1 112 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS.
2 Henry Hardinge had been thus anxious for the re-
3 sult on the 20th December, what must have been
4 his feelings when he found himself in the Sikh en-
5 trenched camp (not master of it) with the European
6 soldiers who had gained the portion they held at
7 Heroic be” the point of the bayonet? Delivering his watch
8 Henry Hard- and star to his son’s care, he showed that he was
9 = determined to leave the field a victor, or die in the
10 struggle! When the eventual completion of the
11 victory enabled him to send home his despatches,
12 little could the people of England imagine what
13 had been the situation of the Governor-general ; a
14 functionary with whose position they associate the
15 Precarious idea of every luxury and comfort. Exposed in the
16 een ef Sikh entrenchment, sharing the privations of the
17 lowest European soldier, his mind suffering pangs
18 unknown to them, with the fate of India hang-
19 ing on the doubtful issue of the morrow—it was
20 a situation to which that of our Henry the Fifth
21 at Agincourt could alone offer a parallel. The
22 European troops lay bivouacked, exposed to the
23 musketry of the Sikh battalion, daring not to move
24 or return a shot! Nothing but the hand of Provi-
25 dence appeared capable of deciding the action in
26 favour of the British. Their situation during the
27 night was miserable enough; ,but this might have
28 been borne with cheerfulness, if any ray of hope
29 could have been expected to dawn on them with
30 the coming day. The enemy, still numerous, had
31 guns at their command, though a great many had
32 been captured. The British guns were ineffective,