been struck.  It was my duty to lead the column and see that it marched off in the right direction; knowing how anxious the Brigadier was that the new ground should be reached while it was cool, and the men be thus saved from exposure to the sun, I was careful to note my position with regard to the stars, and to explain to the officer who was in orders to command the advance guard the direction he must take.  When the time came to start, and the Brigadier was about to order the bugler to sound the march, I saw that the advance guard was drawn up at right angles to the way in which we had to proceed.  The officer commanding it was positive he was right, and in this he was supported by Brigadier Cotton and some of the other officers; I was equally positive that he was wrong, and that if we marched as he proposed, we should find ourselves several miles out of our course.  The Brigadier settled the question by saying I was responsible for the troops going in the right direction, and ordering me to show the way.  The country was perfectly bare, there was not a tree or object of any kind to guide me, and the distance seemed interminable.  I heard opinions freely expressed that I was on the wrong road, and at last, when the Brigadier himself came up to me and said he thought I must have lost the way, I really began to waver in my conviction that I was right.  At that moment my horse stumbled into a ditch, which proved to be the boundary of the main road.  I was immensely relieved, the Brigadier was delighted, and from that moment I think he was satisfied that I had, what is so essential to a Quartermaster-General in the field, the bump of locality.

In October the Artillery moved into the practice camp at Chamkanie, about five miles from Peshawar.  It was intended that we should remain there for a couple of months, but before the end of that time I had to join the General at Rawal Pindi, where he had gone on a tour of inspection.  Being anxious not to shirk my regimental duty, I did not leave Chamkanie until the last moment, and had but one day in which to reach Rawal Pindi, a distance of one hundred miles, which I accomplished on horseback between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., only stopping at Attock a short time for refreshment.

This tour with General Reed ended my staff duties for a time, as the survey in Kashmir had come to an end and Lumsden rejoined his appointment before Christmas.

[Footnote 1:  Now a retired Major-General.]

[Footnote 2:  Now General Sir James Abbott, K.C.B.]

[Footnote 3:  Men who carry the guns, and point out the most likely places for game, etc.]

[Footnote 4:  26,000 feet above the sea-level.]

[Footnote 5:  Three miles east of Islamabad.]

[Footnote 6:  Now General Sir John Watson, V.C., K.C.B.]

[Footnote 7:  The late Field-Marshal Sir Patrick Grant, G.C.B., G.C.S.I.]

[Footnote 8:  The late General Sir Harry Lumsden, K.C.S.I., C.B.]