 
 Guards), 116 
 
 Woolwich, 14, 15 
 
 Wyndham, Et. Hon. G. ? 337 
 
 Wynne, Lieutenant, E.E., 32, 47 
 
 YANGTZEE Eiver, 61 
 Yeatman-Biggs, Captain, 228, 234 
 Youn (Swiss guide), 126, 127 
 
 ZAGAZIG, 273, 275 
 Zanzibar, 237 
 Zulu War, 136 et seq. 
 Zulus, 138-143 
 
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 y Mrs. HENRY DE LA PASTURE. 
 
 atherine's Child. 
 he Grey Knight, 
 he Man from America. [2nd Imp. 
 
 Academy. ' A charming book, fragrantly and 
 delicately written.' 
 eter's Mother. [llth Impression. 
 
 Daily Telegraph. ' A better novel the reader 
 could not desire.' 
 
 ornelius. [5th Impression. 
 
 By A. E. W. MASON. 
 
 he Broken Road. [^th Imp. 2nd Ed. 
 
 Dotty Expreu. 'Very vivid, very powerful, 
 and admirably written ... a moving human 
 novel.' 
 
 he Truants. 
 
 Punch. ' Of the most engaging interest.' 
 
 'he Four Feathers. [13th Impression. 
 
 Country Life.' It is indeed a grand story, told 
 with such sympathy and spirit combined as are 
 rarely to be found in books.' 
 
 iy Mrs. MARGARET L. WOODS. 
 
 'he King's Revoke. [2nd Impression. 
 
 Timet.''We wish there were more historical 
 novels like it.' 
 
 !y A. T. QUILLER-COUCH (' Q'). 
 
 'oison Island. [2nd Impression. 
 
 DaUi MaiL '"Poison Island" holds us likes 
 vice, and we read with eyes glued to the pages.' 
 
 iir John Constantine. [2nd Impression. 
 
 Daily Telegraph. ' Really a splendid book ; for 
 the adventures are those of living people, full of 
 humanity and humour.' 
 
 Shakespeare's Christmas and other 
 Stories. 
 
 With Illustrations. 
 
 By BERNARD L J. CAPES. 
 
 The Green Parrot, 
 lie Secret in the Hill. 
 
 Dotty xprett.' Picturesquely fresh in hand- 
 ling. ... Mr. Oapes's fertility of invention and 
 humour is at its best.' 
 
 I Castle in Spain. [3rd Impression. 
 
 Outlook.* A really stirring romance.' 
 
 By ANTHONY HOPE. 
 
 f he Intrusions of Peggy. [2nd Imp. 
 
 Wettmintter Gazette.' Peggy is altogether one 
 of the most delightful characters that have appeared 
 in recent fiction.' 
 
 By HALLIWELL SUTCLIFFE. 
 
 rVIndover Tales. 
 
 World. ' Admirably written. The author 
 touches and moves the human heart by that great 
 lever sympathy.' 
 
 Co.'s Popular 6s. Novels. 
 
 = (Continued. ) = 
 
 By HENRY SETON MERRIMAN. 
 
 The Last Hope. [ith Imp. 2nd Ed. 
 
 Athenaeum. ' One of his very best novels.' 
 Tomaso's Fortune, and other Stories. 
 
 [2nd Imprettion. 
 
 Saturday Review. ' Engrossing, fascinating, 
 picturesque tales, full of colour, adventure, and 
 emotion.' 
 
 Flotsam. [1th Impression. 
 
 With a Frontispiece. 
 
 Vanity Fair.' A capital book, that will repay 
 any reader, old or young, for the reading.' 
 
 Barlasch of the Guard. [8th Imp. 
 
 Queen.' There is the genius of a Meissonier in 
 his delineation of Papa Barlasch. ... He is one of 
 the best soldier-characters in fiction.' 
 
 The Vultures. [7th Impression. 
 
 Queen.' One of Henry Seton Merriman's very 
 best. ... A powerful and thrilling book.' 
 
 The Velvet Glove. [5th Impression. 
 
 Athenaeum. 'A good story. ... We have 
 nothing but praise for the skilfully interwoven 
 plot and the artistic development of character.' 
 
 The Isle of Unrest. [7th Impression. 
 
 With Illustrations. 
 
 Morning Pott. 'A. really admirable novel.' 
 
 Roden's Corner. [5th Edition. 
 
 Punch. ' For dramatic situation, intensity and 
 simplicity of narrative it is marvellous.' 
 
 In Kedar's Tents. [10th Edition. 
 
 Guardian. 'Full of adventure, of humour, and 
 of vigour.' 
 
 The Grey Lady. [6th Impression. 
 
 With 12 Full-page Illustrations. 
 
 Globe. ' A story of striking merit throughout.' 
 
 The Sowers. [28th Edition. 
 
 Graphic. '"Very difficult indeed to lay down 
 until its last page has been turned.' 
 With Edged Tools. [Nen> Edition. 
 
 Wettmintter Gazette.'' Admirably conceived, 
 . . . The story never flags or loiters.' 
 
 From One Generation to Another. 
 
 [New Sdition. 
 
 Illustrated London Newt.' The book is a good 
 book. The characters are admirably contrasted.' 
 
 The Slave of the Lamp. \Nen Edition. 
 
 i/anchetter Guardian.' A masterly story . . . 
 so like real life, and so entirely unconventional.' 
 
