se of land
at Bombay. In the eight years that has elapsed, the town had
greatly increased in size; and the land had been gradually sold, at
four or five times the sum that it had cost, and the proceeds sent
to England. Harry was, therefore, a rich man.

He had been constantly engaged in service for nearly nine years
and, as he had never been settled long enough to have an
establishment of his own, his military pay had much more than
sufficed for his wants; and the large increase which he had
obtained, when engaged in civil or special duty, had been entirely
laid by. There was, then, no further occasion whatever for him to
remain in the service. At any rate, he determined to obtain a three
years' leave; and before the end of that time, he could finally
make up his mind on the subject.

A month, therefore, after the siege of Bhurtpoor was concluded,
Harry had an interview with Lord Lake, and requested three years'
leave to go to England.

"You have well earned it, Major Lindsay. Your services have been
very great and, if the war was likely to continue, I should have
asked you to reconsider your request; but as, from what I hear, a
complete change of policy has been determined upon, and it has been
decided that there shall be no further extension of our territory,
there is likely--at any rate for a time--to be a period of peace.
The board of directors desire to consolidate the territory that we
have gained, and wish to abstain from all embarrassing alliances,
or from any meddling in the affairs of the native princes.

"You, who have been so long at Poona, and understand the shifty
nature of Scindia, Holkar, and indeed of all the native princes,
must know well that these orders are much more easily given than
carried out. If our restraining hand is removed, we shall have
Scindia, and Holkar, the Peishwa, the Rajahs of Berar, Kolapoore,
and Bhurtpoor at each other's throats again. They will treat our
declarations, that we desire peace, only as a proof of weakness;
and may, at any moment, lay aside their private quarrels to unite
against us; and, unlikely as it may seem at present, my conviction
is that there will never be permanent peace in India until we are
masters from Cape Comorin to the borders of Afghanistan. It may be
another half century, and will certainly only be after hard
fighting; but I believe that, until all India acknowledges our
rule, there will not be anything like permanent peace within its
borders.