r, during the eventful struggles of 1857.

[Sidenote: Hurdwar.]

After resting for two days at Delhi, he pursued his course north-eastward,
through Meerut to Hurdwar, on the Ganges--

a sacred place, near the point at which the great Ganges Canal leaves
the river; resorted to by pilgrims, in vast crowds, from the Punjab,
Rajpootana, and other extensive districts in India. The Sikhs, who are
a reformed Hindoo sect, hold Hurdwar in especial reverence. To this
spot was conveyed, in order that it might here be cast into the sacred
water of the Ganges, what remained, after its cremation, of the body
of the great Sikh Chief, the Maharaja of Puttialla, whom Lord Canning
placed in the Council of the Governor-General.

In another letter, written from the immediate neighbourhood of this place,
he took a more practical and utilitarian view of its capabilities and
prospects:

Hurdwar, where I have been spending two days, is a most interesting
place. It is curious to see the old Faith, washing itself in the
sacred waters of the Ganges, and the new Faith, symbolised in the
magnificent works of the Ganges Canal. One regrets that these canals
should be so little used for navigation purposes, or as sources of
mechanical power; but there is some difficulty in combining navigation
with irrigation works. Moreover, in passing through districts which
are dependent on irrigation, one cannot help being deeply impressed
with a sense of the danger which will ensue if canals are entrusted to
private companies, unless they are bound by the most stringent
conditions to keep their works in good order, and to supply water at
reasonable rates. In the absence of such precautions, the population
of whole districts might be, especially in famine years, entirely at
the mercy of those companies.

[Sidenote: Umballa.]

From this point the vast camp took a north-westerly direction towards the
military station of Umballa, which was reached on the 27th of March. On the
following day Lord Elgin received in private Durbar a large number of
influential Sikh chiefs, at the head of whom was the young Maharaja of the
neighbouring state of Puttialla, the son and heir of the prince above
mentioned. In addressing these chiefs, he showed his usual tact in adapting
his words to the character and disposition of his hearers:--

The Sikhs (he afterwards wrote) are a warlike r