16 Regiments of Infantry 800 12,800 3 ” Cavalry 300 900 Field guns 67 Mountain guns 9 Heavy guns 4 Mortar 1 ------ -- Total 13,700 81 [Illustration: PICKET OF THE HOUSEHOLD TROOPS] The system of recruiting for these regiments was the worst conceivable. Neither conscription nor free enlistment, it was little better than the forcible seizure of the able-bodied in each district, the men being compelled to serve on pain of the imprisonment and utter ruin of their families. The pay of the infantry was nominally five rupees a month, with ten rupees in each year deducted for clothing and accoutrements. The distribution of the remainder was very irregular and not unusually paid in grain, or credited to their families at home on account of local taxes. Consequently the soldier, often finding himself in his quarters without the means of purchasing the common necessaries of life, was driven to recoup his finances by highway robbery, a delinquency which the officers punished--by sharing in the spoil. [Illustration: TROOP OF CAVALRY] These troops were accoutred with the discarded flint muskets, swords, belts and bayonets of the British forces in India, or a Kabul imitation of these weapons. Certain companies were provided with two-grooved rifles, constructed from models carried off by deserters from some one or other of our frontier regiments. The uniforms were no less abominable, not infrequently representing purchases of condemned stores from our frontier stations which had been disposed of at an auction. The clothing was invariably procured from these markets; and, as a consequence, native officers of all grades, even in the same regiment, might have been seen in every imaginable British habiliment, from a naval jacket to a whipper’s-in hunting coat, including the full dress of a general and the round beaver hat of a civilian. British kit was very popular, and its possession conferred exceptional distinction upon the lucky owner.