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Rh an immediate assault. An accident alone, on one occasion in the early days of the siege, prevented the trial of that audacious experiment. But the persistent attacks on the British position, the heavy losses, the serious wear and tear, the certainty that the resources of the Punjab were approaching exhaustion, inspired the responsible leaders of the force with the gravest anxiety as to the impending assault. It was a cast of the die, and the fortunes of English rule in India depended on it. Who can wonder that human nerve should shrink from so fateful a crisis? June and July were spent in a series of encounters which, if they disheartened the rebels, grievously taxed the slender resources of the besiegers. In August, Nicholson's appearance on the scene with a force which he had taught to think nothing impossible inspired fresh spirits and brighter hopes. Early in September the arrival of the siege-train, and of the last reinforcements which could be expected from the Punjab, decided the moment of attack. The English General now had 8748 men at his disposal, 3317 only of them his own countrymen. Batteries were hastily run up, a cannonade opened upon September 11th, and, by the evening of the 13th, a practicable breach had been effected. Early on the morning of the 14th, Nicholson led the assaulting force to its great emprise. His fall dimmed the successes of a day bright with British heroism; but he lingered long enough to know that the object of the long and costly struggle had been attained. Delhi was again in the hands of the British; the old