1 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. St
2 times incurred blame for a determined courage and
3 impetuosity which hurried him to places where, ac-
4 cording to rules and orders, his presence was not
5 expected. Lord Ellenborough was one of those
6 statesmen who paid the highest tribute to bravery
7 ~ and daring; though not a soldier himself, he could
8 appreciate the qualities of one, and he mingled in
9 the battle strife at Punneeah with a zeal and
10 courage which proved that had he been bred a
11 warrior, his career would probably have been as
12 glorious in the field as his talents and energy had
13 rendered him eminent in the cabinet. Both Major
14 Broadfoot and Colonel Richmond had been selected
15 for office by Lord Ellenborough on account of their
16 bravery and military skill only, since neither the
17 one nor the other possessed a knowledge of the
18 people with whom they had now to mingle in
19 affairs of a political nature. Colonel Richmond had
20 not even the necessary acquaintance with the lan-
21 guage used in the correspondence with Native
22 states. His high employment consequently be-
23 came irksome to him; he was sensible of the dis- Hie political
24 advantage under which he laboured, and theo"
25 anxiety of his mind preying upon his body, he
26 prudently removed to another sphere of action,
27 and eventually sought in the invigorating breezes
28 of the sea, that health which he could neither hope
29 to regain nor enjoy amidst the harassing duties
30 necessarily imposed upon him by his political
31 trust. Broadfoot, on the other hand, was perfectly
32 conversant with the language of the Punjabees,