The Mutiny of 1857, and the Siege
failure; the following day saw the whole city and the palace in the hands of the exhausted troops. Headquarters were established in the Diwan Khas, and Major-General Wilson sent for a personal guard of the Sirmur Gurkhas, as a compliment to that gallant regiment. On the
morning of the 21st a royal salute was fired to celebrate the victory.
On the morning of this same day Hodson, the "indefatigable," effected the capture of the King of Delhi, who had agreed to accompany the flying rebels, but had changed his mind and taken refuge at Humayun's tomb. The place swarmed with armed men, but Hodson, with only fifty sowars, quietly insisted on the sur- render, to which the king agreed, on condition that his life should be spared ; he was lodged in the palace without mishap, to the surprise of the general, who had sanctioned the enterprise, but did not expect its success. On the following day Hodson again proceeded to the tomb and effected the capture of three princes of the royal house — Mirza Moghal, Mirza Khizr Sultan, and Mirza Abu Bakr. He sent them off under escort, and remained himself to disarm their followers; having done so, he galloped after them, and found the escort threatened by a crowd. No promise of life had been extended to the princes, and Hodson293
