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diff --git a/old/51383-8.txt b/old/51383-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 760a30b..0000000 --- a/old/51383-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7942 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cawnpore, by G. O. Trevelyan - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Cawnpore - -Author: G. O. Trevelyan - -Release Date: March 6, 2016 [EBook #51383] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAWNPORE *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - -CAWNPORE. - - - - - CAWNPORE. - - - BY - G. O. TREVELYAN, - AUTHOR OF "THE COMPETITION WALLAH." - - - _THIRD EDITION._ - - - London and Cambridge: - MACMILLAN AND CO. - 1866. - - _The Right of Translation and Reproduction is reserved._ - - - - - LONDON: - R. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, - BREAD STREET HILL. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -The Author of this work has made it his aim to preserve a scrupulous -fidelity to the original sources of his information. The most trivial -allusions, the slightest touches, are equally authentic with the main -outlines of the story. The authorities most frequently consulted are: - -1. The Depositions of sixty-three witnesses, Natives and Half-castes, -taken under the directions of Colonel Williams, Commissioner of Police -in the North-West Provinces. - -2. A Narrative of Events at Cawnpore, composed by Nanukchund, a local -lawyer. - -3. Captain Thomson's Story of Cawnpore. - -4. The Government Narratives of the Mutiny, drawn up for the most part -by the civil officers in charge of the several districts. The Author -returns his most hearty thanks to Sir John Lawrence and the authorities -of the Calcutta Home Office, who, at the cost of great trouble to -themselves, supplied him with the copies of these invaluable documents -reserved for the use of the Indian Government. - - 8, GROSVENOR CRESCENT. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - THE STATION 1 - THE OUTBREAK 58 - THE SIEGE 112 - THE TREACHERY 179 - THE MASSACRE 245 - - - - -CAWNPORE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE STATION. - - -The city of Cawnpore lies on the south bank of the Ganges, which at -that spot is about a quarter of a mile in breadth, and this too in -the dry season: for, when the rains have filled the bed, the stream -measures two thousand yards from shore to shore. And yet the river -has still a thousand miles of his stately course to run before that, -by many channels and under many names, he loses himself in the waters -of the Bay of Bengal. In old times an officer appointed to Cawnpore -thought himself fortunate if he could reach his station within three -months from the day he left Fort William. But tow-ropes and punt-poles -are now things of the past, and the traveller from Calcutta arrives at -the end of his journey in little more than thirty hours. - -By the treaty of Fyzabad, in 1775, the East India Company engaged to -maintain a brigade for the defence of Oude. The revenues of a rich -and extensive tract of country were appointed for the maintenance of -this force, which was quartered at Cawnpore, the principal town of -the district. In 1801, Lord Wellesley, who loved to carry matters -with a masterful hand, closed the mortgage, and the territory lapsed -to the Company, who accepted this new charge with some diffidence. -Indeed, they were not a little uneasy at the splendid rapacity of their -high-souled servant. No one understood better than he the full meaning -of the finest lines of that poet whose graceful diction none like -himself could imitate:-- - - "Tu regere imperio populos Romane memento: - Hæ tibi erunt artes: pacisque imponere morem; - Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos." - -But that policy which suited the temper of the Senate of old Rome -was not exactly of a nature to please the Directors of a Joint Stock -Company. It was very well for statesmen and generals to look for their -reward in the pages of history. It behoved City men to keep an eye on -the fluctuations of the Share list. - -Thus it happened that, ever since the beginning of the last quarter -of the eighteenth century, Cawnpore had been a first-class military -station. In the spring of 1857 it had attained an importance to -which the events of the following summer gave a fatal shock. The -recent annexation of Oude was an additional motive for keeping a -strong hold on Cawnpore: for that city commanded the bridge over -which passed the high road to Lucknow, the capital of our newly -acquired province. At that time the station was occupied by three -regiments of sepoys, the First, the Fifty-third, and the Fifty-sixth -Bengal Infantry. The Second Cavalry, and a company of artillerymen, -brought up the strength of the native force to three thousand men. Of -Europeans and persons of European extraction, there were resident at -Cawnpore more than a thousand. There were the officers attached to -the sepoy battalions; sixty men of the Eighty-fourth regiment of the -British line; seventy-eight invalids belonging to the Thirty-second -regiment, then quartered at Lucknow, and destined to pass through -the most fearful trial from which ever men emerged alive; fifteen of -the Madras Fusileers; and fifty-nine of the Company's artillerymen: -in all, some three hundred soldiers of English birth. Then there -were the covenanted civilians, the aristocracy of Indian society; -the lesser officials attached to the Post-office, the Public Works, -and the Opium Departments; the Railway people; the merchants and -shopkeepers,--Europeans some, others half-castes, or, as they would -fain be called, Eurasians. There, too, (alas!) were the wives and -little ones of the men of all these classes and grades, and in no -slender proportion; for among our countrymen in India the marriage -state is in special honour. There likewise were a great number of -half-caste children belonging to the Cawnpore school, who were soon to -buy at a very dear price the privilege of having been begotten by an -European sire. - -The military quarter was entirely distinct from the native city. And -here let the English reader divest himself at once of all European -ideas, and keep clear of them, as much as in him lies, during the whole -course of this narrative. Let him put aside all preconceived notions -of a barrack,--of a yard paved with rough stones, and darkened by -buildings four storeys high, at the windows of which lounge stalwart -warriors in various stages of _déshabille_, digesting their fresh -boiled-beef by the aid of a short pipe and a languid gossip. Let him -try to form to himself a picture of a military station in Northern -India, for it was within the precincts of such a station that was -played out the most terrible tragedy of our age. - -The cantonments lay along the bank of the river, over a tract extending -six miles from north-west to south-east: for, wheresoever in Hindostan -Englishmen make their homes, no regard is had to economy of space. Each -residence stands in a separate "compound," or paddock, of some three -or four acres, surrounded by an uneven, crumbling mound and ditch, -with here and there a ragged hedge of prickly pear: for all over India -fences appear to exist rather for the purpose of marking boundaries -than for any protection they afford against intruders. The house, like -all houses outside the Calcutta Ditch, consists of a single storey, -built of brick, coated with white plaster;--the whole premises, if the -owner be a bachelor or a subaltern, in a most shabby and tumble-down -condition. A flight of half a dozen steps leads up to a verandah which -runs round three sides of the building. The noticeable objects here -will probably be a native tailor, working in the attitude adopted by -tailors in all lands where men wear clothes; a wretched being, squatted -on his haunches, lazily pulling the string of a punkah that passes -through a hole in the brickwork into the Sahib's bedroom, a monotonous -occupation, which from time to time he sweetens by snatches of sleep; -a Madras valet, spreading butter on the Sahib's morning toast with the -greasy wing of a fowl; and, against the windward wall, a row of jars of -porous red clay, in which water is cooling for the Sahib's morning bath. - -The principal door leads at once into the sitting-room, a spacious, -ill-kept, comfortless apartment; the most conspicuous article being a -huge, oblong frame of wood and canvass suspended across the ceiling, -and the prevailing impression an overwhelming sense of the presence -of cobwebs. The furniture, which is scattered about in most unadmired -disorder, is in the last stage of dilapidation. Every article in an -Anglo-Indian household bears witness to the fact that Englishmen -regard themselves but as sojourners in the locality where fate and the -quartermaster-general may have placed them. A large rickety table in -the centre of the room is strewn with three or four empty soda-water -bottles, a half-emptied bottle of brandy, a corkscrew, glasses, -playing-cards, chessmen, an Hindostanee dictionary, an inkstand, a -revolver, a bundle of letters, a box of cigars, the supplement of -_Bell's Life_, and a few odd volumes from the regimental book-club--of -no very seductive quality, like enough, for the colonel's lady has -kept the new novels, and the doctor, who is secretary to the club, has -impounded the biographies, so that our ensign is fain to put up with -"Aids to Faith," and the third volume of the "History of the Inductive -Sciences." Then there are eight or ten chairs, a good half of which -might well claim to be invalided on the score of wounds and long -service; a couch with broken springs; a Japanese cabinet, bought as -a bargain when the old major was sold up; and an easy cane chair of -colossal dimensions, the arms of which are prolonged and flattened, -so as to accommodate the occupant with a resting-place for his feet. -In one corner stands a couple of hog-spears, supple, tough, and duly -weighted with lead and barbed with steel of proof; a regulation -sword; a buggy-whip; a hunting-crop; a double-barrelled rifle and a -shot-gun--weapons which the owner depreciates as archaic, expressing -his intention of providing himself, during his first visit to Europe, -with a complete outfit from Purdey. On nails driven into the plaster -hang a list of the men in the company to which the young fellow is -attached; a caricature of the paymaster; a framed photograph of the -cricket eleven of the public school where he was educated; and, if he -be of a humorous turn, the last wigging, or letter of admonition and -reproof, received from the colonel of his regiment. - -In such a scene, and amidst such associations, does the English -subaltern wear out the weary hours of the interminable Indian day: -smoking; dozing; playing with his terrier; longing for the evening, -or for a call from a brother-officer, with whom he may discuss the -Army List, and partake of the ever-recurring refreshment of brandy -and soda-water; lazily endeavouring to get some little insight into -the languages of the hateful East by the help of a fat, fawning -native tutor, and a stupid and indecent Oordoo work on mythology; -pondering sadly on home landscapes and home recollections, as he gazes -across the sharply-defined line of shadow thrown by the roof of the -verandah into the outdoor heat and glare; with no pleasanter object -of contemplation than the Patna sheep belonging to the Station Mutton -Club, and his own modest stud, consisting of a raw-boned Australian -horse and an old Cabul pony picketed under a group of mango-trees near -the gate of the compound. - -The centre apartment is flanked on either side by a smaller chamber; -both of which are employed as bedrooms, if, for the sake of company -or economy, our young friend is keeping house with some Addiscombe -chum. Otherwise, the least desirable is set apart as a lumber-room; -though, to judge from the condition of the articles in use, it is -hard to imagine what degree of shabbiness would qualify furniture to -become lumber in Bengal. The door into the Sahib's bedroom stands open, -like every other door in British India; the multitude of servants, -and the necessity for coolness, forbidding the very idea of privacy. -There stands a bedstead of wood, worm-eaten, unplaned, unpolished; -inclosed on all sides with musquito-curtains of white gauze, the edges -carefully tucked in beneath the mattress, through which is dimly -seen the recumbent form of the Sahib, clad in a silk shirt and linen -drawers, the universal nightdress of the East. The poor boy is doing -his best to recover, during the cooler morning hours, the arrears -of the sleepless night, which he has passed in a state of feverish -irritation--panting, perspiring, tossing from side to side in desire -of a momentary relief from the tortures of Prickly Heat, the curse of -young blood; anon, sallying into the verandah to rouse the nodding -punkah-puller, more happy than his wakeful master. Little of ornament -or convenience is to be seen around, save a capacious brass basin on -an iron stand, and half a dozen trunks, of shape adapted to be slung -in pairs on the hump of a bullock. An inner door affords a view into -a bath-room, paved with rough bricks; the bath consisting of a space -surrounded by a parapet some six inches high, in which the bather -stands while his servant sluices him with cold water from a succession -of jars. It may be that on a shelf at the bed's head are treasured some -objects, trifling indeed in value, but made very dear by association; -a few school prizes and leaving-books; a few sheets of flimsy pink -paper, closely written, soiled, and frayed at every fold; one or two -portraits in morocco cases, too sacred for the photographic album and -the inspection and criticism of a stranger. There is something touching -in these repositories, for they tell that, however much the lad may -appear to be absorbed in the pursuits and pleasures of the mess-room, -the parade-ground, the snipe-marsh, and the race-course, his highest -thoughts and dearest hopes are far away in that land where he is never -again to abide, until those hopes and thoughts have long been tamed and -deadened by years and troubles. - -Such are the quarters of a British subaltern. The home of a married -pair may be somewhat more comfortable, and the residence of a man in -high office considerably more magnificent; but the same characteristics -prevail everywhere. A spirit of scrupulous order, and a snug domestic -air, are not to be attained in an Indian household. At best a -semi-barbarous profusion, an untidy splendour, and the absence of -sordid cares, form the compensation for the loss of English comfort. -Still, the lady must have her drawing-room, where she can display her -wedding-presents, and the purchases which she made at the Calcutta -auctions during the cold season before last. The Commissioner must -have his sanctum, where he can wallow in papers, and write letters -of censure to his collectors, letters of explanation to the Revenue -Board, and letters of remonstrance to the local military authorities. -The epicure cannot do without a roofed passage leading from his -kitchen to his parlour; nor the sporting man without a loose box for -the mare which he has entered for the Planter's Plate at Sonepore. -Then, too, gentlemen of horticultural tastes like to devote a spare -hour to superintending the labours of their gardeners: and the soil -of Cawnpore well repays attention. Most kinds of European vegetables -can be produced with success, while peaches and melons, shaddocks and -limes, grow in native abundance: together with those fruits which an -old Qui-hye loves so dearly, but which to a fresh English palate are a -poor substitute indeed for hautboys and ribstone pippins;--the mango, -with a flavour like turpentine, and the banana, with a flavour like an -over-ripe pear; the guava, which has a taste of strawberries, and the -custard-apple, which has no perceptible taste at all. - -None of those institutions which render the ordinary life of the -English officer in India somewhat less monotonous and objectless were -wanting at Cawnpore. There was a church, whose fair white tower, -rising among a group of lofty trees, for more than one dull and dusty -mile greets the eyes of the traveller on the road from Lucknow. That -church, which has stood scatheless through such strange vicissitudes, -will soon be superseded by a more imposing temple, built to commemorate -the great disaster of our race. There were meeting-houses of divers -Protestant persuasions, a Roman Catholic chapel, and a mission of the -Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. There was a race-course, -as there is in every spot throughout the East where a handful of -our countrymen have got together; a theatre, where the ladies of -the garrison with good-natured amusement witnessed cornets and -junior magistrates attempting to represent female whims and graces; -a Freemason's lodge, where the work of initiation and instruction -went merrily on in a temperature of 100° in the shade. There was a -racket-court, and a library, and news-rooms, and billiard-rooms. -There were the assembly-rooms, where dinners were given to passing -Governors-General, and balls to high official dames, where questions -of precedence were raised, and matches made and broken. There was -a breakfast club, whither men repaired after their ride to discuss -the powers that be over their morning toast, at that meal so dear to -Britons from the Himalayas to Point de Galle, and from the Sutley -to Hong-Kong, whether, as throughout Bengal, it be termed "little -breakfast," or, as at Madras, it be known by the title of "early tea." -There was the band-stand, the very heart and centre of up-country -fashion, where the wit and beauty and gallantry of the station were -nightly wont to congregate. There was the ice-club for the manufacture -and supply of that luxury which becomes a necessity under the tropic -of Cancer;--which more favoured Calcutta obtains straight from North -American lakes, with Newfoundland codfish and Pennsylvanian apples -embedded in the crystal mass. The markets were well supplied with fish, -flesh, and fowl, at a cost that would gladden the heart of an English -housewife, though Anglo-Indians complain loudly of the rise in prices, -and grumble at being forced to pay sixpence a pound for mutton, and -three shillings for a fat turkey. In the game season, quails, wild -ducks, snipe, and black partridges were cheap and abundant; and a dish -of ortolans, a treat which in Europe is confined to Italian tourists -and Parisian millionaires, was a common adjunct to the second course at -Cawnpore dinner-tables. - -The quarters of the native troops presented a very different appearance -from the English bungalows. Sepoy lines, generally speaking, consist -of long rows of huts built of mud on a framework of bamboos, and -thatched with straw. Every soldier has his own doghole, in which -he keeps an inconceivable quantity of female relations, from his -grandmother downwards. There he rules supreme: for no Sahib, be he ever -so enthusiastic on the subject of sanitation and drainage, would care -to intrude upon the mysteries of a sepoy household. At the ends of -each row stand the habitations of the native officers attached to the -company: two or three cabins round a tiny court-yard, fenced in with -a mud wall a few feet in height. The sepoy, unlike a European soldier, -never becomes wholly military in his tastes and habits. The dearest -ambition of a villager is to increase the number of huts on his little -premises, and that ambition is not to be quenched even by drill and -pipe-clay. - -Each of the regiments had a bazaar peculiar to itself, crowded with -people employed in supplying the wants, and ministering to the -pleasures of the battalion which honoured them with its patronage. -Sutlers, corn-merchants, rice-merchants, sellers of cotton fabrics, of -silver ornaments, of tobacco and stupefying drugs, jugglers, thieves, -swarms of prostitutes, fakeers, and Thugs, retired from business, made -up a motley and most unruly population, which was with difficulty -kept in some show of order by the energy of Sir George Parker, the -cantonment magistrate. The united crew of these dens of iniquity and -sedition did not fall short of forty thousand in number. - -The sepoys were tall men, the average height in a regiment being five -feet eight inches, and, seen from a distance, in their scarlet coats -and black trousers, they presented a sufficiently military appearance. -But, on nearer inspection, there was something in the general effect -displeasing to an eye accustomed to the men of Aldershot and Chalons. -No Oriental seems at ease in European costume,--least of all in the -English uniform so dear to the heart of the old tailor colonels. The -native soldier in full dress wore a ludicrous and almost pathetic -air of uneasiness and rigidity. His clothes hung on him as though -he were a very angular wooden frame. Whether from consciousness of -the figure which he cut in his red tunic, or from an instinctive fear -of the contamination contained in Christian cloth, the sepoy was no -sooner dismissed from parade or relieved from guard than he hastened -to doff every shred of the dress provided by Government. Clad in -the unprofessional but more congenial costume of a very scanty pair -of linen drawers, he might be seen now seated over a pile of rice -or a huge bannock, cooked for him by the women of his family; now, -performing the copious ablutions, the obligation to which constitutes -the single virtue of his national religion; now, submitting the crown -of his head to the barber for a periodical shave; now, perchance, -discussing with a circle of comrades the probability of the Emperor of -the Russians joining with Brigadier Napoleon and the King of Roum in a -scheme for destroying the power of the East India Company. - -His pay was seven rupees, or fourteen shillings, a month. Small as -this sum may appear to us, it was amply sufficient to endow the sepoy -with far higher social consideration than is enjoyed by a private -soldier in European countries. The purest of pure Brahmins, his faith -forbade him from spending much money on the gratification of his -appetite. The most confirmed gourmand in the battalion could never -dream of a better dinner than some coarse fish from a neighbouring -tank, flavoured by a handful of spices ground between two fragments of -a gravestone abstracted from the last English cemetery on the line -of march. Such luxuries as these could be procured at a rate that -left even the private soldier a large margin whence to provide for -any other calls that might be made upon his purse. He accordingly was -regarded as a very considerable personage by the native populace. A -peasant-proprietor or small shopkeeper thought it no small honour to -receive an offer of marriage for his daughter from a gentleman serving -in the ranks of the Company's army: and the sepoy was not slow to make -use of his matrimonial advantages. A column of native troops on the -march was accompanied from station to station by an endless string of -small carts, each containing one or two veiled ladies, presumably young -and pretty; one or two without veils, very indubitably old and ugly; -together with a swarm of dusky brats with enormous stomachs, stark -naked, with the almost nominal exception of a piece of tape fastened -round the loins. - -In spite of his excellent pay, the native soldier was almost invariably -deep in debt. A strong sense of family ties, an extreme generosity -towards poor connexions, is a marked trait in the Hindoo character, -amiable indeed, but not encouraging to the student of Social Science. -Whenever an Indian official steps into an income, relations of every -degree flock from all parts of the continent to prey upon his facile -affection: and the prospect of sharing the corner of a sepoy's hut -and the parings of his pay proved sufficiently attractive to bring -into cantonments herds of country cousins from Rohilcund and Shahabad. -Neither would seven rupees a month adequately defray the occasional -extravagances enjoined by "dustoor" or custom: dustoor, the breath -of a Hindoo's nostrils, the motive of his actions, the staple of his -conversation, the tyrant of his life. It has frequently happened that -a private soldier has celebrated a marriage feast at a cost of three -hundred rupees, to obtain which he must sell himself body and soul to -one of those griping ruthless usurers who are the bugbears of Oriental -society. - -At the commencement of 1857, the condition of the native army was -unsatisfactory in the highest degree. An impartial observer could not -fail at every turn to note symptoms which proved beyond the possibility -of a doubt that a bad spirit was abroad. But, unfortunately, those -who had the best opportunity for observing these symptoms were not -impartial. The officers of the old Bengal army regarded their soldiers -with a fond credulity that was above suspicion and deaf to evidence: -and no wonder: for on the fidelity of that army was staked all that -they held most dear--professional reputation, social standing, the -means of life, and, finally, life itself. It was in deference to their -pardonable but most fatal prejudices that on this ominous subject -silence was enforced during the years which preceded the outbreak. -It was to please their pride of class that the tongues of more -discerning men were tied, and their pens blunted. It was in vain that -General Jacob, the stout Lord Warden of the Scinde Marches, wrote -and expostulated with all his native energy and fire. Threatened and -frowned on by his employers, sneered at by his fellow officers as an -agitator and a busybody, he was at length brought to acknowledge that -the tone of the Bengal army was a matter on which a wise man did well -to hold his peace. That great commander, whose excellent military -judgment, matured in European camps, revolted at a state of things so -fraught with peril and scandal, learned too late that not even the -audacity of a Napier, not even the glory of Meeanee, could protect -him from the consequences of having presumed to call in question the -faith of the sepoy. As the only apparent effect of his admonitions the -turbulent and warlike province of Oude was annexed to our territory, -and the ranks of our army were swelled by the addition of thousands of -disaffected native mercenaries. - -That discipline was lax, that insubordination was afoot, had long been -known by many who dared not speak out the truth. As far back as the -year 1845 there occurred a case in which a regiment broke into open -mutiny, and pelted its officers through cantonments with the material -employed in road-mending, a customary missile in Bengalee riots. A -party of native infantry on a night march presented an appearance, -absurd indeed, but to a thoughtful spectator not without serious -significance. The men straggled along, carrying in their hands some -beloved pipe, their most treasured possession, while their muskets were -carelessly flung into the bullock-carts, in which not a few sepoys were -snoring comfortably amidst the baggage. Even those on foot dozed as -they walked, with that unaccountable capacity, common to all Hindoos, -of going to sleep under the most adverse circumstances; the collar of -their great-coat turned up and kept in its place by a strip of calico; -their ears protected by folds of cloth passed underneath the chin and -fastened over the top of the head, with a regimental forage-cap perched -on the summit of this unsightly and unmartial head-gear. In some corps -men had so little respect for military rule and custom as to strip -off their uniforms even when on guard. There were those who in great -part attributed these irregularities to the abolition of corporal -punishment effected by Lord William Bentinck, that wise and true friend -of the native population of India. It is to be hoped, for the cause of -humanity and enlightenment, that men who so think are mistaken in their -opinion. It cannot, however, be denied that, whatever be the reason, -there was truth in the words spoken to a civilian by an old pensioned -native officer:--"Ah Sahib!" said the veteran, "The army has ceased to -fear." - -At the siege of Mooltan, where native troops from all parts of India -were collected into one army, the vile temper of the Bengal sepoys and -the extraordinary indulgence displayed towards them by their officers -became painfully apparent. These insolent high-caste mercenaries -positively refused to labour in the trenches, and endeavoured to -induce or force the modest and trusty Bombay soldiers to follow their -example. On one occasion a mob of these rascals, being unable to -persuade a fatigue-party of Bombay men to strike work, proceeded to -revile and at length to stone their worthier comrades. A captain in a -rifle regiment marked the ringleaders, but the Bengal officers flatly -declined to take any steps in the matter, and the story was hushed -up in order that their feelings might be spared. When the Sixty-sixth -Native infantry mutinied, their chiefs endeavoured to palliate the -guilt of the regiment; but Sir Charles Napier refused to see with -any eyes save his own, and promptly disbanded the corps, which was -replaced by an excellent levy of the valiant Highlanders of Nepaul. -Sir Charles expressed great displeasure at the report sent in by the -commanding officer of the regiment, and especially at a sentence -which characterised what was in fact a shout of defiance as "a murmur -of discontent." To the very last, at a time when mutiny and murder -were rife from Peshawur to Dacca, each particular colonel was firmly -impressed with the idea that his battalion would be the Abdiel of the -army, faithful only to its oath and salt, to the recollections of -bounty-money and the hopes of pension. "Pity," writes an officer of the -Sixty-fifth regiment, "that Europeans abusing a corps cannot be strung -up." On the twenty-second of May a letter appeared in the _Englishman_ -newspaper from Colonel Simpson, who commanded the Sixth Bengal Infantry -at the all-important station of Allahabad. He was very indignant at -the suspicions which had been expressed concerning the intentions of -the men under his charge, who, according to him, "evince the utmost -loyalty. So far from being mistrusted, they are our main protection." -Not many days after he was glad to escape into the fort with a ball -through his arm, while his officers were being butchered by the men -on whom he had placed so unbounded a reliance. The "staunchness" of -the sepoys was at that time so common a topic with their chiefs that -the expression became a byword among Calcutta people; for at whatever -station the colonel most loudly, pertinaciously, and angrily declared -his regiment to be "staunch," it was to that quarter that men looked -for the next tidings of massacre and outrage. It was not till he saw -his own house in flames, and the rupees from the Government treasury -scattered broad-cast over the parade-ground:--it was not till he looked -down the barrels of sepoy muskets, and heard sepoy bullets whizzing -round his ears, that an old Bengal officer could begin to believe that -his men were not as staunch as they should be; and yet, as will be -seen in the course of this narrative, there might exist a degree of -confidence and attachment which was proof even against that ordeal. - -Respect for the obligations of blood-relationship is so strong in -the Hindoo mind, that jobbery and nepotism flourish in Oriental -society to an extent which would seem inconceivably audacious to the -colder imagination of a western public servant. The system of family -patronage runs through all ranks and classes. The Indian judge loves to -surround himself with kindred clerks of the court and consanguineous -ushers. The Indian superintendant of police prefers to have about him -inspectors and sergeants bound to his interest by nearer ties than -those of official dependence. The head bearer fills his master's house -with young barbarians from his native village; and, in like manner, -the veteran sepoys took measures to keep the regiment supplied with -recruits from the neighbourhood in which they themselves had been -born and bred. No strapping young Tewarry, or Pandy, who had a mind to -shoulder a Company's musket and touch the Company's rupees, had long -to wait for a place in the section of which the sergeant was his uncle -and the corporal his brother-in-law. On the other hand, a stranger was -soon driven from the regiment by that untiring and organized social -oppression, in which, if we are to believe the daily press, military -men of all nations and grades are such admirable adepts. And so it came -to pass in the course of time that the company partook of the nature of -a family, and the battalion of the nature of a clan. The consequence -was that there existed a sympathy and freemasonry throughout the ranks -of quite another tendency from that tone of regimental patriotism -and martial brotherhood, known in European armies by the title -of "_esprit-de-corps_." Such a state of things afforded peculiar -facilities for conspiring. A disaffected body of sepoys possessed the -power of a host, and the discretion of a clique. The most extensive and -perilous designs could be matured in perfect secrecy, and carried into -effect by the weight of a vast and unanimous multitude. - -The real motive of the mutiny was the ambition of the soldiery. -Spoilt, flattered, and idle, in the insolence of its presumed strength -that pampered army thought nothing too good for itself, and nothing -too formidable. High-caste Brahmins all, proud as Lucifer, they -deemed that to them of right belonged the treasures and the empire -of India. Hampered with debt, they looked for the day of a general -spoliation. Chafing under restraint, they panted to indulge themselves -in unbridled rapine and licence. They were bent upon the foundation of -a gigantic military despotism. They looked forward to the time when -Soubahdars and Jemmadars should be Maharajas and Nawabs; when the taxes -should be collected by sepoy receivers-general, and paid into sepoy -treasuries; when every private should have his zenana full of the -loveliest daughters of Lahore and Rohilcund; when great landholders -from Bundelcund and Orissa should come with cases of diamonds to beg -a favourable decision from Mungul Pandy; when great merchants from -Liverpool and Marseilles should come with bags of sovereigns to ask -leave of Peer Bux to establish a factory at Mutlah or Chandernagore. -They evinced an equal contempt for all the other classes of the -inhabitants of India. They despised the excellent armies of Bombay and -Madras, and their insolence was requited with bitter aversion. They -looked down on the Ghoorkas as savages, and presumed to regard the -heroes of Chillianwallah and Ferozeshah as a conquered race; as if, -forsooth, it was sepoy prowess which, after more than one series of -fierce and dubious battles, had at length prevailed over the brave and -haughty warriors of the Punjaub. And at length, in the plenitude of -their pride and folly, they began to call in question the efficacy of -the English name. - -We had, indeed, been negligent. We had been improvident even unto -madness. Some twenty thousand European troops were scattered over the -continent of India; for the security of which seventy thousand are now -held to be barely sufficient. In the May of 1857, from Meerut in the -North-west, to Dinapore in the South-east, two weak British regiments -only were to be found. In these days, a battalion of English infantry -may be placed at any important city in our dominions within the -twenty-four hours. Then, all the field-batteries throughout the entire -region of Oude, with a single exception, were manned by native gunners -and drivers. Now, in every station on the plains, the artillerymen, -the trained workmen of warfare, without whom in modern times an armed -force is helpless, are one and all our own countrymen. Then, our only -communication was along roads which the first rains turned into strips -of bog, and up rivers treacherous with crossing currents and shifting -sandbanks. Now, through the heart of every province, there run, or -soon will run, those lines of rail and lines of wire, which defy alike -season and distance. - -The natives of India possess a sharp insight into matters that come -within the limits of their own sphere, but are strangely ignorant -of all that passes beyond those limits. The sepoy ringleaders knew -to a man the strength, or rather the weakness, of European force -in the North of India. But, incredible as it may appear, they were -firmly impressed with the idea that they saw with their eyes the -whole extent of our resources. Public opinion in Hindostan placed the -population of the British Isles at something over a hundred thousand -souls. This error was so universal that a native who did not share in -the hallucination was sure to be a man of superior discernment and -rare strength of mind. Hyder Ali and Runjeet Singh, the Hannibal and -the Mithridates of India, had often in their mouths the same phrase -concerning the power of the Company. They feared, they would say, not -what they saw, but what they did not see. Jung Bahadur, the far-famed -Mayor of the Palace of Nepaul, when the first dull rumour of the coming -crisis began to be bruited, paid a visit to England on purpose to learn -for himself what the state of the case really was; and returned firmly -resolved not to take part against a power which could raise at a pinch -hundreds of millions of money, and hundreds of thousands of men. On -one occasion during the troubles, a party of sepoys attacked some guns -worked by Sikh artillerymen, only to be beaten off with heavy loss. The -officer in charge of the battery was much amused at hearing one of the -men say to his comrades: "If those fools of pandies had ever been at -Battses Hotel, Vere Street, Oxford Street, they would not have come on -so boldly." On inquiry, it appeared that this judicious Punjaubee had -gone to London in the service of some Anglo-Indian; where, as he stood -at the mouth of Vere Street, he might see passing to and from Hyde -Park in a single day as many Sahibs as would stock two such towns as -Loodianah or Umritsur. - -The conviction that all our available male population was already in -India began to be shaken as, regiment after regiment, brigade upon -brigade, angry fighting men of Saxon race came pouring up from Calcutta -in a continuous stream, by road, by rail, and by river. And yet that -conviction lingered long. When the magnificent array collected for the -final siege of Lucknow passed through Cawnpore, our Sikh allies would -have it that Sir Colin, like the stage manager at Astley's theatre, -marched his men in at one end of the town and out at the other, and -then brought them back outside the walls to repeat the same manoeuvre. -When the mutineers first caught sight of the Highland costume, they -cried with joy that the men of England had been exhausted, and that -the Company had been reduced to call out the women. They soon had -reason to repent their mistake, and thenceforward adopted a theory -more consistent with the fact, for they held that the petticoats were -designed to remind their wearers that they had been sent to India to -exact vengeance for the murder of the English ladies. - -The insolence and greed of the soldiers, their impatience of -discipline, and their lust of power, were the effective causes of the -outbreak. But the proximate cause was the fancied insult which had been -offered to their national religion. Upon this most vexed question, a -distinguished civil servant, who held high office in Calcutta during -those eventful months, is wont to say that he could never trust the -judgment of a man who maintains that the greased cartridges had little -to do with the mutiny. There are a class of our countrymen who delight -in stigmatizing the natives of India as hypocrites and infidels. These -men affect to disbelieve in the sincerity of the religious professions -of any Mussulman who cannot resist the temptation of iced champagne, or -of any Hindoo who indulges himself in a quiet slice of the joint which -has appeared at his master's table. As if the men who are foremost to -avenge the wrongs of their creed and to thrust it down the throats of -their neighbours were always the most scrupulous in their obedience -to its precepts! As if History was not full of covetous Fathers of -the Church and polygamous Defenders of the Faith! Jehu was zealous to -destroy the priests of the House of Baal, and to burn his images with -fire: howbeit he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of -Nebat, who made Israel to sin. Archbishop Laud was emphatically a good -Churchman: and yet he too often forgot the blessing pronounced upon the -merciful by the Divine founder of his Church, and the curse uttered -against those who lade men with burdens grievous to be borne. - -The mind of the sepoy reeked with religious prejudice. He had adopted -his profession in accordance with the dictates of his superstition. -He belonged to a sacred order, and his life was one long ceremony. -He could not prepare his simple food without clearing for himself a -separate plot of ground secure from the intrusion of others. Should a -stranger step into this magic ring, the food which he had cooked was -thrown untasted away. When some Bengal regiments were serving in China, -it occasionally happened that an unlucky native of the country, intent -on theft or barter, set his profane foot within the hallowed circle, -and was immediately saluted with a volley of threats and missiles from -the outraged soldier whose meal he had spoiled. The bewildered wretch -would take to flight across the camping-ground, plunging through the -kitchens, defiling dinners by the score, and, in whatever direction he -turned, rousing about his ears a swarm of indignant hungry Brahmins. -Even if the sepoy was inclined to become lax in his observances, -there were not wanting ghostly advisers to check his latitudinarian -tendencies. A battalion on march was usually preceded by two or three -fakeers, the bloated, filthy, sensual wandering friars of the East; -wild-looking fellows, in orange or salmon-coloured linen, if by good -luck they deigned to wear any clothes at all; their locks of long hair -matted in strange fashion with grease and dirt; their bodies sprinkled -with ashes and daubed with coarse paint. So pernicious and irregular a -custom was not tolerated in the Presidencies of Bombay and Madras: but -in Bengal these fellows were highly regarded by the soldiers, and did -duty as unofficial regimental chaplains. - -Five parts tallow, five parts stearine, and one part wax, were the -ingredients of that unsavoury composition, the memory of which will -henceforward never perish as long as England has history and India -has tradition. Captain Boxer, of the Royal Laboratory at Woolwich, -was quite unable to offer any decided opinion as to the particular -description of animal from which the tallow was derived, but was -certain that the mixture was innocent of hog's lard. Not so thought the -Brahmins of the regiments stationed in the vicinity of the capital. -About the middle of January, 1857, amidst the frivolous and ill-natured -gossip which is the chief material of Calcutta journalism, there peer -out certain vague and uncomfortable paragraphs: "A rumour has been -current among the sepoys at Dumdum and Barrackpore that they are to be -baptized, and we hear that they are greatly alarmed in consequence. -It should be explained to them that the only ceremony of the kind to -which soldiers are required to submit is the baptism of fire." Again, -a letter from Barrackpore announces that "bungalows here are set fire -to every night." On the 10th of February, "a Hindu" solemnly warns -the Governor-General thus: "My Lord, this is the most critical time -ever reached in the administration of British India. Almost all the -independent native Princes and Rajahs have been so much offended at the -late Annexation policy, that they have begun to entertain deadly enmity -to the British empire in India. Moreover, as for the internal defences -of the empire, the cartridge question has created a strenuous movement -in some portions of the Hindu sepoys, and will spread it through all -their ranks over the whole country to the great insecurity of British -rule." These notices, which we now read by the light of a terrible -experience, appear side by side with satirical poems on their more -fortunate comrades by military officers who cannot get civil employ; -advertisements of a fancy fair for the advancement of native female -education; and a proposition to appoint a committee of "eligible young -civilians" to indemnify the ladies whose Europe bonnets have been -ruined by the dust on the course. Ere many months were flown, eligible -young civilians had far other matters to occupy their attention. - -At length, on the 26th of February, the Nineteenth Bengal Native -Infantry, quartered at Berhampore, being directed to parade for -exercise with blank ammunition, refused to obey the command, and in the -course of the following night turned out with a great noise of drumming -and shouting, broke open the bells of arms, and committed other acts -of open mutiny. By order of the Governor-General the regiment was -disarmed, marched down to Barrackpore, a distance of something over -a hundred miles, and there disbanded by Major-General Hearsey, who -performed his trying task with energy, discretion, and courage. As -yet there had been no blood shed; but far worse was soon to come. The -Thirty-fourth Native Infantry had for some time past been ripe for -revolt. There were nearly six hundred high-caste men in the ranks, and -the corps was stationed among local associations which fostered the -most lively emotions in the minds of men in a state of high religious -excitement. In the year 1825, Barrackpore had been the scene of a -military tumult which had been repressed with timely severity. One of -the ringleaders, a Brahmin sepoy, had been hanged in the presence of -his comrades. This man was regarded as a martyr; the spot where he met -his fate, on the edge of a large tank, was still pointed out to each -new-comer; and the brass implements with which he performed his acts -of worship had been preserved in the quarter-guard as relics of the -departed saint. Unfortunately the regiment was commanded by an officer -who thus describes himself in honest and manly language: "I beg to -state that it has been my invariable plan to act on the broad line -which Scripture enforces, that is, to speak without reserve to every -person. When I therefore address natives on the subject of religion, -whether individually or collectively, it has been no question with me -whether the person or persons I addressed belonged to this or that -regiment, or whether he is a shopkeeper, merchant, or otherwise, but I -speak to all alike, as sinners in the sight of God; and I have no doubt -that I have often in this way (indeed, am quite certain,) addressed -sepoys of my own regiment, as also of other regiments at this and other -stations where I have been quartered.... As to the question whether I -have endeavoured to convert sepoys and others to Christianity, I would -humbly reply that this has been my object; and, I conceive, it is the -aim and end of every Christian who speaks the Word of God to another, -namely, that the Lord would make him the happy instrument of converting -his neighbour to God." Did not this good Colonel forget who it was who -bade us give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast our -pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn -again and rend us? - -On the 29th of March, a private of the Thirty-fourth, Mungul Pandy by -name, under the combined influence of religious frenzy and intoxicating -drugs, took into his head to swagger about in front of the lines, -musket in hand, bawling: "Come out, you blackguards! The Europeans -are upon us! From biting these cartridges we shall become infidels! -Get ready! Turn out, all of you!" This conduct in the course of time -brought down upon him the Adjutant and the serjeant-major, which in no -wise disconcerted Mungul Pandy. He shot the officer's horse, disabled -his bridle arm, and finally, with the assistance of some of the -boldest among his comrades, desperately wounded and drove off both the -Europeans. The Colonel next appeared on the stage. Here again it may -be best to quote his own words: "The native officer at length ordered -the guard to advance. They did so, six or seven paces, and halted. -The native officer returned to me, stating that none of the men would -go on. I felt it was useless going on any further in the matter. Some -one, a native in undress, mentioned to me that the sepoy in front was a -Brahmin, and that no one would hurt him. I considered it quite useless, -and a useless sacrifice of life, to order a European officer with the -guard to seize him, as he would, no doubt, have picked off the European -officer, without his receiving any assistance from the guard. I then -left the guard, and reported the matter to the Brigadier." - -Fortunately there was at hand a man who had no scruple about the life -of at least one European officer. Before many minutes had elapsed -General Hearsey rode on to the parade-ground, and found it already -covered with an agitated mob of sepoys, amongst whom might here and -there be seen an English officer doing his best to prevent his men -from following the example of Mungul Pandy, who had by this time -reloaded his musket, and was now stalking about in the presence of his -regiment, which had got together round the quarter-guard, brandishing -his dripping sword, and shouting: "You have excited me to do this, and -now, you blackguards, you will not join me!" An officer called out to -Hearsey, "Have a care! His musket is loaded!" The General replied, -"Damn his musket!" an oath concerning which every true Englishman will -make the customary invocation to the Recording Angel. - -Hearsey summoned the guard to advance, but the native officer answered -as before. The General, however, by a significant motion of his -revolver, gave the Jemmadar to understand that this time he had to -deal with a man of very different kidney from the Colonel. The guard, -accordingly, went forward; the Jemmadar in front, watched on either -side by a young Hearsey, pistol in hand. Their sire himself rode -straight at the mutineer, who, seeing that the game was up, turned the -muzzle to his own breast, touched the trigger with his toe, and fell, -severely hurt. He was secured, and conveyed to the hospital; and the -concourse dispersed quietly to their lines, after having been roundly -taken to task by the General for their cowardice and unsoldierlike -behaviour in standing by without moving a finger while their officers -were being cut to pieces. - -Mungul Pandy was condemned by court-martial, and duly hanged on the -8th of April. At first there was some difficulty about finding an -executioner. Public opinion had become less squeamish before the year -was out. From this miserable fanatic was taken the name of "Pandy," -which in Anglo-Indian slang signified mutineer. There were those who -loved to apply the horrible nickname of "white Pandies" to those wise -and good men who, amidst the general frenzy, preserved some spark -of justice and humanity; who would not lend their countenance to a -barbarous policy dictated by cruelty and craven fear; who refused to -devastate provinces and depopulate cities, to butcher the women of -Delhi and torture the shopkeepers of Allahabad, to confound innocent -and guilty in one vast proscription and one universal massacre: just -as, at the end of the last century, there were those who stigmatized as -"Jacobins" the English statesmen who could not be reviled or shocked -out of the belief that the king and the nobility of France had been -less sinned against than sinning; and that, in any case, it was not our -business to avenge the wrongs of alien dukes and marquisses upon the -senators who had abolished their privileges, the peasants who had shot -their game, and the board which was busily engaged in dividing their -provinces into departments. - -Seven companies of the Thirty-fourth regiment were disbanded, after all -pecuniary claims had been discharged. The closing effect was dramatic -enough. General Hearsey made the men a spirited harangue, reminding -them of their misdeeds, and giving some hints as to their future -conduct which they would have done well to have laid to heart. Then -came the parting; not without tears, it is said, on both sides. The -sepoys stripped off their accoutrements, and were ferried across the -river, bag and baggage, in Government steamers, and there sent about -their business. In order to disprove the report that the Company had -designs against their religion, they were informed that every facility -would be afforded them for visiting Hindoo shrines of repute before -they bent their steps towards their villages in Oude and Bahar. - -Unfortunately for themselves, the men of the two regiments broken up -at Barrackpore were bent upon doing a far less innocent service to -the cause of their faith than that of feeing, out of the arrears of -their pay, the priests of Juggernauth and Gyah. The most active and -determined among their number deliberately proceeded to spread over -the whole continent of India the tidings of the late occurrences, told -with more than Oriental exaggeration, and received with more than -Oriental credulity. No society of rich and civilized Christians, who -ever undertook to preach the gospel of peace and good-will, can have -employed a more perfect system of organization than was adopted by -these rascals, whose mission it was to preach the gospel of sedition -and slaughter. By twos and threes, in various disguises, and on divers -pretexts, they found their way to every native regiment in the three -Presidencies. Wherever they went they related how the Queen of England -had commanded that the Hindoos and Mussulmans of India should be made -Christians, come what might; how the Governor-General, the Great Lord -Sahib, had remonstrated with her, saying that he must first slay three -hundred thousand holy and learned men of both religions; how the Queen -had rejoined, "Let it then be done"; how the Great Lord Sahib had -resolved to begin with the army, and had ordered the troops to bite -cartridges smeared with the fat of cow and pig; how the sepoys at -Barrackpore had bravely resisted the tyrannous and accursed mandate; -how some had testified to the death, and some had suffered bonds and -scourging, and all had been deprived of their rank and calling, and -robbed of the pensions which they had earned by valour and fidelity -and ancient service. Then their hearers were warned that a like fate -was in store for all; that a strenuous and united effort could alone -save their freedom and their religion; and that the hour was fast -approaching when the Brahmins of the army must rule, or be for ever -slaves and Christians. Sometimes, it was a couple of fakeers perched -on an elephant; sometimes, a party of country-people on their way -to the Ganges for their annual dip in the sacred stream; a gang of -gipsies; a string of camel-drivers; or a troop of musicians escorting -a celebrated nautch-dancer to her home in Cashmere, after a successful -season in Bengal. However it might be, it invariably happened that, -a few hours after the strangers had entered the station, the bazaar -and the cantonments were in a ferment of gossip and conjecture; the -sepoys at once grew sulky and idle; the Mahomedans of the town became -insolent, and the Hindoos pert. The very domestic servants appeared -to share the contagion; the cooks got drunk, and the grooms stupid; -the water-carrier omitted to fill the bath, and the butler to ice the -Moselle; the peon spent twice his usual number of hours in conveying -a note to the next compound but one; while the bearers delighted -to insult their mistress by smoking under her window, and coming -bareheaded into her presence, whenever the Sahib and his horsewhip were -well out of the way. - -To us, who from the standing-point of complete and certain knowledge -look back upon that March and April pregnant with a great and sombre -future, it seems indeed miraculous that our countrymen then resident -in India should not have entertained a suspicion of what those months -would bring forth. It appears incredible that the officers should have -lived their ordinary lives; hunting; dining; dancing; speculating on -the probable height of the thermometer, and the possible chances of -promotion; while within a few yards of their quarters the men were -debating the programme of the coming mutiny; arranging who was to shoot -down the adjutant, and who was to fire the thatch of the colonel's -bungalow; discussing their hopes of assistance from Gwalior, Nepaul, -and St. Petersburg. Can it be believed that morning after morning our -countrymen looked down the row of dark faces and gleaming eyes, and -never dreamed that in all that array, so fair and orderly to view, any -heart beat with a loftier ambition than could be satisfied by a stripe -or an epaulette; with a deadlier malice than might be gratified by the -disappointment of some rival in the good opinion of the soubahdar? And -yet, so it was. In spite of all that was said and written concerning -the childlike docility of the affectionate sepoy, confidence and regard -did not exist between the officer and the soldier. That the case had -once been far otherwise was acknowledged on all sides; and the change -was noted by military men of the old school with regret, qualified by -a slight tincture of self-satisfaction. Young subalterns retorted that -the ancient intimacy between superior and inferior was connected with -the loose habits which disgraced Anglo-Indian society in days gone -by, when the soldier pandared to the vices of his officer, or, at any -rate, was cognisant of their existence. Those who have studied cause -and effect will be slow to accept the theory that this estrangement -between the mess-room and the lines was in any great measure due to the -increased morality of the Indian army. - -The root of the evil lay in the withdrawal of officers from regimental -duty for employment on the staff and in the civil posts; a custom -so dear to all who bore the great and time-honoured names, which -had been conspicuous in the Court of Directors and at the Calcutta -Council-board as far back as the time of Barwell and Warren Hastings. -And yet, though family interest received due consideration from those -who dispensed the good things of the service, it was unfortunate for -the efficiency of the Bengal army that merit did not go without a -share in the loaves and fishes. A young man on the threshold of his -profession was recommended by his father, and entreated by his sisters, -skilled like all Anglo-Indian ladies in the inscrutable mysteries of -official success, to get away from his regiment as early as possible. -The teaching of his relations was enforced by the golden words which -dropped from the lips of the Chairman of the Honourable Court, when, -on the prize-day at Addiscombe, the lad stood forth blushing with -modest pride, the Pollock medal in his hand, the sword of honour -under his arm, and a pile of military histories, emblazoned with the -arms of the academy, on the table before him. After his arrival on -Indian shores, the same advice was impressed upon him by his uncle the -Sudder judge, his cousin the junior secretary, and his school-chum the -probationary-sub-assistant-commissary-general. - -Rich were the prizes open to the aspiring cadet:--rich, but far from -rare. There were the political agencies at the courts of Holkar -and Scindiah; at the seats of the ancient and romantic dynasties -of Rajpootana; at that