"My Lord, you may rely upon this, that if ever there is a desperate deed to be done in India, John Nicholson is the man to do it." Sir Herbert Edwardes to Lord Canning, March 1857....

High up on the crest of the wild and rugged Margalla Pass, on the north-western frontier of India, stands a plain stone obelisk. It looks down on to the road that winds from Rawal Pindi to Hasan Abdal, the road where once only the Afghan camel-train passed on its way to and from Peshawur, but where now a railway marks the progress of modern India. Severely simple in its exterior, the obelisk is yet one of the most notable monuments to be seen in our great Eastern Empire, for it commemorates a so

After a five months' voyage Nicholson reached Calcutta safely. Here he spent a little time with certain of his uncle's friends, until at last he was temporarily appointed to the 41st Regiment of Sepoys quartered at Benares. At this station he studiously mastered his drill and prepared himself for the permanent appointment which was promised him. This followed at the end of the same year, 1839, when he was placed in the 27th Native Infantry at Ferozepore, on the Sutlej. The young ensign was now t

But though safety for a time had been gained, the chances of ultimate escape seemed hopeless. The houses were filled to overflowing with sepoy soldiers and camp followers, men, women, and children, and when by and by the large guns of the fortress were trained upon them the slaughter was very great. The British officers, it is stated, expected nothing less than death. They even began to burn the regimental colours to prevent them falling into the enemy's hands. In this extremity the Afghan leade

The three years that John Nicholson had spent in India had left their mark upon him. The stripling had grown to man's stature. He was now full six feet in height, black-haired and dark of eye, and with a grave manner which the exciting experiences he had passed through had intensified. Many people found the young officer too cold and austere for their liking, but the haughty demeanour which characterised him in reality covered a warm and sympathetic nature, of which those who were admitted into

The capture of Attock effected, there still remained much to be done in the immediate neighbourhood. Chuttur Singh's Hazara forces were moving about with the intention of joining the main army under another Sikh leader, Shere Singh. With his newly raised troop of 700 levies Nicholson dashed hither and thither, striking heavy blows at the scattered portions of the enemy whom he encountered and damping the ardour of other tribesmen who had thoughts of swelling the numbers of the rebels. Hasan Abda

"Sometimes, overcome perhaps by prickings of conscience, or carried away by feelings he could not control, one of them would prostrate himself in prayer. This was an offence against the committal of which warning had been given, and the penalty never varied: three dozen lashes with the cat-o'-nine-tails on the bare back." With Chuttur Singh's open revolt the second Sikh War had fairly begun. Nicholson was now more and more in demand, doing guerilla service, or engaged in such useful work as coll

Nicholson's plan, which he proceeded to carry out, was to pay a visit to Egypt, where he was desirous to see Thebes, Cairo, and the Pyramids, and thence journey home by way of Constantinople and Vienna. He did not intend to stay long in any of these places, but circumstances were against him. At both the Turkish and Austrian capitals he was detained by adventures which appealed strongly to his chivalrous nature. The account of these comes to us through Sir John Kaye, to whom Nicholson's mother t

There was no time for the poor lady to express her gratitude as fully as she would have liked. Having read the welcome letter, she told her visitor what she wished him to say to her husband, and then—the five minutes having expired—Nicholson departed. "These two incidents," says Sir John Kaye, "speak for themselves. There is no lack, thank God, of kind men, brave men, or good men among us, but out of them all how many would have done these two things for 'his neighbour'? How many respectable men

On reporting himself at his old station at Lahore, Nicholson was not left waiting long for a fresh appointment. Reynell Taylor, who had been in charge of the Bannu district, had applied to be relieved, and Sir Henry Lawrence, now Chief Commissioner for the Punjaub, offered the post to Nicholson. The latter accepted, and in May of 1852 entered upon his duties as Deputy Commissioner. This new position was one fraught with considerable difficulties. Bannu, which lay on the north-western frontier of

When, with trembling hands, they went to release him, Nicholson asked in a stern voice, "Whose land is this I am on?" "It belongs to Alladâd Khan, my lord," replied one or two bolder than the rest. The piece of ground was the actual plot in dispute between uncle and nephew. At this assertion Alladâd Khan emphatically denied ownership. "It is not mine, indeed, my lord," he protested, "but my nephew's. Nay, of a truth, it is not mine!" "Will you swear it is so?" demanded Nicholson. And Alladâd Kha

Nicholson quitted Bannu early in 1856 for a six months' special mission to Cashmere, preparatory to taking up an appointment as Deputy Commissioner at Peshawur. It was at this frontier outpost that his loyal friend Herbert Edwardes was stationed as chief political officer. Before going on to speak of this important change, however, I may refer to a side of Nicholson's work that has not been touched upon in the preceding chapter. His duties as a civil officer at Bannu comprised more than the disp

On the formation of the Movable Column to which the council of war at Peshawur had agreed, Sir John Lawrence gave the command to Brigadier-General Neville Chamberlain. Nicholson, like Edwardes and Cotton, had volunteered for the post, and, in view of the fact that the suggestion had been his, was somewhat disappointed at being passed over; but he made no protest. On the other hand, he affirmed that the Chief Commissioner had made the best choice. His loyal friendship to Chamberlain would admit o

Some days before this dramatic scene a notable incident took place at Jalandhar in which Nicholson was the chief figure. The city was found to be in no little confusion on the arrival of the Movable Column, mutiny being rampant among the troops, and the military authorities taking scarcely any precautions to prevent an outbreak. In the streets it was apparent from the swagger of the native soldiers that they believed the sahibs were powerless through fear. To strengthen his hands, Major Lake, th

In the long march to Delhi Nicholson's temper must have been tried time and time again. He was all impatience to get to his goal and urge on the assault, the delay of which every day added to the peril that threatened British India. The tardy progress made, owing to the heavy guns he carried in his train, caused him to chafe as he had done on that rebel-pursuing march from Goodaspore some weeks earlier, when his tireless energy could not brook even a brief halt for rest. Captain Trotter, in his

The engagement was opened briskly with artillery fire. Forcing the rebels' left centre, the troops drove the enemy from their strongest position near an old serai (or caravansary), silenced the guns there, and then swept irresistibly down the long line of the mutineers towards the bridge. Nicholson's plan of attack had succeeded beyond expectation. Under the terrible fusillade the sepoys broke in confusion, and ran pell-mell for the bridge and the open country on the other side, only to be pursu

The date fixed for the final leap on Delhi was the 14th of September. Before that historic day arrived there was a week of anxious preparation. The siege-train, to whose assistance Nicholson had gone, as related in the previous chapter, came into camp safely, bringing with it eighteen guns, 24-pounders, 18-pounders, and howitzers. These were quickly placed in position in new batteries close to the walls of the city, and the thunder of their fire warned the mutineers that the siege had entered up

Even then, lying mortally wounded, the dying lion refused to allow himself to be borne to the rear. "Carry the lane first," he ordered; but Colonel Graydon, who went to his assistance, persuaded him to let a bearer party lift him to one side. Thence, a little later, he was taken to a hospital tent to have his wound attended to. It was at this juncture that a young staff-officer, who is now Lord Roberts, found Nicholson in a dhoolie by the roadside just within the Cashmere Gate. The stricken hero