1 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 57
2 and nights; bitter cold it was; chappatees* my
3 food, water my drink ; and many anxious thoughts
4 prolonged my days into weeks, my nights into
5 months. Daily I was thronged, abused, and threa-
6 tened; hundreds of questions put to me; and
7 tempting offers of services made, all of which I
8 steadily refused. The artillery-men became my
9 fast friends, defended my life, and as far as possible
10 drove back the crowds, and tried to shame those
11 who threatened me. Even in such a precarious
12 situation, life has its pleasures and enjoyment; the
13 calm of night, cessation from teasing multitudes, a
14 chat with the artillery-men, smoking through my
15 hands from a chillum+ without a pipe; the thousands
16 of reports, strange sights and scenes, the pity of
17 some, the wonder of a// /—was not this happiness ?
18 Indeed, I began almost to be happy; at any rate I
19 could laugh. But the scene was now to change.
20 “The battle of Moodkee roused my hopes; I
21 sat on a board behind a gun, and the artillery-men
22 with lighted matches stéod around. It seemed the
23 fight drew near and more near, fancy almost rang
24 the clangour of a charge in my anxious senses, and
25 then the thought whether victory to us would not
26 be death to me came to calm my too buoyant
27 hopes. I remembered Loveday,{ he was my ship
28 companion! ! At cleven at night the gun ceased,
29 the file-firing died away, and I heard the bustle of
30 * Flour cakes. + The bowl of a hookah containing the tobacco,
31 t Lieutenant Loveday was killed while a prisoner in the hands of the