meet with the same success as those of a wise and prudent

man.

... Possessed of sound sense by nature, and more advantages of education than fall to the lot of most men, you are furnished with adequate means for the accomplishment of any ends short of the highest flights of that semi-inspiration, genius; and therefore, I think, you should have more self-confidence than I. . . .

'That lack of confidence and those misgivings I hold, in your case, to be self-imposed delusions, which you might blow away like tobacco smoke; which you ought to and will conquer, for, depend upon it, they will else be frightful stumbling-blocks in your public path. . . . .'

In answer to this Reynell Taylor writes :

'I have long been wishing to answer your wise letter, in which you hit most of the nails on the head and drive them home so firmly that they assume the character of clenchers, but since my return to Peshawur I have been steadily at work all day at viva voce, and till late at night with writing.

'I agree heartily in all you say in nearly every point, but hope that you did not mistake me so far as to suppose that I wished to represent myself as being in that perfect state of obedience described in your conditional case, and which I think you would say could furnish the only just grounds for a man relying on heavenly help and guidance in the trials and difficulties of life. I hope it is not so, for it would be long ere a man could feel that he deserved protection.

'In talking of means you hit upon my rock. I have through life neglected the means, and my natural gifts,

though of ordinary stamp, have not been improved as they ought to have been; the consequence is my whole character has become weakened. Through life I have taken things too easily and have never learned that energy which conceives a project, grasps the whole thing in all its bearings, and then carries it through in spite of discouragement merely because it has mastered the subject and will not be denied.

'If you can understand, I think the study of mathematics the great deficit in my mental discipline; the species of methodical application of mind, perseverance and accuracy required for bringing the demonstration of a difficult theorem to a satisfactory conclusion is just what I so much need in transacting the ordinary business of life, and thus, though I do observe and reflect, I bring nothing to perfection, and directly I am called upon to support my views I find, or fancy I find, that everyone or anyone has better grounded opinions on the subject than I have.

'My only hope now is, by the acquisition of knowledge, habits of business and method, to be enabled to conquer this weakness, and thus to take my place among men of practised acquirements. I will make a desperate and prolonged struggle for it.'

The following extract from the diary also reverts to the subject of the Bunnoo duties, and gives at the same time a peculiar insight into Reynell Taylor's character :—

'I received a long and admirable letter from Edwardes on the subject of the Bunnoo duty. He shows all the strong, clear sense I gave him credit for in treating the subject, and, like a wise man, does not mince matters to spare me.

'I must make a desperate effort to shake off this demon of weakness and self-distrust that would prompt me to think myself so far inferior to other men in moral courage and character. I surely have higher and better incentives than many who have prospered in the world, and my trust is, I humbly hope, placed in that God who never fails.'

There is almost a prayer in these words of Reynell Taylor. It was ever his wont to march along his path of duty with an earnestness of purpose and an unwavering faith, doing his best to carry out his labours unflinchingly as in the sight of God, and putting his trust unhesitatingly where he knew it must of necessity receive support. It was his religious spirit, apart altogether from that of his manly generous disposition, that carried him through many a hard-fought day and many a trying moment, and it was his faith which ever made him look forward and upward without a thought or attempt to lift the painted veil which those who live call life.'

'I am not,' he continues, a personal coward, and yet the idea of being placed in a position where a whole army would be entirely dependent on my skill, decision, and energy, and that through a long period, alarms me considerably. My feeling is that I could, I hope, be a good assistant to any man, but I shrink from being the sole responsible person. This is wrong; I feel it to be so; and still more do I feel it to have been wrong in me to communicate to Edwardes my diffidence in my own powers, for he has in consequence requested that Lumsden be sent, and I have thus, by what I thought at the time a pardonable act of diffidence, transferred for certain a difficult and dangerous duty from myself to Lumsden, merely because

he has on a former occasion done his duty well and unflinchingly. I say for certain, because it was uncertain before which of us would be sent, and I suppose now there can be little doubt.

'I think the duty a most difficult and arduous one to hold a country like Bunnoo, and keep in check numerous unruly mountain tribes in the neighbourhood, all with Sing troops, and not another countryman to back one for a hundred miles. Still the light it should be considered in is this, that the officer sent is not supposed to be a Soult by nature, but it is supposed, and with truth, that a Sing garrison would be safe with the assistance of a European officer. My great deficiency is in the matter of knowledge, and to obtain it I want more energy, perseverance, and accuracy than I at present possess. I have comparatively very little military knowledge, and hence my horror of the idea of having to fight a battle myself. The part of second fiddle I could, I trust, play well.'

But events were ordered differently, and within the next twelve months he was destined to take up those very duties which we have just seen him characterise as difficult and dangerous in the extreme. He was for months to be thrown entirely on his own resources, without a countryman to 'back him' within a good deal more than a hundred miles, and he was eventually, within the same short period, to carry out military as well as civil duties of no small importance, and if not actually to fight a battle, at least to bring a siege to a successful issue unaided, and alone.

Before continuing the thread of the narrative, I give one more extract from the diary, throwing additional light on the purity of Reynell Taylor's character, and showing

the way in which he was constantly striving to improve himself both mentally and morally. He never forgot his brother Fitz's birthday, and hence the entry begins :'Christmas Day 1847. Fitz's birthday, making him something like thirty years old, I fear. How old we are getting! Oh, those merry days when we were young and roamed about the fields and orchards of the paternal property in search of our youthful game! I wonder if we shall ever see days like those again.

I have made me bosom friends,

And loved and linked my heart with others,

Yet who with me his spirit blends

As mine was blended with my brothers?

One huge source of consolation and thankfulness is, that I humbly trust I have made some little progress in improving my mind and cleansing it since then, and I pray God will but guide the bark to its haven, and only be inclined to remember the rough waters passed, and not the smooth and joyous ones of the commencement of the voyage. Dear old Fitty has long since gone before me on the path, and I hope some happy day to receive a helping hand from him.'

But I must return to my story. As soon as the news of the attempt on Edwardes's life reached Peshawur, Reynell Taylor at once wrote to John Lawrence begging that he might be sent to Bunnoo, and on January 27 this significant entry occurs in the diary:-'I received a letter from J. Lawrence to the effect that I had better go to Bunnoo, that the idea was a good one, and that he was much obliged to me for offering to go.'

On the following day a letter arrived from Edwardes