s and gained
dearly purchased victories; but it was always the undisciplined,
dark-skinned, and black hordes with whom they had had to deal. The
experiences of the Boer War had not entered into the flesh and blood
of the troops. The personal bravery of the individual had almost always
been regarded as the main thing, and it was easy to understand why all
the officers should be puffed up with vanity. They looked down with
contempt upon all foreigners, because they had, as a matter of fact,
almost always gained their victories over superior numbers.

Heideck noticed with astonishment that the tactical rules and
instructions in the British army were still often at variance with
modern armament, particularly in the case of the infantry; volley firing
was habitually employed as the general way of engaging the enemy. The
men were drilled at the word of command to open and keep up a steady
even fire and then in close ranks to rush with the bayonet on the enemy.
This powerful nation was, in fact, too listless to utilise the most
modern experiences of the science of war: proud Albion blindly believed
everything English to be good and despised everything new and foreign.
Or did the English perhaps only avoid advancing in loose order in
action because they were afraid that they would otherwise not be able to
control their Indian soldiers?

The environs of Lahore, particularly to the north of the city between
the wall and the camp, presented a very lively scene. The innumerable
camels which had served as baggage animals and formed the major portion
of the transports afforded a very peculiar spectacle. They were either
lying on the ground closely packed together or solemnly paced along,
while the shrill yells of the drivers filled the air. Moreover, there
was here congregated a huge crowd of men belonging to the army in one or
other capacity without being combatants, and the eye fond of picturesque
impressions could feast with delight on the gay, ever-changing
kaleidoscopic effects of the wide plain; while the distant scenery was
also interesting enough in itself. Between the widely scattered villages
and suburbs of the city, which contained 180,000 inhabitants, beautiful
parks and gardens shone in fresh green foliage, mostly surrounding
the burial-place of a sultan or a famous Mohammedan saint. Towards the
south-east there stretched away the great encampments of the cavalry and
artillery in which were included many elephant batter