to the intense indignation of his men, he allowed the rebels to defile close to him, unpunished and unpursued, taking with them their guns. What Sir Colin said to the chief of his staff may not be known. But he despatched, on the 9th, a force under Sir Hope Grant to remedy his tremendous mistake. Hope Grant marched in pursuit of them, discovered their line of retreat by the articles which the heavy roads had compelled them to abandon, caught them on the banks of the river just as they were about to escape across it into Oudh, and completely defeated them, taking all their guns. He pushed on further to Bithor, found it evacuated, and, as far as it was possible, destroyed it.
Thus did Sir Colin avenge the defeat sustained by Windham. He was anxious to push on at once to recover the Duáb, but he had to wait a fortnight for the arrival of carriage. It reached him on the 23d. Meanwhile, learning that Seaton was advancing from Áligarh with a portion of the Dehlí force, he detached Walpole's brigade to occupy Itáwah and Mainpúrí. Seaton, about the same time, defeated the rebels between Gangárí and Kásganj, and had pushed on to Patiálí, where they were reported to be in force. Here he attacked, and inflicted upon them a defeat which crushed the life out of many and the heart out of all. Advancing rapidly towards Mainpúrí, he defeated on the way a rebel Rájá, and by means of a very daring expedition made by Hodson and McDowell opened communications with Sir Colin, then with his force at Mirán-kí-sarái (December 30). Four days later Seaton effected a junction with Walpole.
Meanwhile, the necessary carriage having arrived, Sir Colin had marched from Kánhpur, the 24th December. He had reached, we have seen, Mirán-kí-sarái on the 30th. On the 2d of January he forced a passage across the bridge
