pointed out the advantages already gained, and the demoralization thereby inflicted upon the enemy.  The dying Nicholson advocated the same course with almost his latest breath.  So angry and excited was he when he was told of the General’s suggestion to retire, that he exclaimed, ’Thank God I have strength yet to shoot him, if necessary.’  There was no resisting such a consensus of responsible and reliable opinion, and Wilson gave up all idea of retreating.

During the afternoon of the 14th, Norman, Johnson, and I, at the General’s desire and for his information, visited every position occupied by our troops within the city walls.  In some places there was great confusion—­men without their officers, and officers without their men—­all without instructions, and not knowing what was going on in their immediate neighbourhood, the inevitable result of the rapid advance.  We did what we could to remedy matters, and were able to report to Wilson that our troops were holding the wall from the Water bastion to the Kabul gate in sufficient strength.  But this was all the comfort we could give him.  The fact is, too much had been attempted on that eventful morning.  We should have been satisfied with gaining possession of the Kashmir and Water bastions, and getting a lodgment within the city walls.  This was as much as three such weak columns should have tried, or been asked to accomplish.  No one who was present on that occasion, and experienced the difficulty, indeed impossibility, of keeping soldiers in hand while engaged in fighting along narrow streets and tortuous lanes, would ever again attempt what was expected of the assaulting columns.

While engaged in this duty we (Norman, Johnson and I) were attacked by a party of the enemy who had been hiding in considerable numbers in a side-lane watching for a chance.  A fight ensued; we had only a small guard with us, but, fortunately, the firing was heard by the men of a near piquet, some of whom came to our help.  With their assistance we drove off the sepoys, but in the scrimmage my poor mare was shot.  She was a very useful animal, and her death was a great loss to me at the time.

At sunset on the 14th of September only a very small portion of the walls of Delhi was in our possession.  The densely-populated city remained to be conquered.  The magazine, the palace, and the Fort of Selimgarh, all strongly fortified, were still in the hands of the enemy.  The narrow strip of ground we had gained had been won at severe loss.  Three out of the four officers who commanded the assaulting columns had been disabled, and 66 officers and 1,104 men had been killed and wounded.