and men, and a powerful
artillery, estimated variously from sixty-two to ninety guns.

While these events were passing, Chuttur Singh, who, as before noticed,
had retired to his own province, pressed the fort of Attock, which had
been long and gallantly maintained by Major Herbert. When it fell the
major contrived to send tidings to Lord Gough, and to warn him that
Chuttur Singh had repaired with his army to the upper Jhelum, to form a
junction with the army of Shere Singh. Lord Gough determined at once
to follow the Sikh forces, and bring them to a decisive action. On the
morning of the 12th of January he marched from Loah Tibbah to Dingee.
The sirdar was represented by the British commander-in-chief in his
despatch as holding with his right the village of Lukhneewalla and
Futteh Shah-ke-Chuck, having the great body of his force at the village
of Lollianwalla, with his left at Eussool, on the Jhelum. This position
lay on the southern extremity of a low range of hills, intersected by
ravines, and difficult of access to assailants. The post was well chosen
by the sirdar, who showed a subtle generalship throughout the war. The
information furnished by Lord Gough's spies was not always faithful, and
his lordship, therefore, was not accurately in possession of the forces
of the sirdar, nor of the topographical peculiarities of his position.
The British commander directed his march upon the village of Bussool,
and there reconnoitred.

The advance to the ground chosen by the sirdar was impeded by a jungle,
to avoid which, and to distract the enemy's attention, Lord Gough took
a considerable _detour_ to the right. He succeeded in avoiding the
intricacies of the jungle, but not in distracting the attention of
Shere Singh. That general moved from his encampment, and took ground in
advance, a manouvre calculated to hide the strength of his position, and
to disconcert any previous arrangements of the British commander.

About noon on the 13th, Lord Gough was before the village of Bussool,
and finding a very strong picket of the enemy on a mound close to that
place, his lordship, after some fighting, dislodged it. Ascending the
mound, the general and his staff beheld the Khalsa army ranged along the
furrowed hills in all the majestic array of war. The British officers
gazed with admiration and professional ardour upon the long lines of
compact infantry and the well-marshalled cavalry, mustered in their
relative proportions and po