European station whence, in dangerous -proximity, an English resident still watches with anxious glance -the intrigues and feuds which agitate the nest of Arab and Rohilla -cut-throats, who protect and terrify the Nizam of Hyderabad. There -were the Deputy Commissionerships of Oude and the Punjaub, whose -occupants enjoyed a salary almost equal to that of a Collector in -the more settled provinces, with a far greater share of power and -responsibility. There were the posts in the branches of administration -more exclusively military: the Departments of the Adjutant-General, -the Quarter-Master-General, the Commissary-General, and the -Judge-Advocate-General. Finally, there were the numerous irregular -corps in the Deccan and on the North-west Frontier, to each of which -were attached some three or four captains and subalterns, who fully -appreciated the increase of their pay, and the excitement afforded by -their critical and interesting duties. In short, appointments which -enabled officers to make money and reputation faster than was possible -for their less fortunate brethren who remained in the line were so -numerous that, after family claims had been satisfied, the surplus -sufficed to absorb all the most promising and pushing youngsters in the -Bengal Military service. - -It was not only that this system drained the army of individual zeal -and talent. The professional spirit of the mass could not thrive -under so blighting an influence. The officers present with the corps -gradually ceased to take pride in the conscientious performance of -their regimental duties; for their employment upon those duties was -a standing proof that they were wanting in ability and high official -connexion. It was very difficult to throw much energy and enthusiasm -into such work as escorting treasure, guarding jails, inspecting the -cross-belts and listening to the grievances of sepoys, while a junior -lieutenant in the same battalion was coercing refractory Rajahs, or -scouring the border at the head of five hundred wild Pathan horsemen. -What wonder if, under these circumstances, men became sick at heart? -Disgusted at their position, they no longer made the welfare and -happiness of their soldiers an all-important object: and neglect -often deepened into aversion and contempt. The cadets, as was only -too natural, caught the prevailing tone. Young men fresh from home -are so shocked at the apparent deficiency of the Hindoo character of -manliness, honesty, and self-respect, the qualities which Englishmen -most regard, that, so to speak, their better impulses are apt to -render them careless of the rights and sentiments of the native -population. "Do I not well to be insolent?" is a question asked daily, -in a more or less logical form, by the majority of our countrymen in -India. It requires a larger stock of philosophy than generally falls -to the share of a lad of nineteen in a new red coat, with his first -month's pay in the pocket, to realize the conviction that an imperial -people, who undertake to govern others, must first govern themselves; -and that it is the height of folly and cruelty to subjugate a hundred -millions of men, and then abuse them because they are as God made them, -and not as we would fain have them. - -And so it came to pass that to be sent back to head-quarters was "a -shame," regimental duty was "a bore," and the sepoys were "niggers." -That hateful word, which is now constantly on the tongue of all -Anglo-Indians except civilians and missionaries, made its first -appearance in decent society during the years which immediately -preceded the mutiny. The immorality of the term is only equalled by -the absurdity. To call the inhabitants of Hindostan "niggers," is just -as unreasonable as it would be for Austrian officials to designate the -subject populations of Venetia and Hungary by the collective title of -"serfs." In the eyes of an English planter, or railway-contractor, -there is no distinction of race or rank. Khoonds and Punjabees, Pariahs -and Coolin Brahmins, bazaar-porters and Rajahs with a rent-roll of half -a million, and a genealogy longer than that of Howards and Stanleys, -are "niggers" alike, one and all, with the prefix of that profane -epithet, which has been the Shibboleth of the Englishmen abroad since -the days of Philip de Comines. And so, in a Bengal corps,--whether -he were a grey-bearded Mahomedan soubahdar, the arbiter and exponent -of regimental custom and tradition, or the high-caste Rajpoot, or a -Sikh veteran marked with the scars of Sobraon,--every man knew well -that he was dubbed "nigger" by some slip of an ensign, who could not -tell his right hand from his left in any Oriental language. In such an -atmosphere how could mutual attachment exist, or mutual confidence? -How could there not exist dislike and disaffection; the bitterness of -injured pride, and of feelings misunderstood or heedlessly contemned? - -There were usually some eight or nine officers actually doing duty -with a battalion. A colonel and doctor, three or four captains and -lieutenants, and three or four ensigns, formed what was in those days -considered to be a very respectable complement. The other members -of the mess were far away from head-quarters, inditing minutes at -Calcutta, deciding suits in some distant non-regulation province, or -tracking the course of the Nile through the deserts of Nubia. Such, -however, was not universally the case. Here and there might be found -a corps where the regimental tone (that unwritten and impalpable law, -not passed in words, nor enforced by overt penalties, but obeyed in -silence and without question), had ordained that staff employment was -not a legitimate object of ambition. The officers plumed themselves -upon keeping all together, and rising one with another in the -ordinary course of promotion. They shot tigers, and speared hogs, -and played whist and billiards, and meanwhile looked well after -their companies, and contrived to know something about the private -history and character of every man under their command. They voted -it unfashionable to attempt the pass examination in Hindoostanee, -success in which was an indispensable qualification for the staff: an -ordeal familiarly known as the P.H.; that pair of consonants which -are seldom far from the lips, and never out of the thoughts, of the -more aspiring subalterns of the Bengal army. And yet, averse as they -were to grammars and dictionaries, these men spoke the vernacular -languages with rare facility. But not even to such officers as these -was breathed a syllable of that fearful secret, which England would -have cheaply bought at the price of a million pounds for a single -letter. Their soldiers entertained towards them a strong and genuine -regard. It was not among the ranks which they commanded that the spirit -of sedition was born and nurtured. But in the day of wrath there was no -distinction of person. When the baneful sirocco of mutiny, called by -the imaginative Hindoo "the Devil's Wind," was abroad in the air, all -milder influences yielded before its withering blast. The consciousness -of the authority of the "Fouj ki Bheera," or "general will of the -army," was to individual men, or regiments, almost irresistible. Some -troopers in Fisher's Irregular Cavalry performed a signal act of -gallantry at Lucknow, during the early days of the outbreak, for which -they received a handsome reward. While waiting for their money in the -verandah of the commissioner's house, they fell into conversation -with certain of their fellow-villagers among his servants. "We like -our colonel," said they, "and will not allow him to be harmed; but, -if the whole army turns, we must turn too." A week elapsed, and these -men looked quietly on from their saddles, while Colonel Fisher was -shot to death by a scoundrel in the lines of the military police. Then -they threw aside all semblance of discipline; murdered the second in -command; and shouted to the adjutant, who was a general favourite, -to ride and begone, if he desired to spare them the pain of taking -his life. At one large station the men were in open mutiny, and the -officers had grouped themselves in front of the battalion, expecting -every moment the fatal volley. They agreed, however, not to abandon -hope until they had witnessed the effect produced by the presence of a -captain of old standing in the service, who was apparently loved and -trusted by the whole regiment, and especially by the grenadier company, -to which he had been attached for many years. When his approach was -announced, every eye turned towards his bungalow, which stood on the -parade-ground, close to that flank where the grenadiers were stationed. -He had not gone ten paces down the line before he fell dead, pierced by -a bullet from the ranks of his own command. - -In every regiment there was a Soubahdar major, or native colonel; and -in every company a Soubahdar, who answered to a European captain, -and a Jemmadar, who answered to a European subaltern. These were -the commissioned officers, who wore swords and sashes, sat on a -court-martial, and were saluted by the rank and file. They had one -and all carried the musket, and there was no approach to friendship -or even to familiar intercourse between them and their Saxon brethren -in arms, who considered that, if they offered their soubahdar a chair -during an interview on regimental business, quite enough had been done -to mark the difference between a commissioned and a non-commissioned -sepoy. The sergeant and the corporal were represented by the havildar -and the naick; titles which make the list of killed and wounded in -Indian battles so bewildering to an English reader. Thus the Brahmin -battalion had a complete outfit of Brahmin officers; and this it was -that rendered the rebellious army so terribly efficient for evil. When -every Englishman in a corps had been murdered or scared away, the -organization none the less remained intact. The regiment was still a -military machine finished in every part, compact, flexible, and capable -as ever of a great and sustained exertion of strength and courage. This -imperfect, but, it is to be feared, tedious sketch of the composition -of our native force, as it existed before the mutiny, may well be -closed with the oracular words of Sir Charles Napier, the Cassandra of -the old Bengal army: "Your young, independent, wild cadet, will some -day find the Indian army taken out of his hands by the soubahdars. They -are steady, respectful, thoughtful, stern-looking men; very zealous and -military: the sole instructors of all our soldiers." - -The native town of Cawnpore contained sixty thousand inhabitants. It -possessed no architectural beauties worthy to detain the traveller who, -from those stately landing-places whence rise, tier above tier, the -shrines and palaces of Benares, was hurrying on towards the ineffable -glories of Agra. The most remarkable feature was a spacious boulevard, -more than a hundred feet in breadth, called the Chandnee Choke, or -street of silver. This name, common to the principal avenue in all -the great cities of the north west, is a monument of the days of bad -government and a primitive commercial system. When banks were few and -robbers bold and numerous, men preferred to have some part of their -wealth about their persons and in a portable form. A minister at a -native court, however rich the harvest he might gather in during the -fitful sunshine of royal favour, thought it well to keep a handful -of diamonds and rubies in his girdle, as a provision against the day -of disgrace and flight. Now, by the help of a bill of exchange and a -single trusty agent, he may store up his gains in European stocks and -debentures far out of reach of the greediest Nizam or the neediest -Maharaja. In like manner, in old times, farmers and shopkeepers were -wont to convert their superfluous rupees into ornaments of fantastic -design for themselves, their wives, and their children. The unceasing -flow of silver towards the east, which affords to political economists -a constant sensation of pleasing bewilderment, is attributed in part to -the fact that the Indian peasant still continues to invest his earnings -on the wrists and ankles, the ears and noses of his family. Cawnpore -was noted for the excellence and cheapness of all articles made of -leather,--saddlery, boots and shoes, bottle-covers, helmets, and -cheeroot-cases. The manufacture was introduced by a colony of Chinese, -the frugal and industrious Lombards of India, who settled in the Bazaar -many years ago. A subaltern could buy a set of harness for his buggy at -something under three pounds, and thoroughly equip his hack for half -that sum: and, if he was not very particular about shape and colour, he -might pick up a serviceable country-bred horse for a hundred rupee note. - -The city had an evil reputation. Situated on the frontier of two -distinct jurisdictions, it swarmed with rascals from Oude, on their -way to seek obscurity in British territory, and rascals from our -north-west provinces, on their way to seek impunity in the dominions -of the Nawab. Oonao, the half-way house on the road which led from -Cawnpore to Lucknow, gave a name to a class of murders of peculiar -atrocity. On and about that highway were constantly found the dead -bodies of travellers: sepoys, for the most part, returning to their -villages with their savings and the voucher for their pension. In most -cases a rope was drawn tightly round the neck: but the surgeons who -conducted the inquests gradually came to be of opinion that the victims -had been poisoned, or, at any rate, stupefied, by being induced to -smoke tobacco mixed with a noxious drug. The police exerted themselves -in vain to obtain a clue to the mystery. Whenever a fresh officer of -note was appointed to the district, the murderers made a point of -presenting him with a "nuzzur," or "offering," in the shape of a larger -than usual batch of corpses. The difficulty of detection was increased -by an odious custom well known to all Anglo-Indian magistrates, which -here flourished with extraordinary vigour. A malicious Hindoo will -deliberately mangle the body of a person who has died from a natural -cause, and fling it on the ground of some neighbour to whom the scamp -may happen to bear a grudge. The unfortunate recipient finds himself -involved in the consequences dreaded by the poor people in the Arabian -Nights, when the hunchback was choked by a fishbone beneath their -hospitable roof. - -Bajee Rao, the Peishwa of Poonah, was the last monarch of one of -those great Mahratta dynasties which long shared the sovereignty of -the Central Highlands and the plunder of all Hindostan. So near a -neighbour could not fail to be guilty of the amount of "treachery," -"faithlessness," and "bad internal government," necessary to justify -the annexation of his dominions. Urged by that painful necessity of -taking what belongs to others, which is the inevitable result of all -our dealings with Oriental powers, we dethroned Bajee Rao, confiscated -his territories, and assigned him a residence at Bithoor, a small town -twelve miles up the river from Cawnpore. Here he lived until his death -in princely state, inasmuch as the Company always behaved with great -generosity towards the princes whom it had plundered, after the manner -of those open-handed thieves of fiction who fling back a couple of -broad pieces to the traveller whom they have eased of his purse and -watch. Bithoor was pleasantly situated upon the banks of the sacred -stream, and was peculiarly suited to be the Saint Juste in which a -retired Brahmin ruler might be content to end his days; for the spot -was held in singular favour by Brahma. Here, after the creation had -been accomplished, the deity had sacrificed a hecatomb, in token that -his great work was good. The pin which fastened the divine sandal was -picked up in after days, and inserted in the steps of the principal -landing-place, where it may still be seen by the incredulous. At the -full moon in November, prodigious crowds of pilgrims assemble from all -parts of India to celebrate the present god with frankincense, and -flowers, and barbarous music, and drunken frenzy. With his traditions -and his greyhounds, his annuity of eighty thousand pounds, and his -host of retainers, Bajee Rao led a splendid and not unhappy existence. -But the old Mahratta had one sore trial. He had no son to inherit his -possessions, perpetuate his name, and apply the torch to his funeral -pyre: for the last office, so the inflexible law of his religion -ordained, might be performed by none other than a filial hand. In -this strait he had recourse to adoption, a ceremony which, by Hindoo -law, entitles the favoured person to all the rights and privileges -of an heir born of the body. His choice fell upon an individual who, -according to some, was the son of a Poonah corn-merchant, while others -say that he was born in great poverty at a miserable village in the -vicinity of Bombay. The name of this man was Seereek Dhoondoo Punth: -but the execration of mankind has found his cluster of titles too long -for use, and prefers the more familiar appellation of "the Nana." - -Bajee Rao died in 1851, and the heir forthwith put in a demand for the -continuance of the pension which the Company had granted to his adopted -father. The claim was disallowed, and the Nana, who at length began -to despair of prevailing upon the Calcutta authorities, determined -to go to the fountain-head, and accordingly despatched an agent to -London. For this purpose he selected his confidential man of business, -Azimoolah Khan, a clever adventurer, who began life as kitmutgar, or -footman, in an Anglo-Indian family. In spite of his disadvantages, -he acquired a thorough acquaintance with the English and French -languages. He subsequently became a pupil, and thence a teacher, in -the Government School at Cawnpore; in which position he attracted the -notice of the Nana. Azimoolah arrived in town during the height of the -season of 1854, and was welcomed with open arms by that portion of -society which makes no inquiries into the antecedents of an aspirant -to its favour, provided he be not a fellow-countryman or Christian. -According to the creed of this class, every Hindoo was necessarily a -prince, just as every Maronite is a martyr, and every Pole a patriot. -Azimoolah speedily became a lion, and obtained more than even a lion's -share of the sweetest of all flattery. The ladies voted him charming. -Handsome and witty, endowed with plenty of assurance and an apparent -abundance of diamonds and Cashmere shawls, the ex-kitmutgar seemed as -fine a gentleman as the prime minister of Nepaul, or the Maharaja of -the Punjaub. On the first day of the great vengeance, when Havelock's -forlorn hope came to Bithoor, grim and eager, straight from the brink -of the fatal well, our soldiers discovered amongst the possessions of -this scoundrel letters from more than one titled lady couched in terms -of the most courteous friendship. An indiscretion for which a sneer -would be too severe a punishment, at such a moment excited bitter and -painful emotion. - -Great as were the successes which the agent of the Nana gained on his -own account in Mayfair, he was able to effect very little for his -master in Leadenhall Street and Westminster. In the reports which he -transmitted to Bithoor he attributed his failure to the bribes which -the Board of Control and the Privy Council had eaten at the hands of -the East Indian Company; an explanation which appeared satisfactory to -the Maharaja. On his way home Azimoolah passed through Constantinople -at the time when our fortune in the Crimea was at the lowest ebb. -During the mid-gloom of that terrible winter there was much talk among -those who did not love us concerning the decadence of England and the -youthful vigour of the Russian power. Of such gossip the clever Asiatic -collected an ample budget, in order to console his baffled employer -with cheery vaticinations relating to the approaching downfall of the -British rule. - -Although the Nana had failed in his attempt on the public purse, his -wealth was still conspicuous even among the colossal incomes of Indian -landholders. He had contrived to secure to himself the whole property -of the ex-Peishwa; and strange stories were told about the means by -which this end had been accomplished. The nephew of Bajee Rao started -a claim for one half of his uncle's estate, which moiety he valued at -more than three millions. The suit was dismissed, and the plaintiff -never ceased to affirm that "the palm of the judge had been greased by -the Nana:" but too much attention must not be paid to this declaration; -for, whenever a native accuses the bench of corruption, he simply -means that he has lost his case. It is certain that the Maharaja kept -in confinement against their will the widows of his predecessor; for -whose younger daughter he planned a marriage inconsistent with the -rules and traditions of the family: an act of outrageous tyranny in the -estimation of High Brahmins. He wedded the eldest sister to a husband -whom she was never allowed to see; and, when her death occurred after -no long interval, it was whispered about the neighbourhood that there -had been very foul play in every sense of the word. Those fictitious -tales of vice and atrocity, with which literary hacks of the vilest -class feed the corrupt imaginations of their readers, too often find a -parallel in the realities of a great oriental household. The doctrine -of personal rights has no existence within the walls of a zenana. -Nowhere was the mystery of iniquity deeper and darker than in the -palace of Bithoor, which was indeed a worthy nest for such a vulture. -There were rooms in that palace horribly unfit for any human eye, where -both European and native artists had done their best to gratify a -master who was willing to incur any expense for the completion of his -loathsome picture-gallery. - -In the apartments open to the inspection of English visitors there -was nothing which could shock either modesty or humanity, though a -Sahib of fastidious taste might take exception to the arrangement of -the furniture and the decorations. The habits of an Oriental are so -simple, his wants so few, that the most Anglified Hindoo gentleman -can never acquire himself, and still less impart to his servants -a thorough acquaintance with our complicated domestic appliances. -There is something very droll in the sanctum occupied by the eldest -son of a rich native family; where, by a display of Western art and -civilization, "Young Bengal" excites the envy of his contemporaries, -and scandalises those among his relatives who belong to the old school. -A cast from an exquisite statuette of Thorwaldsen stands side by side -with a gilt shepherdess, or Highlander, or other specimen of that -vulgar ware which with us has long been banished from the farmhouse to -the cottage. A copy of some Roman or Florentine Madonna hangs next to -a coloured print of a ballet-dancer; while a proof signed by Holman -Hunt or Millais is flanked by "Facing a Bullfinch" and "Swishing a -Rasper" from the classical collection of Mr. Fores, of Piccadilly. Over -a sideboard of carved oak has long ceased to tick a veneered clock, -daubed with the representation of the Exchange at Philadelphia; and -round the tent-table of some deceased or insolvent ensign are gathered -half a dozen chairs which once graced the boudoir of a vice-regal -dame. No Eastern Anglo-maniac possessed a more heterogeneous collection -than the Nana, who, living far from Calcutta, the centre of exotic -fashion, was reduced to content himself with whatever treasures might -come into the market at casual up-country sales. A gentleman of some -literary reputation, who was entertained by the Maharaja in days gone -by, thus describes the Bithoor ménage:--"I sat down to a table twenty -feet long (it had originally been the mess-table of a cavalry regiment) -which was covered with a damask table-cloth of European manufacture, -but instead of a dinner napkin there was a bedroom towel. The soup--for -the steward had everything ready--was served up in a trifle-dish which -had formed part of a dessert service belonging to the Ninth Lancers--at -all events the arms of that regiment were upon it; but the plate into -which I ladled it with a broken tea-cup was of the old willow pattern. -The pilau which followed the soup was served upon a huge plated -dish, but the plate from which I ate it was of the very commonest -description. The knife was a bone-handled affair; the spoon and fork -were silver, and of Calcutta make. The plated side-dishes, containing -vegetables, were odd ones; one was round, the other oval. The pudding -was brought in upon a soup-plate, of blue and gold pattern, and the -cheese was placed before me on a glass dish belonging to a dessert -service. The cool claret I drank out of a richly cut champagne glass, -and the beer out of an American tumbler of the very worst quality." - -The Maharaja had a large and excellent stable of horses, elephants, and -camels; a well-appointed kennel; and a menagerie of pigeons, falcons, -peacocks, and apes, which would have done credit to any Oriental -monarch, from the days of Solomon downwards. His armoury was stocked -with weapons of every age and country, from a masterpiece of Purdey, to -the bow and arrows used by the Hillmen of Orissa. His reception-rooms -sparkled with mirrors and chandeliers that had come direct from -Birmingham; and his equipages had stood within the twelvemonth in the -warehouses of Longacre. He possessed a vast store of gold and silver -plate; and his wardrobe overflowed with shawls and jewellery, which -on gala days were regarded with longing eyes by the Cawnpore ladies. -Nor did they lack frequent opportunities of contemplating the Maharaja -in his panoply of kincob and Cashmere scarfs, crowned with a tiara of -pearls and diamonds, and girt with old Bajee Rao's sword of state, -which report valued at three lacs of rupees. For the Nana seldom missed -an occasion for giving a ball or a banquet in European style to the -society of the station; although he would never accept an entertainment -in return, because our Government, which refused to regard him as -a royal personage, would not allow him the compliment of a salute. -Nor did he treat his guests with the semi-barbarous discourtesy -evinced by some native hosts, who pass the evening seated among a -group of courtiers, scrutinizing the dancers through a lorgnette, and -apparently regarding the whole proceeding as a ballet arranged for -their individual amusement. The Maharaja mixed freely with the company; -inquired after the health of the Major's lady; congratulated the judge -on his rumoured promotion to the Sudder Court; joked the assistant -magistrate about his last mishap in the hunting-field; and complimented -the belle of the evening on the colour she had brought down from Simla. -His wealth was abundant enough to allow of any vagaries of hospitality -and personal extravagance, and does not seem to have been seriously -impaired even by the expense entailed by a crowd of lazy myrmidons -whom he kept about his person; a folly common to all high-born and -opulent Hindoos. Every native landlord, who can induce his neighbours -to dignify him with the title of Rajah, delights in flourishing about -the country under the escort of a host of blackguards;--the horsemen -armed with lances and old cavalry swords, and mounted on raw-boned, -long-tailed horses, smeared with coarse paint;--the infantry straggling -along under the weight of clubs, partizans, brass blunderbusses, and -long matchlocks, of which the stock is studded with glass beads, and -the muzzle shaped into the semblance of a dragon's mouth. The Nana kept -several hundreds of these scamps in idleness and insolence. He provided -them with four rupees a month, and a suit of clothes once a year; an -allowance which they eked out by plundering the peasants for twenty -miles round, and extorting an intermittent blackmail from the tradesmen -of Cawnpore. - -At the time of the mutiny the Nana was about thirty-six years of -age. His complexion was sallow; his features strongly marked, and not -unpleasing. Like all Mahrattas, both head and face were shaven clean. -He was fat with that unhealthy corpulence which marks the Eastern -voluptuary. The circumstances under which a young Rajah comes to -maturity leave him a very scant chance of obtaining perfection, moral -or physical. From his earliest years he is surrounded by flatterers and -pandars. While still a child in the harem, it is the object of every -one, beginning with his own mother, to obtain his ear by adulation, -and by the freemasonry of corrupt discourse. During his boyhood he -has no little peers on whom to exert his faculties for emulation and -self-denial; and, when he has arrived at man's estate, he may look in -vain for any object of honourable ambition amidst the dead level of -national dependence. He never walks, save from his divan to his bath; -never mounts one of the huge cream-coloured steeds, which on high -feast-days amble behind his palanquin in melancholy cavalcade; never -knows the sensation of honest fatigue and wholesome hunger. No whim -ungratified; every propensity cherished and pampered; incapable of -effort; incognizant of duty; he is vicious with deeper than Parisian -immorality, and listless with more than Belgravian ennui. Long before -the age at which a high-born Englishman makes his choice of Hercules -between balls and blue-books, the effete sensuality of a Hindoo noble -is reduced to seek gratification in the illicit charms of Indian hemp -and French brandy. What wonder that in middle life he is flabby and -gross beyond hope and compass; too feeble for manly exercise, too -self-indulgent to practise a self-denying regimen? - -The Maharaja of Bithoor exhibited a lively interest in the proceedings -of our Government at home and abroad, in our history, our arts, our -religion, and our customs; although he was entirely ignorant of our -language. He subscribed to all the leading Anglo-Indian journals, -which were translated to him daily by an individual who had been -unlucky enough to exchange a situation on the East Indian Railroad -for the post of English Professor in the household of the Nana. The -Rajah played billiards admirably, while he was yet slim enough to bend -over the table without inconvenience. He especially delighted in the -game, because it afforded him an opportunity for mixing on familiar -terms with the officers of the garrison. Nothing could exceed the -cordiality which he constantly displayed in his intercourse with our -countrymen. The persons in authority placed an implicit confidence -in his friendliness and good faith, and the ensigns emphatically -pronounced him a capital fellow. He had a nod or a kind word for every -Sahib in the station. There were hunting-parties and jewellery for -the men, and picnics and shawls for the ladies. If a subaltern's wife -required change of air, the Rajah's carriage was at the service of -the young couple, and the European apartments at Bithoor were put in -order to receive them. If a civilian had overworked himself in court, -he had but to speak the word, and the Rajah's elephants were sent on -to the Oude jungles. But none the less did he never for an instant -forget the grudge which he bore our nation. While his face was all -smiles, in his heart of hearts he brooded over the judgment of the -Company, and the wrong of his despised claim. From his hour of repulse -to his hour of vengeance his life was one long irony. Thenceforward -his story would more fitly be told in the wild and mysterious rhythms -of the old Greek drama than in sober English prose; for in truth -that story finds no parallel, save in the ghastly tales which hang -like a mist of blood round the accursed house of Pelops. The lads -who, with his sapphires and rubies glistening on their fingers, sat -laughing round his Thyestean table, had one and all been doomed to -die by a warrant that admitted of no appeal. He had sworn that the -injustice should be expiated by the blood of women who had never heard -his grievance named;--of babies who had been born years after the -question of that grievance had passed into oblivion. The great crime -of Cawnpore blackens the page of history with a far deeper stain than -Sicilian Vespers, or September massacres: for this atrocious act was -prompted, not by diseased and mistaken patriotism, nor by the madness -of superstition, nor yet by incontrollable fear that knew not pity. -The motives of the deed were as mean as the execution was cowardly and -treacherous. Among the subordinate villains there might be some who -were possessed by bigotry and class-hatred: but the chief of the gang -was actuated by no higher impulses than ruffled pride and disappointed -greed. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE OUTBREAK. - - -During the spring of 1857 the native society of Hindostan presented -those remarkable phenomena which, in an Asiatic community, are the -infallible symptoms of an approaching convulsion. The atmosphere was -alive with rumours, of the nature peculiar to India;--strange and -inconsequent fragments of warning or prediction, which, with reverent -credulity, are passed from mouth to mouth throughout a million -homesteads. No one can tell whence the dim whisper first arose, or -what it may portend; it is received as a voice from heaven, and sent -forward on its course without comment or delay; for the Hindoo people, -like the Greeks of ancient time, hold Rumour to be divine. Some of -these unwritten oracles undoubtedly grew spontaneously from the talk -of men, and were to be regarded merely as indications of the agitated -and uneasy condition of the public mind; but, beyond all question, some -secret influence was at work to advertise, so to speak, the mutiny. The -ringleaders of that gigantic conspiracy advisedly undertook to impress -upon the world at large the idea that something was coming, the like of -which had not been known before. Manifold and variously expressed as -were the prevailing reports, all had one and the same tendency. With -a thousand tongues, and in a thousand forms, they spoke of a great -trial that awaited the national religions; a trial from which they -were eventually to emerge unscathed and victorious. A prophecy had -long been current, that the hundredth year from the battle of Plassy -would witness the downfall of the English rule; and the hundredth -year had arrived. A mandate had of late gone forth from the palace of -Delhi, enjoining the Mahommedans at all their solemn gatherings to -recite a song of lamentation, indited by the royal musician himself, -which described in touching strains the humiliation of their race, -and the degradation of their ancient faith, once triumphant from the -Northern snows to the Southern strait, but now trodden under the foot -of the infidel and the alien. In January, the peasants of Bengal were -repeating to each other a sentence apparently devoid of meaning, "Sub -lal hoga," "everything is to become red." Some referred this dubious -announcement to the probable extension of our empire over the whole -continent, when the scarlet coats of our soldiers would be seen at -Hyderabad and Khatmandoo, in Cashmere and Travancore; while others -hinted that there was something thicker than water, and of a deeper -crimson than a British uniform. Side by side with like ambiguous -sayings, were more plain-spoken assertions concerning cartridges -smeared with lard, and flour mixed with the ground bones of cow and -pig, and other treacherous devices by which the demon who swayed the -sceptre of Hindostan, the impalpable but omnipotent Kumpani, aimed at -the destruction of sect and caste, and the universal establishment -of Christianity. And, finally, during the early days of March, every -hamlet in the Gangetic provinces received from its neighbour the -innocent present of two chupatties, or bannocks of salt and dough, -which form the staple food of the population. This far-famed token, -the fiery cross of India, had no definite signification. It notified -generally that men would do well to keep themselves prepared, for that -something was in the air. In after days, one who had learned their -effect by bitter experience, likened the chupatties to the cake of -barley-bread which foreshadowed the destruction of the host of Midian. -And so, from hand to hand, and from house to house, and from village -to village, the mysterious symbol flew, and spread through the length -and breadth of the land confusion and questioning, a wild terror, and -a wilder hope. Truly, it may be said that, as in Judæa of old, there -was distress of nations, and perplexity; men's hearts failing them for -fear, and for looking after those things that were coming on the earth. - -Meanwhile, at Cawnpore, people ate, and drank, and married, and gave -in marriage, and led the ordinary life of an up-country station. The -magistrate grumbled because the judge acquitted too large a per centage -of his committals; and the collector pronounced himself ill-used -because the revenue board would not allow him an additional lac of -rupees for his pet embankment; and the subalterns complained that -the police-magistrate did not permit them to impress men to act as -beaters at less than the market rate of wages; and the captains, by -the aid of the mess-room army-list, made those intricate calculations -which are the delight of military men and the despair of civilians; -and the ladies, those, at least, on whom during the past cold season -Fortune and Hymen had smiled, began to allow that the weather had grown -too warm for dancing, though still eminently favourable for morning -calls; and one talked of sending her children home; and another of -going herself to the hills; and, towards the end of April, a party of -disbanded Brahmins of the Nineteenth regiment came from the west, and -spread through the Sepoy lines strange tales of greased cartridges, and -gibbets, and midnight tumults, and officers cut down in the midst of -the parade-ground. - -Before the month of May was half over, the English residents at -Cawnpore were beginning to be made uneasy by the disagreeable character -of the intelligence from Agra. Something had happened at Meerut, and it -was feared that something had happened at Delhi. Guns had been heard -all the night of the tenth. European travellers from the north-west, -whose arrival had been confidently expected, did not make their -appearance. A party of the police had gone out to look for them, but -met nobody except a young Sepoy trotting down the road on a cavalry -troop-horse, who refused to answer any questions. But in the meanwhile, -by those secret channels through which in eastern regions bad news -travels with more than proverbial celerity, it was well known in the -bazaar that the Third Light Cavalry had turned upon their officers; -that murder and arson had been the order of the day; that the vast -native garrison of Delhi had risen to a man, and had butchered every -Englishman on whom they could lay their hands; that mutiny had gotten -to itself a nucleus and a stronghold in the capital of the Mogul. -These tidings caused great excitement throughout the cantonments, and, -especially, in the lines of the Second Cavalry, to whose regiment the -corps which had set the example of sedition stood next on the rolls of -the Bengal army. - -The officer in command of the Cawnpore division was Major-General Sir -Hugh Wheeler, K.C.B. At the outbreak of the troubles, many of our -most important stations were entrusted to the charge of men who had -won their spurs at Seringapatam, and might well have been content -to have closed their career at Mooltan. It was to our shame as a -military nation that, during such a crisis, the fortunes of England -too often depended on the anility of invalids who should have been -comfortably telling their stories of the Mahratta war in the pump-rooms -of Cheltenham and Buxton. History blushes to chide these veterans -for shortcomings incidental to their age. It is hardly just to blame -them for prating of Lord Lake, and whimpering about the unsoldierlike -appearance which the troops presented without their stocks and with -their sun-helmets, at a time when younger warriors would have been -disarming, and blowing from guns, and securing treasure, and throwing -up earthworks, and sending the women and children down the river to -Calcutta. In this his second half-century of Indian service, Sir Hugh -was among the oldest members of the old school of Bengal officers. He -worshipped his sepoys; spoke their language like one of themselves; -and, indeed, had testified to his predilection for the natives of -Hindostan by the strongest proof which it is in the power of a man to -give. Short and spare, he still rode and walked like a soldier: and -appears to have been capable of as much exertion as could reasonably be -expected from an Englishman who had spent beneath an Indian sun more -than two-thirds of his seventy-five years. On the eighteenth of May, he -despatched the following message to the seat of Government: - -"All well at Cawnpore. Quiet, but excitement continues among the -people. The final advance on Delhi will soon be made. The insurgents -can only be about 3,000 in number, and are said to cling to the walls -of Delhi, where they have put up a puppet-king. I grudge the escape of -one of them. Calm and expert policy will soon reassure the public mind. -The plague is, in truth, stayed." - -The reader need not be alarmed at the length of the telegraphic news -from Cawnpore. There is but little more to come. - -For in truth the plague was very far from stayed. The soldiery knew -their own strength, and were well inclined to turn the knowledge to -profit. There were schoolmasters who might have taught them a lesson -of quite another description: but it was a far cry to Barrackpore, -and there was no Hearsay at hand. It happens that a native lawyer, -Nanukchund by name, took the precaution to keep a full and faithful -journal, from the fifteenth of May onwards. This man was bound to -our interest by the indissoluble tie of a common fear. A personal -enemy of the Nana, he was actually engaged in conducting the suit -instituted by the nephew of Bajee Rao to establish his claim to the -half of his uncle's estate. With genuine Hindoo sagacity, he foresaw -the approaching struggle, and the ultimate triumph of the English -power; and conjectured that a record of events compiled with accuracy, -slightly tinged by a somewhat ostentatious loyalty, would certainly -procure him credit, and, possibly, a comfortable official income. Two -days before Sir Hugh made his cheerful report to the Governor-General, -Nanukchund looked in on a friend employed at the Treasury, and there -heard the native officers of the guard uttering traitorous language, -while their men amused themselves by quarrelling with the townsfolk who -went to the Treasury on business. They detained people who came out -with money or stamp-papers, and would not release them till ordered -to do so by the Soubahdar. "It began to be evident," says this shrewd -observer, "that nobody had any authority but the Soubahdars and the -sepoys." - -At length the symptoms of the growing malady became too patent to be -disregarded even by the most sanguine physician. It came to the ears -of the General that the son of a trooper in the Second Cavalry had -been boasting to his schoolfellows that he was in the secret of what -his father's regiment intended to do for the good cause. And, about -the same time, one Khan Mahomed, a sepoy of the Fifty-sixth, took upon -himself to assert that on the fifth of the next month the native troops -were to be deprived of their arms, assembled under the pretence of -getting their pay, and then and there blown up from a mine constructed -by the European officers in the intervals of billiards. This singularly -unpleasant prophet seems to have been without honour in his own -battalion. His comrades brought information to the adjutant, who gave -himself no trouble about the matter, beyond telling them that the story -was all a lie. Thereupon Khan Mahomed went to the cavalry lines, where -he found an audience more ready to accept his tale. On this occasion he -imported some squadrons of English troopers, who were to be equipped -with the swords and horses of his hearers. The regiment was soon in a -panic of rage and fear. It became necessary to take immediate measures. -The incendiary was put in irons, and an urgent application for aid -telegraphed to Lucknow. Sir Henry Lawrence was roused from his bed at -midnight, and by break of day all the available post-carriages in the -station were rolling along towards Cawnpore, crammed inside and out -with English soldiers. - -But, in an hour of evil omen, Sir Hugh bethought himself of invoking -the assistance of a more dubious ally. The Nana had lately paid a visit -to the capital of Oude, under pretence of seeing the lions of the -place. The arrogance of his manner, and the discourtesy of his sudden -and unannounced departure, had attracted the attention of Mr. Gubbins, -the Financial Commissioner, who communicated to General Wheeler his -suspicions, backed by the opinion of Sir Henry Lawrence. It may be that -the fatal step was first suggested by the warning of wiser men. It may -be that the idea had long been familiar to the mind of the infatuated -veteran. At all events, the sole answer to the remonstrance from -Lucknow was a message, dated the twenty-second of May, stating that -"two guns, and three hundred men, cavalry and infantry, furnished by -the Maharaja of Bithoor, came in this morning." - -On their march to Cawnpore, these scoundrels furnished a striking proof -of their discipline and good faith. Chimna Apa, a man of some property, -who supplied the nephew of Bajee Rao with the means of carrying on his -law-suit, was driving out of town in the direction of Bithoor, when he -unexpectedly came upon this formidable array commanded by the rival -litigant. Apa, like a sensible fellow, jumped off his conveyance, -and ran into a neighbouring ravine. The Nana's people appropriated a -valuable sword and five hundred rupees, which the fugitive had left -behind in his haste, cudgelled the servants, and went off declaring -that the master had better look to himself, as the British rule would -only last a few days longer. This specimen of the services which these -new protectors were likely to render to the cause of law and order -was brought to the notice of the authorities; but they had gone too -far to draw back. The Nana took up his quarters in the midst of the -houses occupied by the civilians and their families; the Treasury, -which contained upwards of a hundred thousand pounds, was put under the -custody of his body-guard; and it was even proposed that the ladies and -children should be placed in sanctuary in Bithoor palace. - -There were some, however, who scrupled to entrust the honour of England -and the lives of her daughters to the exclusive guardianship of a -discontented Mahratta. At their instigation the General set to work -in a dilatory spirit to provide an asylum where, if the worst should -befall, we might shelter, for a while at least, the relics of our name -and power. He does not appear to have thought of the magazine, which -was admirably adapted for defence. A mud wall, four feet high, was -thrown up round the buildings which composed the old dragoon hospital, -and ten guns of various calibre were placed in position round the -intrenchment, by which name the miserable contrivance was dignified. -Orders were given to lay in supplies for twenty-five days. The stock of -rice, butter, salt, tea, sugar, rum, beer, and preserved meats looked -well enough on paper. But the master's eye, which in India is even more -essential than elsewhere, was entirely wanting. The contractors behaved -after their kind. Peas and flour formed the bulk of the supplies, and -even these were ridiculously insufficient. The regimental officers, -who had no very lively confidence in Sir Hugh as a caterer, sent -in large contributions of liquor and hermetically-sealed tins from -their mess-stores. The tangible results of a fortnight's labour and -supervision, at a time when every hour was precious, and every day -priceless, consisted in a few cart-loads of coarse native food, and a -fence not high enough to keep out an active cow. Utterly insufficient -as they were, the sight of these preparations had a most unfortunate -influence upon the minds of the sepoys. The timid were seriously -alarmed by the hostile attitude adopted by our countrymen. The bolder -spirits rejoiced to witness so plain a confession of apprehension on -the part of their officers; while the more honest and trustworthy -among their number would say to each other: "The sahibs have lost all -confidence in us, and we shall never get over it." Where there is a -will, there is a way, even in such a strait. And where there is half a -will, there is a way likewise; but it leads whither it is not good that -brave men should go, to disaster and discomfort, to bootless sacrifice -and inglorious ruin. During these days Azimoolah, while walking with a -lieutenant who had been a great favourite at Bithoor, pointed to the -fortification which was then in progress, and said:-- - -"What do you call that place you are making out in the plain?" - -"I am sure I don't know," was the reply. - -Azimoolah suggested that it should be called "The Fort of Despair." -"No, no;" answered the Englishman, "we will call it the Fort of -Victory:" an observation that was received by his companion with an -air of incredulous assent, which he must have acquired in West End -drawing-rooms. - -And now ensued a period of ceaseless dread, of suspicion that never -slumbered, of suspense hardly preferable to the most terrible -certainty. The women and children spent the nights within the circuit -of the intrenchment, while their husbands, with devotion that merited -a better reward, pitched their tents among the sepoy huts, and so took -what sleep they might. On the twentieth of May, flames broke out after -dark in the lines of the First Native Infantry. In a moment the station -was on the alert. Men hurried on their clothes, and clutched revolvers -from under their pillows. Guns loaded with grape were trundled down to -a preconcerted rendezvous. It was no easy matter to persuade people -that so ill-timed a conflagration could be altogether accidental. The -twenty-fourth of the month was the festival of the Eed: a season which -Mahommedans celebrate with the blood of sheep and goats, though on this -occasion there was serious cause to apprehend lest, in their religious -enthusiasm, they should pant for nobler victims. Sir Hugh telegraphed -to Lucknow his belief that nothing could avert a rising. The feast, -however, passed off without any disturbance. The Mussulmans in our -ranks paid their respects to their officers; acknowledged with apparent -gratitude the customary present of a fat Patna sheep; and protested -that, come what might, they would be faithful to their leaders:--a -statement that was accepted for as much as it was worth. - -But these alternations of confidence and alarm gradually settled down -into chronic gloom. On the return of the Queen's birthday the usual -compliment was omitted, lest the natives should interpret the firing -of the salute as a signal for revolt. Even military loyalty dared not -do honour to our sovereign in a garrison that was still nominally her -own. A sergeant's wife was making some purchases in the bazaar, when a -man, whose martial gait and spruce appearance clearly proclaimed the -sepoy in undress, accosted the poor woman in these words:--"Ah! you -will none of you come here much oftener; you will not be alive another -week." Our countrymen began to keep watch all night by turns, armed to -the teeth. As on a burning ship, when the sea runs high, and the last -boat has been swamped or dashed to pieces, the crew wait with clenched -teeth till the fire has reached the magazine, and say, "Now it is -coming;" and again, "Now;" so the Englishmen at Cawnpore, ignorant what -each day might bring forth, certain only that the catastrophe was not -remote, sat, pistol in hand, and expected the inevitable. Some families -endeavoured to get down to Allahabad ere it was yet too late. But the -roads swarmed with rebellious peasantry, and liberated jail-birds: the -shallows in the river forbade all passage in this the eighth month of -the annual drought; and escape was found to be impracticable. Whatever -destiny might have in store was to be shared by all alike. - -During the closing days of May, people were writing hard to catch the -Home Mail: and they did well, for it was their last. Strange, beyond -conception of poet strange and sad, must have been the contents of -that Cawnpore mail-bag. Imagine Colonel Ewart seated at his desk in a -tent surrounded by line behind line of huts and camp-fires, in and -about which are swaggering hundreds of insolent, faithless mercenaries. -Picture that scene, and then read: "I do not wish to write gloomily, -but there is no use in disguising the fact, that we are in the utmost -danger; and, as I have said, if the troops do mutiny, my life must -almost certainly be sacrificed; but I do not think they will venture to -attack the intrenched position which is held by the European troops, so -I hope in God that my wife and child will be saved. - -"And now, dear A----, farewell. If, under God's providence, this be the -last time I am to write to you, I entreat you to forgive all I have -ever done to trouble you, and to think kindly of me. I know you will be -everything a mother can be to my boy. I cannot write to him this time, -dear little fellow. Kiss him for me. Kind love to my brothers." - -So spoke the stout soldier, fearing not for himself, but for a wife who -was worthy of the husband, as her own words show. "My dear child," she -says, "is looking very delicate. My prayer is that she may be spared -much suffering. The bitterness of death has been tasted by us many -times during the last fortnight, and, should the reality come, I hope -we may find strength to meet it with a truly Christian courage. It is -not hard to die oneself, but to see a dear child suffer and perish, -that is the hard, the bitter trial, and the cup which I must drink, -should God not deem it fit that it should pass from me. My companion, -Mrs. Hillersdon, is delightful. Poor young thing, she has such a -gentle spirit, so unmurmuring, so desirous to meet the trial rightly, -unselfish and sweet in every way. She has two children, and we feel -that our duty to our little ones demands that we should exert ourselves -to keep up health and spirits as much as possible." That is the temper -with which the mothers of Englishmen should die, if die they must. - -"Such nights of anxiety," she continues, "I would never have believed -possible, and the days are full of excitement. Another fortnight, we -expect, will decide our fate; and, whatever it may be, I trust we -shall be able to bear it. If these are my last words to you, you will -remember them lovingly, and always bear in mind that your affection -and the love we have ever had for each other is an ingredient of -comfort in these bitter times." Such was the tone of the letters which, -thence and at that season, went forth to spread a terrible solicitude -through many an English household. Very different from the tender -confidences and innocent gossip, the reminiscences of sick leave and -the anticipations of furlough, the directions to milliners and the -inquiries about boarding-schools, which are the ordinary materials of -the Home Correspondence from an Indian station. - -Meanwhile, the Nana was in intimate communication with the ringleaders -of the Second Cavalry. The black sheep of the regiment were wont to -hold meetings at the quarters of a trooper named Shumshoodeen Rhan, and -of Teeka Sing, a Hindoo Soubahdar, who, by his audacity and energy, -had gained an ascendency among his colleagues. These gatherings were -attended by Jwala Pershad, a hanger-on at Bithoor Palace, and Muddud -Ali, who had lately resigned the service of the Maharaja and taken to -horse-dealing, but who still used to visit his former master in the -way of business. At length, Teeka Sing had the honour of an interview -with the Nana himself, during which, according to the story current -among his comrades, the Soubahdar spoke to this effect: "You have come -to take charge of the magazine and treasury of the English; we all, -Hindoos and Mahommedans, have united for our religions, and the whole -Bengal army has become one in purpose. What do you say to it?" The Nana -replied: "I, also, am at the disposal of the army." This very essential -question having been so frankly answered, arrangements were made for -a final consultation. One June evening, after dusk, the Maharaja, -accompanied by his brother Bala and the ubiquitous Azimoolah, repaired -to a landing-place on the Ganges, whither his emissaries had conducted -Teeka Sing and his associates. The whole party seated themselves in a -boat, and talked earnestly for the space of two hours. They appear to -have arrived at a satisfactory conclusion; for, next day, Shumshoodeen -wetted his prospective honours at the house of Azeezun, a favourite -courtesan of the Second Cavalry troopers. In his tipsy fondness he told -the girl that in a day or two the Nana would be paramount, and promised -to stuff her house with gold mohurs from roof to cellar. - -The Maharaja endeavoured to conceal his movements by shifting his -residence to and fro between Bithoor and the cantonments; but he was -closely watched by the spies of those among his own countrymen who had -reason to dread his elevation. If British authority were to perish, if -the sepoys and their new ally were in power but for a single week, it -would go ill indeed with all who had ever crossed the Nana in love, -law, or speculation. And, especially, any who had concern in the great -law-suit would do well to look to themselves, litigant, paymaster, -witness, and counsel alike. As early as the twenty-sixth of May, the -sharp-sighted advocate, whose diary has been already quoted, drew up -an account of the embryo conspiracy, and sent it in the form of a -petition to the magistrate of the Station; "Who," says Nanukchund, -"gave no heed to my petition, and got so vexed with me that I cannot -describe his anger. He said to me, 'You have all along been speaking -ill of the Nana, and filing suits against him in the civil courts. I -cannot pay attention to any representation from a person so hostile -to the Nana.' I replied that those affairs had no connexion with the -present question, that the Nana had long harboured enmity to the -Government, and a great number of rascals belonged to his party; that -he (the Magistrate) would remember my caution, and that I had obtained -certain intelligence, as the men of the Nana's household communicated -it to Chimna Apa, my client. The Magistrate would listen to nothing. In -despair, I did nothing further than keep a copy of the petition in my -book. It is a hopeless case. Let us see what will be the end of all -this neglect." A dramatist of ancient Greece would have attributed such -obstinate blindness to the malice of some injured deity, misleading -to their bane those whom he had marked for destruction. There is a -Goddess of Delusion in the eternal order of things no less than in the -Æschylean mythology. - -The last mail had already left Cawnpore. At nine o'clock on the night -of the third of June, went forth the last telegraphic message that ever -reached the outer world. Thus it ran:-- - - "_Sir Hugh Wheeler to the Secretary to the Government of India._ - - "All the orders and proclamations have been sent express, as the - telegraph communication between this and Agra is obstructed. - - "Sir Henry Lawrence having expressed some uneasiness, I have just - sent him by post carriages out of my small force two officers and - fifty men of Her Majesty's 84th Foot; conveyance for more not - available. This leaves me weak, but I trust to holding my own until - more Europeans arrive." - -So it was. Prompted by a genuine sentiment of chivalry, Sir Hugh not -only sent back the Lucknow reinforcement that had arrived during the -previous week, but increased it by a detachment from his own scanty -command. He doubtless considered that, at such a time, a loan of -English bayonets should bear high interest. And it was well for these -men that they were removed from the doomed garrison to a field where -they might fight not without some prospect of life, some hope of -victory. Those who were marked to remain and die were enough to do -their country loss. - -As in a frame predisposed to disease the slightest irregularity is -productive of fatal results, so now at Cawnpore the smouldering fires -of discontent and distrust were inflamed by an incident which at -ordinary times would have passed almost without remark. There was -resident at the station a cashiered subaltern whom it would be cruel -to name; one of those miserable men who had sought relief from the -mental vacuity and physical prostration of an Indian military life in -the deadly solace of excess. This officer, whether in the wantonness -of drink, or the horror of shattered nerves, fired a shot at a cavalry -patrol who challenged him as he reeled out of his bungalow into the -darkness. He missed his aim, as was natural under the circumstances; -but the trooper lodged a complaint in the morning, and a court-martial -was assembled which acquitted the Englishman, on the ground that he -was intoxicated at the time, and that his musket had gone off under -a mistake. The sepoys, familiar as they were with the brutality of -low Europeans and the vagaries of military justice, would at a less -critical season have expressed small surprise either at the outrage or -the decision. But now their blood was up, and their pride awake, and -they were not inclined to overrate the privileges of an Anglo-Saxon, -or the sagacity of a military tribunal. The men of the Second Cavalry -muttered angrily that possibly their own muskets might go off by -mistake before very long, and this significant expression became -proverbial throughout the whole native force. Additional point was -given to the grim humour of the soldiery by the unwonted sight of the -corpses of an English lady and gentleman, which, floating down the -river from some distant scene of death, had turned aside into the canal -that traversed the city of Cawnpore. Ganges was yet to bear many such -dire burdens. Though wires had been cut, and mails burnt, and every -road blockaded, these silent but unimpeachable messengers, in virtue -of the safe-conduct granted to them alone, were long destined to carry -from station to station the tidings of woe and dismay. - -The end was not remote. That despair deferred, which had long made -sick the hearts of our countrymen,--that great fear which was their -companion day and night,--had now reached their consummation. -On Thursday, the fourth of June: while far away on the banks of -pleasant Thames, Eton was celebrating the birthday of her patron -monarch with recitations from Julius Cæsar, and copious libations of -unwonted champagne: at Cawnpore the men of the Second Cavalry were -sharpening sabres, and distributing ammunition, and secreting their -families and their property in the back-slums of the native city. -In the mid-darkness of the succeeding night, when men were in their -first sleep, three reports of a pistol, and a sudden and brilliant -conflagration, showed that the hour had arrived. Teeka Sing, who was -on picket duty with his troop, set the example of sedition, which was -speedily followed by the entire corps. Some ran to set alight the -house of the English riding-master; some to make a bonfire of the -horse-litter; others to secure the treasure-chest and the colours. -These last were stoutly opposed by the old Soubahdar-major, or native -Colonel, who was cut down at his post after a gallant resistance. -Then the regiment, mounted and accoutred, drew up on the high road. -A bugle sounded, and two horsemen left the ranks, and went towards -the lines of the First Native Infantry, and there cried in a loud -voice through the gloom: "Our Soubahdar-major sends his compliments -to the Soubahdar-major of the First, and wishes to know the reason of -this delay, as the cavalry are drawn up on the road." Hereupon the -sepoys, ignorant that the man in whose name they were invoked was at -that moment lying senseless and bleeding in the quarter-guard as a -punishment for his loyalty--ignorant of this, and perhaps not much -caring--began to load their muskets, and hurry on their cross-belts, -and pack up their valuables. Colonel Ewart was at once on the spot, -and in vain endeavoured to recall his soldiers to their allegiance, -saying to them in the Hindoostanee tongue: "My children! my children! -this is not your usual conduct. Do not so great a wickedness!" But it -was too late for argument or entreaty. The battalion turned out in a -body, fraternized with the mutinous troopers, and marched off in their -company towards Nawabgunge, the North-west suburb of Cawnpore, where -lay the Treasury and the Magazine. - -Meanwhile the alarm spread through the station. The Adjutants of the -Fifty-third and Fifty-sixth regiments got their sepoys together on the -parade-ground, and kept them under arms till the sun was well above -the horizon. Then the Colonel of the Fifty-sixth marched his battalion -down to the deserted lines of the Second Cavalry, collected and secured -the horses and arms which had been left behind by the mutineers, -and finally permitted his men to doff their uniforms and cook their -breakfasts. The Major of the Fifty-third likewise dismissed his -regiment, and at the same time summoned into the entrenchment all his -native officers, commissioned and non-commissioned. At such a crisis it -was singularly injudicious to leave the men to themselves, especially -as in this corps the Soubahdars and Jemmadars were for the most part -free from the taint of disaffection, and might have done much towards -keeping the rank and file to their allegiance. During their absence a -trooper of the Second Cavalry rode in among the huts with a message -from the company of the Fifty-third which was posted at the Government -Treasury, to the effect that the guard would allow no division of the -spoil until their own regiment was on the spot to claim its share. -Ere long four or five grenadiers of the Fifty-sixth were observed to -steal across to the neighbouring lines, and soon after they were seen -talking eagerly and in a low voice with a sergeant and private of the -light company. Presently these two men shouted out: "Glory be to the -great God! Gentlemen, prepare for action!" and a rush was made on the -quarter-guard. The sergeant broke open the treasure-chest, and the -private seized the colours. The native Captain who was in charge of -the precious deposit stood his ground like a man; but he was fired at, -hustled, and overpowered by numbers. In an instant all was uproar, -confusion, and terror. The sergeant of the fourth company burst into -tears, and ran to fetch the Adjutant; the soldiers of the fifth and -light companies flung on their coats, loaded their muskets, and crammed -their girdles with the regimental rupees; while the remainder of -the corps came of their own accord on to the parade-ground with the -intention of placing themselves under the command of their officers. -Unfortunately at this moment Sir Hugh Wheeler, prompt with an ill-timed -energy, and wary with a misplaced distrust, ordered the guns of the -intrenchment to open fire upon the wavering multitude. At first the -sepoys of the Fifty-third seemed unwilling to believe that their -commander had adopted this cruel and uncourteous method of intimating -to them that he dispensed with their services: but the third round -proved too strong a test for their loyalty. They broke and fled along -the main road: the greater part never stopping until they had joined -the mutineers at Nawabgunge: though a considerable number preferred to -conceal themselves in an adjacent ravine until such time as it should -please Sir Hugh to allow them to come within gunshot of their own -officers. - -So went the Fifty-third. The story of the revolt of the Fifty-sixth is -told with characteristic Hindoo simplicity by Khoda Bux, a commissioned -officer of that regiment. He says: "I was sleeping in my house between -twelve and one A.M., when Hossain Bux, Havildar, Grenadier Company, -came and awoke me, and said, 'What? Are you not awake? There is a row -in the cavalry lines, three reports of a pistol, and the Quarter-master -Sergeant's bungalow is on fire.' I was astonished, and ordered the -regiment to turn out, and went to give information to the Adjutant. -He came out of his tent, and went with me to parade, and asked if the -regiment was ready. I said, 'Yes, it is ready.' He said, 'Where is it?' -I said, 'In front of the bells of arms.' He ordered them to form up -in front of the quarter-guard. I formed them up, and made them ready. -I received orders that, if any cavalry man came, he was instantly to -be shot. In this way we passed the night with our officers. No one -took off his uniform. The cavalry having mutinied went away to Delhi. -In the morning the Adjutant ordered us to take off our uniforms, and -eat our dinners. Then the guards were placed, and we took off our -uniforms. The colonel came to us, and asked what Naick was on duty at -the elephant sheds, as the cavalry and First Native Infantry wanted -four elephants, which were under a guard of a Naick and four sepoys -of the regiment, and he was greatly pleased they had refused to give -them up, and that he was so content with the Naick that he should -make him an Havildar. I said it was Gunga Deen, Naick, First Company. -The First Regiment mutinied like the cavalry, and went away. After -this the Colonel said, 'Bhowany Singh, Soubahdar, has been wounded by -these mutineers. I will go and see him.' I and Annundeedeen, Havildar -Major, went with the Colonel to the Cavalry Hospital, and saw Bhowany -Singh, who was wounded. The Colonel was very much pleased with him. The -Colonel then went to his bungalow, and I and Annundeedeen went to our -lines, and, having taken off our uniforms, began to smoke; when Chain -Singh, Havildar, came and said, 'Jemmadar, the regiment is turning -out.' I asked by whose orders, and why. He said, 'I don't know.' I -went outside, and saw that the Havildar was dreadfully frightened, and -was buttoning his coat. I went with him to my company, and saw some -of the men in the tent packing up their clothes, and others throwing -them away. I asked them what was the matter, and why they were getting -ready. They said, 'The Fifty-third regiment is getting ready, and so -are we.' I said, 'Your regiment is the Fifty-sixth; what have you to do -with the Fifty-third? It would be better for you first to shoot me, and -then to do what you like afterwards.' Many of the men said, 'You are -our senior officer; we will not kill you. Come with us.' I said, 'Very -well; I will get ready, and come with you.' I went out of the tent very -slowly for about a hundred yards, and then ran as fast as I could to -the intrenchment, and told the Colonel and Adjutant that the regiment -had mutinied. They said, 'Come with us, and we will see.' I said, 'Oh, -gentlemen, all the regiment has mutinied, and are your enemies. It is -not right for you to go to them.'" - -While Khoda Bux was in search of his Colonel it happened that one of -the round shots, fired with a view of frightening away the Sepoys of -the Fifty-third rolled among the camp-kitchens of the Fifty-sixth. -Hereupon Gunga Rai, a grenadier of an excitable and suspicious -temperament, called out that they were all going to be killed, and took -to his heels in the direction of Nawabgunge, followed by the whole mob -of his comrades. - -And now the ship had struck the reef towards which she had long been -drifting, and had gone to pieces in the twinkling of an eye. It only -remained for the crew to provision the boats and knock together some -sort of a raft, as in that hour of sudden and bewildering peril best -they might. Our officers at once proceeded to gather up the relics of -the native force. Some went the round of the huts, while others, by the -aid of a bugler, ferretted out the men who had sought a hiding-place in -the ravine. There were found in all some eighty soldiers whose sense of -duty had been stronger than their fear of the English nine-pounders. -During the rest of the day, these sepoys were employed in carting -and conveying within the intrenchment the muskets, ammunition, and -accoutrements which were lying about in the lines. Meanwhile many of -our countrymen commenced preparations for instant flight. All that day -a stream of luggage and furniture was passing to and fro between the -European quarter and the principal landing-places. In that season of -uncertainty and danger, natives who followed the calling of porters -and carriers could not be procured in the bazaar, so the work had to -be done by the domestic servants. A sense of comparative relief now -began to prevail throughout the community. Our officers felt that the -time had arrived when they might consult without dishonour the security -of themselves and their families. Their occupation was gone; and it -seemed very well that their lives had not gone likewise. The blow had -fallen; and they survived. They knew the worst; and that worst was -better than the best which they had foreseen. Their military pride -had been hurt by the sight of their battalion running from them like -a parcel of street-boys at the appearance of a policeman; but in the -cowardice of the sepoys lay the salvation of the officers. Besides, -not only was it extremely improbable that the mutineers would ever -venture again within range of Sir Hugh's artillery, but there existed -a powerful attraction to draw them in quite another direction. Delhi -was the centre towards which gravitated all the wandering atoms of -sedition. There the green flag of the prophet had been unfurled, and -the ancient imperial faith was again dominant. There, on his ancestral -throne, sat the descendant of Shah Jehan, _roi fainéant_ no longer, but -endowed with a lurid splendour of princely independence. There, with -arms dyed to the elbows in European blood, mustered the heroes of the -great outbreak--the men who had hated with the deepest hate, and dared -with the most headlong and effectual daring. Thither, to swell the -ranks of that Prætorian guard, swarmed from every corner of Northern -India all who had reason to covet the ruin of England, or to dread her -triumph. And thither, as our countrymen were well aware, the Cawnpore -mutineers designed to go without delay. Under a firm impression that -all instant risk was at an end, a considerable number of officers -passed the night of the fifth July in their private residences without -the circuit of the intrenchment. Confidence had succeeded to distrust, -cheerful activity to sombre and passive expectation. The faces of the -sepoys were turned towards far Delhi. On the way to Allahabad, by road -or by river, there was nothing which could stop armed and determined -men. Their professional feelings wounded, but their throats uncut and -their honour untarnished, there was good hope that within a month they -might be smoking their cheroots in the verandah of the United Service -Club in safe and luxurious Calcutta. - -But it was not so to be. The rebellion had already gotten to itself -a chief, and the chief had matured for himself a policy. When the -mutineers had arrived at Nawabgunge they were given to understand that -the Nana was in the neighbourhood. Accordingly he was waited on by a -deputation of native officers and troopers who addressed him in these -words: "Maharaja, a kingdom awaits you if you join our enterprise, -but death if you side with our enemies." The ready reply was, "What -have I to do with the British? I am altogether yours." The envoys then -requested him to lead the troops to Delhi. He assented to their desire; -and ended by placing his hand on the head of each of the party, and -swearing fidelity to the national cause. Then the rebels returned to -their comrades, and the business of spoliation began. The mutineers -first marched in a body to the Treasury: the keeper of the keys was -terrified into surrendering his charge: the doors were unlocked, and -silver to the value of near a hundred thousand pounds sterling was -distributed among the ranks of the four regiments. Then the concourse -dispersed in search of plunder and mischief. Some broke open the -jail, and turned loose upon society the concentrated rascality of one -of the most rascally districts in our Eastern dominions. Others set -fire to the magistrate's office and the Court House; and, in a fit -of irrational malice, made a bonfire of all the Records, civil and -criminal alike. Others again, after parading about with a flag hoisted -upon the back of an elephant, vented their spite by cutting the cables -of the bridge of boats, great part of which floated down the river. All -European houses at the west end of the station were burned and sacked. -An unhappy overseer of highways was fired upon, not without effect, and -hunted along the road, the construction of which he had been engaged in -superintending. When they had done as much damage as could be got into -a single morning the mutineers packed their more valuable booty about -their persons; filled a long caravan of carts with their property, -their domestic gods, and their female relations of every degree; set -forth on their adventurous journey; and, after a very easy afternoon's -march, halted at Kullianpore, the first stage on the Delhi road. - -But as soon as the deputation from the rebel army had left the presence -of the Nana his most trusted advisers unanimously adjured him to give -up the idea of accompanying the march on Delhi; and especially his âme -damnée, Azimoolah, urged that if he allowed himself to be absorbed -into the court of the Mogul he would lose all power and influence: -that it would be far more politic to bring into subjection the country -round Cawnpore, and so command all the avenues by which the English -reinforcements could penetrate into the heart of the disaffected -regions: that when once possessed of the keys of Delhi and the Punjaub -he might bargain with the rebels for the captain-generalship of -their armies, and the universal sovereignty of the north of India; -and then, with twenty myriads of bayonets and sabres at his back, -he might sweep down the valley of the Ganges, and wreak, once and -for ever, his vengeance on the detested race; fight, on this its -hundredth anniversary, a Plassey very different from the last; renew -the Black Hole of Calcutta under happier auspices, and on a far more -generous scale; and so teach those Christian dogs what it was to flout -a Mahratta and cheat a Brahmin of royal blood. The eloquence of the -ci-devant footman fired the Maharaja, who accordingly ordered his -elephants and pushed on for Kullianpore, attended by his brothers Bala -and Baba Bhut, and the indispensable Azimoolah. The ringleaders of the -mutiny expressed their pleasure in being blessed once more with the -light of his countenance, but displayed very little inclination to -give up the idea of Delhi. On the contrary, they suggested that the -Nana should stay behind at Cawnpore, and garrison the Magazine with -his own retainers, while they themselves prosecuted their expedition -towards the North West. To this Bala, a man of execrable temper, -which, however, he appears to have been able to curb on occasion, -replied that Sir Hugh Wheeler and his Europeans would make themselves -very unpleasant to the defenders of the Magazine, and proposed that -the mutineers should first return and clear out the intrenchment and -then go off to Delhi. At this point the Maharaja threw in a prospect -of unlimited pillage and an offer of a gold anklet to each sepoy, -which produced an instant and favourable effect upon his audience. The -mutineers agreed to retrace their steps, and not leave the station -until they had put all the English to the sword. As a pledge of their -earnest intention to carry out his desires they unanimously saluted -the Nana as their Rajah, and proceeded forthwith to choose leaders who -should command them in the field. Soubahdar Teeka Sing, the prime mover -of the revolt, was appointed chief of the cavalry, with the title of -General. Jemmadar Dulgunjun Sing became Colonel of the Fifty-third, and -Soubahdar Gunga Deen Colonel of the Fifty-sixth. - -There is a certain significance in these names: for they indicate that, -in the opinion, at any rate, of the mutineers themselves, the boldest -and most active among the authors of the mutiny were not Mussulmans, -but Hindoos. The belief that such was in fact the case is now very -generally entertained by our most thoughtful and observant public -servants: but that belief is singularly unpalatable to the mass of the -Anglo-Indian community. It was the fashion at the time to attribute -the outbreak to the machinations of the Mahomedan population. Those -ambitious zealots (such was the creed of the day) had never forgiven -us for ousting them from their ancient pre-eminence. It was said that -the professors of a proselytizing faith would never be reconciled to -Nazarene domination; that the professors of an aggressive faith would -never brook that others than they should assert the lofty privileges of -an imperial race. And so our countrymen contended that every follower -of the prophet was at heart a rebel and a traitor, and, therefore, -must necessarily be at the bottom of all the rebellion and treachery -in the land. The habit of assuming that men who hold certain opinions -must be bent upon a certain course of action, and the habit of using -that assumption to justify our own injustice is, and always has been, -peculiarly English. Our ancestors took it for granted that their Roman -Catholic countrymen were haunted by an incessant longing to compass the -death of their own sovereign, and insisted upon treating as fanatics -and assassins honest north-country squires who desired to compass -nothing except the death of a bitch-fox. Our grandfathers took it for -granted that every radical was a Jacobin, and that every Jacobin slept -upon thorns as long as clergymen kept their glebes, and marquises -kept their heads. Our fathers, and, it is to be feared, not a few -of our brothers, took it for granted that every Jew fixed his hopes -exclusively upon the day when his venerable faith should again flourish -in its pristine haunts, and regarded England as a place of pleasant but -not unprofitable exile; and, as a fitting corollary to so plausible -a proposition, we deduced the conviction that Baron Rothschild would -sacrifice the prosperity of his constituency to the interests of the -New Jerusalem. - -In the year 1857, our passion for visiting upon people the crimes -which we thought they were bound by their tenets to commit ran riot -throughout the north of India. Our proverbial tendency to give a dog a -bad name and hang him was most barbarously and literally exemplified in -the case of the unfortunate Moslem. After the capture of Delhi, every -member of a class of religious enthusiasts named Ghazees were hung, as -it were, _ex officio_; and it is to be feared that a vindictive and -irresponsible judge, who plumed himself upon having a good eye for -a Ghazee, sent to the gallows more than one individual, whose guilt -consisted in looking as if he belonged to a sect which, probably, was -hostile to our religion. It would have been equally humane and logical -if the ministers of Queen Elizabeth had burned as a Jesuit every one -who was bald on the crown of his head. The city of Patna, where the -Mahomedan element was large and influential, was the favourite bugbear -of the Calcutta alarmists. Happily for them, the officer in charge of -that city shared their suspicions and prejudices, and afforded them -inexpressible delight by discovering secret meetings, by intercepting -treasonable correspondence, and by arresting leading bankers on the -charge of harbouring mutineers. And yet, while tumult and massacre were -rife in the great towns of Oude and the North-west, the disturbances -in Patna were confined to one partial _émeute_, and one unpremeditated -murder. At length the Governor of Bengal, tired of requesting to be -informed why people had been executed in an irregular manner; sick of -listening to the complaints of shopkeepers who were not allowed to -leave their houses after nine at night, and disciples of Mahomedan -professors whose studies were interrupted by the incarceration of their -teachers, superseded the Commissioner, and appointed a successor, -who at once gave his confidence to an able official of the Mahomedan -persuasion. From that day forward Patna was as quiet as Madras. - -No act of fidelity or self-sacrifice could exempt a Mussulman from -the hatred and distrust of a large section of Anglo-Indian society. -Syed Azimoodeen, whom Lord William Bentinck had thought worthy of his -friendship and esteem, was among the defenders of the house at Arrah. -The besiegers had set a price on his head, and had offered to spare -the lives of the little garrison if he and one other were surrendered -to their vengeance. As a reward for his loyalty, he became for some -months subsequently the popular theme of abuse in the Anglo-Saxon -papers. "Is it, or is it not the fact," so writes a correspondent, -"that Syed Azimoodeen supplied the mutineers with information as to -the hiding-places of English fugitives? Is it, or is it not the fact -that Coer Sing gave particular injunctions to the sepoys, that, when -the house was stormed, Syed Azimoodeen should be excepted from the -slaughter?" This production proved too strong for the digestion even -of the constant reader of a Calcutta journal. A few days afterwards -there appeared a communication inquiring whether it was or was not the -fact that Coer Sing had given particular orders that the bullets fired -against the house should not hit Azimoodeen, and that, when the mine -exploded, he should be dropped on to a feather-bed placed in the middle -of the compound. But who can wonder at any excess of folly and ferocity -in a publication which could stoop to insert a letter recommending the -rack for "respectable Mahomedans?" When there were some hopes that an -overflow of the river would complete the desolation of our Gangetic -provinces, an Englishman was found inhuman enough to put these words on -paper: "We accorded great favours to the rascally Mussulmans, but the -rains are acting so as to nullify all our indulgences." - -During the progress of the revolt, the apprehensions of our countrymen -always became more intense at the approach of the great anniversaries -of the Mahomedan religion. In the early summer, the festival of the -Eed was to many an Anglo-Indian household a season of unspeakable -anxiety, for men dreaded lest to themselves, as to the Egyptians in -old time, the ceremony should prove a veritable Passover, solemnized -by the death of their first-born. Later in the year came the Mohurrum, -the most august and touching of all Oriental rites. It is impossible -even for a Christian and an European to look on without emotion when -the insignia of the mighty dead are borne along,--the crimson standard -of the brother who perished by the sword, and the green standard of -the brother who perished by poison:--when, midst a forest of silver -staves and silken banners, are led the chargers of the heroes; while -behind streams along a dense multitude, beating their breasts, and -reciting in sad cadence the immutable formula of lamentation. Though -nigh twelve hundred years have passed since the tragedy was enacted, -the unfeigned earnestness and melancholy of the mourners excite in the -spectator sympathy far more acute than is accorded even to the funeral -of a contemporary. In the year 1857, Englishmen sat booted and spurred, -pistol in belt and saddle on horse; and listened, as the tramp of feet, -mingled with the clapping of hands and the dull murmur of "Ah me, for -Hosein! Ah me, for Hassan!" died away in the distance. And yet the Eed -and the Mohurrum passed without bloodshed; and men ceased to fear for -their lives, and began to tremble for their cherished theory. And, in -truth, it was just as probable that the Mahomedans of India should -succeed in inciting to rebellion a hundred thousand Brahmin sepoys, by -working upon their religious susceptibilities, as that the Orangemen -of Ireland should organize and direct the Roman Catholic population in -a crusade against the English Crown. However little may be the love -lost between the rival creeds in the Emerald Isle, there is quite as -small waste of that sentiment in the case of the rival superstitions -of our Eastern dominions. On this question, so important when viewed -with respect to the relations between ourselves and the class of our -subjects most worthy of our consideration and regard, the eyes of our -compatriots might have been opened at an early stage of the troubles -by the report of a Court of Inquiry, which sat upon the disturbance at -Barrackpore. That court, "from the evidence before them, are of opinion -that the Sikhs and Mussulmans of the Thirty-fourth Regiment of Native -Infantry are trustworthy soldiers of the State, but that the Hindoos -generally of that corps are not trustworthy." But there is a blindness -which it is idle to foment with the application of common sense, or -to couch with the incisive point of fact; the blindness of terror and -rage, and vengeance seeking in the dark for a victim and a pretext. - -At dawn on the morning of the sixth of June, Sir Hugh Wheeler -received a letter, in which the Nana announced his intention of at -once commencing the attack. Our officers were summoned within the -intrenchment, where, for a fortnight past, the women and children had -already been in sanctuary. The order was obeyed with soldier-like -promptitude, intensified by the consciousness of imminent peril. It -fared ill with those who had indulged in a fond anticipation that -their next change of lodging would be to Allahabad and Calcutta. -With no notice of quarter, or month, or week; with no valuation for -fixtures, or inventory of furniture, they were called upon to shift to -a residence held on short and uncertain tenure, and at a fearful rent. -There was no time for packing, or even for selection. There was not -leisure to snatch a parting cup of coffee, or a handful of cigars, or -an armful of favourite books, or a pith-helmet that had been tested -by many a long day's tiger-shooting under the blazing Indian sun. -All possessions, however hardly earned and highly prized,--all dear -memorials of home and love,--were to be alike abandoned to the coming -foe. He who, in that close and burning night of the mid summer, had on -his house-top courted a little air and sleep, might not stay to take -anything out of his house. He who had been on some early service in the -field might not return back to take his clothes. Few and happy were -they who had secured a single change of raiment; and those who, in the -hurry of the moment, had stayed to dress themselves from head to foot, -were by comparison not unfortunate. Half-clad, unbreakfasted, confused, -and breathless, our countrymen huddled like shipwrecked sea-farers -into the precincts of the fatal earthwork, which they entered only to -suffer, and left only to die. - -For that fortification had been erected under evil auspices. As of Hiel -the Bethelite, so it may be said of poor Sir Hugh, that he marked out -the ground in his first-born, and set up the épaulement in the youngest -of his household. A chief, whose military eye had not been dulled by -age, would have discerned the rare capabilities for defence afforded -by the magazine, which consisted of an immense walled inclosure, -containing numerous buildings and an inexhaustible store of guns and -ammunition. The position was watered, and at the same time protected in -the rear, by the Ganges. The public offices and the treasury were in -the immediate vicinity, so that the records and the money might have -been placed in safety at the cost of a few hours' labour. The doors -of the jail would have been commanded by our cannon, and at least one -tributary to the flood of disorder pent within its bounds. The native -government officials, who for the most part resided at Nawabgunge, -might have remained in communication with the civil authorities within -the fortress; and the garrison could have been readily supplied with -provisions from the loyal villages in the neighbourhood, and, indeed, -from the city itself; which, says our old friend Nanukchund, "was like -a certain wife who used to act up to the wishes of her husband, because -she feared him, and then could also protect herself; but, when her -husband died, she found herself under other people's control, and lived -in licence." He further observes that "the Sahibs did the reverse of -wisdom. They made the intrenchment far out in the plain and outside -the city, without reflecting that, in case of mutiny breaking out, -it would be surrounded by the rebels on all four sides, who would be -assisted by the artillery of the Magazine, and the Government treasure -so temptingly thrown in their way. Thus, to illustrate the proverb, the -Sahibs put a sword into the enemy's hand, and thrust their own heads -forward." - -Such was indeed the case. If the choice of the site for our place -of refuge had been confided to Azimoolah and Teeka Sing, they could -not have selected one more favourable for the attack. The Dragoon -hospital stood in the centre of a vast open space, flat with the -flatness of Bengal, on the south bank of the canal which separated -the military quarter from the Native city, the bridge of boats, the -civil station, and the magazine. The establishment consisted of two -single-storied barracks surrounded by spacious verandahs; each intended -to afford accommodation for a company of a hundred men. The building -that was somewhat the larger of the two was thatched with straw, -which circumstance alone rendered the position untenable. The other -was roofed with concrete, a condition usually expressed by the word -"pucka;" that ubiquitous adjective which is the essential ingredient -of Anglo-Indian conversation. Both houses were constructed of thin -brickwork, hardly proof against the rays of an Eastern sun, and far too -frail to resist a twenty-four pound shot. The hospital was provided -with a due modicum of cooking sheds and servants' huts; and in front -of the thatched barrack was a well, protected by a slight parapet. By -order of Sir Hugh these premises had been enclosed in a mud-wall of -the shape of a rectangular parallelogram; four feet in height; three -feet in thickness at the base; and twenty-four inches at the crest, -which was therefore pervious to a bullet from an Enfield rifle. The -batteries were constructed by the very simple expedient of leaving an -aperture of a size proportioned to the number of the guns: so that our -artillerymen served their pieces, as in the field, with their persons -entirely exposed to the fire of the enemy. - -Behind those slender bulwarks was gathered a mixed and feeble company, -to the full sum of a thousand souls. Of these, four hundred and -sixty-five were men, of every age and profession. Their wives and grown -daughters were about two hundred and eighty in number, and their little -ones at least as many. All who were able to bear arms, twenty score -by count, were at once called together, and told off in batches under -their respective officers. The north side of the intrenchment, facing -the river, was strengthened by a poor little triangular outwork, which -our garrison entitled "the Redan;" as if to cheer themselves, during -their cruel and inglorious struggle, with a reminiscence of chivalrous -European warfare. This important post was entrusted to Major Vibart, of -the Second Cavalry, assisted by Captain Jenkins. At the north-eastern -corner, Lieutenants Ashe and Sotheby superintended a battery of one -twenty-four pounder howitzer and two nine-pounders. Captain Kempland -had charge of the east curtain, while at the south-eastern angle stood -three nine-pounder guns under the charge of Lieutenants Eckford, -Burney, and Delafosse; of whom one was destined to show upon happier -fields of battle how the soldiers of Cawnpore fought and bled. Next -in order came the main-guard, held by Lieutenant Turnbull, and -flanked by a tiny rifled piece carrying a three-pound ball, which was -manned by a detachment under the orders of Major Prout. Towards the -north, Lieutenants Dempster and Martin directed the working of three -nine-pounders; and their next neighbour was Captain Whiting, who felt -the Redan with his right, and thus closed the circuit of the defence. -The general supervision of the artillery devolved upon Major Larkins; -but that officer was incapacitated by illness from taking a very active -part in the operations. - -There was no time to be lost. While the commanders of the various posts -were choosing their parties, and placing their sentries, and dispensing -their share of the arms and ammunition, already the roar of great -guns, and the clouds of black smoke rising fast and frequent in the -north-west quarter, told them that the warning of the Nana was no empty -menace. As when, during some great hurricane, such as of late passed -o'er pale Calcutta, the tidal wave comes surging up the river, unlooked -for and irresistible, leaving in its track desolation and ruin, the -wrecks of ships and the corpses of men--so on that morning, over doomed -Cawnpore, swept the returning flood of mutiny and misrule. At break of -day the whole rebel array poured down the Delhi road in a compact body, -with the Maharaja at their head, who had good reason to be proud of his -following. It was a force which would have done credit to any Mahratta -chief in the palmiest days of that redoubted race. There was an entire -regiment of excellent cavalry, well mounted and equipped. There was a -detachment of gunners and drivers from the Oude Artillery, who had been -despatched as a loan from Lucknow to Cawnpore, just in time to enable -them to take part in the revolt. There were the Nana's own myrmidons, -who made up by attachment to his cause what they wanted in military -skill. Lastly, there were three fine battalions of Bengal sepoys, led -by experienced sepoy officers, armed with English muskets, and trained -by English discipline. When the mutineers arrived at the outskirts -of the station, Teeka Sing, the General, postponing his private gain -and malice to the public good, repaired at once to the magazine, -and spent the morning in securing a fleet of thirty boats which lay -beneath the walls, laden with shot, shell, and heavy cannon. The guns -in serviceable order he sent off towards the intrenchment on carriages -drawn by Government bullocks; and those which were not in condition -for immediate use, he compelled the artificers of the establishment to -brush up on the Government lathes. But the main body of the insurgents -displayed no such foresight or self-control. They kept close order no -longer, but spread themselves out to the right and left, and, robbing, -burning, and murdering as they went, bore southwards over the civil -quarter and the native city. Sir George Parker and a party of his -friends, who, inobservant of the coming storm, were lingering over -their last breakfast in his pleasant villa, had barely time to fly -for their lives. Four office-clerks, who lived together in a shop on -the banks of the canal, after a valiant resistance, were smoked out -of their lodging, and slain as they fled. The troopers of the Second -Cavalry galloped up and down the lanes of the black town, hunting -for Englishmen; and the low-caste Mahomedans of the bazaar--the -sword-polishers, the cotton-spinners, and the dealers in silver -ornaments--joined eagerly in the chase. One European was run down and -worried to death in a garden. Another, a gentleman advanced in age, -had concealed himself in a hut near the posting-house, in company with -his wife, his little daughter, and his son, a boy of sixteen years. -The wretched family were tracked to their hiding-place, arrested, -and dragged before the Nana, who ordered them for instant execution; -and they were happy at least in this, that they died together, and -without delay. Proclamation was made that every building in which -shelter had been given to Europeans, Eurasians, or Christians of any -extraction, should first be plundered, and then razed to the ground. -This announcement provided the rebels with a pretext for breaking open -and ransacking the dwellings of many respectable natives. Buddree Nath, -the commissariat contractor, who was accused of secreting Lady Wheeler -and her daughters, lost the savings of a lifetime in the course of a -single hour. The scum of the city made the most of their period of -licence, and, when any portable property came in their way, took good -care not to inquire very closely into the creed of the owner. Among -others, the King of Oude is supposed to have suffered a heavy loss. -Forty thousand rupees belonging to a Hindoo merchant were taken from a -cart which stood in the premises of the post-office, and removed into -the most blackguard districts of the neighbourhood. A gang of cavalry -soldiers went down the Street of Silver, the main thoroughfare of the -town, beating in the doors of the cloth-merchants and money-changers, -insulting the trembling tradesmen, and carrying off all the valuables -on which they could lay their hands. Meanwhile, those mutineers whose -religious spite overcame their desire for lucre, were deriving intense -enjoyment from the occupation of cannonading the church. Another large -company of Brahmin sepoys, whose orthodox indignation took a more -practical turn, and could not content itself with the somewhat tame -pastime of persecuting senseless brick and plaster, marched off to the -Mahomedan quarter; bombarded the residence of the Nunhey Nawab, the -most influential Mussulman noble of the vicinity; blew open the gates; -smashed the glass-ware and the porcelain; appropriated the contents -of the wardrobe and the plate-chest; and told the master of the house -to consider himself a prisoner. They then proceeded to take into -custody other leading gentlemen of the same persuasion, and returned -to the Nana loaded with spoil, and followed by a line of sedan-chairs -containing the persons of their captives. - -As the morning advanced, the reports of the musketry and the tumult -of voices grew more and more distinct to the ears of our countrymen. -Nearer and ever nearer rolled the flames of the blazing houses, and -the white puffs which betokened the presence of artillery. At length, -stung by a generous impatience, Lieutenant Ashe took out his guns to -reconnoitre, accompanied by some five and twenty volunteers. The party -had barely gone forward a quarter of a mile, when they caught sight -of the rebel van, which had already passed the canal, and occupied in -force the neighbourhood of the bridge. Our people returned faster than -they went, and not all; for one, at least, Lieutenant Ashburner, was -never again seen or heard of; and poor Mr. Murphy, of the East Indian -Railway, brought back with him a wound, to which he succumbed before -the day was out. He enjoyed the melancholy honour of being buried in -a solitary coffin which had been found in a corner of the hospital; -and shared with one other, a lady who died of fever, enviable in that -she was the first, the privilege of being decently interred within the -precincts of the intrenchment. There soon came to be scanty leisure -for funeral rites. At ten o'clock the mutineers fired their first -shot, from a nine-pounder gun, which they had brought down to the -vacant lines of the First Infantry. The ball struck the crest of the -mud wall, and glided over into the smaller barrack, where it broke the -leg of an unhappy native footman, who breathed his last in the course -of the afternoon. This terrible and unwonted visitor, the precursor -of many, scared indoors a large assembly of ladies and children who -were sitting and playing in and about the verandahs; and sent to their -posts the fighting men, most of whom had now their earliest experience -of the sensation produced by the whizzing rush of a round shot; an -ominous sound, which, ere long, became familiar to them as the click -of the billiard-ball to a marker, or the buzz of the tennis-ball to an -_habitué_ of Princes' Club. - -And so the siege had begun. The first stroke had been played in that -momentous contest, of which the stake was a thousand English lives; -since nothing remained for our countrymen to protect save their bare -existences and the empty shadow of the British rule. The first game -had gone against us. The Nana had won the regiments; and the regiments -had won their colours, their weapons, and their pay. Why needed they -to grudge the losers their breath? Why, for a possession of no value, -except to the owner, should they deliberately commence a hazardous and -protracted match of double or quits? Power and authority, treasures -and munitions, the sinews and the muscles of war, had alike passed -over to the sepoys. What temptation was there to run the manifold -public chances of battle, and incur the personal risk which none can -avoid who bring angry Englishmen to bay, in order to destroy a handful -of disheartened invalids and civilians; scarcely numerous enough to -escort their women and children in safety to Allahabad through the -perils of eddies, and quicksands, and bands of highwaymen recruited and -emboldened in those months of general anarchy? - -But it came to pass that their heart was hardened, and they would -not let our people go. The ringleaders of the mutiny knew well that -their position was one of utmost hazard. They had been too criminal to -be forgiven, and too successful to be forgotten. Henceforward their -aim was to implicate their comrades beyond the hope of pardon; to -place between them and their former condition of life a gulf filled -with English blood. And when the Nana exhorted his followers to slay -and spare not, he spoke to willing ears; for between them and our -countrymen there existed a degree of mutual distrust which could only -end in mutual extermination. The minds of men were so agitated and -disordered by anger and uneasiness, that the sole chance of life for -either party lay in the utter destruction of the other. Already quarter -was no longer given, and, indeed, could hardly be said to be worth the -asking. A European knew that, if one set of Pandies entertained any -qualms of compassion or gratitude, the next squad who came across him -would infallibly cut his throat; and a sepoy knew that, if his captors -took the trouble to drag him about in their train for a few days, the -magistrate at the first station on the road would have him hung before -the officer in command of the party had emerged from the bath-room. -This was no generous rivalry of national vigour and skill and prowess. -Little of military science was here, and less of military courtesy. -With clenched teeth and bated breath, the Brahmin and the Saxon closed -for the death-grapple; well aware that, when once their fingers were on -each other's throats, one only of the combatants would ever rise from -the trampled sand. - -As soon as the Rubicon of insurrection had been passed; as soon as the -gauntlet of sedition had been thrown; the first care of the mutineers -was to get rid of all who had been the witnesses of their guilt, and -who might hereafter be the judges. No sepoy felt secure of his neck and -plunder as long as one solitary Englishman remained on Indian soil; for -our revolted mercenaries shared to the full that strange mixture of -veneration, bewilderment, aversion, and terror, with which our Eastern -subjects still regard that extraordinary people who, in the course of -a single decade, expanded from a handful of clerks and factors to a -galaxy of warriors and proconsuls. It is hardly possible for a man -brought up amidst European scenes and associations to realize the idea -conceived of him and his countrymen by a thoroughbred Hindoo. On the -one hand, the natives must acknowledge our vast superiority in the arts -of war and rule. Our railways, and steamships, and Armstrong guns, -are tangible facts which cannot be slighted. They must be perfectly -alive to the knowledge that we have conquered them, and are governing -them in a more systematic and downright manner than they have ever -been governed before. But, on the other hand, many of our usages must -appear in their eyes most debased and revolting. It is difficult to -imagine the horror with which a punctilious and devout Brahmin cannot -but regard a people who eat the flesh of cow and pig, and drink various -sorts of strong liquors from morning till night. It is at least as hard -for such a man to look up to us as his betters, morally and socially, -as it would be for us to place among the most civilized nations of the -world a population which was in the habit of dining on human flesh, and -intoxicating itself daily with laudanum and salvolatile. The peculiar -qualities which mark the Englishman are peculiarly distasteful to the -Oriental, and are sure to be widely distorted when seen from his point -of view. Our energy and earnestness appear oppressive and importunate -to the languid, voluptuous aristocracy of the East. Our very honesty -seems ostentatious and contemptible to the wily and tortuous Hindoo -mind. That magnificent disregard of _les convenances_, which among -Continental nations is held to be a distinguishing mark of our -countrymen, is inexplicable and hateful to a race who consider external -pomp and reticent solemnity to be the necessary accompaniments of rank, -worth, and power. Add the mysterious awe by which we are shrouded in -the eyes of the native population, which very generally attributes to -magic our uniform success in everything we take in hand, and you will -have some notion of the picture presented to the Brahmin imagination -by an indefatigable, public-spirited, plain-spoken, beer-drinking, -cigar-smoking, tiger-shooting, public servant. We should not be far -wrong if we were content to allow that we are regarded by the natives -of Hindostan as a species of quaint and somewhat objectionable demons, -with a rare aptitude for fighting and administration; foul and degraded -in our habits, though with reference to those habits not to be judged -by the same standard as ordinary men; not altogether malevolent, but -entirely wayward and unaccountable; a race of demi-devils, neither -quite human, nor quite supernatural; not wholly bad, yet far from -perfectly beneficent; who have been settled down in the country -by the will of fate, and seem very much inclined to stay there by -our own. With this impression on his mind the Bengal sepoy desired -with a nervous and morbid anxiety to get quit of the Sahibs by fair -means or foul. He did not care to expose us to unnecessary misery -and humiliation; to torture our men, or to outrage our women. His -sole object was to see the last of us: to get done with us for good -and for ever. Ignorant beyond conception of European geography and -statistics, he had convinced himself that, if once the Anglo-Indians -of every sex and age were killed off, from the Governor General to the -serjeant-major's baby, there did not exist the wherewithal to replace -them. And therefore he said in his heart: "Come, and let us destroy -them together. Let us cut them off from being a nation, that their name -may be no more in remembrance." He conceived that Great Britain had -been drained dry of men to recruit the garrison of our Asiatic empire; -that our home population consisted of nurses and children, of invalids -who had left the East for a while in quest of health, and veterans -who had retired to live at ease on their share of the treasures of -Hindostan. He fancied that the tidings of a general massacre of our -people would render our island a home of helpless mourners: he found -that those tidings changed it into a nest of reckless and pitiless -avengers. He believed our power to be a chimera, and he discovered -it to be a hydra. He learned too late that he had digged a pit for -himself, and had fallen into the ditch which he had made; that his -mischief and his violent dealings had come down upon his own head: that -Englishmen were many, and that, when the occasion served, their feet -too were not slow to shed blood: that our soldiers could kill within -the year more heathen than our missionaries had converted in the course -of a century: that our social science talk about the sacredness of -human life, and our May Meeting talk concerning our duty towards those -benighted souls for whom Christ died, meant that we were to forgive -most of those who had never injured us, plunder none but such as were -worth robbing, and seldom hang an innocent Hindoo if we could catch a -guilty one: that the great principles of mercy and justice and charity -must cease to be eternally true until the injured pride of a mighty -nation had been satisfied, its wrath glutted, and its sway restored. - -But though apprehension and dislike had inspired the rebels with a -determination to destroy every English man off the face of the land, -had they no feeling of ruth for the sufferings and the fate of our -women? Never in European warfare has the sword been deliberately -pointed at a female breast; save during those rare seasons, indelible -from memory and inexpiable by national remorse, when, after the mad -carnage of a successful escalade, drunkenness and licence have ruled -the hour. If the Nana knew the valour and strength of our officers too -well to allow him to be merciful, how came it that he did not respect -the weakness of our ladies? No one can rightly read the history of -the mutinies unless he constantly takes into account the wide and -radical difference between the views held by Europeans and Asiatics -with reference to the treatment and position of the weaker sex. We, -who still live among the records and associations of chivalry, horrify -Utilitarians and Positivists by persisting in regarding women as -goddesses. The Hindoos, who allow their sisters and daughters few -or no personal rights,--the Mahomedans, who do not even allow them -souls,--cannot bring themselves to look upon them as better than -playthings. The pride of a Mussulman servant is painfully wounded by a -scolding from the mistress of the house, and he takes every opportunity -of showing his contempt for her by various childish impertinences. -Among the numberless symptoms of our national eccentricity, that which -seems most extraordinary to a native is our submitting to be governed -by a woman. And as a Hindoo fails to appreciate the social standing -of an English lady, so it is to be feared that he gives her little -credit for her domestic virtues. Her free and unrestrained life excites -in his mind the most singular and unjust ideas. To see women walking -in public, driving about in open carriages, dining, and talking, and -dancing with men connected with them neither by blood nor marriage, -never fails to produce upon him a false and unfortunate impression.[1] -And therefore it happened that a sepoy corporal, whose estimate of an -European lady was curiously compounded of contempt, disapprobation, -and misconception, was little adapted to entertain those sentiments of -knightly tenderness and devotion which Petrarch and Cowley have handed -down to us from the days of Bayard and Henry of Navarre. In the eyes of -such a man every Englishwoman was but the mother of an English child, -and every English child was a sucking tyrant. The wolves, with their -mates and whelps, had been hounded into their den, and now or never was -the time to smoke them out, and knock on the head the whole of that -formidable brood. And so, on the first Saturday of that June--these, -bent on a wholesale butchery; those, prepared to play the man for their -dear life, and for lives dearer still,--with widely different hope, but -with equal resolution, on either side of the meagre rampart besiegers -and besieged mustered for the battle. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[1] In "The Mirror of Indigo," a vernacular drama which has gained for -itself a niche in Indian history, and contributed a rather remarkable -page to the Law Reports of the Calcutta tribunals, the following -passage occurs in a conversation between two native women:-- - -_Reboti._ Moreover, the wife of the Indigo-planter, in order to make -her husband's case strong, has sent a letter to the Magistrate, since -it is said that the Magistrate hears her words most attentively. - -_Aduri._ I saw the lady. She has no shame at all. When the Magistrate -of the district (whose name occasions great terror) goes riding about -through the village, the lady also rides on horseback with him. Riding -about on a horse! Because the aunt of Kezi once laughed before the -elder brother of her husband all people ridiculed her: while this was -the Magistrate of the district. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -THE SIEGE. - - -The intelligence of the revolt speedily travelled over all surrounding -districts, and attracted to the spot the entire available blackguardism -of the neighbourhood. The disloyal and insolvent landholders for thirty -miles about called out their tenantry and retainers, and made the best -of their way to Cawnpore. As when the redoubted Hebrew captain founded -an asylum in the cave of Adullam, so now unto the leaders of the mutiny -gathered themselves every one that was in distress, and every one that -was in debt, and every one that was discontented. Thus immutable is -the constitution of Oriental society:--unchanged by thirty centuries; -unchangeable, perchance, by thirty more. Some chieftains brought two -hundred armed followers; others four hundred. One Rajah came with a -tail of forty score: while Bhowany Sing, whom Nanukchund designates as -"that old and notorious scoundrel," marched into the rebel camp at the -head of twelve hundred matchlock-men. No one seems to have entertained -any doubt as to the final extinction of our sway. The old order of -things had disappeared for ever, and it behoved any feudal leader who -had ambition or necessities to be present and ready to assert himself -ere the new order was definitely established. The Nana was first to -seize the occasion by the forelock. A trusty adherent was sent to -Bithoor with an escort of twenty horse to announce the commencement of -the Mahratta rule. It was a terrible hour for the personal enemies of -him who had assumed the prime authority. As soon as it became known -that their master was in power, the idle ruffians who swarmed in his -palace at once proceeded to gratify his spite and their own wanton -cruelty. They forced the doors of Goordeen, who acted as agent to the -widows of Bajee Rao, the late Peishwa; knocked down his house about -his ears; slew his people; and ended by blowing him from the mouth of -a cannon. They seized the attendants of Chimna Apa, who pulled the -strings of the law-suit brought against the Maharaja by his cousin; -loaded them with chains; and informed them that they were to be put -to death as soon as the captors could find leisure to cut off their -hands and noses. Nanukchund, who had been the leading counsel in the -case, was warned in time of the impending danger. He sent word to his -juniors to provide for their own safety, and himself sought concealment -in an unfurnished house belonging to one of his friends, whence he -observed the progress of the insurrection with a penetration that was -occasionally distorted by present terror and the anticipation of future -advancement. - -On the morning of Sunday, the seventh of June, a proclamation in two -languages was issued at Cawnpore from the press of a schoolmaster, and -distributed by his pupils, adjuring all true Hindoos and Mussulmans to -unite in defence of their religions, and rally round the person of the -Nana. Neither Mussulmans nor Hindoos were slow to obey the call. The -residents of the Butcher's Ward forthwith set up the green standard, -and were joined by the dregs of the population. Respectable Mahomedans -at first held aloof; but next day the banner was removed to an open -square, south of the canal, whither a large and influential body of -the faithful repaired to do homage to the symbol of their religion. -Azeezun, the Demoiselle Théroigne of the revolt, appeared on horseback -amidst a group of her admirers, dressed in the uniform of her favoured -regiment, armed with pistols, and decorated with medals. A priest of -high consideration seated himself beneath the flag, rosary in hand, -and endeavoured by prayer and meditation to ascertain whether the -day was propitious for an attack upon the stronghold of the infidel. -His piety, however, was cut short by a round-shot from Lieutenant -Dempster's battery, which sent the assemblage of believers scuttling to -the nearest cover: upon which the holy man bundled together his beads, -tucked up his robes, and made off with a precipitation not altogether -consistent with the doctrine of fatalism. - -Meanwhile throughout and around the town were being gathered in the -gleanings of that harvest of murder. A miserable family of the name of -Mackintosh was discovered lurking under a bridge disguised in native -clothes, their faces stained with pitiful want of skill in imitation -of the Hindoo complexion. A road overseer was caught with his wife and -children to the north of the station; and another person employed in -the same department, who had found a temporary refuge beneath the roof -of an individual whom he had formerly obliged with a contract, was now -turned adrift, and taken by the bloodhounds who were scouring the city. -To each and all of these capture was death, instant inexorable. The -Maharaja had despatched a party of sepoys to the residence of Mr Edward -Greenway, a man of considerable property, who had given shelter to an -officer recently cashiered by court-martial. This gentleman now proved -that, in whatever military qualities he might have been deficient, -courage, at least, was not amongst them; for he defended the threshold -of his host until the last cartridge had been expended, and then walked -in among the assailants, and bade them cut his throat: an invitation -to which they eagerly responded. Then they secured Mr. Greenway, his -wife, his sister, and his little ones, and brought them as prisoners -to the Nana; who ordered them into confinement with the expectation of -obtaining a ransom, and the intention of killing them whether or not -the money was forthcoming. He, for one, had no notion of permitting his -avarice to clash with his barbarity. - -As the excitement of tracking down and unearthing Englishmen began to -languish on account of the growing scarcity of victims, the mutineers -gradually betook themselves to the more serious business of the siege. -During the whole of Saturday Teeka Sing had been hard at work in the -Arsenal, mounting the great guns, and despatching them successively to -the scene of action. As fast as each piece arrived, it was placed in -position, and manned by a party of volunteers. By noon on Sunday the -cordon of batteries was complete, and our intrenchment was raked by -twenty-four pound shot from every quarter of the compass. Now became -patent to the most inexperienced eye the fatal and irremediable defects -of the site which our general had selected for the fortification. The -Dragoon Hospital was entirely surrounded by large and solid buildings, -at distances varying from three to eight hundred yards: buildings from -which the assailants derived protection at least as effectual as that -afforded to the garrison by their improvised defences. From roof and -window poured a shower of bullets during the hours of daylight, while -after dusk troops of sepoys hovered about within pistol-shot, and made -the night hideous with incessant volleys of musketry. Henceforward, -there was but little sleep for our countrymen. - -The annals of warfare contain no episode so painful as the story of -this melancholy conflict. It is a story which needs not comment or -embellishment. Whether related in the inornate language of official -correspondence, or in the childish phraseology of Hindoo evidence, it -moves to tears as surely as the pages in which the greatest of all -historians tells, as only he can tell, the last agony of the Athenian -host in Sicily. The sun never before looked on such a sight as a -crowd of women and children cooped within a small space, and exposed -during twenty days and nights to the concentrated fire of thousands -of muskets and a score of heavy cannon. At first every projectile -which struck the barracks was the signal for heartrending shrieks, -and low wailing more heartrending yet: but, ere long, time and habit -taught them to suffer and to fear in silence. Before the third evening -every window and door had been beaten in. Next went the screens, the -piled-up furniture, and the internal partitions: and soon shell and -ball ranged at will through and through the naked rooms. Some ladies -were slain outright by grape or round-shot. Others were struck down by -bullets. Many were crushed beneath falling brickwork, or mutilated by -the splinters which flew from shattered sash and panel. Happy were they -whose age and sex called them to the front of the battle, and dispensed -them from the spectacle of this passive carnage. Better to hear more -distinctly the crackle of the sepoy musketry, and the groans of wounded -wife and sister more faintly. If die they both must, such was the -thought of more than one husband, it was well that duty bade them die -apart. - -Never did men fight with more signal determination against more fearful -odds. Not at Fontenoy, not at Arcot, not at Albuera was British -endurance so stubborn, or British valour so conspicuous. For, while -the besiegers worked their guns under cover, the artillerymen of the -besieged stood erect upon the bare plain. While the besiegers possessed -unbounded store of huge mortars and battering-guns, the besieged had -a few cannon too small for efficacious service in the field. While -disease and the accidents of combat hourly diminished the numbers of -those within, the ranks without were daily swollen by regiments of -recent mutineers and fresh clans of rebels. But circumstances such as -these are best adapted to exhibit the strange humour of the English -warrior. With all that was most dear at their backs, and in front -all that was most hateful, and, in their view, most contemptible, -undaunted and not uncheerful our countrymen bore up the fray. From -the very earliest days of the attack it became apparent that old Sir -Hugh was unequal to the exposure and fatigue involved in the conduct -of the struggle, and in the inspection and re-distribution of the -posts, a labour rendered only too severe by the deadly fire of the -enemy. In such a strait men act as acted those ten thousand Greeks, -whose memory will never fade, when by the banks of far Euphrates their -chief had been slain and their allies scattered to the winds. "Then," -says Xenophon, "Clearchus took the command, and the rest obeyed; not -as having chosen him by formal election, but because they saw that -he, and he alone, had the temper of a general." The Clearchus of -Cawnpore was Captain Moore, an officer in charge of the invalids of -the thirty-second foot. He was a tall, fair, blue-eyed man, glowing -with animation and easy Irish intrepidity. Wheresoever there was most -pressing risk, and wheresoever there was direst wretchedness, his -presence was seldom long wanting. Under the rampart; at the batteries; -in some out-picket, where men were dropping like pheasants under a -fearful cross-fire; in some corner of the hospital, to a brave heart -more fearful still, where lay the mangled forms of those young and -delicate beings whom war should always spare:--ever and everywhere -was heard his sprightly voice speaking words of encouragement, of -exhortation, of sympathy, and even of courteous gallantry. Wherever -Moore had passed he left men something more courageous, and women -something less unhappy. It is well when such leaders are at hand. It -is ill when they are discovered and promoted too late to undo the evil -that has been already done. - -Across the south-western angle of the intrenchment ran a line of -barracks which were still in course of erection. They each measured -some two hundred feet in length, and were constructed of red brick, -which had not as yet received that coat of white plaster that reduces -all Anglo-Indian house decoration to a uniformity of colour diversified -only by the various degrees of age and shabbiness. Of these, the -buildings marked in the plan by the numbers 2, 3, and 4 were in close -proximity to the corner of our fortification, the entire extent -of which they commanded, inasmuch as their walls had been already -completed to an elevation of forty feet. None of the others had been -raised to a height of more than two or three yards from the level of -the ground. The floors had not been laid, nor the bamboo poles removed, -which, rudely spliced together, form the cheap but frail scaffolding -of Hindoo architecture: and the ground both within and without, along -the whole row, was thickly covered with piles of the materials used in -the progress of the works. From the very first the sepoys possessed -the northern half of the range: but they never succeeded in obtaining -a hold on Barrack Number Four, which was defended by a party of civil -engineers, who had been employed upon the East Indian railroad. These -gentlemen, over and above that indigenous aptitude for conflict -common to all Englishmen of the upper classes, had acquired, during -years spent in surveying, a trained sharpness of vision and a correct -judgment of distance which rendered them peculiarly dangerous when -placed behind the sights of an Enfield rifle. For three days these -amateurs baffled every attempt of the enemy: but at the end of that -period the assaults became so fierce and frequent that they were not -sorry to accept the services of a fighting man by profession. And so -there came across to them from the redan Captain Jenkins, a valiant -soldier, foredoomed to a death of anguish extraordinary even at such a -time. - -Whether the mutineers were aware of this introduction of the military -element, or whether they already had learned to respect civilian skill -and bravery, from this time forth they desisted from their efforts in -that quarter, and turned their attention to the southernmost of the -unfinished erections, which they proceeded to occupy in great force. -Hereupon Lieutenant Glanville was posted with a small detachment in -the adjoining barrack, which thenceforward was recognised by both -parties as the key of our position. What the farm of Hougoumont was at -Waterloo,--what the sand-bag battery was at Inkerman,--that was Barrack -Number Two in the death-wrestle of Cawnpore. How furious was the -strife,--how desperate the case of the little garrison, may be gathered -from the fact that, though only sixteen in number, they had a surgeon -to themselves, who never lacked ample employment. Glanville came under -his hands, desperately wounded: and the vacancy thus caused was soon -after supplied by Lieutenant Mowbray Thomson of the Fifty-sixth Native -Infantry. This officer did his best to lose a life which destiny seemed -determined to preserve in order that England might know how, in their -exceeding distress, her sons had not been unmindful of her ancient -honour. "My sixteen men," he writes, "consisted in the first instance -of Ensign Henderson of the Fifty-sixth Native Infantry, five or six -of the Madras fusileers, two plate-layers from the railway works, and -some men of the Eighty-fourth Regiment. The first instalment was soon -disabled. The Madras fusileers were armed with the Enfield rifle, and -consequently they had to bear the brunt of the attack. They were all -shot at their posts. Several of the Eighty-fourth also fell: but, in -consequence of the importance of the position, as soon as a loss in my -little corps was reported, Captain Moore sent us over a reinforcement -from the intrenchment. Sometimes a civilian, sometimes a soldier came. -The orders given us were, not to surrender with our lives, and we did -our best to obey them." - -Nothing contributed so much to check the spread of the rebellion of -1857 as the individual courage and pugnacity of our countrymen resident -in the East. Civil and military alike, they were all skilled in the -use of weapons, and cool in the presence of personal danger. Such a -habit of body and mind they acquired both for policy and for pleasure. -Every Anglo-Indian is well aware that he is one of an imperial race, -holding its own in the midst of a subject population by dint of -foresight and martial prowess. There were villages of evil reputation -which on the day of assessment the collector preferred to visit on -the back of the steadiest Arab in his stables, with a favourite -hog spear carelessly balanced beside his right stirrup. There were -notorious bits of road where the traveller felt more comfortable if -he heard from time to time the lock of his revolver clanking against -the soda-water bottles in the pocket of his palanquin. Never was there -a better training-school for warfare than the Indian hunting-field. -A man who has heard unmoved above his head the scream of a crippled -elephant;--who behind his trusty Westley Richards has awaited, calm and -collected, the last rush of a wounded tiger;--need not doubt what his -behaviour may be in any possible emergency. He who, like more than one -true sportsman, has hardly crawled away, bloody knife in hand, from -the embrace of a dying bear:--who has kept at bay a forty-inch boar -with the butt of his shivered lance;--will not be at a loss how to meet -the charge of a mutinous trooper. The rebels found to their cost that -the Sahibs, like old stalkers of large game, were seldom foolhardy -and never remiss:--that they were neither fluttered by peril nor -over-excited by success:--that they rarely failed to make the most of -what cover they could get, and still more rarely wasted a cartridge. -Lieutenant Thomson contrived a sort of perch half-way up the wall of -his barrack, in which he stationed a young officer, named Stirling, of -high repute as a marksman, who soon proved that a rebel running home -to his dinner was at least as easy to hit as an ibex bounding down the -crags in a Himalayan valley, or a blue cow dodging in and out amidst -the trunks of an Oude forest. - -The whole of this range of buildings not included within our posts was -literally alive with sepoys. They could distinctly be heard scampering -along in troops, like rats behind an antique wainscot, chattering, -yelling, or screaming under the emotion of the moment. From door, and -window, and drain, and loophole they fired away at our stronghold, -accompanying each shot with a taunt, conveying, in Oriental fashion, -a random but painful statement concerning a remote ancestress of the -person addressed. Ever and anon a fanatic, inspired by some vile drug, -would issue forth into the open, brandishing his sword, in order -to indulge himself in a dance of defiance; on all which occasions -Lieutenant Stirling took good care that the performance should not meet -with an encore. When the enemy became more than usually troublesome, -the picket which was most hardly pressed would invite their neighbours -to come over and assist them: and then the combined force of some -thirty bayonets sallied forth to sweep the line of barracks, chasing -the foe before them; killing the boldest and slowest of foot; knocking -on the head such as were drunk or asleep; shooting down those who, -in their anxiety to get a good aim, had ensconced themselves too -high up to be able to climb down on so short a notice; and driving -the rest out, and across the plain: at which point the gunners of -the intrenchment took up the work, and plied the flying multitude -with grape and canister. During one of the earliest of these sorties -eleven mutineers were captured, and brought into the intrenchment. As -no sentry could just then be spared from the front, they were placed -under the charge of Bridget Widdowson, a stalwart dame, wife of a -private of the Thirty-second Regiment. Secured by the very insufficient -contrivance of a single rope, passed from wrist to wrist, they sat -quietly on the ground like good school-children, while the matron -walked up and down in front of the row, drawn sword in hand. After -she had been relieved by a warder of the other sex, they all managed -to slip off: and from that time forward it was generally understood -that prisoners were to be left on the spot where they had been caught, -with the jackal and the vulture as their jailers. A captive, as long -as he remained in custody, was a consumer of precious food; and at -once became the most dangerous of spies, if he succeeded in making his -escape to the rebel lines with a report of our destitute condition. - -On Friday, the twelfth, the insurgents made their first general assault -upon our position. The cavalry, who on that day had been the first -in the career of sedition, were now with some difficulty prevailed -upon to dismount and lead the way to glory; but after the loss of two -of their number they concluded that enough had been done to sustain -the credit of their branch of the service, and retired to console -themselves for their repulse in the opium shops of the suburbs. The -sepoy infantry next advanced to try their fortune, followed by all the -rabble of the bazaars. They came on like men, but they went where there -were men likewise. It was not thus that our rampart might be won. Every -English soldier had ready to his hand from three to ten muskets loaded -with ball and slug: for there was a plentiful stock of small-arms -within the fortification. The civilian held his thumb pressed tight -upon the hammer of a pet smoothbore, with a charge of Number Four -shot for close quarters snugly packed in the left-hand barrel. The -officer in command of the battery was feeling for the leaden tip in -each chamber of his revolver, as he gave his final order to take time -and aim below the cross-belts. Our people were composed and confident. -Sending quiet shots from behind a wall into the middle of a crowd -was child's play compared with the daylong hazard of the crashing -cannonade. After a short but bitter engagement the assailants withdrew, -leaving on the field many of their comrades. Profiting by this harsh -lesson they returned henceforward to their old tactics, and applied -themselves to pound out the life of our garrison by an unremitting -storm of ball, and bomb, and bullet. - -Few, and ever fewer, in number; overmatched in weight of metal; -ill-provided with ammunition, and protected by not an inch of cover, -our artillerymen still sustained the hot debate. Lieutenant Ashe -went through his work with a display of professional interest that -would not have disgraced Sir William Armstrong during a trial match at -Shoeburyness. After each round the besiegers saw with astonishment the -zealous young Sahib leap on the heel of the discharged gun, spy-glass -in hand, heedless of the missiles which were chirping round his ears. -Unfortunately eight out of our ten pieces were nine-pounders, and -the supply of nine-pound balls was soon expended. Reduced to load -with shot a size too small, our officers could not secure accuracy in -their practice. The gunners in our south-eastern battery had suffered -much from a small piece which the sepoys had contrived to hoist into -position amidst the _débris_ of one among the half-built barracks. -Lieutenant Delafosse, after despatching a number of six-pound balls -in the direction of the embrasure without any perceptible result, at -length resolved to bring the matter to a conclusion in one way or -another. He rammed down three cannon-balls, filled up the chinks with -grape, bade his men stand back, and fired off this portentous charge. -To his surprise and delight his own gun did not burst, and nothing more -was ever heard of the tiresome little antagonist. The same officer, -somewhat later in the siege, was in the north-eastern battery when the -carriage of a cannon was ignited by an unlucky accident. The situation -was most critical, for the woodwork, which had stood beneath the -June sun until it was dry as tinder, blazed furiously, and there was -imminent risk of a general explosion of all the powder in the battery. -The rebels discerned the opportunity, and concentrated their fire upon -the spot where Delafosse, stretched at length on his back beneath the -gun, was pulling down the burning splinters and scattering earth upon -the flames. By the aid of two private soldiers he extinguished the -conflagration, though eighteen pound and twenty-four pound shot were -flying past at the rate of six a minute. With such examples before -them, people of no class or calling were behindhand in acts of daring -when the common safety was at stake. One Jacobi, a coachmaker by trade, -and, to judge from his appellation, a person of mixed parentage, -descried on the roof of the magazine a fire-ball, which he mistook for -a live shell. Under this impression he clambered up, secured the object -of his apprehension, and heaved it over the breastwork with a sigh of -relief. There was many a Cross of Victoria earned in that camp, where -victory was not, nor any reasonable chance of victory. - -But the contest was too unequal to last long. By the end of the first -week our fifty-nine artillerymen had all been killed or wounded at -their posts. Of the officers to whom the charge of the guns had -originally been entrusted, few had escaped unhurt from the hail of -lead and iron, or the hardly less deadly rays of the Indian noon. -Sunstroke had killed Major Prout. Captain Kempland was stretched on -the floor of the barrack, dazed and powerless. His next in command, -Lieutenant Eckford, a soldier of high promise and an accomplished -gentleman, while snatching half an hour's repose under the roof of -the verandah, was struck full on the heart by a cannon-ball. In the -west quarter Dempster had been shot dead, and from the same battery -Martin had been carried into the hospital with a bullet in his lungs. -For a while volunteers endeavoured to supply the place of the trained -gunners; and all was done that could be expected from bandsmen, and -opium agents, and telegraph clerks firing six-pound balls out of -damaged nine-pounders, while exposed without protection to a murderous -discharge from siege guns and heavy mortars. There could be only one -termination to such a business. Our only howitzer was knocked clean -off its carriage. One cannon lost the entire muzzle. Some had their -sides beaten in, some their vents blown out. At length our park of -artillery was reduced to a couple of pieces, which were withdrawn under -cover, loaded with grape, and reserved for the purpose of repelling -an assault. And even of these the bore had been injured to such an -extent that the canister could not be driven home. Our poor ladies, -accordingly, in rivalry of those somewhat apocryphal Carthaginian dames -who twisted their hair into bowstrings, gave up their stockings to -supply the case for a novel but not unserviceable cartridge. Since the -days when the shopmen of Londonderry loaded their quaint old ordnance -with brick-bats wrapped in strips of gutter-piping, necessity has, -perhaps, never been brought to bed with a more singular offspring. - -As our reply waned more faint and ever fainter, the fire of the enemy -continued to augment in volume, in rapidity, and in precision. The list -of individual casualties mounted up in increasing ratio, and before -long our misfortunes culminated in a wholesale disaster. Grave fears -had been entertained for the security of the thatched barrack by every -man who had the common sense to see that fire would burn straw. There -were found some who, with admirable self-devotion, had scrambled on -to that lead-bespattered slope, and essayed to cover with tiles and -rubbish the inflammable material of the roof. On the eighth evening of -the bombardment a lighted carcase settled among the rafters, and the -whole building was speedily in a blaze. It happened most unfortunately -that this barrack, as affording the better shelter and the less -confined space, had been selected for the accommodation of our wounded -and our sick. No effort was spared, no hazard shunned to rescue those -who could not help themselves: but in spite of everything which could -be tried two brave men perished a little sooner than their fellows, and -by a rather more distressing fate. That was indeed a night of horror. -The roar of the flames, lost every ten seconds in the peal of the rebel -artillery; the whistle of the great shot; the shrieks of the sufferers, -who forgot their pain in the helpless anticipation of a sudden and -agonizing death; the groups of crying women and children huddled -together in the ditch; the stream of men running to and fro between the -houses, laden with sacks of provisions, and kegs of ammunition, and -private property of value, and living burdens more precious still; the -guards crouching silent and watchful, finger on trigger, each at his -station along the external wall; the forms of countless foes, revealed -now and again by the fitful glare, prowling around through the outer -gloom;--these sights and sounds combined to form a scene and a chorus -which will be ever memorable to the trio of actors who lived through -the catastrophe of that awful drama. - -Captain Moore thought it well to give the enemy an early and convincing -proof that the spirit of our people was not broken by this great -calamity. At the dead of the ensuing night he stole out from the -intrenchment with fifty picked men at his heels in the direction of -the chapel and the racket-court. Beginning from this point, the party -hurried down the rebel lines under favour of the darkness, doing -whatever rapid mischief was practicable. They surprised in untimely -slumber some native gunners, who never waked again; spiked and rolled -over several twenty-four pounders; gratified their feelings by blowing -up a piece which had given them especial annoyance; and got back, -carrying in their arms four of their number, and leaving another -behind:--a service brilliant indeed, but barren of results: for the -sepoys had only to resolve on the calibre that they preferred, and the -number of canon which they could conveniently work, and then take at -will from the arsenal so inconsiderately placed at their disposal. This -chivalrous act, one among many such, at that time passed without reward -or public approval. When in a water-logged vessel men are toiling for -their lives, who observes whether his neighbour does more or less -at the pumps than he, provided all do their utmost? And when they -have betaken themselves to the boats, and are rowing against time and -famine, who cares which of the crew feathers most neatly, and which -reaches forward with the straightest back? This was no set duel of -civilized nations: no stately tournament, wherein the champions fight -beneath the eyes of a friendly people, ready with their praise and -sympathy; where wounds are bandaged with a ribbon, and self-sacrifice -entitles the hero to a corner in our modern Walhalla, the columns of -the daily press. Rare were those who here had leisure or heart to take -note, and they who survived to make report were rarer still. As during -the ages before Atrides came on earth countless chieftains, unwept, -unknown, sank into eternal oblivion because they lacked a sacred bard: -so at Cawnpore many a soldier brave as Hodson of Hodson's Horse, nobly -prodigal of himself as William Peel of the Shannon, dared, and fell, -and was forgotten for want of a special correspondent. Correspondence -there was, containing much earnest entreaty for a rescue and some -unconscious eloquence; but too important matter had to be compressed -into too small a compass to admit of panegyric or recommendation for -honours and advancement. Several urgent missives found their way -to Lucknow, rolled tightly into quills, sealed up, and hidden with -mysterious art in and about the person of Hindoo messengers;--so -curiously stowed away that in some cases it took almost as long to -produce as to convey the note: though, if the rebels chanced to -intercept the despatch, they generally abridged the operation by -cutting in pieces the ill-starred courier. On the middle day of June -the Lucknow surgeons extracted the following lines from the nose or -ear of a native who had been fortunate and adroit enough to elude the -manifold perils which beset those forty miles of road:-- - - "_From Sir H. M. Wheeler, K.C.B. to Martin Gubbins, Esq._ - - "My dear Gubbins, - - "We have been besieged since the sixth by the Nana Sahib, joined by - the whole of the native troops, who broke out on the morning of the - fourth. The enemy have two 24-pounders, and several other guns. We - have only eight 9-pounders. The whole Christian population is with - us in a temporary intrenchment, and our defence has been noble and - wonderful, our loss heavy and cruel. We want aid, aid, aid! Regards - to Lawrence. - - "Yours, &c. - H. M. Wheeler. - - "14th June. - Quarter-past 8, P.M. - - "P.S.--If we had 200 men we could punish the scoundrels and aid you." - -The nature of the reply may be gathered from an acknowledgment which it -elicited from Captain Moore. The anniversary seems to have inspired his -pen. Brief and manly, cheerful and yet thoughtful, it is such a letter -as an English officer should write on the eighteenth of June. - - "_From Captain Moore, H.M. 32d Foot._ - "_18th June_, 10, P.M. - - "Sir, - - "By desire of Sir Hugh Wheeler, I have the honour to acknowledge - your letter of the 16th. - - "Sir Hugh regrets you cannot send him the 200 men, as he believes - with their assistance we could drive the insurgents from Cawnpore, - and capture their guns. - - "Our troops, officers, and volunteers have acted most nobly, and - on several occasions a handful of men have driven hundreds before - them. Our loss has been chiefly from the sun, and their heavy - guns. Our rations will last a fortnight, and we are still well - supplied with ammunition. Our guns are serviceable. Report says - that troops are advancing from Allahabad, and any assistance might - save our garrison. We, of course, are prepared to hold out to the - last. It is needless to mention the names of those who have been - killed, or died. We trust in God, and if our exertions here assist - your safety, it will be a consolation to know that our friends - appreciate our devotion. Any news of relief will cheer us. - - "Yours, &c. - "J. Moore, Captain, - "32d Regiment. - - "By order." - -And now commenced to our brethren and sisters a period of unspeakable -woe; the ante-chamber of ruin; the penultimate syllable of their dismal -story. After the destruction of the thatched barrack, dearth of -house-room forced two hundred of our women and children to spend twelve -days of twice twelve hours without ceiling over head or flooring under -foot. At night they lay on the bare ground, exposed to every noxious -influence and exhalation that was abroad in the air; and in the morning -they rose, those among them who rose at all, to endure, bareheaded -often, and always roofless, the blazing fury of the tropical beams. -The men off guard attempted to contrive for them a partial protection, -by stretching canvas screens across a framework of muskets and poles; -but these canopies were soon fired by the rebel shells, and the poor -creatures were reduced to cower beneath the shelter of our earthwork, -feebly chasing the shadow thrown by the sun as he rose and set. It is -impossible for a home-staying Englishman to realize the true character -of the great troubles in 1857, unless he constantly bears in mind that -all which he reads was devised, and done, and endured beneath the -vertical rays of an Eastern summer, and in a temperature varying from a -hundred and twenty to a hundred and thirty-eight degrees in the shade. -If there are any whose experience of heat is limited to a field-day at -Wimbledon in the month of August, or to a tramp over Norfolk stubbles -when the dogs are too thirsty to work, and the boy has carried off the -beer to the wrong spinney, they will obtain a more just notion from a -sad tale simply told than from pages of unscientific rhetoric. - -This is what befell Mrs. M----, the wife of the surgeon at a certain -station on the southern confines of the insurrection. "I heard," she -says, "a number of shots fired, and, looking out, I saw my husband -driving furiously from the mess-house, waving his wip. I ran to him, -and, seeing a bearer with my child in his arms, I caught her up, -and got into the buggy. At the mess-house we found all the officers -assembled, together with sixty sepoys, who had remained faithful. We -went off in one large party, amidst a general conflagration of our late -homes. We reached the caravanserai at Chattapore the next morning, and -thence started for Callinger. At this point our sepoy escort deserted -us. We were fired upon by matchlock-men, and one officer was shot -dead. We heard, likewise, that the people had risen at Callinger, so -we returned, and walked back ten miles that day. M---- and I carried -the child alternately. Presently Mrs. Smalley died of sunstroke. We had -no food amongst us. An officer kindly lent us a horse. We were very -faint. The major died, and was buried; also the serjeant-major, and -some women. The bandsmen left us on the nineteenth of June. We were -fired at again by matchlock-men, and changed direction for Allahabad. -Our party consisted of nine gentlemen, two children, the serjeant, and -his wife. On the morning of the twentieth, Captain Scott took Lottie on -to his horse. I was riding behind my husband, and she was so crushed -between us. She was two years old on the first of the month. We were -both weak through want of food and the effect of the sun. Lottie and I -had no head-covering. M---- had a sepoy's cap I found on the ground. -Soon after sunrise we were followed by villagers armed with clubs -and spears. One of them struck Captain Scott's horse on the leg. He -galloped off with Lottie, and my poor husband never saw his child -again. We rode on several miles, keeping away from villages, and then -crossed the river. Our thirst was extreme. M---- had dreadful cramps, -so that I had to hold him on the horse. I was very uneasy about him. -The day before I saw the drummer's wife eating chupatties, and asked -her to give a piece to the child, which she did. I now saw water in a -ravine. The descent was steep and our only drinking-vessel was M----'s -cap. Our horse got water, and I bathed my neck. I had no stockings, -and my feet were torn and blistered. Two peasant's came in sight, and -we were frightened, and rode off. The serjeant held our horse, and -M---- put me up and mounted. I think he must have got suddenly faint, -for I fell, and he over me, on the road, when the horse started off. -Some time before he said, and Barber, too, that he could not live many -hours. I felt he was dying before we came to the ravine. He told me his -wishes about his children and myself, and took leave. My brain seemed -burnt up. No tears came. As soon as we fell, the serjeant let go the -horse, and it went off; so, that escape was cut off. We sat down on the -ground waiting for death. Poor fellow! he was very weak; his thirst -was frightful, and I went to get him water. Some villagers came, and -took my rupees and watch. I took off my wedding-ring, and twisted it in -my hair, and replaced the guard. I tore off the skirt of my dress to -bring water in, but it was no use, for when I returned, my beloved's -eyes were fixed, and, though I called, and tried to restore him, and -poured water into his mouth, it only rattled in his throat. He never -spoke to me again. I held him in my arms till he sank gradually down. -I felt frantic, but could not cry. I was alone. I bound his head and -face in my dress, for there was no earth to bury him. The pain in my -hands and feet was dreadful. I went down to the ravine, and sat in the -water on a stone, hoping to get off at night, and look for Lottie. When -I came back from the water, I saw that they had not taken her little -watch, chain, and seals, so I tied them under my petticoat. In an hour, -about thirty villagers came. They dragged me out of the ravine, and -took off my jacket, and found the little chain. They then dragged me to -a village, mocking me all the way, and wondering whom I was to belong -to. The whole population came to look at me. I asked for a bedstead, -and lay down outside the door of a hut. They had dozens of cows, and -yet refused me milk. When night came, and the village was quiet, some -old woman brought me a leaf-full of rice. I was too parched to eat, -and they gave me water. The morning after, a neighbouring Rajah sent a -palanquin and a horseman to fetch me, who told me that a little child -and three sahibs had come to his master's house." And so the mother -found her lost one, "greatly blistered," poor little darling. It is not -for Europeans in India to pray that their flight be not in the winter. - -These women had spent their girlhood in the pleasant watering-places -and country homes of our island, surrounded by all of English comfort -and refinement that Eastern wealth could buy. Their later years had -slipped away amidst the secure plenty and languid ease of an European -household in India. In spacious saloons, alive with swinging punkahs; -where closed and darkened windows excluded the heated atmosphere, and -produced a counterfeit night, while through a mat of wetted grass -poured a stream of artificial air; with piles of ice, and troops of -servants, and the magazines of the preceding month, and the sensation -novels of the preceding season, monotonous, but not ungrateful, the -even days flew by. Early married life has in Bengal peculiar charms. -Settled down in some out-station, with no society save that of a -casual road-surveyor or a distant planter, the world forgetting, and -by the world remembered only at such times as there is talk concerning -the chances of official promotion, the young pair have full leisure -and a fair plea for indulging in that delicious habit of mutual -selfishness which changes existence into a perpetual honeymoon, until -that sorrowful epoch, when the children are too old to be kept any -longer in the enervating climate of Hindostan; when the period arrives -for writing to mothers-in-law, and sisters, and London bankers, and -Brighton schoolmasters; when even the pale pet of four years old, who -still answers to the name of baby, must go home at the beginning of -next cold season, and ought to have gone before the end of last. Then -begin the troubles of an Anglo-Indian family. - -But though such ladies are often destined to endure the wearing anxiety -of an unnatural separation, they never know what it is to experience -a moment of physical privation. The services of menials, who make up -by their number and obsequiousness what they lack in energy,--the -unwearied attention of an affectionate partner and friend shield them -from distress and excuse them from exertion. To have slept four in a -cabin on board an outward-bound steamer,--to have passed a night in a -palanquin, or a day at a posting-house where there was no tea, and only -milk enough for the little ones;--had hitherto appeared to the Cawnpore -ladies the last conceivable extremity of destitution and discomfort. -Now, the Red Sea in July would have been to them an Elysium, and a -luncheon on Peninsular and Oriental ale and cheese a priceless banquet. -By a sudden turn of fortune they had been placed beneath the heel of -those beings whom they had ever regarded with that unconscious aversion -and contempt of race which is never so intense as in a female breast. -Those who were to them most dear and trusted were absent from their -side, save when a not unkindly bullet released the husband from his -post, and restored him to the wife, if but to die. Accustomed to those -frequent ablutions which, in England at least a duty, are in India a -necessity, they had not a single spongeful of water for washing from -the commencement to the close of the siege. They who, from childhood -upwards, in the comprehensive and pretty phrase which ladies love, "had -had everything nice about them," were now herded together in fetid -misery, where delicacy and modesty were hourly shocked, though never -for a moment impaired. Unshod, unkempt, ragged and squalid, haggard -and emaciated, parched with drought and faint with hunger, they sat -waiting to hear that they were widows. Each morning deepened the -hollow in the youngest cheek, and added a new furrow to the fairest -brow. Want, exposure, and depression, speedily decimated that hapless -company. In those regions, a hideous train of diseases stand always -within call: fever, and apoplexy, and the fell scourge of cholera, -and dysentery, plague more ghastly still. It was of fever that Miss -Brightman died, worn out with nursing a boy who had been shot through -his first red coat. Sir George Parker, the cantonment magistrate, -complained of sickness and headache, accompanied by a sensation of -drowsiness and oppression, which gradually deepened into insensibility, -and thence into death. Such, too, was the fate of Colonel Williams of -the Fifty-sixth Native Infantry, and of the Rev. Joseph Rooney, the -Catholic priest, in spite of the devoted care of the Irish soldiery. -The horrors which all shared and witnessed overset the balance of more -than one highly-wrought organization. A missionary of the Propagation -Society, as each day drew in, would bring his aged mother into the -verandah for a breath of the evening. At length a musket-ball, shot, we -may hope, at a venture, struck down the poor old lady with a painful -wound. Her sufferings affected the reason of her son, and he died a -raving maniac. Woe was it in those days unto them that were with child. -There were infants born during the terrible three weeks;--infants -who had no future. There were women who underwent more than all the -anguish of maternity, with less than none of the hope and joy. The -medical stores had all been destroyed in the conflagration. There -remained no drugs, and cordials, and opiates; no surgical instruments -and appliances to cure, to alleviate, or to deaden. Perhaps it was as -well that the absence of saws and tourniquets rendered impracticable -the more critical operations: for here, as at Lucknow, it was found -that, during the months of an Indian summer, within the circuit of a -beleagured fortification the consequences of amputation were invariably -fatal. Science could not regret that she was powerless, when her most -successful effort would hardly have prolonged an agony. - -But, besides the Nana, another foe, ruthless and pertinacious as he, -had broken ground in front of our bulwarks. If our people had eaten as -freely as they had fought, their provisions would have been consumed -within the ten days: and human abstinence and endurance could not eke -out the slender stock beyond the limit of some three weeks. Already -the tins of preserved meats were empty, and the meal had fallen low in -the casks; and many barrels had been tapped by the enemy's shot, and -the rest were ominously light. The store of luxuries contributed from -the regimental mess-rooms had been shared by all ranks alike. A noble -equality and fraternity reigned through the little republic. - -During that year our countrymen in India often debated, in a spirit by -no means of idle speculation, whether a member of a blockaded force -had a right to reserve food and drink for the exclusive support of -himself, his family, and his intimate associates. That period was -fruitful in questions of novel and momentous sophistry: questions to -be found in no closet compilation of Ethics and Dialectics. Would a -man be justified in shooting his wife if it was evident that she would -otherwise fall alive into the power of the mutineers? Would a European -flying for his life be guilty of murder if he blew out the brains of -an innocent villager who had unwittingly viewed him as he broke cover, -and who might therefore give information to the pursuers of blood? -Morally guilty, that is to say: for it is difficult to conceive the -circumstances under which a European would have been found legally -guilty of the murder of a native during the year 1857. Might a colonel -call out his men, and then mow them down with grape if it was certain -that the regiment was on the eve of a revolt? Might he if it was almost -certain? If it was most likely? If it was barely possible? These points -were raised and determined off hand by stern casuists, who, with a -thrust or a shot, broke off the horns of a dilemma which would have -sorely tried the subtlety of a Whately. - -Theories differed as to the lawfulness of a private store in time of -siege: but the defenders of Cawnpore were right in their practice. For -in the last extremity of war his own life is not more important to an -individual than the life of his neighbour. A community of warriors -striving by a fair and equitable division to extract from their hoard -of victual all the collective material of strength and valour which -it may contain, presents surely an aspect more philosophical, as well -as more elevated, than an association of selfish and suspicious men, -comrades only in name, resembling nothing so much as jurymen vying to -starve each other out by help of concentrated meat lozenges. During the -first few days the private soldiers fared sparingly, but, for them, -poor fellows, delicately enough. "Here might be seen one," says Captain -Thomson, "trudging away from the main-guard laden with a bottle of -champagne, a tin of preserved herrings, and a pot of jam for his mess -allowance. There would be another with salmon, rum, and sweetmeats -for his inheritance." But very soon the dainties came to an end, and -the allowance was scantier than ever. It was a favourite saying among -the generation of military men, who in Europe kept unwilling holiday -between the day of Waterloo and the day of Alma, that an Englishman -fights best when he is full, and an Irishman when he is drunk. And yet -nowhere in the chronicles of our army does there exist the record of -doughtier deeds than were done in the June of '57 by Englishmen whose -daily sustenance was a short gill of flour, and a short handful of -split peas; by Irishmen who had no stimulant save their own bravery -and a rare sip of putrid water. - -Numerous attempts were made by friends without to mend the fare of the -garrison, which were for the most part defeated by the vigilance of the -sepoys. A baker of the town, who had been footman in an Anglo-Indian -family, was detected smuggling a basket of bread into the intrenchment. -The culprit perhaps fondly imagined that Azimoolah would have had -mercy upon him in consideration of their common antecedents; but, if -he entertained such an expectation, he was doomed to disappointment. -Much credit is due to Zuhooree, an official in the Department of -Abkaree, a mysterious branch of the Revenue, the periodical occurrence -of which in the Indian budget has vexed the souls of a succession of -English financiers. This person put himself into communication with -Major Larkins of the Artillery, and sent into the fortification, as -opportunity served, most acceptable parcels of bread and eggs, with -occasional bottles of milk and liquid butter. At length, on the night -of the fourteenth of June, fifteen of his emissaries, among whom were -two women, were caught as they endeavoured to glide through the cordon -of sentries under cover of the flurry and consternation of our sortie. -They were all blown from guns, but not before the captors had elicited -from them the name of their employer. It was high time for Zuhooree -to look to his safety. Already his family had been imprisoned and -maltreated on an unfounded charge of Christianity, and the rebel camp -was a dangerous stage on which to play the part of good Obadiah. He -accordingly left by stealth for Allahabad, bearing with him a letter of -commendation from Major Larkins, attested by a gold ring set with five -diamonds, which belonged to the wife of that officer. - -Our people did what they could to help themselves. A fat bull, sacred -to Brahma, finding nothing to eat in the streets, inasmuch as the -corn-dealers had closed their booths for fear of the sepoys, came -grazing along the plain until he arrived within range of our profane -rifles. To shoot down this pampered monster, the fakeer of the animal -world,[2] was no considerable feat for marksmen who could hit a black -buck running at a distance of a hundred and fifty paces. The difficulty -consisted in the retrieving of the game, which lay full three hundred -yards from our rampart, on a plain swept by the fire of the insurgents. -Inside our place, however, courage was more plentiful than beef; and -eight or ten volunteers professed themselves ready to follow Captain -Moore, who was first at any feast which partook of the nature of a -fray. The party provided themselves with a stout rope, which they -fastened round the legs and horns of the beast, and dragged home their -prize amidst a storm of cheers and bullets, alive but not unscathed. - -In the banquet which ensued the defenders of the outposts had no part. -On the other hand, they sometimes enjoyed luxuries of their own. A -pariah dog, seduced by blandishments never before lavished upon one of -his despised race, was tempted within the walls and thence into the -camp-kettle of Barrack Number Two. Towards that building, as towards -the lion's den in the fable, pointed the footsteps of every kind of -quadruped, and from it none. An aged horse, whose younger days had been -spent in the ranks of the Irregular Cavalry, was killed, roasted, and -eaten up in two meals by the combined pickets. The head was converted -into soup, and sent into the intrenchment for the use of some favoured -ladies; no explanations being offered or demanded concerning the nature -of the stock. Captain Halliday, of the Fifty-ninth Native Infantry, who -had come across on a morning visit, begged a portion for his poor wife, -who was lying in the hospital, sick unto death of the small-pox. On his -way back, walking, it may be, too slowly for security through dread of -spilling one precious drop, he fell never to rise again. In the midst -of every action and every movement, during the hours of labour and the -minutes of refreshment, unlooked for and unavoidable the mortal stroke -descended. - -For by day and night the fire never ceased. The round shot crashed and -spun through the windows, raked the earthwork, and skipped about the -open ground in every corner of our position. The bullets cut the air, -and pattered on the wall like hail. The great shells rolled hissing -along the floors and down the trenches, and, bursting, spread around -them a circle of wrack, and mutilation, and promiscuous destruction. In -their blind and merciless career those iron messengers spared neither -old nor young, nor combatants nor sufferers, but flew ever onwards, -inflicting superfluous wounds and unavailing destruction. A single bomb -killed or maimed seven married women, who were seated in the ditch; -killed Jacobi, a watchmaker, namesake of the intrepid coachwright; -killed too the cashiered officer whose drunken freak had done something -to accelerate the outbreak. There were those who endured in one day a -double or a treble bereavement; while in some families none remained -to mourn. Colonel Williams died of apoplexy, and his wife, disfigured -and tortured by a frightful hurt in the face, would fain have rejoined -her husband. On the fifteenth of June Miss Mary Williams was stunned -by a fall of the ceiling, and expired in the arms of a wounded sister, -unconscious of her loving care. Two daughters survived--for a while. -Mistress White was walking with a twin child at either shoulder, and -her good man, a private of the Thirty-second, by her side. The same -ball slew the father, broke both elbows of the mother, and severely -injured one of the orphans. Captain Reynolds lost an arm and his life -by a cannon-shot; and Mrs. Reynolds, whose wrist had been pierced by -a musket ball, sank under fever and sorrow. A half-caste tradesman -and his daughter, crouching behind an empty barrel, too late and -together discovered that their shelter was inadequate. A son of Sir -Hugh was reclining on a sofa, faint with recent loss of blood;--one -sister at his feet, and another, with both his parents, busied about -his wants in different parts of the room;--when an uninvited and a -fatal guest entered the doorway, and left the lad a headless corpse. -No less than three subalterns attached to the same regiment as young -Wheeler lost their heads within the redan. Lieutenant Jervis of the -Engineers was walking to his battery through a shower of lead, with a -gait of calm grandeur, as if he were pacing the Eden Garden beneath -the eye-glasses of Calcutta beauty. In vain his comrades raised their -wonted shout of "Run, Jervis! Run!" He never returned to head-quarters. -He never reached his post. A grape-shot passed through the body of Mr. -Heberden, as he was handing some water to a lady. This gentleman, the -most undaunted and unaffected of the brave and simple men of science -employed upon the East Indian railroad, lay on his face for a whole -week without a murmur or a sigh, but not, we may well believe, without -a tacit prayer for the relief which came at last. Mr. Hillersdon, -the magistrate of the station, was dashed in pieces by a twenty-four -pound ball, while talking in the verandah to his wife, weak from an -unseasonable confinement. A few days elapsed, and a shot, less cruel -than some, displaced an avalanche of bricks which put an end to her -short widowhood. But poverty of language does not permit to continue -the list of horrors. In such a catalogue the synonyms of death are soon -exhausted, and give place to a grim tautology. - -"The frequency of our casualties," writes Captain Thomson, "may be -understood by the history of one hour. Lieutenant Prole had come to -the main-guard to see Armstrong, the adjutant of the Fifty-third -Native Infantry, who was unwell. While engaged in conversation with -the invalid, Prole was struck by a musket-ball in the thigh, and fell -to the ground. I put his arm upon my shoulder, and holding him round -the waist, endeavoured to hobble across the open to the barrack, in -order that he might obtain the attention of the surgeons there. While -thus employed a ball hit me under the right shoulder-blade, and we -fell to the ground together, and were picked up by some privates, -who dragged us both back to the main-guard. While I was lying on the -ground, wofully sick from the wound, Gilbert Bax, of the Forty-eighth -Native Infantry, came to condole with me, when a bullet pierced -his shoulder-blade, causing a wound from which he died before the -termination of the siege." - -The youngest were the least to be pitied. In such a plight, ignorance -of happier days was indeed bliss:--ignorance that there was a fair -world without, where people laughed merrily, and slept soundly, and -lived in the anticipations of enjoyment, not in the terrors of death. -To the small children the present was very weary; but, reasoning in -their way, they concluded that that present could not last much longer. -It must come to an end like the tiresome journey up the great river, -when the barge stuck fast in the mud, and mamma cried, and papa called -the boatman by that Hindoostanee name which they themselves were always -whipped for using. The restraint of our protracted incarceration was to -them intolerably irksome. There was neither milk, nor pudding, nor jam, -nor mangoes, nor any one to cuddle them, or sing to them, or listen to -their romances, and their wishes, and their grievances. The gentleman -who once was most kind to them would now come home from shooting all -black, and grimy, and with a rough beard, and would stand at the table -and eat quickly, and then run out again without taking any notice -of them: and some day or other he would be carried in on a shutter, -looking so pale and weak: and some day, perhaps, he never came back -at all. When they asked a lady to scold the servants for getting them -such a nasty breakfast, she only kissed them, and sobbed, and called -them poor darlings. They sorely missed the fond and patient bearer, -that willing playmate and much-enduring slave, whom Mrs. Sherwood's -charming tale has rendered a household word in English schoolrooms. -Left to their own tiny discretions, the dear creatures, unconscious of -danger, would toddle out of the crowded barrack, and betake themselves -to some primitive game which demanded no very elaborate provision of -toys. What was it to them that every half minute a big black ball came -hopping along amidst puffs of dust, or that little things which they -could not see flew about humming louder than cock-chafers or bumble -bees? With unexampled barbarity the sepoy sharpshooters forbore to -respect these innocent groups. The peril, which some incurred through -inexperience, was sought by others under the pressure of despondency. -One unhappy woman, unable to support the burden of her existence, ran -out from the shelter of the walls leading in each hand a child, and -was dragged back, despite of herself, by a private soldier, who freely -risked his life to preserve that which she was bent on losing. Not a -few native domestics refused to desert their employers. Over-worked and -under-thanked, with short-commons, and, if captured by the mutineers, -a shorter shrift, they stayed on, not for the sake of their pittance -of wages, but actuated solely by the ties of duty, gratitude, and -attachment. Most of them were soon dismissed from service, for no -fault, and with no warning. Three were killed by the explosion of a -shell. Another was shot through the head as he was hurrying to the -outposts intent upon serving his master's dinner before it had time to -cool. An ayah, while dandling an infant, lost both her legs by the blow -of a cannon-ball. That was in truth a dismal nursery. - -Want of water was a constant and growing evil. At the best, a single -well would have furnished a pitiably insufficient supply for a thousand -mouths during an Indian June: and that well was from the first the -favourite target of the hostile artillerymen. Guns were trained on to -the exact spot; so that the appearance of a man with a pitcher by day, -and by night the creaking of the tackle, was the signal for a shower -of grape. The framework of beam and brick which protected the drawers -was soon shot away. The machinery went next, and the buckets were -thenceforward hauled up hand over hand from a depth of more than sixty -feet. The Hindoo water-carriers were slain early in the siege, and -their place was supplied by English soldiers, who nominally were paid -at the rate of five rupees for every pail: though the brave fellows -knew that, when a few days had gone by, it would matter little in -whose hands the silver might happen to lie. That water was purchased -with blood and not with money. John Mackillop, of the Civil Service, -veiling devotion under a jocose pretence of self-depreciation, told -his friends that, though no fighting man, he was willing to make -himself useful where he could, and accordingly claimed to be appointed -Captain of the Well. His tenure of the office was prolonged beyond his -own expectation. It was not till a week had passed that he was laid -dying on a bed in the hospital with a grape-shot in the groin. His -last words expressed a desire that the lady to whom he had promised -a drink should not be disappointed. For some days a few gallons were -procured at a frightful hazard from a tank situated on the south-east -of the intrenchment. Those who were conscious how dear a price was -paid for every draught, thirsted in silence; but the babies kept up a -perpetual moan more terrible to some stout souls than a ten minutes' -hobble across the plain, a heavy skinful of water round the loins, -and an ounce of lead in the ankle. Captain Thomson saw the children of -his brother officers "sucking the pieces of old water-bags, putting -scraps of canvass and leather straps into the mouth to try and get -a single drop of moisture upon their parched lips." The distress of -our countrymen was enhanced by the plague of dust to which Cawnpore -is subject on account of the character of the soil. A traveller who -visited the station ten or twelve years before the mutiny, complains -that he got no gratification out of a grand review from which he -had promised himself much pleasure, because the show was throughout -enveloped in clouds which totally concealed it from his eyes. - -There was yet another well, which yielded nothing then: which will -yield nothing till the sea, too, gives up her dead. It lay two hundred -yards from the rampart, beneath the walls of the unfinished barracks. -Thither at an hour varied nightly, for fear lest the rebel shot should -swell the funeral, with stealthy step and scant attendance the slain of -the previous day were borne. When morning broke the battle raged around -that sepulchre. Overhead the cannon roared, and men charged to and fro. -But those below rested none the less peacefully; their last cartridge -bitten; their last achievement performed: their last pang of hunger -and affliction undergone and already forgotten. There were deposited, -within the space of three weeks, two hundred and fifty English people, -a fourth by tale of the whole garrison. As in a season of trouble and -lawlessness men bury away their jewels and their gold against the -return of tranquillity and order: so the survivors committed to the -faithful mould their dear treasures, trusting that time and the fortune -of war would enable our country to honour her lost ones with a more -solemn rite, and a worthier tomb. Brief was the service whispered on -the brink of that sad well in the sultry summer night. It was much, -when they came to the grave, while the corpse was being made ready to -be laid into the earth, if the priest then said: "In the midst of life -we are in death. Of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, -who for our sins art justly displeased?" - -"Yet, O Lord God most holy, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most -merciful Saviour, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal -death." - -And again, while the earth was being cast upon the body by some -standing by, the priest might with the assent of all declare that it -was of His great mercy that it had pleased Almighty God to take unto -Himself the soul of the dear brother there departed. - -Throughout the siege public worship, at stated hours, and of prescribed -length and form, neither did nor could take place: but the spirit -and the essential power of religion were not wanting. The station -chaplain, Mr. Moncrieff, made it his concern that no one should die -or suffer without the consolations of Christianity. And whenever he -could be spared from the hospital, this shepherd of a pest-stricken -flock, he would go the round of the batteries, and read a few Prayers -and Psalms to the fighting folk. With heads bent, and hands folded -over the muzzles of their rifles; soothed, some by genuine piety, some -by the associations of gladsome Christmas mornings and drowsy Sunday -afternoons spent in the aisle of their village church; they listened -calmly to the familiar words, those melancholy and resolute men. Each -congregation was more thin than the last. There were always present -some two or three to whom never again would grace be given to join with -accord in the common supplication. The people of Cawnpore might say in -the language used in a like strait by a brave and God-fearing soldier, -the Greatheart of English History:--"Indeed we are at this time a very -crazy company; yet we live in His sight, and shall work the time that -is appointed us, and shall rest after that in peace." - -The condition of the besieged presented a complete contrast to the -state of things on the other side of the wall. The numbers and the -hopes of the insurgents mounted daily. Every morning some new Rajah or -Nawab paraded through the suburbs in his palanquin bright with silver -poles and silken hangings, preceded by drums, and standards, and led -chargers, and followed by a stream of lancers and matchlocks. Every -evening a fresh eruption of scoundrelism surged up from the narrow -crooked alleys and foul bazaars of the black city. Nor were the Hindoos -and Mahomedans of the revolted battalions left without the satisfaction -and encouragement of learning what great deeds had been wrought -elsewhere by the champions of the united faiths. In the month of June -the following document found its way from Delhi to Cawnpore:-- - -"_To all Hindoos and Mussulmans, Citizens and Servants of -Hindostan, the Officers of the Army now at Delhi and Meerut send -Greeting._ - -"It is well known that in these days all the English have entertained -these evil designs--first to destroy the religion of the whole -Hindostani army, and then to make the people Christians by compulsion. -Therefore we, solely on account of our religion, have combined with the -people, and have not spared alive one infidel, and have re-established -the Delhi dynasty on these terms, and thus act in obedience to orders -and receive double pay. Hundreds of guns and a large amount of treasure -have fallen into our hands; therefore it is fitting that whoever of -the soldiers and the people dislike turning Christians should unite -with one heart and act courageously, not leaving the seed of these -infidels remaining. For any quantity of supplies delivered to the army -the owners are to take the receipts of the officers; and they will -receive double payment from the Imperial Government. Whoever shall in -these times exhibit cowardice, or credulously believe the promises of -those impostors, the English, shall very shortly be put to shame for -such a deed; and, rubbing the hands of sorrow, shall receive for their -fidelity the reward the ruler of Lucknow got. It is further necessary -that all Hindoos and Mussulmans unite in this struggle, and, following -the instructions of some respectable people, keep themselves secure, so -that good order may be maintained, the poorer classes kept contented, -and they themselves be exalted to rank and dignity; also, that all, -so far as it is possible, copy this proclamation, and despatch it -everywhere, so that all true Hindoos and Mussulmans may be alive and -watchful, and fix it in some conspicuous place (but prudently, to avoid -detection), and strike a blow with a sword before giving circulation to -it. The first pay of the soldiers of Delhi will be thirty rupees per -month for a trooper, and ten rupees for a footman. Nearly one hundred -thousand men are ready; and there are thirteen flags of the English -regiments, and about fourteen standards from different parts, now -raised aloft for our religion, for God, and the conqueror; and it is -the intention of Cawnpore to root out the seed of the Devil. This is -what we of the army here wish." - -This message was succeeded by a proclamation issued from the peacock -throne, in which the Mogul promised a monthly wage of twelve rupees -and a respectable estate to every sepoy who would rally to the -banner of the ancient dynasty. He likewise ordained that no cows -should thenceforward be killed throughout the land, and finished by -pronouncing a malediction upon the head of any one who should intercept -the imperial courier. The wretch was doomed to eat pork and beef: and, -as the messenger was eventually hanged by an English officer of the -Seventieth Infantry, it may be presumed that the curse has by this time -been fulfilled to the letter. - -The rebel cause was soon strengthened by a more valuable reinforcement -than either the posse comitatus of the province, or the sympathy -of the Delhi mutineers. At the village of Chowbeypore, on the Great -North Road, had been stationed a detachment from the garrison of -Lucknow, comprising a squadron of native cavalry, and two companies of -sepoys, commanded by Captain Staples, four subalterns, and a European -serjeant-major. At about two o'clock on the afternoon of Tuesday, the -ninth of June, these gentlemen were roused from their luncheon by the -sound of a bugle playing the "Assembly." Rushing forth, they demanded -why so strange a liberty had been taken, and were told that it was by -the orders of the Nana. At the mention of this ill-omened name our -officers flung themselves on horseback, and rode for dear life, with -all the disadvantages resulting from ignorance of the country and a -bad start. That was a run in which the game was allowed no law. The -Captain was shot down from his saddle, and cut in pieces where he -lay. Two Englishmen took to the water like hunted stags, and there -miserably perished. Two others were headed by a mob of villagers, and -driven back among the sabres and pistols of their pursuers. Lieutenant -Bolton alone, by dint of hard riding, escaped to Cawnpore with a -bullet-hole in his cheek;--if escape it may be called, which was only -the postponement of death. After a chase of sixteen miles he reached -the neighbourhood of the town at nightfall; passed unobserved through -the lines of the mutineers; and camped out on the plain, waiting until -dawn should disclose to him the outline of the intrenchment. Our -sentries, astonished by the apparition of a cavalier riding at the -earthwork through the twilight like a mounted Remus, fired, and struck -his horse. No one, however, was surprised to find that even a crippled -steed could clear those defences at a leap. The fugitive was heartily -greeted by his countrymen, and entertained with such hospitality as -their situation would admit. Wounded and exhausted as he was, he proved -well worth his keep. - -The troops who had revolted at Chowbeypore marched into Cawnpore, -bringing with them three English heads in a basket, and taking up on -their way a toll-keeper named Joseph Carter, and his wife; a young -person, who was daily expecting her first baby. This offering, combined -agreeably to his taste of the dead and the living, was mightily -acceptable to the Nana. With fraternal kindness he made a present -of the grisly trophies to Bala Rao, who exposed them in his saloon, -and gave a sort of conversazione at which they formed the leading -attraction. Mr. Carter was shot, as a matter of course; and his little -widow would have shared his fate, had not the relicts of the late -Peishwa, the step-mothers by adoption of the Maharaja, felt a womanly -commiseration for one so tender and so afflicted. The good ladies -begged hard for this single example of clemency, and begged in vain. At -length their pride of sex was roused against such determined brutality -towards a woman who had so lately been a wife, and was so soon to be a -mother, and they threatened to commit suicide unless their petition was -granted. The Nana then gave way, and permitted his relatives to carry -off their protégée to the apartments appropriated to the females in -the palace at Bithoor, where they placed her under the charge of an -experienced Mahomedan nurse. He insisted, however, that she should be -considered as under custody, and appointed a squad of troopers to see -that she was forthcoming whenever it might suit his will and pleasure. -He never lost sight of a victim. He boasted the worst half of, at any -rate, one kingly quality,--an unerring memory. - -On the next Friday the remnant of the native force which had mutinied -at Benares made their appearance on the opposite side of the river. The -exit of these gentlemen from the Holy City had not been of a nature to -gratify their conceit, and their entry into Cawnpore was the reverse -of triumphant. They straggled up, jaded and dispirited, without any -semblance of martial order, some on horseback, and others perched up in -the uncomfortable country-carts of Hindostan, which seem to have been -devised with the express object of conveying the least possible amount -of freight with the greatest expenditure of traction power. Their -condition excited the contempt and cupidity of the officials appointed -to superintend the river traffic in the interest of the Nana; who -accordingly refused to ferry across these shabby auxiliaries for less -than a rupee per head. Considering that the majority of the passengers -were of pure Sikh blood, their spirit must indeed have been broken -before they could have endured such insolence and extortion. - -On the fifteenth of June, a welcome message was brought to the Maharaja -from the Meer Nawab, a Mussulman of rank, who sent word that he -was coming up from the eastward with a couple of thousand regular -infantry, and a full complement of artillery. Azimoolah resolved that -his subordinates should not have an opportunity of repeating their -conduct of the previous week. Every mark of respect was to be displayed -towards so august and puissant a chieftain. The bridge contractors were -commissioned to collect barges for the transit of the expected allies, -and the confectioners of the town received instructions to prepare for -their refreshment a ménu, containing all those dishes of sweetened -animal food so nauseous to a European palate. On the morrow the Nawab -arrived at the head of two fine regiments, which had been raised on the -occasion of Lord Dalhousie's annexation, amidst the deep but suppressed -uneasiness of all who gave the native mind credit for the human -qualities of ambition, shame, and patriotism;--of all who believed the -Hindoo capable of any loftier sentiment than the desire to curry favour -with an English magistrate, touch a hundred rupees per mensem from an -English treasury, talk broken Addison, and read the "Deserted Village" -in the original. On the rolls of our army these battalions were styled -the Fourth and Fifth Oude Locals: but sepoys have invariably some -pet title for their own corps, (in most cases a corruption of the -name of its first colonel,) more suited to the Indian tongue than our -complicated military nomenclature. Thus the First, the Fifty-third, and -the Fifty-sixth Bengal Native Infantry, were spoken of familiarly as -"Gillises," "Lamboorn's," and "Garsteen's." The Oude soldiers under -the Meer Nawab were known to themselves and their compatriots as the -men of the Nadiree and the Akhtaree Regiments. - -When the new-comers caught sight of the fortress which had hitherto -baffled the ingenuity and courage of their associates, they expressed -no small contempt for the generalship of the Nana, but bade him be at -his ease, for that they would engage to put him in possession of the -intrenchment after they had enjoyed a day's rest and surfeit. And so, -on the eighteenth of June, at the hour when, exactly two and forty -years before, the French tirailleurs were swarming through the woods -of Hougoumont up to the loopholes of the wall which they never passed, -the Oude mutineers charged in a mass across the plain, and over our -rampart; bore down the defenders; overturned a gun; and seemed for a -moment in a fair way of justifying their vaunt. A moment only: for, -without waiting for orders, angry Sahibs came running from all sides -to the rescue. Our people slewed round a nine-pounder; gave them first -some stockingfuls of grape, and then an English rush; and sent them -back to their master fewer and wiser than they came. - -The rebel position presented an aspect animated and picturesque -in a high degree. To the north of our fortification, between the -Racket-court and the Chapel of Ease, was planted a battery well -armed with mortars and twenty-four pounder cannon. In this region -the command was taken by the Nunhey Nawab, the Mahomedan grandee, -who, with Bakur Ali, and others, had been plundered and imprisoned -by the Brahmins during their first outbreak of religious spite. The -high-spirited Moslem soldiery at once refused to brook this outrage, -and began to talk of setting up the Nawab's claim to royalty against -that of the Maharaja: upon which the latter released his prisoners, -and thenceforward behaved towards them rather as an equal than as a -master. The Nana's rival showed both judgment and vigour. He beat up -all the pensioned veterans of the neighbourhood who had formerly served -in the artillery, and employed work-people of both sexes in keeping him -supplied with red-hot shot. On one occasion an apprentice to the trade -took it into his head to try the experiment of heating a loaded shell, -and succeeded in blowing up a woman and five men, including, we may -presume, himself. The Nawab passed most of his time in the gallery of -the Racket-court, where, in the late afternoon of more quiet days, had -lolled a cluster of chatty Englishmen; opening bottles of soda-water; -chaffing the players with the threadbare raillery that suffices for the -simple taste of a limited community; descending in parties of four, -cheroot in mouth, when the cry of "game-ball all" warned them that -their turn was come. Occasionally he would issue forth to see how his -gunners were getting on, and to watch the effect of their practice -through a telescope. A half-caste Christian, who had disguised himself -as a Mahomedan with admirable skill, gives an interesting account of -what passed in this quarter. He says, "I saw Nunhey Nawab coming to -the batteries accompanied by a number of troopers, and sepoys, and -his own attendants also; and I was told by the people that the Nawab -had received a post of great dignity, and was in command of a battery. -About one o'clock I came close to Major-General Wheeler's bungalow, -and, finding a piece of mat in the compound, lay down on it, and saw -several troopers going about, forcing people to carry water to the -batteries. Hearing an uproar I rose from the place where I was, when -a trooper, seeing me, told me that it was a great shame for a young -Mussulman like me to be thus idling away my time, and that I should -assist at the batteries. He also told me that a young man, the son of -Kurrum Ali, the one-eyed, a pensioned soubahdar, was sent for by the -Nawab, and had laid a gun so precisely that the shot carried away a -portion of one of the barracks within the intrenchment, for which he -received a reward of ninety rupees, and a shawl. I replied to this -that I possessed no arms, and had never been a soldier." It was no -wonder that a battery where the service was conducted on so open-handed -a system soon became the popular resort. The lovely Azeezun made -this spot her head-quarters. She appears to have exercised a strange -fascination over our good friend Nanukchund, so frequently does she -appear in the course of his narrative. Whether he cherished towards her -a sneaking kindness; or a grudge for some past incivility; or, as is -most probable, both the one and the other, he certainly never leaves -her alone for many pages together. In his quaint way he writes:--"It -shows great daring in Azeezun, that she is always armed and present in -the batteries, owing to her attachment to the cavalry; and she takes -her favourites among them aside, and entertains them with milk, &c. on -the public road." - -The Meer Nawab planted the cannon, which he had brought with him across -the river, on the south-east of our position, near the Artillery Mess -House. This manoeuvre forthwith debarred the garrison from obtaining -occasional and perilous access to the tank; a privation the more -severely felt, because the Oude men, bent on avenging their repulse, -worked their pieces with a will, and kept up at point-blank range so -hot a fire upon the mouth of our well that the drawing of water was a -deed of heroism by night, and in daylight an act of insanity. In the -west, Bakur Ali, who had shared with the Nunhey Nawab his disgrace -and his restoration to favour, bombarded our outposts from among the -stables of the Second Cavalry; while in and about the lines of the -First Native Infantry stood a number of heavy guns, known by the -collective appellation of "the Sepoy Battery," under cover of which -a Jemmadar, who fancied himself gifted with a turn for engineering, -was sinking a mine by the aid of some invalid sappers and miners, -whom he had persuaded to place themselves at his disposal. In the -south-west direction was a stately mansion, which formerly held rank -as a charitable institution, under the title of the "Salvador," a name -which the effeminate articulation of the native had long before this -converted into the "Savada." As the Mahomedan faction mustered strong -in the vicinity of the Racket-court, so the Savada soon became the -centre of Hindoo influence. It was the special haunt of the Nana. Here -were his ministers, his diviners, his courtiers, and the prisoners -from whom he purposed to extort something besides their breath. Here -was the battery which went by his name. Here was the tent of his most -able and ardent partizan, Teeka Sing, the generalissimo. Here too, in -an agreeable corner of the grounds, under the shade of a conspicuous -grove, conveniently remote alike from the camp of the Moslem and the -muzzles of the English artillery, was pitched his own pavilion; for he -seems to have inherited the Mahratta preference for canvas over brick -and mortar. The chiefs of that hardy and unquiet race seldom had a -tight roof over their heads until they were laid beneath some mausoleum -of fair white marble, sparkling with cornelian and jasper and lapsis -lazuli, constructed out of the spoils and the tribute of nations. - -The mutineers showed every intention of enjoying their spell of -liberty and domination. These revolted regiments were rapidly turning -into mobs. The work of the batteries was left to the retainers of -ambitious Rajahs; to pensioned gunners; and to such amateurs as had -a stomach for fighting, and a taste for the shawls and cash lavished -by the Nunhey Nawab. The sepoys, meanwhile, lounged in the shops -which fringed the canal, eating sweetstuff with schoolboy avidity, -and drinking sherbet to their hearts' content; or swaggered along the -streets with a nonchalance copied from their reminiscences of the -fashionable frequenters of the band-stand, criticizing the driving of -those among their comrades who had been fortunate enough to lay their -hands upon a buggy belonging to a British officer. No decent people -were to be seen in the public places. No business was done in the main -thoroughfares. The tradesmen, in piteous trepidation, eyed the passing -scamps from behind their shutters, consoling their enforced idleness by -recollecting in what angle of the garden their money was interred, and -framing excuses against the probable visit of the Nana's tax-collector, -or the possible return of the English authorities. The opium-sellers -and the innkeepers, who in these days anterior to Mr. Wilson's budget -had not attained to the dignity of licensed victuallers, alone drove a -thriving trade. The warriors of the Religions smoked, and chewed, and -snored supine, clad in cotton drawers and a pair of clumsy shoes; their -necks encircled by the Brahminical thread, token of their privileged -and sacred extraction. To this costume they superadded a red coat, at -such times as the stings of conscience, or the reproaches of priest -and paramour, drove them out to get a lazy shot at the infidels and an -appetite for their curry. - -The earliest care of the Nana had been to set on foot a respectable -municipal organization. With this object in view, he appointed to -the chief magistracy in the city one Hoolass Sing, who may have been -a traitor, but was, apparently, only a time-server. This person was -chosen by the advice of a deputation composed of the leading townsmen; -a tent-maker, a jeweller, and a dealer in opiates. Hoolass Sing -had no sinecure. It was only by the exercise of judicious firmness, -alternating with seasonable pliability, that he contrived to protect -Cawnpore from the rapacity of the soldiery, and the wrath of those -rural nobles whose paternal acres had been sold by the English -Government to recover arrears of land-tax, and purchased by moneyed -cits, who wished to cut a figure in country society. The duty of -victualling the troops was committed to a blind gentleman of the name -of Moolla, who, doubtless, saw quite well enough to water the rice -and omit to sift the meal. A burlesque judicial court was formed of -Azimoolah, Jwala, Pershad, and other creatures of the Maharaja; and -presided over by Baba Bliut, who delivered his decisions seated on a -billiard-table in Mr. Duncan's hotel. This tribunal passed a variety of -sentences without establishing any very valuable precedent. Once, in an -unaccountable fit of morality, it sentenced a luckless rogue to lose -his hand for theft; but, for obvious and selfish reasons, the judges -appear to have refrained from again taking cognizance of this crime. -A Mahomedan butcher was condemned to mutilation for having killed a -cow; and certain individuals were paraded through the town on donkeys, -"for disreputable livelihood:" a punishment which, when the charge was -made known, must have excited very general sympathy and indignation. -Gradually this body, like the Committee of Public Safety in the French -Revolution, assumed to itself a supervision over every department of -the administration. When the powder ran short, the principal dealer -in saltpetre was thrown into prison, until he produced the requisite -quantity of that article. A native merchant was required to provide -cloaks for half a battalion, at the rate of two and threepence a-piece; -a scale of payment which must have inspired him with an unaffected -regret for the liberal contracts of the old Company. With a keener -relish, Baba Bhut undertook to account for the Englishmen who still -lurked about, watching for an opportunity of slipping away to Allahabad -or Agra. On the eleventh of June, Mr. Williams, a writer in one of the -public offices, was traced out and slaughtered. Two days subsequently, -the head of young Mr. Duncan was brought into his own father's house. -The murderer was rewarded with the present of a pound, and the porter -got a couple of rupees. - -At the expiration of a fortnight, an event occurred which, for a while, -afforded to the beseiged people a more suggestive and agreeable matter -of conversation than the rise of the mercury in the tube, and the -sinking of the flour in the barrels. A native water-carrier skulked -over from the opposite lines, and gave out that, on account of his -love and respect for the Sahibs, he had set his heart upon being the -first to bring them the good news; that there were two companies of -white soldiers on the other side of the Ganges, who were supposed to -have marched down from Lucknow; that they had guns with them, and were -making as if they would cross the river on the morrow; that the rebel -camp was in a panic, and that everybody was saying how much he had -all along intended to do for the Sahibs, had he only dared. Next day -he turned up again with the intelligence that the Europeans had been -detained on the opposite bank by an unexpected flood, but that they -were busily engaged in knocking together rafts, and might be looked for -within the forty-eight hours. Those hours passed, and twice and thrice -those hours, and there came not the aspect of help, nor the renewal of -confidence, nor the welcome sight of light faces, nor the welcome sound -of approaching artillery. The soi-disant water-carrier made no third -appearance. His two first visits had taught him all that Azimoolah -desired to know of our impoverished and defenceless plight. - -Our spies were less lucky; or it may be that the sturdy and -straightforward British nature cannot promptly adapt itself to those -frauds which are proverbially fair in war. There was in the garrison -a soldier named Blenman, an Eurasian by birth, astute, and singularly -courageous, but in temper uncertain, and impatient of control. There, -and at that time, such a man was worth his weight in meal or powder, -and his superiors did well to humour him. Cool, observant, and bold to -temerity, the most delicate and hazardous of services had for him an -innate attraction. After trying his wings in some partial flights, he -prepared for a great and final enterprise, and volunteered to penetrate -as far as Allahabad with a report of our calamities, and an appeal for -instant succour. He disguised himself as a native cook, an easy task, -for his complexion showed that he had far more than the due share of -maternal blood; and sallied forth with a pistol and fifteen rupees -stuffed into his cotton drawers. He passed unnoticed or unsuspected no -less than seven horse pickets. The eighth stopped, and searched him, in -spite of his asseverations that he was a poor leather-dresser, taking -a walk through the night air, after working all day in a close alley -over the saddles and holsters of the gentlemen troopers of the Second -Cavalry. Too plausible to be killed off-hand, and too questionable to -be neglected, he was stripped and sent back whence he came, with no -other information than that the investment of our position was even -more strict and complete than had been apprehended. - -A half-caste government official offered to make an attempt to obtain -intelligence, and to bribe over some of the influential citizens of -Cawnpore, on condition that Sir Hugh would permit his family to leave -the intrenchment. His terms were accepted. He set forth, but was -at once detected, and taken before the Maharaja, who sentenced him -to three years' imprisonment with hard labour; a unique example of -leniency, curious, as proving how firmly that usurper was persuaded -that his rule would now be permanent. Ghouse Mahomed, a faithful sepoy -of the Fifty-sixth, succeeded in getting farther than his predecessors. -He crept along the ground in the darkness, until he met two or three -men with four yoke of oxen taking supplies to the Savada house. He -told them that he was going to the city to buy some grave clothes for -his brother, a brave who had died that day for the good cause in one -of the advanced batteries. He was allowed to proceed upon his pious -errand; but, when he reached the native town, it was as much as he -could do to conceal himself from the inquisition of the rebel police. -Many emissaries were despatched from our fortification, but Blenman -alone returned. The others, through the months subsequent to our -re-occupation of the district, came straggling in, as they could effect -their escape from the camp of the fugitive Nana, with noses slit, and -hands or ears chopped off by an ignorant and inhuman operator. - -The remaining contents of the Cawnpore budget derive their principal -interest from a consideration of the circumstances under which they -were produced. Not even at such a season would Englishmen put their -deeper feelings within an envelope; and the gossip of the station in -that June was hardly calculated to enliven a correspondence. On the -night of Sunday, the twenty-first, Major Vibart transmitted these lines -to Lucknow:-- - -"We have been cannonaded for six hours a day by twelve guns. This -evening, in three hours, upwards of thirty shells [mortars] were thrown -into the intrenchment. This has occurred daily for the last eight days. -An idea may be formed of our casualties, and how little protection -the barracks afford to the women. Any aid, to be effective, must be -immediate. In event of rain falling, our position would be untenable. - -"According to telegraphic despatches received previous to the outbreak, -a thousand Europeans were to have been here on the fourteenth instant. -This force may be on its way up. Any assistance you can send might -co-operate with it. Nine-pounder ammunition, chiefly cartridges, is -required. Should the above force arrive, we can, in return, insure -the safety of Lucknow. Being simply a military man, General Wheeler -has no power to offer bribes in land and money to the insurgents, nor -any means whatever of communicating with them. You can ascertain the -best means of crossing the river. Nujuffgurh Ghaut is suggested. It -is earnestly requested that whatever is done may be effected without -a moment's delay. We have lost about a third of our original number. -The enemy are strongest in artillery. They appear not to have more -than four hundred or five hundred infantry. They move their guns with -difficulty, by means of unbroken bullocks. The infantry are great -cowards, and easily repulsed. - -"By order, -"G. V. VIBART, Major." - -In the following letter there is one sad touch: the widower writing -over his elbow "on the floor," "in the midst of the greatest dirt, -noise, and confusion." - -"I was agreeably surprised to receive your most welcome letter of the -twenty-first, the messenger of which managed cleverly to find his way -here; but that surprise was exceeded by the astonishment felt by us -all, at the total want of knowledge you seem to be in regarding our -position and prospects; while we have been, since the sixth of the -month, equally in the dark respecting the doings of the world around -us. Your loss at Lucknow is frightful, in common with that of us all; -for, since the date referred to, every one here has been reduced to -ruin. On that date they commenced their attack, and fearfully have -they continued now for eighteen days and nights; while the condition -of misery experienced by all is utterly beyond description in this -place. Death and mutilation, in all their forms of horror, have been -daily before us. The numerical amount of casualties has been frightful, -caused both by sickness and the implements of war, the latter having -been fully employed against our devoted garrison by the villainous -insurgents, who have, unluckily, been enabled to furnish themselves -therewith from the repository which contained them. We await the -arrival of succour with the most anxious expectation, after all our -endurance and sufferings; for that, Sir Henry Lawrence has been applied -to by Sir Hugh, and we hope earnestly it will be afforded, and that -immediately, to avert further evil. If he will answer that appeal -with 'deux cents soldats Britanniques,' we shall be doubtless at once -enabled to improve our position in a vital manner: and we deserve -that the appeal should be so answered forthwith. You will be grieved -to learn that among our casualties from sickness my poor dear wife -and infant have been numbered. The former sank on the twelfth, and -the latter on the nineteenth. I am writing this on the floor, and in -the midst of the greatest dirt, noise, and confusion. Pray urge our -reinforcement to the Chief Commissioner. - - "Yours, - "L. M. WIGGENS." - -The employment of the French sentence is worthy of remark. During these -troubled times, every modern language was pressed into our service; and -more than one old field-officer mustered up his school reminiscences of -the Anabasis and the Iliad, to compose a bulletin, curiously blended -of Attic, Æolic, and Aldershot, which would have puzzled Grote or -Hermann at least as much as it could possibly perplex any mutineer or -highwayman who might chance to intercept the messenger. - -Things had got to a terrible pass on our side of the wall. All the -present sweetness of existence was long since vanished, and the last -flicker of future hope had now died away. But, moved by a generous -despair and an invincible self-respect, our people still fought on. By -daring and vigilance, by countless shifts and unremitting labour, they -staved off ruin for another day, and yet another. At rare intervals -behind the earthwork they stood--gaunt and feeble likenesses of -men,--clutching with muffled fingers the barrels of their muskets, -which glowed with heat intolerable to the naked hand, so fierce was -the blaze of the summer sun. Straining their ears to catch any fancied -sounds of distant cannonading, they gazed across the plain to where the -horizon faded into a fantastic mirage, which mocked their fevered eyes -with fair scenes of forest, and mountain, and with infinite expanses -of glassy water broken by golden islets; while in the foreground the -jackals prowled about the debated space, and the pariah dogs snarled at -the grey crows, and slunk away from the spots where the great vultures -sat in obscene and sulky conclave. Dim must have been the thoughts, -confused the images, which flitted through their wearied intellect; -indistinct memories of home and youth; faint regrets, and fainter -resolutions; fitful yearnings for dear beings whom they would never -again behold. One would surmise how his mother in far-off England would -bear her sorrow, and who would be selected to break the news. Another -would calculate dates, and try to convince himself that his boy at -Rugby should have got the scholarship examination off his mind before -the receipt of the fatal tidings. But, whatever might be the subject of -contemplation, no smile relieved the stolid apathy of their careworn -features, save when dejection was for an instant charmed away by the -buoyant audacity of Moore. "He was a strong man. In the dark perils of -war, in the high places of the field, hope shone in him like a pillar -of fire, when it had gone out in all the others." Brave and vivacious -himself, he was the cause that bravery and vivacity were in other -men. It was not that he had less at stake than those around him: for -his wife and children were in the entrenchment. When the vicissitudes -of battle called her husband to the outposts, Mrs. Moore would step -across with her work, and spend the day beneath a little hut of bamboos -covered with canvas, which the garrison of Barrack Number Two had -raised for her in their most sheltered corner. Seldom had fair lady a -less appropriate bower. - -The twenty-third of June, 1757, was the date of the great rout -that placed Bengal beneath the sway of the foreigner. In 1857 the -ringleaders of the mutiny had fixed on the dawning of that day as -the signal for a general rebellion over the entire north of India; -but the outbreak at Meerut and the massacre of Delhi precipitated -and weakened the blow. In that dread year those awful events were to -us as saving mercies. At Cawnpore, however, the Nana and his crew, -actuated by a partiality for the celebration of centenaries not -altogether confined to Asiatics, were bent upon effecting something -worthy of the occasion. All through the night of the twenty-second -the defenders of the outlying barracks were kept on the alert by -sounds which betokened that the sepoys in the adjacent buildings were -more than usually numerous and restless. Lieutenant Thomson sent to -head-quarters for a reinforcement; but Moore replied that he could -spare nobody except himself and Lieutenant Delafosse. In the course of -a few minutes the pair arrived, and at once sallied forth armed, one -with a sword, and the other with an empty musket. Moore shouted out, -"Number one to the front!" and the enemy, taking it for granted that -the well-known word of command would bring upon them a full company -of Sahibs with fixed bayonets and cocked revolvers, broke cover and -ran like rabbits. But towards morning they returned in force, and -attacked with such determined ferocity that there remained more dead -Hindoos outside the doorway than there were living Europeans within. -At the same moment the main fortification was assaulted by the whole -strength of the insurrection. Field guns, pulled along by horses and -bullocks, were brought up within a few hundred yards, unlimbered, and -pointed at our wall. The troopers, who had bound themselves by the -most solemn oath of their religion to conquer or to perish, charged -at a gallop in one quarter; while in another advanced the dense array -of infantry, preceded by a host of skirmishers, who rolled before -them great bundles of cotton, proof against our bullets. It was all -in vain. Our countrymen, too, had their anniversary to keep. They -shot down the teams which tugged the artillery. They fired the bales, -drove the sharpshooters back upon the columns, and sent the columns to -the right-about in unseemly haste. They taught the men of the Second -Cavalry that broken vows, and angered gods, and the waters of Ganges -poured fruitlessly on the perjured head were less terrible than British -valour in the last extremity. The contest was short but sharp. The -defeated combatants retired to brag and to carouse; the victors to -brood, to sicken, and to starve. That evening a party of sepoys drew -near our lines, made obeisance after their fashion, and requested leave -to bury the slain. This acknowledgment of an empty triumph, which would -have spread a lively joy throughout the ranks of an old Spartan army -even in the most desperate strait, was but a poor consolation to these -Englishmen under the shadow of their impending doom. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[2] These Brahminee bulls are the standing nuisance of Indian city -life. They saunter along the public way, laying the shops under -contribution, frightening the women, and disgusting the equestrians. -To strike them is a high crime, social and religious. To kill them -involves present death, and future damnation. At every turn may be seen -some old fellow with a platterful of grain in his hand, alluring one -of these creatures away from his store. The authorities of Calcutta -at length took courage, collected all the Brahminee bulls, and put -them in the carts of the Government scavengers. When Scindiah paid his -last visit to the capital, he was much scandalized at so impious a -regulation, and expressed his desire to buy up the animals, and restore -them to their former condition of life. But he wisely refrained, when -it was represented to him that, the moment his back was turned, the -bulls would again find their way into the public service. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE TREACHERY. - - -The event of this conflict produced a sudden change in the projects -of the Nana. He forthwith began to despair of carrying our fortress -by storm, and the circumstances of his position were so critical that -he dared not await the unfailing but tardy process of starvation. -The clearing out of the intrenchment proved to be a more serious -undertaking than he had anticipated. From forty to fifty score of his -stoutest warriors had bitten the dust in front of our rampart, and he -appeared to be as far as ever from the object which he had in view. -Every day the English fought with increased gallantry and firmness, -while in his own camp disaffection and disgust gained ground from -hour to hour. An Oriental army which has turned its back on the foe -can seldom, in the language of the prize-ring, be induced once more -to toe the scratch; and every section of the rebel force had by this -time been well beaten. The sepoys were already grumbling, and it was -to be feared that another repulse would set them conspiring. Even the -Oude men preferred the toddy-shops to the batteries; and the mutineers -of the Cawnpore brigade swore that no power on earth or in heaven -should prevail on them again to look the Sahibs in the face. Meanwhile -the Mahomedans, whom the Maharaja dreaded only less than the British, -gathered strength and impunity from the popular discontent. Teeka Sing, -the soul of the Hindoo faction and the right hand of the Nana, was -imprisoned in his tent on the charge of amassing a private treasure by -a party of Moslem troopers, who were growing hungry for the largess so -long deferred. Delay was perilous, and defeat would be fatal. By fair -means, or, if need was, by the very foulest, it behoved the usurper -to bring the matter to a speedy termination. One method remained; -swifter than famine; more sure than open force. It might be possible to -cajole where he might not frighten; to ensnare those whom he could not -vanquish; to lure our countrymen from the shelter of that wall within -which no intruder had set his foot and lived. - -In one of the rooms in the Savada House the Greenway family, of -whom mention has been made above, had now been shut up for about -a fortnight, in strict confinement, diversified by an occasional -conversation with an underling of the Maharaja. He had fixed their -ransom at forty thousand pounds, and was at present discussing the -terms of a bill of exchange on a Calcutta bank, for which they were -never to receive any consideration. In the same apartment lived -an elderly person, named Mrs. Jacobi, who had been taken while -endeavouring to escape towards Lucknow, disguised in native clothes. -On the evening of Tuesday, the twenty-third, these unhappy people -were surprised at receiving a call from Azimoolah and Jwala Pershad, -who seemed in very low spirits on account of the collapse of their -centenary. These gentlemen informed Mrs. Jacobi[3] that she had -been designated as the bearer of a message to Sir Hugh Wheeler. She -readily undertook the office, and in the course of the next day was -favoured by an interview with the Nana, who gave her a letter and her -instructions. At nine o'clock on the following morning, she proceeded -to the intrenchments in a palanquin, and was admitted as soon as the -sentries had ascertained that she was an envoy, and not a spy. She -delivered the document which had been entrusted to her charge; a note -in the handwriting of Azimoolah, attested by no signature, of which -the superscription was "To the subjects of Her Most Gracious Majesty -Queen Victoria;" and the contents ran as follows, in caricature of a -proclamation issued from the Government House at Calcutta:-- - -"All those who are in no way connected with the acts of Lord Dalhousie, -and are willing to lay down their arms, shall receive a safe passage to -Allahabad." - -This protocol, unique for brevity and impudence, was laid before a -council, consisting of General Wheeler, and Captains Moore and Whiting. -The debate was prolonged and earnest. Poor Sir Hugh could not bear to -abandon the position that he had chosen so ill, and in the defence of -which he had been so little able to participate. It seemed a miserable -conclusion of a long and not discreditable career to stipulate with -his own sepoys for the liberty of slinking away after the loss of all -his men and half his officers. Such was indeed an exorbitant price to -pay for the sad remnants of a broken life. Better to lie within that -well not far above his brave boy than to bargain for the privilege of -being interred a few months later beneath one of the unsightly masses -of brickwork which encumber the European graveyards of India. But the -scruples of the old man at length yielded to the arguments produced -by Moore and Whiting:--and they were no drawing-room soldiers: for -the one throughout those three weeks had never left a corner on which -converged the fire of two powerful batteries, and the other had so -borne himself that it might well be doubted whether he knew what fear -was. They represented that, if the garrison had consisted exclusively -of fighting people, no one would ever dream of surrender as long as -they had swords wherewith to cut their way to Allahabad. But what -could be done with a mixed multitude, in which there was a woman and a -child to each man, while every other man was incapacitated by wounds -and disease? The setting in of the wet weather, (so they urged,) long -dreaded as an overwhelming calamity, and delayed hitherto by what -resembled the special mercy of Providence, could not now be distant. -When the heavens were once opened, when the rain of the East descended -in all its first violence, their fortification would straightway cease -to be habitable and secure. The walls of the barracks, shakened and -riddled by the cannonade, would sink and crumble beneath the fury of -a tropical tempest. The holes in which our ladies sought refuge from -the glare and the shot would be filled ere many inches had fallen. -The marksmen who, provided with weapons worthy of their skill, could -hardly guarantee those paltry bulwarks, would be helpless when damp -powder and dirty gun-barrels had reduced them to their bayonets and -hog-spears. In another week they must expect to be washed out of their -defences; but, before that week had elapsed, the state of the barometer -would concern them little; for the provisions were fast coming to an -end. Their stores had dwindled to less than a quart per head of almost -uneatable native food. The choice lay between death and capitulation: -and, if the latter were resolved on, it was well that the offer came -from the enemy. Loth and late Sir Hugh gave way. In order to avoid the -appearance of a suspicious eagerness to accept the advances of the -Nana, Mrs. Jacobi was dismissed with an announcement that our commander -was in deliberation as to the answer that should be sent. That the -intention to treat was generally known among our officers is evident -from a note addressed by Lieutenant Master, of the Fifty-third, to his -father, a colonel of cavalry, dated at half-past eight in the evening -of June the twenty-fifth: - -"We have now held out for twenty-one days under a tremendous fire. -The Raja of Bithoor has offered to forward us in safety to Allahabad, -and the General has accepted his terms. I am all right, though twice -wounded. Charlotte Newnham and Bella Blair are dead. I'll write from -Allahabad. God bless you. - - "Your affectionate son, - G. A. MASTER." - -The old lady returned to the rebel lines early in the afternoon, -reluctant, but somewhat cheered by her short visit. While the summons -was under consideration, she had made the most of such an excellent -opportunity for pouring out her troubles and terrors to a friendly -audience. Her escort conducted her to the Maharaja, who listened -to what she had to say, and then sent her back into captivity. He -had no further need of her services. A pacific intercourse had been -established between the camps, and thenceforward his ambassadors might -traverse the intervening ground without apprehension lest a conical -bullet from Lieutenant Stirling's rifle should put an abrupt end to the -negotiations. That evening there was assembled in the Nana's tent a -council of war, to which repaired five or six congenial advisers, who, -in their inmost hearts, were conscious that they had been bidden to a -council of murder. One hour after dusk was the time appointed for that -accursed colloquy. A subject was to be broached on which few would dare -to enter until the kindly sun had veiled his face. History will never -cease to shudder at the deeds which thence resulted; but of the words -that there were spoken she will be content to abide for ever ignorant. - -The morrow was a busy day. The first thing in the morning, at our -invitation, Azimoolah walked up to within half a quarter of a mile -of our outposts, accompanied by Jwala Pershad, a myrmidon of Bithoor -Palace, who, by zeal and servility, had risen to the dignity of a -brigadier. To them went forth Moore and Whiting, together with Mr. -Roche, the postmaster. These gentlemen, whom Sir Hugh had invested with -full powers, undertook to deliver up the fortification, the treasure, -and the artillery, on condition that our force should march out under -arms, with sixty rounds of ammunition to every man; that carriages -should be provided for the conveyance of the wounded, the women, and -the children; and that boats victualled with a sufficiency of flour -should be in readiness at the neighbouring landing-place. These -stipulations appeared to meet the approval of the native commissioners; -one of whom volunteered the remark: "We will give you sheep and goats -also." - -The terms were committed to paper, and handed to Azimoolah, who broke -up the conference with a promise to do what he could towards persuading -his master to accede to our proposals. That same afternoon a trooper -brought back a document, with a verbal message to the effect that -the Nana had no alteration to suggest, and desired that the barrack -should be evacuated that very night. This extravagant demand produced -a remonstrance on our part, to which the response was an insolent -assurance that the Peishwa must have his will, and that disobedience or -even hesitation would bring upon the delinquents the fire of all his -batteries; that he was not so blind as to give us credit for having -abundance of food or serviceable cannon; and that another week's -bombardment would leave nobody alive to haggle with his behest. To this -flourish of Oriental vanity Whiting replied in good English style, -that, if Seereek Dhoondoo Punth wanted the intrenchment, he had only -to come and take it; that his soldiers knew the way thither and the -way back again; and that, if the worst came to the worst, there was -powder enough in our magazine to blow into the Ganges everything south -of the Canal. This last allusion closed the controversy. The Maharaja -consented that we should delay the embarkation till morning, and -accorded a most gracious reception to Mr. Todd, who formerly had been -his English tutor, and who now prevailed upon him, without difficulty, -to sign his worthless name on the margin of the treaty. Men give easily -what costs them nothing. The Nana informed his old acquaintance that -arrangements should be made to enable our countrymen to breakfast and -dine on board, and start comfortably in the cool of the evening. The -servants, he said, had better stay behind, as the ladies could look to -their own wants on the voyage. Which was true, God knows. - -There was much to be done that night. On the one side preparations -were on foot for a departure; on the other, measures were being taken -that the departure should never be. Hoolas Sing, the magistrate of -the city, sent for the principal persons who gained their living by -letting boats on hire, and ordered them to provide conveyance for five -hundred passengers. They declared themselves unable to fulfil his -injunctions, a refusal on which, after the re-establishment of British -rule, they insisted as an irrefragable proof of loyalty. It is more -likely that they were influenced by a rational doubt as to whether they -would ever see the colour of the Nana's money. Hoolas Sing, however, -knew what he was about, as appears from the pathetic language of -one of the sufferers. "I told him," says Buddhoo, aged forty years, -"that, when I received orders from the Europeans to procure boats, I -was advanced money, and allowed a month or fifteen days to collect -the same, and that it was impossible to procure boats on so short a -notice. On this he was much annoyed, and said I was only putting him -off, and ordered his attendants to take me, give me a good beating, and -make me get boats. They did as ordered, kept me there the whole night, -beating me, and threatened to blow me from guns if I did not comply -with their request. They continued threatening me till 12 A.M.: but I -did not get them any boats." Buddhoo's companions had more regard for -their skins; and, being not unaccustomed to this mode of carrying on a -commercial transaction, after a due modicum of vapulation discovered -that they could muster two dozen barges between them. These were -punted down the river, and moored at the appointed spot. Presently a -committee of English officers, riding upon elephants, and guarded by -native troopers, arrived for the purpose of inspecting the proceedings -and reporting progress. These gentlemen expressed great vexation -at the dilapidated state of the little fleet. Four hundred workmen -were at once engaged, and set to repair the thatch of the roofs, and -construct a temporary flooring of bamboo. During the presence of our -countrymen some provisions were brought along and placed on board, -with a considerable show of assiduity: but they were not satisfied -with all that they saw, and still less with what they seemed to -hear. Some sepoys, idling on the bank, interspersed their talk with -frequent repetitions of the word "kuttle," which, being interpreted, is -"massacre." - -And so the stage had been selected whereon to enact the tragedy. -Hoolas Sing had furnished the properties; Azimoolah had composed the -plot; and there lacked only a skilful manager, who should distribute -the parts, instruct the actors, and dispose the supernumeraries. The -Nana could discover many a one among his pimps and parasites suited to -such a job as far as moral constitution was concerned. In his familiar -circle there was no dearth of fellows by the hand of nature marked, -quoted, and signed to do a deed of shame. But in that degenerate circle -there was only a single courtier who had retained something of the old -Mahratta dash and martial craft. Tantia Topee was destined ere long -to demonstrate that he could run away every whit as successfully as -those chieftains who more than half a century before wearied out the -hot pursuit of Lake and Wellesley; and on this particular occasion he -evinced qualities which might have secured to him a share of fame in -a cause less detestable to God and man. Laurels were not to be reaped -in that contest. The due meed for such victors was a wreath of cypress -and a necklace of hemp. But the bad deed was right cleverly done. -Among all the feats of arms performed by the rebel forces during the -eighteen months which succeeded the explosion at Meerut, no operation -was so perfect in all its parts, so able in design, and so prosperous -in execution, as the memorable treachery of Cawnpore. - -The Suttee Chowra Ghaut, or landing-place, lay a short mile to the -north-west of our intrenchment. At this point a ravine runs into the -Ganges, after crossing at a right angle the main road, which is distant -three hundred yards from the river. During summer the bed of the stream -is dry, and presents the appearance of a sandy lane of irregular -width, uneven with frequent lumps of broken soil, and inclosed on -either side within high banks crowned by decaying fences. Standing -half way down this passage the tourist sees behind him a bridge which -carries the highway across the defile, the rails of which, then as -now coated with white paint, have little of an Oriental aspect, and -remind him for an instant of a bit in a Surrey common. On reaching the -shore he finds himself in an open space, some hundred and fifty yards -long and a hundred deep, bounded in the rear by a precipitous rising -ground surmounted with prickly pear, in front by the Ganges, and to -the left by the ruins of what in 1857 was the village from which the -Ghaut takes a name. On his right hand rises a picturesque temple, -dedicated to the patron deity of fishermen, small but in good repair, -resembling nothing so much as those summer-houses of a century back -which at the corners of old gardens overhang Dutch canals and suburban -English byways. Passing down the wall of this edifice a steep flight of -steps terminates in the very water of the river, so that a man cannot -round the corner without wading. This is the scene where the traveller -experiences to the full the sentiment of the spirit of Cawnpore. In -other quarters of the station there are objects which evoke no light -and transient feelings. It is painful to trace the faint line of the -fortifications, and recognise the site of the barrack which contained -so much sorrow and agony. It is interesting to observe the neat garden -that strives to beguile away the associations which haunt the well -of evil fame, and to peruse the inscription indited by a vice-regal -hand. It may gratify some minds, beneath the roof of a memorial church -that is now building, to listen while Christian worship is performed -above a spot which once resounded with ineffectual prayers and vain -ejaculations addressed to quite other ears. But it is beside that -little shrine on the brink of the yellow flood that none save they who -live in the present alone can speak with unaltered voice, and gaze -with undimmed eye. For that is the very place itself where the act was -accomplished, not yet transformed by votive stone and marble. There, -at least, in the November evening, an Englishman may stand with bare -head, and, under the canopy of heaven, breathe a silent petition for -grace to do in his generation some small thing towards the conciliation -of races estranged by a terrible memory. - -In the course of the Friday evening Tantia Topee was closeted with the -Nana, and, on leaving, gave orders that five guns and as many hundred -picked musketeers should be mustered at the landing-place two hours -before daybreak. He likewise enjoined certain among the rebel nobles -to be in attendance with their followers at the same rendezvous. The -cavalry soldiers, to whom the design was imparted, exclaimed against -such a dastardly breach of faith, and would not be convinced until the -Maharaja himself took the trouble to assure them, on the authority -of a royal Brahmin, that according to his creed it was permissible -to forswear at such a juncture; and that, for his own part, when the -object was to annihilate an enemy, he would not hesitate to take a -false oath on burning oil or holy water. - -At the prescribed time, Tantia Topee found his power assembled on the -bank, and straightway proceeded to make his dispositions. One gun, -under the charge of a detachment, was placed among the ruins of Mr. -Christie's house, which, from a considerable height above the stream, -commanded the whole line of boats. A strong body of sepoys took cover -behind the village of Suttee Chowra. A squadron of troopers concealed -themselves to the south of the Fisherman's Temple. A couple of sections -were secreted in and about some timber, which lay ready to be shipped -away; while a mixed party of horse and foot were told off to follow -our garrison, with directions to form up on the wooden bridge as soon -as the English rear-guard had entered the ravine, and thus cut off -the single avenue of escape. A fieldpiece, protected by a company of -infantry, was posted a quarter of a mile down the river: and at a -somewhat wider interval was stationed a third gun and another company. -On the opposite shore, directly facing the mouth of the lane, stood two -cannon, guarded by an entire battalion of infantry and a regiment of -cavalry, who had recently attached themselves to the insurrection. - -The boats, some few excepted, had been hauled into the shallows, and -were literally resting on the sand. They were of the ordinary country -build, thirty feet from stem to stern, and twelve feet in the beam. -They were covered in by a heavy roof of straw, with a space at either -end left open for the steersman and the rowers. At a distance they had -the air of floating haystacks, rather than of vessels; and, indeed, -were not unlike the Noah's ark of our nurseries, both in their outlines -and in the number of their crew. Tantia called the boatmen together, -and bade them hold themselves prepared, at a given signal, to fire -the thatch, and make for the shore; and then, secure of the issue, -mounted the stairs of the little temple, there to await, amidst a crowd -of armed retainers, the outcome of his able combinations. The men -in ambush chattered, and shivered, and munched their cold rice, and -shared the alternate pipe: and the Mussulmans in the various groups -performed a leisurely obeisance towards the rising sun, not sorry when -his rays broke through the chill mist of the morning; and the bargemen -gathered round fires heaped with a larger supply of charcoal than the -economic Hindoo is wont to expend upon the preparation of his frugal -breakfast. - -All was quiet in the intrenchment. Brigadier Jwala Pershad, with two -companions, came over-night to Sir Hugh Wheeler, and announced that -the trio were to remain until the embarkation as hostages for the good -faith of the Peishwa. The plausible Hindoo made himself exceedingly -agreeable to his host; condoled with the General upon the privations -which he had undergone, so trying at that advanced age; and intimated -his disapprobation of those ungrateful soldiers who had turned their -arms against an old and indulgent commander. He promised that, as far -as in him lay, he would take care that no harm should befall us; and -he soon had occasion to submit to a test of his good intentions, for -a rebel sentry in the outlying barracks dropped his musket, which -exploded in the fall, an accident that called forth a rapid and wild -discharge from all the hostile batteries. Jwala at once despatched to -the head-quarters of the enemy a message explaining the cause of the -commotion, and procured an immediate cessation of the bombardment. In -spite of this interruption, the garrison, rendered by long suspense -and wretchedness careless rather than unsuspicious of the future, held -high festival upon a double ration of boiled lentils and meal-cake, -washed down by copious draughts of water from the battered well clouded -with brick-dust and powdered cement. Though many a wish was uttered for -bread, and eggs, and milk-porridge, and curried fowls, no one dared -beg or buy of the native sutlers. And so our people filled themselves -with such food as they could get, and rested as men rest who have not -slept for a great while, and know not when they may sleep again. There -were those at hand who knew right well. Meanwhile, as an earnest of our -defeat, a squad of mutineers stood guard over the shattered remains of -the glorious guns which had done all that English iron could effect for -the conservation of English honour and English lives. - -On the morrow, at a very early hour, all Cawnpore was astir. The -townspeople poured down to the landing-place by thousands; some -desirous to catch one more glimpse of the kind-hearted strangers who -had so long sojourned in their midst, and unfeignedly sorry to see -the last of such easy customers and such open-handed masters; others, -curious to observe whether the Sahibs were much changed by their -hardships; others, again, drawn thither by a dim expectation that -something might happen which it would be a pity to have missed. And the -mutineers, and the matchlock-men, and the rabble of the revolt, swarmed -forth from the various dens of debauchery, and slouched off, yawning -and half-armed, to bear their part in whatever might be going on. And -Azimoolah and the brothers of the Peishwa, accompanied by a host of -nobles, mounted their horses, and joined Tantia Topee on the platform -of the temple. And the Nana did not sleep late, if, indeed, he slept -at all. When his courtiers had departed, he dismissed his attendants, -and listened in solitude for the sounds which should announce that the -supreme moment had arrived. His mind was not in tune for company. - -And our countrymen awoke for the last time. There was a great deal to -be thought and talked of, but not much to be done. The packing did not -take long. Little had been brought into those hateful walls, and less -yet remained worth removal when they came to break up their melancholy -establishment. Some hid about their persons money, or jewellery, or -fragments of plate. Others seemed to think that a bible or a book of -prayers was a treasure more likely to be of service in the coming -emergency than turquoises, and silver spoons, and gold sovereigns. The -able-bodied folk, intent on the common safety, stuffed their hats and -pockets with ball-cartridge; while a few, over whose hearts, softened -by the influence of the occasion, affection and regret held exclusive -sway, bestowed all their care upon tokens which the dying had put aside -as a legacy for the bereaved in England. Many and strange were the -relics that crossed the Indian Ocean in the homeward-bound packets of -that autumn; locks of hair, and stained sleeves or collars, and notes -scribbled on the fly-leaf of an orderly-book, and pistols, of which -some of the barrels were still loaded, and others had been fired in -vain. It was then much as it had been in the days of Troy, throughout -the villages of ancient Achaia. "The household knew those whom it sent -forth to the war; but, instead of the men, an urn and a poor handful of -ashes alone returned." - -And now began to make itself felt a strong disinclination to quit for -ever the place where so much had been done and suffered; a frame of -mind which afterwards was remarked among the besieged at Lucknow who -outlived the relief of the Residency. Death, in one of the forms with -which all had lately grown so conversant, and among associations that, -if not dear, were at any rate familiar, seemed preferable to novel -exertions and untried perils. More than one young subaltern who, a -month previously, would have been ashamed to confess to an emotion, -stole ten minutes to pay a farewell visit to the loophole at which, on -the morning of the great assault, he had fought till his shoulder was -blue, and his rifle clogged with lead; or to stand with wet cheeks in a -nook of the hospital, sacred to his first great grief. Not a few peered -down the well that lay outside the breastwork, with a tacit adieu to -those whom they left behind, and a wish that it had pleased God to -unite them, even there. - -If a start was to be made before the advancing day had dispelled the -freshness of dawn, there was no time to be lost. A crowd of carriages -and beasts of burden had gradually assembled outside the north-western -corner of the intrenchment. Some of the women and children disposed -themselves in the bullock-carts, while others climbed up to an -insecure seat on the padded back of an elephant. A fine animal, -equipped with a state howdah, and steered by the Peishwa's own driver, -had been sent for the accommodation of Sir Hugh Wheeler. The General -was touched by the attention; but (unwilling, it may be, to form -a conspicuous object in a _cortège_ so far from triumphal) after -seeing his wife and daughters safely mounted in the place of honour, -he ensconced himself in a palanquin, which he never left alive. Our -soldiers bestowed their disabled comrades in the litters, without -receiving the slightest assistance from the native bystanders. It was -cruel work, the loading of this mournful train. The inexperienced -good-will of that amateur ambulance corps occasioned grievous agony to -some who ought not to have left their beds for months, and to some who -should never have been moved again. - -A number of sepoys mingled with the throng of English people, and -entered into conversation with the gentlemen under whom they had -formerly served. One and all, they expressed lively admiration for the -unaccountable obstinacy of our defence. Many spoke with commiseration -of the distressing condition to which those had been reduced for whom -they entertained so deep a respect; inquired eagerly after their -missing officers; and learned their fate with tears: conduct which -none who have studied the Hindoo character can attribute to sheer -dissimulation. Less equivocal were the demonstrations displayed towards -their employers by certain among the better class of domestics. The -head bearer of Colonel Williams, who commanded the Fifty-sixth before -the mutiny, deserves to tell his own simple story. He says, "Even after -the cessation of hostilities, we were not allowed to go and see our -masters. On the morning of the twenty-sixth of June, three officers -of the Fifty-sixth, Goad, Fagan, and Warde, mounted on elephants, and -two Europeans, whose names and regiments I don't know, mounted on -another elephant, came out of the intrenchments and went to the river, -to inspect the boats. The gardener and I, taking some grapes, went up -to the officers, and told them that we were in a starving condition, -and wanted to come to our masters in the intrenchment. They said, 'No, -you can't come with us, but we shall come out to-morrow, and you shall -accompany us to Allahabad in boats.' Goad Sahib and Warde Sahib gave me -each two rupees. They told me that my master had died a natural death; -that my mistress was well, but slightly wounded; and that Miss Mary was -dead. Her death was caused by fright at the cannonade, and that she was -not wounded. On the twenty-seventh of June, a little before six A.M. as -many as could walk came out; some of the wounded in doolies, others of -whom were left behind. The party from the intrenchment was surrounded -by sepoys. I had great difficulty in reaching my mistress. I applied -to Annundeedeen, the Havildar-Major of the Fifty-sixth, who said the -thing was impossible. I appealed to him, and begged him to remember -the kindness he had received from the Colonel. After persuasion, he -said that he could not show his face before the Colonel's lady, but -directed four sepoys to take me to my mistress, and prevent my being -disturbed. I was then taken to my mistress, with whom were her two -daughters, Miss Georgiana, and Miss Fanny. They were in wretched -plight; scorched and blistered by the sun. My mistress had a slight -bullet-wound on the upper lip. She said that my master had died on the -eighth of June. My mistress then asked about the property left in the -house, and inquired about all the servants, and especially after the -cook. She then told me to go and fetch him, as she wanted him to go -down to Allahabad with her; and told me to go to her son in the Hills, -and inform him of all that had occurred. She told me to make every -endeavour to join her son as soon as the roads should be open, and to -show him the spot where the Colonel was buried. I told her I did not -know the spot. She said the groom who had remained with them in the -intrenchment would show it to me." To judge from the attachment of her -servants, Mrs. Williams must have ruled her household like a true lady -of the kindly old Anglo-Indian school. - -No prayer was said, no blessing invoked, no passover eaten before -that inauspicious exodus. Moore went about from group to group, and -impressed upon his colleagues that it would be idle to attempt to -preserve order in the embarkation. His instructions were to push -off as soon as all had been got on board, and make for the opposite -shore, where further arrangements might be completed at leisure and in -comparative safety. And then a drink of water was handed in at the -door of each palanquin, and the expedition set forth. A mob of peasants -at once rushed upon the deserted premises, and spread themselves about -in quest of plunder. They might have spared their pains. A camel-rider, -who entered among the first, saw nothing except "three useless brass -guns that had been split, two leathern bottles of liquid butter, a sack -of fine flour, and the bodies of eleven Europeans. They were on quilts -on the floor, some of them still breathing, though dying from severe -gunshot wounds." - -The show was not such as would dazzle a vulgar eye: but in the soul -of those with whom glory is not skin-deep, the retinue of an imperial -coronation would fail to inspire the reverence excited by that ragged -and spiritless cavalcade. First came the men of the Thirty-second -regiment, their dauntless captain at the head;--thinking little, as -ever, of the past, but much of the future;--and so marching unconscious -towards the death which he had often courted. Then moved on the -throng of naked bearers, groaning in monotonous cadence beneath the -weight of palanquins, through whose sliding panels might be discerned -the pallid forms of the wounded;--their limbs rudely bandaged with -shirtsleeves, and old stockings, and strips of gown and petticoat. -Mayhap, as they jolted along, they fed their sickly fancies with a -listless anticipation that the hour was not remote when they might -forget the miserable present amidst the joys of ice, and lemonade, and -clean sheets, and nourishment more appetising than parched grain and -bad pease-porridge. Behind these creaked a caravan of carts, dragged -by bullocks, on which were huddled ladies used to a very different -equipage; while here and there paced a stately elephant, his tusks -adorned with rings of brass, and his forehead painted in grotesque -patterns, who, perchance, a century back, was tugging a gun across -the field of Plassey, and who now bore a cluster of English women and -children clinging nervously to the ropes which encircled his huge -girth. And next, musket on shoulder and revolver in belt, followed -they who could still walk and fight. Step was not kept in those ranks. -Little was there of martial array, or soldier-like gait and attitude. -Lace might not be seen, nor embroidery, nor facings, nor uniforms -which could be recognised at the Horseguards or smiled on in county -ballrooms. In discoloured flannel and tattered nankeen, mute and in -pensive mood, tramped by the remnant of the immortal garrison. These -men had finished their toil and had fought their battle: and now, if -hope was all but dead within them, there survived, at least, no residue -of fear. - -The last to quit the intrenchment was Major Vibart, of the Second -Cavalry. He brought up the rear of our column alone, amidst a numerous -escort of mutineers belonging to his late regiment, who insisted on -conveying his luggage down to the landing place;--a marked instance -of complaisance on the part of these gentlemen troopers. There were -many, however, among the rebels, who no longer thought it worth while -to dissemble. Lady Wheeler's ayah, a few minutes before, had been -presented by her mistress with a bag of rupees as an acknowledgment -of her fidelity. She now was forced to exchange her treasure for a -slash with a sabre. Some sepoys, who had stood by us to the last, were -seized and carried off in spite of the urgent expostulations of their -adjutant: and the hour approached when a brave woman was to meet that -face to face, the bitterness of which, to repeat her own language, -had already been tasted many, many times. Colonel and Mrs. Ewart had -started late; she on foot; he on a bed, carried by four native porters. -From one cause and another they made slow progress. The bearers were -lazy; and paid no attention to a Mem Sahib, whose husband, prostrate -with wounds, was unable to enforce her orders with his cane. Gradually -the main body drew farther and farther ahead of the helpless pair; -who, at length, like a sick child dreaming that he is kidnapped by -gipsies, saw the backs of the English rear-guard disappear round a -distant corner. As the litter came abreast of St. John's Church, seven -or eight rascals belonging to the Colonel's own battalion stepped up; -bade the porters set down their load and stand back; and began to mock -their victim, saying: "Is not this a fine parade, and is it not well -dressed up?" They then hewed him in pieces with their swords, and -afterwards turned to Mrs. Ewart, and desired her to throw down whatever -she had about her, and go her ways, for that she was a woman, and they -would not kill her. She took out of her dress a piece of stuff, with -something tied up in it, and delivered it to one of the gang, who -thereupon cut her down dead. Those who loved her, and they were many, -could not have wished it otherwise. - -Presently the van reached the white rails of the wooden bridge, and, -leaving them on the left hand, turned aside into the fatal ravine. A -vast multitude, speechless and motionless as spectres, watched their -descent into that valley of the shadow of death. Only some sepoys, -gazing on the trappings of the elephants, said one to another: "They -are taken out of their fortress grandly. They go gladly. They know not -what is before them. Now let them repent of their misdeeds, and ask -pardon of God." Soon Tantia Topee, who for some while past had been -anxiously glancing towards the west, saw the white faces and gleaming -bayonets; saw the dark tops of the palanquins dancing up and down; saw -the howdahs swaying from right to left above the sea of heads. Then -he called to a bandsman who was in attendance, and directed him to -proceed up the lane, and sound his bugle when once the Europeans were -well within the trap. Slowly, very slowly, with many a halt and many an -entanglement, the unwieldy mass of men and brutes wound along the bed -of the torrent. - -And now the last Englishman walked down into the lane; and immediately -the troops who had been appointed to that duty formed a double line -across the mouth of the gorge, and told all who were not concerned -to retire and keep aloof, for that within that passage there was no -admittance save on one baleful business. Meantime the embarkation was -progressing under serious difficulties. No temporary pier had been -provided, nor even a plank to serve as gangway. None of the Hindoo -boatmen or bearers spoke a word or lent a hand, while, standing -knee-deep in the stream, our officers hoisted in the wounded and -the women. Already they were themselves preparing to scramble on -board;--already the children were rejoicing over the sight of some -boiled rice which they had discovered in the corner of a barge;--when, -amidst the sinister silence which prevailed, the blast of a bugle came -pealing down the defile. Thereupon the native rowers leaped into the -water, and splashed towards dry ground; while those very troopers who -had conducted Major Vibart from the barrack with such professions of -esteem discharged their carbines at the nearest vessel. The Englishmen, -whose rifles were handy, at once opened fire, some on the traitorous -crews, others on the hypocritical scoundrels who had commenced the -attack. But of a sudden several of the straw roofs burst into a flame, -and almost the entire fleet was blazing in the twinkling of an eye. -The red-hot charcoal had done its work. At the same moment from either -shore broke forth a storm of grape and musketry. To the imagination of -our countrymen, oppressed and bewildered by the infernal tumult, it -seemed that the land was alive with a hundred cannon and a myriad of -sharpshooters. The wounded perished under the burning thatch, while -all who could shift for themselves dropped into the river. Of the -ladies, some crouching beneath the overhanging prows, some wading up -to their chins along the shelving bottom, sought shelter from the -bullets, which sprinkled the surface like falling rain. The men set -their shoulders against the planking, and tried to launch off into the -mid-current. But he who had chosen those moorings never intended that -the keels should leave the sandbank on which they lay. All the boats -stuck fast, save a poor three, of which two drifted across to the -Oude bank into the jaws of the perdition which in that quarter also -awaited their inmates. The third got clear away from the shallows, -and floated steadily down the main channel. Whether fortuitously, -or by the attraction of like to like, it so befell that the flower -of the defence was congregated between those bulwarks. There were -Vibart; and Whiting, good at need; and Ashe, bereaved of his beloved -nine-pounder; and Delafosse of the burning gun; and Bolton, snatched -once more from present destruction. There was Moore, with his arm slung -in a handkerchief; and Blenman, the bold spy; and Glanville of Barrack -Number Two; and Burney of the south-east battery. Fate seemed willing -to defer the hour which should extinguish those noble lives. - -When, after the lapse of some twenty minutes, the dead began to -outnumber the living;--when the fire slackened, as the marks grew -few and far between:--then the troopers who had been drawn up to the -right of the temple plunged into the river, sabre between teeth, and -pistol in hand. Thereupon two half-caste Christian women, the wives -of musicians in the band of the Fifty-sixth, witnessed a scene which -should not be related at second-hand. "In the boat where I was to have -gone," says Mrs. Bradshaw, confirmed throughout by Mrs. Setts, "was -the schoolmistress and twenty-two missies. General Wheeler came last, -in a palkee. They carried him into the water near the boat. I stood -close by. He said 'Carry me a little further towards the boat.' But a -trooper said: 'No; get out here.' As the general got out of the palkee, -head foremost, the trooper gave him a cut with his sword into the neck, -and he fell into the water. My son was killed near him. I saw it: alas! -alas! Some were stabbed with bayonets; others cut down. Little infants -were torn in pieces. We saw it; we did; and tell you only what we saw. -Other children were stabbed and thrown into the river. The school girls -were burnt to death. I saw their clothes and hair catch fire. In the -water, a few paces off, by the next boat, we saw the youngest daughter -of Colonel Williams. A sepoy was going to kill her with his bayonet. -She said, 'My father was always kind to sepoys.' He turned away, and -just then a villager struck her on the head with his club, and she -fell into the water." These people likewise saw good Mr. Moncrieff, -the clergyman, take a book from his pocket that he never had leisure -to open, and heard him commence a prayer for mercy which he was not -permitted to conclude. Another deponent observed a European making for -a drain like a scared water-rat, when some boatmen, armed with cudgels, -cut off his retreat, and beat him down dead into the mud. - -At this point those Englishmen who had learned to use their limbs -in the water, perceiving that all was lost, with a hurried last look -and a parting shudder, stripped, and made for Vibart's boat, which -just then was aground not far from the opposite shore. Thomson swam, -and Private Murphy, neither for the last time. Three cavalry soldiers -chased Lieutenant Harrison on to a small island two hundred yards -from the land. One only waded back again, quicker than he came; while -Harrison made the best of his way to the stranded vessel, and clambered -over the side, satisfied at having taught his pursuers that it was -never safe to trifle with a Sahib, as long as he had breath in his -body and a charge in a single chamber. Few were vigorous or fortunate -as he. Their strength failed some; while more than one stout swimmer, -shot dead in the middle of his stroke, rolled over and sank amidst the -reddening tide. Of the two Hendersons, the younger went down in his -brother's sight, while the elder hardly struggled in with a shattered -hand through the pattering mitraillade. At length all were on board -who had not disappeared below the waves; and, by dint of hard shoving, -the boat scraped herself off the shoal, and continued her sluggish and -devious course:--that hapless Argo with her freight of heroes. - -"At nine, or half-past nine in the morning," writes Nanukchund, who was -in hiding at a neighbouring village, "I heard the report of cannon, -and immediately despatched my servant for news, and to learn why -guns were being fired. At about noon, more or less, he returned, and -reported that the people who came to bathe in the Ganges informed him -that the intrenchment had been taken by the rebels, and the corpses -of Europeans were floating down the river. The villagers exclaim, in -their village dialect, that the Ganges has turned crimson, and it -is impossible to look upon it. The terror and alarm that now seizes -me baffles description. It seems sacrilege to take any sort of food -or drink. I can think of nothing but moving about from side to side -with terror." Besides Nanukchund, there was another, whose agitation, -arising from very different passions, displayed itself by the same -noticeable symptom. A rich Hindoo, even though he be not of such gross -habit as was the Nana, never walks a step unless under dire compulsion: -and yet, during the early forenoon, Dhoondoo Punth seldom rested quiet -in his chair, but paced to and fro in front of his tent, straining his -ears to catch the noise of horse-hoofs. At last a trooper galloped down -with the tidings that all was going well, and that the Peishwa would -soon obtain ample compensation for his ancient wrong. The Maharaja -bade the courier return to the field of action, bearing a verbal order -to keep the women alive, but kill all the males. By the time Tantia's -aide-de-camp returned to his chief, the latter injunction appeared -all but superfluous: though there was still something to be done. -The sepoys posted on the Oude bank had excepted certain Englishmen -from the slaughter of the two boatfuls which had fallen into their -hands. These, to the sum of seventeen, they now sent over as their -contribution. On reference being made to the Maharaja, he graciously -acknowledged the present, and desired a firing-party to be told off; -suggesting, however, that powder should not be wasted on the wounded. -His directions were obeyed to the letter. A couple of files were -likewise detached to see that the sufferers who still lingered in the -intrenchment did not take too long to die. - -Meanwhile the women and children, whom the shot had missed and the -flames spared, had been collected and brought to land in evil case. -Many were pulled out from under the charred woodwork of the boats, -and others were driven up from four feet depth of water. Before they -emerged from the river, some of the ladies were roughly handled by -the troopers, who tore away such ornaments as caught their fancy with -little regard for ear or finger. But, when all had been assembled on -the landing-place, sentries were posted around, with a strict charge -to suffer no one to molest the prisoners. There they sat, a hundred -and twenty and five by count, some on logs of timber, and others -in the trodden sand, a very feeble company in sore distress. Their -destitution aroused the compassion of a party of water-carriers, who -gave them drink out of the skin's mouth, as they cowered beneath -the pitiless sun. On the shore of the Ganges, in the midst of that -devilish horde, those English girls and matrons abode till the -morning was almost spent. And then they were led back along the road -which they had traversed a few hours before; not as they came, for -nothing was left them now, save a new grief and a sharper terror. In -front, behind, and on either side, surged along a crowd of sepoys, -exulting with an unholy joy, and rich with inglorious spoils. This one -carried a girdleful of rupees and broken jewellery. That had secured -a double-barrelled fowling-piece, marked with a name illustrious in -the London trade. Another dragged a fine setter or Skye terrier, the -pride of some cadet who, in too harsh a school, had taken his first -and last lesson of war. They started beside the Fisherman's Temple. -They threaded the winding lane. They plodded wearily past the white -railing and the European bazaar; past the chapel, and the racket-court, -and the ruinous intrenchment. Through the disputed line of outposts, -and across the plain they went, until the procession halted before the -pavilion of the Maharaja; who, after reviewing his captives, ordered -them to be transported to the Savada House, and there confined until -further notice. Two large rooms, where a number of native soldiers had -slept nightly during the previous month, were cleared out for their -reception; and a guard placed over them from the ranks of the Sixth -regiment, which had lately marched in from Allahabad. - -"I saw that many of the ladies were wounded," says one who watched -them go by. "Their clothes had blood on them. Two were badly hurt, and -had their heads bound up with handkerchiefs. Some were wet, covered -with mud and blood; and some had their dresses torn, but all had -clothes. I saw one or two children without clothes. There were no -men in the party, but only some boys of twelve or thirteen years of -age." Another eye-witness remarks: "The ladies' clothing was wet and -soiled, and some of them were barefoot. Many were wounded. Two of them -I observed well, as being wounded in the leg and under the arm." To -such a plight had come the bloom which once, fresh from the breezes of -home, charmed and puzzled Calcutta; and the toilettes whose importation -and inspection supplied matter for a month's conjecture, and a week's -happy occupation. Where were now the tact, the cultivation, and all the -indefinable graces of refined womanhood? Simplicity and affectation, -amiability and pride, coquetry and reserve, discretion and sweet -susceptibility, were here confounded in a dull uniformity of woe. - -Four Englishwomen, and three others of mixed parentage, were -appropriated and carried off by the soldiers of the Second Cavalry; a -corps which, now that the fighting was over, never lost an opportunity -of distinguishing itself. These men were summoned into the presence -of the Nana, who remonstrated with them at some length, and insisted -that the whole seven should be restored without delay. It may be that -he regarded his prisoners as hostages, and was unwilling that they -should be scattered about in places where he could not lay his hand -upon them at the precise moment when his life or power might be at -stake. All obeyed promptly, with the exception of Ali Khan, a young -trooper, described as of "a fair complexion; height about five feet -seven inches; long nose; dark eyes; wears a beard and small moustache." -This fellow had selected, as his share of the booty, the youngest -daughter of Sir Hugh. He must have been one of a pair who were observed -"leading away from the boats a lady on horseback. She wore a green -chintz gown, which appeared to be wet. She seemed to be eighteen or -nineteen years of age." Ali Khan now contrived to spread a report -that his victim flung herself down a well, after killing her captor, -his wife, and his three children. His device met with extraordinary -success. In Hindostan it is never a very difficult matter to find -witnesses who will swear to anything; and, before long, a private in -the Second began to remember that he had been passing his comrade's -door when Miss Wheeler came out, with a sword in her hand, and said: -"Go in and see how nicely I have rubbed the Corporal's feet." Another -individual, blessed with an elastic memory, had been present at the -dragging of the well, and had seen "Missy Baba taken out, dead and -swollen." The impudent fabrication was generally accepted in the city -and the cantonments; and met with ready credence in England, where the -imaginations of men were excited by a series of prurient and ghastly -fictions. Under one shape or another the incident long went the round -of provincial theatres, and sensation magazines, and popular lectures -illustrated with dissolving views. Meanwhile the poor girl was living -quietly in the family of her master under a Mahomedan name. Our police -made diligent inquiries, which resulted in a strong conviction that -she had accompanied the flight of the rebels, and, after being hurried -about from camping-ground to camping-ground, had met a natural death -in a corner of Nepaul. She was by no means of pure English blood. To -some the very statement of the fact may appear heartless, but truth -demands that it should be made. - -The ladies on board the escaped vessel had no reason to congratulate -themselves on their fortune: for they were embarked on a voyage which, -for concentrated misery, has no parallel even among the narratives of -famous shipwrecks so dear to the taste of our forefathers. Soon after -leaving the shore, Major Vibart had taken a large party off a sinking -boat; so that more than five-score persons were crowded into a space -which could barely accommodate fifty. It was difficult to propel the -craft, and impossible to guide her. A shot from the southern bank sent -her spinning round in the current, with a broken rudder; and the native -boatmen had taken good care to leave behind neither oar nor punt-pole. -Alternately stranding and drifting; paddling with planks torn from the -bulwarks, and trying to steer with a spare stretcher; our countrymen -tended down towards Allahabad at the rate of half a mile an hour, under -a shower of canister and shells from either bank. "We were often," says -Thomson, "within a hundred yards of the guns on the Oude side of the -river, and saw them load, prime, and fire into our midst." Presently -the bullocks which drew the sepoy artillery broke down in the deep sand -of the Ganges; but incessant volleys of musketry, at point blank range, -allowed our countrymen little leisure to rejoice over the intermission -of the cannonade. - -That day dismissed to Hades many valiant souls of warriors, and left -their bodies a prize for dogs and every kind of fowl. But the will of -God was accomplished. Ashe and Bolton leaped out to help haul the boat -off a sunken bank: and a few minutes later she proceeded on her way -without those two young Sahibs whom a thousand bullets had spared to -perish here. Moore, regardless of an ill-set collar-bone, was pushing -with might and main, when a musket-ball pierced his gallant heart. -One and the same round shot at length killed Burney, and at length -Glanville; and so maltreated a third officer that it would have been -well had he died likewise. The wounded and the slain lay entangled -together amidst the broken flooring. It was a matter of extreme -difficulty to extricate the corpses from the bottom of the vessel: but -the desire of decreasing her draft, and the intense heat of what proved -to be the last day of that year's dry weather, obliged the crew to cast -overboard the dear but useless cargo. - -About five o'clock that evening the boat settled down deep in the -sand. Our countrymen waited patiently till the sunset allowed them -to disembark the women under the screen of darkness. Having thus -lightened their unwieldy ark, they set to with a will, and succeeded -eventually in getting her adrift. The rebels did what they could to -impede the operation. They launched a fire-ship down the current, -which came within a few feet of its mark; and, when this contrivance -had miscarried, they shot off a flight of arrows tipped with lighted -charcoal Though no very skilful archers, they could not well help -hitting the thatched roof which loomed through the dusk like the top -of a great barn: so that our people thought it better to cut away -and tumble into the flood the entire framework of straw and bamboo. -No one slept that night, and no one ate: for food there was none on -board. They had abundance of water: for Ganges flowed beneath; and -from overhead descended a light and refreshing shower, the unfailing -precursor of the annual deluge. - -When the day broke, those of our officers who had learned the bearings -of the locality during many a hot tramp after snipe and wild-fowl saw -with chagrin that they had hardly gained ten miles in twice as many -hours. And yet that dawn brought one last glimmer of hope. The wet -weather had arrived: the river would soon be mounting fast: and nothing -was to be seen of the enemy. Presently some natives walked down the -bank for their morning wash; and Vibart sent on shore a native drummer, -with five rupees in his hand, and directions to obtain information, -and, if possible, some provisions. He accosted a peasant, who desisted -from the occupation of cleaning his mouth with a bit of stick chewed -into a tooth-brush, and listened very civilly to what our envoy had to -say. This man undertook to procure some rice and flour, but assured -the drummer that our people would have no further need of victuals, as -Baboo Ram Bux, a powerful noble whose estates lay a little further down -on the Oude side, had engaged that not an Englishman should pass his -territory alive. He, however, showed no objection to take our money, -and went inland, leaving behind his brass drinking-vessel to guarantee -his fidelity: a pledge which he never came back to redeem. On hearing -the report of their messenger the fugitives agreed to despair. After -the manner of becalmed and starving mariners, Whiting pencilled some -lines on a scrap of paper, which he enclosed in a bottle, and committed -to the stream: the faithless stream, that has never rendered up the sad -deposit. - -At two in the afternoon the barge struck off a village called -Nuzzufgur, which was within the boundary of Ram Bux. Straightway the -shore was covered with a multitude of feudal militia, intermingled -with sepoys and mounted troopers. A gun was brought forward, and -unlimbered; but, while the artillerymen were taking their aim, there -came down from heaven that unbroken sheet of water for which men had -been looking during the past fortnight. The rains had begun in earnest. -The piece could only be discharged once; but the storm did not protect -our people from a keen fusillade. Whiting fell dead; and Harrison's -trusty revolver here availed him nothing; and dark Blenman, sorely -hurt, implored a comrade to put an end to his wayward existence. Vibart -was shot through the arm, and his subordinates, Quin and Seppings; -while Mrs. Seppings and Captain Turner of the First Infantry were badly -wounded in the leg. After five hours of this bitter work there hove in -sight a boat manned by fifty or sixty mutineers, armed to the teeth, -who had been deputed by the Nana to follow and destroy the relics of -our force. This vessel, likewise, ran on a sandbank; not altogether -against the inclination of the crew, who did not relish the notion of -forming themselves into a boarding-party. They liked the idea still -less when a score of Englishmen came dashing at them through the -shallows. The half-dozen ablest swimmers alone escaped to tell their -master that, after all they had gone through, those extraordinary -Sahibs were the same as ever. - -Amidst pelting rain and freshening wind the second night closed in. -Faint and hungry they sank asleep, those men who would only yield to -death. At midnight some of their number awoke, and became conscious -that they were again afloat. It was blowing a hurricane; the stream -had risen; and there were found those who hoped. But daylight told -another story, for it revealed that they had turned aside out of the -navigable channel into a back water, from which egress was none. And -then their vessel grounded, and the musketry recommenced. Vibart, who -was already dying with a ball through either arm, desired Thomson and -Delafosse to land and beat away the enemy, while those who remained -attempted to ease off the boat. The two officers selected a sergeant -and eleven rank and file of various regiments; and the party sallied -forth, fortunate in that it was appointed for some to tread once more -on English soil, and for the rest at least to die sword in hand. They -had not departed many minutes when a host of insurgents poured down -upon the helpless troop of women and wounded men, like wolves upon a -flock of sheep deserted by their dogs. The boat was captured after a -short but murderous conflict, and escorted back to Cawnpore by a strong -body of horse and foot. - -Thomson and Delafosse had enough on their hands already, and could do -little or nothing towards a rescue. On gaining the shore they drove -the foe in style over a considerable space; but were imperceptibly -surrounded in flank and rear by fresh swarms of rebels. Then they -faced about, and cut their way back to the place whence they started, -bleeding, but undiminished in number. They recognised the spot, but -the boat was gone, and so the little troop, reduced henceforward to -travel afoot, followed the course of the stream; partly on the slender -chance of catching up their lost companions; partly from an instinctive -feeling which drew them in the direction of Allahabad, as the wounded -rabbit makes for its burrow, or the winged partridge scurries to -the nearest hedge. With an interval of twenty paces between man and -man, to lessen the hazard of the hostile musketry, they retreated -step by step, loading and firing as best they might upon the horde -of pursuers, who pressed nearer and ever nearer. Shoeless on rugged -ground, bareheaded beneath the burning sun, they fought over three -weary miles of alternate rock and sand, until all but one got safe into -a little temple, or "Sammy-house," as it is called in the jargon spoken -by the British private in India; a jargon which he himself denominates -"Moors." This rustic shrine, situated about a hundred yards from the -river-brink, was just large enough to contain the thirteen as they -stood erect. The mob of natives charged helter-skelter at the doorway, -which was raised three feet above the surrounding earth; but there -was no room for any of them inside, and they presently retired to a -distance, except the eight or ten who had managed to squeeze themselves -to the front. Clio cannot repress a smile as she records that among -those who learned by experience that the rust of the rainy season had -not yet blunted the British bayonets was a brother of Baboo Ram Bux; -the inhospitable chieftain who knew no reverence for suppliants who -had sought sanctuary in the precincts of his local gods, and who now -sent an express to the Nana to the effect that the Nazarenes were still -invincible. - -Our countrymen after this enjoyed a short respite, during which they -shared a pint or two of putrid water which had collected at the -bottom of a hole in the stone altar. Unfortunately the piety of the -neighbourhood had of late failed to contribute any oblations of fruit -or cakes, which would certainly not have been respected by the famished -Christians. But the insurgents soon returned to the attack; made an -unsuccessful attempt to dig up the foundations; and finally, with the -view of smoking the besieged out of their citadel, constructed and -set alight a large pile of faggots. It was not till the enemy showed -signs of an intention to mend the fire with some bags of gunpowder -that the garrison began to be seriously alarmed. Then they rushed out, -scattering the embers with their bare feet, and leaped the parapet -which enclosed the plot of dedicated ground. Six, who could not swim, -ran full into the middle of the crowd, carrying their lives for sale to -the best market. Seven reached the bank, and flung in their firelocks, -and then themselves. The lead in their pouches dragged them so far down -that the first flight of bullets splashed harmless on the troubled -surface. By the time the sepoys had reloaded their pieces, a score of -rapid strokes had rendered our countrymen by no means easy targets for -an excited Hindoo marksman. Two were shot through the head. Another, -overcome with exhaustion, turned over on his back, and yielded to -the stream, which impelled him towards a shoal where his murderers -were awaiting him with uplifted bludgeons. The others resisted the -blandishments of the wily foe, who endeavoured to coax them within push -of lance by offers of food and life, and, ducking like coots at the -flash of musketry, swam, and floated, and swam again; while Ganges, -as if resenting the desecration of his holy waves by such an Iliad of -bloodshed, bare bravely up the chin of these fugitives who had confided -themselves to his protection. One by one the hunters desisted from the -chase. A trooper on horseback kept the game in view for some miles; but -in the end he too fell behind, and was no more seen. - -The four Englishmen were sitting up to their necks in water, two good -leagues below the point where they first plunged, when the sound of -approaching voices again sent them diving after the manner of otters -surprised by the throng of hounds and spearmen. As they rose to the -upper air, they were greeted with a shout of, "Sahib! Sahib! Why keep -away? We are friends." The new-comers, however, were so formidable -in aspect and equipment that Thomson refused to come to land until, -after a short parley, they volunteered to throw their weapons into -the river as a proof of their sincerity. Their assurances of amity -afforded our countrymen a passable excuse for giving in, without -inspiring any great amount of confidence. At the very worst, a blow -on the head or a thrust in the chest killed more expeditiously than -drowning or inanition. It was better to die and have done with it, -than to endure all the torment of death without the repose, as of late -had seemed to be their apportioned lot. And so they turned, and swam -in, and were helped ashore naked as Ulysses when he was washed up on -the Phæacian coast after his wrestle with the Adriatic surf. Like him, -their knees and wrists gave away beneath them: for their vigour was -subdued by long toil among the billows: and their bodies were livid -and swollen; and much water oozed from mouth and nostril; and they lay -without breath, and speech, and well nigh without life, stricken by an -exceeding weariness. They had between them a flannel shirt, a strip of -linen cloth, and five severe wounds. Exposure to the heat had puffed -the skin of their shoulders with huge blisters, as if their clothes had -been burned off their backs by fire. But they found an Alcinöus in the -person of Dirigbijah Singh, a loyal gentleman of Oude; the landlord -of that district, and the chieftain to whom their captors owed -feudal allegiance. Good-natured as they proved to be, these fellows -could not resist the temptation of plundering the Englishmen who had -been so unaccountably delivered into their hands. They abstracted a -cap-pouchful of rupees which poor Murphy had tied under his right -knee, the nominal price, it may be, of some buckets drawn at a risk -which could not be valued in money. After lying for a while wrapped in -blankets, the refugees recovered strength sufficient to allow of their -being supported to the nearest village, over a distance which appeared -to them more miles than it was furlongs in reality. They were taken to -the hut of the headman, who received them kindly, and set before them -lentil porridge, wheat cakes, and preserves, of which they eat like men -who had fed little and badly during a month past, and for seventy hours -had not fed at all. - -After a long meal and a short nap the Englishmen set out for the fort -where Dirigbijah Singh resided; Thomson clad with the solitary shirt, -and Delafosse in a borrowed rug. Private Murphy and Gunner Sullivan -were suffering too much from recent wounds to care about appearances. -The officers resigned to them an elephant which had been despatched for -their conveyance, and bestrode a pony, like a pair of needy and valiant -knights belonging to a primitive order. As they passed through the -villages, peasants came forth with milk and sweatmeats, and discovered -that the Sahibs had changed their opinion as to the acceptability of -"dollies;" those presents of Oriental dainties which collectors and -commissioners contemptuously make over to their servants, reserving a -handful of pistachio nuts for the children, and a box of Cabul grapes -to improve the dessert of their next dinner-party. Darkness set in ere -the cavalcade rode up to the fort of Moorar Mhow. The rajah, an old -man of venerable presence, was seated in the open air encircled by -his sons, his body-guard, his tenants, and his torch-bearers, to the -number of some hundred and fifty persons. He requested our countrymen -to alight; inquired minutely into the story of the siege; evinced warm -approbation of their courage, and wonder at their escape; and after -promising his countenance and hospitality, sent them indoors to an -abundant repast washed down with native wine. Tired of everything save -eating, they supped right well, and then, stretched on horse-litter and -covered with a bit of carpet, the wanderers rested at last. Soundly -they slumbered that night; and soundly, too, slumbered their six -comrades, on whom the moon looked down through her watery veil as they -lay around the little temple amidst the trampled brushwood, on their -brow the frown of battle, and in their breast the wound that doth not -shame. - -Here the four Englishmen remained for three weeks unmolested and -tolerably happy. They had spent at least one equal period of time in -far less comfortable quarters. They wore coats and trousers cut by a -native tailor. Their hurts were poulticed by a native doctor. They sat -down thrice a day with British appetites to a meal of native food; -and, whenever there was nothing else to be done, they slept. Heedless -of the flies, which clustered about their bandaged limbs; careless -of the future, and willingly oblivious of the past,--they dreamed, -and woke, and yawned, and shifted their straw, and settled themselves -down for another fit of drowsiness. Azimoolah might have his eye upon -them: the Nana might have spoken the word of doom: up to Delhi and -down to Patna every pass might be blockaded by a rebel post: but for -the present they could doze, morning, noon, and eve. Their principal -diversion consisted in viewing the performance by the Rajah and his -priests of some quaint and pretty domestic rites. The master of the -house paid them a daily and very pleasant visit; and his good lady sent -constantly to ask after the welfare of the strangers, whose fearless -deportment under their abject and precarious circumstances she had -noted with womanly interest, as she gazed, herself invisible, from -behind the fretted stone-work which fenced her verandah. - -Thomson and his companions were forbidden by their host to set foot -outside the circuit of the walls: as the vicinity was infested with -rebels, who already regarded the country as their own, and appeared to -imagine themselves welcome anywhere. There were generally some of them -inside the fort, vapouring about, sword on thigh and matchlock in hand, -and pestering the domestics to get them a sight of the Sahibs. The -soldiers of the Cawnpore brigade were indulged in frequent interviews -with their former officers, always in the presence of a detachment -from the Rajah's body-guard. These mutineers were full of the great -things that were going to be done in the course of the next year by -the armies of the religious. A trooper had been despatched to Moscow -on a camel, and was to return with a host of Russian Mussulmans. Such -Englishmen as had not yet been knocked on the head were to be secured -and shipped off at Calcutta; and afterwards the Nana would embark for -Europe, conquer our island, and make it over to Hindoo shareholders -constituted into a joint-stock Kumpani. That magic word would conjure -up a fresh train of ideas, and they would descant upon the flagrant -iniquity of Lord Dalhousie, and maintain that, had it not been for the -annexation of Oude, the empire of John Kumpani might have endured for -all time: but that it was not so ordained; inasmuch as the ancient -oracles, which could not lie, had allotted to that empire a duration -of a hundred years, and no more. This prediction came true, but not in -the sense anticipated by the leaders of the insurrection. The honour -of justifying this prophecy was reserved for Sir Charles Wood and Lord -Stanley; not for Azimoolah and the Maharaja of Bithoor. That potentate -repeatedly summoned Dirigbijah Singh to deliver up the refugees to -his regal arbitrement: but the stout old fellow answered that he held -of His Majesty the King of Oude, and knew nothing of Seereek Dhoondoo -Punth and his pretensions to royalty. Havelock and Neill soon provided -the Nana with more pressing business than the pursuit of his vengeance, -or the assertion of his supremacy. - -The Rajah came to the conclusion that a change of domicile was -essential to the security of our countrymen, about the time that they -were growing sated of laughing at sepoy bluster, and watching the -Brahmins of the household ring bells and sprinkle flowers with holy -water. They accordingly retired to the seclusion of a hamlet bordering -on the river, where they amused themselves as best they could with a -volume bearing the inscription "53rd Regiment Native Infantry Book -Club;" which had been picked out of the stream by one among their -attendants, as it floated by amidst a quantity of torn papers and -smashed furniture: so many indications of the minute and searching -character of the mischief that was being wrought above. After the -lapse of a week, the Rajah sent them across to a landholder of his -acquaintance, who lived on the south bank, and who undertook to hand -them on to the nearest European encampment. They took leave of their -chivalrous preserver with many expressions of unaffected regret, and -a silent resolution never to rest until he had received some tangible -mark of their gratitude and regard. On reaching the other shore their -new patron packed them off towards Allahabad by a cross-road, in a -bullock-cart without springs, preceded by an escort of four armed -retainers. After bumping along for an hour the driver stopped, and -informed them, in low and agitated tones, that there were guns ahead, -planted athwart their path. And so they alighted, those way-worn -fugitives, solicitous to learn whether they should again have to run, -and swim, and lurk, and starve; and they crept stealthily along the -edge of the road, and, turning the corner, found themselves within a -few yards of the white and freckled face of an English sentry. - -Five years subsequently Murphy left his old regiment, and volunteered -for India in another corps. Presently it began to be rumoured at -mess that there was a man in the ranks who had gone through the -siege and the slaughter of Cawnpore. The Colonel made all necessary -inquiries, and reported the matter to the Commander-in-chief: who at -once appointed Murphy custodian of the Memorial Gardens. Here he may -be seen, in the balmy forenoons of the cold weather, sauntering about -in a pith helmet and linen jacket; a decent little Irishman, very -ready to give a feeling and intelligent account of what took place -under his immediate observation, and insisting much on the fact that -he and the gunner, unable to speak a syllable of "Moors," would have -been helpless but for the knowledge of Hindoostanee possessed by the -sepoy officers. He retains a lively impression of the eagerness with -which the English privates whom they encountered on the Allahabad -highway contributed their allowances of liquor to treat the men who -had not tasted beer for eight summer weeks. He points out the stone -beneath which reposes poor Sullivan, who died of fatigue and debility, -taking the form of cholera, within a fortnight of his restoration to -safety. Delafosse lived once more to play the man, fighting under -Chamberlain in the passes of the Hindoo Koosh: and Thomson to compose -the story of what he had seen and undergone, so told that it may be -read by a Christian without horror, and by an educated person without -disgust. He was of opinion that a soldier who had performed his duty -should not stoop to the vocabulary of a hangman. This man, scarred -from head to heel with sepoy bullets,--who had carried his life in -his hand for months together,--who had lost friends, possessions, and -health in the frightful mêlée,--could still write like a modest and -tolerant gentleman: while officers, to whom the rebellion had brought -nothing except promotion and chance of distinction, were declaiming -and printing about battues, and fine bags, and tucking up niggers, and -polishing off twenty brace of Pandies. He made it his care that the -worthy Rajah of Moorar Mhow should be rewarded with a handsome pension; -that the faithful sepoys of his own battalion should obtain credit for -their loyalty; that a fitting monument should be erected to the memory -of his dead comrades; and that the services of his living companions -in arms should not pass unrecorded. He left it for others to exult -when shopkeepers and bankers, whose property had been confiscated by -the Nana, and plundered by our own mutinous troops, were condemned and -executed for having acknowledged a _de facto_ monarch; when pedlars and -bazaar-porters were strung up by scores to a gallows planted across the -mouth of the funereal well: truly a graceful tribute to the manes of -gentle English women.[4] - -At five in the evening on the twenty-eighth of June, the Nana held a -state review in honour of his victory of the preceding day. His force -looked well on paper, and made a very respectable show in the field. -There turned out six entire regiments of foot, and two of horse; -besides strong detachments from battalions which had been disbanded at -a distance from Cawnpore. The ranks of the artillery were perceptibly -thinned by three weeks of desperate fighting. To them was especially -due the success of the cause: and they now bore the brunt of the -rejoicing. Few but zealous, they worked their pieces with a will, and -fired away their ammunition as if henceforward there was no occasion -for keeping any against the day of battle; as if the clubs of villagers -and the daggers of banditti might safely be trusted to gather up the -leavings of the sepoys. Bala Rao was welcomed on to the ground with -seventeen discharges. The Maharaja himself at length enjoyed the -compliment of the royal reception which had been so ardently coveted -and so strenuously denied. He was greeted on his appearance by the -full sum of twenty-one explosions, each bought with a day of carnage. -His ears tingling at the unaccustomed sensation, he congratulated -the mutineers on their common triumph, and promised to distribute a -hundred thousand rupees as an instalment of the debt which he owed to -the army: an announcement that produced a repetition of the salute. -Then he took his departure: but the enthusiasm which he left behind -could evaporate only in a wholesale expenditure of Government powder. -The nephew of the Nana, and his brother Baba Bhut, were each honoured -with seventeen reports. Bala, who was deservedly a favourite with -that gang of disciplined assassins, came in for a second bout of -eleven guns: while Jwala Pershad and Tantia Topee got the same number -a-piece. This closed the proceedings: during which Tantia, whose mind -had decidedly a practical cast, was better employed than in listening -to an idle cannonade. He was closeted with a man of business named -Dabeedeen, liquidating accounts with the owners of the flotilla which -had been sunk or burned. Between four and five thousand rupees were -paid over as compensation for the boats; and fifty pounds were put -aside to remunerate the bargemen for their share in the operations. It -was afterwards asserted that Dabeedeen took undue precautions to avoid -cheating himself in the transaction. - -On the morrow, some boys loitering about on the Oude side of the river -came upon an English officer skulking in a ravine. He was of tall -stature, and about forty years old, with a bit of sacking twisted round -his waist, but otherwise naked. The children imparted their discovery -to the peasants of an adjoining hamlet, who took the fugitive to their -headman. The unhappy gentleman did not speak any native language, -and could only point towards the East with an imploring gesture, and -pronounce the word "Lucknow." They gave him sugar, which he eat up -greedily with both hands, and so afforded a bystander an opportunity -for observing that he bore the mark of a ring fresh on his finger. -Touched by the contrast of his fallen state, these good people showed a -disposition to do what they could for his preservation; but just then -some landholders of the neighbourhood arrived at the head of a numerous -array, and prevailed over these benevolent intentions by threats of -present violence and future punishment. A short while afterwards, an -ex-clerk of the commissariat department met fifty or sixty fellows -"with drawn sabres and lighted matches, bringing along a Sahib bound." -They halted under a grove which stood near the chapel of ease, and sent -one of their party to fetch the Nana. In his stead came Baba Bhut, and, -in the name of his brother, bade them kill their prisoner. To this they -answered: "Put weapons into his hand, and let him strike us, and then -we will strike in return: but we will not slay him thus." Some troopers -of the Second Cavalry, who happened to be in attendance, had a less -nice theory of honour. Three-quarters of an hour subsequently, while -the clerk was performing his ablutions, the corpse was thrown into the -Ganges, gashed all over with sword-cuts. - -All the night of the twenty-ninth our people who had been captured -at Nuzzufgur by Baboo Ram Bux were slowly remounting the stream. -As it grew light they began to recognise objects and places which -they had trusted never again to behold: and, two hours before noon, -the doomed boatload lay to at the landing-place whence they had set -forth, to return thus after three such days as had not repaid them for -the trouble of making their escape. What ensued an Englishman would -willingly tell in phrases not his own. The following account was taken -from the lips of a native spy, and is supported by a mass of evidence. -The mention of General Wheeler is, of course, inaccurate. - -"There were brought back," says the man, "sixty Sahibs, twenty-five -Mem Sahibs, and four children. The Nana ordered the Sahibs to be -separated from the Mem Sahibs, and shot by the First Bengal Native -Infantry. But they said, 'We will not shoot Wheeler Sahib, who has -made our regiment's name great, and whose son is our Quarter-master. -Neither will we kill the Sahib people. Put them in prison.' Then said -the Nadiree regiment: 'What word is this? Put them in prison? We will -kill the males.' So the Sahibs were seated on the ground: and two -companies of the Nadiree regiment stood with their muskets, ready to -fire. Then said one of the Mem Sahibs, the doctor's wife: (What doctor? -How should I know?) 'I will not leave my husband. If we must die, -I will die with him.' So she ran, and sat down behind her husband, -clasping him round the waist. Directly she said this, the other Mem -Sahibs said: 'We also will die with our husbands.' And they all sat -down, each by her husband. Then their husbands said: 'Go back;' but -they would not. Whereupon the Nana ordered his soldiers; and they, -going in, pulled them away forcibly. But they could not pull away the -doctor's wife, who there remained. Then the Padre called out to the -Nana, and requested leave to read prayers before they died." (This -Padre was Captain Seppings, with his broken arm. The doctor's wife, -good soul, is known to have been Mrs. Boyes.) "The Nana granted it, and -the Padre's hands were loosened so far as to enable him to take a small -book from his pocket, with which he read. But all this time one of the -Sahibs, who was shot in the arm, kept crying out to the sepoys: 'If you -mean to kill us, why don't you set about it quickly and have the work -done?'" Poor impatient Sahib! Making the responses in his passionate -way! "After the Padre had read a few prayers, he shut the book, and -the Sahibs shook hands all round. Then the sepoys fired. One Sahib -rolled one way, one another, as they sat. But they were not dead: only -wounded. So they went in and finished them off with swords." - -Here is a thing which was actually done on the last Tuesday of June, -eight years back from the present date. Three months before, these -Sahibs and Mem Sahibs were passing an existence no more eventful, and -apparently no less secure than the career of a county-court judge, -or a military man quartered at Sheffield or Colchester. They laid -their plans for the Meerut race-meeting and the biennial trip to an -Himalayan station in a confidence of fruition equal to that with which -a home-staying public servant anticipates the cup-day at Ascot, and the -pass which he is going to discover in September. In April, Cawnpore -society was lamenting the departure of one period of cold weather, -and looking forward to the arrival of another; but, ere the rains -had well set in, it had come to this, that the last batch of English -officers were lying stiff and stark on the parade-ground, in front -of the building where their widows and orphans were enduring a brief -imprisonment for life. - -The number of captives had yet to receive a final addition. At the -station of Futtehgur, which was situated about seventy miles up the -river from Cawnpore, some hundred and eighty English people of every -age and profession were alive when the month of June commenced. The -cantonments were occupied by the Tenth Native Infantry, under the -command of Colonel Smith, a man distinguished by courage so closely -allied with rashness, and firmness so nearly akin to obstinacy, that -the European residents could not have fared worse had they been under -the charge of a waverer or a coward. He was a zealous adherent of that -sect among the Bengal officers which worshipped the sepoy. A willing -martyr to the creed that he professed, his devotion would have excused -his fanaticism, had he been the only victim: but no personal calamity -can atone for pedantry which staked and lost nine score English -souls on the truth of the axiom that a mutineer was still docile and -affectionate until he could be proved a murderer. - -During the latter half of May successive tidings of massacre, -insurrection, and, finally, of an approaching rebel force, excited -the fears of our countrymen, and the impious hopes of the soldiery: -as turbulent a set of scamps as any in Northern India. At length Mr. -Probyn, the magistrate of the district, whose acute discernment, if -left to itself, would have saved a large asset of life from the wreck -of our fortunes, took measures for evacuating Futtehgur before the -extreme crisis. He put himself into communication with Hurdeo Bux, a -loyal noble whose estates lay on the left bank, and obtained an escort -of fifty picked men and the offer of an asylum. At midnight, between -the third and fourth of June, more than a hundred of the English -inhabitants started down the river in a fleet of twelve or thirteen -boats, laden with baggage, merchandise, furniture, and an ample store -of provisions. Colonel Smith was not a little disgusted that so many -people should combine to put a slight upon his pet battalion; but -consoled himself with the reflection that time and the issue would -judge between the sepoys and their defamers. The fugitives comprised -the merchants of the place, and the planters of the vicinity; the -civilians, missionaries, clerks, craftsmen, and pensioners; together -with at least forty women, several nurseries of children, and a -multitude of native domestics. They anchored for refreshment after -accomplishing a stage of four leagues, and, before breakfast was -finished, were joined by certain officers of the Tenth, who announced -that the regiment had mutinied on parade, and that all was over at -Futtehgur. The expedition proceeded on its way, under a desultory fire -of musketry from the country people, who were for the most part hostile -to our cause. Next morning arrived the bailiff of Hurdeo Bux, who -brought Probyn an invitation from his master to take refuge in his fort -of Dhurrumpore. It was resolved to split the party. The magistrate, -with forty others, accepted the proffered hospitality: while three of -the most roomy vessels, containing nineteen men, twenty-three women, -and twenty-six children, pushed forwards in the direction of Cawnpore. - -And they reached their destination. On the evening of the ninth of -June the little squadron was brought to on a sandbank a few furlongs -above Nawabgunge, the north-west suburb of Cawnpore. Here they abode -forty-eight hours, listening to the ceaseless cannonade which pealed -along the stream from the south. Then they sent a messenger bearing a -request for permission to pass on their way: the answer to which was -brought by a horde of mutineers, who had no sooner appeared in view than -the boatmen set the thatch alight, and fell with bludgeons and sabres -upon the passengers, who were taking their afternoon tea, and who now -threw themselves over the bulwarks, and sought concealment in a patch -of high grass. But their cover was fired by the rebel guns; two ladies -and a child were scorched or suffocated to death; and the rest of the -company fell into the hands of the troopers of the Second Cavalry, to -whose _esprit-de-corps_ this one-sided work was more suited than the -dubious contest which was raging around our intrenchment. The captives -were made fast to a long rope, and marched as far as ladies with bare -and bleeding feet could carry the babies and drag along the children: -for by this time all their servants had fled, with the exception -of two Ayahs and a few menials of the very lowest order. Here, as -elsewhere, fortitude and fidelity were in inverse proportion to dignity -of caste. Our people spent the night supperless, on the spot where -they had halted; and at daybreak, after breakfasting on a mouthful -of water a-piece, were distributed among sixteen bullock carts, and -conveyed into the presence of the Nana: to whom they pointed out the -folly of which he would be guilty if he indulged himself in wanton and -indiscriminate murder. It was no easy task, they bade him reflect, to -empty Europe of Europeans. He is said to have been inclined to mercy: -but Bala Rao, who, if there was a choice between the brothers, seems to -have been the blackest villain of the three, made such an outcry that -the Nana stifled his nascent humanity in order to prevent the scandal -of a family quarrel. The ladies and the little ones received orders to -seat themselves on the ground; and the gentlemen, with their hands tied -behind them, were drawn up as a rear rank. The Second Cavalry had soon -another victory to inscribe upon their standards. "I witnessed all -this with my own eyes," says a Hindoo nurse, who, while they were both -above the soil, would not lose sight of her dear young charge: "for I -was sitting about thirty paces on one side. Two pits were dug, and all -the bodies thrown in. The Nana was not present. May God take vengeance -on him, and on these wicked men!" Nanukchund notes in his diary that -"reports of guns were heard from the direction of Nawabgunge. A little -after twelve A.M. two dead bodies of Europeans were seen floating down -the Ganges; and sepoys were seen in a boat coming down behind these -corpses and firing off their muskets as they came." Next day he found -occasion to seek a retreat in a village which lay at some distance up -the river. "I perceived," he writes, "bodies of ladies and gentlemen -lying along the banks of the Ganges. I cannot describe the grief I felt -at this sight. The corpses could not float down from the shallowness of -the river. I saw three boats and a barge which had been burnt by the -rebels. I questioned the people of the place, and learned that wine and -other articles of merchandise were in the boats, but the boatmen had -plundered the liquors, and, when drunk, cut down the gentlemen." - -Soon after, "a body of troopers from the Nana came to seize me, and -surrounded the house where I was. But I was saved from the hands of -these ruffians, and kept in concealment in a garden. At nightfall -the gardener sent four men with me, and thus I managed to reach the -shore. It was not, however, my fate to find a boat, and I resolved to -drown myself in the river, as I thought it better to die than to fall -into the hands of so cruel a foe. After midnight I left the garden. -The first ford I came to had water up to the waist only, and it was -moonlight: so I waded across, and reached the next channel. There -I saw the corpses of the Europeans whom the boatmen had slain when -drunk: I cannot tell the exact number of bodies, but they extended -here and there about a mile. I saw three dead young ladies. They all -were dressed, but the low-caste people had commenced to take off their -clothes; and some had been torn by animals. Portions of property, -books, and papers, belonging to the plundered boats, were also strewn -about the shores. These drunken boatmen were armed, some with clubs, -some with weapons; and they were running about the woods like wild -men. I cannot describe the terror that seized me at this moment. How I -sighed for the British rule! I was trembling with fear, and knew not -where I was going. On reaching the opposite bank I was senseless for -four hours." - -Meanwhile at Futtehgur was being played an unique tragi-comedy. On the -fourth of June, during morning parade, twenty thousand pounds' worth -of Government silver was in course of removal from the treasury to -the fort. This mark of distrust, coming close upon the departure of -the flotilla, proved too much for the sensibility of these military -Brahmins; a number of whom stepped out from the ranks, surrounded -the carts, and insisted that the money should be taken to their own -quarters. Colonel Smith and the adjutant came forward and expostulated -with the insurgents; but they were pushed up against the wall, and -kept within a semicircle of levelled bayonets until the cash was -safely deposited in the middle of the sepoy lines. These proceedings -caused a slight unpleasantness, which did not wholly disappear until -the troops had been gratified with an advance of two months' pay, a -promise of six months' extra allowances, and an assurance that the -treasure should henceforward be kept on the parade-ground under their -exclusive custody: inasmuch as the Company's property could be nowhere -so secure as in the guardianship of the Company's soldiers. That -evening Smith harangued as many of the battalion as chose to attend; -told them that their conduct had been disgraceful, but threw the blame -on the shoulders of the recruits; and entreated them to believe that he -could forgive and forget. He then pronounced the regiment faithful and -staunch. And so the first little difficulty between the colonel and his -men had been patched up, and both parties were living together on terms -of contemptuous acquiescence on the one side, and doting credulity on -the other. - -Such was the state of things which Probyn found when, after an interval -of four days, he rode into the cantonment accompanied by a lieutenant -and an ensign of the Tenth. Immediately upon their arrival the colonel -informed the magistrate that his services were no longer required, -as the district was entirely under martial law, and put the two -subalterns in arrest for having deserted their posts. The poor lads -represented that they had been driven from Futtehgur by the fire of -their own companies: but this man, whom sepoy steel pointed at his -chest would not convince of sepoy disaffection, refused to accept the -word of his officers when it clashed with a darling theory. Probyn, -who foresaw the result, wrote to the Europeans then residing under the -roof of Hurdeo Bux, stating that in his opinion the battalion could -not possibly be kept together; and recommending that their host should -put his fort into a defensible condition, and engage five hundred -matchlock-men on the credit of the English Government. Feeling that -he was useless while in the same locality with the colonel, he shook -from his feet the dust of the devoted station, and made his way back to -Dhurrumpore. - -He was followed by a letter from Smith earnestly inviting the refugees -to leave their new ally, and throw themselves into the arms of their -natural protectors, the native soldiers of the Tenth regiment. He -affirmed that there were at least a hundred and fifty men upon whom -he absolutely relied; and that, if the worst should come to the -worst, he could with their aid fight his way down to Allahabad. The -poor creatures, who were very uncomfortably lodged, and who regretted -the punkahs and musquito-curtains, the soda-water and bottled beer -of their abandoned homes, jumped at the proposition in spite of all -the logic and eloquence which Probyn could bring to bear upon their -infatuation. He persuaded no one except his own family, and a solitary -civilian, who had escaped from a slaughter and tumult in Rohilcund too -narrowly and recently for him to care to move again. The rest of the -party returned to Futtehgur, and re-instated themselves in the good -graces of the deluded veteran. Before very long, they were treated -with a specimen of sepoy loyalty. On the sixteenth of June the colonel -took measures to carry out a capital sentence of the civil courts. -The soldiery, however, considered that at such a time there might be -something awkward in the precedent of an execution, and intimated that -the criminal had better be released. Their intimation met with prompt -obedience. - -The Seetapore mutineers, laden with English booty, and reeking with -English blood, were now close at hand. Their ringleaders despatched -a letter to the men of the Tenth, calling upon them to murder their -officers: to which the reply was: "Come. We will not oppose you. We -have sworn not to do so: but our vows do not bind you." So little -reciprocity of affection existed in that indecorous dalliance between -authority and sedition. On the eighteenth of June the troops, eager -to fling aside even the pretence of submission and the semblance of -discipline, broke forth into open rebellion; sacked the public chest; -and set up a pretender, whom the event showed to be better than a mere -puppet. The Europeans shut themselves up in the fort, in company with -Kalay Khan, the sole representative of the colonel's hundred and fifty -faithful sepoys. That evening the Seetapore mutineers marched into the -station, hungry for pillage; and, on discovering an empty treasury, -vented their rage by killing every man of the Tenth on whom they could -lay hands. In the course of a week, however, stimulated by the prospect -of a liberal bounty, and the co-operation of some powerful Rohilla -chieftains, the regiments made up their differences, and united to -exterminate the common enemy. For ten days and nights five and thirty -of our countrymen maintained against as many hundred assailants a -rambling tumble-down old earthwork extending over a space of twenty -acres. They fired bags of screws and scrap-iron for grape, and the -heads of sledge-hammers for round-shot. They repulsed three general -assaults. They lived amidst an atmosphere alive with bullets and flying -splinters, and din with the smoke of blazing houses and exploding -mines. At length, when the besiegers were gradually but surely blowing -their way through the rampart, the defenders took to their boats, and -dropped down the current, encumbered by thrice their own number of -women, children, and invalids. - -The rest is soon told. The river was low: the pursuit hot and -persistent. The barges grounded; and were got off; and grounded for -the last time. The crews waded ashore to drive away the hostile -sharpshooters: and some were borne back dying; and some never stirred -from the spot where they fell. Vessels hove in view, unwarlike in -their external aspect; but which, as they ran alongside, proved to be -crammed with swordsmen and musketeers. And then ensued mad confusion, -and promiscuous butchery, and suicide that did not merit the name. On -the tenth evening of July, after losing a life for every mile of the -voyage, the expedition got as far as Nawabgunge, but no farther. The -ladies helped to swell the throng of prisoners, and their husbands were -sent whither the men of the Cawnpore garrison had gone before. Three -only were spared, upon their engaging to bring about that the citadel -of Allahabad should be made over to the rebellion. The Nana had reason -for his self-denial. It was worth his while to forego any gratification -to purchase security in the southern quarter. That was the direction in -which was brewing the storm of retribution and reconquest. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[3] On the unimportant point of the identity of the messenger a strange -discrepancy exists between the best informed authorities. Captain -Thomson "recognized her as Mrs. Greenway." On the other hand, the -confidential servant of Mr. Greenway affirms that the choice of the -Nana fell upon Mrs. Jacobi, and his statement is supported by the great -majority of the depositions. - -[4] A single specimen will suffice of the style which, during those -days, a British officer, a Colonel and Companion of the Bath, allowed -himself to adopt in a published work. The page is headed "Major Ouvry's -Battue." - -"Major Ouvry had made his dispositions for 'a bag.' Unlike a true -member of the chase, who loves to see his fox take well to the open, he -had headed his game; spreading his cavalry right and left of the road, -to beat back the high crops into which the enemy had skulked. Forming -his line precisely as he would have beaten a field of turnips for game, -a scene commenced which baffles all description." - -Unhappily it does not baffle the description of Colonel George -Bouchier, C.B. who proceeds as follows:-- - -"Peafowl, partridges, and Pandies rose together. The latter gave the -best sport. Here might be seen a Lancer running a-tilt at a wretch who -had unfortunately taken to the open; there a Punjaub trooper cutting -right and left as his victims rose before him; while the enemy, who -were Goojahs, and armed with swords and hatchets, started up as the -line approached, and dashed at their nearest opponent. - -"Two troopers and a horse were our only casualties, while about one -hundred brace of Goojahs bit the dust." - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE MASSACRE. - - -And now Seereek Dhoondoo Punth purposed in the face of all India to -invest himself with the ensigns and the titles of royalty. The contest -had been fought out. The prize lay ready to his grasp. But it was no -light matter to fix upon the auspicious hour when the Mahratta might -take possession of the kingdom that he had carved out with his blade -from the very heart of the dominions held by the alien race which had -despoiled his sire. The soothsayers were consulted on this momentous -point: but they were forestalled in their office by Dabeedeen, the -individual who acted as agent for Tantia Topee in his dealings with the -boatmen; and who now, stimulated by his success in that transaction, -aspired to try his hand at divination. With the audacity of an amateur -he at once named five in the evening of the thirtieth June as the -season when, in accordance with the will of heaven, the Maharaja should -proceed to Bithoor for the purpose of assuming his kingly functions. -There must have been considerable discontent among the members of the -Sacred College when they learned that this volunteer augur had been -rewarded with a fee of five hundred rupees, and a horse on which to -attend the ceremony. The Nana set forth, accompanied by Bala Rao, and -in the course of the next day took his seat as Peishwa on the paternal -throne. The consecrated mark was affixed to his forehead amidst the -roar of guns, and the acclamations of a crowd composed chiefly of -townsmen who had repaired thither to surrender in the shape of an -honorary gift such of their valuables as had not already passed by a -more direct channel into the coffers of the usurper. - -Some there were, however, who on this august occasion might rejoice -with unfeigned rapture. The sepoys were gladdened by an announcement -that a large quantity of gold had been sent to the Magazine, and would -there be fashioned into decorations for the ankles of those warriors -who had borne the burden and heat of the great struggle. The Ganges -Canal was bestowed as a perquisite upon Azimoolah. It is difficult to -conceive what would have been the indignation of the Directors who sat -in Leadenhall Street during the years of the Crimean war, had they been -told that the very equivocal native prince who was for ever hanging -about the India House, would one day become sole proprietor of the -gigantic concern which grew dearer to their hearts the more it cost and -the less it yielded. - -That night the city of Cawnpore was illuminated, and the following -proclamations were posted in all places of general resort: - -"As by the kindness of God and the good fortune of the Emperor all the -Christians who were at Delhi, Poonah, Sattara, and other places, and -even those five thousand European soldiers who went in disguise into -the former city and were discovered, are destroyed and sent to hell by -the pious and sagacious troops, who are firm to their religion; and as -they have been all conquered by the present Government, and as no trace -of them is left in these places, it is the duty of all the subjects and -servants of the Government to rejoice at the delightful intelligence, -and carry on their respective work with comfort and ease." - -"As by the bounty of the glorious Almighty and the enemy-destroying -fortune of the Emperor the yellow-faced and narrow-minded people have -been sent to hell, and Cawnpore has been conquered, it is necessary -that all the subjects and landowners should be as obedient to the -present Government as they have been to the former one; that all -the Government servants should promptly and cheerfully engage their -whole mind in executing the orders of the Government; that it is the -incumbent duty of all the peasants and landed proprietors of every -district to rejoice at the thought that the Christians have been -sent to hell, and both the Hindoo and Mahomedan religions have been -confirmed; and that they should as usual be obedient to the authorities -of the Government, and never suffer any complaint against themselves to -reach to the ears of the higher authority." - -There is something quaint in the notion of a paternal Government -setting the national mind at ease as to the damnation of the enemy, -and ordaining a public rejoicing over, "the delightful intelligence." -Our authorities never went so far as to imitate the example: but -Calcutta journalism did its best to supply the deficiency. "Fas est -et ab hoste doceri" was the motto of that remarkable department of -ephemeral literature. Among other gems which in 1857 adorned the poetry -corner of the "Englishman," one stands conspicuous both for sentiment -and expression: - - "Barring Humanity pretenders - To hell of none are we the willing senders: - But, if to sepoys mercy must be given, - Locate them, Lord, in the back slums of heaven." - -Be it observed that Lord Canning, Sir John Peter Grant, Mr. Charles -Buxton, and Sir Henry Rich are here esteemed unworthy even of the -partial and secondary felicity dealt out to Teeka Singh and Mungul -Pandy. A critic who takes into account the creeds held by the -respective writers will of the two productions regard with less -aversion the performance of the Nana. That year of sin and horror -afforded what was in truth an ill commentary upon the injunction -to practise the mercy which rejoiceth against judgment, and on the -oft-repeated assurance that in forgiveness and forbearance, if in -nothing else, the disciple may emulate his master. And we wonder, -forsooth, that our missionaries labour in vain to exalt the effective -power of our faith in the eyes of those very heathen who are conscious -how in the day of temptation talked and acted men calling themselves -after the name of Him whose last miracle was the healing of His -captor, and whose last prayer was for the pardon of His murderers! - -On the first of July the prisoners were removed from the Savada Hall -to a small building north of the canal, situated between the black -city and the Ganges. It was their final change of lodgings. To this -day they occupy those premises on a lease which no man may dispute. -This humble dwelling, the residence of some poor quill-driver, Hindoo -or half-caste, as the case may be, had long stood amidst a group of -sightly villas and edifices of social resort, unnoticed except by a -casual sanitary commissioner, and distinguished only by a numeral in -the map of the Ordnance Survey. It has since been known in India as -the Beebeegur, or House of the Ladies; in England as the House of the -Massacre. It comprised two principal rooms, each twenty feet by ten; -certain windowless closets intended for the use of native domestics; -and an open court some fifteen yards square. Here, during a fortnight -of the Eastern summer, were penned two hundred and six persons of -European extraction: for the most part women and children of gentle -birth. The grown men were but five in number: the three gentlemen of -Futtehgur, who are supposed to have been Mr. Thornhill, the judge, and -Colonels Smith and Goldie: together with Mr. Edward Greenway, and his -son Thomas. - -If the various degrees of wretchedness are to be estimated by the -faculty for suffering contained in the victim, then were these ladies -of all women the most miserable. Few or none amongst them had been -aware that in some corner of the mansion beneath whose roof their -happier days were passed, there existed such foul holes as those in -which they now lay panting by the score. It was much if they had cared -to hazard a supposition that "the servants slept somewhere about the -compound." They had neither furniture, nor bedding, nor straw; nothing -but coarse and hard bamboo matting, unless they preferred a smoother -couch upon the bare floor. They fed sparely on cakes of unleavened -dough, and lentil-porridge dished up in earthen pans without spoon -or plate. There was some talk of meat on Sundays, but it never came -to anything. Once the children got a little milk. The same day the -head-bearer of Colonel Williams came to pay his respects to the -daughter who was the sole survivor of that officer's household. "I -could not," he says, "get near the ladies on account of the sentries, -but saw that food was being distributed to them. It consisted of -native bread and milk. I remonstrated with a soldier who had formerly -served under my master, and begged of him to supply with better food -people who had lived in a very different way. He gave me eight annas" -(twelvepence) "to go to the bazaar and buy some sweetmeats. I did -so; and on my return Miss Georgiana and a married lady came into -the verandah to meet me. Miss Georgiana repeated to me her mother's -injunctions about my going to her brother. I gave them the sweetmeats, -and had little time to speak to them, for, seeing me, the other ladies -came out into the verandah: on which the sentries turned me out." - -The matron of these female prisoners, whom it took so little to -keep in order, was a woman described as tall; of a fair complexion; -twenty-eight or thirty years in age, but with a few grey hairs. She -went by the nickname of "the Begum," and her character was no better -than could be looked for in a waiting-maid of the courtezan who then -ruled the circle of the Nana. She superintended a staff of sweepers, -who furnished the captives with their food. The attendance of such -debased menials was in itself the most ignominious affront which -Oriental malice could invent: and even these were provided exclusively -for the humiliation of our countrywomen, and might do nothing for their -comfort. A young Brahmin, who chanced to look over the fence of the -enclosure, saw some ladies washing their own dirty linen. With the -irrepressible loquacity of an Hindoo he began asking some strangers who -were standing by whether there was no washerman who could undertake to -do for the Mem Sahibs: an ill-timed curiosity which procured him a slap -on the face and a night in the guard-room. - -Seventy-five paces from the abode where our people were confined stood -an hotel owned by a Mahomedan proprietor: an erection of considerable -size, daubed with bright yellow paint. Allured, probably, by the -gaudiness of colour, an attraction which no genuine native can resist, -the Nana had selected this building as his head-quarters. A couple -of guns were planted at the entrance of the compound, and a strong -detachment of his retainers kept guard under the portico. Two spacious -centre rooms were reserved for the Maharaja's public receptions. One of -the wings was set apart for the duties of the kitchen and the altar: -and, side by side with religion, cooking went merrily on through every -hour of the twenty-four. In the other Dhoondoo Punth lived from day -to day in a perpetual round of sensuality, amidst a choice coterie of -priests, pandars, ministers, and minions. The reigning beauty of the -fortnight was one Oula or Adala. She was the Thais on whose breast -sunk the vanquished victor, oppressed with brandy and such love as -animates a middle-aged Eastern debauchee. She is said to have counted -by hundreds of thousands the rupees which were lavished on her by the -affection and vanity of her Alexander: and could well afford to spare -one of her suite to look after the prisoners for the fraction of time -during which they were likely to need her services. Every night there -was an entertainment of music, dancing, and pantomime. The hit of the -evening was made by a buffoon who took off amidst shouts of laughter -the stiff carriage of an English officer. - -The noise of this unhallowed revelry was plainly audible to the -captives in the adjoining house; and, as they crowded round the windows -to catch the breeze which sprang up at sunset, the glare of torches and -the strains of barbarous melody might remind them of the period when -he who was now arbiter of their existence thought himself privileged -if he could induce them to honour with a half-disdainful acceptance -the hospitality of Bithoor. They sometimes got a nearer view of the -festivities. The Begum daily took across two ladies to the Nana's -stables, where they were set down to grind corn at a hand-mill for -the space of several hours. They generally contrived to bring back a -pocketful of flour for the children. - -Hardship, heat, wounds, and want of space and proper nourishment -released many from their bondage before the season marked out by -Azimoolah for a jail delivery such as the world had seldom witnessed. -A native doctor, himself a prisoner, has left a list of deaths which -occurred between the seventh and the fifteenth of the month. Within -these eight days, of which one was incomplete, as will be seen by those -who read on, there succumbed to cholera and dysentery eighteen women, -seven children, and an Hindoo nurse. There is a touching little entry -which deserves notice. In the column headed "Names" appear the words -"eck baba" (one baby): under that marked "disease" is written "ap se" -(of itself). - -Dying by threes and fours of frightful maladies, the designations of -which they hardly knew; trying to eat nauseous and unwonted food, and -to sleep upon a bed of boards; tormented by flies, and musquitoes, and -dirt, and prickly heat, and all the lesser evils that aggravate and -keep for ever fresh the consciousness of a great misfortune: doing for -the murderer of their dearest ones that labour which in Asia has always -been the distinctive sign and badge of slavery: to such reality of -woe had been reduced these beings whose idea of peril had once been -derived from romances, and who had been acquainted with destitution -only through tracts and the reports of charitable institutions. Alas -for the delicate Mem Sahibs, and the pretty Missy Babas, for whom -nothing had formerly been too dainty and well-appointed! Alas for the -handy and patient soldiers' wives, who had followed their good men into -the discomfort of barrack life to be rewarded thus! Alas for sturdy -Bridget Widdowson, and tender Mrs. Moore, who bore on her bosom a child -destined never to lisp the name of his brave father! Her perchance one -of the victors, whose son or brother had fallen beneath her husband's -sword, (for he was no sluggard in the onset), might see weeping like -Andromache over her toil at the weary mill, and might say: "This was -the wife of him who of all the English fought the best, whenever the -battle waxed hot around their wall." And, so speaking, he would renew -her grief at thought of the man who was no longer there to shield her -from the day of bondage. But he, floating on his face past some distant -city, or stranded on a bank of sand trodden by none save the vulture -and the crocodile, saw not how she was misused, nor heard when she -cried for succour. - -The number of captives diminished so fast that the Nana began to fear -lest he should soon have no hostages wherewith to provide against the -consequences of a possible reverse. They were accordingly driven twice -a day into the verandah, and forced to sit there until they had inhaled -as much fresh air as, in the judgment of the Begum, would support an -English constitution for the space of twelve hours. This substitute for -the morning gallop and the evening promenade was very distasteful to -our ladies, on account of the idlers who came to stare, and remark how -odd a Lady Sahib looked when neither on horseback nor in her carriage. -The poor creatures were overheard whispering among themselves that the -British never used their prisoners thus. - -It is probable that from this circumstance originated the rumour -concerning European females who had been publicly maltreated in the -bazaar. Two or three sentences must here be written upon those fables -which it is our misfortune that we once believed, and our shame if we -ever stoop to repeat. Delhi, Cawnpore, and Futtehgur were the three -stations in which any considerable multitude of our countrywomen -were placed under the disposal of the mutineers. With regard to the -two latter places, if we except one single case of abduction, it is -absolutely certain that our ladies died without mention, and we may -confidently hope without apprehension, of dishonour. Those revolting -stories which accompanied to Southampton the first tidings of the -tumult at Delhi may all be traced to some gossip regarding the fate -of Miss Jennings, the daughter of the chaplain, and her friend, Miss -Clifford. It is now ascertained beyond all question that these girls -were sitting in an upper room of the palace gateway, when they heard -on the stairs a rush of footsteps and a clattering of scabbards, and -were cut down dead as they rose from their chairs to learn the cause -of this strange intrusion. - -Some, who love to attribute every event to the special interposition of -Providence, have insisted that nothing short of fabricated indignities, -and tales of mutilation equally untrue and more easily disproved, -could have kindled the explosion of wrath and pity which sent forth -by myriads the youth of England again to subdue Hindostan beneath a -Christian yoke. Piety, unwilling to pronounce authoritatively on such a -matter, will be loth to imagine that God provoked men to utter and to -credit lies for the furtherance of any purpose which could conduce to -His glory. As must ever be in the order of things by Him determined, -the evil seed produced evil fruit. Grapes came not of those thorns, nor -figs of those thistles. The murder of a hundred families, the ruin of a -thousand homesteads, were incentives capable of exalting our national -enthusiasm to the requisite pitch without the aid of exaggeration or -invention. Those hateful falsehoods serve but to evoke from the depths -of our nature the sombre and ferocious instincts which religion and -civilization can never wholly eradicate. To their account unhappy India -may charge most of the innocent blood that was spilt and the bad blood -that remains. - -It was not long before the usurper began to experience the proverbial -uneasiness of a crowned head. At no time a favourite with the Cawnpore -population, he now was cordially detested by all the respectable -inhabitants; who, after his downfall, testified their hatred by -refusing to pronounce his name without the addition of some -disparaging epithet. The majestic appellations of Maharaja and Peishwa -were at once cut down to "Nana soor," "that pig of a Nana:" and this -was the mildest and the most decent of all his agnomina, with the -exception, perhaps, of "budmash," which answers as nearly as possible -to the French "coquin." "That great budmash, the Nana," occurs in the -peroration of one of Nanukchund's outbursts of Hindoo eloquence. For -the present, however, the townspeople evinced their ill-will by a tacit -but very effective opposition to the new _régime_. His requisitions of -money and supplies met with no response; and he could procure nothing -except by open force, which he was not slow to employ. The city had, -indeed, little motive to love him or the state of things which he -represented. A Mahomedan author describes the aspect of a locality -where the rebellion had obtained the ascendancy in these graphic -words:--"Since the day of my arrival I never found the bazaar open, -unless it were a few poor shops. The shopkeepers and the citizens are -extremely sorry for losing their safety, and curse the mutineers from -morning to evening. The people and the workmen starve, and widows cry -in their huts." - -The class who had most cause to pray for the return of order were the -natives of Bengal Proper, then settled in the Upper Provinces for -purposes of commerce. Impoverished, suspected, menaced, and outraged, -they were conscious that neither life, limb, nor liberty were worth a -fortnight's purchase. Many a rich Bengalee within the borders of the -insurrection sat all day behind closed blinds, with a pistol in his -girdle, a bag of jewels in his turban, and a horse ready saddled at the -back door of his garden. And it was not without reason that these men -suffered so cruelly: for they were only less loyal than the English -themselves. The wealthy, industrious, and effeminate denizens of Lower -Bengal had no desire to see the many-headed and irrational despotism -of a Prætorian guard substituted for the mild and regular sway of old -John Company. The conduct of the soldiery rendered them exceedingly -uncomfortable and not a little indignant: and they lost no opportunity -of wreaking their spite upon the turbulent mercenaries who would not -allow honest folks to go about their business in peace. The sepoys who -mutinied at Chittagong and Dacca, both of which stations lie within -the limits of Bengal, met with such hostility from the country-people -that they gave up all thoughts of moving on Calcutta, and endeavoured -to make their way into Assam. Few ever reached the frontier. They -literally rotted away in the jungle. Some died of starvation: some of -fever and ague. The foragers were knocked on the head by the peasantry, -skilled, like all Hindoo villagers, in the play of the quarter-staff. -The stragglers were carried off by wild animals which swarm amidst the -swamps and forests that fringe the great rivers of eastern India. At -length, driven into a corner, they one morning cut the throats of the -women who had hitherto accompanied their march, and dispersed into the -wilderness, to re-appear not even on the gallows. They could not have -fared worse amidst the moors of Yorkshire or Northumberland. - -It is painful to remember how we requited the attachment and fidelity -of Bengal. At a time when all good citizens, without distinction of -birth and creed, should have united in one firm front against the -common foe, it was the delight of many among the English residents -in the capital to heap insult and accusation on their dark-skinned -neighbours. Then, in the presence of that portentous danger, every -condition of soul, from the height of magnanimity to incredible -baseness, might be observed in striking and instructive contrast. -While at one end of Northern India stout Sir John was fighting his -province in the interests of the general weal; denuding himself of -British soldiers, and committing his existence and reputation to the -faith of Sikh allies; doing steadfastly in the hour the work of the -hour; remedying the evil which was sufficient unto the day, and, like -a good Christian as he was, leaving to God the things of the morrow: -at the other end a clique of Englishmen, driven insane by terror and -virulence, were plotting how to form themselves into a Committee of -Public Safety, depose the viceroy, seize the reins of the state, and -have their will upon the native population. While at Arrah a handful of -heroes were defending a billiard-room against drought, and hunger, and -cannon, and the militia of a warlike region, backed by three regiments -of regular infantry: in Calcutta heaven and earth were being moved -to eject from the Photographic Society a Bengalee member, who had -given vent to some remarks reflecting upon the habits and tone of low -European loafers. - -July had not well set in before the insurgents of Cawnpore showed -symptoms that marked the wilfulness and inconstancy of soldiers -who have once forgotten their duty. Idleness bred discontent, and -discontent speedily ripened into sedition. The honeymoon had not yet -drawn to a close, and already this unnatural connexion between the -Nana and the army was distasteful to the stronger of the contracting -parties. Regiments which had refused to obey such men as Ewart and -Delafosse were not likely to entertain any very profound reverence for -an effete Hindoo rake. The Peishwa evinced an inclination to enjoy for -a while the contemplation of his recent dignity in the retirement of -Bithoor: but the troops had no notion of letting their paymaster out -of sight, and brought him back into their midst by violence which they -hardly cared to disguise beneath the semblance of respect. On the third -of the month a donation was distributed among their ranks, and accepted -with anything but gratitude. Few got as much as, in their own opinion, -they deserved: and all less than they desired. What they had was not in -a portable form. Government silver proved to be an inconvenient burden -for the loins; and, if things went ill, it might procure a still more -unpleasant girdle round the neck. There were disagreeable anecdotes -current regarding certain gentlemen, late of the Company's service, who -had been executed at Allahabad on the discovery about their persons -of some new copper coins, which had never issued from the Treasury by -a regular payment, and which they were suspected of having intended to -put into premature circulation. There accordingly was a brisk demand -for gold. Azimoolah ordered it to be proclaimed in the bazaar by beat -of drum that bankers should supply the mutineers with mohurs at a -minimum price of twenty-one rupees. The Cawnpore exchange, however, -had so little confidence in the star of the maharaja, that these coins -could not be bought for less than twenty-eight rupees, which was an -advance of seventy-five per cent. on their ordinary price. The sepoys, -who were not more acquainted than European privates with the laws -which regulate the money-market, and knew only that they had ended by -pocketing little more than half the cash that they expected, were soon -talking about a fresh change of masters. The Mussulman faction gained -ground rapidly and surely. Men began to recollect how cleverly the -Nunhey Nawab had managed his battery without any prior experience in -gunnery, and drew the conclusion that he might be equally successful -if he could be bribed by an offer of sovereignty to turn his attention -towards the rate of discount. - -But military greediness, and Moslem ambition, and the jealousy of the -nobles, and the enmity of the bourgeoisie ceased ere long to occupy -the thoughts of the tyrant. These sources of uneasiness were absorbed -in one great and pressing terror, when, at the first doubtful and -intermittent, but more frequent ever and clearer, came surging up -from the south-west the fame of the advancing vengeance. Couriers -mounted on swift camels were sent down the road, and returned with -the intelligence that the British were certainly approaching by -forced marches, laying a telegraph as they proceeded, and hanging the -inhabitants of the villages within which were found pieces of the old -wire. This information naturally produced a strong effect upon men -whose crimes were not such as to meet with impunity under the new -scale of penalties that seemed to have been adopted by the Sahibs. The -consternation was so deep and universal that the Nana had recourse to -his customary palliative. On the fifth of July he issued the following -proclamation:-- - -"It has come to our notice that some of the city people, having heard -the rumours of the arrival of the European troops at Allahabad, -are deserting their houses and going out into the districts. Be it -therefore proclaimed in each lane and street of the city that regiments -of cavalry, and infantry, and batteries have been despatched to check -the Europeans either at Allahabad or Futtehpore; that the people should -therefore remain in their houses without any apprehension, and engage -their minds in carrying on their work." - -This manifesto was probably considered too tame and brief for such a -crisis. Next day there appeared a truly notable state-paper, which, -to judge from internal evidence, may be attributed to the pen of the -prime-minister. It is regarded as the masterpiece of that author, and -may serve for a model to all Governments that undertake to enlighten -the public mind by means of an official organ. - -"A traveller just arrived at Cawnpore from Allahabad states that before -the cartridges were distributed a Council was held for the purpose of -taking away the religion and rites of the people of Hindostan. The -Members of Council came to the conclusion that, as the matter was -one affecting religion, seven or eight thousand Europeans would be -required, and it would cost the lives of fifty thousand Hindoos, but -that at this price the natives of Hindostan would become Christians. -The matter was therefore represented in a despatch to Queen Victoria, -who gave her consent. A second council was then held, at which the -English merchants were present. It was then resolved to ask for the -assistance of a body of European troops equal in number to the native -army, so as to insure success when the excitement should be at the -highest. When the despatch containing this application was read in -England, thirty-five thousand Europeans were very rapidly embarked on -ships, and started for Hindostan, and intelligence of their despatch -reached Calcutta. Then the English in Calcutta issued the order for -the distribution of the cartridges, the object of which was to make -Hindostan Christian; as it was thought that the people would come over -with the army. The cartridges were smeared with hog and cow's fat. One -man who let out the secret was hung, and one imprisoned." - -"Meantime, while they were occupied in carrying out their plan, the -ambassadors of the Sultan of Roum" (Turkey) "in London sent word to -his sovereign that thirty-five thousand Europeans had been despatched -to Hindostan to make all the natives Christians. The Sultan (may -Allah perpetuate his kingdom!) issued a firman to the Pacha of Egypt, -the contents of which are as follows: 'You are conspiring with Queen -Victoria. If you are guilty of neglect in this matter, what kind of -face will you be able to show to God?'" - -"When this firman of the Sultan of Roum reached the Pacha of Egypt, -the Lord of Egypt assembled his army in the city of Alexandra, which -is on the road to India, before the Europeans arrived. As soon as the -European troops arrived the troops of the Pacha of Egypt began to fire -into them with guns on all sides, and sunk all their ships, so that -not even a single European escaped. The English in Calcutta, after -issuing orders for biting the cartridges, and when these disturbances -had reached their height, were looking for the assistance of the army -from London. But the Almighty by the exercise of his power made an end -of them at the very outset. When intelligence of the destruction of the -army from London arrived, the Governor-General was much grieved and -distressed, and beat his head. - - "At eventide he intended murder and plunder. - At noon neither had his body a head, nor his head a cover. - In one revolution of the blue heavens - Neither Nadir remained, nor a follower of Nadir." - - "Done by order of his Grace the Peishwa. 1273 of the Heigra." - -But the onward march of the English was not to be checked by quotations -from Oordoo poets. It behoved that some weapons besides the eloquence -of Azimoolah and the sign-manual of Dhoondoo Punth should be found, -and found quickly. The rebel chiefs were enjoined to muster their -retainers, and Teeka Singh to beat up the bazaars for sepoys. Reluctant -and dispirited the truants turned out to fight for a sovereign whom -they were scheming to dethrone, and for plunder which had already by -some magical process melted away to half the original value. Baba -Bhut undertook to provide carriage for the stores and ammunition: and -accordingly impounded the conveyances of the town, particularly all -vehicles formerly the property of European gentry: a measure which -caused no small vexation to the mutineers who had been cutting a dash -in the buggies that had belonged to our subalterns. The merchants -received extensive indents for tents and water-proof great-coats: a -most essential article of equipment during the first weeks of the rainy -season. The Ordnance Office reported itself to be short of percussion -caps; and the whole staff of the department was at once set to work -at converting detonating muskets into matchlocks. These preparations -were completed by the ninth of July, on which day Brigadier Jwala -Pershad left the station in the direction of Allahabad at the head of -detachments from three regiments of cavalry and seven of infantry, -together with a strong body of feudal militia: in all some thirty-five -hundred sabres, bayonets, and lances. The column was accompanied -by twelve guns of various pattern and calibre, which the result of -the earliest action enabled General Havelock to describe with minute -accuracy. - -They did well to hurry: for the avenger was abroad. Late in May there -landed at Calcutta a wing of the First Madras Fusileers, under the -command of Major Renaud and Lieutenant-Colonel Neill: who, after -securing an order which enabled them to draw upon the Patna Treasury, -proceeded straight to the Terminus situated on the bank of the Hooghly -facing the capital, with the intention of performing the first stretch -of their journey by rail. A train was on the point of starting; and the -stationmaster, jealous, it may be, to obtain his new line a reputation -for punctuality, refused to delay until the rear-guard could be -embarked in the cars. Hereupon Neill, an Indian veteran, who during a -long absence from home had lost what little reverence he ever possessed -for the authority of Bradshaw, clapped the official under arrest in his -own waiting-room, and gave the guards and stokers to understand that he -had constituted himself traffic-manager for the time being. Travelling -in this high-handed style he reached Benares when least expected either -by the English residents, who were waiting to have their throats -cut, or by the native force, which was looking out for an excuse to -mutiny, and which now found a pretext in the arrival of Neill. After -a rough and tumble fight he bundled the insurgents out of the place; -quieted the fears of the European population; and at once began his -arrangements for penetrating to Allahabad, where a feeble garrison, -closely invested by an enormous rebel host, was defending a mile and a -half of wall with scanty prospect of deliverance. - -On the evening of the ninth June he sent on in bullock-carts a hundred -and seventeen of his people; despatched thirty-six others in a small -steamer; and packed himself, with two officers and forty-four men, into -such stage-carriages as had shafts and axles. Posting in the East is -never a very expeditious method of locomotion; and at this conjuncture -every stable along the Grand Trunk Road had been plundered more or -less thoroughly. But the agents of the Dawk Company knew their man: -and it may safely be asserted that the grooms were less sleepy than -usual, and the drivers less sulky; that the horses jibbed not quite so -pertinaciously, and the wheels came off at somewhat wider intervals. -No promise of treble gratuities from an embryo member of Parliament, -hurrying up country in search of statistics, ever so surely cut short -a stoppage or an altercation, as did the rattle of the panels of the -foremost van, which betokened that Neill Sahib was awake, and in -another moment would be thrusting out his head to ask what the matter -was. When the animals broke down, strings of peasants were harnessed -to the traces: and by the afternoon of the second day the relieving -army, numbering a short four dozen of exhausted men, had found their -way into the beleagured place. On the following morning the struggle -began in earnest, and continued for a full week. Successive instalments -of Fusileers swarmed in by road and river: while the enemy had soon -consumed most of their courage and all their ball-cartridge, and were -reduced to load with morsels of telegraph wire: a device whereby, -over and above the effect of their fire, they got rid of an article -the possession of which came under the chapter of capital offences in -the Criminal Code as revised by Colonel Neill. That officer by the -nineteenth June had re-conquered the city of Allahabad, and cleared the -district of insurgents. He now found leisure to make some inquiries -into the past, which resulted in a series of executions: not more than -the crisis warranted, (for, though an austere man, he was no savage,) -but quite numerous enough, in the expressive dialect of the day, to -"establish a great funk." - -Meanwhile the heat was such as no words can adequately describe. The -Europeans died of sunstroke at an average rate of two a day. Our troops -had outstripped their Commissariat, and could get neither bread, nor -coffee, nor drugs, nor fans, nor screens of moistened grass: appliances -which, known to an English housekeeper as "luxuries" and "comforts," -in the estimation of those who have spent an Indian June in the tented -field, merit quite another denomination. Unfortunately, though the -larder and the medicine-chest were empty, the cellars of Allahabad -were only too well furnished. They were pillaged by some Sikhs, who, -without applying for a license, at once opened a lively trade: selling -beer, brandy, madeira, and champagne at a uniform charge of sixpence -the bottle. Cholera soon broke out among our poor fellows, living as -they did on wine and spirits without even a halfpenny-worth of bread -in a temperature of a hundred and thirty-five degrees. In the course -of seventy-two hours forty deaths occurred in the ranks of the Madras -regiment. The Colonel bought up and destroyed the whole stock of -liquor; ransacked the neighbourhood in quest of wholesome provisions; -removed his patients to the most healthy quarters which he could -command; and was repaid by seeing the mysterious disease vanish as -suddenly as it had appeared, after carrying off one out of every nine -among his soldiers. - -As when a slender rill, ominous to an experienced eye, trickles -through the crack in an embankment behind which is gathered, not long -there to stay, an immense weight of water: so came along the valley -of Ganges this little band, the forerunner of a mighty multitude -of warriors. Every morning brought into Allahabad a fresh batch of -Englishmen, jaded, indeed, and suffering cruelly from the climate, -but eager to be led forward to rescue or revenge. Continental authors -who descant glibly on the stolidity and insensibility of the British -private might have learned a useful lesson could they have overheard -the talk of those pale and sickly lads. By the last day of June Neill -judged himself strong enough to detach towards Cawnpore two guns and -eight hundred men, half of whom were Europeans. The column was placed -under the orders of Major Renaud, who pushed up the road; fighting -as occasion offered; tranquillizing the country by the very simple -expedient of hanging everybody who showed signs of insubordination; -and using all endeavours to procure information concerning the fate of -the Cawnpore garrison. On the fourth July he was met by a report of -the capitulation and the massacre. Corroborated, and contradicted, and -qualified, and again confidently affirmed, rumour insensibly matured -into undoubted fact: but to this day no man ventures to name the -precise hour when he himself became assured that the worst was true. - -With July arrived Brigadier-General Havelock, who, after having -employed a week in collecting his resources, moved northwards from -Allahabad with six cannon and a thousand English soldiers. That was not -a joyous expedition. The hearts of all were occupied with forebodings -of evil which they dared not shape into words: and the face of creation -seemed to reflect the universal gloom. As in that fantastic canvas of -old Dürer, whereon the knight is journeying towards an unknown goal in -unhallowed company, so to the fancy of those who were not incapable of -vivid emotion even inanimate and irrational nature partook that shade -of the future that was on every soul. They waded in a sea of slush, -knee-deep now, and now breast high, while the flood of tropical rain -beat down from overhead. As far to right and left as eye could pierce -extended one vast morass: and the desolate scene was enlivened by no -human sound. Nothing was heard save the melancholy croaking of the -cicalas, mingled with an under hum of countless insects. The air was -heavy with the offensive odour of neem-trees. There were no indications -that the column was traversing an inhabited country, except the bodies -which hung by twos and threes from branch and signpost, and the gaunt -swine who by the roadside were holding their loathsome carnival. After -three days of steady toil through the mud and the water Havelock was -made aware that the enemy were ahead, and that Renaud was advancing -unsupported into the teeth of an overwhelming force. Then our troops -hastened forward, and made one march of five leagues and another of -eight beneath a blazing sun; (for at this point the weather cleared, -and they lost the protection of the clouds;) until they caught up the -Major and his detachment, and finally halted in a state of entire -prostration five miles from the town of Futtehpore, where Jwala Pershad -was encamped with all his chivalry. - -It was early morning. Our weary people were enjoying their "little -breakfast" of tea, that pleasantest of Indian meals, when the rebel -vanguard came pouring down the causeway. Havelock, who wished earnestly -to give his harassed soldiers rest, resolved to wait until this -ebullition should expend itself. But the affair grew serious; and he -had soon no choice but to accept the challenge and draw up his army. In -front were the guns, protected by a hundred skirmishers armed with that -Enfield rifle which, then a rarity, is now a familiar object to every -other household in Great Britain. The Fusileers and the Seventy-eighth -Highlanders struggled through the swamps on the right. The Sixty-fourth -Regiment went forward in the centre; and the Eighty-fourth on the left, -supported by a battalion of Punjabees. The cavalry moved along some -firm ground which lay on the extreme flank. - -Never was there such a battle. "I might say," writes the General, -"that in ten minutes the action was decided, for in that short space -of time the spirit of the enemy was utterly subdued. The rifle fire, -reaching them at an unexpected distance, filled them with dismay; -and, when Captain Maude was enabled to push his guns to point-blank -range, his surprisingly accurate fire demolished their little remaining -confidence. In a moment three guns were abandoned to us on the -_chaussée_, and the force advanced steadily, driving the enemy before -it on every point. Their guns continued to fall into our hands; and -then in succession they were driven from the garden enclosures; from a -strong barricade on the road; from the town wall; into and through, out -of and beyond the town. Their fire scarcely reached us. Ours, for four -hours, allowed them no repose." - -In fact it was a mere rout: a memorable triumph of outraged -civilization. The Second Cavalry made a flourish which for a while -checked our onset: but the troopers of that redoubted corps soon -had had enough of English lead, and felt no appetite for a taste of -English steel. Accustomed to deal with feebler adversaries, they were -spoilt for fighting with grown men. By noon nothing was to be seen -of the mutineers within six miles of Futtehpore save their dead, -their accoutrements, and their whole park of artillery. Flying in -irretrievable disorder they spread everywhere that the Sahibs had come -back in strange guise; some draped like women, to remind them what -manner of wrong they were sworn to requite; others, conspicuous by tall -blue caps, who hit their mark without being seen to fire. Our list of -killed and wounded contained not one British name: though a dozen or -so of Sowars, Jemmadars, and Russeldars made it as incomprehensible to -a home reader as an Indian bulletin should ever be. But the bloodless -day was not costless: for twelve of our privates were slain outright -by the sun. Our irregular horsemen, who recognised some comrades in -the hostile ranks, had flatly refused to charge, and were consequently -dismounted and disarmed: a precaution that diminished our cavalry to a -score of volunteers. - -When the Nana learned how his soldiers had conducted themselves he -flew into a violent passion, which could be relieved only by vicarious -letting of blood. After attending at the execution of eight ill-fated -couriers, who had been intercepted from time to time with English -despatches in and about their persons, he felt sufficiently composed -to face the emergency. Determined to reserve his own sacred self for -the supreme venture, he sent into the field a Patroclus in the person -of Bala Rao, whose stake in the cause was indeed no light one. Every -available mutineer was equipped and marched down the road, and the -captured pieces were replaced from the magazine. On the morrow the -Peishwa's brother followed his reinforcements, and took up a position -round a hamlet named Aoung, twenty-two miles south of Cawnpore. He -found the rebel mind in high perturbation. The gossip of the camp-fires -ran mainly on the disagreeable sensations produced by strangulation; -and the disquisitions of certain among the sepoys who had witnessed -that operation were so circumstantial and picturesque that many who -had come best off in the partition of the spoil doffed the remains of -their uniforms, and stole away with their riches to the seclusion of -their native villages. The behaviour of those who remained proved that -the army had rather gained than lost in efficiency by the withdrawal of -such as had nothing to acquire and something to enjoy. - -Their valour was soon to be tested. At nine in the morning of the -fifteenth up came the English; Maude and his battery leading the way; -with the Fusileers and the sharpshooters of the Sixty-fourth close -at his heels. Shrapnel shells and conical bullets quickly cleared -away everything from our front, and strewed the highway with corpses, -weapons, and abandoned tents and waggons. The Second Cavalry caught -sight of our baggage, which had been left beneath a grove in the -care of a slender guard, and fancied that they discerned an occasion -for distinguishing themselves after their own fashion. But they were -lamentably disappointed. The regiment had to bustle back with empty -pockets and not a few empty saddles, and thenceforward was contented to -rest on the renown of previous exploits. - -Bala Rao withdrew his troops behind a stream which crossed the road -a league in rear of the contested village. The water was too deep to -be forded. The bridge was strongly fortified, and defended by two -twenty-four pounders. Our force proceeded to the attack after a slight -tiffin, and a short siesta for all whose nerves were firm enough to -allow them a snatch of sleep between two of the rounds in a fight for -such a prize. Maude raked the hostile cannon, which stood in a salient -bend of the river: while the Fusileers advanced in skirmishing order, -enraged at the fall of gallant Major Renaud, whose thigh had been -broken early in the day. After plying their rifles with deadly effect, -they suddenly closed up, and flung themselves headlong on the bridge. -Bala Rao, to whom cannot be charged the cowardice which a popular maxim -associates with cruelty, had purposed to maintain his post to the last: -but on this occasion he had not to do with a front-rank of seated -ladies and children, and a rear-rank of gentlemen whose hands were -strapped behind their backs. With set teeth, and flashing eyes, and -firelocks tightly clenched, pelted by grape and musketry, our people -converged at a run upon the narrow passage. When they came near enough -to afford the enemy an opportunity of observing on their countenances -that expression which the Sahibs always wear when they do not mean to -turn back, the rebel array broke and fled. The fugitives took with them -their general, who carried off in his shoulder a lump of Government -lead, to which he was most heartily welcome; but did not find time for -the removal of their artillery. There passed into our hands four guns; -which cannot be said to have been dearly purchased at six casualties -a-piece. - -Wounded as he was, Bala Rao brought to Cawnpore the tidings of his -own defeat. He went straight to the quarters of his brother, which -were soon crowded with the leading rebels, who came to hear what -had happened, and to impart their apprehensions and suggestions. -The deliberations of this improvised council were at first confused -and desultory. Some were for retiring to Bithoor; some for uniting -their forces with the mutineers of Futtehgur. At length, by a slender -majority of voices, it was decided to make one more stand south of -Cawnpore. - -When this resolution had been adopted, Teeka Singh asked whether the -Nana had made up his mind as to what should be done with the prisoners; -and hinted that, in case things went ill, it might be awkward for some -then present should the Sahibs find such a mass of evidence ready -to their hands; nay more, that the chances of a reverse would be -considerably lessened if the captives were once put out of the way. -The British were approaching solely for the purpose of releasing their -compatriots, and would not risk another battle for the satisfaction of -burying them. They would be only too glad of an excuse to avoid meeting -the Peishwa in the field. Dhoondoo Punth was not hard to convince on -such a point. Whenever bloodshed was in question, he showed himself the -least impracticable of men. In the present instance he would never have -required prompting, but for the importunity of the royal widows, his -step-mothers by adoption, who had sent him word that they would throw -themselves and their children from the upper windows of the palace if -he again murdered any of their sex. As a pledge that this was no vain -parade of philanthropy they had abstained from food and drink for many -hours together. In order to anticipate their remonstrances, directions -were given to set about the work forthwith. In fact, for every reason, -'twas well that it should be done quickly. The assembly broke up; but -all who could spare the time stayed for at least the commencement of -such a representation as none could hope to behold twice in a lifetime. - -At four o'clock in the afternoon, or between that and five, some of -the Nana's people went across to the house of bondage, and bade the -Englishmen who were there to come forth. Forth they came;--the three -persons from Futtehgur, and the merchant and his son;--accompanied -by the biggest of the children, a youth of fourteen, who, poor boy, -was glad perhaps to take this opportunity of classing himself with -his elders. Some ladies pressed out to watch the course which the -party took, but were pushed back by the sentries. The gentlemen -inquired whither they were going, and were answered that the Peishwa -had sent for them on some concern of his own. But all around was a -deep throng of spectators, the foremost rows seated on the ground, so -that those behind might see: while an outer circle occupied, as it -were, reserved places on the wall of the enclosure. There, beneath -a spreading lime-tree, lounged Dhoondoo Punth, the gold lace of his -turban glittering in the sunshine. There were Jwala Pershad; and Tantia -Topee; and Azimoolah, the ladies' man; and Bala Rao, the twinges of -whose shoulder-blade heightened his avidity for the coming show. When -this concourse was noticed by our countrymen, their lips moved as if -in prayer. At the gate which led into the road they were stopped by -a squad of sepoys, and shot dead. Their bodies were thrown on to the -grass which bordered the highway, and became the sport of the rabble; -who, doubtless, pointed to them in turn, and said: "That Sahib is the -Governor of Bengal; and this is the Governor of Madras; and this is the -Governor of Bombay." Such was the joke which during that twelvemonth -went the round of Northern India. - -About half-an-hour after this the woman called "the Begum" informed -the captives that the Peishwa had determined to have them killed. One -of the ladies went up to the native officer who commanded the guard, -and told him that she learned they were all to die. To this he replied -that, if such were the case, he must have heard something about it; so -that she had no cause to be afraid: and a soldier said to the Begum: -"Your orders will not be obeyed. Who are you that you should give -orders?" Upon this the woman fired up, and hurried off to lay the -affair before the Nana. During her absence the sepoys discussed the -matter, and resolved that they would never lift their weapons against -the prisoners. One of them afterwards confessed to a friend that his -own motive for so deciding was anxiety to stand well with the Sahibs, -if ever they got back to Cawnpore. The Begum presently returned with -five men, each carrying a sabre. Two were Hindoo peasants: the one -thirty-five years of age, fair and tall, with long mustachios, but -flat-faced and wall-eyed: the other considerably his senior, short, -and of a sallow complexion. Two were butchers by calling: portly -strapping fellows, both well on in life. The larger of the two was -disfigured by the traces of the small-pox. They were Mahommedans, of -course; as no Hindoo could adopt a trade which obliged him to spill the -blood of a cow. - -These four were dressed in dirty white clothes. The fifth, likewise a -Mussulman, wore the red uniform of the Maharaja's body-guard, and is -reported to have been the sweetheart of the Begum. He was called Survur -Khan, and passed for a native of some distant province. A bystander -remarked that he had hair on his hands. - -The sepoys were bidden to fall on. Half-a-dozen among them advanced, -and discharged their muskets through the windows at the ceiling of the -apartments. Thereupon the five men entered. It was the short gloaming -of Hindostan:--the hour when ladies take their evening drive. She who -had accosted the officer was standing in the doorway. With her were -the native doctor, and two Hindoo menials. That much of the business -might be seen from the verandah, but all else was concealed amidst the -interior gloom. Shrieks and scuffling acquainted those without that -the journeymen were earning their hire. Survur Khan soon emerged with -his sword broken off at the hilt. He procured another from the Nana's -house, and a few minutes after appeared again on the same errand. The -third blade was of better temper; or perhaps the thick of the work was -already over. By the time darkness had closed in, the men came forth -and locked up the house for the night. Then the screams ceased: but the -groans lasted till morning. - -The sun rose as usual. When he had been up nearly three hours the five -repaired to the scene of their labours over-night. They were attended -by a few sweepers, who proceeded to transfer the contents of the house -to a dry well situated behind some trees which grew hard by. "The -bodies," says one who was present throughout, "were dragged out, most -of them by the hair of the head. Those who had clothes worth taking -were stripped. Some of the women were alive. I cannot say how many: -but three could speak. They prayed for the sake of God that an end -might be put to their sufferings. I remarked one very stout woman, an -half-caste, who was severely wounded in both arms, who entreated to be -killed. She and two or three others were placed against the bank of the -cut by which bullocks go down in drawing water. The dead were first -thrown in. Yes: there was a great crowd looking on: they were standing -along the walls of the compound. They were principally city people and -villagers. Yes: there were also sepoys. Three boys were alive. They -were fair children. The eldest, I think, must have been six or seven, -and the youngest five years. They were running round the well (where -else could they go to?) and there was none to save them. No; none said -a word, or tried to save them." - -At length the smallest of them made an infantile attempt to get away. -The little thing had been frightened past bearing by the murder of -one of the surviving ladies. He thus attracted the observation of a -native, who flung him and his companions down the well. One deponent is -of opinion that the man first took the trouble to kill the children. -Others think not. The corpses of the gentlemen must have been committed -to the same receptacle: for a townsman who looked over the brink -fancied that there was "a Sahib uppermost." This is the history of -what took place at Cawnpore, between four in the afternoon of one day -and nine in the morning of another, almost under the shadow of the -church-tower, and within call of the Theatre, the Assembly Rooms, -and the Masonic Lodge. Long before noon on the sixteenth July there -remained no living European within the circuit of the station. - -But there were plenty at no great distance: for, about the turn of -day, our force, after travelling five leagues, rested for a space in -a hamlet buried amidst a forest of mango groves. A mile to northward -lay the sepoy host, entrenched across the spot where the byway to -Cawnpore branches from the Grand Trunk Road. Seven guns commanded -the approaches, and behind a succession of fortified villages were -gathered five thousand fighting men, prepared to strike a last blow -for their necks and their booty. Havelock resolved to turn the flank -of the Nana: for he was aware that, if an opponent assails a native -army otherwise than as it intended to be assailed when it took up its -position, the general for a certainty loses his head, and the soldiers -their heart. The word was given, and our column defiled at a steady -pace round the left of the hostile line. The Fusileers led, with two -field-pieces in their rear. Then came the Highlanders, and the bulk of -the artillery; followed by the Sixty-fourth, the Eighty-fourth, and the -Sikh battalion. For some time the mutineers seemed to be unconscious -of what was going on: deceived by clumps of fruit-trees, that screened -our movement; and distracted by the sharp look-out which they were -keeping straight ahead. But soon an evident sensation was created -along their whole array. Their batteries began discharging shot and -shell with greater liberality than accuracy; while a body of cavaliers -pushed forward in the direction of our march, and made a demonstration -that did not lead to much. As soon as the enemy's flank was completely -exposed to the English attack, our troops halted, faced, and advanced -in the order wherein they found themselves, covered by two companies -of the Fusileers extended as skirmishers. Colonel Hamilton bade the -pipes strike up, and led the Seventy-eighth against a cluster of houses -defended by three guns. His horse was shot between his legs: but the -kilts never stopped until they were masters of all inside the village. -Three more pieces were captured by Major Stirling and the Sixty-fourth -regiment. The rebel infantry were everywhere in full retreat: for the -last half-hour nothing had been seen of the cavalry: and the battle -appeared to be won. - -Our fire had already ceased. The officers were congratulating each -other on their easy victory: the privates were lighting their -cheroots, and speculating on the probability of an extra allowance of -rum: when of a sudden a twenty-four pounder, planted on the Cawnpore -Road, opened with fatal precision upon our exhausted ranks. Two large -masses of horsemen rode forward over the plain. The foot rallied, and -came down with drums beating and colours flying: and the presence of a -numerous staff, in gallant attire, announced that the Peishwa himself -was there, bent on daring something great in defence of his tottering -throne. Meanwhile our artillery cattle, tired out by continual labour -over vile roads and under a burning sun, could no longer drag the -cannon into action. The volunteers did whatever might be done by a -dozen and a half planters mounted on untrained hunters. The insurgents -grew insolent: our soldiers were falling fast: and the British general -perceived that the crisis was not yet over. He despatched his son to -the spot where the men of the Sixty-fourth were lying down under such -cover as they could get, with an order to rise and charge. - -They leapt to their feet, rejoicing to fling aside their inaction: and -young Havelock placed himself at their head, and steered his horse -straight for the muzzle of the gun: mindful, perhaps, how, four and -forty years before, a light-haired strippling of his name and blood -showed our allies on the banks of the Bidassoa that an English steed -could clear a French breastwork.[5] But our people were not Spaniards: -and more than one indignant veteran asked in grumbling tones whether -the corps might not be trusted to the guidance of its own officers. Nor -did their major need that any one should show him the way, when once he -had dismounted, and thrown to a groom the bridle of his fidgety little -charger, a shapely bay Arab, on whose back, four months later, he was -shot dead amidst his shattered regiment in a glorious but ineffectual -attempt to retrieve a disastrous day. - -And then the mutineers realized the change that a few weeks had wrought -in the nature of the task which they had selected and cut out for -themselves. The affair was no longer with mixed groups of invalids -and civilians, without strategy or discipline, resisting desperately -wherever they might chance to be brought to bay. Now from left to right -extended the unbroken line of white faces, and red cloth, and sparkling -steel. In front of all, the field officer stepped briskly out, doing -his best to keep ahead of his people. There marched the captains, -duly posted on the flank of their companies; and the subalterns, -gesticulating with their swords; and the sober, bearded serjeants, each -behind his respective section. Embattled in their national order, and -burning with more than their national lust of combat, on they came, -the unconquerable British Infantry. The grape was flying thick and -true. Files rolled over. Men stumbled, and recovered themselves, and -went on for a while, and then turned and hobbled to the rear. But the -Sixty-fourth was not to be denied. Closer and closer drew the measured -tramp of feet: and the heart of the foe died within him, and his fire -grew hasty and ill-directed. As the last volley cut the air overhead, -our soldiers raised a mighty shout, and rushed forward, each at his own -pace. And then every rebel thought only of himself. Those nearest the -place were first to make away: but throughout the host there were none -who still aspired to stay within push of the English bayonets. Such as -had any stomach left for fighting were sickened by a dose of shrapnel -and canister from four light guns, which Maude had driven up within -point-blank range. Squadron after squadron, battalion upon battalion, -these humbled Brahmins dropped their weapons, stripped off their packs, -and spurred, and ran, and limped, and scrambled, back to the city that -was to have been the chief and central abode of sepoy domination. - -Nanukchund was hanging about the vicinity all the while the conflict -was in progress. "On the fifteenth," he writes, "I perceived some -sepoys and troopers running away in great confusion, and exclaiming -that they would have an easy victory, as the British were few, and -would soon be despatched. I was then sitting in an orchard, when I -observed a shopkeeper running up. He came and seated himself under a -tree near me, and told me that he was hastening to pack up his wife -and children, as the Europeans would arrive shortly, and would spare -nobody. I thought to myself, this must be true, and the gentlemen must -be very savage. I returned to the city, and saw several villagers with -their dresses changed coming along the banks of the Ganges, and I -joined them. The terror in the hearts of all was so great that they -asked each other no questions." - -On the morrow, the day of the final struggle, Nanukchund says: "I was -in the streets soon after noon-time. People who have seen the fighting -declare that the rebels are running back, and that the mutineers are -trying to escape from the battle. Intelligence of this sort was brought -from time to time till it got dusk. The bad people are all crestfallen, -and advising each other to quit the town. I saw Kalka, a barber by -caste, who took service as a trooper under the Nana, running in for -his life, and trying to get something to eat from the bazaar. A little -while after it was proclaimed by beat of drum, that the inhabitants -must not get alarmed, as there were only one hundred Europeans -remaining: and that whoever brought in the head of an Englishman should -receive a hundred rupees. But news came that the Sahibs were close upon -the cantonments, and the man who was beating the drum abandoned it and -fled." - -At nightfall Dhoondoo Punth entered Cawnpore upon a chestnut horse -drenched in perspiration, and with bleeding flanks. A fresh access of -terror soon dismissed him again on his way towards Bithoor, sore and -weary, his head swimming and his chest heaving. He was not in condition -for such a gallop, the first earnest of that hardship and degradation -which was thenceforward to be his portion. Far otherwise had he been -wont to return to his palace after a visit of state in the English -quarter, lolling, vinaigrette in hand, beneath the breath of fans, -amidst the cushions of a luxurious carriage, surrounded by a moving -hedge of outriders and running footmen. Once again in the home of his -fathers he slept as the wicked sleep, whose sin has found them out; -and, when the morrow's sun had set, he departed in craven trepidation, -and was never after seen among the haunts of peaceful men. But he was -true to himself, even in the crash of his falling dynasty: for, as he -stepped on board the barge that was to transport him to the confines of -Oude, he bethought him of the young mother who was recovering from the -pains of childbirth in the recesses of the female apartments. For the -first time he had practised economy in his enjoyments, and was now well -repaid: for his savings had borne high interest. There were two English -lives to take where a fortnight ago there had been but one. And then, -having filled to overflowing the measure of his guilt, he passed away -like a thief in the night, and left his wealth to the spoiler, and his -halls to the owl and the snake. - -Some months subsequently two of our spies, who had been commissioned -to obtain information about Miss Wheeler, passed six days in the -train of the fugitive Nana in the depths of an Oude wilderness. In -the vicinity of his encampment they overtook a sepoy, with whom they -got into conversation. He asked why they had come into the desert. -They represented themselves as desirous of taking service with one of -the Peishwa's eunuchs, and reminded the soldiers that they were old -acquaintances of his own. He seems to have been a good-natured fellow: -for he told them that it was a dangerous neighbourhood for strangers, -but promised, since they had ventured that far, to introduce them as -his fellow-villagers. They found from twelve to fifteen thousand people -collected in the jungles. Everything betokened distress, disorder, and -discontent. Food was scarce and dear. The Maharaja had appropriated -the single pair of tents; so that his followers were fain to bivouack -under the foliage, starving on rice bought at twelvepence a pound; -wringing out their tattered garments, wet with the eternal rain; and -sighing for the curry-pots and tight roofs of the Cawnpore cantonments. -It is interesting to learn that the most poverty-stricken and dejected -of all the mutineers were the troopers of the Second Cavalry. The -horses had been reduced to less than a hundred, and the artillery to -a couple of field-pieces. The Nana, attended by a servant with an -umbrella, went daily to bathe in a river which flowed at the foot of -the hill whereon his pavilion stood. A crowd regularly assembled to pay -their respects as he passed. The two men especially noticed certain -officers of his household: the treasurer and paymaster; the driver -of his bullock-carriage; his chief baker, and chief gardener; his -shampooer, his sweeper, his boatman, and his wrestlers, both Hindoo -and Mahomedan. Bala was there, with the scar of an English bullet on -his shoulder, which he has probably by this time carried to an obscure -grave. The royal brothers were said to be very anxious to get back to -ease and civilization. Their wives were disposed upon an adjoining -range of heights, in company with the widows of Bajee Rao, who deserved -better than to be transported about against their will in the suite of -that unromantic Pretender. The ladies of the court travelled in six -palanquins, and the gentlemen on as many elephants. - -Yet a few weeks, and Dhoondoo Punth, stripped of even these relics of -his former affluence and grandeur, escaped across the Nepaulese marches -to a life of suspense, and toil, and privation amidst the Himalayan -solitudes. The end of that man we know not, and may never know. -Perchance, as they hover over some wild ravine or wind-swept peak, the -eagles wonder at the great ruby which sparkles amidst the rags of a -vagrant who perished amidst the snows of a past December. Perchance -another generation will hear, not without a qualm of involuntary -awe and pity, that the world-noted malefactor is at last to expiate -misdeeds already classical. He may have eluded human justice. His hemp -may be still to sow. But his place in history is fixed irreversibly and -for ever. The most undaunted lover of paradox would hardly undertake to -wash white that ensanguined fame. - -"In the month of July, a year and a half ago," so deposes a native -tradesman, eighteen months after the massacre, "I was in my house -at Ooghoo, when ten or eleven persons, who had fled from Cawnpore, -came to my shop, and asked for betel-leaf to chew. I showed them new -betel-leaf; when two of them, both Hindoos, told me to fetch good old -betel-leaf, or they would take my head off. I accordingly went to -another seller of betel-leaf, and bought the kind they asked for, and -told them the price of the same, namely ten pice. The two men said -they would only give me two. I replied that the betel-leaf was worth -ten pice, and that they ought at the least to give me eight pice: on -which they said that they would kill me and all my family. I stated I -was a poor man, and had got the betel-leaf from another person. They -then said that they had shown no pity to the ladies and children whom -they had just murdered, and who clung to their feet, and that they -would have no pity upon me. They frightened me greatly, showing me a -naked sword, covered with blood, and said that they would cut off my -head with the same. I wept," says this weak-minded young man, "and my -mother, hearing me cry, came out, and begged of them not to hurt me, -and that she would let them have more betel-leaf. After this they drew -water from a well close to my house, near a temple, and, conversing -among themselves, I heard their companions ask the two men how many -ladies they had killed. They replied that they had murdered twenty-one -ladies and children, and had received a reward of twenty-one rupees; -and added that at first the Nana ordered the sepoys to massacre the -ladies; but they refused; and that they two, with three others, carried -out the Nana's orders." - -Another resident of Ooghoo thus tells his story: "The truth is that, -shortly after the Nana fled, I was sitting under a tamarind tree, where -all the men of the village assemble to talk, and was conversing with -a few others about the massacre of the Europeans at Cawnpore. We were -saying that the Nana ought not to have murdered the women and children: -when Souracun, Brahmin, of Ooghoo, who is thirty-five years old, and -has a defect in his eye, stated that the officials sent him to kill -the ladies; that he struck one with his sword, which bent, and he then -felt pity, and did not again strike. He showed us the bent sword." On -this occasion Souracun seems to have sunk the twenty-one rupees: which, -however, must have lasted him a good while if he made all his purchases -at the same rate as he bought betel-leaf. "All the village heard that -he was one of the murderers: but, since the British rule has been -re-established, no one speaks of it for fear he would be hung, and his -death be laid on their head." - -There is good reason to believe that Souracun and his fellow met with -their deserts. Mr. Batten, now in high office at Agra, was the first -representative of settled government in the district of Cawnpore after -the troubles began to subside. He had the honour of removing the gibbet -from the ladies' well, and so tempered ferocity with common sense -that those who once railed at him as squeamish have at length come to -approve his conduct in spite of themselves. But he did not bear the -sword in vain. There were brought before him two Hindoos, one advanced -in years, and the other much his junior. These men were found guilty of -having compassed the death of an Eurasian, and doomed to the gallows. -No sooner had their sentence been pronounced than they poured forth -a torrent of foul abuse, and were dragged from the dock shouting, and -kicking, and cursing their judge and all his relatives on the maternal -side. - -Now, the Oriental, always polite, becomes doubly courteous when death -is in immediate prospect. Then, more than ever, is he anxious to set -the company at their ease, and to make away with any disagreeable sense -of the false position in which the hangman stands towards the felon. -A civilian at Lucknow was superintending an execution when the rope, -which had doubtless borne more than one such strain, gave way, and the -convict fell to the ground. As he rose, he turned to the Englishman, -and said in the tone wherein men utter social conventionalities: -"Sahib, the rope's broke." He felt that it was incumbent on him to do -what he could towards relieving the general embarrassment arising from -a pause in the proceedings, awkward for all parties, but especially -for the commissioner, who was endowed with sensibility and genuine -refinement. - -Batten, than whom no man was more conversant with the native character, -regarded the fury of his two prisoners as an extraordinary phenomenon, -and requested an explanation from the bystanders. He was told that the -pair were piqued at being condemned on so paltry a charge as the murder -of a half-caste, after having taken the principal part in a strange and -note-worthy exploit, at which they hinted in their cups; and that, poor -as they seemed, they rode fine horses, and wore gorgeous shawls, which -they were accustomed to speak of as having been presented to them by -the Nana in token of his esteem and satisfaction. - -Few of the Cawnpore mutineers survived to boast of their enterprise. -Evil hunted these violent men to their overthrow. Those whom the halter -and the bayonet spared had no reason to bless their exemption. Many -whom pillage had enriched were slain for the sake of that which they -had about them by banditti who confidently presumed that the law would -not call in question the motives of him who exterminated a sepoy. All -who returned to their villages empty-handed were greeted by their -indignant families with bitter and most just reproaches. They had been -excellently provided for by the bounty of God and the Company. Their -pay secured them all the comforts which a Brahmin may enjoy, and left -the wherewithal to help less fortunate kinsmen. Yet they flung away -their advantages in wilful and selfish haste. They sinned alone and -for their private ends; but alone they were not to suffer. They had -changed the Sahibs into demons, and had conjured up tenfold more of -these demons than had hitherto been conceived to exist. They had called -down untold calamities upon the quiet peasantry of their native land. -And all this misery they had wrought in pursuit of the vision of a -military empire. Let them return to the desert, there to feed without -interruption on the contemplation of their power and pre-eminence. -Such were the taunts with which they were driven forth again into the -jungles: some to die by the claws of tigers on whose lair they had -intruded for refuge, or beneath the clubs of herdsmen whose cattle -they had pilfered in the rage of hunger: others to wander about, -drenched and famished, until amidst the branches of a tree into which -they had climbed to seek safety from the hyænas and the ague, or on -the sandy floor of a cave whither they had crept for shelter from the -tempest, they found at once their death-bed and their sepulchre. The -jackals alone can tell on what bush flutter the shreds of scarlet stuff -which mark the spot where one of our revolted mercenaries has expiated -his broken oath. - -Soon after daybreak on Friday the seventeenth July, the English van -was marching across the desolate plain which lay to southward of the -city. Already the magical effect of the tropical rain had clothed -that expanse of parched and dusty soil with luxuriant grass, in which -rustled the feet of our soldiers as they pushed along, now stumbling -over a hidden cannon-ball, and now kicking up the fragments of a sepoy -skeleton. They traversed the deserted line of rebel posts, and halted -beneath the walls of the roofless barracks, pitted with shot and -blackened with flame, and beside the grave at whose mouth are scattered -the bones of our people, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon -the earth. Three Fridays back from that very morning the treaty of -surrender was being attested by a faithless signature, and sworn to -with perfidious vows: and again at a like interval of time the men -of the Second Cavalry were firing their stables, and saddling their -horses, and buckling on the swords that were to be fleshed in unmanly -strife. So much had been done and endured within a period of six weeks -and a space of six miles. - -"At half past six A.M." writes Nanukchund, "the British force arrived -in cantonments outside the city. Those of the citizens who were -well-wishers to the Government brought them bread, butter, and milk. A -great crowd of the town's people assembled to see what was going on. I -also, who had not stepped out of my house for a month and a half for -fear of being murdered, now came out and went to cantonments. Generals -Havelock and Neill, and a number of other officers, were standing -there. Fruiterers, milkmen, buttermen, bakers, and other sellers of -provisions, were in attendance with their dollies. Those who were aware -of what was coming had made preparations on the night previous by -having provisions cooked in the bazaar. A little after eight the rebels -who had mined the magazine set fire to the powder, and fled. The report -of the explosion was so terrific, that the doors of city-houses fell -off their hinges." - -Our old friend was now in high spirits. His turn had come, and he -showed himself fully equal to the occasion. "I continued," he says, -"to attend on the Sahibs with a view of performing acts of loyalty. -I set to work to find out what men of the city have been loyal, and -which of them disloyal, and how some of the public officers came to -present themselves to the Nana, while others contrived not to present -themselves. I laboured night and day at great personal inconvenience -to learn full particulars about these people. I questioned only -honourable and upright men, and no others." He is especially disturbed -at the assurance of one, Narain Rao, "who, just as I anticipated, -wishes to pass himself off as a well-wisher to the Government. But -there is a great crowd at this moment, and the Sahibs have no time -to spare. It is also very difficult to find witnesses against him by -private enquiries, and I see no chance of filing a complaint about it -before any officer." It seems strange that the Sahibs could not afford -time to pay off an old score that had really been incurred. - -After the first outbreak of joy and welcome the inhabitants of Cawnpore -began to be aware that the English were no longer the same men, if -indeed they were men at all. The citizens, with their wives and -children, poured forth into the country by crowds, without stopping -to calculate whether they could establish their innocence. At such an -assize, and in the eyes of such a jury, absence was the only defence -that could avail aught. From noon till midnight, on the Lucknow and -Delhi highway were to be seen immense mobs rushing eastward and -westward in headlong haste. They did well both for their own security -and for our honour. The heat of the climate and the conflict, the -scarcity of food and the constant presence of disease, the talk which -they had heard at Calcutta, the deeds that they had been allowed and -even enjoined to commit during their upward progress, had depraved the -conscience and destroyed the self-control of our unhappy soldiers. -Reckless as men who for many weeks had never known what it was to -be certain of another hour's life,--half starved, and more than half -intoxicated,--they regarded carnage as a duty and rapine as a pleasure. -Havelock, in a report to the Commander in Chief, thus writes: "I have -ordered all the beer, wine, spirits, and every drinkable thing at -Cawnpore, to be purchased by the Commissariat. It will then be guarded -by a few men. If it remained at Cawnpore it would require half my force -to keep it from being drunk up by the other half, and I should not have -a soldier in camp. While I was winning a victory on the sixteenth some -of my men were plundering the Commissariat on the line of march." - -And so the general purchased all the liquor. Oh that he could have -bought up the blood also! It was idle to count upon the forbearance -of poor ignorant privates, when the ablest among our officers had -forgotten alike the age in which he lived, and the religion that he -professed. This is an extract from a letter which would that Neill had -never found occasion to indite! - -"Whenever a rebel is caught he is immediately tried, and, unless he -can prove a defence, he is sentenced to be hanged at once: but the -chief rebels or ringleaders I make first to clean up a certain portion -of the pool of blood, still two inches deep, in the shed where the -fearful murder and mutilation of the women and children took place. To -touch blood is most abhorrent to the high-caste natives. They think, by -doing so, they doom their souls to perdition. Let them think so. My -object is to inflict a fearful punishment for a revolting, cowardly, -barbarous deed, and to strike terror into these rebels. The first I -caught was a soubahdar, or native officer, a high-caste Brahmin, who -tried to resist my order to clean up the very blood he had helped to -shed: but I made the provost-martial do his duty, and a few lashes -soon made the miscreant accomplish his task. When done, he was taken -out and immediately hanged, and, after death, buried in a ditch at the -roadside." - -For a parallel to such an episode we must explore far back into -the depths of time. Homer relates the punishment that befell those -maidservants, who in the palace of Ithaca had been unmindful of what -they owed to their absent lord. First they bore forth from the hall -the dead bodies of their paramours and placed them in the vestibule, -staggering beneath the weight: while Ulysses urged on the work by -word and gesture: and they laboured at the ungrateful task, wailing, -and shedding bitter tears. And afterwards with water and sponges they -washed the tables and the seats: and Telemachus and his henchmen -scraped with spades the floor of the chamber. But, when they had -set the house in order, the women were led out, and cooped up for a -while in a corner of the well-fenced court, in a strait place, whence -escape was none. And then Telemachus slung from the roof the cable of -a dark-prowed ship, and made it fast to a pillar of the colonnade, -stretching it high and taut, so that no foot might feel the ground. -And, as when swift thrushes or doves, making for their nest, have -dashed into a snare which a fowler had planted across the thicket: so -these women were fastened in a row, with a halter round every neck, to -die in unseemly fashion. And their feet fluttered a moment in the air: -but not for long. - -It is curious that an act, which the Pagan poet allows an old -moss-trooper and his son to perpetrate in the flush of revenge and -victory, should have been revived by a Christian warrior after the -lapse of twenty-five centuries. And it must be owned that Neill -surpassed his model: for apparently the primary object of Ulysses was -to sweep away the traces of the butchery, and make his refectory clean -and habitable: an unpleasant drudgery, which, as with the simplicity of -a primitive Greek he reflected, might as well be performed by the least -worthy members of his household before they were taken to execution: -whereas the Englishman desired only to wound the sentiments of the -doomed men, and prolong their prospect of death with a vista of eternal -misery. And this, when the rallying-cry of the insurrection was the -preservation of caste:--when in the wide-spread confidence that our -faith did not seek to extend itself by carnal weapons lay the salvation -of the British supremacy! - -But there was a spectacle to be witnessed which might excuse much. -Those who, straight from the contested field, wandered sobbing -through the rooms of the ladies' house, saw what it were well could -the outraged earth have straightway hidden. The inner apartment was -ankle-deep in blood. The plaster was scored with sword-cuts: not high -up, as where men have fought; but low down, and about the corners, as -if a creature had crouched to avoid a blow. Strips of dresses, vainly -tied round the handles of the doors, signified the contrivance to which -feminine despair had resorted as a means of keeping out the murderers. -Broken combs were there, and the frills of children's trousers, and -torn cuffs and pinafores, and little round hats, and one or two shoes -with burst latchets, and one or two daguerrotype-cases with cracked -glasses. An officer picked up a few curls, preserved in a bit of -card-board, and marked "Ned's hair, with love:" but around were strewn -locks, some near a yard in length, dissevered, not as a keepsake, by -quite other scissors. All who on that day passed within the fatal doors -agree positively to assert that no inscription of any sort or kind was -visible on the walls. Before the month was out, the bad habit, common -to low Englishmen, of scribbling where they ought not, here displaying -itself in an odious form, had covered the principal buildings of -Cawnpore with vulgar and disgusting forgeries, false in date, in taste, -in spelling, and in fact. - -There were found two slips of paper: one bearing in an unknown hand a -brief but correct outline of our disasters. On the other a Miss Lindsay -had kept an account of the killed and wounded in a single family. It -runs thus, telling its own tale: - - "Entered the barracks May 21st. - Cavalry left June 5th. - First shot fired June 6th. - Aunt Lilly died June 17th. - Uncle Willy died June 18th. - Left barracks June 27th. - George died June 27th. - Alice died July 9th. - Mamma died July 12th." - -The writer, with her two surviving sisters, perished in the final -massacre. - -The library of the captives was small indeed: but such books as they -had were to the purpose. The earliest comers discovered among the -vestiges of slaughter a treatise, entitled "Preparation for Death:" -and a bible, which must have travelled in Major Vibart's barge down to -Nuzzufgur and back to Cawnpore, as may be gathered from the following -record: - - "27th June. Went to the boats. - 29th. Taken out of boats. - 30th. Taken to Sevadah Kothi. Fatal day." - -Fatal indeed: for that was the day when "the wives sat down, each by -her husband;" when "the sepoys, going in, pulled them away forcibly; -but could not pull away the doctor's wife, who there remained;" when -"one Sahib rolled one way, and one another, as they sat." That bible -was a present from the dead to the dead: for on the fly-leaf appeared -this address: "For darling Mamma, from her affectionate daughter, -Isabella Blair:" the "Bella Blair," whose fate is mentioned in the -letter from young Masters to his father. The list was closed by a -church service, from which the cover had been stripped, and many -pages at the end torn off. Unbound and incomplete, it had fulfilled -its mission: for it opened of itself where, within a crumpled and -crimson-sprinkled margin, might be read the concise and beautiful -supplications of our Litany. It concluded, that mutilated copy, with -the forty-seventh Psalm, wherein David thanks the Almighty for a -victory and a saving mercy: - -"O, clap your hands together, all ye people: O, sing unto God with the -voice of melody. He shall subdue the people under us: and the nations -under our feet. God is gone up with a merry noise, and the Lord with -the sound of a trump. God rejoiceth over the heathen: God sitteth on -his holy seat. God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, -as it were with a shield." - -Such were the printed lines which, from amidst the rent tresses, and -shivered toys, and the scraps of muslin dyed with the most costly of -all pigments, lay staring up to high heaven in tacit but impressive -irony. - -It is good that the house and the well of horror have been replaced by -a fair garden and a graceful shrine. But there let piety stay her hand. -A truce thenceforward to that mistaken reverence which loves to express -sorrow and admiration in guineas, and rupees, and the net product of -fancy bazaars! Too often already have architect and sculptor disguised -the place where a notable thing was done. India still contains some -sacred plots untouched by the art of the decorator,--some shapeless -ruins more venerable than dedicated aisle or stately mausoleum. -Still, amidst the fantastic edifices of Lucknow, hard by a shattered -gateway, rise or lie prostrate the pillars of a grass-grown portico. -Beneath that verandah, in the July evening, preferring the risk of the -hostile missiles to the confinement of a stifling cellar, was dying -Henry Lawrence, the man who tried to do his duty. It was not time and -the weather that made bare of plaster the brickwork of the old gate. -There from summer into winter,--until of his two hundred musketeers he -had buried four-score and five, and sent to hospital three-score and -sixteen,--earning his Cross in ragged flannel trousers and a jersey of -dubious hue, burly Jack Aitken bore up the unequal fray. An Englishman -does not require any extraneous incentives to emotion when, leaning -against the beams of that archway, he recalls who have thereby gone -in and out, bent on what errands, and thinking what thoughts. Between -those door-posts have walked Peel, and Havelock, and gentle Outram, and -stout Sir Colin, heroes who no longer tread the earth. Through the same -entrance passed, but not erect, the form of a tall grey soldier, stern -even in death, with a bullet-wound in the centre of his forehead, whom -the orderlies announced in whispers to be Neill of the Madras army. At -Delhi still, before the police-court in the Street of Silver, may be -seen the platform whereon, naked to the waist and besmeared with dirt -and blood, were exposed to three autumn suns the corpses of the last -descendants of Timour, slain and spoiled by one who knew neither pity -nor scruple. Still, after an evening stroll along the ridge outside the -battlements, as on his return he descends the slope rough with crag -and brushwood, the visitor may come upon a mound of rubbish so beaten -with shot that it is not easy to discern what of it is artificial -rampart, and what is broken ground. The rocks coated with frequent -films of lead, and the wreck of a small temple, testify that this is -the famous post, known in military history as the "Sammy-house picket," -which Briton, and Sikh, and Ghoorka, fighting shoulder to shoulder, -hardly made good throughout the hundred days of the terrible siege. -On the summit of the tottering dome, at a height of some twelve feet -from the soil, presides a Hindoo idol with an elephant's head. There -he sits, a stupid little god, with arms reposing on his knees, gazing -across the valley at the minarets of the ancient capital, as though he -had never seen any stranger sight than the tourist in his white dress -and dust-coloured helmet, or heard any sounds more wild and maddening -than the chirping of the grasshoppers, and the lowing of the belated -cattle as they stray homeward to their stalls. Not urn, nor monolith, -nor broken column is so fit a monument for brave men as the crumbling -breastwork and the battered wall. And in like manner the dire agony of -Cawnpore needs not to be figured in marble, or cut into granite, or -cast of bronze. There is no fear lest we should forget the story of our -people. The whole place is their tomb, and the name thereof is their -epitaph. When the traveller from Allahabad, rousing himself to learn -at what stage of his journey he may have arrived, is aware of a voice -proclaiming through the darkness the city of melancholy fame,--then -those accents, heard for the first time on the very spot itself -which they designate, recall, more vividly than written or engraven -eloquence, the memory of fruitless valour and unutterable woe. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[5] Napier's "History of the War in the Peninsula." Book xx. Chapter iv. - -THE END. - - -R. CLAY, SON, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, BREAD STREET HILL. - - - - -Transcriber's Notes - - -Obvious punctuation errors repaired. - -Inconsistent hyphenation fixed. - -P. 8: into the vernadah -> into the verandah. - -P. 24: insolence and green -> insolence and greed. - -P. 26: A battalian on march -> A battalion on march. - -P. 50: paid to this delaration -> paid to this declaration. - -P. 65: prophet seem to have been -> prophet seems to have been. - -P. 80: their commander had adoped -> their commander had adopted. - -P. 84: worst was beter -> worst was better. - -P. 116: made night hideous -> made the night hideous. - -P. 119: coat of white paster -> coat of white plaster. - -P. 124: day week -> day. - -P. 139: what they lake in energy -> what they lack in energy. - -P. 172: We have been connonaded -> We have been cannonaded. - -P. 215: our people though -> our people thought. - -P. 236: hord of mutineers -> horde of mutineers. - -P. 237: such an autcry -> such an outcry. - -P. 291: Bramhin -> Brahmin. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cawnpore, by G. O. Trevelyan - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CAWNPORE *** - -***** This file should be named 51383-8.txt or 51383-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/3/8/51383/ - -Produced by Brian Coe, Moti Ben-Ari and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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