himself worthy of the high and responsible position in which he was placed. He, too, was ill. Naturally of a delicate constitution, the climate and exposure had told upon him severely, and the diseases from which he was suffering were aggravated by a wound he had received soon after his arrival in camp. He fully appreciated the tremendous risks which the assault involved, but, in his opinion, they were less than those of delay. Whether convinced or not by his chief engineer's arguments, Wilson accepted his advice and directed him to prepare a plan of attack.'
These preparations were completed by September 7, and Baird- Smith was allowed to open his batteries upon the walls of the town. On the night of the 13th, two breaches having been made, he urged Wilson to attack without further delay. Even after the English troops had successfully entered the town, Wilson's heart sank within him over the completion of the task at the cost of life it must involve. Prudence prompted him to retire lest his whole force should be well-nigh annihilated in the supreme moment of victory. But with Baird-Smith at his elbow no such fatal mistake was made. When Wilson appealed to him for advice as to whether he should hold on to the position his reply was : 'We must hold on.' One of Baird- Smith's supporters was Sir Neville Chamberlain. He, knowing the bent of Wilson's mind, sounded Nicholson on the subject. 'The dying Nicholson advocated the same course with almost his latest breath. So angry and excited was he when he was told of the general's suggestion to retire that he exclaimed : "Thank God! I have strength yet to shoot him, if necessary."
On September 23 Baird-Smith gave up the command of the Engineers at Delhi. He returned to Roorkee by easy marches to lie up and nurse his wound, which by this time was aggravated by neglect and exposure. The