 By Mrs. PERCY DEARMER. 
 
 The Difficult Way. [3rd Impression. 
 
 Spectator.' A work of exalted aim and great 
 artistic excellence.' 
 
 Brownjohns. [2nd Impression. 
 
 The Orangery : a Comedy of Tears. 
 The Alien Sisters. [2nd Impression. 
 
 By HENRY NEWBOLT. 
 
 The Old Country : a Romance. 
 
 [3rd Impretrien. 
 
 Globe.* Written in an exquisitely graceful and 
 poetic style. 
 
 %* Messrs. SMITH, ELDER, # CO. mill be happy to send a copy of their Catalogue 
 
 post free on application. 
 
 London : SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 Waterloo Place, S.W. 
 
PALL MALL GAZETTE. 
 
 'The best 3*. 6<f. Series on the 
 market. . . . The paper is quite 
 excellent, and the print is fine and 
 clear.' 
 
 MORNING LEADER. 
 
 'An attractive series.' 
 
 Crown 8vo. 
 
 3/6 
 
 Each Volume. 
 
 ATHENAEUM. 
 
 1 Well printed and neatly t 
 
 EVENING STANDARD Al 
 ST. JAMES'S GAZETTE. 
 
 ' Neat, well-printed, and c 
 
 THE 
 
 WATERLOO LIBRAR 
 
 This series comprises some of the best 
 - works of modern authors. - 
 The Volumes are -well printed and issued 
 in a neat Cloth binding of special design. 
 
 NEW VOLUME. 
 
 By Mrs. HENRY DE LA PASTURE. 
 
 DAILY TELEGRAPH. 'Quite a notable achievement in many ways, there being at least three pioti 
 women contained in it which could not be improved upon.' 
 
 VOLUMES PREVIOUSLY ISSUED. 
 
 THE CRUISE OF THE 'CACHA- 
 LOT.' By FRANK T. SULLEN. With 8 Full- 
 page Illustrations and a Chart. 
 Times. ' Cannot but fascinate all lovers of the sea.* 
 
 THE WHITE COMPANY. By A. 
 
 CONAN DOYLE. With 8 Full-page Illustrations. 
 Speaker. 'A notable and very brilliant work of 
 genius.' 
 
 RODNEY STONE. By A. CONAN 
 
 DOYLE. With 8 Full-page Illustrations. 
 Puneh. ' There is not a dull page in it from first 
 to last. All is light, colour, movement, blended and 
 inspired by a master hand.' 
 
 THE LOQ OF A SEA WAIF: being 
 
 the Recollections of the First Four Years of my 
 Sea Life. By FRANK T. BULLEV, F.R.G.S. With 
 8 Full-page Illustrations by ARTHUR TWIDLK. 
 Times. 4 Full of thrilling adventure, admirably 
 told.' 
 
 UNCLE BERNAC: a Memory of the 
 Empire. By A. OONAN DOYLE. With 12 Full- 
 page Illustrations. Third and Cheaper Edition. 
 Daily Chronicle.' " Uncle Bernac" ia for a 
 
 truth Dr. Doyle's Napoleon. . . . The fascination of it 
 
 is extraordinary.' 
 
 DEBORAH OF TOD'S. By Mrs. 
 
 HENRY DE LA PASTTTRE. 
 
 Daily Telegraph. 'A really clever and inte- 
 resting book. . . . Every feminine figure, however 
 slightly drawn, has about it some vivifying touch to 
 render it memorable.' 
 
 THE BRASS BOTTLE. ByF.AN! 
 
 With a Frontispiece. 
 
 Spectator. 'Mr. Anstey has once more 
 himself to be an artist and a humorist of unco 
 and enviable merit.' 
 
 THE GAMEKEEPER AT HOI 
 
 or, Sketches of Natural History and Rura 
 By RICHARD JEFFERIES. With Illustrate 
 
 Saturday Review.-' Delightful sketches, 
 lover of the country can hardly fail to be fasc 
 whenever he may happen to open the pages.' 
 
 The TRAGEDY of the 'KOROSI 
 
 By A. OONAN DOYLE. With 40 Fnl 
 Illustrations. 
 
 Daily News.' A fine story, the interest of 
 arrests the reader's attention at the start and h 
 to the close.' 
 
 THE GREEN FLAG, and other SI 
 of War and Sport. By A. OONAN DOYLK. 
 a Frontispiece. 
 
 Daily Telegraph.' The battle picture is i 
 of its kind. Altogether the volume is admirable 
 
 JESS. By H. RIDER HAGGARD. 
 
 12 Full-page Illustrations. 
 
 Pall Mall Gazette.-' The story is a capiti 
 and the interest never nags for a moment.' 
 
 . OTHER VOLUMES TO FOLLOW. 
 
 London : SMITH, ELDEE, & CO., 15 Waterloo Place, S.W. 
 
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 
 
 WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
 THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
 WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
 DAY AND TO $1.OO ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
 OVERDUE. 
 
 SEP 1C 1932 
 
 MAY 101940 
 
 U.C.L.A. 
 
 INTER LIBRARY 
 LOAN 
 
 NON-RENEWABl' 
 jUN28t96 r 
 
 JAN 2^ ' 
 
YC 28736 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY