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diff --git a/old/53360-0.txt b/old/53360-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 709f759..0000000 --- a/old/53360-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,56773 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of the Indian Revolt and of the -Expeditions to Persia, China and Japan 1856, by George Dodd - -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: The History of the Indian Revolt and of the Expeditions to Persia, China and Japan 1856-7-8 - -Author: George Dodd - -Release Date: October 24, 2016 [EBook #53360] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE INDIAN REVOLT *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Brian Coe 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.) - - - - - - -[Illustration: - - INDIA OR HINDOSTAN - - Printed in Colours by Shefick & Macfarlane Edinburgh - - W. & R. CHAMBERS, LONDON & EDINBURGH -] - - - - - THE - HISTORY - OF THE - INDIAN REVOLT - AND OF THE EXPEDITIONS TO - PERSIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN - 1856-7-8 - WITH - Maps, Plans, and Wood Engravings - - -[Illustration] - - LONDON - W. AND R. CHAMBERS 47 PATERNOSTER ROW - AND HIGH STREET EDINBURGH - 1859 - -[Illustration: PREFACE] - - - - - PREFACE - - -In the present volume is given a narrative of the chief events connected -with one of the most formidable military Revolts on record. These -events—from the first display of insubordination in the beginning of -1857, to the issue of the Royal Proclamation in the later weeks of -1858—form a series full of the romance as well as the wretchedness of -war: irrespective of the causes that may have led to them, or the -reforms which they suggested. The sudden rising of trained native -soldiers in mutiny; the slaughter of officers who to the last moment had -trusted them; the sufferings of gently-nurtured women and children, -while hurrying wildly over burning sands and through thick jungles; and -the heroism displayed amid unspeakable miseries—all tended to give an -extraordinary character to this outbreak. Nor is it less interesting to -trace the operations by which the difficulties were met. The task was -nothing less than that of suppressing insurgency among a native -population of nearly two hundred million souls by a small number of -British soldiers and civilians, most of whom were at vast distances from -the chief region of disaffection, and were grievously deficient in means -of transport. - -A chronicle of these events reveals also the striking differences -between various parts of India. While Behar, Oude, Rohilcund, the Doab, -Bundelcund, Malwah, and Rajpootana were rent with anarchy and plunged in -misery, the rest of India was comparatively untouched. Most important, -too, is it to trace the influence of nation, caste, and creed. Why the -Hindoos of the Brahmin and Rajpoot castes rebelled, while those of the -lower castes remained faithful; why the Sikhs and Mussulmans of the -Punjaub shewed so little sympathy with the insurgents; why the Hindoos -of Bengal were so timidly quiet, and those of Hindostan so boldly -violent; why the native armies of Madras and Bombay were so tranquil, -when that of Bengal was so turbulent?—were questions which it behoved -the government to solve, as clues to the character of the governed, and -to the changes of discipline needed. It was a time that brought into -strong relief the peculiarities of the five chief classes of Europeans -in India—Queen’s soldiers, Company’s soldiers, Company’s ‘covenanted’ -servants, ‘uncovenanted’ servants, and residents independent of the -Company; and it shewed how nobly these classes forgot their differences -when the honour of the British name and the safety of India were -imperiled. - -The history of home affairs during, and in relation to, that period of -struggle, has its own points of interest—shewing in what manner, amid -the stormy conflicts of party, the nation responded to the call for -military aid to India, for pecuniary aid to individual sufferers, and -for a great change in the government of that country. - -Although the minor results of the Revolt may be visible to a much later -date, it is considered that the month of November 1858 would furnish a -convenient limit to the present narrative. The government of India had -by that time been changed; the change had been publicly proclaimed -throughout the length and breadth of that empire; the British army in -the east had been so largely augmented as to render the prospects of the -insurgents hopeless; the rebel leaders were gradually tendering their -submission, under the terms of the Royal Proclamation; the skilled -mutinous sepoys had in great proportion been stricken down by battle and -privation; the military operations had become little more than a chasing -of lawless marauders; and the armed men still at large were mostly dupes -of designing leaders, or ruffians whose watchwords were pay and plunder -rather than nationality or patriotism. - -The remarkable Expeditions to Persia, China, and Japan are briefly -noticed towards the close of the volume—on account of the links which -connected them with the affairs of India, and of the aspect which they -gave to the influence of England in the east. - -Every endeavour has been made, by a careful examination of available -authorities, to render the narrative a truthful one. It is hoped that -the errors are few in number, and that hasty expressions of opinion on -disputed points have in general been avoided. The Work is quite distinct -from the HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN WAR, issued by the same Publishers; yet -may the two be regarded as companion volumes, relating to the affairs of -England in the east—seeing that a few short months only elapsed between -the close of the events of 1854-5-6 in Turkey, Russia, and Asia Minor, -and the commencement of those of 1856-7-8 in India, Persia, and China. - - G. D. - - _December 1858._ - ------ - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: Contents] - - - - - Contents - - - INTRODUCTION. - - PAGE - INDIA IN 1856: A RETROSPECT, 1 - NOTES.—DISTANCES—ORTHOGRAPHY—VOCABULARY, 12, 13 - - - CHAPTER I. - - THE ANGLO-INDIAN ARMY AT THE TIME OF THE OUTBREAK, 14 - NOTE, 31 - - - CHAPTER II. - - SYMPTOMS: CHUPATTIES AND CARTRIDGES, 32 - - - CHAPTER III. - - MEERUT, AND THE REBEL-FLIGHT TO DELHI, 48 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - DELHI, THE CENTRE OF INDIAN NATIONALITY, 59 - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE EVENTFUL ESCAPES FROM DELHI, 69 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - LUCKNOW AND THE COURT OF OUDE, 82 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - SPREAD OF DISAFFECTION IN MAY, 97 - NOTES.—INDIAN RAILWAYS—‘HEADMAN’ OF A VILLAGE, 119 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - TREACHERY AND ATROCITIES AT CAWNPORE, 121 - NOTE.—NENA SAHIB’S PROCLAMATIONS, 145 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - BENGAL AND THE LOWER GANGES: JUNE, 147 - NOTES.—THE OUDE ROYAL FAMILY—CASTES AND CREEDS IN THE INDIAN 161, 162 - ARMY, - - - CHAPTER X. - - OUDE, ROHILCUND, AND THE DOAB: JUNE, 163 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - CENTRAL REGIONS OF INDIA: JUNE, 176 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - EVENTS IN THE PUNJAUB AND SINDE, 191 - NOTES.—MILITARY DIVISIONS OF INDIA—ARMIES OF INDIA AT THE 208 - COMMENCEMENT OF THE MUTINY, - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - PREPARATIONS: CALCUTTA AND LONDON, 210 - NOTE, 227 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - THE SIEGE OF DELHI: JUNE AND JULY, 230 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - HAVELOCK’S CAMPAIGN: ALLAHABAD TO LUCKNOW, 247 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE DINAPOOR MUTINY, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, 264 - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - MINOR MUTINIES: JULY AND AUGUST, 277 - NOTE.—THE BRITISH AT THE MILITARY STATIONS, 293 - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - - THE SIEGE OF DELHI: FINAL OPERATIONS, 295 - - - CHAPTER XIX. - - THE STORY OF THE LUCKNOW RESIDENCY, 316 - NOTE.—BRIGADIER INGLIS’S DISPATCH, 336 - - - CHAPTER XX. - - MINOR CONFLICTS: SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, 338 - - - CHAPTER XXI. - - THE RESCUE AT LUCKNOW, BY SIR COLIN CAMPBELL, 359 - NOTE.—CAVANAGH’S ADVENTURE, 371 - - - CHAPTER XXII. - - CLOSING EVENTS OF THE YEAR, 374 - NOTES.—PROPOSED RE-ORGANISATION OF THE INDIAN ARMY—PROPOSED 386, 387 - INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES OF THE MUTINY, - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - - A SECOND YEAR OF REBELLION, 388 - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - - MILITARY OPERATIONS IN FEBRUARY, 398 - NOTES.—SIR COLIN CAMPBELL’S ARMY OF OUDE—MOHAMMEDAN REBEL 409, 410 - LEADERS, - - - CHAPTER XXV. - - FINAL CONQUEST OF LUCKNOW: MARCH, 412 - NOTE.—LUCKNOW PROCLAMATIONS, 427 - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - - MINOR EVENTS IN MARCH, 429 - NOTES.—‘COVENANTED’ AND ‘UNCOVENANTED’ SERVICE—COLLECTORS AND 443 - COLLECTORATES, - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - - DISCUSSIONS ON REBEL PUNISHMENTS, 446 - NOTES, 455-461 - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - - MILITARY OPERATIONS IN APRIL, 462 - NOTE.—NATIVE POLICE OF INDIA, 480 - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - - PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN MAY, 482 - NOTE.—TRANSPORT OF TROOPS TO INDIA, 501 - - - CHAPTER XXX. - - ROSE’S VICTORIES AT CALPEE AND GWALIOR, 504 - - - CHAPTER XXXI. - - STATE OF AFFAIRS AT THE END OF JUNE, 517 - NOTE.—QUEEN’S REGIMENTS IN INDIA IN JUNE, 535 - - - CHAPTER XXXII. - - GRADUAL PACIFICATION IN THE AUTUMN, 537 - - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - - LAST DAYS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY’S RULE, 561 - - - SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. - - § 1. THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION, 1856-7, 578 - - § 2. THE CHINESE AND JAPANESE EXPEDITIONS, 1856-7-8, 585 - - § 3. ENGLISH PROSPECTS IN THE EAST, 604 - - - APPENDIX. - - EAST INDIA COMPANY’S PETITION TO PARLIAMENT, JANUARY 1858, 613 - EAST INDIA COMPANY’S OBJECTIONS TO THE FIRST AND SECOND INDIA 618 - BILLS: APRIL 1858, - EAST INDIA COMPANY’S OBJECTIONS TO THE THIRD INDIA BILL: JUNE 621 - 1858, - ABSTRACT OF ACT FOR THE BETTER GOVERNMENT OF INDIA—RECEIVED 622 - ROYAL ASSENT AUGUST 2, 1858, - THE INDIAN MUTINY RELIEF FUND, 623 - QUEEN VICTORIA’S PROCLAMATION TO THE PRINCES, CHIEFS, AND 623 - PEOPLE OF INDIA, - VISCOUNT CANNING’S PROCLAMATION, 624 - - - CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, 625 - - INDEX, 629 - -[Illustration] - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - Delhi, 1 - Initial Letter, 1 - Tail-piece, 13 - Initial Letter, 14 - Boats on the Ganges, 19 - Palanquin, 21 - Indian Domestics, 22 - Group of Sepoys, 28 - Bungalow, 29 - Troops on the March, 30 - Initial Letter, 32 - VISCOUNT CANNING, 41 - Calcutta, 43 - Council-house at Calcutta, 47 - King’s Palace, Delhi, 48 - Initial Letter, 48 - Laboratory at Meerut, 55 - Dâk Runner, 58 - Initial Letter, 59 - Bird’s-eye view of Delhi.—From a Coloured Lithograph by A. 64 - Maclure; taken from Original Native Drawings, - Howdah of an Indian Prince, 68 - King of Delhi, 69 - Initial Letter, 69 - Escape from Delhi, 73 - Delhi from Flagstaff Tower, 76 - Elephant and State Howdah, 81 - Lucknow, 82 - Initial Letter, 82 - SIR HENRY LAWRENCE, 92 - Residency at Lucknow, 93 - Ekah, or Officer’s Travelling Wagon, 96 - General View of Calcutta from Fort William, 97 - Initial Letter, 97 - Ghât on the Ganges, 105 - City and Fort of Allahabad, 108 - Agra Fort, 109 - Nynee Tal—a Refuge for European Fugitives, 116 - Palanquin, 120 - Parade-ground, Cawnpore, 121 - Initial Letter, 121 - NENA SAHIB.—From a Picture painted at Bithoor in 1850, by Mr 124 - Beechy, Portrait-painter to the King of Oude, - The Intrenchment at Cawnpore, 128 - Plan of Sir H. Wheeler’s Intrenchment at Cawnpore.—From an 129 - Official Survey, - House at Cawnpore, in which the Women and Children were 141 - massacred, - The Well at Cawnpore, 146 - House of the Rajah at Allahabad, 147 - Initial Letter, 147 - Mess-house of the Officers of the 6th Native Infantry at 157 - Allahabad, - Sikh Cavalry, 162 - Initial Letter, 163 - Simla, the Summer Residence of the Governor-general of India, 173 - Tomb at Futtehpore Sikri, 175 - Initial Letter, 176 - Fort of Mhow, 185 - Girls at the Ganges, 190 - Akali of the Sikhs, 191 - Initial Letter, 191 - SIR JOHN LAWRENCE, 193 - Camel and Rider, 205 - Catholic Church, Sirdhana; built by Begum Sumroo, 209 - SIR COLIN CAMPBELL, 210 - Initial Letter, 210 - General View of Madras.—From a Drawing by Thomas Daniell, 216 - Bombay.—From a View in the Library of the East India Company, 217 - Jumma Musjid, Agra; Mosque built by Shah Jehan in 1656, 229 - Initial Letter, 230 - SIR HENRY BARNARD, 232 - HINDOO RAO’S House—Battery in front, 237 - The General and his Staff at the Mosque Picket before Delhi, 240 - GENERAL WILSON, 244 - Engineer Officers in Battery before Delhi, 245 - Bullock-wagon, 246 - SIR HENRY HAVELOCK, 247 - Initial Letter, 247 - Plan of Action near Cawnpore, July 16, 1857, 252 - Plan of Action near Bithoor, August 16, 1857, 257 - BRIGADIER-GENERAL NEILL, 261 - Initial Letter, 264 - MAJOR VINCENT EYRE, 265 - MR BOYLE’S House at Arrah, defended for seven days against 269 - 3000 rebels, - Initial Letter, 277 - Fort at Agra, from the river Jumna, 281 - Mount Aboo—Military Sanatarium in Rajpootana, 292 - Native Musicians at a Sepoy Station, 294 - BRIGADIER-GENERAL NICHOLSON.—Copied by permission from a 295 - Portrait published by Messrs Gambart, - Initial Letter, 295 - Jumma Musjid at Delhi.—From a Photograph, 304 - CORPORAL BURGESS, blown up at Cashmere Gate, 308 - Scene of capture of the Princes of Delhi—Tomb of Emperor 313 - Humayoon, - State Palanquin, 315 - SIR J. E. W. INGLIS, Defender of Lucknow, 316 - Initial Letter, 316 - Plan of Residency and part of the City of Lucknow, 321 - English Church and Residency at Lucknow—from Officers’ 329 - Quarters, - MR COLVIN, Lieutenant-governor of Northwest Provinces, 338 - Initial Letter, 338 - Camp within the Fort, Agra.—From a Photograph, 349 - LIEUTENANT HOME, Bengal Engineers, 352 - COLONEL BURN, Military Governor of Delhi, 356 - Ruins near Kootub Minar, Delhi, 358 - Lucknow, from the Observatory, 359 - Initial Letter, 359 - Plan of the Residency and its Defences, Lucknow, 362 - Plan of Fort of Alum Bagh, near Lucknow, 370 - Group of Mahratta Arms.—From the Collection of Sir S. Meyrick, 373 - Initial Letter, 374 - Plan of the Battle of Cawnpore, December 6, 1857, 379 - St James’s Church, Delhi, 384 - Tail-piece, 387 - COLONEL E. H. GREATHED, 388 - Initial Letter, 388 - Houses in the Chandnee Chowk, Delhi, 396 - Tail-piece, 397 - SIR JAMES OUTRAM, 398 - Initial Letter, 398 - Moulvies, or Mohammedan Religious Teachers, 408 - Tail-piece, 411 - Goorkhas in their native country, Nepaul, 412 - Initial Letter, 412 - Gateway of the Emanbarra at Lucknow, 420 - MAJOR HODSON, Commandant of Hodson’s Horse, 425 - Hindoo Metallic Ornaments, 428 - Barrackpore, 429 - Initial Letter, 429 - Kootub Minar, near Delhi, 436 - Obelisk built on the Site of the Black Hole, Calcutta.—From a 441 - Drawing in the India House, - Group of Indian Arms, 445 - Zemindar, Hindoo Landowner, 446 - Initial Letter, 446 - East India House, 452 - Ganges Transport Boat, 461 - JUNG BAHADOOR, of Nepaul, 462 - Initial Letter, 462 - Goorkha Havildar or Sergeant, 468 - Ghazeepore, 471 - Fort of Peshawur, 477 - Tail-piece, 481 - Summer Costumes, Indian Army, 482 - Initial Letter, 482 - Dacca, 485 - Fyzabad, 489 - Hindoo Fruit-girl, 493 - Tail-piece, 503 - SIR HUGH ROSE, 504 - Initial Letter, 504 - Gwalior, 512 - The Ranee of Jhansi, 513 - Darjeeling—Hill Sanatarium in Sikkim, 517 - Initial Letter, 517 - Principal Street in Lucknow, 524 - Surat.—From a View in the Library of the East India Company, 528 - Lahore, 529 - Kolapore, 533 - Tail-piece, 536 - Initial Letter, 537 - Almorah, Hill-station in Kumaon, 537 - Interior of Hindoo Rajah’s House, 545 - Umritsir, 549 - Jeypoor, 556 - Poonah, 559 - Hyderabad, 560 - Government Buildings, Madras.—From a Drawing by Thomas 561 - Daniell, - Initial Letter, 561 - Old East India House, Leadenhall Street, 574 - Calcutta.—Company’s Troops early in the 19th Century, 576 - Ormuz—Entrance to the Persian Gulf, 577 - Initial Letter, 577 - Bushire, 585 - Chinese War-junks, 589 - Canton, 592 - Hong-Kong, 600 - SIR EDWARD LUGARD, 604 - Fort St George, Madras; in 1780, 608 - Tail-pieces, 612, 624 - - - Various Tail-pieces, Vignettes, &c. - - Map of India or Hindostan. (Facing Title-page.) - Map of Part of India—Chief Scene of the Mutinies of 1857, 49 - Sketch Map to illustrate Havelock’s Operations during July and 289 - August, 1857, - Map of Asia, 577 - -[Illustration: DELHI.] - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - INDIA IN 1856: A RETROSPECT. - - -Scarcely had England recovered from the excitement attendant on the war -with Russia; scarcely had she counted the cost, provided for the -expenditure, reprobated the blunderings, mourned over the sufferings; -scarcely had she struck a balance between the mortifying incapacity of -some of her children, and the Christian heroism of others—when she was -called upon anew to unsheath the sword, and to wage war, not against an -autocrat on this side of the Caspian, but against some of the most -ancient nations in the world. Within a few months, almost within a few -weeks, China, Persia, and India appeared in battle-array against -her—they being the injurers or the injured, according to the bias of -men’s judgments on the matter. It may almost be said that five hundred -millions of human beings became her enemies at once: there are at the -very least this number of inhabitants in the three great Asiatic -empires; and against all, proclamations were issued and armaments fitted -out. Whether the people, the millions, sided more with her or with their -own rulers, is a question that must be settled in relation to each of -those empires separately; but true it is that the small army of England -was called upon suddenly to render services in Asia, so many and varied, -in regions so widely separated, and so far distant from home, that a -power of mobility scarcely less than ubiquity, aided by a strength of -endurance almost more than mortal—could have brought that small force up -to a level with the duties required of it. Considering how small a space -a month is in the life of a nation, we may indeed say that this great -Oriental outbreak was nearly simultaneous in the three regions of Asia. -It was in October 1856 that the long-continued bickerings between the -British and the Chinese at Canton broke out into a flame, and led to the -despatch of military and naval forces from England. It was while the -British admiral was actually engaged in bombarding Canton that the -governor-general of India, acting as viceroy of the Queen of England, -declared war against the Shah of Persia for an infringement of treaty -relating to the city of Herat. And lastly, it was while two British -armaments were engaged in those two regions of warfare, that -disobedience and disbanding began in India, the initial steps to the -most formidable military Revolt, perhaps, the world has ever seen. - -The theologian sees, or thinks he sees, the finger of God, the avenging -rod of an All-ruling Providence, in these scenes of blood-shedding: a -punishment on England for not having Christianised the natives of the -East to the full extent of her power. The soldier insists that, as we -gained our influence in the East mainly by the sword, by the sword we -must keep it: permitting no disobedience to our military rule, but at -the same time offending as little as possible against the prejudices of -faith and caste among the natives. The politician smitten with -Russo-phobia, deeply imbued with the notion, whether well or ill -founded, that the Muscovite aims at universal dominion in Europe and -Asia, seeks for evidences of the czar’s intrigues at Pekin, Teheran, and -Delhi. The partisan, thinking more of the ins and outs of official life, -than of Asia, points triumphantly to the dogma that if _his_ party had -been in power, no one of these three Oriental wars would have come upon -England. The merchant, believing that individual interest lies at the -bottom of all national welfare, tells us that railways and cotton -plantations would be better for India than military stations; and that -diplomatic piques at Canton and at Teheran ought not to be allowed to -drive us into hostility with nations who might be advantageous customers -for our wares. But while the theologian, the soldier, the politician, -the partisan, and the merchant are thus rushing to a demonstration, each -of his favourite theory, without waiting for the evidence which can only -by degrees be collected, England, as a nation, has had to bear up -against the storm as best she could. Not even one short twelvemonth of -peace was vouchsafed to her. The same year, 1856, that marked the -closing scenes of one war, witnessed the commencement of two others; -while the materials for a fourth war were at the same time fermenting, -unknown to those whose duty it was to watch symptoms. - -Few things in the history of our empire are more astonishing than the -social explosion in India, taken in connection with the positive -declarations of official men. Historical parallels have often been -pointed out, striking and instructive; but here we have a historical -contradiction. At the time when the plenipotentiaries of seven European -empires and kingdoms were discussing at Paris the bases for a European -peace, the Marquis of Dalhousie was penning an account of India, in the -state to which Britain had brought it. A statesman of high ability, and -of unquestioned earnestness of purpose, he evidently felt a pride in the -work he had achieved as governor-general of India; he thought he had -laid the foundation for a great future; and he claimed credit for -England, not only in respect to what she had done, but also for the -motives that had dictated her Indian policy. It was in the early part of -1848 that this nobleman went out to the East; it was in 1856 that he -yielded the reins of power to Viscount Canning; and shortly before his -departure from Calcutta he wrote a minute or narrative, formally -addressed to the East India Company, but intended for his -fellow-countrymen at large, giving an account of his stewardship. -Remembering that that minute was written in March 1856, and that the -Revolt commenced in January 1857, it becomes very important to know, -from the lips or the pen of the marquis himself, what he believed to be -the actual condition of the Anglo-Indian Empire when he left it. The -document in question is worth more, for our present purpose, than any -formal history or description of India; for it shews not only the -sum-total of power and prosperity in 1848, but the additions made to -that sum year after year till 1856. A parliamentary paper of fifty folio -pages need not and cannot be reproduced here; but its substance may be -rendered intelligible in a few paragraphs. This we will attempt at once, -as a peculiarly fitting introduction to the main object of the present -work; for it shews how little the Revolt was expected by him who was -regarded as the centre of knowledge and influence in India. The marquis -said: ‘The time has nearly come when my administration of the government -of India, prolonged through more than eight years, will reach its final -close. It would seem that some few hours may be profitably devoted to a -short review of those eventful years; not for the purpose of justifying -disputed measures, or of setting forth a retrospective defence of the -policy which may, on every several occasion, have been adopted; but for -the purpose of recalling the political events that have occurred, the -measures that have been taken, and the progress that has been made, -during the career of the administration which is about to close. I enter -on that review with the single hope that the Honourable Court of -Directors may derive from the retrospect some degree of satisfaction -with the past, _and a still larger measure of encouragement for the -future_.’ The words we have italicised are very remarkable, read by the -light so soon and so calamitously to be afforded. - -The minute first passes in review the proceedings of the Indian -government with the independent native states, both east and west of the -Ganges. How little our public men are able to foretell the course of -political events in the East, is shewn by the very first paragraph of -the governor-general’s narrative: ‘When I sailed from England in the -winter of 1847, to assume the government of India, there prevailed a -universal conviction among public men at home that permanent peace had -at length been secured in the East. Before the summer came, we were -already involved in the second Sikh war.’ Be it observed that public men -_at home_ are here adverted to: of what were the opinions of public men -in India, the English nation was not kept sufficiently informed. There -had been British officers murdered at Moultan; there was a rebellion of -the Dewan Moolraj against the recognised sovereign of Lahore; but the -renewal of war is attributed mainly to the ‘spirit of the whole Sikh -people, which was inflamed by the bitterest animosity against us; when -chief after chief deserted our cause, until nearly their whole army, led -by sirdars who had signed the treaties, and by members of the Council of -Regency itself, was openly arrayed against us;’ and when the Sikhs even -joined with the Afghans against us. It was not a mere hostile prince, it -was a hostile nation that confronted us; and the Indian government, -whether wisely or not, declared war, put forth its power, maintained a -long campaign, defeated and subdued the Sikhs, drove back the insurgent -Afghans, and ended by annexing the Punjaub to the British territories. -Scarcely had the Anglo-Indian armies been relieved from these onerous -duties, when war called them to the regions beyond the Ganges. Certain -British traders in the port of Rangoon had been subjected to gross -outrage by the officers of the King of Ava, in violation of a -pre-existing treaty; and the Marquis of Dalhousie, acting on a -high-sounding dictum of Lord Wellesley, that ‘an insult offered to the -British flag at the mouth of the Ganges should be resented as promptly -and as fully as an insult offered at the mouth of the Thames,’ resolved -to punish the king for those insults. That monarch was ‘arrogant and -over-bearing’—qualities much disapproved, where not shewn by the -Company’s servants themselves; he violated treaties, insulted our -traders, worried our envoys, and drove away our commercial agent at -Rangoon; and as the government of India ‘could never, consistently with -its own safety, permit itself to stand for a single day in an attitude -of inferiority towards a native power, and least of all towards the -court of Ava, war was declared. After some sharp fighting, the kingdom -of Pegu was taken and annexed, ‘in order that the government of India -might hold from the Burman state both adequate compensation for past -injury, and the best security against future danger.... A sense of -inferiority has penetrated at last to the convictions of the nation; the -Burman court and the Burman people alike have shewn that they now dread -our power; _and in that dread is the only real security we can ever -have, or ever could have had, for stable peace with the Burman state_.’ -These words are at once boastful and saddening; but the notions -conveyed, of ‘sense of inferiority’ and ‘dread of power,’ are thoroughly -Asiatic, and as such we must accept them. Another independent state, -Nepaul, on the northern frontier of India, remained faithful during the -eight years of the Dalhousie administration; it carried on a war of its -own against Tibet, but it was friendly to England, and sent a bejewelled -ambassador, Jung Bahadoor, to visit the island Queen. The mountain -region of Cashmere, stolen as it were from the Himalaya, was under an -independent chieftain, Maharajah Gholab Sing, who, when he visited the -Marquis of Dalhousie at Wuzeerabad, caught the vice-regal robe in his -hand and said; ‘Thus I grasp the skirts of the British government, and I -will never let go my hold.’ The governor-general expresses a belief that -Gholab Sing ‘will never depart from his submissive policy as long as he -lives;’ while Gholab’s son and anticipated successor, Meean Rumbeer -Sing, is spoken of as one who will never give ‘any cause of offence to a -powerful neighbour, which he well knows can crush him at will.’ The Khan -of Khelat, near the western frontier, was brought into close -relationship, insomuch that he became ‘the friend of our friends, and -the enemy of our enemies,’ and engaged to give us temporary possession -of such military stations within his territory as we might at any time -require for purposes of defence. At the extreme northwest of our Indian -Empire, the Afghans, with whom we had fought such terrible battles -during the Auckland and Ellenborough administrations of Indian affairs, -had again been brought into friendly relations; the chief prince among -them, Dost Mohammed Khan of Cabool, had been made to see that England -was likely to be his best friend, and ‘had already shewn that he regards -English friendship as a tower of strength.’ - -Thus the governor-general, in adverting to independent states, announced -that he had conquered and annexed the Punjaub and Pegu; while he had -strengthened the bonds of amity with Nepaul, Cashmere, Khelat, and -Cabool—amity almost degraded to abject servility, if the protestations -of some of the chieftains were to be believed. - -Having disposed of the independent states, the marquis directed -attention to the relations existing between the British government and -the protected or semi-independent states, of which there are many more -than those really independent. The kingdom of Nagpoor became British -territory by simple lapse, ‘in the absence of all legal heirs.’ In -bygone years the British put down one rajah and set up another; and when -this latter died, without a son real or adopted, or any male descendant -of the original royal stock, ‘the British government refused to bestow -the territory in free gift upon a stranger, and wisely incorporated it -with its own dominions’—a mode of acquiring territory very prevalent in -our Eastern Empire. The King of Oude, another protected sovereign, -having broken his engagements with the Company in certain instances, his -state was treated like Nagpoor, and added to British India. Satara lost -its rajah in 1849, and as no male heir was then living, that small state -shared the fate of the larger Oude: it was made British. Jhansi, a still -smaller territory, changed owners in an exactly similar way. The Nizam -of Hyderabad, owing to the Company a sum of money which he was unable or -unwilling to pay, and being in other ways under the Company’s wrath, -agreed in 1853 to give up Berar and other provinces to the exclusive -sovereignty of the British. Early in 1848 the Rajah of Ungool, a petty -chieftain in the Jungle Neehals, resisted the authority of the -government; his raj was taken from him, and he died in exile. The Rajah -of Sikim, a hill-chieftain on the borders of Nepaul, ‘had the audacity’ -to seize a Company’s official at Darjeling; as a punishment, all the -territories he possessed within the plains were confiscated and annexed. -In Sinde, Meer Ali Morad of Khyrpore, having involved himself in an act -of forgery concerning the ownership of territory, ‘the lands were taken -from him, and his power and influence were reduced to insignificance.’ -The Nawab Nazim of Bengal having committed a murder by bastinado, ‘his -highness’s peculiar jurisdiction and legal exemption were taken away -from him; and he was subjected to the disgrace of losing a large portion -of the salute of honour which he had previously received.’ The Nawab of -the Carnatic died suddenly in 1855; and as he left no male heir, and his -relations lived very disreputably, the title of nawab ‘was placed in -abeyance:’ that is, the Carnatic was made British territory, and the -several members of the nawab’s family were pensioned off. About the same -time, the Rajah of Tanjore died, in like manner without male issue -bearing his name; and the same process was adopted there as in the -Carnatic—sovereign power was assumed by the Company, and the ex-royal -family was pensioned off. - -Counting up his treasures, the governor-general was certainly enabled to -announce a most extraordinary accession of territory during the years -1848 to 1855. The Punjaub, Pegu, Nagpoor, Oude, Satara, Jhansi, Berar, -Ungool, Darjeling, Khyrpore, the Carnatic, and Tanjore, all became -British for the first time, or else had the links which bound them to -England brought closer. While, on the one hand, it must be admitted that -the grounds or excuses for annexation would be deemed very slight in any -country but India; so, on the other, there can be no doubt that the -Marquis of Dalhousie, and the directors with whom he was acting, -believed that these annexing processes were essential to the maintenance -of British power in the East. He takes credit to his government for -having settled certain family quarrels among the petty royalties of -Gujerat, Buhawalpore, Jummoo, and Mumdote, without paying itself for its -services: as if it were a virtue to abstain from annexation at such -times. The mention made of Delhi must be given in the governor-general’s -own words, to shew how much the descendant of the once mighty Mogul was -regarded as a mere puppet—yet maintaining a certain hold on the -reverence of the people, as was destined to be shewn in a series of -events little anticipated by the writer of the minute. ‘Seven years ago -the heir-apparent to the King of Delhi died. He was the last of the race -who had been born in the purple. The Court of Directors was accordingly -advised to decline to recognise any other heir-apparent, and to permit -the kingly title to fall into abeyance upon the death of the present -king, who even then was a very aged man. The Honourable Court -accordingly conveyed to the government of India _authority to terminate -the dynasty of Timour_, whenever the reigning king should die. But as it -was found that, although the Honourable Court had consented to the -measure, it had given its consent with great reluctance, I abstained -from making use of the authority which had been given to me. The -grandson of the king was recognised as heir-apparent; but only on -condition that he should quit the palace in Delhi in order to reside in -the palace at the Kootub; and that he should, as king, _receive the -governor-general of India at all times on terms of perfect equality_.’ -How strange do these words sound! A board of London merchants sitting in -a room in Leadenhall Street, giving ‘authority to terminate the dynasty -of Timour;’ and then, as a gracious condescension, permitting the -representative of that dynasty to be on terms of ‘perfect equality’ with -whomsoever may be the chief representative of the Company in India. - -The Marquis of Dalhousie pointed to the revenues derivable from the -newly annexed territories as among the many justifications for his line -of policy. He shewed that four millions sterling were added to the -annual income of the Anglo-Indian Empire by the acquisition of the -Punjaub, Pegu, Nagpoor, Oude, Satara, Jhansi, and Berar—increasing the -total revenue from about twenty-six millions in 1848 to above thirty -millions in 1855. - -The extreme importance of this official document lying in the evidence -it affords how little dread was felt in 1856 of any approaching -outbreak, we proceed with the governor-general’s narrative of the -augmentation and stability of British power in the East, power of which -he was evidently proud—presenting, of course, as a mere outline, that -which his lordship fills up in more detail. - -Credit is claimed in the minute for the improved administrative -organisation both of the old and of the newly acquired territories. Able -men were selected to administer government in the Punjaub; and so well -did they fulfil their duties that internal peace was secured, violent -crime repressed, the penal law duly enforced, prison-discipline -maintained, civil justice administered, taxation fixed, collection of -revenue rendered just, commerce set free, agriculture fostered, national -resources developed, and future improvements planned. Not only did the -marquis assert this; but there is a general concurrence of opinion that -the Punjaub fell into fortunate hands when its administration came to be -provided for. In Pegu the administration, less brilliant than in the -Punjaub, is nevertheless represented as being sound in principle; -tranquillity was restored; effective police had secured the safety of -all; trade was increased and increasing; a fair revenue was derived from -light taxation; ‘the people, lightly taxed and prosperous, are highly -contented with our rule;’ and, when population has increased, ‘Pegu will -equal Bengal in fertility of production, and surpass it in every other -respect.’ At Nagpoor the assumption of supreme authority by Britain was -‘hailed with lively satisfaction by the whole population of the -province;’ no additional soldier had been introduced thither; the civil -administration was introduced everywhere; the native army was partly -embodied and disciplined in British pay, and partly discharged either -with pensions or gratuities. In short, ‘perfect contentment and quiet -prevail; beyond the palace walls not a murmur has been heard; and in no -single instance throughout the districts has the public peace been -disturbed.’ In Berar, we are told, the same phenomena were observed; as -soon as the cession was made, our numerous disputes with the nizam -ended; the civil administration was brought into working order; crime, -especially the violent crime of _dacoitee_ (gang-robbery without murder) -was diminished; the ‘admirable little army,’ formerly called the Nizam’s -Contingent, was made available as part of the British force; the revenue -rapidly increased; and the public tranquillity had ‘not been disturbed -by a single popular tumult.’ The kingdom of Oude had only been annexed a -few weeks before the Marquis of Dalhousie wrote his minute; but he -states that a complete civil administration, and a resident military -force, had been fully organised before the annexation took place; that -the troops of the deposed native king were contentedly taking service in -British pay; that no zemindar or chief had refused submission to our -authority; that the best men who could be found available were selected -from the civil and military services for the new offices in Oude; and -that no popular resistance or disturbance had occurred. - -Nothing could be more clear and positive than these assertions. Not only -did the governor-general announce that the Punjaub, Pegu, Nagpoor, -Berar, and Oude had been completely annexed, bringing a large accession -to the British revenues; but that in every case a scheme of -administration had been framed and established, conducive to the lasting -benefit of the natives, the honour of the British name, and the -development of the natural resources of the several districts. Not a -whisper of discontent, of spirits chafed by change of rulers, did the -marquis recognise: if they occurred, they reached not him; or if they -_did_ reach him, he passed them by as trifles. - -Nor was it alone in the newly acquired territories that credit for these -advantageous changes was claimed. Improvements in the government of -India were pointed out in every direction. The governor-general had been -relieved from an overwhelming press of duties by the appointment of a -lieutenant-governor for Bengal. A Legislative Council had been -organised, distinct from the Supreme Council: the public having access -to its deliberations, and its debates and papers being printed and -issued to the world. The Indian civil service, by an act passed in 1853, -had been thrown open to all who, being natural-born subjects of the -British sovereign, should offer themselves as candidates for examination -and admission. Young cadets, who previously had been allowed nearly two -years to ‘idle and loiter’ at the presidencies while studying for -examination as civilians, were by a new regulation required to complete -their studies in a much shorter period, thereby lessening their idleness -and rendering them sooner useful. Periodical examinations of the civil -servants had been established, to insure efficiency before promotion was -given. A board of examiners had been founded, to conduct examinations -and superintend studies. All officers of the Indian government had been -formally prohibited from engaging in banking or trading companies; and -any bankruptcy among them entailed suspension from office. In many of -the civil offices, promotion, before dependent on seniority alone, had -been made dependent on merit alone. A pension or superannuation list had -been established in many departments, to insure steady and faithful -service. Three boards of administration for salt, opium, and customs had -been replaced by one board of revenue, simpler in its constitution. The -annual financial reports, transmitted to the home government, had -gradually been made more clear, full, and instructive. All the salaries -throughout India had been placed under the consideration of a special -commissioner, for equitable revision; and the authorities had determined -that, in future, no salaries, with a few special exceptions, shall -exceed fifty thousand rupees (about five thousand pounds) per annum. - -Nor had legislative reform been wholly forgotten. During the eight years -under review, laws had been passed or rules laid down for the punishment -of officials guilty of corruption, or accountants guilty of default; for -allowing counsel to prisoners on their trial; for abolishing the -semi-savage custom of branding convicts; for rendering public officers -more amenable to public justice; for vesting a right of pardon in the -supreme government; for improving the procedure in all the civil and -criminal courts; for rendering the reception of evidence more fair and -impartial; and, among many less important things, for ‘securing liberty -of conscience, and for the protection of converts, and especially of -Christian converts, against injury in respect of property or inheritance -by reason of a change in their religious belief.’ For the amelioration -of prison-discipline, inspectors of prisons had been appointed in all -the three presidencies, as well as in Oude, the Punjaub, and the -northwest provinces. - -Equally in moral as in administrative matters did the Marquis of -Dalhousie insist on the manifold improvement of India during the eight -years preceding 1856. Schools for the education of natives had been -established; the Hindoo College at Calcutta had been revived and -improved; a Presidency College had been founded in the same city, to -give a higher scale of education to the youth of Bengal; similar -colleges had been sanctioned at Madras and Bombay; grants-in-aid to all -educational establishments had been authorised, subject to government -inspection of the schools aided; a committee had been appointed to -consider the plans for establishing regular universities at Calcutta, -Bombay, and Madras; a distinct educational department had been formed at -the seat of government, with director-generals of public instruction in -all the presidencies and governments; and the East India Company had, by -a dispatch framed in 1854, sanctioned a most extensive educational -scheme for the whole of India, to be rendered available to all the -natives who might be willing and able to claim its advantages. The -delicate subject of female education had not been forgotten. -Instructions had been given to the officers of the educational -department to afford all possible encouragement to the establishment of -female schools, whenever any disposition was shewn by the natives in -that direction. There is a peculiar difficulty in all that concerns -female education in India, arising from the reluctance which has always -been shewn by the higher classes of natives to permit the attendance of -their daughters at schools. Mr Bethune commenced, and the Marquis of -Dalhousie continued, a delicate and cautious attempt to overcome this -unwillingness by establishing a Hindoo ladies’ school at Calcutta; and -the minute gives expression to an earnest hope and belief that the -female character in India will gradually be brought under the elevating -influence of moral and intellectual education. As the native mind was -thus sought to be ameliorated and strengthened by education; so had the -prevention or cure of bodily maladies been made an object of attention. -Additional advantages had been granted to natives who applied themselves -to the study of the medical sciences; the number of dispensaries had -been greatly increased, to the immense benefit of the poorer classes of -Hindoos and Mohammedans; plans had been commenced for introducing a -check to the dreadful ravages of the small-pox; admission to the medical -service of the Company had been thrown open to natives; and, as a -first-fruit of this change, one Dr Chuckerbutty, a Hindoo educated in -England, had won for himself a commission as assistant-surgeon in the -Company’s service. - -In so far as concerns superstition and religion, the minute narrates a -course of proceeding of which the following is the substance. Among the -extraordinary social customs—atrocities they are unquestionably -considered in Europe—of India, those of Suttee, Thuggee, Infanticide, -and the Meriah Sacrifice, are mentioned as having undergone much -amelioration during the eight years to which the minute relates. The -_suttee_, or burning of widows, had been almost suppressed by previous -governor-generals, and the marquis had carried out the plans of his -predecessors: remonstrating where any suttees occurred in independent -states; and punishing where they occurred in the British and protected -territories. _Thuggee_, or systematic murder of travellers for the sake -of booty, had been quite suppressed east of the Sutlej; but having -unexpectedly made its appearance in the Punjaub in 1851, it was -thoroughly put down there as elsewhere; those who turned approvers or -king’s evidence against their brother Thugs now form—or rather did form -in 1856—a peaceful industrious colony at Jubbulpoor, where they spun and -wove muslins of exquisite fineness, instead of cutting the throats of -unsuspecting travellers. _Female infanticide_, the result of pride of -birth and pride of purse—parents murdering their infant daughters either -because they cannot afford the marriage expenditure which must one day -be incurred on their account, or because they see difficulties in -marrying them suitably—had been greatly checked and discouraged. In the -Punjaub a most signal and singular conquest had been achieved; for the -British representative, calling together the chiefs of tribes in 1854, -unfolded to them a plan, ‘the observance of which would effectually -secure that no man should feel any real difficulty in providing for his -daughter in marriage;’ whereupon the chiefs, as well as those of the -Cashmere tribes, promised that, as the motive for infanticide would thus -in great measure be removed, they would cheerfully aid in suppressing -the practice. Lastly, the _Meriah sacrifice_—a horrible rite, in which -young human victims are sacrificed for the propitiation of the special -divinity which presides over the fertility of the earth—had been nearly -rooted out from the only district where it was practised, among the hill -and jungle tribes of Orissa. In religious matters, the ecclesiastical -strength of the established church had been largely increased; clergymen -had been occasionally sanctioned, besides those acting as chaplains to -the Company; places of worship had been provided for the servants and -soldiers of the Company; Protestant churches had been built in places -where the worshippers were willing to contribute something towards the -expenditure; Roman Catholics serving the Company had been provided with -places of worship; salaries had been granted to three Roman Catholic -bishops, one in each presidency; the salaries of the priests had been -revised and augmented; and a wish was manifested to observe justice -towards the Catholic as well as the Protestant who served his country -well in the East. - -Thus—in the acquisition of territory, in the augmentation of revenue -consequent on that acquisition, in the administrative organisation, in -the spread of education, in the provision for religious services, and in -the plans for improving the moral conduct of the natives—the Marquis of -Dalhousie claimed to have done much that would redound to the honour of -the British name and to the advancement of the millions under British -rule in India. The problem still remains unsolved—Why should India, or -the native military of that country, have revolted from British service? -Let us see, therefore, whether the governor-general says aught that -throws light upon the matter in connection with trade and commerce; and -in order to understand this subject clearly, let us treat separately of -Productive Industry and Means of Communication. - -Cotton is destined, according to the ideas of some thinkers, to mark a -great future for India; but meanwhile we are told in the minute that, by -the acquisition of Nagpoor and Berar, many fertile cotton districts were -brought under British rule; and that since the acquisition of Pegu, an -examination of the cotton-growing capabilities of the northern part of -that kingdom had been commenced. The tea-culture in Assam had prospered -greatly during the eight years from 1848 to 1856; the plant had been -largely introduced into the upper districts of the northwest provinces; -plantations had been established at Deyrah Dhoon, Kumaon, and Gurhwal; -Mr Fortune had brought large supplies of Chinese seeds and Chinese -workmen to India; many of the native zemindars had begun the cultivation -on their own account in districts at the foot of the Himalaya; and every -year witnessed a large increase in the production of Indian tea, which -was excellent in quality, and sold readily at a high price. In -agriculture generally, improvements of all kinds had been made; an -Agricultural and Horticultural Society had been established in the -Punjaub; carefully selected seeds had been procured from Europe; the -growth of flax had been encouraged; the growth of the mulberry and the -rearing of silkworms had been fostered by the government; and a grant -had been made in aid of periodical agricultural shows in the Madras -presidency. In relation to live-stock, plans had been formed for -improving the breed of horses; merino and Australian rams had been -introduced to improve the breed of sheep; and sheep had been introduced -into Pegu, to the great delight of the natives and the advantage of all; -‘for the absence of sheep leads to a privation in respect of food, which -is severely felt, not only by European soldiers in the province, but -also by all of every class who are employed therein.’ The forests had -been brought under due regulation by the appointment of conservators of -forests at Pegu, Tenasserim, and Martaban; by the careful examination of -the whole of the forests in the Punjaub; by the planting of new -districts, hitherto bare; and by the laying down of rules for the future -preservation and thrifty management of these important sources of timber -and fuel. The inestimable value of coal being duly appreciated, careful -researches had been made, by order of the government, in the Punjaub, -Pegu, Tenasserim, Bengal, Silhet, and the Nerbudda Valley, to lay the -groundwork for careful mining whenever and wherever good coal may be -found. Practical chemists and geological surveyors had been set to work -in the Simla Hills, Kumaon, Gurhwal, the Nerbudda Valley, Beerboom, and -Jubbulpoor, either to discover beds of ironstone, or to organise -ironworks where such beds had already been discovered; and an -experimental mining and smelting establishment had been founded by the -government among the Kumaon Hills, to apply tests likely to be valuable -in future. - -Next, in connection with means of communication, the channels by and -through which commerce permeates the empire, the governor-general had a -very formidable list of works to notice. Surveys, irrigation and canals, -rivers and harbours, roads, railways, electric telegraphs, and postal -communications—had all been made the subjects of great engineering -activity during the eight years of the Dalhousie administration. A few -words must be said here on each of these topics; for it becomes -absolutely necessary, in order to a due appreciation of the narrative of -Revolt about to follow, that we should, as a preliminary, know whether -India really had or had not been neglected in these elements of -prosperity in the years immediately preceding the outbreak. - -Measures, we learn from the minute, had been taken for executing exact -surveys of all the newly annexed territory in the Punjaub, Pegu, Sinde, -Nagpoor, and Berar in the same careful manner as the survey of the older -territories had been before carried out; and in Central India ‘the -consent of all the native states has been obtained to the making of a -topographical survey, and to a demarcation of all the boundaries between -the several native states, and between the British territories and those -of native states:’ a proceeding expected to lessen the frequency of -feuds concerning disputed boundaries. - -The activity in irrigation-works and canal-cutting had unquestionably -been very great. In 1854 the Ganges Canal was opened in its main line, -for the double purpose of irrigation and navigation. A mighty work this, -which no mutiny, no angry feelings, should induce the English public to -forget. It is 525 miles in length, and in some parts 170 feet in width; -and considered as a canal for irrigation, ‘it stands unequalled in its -class and character among the efforts of civilised nations. Its length -is fivefold greater than that of all the main lines of Lombardy united, -and more than twice the length of the aggregate irrigation lines of -Lombardy and Egypt together—the only countries in the world whose works -of irrigation rise above insignificance.’ Nor is this all. ‘As a single -work of navigation for purposes of commerce, the Ganges Canal has no -competitor throughout the world. No single canal in Europe has attained -to half the magnitude of this Indian work. It nearly equals the -aggregate length of the four greatest canals in France. It greatly -exceeds all the first-class canals of Holland put together; and it is -greater, by nearly one-third, than the greatest navigation canal in the -United States of America.’ Pausing for one moment just to observe that -the writer of the words here quoted seems to have temporarily forgotten -the great canal of China, we proceed to state, on the authority of the -minute, that when all the branches are finished, this noble Ganges Canal -will be 900 miles in length. It will then, by its periodical -overflowings, irrigate _a million and a half of acres_, thus lessening -the terrible apprehensions of famine or dearth among millions of human -beings. We may doubt or not on other subjects, but it is impossible to -doubt the sincerity of the Marquis of Dalhousie when he says: ‘I trust I -shall not be thought vain-glorious if I say that the successful -execution and completion of such a work as the Ganges Canal would, even -if it stood alone, suffice to signalise an Indian administration.’ But -this work did not absorb all the energies of the canal engineers; much -of a similar though smaller kind had been effected elsewhere. An -irrigation canal had been begun in the Punjaub, which, when finished, -would be 465 miles in length, fed from the river Ravee. All the old -canals formed in the Moultan district of the Punjaub, 600 miles in -length, had been cleansed, enlarged, and improved, and the distribution -of the waters for the purpose of irrigation placed under judicious -regulation. Irrigation canals had been made or improved in the Derajat, -in the provinces east of the Sutlej, in Behar, and in Sinde. A -magnificent work had been executed for carrying an irrigation canal over -the river Godavery; and canals of much importance had been commenced in -the Madras and Bombay presidencies. - -Rivers and harbours had shared in the attention bestowed on irrigation -and canal navigation. The Ganges had been opened to river steamers -before 1848, and it only remained to advance in the same line of -improvement. The Indus, by the conquest of the Punjaub, had been made a -British river almost from the Himalaya down to the ocean; steamers had -been placed upon it; and it had become a direct route for troops and -travellers to many parts of Northern India, before attainable only by -the Calcutta route. All the rivers in the upper part of the Punjaub had -been surveyed, with a view to the determination of their capabilities -for steam-navigation. No sooner was Pegu acquired, than steamers were -placed upon the Irrawaddy, the great river of that country; and short -canals of junction between various rivers had been so planned as to give -promise of a complete line of river-steaming from Bassein to Moulmein. -Arrangements had been made for placing steamers upon the river -Burhampooter or Brahmaputra, to connect Assam with the Bay of Bengal. -Extensive works had been commenced to improve the navigation of the -Godavery. The channels that lead from Calcutta through the Sundurbunds -to the sea had been enlarged; and a great bridge over the Hoogly near -the city had been planned. The port of Bombay had been greatly improved, -and large works for water-supply commenced. At Kurachee, at Madras, at -Singapore, at Rangoon, and at other places, engineering improvements had -been made to increase the accommodation for shipping. - -We follow the Marquis of Dalhousie from the river to the land, and trace -with him the astonishing length of new road constructed or planned -during his administration. A great trunk-road from Calcutta to Delhi had -been extended nearly to the Sutlej; and when the Punjaub became a -British possession, plans were immediately marked out for prolonging the -same road to Loodianah, Umritsir, Lahore, Jelum, Attock, and -Peshawur—thus forming, if all be completed, a magnificent road 1500 -miles in length from Calcutta to the Afghan frontier, available both for -commercial and military operations. The difficulties of crossing so many -broad rivers in Northern India is immense, and the cost great; but the -road, as the minute tells us, ‘will repay a thousandfold the labour and -the treasure it has cost.’ Then, fine roads had been formed from Patna -to Gya, from Cuttack to Ungool and Sumbhulpore, from Dacca to Akyab, and -thence towards Aracan and Pegu; while vast systems of roads had been -brought under consideration for Pegu, the Punjaub, Sinde, and other -newly acquired regions. Engineers had been employed to plan a road from -Simla up to the very Himalaya itself, to connect India with Tibet; as it -would greatly improve the social position of all the native tribes near -it. When Pegu was attacked, and when a military force was sent thither -overland from Calcutta, hundreds of elephants were employed to force a -way through the forests and roadless tracts between Aracan and Pegu; but -by the spring of 1855 a road had been formed, along which a battalion -could march briskly on foot. - -The Marquis of Dalhousie was not in a position to say so much concerning -railways in India as ordinary roads. Although railways were brought -under the consideration of the Company in 1843, nothing was done -regarding them till 1849, when a contract was entered into with a -separate company to construct a certain length of railway which, if -continued, would connect Calcutta with the north and northwest of India. -In the spring of 1853 the marquis recommended a bold line of policy in -these matters: the sanction and support, in every available way, of -great lines of railway to connect Calcutta with Lahore, Bombay with -Agra, Bombay with Madras, and Madras with the Malabar coast. A qualified -approval of these schemes had been accorded by the East India Company, -and engagements to the extent of ten millions sterling had been made for -a railway from Delhi to Burdwan: a line from Burdwan to Calcutta having -been opened in 1855. The governor-general, not dreaming of mutinies and -rebellions, named the year 1859 as the probable time of finishing the -iron route from Calcutta to Delhi. Besides these engagements with the -East India Railway Company in the Bengal presidency, contracts had been -made with the Great India Peninsula Company for a railway from Bombay to -the Ghaut Mountains; and another with the Bombay and Central India -Company for a railway from Bombay to Khandeish and Nagpoor, and for -another from Surat to Ahmedabad. On the eastern coast, the government -had arranged with the Madras Railway Company for lines from Madras to -the Malabar coast, _viâ_ Coimbatore, and from Variembaddy to Bangalore. -The English nation has long blamed the East India Company for a dilatory -policy in regard to railways; but all we have to do in this place is, on -the authority of the governor-general, to specify in few words what had -been done in the years immediately preceding the outbreak. - -The electric telegraph—perhaps the grandest invention of our age—found -in India a congenial place for its reception. Where the officials had no -more rapid means of sending a message to a distance of a thousand miles -than the fleetness of a corps of foot-runners, it is no marvel that the -achievements of the lightning-messenger were regarded with an eager eye. -An experimental line of electric telegraph was determined on, to be -carried out by Dr (now Sir William) O’Shaughnessy; and when that -energetic man made his report on the result in 1852, it was at once -determined to commence arrangements for lines of immense length, to -connect the widely separated cities of Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and -Peshawur, and the great towns between them. It was a grand idea, and was -worthily realised; for by the month of March 1854 an electric wire of -800 miles was established between Calcutta and Agra; by the month of -February 1855, the towns of Calcutta, Agra, Attock, Bombay, and Madras -were placed in telegraphic communication by 3000 miles of wire, serving -nearly forty towns on the way; and by the beginning of 1856 another -length of 1000 miles was added, from Attock to Peshawur, from Bangalore -to Ootacamund, and from Rangoon to the Burmese frontier. Many works of -great magnitude were required; there were few good roads for the workmen -to avail themselves of; there were few bridges; there were deadly -jungles to be passed; there was every variety of foundation, from loose -black soil to hard rocky wastes; there were seventy large rivers to be -crossed, either by cables in the water, or by wires extended on the tops -of masts; there was a cable of two miles required to cross the -Toongabudra, and one of three miles to cross the Sone—and yet the entire -work was comprised within a cost of 500 rupees or £50 per mile: perhaps -the wisest expenditure ever incurred in India. Repeatedly has a message, -relating to news from England, been transmitted 1000 miles, from Bombay -to Calcutta, in less than three-quarters of an hour; and it has become a -regular routine that the government at Calcutta shall be in possession -of a considerable body of telegraphic news from England within twelve -hours after the anchoring of the mail-steamer at Bombay. Who can -conceive the bewilderment of the Hindoo mind at such achievements! It is -certainly permissible to the governor-general to refer with pride to two -or three among many instances of the remarkable service rendered by -these telegraphs. ‘When her Majesty’s 10th Hussars were ordered with all -speed from Poonah to the Crimea, a message requesting instructions -regarding their despatch was one day received by me at Calcutta from the -government of Bombay, about nine o’clock in the morning. Instructions -were forthwith sent off by the telegraph in reply; and an answer to that -reply was again received at Calcutta from Bombay in the evening of the -same day. A year before, the same communications for the despatch of -speedy reinforcements to the seat of war, which occupied by the -telegraph no more than _twelve hours_, could not have been made in less -than _thirty days_.’ Again: ‘When it was resolved to send her Majesty’s -12th Lancers from Bangalore to the Crimea, instead of her Majesty’s 14th -Dragoons from Meerut, orders were forthwith despatched by telegraph -direct to the regiment at Bangalore. The corps was immediately got ready -for service; it marched two hundred miles, and was there before the -transports were ready to receive it.’ Again: ‘On the 7th of February -1856, as soon as the administration of Oude was assuredly under British -government, a branch-electric telegraph from Cawnpore to Lucknow was -forthwith commenced; in eighteen working-days it was completed, -including the laying of a cable, six thousand feet in length, across the -river Ganges. On the morning on which I resigned the government in -India, General Outram was asked by telegraph: “Is all well in Oude?” The -answer: “All is well in Oude,” was received soon after noon, and greeted -Lord Canning on his first arrival.’ Little did the new governor-general -then foresee in how few months he would receive painful proof that all -was _not_ well in Oude. However, the Marquis of Dalhousie was justified -in adverting with satisfaction to the establishment of telegraphic -communication during his reign of power; and he insists on full credit -being due to the East India Company for what was done in that direction. -‘I make bold to say, that whether regard be had to promptitude of -executive action, to speed and solidity of construction, to rapidity of -organisation, to liberality of charge, or to the early realisation and -vast magnitude of increased political influence in the East, the -achievement of the Honourable Company in the establishment of the -electric telegraph in India may challenge comparison with any public -enterprise which has been carried into execution in recent times, among -the nations of Europe, or in America itself.’ - -The postal system had not been allowed to stagnate during the eight -years under consideration. A commission had been appointed in 1850, to -inquire into the best means of increasing the efficiency of the system; -and under the recommendations of this commission, great improvements had -been made. A director-general of the post-office for the whole of India -had been appointed; a uniformity of rate irrespective of distance had -been established (three farthings for a letter, and three half-pence for -a newspaper); prepayment by postage-stamps had been substituted for cash -payment; the privileges of official franking had been almost abolished; -and a uniform sixpenny rate was fixed for letters between India and -England. Here again the governor-general insists, not only that the -Indian government had worked zealously, but that England herself had -been outstripped in liberal policy. ‘In England, a single letter is -conveyed to any part of the British isles for one penny; in India, a -single letter is conveyed over distances immeasurably greater—from -Peshawur, on the borders of Afghanistan, to the southernmost village of -Cape Comorin, or from Dehooghur, in Upper Assam, to Kurachee at the -mouth of the Indus—for no more than three farthings. The postage -chargeable on the same letter three years ago in India would not have -been less than one shilling, or sixteen times the present charge. Again, -since uniform rates of postage between England and India have been -established, the Scotch recruit who joins his regiment on our furthest -frontier at Peshawur, may write to his mother at John o’ Groat’s House, -and may send his letter to her free for sixpence: three years ago, the -same sum would not have carried his letter beyond Lahore.’ - -So great had been the activity of the Company and the governor-general, -in the course of eight years, in developing the productive resources of -our Oriental empire, that a department of Public Works had become -essentially necessary. The Company expended from two to three millions -sterling annually in this direction, and a new organisation had been -made to conduct the various works on which this amount of expenditure -was to be bestowed. When the great roads and canals were being planned -and executed, numerous civil engineers were of course needed; and the -minute tells us that ‘it was the far-seeing sagacity of Mr Thomason -which first anticipated the necessity of training engineers in the -country itself in which they were to be employed, and which first -suggested an effectual method of doing so. On his recommendation, the -civil engineering college at Roorkee, which now rightly bears his -honoured name, was founded with the consent of the Honourable Court. It -has already been enlarged and extended greatly beyond its original -limits. Instruction in it is given to soldiers preparing for subordinate -employment in the Public Works department, to young gentlemen not in the -service of government, and to natives upon certain conditions. A higher -class for commissioned officers of the army was created some years ago, -at the suggestion of the late Sir Charles Napier; and the government has -been most ready to consent to officers obtaining leave to study there, -as in the senior department at Sandhurst. Excellent fruit has already -been borne by this institution; many good servants have already been -sent forth into [from?] the department; and applications for the -services of students of the Thomason College were, before long, received -from other local governments.’ But this was not all: civil engineering -colleges and classes were formed at Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Lahore, -and Poonah. - -So greatly had the various public works on rivers and harbours, roads -and canals, telegraphic and postal communications, increased the trade -of India, that the shipping entries increased regularly year by year. -There were about six hundred vessels, exclusive of trading craft, that -ascended the Hoogly to Calcutta in 1847; by 1856, the number had -augmented to twelve hundred; and the tonnage had risen in a still -greater ratio. - -What is the English nation to think of all this, and how reconcile it -with the tragedies destined so soon to afflict that magnificent country? -Here we find the highest representative of the British crown narrating -and describing, in words too clear to be misunderstood, political and -commercial advancements of a really stupendous kind, effected within the -short period of eight years. We read of vast territories conquered, -tributary states annexed, amicable relations with other states -strengthened, territorial revenues increased, improved administration -organised, the civil service purified, legislative reforms effected, -prison-discipline improved, native colleges and schools established, -medical aid disseminated, thuggee and dacoitee put down, suttee and -infanticide discouraged, churches and chapels built, ministers of -religion salaried. We are told of the cultivation of raw produce being -fostered, the improvement of live-stock insured, the availability of -mineral treasures tested, exact territorial surveys completed, -stupendous irrigation and navigation canals constructed, flotillas of -river-steamers established, ports and harbours enlarged and deepened, -magnificent roads formed, long lines of railway commenced, thousands of -miles of electric telegraph set to work, vast postal improvements -insured. We read all this, and we cannot marvel if the ruler of India -felt some pride in his share of the work. But still the problem remains -unsolved—was the great Revolt foreshadowed in any of these achievements? -As the mutiny began among the military, it may be well to see what -information is afforded by the minute concerning military reforms -between the years 1848 and 1856. - -It is truly remarkable, knowing what the English nation now so painfully -knows, that the Marquis of Dalhousie, in narrating the various -improvements introduced by him in the military system, passes at once to -the _British_ soldiers: distinctly asserting that ‘the position of the -_native_ soldier in India has long been such as to leave hardly any -circumstance of his condition in need of improvement.’ The British -troops, we are told, had been benefited in many ways. The terms of -service in India had been limited to twelve years as a maximum; the -rations had been greatly improved; malt liquor had been substituted for -destructive ardent spirits; the barracks had been mostly rebuilt, with -modifications depending on the climate of each station; separate -barracks had been set apart for the married men of each regiment; -lavatories and reading-rooms had become recognised portions of every -barrack; punkhas or cooling fans had been adopted for barracks in hot -stations, and additional bed-coverings in cold; swimming-baths had been -formed at most of the stations; soldiers’ gardens had been formed at -many of the cantonments; workshops and tools for handicraftsmen had been -attached to the barracks; sanitaria had been built among the hills for -sick soldiers; and arrangements had been framed for acclimatising all -recruits from England before sending them into hot districts on service. -Then, as to the officers. Encouragement had been offered for the -officers to make themselves proficient in the native languages. A -principle had been declared and established, that promotion by seniority -should no longer govern the service; but that the test should be ‘the -selection of no man, whatever his standing, unless he was confessedly -capable and efficient.’ With the consent of the Queen, the Company’s -officers had had granted to them the recognition, until then rather -humiliatingly withheld, of their military rank, not only in India but -throughout the world. A military orphan school had been established in -the hill districts. All the military departments had been revised and -amended, the commissariat placed on a wholly new basis, and the military -clothing supplied on a more efficient system than before. - -Again is the search baffled. We find in the minute proofs only that -India had become great and grand; if the seeds of rebellion existed, -they were buried under the language which described material and social -advancement. Is it that England, in 1856, had yet to learn to understand -the native character? Such may be; for _thuggee_ came to the knowledge -of our government with astounding suddenness; and there may be some -other kind of thuggee, religious or social, still to be learned by us. -Let us bear in mind what this thuggee or thugism was, and who were the -Thugs. Many years ago, uneasy whispers passed among the British -residents in India. Rumours went abroad of the fate of unsuspecting -travellers ensnared while walking or riding upon the road, lassoed or -strangled by means of a silken cord, and robbed of their personal -property; the rumours were believed to be true; but it was long ere the -Indian government succeeded in bringing to light the stupendous -conspiracy or system on which these atrocities were based. It was then -found that there exists a kind of religious body in India, called Thugs, -among whom murder and robbery are portions of a religious rite, -established more than a thousand years ago. They worship Kali, one of -the deities of the Hindoo faith. In gangs varying from ten to two -hundred, they distribute themselves—or rather _did_ distribute -themselves, before the energetic measures of the government had nearly -suppressed their system—about various parts of India, sacrificing to -their tutelary goddess every victim they can seize, and sharing the -plunder among themselves. They shed no blood, except under special -circumstances; murder being their religion, the performance of its -duties requires secrecy, better observed by a noose or a cord than by a -knife or firearm. Every gang has its leader, teacher, entrappers, -stranglers, and gravediggers; each with his prescribed duties. When a -traveller, supposed or known to have treasure about him, has been -inveigled to a selected spot by the _Sothas_ or entrappers, he is -speedily put to death quietly by the _Bhuttotes_ or stranglers, and then -so dexterously placed underground by the _Lughahees_ or gravediggers -that no vestige of disturbed earth is visible.[1] This done, they offer -a sacrifice to their goddess Kali, and finally share the booty taken -from the murdered man. Although the ceremonial is wholly Hindoo, the -Thugs themselves comprise Mohammedans as well as Hindoos; and it is -supposed by some inquirers that the Mohammedans have ingrafted a system -of robbery on that which was originally a religious murder—murder as -part of a sacrifice to a deity. - -We repeat: there _may_ be some moral or social thuggee yet to be -discovered in India; but all we have now to assert is, that the -condition of India in 1856 did not suggest to the retiring -governor-general the slightest suspicion that the British in that -country were on the edge of a volcano. He said, in closing his -remarkable minute: ‘My parting hope and prayer for India is, that, in -all time to come, these reports from the presidencies and provinces -under our rule may form, in each successive year, a happy record of -peace, prosperity, and progress.’ No forebodings here, it is evident. -Nevertheless, there are isolated passages which, read as England can -_now_ read them, are worthy of notice. One runs thus: ‘No prudent man, -who has any knowledge of Eastern affairs, would ever venture to predict -the maintenance of continued peace within our Eastern possessions. -Experience, frequent hard and recent experience, has taught us that war -from without, or rebellion from within, may at any time be raised -against us, in quarters where they were the least to be expected, and by -the most feeble and unlikely instruments. No man, therefore, can ever -prudently hold forth assurance of continued peace in India.’ Again: ‘In -territories and among a population so vast, occasional disturbance must -needs prevail. Raids and forays are, and will still be, reported from -the western frontier. From time to time marauding expeditions will -descend into the plains; and again expeditions to punish the marauders -will penetrate the hills. Nor can it be expected but that, among tribes -so various and multitudes so innumerable, local outbreaks will from time -to time occur.’ But in another place he seeks to lessen the force and -value of any such disturbances as these. ‘With respect to the frontier -raids, they are and must for the present be viewed as events inseparable -from the state of society which for centuries past has existed among the -mountain tribes. They are no more to be regarded as interruptions of the -general peace in India, than the street-brawls which appear among the -everyday proceedings of a police-court in London are regarded as -indications of the existence of civil war in England. I trust, -therefore, that I am guilty of no presumption in saying, that I shall -leave the Indian Empire in peace, without and within.’ - -Such, then, is a governor-general’s picture of the condition of the -British Empire in India in the spring of 1856: a picture in which there -are scarcely any dark colours, or such as the painter believed to be -dark. We may learn many things from it: among others, a consciousness -how little we even now know of the millions of Hindostan—their motives, -their secrets, their animosities, their aspirations. The bright picture -of 1856, the revolting tragedies of 1857—how little relation does there -appear between them! That there _is_ a relation all must admit, who are -accustomed to study the links of the chain that connect one event with -another; but at what point the relation occurs, is precisely the -question on which men’s opinions will differ until long and -dispassionate attention has been bestowed on the whole subject. - - - Notes. - - [This may be a convenient place in which to introduce a few - observations on three subjects likely to come with much frequency - under the notice of the reader in the following chapters; namely, - the distances between the chief towns in India and the three great - presidential cities—the discrepancies in the current modes of - spelling the names of Indian persons and places—and the meanings of - some of the native words frequently used in connection with Indian - affairs.] - - _Distances._—For convenience of occasional reference, a table of - some of the distances in India is here given. It has been compiled - from the larger tables of Taylor, Garden, Hamilton, and Parbury. - Many of the distances are estimated in some publications at smaller - amount, owing, it may be, to the opening of new and shorter routes: - - _To Calcutta._ _To Madras._ _To Bombay._ - Miles. Miles. Miles. - From Agra 796 1238 754 - From Allahabad 498 1151 831 - From Arcot 1085 71 715 - From Aracan 598 1661 1795 - From Benares 428 1151 927 - From Bhopal 849 944 492 - From Bombay 1185 763 - From Calcutta 1063 1185 - From Cawnpore 628 1200 854 - From Delhi 900 1372 868 - From Dinapore 376 1337 1072 - From Furrukhabad 722 1257 892 - From Gwalior 782 1164 680 - From Hyderabad[2] 962 398 434 - From Indore 965 979 378 - From Jaunpore 473 1196 972 - From Jeypoor 921 1352 757 - From Kolapoor 1245 584 228 - From Kurachee 1610 1567 873 - From Lahore 1241 1712 1208 - From Lucknow 619 1253 907 - From Madras 1063 763 - From Masulipatam 797 322 654 - From Meerut 906 1405 912 - From Moorshedabad 123 1186 1308 - From Mysore 1245 290 635 - From Nagpoor 677 713 508 - From Oodypoor 1139 1209 606 - From Patna 369 1299 1065 - From Peshawur 1543 2014 1510 - From Pondicherry 1157 98 803 - From Poonah 1107 667 94 - From Rungpoor 271 1334 1456 - From Satara 1180 609 163 - From Seringapatam 1236 281 626 - From Shahjehanpoor 735 1320 936 - From Simla 1112 1611 1086 - From Surat 1232 867 191 - From Tanjore 1257 212 871 - From Trichinopoly 1254 209 835 - From Umballa 1033 1532 1007 - From Umritsir 1193 1664 1160 - From Vellore 1100 86 700 - From Vizagapatam 557 501 834 - - _Orthography._—It is perfectly hopeless to attempt here any - settlement of the vexed question of Oriental orthography, the - spelling of the names of Indian persons and places. If we rely - on one governor-general, the next contradicts him; the - commander-in-chief very likely differs from both; authors and - travellers have each a theory of his own; while newspaper - correspondents dash recklessly at any form of word that first - comes to hand. Readers must therefore hold themselves ready for - these complexities, and for detecting the same name under two or - three different forms. The following will suffice to shew our - meaning:—Rajah, raja—nabob, nawab, nawaub—Punjab, Punjaub, - Penjab, Panjab—Vizierabad, Wuzeerabad—Ghengis Khan, Gengis Khan, - Jengis Khan—Cabul, Caboul, Cabool, Kabul—Deccan, Dekkan, - Dukhun—Peshawur, Peshawar—Mahomet, Mehemet, Mohammed, Mahommed, - Muhummud—Sutlej, Sutledge—Sinde, Scinde, Sindh—Himalaya, - Himmaléh—Cawnpore, Cawnpoor—Sikhs, Seiks—Gujerat, Guzerat—Ali, - Alee, Ally—Ghauts, Gauts—Sepoys, Sipahis—Faquir, Fakeer—Oude, - Oudh—Bengali, Bengalee—Burhampooter, Brahmaputra—Asam, - Assam—Nepal, Nepaul—Sikkim, Sikim—Thibet, Tibet—Goorkas, - Ghoorkas—Cashmere, Cashmeer, Kashmir—Doab, Dooab—Sudra, - Soodra—Vishnu, Vishnoo—Buddist, Buddhist, &c. Mr Thornton, in - his excellent Gazetteer of India, gives a curious instance of - this complexity, in _eleven_ modes of spelling the name of one - town, each resting on some good authority—Bikaner, Bhicaner, - Bikaneer, Bickaneer, Bickanere, Bikkaneer, Bhikanere, Beekaneer, - Beekaner, Beykaneer, Bicanere. One more instance will suffice. - Viscount Canning, writing to the directors of the East India - Company concerning the conduct of a sepoy, spelled the man’s - name _Shiek Paltoo_. A fortnight afterwards, the same - governor-general, writing to the same directors about the same - sepoy, presented the name under the form _Shaik Phultoo_. We - have endeavoured as far as possible to make the spelling in the - narrative and the map harmonise. - - * * * * * - - _Vocabulary._—We here present a vocabulary of about fifty words much - used in India, both in conversation and in writing, connected with - the military and social life of the natives; with the initials or - syllables P., Port., H., M., A., T., Tam., S., to denote whether the - words have been derived from the Persian, Portuguese, Hindustani, - Mahratta, Arabic, Tatar, Tamil, or Sanscrit languages. Tamil or - Tamul is spoken in some of the districts of Southern India. In most - instances, two forms of spelling are given, to prepare the reader - for the discrepancies above adverted to: - - _Ab_, _aub_ (P.), water; used in composition thus: _Punjaub_, five - waters, or watered by five rivers; _Doab_, a district between two - rivers, equivalent in meaning to the Greek _Mesopotamia_. - - _Abad_ (P.), inhabited; a town or city; such as _Allahabad_, city of - God; _Hyderabad_, city of Hyder. - - _Ayah_ (Port.), a nurse; a female attendant on a lady. - - _Baba_ (T.), a term of endearment in the domestic circle, nearly - equivalent to the English _dear_, and applied both to a father and - his child. - - _Baboo_, a Hindoo title, equivalent to our _Esquire_. - - _Bag_, _bágh_, a garden; _Kudsiya bágh_ is a celebrated garden - outside Delhi. - - _Bahadoor_ (P.), brave; a title of respect added to the names of - military officers and others. - - _Bang_ (P.), an intoxicating potion made from hemp. - - _Bazar_, _bazaar_, an exchange or market-place. - - _Begum_ (T.), a princess, a lady of high rank. - - _Bheestee_, _bihishtí_, a water-carrier. - - _Bobachee_, _báwarchí_ (T.), an Indian officer’s cook. - - _Budgerow_, _bajrá_ (S.), a Ganges boat of large size. - - _Bungalow_, _banglá_ (H.), a house or dwelling. - - _Cherry_, _cheri_ (Tam.), village or town; termination to the name - of many places in Southern India; such as _Pondicherry_. - - _Chit_, _chittí_ (H.), a note or letter. - - _Chupatty_, _chápátí_ (P.), a thin cake of unleavened Indian-corn - bread. - - _Coolie_, _kuli_ (T.), a porter or carrier. - - _Cutcherry_, _kacharí_ (H.), an official room; a court of justice. - - _Dacoit_, _dákáit_ (H.), a gang-robber. - - _Dâk_, _dahk_, _dawk_ (H.), the Indian post, and the arrangements - connected with it. - - _Dewan_, a native minister or agent. - - _Dost_ (P.), a friend. - - _Feringhee_, a Frank or European. - - _Fakeer_, _fakír_ (A.), a mendicant devotee. - - _Ghazee_, _ghazi_ (A.), a true believer who fights against infidels: - hence _Ghazeepoor_, city of the faithful. - - _Golundauze_, _golandáz_ (P.), a native artilleryman. - - _Havildar_ (P.), a native sergeant. - - _Jehad_ (A.), a holy war. - - _Jemadar_ (P.), a native lieutenant. - - _Jhageerdar_, _jaghiredar_, _jágírdár_ (P.), the holder of land - granted for services. - - _Mohurrum_ (A.), a fast held sacred by Mohammedans on the tenth day - of the first month in their year, equivalent to the 25th of July. - - _Musjid_ (A.), a mosque; thence _jumma musjid_ or _jum’aah masjid_, - a cathedral or chief mosque. - - _Naik_, _naig_ (S.), a native corporal. - - _Náná_, _nena_ (M.), grandfather, a term of respect or precedence - among the Mahrattas; _Náná Sahib_, so far from being a family or - personal name, is simply a combination of two terms of respect - (see _Sahib_) for a person whose real name was Dhundu Punt. - - _Nawab_, _nabob_, _núwáb_ (A.), derived from _náib_, a viceroy or - vicegerent. - - _Nuddee_, _nadi_ (S.), a river. - - _Nullah_, _nálá_ (H.), a brook, water-course, the channel of a - torrent. - - _Patam_, _pattanam_ (S.), a town; the termination of the names of - many places in Southern India; such as _Seringapatam_, the city of - Shrí Ranga, a Hindoo divinity. - - _Peon_ (P.), a messenger or foot-attendant. - - _Pore_, _poor_, a town; the final syllable in many significant - names, such as _Bhurtpore_ or _Bharatpoor_, the town of Bharata. - - _Rajpoot_, a Hindoo of the military caste or order; there is one - particular province in Upper India named from them _Rajpootana_. - - _Ryot_, a peasant cultivator. - - _Sahib_, _saheb_, _sáaib_ (A.), lord; a gentleman. - - _Sepoy_, _sípahí_, in the Bengal presidency, a native soldier in the - Company’s service; in that of Bombay, it often has the meaning of - a peon or foot-messenger. - - _Shahzadah_ (P.), prince; king’s son. - - _Sowar_ (P.), a native horseman or trooper. - - _Subadar_, _soubahdar_ (A.), a native captain. - - _Tuppal_, _tappál_ (H.), a packet of letters; the post. - - _Zemindar_, _zamindár_ (P.), a landowner. - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - The visitor to the British Museum, in one of the saloons of the - Ethnological department, will find a very remarkable series of - figures, modelled by a native Hindoo, of the individuals forming a - gang of Thugs; all in their proper costumes, and all as they are (or - were) usually engaged in the successive processes of entrapping, - strangling, and burying a traveller, and then dividing the booty. - -Footnote 2: - - There are two Hyderabads—one in the Nizam’s dominions in the Deccan, - and the other in Sinde (spelt Hydrabad): it is the former here - intended. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - THE ANGLO-INDIAN ARMY AT THE TIME OF THE OUTBREAK. - - -The magnificent India which began to revolt from England in the early -months of 1857; which continued that Revolt until it spread to many -thousands of square miles; which conducted the Revolt in a manner that -appalled all the civilised world by its unutterable horrors—this India -was, after all, not really unsound at its core. It was not so much the -_people_ who rebelled, as the _soldiers_. Whatever grievances the -hundred and seventy millions of human beings in that wonderful country -may have had to bear; whatever complaints may have been justifiable on -their parts against their native princes or the British government; and -whatever may have been the feelings of those native princes towards the -British—all of which matters will have to be considered in later -chapters of this work—still it remains incontestable that the outbreak -was a military revolt rather than a national rebellion. The Hindoo -foot-soldier, fed and paid by the British, ran off with his arms and his -uniform, and fought against those who had supported him; the Mohammedan -trooper, with his glittering equipments and his fine horse, escaped with -both in like manner, and became suddenly an enemy instead of a friend -and servant. What effect this treachery may have had on the populace of -the towns, is another question: we have at present only to do with the -military origin of the struggle. - -Here, therefore, it becomes at once necessary that the reader should be -supplied with an intelligible clue to the series of events, a groundwork -on which his appreciation of them may rest. As this work aims at -something more than a mere record of disasters and victories, all the -parts will be made to bear some definite relation one to another; and -the first of these relations is—between the mutinous movements -themselves, and the soldiers who made those movements. Before we can -well understand what the sepoys _did_, we must know who the sepoys -_are_; before we can picture to ourselves an Indian regiment in revolt, -we must know of what elements it consists, and what are its usages when -in cantonments or when on the march; and before we can appreciate the -importance of two presidential armies remaining faithful while that of -Bengal revolted, we must know what is meant by a presidency, and in what -way the Anglo-Indian army bears relation to the territorial divisions of -India. We shall not need for these purposes to give here a formal -history of Hindostan, nor a history of the rise and constitution of the -East India Company, nor an account of the manners and customs of the -Hindoos, nor a narrative of the British wars in India in past ages, nor -a topographical description of India—many of these subjects will demand -attention in later pages; but at present only so much will be touched -upon as is necessary for the bare understanding of the _facts_ of the -Revolt, leaving the _causes_ for the present in abeyance. - -What are the authoritative or official divisions of the country in -reference to the governors who control and the soldiers who fight (or -ought to fight) for it? What are the modes in which a vast region, -extending more than a thousand miles in many different directions, is or -may be traversed by rebel soldiers who fight against their employers, -and by true soldiers who punish the rebels? What and who are the -soldiers thus adverted to; how many, of what races, how levied, how paid -and supported, where cantoned, how officered? These are the three -subjects that will occupy a brief chapter; after which the narrative of -the Revolt may with profit be at once entered upon. - -And first, for India as an immense country governed by a people living -eight or ten thousand miles distant. Talk as we may, there are few among -us who can realise the true magnitude of this idea—the true bearing of -the relation borne by two small islands in a remote corner of Europe to -a region which has been famed since the time of Alexander the Great. The -British Empire in India—what does it denote? Even before the acquisition -of Oude, Pegu, and Nagpoor, the British possessions in India covered -nearly 800,000 square miles; but as the influence of England is -gradually extending over the protected and the hitherto independent -states, we shall best conceive the whole (without Pegu, which is -altogether eastward of what is considered India) as a compact territory -of 1,400,000 square miles—twelve times as large as the United Kingdom, -sixteen times as large as Great Britain, twenty-five times as large as -England and Wales: double the size, in fact, of Great Britain, France, -Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Prussia, and Switzerland, all -combined. Nor is this, like the Russian Empire, a vast but thinly -populated region. It contains at least a hundred and eighty millions of -human beings, more than a hundred and thirty millions of whom are the -direct subjects of Queen Victoria—that is, if anything _can_ be direct, -connected with the anomalous relations between the Crown and the East -India Company. - -It comes within the knowledge of most intelligent English readers at the -present day, that this Indian Empire, governed by a curiously -complicated bargain between a sovereign and a company, has been growing -for a hundred years, and still continues growing. In fits of national -anger or international generosity, we inveigh against the Czar of Russia -for processes of aggression and plans of annexation in regions around -and between the Caspian and Black Seas, and we compassionate and assist -his weak neighbours under the pressure of his ambition; but it is only -in times of excitement or peril that we consider the extraordinary way -in which our own Indian Empire has been built up—by conquest, by -purchase, by forfeiture—and in some cases by means which, called robbery -by our enemies, do at any rate demand a little compunction from us as a -Christian people. Exactly a century ago, England scarcely occupied a -foot of ground in India; her power was almost crushed out by the native -nawab who rendered himself infamous by the episode of the Black Hole at -Calcutta; and it was in the year after that atrocity—namely, in 1757, -that Clive began those wonderful victories which established a permanent -basis for a British Empire in Hindostan. And what a continuous growth by -increment has since been displayed! The Pergunnahs, Masulipatam, -Burdwan, Midnapore, Chittagong, Bengal, Bahar, the Northern Circars, -Benares, all passed into British hands by the year 1775; the next -twenty-five years brought to us the ownership of Salsette, Nagore, Pulo -Penang, Malabar, Dindigul, Salem, Barramahal, Coimbatore, Canara, -Tanjore, and portions of the Deccan and Mysore; in the first quarter of -the present century the list was increased by the Carnatic, Gorukhpore, -the Doab, Bareilly, portions of Bundelcund, Cuttack, Balasore, Delhi, -Gujerat, Kumaon, Saugor, Khandeish, Ajmeer, Poonah, the Concan, portions -of Mahratta country, districts in Bejapore and Ahmednuggur, Singapore, -and Malacca; in the next period of equal length the acquisitions -included Assam, Aracan, Tenasserim, the Nerbudda districts, Patna, -Sumbhulpore, Koorg, Loodianah, Kurnaul, Sinde, and the Jullundur Doab; -while during the eight years of the Marquis of Dalhousie’s -administration, as we learn on his own authority, there were added Pegu, -the Punjaub, Nagpoor, Oude, Satara, Jhansi, and Berar—all these in -exactly a century. - -The whole of British India is placed under a governor-general, whose -official residence is at Calcutta, and who is assisted by a kind of -cabinet or council of ministers. Formerly there were three presidencies, -under whom the whole territory was placed; two being under the governors -of Bombay and Madras, and the remainder, called the Bengal presidency, -being under the governor-general himself, who was to this extent vested -with a special as well as a general government. But in process of time -it was found impossible for this official to fulfil all the duties -imposed upon him; and the great Bengal presidency became subdivided. -There are now five local governors of great districts—the -governor-general himself, who directly rules many of the newly acquired -regions; the lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces, who rules -some of the country formerly included in the presidency of Bengal; the -lieutenant-governor of the Lower Provinces, who rules the rest of that -country; and the governors of Madras and Bombay, whose range of -territory has not undergone much increase in recent years. Let us learn -a little concerning each of these five. - -Madras, as a presidency or government, includes the whole of the south -of India, where its narrowed, peninsular form is most apparent, up to -about latitude 16° north, together with a strip still further north on -the east or Coromandel coast. Its greatest inland extent is about 950 -miles in one direction, and 450 in another; while its shores are washed -by the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal along a coast-line of no less -than 1700 miles—unfortunately, however, very ill provided with ports and -anchorages. There are about thirty districts and states under the -governor’s rule—some as ‘regulation districts,’ others as -‘non-regulation districts,’ and others as ‘native states.’ The -difference between these three kinds may be thus briefly indicated: the -‘regulation’ districts are thoroughly British, and are governed directly -by the chief of the presidency; the ‘non-regulation’ districts are now -equally British, though of more recent acquisition, but are governed by -agents or commissioners; while the ‘native states’ have still their -native princes, ‘protected,’ or rather controlled by the British. -Without any formal enumeration, it may be well to remember that the -following names of some of these districts, all more or less familiar to -English readers as the names of towns or provinces, are included among -those belonging to the presidency or government of Madras—Masulipatam, -Nellore, Chingleput, Madras, Arcot, Cuddalore, Cuddapah, Salem, -Coimbatore, Trichinopoly, Tanjore, Madura, Tinnevelly, Malabar, Canara, -Vizagapatam, Kurnaul, Koorg,[3] Cochin, Mysore, Travancore. Some of -these are not absolutely British; but their independence is little more -than a name. There are various important towns, or places worth knowing -in connection with Indian affairs, which are included in some or other -of these districts, but not giving their names to them—such as -Seringapatam, Golcandah, Rajamandry, Juggernaut, Vellore, Pulicat, -Pondicherry (French), Tranquebar, Negapatam, Bangalore, Ootacamund, -Mangalore, Calicut. - -Bombay, as a presidency, is a curiously shaped strip. Exclusive of the -subordinate territories of native princes (over which, however, the -Company exercises paramount political sway) and of Sinde, which, though -recently placed under the government of Bombay, may properly be regarded -as a distinct territory—exclusive of these, the presidency occupies a -narrow strip, of irregular outline, stretching for a considerable -distance north and south. It occupies the western coast of the -peninsula, from Gujerat on the north, to the small Portuguese settlement -of Goa on the south; and has a length of 650 miles, with a maximum -breadth of 240. The Bombay provinces included in the strip just noticed, -the neighbouring territories administered by or on behalf of native -princes, and Sinde, form three sections about equal in size, the whole -collectively being thrice as large as England and Wales. To assist the -memory, as in the last paragraph, we give the names of the chief -districts likely to be known to English readers—all of which either -belong absolutely to the presidency of Bombay, or are more or less under -the control of the governor—Surat, Baroche, Ahmedabad, Khandeish, -Poonah, Ahmednuggur, Bombay, Concan, Satara, Baroda, Kattywar, Kolapore, -Cutch, the Mahratta districts, Kurachee, Hyderabad, Shikarpore, -Khyrpore. The last four are districts of Sinde, conquered by the late -Sir Charles James Napier, and placed under the Bombay presidency as -being nearer at hand than any of the others. Besides the towns similarly -named to most of these districts, the following may be usefully -mentioned—Goa (Portuguese), Bejapore, Bassein, Aurungabad, Assaye, -Nuseerabad, Cambay. - -Lower Bengal, or the Lower Provinces of Bengal, considered as a -sub-presidency or lieutenant-government, comprises all the eastern -portion of British India, bounded on the east by the Burmese and Chinese -Empires, and on the north by Nepaul, Sikim, and Bhotan; southward, it is -washed by the Bay of Bengal; while inland or westward, it reaches to a -point on the Ganges a little beyond Patna, but not so far as Benares. -Fancy might compare it in shape to a dumb-bell, surmounting the upper -part of the Bay of Bengal, which washes its shores throughout a distance -of 900 miles. Without reckoning native states under the control of the -Company, this lieutenant-governorship is considerably more than three -times as large as England and Wales; and nearly the whole of it is in -the basins of, or drained by, the two magnificent rivers Ganges and -Brahmaputra. On the principle before adopted, we give the names of -districts most likely to become familiarised to the reader—Jessore, -Burdwan, Bancorah, Bhaugulpore, Monghir, Cuttack, Balasore, Midnapore, -Moorshedabad, Rungpoor, Dacca, Silhet, Patna, Bahar, Chittagong, the -Sunderbunds, Assam, Aracan. Most of these are also the names of towns, -each the chief in its district; but there are other important towns and -places not here named—including Calcutta, Cossimbazar, Barrackpore, -Chandernagore, Serampore, Culpee, Purneah, Boglipore, Rajmahal, Nagore, -Raneegunge, Jellasore, Dinapore, Bahar, Ramghur, Burhampore. - -Northwest Bengal, or the Northwestern Provinces of the Bengal -presidency, regarded as a sub-presidency or lieutenant-governorship, -comprises some of the most important and densely populated districts of -Northern India. It covers seven degrees of latitude and nine of -longitude; or, if the portion of the ‘non-regulation’ districts under -the control of this lieutenant-governor be included, the range extends -to ten degrees of latitude and twelve of longitude. Its boundary is -roughly marked by the neighbouring provinces or states of Sirhind, -Kumaon, Nepaul, Oude, Lower Bengal, Rewah, Bundelcund, and Scindiah’s -Mahratta territory; but many of these are included among its -‘non-regulation’ territories. In its limited, strictly British -territory, it is a little larger than England and Wales; but including -the ‘non-regulation’ provinces, such as Kumaon, Ajmeer, Saugor, &c., it -is vastly larger. As the chief city is Agra, the lieutenant-governorship -is often called by that name: more convenient, perhaps, than the one -officially adopted—indeed it was at one time determined, though the plan -has been postponed _sine die_, to form an entirely new and distinct -presidency, called the Presidency of Agra. The Ganges and the Jumna are -the great rivers that permeate it. As before, we give the names of the -most familiarly known divisions or districts—Delhi, Meerut, Allygurh, -Rohilcund, Bareilly, Shahjehanpoor, Bijnour, Agra, Furruckabad, -Allahabad, Cawnpore, Futtehpore, Benares, Gorukhpore, Azimghur, -Jounpore, Mirzapore, Ghazeepore; and if to these we add the names of -towns not indicated by the names of their districts—such as Simla, -Sirhind, Umballa, Loodianah, Shahabad, Buxar—it will be seen how many -places noted more or less in Indian affairs lie within this province or -lieutenant-governorship. - -For the sake of brevity, it may here be remarked, we shall frequently, -in future chapters, use the names ‘Northwest Bengal’ and ‘Lower Bengal,’ -instead of the tedious designations ‘Northwestern Provinces’ and -‘Lieutenant Government of Bengal.’ - -As to the fifth or remaining sphere of government—that which is under -the governor-general himself—it is with difficulty described; so many -are the detached scraps and patches. The overworked representative of -the crown, whether his name be Auckland or Ellenborough, Dalhousie or -Canning, finding the governorship of Bengal too onerous when added to -the governor-generalship of the whole of India, gives up his special -care of Bengal, divides it into two sub-provinces, and hands it over to -the two lieutenant-governors. But the increase of territory in British -India has been so vast within the last few years, and the difficulty so -great of deciding to which presidency they ought to belong, that they -have been made into a fifth dominion or government, under the -governor-general himself. The great and important country of the -Punjaub, acquired a few years ago, is one of the list; it is under the -governor-general, and is administered for him by a board of -commissioners. The kingdom of Oude is another, annexed in 1856, and -similarly represented by residents or commissioners acting for and under -the orders of the governor-general. The province of Nagpoor is a third: -a large country in the very centre of India, annexed in 1853, and nearly -touching all the four governorships already described. Pegu is a fourth, -wrested from the sultan of Burmah, in 1852, and placed under the -governor-general’s administration. A fifth is Tenasserim, a strip of -country stretching five hundred miles along the eastern shore of the Bay -of Bengal. There are other fragments; but the above will suffice to shew -that the governor-general has no inconsiderable amount of territory -under his immediate control, represented by his commissioners. If we -look at the names of places included within these limits, we shall be -struck with their number and importance in connection with stirring -events in India. In the Punjaub we find Peshawur, Attock, Rawul Pindee, -Jelum, Ramnugur, Chillianwalla, Wuzeerabad, Umritsir, Lahore, Jullundur, -Ghoorka, Ferozpore, Ferozshah, Moodkee; in the once independent but now -British province or kingdom of Oude will be found the names of Lucknow, -Oude, Fyzabad, Sultanpore, Khyrabad; in the territory of Nagpoor is the -town of the same name, but other towns of any note are scarce. In Pegu -and Tenasserim, both ultra-Gangetic or eastward of the Ganges, we find -Rangoon, Bassein, Prome, Moulmein, and Martaban. - -The reader has here before him about a hundred and forty names of places -in this rapid sketch of the great divisional governments of India, -mostly the names of important towns; and—without any present details -concerning modes of government, or numbers governed, natural wealth or -social condition—we believe he will find his comprehension of the events -of the great Revolt much aided by a little attention to this account of -the five governments into which British India is at present divided. As -for the _original_ names of kingdoms and provinces, nawabships and -rajahships, it scarcely repays the trouble to learn them: when the -native chiefs were made pensioned puppets, the former names of their -possessions became of lessened value, and many of them are gradually -disappearing from the maps. We have ‘political residents,’ ‘government -agents,’ or ‘commissioners,’ at the capital city of almost every prince -in India; to denote that, though the prince may hold the trappings of -royalty, there is a watchful master scrutinising his proceedings, and -claiming something to do with his military forces. Such is the case at -Hyderabad in the Nizam’s territory, at Khatmandoo in Nepaul, at Gwalior -in Scindiah’s dominions, at Indore in Holkar’s dominions, at Bhopal, in -the country of the same name, at Bhurtpore and elsewhere in the Rajpoot -princes’ dominions, at Darjeeling in Sikim, at Baroda in the Guicowar’s -dominions, &c. - -The semi-independent princes of India—mostly rajahs if Hindoos, nawabs -if Mohammedans—are certainly placed in a most anomalous position. There -are nearly two hundred of these vassal-kings, if we may so term -them—some owning territories as large as European kingdoms, while others -claim dominion over bits of country not larger than petty German -principalities. The whole of them have treaties and engagements with the -British government, involving the reciprocal obligations of protection -and allegiance. Some of them pay tribute, others do not; but almost all -have formally relinquished the right of self-defence, and also that of -maintaining diplomatic relations with each other. The princes are -regarded as children, expected to look up for protection only to their -great mother, the Company. The Company undertakes not only to guarantee -external safety but also internal tranquillity in these states, and is -the umpire in all quarrels between native rulers. Though not called -upon, and indeed not allowed, to defend themselves from an external -attack, the princes mostly have armies, more for show than use under -ordinary circumstances; but then they must obtain permission to do this, -and they must limit the numbers; and in some cases there is a -stipulation that if the British be at war in India, the prince must lend -his troops. It is in this sense that the independent princes of India -are said to possess, collectively, an armed force of little less than -four hundred thousand men: many of them available, according to treaty, -for British service. - -Next, we may usefully pay a little attention to this question—How, in so -immense a country, do the soldiers and subjects of these several states, -British and native, travel from place to place: how do they cross -mountains where passes are few, or marshes and sandy plains where roads -are few and bad, or broad rivers where bridges are scarce? The distances -traversed by the armies are sometimes enormous. Let us open a map of -India, and see, for example, the relative positions of Calcutta, Madras, -Bombay, Delhi, Peshawur, and Kurachee at the western mouth of the Indus. -Delhi is nearly nine hundred miles from Bombay, more than nine hundred -from Calcutta by land, fifteen or sixteen hundred miles from the same -city by water-route up the Ganges and Jumna, and nearly fourteen hundred -from Madras. Kurachee, the most westerly spot in India, and destined one -day, perhaps, to be an important depôt for steamers from the Red Sea or -the Persian Gulf, is more than sixteen hundred miles from Calcutta, -nearly across the broadest part of India from east to west; while -Peshawur, at the extreme northwest or Afghan frontier, acquired by -England when the Punjaub was annexed, is no less than _two thousand_ -miles from Madras. All opinions and judgments, concerning the slowness -of operations in India, must be tempered by a consideration of these -vast distances. - -The rivers were the great highways of that country before roads existed, -as in other regions; and they have never ceased to be the most -frequented routes. At least such is the case in relation to the larger -rivers—such as the Ganges, Indus, Nerbudda, Kishna, Jumna, Sutlej, and -Jelum. Hindoos and Mohammedans, too poor to hire horses or palkees for -land-travel, may yet be able to avail themselves of their river-boats. - -The native boats which work on the Ganges are numerous and curious in -kind. The _patella_ or baggage-boat is of saul-wood, clinker-built, and -flat-bottomed, with rather slanting outsides, and not so manageable as a -punt or a London barge; its great breadth gives it a very light draught -of water, and renders it fittest for the cotton and other up-country -products, which require little more than a dry and secure raft to float -them down the stream. The _oolak_ or common baggage-boat of the Hoogly -and Central Bengal, has a sharp bow and smooth rounded sides; it is -fitted for tracking and sailing before the wind, and is tolerably -manageable with the oar in smooth water. The Dacca _pulwar_ is more -weatherly, although, like the rest, without keel, and the fastest and -most handy boat in use for general traffic. The _budgerow_, the -_bauleah_, and the ketch-rigged pinnace, are employed by Europeans for -their personal conveyance. Besides these, there are numerous others—such -as the wood-boats of the Sunderbunds, of various forms and -dimensions—from one hundred to six thousand maunds burden (a maund being -about equal to 100 pounds troy); the salt-boats of Tumlook; the light -boats which carry betel-leaf; the Calcutta _bhur_, or cargo-boat of the -port; the Chittagong boats; the light _mug_-boats, with floors of a -single hollowed piece of timber, and raised sides, neatly attached by -sewing, with strips of bamboo over the seams; the _dinghee_; and the -_panswee_—all found within the limits of the Bengal presidency. ‘A -native traveller, according to his degree and substance, engages a -dinghee or a panswee, a pulwar or an oolak; the man of wealth puts his -baggage and attendants in these, and provides a budgerow or a pinnace -for his personal accommodation. Officers of high standing in the civil -or military service, travelling with a large retinue of servants and a -quantity of baggage, seldom have less than five or six boats (one of -them a cooking-boat, and another fitted with an oven for baking bread): -sometimes as many as fifteen when they carry their horses and equipages, -and the materials of housekeeping for their comfortable establishment on -arrival.’ - -Before Indian steamers were introduced, or Indian railways thought of, -the Ganges was the great highway from Calcutta to Benares, Allahabad, -and the northwestern provinces generally, in all cases where speed was -not required. The Indian government used to allow their military -servants two months and a half for proceeding to Benares, three to -Allahabad, five to Meerut, and nine to Loodianah—periods that seem to -us, in the old country, outrageous in their length. The boats were -chiefly of two of the kinds mentioned in the preceding paragraph—namely, -the pinnace, very European in its appearance, and the lofty sterned -budgerow, peculiarly Indian. Even after steamers were placed upon the -Ganges, the slow-going budgerow continued to be much used by the -Company’s officers, and by other persons going northwest—chiefly in -cases where a family and a large quantity of luggage or personal effects -had to be conveyed; for every other mode than the budgerow then becomes -very costly—and will probably so continue until the great trunk-railway -is completed. Budgerow boating is, it must be confessed, enough to -stagnate the blood of an active man who wishes to speed onward to a -scene of usefulness. As the tide ends at a few miles above Calcutta, -there is a constant downward current throughout all the rest of the -Ganges; and this current has to be struggled against during the -up-passage. If the wind be favourable, sails are hoisted; but if -otherwise, progress is made by _gooning_ or tracking, an operation -performed by the greater part of the crew proceeding on shore, and with -ropes attached to the mast-head, dragging the vessel bodily along: -wading for hours, it may be, through nullahs or creeks more than breast -high. The travellers spend much of their time on shore in the cooler -hours of the morning and evening, walking, fishing, or shooting, or -otherwise whiling away their time; for they can easily keep up with a -boat that only makes ten miles per average day. The Company have been -accustomed to make a certain allowance to each officer for -boat-accommodation up the country; and it is not unusual for two or -three to join in the hire of one budgerow, to their mutual comfort, and -with a small saving out of their allowance. They engage an attendant -dinghee as a cook-boat, to keep the culinary operations at a respectful -distance; and they fit up their budgerow with camp-tables, camp-stools, -charpoys or light bedsteads, copper chillumchees or wash-basins, rugs, -hanging lamps, canteens, bullock or camel trunks, and a few other -articles of furniture; with wine, spirits, ale, preserves, cheeses, -pickles, salt meats, hams, tongues, and other provisions, which are -cheaper at Calcutta than if purchased on the way; and with their -wardrobes, articles for the toilet, books, chess and backgammon boards, -guns, musical instruments, and other aids to lessen the tedium of a long -voyage. - -Hitherto, commerce has had so much more to do with this Ganges traffic -than passenger travel, that the slowness of the progress was not felt: -as in the instance of the canals of England, which, made for goods and -not for passengers, are not blameable on the score of tardiness. The -Ganges is now, as it has been for ages, the main channel for the -commerce of Northern India. The produce of Europe, of Southern India, of -the Eastern Archipelago, of China, brought to Calcutta by ocean-going -steamers or sailing-ships, is distributed upwards to Patna, Benares, -Allahabad, Lucknow, Cawnpore, Agra, Delhi, and other great towns, almost -exclusively by the Ganges route; and the same boats which convey these -cargoes, bring down the raw cotton, indigo, opium, rice, sugar, grain, -rich stuffs, piece-goods, and other grown or manufactured commodities -from the interior, either for consumption at Calcutta and other towns on -the route, or for shipment to England and elsewhere. It is probable that -the cargo-boats and the budgerows will continue to convey a largo -proportion of the traffic of India, let steamers and railways make what -progress they may; for there is much local trading that can be better -managed by this slow, stopping, free-and-easy Ganges route of boating. - -[Illustration: - - Boats on the Ganges. -] - -The Ganges steamers are peculiar. Each consists of two vessels, a -_tug_ and a _flat_, neither of which is of much use without the other. -The tug contains the engine; the flat contains the passengers and -cargo; and this double arrangement seems to have been adopted as a -means of insuring light draught. Each flat contains fifteen or twenty -cabins, divided into three classes according to the accommodation, and -obtainable at a fare of twenty to thirty pounds for each cabin for a -voyage from Calcutta up to Allahabad—less in the reverse direction, -because the aid of the stream shortens the voyage. Besides this, the -passenger pays for all his provisions, and most of the furniture of -his cabin. Every passenger is allowed to take one servant free of -passage fare. The steamer proceeds only during the day, anchoring -every night; and it stops every three or four days, to take coals into -the tug, and to deliver and receive passengers. The chief of these -stopping-places are at the towns of Berhampore, Monghir, Patna, -Dinapoor, Chupra, Buxar, Ghazeepore, Benares, Chunar, and Mirzapore, -all situated on the banks of the Ganges between Calcutta and -Allahabad; and it is only during the two or three hours of these -stoppages that the passengers have an opportunity of rambling on the -shore by daylight. The tug is of iron, and drags the flat by means of -hawsers and a long beam, which latter serves both as a gangway and to -prevent collision between the two vessels. The East India Company -first established these steamers, but others have followed their -example, and help to keep up a healthy competition. The river distance -to Allahabad being eight hundred miles (three hundred in excess of the -land route), and the time of transit being about twenty days, this -gives forty miles per day as the average rate of progress of the tug -and its attendant flat or accommodation-boat. Of proposed plans for -improving this Ganges steaming, we do not speak in this place. - -The Indus is less traversed by boats and steamers; but, being nearer to -England than the Ganges, it is becoming more and more important every -year, especially since the annexation of the Punjaub by the British. The -boats on the Indus take up the produce of the Persian and Arabian gulfs, -Cutch, the western districts of India, and so much of the produce of -Europe as is available for Sinde, the Punjaub, and the northwest of -India generally: taking back the produce of Afghanistan, Cashmere, the -Punjaub, Sinde, and the neighbouring countries. The boats on this river, -having fewer European travellers, do not possess so many accommodations -as those on the Ganges; the scantiness of the population, too, and the -semi-barbarous condition of the natives, tend towards the same result. -The Sutlej boats, mostly employed, are long and clumsy; when going -downwards, the stream gives them a velocity of about two miles an hour, -while the oars and sail give them barely another extra mile. They -correspond, indeed, rather with our idea of a Thames coal-barge, than -with that of a boat. The steersman and two oarsmen are at the stern, -working with a broad paddle and two oars. The passengers occupy the rest -of the vessel, in a rude bamboo cabin twelve or fourteen feet long. When -the wind and the stream are unfavourable, the sail is hauled down, and -tracking is resorted to. As the up-river return-voyage is exceedingly -slow, a passenger travelling down towards the sea is obliged to pay for -the return-voyage as well. As there are hardly any important towns on -the banks below the Punjaub, except Hyderabad, a traveller is obliged to -take almost the whole of his provisions and necessaries with him. The -journey up the stream is so insupportably tedious by these boats, that -small steamers are generally preferred; but these require very light -draught and careful handling, to prevent them from grounding on the -shoals and sandbanks, which are more numerous in the Indus than in the -Ganges. - -River-travelling, it hence appears, is a very slow affair, ruinously -inadequate to the wants of any but a population in a low scale of -commercial advancement. Let us inquire, therefore, whether -land-travelling is in a condition to remedy these evils. - -There are so few good roads in India, that wheel-carriages can scarcely -be trusted for any long distances. The prevailing modes of travel are on -horseback or in a palanquin. Technically, the one mode is called -_marching_; the other, _dâk_, _dakh_, or _dawk_. The former is sometimes -adopted for economy; sometimes from necessity while accompanying troops; -and sometimes, on short trips, through inclination; but as it is almost -impossible to travel on horseback during the heat of the day, the more -expensive but more regular dâk is in greater request. The horseman, when -he adopts the equestrian system, accomplishes from twelve to twenty -miles a day: sending on his servants one march or day in advance, with -tent, bedding, tent-furniture, canteen, &c., in order that they may have -a meal ready for the traveller by the time he arrives. They daily buy -fodder, fowls, eggs, milk, rice, fruit, or vegetables at the villages as -they pass through; the traveller, if a sportsman, aids the supply of his -larder with snipe, wild-fowl, quail, partridges, hares, jungle-cocks, or -bustard; but a week’s provision at a time must be made of all such -supplies as tea, coffee, dried or preserved meats, sauces, spices, beer, -or wine, at the principal towns—as these commodities are either -unattainable or very costly at the smaller stations and villages. Thus -the traveller proceeds, accomplishing eighty to a hundred and fifty -miles per week, according to his supply of horse-relays. We may get rid -of the European notions of inns and hotels on the road: the India -officer must carry his hotel with him. - -We come next to the _dâk_ system, much more prevalent than travelling by -horseback. The dâk is a sort of government post, available for private -individuals as for officials. A traveller having planned his journey, he -applies to the postmaster of the district, who requires from one to -three days’ notice, according to the extent of accommodation needed. The -usual complement for one traveller consists of eight _palkee-burdars_ or -palanquin-bearers, two _mussanjees_ or torch-bearers, and two -_bangey-burdars_ or luggage-porters: if less than this number be needed, -the fact must be notified. The time and place of starting, and the -duration and localities of the halts, must also be stated; for -everything is to be paid beforehand, on the basis of a regular tariff. -The charge is about one shilling per mile for the entire set of twelve -men—shewing at how humble a rate personal services are purchasable in -India. There is also an extra charge for demurrage or delays on the -road, attributable to the traveller himself. For these charges, the -postmaster undertakes that there shall be relays of dâk servants -throughout the whole distance, even if it be the nine hundred miles from -Calcutta to Delhi; and to insure this, he writes to the different -villages and post stations, ordering relays to be ready at the appointed -hours. The stages average about ten miles each, accomplished in three -hours; at the end of which time the twelve men retrace their steps, and -are succeeded by another twelve; for each set of men belong to a -particular station, in the same way as each team of horses for an -English stage-coach belongs to a particular town. The rivers and streams -on the route are mostly crossed by ferry-boats, for bridges are scarce -in India; and this ferrying is included in the fare charged by the -postmaster; although the traveller is generally expected to give a small -fee, the counterpart to the ‘drink-money’ of Europe, to ferrymen as well -as bearers. The _palanquin_, _palankeen_, or _palkee_, is a kind of -wooden box opening at the sides by sliding shutters; it is about six -feet in length by four in height, and is suspended by two poles, borne -on the shoulders of four men. The eight bearers relieve one another in -two gangs of four each. The postmaster has nought to do with the -palanquin; this is provided by the traveller; and on its judicious -selection depends much of his comfort during the journey, for a -break-down entails a multitude of petty miseries. The average value of a -palanquin may be about ten pounds; and the traveller can generally -dispose of it again at the end of his journey. On account of the weight, -nothing is carried that can be easily dispensed with; but the traveller -manages to fit up his palanquin with a few books, his shaving and -washing apparatus, his writing materials, and a few articles in frequent -use. The regular fittings of the palanquin are a cushion or bed, a -bolster, and a few light coverings. The traveller’s luggage is mostly -carried in _petarrahs_, tin boxes or wicker-baskets about half a yard -square: a porter can carry two of these; and one or two porters will -suffice for the demands of any ordinary traveller, running before or by -the side of the palanquin. The petarrahs are hung, each from one end of -a _bangey_ or bamboo pole, the middle of which rests on the bearer’s -shoulder. The torch-bearers run by the side of the palanquin to give -light during night-travelling; the torch is simply a short stick bound -round at one end with a piece of rag or a tuft of hemp, on which oil is -occasionally dropped from a flask or a hollow bamboo; the odour of the -oil-smoke is disagreeable, and most travellers are glad to dispense with -the services of a second torch-bearer. - -[Illustration: - - Palanquin. -] - -Bishop Heber’s journey from Delhi to Benares was a good example of -dâk-travelling in his day; and the system has altered very little since. -He had twelve bearers, on account of his route lying partly through a -broken country. His clothes and writing-desk were placed in the two -petarrahs, carried by the two bangey-burdars. ‘The men set out across -the meadows at a good round trot of about four miles an hour, grunting -all the way like paviers in England: a custom which, like paviers, they -imagine eases them under their burden.’ Only four men can usually put -their shoulders to a palanquin at the same time; but the bishop observed -that whenever they approached a deep nullah or steep bank, the bearers -who were not at that time bearing the palanquin, but were having their -interval of rest, thrust stout bamboos under the bottom of the -palanquin, and took hold of the ends on each side; so that the strength -of several additional men was brought into requisition. In crossing a -stream, ‘the boat (the spot being a regular ferry), a broad and -substantial one, had a platform of wood covered with clay across its -middle. The palanquin, with me in it, was placed on this with its length -athwart the middle; the mangee steered, and some of the dâk-bearers took -up oars, so that we were across in a very short time.’ - -Private dâks are occasionally employed, a speculator undertaking to -supply the bearers. Having no large establishments to keep up, these men -can afford to undersell the government—that is, establish a lower -tariff; and they provide a little additional accommodation in other -ways. Some travellers, however, think these speculators or _chowdries_ -not sufficiently to be trusted, and prefer the government dâk at higher -rates. Experienced men will sometimes dispense with the preliminary of -‘laying a dâk,’ or arranging for the whole journey: depending on their -own sagacity for hunting up bearers at the successive stations. There -have also been introduced horse-dâks, wheeled palanquins drawn by -horses; but these are only available on the great trunk-roads recently -executed by the government. - -It was observed, in relation to ‘marching’ or horse-travelling, that -there are no hotels or inns on the road; there is a partial substitute, -however, that may here be noticed. The Company have established -dâk-bungalows at certain stations, varying from fifteen to fifty miles -apart, according as the road is much or little frequented. These places -are under the control of government officers: a _khitmutgar_ or servant, -and a porter, attend at each; the traveller pays a fixed sum for the use -of the room, and makes a separate bargain for any few articles of -provisions that may be obtainable. The building is little more than a -thatched house of one story, divided into two small rooms, to each of -which a bathing-room is attached. The servant cooks and serves a meal, -while the porter assists in subsidiary offices. If a traveller does not -choose to avail himself of these bungalows, he can travel continuously -in his palanquin, sleeping and waking by turns. This, however, is a -great trial for most persons; because the bearers make an unpleasant -grunting noise as an accompaniment to their movements; and moreover, -unless well drilled, they do not balance the palanquin well, but subject -its inmate to distressing joltings. - -[Illustration: - - Indian Domestics. - - 1. Dirgee—tailor. 2. Khitmutgar writing the accounts of the previous - day. 3. Sepoy after parade. 4. Maitre, or house-cleaner. 5. - Dobee—washerman. 6. Chuprassee going out with gun before a - shooting-party. 7. Chuprassee—letter-carrier. 8. Bengalee Pundit, or - scholar. -] - -It has been placed upon record, as an instructive commentary on the -immense distances to be traversed in India, the imperfection of most of -the roads, and the primitive detail of travelling arrangements—that when -Viscount Hardinge was engaged in the Punjaub campaign in 1846, one -hundred European officers were sent off from Calcutta to aid him. -Although the distance was nearly fifteen hundred miles, nothing more -rapid than palanquin travelling was available; and, as a consequence, -the journey became so tediously prolonged that only thirty out of the -hundred officers arrived at the Sutlej before the campaign was over. -Palanquin-bearers were posted at different stations to carry three -persons daily; and it was calculated that, assuming twelve bearers to be -posted at every station, and the stations eight miles apart on an -average, the duty must have required the services of _seven thousand_ of -these men—all to carry one hundred officers: a waste of muscular energy -singular to contemplate by the light of an Englishman’s home experience. - -The Indian post is still more simple than the dâk. It is conducted by -runners, each of whom slings his mail-bag on the end of a stick over his -shoulder. He runs five miles in an hour, and then gives his bag to -another man, who runs five miles in an hour; and so on. Strictly -speaking, dâk is an appellation properly belonging to this -letter-carrying system. It is equivalent to the English _post_; and as -the English have adopted the custom of applying the term post to quick -travelling as well as to letter-carrying, in like manner have the -Anglo-Indians adopted a double application of the word dâk. It is only -the express or quick dâk which maintains a speed of five miles an hour; -the ordinary speed, when the letter-bag is heavy, is four miles. In -order that the runners may not be required to go far from their homes, -each man carries his bag one stage, exchanges bags with another runner -who has come in the opposite direction, and then returns. A letter may -thus be conveyed a hundred miles in a day—a distance which, considering -the nature of the system, is quite as great as can reasonably be -expected. Horse and camel dâks are occasionally employed; but they are -not easily available, except on good roads. Besides the letter-dâk, -there is a parcel-dâk or _bangey_, the runner carrying a packet or box, -in which small parcels or newspapers are placed. - -It will become a duty, in a later portion of this work, to notice -somewhat fully the railway schemes of India, in relation to the plans -for developing the industrial resources of that great region; but at -present this would be out of place, since the Revolt has been dependent -on the actual, not the prospective. This actuality, so far as concerns -means and modes of travelling, is summed up in a few words. An Indian -officer, we have seen, must travel to his station by horse or by -palanquin if on land, by drag-boat or by steam-boat if on the rivers. In -any case his rate of progress is slow; his movements are encumbered by a -train of servants, by a whole bazarful of furniture and culinary -apparatus, and by an anxiously selected provision for his larder. To -move quickly is well-nigh impossible: all the conditions for it are -wanting. Improvements, it is true, are in progress: steamers of light -draught and rapid movement are being planned for the rivers; the great -trunk-road from Calcutta to the Afghan frontier is beginning to offer -facilities for wheel-carriage transport; and the railways are beginning -to shew their iron tracks in various regions; nevertheless, these are -rather indications of the future than appliances for the present; and -the Indian officers are not yet in a position to say much about them -from personal experience. The humbler soldiers, whether Europeans or -sepoys, are of course less favourably served than the officers. There is -no Weedon in India, connected by rail with a Chatham, a Portsmouth, a -Liverpool, a Leeds, along which a whole regiment can be conveyed in a -few hours; and as saddle-horses and palanquins are out of the question -for infantry privates, it becomes necessary to trudge on foot along such -roads as may be available, or to linger on the tardy river route. Once -now and then, it is true, a daring man, a Napier or an Edwardes, will -swiftly send a small body of troops over a sandy desert or a marshy -plain on camels, horses, elephants, or some exceptional modes of -conveyance; but the prevalent characteristics of travel are such as have -here been described, and such will doubtless be the case for many years -to come. - -Such, then, being the territorial arrangements by which Anglo-Indian -troops are considered to belong to different presidencies and states; -and such the modes in which military as well as civilians must move from -place to place in those territories; we shall be prepared next to -understand something about the soldiers themselves—the Anglo-Indian -army. - -In no country in Europe is there an army so anomalous in its -construction as that which, until lately, belonged to the East India -Company. Different kinds of troops, and troops from different provinces, -we can well understand. For instance, the French avail themselves of a -few Algerine Arabs, and a small foreign legion, as components in the -regular army. The English have a few colonial corps in addition to the -Queen’s army. The Prussians have a _landwehr_ or militia equal in -magnitude to the regular army itself. The Russians have military -colonists as well as military tributaries, in addition to the great -_corps d’armée_. The Austrians have their peculiar Military Frontier -regiments, besides the regular troops furnished by the dozen or score of -distinct provinces and kingdoms which form their empire. The German -States provide their several contingents to form (if the States can ever -bring themselves to a unity of opinion) an Army of the Confederation. -The Neapolitans employ Swiss mercenaries as a portion of their army. The -Romans, the subjects of the pope as a temporal prince, have the -‘protection’ of French and Austrian bayonets, in addition to a small -native force. The Turks have their regular army, aided (or sometimes -obstructed) by the contingents of vassal-pachas and the irregulars from -mountain districts. But none of these resemble the East India Company’s -army. Under an ordinary state of affairs, and without reference to the -mutiny of 1857, the Indian army is in theory a strange conglomerate. The -Queen _lends_ some of her English troops, for which the Company pay; the -Company enlist other English troops on their own account; they maintain -three complete armies among the natives of India who are their subjects; -they raise irregular corps or regiments in the states not so fully -belonging to them; they claim the services of the troops belonging to -certain tributary princes, whenever exigency arises; and the whole of -these troops are placed under the generalship of a commander-in-chief, -who is appointed—not by the Company, who have to pay for all—but by the -Queen or the British government. - -The Company’s army rose by degrees, as the territorial possessions -increased. At first the troops were little better than adventurers who -sold their swords to the highest bidders, and fought for pay and rations -without regard to the justice of the cause in which they were engaged; -many were liberated convicts, many were deserters from various European -armies, some were Africans, while a few were Topasses, a mixed race of -Indo-Portuguese. The first regular English troops seen in Bengal were an -ensign and thirty privates, sent from Madras to quell a petty -disturbance at the Company’s factory in the Hoogly. Gradually, as the -numbers increased and the organisation improved, the weapons underwent -changes. The troops originally were armed with muskets, swords, and -pikes twelve or fourteen feet long: the pikemen in the centre of the -battalion or company, and the musketeers on the flank. In the beginning -of the last century the pikes were abandoned, and the soldiers armed -with bayonets in addition to the muskets and swords. When the custom was -adopted, from European example, of forming the companies into a regular -battalion, the swords were abolished, and the common soldiers left only -with muskets and bayonets. Various changes were made during the century, -assimilating the troops more and more to those of the English crown, in -weapons and accoutrements. - -The regiments became, by successive ameliorations, composed almost -wholly of native Hindoos and Mohammedans, officered to some extent by -Europeans. An English sergeant was given to each company, and a -drill-sergeant and sergeant-major to each battalion. Afterwards, when -the battalions were formed into regiments, natives were appointed as -sergeants of companies; and then the only European non-commissioned -officers were a sergeant-major and a quartermaster-sergeant. By the time -of Lord Clive’s achievements, just about a century ago, three armies -were owned by the Company—one in Bengal or the Calcutta presidency, one -in the Coromandel or Madras presidency, and one on the Malabar coast, -south of the present station of Bombay. These three armies were totally -separate and distinct, each under its own commander, and each presenting -some peculiarities of organisation; but they occasionally joined as one -army for large military operations. There were many native corps, and a -few European corps; but all alike were officered by Europeans. The -cadet, the young man sent out from England to ‘make his fortune’ in -India, was appointed to a native corps or a European corps at the choice -of the commander. The pay being good and regular, and the customs and -prejudices respected, the sepoys, sipahis, or native soldiers became in -most cases faithful servants to the Company, obeying their native -officers, who, in their turn, were accountable to the European officers. -The European and the native corps were alike formed by enlistment: the -Company compelling no one to serve but those who deemed the pay and -other arrangements sufficient. An endeavour was made at that time -(afterwards abandoned) to equalise the Hindoos and Mohammedans in -numbers as nearly as possible. - -From an early period in the Company’s history, a certain number of -regiments from the British royal army were lent for Indian service; the -number being specified by charter or statute; and the whole expense, of -every kind, being defrayed by the Company—including, by a more modern -arrangement, retiring pay and pensions. There were thus, in effect, at -all times two English armies in India; the one enlisted by the Company, -the other lent by the Crown; and it was a matter of some difficulty to -obviate jealousies and piques between the two corps. For, on the one -hand, the officers of the Company’s troops had better pay and more -profitable stations assigned to them; while, on the other hand, the -royal officers had precedence and greater honour. A Company’s captain, -however so many years he might have served, was subordinate even to the -youngest royal captain, who assumed command over him by right. At -length, in 1796, the commissions received by the Company’s officers were -recognised by the crown; and the two corps became placed on a level in -pay and privileges. - -The year just named witnessed a new organisation also of the native -army. A regiment was ordered to be of two thousand men, in two corps or -battalions of one thousand each; and each battalion was divided into ten -companies, with two native officers to each company. Thus there were -forty native officers in each of these large regiments. Besides these, -there were half as many European officers as were allowed to a European -regiment of the same magnitude. There had before been a native -commandant to each battalion; but he was now superseded by a European -field-officer, somewhat to the dissatisfaction of the men. The service -occasionally suffered from this change; for a regiment was transferred -at once from a native who had risen to command by experience and good -conduct, to a person sent out from England who had to learn his duties -as a leader of native troops after he went out. The youngest English -ensign, perhaps a beardless boy, received promotion before any native, -however old and tried in the service. And hence arose the custom, -observed down to recent times, of paying no attention to the merits of -the natives as a spur to promotion, allowing seniority to determine the -rise from one grade to another. - -While on the one hand the natives volunteered as soldiers in the -Company’s service, and were eligible to rise to a certain rank as -regimental officers; the English officers, on the other, had their own -particular routine and hopes of preferment. The cadets or youths went -out partially educated by the Company in England, especially those -intended for the artillery and engineer departments; and when settled -with their regiments in India as officers, all rose by seniority; the -engineers and artillery in their own corps, the cavalry and infantry in -their own regiments. It often happened, however, that when few deaths -occurred by war, officers reached middle life without much advancement, -and retired after twenty years or more of service with the pay of the -rank they then held. In 1836, however, a law was made to insure that the -retiring allowance should not be below a certain minimum: if an officer -served twenty-three years, he retired with captain’s pay; if -twenty-seven years, with major’s pay; if thirty-one years, with -lieutenant-colonel’s pay; if thirty-five years, with colonel’s -pay—whatever might have been his actual rank at the date of his -retirement. There was also permission for them to sell their -commissions, although those commissions were not bought by them in the -first instance. - -Unquestionably the sepoy was well paid, considering the small value of -labour and personal services in his country; and thus it arose that the -Company had seldom any difficulty in obtaining troops. The sepoys were -volunteers in the full sense of the word. Their pay, though small in our -estimation, was high in proportion to the station they formerly held. -The Bengal Infantry sepoy received seven rupees (fourteen shillings) per -month, with an additional rupee after sixteen years’ service, and two -after twenty years. A havildar or sergeant received fourteen rupees; a -jemadar or lieutenant twenty-four rupees; and a subadar or captain -sixty-seven rupees. This pay was relatively so good, that each man was -usually able to send two-thirds of it to his relations. And he was not a -stranger to them at the end of his term, like a Russian soldier; for it -was a part of the system to allow him periodical furlough or leave of -absence, to visit his friends. If unfit for military service after -fifteen months’ duty, he retired on a life-pension sufficient to support -him in his own simple way of life. Whether he _ought_, in moral -fairness, to be grateful towards the rulers who fed and clothed him, is -just one of those questions on which Indian officers have differed and -still differ. Viewed by the aid of the experience furnished by recent -events, many of the former encomiums on the sepoys, as men grateful for -blessings conferred, read strangely. The Marquis of Dalhousie’s -statement, that ‘The position of the native soldier in India has long -been such as to leave hardly any circumstance of his condition in need -of improvement,’ has already been adverted to. To this we may add the -words of Captain Rafter: ‘We assert, on personal knowledge and reliable -testimony, that the attachment of the sepoy to his English officer, and -through him to the English government, is of an enduring as well as an -endearing nature, that will long bid defiance to the machinations of -every enemy to British supremacy, either foreign or domestic.’[4] In -another authority we find that the sepoy, when his term of military -service has expired, ‘goes back to live in ease and dignity, to teach -his children to love and venerate that mighty abstraction the Company, -and to extend the influence of England still further throughout the -ramifications of native society. Under such a system, although temporary -insubordination may and sometimes does occur in particular regiments, it -is invariably caused by temporary grievances. General disaffection -cannot exist—desertion is unknown.’ But the validity or groundlessness -of such opinions we do not touch upon here: they must be reserved to a -later chapter, when the _causes_ of the mutiny will come under review. -We pass on at once, therefore, from this brief notice of the origin of -the Company’s army, to its actual condition at and shortly before the -period of the outbreak. - -Should it be asked what, during recent years, has been the number of -troops in India, the answer must depend upon the scope given to the -question. If we mention Queen’s troops only, the number has been usually -about 24,000; if Queen’s troops and the Company’s European troops, about -42,000; if the Company’s native regulars be added to these, the number -rises to 220,000; if the Company’s irregular corps of horse be included, -there are 280,000; if it include the contingents supplied by native -princes, the number amounts to 320,000; and lastly, if to these be added -the armies of the independent and semi-independent princes, more or less -available by treaty to the Company, the total swells to 700,000 men. - -As exhibiting in detail the component elements of the Company’s -Anglo-Indian army at a definite period, the following enumeration by -Captain Rafter may be adopted, as applicable to the early part of 1855. -Certain minor changes were made in the two years from that date to the -commencement of the outbreak; but these will be noticed in later pages -when necessary, and do not affect the general accuracy of the list. The -three presidencies are kept separate, and the three kinds of -troops—regiments of the royal army, the Company’s native regular -regiments, and native irregular regiments—are also kept separate. - -First we take the Bengal presidency in all its completeness, stretching -almost entirely across Northern India from the Burmese frontier on the -east, to the Afghan frontier on the west: - - BENGAL PRESIDENCY. - - _Queen’s Troops._ - - Two regiments of light cavalry. - Fifteen regiments of infantry. - One battalion of 60th Rifles. - - _Company’s Regular Troops._ - - Three brigades of horse-artillery, European and native. - Six battalions of European foot-artillery. - Three battalions of native foot-artillery. - Corps of Royal Engineers. - Ten regiments of native light cavalry. - Two regiments of European fusiliers. - Seventy-four regiments of native infantry. - One regiment of Sappers and Miners. - - _Irregular and Contingent Troops._ - - Twenty-three regiments of irregular native cavalry. - Twelve regiments of irregular native infantry. - One corps of Guides. - One regiment of camel corps. - Sixteen regiments of local militia. - Shekhawuttie brigade. - Contingents of Gwalior, Jhodpore, Malwah, Bhopal, and Kotah. - -The European troops here mentioned, in the Company’s regular army, are -those who have been enlisted in England or elsewhere by the Company’s -agents, quite irrespective of the royal or Queen’s army. The above -forces, altogether, amounted to somewhat over 150,000 men. Let us now -glance at another presidency: - - MADRAS PRESIDENCY. - - _Queen’s Troops._ - - One regiment of light cavalry. - Five regiments of infantry. - - _Company’s Regular Troops._ - - One brigade of horse-artillery, European and native. - Four battalions of European foot-artillery. - One battalion of native foot-artillery. - Corps of Royal Engineers. - Eight regiments of native light cavalry. - Two regiments of European infantry. - Fifty-two regiments of native infantry. - -No irregular or contingent troops appear in this entry. - - BOMBAY PRESIDENCY. - - _Queen’s Troops._ - - One regiment of light cavalry. - Five regiments of infantry. - - _Company’s Regular Troops._ - - One brigade of horse-artillery, European and native. - Two battalions of European foot-artillery. - Two battalions of native foot-artillery. - Corps of Royal Engineers. - Three regiments of native light cavalry. - Two regiments of European infantry. - Twenty-nine regiments of native infantry. - - _Irregular and Contingent Troops._ - - Fifteen regiments of irregular native troops. - -The European and the native troops of the Company are not here -separated, although in effect they form distinct regiments. So costly -are all the operations connected with the Anglo-Indian army, that it -has been calculated that every English soldier employed in the East, -whether belonging to the Queen’s or to the Company’s forces, costs, on -an average, one hundred pounds before he becomes available for -service, including his outfit, his voyage, his marching and barracking -in India. This of course relates to the privates; an officer’s cost is -based upon wholly distinct grounds, and can with difficulty be -estimated. The greatly increased expenditure of the Company on -military matters has partly depended on the fact that the European -element in the armies has been regularly augmenting: in 1837 there -were 28,000 European troops in India; in 1850 the number was 44,000, -comprising 28,000 Queen’s troops, and 16,000 belonging to the Company; -while the new charter of 1854 allowed the Company to raise 24,000, of -whom 4000 were to be in training in England, and the rest on service -in India. What was the number in 1857, becomes part of the history of -the mutiny. In the whole Indian army, a year or two before this -catastrophe, there were about 5000 European officers, governing the -native as well as the European regiments; but of this number, so many -were absent on furlough or leave, so many more on staff appointments, -and so many of the remainder in local corps and on civil duties, that -there was an insufficiency of regimental control—leading, as some -authorities think, in great part to the scenes of insubordination; for -the native officers, as we shall presently see, were regarded in a -very subordinate light. There was a commander-in-chief for each of the -three presidencies, controlling the three armies respectively; while -one of the three, the commander-in-chief of the Bengal army, held at -the same time the office of commander-in-chief of the whole of the -armies of India, in order that there might be a unity of plan and -purpose in any large combined operations. Thus, when Sir Colin -Campbell went out to India in the summer of 1857, his power was to be -exerted over the armies of the whole of India generally, as well as -over that of Bengal in particular. - -Continuing to speak of the Indian army as it was before the year 1857, -and thereby keeping clear of the changes effected or commenced in that -year, we proceed to mention a few more circumstances connected with the -Company’s European element in that army. The formation of an Indian -officer commenced in England. As a youth, from fourteen to eighteen -years of age, he was admitted to the Company’s school at Addiscombe, -after an ordeal of recommendations and testimonials, and after an -examination of his proficiency in an ordinary English education, in -which a modicum of Latin was also expected. A probation of six months -was gone through, to shew whether he possessed the requisite abilities -and inclination; and if this probation were satisfactory, his studies -were continued for two years. His friends paid the larger portion of the -cost of his maintenance and education at the school. If his abilities -and progress were of a high class, he was set apart for an appointment -in the engineers; if next in degree, in the artillery; and if the lowest -in degree, for the infantry. At the end of his term the pupil must have -attained to a certain amount of knowledge, of which, however, very -little was professional. Supposing all to be satisfactory, he became a -military _cadet_ in the service of the Company, to be available for -Indian service as occasion arose. Having joined one of the regiments as -the lowest commissioned officer, his subsequent advancement depended in -part on his qualifications and in part on seniority. He could not, by -the more recent regulations of the Company, become a captain until he -had acquired, besides his professional efficiency, a knowledge of the -spoken and written Hindustani language, and of the Persian written -character, much used in India. When placed on the general staff, his -services might be required in any one of a number of ways quite unknown -in the Queen’s service in England: he might have a civil duty, or be -placed at the head of the police in a tract of country recently -evacuated by the military, or be made an adjutant, auditor, -quartermaster, surveyor, paymaster, judge-advocate, commissary-general, -brigade-major, aid-de-camp, barrack-master, or clothing agent. Many of -these offices being lucrative, the military liked them; but such a -bestowal created some jealousy among the civil servants of the Company, -whose prizes in the Indian lottery were thereby diminished; and, what -was worse, it shook the connection between an officer and his regiment, -rendering him neither able nor willing to throw his sympathies into his -work. No officer could hold any of these staff appointments, as they -were called, until he had been two years in the army. - -The officers noticed in the last paragraph were appointed to the command -both of European and of native regiments. As to privates and -non-commissioned officers in the European regiments, they were much the -same class of men, and enlisted much in the same way, as those in the -Queen’s army. The privates or sepoys of the native regiments were of -course different, not only from Europeans, but different among -themselves. Four-fifths of the Bengal native infantry were Hindoos, -mainly of the Brahmin and Rajpoot castes; and the remainder Mohammedans. -On the other hand, three-fourths of the Bengal native cavalry were -Mohammedans, the Hindoos being generally not equal to them as troopers. -In the Madras native army, the Mohammedans predominated in the cavalry, -while the infantry comprised the two religions in nearly equal -proportions. In Bombay, nearer the nations of Western Asia, the troops -comprised volunteers of many countries and many religions—more easily -managed, our officers found, on that account. - -Without at present going into the question how far the religious -feelings and caste prejudices of the natives induced a revolt, it may be -useful to shew how a regiment was constituted, of what materials, and in -what gradations. An infantry regiment in the Bengal presidency will -serve as a type. - -The organisation of a Bengal native regiment, before the mutiny, was -nearly as follows: An infantry regiment consisted of about 1000 -privates, 120 non-commissioned officers, and 20 native commissioned -officers. It was divided into ten companies, each containing one-tenth -of the above numbers. When stationary, the regiment seldom had barracks, -but was quartered in ten lines of thatched huts, one row for each -company. In front of each row was a small circular building for -containing the arms and accoutrements of that particular company, under -the charge of a _havildar_ or native sergeant. All these natives rose by -a strict rule of seniority: the sepoy or private soldier becoming a -_naik_ or corporal, the naik being promoted to be _havildar_ or -sergeant, the havildar in time assuming the rank of _jemadar_ or -lieutenant, and the jemadar becoming a _subadar_ or captain. All these -promotions were necessarily slow; for the English colonel of the -regiment had very little power to promote a worthy native officer or -non-commissioned officer to a higher rank. The jemadar often became a -gray-headed man of sixty before he rose to the rank of subadar, the -highest attainable by a native. As a rule, there were four or five -Hindoos to one Mohammedan in a Bengal infantry regiment; and of these -eight hundred Hindoos, it was not unfrequent to find four hundred -Brahmins or hereditary priests, and two hundred Rajpoots, a military -caste only a little lower in rank than the former; while the remaining -two hundred were low-caste Hindoos. The European officers, as will be -explained more fully further on, lived in bungalows or detached houses -near the lines of their regiment; but as the weather is too hot to admit -of much open-air duty in the daytime, these officers saw less of their -men than is customary in European armies, or than is necessary for the -due preservation of discipline. The head of a regiment was the -commander, generally a lieutenant-colonel; below him was an adjutant, -who attended to the drill and the daily reports; below him was a -quartermaster and interpreter, whose double duties were to look after -the clothes and huts of the men, and to interpret or translate orders. -Besides these three, there were ten subordinate officers for the ten -companies, each expected to make a morning scrutiny into the condition -and conduct of his men. The Europeans in a native regiment were thus -fourteen or fifteen. It is true that the _theory_ of a regiment involved -a complement of about five-and-twenty European officers; but the causes -of absenteeism, lately adverted to, generally brought down the effective -number to about twelve or fifteen. The arrangements of the infantry in -the other presidencies, and of the native cavalry all over India, each -had their peculiarities. - -Leaving for future chapters a further elucidation of the relations -between the European officers and the native troops—so important in -connection with the Revolt—and a description of the sepoys in their -dresses, usages, and personal characteristics—we shall now proceed to -view the native army under two different aspects—first, when barracked -and cantoned in time of peace; and, secondly, when on the march towards -a scene of war. - -And first, for the army when stationary. At Calcutta, Bombay, and -Madras, there are solidly built barracks for the whole of the soldiery, -men as well as officers; but in almost all other parts of India the -arrangements are of a slighter and less permanent character. At the -cantonments, it is true, the officers have houses; but the sepoys are -lodged in huts of their own construction. Around the cantonments at the -stations, and generally skirting the parade-grounds, are the houses or -bungalows of the officers. Within the lines of the cantonment, too, the -officers’ mess-rooms are situated; and at the larger stations may be -seen ball-rooms, theatres, and racket-courts; while outside is a -race-stand for witnessing the sports which Englishmen love in India as -well as at home. - -[Illustration: - - Group of Sepoys. - - 1. Subadar—major. 2. Jemadar—Lieutenant. 3. Subadar—Captain. 4. - Naik—Corporal. 5. Havildar—Sergeant. 6. Sepoy—Private. -] - -The Indian bungalows, the houses inhabited by European officers at the -different towns and stations in India, have a certain general -resemblance, although differing of course much in details. A bungalow of -good size has usually a central room called the hall, a smaller room -opening on the front verandah, a similar one opening on the back -verandah, three narrower rooms on each side of these three, and -bathing-rooms at the four corners. A verandah runs entirely round the -exterior. The central hall has only the borrowed light derived from -eight or a dozen doors leading out of the surrounding apartments: these -doors are always open; but the doorways are covered, when privacy is -desired, with the _chick_, a sort of gauze-work of green-painted strips -of fine bamboo, admitting air and light, but keeping out flies and -mosquitoes. The floors are usually of _chunam_, finely tempered clay, -covered with matting, and then with a sort of blue-striped carpet or -with printed calico. The exterior is usually barn-like and ugly, with -its huge roof, tiled or thatched, sloping down to the pillars of the -verandah. Air and shade are the two desiderata in every bungalow, and -adornment is wisely sacrificed to these. The finest part of the whole is -the surrounding space or garden, called the _compound_, from a -Portuguese word. The larger the space allowed for this compound, the -more pleasant is the residence in its centre, and the more agreeable to -the eye is a cantonment of such bungalows. The trees and fruits in these -enclosures are delicious to the sight, and most welcome to the -heat-wearied occupants of the dwellings. Officers in the Company’s -service, whether military or civil, live much under canvas during the -hot seasons, at some of the stations; and the tents they use are much -larger and more like regular habitations than those known in Europe. The -tents are double, having a space of half a yard or so between the two -canvas walls, to temper the heat of the sun. The double-poled tents are -large enough to contain several apartments, and are furnished with -glass-doors to fit into the openings. A wall of canvas separates the -outer offices and bathing-rooms. Gay chintz for wall-linings, and -printed cotton carpets, give a degree of smartness to the interior. -Movable stoves, or else fire-dishes for wood-fuel called _chillumchees_, -are provided as a resource against the chill that often pervades the air -in the evening of a hot day. The tents for the common soldiers hold ten -men each with great ease, and have a double canvas wall like the others. - -[Illustration: - - Bungalow. -] - -An important part of every cantonment is the bazaar, situated in -convenient proximity to the huts or tents of the troops. It comprises an -enormous number of sutlers, who sell to the soldiers those commodities -which cannot well be dispensed with, but which cannot conveniently be -provided and carried about by them. Curry stuffs, tobacco, rice, arrack -(in addition to the Company’s allowance), cotton cloth, and a -multiplicity of other articles, are sold at these bazaars; and the -market-people who supply these things, with their families, the coolies -or porters, and their hackeries or carts—add enormously to the mass that -constitutes an Indian cantonment. The sepoy has little to spend with his -sixpence a day; but then his wants are few; and his copper _pice_, -somewhat larger than the English farthing, will buy an amount of -necessaries little dreamed of in England. The Hindoos have such peculiar -notions connected with food and cooking, that the government leave them -as much to themselves as possible in those matters; and the bazaar and -sutlers’ arrangements assume a particular importance from this -circumstance. - -An Anglo-Indian army we have seen at rest, in cantonments. Now let us -trace it when on a march to a scene of war; but while describing this in -the _present_ tense, we must make allowance for the changes which the -Revolt has inevitably produced. - -The non-fighting men who accompany the troops greatly exceed in number -the troops themselves. Captain Munro says: ‘It would be absurd for a -captain to think of taking the field without being attended by the -following enormous retinue—namely, a _dubash_ (agent or commissionaire), -a cook, and a _maty_ boy (servant-of-all-work); if he cannot get -bullocks, he must assemble fifteen or twenty _coolies_ to carry his -baggage, together with a horse-keeper and grass-cutter, and sometimes a -dulcinea and her train, having occasionally the assistance of a barber, -a washer, and an ironer, in common with the other officers of his -regiment. His tent is furnished with a good large bed, mattress, -pillows, &c., a few camp stools or chairs, a folding table, a pair of -glass shades for his candles, six or seven trunks, with table equipage, -his stock of linens (at least twenty-four suits), some dozens of wine, -porter, brandy, and gin; with tea, sugar, and biscuit, a hamper of live -poultry, and his milch-goat. A private’s tent for holding his servants -and the overplus of his baggage is also requisite; but this is not at -the Company’s expense.’ Of course it must be inferred that all this -luxury belongs to the best of times only, and is not available in the -exigency of sudden military movements. The sepoys or common soldiers, -too, have their satellites. Each man is accompanied by his whole family, -who live upon his pay and allowances of rice from the Company. Every -trooper or horse-soldier, too, has his grass-cutter; for it is a day’s -work for one person to dig, cut, and prepare a day’s grass for one -horse. - -When on the march, the tents are generally struck soon after midnight. -At the first tap of the drum, the servants knock up the tent-pins, and -down fall the tents; horses begin to neigh and the camels to cry, the -elephants and camels receive their loads of camp-equipage, the bullocks -are laden with the officers’ tents and boxes, the coolies take up their -burdens, and all prepare for the road. During the noise and bustle of -these preliminaries, the officers and men make their few personal -arrangements, aided by their servants or families; while the officers’ -cooks and agents are sent on in advance, to prepare breakfast at the -next halting-place. Between one and two o’clock the regiments start off, -in columns of sections: the camp-followers, baggage, bullocks, -elephants, and camels, bringing up the rear. The European soldiers do -not carry their own knapsacks on the march; they have the luxury of -cook-boys or attendants, who render this service for them. The natives, -it is found, are able to carry heavier loads than the Europeans; or—what -is perhaps more nearly the case—they bear the burdens more patiently, as -the Europeans love soldiering better than portering. The tedium of the -journey is sometimes relieved by a hunt after antelopes, hares, -partridges, wild ducks, or wild boars, which the officers may happen to -espy, according to the nature of the country through which they are -passing. Arrived at the halting-place, everything is quickly prepared -for a rest and a breakfast; the quarter-masters push forward to occupy -the ground; the elephants and camels are disburdened of the tents; the -natives and the cattle plunge into some neighbouring pool or tank to -refresh themselves; the cooks have been already some time at work; and -the officers sit down to a breakfast of tea, coffee, curry, rice, -pillau, ham, and other obtainable dishes. The fakeers often recognise -their friends or admirers among the natives of the cavalcade, and give -loud blessings, and tom-tom drummings, in exchange for donations of the -smallest Indian coins. The quarter-masters’ arrangements are so quickly -and so neatly made, that in a short time the general’s _durbar_ appears -in the centre of a street of tents for staff-officers, dining-tents on -the one side and sleeping-tents on the other; while the bazaar-dealers -open their temporary shops in the rear. The horses are picketed in long -lines; while the elephants and camels browse or rest at leisure. Under -ordinary circumstances, the day’s marching is over by nine o’clock in -the morning, at which hour the sun’s heat becomes too fierce to be -willingly borne. Repose, amusements, and light camp-duties fill up the -remainder of the day, to be followed by a like routine on the morrow. - -[Illustration: - - Troops on the March. -] - -While one of these extraordinary marches is in progress, ‘when the -moving masses are touched here and there by the reddening light of the -dawn, it seems to be a true migration, with flocks and herds, cattle -loaded with baggage, men, women, and children, all in a chaos of -disorder but the troops whose wants and wishes have attracted this -assemblage. At length the country appears to awake from its sleep, and -with the yell of the jackal, or the distant baying of the village dogs, -are heard to mingle the voices of human beings. Ruddier grows the dawn, -warmer the breeze, and the light-hearted sepoy, no longer shivering with -cold, gives vent to the joyous feelings of morning in songs and -laughter. The scenes become more striking, and the long array of tall -camels, led by natives in picturesque costume, with here and there a -taller elephant mingling with droves of loaded bullocks, give it a new -and extraordinary character to a European imagination. The line of -swarthy sepoys of Upper India, with their moustached lips and tall -handsome figures, contrasts favourably with the shorter and plainer -soldiers of Britain; the grave mechanical movements of the regular -cavalry in their light-blue uniforms are relieved by the erratic -evolutions and gay and glittering dresses of the irregulars, who with -loud cries and quivering spears, and their long black locks streaming -behind them, spur backwards and forwards like the wind from mere -exuberance of spirits.... The camp-followers in the meantime present -every possible variety of costume; and among them, and not the least -interesting figures in the various groups, may frequently be seen the -pet lambs of which the sepoys are so fond, dressed in necklaces of -ribbons and white shells, and the tip of their tails, ears, and feet -dyed orange colour. The womenkind of the troops of the Peninsula -(Southern India) usually follow the drum; but the Bengalees have left -their families at home; and the Europeans bidden adieu to their -temporary wives with the air the band strikes up on quitting the -station, “The girl I left behind me.’”[5] - -Such, before the great Revolt, were the usual characteristics of an -Anglo-Indian army when on the march; and, considering the _impedimenta_, -it is not surprising that the daily progress seldom exceeded ten or -twelve miles. The system was very costly, even at the cheap rate of -Indian service; for the camp-followers, one with another, were ten times -as numerous as the troops; and all, in one way or other, lived upon or -by the Company. - - - Note. - - A parliamentary paper, issued in 1857 on the motion of Colonel - Sykes, affords valuable information on some of the matters treated - in this chapter. It is ‘A Return of the Area and Population of each - Division of each Presidency of India, from the Latest Inquiries; - comprising, also, the Area and Estimated Population of Native - States.’ It separates the British states from the native; and it - further separates the former into five groups, according to the - government under which each is placed. These five, as indicated in - the present chapter, are under the administration of ‘the - governor-general of India in council’—the ‘lieutenant-governor of - Bengal’—the ‘lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces’—the - ‘government of Madras’—and the ‘government of Bombay.’ In each case - the ‘regulation districts’ are treated distinct from the - non-regulation provinces,’ the former having been longer under - British power, and brought into a more regular system than the - latter. Without going again over the long list of names of places, - it will suffice to quote those belonging to the group placed - immediately under the governor-general’s control. This group - comprises the Punjaub, in the six divisions of Lahore, Jelum, - Moultan, Leia, Peshawur, and Jullundur; the Cis-Sutlej states, four - in number; the lately annexed kingdom of Oude; the central district - of Nagpoor or Berar; the recently acquired region of Pegu; the strip - of country on the east of the Bay of Bengal, known as the Tenasserim - Provinces; and the ‘Eastern Straits Settlements’ of Singapore, - Penang, and Malacca. The whole of British India is divided into - nearly a hundred and eighty districts, each, on an average, about - the size of Inverness-shire, the largest county, except Yorkshire, - in the United Kingdom. The population, however, is eight times us - dense, per average square mile, as in this Scottish shire. Keeping - clear of details concerning divisions and districts, the following - are the areas and population in the five great governments: - - AREA. POPULATION. - Square Miles. - - Governor-general’s } 246,050 23,255,972 - Provinces. } - - Lower Bengal } Regulation, 126,133 37,262,163 - Provinces. } Non-regulation, 95,836 3,590,234 - - Northwest } Regulation, 72,052 30,271,885 - Provinces. } Non-regulation, 33,707 3,383,308 - - Madras } Regulation, 119,526 20,120,495 - Presidency. } Non-regulation, 12,564 2,316,802 - - Bombay } Regulation, 57,723 9,015,534 - Presidency. } Non-regulation, 73,821 2,774,508 - ——————— ——————————— - Total, 837,412 131,990,901 - - In some of the five governments, the population is classified more - minutely than in others. Thus, in the Punjaub member of the - governor-general’s group, Hindoos are separated from non-Hindoos; - then, each of these classes is divided into agricultural and - non-agricultural; and, lastly, each of these is further separated - into male and female. The most instructive feature here is the - scarcity of females compared with males, contrary to the experience - of Europe; in the Punjaub and Sirhind, among thirteen million souls, - there are a million and a half more males than females—shewing, - among other things, one of the effects of female infanticide in past - years. The ratio appears to be about the same in the Northwest - Provinces, around Delhi, Meerut, Rohilcund, Agra, Benares, and - Allahabad. Not one place is named, throughout India, in which the - females equal the males in number. In the Bombay presidency, besides - the difference of sex, the population is tabulated into nine - groups—Hindoos, Wild Tribes, Low Castes, Shrawniks or Jains, - Lingayets, Mussulmans, Parsees, Jews, Christians. Of the last named - there are less than fifty thousand, including military, in a - population of twelve millions. - - The area and population of the native states are given in connection - with the presidencies to which those states are geographically and - politically related, and present the following numbers: - - AREA. POPULATION. - Square Miles. - In Bengal Presidency, 515,583 38,702,206 - In Madras Presidency, 61,802 5,213,071 - In Bombay Presidency, 60,575 4,460,370 - ——————— —————————— - 627,910 48,376,247 - - The enumeration of these native states is minute and intricate; and - it may suffice to shew the complexity arising out of the existence - of so many baby-princedoms, that one of the native states of - Bundelcund, Kampta by name, figures in the table as occupying an - area of _one_ square mile, and as having _three hundred_ - inhabitants! - - Including the British states, the native states, the few settlements - held by the French and Portuguese, and the recent acquisitions on - the eastern side of the Bay of Bengal, the grand totals come out in - the following numbers: - - 1,466,576 Square miles, - 180,884,297 Inhabitants, - - or 124 dwellers per square mile. Of these inhabitants, it is - believed—though the returns are not complete in this particular—that - there are fifteen Hindoos to one Mohammedan: if so, then India must - contain more than a _hundred and sixty million_ worshippers of - Hindoo deities—even after allowance is made for Buddhists, Parsees, - and a few savage tribes almost without religion. - ------ - -Footnote 3: - - A young native princess was sent to England from this district to be - educated as a _Christian_ lady; and Queen Victoria became a sponsor - for her at a baptismal ceremony. - -Footnote 4: - - _Our Anglo-Indian Army._ - -Footnote 5: - - Leitch Ritchie. _British World in the East._ - - - - - CHAPTER II. - SYMPTOMS:—CHUPATTIES AND CARTRIDGES. - - -Little did the British authorities in India suspect, in the early weeks -of 1857, that a mighty CENTENARY was about to be observed—a movement -intended to mark the completion of one hundred years of British rule in -the East; and to mark it, not by festivities and congratulations, but by -rebellion and slaughter. - -The officers in India remembered and noted the date well; but they did -not know how well the Mohammedans and Hindoos, the former especially, -had stored it up in their traditions. The name of Robert Clive, the -‘Daring in War,’ was so intimately associated with the date 1757, that -the year 1857 naturally brought it into thought, as a time when -Christian rule began to overawe Moslem rule in that vast country. True, -the East India Company had been connected with India during a period -exceeding two hundred years; but it was only at the commencement of the -second half of the last century that this connection became politically -important. It was remembered that—1756 having been marked by the -atrocities of the Black Hole at Calcutta, and by the utter extinction -for a time of the East India Company’s power in Bengal—the year 1757 -became a year of retribution. It was remembered, as a matter of history -among the British, and of tradition among the natives, how wonderful a -part the young officer Clive performed in that exciting drama. It was -remembered that he arrived at Calcutta, at that time wholly denuded of -Englishmen, on the 2d of January in the last-named year, bringing with -him a small body of troops from Madras; that on the 4th of February, -with two thousand men, he defeated an army ten times as large, belonging -to Suraj-u-Dowlah, Nawab of Bengal—the same who had caused the -atrocities at the Black Hole, when a hundred and thirty persons died -from suffocation in a room only fitted to contain a fourth of the -number. It was further remembered how that, on the 9th of February, -Clive obtained great concessions from the nawab by treaty; that Suraj -broke the treaty, and commenced a course of treachery, in which Clive -was not slow to imitate him; that on the 13th of June, Clive, having -matured a plan equally bold and crafty, declared renewed hostilities -against the nawab; that on the 23d he gained the brilliant battle of -PLASSEY, conquering sixty thousand men with a force of only three -thousand; that within a week, Suraj-u-Dowlah, a miserable fugitive, -ended his existence; and that from that day British power had ever been -supreme in Bengal. This was a series of achievements not likely to be -forgotten by Englishmen. Ere yet the news of mutiny and murder reached -Europe, steps had been taken to render homage to Clive on the hundredth -anniversary of the battle of Plassey; the East India Company had -subscribed largely towards a statue of the hero; and a meeting in London -had decided that the chief town in Clive’s native county of Shropshire -should be selected as the spot wherein the statue should be set up. - -Judging from the experience afforded by recent events, it is now clear -that the Mohammedans in India had thought much of these things, and -that the year 1857 had been marked out by them as a centenary to be -observed in a special way—by no less an achievement, indeed, than the -expulsion of the British, and the revival of Moslem power. In the -spring of the year it was ascertained that a paper was in circulation -among the natives, purporting to be a prophecy made by a Punjaub -fakeer seven hundred years ago—to the effect that, after various -dynasties of Mohammedans had ruled for some centuries, the _Nazarenes_ -or Christians should hold power in India for one hundred years; that -the Christians would then be expelled; and that various events -foretold in the Koran would then come to pass, connected with the -triumph of Islamism. That this mysterious prediction was widely -credited, is probable—notwithstanding that the paper itself, if really -circulated, must manifestly have been an imposture of recent date; for -the English nation was not known even by name to the natives of India -seven hundred years ago. Setting aside, at present, all inquiries -concerning the first authors of the plot, the degree to which the -Company’s annexations had provoked it, the existence of any grievances -justifiably to be resisted, the reasons which induced Hindoos to join -the Mohammedans against the British, or the extent to which the -general population shared the views of the native military—laying -aside these inquiries for the present, there is evidence that a great -movement was planned for the middle of the year 1857. Of this plan the -British government knew nothing, and suspected little. - -But although no vast plot was suspected, several trifling symptoms had -given cause for uneasiness and the English public learned, when too -late, that many Indian officers had long predicted the imminency of some -outbreak. Insubordination and mutiny, it was found, are not faults of -recent growth among the native troops of India. Now that the startling -events of 1857 are vividly presented to the public mind, men begin to -read again the old story of the outbreak at Vellore, and seek to draw -instruction therefrom. A little more than half a century ago—namely, on -the 10th of July 1806—the European barracks at Vellore were thrown into -a state of great excitement. This town is in the Carnatic, a few miles -west of Madras, and in the presidency of the same name. At two o’clock -in the morning, the barracks, containing four companies of the 69th -regiment, were surrounded by two battalions of sepoys in the Company’s -service, who poured in a heavy fire of musketry, at every door and -window, upon the soldiers. At the same time the European sentries, the -soldiers at the mainguard, and the sick in the hospital, were put to -death. The officers’ houses were ransacked, and everybody found in them -murdered. Upon the arrival of the 19th Light Dragoons, under Colonel -Gillespie, the sepoys were immediately attacked; six hundred were cut -down upon the spot, and two hundred taken from their hiding-places to be -shot. There perished of the four European companies, a hundred and -sixty-four, besides officers; and many British officers of the native -troops were also murdered. Nothing ever came to light concerning the -probable cause of the outrage, but this—that an attempt had been made by -the military men at Madras to _change the shape of the sepoy turban_ -into something resembling the helmet of the light infantry of Europe, -which would prevent the native troops from wearing on their foreheads -the marks characteristic of their several castes. The sons of Tippoo -Saib, the deposed ruler of Mysore, together with many distinguished -Mohammedans deprived of office, were at that time in Vellore; and the -supposition is, that these men contributed very materially to excite or -inflame the suspicions of the Hindoos, concerning an endeavour to tamper -with their religious usages. There was another mutiny some time -afterwards at Nundeydroog, in the same presidency; and it was found -indispensable to disarm four hundred and fifty Mohammedan sepoys, who -had planned a massacre. At Bangalore and other places a similar spirit -was exhibited. The governor of Madras deemed it necessary, in very -earnest terms, to disclaim any intention of tampering with the native -religion. In a proclamation issued on the 3d of December, he said: ‘The -right honourable the governor in council having observed that, in some -late instances, an extraordinary degree of agitation has prevailed among -several corps of the native army of this coast, it has been his -lordship’s particular endeavour to ascertain the motives which may have -led to conduct so different from that which formerly distinguished the -native army. From this inquiry, it has appeared that many persons of -evil intention have endeavoured, for malicious purposes, to impress upon -the native troops a belief that it is the wish of the British government -to convert them by forcible means to Christianity; and his lordship in -council has observed with concern that such malicious reports have been -believed by many of the native troops. The right honourable the governor -in council, therefore, deems it proper, in this public manner, to repeat -to the native troops his assurance, that the same respect which has been -invariably shewn by the British government for their religion and their -customs, will be always continued; and that no interruption will be -given to any native, whether Hindoo or Mussulman, in the practice of his -religious ceremonies.’ Notwithstanding the distinctness of this -assurance, and notwithstanding the extensive promulgation of the -proclamation in the Tamul, Telinga, and Hindustani languages—the ferment -continued a considerable time. Even in March 1807, when some months had -elapsed, so universal was the dread of a general revolt among the native -troops, that the British officers attached to the Madras army constantly -slept with loaded pistols under their pillows. - -In the interval between 1806 and 1857, nothing so murderous occurred; -but, among the Bengal troops, many proofs of insubordination were -afforded; for it repeatedly occurred that grievances, real or pretended, -led to combinations among the men of different regiments. In 1835, Lord -William Bentinck, acting on a principle which had often been advocated -in England, abolished flogging in the Indian army; this appears to have -raised the self-pride rather than conciliated the good-will of the -troops: insubordination ensued, and several regiments had to be -disbanded. Again, in 1844, when several Bengal regiments were ordered to -march to Sinde, the 34th native infantry refused; whereupon Lord -Ellenborough, at that time governor-general, ignominiously disbanded the -regiment in presence of the rest of the army. Again, in 1849, Sir Colin -Campbell, serving under Sir Charles Napier, reported that the 22d Bengal -regiment had mutinied on a question of pay, in which they were clearly -in the wrong; but as the Punjaub was at that time in a critical state, -Sir Charles did that which was very opposite to his general character—he -yielded to an unjust demand, as a measure of prudence. It may have been -that the sepoys counted on this probability when they mutinied. No less -than forty-two regiments were ascertained to be in secret correspondence -on this matter, under Brahminical influence—one of whom went so far as -to threaten the commanding officer that they could stop enlistment if -they chose. In 1850, Napier was compelled to disband the 66th regiment, -for mutiny at Peshawur. In 1852, the 38th regiment was ordered to -proceed to Burmah; the men objected to the sea-voyage, and refused to -depart; and the authorities in this case gave way. - -Like as, in the ordinary affairs of life, men compare notes after a -disaster, to ascertain whether any misgiving had silently occupied their -minds concerning causes and symptoms; so did many military officers, -observing that the troubles were all or mostly in Bengal, or where -Bengal troops operated, come forward to state that they had long been -cognizant of a marked difference between the Bengal army on the one -hand, and the Bombay and Madras armies on the other. Lord Melville, who, -as General Dundas, had held a command during the Punjaub campaign, -expressed himself very strongly in the House of Lords shortly after news -of the mutiny arrived. He stated that, in the Bengal army, the native -officers were in nearly all cases selected by seniority, and not from -merit; that they could not rise from the ranks till old age was creeping -on them; and that a sort of hopelessness of advancement cankered in the -minds of many sepoys in the middle time of life. In the Bombay and -Madras armies, on the contrary, the havildars or sergeants were selected -for their intelligence and activity, and were recommended for promotion -by the commanding officers of the regiments. It might possibly be a -theory unsusceptible of proof, that this difference made the one army -mutinous and the other two loyal; but Lord Melville proceeded to assert -that the Bengal troops were notoriously less fully organised and -disciplined, more prone to insubordination, than the troops of the other -two presidencies. He stated as an instance, that when he commanded the -Bombay army in the Punjaub frontier in 1849, the Bengal regiments were -mutinous; while the Bombay troops remained in soldierly subordination. -Indeed these latter, which he commanded in person, were credited by his -lordship with having exhibited the highest qualities of brave and -faithful troops. He detailed an incident which had occurred at the siege -of Moultan. A covering-party having been ordered into the trenches, some -disturbance soon afterwards arose; and an English officer found that -many soldiers of the Bengal army had been endeavouring to prevent the -men belonging to one of the Bombay regiments from digging in the -trenches in discharge of their duty, on the ground that the sepoys’ duty -_was to fight and not to work_. Again: after the assault of Moultan, an -officer in command of one of the pickets was requested to post a -sergeant and twelve men at one of the gates of the town; this was done; -but not long afterwards, three native officers of the Bengal engineers -were detected in an endeavour to pass the gate with stores which they -were about to plunder or appropriate. Although the views of Lord -Melville were combated by a few other officers, there was a pretty -general concurrence of opinion that the Bengal native army, through some -circumstances known or unknown, had long been less obedient and orderly -than those of the other two presidencies. - -As it is the purpose of the present chapter to treat rather of the facts -that preceded the horrors of Meerut and Cawnpore, than of the numerous -theories for explaining them, we shall not dwell long in this place on -the affairs of Oude, in connection with the Revolt; but so general is -the opinion that the annexation of that kingdom was one of the -predisposing causes of the late calamities, that it may be right to -glance slightly at the subject. - -Oude—once a nawabship under the great Mogul, then a kingdom, and the -last remaining independent Mohammedan state in Northern India—was -annexed in the early part of 1856; and although the governor-general -sought to give a favourable account, both in its reasons and its -results, of that momentous measure, there are not wanting grounds for -believing that it made a deep impression on the minds of the natives, -unfavourable to the English—among the military, if not among the people -at large. The deposed king, with his family and his prime-minister, came -to live at Calcutta in April 1856; and in the following month his -mother, his brother, and one of his sons, proceeded in great state to -England, to protest before Queen Victoria against the conduct of the -governor-general and of the East India Company, in having deprived them -of their regal position: prepared to prove, as they everywhere -announced, that no justifiable grounds had existed for so harsh a step. -Whether they sincerely believed this, or whether it was a blind to hide -ulterior objects, could not at that time be determined. It is one among -many opinions on the subject, that the courtiers around the deposed king -gradually organised a plot against the British power; that the Queen of -Oude’s visit to England was merely intended to mask the proceedings -arising out of this plot; that the conspirators brought over to their -views the Mogul of Delhi, the shadowy representative of a once mighty -despot; that they then sought to win over the Hindoos to side with them; -and that, in this proceeding, they adduced any and all facts that had -come to their knowledge, in which the British had unwittingly insulted -the religious prejudices of the worshippers of Brahma—craftily -insinuating that the insult was premeditated. The wisdom or justice of -the annexation policy we do not discuss in this place; there is a -multiplicity of interpretations concerning it—from that of absolute -necessity to that of glaring spoliation; but the point to be borne in -mind is, that a new grievance was thereby added to others, real or -pretended, already existing. It is especially worthy of note, that any -distrust of England, arising out of annexation policy, was likely to be -more intense in Oude than anywhere else; for three-fourths of the -infantry in the Bengal army had been recruited from the inhabitants of -that state; they were energetic men, strongly attached to their native -country; and when the change of masters took place, they lost certain of -the privileges they had before enjoyed. The Bengalees proper, the -natives of the thickly populated region around the lower course of the -Ganges, have little to do with the Bengal army; they are feeble, -indolent, and cowardly, glad by any excuses to escape from fighting. - -Let us now—having said a few words concerning the centenary of British -rule, and the state of feeling in Oude—attend to the strange episode of -the _chupatties_, as a premonitory symptom of something wrong in the -state of public feeling in India. - -The chupatties—small cakes of unleavened bread, about two inches in -diameter, made of Indian corn-meal, and forming part of the sepoys’ -regular diet—were regarded in England, as soon as the circumstances of -the Revolt became known, as signs or symptoms which the various officers -of the Company in India ought sedulously to have searched into. Ever -since the middle of 1856—ever since, indeed, the final arrangements for -the annexation of Oude—these chupatties were known to have been passing -from hand to hand. A messenger would come to a village, seek out the -headman or village elder, give him six chupatties, and say: ‘These six -cakes are sent to you; you will make six others, and send them on to the -next village.’ The headman accepted the six cakes, and punctually sent -forward other six as he had been directed. It was a mystery of which the -early stages were beyond our ken; for no one could say, or no one would -say, which was the _first_ village whence the cakes were sent. During -many months this process continued: village after village being brought -into the chain as successive links, and relays of chupatties being -forwarded from place to place. Mr Disraeli, attacking on one occasion in -the House of Commons the policy of the Indian government, adverted -sarcastically to this chupatty mystery: ‘Suppose the Emperor of Russia, -whose territory, in extent and character, has more resemblance to our -Eastern possessions than the territory of any other power—suppose the -Emperor of Russia were told—“Sire, there is a very remarkable -circumstance going on in your territory; from village to village, men -are passing who leave the tail of an ermine or a pot of caviare, with a -message to some one to perform the same ceremony. Strange to say, this -has been going on in some ten thousand villages, and we cannot make head -or tail of it.” I think the Emperor of Russia would say: “I do not know -whether you can make head or tail of it, but I am quite certain there is -something wrong, and that we must take some precautions; because, where -the people are not usually indiscreet and troublesome, they do not make -a secret communication unless it is opposed to the government. This is a -secret communication, and therefore a communication dangerous to the -government.”’ The opposition leader did not assert that the government -could have penetrated the mystery, but that the mystery ought to have -been regarded as significant of something dangerous, worthy of close -scrutiny and grave consideration. - -The chupatties first appeared in the Northwest Provinces, around Delhi; -and subsequent events offered a temptation for rebuking the -governor-general and the commander-in-chief, in having failed to -strengthen the posts with English troops after the indications of some -secret conspiracy had thus been made. In some places it was ascertained -that the cakes were to be kept _till called for_ by the messengers, -other cakes being sent on instead of them; but what was the meaning of -this arrangement, the English officials could not, or at least did not -find out. In Scotland, in the clannish days, war-signals were sent from -hut to hut and from clan to clan with extraordinary rapidity; and, -however little an unleavened cake might appear like a war-signal, -military men and politicians ought certainly to have been alive to such -strange manifestations as this chupatty movement. From the Sutlej to -Patna, throughout a vast range of thickly populated country, was the -secret correspondence carried on. One thing at any rate may safely be -asserted, that the military stations required close watching at such a -time; something was fermenting in the minds of the natives which the -English could not understand; but that very fact would have -justified—nay, rendered almost imperative—the guarding of the chief -posts from sudden surprise. Little or nothing of this precautionary -action seems to have been attempted. Throughout nearly the whole of the -great trunk-road from Calcutta to the Punjaub, the military stations -were left as before, almost wholly in the hands of the sepoys. At -Benares there was only a single company of European foot-artillery; the -rest of the troops consisting of two regiments of native infantry, and -one of the Cis-Sutlej Sikh regiments. At Allahabad, the great supply -magazine of the province was left almost wholly to the guard of the -sepoys. Lucknow had only one European regiment and one company of -artillery; notwithstanding that, as the capital of Oude, it was in the -midst of a warlike and excited population; while the native army of the -province, capable of soon assembling at the city, comprised no less than -fourteen regiments of infantry, six of cavalry, and six companies of -artillery. Cawnpore, a very important station with a large medical -depôt, contained three regiments of native infantry, one of native -cavalry, and two companies of native artillery with twelve guns; while -the English force was only a company of infantry, and about sixty -artillerymen with six guns. The large magazine of Delhi, the great -storehouse of ammunition for the military stations all around it, was -left to be guarded entirely by sepoys. The late General Anson, at that -time commander-in-chief, was among the hills at Simla, relaxing from his -duties; and neither at Simla nor at Calcutta did it seem to be felt -that, with existing symptoms, more European troops were necessary in the -Bengal and Northwest Provinces. - -The chupatty was not the only symbol of some mystery: the _lotus_ was -another. It was a common occurrence for a man to come to a cantonment -with a lotus-flower, and give it to the chief native officer of a -regiment; the flower was circulated from hand to hand in the regiment; -each man took it, looked at it, and passed it on, saying nothing. When -the lotus came to the last man in the regiment, he disappeared for a -time, and took it to the next military station. This strange process -occurred throughout nearly all the military stations where regiments of -the Bengal native army were cantoned. - -Chupatties and lotus-flowers, together with the incendiarism and the -cartridge grievances presently to be noticed, unquestionably indicated -some widely spread discontent among the natives—military if not general. -‘It is clear,’ in the words of an observant officer, writing from one of -the Cis-Sutlej stations, ‘that a certain ferment had been allowed -gradually to arise throughout the mass of the Bengal army. In some it -was panic, in some excitement, in some a mere general apprehension or -expectation, and in some it was no doubt disaffection, or even -conspiracy. Governing an alien people and a vast army, we had divested -ourselves of all the instruments of foreign domination so familiar to -Austria and all other continental powers. We had no political police, no -European strongholds, no system of intelligence or espionage, -comparatively little real military discipline; and even our own -post-office was the channel of free, constant, and unchecked intercourse -between all the different regiments. Not a letter even was opened; that -would have been too abhorrent to English principles. The sepoy mind had -probably become prepared to distrust us, as we had begun to distrust -them. There were strange new legislative acts, and new post-office -rules, and new foreign service enlistments, and new employment of armed -races in our army, and other things disagreeable and alarming to the -true old sepoy caste. And then it came about that from a small and -trifling beginning, one of those ferments to which the native mind is -somewhat prone, took possession of the sepoy army.’ - -One of the strange facts connected with the chupatty movement was, that -the cakes were transmitted to the heads of villages who have not been -concerned in the mutiny, while many sepoys who broke out in revolt had -received no cakes. They appear to have been distributed mostly to the -villagers; whereas the lotus passed from hand to hand among the -military. - -The chupatties and the lotus-flowers, however indicative they may have -been of the existence of intrigue and conspiracy, were quiet -indications; but there were not wanting other proofs of a mutinous -spirit, in acts of violence and insubordination—apart from the -incendiarisms and the cartridge difficulties. On one evening, early in -the year, information was given by a sepoy of the intention of the men -to rise against their officers and seize on Fort William, at Calcutta. -On another occasion, a fanatic moulvie, a high Mohammedan priest at -Oude, was detected preaching war against the infidels; and on his person -was found a proclamation exciting the people to rebellion. On a third -day, two sepoys were detected in an attempt to sap the fidelity of the -guard at the Calcutta mint. An English surgeon in an hospital at -Lucknow, by the bedside of a sepoy, put his lips to a bottle of medicine -before giving it to his patient; this being regarded as a pollution, a -pundit was sent for to break the bottle and exorcise the evil: on that -night the doctor’s bungalow was burned down by incendiaries who could -not be discovered. A refusal to accept a furlough or leave of absence -might not usually be regarded as a symptom of a mutinous spirit; yet in -India it conveyed a meaning that could not safely be disregarded. On the -6th of March, the commander-in-chief, with the sanction of the -governor-general, notified that the native army would receive, as usual, -the annual indulgence of furlough from the 1st of April to a certain -subsequent date. When this order was read or issued, about fourteen men -of the 63d native infantry, stationed at Soorie, and under orders to -proceed to Berhampore, evinced a disinclination to avail themselves of -the indulgence, on the plea that none of the regiments at Barrackpore -intended to take theirs. It certainly appears to have been a -circumstance worthy of a searching inquiry by the military authorities, -_why_ the troops should have declined to take their furlough at that -particular time. - -We must now pass on to that series of events which, so far as outward -manifestations are concerned, was more especially the immediate -forerunner of the Revolt—namely, the disturbances connected with the -_greased cartridges_. Let not the reader for a moment regard this as a -trivial matter, merely because it would be trivial in England: the -sepoys may have been duped, and indeed were unquestionably duped, by -designing men; but the subject of suspicion was a serious one to them. -The fat of cows and of pigs is regarded in a peculiar light in the East. -The pig is as much held in abhorrence by the Mohammedans as the cow is -venerated by the Hindoos; to touch the former with the lips, is a -defilement to the one religion; to touch the latter, is a sacrilege to -the other. The religious feelings are different, but the results in this -case are the same. So sacred, indeed, are cattle regarded by the -Hindoos, that the Company’s officers have been accustomed to observe -much caution in relation to any supply of beef for their own tables; the -slaughter of a cow in a Hindoo village would in itself have been a -sufficient cause for revolt; in large towns where Europeans are -stationed, a high-walled paddock or compound is set apart for the -reception of bullocks intended for food; and scrupulous care is taken -that the natives shall know as little as possible of the proceedings -connected with the slaughtering. The use of cow’s fat in ammunition -would therefore be repulsive to the Hindoo sepoy. Many experienced men -trace the mutiny to a false report concerning the cartridges, acting on -the minds of natives who had already become distrustful by the -machinations of agitators and emissaries. ‘It is a marvel and a mystery -that so many years should have passed away without an explosion. At last -a firebrand was applied to what a single spark might have ignited; and -in the course of a few weeks there was a general conflagration; but a -conflagration which still bears more marks of accident than of -deliberate conspiracy and incendiarism. In a most unhappy hour—in an -hour laden with a concurrence of adverse circumstances—the incident of -the greased cartridges occurred. It found the Bengal army in a season of -profound peace, and in a state of relaxed discipline. It found the -sepoys pondering over the predictions and the fables which had been so -assiduously circulated in their lines and their bazaars; it found them -with imaginations inflamed and fears excited by strange stories of the -designs of their English masters; it found them, as they fancied, with -their purity of caste threatened, and their religious distinctions -invaded, by the proselytising and annexing Englishmen. Still, there was -no palpable evidence of this. Everything was vague, intangible, obscure. -Credulous and simple-minded as they were, many might have retained a -lingering confidence in the good faith and the good intentions of the -British government: had it not been suddenly announced to them, just as -they were halting between two opinions, that, in prosecution of his -long-cherished design to break down the religion both of Mohammedan and -Hindoo, the Feringhee had determined to render their military service -the means of their degradation, by compelling them to apply their lips -to a cartridge saturated with animal grease—the fat of the swine being -used for the pollution of the one, and the fat of the cow for the -degradation of the other. If the most astute emissaries of evil who -could be employed for the corruption of the Bengal sepoy had addressed -themselves to the task of inventing a lie for the confirmation and -support of all his fears and superstitions, they could have found -nothing more cunningly devised for their purpose.’[6] - -It was on the 7th of February 1857 that the governor-general -communicated to the home government the first account of anything -mysterious or unpleasant in relation to the greased cartridges. He had -to announce that a dissatisfaction had exhibited itself among the native -troops attached to the musketry-depôt at Dumdum. There are two Dumdums, -two Dumdumas, one Dumdumma, and one Dumdumineah in India; but the place -indicated is in Bengal, a few miles out of Calcutta, and about half-way -between that city and Barrackpore. It was formerly the head-quarters of -artillery for the presidency of Bengal; and near it is an excellent -cannon-foundry, with casting-rooms, boring-rooms, and all the appliances -for making brass guns. It is a sort of Woolwich on a humble scale, -connected with ordnance and firearms. - -The sepoys at Dumdum had heard rumours which induced them to believe -that the grease used for preparing the cartridges for the recently -introduced Enfield rifles was composed of the fat of pigs and -cows—substances which their religion teaches them to regard in a light -altogether strange to Europeans. It was not the first time by three or -four years that the cartridge-question had excited attention in India, -although in England the public knew absolutely nothing concerning it. -From documents brought to light during the earlier months of the mutiny, -it appears that in 1853 the commander-in-chief of the forces in India -directed the adjutant-general of the Bengal army to call the attention -of the governor-general to the subject of cartridges as connected with -the prejudices of the natives. For what reason grease of any kind is -employed on or with cartridges, may be soon explained. A cartridge, as -most persons are aware, is a contrivance for quickly loading firearms. -Instead of inserting the powder and bullet separately into the musket, -rifle, or pistol, as was the earlier wont, the soldier is provided with -a supply of small cartridge-paper tubes, each containing a bullet and -the proper proportion of powder; and by the employment of these -cartridges much time and attention are saved under circumstances where -both are especially valuable. The missiles are called _ball_ or _blank_ -cartridges, according as they do or do not each contain a bullet. Now -the Enfield rifle, an English improvement on the celebrated Minié rifle -invented and used by the French, was largely manufactured by machinery -in a government establishment at Enfield, for use in the British and -Indian armies; and in firing from this or other rifles it was necessary -that the ball-end of the cartridge should have an external application -of some greasy substance, to facilitate its movement through the barrel. -In the year above named, the East India Company informed the Calcutta -government, that a supply of new-greased cartridges had been sent, which -the Board of Ordnance wished should be subjected to the test of climate. -It was concerning these cartridges that the commander-in-chief -recommended caution; on the ground that ‘unless it be known that the -grease employed in these cartridges is not of a nature to offend or -interfere with the prejudices of caste, it will be expedient not to -issue them for test to native corps, but to Europeans only, to be -carried in pouch.’ It was not until June 1854 that the cartridges were -received in India; and during the next twelve months they were subjected -to various tests, at Calcutta, at Cawnpore, and at Rangoon. The -cartridges had been greased in four ways—with common grease, with -laboratory grease, with Belgian grease, and with Hoffman’s grease, in -each case with an admixture of creosote and tobacco; one set was tested -by being placed in the ordnance magazines, a second by being kept in -wagons, and a third by being tied up in pouch-bundles. The result of -these tests was communicated to the directors in the autumn of 1855; and -as a consequence, a modification was effected in the cartridges -afterwards sent from England for service with the Enfield rifles in -India. - -To return now to the affair at Dumdum. When the complaints and -suspicions of the sepoys were made known, inquiries were sent to England -for exact particulars relating to the obnoxious missiles. It was -ascertained that the new cartridges were made at the Royal Laboratory at -Woolwich; and that Captain Boxer, the superintendent of that department, -was accustomed to use for lubrication a composition formed of five parts -tallow, five parts stearine, and one part wax—containing, therefore, ox -or cow’s fat, but none from pigs. He had no prejudices in the matter to -contend against in England, and used therefore just such a composition -as appeared to him most suitable for the purpose. The cartridges were -not sent out to India ready greased for use; as, in a hot country, the -grease would soon be absorbed by the paper: there was, therefore, a part -of the process left to be accomplished when the cartridges reached their -destination. - -It appears to have been in the latter part of January that the first -open manifestation was made at Dumdum of a disinclination to use the -cartridges; and immediately a correspondence among the authorities -commenced concerning it. When the complaint had been made, the men were -seemingly appeased on being assured that the matter would be duly -represented; and as a means of conciliation, cartridges without grease -were issued, the men being allowed to apply any lubricating substance -they chose. It was further determined that no more ready-made cartridges -should be obtained from England, but that bullets and paper should be -sent separately, to be put together in India; that experiments should be -made at Woolwich, to produce some lubricating substance free from any of -the obnoxious ingredients; and that other experiments should meanwhile -be made by the 60th Rifles—at that time stationed at Meerut—having the -same object in view. - -During the inquiry into the manifestation and alleged motives of this -insubordination, one fact was elicited, which, if correct, seems to -point to a date when the conspirators—whoever they may have been—began -to act upon the dupes. On the 22d of January, a low-caste Hindoo asked a -sepoy of the 2d Bengal Grenadiers to give him a little water from his -lota or bottle; the other, being a Brahmin, refused, on the ground that -the applicant would defile the vessel by his touch—a magnificence of -class-superiority to which only the Hindoo theory could afford place. -This refusal was met by a retort, that the Brahmin need not pride -himself on his caste, for he would soon lose it, as he would ere long be -required to bite off the ends of cartridges covered with the fat of pigs -and cows. The Brahmin, alarmed, spread the report; and the native -troops, as is alleged, were afraid that when they went home their -friends would refuse to eat with them. When this became known to the -English officers, the native troops were drawn up on parade, and -encouraged to state the grounds of their dissatisfaction. All the native -sergeants and corporals, and two-thirds of all the privates, at once -stepped forward, expressed their abhorrence of having to touch anything -containing the fat of cows or pigs, and suggested the employment of wax -or oil for lubricating the cartridges. It was then that the conciliatory -measures, noticed above, were adopted. - -Still were there troubles and suspicious circumstances; but the scene is -now transferred from Dumdum to Barrackpore. This town, sixteen miles -from Calcutta, is worthy of note chiefly for its connection with the -supreme government of India. The governor-general has a sort of suburban -residence there, handsome, commodious, and situated in the midst of a -very beautiful park. There are numerous bungalows or villas inhabited by -European families, drawn to the spot by the salubrity of the air, by the -beauty of the Hoogly branch of the Ganges, at this place three-quarters -of a mile in width, and by the garden and promenade attached to the -governor-general’s villa. In military matters, before the Revolt, there -was a ‘presidency division of the army,’ of which some of the troops -were in Calcutta, some at Barrackpore, and a small force of artillery at -Dumdum, nearly midway between the two places; the whole commanded by a -general officer at Barrackpore, under whom was a brigadier to command -that station only. The station is convenient for military operations in -the eastern part of Bengal, and for any sudden emergencies at Calcutta. -Six regiments of native infantry were usually cantoned at Barrackpore, -with a full complement of officers: the men hutted in commodious lines, -and the officers accommodated in bungalows or lodges. - -It was at this place that the discontent next shewed itself, much to the -vexation of the government, who had hoped that the Dumdum affair had -been satisfactorily settled, and who had explained to the native -regiments at Barrackpore what had been done to remove the alleged cause -of complaint. The sepoys at this place, however, made an objection to -bite off the ends of the cartridges—a necessary preliminary to the -loading of a rifle—on account of the animal fat contained, or supposed -to be contained, in the grease with which the paper was lubricated: such -fat not being permitted to touch the lips or tongues of the men, under -peril of defilement. Some of the authorities strongly suspected that -this renewed discontent was the work of secret agitators rather than a -spontaneous expression of the men’s real feeling. There was at the time -a religious Hindoo society or party at Calcutta, called the Dhurma -Sobha, suspected of having spread rumours that the British government -intended to compel the Hindoos to become Christians. Contemporaneously, -too, with this movement, three incendiary fires took place at -Barrackpore within four days; and a native sergeant’s bungalow was burnt -down at Raneegunge, another military station in Lower Bengal. It was -natural, therefore, that General Hearsey, the responsible officer at -Barrackpore, should wish to ascertain what connection, if any, existed -between these incendiarisms, intrigues, complainings, and greased -cartridges. This was the more imperative, on account of the relative -paucity of English troops in that part of India. There were four native -regiments quartered at that time at Barrackpore—namely, the 2d -Grenadiers, the 34th and 70th Native Infantry, and the 43d Native Light -Infantry; whereas, in the four hundred miles between Calcutta and -Dinapoor there was only one European regiment, the Queen’s 53d foot, of -which one half was at Calcutta and the other half at Dumdum. The general -held a special court of inquiry at Barrackpore on the 6th of February, -and selected a portion of the 2d native Grenadier regiment to come -forward and explain the cause of their continued objection to the paper -of which the new rifle-cartridges were composed. One of the sepoys, -Byjonath Pandy, stated that he felt a suspicion that the paper might -affect his caste. On being asked his reason for this suspicion, he -answered that the paper was a new kind which he had not seen before; and -there was a ‘bazaar report’ that the paper contained animal fat. On -being requested to examine the paper carefully in the light, and to -explain to the court what he saw objectionable in it, he replied that -his suspicion proceeded from the paper being stiff and cloth-like, and -from its tearing differently from the paper formerly in use. Another -sepoy, Chaud Khan, was then examined. He objected to the paper because -it was tough, and burned as if it contained grease. He stated that much -dismay had been occasioned in the regiment by the fact that ‘on the 4th -of February a piece of the cartridge-paper was dipped in water, and then -burned; when burning, it made a fizzing noise, and smelt as if there -were grease in it.’ Thereupon a piece of the paper was burned in open -court; Chaud Khan confessed that he could not smell or see grease in it; -but he repeated his objection to the use of the paper, on the plea that -‘everybody is dissatisfied with it on account of its being glazed, -shining like waxed cloth.’ Another witness, Khadu Buksh, filling the -rank of subadar or native captain, on being examined, frankly stated -that he had no objection to the cartridge itself, but that there was a -general report in the cantonment that the paper was made up with fat. A -jemadar or lieutenant, named Golal Khan, said very positively: ‘There is -grease in it, I feel assured; as it differs from the paper which has -heretofore been always used for cartridges.’ As shewing the well-known -power of what in England would be called ‘public opinion,’ the answer of -one of the sepoys is worthy of notice; he candidly confessed that he -himself had no objection to use the cartridges, but he could not do so, -as his companions would object to it. While these occurrences were under -scrutiny, a jemadar of the 34th regiment came forward to narrate what he -knew on the matter, as affording proof of conspiracy. On the 5th, when -the fear of detection had begun to work among them, two or three of the -sepoys came to him, and asked him to accompany them to the -parade-ground. He did so, and there found a great crowd assembled, -composed of men of the different regiments at the station; they had -their heads tied up in handkerchiefs or cloths, so that only a small -part of the face was exposed. They told him they were determined to die -for their religion; and that if they could concert a plan that evening, -they would on the next night plunder the station and kill all the -Europeans, and then depart whither they pleased. The number he stated to -be about three hundred. It was not at the time known to the authorities, -but was rendered probable by circumstances afterwards brought to light, -that letters and emissaries were being despatched, at the beginning of -February, from the native troops at Barrackpore to those at other -stations, inviting them to rise in revolt against the British. - -Under any other circumstances, a discussion concerning such petty -matters as bits of cartridge-paper and items of grease would be simply -ridiculous; but at that time and place the ruling authorities, although -ignorant of the real extent of the danger, saw clearly that they could -not afford to regard such matters as otherwise than serious. There was -either a sincere prejudice to be conciliated, or a wide-spread -conspiracy to be met; and it was at once determined to test again the -sincerity of the sepoys, by yielding to their (apparently) religious -feelings on a matter which did not affect the efficiency of the service. -A trial was made, therefore, of a mode of loading the rifle without -biting the cartridge, by tearing off the end with the left hand. The -commander-in-chief, finding on inquiry that this method was sufficiently -efficacious, and willing to get rid of mere formalism in the matter, -consented that the plan should be adopted both for percussion-muskets -and for rifles. This done, the governor-general, by virtue of his -supreme command, ordered the adoption of the same system throughout -India. - -The scene now again changes: we have to attend to certain proceedings at -Berhampore, following on those at Barrackpore. Of Berhampore as a town, -little need be said here; and that little is called for principally to -determine _which_ Berhampore is meant. Under the forms Berhampore, -Berhampoor, or Burhampore, there are no less than four towns in -India—one in the native state of Nepaul, sixty miles from Khatmandoo; -another in the Nagpoor territory, sixty miles from the city of the same -name; another in the Madras presidency, near Orissa; and a fourth in the -district of Moorshedabad, Lower Bengal. It is this last-named Berhampore -to which attention is here directed. The town is on the left bank of the -river Bhagruttee, a great offset of the Ganges, and on the high road -from Calcutta to Moorshedabad—distant about a hundred and twenty miles -from the first-named city by land, and a hundred and sixty by water. It -is in a moist, unhealthy spot, very fatal to Europeans, and in -consequence disliked by them as a station in past times; but sanitary -measures, draining, and planting have greatly improved it within the -last few years. As a town, it is cheerful and attractive in appearance, -adorned by stately houses in the neighbourhood, to accommodate permanent -British residents. The military cantonments are large and striking; the -grand square, the excellent parade-ground, the quarters of the European -officers—all are handsome. Before the Revolt, Berhampore was included -within the presidency division in military matters, and was usually -occupied by a body of infantry and another of artillery. There is -painful evidence of the former insalubrity of the station met with in a -large open space filled with tombstones, contrasting mournfully with the -majestic cantonments of the military. Berhampore has, or had a few years -ago, a manufactory of the silk bandana handkerchiefs once so popular in -England. - -The troubles in this town were first made manifest in the following way. -On or about the 24th of February, a portion of the 34th regiment of -Bengal infantry changed its station from Barrackpore to Berhampore, -where it was greeted and feasted by the men of the 19th native infantry, -stationed there at that time. During their feasting, the new-comers -narrated all the news from Dumdum and Barrackpore concerning the greased -cartridges; and the effects of this gossip were very soon made visible. -To understand what occurred, the mode of piling or storing arms in India -must be attended to; in the Bombay army, and in the Queen’s regiments, -the men were wont to keep their arms with them in their huts; but in the -Bengal army, it was a custom to deposit them in circular brick buildings -called bells, which were kept locked under native guard, each in front -of a particular company’s lines. The men of the 19th regiment, then, -excited by the rumours and stories, the fears and suspicions of their -companions in arms elsewhere, but not knowing or not believing—or -perhaps not caring for—the promises of change made by the military -authorities, broke out into insubordination. On the 26th of February, -being ordered to parade for exercise with blank cartridges, they refused -to receive the percussion-caps, as a means of rendering their firing -impossible—alleging that the cartridge-paper supplied for the charge was -of two kinds; that they doubted the qualities of one or both; and that -they believed in the presence of the fat of cows or pigs in the grease -employed. That the men were either dupes or intriguers is evident; for -it so happened that the cartridges offered to them were the very same in -kind as they had used during many years, and had been made up before a -single Enfield rifle had reached India. This resistance was a serious -affair; it was something more than a complaint or petition, and needed -to be encountered with a strong hand. It is a matter of opinion, judged -differently even by military men accustomed to India and its natives, -whether the proper course was on that occasion taken. The commanding -officer, Lieutenant-colonel Mitchell, ordered a detachment of native -cavalry and a battery of native artillery—the only troops at Barrackpore -besides those already named—to be on parade on the following morning. -Between ten and eleven o’clock at night, however, the men of the 19th -regiment broke open the armouries or bells, took possession of their -muskets and ammunition, and carried them to their lines. The next day, -the guns were got ready, and the officers proceeded to the -parade-ground, where they found the men in undress, but armed, formed in -line, and shouting. The officers were threatened if they came on. -Mitchell then expostulated with them; he pointed out the absurdity of -their suspicions, and the unworthiness of their present conduct, and -commanded them to give up their arms and return peaceably to their -lines; whereupon the native officers said the men would refuse so to do -unless the cavalry and artillery were withdrawn. The lieutenant-colonel -withdrew them, and then the infantry yielded. It was a difficult -position for an officer to be placed in; if he had struggled, it would -have been with natives against natives; and, doubtful of the result of -such a contest, he assented to the men’s conditional surrender. - -The affair could not be allowed to end here. The Calcutta authorities, -receiving news on the 4th of March of this serious disaffection, but -deeming it unsafe to punish while so few European troops were at hand, -sent quietly to Rangoon in Pegu, with orders that Her Majesty’s 84th -foot should steam up to Calcutta as quickly as possible. On the 20th, -this regiment arrived; and then the governor-general, acting in harmony -with Major-general Hearsey, resolved on the disbandment of the native -regiment which had disregarded the orders of its superiors. Accordingly, -on the 31st of March, the 19th regiment was marched from Berhampore to -Barrackpore, the head-quarters of the military division; the men were -disarmed, paid off, marched out of the cantonments as far as Palta -Ghaut, and conveyed across the river in steamers placed for the purpose. -In short, the regiment, in a military sense, was destroyed, without -personal punishment to any of the men composing it. But though not -punished, in the ordinary sense, the infliction was a great one; for the -men at once became penniless, unoccupied, objectless. The -governor-general, in describing these proceedings for the information of -the home government, added: ‘We trust that the severe measures which we -have been forced to adopt will have the effect of convincing the native -troops that they will only bring ruin on themselves by failing in their -duty to the state and in obedience to their officers.’ - -[Illustration: - - VISCOUNT CANNING. -] - -On the occasion just adverted to, General Hearsey addressed the men very -energetically, while an official paper from the governor-general, read -to the troops, asserted in distinct terms that the rumour was wholly -groundless which imputed to the government an intention to interfere -with the religion of the people. It was a charge soon afterwards brought -in England against the governor-general, that, having subscribed to -certain missionary societies in India, he did not like to abjure all -attempts at the conversion of the natives; and that, being thus balanced -between his public duty and his private religious feeling, he had issued -the general order to the whole army, but had not shewn any solicitude to -convey that positive declaration to all the natives in all the -cantonments or military stations. This, however, was said when Viscount -Canning was not present to defend himself; reasonable men soon saw that -the truth was not to be obtained by such charges, unless supported by -good evidence. It is, however, certain, that much delay and routine -formality occurred throughout all these proceedings. As early as the -11th of February, General Hearsey wrote from Barrackpore the expressive -words: ‘We are on a mine ready to explode’—in allusion to the uneasy -state of feeling or opinion among the sepoys that their religious usages -were about to be tampered with; and yet it was not until the 27th of -March that the Supreme Council at Calcutta agreed to the issue of a -general order declaring it to be the invariable rule of the government -to treat the religious tendencies of all its servants with respect; nor -until the 31st that this general order was read to the troops at -Barrackpore. Considering the mournful effects of dilatoriness and rigid -formalism during the Crimean war, the English public had indulged a hope -that a healthy reform would be introduced into the epistolary mechanism -of the government departments; and this was certainly to some extent -realised in England; but unfortunately the reform had not yet reached -India. During these early months of the mutiny, an absurd waste of time -occurred in the writing and despatching of an enormous number of -letters, where a personal interview, or a verbal message by a trusty -servant, might have sufficed. Eight letters were written, and four days -consumed, before the Calcutta authorities knew what was passing at -Dumdum, eight miles distant. A certain order given by the colonel of a -regiment at Calcutta being considered injudicious by the general, an -inquiry was made as to the grounds for the order; eight days and nine -letters were required for this inquiry and the response to it, and yet -the two officers were within an hour’s distance of each other during the -whole time. Although the affair at Barrackpore on the 6th of February -was assuredly of serious import, it was not known to the government at -Calcutta until the evening of the 10th, notwithstanding that a horseman -might easily have ridden the sixteen miles in two hours. General -Hearsey’s reply to a question as to the cause of the delay is truly -instructive, as exemplifying the slowness of official progress in India: -‘I have no means of communicating anything to the government; I have no -mounted orderly, no express camels; I must always write by the post; and -that leaves Barrackpore at the most inconvenient hour of three o’clock -in the afternoon.’ These facts, trivial in themselves, are worthy of -being borne in mind, as indicative of defects in the mechanism of -government likely to be disastrous in times of excitement and -insubordination. - -Barrackpore was destined to be a further source of vexation and -embarrassment to the government. It will be remembered that a part of -the 34th native infantry went from that town to Berhampore in the last -week in February; but the bulk of the regiment remained at Barrackpore. -Inquiries, afterwards instituted, brought to light the fact that the -European commander of that regiment had been accustomed to distribute -religious tracts among his men; and it was surmised that the scruples -and prejudices of the natives, especially the Brahmins, had been -unfavourably affected by this proceeding. But whether the cause had or -had not been rightly guessed, it is certain that the 34th displayed more -mutinous symptoms at that time than any other regiment. When the news of -the disturbance at Berhampore reached them, they became greatly excited: -they attended to their duties, but with sullen doggedness; and they held -nightly meetings, at which speeches were made sympathetic with the -Berhampore mutineers. The authorities, not wholly ignorant of these -meetings, nevertheless remained quiet until a European regiment could -arrive to aid them. When the Queen’s 84th arrived at Calcutta, the 34th -were more excited than ever, believing that something hostile was -intended against them; their whispers became murmurs, and they openly -expressed their sympathy. When, in accordance with the plan noticed in -the last paragraph, the 19th were marched off from Berhampore to be -disbanded at Barrackpore, the 34th displayed still greater audacity. The -19th having rested for a time at Barraset, eight miles from Barrackpore, -a deputation from the 34th met them, and made a proposal that they -should that very night kill all their officers, march to Barrackpore, -join the 2d and 34th, fire the bungalows, surprise and overwhelm the -Europeans, seize the guns, and then march to threaten Calcutta. Had the -19th been as wild and daring, as irritated and vengeful, as the 34th, -there is no knowing what calamities might have followed; but they -exhibited rather a repentant and regretful tone, and submitted -obediently to all the details of their disbandment at Barrackpore. - -It will therefore be seen that the seeds of further disaffection had -been already sown. As the 34th native infantry had been instrumental in -inciting the 19th to mutiny, ending in disbandment, so did it now bring -a similar punishment on itself. On the 29th of March, one Mungal Pandy, -a sepoy in the 34th, roused to a state of excitement by the use of -intoxicating drugs, armed himself with a sword and a loaded musket, -traversed the lines, called upon his comrades to rise, and declared he -would shoot the first European he met. Lieutenant Baugh, adjutant of the -corps, hearing of this man’s conduct, and of the excited state of the -regiment generally, rode hastily to the lines. Mungal Pandy fired, -missed the officer, but struck his horse. The lieutenant, in -self-defence, fired his pistol, but missed aim; whereupon the sepoy -attacked him with his sword, wounded him in the hand, brought him to the -ground, and tried to entice the other soldiers to join in the attack. -The sergeant-major of the corps, who went to the lieutenant’s -assistance, was also wounded by Mungal Pandy. The dark feature in this -transaction was that many hundred men in the regiment looked on quietly -without offering to protect the lieutenant from his assailant; one of -them, a jemadar, refused to take Mungal into custody, and forbade his -men to render any assistance to the lieutenant, who narrowly escaped -with his life. Major-general Hearsey, on being informed of the -occurrence, proceeded to the parade-ground, where, to his astonishment, -he saw the man walking to and fro, with a blood-smeared sword in one -hand, and a loaded musket in the other. He advanced with some officers -and men to secure the sepoy, which was accomplished with much -difficulty; and it was only by the most resolute bearing of the -major-general that the rest of the men could be induced to return -quietly to their lines. A court-martial was held on Mungal Pandy, and on -the rebellious jemadar, both of whom were forthwith found guilty, and -executed on the 8th of April. No assignable cause appeared for the -conduct of this man: it may have been a mere drunken frenzy; yet there -is more probability that a mutinous spirit, concealed within his breast -during sober moments, made its appearance unchecked when under the -influence of drugs. There was another sepoy, however, who acted -faithfully on the occasion; this man, Shiek Paltoo, was accompanying -Lieutenant Baugh as orderly officer at the time of the attack; and by -his prompt assistance the lieutenant was saved from further injury than -a slight wound. Shiek Paltoo was raised to the rank of supernumerary -havildar for his brave and loyal conduct. - -[Illustration: - - Calcutta. -] - -The outrage, however, could not be allowed to terminate without further -punishment. For a time, the government at Calcutta believed that the -execution of the two principal offenders would suffice, and that the -sepoys would quietly return to their obedience; but certain ominous -occurrences at Lucknow and elsewhere, about the end of April, shewed the -necessity for a stern line of conduct, especially as the 34th still -displayed a kind of sullen doggedness, as if determined on further -insubordination. After mature consideration the whole of the disposable -troops in and around Calcutta were, on the 5th of May, marched off to -Barrackpore, to effect the disarming and disbanding of such sepoys among -the 34th as were present in the lines when Lieutenant Baugh was wounded. -The force comprised the Queen’s 64th regiment, a wing of the 53d, the -2d, 43d, and 70th native infantry, two squadrons of cavalry, and a light -field-battery with six guns. When these troops had been drawn up in two -sides of a square, on the morning of the 6th, about four hundred sepoys -of the 34th were halted in front of the guns. The order for disbandment -was read out by the interpreter, Lieutenant Chamier; and after a few -energetic remarks upon the enormity of their offence, General Hearsey -commanded them to pile their arms, and strip off the uniform which they -had disgraced. When this was done, the work of paying up their arrears -was commenced. They were then dismissed with their families and baggage, -to Chinsura, a town a few miles higher up the Hoogly. The grenadiers of -the 84th, and a portion of the cavalry, accompanied them to see that -they went to and settled at Chinsura, and did not cross the river to -Chittagong, where three other companies of the same regiment were -stationed. Four of the disbanded sepoys were officers; one of whom, a -subadar, sobbed bitterly at his loss and degradation, although it was -strongly suspected that he had been one of the leaders in the -insubordination. In the general order which the governor-general ordered -to be read to every regiment in the service, concerning this -disbandment, words occur which shew that the old delusion was still -working in the breasts of the natives. ‘The sepoy who was the chief -actor in the disgraceful scene of the 29th of March called upon his -comrades to come to his support, for the reason that their religion was -in danger, and that they were about to be compelled to employ -cartridges, the use of which would do injury to their caste; and from -the words in which he addressed the sepoys, it is to be inferred that -many of them shared this opinion with him. The governor-general in -council has recently had occasion to remind the army of Bengal that the -government of India has never interfered to constrain its soldiers in -matters affecting their religious faith. He has declared that the -government of India never will do so; and he has a right to expect that -this declaration shall give confidence to all who have been deceived and -led astray. But, whatever may be the deceptions or evil counsels to -which others have been exposed, the native officers and men of the 34th -regiment native infantry have no excuse for misapprehension on this -subject. Not many weeks previously to the 29th of March, it had been -explained to that regiment—first by their own commanding officer, and -subsequently by the major-general commanding the division—that their -fears for religion were groundless. It was carefully and clearly shewn -to them that the cartridges which they would be called upon to use -contained nothing which could do violence to their religious scruples. -If, after receiving these assurances, the sepoys of the 34th regiment, -or of any other regiment, still refuse to place trust in their officers -and in the government, and still allow suspicions to take root in their -minds, and to grow into disaffection, insubordination, and mutiny, the -fault is their own, and their punishment will be upon their own heads.’ - -Five weeks elapsed between the offence of the 19th native infantry and -its punishment by disbandment; five weeks similarly elapsed between the -offence and the disbandment of the 34th; and many observant officers -were of opinion that these delays worked mischief, by instilling into -the minds of the sepoys a belief that the authorities were afraid to -punish them. Whether the punishment of disbanding was, after all, -sufficiently severe, is a question on which military men are by no means -agreed. - -At a later date than the events narrated in this chapter, but closely -connected with them in subject, was the circulation of a report -manifestly intended to rouse the religious prejudices of the Hindoos by -a false assertion concerning the designs of the ruling powers. In some -of the towns of Southern India, far away from Bengal, unknown emissaries -circulated a paper, or at least a story, of which the following was the -substance: That the padres, probably Christian missionaries, had sent a -petition to the Queen of England, complaining of the slowness with which -Hindoos were made to become Christians; they adduced the conduct of some -of the Mohammedan potentates of India in past times, such as Tippoo -Saib, who had compelled the Hindoos to embrace Islamism; and they -suggested a similar authoritative policy. The story made the padres give -this advice: to mix up bullocks’ fat and pigs’ fat with the grease -employed on the cartridges; in order that, by touching these substances -with their teeth or lips, the sepoys might lose caste, and thus induce -them to embrace Christianity as their only resource. The climax of the -story was reached by making the Queen express her joy at the plan, and -her resolve that it should be put in operation. The success of such a -lying rumour must, of course, have mainly depended on the ignorance and -credulity of the natives. - -A far-distant region now calls for notice. At a time when the Upper and -Lower Bengal provinces were, as the authorities hoped and believed, -recovering from the wild excitement of the cartridge question, the -commissioner of the Cis-Sutlej territory had ample means for knowing -that the minds of the natives in that region were mischievously agitated -by some cause or other. It is necessary here to understand what is meant -by this geographical designation. If we consult a map in which an -attempt is made, by distinct colouring, to define British territory from -semi-independent states, we shall find the region between Delhi and -Lahore cut up in a most extraordinary way. The red British patches are -seen to meander among the scraps of native territory with great -intricacy: so much so, indeed, that a map on a very large scale could -alone mark the multitudinous lines of boundary; and even such a map -would soon become obsolete, for the red, like a devouring element, has -been year by year absorbing bits of territory formerly painted green or -yellow. The peculiar tribe of the Sikhs, besides occupying the Punjaub, -inhabit a wide region on the east or left bank of the river Sutlej, -generally included under the name of Sirhind. For fifty years the -British in India have had to deal, or have made a pretext for dealing, -with the petty Sikh chieftains of this Sirhind region: at one time -‘protecting’ those on the east of the Sutlej from the aggression of the -great Sikh leader, Runjeet Singh, on the west of that river; then -‘annexing’ the small territories of some of these chieftains on failure -of male heirs; then seizing others as a punishment for non-neutrality or -non-assistance during war-time. Thus it arose that—before the annexation -of the Punjaub itself in 1849—much of the Sikh country in Sirhind had -become British, and was divided into four districts marked by the towns -of Ferozpore, Umballa or Umballah, Loodianah, and Kythul; leaving -Putialah, Jeend, and Furreedkote as the three principal protected or -semi-independent Sikh states of that country. Meanwhile a region -somewhat to the east or northeast of Sirhind was subject to just the -same process. Being hilly, it is called the Hill Country; and being -ruled by a number of petty chieftains, the separate bits of territory -are called the Hill States. During about forty years the process of -absorption has been going on—arising primarily out of the fact that the -British aided the Hill chieftains against the Nepaulese, and then paid -themselves in their wonted manner. Part of Gurhwal was annexed; then -Sundock, Malowa, and a number of other places not easily found in the -maps; and afterwards Ramgurh was given back in exchange for Simla, to -form a healthy holiday-place among the hills, a sort of Balmoral for -sick governors and commanders. As a final result, much of the Hill -Country became British, and the rest was left in the hands of about -twenty petty chieftains. - -Now, when the Cis-Sutlej territory is mentioned, it must be interpreted -as including all the region taken by the British from the minor Sikh -chieftains in Sirhind; together with such of the Hill States of Gurhwal -and its vicinity as have become British. The whole together have been -made a sub-government, under a commissioner responsible to the -governor-general; or, more strictly, the commissioner rules the Sirhind -region, while the Hills are included among the non-regulation districts -of the Agra government. The four towns and districts of Ferozpore, -Loodianah, Umballa, and Kythul, east of the Sutlej, will suffice for our -purpose to indicate the Cis-Sutlej territory—so named in a Calcutta -point of view, as being on the _cis_ or _hither_ side of the Sutlej, in -reference to that city. - -It was at Umballa, one of the towns in the Cis-Sutlej territory, that -the commissioner, Mr Barnes, reported acts of incendiarism that much -perplexed him. On the 26th of March, Hurbunsee Singh, a subadar or -native captain in the 36th regiment native infantry, attached to the -musketry depôt at that place, became an object of attack to the other -men of the regiment; they endeavoured to burn his hut and his property. -It was just at the time when reports reached Umballa relative to the -cartridges, the using of which was said by the sepoys to be an -innovation derogatory to their caste and religion. Hurbunsee Singh had -at once come forward, and publicly stated his willingness to fire with -such cartridges, as being, in his opinion, free from objection. The -incendiarism took place on the day named; and the commissioner directly -inferred that there must be something wrong in the thoughts of men who -would thus seek to injure one of their own native officers on such -grounds. Nothing further occurred, however, until the 13th of April, -when another fire broke out. This was followed by a third on the 15th, -in some outhouses belonging to the 60th native infantry; by two fires on -the 16th, when government property was burned to the value of thirty -thousand rupees; by the burning on the 17th of an empty bungalow in the -5th regiment native infantry lines, of a stable belonging to an English -officer of the 60th, and of another building. On the 20th, attempts were -made on the houses of the jemadar and havildar of the 5th regiment, two -native officers favourable to the new cartridges; and under the bed of -the jemadar were found gunpowder and brimstone, as if to destroy the man -as well as his property. Some of the buildings are believed to have been -set on fire by dropping burning brimstone through holes in the roof; and -on one occasion, when the attempt at incendiarism had failed, a paper -containing powder and brimstone was found. On the 21st and two following -days, similar fires occurred. On the 25th, the house of the band-master -of Her Majesty’s 9th Lancers was fired and burned; and two or three -similar attempts were shortly afterwards made, but frustrated. At all -these fires, the engines of the cantonment were set to work; but it was -observed that many of the sepoys worked listlessly and indifferently, as -if their thoughts were bent rather upon fire-raising than -fire-quenching. - -That such occurrences produced uneasiness among the English authorities -at Umballa may well be supposed. Captain Howard, magistrate of the -cantonment, wrote thus to the Calcutta government: ‘The emanating cause -of the arson at this cantonment, I conceive, originated with regard to -the newly introduced cartridges, to which the native sepoy shews his -decided objection: it being obnoxious to him from a false idea—which, -now that it has entered the mind of the sepoy, is difficult to -eradicate—that the innovation of this cartridge is derogatory both to -his caste and his religion.... That this has led to the fires at this -cantonment, in my own private mind I am perfectly convinced. Were it the -act of only one or two, or even a few persons, the well-disposed sepoys -would at once have come forward and forthwith informed; but that there -is an organised leagued conspiracy existing, I feel confident. Though -all and every individual composing a regiment may not form part of the -combination, still I am of opinion that such a league in each corps is -known to exist; and such being upheld by the majority, or rather -connived at, therefore it is that no single man dared to come forward -and expose it.’ Although proof could not be obtained of the culpability -of any one sepoy, the incendiarism was at once attributed to them rather -than to the peasantry. The existence of some oath or bond of secrecy was -further supposed from the fact that a reward of one thousand rupees -failed to bring forward a single witness or accuser. After about twenty -attempts at burning buildings, more or less successful, the system was -checked—by the establishment of mounted and foot patrols and pickets; by -the expulsion of all fakeers and idle persons not belonging to the -cantonment; by the refusal of a passage through it to sepoys on furlough -or discharged; and by the arrest of such sepoys in the Umballa regiments -as, having furloughs, still remained in the cantonment—influenced, -apparently, by some mischievous designs. - -Every one coincided in opinion with Captain Howard that there had been -an organised plan among the sepoys; but some of the officers in the -Company’s service, civil as well as military, differed from him in -attributing it solely to the cartridge affair—they thought this a blind -or pretence to hide some deeper scheme. The commissioner of the -Cis-Sutlej states, however, agreed with the magistrate, and expressed an -opinion that nothing would restore quiet but a concession to the natives -in the matter of greased cartridges; and he recommended to the -government at Calcutta the adoption of that line of policy. Writing on -the 7th of May, he said: ‘Fires, for the present, have ceased; but I do -not think that this is any indication that the uneasy feeling among the -sepoys is on the wane.’ Considering the position of Umballa, it is no -wonder that those in authority at that spot should feel anxiety -concerning the safety of their position. Umballa is more than a thousand -miles from Calcutta, separated from it by the whole of the important -states in which the cities of Delhi, Meerut, Agra, Cawnpore, Lucknow, -Allahabad, and Benares are situated, and deprived of assistance from -thence in the event of the intermediate regions being disturbed. Umballa -is a somewhat important town, too, in itself, with more than twenty -thousand inhabitants; it is large, and surrounded with a wall, well -supplied with water, bounded by a highly fertile district, and capable -of furnishing abundant supplies to rebels, if held by them. - -The authorities, awakened by these events in so many parts of India, -sought to inquire whether the native newspaper press of India had -fermented the anarchy. It seemed at first ridiculous to suppose that -those miserable little sheets, badly written and worse printed, and -having a small circulation, could have contributed much to the creation -of the evil. Yet many facts tended to the support of this view. It was a -frequent custom in those papers to disguise the writer’s real sentiments -under the flimsy mask of a dialogue, in which one side was uniformly -made victor. When the government was not actually abused and vilified, -it was treated with ridicule, and its motives distorted. There were not -many copies of these papers printed and sold; but a kind of ubiquity was -afforded to them by the practice of news-mongers or tale-bearers, who -went from hut to hut, retailing the various items of news or of comment -that had been picked up. - -Indeed, the tendency of the people to listen to attacks against the -government is now known to have been very marked among the Hindoos. -Predictions of the downfall of rulers were a favourite subject with -them. Of course, such predictions would not be openly hazarded in -newspapers; but they not less surely reached the ears of the natives. -Thirty years ago, Sir John Malcolm spoke on this subject in the -following way: ‘My attention has been, during the last twenty-five -years, particularly directed to this dangerous species of secret war -against our authority, which is always carrying on by numerous though -unseen hands. The spirit is kept up by letters, by exaggerated reports, -and by pretended prophecies. When the time appears favourable, from the -occurrence of misfortune to our arms, from rebellion in our provinces, -or from mutiny in our troops, circular-letters and proclamations are -dispersed over the country with a celerity almost incredible. Such -documents are read with avidity. The contents in most cases are the -same. The English are depicted as usurpers of low caste, and as tyrants -who have sought India with no other view but that of degrading the -inhabitants and of robbing them of their wealth, while they seek to -subvert their usages and their religion. The native soldiery are always -appealed to, and the advice to them is, in all instances I have met -with, the same—“_Your European tyrants are few in number_: kill them!”’ -This testimony of Malcolm is especially valuable, as illustrating, and -illustrated by, recent events. - -The native press of India will come again under notice in a future -chapter, connected with the precautionary measures adopted by the -governor-general to lessen the power of those news-writers, whether -English or native, who shewed a disposition to encourage rebellion by -their writings. News and rumours always work most actively among -credulous people—an important fact, knowing what we now know of India -and its Hindoo inhabitants. - -When General Anson, commander-in-chief of the forces in India, found -that the small events at Dumdum, Berhampore, and Barrackpore had grown -into great importance, and that the cartridge grievance still appeared -to press on the consciences or influence the conduct of the sepoys, he -deemed it right to make an effort that should pacify the whole of the -native troops. Being at Umballa on the 19th of May, to which place he -had hastened from his sojourn at Simla, he issued a general order to the -native army, informing the troops that it had never been the intention -of the government to force them to use any cartridges which could be -objected to, and that they never would be required to do so. He -announced his object in publishing the order to be to allay the -excitement which had been raised in their minds, at the same time -expressing his conviction that there was no cause for this excitement. -He had been informed, he said, that some of the sepoys who entertained -the strongest attachment and loyalty to the government, and who were -ready at any moment to obey its orders, were nevertheless under an -impression that their families would believe them to be in some way -contaminated by the use of the cartridges used with the Enfield rifles -recently introduced in India. He expressed regret that the positive -assertions of the government officers, as to the non-existence of the -objectionable substances in the grease of the cartridges, had not been -credited by the sepoys. He solemnly assured the army, that no -interference with their caste-principles or their religion was ever -contemplated; and as solemnly pledged his word and honour that no such -interference should ever be attempted. He announced, therefore, that -whatever might be the opinions of the government concerning the -cartridges, new or old, he had determined that the new rifle-cartridge, -and every other of new form, should be discontinued: balled ammunition -being made up by each regiment for its own use, by a proper -establishment maintained for the purpose. Finally, he declared his full -confidence, ‘that all in the native army will now perform their duty, -free from anxiety or care, and be prepared to stand and shed the last -drop of their blood, as they had formerly done, by the side of the -British troops, and in defence of their country.’ The central government -at Calcutta, on receipt of the news of this order having been -promulgated, hastily sent to state that, in implying that new cartridges -_had_ been issued, the commander-in-chief had overstepped the actual -facts of the case; nothing new in that way had been introduced -throughout the year, except to the troops at the Depôt of Musketry -Instruction at Dumdum. From this fact it appears certain that the -credulity of the sepoys at the more distant stations had been imposed -upon, either by their fellow-Hindoos engaged in a conspiracy, or by -Mohammedans. - -[Illustration: - - Council-house at Calcutta. -] - -In this chapter have been discussed several subjects which, though -strange, exhibit nothing terrible or cruel. The suspicions connected -with the Oude princes, the mystery of the chupatties, the prophecies of -British downfall, the objections to the greased cartridges, the -insubordination arising out of those objections, the incendiarism, the -inflammatory tendency of the native newspaper press—all were important -rather as symptoms, than for their immediate effects. But the month of -May, and the towns of Meerut and Delhi, will now introduce us to fearful -proceedings—the beginning of a series of tragedies. - ------ - -Footnote 6: - - _Edinburgh Review_, No. 216. - -[Illustration: - - King’s Palace, Delhi. -] - - - - - CHAPTER III. - MEERUT, AND THE REBEL-FLIGHT TO DELHI. - - -The first week in May marked a crisis in the affairs of British India. -It will ever remain an insoluble problem, whether the hideous atrocities -that followed might have been prevented by any different policy at that -date. The complainings and the disobedience had already presented -themselves: the murders and mutilations had not yet commenced; and there -are those who believe that if a Lawrence instead of a Hewett had been at -Meerut, the last spark that ignited the inflammable materials might have -been arrested. But this is a kind of cheap wisdom, a prophecy after the -event, an easy mode of judgment, on which little reliance can be placed. -Taking the British officers in India as a body, it is certain that they -had not yet learned to distrust the sepoys, whom they regarded with much -professional admiration for their external qualifications. The Brahmins -of the Northwest Provinces—a most important constituent, as we have -seen, of the Bengal army—are among the finest men in the world; their -average height is at least two inches greater than that of the English -soldiers of the line regiments; and in symmetry they also take the lead. -They are unaddicted to drunkenness; they are courteous in demeanour, in -a degree quite beyond the English soldier; and it is now known that the -commanding officers, proud of the appearance of these men on parade, too -often ignored those moral qualities without which a good soldier is an -impossible production. Whether, when the disturbances became known, the -interpretation was favourable to the sepoys, depended much on the -peculiar bias in the judgment of each officer. Some believed that the -native soldier was docile, obedient, and loyal as long as his religious -prejudices were respected; that he was driven to absolute frenzy by the -slightest suspicion, whether well or ill grounded, of any interference -with his creed or his observances; that he had been gradually rendered -distrustful by the government policy of forbidding suttee and -infanticide, by the withholding of government contributions to Hindoo -temples and idol-ceremonies, by the authorities at Calcutta subscribing -to missionary societies, and lastly by the affair of the greased -cartridges; and that the sensibilities of Brahminism, thus vitally -outraged, prepared the native mind for the belief that we designed to -proceed by some stratagem or other to the utter and final abolition of -caste. This interpretation is wholly on the Hindoo side, and is -respectful rather than otherwise to the earnestness and honesty of the -Brahmins. Other officers, however, directed their attention at once to -the Mohammedan element in the army, and authoritatively pronounced that -the Hindoo sepoys were simply dupes and tools in the hands of the -Moslem. These interpreters said—We have superseded the Mohammedan power -in India; we have dethroned the descendants of the great Aurungzebe and -the greater Akbar; we have subjected the mogul’s lieutenants or nawabs -to our authority; we have lately extinguished the last remaining -monarchy in Northern India held by a son of the Faithful; we have -reduced a conquering and dominant race to a position of inferiority and -subserviency; and hence their undying resentment, their implacable -hatred, their resolute determination to try one more struggle for -supremacy, and their crafty employment of simple bigoted Hindoos as -worthy instruments when sufficiently excited by dark hints and bold -lies. - -[Illustration: - - PART OF - INDIA - Chief Scene of - THE MUTINIES OF 1857 - - W. & R. CHAMBERS LONDON & EDINBURGH -] - -But there was one fact which all these officers admitted, when it was -too late to apply a remedy. Whether the Hindoo or the Mohammedan element -was most disturbed, all agreed that the British forces were ill placed -to cope with any difficulties arising out of a revolt. Doubt might be -entertained how far the disloyalty among the native troops would extend; -but there could be no doubt that European troops were scanty, just at -the places where most likely to be needed. There were somewhat over -twenty thousand Queen’s troops at the time in India, with a few others -on the way thither. Of these, as has been shewn in a former page, the -larger proportion was with the Bengal troops; but instead of being -distributed in the various Bengal and Oude provinces, they were rather -largely posted at two extreme points, certainly not less than two -thousand miles apart—on the Afghan frontier of the Punjaub, and on the -Burmese frontier of Pegu. Four regiments of the Queen’s army were -guarding the newly annexed country of the Punjaub, while three others -were similarly holding the recent conquests in Pegu. What was the -consequence, in relation to the twelve hundred miles between Calcutta -and the Sutlej? An almost complete denudation of European troops: a -surrendering of most of the strongholds to the mercy of the sepoys. Only -one European regiment at Lucknow, and none other in the whole of Oude; -two at Meerut, one at Agra, one at Dinapoor, and one at Calcutta—none at -Cawnpore or Allahabad. The two great native capitals of India—Delhi, of -the Mohammedans: Benares, of the Hindoos—had not one European regiment -in them. Indeed, earlier in the year, Calcutta itself had none; but the -authorities, as narrated in the last chapter, became so uneasy at the -thought of being without European supporters at the seat of government, -that they sent to Rangoon in Pegu for one of the Queen’s regiments, and -did not venture upon the Barrackpore disbandments until this regiment -had arrived. The lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces, -comprising Delhi and the surrounding regions, had in his whole -government only three European regiments, and a sepoy army, soon found -to be faithless. Oude had a considerable native force; but Bengal proper -had very few troops of any kind. In short, the Company’s forces were -almost as unfavourably distributed as they could possibly be, to stem -the Revolt at its beginning; and there may not be much hazard in -assuming that the natives were as well acquainted with this fact as the -British. - -The reader will find it useful to bear in mind, that the unfavourable -symptoms during the first four months of the year did not present -themselves in those districts which were afterwards associated with such -terrible deeds. Meerut and Delhi, Dinapoor and Ghazeepore, Benares and -Allahabad, Cawnpore and Lucknow, Mirzapore and Agra—these were not in -open disaffection during the period under notice, however much the -elements for a storm may have been gathering. It was at Dumdum, -Barrackpore, and Berhampore, on the Hoogly branch of the Lower -Ganges—and at Umballa near the Sutlej, separated from them by more than -a thousand miles—that the insubordination was chiefly shewn. Now, -however, the scene shifts to the Jumna and the Upper Ganges—with which -it will be well to become familiar by means of maps. Especially must the -positions of Meerut and Delhi be attended to, in relation to the events -detailed in this and the next following chapters. - -Meerut, as a district, is a part of the Doab or delta enclosed between -the rivers Ganges and Jumna; but it is Meerut the town with which this -narrative is concerned. It came into the possession of the British in -1836, and is now included in the territories of Northwest Bengal. The -town, standing on the small river Kalee Nuddee, is about equidistant -from the Ganges and the Jumna, twenty-five or thirty miles from each, -and nearly nine hundred miles from Calcutta. Meerut is interesting to -the Indian antiquary in possessing some good architectural remains of -mosques and pagodas; and to the European residents, in possessing one of -the largest and finest Christian churches in India, capable of -accommodating three thousand persons, and provided with a good organ; -but the houses of the natives are wretchedly built, and the streets -narrow and dirty, as in most oriental towns. It is as a military -station, however, that Meerut is most important. The cantonment is two -miles north of the town, and is divided into two portions by a small -branch of the river, over which two bridges have been thrown. The -northern half of the cantonment contains lines for the accommodation of -a brigade of horse-artillery, a European cavalry corps, and a regiment -of European infantry—separated respectively by intervals of several -hundred yards. In front of these is a fine parade-ground, a mile in -width and four miles in length, having ample space for field-battery -practice and the manœuvres of horse-artillery; with a heavy battery on -the extreme right. Overlooking the parade are the barracks, with -stables, hospitals, riding-schools, canteens, and other military -offices. The barracks consist of a series of separate brick-built -low-roofed structures, each comprising one large and lofty room, -surrounded by a spacious enclosed verandah, divided into apartments for -the non-commissioned officers and the families of married men. Behind -the barracks, in a continued line three deep, are the bungalows or -lodges of the officers, each surrounded by a garden about a hundred -yards square. The opposite or southern half of the cantonment is mainly -occupied by the huts (not barracks) for native troops, and by the -detached bungalows for the officers who command them. This description, -applicable in some degree to many parts of India, may assist in -conveying an idea of the manner in which the European officers have -usually been lodged at the cantonments—in detached bungalows at no great -distance from the huts of the native troops: it may render a little more -intelligible some of the details of the fearful tragedies about to be -narrated. Before the Revolt, it was customary to keep at Meerut a -regiment of European cavalry, a regiment of European infantry, one of -native cavalry, and three of native infantry, besides horse and foot -artillery. The station is a particularly healthy one; and, both -politically and geographically, is an important place to the British -rulers of India. - -Meerut, in some respects, was one of the last towns in which the mutiny -might have been expected to commence; for there was no other place in -the Northwest Provinces containing at the time so many English troops. -There were the 60th (Rifle) regiment, 1000 strong; the 6th Dragoon -Guards or Carabineers, 600 strong (but not fully mounted); a troop of -horse-artillery; and 500 artillery recruits—altogether about 2200 men, -with a full complement of officers. The native troops were but little -more numerous: comprising the 3d Bengal cavalry, and the 11th and 20th -Bengal infantry. In such a relative state of the European and native -forces, no one for an instant would have admitted the probability of a -revolt being successful at such a time and place. - -Although it was not until the second week in May that those events took -place which carried grief and mourning into so many families, Meerut -began its troubles in the latter part of the preceding month. The troops -at this station had not been inattentive to the events transpiring in -Lower Bengal; they knew all the rumours concerning the greased -cartridges; they had been duped into a belief in the truth of those -rumours; and, moreover, emissaries had been at work among them, -instilling into their minds another preposterous notion—that the -government had plotted to take away their caste and insult their -religion, by causing the pulverised bones of bullocks to be mixed up -with the flour sold in the public markets or bazaars. Major-general -Hewett, commanding the military division of which Meerut was the chief -station, sought by every means to eradicate from the minds of the men -these absurd and pernicious ideas; he pointed out how little the -government had to gain by such a course, how contrary it would be to the -policy adopted during a hundred years, and how improbable was the whole -rumour. He failed, however, in his appeal to the good sense of the men; -and equally did the European officers of the native regiments fail: the -sepoys or infantry, the sowars or cavalry, alike continued in a -distrustful and suspicious state. Many British officers accustomed to -Indian troops aver that these men had been rendered more insubordinate -than ever by the leniency of the proceedings at Barrackpore and -Berhampore; that disbandment was not a sufficiently severe punishment -for the offences committed at those places; that the delay in the -disbanding was injurious, as denoting irresolution on the part of the -authorities at Calcutta; and that the native troops in other places had -begun to imbibe an opinion that the government were afraid of them. But -whatever be the amount of truth in this mode of interpretation, certain -it is that the troops at Meerut evinced a mutinous spirit that caused -great uneasiness to their commanders. Bungalows and houses were set on -fire, no one knew by whom; officers were not saluted as had been their -wont; and whispers went about that the men intended to adopt a bold -course in reference to the greased cartridges. - -The military authorities on the spot resolved to put this matter to the -test. On the 23d of April, Colonel Smyth, the English commander of the -3d regiment of native Bengal cavalry, ordered a parade of the -skirmishers of his regiment with carabines on the following morning, to -shew them the newly introduced mode of adjusting their cartridges -without biting, hoping and believing that they would be gratified by -this indication of the willingness of the government to consult their -feelings in the matter. He caused the havildar-major and the -havildar-major’s orderly to come to his house, to shew them how it was -to be done; and the orderly fired off a carabine under the new system. -At night, however, uneasiness was occasioned by the burning down of the -orderly’s tent, and of a horse-hospital close to the magazine. Although -this act of incendiarism looked ominous, the colonel nevertheless -determined to carry out his object on the morrow. Accordingly, on the -morning of the 24th, the troops assembled on parade; and the -havildar-major fired off one cartridge to shew them how it was to be -done. The men demurred, however, to the reception of the cartridges, -though the same in kind as had been used by them during a long period, -and _not_ the new cartridges. An investigation ensued, which was -conducted on the 25th by Major Harrison, deputy-judge advocate. On being -examined, the men admitted that they could discern nothing impure in the -composition or glazing of the paper; but added that they had _heard_ it -was unclean, and believed it to be so. The inquiry, after a few -conciliatory observations on the part of the judge, ended in the men -expressing contrition for their obstinacy, and promising a ready -obedience in the use of the cartridges whenever called upon. - -A hope was now entertained that the difficulties had been smoothed away; -but this hope proved to be fallacious. Major-general Hewett, wishing to -put an end to the stupid prejudice, and to settle at once all doubts as -to the obedience of the men, ordered a parade of the 3d cavalry for the -morning of the 6th of May. On the evening of the 5th, preparatory to the -parade, cartridges were given out to the men, the same in quality as -those which had been freely in use during many years. Eighty-five of the -sowars or troopers—either still incredulous on the grease-question, or -resolved to mutiny whether with just cause or not—positively refused to -receive the cartridges. This conduct, of course, could not be -overlooked; the men were taken into custody, and tried by a -court-martial; they were found guilty of a grave military offence, and -were committed to imprisonment with hard labour, for periods varying -from six to ten years. The governor-general, seeing the necessity of -promptitude at this crisis, had just sent orders to the military -stations that the judgments of all court-martials should be put in force -instantly, as a means of impressing the troops with the seriousness of -their position; and Major-general Hewett, acting on these instructions, -proceeded on the 9th to enforce the sentence of the court-martial. A -European guard of 60th Rifles and Carabiniers was placed over the -convicted men; and at daybreak the whole military force at the station -was assembled on the rifle parade-ground. All were there—the European -60th, Carabiniers, and artillery—the native 3d, 11th, and 20th. The -European cannon, carbines, and rifles were loaded, to prepare for any -emergency. The eighty-five mutineers of the 3d native cavalry were -marched upon the ground; they were stripped of their uniforms and -accoutrements; they were shackled with irons riveted on by the -armourers. While this was being done, very meaning looks were exchanged -between the culprits and the other sowars of the same regiment—the -former looking reproachfully at the latter, while the latter appeared -gloomy and crestfallen: it was evident that the unconvicted men had -promised to resist and prevent the infliction of the degrading -punishment on their convicted associates; but it was equally evident -that the presence of so many armed European troops would have rendered -any attempt at rescue worse than useless. The manacles having been -adjusted, the men were marched off to jail. And herein a grave mistake -appears to have been committed. Instead of keeping a watchful eye over -these men at such a perilous time, and retaining them under a guard of -European troops until the excitement had blown over, they were sent to -the common jail of Meerut, two miles distant from the cantonment, and -there handed over to the police or ordinary civil power of the town. How -disastrous was the result of this course of proceeding, we shall -presently see. The native troops, when the culprits had been removed -from the parade-ground, returned to their lines furious with -indignation—at least the 3d cavalry were so, and they gradually brought -over the infantry to share in their indignant feelings. It was a -degrading punishment, unquestionably: whether the remainder of the -native troops at the station would be terrified or exasperated by it, -was just the problem which remained to be solved. All the afternoon and -evening of that day were the men brooding and whispering, plotting and -planning. Unfortunately, the European officers of native regiments were -accustomed to mix so seldom with their men, that they knew little of -what occurred except on parade-ground: this plotting was only known by -its fruits. Judged by subsequent events, it appears probable that the -native troops sent emissaries to Delhi, forty miles distant, to announce -what had occurred, and to plan an open revolt. The prime plotters were -the 3d; the 20th were nearly as eager; but the 11th, newly arrived at -Meerut, held back for some time, although they did not betray the rest. - -Little did the European inhabitants, their wives and their children, at -Meerut, dream what was in store for them on Sunday the 10th of May—a day -of peace in the eyes of Christians. It was on the 9th that the sentence -of the court-martial on the eighty-five mutineers was enforced: it was -on the 10th that the Revolt, in its larger sense, began. Whether these -two events stood to each other in the relation of cause and effect, is a -question not easily to be answered; but it may safely be asserted that -the Revolt would not have resulted from the punishment unless the men -had been generally in a state of disaffection. The Sunday opened as most -Sundays open in India, quiet and uneventful, and remained so till -evening. Ladies and families were then going to evening-service at the -church. Some of them passed the mess-room of the 3d cavalry, and there -saw servants looking towards the road leading to the native infantry -lines. Something was evidently wrong. On inquiry it appeared that a -mutiny had broken out, and that fighting was going on in the bazaar. -Crowds of armed men soon hurried that way; and families who had been on -the route to church, drove or walked back in haste to escape danger. So -it was on all sides: whoever on that evening ventured forth, found that -blood-shedding instead of church-service would fill their thoughts. The -Rev. Mr Smyth, chaplain of Meerut, while driving to church for the seven -o’clock service, met two of the 60th Rifles covered with blood; and on -reaching the church, he saw buggies and carriages driving away in great -confusion, and a body of people pointing to a column of fire and smoke -in the direction of the city: frequent shots were heard, amid the cries -of a large mob. In another direction the wife of an officer in the 3d -cavalry, going like other Europeans to church, and startled like them by -sounds of violence, saw a private of the Carabiniers unarmed, and -running for very life from several men armed with _latthies_ or long -sticks: she stopped her carriage and took in the English soldier; but -the men continued to strike at him until the vehicle rolled away. This -lady, on reaching her bungalow in haste and dismay, was the first to -give notice to her husband that something was wrong among the native -troops: he instantly started off on foot to the lines, without waiting -for his horse. In another part of the scene, an English officer of the -11th native infantry, at about six o’clock on that evening, while in his -bungalow preparing for a ride with Colonel Finnis of the same regiment, -had his attention attracted to his servants, and those in the bungalows -of other officers, going down towards the front of the several compounds -or gardens, and looking steadily into the lines or cantonment of the -regiment. He heard a buzzing, murmuring noise, which at first he deemed -of no consequence; but as it continued and increased, he hastily -finished dressing and went out. Scarcely had he reached his gate, when -he heard the sound of firearms, which his practised ear at once told him -were loaded with ball-cartridge. An European non-commissioned officer -came running towards him, with others, and exclaimed: ‘For God’s sake, -sir, leave! Return to your bungalow, change that dress, and fly!’ -Shortly afterwards shots came into his own compound; and the -havildar-major of the 11th, rushing terrified and breathless into the -bungalow, exclaimed: ‘Fly, sahib—fly at once! the regiments are in open -mutiny, and firing on their officers; and Colonel Finnis has just been -shot in my arms!’ The officer mounted and started off—at first -leisurely—because ‘a Briton does not like actually running away under -any circumstances;’ but when the havildar-major (native sergeant-major) -advised him to gallop off to the European cavalry lines, he saw that the -suggestion was good; and he immediately started—over a rugged and barren -plain, cut up by nullahs and ravines—towards the lines of the Queen’s -Carabiniers. - -When these, and a dozen similar mysteries, came to receive their -solution, it was found that a mutiny had indeed broken out. Shortly -before five o’clock on that Sunday afternoon, the men of the 3d native -cavalry, and of the 20th native infantry, rushed out of their lines on a -given signal, and proceeded to the lines of the 11th native infantry, -all fully armed. After a little hesitation, their comrades joined them; -and then all three regiments proceeded to open acts of violence. Colonel -Finnis of the 11th, the moment he heard of this startling proceeding, -rode to the parade-ground, harangued the men, and endeavoured to induce -them to return to their duty. Instead of listening to him, the men of -the 20th fired a volley, and he fell, riddled with bullets—the first -victim of the Indian Revolt. The other officers present, feeling that -their remaining longer on the ground would effect no good, escaped. -Whether a daring man might have stemmed the torrent, cannot now be told: -no one attempted it after Finnis’s death; his brother-officers were -allowed to escape to the lines of the artillery and the Carabiniers, on -the other side of the encampment. So far as the accounts are -intelligible, the first shots appear to have been fired by the 20th, the -11th joining afterwards in the violence. - -While the infantry were thus engaged, the ominous but natural step was -taken by the 3d cavalry of releasing their eighty-five imprisoned -companions—ominous, because those men, enraged at their incarceration, -would join in the disorder with heated blood and excited passions. The -troopers proceeded to the jail, set their companions free, armed them, -and invited them to share in the mutiny. All this was evidently -preconcerted; for native smiths were at hand to strike off the manacles. -Yelling and threatening, the whole returned to the lines; and then -commenced the direful mischief. Within a very short time, all three -regiments became busily engaged in burning and murdering. But this was -not all; when the eighty-five troopers were liberated, the other -prisoners in the jail, _twelve hundred_ in number, were set at liberty -at the same time; and then the scum of Indian society entered into the -scenes of violence with demoniac relish, adding tenfold to the horrors -perpetrated by the sepoys and sowars. The mutineers and the ruffians set -fire to nearly all the bungalows of the native lines, and to the -government establishments near at hand, murdering, as they went, the -Europeans who fell in their way. The bungalows being mostly thatched -with straw, the destruction was very rapid; the cowardly assailants, -setting fire to the thatch, waited till the flames had driven out the -inmates of the bungalow, and then fell upon them as assassins. The -conflagrations were accompanied by the yells of the rioters and the -shrieks of the sufferers, rendered more terrible by the approach of -darkness. The rabble of the bazaar, and the lowest portion of the -population generally, as if intoxicated by release from the dread of -Europeans, now joined the mutineers and the released felons, and the -horrors thickened. On all sides shot up columns of flame and smoke; on -all sides were heard the shouts and curses of some, the cries and -lamentations of others. One redeeming feature—there may have been -others—marked these proceedings; the sepoys of the 11th, in most -instances, connived at the escape of their officers—nay, strove -earnestly to save them: it was not by men of his own regiment that poor -Colonel Finnis had been shot down. - -A few individual examples, drawn from the simple but painful narratives -of eye-witnesses, will shew in what way misery and death were brought -into homes where the peace of a Christian Sabbath had reigned only a few -hours before. - -The Rev. Mr Smyth, after returning hurriedly from the church where he -had intended to perform divine service, took shelter in the house of an -officer of the artillery in the English lines. Shots had just before -been aimed at that officer and his wife by eight or ten sepoys of the -artillery depôt or school, while standing at the very gate of their -compound; and yet Mr Smyth himself was saluted respectfully by several -sepoys during his hurried retreat—shewing the strange mixture of -deference and ferocity exhibited by these misguided men. Presently -afterwards another shot was heard, a horse was seen galloping past with -a buggy; and it was soon found that the surgeon and the veterinary -surgeon of the 3d cavalry had been wounded and mutilated. The clergyman -escaped unhurt, to learn and to mourn over the events transpiring in -other parts of the town and cantonment. - -A captain of horse, the husband of the lady mentioned in a former -paragraph, hastened on the first news from his bungalow to the lines of -the 3d cavalry, in which he commanded a troop. He was respected by his -men, who offered him no hurt, and who seemed to hesitate for a time -whether to join the rest in mutiny or not. Soon, however, the mania -infected them; and the captain, seeing the jail opened and the prisoners -liberated, hastened back. The road from the town to the cantonment was -in an uproar; the infantry and the bazaar-people were in crowds, armed -and firing; and he saw one of the miscreant troopers stab to death an -Englishwoman, the wife of the Meerut hotel-keeper, as she passed. Soon a -ball whizzed past his own car, and he saw one of his own troopers aiming -at him; he shouted: ‘Was that meant for me?’ ‘Yes,’ was the reply; ‘I -will have your blood!’ The captain detected this man as one whom he had -been obliged to punish for carelessness and disobedience. The man fired -again, but again missed his aim; and although the other troopers did not -join in this, they made no attempt to check or seize the assailant. The -captain, abandoned gradually by all but a very few troopers, at length -reached the European lines, where he took part in the proceedings -afterwards adopted. Meanwhile the poor wife had passed two hours of -terrible suspense. Believing at first that the carabinier whom she had -saved might have been the main object of attack, she hid his uniform, -dressed him in a coat of her husband’s, and bade him sit with herself -and family, for mutual safety. Out of doors she heard shots and shouts, -and saw houses burning. In the next bungalow, speedily fired, was the -wife of an adjutant lately arrived from England; she was entreated to -come over for shelter, but not arriving, servants were sent in to seek -her. A horrid sight met them: the hapless lady lay on the floor in a -pool of blood, dead, and mutilated in a way that the pen refuses to -describe. The noises and flames increased; eight or ten flaming -bungalows were in sight at once; and many a struggle took place between -the captain’s servants and the mutineers, during which it was quite -uncertain whether one more burning, one more massacre, would ensue. -Troopers rushed into the bungalow, endeavouring to fire it; while -others, with a lingering affection towards the family of their officer, -prevented them. The husband arrived, in speechless agony concerning the -safety of those dear to him. Wrapped in black stable-blankets, to hide -their light dresses, all left the house amid a glare of flame from -neighbouring buildings, and hid under trees in the garden; whence they -sped to a small ruin near at hand, where, throughout the remainder of -the night, they crouched listening to the noises without. Bands of armed -men passed in and out of the bungalow compound during the night, and -were only prevented from prosecuting a search, by an assurance from the -domestics that the officer’s family had effected their escape. When -morning came, the (now) houseless Europeans, with about twenty troopers -who remained faithful to the last—though agitated by strange waverings -and irresolution—left the place, taking with them such few clothes and -trinkets as could be hastily collected, and started off for the -Carabiniers’ lines, passing on their way the smouldering ruins of many -bungalows and public buildings. - -Howsoever the narratives might vary in details, in substance they were -all alike; they spoke of a night of burning, slaughter, and dismay. -Wherever there was a bungalow, the European inhabitants of which did not -succeed in escaping to the English lines, there was murder perpetrated. -The escape of Mr Greathed, civil commissioner for Meerut, was a narrow -one. His house—flat-roofed, as it fortunately happened—was one of the -first attacked by the mutineers: at the first alarm, Mr and Mrs Greathed -fled to the roof; thither, on the least intimation from any of the -servants, the miscreants would have followed them; but the servants -persisted that the family had departed; and the assailants, after -searching every room in the house, took their departure. One officer -after another, as he rushed from his bungalow to call his men back to -their allegiance, was shot down; and wherever the mutineers and their -ruffian companions brought murder into a house, they mingled with the -murder a degree of barbarity quite appalling and unexpected. There were -a few Europeans in the town and vicinity not connected with the military -department; and these, unless they effected their escape, were treated -like the rest; rank, age, and sex were equally disregarded—or, if sex -made any difference, women, gentle English women, were treated more -ruthlessly than men. An officer of the 20th, living in his bungalow with -his wife and two children, was sought out by the ruffians: the father -and mother were killed; but a faithful ayah snatched up the two children -and carried them off to a place of safety—the poor innocents never again -saw their parents alive. An English sergeant was living with his wife -and six children beyond the limits of the cantonment; he and three of -his little ones were massacred in a way that must for very shame be left -untold: the mother, with the other three, all bleeding and mutilated, -managed to crawl to the European lines about midnight. - -With what inexpressible astonishment were the narratives of these deeds -heard and perused! Men who had been in India, or were familiar with -Indian affairs, knew that the sepoys had before risen in mutiny, and had -shot their officers; but it was something strange to them, a terrible -novelty, that tender women and little children—injuring none, and -throwing a halo of refinement around all—should be so vilely treated as -to render death a relief. The contrast to all that was considered -characteristic of the Hindoo was so great, that to this day it remains -to many an Indian veteran a horrid enigma—a mystery insoluble even if -his heart-sickness would lead him to the attempt. Be it remembered that -for a whole century the natives had been largely trusted in the -relations of social life; and had well justified that trust. Many an -English lady (it has been observed by an eloquent reviewer, whose words -we have before quoted) has travelled from one end of the country to the -other—along desert roads, through thick jungles, or on vast solitary -rivers—miles and miles away from the companionship of white men, without -the slightest anxiety. Her native servants, Mohammedans and Hindoos, -were her protectors; and she was as safe in such custody as in an -English home. Her slightest caprice was as a law to her attendants. -These swarthy bearded men, ready at her beck, ever treated her with the -most delicate respect, ever appeared to bear about with them a -chivalrous sense of the sacredness of their charge. Not a word or a -gesture ever alarmed her modesty or excited her fear; and her husband, -father, brother never hesitated to confide her to such guardianship. It -was in the year 1857 that the charm of this delicate fidelity was first -broken; and broken so appallingly, that men were long incredulous that -such things could be. - -But the children, the sabred and mangled little ones—that these could be -so treated by the same natives, was more astounding to the Anglo-Indians -than even the treatment of the women. ‘Few of our countrymen have ever -returned from India without deploring the loss of their native servants. -In the nursery they are, perhaps, more missed than in any other part of -the establishment. There are, doubtless, hundreds of English parents in -this country who remember with feelings of kindliness and gratitude the -_nusery_ bearers, or male nurses, who attended their children. The -patience, the gentleness, the tenderness with which these white-robed -swarthy Indians attend the little children of their European masters, -surpass even the love of women. You may see them sitting for hour after -hour, with their little infantine charges, amusing them with toys, -fanning them when they slumber, brushing away the flies, or pacing the -verandah with the little ones in their arms, droning the low monotonous -lullaby which charms them to sleep; and all this without a shadow on the -brow, without a gesture of impatience, without a single petulant word. -No matter how peevish, how wayward, how unreasonable, how exacting the -child may be, the native bearer only smiles, shews his white teeth, or -shakes his black locks, giving back a word of endearment in reply to -young master’s imperious discontent. In the sick-room, doubly gentle and -doubly patient, his noiseless ministrations are continued through long -days, often through long nights, as though hunger and weariness were -human frailties to be cast off at such a time. It is little to say that -these poor hirelings often love their master’s children with greater -tenderness than their own. Parted from their little charges, they may -often be seen weeping like children themselves; and have been known, in -after-years, to travel hundreds of miles to see the brave young ensign -or the blooming maiden whom they once dandled in their arms.’ These men, -it is true, were domestic servants, not sepoys or soldiers fighting in -the army of the Company; but it is equally true that the British -officers, almost without exception, trusted implicitly to the sepoys who -acted as orderlies or servants to them; and that those orderlies shewed -themselves worthy of the trust, by their scrupulous respect to the -ladies of each household, and their tender affection for the little ones -born under the roof of the bungalow. Hence the mingled wonderment and -grief when fiend-like cruelties suddenly destroyed the charm of this -reliance. - -Allowing the veil to remain, at present, drawn over still greater -horrors in other places, it must be admitted that the principal -atrocities at Meerut were perpetrated by the twelve hundred miscreants -liberated from the jail, aided by the general rabble of the town. The -native troops had something in their thoughts besides firing bungalows -and murdering a few Europeans; they had arranged some sort of plot with -the native troops of Delhi; and they set out in a body for that city -long before the deplorable transactions at Meerut had ceased. Those -scenes continued more or less throughout the night; officers and their -wives, parents and their children, were not relieved from the agony of -suspense before morning broke. - -[Illustration: - - Laboratory at Meerut. -] - -The number massacred at Meerut on this evening and night was not so -large as the excited feelings of the survivors led them to imply; but it -was large to them; for it told of a whole cluster of happy homes -suddenly broken up, of bungalows reduced to ashes, of bleeding corpses -brought in one by one, of children rendered fatherless, of property -consumed, of hopes blasted, of confidence destroyed. The European -soldiers, as will presently be seen, soon obtained the mastery so far as -Meerut was concerned; but the surviving women and children had still -many hours, many days, of discomfort and misery to bear. The School of -Instruction near the artillery laboratory became the place of shelter -for most of them; and this place was much crowded. How mournfully does -it tell of large families rendered homeless to read thus: ‘We are in a -small house at one end of the place, which consists of one large room -and verandah rooms all round; and in this miserable shed—for we can -scarcely call it anything else—there are no less than forty-one -souls’—then are named thirteen members of one family, ten of another, -three other families of four each, and two others of three each—‘besides -having in our verandah room the post-office, and arranging at present a -small room adjoining the post-office as the telegraph-office.’ Some of -the houseless officers and their families found temporary homes in the -sergeants’ rooms of the European lines; space was found for all, -although amid much confusion; and one of the refugees writes of ‘a crowd -of helpless babies’ that added to the misery of the scene. Adverting to -others like herself, she remarks: ‘Ladies who were mere formal -acquaintances now wring each other’s hands with intense sympathy; what a -look there was when we first assembled here!—all of us had stared death -in the face.’ - -Let us turn now to a question which has probably presented itself more -than once to the mind of the reader during the perusal of these sad -details—What were the twenty-two hundred European troops doing while the -three native regiments were imbuing their hands in the blood of innocent -women and children? Could not they have intervened to prevent the -atrocities? It must be borne in mind that these fine English troops, the -Carabiniers and 60th Rifles, with artillery, were nearly equal in number -to the rebels; and that, if quickly moved, they would have been a match -for five or ten times their number. Whether or not they _were_ quickly -moved, is just the question at issue. Major-general Hewett’s dispatch to -the adjutant-general thus describes the course adopted as soon as the -outbreak became known to him: ‘The artillery, Carabiniers, and 60th -Rifles were got under arms; but by the time we reached the native -infantry parade-ground, it was too dark to act with efficiency in that -direction; consequently, the troops retired to the north of the nullah, -so as to cover the barracks and officers’ lines of the artillery, -Carabiniers, and 60th Rifles; which were, with the exception of one -house, preserved; though the insurgents—for I believe the mutineers had -by that time retired by the Allygurh and Delhi roads—burned the vacant -Sapper and Miner lines.’ - -One thing is quite certain—the mutineers were not pursued: they were -allowed to go to Delhi, there to raise the standard of rebellion in a -still more alarming way. The Carabiniers, it is true, were deficient in -horses to join in pursuit; but this might assuredly have been obviated -by precautionary arrangements during the many days on which the 3d -native cavalry had shewn symptoms of insubordination. An officer of the -11th native infantry, who narrowly escaped death in his gallop to the -European cantonment, accompanied the Queen’s regiments to the scene of -anarchy; but there is evidence that he considered the movements somewhat -tardy. ‘It took us a long time, in my opinion,’ he says, ‘to get ready, -and it was dark before the Carabiniers were prepared to start in a -body.’ In the latitude of Meerut, we may remark, in the second week in -May, darkness can hardly come on until near seven o’clock, whereas the -outbreak occurred two hours earlier. He continues: ‘When the Carabiniers -were mounted, we rode off at a brisk trot, through clouds of suffocating -dust, and darkness, in an easterly direction, and along a narrow -road—_not advancing in the direction of the conflagration_, but, on the -contrary, leaving it behind on our right rear. In this way we proceeded -for some two or three miles, to my no small surprise, when suddenly the -“halt” was sounded, and we faced about, retracing our steps, and verging -off to our left. Approaching the conflagration, we debouched on the left -rear of the native infantry lines, which of course were all in a blaze. -Skirting along behind these lines, we turned them at the western end, -and wheeling up to the left, came upon the 11th parade-ground, where, at -a little distance, we found the horse-artillery and her Majesty’s 60th -Rifles. It appears that the three regiments of mutineers had by this -time commenced dropping off to the westward to the Delhi road, for here -some firing took place between them and the Rifles; and presently the -horse-artillery, coming to the front and unlimbering, opened upon a -copse or wood in which they had apparently found cover, with heavy -discharges of grape and canister, which rattled among the trees; and all -was silent again. The horse-artillery now limbered up again, and wheeled -round; and here I joined them, having lost the Carabiniers in the -darkness. By this time, however, the moon arose. The horse-artillery -column, with Rifles at its head, moving across the parade-ground, we -entered the long street turning from the southward behind the light -cavalry lines. There it was that the extent and particulars of the -conflagration first became visible; and, passing the burning bungalow of -the adjutant of the 11th native infantry, we proceeded along the -straight road or street, flanked on both sides with flaming and crashing -houses in all stages of combustion and ruin; the Rifles occasionally -firing volleys as we proceeded. It was by this time past ten o’clock; -and having made the entire circuit of the lines, we passed up to the -east of them, and, joined by the Carabiniers and Rifles, bivouacked for -the night.’ - -Collating various accounts of this evening’s events, it becomes evident -that the military movements of the Europeans were anything but prompt. -Even if the two regiments and the artillery could not have reached the -scene of tumult before dark—a supposition not at all borne out—still it -seems strange that all should have ‘bivouacked for the night’ at the -very time when three mutinous native regiments were on the way to Delhi. -Hasty critics, as is usual in such circumstances, at once condemned the -military commander at Meerut; and an ex-governor-general, dwelling, in -his place in the House of Lords, on the occurrences in India, spoke in a -contemptuous tone of ‘an unknown man named Hewett’ as one whose -misconduct had allowed the rebel troops to escape from Meerut to Delhi. -It was hard for a soldier who had served for forty years in India, -without once returning to his native country, to find contumely thus -hurled at him; it is one of the bitter things to which public men are -subjected, not only from anonymous writers, but from other public men -whose names carry authority with them. A near relation of the -major-general afterwards took up his defence, urging that it might have -been unwise policy to send the only European troops in pursuit to Delhi, -at a time when the magazines and stores at Meerut required so much -attention. The defence may possibly be insufficient; but the history of -the Crimean war had shewn how hastily Lord Raglan had been accused of -offences, things committed and things omitted, for which he was -afterwards known not to have been responsible; and this experience ought -to have suggested caution to assailants, especially remembering how long -a time must often elapse between an accusation and a refutation, during -which time the wound is festering. Declining years certainly did not -prevent the officer whose name is now under notice from taking a part in -the operations, such as they were, of the English troops at Meerut; -although in his sixty-eighth year, he slept on the ground among the -guns, like his men, on the 10th of May, and for fourteen consecutive -nights he did the same; while for many following weeks he never doffed -his regimentals, except for change of apparel, night or day. Whether -such details are trivial or not, depends on the nature of the -accusations. It is only the hasty judgments of those at a distance that -are here commented on; the dissatisfaction of the Calcutta authorities -will be adverted to in a future page. - -The sympathies of the Europeans at Meerut were drawn in a forcible way -towards the inmates of a convent and school at Sirdhana—an establishment -remarkable as existing in that part of India. We must go back sixty -years to understand this. Towards the close of the last century, there -was a Cashmerian bayadère or dancing-girl, who became associated with a -German adventurer, and then, by a course of unscrupulous intrigue and -fearless sanguinary measures, obtained possession of three considerable -jaghires or principalities in the region around and between Meerut and -Delhi. These cities, as well as Agra and others in the Doab, were at -that time in the hands of the great Mahratta chief, Dowlut Rao Scindia. -After a series of brilliant victories, the British obtained possession -of the Doab in 1803, but awarded a petty sovereignty to the female -adventurer, who became thenceforth known as the Begum Sumroo. She -retained her queendom until her death in 1836, after which the three -jaghires passed into the hands of the British. This remarkable woman, -during the later years of her life, professed the Roman Catholic faith; -she had a spacious and handsome palace at Sirdhana, about twelve miles -from Meerut; and near it she built a Catholic church, imitative on a -small scale of St Peter’s at Rome, with a beautiful altar inlaid with -mosaics and precious stones. Out of twelve thousand inhabitants in -Sirdhana, about one-tenth now profess themselves Christians, having -imitated the begum in her change of religion; and there is a Christian -convent there, containing a number of priests, nuns, and pupils. When, -therefore, the outrages occurred at Meerut, apprehensions naturally -arose concerning the fate of the European women and girls at this -convent. About five days after the Revolt commenced, rumours came in -that the inmates of the convent at Sirdhana were in peril; and it was -only by great exertions that the postmaster at Meerut was enabled to -bring some of them away. A letter written in reference to this -proceeding said: ‘The poor nuns begged of him, when he was coming away, -to try and send them some help; he tried all he could to get a guard to -escort them to this station, but did not succeed; and yesterday morning -(16th of May), having given up the idea of procuring a guard from the -military authorities, he went round, and by speaking to some gentlemen, -got about fifteen persons to volunteer their services, to go and rescue -the poor nuns and children from Sirdhana; and I am happy to say they -succeeded in their charitable errand without any one having been -injured.’ - -It will be remembered that, during the burnings and murderings at Meerut -on the evening of the 10th, most of the mutineers of the three regiments -started off to Delhi. They took, as was afterwards found, the high road -from Meerut, and passing the villages of Begumabad, Moradnuggur, -Furrucknuggur, and Shahderuh, reached Delhi early on Monday; the -infantry making forced marches, and the cavalry riding near them for -support. Proof was soon afforded that the native troops in that city, or -some of them, had been waiting for the mutineers, prepared to join them -in an organised attack on the Europeans. What aspect that attack put on, -and what were the calamities to which it gave rise, will be narrated in -the next two chapters. - -Many days elapsed before Meerut recovered its tranquillity. Such men of -the 3d, 11th, and 20th regiments as remained faithful—especially the -11th, of whom there were more than a hundred—were received at the -cantonment, and their previous insubordination pardoned on account of -their subsequent fidelity; but still there were many causes for anxiety. -In the major-general’s first report on the disasters, he said: ‘Nearly -the whole of the cantonment and Zillah police have deserted.’ These -police or watchmen are referred to by an officer familiar with the -district, who says: ‘Round about Meerut and Delhi there are two or three -peculiar castes or tribes, something similar to our gipsies, only -holding human life at less value, and which in former days gave constant -trouble. Of late years, they have lived in more peace and quietness, -contenting themselves with picking up stray cattle and things that did -not belong to them. They have now, however, on the earliest occasion -broken out again, and have been guilty of all kinds of depredations. -Skinner’s Horse was originally raised to keep these people in order, -about the time of Lord Lake; such men have hitherto been necessary at -Meerut, Delhi, and those parts, as watchmen; every one was obliged to -keep one, to avoid being robbed to a certainty.’ The Meerut inhabitants -had thus, in addition to their other troubles, the knowledge that gangs -of desperadoes would be likely to acquire renewed audacity through the -defection of the native police. - -It was soon ascertained that the dâk communications on many of the roads -were cut off, and the military commandant found much difficulty in -transmitting intelligence to the seat of government. Five days after the -great outbreak, another cause of uneasiness ensued. Six companies of -native Sappers and Miners arrived at Meerut from Roorkee, under their -commander, Major Fraser. The place here named is interesting in a -twofold point of view. Being situated in one of the most elevated sites -in the Doab between the Jumna and the Ganges, about eighty miles north -of Meerut, it was selected as the head-quarters for operations on the -great Ganges Canal, the noblest British work in India; and here has been -made a magnificent aqueduct nine hundred feet in length, with arches of -fifty feet span. This aqueduct, and the necessary workshops and -model-rooms of the engineers, have converted the place from a small -village to a considerable station. Roorkee also contains an -establishment called the ‘Thomason College,’ for affording instruction -in civil engineering to Europeans and natives. When the native Sappers -and Miners, about eight hundred strong, arrived at Meerut from this -place, on the 16th of May—either excited by the news of the late -occurrences, or moved by some other impulse—they suddenly shot their -commanding officer, and made off for the open country. A force of the -Carabiniers and horse-artillery went in pursuit of them, and shot down -many; but a greater number escaped, probably to Delhi. Such of the -companies as did not attempt flight were disarmed and carefully watched. - -[Illustration: - - Dâk Runner. -] - -Too soon, alas! did the Europeans at Meerut know that atrocities were -being committed at Delhi. By twos and threes did fugitives come in, glad -to sacrifice all else for the sake of very life. Now several officers of -the 38th native regiment; now a merchant and his family; now officers of -the 74th and their families; now civil servants of the Company; now -officers of the 54th—all toil-worn, dirty, ragged, hungered, weighed -down by the miseries of their forty miles’ flight from brutal -assailants: women, as is usual with Englishwomen, bearing their share of -these miseries with the truest heroism. All was doubt as to the -occurrences in other quarters; dâks were cut off, telegraphic wires were -severed; the wishes and orders of the governor-general at one place, and -the commander-in-chief at another, could not yet be known. On the night -of the outbreak, two Europeans had endeavoured to travel by dâk from -Meerut to Delhi; they encountered the rebels, and were murdered; and -this was the commencement of indications, afterwards abundant enough, -that the roads were no longer safe. All that was certain was, that a -sudden social earthquake had overturned the homes of families distant -nine hundred miles from Calcutta, bringing death to many, mourning and -loss to others, distrust and anxiety to all. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - DELHI, THE CENTRE OF INDIAN NATIONALITY. - - -The course of this narrative now requires that attention—more particular -than will be required in relation to other cities in India—should be -bestowed on the world-renowned Delhi, the great focus of all that can be -called truly national in that vast country. Three regiments fled from -Meerut to Delhi, and there found other regiments ready to join them in -scenes of revolt and violence, of spoliation and murder; but it is -necessary, in order to appreciate what followed, to know why Delhi is -regarded in a peculiar light by the natives: why a successful resistance -to British rule was, and must long continue to be, more serious in that -locality than in any other part of the East. Not only ought the position -of the city, considered as the residence of a hundred and sixty thousand -Mohammedans and Hindoos, to be rendered familiar; but the reader should -know how it has happened that the sovereign of that city has, for eight -or nine hundred years, been regarded in a peculiar sense as the autocrat -of Hindostan, the one man before whom millions of natives have been wont -to bend the knee, or rather to lie prostrate in abject submission. - -What India was before the arrival of the Mussulmans, need not be told -here at any length. We know, in truth, very little on that matter. It -was from the days of the first Moslem conqueror that the greatness of -Delhi began. Long before the Christian era, Arab merchants brought rich -spiceries from Sinde and Malabar, and sold them to Phœnician merchants, -who conveyed them on laden camels by way of Petra to the shores of the -Mediterranean. Other portions of Indian merchandise were carried up the -Persian Gulf and the Euphrates to a point whence they were transported -westward to Aleppo or Antioch—a route almost identical with that -advocated in the present day for a Euphrates railway and a Euphrates -telegraph. The Greeks derived all their knowledge of Indian commodities -through the Phœnicians: while their information concerning the country -itself was obtained from the Persians, who at one time held sway as far -as the Indus. The expedition of Alexander the Great into India, about -326 B.C., first gave the Greeks a personal knowledge of this wonderful -land; and many successors of the great Macedonian added to the then -existing amount of information concerning the tribes, the productions, -the customs of the region beyond the Indus. Consequent on those -discoveries, the merchants of the newly founded city of Alexandria -gradually obtained a command of the trade with India: bringing the rich -produce of the East by ship to Berenice on the Red Sea, and then -transporting it overland to Alexandria. The commodities thus imported -were chiefly precious stones, spices, perfumes, and silks; and during -some centuries the Roman Empire was drained of much specie to pay for -these imports. Alexandrians were the principal merchants who furnished -the nations of Europe with Indian articles till the discovery of the -passage round the Cape of Good Hope by Vasco de Gama in 1498. The -western nations of Asia, however, continued to be supplied principally -by the merchants of Basra or Bussorah, a very flourishing commercial -city near the point where the Euphrates empties itself into the Persian -Gulf; and there was also an extensive caravan-trade from Northern India -through Northern Persia to the Caspian and the Black Sea. The discovery -of the Cape of Good Hope route naturally attracted the attention of the -maritime nations of Europe towards India, followed by the settlement of -Portuguese and Dutch traders on the coast, and ultimately by the -wonderful rise of British power in those regions through the -instrumentality of the East India Company. - -But although trading instincts thus laid India open to the commercial -dealings of merchants, and to the cupidity of European princes, it was -not until modern erudition had been applied to the subject that the true -history of the land of the Hindoos became at all known. Scholars found, -when they had mastered the Sanscrit or sacred language of that people, -that a wonderful mine of information was thrown open to them. They -ascertained that the nation, whatever it may have been called, from -which the genuine Hindoos are descended, must at some period have -inhabited the central plains of Asia, whence they migrated into the -northern parts of India; that for at least a thousand years before the -Christian era, great and powerful empires existed in Hindostan, which -made considerable progress in knowledge, civilisation, and literature; -that Southern India, or the Deccan, was conquered and peopled by the -Hindoos at a much later date than the rest; that Buddhism, the religion -of the earlier inhabitants, was overruled and driven out by Brahminism -or Hindooism in the fifth century of our era; and that for five -centuries longer, the Hindoos were the true rulers of this much-coveted -land. - -It was, however, as has been already implied, only with the arrival of -the Mohammedans that the course of Indian history took that turn which -is now interesting to us, especially in connection with the city of -Delhi. - -The year 1000 was marked by the invasion of India by Mahmoud of Ghiznee, -a Tatar sovereign who held sway among the chieftains of Afghanistan. He -defeated the rajah of Lahore at Peshawur; then penetrated beyond the -Sutlej; and returned laden with spoil. In a second expedition he -conquered Moultan; in a third, he reconquered the same city after a -revolt. A fourth expedition found Mahmoud opposed by a confederacy of -all the sovereigns of Northern India, who, seeing a common danger, -resolved to unite for a common cause; they were rapidly gaining an -advantage over him, when the sudden fright of an elephant induced a -panic in the Hindoo army, and left the victory to Mahmoud, who returned -to Ghiznee still more richly laden with booty than ever. For a time, the -Hindoo king who reigned over the region of which Delhi was the chief -city, managed to ward off the hostility of the great invader; but taking -offence at a departure from neutrality during one of the later -expeditions, Mahmoud captured that city, and returned to Ghiznee with -forty thousand prisoners. For thirty years did these raids and -spoliations continue. The most celebrated next to that which resulted in -the sack of Delhi, was the expedition intended for the destruction of -the Hindoo temple of Somnauth in Gujerat: a temple which, if native -annals are to be believed, had fifty thousand worshippers, and was -endowed with a revenue of two thousand villages; which had two thousand -Brahmins officiating as priests, five hundred daughters of noble Hindoos -as dancing-girls, three hundred musicians; and the sandal-wood gates of -which were the theme of magniloquence from the pen of an English -governor-general eight centuries afterwards.[7] Mahmoud broke all the -idols, and carried off countless treasures to Ghiznee. - -From that time to the period of the rise of British power, the -Mohammedans never lost their hold upon India, however much it may have -been shaken by occasional success on the part of the Hindoos; nor did -they ever cease to regard Delhi as the chief Indian city. Although -Mahmoud made twelve expeditions across the Indus, the object was mainly -booty, rather than permanent settlement. His successors, however, -established a regular government in the Punjaub, and in the region -thence eastward to Delhi. The Ghiznee dynasty was put an end to in the -year 1184, when it was overcome by the Seljuks; and in 1193 Delhi was -formally appointed capital of the Moslem sovereigns of India. After a -succession of rebellions and murders, exhibiting all the hideous -features of Oriental politics, the Seljuk dynasty fell to pieces in the -year 1289. Then arose a third Mohammedan dynasty, that of the Afghans or -Patans, who came like all the other conquerors of India from the -northwest, and who like them coveted Delhi as their capital. For about a -century did these Patan emperors reign, continually struggling against -Hindoo rajahs on the one hand, and Mussulman adventurers on the other. - -It was in the year 1398 that Tamerlane—familiar to all school-boys in -England by the famous name of Timour the Tatar—first set foot in India, -and laid the foundation of the Mogul dynasty. Properly speaking, he was -not a true Mogul, but belonged to the rival Tatar nation of Turcomans; -nevertheless the line of emperors to which he gave origin has always -been known as the Mogul dynasty. He was a ruthless conqueror, who, -having ravaged all Central Asia from the Black Sea to the Chinese -frontier, turned his attention towards India. He crossed the Indus at -Attock, went to Moultan, and extended his march to Delhi, wading through -Hindoo blood, which he shed without resistance and almost without cause. -The native annalists record how he put a hundred thousand beings to -death in the great city; how he caused himself to be proclaimed Emperor -or Great Mogul of India; how he departed suddenly to end his days on the -other side of the Indus; and how Delhi mourned for many a year over its -miseries. No pen can describe what India suffered during the next -century and a quarter, with a Mogul emperor at Delhi, constantly -fighting with the Mohammedan chieftains who resisted his authority. - -The long but often broken line of wretched despots need not be -enumerated here: a few landmarks of great names—Baber, Akbar, -Jehanghire, Shahjehan, Aurungzebe, Nadir Shah—will furnish all that is -needful for our present purpose. - -Baber—or, in more majestic form, Zahireddin Mohammed Baber—a descendant -of Tamerlane, was the first really great Mohammedan emperor of Delhi, -the first Mogul who regarded his subjects in any other light than as a -prey to be spoliated. Centering his power at Delhi, he extended it -eastward to the mouth of the Ganges; and although, in his short reign of -four years, from 1526 to 1530, constantly engaged in military -expeditions, he nevertheless found time to cultivate the arts of peace, -and to attend to whatever appeared calculated to promote the prosperity -of his empire. In blood-shedding, he was scarcely surpassed by his -predecessor Tamerlane: indeed this was a propensity among all the Tatar -chieftains of those times. When his warlike and angry passions were not -excited, Baber could, however, come forth in a very different light, as -a kind and forgiving man, one fond of friends and friendship, and not -without a tinge of poetry in his tastes. He was a man of business, who -attended personally to the affairs of government, and passed fewer hours -in sensual idleness than is customary with oriental princes. With the -Hindoos he had little trouble; their national character was by this time -much broken; the rapid succession of reigning families had inured them -to change; and they had imbibed a feeling of horror and dismay from the -atrocities to which the various Moslem conquerors had subjected them. -When opposition to his progress had once ceased in India, he became an -altered man. He made or improved roads; established serais or -resting-places for travellers at suitable distances; caused the land to -be measured, in order to fix taxation by equitable adjustment; planted -gardens, and introduced many trees and plants until then unknown in -India; established a regular post from Agra, through Delhi, Lahore, and -Peshawur, to Cabool; and wrought many improvements in the city of Delhi. - -Akbar, unquestionably the wisest and greatest prince who ever ruled -India—a prince who was really a benefactor to his people—was the -grandson of Baber. Becoming emperor of Delhi in 1556, he established the -Mogul dynasty on a firmer basis than it had before occupied. The native -Hindoos enjoyed, under him, greater prosperity than they had ever -experienced since the first invasion of the Mohammedans. He was -distinguished by a spirit of toleration and a love of justice; and the -memory of his virtues is to this day treasured up by the Hindoos as well -as the Mussulmans of India. As the worshippers of Islam had, by the time -of Akbar, fallen out much among themselves, in various parts of Asia, -the Mogul Moslems of India gradually became weaned from sympathy with -the rest, and prepared for more thorough amalgamation with the Hindoos -than had ever before been possible. If not an amalgamation by family -ties, it was at least an incorporation by civil and social usages; and -thus it is that from the time of Akbar may be dated the remarkable -mixture of Mohammedans and Hindoos in so many towns of India. Ambitious -chieftains might continue to struggle for supremacy; but the populace of -the two religions began to wish rather to trade together than to -exterminate each other. Akbar had the genius to see the full force of -this tendency, and the honesty to encourage it. He never crushed those -whom he conquered; but invited all alike, Hindoos as well as -Mohammedans, to settle down as peaceful citizens, assured that they -would receive equal justice from him regardless of their religious -differences. He placed natives of both races in offices of trust; he -abolished the capitation-tax on infidels; he forbade the degradation of -war-prisoners to the position of slaves; he abrogated such of the Hindoo -laws as were most repulsive to reason or humanity, without being vital -parts of their religion; he discouraged fanaticism among those of his -own faith; he encouraged trade and commerce; he reduced taxation; and he -kept a strict watch over the conduct of the officers of his government. -The mildness of his character, his strict impartiality to the different -classes of his subjects the magnanimity which he shewed to his enemies, -and his great personal courage are mentioned with praise even by the -Jesuits, who visited India during his reign. Well did this eminent man, -during his long reign of forty-nine years, deserve the title of Akbar -the Great; and natural was it that his subjects should look up with -reverence to Delhi, the centre and seat of his empire. His reign, both -in its beginning and its end, was almost exactly contemporaneous with -that of Queen Elizabeth in England. - -Jehanghire, a far inferior prince to Akbar, succeeded him in 1605, and -soon became involved in troubles. The Uzbeks obtained possession of his -dominions in Cabool; the King of Persia took Candahar from him; the -Afghans revolted from his rule; the Hindoo Rajpoots commenced their -struggles for independence; and, at a later date, his son Shahjehan -rebelled against him. Nevertheless, Jehanghire, judged by an oriental -standard, was not a bad ruler of Hindostan. The country enjoyed -considerable prosperity under him; literature was extensively -cultivated; many new cities were built; the Hindoo religion experienced -even greater toleration than in the reign of Akbar; and he gave a -courteous reception to Sir Thomas Roe, sent on an embassy from England -to the Great Mogul. He was, however, a strange being. In a fit of anger -against certain rebels, he caused several hundreds of them to be -impaled, and placed in a row leading out of the Lahore gate at Delhi; -and he himself rode past them on an elephant, ‘to receive the obeisance -of his friends.’ His native ferocity also shone out, in his causing one -of his principal councillors to be sewed up in the hide of a newly -flayed ox, and thrown into the street; the hide, shrinking in the heat -of the sun, compressed him to death; but as the compression came too -soon to satisfy the savage feelings of the monarch, he caused the next -victim, when similarly incased, to be sprinkled with water occasionally, -to prolong the torture. One of the most remarkable circumstances in the -career of Jehanghire was the influence gradually acquired over him by -his Sultaness Nurmahal, the ‘light of the palace,’ whose name became -changed to Nurjehan, the ‘light of the world;’ her exquisite beauty, -wit, and accomplishments, won the love of the monarch; and as she was in -mind and heart far his superior, her power over him was often exerted -for good purposes. - -Shahjehan, an ungrateful son to Jehanghire, was destined to be, in turn, -the victim of his own son Aurungzebe. He was an emperor from 1627 to -1659, and then a miserable uncrowned captive for seven years longer. He -attacked all the neighbouring princes whose dominions or wealth he -coveted; and blinded or murdered all his relations whose ambition he -dreaded. And yet, amid his atrocities, he was a man of much ability. -Delhi, Agra, and other cities, benefited by his rule. The internal -government of his kingdom was very complete. The great mosque at Delhi, -and the Taj Mahal at Agra, which rose at his command, are, to this day, -objects of admiration to the natives of India. Though it may, to English -minds, have been a waste of public money to spend six millions sterling -on the far-famed peacock’s throne; yet, as all his establishments were -formed on a scale of great magnificence, and as numerous other cities -and towns throughout the Empire vied with the splendour of Delhi and -Agra—there is evidence that the Mogul and his dominions must have owned -vast wealth. He possessed both taste and financial tact; and thus, with -all his atrocities, Shahjehan left behind him a full treasury and a -splendid and prosperous empire. - -Aurungzebe, the last Mogul who maintained the real greatness of the -native court of Delhi, became emperor in 1659, by an act of violence -against his royal parent. He captured the cities of Hyderabad, Bejapore, -and Golconda, and extended his dominions nearly to the limits of the -Carnatic. There were, however, the germs of mischief perceptible in his -reign: the warlike Hindoo tribe of Mahrattas rose into note; and though -they were frequently defeated in the plains by the troops of Aurungzebe, -he was unable to subdue the country inhabited by these mountaineers. -Sevajee, the founder of the Mahratta empire, gradually conquered the -greater part of the Deccan; he died in 1682, and his son, Sambajee, was -put to a cruel death by Aurungzebe in 1689; but the Mogul emperors of -the north could never afterwards wholly subdue the Mahratta rajah of the -south. Aurungzebe was illiberal towards his Hindoo subjects; and this -circumstance threw them into closer sympathy than would otherwise have -been produced with the rude Mahratta mountaineers. He was not without -ability; but he had neither the wisdom nor the justice to maintain his -wide-spreading empire in a state of greatness; and when he died in 1707, -he left the Mogul power at Delhi much weaker than he found it at the -period of his seizure of the crown. - -Nadir Shah, although never emperor of Delhi, must be named here as one -who contributed to the crumbling of the Mogul dynasty. This man, one of -the grand barbarians whom Central Asia has so often sent forth, was the -son of a sheep-skin cap-maker. He became a soldier of fortune; then the -leader of a band of robbers; then governor of Khorassan; then Shah of -Persia; then a formidable opponent of the Turks and the Afghans; and -then a scourge to India. While devastating Afghanistan in 1738, he -required of the Emperor of Delhi that none of the Afghans should find -shelter in his (the Mogul’s) dominions; but as no attention was paid to -his demands, he marched into Hindostan in the following year, and -entered Delhi with an enormous army on the 8th of March. He seized the -whole of the vast treasures which had been amassed in the course of -nearly two centuries by the Mogul monarchs. The citizens not being so -submissive as he wished, he ordered a general massacre. His commands -were only too well obeyed; for, from sunrise till noon, the inhabitants -were slaughtered by his soldiers without distinction of sex or age. At -the earnest intercession of the emperor, Nadir ordered the butchery to -be stopped. Where the estimates of human beings murdered varies from -8000 to 150,000, it is clear that no trustworthy data are obtainable; -but it is unquestionable that Delhi suffered immensely, both in its -population and its wealth. The ruthless despoiler not only refrained -from claiming the crown of Hindostan, but he did not make any conquests -whatever: he came simply as a Shah of Persia on an errand of vengeance; -he remained two months at Delhi; and then departed westward, carrying -with him treasures that have been variously estimated at from thirty to -seventy millions sterling. - -The Delhi monarchs no longer need or deserve our attention; they had -fallen from their high estate, and were forced to struggle constantly -for the maintenance of their authority. A number of obscure names meet -our view after the time of Aurungzebe—Shah Alum, Moez-Eddin, Furrucksir, -Mohammed Shah, Ahmed Shah, Alumghir, and Shah Alum II.: each more -powerless than the preceding. Now they were attacked by the warlike -Mahrattas; now by the Rajpoots, a military Hindoo tribe which had never -been wholly subdued by the Moslems; now by the Sikhs, a kind of Hindoo -dissenters, brave and independent in their bearing; now by the Rohillas, -an Afghan race, who effected a settlement in the very neighbourhood of -Delhi; now by many of the Mohammedan nawabs or viceroys, who, like other -Asiatic viceroys in parallel circumstances, were willing to rise on the -fall of their masters; now by the competing sons and nephews who -surrounded every emperor; and now—more striking in its consequences than -all the rest—by the ever-encroaching British. - -Nevertheless, amid all this decadence of Mogul power, the natives of -Hindostan never ceased to look up to the emperor as the centre of power, -to Delhi as the centre of nationality. Their traditions told them of -Mahmoud, of Tamerlane, of Baber, of the great Akbar, of Jehanghire, of -Shahjehan, of Aurungzebe; and although ruthless barbarities were -connected with the names of many of these rulers, there was still a -grandeur that impressed the imagination. The Hindoos, it is true, had -their sacred associations connected with Benares rather than with Delhi; -but their distinct nationality had been almost stamped out of them -during eight centuries of Mohammedan supremacy; and they, like the rest, -held in reverence the city where the peacock’s throne had glittered on -the world. - -By what strange steps the descendants of the Great Mogul became -pensioners of the East India Company, will be explained presently; but -it will be well first to describe Delhi itself. - -This far-famed city is situated on the river Jumna, about five hundred -miles by road above Allahabad, where the Jumna flows into the Ganges, -and nine hundred by road from Calcutta. In the opposite direction, Delhi -is nearly four hundred miles from Lahore, and six or seven hundred from -Peshawur—so great are the distances between the chief towns in India: -distances that terribly hamper the operations of a British army during -any sudden emergency. Striking as Delhi may be, it presents but a faint -approach in splendour to the city of past days, the home of the grand -old Moguls. Of the original Delhi, the natives give the most extravagant -account; they even run back to a period three thousand years before the -Christian era for its foundation. All that is certain, however, is, that -Inderput or Indraprestha, the name of the old city, was the capital of a -Hindoo kingdom under a rajah, long before its conquest by the -Mohammedans. When or how the original city went to ruin, is not exactly -known; but modern Delhi owes its chief adornments to Shahjehan. A -traveller from the south or Agra direction is struck with the evidences -of ruined Inderput before he sees anything of modern Delhi. ‘Everywhere -throughout the plain rise shapeless half-ruined obelisks, the relics of -massive Patan architecture, their bases buried under heaps of ruins -bearing a dismal growth of thorny shrubs. Everywhere we tread on -overthrown walls. Brick mosaics mark the ground-plan of the humbler -dwellings of the poorer classes. Among the relics of a remote age, are -occasionally to be seen monuments of light and elegant style of -architecture, embellished with brilliant colours, gilt domes, and -minarets incased in enamelled tiles.’ Some travellers have asserted that -they have traced these ruins thirty miles along the Jumna; but these -cannot all have been the ruins of one city. Approaching the present -Delhi, it is seen that the ruins are spread over a plain, in the midst -of which the city is situated; and they give place, after a time, to the -tasteful villas of the Europeans who exercise civil or military control -within Delhi. Most of these villas are on the site of the once famous -garden of Shalimar. On the northern side of the city, close under a -ridge of sandstone rocks called the Mijnoon Pahar, are the -cantonments—an alternation of bungalows, huts, and groups of trees. - -So much for the environs. Although not entitled to take rank among the -great cities of the earth, Delhi is nevertheless a considerable place, -for it is seven miles in circumference. The Jumna bounds it on the east, -while a lofty crenellated wall, of horseshoe shape, completes the -boundary on the other sides. This wall has been an object of much -attention at different times. As built by Shahjehan, it possessed little -strength. When the British obtained ascendency over the city in 1803, -the wall was found to be in a ruinous state, without other flanking -defences than small circular bastions placed at intervals; the ditch was -imperfect; there was scarcely any vestige of a glacis or exterior slope; -and the crumbling ruins of dilapidated buildings had been allowed to -accumulate all round the wall. Captains Hutchinson and Smith, of the -Bengal engineers, were thereupon deputed to restore and strengthen the -fortifications. It was determined to establish a series of bastions, -with faces and flanks to defend the curtain or plain wall, and to mount -them with heavy artillery. The walls were repaired; and to shield them -from escalade, they were protected, especially on the river-front, with -beams of timber, the sharpened ends of which were pointed at an acute -angle downward into the ditch. The ditch was cleared out and deepened; -the glacis was made to cover, in some degree, the scarp of the wall; the -ground outside was cleared to some distance of ruins and houses; and the -ravines were filled up to check the approach of marauding horsemen. To -prepare for a rising within the city as well as an attack from without, -detached martello towers were constructed, entirely separate from the -walls, and accessible from them only by drawbridges; each tower had a -gun mounted on a pivot, so that in the event of a tumult in the city, -the towers might be occupied by artillerymen, the drawbridges drawn up, -and the guns swiveled round to pour a fire upon the insurgents. The -gateways of the city were strengthened; outworks were provided in front -of some of them, while others were provided with guard-houses and -_places-d’armes_. At a much later date—in 1838—Lord Auckland caused the -walls and towers to be strengthened, and one of the new defences, called -the Wellesley Bastion, to be reconstructed. - -In what relation these defences stood to a British besieging force in -1857, will remain to be told in a future chapter: we proceed here with -the description of the city. - -[Illustration: - - BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF DELHI.—From a Coloured Lithograph by A. Maclure: - taken from original native Drawings. -] - -Delhi has seven gates on the land-side, named, respectively, the Lahore, -Ajmeer, Turcoman, Cabool, Mohur or Moree, Cashmere, and Agra Gates; -while along the river-front are four others, the Rajghat, Negumbod, -Lall, and Kaila Gates. Some little diversity is shewn by travellers in -giving these names; and some make the number of gates twelve instead of -eleven. The Cashmere Gate is provided with casemated or shot-proof -chambers, for the accommodation of a city-guard. A bridge of boats over -the Jumna connects Delhi with the road leading northeastward to Meerut, -and the chief magazine is, or was, between the centre of the city and -this bridge. Eight of the defences on the walls are called the Shah -Bastion, Burn Bastion, Gurstin Bastion, College Bastion, Ochterlony -Bastion, Lake Bastion, Wellesley Bastion, and Nawab Bastion—names -obviously derived, in most instances, from military officers engaged in -the Company’s service. Strictly speaking, the wall does not quite -surround the city; for on one side it abuts on a small branch of the -river, where there is a short bridge across to the old fort of -Selimgurh, built in a very heavy style by one of the early emperors. -Entirely outside the wall, north of the city, is a custom-house, which -affords a curious commentary on the relations existing between the civil -and military officers of the Company. It was first built by a medical -officer, then sold to the Company for a treasury, and then adapted as a -custom-house. The engineers wanted to get rid of this building, as an -obstruction to their plan of defences, in the same way as they had swept -away numerous outhouses, bazaars, and ruins; but the civilians prevented -this; and so the custom-house remained till 1857, when the building and -its garden became a ready prey to the rebels. - -The city, considered without relation to its defences, presents many of -those features so familiar in oriental towns. As seen by the approaching -traveller, few of the dwelling-houses peep above the ramparts; but the -Jumma Musjid or principal mosque, the turreted and battlemented palace, -the minarets, and other public buildings, combine to form a majestic -picture; while the graceful acacias and lofty date-trees bending over -the ramparts, and the grouping of tombs with sombre foliage on the -glacis, add new features to the scene. Arrived within the city, it is -seen that the streets are mostly narrow. The chief exception is that of -a handsome street running south from the palace to the Agra Gate: three -quarters of a mile long by a hundred and fifty feet wide. This street -has, therefore, length and breadth enough to afford space for much -splendour; but the Delhians have not fully availed themselves of this -opportunity, for they have built blocks of small houses in the midst of -this street, analogous in some degree to the ‘Middle Rows’ known to the -inhabitants of London. Another large street, similarly shorn of its due -dignity, runs from the palace westward to the Lahore Gate. Both streets -are, however, enlivened by raised water-courses flowing in channels of -red stone—part of a great work begun and finished by the Company, for -supplying Delhi with water. - -The glories of Delhi are the great mosque and the still greater palace. -The Jumma Musjid, situated in the centre of the city, is one of those -buildings to which Mohammedans point with pride: famous not only in -Hindostan, but all over Southern and Central Asia. It presents to the -eye an open court on an elevated platform, nearly five hundred feet -square; in the middle of which is a marble fountain for the ablutions -necessary in the ceremonials of Islamism. On three sides of this court -are open arcades and octagonal pavilions; while on the fourth side is -the mosque, a structure of great splendour approached by a magnificent -flight of marble steps. White marble cornices inlaid in black marble -with inscriptions from the Koran; walls, ceilings, and pavements of the -same delicate materials; beautiful domes and lofty minarets—all combine -to render the Jumma Musjid a truly gorgeous structure. The Emperor -Shahjehan built it more than two centuries ago; and the British -government gave orders in 1851 that it should be kept in repair. - -But, splendid as is the Jumma Musjid, the imperial palace is still more -striking—partly for what it is, but principally for what it has been. -The palace stands between the two principal streets and the bridge. Some -travellers have compared it with Windsor Castle, some with the Kremlin -at Moscow, in size and majesty; while others insist that it has no -compeer. Bishop Heber was quite enthusiastic in its praise. In the first -place, the palatial buildings are surrounded by a wall to which there is -certainly no parallel either at Windsor or at Moscow; it is of red -granite, three quarters of a mile in circuit, nearly forty feet high, -flanked with turrets and domes, and entered by two noble gates with -barbicans. This wall is a grand work in itself, irrespective of the -structures it encloses. Strictly speaking, the wall is only on three -sides, the fourth abutting on a small branch of the Jumna, where occurs -the short bridge crossing to the old fort of Selimgurh. The palace -itself is entered by a series of beautiful gateways, all of red granite, -and all sculptured with flowers and inscriptions from the Koran. The -vaulted aisles and the open octagonal courts are spoken of by Heber with -great admiration. The Dewani Khas, or private council-chamber, although -allowed to become filthy by the visits of crows and kites, is an -exquisite structure; it is a pavilion of white marble, supporting four -cupolas of the same delicate material, with pillars and arches -elaborately inlaid with gilt arabesques, flowers, and inscriptions. The -garden around it has numerous white marble fountains of elegant form, -and a small octagonal pavilion with bath-rooms, but all dirty and -neglected. The Moti Musjid or private mosque for the court, and the -Dewani-aum or public hall of audience, are, like the rest of the palace, -ornate in marble and in carving, in sculpture and in inscriptions, in -gilding and in inlaying; and, also like the rest, disfigured with -filth—a combination truly oriental. In the hall of audience is, or was -before the Revolt, the dais on which once stood the world-renowned -peacock’s throne, formed entirely of gold and jewels; and it was in this -same chamber that the victorious Nadir Shah, by exchanging turbans with -the defeated Mogul Mohammed Shah, obtained possession of a treasure -almost as renowned as the peacock’s throne itself—the _koh-i-noor_, the -‘mountain of light,’ the glorious diamond which, after various -vicissitudes, now occupies a place in the regalia of Queen Victoria. - -Passing from a scene of decayed splendour to one of living interest, we -find Delhi to be inhabited by almost an exactly equal number of Hindoos -and Mohammedans, eighty thousand of each; but it is essentially a -Mohammedan city, the centre of their prestige and influence in India; -and all the dwellings and public buildings of the Hindoos are indicative -of a race locally less powerful. Besides the imperial palace just -described, there is, about nine miles from Delhi, near an extraordinary -pillar called the Kootub Minar, the country residence of the emperor, -or, as it has been more customary in recent years to call him, the King. -It is a large but paltry building, in an inferior style of Italian -architecture, with a public road running through the very court-yard. -Within the city a palace was built for the British resident a few years -ago; and around this building a number of elegant houses have since been -erected, by the natives as well as by the Europeans. Since the once -great Mogul has been a king without a kingdom, a pensioned puppet of the -Company, a potentate having nothing to employ his thoughts and his -pension but political intrigue and sensual indulgence—the representative -of England has been a sort of envoy or resident, ostensibly rendering -honour to the Mogul, but really watching that he does no mischief, -really insuring that he shall be a king only in name. But more on this -point presently. The British civil staff in the city comprises—or did -comprise before the Revolt—a resident or commissioner, a revenue -collector, a magistrate, and other officials. There have usually been -three regiments barracked or stationed in the cantonment; but the -military importance of the place has been rather due to the fact that -Delhi has been made a depôt for a large park of artillery—valuable -enough when in the hands of the British, but a source of dismay and -disaster when seized by mutineers. - -Although this narrative has little to do with the merits or demerits of -Delhi as a place of residence; yet, knowing something of what Englishmen -and Englishwomen have had to bear when cooped up within a town or fort -menaced by ruthless natives, every compatriot at home would like further -to know in what way those trials are likely to have been aggravated by -the incidents of climate. A lady-traveller furnishes a vivid picture of -Delhi in a _hot-wind_, such as frequently visits towns in India during -certain seasons of the year. ‘Every article of furniture is burning to -the touch; the hardest wood, if not well covered with blankets, will -split with a report like that of a pistol; and linen taken from the -drawers appears as if just removed from a kitchen-fire. The nights are -terrible, every apartment being heated to excess. Gentlemen usually have -their beds placed in the verandahs, or on the chubootiar or terrace on -the top of the house: as they incur little risk in sleeping in the open -air, at a season in which no dew falls, and when there is scarcely any -variation in the thermometer. Tornadoes are frequent during these hot -winds; while they last, the skies, though cloudless, are darkened with -dust, the sun is obscured, and a London fog cannot more effectually -exclude the prospect. The birds are dreadful sufferers at this season; -their wings droop, and their bills are open as if gasping for breath; -all animals are more or less affected.’ Then, when this frightful heat -is about to depart, ensues a storm, more terrible to look at, though -easier to bear. ‘The approaching strife is made known by a cloud, or -rather a wall of dust, which appears at the extremity of the horizon, -becoming more lofty as it advances. The air is sultry and still; for the -wind, which is tearing up the sand as it rushes along, is not felt in -front of the billowy masses, whose mighty ramparts gather strength as -they spread. At length the plain is surrounded, and the sky becomes as -murky as midnight. Then the thunder breaks forth, but its most awful -peals are scarcely heard in the deep roar of the tempest; burst succeeds -to burst, each more wild and furious than the former; the forked -lightnings flash in vain, for the dust, which is as thick as snow, -flings an impenetrable veil around them. The wind having spent itself in -a final effort, suddenly subsides, and the dust is as speedily dispersed -by torrents of rain, which in a very short time flood the whole -country.’ This is the last agony of the storm; after which the -temperature lowers and nature becomes more tranquil. - -Such is Delhi—such the city which, amid all its changes of fortune, has -for so many centuries been an object of reverential affection to the -natives of Hindostan. When the disorganised regiments from Meerut -entered the imperial gates, they found an aged mogul or king, with sons -and grandsons, courtiers and retainers, willing to make him a -stepping-stone to their own advancement. Who this king was, and how he -had come into that position, may soon be told. - -Precisely a century ago, when Clive was preparing to revenge the -atrocities connected with the Black Hole at Calcutta, the Delhi empire -was rapidly losing all its power; the northern and northwestern -provinces were seized upon by the Afghans and the Sikhs; the Rajpoots -extended their dominions as far as Ajmeer; and the Emperor Alumghir was -too weak to protect his capital from the monstrous barbarities of the -Afghan insurgents. The next emperor, Shah Alum II., unable either to -repel invaders or to control his rebellious nawabs, virtually yielded to -the rapidly rising power of the East India Company. He signed a treaty -with Clive in 1765, involving mutual obligations; he was to yield to the -British certain provinces, and to award to a resident appointed from -Calcutta considerable power at the court of Delhi; while the British -were to protect him from his numerous assailants, and to secure him a -pension of £260,000 per annum, which, with other sources of wealth, -brought the degenerate descendant of the Moguls nearly half a million -annually. Troubled by the Mahrattas on one side, by the Rohillas on a -second, and by the Nawab of Oude on a third, the paralysed emperor -became so bewildered that he knew not which way to turn. About 1788 a -Rohilla chieftain suddenly entered Delhi, and put out the eyes of the -unfortunate emperor with a poniard; then the Mahrattas defeated this -chieftain, seized the capital, and reduced Shah Alum himself to a mere -puppet. During this anarchy the British in India were so fully occupied -in other quarters, that they could not make a resolute demonstration in -the centre of the once great Mogul empire; but in the year 1803 all was -prepared by Lord Lake for a resolute attempt to break down the Mahratta -and Rohilla power in the north, and to insure that the emperor should -have no other master than the Company—a kindness, the motives for which -will not bear very close scrutiny. The battle of Delhi, fought on the -11th of September 1803, opened the gates of the city to the British, and -relieved the emperor from his thraldom. A reverse had very nearly -occurred, however. While Lake was reposing after his victory, Holkar, -the great Mahratta chief, leaving his cavalry to attract the notice of -the British at Muttra, suddenly appeared before Delhi with a force of -20,000 infantry and 100 guns. The garrison comprised only two battalions -and four companies of native troops, with a few irregular horse; and as -some of these deserted at the first affright, there were left only 800 -men and 11 guns to defend a city seven miles in circuit. By unwearied -patience and daring intrepidity, however, Colonel Burn, who was military -commandant in the city at the time, and who was ably assisted by Colonel -Ochterlony and Lieutenant Rose, succeeded in repelling all the attacks -of the Mahrattas; and Holkar retired discomfited. - -From that day—from the 16th of October 1803, until the 11th of May -1857—an enemy was never seen before the gates of Delhi; a day had never -passed during which the city had been other than the capital of a state -governed nominally by a Mogul king, but really by a British resident. -Shah Alum, after thirty years of a troubled life, was vouchsafed three -years of peace, and died in 1806—a pensioner of that great abstraction, -that inscrutable mystery to the millions of Hindostan, the ‘Coompanee -Bahadoor,’ the Most Honourable Company. - -The behaviour of the Company’s servants towards the feeble descendant of -the Great Moguls was, until about thirty years ago, the most absurd -mockery. They took away all his real power, and then offered him a -privilege, the least exercise of which, if he had ventured on such a -thing, they would at once have resented. Shah Akbar, who succeeded his -old, blind, feeble father, Shah Alum, in 1806, became at once a -pensioner. He was really king, not over a kingdom, but only over the -twelve thousand inmates of the imperial palace at Delhi, his relations -and retainers—the whole of whom he supported on a pension of about a -hundred thousand pounds per annum, paid by the Company. Hindoo and -Mussulman, notwithstanding his fallen state, alike looked up to him as -the only representative of the ancient glories of India; numerous -princes received their solemn and legal investiture from him; and until -1827, the Company acquired no new province _without applying for his -nominal sanction and official firman_. He was permitted to bestow -dresses of honour on native princes at their accession to the musnud, as -a token of suzerainty; and the same ceremony was attempted by him -occasionally towards the governor-general. At length, under the rule of -Earl Amherst in 1827, it was determined to put an end to a system which -was either a mockery, or an incentive to disaffection on the part of the -Delhians. The pension to the king was increased to a hundred and fifty -thousand pounds, but the supposed or implied vassalage of the East India -Company to the nominal Padishah or Mohammedan ruler of India was brought -to an end; Shah Akbar being, from that date, powerless beyond the walls -of his palace—except as the representative, the symbol, of something -great, still venerated by the natives. - -Palace intrigues have not been wanting at Delhi during the twenty years -that preceded the Revolt; and these intrigues have borne some relation -to the state of disaffection that accompanied that outbreak. Shah Akbar -reigned, if reigning it can be called, from 1806 until 1837. He wished -to be succeeded by his second son, Shahzadah Jehanghire; but the British -authorities insisted that the succession should go, as before, to the -eldest son; and consequently Meerza Abu Zuffur became emperor on Shah -Akbar’s death in 1837, under the title of Mahomed Suraj-u-deen Shah -Ghazee. This monarch, again, exhibited the same distrust of the next -heir that is so often displayed in Oriental countries; the British -authorities were solicited to set aside the proper heir to the peacock’s -throne, in favour of a younger prince who possessed much influence in -the zenana. Again was the request refused; and the palace at Delhi was -known to have been a focus of discontent and intrigue for some time -previous to the Revolt. The mode in which the Marquis of Dalhousie -treated these matters, in his minute of 1856, has already been adverted -to; but it may be well to repeat his words here, to shew the exact state -of Delhi palace-politics at that time. ‘Seven years ago [that is, in -1849], the heir-apparent to the King of Delhi died. He was the last of -the race who had been born in the purple. The Court of Directors was -accordingly advised to decline to recognise any other heir-apparent, and -to permit the kingly title to fall into abeyance upon the death of the -present king, who even then was a very aged man. The Honourable Court -accordingly conveyed to the government of India authority to terminate -the dynasty of Timour, whenever the reigning king should die. But as it -was found that, although the Honourable Court had consented to the -measure, it had given its consent with great reluctance, I abstained -from making use of the authority which had been given to me. The -grandson of the king was recognised as heir-apparent; but only on -condition that he should quit the palace in Delhi, in order to reside in -the palace at the Kootub; and that he should, as king, receive the -governor-general of India at all times on terms of perfect equality.’ It -was therefore simply a suspension of the absolute extinction of the -kingly title at Delhi: a suspension dictated, apparently, by the -existence of a little more hesitation in the court of directors, than in -the bold governor-general. - -The king who occupied the nominal throne of Delhi at the time of the -Revolt was neither better nor worse than the average of his -predecessors. A pensioned prince with no responsibilities, he was a true -Oriental sensualist, and had become an almost imbecile old man between -eighty and ninety years of age. Nevertheless, for the reasons already -more than once stated, he was invested with a certain greatness in the -eyes of the natives of Hindostan; and Delhi was still their great city. -Hindoos, Afghans, Patans, Seljuks, Rajpoots, Tatars, Moguls, Persians, -Rohillas, Mahrattas, Sikhs—all had left their impress upon the capital; -and with one or other of these, the millions of India had sympathies -either of race or of creed. Even to the hour of the outbreak, the king -was approached with the reverence due to royalty. In the ruined paradise -of Oriental sensualism, the great palace of Delhi, ‘the house of -Tamerlane still revelled in unchecked vileness. The royal family, -consisting of many hundreds—idle, dissolute, shameless, too proud or too -effeminate for military service—lived in entire dependence on the king’s -allowance. For their amusement were congregated from all India the most -marvellous jugglers, the most cunning bird-tamers and snake-charmers, -the most fascinating dancing-girls, the most skilled Persian musicians. -Though the population was exactly balanced between Mohammedans and -Hindoos, it was the Moslem who here reigned supreme.’[8] - -[Illustration: - - HOWDAH OF AN INDIAN PRINCE. -] - ------ - -Footnote 7: - - When General Nott returned to India after his victorious campaign in - Afghanistan in 1842, he brought away with him the gates of Somnauth, - which, according to the tradition, had remained at Ghiznee since the - days of Mahmoud. This and other trophies gave occasion to an address - from Lord Ellenborough to the native princes of India, conceived in - somewhat bombastic language, in which the recapture of the gates was - characterised as an achievement ‘avenging the insult of eight hundred - years.’ The chiefs and princes of Sirhind, Rajwarra, Malwah, and - Gujarat, were enjoined to transmit, ‘with all honour,’ the gates to - Somnauth. The address was much ridiculed in England; but those on the - spot believed it to be calculated to make an impression on the - natives. The home government, however, would not permit the gates—even - if the genuine sandal-wood originals, which is not free from doubt—to - be sent to the still-existing temple of Somnauth; they considered such - an act would identify the Company injuriously with one of the two - great parties of religionists in India, and deeply offend the other. - -[Illustration: - - King of Delhi. -] - - - - - CHAPTER V. - THE EVENTFUL ESCAPES FROM DELHI. - - -Remembering that in the month of May 1857 there was a very aged king -living in the great palace at Delhi; that the heir-apparent, his -grandson, resided in the palace of Kootub Minar, eight or nine miles -from the city; that the Moslem natives still looked up to the king with -a sort of reverence; and that his enormous family had become -dissatisfied with the prospective extinction of the kingly power and -name—remembering these facts, the reader will be prepared to follow the -fortunes of the Meerut mutineers, and to understand on what grounds the -support of the royal family was counted upon. - -The distance to be passed over being forty miles, it was not till the -day after the outbreak at Meerut—namely, the 11th of May—that the three -mutinous regiments reached Delhi. The telegraphic wires were so soon -cut, and the dâks so effectually interrupted, that it is doubtful at -what hour, and to what extent, the transactions at Meerut became known -to Brigadier Graves, who commanded at Delhi. The position of that -officer was well calculated to produce uneasiness in his mind at a time -of insubordination and distrust; for he had no European regiments with -him. The garrison consisted of the 38th, 54th, and 74th native -regiments, and a battery of native artillery; the English comprised only -a few officers and sergeants of those regiments, the various servants of -the Company, and private traders within the city. The 54th and 74th had -not up to that time shewn any strong symptoms of disaffection; but the -38th, which had achieved a kind of triumph over the Marquis of Dalhousie -in 1852, in reference to the proposed expedition to Pegu, had ever since -displayed somewhat of a boastful demeanour, a pride of position and -influence. The three regiments and the artillery had their regular -quarters in the cantonment, about two miles north of the city: sending -into Delhi such companies or drafts as were necessary to man the -bastions, towers, magazine, &c. As the river Hindoun, a tributary to the -Jumna, crosses the Meerut and Delhi road near Furrucknuggur, about ten -miles from Delhi, it might be a fair problem whether the mutineers could -have been met and frustrated at the crossing of that river: the solution -of this problem, however, would necessarily depend partly on the time -available, and partly on the prudence of marching the Delhi force across -the Jumna at such a period, placing a broad river between the brigadier -and a city likely to be readily affected by notions of disaffection. -Whether influenced by want of time, want of due information, or by -strategical reasons, no such movement was made by him. The mutineers -would obviously cross the Jumna by the bridge of boats, and would then -pass southwestward into the city, or northwestward towards the -cantonment, or possibly both. A necessity arose, therefore, for adopting -defensive measures in two different quarters; and as the non-military -portion of the European inhabitants, especially women and children, -would be a source of much anxiety at such a time, the brigadier made -arrangements to accommodate them, or some of them, in the Flagstaff -Tower, a strong circular brick building on the heights near the -cantonment, a mile and a half north of the nearest or Cashmere Gate of -the city. The military commandant ordered out his regiments, drew forth -his guns, and delivered a pithy address, in which he exhorted the sepoys -to stand true to their colours, and repel the mutineers as soon as they -should appear. His address was received with cheers, the insincerity of -which was soon to be made manifest. - -So many Europeans were cut and shot down at Delhi on this day of misery, -and so precipitate was the escape of others, that not one single person -was in a position to give a connected narrative of the dismal work. -Startling, indeed, were the sights and the sounds which riveted the -attention of the European inhabitants on this morning. A peaceful Sunday -had passed over in its ordinary way; for none knew what were the deeds -being perpetrated at Meerut. The native troops, it is true, were to some -extent cognizant of that movement, for the insurgents had unquestionably -arranged the outlines of a plan; and some of the European officers at -Delhi had observed, not without uneasiness, a change in the behaviour of -the sepoys at that station; nevertheless, to the Europeans generally, -this social avalanche was a wholly unexpected visitation. Resistance was -needed from those too powerless to resist effectually; and flight was -the only resource for many too weak, too young, too sick, to bear up -under such a necessity. All the letters, since made public, relating to -the sad events of that day, tend to shew how little the European -inhabitants of Delhi looked forward to such scenes. One lady, after a -hurried retreat, said: ‘We can hardly ourselves believe how we escaped. -The way in which poor helpless men, women, and children were slaughtered -without a moment’s warning was most dreadful. We were surprised on the -morning of the 11th of May (baby’s birthday) by a party of mutineers -from Meerut.’ It is evident that ‘baby’s birthday’ had dawned with much -happier thoughts in the poor mother’s mind, than were destined to remain -there. Another lady, with her husband and child, were just about to -leave Delhi for Calcutta; their dâk-passage was paid, and their -travelling arrangements nearly completed. Suddenly a messenger hastened -to their home to announce that the Meerut mutineers had crossed the -bridge, and were within the city walls; and very soon afterwards, -fearful sights told them that immediate escape was the only mode of -saving their lives. So it was all over the city; terror and blood began -the week, instead of peace and commerce. - -The train of circumstances, as we have just said, having involved either -the death or the hasty flight of nearly all the English within the city -and the cantonment, it follows that the narrative of the day’s ruthless -work must be constructed from materials derived from various quarters, -each supplying some of the links. When Major Abbott of the 74th found -himself, on the next day, the senior officer among those who escaped to -Meerut, he deemed it his duty to write an account to Major-general -Hewett of the proceedings, so far as his sad tale could tell them. With -this we begin. - -The city, according to Major Abbott’s narrative, was entered first by a -small number of the mutinous 3d native cavalry, who crossed by the -bridge of boats. While proceeding westward, they were met by a wing of -the 54th native infantry, under the command of Colonel Ripley. But here -a serious symptom at once presented itself; the 54th excused themselves -from firing on the mutineers, on the plea of their muskets not being -loaded; the guard of the 38th native infantry likewise refused, on some -pretence, to fire; and thus the insurgents were enabled to enter the -city by the Cashmere Gate. Captain Wallis, the field-officer of the -week, on ordering the men of the mainguard at the gate to wheel up and -fire, was met by insulting jeers; and he only desisted from importuning -them when he found the work of death going on in other quarters. Six -British officers of the 54th speedily fell, either killed or -wounded—namely, Colonel Ripley, Captains Smith and Burrowes, Lieutenants -Edwardes, Waterfield, and Butler. Major Abbott, willing to hope that his -own regiment, the 74th, was still faithful, hastened to the cantonment, -got as many of his men together as he could, and explained to them that -the time was come to shew their fidelity as true soldiers: he announced -his intention to go down to the Cashmere Gate, and called for volunteers -to follow him. All for a while went favourably; the men stepped up to -the front, loaded promptly, and marched off briskly after the major. On -arriving at the Cashmere Gate, the 74th took possession of the -mainguard, drawn up in readiness to receive any attack that might be -made. Affairs remained quiet near that gate until towards three o’clock, -when a heavy firing of guns, followed by a terrific explosion, announced -that fighting had been going on near the magazine, and that a vast store -of ammunition had been blown into the air. Whether this explosion had -been caused by friends or enemies was not at first known; but the news -soon spread abroad that a gallant artillery-officer, Lieutenant -Willoughby, had adopted this terrible mode of preventing an enormous -supply of warlike material from falling into the hands of the -insurgents. - -Before proceeding with the narrative of events in the city, it will be -necessary to describe more particularly the occurrence last adverted to. -There were two magazines, one near the cantonment, and a much larger and -more important one in the city. It was the last named that became the -scene of such desperate work. This magazine was an enclosure of -considerable size, about midway between the Selimgurh Fort and the -Cashmere Gate, almost close to the British residency. As a storehouse -filled with a greater quantity of guns, gunpowder, and ammunition, than -any other place in India, a struggle for its possession between the -British and the insurgents became inevitable: hence it arose that the -destruction of the magazine was an achievement worthy of record, no less -for its vast importance in relation to the ultimate fate of the city, -than for the cool heroism that marked its planning and execution. The -magazine contained no less than three hundred guns and mortars, twenty -thousand stand of arms, two hundred thousand shot and shell, and other -warlike stores. Lieutenant Willoughby was himself too severely wounded -by the explosion to write; but the details of this gallant affair have -been very exactly given by Lieutenant G. Forrest, who was -assistant-commissary of ordnance in Delhi at the time. Between seven and -eight o’clock in the morning of this eventful day, Sir Theophilus -Metcalfe, one of the civil servants of the Company, residing between the -city and the cantonment, came to the lieutenant, and requested him to go -to the magazine for the purpose of planting two guns on the bridge, as a -means of barring the passage of the mutineers. Arrived at the magazine, -they met Lieutenants Willoughby and Raynor, and several officers and -privates of the ordnance establishment. The three principals went to the -small bastion on the river-face, commanding a full view of the bridge; -there they could distinctly see the mutineers marching in open columns, -headed by their cavalry; and they also saw that the Delhi side of the -bridge was already in the possession of a smaller body of horse. Any -attempt to close or guard the city-gates was found to be too late; for -the mutineers were admitted, with great cheering, into the gate of the -palace. Lieutenant Willoughby, seeing the critical state of affairs, -returned quickly to the magazine, closed and barricaded the gates, and -prepared for defence. Conductor Crow and Sergeant Stewart were placed -near one of the gates, with lighted matches in their hands, in command -of two six-pounders double-charged with grape, which they were ordered -to fire if any attempt were made to force the gate from without. The -principal gate of the magazine was similarly defended by two guns, with -_chevaux-de-frise_ laid down on the inside. There were five other -six-pounders, and a twenty-four pounder howitzer, quickly placed at such -spots as might render them more readily available for defence—all -double-loaded with grape-shot. A more doubtful task was that of arming -the native artillerymen or ordnance servants within the magazine; for -they were in a state, not only of excitement, but of insubordination, -much more inclined to aid the assailants without than the defenders -within. This arming being effected so far as was practicable, a train of -gunpowder was laid down from the magazine to a distant spot; and it was -agreed that, on Lieutenant Willoughby giving the order, Conductor -Buckley should raise his hat as a signal to Conductor Scully to fire the -train and blow up the magazine with all its contents. Having done all -that a cool and circumspect leader could do to prepare for the worst, -Lieutenant Willoughby awaited the issue. Very soon, mutinous sepoys—or -rather the palace guards, who had not until that hour been mutinous—came -and demanded possession of the magazine, _in the name of the King of -Delhi_! No answer being vouchsafed to this demand, scaling-ladders were -sent from the palace, and placed against the wall of the magazine. This -decided the wavering of the native artillerymen; they all as with one -accord deserted, climbed up to the sloping roofs on the inside of the -magazine, and descended the ladders to the outside. The insurgents now -appearing in great numbers on the top of the walls, the little band of -Europeans commenced a brisk fire of grape-shot, which worked much -mischief among the enemy; although only nine in number, they kept -several hundred men at bay. At last, the stock of grape at hand was -exhausted, and the beleaguered garrison was shot at instead of shooting: -seeing that none could run to the storehouses for more grape-shot -without leaving to the mutineers freedom of entry by leaping from the -walls. Two of the small number being wounded, and the impossibility of -longer holding out being apparent, Lieutenant Willoughby gave the -signal; whereupon Conductor Scully instantly fired the train. An awful -explosion followed, amid the din and confusion of which, all who were -not too much injured made their way out of the sally-port, to escape in -the best manner they could. What was the number of insurgents killed and -wounded by the grape-shot discharges and by the explosion, no one knew; -some of the English officers estimated it at more than a thousand. It -was at the time hoped by the authorities that the whole of the vast -store of ammunition had been blown into the air, beyond the reach of the -mutineers; but subsequent events shewed that the destruction was not so -complete.[9] - -To return to the agitating scenes within the city. Major Abbott, -immediately on hearing of the explosion at the magazine, found himself -placed in a painful position: urged to different courses by different -persons, and doubtful how long his own regiment would remain faithful. -He was requested by the commandant to send back two guns to the -cantonment, as a means of defence; while, on the other hand, he was -entreated by Major Paterson, and by the civil collector who had charge -of the treasury, to retain his small force for guarding the various -government establishments within the city. Major Abbott listened to this -latter suggestion for a time, but then made arrangements for sending off -the two guns to the cantonment. By this time, however, he found it was -of little consequence what orders he gave: the native troops were fast -getting beyond his control. The two guns, and some men of the 38th -regiment, returned; the gunners had deserted on the road, and the guns -had therefore been brought back again. A few of the native officers who -were still faithful now importuned him to leave the city as soon as -possible; he at first interpreted their request as an advice to hasten -to defend the cantonment; but soon found that it bore relation to his -own safety. Presently he heard shots whizzing in the mainguard. He asked -what they meant, and was told: ‘The 38th are shooting the European -officers.’ He then ordered about a hundred of his men to hasten with him -to the rescue; but they replied: ‘Sir, it is useless. They are all -killed by this time, and we shall not save any one. We have saved you, -and we are happy; we will not allow you to go back and be murdered.’ The -history of the Revolt presented many such incidents as this; in every -native regiment there were some men who wished to remain faithful, and -some officers who were favourites among them. The sepoys formed a ring -round the major, and hurried him on foot along the road leading to the -cantonment. He stopped some time at the quarter-guard, and sent a -messenger to the saluting tower to obtain information of the proceedings -in other parts of the city. - -The sun was now setting, and evening approaching, giving omen of a night -of danger and difficulty. Major Abbott espied two or three carriages -belonging to officers of his own regiment, going northward on the road -to Kurnaul; and on inquiry, he was told by the men at the quarter-guard: -‘Sir, they are leaving the cantonment; pray follow their example. We -have protected you so far; but it will be impossible for us to do so -much longer. Pray fly for your life!’ Willing as he was to remain at his -post to the last, the major felt that the men around him were so far -faithful as to deserve credence for what they had just uttered; and that -his own life, if now taken, would be sacrificed without in any way -contributing towards the retention of Delhi in British hands. He -therefore replied: ‘Very well; I am off to Meerut. Bring the colours; -and let me see as many of you at Meerut as are not inclined to become -traitors.’ Major Abbott and Captain Hawkey now mounted one horse and -started off after the carriages. They overtook some guns going the same -road; but after a progress of four miles, the drivers refused to go any -further, and insisted on driving the guns back again to Delhi. The -officers, thus entirely deserted by the native troops, having no -European troops with or near them, and being powerless to effect any -good, rode or drove off to seek safety in other directions. - -Major Abbott afterwards learned at what point in the day’s proceedings -his own regiment, the 74th, first broke out in mutiny. As soon as the -explosion of the magazine was heard, he ordered Captain Gordon to take a -company with him, to see whether he could render any aid in that -quarter; the captain found, however, not only that his aid would be -useless, but that his men exhibited great unwillingness to move. -Somewhat later, several officers of the 74th were about to march out -with a detachment, when a ball whistled among them: Captain Gordon fell -dead. Another ball was heard, and Lieutenant Revely was laid low. It now -became a matter of life and death: each officer, without any imputation -of selfishness, looking after his own safety. Among others, Ensign Elton -made for the bastion of the fort, jumped over the parapet, descended -into the ditch, clambered up the counterscarp on the other side, ran -across the country to the cantonment, and then followed the road which -many of the other officers had taken. Captain Tytler, Captain Nicoll, -and some others, went towards Kurnaul; Major Abbott, Captains Hawkey and -Wallace, Lieutenant Aislabie, Ensign Elton, and Farrier-sergeant Law, -took the Kurnaul road for some distance, and then struck off on the -right to Meerut, where they arrived at eight o’clock in the evening of -Tuesday the 12th—thirty-six hours after the mutineers from Meerut had -reached Delhi. - -[Illustration: - - Escape from Delhi. -] - -After stating that almost all the European inhabitants of Delhi had been -murdered, except those who had at once been able to effect their escape, -Major Abbott thus expressed the opinion which he formed during these two -days of terrible excitement, concerning the successive steps of the -mutiny at Delhi: ‘From all I could glean, there is not the slightest -doubt that this insurrection has been originated and matured in the -palace of the King of Delhi, with his full knowledge and sanction, in -the mad attempt to establish himself in the sovereignty of this country. -It is well known that he has called on the neighbouring states to -co-operate with him in thus trying to subvert the existing government. -The method he adopted appears to have been to gain the sympathy of the -38th light infantry, by spreading the lying reports now going through -the country, of the government having it in contemplation to upset their -religion, and have them all forcibly inducted to Christianity. The 38th, -by insidious and false arguments, quietly gained over the 54th and 74th -native infantry, each being unacquainted with the other’s real -sentiments. I am perfectly persuaded that the 54th and 74th were forced -to join the combination by threats that the 38th and 54th would -annihilate the 74th if they refused; or, _vice versâ_, that the 38th and -74th would annihilate the 54th. I am almost convinced that had the 38th -not been on guard at the Cashmere Gate, the results would have been very -different; the men of the 74th would have shot down every man who had -the temerity to assail the post.’ It may be that this officer, anxious -to lessen the dishonour of his own regiment, viewed somewhat too -partially the relative merits of the native troops; but it is -unquestionable that the 74th remained faithful much longer than the -38th. To what extent the King of Delhi was really implicated, neither -Major Abbott nor any other Englishman could at that time correctly tell. - -It was not during the dire confusion of this terrible day that the -course of events in the streets and buildings of Delhi could be fully -known. The facts came to light one by one afterwards. When the 3d Bengal -troopers, who preceded the mutinous infantry in the march from Meerut, -arrived at the Jumna about seven in the morning, they killed the -toll-keeper of the bridge of boats, took the money found in his office, -and crossed the bridge. Arrived in Delhi, they hastened to the royal -palace, where they made some sort of announcement of their arrival and -its purport. Mr Simon Fraser, the commissioner for Delhi, Captain -Douglas, his assistant, and one or two other officials, hearing of this -movement, and seeing the approach of insurgent infantry on the other -side of the river, hastened to the palace to watch the conduct of the -royal personages at such a suspicious time. No sooner did they enter the -palace precincts, however, than they were shot down. Shortly afterwards, -the Rev. Mr Jennings, chaplain of the residency, was killed; as were -likewise his daughter and another lady near him—after, it is to be -feared, atrocities worse than death. It was seen that the insurgent -troopers were in a state of the greatest excitement and fury, as if they -had worked themselves up, by indulgence in the intoxicating _bang_, to a -level with their terrible plans. While the military operations, already -noticed, were going on at the Cashmere Gate, the magazine, and the -cantonment, all the ruffians of Delhi and the neighbouring villages, -eager for _loot_ or plunder, joined the insurgents. Every European -residence was searched: the troopers and sepoys seeking the lives of the -inmates; while the rabble followed, and swept off every shred of -property. Bungalows were fired one by one, until glaring sheets of flame -were visible in every direction. Bands of Goojurs—a kind of Hindoo gipsy -tribe—were lying in wait after nightfall all along the line of road -twenty miles out of Delhi, on the watch for refugees. It was a day of -jubilee for all the miscreants; they did not stay their hands when the -Europeans had been pillaged, but attacked the houses of all the Hindoo -bankers, carrying off great treasure. Some of the Europeans concealed -themselves for a time within the palace gardens—a vain refuge, for they -were all detected, tied to trees in a row, and shot or sabred by the -mutineers. Many of the troopers, during the savage scenes of these days, -pointed to the marks of manacles on their ankles; they were of the -eighty-five who had been put in irons at Meerut on the preceding -Saturday; and they now shewed how deep was the revenge which they -intended to take for that degrading punishment. The military officers -and their families were, from various causes, those whose fate became -more publicly known; but the number of civil servants, Christians of -humble grade, and half-castes, put to death, was very great. The -bank-clerks, with their wives and children, were murdered; and similar -scenes occurred at most of the public offices. - -Mr Farrington, deputy-commissioner, when at Jullundur two or three weeks -afterwards, received a written account from a native of the occurrences -at Delhi during the days immediately following the Revolt—an account -considered worthy of credence. A part of this narrative comprised the -following sad tale: ‘On the third day they [the mutineers] went to a -house near the mosque where some Europeans had taken refuge. As they -were without water, &c., they called for a subadar and five others, and -asked them to take their oaths that they would give them water, and take -them alive to the king: he might kill them, if he liked. On this oath, -the Europeans came out: the mutineers placed water before them, and -said: “Lay down your arms, and then you get water.” They gave over two -guns, all they had. The mutineers gave no water. They seized eleven -children—among them infants—eight ladies, and eight gentlemen. They took -them to the cattle-sheds. One lady, who seemed more self-possessed than -the rest, observed that they were not taking them to the palace; they -replied they were taking them by the way of Duryagunge (one of the gates -on the river-side of the city). Deponent says that he saw all this, and -saw them placed in a row and shot. One woman entreated to give her child -water, though they might kill her. A sepoy took her child, and dashed it -on the ground. The people looked on in dismay, and feared for Delhi.’ -The imagination can, too truly, alas! fill up the deficient incidents in -this tale of treachery. Mr Farrington deemed his informant worthy of -reliance. He said: ‘The man has been with me. He speaks frankly, and -without fear. He is able, evidently, to narrate many a harrowing tale; -but I did not wish to hear any. He seemed really to recall with dismay -what he had witnessed.’ - -The aged but wretched king of Delhi—wretched in having the hopes of -earlier years revived, only to be crushed again—for a time distrusted -the mutineers; he entertained misgivings that all might not end well. -The shops and bazaars were being plundered; the king was in the palace; -and some of those around him urged that order could be restored only by -his assumption of the imperial purple. After three or four days, he went -in a kind of state through the city, advising or commanding the people -to re-open their shops, and resume their former commercial -dealings—advice more easily given than acted upon; for the devastation -had been terrible, striking grief into the more peaceful portion of the -native inhabitants. The king assumed command in the city; he named Mirza -Mogul commander-in-chief, and gave the title of general of cavalry to -Mirza Abu Bukur; he collected around him eight or nine thousand -mutineers and volunteers, who were posted at the several gates of the -city, or cantoned in the Duryagunge Bazaar. Additional guns were placed -on the ramparts; and the native sappers and miners were placed in -command of the cannon in the old fort of Selimgurh. The Company’s -treasury, one of the largest in India, is said to have been respected by -the mutineers to this extent—that they did not appropriate it among -themselves as spoil, but guarded it as belonging to their newly chosen -leader, the King of Delhi. To shew how perplexed the Calcutta government -must have been at the first news of these events, it may be mentioned -that the king’s name was adverted to as that of a friend rather than an -enemy. On the 14th of May, three days after the arrival of the Meerut -mutineers at Delhi, Mr Colvin, lieutenant-governor of the Northwest -Provinces, telegraphed from Agra to the governor-general as follows: ‘We -have authentic intelligence in a letter from the king that the town and -fort of Delhi, _and his own person_, are in the hands of the insurgent -regiments of the place, which joined about one hundred of the troops -from Meerut and opened the gates.’ Judged by the ordinary rules of -probability, it would appear that the mutineers first secured the person -of the king, and then compelled him to head them: the old man being -further urged by the entreaties and threats of his intriguing sons and -grandsons. It is difficult, under any other supposition, to account for -his transmission of a message of information and warning to the chief -British authority in those regions. On the 15th Mr Colvin sent a further -telegraphic communication to Calcutta, containing this information: ‘The -rebels have declared the heir-apparent king. They are apparently -organising the plan of a regular government; they still remain in the -place. Their policy is supposed to be to annex the adjoining districts -to their newly formed kingdom. They are not likely, therefore, to -abandon the country or leave Delhi; they have probably strengthened -themselves there. They may have secured fifty lacs of rupees [half a -million sterling].’ No further mention was here made of the old man; it -was a younger relation who had been set up as king; and this younger -prince may possibly have been the one whom the Marquis of Dalhousie had -insisted should be the heir-apparent, with such prospective limitations -of authority as the Company might hereafter declare to be expedient. The -ordinary motives which influence men’s conduct would be quite strong -enough to induce this prince to avail himself of any accidental or -unexpected means of insuring the crown without the limitations here -adverted to. Ambition was almost the only sentiment not absolutely -degrading left to the pensioned, sensual, intriguing dwellers in the -palace. - -The details of this chapter have hitherto been confined chiefly to the -course of events within the city—as collected from the dispatches of -military officers, the letters from commissioners and other civil -servants of the Company, and the published statements of Europeans who -survived the dangers of the day. But we now come to adventures which, -politically of less importance, touch more nearly the hearts and -sympathies of those who would know how Englishmen, and more particularly -Englishwomen, bore up against the accumulated miseries that pressed upon -them. We have to accompany the fugitives to the fields and jungles, the -ditches and rivers, the swampy marshes and scorching sandy roads; we -have to see how they contended against privation and trial—on their way -forty miles in one direction towards Meerut, or eighty miles in another -towards Kurnaul. Many of the narratives of the fugitives, afterwards -made public, supply details not furnished in any official dispatches; -while they illustrate many points worth knowing—among others, the -greater hostility of the Mohammedan than the Hindoo natives near Delhi, -and the indications of individual kindness in the midst of general -brutality. A selection from these narratives will suffice for the -present purpose, shortened and thrown into a different form so as to -throw light on each other, and on the general events of the day. In most -cases, the names of the fugitives, especially of ladies, will be -withheld, from a motive which a considerate reader will easily -appreciate. This scruple must not, however, be interpreted as affecting -the authenticity of the narratives, which was verified only too -abundantly by collateral evidence. - -We select first a family of three fugitives to Kurnaul. The wife of an -officer of the 54th native regiment, in the forenoon of this eventful -Monday, hastened with her child to the Flagstaff Tower; where, in -accordance with the advice of the brigadier-commandant, many other -families had assembled. The gentlemen remained outside on guard; the -ladies assisted in loading the guns, and in other services towards the -common defence of all. Here they remained many hours, in all the horrors -of suspense; for the husbands and fathers of many were away, and their -fate unknown. At length came the news that the 38th had openly revolted; -that none of the native regiments at Delhi could now be depended upon; -and that the inmates of the tower ought to effect their escape as -speedily as possible. There had been one company of the 38th at the -Flagstaff Tower all day; and as the building was very strong, and armed -with two guns, the brigadier long deemed himself able to protect the -numerous persons there assembled; but as soon as the defection of the -main body of this regiment became known, all reliance on the smaller -corps was at an end. Such carriages and horses as could be obtained were -immediately put in requisition, and various parties hastened off, mostly -northward on the Kurnaul road. The small group whom we have here under -notice—namely, the officer with his wife and child, reached Kurnaul the -next day; but danger was all around, and the fugitives were forced to -continue their flight, as soon as they could obtain means of conveyance. -It is touching to read how ‘baby’ occupied the mother’s thoughts through -all this agitating escape. During a sojourn at a place called -Thwanessur, on the road between Kurnaul and Umballa, they stopped at the -assistant-commissioner’s house. ‘Before we had rested two hours we were -alarmed by being told that a regiment of sepoys was come to attack us; -we had to fly from the house and hide as best we could, under the -bushes, &c., in the garden; and I kept dear baby in my own arms the -whole time until morning.’ The alarm proved to be false, and the -fugitives proceeded. They arrived safely at Umballa on the morning of -Thursday the 14th, having left Delhi on Monday evening. That the brave -wife was ‘quite fatigued and worn out’ may well be conceived when she -adds, ‘for dear baby had never left me since we left Delhi.’ - -[Illustration: - - Delhi from Flagstaff Tower. -] - -This adventure, however, was far exceeded in length, in privation, in -strange situations, in hair-breadth escapes, by one which befell a party -of four persons—an officer of the 38th regiment, an army surgeon, and -their two wives: all of whom, in the wilderness of confusion, sought the -Kurnaul route rather than that to Meerut. These ladies were among the -many who sought refuge in the Flagstaff Tower. There they had the pain -of witnessing the sufferings of poor Colonel Ripley, who, as already -narrated, had been bayoneted by men of his own regiment, and had been -brought thither for succour; they tended him as women only can tend the -sick; but their ministrations were of brief avail. After hours of -suspense, in which small hope was mingled with large despair, the -necessity for escape became obvious. A little bitterness is expressed, -in the narratives of some of the fugitives, concerning the delay in -making any preparations for the escape of the women and children; and a -few of the head officers are blamed for supineness; but those who suffer -are not always, at the time, the best judges of the cause of their -sufferings. When evening approached, many of the native coachmen drove -away the vehicles belonging to the Europeans, and appropriated them, -thus leaving the women and children in dreadful perplexity how to reach -Kurnaul or Meerut. The two Englishwomen whose narrative we now follow -were among the last of those who left the city, when evening was -approaching. They were in a buggy, but had been parted from their -husbands during the confusion of the arrangements for departure, and one -of them had lost her little child. They drove on, with no male -protector, across rugged fields, fearful of the high road: treated -sometimes respectfully by the natives, but at other times robbed and -vilely addressed. Even the velvet head-dress of one of them was torn -off, for the value of the bugles that adorned it. A jewel-box had been -brought away in haste, as the only treasure preserved; and it became -every hour more uncertain whether this would be a prey to the spoilers. -Returning to the high road, the ladies met some gunners with two guns; -and as the men told them certain death would be the result if they took -the road to Kurnaul, they drove in another direction to the Company’s -garden outside Delhi. Here, marauding was everywhere going on; the poor -ladies soon had the misery of seeing their carriage, horse, jewel-box, -and most of their outer clothing reft from them. In the dead of the -night they ventured to a neighbouring village. The surgeon, husband to -one of the ladies, here managed to join them; but being enfeebled by -previous sickness, and wounded in the jaw during the day’s exciting -troubles, he was powerless as a defender, and—far from being able to -succour others—needed succour himself. During the next fifteen hours -were these three persons hiding in fields and huts, befriended by a few -natives, and conscious that roving sepoys were near, ready for murder or -pillage. Sallying forth again on the evening of Tuesday, they were -speedily stopped by six men, who robbed them of a further portion of -their scanty apparel, and only stopped short of murder when the -officer’s wife pleaded for mercy, on the ground that she was searching -for her husband and her child, both of whom had gone she knew not -whither. The three fugitives walked all that night, the wounded surgeon -dragging himself along. In the morning they were again accosted, and -only escaped death by the ladies yielding up a further part of their -attire, the only property they had left to give. During the remainder of -that day they crept on, obtaining a little food and water from some -villagers, who were, however, too much afraid of the sepoys to afford -the fugitives the shelter of a roof; and it was terrible work indeed to -roam along the roads with a burning sun overhead and burning sand under -foot. They sat down by a well-side, and drank some water; but rude -fellows accosted them, and after insulting the hapless women, compelled -them to withdraw. They next encountered a party of irregular horse, who -had not yet joined the mutineers; the men were at first inclined to -befriend them; but fears of the consequences supervening, they soon -deserted the fugitives. Here were these two Englishwomen, gently -nurtured, and accustomed to all the amenities of good society, again -compelled to wander like miserable outcasts, helping along a male -companion whose under-jaw had been shattered, and who was otherwise in a -weak state. They crawled on during another night, and then reached a -village, which, as they saw it was Hindoo, they did not scruple to -enter. Kindness was accorded to them for one whole day; after which the -humane natives, timid lest the sepoys should burn their village if they -heard of Feringhees having been harboured, declared they could no longer -afford shelter. Once more, therefore, were the fugitives driven forth: -having seen renewed symptoms that the sepoys, or rather the marauding -ruffians, would not scruple to murder them, if opportunity offered. They -had now been five days wandering about, and yet were only ten miles -distant from Delhi: so completely had each day’s plans been frustrated -by the events of the next day. Again they entered a friendly village, -and again were they compelled soon to depart, after receiving simple but -kind assistance. No villagers, it was found, were free from dread at -having assisted a Feringhee. Once they hid for shelter under a bridge; -but an armed ruffian detected them, and behaved so unbearably towards -the women that the surgeon, who was a Roman Catholic, took a gold cross -from his bosom, and gave it as the price of their freedom from further -molestation: a wounded, shattered, sinking man, he could not offer them -a strong arm as a shield from insult. On the night of the 17th, at a -little more than twenty miles from Delhi, they were glad to obtain the -shelter of an outhouse containing twenty cows, the only roof that the -owner dared to offer them. They made an attempt to have a letter -forwarded to Kurnaul, praying for assistance; but none in those parts -could be depended upon for faithfulness beyond an hour or two: so much -was there of treachery on the one hand, and timidity on the other. On -the 18th they heard that Major Paterson, of the 54th regiment, was in -the same village as themselves; and he, powerless to succour, contrived -to send a short message to them, written with a burnt stick on a piece -of an old broken pan. Shortly afterwards they were greatly astonished, -and not a little delighted, to see an officer, the husband of one of the -ladies, enter the village; but more like a naked savage, blistered from -head to foot, than like an English gentleman. - -An eventful tale had this officer to narrate. When the scenes of -violence on the 11th at Delhi had reached such a point that to remain -longer was to meet certain slaughter, he sent off his little boy with -friends towards Meerut, and saw his wife and her lady-companion start -for Kurnaul. After being robbed of his horse, and having three bullets -sent through his hat, and one through the skirt of his coat, he ran past -the blazing houses of the cantonment, and, being ill at the time, sank -down under a tree exhausted. A gang of ruffians found him, stripped him, -robbed him of everything, and endeavoured, Thug-like, to strangle -him—using, however, the sleeve of his own shirt instead of a silken -cord. Happily the choking was only partial; he recovered, staggered on a -mile or two, rested briefly in a hut, and then walked twelve miles to -Alipore in a broiling sun. He obtained a little water, a little bread, -and a few fragments of clothing, but was refused shelter. He wended his -painful way barefoot, keeping to ploughed fields as safer than the high -road, and reached a village where the headman gave him an asylum for -five days. During these days, however, he twice narrowly escaped death -from sepoys prowling about the village. On the sixth he received -information which led him to believe that his wife and her travelling -companions were within six or seven miles of him. He hastened on, with -swollen and blistered feet, wretched substitutes for raiment, and a -frame nearly worn out by sickness and anxiety; but a gleam of joy burst -upon him when at length he overtook the surgeon and the two wives, -though dismayed to see the plight to which they had been reduced. The -poor ladies he found to be, like himself, reft of everything they had in -the world except a few torn and toil-worn fragments of garments. The -surgeon had been less rudely stripped, simply because the clothes of a -wounded man were less acceptable to the spoliators. The fugitives, now -four in number, continued their journey, their feet pierced with thorns -and sharp stones, and the difficulty of carrying or dragging a wounded -man becoming greater and greater. The officer’s wife, having had no -head-covering for many days, felt the sun’s heat to be gradually -affecting her brain; she was thankful when a villager gave her a wet -cloth to bind round her temples. Matters now began to mend; the -villagers were less afraid of the Delhi sepoys; the vicinity of Kurnaul -exhibited less violence and marauding; horses and mules were obtained on -one day to take them to Lursowlie; and on the next a carriage was -provided for their conveyance to Kurnaul. How they got on from Kurnaul -to Umballa, and from Umballa to Simla, need not be told—the romance of -the incident was over when the three fugitives, two women and a wounded -man, were joined by a fourth; although much physical and mental -suffering had still to be endured. The little son of this lady, it was -afterwards found, had been carried by some friends safely to Meerut on -the 12th. The four fugitives, when they reached friendly quarters, were -poor indeed: no beggars could be more completely dependent on the -sympathy of those whom they now happily met. - -Next we will follow the steps of some of those who chose Meerut rather -than Kurnaul as their place of refuge. Their adventures partake of a new -interest, because there was a broad and swift river to be crossed. A -young ensign of the 54th regiment, a stripling who had just commenced -military service under the Company, had a sad tale to tell, how the -European officers of his regiment had fallen almost to a man. He was in -the cantonment when the news arrived of the approach of the Meerut -mutineers; his regiment was ordered to hasten to the city; and he, like -other officers, was fain to hope that the men would remain true to their -colours. Leaving two companies to follow with two guns, the other eight -marched off to the city, distant, as has already been stated, about two -miles. Arriving at the mainguard of the Cashmere Gate, the regiment -encountered the mutinous 3d Bengal cavalry, who immediately shot down -nearly all the officers of the eight companies: the men of those -companies shewing, by a refusal to defend their officers, that they were -quite ready for revolt. The colonel, indeed, was bayoneted by one of his -own men after a trooper had shot him. In about half an hour the other -two companies arrived with the two guns; but as the few remaining -officers of the regiment knew not which of their men, if any, could be -depended on, they formed a kind of small fort or citadel of the -mainguard, into which they brought their few remaining companions one by -one. The poor youth, who had just commenced soldiering, and who had -never seen a dead body, was nearly overwhelmed with grief at the sight -of his brother-officers, with whom he had laughed and chatted a few -hours before, lying side by side dead and mutilated. The main body of -the regiment remained sullen, though not mutinous, until about five -o’clock in the evening; but then the spirit of evil seemed to seize -them, and they turned upon the Europeans near them, shooting -indiscriminately. The scene became agonising. Many women and children -had gone to the mainguard for security; and now they as well as the -officers found it necessary to flee for very life. Some ran, leaped, -clomb, until they got beyond the wall of the city; others waited to help -those who were weaker or of more tender years. Some of the ladies, -though wounded, lowered themselves by handkerchiefs into the ditch, from -embrasures in the parapet, and were caught by officers below; and then -ensued the terrible labour of dragging or carrying them up the -counterscarp on the other side of the ditch. (A ditch, in military -matters, be it remembered, is a dry, broad, very deep trench outside a -fortified wall, with nearly vertical sides, called the scarp and -counterscarp.) The young officer tells how that he and his male -companions would have made a dash towards Meerut, sword in hand, or have -sold their lives at once; but that their chief thoughts were now for the -women and children. What were the privations of such a company as this, -in fords and jungles, in hunger and nakedness, we shall presently see by -means of a narrative from another quarter. - -It is an officer of the 38th who shall now tell his tale—how that his -own personal troubles, when alone, were slight compared with those which -he had afterwards to bear in company with other fugitive Europeans. This -officer states that, while the refugees were anxiously watching the -course of events at the Flagstaff Tower, they were momentarily expecting -aid from Meerut. They could not believe that Major-general Hewett would -have allowed the mutineers to march from Meerut to Delhi without either -making an attempt to intercept them, or following on their heels; and -their disappointment in this particular led to some of the unfavourable -comments made on that general’s line of conduct. The officer of the -38th, whose narrative is now under notice, shared the difficulty of all -the others in endeavouring to keep the men at their duty; and he speaks -of the terrible sight, more than once adverted to, which met his eye at -the mainguard inside the Cashmere Gate: ‘By the gate, side by side, and -covered by pretty ladies’ dresses taken from some house, as if in -mockery, lay the bodies of poor Captain Smith, Burrowes, Edwardes, and -Waterfield, and the quarter-master-sergeant; some lying calm as shot -dead, and others with an expression of pain, mutilated by bayonets and -swords.’ When all became hopeless within the city, and the brigadier had -given orders to retire, the officers made a show of bringing off their -regiments as well as their families; but it was only a show; for such of -the men as had remained faithful up to this time now fell away, and the -Europeans found themselves compelled to escape as best they could. The -officer hastened to the cantonment, disconsolate and helpless, but -having no immediate idea of escape. With the colonel of the same -regiment, however, he was urged to adopt that course, as the cantonment -itself was now in a blaze. The two ran off in the dead of the night -towards the river, crouching beneath trees when enemies seemed near; -they forded the Jumna Canal, slaking their parched lips as they waded or -swam; and they tore off the brighter parts of their glittering -accoutrements, to prevent betrayal. In the morning, faint and hungered, -they took refuge in a hut while a body of sepoys was searching around, -as if for victims. A few Hindoo peasants discovering them, told them -where they could hide in a tope of trees, and brought them chupatties -and milk. Being able to ford across a narrow branch of the Jumna soon -afterwards, they concealed themselves in the wild jungle; and there, to -their joy and surprise, they found others of their friends in the same -kind of concealment—joy damped, it is true, at the thought of educated -English men and women crouching among long jungle-grass like savages or -wild beasts. On counting numbers, they found they were thirteen, eight -gentlemen and five ladies and children; and as they had several guns and -swords among them, they took heart, and prepared to struggle against -further difficulties. - -To bring up the two parallel threads of the story, the escapes of the -larger party, comprising the women and little ones, must now be told. In -the afternoon of the preceding day, after arrangements had been made for -conveying the ladies on gun-carriages from the city to the cantonment, -the natives who had been trusted with this duty turned faithless, and -the Europeans within the Cashmere Gate, finding themselves shot at, -sought to escape beyond the walls in any way they could. One after -another, women and children as well as men, leaped over into the ditch, -scrambled up the other side, and ran off towards the house of Sir T. -Metcalfe. One lady, the mother of three daughters who had to share in -the flight, was shot through the shoulder, yet still kept on. The native -servants—in the absence of their master, who afterwards had his own tale -to tell of jungle-life and narrow escapes—gave them a little food; but -just before the house was about being fired by the insurgents, the -fugitives left it, and succeeded in fording the narrow stream to the -spot mentioned above. When the thirteen had told their adventures, and -formed a plan, they started anew, and sought a spot where they could -ford the majestic Jumna. The officer must here tell the story of this -perilous fording: ‘Our hearts failed, and no wonder, where ladies were -concerned, as we looked at the broad swift river. It was getting dark, -too. Two natives went across. We watched them anxiously wade a -considerable portion of the river; then their heads alone appeared above -water. It was our only chance of life, and our brave ladies never -flinched. The water was so deep, that where a tall man would wade, a -short man would be drowned. I thought it was all over when, on reaching -the deep water with Mrs —— on my left arm, a native supporting her on -the other side, we were shot [drifted] down the river; however, by -desperate efforts and the assistance of another native, we reached the -bank in safety. I swam back once more for another of our party; and so -ultimately we all got safe over. It was a brave feat for our ladies to -do.’ But so it was throughout these terrific scenes: the heroism, the -patience, the long-suffering endurance of these gentlewomen, bore up to -the last; feebleness of frame was vanquished by nobility of spirit; and -the men were often kept in heart, though deeply pained, by the -uncomplaining perseverance of their gentle companions in misery. Our -fugitives passed a wretched night after this fording of the Jumna, -crouching in the jungle, with no sound ‘but the chattering of their -teeth.’ The next day threw them into the hands of a large band of -ruffians; and as the guns of the officers had been rendered useless by -wet, the consequence was direful: the whole party were stripped and -robbed, and then left without food, without clothing, without resource, -to wander whither they could. With naked feet, and skins blistering in -the sun, they toiled on. ‘How the ladies stood it,’ says the officer -whose narrative we are following, ‘is marvellous; they never murmured or -flinched, or distressed us by a show of terror.’ Fortunately, a fakeer, -in a Hindoo village, ventured to give them shelter; they remained three -days, obtaining a little food, but nothing more. A German zemindar or -landowner, who had been so long in India as to be hardly distinguishable -from a Hindoo, hearing of their plight, sent for them, gave them some -rough cloth to huddle on as substitutes for garments, and caused a -message to be sent to Meerut, which brought relief to them; and they -reached that town in seven days after leaving Delhi—worn out in mind and -body, haggard, lame, penniless, but thankful that their lives had been -spared. - -Strange as these escapes and perils were, they were eclipsed in -individual daring and fertility of resource by one which remains to be -told, and which may form the last of this little group of painful -narratives. Mr Batson, surgeon of the 74th regiment, was unheard of -during so long a time after the events at Delhi on the fatal Monday that -he was given up for lost; but in a letter which he wrote to announce his -safety, he detailed such a series of adventures as appear to belong -rather to romance than to real life—Defoe-like, but entirely true -instead of fictitious. And here it may be again remarked that these -narratives must not be suspected of boastful exaggeration; there were -links which connected all the eventful stories into one chain—each -receiving corroborative strength from the others. Mr Batson states that -when it was found that the three regiments at Delhi refused to act -against the mutineers from Meerut, and that when such of the women and -children as could be collected were placed in the mainguard and the -Flagstaff Tower, he went to Brigadier Graves, volunteering to convey a -letter to Meerut, in hope of obtaining the aid of European troops. His -offer being accepted, he took leave of his wife and three daughters in -the Flagstaff Tower, went to his house, dressed himself like a native -fakeer or mendicant devotee, and coloured his face, hands, and feet. Off -he set on his perilous errand. He first tried to cross the Jumna by the -bridge of boats, but found it broken. Then he ran to the cantonment, and -endeavoured to cross by a ferry near that spot, but found the insurgent -cavalry and the neighbouring villagers plundering and marauding. Next he -hastened across the parade-ground, and, after escaping two or three -shots, was seized by some of the villagers and stripped of every bit of -his fakeer clothing. On he ran again, in his now truly forlorn state, -towards the Kurnaul road, hoping to overtake some of the officers who -were escaping by that route; but before he could do so, two of the -insurgent troopers intercepted him. Just as they were about to cut him -down with their drawn swords, his tact and knowledge saved him. Being -familiar both with the Hindostani language and with the Mohammedan -customs, he threw himself into a supplicating position, and uttered the -most exalted praises of the great Prophet of Islam: begging them to -spare his life for the sake of the Moslem. Had his assailants been -infantry sepoys, he would probably not have attempted this manœuvre, for -most of them were Hindoos; but knowing that the cavalry sowars were -chiefly Mohammedans, he made the venture. It succeeded. Whether they -knew him as a fugitive Englishman, is not certain; but they let him go, -saying: ‘Had you not asked for mercy in the name of the Prophet, you -should have died like the rest of the Kaffirs [infidels].’ After running -another mile—at once shivering with nakedness and burning with -excitement—he encountered some Mussulman villagers, who rushed upon him, -crying: ‘Here is a Feringhee; kill the Kaffir! You Feringhees want to -make us all Christians!’ They dragged him to a village, tied his hands -behind him, and sent one of their number to a house hard by to get a -sword, with which to despatch him. At this critical moment some -excitement—the nature of which Mr Batson could not understand—caused -them all to leave him, and he ran off again. He fortunately fell in with -some smiths who had been employed in the Delhi magazine, and who were -willing to save him; they urged him not to go forward, or the villagers -would certainly murder him. They took him to a hut, gave him an article -or two of apparel, and fed him with milk and bread. He tried to sleep, -but could not; he lay awake all night, restless and excited. In the -morning he bethought him of informing his protectors that he was a -physician, a doctor, a ‘medicine-man;’ and this proved to be an aid to -him; for the villagers, finding that he could answer questions relating -to maladies, and was familiar with their religion, language, and -customs, began to take much interest in the Feringhee doctor. He found -that two officers were in hiding at no great distance, but he could -reach neither of them. To get to Meerut in time to deliver his message -was of course now out of the question: all that Mr Batson could do was -to secure his own safety. More perils were in store for him. The -villagers of Badree were informed that if they harboured any Feringhees, -the now triumphant King of Delhi would direfully punish them; they -became alarmed, and hid him in a small mango tope. ‘Here,’ the surgeon -says, ‘I was left night and day alone. I was visited at night by some -one or other of the villagers, who brought me bread and water in a -ghurrah. I am unable to describe my feelings during this trying time. I -was all day in the sun, in the extreme heat, and alone at night, when -the jackals came prowling about and crying. It is only God and myself -know what I have endured. After five nights and days in this tope of -trees, I was again taken back to the village and concealed in a bhoosa -house. I was here shut in for twenty-four hours; the heat and -suffocation I cannot find language to describe. I do not know which was -the greatest misery, the tope of trees in solitude or the bhoosa -kotree.’ At length the villagers, afraid to keep him any longer, -dismissed him—enabling him to dress himself up again as a fakeer. -Tramping on from village to village, he acted his part so well as to -escape detection. He gave himself out as a Cashmerian; and although one -of the villagers suspected his European origin by his blue eyes, he did -not betray him. He observed from village to village—and the fact is -worthy of note in relation to the causes and details of the Revolt—that -the Mohammedans were much more savage than the Hindoos in their -expressions and threats against the Feringhees. The further he proceeded -from Delhi, the less did Mr Batson find himself involved in danger; and -he was fortunately picked up by Captain M^cAndrews and Lieutenant Mew of -his own regiment. He had been out no less than twenty-five days, -wandering from village to village, from tope to tope; suffering -privations which none but himself could know, and not even he adequately -describe. One great anxiety gnawed him the while—the fate of his family: -one great joy awaited him—his family escaped. - -[Illustration: - - Elephant and State Howdah. -] - -Here this chapter may close. We have seen that on the morning of Monday -the 11th of May, the European inhabitants of Delhi arose from their beds -in peace; and that by the close of the same day there was not a single -individual of the number whose portion was not death, flight, or -terrified concealment. So far as the British rule or influence was -concerned, it was at an end. The natives remained masters of the -situation; their white rulers were driven out; and a reconquest, -complete in all its details, could alone restore British rule in Delhi. -At what time, in what way, and by whom, that reconquest was effected, -will remain to be told in a later portion of this work. Much remains to -be narrated before Delhi will again come under notice. - ------ - -Footnote 8: - - _Quarterly Review_, No. 204. - -Footnote 9: - - Rightly did the governor-general, when officially informed of this - achievement, speak of ‘the noble and cool soldiership of the gallant - defenders’ of the magazine: ‘The governor-general in council desires - to offer his cordial thanks to Lieutenants Raynor and Forrest, and the - other survivors among the brave men mentioned in this report, and to - express the admiration with which he regards the daring and heroic - conduct of Lieutenant G. D. Willoughby and the warrant and - non-commissioned officers by whom he was supported on that occasion. - Their names are Lieutenants Raynor and Forrest, Conductors Shaw, - Buckley, Scully, Sub-conductor Crow, Sergeants Edwards and Stewart. - The family of the late Conductor Scully, who so devotedly sacrificed - himself in the explosion of the magazine, will be liberally provided - for, should it be ascertained that they have survived him.’ - -[Illustration: - - LUCKNOW. -] - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - LUCKNOW AND THE COURT OF OUDE. - - -Another regal or once-regal family, another remnant of Moslem power in -India, now comes upon the scene—one which has added to the embarrassment -of the English authorities, by arraying against them the machinations of -deposed princes as well as the discontent of native troops; and by -shewing, as the King of Delhi had shewn in a neighbouring region, that a -pension to a sovereign deprived of his dominions is not always a -sufficient medicament to allay the irritation arising from the -deprivation. What and where is the kingdom of Oude; of what rank as an -Indian city is its capital, Lucknow; who were its rulers; why and when -the ruling authority was changed—these matters must be clearly -understood, as a preliminary to the narrative of Sir Henry Lawrence’s -proceedings about the time of the outbreak. - -Oude, considered as a province of British India, and no longer as a -kingdom, is bounded on the north and northeast by the territory of -Nepaul; on the east by the district of Goruckpore; on the southeast by -those of Azimghur and Jounpoor; on the south by that of Allahabad; on -the southwest by the districts of the Doab; and on the northwest by -Shahjehanpoor. It is now about thrice the size of Wales; but before the -annexation, Oude as a kingdom included a larger area. On the Nepaul -side, a strip of jungle-country called the Terai, carries it to the base -of the sub-Himalaya range. This Terai is in part a wooded marsh, so -affected by a deadly malaria as to be scarcely habitable; while the -other part is an almost impassable forest of trees, underwood, and -reeds, infested by the elephant, the rhinoceros, the bear, the wild hog, -and other animals. Considered generally, however, Oude surpasses in -natural advantages almost every other part of India—having the Ganges -running along the whole of its southwest frontier, a varied and fertile -soil, a genial though hot climate, and numerous facilities for -irrigation and water-carriage. It cannot, however, be said that man has -duly aided nature in the development of these advantages; for the only -regularly made road in the whole province is that from Lucknow to -Cawnpore: the others being mostly wretched tracks, scarcely passable for -wheel-carriages. The railway schemes of the Company include a line -through Oude, which would be of incalculable benefit; but no definite -contract had been made at the time when the Revolt commenced; nor would -such a railway be profitable until the trunk-line is finished from -Calcutta to Benares and Allahabad. Although the Mohammedans have, -through many ages, held the ruling power in Oude, the Hindoos are -greatly more numerous; and nearly the whole of the inhabitants, five -millions in number, speak the Hindostani language; whereas those nearer -Calcutta speak Bengali. As shewing the kind of houses in which Europeans -occasionally sought concealment during the disturbances, the following -description of the ordinary dwelling-places of Oude may be useful. They -are generally built either of unburnt brick, or of layers of mud, each -about three feet in breadth and one foot high. The roofs are made of -square beams, placed a foot apart, and covered with planks laid -transversely; over these are mats, and a roofing of well-rammed wet clay -half a yard in thickness. The walls are carried to a height six or seven -feet above the upper surface of the roof, to afford a concealed place of -recreation for the females of the family; and during the rainy season -this small elevated court is covered with a slight awning of bamboos and -grass. Though so simply and cheaply constructed, these houses are very -durable. Around the house there is usually a verandah, covered with a -sloping tiled roof. Inside, the beams overhead are exposed to view, -without any ceiling. The floors are of earth, well beaten down and -smoothed, and partially covered with mats or cotton carpets. In the -front of the house is a chabootra or raised platform of earth, open to -the air at the sides, and provided with a roof of tiles or grass -supported on pillars. This platform is a pleasant spot on which -neighbours meet and chat in the cool of the evening. The dwellings of -the wealthy natives of course present an aspect of greater splendour; -while those of the Europeans, in the chief towns, partake of the -bungalow fashion, already described. - -There are few towns of any distinction in Oude compared with the area of -the province; and of these few, only two will need to be mentioned in -the present chapter. As for the city whence the province originally -obtained its name—Oude, Oudh, or Ayodha—it has fallen from its -greatness. Prinsep, Buchanan, and other authorities, regard it as the -most ancient, or at any rate one of the most ancient, among the cities -of Hindostan. Some of the coins found in Oude are of such extreme -antiquity, that the characters in which their legends are graven are -totally unknown. Buchanan thinks that the city was built by the first -Brahmins who entered India, and he goes back to a date fourteen hundred -years before the Christian era for its foundation; while Tod and Wilford -claim for Oude an origin even six centuries earlier than that insisted -on by Buchanan. The value of such estimates may not be great; they -chiefly corroborate the belief that Oude is a _very_ ancient city. With -its eight thousand inhabitants, and its mud and thatch houses, the -grandeur of Oude lives in the past; and even this grandeur is in -antiquity rather than in splendour; for the ruins and fragments give a -somewhat mean idea of the very early Hindoo architecture to which they -belong. On the eastern side of the town are extensive ruins, said to be -those of the fort of Rama, king of Oude, celebrated in the mythological -and romantic legends of India. According to Buchanan: ‘The heaps of -bricks, although much seems to have been carried away by the river, -extend a great way—that is, more than a mile in length, and half a mile -in width—and, although vast quantities of materials have been removed to -build the Mohammedan Ayodha or Fyzabad, yet the ruins in many parts -retain a very considerable elevation; nor is there any reason to doubt -that the structure to which they belonged was very large, when we -consider that it has been ruined for above two thousand years.’ A spot -among the ruins is still pointed out by the reverential Hindoos from -which Rama took his flight to heaven, carrying all the people of the -city with him: a hypothetical emigration which had the effect of leaving -Oude desolate until a neighbouring king repopulated it, and embellished -it with three hundred and sixty temples. The existing buildings -connected with the Hindoo faith are four establishments kept up in -honour of the fabled monkey-god, the auxiliary of Rama; they have annual -revenues, settled on them by one of the rulers of Oude; they are managed -by _maliks_ or spiritual superiors; and the revenues are dispensed to -several hundreds of _bairagis_ or religious ascetics, and other lazy -Hindoo mendicants—no Mussulman being ever admitted within the walls. - -Lucknow, however, is the city to which our attention will naturally be -most directed—Lucknow, as the modern capital of the kingdom or province; -as a city of considerable importance, political, military, commercial, -and architectural; and as a scene of some of the most memorable events -in the Revolt. - -The city of Lucknow stands on the right bank of the river Goomtee, which -is navigable thence downwards to its confluence with the Ganges between -Benares and Ghazeepore. It is rather more than fifty miles distant from -Cawnpore, and about a hundred and thirty from Allahabad. As Cawnpore is -on the right bank of the Ganges, that majestic river intervenes between -the two towns. The Goomtee is crossed at Lucknow by a bridge of boats, a -bridge of substantial masonry, and an iron bridge—an unusual fulness of -transit-channels in an Indian city. Lucknow displays a varied, lively, -and even brilliant prospect, when viewed from a position elevated above -the level of the buildings; but, once in the streets, the traveller has -his dream of beauty speedily dissipated; for oriental filth and -abomination meet his eye on all sides. The central portion of the city, -the most ancient, is meanly built with mud-houses roofed with straw; -many of them are no better than booths of mats and bamboos, thatched -with leaves or palm-branches. The streets, besides being dirty, are -narrow and crooked, and are dismally sunk many feet below the level of -the shops. The narrow avenues are rendered still less passable by the -custom of employing elephants as beasts of burden: unwieldy animals -which almost entirely block up the way. In the part of the city occupied -by Europeans, however, and containing the best public buildings, many of -the streets are broad and lively. Until 1856, when Oude was annexed to -British India, Lucknow was, to a stranger, one of the most remarkable -cities of the east, in regard to its armed population. Almost every man -went armed through the streets. One had a matchlock, another a gun, -another a pistol; others their bent swords or _tulwars_; others their -brass-knobbed buffalo-hide shields. Men of business and idlers—among all -alike it was a custom to carry arms. The black beards of the Mussulmans, -and the fierce moustaches of the Rajpoots, added to the warlike effect -thus produced. Oude was the great storehouse for recruits for the -Company’s native army; and this naturally gave a martial bent to the -people. The Company, however, deemed it a wise precaution to disarm the -peaceful citizens at the time of the annexation. - -Three or four structures in and near Lucknow require separate -description. One is the Shah Nujeef, or Emanbarra of Azof-u-Dowlah, a -model of fantastic but elegant Mohammedan architecture. English -travellers have poured out high praise upon it. Lord Valentia said: -‘From the brilliant white of the composition, and the minute delicacy of -the workmanship, an enthusiast might suppose that genii had been the -artificers;’ while Bishop Heber declared: ‘I have never seen an -architectural view which pleased me more, from its richness and variety, -as well as the proportions and general good taste of its principal -features.’ The structure consists of many large buildings surrounding -two open courts. There are three archways to connect the courts; and in -the centre of these is the tomb of the founder, watched by soldiers, and -attended by moullahs perpetually reading the Koran. This structure is -often called the king’s Emanbarra or Imaumbarah, a name given to the -buildings raised by that sect of Moslems called Sheahs, for the -celebration of the religious festival of the Mohurrum. Every family of -distinction has its own emanbarra, large or small, gorgeous or simple, -according to the wealth of its owner, who generally selects it as his -own burial-place. The central hall of the Shah Nujeef, the king’s -emanbarra, is of vast size and very magnificent; and the combination of -Moslem minarets with Hindoo-pointed domes renders the exterior -remarkably striking; nevertheless the splendour is diminished by the -poverty of the materials, which are chiefly brick coated with chunam or -clay cement. Near or connected with this building is the Roumee Durwaza -or Gate of the Sultan, having an arch in the Saracenic style. Another -public building is the mosque of Saadut Ali, one of the former nawabs of -Oude; its lofty dome presents a remarkable object as seen from various -parts of the city; and, being provided with terraces without and -galleries within, it is especially attractive to a sight-seer. Southeast -of the city, and near the river, is a fantastic mansion constructed by -Claude Martine, a French adventurer who rose to great wealth and power -at the late court of Lucknow. He called it Constantia, and adorned it -with various kinds of architectural eccentricities—minute stucco -fretwork, enormous lions with lamps instead of eyes, mandarins and -ladies with shaking heads, gods and goddesses of heathen mythology, and -other incongruities. The house is large, and solidly built of stone; and -on the topmost story is the tomb of Martine; but his body is deposited -in a sarcophagus in one of the lower apartments. The favourite residence -of the former nawabs and kings of Oude was the Dil Koosha or ‘Heart’s -Delight,’ a richly adorned palace two miles out of the city, and placed -in the middle of an extensive deer-park. When Colonel (afterwards -General Sir James) Outram was appointed British resident at the court of -Lucknow, about a year before the annexation, the Dil Koosha was set -apart for his reception; and the whole ceremonial illustrated at once -the show and glitter of oriental processions, and the honour paid to the -Englishman. As soon as the colonel arrived at Cawnpore from Calcutta, -the great officers of state were sent from Lucknow to prepare for his -reception. After crossing the Ganges, and thereby setting foot in the -Oude dominions, he entered a royal carriage replete with gold and -velvet; a procession was formed of carriages, cavalry, and artillery, -which followed the fifty miles of road to the capital. On the next day, -the king was to have met the colonel half-way between the city palace -and the Dil Koosha; but being ill, his place was taken by the -heir-apparent. The one procession met the other, and then both entered -Lucknow in state. A Lucknow correspondent of a Bombay journal said: ‘Let -the reader imagine a procession of more than three hundred elephants and -camels, caparisoned and decorated with all that barbaric pomp could -lavish, and Asiatic splendour shower down; with all the princes and -nobles of the kingdom blazing with jewels, gorgeous in apparel, with -footmen and horsemen in splendid liveries, swarming on all sides; -pennons and banners dancing in the sun’s rays, and a perfect forest of -gold and silver sticks, spears, and other insignia of imperial and royal -state.’ - -A work of remarkable character has appeared, relating to Lucknow and the -court of Oude. It is called the _Private Life of an Eastern King_, and -has been edited from the notes of an Englishman who held a position in -the household of the king of Oude, Nussir-u-Deen, in 1834 and following -years.[10] Though the name of the author does not appear, the work is -generally accepted as being trustworthy, so many corroborations of its -statements having appeared in other quarters. Speaking of the king’s -palace within the city, this writer says: ‘The great extent of the -buildings, generally called the king’s palace, surprised me in the first -instance. It is not properly a palace, but a continuation of palaces, -stretching all along the banks of the Goomtee, the river on which -Lucknow is built. In this, however, the royal residence in Oude but -resembles what one reads of the Seraglio at Constantinople, the khan’s -residence at Teheran, and the imperial buildings of Pekin. In all -oriental states, the palaces are not so much the abode of the sovereign -only, as the centre of the government: little towns, in fact, containing -extensive lines of buildings occupied by the harem and its vast number -of attendants; containing courts, gardens, tanks, fountains, and -squares, as well as the offices of the chief ministers of state. Such is -the case in Lucknow. One side of the narrow Goomtee—a river not much -broader than a middle-sized London street—is lined by the royal palace; -the other is occupied by the _rumna_ or park, in which the menagerie is -(or was) maintained.... There is nothing grand or striking about the -exterior of the palace, the Fureed Buksh, as it is called. Its extent is -the only imposing feature about it; and this struck me more forcibly -than any magnificence or loftiness of structure would have done.’ - -These few topographical and descriptive details concerning Oude and its -two capitals, the former and the present, will prepare us to enter upon -a subject touching immediately the present narrative: namely, the -relations existing between the East India Company and the Oudians, and -the causes which have generated disaffection in the late royal family of -that country. It will be needful to shew by what steps Oude, once a -Hindoo _kingdom_, became under the Mogul dynasty a Mohammedan -_nawabship_, then a _nawab-viziership_, then under British protection a -Mohammedan _kingdom_, and lastly an Anglo-Indian _province_. - -Whether or not historians are correct in asserting that Oude was an -independent Hindoo sovereignty fourteen hundred years before the -Christian era, and that then, for an indefinite number of centuries, it -was a Hindoo dependency of a prince whose chief seat of authority was at -Oojein—it seems to be admitted that Bakhtiar Khilzi, towards the close -of the twelfth century, was sent to conquer the country for the -Mohammedan sovereign at that time paramount in the north of India; and -that Oude became at once an integral part of the realm of the emperor of -Delhi. Under the powerful Baber, Oude was a lieutenancy or nawabship: -the ruler having sovereign power within his dominions, but being at the -same time a vassal of the Great Mogul. This state of things continued -until about a century ago, when the weakening of the central power at -Delhi tempted an ambitious nawab of Oude to throw off the trammels of -dependency, and exercise royalty on his own account. At that time the -Mohammedan rulers of many states in Northern India were troubled by the -inroads of the fierce warlike Mahrattas; and although the nawabs cared -little for their liege lord the emperor, they deemed it expedient to -join their forces against the common enemy. One result of this struggle -was, that the nawab of Oude was named ‘perpetual’ nawab—the first -loosening of the imperial chain. The nawab-vizier, as he was now called, -never afterwards paid much allegiance to the sovereign of Delhi: nay, -the effete Mogul, in 1764, asked the British to defend him from his -ambitious and disobedient neighbour. This assistance was so effectively -given, that in the next year the nawab-vizier was forced to sue humbly -for peace, and to give up some of his possessions as the price of it. -One among many stipulations of the East India Company, in reference to -the military forces allowed to be maintained by native princes, was made -in 1768, when the nawab-vizier was limited to an army of 35,000 troops; -namely, 10,000 cavalry, 10,000 sepoys or infantry, 5000 matchlockmen, -500 artillery, and 9500 irregulars. In 1773, Warren Hastings had become -so completely involved in the perplexities of Indian politics, and made -treaties so unscrupulously if he could thereby advance the interests of -the Company—that Company which he served with a zeal worthy of a better -cause—that he plotted with the nawab-vizier against the poor decrepit -Mogul: the nawab to obtain much additional power and territory, and the -British to obtain large sums of money for assisting him. When the next -nawab-vizier, Azof-u-Dowlah, assumed power in Oude in 1775, he hastened -to strengthen himself by an alliance with the now powerful British; he -gave up to them some territory; they agreed to protect him, and to -provide a certain contingent of troops, for which he was to pay an -annual sum. This was the complicated way in which the Company gained a -footing in so many Indian provinces and kingdoms. It was in 1782 that -that shameful proceeding took place, which—though Warren Hastings -obtained an acquittal concerning it at his celebrated trial in the House -of Lords—has indubitably left a stain upon his name; namely, the -spoliation of two begums or princesses of Oude, and the cruel -punishment, almost amounting to torture, of some of their dependents. -The alleged cause was an arrear in the payment of the annual sum due -from the nawab. Even if the debt were really due, the mode of extorting -the money, and the selection of the persons from whom it was extorted, -can never be reconciled to the principles of even-handed justice. The -truth may be compressed into a short sentence—the Company being terribly -in want of money to carry on a war against Hyder Ali, the -governor-general determined to obtain a supply from some or other of the -native princes in Northern India; and those natives being often -faithless, he did not hesitate to become faithless to them. During the -remainder of the century, the Company increased more and more its -‘protection’ of the nawab-vizier, and received larger and larger sums in -payment for that protection. Azof-u-Dowlah was succeeded in 1797 by -Vizier Ali, and he in 1798 by Saadut Ali. - -We come now to the present century. In 1801, the Marquis Wellesley -placed the relations with Oude on a new footing: he relinquished a claim -to any further subsidy from the nawab-vizier, but obtained instead the -rich districts of Allahabad, Azimghur, Goruckpore, and the Southern -Doab, estimated to yield an annual revenue of nearly a million and a -half sterling. Oude was larger than England before this date; but the -marquis took nearly half of it by this transaction. Matters remained -without much change till 1814, when Saadut Ali was succeeded by -Ghazee-u-Deen Hyder. During the war between the British and the -Nepaulese, soon afterwards, the nawab-vizier of Oude lent the Company -two millions sterling, and received in return the Terai or -jungle-country between Oude and Nepaul. A curious system of exchanges, -this; for after receiving rich districts instead of money, the Company -received money in return for a poor district inhabited chiefly by wild -beasts. In 1819, the Company allowed Ghazee-u-Deen Hyder to renounce the -vassal-title of nawab-vizier, which was a mockery as connected with the -suzerainty of the now powerless Emperor of Delhi, and to become _King_ -of Oude—a king, however, with a greater king at his elbow in the person -of the British resident at the court of Lucknow. The Company again -became a borrower from Ghazee, during the Mahratta and Burmese wars. In -1827, the throne of Oude was ascended by Nussir-u-Deen Hyder—an aspirant -to the throne who was favoured in his pretensions by the Company, and -who was, as a consequence, in bitter animosity with most of his -relations during the ten years of his reign. Complicated monetary -arrangements were frequently made with the Company, the nature and -purport of which are not always clearly traceable; but they generally -had the effect of increasing the power of the Company in Oude. On the -death of Nussir, in 1837, a violent struggle took place for the throne. -He, like other eastern princes, had a large number of sons; but the -Company would not acknowledge the legitimacy of any one of them; and the -succession therefore fell upon Mahomed Ali Shah, uncle to the deceased -sovereign. The begum or chief wife of Nussir fomented a rebellion to -overturn this arrangement; and it cost Colonel (afterwards General) Low, -resident at Lucknow, much trouble to preserve peace among the wrangling -members of the royal family. - -Now approaches the arrangement which led to the change of rulers. Oude -had been most miserably governed during many years. The king and his -relations, his courtiers and his dependents, grasped for money as a -substitute for the political power which they once possessed; and in the -obtainment of this money they scrupled at no atrocities against the -natives. The court, too, was steeped in debaucheries of the most -licentious kind, outraging the decencies of life, and squandering wealth -on the minions who ministered to its pleasures. The more thoughtful and -large-hearted among the Company’s superior servants saw here what they -had so often seen elsewhere: that when the Company virtually took -possession of a native state, and pensioned off the chief and his -family, a moral deterioration followed; he was not allowed to exercise -real sovereignty; he became more intensely selfish, because he had -nothing to be proud of, even if he wished to govern well; and he took -refuge in the only oriental substitute—sensual enjoyment. When Mahomed -Ali Shah died in 1842, and his son, Umjud Ali Shah, was sanctioned by -the Company as king, a pledge was exacted and a threat foreshadowed: the -pledge was, that such reforms should be made by the king as would -contribute to the tranquillity and just government of the country; the -threat was, that if he did _not_ do this, the sovereignty would be put -an end to, and the Company would take the government into its own hands. -In 1847, Umjud Ali Shah was succeeded by his son, Wajid Ali Shah: a king -who equalled or surpassed his predecessors in weakness and profligacy, -and under whom the state of matters went from bad to worse. The Marquis -of Dalhousie was governor-general when matters arrived at a crisis. -There can be no question that the Company, whatever may be said about -aggressive views, wished to see the millions of Oude well and happily -governed; and it is equally unquestionable that this wish had not been -gratified. The engagement with Umjud Ali Shah had assumed this form: ‘It -is hereby provided that the King of Oude will take into his immediate -and earnest consideration, in concert with the British resident, the -best means of remedying the existing defects in the police, and in the -judicial and revenue administration of his dominions; and that if his -majesty should neglect to attend to the advice and counsel of the -British government or its local representative, and if (which God -forbid!) gross and systematic oppression, anarchy, and misrule, should -hereafter at any time prevail within the Oude dominions, such as -seriously to endanger the public tranquillity, the British government -reserves to itself the right of appointing its own officers to the -management of whatsoever portion of the Oude territory, either to a -small or great extent, in which such misrule as that above alluded to -may have occurred, for so long a period as it may deem necessary.’ The -marquis, finding that thirteen years had presented no improvement in the -internal government of Oude, resolved to adopt decisive measures. He -drew up a treaty, whereby the administration of the territory of Oude -was to be transferred to the British government: ample provision being -made for the dignity, affluence, and honour of the king and his family. -The king refused to sign the treaty, not admitting the allegations or -suppositions on which it was based; whereupon the marquis, acting with -the sanction of the Company and of the imperial government in London, -announced all existing treaties to be null and void, and issued a -proclamation declaring that the government of the territories of Oude -was henceforth vested exclusively and for ever in the East India -Company. The governor-general in his minute, it will be remembered, -spoke of this transfer of power in the following brief terms: ‘The -kingdom of Oude has been assumed in perpetual government by the -Honourable East India Company; in pursuance of a policy which has so -recently been under the consideration of the Honourable Court, that I -deem it unnecessary to refer to it more particularly here.’ - -Everything tends to shew that the king violently opposed this loss of -his regal title and power. When the governor-general and the resident at -Lucknow waited on him with the draft of the proposed treaty, towards the -close of 1855, he not only refused to sign it, but announced his -intention to proceed to England, with a view of obtaining justice from -Queen Victoria against the Company. This the marquis would not prevent; -but he intimated that the king must travel, and be treated by the -Company’s servants, as a _private individual_, if he adopted this step. -The stipend for the royal family was fixed by the Company—of course -without the consent of the king and his relations—at £120,000 per annum. -The reasons for putting an end to the title of King of Oude were thus -stated, in a document addressed by the directors of the East India -Company to the governor-general of India in council, many months after -the transfer of power had been effected, and only a short time before -the commencement of the Revolt: ‘Half a century ago, our new and -critical position among the Mohammedans of Northwestern India compelled -us to respect the titular dignity of the Kings of Delhi. But the -experiences of that half-century have abundantly demonstrated the -inconveniences of suffering an empty nominal sovereignty to descend from -generation to generation; and the continuance of such a phantom of power -must be productive of inconvenience to our government, and we believe of -more mortification than gratification to the royal pensioners -themselves. It fosters humiliating recollections; it engenders delusive -hopes; it is the fruitful source of intrigues that end in disappointment -and disgrace. The evil is not limited to the effect produced upon the -members of the royal house: prone to intrigue themselves, they become -also a centre for the intrigues of others. It is natural, also, that the -younger members of such a family should feel a greater repugnance than -they otherwise would to mix with the community and become industrious -and useful subjects. Strongly impressed with these convictions, we -therefore observe with satisfaction that no pledge or promise of any -kind with regard to the recognition by our government of the kingly -title after the death of the present titular sovereign, Wajid Ali Shah, -has been made to him or to his heirs.’ The reasoning in this declaration -is probably sound; but it does not apply, and was not intended to apply, -to the original aggressive movements of the Company. Because the shadow -of sovereignty is not worth retaining without the substance, it does not -necessarily follow that the Company was right in taking the substance -fifty-five years earlier: that proceeding must be attacked or defended -on its own special ground, by any one who wishes to enter the arena of -Indian politics. - -It appears from this document, that four of the British authorities at -Calcutta—the Marquis of Dalhousie, General Anson, Mr Dorin, and Mr -Grant—had concurred in opinion that, as the king refused to sign the -treaty, he should, as a punishment, be denied many of the privileges -promised by that treaty. They proposed that the annual stipend of twelve -lacs of rupees (£120,000) should be ‘reserved for consideration’ after -the demise of the king—that is, that it should not necessarily be a -perpetual hereditary stipend. To this, however, Colonel Low, who had -been British resident at Lucknow, very earnestly objected. He urged that -the king’s sons were so young, that they could not, in any degree, be -blamed for his conduct in not signing the proposed treaty; that they -ought not to be made to lose their inheritance through the father’s -fault; that the father, the king, would in any case be pretty severely -punished for his obstinacy; and that it would not be worthy of a great -paramount state, coming into possession of a rich territory, to refuse a -liberal stipend to the descendants of the king. These representations -were listened to, and a pension to the amount already named was granted -to the king and his heirs—‘not heirs according to Mohammedan usages, but -only those persons who may be direct male descendants of the present -king, born in lawful wedlock.’ A difficult duty was left to the Calcutta -government, to decide how many existing persons had a claim to be -supported out of the pension, seeing that an eastern king’s family is -generally one of great magnitude; and that, although he has many wives -and many children, they fill various ranks in relation to legitimacy. -The Company proposed, if the king liked the plan, that one-third of the -pension should be commuted into a capital sum, with which jaghires or -estates might be bought, and vested in the family for the use of the -various members—making them, in fact, zemindars or landed proprietors, -having something to do instead of leading lives of utter idleness. In -what light the directors viewed the large and important army of Oude, -will be noticed presently; but in reference to the transfer of -mastership itself, they said: ‘An expanse of territory embracing an area -of nearly twenty-five thousand square miles, and containing five million -of inhabitants, has passed from its native prince to the Queen of -England without the expenditure of a drop of blood, and almost without a -murmur. The peaceable manner in which this great change has been -accomplished, and the tranquillity which has since prevailed in all -parts of the country, are circumstances which could not fail to excite -in us the liveliest emotions of thankfulness and pleasure.’ This was -written, be it remembered—and the fact is full of instruction touching -the miscalculations of the Company—less than two months before the -cartridge troubles began, and while the mysterious chupatties were -actually in circulation from hand to hand. - -The deposed King of Oude did not go to England, as he had threatened; he -went to Calcutta, and took up his abode, in April 1856, at Garden Reach, -in the outskirts of that city, attended by his late prime minister, Ali -Nuckee Khan, and by several followers. The queen, however, achieved the -adventurous journey to the British capital, taking with her a numerous -retinue. This princess was not, in accordance with European usages, the -real Queen of Oude; she was rather a sort of queen-dowager, the king’s -mother, and was accompanied by the king’s brother and the king’s son—the -one claiming to be heir-presumptive, the other heir-apparent. All felt a -very lively interest in the maintenance of the regal power and revenues -among the members of the family, and came to England in the hope of -obtaining a reversal of the governor-general’s decree. They left Lucknow -in the spring of 1856, and arrived in England in August. An attempt was -made by an injudicious agent to enlist public sympathy for them by an -open-air harangue at Southampton. He bade his hearers picture to -themselves the suppliant for justice, ‘an aged queen, brought up in all -the pomp and luxury of the East, the soles of whose feet were scarcely -allowed to tread the ground, laying aside the prejudices of travel, and -undertaking a journey of some ten thousand miles, to appeal to the -people of England for justice;’ and the ‘fellow-countrymen’ were then -exhorted to give ‘three cheers’ for the royal family of Oude—which they -undoubtedly did, in accordance with the usual custom of an English -assemblage when so exhorted; but this momentary excitement soon ceased, -and the oriental visitors settled in London for a lengthened residence. -What official interviews or correspondence took place concerning the -affairs of Oude, was not publicly known; but there was an evident -disinclination on the part both of the government and the two Houses of -parliament to hold out any hopes of a reversal of the policy adopted by -the East India Company; and the ex-royal family of Oude maintained no -hold on the public mind, except so far as the turbaned and robed -domestics attracted the attention of metropolitan sight-seers. In what -fashion these suppliants disowned and ignored the Revolt in India, a -future chapter will shew. - -The reader will, then, picture to himself the state of Oude at the -period when the Revolt commenced. The deposed king was at Calcutta; his -mother and other relations were in London; while the whole governing -power was in the hands of the Company’s servants. Sir Henry Lawrence, a -man in whom sagacity, energy, and nobleness of heart were remarkably -combined, had succeeded Sir James Outram as resident, or rather -chief-commissioner, and now held supreme sway at Lucknow. - -It is important here to know in what light the East India Company -regarded the native army of Oude, at and soon after the annexation. In -the directors’ minute, of December 1856, just on the eve of disturbances -which were quite unexpected by them, the subject was thus touched upon: -‘The probable temper of the army, a force computed on paper at some -60,000 men of all arms, on the announcement of a measure which threw a -large proportion of them out of employment, and transferred the -remainder to a new master, was naturally a source of some anxiety to us. -In your scheme for the future government and administration of the Oude -provinces, drawn up on the 4th of February, you proposed the -organisation of an Oude irregular force, into which you suggested the -absorption of as large a number of the disbanded soldiers of the king as -could be employed in such a corps, whilst others were to be provided for -in the military and district police; but you observed at the same time -that these arrangements would not absorb one-half of the disbanded -troops. To the remainder you determined to grant pensions and -gratuities, graduated according to length of service. There were no -better means than these of palliating a difficulty which could not be -avoided. But only partial success was to be expected from so partial a -measure. As a further precaution, the chief-commissioner deemed it -expedient to promise pensions of one hundred rupees per month to the -commandants of the regiments of the late king, some sixty in number, -conditional on their lending their cordial co-operation to the -government in this crisis, and provided that their regiments remained -quiet and loyal. We recognise the force of the chief-commissioner’s -argument in support of these grants; and are willing to adopt his -suggestion that, in the event of any of these men accepting office as -tuhseeldars or other functionaries under our government, the amount of -their pensions should still be paid to them.’ It was found that the King -of Oude had allowed the pay of his soldiers to run into arrear. On this -point the directors said: ‘The army, a large number of whom are -necessarily thrown out of employment, and who cannot immediately find, -even if the habits of their past lives fitted them for, industrial -occupations, are peculiarly entitled to liberal consideration. It is -doubtless true that, as stated by the chief-commissioner, the soldiery -of Oude have “fattened on rapine and plunder;” and it is certain that -the servants of the Oude government enriched themselves at the expense -of the people. But this was only part of the system under which they -lived; nothing better, indeed, was to be expected from men whose pay, -after it had been tardily extracted from the treasury, was liable to be -withheld from them by a fraudulent minister. Whatever may have been the -past excesses and the illicit gains of the soldiers, it was the duty of -the British government in this conjuncture to investigate their claims -to the arrears of regular pay alleged to be due to them by the Oude -government, and, having satisfied ourselves of the justice of these -claims, to discharge the liabilities in full. We observe with -satisfaction that this has been done.... We concur, moreover, in the -very judicious remark made by Viscount Canning, in his minute of the 5th -of March, “that a few lacs[11] spent in closing the account, without -injustice, and even liberality, will be well repaid if we can thereby -smooth down discontent and escape disturbance.”’ - -The plan adopted, therefore, was to disband the army of the deposed -king, pay up the arrears due by him to the soldiers, re-enlist some of -the discharged men to form a new Oude force in the Company’s service, -and give pensions or gratuities to the remainder. - -We are now in a condition to follow the course of events at Lucknow -during the months of April and May 1857: events less mutinous and -tragical than those at Meerut and Delhi, but important for their -consequences in later months. - -It was in the early part of April that the incident occurred at Lucknow -concerning a medicine-bottle, briefly adverted to in a former chapter: -shewing the existence of an unusually morbid feeling on the subjects of -religion and caste. Dr Wells having been seen to taste some medicine -which he was about to administer to a sick soldier, to test its quality, -the Hindoos near at hand refused to partake of it, lest the taint of a -Christian mouth should degrade their caste. They complained to Colonel -Palmer, of the 48th native regiment, who, as he believed and hoped, -adopted a conciliatory course that removed all objection. This hope was -not realised, however; for on that same night the doctor’s bungalow was -fired and destroyed by some of the sepoys, whom no efforts could -identify. Very soon afterwards, nearly all the huts of the 13th regiment -were burned down, under similarly mysterious circumstances. - -Sir Henry Lawrence’s difficulties began with the vexatious -cartridge-question, as was the case in so many other parts of India. -Towards the close of April, Captain Watson found that many of the -recruits or younger men in his regiment, the 7th Oude infantry, evinced -a reluctance to bite the cartridges. Through some oversight, the new -method of tearing instead of biting had not been shewn to the sepoys at -Lucknow; and there was therefore sufficient reason for adopting a -conciliatory course in explaining the matter to them. The morbid feeling -still, however, remained. On the 1st of May, recusancy was again -exhibited, followed by an imprisonment of some of the recruits in the -quarter-guard. The native officers of the regiment came forward to -assure Captain Watson that this disobedience was confined to the -‘youngsters,’ and that the older sepoys discountenanced it. He believed -them, or seemed to do so. On the 2d he addressed the men, pointing out -the folly of the conduct attributed to the young recruits, and exhorting -them to behave more like true soldiers. Though listened to respectfully, -he observed so much sullenness and doggedness among the troops, that he -brought the matter under the notice of his superior officer, Brigadier -Grey. The native officers, when put to the test, declined taking any -steps to enforce obedience; they declared their lives to be in danger -from the men under them, should they do so. The brigadier, accompanied -by Captains Watson and Barlow, at once went to the lines, had the men -drawn up in regular order, and put the question to each company singly, -whether it was willing to use the same cartridges _which had all along -been employed_. They refused. The brigadier left them to arrange plans -for the morrow; placing them, however, under safe guard for the night. -On the morning of the 3d, the grenadier company (picked or most skilful -company) of the regiment went through the lines, threatening to kill -some of the European officers; and soon afterwards the tumult became so -serious, that the fulfilment of the threat seemed imminent. By much -entreaty, the officers, European and native, allayed in some degree the -excitement of the men. While this was going on, however, at the post or -station of Moosa Bagh, a messenger was sent by the intriguers of the 7th -regiment to the cantonment at Murreeoun, with a letter inciting the 48th -native infantry to join them in mutiny. This letter was fortunately -brought, by a subadar true to his duty, to Colonel Palmer, the -commandant. Prompt measures were at once resolved upon. A considerable -force—consisting of the 7th Oude cavalry, the 4th Oude infantry, -portions of the 48th and 71st Bengal infantry, a portion of the 7th -Bengal cavalry, a wing of her Majesty’s 32d, and a field-battery of -guns—was sent from the cantonment to the place where the recusants were -posted. The mutineers stood firm for some time; but when they saw cannon -pointed at them, some turned and fled with great rapidity, while others -quietly gave up their arms. The cavalry pursued and brought back some of -the fugitives. The 7th Oude irregular infantry regiment, about a -thousand strong, was thus suddenly broken into three fragments—one -escaped, one captured, and one disarmed. A letter from the Rev. Mr -Polehampton, chaplain to the English residents at Lucknow, affords one -among many proofs that Sunday was a favourite day for such outbreaks in -India—perhaps purposely so selected by the rebellious sepoys. The 3d of -May was Sunday: the chaplain was performing evening-service at the -church. ‘Towards the end of the prayers, a servant came into church, and -spoke first to Major Reid, of the 48th; and then to Mr Dashwood, of the -same regiment. They both went out, and afterwards others were called -away. The ladies began to look very uncomfortable; one or two went out -of church; one or two others crossed over the aisle to friends who were -sitting on the other side; so that altogether I had not a very attentive -congregation.’ When it was found that the officers had been called out -to join the force against the mutineers, the chaplain ‘felt very much -inclined to ride down to see what was going on; but as the Moosa Bagh is -seven miles from our house, and as I should have left my wife all alone, -I stayed where I was. I thought of what William III. said when he was -told that the Bishop of Derry had been shot at the ford at the Battle of -the Boyne, “What took him there?”’ - -The course of proceeding adopted by Sir Henry Lawrence on this occasion -was quite of an oriental character, as if suggested by one who well knew -the Indian mind. He held a grand military durbar, to reward the faithful -as well as to awe the mutinous. In the first instance he had said that -the government would be advised to disband the regiment, with a -provision for re-enlisting those who had not joined the rebels; but -pending the receipt of instructions from Calcutta, he held his durbar -(court; levee; hall of audience). Four native soldiers—a havildar-major, -a subadar, and a sepoy of the 48th regiment, and a sepoy of the 13th—who -had proved themselves faithful in an hour of danger, were to be -rewarded. The lawn in front of the residency was carpeted, and chairs -were arranged on three sides of a square for some of the native officers -and sepoys; while a large verandah was filled with European officials, -civil and military, upwards of twenty in number. Sir Henry opened the -proceedings with an address in the Hindostani language, full of point -and vigour. After a gorgeous description of the power and wealth of the -British nation—overwrought, perhaps, for an English ear, but well suited -to the occasion—he adverted to the freedom of conscience in British -India on matters of religion: ‘Those amongst you who have perused the -records of the past must well know that Alumghir in former times, and -Hyder Ali in later days, forcibly converted thousands and thousands of -Hindoos, desecrated their fanes, demolished their temples, and carried -ruthless devastation amongst the household gods. Come to our times; many -here present well know that Runjeet Singh never permitted his Mohammedan -subjects to call the pious to prayer—never allowed the Afghan to sound -from the lofty minarets which adorn Lahore, and which remain to this day -a monument to their munificent founders. The year before last a Hindoo -could not have dared to build a temple in Lucknow. All this is changed. -Who is there that would dare _now_ to interfere with our Hindoo or -Mohammedan subjects?’ He contrasted this intolerance of Mohammedan and -Hindoo rulers in matters of religion with the known scruples of the -British government; and told his hearers that the future would be like -the present, in so far as concerns the freedom of all religions over the -whole of India. He rebuked and spurned the reports which had been -circulated among the natives, touching meditated insult to their faith -or their castes. He adverted to the gallant achievements of the -Company’s native troops during a hundred years of British rule; and told -how it pained him to think that disbandment of such troops had been -found necessary at Barrackpore and Berhampore. And then he presented the -bright side of his picture: ‘Now turn to these good and faithful -soldiers—Subadar Sewak Tewaree, Havildar Heera Lall Doobey, and Sipahi -Ranura Doobey, of the 48th native infantry, and to Hossein Buksh, of the -13th regiment—who have set to you all a good example. The first three at -once arrested the bearer of a seditious letter, and brought the whole -circumstance to the notice of superior authority. You know well what the -consequences were, and what has befallen the 7th Oude irregular -infantry, more than fifty of whose sirdars and soldiers are now in -confinement, and the whole regiment awaits the decision of government as -to its fate. Look at Hossein Buksh of the 13th, fine fellow as he is! Is -he not a good and faithful soldier? Did he not seize three villains who -are now in confinement and awaiting their doom. It is to reward such -fidelity, such acts and deeds as I have mentioned, and of which you are -all well aware, that I have called you all together this day—to assure -you that those who are faithful and true to their salt will always be -amply rewarded and well cared for; that the great government which we -all serve is prompt to reward, swift to punish, vigilant and eager to -protect its faithful subjects; but firm, determined, resolute to crush -all who may have the temerity to rouse its vengeance.’ After a further -exhortation to fidelity, a further declaration of the power and -determination of the government to deal severely with all disobedient -troops, Sir Henry arrived at the climax of his impassioned and vigorous -address: ‘Advance, Subadar Sewak Tewaree—come forward, havildar and -sepoys—and receive these splendid gifts from the government which is -proud to number you amongst its soldiers. Accept these honorary sabres; -you have won them well: long may you live to wear them in honour! Take -these sums of money for your families and relatives; wear these robes of -honour at your homes and your festivals; and may the bright example -which you have so conspicuously set, find, as it doubtless will, -followers in every regiment and company in the army.’ To the subadar and -the havildar-major were presented each, a handsomely decorated sword, a -pair of elegant shawls, a choogah or cloak, and four pieces of -embroidered cloth; to the other two men, each, a decorated sword, a -turban, pieces of cloth, and three hundred rupees in cash. Hossein Buksh -was also made a naik or corporal. - -Let not the reader judge this address and these proceedings by an -English standard. Sir Henry Lawrence knew well what he was doing; for -few of the Company’s servants ever had a deeper insight into the native -character than that eminent man. There had been, in the Company’s -general system, too little punishment for misconduct, too little reward -for faithfulness, among the native troops: knowing this, he adopted a -different policy, so far as he was empowered to do. - -When the news of the Lucknow disturbance reached Calcutta, a course was -adopted reminding us of the large amount of written correspondence -involved in the mode of managing public affairs. The governor-general, -it may here be explained, was assisted by a supreme council, consisting -of four persons, himself making a fifth; and the council was aided by -four secretaries, for the home, the foreign, the military, and the -financial affairs of India. All these officials were expected to make -their inquiries, communicate their answers, state their opinions, and -notify their acts in writing, for the information of the Court of -Directors and the Board of Control in London; and this is one reason why -parliamentary papers touching Indian affairs are often so voluminous. At -the period in question, Viscount Canning, Mr Dorin, General Low, Mr -Grant, and Mr Peacock, were the five members of council, each and all of -whom prepared ‘minutes’ declaratory of their opinions whether Sir Henry -Lawrence had done right or wrong in threatening to disband the mutinous -7th regiment. The viscount wished to support the chief-commissioner at -once, in a bold method of dealing with the disaffected. Mr Dorin went -further. He said: ‘My theory is that no corps mutinies that is well -commanded;’ he wished that some censure should be passed on the English -officers of the 7th, and that the men of that regiment should receive -more severe treatment than mere disbanding. General Low advocated a -course midway between the other two; but at the same time deemed it -right to inquire how it happened that the men had been required to bite -the cartridges; seeing that instructions had already been issued from -head-quarters that the platoon exercises should be conducted without -this necessity. Mr Grant’s minute was very long; he wanted more time, -more reports, more examinations, and was startled at the promptness with -which Lawrence had proposed to act. Mr Peacock also wanted further -information before deciding on the plan proposed by the ruling authority -at Oude. The governor-general’s minute was written on the 9th; the other -four commented on it on the 10th; the governor-general replied to their -comments on the 11th; and they commented on his reply on the 12th. Thus -it arose that the tedious system of written minutes greatly retarded the -progress of business at Calcutta. - -There cannot be a better opportunity than the present for adverting to -the extraordinary services rendered by the electric telegraph in India -during the early stages of the Revolt, when the mutineers had not yet -carried to any great extent their plan of cutting the wires. We have -just had occasion to describe the routine formalities in the mode of -conducting business at Calcutta; but it would be quite indefensible to -withhold admiration from the electro-telegraphic system established by -the East India Company. This matter was touched upon in the -Introduction; and the middle of May furnished wonderful illustrations of -the value of the lightning-messenger. Let us fix our attention on two -days only—the 16th and 17th of May—less than one week after the -commencement of violent scenes at Meerut and Delhi. Let us picture to -ourselves Viscount Canning at Calcutta, examining every possible scheme -for sending up reinforcements to the disturbed districts; Sir John -Lawrence at Lahore, keeping the warlike population of the Punjaub in -order by his mingled energy and tact; Sir Henry Lawrence at Lucknow, -surrounded by Oudians, whom it required all his skill to baffle; Mr -Colvin at Agra, watching with an anxious eye the state of affairs in the -Northwest Provinces; General Anson at Simla, preparing, as -commander-in-chief, to hasten down to the Delhi district; Lord -Elphinstone at Bombay, as governor of that presidency; and Lord Harris, -filling an analogous office at Madras. Bearing in mind these persons and -places, let us see what was done by the electric telegraph on those two -busy days—deriving our information from the voluminous but ill-arranged -parliamentary papers on the affairs of India: papers almost useless -without repeated perusals and collations. - -First, then, the 16th of May. Sir Henry Lawrence sent one of his pithy, -terse telegrams[12] from Lucknow to Calcutta, to this effect: ‘All is -quiet here, but affairs are critical; get every European you can from -China, Ceylon, and elsewhere; also all the Goorkhas from the hills. Time -is precious.’ On the same day he sent another: ‘Give me plenary military -power in Oude; I will not use it unnecessarily. I am sending two troops -of cavalry to Allahabad. Send a company of Europeans into the fort -there. It will be good to raise regiments of irregular horse, under good -officers.’ In the reverse direction—from Calcutta to Lucknow—this -message was sent: ‘It appears that the regiment of Ferozpore [Sikhs] has -already marched to Allahabad, and that, under present circumstances, no -part of that regiment can be spared.’ And another, in like manner -answering a telegram of the same day: ‘You have full military powers. -The governor-general will support you in everything you think necessary. -It is impossible to send a European company to Allahabad; Dinapoor must -not be weakened by a single man. If you can raise any irregulars that -you can trust, do so at once. Have you any good officers to spare for -the duty?’ All this, be it remembered was telegraphed to and from two -cities six or seven hundred miles apart. On the same day, questions were -asked, instructions requested, and information given, between Calcutta, -on the one hand, and Agra, Gwalior, Meerut, Cawnpore, and Benares on the -other. Passing thence to Bombay—twelve hundred miles from Calcutta by -road, and very much more by telegraph-route—we find the two governors -conversing through the wires concerning the English troops which had -just been fighting in Persia, and those about being sent to China; all -of whom were regarded with a longing eye by the governor-general at that -critical time. Viscount Canning telegraphed to Lord Elphinstone on the -16th: ‘Two of the three European regiments which are returning from -Persia are urgently wanted in Bengal. If they are sent from Bombay to -Kurachee, will they find conveyance up the Indus? Are they coming from -Bushire in steam or sailing transports? Let me know immediately whether -General Ashburnham is going to Madras.’ The general here named was to -have commanded the troops destined for China. The replies and -counter-replies to this on the 17th, we will mention presently. Lord -Harris, on this same day of activity, sent the brief telegram: ‘The -Madras Fusiliers will be sent immediately by _Zenobia_; but she is -hardly fit to take a whole regiment.’ This was in reply to a request -transmitted shortly before. - -[Illustration: - - SIR HENRY LAWRENCE. -] - -[Illustration: - - Residency at Lucknow. -] - -Next, the 17th of May. Sir Henry Lawrence telegraphed from Lucknow: ‘You -are quite right to keep Allahabad safe. We shall do without Sikhs or -Goorkhas. We have concentrated the troops as much as possible, so as to -protect the treasury and magazine, and keep up a communication. A false -alarm last night.’ He sent another, detailing what he had done in -managing the turbulent 7th regiment. In the reverse direction, a message -was sent to him, that ‘The artillery invalids at Chunar, about 109 in -number, have been ordered to proceed to Allahabad immediately.’ The -telegrams were still more numerous than on the 16th, between the various -towns mentioned in the last paragraph, in Northern India. From Bombay, -Lord Elphinstone telegraphed to ask whether an extra mail-steamer should -be sent off to Suez with news for England; and added: ‘The 64th will -arrive in a few days from Bushire; their destination is Bengal; but we -can keep them here available, or send them round to Calcutta if you wish -it.’ To which the governor-general replied from Calcutta, still on the -same day, expressing his wishes about the mail, and adding: ‘If you can -send the 64th to Calcutta by steam, do so without any delay. If steam is -not available, I will wait for an answer to my last message before -deciding that they shall come round in sailing-vessels. Let me know when -you expect the other European regiments and the artillery, and what -steam-vessels will be available for their conveyance. Have you at -present a steam-vessel that could go to Galle to bring troops from there -to Calcutta? This must not interfere with the despatch of the 64th.’ -Another, from Lord Elphinstone, on the very same day, announced that the -best of the Indus boats were in Persia; that it would be impossible to -send up three European regiments from Kurachee to the Punjaub, within -any reasonable time, by the Indus boats then available; that he -nevertheless intended to send one regiment, the 1st Europeans, by that -route; and that the 2d Europeans were daily expected from Persia. He -further said: ‘Shall I send them round to Calcutta; and shall I send the -78th also? General Ashburnham leaves this to-day by the steamer for -Galle, where he expects to meet Lord Elgin; he is not going to Madras.’ -While this was going on between Calcutta and Bombay, Madras was not -idle. The governor-general telegraphed to Lord Harris, to inform him of -the mutiny, on the previous day, of the Sappers and Miners who went from -Roorkee to Meerut; and another on the same day, replying to a previous -telegram, said: ‘If the _Zenobia_ cannot bring all the Fusiliers, the -remainder might be sent in the _Bentinck_, which will be at Madras on -the 26th; but send as many in the _Zenobia_ as she will safely hold. Let -me know when the _Zenobia_ sails, and what force she brings.’ If we had -selected three days instead of two, as illustrating the wonders of the -electric telegraph, we should have had to narrate that on the third day, -the 18th of May, Lord Harris announced that the Fusiliers would leave -Madras that evening; that Viscount Canning thanked him for his great -promptness; that Lord Elphinstone received instructions to send one of -the three regiments up the Indus, and the other two round to Calcutta; -that he asked and received suggestions about managing a Beloochee -regiment at Kurachee; and that messages in great number were transmitted -to and from Calcutta, Benares, Allahabad, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Agra, and -other large towns. - -The imagination becomes almost bewildered at contemplating such things. -Between the morning of the 16th of May and the evening of the 17th, the -great officers of the Company, situated almost at the extreme points of -the Indian empire—east, west, north, and south—were conversing through -four thousand miles of wire, making requests, soliciting advice, -offering services, discussing difficulties, weighing probabilities, -concerting plans; and all with a precision much greater than if they had -been writing letters to one another, in ordinary official form, in -adjoining rooms of the same building. It was, perhaps, the greatest -triumph ever achieved up to that time by the greatest of modern -inventions—the electric telegraph. - -We shall find the present part of the chapter an equally convenient -place in which to notice a series of operations strikingly opposed to -those just described—slow travelling as compared with quick telegraphy. -It is full of instruction to see how earnestly anxious Viscount Canning -was to send troops up to the northern provinces; and how he was baffled -by the tardiness of all travelling appliances in India. The railway was -opened only from Calcutta to Raneegunge, a very small portion of the -distance to the disturbed districts. The history of the peregrinations -of a few English troops in May will illustrate, and will receive -illustration from, the matters treated in Chapter I. - -The European 84th regiment, it will be remembered, had been hastily -brought from Rangoon in the month of March, to assist in disbanding the -sepoys who had shewn disaffection at Barrackpore and Berhampore. When -the troubles began at Meerut and Delhi, in May, it was resolved to send -on this regiment; and the governor-general found no part of his onerous -duties more difficult than that of obtaining _quick_ transmission for -those troops. On the 21st of May he telegraphed to Benares: ‘Pray -instruct the commissariat officer to prepare cooking-pots and other -arrangements for the 84th regiment, now on its way to Benares; and the -barrack department to have cots ready for them.’ On the 23d, Sir Henry -Lawrence asked: ‘When may her Majesty’s 84th be expected at Cawnpore?’ -to which an answer was sent on the following day: ‘It is impossible to -convey a wing of Europeans to Cawnpore (about six hundred and thirty -miles) in less time than twenty-five days. The government dâk and the -dâk companies are fully engaged in carrying a company of the 84th to -Benares, at the rate of 18 men a day. A wing of the Madras Fusiliers -arrived yesterday, and starts to-day; part by bullock-train, part by -steamer. The bullock-train can take 100 men per day, at the rate of -thirty miles a day. The entire regiment of the Fusiliers, about 900 -strong, cannot be collected at Benares in less than 19 or 20 days. About -150 men who go by steam will scarcely be there so soon. I expect, that -from this time forward troops will be pushed upwards at the rate of 100 -men a day from Calcutta; each batch taking ten days to reach Benares; -from Benares they will be distributed as most required. The regiments -from Pegu, Bombay, and Ceylon will be sent up in this way. Every bullock -and horse that is to be had, except just enough to carry the post, is -retained; and no troops will be sent by steam which can be sent more -quickly by other means.’ These details shew that Cawnpore and Benares -were both asking for troops at the same time; and that the -governor-general, even if he possessed the soldiers, had not the means -of sending them expeditiously. On the 24th, a message was sent to -Raneegunge, ordering that a company of Madras troops might be well -attended to, when they arrived by railway from Calcutta; and on the next -day, Benares received notice to prepare for four companies proceeding -thither by bullock-train, one company per day. The Benares commissioner -announced the arrival of _fifteen_ English soldiers, as if that were a -number to be proud of, and stated that he would send them on to -Cawnpore. (It will be seen, on reference to a map, that Benares lies in -the route to almost all the upper and western provinces, whether by road -or by river.) The Raneegunge agent telegraphed on the 26th: ‘If the men -reach Sheergotty, there is no difficulty in conveying them to Benares; -the only difficulty is between Raneegunge and Sheergotty. _Ekahs_ are -not, I think, adapted for Europeans; nor do I think that time would be -gained.’ An ekah or ecka, we may here remark, is a light pony-gig on two -wheels, provided with a cloth cushion on which the rider (usually a -native) sits cross-legged. It shews the nature of Indian travelling, to -find the officials discussing whether English soldiers should be thus -conveyed—one cushioned vehicle to convey each cross-legged soldier. At -Benares, the commissioner borrowed from the rajah the use of a house in -which to lodge the English troops as fast as they came; and he sent them -on by dâk to Allahabad and Cawnpore. Nevertheless Sir Henry Lawrence, -disturbed by ominous symptoms, wished for ekahs, dâks—anything that -would give him English soldiers. He telegraphed on this day: ‘I strongly -advise that as many ekah-dâks be laid as possible, from Raneegunge to -Cawnpore, to bring up European troops. _Spare no expense_;’ and on the -next day he received the reply: ‘Every horse and carriage, bullock and -cart, which could be brought upon the road, has been collected, and no -means of increasing the number will be neglected.’ On the 27th it was -announced from Benares that ‘the steamer had stuck,’ and that all the -land-dâks were being used that could possibly be procured. On the same -day the Allahabad commissioner spoke hopefully of his plan that—by the -aid of 1600 siege-train bullocks from that place, 600 from Cawnpore, the -government bullocks, the private wagon-trains, and magazine carts—he -might be able to send 160 Europeans per day up to Cawnpore. On the 28th, -the Calcutta authorities sent a telegram to Benares, to announce that -‘Up to the 1st of June seven dâk-carriages will be despatched daily, -with one officer and 18 soldiers. On the 1st of June, and daily -afterwards, there will be despatched nine dâk-carriages, with one -officer and 24 Europeans; and 28 bullock-carts, with one officer, 90 -Europeans, a few followers, and provisions to fill one cart. The -Calcutta steamer and flat, with four officers, 134 Europeans, and -proportion of followers; and the coal-steamer, with about the same -numbers, will reach Benares on the 10th or 11th of June.’ From this it -will be seen that a ‘dâk-carriage’ conveyed three soldiers, and a -‘bullock-cart’ also three, the ‘followers’ probably accompanying them on -foot. The Benares commissioner on the same day said: ‘Happily we have -good metalled roads all over this division’—thereby implying what would -have been the result if the roads were _not_ good. The use of bullocks -was more particularly adverted to in a telegram of the 30th of May: -‘Gun-bullocks would be most useful between Raneegunge and the Sone, if -they could be sent from Calcutta in time; if there are carts, the daily -dispatches can be increased; not otherwise. Gun-bullocks would save a -day, as they travel quicker than our little animals.’ Immediately -afterwards, forty-six elephants were sent from Patna, and one hundred -from Dacca and Barrackpore, to Sheergotty, to assist in the transport of -troops. On a later occasion, when more troops had arrived from England, -Viscount Canning sent two steamers from Calcutta to Pegu, to bring over -cargoes of elephants, to be used as draught-animals! - -Thus it continued, day after day—all the servants of the Company, civil -and military, calculating how long it would take to send driblets of -soldiers up the country; and all harassed by this dilemma—that what the -Ganges steamers gained in roominess, they lost by the sinuosities of the -river; and that what the dâks and bullock-trains gained by a direct -route, they lost by the inevitable slowness of such modes of conveyance, -and the smallness of the number of soldiers that could be carried at a -time. Thankful that they possessed telegraphs, the authorities had -little to be thankful for as concerned railways or roads, vehicles or -horses. - -We now return to the proceedings of Sir Henry Lawrence at Lucknow. - -Before the collective minutes of the five members of the Supreme Council -were fully settled, he had acted on the emergency which gave rise to -them. He held a court of inquiry; the result of which was that two -subadars, a jemadar, and forty-four sepoys of the mutinous 7th were -committed to prison; but he resolved not at present to disband the -regiment. His grand durbar has been already described. In the middle of -the month, as just shewn, he sent many brief telegrams indicating that, -though no mutinies had occurred at Lucknow, there was nevertheless need -for watchfulness. He had asked for the aid of some Sikhs, but said, on -the 18th: ‘As there is difficulty, do not send the Sikhs to Lucknow.’ On -the next day, his message was: ‘All very well in city, cantonment, and -country;’ but after this, the elements of mischief seemed to be -gathering, although Lawrence prepared to meet all contingencies -resolutely. ‘All quiet,’ he said on the 21st, ‘but several reports of -intended attacks on us.’ He was, however, more solicitous about the fate -of Cawnpore, Allahabad, and Benares, than of Lucknow. - -The military position of Sir Henry towards the last week in May was -this. He had armed four posts for his defence at Lucknow. In one were -four hundred men and twenty guns; in another, a hundred Europeans and as -many sepoys; in another was the chief store of powder, well under -command. A hundred and thirty Europeans, two hundred sepoys, and six -guns, guarded the treasury; the guns near the residency being under -European control. The old magazine was denuded of its former contents, -as a precautionary measure. Six guns, and two squadrons of the 2d Oude -irregular cavalry, were at the Dâk bungalow, half-way between the -residency and the cantonment. In the cantonment were three hundred and -forty men of her Majesty’s 32d, with six European guns, and six more of -the Oude light field-battery. By the 23d of the month, nearly all the -stores were moved from the old magazine to one of the strongholds, where -thirty guns and one hundred Europeans were in position, and where ten -days’ supplies for five hundred men were stored. On the 29th, Lawrence’s -telegram told of ‘great uneasiness at Lucknow. Disturbances threatened -outside. Tranquillity cannot be much longer maintained unless Delhi be -speedily captured.’ The residency, a place rendered so memorable by -subsequent events, must be here noticed. The cantonment was six miles -from the city, and the residency was itself isolated from the rest of -Lucknow. The Rev. Mr Polehampton, describing in his letter the -occurrences about the middle of May, said: ‘The sick have been brought -to the residency; so have the women; and the residency is garrisoned by -130 men of the 32d, and by the battery of native artillery. All the -ladies, wives of civilians, who live in different parts of the city, -have come into the residency. By the residency, I mean a piece of ground -a good deal elevated above the rest of the city, allotted by the King of -Oude, when he first put himself under British “protection” some fifty -years ago, to the British civil residents. It is walled round almost -entirely; on one side native houses abut upon it, but on the other three -sides it is tolerably clear. Roads without gates in some places connect -it with the city; but it is not at all a bad place to make a -stand—certainly the best in Lucknow, to which it is a sort of acropolis. -The residency contains the chief-commissioner’s house, Mr Gubbins’s, Mr -Ommaney’s, Foyne’s, the post-office, city hospital, electric-telegraph -office, church, etc.’ The ever-memorable defence made by a little band -of English heroes in this ‘acropolis’ of Lucknow, will call for our -attention in due time. Mr Polehampton spoke of the gravity with which -Sir Henry Lawrence regarded the state of public affairs; and of the -caution which led him to post _one_ English soldier at every gun, to -watch the native artillerymen. The chaplain had means of knowing with -what assiduity crafty lying men tried to gain over the still faithful -sepoys to mutiny. ‘Another most absurd story they have got hold of, -which came out in the examination of some of the mutineers before Sir -Henry Lawrence. They say that in consequence of the Crimean war there -are a great many widows in England, and that these are to be brought out -and married to the Rajahs in Oude; and that their children, brought up -as Christians, are to inherit all the estates! The natives are like -babies—they will believe anything.’—Babies in belief, perhaps; but -fiends in cruelty when excited. - -The last two days of May were days of agitation at Lucknow. Many of the -native troops broke out in open mutiny. They consisted of half of the -48th regiment, about half of the 71st, some few of the 13th, and two -troops of the 7th cavalry—all of whom fled towards Seetapoor, a town -nearly due north of Lucknow. Lawrence, with two companies of her -Majesty’s 32d, three hundred horse, and four guns, went in pursuit; but -the horse, Oude native cavalry, evinced no zeal; and he was vexed to -find that he could only get within round-shot of the mutineers. He took -thirty prisoners—a very inadequate result of the pursuit. Many -disaffected still remained in Lucknow; four bungalows were burned, and a -few English officers shot. The city was quiet, but the cantonment was in -a disturbed state. In his last telegrams for the month, the -chief-commissioner, who was also chief military authority, used these -words: ‘It is difficult to say who are loyal; but it is believed the -majority are so; only twenty-five of the 7th cavalry proved false;’ and -he further said: ‘The faithful remnants of three infantry regiments and -7th cavalry, about seven hundred men, are encamped close to the -detachment of two hundred of her Majesty’s 32d and four European guns.’ -Even then he did not feel much uneasiness concerning the city and -cantonment of Lucknow: it was towards other places, Cawnpore especially, -that his apprehensive glance was directed. - -What were the occurrences at Lucknow, and in other towns of the -territory of Oude, in June, will be better understood when the progress -of the Revolt in other places during May has been narrated. - -[Illustration: - - Ekah, or Officer’s Travelling Wagon. -] - ------ - -Footnote 10: - - By Mr Knighton, author of _Forest Life in Ceylon_. - -Footnote 11: - - Lacs or lakhs of rupees: a lac being 100,000, value about £10,000. - -Footnote 12: - - The word _telegram_, denoting a message sent, as distinguished from - the _telegraph_ which sends it, has been a subject of much discussion - among Greek scholars, concerning the validity of the grammatical basis - on which it is formed; but as the new term is convenient for its - brevity and expressiveness, and as it has been much used by the - governor-general and the various officers connected with India, it - will occasionally be employed in this work. - -[Illustration: - - General View of CALCUTTA from Fort William. -] - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - SPREAD OF DISAFFECTION IN MAY. - - -The narrative has now arrived at a stage when some kind of -classification of times and places becomes necessary. There were special -reasons why Delhi and Lucknow should receive separate attention, -connected as those two cities are with deposed native sovereigns chafed -by their deposition; but other cities and towns now await notice, spread -over many thousand square miles of territory, placed in various -relations to the British government, involved in various degrees in -mutinous proceedings, and differing much in the periods at which the -hostile demonstrations were made. Two modes of treatment naturally -suggest themselves. The towns might be treated topographically, -beginning at Calcutta, and working westward towards the Indus; this -would be convenient for reference to maps, but would separate -contemporaneous events too far asunder. Or the occurrences might be -treated chronologically, beginning from the Meerut outbreak, and -advancing, as in a diary, day by day throughout the whole series; this -would facilitate reference to dates, but would ignore local connection -and mutual action. It may be possible, however, to combine so much of -the two methods as will retain their advantages and avoid their defects; -there may be groups of days and groups of places; and these groups may -be so treated as to mark the relations both of sequence and of -simultaneity, of causes and of co-operation. In the present chapter, a -rapid glance will be taken over a wide-spread region, to shew in what -way and to what degree disaffection spread during the month of May. This -will prepare us for the terrible episode at one particular -spot—Cawnpore. - -To begin, then, with Bengal—the fertile and populous region between the -Anglo-Indian city of Calcutta and the sacred Hindoo city of Benares; the -region watered by the lower course of the majestic Ganges; the region -inhabited by the patient, plodding, timid Bengalee, the type from which -Europeans have generally derived their idea of the Hindoo: forgetting, -or not knowing, that Delhi and Agra, Cawnpore and Lucknow, exhibit the -Hindoo character under a more warlike aspect, and are marked also by a -difference of language. A fact already mentioned must be constantly -borne in mind—that few Bengalees are (or were) in the Bengal army: a -population of forty millions furnished a very small ratio of fighting -men. - -Although not a scene of murder and atrocity during the Revolt, Calcutta -requires a few words of notice here: to shew the relation existing -between the native and the European population, and the importance of -the city as the head-quarters of British India, the supreme seat of -legislation and justice, the residence of the governor-general, the last -great city on the course down the Ganges, and the port where more trade -is conducted than in all others in India combined. - -Calcutta stands on the left bank of the Hoogly, one of the numerous -streams by which the Ganges finds an outlet into the sea. There are no -less than fourteen of these streams deep enough for the largest craft -used in inland navigation, but so narrow and crooked that the rigging of -vessels often becomes entangled in the branches of the trees growing on -the banks. The delta formed by these mouths of the Ganges, called the -Sunderbunds, is nearly as large as Wales; it is little else than a -cluster of low, marshy, irreclaimable islands, very unhealthy to the few -natives living there, and left almost wholly to tigers, wild buffaloes, -wild boars, and other animals which swarm there in great numbers. The -Hoogly is one of the few really navigable mouths of the Ganges; and by -this channel Calcutta has free access by shipping to the sea, which is -about a hundred miles distant. The city, extending along the river four -or five miles, covers an area of about eight square miles. A curved line -nearly bounds it on the land-side, formed by the Mahratta ditch, a -defence-work about a century old. Beyond the ditch, and a fine avenue -called the Circular Road, the environs are studded with numerous suburbs -or villages which may be considered as belonging to the city: among -these are Nundenbagh, Bahar-Simla, Sealdah, Entally, Ballygunge, -Bhowaneepore, Allipore, Kidderpore, Seebpore, Howrah, and Sulkea. The -three last are on the opposite or west bank of the river, and contain -the dock-yards, the ship-building establishments, the railway station, -the government salt-warehouses, and numerous extensive manufactories. -The approach to the city from the sea presents a succession of -attractive features. First, a series of elegant mansions at a bend in -the river called Garden Reach, with lawns descending to the water’s -edge; then the anchorage for the Calcutta and Suez mail-steamers; then -the dock-yards; next the canal junction, the arsenal and Fort William. -Above these is the Chowringhee, once a suburb, but now almost as closely -built as Calcutta itself, containing the Esplanade, the Town Hall, the -Government House, and many European residences. ‘Viewed from Garden -Reach,’ says Mr Stocqueler, ‘the _coup d’œil_ is one of various and -enchanting beauty. Houses like palaces are studding the bank on the -proper left of the river, and a verdure like that of an eternal summer -renovates the eye, so long accustomed to the glitter of the ocean. Anon, -on _your_ left, appears the semi-Gothic Bishop’s College; and in front -of you, every moment growing more distinct, are beheld a forest of -stately masts, a noble and beautiful fortress, a thousand small boats, -of shapes new and undreamed of by the visitant, skimming over the -stream; the larger vessels of the country, pleasant to look upon even -for their strange dis-symmetry and consequent unwieldiness; the green -barge or budgerow, lying idly for hire; and the airy little bauleahs, -with their light venetianed rooms.’ All this relates to the portion of -the city lying south or seaward of the Chandpaul Ghat, the principal -landing-place. Northward of this stretches a noble strand, on which are -situated the Custom-house, the New Mint, and other government offices. - -It must be noted that, although the chief British city in India, -Calcutta in ordinary times contains no less than _seventy times_ as many -natives as English—only six thousand English out of more than four -hundred thousand inhabitants. Even if Eurasians (progeny of white -fathers and native mothers) be included, the disparity is still -enormous; and is rendered yet more so by the many thousands of natives -who, not being inhabitants, attend Calcutta at times for purposes of -trade or of worship. Many wild estimates were made a few years ago -concerning the population of Calcutta, which was sometimes driven up -hypothetically to nearly a million souls; but a census in 1850 -determined the number to be four hundred and seventeen thousand persons, -living in sixty-two thousand houses and huts. The Hindoos alone exceed -two hundred and seventy thousand. Circumstances of site, as well as the -wishes and convenience of individuals, have led the Europeans to form a -community among themselves, distinct from the native Calcutta. Many -natives, it is true, live in the southern or British town; but very few -British live in the northern or native town. The latter differs little -from Indian towns generally, except in the large size of the dwellings -belonging to the wealthy inhabitants. The southern town is European in -appearance as in population; it has its noble streets, sumptuous -government offices, elegant private residences surrounded with -verandahs. On the esplanade is situated Fort William (the official name -given to Calcutta in state documents), one of the strongest in India; it -is octagonal, with three sides towards the river, and the other five -inland; and it mounts more than six hundred guns. Whatever force holds -Fort William may easily reduce Calcutta to ashes. The public buildings, -which are very numerous, comprise the following among others—the -Government House, that cost £130,000; the Town Hall, in the Doric style; -the Supreme Court of Judicature; the Madrissa and Hindoo Colleges; the -Martinière, an educational establishment founded by Martine the -Frenchman, who has been mentioned in connection with Lucknow; the -Metcalfe Hall; the Ochterlony Monument; the Prinsep Testimonial; the -Calcutta Asiatic Society’s Rooms; St Paul’s Cathedral, the finest -Christian church in India; the Bishop’s Palace and College; the European -Female Orphan Asylum; the Botanic Gardens. The Episcopalians, the -National and the Free Churches of Scotland, the Independents, the -Baptists, the Roman Catholics, the Armenians, the Jews, the Greeks—all -have places of worship in Calcutta. The native temples and mosques are -of course much more numerous, amounting to two hundred and fifty in -number. - -Concerning the inhabitants, the English comprise the Company’s civil and -military servants, a few members of the learned professions, merchants, -retail-dealers, and artisans. Of the native Hindoos and Mohammedans, -exclusive of the degraded castes of the former, it is supposed that -one-third are in the service of the English, either as domestic -servants, or as under-clerks, messengers, &c. A majority of the -remainder pick up a living on the street or the river—carrying -palanquins as bearers, carrying parcels as coolies, rowing boats, -attending ships, &c. The native artisans, shopkeepers, and -market-people, fill up the number. - -It will be remembered, from the details given in Chapter II., that the -authorities at Calcutta, during the first four months of the year, were -frequently engaged in considering the transactions at Dumdum, -Barrackpore, and Berhampore, connected with the cartridge grievances. -These did not affect the great city itself, the inhabitants of which -looked on as upon events that concerned them only remotely. When the -middle of May arrived, however, and when the startling news from Meerut -and Delhi became known, an uneasy feeling resulted. There was in -Calcutta a kind of undefined alarm, a vague apprehension of some hidden -danger. At that time there were six companies of the 25th Bengal -infantry, and a wing of the 47th Madras infantry, barracked on the -esplanade between the Coolie Bazaar and the fort. They were without -ammunition. There were, however, detachments of two other regiments -acting as guards in the fort, provided with ten rounds of ammunition per -man. It came to light that, on the 17th of May, the men of the 25th -asked the guards privately to be allowed to share this ammunition, -promising to aid them in capturing the fort during the following night. -This treason was betrayed by the guards to the town-major, who at once -ordered bugles to sound, and preparations to be made for defending the -fort; the drawbridges were raised, the ladders withdrawn from the -ditches, additional guards placed upon the arsenal, European sentries -placed at various points on the ramparts, and armed patrols made to -perambulate the fort during the night. The refractory sepoys, thus -checked, made no attempt to carry out their nefarious project. An -express was at once sent off to Dumdum for the remaining portion of her -Majesty’s 53d regiment, to join their comrades already at Calcutta. -Although the immense value of these English troops was at once felt, the -inhabitants of Calcutta were thrown into great excitement by the -rumoured outbreak; they talked of militia corps and volunteer corps, and -they purchased muskets and powder, rifles and revolvers, so rapidly, -that the stores of the dealers were speedily emptied. - -Two demonstrations of loyalty—or rather two sets of demonstrations—were -made on this occasion, one from the Christian inhabitants, and one from -the natives. The mutineers found head-quarters not quite suited for -their operations; order was soon restored; and then all parties came -forward to state how faithful, contented, and trustworthy they were. It -is not without interest to glance at some of these demonstrations. One -was from the Calcutta Trade Association, which held a meeting on the -20th of May. The resolution agreed to was to the effect that ‘This body -do send up to government a statement that they are prepared to afford -the government every assistance in their power towards the promotion of -order and the protection of the Christian community of Calcutta, either -by serving as special constables or otherwise, in such manner as may -appear most desirable to government; and at the same time suggesting to -government that their services should be availed of in some manner, as -they deem the present crisis a most serious one, and one in which every -available means should be brought into action for the suppression of -possible riot and insurrection.’ The answer given by the -governor-general in council to the address sent up in virtue of this -resolution is worthy of note; shewing, as it does, how anxious he was to -believe, and to make others believe, that the mutiny was very partial, -and that the sepoy army generally was sound at heart. He thanked the -Trade Association for the address; he announced that he had no -apprehension whatever of riot or insurrection amongst any class of the -population at Calcutta; he asserted his possession of sufficient means -to crush any such manifestation if it should be made; but at the same -time he admitted the prudence of civilians enrolling themselves as -special constables, ready for any emergency. In reference, however, to -an opinion in the address that the sepoys generally exhibited a mutinous -spirit, he expressed uneasiness at such an opinion being publicly -announced. ‘There are in the army of this presidency many soldiers, and -many regiments who have stood firm against evil example and wicked -counsels, and who at this moment are giving unquestionable proof of -their attachment to the government, and of their abhorrence of the -atrocious crimes which have lately been perpetrated in the Northwestern -Provinces. It is the earnest desire of the governor-general in council -that honourable and true-hearted soldiers, whose good name he is bound -to protect, and of whose fidelity he is confident, should not be -included in a condemnation of rebels and murderers.’ Alas, for the -‘honourable and true-hearted soldiers!’ - -Another movement of the same kind was made by the Freemasons of -Calcutta—a body, the numbers of which are not stated. They passed a -resolution on the same day, ‘That at the present crisis it is expedient -that the masonic fraternity should come forward and offer their services -to government, to be employed in such manner as the governor-general may -deem most expedient.’ - -The Armenians resident in the city met on the following day, and agreed -to a series of resolutions which were signed by Apcar, Avdall, Agabeb, -and others of the body—declaratory of their apprehension for the safety -of Calcutta and its inhabitants; their sincere loyalty to the British -government; their grateful appreciation of its mild and paternal rule; -and their fervent hope that the energetic measures adopted would suffice -to quell the insurrectionary spirit: concluding, ‘We beg most -respectfully to convey to your lordship in council the expression of our -willingness and readiness to tender our united services to our rulers, -and to co-operate with our fellow-citizens for maintaining tranquillity -and order in the city.’ The Armenians, wherever settled, are a peaceful -people, loving trade better than fighting: their adhesion to the -government was certain. - -The French inhabitants in like manner held a meeting, and sent up an -address to the governor-general by the hands of Consul Angelucci. They -said: ‘Viewing the dangers that, from one moment to another, may menace -life and property at Calcutta, all the French resident in the city unite -with one accord, and place themselves at the disposal of your excellency -in case of need; beseeching that their services may be accepted for the -common good, and as a proof of their loyalty and attachment towards her -Majesty, the Queen of England.’ - -It is more interesting, however, in reference to such a time and such a -place, to know in what way the influential native inhabitants comported -themselves on the occasion. The meetings held, resolutions passed, and -addresses presented, were remarkable for their earnestness, real or -apparent. Although Viscount Canning gladly and promptly acknowledged -them as valuable testimonials; yet the subsequent lying and treachery in -many quarters were such that it is impossible to decide how much or how -little sincerity was involved in declarations of loyalty. There was a -body of Hindoo gentlemen at Calcutta, called the British Indian -Association. The committee of the Association held a meeting on the 22d -of May, and the secretary, Issur Chunder Singh, forwarded an address -from the committee to the government. The address asseverated that the -atrocities at Meerut and Delhi had been heard of with great concern; -that the committee viewed with disgust and horror the excesses of the -soldiery at those stations; and that such excesses would not meet with -countenance or support from the bulk of the civil population, or from -any reputable or influential classes among them. The committee recorded -‘their conviction of the utter groundlessness of the reports which have -led a hitherto faithful body of the soldiers of the state to the -commission of the gravest crimes of which military men or civil subjects -can be guilty; and the committee deem it incumbent on them on the -present occasion to express their deep abhorrence of the practices and -purposes of those who have spread those false and mischievous reports.’ -Finally, they expressed their belief that the loyalty of the Hindoos, -and their confidence in the power and good intentions of the government, -would be unimpaired by ‘the detestable efforts which have been made to -alienate the minds of the sepoys and the people of the country from -their duty and allegiance to the beneficent rule under which they are -placed.’ - -Three days later, a meeting was held of Hindoo persons of influence -generally, at Calcutta, without reference to the British Indian -Association; and the chairman of this meeting, Bahadoor Radhakant Rajah, -was commissioned to forward a copy of resolutions to the -governor-general. These resolutions were similar in character to those -passed by the Association; but two others were added of very decided -character: ‘That this meeting is of opinion that, should occasion -require, it would be the duty of the native portion of her Majesty’s -subjects to render the government every aid in their power for the -preservation of civil order and tranquillity; and that, with a view to -give an extensive circulation to the proceedings of this meeting, -translations of the same into the vernacular dialects of the country -shall be printed and distributed amongst the native population.’ - -Another Hindoo manifestation was remarkable for the mode in which the -intentions of the persons concerned were proposed to be carried out. A -meeting was held on the 23d, of ‘some young men, at the premises of -Baboo Gooroo Churn Dey, Bhowanipore, Chuckerbaria, in the suburbs of -Calcutta: to consider the best means of keeping the peace in the said -suburban town at this crisis of panic caused by some mutinous -regiments.’ These ‘young men,’ who appointed Baboo Gooroo Churn Dey and -Essan Chunder Mullick as secretary and assistant-secretary, threw into -their deliberations an abundance of youthful enthusiasm not to be found -in the resolutions of their seniors. Their plan—not expressed in, or -translated into, very good English—was: ‘That some of the members will -alternately take round at every night, with the view of catching or -detecting any wrong-doer that may be found in the work of abetting some -such malicious tales or rumours, as the town will be looted and -plundered by the sepoys on some certain day, and its inhabitants be cut -to pieces; and will, by every means in their power, impress on the minds -of timid and credulous people the idea of the mightiness of the power of -the British government to repel aggression of any foreign enemy, however -powerful and indomitable, or put down any internal disturbance and -disorder.’ They announced their success in obtaining many ‘strong and -brave men’ to aid them in this work. - -The Mohammedans of Calcutta were a little behind the rest of the -inhabitants in time, but not in expressed sentiment, concerning the -position of public affairs. On the 27th, many of the leading men of that -religion held a meeting; one was a deputy-magistrate; two were pleaders -in the sudder or native courts of law; others were moulvies, moonshees, -hadjis, agas, &c.; and all signed their names in full—such as Hadji -Mahomed Hashim Ishphahanee, and Aga Mahomed Hassan Kooza Kenanee. -Nothing could be more positive than some of the assertions contained in -the resolutions passed by this meeting: ‘We subjects are well aware that -the members of the British government, from the commencement of their -dominion in Hindostan, have repeatedly declared and made known their -determination not to interfere with the religion or religious -observances of any of their subjects; and we repose entire faith in this -declaration, and assert, that up to the present time, a space of nearly -one hundred years, our religion has never been interfered with. A number -of us having left our homes, have found a dwelling and asylum under this -government, where we live in peace and safety, protected by the equity -and fostering care of the British government, and suffering no kind of -injury or loss. As we have ever lived in safety and comfort under the -British rule, and have never been molested or interfered with in -religious matters; we therefore, with the utmost eagerness and -sincerity, hereby determine, that in case of necessity we will serve the -government to the utmost of our abilities and means.’ In true oriental -form the resolutions ended, in allusion to the governor-general, ‘May -his prosperity increase!’ - -What _could_ Viscount Canning say to all this? How could he, in that -early stage of the commotions, but believe in the sincerity of these -men: and, believing, to thank them for their expression of loyalty and -support? His official reply, in each case, conveyed in pointed terms his -conviction that the disaffection among the sepoys was only local and -temporary. He could not at that time foresee how severely this -conviction would be put to the test. - -The hostility to the governor-general, manifested at a later date by -some of the English inhabitants of Calcutta, will be noticed in its due -place. - -Leaving Calcutta, the reader is invited to direct his attention to towns -and districts north and northwest, following the course of the Hoogly -and the Ganges, up to the busy scenes of mutiny and warfare. The whole -district from Calcutta to Benares _by land_ is singularly devoid of -interest. The railway is open through Burdwan to Raneegunge; but thence -to the great Hindoo capital there is scarcely a town or village worthy -of note, scarcely one in which the mutineers disturbed the peaceful -occupations of the inhabitants. - -Three military stations on the Hoogly—Dumdum, Barrackpore, and -Berhampore—all concerned, as we have seen, in the cartridge -disturbances—remained quiet during the month of May, after the -disbandments. One inquiry connected with those occurrences, not yet -adverted to, must here be noticed. The conduct of Colonel S. G. Wheler, -commanding the 34th regiment B. N. I.,[13] occupied much attention on -the part of the Calcutta government, during and after the proceedings -relating to the disbanding of the seven companies of that regiment at -Barrackpore. Rumours reached the government that the colonel had used -language towards his men, indicating his expectation that they would be -converted to Christianity, and that he had addressed them on religious -subjects generally. In the usual epistolary formalism of routine, the -secretary to the government was requested to request Major-general -Hearsey to request Brigadier Grant to request Colonel Wheler to furnish -some reply to those rumours. The substance of the colonel’s reply was -contained in these words: ‘During the last twenty years and upwards, I -have been in the habit of speaking to the natives of all classes, sepoys -and others, making no distinction, since there is no respect of persons -with God, on the subject of our religion, in the highways, cities, -bazaars, and villages—not in the lines and regimental bazaars. I have -done this from a conviction that every converted Christian is expected, -or rather commanded, by the Scriptures to make known the glad tidings of -salvation to his lost fellow-creatures: our Saviour having offered -himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, by which alone -salvation can be secured.’ He quoted from the Epistle to the Romans to -prove that a Christian must necessarily be a better subject to any state -than a non-Christian. He declared, however, that he had not given the -sepoys cause for believing that any proselyting violence would be used -against their own religion. Viscount Canning, passing over in silence -the Scriptural phraseology used by Colonel Wheler, wished to ascertain -whether the colonel’s religious conversations had been held with the men -of the 34th regiment as well as with other natives: seeing that the -critical subject at that particular time was the dogged suspicion of the -sepoys of that regiment on matters affecting their faith. In a second -letter, Colonel Wheler adopted a still more decidedly evangelical tone. -He stated that it was his custom to address _all_ natives, whether -sepoys or not, on religious matters. ‘I have told them plainly that they -are all lost and ruined sinners both by nature and by practice, like -myself; that we can do nothing to save ourselves in the way of -justifying ourselves in the sight of God. Our hearts being sinful, all -our works must consequently be sinful in His sight; and therefore there -can be no salvation by works, on which they are all resting and -depending.’ This homily, singular as forming part of a military reply to -a military question, was carried to a considerable length. On matters of -plain fact, Colonel Wheler stated that it was most certain that he had -endeavoured by argument and exhortation to convert sepoys as well as -others to Christianity; that he was in the habit of enforcing by the -only standard which he could admit to be valid, objections concerning -‘the efficacy of their own works of washing in the Ganges, proceeding on -pilgrimage, worshipping all kinds of creatures instead of the Creator, -and other methods of man’s invention.’ Finally, he announced his -determination to adhere to the same policy, even if his worldly position -were injured thereby: taking shame to himself for his past lukewarmness -as a soldier of Christ. - -The whole of the members of the Supreme Court at Calcutta at once -decided that an officer, holding Colonel Wheler’s views of duty, ought -not to remain in command of a native regiment, especially at such a -critical period. The question was not, whether that officer was a good -Christian, anxious to communicate to others what he himself fervently -believed; but whether the black gown was not more suitable to him than -the red coat, in such a country and at such a time. - -The native troops at Barrackpore and Chittagong, after the disbandment -of the mutinous corps, made professions of loyalty and fidelity to the -government, concerning the sincerity of which it is now exceedingly -difficult to judge. One theory is, that the men were designing -hypocrites from the first; but the frequent examples of wavering and -irresolution, afforded during the progress of the mutiny, seem to shew -rather that the sepoys were affected by the strength of the temptation -and example at each particular time and place. Be this as it may, some -of the petitions and addresses deserve notice. Towards the close of May -a petition, written in the Persian character (much used in India), was -prepared by the native officers of the 70th regiment B. N. I., stationed -at Barrackpore, and presented to their commander, Colonel Kennedy. In -the names of themselves and the sepoys they said: ‘It is reported that -European troops are going up to Delhi and other places, to coerce the -mutinous and rebellious there; and we wish to be sent with them also. In -consequence of the misconduct of these traitors and scoundrels, -confidence in us is weakened, although we are devoted to government; and -we therefore trust that we may be sent wherever the European troops go; -when, having joined them, we will, by bravery even greater than theirs, -regain our good name and trustworthiness. You will then know what really -good sepoys are.’ Colonel Kennedy, in a letter to Major-general Hearsey, -expressed his full belief that the men were sincere in their -protestations; and added, that hitherto he had always been satisfied -with the regiment. So important did this manifestation appear to -Viscount Canning, that he went to Barrackpore in order to thank the men -in person. He appeared before them on parade, on the 27th, and said, -among other things: ‘Men of the 70th, I will answer your petition. You -have asked to be sent to confront the mutineers of Delhi. You shall go. -In a few days, as soon as the arrangements can be made for your -progress, you shall proceed to the northwest.’ He expressed his -conviction that they would keep their promise to vie with the Europeans -in fidelity and bravery; and added: ‘You have another duty to perform. -You are going where you will find men, your brothers in arms, who have -been deluded into the suspicion against which _you_ have kept firm, that -the government has designs against their religion or their caste. Say to -them that you at least do not credit this; that you know it to be -untrue; that for a hundred years the British government has carefully -respected the feelings of its Indian subjects in matters of caste and -religion.’ - -Arrangements were immediately made for sending this faithful, or -apparently faithful, regiment to districts where it might render useful -service. As there was an insufficient supply of steamers available, the -government resolved to send the regiment the whole distance from -Barrackpore to Allahabad by country boats on the Ganges—an excessively -protracted voyage of eight hundred miles, as the reader is already -aware. When the men were about to start, they expressed to Colonel -Kennedy a wish that the new Enfield rifle should be served out to them. -They declared themselves entirely satisfied with the explanations -concerning the cartridges; and they added, in a written petition to -which the names of twelve subadars and jemadars were appended: ‘We have -thought over the subject; and as we are now going up the country, we beg -that the new rifles, about which there has been so much said in the army -and all over the country, may be served out to us. By using them in its -service, we hope to prove beyond a doubt our fidelity to government; and -we will explain to all we meet that there is nothing objectionable in -them: otherwise, why should we have taken them? Are we not as careful of -our caste and religion as any of them?’ All the native officers of this -regiment, so far as can be judged from the names appended to the -petition, were Hindoos. When the 70th started to the northwest, every -effort was made by the government to set the unhappy cartridge troubles -wholly at rest, and to enlist the services of the sepoys of that -regiment in diffusing among their compatriots a knowledge of the real -facts. Orders, instructions, memoranda, circulars were brought into -requisition to explain—that the new rifle fired nine hundred yards, -against the two hundred yards’ range of the old musket; that it was -lighter than the musket; that its great range and its lightness caused -it to be introduced into the Anglo-Indian army; that the new -rifle-bullets, requiring machinery for their manufacture, were sent out -from England in a finished state; that a few cartridges for those -bullets were in the first instance sent out ready prepared with a -lubricant, but that the Indian government resolved not to issue them to -the native troops, in deference to their religious scruples; that the -cartridge-paper had long been, and would continue to be, made at -Serampore, without any admixture of grease; that every native regiment -would be allowed to lubricate its cartridges with any suitable substance -preferred by the men; and that the practice of biting off the ends of -the cartridges might be wholly dispensed with. In short, everything that -could be done, was done, to remove a suspicion unsound in its origin, -and pernicious in its continuance. - -Another regiment, the 34th B. N. I., adopted nearly the same course as -the 70th. The larger portion of this regiment, it will be remembered, -was at Barrackpore at the time of the cartridge troubles; but the rest -was at Chittagong. The sepoys in this last-named detachment came forward -with a very pointed declaration of their loyalty. Captain Dewaal, in -command of that detachment, assembled his men one day towards the end of -April, and told them how shamefully their companions had acted at -Barrackpore, and how much disgrace had thereby been brought upon the -regiment. Two days afterwards, an address or petition was presented to -him, signed by the subadars and havildars in the names of all; in which -regret was expressed for the conduct of the mutineers at Barrackpore. -‘By a careful performance,’ the petitioners said, ‘of our duties, we -have gained a reputation for fidelity to government. These men have -deprived us of it. We well know that the government will not interfere -with our religion. We hope that the government will consider us as -faithful as ever; and we pray that this petition may be sent to the -governor-general, in order that his lordship may know the state of our -feelings.’ Three or four weeks later, when this remnant of the regiment -had been removed to Barrackpore, the men made another profession of -their loyalty. In a petition to their commander, they said: ‘Some -evil-disposed men of the regiment have deprived us of the reputation for -loyalty which we have ever held. They have received the fruits of their -misconduct by being disbanded. We that remain are willing to serve -against the mutineers at Delhi, and are anxious to recover our lost -name. We pray that the government will ever regard us as faithful -soldiers.’ - -Two further examples of a similar kind were presented, one by the 43d -and another by the 63d regiments B. N. I. About the end of May, the -commandant of the first of these two regiments at Barrackpore, received -a petition signed by the native commissioned officers, praying that the -regiment might be allowed to proceed against the mutineers at Delhi—a -wish that had been previously expressed to him on parade. Nearly at the -same time Captain Pester, commanding the 63d at Berhampore, received a -petition signed by the whole of the native officers on parade, intended -to be forwarded to the governor-general; and, this petition being -afterwards read in the native language to the whole regiment, the sepoys -unanimously expressed their concurrence in the sentiments it conveyed. -The petitioners said: ‘We have this day heard on parade the order issued -by your lordship consequent on the petition forwarded by the native -officers and sepoys of the 70th regiment of native infantry. On hearing -the same, we were greatly rejoiced; for, in truth, all the men of that -regiment have behaved as becomes loyal and faithful soldiers, and your -lordship has in every way been pleased with them. Now do we also all -petition that we may be numbered among the good and trustworthy soldiers -of the state, as we have always been; and we are prepared and ready, -with heart and hand, to go wherever, and against whomsoever you may -please to send us, should it even be against our own kinsmen.’ - -The governor-general could do no other than receive these -demonstrations. Whether he acceded to the request for permission to -‘march against the mutineers,’ depended necessarily on the military -arrangements of the time; whether he fully believed the protestations, -may perhaps be doubted, although no disbelief was expressed. - -Happily for Bengal, it was affected by few of the disturbances that -agitated the more western provinces. Consulting a map, we shall see that -the banks of the Hoogly and the Lower Ganges are thickly studded with -towns; and it may here at once be stated, that the peaceful industry of -these towns was very little interrupted during the month of May. Tracing -upwards from Calcutta, we meet with Dumdum, Barrackpore, and Serampore, -the first two of which experienced a lull after the storm. Serampore was -once the _Alsatia_ of Calcutta, a place of refuge for schemers, -insolvent debtors, and reckless adventurers; but the Company bought it -from the Danish government, to which it had belonged, and the Baptist -missionaries helped to civilise it; it is now a clean cheerful town, -with a large paper-manufactory. Higher up is the once flourishing but -now decayed town of Chandernagore, one of the few places in India still -belonging to the French. Near this is Chinsura, held by the Dutch until -1825, but now a flourishing settlement belonging to the Company, -provided with an extensive military depôt for Europeans, with a -magnificent hospital and barracks. Then we come to Hoogly, a town -bearing the same name as the river on whose banks it stands: a busy -place, with many civil and educational establishments. Further north is -Plassy, the place near which Clive fought the great battle that -virtually gave India to the British. Beyond this is Berhampore, which, -very refractory in March and April, had become tractable and obedient in -May. Next we meet with Moorshedabad and its suburb Cossimbazar. Once the -capital of Bengal when a Mohammedan dominion, Moorshedabad contained a -splendid palace belonging to the nawab; but though no longer possessed -of this kind of greatness, the city is commercially very important, as -standing on the great highway, or rather water-way, from Calcutta to the -northwest. All the places above named are situated either on the Hoogly -or on the Bhagruttee, those two rivers combining to form the most -convenient outlet from the Ganges to the sea. - -The Ganges itself, too—the majestic, far-famed, sacred Ganges—was little -disturbed by commotions in May throughout the lower part of its course. -Rajmahal, Bhagulpore, Curruckpore, Monghir, Behar, Futwah, Patna, -Hajeepoor, Dinapoor, Chupra, Arrah, Bishunpore, Buxar, Ghazeepore—all -lie on or near the Ganges between the Hoogly and Benares. Some of these -places are centres of commerce for the opium-trade; some are busy with -the trading in rice grown in neighbouring districts; others are -shipping-places for corn and other agricultural produce; while all -regard the Ganges as an invaluable channel, affording intercourse with -the rich districts of the west, and with the great focus of authority -and trade at Calcutta. Such of these towns as were involved in trouble -in later months of the year, will be noticed in the proper chapters; of -the others, this narrative is not called upon to treat. One fact, -however, may be mentioned in connection with Dinapoor. So early in the -year as the middle of February, the Calcutta authorities wrote to the -commander at that town, apprising him that a messenger was known to have -been sent to the native regiment at Dinapoor, from some men of the 2d -Bengal grenadiers, inciting them to mutiny. Major-general Lloyd promised -to look out sharply for the messenger, but candidly expressed a doubt -whether the astute native would suffer himself to be caught. - -Benares may conveniently be described at once; for, whether disturbed or -not by mutineers, it is so remarkably situated as to lie in the line of -route of all commerce, all aggression, all military movement, between -Calcutta and the upper provinces, whether by road, by rail, or by water. -Regarded in this light, its possession and security are, and were in an -especial degree during the mutiny, objects of the highest importance. -This renowned city stands on the left bank of the Ganges, about four -hundred and twenty miles by road from Calcutta, and seventy-four from -Allahabad. The magnificent river, half a mile wide in the rainy season, -forms a kind of semicircular bay in front of the city, which has thus -three miles of river-frontage. Among the chief characteristics of -Benares are the ghats or flights of fine broad freestone steps, giving -access to the river: mostly very solid in construction, and in some -cases highly decorated. So numerous are they, that they extend almost in -a continuous line along the river’s banks, interrupted here and there by -temples. ‘Upon these ghats,’ says a lively traveller, ‘are passed the -busiest and happiest hours of every Hindoo’s day: bathing, dressing, -praying, preaching, lounging, gossiping, or sleeping, there will be -found. Escaping from the dirty, unwholesome, and confined streets, it is -a luxury for him to sit upon the open steps and taste the fresh air of -the river; so that on the ghats are concentrated the pastimes of the -idler, the duties of the devout, and much of the necessary intercourse -of business.’ Artists in India have delighted to portray the beauty and -animation of this scene; but they cannot, if they would, reveal the -hideous accompaniments—the fakeers and ascetics of revolting appearance, -‘offering every conceivable deformity which chalk, cow-dung, disease, -matted locks, distorted limbs, and repulsive attitudes of penance, can -shew.’ - -Benares, beyond any other place in India, perhaps, is studded with -religious structures. Thirty years ago the Moslem mosques were more than -three hundred in number, while the Hindoo temples exceeded a thousand. -The pinnacles of the Hindoo pagodas combine to give a very picturesque -appearance to the city, viewed from a distance. Large as the number is, -the Benares temples, as has been sarcastically observed, are not too -many, for religion is ‘the staple article of commerce, through which the -holy city flourishes and is enriched.’ The Mohammedan mosques, mostly -situated in the northeast quarter of the city, are generally elegant -little edifices crowned by small slender minarets, each standing in a -garden planted with tamarinds. Most of them have been constructed on the -sites, and with the materials, of demolished Hindoo temples. By far the -grandest is the great mosque of Aurungzebe, built by that emperor on the -site of a temple of Vishnu, which he destroyed to signalise the triumph -of Islamism over Brahminism. It rises from the platform above the -Madhoray Ghat. The minars or minarets, admired for their simplicity and -boldness, taper from eight feet in diameter at the bottom to seven at -the top; and though so slender, they are carried up to a height of a -hundred and fifty feet, and have each an interior staircase from bottom -to top. The streets of Benares have the usual oriental character of -narrowness, crookedness, and dirtiness; they are mere alleys, indeed, -that will admit no wheel-carriages; nor can beasts of burden pass -without sorely disturbing pedestrians. The houses are more lofty than in -most Indian cities, generally from three to six stories high; and as the -upper stories usually project beyond the lower, the narrow street is -almost closed in above: nay, in some cases, the inmates of one house can -walk over to the opposite tenement through the upper windows. The houses -are, in the better streets, built of stone, small-windowed and gaily -painted. During the hot season the citizens are much accustomed to sleep -in screened enclosures on the roof, open to the sky above, and to the -night-breezes around. There are somewhat under two hundred thousand -inhabitants, who live in about thirty thousand houses. - -[Illustration: - - Ghat on the Ganges. -] - -Benares is a religious, not a military city. The district around was at -a very remote period the seat of an independent Hindoo state, founded, -according to native tradition, twelve hundred years before the Christian -era. It subsequently formed part of the dominions of the Rajpoot -sovereigns. Then began the Mussulman rule, and Benares became a -dependent province under the Moguls. The nawab-viziers of Oude, when the -Mogul power was declining, seized Benares; and during some of the -political jugglery of the year 1775, the territory was transferred to -the East India Company, by whom it has ever since been held. But under -whatever dynasty it has been placed, Benares has from remote ages been -known as the sacred city of the Hindoos, where all that is remarkable, -all that is abominable, in Brahminism, flourishes. It has been described -as the Jerusalem of Hindostan—swarming with religious teachers, -devotees, mendicants, and sacred bulls. To wash in the Ganges in front -of Benares, to die in that city, are precious privileges to the Hindoo. -Some writers have given the inhabitants a bad character in what concerns -loyalty to their present British rulers. ‘Benares is one of the most -unsafe and rebellious cities in Hindostan. It once successfully opposed -a house-tax imposed on the people by the British government. There was -also recently a strong commotion when the magistrate attempted to -equalise the weights and measures. To shew the hostility of the Hindoos -of Benares to the English, it may be mentioned that when we lay before -Bhurtpore in 1826, no less than thirty thousand sabres were sharpened at -the cutlers’ in expectation of our repulse.’ If this statement be well -founded, it does indeed denote a perilous state of feeling at the time -in question. - -Benares, we have said, is not a military city; but so important a place -could not safely be left unguarded. Accordingly a British cantonment has -been built at Secrole, two or three miles to the northwest. Secrole -contains not only the barracks and huts for soldiers, but various civil -establishments, and the residences of most of the British population of -Benares. The cantonment consists of the usual buildings belonging to the -head-quarters of a military division of the Company’s army, and capable -of accommodating three or four regiments; it lies on both sides of a -small stream called the Burnah Nuddee, crossed by the great road from -Benares to Allahabad. On the side of the cantonment furthest from the -city are the bungalows of the various officials and European residents: -substantially built, well fitted and appointed, and surrounded by -pleasant gardens. There are, among the public buildings, a Christian -church and chapel, a court of justice, the treasury, the jail, and a -mint—the last named never yet appropriated to its destined purpose. -Secrole is thus, in effect, the British portion of Benares. - -Another military station, subordinate to Benares, Chunar or Chunargur, -is about sixteen miles distant; indeed, being nearly midway between -Benares and Mirzapore, it may be an auxiliary to either in time of need. -Chunar is a town of about twelve thousand inhabitants, standing on a -plateau or elevated cliff close to the Ganges. It was regarded as a -stronghold more than three centuries ago; and, like many other places in -the neighbourhood, belonged to the great Mogul; from whom, in lapse of -time, it was wrested by the ambitious nawab-viziers of Oude; until at -length it fell into the hands of the British. It was for some years the -Company’s principal artillery depôt for the Northwestern Provinces. The -fortified portion of the town, on the heights, is surrounded by a -rampart a little over a mile in circuit, and from ten to twenty feet -high, guarded by towers, and in its turn completely commanding the river -and its banks. The space enclosed by this wall or rampart, however, has -very little of a military aspect; part is open grass-land; part occupied -by bungalows and gardens of Europeans; part by the governor’s house, the -hospital, and the state prison; and part by the ancient Hindoo palace, a -massy vaulted edifice presenting little of its original splendour. An -article of Hindoo faith is recorded in connection with a slab of black -marble in a small square court of this palace; to the effect that ‘the -Almighty is seated personally, though invisibly, on this stone, for nine -hours each day, removing during the other three hours to Benares;’ so -that the fort, in sepoy belief, can only be taken between the hours of -six and nine in the morning. Considered in a military sense, the fort is -by no means strong; nevertheless the steepness of the ascent would -render storming difficult; and to increase this difficulty, the garrison -was wont in former times to keep a number of large rudely made -stone-cylinders at hand, to roll down upon a besieging force. The -citadel or stronghold is in the northeastern part of the enclosure; it -is mounted with several cannon, and has a bomb-proof magazine. The -native town, consisting principally of two-storied stone-houses, is -spread over a slope lying eastward of the fortifications. The English -dwellings, and the station for invalid soldiers, are lower down the -slope. - -As soon as the Revolt began, the safety of Benares became an object of -much solicitude to the governor-general at Calcutta, to Sir Henry -Lawrence at Lucknow, and indeed to all the Company’s servants: seeing -that the maintenance of free communication would greatly depend on the -peaceful condition of that city. We have seen that telegrams passed -almost daily between Benares and the other chief cities in May; intended -partly to facilitate the transport of reinforcements to the northwest, -and in part also to insure the tranquillity of Benares itself. About the -middle of the month the military commandant had to announce that there -had been some excitement in the 37th native infantry; that a Sikh -regiment had been sent on to Mirzapore and Allahabad; that the 13th -irregular cavalry were at Sultanpore; and that his position was rather -weak. On the 18th he telegraphed for aid: stating that ‘if one hundred -European infantry could be spared for duty here, it would restore -confidence, and make Benares more secure, so as to maintain -communication with the northwest.’ General Lloyd was asked whether he -could spare that much-coveted reinforcement—a hundred Europeans—from -Dinapoor. About the same time the commandant was directed to defend -Chunar fort with European invalids and veterans, and to keep the native -infantry regiment at hand in Benares. Mr Tucker, civil commissioner, -writing to the government on the same day, spoke of the ‘bold policy’ -which had been adopted when the 37th shewed disaffection; the Europeans -remaining in their houses, and acting so as neither to exhibit nor -inspire distrust—instead of attempting to escape. On the 19th, -arrangements were completed for sending a company of her Majesty’s 84th -from Dumdum to Benares, in five separate parties of twenty-one each, in -transit-carriages. By the 19th, the irregular cavalry had been brought -in from Sultanpore, and every precaution taken to guard against a -surprise—insomuch that the Europeans at neighbouring stations were -looking to Benares as a sort of stay and support. More than once -allusion was made, by the civil commissioner at that city, to the -tactics of serenity, as a medium between severity and fright. One of the -telegrams told that ‘Brigadier Ponsonby carries out Colonel Gordon’s -quiet policy of shewing no fear or distrust; not a muscle is moved.’ -Until towards the close of the month, Benares was included in the -military command of which Dinapoor was the centre; but as the distance -between the two towns is a hundred and fifty miles, Brigadier Ponsonby -received permission to act for himself, irrespective of control from -General Lloyd. - -The 31st of May found Benares and its neighbourhood at peace. How close -at hand were days of violence and bloodshed—a future chapter will shew. - -We have now left Bengal, both in its original and in the Company’s -acceptation of that term, and have arrived within the territories -grouped together as the Northwest Provinces. From Benares and Chunargur, -as a glance at the map will shew, the course of the Ganges, of the great -trunk-road, and of the railway in process of construction, brings us to -Mirzapore—a town not actually thrown into rebellion during the month of -May, but placed between two foci of inflammable materials, Benares and -Allahabad, and liable at any time to be inflamed by them. Mirzapore is -on the right bank of the Ganges, which is half a mile wide at this spot, -and is crossed by a ferry in the absence of a bridge. It is a great -commercial city, with about eighty thousand inhabitants; the emporium of -the cotton trade of Bundelcund and the adjacent provinces; not rich in -Mohammedan or Hindoo antiquities or splendour, associated with few -military events, but wealthy on account of its industry. The Company’s -military cantonment, as in so many other parts of India, is two or three -miles out of the town; indeed, this is a fact that must be borne in mind -throughout, as a necessary condition to the understanding of events -connected with the Revolt. - -Approaching now the Jumna regions, the plot thickens and the characters -increase in number. We come to that rich country, the Doab, watered on -the one side by the Ganges and on the other by the Jumna, with Oude and -Rohilcund on the north, Bundelcund and Scindiah’s territory on the -south. We find a considerable number of large and important -towns—Lucknow, Fyzabad, Bareilly, Allahabad, Futtehpoor, Cawnpore, -Furruckabad, Gwalior, Bhurtpore, Agra, Delhi, Meerut—in the immediate -vicinity of one or other of these two rivers. The Company’s military -stations are far more thickly posted in that region than in any other -part of India—a source of weakness in the midst of apparent strength; -for as the native troops were predominant in all these places, their -numbers became a manifest evil as soon as a mutinous spirit appeared -among the men. - -This chapter being mainly intended, as already explained, to shew how -remarkably the materials for explosion were accumulating during the -month of May, to burst forth with frightful violence in June, we shall -glance rapidly and touch lightly here on many of the towns situated -westward of Mirzapore, in order to place the reader in a position to -understand what will follow—treating of sudden outrages and strange -escapes in some few cases, and in others of a deceitful calm before a -storm. - -Allahabad, in a military sense, is a more important post than any -between it and Calcutta: indeed, there are few to equal it throughout -India. This is due principally to the fact that it lies at the junction -of the two great rivers Ganges and Jumna, the northern side being washed -by the one, the southern by the other. It occupies the most eastern, or -rather southeastern point of the rich and fertile Doab; it lies in the -direct water-route from Calcutta to both of the upper rivers; it is a -main station on the great trunk-road from Calcutta to the Punjaub, and -on the East India Railway now in course of construction; and a bridge -will carry that railway across the Jumna close to it. No wonder, -therefore, if the eyes of all were directed anxiously towards Allahabad -during the mutinies and consequent struggles. The fort and arsenal are -among the largest and finest in India. The fort rises direct from the -point of confluence of the two rivers, and is on that side nearly -impregnable. It is a mile and a half in circuit, five-sided, stone -built, and bastioned. Two of the sides, near the water, are old, and -weak as against a European force; the other three are modern, and, with -their bastions and ravelins, command the city and the country beyond. -Bishop Heber remarked that Allahabad fort had lost in grandeur what it -had gained in strength: the lofty towers having been pruned down into -bastions and cavaliers, and its high stone ramparts obscured by turf -parapets and a sloping external glacis. The principal gate of the fort, -surmounted by a dome with a wide hall beneath, and surrounded by arcades -and galleries, forms a very majestic ornament. The arsenal, situated -within the fort, is one of great magnitude, containing (before the -Revolt) arms for thirty thousand men, an immense park of artillery, and -the largest powder-magazine in Upper India. Altogether, it is a place of -great strength, probably impregnable to natives, and fitted to bear a -prolonged and formidable siege. In a part of the fort overlooking the -Jumna is an ancient and spacious palace, formerly fitted up as -residences for the superior European officers, but latterly used for -state prisoners. From a balcony perched near the summit of a tower on -which the windows of one of the chambers open, a scene is presented, of -which European travellers in India speak with much admiration. The -spectator looks down upon a grove of mango-trees, flanking a fine -esplanade, and peopled with innumerable ring-necked paroquets. Above, on -pediment, pinnacle, and turret, others of the feathered tribe build -their nests and plume their wings. Along the thickly wooded shores on -the north or Allahabad side of the Jumna, buildings of various degrees -of interest are seen interspersed with the small islands which speckle -the river; while the opposite or Bundelcund shore forms a noble -background to the picture. In the days before the Revolt, the European -troops of the garrison were accommodated in well-constructed barracks -within the fort; while the military cantonment for the native troops lay -northwest of it. - -The city of Allahabad, westward of the fort, and on the Jumna shore, is -scarcely worthy of its magnificent situation. It contains seventy -thousand inhabitants; but its streets and houses are poor; nor do the -mosques and temples equal those in many other parts of Hindostan, though -the gardens and tomb of Sultan Khosroo and his serai are almost -unequalled in India. There is a particular spot, outside the fort, where -the actual confluence of the two great rivers is considered to take -place; and this presents the liveliest scene in the whole city. One -traveller tells of the great numbers of pilgrims of both sexes, anxious -to bathe in the purifying waters; and of devotees who, causing earthen -vessels to be fastened round their waists or to their feet, proceed in a -boat to the middle of the stream, and precipitate themselves into the -water—supposing that by this self-immolation they secure eternal bliss. -Another states that when a pilgrim arrives here—Benares, Gyayah, and -Allahabad being frequently included in the same pilgrimage—he sits down -on the brink of the river, and causes his head and body to be so shaved -that each hair may fall into the water—for the sacred writings promise -the pilgrim a million years’ residence in heaven for every hair thus -deposited—and that, after shaving and bathing, he performs the obsequies -of his deceased ancestors. The Brahmins are the money-makers at these -spots; each has his little platform, standing in the water, where he -assists in the operations by which the pilgrim is supposed to become -holy. Skinner describes the whole scene as a kind of religious fair. - -[Illustration: - - City and Fort of ALLAHABAD. -] - -When the events at Meerut and Delhi became known at Allahabad, the -native troops shewed much excitement. One of them, the 6th Bengal -infantry, drew down encomiums for fidelity, in offering to march and -fight against the insurgents; whether all the officers believed the men, -may be doubted; but the chief authorities did not deem themselves -justified in shewing distrust. Thanks came from Calcutta for the -manifestation of loyalty made by the regiment—a loyalty destined to be -of brief duration. A detachment of her Majesty’s 84th reached Allahabad -on the 23d of May, sent up from Calcutta by the laboriously tedious -methods lately described. There being some disturbance expected at the -jail, the detachment was sent into the fort, and held in readiness to -proceed to the cantonment with two guns; but as the alarm ceased for a -time, the troops were sent on to Cawnpore, where much more anxiety was -felt. Lieutenant Brasyer commanded four hundred Sikhs of the Ferozpore -regiment in the fort; while Captain Hazelwood took charge of the -European artillerymen. About two hundred Englishwomen and children were -in the fort; and all hoped that the native troops in the cantonment -could and would be kept in subjection. How far this hope was well -founded, will be shewn in a future chapter. - -Lucknow and the important territory of Oude, so far as concerns the -events in May, have already been treated. The relations of the British -government to the court of Oude, the assiduous exertions of Sir Henry -Lawrence to maintain subordination and tranquillity, and the vigorous -measures adopted by him against the mutineers at Lucknow towards the -close of the month of May, were followed by occurrences in June which -will come for notice in their proper place. - -Of Cawnpore—a name never to be uttered by an English tongue without a -thrill of horror, an agony of exasperated feeling—all notice will be -postponed until the next chapter; not because the hapless beings there -residing were free from peril in the month of May, but because the -tragedy must be treated continuously as a whole, each scene leading -forward to the hideous climax. Suffice it at present to know that -Cawnpore contained so many English men and women, and so many mutinous -native troops, that all eyes were anxiously directed towards the -progress of events at that city. - -Let us turn to towns and districts further westward. - -[Illustration: - - Agra Fort. -] - -Agra, once the capital of the Patan emperors, is the chief city of the -Northwestern Provinces. Delhi is historically, and in population, more -important; but was still at that time nominally under another sovereign; -whereas Agra has been British territory since 1803, and is very well -suited for a seat of government. The city, like Delhi, is situated on -the right bank of the Jumna, and will, like it, be at some future time -accommodated by the East India railway. In round numbers, its distance -from Delhi is a hundred and fifty miles; from Calcutta, a little under -eight hundred; and from Lahore, five hundred. The boundary of the old -city encloses a space of twelve square miles; but not more than half of -this is at present occupied by houses. There is one fine street, with -houses built of red sandstone; the remaining streets are mostly narrow, -with very small, insignificant-looking shops. The public buildings are -numerous, and some of them very magnificent, telling of the past days of -imperial glory and splendour. One is the palace of Shahjehan; small, but -rendered very beautiful by its white marble surfaces, arabesques and -mosaics, carvings of flowers, inlayings of black and yellow marble, -enrichments of gilding, screen-works of marble and metal, fountains in -the mosaic pavements. Near this is Shahjehan’s audience-chamber, as -large as the palace itself, originally enclosed by arcades hung with -tapestries. And also close at hand is the Moti Musjid or Pearl Mosque; -with an exterior of red sandstone and an interior of white marble; a -court with arcades and a fountain; a vestibule raised on steps; three -terraces surmounted by beautiful domes; and nine elegant kiosks -equidistant along the front. But the crowning beauty of Agra in its -Mohammedan aspect is the celebrated Taj Mahal, a little way outside the -city. This was the mausoleum of Shahjehan and his favourite sultaness -Nurjehan, the ‘Light of the world,’ and occupied in its construction -twenty thousand men during a period of more than twenty years. Page -after page of travellers’ descriptions are occupied with this glorious -structure—its façade of a thousand feet in length; its dazzling -whiteness of marble; its mosques, at either end, with their domes; its -stupendous marble terraced platform, with steps and pillars, minarets -and kiosks; its great dome surmounted by gilded globes and crescents; -its octagonal shrine or sepulchral apartment, with enclosures of -extraordinary marble latticework; and its sarcophagi, literally covered -with arabesques, fanciful mouldings, sculptured flowers, and -inscriptions from the Koran. - -What a mockery of past grandeur is all this now! Shahjehan, two -centuries ago, was kept closely a prisoner in his splendour at Agra, -while his ambitious son, Aurungzebe, was seizing the throne at Delhi; -and now another race is dominant in both of those cities. Shahjehan’s -audience-chamber has had its arcades walled up, and is converted into an -arsenal for and by the British; and near it are now an armoury, a -medical depôt, and a district collectorate treasury. Nearly all the -once-imperial buildings are within the fort, a large place nearly a mile -in circuit; it contained a hundred and sixty guns when Lord Lake -captured it in 1803. Adjacent to the city, on the west, is the -government-house, the official residence of the lieutenant-governor of -the Northwestern Provinces; and in various places are numerous buildings -belonging to the Company, for revenue, magisterial, and judicial -establishments. The military lines are outside the city-wall. Before the -Revolt, this station was within the Meerut military division, and was -usually occupied by a considerable body of European and native troops. -It was a fact of small importance in peaceful times, but of some moment -when rebellion arose, that the civilians and writers in the public -offices were accustomed to live three or four miles from the cantonment -containing the military, quite on the opposite suburb of Agra. None -would live in the city itself, unless compelled, owing to the intense -heat. It will be well to bear in mind that the fort at Agra was, as just -noticed, not merely a post or stronghold, indicated by its name, but a -vast enclosure containing most of the palatial as well as the defensive -buildings, and ample enough to contain all the Europeans usually -residing in the city and its vicinity—large enough in dimensions, strong -enough in defences, provided a sufficient supply of food were stored -within its walls. Here, as at Delhi, Lucknow, Allahabad, and other -places, the due understanding of the mutinous proceedings requires an -appreciation of this fact—that the _city_, the _fort_, and the -_cantonment_ were all distinct. - -Agra, being the seat of government for the Northwest Provinces, was -naturally the city to which the Calcutta authorities looked for -information touching the Revolt; and Mr Colvin, the lieutenant-governor, -was assiduously engaged in collecting details, so far as telegraphs and -dâks permitted. On the night of the 10th of May he received sinister -news from the postmaster at Meerut, telling of deeds of violence being -at that moment committed. Next he heard that a young sepoy, mounted on a -travelling troop-horse, was stopped at Bolundshuhur, on suspicion of -being _en route_ to excite other sepoy regiments to rebellion. On the -13th, it was ascertained that a few sepoys were on their way from Meerut -through Allygurh to Agra, bent on mischief; and that others were -supposed to be advancing from Delhi. So little, however, did Mr Colvin -apprehend serious results, that when Scindiah, the maharajah of Gwalior, -came forward to offer his body-guard of three hundred men, and a battery -of artillery, as an aid to the Company, the governor accepted the offer -as ‘a personal compliment for a short time;’ but in the same message -saying, ‘though we really do not require more troops.’ This was -obviously said on the supposition that the native troops in and near -Agra would not be affected by the rebellious epidemic prevailing further -northward; a supposition destined to be sadly overturned. Nevertheless -the government made arrangements for placing at the disposal of Mr -Colvin two regiments of irregular horse from regions further west. Day -after day did evidence arrive shewing that the various districts around -were gradually becoming disturbed. On the 15th, the governor reviewed -the native regiments in Agra, and, finding them deeply impressed with a -conviction that the government intended in some way to degrade their -caste, gave them the most positive assurance that they had been grossly -deceived by such reports. He believed his explanation to have given -satisfaction. - -Towards the close of the month a step was taken by Mr Colvin which -brought him into collision with his superiors in power. As -lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces, surrounded on every side -by a teeming population, he wished to believe that the native troops as -a body would still remain faithful, and that an indulgent tone towards -them would effect more than severity to bring the erring back to a sense -of their duty. It was not a thoughtless proceeding: if wrong, the -mistake arose from the estimate formed of the native character, and of -the effect which indulgence would produce. ‘Hope,’ he said, in a letter -to the governor-general, ‘I am firmly convinced, should be held out to -all those who were not ringleaders or actually concerned in murder and -violence. Many are in the rebels’ ranks because they could not get away; -many certainly thought we were tricking them out of their caste; and -this opinion is held, however unwisely, by the mass of the population, -and even by some of the more intelligent classes.’ When he found some of -the troopers of the Gwalior Contingent, on whose fidelity much reliance -had been placed, become mutinous on the 24th of May, he resolved on -issuing a proclamation, based on the supposition that ‘this mutiny was -not one to be put down by indiscriminating high-horsed authority.’ The -pith of his proclamation was contained in these words: ‘Soldiers, -engaged in the late disturbances, who are desirous of going to their own -homes, and who give up their arms at the nearest government civil or -military post, and retire quietly, shall be permitted to do so -unmolested.’’ To this another sentence was added, in a less prominent -form: ‘Every evil-minded instigator in the disturbances, and those -guilty of heinous crimes against private persons, shall be punished.’ Mr -Colvin earnestly solicited the assent of the Calcutta government to this -proclamation; but the assent was as earnestly withheld. Viscount Canning -telegraphed orders back to Agra to recall the proclamation as quickly as -possible, and to substitute another sent for that purpose. ‘Use every -possible means to stop the circulation of the proclamation ... do -everything to stop its operation.’ Mr Colvin was obliged to announce the -abrogation of his own proclamation by a second which contained these -words: ‘Every soldier of a regiment which, although it has deserted its -post, has not committed outrages, will receive free pardon if he -immediately deliver up his arms to the civil or military authority, and -if no heinous crimes be shewn to have been perpetrated by himself -personally. This offer of free and unconditional pardon _cannot be -extended to those regiments which have killed or wounded their officers -or other persons, or which have been concerned in the commission of -cruel outrages_.’ Mr Colvin wished to pardon all who would give up their -arms, except a few ringleaders, and persons individually engaged in -outrage; while Viscount Canning wished to exempt from this pardon such -regiments as had been engaged in the murderous atrocities at Meerut, -Delhi, and elsewhere. General Anson, the commander-in-chief, died before -his opinion could be sought; but the Calcutta government, and (at a -later date) the British government and the British public, agreed with -the governor-general. Mr Colvin was placed in a most perplexing -position; for he was called upon to overturn his own proceedings, -thereby departing from a plan which he believed adequate for the purpose -in view, and weakening his authority in the eyes of the natives. Canning -telegraphed to Colvin: ‘The embarrassment in which your proclamation -will place the government and the commander-in-chief is very great;’ -while Colvin telegraphed to Canning: ‘Openly to undo my public act, -where really no substantial change is made, would fatally shake my power -for good.’ Brigadier Sibbald, commanding the Rohilcund division, with -Bareilly for his head-quarters, joined Mr Colvin in opinion on this -matter; he said: ‘Were the men under my command fully convinced that -_the past should be forgotten_, I feel assured their loyalty and good -conduct may be relied upon.’ The general tendency of opinion has been -that stern measures were necessary at that crisis; but it was -unquestionably infelicitous that these contradictory views should have -been held at such a time in high quarters. - -Mr Colvin, perpetually harassed with the accounts daily received from -the various important towns included in his government, was nevertheless -secure at Agra itself until towards the close of the month of May. Then, -however, he found stern measures necessary. Having two regiments of -native infantry with him, the 44th and the 67th, he sent two companies, -one of each regiment, to Muttra (on the Delhi road), to bring down -treasure to Agra. On the road, they mutinied, murdered some of their -officers, and hastened to join the insurgents at Delhi. Mr Colvin at -once resolved to disarm the remaining companies of those regiments: this -he was enabled to do by the presence of the 3d Europeans and Captain -D’Oyley’s European field-battery; and the disarming was quietly effected -on the 1st of June. Shortly afterwards, a corps of volunteer horse was -raised among the Europeans at Agra, and placed under the command of -Lieutenant Greathed—one of three brothers at that time actively engaged -in the Company’s service. This corps rendered good service by putting -down rebellious petty chieftains in the neighbourhood. Mr Colvin felt -the full weight of his position; the governor-general was far from him -in one direction, Sir John Lawrence far in another; while Sir Henry -Lawrence had no troops to spare, and the commander-in-chief could -scarcely be heard of. - -The great Mahratta stronghold, Gwalior, did not become a scene of mutiny -until June; we therefore need not notice the city or its chief, -Scindiah, in this place; but by following the fortunes of a portion of -the Gwalior Contingent, a regiment of irregular horse, we shall learn -much concerning the state of the country round Agra, and of the active -services required from the English officers. Mr Colvin having accepted -the proffered services of the contingent from the maharajah, Lieutenant -Cockburn received orders to head half the regiment, together with a -battery of guns. He started on the 13th of May from Gwalior, and -accomplished the distance of ninety miles to Agra by the 15th, without -knocking up man or horse. On the 18th, news arrived that troubles had -broken out at Allygurh, fifty-five miles north of Agra, and that the -services of the contingent were necessary for the protection of the -ladies and the civilians. Cockburn with his troopers marched thirty-four -miles to Hattrass on that day, and the remaining twenty-one miles on the -19th—seeking shelter from the tremendous mid-day heat in any dilapidated -building that might offer; and each officer keeping in store his only -clean shirt ‘to meet the fugitive ladies from Allygurh.’ What he saw, -and what he had yet to see, at Allygurh, was serious enough. This town -was destined to affect the operations of the British, not so much by its -intrinsic importance, as by its position on one of the great lines of -route between the eastern and western provinces of India. Allygurh -commands the road from Agra to Meerut; and thus, in hostile hands, it -would necessarily add to the difficulties attending the temporary loss -of Delhi; seeing that the road both to Simla and to Lahore would thus be -interrupted. The town is so surrounded by marshes and shallow pools, as -to be almost unassailable in the rainy season. The fort consists of a -regular polygon, with a broad and very deep ditch outside; it was of -simple construction at the time of its capture by the British in 1803, -but has since been much strengthened and improved. The military -cantonment, the civil establishments, and the bazaar, are situated -towards Coel, a little southward of the fort. At the beginning of the -troubles in May, Allygurh was under the care of Mr Watson, as magistrate -and collector. There were in the place, at the time, the head-quarters -and three or four companies of the 9th regiment B. N. I.: the remainder -of the regiment being in detachments at Minpooree, Etawah, and -Bolundshuhur, towns further to the southeast. The troops at Allygurh -behaved well and steadily during the first half of the month; but -gradually a change supervened. A spy was one day caught endeavouring to -excite the men. Lieutenant Cockburn, in a private letter, thus narrates -the manner—quite melodramatic in its way—in which this villain was -foiled: ‘An influential Brahmin of this neighbourhood having been seen -lurking about the lines for the past day or two, a native -non-commissioned officer concealed a number of sepoys, and induced the -Brahmin to accompany him to where the men lay hidden; under pretence of -its being a secluded spot where they might safely concert matters. The -Brahmin then made overtures to the soldier, and told him that if he -would persuade the men of the regiment to mutiny, he would furnish two -thousand men to assist in murdering the Europeans and plundering the -treasury. At a preconcerted signal, the sepoys jumped up and secured the -ruffian.’ He was hanged the same day. The troops at Bolundshuhur, really -or affectedly expressing horror at the hanging of a Brahmin, marched to -Allygurh, and, on the 20th, succeeded in inducing their companions to -mutiny. This result was so wholly unforeseen, the 9th had hitherto -behaved so well, and had displayed such alacrity in capturing the -treacherous Brahmin, that neither the civilians nor the English officers -were prepared to resist it. Cockburn at first intended to dash at them -with his troopers; but the approaching darkness, and other -considerations—possibly a doubt concerning the troopers themselves—led -to a change of plan. ‘One holy duty remained to be performed—to save the -ladies and children. This we accomplished; and whilst they were being -put into carriages, we shewed a front to the mutineers, and hindered -their advance. An occasional bullet whistled by our heads, but it was -too dark for taking aim. One man was shot through the wrist, and five -are missing. We then heard that the inhabitants were rising, so we -determined on retreating. The ladies were sent on direct to Agra, and we -went on to Hattrass. We had not gone far, when the bright light behind -us told too plainly that the cantonment was in flames.’ The civilians -and the officers of the 9th lost all except their horses and the clothes -on their backs. Allygurh remained for a considerable time in the hands -of the insurgents: almost cutting off communication between the -southeast and the northwest. - -While the refugees remained in safety at Hattrass, the troopers scoured -the country to put down marauders and murderers—for it was a saturnalia -of lawlessness. On the 21st, many of the ruffians were captured, and -speedily hanged. On the 22d, two headmen of neighbouring villages joined -the marauders in an attack on some English refugees, but were -frustrated. On the 23d, Cockburn and his troop galloped off from -Hattrass to Sarsnee, and rescued eighteen refugees from Allygurh. ‘Poor -people! They have sad tales to tell. One indigo planter, Mr ——, has had -one son murdered; another son, his wife, and himself, are wounded. His -house and all he possessed have been destroyed. The very clothes were -torn from their backs; and even the poor women, naked and bleeding, -insulted and abused, had to walk many miles. At length they received -shelter from a kind-hearted native banker in the village where I found -them; but even there the house in which they were sheltered was twice -attacked.’ The good Samaritan—for there were some good and kind amid all -the villainies that surrounded them—gave two or three sheets to the poor -sufferers, to cover their nakedness, and to enable them to proceed to -Hattrass. - -The 24th of May shewed how little the Gwalior troopers could be depended -upon. Of two hundred and thirty that had been intrusted to Lieutenant -Cockburn, a hundred and twenty suddenly mutinied, and galloped off to -join the insurgents at Delhi. As the villagers began to shew symptoms of -attacking him in his weakness, and as a hundred and ten troopers still -stuck by their colours, he marched off that night nineteen miles from -Hattrass to Kundowlie. On the road, the troopers told the lieutenant of -many little grievances that had affected them at Gwalior, and that had -partly led to the mutiny of the rest of their body; and he felt grateful -that some at least of the number had remained true. During the remainder -of the month, and in the early part of June, this diminished body of -troopers was incessantly engaged in skirmishing, attacking, or resisting -attacks; the country around being in such a frightful state, that a -dozen villages were sometimes seen in flames at once—the work of -desperadoes, who took advantage of a time of anarchy. On one occasion, -Cockburn baffled a horde of scoundrels by a capital stratagem. They had -collected to the number of about five hundred, and were plundering every -one on the road in a shameful manner. The lieutenant went after them -with fifty troopers. He sent four of his men in a bullock-cart, a -curtained vehicle such as women usually ride in. When the marauders saw -this, they made a rush for plunder, and perhaps something worse, -believing the cart to contain defenceless women; they approached, but -the four men jumped up, fired their muskets, and by that signal brought -Cockburn and his party forward. An exciting chase ensued, which ended in -the death of fifty of the marauders, and the capture of many others. - -The 9th native regiment, it will be remembered, was quartered in four -detachments at Allygurh, Minpooree, Etawah, and Bolundshuhur. At all -four places the troops mutinied. At Etawah and Bolundshuhur, the course -of events was not so exciting as at Allygurh, although amply sufficient -to try the tact and courage of the few officers and civilians stationed -at those places. Minpooree, on the road from Agra to Furruckabad, was, -however, the scene of so smart an affair, that the governor-general, -amid all his harassing employments, made it a matter of special comment. -The officer chiefly concerned was Lieutenant de Kantzow; the date was -May the 23d, when three companies of the 9th broke out into revolt. On -the night of the 22d, news arrived that the chief portion of the -regiment had mutinied at Allygurh, and it thence became at once doubtful -whether the three companies at Minpooree could be depended upon. The -magistrate and the collector of the district, acting with Lieutenant -Crawford, resolved on removing all the English women and children for -safety to Agra: this was done, promptly and successfully. A plan was -agreed on, relating to the three companies of native troops on the -morrow; but the sepoys anticipated this plan by mutinying at four in the -morning, and endeavouring to shoot down their officers. They loaded -themselves with a great store of ammunition, and tried—first to bring -down their officers, and then to plunder the treasury and the bungalows. -Lieutenant de Kantzow, second in command under Crawford, confronted them -undauntedly, reasoned with them, and endeavoured to stop them in their -mad career. Some of the men, attached to the chivalrous officer, dashed -down several muskets levelled at him, and saved his life. But a terrible -scene occurred at the treasury. De Kantzow, with a mere handful of -ill-armed jail-guards and jail-officials, maintained a three hours’ -struggle against three companies of fully armed troops. The commandant -had gone off; the collector also had made a hasty escape, deeming the -magistrate’s conduct ‘romantic’ in remaining behind; and thus De Kantzow -was left to do the best he could at the treasury, the magistrate -elsewhere. De Kantzow sent a hasty message, requesting the magistrate -_not_ to come to the treasury, as it would make one European the more -for the sepoys to yell at and attack. How long the unequal struggle -would have been maintained, cannot be said; but the magistrate found an -influential native, Ras Bhowanee Singh, willing and able to visit the -excited sepoys, and induce them to desist from further violence. They -did so: they decamped with a good deal of property, but _without_ three -lacs of rupees deposited in the treasury, and without taking one English -life. Right indeed was it that De Kantzow should receive the thanks of -the government;[14] for if he had flinched, Minpooree with its twenty -thousand inhabitants would have been at the mercy of three hundred -brutal armed men, ready to plunder natives as well as Feringhees. - -It was about one week after this event that Captain Carey, of the 17th -B. N. I., rode into Minpooree, the only remaining one of four English -officers who had been endeavouring to render useful service in the -neighbourhood. They were at the head of a small body of native cavalry. -The sowars suddenly turned upon them in an open road. Major Hayes, -military secretary to Sir Henry Lawrence—a great oriental scholar and -most able officer, whom General Wheeler had just before solicited Sir -Henry to send him, to open the communications with Agra—was instantly -cut down with a sword, his head frightfully hacked, his right hand cut -off, his left mutilated. Another, Lieutenant Fayers, had his head nearly -severed from his body by a dastardly villain, while the unfortunate -young officer was drinking at a well. An old Sikh rushed forward to -prevent the atrocity, but was repelled with the words: ‘What! are you -with these Kaffirs? Look to yourself!’ Lieutenant Barber, adjutant of -the 2d irregular cavalry, made an attempt to escape, but was shot down, -cut to pieces, robbed, and left dead. The fourth, Captain Carey, trusted -to the heels of his good horse; on he galloped over fields and roads, -followed by a troop of blood-thirsty miscreants, yelling and firing as -they rode. Happily, just as his steed was about to sink through -exhaustion, his pursuers gave up the chase. He reached Minpooree in -safety; and on the 1st of June, followed the mangled remains of his -three poor companions to the grave. - -Another exploit connected with Minpooree shall be given in the words of -Lieutenant de Kantzow, affording as it does one among many examples of -the extraordinary risks to which the officers were exposed at that -turbulent period, and of the rattling, quick-witted, fearless, -persevering way in which such dangers were met, and afterwards described -in the letters written to friends at home—letters that admit the reader -behind the scenes in a way not possible in official dispatches: ‘I was -returning from reconnoitring, when information was brought me that five -troopers of the 7th light cavalry (native) were coming along the road. -An immediate pursuit was of course ordered by me, and my thirty-nine -troopers tore away at full speed after them. I was just coming up to -them, and had already let drive among the murdering villains; when, lo! -I came upon two hundred of their comrades, all armed with swords, and -some with carbines. A smart fire was kept up at a distance of not more -than twenty-five yards. What could thirty-nine do against two hundred -regular troopers, well horsed and armed—particularly when walked into by -the bullets of a hundred of the infantry! I ordered a retreat, but my -cavalry could not get away from troopers mounted upon good stud-bred -horses; so we were soon overtaken, and then commenced the shindy in -earnest. Twelve troopers surrounded me: the first, a Mohammedan priest, -I shot through the breast just as he was cutting me down. This was my -only pistol, so I was helpless as regards weapons, save my sword; this -guarded off a swingeing cut given me by number two, as also another by -number three; but the fun could not last. I bitterly mourned not having -a couple of revolvers, for I could have shot every man. My sword was cut -down, and I got a slash on the head that blinded me; another on the arm -that glanced and only took a slice off; the third caught me on the side, -but also glanced and hit me sideways. I know not how I escaped: God only -knows, as twelve against one were fearful odds, especially as I was -mounted on a pony bare back. Escape, however, I did.’ Twenty-four out of -his thirty-nine troopers were killed, wounded, or missing. - -The region lately noticed, including the towns of Allygurh, Hattrass, -Etawah, Minpooree, &c., was formerly included in Rohilcund, or the land -of the Rohillas; but according to the territorial or political division -adopted by the Company, it is now partly in the Meerut division, and -partly in that of Agra; while the present Rohilcund division is wholly -on the left bank of the Ganges. These technical distinctions are, -however, a matter of very little importance in connection with the -progress of the Revolt; for the insubordinate sepoys tempted and -imitated each other wholly in disregard of mere conventional boundaries. -We must now follow the stream of insurrection across the Ganges, and -shew how deplorable was the anarchy, how sad the sufferings, that began -there towards the close of May. - -The districts of Rohilcund in its modern or limited sense are Bareilly, -Boodayoun or Budaon, Shahjehanpoor, Mooradabad, and Bijnour, each named -after a chief town; and not only were the whole of these towns more or -less disturbed, but throughout the intervening country the military -cantonments were set into a flame—figuratively and often literally. In -some instances the civil servants of the Company, chiefly magistrates -and revenue collectors, made their escape with their wives and children, -leaving the mutineers to occupy the stations and pillage the treasuries; -in others the civil servants, led by one of their number possessing tact -and resolution, held the marauders at bay until assistance could be -procured; while in many cases the English officers of native regiments, -as well as the civilians, yielded—by flight or by death—only after a -determined resistance. - -Two of the towns above named, Bareilly and Boodayoun, will suffice at -present to illustrate the state of affairs in Rohilcund. Sunday, as we -have often had occasion to observe, was a favourite day for the native -outbreaks; and it was on Sunday the 31st of May that the miseries at -Bareilly began. The 18th and 68th regiments N. I. were cantoned there. -The bungalow of Colonel Troup was suddenly surrounded by two companies -of his own regiment, the 68th: and it was only by a hasty exit through a -side-door that he escaped death. During many previous days and nights -the troops had been in a rebellious state; the English, civilians and -military, had slept in their clothes, with pistols ready loaded, and -horses kept ready saddled. The ladies had all been sent up for safety to -Nynee Tal; and thus, when the struggle arose, the officers had only -themselves to protect. This word ‘ladies,’ however, is to be interpreted -in its conventional sense; for many women in a humbler grade of life, -together with their children, remained in the town; and among these some -deplorable scenes occurred. The members of one family were brought -before a ruthless fellow who assumed some kind of authority; and in a -very few minutes their heads were severed from their bodies. At the same -time, Mr Robertson the judge, two medical men, the professors of the -college, and others, were subjected to a mock trial and publicly hanged. -The mutinous sepoys took aim in the most deliberate way at their -officers, while the latter were fleeing; Mr Alexander, commissioner of -Bareilly, though ill at the time, was forced to mount his horse and -gallop off as the only means of saving his life, amid a shower of -bullets and grape-shot—for the treacherous villains not only used -muskets and rifles, but fired grape from the cannon. Many of the -gentlemen rode off in haste without any head-coverings, the rays of an -Indian sun pouring down upon them in full force. When the English were -driven out, the Mohammedans and Hindoos began to fight fiercely against -each other for possession of the treasure—one among many indications -that plunder was at least as strong a desire as revenge in impelling the -natives to deeds of violence. - -The name of Nynee Tal is mentioned in the above paragraph; and it may be -well to understand on what ground that town was so often named with -earnest solicitude by officers engaged in arduous struggles in various -parts of the north of India. Nynee Tal is a healthy spot on the banks of -a beautiful lake, a few miles from Almora in Kumaon, and not far from -the Nepaulese border: indeed it belonged to the Goorkhas of Nepaul until -recent times, when it was conquered from them by the British; since -which occurrences the late owners have been friendly neighbours within -their own territory of Nepaul. Nynee Tal became a second Simla during -the disturbances. Women and children, if their lives were spared at the -scenes of tumult, were hurried off to the places just named, and to one -or two other towns among the hills—there to remain till days of peace -returned, or till means of safe conveyance to Calcutta or Bombay could -be procured. When the troubles in Rohilcund commenced; when Bareilly and -Boodayoun, Mooradabad and Shahjehanpoor, fell into the hands of the -rebels—all fled to Nynee Tal who could. Captain Ramsey, commanding at -that town, at once made arrangements for protecting the poor fugitives; -he formed the gentlemen of the station into a militia, who took it in -turn to fulfil the duties of an armed patrol, to keep in order the -dacoits and other ruffians in the neighbourhood; he laid in a store of -three months’ provisions for all the mouths in the place; and he armed -the station and the roads with companies of a Goorkha regiment. These -Goorkhas, it may be well here to explain, are of Mongol origin, but -smaller and darker than the real Chinese. They belong to Nepaul, and -first became familiar to the British by their resolute soldierly -qualities during the Nepaulese war. Although Hindoos by religion, they -have little or nothing of caste prejudice, and sympathise but slightly -with the Hindoos of the plains. Being natives of a somewhat poor -country, they have shewn a readiness in recent years to accept Company’s -pay as auxiliary troops; and it was a very important fact to those -concerned in quelling the revolt, that the Goorkhas manifested a -disposition rather to remain faithful to their British paymasters, than -to join the standard of rapine and murder. - -Bareilly, we have just seen, was one of the towns from which fugitive -ladies were sent for safety to Nynee Tal; and now the town of Boodayoun, -on the road from Agra to Bareilly, comes for notice under similar -conditions. Considering that the course of public events often receives -illustration of a remarkable kind from the experience of single -individuals, we shall treat the affairs of Boodayoun in connection with -the strange adventures of one of the Company’s civil servants—adventures -not so deeply distressing as those of the fugitives from Delhi, but -continued during a much longer period, and bringing to light a much -larger number of facts connected with the feelings and position of the -natives in the disturbed districts. The wanderer, Mr Edwards, collector -of the Boodayoun district, was more than _three months_ in reaching -Cawnpore from Boodayoun—a distance scarcely over a hundred miles by -road. About the middle of May, the districts on both sides of the Ganges -becoming very disturbed, Mr Edwards sent his wife and child for refuge -to Nynee Tal. He was the sole European officer in charge of the -Boodayoun district, and felt his anxieties deepen as rumours reached him -of disturbances in other quarters. At the end of the month, news of the -revolt at Bareilly added to his difficulties; for the mutineers and a -band of liberated prisoners were on their way from that place to -Boodayoun. Mr Edwards expresses his opinion that the mutiny was -aggravated by the laws, or the course adopted by the civil courts, -concerning landed property. Landed rights and interests were sold by -order of the courts for petty debts; they were bought by strangers, who -had no particular sympathy with the people; and the old landowners, -regarded with something like affection by the peasantry, were thrown -into a discontented state. Evidence was soon afforded that these -dispossessed landowners joined the mutineers, not from a political -motive, but to seize hold of their old estates during a time of turmoil -and violence. ‘The danger now is, that they can never wish to see the -same government restored to power; fearing, as they naturally must, that -they will have again to give up possession of their estates.’ This -subject, of landed tenure in India, will call for further illustration -in future pages, in relation to the condition of the people. - -[Illustration: - - Nynee Tal—a refuge for European fugitives. -] - -Narrowly escaping peril himself, Mr Edwards, on the 1st of June, saw -that flight was his only chance. There were two English indigo-planters -in the neighbourhood, together with another European, who determined to -accompany him wherever he went, thinking their safety would be thereby -increased. This embarrassed him, for friendly natives who might shelter -one person, would probably hesitate to receive four; and so it proved, -on several occasions. He started off on horseback, accompanied by the -other three, and by a faithful Sikh servant, Wuzeer Singh, who never -deserted him through all his trials. The worldly wealth of Mr Edwards at -this moment consisted of the clothes on his back, a revolver, a watch, a -purse, and a New Testament. During the first few days they galloped from -village to village, just as they found the natives favourable or -hostile; often forced to flee when most in need of food and rest. They -crossed the Ganges two or three times, tracing out a strange zigzag in -the hope of avoiding dangers. The wanderers then made an attempt to -reach Futteghur. They suffered much, and one life was lost, in this -attempt; the rest, after many days, reached Futteghur, where Mr Probyn -was the Company’s collector. Native troops were mutinying, or consulting -whether to mutiny; Europeans were departing; and it soon became evident -that Futteghur would no longer be a place of safety either for Probyn or -for Edwards. Flight again became necessary, and under more anxious -circumstances, for a lady and four children were to be protected; but -how to flee, and whither, became anxious questions. Day after day -passed, before a friendly native could safely plan an escape for them by -boat; enemies and marauders were on every side; and at last the danger -became so imminent that it was resolved to cross the Ganges, and seek an -asylum in a very desolate spot, out of the way of the mutineers. Here -was presented a curious exemplification of ‘lucky’ and ‘unlucky’ days as -viewed by the natives. ‘A lucky day having been found for our start,’ -says Mr Edwards, ‘we were to go when the moon rose; but this moon-rise -was not till three o’clock on the morning after that fixed for the -start. This the Thakoors were not at first aware of. I was wakened about -eleven o’clock by one of them, who said that the fact had just come to -his knowledge, and that it was necessary that something belonging to us -should start at once, as this would equally secure the lucky influence -of the day, even though we ourselves should not start till next morning. -A _table-fork_ was accordingly given him, with which he went off quite -satisfied, and which was sent by a bearer towards the village we were to -proceed to.’ Under the happy influence of this table-fork, the wanderers -set forth by night, Mrs Probyn and her children riding on an elephant, -and the men walking on roads almost impassable with mud. They reached -the stream; they crossed in a boat; they walked some distance amid -torrents of rain, Mr Edwards ‘carrying poor baby;’ and then they reached -the village, Runjpoonah, destined for their temporary home. What a home -it was! ‘The place intended for the Probyns was a wretched hovel -occupied by buffaloes, and filthy beyond expression, the smell stifling, -and the mud and dirt over our ankles. My heart sank within me as I laid -down my little charge on a charpoy.’ By the exercise of ingenuity, an -extemporaneous chamber was fitted up in the roof. During a long sojourn -here in the rainy season, Mr Edwards wrote a letter to his wife at Nynee -Tal, under the following odd circumstances: ‘I had but a small scrap of -paper on which to write my two notes, and just the stump of a -lead-pencil: we had neither pens nor ink. In the middle of my writing, -the pencil-point broke; and when I commenced repointing it, the whole -fell out, there being just a speck of lead left. I was in despair; but -was fortunately able to refix the atom, and to finish two short -notes—about an inch square each: it was all the man could conceal about -him. I then steeped the notes in a little milk, and put them out to dry -in the sun. At once a crow pounced on one and carried it off, and I of -course thought it was lost for ever. Wuzeer Singh, however, saw and -followed the creature, and recovered the note after a long chase.’ -Several weeks passed; ‘poor baby’ died; then an elder child—both sinking -under the privations they had had to endure: their anxious mother, with -all her tender solicitude, being unable further to preserve them. Mr -Edwards, who was one of those that thought the annexation of Oude an -unwise measure, said, in relation to a rumour that Oude had been -restored to its king: ‘I would rejoice at such an equitable measure at -another time; but now it would be, if true, a sign of a falling cause -and of great weakness, which is I fear our real case.’ On another -occasion, he heard ‘more rumours that the governor-general and the King -of Oude had arrived at Cawnpore; and that Oude is then formally to be -made over to the king.’ Whether Oudians or not, everywhere he found the -Mohammedans more hostile to the British than the Hindoos; and in some -places the two bodies of religionists fought with each other. After many -more weeks of delays and disappointments, the fugitives were started off -down the Ganges to Cawnpore. In effecting this start, the ‘lucky-day’ -principle was again acted on. ‘The astrologer had fixed an hour for -starting. As it was not possible for us to go at the fortunate moment -and secure the advantage, a shirt of mine and some garments of those who -were to accompany me, were forwarded to a village some way on the road, -which is considered equivalent to ourselves starting.’ Half-a-dozen -times on their voyage were they in danger of being shot by hostile -natives on shore; but the fidelity and tact of the natives who had -befriended them carried them through all their perils. At length they -reached Cawnpore on the 1st of September, just three calendar months -after Mr Edwards took his hasty departure from Boodayoun. - -This interesting train of adventures we have followed to its close, as -illustrating so many points connected with the state of India at the -time; but now attention must be brought back to the month of May. - -West of the Rohilcund district, and northwest of Allygurh and its -neighbouring cluster of towns, lie Meerut and Delhi, the two places at -which the atrocities were first manifested. Meerut, after the departure -of the three mutinous regiments on the night of the 10th of May, and the -revolt of the Sappers and Miners a few days afterwards, remained -unmolested. Major-general Hewett was too strong in European troops to be -attacked, although his force took part in many operations against the -rebels elsewhere. Several prisoners, proved to have been engaged in the -murderous work of the 10th, were hanged. On the other hand, many sowars -of the 3d native cavalry, instead of going to Delhi, spread terror among -the villagers near Meerut. One of the last military dispatches of the -commander-in-chief was to Hewett, announcing his intention to send most -of his available troops from Kurnaul by Bhagput and Paniput, to Delhi, -and requesting Hewett to despatch from Meerut an auxiliary force. This -force he directed should consist of two squadrons of carabiniers, a wing -of the 60th Rifles, a light field-battery, a troop of horse-artillery, a -corps of artillerymen to work the siege-train, and as many sappers as he -could depend upon. General Anson calculated that if he left Umballa on -the 1st of June, and if Hewett sent his force from Meerut on the 2d, -they might meet at Bhagput on the 5th, when a united advance might be -made upon Delhi; but, as we shall presently see, the hand of death -struck down the commander-in-chief ere this plan could be carried out; -and the force from Meerut was placed at the disposal of another -commander, under circumstances that will come under notice in their -proper place. - -Delhi, like Cawnpore, must be treated apart from other towns. The -military proceedings connected with its recapture were so interesting, -and carried on over so long a period; it developed resources so -startlingly large among the mutineers, besieging forces so lamentably -small on the part of the British—that the whole will conveniently form a -subject complete in itself, to be treated when collateral events have -been brought up to the proper level. Suffice it at present to say, that -the mutineers over the whole of the north of India looked to the -retention of Delhi as their great stronghold, their rock of defence; -while the British saw with equal clearness that the recapture of that -celebrated city was an indispensable preliminary to the restoration of -their prestige and power in India. All the mutineers from other towns -either hastened to Delhi, or calculated on its support to their cause, -whatever that cause may have been; all the available British regiments, -on the other hand, few indeed as they were, either hastened to Delhi, or -bore it in memory during their other plans and proceedings. - -Just at the time when the services of a military commander were most -needed in the regions of which Agra is the centre, and when it was -necessary to be in constant communication with the governor-general and -authorities, General Anson could not be heard of; he was supposed at -Calcutta to be somewhere between Simla and Delhi; but dâks and -telegraphs had been interfered with, and all remained in mystery as to -his movements. Lawrence at Lucknow, Ponsonby at Benares, Wheeler at -Cawnpore, Colvin at Agra, Hewett at Meerut, other commanders at -Allahabad, Dinapoor, and elsewhere—all said in effect: ‘We can hold our -own for a time, but not unless Delhi be speedily recaptured. Where is -the commander-in-chief?’ Viscount Canning sent messages in rapid -succession, during the second half of the month of May, entreating -General Anson to bring all his power to bear on Delhi as quickly as -possible. Duplicate telegrams were sent by different routes, in hopes -that one at least might reach its destination safely; and every telegram -told the same story—that British India was in peril so long as Delhi was -not in British hands, safe from murderers and marauders. Major-general -Sir Henry Barnard, military commander of the Umballa district, received -telegraphic news on the 11th of May of the outrages at Meerut and Delhi; -and immediately sent an aid-de-camp to gallop off with the information -to General Anson at Simla, seventy or eighty miles distant. The -commander-in-chief at once hastened from his retirement among the hills. -Simla, as was noticed in a former page, is one of the sanataria for the -English in India, spots where pure air and moderate temperature restore -to the jaded body some of the strength, and to the equally jaded spirits -some of the elasticity, which are so readily lost in the burning plains -further south. The poorer class among the Europeans cannot afford the -indulgence, for the cost is too great; but the principal servants of the -Company often take advantage of this health-restoring and invigorating -climate—where the average temperature of the year is not above 55° F. -The question has been frequently discussed, and is not without cogency, -whether the commander-in-chief acted rightly in remaining at that remote -spot during the first twenty weeks in the year, when so many suspicious -symptoms were observable among the native troops at Calcutta, Dumdum, -Barrackpore, Berhampore, Lucknow, Meerut, and Umballa. He could know -nothing of the occurrences at those places but what the telegraphic -wires and the postal dâks told him; nevertheless, if they told him the -truth, and _all_ the truth, it seems difficult to understand, unless -illness paralysed his efforts, why he, the chief of the army, remained -quiescent at a spot more than a thousand miles from Calcutta. - -Startled by the news, the commander-in-chief quitted Simla, and hastened -to Umballa, the nearest military station on the great Indian highway. It -then became sensibly felt, both by Anson and Barnard, how insufficient -were the appliances at their disposal. The magazines at Umballa were -nearly empty of stores and ammunition; the reserve artillery-wagons were -at Phillour, eighty miles away; the native infantry were in a very -disaffected state; the European troops were at various distances from -Umballa; the commissariat officers declared it to be almost impossible -to move any body of troops, in the absence of necessary supplies for a -column in the field; and the medical officers dwelt on the danger of -marching troops in the hot season, and on the want of conveyance for -sick and wounded. In short, almost everything was wanting, necessary for -the operations of an army. The generals set to work, however; they -ordered the 2d European Fusiliers to hasten from Subathoo to Umballa; -the Nusseree Battalion to escort a siege-train and ammunition from -Phillour to Umballa; six companies of the Sappers and Miners to proceed -from Roorkee to Meerut; and the 4th Irregular Cavalry to hold themselves -in readiness at Hansi. Anson at the same time issued the general order, -already adverted to, inviting the native regiments to remain true to -their allegiance, explaining the real facts concerning the cartridges, -and reiterating the assurances of non-intervention with the religious -and caste scruples of the men. On the 17th there were more than seven -regiments of troops at Umballa—namely, the Queen’s 9th Lancers, the 4th -Light Cavalry Lancers, the Queen’s 75th foot, the 1st and 2d European -Fusiliers, the 5th and 60th native infantry, and two troops of European -horse-artillery; but the European regiments were all far short of their -full strength. Symptoms soon appeared that the 5th and 60th native -infantry were not to be relied upon for fidelity; and General Anson -thereupon strengthened his force at Umballa with such European regiments -as were obtainable. He was nevertheless in great perplexity how to shape -his course; for so many wires had been cut and so many dâks stopped, -that he knew little of the progress of events around Delhi and Agra. -Being new to India and Indian warfare, also, and having received his -appointment to that high command rather through political connections -than in reference to any experience derived from Asiatic campaigning, he -was dependent on those around him for suggestions concerning the best -mode of grappling with the difficulties that were presented. These -suggestions, in all probability, were not quite harmonious; for it has -long been known that, in circumstances of emergency, the civil and -military officers of the Company, viewing occurrences under different -aspects or from different points of view, often arrived at different -estimates as to the malady to be remedied, and at different suggestions -as to the remedy to be applied. At the critical time in question, -however, all the officers, civil as well as military, assented to the -conclusion that Delhi must be taken at any cost; and on the 21st of May, -the first division of a small but well-composed force set out from -Umballa on the road to Delhi. General Anson left on the 25th, and -arrived on the 26th at Kurnaul, to be nearer the scene of active -operations; but there death carried him off. He died of cholera on the -next day, the 27th of May. - -With a governor-general a thousand miles away, the chief officers at and -near Kurnaul settled among themselves as best they could, according to -the rules of the service, the distribution of duties, until official -appointments could be made from Calcutta. Major-general Sir Henry -Barnard became temporary commander, and Major-general Reid second under -him. When the governor-general received this news, he sent for Sir -Patrick Grant, a former experienced adjutant-general of the Bengal army, -from Madras, to assume the office of commander-in-chief; but the -officers at that time westward of Delhi—Barnard, Reid, Wilson, and -others—had still the responsibility of battling with the rebels. Sir -Henry Barnard, as temporary chief, took charge of the expedition to -Delhi—with what results will be shewn in the proper place. - -The regions lying west, northwest, and southwest of Delhi have this -peculiarity, that they are of easier access from Bombay or from Kurachee -than from Calcutta. Out of this rose an important circumstance in -connection with the Revolt—namely, the practicability of the employment -of the Bombay native army to confront the mutinous regiments belonging -to that of Bengal. It is difficult to overrate the value of the -difference between the two armies. Had they been formed of like -materials, organised on a like system, and officered in a like ratio, -the probability is that the mutiny would have been greatly increased in -extent—the same motives, be they reasonable or unreasonable, being alike -applicable to both armies. Of the degree to which the Bombay regiments -shewed fidelity, while those of Bengal unfurled the banner of rebellion, -there will be frequent occasions to speak in future pages. The subject -is only mentioned here to explain why the western parts of India are not -treated in the present chapter. There were, it is true, disturbances at -Neemuch and Nuseerabad, and at various places in Rajpootana, the -Punjaub, and Sinde; but these will better be treated in later pages, in -connection rather with Bombay than with Calcutta as head-quarters. -Enough has been said to shew over how wide an area the taint of -disaffection spread during the month of May—to break out into something -much more terrible in the next following month. - - - Notes. - - _Indian Railways._—An interesting question presents itself, in - connection with the subject of the present chapter—Whether the - Revolt would have been _possible_ had the railways been completed? - The rebels, it is true, might have forced up or dislocated the - rails, or might have tampered with the locomotives. They might, on - the other hand, if powerfully concentrated, have used the railways - for their own purposes, and thus made them am auxiliary to - rebellion. Nevertheless, the balance of probability is in favour of - the government—that is, the government would have derived more - advantage than the insurgents from the existence of railways between - the great towns of India. The difficulties, so great as to be almost - insuperable, in transporting troops from one place to another, have - been amply illustrated in this and the preceding chapters; we have - seen how dâk and palanquin bearers, bullocks and elephants, ekahs - and wagons, Ganges steamers and native boats, were brought into - requisition, and how painfully slow was the progress made. The 121 - miles of railway from Calcutta to Raneegunge were found so useful, - in enabling the English soldiers to pass swiftly over the first part - of their journey, that there can hardly be a doubt of the important - results which would have followed an extension of the system. Even - if a less favourable view be taken in relation to Bengal and the - Northwest Provinces, the advantages would unquestionably have been - on the side of the government in the Bombay and Madras presidencies, - where disaffection was shewn only in a very slight degree; a few - days would have sufficed to send troops from the south of India by - rail, _viâ_ Bombay and Jubbulpoor to Mirzapore, in the immediate - vicinity of the regions where their services were most needed. - - Although the Raneegunge branch of the East Indian Railway was the - only portion open in the north of India, there was a section of the - main line between Allahabad and Cawnpore nearly finished at the time - of the outbreak. This main line will nearly follow the course of the - Ganges, from Calcutta up to Allahabad; it will then pass through the - Doab, between the Ganges and the Jumna, to Agra; it will follow the - Jumna from Agra up to Delhi; and will then strike off northwestward - to Lahore—to be continued at some future time through the Punjaub to - Peshawur. During the summer of 1857, the East India Company - prepared, at the request of parliament, an exact enumeration of the - various railways for which engineering plans had been adopted, and - for the share-capital of which a minimum rate of interest had been - guaranteed by the government. The document gives the particulars of - about 3700 miles of railway in India; estimated to cost £30,231,000; - and for which a dividend is guaranteed to the extent of £20,314,000, - at a rate varying from 4½ to 5 per cent. The government also gives - the land, estimated to be worth about a million sterling. All the - works of construction are planned on a principle of solidity, not - cheapness; for it is expected they will all be remunerative. - Arrangements are everywhere made for a double line of rails—a single - line being alone laid down until the traffic is developed. The gauge - is nine inches wider than the ‘narrow gauge’ of English railways. - The estimated average cost is under £9000 per mile, about one-fourth - of the English average. - - Leaving out of view, as an element impossible to be correctly - calculated, the amount of delay arising from the Revolt, the - government named the periods at which the several sections of - railway would probably be finished. Instead of shewing the - particular portions belonging respectively to the five railway - companies—the East Indian, the Great Indian Peninsula, the Bombay - and Central India, the Sinde, and the Madras—we shall simply arrange - the railways into two groups, north and south, and throw a few of - the particulars into a tabulated form. - - NORTHERN INDIA. - - _Railways._ _Lengths._ _Probable Time of Opening._ - Miles. - Calcutta to 121 Opened in 1855. - Raneegunge, - Burdwan to 130 December 1859. - Rajmahal, - Rajmahal to 440 1860. - Allahabad, - Allahabad to 126 December 1857. - Cawnpore, - Cawnpore to Delhi, 260 October 1858 (excepting bridge at Agra - over the Jumna). - Mirzapore to 300 No date specified. - Jubbulpoor, - Jubbulpoor to 314 End of 1861. - Bhosawal, - Bhosawal to 125 December 1860. - Oomrawuttee, - Oomrawuttee to 138 March 1861. - Nagpoor, - Bhosawal to 241 October 1859. - Callian, - Callian to Bombay, 33 Opened in 1854. - Surat to 160 1858 and 1859. - Ahmedabad, - Kurachee to 120 October 1859. - Hydrabad, - - - SOUTHERN INDIA. - - Bombay to Poonah, 124 February 1858. - Poonah to 165 1860. - Sholapore, - Sholapore to 101 End of 1861. - Kistnah, - Kistnah to Madras, 310 1861 and 1862. - Madras to Arcot, 65 Opened in 1856. - Arcot to 60 January 1858. - Variembaddy, - Madras to Beypore, 430 March 1859. - - The plans for an Oude railway were drawn up, comprising three or - four lines radiating from Lucknow; but the project had not, at that - time, assumed a definite form. - - * * * * * - - _’Headman’ of a Village._—It frequently happened, in connection with - the events recorded in the present chapter, that the _headman_ of a - village either joined the mutineers against the British, or assisted - the latter in quelling the disturbances; according to the bias of - his inclination, or the view he took of his own interests. The - general nature of the village-system in India requires to be - understood before the significancy of the headman’s position can be - appreciated. Before the British entered India, private property in - land was unknown; the whole was considered to belong to the - sovereign. The country was divided, by the Mohammedan rulers, into - small holdings, cultivated each by a village community under a - headman; for which a rent was paid. For convenience of collecting - this rent or revenue, _zemindars_ were appointed, who either farmed - the revenues, or acted simply as agents for the ruling power. When - the Marquis of Cornwallis, as governor-general, made great changes - in the government of British India half a century ago, he modified, - among other matters, the zemindary; but the collection of revenue - remained. - - Whether, as some think, villages were thus formed by the early - conquerors; or whether they were natural combinations of men for - mutual advantage—certain it is that the village-system in the plains - of Northern India was made dependent in a large degree on the - peculiar institution of caste. ‘To each man in a Hindoo village were - appointed particular duties which were exclusively his, and which - were in general transmitted to his descendants. The whole community - became one family, which lived together and prospered on their - public lands; whilst the private advantage of each particular member - was scarcely determinable. It became, then, the fairest as well as - the least troublesome method of collecting the revenue to assess the - whole village at a certain sum, agreed upon by the _tehsildar_ - (native revenue collector) and the headman. This was exacted from - the latter, who, seated on the chabootra, in conjunction with the - chief men of the village, managed its affairs, and decided upon the - quota of each individual member. By this means, the exclusive - character of each village was further increased, until they have - become throughout nearly the whole of the Indian peninsula, little - republics; supplied, owing to the regulations of caste, with - artisans of nearly every craft, and almost independent of any - foreign relations.’[15] - - Not only is the headman’s position and duties defined; but the whole - village may be said to be socially organised and parcelled out by - the singular operation of the caste principle. Each village manages - its internal affairs; taxes itself to provide funds for internal - expenses, as well as the revenue due to the state; decides disputes - in the first instance; and punishes minor offences. Officers are - selected for all these duties; and there is thus a local government - within the greater government of the paramount state. One man is the - scribe of the village; another, the constable or policeman; a third, - the schoolmaster; a fourth, the doctor; a fifth, the astrologer and - exorciser; and so of the musician, the carpenter, the smith, the - worker in gold or jewels, the tailor, the worker in leather, the - potter, the washerman—each considers that he has a prescriptive - right to the work in his branch done within the village, and to the - payment for that work; and each member of his family participates in - this prescriptive right. This village-system is so interwoven with - the habits and customs of the Hindoos, that it outlives all changes - going on around. Sir T. Metcalfe, who knew India well, said: - ‘Dynasty after dynasty tumbles down; revolution succeeds to - revolution; Hindoo, Patan, Mogul, Mahratta, Sikh, English, are all - masters in turn; but the village community remains the same. In - times of trouble they arm and fortify themselves. If a hostile army - passes through the country, the village communities collect their - cattle within their walls, and let the enemy pass unprovoked. If - plunder and devastation be directed against themselves, and the - force employed be irresistible, they flee to friendly villages at a - distance; but when the storm has passed over, they return and resume - their occupations. If a country remain for a series of years the - scene of continued pillage and massacre, so that the village cannot - be inhabited, the scattered villages nevertheless return whenever - the power of peaceable possession revives. A generation may pass - away, but the succeeding generation will return. The sons will take - the places of their fathers; the same site for their village, the - same positions for the houses, the same lands will be reoccupied by - the descendants of those who were driven out when the village was - depopulated; and it is not a trifling matter that will drive them - out, for they will often maintain their post through times of - disturbance and convulsion, and acquire strength sufficient to - resist pillage and oppression with success. This union of the - village communities, each one forming a separate little state in - itself, has, I conceive, contributed more than any other cause to - the preservation of the people of India through all the revolutions - and changes which they have suffered.’[16] - - It is easily comprehensible how, in village communities thus - compactly organised, the course of proceeding adopted by the headman - in any public exigency becomes of much importance; since it may be a - sort of official manifestation of the tendencies of the villagers - generally. - -[Illustration: - - Palanquin. -] - ------ - -Footnote 13: - - The initials N. I., B. N. I., M. N. I., &c., are frequently used in - official documents as abbreviations of ‘Native Infantry,’ ‘Bengal - Native Infantry,’ ‘Madras Native Infantry,’ &c. - -Footnote 14: - - Viscount Canning, in a letter written on the 7th of June to Lieutenant - do Kantzow, said: ‘I have read the account of your conduct with an - admiration and respect I cannot adequately describe. Young in years, - and at the outset of your career, you have given to your - brother-soldiers a noble example of courage, patience, good judgment, - and temper, from which many may profit. I beg you to believe that it - will never be forgotten by me. I write this at once, that there may be - no delay in making known to you that your conduct has not been - overlooked. You will, of course, receive a more formal acknowledgment, - through the military department of the government, of your admirable - service.’ - -Footnote 15: - - Irving: _Theory and Practice of Caste_. - -[Illustration: - - Parade-ground, Cawnpore. -] - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - TREACHERY AND ATROCITIES AT CAWNPORE. - - -No other events connected with the Revolt in India made so deep an -impression on the public mind, or produced so utter an astonishment and -dismay, as those relating to Cawnpore—the treachery of an arch-villain, -and the sufferings that resulted therefrom. The mystery that for so many -weeks veiled the fate of the victims heightened the painful interest; -for none in England knew how the troubles in May gave rise to the -miseries in June, and these to the horrors of July, until nearly all -were dead who could faithfully have recorded the progress of events. Now -that the main incidents are known, they come upon the reader almost with -the force of a tragic drama; associating themselves in succession with -five scenes—the intrenchment, the boats, the ghat, the house of -slaughter, the well—the intensity deepening as the plot advances towards -its end. - -So unutterably revolting were the indignities to which some of the -unfortunates were subjected, at Cawnpore as at other places, that no one -dared to speak or write fully of them; even men, hardy and world-worn -men, almost shrank from whispering the details to each other. Vague -generalities of language were employed, in sheer dismay lest the use of -precise words should lift too high the veil that hid the hideous scene. -So much was this felt, so much were the facts understated, that persons -of unblemished moral character almost regretted the reticence of the -press. A nobleman held in very high estimation, the Earl of Shaftesbury, -on one occasion expressed at a public meeting a wish that the daily -journals would proceed one stage further in making the mournful tale -known: on the ground that Englishmen, by learning more of the real -truth, would appreciate more fully the sufferings of our countrymen and -countrywomen, the heroism and Christian patience with which those -sufferings were borne, and the necessity for (not vengeance, but) -retributive justice on those who had ordered and executed the devilish -barbarities. It is not a trifling compliment to the delicacy of the -English press, that a Christian nobleman should thus have suggested less -scruple, less reserve, in the treatment of a most trying subject. In -every narrative of these mournful events, the reader feels, and must -continue to feel, that the _worst_ is left unsaid. - -The first matters to treat are—the locality in which, and the native -chieftain by whom, these wrongs were inflicted. Cawnpore, a terrible -word to English readers, is the name both of a district and of its chief -town. The district, a part of the Doab or delta between the Ganges and -the Jumna, is included within the government of the Northwestern -Provinces. The city of Cawnpore is on the right bank of the Ganges, -about two hundred and seventy miles below Delhi; and the river flows -down nearly a thousand miles below this point to Calcutta; the -land-distance, however, from Cawnpore to Calcutta is between six and -seven hundred miles. The Ganges here is sometimes more than a mile in -width at and soon after the rainy season, and is at such time very -difficult to be crossed by bodies of troops. Cawnpore is an important -city to the British in India, both commercially and in a military sense. -The ghat or landing-place, in peaceful times, is a scene of great -liveliness and bustle. When Skinner was there, ‘Every description of -vessel that can be imagined was collected along the bank. The pinnace, -which with its three masts and neat rigging might have passed for a -ship; budgerows, the clumsiest of all clumsy things, with their sterns -several times higher than their bows; the bauleahs, ugly enough, but -lightly skimming along like gondolas compared with the heavy craft -around them; the drifting haystacks, which the country-boats appear to -be when at a distance, with their native crews straining every nerve -upon their summits, and cheering themselves with a wild and not -unfrequently a sweet song; panswees shooting swiftly down the stream, -with one person only on board, who sits at the head, steering with his -right hand, rowing with his foot, and in the left hand holding his pipe. -A ferry-boat constantly plying across the stream adds to the variety of -the scene, by its motley collection of passengers—travellers, merchants, -fakeers, camels, bullocks, and horses—all crowded together. The vessels -fastened to the shore are so closely packed, that they appear to be one -mass, and, from their thatched roofs and low entrances, might easily -pass for a floating village.’ Cawnpore is (or rather was) remarkable in -its military arrangements. The cantonment, six miles long by half a mile -broad, often contained, before the Revolt, a native population of fifty -thousand persons, besides sixty thousand in the city itself, -irrespective of military and Europeans. The native infantry of the -station encamped here in the cool part of the year, when there were -regular streets and squares of canvas stretching over an immense space; -each regiment was provided with its bazaar; in the rear and far beyond -the lines, were the bivouacs of every kind of camp-followers, in immense -numbers. All these, with many hundred bungalows or lodges of officers -and European residents, gave great animation to the cantonment. The -bungalows, though tiled or thatched, were here, as in other parts of -India, large and commodious; each standing pleasantly in the midst of -its compound or enclosure, richly planted with grapes, peaches, mangoes, -shaddocks, plantains, melons, oranges, limes, guavas, and other fruits -especially acceptable in a hot climate. There was accommodation for -seven thousand troops, but the number actually stationed there was -generally much less. In accordance with the Company’s regulations, the -English military officers, whether of European or native regiments, -always resided within the cantonment where their services were required; -while the civilians, although residing chiefly in the suburbs, had their -offices and places of business within the city itself. There were thus, -to some extent, two sets of English residents. - -The next point to render clear is, the position of the man who so -fatally influenced the affairs at Cawnpore in the summer months of 1857. -Nena Sahib was his name to an English eye and tongue, and as Nena Sahib -he will ever be execrated; but that was his titular or honorary, not his -real name, which appears to have been Dhundu Punt or Dhoondhoopunt. When -called the Nena or Náná, the Nena Sahib, the Peishwa, the Maharajah, the -Nena Bahadoor, he was recognised by one of his oriental titles of -honour. Let him to us be the Nena Sahib. There was a motive, however -inadequate in the estimate of persons possessing a spark of human -feeling, for the black treachery and monstrous cruelty of this man. He -had a quarrel with the East India Company: a quarrel which the Company -had nearly forgotten, but not he. The disagreement arose out of the -prevalent Eastern custom of adoption, in default of legitimate male -heirs. Bithoor, a town six or eight miles from Cawnpore, and within the -same district, had long been the residence of the chief of the Mahrattas -or Peishwa, with whom, as with other native princes, the Company had had -many negotiations and treaties. Bithoor itself, a town of about fourteen -thousand inhabitants, possesses numerous Hindoo temples, and several -ghats or flights of steps giving access to the Ganges, to which the -Brahmins and their followers frequently resort for the purpose of ritual -ablution. The place is not without fortification, but it does not take -rank among the strongholds of India. The last chief, Maharajah Bajee Rao -Peishwa, died in 1851; and in consequence of that event, a jaghire or -estate, near the town, which had been bestowed upon him during pleasure -by the Company, lapsed to the government, and was subjected to the -general regulations in force in Cawnpore. Being sonless, he had adopted -a son, or indeed two sons—not merely to inherit the vast wealth which -belonged to him independently of the arrangements with the Company, but -also to perform certain filial duties which high-caste Hindoos deem it -necessary to their religion that a son should perform. This adoption was -legal so far as concerned the Peishwa’s personal property; but the -Company would not admit its validity in relation to a pension of £50,000 -per annum which he had been in the habit of receiving. A slight -obscurity in the wording of an official document led to some doubt on -this matter. On the 1st of June 1818, Sir John Malcolm, on the part of -the Company, signed a treaty with Bajee Rao, granting a pension to the -rajah _and his family_. This has since been interpreted, by the Bithoor -intriguers, as a perpetual grant _to the heirs_; but there is abundant -evidence that Sir John and the Company meant the pension to be for Bajee -Rao’s life only, to be shared by his family then living. Nine years -afterwards, namely, in 1827, Bajee Rao adopted two children, Suddchoo -Rao and Dhundu Punt, the one four years and the other two years and a -half old; they were the sons of two Brahmins, natives of the Deccan, who -had come to reside at Bithoor about a year before. There is no evidence -that Bajee Rao ever considered these two adopted sons, or either of -them, entitled to a continuance of the Company’s pension; although -Dhundu Punt may very possibly have thrown out frequent hints, to sound -the Company on this subject. It has been supposed that when the old King -of Delhi was reproclaimed after the Meerut outbreak, he offered to -acknowledge the Nena Sahib, Dhundu Punt, as the proper successor of the -Peishwa of Bithoor, on condition of receiving his aid and allegiance. -This was probably true, but would not suffice, without the incentive of -private animosity, to account for his subsequent actions. So little was -known of him in England when the Revolt began, that doubt prevailed -whether he was really the adopted son of Bajee Rao; some writers -asserting that that honour had been conferred upon another Dhundu Punt, -and that the Nena himself was the eldest son of the rajah’s subadar, -Ramchunder Punt. - -If hatred ruled his heart during the six years from 1851 to 1857, he -must indeed have been a consummate hypocrite; for the English were -always courteously received by him at his petty court, and generally -came away impressed in his favour—impressed, however, at the same time, -with a conviction that he entertained a sort of hope that the Queen of -England would graciously befriend him in his contest with the Calcutta -government, the Court of Directors, and the Board of Control, all of -whom disputed his adoptive claims. He had a curious taste for mingling -the English with the oriental in his palace at Bithoor. An English -traveller, who visited him a few years before the Revolt, and was -received with an amount of flattery that appeared to have a good deal of -shrewd calculation in it, found the rooms set apart for him decked with -English furniture arranged in the most incongruous manner—a chest of -drawers and a toilet-table in the sitting-room; a piano and a card-table -in the bedroom; tent-tables and camp-stools in the same room with -elegant drawing-room tables and chairs; a costly clock by the side of -cheap japan candlesticks; good prints from Landseer’s pictures, in -juxtaposition with sixpenny coloured plates of Wellington and Napoleon; -sacred prints, and prints of ballet-girls and Epsom winners—all kinds -were mingled indiscriminately, as if simply to make a show. The guest -was most struck by the oriental compliments he received from the Nena, -and by the odd attempt to provide English furniture where English habits -and customs were so little known; yet there were not wanting dark tints -to the picture. He heard rumours ‘that two women of rank were kept in a -den not far from my apartments, and treated like wild beasts; and that a -third, a beautiful young creature, had recently been _bricked up in a -wall_, for no other fault than attempting to escape.’ An agent of the -Nena, one Azimullah, resided some time in London, about the year 1855; -he came to England to advocate the Nena’s claims, and managed to -ingratiate himself with many persons moving in the upper circles of -society, by his manifest abilities, his winning grace, his courtesy to -all with whom he came into relation. Yet there were strange fits of -moody silence observable in him; and when the failure of his mission -became evident, he was heard to throw out dark mysterious threats, which -were disregarded at the time, but were brought vividly to recollection -afterwards, when the deeds of his master forced themselves into notice. - -It will presently be seen that Nena Sahib, whatever were his thoughts at -the time, did not depart, when the Revolt commenced, from his usual -demeanour towards the English; he was courteous to them, and was always -courteously saluted by them when he rode past. - -How interesting it is—nay, how affecting—to trace the mode in which the -unfortunate Europeans at Cawnpore became gradually shut out from -communication with the external world; neither knowing what was -occurring east and west of them, nor able to communicate news of their -own sufferings! In May, messages and letters passed to and from them; in -June, authentic intelligence was superseded by painful rumours; in July, -a deadly silence was followed by a horrible revelation. - -[Illustration: - - NENA SAHIB. From a picture painted at Bithoor in 1850, by Mr Beechy, - portrait-painter to King of Oude. -] - -When the Meerut and Delhi outbreaks occurred, the attention of the civil -and military authorities was turned to the importance of securing -Cawnpore: because of its native troops, its store of ammunition, its -large treasury, its considerable English population, and its position on -the Ganges and the great road. Sir Henry Lawrence, knowing that Sir Hugh -Wheeler’s force in European troops was weak, sent him fifty English -infantry in the third week in May, and also sent the aid (aid as it was -hoped to be) of two squadrons of Oude irregular horse. But Lucknow could -ill spare these armed men, and hence the telegrams already briefly -adverted to. First, Lawrence to Canning: ‘Cawnpore to be reinforced with -all speed. When may her Majesty’s 84th be expected?’ Then Canning to -Lawrence: ‘It is impossible to place a wing of Europeans at Cawnpore in -less time than twenty-five days.’ Then Wheeler to Canning: ‘All is quiet -here, but impossible to say how long it will continue so.’ Next a -telegram from Benares, announcing that every possible exertion would be -made to send on troops to Cawnpore as fast as they came from Calcutta. -Then, on the 25th, Wheeler telegraphed to Canning: ‘Passed anxious night -and day, in consequence of a report on very good authority that there -would be an outbreak during one or the other. All possible preparations -to meet it, but I rejoice to say that none occurred.’ On this, Lawrence -sent his earnest message recommending the establishment of ekah -dâks—anything at any expense—to carry troops on to Cawnpore. Towards the -close of the month, about seventy men of the Queen’s 84th reached the -city; and Sir Hugh telegraphed ‘All quiet:’ at the same time making very -evident the existence of anxiety on his mind concerning his prospects. -The governor-general telegraphed to him: ‘Your anxious position is well -understood; and no means have been neglected to give you aid.’ On -another day Sir Hugh telegraphed: ‘All quiet still, but I feel by no -means certain it will continue so. The civil and military are depending -entirely upon me for advice and assistance.’ He announced to Lawrence -that he had been obliged to send irregular cavalry to clear the roads of -insurgent ruffians; and added, ‘Europeans are arriving but very slowly -here.’ The dilemma and doubt were painful to all; for Viscount Canning -had few troops to send up from Calcutta, and no facilities for sending -them rapidly; while, on the other hand, he did not know that death had -cut off General Anson ere an advance could be made to Delhi and Cawnpore -from the northwest. Hence such telegrams as the following from Canning -to Anson: ‘Cawnpore and Lucknow are severely pressed, and the country -between Delhi and Cawnpore is passing into the hands of the rebels. It -is of the utmost importance to prevent this, and to relieve Cawnpore; -but nothing but rapid action will do this.... It is impossible to -overrate the importance of shewing European troops between Delhi and -Cawnpore.’ Sir Hugh Wheeler’s anxieties did not relate wholly to -Cawnpore; he knew that a wide region depended on that city for its -continuance in loyalty. By the 2d of June only ninety European troops -had reached him. On the next day he telegraphed that the population was -much excited, and that unfavourable reports were coming in from the -districts between Cawnpore and Lucknow. To make matters worse, Lawrence -was becoming weak at the last-named place, and Wheeler sent him -fifty-two of his highly cherished English troops—a number that shews how -precious, from its scarcity, this military element was regarded by the -two commanders. ‘This leaves me weak,’ said Wheeler; and well might he -say so. Then occurred the cutting of the telegraph wires on all sides of -Cawnpore, and the stoppage of the dâk-runners. After this, all was doubt -and mystery, for it was only by stealthy means that letters and messages -could leave or enter that city. By degrees there reached the Company’s -officers at Lucknow, Allahabad, and Benares, indirect news telling of -disaster—of a rebellious rising of the native troops at Cawnpore; of the -mutineers being aided and abetted by the Nena Sahib of Bithoor; of all -the Europeans taking refuge in an intrenched barrack; of the forlorn -band being regularly besieged in that spot; of terrible sufferings being -endured; and of the soldiers and civilians, the women and children, -being brought to death by numerous privations. The commissioner at -Benares, when these rumours of disaster reached him, telegraphed to -Calcutta: ‘May God Almighty defend Cawnpore; for no help can we afford.’ -And so it was throughout June—Benares, Allahabad, Lucknow, Agra, all -were equally unable to send aid to the beleaguered garrison. Gradually -the messages became fewer, and the rumours darker; escaped fugitives and -native messengers came in stealthily to one or other of the neighbouring -towns; and men talked of a massacre at Cawnpore of English fugitives -from Futtehgur, of another massacre of English in boats bound for -Calcutta, of women and children placed in confinement, and of Nena -Sahib’s cruelty. - -Such was the condition of Cawnpore as viewed from without, by those who -could necessarily know but little of the truth. Let us now enter and -trace the course of events as experienced by the sufferers themselves. - -There is abundant evidence that, previous to the actual outbreak at -Cawnpore, the native troops—consisting of the 1st, 53d, and 56th B. N. -I., and the 2d native cavalry—were much agitated by the rumours of -mutiny elsewhere; and that the European inhabitants felt sensibly the -paucity of English soldiers at that place. A lady, the wife of the -magistrate and collector of Cawnpore—one of those who, with all her -family, were barbarously slaughtered in cold blood a few weeks -afterwards—writing to her friends on the 15th of May, said: ‘Cawnpore is -quiet, and the regiments here are stanch; but there is no saying that -they would remain long so if they came in contact with some of their -mutinous brethren. We have only about a hundred European soldiers here -altogether, and six guns.... Down-country, from Meerut to Dinapore, -there is but one regiment of Europeans, of which we have a hundred.’ -Nevertheless, although the sepoys at Cawnpore were restless, an -impression prevailed that, even if they joined in the mutiny, and -marched off to Delhi, they would not inflict any injury on the military -commander, Sir Hugh Wheeler, or the other English officers, who were -much respected by them. The general thought it right to obtain correct -though secret information from spies who mixed among the men in the -cantonment; and these spies reported that the three infantry regiments, -except a few refractory sepoys, appeared well disposed towards the -government; whereas the 2d native cavalry, discontented and surly, had -sent their families to their homes, to be out of danger, and were in the -habit of holding nightly meetings or _punchayets_ (a kind of jury of -five persons, one of the Hindoo institutions of very ancient formation), -in their lines, to concert measures of insubordination. These troopers -endeavoured to bring over the foot regiments to a scheme for rising in -revolt, seizing the government treasure, marching off to Delhi, and -presenting that treasure to the newly restored Mogul as a token of their -allegiance. The European inhabitants were numerous; for they comprised -not only the officers and civilians with their families, but European -merchants, missionaries, engineers, pensioners, &c., and also many -nonresidents, who had either come to Cawnpore from parts of the country -supposed to be less protected, or had been stopped there on their way -up-country by the mutineers in the Doab. These, relying on the report -concerning the apparently favourable feeling among the native infantry, -made no immediate attempt to quit the place. Sir Hugh Wheeler, however, -did not deem it consistent with his duty to remain unprepared. Cawnpore -is built on a dead level, without stronghold or place of refuge, and -could not long be held against a rebel besieging force; the cantonment -was at a considerable distance; and the general resolved on making some -sort of defensive arrangement irrespective both of the city and the -cantonment. He secured sufficient boats to convey the whole of the -Europeans down the Ganges if danger should appear; and he formed a plan -for protection at night in an intrenched position. This stronghold, if -so it may be called, afterwards rendered memorable as ‘the -Intrenchment,’ was a square plot of ground on the grand military parade, -measuring about two hundred yards in each direction; within it were two -barrack hospitals, a few other buildings, and a well; while the boundary -was formed by a trench and parapet or breastwork of earth, intended to -be armed and defended in case of attack. The intrenchment was entirely -distinct both from the city and from the cantonment, and was further -from the Ganges than either of them, about a quarter of a mile out of -the Allahabad and Cawnpore high road. On the side of it furthest from -the river were several barracks in course of construction. It was not -intended that the European civilians should at once enter the -intrenchment, but that they should regard that spot as a place of -shelter in time of need. Sir Hugh brought into this place a supply of -grain, rice, salt, sugar, tea, coffee, rum, beer, &c., calculated at -thirty days’ consumption for one thousand persons. He gave orders to the -assistant-commissary to blow up the magazine if a mutiny should take -place; while the collector was instructed to convey all the Company’s -cash, estimated at ten or twelve lacs of rupees, from the treasury in -the city to the cantonment—an instruction which, as we shall see, he was -able only to obey in part. As another precaution, the executive -commissariat and pay-officers, with all their records and chests, were -removed into bungalows adjacent to the intrenchment. There is reason to -believe that the ringleaders among the native troops sought to terrify -the rest into mutiny by representing that the digging, which had been -seen actively in progress at the intrenchment, was the beginning of the -construction of a series of mines, intended to blow them all up. - -One of the most painful considerations associated with these events in -May was, that the heartless man who afterwards wrought such misery was -trustingly relied upon as a friend. The magistrate’s wife, in a series -of letters before adverted to, wrote under date May 16th: ‘Should the -native troops here mutiny, we should either go into cantonments, or to a -place called Bithoor, where the Peishwa’s successor resides. He is a -great friend of C——‘s [the magistrate’s], and is a man of enormous -wealth and influence; and he has assured C—— that we should all be quite -safe there. I myself would much prefer going to the cantonment, to be -with the other ladies; but C—— thinks it would be better for me and our -precious children to be at Bithoor.’ Again, on the 18th: ‘If there -should be an outbreak here, dearest C—— has made all the necessary -arrangements for me and the children to go to Bithoor. He will go there -himself, and, with the aid of the rajah, to whose house we are going, he -will collect and head a force of fifteen hundred fighting-men, and bring -them into Cawnpore to take the insurgents by surprise. This is a plan of -their own, and is quite a secret; for the object of it is to come on the -mutineers unawares.’ Here, then, in the month of May, was Nena Sahib -plotting with the English against the mutineers. It was on the 20th that -Sir Hugh, rendered uneasy by the symptoms around, sent to Lucknow for -three hundred European soldiers; but as Sir Henry Lawrence could hardly -spare one-sixth of that number, arrangements were made for accommodating -as many English families as possible in the cantonment, and for fitting -up the intrenchment as a place of refuge. On the 21st, the magistrate, -with Wheeler’s consent, wrote to the Nena, begging him to send the aid -of a few of his Mahratta troops. The native soldiers being hutted in the -cantonment, and the few English soldiers barracked in the intrenchment, -it was speedily determined that—while the English officers should sleep -at the cantonment, to avoid shewing distrust of the native troops—their -wives and families, and most of the civilians, should remain at night in -the intrenchment, under protection of English soldiers. On the first -night of this arrangement, ‘there were an immense number of ladies and -gentlemen assembled in the intrenchment; and oh! what an anxious night -it was! The children added much to our distress and anxiety,’ said the -lady whose letters were lately quoted; ‘it was some hours before I could -get them to sleep. I did not lie down the whole night. Extraordinary it -was, and most providential too, that we had a thunderstorm that night, -with a good deal of rain, which cooled the air a little; had it not been -for this, we should have suffered much more.’ An English officer, in -relation to this same night, said: ‘Nearly all the ladies in the station -were roused out of their houses, and hurried off to the barracks. The -scene in the morning you can imagine. They were all huddled together in -a small building, just as they had left their houses. On each side were -the guns drawn up; the men had been kept standing by them all night -through the rain, expecting an instant attack. There are few people now -in the station but believe this attack had been intended, and had merely -been delayed on finding us so well prepared.’ On the last day of the -month—a day that seems to have ended all communication from this hapless -lady to her friends in England—she wrote: ‘We are now almost in a state -of siege. We sleep every night in a tent pitched by the barracks, with -guns behind and before. We are intrenched, and are busy getting in a -month’s provisions in case of scarcity. For the first four or five -nights, we scarcely closed our eyes.... Last night, the sepoys of the -1st regiment threatened to mutiny, and poor Mrs Ewart was in dreadful -distress when Colonel Ewart went to sleep in the lines, according to -orders; and he himself fully expected to be killed before morning; but, -thank God, all passed off quietly. The general remains in the barracks -day and night, to be at hand if anything should happen. We still pass -the day at the Ewarts’ house; but at night every one returns to the -barracks, which is a wretched place.... Poor Mrs —— has quite lost her -reason from terror and excitement. Oh! it is a hard trial to bear, and -almost too much; but the sight of the children gives us strength and -courage.’ - -Colonel Ewart, mentioned in the above paragraph, and Major Hillersdon, -were the commandants of the 1st and 53d native regiments, respectively; -they lived in pleasant bungalows outside Cawnpore; but at this perilous -time they slept near their men in the cantonment, while their families -took refuge within the intrenchment. Mrs Ewart—destined, like the -magistrate’s wife, to be in a few weeks numbered among the outraged and -slaughtered—wrote like her of the miseries of their position, even at -that early period of their privation. Speaking of the interior of the -intrenchment, she said: ‘We have a tent, which is, of course, more -private and comfortable for the night; and at present there is no -occasion to spend days as well as nights there, though many people do -so. This is fortunate, since the weather is fearfully hot. God grant -that we may not be exposed to such suffering as a confinement within -that intrenchment must entail; even should we be able to bear it, I know -not how our poor little ones could go through the trial.’ The general -feelings of the English in the place towards the close of May cannot be -better conveyed than in the following words: ‘We are living face to face -with great and awful realities—life and property most insecure, enemies -within our camp, treachery and distrust everywhere. We can scarcely -believe in the change which has so suddenly overcast all the pleasant -repose and enjoyment of life. We are almost in a state of siege, with -dangers all around us—some seen, some hidden.... Major Hillersdon joins -us daily at our four o’clock dinner, and we stay together till half-past -seven, when we go to our melancholy night-quarters, behind guns and -intrenchments. My husband betakes himself to his couch in the midst of -his sepoys; and you can fancy the sort of nights we have to pass. These -are real trials, but we have not experienced much actual physical -suffering yet.’ In another letter she further described the intrenchment -and barracks as they were at night: ‘We returned to those melancholy -night-quarters. Oh, such a scene! Men, officers, women and children, -beds and chairs, all mingled together inside and outside the barracks; -some talking or even laughing, some very frightened, some defiant, -others despairing. Such sickening sights these for peaceful women; and -the miserable reflection that all is caused not by open foes, but by the -treachery of those we had fed and pampered, honoured and trusted, for so -many years.’ Colonel Ewart, in probably the last letter received from -him by his friends in England, wrote on the 31st: ‘The treasury, -containing some ten or twelve lacs of rupees, is situated five miles -from the cantonment. It has hitherto been thought inexpedient to bring -the treasure into the cantonment; but the general has now resolved on -making the attempt to-morrow. Please God, he will succeed. He is an -excellent officer, very determined, self-possessed in the midst of -danger, fearless of responsibility—that terrible bugbear that paralyses -so many men in command.’ This was the character generally given to Sir -Hugh Wheeler, who was much liked and trusted. The state of suspense in -which the officers themselves were placed, not knowing whether revolt -and outrage would speedily mark the conduct of regiments that had up to -that moment remained faithful, was well expressed in a letter written by -one of the infantry officers: ‘I only wish that I might get orders to go -out with my regiment, or alone with my company, against some of the -mutineers; so that we could put the men to the test, and see whether -they really mean to stick to us or not, and end this state of suspense.’ - -Numerous scraps of local information, portions of letters, diaries, -conversations, and scarcely intelligible messages, in English, -Hindustani, and Persian, help to make up the materials out of which -alone a connected narrative of the events at Cawnpore can be prepared. -These would all have been very insufficient, had it not fortunately -happened that an officer of the Company, an educated man, lived to -record upon paper his experience of four weeks spent in the -intrenchment, and three subsequent weeks of imprisonment in the city. -This was Mr Shepherd, belonging to the commissariat department. How his -life was saved, and how those dear to him were savagely butchered, will -be seen further on; at present, it will suffice to remark that he lived -to prepare, for the information of the government, a record of all he -knew on this dreadful subject; and that the record thus prepared -contains more information than any other brought to light amid that -dismal wreck of human hopes and human existence. - -When the month of June opened, symptoms became so unfavourable that the -non-military Christian residents thought it expedient to move from the -city, and obtain shelter in the English church and other buildings near -the intrenchment. Day after day small portions of cash, and Company’s -papers of various kinds, were brought by the commissariat officers to -head-quarters. The collector, acting on Sir Hugh’s instructions, had -endeavoured to bring the Company’s treasure from the city to the -intrenchment; but he met too much opposition to enable him to effect -this, save in part; and the aid of three or four hundred men was -obtained from Nena Sahib, to guard the treasury and its contents. What -was passing through the heart of that treacherous man at the time, none -but himself could know; but the English officers, whether forgetful or -not of his grudge against the Company, seem to have acted as though they -placed reliance on him. On the 3d, it being thought improper to keep any -public money under the sepoy guard at the office, the commissariat -treasure-chest, containing about thirty-four thousand rupees in cash, -together with numerous papers and account-books, was brought into the -intrenchment, and placed in the quarter-guard there. In short, nothing -was deemed safe by Wheeler and the other officials, unless it was under -their own immediate care. - -[Illustration: - - The Intrenchment at Cawnpore. -] - -On the 5th of June arrived the crisis which was to tax to the utmost the -firmness and courage, the tact and discrimination, the kindness and -thoughtfulness, of the general on whom so many lives now depended. He -had appealed, and appealed in vain, for reinforcements from other -quarters: no one possessed troops that could readily be sent to him; and -he had therefore to meet his troubles manfully, with such resources as -were at hand. At two o’clock in the morning, after a vain attempt to -draw the native infantry from their allegiance, the 2d cavalry rose in a -body, gave a great shout, mounted their horses, set fire to the bungalow -of their quarter-master-sergeant, and took possession of thirty-six -elephants in the commissariat cattle-yard. The main body then marched -off towards Nawabgunge; while the ringleaders remained behind to assail -once more the honesty of the infantry. The 1st regiment N. I. yielded to -the temptation, and marched out of the lines about three o’clock; but -before doing so, the sepoys shewed a lingering affection for the English -officers of the regiment; those officers had for some time been in the -habit of sleeping in the quarter-guard of the regiment, to indicate -their confidence in the men; and now the men begged them—nay, forced -them—to go into the intrenchment, as a means of personal safety. An -alarm gun was fired, and all the non-combatants were brought from the -church-compound into the intrenchment—a necessary precaution, for -burning bungalows were seen in various directions. A few days -previously, a battery of Oude horse-artillery had been sent from Lucknow -by Lawrence to aid Wheeler at Cawnpore; and this battery was, about -seven o’clock on the eventful morning of the 5th, ordered with a company -of English troops to pursue the two mutinous regiments. But here a -dilemma at once presented itself. Could the 53d and 56th regiments be -relied upon? Sir Hugh thought not; and therefore he countermanded the -order for the pursuit of the other two regiments. The wisdom of this -determination was soon shewn; for about ten o’clock the whole of the -native officers of the 53d and 56th came to the general and announced -that their hold over the fidelity of the men was gone. While they were -yet speaking, a bugle was heard, and the two regiments were seen to -march off to join their companions at Nawabgunge; any attempt on the -English being checked by the pointing of a gun at them. The apparently -faithful native officers were directed to organise a few stragglers who -had not joined the mutineers; they left the intrenchment for this -purpose, but did not return: whether they joined in the revolt, or went -quietly to their own homes to avoid the resentment of the sepoys, was -not fully known. As soon as possible, carts were sent to the cantonment -to bring away the sick from the hospital, and such muskets and other -property as might be useful. In consequence of this, the two hospitals -or barracks in the intrenchment became very much crowded, many of the -people being compelled to sleep in the open air through want of room. -All the civilians were then armed, and directed what they should do for -the common good. The Oude artillery, shewing signs of being smitten by -the prevailing mania for revolt, were disarmed and dismissed that same -evening. - -[Illustration: - - Plan of Sir H. Wheeler’s Intrenchment at Cawnpore. From an official - survey. -] - -The scene must now be shifted, to shew Nena Sahib’s share in the work. -Rumours came to the intrenchment that when the rebels reached -Nawabgunge, he quitted Bithoor and came out to meet them; that he placed -himself at their head; that they all went together to the treasury; that -he carried off a large amount of government treasure on the government -elephants; and that he gave up the rest to the sepoys as a prize. -Thereupon the papers were burnt, and the treasury and the collector’s -office destroyed. The sepoys guarding the magazine would not allow that -building to be blown up by the government officer; the mutineers brought -as many country carts as they could procure, and carried off a -considerable quantity of baggage and ammunition. All then marched off to -Kullianpore, being one stage on the road to Delhi, except a few troopers -who remained to finish the work of destruction among the bungalows. The -Oude artillery, lately disarmed and dismissed by Wheeler, now went to -Nena Sahib, and laid before him a plan for attacking the intrenchment, -concerning which they were able to give much information. They reported -that the cantonment contained many guns, and much powder and ammunition, -with which the intrenchment might safely be attacked. There was another -fact favourable to the rebels. One end of the great Ganges Canal enters -the river near Cawnpore; and it had been contemplated by the government -to send a large store of shot and shell by that canal up to Roorkee, -through Allygurh and Meerut; but as the Doab and Rohilcund were in too -disturbed a state to permit this, thirty-five boats laden with shot and -shell were this day lying in the canal near the cantonment. This large -store of ammunition the rebel artillerymen suggested should be at once -seized; and the advice was acted on. A native inhabitant, who afterwards -gave information to the English, said that when the Nena openly took -part with the rebels, he released four hundred prisoners in the town, -whose fetters he ordered to be knocked off; ‘and having opened the door -of the armoury, he gave the order that whatever prisoner was willing to -follow him should arm himself with gun, pistol, or sword, as he liked -best’—a story highly probable, though not within the power of Mr -Shepherd to confirm. Before the Nena finally committed himself to a -course of rebellion and war, the 1st native infantry made their head -subadar a general; and the general then promoted all the havildars and -naiks to be subadars and jemadars. - -Two officers of the 56th regiment were fortunate enough to be away from -Cawnpore and the cantonment altogether, on the day of the mutiny. They -had been sent with two hundred men to Ooral, a village or town at some -distance, on the 2d of June. When that regiment mutinied at the -cantonment, and when the news of the mutiny reached Ooral, the two -hundred did not long delay in following their example. The officers, -seeing their danger, at once galloped off, taking nothing with them but -the clothes on their backs, and their swords and revolvers. Their tale -was as full of adventure as many that have already occupied these pages. -They found their way to Calpee, to Humeerpoor, to various places; they -met with two brother-officers escaping from mutineers at Humeerpoor; the -four rowed boats, swam rivers, entered villages where they were -plundered of their weapons and clothes, roamed through jungles, fed on -chupatties and water when they could obtain such fare, picked up bits of -native clothing, encountered friendly Hindoos at one time and marauding -enemies at another. Of the two officers from Cawnpore, one died mad in -the jungle, from heat, thirst, and suffering; but the other, Ensign -Browne, joined the body of English troops at Futtehpoor, after -thirty-seven days of wandering. All the other English officers of the -four native regiments appear to have been at or near Cawnpore at the -time of the outbreak; and all were called upon to bear their bitter -share in the woes that followed—woes rendered more distressing by -falling equally on innocent women and children as on themselves—nay, -much more heavily. - -The sun rose upon an anxious scene on the 6th of June. Sir Hugh Wheeler -and nearly all the Europeans—men, women, and children—military, -civilians, and servants—were crowded within the intrenchment; while the -rebel troops, four regiments and an artillery battery, had not only -abandoned their allegiance, but were about to besiege those who were -lately their masters. The rebels brought into requisition all the -government work-people and the bullocks, in the town and cantonment, to -drag guns into position near the intrenchment, and to convey thither a -store of powder and ammunition. They brought six guns (two of them -18-pounders) to bear in a line, and opened fire about ten o’clock in the -forenoon. Instantly a bugle sounded within the intrenchment; and every -man, from the highest officers down to the clerks and the drummers, flew -to arms, and took up the position assigned to him. There was only a -breast-high earthen parapet, bounded by a small trench, between the -besiegers and the besieged: hence there was nothing but indomitable -courage and unceasing watchfulness that could enable the English to hold -their own against the treacherous native troops. Here, then, were nine -hundred persons[17] hemmed into a small space, forming their citadel, -while the surrounding country was wholly in the hands of the rebels. Out -of the nine hundred, barely one-third were fighting-men; while -considerably more than one-third were women and children, to be fed and -protected at all hazards. The few guns within the intrenchment answered -those from without; but all the men not employed with those guns -crouched down behind the breastwork, under the hot wind and scorching -sun of a June day, ready to defend the spot with musketry if a nearer -attack were made. The rebels did not attempt this; they adopted the -safer course of bringing up their guns nearer to the beleaguered place. -Sir Hugh Wheeler had eight pieces of ordnance—two brass guns of the Oude -battery, two long 9-pounders, and four smaller; he had also a good store -of ammunition, buried underground, and had thus a defensive power of -some importance. On the other hand, his anxieties were great; for one of -the two buildings (they had been used as hospitals for European troops) -was thatched, liable to be fired by a chance shot; the commissariat -officers were unable to bring in more supplies; the shelter was -direfully insufficient for nine hundred persons in a fierce Indian -climate; and the women and children could do little or nothing to assist -in the defence of all. - -The native informant, above adverted to, states that when Nena Sahib -found the mutineers about to depart to Delhi, ‘he represented to the -native officers that it would not be correct to proceed towards Delhi -until they had entirely destroyed the officers and European soldiers, -and women and children of the Christian religion; and that they should, -if possible, by deceiving the officers, accomplish this grand object, or -they would be good for nothing.’ Such words were certainly consistent -with the machinations of a villain who sought a terrible revenge for -some injury, real or pretended; but they do not the less illustrate the -remarkable subtlety and secretiveness of the Hindoo character, so long -concealing a deadly hatred under a friendly exterior. This same native, -who was in Cawnpore at the time, further said: ‘In the city it was as if -the day of judgment had come, when the sepoys of the infantry and the -troopers of the cavalry, the jingling of whose sword-scabbards and the -tread of whose horses’ feet resounded on all sides, proceeded with guns -of various sizes, and ammunition, from the magazine through the suburbs -of Cawnpore towards the intrenchment.’ In relation to the conduct of -native servants of the Company on that day, Mr Shepherd said: ‘None of -the native writers, Bengalees and others in government offices or -merchants’ employ, went into the intrenchment; they remained in the -city, where they appear to have received much annoyance from the -mutineers; and some had to hide themselves to save their lives. The -(native) commissariat contractors’ [those who supplied provisions and -stores for the troops, ordered and paid for by the head commissary] ‘all -discontinued their supplies from the 6th; or rather, were unable to -bring them in, from the way the mutineers surrounded the intrenchment on -all sides, permitting no ingress or egress at any time except under -cover of night.’ Those natives must, in truth, have been placed in a -perplexing position, between employers whom they wished to serve but -could not, and rebels who sought to tamper with their honesty. - -Another day broke, revealing a further strengthening of the rebels’ -attack. They increased their number of guns, four of which were -24-pounders; and with the shot from these guns not only were many -valuable men struck down, but the walls and verandahs of the hospitals -pierced, spreading terror among the helpless inmates. There was but one -well within the intrenchment; and so hot was the fire from without, -that, to use the words of Mr Shepherd, ‘it was as much as giving a man’s -life-blood to go and draw a bucket of water; and while there was any -water remaining in the large jars, usually kept in the verandah for the -soldiers’ use, nobody ventured to the well; but after the second day, -the demand became so great that a bheestee bag of water was with -difficulty got for five rupees, and a bucket for a rupee. Most of the -servants deserted, and it therefore became a matter of necessity for -every person to fetch his own water, which was usually done during the -night, when the enemy could not well direct their shots.’ What was the -degree of thirst borne under these circumstances, none but the forlorn -garrison could ever know. As there was no place under which to shelter -live cattle, some of the animals were let loose, and others slaughtered; -entailing a necessary exhaustion of meat-rations after three or four -days. The commissariat servants, however, now and then managed to get -hold of a stray bullock or cow near the intrenchment at night, which -served for a change. Not only was it difficult to obtain suitable food -to eat, but the native servants took every opportunity to escape, and -the cooking was in consequence conducted under very sorry conditions. - -The tale of accumulated suffering need not, and indeed cannot, be -followed day by day: several days must be grouped together, and the -general character of the incidents noted—so far as authentic recitals -furnish the materials. Meat, as has just been intimated, soon became -scarce; hogsheads of rum and malt liquor were frequently burst by -cannon-balls, but the supply still remained considerable; chupatties and -rice were the chief articles of food for all. The English found their -troubles increase in every way: the rebels at first fired only cannon on -them; but by degrees, after burning the English church and all other -buildings around and near the intrenchment, the sepoys masked themselves -behind the ruined walls, and kept up an almost incessant fire of -musketry, shooting down many who might have escaped the cannon-balls. -There were seven unfinished barracks outside the intrenchment, three of -them at about a furlong distance. These were scenes of many an exciting -encounter. Captain Moore of the 32d foot, a gallant and intrepid -officer, often encountered the rebels near those places. He would send -some of his men, with field-telescopes, to watch the position of the -enemy’s guns, from the roof of one of the barracks, as a guidance for -the besieged; and as soon as these men were attacked, a handful of -gallant companions would rush out of the intrenchment, and drive off the -assailants with a fire of musketry. The enemy having no cannon on this -side, a sort of drawn battle ensued: the besiegers holding three or four -of the barracks, and the besieged maintaining a hold of the three -nearest to the intrenchment After a while, the enemy brought one gun -round to this quarter; but twenty English made a sortie at midnight on -the 11th, spiked the gun, and returned safely. Whenever fighting on -anything like terms of equality took place, the European troops proved -themselves a match for many times their number of natives; but any -daring achievements for effectual liberation were rendered nugatory by -the presence of so many helpless women and children, whose safety was -the first thought in the minds of the men, whether civilians or -military. Numbers of the poor creatures died within the first week, from -illness, heat, fright, want of room, want of proper food and care. In -the obituary of many an English newspaper, when news of the terrible -calamity had crossed the ocean, might be read that such a one, probably -an officer’s wife, had ‘died in the intrenchment at Cawnpore;’ what that -intrenchment meant, few readers knew, and fewer knew what sufferings had -preceded the death. The dead bodies were thrown into a well outside the -intrenchment, lest they should engender disease by any mode of burial -within the crowded and stifling enclosure; and even this sad office -could only be rendered under a shower of shot and shell. ‘The distress -was so great,’ says Mr Shepherd, ‘that none could offer a word of -consolation to his friend, or attempt to administer to the wants of each -other. I have seen the dead bodies of officers, and tenderly brought-up -young ladies of rank (colonels’ and captains’ daughters), put outside -the verandah amongst the rest, to await the time when the fatigue-party -usually went round to carry the dead to the well; for there was scarcely -room to shelter the living.’ - -During all these days, Cawnpore itself, and the country between it and -the intrenchment, became prey to a marauding host of sepoys, liberated -prisoners, and ruffians of every kind. The native before adverted to, -one Nujeer Jewarree, referring to this period, said: ‘In whatever shop -the sepoys entered to ask for sugar or rice, they plundered everything -belonging to the citizen that they could find; so much so, that plunder -and oppression were the order of the day. Every violent man did what -came into his mind; and the troopers got possession of a note, the value -of which amounted to twenty-five thousand rupees, belonging to -Eman-u-Dowlah and Bakir Ali. One troop, or thereabouts, left the -cantonment and proceeded to the buildings in which the civil and revenue -and judicial courts were held, and commenced firing them. In the city -and gardens there was so much villainy committed that travelling became -dangerous, and to kill a man was quite easy. They (the marauders) -committed deeds of oppression and plundered each other; some forcibly -cut the grain out of the fields, and others were occupied in picking up -plundered property. He then spoke of the houses and offices of certain -English merchants and traders—Greenway, Crump, Mackintosh, Reid, -Marshall, Kirk, &c.—and of the ‘lacs’ of treasure that were plundered -from each; too vaguely estimated to be relied on in detail, but -evidently denoting a scene of unscrupulous pillage. Another native, -Nerput, presently to be noticed more particularly, said: ‘Zemindars of -the neighbourhood are fighting among themselves in payment of old -quarrels; sepoys, making for their homes with plundered treasure, have -been deprived of their plunder, and, if any opposition is made, -immediately murdered. Such few Europeans as had remained beyond the -intrenchment, were caught and put to death.’ - -The native authority just referred to states (although the statement is -not confirmed by Mr Shepherd), that on the 9th of June Sir Hugh Wheeler -sent a message to Nena Sahib, demanding why he had thus turned against -the English, who had hitherto been treated by him in a friendly spirit; -and why he was causing the death of innocent women and children—to which -the Nena gave no other reply than from the cannon’s mouth. - -One day was so much like another, after the actual commencement of the -siege, that the various narrators make little attempt to record the -particular events of each. Every day brought its miseries, until the cup -nearly overflowed. The food was lessening; the water was difficult to -obtain; strength was sinking; lives were being rapidly lost; the -miscreant rebels were accumulating in greater and greater number outside -the intrenchment; the two buildings were becoming every day more and -more riddled with shot; the wounded had their wretchedness increased by -the absence of almost everything needful to the comfort of the sick; the -hearts of the men were wrung with anguish at seeing the sufferings borne -by the women; and the women found their resolution and patience terribly -shaken when they saw their innocent little ones dying from disease and -want. - -A scene was presented on the 13th that filled every one with horror. The -officers and their families had hitherto lived chiefly in tents, within -the intrenchment; but the rebels now began to fire _red-hot_ shot, which -not only necessitated the removal of the tents, but ignited the -thatch-roof of one of the two hospitals. This building contained the -wives and children of the common soldiers, and the sick and wounded. The -flames spread so rapidly, and the dire confusion among the wretched -creatures was such, that forty of the helpless invalids were burned to -death before aid could reach them. The rebels appeared to have -calculated on all the men within the intrenchment rushing to save the -victims from the flames, leaving the besiegers to enter with musket and -sword; and so threatening was the attack, so close the approach of the -enemy, that the Europeans were forced to remain watchful at their frail -earthen defence-work, despite their wish to rescue the shrieking -sufferers in the hospital. Nearly all the medicines and the surgical -instruments were at the same time destroyed by the fire, affording a -hopeless prospect to those who might afterwards fall ill or be wounded. -The rebels by this time amounted to four thousand in number, and their -attacks increased in frequency and closeness; but the besieged had not -yielded an inch; every man within the intrenchment, a few only excepted, -was intrusted with five or six muskets, all of which were kept ready -loaded, to pour a fire into any insurgents who advanced within -musket-shot. Bayonets and swords were also ready at hand, for those who -could use them. The condition of every one was rendered more deplorable -than before by this day’s calamity; the fire had wrought such mischief -that many of the men, who had until then occasionally sheltered -themselves under a roof for a few hours at a time, were now forced to -remain permanently in the open air, exposed to a fierce Indian sun at a -date only one week before the summer solstice. That many were struck -down by _coup de soleil_ at such a time may well be conceived. The poor -ladies, too, and the wives of the soldiers, were rendered more desolate -and comfortless than ever, by the destruction of much of their clothing -during the fire, as well as of many little domestic comforts which they -had contrived to bring with them in their hurried flight from their -homes in the city or the cantonment. - -What transpired outside the intrenchment, none of the captives knew; and -even at later times it was difficult to ascertain the real truth. The -native chronicler already referred to speaks of many deeds of cruelty, -but without affording means of verification. On one day, he says, a -family was seen approaching from the west in a carriage; the husband was -at once killed; the others, ‘one lady and one grown-up young lady and -three children,’ were brought before the Nena, who ordered them to be -instantly put to death. ‘The lady begged the Nena to spare her life; but -this disgraceful man would not in any way hearken to her, and took them -all into the plain. At that time the sun was very hot, and the lady -said: “The sun is very hot, take me into the shade;” but no one -listened. On four sides the children were catching hold of their -mother’s gown and saying: “Mamma, come to the bungalow and give me some -bread and water.” At length, having been tied hand to hand, and made to -stand up on the plain, they were shot down by pistol-bullets.’ This -story, touching amid all its quaintness of recital, was probably quite -true in its main features. Another lady, whom he calls the wife of Mukan -Sahib, merchant, and who had been hiding for four or five days in the -garden of her bungalow, ‘came out one evening, and was discovered. She -had through fear changed her appearance by putting on an Hindustani -bodice, and folding a towel around her head. She was taken before the -Nena, who ordered her to be killed. The writer of this journal having -gone in person, saw the head of that lady cut off, and presented as a -nazir (gift of royalty).’ There can be no question that the vicinity of -Cawnpore was at that time in a frightful state. Not only were mutinous -sepoys and sowars engaged in hostilities against the ‘Feringhees,’ whom -they had so lately served, and whose ‘salt’ they had eaten; but many of -the ambitious petty rajahs and chieftains took advantage of the anarchy -to become leaders on their own special account; plunderers and released -prisoners were displaying all their ferocious recklessness; while timid, -sneaking villagers, too cowardly to be openly aggressive, were in many -instances quite willing to look complacently at deeds of savage -brutality, if those deeds might leave a little _loot_, or plunder, as -their share. Consequently, when any English refugees from other towns -passed that way, their chance of safety was small indeed. - -Before tracing the course of events in the intrenchment during the third -week in June, we must advert to another calamity. The griefs and -sufferings endured by the English soldiers and residents at Cawnpore did -not fill up the measure of Nena Sahib’s iniquity. Another stain rests on -his name in connection with the fate of an unfortunate body of fugitives -from Futteghur. It is an episode in the great Cawnpore tragedy; and must -be narrated in this place, in connection with the events of the month. - -Futteghur, as will be seen by reference to a map, is situated higher up -the Ganges than Cawnpore, near Furruckabad. Practically, it is not so -much a distinct town, as the military station or cantonment for the -place last named. Furruckabad itself is a city of sixty thousand -inhabitants; handsome, cleaner, and more healthy than most Indian -cities, carrying on a considerable trading and banking business, and -standing in the centre of a fertile and cultivated region. It has no -other fortifications than a sort of mud-fort connected with the native -nawab’s residence. When this nawab became, like many others, a -stipendiary of the modern rulers of India, the British built a military -cantonment at Futteghur, about three miles distant, on the right bank of -the river. Towards the close of May, Futteghur contained the 10th -regiment Bengal native infantry, together with a few other native -troops. Among the chief English officers stationed there, were General -Goldie, Colonels Smith and Tucker; Majors Robertson, Phillot, and Munro; -Captains Phillimore and Vibert; Lieutenants Simpson, Swettenham, and -Fitzgerald; and Ensigns Henderson and Eckford. The troops displayed much -insubordination as the month closed; and on the 3d of June the symptoms -were so threatening, that it was deemed prudent to arrange for sending -off the women and children for safety to Cawnpore—in ignorance that the -Europeans in that city were in a still more perilous state. Boats had -already been procured, and held in readiness for any such exigency. On -the next day the 10th infantry exhibited such ominous signs of mutiny, -that a large party of the English at once took to their boats. After a -short voyage, finding the natives on the banks of the Ganges likely to -be troublesome, the fugitives resolved on separating themselves into two -parties; one, headed by Mr Probyn, the Company’s collector, and -consisting of about forty persons, sought refuge with a friendly -zemindar named Herden Buksh, living about twelve miles from Futteghur, -on the Oude side of the river; while the other party proceeded on the -voyage down the Ganges to Cawnpore. This last-named party amounted to -more than a hundred and twenty persons, nearly all non-combatants; -missionaries, merchants, indigo planters, estate stewards, agents, -collectors, clerks, shopkeepers, schoolmasters, post and dâk agents—such -were the male members of this hapless band of fugitives; most of them -had wives; and the children far exceeded the adults in number. It is -pitiable, knowing as we now know the fate that was in store for them, to -read such entries as the following, in a list of the occupants of the -boats—‘Mr and Mrs Elliott and five children;’ ‘Mr and Mrs Macklin and -eight children;’ ‘Mr and Mrs Palmer and nine children.’ - -So few persons survived from Futteghur, that it is not certain at what -places and on what days they separated into parties; nor how many lives -were lost on the way; but there is evidence that while some pursued -their way down the Ganges without much interruption until they reached -Bithoor, others went back to Futteghur. This retrograde movement was due -to two causes; for while, on the one hand, the officers trusted to a -report that the sepoys had returned to a sense of their duty; Herden -Buksh, on the other, was threatened by the Oude mutineers if he -harboured any of the English. We will follow the fortunes of this second -party. From about the 12th to the 18th of June there was a lull in the -station; but on the last-named day the 10th infantry broke out in -earnest, and being joined by the mutinous 41st from the other side of -the Ganges, seized the treasure and threatened the officers. There were -about a hundred Europeans now in the place; and as the river was at the -time too low to render a boat-voyage to Cawnpore safe, it was resolved -to defend a post or fort at Futteghur, and there remain till succour -arrived. Out of the hundred there were scarcely more than thirty -fighting-men, so numerous were the women and children; nevertheless, -Colonel Smith, of the 10th, organised the whole, and prepared for the -worst. He had a fair store both of ammunition and of food within the -fort. Until the 4th of July they maintained a manly struggle against the -mutineers, holding their fort until they could hold it no longer. -Colonel Tucker and one of the civil officers were shot in the head while -acting as artillerymen; General Goldie was slightly wounded, as was -likewise one of his daughters; and many other casualties occurred. The -besieged had great difficulty in making a covered-way to protect their -servants, to enable them to pass to and fro with the meals for the -ladies and children, who were collected in a room or godown overlooked -by a two-storied house held by the insurgents. Then commenced a voyage -full of miseries, in boats that contained all the Europeans still -remaining at that spot. First the rebels fired on the boats as they -rowed along; then one of the boats ran aground; then a boatful of rebels -approached, and the ladies in the stranded boat jumped overboard to -avoid capture. Death by bullets, death by drowning, took place every -hour; and the fugitives were thrown into such dire confusion that none -could help the rest. Some crept on shore, and wandered about the fields -to escape detection; others found shelter under friendly roofs; one -boat-load succeeded in prosecuting their voyage down to Cawnpore, or -rather Bithoor. - -There were thus two sets of Futteghur fugitives; one that reached the -clutches of the Nena towards the middle of June; the other, much -smaller, that was spared that fate until the middle of July. So complete -was the destruction of both, however; so sweeping the death-stroke -hurled against them by Nena Sahib, that the details of their fate have -been but imperfectly recorded. Towards the close of June, Mr Court and -Colonel Neill, at Allahabad, received information touching the events at -Cawnpore from a native named Nerput, an opium _gomashta_ or agent at the -last-named city; he gave them or sent them a narrative written in -Persian, portions of which were afterwards translated and published -among the official papers. Nerput was one of the few who wrote -concerning the arrival of the first party of Futteghur fugitives at -Cawnpore. Under the date of June the 12th he said: ‘Report that -Europeans were coming in boats to relieve Cawnpore; and two companies -sent westward to make inquiries. They found that a hundred and -twenty-six men, women, and children, were in boats, sick.’ Another -narrative of the Futteghur calamity simply states, that when the unhappy -fugitives arrived at the part of the Ganges opposite Bithoor, Nena Sahib -‘stopped their boats, brought the fugitives on shore, and shot every -one. He then tied their bodies together, and threw them into the river.’ -A native resident at Cawnpore, who was examined a few weeks afterwards -by Colonel Neill concerning his knowledge of the atrocities committed by -the rajah, and of the sufferings borne by the English, gave an account -of the Futteghur catastrophe corresponding nearly with those derived -from other quarters. He states that on the 12th of June, just as the -customary daily cannonading of the intrenchment was about to recommence, -a report came in that Europeans were approaching from the west. -Immediately a troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry were sent -to reconnoitre (probably to the vicinity of Bithoor). There were found -three boats, containing about a hundred and thirty men, women, and -children. ‘The troopers seized them all and took them to the Nena, who -ordered that they should all be killed; and sundry Rampoorie troopers of -the Mussulmans of the 2d Cavalry, whom the Nena kept with him for the -express purpose, killed them all. Among them was a young lady, the -daughter of some general. She addressed herself much to the Nena, and -said: “No king ever committed such oppression as you have, and in no -religion is there any order to kill women and children. I do not know -what has happened to you. Be well assured that by this slaughter the -English will not become less; whoever may remain will have an eye upon -you.” But the Nena paid no attention, and shewed her no mercy; he -ordered that she should be killed, and that they should fill her hands -with powder and kill her by the explosion.’ - -The fate of the second party of fugitives from Futteghur will be noticed -presently. We must return now to the unfortunate occupants of the -intrenchment at Cawnpore. - -When three weeks of the month of June had transpired, the rebels, joined -by a number of ruffians who had crossed over the Ganges from Oude, made -a more determined effort than ever to capture the intrenchment; they had -made the subadar-major of the 1st N. I. a sort of general over them; and -he swore to vanquish the weakened garrison, or die in the attempt. They -brought large bales of cotton, which they rolled along the ground, and -approached in a crouching position under cover of these bales, firing -their muskets at intervals. About a hundred sepoys thus advanced within -a hundred and fifty yards of the intrenchment, backed up by a strong -body, who seemed bent on storming the position. In this, as in every -former attempt, they failed; their leader was struck down, nearly two -hundred were killed or wounded by a fire of grape-shot, and the rest -driven back to their former distance. At the very same time, contests -were maintained on all sides of the enclosure; for what with musketeers -in the unfinished barracks, guns and mortars in four different -directions, and rifle-pits approached under cover of zigzags, the rebels -maintained a tremendous fire upon the besieged. Wheeler’s guns, under a -gallant young officer, St George Ashe, were manned at all hours, loaded -and fired with great quickness and precision, and pointed in such -directions as might produce most mischief among the enemy. But the -contest was unequal in this as in most other particulars; one gun after -another was disabled by the more powerful artillery of the -insurgents—until the eight were reduced to six, then to four, three, and -at last two. As the forlorn garrison became weaker and weaker, so did -the heroic men redouble their exertions in defence. One day a shot from -the enemy blew up an ammunition-wagon within the intrenchment; and then -it became a question of terrible import how to prevent the other wagons -from being ignited. Lieutenant Delafosse, a young officer of the once -trusted but now disloyal 53d, ran forward, laid himself down under the -wagons, picked up and threw aside the burning fragments, and covered the -flaming portions with handfuls of earth—all the while subject to a -fearful cannonading from a battery of six guns, aimed purposely by the -enemy at that spot! Two soldiers ran to him, with two buckets of water; -and all three succeeded in rescuing the other ammunition-wagons from -peril, and in returning from the dangerous spot in safety. - -Unspeakable must have been the misery of those nine hundred persons—or -rather, nine hundred wofully diminished by deaths—after twenty days of -this besieging. The hospitals were so thoroughly riddled with shot, and -so much injured by the fire, as to afford little or no shelter; and yet -the greater portion of the non-combatants remained in them rather than -be exposed to the scorching glare of the sun outside. Some made holes -for themselves behind the earthen parapet that bounded the intrenchment; -these holes were covered with boxes, cots, &c., and whole families of -wretched beings resided in them—more after the fashion of the Bushmen of -Africa, than of Christian civilised people. Apoplexy struck down many in -these fearfully heated abodes. At night, all the men had to mount guard -and keep watch in turn; and the women and children, to be near their -male protectors in the hour of trouble, slept near them behind the -parapet—or rather they tried to sleep; but the bomb-shells vomited forth -from three mortars employed by the enemy, kept the terrified people in -an agony that ‘murdered sleep;’ and thus the existence of the women and -children was spent in perpetual fear. The soldiers had their food -prepared by the few remaining cooks; but all the rest shifted for -themselves in the best way they could; and it was often difficult, for -those who received their scanty rations of rice and grain, to provide a -mouthful of cooked victuals for themselves and their children. Money -would hardly, one would suppose, be thought of at such a time and place; -yet it appears that the richer bought with money the services of the -poorer, at a rupee or two per meal, for cooking. The innumerable -troubles and distresses felt by all were deepened at the sight of the -sick and wounded, to whom it was now utterly impossible to render proper -assistance. The stench, too, from the dead bodies of horses and other -animals that had been shot in the enclosure and could not be removed, -added to the loathsomeness of the place. Oppressed as they were with -heat, the English nevertheless dreaded the setting in of the rains; for -one single day of Indian rain would have converted the earthen abodes of -the poor people into pools of water, deluged the shot-riddled buildings, -and rendered the muskets useless. Nothing can better denote the -extraordinary scene of ruin and devastation which the interior of the -intrenchment must have presented, than the descriptions given a few -weeks afterwards by English officers concerned in the recovery of -Cawnpore. Or rather, it would be more correct to say, that those -descriptions, by relating only to the intrenchment when deserted, -necessarily fell far short of the reality as presented when many -hundreds of suffering persons were residing there day after day. One -officer wrote: ‘We are encamped close to poor old Wheeler’s miserable -intrenchment. Of all the wonders which have passed before us since this -outbreak commenced, the most wonderful is that this ruinous intrenchment -should have held that horde of blood-thirsty ruffians off so long. This -is a strong statement; but none who have visited it can call it too -strong.’ Another said: ‘I have had a look at the barracks in which the -unfortunate people were intrenched. They consist of a couple of oblong -buildings; in one of them, the roof is completely fallen in; and both -are battered with round shot. The verandahs as well as the walls have -been torn up by the shot; and round the buildings are some pits dug in -the ground, and breastworks. The ground inside and out is strewed with -broken bottles, old shoes, and quantities of books and other documents -and letters. It was a melancholy sight; and the suffering must have been -more than humanity could bear.’ A third officer corroborated this -general description, but mentioned one or two additional particulars: -‘These buildings formed what was called the European Cavalry Hospital. -Right well and heroically must it have been defended. The walls are -riddled with cannon-shot like the cells of a honey-comb. The doors, -which seem to have been the principal points against which the Nena’s -fire was directed, are breached and knocked into large shapeless -openings. Of the verandahs, which surrounded both buildings, only a few -splintered rafters remain, and at some of the angles the walls are -knocked entirely away, and large chasms gape blackly at you. Many of the -enemy’s cannon-shot have gone through and through the buildings; -portions of the interior walls and roof have fallen; and here and there -are blood-stains on wall and floor. Never did I yet see a place so -terribly battered.’ - -As a sad story is often most touchingly told in the fewest words, we may -here advert to the contents of two scraps of paper, shewing how the -members of a family were cut off one by one during these days of misery. -When Cawnpore fell again into the hands of the British, by a train of -operations hereafter to be described, there were found among other -wrecks two small pieces of paper, covered with blood, and containing a -few words in pencil; they appeared to have been written by two persons, -both females. One gave a brief and confused narrative of some of the -events in the intrenchment; while the other consisted simply of a record -of the dates on which members of the writer’s family were struck down by -the hand of death.[18] The dates were irregular, and extended into July; -but every line told, in its simplicity, how agonising must have been the -position of one who had to record such things of those who were dear to -her. The contents of the two pieces of paper were printed in a Calcutta -journal; and when the mournful tale reached Scotland, it was at once -concluded, almost as a certainty, from the Christian names mentioned, -that the sufferers were all members of a family of Lindsays, who had -been stationed at Cawnpore. The writers of the two notes were themselves -numbered with the dead before the gloomy tragedy was ended. - -All these evidences render only too plain to us the deplorable position -of the Europeans, after eighteen days of siege, and thirty-three of -enforced residence in the intrenchment. When duly considered, who can -wonder that the beleaguered garrison pondered on two possible -contingencies—a defeat of the rebels by a daring sally, or a release by -parley? If the officers could have known the treachery which was about -to be practised on them, they would probably have attempted the former; -but they could receive no intelligence or warning, and they did not like -to quit their wives and children at such a perilous time, in uncertainty -of their chances of success. - -Their first knowledge of the state of affairs at Cawnpore was obtained -in an unexpected way. Among the commercial firms in the city was that of -Greenway Brothers, of which the members and the family had hastily left -Cawnpore at the beginning of the troubles, and taken refuge at -Nujjubgurh, a village about sixteen miles distant. They were discovered -by Nena Sahib, however, and only saved from death by promising a ransom -of a lac of rupees. Mrs Greenway, a very aged lady, the mother and -grandmother of a number of the sufferers, was sent by this treacherous -villain with a message to Sir Hugh Wheeler at the intrenchment, intended -to mask a nefarious and bloody scheme. The message was to this -effect—that the general and all his people should be allowed to proceed -to Allahabad unmolested, on condition that he abandoned Cawnpore, the -intrenchment, the public treasure, the guns, and the ammunition. This -message was delivered on the 24th of June; but whether in consequence of -Mr Shepherd’s adventure on that same day, presently to be mentioned, -does not clearly appear. On the next day an interview took place, -outside the intrenchment, between Sir Hugh and an agent of Nena named -Azimoollah (probably the same who had visited London two years before), -who was accompanied by a few of the leading mutineers. The terms were -agreed to, with a few modifications; and Nena Sahib gave his signature, -his seal, and his oath to a contract binding him to provide the -Europeans with boats and a safe escort to Allahabad. - -Such was the account given by Mr Shepherd of a transaction narrated -somewhat differently by other persons; but before noticing certain -anomalies in this matter, it will be well to treat of an occurrence in -which that gentleman was unquestionably the best judge of the facts. -When the 24th of June arrived, Mr Shepherd adopted a course which led to -his own preservation, and enabled him to write his brief but mournful -narrative. The besieged civilians, not being under the command of Sir -Hugh Wheeler further than might be consistent with their own safety, -naturally thought with yearning hearts of their former abodes in the -city, and compared those abodes with the present deep misery and -privation. Wheeler would gladly have allowed them to return to Cawnpore; -but could they cross the intervening ground in safety, or would they -find safety in the city itself? To ascertain these points, was a project -adopted on the suggestion of Mr Shepherd, who—as a commissariat officer -in a place where scarcely any commissariat services could be -rendered—occupied a position somewhat midway between the military and -the civil. He had a large family within the intrenchment, comprising his -wife, daughter, brother, sister, three nieces, and two other relatives; -an infant daughter had been killed by a musket-shot a few days earlier. -Mr Shepherd’s mission was—to make his way to the city; to ascertain the -state of public affairs there; to enter into negotiations with -influential persons who were not friendly to the mutineers; and to spend -or promise a lac of rupees in any way that might bring about a cessation -of the siege. The arrangement made with Sir Hugh was, that if Mr -Shepherd succeeded in returning to the intrenchment with any useful -information, he should be allowed to go with his family to Cawnpore. He -started; but he never returned, and never again saw those hapless beings -whose welfare had occupied so much of his solicitude. He disguised -himself as a native cook, left the intrenchment, passed near the new -barracks, and ran on towards Cawnpore; but he was speedily descried and -captured, and carried before Nena Sahib. Two native women-servants had -shortly before escaped from the intrenchment to the city, and had -reported that the garrison was starving; the new captive, designedly, -gave a very different account; and as the Nena did not know which to -believe, he imprisoned all three. Mr Shepherd remained in prison, -suffering great hardships, from the 24th of June to the 17th of July, as -we shall presently see. - -It is not easy to reconcile the various accounts of the convention -between the besiegers and the besieged, the Nena and the general. -According to Mr Shepherd, as we have just seen, the Nena sent a message -by Mrs Greenway on the 24th; and Sir Hugh had an interview with one of -Nena’s agents on the 25th. An ayah, or native nurse, however, who had -been in the service of Mrs Greenway, and who afterwards gave a narrative -in evidence before some English officers at Cawnpore, said that the -message was taken, not by Mrs Greenway, but by a Mrs Jacobi. She -proceeded to aver that Nena Sahib himself went to the intrenchment; and -then she gave a curious account of the interview, which, to say the -least of it, is quite consistent with the relative characters and -positions of the two leaders. According to her narrative: ‘The Nena -said: “Take away all the women and children to Allahabad; and if your -men want to fight, come back and do so: we will keep faith with you.” -General Wheeler said: “You take your solemn oath, according to your -custom; and I will take an oath on my Bible, and will leave the -intrenchment.” The Nena said: “Our oath is, that whoever we take by the -hand, and he relies on us, we never deceive; if we do, God will judge -and punish us.” The general said: “If you intend to deceive me, kill me -at once: I have no arms.” The Nena replied: “I will not deceive you; -rely on us. I will supply you with food, and convey you to Allahabad.” -On this the general went inside the intrenchment, and consulted with the -soldiers. They said: “There’s no reliance to be placed on natives; they -will deceive you.” A few said: “Trust them; it is better to do so.” On -this the general returned, and said: “I agree to your terms; see us away -as far as Futtehpoor, thence we can get easily to Allahabad.” The reply -was: “No; I will see you all safe to Allahabad.”’ - -That Sir Hugh Wheeler was mortally wounded before his unfortunate -companions left the intrenchment under a solemn pledge of safety, seems -to be generally admitted, but the date of his death is not clearly -known; nor do the narrators agree as to the names of the persons by whom -the convention was signed. But on the main point all evidence -coincides—that a safe retirement to Allahabad was guaranteed. How -villainously that guarantee was disregarded, we shall now see. - -It was on the 27th of June that those who remained of the nine hundred -took their departure from the intrenchment where they had borne so many -miseries. Collateral facts lead to a conjecture that the sepoys, -belonging to the native regiments that had mutinied, had become wearied -with their three-weeks’ detention outside the intrenchment, and wished -to start off to a scene of more stirring incidents at Delhi. This would -not have suited the Nena’s views; he wanted their aid to grasp the -remainder of the Company’s treasure and ammunition at Cawnpore; and -hence he formed the plan for getting rid of the Europeans and obtaining -their wealth without any more fighting. Cannonading ceased on both sides -from the evening of the 24th; and from thence to the 27th all was done -that could be done to fit out the boat-expedition. But under what -miserable circumstances was this done! The unburied bodies of relations -and friends lay at the bottom of a well; the sick and wounded were more -fit to die than to be removed; the women and children had become haggard -and weak by almost every kind of suffering; the clothes of all had -become rent and blood-stained by many a terrible exigency; and -misgivings occupied the thoughts of those who remembered that the same -Nena Sahib, at whose mercy they were now placed, was the man who had -proved a traitor three weeks before. Twenty boats were provided, each -with an awning. The English were forced to give up the three or four -lacs of rupees which had been brought to the intrenchment. Early on the -morning of the 27th, the Nena sent a number of elephants, carts, and -doolies, to convey the women, children, sick, and wounded, to the -river-side, a distance of about a mile and a half: the hale men -proceeding on foot—if hale they can be called, who were worn down with -hunger, thirst, fatigue, heat, grief for the dear ones who had fallen, -anxiety for those who still lived to be succoured and protected. If Mr -Shepherd is right in his statement that the number who took their -departure in this mournful procession from the intrenchment was four -hundred and fifty, then one half of the original number of nine hundred -must have fallen victims to three weeks of privation and suffering. -Those who first reached the river took boat, and proceeded down-stream; -but the later comers were long detained; and while they were still -embarking, or preparing to embark, they were startled by the report of a -masked battery of three guns. The dreadful truth now became evident; the -execrable rebel-chief, in disregard of all oaths and treaties, had given -orders for the slaughter of the hapless Europeans. Some of the boats -were set on fire, and volley upon volley of musketry fired at the -unfortunates—scores of whom were shot dead, others picked off while -endeavouring to swim away. A few boats were hastily rowed across the -river; but there a body of the 17th N. I., just arrived from Azimghur, -intercepted all escape. The ruffians on both banks waded into the water, -seized the boats within reach, and sabred all the men yet remaining -alive in them. The women were spared for a worse fate; though many of -them wounded, some with two or three bullets each, these poor creatures, -with the children, were taken ashore, and placed in a building called -the Subadar Kothee, in Nena Sahib’s camp. - -The fortunes of two separate boat-parties must be traced. Lieutenant -Delafosse, whose name has already been mentioned in connection with a -gallant achievement in the intrenchment, has placed upon record the -story of one boat’s adventure, shewing how it happened that he was among -the very few who escaped the Cawnpore tragedy. After stating that nearly -all the boats which attempted to descend the Ganges were either stopped -one by one, or the persons in them shot down where they sat, he proceeds -thus: ‘We had now one boat, crowded with wounded, and having on board -more than she could carry. Two guns followed us the whole of that day, -the infantry firing on us the whole of that night. On the second day, -28th June, a gun was seen on the Cawnpore side, which opened on us at -Nujjubgurh, the infantry still following us on both sides. On the -morning of the third day, the boat was no longer serviceable; we were -aground on a sand-bank, and had not strength sufficient to move her. -Directly any of us got into the water, we were fired upon by thirty or -forty men at a time. There was nothing left for us but to charge and -drive them away; and fourteen of us were told off to do what we could. -Directly we got on shore the insurgents retired; but, having followed -them up too far, we were cut off from the river, and had to retire -ourselves, as we were being surrounded. We could not make for the river; -we had to go down parallel, and came to the river again a mile lower -down, where we saw a large force of men right in front waiting for us, -and another lot on the opposite bank, should we attempt to cross the -river. On the bank of the river, just by the force in front, was a -temple. We fired a volley, and made for the temple, in which we took -shelter, having one man killed and one wounded. From the door of the -temple we fired on every insurgent that happened to shew himself. -Finding that they could do nothing against us whilst we remained inside, -they heaped wood all round and set it on fire. When we could no longer -remain inside on account of the smoke and heat, we threw off what -clothes we had, and, each taking a musket, charged through the fire. -Seven of us out of the twelve got into the water; but before we had gone -far, two poor fellows were shot. There were only five of us left now; -and we had to swim whilst the insurgents followed us along both banks, -wading and firing as fast as they could. After we had gone three miles -down the stream [probably swimming and wading by turns], one of our -party, an artilleryman, to rest himself, began swimming on his back, and -not knowing in what direction he was swimming, got on shore, and was -killed. When we had got down about six miles, firing from both sides [of -the river] ceased; and soon after we were hailed by some natives, on the -Oude side, who asked us to come on shore, and said they would take us to -their rajah, who was friendly to the English.’ This proved to be the -case; for Lieutenant Delafosse, Lieutenant Mowbray Thomson, and one or -two companions, remained in security and comparative comfort throughout -the month of July, until an opportunity occurred for joining an English -force. - -Although the boat-adventure just narrated was full of painful -excitement, ending in the death of nearly all the persons by shooting or -drowning—yet there is one still to be noticed more saddening in its -character, for the sufferers were reserved for a worse death. The name -of Sir Hugh Wheeler is connected with this adventure in a way not easily -to be accounted for; Mr Shepherd and Lieutenant Delafosse were not -witnesses of it, and no reliable personal narrative is obtainable from -any one who was actually present when it occurred. The probability is, -that Sir Hugh, although wounded in the intrenchment, did not die until -the boat-expedition had commenced, and that the same boat contained his -daughter and his (living or dead) body. At anyrate, this was the last -the world could hear of a brave old soldier, who went to India -fifty-four years before; who fought with Lord Lake before Delhi in 1804; -who took an active part in the Punjaub war; and who had been military -commander of the Cawnpore district from 1850 to 1857. It was also the -last to be heard of Brigadier Jack, who commanded the Cawnpore -cantonment; and of many brave English officers, from colonels down to -ensigns, of both the English and the native regiments. - -Whether the general was alive or dead, and by whomsoever accompanied, it -appears certain that a large party rowed many miles down the Ganges. One -account states that Baboo Rambuksh, a zemindar of Dowreea Kheyra near -Futtehpoor, stopped the boats, captured the persons who were in them, -and sent them in carts as prisoners back to Cawnpore. The names of Mr -Reid, Mr Thomas Greenway, Mr Kirkpatrick, Mr Mackenzie, Captain -Mackenzie, and Dr Harris, were mentioned in connection with this band of -unfortunates; but accuracy in this particular is not to be insured. The -narrative given by Nujoor Jewarree, the native afterwards examined by -English officers at Cawnpore, was different in many points, and much -more detailed. He stated that the boat in question, after proceeding -some distance, got upon a sand-bank, where there was a severe encounter; -the sepoys not only ran along the shore, but followed in boats shooting -at the victims as soon as they got within musket-range, and receiving -many fatal shots in return. A freshet in the river released the boat, -and the voyage recommenced. Meanwhile, the probable escape of this party -being reported to Nena Sahib, he ordered three companies of the 3d Oude -infantry to pursue the boat, and effect a complete capture. The boat was -soon after taken, and all the occupants seized as prisoners. ‘There came -out of that boat,’ said Nujoor Jewarree, ‘sixty sahibs (gentlemen), -twenty-five memsahibs (ladies), and four children—one boy and three -half-grown girls.’ His story then proceeded to details which, if -correct, shew that Sir Hugh Wheeler was in the boat, and still alive; -for a contest ensued between Nena and some of the soldiers whether or -not the old general should be put to death: many of the sepoys wishing -to preserve his life. - -It will become apparent to the reader, from the nature of the above -details, that the true story of the boat-catastrophe at Cawnpore will -probably never be fully told. All that we positively know is, that one -portion of the wretched victims met their death in the river, by -muskets, swords, and drowning; and that two other portions were carried -back to a captivity worse even than that of the intrenchment. - -The proceedings of Nena Sahib, after the iniquitous treachery of the -27th of June, bore evident relation to his own advancement as an -independent chieftain. At sunset on that day he held a review of all the -rebel troops around Cawnpore on a plain between the now deserted -intrenchment and the Ganges. They appear to have consisted of five -regiments of Bengal native infantry, two of Oude native infantry, one of -Bengal cavalry, two of Oude cavalry, two of irregular cavalry, a battery -of field-guns, besides sundry detachments of regiments, and marauders -who became temporary soldiers in the hope of sharing pillage. Guns were -fired in honour of the Nena as sovereign, of his brother as -governor-general, and of an ambitious Brahmin as commander-in-chief, of -the newly restored Mahratta kingdom. From day to day more troops joined -his standard, after mutinying at various stations on all sides of -Cawnpore. Twenty thousand armed men are said to have been in that city -by the 10th of July; and as the Nena was very slow in awarding to them -any of his ill-gotten wealth, they recompensed themselves by plundering -the inhabitants, under pretext of searching for concealed Europeans. -Cawnpore was thus plunged into great misery, and speedily had cause to -lament the absence of its former masters. Nena created new offices, for -bestowal upon those who had served him; and he ordered the neighbouring -zemindars to pay to him the revenue that had wont to be paid to the -Company. He caused to be proclaimed by beat of tom-tom, throughout -Cawnpore and the surrounding district, that he had entirely conquered -the British; and that, their period of reign in India having been -completed, he was preparing to drive them out foot by foot. During this -heyday of self-assumed power, he issued many remarkable proclamations, -worthy of note as indications of his ambitious views, of his hopes as -dependent on the mass of the native people, and of the stigma which he -sought to throw on the British government. Some of these proclamations -are given in full at the end of the present chapter. There are many -facts which lend support to the supposition that this grasp at power and -wealth was suggested to him by the gradual development of events. He -probably entertained crafty designs and suppressed vindictiveness from -the outset; but these did not shew themselves openly until the native -troops at the cantonment had rebelled. Seeing a door opened by others, -which might possibly lead him to power and to vengeance, he seized the -occasion and entered. - -The last acts of the Cawnpore tragedy now await our attention. - -What horrors the poor women suffered during their eighteen days of -captivity under this detestable miscreant, none will ever fully know; -partial glimpses only of the truth will ever come to light. According to -the ayah’s narrative, already noticed, the women and children who were -conveyed from the boats into captivity were a hundred and fifteen in -number. The poor creatures (the women and elder girls) were sought to be -tempted by an emissary of the Nena to enter quietly into his harem; but -they one and all expressed a determination to die where they were, and -with each other, rather than yield to dishonour. They were then destined -to be given up to the sensual licence of the sepoys and sowars who had -aided in their capture; but the heroic conduct of Sir Hugh Wheeler’s -daughter is said to have deterred the ruffians. What this ‘Judith of -Cawnpore’ really did, is differently reported. Her heroism was -manifested, in one version of the story, by an undaunted and indignant -reproach against the native troops for their treachery to the English -who had fed and clothed them, and for their cowardice in molesting -defenceless women; in another version, she shot down five sepoys in -succession with a revolver, and then threw herself into a well to escape -outrage; in a third, given by Mr Shepherd, this English lady, being -taken away by a trooper of the 2d native cavalry to his own hut, rose in -the night, secured the trooper’s sword, killed him and three other men, -and then threw herself into a well; while a fourth version, on the -authority of the ayah, represents the general’s daughter as cutting off -the heads of no less than five men in the trooper’s hut. These accounts, -incompatible one with another, nevertheless reveal to us a true -soldier’s daughter, an English gentlewoman, resolved to proceed to any -extremity in defence of her own purity. - -The victims were detained three days at Nena’s camp, with only a little -parched grain to eat, dirty water to drink, and the hard ground to lie -upon, without matting or beds of any kind. The ayah states that the -Nena, after the events of the 27th of June, sent to ask the temporarily -successful King of Delhi what he should do with the women and children; -to which a reply was received, that they were not to be killed. Whether -this statement be right or wrong, the captives were taken from the camp -to Cawnpore, and there incarcerated in a house near the Assembly Rooms, -consisting of outbuildings of the medical depôt, shortly before occupied -by Sir George Parker. Here they were joined by more than thirty other -European women and children, the unhappy relics of the boat-expedition -that had been recaptured near Futtehpoor in the vain attempt to escape. -Without venturing to decide whether the ayah, Nujoor Jewarree, Mr -Shepherd, or Lieutenant Delafosse was most nearly correct in regard of -numbers; or whether Sir Hugh Wheeler was at that time alive or dead—it -appears tolerably certain that many unhappy prisoners were brought back -into Cawnpore on the 1st of July. All the men were butchered in cold -blood on the evening of the same day. One officer’s wife, with her -child, clung to her husband with such desperate tenacity that they could -not be separated; and all three were killed at once. The other women -were spared for the time. This new influx, together with five members of -the Greenway family, swelled the roll of prisoners in the small building -to a number that has been variously estimated from a hundred and fifty -to two hundred, nearly all women and children. Their diet was miserably -insufficient; and their sufferings were such that many died through want -of the necessaries of life. ‘It is not easy to describe,’ says Mr -Shepherd, ‘but it may be imagined, the misery of so many helpless -persons: some wounded, others sick, and all labouring under the greatest -agony of heart for the loss of those, so dear to them, who had so -recently been killed (perhaps before their own eyes); cooped up night -and day in a small low pukha-roofed house, in the hottest season of the -year, without beds or punkahs, for a whole fortnight—and constantly -reviled and insulted by a set of brutish ruffians keeping watch over -them.’ - -Added to all these suffering women and children, were those belonging to -the second boat-expedition from Futteghur. It will be remembered, from -the details given in a former page, that one party from this fort -reached Bithoor about the middle of June, and were at once murdered by -orders of Nena Sahib; while another body, after a manly struggle against -the rebels for two or three weeks, did not prosecute their voyage -downwards until July. It will throw light on the perils and terrors of -these several boat-adventures to transcribe a few sentences from an -official account by Mr G. J. Jones, a civil servant of the Company, who -left Futteghur with the rest on the 4th of July, but happily kept clear -of the particular boat-load which went down to Cawnpore: ‘We had not -proceeded far, when it was found that Colonel Goldie’s boat was much too -large and heavy for us to manage; it was accordingly determined to be -abandoned; so all the ladies and children were taken into Colonel -Smith’s boat. A little delay was thus caused, which the sepoys took -advantage of to bring a gun to bear on the boats; the distance, however, -was too great; every ball fell short. As soon as the ladies and children -were all safely on board, we started, and got down as far as -Singheerampore without accident, although fired upon by the villagers. -Here we stopped a few minutes to repair the rudder of Colonel Smith’s -boat; and one out of the two boatmen we had was killed by a matchlock -ball. The rudder repaired, we started again, Colonel Smith’s boat taking -the lead; we had not gone beyond a few yards, when our boat grounded on -a soft muddy sand-bank; the other boat passed on; all hands got into the -water to push her; but, notwithstanding all our efforts, we could not -manage to move her. We had not been in this unhappy position half an -hour, when two boats, apparently empty, were seen coming down the -stream. They came within twenty yards of us, when we discovered they -carried sepoys, who opened a heavy fire, killing and wounding several. -Mr Churcher, senior, was shot through the chest; Mr Fisher, who was just -behind me, was wounded in the thigh. Hearing him call out, I had -scarcely time to turn round, when I felt a smart blow on my right -shoulder; a bullet had grazed the skin and taken off a little of the -flesh. Major Robertson was wounded in the face. The boats were now -alongside of us. Some of the sepoys had already got into our boat. Major -Robertson, seeing no hope, begged the ladies to come into the water -rather than fall into their hands. While the ladies were throwing -themselves into the water, I jumped into the boat, took up a loaded -musket, and, going astern, shot a sepoy.... Mr and Mrs Fisher were about -twenty yards from the boat; he had his child in his arms, apparently -lifeless. Mrs Fisher could not stand against the current; her dress, -which acted like a sail, knocked her down, when she was helped up by Mr -Fisher.... Early the next morning a voice hailed us from the shore, -which we recognised as Mr Fisher’s. He came on board, and informed us -that his poor wife and child had been drowned in his arms.’ - -The occupants of the boat that prosecuted the voyage down to Cawnpore, -or rather Bithoor, suffered greatly: the hands of the gentlemen who were -on board, and who pulled the boat, were terribly blistered; the women -and children suffered sad hardships; and all were worn down by fatigue -and anxiety. At Bithoor, so far as the accounts are intelligible, Nena -Sahib’s son seized the boat, and sent all the unfortunate Europeans in -her into confinement at Cawnpore. As in other parts of this mournful -tragedy, it will be vain to attempt accuracy in the statement of the -numbers of those that suffered; but there is a subsidiary source of -information, possessing a good deal of interest in connection with the -July occurrences. When, at a later date, the reconquerors of Cawnpore -were in a position to attempt a solution of the terrible mystery; when -the buildings of Cawnpore were searched, and the inhabitants examined, -for any documents relating to the suffering Europeans—a paper was found, -written in the Mahratta language, in the house of a native doctor who -had been in charge of the prisoners, or some of them. It was, or -professed to be, a list of those who were placed under his care on -Tuesday the 7th of July; but whether invalids only, does not clearly -appear. All the names were given, with some inaccuracy in spelling; -which, however, cannot be considered as rendering the document -untrustworthy. In it were to be found large families of Greenways, -Reids, Jacobis, Fitzgeralds, Dempsters, and others known to have been in -Cawnpore about that time. They were a hundred and sixty-three in number. -To this hapless group was added another list, containing the names of -forty-seven fugitives belonging to the _second_ boat-party from -Futteghur, who are reported as having arrived on the 11th of July, and -who included many members of the families of the Goldies, Smiths, -Tuckers, Heathcotes, &c., already named in connection with the Futteghur -calamities. The Mahratta document gave altogether the names of two -hundred and ten persons; but it was silent on the question how many -other Europeans were on those days in the clutches of the ruthless -chieftain of Bithoor. A further list contained the names of about -twenty-six persons, apparently all women and children, who died under -this native doctor’s hands between the 7th and the 15th, diminishing to -that extent the number of those left for massacre. To most of the names -‘cholera,’ or ‘diarrhœa,’ or ‘dysentery’ was appended, as the cause of -death; to two names, ‘wounds;’ while one of the patients was ‘a baby two -days old.’ In what a place, and under what circumstances, for an infant -to be born, and to bear its two wretched days of life! - -[Illustration: - - House at Cawnpore in which the women and children were massacred. -] - -Let us follow Mr Shepherd’s two narratives—one public, for government -information; one in a letter, relating more especially to his own -personal troubles and sufferings—concerning the crowning iniquity of -Nena Sahib at Cawnpore. - -After his capture, on attempting to hasten from the intrenchment to the -city, the commissary was subjected to a sort of mock-trial, and -condemned to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour; on what plea or -evidence, is not stated. He implies that if he had been known as an -Englishman, he would certainly have been put to death. On the third day -after his capture he heard a rumour of certain movements among his -unfortunate compatriots in the intrenchment. ‘Oh! how I felt,’ he -exclaims, ‘when, in confinement, I heard that the English were going in -safety! I could not keep my secret, but told the subadar of the -prison-guard that I was a Christian; I nearly lost my life by this -exposure.’ Mr Shepherd was confined for twenty-four days in a miserable -prison, with heavy fetters on his legs, and only so much parched grain -for food as would prevent actual starvation. As days wore on, he -obtained dismal evidence that the departure from the intrenchment had -not been safely effected; that coward treachery had been displayed by -the Nena; that innocent lives had been taken; and that the survivors -were held in horrible thraldom by that cruel man. The commissary was a -prisoner within the city during all the later days of the tragedy; -whether he was within earshot of the sufferers, is not stated; but the -following contains portions of his narrative relating to that period: -‘Certain spies, whether real or imaginary is not known, were brought to -the Nena as being the bearers of letters supposed to have been written -to the British [at Allahabad] by the helpless females in their -captivity; and with these letters some of the inhabitants of the city -were believed to be implicated. It was therefore decreed by Nena Sahib -that the spies, together with all the women and children, as also the -few gentlemen whose lives had been spared, should be put to death.’ Mr -Shepherd connected these gentlemen with the Futteghur fugitives, -concerning whom, however, he possessed very little information. It was a -further portion of Nena’s decree, that all the baboos (Bengalees -employed as clerks) of the city, and every individual who could read or -write English, should have their right hands and noses cut off. At -length, on the 15th, just before quitting Cawnpore in the vain hope of -checking the advance of a British column, this savage put his decrees -into execution. ‘The native spies were first put to the sword; after -them the gentlemen, who were brought from the outbuildings in which they -had been confined, and shot with bullets. Then the poor females were -ordered to come out; but neither threats nor persuasions could induce -them to do so. They laid hold of each other by dozens, and clung so -closely that it was impossible to separate or drag them out of the -building. The troopers therefore brought muskets, and after firing a -great many shots through the doors, windows, &c., rushed in with swords -and bayonets. Some of the helpless creatures in their agony fell down at -the feet of their murderers, and begged them in the most pitiful manner -to spare their lives; but to no purpose. The fearful deed was done -deliberately and determinedly, in the midst of the most dreadful shrieks -and cries of the victims. From a little before sunset till dark was -occupied in completing the dreadful deed. The doors of the buildings -were then locked for the night, and the murderers went to their homes. -Next morning it was found, on opening the doors, that some ten or -fifteen females, with a few of the children, had managed to escape from -death by hiding under the murdered bodies of their fellow-prisoners. A -fresh command was thereupon sent to murder these also; but the survivors -not being able to bear the idea of being cut down, rushed out into the -compound, and seeing a well there, threw themselves into it. The dead -bodies of those murdered on the previous evening were then ordered to be -thrown into the same well; and julluds were appointed to drag them away -like dogs.’ - -Mr Shepherd himself did not witness this slaughter; no looker-on, so far -as is known, has placed upon record his or her account of the scene. Nor -does there appear any trustworthy evidence to shew what the poor women -endured in the period, varying from four to eighteen days, during which -they were in the Nena’s power; but the probability is fearfully great -that they passed through an ordeal which the mind almost shrinks from -contemplating. Mr Shepherd was evidently of this opinion. While telling -his tale of misery relating to those poor ill-used creatures, he hinted -at ‘sufferings and distresses such as have never before been experienced -or heard of on the face of the earth.’ It was in his agony of grief that -he wrote this; when, on the 17th of July, a victorious English column -entered Cawnpore; and when, immediately on his liberation, he hastened -like others to the house of slaughter. Only when the manacles had been -struck from his limbs, and he had become once more a free man, did he -learn the full bitterness of his lot. ‘God Almighty has been graciously -pleased to spare my poor life,’ was the beginning of a letter written by -him on that day to a brother stationed at Agra. ‘I am the only -individual saved among all the European and Christian community that -inhabited this station.’ [Nearly but not exactly true.] ‘My poor dear -wife, my darling sweet child Polly, poor dear Rebecca and her children, -and poor innocent children Emmeline and Martha, as also Mrs Frost and -poor Mrs Osborne’ [these being the members of his family whom he had -left in the intrenchment on the 24th of June, when he set out disguised -on his fruitless mission], ‘were all most inhumanly butchered by the -cruel insurgents on the day before yesterday;’ and his letter then -conveyed the outpourings of a heart almost riven by such irreparable -losses. - -While reserving for a future chapter all notice of the brilliant -military movements by which a small band of heroes forced a way inch by -inch from Allahabad to Cawnpore; and of the struggle made by the Nena, -passionately but ineffectually, to maintain his ill-gotten honours as a -self-elected Mahratta sovereign—it may nevertheless be well in this -place to follow the story of the massacre to its close—to know how much -was left, and of what kind, calculated to render still more vividly -evident the fate of the victims. - -Never, while life endures, will the English officers and soldiers forget -the sight which met their gaze when they entered Cawnpore on the 17th of -July. It was frequently observed that all were alike deeply moved by the -atrocities that came to light in many parts of Northern India. Calcutta, -weeks and even months afterwards, contained ladies who had escaped from -various towns and stations, and who entered the Anglo-Indian capital in -most deplorable condition: ears, noses, lips, tongues, hands, cut off; -while others had suffered such monstrous and incredibly degrading -barbarities, that they resolutely refused all identification, preferring -to remain in nameless obscurity, rather than their humiliation should be -known to their friends in England. Their children, in many instances, -had their eyes gouged out, and their feet cut off. Many were taken to -Calcutta in such hurry and confusion, that it remained long in doubt -from what places they had escaped; and an instance is recorded of a -little child, who belonged no one knew to whom, and whose only account -of herself was that she was ‘Mamma’s pet:’ mournfully touching words, -telling of a gentle rearing and a once happy home. An officer in command -of one of the English regiments, speaking of the effect produced on his -men by the sights and rumours of fiend-like cruelty, observed: ‘Very -little is said among the men or officers, the subject being too -maddening; but there is a curious expression discernible in every face -when it is mentioned—a stern compression of the lips, and a fierce -glance of the eye, which shew that when the time comes, no mercy will be -shewn to those who have shewn none.’ He told of fearful deeds; of two -little children tortured to death, and portions of their quivering flesh -forced down the throats of their parents, who were tied up naked, and -had been compelled to witness the slaughter of their innocent ones. The -feelings of those who were not actually present at the scenes of horror -are well expressed in a letter written by a Scottish officer, who was -hemmed in at Agra during many weeks, when he longed to be engaged in -active service chastising the rebels. He had, some months before, been -an officer in one of the native regiments that mutinied at Cawnpore; -and, in relation to the events at that place, he said: ‘I am truly -thankful that most of the officers of my late corps died of fever in the -intrenchment, previous to the awful massacre. Would that it had been the -will of Heaven that all had met the same fate, fearful as that was. For -weeks exposed to a scorching sun, without shelter of any kind, and -surrounded by the dying and the dead, their ears ringing with the groans -of the wounded, the shouts of sun-struck madmen, the plaintive cries of -children, the bitter sobs and sighs of bereaved mothers, widows, and -orphans. Even such a death was far better than what fell to the lot of -many. Not even allowed to die without being made witnesses of the bloody -deaths of all they loved on earth, they were insulted, abused, and -finally, after weeks of such treatment, cruelly and foully murdered. One -sickens, and shudders at the bare mention of it.... Oh! how thankful I -am that I have no wife, no sisters out here.’ It was a terrible crisis -that could lead officers, eight or ten thousand miles away from those -near and dear to them, to say this. - -It is necessary, as a matter of historical truth, to describe briefly -the condition of the house of slaughter on the 17th of July; and this -cannot be better done than in the words employed by the officers and -soldiers in various letters written by them, afterwards made public. The -first that we shall select runs thus: ‘I have seen the fearful -slaughter-house; and I also saw one of the 1st native infantry men, -according to order, wash up part of the blood which stains the floor, -before being hanged.’ [This order will presently be noticed in the words -of Brigadier Neill.] ‘There were quantities of dresses, clogged thickly -with blood; children’s frocks, frills, and ladies’ underclothing of all -kinds; boys’ trousers; leaves of Bibles, and of one book in particular, -which seems to be strewed over the whole place, called _Preparation for -Death_; broken daguerreotypes; hair, some nearly a yard long; bonnets, -all bloody; and one or two shoes. I picked up a bit of paper with the -words on it, “Ned’s hair, with love;” and opened and found a little bit -tied up with ribbon. The first [troops] that went in, I believe, saw the -bodies with their arms and legs sticking out through the ground. They -had all been thrown in a heap in the well.’ A second letter: ‘The house -was alongside the Cawnpore hotel, where the Nena lived. I never was more -horrified. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that the soles of my -boots were more than covered with the blood of these poor wretched -creatures. Portions of their dresses, collars, children’s socks, and -ladies’ round hats, lay about, saturated with their blood; and in the -sword-cuts on the wooden pillars of the room, long dark hair was -sticking, carried by the edge of the weapon, and there hung their -tresses—a most painful sight. I picked up a mutilated Prayer-book; it -appeared to have been open at page 36 of the Litany, where I have little -doubt those poor creatures sought and found consolation in that -beautiful supplication; it is there sprinkled with blood.’ A third: ‘We -found that the Nena had murdered all the women and children that he had -taken prisoners, and thrown them naked down a well. The women and -children had been kept in a sort of zenana, and no attention whatever -paid to cleanliness. In that place they had been butchered, as the -ground was covered with clotted blood. One poor woman had evidently been -working, as a small work-box was open, and the things scattered about. -There were several children’s small round hats, evidently shewing that -that was their prison. The well close by was one of the most awful -sights imaginable.’ A fourth: ‘It is an actual and literal fact, that -the floor of the inner room was several inches deep in blood all over; -it came over men’s shoes as they stepped. Tresses of women’s hair, -children’s shoes, and articles of female wear, broad hats and bonnets, -books, and such like things, lay scattered all about the rooms. There -were the marks of bullets and sword-cuts on the walls—not high up, as if -men had fought—but low down, and about the corners where the poor -crouching creatures had been cut to pieces. The bodies of the victims -had been thrown indiscriminately into a well—a mangled heap, with arms -and legs protruding.’ Some of the officers, by carefully examining the -walls, found scraps of writing in pencil, or scratched in the plaster, -such as, ‘Think of us’—‘Avenge us’—‘Your wives and families are here in -misery and at the disposal of savages’—‘Oh, oh! my child, my child.’ One -letter told of a row of women’s shoes, _with bleeding amputated feet in -them_, ranged in cruel mockery on one side of a room; while the other -side exhibited a row of children’s shoes, filled in a similarly terrible -way; but it is not certain whether the place referred to was Cawnpore. -Another writer mentioned an incident which, unless supported by -collateral testimony, seems wanting in probability. It was to the effect -that when the 78th Highlanders entered Cawnpore, they found the remains -of Sir Hugh Wheeler’s daughter. They removed the hair carefully from the -head; sent some of it to the relations of the unfortunate lady; divided -the rest amongst themselves; counted every single hair in each parcel; -and swore to take a terrible revenge by putting to death as many -mutineers as there were hairs. The storm of indignant feeling that might -suggest such a vow can be understood easily enough; but the alleged mode -of manifestation savours somewhat of the melodramatic and improbable. - -A slight allusion has been made above to Brigadier Neill’s proceedings -at Cawnpore, after the fatal 17th of July. In what relation he stood to -the reconquering force will be noticed in its due place; but it may be -well here to quote a passage from a private letter, written -independently of his public dispatches: ‘I am collecting all the -property of the deceased, and trying to trace if any have survived; but -as yet have not succeeded in finding one.’ [Captain Bruce’s research, -presently to be mentioned, had not then been made.] ‘Man, woman, and -child, seem all to have been murdered. As soon as that monster Nena -Sahib heard of the success of our troops, and of their having forced the -bridge about twenty miles from Cawnpore, he ordered the wholesale -butchery of the poor women and children. I find the officers’ servants -behaved shamefully, and were in the plot, all but the lowest-caste ones. -They deserted their masters and plundered them. 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 clean up a certain portion of the pool of blood, still two -inches deep, in the shed where the fearful murder and mutilation of -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 well of mutilated bodies—alas! -containing upwards of two hundred women and children—I have had decently -covered in and built up as one grave.’ - -With one additional testimony, we will close this scene of gloomy -horror. The Earl of Shaftesbury, as was noticed in a former page, took -occasion soon after the news of the Cawnpore atrocities reached London, -to advert at a public meeting to the shrinking abhorrence with which -those deeds were regarded, and to the failure of the journalists to -present the full and fearful truth. He himself mentioned an incident, -not as an example of the worst that had been done by the incarnate -fiends at Cawnpore, but to indicate how much remains to be told if pen -dare write or tongue utter it: ‘I have seen a copy of a letter written -and sent to England by an officer of rank who was one of the first that -entered Cawnpore a few hours after the perpetration of the frightful -massacre.... To his unutterable dismay, he saw a number of European -women stripped stark naked, lying on their backs, fastened by the arms -and legs; and there many of them had been lying four or five days -exposed to a burning sun; others had been more recently laid down; -others again had been actually hacked to pieces, and so recently, that -the blood which streamed from their mangled bodies was still warm. He -found children of ten, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen years of age -treated in the same horrible manner at the corners of the streets and in -all parts of the town: attended by every circumstance of insult, the -most awful and the most degrading, the most horrible and frightful to -the conception, and the most revolting to the dignity and feelings of -civilised men. Cawnpore was only a sample of what was perpetrated in -various parts of that vast region, and that with a refinement of cruelty -never before heard of. Women and children have been massacred before; -but I don’t believe there is any instance on record where children have -been reserved in cold blood to be most cruelly and anatomically tortured -in the presence of their horrified parents before being finally put to -death.’ - -Something must be said here concerning the devastated property at -Cawnpore, in relation to the miserable beings to whom it had once -belonged. When the city was again in British hands, and the Rajah of -Bithoor driven out with the curses of all English hearts resting on him, -it was found to be in such a devastated state, so far as regarded -Europeans, that Brigadier Neill was at a loss what to do with the wrecks -of spoliated property. He requested Captain Bruce, of the 5th Punjaub -cavalry, whom he had appointed temporarily superintendent of police, to -write to the Calcutta newspapers, inviting the aid of any one able to -identify the property. The letter said: ‘The property of the unfortunate -people who lost their lives here has been collected in one spot; and any -which can be recognised will be handed over to the owners, or put up to -auction for the benefit of the estates of the deceased. There is a good -deal of property belonging to the different mercantile firms here, as -well as to the heirs of deceased officers, &c.; but when I mention that -every house was gutted, and the property scattered over sixty or seventy -square miles of country, it will be apparent how impossible it was to -take care of individual interests.... Almost all the former European -residents here having been murdered by the miscreant Nena Sahib, there -is no one forthcoming to recognise or give any information concerning -the property that has been saved.’ At a later date Captain Bruce -captured one of the boatmen who had come down from Futteghur with the -first party of unhappy fugitives from that place; the man had a large -amount of English jewellery in his possession, comprising brooches, -earrings, bracelets, clasps, studs, shawl-pins, hair-lockets, gold -chains, and similar articles. The boatman had probably secreted the -jewel-caskets of the unfortunate ladies, at or shortly before the -forcible landing of the boat-party at Bithoor. - -A much more painful inquiry, than any relating to property, was that -relating to the loss of life. When Captain Bruce, after many days of -sedulous inquiry, had collected all the available information bearing on -the fate of the hapless sufferers, he arrived at these conclusions—that -the only Europeans who escaped from the boat-massacre, and really -obtained their liberty, were two officers and two soldiers—probably -Lieutenant Delafosse and three of his companions; that the only one who -remained in Cawnpore and yet preserved his life, was a pensioner of the -3d light dragoons, who was concealed in the city by a trooper of the 4th -light cavalry; and that there were, on the 31st of July, six Englishmen, -three Englishwomen, and three children, concealed and protected by the -Rajah of Calpee, across the Jumna; but it was not stated, and perhaps -not known, whether they had gone thither from Cawnpore. Mr Shepherd -himself was not included in this list. When Lieutenant Delafosse, about -a fortnight after the recapture of Cawnpore, was requested by Brigadier -Neill to furnish the best list he could of the English sufferers at that -place, he endeavoured to separate the victims into three groups, -according as they had died in the intrenchment, in the boats, or in the -house of slaughter. But this was necessarily a very imperfect list; for, -on the one hand, he knew nothing of the two parties of fugitives from -Futteghur; while, on the other, he speaks of many persons who came into -the station with their families on account of disturbance, and whose -names he did not know. Taking the matter in a military estimate, -however, he gave the names of one general (Wheeler), one brigadier -(Jack), three colonels, five majors, thirteen captains, thirty-nine -lieutenants, five ensigns, and nine doctors or army-surgeons; Lady and -Miss Wheeler, Sir George Parker, and two clergymen or missionaries, were -among the other members in his melancholy list. No guess can be made of -the total numbers from this document, for the persons included under the -word ‘family’ are seldom specified by name or number. The mournful truth -was indeed only too evident that many complete families—families -consisting of very numerous members—were among the slaughtered. When the -lists began to be made out, of those who had been known as Cawnpore -residents or Futteghur fugitives, and who were found dead when the -English recaptured the place, there were such entries as -these—‘Greenway: Mr, two Mrs, Martha, Jane, John, Henry’—‘Fitzgerald: -John, Margaret, Mary, Tom, Ellen’—‘Gilpin: Mrs, William, Harriet, Sarah, -Jane, F.’—‘Reid: Mr, Susan, James, Julia, C., Charles’—‘Reeve: Mrs, -Mary, Catherine, Ellen, Nelly, Jane, Cornelia, Deon.’ - -Religious men, thoughtful men—and, on the other hand, men wrought up to -a pitch of exasperated feeling—afterwards spoke of the fatal well as a -spot that should be marked in some way for the observance of posterity. -Two church missionaries were among the murdered at Cawnpore; and it was -urged in many quarters that a Christian church, built with the splendour -and resources of a great nation, would be a suitable erection at that -spot—as an appropriate memorial to the dead, a striking lesson to the -living, and the commencement of a grand effort to Christianise the -heathen millions of India. Whether a church be the right covering for a -hideous pit containing nearly two hundred mangled bodies of gentle -English women and children; and whether rival creeds would struggle for -precedency in the management of its construction, its details, and the -form of its service—may fairly admit of doubt; but with or without a -church, the English in no parts of the world are ever likely to forget -THE WELL AT CAWNPORE! - - - Note. - - _Nena Sahib’s Proclamations._—When Generals Neill and Havelock were - at Cawnpore, during a period subsequent to that comprised within the - range of the present chapter, they found many proclamations which - had been printed in the Mahratta language by order of Nena Sahib, as - if for distribution among the natives under his influence. These - proclamations were afterwards translated into English, and included - among the parliamentary papers relating to India. A few of them may - fittingly be reproduced here, to shew by what means that consummate - villain sought to attain his ends. - - The following appears to have been issued on or about the 1st of - July:—‘As, by the kindness of God and the ikbal or good-fortune of - the Emperor, all the Christians who were at Delhi, Poonah, Satara, - and other places, and even those 5000 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 all been 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 to carry on their - respective work with comfort and ease.’ - - This was accompanied by another: ‘As, by the bounty of the glorious - Almighty God 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 had been to the former one; that all the government servants - should promptly and cheerfully engage their whole mind in executing - the orders of government; that it is the incumbent duty of all the - ryots and landed proprietors of every district to rejoice at the - thought that the Christians have been sent to hell, and both the - Hindoo and Mohammedan religions have been confirmed; and that they - should as usual be obedient to the authorities of the government, - and never to suffer any complaint against themselves to reach the - ears of the higher authority.’ - - On the 5th of the same month the Nena issued the following to the - kotwal or Mayor of Cawnpore: ‘It has come to our notice that some of - the city people, having heard the rumours of the arrival of the - European soldiers at Allahabad, are deserting their houses and going - out into the districts; you are, therefore, directed to proclaim 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 Futtehpoor; that the people should therefore - remain in their houses without any apprehension, and engage their - minds in carrying on their work.’ - - Another proclamation displayed in an extraordinary way the Rajah’s - mode of practising on the credulity of the natives, by the most - enormous and barefaced fictions: ‘A traveller just arrived in - Cawnpore from Calcutta states that in the first instance a council - was held to take into consideration the means to be adopted to do - away with the religion of the Mohammedans and Hindoos by the - distribution of cartridges. The council came to this resolution, - that, as this matter was one of religion, the services of seven or - eight thousand European soldiers would be necessary, as 50,000 - Hindustanis would have to be destroyed, and then the whole of the - people of Hindostan would become Christians. A petition with the - substance of this resolution was sent to the Queen Victoria, and it - was approved. A council was then held a second time, in which - English merchants took a part, and it was decided that, in order - that no evil should arise from mutiny, large reinforcements should - be sent for. When the dispatch was received and read in England, - thousands of European soldiers were embarked on ships as speedily as - possible, and sent off to Hindostan. The news of their being - despatched reached Calcutta. The English authorities there ordered - the issue of the cartridges, for the real intention was to - Christianise the army first, and this being effected, the conversion - of the people would speedily follow. Pigs’ and cows’ fat was mixed - up with the cartridges; this became known through one of the - Bengalese who was employed in the cartridge-making establishment. Of - those through whose means this was divulged, one was killed and the - rest imprisoned. While in this country these counsels were being - adopted, in England the vakeel (ambassador) of the Sultan of Roum - (Turkey) sent news to the sultan that thousands of European soldiers - were being sent for the purpose of making Christians of all the - people of Hindostan. Upon this the sultan issued a firman to the - King of Egypt to this effect: “You must deceive the Queen Victoria, - for this is not a time for friendship, for my vakeel writes that - thousands of European soldiers have been despatched for the purpose - of making Christians the army and people of Hindostan. In this - manner, then, this must be checked. If I should be remiss, then how - can I shew my face to God; and one day this may come upon me also, - for if the English make Christians of all in Hindostan, they will - then fix their designs upon my country.” When the firman reached the - King of Egypt, he prepared and arranged his troops before the - arrival of the English army at Alexandria, for this is the route to - India. The instant the English army arrived, the King of Egypt - opened guns upon them from all sides, and destroyed and sunk their - ships, and not a single soldier escaped. The English in Calcutta, - after the issue of the order for the cartridges, and when the mutiny - had become great, were in expectation of the arrival of the army - from London; but the Great God, in his omnipotence, had beforehand - put an end to this. When the news of the destruction of the army of - London became known, then the governor-general was plunged in grief - and sorrow, and beat his head. - - ‘Done by order of the Peishwa Bahadoor, 13 Zekaida, 1273 Hegira.’ - -[Illustration: - - The Well at Cawnpore. -] - ------ - -Footnote 16: - - Report of Select Committee of House of Commons, 1832. - -Footnote 17: - - The number of persons in the intrenchment on that day will probably - never be accurately known; but Mr Shepherd, from the best materials - available to him, made the following estimate: - - First company, 6th battalion, artillery, 61 - Her Majesty’s 32d foot, 84 - Her Majesty’s 84th foot, 50 - 1st European Fusiliers, 15 - English officers, mostly of mutinied regiments, 100 - Merchants, writers, clerks, &c., 100 - English drummers of mutinied regiments, 40 - Wives and children of English officers, 50 - Wives and children of English soldiers, 160 - Wives and children of civilians, 120 - Sick, native officers, and sepoys, 100 - Native servants, cooks, &c., 100 - -Footnote 18: - - ‘Mamma died, July 12.’ ‘Alice died, July 9.’ ‘George died, June 27.’ - ‘Entered the barracks, May 21.’ ‘Cavalry left, June 5.’ ‘First shot - fired, June 6.’ ‘Uncle Willy died, June 18.’ ‘Aunt Lilly, June 17.’ - -[Illustration: - - House of the Rajah at ALLAHABAD. -] - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - BENGAL AND THE LOWER GANGES: JUNE. - - -When, through the media of telegrams, dispatches, and letters, the -tragical events at Cawnpore became known in England, and were invested -with an additional horror on account of a vague suspicion that worse -remained untold, a painful and widely spread sensation was produced. -Nay, more; in almost every part of the civilised world, whether or not -in harmony with the British government on political and international -questions, astonishment was excited by these recitals of unapproachable -barbarity among a people who had acquired a sort of traditional -character for mildness and gentleness. It was about the end of June when -news of the Meerut outbreak reached London; and from that time each -fortnightly mail revealed the truth that a larger and larger area of -India was becoming involved in the troubles of insurrection—that a -gradually increasing number of military officers and civil servants of -the Company, with their wives and children, were placed in circumstances -of imminent peril. Residents in the United Kingdom, any of whose -relations and friends were stationed at Cawnpore, sought eagerly and -anxiously, as each mail arrived, for indications that escape had been -effected, or a rescuing force obtained. No such news came, no such hopes -were realised; darker and more silent was everything relating to that -much-dreaded city, until at length the frightful climax became known. - -There has been a designed avoidance, in the preceding chapters of this -work, of any account of the measures adopted by the British government -in military matters, or by the British nation in active benevolence, to -remedy the disasters and allay the sufferings to which the Anglo-Indians -had so suddenly been exposed; for, in truth, India knew little of such -measures until August was far advanced. Whether all was done that might -have been done to expedite the passage of British troops to India, is a -question that will have to be considered in its proper place; the -significant truth now to be borne in mind is that the Calcutta -government had to meet the difficulties as best it could, with the -scanty supply of troops at that time in India—sending to the Mauritius -and the Cape of Good Hope for such reinforcements as might be available, -but knowing that aid from England could not arrive for many months. The -mode of treatment adopted here is naturally suggested by the course of -events themselves. When the ramifications of the Revolt have been traced -throughout the month of June, a chapter will then be devoted to the -subjects above indicated; for, although Cawnpore carried us into July, -we have yet to watch what was concurrently passing at other places. - -We begin with the region extending from the Burmese frontier to the -Doab, and forming the eastern portion of Northern India; it may for -convenience be called Bengal, without any rigid adherence to territorial -subdivision. - -The Indian government was not as yet troubled with any serious outbreaks -at Chittagong or Dacca, or in any of the districts bounding the Bay of -Bengal on the north and east. There were a few native troops at the -first named of these two towns, belonging to one of the mutinous -regiments at Barrackpore; but tranquillity was not disturbed by them. It -is true that, when the disloyalty of the 34th became known, the -inhabitants of Chittagong and Tipperah experienced some alarm lest the -detachment of this regiment stationed at the first-named town might -follow the pernicious example; but the Company’s collector, having three -lacs of rupees in hand, quietly removed his treasure on board a steamer; -and all uneasiness was soon allayed. Along the extreme eastern border of -the Bengal presidency, from Assam down through Dacca to Chittagong, the -month of June similarly passed over without any disturbances calling for -notice, although a temporary panic was excited in more than one spot. At -Dacca, for instance, the approach of disbanded native mutineers was -apprehended; and a mischievous set of Mohammedans, under one Keramut -Ali, were detected in the endeavour to sow the seeds of disaffection; -but by the firmness of the civil authorities, and the arrival of a -hundred seamen in two pinnaces from the Company’s steamers _Zenobia_ and -_Punjaub_, tranquillity was soon restored. - -In the Calcutta and Barrackpore district, although no actual mutiny -occurred, symptoms were presented that gave much anxiety to the -Europeans residing at the capital, and prompted energetic preventive -measures. We have seen, in Chapter II., that much discontent was -exhibited at Dumdum, Barrackpore, and Berhampore, between the months of -January and May, by the native troops; that this discontent was -(professedly) associated with the affair of the greased cartridges; that -insubordination led to disarming and disbandment; that the news of the -Meerut and Delhi atrocities in May greatly alarmed the Calcutta -inhabitants; and that many addresses of loyalty and sympathy with the -government were thenceforth presented. During the first half of June, -the European residents looked with a sort of suspicious watchfulness at -everything that was occurring around them, prepared to find the native -troops treacherous, yet hoping for better things. The reliable forces in -Calcutta at that time comprised H.M. 53d foot, nine hundred strong, and -five hundred of H.M. 37th. A company of the 3d battalion Madras -artillery; No. 2 horse field-battery; forty men of the royal artillery, -recently arrived from Ceylon; and a wing of H.M. 35th foot, were at -Barrackpore. The 78th Highlanders were at Chinsura. On the 13th of June, -Calcutta was thrown into great agitation. A messenger was captured by -the authorities, and confessed that the sepoys at Barrackpore and -Calcutta had agreed to mutiny on that very night. Arrangements were -immediately made for defending the city by the aid chiefly of -volunteers, who had before then begun to organise themselves. The -civilians took arms, marshalled themselves into companies and corps, and -paraded the streets in the English part of the city. During the two -following nights, this patrolling was conducted very vigilantly; and -every native met in the streets was required to give an account of his -movements. On one occasion, Lady Canning, accompanied by the -governor-general, the commander-in-chief, Generals Windham and Beatson, -and a glittering staff, went to the parade-ground; where, the volunteers -being all drawn up in full array, her ladyship presented them with -colours, and made a complimentary address; to which Major Turnbull -replied, as commandant of the ‘Calcutta Volunteer Guards.’ - -The military proceedings on this occasion were as follow. Before light -on Sunday morning the 14th, in consequence of a message received from -head-quarters, a body of the 78th Highlanders was sent off hastily from -Chinsura to Barrackpore, to disarm the native troops there; while five -hundred of her Majesty’s 37th foot, landed from Ceylon only the day -before, were marched off to a point about midway between Calcutta and -Barrackpore, to command the road during the disarming. About midnight an -order arrived that some of the 37th should return instantly to the -capital. It had been discovered that the deposed King of Oude, residing -in a handsome house at Garden Reach, was engaged in some machinations -with a prince of the Delhi family, inimical to the interests of the -Europeans. A military force marched to his house at four o’clock on the -morning of the 15th, surrounded the grounds, entered, and seized the -king and his prime minister, together with a large quantity of papers. -Arrangements were immediately made for the safe custody of the two -Oudians, until the papers could be fully examined. A document came to -light, containing a Mohammedan sketch-map of Calcutta, dividing the city -into sections; together with the plan for a general rising of natives on -the centenary day of the battle of Plassy, the murder of all the -Feringhees, and the establishment of a native ‘raj’ or dynasty on the -ruins of that of the Company. It was deemed proper to adopt prompt -measures on this occasion; all the native troops in Calcutta were -disarmed as a precautionary measure, including the Calcutta militia, but -excluding the governor-general’s body-guard. The sepoys, who made no -demur whatever, were disarmed in parties wherever they happened to be—at -the Government House guard, the treasury, the mint, the bank, and the -fort. Each party was confronted by a party of Europeans, and gave up -arms on being so commanded; the arms and ammunition were then taken away -by the European soldiers, nothing being left with the sepoys but their -ramrods, with which to ‘shoulder arms.’ It was explained to them that -the disarming was only a temporary precautionary measure; that they -would receive pay and perform sentinel-duty as before; and that the arms -would be restored to them as soon as public tranquillity was insured. - -The inhabitants of Calcutta long continued to bear well in remembrance -the 14th of June. For nearly a month the civilians had been in the habit -of taking revolvers with them to church, balls, and parties; but on this -day, such were the vague terrors of slaughter whispered from mouth to -mouth, that the excitement rose to a height of panic. One who was there -at the time said: ‘The infection of terror raged through all classes. -Chowringhee and Garden Reach were abandoned for the fort and the vessels -in the river. The shipping was crowded with fugitives; and in houses -which were selected as being least likely to be attacked, hundreds of -people gladly huddled together, to share the peculiar comfort which the -presence of crowds imparts on such occasions. The hotels were fortified; -bands of sailors marched through the thoroughfares, happy in the -expectation of possible fighting and the certainty of grog. Every group -of natives was scanned with suspicion. The churches and the course were -abandoned for that evening. A rising, either of Hindoos or of -Mussulmans, or perhaps of both, was looked upon as certain to happen in -the course of the night. From Chandernagore the whole body of European -and East Indian inhabitants emigrated to Calcutta; the _personnel_ of -government, the staff of the army, all in short who had anything to -lose, preferred to come away and run the risk of losing it, rather than -encounter the unknown danger.’ A somewhat unworthy timidity seems, at -first sight, to mark all this; but the civilians and private families of -Calcutta, utterly unused to war, had been so horror-stricken by the -accounts of murders of officers, violations of women, mutilations of -little children, burnings of sick and wounded, and other atrocities -perpetrated in Upper India, as to become in a certain sense paralysed. -After the decisive measures adopted by the government on the 14th and -next following day, the inhabitants of the capital gradually recovered -their equanimity; and the month closed peacefully. - -Early in June, the sepoys cantoned at Barrackpore made the same kind of -demonstration as at an earlier date—that is, they professed fidelity, -and asked to be furnished with the new Enfield rifle. In the 43d -regiment B. N. I., there was a general application made to Major -Matthews, by native officers as well as sepoys, to this effect; -accompanied by the expression of a desire to be sent to fight against -the rebels at Delhi. The 70th B. N. I., almost to a man, came forward on -the 5th of the month, and presented a petition to Colonel Kennedy, with -a similar prayer. The petition began somewhat boastfully: ‘From the day -on which his lordship the governor-general condescended to come in -person to answer our petition, on which occasion General Hearsey -translated to us his address, and which was fully explained to us by our -colonel, interpreter, adjutant, and all the other officers of the -regiment, our honour and name have been raised amongst our countrymen;’ -and it ended with an abundant profession of loyalty towards the -government. The 34th regiment B. N. I., or such of the men as were at -Barrackpore, imitated the example of their fellow-soldiers; they sent a -petition to Lieutenant-colonel Wheler on the 9th of June, expressive of -their loyalty, and requesting that the new rifle might be served out to -them. The government, in reply to all these petitions and -demonstrations, stated that the supply of Enfield rifles received from -England was too small to permit the granting of the request; but that -the request itself was received with much gratification by the -governor-general, ‘proving as it does that the men of these regiments -consider there is nothing objectionable either in the rifles or in the -cartridges to their caste or religion.’ - -Little was it suspected in how short a time all these complimentary -exchanges of good words would be brought to nought. On the evening of -the 13th came to light those plottings or suspicions of plottings which -led to an imperative order for the disarming of the sepoys. In a private -letter on this subject, the major-general said: ‘Some villains in the -corps were trying to incite the good men and true to mutiny; these good -men ought to have given the villains up to justice;’ but as they did -not, he thought it a safe plan to disarm them all. When this -determination was made known by the authorities, many of the English -officers of the native regiments felt much vexed and hurt; they still -relied on their men, and deemed it a humiliation to themselves that such -a course should be deemed necessary. Captain Greene, of the 70th N. I., -wrote to Major-general Hearsey, on the Sunday morning: ‘Is it of any use -my interceding with you on behalf of my old corps, which, for nigh -twenty-five years, has been my pride and my home? I cannot express to -you the pain with which I have just heard that they are this evening to -be subjected to the indignity of being disarmed. Had the men misbehaved, -I should have felt no sympathy for them; but they have not committed -themselves in any way; and surely after the governor-general’s laudatory -order and expression of confidence, it would not be too much to expect -that a fair trial of their sincerity should be afforded.’ Captain Greene -proceeded to say that he knew the men thoroughly, and had the most firm -and undoubted reliance on their fidelity. The authorities were not -affected by this appeal. At four o’clock in the afternoon, the 35th and -78th British regiments were marched to the parade-ground at Barrackpore, -with loaded muskets, and supported by six 12-pounders loaded with -grape-shot. The native troops were then summoned to the parade, and -ordered at once to surrender their arms; this they did quietly and -promptly, for even if disposed to resist, the force against them was too -formidable. In little more than an hour, the muskets of the disarmed -regiments were on the way to Calcutta. The sepoys bore the trial -quietly, but with many expressions of mortification. - -Captain Greene, in the postscript to a letter written on the following -day to the major-general, mentioned certain facts which ought to have -opened his eyes to the possibility of deceit and danger. A Mussulman -sepoy of the 70th regiment came to him on the 9th of the month, and -after conversation on some contemplated movements of the captain, said: -‘Whatever you do, do not take your lady with you.’ He gave as a reason: -‘Because the minds of the native soldiers are now in a state of -inquietude; and it would be better to let the lady remain here till -everything is settled in the country, as there is no knowing what might -happen.’ On being asked whether he had reason to doubt the regiment, he -exclaimed: ‘Who can tell the hearts of a thousand men!’ He implied that -a few evil men were endeavouring to corrupt the rest. This communicative -sepoy went on to observe, that the cartridge grievance, although founded -on a misconception in the first instance, was afterwards used as a means -of imposing on the ignorant. There were men who went about saying that -the English endeavoured to destroy the caste and religion of the people; -that the government ought to be uprooted; and that as the Company had -been driven out of Cabool, so might it be driven out of the whole of -India, if the people acted resolutely and with one accord. Another -sepoy, a Hindoo, in the same regiment, told Captain Greene that the -Mussulmans generally in all regiments were in the habit of talking to -the effect that their ‘raj’ or supremacy was coming round again. Many -others spoke indistinctly to him about dangers, and promised to protect -him if peril arose. It may not be improbable that most of the men in -that regiment were really disposed to be faithful, and that the danger -arose from a smaller number of malcontents. Captain Greene went to see -his men in the lines after the disarming; it was a painful interview to -them all. ‘I have been for upwards of an hour,’ he wrote, ‘endeavouring -to allay the excited feelings of our men, who were in such a state of -depression, that many were crying bitterly, and none could cook their -food. Some, too, had sold their cooking utensils for a mere trifle in -the bazaar.’ The regiment had not been disbanded as if in disgrace, only -disarmed as if for precaution; but the men nevertheless regarded it as a -degradation. Some budmashes (scoundrels) had been amongst them in the -night, and had urged them to desert, telling them that handcuffs and -manacles had been sent for. The captain earnestly implored that their -arms should be given back to them: ‘Unless something be speedily done to -reassure them, the influence of their European officers will cease to -exist, and a good regiment will crumble away before hopelessness and -desertion. All of us, black and white, would be so thankful to you if -you would get us back our arms, and sent away from here at once.’ This -request was not acceded to. - -Within ten days after the disarming, a hundred and thirty-three men of -the disarmed regiments (2d, 34th, 43d, and 70th) deserted from -Barrackpore and Calcutta, nearly all belonging to the 43d. The -magistrates and military authorities in many parts of Bengal were -troubled with the arrival of these deserters, who came two or three at a -time, and endeavoured to excite disaffection against a government which, -as they alleged, had disgraced them without a cause. A reward of fifty -rupees was offered for the apprehension of every deserter. - -Departing from Calcutta and Barrackpore as centres, it may be well now -to sketch the state of the surrounding districts during the month of -June. Towards the northeast, many towns, especially Jessore, were thrown -occasionally into excitement by occurrences which would have been -regarded as trivial if happening at any other time, but which required -watchful attention on the part of the authorities in the peculiarly -sensitive state of the native mind. In the Dinagepore district, near the -Bhotan frontier, several moulvies spread reports of the intention of the -government forcibly to convert native children to Christianity: these -reports caused many of the children in the vernacular school at -Muthoorapore to be withdrawn by their parents; and on an examination of -the moulvies being ordered by the authorities, it was found that the -fakeers and other religious mendicants were accustomed to carry -treasonable letters and concealed correspondence within the bamboo -sticks with which most of them were provided. North and west of the -Anglo-Indian capital, a similar state of public affairs was presented; a -succession of troublous symptoms that required attention, but without -entailing serious consequences. In some instances disarmed sepoys were -detected exciting disaffection; in others, seditious placards were -posted up in the towns. In the country around Ramgurh a few -circumstances transpired to produce temporary disquietude. The Ramgurh -battalion was believed to be stanch; but as some discontent had spread -among the troops in relation to the cartridge grievance, and as two or -three petty chieftains exhibited symptoms of disloyalty, judicious and -early precautions were taken against disaster—especially at Hazarebagh, -where the treasury contained a lac of rupees, and where the jail, -containing nine hundred prisoners, was guarded solely by two companies -of a native regiment: a kind of guard which had proved very perilous at -Meerut a few weeks earlier. At Midnapore, a sepoy of the jail-guard, -detected in an attempt to excite mutiny among the men of the -Shekhawuttie battalion, was tried, found guilty, and hanged. - -The most serious event in the districts around Calcutta, perhaps, was -one that occurred in the Sonthal Pergunnahs; in which the 5th irregular -cavalry displayed a tendency, fatal on a small scale, and likely to have -become much more disastrous if not speedily checked. Lieutenant Sir N. -R. Leslie was adjutant of that regiment at Rohnee. On the 12th of June, -this officer, Major Macdonald, and Assistant-surgeon Grant, while -sitting in Sir Norman Leslie’s compound, in the dusk of the evening, -were suddenly attacked by three men armed with swords. Major Macdonald -received a blow which laid his head open, and rendered him insensible -for many hours; Mr Grant received sword-wounds on the arm and the leg; -while Sir Norman was so severely wounded that he expired within half an -hour. The miscreants escaped after this ferocious attack, without -immediate detection.[19] At first it was hoped and believed that the -regiment had not been dishonoured by the presence of these murderers on -the muster-roll; Mr Grant was of this opinion; but Major Macdonald, -commandant of the regiment, took a less favourable view. The offenders, -it soon appeared, belonged to the regiment; a chase was ordered; two of -the men were found after a time, with their clothes smeared with blood; -while the third, when taken, candidly owned that it was his sword that -had given the death-stroke to Leslie. The murderers were speedily -executed, but without giving any information touching the motives that -led to their crime. Three sowars of the regiment, Ennus Khan, Kurreem -Shere Khan, and Gamda Khan, received encomiums and rewards for the -alacrity with which they had pursued the reckless men who had thus -brought discredit on their corps. The official dispatches relating to -this affair comprised two letters written by Major Macdonald to Captain -Watson, an officer commanding a squadron of the same regiment at -Bhagulpore; they afford curious illustration of the cheerful, daring, -care-for-naught spirit in which the British officers were often -accustomed to meet their difficulties during those exciting scenes: ‘I -am as fairly cut and neatly scalped as any Red Indian could do it. I got -three cracks in succession on the head before I knew I was attacked. I -then seized my chair by the arms, and defended myself successfully from -two of them on me at once; I guarded and struck the best way I could; -and at last Grant and self drove the cowards off the field. This is -against my poor head, writing; but you will be anxious to know how -matters really were; I expect to be in high fever to-morrow, as I have -got a bad gash into the skull besides being scalped.’ This was written -on the day after the murderous attack; and three days later the major -wrote: ‘My dear fellow, I have had a sad time of it, and am but little -able to go through such scenes, for I am very badly wounded; but, thank -God, my spirits and pluck never left me for a moment. When you see my -poor old head, you will wonder I could hold it up at all. I have -preserved my scalp in spirits of wine—such a jolly specimen!’ - -In Cuttack, bounding the northwest corner of the Bay of Bengal, many -Mohammedans were detected in the attempt to sap the loyalty of the -Shekhawuttie battalion. Lieutenant-colonel Forster, with the -head-quarters of that corps at Midnapore, succeeded by his personal -influence in keeping the men from anything beyond slight acts of -insubordination; but he had many proofs, in that town and in the Cuttack -district, that the Company’s ‘raj’ or rule was being preached against by -many emissaries of rebellion. - -This rapid sketch will have shewn that the eastern divisions of Bengal -were not disturbed by any very serious tumults during the month of June. -Incipient proofs of disaffection were, it is true, manifested in many -places; but they were either unimportant in extent, or were checked -before they could rise to perilous magnitude. In the western divisions, -however, the troubles were more serious; the towns were further from -Calcutta, nearer to the turbulent region of Oude; and these conditions -of locality greatly affected the steadiness and honesty of the native -troops. - -During the earlier days of the month, considerable excitement prevailed -in the districts of which Patna and Dinapoor are the chief towns; in -consequence of the general spread of a belief, inculcated by the -deserters from Barrackpore, that the government contemplated an active -interference with the religion of the people. A similar delusion, it was -speedily remembered, had existed in the same parts about two years -earlier; the government had adopted such measures as, it was hoped, -would remove the prejudice; but the events of 1857 shewed that the -healing policy of 1855 had not been effective for the purpose in view. -Until the 13th of June, the disaffection was manifested only by sullen -complainings and indistinct threats; but on that day matters presented a -more serious aspect. The various magistrates throughout the Patna -division reported to the lieutenant-governor of Bengal, that although no -acts of violence had been committed, the continuance of tranquillity -would mainly depend on the fidelity of the native troops at Dinapoor, -the most important military station in that part of India. Dinapoor may, -in fact, be regarded as the military post belonging to the great city of -Patna, which is about ten miles distant.[20] The magistrates also -reported, as one result of their inquiries, that the Mohammedans in that -division were thoroughly disaffected; and that if any disturbance -occurred at head-quarters (Dinapoor), a rapid extension of the revolt -would be almost inevitable. When these facts and feelings became known, -such precautionary measures were adopted as seemed best calculated to -avert the impending evils. An increase was made in the police force at -Behar; the ghats or landing-places were carefully watched and regulated; -the frontiers of the neighbouring disaffected districts were watched; a -portion of the Company’s treasure at Arrah and Chupra was sent off to -Calcutta, and the rest removed to Patna for safe custody under a guard -of Sikhs; a volunteer guard was formed in that city; measures were taken -to defend the collectorate and the opium factories; six companies of the -Sikh police battalion were marched from Soorie to Patna; and places of -rendezvous for European residents were appointed at many of the -stations, to facilitate a combined plan of action in the event of -mutinous symptoms appearing among the native troops. The Rajahs of -Bettiah and Hutwah addressed letters expressive of loyalty and affection -towards the government, and placed men and elephants at the disposal of -the local authorities, to assist in the maintenance of tranquillity. - -Towards the middle of the month, an alarm prevailed at Chupra and Arrah, -consequent on the mutinous proceedings in certain towns further to the -west, presently to be noticed. Large works were under construction near -those places in connection with the East India Railway; and the -Europeans engaged in those operations, as well as others resident in the -two towns, made a hasty retreat, and sought for refuge at Dinapoor. The -magistrates and most of the civil officers remained at their posts, and -by their firmness prevented the alarm from degenerating into a panic. At -Gayah or Gya, a town between Patna and the great trunk-road—celebrated -for its Bhuddist and Hindoo temples, and the great resort of pilgrims of -both religions—considerable apprehension prevailed, on account of the -unprotected state of a large amount of Company’s treasure in the -collectorate; an apprehension increased by the presence of many -desperate characters at that time in the jail, and by the guard of the -jail being wholly composed of natives who would remain steady only so -long as those at Dinapoor were ‘faithful to their salt.’ Fortunately, -the authorities were enabled to obtain a guard of European soldiers, -chiefly from her majesty’s 64th regiment; and thus the ruffians, more to -be dreaded than even the rebellious sepoys, were overawed. - -It is impossible to avoid seeing, in the course of events throughout -India, how much importance ought to be attached to the matter just -adverted to—the instrumentality of robbers and released prisoners in -producing the dreadful scenes presented. India swarms with depredators -who war on the peaceful and industrious inhabitants—not merely -individual thieves, but robber-tribes who infest certain provinces, -directing their movements by the chances of war or of plunder. Instead -of extirpating these ill-doers, as Asiatic sovereigns have sometimes -attempted to do, the East India Company has been accustomed to capture -and imprison them. Hence the jails are always full. At every important -station we have several hundred, sometimes two or three thousand, such -prisoners. The mutiny set loose these mischievous elements. The release -of crowds of murderers and robbers from prison, the flocking of others -from the villages, and the stimulus given to latent rogues by the -prospect of plunder, would account for a large amount of the outrage -committed in India—outrage which popular speech in England attaches to -the sepoys alone. - -On the 13th of June, the first indications of a conspiracy at Patna were -detected. A nujeeb of the Behar station guards was discovered in an -attempt to tamper with the Sikhs of the police corps, and to excite them -to mutiny: he was tried, convicted, sentenced to death, and hanged; -while three Sikhs, who had been instrumental in his apprehension, were -publicly rewarded with fifty rupees each. In singular contrast to this, -three other nujeebs of the same force, on the same day, placed in the -commissioner’s hands a letter received from sepoys at Dinapoor, urging -the Behar guards to mutiny, and to seize the treasure at Patna before -the Sikhs could arrive to the rescue: this, as a valuable service -rendered at a critical period, was rewarded by donations of two hundred -rupees to each of the three men. The next symptoms were exhibited by -certain members of the Wahabee sect of Mohammedans at Patna. The -fanatical devotion of these Mussulmans to their spiritual leaders, their -abnegation of self, and their mode of confidential communication with -each other without written documents, render it at all times difficult -to produce legal proof of any machinations among them; while their -mutual fidelity enables them to resist all temptation to betrayal. The -commissioner of Patna, having suspicions of the proceedings of the -Wahabees in that city, deemed it politic to detain four of their number -as hostages for the sect generally—a sect formidable for its -organisation, and peculiarly hostile to Christians. They were placed in -a sort of honourable confinement, while a general disarming of the -inhabitants took place. On another occasion a police jemadar, Waris Ali, -was ascertained to be in possession of a large amount of treasonable -correspondence; he was known to be in some way related to the royal -family of Delhi; and the letters found in his house threw suspicion on -more than one native official in the service of the Company. - -The most serious affair at Patna, however, occurred about the close of -the period to which this chapter more particularly relates. At about -eight o’clock in the evening of the 3d of July, a body of Mohammedans, -variously estimated from eighty to two hundred, assembled at the house -of one of their number, one Peer Ali Khan, a bookseller, and proceeded -thence to the Roman Catholic church and mission-house in Patna, with two -large green flags, a drum beating, and cries of ‘Ali! Ali!’ The priest, -whom they probably intended to murder, fortunately escaped. They emerged -into the street, reiterated their cries, and called on the populace to -join them. Dr Lyell, principal assistant to the opium agent, immediately -went to the spot, accompanied by nine Sikhs. He rode ahead of his -support, was shot down by the rioters, and his body mangled and -mutilated before the Sikhs could come up. A force of Sikhs and nujeebs -speedily recovered the unfortunate gentleman’s body, killed some of the -insurgents, and put the rest to flight. This appeared at first to be a -religious demonstration: a Mohammedan fanatic war-cry was shouted, and -the property of the Catholic mission was destroyed, but without any -plunder or removal. Thirty-six of the insurgents were afterwards -captured and tried; sixteen of the number, including Peer Ali Khan, who -was believed to be the murderer of Dr Lyell, were condemned to death; -eighteen, including a jemadar, were sentenced to various terms of -imprisonment; and two were acquitted. All the facts of this temporary -outbreak were full of significance; for it soon became evident that -something more than mere religious hostility had been intended. Peer Ali -Khan was offered a reprieve if he would divulge the nature of the -conspiracy; but, like a bold, consistent fanatic, he remained defiant to -the last, and nothing could be got out of him. It was afterwards -ascertained that he had been in secret communication with an influential -native at Cawnpore ever since the annexation of Oude, and that the -details of some widely-spread plot had been concerted between them. The -capture of the thirty-six rioters had been effected by the disclosures -of one of the band, who was wounded in the struggle; he declared that a -plot had been in existence for many months, and that men were regularly -paid to excite the people to fight for the Padishah of Delhi. Letters -found in Peer Ali’s house disclosed an organised Mussulman conspiracy to -re-establish Mohammedan supremacy on the ruins of British power; and -besides the correspondence with Cawnpore and Delhi, a clue was obtained -to the complicity of an influential Mohammedan at Lucknow. - -Patna was sufficiently well watched and guarded to prevent the -occurrence of anything of more serious import. Nevertheless, the -European inhabitants were kept in great anxiety, knowing how much their -safety depended on the conduct of the sepoys at Dinapoor. The -commissioner at the one place, and the military commandant at the other, -were naturally rejoiced to receive any demonstrations of fidelity on the -part of the native troops, even if the sincerity of those demonstrations -were not quite free from doubt. On the 3d of June, Colonel Templer -assembled the 7th regiment B. N. I. on the military parade at Dinapoor, -to read to them the flattering address which Viscount Canning had made -to the 70th regiment at Barrackpore, on the manifestation of loyalty by -that corps. On the conclusion of this ceremony, the native commissioned -officers came up to the colonel, and presented to him a petition, signed -by two subadars and five jemadars on the part of the whole regiment. The -petition is worth transcribing,[21] to shew in what glowing language the -native troops could express their grateful allegiance—but whether -sincere or insincere, no European could at that time truly tell. Colonel -Templer desired that all the men who acknowledged the petition to -contain an expression of their real sentiments and wishes, would -shoulder their arms in token thereof; on which every one present -shouldered arms. The native officers afterwards assured the colonel, -with apparent earnestness, that it was the eager wish of the whole -regiment to be afforded an opportunity of removing even a suspicion of -their disaffection. When Colonel Templer repeated this to Major-general -Lloyd, the military commander of the Dinapoor division, and when Lloyd -forwarded the communication to Calcutta, the regiment of course received -thanks for the demonstration, and were assured that ‘their good conduct -will be kept in remembrance by the governor-general in council.’ It was -not until a later month that the small value of these protestations was -clearly shewn; nevertheless the Europeans at Dinapoor continued -throughout June to be very uneasy. Almost every one lived in the square; -the guns were kept ready loaded with grape; the few European troops were -on the alert; and pickets were posted all round the station. A motley -assemblage—planters, soldiers, civilians, railway men, and others—was -added to the ordinary residents, driven in from the surrounding -districts for protection. The officers gave up their mess-house to the -ladies, who completely filled it. - -In Tirhoot, a district north of Patna, on the other side of the Ganges, -the planters and others were thrown into great excitement during the -month of June, by the events occurring around them. About the middle of -the month, planters left their estates and civilians their homes, to go -for refuge to the Company’s station at Mozufferpoor. Eighty gentlemen, -thirty ladies, and forty children, were all crowded into two houses; the -ladies and children shut up at night, while the men slept in verandahs, -or in tents, or took turns in patrolling. The nujeebs, stationed at that -place, were suspected of being in sympathy with the mutineers; one of -the Company’s servants, disguised as a native, went to their quarters -one night, and overheard them conversing about murdering the Europeans, -looting the treasury (which contained seven lacs of rupees), and -liberating the prisoners. This was the alarm that led to the assembling -of the Europeans at the station for mutual protection; and there can be -little doubt that the protection would have been needed had Dinapoor -fallen. One of the Mohammedan inhabitants was seized at Mozufferpoor, -with a quantity of treasonable correspondence in his possession; and the -commandant at Segowlie condemned to the gallows with very little scruple -several suspicious characters in various parts of the district. - -Advancing up the Ganges, we come to Ghazeepore, on its northern or left -bank. This town, containing forty thousand inhabitants, is rendered -somewhat famous by a palace once belonging to the Nawab of Oude, but now -in a very ruinous state; also by the beautiful Grecian tomb erected to -the Marquis of Cornwallis; and by the rose-gardens in its vicinity, -where rose-leaves are gathered for making the celebrated otto or attar. -The bungalows of the Company’s civil servants are situated west of the -town; and beyond them is the military cantonment. During the early part -of the month of June, the 65th native infantry, stationed at Ghazeepore, -was sorely tempted by the mutinying of so many other regiments at -stations within forty or fifty miles; but they remained stanch for some -time longer. - -Not so the sepoys at Azimghur, a town northwest of Ghazeepore, -containing twelve or fourteen thousand inhabitants, and a military -station. At this place the 17th regiment Bengal native infantry was -posted at the beginning of June. On the 3d of the month an escort of -thirty troopers of the 13th irregular cavalry brought in seven lacs of -rupees from Goruckpore, _en route_ to Benares. At six o’clock in the -evening the treasure was started again on its journey; and in three -hours afterwards the 17th mutinied, influenced apparently rather by the -hope of _loot_ than by any political or religious motives. During -several days previously the authorities had been employed in throwing up -a breastwork around the cutchery or government offices; but this was not -finished. The sepoys killed their quartermaster, and wounded the -quartermaster-sergeant and two or three others. The officer on guard at -the fort of the cutchery sent out a picket to the lines, and ordered the -native artillerymen to load their guns: this they refused to do; and -hence the infantry were left to follow out their plan of spoliation. The -officers were at mess when the mutiny began; seeing the danger, they -placed the ladies on the roof of the cutchery. When the sepoys came up, -they formed a square round the officers, and swore to protect them; but -stated that, as some men of the regiment were very hostile, it would be -better for all the officers to depart. The men brought carriages for -them, and escorted them ten miles on the road to Ghazeepore. Many of the -civilians hurried away to the same town, reaching that place in terrible -plight. The marauders from the neighbouring villages did not fail in -their usual course; they plundered the bungalows of the Europeans at -Azimghur, or such of them as were left unprotected. - -Far more serious were the events at Benares, than at any city or station -eastward of it, during the month of June. It would in all probability -have been still more deplorable, had not European troops arrived just at -that time. Lieutenant-colonel Neill reached Benares on the 3d of June, -with sixty men and three officers of the 1st Madras Fusiliers -(Europeans), of which regiment five more companies were in the rear, -expecting to reach that city in a few days. The regiment had been -despatched in great haste by Viscount Canning, in the hope that it would -appear before Cawnpore in time to relieve Sir Hugh Wheeler and his -unfortunate companions. Neill intended, after a day’s repose, to have -started from Benares for Cawnpore on the 4th; but he received timely -notice from Lieutenant Palliser that the 17th B. N. I. had mutinied at -Azimghur; and that the treasure, passing through Azimghur in its way -from Goruckpore to Benares (mentioned in the last paragraph), had been -plundered by the mutinous sepoys. Brigadier Ponsonby, the commandant at -Benares, at once consulted with Colonel Neill concerning the propriety -of disarming the 37th regiment Bengal infantry, stationed at that city. -Neill recommended this to be done, and done at once. It was then -arranged that Neill should make his appearance on parade at five o’clock -that same afternoon, accompanied by a hundred and fifty of H.M. 10th -foot, sixty of the Madras Fusiliers, and three guns of No. 12 -field-battery, with thirty artillerymen. They were to be joined on -parade by the Sikh regiment, in which Lieutenant-colonel Gordon placed -full confidence, and about seventy of the 13th irregular cavalry. The -37th, suspecting what was intended, ran to the bells of arms, seized and -loaded their muskets, and fired upon the Europeans; several men fell -wounded, and the brigadier was rendered powerless by a sun stroke. -Thereupon Colonel Neill, assuming the command, made a dash on the native -lines. What was now the perplexity of the colonel, and the mortification -of Gordon, at seeing the Sikhs halt, waver, turn round, wound several of -their officers, fire at the Europeans, and disperse! It was one of those -inexplicable movements so frequently exhibited by the native troops. -Neill, now distrusting all save the Europeans, opened an effective fire -with his three guns, expelled the 37th from their lines, burnt the huts, -and then secured his own men and guns in the barrack for the night. -Early on the morning of the 5th he sent out parties, and brought in such -of the arms and accoutrements of the 37th as had been left behind; he -also told off a strong body to bring the Company’s treasure from the -civil offices to the barracks. Colonel Neill fully believed that if he -had delayed his bold proceeding twelve hours, the ill-protected treasury -would have been seized by the 37th, and that the numerous European -families in the cantonment would have been placed in great peril before -he could reach them. The barracks were between the cantonment and the -city; and near them was a building called the mint. Into this mint, -before going on parade on the 4th, he had arranged that all the families -should go for refuge in the event of any disturbance taking place. A few -of the Sikhs and of the irregular cavalry remained faithful; and Colonel -Neill, with his two hundred and forty Europeans[22] and these fragments -of native regiments, contrived to protect the city, the barracks, the -mint, and the cantonment—a trying task, to defend so large an area from -mutinous sepoys and troopers, and predatory budmashes. He had to record -the deaths of Captain Guise, an army-surgeon, and two privates; and the -wounding of about double this number—casualties surprising for their -lightness, considering that there were nearly two thousand enemies to -contend against altogether. Of the insurgents, not less than two hundred -were killed or wounded. It was at once determined to strengthen the -neighbouring fort of Chunar or Chunargur; for which duty a small -detachment of Europeans was drafted off. - -Such were the military operations of the 4th and 5th of June, as told in -the brief professional language of Colonel Neill. Various officers and -civilians afterwards dwelt more fully on the detailed incidents of those -two days. The 13th irregular cavalry and the Sikhs (Loodianah regiment) -had been relied on as faithful; and the 37th had greatly distinguished -itself in former years in the Punjaub and Afghanistan. This infantry -regiment, however, exhibited signs of insubordination on the 1st of the -month; and on the 3d, Lieutenant-colonel Gordon, second in command under -Ponsonby, told the brigadier that the men of the 37th were plotting with -the ruffians of the city. The brigadier, Mr Tucker the commissioner, and -Mr Gubbins the judge, thereupon conferred; and it was almost fully -determined, even before Colonel Neill’s arrival, and before the receipt -of disastrous news from Azimghur, that the disbandment of the regiment -would be a necessary measure of precaution. The irregular cavalry were -stationed at Sultanpore and Benares, and were called in to aid the -Europeans and Sikhs in the disarming. A few of the officers, unlike -their brethren, distrusted these troopers; and the distrust proved to be -well founded. The Sikhs, at the hour of need, fell away as soon as the -37th had seized their arms; and the irregulars were not slow to follow -their example; so that, in effect, the insurgents were to the Europeans -in the ratio of eight or ten to one. One of the English officers of the -37th has placed upon record a few facts shewing how strangely unexpected -was this among many of the Indian outbreaks, by the very men whose -position and experience would naturally lead them (one might suppose) to -have watched for symptoms. In the first instance, Major Barrett, -indignant at the slight which he believed to have been put upon the good -and faithful sepoys of the 37th, by the order for disarming, went openly -towards the regiment during the struggle at the bells of arms, to shew -his confidence in them; but when he saw some of his men firing at him, -and others approach him with fixed bayonets, he felt painfully that he -must both change his opinions and effect a retreat. Some of the 37th -did, however, remain ‘true to their salt;’ and these, under the major, -who had escaped the shots aimed at him, were among the troops sent to -guard Chunar Fort. As a second instance: after Captain Guise, of the -13th irregulars, had been shot down by men of the 37th, the brigadier -appointed Captain Dodgson to supply his place; but the irregulars, -instead of obeying him, flashed their swords, muttered some indistinct -observations, fired at him, and at once joined the rebels whom they had -been employed and expected to oppose. A third instance, in relation to -the Sikhs, shall be given in the words of the officer above adverted to: -‘Just as the irregulars were flashing their swords in reply to Captain -Dodgson’s short address, I was horrified by noticing about a dozen of -the Sikhs fire straight forward upon the European soldiers, who were -still kneeling and firing into the 37th. The next moment some half-dozen -of their muskets were staring me in the face, and a whole tempest of -bullets came whizzing towards me. Two passed through my forage-cap, and -set my hair on fire; three passed through my trousers, one just grazing -my right thigh. I rushed headlong at one of the fellows whom I had -noticed more especially aiming at me, but had scarcely advanced three -paces when a second volley of bullets saluted me.’ This volley brought -the officer low; he lay among the wounded, unrecognised for many hours, -but was fortunate enough to obtain surgical aid in time to avert a fatal -result. Many circumstances afterwards came to light, tending to shew -that, had not Neill and Ponsonby taken the initiative when they did, the -native troops would probably have risen that same night, and perhaps -imitated the Meerut outrages. One of the missionaries at Benares, who -escaped to Chunar as soon as the outbreak occurred, said in a letter: -‘Some of the 37th have confessed to their officers that they had been -told out in bands for our several bungalows, to murder all the Europeans -at ten o’clock that night; and that, too, at the time they were -volunteering to go to Delhi, and Colonel Spottiswoode was walking about -among them in plain clothes with the most implicit confidence.’ - -The fighting, during this exciting day at Benares, was practically over -as soon as the rebels began to retreat; but then the perils of the -civilians commenced. More correctly, however, it might be said that the -wild confusion began earlier; for while the brief but fierce military -struggle was still in progress on the parade-ground, the native guards -of the 37th at the treasury, the hospital, the mess-house, the bazaar, -and other buildings, broke from their duty, and proceeded to molest the -Europeans, with evident hopes of plunder. A Sikh, one Soorut Singh, has -been credited with an act which saved many lives and much treasure. He -was among the Sikhs of the treasury-guard; and when the rising began, -talked to his comrades, and prevented them from rising in mutiny; many -civilians, with their families, who had taken refuge in the collector’s -cutcherry, were saved through this friendly agency; while the treasure -was held intact till the following morning, when European troops -convoyed it to a place of safety. The Rev. Mr Kennedy, a resident in -Benares at that time, states that the faithfulness of these Sikhs, about -seventy in number, was deemed so remarkable under the circumstances, -that £1000 was given to them as a reward for their safe guardianship of -the £60,000 in the treasury. After the discomfiture on the -parade-ground, the rebels, maddened by defeat and thirsting for blood, -streamed through many of the compounds in the cantonment as they -retreated, and fired as they passed, but happily so much at random that -little danger was done. Several of the Europeans took refuge in stables -and outhouses. Others climbed to the roofs of their houses, and hid -behind the parapets. At the house of the commissioner, Mr Tucker, many -ladies and children found concealment under straw on the flat roof; -while the gentlemen stood by to defend them if danger should approach. -Three or four families took boat, and rowed out into the middle of the -Ganges, there to remain until news of returning tranquillity should -reach them; much booming of cannon and rattling of musketry, much -appearance of fire and smoke hovering over city and cantonment, kept the -occupants of the boats in constant anxiety; but when victory had -declared for the British, and these boat-parties had returned to land, -escorts arrived to convey the non-combatants and some of the officers to -the mint, in accordance with the arrangement already made. They arrived -at that building about midnight. Mr Kennedy described in a letter the -scene presented at the mint when he and his family reached it: ‘What a -scene of confusion and tumult was there. All in front, bands of English -soldiers, ready to act at a moment’s notice; men, women, and children, -high and low, huddled together, wondering at meeting at such a time and -in such a place, not knowing where they were to throw themselves down -for the night, and altogether looking quite bewildered.’ A young -officer, throwing into his narrative that light-heartedness which so -often bore up men of his class during the troubles of the period, gave a -little more detail of the first night and day at the place of refuge: ‘I -found everybody at the mint, which several had only reached after many -adventures. We bivouacked in the large rooms, and slept on the -roof—ladies, children, ayahs, and punkah-coolies; officers lying down -dressed, and their wives sitting up fanning them. In the compound or -enclosure below, there was a little handful of Europeans, perhaps a -hundred and fifty in all; others were at the barracks half a mile off. -There was a picknicking, gipsifying look about the whole affair, which -prevented one from realising that the small congregation were there -making a stand for a huge empire, and that their lives were upon the -toss-up of the next events.’ - -During a considerable portion of the month of June, the Europeans made -the mint their chief place of residence, the men going out in the -daytime to their respective duties, and the ladies and children -remaining in their place of refuge. On the 5th, few ventured out of the -building, unless heavily armed or strongly escorted. The mint had a most -warlike appearance, bristling with arms, and soon became almost -insupportably hot to the numerous persons congregated within it. The hot -winds of Benares at that time, nearly midsummer, were terrible for -Europeans to bear. - -[Illustration: - - Mess-house of the Officers of the 6th Native Infantry at ALLAHABAD. -] - -On the 7th, which was Sunday, Mr Kennedy performed divine service at the -mint, and a church-missionary at the barracks. Gradually, on subsequent -days, whole families would venture out for a few hours at a time, to -take a hasty glance at homes which they had so suddenly been called upon -to quit; but the mint continued for two or three weeks to be the refuge -to which they all looked. As European troops, however, were arriving at -Benares every day, on the way to the upper provinces, it soon became -practicable, under the energetic Neill, to insure tranquillity in and -near that city with a very small number of these so much-valued Queen’s -troops. The capture and execution of insurgents, under the combined -orders of Neill, Tucker, and Gubbins, respectively the commandant, -commissioner, and judge, were conducted with such stern promptness as -struck terror into the hearts of evildoers. It may be instructive to see -in what light Mr Kennedy, as a clergyman, regarded these terrible -executions, which are admitted to have been very numerous: ‘The gibbet -is, I must acknowledge, a standing institution among us at present. -There it stands, immediately in front of the flagstaff, with three ropes -always attached to it, so that three may be executed at one time. -Scarcely a day passes without some poor wretches being hurled into -eternity. It is horrible, very horrible! To think of it is enough to -make one’s blood run cold; but such is the state of things here, that -even fine delicate ladies may be heard expressing their joy at the -rigour with which the miscreants are treated. The swiftness with which -crime is followed by the severest punishment strikes the people with -astonishment; it is so utterly foreign to all our modes of procedure, as -known to them. Hitherto the process has been very slow, encumbered with -forms, and such cases have always been carried to the Supreme Court for -final decision; but now, the commissioner of Benares may give -commissions to any he chooses (the city being under martial law), to -try, decide, and execute on the spot, without any delay and without any -reference.’ - -Jounpoor or Juanpoor, a town about thirty miles northwest of Benares, -was one of those which shared with that city the troubles of the month -of June. A detachment of the Loodianah Sikh regiment, under Lieutenant -Mara, stationed at that place, mutinied most suddenly and unexpectedly -on the 5th, within less than an hour after they had shaken hands with -some of the European residents as a token of friendly feeling. The men -revolted through some impulse that the English in vain endeavoured to -understand at the time; but it was afterwards ascertained that some of -the mutinous 37th from Benares had been tampering with them. In the -first whirl of the tumult, the lieutenant and a civilian were shot down, -and the rest of the Europeans sought safety by flight. Information -reached Benares, after some days, that the fugitives were in hiding; and -a small detachment was at once despatched for their relief. It was now -found, as in many other instances, that amid all the brutality and -recklessness of the mutineers and budmashes, there were not wanting -humane natives in the country villages, ready to succour the distressed; -one such, named Hingun Lall, had sheltered and fed the whole of the -fugitives from Jounpoor for five days. - -There were many stations at which the number of insurgent troops was -greater; there were many occasions on which the Europeans suffered more -general and prolonged miseries; there were many struggles of more -exciting character between the dark-skinned soldiers and the light—but -there was not perhaps, throughout the whole history of the Indian -mutinies, an outbreak which excited more astonishment than that at -Allahabad in the early part of June. It was totally unexpected by the -authorities, who had been blinded by protestations of loyalty on the -part of the troops. This place (see p. 107) occupies a very important -position in relation to Upper India generally; being at the point where -the Jumna and Ganges join, where the Benares region ends and the Oude -region begins, where the Doab and Bundelcund commence, where the -river-traffic and the road-traffic branch out in various directions, and -where the great railway will one day have a central station. As stated -in a former page, the 6th Bengal Native Infantry, stationed at -Allahabad, voluntarily came forward and offered their services to march -against the Delhi mutineers. For this demonstration they were thanked by -their officers, who felt gratified that, amid so much desertion, -fidelity should make itself apparent in this quarter. Rather from a -vague undefined uneasiness, than from any suspicion of this particular -regiment, the Europeans at Allahabad had for some time been in -uneasiness; there had been panics in the city; there had been much -patrolling and watching; and the ladies had been looking anxiously to -the fort as a place of refuge, whither most of them had taken up their -abode at night, returning to their homes in the cantonment or the city -in the daytime. From Benares, Lucknow, or other places, they apprehended -danger—but not from within. - -It was on the 5th of June that Colonel Simpson, of the 6th regiment, -received Viscount Canning’s instructions to thank his men for their -loyal offer to march and fight against the rebels at Delhi; and it was -on the same day that news reached Allahabad, probably by telegraph, of -the occurrences at Benares on the previous day, and of the possible -arrival of some of the insurgents from that place. The officers still -continued to trust the 6th regiment, not only in virtue of the recent -protestation of fidelity by the men, but on account of their general -good conduct; indeed, this was one of the most trusted regiments in the -whole native army. Nevertheless, instructions were given to arm the -civilians as well as the military, and to prepare for making a good -stand at the fort. Many civilians, formed into a militia, under the -commandant of the garrison, slept in the fort that night, or relieved -each other as sentinels at the ramparts. There were at that time in the -fort, besides the women and children, about thirty invalid artillerymen, -under Captain Hazelwood; a few commissariat and magazine sergeants; -about a hundred volunteer civilians; four hundred Sikhs, of the -Ferozpore regiment, under Lieutenant Brasyer; and eighty men of the 6th -regiment, guarding the main gate. Several Europeans with their families, -thinking no danger nigh, slept outside the fort that night. Two -companies of the native regiment under three English officers, and two -guns under Captain Harward, were sent to guard the bridge of boats -across the Ganges in the direction of Benares. Captain Alexander, with -two squadrons of the 3d regiment Oude irregular cavalry, was posted in -the Alopee Bagh, a camping-ground commanding the roads to the station. -The main body of the 6th remained in their lines, three miles from the -fort. All proceeded quietly until about nine o’clock on the evening of -the 6th of June; when, to the inexpressible astonishment and dismay of -the officers, the native regiment rose in revolt. The two guns were -seized by them at the bridge-head, and Harward had to run for his life. -In the cantonment the officers were at mess, full of confidence in their -trusted troops, when the sepoys sounded the alarm bugle, as if to bring -them on parade; those who rushed out were at once aimed at, and nearly -all shot dead; while no fewer than nine young ensigns, mere boys who had -just entered on the career of soldiering, were bayoneted in the -mess-room itself. It was a cruel and bloody deed, for the poor youths -had but recently arrived, and were in hostility with none. Captain -Alexander, when he heard of the rising, hastened off to the lines with a -few of his troopers; but he was caught in an ambush by a body of the -sepoys, and at once shot down. The sepoys, joined by released prisoners -and habitual plunderers, then commenced a scene of murder and -devastation in all directions; Europeans were shot wherever they could -be seen; the few English women who had not been so fortunate as to seek -refuge in the fort, were grossly outraged before being put to death; the -telegraph wires were cut; the boats on the river were seized; the -treasury was plundered; the houses of native bankers, as well as those -of European residents, were pillaged; and wild licence reigned -everywhere. Terrible were the deeds recorded—a whole family roasted -alive; persons killed by the slow process of cutting off in succession -ears, nose, fingers, feet, &c.; others chopped to pieces; children -tossed on bayonets before their mother’s eyes. - -An affecting incident is related of one of the unfortunate young -officers so ruthlessly attacked at the mess-house. An ensign, only -sixteen years of age, who was left for dead among the rest, escaped in -the darkness to a neighbouring ravine. Here he found a stream, the -waters of which sustained his life for four days and nights. Although -desperately wounded, he contrived to raise himself into a tree at -night-time, for protection from wild beasts. On the fifth day he was -discovered, and dragged by the brutal insurgents before one of their -leaders. There he found another prisoner, a Christian catechist, -formerly a Mohammedan, whom the sepoys were endeavouring to terrify and -torment into a renunciation of Christianity. The firmness of the native -was giving way as he knelt before his persecutors; but the boy-officer, -after anxiously watching him for a short time said: ‘Oh, my friend, come -what may, do not deny the Lord Jesus!’ Just at this moment the arrival -of Colonel Neill and the Madras Fusiliers (presently to be noticed) at -Allahabad was announced; the ruffians made off; the poor catechist’s -life was saved; but the gentle-spirited young ensign sank under the -wounds and privations he had endured. When this incident became known -through the medium of the public journals, the father of the young -officer, town-clerk of Evesham, told how brief had been the career thus -cut short. Arthur Marcus Hill Cheek had left England so recently as the -20th of March preceding, to commence the life of a soldier; he arrived -at Calcutta in May, was appointed to the 6th native regiment, reached -Allahabad on the 19th of the same month, and was shot down by his own -men eighteen days afterwards. - -The inmates of the fort naturally suffered an agony of suspense on the -night of the 6th. When they heard the bugle, and the subsequent firing, -they believed the mutineers had arrived from Benares; and as the -intensity of the sound varied from time to time, so did they picture in -imagination the varying fortunes of the two hypothetical opposing -forces—the supposed insurgents from the east, and the supposed loyal 6th -regiment. Soon were they startled by a revelation of the real truth—that -the firing came from their own trusted sepoys. The Europeans in the -fort, recovering from their wonder and dismay, were fortunately enabled -to disarm the eighty sepoys at the gate through the energy of Lieutenant -Brasyer; and it was then found that these fellows had loaded and capped -their muskets, ready to turn out. Five officers succeeded in entering -during the night, three of them naked, having had to swim the Ganges. -For twelve days did the Europeans remain within the fort, not daring to -emerge for many hours at a time, lest the four hundred Sikhs should -prove faithless in the hour of greatest need. The chief streets of the -city are about half a mile from the fort; and during several days and -nights troops of rioters were to be seen rushing from place to place, -plundering and burning. Day and night the civilians manned the ramparts, -succeeding each other in regular watches—now nearly struck down by the -hot blazing sun; now pouring forth shot and shell upon such of the -insurgents as were within reach. The civilians or volunteers formed -themselves into three corps; one of which, called the Flagstaff -Division, was joined by about twenty railway men—sturdy fellows who had -suffered like the rest, and were not slow to avenge themselves on the -mutineers whenever opportunity offered. After a time, the volunteers -sallied forth into the city with the Sikhs, and had several skirmishes -in the streets with the insurgents—delighted at the privilege of -quitting for a few hours the hot crowded fort, even to fight. It was by -degrees ascertained that conspiracy had been going on in the city before -the actual outbreak occurred. The standard of insurrection was unfurled -by a native unknown to the Europeans: some supposed him to be a moulvie, -or Mohammedan religious teacher; but whatever may have been his former -position, he now announced himself as viceroy of the King of Delhi. He -quickly collected about him three or four thousand rebels, sepoys and -others, and displayed the green flag that constitutes the Moslem symbol. -The head-quarters of this self-appointed chieftain were in the higher -part of the city, at the old Mohammedan gardens of Sultan Khoosroo; -there the prisoners taken by the mutineers were confined—among whom were -the native Christian teachers belonging to the Rev. Mr Hay’s mission. - -The movements of Colonel Neill must now be traced. No sooner did this -gallant and energetic officer hear of the occurrences at Allahabad, than -he proceeded to effect at that place what he had already done at -Benares—re-establish English authority by a prompt, firm, and stern -course of action. The distance between the two cities being about -seventy-five miles, he quickly made the necessary travelling -arrangements. He left Benares on the evening of the 9th, accompanied by -one officer and forty-three men of the Madras Fusiliers. The horses -being nearly all taken off the road, he found much difficulty in -bringing in the dâk-carriages containing the men; but this and all other -obstacles he surmounted. He found the country between Mirzapore and -Allahabad infested with bands of plunderers, the villages deserted, and -none of the authorities remaining. Major Stephenson, with a hundred more -men, set out from Benares on the same evening as Neill; but his -bullock-vans were still more slow in progress; and his men suffered much -from exposure to heat during the journey. Neill reached Allahabad on the -afternoon of the 11th. He found the fort almost completely invested; the -bridge of boats over the Ganges in the hands of a mob, and partly -broken; and the neighbouring villages swarming with insurgents. By -cautious manœuvring at the end of the Benares road, he succeeded in -obtaining boats which conveyed him and his handful of men over to the -fort. He at once assumed command, and arranged that on the following -morning the enemy should be driven out of the villages, and the bridge -of boats recaptured. Accordingly, on the morning of the 12th he opened -fire with several round-shot, and then attacked the rebels in the -village of Deeragunge with a detachment of Fusiliers and Sikhs: this was -effectively accomplished, and a safe road opened for the approach of -Major Stephenson’s detachment on the evening of that day. On the 13th -the insurgents were driven out of the village of Kydgunge. Neill had now -a strange enemy to combat within the fort itself—drunkenness and relaxed -discipline. The Sikhs, during their sallies into the city before his -arrival, had gained entrance into some of the deserted warehouses of -wine-merchants and others in the town, had brought away large quantities -of beverage, and had sold these to the European soldiers within the -fort—at four _annas_ (sixpence) per bottle for wine, spirits, or beer -indiscriminately; drunkenness and disorganisation followed, requiring -determined measures on the part of the commandant. He bought all the -remaining liquors obtainable, for commissariat use; and kept a watchful -eye on the stores still remaining in the warehouses in the town. Neill -saw reason for distrusting the Sikhs; they had remained faithful up to -that time, but nevertheless exhibited symptoms which required attention. -As soon as possible, he got them out of the fort altogether, and placed -them at various posts in the city where they might still render service -if they chose to remain faithful. His opinion of the native troops was -sufficiently expressed in this passage in one of his dispatches: ‘I felt -that Allahabad was really safe when every native soldier and sentry was -out of the fort; and as long as I command I shall not allow one to be on -duty in it.’ Nothing can be more striking than the difference of views -held by Indian officers on this point; some distrusted the natives from -the first, while others maintained faith in them to a very disastrous -extent. - -From the time when Neill obtained the upper-hand in Allahabad, he was -incessantly engaged in chastising the insurgents in the neighbourhood. -He sent a steamer up the Jumna on the 15th, with a howitzer under -Captain Harward, and twenty fusiliers under Lieutenant Arnold; and these -worked much execution among the rebels on the banks. A combined body of -fusiliers, Sikhs, and irregular cavalry made an attack on the villages -of Kydgunge and Mootingunge, on the banks of the Jumna, driving out the -insurgents harboured there, and mowing them down in considerable -numbers. On subsequent days, wherever Neill heard of the presence of -insurgents in any of the surrounding villages, he at once attacked them; -and great terror seized the hearts of the malcontents in the city at the -celerity with which guns and gibbets were set to work. On the 18th he -sent eighty fusiliers and a hundred Sikhs up the river in a steamer, to -destroy the Patan village of Durriabad, and the Meewattie villages of -Sydabad and Russelpore. It was not merely in the villages that these -active operations were necessary; a large number of the mutinous sepoys -went off towards Delhi on the day after the outbreak, leaving the -self-elected chief to manage his rabble-army as he liked; and it was -against this rabble that many of the expeditions were planned. The city -suffered terribly from this double infliction; for after the spoliation -and burning effected by the marauders, the English employed cannon-balls -and musketry to drive those marauders out of the streets and houses; and -Allahabad thus became little other than a mass of blackened ruins. -Colonel Neill organised a body of irregular cavalry by joining Captain -Palliser’s detachment of the 13th irregulars with the few men of Captain -Alexander’s corps still remaining true to their salt. A force of about a -hundred and sixty Madras Fusiliers started from Benares on the 13th, -under Captain Fraser; he was joined on the road by Captain Palliser’s -detachment of troopers, just adverted to, of about eighty men, and the -two officers then proceeded towards Allahabad. They found the road -almost wholly in the hands of rebels and plunderers; but by fighting, -hanging, and burning, they cleared a path for themselves, struck terror -into the evildoers, and recovered much of the Company’s treasure that -had fallen into hostile hands. It is sad to read of six villages being -reduced to ashes during this one march; but stringent measures were -absolutely necessary to a restoration of order and obedience. Fraser and -Palliser reached Allahabad on the 18th, and their arrival enabled Neill -to prosecute two objects which he had at heart—the securing of -Allahabad, and the gradual collection of a force that might march to the -relief of poor Sir Hugh Wheeler and the other beleaguered Europeans at -Cawnpore. During these varied operations, the officers and men were -often exposed during the daytime to a heat so tremendous that nothing -but an intense interest in their work could have kept them up. ‘If I can -keep from fever,’ wrote one of them, ‘I shan’t care; for excitement -enables one to stand the sun and fatigue wonderfully. At any other time -the sun would have knocked us down like dogs; but all this month we have -been out in the middle of the day, toiling like coolies, yet I have -never been better in my life—such an appetite!’ To meet temporary -exigencies, the church, the government offices, the barracks, the -bungalows—all were placed at the disposal of the English troops, as fast -as they arrived up from Calcutta. These reinforcements, during the -second half of the month, consisted chiefly of detachments of her -Majesty’s 64th, 78th, and 84th foot. The peaceful inhabitants began to -return to the half-ruined city, shattered houses were hastily rebuilt or -repaired, trade gradually revived, bullocks and carriages arrived in -considerable number, supplies were laid in, the weather became cooler, -the cholera abated, and Colonel Neill found himself enabled to look -forward with much confidence to the future. The fort, during almost the -whole of the month, had been very much crowded, insomuch that the -inmates suffered greatly from heat and cholera. Two steam-boat loads of -women and children were therefore sent down the river towards Calcutta; -and all the non-combatants left the fort, to reoccupy such of their -residences as had escaped demolition. Some of the European soldiers were -tented on the glacis; others took up quarters in a tope of trees near -the dâk-bungalow; lastly, a hospital was fitted up for the cholera -patients. - -With the end of June came tranquillity both to Benares and to Allahabad, -chiefly through the determined measures adopted by Colonel Neill; and -then he planned an expedition, the best in his power, for Cawnpore—the -fortunes of which will come under our notice in due time. - - - Notes. - - _The Oude Royal Family._—When the news reached England that the - deposed King of Oude had been arrested at Calcutta, in the way - described in the present chapter, on suspicion of complicity with - the mutineers, his relations, who had proceeded to London to appeal - against the annexation of Oude by the Company, prepared a petition - filled with protestations of innocence, on his part and on their - own. The petition was presented to the House of Lords by Lord - Campbell, though not formally received owing to some defect in - phraseology. A memorial to Queen Victoria was couched in similar - form. The petition and memorial ran as follows: - - ‘The petition of the undersigned Jenabi Auliah Tajara Begum, the - Queen-mother of Oude; Mirza Mohummud Hamid Allie, eldest son and - heir-apparent of his Majesty the King of Oude; and Mirra Mohummud - Jowaad Allie Sekunder Hushmut Bahadoor, next brother of his Majesty - the King of Oude, sheweth: - - ‘That your petitioners have heard with sincere regret the tidings - which have reached the British kingdom of disaffection prevailing - among the native troops in India; and that they desire, at the - earliest opportunity, to give public expression to that solemn - assurance which they some time since conveyed to her Majesty’s - government, that the fidelity and attachment to Great Britain which - has ever characterised the royal family of Oude continues unchanged - and unaffected by these deplorable events, and that they remain, as - Lord Dalhousie, the late governor-general of India, emphatically - declared them, “a royal race, ever faithful and true to their - friendship with the British nation.” - - ‘That in the midst of this great public calamity, your petitioners - have sustained their own peculiar cause of pain and sorrow in the - intelligence which has reached them, through the public papers, that - his Majesty the King of Oude has been subjected to restraint at - Calcutta, and deprived of the means of communicating even with your - petitioners, his mother, son, and brother. - - ‘That your petitioners desire unequivocally and solemnly to assure - her Majesty and your lordships, that if his Majesty the King of Oude - has been suspected of any complicity in the recent disastrous - occurrences, such suspicion is not only wholly and absolutely - unfounded, but is directed against one, the whole tenor of whose - life, character, and conduct directly negatives all such - imputations. Your petitioners recall to the recollection of your - lordships the facts relating to the dethronement of the King of - Oude, as set forth in the petition presented to the House of Commons - by Sir Fitzroy Kelly on the 25th of May last, that when resistance - might have been made, and was even anticipated by the British - general, the King of Oude directed his guards and troops to lay - aside their arms, and that when it was announced to him that the - territories of Oude were to be vested for ever in the Honourable - East India Company, the king, instead of offering resistance to the - British government, after giving vent to his feelings in a burst of - grief, descended from his throne, declaring his determination to - seek for justice at her Majesty’s throne, and from the parliament of - England. - - ‘That since their resort to this country, in obedience to his - Majesty’s commands, your petitioners have received communications - from his Majesty which set forth the hopes and aspirations of his - heart; that those communications not only negative all supposition - of his Majesty’s personal complicity in any intrigues, but fill the - minds of your petitioners with the profound conviction that his - Majesty would feel, with your petitioners, the greatest grief and - pain at the events which have occurred. And your petitioners desire - to declare to your lordships, and to assure the British nation, that - although suffering, in common with his heart-broken family, from the - wrongs inflicted on them, from the humiliations of a state of exile, - and their loss of home, authority, and country, the King of Oude - relies only on the justice of his cause, appeals only to her - Majesty’s throne and to the parliament of Great Britain, and - disdains to use the arm of the rebel and the traitor to maintain the - right he seeks to vindicate. - - ‘Your petitioners therefore pray of your lordships that, in the - exercise of your authority, you will cause justice to be done to his - Majesty the King of Oude, and that it may be forthwith explicitly - made known to his Majesty and to your petitioners wherewith he is - charged, and by whom, and on what authority, so that the King of - Oude may have full opportunity of refuting and disproving the unjust - suspicions and calumnies of which he is now the helpless victim. And - your petitioners further pray that the King of Oude may be permitted - freely to correspond with your petitioners in this country, so that - they may also have opportunity of vindicating here the character and - conduct of their sovereign and relative, of establishing his - innocence of any offence against the crown of England, or the - British government or people, and of shewing that, under every - varying phase of circumstance, the royal family of Oude have - continued steadfast and true to their friendship with the British - nation. - - ‘And your petitioners will ever pray, &c.’ - - Some time after the presentation of this petition and memorial, a - curious proof was afforded of the complexity and intrigue connected - with the family affairs of the princes of India. A statement having - gone abroad to the effect that a son of the King of Oude had escaped - from Lucknow during the troubles of the Revolt, a native - representative of the family in London sought to set the public mind - right on the matter. He stated that the king had had only three - legitimate sons; that one of these, being an idiot, was confined to - the zenana or harem at Lucknow; that the second died of small-pox - when twelve years of age; that the third was the prince who had come - to London with the queen-mother; and that if any son of the king had - really escaped from Lucknow, he must have been illegitimate, a boy - about ten years old. This communication was signed by Mahmoud - Museehooddeen, residing at Paddington, and designating himself - ‘Accredited Agent to his Majesty the King of Oude.’ Two days - afterwards the same journal contained a letter from Colonel R. - Ouseley, also residing in the metropolis, asserting that _he_ was - ‘Agent in Chief to the King of Oude,’ and that Museehooddeen had - assumed a title to which he had no right. - - _Castes and Creeds in the Indian Army_.—The Indian officers being - much divided in opinion concerning the relative insubordination of - Mohammedans and Hindoos in the native regiments, it may be useful to - record here the actual components of one Bengal infantry regiment, - so far as concerns creed and caste. The information is obtained from - an official document relating to the cartridge grievance, before the - actual Revolt began. - - The 34th regiment Bengal native infantry, just before its - disbandment at Barrackpore in April, comprised 1089 men, distributed - as follows: - - ┌─────────────────┬────────┬─────┬─────┬──────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐ - │ │Subadar-│Suba-│Jema-│Havil-│ Na- │Drum-│ Se- │ To- │ - │ │ major. │dars.│dars.│dars. │iks. │mers.│poys.│tal. │ - ├─────────────────┼────────┼─────┼─────┼──────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤ - │Brahmin Caste, │ 1│ 2│ 4│ 24│ 10│ —│ 294│ 335│ - │Lower Castes, │ —│ 5│ 5│ 25│ 26│ 1│ 406│ 468│ - │Christians, │ —│ —│ —│ —│ —│ 10│ 2│ 12│ - │Mussulmans, │ —│ 2│ 1│ 12│ 24│ 8│ 153│ 200│ - │Sikhs, │ —│ —│ —│ —│ —│ —│ 74│ 74│ - ├─────────────────┼────────┼─────┼─────┼──────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤ - │ │ 1│ 9│ 10│ 61│ 60│ 19│ 929│ 1089│ - └─────────────────┴────────┴─────┴─────┴──────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┘ - - The portion of this regiment present at Barrackpore—the rest being - at Chittagong—when the mutinous proceedings took place, numbered - 584, thus classified under four headings: - - ┌─────────────────┬────────┬─────┬─────┬──────┬─────┬─────┬─────┬─────┐ - │ │Subadar-│Suba-│Jema-│Havil-│ Na- │Drum-│ Se- │ To- │ - │ │ major. │dars.│dars.│dars. │iks. │mers.│poys.│tal. │ - ├─────────────────┼────────┼─────┼─────┼──────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤ - │Brahmin Caste, │ 1│ 2│ 1│ 12│ 5│ —│ 175│ 196│ - │Lower Castes, │ —│ 1│ 4│ 13│ 14│ 1│ 193│ 226│ - │Mussulmans, │ —│ 1│ —│ 7│ 14│ 4│ 85│ 111│ - │Sikhs, │ —│ —│ —│ —│ —│ —│ 51│ 51│ - ├─────────────────┼────────┼─────┼─────┼──────┼─────┼─────┼─────┼─────┤ - │ │ 1│ 4│ 5│ 32│ 33│ 5│ 504│ 584│ - └─────────────────┴────────┴─────┴─────┴──────┴─────┴─────┴─────┴─────┘ - - When 414 of these men were dismissed from the Company’s service, - their religions appeared as follows: - - ┌─────────────────┬─────────────┬─────────────────┬─────────┬────────┐ - │ │Commissioned │Non-commissioned │ Sepoys. │ Total. │ - │ │ Officers. │ Officers. │ │ │ - ├─────────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────┼────────┤ - │Brahmin Caste, │ 2│ 12│ 135│ 149│ - │Lower Castes, │ 4│ 19│ 150│ 173│ - │Mussulmans, │ —│ 14│ 49│ 63│ - │Sikhs, │ —│ —│ 29│ 29│ - ├─────────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────────┼─────────┼────────┤ - │ │ 6│ 45│ 363│ 414│ - └─────────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────────┴─────────┴────────┘ - - It is not clearly stated how many Rajpoots, or men of the military - caste, were included in the Hindoos who were not Brahmins. - - If the regiment thus tabulated had been cavalry, instead of - infantry, the preponderance, as implied in Chapter I., would have - been wholly on the side of the Mussulmans. - -[Illustration: - - Sikh Cavalry. -] - ------ - -Footnote 19: - - The following is an extract of a letter written by Major Macdonald, - after the attack upon him and his brother-officers: ‘Two days after, - my native officer said he had found out the murderers, and that they - were three men of my own regiment. I had them in irons in a crack, - held a drumhead court-martial, convicted, and sentenced them to be - hanged the next morning. I took on my own shoulders the responsibility - of hanging them first, and asking leave to do so afterwards. That day - was an awful one of suspense and anxiety. One of the prisoners was of - very high caste and influence, and this man I determined to treat with - the greatest ignominy, by getting the lowest caste man to hang him. To - tell you the truth, I never for a moment expected to leave the hanging - scene alive; but I was determined to do my duty, and well knew the - effect that pluck and decision had on the natives. The regiment was - drawn out; wounded cruelly as I was, I had to see everything done - myself, even to the adjusting of the ropes, and saw them looped to run - easy. Two of the culprits were paralysed with fear and astonishment, - never dreaming that I should dare to hang them without an order from - government. The third said he would not be hanged, and called on the - Prophet and on his comrades to rescue him. This was an awful moment; - an instant’s hesitation on my part, and probably I should have had a - dozen of balls through me; so I seized a pistol, clapped it to the - man’s ear, and said, with a look there was no mistake about: “Another - word out of your mouth, and your brains shall be scattered on the - ground.” He trembled, and held his tongue. The elephant came up, he - was put on his back, the rope adjusted, the elephant moved, and he was - left dangling. I then had the others up, and off in the same way. And - after some time, when I had dismissed the men of the regiment to their - lines, and still found my head on my shoulders, I really could - scarcely believe it.’ - -Footnote 20: - - Dinapoor is remarkable for the fine barracks built by the Company for - the accommodation of troops—for the officers, the European troops, and - the native troops; most of the officers have commodious bungalows in - the vicinity; and the markets or bazaars, for the supply of Europeans - as well as natives, are unusually large and well supplied. - -Footnote 21: - - ‘At present the men of bad character in some regiments, and other - people in the direction of Meerut and Delhi, have turned from their - allegiance to the bountiful government, and created a seditious - disturbance, and have made choice of the ways of ingratitude, and - thrown away the character of sepoys true to their salt. - - ‘At present it is well known that some European regiments have started - to punish and coerce these rebels; we trust that by the favour of the - bountiful government, we also may be sent to punish the enemies of - government, wherever they are; for if we cannot be of use to - government at this time, how will it be manifest and known to the - state that we are true to our salt? Have we not been entertained in - the army for days like the present? In addition to this, government - shall see what their faithful sepoys are like, and we will work with - heart and soul to do our duty to the state that gives us our salt. - - ‘Let the enemies of government be who they may, we are ready to fight - them, and to sacrifice our lives in the cause. - - ‘We have said as much as is proper; may the sun of your wealth and - prosperity ever shine. - - ‘The petition of your servants: - - HEERA SING, Subadar, - ELLAHEE KHAN, Subadar, - BHOWANY SING, Jemadar, - MUNROOP SING, Jemadar, - HEERA SING, Jemadar, - ISSEREE PANDY, Jemadar, - MURDAN SING, Jemadar, - - of the Burra Crawford’s, or 7th regiment, native infantry, and of - every non-commissioned officer and sepoy in the lines. Presented on - the 3d June 1857.’ - -Footnote 22: - - The exact components of this gallant little band appear to have been - as follow: - - Guns. Officers. Men. - Artillery, 3 1 30 - Queen’s troops, 0 3 150 - Madras Fusiliers, 0 3 60 - — — ——— - 3 7 240 - - Irrespective of the officers belonging to the mutinous regiments. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - OUDE, ROHILCUND, AND THE DOAB: JUNE. - - -The course of events now brings us again to that turbulent country, -Oude, which proved itself to be hostile to the British in a degree not -expected by the authorities at Calcutta. They were aware, it is true, -that Oude had long furnished the chief materials for the Bengal native -army; but they could not have anticipated, or at least did not, how -close would be the sympathy between those troops and the Oude irregulars -in the hour of tumult. Only seven months before the beginning of the -Revolt, and about the same space of time after the formal annexation, a -remarkable article on Indian Army Reform appeared in the _Calcutta -Review_, attributed to Sir Henry Lawrence; in which he commented freely -on the government proceedings connected with the army of Oude. He -pointed out how great was the number of daring reckless men in that -country; how large had been the army of the king before his deposition; -how numerous were the small forts held by zemindars and petty -chieftains, and guarded by nearly sixty thousand men; how perilous it -was to raise a new British-Oudian army, even though a small one, solely -from the men of the king’s disbanded regiments; how serious was the fact -that nearly a hundred thousand disbanded warlike natives were left -without employment; how prudent it would have been to send Oudians into -the Punjaub, and Punjaubees into Oude; and how necessary was an increase -in the number of British troops. The truth of these comments was not -appreciated until Sir Henry himself was ranked among those who felt the -full consequence of the state of things to which the comments referred. -Oude was full of zemindars, possessing considerable resources of various -kinds, having their retainers, their mud-forts, their arsenals, their -treasures. These zemindars, aggrieved not so much by the annexation of -their country, as by the manner in which territorial law-proceedings -were made to affect the tenure of their estates, shewed sympathy with -the mutineers almost from the first. The remarks of Mr Edwards, -collector at Boodayoun, on this point, have already been adverted to (p. -115). The zemindars did not, as a class, display the sanguinary and -vindictive passions so terribly evident in the reckless soldiery; still -they held to a belief that a successful revolt might restore to them -their former position and influence as landowners; and hence the -formidable difficulties opposed by them to the military movements of the -British. - -Sir Henry Lawrence, as chief authority both military and civil in Oude, -found himself very awkwardly imperiled at Lucknow in the early days of -June. Just as the previous month closed, nearly all the native troops -raised the standard of rebellion (see p. 96); the 13th, 48th, and 71st -infantry, and the 7th cavalry, all betrayed the infection, though in -different degrees; and of the seven hundred men of those four regiments -who still remained faithful, he did not know how many he could trust -even for a single day. The treasury received his anxious attention, and -misgivings arose in his mind concerning the various districts around the -capital, with their five millions of inhabitants. Soon he had the -bitterness of learning that his rebellious troops, who had fled towards -Seetapoor, had excited their brethren at that place to revolt. The -Calcutta authorities were from that day very ill informed of the -proceedings at Lucknow; for the telegraph wires were cut, and the -insurgents stopped all dâks and messengers on the road. About the middle -of the month, Colonel Neill, at Allahabad, received a private letter -from Lawrence, sent by some secret agency, announcing that Seetapoor and -Shahjehanpoor were in the hands of the rebels; that Secrora, Beraytch, -and Fyzabad, were in like condition; and that mutinous regiments from -all those places, as well as from Benares and Jounpoor, appeared to be -approaching Lucknow on some combined plan of operations. He was -strengthening his position at the Residency, but looked most anxiously -for aid, which Neill was quite unable to afford him. Again, it became -known to the authorities at Benares that Lawrence, on the 19th, still -held his position at Lucknow; that he had had eight deaths by cholera; -and that he was considering whether, aid from Cawnpore or Allahabad -being unattainable, he could obtain a few reinforcements by steamer up -the Gogra from Dinapoor. Another letter, but without date, reached the -chief-magistrate of Benares, to the effect that Lawrence had got rid of -most of the remaining native troops, by paying them their due, and -giving them leave of absence for three months; he evidently felt -disquietude at the presence even of the apparently faithful sepoys in -his place of refuge, so bitterly had he experienced the hollowness of -all protestations on their part. He had been very ill, and a provisional -council had been appointed in case his health should further give way. -Although the Residency was the stronghold, the city and cantonment also -were still under British control: a fort called the Muchee Bhowan, about -three-quarters of a mile from the Residency, and consisting of a strong, -turreted, castellated building, was held by two hundred and twenty-five -Europeans with three guns. The cantonment was northeast of the -Residency, on the opposite side of the river, over which were two -bridges of approach. Sir Henry had already lessened from eight to four -the number of buildings or posts where the troops were stationed—namely, -the Residency, the Muchee Bhowan, a strong post between these two, and -the dâk-bungalow between the Residency and the cantonment; but after the -mutiny, he depended chiefly on the Residency and the Muchee Bhowan. -News, somewhat more definite in character, was conveyed in a letter -written by Sir Henry on the 20th of June. So completely were the roads -watched, that he had not received a word of information from Cawnpore, -Allahabad, Benares, or any other important place throughout the whole -month down to that date; he knew not what progress was being made by the -rebels, beyond the region of which Lucknow was more immediately the -centre; he still held the fort, city, Residency, and cantonment, but was -terribly threatened on all sides by large bodies of mutineers. On the -27th he wrote another letter to the authorities at Allahabad, one of the -very few (out of a large number despatched) that succeeded in reaching -their destination. This letter was still full of heart, for he told of -the Residency and the Muchee Bhowan being still held by him in force; of -cholera being on the decrease; of his supplies being adequate for two -months and a half; and of his power to ‘hold his own.’ On the other -hand, he felt assured that at that moment Lucknow was the only place -throughout the whole of Oude where British influence was paramount; and -that he dared not leave the city for twenty-four hours without danger of -losing all his advantages. His sanguine, hopeful spirit shone out in the -midst of all his trials; he declared that with one additional European -regiment, and a hundred artillerymen, he could re-establish British -supremacy in Oude; and he added, in a sportive tone, which shewed what -estimate he formed of some, at least, of the contingent corps, ‘a -thousand Europeans, a thousand Goorkhas, and a thousand Sikhs, with -eight or ten guns, will thrash anything.’ The Sikhs were irregulars -raised in the Punjaub; and throughout the contests arising out of the -Revolt, their fidelity towards the government was seldom placed in -doubt. - -The last day of June was a day of sad omen to the English in Lucknow. On -the evening of the 29th, information arrived that a rebel force of six -or seven thousand men was encamped eight miles distant on the Fyzabad -road, near the Kookra Canal. Lawrence thereupon determined to attack -them on the following day. He started at six o’clock on the morning of -the 30th, with about seven hundred men and eleven guns.[23] Misled, -either by accident or design, by informants on the road, he suddenly -fell into an ambush of the enemy, assembled in considerable force near -Chinhut. Manfully struggling against superior numbers, Lawrence looked -forward confidently to victory; but just at the most critical moment, -the Oude artillerymen proved traitors—overturning their six guns into -ditches, cutting the traces of the horses, and then going over to the -enemy. Completely outflanked, exposed to a terrible fire on all sides, -weakened by the defection, having now few guns to use, and being almost -without ammunition, Sir Henry saw that retreat was imperative. A -disastrous retreat it was, or rather a complete rout; the heat was -fearful, the confusion was dire; and the officers and men fell rapidly, -to rise no more. Colonel Case, of H.M. 32d, receiving a mortal wound, -was immediately succeeded by Captain Steevens; he in like manner soon -fell, and was succeeded by Captain Mansfield, who escaped the day’s -perils, but afterwards died of cholera. - -Sir Henry Lawrence now found himself in a grave difficulty. The English -position at Lucknow needed all the strengthening he could impart to it. -He had held, as already explained, not only the Residency, but the fort -of Muchee Bhowan and other posts. The calamity of the 30th, however, -having weakened him too much to garrison all, or even more than one, he -removed the troops, and then blew up the Muchee Bhowan, at midnight on -the 1st of July, sending 240 barrels of gunpowder and 3,000,000 -ball-cartridges into the air. From that hour the whole of the English -made the Residency their stronghold. Later facts rendered it almost -certain that, if this abandonment and explosion had not taken place, -scarcely a European would have lived to tell the tale of the subsequent -miseries at Lucknow. By incessant exertions, he collected in the -Residency six months’ food for a thousand persons. The last hour of the -gallant man was, however, approaching. A shell, sent by the insurgents, -penetrated into his room on this day; his officers advised him to remove -to another spot, but he declined the advice; and on the next day, the 2d -of July, another shell, entering and bursting within the same room, gave -him a mortal wound. Knowing his last hour was approaching, Sir Henry -appointed Brigadier Inglis his successor in military matters, and Major -Banks his successor as chief-commissioner of Oude. - -Grief, deep and earnest, took possession of every breast in the -Residency, when, on the 4th of July, it was announced that the good and -great Sir Henry Lawrence had breathed his last. He was a man of whom no -one doubted; like his gifted brother, Sir John, he had the rare power of -drawing to himself the respect and love of those by whom he was -surrounded, almost without exception. ‘Few men,’ said Brigadier Inglis, -at a later date, ‘have ever possessed to the same extent the power which -he enjoyed of winning the hearts of all those with whom he came in -contact, and thus insuring the warmest and most zealous devotion for -himself and the government which he served. All ranks possessed such -confidence in his judgment and his fertility of resource, that the news -of his fall was received throughout the garrison with feelings of -consternation only second to the grief which was inspired in the hearts -of all by the loss of a public benefactor and a warm personal friend.... -I trust the government of India will pardon me for having attempted, -however imperfectly, to portray this great and good man. In him every -good and deserving soldier lost a friend and a chief capable of -discriminating, and ever on the alert to reward merit, no matter how -humble the sphere in which it was exhibited.’ Such was the soldier whom -all men delighted to honour,[24] and to whom the graceful compliment was -once paid, that ‘Sir Henry Lawrence enjoyed the rare felicity of -transcending all rivalry except that of his illustrious brother.’ - -How the overcrowded Residency at Lucknow bore all the attacks directed -against it; how the inmates, under the brave and energetic Inglis, held -on against heat, disease, cannon-balls, thirst, hunger, and fatigue; how -and by whom they were liberated—will come for notice in proper course. - -The other districts of Oude fell one by one into the hands of the -insurgents. The narratives subsequently given by such English officers -as were fortunate enough to escape the perils of those evil days, bore a -general resemblance one to another; inasmuch as they told of faith in -native troops being rudely broken, irresolute loyalty dissolving into -confirmed hostility, treasuries of Company’s rupees tempting those who -might otherwise possibly have been true to their salt, military officers -and their wives obliged to flee for succour to Nynee Tal or some other -peaceful station, the families of civilians suddenly thrown homeless -upon the world, and blood and plunder marking the footsteps of the -marauders who followed the example set by the rebellious sepoys and -troopers. A few examples will suffice to illustrate the general -character of these outbreaks. - -The mutiny at Fyzabad, besides being attended with a sad loss of life, -was note-worthy for certain peculiarities in the tactics of the -insurgents—a kind of cool audacity not always exhibited in other -instances. A brief description will shew the position and character of -this city. In a former chapter (p. 83) it was explained that Oude or -Ayodha, the city that gave name to the province, is very ancient as a -Hindoo capital, but has become poor and ruinous in recent times; and -that the fragments of many of its old structures were employed in -building Fyzabad, the Mohammedan Ayodha, nearly adjoining it on the -southwest. It was scarcely more than a hundred and thirty years ago that -the foundation of Fyzabad was established, by Saadut Ali Khan, the first -nawab-vizier of Oude; its advance in prosperity was rapid; but since the -selection of Lucknow as the capital in 1775, Fyzabad has fallen in -dignity; the chief merchants and bankers have migrated to Lucknow, and -the remaining inhabitants are mostly poor. - -On the 3d of June, rumours circulated in Fyzabad that the mutinous 17th -regiment B. N. I. was approaching from Azimghur. Colonel Lennox, the -military commandant, at once conferred with the other officers, and -formed a plan for defending the place. The immediate alarm died away. On -the 7th, however, renewed information led the colonel to propose an -advance to Surooj-khoond, a place about five miles away, to repel the -mutineers before they could reach Fyzabad. The native troops objected to -go out, on the plea of disinclination to leave their families and -property behind; but they promised to fight valiantly in the cantonment -if necessary, and many of them shook hands with him in token of -fidelity. The evening of the 8th revealed the hypocrisy of this display. -The native troops, cavalry, infantry, and artillery, joined in a -demonstration which rendered all the officers powerless; every officer -was, in effect, made a prisoner, and placed under armed guard for the -night; two tried to escape, but were fired at and brought back. The -leader of the mutiny, Dhuleep Singh, subadar-major of the 22d regiment, -came to Colonel Lennox in the morning, and told him plainly that he and -the other officers must yield to the course of circumstances; that boats -would be provided to take them down the river Gogra towards Dinapoor, -but that he would not guarantee their safety after once they had -embarked. There was a cool impudence about the proceeding, unlike the -wild confusion exhibited at many of the scenes of outbreak. A moulvie, -who had been imprisoned in the quarter-guard for a disturbance created -in the city, and who had just been liberated by the mutineers, sent the -sub-assistant surgeon to Colonel Lennox with a message; thanking him for -kindnesses received during the imprisonment, and requesting that the -colonel’s full-dress regimentals might be sent to the moulvie. The -native surgeon begged pardon for his change of allegiance; urging that -times were altered, and that he must now obey the mutineers. There was -something more than mere effrontery, however, in the proceedings of -these insurgents;[25] there was a subordination amid insubordination. -‘The men,’ said one of the narrators, ‘guarded their officers and their -bungalows after mutinying, placed sentries over the magazines and all -public property, and sent out pickets to prevent the towns-people and -servants from looting. They held a council of war, in which the cavalry -proposed to kill the officers; but the 22d, objecting to this, informed -their officers that they would be allowed to leave, and might take with -them their private arms and property, but no public property—as that all -belonged to the King of Oude.’ - -Let us briefly trace the course of some of the European fugitives. -Colonel Lennox, powerless to resist, gave up his regimentals, and -prepared for a melancholy boat-departure with his wife and daughter. -They were escorted to the banks of the Gogra, and pushed off on their -voyage. From two in the afternoon on the 8th of June, until nearly -midnight, their boat descended the stream—often in peril from sentries -and scouts on shore, but befriended by two sepoys who had been sent to -protect them for a short distance. Much care and manœuvring were -required to effect a safe passage near the spot where the mutinous 17th -regiment was encamped; for it now became manifest that the 22d had in -effect sold the fugitives to the other corps. Early on the following -morning, information received on shore rendering evident the danger of a -further boat-voyage, the houseless wanderers, leaving in the boat the -few fragments of property they had brought away from Fyzabad, set out on -foot towards Goruckpore. With nothing but the clothes on their backs, -the family began their weary flight. After stopping under trees and by -the side of wells to rest occasionally, they walked until the heat of -day rendered necessary a longer pause. By a narrow chance they avoided -being dragged to the camp of the 17th regiment, by a trooper who -professed to have been offered two hundred rupees for the head of each -member of the family. A friendly chieftain, one Meer Mohammed Hossein -Khan, came to their rescue just at the moment of greatest peril. One of -the retainers of this man, however, more disposed for enmity than amity, -spoke to the colonel with great bitterness and fierceness of manner, -shewing that the prevalent rumours had made a deep impression in Oude; -he expressed a longing to shoot the English, ‘who had come to take away -their caste, and make them Christians.’ Meer Mohammed rebuked this man -for saying that a stable would do to shelter the refugees, for that he -was prepared ‘to kill them like dogs.’ The fugitives were taken to a -small fort, one of the numerous class lately adverted to, where the -zemindars and petty chieftains maintained a kind of feudal or clannish -independence. On the second day, the danger to sheltered Europeans -becoming apparent, Colonel Lennox, his wife, and daughter, put on native -dresses, and remained nine days concealed in a reed-hut behind the -zenana, treated very kindly and considerately by their protector. Meer -Mohammed went once or twice to Fyzabad, to learn if possible the plans -of the mutineers; he was told that they meant to attack Lucknow, and -then depart for Delhi. On the 10th day of the hiding, when news arrived -that the fort was likely to be attacked, the ladies went for shelter -into the zenana, while the colonel was hid in a dark woodshed. Happily, -however, it turned out that the suspected strangers were a party sent by -the collector of Goruckpore for the rescue of the family. Danger was now -nearly over. The fugitives reached Amorah, Bustee, Goruckpore, Azimghur, -and Ghazeepore, at which place they took steamer down to Calcutta. This -fortunate escape from great peril was almost wholly due to ‘the noble -and considerate’ Meer Mohammed, as Colonel Lennox very properly -characterises him. - -Far more calamitous were the boat-adventures of the main body of Fyzabad -officers, of which an account was afterwards written, for the -information of government, by Farrier-sergeant Busher, of the light -field-battery. On the morning of the 8th, the wives and families of many -civilians, and of five non-commissioned European officers, had been sent -by Captain Orr to a place called Sheergunge, under the protection of a -friendly native, Rajah Maun Singh, to be free from peril if tumult -should arise. Early on the 9th, while Colonel Lennox was still at the -station, all or nearly all the other English were sent off by the -mutineers in four boats. One of these boats (mere dinghees, in which -little more than a bundle for each person could be put) contained eight -persons, one six, one five, and the remaining boat three. Only one -female was of the party, Mrs Hollum, wife of Sergeant-major Hollum of -the 22d native regiment. The first and second boats got ahead of the -other two, and proceeded about twenty miles down the river without -molestation; but then were seen troopers and sepoys approaching the -banks, with an evidently hostile intent. The firing soon became so -severe that the occupants of the first boat struck in for the off-shore, -and seven of them took to their heels—the eighth being unequal to that -physical exertion. They ran on till checked by a broad stream; and while -deliberating how to cross, persons approached who were thought to be -sepoys; the alarm proved false, but not before Lieutenants Currie and -Parsons had been drowned in an attempt to escape by swimming. The other -five, running on till quite exhausted, were fortunate enough to meet -with a friendly native, who sheltered them for several hours, and -supplied them with food. At midnight they started again, taking the road -to Amorah, which they were enabled to reach safely through the influence -of their kind protector—although once in great peril from a gang of -freebooters. They were glad to meet at Amorah the three occupants of the -fourth boat, who, like themselves, had escaped the dangers of the voyage -by running across fields and fording streams. At seven in the morning of -the 10th, the fugitives, now eight in company, recommenced their anxious -flight—aided occasionally by friendly natives, but at length betrayed by -one whose friendship was only a mask. They had to cross a nullah or -stream knee-deep, under pursuit by a body of armed men; here Lieutenant -Lindesay fell, literally cut to pieces; and when the other seven had -passed to the opposite bank, five were speedily hewn to the ground and -butchered—Lieutenants Ritchie, Thomas, and English, and two English -sergeants. The two survivors ran at their topmost speed, pursued by a -gang of ruffians; Lieutenant Cautley was speedily overtaken, and killed; -and then only Sergeant Busher remained alive. He, outrunning his -pursuers, reached a Brahmin village, where a bowl of sherbet was given -to him. After a little rest, he ran on again, until one Baboo Bully -Singh was found to be on the scent after him; he endeavoured to hide -under some straw in a hut; but was discovered and dragged out by the -hair of the head. From village to village he was then carried as an -exhibition to be jeered and scoffed at by the rabble; the Baboo -evidently intended the cruel sport to be followed by murder; but this -intention underwent a change, probably from dread of some future -retribution. He kept his prisoner near him for ten days, but did not -further ill treat him. On the eleventh day, Busher was liberated; he -overtook Colonel Lennox and his family; and safely reached Ghazeepore -seventeen days after his departure from Fyzabad. The boat containing -Colonel O’Brien, Lieutenants Percival and Gordon, Ensign Anderson, and -Assistant-surgeon Collinson, pursued its voyage the whole way down to -Dinapoor; but it was a voyage full of vicissitudes to the fugitives. At -many places they were obliged to lie flat in the boat to prevent -recognition from the shore; at others they had to compel the native -boatmen, on peril of sabring, to continue their tugging at the oars; on -one occasion they narrowly escaped shooting by a herd of villagers who -followed the boat. For three days they had nothing to eat but a little -flour and water; but happening to meet with a friendly rajah at Gola, -they obtained aid which enabled them to reach Dinapoor on the 17th. - -The occupants of the remaining boat, the civilians, and the ladies and -children who had not been able to effect a safe retreat to Nynee Tal, -suffered terribly; many lives were lost; and those who escaped to -Goruckpore or Dinapoor arrived in distressing plight—especially a party -of women and children who had been robbed of everything while on the -way, and who had been almost starved to death during a week’s -imprisonment in a fort by the river-side. When it is stated that, among -a group of women and children who reached a place of safety after -infinite hardships, _an infant was born on the road_, the reader will -easily comprehend how far the sufferings must have exceeded anything -likely to appear in print. Many persons were shot, many drowned, while -the fate of others remained doubtful for weeks or even months. Colonel -Goldney and Major Mill were among the slain. The wanderings of Mrs Mill -and her three children were perhaps among the most affecting incidents -of this mutiny. Amid the dire haste of departure, she became separated -from her husband, and was the last Englishwoman left in Fyzabad. How she -escaped and how she fared, was more than she herself could clearly -narrate; for the whole appeared afterwards as a dreadful dream, in which -every kind of misery was confusedly mixed. During two or three weeks, -she was wandering up and down the country, living in the jungle when man -refused her shelter, and searching the fields for food when none was -obtainable elsewhere. Her poor infant, eight months old, died for want -of its proper nourishment; but the other two children, seven and three -years old, survived all the privations to which they were exposed. On -one occasion, seeing some troopers approaching, and being utterly -hopeless, she passionately besought them, if their intentions were -hostile, to kill her children without torturing them, and then to kill -her. The appeal touched the hearts of the rude men; they took her to a -village and gave her a little succour; and this facilitated their -conveyance by a friendly native to Goruckpore, where danger was over. - -Sultanpore was another station at which mutiny and murder occurred. On -the 8th of June, a wing of the 15th irregular cavalry entered that place -from Seetapoor, in a state of evident excitement. Lieutenant Tucker, who -was a favourite with them, endeavoured to allay their mutinous spirit, -and succeeded for a few hours; but on the following morning they rose in -tumult, murdered Colonel Fisher, Captain Gubbings, and two other -Europeans, and urged the lieutenant to escape, which he did. After much -jungle-wanderings, and concealment in a friendly native’s house, he -safely arrived at Benares, as did likewise four or five other officers, -and all the European women and children at the station. In this as in -other instances, the revolt of the troops was followed by marauding and -incendiarism on the part of the rabble of Sultanpore; in this, too, as -in other instances, the mutineers had a little affection for some one or -more among their officers, whom they endeavoured to save. - -The station of Pershadeepore experienced its day of trouble on the 10th -of June. The 1st regiment Oude irregular infantry was there stationed, -under Captain Thompson. He prided himself on the fidelity of his men; -inasmuch as they seemed to turn a deaf ear to the rumours and suspicions -circulating elsewhere; and he had detected the falsity of a -mischief-maker, who had secretly caused ground bones to be mixed with -the attah (coarse flour with which chupatties are made) sold in the -bazaar, as the foundation for a report that the government intended to -take away the caste of the people. This pleasant delusion lasted until -the 9th; when a troop of the 3d Oude irregular cavalry arrived from -Pertabghur, followed soon afterwards by news of the rising at -Sultanpore. The fidelity of the infantry now gave way, under the -temptations and representations made to them by other troops. When -Captain Thompson rose on the morning of the 10th, he found his regiment -all dressed, and in orderly mutiny (if such an expression may be used). -He tried with an aching heart to separate the good men from the bad, and -to induce the former to retire with him to Allahabad; but the temptation -of the treasure was more than they could resist; they all joined in the -spoliation, and then felt that allegiance was at an end. At four in the -afternoon all the Europeans left the station, without a shot or an angry -word from the men; they were escorted to the fort of Dharoopoor, -belonging to a chieftain named Rajah Hunnewaut Singh, who treated them -courteously, and after some days forwarded them safely to Allahabad. -There was not throughout India a mutiny conducted with more quietness on -both sides than this at Pershadeepore; the sepoys had evidently no angry -feeling towards their officers. Captain Thompson remained of opinion -that his men had been led away by rumours and insinuations brought by -stragglers from other stations, to the effect that any Oude regiment -which did _not_ mutiny would be in peril from those that had; and that, -even under this fear, they would have remained faithful had there been -no treasure to tempt their cupidity. It is curious to note Colonel -Neill’s comment on this incident, in his official dispatch; his reliance -on the native troops was of the smallest possible amount; and in -reference to the captain’s honest faith, he said: ‘This is absurd; they -were as deeply in the plot as the rest of the army; the only credit due -to them is that they did not murder their officers.’ - -Seetapoor, about fifty miles north of Lucknow, was the place towards -which the insurgent troops from that city bent their steps at the close -of May. Whether those regiments kept together, and how far they -proceeded on the next few days, are points not clearly made out; but it -is certain that the native troops stationed at Seetapoor—comprising the -41st Bengal infantry, the 9th and 10th Oude irregular infantry, and the -2d Oude military police, in all about three thousand men—rose in mutiny -on the 3d of June. The 41st began the movement. A sepoy came to one of -the officers in the morning, announced that the rising was about to take -place, declared that neither he nor his companions wished to draw blood, -and suggested that all the officers should retreat from the station. The -regiment was in two wings, one in the town and one in the cantonment; -the plundering of the treasury was begun by the first-named party; the -other wing, obedient at first, broke forth when they suspected they -might be deprived of a share in the plunder. After the 41st had thus set -the example, the 9th revolted; then the military police; and then the -10th. Lieutenant Burnes, of the last-named regiment, entreated his men -earnestly to remain faithful, but to no effect. Seeing that many -officers had been struck down, the remainder hastily retired to the -house of Mr Christian the commissioner; and when all were assembled, -with the civilians, the ladies, and the children, it was at once -resolved to quit the burning bungalows and ruthless soldiers and seek -refuge at Lucknow. Some made their exit without any preparation; among -whom was Lieutenant Burnes—roaming through jungles for days, and aiding -women and children as best they could, suffering all those miseries -which have so often been depicted. The great body of Europeans, however, -left the station in buggies and other vehicles; and as the high roads -were perilous, the fugitives drove over hills, hollows, and ploughed -fields, where perhaps vehicles had never been driven before. -Fortunately, twenty troopers remained faithful to them, and escorted -them all the way to Lucknow, which place they reached on the night of -the third day—reft of everything they possessed, like many other -fugitives in those days. Many of the Europeans did not succeed in -quitting Seetapoor in time; and among these the work of death was -ruthlessly carried on—the sepoys being either unwilling or unable to -check these scenes of barbarity. - -As at Lucknow, Fyzabad, Sultanpore, Pershadeepore, Seetapoor; so at -Secrora, Durriabad, Beraytch, Gouda, and other places in Oude—wherever -there was a native regiment stationed, or a treasury of the Company -established, there, in almost every instance, were exhibited scenes of -violence attended by murder and plunder. The lamented Lawrence, in the -five weeks preceding his death, was, as has been lately pointed out, -placed in an extraordinary position. Responsible to the supreme -government both for the political and the military management of Oude, -and knowing that almost every station in the province was a focus of -treachery and mutiny, he was notwithstanding powerless to restore -tranquillity. So far from Cawnpore assisting him, he yearned to assist -Cawnpore; Rohilcund was in a blaze, and could send him only mutineers -who had thrown off all allegiance; Meerut, after sending troops to -Delhi, was doing little but defending itself; Agra, with a mere handful -of European troops, was too doubtful of its Gwalior neighbours to do -anything for Lucknow and Oude; Allahabad and Benares were too recently -rescued, by the gallant Neill, from imminent peril, to be in a position -to send present assistance to Sir Henry; and the Nepaul sovereign, Jung -Bahadoor, had not yet been made an ally of the English in such a way as -might possibly have saved Oude, and as was advocated by many -well-wishers of India. - -The position of the sovereignty just named may usefully be adverted to -here. Nepaul, about equal in area to England, is one of the few -independent states of Northern India; it reaches to the Himalaya on the -north; and is bounded on the other sides by the British territories of -Behar, Oude, and Kumaon. The region is distinguished by the magnificent -giant mountain-chain which separates it from Tibet; by the dense -forest-jungle of the Terai on the Oude frontier; by the beautiful valley -in which the capital, Khatmandoo, lies, and which is dotted with -flourishing villages, luxuriant fields, and picturesque streams; and by -its healthy and temperate climate. It is with the people, however, that -this narrative is more particularly concerned. The Nepaulese, about two -millions in number, comprise Goorkhas, Newars, Bhotias, Dhauwars, and -Mhaujees. The Goorkhas are the dominant race; they are Hindoos in -religion, but very unlike Hindoos in appearance, manners, and customs. -The Newars are the aborigines of Nepaul, decidedly Mongolian both in -faith and in features; they are the clever artisans of the kingdom, -while the Goorkhas are the hardy soldiers. The other three tribes are -chiefly cultivators of the soil. In the latter half of the last century, -Nepaul was for a short time a dependency of the Chinese Empire; but a -treaty of commerce with the British in 1782 initiated a state of affairs -which soon enabled Nepaul to throw off Chinese supremacy. Conventions, -subsidies, border encroachments, and family intrigues, checkered -Nepaulese affairs until 1812; when the Company made formal war on the -ground of a long catalogue of injuries and insults—such a catalogue as -can easily be concocted by a stronger state against a weaker. The war -was so badly conducted, that nothing but the military tact of Sir David -Ochterlony, who held one-fourth of a command which seems to have had no -head or general commander, saved the British from ignominious defeat. -Broken engagements led to another war in 1816, which terminated in a -treaty never since ruptured; the Nepaulese court has been a focus of -intrigue, but the intrigues have not been of such a character as to -disturb the relations of amity with the British. Jung Bahadoor—a name -well known in England a few years ago, as that of a Nepaulese ambassador -who made a sensation by his jewelled splendor—was the nephew of a man -who became by successive steps prime minister to the king. Instigated by -the queen, and by his own unscrupulous ambition, Jung Bahadoor caused -his uncle to be put to death, and became commander-in-chief under a new -ministry. Many scenes of truly oriental slaughter followed—that is, -slaughter to clear the pathway to power. Jung Bahadoor treated kings and -queens somewhat as the Company was accustomed to do in the last century; -setting up a son against a father, and treating all alike as puppets. At -a period subsequent to his return from England, he caused a marriage to -be concluded between his daughter, six years old, and the heir-apparent -to the Nepaulese throne, then in his ninth year. Whether king or not, he -was virtually chief of Nepaul at the time when the Revolt broke out; and -had managed, by astuteness in his diplomacy, to remain on friendly terms -with the authorities at Calcutta: indeed he took every opportunity, -after his English visit, to display his leaning towards his neighbours. -Like Nena Sahib, he had English pianos and English carpets in his house, -and prided himself in understanding English manners and the English -language; and it is unquestionable that both those men were favourites -among such of the English as visited the one at Bithoor or the other at -Khatmandoo. - -It has been mentioned in a former chapter (p. 115) that Goorkha troops -assisted to defend Nynee Tal when that place became filled with -refugees; and Goorkha regiments have been adverted to in many other -parts of the narrative. Jung Bahadoor permitted the Nepaulese of this -tribe to enlist thus in the Company’s service; and he also offered the -aid of a contingent, the non-employment of which brought many strictures -upon the policy of the Calcutta government. At a later date, as we shall -see, this contingent was accepted; and it rendered us good service at -Juanpore and Azimghur by protecting Benares from the advance of Oude -mutineers. About the middle of June, fifteen Europeans (seven gentlemen, -three ladies, and five children) escaped from the Oude mutineers into -the jungle region of Nepaul, and sought refuge in a post-station or -serai about ten days’ journey from Goruckpore and eighteen from -Khatmandoo. The officer at that place wrote to Jung Bahadoor for -instruction in the matter; to which he received a speedy reply—‘Treat -them with every kindness, give them elephants, &c., and escort them to -Goruckpore.’ Major Ramsey, the Company’s representative at Khatmandoo, -sent them numerous supplies in tin cases; and all the English were -naturally disposed to bless the Nepaulese chieftain as a friend in the -hour of greatest need, without inquiring very closely by what means he -had gained his power. - -The course of the narrative now takes us from Oude northwestward into -the province of Rohilcund; the districts of which, named after the towns -of Bareilly, Mooradabad, Shahjehanpoor, Boodayoun, and Bijnour, felt the -full force of the mutinous proceedings among the native troops. The -Rohillas were originally Mussulman Afghans, who conquered this part of -India, gradually settled down among the Hindoo natives, and imparted to -them a daring reckless character, which rendered Rohilcund a nursery for -irregular cavalry—and afterwards for mutineers. - -Brigadier Sibbald was commandant of Bareilly, one of the towns of -Rohilcund in which troops were stationed. These troops were entirely -native, comprising the 18th and 68th Bengal native infantry, the 8th -irregular cavalry, and a battery of native artillery—not an English -soldier among them except the officers. The brigadier, although these -troops appeared towards the close of the month of May to be in an -agitated state, nevertheless heard that all was well at Mooradabad, -Shahjehanpoor, Almora, and other stations in Rohilcund, and looked -forward with some confidence to the continuance of tranquility—aided by -his second in command, Colonel Troup, and the commissioner, Mr -Alexander. As a precaution, however, the ladies and children were sent -for safety to Nynee Tal; and the gentlemen kept their horses saddled, -ready for any emergency. Bareilly being a city of a hundred thousand -inhabitants, the temper of the natives was very anxiously watched. -Scarcely had the month closed, before the hopes of Brigadier Sibbald -received a dismal check, and his life a violent end. We have already -briefly mentioned (p. 114) that on Sunday the 31st, Bareilly became a -scene of violence and rapine; the brigadier himself being shot by a -trooper, the treasure seized, the bungalows plundered and burned, and -the Europeans either murdered or impelled to escape for their lives. -When Colonel Troup, who commanded the 68th native infantry, and who -became chief military authority after the death of Sibbald, found -himself safe at Nynee Tal, he wrote an official account of the whole -proceeding, corroborating the chief facts noted by the brigadier, and -adding others known more especially to himself. From this dispatch it -appears that the colonel commanded at Bareilly from the 6th to the 19th -of May, while the brigadier was making a tour of inspection through his -district; that from the 19th to the 29th, Sibbald himself resumed the -command; and that during those twenty-three days nothing occurred to -shew disaffection among the troops, further than a certain troubled and -agitated state. On that day, however, the Europeans received -information, from two native officers, that the men of the 18th and 68th -native regiments had, _while bathing in the river_, concerted a plan of -mutiny for that same afternoon. Most of the officers were quickly on the -alert; and, whether or not through this evidence of preparedness, no -émeute took place on that day. On the 30th, Colonel Troup, who had -relied on the fidelity of the 8th irregular cavalry, received -information that those sowars had sworn not to act against the native -infantry and artillery if the latter should rise, although they would -refrain from molesting their own officers. After a day and night of -violent excitement throughout the whole station, the morning of Sunday -the 31st (again Sunday!) ushered in a day of bloodshed and rapine. -Messages were despatched to all the officers, warning them of some -intended outbreak; but the bearers, sent by Troup, failed in their duty, -insomuch that many of the officers remained ignorant of the danger until -too late to avert it. Major Pearson, of the 18th, believed his men to be -stanch; Captain Kirby, of the artillery (6th company, 6th battalion), in -like manner trusted his corps; and Captain Brownlow, the brigade major, -disbelieved the approach of mutiny—at the very time that Colonel Troup -was impressing on all his conviction that the sinister rumours were well -founded. At eleven o’clock, the truth appeared in fatal colours; the -roar of cannon, the rattle of musketry, and the yells of men, told -plainly that the revolt had begun, and that the artillery had joined in -it. The 8th irregular cavalry, under Captain Mackenzie, were ordered or -invited by him to proceed against the lines of the insurgent infantry -and artillery; but the result was so disastrous, that all the Europeans, -military as well as civilians, found their only safety would be in -flight. Ruktawar Khan, subadar of artillery, assumed the rank of -general, and paraded about in the carriage of the brigadier, attended by -a numerous string of followers as a ‘staff.’ Colonel Troup, writing on -the 10th of June, had to report the deaths of Brigadier Sibbald and -three or four other officers, together with that of many of the civil -servants. About twenty-five military officers escaped; but the list of -‘missing’ was large, and many of those included in it were afterwards -known to have been brutally murdered. Captain Mackenzie, who clung to -his troopers in the earnest hope that they would remain faithful, found -only nineteen men who did so, and who escorted their officers all the -way to Nynee Tal. - -A despicable hoary traitor, Khan Bahadoor Khan, appears to have headed -this movement. He had for many years been in receipt of a double pension -from the Indian government—as the living representative of one of the -early Rohilla chieftains, and as a retired judge of one of the native -courts. He was an old, venerable-looking, insinuating man; he was -thoroughly relied on by the civil authorities at Bareilly; he had loudly -proclaimed his indignation against the Delhi mutineers; and yet he -became ringleader of those at Bareilly—deepening his damning atrocities -by the massacre of such of the unfortunate Europeans as did not succeed -in making their escape. It was by his orders, as self-elected chief of -Rohilcund, that a rigorous search was made for all Europeans who -remained in Bareilly; and that Judge Robertson, and four or five other -European gentlemen, were hung in the Kotwal square, after a mock-trial. -During the month of June, Bareilly remained entirely in the hands of the -rebels; not an Englishman, probably, was alive in the place; and the -Mussulmans and Hindoos were left to contend for supremacy over the -spoil. - -Of Boodayoun it will be unnecessary to say more here; Mr Edwards’s -narrative of an eventful escape (pp. 115, 116), pointed to the 1st of -June as the day when the Europeans deemed it necessary to flee from that -station—not because there were any native troops at Boodayoun, but -because the mutineers from Bareilly were approaching, and joyfully -expected by all the scoundrels in the place, who looked forward to a -harvest of plunder as a natural result. - -Mooradabad, which began its season of anarchy and violence on the 3d of -June, stands on the right bank of the Ramgunga, an affluent of the -Ganges, at a point about midway between Meerut and Bareilly. It is a -town of nearly 60,000 inhabitants—having a civil station, with its -cutcherry and bungalows; a cantonment west of the town; a spacious serai -for the accommodation of travellers; and an enormous jail sufficiently -large to contain nearly two thousand prisoners. In this, as in many -other towns of India, the Company’s troops were wont to be regarded -rather as guardians of the jail and its inmates, than for any active -military duties. So early as the 19th of May, nine days after the -mutineers of Meerut had set the example, the 29th regiment native -infantry proceeded to the jail at Mooradabad, and released all the -prisoners. Although Mr Saunders, collector and magistrate, wrote full -accounts to Agra of the proceedings of that and the following days, the -dâks were so completely stopped on the road that Mr Colvin remained -almost in ignorance of the state of affairs; and on that account -Saunders could obtain no assistance from any quarter. The released -prisoners, joined by predatory bands of Goojurs, Meewatties, and Jâts, -commenced a system of plunder and rapine, which the European authorities -were ill able to check. The 29th, however, had not openly mutinied; and -it still remained possible to hold control within the town and the -surrounding district; several native sappers and miners were stopped and -captured on their way from Meerut, and several of the mutinous 20th -regiment on the way from Mozuffernugger. When, however, news of the -Bareilly outbreak on the 31st reached Mooradabad, the effect on the men -of the 29th regiment, and of a native artillery detachment, became very -evident. On the 3d of June, the sepoys in guard of the treasury -displayed so evident an intention of appropriating the money, that Mr -Saunders felt compelled to leave it (about seventy thousand rupees) -together with much plate and opium in their hands—being powerless to -prevent the spoliation. The troops manifested much irritation at the -smallness of the treasure, and were only prevented from wreaking their -vengeance on the officials by an oath they had previously taken. To -remain longer in the town was deemed a useless risk, as bad passions -were rising on every side. The civil officers of the Company, with their -wives and families, succeeded in making a safe retreat to Meerut; while -Captain Whish, Captain Faddy, and other officers of the 29th, with the -few remaining Europeans, laid their plans for a journey to Nynee Tal. -All shared an opinion that if the Bareilly regiments had not mutinied, -the 29th would have remained faithful—a poor solace, such as had been -sought for by many other officials similarly placed. Mr Colvin -afterwards accepted Mr Saunders’s motives and conduct in leaving the -station, as justifiable under the trying circumstances. - -Rohilcund contained three military stations, Bareilly, Mooradabad, and -Shahjehanpoor—Boodayoun and the other places named being merely civil -stations. As at Bareilly and Mooradabad, so at Shahjehanpoor; the native -troops at the station rose in mutiny. On Sunday the 31st of May—a day -marked by so many atrocities in India—the 28th native infantry rose, -surrounded the Christian residents as they were engaged in divine -worship in church, and murdered nearly the whole of them, including the -Rev. Mr M’Callum in the sacred edifice itself. The few who escaped were -exposed to an accumulation of miseries; first they sought shelter at -Mohammerah in Oude; then they met the 41st regiment, after the mutiny at -Seetapoor, who shot and cut them down without mercy; and scarcely any -lived to tell the dismal tale to English ears. - -Thus then it appears that, in Rohilcund, the 18th, 68th, 28th, and 29th -regiments native infantry, together with the 8th irregular cavalry and a -battery of native artillery, rose in revolt at the three military -stations, and murdered or drove out nearly the whole of the Europeans -from the entire province—European troops there were none; only officers -and civilians. They plundered all the treasuries, containing more than a -quarter of a million sterling, and marched off towards Delhi, five -thousand strong—unmolested by the general who commanded at Meerut. - -Nynee Tal became more crowded than ever with refugees from Oude and -Rohilcund. Under the energetic command of Captain Ramsey, this -hill-station remained in quiet during the month of May (p. 115); but it -was not so easily defended in June. Some of the native artillery at -Almora, not far distant, gave rise to uneasiness towards the close of -the month; yet as the ill-doers were promptly put into prison, and as -the Goorkhas remained stanch, confidence was partially restored. The -sepoys from the rebel regiments dreaded a march in this direction, on -account of the deadly character of the Terai, a strip of swampy forest, -thirty miles broad, which interposes between the plains and the hills; -but that jungle-land itself contained many marauders, who were only -prevented by fear of the Goorkhas from going up to Nynee Tal. At the end -of June, there were five times as many women and children as men among -the Europeans at that place; hence the anxious eye with which the -proceedings in surrounding districts were regarded. - -The third region to which this chapter is appropriated—the Doab—now -calls for attention. Like Oude and Rohilcund, it was the scene of -terrible anarchy and bloodshed in the month of June. In its two -parts—the Lower Doab, from Allahabad to a little above Furruckabad; and -the Upper Doab, from the last-named city up to the hill-country—it was -nearly surrounded by mutineers, who apparently acted in concert with -those in the Doab itself. - -Of Allahabad and Cawnpore, the two chief places in the Lower Doab, -sufficient has been said in Chapters VIII. and IX. to trace the course -of events during the month of June. About midway between the two is -Futtehpoor, a small civil station in the centre of a group of Mohammedan -villages; it contained, at the beginning of June, about a dozen civil -servants of the Company, and a small detachment of the 6th native -regiment from Allahabad. The residents, as a precautionary measure, had -sent their wives and children to that stronghold, and had also arranged -a plan for assembling at the house of the magistrate, if danger should -appear. On the 5th of the month, disastrous news arriving from Lucknow -and Cawnpore, the residents took up their abode for the night on the -flat roof of the magistrate’s house, with their weapons by their sides; -and on the following day they hauled up a supply of tents, provisions, -water, and ammunition—a singular citadel being thus extemporised in the -absence of better. On the 7th, their small detachment aided in repelling -a body of troopers who had just arrived from Cawnpore on a plundering -expedition; and the residents congratulated themselves on the fidelity -of this small band. Their reliance was, however, of short duration; for, -on the receipt of news of the Allahabad outbreak, the native officials -in the collector’s office gave way, like the natives all around them, -and Futtehpoor soon became a perilous spot for Europeans. On the 9th, -the residents held a council on their roof, and resolved to quit the -station. A few troopers befriended them; and they succeeded, after many -perils and sufferings, in reaching Banda, a town southward of the Jumna. -Not all of them, however. Mr Robert Tucker, the judge, resisting -entreaty, determined to remain at his post to the last. He rode all over -the town, promising rewards to those natives who would be faithful; he -endeavoured to shame others by his heroic bearing; he appealed to the -gratitude and good feeling of many of the poorer natives, who had been -benefited by him in more peaceful times. But all in vain. The jail was -broken open, the prisoners liberated, and the treasury plundered; and Mr -Tucker, flying to the roof of the cutcherry, there bravely defended -himself until a storm of bullets laid him low. Robert Tucker was one of -those civilians of whom the Company had reason to be proud. - -Advancing to the northwest, we come to a string of towns and -stations—Etawah, Minpooree, Allygurh, Futteghur, Muttra, Bolundshuhur, -Mozuffernugger, &c.—which shared with Oude and Rohilcund the wild -disorders of the month of June. The mutiny at Futteghur has already -engaged our notice (p. 133), in connection with the miserable fugitives -who swelled the numbers put to death by Nena Sahib at Bithoor and -Cawnpore. It needs little further mention here. The 10th native -infantry, and a small body of artillery, long resisted the temptation -held out by mutineers elsewhere; but, on the appearance of the insurgent -regiments from Seetapoor, their fidelity gave way. Four companies went -off with the treasure; the remainder joined the other mutinous regiments -in besieging the fort to which so many Europeans had fled for refuge, -and from which so disastrous a boat-voyage was made down the Ganges. Mr -Colvin, at Agra, knew of the perilous state of things at Futteghur; he -knew that a native nawab had been chosen by the mutineers as a sort of -sovereign; but, as we shall presently see, he was too weak in reliable -troops to afford any assistance whatever. Thus it happened that the two -boat-expeditions, of June and July, ended so deplorably to the -Europeans, and left Futteghur so wholly in the hands of the rebels. It -was a great loss to the British in many ways; for most of the Company’s -gun-carriages were made, or at least stored, at Futteghur; and the -agency-yard was surrounded by warehouses containing a large supply of -material belonging to the artillery service. Indeed it was this -court-yard of the gun-carriage agency that constituted the fort, as soon -as a few defensive arrangements had been made. Many circumstances had -drawn rather a large English population to Futteghur; and hence the -terrible severity of the tragedy. There were officers of the 10th -regiment; other military officers on leave; gun-carriage agents; civil -servants; merchants and dealers; a few tent-makers and other artisans; -indigo-planters from the neighbouring estates; and many native -Christians under the care of the American Presbyterian mission. - -We have already seen (pp. 112, 113) by how small a number of native -troops several stations were set in commotion in May. The 9th regiment -Bengal native infantry was separated into four portions, which were -stationed at Allygurh, Bolundshuhur, Etawah, and Minpooree, -respectively; and all mutinied nearly at the same time. The fortune of -war, if war it can be called, at these stations during the month of -June, may be traced in a very few words. It was on the 20th of May that -the four companies at Allygurh mutinied; and on the 24th that one-half -of Lieutenant Cockburn’s Gwalior troopers, instead of assisting him to -retain or regain the station, rose in mutiny and galloped off to join -the insurgents elsewhere. There were, however, about a hundred who -remained faithful to him; and these, with fifty volunteers, made an -advance to Allygurh, retook it, drove out the detachment of the 9th -native regiment, released a few Europeans who had been in hiding there, -captured one Rao Bhopal Singh, and hanged him as a petty chieftain who -had continued the rapine begun by the sepoys. Throughout the month of -June this station was maintained in British hands—not so much for its -value in a military sense, as for its utility in keeping open the roads -to Agra and Meerut; but, in the direction of Delhi, the volunteers could -obtain very little news, the dâks being all cut off by the Goojurs and -other predatory bands. At Minpooree the three companies of the 9th -checked, it will be remembered, by the undaunted courage and tact of -Lieutenant de Kantzow, departed to join the insurgents elsewhere; but -Minpooree remained in British hands. The remaining companies mutinied at -Etawah and Bolundshuhur without much violence. - -[Illustration: - - SIMLA, the summer residence of the Governor-general of India. -] - -Agra, when the narrative last left it (p. 111), had passed through the -month of May without any serious disturbances. The troops consisted of -the 44th and 67th regiments Bengal native infantry, the 3d Europeans, -and a few artillery. After two companies of these native troops had -mutinied while engaged in bringing treasure from Muttra to Agra, Mr -Colvin deemed it necessary to disarm all the other companies; and this -was quietly and successfully effected on the 1st of June, by the 3d -Europeans and Captain D’Oyley’s field-battery. Many facts afterward came -to light, tending to shew that if this disarming had not taken place, -the 44th and 67th would have stained their hands with the same bloody -deeds as the sepoys were doing elsewhere. The native lines had been more -than once set on fire during the later days of May—in the hope, as -afterwards appears, that the handful of Europeans, by rushing out -unarmed to extinguish the flames, would afford the native troops a -favourable opportunity to master the defences of the city, and the six -guns of the field-battery. A curious proof was supplied of the little -knowledge possessed by the Europeans of the native character, and the -secret springs that worked unseen as moving powers for their actions. -There had long seemed to be an angry feeling between the 44th and the -67th; and Mr Colvin, or the brigadier acting with him, selected one -company from each regiment for the mission to Muttra, in the belief that -each would act as a jealous check upon the other; instead of which, the -two companies joined in revolt, murdered many of their officers, and -carried off their treasure towards Delhi. After the very necessary -disarming of the two regiments, the defence of this important city was -left to the 3d European Fusiliers, Captain D’Oyley’s field-battery of -six guns, and a corps of volunteer European cavalry under Lieutenant -Greathed. Most of the disarmed men deserted, and swelled the ranks of -the desperadoes that wrought so much ruin in the surrounding districts—a -result that led many military officers to doubt whether disarming -without imprisonment was a judicious course under such circumstances; -for the men naturally felt exasperated at their humbled position, -whether deserved or not; and their loyalty, as soldiers out of work, was -not likely to be in any way increased. Whether or not this opinion be -correct, the Europeans in Agra felt their only reliance to be in each -other. During the early days of June, most of the ladies resorted at -night to certain places of refuge allotted by the governor, such as the -fort, the post-office, the office of the _Mofussilite_ newspaper, and -behind the artillery lines; while the gentlemen patrolled the streets, -or maintained a defensive attitude at appointed places. Trade was -continued, British supremacy was asserted, bloodshed was kept away from -the city, and the Europeans maintained a steady if not cheerful -demeanour. Nevertheless Mr Colvin was full of anxieties; he was -responsible to the Calcutta government, not only for Agra, but for the -whole of the Northwest Provinces; yet he found himself equally unable to -send aid to other stations, and receive aid from them. Agra was troubled -on the night of the 23d of June by the desertion of the jail-guard, to -whom had been intrusted the custody of the large central prison. A guard -from the 3d Europeans was thereupon placed on the outside; while the -inside was guarded by another force under Dr Walker the superintendent. -So far as concerned military disturbances within the city, Mr Colvin was -not at that time under much apprehension; but he knew that certain -regiments from Neemuch—the mutiny of which will be described in the next -chapter—had approached by the end of the month to a point on the high -road between Agra and Jeypoor, very near the first-named city; and he -heard that they contemplated an attack. He estimated their strength at -two regiments of infantry, four or five hundred cavalry, and eight guns; -but as the whole of the civil and military authorities at Agra were on -the alert, he did not regard this approaching force with much alarm. To -strengthen his position, and maintain public confidence, he organised a -European militia of horse and foot, among the clerks, railway men, &c., -to which it was expected and desired that nearly all civilians should -belong. This militia, placed under the management of Captains -Prendergast and Lamb, Lieutenants Rawlins and Oldfield, and Ensign -Noble, who had belonged to the disarmed native regiments, was divided -into two corps, to which the defence of the different parts of the -station was intrusted. How the Europeans, both military and civilians, -became cooped up in the fort during July, we shall see in a future -chapter. - -Meerut, during June, remained in the hands of the British; but there was -much inactivity on the part of the general commanding there, in relation -to the districts around that town. On the 10th of May, when the mutiny -began (p. 50), there were a thousand men of the 60th Rifles, six hundred -of the Carabiniers, a troop of horse-artillery, and five hundred -artillery recruits—constituting a force unusually large, in relation to -the general distribution of English troops in India. Yet these fine -soldiers were not so handled as to draw from them the greatest amount of -service. They were not sent after the three mutinous regiments who -escaped to Delhi; and during the urgent and critical need of Lawrence, -Colvin, and Wheeler, Major-general Hewett kept his Europeans almost -constantly in or near Meerut. It is true that he, and others who have -defended him, asserted that the maintenance of the position at Meerut, a -very important consideration, could not have been insured if he had -marched out to intercept rebels going from various quarters towards -Delhi; but this argument was not deemed satisfactory at Calcutta; -Major-general Hewett was superseded, and another commander appointed in -his place. It was not until June that dâks were re-established between -Meerut and Agra on the one hand, and Meerut and Kurnaul on the other. -Some of the Europeans were sent off to join the besieging army before -Delhi; while a portion of the remainder were occasionally occupied in -putting down bands of Goojurs and other predatory robbers around Meerut. -The town of Sirdhana, where the Catholic nuns and children had been -placed in such peril (p. 57), was too near Meerut to be held by the -rebels. Early in June, one Wallee Dad Khan set himself up as subadar or -captain-general of Meerut, under the King of Delhi; raised a rabble -force of Goojurs; held the fort of Malagurh with six guns; and seized -the district of Bolundshuhur. News arriving that he was advancing with -his force towards Meerut, about a hundred European troops, Rifles and -Carabiniers, with a few civilians and two guns, started off to intercept -him. They had little work to do, however, except to burn villages held -by the insurgents; for the robber Goojurs having quarrelled with the -robber Jâts about plunder, the latter compelled Wallee Dud Khan and his -general, Ismail Khan, to effect a retreat before the English came up. In -the last week of the month the force at Meerut, chiefly in consequence -of the number sent off to Delhi, was reduced to about eight hundred; -these were kept so well on the alert, and the whole town and cantonment -so well guarded, that the Europeans felt little alarm; although vexed -that they could afford no further assistance to the besiegers of Delhi, -nor even chastise a portion of the 4th irregular cavalry, who mutinied -at Mozuffernugger. All the English, civilians and their families as well -as military officers, lived at Meerut either in barracks or tents—none -venturing to sleep beyond the immediate spot where the military were -placed. - -Simla, during these varied operations, continued to be a place where, as -at Nynee Tal, ladies and children, as well as some of the officers and -civilians, took refuge after being despoiled by mutineers. A militia was -formed after the hasty departure of General Anson; Simla was divided -into four districts under separate officers; and the gentlemen aided by -a few English troops, defended those districts, throughout June. The -people at the bazaar, and all the native servants of the place, were -disarmed, and the arms taken for safe custody to Kussowlie. - -Delhi—a place repeatedly mentioned in every chapter of this -narrative—continued to be the centre towards which the attention of all -India was anxiously directed. Fast as the native regiments mutinied in -Bengal, Oude, Rohilcund, the Doab, Bundelcund, and elsewhere, so did -they either flee to Delhi, or shape their course in dependence on the -military operations going on there; and fast as the British troops could -be despatched to that spot, so did they take rank among the besiegers. -But in truth this latter augmentation came almost wholly from the -Punjaub and other western districts. Lloyd, Neill, Wheeler, Lawrence, -Hewett, Sibbald, were so closely engaged in attending to the districts -around Dinapoor, Benares, Allahabad, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Meerut, and -Bareilly, that they could not send aid to the besiegers of Delhi, during -several weeks of siege operations. These operations will be noticed in -systematic order, when the other threads of the narrative have been -traced to the proper points. Meanwhile the reader will bear in mind that -the siege of Delhi was in progress from the middle of June to an -advanced period in the summer. - -[Illustration: - - Tomb at Futtehpore Sikri. -] - ------ - -Footnote 23: - - _Artillery_: 4 guns, horse light field-battery; 6 guns, Oude - field-battery; and 1 8-inch howitzer. _Cavalry_: 120 troopers of 1st, - 2d, and 3d Oude irregular cavalry; and 40 volunteer cavalry, under - Captain Radcliffe. _Infantry_: 300 of H.M. 32d foot; 150 of 13th - native infantry; 60 of the 48th native infantry; and 20 of the 71st. - -Footnote 24: - - ‘Every boy has read, and many living men still remember, how the death - of Nelson was felt by all as a deep personal affliction. Sir Henry - Lawrence was less widely known, and his deeds were in truth of less - magnitude than those of the great sea-captain; but never probably was - a public man within the sphere of his reputation more ardently - beloved. Sir Henry Lawrence had that rare and happy faculty (which a - man in almost every other respect unlike him, Sir Charles Napier, is - said also to have possessed) of attaching to himself every one with - whom he came in contact. He had that gift which is never acquired, a - gracious, winning, noble manner; rough and ready as he was in the - field, his manner in private life had an indescribable charm of - frankness, grace, and even courtly dignity. He had that virtue which - Englishmen instinctively and characteristically love—a lion-like - courage. He had that fault which Englishmen so readily forgive, and - when mixed with what are felt to be its naturally concomitant good - qualities, they almost admire—a hot and impetuous temper; he had in - overflowing measure that Godlike grace which even the base revere and - the good acknowledge as the crown of virtue—the grace of charity. No - young officer ever sat at Sir Henry’s table without learning to think - more kindly of the natives; no one, young or old, man or woman, ever - heard Sir Henry speak of the European soldier, or ever visited the - Lawrence Asylum, without being excited to a nobler and truer - appreciation of the real extent of his duty towards his neighbour. He - was one of the few distinguished Anglo-Indians who had attained to - something like an English reputation in his lifetime. In a few years, - his name will be familiar to every reader of Indian history; but for - the present it is in India that his memory will be most deeply - cherished; it is by Anglo-Indians that any eulogy on him will be best - appreciated, it is by them that the institutions which he founded and - maintained will be fostered as a monument to his memory.’—_Fraser’s - Magazine_, No. 336. - -Footnote 25: - - The troops stationed at that time at Fyzabad comprised the 22d - regiment native infantry; the 6th regiment irregular Oude infantry; - the 5th troop of the 15th regiment irregular cavalry; No. 5 company of - the 7th battalion of artillery; and No. 13 horse-battery. The chief - officers were Colonels Lennox and O’Brien; Major Mill; Captain Morgan; - Lieutenants Fowle, English, Bright, Lindesay, Thomas, Ouseley, - Cautley, Gordon, Parsons, Percival, and Currie; and Ensigns Anderson - and Ritchie. Colonel Goldney held a civil appointment as commissioner. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - CENTRAL REGIONS OF INDIA: JUNE. - - -In the political and territorial arrangements of the East India Company, -the name of Central India is somewhat vaguely employed to designate a -portion of the region lying between the Jumna and Bundelcund on the -northeast, and the Nizam’s territory and Gujerat on the southwest; a -designation convenient for general reading, without possessing any very -precise acceptation. In the present chapter, we shall change the -expression and enlarge the meaning so as to designate a belt of country -that really forms Central India in a geographical sense, extending from -Lower Bengal to Rajpootana, and separating Northern India from the -southern or peninsular portion of the empire. This will carry the -narrative into regions very little mentioned in former chapters—such as -Nagpoor, the Saugor and Nerbudda territories, Bundelcund and Rewah, the -Mahratta states and the Rajpoot states—regions that will be briefly -described, so far as to render the proceedings of the native troops -intelligible. - -We begin with Nagpoor, a country now belonging to the British -government, and considerably larger than England and Wales. - -This province was acquired, not so much by conquest, as by one of those -intricate arrangements concerning dynasty which have brought so many -native states under British rule. It is in general an elevated country, -containing many offshoots from the Vindhya range of mountains. Some -parts of it, towards the southeast, have never been explored by -Europeans, but are believed to be hilly, wooded, and full of jungles, -inhabited by the semi-barbarous tribe of Ghonds. The remainder is better -known and better cultivated; and being on the high road from Calcutta to -Bombay, possesses much political importance. The population exceeds four -millions and a half. Early in the last century, one of the Mahratta -chieftains conquered Nagpoor from the rajahs who had before governed it; -and he and his descendants, or other ambitious members of the Mahratta -family, continued to hold it as Rajahs of Nagpoor or Berar. Although -constantly fighting one with another, these Mahrattas were on fair terms -with the East India Company until 1803, when, unluckily for the -continuance of his rule, the native rajah joined Scindia in the war -against the British. As a consequence, when peace was restored in 1804, -he was forced to yield Cuttack and other provinces to the conquerors. In -1817, another Rajah of Nagpoor joined the Peishwa of the Mahrattas in -hostilities against the British—a course which led to his expulsion from -the raj, and to a further increase of British influence. Then followed a -period during which one rajah was imbecile, another under age, and many -unscrupulous chieftains sought to gain an ascendency one over another. -This was precisely the state of things which rendered the British -resident more and more powerful, setting up and putting down rajahs, and -allowing the competitors to weaken the whole native rule by weakening -each other. The history of British India may be almost told in such -words as these. At length, in 1853, the last rajah, Ragojee, died—not -only without heirs, but without any male relations who could support a -legitimate claim to the raj. Thereupon, the governor-general quietly -annexed this large country to the Company’s dominions. It will be -remembered (p. 4) that the Marquis of Dalhousie, in his minute, -despatched this subject in a very few lines; not asserting that the -British had actually any right to the country; but ‘wisely incorporated -it,’ as no one else could put in a legitimate claim for it, and as it -would have been imprudent ‘to bestow the territory in free gift upon a -stranger.’ The Nagpoor territory was placed under the management of a -commissioner, who was immediately subordinate to the governor-general in -council; seeing that the Bengal Presidency was already too large to have -this considerable country attached to it for governmental purposes. - -At and soon after the time of the outbreak, there were the 1st regiment -irregular infantry, the Kamptee irregulars, an irregular horse-battery, -and a body of European gunners, stationed in the city of Nagpoor, or in -Kamptee, eleven miles distant; the 2d infantry and a detachment of the -1st were at Chandah; a detachment of the 1st at Bhandara; the chief -portion of the 3d at Rajpoor; and the remainder of the same regiment at -Bilaspoor. The arsenal, containing guns, arms, ammunition, and military -stores of every description; and the treasury of the province, with a -large amount of Company’s funds—were close to the city. Mr Plowden -filled the office of commissioner at that period. With a mere handful of -Europeans in the midst of a very extensive territory, he often trembled -in thought for the safety of his position, and of British interests -generally, in the region placed under his keeping. He had numerous -native troops with him, and a large city under his control; if anything -sinister should arise, he was far away from any extraneous aid—being -nearly six hundred miles distant from Madras, and still further from -Calcutta. But, whatever were his anxieties (and they were many), he put -on a calm bearing towards the natives of Nagpoor. This city, the capital -of the territory bearing the same name, is a dirty, irregular, -straggling place, nearly seven miles in circumference. Most of the -houses are mud-built; and even the palace of the late rajah is little -more than a clumsy pile of unfinished masonry. The city has become -rather famous for its banking business, and for its manufactures of -cottons, chintzes, turbans, silks, brocades, woollens, blankets, -tent-cloths, and other textile goods. The population exceeds a hundred -thousand. There is nothing of a military appearance about the city; but -whoever commands the Seetabuldee, commands Nagpoor itself. This -Seetabuldee is a hilly ridge close to the city on the west, having two -summits, the northern the higher, the southern the larger, but every -part overlooking the city, and fortified. Such being the topographical -position of his seat of government, Mr Plowden proceeded to disarm such -of his troops as excited disquietude in his mind, and to strengthen the -Seetabuldee. A corps of irregular cavalry shewed symptoms of disloyalty; -and indeed rumours were afloat that on a particular day the ascent of a -balloon was to be a signal for the revolt of the troops. Under these -circumstances, Mr Plowden arranged with Colonel Cumberlege, the -commandant, to disarm them on the morning of the 23d of June—the colonel -having the 4th regiment of Madras cavalry, on whom he fully relied, to -enforce the order for disbanding. The irregulars were paraded, mounted -and fully armed, to shew that the authorities were not afraid of them. -Mr Plowden having addressed them, they quietly gave up their arms and -their saddles, which were taken in carts to the arsenal; and thus six -hundred and fifty troopers were left with nothing but their bare horses, -and ropes to picket them. Some of the men and of the native officers -were arrested, and put on their trial for an attempt to excite mutiny. -The roll was called over every four hours, and every native soldier -absent, or found outside the lines without a pass, was treated as a -deserter. The 1st regiment irregular infantry assisted in the disarming -of the troopers. Following up the measures thus promptly taken, the -commissioner strengthened the defences on the Seetabuldee hill, as a -last refuge for the Europeans at Nagpoor in the event of any actual -mutiny at that place. The Residency became a barrack at night for all -the civil and military officers; and a watchful eye was kept on the -natives generally. At present, all was safe in Nagpoor. - -Another province, and another commissioner in charge of it, now come for -notice. This province, bearing the rather lengthened name of the Saugor -and Nerbudda Territories, is about half the size of England, and is -bounded by the various provinces or regions of Nagpoor, Mirzapore, -Allahabad, Banda, Bundelcund, Gwalior, Bhopal, and the Nizam’s state of -Hyderabad. It corresponds more nearly with the exact centre of India -than any other portion of territory. One half of its name is derived -from the town of Saugor, the other half from the river Nerbudda. To -describe the scraps and patches of which it consists, and the means by -which they were acquired, would be neither easy nor necessary. Within -its limits is the small independent state of Rewah, the rajah of which -was bound to the British government by a treaty of alliance. Four other -petty states—Kotee, Myhir, Oocheyra, and Sohawul—were in the hands of -native chieftains, mere feudatories of the Company, under whose grants -they held their possessions; allowed to govern their small -sovereignties, but subject at any moment to the supervision and -interference of the paramount power. The larger portion, now entirely -British, is marked by the towns and districts of Saugor, Jubbulpoor, -Hosungabad, Seuni, Nursingpore, Baitool, Sohagpoor, and others of less -importance. There are still many aboriginal Ghonds in the province, as -in Nagpoor, lurking in the gloomiest recesses of dense forests, and -subsisting for the most part on wild roots and fruits. There are other -half-savage tribes of Koles, Palis, and Panwars; while the more -civilised population comprises a singular mixture of Brahmins, Bundelas, -Rajpoots, Mahrattas, and Patans. The Mahrattas at one time claimed this -region, on the same plea as those east and west of it—the right of -conquest; and the British obtained it from the Mahrattas, about forty -years ago, by cession after a course of hostilities. - -Major Erskine was commissioner of the Saugor and Nerbudda territories -during the early weeks of the mutiny; responsible, not immediately to -the governor-general at Calcutta, but to the lieutenant-governor of the -Northwest Provinces at Agra. Like Mr Plowden at Nagpoor, he felt how -imperiled he and his fellow-Europeans would be if the native troops were -to rebel. At Jhansi and at Nuseerabad, as we shall presently see, revolt -and massacre marked the first week in June; and Major Erskine sought -earnestly for means to prevent his own Saugor troops from being tempted -to a similar course. He was with the 52d native infantry at Jubbulpoor. -He wrote on the 9th of June to Brigadier Prior at Kamptee, praying -him—while keeping that station and Seuni intact—to prevent, if possible, -all news of the mutineers from passing to Jubbulpoor by that route; he -feared lest his 52d should yield to the influence of pernicious example. -Seuni was a small civil station, nearly midway between Jubbulpoor and -Nagpoor, and about eighty miles distant from each; while Kamptee was a -cantonment of Madras regulars, eleven miles north of Nagpoor. The four -places named, in fact, stand nearly in a line north and south, and -interpose between the Mahratta states and Lower Bengal. Mr Plowden at -Nagpoor, Major Erskine at Jubbulpoor, and Brigadier Prior at Kamptee, -thereupon concerted measures for preserving, so far as they could, that -region of India from disturbance; they all three agreed that -‘tranquillity will be most effectually secured by crushing disaffection -before it approaches too near to agitate men’s minds dangerously.’ One -consequence of this arrangement was, that a force was sent on the 13th -to Seuni, under Major Baker; consisting of the 32d native infantry, a -squadron of the 4th light cavalry, a squadron of irregular cavalry, and -three field-guns. - -The Europeans at Jubbulpoor were not allowed to pass through the month -of June without many doubts and anxieties. The native troops, though not -actually in mutiny, were seized with a mingled feeling of fear and -exasperation when European troops were mentioned; they were in perpetual -apprehension, from the countless rumours at that time circulating -throughout India, that Europeans were about to approach and disarm them, -as degraded and distrusted men. Jubbulpoor is a large thriving town, -which at the time of the mutiny contained a small cantonment for native -troops, and a political agency subsidiary to that at Saugor. On one -occasion, this report of the approach of European troops seized so -forcibly on the minds of the sepoys, that the subadar-major, a trusted -and influential man, lost all control over them; and they were not -satisfied until their English colonel allowed two or three from each -company to go out and scour the country, to satisfy themselves and the -rest whether the rumour were true or false. On another occasion, one of -the sepoys rose with a shout of ‘Death to the Feringhees,’ and -endeavoured to bayonet the adjutant; but his companions did not aid him; -and the authorities deemed it prudent to treat him as a madman, to be -confined and not shot. When troops were marched from Kamptee to Seuni, -in accordance with the arrangements mentioned in the last paragraph, the -sepoys at Jubbulpoor were at once told of it, lest their excited minds -should be again aroused on the subject of Europeans. Some of the English -officers felt the humiliation involved in this kind of petting and -pampering; but danger was around them, and they were obliged to -temporise. A few ladies had been sent to Kamptee; all else remained with -their husbands, seldom taking off their clothes at night, and holding -themselves ready to flee at an hour’s warning. Such a state of affairs, -though less perilous, was almost as mentally distressing as actual -mutiny. As the month drew to a close, and the perpetual anxiety and -expectation were becoming wearisome to all, the Europeans resolved to -fortify the Residency. This they did, and moreover stored it with six -months’ provision for about sixty persons, including thirty ladies and -children; and for several civilians, who had also to be provided for. - -Saugor was placed in some such predicament as Jubbulpoor; its European -officers had much to plan, much to execute, to enable them to pass -safely through the perils of the month of June. This town, the capital -of the province in political matters, possessed a military cantonment on -the borders of a lake on which the town stands; a large fort, which had -been converted into an ordnance depôt; and a population of fifty -thousand souls, chiefly Mahrattas. At the time of the outbreak, -Brigadier Sage commanded the Saugor district force, and had under him -the 31st and 42d native infantry regiments, a regiment of native -cavalry, and about seventy European gunners. The fort, the magazine, and -the battering-train were at one end of the cantonment; an eminence, -called the Artillery Hill, was at the other end, three miles off; and -the brigadier felt that if mutiny should occur, he would hardly be able -to hold both positions. During many minor transactions in the district, -requiring the presence of small detachments from Saugor, the temper of -the troops was made sufficiently manifest; sometimes the 31st shewed bad -symptoms, sometimes the 42d; two or three men were detected in plans for -murdering their officers; and petty rajahs in the district offered the -sepoys higher pay if they would change their allegiance. The European -inhabitants of Saugor becoming very uneasy, the brigadier cleared out -the fort, converted it into a place of refuge for women and children, -supplied it with useful furniture and other articles, and succeeded in -supplanting sepoys by Europeans in guard of the fort, the magazine, and -the treasury. The fort being provisioned for six months, and the guns -secured, Brigadier Sage felt himself in a position to adopt a resolute -tone towards the native troops, without compromising the safety of the -numerous persons congregated within it—comprising a hundred and thirty -officers and civilians, and a hundred and sixty women and children, all -the Europeans of the place. Thus ended June. It may simply be added -here, that during the early part of the following month, the 31st and -42d regiments had a desperate fight, the former willing to be faithful, -and the latter to mutiny. The brigadier, not feeling quite sure even of -the 31st, would not place either his officers or his guns at their -mercy, but he sent out of the fort a few men to aid them. The irregular -cavalry joined the 42d; but both corps were ultimately beaten off by the -31st—to carry wild disorder into other towns and districts.[26] - -Without dwelling on minor mutinies at Dumoh and other places in the -Saugor province, we will transfer our attention northward to Bundelcund; -where Jhansi was the scene of a terrible catastrophe, and where riot and -plunder were in the ascendant throughout the month of June. Bundelcund, -the country of the Bundelas, affords a curious example of the mode in -which a region became in past times cut up into a number of petty -states, and then fell in great part into British hands. It is a strip of -country, about half the size of Scotland, lying south or southwest of -the Jumna, and separated by that river from the Doab. The country was in -the hands of the Rajpoots until the close of the fourteenth century; -when another tribe, the Bundelas, began a system of predatory incursions -which led to their ultimate possession of the whole tract. Early in the -last century there was a chief of Western Bundelcund tributary to the -Great Mogul, and another in Eastern Bundelcund supported by the -Mahrattas against that sovereign. How one chief rose against another, -and how each obtained a patch of territory for himself, need not be -told; it was only an exemplification of a process to which Asiatics have -been accustomed from the earliest ages. About the close of the century, -the East India Company began to obtain possession here, by conquest or -by treaty; and in 1817, after a war with the Mahrattas, a large increase -was made in this ownership. These are matters needful to be borne in -mind here; for, though the country is but small, it now contains five or -six districts belonging to the British, and nine native princedoms or -rajahships; besides numerous petty jaghires or domains that may in some -sense be compared to the smallest states of the Germanic confederation. -At the time of the mutiny, the British districts were managed under the -lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces; while the ‘political -superintendence,’ as it was called, of the native states was in the -hands of an agent appointed by, and directly responsible to, the -governor-general. With the principal native states, of which Jhansi was -one, the British government had engagements, varying on minor points -according to circumstances, but all recognising its supremacy, and -binding the dependent state to the relinquishment of all political -relations except with the superior power. Some were tributary; some -exempt from that obligation. The chief towns in the portion of -Bundelcund belonging to the British are Jhansi, Banda, and Jaloun. - -Bundelcund, we have said, was the scene of much outrage, especially at -Jhansi. This town, lying on the main route from Agra to Saugor, was much -frequented in the last century by caravans of merchants who traded -between the Doab and the Deccan; and it is still a prosperous commercial -place, rendered conspicuous by the castellated residence of the former -rajahs. The Jhansi mutiny was not followed by so many adventures and -wanderings as that at other places—for a very mournful reason; nearly -all the Europeans were at once put to death. A fort in the town had been -previously supplied with food and ammunition, and had been agreed on as -a place of refuge in time of danger. Major Skene and Captain Gordon, -civil officers of the Company, received information which tended to shew -that a petty chieftain near Jhansi was tampering with the troops; and -Captain Dunlop, in command there, made what defensive preparations he -could. Besides the fort in the town, there was one called the Star Fort -in the cantonment, containing the guns and the treasure. The native -troops—portions of the 12th infantry and of the 14th irregular cavalry, -and a few artillery—rose on the afternoon of the 4th of June, seized the -Star Fort, and shot at all the officers in the cantonment; many were -killed, and the rest ran to the Town Fort, which they barricaded as well -as they were able. The little garrison of Europeans then prepared for a -siege; but it could be only of short duration, as the place was too weak -to contend against the rebel besiegers. Musketry and sword-cuts (for the -garrison often met their assailants hand to hand at the gates) brought -down many; and some of the civilians, who tried to escape disguised as -natives, were caught by the insurgents and killed. At last, when -Captains Dunlop and Gordon, and many other officers had fallen, and when -the remaining Europeans had become disheartened, by the scarcity of -ammunition and of food, Major Skene accepted terms offered to him, on -oath—that the whole of the garrison should be spared if he opened the -gate and surrendered. The blood-thirsty villains soon shewed the value -of the oath they had taken. They seized all—men, women, and children—and -bound them in two rows to ropes, the men in one row and the women and -children in the other. The whole were then deliberately put to death; -the poor ladies stood with their infants in their arms, and their elder -children clinging to their gowns; and when the husbands and fathers had -been slaughtered, then came the other half of the tragedy. It is even -said that the innocent children were cut in halves before their mothers’ -eyes. One relief, and one only, marked the scene; there was not, so far -as is known, torture and violation of women as precursors of death. The -death-list was a sad one. Skene, Dunlop, Gordon, Ryves, Taylor, -Campbell, Burgess, Turnbull—all were military officers in the Company’s -service, employed either on military or civil duties; and all were -killed. Twenty-four civil servants and non-commissioned officers -likewise met with their death; and most painful of all, nineteen ladies -and twenty-three children were butchered by the treacherous miscreants. -Mr Thornton, the collector for a district between Jhansi and Cawnpore, -was afterwards in a position to inform the government that the mutinous -troops intended to have left Jhansi after they had captured the -treasure; that a Bundelcund chieftainess, the Ranee of Jhansi, wishing -to regain power in the district, bribed them with large presents to take -the fort and put all the Europeans to death before they finally departed -for Delhi; and that it was thus to a _woman_ that was due the inhuman -slaughtering of more than forty European ladies and children. One -account, that reached the ears of officers at other stations, was to the -effect that when Major Skene became aware of the miscreant treachery, he -kissed his wife, shot her, and then shot himself, to avert apprehended -atrocities worse than death; while another narrative or rumour -represented the murderers as having chopped off the heads of the -victims, instead of merely shooting them; but, in truth, the destruction -was so complete that scarcely one was left to tell the tale except -natives, who contradicted each other in some of the particulars. - -Jhansi of course soon became a prey to lawless marauders; while the -mutineers marched off to Delhi or elsewhere. Lieutenant Osborne, at -Rewah, was placed in a difficult position at that time. Rewah is a small -Rajpoot state, ruled by a native rajah, who is bound by treaties with -the British government, and who has a British agent as resident at his -court. Rewah was nearly surrounded by mutinous districts, such as -Benares, Allahabad, Futtehpoor, Jhansi, Saugor, and Jubbulpoor; and it -became a difficult problem for Lieutenant Osborne, the British agent, -how to keep wild disorder away from that place. On the 8th of June, by -an energetic use of his influence, he was able to announce that the -Maharajah of Rewah had placed his troops at the disposal of the -government; that the offer had been accepted; and that eight hundred of -those troops, with two guns, had been sent off to Ummapatan, a place -which commanded the roads to Jubbulpoor, Nagode, and Saugor—ready to -oppose insurgents from any of those towns, and to intercept -communication with other mutinous towns on the Jumna. He also sent -eleven hundred of the Maharajah’s troops, with five guns, to Kuttra -Pass: a spot whence a rapid advance could be made to Benares, Chunar, or -Mirzapore, according as military exigencies might render desirable. A -week later, he obtained permission from the Maharajah to send seven -hundred troops to Banda; and at the same time to issue a proclamation, -promising rewards to any of his soldiers who should distinguish -themselves by their gallantry and fidelity. With no higher military rank -than that of lieutenant did this active officer thus lay plans, not only -for the peace of the Rewah territory itself, but also in aid of the -Company’s officers all around him. His position at a later date was very -perilous. - -If the destruction of life was less at Nowgong than at Jhansi, the -proceedings of mutinous troops were followed by much more adventure and -varied interest. Nowgong or Nowgaon is situated about a hundred miles -southeast of the last-named town, but, like it, in the Bundelcund -territory. At the beginning of June there were stationed at that place -about four hundred men of the 12th native infantry, and rather over two -hundred of the 14th irregular cavalry—wings of the same two regiments as -at Jhansi; together with a company of the 9th battalion of artillery, -and a light field bullock-battery. Major Kirke, commanding the station, -had in earlier weeks often discussed the cartridge question with his -men, and believed he had removed from their minds all misgivings on that -unfortunate subject. Nevertheless, as June approached, the major deemed -the appearance of affairs so suspicious, that he made such precautionary -arrangements as were practicable to resist an outbreak. Bungalows were -now and then discovered to be in flames, without any means of detecting -the incendiaries. When the atrocities at Meerut and elsewhere became -known, the troops stationed at Nowgong made ardent demonstrations of -loyalty—so ardent, that Kirke almost upbraided himself for his momentary -distrust of them; the infantry embraced their colours, the artillery -embraced their guns, and all asserted their burning desire to chastise -the rebels who had proved faithless to the Company Bahadoor. So late as -the 6th of June, even while whisperings and ominous signs were passing -between them, these unreliable men sent in a grandiloquent petition, in -which they said: ‘As it is necessary to avenge the government on those -cowardly rascals who now, in Delhi and other places, are exciting -rebellion, and for which purpose many European regiments are being -despatched; we, hearing of this, are exceedingly desirous that we be -sent as volunteers to chastise these scoundrels. And that we may shew -from our hearts our faithfulness, we are ready to go wherever sent’—and -more to the same purpose. This petition or address was presented to -Major Kirke by the wing of the 12th regiment. On that same day news -arrived that the other wing of the same regiment had mutinied at Jhansi; -and the Neemuch men, either with childish indecision or with profound -duplicity, sent off a letter to them, reproving them for their -insubordination! On the 10th, a petition was presented by the commandant -of the artillery (4th company, 9th battalion), couched in similar -language; demanding that the artillery might be sent against the rebels; -‘in order,’ as the petition averred, ‘that we may fulfil the wish of our -hearts by shewing our bravery and loyalty.’ - -Never were words uttered more hollow and treacherous. By nightfall on -that same 10th of June, the native troops at Nowgong were nearly all -rebels, and the Europeans nearly all fugitives. A few hours sufficed to -shew the English officers that they were powerless to contend against -their opponents. Flight commenced. The officers and civilians, with -their families, and Europeans of humbler station, all took their -departure from Nowgong—some in buggies, some on horseback, and some on -foot; but all equally reft of their worldly property. Were it not that -this Chronicle has already contained examples, mournfully numerous, of -similar wanderings over the scorching roads and through the thick jungle -of India, the fate of the Nowgong party might afford materials for a -very exciting narrative; but with the reader’s experience on this -matter, a few lines of description will suffice. The party was a large -one. It comprised Major Kirke, Captain Scot, Lieutenants Townshend, -Jackson, Remington, Ewart, Franks, and Barber, about forty other -Europeans of both sexes and all ages, and about ninety sepoys of the -mutinous infantry, who had not joined their brethren. The fugitives -lessened in number every day; some or other of them sank under the heat -and fatigue; while the sepoys deserted when they approached towns where -insurgents were in the ascendant. Either collectively or separately the -wanderers found themselves on different days at Chutterpore, at -Logassee, at Churkaree, at Mahoba, at Callingurh, at Kabrai, at -Banda—places mostly belonging to petty rajahs of Bundelcund. The -principal survivors of the party were about ten or twelve days on the -roads and fields, before they reached friendly quarters at Banda. On one -occasion they were attacked by a band of marauders, and had to buy -security with rupees; on another, their sepoys were seized with a panic, -and ran off in large numbers; on a third, a body of matchlockmen -suddenly confronted them, and shot down Lieutenant Townshend. On one -part of the journey, Captain Scot found himself in the midst of a -distressing group of women and children: having poor Townshend’s horse -with him, he loaded both horses with as many as he could carry; but it -made him heart-sick to see the others fall away one by one, utterly -broken down by fatigue, and with insufficient men to help them along—for -the flight appears to have been wanting in every semblance of -organisation. A bandsman’s wife dropped dead through a sun-stroke; then -an artillery sergeant, worn out, went into a hut to die. Captain Scot -came up with a lady and her child, reeling along the road as if -delirious; he readjusted his horse-load, took up the fugitives, and the -lady very speedily died in his arms. Shortly after this a fine hale -sergeant-major sank, to rise no more; Major Kirke died through a -sun-stroke; and others dropped off in a similar way. Dr Mawe died from -illness and fatigue; and then his wife, while laving her blistered feet -in a pool, was set upon by ruffians and robbed of the little she had -about her. Captain Scot, after many changes in his horse-load, took up -Dr Mawe’s child; and ‘little Lotty,’ of two years’ old, seemed to him a -blessing rather than a burden; for on the few occasions when he met -friendly natives, their friendship was generally gained for him by the -sight of the little girl, whose head he endeavoured to shield from the -burning sun by a portion of his shirt—the only resource for one who had -lost both hat and coat, and whose own head was nearly driven wild by the -intense solar heat. It is pleasant to know that the captain and ‘little -Lotty’ were among the few who reached a place of safety. - -Banda was another of the stations affected; but the details of its -troubles need not be traced here. Suffice it to say that, on the 14th of -June, there was a mutiny of a detachment of native infantry, and a few -troops belonging to the Nawab of Banda—a titular prince, possessing no -political power, but enjoying a pension from the Company, and having a -sort of honorary body-guard of native troops. The officers and their -families were at first in great peril; but the nawab aided them in -making a safe retreat to Nagode. On the 16th of June, Major Ellis had to -announce to the government that his station at Nagode was beginning to -be filled with anxious fugitives from Banda, Futtehpoor, Humeerpoor, and -Ameerpoor; comprising military officers, magistrates, salt-agents, -revenue servants, railway officials, and private persons. Twenty-eight -of these fugitives arrived on one day. He sent to many petty chieftains -of Bundelcund, who were pensioners under the Company or had treaties -with it, to exert themselves to the utmost in recovering all property -seized during the events of the preceding two or three days in the Banda -district. Major Ellis at Nagode, and Mr Mayne at Banda, applied -earnestly to Calcutta for military assistance; but they were told -plainly that none could be sent to them, every European soldier being -needed in the Ganges and Jumna regions. - -It now becomes necessary, on removing the scene further to the west, to -know something concerning the Mahrattas, their relations to the two -great families of Scindia and Holkar, the conventions existing between -those two families and the British government, and the military -arrangements of the Mahratta territories at the time of the outbreak. -These matters can be rendered intelligible without any very lengthened -historical narrative. - -After the death of the Emperor Aurungzebe, a century and a half ago, -India was distracted and impoverished by the contentions of his sons and -descendants; each of whom, in claiming the throne, secured the -partisanship of powerful nobles, and the military aid of fighting-men in -the pay of those nobles. A civil war of terrible kind was the natural -result; and equally natural was it that other chieftains, in nowise -related to the imperial family, should take advantage of the anarchy to -found dynasties for themselves. One such chieftain was Sevajee, a -Mahratta in the service of the King of Bejapore, in the southern part of -India. The Mahrattas were (and are) a peculiar tribe of Hindoos, more -fierce and predatory than most of their fellow-countrymen. Long before -Europeans settled in India, the Mahrattas were the chief tribe in the -region north, south, and east of the present city of Bombay. After many -struggles against the competitors for the throne of Delhi, the Mahrattas -were left in possession of a sovereign state, of which Satara and Poonah -were the chief cities. From 1707 till 1818, the nominal sovereign or -rajah of the Mahrattas had no real power; he was a sort of state or -honorary prisoner, confined in the hill-fortress of Satara; while the -government was administered by the Peishwa or prime minister, whose -office became hereditary in a particular family, and whose seat of -government was at Poonah. After many Peishwas had held this singular -kind of sovereignty at the one city—the nominal rajah being all the time -powerless at the other—circumstances occurred which led to an -intermeddling of the East India Company with Mahratta politics, followed -by the usual results. Narrain Rao Peishwa was murdered in 1773; many -relations of the murdered man competed for the succession; and as the -Company greatly desired to possess the island of Salsette and the town -of Bassein, at that time belonging to the Mahrattas, it was soon seen -that this wish might be gratified by aiding one competitor against -another. Battles and intrigues followed, ending in the possession of the -two coveted places by the British, and in the appointment of a British -resident at the Peishwa’s court at Poonah. Thus matters remained until -1817, when the Peishwa engaged in intrigues with other Mahratta chiefs -against the British; a course that led to his total overthrow after a -few fierce contests in the field. The Mahratta sovereignty at Poonah was -entirely put an end to, except a small principality assigned to the -Rajah of Satara, the almost forgotten representative of the founder of -the Mahratta rule. The British took all the remaining territory, -pensioning off the Peishwa; and as to Satara, after several rajahs had -reigned, under the close control of the British resident at that city, -the principality ‘lapsed’ in 1848, in default of legitimate male heirs—a -lapse that led to the preparation of many ponderous blue books -concerning the grievances and complaints of a certain adopted son of the -last rajah. - -Thus much for the south Mahratta country, having Poonah and Satara for -its chief cities; but the British have had fully as much to do with the -northern portion of the Mahratta region, represented by the two cities -of Gwalior and Indore, and held by the two great Mahratta families of -Scindia and Holkar. As the Peishwas in past years cared little for the -nominal head of the Mahrattas at Satara, so did the Scindias and Holkars -care little for the Peishwas. Each chieftain endeavoured to become an -independent sovereign. The Scindia family is traceable up to the year -1720, when Ranojee Scindia was one of the dependents of the Peishwa. -From that year, by predatory expeditions and by intrigues, the -successive heads of the Scindia family became more and more -powerful—contending in turn against the Mogul, the Rajpoots, the -Peishwa, and the British; until at length, in 1784, Madhajee Scindia was -recognised as an independent sovereign prince, with the hill-fortress of -Gwalior as his stronghold and seat of government. In 1794, when Madhajee -died, the Scindia dominions extended from beyond Delhi on the north to -near Bombay on the south, and from the Ganges to Gujerat—a vast region, -held and acquired by means as atrocious as any recorded in the history -of India. Early in the present century, the power of the Scindia family -received a severe check. Hostilities having broken out with the British, -Sir Arthur Wellesley (afterwards Duke of Wellington) defeated Dowlut Rao -Scindia at Assaye in 1803, while Lord Lake drove the Mahrattas from the -whole of the Doab. Many desperate wars occurred in later years, ending, -in 1844, by a treaty which left Bajerut Rao Scindia king or rajah of a -state barely equalling England in area, with Gwalior as his capital. A -contingent or body of troops was to be supplied by him for the service -of the British, beyond which he was permitted to have an independent -army of nine thousand men; and there were numerous minor details which -gave much influence to the British resident at Gwalior. - -Of the family of Holkar, almost the same account may be given as of that -of Scindia; inasmuch as it has sprung from a Mahratta leader who -acquired power a century and a half ago. The city of Indore has always -been the centre of dominion belonging to this family—a dominion -extending over a very wide region at some periods, but greatly -contracted in recent times. The ruler of the Indore territory at the -time of the mutiny was one Mulkerjee Holkar, who had been appointed by -the Calcutta government at a time of disputed succession, in such a way -as to imply that the territory might pass into British hands whenever -the Company chose. Holkar’s territory is now much smaller than -Scindia’s, scarcely exceeding Wales in area. - -It will suffice, then, to bear in mind that the southern Mahratta power, -that of the courts of Poonah and Satara, had wholly fallen into British -hands before the time of the mutiny; and that the northern power, held -by the courts of Gwalior and Indore, extended over a country no larger -than England and Wales united. Nevertheless, considering that that -portion of central India is bounded by Bundelcund, the Doab, Rajpootana, -Gujerat, the Nizam’s dominions, and the Saugor and Nerbudda territories, -it was of much importance to the British that Scindia and Holkar should -remain faithful to their alliances at a critical period. - -Although Nuseerabad is properly in Rajpootana, of which a few words of -description will be given shortly, the mutiny at that place may -conveniently be treated here; because it was a link in a chain which -successively affected Neemuch, Indore, Mhow, and Gwalior. - -Nuseerabad is near Ajmeer, the chief town of a British district -surrounded by the dominions of independent or semi-independent rajahs. -Ajmeer, though far smaller than most of the principal cities in India, -is an ancient and important place, about two hundred and sixty miles -southwest of Delhi; at the time of the mutiny, it was the seat of a -British political agency; and in a ruined palace of the Emperor Akbar, -converted into an arsenal, was a powder-magazine. Nuseerabad, fifteen -miles from Ajmeer, may be regarded as the military station for that -city, and for the neighbouring British districts; it had an extensive -and well-laid-out cantonment, and was the head-quarters of the corps -known as the Rajpootana Field-force. Nuseerabad had been nearly drained -of troops early in the year, on account of the Persian expedition; but -this gap was afterwards partially filled up. In the month of May there -were at the station the 1st regiment Bombay lancers, the 15th and 30th -Bengal native infantry, and the 2d company of the 7th battalion of -Bengal native artillery. An instructive fact was made manifest; the -Bombay troops remained faithful, while those of the Bengal army became -first restless, then mutinous, then murderous. Unfortunately, the good -were not strong enough to coerce the bad; the Bombay lancers numbered -only two hundred and fifty sabres. The month of May had not closed when -the disturbances at Nuseerabad began. The officers had been nightly in -the habit of sleeping with revolvers and swords near at hand; while the -Bombay lancers patrolled the cantonment—so suspicious were the symptoms -observed. On the evening of the 28th a servant rushed into the bungalow -of one of the lieutenants of the 15th infantry, announcing that the -regiment had risen. The officers hastened to the lines, and there found -the regiment drawn up in companies—the martial array being maintained in -mutiny as it had been in regular drill. The men looked sternly at their -officers; and soon worse news arrived. The native artillerymen who -worked the six guns joined the revolters—not actually firing on the -officers, but ready to do so. The Englishmen connected with the two -regiments were a mere handful; they were powerless, for none of the -sepoys would aid them against the rest. Colonel Penny, in command of the -Bombay lancers, instantly hastened down, armed and mounted his troopers, -and drew them up into position. Galloping to the artillery lines, and -finding the guns pointed against him, he immediately ordered a charge -for capturing them, each troop charging in succession. Captain -Spottiswoode began, and soon fell mortally wounded; other officers led -subsequent charges, but the guns could not be taken. Penny then felt -obliged to relinquish this attempt, and to hold himself in readiness to -check the mutineers in other ways; but as the two regiments of native -infantry refused to listen to their officers, nothing was left but -flight. Cornet Newberry, as well as Captain Spottiswoode, fell while -charging; Colonel Penny became suddenly ill and died in a few hours; -while two or three other officers were wounded. How perilous were those -cavalry-charges against the six guns may be judged from a letter written -by one of the officers: ‘I galloped towards the guns, and must have been -eighty or a hundred yards from them when I began to experience the -unpleasant sensation of bullets whizzing past my head, and saw a lot of -sepoys taking shots at me as I came along. I immediately turned my -pony’s head, and endeavoured to retreat under cover of a wall which ran -in front of the artillery lines. Here I saw more men running up with the -kind intention of having a crack at me; so I had to keep along the -parade-ground right in the line of fire, and had one or two men popping -at me from over the wall on my right. My tât (pony) went as fast as ever -he could go, and, thanks be to God, carried me back in perfect -safety.... Off we started towards the cavalry lines amid showers of -bullets. I dodged round the first bell of arms; and as I passed the -bells, saw three or four men behind each, who deliberately shot at us as -we passed.’ The ladies had been sent off from the station just in time. -The surviving officers joined them beyond the cantonment about -nightfall, and then all hastened away. They rode forty miles during the -night, on roads and fields and rocky hills, and reached a place of -safety, Beaur or Beawur, towards noon—hungry, tired, and reft of -everything but the clothes on their backs. - -As this small body of Bombay native cavalry remained stanch when the -Bengal troops were faithless all around them, it was deemed right to -make some public acknowledgment of the fact. Lord Elphinstone, as -president or governor of Bombay, issued a general order on the subject, -thanking the troopers, and passing lightly over the fact that a few of -them afterwards disgraced themselves.[27] The commander-in-chief -afterwards ordered the report of the transaction by Captain Hardy, who -took the control of the lancers when Colonel Penny died, to be -translated into the Hindustani and Mahratta languages, and read to all -the regiments of the Bombay native army, as an encouragement to them in -the path of duty. After the English officers and their families had -escaped to Beaur, the mutinous troops made off towards Delhi. Nuseerabad -being considered an important station in regard to the control of the -surrounding districts, a force was sent to reoccupy it towards the end -of June; comprising a detachment of H.M. 83d foot, another of the 20th -Bombay native infantry, another of the Jhodpore legion, and a squadron -of the 2d Bombay cavalry—Nuseerabad being sufficiently near Bombay to -derive advantages not possessed by stations further east. - -The usual consequences of the revolt of native regiments followed. -Nuseerabad furnished a bad example to Neemuch. As a village, Neemuch is -of small consequence; as a military station, its importance is -considerable. During some of the negotiations with Scindia in past -years, it was agreed that the British should have a cantonment at this -spot, which is on the confines of Malwah and Mewar, about three hundred -miles southwest of Agra; a force in British pay was to be stationed -there, by virtue of certain terms in a treaty, and a small district, -with the village in the centre, was made over to the Company for this -purpose. The cantonment thereupon built was two or three miles long by a -mile in width, and comprised the usual native infantry lines, cavalry -lines, artillery lines, head-quarters, offices, bungalows, bazaar, -parade-ground, &c. There was also a small fort or fortified square -built, as a place of refuge for the families of the military when called -to a distance on duty. - -In the early part of June, the troops stationed at Neemuch comprised the -72d Bengal N. I., the 7th regiment of Gwalior infantry, two troops of -the 1st Bengal light cavalry, and a troop of horse-artillery. Every -effort had been made in the early weeks of the mutiny to insure the -confidence of these troops, and prevent them from joining the standard -of rebellion. Colonel Abbott, and most of the officers of the 72d, as -well even as some of their families, slept within the sepoy lines, to -win the good-will of the men by a generous confidence. One wing (three -companies) of the Gwalior troops held the fortified square and treasury; -while the other wing (five companies), now quartered in a vacant -hospital, about a quarter of a mile distant, was encamped just outside -the walls; Captain Macdonald, the chief officer, residing with the -first-named wing. Colonel Abbott, who commanded the station generally, -as well as the 72d regiment in particular, became convinced, on the -morning of the 2d of June, that all the hopeful expectations of himself -and brother-officers were likely to be dashed; for the troops at Neemuch -had heard of the mutiny at Nuseerabad, and could be restrained no -longer. While the superintendent, Captain Lloyd, hastened to secure some -of the Company’s records and accounts, and to open a line of retreat for -fugitives along the Odeypore road, Colonel Abbott made such military -arrangements as were practicable on the spur of the moment. The colonel -brought his native officers together, and talked to them so earnestly, -that he induced them to swear, ‘on the Koran and on Ganges water,’ that -they would be true to their salt; while he, at their request, swore to -his confidence in their faithful intentions. This singular compact, in -which Mohammedans, Hindoos, and a Christian swore according to the -things most solemn to them respectively, remained unbroken for -twenty-four hours; who broke it, after that interval, will at once be -guessed. During many preceding days, a panic had prevailed in the Sudder -Bazaar; incendiary fires occurred at night; great numbers of persons had -removed with their property; the wildest reports were set afloat by -designing knaves to increase the distrust; and the commonest occurrences -were distorted into phantoms of evil intended against the troops. At -last, on the night of the 3d, the troops threw off their oath and their -allegiance at once. The artillery, disregarding Lieutenant Walker’s -entreaties and expostulations, fired off two guns; the cavalry, on -hearing this signal, rushed out to join them; and the 72d broke from -their lines immediately afterwards. Captain Macdonald instantly ordered -into the fort the one wing of the Gwalior regiment which had been -encamped outside, under Lieutenants Rose and Gurdon; and then prepared -for defence. A bold and singular expedient had just before been adopted -by the civil superintendent; he authorised Macdonald to promise to the -Gwalior troops, if they faithfully defended the fort during any mutiny -outside, a reward of a hundred rupees to each sepoy or private, three -hundred to each naik or corporal, five hundred to each havildar or -sergeant, higher sums to the jemadars and subadars, and five thousand -rupees to the senior native officer, or to the one who should most -distinguish himself in preserving the loyalty of the regiment. These are -large sums to the natives of India; and the superintendent must have -considered long and fully before he promised the Company’s money in such -a manner. All was, however, in vain. The Gwalior troops remained -faithful under the temptation of this promise for a short time; but at -length, headed by a subadar named Heera Singh, they demanded that the -gates of the fort should be opened, and requested that the officers -would make arrangements for their own safety. Macdonald, Rose, Gurdon, -and other officers of the Gwalior regiment, expostulated with their men; -but entreaty was now of no avail; the troops forcibly opened the gates, -and the officers took their departure when the last vestige of hope had -been destroyed. - -Of the flight, little need be said; it was such a flight as almost every -province in Northern India exhibited in those sad days. Some of the -ladies and children had been sent off a few hours earlier, hurried away -with no preparations for their comfort or even their sustenance; while -others waited to accompany their husbands or fathers. Very few had -either horses or vehicles; they laboured on footsore to Baree, to Chota -Sadree, to Burra Sadree, to Doogla—straggling parties meeting and -separating according as their strength remained or failed, and all -dependent on the villagers for food. At Doogla, where they arrived on -the third night, the officers strengthened a sort of mud-fort about -forty yards square, within which forty persons were huddled. After being -much straitened, they were relieved by Brigadier Showers on the 9th. The -fugitive party now broke up; some returned to Neemuch, which the -mutineers had abandoned; but the greater number went to Odeypore, the -rana of which place gave them a hospitable reception; some of them -afterwards went further west to Mount Aboo or Aboo Gurh—a celebrated -place of Hindoo pilgrimage to a sacred temple, and a sanatarium for the -Europeans stationed at the cantonment of Deesa, about forty miles -distant. Those of the party who returned to Neemuch, found everything -devastated, the bungalows and offices burnt, and the villagers stripped -of their stores by the mutineers, who had afterwards started off for -Agra. The officers and their families were literally beggars; they had -lost their all. No Europeans were killed save the wife and three -children of a sergeant, who could not leave Neemuch in time. - -[Illustration: - - Fort of Mhow. -] - -Thus were lost to the British about fourteen hundred men and six guns at -Nuseerabad, and sixteen hundred men and six guns at Neemuch, all of -which went to swell the insurgent forces inside Delhi or outside Agra. - -The stations of Indore and Mhow must now engage a little of our -attention—situated nearly south of Neemuch, and about four hundred miles -from Agra. Indore, as has already been stated, is the capital of -Holkar’s Mahratta dominions. It is an ill-built place, standing on the -small river Kutki, and is less than a century old: the original Indore, -or Jemnah, being on the opposite side of the river. Holkar’s palace is a -building possessing few attractions; and the like may be said of the -other native structures. The relation existing at that time between -Indore and Mhow was this—that Indore was the residence of the British -political agent at the court of Holkar; whereas Mhow, thirteen miles -distant, was the military station or cantonment. The house of the -British agent, and those of the other Europeans, were on the eastern -side of the town. The agent, at the time of the mutiny, had an escort of -cavalry and infantry at his disposal; but it was simply an escort, not a -regular military force. The agent, in addition to his duties connected -with Holkar’s court, was the immediate representative of the British -government in relation to various petty states under its protection, but -in other points differing greatly in their circumstances. - -The Indore agent in May and June was Colonel Durand. All was peaceful at -that place, although much agitation was visible, until the 1st of July; -on which day mutiny occurred. Holkar’s troops rose against the English, -without, as it afterwards appeared, the privity or the wish of the -Maharajah himself. Two companies, set apart for the protection of the -Residency in the bazaar square, brought two guns to bear upon the -building; and the Europeans were horror-stricken at finding themselves -suddenly exposed to cannon and musketry. Fortunately a few men of the -Bhopal Contingent under Colonel Travers, were on duty at the Residency; -and a few of these remained faithful long enough to allow the colonel -and the other European officers, with their families, to escape. Not so -the civilians, however; many of the civil servants, and of the clerks in -the telegraph department, with their wives and children, were butchered -in cold blood. As soon as Holkar heard of the outbreak, he ordered some -of his own Mahratta troops to hasten to the Residency and aid Colonel -Durand; but they told him it was a matter of _deen_ (religion), and that -they could not act against their brethren. During the next three days -Holkar was almost a prisoner in his own palace; his troops rose in -revolt, and were speedily joined by those from Mhow, presently to be -mentioned; they plundered the treasury, the Residency, and many parts of -the town; but as he would not countenance their proceedings, they at -length marched off towards Gwalior. This affair at Indore led to the -flight of many European families, amid great misery. They collected -hastily a few ammunition-wagons, two or three bullock-carts, an -elephant, and some horses, and started off towards Sehore and -Hosungabad; escorted by a portion of the Bhopal Contingent from several -small stations in that part of India. - -An important question arose—how was Mhow affected by the mutinous -proceedings? As the news of the Nuseerabad mutiny had thrown the troops -at Neemuch into agitation, so did the subsequent events at Neemuch -immediately affect the sowars and sepoys at Mhow.[28] Mhow contained a -squadron of the same cavalry regiment, the 1st B. N. C., two troops of -which had mutinied at Neemuch; and in addition to these was the 23d -regiment native infantry, and a company of European artillery. Mhow -presented much the appearance of an English town; having a steepled -church on an eminence, a spacious lecture-room, a well-furnished -library, and a theatre; the cantonment was large and well appointed; and -a force was maintained there in virtue of one of the treaties made with -Holkar. This relates to the station or British part of the town; the -small native town of Mhow is a mile and a half distant. The excitement -caused at this station by the news from Neemuch was visible in the -conduct of the troops throughout the whole of the month of June. Colonel -Platt and the other officers, however, kept a vigilant watch on them, -and by combined firmness and kindness hoped to surmount the difficulty. -Captain Hungerford afterwards stated that such had been the excessive -confidence of some of the officers in their respective regiments, that -he could not induce them to strengthen the fort or fortified square, by -occupying it with their artillery, until almost the last hour before the -Revolt. The fortified square had for some time, however, been a -rendezvous for all the ladies and children, who slept within it; the -officers remaining in the lines. Thus matters passed until the 1st of -July, when Colonel Platt received a pencil-note from Colonel Durand, -announcing that the Residency at Indore had been attacked by Holkar’s -soldiers, and that aid was urgently needed. A troop of cavalry and a few -guns were immediately despatched from Mhow; but when they had reached -within four miles of Indore, news arrived that the Europeans yet living -at that station were about to effect a retreat; upon which the small -force returned to Mhow. This duty the troops performed, but it was the -last they rendered. The colonel, fearing the arrival of mutinous sepoys -from Indore, but not suspecting his own men, made such arrangements as -seemed to him befitting, bringing a European battery of artillery into -the fort. Soon did the crisis arrive. At eleven o’clock on that same -night the plans and hopes were cruelly disappointed; that terrible yell -was heard which so often struck dismay into the hearts of the Europeans -at the various military stations: the yell of native troops rising in -mutiny. Lieutenant Martin, adjutant of the cavalry, while quietly -conversing with one of the troopers, became the victim of that dastardly -fellow; the war-cry arose, and the trooper turned round and shot the -unfortunate officer without a moment’s warning. The other officers, -hearing the report, but not suspecting the real truth, thought that -Holkar’s Mahrattas had arrived; they rushed forward to head their -respective companies and troops, but sepoys and sowars alike opened fire -on them. The officers, now rendered painfully aware of their critical -position, ran swiftly across the parade towards the fort, having no time -to mount their horses; and it is a marvel that only one of the number, -Major Harris, commandant of the cavalry, was shot by the heavy fire -poured on them during this run. Colonel Platt, who was in the fort, was -almost incredulous when the breathless officers rushed in; he could with -difficulty believe the truth now presented to his notice—so fully had he -relied on the fidelity of the men. Colonel Platt and Captain Fagan rode -down to the lines of the 23d, to which regiment they both belonged, to -ascertain the real facts and to exhort the men; but they were never seen -alive again by their brethren in arms; they fell, riddled with bullets -and gashed with sword-cuts. Captain Hungerford, of the artillery, -brought two guns to bear on the mutineers, which gradually drove them -from the lines, but not before they had fired the regimental mess-house -and several bungalows; and during the darkness of night, plunderers -carried off everything that was valuable. Hungerford would have followed -the mutineers with his guns; but the roads were too dark for the -pursuit, and the Europeans too unprotected to be left. The remaining -English officers, having now no troops to command, acted as a cavalry -guard in support of the European battery in the fortified square, under -Captain Hungerford. As all the civilians, women, and children were in -this place; as the square itself was quite unfitted for a long defence; -and as only five native soldiers out of the whole number remained with -the officers—the prospect was precarious enough: nevertheless all did -their best; Hungerford collected in a few days a large store of -provisions, and routed many of the insurgents in neighbouring villages. -The impulses that guided the actions of the sepoys were strangely -inconsistent; for two of the men saved the life of Lieutenant Simpson, -who had been on outpost-duty on the fatal night, and brought him safely -into the fort; and yet, though offered promotion for their fidelity, -they absconded on the following morning to join their mutinous -companions. The Europeans, about eighty in number, maintained their -position at Mhow, until a force from Bombay arrived to reoccupy all that -region. The ladies, there as everywhere, strove to lessen rather than -increase the anxieties of their male companions. One of the officers -thus shut up in the extemporised stronghold said in a letter: -‘Throughout all this I cannot express the admiration I feel at the way -the ladies have behaved—cheerful, and assisting in every way in their -power. Poor things, without servants or quarters, huddled together; they -have had to do everything for themselves, and employ all their time in -sewing bags for powder for the guns, well knowing the awful fate that -awaits them if the place is taken. There has not been a sign of fear; -they bring us tea or any little thing they can, and would even like to -keep watch on the bastions if we would let them.... You should see the -state we are in—men making up canister, ladies sewing powder-bags, -people bringing plunder recovered, artillery mounting guns; all of us -dirty and tired with night-watching; we mount sentry-duty to take the -weight of it off the artillerymen, and snatch sleep and food as we can.’ - -Many other stations in that part of India were disturbed in June and -July by the mutinies of wings and detachments of regiments too small in -amount to need notice here. At one place, Asseerghur, Colonel Le -Mesurier warded off mutiny by a prompt and dexterous manœuvre, for which -he received the marked thanks of the government. - -Gwalior now comes under notice, in relation to a mutiny of troops at -that place, and to the conduct of Scindia, the most important of the -Mahratta chieftains. Considered as a city or town (about sixty-five -miles south of Agra), Gwalior is not very important or interesting, -being irregularly built and deplorably dirty, and possessing few public -buildings of any note. It is for its hill-fortress that Gwalior is so -famed. The rock on which the fortress stands is an elongated mass, a -mile and a half long by a quarter of a mile in width, and reaching in -some places to a height of about three hundred and fifty feet. It is -entirely isolated from other hills; and—partly from the natural -stratification of the sandstone, partly from artificial construction—is -in many parts quite perpendicular. A rampart runs round the upper edge, -conforming to the outline of the summit. The entrance to the enclosure -within the rampart is near the north end of the east side; in the lower -part by a steep road, and in the upper part by steps cut in the rock, -wide enough to permit elephants to make the ascent. A high and massive -stone-wall protects the outer side of this huge staircase; seven -gateways are placed at intervals along its ascent; and guns at the top -command the whole of it. Within the enclosure of the rampart is a -citadel of striking appearance, an antique palace surmounted by kiosks, -six lofty round towers or bastions, curtains or walls of great thickness -to connect those towers, and several spacious tanks. It is considered -that fifteen thousand men would be required to garrison this fortress -completely. So striking is this rock, so tempting to a chieftain who -desires a stronghold, that Gwalior is believed to have been a fortress -during more than a thousand years. It has been captured and recaptured -nearly a dozen times, by contending Hindoos and Mohammedans, in the -course of centuries. The last celebrated contest there was in 1779, when -the Company’s forces captured it through a clever and unexpected use of -ladders and ropes during a dark night. In the next sixty-five years it -was possessed successively by the British, the Jâts, the Mahrattas, the -British again, the Mahrattas again, and finally by the British, -according to the intricacies of treaties and exchanges. Since 1844, -Gwalior has been the head-quarters of a corps called the Gwalior -Contingent, commanded by British officers; and thus the hill-fortress -has virtually been placed within the power of the British government. -Besides this famous stronghold, there is at Gwalior a place called the -Lashkar. This, in former times, was the stationary camp of the Maharajah -Scindia—a dirty collection of rude buildings, extending to a great -distance from the southwest foot of the rock; but the great reduction in -the number of troops allowed to be held independently by Scindia has -materially lessened the importance of the Lashkar. - -The loyalty of Scindia became a question of very anxious importance at -the time of the mutinies. Holkar was possessor of a much smaller -territory than Scindia; and yet, when a rumour spread that the rising at -Indore on the 1st of July had the sanction of the first-named sovereign, -numerous petty chieftains in that part of India rose against the -British, and prepared to cut off all retreat for Europeans. It was not -until Holkar had given undoubted evidence of his hostility to the -mutineers, that these movements were checked. Much more was this -rendered manifest in Scindia’s dominions. If Scindia had failed us, the -mutineers from Neemuch, Nuseerabad, and Jhansi, by concentrating at -Gwalior, might have rendered that hill-fortress a second Delhi to the -British. Scindia and Holkar both remained steady; it was the Contingents -that failed. These contingents were bodies of native troops, paid by the -native princes of the states or countries whose name they bore, but -organised and officered by the British, in the same way as the ordinary -battalions of the sepoy army. If the native princes, for whose defence -ostensibly, and at whose expense really, these contingents were -maintained, wished and were permitted to have any independent military -force of their own, that could only be done additionally to the -contingent which they were bound to furnish. As a consequence of this -curious system, a distinction must be drawn between the contingent -troops and the prince’s troops. At Indore, Holkar’s little army as well -as Holkar’s contingent proved hostile to the British. Scindia was in -like manner paymaster for a double force; and the British often -anxiously pondered whether one or both of these might prove faithless at -Gwalior, with or without the consent of Scindia himself. The Gwalior -Contingent, though connected with a Mahratta state, consisted chiefly of -Hindustanis, like the sepoys of the Bengal army; the Mahrattas formed -quite a minority of the number. The contingent consisted of all three -arms of the service—infantry, cavalry, and artillery—and formed a -compact army. - -The disasters at Gwalior began on Sunday the 14th of June—as usual, on -Sunday. It will be remembered (p. 112) that Scindia, three or four weeks -earlier, had offered the aid of his own body-guard, which had been -accepted by Mr Colvin at Agra; that a portion of the Gwalior Contingent -(cavalry) was also sent; that this contingent, under Lieutenant -Cockburn, was actively engaged against the insurgents in the region -between Agra and Allygurh; and that about one-half of the troopers -composing it revolted on the 28th of May, placing that gallant officer -in a very embarrassing position. They were portions of the same -contingent that mutinied at Neemuch and one or two other places; and on -this account the European inhabitants at Gwalior were subject to much -anxiety—knowing that that station was the head-quarters; and that, -although the contingent was paid for by the Maharajah, the troops had -been raised mostly in Oude, and, being disciplined and officered by the -British, were likely to share the same sentiments as the Oudians and -other Hindustanis of the Bengal army elsewhere. The Maharajah had little -or no influence over them; for neither were they his countrymen, nor had -he any control over their discipline or movements. During fourteen -years, as boy, youth, and man, he had been in great measure a pupil -under the British resident at Gwalior; and if he remained an obedient -pupil, this was nearly all that could be expected from him—shorn, as the -Mahratta court was, of so much of its former influence. Dr Winlow Kirk, -superintending surgeon of the contingent, placed upon record, ten days -before the bloody deed which deprived him of life, a few facts relating -to the position of the Europeans at Gwalior in the latter part of May -and the beginning of June. The resident received information which led -him to believe that the contingent—seven regiments of infantry, two of -cavalry, and four batteries of artillery—was thoroughly disaffected, -both the main body at Gwalior and the detachments elsewhere. The -brigadier commandant shared this opinion with the resident; and, as a -precautionary measure, all the ladies were sent from the station to the -Residency, a distance of six miles, on the 28th of May. Dr Kirk, and -most of the military officers, dissented from this opinion; they thought -the troops were behaving in a respectful manner, and they offered to -sleep among the men’s lines to shew their confidence in them. On the -29th and 30th, the ladies returned to cantonment, much to the apparent -delight of the sepoys at the generous reliance thus placed in them. -Bitter was the disappointment and grief in store for those who had -trusted these miscreants. - -It was on the 14th of June, we have said, that the uprising at Gwalior -began. The Europeans had long wished for the presence of a few English -troops; but as none were to be had, they watched each day’s proceedings -rather anxiously. At nine o’clock in the evening of the disastrous -Sunday, the alarm was given at the cantonment; all rushed out of their -respective bungalows, and each family found others in a similar state of -alarm. Shots were heard; officers were galloping or running past; horses -were wildly rushing with empty saddles; and no one could give a precise -account of the details of the outbreak. Then occurred the sudden and -mournful disruption of family ties; husbands became separated from their -wives; ladies and children sought to hide in gardens and grass, on -house-tops and in huts. Then arose flames from the burning bungalows; -and then came bands of reckless sepoys, hunting out the poor homeless -English who were in hiding. On the morning of that day, Dr Kirk, -although he had not shared the resident’s alarm seventeen days before, -nevertheless thought with some anxiety of the ladies and children, and -asked what arrangements had been made for their safety in the event of -an outbreak; but the officers of the regiments, most of whom relied -fully on their men, would not admit that there was any serious need for -precautionary measures. Two of these unfortunate officers, Major Blake -and Major Hawkins, were especially trustful; and these were two among -the number who fell by the hands of their own men that very night. -Captain Stewart, with his wife and child, were killed, as also Major -Sheriff. Brigadier Ramsey, and several others, whose bungalows were on -the banks of a small river, escaped by fording. Dr Kirk was one of those -who, less fortunate, were furthest from the river. With Mrs Kirk and his -child, he hid in the garden all night; in the morning they were -discovered; Mrs Kirk was robbed without being otherwise ill treated; but -her husband was shot dead before her eyes. Thus fell an amiable and -skilful man, who for nearly twenty years had been a medical officer of -the Company—first with the Bundelcund legion in Sinde; then as a medical -adviser to Sir Charles Napier on matters connected with the health of -troops in that sandy region; then with the Bengal troops at Bareilly; -then with the European artillery at Ferozpore; and lastly, as -superintending surgeon to the troops of the Gwalior Contingent, who -shewed their gratitude for his medical aid by putting him to death. -After this miserable sight, Mrs Kirk begged the murderers to put an end -to her also; but they replied: ‘No, we have killed you already’—pointing -to the dead body of her husband. - -The rest of this story need not be told in detail. Agra was the place of -refuge sought by those who had now to flee; and it is some small -alleviation of the crimes of the mutineers that they allowed the ladies -and children to depart—with their lives, but with little else. How the -poor things suffered during five days of weary journeying, they could -themselves hardly have told; hunger, thirst, heat, illness, fatigue, and -anxiety of mind accumulated on them. Many arrived at Agra without shoes -or stockings; and all were beggared of their worldly possessions when -they reached that city. When, shortly afterwards, Lieutenant Cockburn -wrote to private friends of this event, he had to tell, not only of his -own mortification as the officer of a disloyal corps, but of the wreck -suffered by the British station at Gwalior. ‘I fear there is no chance -of my ever recovering any of your portraits; for the ruffians invariably -destroy all they cannot convert into silver or gold. All our beautiful -garden at Gwalior, on which I spent a good deal of money and care, has -been dug up; our houses have been turned into cattle-sheds; there is not -a pane of glass in the station; our beautiful church has been gutted, -the monuments destroyed, the organ broken up, the stained-glass windows -smashed, and the lovely floor of encaustic tiles torn up. The -desecration of the tombs is still more horrible; in many places the -remains of our countrymen have been torn from the earth, and consigned -to the flames!’ - -The position of Scindia was sufficiently embarrassing at that time. As -soon as the troops of the contingent had murdered or driven away their -officers, they went to him, placed their services at his disposal, and -demanded that he would lead them against the British at Agra. There were -eight or ten thousand men in the contingent altogether, and his own -Mahratta army was little less numerous; it was therefore a matter of -critical importance to the English that he remained steady and faithful. -He not only refused to sanction the proceedings of the mutineers, but -endeavoured to prevent them from marching towards Agra. In this he -succeeded until an advanced period of the autumn; for the troops that -troubled Agra at the end of June and the beginning of July were those -from Mhow and Neemuch, not the larger body from Gwalior. These mutineers -proceeded towards Agra by way of Futtehpore or Futhepore Sikri—a town -famed for the vast expanse of ruined buildings, erected by Akbar and -destroyed by the Mahrattas; for the great mosque, with its noble gateway -and flight of steps; and for the sumptuous white marble tomb, -constructed by Akbar in memory of a renowned Mussulman ascetic, Sheik -Selim Cheestee.[29] The battle that ensued, and the considerations that -induced Mr Colvin to shut up himself and all the British in the fort at -Agra, will be better treated in a later page. - -Many of the events treated in this chapter occurred in, or on the -frontiers of, the region known as Rajpootana or Rajasthan—concerning -which a few words may be desirable. The name denotes the land of the -Rajpoots. These Hindoos are a widely spread sept of the Kshetrigas or -military caste; but when or where they obtained a separate name and -character is not now known. Some of the legends point to Mount Aboo as -the original home of the Rajpoots. They were in their greatest power -seven hundred years ago, when Rajpoot princes ruled in Delhi, in Ajmeer, -in Gujerat, and in other provinces; but the Mohammedan conquerors drove -them out of those places; and during many centuries the region mainly -belonging to the Rajpoots has been nearly identical with that exhibited -at the present time. This region, situated between Central India and -Sinde, is about twice as large as England and Wales. Warlike as the -Rajpoots have ever been, and possessing many strongholds and numerous -forces, they were no match for the Mahrattas in the last century; indeed -it was this inequality that led to the interference of the British, who -began to be the ‘protector’ of the Rajpoot princes early in the present -century. This protection, insured by various treaties, seems to have -been beneficial to the Rajpoots, whose country has advanced in industry -and prosperity during a long continuance of peace. The chief Rajpoot -states at present are Odeypore or Mewar, Jeypoor, Jhodpore or Joudpore, -Jhallawar, Kotah, Boondee, Alwur, Bikaneer, Jeysulmeer, Kishengurh, -Banswarra, Pertabghur, Dongurpore, Kerowlee, and Sirohi. The treaties -with these several states, at the time of the mutiny, were curiously -complicated and diverse: Odeypore paid tribute, and shared with the -Company the expense of maintaining a Bheel corps; Jeypoor, though under -a rajah, was virtually governed by a British resident; Jhodpore, under a -sort of feudal rule, paid tribute, and maintained a Jhodpore legion -besides a force belonging to the feudatories; Kotah bore the expense of -a corps called the Kotah Contingent, organised and officered by the -British; Jeysulmeer gave allegiance in return for protection, and so did -Kishengurh and many other of the states included in the above list. Most -of the Rajpoot states had a feudal organisation for internal affairs; -and most of them maintained small native corps, in addition to the -contingents furnished by three or four under arrangements with the -British. For the whole of the Rajpoot states collectively an agent was -appointed by the governor-general to represent British interests, under -whom were the civil officers at various towns and stations; while the -military formed a Rajpootana Field-force, with head-quarters at -Nuseerabad. - -At the extreme north of Rajpootana is a small British district named -Hurrianah, of which the chief towns are Hansi and Hissar. A military -corps, called the Hurrianah Light Infantry Battalion, mutinied a few -weeks after the Meerut outbreak, killing Lieutenant Barwell and other -Europeans; the men acted in conjunction with a part of the 4th regiment -irregular cavalry, and, after a scene of murder and pillage, marched off -towards Delhi. At Bhurtpore, on the northeast frontier of Rajpootana, a -similar scene was exhibited on a smaller scale; a corps called the -Bhurtpore Levies revolted against Captain Nixon and other officers, -compelling them to flee for their lives: the mutineers, as in so many -other instances, marching off at once towards Delhi. There were other -mutinies of small detachments of native troops, at minor stations in the -Mahratta and Rajpoot countries, which need not be traced in detail. - - * * * * * - -The vast region in the centre of India has thus passed rapidly under -review. We have seen Hindustanis, Bundelas, Jâts, Mahrattas, Bheels, -Rajpoots, and other tribes of India revolting against English authority; -we have seen native princes and chiefs perplexed how to act between the -suzerain power on the one hand, and the turbulent soldiery on the other; -we have seen that soldiery, and the attendant rabble of marauders, -influenced quite as much by love of plunder as by hate of the Company’s -raj; we have seen British officers sorely wounded at heart by finding -those men to be traitors whom they had trusted almost to the last hour; -we have seen ladies and children driven from their bungalows, and hunted -like wild beasts from road to river, from jungle to forest; and lastly, -in this vast region, we have tracked over considerably more than a -thousand miles of country in length without meeting with a single -regiment of British troops. The centre of India was defended from -natives by natives; and the result shewed itself in deplorable colours. - -[Illustration: - - Girls at the Ganges. -] - ------ - -Footnote 26: - - A curious example was afforded, in relation to the affairs of Saugor, - of the circuitous manner in which public affairs were conducted in - India, when different officials were residing in different parts of - that vast empire. The brigadier commanding the Saugor district adopted - a certain course, in a time of peril, concerning the management of the - troops under his command. He sent information of these proceedings to - Neill at Allahabad (300 miles). Neill forwarded the information to - Calcutta (500 miles). The military secretary to the government at - Calcutta sent a dispatch to the adjutant-general of the army outside - Delhi (900 miles), requesting him to ‘move’ the commander-in-chief to - send a military message to Saugor (400 miles), calling upon the - officer of that station to explain the motives for his conduct in the - matter at issue. The explanation, so given, was to be sent 400 miles - to Delhi, and then 900 miles to Calcutta; and lastly, if the conduct - were not approved, a message to that effect would be sent, by any - route that happened to be open for dâk, from Calcutta to Saugor. - -Footnote 27: - - ‘To mark the approbation with which he has received this report, the - Right Honourable the Governor in Council will direct the immediate - promotion to higher grades of such of the native officers and men as - his Excellency the Commander-in-chief may be pleased to name as having - most distinguished themselves on this occasion, and thereby earned - this special reward; and the Governor will take care that liberal - compensation is awarded for the loss of property abandoned in the - cantonment and subsequently destroyed, when the Lancers, in obedience - to orders, marched out to protect the families of the European - officers, leaving their own unguarded in cantonment. - - ‘By a later report the Governor in Council has learned with regret - that eleven men of the Lancers basely deserted their comrades and - their standards, and joined the mutineers; but the Governor in Council - will not suffer the disgrace of these unworthy members of the corps to - sully the display of loyalty, discipline, and gallantry which the - conduct of this fine regiment has eminently exhibited.’ - -Footnote 28: - - It is well to observe, for the aid of those consulting maps, that - there are five or six towns and villages of this name in India. The - Mhow here indicated is nearly in lat. 22½°, long. 76°. - -Footnote 29: - - See page 175. - -[Illustration: - - Akali of the Sikhs. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - EVENTS IN THE PUNJAUB AND SINDE. - - -A very important and interesting region in Northern India has scarcely -yet been mentioned in this narrative; that, namely, which comprises the -Punjaub and Sinde—the Punjaub with its offshoot Cashmere, and Sinde with -the delta of the Indus. It will now be necessary, however, to obtain a -few general notions on the following points—the geographical position of -the Punjaub; the national character of the Sikhs as the chief -inhabitants; the transactions which rendered the British masters of that -country; and the circumstances that enabled Sir John Lawrence at once to -hold the Punjaub intact and to aid the besiegers of Delhi. Of Sinde, a -still shorter account will suffice. - -The name Punjaub is Persian; it signifies ‘five waters;’ and was given -in early days to the region between the five rivers Indus, Jelum, -Chenab, Ravee, and Sutlej. Tho Punjaub is somewhat triangular in shape, -extending from the Himalaya and Cashmere as a northern base to an apex -where the five rivers have all coalesced into one. It is about equal in -area to England and Scotland without Wales. The northern part is rugged -and mountainous; the southern almost without a hill, comprising the -several ‘Doabs’ between the rivers. The natural facilities for inland -navigation and for irrigation are great; and these, aided by artificial -channels, render the Punjaub one of the most promising regions in India. -If the Beas, an affluent of the Sutlej, be added to the five rivers -above named, then there are five Doabs or tongues of land between the -six rivers, named severally the Doabs of Jullundur, Baree, Rechna, -Jetch, and Sinde Sagur, in their order from east to west. The Baree -Doab, between the rivers Beas and Ravee, is the most populous and -important, containing as it does the three cities of Lahore, Umritsir, -and Moultan. - -The population of this country is a very mixed one; the Punjaub having -been a battle-ground whereon Hindoos from the east and Mohammedans from -the west have often met; and as the conquerors all partially settled on -their conquests, many races are found in juxtaposition, though each -prevailing in one or other of the Doabs. For instance, the Afghans are -mostly west of the Indus; the Sikhs, in the Baree Doab; and so on. The -inhabitants exceed ten millions in number; nearly two-thirds of them are -Mohammedans—a very unusual ratio in India. The Sikhs, however, are the -most interesting constituent in this population. They are a kind of -Hindoo dissenters, differing from other Hindoos chiefly in these three -points—the renunciation of caste, the admission of proselytes, and the -practice of the military art by nearly all the males. They trace their -origin to one Nanac, who was born in 1469 in a village about sixty miles -from Lahore; he founded a new religion, or a new modification of -Brahminism; and his followers gave him the designation of _Guru_ or -‘spiritual pastor,’ while they took to themselves that of _Sikhs_ or -‘disciples.’ After many contests with the Mohammedans of the Punjaub, -the Sikhs ceased to have a spiritual leader, but acquired temporal -power—some assuming the general surname or tribe-name of _Singh_ or -‘lion,’ to denote their military prowess; while the rest became -_Khalasas_, adherents to the more peaceful and religious doctrines of -Nanac. Some of the Singhs are Akalis, a sort of warlike priests. The -Sikhs are more robust than the generality of Hindoos, and more -enterprising; but they are more illiterate, and speak a jargon composed -of scraps from a multitude of languages. - -Such being the country, and such the inhabitants, we have next to see -how the British gained influence in that quarter. From the eleventh -century until the year 1768 the Mohammedans—Afghans, Gorians, Moguls, -and other tribes—ruled in the Punjaub; but in that year the Sikhs, who -had gradually been growing in power, gained the ascendency in the region -eastward of the Jelum. At the close of the last century an adventurer, -named Runjeet Singh, a Sikh of the Jât tribe, became ruler of the -district around the city of Lahore; and from that time the Sikh power -was in the ascendant. The Sikhs constituted a turbulent and irregular -republic; holding, in cases of emergency, a parliament called the -Guru-mata at Umritsir; but at other times engaged in petty warfare -against each other. Runjeet Singh was ambitious of putting down these -competitors for power. He built at Umritsir the great fort of -Govindgurh, ostensibly to protect, but actually to overawe and control -some of the chieftains. In 1809 he crossed the Sutlej, and waged war -against some of the Sikh chieftains of Sirhind who had obtained British -protection. This led, not to a war, but to a treaty; by which Runjeet -agreed to keep to the west of the Sutlej, and the British not to molest -him there. This treaty, with a constancy rare in Asia, the chief of -Lahore respected throughout the whole of his long career: maintaining a -friendly intercourse with the British. In other directions, however, he -waged ruthless war. He conquered Moultan, then Peshawur, then the -Derajat, then Cashmere, then Middle Tibet, then Little Tibet, and -finally became Maharajah of the Sikhs. In 1831 an interview, conducted -with gorgeous splendour, took place between Runjeet Singh and Lord -Auckland, in which the governor-general strengthened the ties of amity -with the great Sikh. Runjeet died in 1839, and his son and grandson in -1840. From that year a total change of affairs ensued; competitors for -the throne appeared; then followed warlike contests; and then a period -of such excessive anarchy and lawlessness that British as well as Sikh -territory became spoliated by various chieftains. War was declared in -1845, during which it required all the daring and skill of the victors -at Moodkee, Ferozshah, Aliwal, and Sobraon, to subdue the fierce and -warlike Sikhs. This was ended by a treaty, signed in March 1846; but the -treaty was so frequently broken by the chieftains, that another war -broke out in 1848, marked by the battles of Moultan, Chillianwalla, and -Gujerat. Then ended the Sikh power. The British took the Punjaub in full -sovereignty, dated from the 29th of March 1849. Commissioners were -appointed, to organise a thoroughly new system of government; and it was -herein that Sir Henry Lawrence so greatly distinguished himself. In less -than three years from that date, the progress made towards peaceful -government was so great, that the court of directors enumerated them in -a eulogistic dispatch to the governor in council. The progress was one -of uninterrupted improvement from 1849 to 1857; and it will ever remain -a bright page in the East India Company’s records that, finding the -Punjaub a prey to wild licence and devastating intrigues, the Company -converted it into a peaceful and prosperous country. The reward for this -was received when the rest of Northern India was in a mutinous state. It -may here be stated that, when the Punjaub was annexed, a distinct -arrangement was made with Cashmere. This interesting country, almost -buried among the Himalaya and its offshoots, is one of the few regions -in India which have suffered more from natural calamities than from the -ravages of man; its population has been diminished from eight hundred -thousand to two hundred thousand in the course of thirty years, by a -distressing succession of pestilences, earthquakes, and famines. It was -governed by Mohammedans during about five centuries; and was then held -by the Sikhs from 1819 till the end of their power. Circumstances -connected with the annexation of the Punjaub led to the assignment of -Cashmere as a rajahship to Gholab Singh, one of the Sikh chieftains; he -was to be an independent prince, subsidiary to the British so far as -concerned a contingent of troops. The two Tibets were abandoned by the -Sikhs before the date when British sovereignty crossed the Sutlej. - -For administrative purposes, the Punjaub has been separated into eight -divisions—Lahore, Jelum, Moultan, Leia, Peshawur, Jullundur, Hoshyapoor, -and Kangra; of which the Lahore division alone contains three millions -and a half of souls. Each division comprises several revenue and -judicial districts. For military purposes, the divisions are only two, -those of Lahore and Peshawur, each under a general commandant. - -[Illustration: - - SIR JOHN LAWRENCE. -] - -In the middle of May 1857, when the mutinies began, Sir John Lawrence, -who had been knighted for his eminent services while with his brother -Sir Henry, and had succeeded him as chief-commissioner in the Punjaub, -was absent from the capital of that country. He was at Rawul Pindee, a -station between Lahore and Peshawur; but happily he had left behind him -men who had learned and worked with his brother and himself, and who -acted with a promptness and vigour worthy of all praise. To understand -what was done, we must attend to the city and cantonment of Lahore. This -famous capital of the Punjaub is situated about a mile east of the river -Ravee. It contains many large and handsome buildings—such as the Padshah -Mosque, said to have been built by Aurungzebe, but converted into a -barrack by Runjeet Singh, who cared little about mosques; the Vizier -Khan Mosque, once celebrated for its lofty minarets, but afterwards -desecrated by the Sikhs in being used as stables for horses and shambles -for swine; the Sonara Mosque; and many other Mohammedan mosques and -Hindoo temples. Beyond the limits of the city are the large and -once-magnificent tomb of the Emperor Jehanghire; the tomb of Anarkalli; -and the exquisite garden of Shahjehan, the Shalimar or ‘House of Joy’—at -one time the pride of the Mussulmans of Lahore, with its three marble -terraces and its four hundred marble fountains, but afterwards -ruthlessly despoiled of its marble by Runjeet Singh, to adorn Umritsir. -Lahore presents every trace of having been a much larger city before the -time of the Sikh domination; for the ruins of palaces, serais, and -mosques spread over a great area. The city now contains about a hundred -thousand inhabitants, a great declension from its population in former -days. Considered in a military sense, Lahore is surrounded by a brick -wall, formerly twenty-five feet high, but recently lowered. Runjeet -Singh ran a trench round the wall, constructed a line of works, mounted -the works with many cannon, and cleared away many ruins. This line of -fortification exceeds seven miles in circuit; and within the northwest -angle is a fort or citadel, containing extensive magazines and -manufactories of warlike stores. - -From evidence educed at different times, it appears certain that many of -the native troops in the Punjaub were cognizant of a conspiracy among -the ‘Poorbeahs,’ by which name the sepoys of the eastern regions are -known to the inhabitants of the Punjaub; and that they held themselves -ready to join in any mutiny arising out of such conspiracy. How the -authorities checked this conspiracy, was strikingly shewn by the -proceedings at different stations immediately after news arrived of -disaster in the eastern provinces. We will rapidly glance in succession -at Lahore, Umritsir, Ferozpore, Jullundur, and Phillour; and will then -proceed to the Peshawur region. The British military cantonment for the -city of Lahore was six miles distant, at a place called Meean Meer; -where were stationed three native infantry regiments, and one of -cavalry, the Queen’s 81st foot, two troops of horse-artillery, and four -reserve companies of foot-artillery. In the fort, within the city-walls, -were half a native infantry regiment, a company of Europeans, and a -company of foot-artillery. The plot, so far as concerned the Punjaub, is -believed to have been this.[30] On a particular day, when one wing of a -native regiment at the fort was to be exchanged for another, there -would, at a particular moment, be about eleven hundred sepoys present; -they were to rise suddenly, murder their officers, and seize the gates; -take possession of the citadel, the magazine, and the treasury; -overpower the Europeans and artillery, only a hundred and fifty men in -all; and kindle a huge bonfire as a signal to Meean Meer. All the native -troops in cantonment were then to rise, seize the guns, force the -central jail, liberate two thousand prisoners, and then commence an -indiscriminate massacre of European military and civilians. The other -great stations in that part of the Punjaub—Umritsir, Ferozpore, -Jullundur, Phillour—were all in the plot, and the native troops at these -places were to rise in mutiny about the 15th of May. There were many -proofs, in the Punjaub and elsewhere, that the plotters at Meerut began -a little too early for their own object; the scheme was not quite ripe -at other places, else the English might have been almost entirely -annihilated throughout the northern half of India. - -The authorities at Lahore knew nothing of this plot as a whole, though -they possibly observed symptoms of restlessness among the native -troops. When the crisis arrived, however, they proved themselves equal -to the difficulties of their position. On the 10th of May, the -outbreak at Meerut occurred; on the 11th an obscure telegram reached -Lahore, telling of some disaster; on the 12th the real nature of the -affair became known. Sir John Lawrence being at Rawul Pindee, the -other authorities—Mr Montgomery, Mr M’Leod, Mr Roberts, Colonel -Macpherson, Colonel Lawrence (another member of this distinguished -family), Major Ommaney, and Captain Hutchinson—instantly formed a sort -of council of war; at which they agreed on a plan, which was assented -to by Brigadier Corbett, commandant of the station at Meean Meer. This -plan was to consist in depriving the native troops of their ammunition -and percussion-caps, and placing more Europeans within the fort. A -native officer in the Sikh police corps, however, revealed to the -authorities the outlines of a conspiracy which had come to his -knowledge; and the brigadier then resolved on the complete disarming -of the native regiments—a bold step where he had so few Europeans to -assist him, but carried out with admirable promptitude and success. It -so happened that a ball was to be given that night (the 12th) by the -military officers at Meean Meer; the ball _was_ given, but -preparations of a kind very different from festive were at the same -time quietly made, wholly unknown to the sepoys. Early on the morning -of the 13th, the whole of the troops, native and European, were -ordered on parade, avowedly to hear the governor-general’s order -relating to the affairs at Barrackpore, but really that the Europeans -might disarm the natives. After this reading, a little manœuvring was -ordered, whereby the whole of the native regiments—the 16th, 26th, and -49th Bengal infantry, and the 8th Bengal cavalry—were confronted by -the guns and by five companies of the Queen’s 81st. At a given signal, -the sepoys were ordered to pile arms, and the sowars to unbuckle -sabres; they hesitated; but grape-shot and port-fires were ready—they -knew it, and they yielded. Thus were disarmed two thousand five -hundred native troops, by only six hundred British soldiers. Meanwhile -the fort was not forgotten. Major Spencer, who commanded the wing of -the 26th stationed there, had the men drawn up on parade on the -morning of that same day; three companies of the 81st entered the fort -under Captain Smith; and these three hundred British, or thereabouts, -found it no difficult task to disarm the five or six hundred sepoys. -This done, the 81st and the artillery were quickly placed at such -posts as they might most usefully strengthen—in the lines of the 81st, -on the artillery parade-ground, and in an open space in the centre of -the cantonment, where the brigadier and his staff slept every night. -The ladies and children were accommodated in the barracks; while the -regimental officers were ordered to sleep in certain selected houses -in the lines of their own regiments—regiments disarmed but not -disbanded; and professedly disarmed only as a matter of temporary -expediency. Thus was Lahore saved. - -Umritsir is the next station to which attention must be directed -relatively to the Punjaub. It was an important place to hold in due -subordination, not only on account of its size and population, but for a -certain religious character that it possesses in the eyes of the Sikhs. -Umritsir or Amritsir has had a career of less than three centuries. In -1581, Ram Das, the fourth _Guru_ or spiritual pastor of the Sikhs, -ordered a reservoir or fountain to be formed at a particular spot, and -named it _Amrita Saras_, or ‘Fount of Immortality.’ This Amrita Saras or -Umritsir at once became a place of pilgrimage, and around it gradually -grew up a considerable city. One of the Mohammedan sovereigns, Ahmed -Shah, uneasy at the increasing power of the Sikhs, sought to terrify and -suppress them by an act of sacrilege at Umritsir; he blew up a sacred -shrine, filled up the sacred pool, and caused the site to be desecrated -by slaughtering kine upon it. But he miscalculated. It was this very act -which led to the supremacy of the Sikhs over the Mohammedans in the -Punjaub; they purified and refilled the pool, rebuilt the shrine, and -vowed unceasing hostility to the Mussulmans. At present, the holy place -at Umritsir is a very large square basin, in which Sikhs bathe as other -Hindoos would do in the Ganges; and in the centre, on a small island, is -a richly adorned temple, attended by five hundred Akalis or armed -priests. Considered as a city, Umritsir is large, populous, industrial, -and commercial. The most striking object in it is the Govindgurh, the -fortress which Runjeet Singh constructed in 1809, professedly to protect -the pilgrims at the sacred pool, but really to increase his power over -the Sikhs generally. Its great height and heavy batteries, rising one -above another, give it a very imposing appearance; and it has been still -further strengthened since British occupation began. - -Directly the unfavourable news from Meerut was received at Lahore, or -rather immediately after the disarming at the last-named place had been -effected—a company of H.M. 81st foot, under Lieutenant Chichester, was -sent off in eckas to Umritsir, to strengthen the garrison at Govindgurh. -It was known that this fort was regarded almost in a religious light in -the Punjaub; and that if the Poorbeahs or rebellious sepoys should seize -it, the British would be lowered in the eyes of the Sikhs generally. In -the fort, and in the cantonment near the town, were two companies of -artillery, one European and one native; together with the 59th B. N. I., -and a light field-battery. The wing of the Queen’s 81st, despatched from -Lahore on the evening of the 13th of May, reached Umritsir on the -following morning; and a company of foot-artillery, under Lieutenant -Hildebrand, intended for Phillour, was detained at Umritsir until the -authorities should feel sure of their position. The officers of the 59th -had, some time previously, discussed frankly with their men the subject -of the greased cartridges, and had encouraged them to hold a committee -of inquiry among themselves; the result of which was a distinct avowal -of their disbelief in the rumours on that unfortunate subject. It is -only just towards the regimental officers to say that the highest -authorities were as unable as themselves to account for the pertinacious -belief of the sepoys in the greased-cartridge theory; Sir John Lawrence -spoke of it as a ‘mania,’ which was to him inexplicable. With the -miscellaneous forces now at hand, the authorities made no attempt to -disarm the native regiment, but kept a watchful eye on the course of -events. On the night of the 14th, an alarm spread that the native troops -at Lahore had mutinied, and were advancing on Umritsir; the ladies and -children were at once sent into the fort, and a small force was sent out -on the Lahore road, to check the expected insurgents; but the alarm -proved to be false, and the troops returned to their quarters. Peace was -secured at Umritsir by the exercise of great sagacity. The Mohammedans -were strong in the city, but the Sikhs were stronger; and Mr Cooper, the -deputy-commissioner, succeeded in preventing either religious body from -joining the other against the British—a task requiring much knowledge of -the springs of action among the natives in general. It was not the first -time in the history of India that the British authorities had deemed it -expedient to play off the two religions against each other. - -Ferozpore was not so happily managed as Lahore and Umritsir in this -exciting and perilous week; either because the materials were less -suitable to work upon, or because the mode of treatment was not so well -adapted to the circumstances. Ferozpore is not actually in the Punjaub; -it is one of the towns in Sirhind, or the Cis-Sutlej states—small in -size and somewhat mean in appearance, but important through its position -near the west bank of the Sutlej, and the large fort it comprises. In -the middle of May, this station contained H.M. 61st foot, the 45th and -57th Bengal native infantry, the 10th Bengal native cavalry, about 150 -European artillery, and one light-horse field-battery, with six -field-guns—a large force, not required for Ferozpore itself, but to -control the district of which it was the centre. Ferozpore had been the -frontier British station before the annexation of the Punjaub, and had -continued to be supplied with an extensive magazine of military stores. -When Brigadier Innes heard on the 12th of May of the mutiny at Meerut, -he ordered all the native troops on parade, that he and his officers -might, if possible, judge of their loyalty by their demeanour. The -examination was in great part, though not wholly, satisfactory. At noon -on the 13th the disastrous news from Delhi arrived. The intrenched -magazine within the fort was at that time guarded by a company of the -57th; and the brigadier, rendered somewhat uneasy on this matter, -planned a new disposition of the troops. There had been many ‘cartridge’ -meetings held among the men, and symptoms appeared that a revolt was -intended. The relative positions of all the military were as follows: In -the middle of the fort was the intrenched magazine, guarded as just -stated; outside the fort, on the west, were the officers’ bungalows and -the official buildings; still further to the west were the sepoy lines -of the 45th and 57th; northward of these lines were the artillery -barracks; still further north were the lines of the cavalry; south of -the fort were the barracks of the European regiment; on the north of the -fort was the Sudder Bazaar; while eastward of it was an open place or -_maîdan_. The brigadier sought to avert danger by separating the two -native regiments; but the Queen’s 61st, by the general arrangements of -the cantonment, were too far distant to render the proper service at the -proper moment. The 45th were to be removed to an open spot northeast of -the cantonment, and the 57th to another open space on the south, two -miles distant; the native cavalry were to take up a position near their -own lines; the 61st were to encamp near the south wall of the fort; -while one company, with artillery and guns, was to be placed within the -fort. After a parade of the whole force, on the afternoon of the 13th, -each corps was ordered to the camping-ground allotted for it. The 57th -obeyed at once, but some companies of the 45th, while marching through -the bazaar, refused to go any further, stopped, loaded their muskets, -and prepared for resistance; they ran towards the fort, clambered over a -dilapidated part of the ramparts, and advanced towards the magazine, -where scaling-ladders were thrown over to them by a company of the 57th -who had been on guard inside. This clearly shewed complicity to exist. A -short but severe conflict ensued. Captain Lewis and Major Redmond had -only a few Europeans with them, but they promptly attacked the -mutineers, drove out the 45th, and made prisoners the treacherous guard -of the 57th. All was now right in the fort and magazine, but not in the -cantonment. About two hundred men of the 45th commenced a system of -burning and looting; officers’ bungalows, mess-houses, hospitals, the -church—all were fired. Many isolated acts of heroism were performed by -individual Europeans, but no corps was sent against the ruffians. -Fortunately, a powder-magazine beyond the cavalry lines, containing the -enormous quantity of three hundred thousand pounds of gunpowder, did not -fall into the hands of the rebels; it might have done so, for no -preparations had been made to defend it. All this time the Queen’s -troops chafed at their enforced inaction; their camping-ground had been -so badly chosen that they dared not in a body attack the 45th lest the -57th should in the meantime surprise them in the rear; and there is no -evidence that they were ordered to do what any English regiment would -cheerfully have undertaken—divide into two wings, each to confront a -whole regiment of sepoys. During the night and the following morning -nearly all the sepoys decamped, some with arms and some without. -Ferozpore was saved for the present; but mutinous proceedings were -encouraged at Jullundur, Jelum, and Sealkote, by the escape of the 45th -and 57th; and the brigadier fell into disgrace for his mismanagement of -this affair. He had only just arrived to take command of that station, -and it may be that he was on this account less able to judge correctly -the merits or demerits of the forces placed at his disposal. - -Jullundur, which gives name to the Jullundur Doab between the Sutlej and -the Beas, is another of this group of stations. It is situated on the -high road from Umballa and Umritsir to Lahore; and was formerly the -capital of an Afghan dynasty in the Punjaub. Although shorn of much of -its former greatness, it is still an important and flourishing town, -with forty thousand inhabitants. Jullundur received the news from Meerut -on the 11th of May, and immediately precautionary measures were taken. -Brigadier-general Johnstone, the commandant, being absent at the time, a -plan was at once formed by Colonel Hartley of H.M. 8th foot, and Captain -Farrington, the deputy-commissioner, and agreed to by all the other -officers. The station at that time contained H.M. 8th foot, the 6th -light cavalry, the 36th and 61st native infantry, and one troop of -horse-artillery. The chief officers in command were Colonels Longfield -and Hartley, Majors Barton, Innes, and Olpherts, and Captain Faddy. When -the telegraph of the 12th of May confirmed the Meerut news of the 11th, -it was resolved at once to control the native troops at Jullundur, and -to disarm them if mutinous symptoms should appear. Part of the Queen’s -troops were marched into the artillery lines; the guns were pointed at -the lines of the native regiments in such a way as to render the sepoys -and sowars somewhat uneasy; two field-guns were kept with horses ready -harnessed for movement; careful patrolling was maintained during the -night; and the ladies and children were safely if not comfortably placed -in barracks and rooms guarded by their own countrymen. Captain -Farrington was placed in charge of the civil lines, the public -buildings, and the town generally; and most fortunate was it for him, -and the English generally, that the native Rajah of Jullundur, Rundheer -Singh Alloowalla, remained friendly. This prince had been deprived of -part of his territory at the period of the annexation of the Punjaub, -but the deprivation had not rendered him hostile to his powerful -superiors; he promptly aided Farrington with guns and men, instead of -throwing in his lot with the mutineers. Jullundur, like Lahore, -Umritsir, and Ferozpore, was saved for the present. - -Phillour, the fifth station in this remarkable group, was in one sense -more perilously placed than any of the others, owing to its nearer -proximity to the mutineers of Meerut and Delhi. It stands on the right -bank of the Sutlej, on the great high road from Umballa and Loodianah to -Umritsir and Lahore. Phillour is of no account as a town, but of great -importance as a military station on the frontier of the Punjaub, and as -commanding the passage of the grand trunk-road across the Sutlej. At the -time of the mutiny it had a magazine containing a vast supply of warlike -material, without any European troops whatever. The adjoining cantonment -contained one native regiment, of which one company guarded the fort and -magazine. The military authorities all over the Punjaub and Sirhind well -knew that Phillour contained munitions of war that would be most -perilous in the hands of mutineers. Lieutenant Hildebrand, as was lately -stated, was sent from Lahore with a company of artillery to Phillour; -but he stopped on the way to aid the operations at Umritsir. When the -news from Meerut arrived, Colonel Butler made such precautionary -arrangements as he could at the lines, while Lieutenant Griffith looked -watchfully after the fort and arsenal. Securing the telegraph, in order -that the sepoys of the 3d native infantry might not tamper with it, they -communicated with Jullundur, and were rejoiced to find that a small -force was about to be despatched from that place for their relief. As -soon as the authorities at the last named station became aware of the -insurgent proceedings, they determined, besides attending to the safety -of their own station, to aid Phillour; they sent a telegraphic officer -to make such arrangements as would keep the wire in working order; they -sent a message to Loodianah, to warn the deputy-commissioner to guard -the bridge of boats across the Sutlej; and they sent a small but compact -force to Phillour. This force consisted of a detachment of the Queen’s -8th foot, two horse-artillery guns, spare men and horses for the -artillery, and a small detachment of the 2d Punjaub cavalry. Knowing -that this welcome force was on the road, Colonel Butler and Lieutenant -Griffith sought to maintain tranquillity in Phillour during the night; -they closed the fort-gate at sunset; they placed a loaded light -field-piece just within the gate, with port-fires kept burning; and the -little band of Europeans remained on watch all night. At daybreak their -succour arrived; the force from Jullundur, commanded by Major Baines and -Lieutenants Sankey, Dobbin, and Probyn, marched the twenty-four miles of -distance without a single halt. The guns and cavalry, being intended -only as an escort on the road, and to aid in recovering the fort in the -event of its having been captured by the sepoys during the night, -returned to Jullundur, together with fifty of the infantry. The actual -reinforcement, therefore, was about a hundred of H.M. 8th foot, and a -few gunners to work the fort-guns if necessary. The little garrison -opened the fort-gates to admit this reinforcement—much to the dismay of -the sepoys in the cantonment; for, as was afterwards ascertained, a plot -had been formed whereby the fort was to be quietly taken possession of -on the 15th of the month, and used as a rendezvous for the sepoy -regiments in the Punjaub, when they had risen in mutiny, and formed a -system of tactics in reference to the great focus of rebellion at Delhi. - -Thus were the days from the 11th to the 14th of May days of critical -importance in the eastern part of the Punjaub. Evidence almost -conclusive was obtained that the 15th was intended to have been a day of -grand mutiny among the Bengal sepoys stationed in that region: the -regimental officers knew nothing of this; some of them would not believe -it, even at the time of the disarming; but the current of belief tended -in that direction afterwards. There is very little doubt, as already -implied, that the Meerut outbreak occurred before the plans were ready -elsewhere; that event seemed to the British, and rightly so, a dreadful -one; but, if delayed five days, it would probably have been followed by -the shedding of an amount of European blood frightful to contemplate. - -Having noticed the prompt measures taken at Lahore, Umritsir, Ferozpore, -Jullundur, and Phillour, shortly before the middle of May; it will be -useful, before tracing the course of subsequent revolt in some of the -eastern Punjaub stations, to attend to the state of affairs in the -western division, of which Peshawur was the chief city. - -Peshawur was beyond the limits of British India until the annexation of -the Punjaub. Situated as it is on the main road from the Indus at Attock -to the Indian Caucasus range at the Khyber Pass, it has for ages been -regarded as an important military position, commanding one of the gates -of India. The Afghans and other Mohammedan tribes generally made their -irruptions into India by this route. During the complexities of Indian -politics and warfare, Peshawur passed from the hands of the Afghans to -those of the Sikhs, and then to the British, who proceeded to make it -the head-quarters of a military division. Peshawur had been so -ruthlessly treated by Runjeet Singh, after his capture of that place in -1818, that its fine Moslem buildings were mostly destroyed, its commerce -damaged, and its population diminished. At present, its inhabitants are -believed to be about sixty thousand in number. The fort is very strong; -it consists of lofty walls, round towers at the angles, semicircular -ravelins in front, faussebraies of substantial towers and walls, a wet -ditch, and one only gateway guarded by towers; within the enclosure are -capacious magazines and storehouses. - -When the mutiny began, the Peshawur division contained about fourteen -thousand troops of all arms. A peculiar military system was found -necessary in this division, owing to the large proportion of -semi-civilised marauders among the inhabitants. The western frontier is -hilly throughout, being formed of the Indian Caucasus and the Suliman -Range, and being pierced by only a few roads, of which the Khyber Pass -and the Bolan Pass are the most famous. These passes and roads are for -the most part under the control of hardy mountaineers, who care very -little for any regular governments, whether Afghan, Sikh, or British, -and who require constant watching. Many of these men had been induced to -accept British pay as irregular horsemen; and Colonel (formerly Major) -Edwardes acquired great distinction for his admirable management of -these rough materials. The fourteen thousand troops in the Peshawur -division of the Punjaub comprised about three thousand European infantry -and artillery, eight thousand Bengal native infantry, three thousand -Bengal native cavalry and artillery, and a few Punjaubees and hill-men. -These were stationed at Peshawur, Nowsherah, Hoti Murdan, and the -frontier forts at the foot of the hills. Major-general Reid was chief -military authority at Peshawur. On the 13th of May he received -telegraphic news of the mutiny at Meerut and of the disarming at Lahore, -and immediately held a council of war, attended by himself, Brigadiers -Cotton and Neville Chamberlain, Colonels Edwardes and Nicholson. -Edwardes was chief-commissioner and superintendent of the Peshawur -division, besides being a military officer. It was resolved that, as -senior military officer in the Punjaub, General Reid should assume chief -command, and that his head-quarters should be with those of the Punjaub -civil government, at Lahore or elsewhere; while Cotton should command in -the Peshawur division. The council also agreed that, besides providing -as far as was possible for the safety of each station individually, a -‘movable column’ should be formed at Jelum, a station on the great road -about midway between Lahore and Peshawur—ready to move on any point in -the Punjaub where mutinous symptoms might appear. This force, it will be -seen,[31] was made up of a singular variety of troops, comprising all -arms of the service, irregulars as well as regulars, Europeans as well -as natives; but the Oudian or ‘Poorbeah’ element was almost wholly -absent, and by this absence was the efficiency of the column really -estimated. Various arrangements were at the same time made for so -distributing the European troops as to afford them the best control over -the sepoy regiments. At Peshawur itself, the Company’s treasure was sent -into the fort for safety, and the Residency was made the head-quarters -of the military authorities. - -On the 21st of May, news reached Peshawur that the 55th Bengal native -infantry—encouraged probably by the withdrawal of the 27th foot from -Nowsherah to aid in forming the movable column—had mutinied at Murdan on -the preceding day, keeping their officers under strict surveillance, but -not molesting them; and that Colonel Spottiswoode, their commander, had -put an end to his existence through grief and mortification at this act. -The crisis being perilous, it was at once resolved to disarm the native -troops at Peshawur, or so much of them as excited most suspicion. This -was successfully accomplished on the morning of the 22d—much to the -chagrin of the officers of the disbanded regiments, who, here as -elsewhere, were among the last to admit the probability of -insubordination among their own troops. The 24th, 27th, and 51st -regiments of Bengal native infantry, and the 5th of light cavalry, were -on this occasion deprived of their arms; and a subadar-major of the 51st -was hanged in presence of all his companions in arms. The disarming was -effected by a clever distribution of the reliable forces; small parties -of European artillery and cavalry being confronted with each regiment, -in such way as to prevent aid being furnished by one to another. The men -were disarmed, but not allowed to desert, on pain of instant death if -caught making the attempt; and they were kept constantly watched by a -small force of Europeans, and by a body of irregular troopers who had no -sympathy whatever with Hindustanis. This done, a relieving force was at -once sent off to Murdan; a step which would have been dangerous while -sepoy troops still remained so strong at Peshawur. The small force of -Europeans and irregulars was found to be sufficient for this duty; it -arrived at Murdan, attacked the mutinous 55th, killed or captured two -hundred, and drove the rest away. These misguided insurgents ill -calculated the fate in store for them. Knowing that Mohammedan -hill-tribes were near at hand, and that those tribes had often been -hostile to the English, they counted on sympathy and support, but met -with defeat and death. The chivalrous Edwardes, who had so distinguished -himself in the Punjaub war, had gained a powerful influence among the -half-trained mountaineers on the Afghan border. While the detachment -from Peshawur was pursuing and cutting down many of the mutineers, the -hill-men were at that very time coming to Edwardes to ask for military -employment. These hill-men hated the Brahmins, and had something like -contempt for traitors; when, therefore, Edwardes sent them against the -mutineers, the latter soon found out their fatal error. ‘The petted -sepoy,’ says one who was in the Punjaub at the time, ‘whose every whim -had been too much consulted for forty years—who had been ready to murder -his officer, to dishonour his officer’s wife, and rip in pieces his -officer’s child, sooner than bite the end of a cartridge which he well -knew had _not_ been defiled—was now made to eat the bread and drink the -water of affliction: to submit at the hazard of his wretched life, which -he still tenaciously clung to, to ceremonies the least of which was more -damning to his caste than the mastication of a million of fat -cartridges.’ Even this was not the end; for the sepoys were brought back -to the British cantonment, in fives and tens, and there instantly put to -death; no quarter was given to men who shewed neither justice nor mercy -to others. There were other forts in the Peshawur Valley similar to that -at Murdan, places held by native regiments, in which little or no -reliance could be placed. There were four native regiments altogether in -these minor forts; and it became necessary to disarm these before the -safety of the British could be insured. Peshawur contained its full -Asiatic proportion of desperate scoundrels, who would have begun to -_loot_ at any symptom of discomfiture of the paramount power. - -When this disarming of the native troops at the surrounding forts had -been effected, the authorities at Peshawur continued to look sharply -after the native troops at this important station. The disarmed 5th -irregular cavalry, having refused to go against the 55th at Murdan, were -at once and successfully disbanded. By a dexterous manœuvre, the -troopers were deprived of horses, weapons, coats, and boots, while the -mouths of cannon were gaping at them; they were then sent off in boats -down the Indus, with a hint to depart as far as possible from any -military stations. The authorities in the Punjaub, like Neill at Benares -and Allahabad, believed that mercy to the sepoys would be cruelty to all -besides at such a time; they shot, hanged, or blew away from guns with -terrible promptness, all who were found to be concerned in mutinous -proceedings. On one occasion a letter was intercepted, revealing the -fact that three natives of high rank (giving names) were to sit in -council on the morrow to decide what to do against the British; a -telegraphic message was sent off to Sir John Lawrence, for advice how to -act; a message was returned: ‘Let a spy attend and report;’ this was -done, and a plot discovered; another question brought back another -telegram: ‘Hang them all three;’ and in a quarter of an hour the hanging -was completed. The importance of retaining artillery in European hands -was strongly felt at Peshawur; to effect this, after many guns had been -sent away to strengthen the moving column, a hundred and sixty European -volunteers from the infantry were quickly trained to the work, and -placed in charge of a horse-battery of six guns, half the number on -horseback, and the other half sitting on the guns and wagons—all -actively put in training day after day to learn their new duties. -Fearful work the European gunners had sometimes to perform. Forty men of -the 55th regiment were ‘blown from guns’ in three days. An officer -present on the occasion says: ‘Three sides of a square were formed, ten -guns pointed outwards, the sentence of the court read, a prisoner bound -to each gun, the signal given, and the salvo fired. Such a scene I hope -never again to witness—human trunks, heads, arms, legs flying about in -all directions. All met their fate with firmness but two; so to save -time they were dropped to the ground, and their brains blown out by -musketry.’ It sounds strangely to English ears that such a terrible -death should occasionally be mentioned as a _concession_ or matter of -favour; yet such was the case. Mr Montgomery, judicial commissioner of -the Punjaub, issued an address to one of the native regiments, two -sepoys of which had been blown away from guns for mutinous conduct. He -exhorted them to fidelity, threatened them with the consequences of -insubordination, and added: ‘You have just seen two men of your regiment -blown from guns. This is the punishment I will inflict on all traitors -and mutineers; and your consciences will tell you what punishment they -may expect hereafter. These men have been blown from guns, and not -hanged, because they were Brahmins, and _because I wished to save them -from the pollution of the hangman’s touch_; and thus prove to you that -the British government does not wish to injure your caste and religion.’ -The treachery and cruelty of the mutinous sepoys soon dried up all this -tenderness as to the mode in which they would prefer to be put to death. -We have seen Neill at Cawnpore, after the revelation of the horrors in -the slaughter-room, compelling the Brahmin rebels to pollute themselves -by wiping up the gore they had assisted to shed, as a means of striking -horror into the hearts of miscreant Brahmins elsewhere. - -In addition to the severe measures for preserving obedience, other -precautions were taken involving no shedding of blood. A new levy of -Punjaubee troopers was obtained by Edwardes from the Moultan region; the -disarmed sepoys were removed from their lines, and made to encamp in a -spot where they could be constantly watched; a land-transport train was -organised, for the conveyance of European troops from place to place; -the fort was strengthened, provisioned, and guarded against all -surprises; the artillery park was defended by an earthwork; and trusty -officers were sent out in various directions to obtain recruits for -local irregular corps—enlisting men rough in bearing and unscrupulous in -morals, but who knew when they were well commanded, and who had no kind -of affection for Hindustanis. Thus did Cotton, Edwardes, Nicholson, and -the other officers, energetically carry out plans that kept Peshawur at -peace, and enabled Sir John Lawrence to send off troops in aid of the -force besieging Delhi. Colonel Edwardes, it may here be stated, had been -in Calcutta in the month of March; and had there heard that Sikhs in -some of the Bengal regiments were taking their discharge, as if -foreseeing some plot then in preparation; this confirmed his -predilection for Punjaub troops over ‘Poorbeahs.’ The activity in -raising troops in the remotest northwest corner of India appears to have -been a double benefit to the British; for it provided a serviceable body -of hardy troops, and it gratified the natives of the Peshawur Valley. -This matter was adverted to in a letter written by Edwardes. ‘This post -(Peshawur), so far from being more arduous in future, will be more -secure. Events here have taken a wonderful turn. During peace, Peshawur -was an incessant anxiety; now it is the strongest point in India. We -have struck two great blows—we have disarmed our own troops, and have -raised levies of all the people of the country. The troops (sepoys) are -confounded; they calculated on being backed by the people. The people -are delighted, and a better feeling has sprung up between them and us in -this enlistment than has ever been obtained before. I have also called -on my old country, the Derajat, and it is quite delightful to see how -the call is answered. Two thousand horsemen, formerly in my army at -Moultan, are now moving on different points, according to order, to help -us in this difficulty; and every post brings me remonstrances from -chiefs as to why they have been forgotten. This is really gratifying.’ -It may be here stated that Sir John Lawrence, about the end of May, -suggested to Viscount Canning by telegraph the expediency of allowing -Bengal sepoys to retire from the army and receive their pay, if they -preferred so doing, and if they had not been engaged in mutinous -proceedings—as a means of sifting the good from the bad; but Canning -thought this would be dangerous east of the Sutlej; and it does not -appear to have been acted on anywhere. - -These exertions were materially aided by the existence of a remarkable -police system in the Punjaub—one of the benefits which the Lawrences and -their associates introduced. The Punjaub police was of three kinds. -First was the _military_ police, consisting of two corps of irregular -infantry, seven battalions of foot, one regiment cavalry, and -twenty-seven troops of horse—amounting altogether to about thirteen -thousand men. These men were thoroughly disciplined, and were ready at -all times to encounter the marauding tribes from the mountains. Then -came the _civil_ police, comprising about nine thousand men, and -distributed over nearly three hundred thannahs or subordinate -jurisdictions, to protect thirty thousand villages and small places: the -men were armed with swords and carbines. Lastly were the _constabulary_, -thirteen hundred men in the cities, and thirty thousand in the rural -districts; these were a sort of watchmen, dressed in a plain drab -uniform, and carrying only a staff and a spear. This large police army -of more than fifty thousand men was not only efficient, when well -officered, in maintaining tranquillity, but furnished excellent recruits -for regiments of Sikh and Punjaubee soldiers. - -Sir John Lawrence issued a vigorous proclamation, encouraging the native -troops to remain faithful, and threatening them with dire consequences -if they revolted; but from the first he relied very little on such -appeals to the Bengal troops. Leaving this subject, however, and -directing attention to those events only which bore with any weight on -the progress of the mutiny, we shall now rapidly glance at Punjaub -affairs in the summer months. Many struggles took place, too slight to -require much notice. One was the disarming of a native regiment at -Noorpore. Another, on June 13th, was the execution of twelve men at -Ferozpore, belonging to the 45th N. I., for mutiny after being disarmed. - -It was early in June that the station at Jullundur became a prey to -insurgent violence. On the 3d of the month, a fire broke out in the -lines of the 61st native infantry—a bad symptom wherever it occurred in -those days. On the following night a hospital was burned. On the 6th, -the 4th regiment Sikh infantry marched into the station, as well as a -native troop of horse-artillery; but, owing to some uneasiness displayed -by the Bengal troops, the Sikh regiment was removed to another -station—as if the brigadier in command were desirous not to offend or -irritate the petted regiments from the east. At eleven o’clock at night -on the 7th, the close of a quiet Sunday—again Sunday!—a sudden alarm of -fire was given, and a lurid glare was seen over the lines of the 36th -native infantry. The officers rushed to their respective places; and -then it was found that the 6th native cavalry, wavering for a time, had -at last given way to the mutinous impulse that guided the 36th and 61st -infantry, and that all three regiments were threatening the officers. -The old sad story might again be told; the story of some of the officers -being shot as they spoke and appealed to the fidelity of their men; of -others being shot at or sabred as they ran or rode across the -parade-ground; of ladies and children being affrighted at the artillery -barracks, where they had been wont to sleep for greater security. The -mutineers had evidently expected the native artillery to join them; but -fortunately these latter were so dove-tailed with the European -artillery, and were so well looked after by a company of the 8th foot, -that they could not mutiny if they would. All the Europeans who fled to -the artillery barracks and lines were safe; the guns protected them. The -mutineers, after an hour or two of the usual mischief, made off. About -one half the cavalry regiment mutinied, but as all confidence was lost -in them, the rest were deprived of horses and arms, and the regiment -virtually ceased to exist. The officers were overwhelmed with -astonishment and mortification; some of them had gone to rest on that -evening in perfect reliance on their men. One of the cavalry officers -afterwards said: ‘Some of our best men have proved the most active in -this miserable business. A rough rider in my troop, who had been riding -my charger in the morning, and had played with my little child, was one -of the men who charged the guns.’ This officer, like many others, had no -other theory to offer than that his troopers mutinied in a ‘panic,’ -arising from the sinister rumours that ran like wildfire through the -lines and bazaars of the native troops, shaking the fidelity of those -who had not previously taken part in any conspiracy. It was the only -theory which their bitterness of heart allowed them to contemplate with -any calmness; for few military men could admit without deep -mortification that they had been ignorant of, and deceived by, their own -soldiers down to the very last moment. - -While a portion of the 6th cavalry remained, disarmed and unhorsed but -not actually disbanded, at Jullundur, the two regiments and a half of -mutineers marched off towards Phillour, as if bound for Delhi. At the -instant the mutiny began, a telegraphic message had been sent from -Jullundur to Phillour, to break the bridge of boats over the Sutlej, and -thereby prevent the rebels from crossing from the Punjaub into Sirhind. - -Unfortunately, the telegraphic message failed to reach the officer to -whom it was sent. The 3d regiment Bengal native cavalry, at Phillour, -might, as the commanding officer at that time thought, have been -maintained in discipline if the Jullundur mutineers had not disturbed -them; but when the 36th and 61st native infantry, and the 6th cavalry -were approaching, all control was found to be lost. The telegraphic -wires being cut, no news could reach Phillour, and thus the insurgents -from Jullundur made their appearance wholly unexpected—by the Europeans, -if not by the troopers. The ladies and families were at once hastened -off from the cantonment to the fort, which had just before been -garrisoned by a hundred men of H.M. 8th foot. The officers then went on -parade, where they found themselves unable to bring the 3d regiment to a -sense of their duty; the men promised to keep their hands clear of -murder, but they would not fight against the approaching rebels from -Jullundur. The officers then returned to the fort powerless; for the -handful of Europeans there, though sufficient to defend the fort, were -unable to encounter four mutinous regiments in the cantonment. In a day -or two, all the ladies and children were sent off safely to the hills; -and the cavalry officers were left without immediate duties. The tactics -of the brigadier at Jullundur were at that crisis somewhat severely -criticised. It was considered that he ought to have made such -arrangements as would have prevented the mutineers from crossing the -Sutlej. He followed them, with such a force as he could spare or -collect; but while he was planning to cut off the bridge of boats that -spanned the Sutlej between Phillour and Loodianah, they avoided that -spot altogether; they crossed the river six miles further up, and -proceeded on their march towards Delhi—attacked at certain places by -Europeans and by Sikhs, but not in sufficient force to frustrate their -purpose. - -Although belonging to a region east of the Punjaub, it may be well -here to notice another of the June mutinies nearer the focus of -disaffection. One of the regiments that took its officers by surprise -in mutinying was the 60th B. N. I.; of which the head-quarters had -been at Umballa, but which was at Bhotuck, only three marches from -Delhi, when the fidelity of the men gave way. One of the English -officers, expressing his utter astonishment at this result, said: ‘All -gone! The men that we so trusted; my own men, with whom I have shot, -played cricket, jumped, entered into all their sports, and treated so -kindly!’ He thought it almost cruel to subject that regiment to such -temptation as would be afforded by close neighbourhood with the -mutineers at Delhi. But, right or wrong, the temptation was afforded, -and proved too strong to be resisted. It afterwards became known that -the 60th received numerous letters and messages from within Delhi, -entreating them to join the national cause against the Kaffir -Feringhees. On the 11th of June, the sepoys suddenly rose, and fired a -volley at a tent within which many of the officers were at mess, but -fortunately without fatal results. Many of the officers at once -galloped off to the camp outside Delhi, feeling they might be more -useful there than with a mutinous regiment; while others stayed a -while, in the vain hope of bringing the men back to a sense of their -duty. After plundering the mess of the silver-plate and the wine, and -securing the treasure-chest, the mutineers made off for Delhi. Here, -however, a warm reception was in store for them; their officers had -given the alarm; and H.M. 9th Lancers cut the mutineers up terribly on -the road leading to the Lahore Gate. Of those who entered the city, -most fell in a sortie shortly afterwards. At the place where this -regiment had been stationed, Umballa, another death-fiend—cholera—was -at work. ‘We have had that terrible scourge the cholera. It has been -raging here with frightful violence for two months (May to July); but, -thank God, has now left us without harming the Sahibs. It seemed a -judgment on the natives. They were reeling about and falling dead in -the streets, and no one to remove them. It is the only time we have -looked on it as an ally; though it has carried off many soldiers, two -native officers, and six policemen, who were guarding prisoners; all -fell dead at the same place; as one dropped, another stepped forward -and took his place; and so on the whole lot.’ It was one of the -grievous results of the Indian mutiny that English officers, in very -bitterness of heart, often expressed satisfaction at the calamities -which fell on the natives, even townsmen unconnected with the -soldiery. - -Jelum, which was the scene of a brief but very fierce contest in July, -is a considerable town on the right bank of the river of the same name; -it is situated on the great line of road from Lahore to Peshawur; and -plans have for some time been under consideration for the establishment -of river-steamers thence down through Moultan to Kurachee. Like many -other places on the great high road, it was a station for troops; and -like many other stations, it was thrown into uneasiness by doubts of the -fidelity of the sepoys. The 14th regiment Bengal native infantry, about -three-fourths of which were stationed at Jelum, having excited -suspicions towards the end of June, it was resolved to disarm them; but -as no force was at hand to effect this, three companies of H.M. 24th -foot, under Colonel Ellice, with a few horse-artillery, were ordered -down from Rawul Pindee. On the 7th of July the English troops arrived, -and found the native regiment drawn up on parade. Whether exasperated at -the frustration of a proposed plan of mutiny, or encouraged by their -strength being thrice that of the English, is not well known; but the -14th attacked the English with musketry directly they approached. This -of course brought on an immediate battle. The sepoys had fortified their -huts, loopholed their walls, and secured a defensive position in a -neighbouring village. The English officers of the native regiment, -deserted and fired at by their men, hastened to join the 24th; and a -very severe exchange of musketry soon took place. The sepoys fought so -boldly, and disputed every inch so resolutely, that it was found -necessary to bring the three guns into requisition to drive them out of -their covered positions. At last they were expelled, and escaped into -the country; where the British, having no cavalry, were unable to follow -them. It was an affair altogether out of the usual order in India at -that time: instead of being a massacre or a chasing of treacherously -betrayed individuals, it was a fight in which the native troops met the -British with more than their usual resolution. The loss in this brief -conflict was severe. Colonel Ellice was terribly wounded in the chest -and the thigh; Captain Spring was killed; Lieutenants Streathfield and -Chichester were wounded, one in both legs, and the other in the arm; two -sergeants and twenty-three men were killed; four corporals and -forty-three men wounded. Thus, out of this small force, seventy-six were -either killed or wounded. The government authorities at Jelum -immediately offered a reward of thirty rupees a head for every fugitive -sepoy captured. This led to the capture of about seventy in the next two -days, and to a fearful scene of shooting and blowing away from guns. - -On the same day, July 7th, when three companies of H.M. 24th were thus -engaged at Jelum, the other companies of the same regiment were engaged -at Rawul Pindee in disarming the 58th native infantry and two companies -of the 14th. The sepoys hesitated for a time, but seeing a small force -of horse-artillery confronted to them, yielded; some fled, but the rest -gave up their arms. Two hundred of their muskets were found to be -loaded, a significant indication of some murderous intent. - -The mutiny at Sealkote, less fatal than that at Jelum in reference to -the conflict of troops in fair fight, was more adventurous, more marked -by ‘hair-breadth ‘scapes’ among the officers and their families. -Sealkote is a town of about twenty thousand inhabitants, in the Doab -between the Chenab and the Ravee, on the left bank of the first-named -river, and about sixty miles distant from Lahore. At the time of the -mutiny there was a rifle-practice depôt at this place. The sepoys -stationed at Sealkote had often been in conversation with their European -officers concerning the cartridge-question, and had expressed themselves -satisfied with the explanations offered. During the active operations -for forming movable columns in the Punjaub, either to protect the -various stations or to form a Delhi siege-army, all the European troops -at Sealkote were taken away, as well as some of the native regiments; -leaving at that place only the 46th Bengal native infantry, and a wing -of the 9th native cavalry, in cantonment, while within the fort were -about a hundred and fifty men of the new Sikh levies. The brigadier -commandant was rendered very uneasy by this removal of his best troops; -some of his officers had already recommended the disarming of the sepoys -before the last of the Queen’s troops were gone; but he was scrupulous -of shewing any distrust of the native army; he felt and acted in this -matter more like a Bengal officer than a Punjaub officer—relying on the -honour and fidelity of the ‘Poorbeah’ troops. His anxieties greatly -increased when he heard that the 14th native infantry, after revolting -at Jelum, were approaching Sealkote. Many of them, it is true, had been -cut up by a few companies of the Queen’s 24th; but still the remainder -might very easily tempt his own sepoys and troopers. Nevertheless, to -the last day, almost to the last hour, many of the regimental officers -fully trusted the men; and even their ladies slept near the lines, for -safety. - -The troops appear to have laid a plan on the evening of the 8th of July, -for a mutiny on the following morning. At four o’clock on the 9th, -sounds of musketry and cries of distress were heard, rousing all the -Europeans from their slumbers. An officer on night-picket duty near the -cavalry lines observed a few troopers going towards the infantry lines. -It was afterwards discovered that these troopers went to the sepoys, -told them ‘the letters’ had come, and urged them to revolt at -once—implying complicity with mutineers elsewhere; but the officer could -not know this at the time: he simply thought the movement suspicious, -and endeavoured to keep his own sepoy guards from contact with the -troopers. In this, however, he failed; the sepoys soon left him, and -went over to the troopers. He hurried to his bungalow, told his wife to -hasten in a buggy to the fort, and then went himself towards the lines -of his regiment. This was a type of what occurred generally. The -officers sought to send their wives and families from their various -bungalows into the fort, and then hastened to their duties. These duties -brought them into the presence of murderous troops at the regimental -lines; troops who fired on the very officers that to the last had -trusted them. Especially was the mortification great among the Europeans -connected with the 46th; for when they begged their sepoys to fire upon -the mutinous troopers, the sepoys fired at them instead. A captain, two -surgeons, a clergyman, and his wife and child, were killed almost at the -very beginning of the outbreak; while Brigadier Brind and other officers -were wounded. - -There were no wanderings over burning roads and through thick jungles to -record in this case; but a few isolated adventures may be briefly -noticed. Two or three roads from the lines and bungalows to the fort -became speedily marked by fleeing Europeans—officers, ladies, and -children—in vehicles, on horseback, and on foot—all trying to reach the -fort, and all attacked or pursued by the treacherous villains. Dr -Graham, the superintending surgeon, on the alarm being raised, drove -quickly with his daughter towards the fort; a trooper rode up and shot -him dead; his bereaved daughter seized the reins, and, with the corpse -of her parent on her lap, drove into the nearest compound, screaming for -help. A young lieutenant of the 9th cavalry, when it came to his turn to -flee, had to dash past several troopers, who fired many shots, one only -of which hit him. He galloped thirty miles to Wuzeerabad, wounded as he -was; and, all his property being left behind him only to be ruthlessly -destroyed, he had, to use his own words, to look forward to begin the -world again, ‘with a sword, and a jacket cut up the back.’ Three -officers galloped forty miles to Gujeranwalla, swimming or wading the -rivers that crossed their path. One of the captains of the 46th, who was -personally much liked by the sepoys of his own company, was startled by -receiving from them an offer of a thousand rupees per month if he would -become a rebel like them, and still remain their captain! What answer he -gave to this strange offer may easily be conceived; but his company -remained kind to him, for they saw him safely escorted to the fort. In -one of the bungalows fourteen persons, of whom only three were men, -sought refuge from the murderous sepoys and troopers. The women and -children all congregated in a small lumber-room; the three gentlemen -remained in the drawing-room, pistols in hand. Then ensued a brisk scene -of firing and counter-firing; during which, however, only one life -appears to have been lost: the love of plunder in this case overpowered -the love of murder; for the insurgents, compelling the gentlemen to -retreat to their poor companions in the lumber-room, and there besieging -them for a time, turned their attention to loot or plunder. After ten -hours sojourn of fourteen persons in a small room in a sultry July day, -the Europeans, finding that the mutineers were wandering in other -directions, contrived to make a safe and hasty run to the fort, a -distance of upwards of a mile. Some of the Europeans at the station, as -we have said, were killed; some escaped by a brisk gallop; while the -rest were shut up for a fortnight in the fort, in great discomfort, -until the mutineers went away. There being no European soldiers at -Sealkote, the sepoys and sowars acted as they pleased; they pillaged the -bungalows, exploded the magazine, let loose the prisoners in the jail, -and then started off, like other mutineers, in the direction of Delhi. - -One of the most touching incidents at Sealkote bore relation to a -nunnery, a convent of nuns belonging to the order of Jesus Marie of -Lyon, a Roman Catholic establishment analogous to that at Sirdhana near -Meerut, already brought under notice (p. 57). The superior at Lyon, many -weeks afterwards, received a letter from one of the sisters,[32] giving -an affecting account of the way in which the quiet religieuses were -hunted about by the mutineers. - -When the Sealkote mutineers had taken their departure towards Delhi, a -force was organised at Jelum as quickly as possible to pursue them. This -force, under Colonel Brown, comprised three companies of H.M. 24th foot, -two hundred Sikhs, a hundred irregular horse, and three horse-artillery -guns. The energetic Brigadier Nicholson, in command of a flying column -destined for Delhi, comprising the 52d light infantry, the 6th Punjaub -cavalry, and other troops, made arrangements at the same time for -intercepting the mutineers. It thus happened that on the 12th of July, -the insurgent 46th and 9th regiments when they reached the Ravee from -Sealkote, found themselves hemmed in; and after an exciting contest on -an island in the river, they were almost entirely cut up. - -About the close of July, the disarmed 26th native infantry mutinied at -Lahore, killed Major Spencer and two native officers, and fled up the -left bank of the Ravee; but the police, the new levies, and the -villagers pursued them so closely and harassed them so continuously, -that hardly a man remained alive. In August, something of the same kind -occurred at other places in the Punjaub; native Bengal regiments still -were there, disarmed but not disbanded; and it could not be otherwise -than that the men felt chafed and discontented with such a state of -things. If faithful, they felt the degradation of being disarmed; if -hollow in their professed fidelity, they felt the irksomeness of being -closely watched in cantonment. At Ferozpore, on the 19th of August, a -portion of the 10th native cavalry, that had before been disarmed, -mutinied, and endeavoured to capture the guns of Captain Woodcock’s -battery; they rushed at the guns while the artillerymen were at dinner, -and killed the veterinary surgeon and one or two other persons; but a -corps of Bombay Fusiliers, in the station at that time, repulsed and -dispersed them. At Peshawur, where it was found frequently necessary to -search the huts and tents of the disarmed sepoys, for concealed weapons, -the 51st native infantry resisted this search on the 28th of the month; -they beat their officers with cudgels, and endeavoured to seize the arms -of a Sikh corps while those men were at dinner. They were foiled, and -fled towards the hills; but a disastrous flight was it for them; more -than a hundred were shot before they could get out of the lines, a -hundred and fifty more were cut down during an immediate pursuit, nearly -four hundred were brought in prisoners, to be quickly tried and shot, -and some of the rest were made slaves by the mountaineers of the Khyber -Pass, who would by no means ‘fraternise’ with them. Thus the regiment -was in effect annihilated. There were then three disarmed native -regiments left in Peshawur, which were kept so encamped that loaded guns -in trusty hands might always point towards them. - -The course of events in the Punjaub need not be traced further in any -connected form. From first to last the plan adopted was pretty uniform -in character. When the troubles began, there were about twenty regiments -of the Bengal native army in the Punjaub; and these regiments were at -once and everywhere distrusted by Sir John Lawrence and his chief -officers. If hope and confidence were felt, it was rather by the -regimental officers, to whom disloyalty in their respective corps was -naturally mortifying and humiliating. All the sepoys were disarmed and -the sowars dismounted, as soon as suspicious symptoms appeared; some -regiments remained at the stations, disarmed, throughout the whole of -the summer and autumn; some mutinied, before or after disarming; but -very few indeed lived to reach the scene of rebel supremacy at Delhi; -for they were cut up by the Europeans, Sikhs, Punjaubees, or hill-men -which the Punjaub afforded. Gladly as every one, whether civilian or -military, acknowledged the eminent services of Sir John Lawrence; there -were, it must be admitted, certain advantages available to him which -were utterly denied to Mr Colvin, the responsible chief of the Northwest -Provinces, in which the mutiny raged more fiercely than anywhere else. -When the troubles began, the Punjaub was better furnished with regiments -of the Queen’s army than any other part of India; while the native -Sikhs, Punjaubee Mohammedans, and hill-men, were either indifferent or -hostile to the sepoys of Hindostan proper. The consequences of this -state of things were two: the native troops were more easily disarmed; -and those who mutinied were more in danger of annihilation before they -could get east of the Sutlej. In the Northwest Provinces the -circumstances were far more disastrous; the British troops were -relatively fewer; and the people were more nearly in accord with the -sepoys, in so far as concerned national and religious sympathies. In the -Meerut military division, when the mutiny had fairly commenced, besides -those at Meerut station, there was only one European regiment (at Agra), -against ten native regiments, irrespective of those which mutinied at -Meerut and Delhi. In the Cawnpore military division, comprising the -great stations of Lucknow, Allahabad, Cawnpore, and the whole of Oude, -there was scarcely more than one complete European regiment, against -thirty native Bengal and Oude regiments, regular and irregular. In the -Dinapoor military division, comprising Benares, Patna, Ghazeepore, and -other large cities, together with much government wealth in the form of -treasure and opium, there was in like manner only one British regiment, -against sixteen native corps. There was at the same time this additional -difficulty; that no such materials were at hand as in the Punjaub, for -raising regiments of horse and foot among tribes who would sympathise -but little with the mutineers. - -[Illustration: - - Camel and Rider. -] - -Sir John Lawrence was at first in some doubt what course to follow in -relation to the liberty of the press. The Calcutta authorities, as we -shall see in the next chapter, thought it proper to curtail that liberty -in Bengal and the Northwest Provinces. Sir John, unwilling on the one -hand to place the Europeans in the Punjaub in the tormenting condition -of seclusion from all sources of news, and unwilling on the other to -leave the news-readers at the mercy of inaccurate or unscrupulous -news-writers at such a critical time, adopted a medium course. He caused -the _Lahore Chronicle_ to be made the medium of conveying official news -of all that was occurring in India, so far as rapid outlines were -concerned. The government secretary at that place sent every day to the -editor of the newspaper an epitome of the most important public news. -This epitome was printed on small quarter-sheets of paper, and -despatched by each day’s post to all the stations in the Punjaub. The -effect was—that false rumours and sinister reports were much less -prevalent in the Punjaub than in Bengal; men were not thrown into -mystery by a suppression of journalism; but were candidly told how -events proceeded, so far as information had reached that remote part of -India. The high character of the chief-commissioner was universally held -as a guarantee that the news given in the epitome, whether little or -much in quantity, would be honestly rendered; the scheme would have been -a failure under a chief who did not command respect and win confidence. -As the summer advanced, and dâks and wires were interrupted, the news -obtainable became very scanty. The English in the Punjaub were placed in -a most tantalising position. Aware that matters were going wrong at -Delhi and Agra, at Lucknow and Cawnpore, they did not know _how_ wrong; -for communication was well-nigh cut off. As the cities just named lie -between the Punjaub and Calcutta, all direct communication with the seat -of government was still more completely cut off. The results of this -were singularly trying. ‘Gradually,’ says an officer writing from the -Punjaub, ‘papers and letters reached us from Calcutta _viâ_ Bombay. It -is not the least striking illustration of the complete revolution that -has occurred in India, that the news from the Gangetic valley—say from -Allahabad and Cawnpore—was known in London sooner than at Lahore. We had -been accustomed to receive our daily letters and newspapers from every -part of the empire with the same unfailing regularity as in England. -Suddenly we found ourselves separated from Calcutta for two months of -time. Painfully must a letter travel from the eastern capital to the -western port—from Calcutta to Bombay; painfully must it toil up the -unsettled provinces of the western coast; slowly must it jog along on -mule-back across the sands of Sinde; many queer twists and unwonted -turns must that letter take, many enemies must it baffle and elude, -before, much bestamped, much stained with travel—for Indian letter-bags -are not water-proof—it is delivered to its owner at Lahore.... Slowly, -very slowly, the real truth dragged its way up the country. It is only -this very 29th of September that this writer in the Punjaub has read -anything like a connected account of the fearful tragedy at Cawnpore, -which, once read or heard, no Englishman can ever forget.’ - -Attention must now for a brief space be directed to the country of Sinde -or Scinde; not so much for the purpose of narrating the progress of -mutiny there, as to shew how it happened that there were few materials -out of which mutiny could arise. - -Sinde is the region which bounds the lower course of the river Indus, -also called Sinde. The name is supposed to have had the same origin as -Sindhi or Hindi, connected with the great Hindoo race. When the Indus -has passed out of the Punjaub at its lower apex, it enters Sinde, -through which it flows to the ocean, which bounds Sinde on the south; -east is Rajpootana, and west Beloochistan. The area of Sinde is about -equal to that of England without Wales. The coast is washed by the -Indian Ocean for a distance of about a hundred and fifty miles; being, -with very few exceptions, little other than a series of mud-banks -deposited by the Indus, or low sand-hills blown in from the sea-beach. -So low is most of the shore, that a wide expanse of country is -overflowed at each high tide; it is a dreary swamp, scarcely observable -from shipboard three or four miles out at sea. The mouths of the Indus -are numerous, but so shallow that only one of them admits ships of any -considerable burden; and even that one is subject to so many -fluctuations in depth and in weather, that sea-going vessels scarcely -enter it at all. Kurachee, the only port in Sinde, is a considerable -distance west of all these mouths; and the mercantile world looks -forward with much solicitude to the time when a railway will be formed -from this port to Hydrabad, a city placed at the head of the delta of -the Indus. This delta, in natural features, resembles that of the Nile -rather than that of the Ganges, being nearly destitute of timber. On -each side of the Indus, for a breadth varying from two to twelve miles, -is a flat alluvial tract, in most places extremely fertile. Many parts -of Sinde are little better than desert; such as the _Pât_, between -Shikarpore and the Bolan Pass, and the _Thur_, nearer to the river. In -general, it may be said that no part of Sinde is fertile except where -the Indus irrigates it; for there is little either of rain or dew, and -the climate is intensely hot. Camels are largely reared in Sinde; and -the Sindians have abundant reason to value this animal. It is to him a -beast of burden; its milk is a favourite article of diet; its hair is -woven into coarse cloth; and it renders him service in many other ways. - -The Sindians are an interesting race, both in themselves and in their -political relations. They are a mixture of Jâts and Beloochees, among -whom the distinction between Hindoo and Mussulman has a good deal broken -down. The Beloochees are daring, warlike Mohammedans; the Jâts are -Hindoos less rigorous in matters of faith and caste than those of -Hindostan; while the Jâts who have become Mohammedans are a peaceful -agricultural race, somewhat despised by both the others. The Sindians -collectively are a dark, handsome, well-limbed race; and it was a -favourite opinion of Sir William Jones, that they were the original of -the gipsies. The languages spoken are a mixture of Hindi, Beloochee, and -Persian. - -The chain of events which brought Sinde under British rule may be traced -in a few sentences. About thirteen centuries ago the country was invaded -by the Persians, who ravaged it without making a permanent settlement. -The califs at a later date conquered Sinde; from them it was taken by -the Afghans of Ghiznee; and in the time of Baber it fell into the hands -of the chief of Candahar. It was then, for a century and a half, a -dependency of the Mogul Empire. For a few years Nadir Shah held it; next -the Moguls retook it; and in 1756 Sinde fell under the rule of the -Cabool khans, which was maintained nearly to the time when the British -seized the sovereign power. Although subject to Cabool, Sinde was really -governed by eight or ten native princes, called Ameers, who had among -them three distinct territories marked by the cities of Hydrabad, -Khyrpore, and Meerpoor. Under these ameers the government was a sort of -military despotism, each ameer having a power of life and death; but in -warlike affairs they were dependent on feudal chieftains, each of whom -held an estate on condition of supplying a certain number of soldiers. -The British had various trading treaties with the ameers; one of which, -in 1832, opened the roads and rivers of Sinde to the commerce of the -Company. When, in 1838, the eyes of the governor-general were directed -anxiously towards Afghanistan, Sinde became involved in diplomatic -conferences, in which the British, the Afghans, the Sindians, and -Runjeet Singh were all concerned. These conferences led to quarrels, to -treaties, to accusations of breach of faith, which we need not trace: -suffice it to say that Sir Charles James Napier, with powers of the pen -and of the sword intrusted to him, settled the Sinde difficulty once for -all, in 1848, by fighting battles which led to the annexation of that -country to the Company’s dominions. The former government was entirely -put an end to; and the ameers were pensioned off with sums amounting in -the aggregate to about fifty thousand pounds per annum. Some of these -Ameers, like other princes of India, afterwards came to England in the -hope of obtaining better terms from Queen Victoria than had been -obtainable from the Company Bahadoor. - -When Sinde became a British province, it was separated into three -collectorates or districts—Shikarpore, Hydrabad, and Kurachee; a new -system of revenue administration was introduced; annual fairs were -established at Kurachee and Sukur; and peaceful commerce was everywhere -so successfully established, that the country improved rapidly, greatly -to the content of the mass of the people, who had formerly been ground -down by the ameers’ government. For military purposes, Sinde was made a -division, under the Bombay presidency. - -Sinde, at the commencement of the mutiny, contained about seven thousand -troops of all arms, native and European. The military arrangements had -brought much distinction to Colonel (afterwards Brigadier-general) John -Jacob, whose ‘Sinde Irregular Horse’ formed a corps much talked of in -India. It consisted of about sixteen hundred men, in two regiments of -eight hundred each, carefully drilled, and armed and equipped in the -European manner, yet having only five European officers; the squadron -and troop commanders were native officers. The brigadier uniformly -contended that it was the best cavalry corps in India; and that the -efficiency of such a regiment did _not_ depend so much on the number of -European officers, as on the manner in which they fulfilled their -duties, and the kind of discipline which they maintained among the men. -On these points he was frequently at issue with the Bengal officers; for -he never failed to point out the superiority of the system in the Bombay -army, where men were enlisted irrespective of caste, and where there -were better means of rewarding individual merit.[33] Nationally -speaking, they were not Sindians at all; being drawn from other parts of -India, in the ratio of three-fourths Mohammedans to one-fourth Hindoos. - -When the mutiny began in the regions further east, ten or twelve -permanent outposts on the Sinde frontier were held by detachments of the -Sinde Irregular Horse, of forty to a hundred and twenty men each, wholly -commanded by native officers. These men, and the head-quarters at -Jacobabad (a camp named after the gallant brigadier), remained faithful, -though sometimes tempted by sepoys and troopers of the Bengal army. A -curious correspondence took place later in the year, through the medium -of the newspapers, between Brigadier Jacob and Major Pelly on the one -side, and Colonel Sykes on the other. The colonel had heard that Jacob -ridiculed the greased cartridge affair, as a matter that would never be -allowed to trouble _his_ corps; and he sought to shew that it was no -subject for laughter: ‘Brigadier John Jacob knows full well that if he -were to order his Mohammedan soldiers (though they may venerate him) to -bite a cartridge greased with pigs’ fat, or his high-caste troopers to -bite a cartridge greased with cows’ fat, both the one and the other -would promptly refuse obedience, and in case he endeavoured to enforce -it, they would shoot him down.’ Jacob and Pelly at once disputed this; -they both asserted that the Mohammedans and Hindoos in the Sinde Horse -would never be mutinous on such a point, unless other sources of -dissatisfaction existed, and unless they believed it was _purposely_ -done to insult their faith. ‘If it were really necessary,’ said the -brigadier, ‘in the performance of our ordinary military duty, to use -swine’s fat or cows’ fat, or anything else whatever, not a word or a -thought would pass about the matter among any members of the Horse, and -the nature of the substances made use of would not be thought of or -discussed at all, except with reference to the fitness for the purpose -to which they were to be applied.’ The controversialists did not succeed -in convincing each other; they continued to hold diametrically opposite -opinions on a question intimately connected with the early stages of the -mutiny—thereby adding to the perplexities of those wishing to solve the -important problem: ‘What was the cause of the mutiny?’ - -Owing partly to the great distance from the disturbed provinces of -Hindostan, partly to the vicinity of the well-disposed Bombay army, and -partly to the activity and good organisation of Jacob’s Irregular Horse, -Sinde was affected with few insurgent proceedings during the year. At -one time a body of fanatical Mohammedans would unfurl the green flag, -and call upon each other to fight for the Prophet. At another time, -gangs of robbers and hill-men, of which India has in all ages had an -abundant supply, would take advantage of the troubled state of public -feeling to rush forth on marauding expeditions, caring much for plunder -and little for faith of any kind. At another, alarms would be given -which induced European ladies and families to take refuge in the forts -or other defensive positions at Kurachee, Hydrabad, Shikarpore, -Jacobabad, &c., where English officers were stationed. At another, -regiments of the Bengal army would try to tamper with the fidelity of -other troops in Sinde. But of these varied incidents, few were so -serious in results as to need record here. One, interesting in many -particulars, arose out of the following circumstance: When some of the -Sinde forces were sent to Persia, the 6th Bengal irregular cavalry -arrived to supply their place. These troopers, when the mutiny was at -least four months old, endeavoured to form a plan with some Beloochee -Mohammedans for the murder of the British officers at the camp of -Jacobabad. A particular hour on the 21st of August was named for this -outrage, in which various bands of Beloochees were invited to assist. -The plot was revealed to Captain Merewether, who immediately confided in -the two senior native officers of the Sinde Irregular Horse. Orders were -issued that the day’s proceedings should be as usual, but that the men -should hold themselves in readiness. Many of the border chiefs -afterwards sent notice to Merewether of what had been planned, -announcing their own disapproval of the conspiracy. At a given hour, the -leading conspirator was seized, and correspondence found upon him -tending to shew that the Bengal regiment having failed in other attempts -to seduce the Sinde troops from their allegiance, had determined to -murder the European officers as the chief obstacles to their scheme. The -authorities at Jacobabad wished Sir John Lawrence to take this Bengal -regiment off their hands; but the experienced chief in the Punjaub would -not have the dangerous present; he thought it less likely to mutiny -where it was than in a region nearer to Delhi. - -The troops in the province of Sinde about the middle of August were -nearly as follows: At Kurachee—the 14th and 21st Bombay native infantry; -the 2d European infantry; the depôt of the 1st Bombay Fusiliers; and the -3d troop of horse artillery. At Hydrabad—the 13th Bombay native -infantry; and a company of the 4th battalion of artillery. At -Jacobabad—the 2d Sinde irregular horse; and the 6th Bengal irregular -cavalry. At Shikarpore and Sukur, the 16th Bombay native infantry; and a -company of the 4th battalion of artillery. The whole comprised about -five thousand native troops, and twelve hundred Europeans. - -At a later period, when thanks were awarded by parliament to those who -had rendered good service in India, the name of Mr Frere, commissioner -for Sinde, was mentioned, as one who ‘has reconciled the people of that -province to British rule, and by his prudence and wisdom confirmed the -conquest which had been achieved by the gallant Napier. He was thereby -enabled to furnish aid wherever it was needed, at the same time -constantly maintaining the peace and order of the province.’ - - - Notes. - - This will be a suitable place in which to introduce two tabular - statements concerning the military condition of India at the - commencement of the mutiny. All the occurrences narrated hitherto - are those in which the authorities at Calcutta were compelled to - encounter difficulties without any reinforcements from England, the - time elapsed having been too short for the arrival of such - reinforcements. - - _Military Divisions of India._—At the period of the outbreak, and - for some time afterwards, India was marked out for military purposes - into divisions, each under the command of a general, brigadier, or - other officer, responsible for all the troops, European and native, - within his division. The names and localities of these divisions are - here given; on the authority of a military map of India, engraved at - the Topographical Depôt under the direction of Captain Elphinstone - of the Royal Engineers, and published by the War Department. Each - division was regarded as belonging to, or under the control of, one - of the three presidencies. We shall therefore group them under the - names of the three presidential cities, and shall append a few words - to denote locality: - - UNDER CALCUTTA GOVERNMENT. - - Name. Limits. - _Presidency_ Calcutta and its vicinity, and the east and - Division, northeast of Bengal. - _Dinapoor_ Division, From the Nepaul frontier, southwest towards - Nagpoor. - _Cawnpore_ Division, Including Oude, the Lower Doab, and part of - Bundelcund. - _Saugor_ Division, On both sides of the Nerbudda river, south of - Bundelcund. - _Gwalior_ Division, Scindia’s Dominions, bordering on Rajpootana. - _Meerut_ Division, Rohilcund, from the Himalaya down to Agra and the - Jumna. - _Sirhind_ Division, The Cis-Sutlej and Hill states, northwest of - Delhi. - _Lahore_ Division, Eastern part of Punjaub, from Cashmere down to - Sinde. - _Peshawur_ Division, Western part of Punjaub, on the Afghan frontier. - - UNDER BOMBAY GOVERNMENT. - - _Sinde_ Division, On the Beloochee frontier, both sides of the Lower - Indus. - _Rajpootana_ East of Sinde, and west of Scindia’s Gwalior - Field-force, dominions. - _Northern_ Division, From Cutch nearly to Bombay, including Gujerat. - _Poonah_ Division, Around Bombay, and the South Mahratta country near - it. - _Southern_ Division, Southernmost part of the Bombay Presidency. - - UNDER MADRAS GOVERNMENT. - - _Nagpoor_ Subsidiary The recently acquired Nagpoor territory, near - Force, Nizam’s states. - _North_ Division, Northern part of Madras Presidency, on sea-coast. - _Centre_ Division, Madras city, and the coast-region north and south - of it. - - _Ceded_ Districts, Northwest of Madras city, towards Bombay. - _Mysore_ Division, Seringapatam, and the country once belonging to - Tippoo Saib. - _Southern_ Division, Southernmost part of the Indian peninsula, towards - Ceylon. - - It may be useful to remark that these military divisions are not - necessarily identical in area or boundaries with the political - provinces or collectorates, the two kinds of territorial limits - being based on different considerations. - - * * * * * - - _Armies of India, at the Commencement of the Mutiny._—During the - progress of the military operations, it was frequently wished in - England that materials were afforded for shewing the exact number of - troops in India when the troubles began. The Company, to respond to - this wish, caused an elaborate return to be prepared, from which a - few entries are here selected. The names and limits of the military - divisions correspond nearly, but not exactly, to those in the above - list. - - BENGAL ARMY, MAY 10, 1857. - - Military Divisions. Europeans. Natives. Total. - Presidency, 1,214 13,976 15,190 - Dinapoor, 1,597 15,063 16,660 - Cawnpore, 277 5,725 6,002 - Oude, 993 11,319 12,312 - Saugor, 327 10,627 10,954 - Meerut, 3,096 18,357 21,453 - Sirhind, 4,790 11,049 15,839 - Lahore, 4,018 15,939 19,957 - Peshawur, 4,613 15,916 20,529 - Pegu, 1,763 692 2,455 - —————— ——————— ——————— - 22,698 118,663 141,361 - - The Europeans in this list include all grades of officers as well as - rank and file; and among the officers are included those connected - with the native regiments. The natives, in like manner, include all - grades, from subadars down to sepoys and sowars. The Punjaub, it - will be seen, alone contained 40,000 troops. The troops were - stationed at 160 cantonments, garrisons, or other places. As shewing - gradations of rank, the Europeans comprised 2271 commissioned - officers, 1602 non-commissioned officers, and 18,815 rank and file; - the natives comprised 2325 commissioned officers, 5821 - non-commissioned officers, and 110,517 rank and file. The stations - which contained the largest numbers were the following: - - Peshawur, 9500 - Lahore, 5300 - Meerut, 5000 - Lucknow, 5000 - Jullundur, 4000 - Dinapoor, 4000 - Umballa, 3800 - Cawnpore, 3700 - Delhi, 3600 - Barrackpore, 3500 - Sealkote, 3500 - Benares, 3200 - Rawul Pindee, 3200 - Bareilly, 3000 - Moultan, 3000 - Saugor, 2800 - Agra, 2700 - Nowsherab, 2600 - Jelum, 2400 - Allahabad, 2300 - - These 20 principal stations thus averaged 3800 troops each, or - nearly 80,000 altogether. - - MADRAS ARMY, MAY 10, 1857. - - Military Divisions. Europeans. Natives. Total. - Centre, 1,580 6,430 8,010 - Mysore, 1,088 4,504 5,592 - Malabar, 604 2,513 3,117 - Northern, 215 6,169 6,384 - Southern, 726 5,718 6,444 - Ceded Districts, 135 2,519 2,654 - South Mahratta, 16 375 391 - Nagpoor, 369 3,505 3,874 - Nizam’s, 1,322 5,027 6,349 - Penang and Malacca, 49 2,113 2,162 - Pegu, 2,880 10,154 13,034 - —————— —————— —————— - 10,194 49,737 59,931 - - This list was more fully made out than that for the Bengal army; - since it gave the numbers separately of the dragoons, light cavalry, - horse-artillery, foot-artillery, sappers and miners, European - infantry, native infantry, and veterans. The ratio of Europeans to - native troops was rather higher in the Madras army (about 20 per - cent.) than in that of Bengal (19 per cent.) More fully made out in - some particulars, it was less instructive in others; the Madras list - pointed out the location of all the detachments of each regiment, - whereas the Bengal list gave the actual numbers at each station, - without mentioning the particular regiments of which they were - composed. Hence the materials for comparison are not such as they - might have been had the lists been prepared on one uniform plan. - There were about 36 stations for these troops, but the places which - they occupied in small detachments raised the total to a much higher - number. Although Pegu is considered to belong to the Bengal - presidency, it was mostly served by Madras troops. Besides the - forces above enumerated, there were nearly 2000 Madras troops out of - India altogether, on service in Persia and China. - - BOMBAY ARMY, MAY 10, 1857. - - Military Divisions. Europeans. Natives. Total. - Bombay Garrison, 695 3,394 4,089 - Southern, 283 5,108 5,391 - Poonah, 1,838 6,817 8,655 - Northern, 1,154 6,452 7,606 - Asseerghur Fortress, 2 446 448 - Sinde, 1,087 6,072 7,159 - Rajpootana, 50 3,312 3,362 - ————— —————— —————— - 5,109 31,601 36,710 - - The Bombay army was so dislocated at that period, by the departure - of nearly 14,000 troops to Persia and Aden, that the value of this - table for purposes of comparison becomes much lessened. - Nevertheless, it affords means of knowing how many troops were - actually in India at the time when their services were most needed. - On the other hand, about 5000 of the troops in the Bombay presidency - belonged to the Bengal and Madras armies. The different kinds of - troops were classified as in the Madras army. The regular military - stations where troops took up their head-quarters, were about 20 in - number; but the small stations where mere detachments were placed - nearly trebled this number. The Europeans were to the native troops - only as 16 to 100. - - * * * * * - - As a summary, then, we find that India contained, on the day when - the mutinies began, troops to the number of 238,002 in the service - of the Company, of whom 38,001 were Europeans, and 200,001 - natives—19 Europeans to 100 natives. An opportunity will occur in a - future page for enumerating the regiments of which these three - armies were composed. - -[Illustration: - - Catholic Church, Sirdhana.—Built by Begum Sumroo (See p. 57). -] - ------ - -Footnote 30: - - The events of the mutiny relating to the Punjaub have been ably set - forth in a series of papers in _Blackwood’s Magazine_, written by an - officer on the spot. - -Footnote 31: - - This column was made up as follows: - - 1. H.M. 27th foot, from Nowsherah. - 2. H.M. 24th foot, from Rawul Pindee. - 3. One troop European horse-artillery, from Peshawur. - 4. One light field-battery, from Jelum. - 5. The Guide Corps, from Murdan. - 6. The 16th irregular cavalry, from Rawul Pindee. - 7. The 1st Punjaub infantry, from Bunnoo. - 8. The Kumaon battalion, from Rawul Pindee. - 9. A wing of the 2d Punjaub cavalry, from Kohat. - 10. A half company of Sappers, from Attock. - -Footnote 32: - - ‘Very Dear and Good Mother—On the 8th of the present month the native - soldiers heard they were to be disarmed the following day. They became - furious, and secretly planned a revolt. They carried their plans into - execution at an early hour on the following morning. We were - immediately apprised of it, and I hastened to awake our poor children, - and all of us, half-clad, prayed for shelter at a Hindoo habitation. - Some vehicles had been prepared for us to escape, when the servants - desired us to conceal ourselves, as the sepoys were coming into the - garden. We returned to our hiding-place; the soldiers arrived; they - took away our carriages, and a shot was fired into the house where we - were concealed. The ball passed close to where our chaplain was - sitting, and slightly wounded a child in the leg. At the same moment - three soldiers, well armed, presented themselves at the door. The good - father, holding the holy sacrament, which he never quitted, advanced - to meet them. Several of us accompanied him. “We have orders to kill - you,” said the sepoys; “but we will spare you if you give us money. Go - out, all, that we may see there are no men concealed here.” Having - searched and found nothing, one of the soldiers raised his sabre over - the chaplain, and cried out: “You shall die.” “Mercy, in the name of - God!” exclaimed I. “I will open every press to shew you that there is - no money concealed here.” He followed me, and having satisfied himself - that there was no money, the soldiers went away. We then broke a hole - in the wall of our garden, and fled into the jungle. We had scarcely - escaped when thirty more sepoys entered the house; but the Almighty - preserved us from this danger. We were crossing the country, when a - faithful servant brought us to a house where several Europeans had - taken refuge. We breathed freely there for a moment, but the - government treasure was deposited there, and the house was soon - attacked by the mutinous sepoys. We believed that our last hour was at - hand; but the savages were too much occupied with pillage to notice - us, and the Europeans escaped. At this moment a Catholic soldier - offered to guide us to the fort, where we arrived at twelve o’clock. - We do not know how long we shall remain in the fort. The English - officers have treated us with the greatest kindness and attention, and - have supplied us with provisions both for ourselves and our pupils. We - trust we shall one day make our way to Bombay; but that will depend on - the orders we receive from the government.’ - -Footnote 33: - - The brigadier’s confidence in his men was conditional on their - implicit obedience; and he was wont to affirm that his ‘Irregulars’ - were as ‘regular’ in conduct and discipline as the Queen’s Life-guards - themselves. He would allow no religious scruples to interfere with - their military efficiency. On one occasion, during the _Mohurram_ or - Mohammedan religious festival in 1854, there was great uproar and - noise among ten thousand Mussulmans assembled in and near his camp of - Jacobabad to celebrate their religious festival. He issued a general - order: ‘The commanding officer has nothing to do with religious - ceremonies. All men may worship God as they please, and may act and - believe as they choose, in matters of religion; but no men have a - right to annoy their neighbours, or to neglect their duty, on pretence - of serving God. The officers and men of the Sinde Horse have the name - of, and are supposed to be, excellent soldiers, and not mad - fakeers.... He therefore now informs the Sinde Irregular Horse, that - in future no noisy processions, nor any disorderly display whatever, - under pretence of religion or anything else, shall ever be allowed in, - or in neighbourhood of, any camp of the Sinde Irregular Horse.’ - -[Illustration: - - SIR COLIN CAMPBELL. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - PREPARATIONS: CALCUTTA AND LONDON. - - -Before entering on a narrative of the great military operations -connected with the siege of Delhi, and with Havelock’s brilliant advance -from Allahabad to Cawnpore and Lucknow, it will be necessary to glance -rapidly at the means adopted by the authorities to meet the difficulties -arising out of the mutiny—by the Indian government at Calcutta, and by -the imperial government in London. For, it must be remembered -that—however meritorious and indispensable may have been the services of -those who arrived in later months—the crisis had passed before a single -additional regiment from England reached the scene of action. There was, -as we have seen in the note appended to the preceding chapter, a certain -definite amount of European military force in India when the mutiny -began; there were also certain regiments of the Queen’s army known to be -at different spots in the region lying between the Cape of Good Hope on -the west and Singapore on the east; and it depended on the mode of -managing those materials whether India should or should not be lost to -the English. There will therefore be an advantage in tracing the manner -in which the Calcutta government brought into use the resources -immediately or proximately available; and the plans adopted by the home -government to increase those resources. - -It is not intended in this place to discuss the numerous questions which -have arisen in connection with the moral and political condition of the -natives of India, or the relative fitness of different forms of -government for the development of their welfare. Certain matters only -will be treated, which immediately affected the proceedings of those -intrusted with this grave responsibility at so perilous a time. Three -such at once present themselves for notice, in relation to the Calcutta -government—namely, the military measures taken to confront the -mutineers; the judicial treatment meted out to them when conquered or -captured; and the precautions taken in reference to freedom of public -discussion on subjects likely to foster discontent. - -First, in relation to military matters. England, by a singular -coincidence, was engaged in two Asiatic wars at the time when the Meerut -outbreak marked the commencement of a formidable mutiny. Or, more -strictly, one army was returning after the close of a war with Persia; -while another was going out to begin a war with China. It will ever -remain a problem of deep significance what would have become of our -Indian empire had not those warlike armaments, small as they were, been -on the Indian seas at the time. The responsible servants of the Company -in India did not fail to recognise the importance of this problem—as -will be seen from a brief notice of the plans laid during the earlier -weeks of the mutiny. - -On the 13th of May, three days after the troubles began at Meerut, Mr -Colvin, lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces, telegraphed to -Calcutta, suggesting that the returning force from Persia should be -ordered round to Calcutta, in order to be sent inland to strengthen the -few English regiments by which alone the Revolt could be put down. On -the next day, Viscount Canning, knowing that the Queen’s 43d foot and -the 1st Madras Fusiliers were at Madras, telegraphed orders for those -two regiments to be forwarded to Calcutta—seeing that the Bengal -presidency was more likely than that of Madras to be troubled by -mutinous sepoys. On the same day orders were sent to Pegu to bring the -depôt of the Queen’s 84th foot to Calcutta, the bulk of the regiment -being already in or near that city. On the 16th, a message was sent to -Lord Elphinstone at Bombay, requesting him to send round to Calcutta two -of the English regiments about to return from Persia; another message -was sent to Pegu, summoning every available soldier of the Queen’s 35th -foot from Rangoon and Moulmein; and orders were issued that all -government river-steamers and flats in India should be held ready for -army use. On the 17th, Lord Harris at Madras telegraphed to Canning, -recommending him to stop the army going to China under Lord Elgin and -General Ashburnham, and to render it immediately available for Indian -wants. It was on this day, too, that Sir John Lawrence announced his -intention of disarming the Bengal sepoys in the Punjaub, and of raising -new Punjaub regiments in their stead; and that Mr Frere, commissioner of -Sinde, was ordered by Lord Elphinstone to send the 1st Bombay Europeans -from Kurachee up the Indus to Moultan, and thence to Ferozpore. On the -18th, Canning telegraphed to Elphinstone, naming the two regiments—the -Queen’s 78th foot and the 2d Europeans—which were to be sent round to -Calcutta, together with artillery; on the same day Elphinstone -telegraphed to Canning that he would be able to send the Queen’s 64th as -well as 78th foot; and on the same day the authorities at Sinde arranged -for sending a Beloochee regiment up from Hydrabad to Ferozpore. On the -19th, the Madras Fusiliers started for Calcutta; and on the same day Sir -Henry Lawrence, to strengthen his military command in Oude, was raised -from the rank of colonel to that of brigadier-general. Without dwelling, -day by day, on the proceedings adopted, it will suffice to say that, -during the remaining period of May, the Madras Fusiliers, which were -destined to render such good service under the gallant Neill, arrived at -Calcutta; that the Queen’s 64th and 78th made their voyage from Bombay -to Calcutta; and that steamers were sent to Ceylon to bring as many -royal troops as could be spared from that island. - -When June arrived, the same earnest endeavours were made to bring troops -to bear upon the plague-spots of mutiny. Orders were sent to transfer a -wing of the Queen’s 29th foot from Pegu, the 12th Lancers from Bombay, -and cavalry horses from Bushire and elsewhere, to Calcutta. Later in the -month, messages were transmitted to Madras, commanding the sending to -Calcutta of everything that had been prepared there for the service of -the expedition to China; such as tents, clothing, harness, and -necessaries; but it was at the same time known that the regiments on -that service available for India could be very few for a considerable -time to come—the only certain news being of the 5th Fusiliers, which -left Mauritius on the 23d of May, and the 90th foot, which left England -on the 18th of April. Towards the close of the month, an arrangement was -made for accepting the aid of an army of Nepaulese from Jung Bahadoor, -to advance from Khatmandoo through Goruckpore towards Oude—a matter on -which Lord Canning was much criticised, by those who thought the -arrangement ought to have been made earlier. As soon as news reached -Calcutta of the death of General Anson, Sir Patrick Grant, -commander-in-chief of the Madras army, was summoned from Madras to hold -the office of commander-in-chief of the army of Bengal, subject to -sanction from the home authorities. When he had accepted this -provisional appointment, and had arrived at Calcutta, Sir Patrick wrote -a ‘memorandum,’ expressing his views of his own position towards the -supreme government. It was to the effect that—seeing that there was in -fact no native army to rely upon; that the European army was very small; -and that this army had to operate on many different points, in portions -each under its own commandant—it would be better for the -commander-in-chief to remain for a while at Calcutta, than to move about -from station to station. If near the seat of government, he would be in -daily personal communication with the members of the supreme council; he -would learn their views in relation to the innumerable questions likely -to arise; and he would be in early receipt of the mass of intelligence -forwarded every day to Calcutta from all parts of India. On these -grounds, Sir Patrick proposed to make Calcutta his head-quarters. All -the members of the council—Canning, Dorin, Low, J. P. Grant, and -Peacock—assented at once to these views; the governor-general added: ‘I -am of opinion, however, that as soon as the course of events shall tend -to allay the general disquiet, and to shew to what points our force -should be mainly directed, with the view of crushing the heart of the -rebellion, it will be proper that his excellency should consider anew -the question of his movements.’ - -As it was difficult in those days of interrupted dâks and severed wires -to communicate intelligence between Calcutta and Lahore, the general -officers in the Punjaub and Sirhind made the best readjustment of -offices they could on hearing of Anson’s death; but when orders could be -given from Calcutta, Sir Henry Barnard, of the Sirhind division, was -made commander of the force against Delhi; General Penny, from Simla, -replaced General Hewett at Meerut; General Reid, of the Peshawur -division, became temporary commander in the west until other -arrangements could be made; and Brigadier Cotton was appointed to the -command at Peshawur, with Colonel Edwardes as commissioner. Later in the -month, when Henry Lawrence was hemmed in at Lucknow, Wheeler beleaguered -at Cawnpore, and Lloyd absorbed with the affairs of Dinapoor brigade, -commands were given to Neill and Havelock, the one from Madras and the -other from the Persian expedition; while Outram, who had been commander -of that expedition, also returned to assume an important post in India. -Several colonels of individual regiments received the appointment of -brigadier-general, in command of corps of two or more regiments; and in -that capacity became better known to the public than as simple -commandants of regiments. - -When the month of July arrived, the British troops in India, though -lamentably few for the stern work to be done, were nevertheless -increasing in number; but it is doubtful whether, at the end of the -month, the number was as large as at the beginning; for many desperate -conflicts had taken place, which terribly thinned the European ranks. -The actual reinforcements which arrived at Calcutta during eight months, -irrespective of any plans laid in England arising out of news of the -mutiny, consisted of about twenty regiments, besides artillery. Some of -these had been on the way from England before the mutiny began; the 84th -foot arrived in March from Rangoon; none arrived in April; in May -arrived the 1st Madras Fusiliers; in June, the 35th, 37th, 64th, and -78th Queen’s regiments, together with artillery belonging to all the -three presidential armies; in July, the 5th Fusiliers, the 90th foot, -and a wing of the 29th; in August, the 59th foot, a military train, a -naval brigade from Hong Kong, and royal marines from the same place; in -September, the 23d Welsh Fusiliers, 93d Highlanders, four regiments of -Madras native infantry (5th, 17th, 27th, and 36th), and detachments of -artillery and engineers; in October, the 82d foot, the 48th Madras -native infantry, and recruits for the East India Company’s service—all -these, be it again remarked, were troops which reached Calcutta without -any reference to the plans laid by the home government to quell the -mutiny; those which came from England started before the news was known; -the rest came from Rangoon, Moulmein, Madras, Bombay, Ceylon, Mauritius, -Hong Kong, Cape of Good Hope, &c. A few observations may be made in -connection with the above list—that some of these regiments were native -Madras troops, on whom reliance was placed to fight manfully against the -Bengal sepoys; that some of the Madras companies advanced inland to -Bengal, without taking the sea-voyage to Calcutta; that no cavalry -whatever were included in the list; and that the list does not include -the regiments which advanced from Bombay or Kurachee towards the -disturbed districts. - -Cavalry, just adverted to, was the arm of the service in which the -Indian government was throughout the year most deficient. During a long -period of peace the stud-establishments had been somewhat neglected; and -as a consequence, there were more soldiers able and willing to ride, -than horses ready to receive them. In the artillery and baggage -departments, also, the supply of horses was very deficient. When news of -this fact reached Australia, the colonists bestirred themselves to -ascertain how far they could assist in remedying the deficiency. The -whole of New South Wales was divided into eight districts, and -committees voluntarily undertook the duty of ascertaining how many -available horses fit for cavalry were obtainable in each district. -Colonel Robbins was sent from Calcutta to make purchases; and he was -enabled to obtain several hundred good strong horses at prices -satisfactory both to the stock-farmers and to the government. The good -effected by the committees consisted in bringing together the possible -sellers and the willing buyer. - -By what means the troops, as they arrived at Calcutta from various -quarters, were despatched to the scene of action in the upper provinces, -and by what difficulties of every kind this duty was hampered—need not -be treated here; sufficient has been said on this subject in former -pages. - -We pass to the second of the three subjects marked out, in reference to -the proceedings at Calcutta for notice—the arrangements for preventing -the mutiny of native troops, or for punishing those who had already -mutinied: a very important and anxious part of the governor-general’s -duty. - -Unfortunately for all classes in India, there was a hostile feeling -towards the governor-general, entertained by many of the European -inhabitants unconnected with the Company; they accused him of favouring -the natives at the expense of the English. There was also a sentiment of -deep hatred excited against the natives, owing to the barbarous -atrocities perpetrated by the mutinous sepoys and the rabble budmashes -on the unfortunate persons at the various military and civil stations of -the Company during the course of the Revolt. There was at the same time -a certain jealousy existing between the military and civil officers in -India. These various feelings conspired to render the supreme government -at Calcutta, and especially Viscount Canning as its head, the butt for -incessant ridicule and the object of incessant vituperation. When the -mutiny was many months old, the Calcutta government gave a full reply to -insinuations which it would have been undignified to rebut at the time -when made, and which, indeed, would have fallen with little force on the -public mind while convulsed with passion at the unparalleled news from -India. - -It was repeatedly urged upon the governor-general to proclaim martial -law wherever the Europeans found or fancied themselves in peril; to -encounter the natives with muskets and cannon instead of courts of -justice; and to adopt these summary proceedings all over India. In -reply, Viscount Canning states that this was actually done wherever it -was necessary, and as soon as it could answer any good purpose. Martial -law was proclaimed in the Delhi province in May; in the Meerut province -about the same time; in Rohilcund on the 28th of the same month; in the -Agra province in May and the early part of June; in the Ajmeer district -on the 12th of June; in Allahabad and Benares about the same date; in -Neemuch also at the same time; in the Patna district on the 30th of -June; and afterwards in Nagpoor. In the Punjaub and Oude, governed by -special regulations, it was not necessary that martial law should be -proclaimed, but the two Lawrences acted as if it was. Martial law, where -adopted, was made even more stringent than in European countries; for -there only military men take part in courts-martial; whereas in India, -the military officers at the disposal of the government being too few -for the performance of such duties at such a time, an act of the -Calcutta legislature was passed directly after the news from Meerut -arrived, authorising military officers to establish courts-martial for -the trial of mutineers and others, and empowering them to obtain the aid -at such courts, not only of the Company’s civil servants, but of -indigo-planters and other Europeans of intelligence and of independent -position. On the 30th of May, to meet the case of a rebellious populace -as well as a mutinous soldiery, another act was passed authorising all -the local executive governments to issue special commissions for the -summary trial of delinquents, with power of life and death in addition -to that of forfeiture of property—without any tedious reference to the -ordinary procedures of the law-courts. On the 6th of June a third act -was passed, intended to reach those who, without actually mutinying or -rebelling, should attempt to excite disaffection in the native army, or -should harbour persons guilty of that offence; general officers were -empowered to appoint courts-martial, and executive bodies to appoint -special commissions, to try all such offenders at once and on the spot, -and to inflict varying degrees of punishment according to the offence. -Some time afterwards a fourth act gave an extended application of these -stringent measures to India generally. In all these instances Europeans -were specially exempted from the operation of the statutes. The enormous -powers thus given were largely executed; and they were rendered still -more formidable by another statute, enabling police-officers to arrest -without warrant persons suspected of being mutineers or deserters, and -rendering zemindars punishable if they failed to give early information -of the presence of suspicious persons on their respective estates. ‘Not -only therefore,’ says the governor-general in council, ‘is it not the -case that martial law was not proclaimed in districts in which there was -a necessity for it; but the measures taken for the arrest, summary -trial, and punishment of heinous offenders of every class, civil as well -as military, were far more widely spread and certainly not less -stringent than any that could have resulted from martial law.’ - -The outcry against Viscount Canning became so excessively violent in -connection with two subjects, that the Court of Directors sought for -explanations from him thereon, superadded to the dispatches forwarded in -the regular course. The one referred to the state of Calcutta; the other -to the proceedings of special commissioners in the Allahabad district. A -petition was presented from about two hundred and fifty inhabitants of -Calcutta, praying that martial law should at once be proclaimed -throughout the whole of the Bengal presidency; on the ground that the -whole native population was in a disaffected state, that the native -police were as untrustworthy as the native soldiery, and that the -Company’s civil authorities were wholly unable to cope with an evil of -so great magnitude. The governor-general in council declined to accede -to this request. He urged in reply—that there was no evidence of the -native population of Bengal being in so disaffected a state as to render -martial law necessary; that such law had already been enforced in the -northwest provinces, where the mutineers were chiefly congregated; that -in Bengal the native police, aided by the European civilians, would -probably be strong enough to quell ordinary disturbances; that, as all -his European troops were wanted to confront the mutinous sepoys, he had -none to spare for ordinary police duties; and that in Calcutta -especially, where a zealous volunteer guard had been organised, the -peace might easily be preserved by ordinary watchfulness on the part of -the European inhabitants. This reply was in many quarters interpreted -into a declaration that the natives would be petted and favoured more -than the Europeans. - -The second charge, as stated above, related to the proceedings in -the Allahabad district. When the power of appointing special -commissions for trying the natives was given, the civilians in that -region entered on the duty in a more stern manner than anywhere -else. In about forty days a hundred and seventy natives were tried, -of whom a hundred were put to death. When a detailed report of the -proceedings reached Calcutta, grave doubts were entertained whether -the offences generally were proportionate to the punishment. Many -persons had been put to death for having plundered property in their -possession, without being accused of having actually been engaged in -mutiny; some were put to death for obtaining by threats salary that -was not due to them from the revenue establishments; several others -for ‘robbing their masters,’ and some for ‘plundering salt;’ six -were condemned to death in one day for having in their possession -more rupees than they could or would account for. The question -forced itself on Lord Canning’s attention, whether such offences and -such punishments as these were intended to be met by the -extraordinary tribunals established in time of danger. The culprits -might have been and probably were rogues; but it did not follow that -they deserved death at the hands of civilians, irrespective of -military proceedings. The Calcutta authorities considered, from all -the information that reached them, that these large powers ‘had been -in some cases unjustly and recklessly used; that the indiscriminate -hanging, not only of persons of all shades of guilt, but of those -whose guilt was at the least very doubtful, and the general burning -and plunder of villages, whereby the innocent as well as the guilty, -without regard to age or sex, were indiscriminately punished, and in -some instances sacrificed,’ were unjustifiable. It further became -manifest that ‘the proceedings of the officers of government had -given colour to the rumour, which was industriously spread and -credulously received in all parts of the country, that the -government meditated a general bloody prosecution of Mohammedans and -Hindoos in revenge for the crimes of the sepoys, and only awaited -the arrival of European troops to put this design into execution.’ -This led the governor-general to issue a resolution on the 31st of -July, containing detailed instructions for the guidance of civil -officers in the apprehension, trial, and punishment of natives -charged with or suspected of offences. This resolution was -interpreted by the opponents of Viscount Canning as a check upon all -the heroes who were fighting the battles of the British against the -mutinous natives; but it was afterwards clearly shewn that the -resolution applied, and was intended to apply, only to the civil -servants, among whom such vast powers were novel and often -susceptible of abuse; it did not cramp the energies of generals or -military commanders who might feel that martial law was necessary to -the successful performance of their duties. So obstructive, however, -was the bitter hostility felt in many quarters against the supreme -government at Calcutta, that it led to a ready belief in charges -which were afterwards shewn to be wholly untrue. When the Northwest -Provinces had fallen into such utter anarchy by the mutiny, that the -rule of the lieutenant-governor was little better than a name, a new -government was formed called the Central Provinces, comprising the -regions of Goruckpore, Benares, Allahabad, the Lower Doab, -Bundelcund, and Saugor, and placed under the lieutenant-governorship -of Mr Grant, who had until that time been one of the members of the -supreme council. A rumour reached London, and was there credited -three months before Viscount Canning knew aught concerning it, that -‘Mr Grant had liberated a hundred and fifty mutineers or rebels -placed in confinement by Brigadier-general Neill.’ As a consequence -of this rumour, it was often asserted in London that Mr Grant was -more friendly to the native mutineers than to the British soldiery. -Knowing the gross improbability of such a story, Viscount Canning at -once appealed to the best authority on the subject—Mr Grant himself. -It then appeared that the lieutenant-governor had never pardoned or -released a single person seized by Neill or any other military -authority; that he had never commuted or altered a single sentence -passed by such authorities; that he had never written to or even -seen Neill; that he had neither found fault with, nor commented -upon, any of that general’s proceedings—in short, the charge was an -unmitigated, unrelieved falsehood from beginning to end. As a mere -_canard_, the governor-general would not have noticed it; but the -calumny assumed historical importance when it affected public -opinion in England during a period of several months. - -We now arrive at the third subject marked out—the attitude of the Indian -government towards the European population. It has been shewn in former -chapters that, when the mutinies began, addresses were presented from -various classes of persons at Calcutta, some expressing alarm, but all -declaratory of loyalty. Similar declarations were made at Madras and -Bombay—two cities of which we have said little, because they were -happily exempt from insurgent difficulties. A few lines will suffice to -shew the relation between these two cities and Calcutta, as seats of -presidential government. Madras is situated on the east coast, far down -towards Ceylon—perhaps the worst port in the world for the arrival and -departure of shipping, on account of the peculiar surf that rages near -the shore. Fort St George, the original settlement, is the nucleus -around which have collected the houses and buildings which now -constitute Madras. As Calcutta is called ‘Fort William’ in official -documents, so is Madras designated ‘Fort St George.’ The principal -streets out of the fort constitute ‘Black Town.’ Bombay, on the opposite -coast, boasts of a splendid harbour that often excites the envy of the -Madras inhabitants. The city is built on two or three islands, which are -so connected by causeways and other constructions as to enclose a -magnificent harbour. Nevertheless Madras has the larger population, the -numbers being seven hundred and twenty thousand against five hundred and -sixty thousand. So far as this Chronicle is concerned, both cities may -pass without further description. Each was a metropolis, in all that -concerned military, judicial, and civil proceedings; and each remained -in peace during the mutiny, chiefly owing to the native armies of Madras -and Bombay being formed of more manageable materials than that of -Bengal. Lord Harris at the one city, and Lord Elphinstone at the other, -received numerous declarations of loyalty from the natives; and were -enabled to render military service to the governor-general, rather than -seek aid from him. - -In Calcutta, there was more difficulty than in Madras and Bombay. The -government had to defend itself against Europeans as well as natives. It -has already been stated that great hostility was shewn towards this -government by resident Europeans not belonging to the Company’s service. -On the one side, the Company was accused of regarding India as a golden -egg belonging to its own servants; on the other, the Company sometimes -complained that missionaries and newspapers encouraged disaffection -among the natives. This had been a standing quarrel long before the -mutiny broke out. As ministers of religion, missionaries of various -Christian denominations were allowed to pursue their labours, but -without direct encouragement. They naturally sympathised with the -natives; but, however pure may have been their motive, it must be -admitted that the missionaries often employed language that tended to -place the Company and the natives in the antagonistic position of the -injurers and the injured. In September 1856 certain missionaries in the -Bengal presidency presented a memorial, setting forth in strong terms -the deplorable social condition of the natives—enumerating a series of -abuses and defects in the Indian government; and recommending the -appointment of a commission of inquiry, to comprise men of independent -minds, unbiassed by official or local prejudices. The alleged abuses -bore relation to the police and judicial systems, gang-robberies, -disputes about unsettled boundaries, the use of torture to extort -confession, the zemindary system, and many others. The memorialists -asserted that if remedies were not speedily applied to those abuses, the -result would be disastrous, as ‘the discontent of the rural population -is daily increasing, and a bitter feeling of hatred towards their rulers -is being engendered in their minds.’ Mr Halliday, lieutenant-governor of -Bengal, in reply to the memorial, pointed out the singular omission of -the missionaries to make any even the most brief mention of the numerous -measures undertaken by the government to remove the very evils -complained of; thereby exhibiting a one-sided tendency inimical to the -ends of justice. He declined to accede to the appointment of a -commission on these grounds: That without denying the existence of great -social evils, ‘the government is in possession of full information -regarding them; that measures are under consideration, or in actual -progress, for applying remedies to such of them as are remediable by the -direct executive or legislative action of the government; while the cure -of others must of necessity be left to the more tardy progress of -national advancement in the scale of civilisation and social -improvement.’ He expressed his ‘absolute dissent from the statement -made, doubtless in perfect good faith, that the people exhibit a spirit -of sullen discontent, on account of the miseries ascribed to them; and -that there exists amongst them that bitter hatred to the government -which has filled the memorialists, as they declare, with alarm as well -as sorrow.’ The British Indian Association, consisting of planters, -landed proprietors, and others, supported the petition for the -appointment of a commission, evidently with the view of fighting the -missionaries with their own weapons, by shewing that the missionaries -were exciting the natives to disaffection. Mr Halliday declined to rouse -up these elements of discord; Viscount Canning and the supreme council -supported him; and the Court of Directors approved of the course -pursued. - -In the earlier weeks of the mutiny, or rather before the mutiny had -actually begun, the colonel of a regiment at Barrackpore, as has already -been shewn, brought censure upon himself by taking the duties of a -missionary or Christian religious teacher among his own troops. Whatever -judgment may be passed on this officer, or on those who condemned him, -it is at least important to bear in mind that, throughout the whole -duration of the mutiny and the battles consequent on it, one class of -theorists persisted in asserting that the well-meant exertions of pious -Christians had alarmed the prejudices of the native soldiers, and had -led to the Revolt. Right or wrong, this theory, and the line of conduct -that had led to it, greatly increased the embarrassments of the -governor-general, and rendered it impossible for him to pursue a line of -conduct that would please all parties. - -Much more hostile, however, was the feeling raised against him in -relation to an important measure concerning newspapers—turning against -him the bitter pens of ready writers who resented any check placed upon -their licence of expression. On the 13th of June, the legislative -council of Calcutta, on the motion of the governor-general, passed an -act whereby the liberty of the press in India was restricted for one -year. The effect of this law was to replace the Indian press, for a -time, very much in the position it occupied before Sir Charles -Metcalfe’s government gave it liberty in 1835. Sir Thomas Munro and -other experienced persons had, long before this last-named date, -protested against any analogy between England and India, in reference to -the freedom of the press. Sir Thomas was connected with the Madras -government; but his observations were intended to apply to the whole of -British India. In 1822 he said: ‘I cannot view the question of a free -press in this country without feeling that the tenure by which we hold -our power never has been and never can be the liberties of the people. -Were the people all our own countrymen, I would prefer the utmost -freedom of the press; but as they are, nothing could be more dangerous -than such freedom. In place of spreading useful knowledge among the -people and tending to their better government, it would generate -insubordination, insurrection, and anarchy.... A free press and the -dominion of strangers are things which are incompatible, and which -cannot long exist together. For what is the first duty of a free press? -It is to deliver the country from a foreign yoke, and to sacrifice to -this one great object every meaner consideration; and if we make the -press really free to the natives as well as to Europeans, it must -inevitably lead to this result.’ Munro boldly, whether wisely or not, -adopted the theory of India being a conquered country, and of the -natives being more likely to write against than for their English -rulers, if allowed unfettered freedom of the press. He pointed out that -the restrictions on this freedom were really very few; extending only to -attacks on the character of government and its officers, and on the -religion of the natives. In reply to a suggestion that the native press -might be placed under restriction, without affecting the Indo-British -newspapers read by Europeans, he said: ‘We cannot have a monopoly of the -freedom of the press; we cannot confine it to Europeans only. There is -no device or contrivance by which this can be done.’ In fine, he -declared his opinion that if the native press were made free, ‘it must -in time produce nearly the same consequences here which it does -everywhere else; it must spread among the people the principles of -liberty, and stimulate them to expel the strangers who rule over them, -and to establish a national government.’ When the liberty of the press -was made free and full in 1835, the Court of Directors severely censured -Sir Charles Metcalfe’s government for having taken that step without -permission from London, and directed that the subject should be -reconsidered; but Lord Auckland, who succeeded Sir Charles as -governor-general, pointed out what appeared to him the difficulty of -rescinding the liberty when once granted; and the directors yielded, -though very unwillingly. The minute, in which the alteration of the law -was made in 1835, was from the pen of Mr (afterwards Lord) Macaulay; but -this eminent person at the same time admitted that the governor-general -had, and ought to have, a power suddenly to check this liberty of the -press in perilous times. The members of the supreme council at Calcutta, -in their minutes on this subject, asserted the power and right of the -government to use the check in periods of exigency. - -[Illustration: - - General View of MADRAS.—From a Drawing by Thomas Daniell. -] - -Viscount Canning, conceiving that all his predecessors had recognised -the possible necessity of curbing the liberty of the press, considered -whether the exigency for so doing had arrived. He found that it would be -of little use to control the native press unless that of the English -were controlled also; because he wished to avoid invidious distinctions; -and because some of the newspapers, though printed in the English -language, were written, owned, and published by natives, almost -exclusively for circulation among native readers. The natives, it was -found, were in the habit of procuring English newspapers, not only those -published in India, but others published in England, and of causing the -political news relating to their own country to be translated and read -to them. This might not be amiss if the government were made responsible -for such articles only as emanated from it; but the natives were often -greatly alarmed at articles and speeches directed against them, or -against their usages and religion, in the Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay -newspapers—not by the government, but by individual writers. The -newspaper press in India, whether English or native, has generally been -distinguished by great violence in the mode of opposing the government; -this violence, in times of peace, was disregarded by those against whom -it was directed; but at a time when a hundred thousand native troops -were more or less in mutiny, and when Mohammedan leaders were -endeavouring to enlarge this military revolt into a national rebellion, -Viscount Canning and his colleagues deemed it right to place a -restriction on the liberty of the press, during the disturbed state of -India. - -[Illustration: - - BOMBAY.—From a View in the Library of the East India Company. -] - -Very little has hitherto been known in England concerning the native -newspapers of India; for few except the Company’s servants have come in -contact with them. Their number is considerable, but the copies printed -of each are exceedingly limited. In the Agra government alone, a few -years ago, there were thirty-four native papers, of which the aggregate -circulation did not reach _two thousand_, or less than sixty each on an -average. Some appeared weekly, some twice a week. Some were printed in -Persian, others in Oordoo, others in Hindee. About twenty more were -published in various towns in the northwest regions of India. A few were -sensible, many more trivial, but nearly all abusive of the government. -As estimated by an English standard, the extremely small circulation -would have rendered them wholly innocuous; but such was not the case in -the actual state of affairs. The miserably written and badly -lithographed little sheets of news had, each, its group of men seated -round a fluent reader, and listening to the contents; one single copy -sufficed for a whole regiment of sepoys; and it was observed, during a -year or two before the Revolt, that the sepoys listened with unwonted -eagerness to the reading of articles grossly vituperative of the -government. The postal reform, effected by the Marquis of Dalhousie, -exceeding in liberality even that of England itself, is believed to have -led to an unexpected evil connected with the dissemination of seditious -intelligence in India. To save expense, he placed natives instead of -Europeans in most of the offices connected with this service; and it -appears probable, from facts elicited during the mutiny, that Hindoo and -Mohammedan postmasters were far too well acquainted with the substance -of many of the letters which passed through their hands. - -It may be well here to state that Lord Harris, governor of the -presidency of Madras, dwelt on the unfair tone of the British press in -India, before the actual commencement of the mutiny at Meerut. On the 2d -of May he made a minute commencing thus: ‘I have now been three years in -India, and during that period have made a point of keeping myself -acquainted with the tenor of the larger portion of the British press, -throughout the country; and I have no hesitation in asserting my -impression to be that it is, more particularly in this presidency, -disloyal in tone, un-English in spirit, and wanting in principle—seeking -every opportunity, whether rightly or wrongly, of holding up the -government to opprobrium.’ He denied that any analogy could be furnished -from the harmlessness of such attacks in the home country; because, in -England, ‘every man is certain of having an opportunity of bringing his -case before the public, either by means of rival newspapers or in -parliament.’ This facility is not afforded in India; and thus the -newspaper articles are left to work their effects uncompensated. ‘I do -not see how it is possible for the natives, in the towns more -especially, with the accusations, misrepresentations, and calumnies -which are constantly brought before them, to come to any other -conclusion than that the government of their country is carried on by -imbecile and dishonest men.’ - -The legislative statute of the 13th of June may be described in a few -words. All printing-presses, types, and printing-machinery throughout -British India were, by virtue of this act, to be registered, and not -used without licence from the government. Magistrates were empowered to -order a search of suspected buildings, and a seizure of all unregistered -printing-apparatus and printed paper found therein. All applications for -a printing-licence were to be made on oath of the proprietor, with full -particulars on certain specified matters. The licence might be refused -or granted; and, if granted, might be at any time revoked. A copy of -every paper, sheet, or book was required to be sent to the authorities, -immediately on being printed. The government, by notice in the -government gazette, might prohibit the publication of the whole or any -part of any book or paper, either in the whole or any part of India; and -this was equally applicable whether the book or paper were printed in -India or any other country. The penalty—for using unlicensed -printing-machinery, or for publishing in defiance of a gazette order—was -a fine of 5000 rupees (£500), or two years’ imprisonment, or both. This -punishment was so rigorous, that the instances were very few in which -the press disobeyed the new law; it produced great exasperation in some -quarters; but the proprietors of newspapers generally placed such a -check upon editors and writers as to prevent the insertion of such -articles as would induce the government to withdraw the -printing-licence. - -So alien are such restrictions to the genius of the English people, that -nothing but dire necessity could have driven the Calcutta government to -make them. They must be judged by an Indian, not an English standard. It -is well to remark, however, as shewing the connection of events, that -this statute was one cause of the violent attacks made against Lord -Canning in London; the freedom, checked in India, appeared in stronger -form than ever when several of the writers came over to England, or sent -for printing in England books or pamphlets written in India. When one of -these editors arrived in London, he brought with him a petition or -memorial, signed by some of the Europeans at Calcutta not connected with -the government, praying for the removal of Viscount Canning from the -office held by him. - -Having thus passed in review three courses of proceeding adopted by the -Indian government consequent on the outbreak—in reference to military -operations, to judicial punishments, and to public opinion—we will now -notice in a similarly rapid way the line of policy adopted by the home -government to stem the mutiny, and by the British nation to succour -those who had suffered or were suffering by it. - -It was on the 27th of June that the government, the parliament, and the -people of England were startled with the news that five or six native -regiments had revolted at Meerut and Delhi, and that the ancient seat of -the Mogul Empire was in the hands of mutineers and rebels. During some -weeks previously, observations had occasionally been made in parliament, -relating to the cartridge troubles at Barrackpore and Berhampore; but -the ministers always averred that those troubles were slight in -character. The Earl of Ellenborough, who had been governor-general from -1842 to 1844, and who possessed extensive knowledge of Indian affairs -generally, had also drawn attention occasionally to the state of the -Indian armies. While India was in commotion, but six or seven weeks -before England was aware of that fact, the earl asked the ministers (on -May 19th) what arrangements had been made for reinforcing the British -army in India. Lord Panmure, as war-minister, replied that certain -regiments intended for India had been diverted from that service and -sent to China; but that four other regiments would be ready to depart -from England about the middle of June, to relieve regiments long -stationed in the East Indies; irrespective of four thousand recruits for -the Company’s service. On the 9th of June Lord Ellenborough expressed -suspicions that a mutinous feeling was being engendered among the -sepoys, by a fear on their part that their religion was about to be -tampered with; this expression of opinion led to various counter-views -in both Houses of parliament. - -Two or three paragraphs may here be usefully given, to shew to how great -an extent the number and distribution of European troops in India had -been a subject of consideration among the governing authorities, both at -Calcutta and in London. Towards the close of 1848 the Marquis of -Dalhousie drew attention to the propriety, or even necessity, of -increasing the European element in the Indian armies; and, to this end, -he suggested that an application should be made to the crown for three -additional regiments of the royal army. This was attended to; three -regiments being promptly sent. In March 1849, consequent on the -operations in the Punjaub, application was made for two more Queen’s -regiments; which was in like manner quickly responded to. All these -additions, be it observed, were to be fully paid for by the Company. -These five regiments, despatched during the early months of 1849, -comprised 220 commissioned officers, and 5335 non-commissioned, rank and -file. In 1853, after the annexation of Pegu, the marquis wrote home to -announce that that newly-acquired province could not be securely held -with a less force than three European regiments, eight native regiments, -and a proportionate park of artillery; and he asked: ‘Whence is this -force to be derived?’ The British empire in India was growing; the -European military element, he urged, must grow with it; and he demanded -three new regiments from England to occupy Pegu, seeing that those -already in India were required in the older provinces and presidencies. -There were at that time five regiments of European cavalry in India, all -belonging to the Queen’s army; and thirty regiments of European -infantry, of which twenty-four were Queen’s, and the remaining six -belonging to the Company. As the crown retained the power of drawing -away the royal regiments from India at any time of emergency, the -marquis deemed it prudent that the three additional regiments required -should belong to the Company, one to each presidential army, and not to -the royal forces. The Company, by virtue of the act passed that year -(1853), obtained permission to increase the number of European troops -belonging absolutely to it in India; and, that permission being -obtained, three additional regiments were planned in the year, to -comprise about 2760 officers and men. Only two out of the three, -however, were really organised. When the war with Russia broke out in -1854, a sudden demand was made for the services of several of the -Queen’s regiments in India—namely, the 22d, 25th, 96th, and 98th foot, -and the 10th Hussars; at the same time, as only the 27th and 35th foot -were ordered out to India, the royal troops at the disposal of the -governor-general were lessened by three regiments. This step the Marquis -of Dalhousie, and his colleagues at Calcutta, most earnestly deprecated. -A promise was made that two more regiments, the 82d and 90th foot, -should be sent out early in 1855; but the marquis objected to the -weakening of the Indian army even by a single English soldier. In a long -dispatch, he dwelt upon the insufficiency of this army for the -constantly increasing area of the British army in India. The European -army in India, the Queen’s and the Company’s together, was in effect -only two battalions stronger in September 1854 than it had been in -January 1847; although in that interval of nearly eight years the -Punjaub, Pegu, and Nagpoor, had been added to British India. The army -was so scattered over this immense area, that there was only one -European battalion between Calcutta and Agra, a distance of nearly eight -hundred miles. The marquis earnestly entreated the imperial government -not to lessen his number, already too small, of European troops—not only -because the area to be defended had greatly increased; but because many -of the princes of India were at that time looking with a strange -interest at the war with Russia, as if ready to side with the stronger -power, whichever that might be. There were symptoms of this kind in -Pegu, in Nepaul, and elsewhere, which he thought ought not to be -disregarded. No document penned by the marquis throughout his eight -years’ career in India was more energetic, distinct, or positive than -this; he protested respectfully but earnestly against any further -weakening of the European element in his forces. The home government, -however, had engaged in a war with a great power which needed all its -resources; the withdrawal of the regiments was insisted on; and the -governor-general was forced to yield. - -The year 1855 presented nothing worthy of comment in relation to the -Indian armies; but in February 1856, just on surrendering the reins of -government to Viscount Canning, the Marquis of Dalhousie drew up a -minute bearing on this subject. At that time, fifteen months before the -commencement of the mutiny at Meerut, there were thirty-three regiments -of European infantry in India.[34] The marquis sketched a plan for so -redistributing the forces as to provide for the principal stations -during peace, and also for a field-army in case of outbreak in Cabool, -Cashmere, Nepaul, Ava, or other adjacent states; he required two -additional regiments to effect this, and shewed how the whole -thirty-five might most usefully be apportioned between the three -presidencies.[35] He suggested that this number of 24 Queen’s regiments -of foot should be a _minimum_, not at any time reducible by the imperial -government without consent of the Indian authorities; he remembered the -Crimean war, and dreaded the consequence of any possible future war in -depriving India of royal troops. These were suggestions, made by the -Marquis of Dalhousie when about to leave India; they possessed no other -authority than as suggestions, and do not appear to have been taken -officially into consideration until the mutiny threw everything into -confusion. During the later months of 1856, Viscount Canning, the new -governor-general, drew the attention of the Court of Directors to the -fact that the English officers in the native regiments had become far -too few in number; some were appointed to irregular corps, others to -civil duties, until at length the regiments were left very much -under-officered. As a means of partially meeting this want, the -directors authorised in September that every regular native infantry or -cavalry regiment should have two additional officers, one captain and -one lieutenant; and that each European regiment in the Company’s service -should have double this amount of addition. In the same month it was -announced by the military authorities in London that the two royal -regiments, 25th and 89th, _borrowed_ from India for the Russian war in -1854, should be replaced by two others early in 1857; and that at the -same time two additional regiments of Queen’s foot should be sent out, -to relieve the 10th and 29th, which had been in India ever since 1842. - -The year of the mutiny, 1857, witnessed the completion of the military -arrangement planned in 1856, and the organisation of others arising out -of the complicated state of affairs in Persia, China, and India. About -the middle of February, the second division of the army intended for the -Persian expedition left Bombay, making, with the first division, a force -of about 12,000 men under the command of Sir James Outram. About 4000 of -that number were European troops.[36] Viscount Canning, speculating on -the probability that a third division would be needed, pointed out that -India could not possibly supply it; and that it would be necessary that -the home government should send out, not only the four regiments already -agreed on, but three others in addition, and that the 10th and 29th -regiments should not return to Europe so early as had been planned. -There was another complication, arising out of the Chinese war; the 82d -and 90th foot, intended to replace the two regiments withdrawn from -India during the Crimean war, were now despatched to the Chinese seas -instead of to India; and the directors had to make application for two -others. Early in May, before any troubles in India were known to the -authorities in London, it was arranged that the plan of 1856 should be -renewed—two Queen’s regiments to be sent out to replace those withdrawn -for the Crimean war; and two others to relieve the 10th and -29th—bringing the royal infantry in India to the usual number of -twenty-four regiments. Of these four regiments, two were to proceed to -Calcutta, one to Madras, and one to Kurachee. They were to consist of -the 7th Fusiliers, the 88th and 90th foot, and the 3d battalion of the -Rifle Brigade. It was also planned that the 2d and 3d Dragoons should go -out to India to relieve the 9th Lancers and 14th Dragoons. Furthermore, -it was arranged that these six regiments should take their departure -from England in June and July, so as to arrive in India at a favourable -season of the year; and that with them should go out drafts from -Chatham, in number sufficient to complete the regiments already in India -up to their regular established strength. So far as concerned Persia, -the proposed third division was not necessary; the Shah assented to -terms which—fortunately for British India—not only rendered this -increased force unnecessary, but set free the two divisions already -sent. - -Such was the state of the European element in the Indian army at, and -some time before, the commencement of the mutiny. It was on the 27th of -June, we have said, that the bad news from Meerut reached London. Two -days afterwards, the Court of Directors ordered officers at home on -furlough or sick-leave to return to their regiments forthwith, so far as -health would permit. They also made a requisition to the government for -four full regiments of infantry, in addition to those already decided -on; to be returned, or replaced by other four, when the mutiny should be -ended. On the 1st of July—shewing thereby the importance attached to the -subject—the government announced, not only its acquiescence in the -demand, but the numbers or designations of the regiments marked -out—namely, the 19th, 38th, and 79th foot, and the 1st battalion of the -1st foot. It was also agreed to that the four regiments intended to have -been relieved—namely, the 10th and 29th foot, and the 9th and 14th -Dragoons—should _not_ be relieved at present, but that, on the contrary, -drafts should go out to reinforce them. Another mail arrived, making -known further disasters; whereupon the directors on the 14th of July -made another application to government for _six_ more regiments of -infantry, and eight companies of royal artillery—the artillerymen to be -sent out from England, the horses from the Cape of Good Hope, and the -guns and ammunition to be provided in India itself. Two days -afterwards—so urgent did the necessity appear—the government named the -six regiments which should be sent out in compliance with this -requisition—namely, the 20th, 34th, 42d, 54th, and 97th foot, and the 2d -battalion of the Rifle Brigade; together with two troops of -horse-artillery, and six companies of royal (foot) artillery. - -Summing up all these arrangements, therefore, we find the following -result: Two regiments of royal infantry—7th Fusiliers and 88th foot—were -to go to India, to replace two borrowed or withdrawn from the Company in -1854; two others—the 90th foot and the 3d battalion of the Rifle -Brigade—to relieve the 10th and 29th foot, and two regiments of -cavalry—the 2d and 3d Dragoons—to relieve the 9th Lancers and 14th -Dragoons, but the four relieved regiments not to return till the mutiny -should be quelled; four regiments of infantry—the 19th, 38th, and 79th -foot, and the 1st battalion of the 1st foot—to go out in consequence of -the bad news received from India at the end of June; six regiments of -infantry—the 20th, 34th, 42d, 54th, 97th, and 2d battalion of the Rifle -Brigade—together with several troops and companies of artillery, were to -go out in consequence of the still more disastrous news received in the -middle of July; drafts were to go out to bring up to the full strength -the whole of the Queen’s regiments in India; and, lastly, recruits were -to go out, to bring up to the full complement the whole of the European -regiments belonging to the Company. These various augmentations to the -strength of armed Europeans in India amounted to little less than -twenty-four thousand men, all placed under orders by the middle of July. - -Various discussions bearing on the military arrangements for India, took -place in the two houses of parliament. Lord Ellenborough frequently -recommended the embodiment of the militia and the calling out of the -yeomanry, in order that England might not be left defenceless by sending -a very strong royal army to India. The Earl of Hardwicke suggested that -all the troops at Aldershott camp, about sixteen thousand in number, -should at once be sent off to India. These, and other members of both -Houses, insisted on the perilous position of India; whereas the -ministers, in their speeches if not in their proceedings, treated the -mutiny as of no very serious importance. Differences of opinion existed -to a most remarkable extent; but the president of the Board of Control, -Mr Vernon Smith, subjected himself at a later period to very severe -criticism, on account of the boldness of the assertions made, or the -extent of the ignorance displayed, in the earlier stages of the mutiny. -When the news from Meerut and Delhi arrived, he said in the House of -Commons: ‘I hope that the House will not be carried away by any notion -that we exaggerate the danger because we have determined upon sending -out these troops. It is a measure of security alone with respect to the -danger to be apprehended. I cannot agree with the right honourable -gentleman (Mr Disraeli) that our Indian empire is imperiled by the -present disaster. I say that our Indian empire is _not_ imperiled; and I -hope that in a short time the disaster, dismal as it is, will be -effectually suppressed _by the force already in that country_.... -Luckily the outrage has taken place at Delhi; because it is notorious -that that place _may be easily surrounded_; so that if we could not -reduce it by force, we could by famine.... Unfortunately, the mail left -on the 28th of May; and I cannot, therefore, apprise the House that the -fort of Delhi has been razed to the ground; but I hope that ample -retribution has by this time been inflicted on the mutineers.’ That -other persons, military as well as civil, felt the mutiny to be a wholly -unexpected phenomenon, is true; but this minister obviously erred by his -positive assertions; his idea of ‘easily surrounding’ a walled city -seven miles in circuit was preposterous; and there was displayed an -unpardonable ignorance of the state of the armies in that country in the -further assertion that ‘there are troops in India equal to _any_ -emergency.’ - -A question of singular interest and of great importance arose—how should -the reinforcements of troops be sent to India? But before entering on -this, it will be well to notice the arrangements made for providing a -commander for them when they should reach their destination. As soon as -it was known in London, early in July, that General Anson was dead, the -government appointed Sir Colin Campbell as his successor. The -provisional appointment of Sir Patrick Grant as commander of the forces -in India was approved as a judicious step on the part of the Calcutta -government; but, rightly or wrongly, the permanent appointment to that -high office had come to be considered a ministerial privilege in London; -and thus Sir Colin was sent out to supersede Sir Patrick. Fortunately, -the general selected carried with him the trust and admiration of all -parties. For a time, it is true, there was a disposition to foster a -Campbell party and a Grant party among newspaper writers. One would -contend that Sir Colin, though a brave and good soldier, and without a -superior in command of a brigade, had nevertheless been without -opportunity of shewing those powers of combination necessary for the -suppression of a wide-spread mutiny, perhaps the reconquest of an -immense empire; whereas Sir Patrick was just the man for the occasion, -possessing the very experience, temper, and other qualities for dealing -with the native soldiers. On the other hand, it was contended that -Campbell was something more than a mere general of brigade, having -successfully commanded masses of troops equal in extent to armies during -the Punjaub war; whereas Grant, being by professional education and -military sympathies a Bengal officer—although afterwards commander at -Madras—had imbibed that general leaning towards the sepoys which -rendered such officers unfit to deal sternly with them in time of -disaffection. Happily, this controversy soon came to an end; Sir Colin -was pronounced by the public verdict to be the right man, without any -disparagement to Sir Patrick; and it was judiciously suggested by the -Earl of Ellenborough that the last-named general might, with great -advantage to the state, be made a military member of the supreme council -at Calcutta, to advise the governor-general on army and military -subjects. The nation recognised in Sir Colin the soldierly promptness -which had distinguished Wellington and Napier, and which he illustrated -in the following way: On the morning of Saturday the 11th of July, the -news of General Anson’s death reached London; at two o’clock on the same -day a cabinet council was held; immediately after the council an -interview took place between the minister of war and the commander of -the forces; consequent on this interview, Sir Colin Campbell was offered -the post of commander-in-chief in India; he accepted it; he was asked -how soon he could take his departure; his reply was ‘To-morrow;’ and, -true to his word, he left England on the Sunday evening—taking very -little with him but the clothes on his back. Men felt that there would -be no unnecessary amount of ‘circumlocution’ in the proceedings of such -a general—a veteran who had been an officer in the army forty-nine -years; and who, during that long period, had served in the Walcheren -expedition; then in the Peninsular battles and sieges of Vimieira, -Corunna, Barossa, Vitoria, San Sebastian, and Bidassoa; then in North -America; then in the West Indies; then in the first Chinese war; then in -the second Sikh war; and lastly in the Crimea. - -Sir Colin Campbell, as a passenger remarkably free from luggage and -baggage of every kind, was able to take advantage of the quickest route -to India—by rail to Folkestone, steam to Boulogne, rail to Marseille, -steam to Alexandria, rail and other means to Suez, and thence steam to -Calcutta. Whether the troops could take advantage of this or any other -kind of _swift_ conveyance, was a question whereon public authorities -and public advisers soon found themselves at variance. There were four -projects—to proceed through France to Alexandria and Suez; to reach -Alexandria by sea from Southampton; to steam from England to Calcutta -round the Cape of Good Hope; and to take this last-named route by -sailing-ships instead of steamers. A few words may usefully be said on -each of these four plans. - -As the overland route through France is the quickest, some advisers -urged that it would therefore be the best; but this was by no means a -necessary inference. It would require an immense amount of changing and -shifting. Thrice would the men of the various regiments have to enter -railway-trains—at London or some other English station, at Boulogne, and -at Alexandria—perhaps also a fourth time at Paris; thrice would they -have to leave railway-trains—at Folkestone, at Marseille, and at Cairo -or some other place in Egypt; thrice would they have to embark in -steamers—at Folkestone, at Marseille, and at Suez; and thrice would they -have to disembark—at Boulogne, at Alexandria, and at Calcutta. The -difficulties incidental to these many changes would be very great, -although of course not insuperable. There would, in addition, be -involved a delicate international question touching the passage of large -bodies of troops through the territories of another sovereign. The -Emperor of France, at a time of friendly alliance, would possibly have -given the requisite permission; but other considerations would also have -weight; and it is, on the whole, not surprising that the route through -France was left unattempted. - -It does not follow, however, from difficulties in the French route, that -the sea-route to Alexandria would be unavailable; on the contrary, that -mode of transit found many advocates. The distance from Southampton to -Alexandria is about three thousand miles; and this distance could -obviously be traversed, in a number of days easy of estimate, by a -steamer requiring no transhipment of cargo. Another steamer would make -the voyage from Suez to Calcutta; and an overland passage through Egypt -would complete the route. This is a much shorter route to Calcutta than -that _viâ_ the Cape of Good Hope, in the ratio of about eight thousand -miles to twelve thousand; it is adopted for the heavy portion of the -India mail; and many persons thought it might well be adopted also for -the transmission of troops. The ministers in parliament, however, -explained their reasons for objecting to this route. These objections -referred principally to steamers and coal, of which there were no more -in the Indian seas than were necessary for the mail service. The matter -was argued thus: The first mail from England, after the news of the -mutiny, left on the 10th of July; it would reach Bombay about the 10th -of August; a return mail would start from Bombay on the 16th of August, -describing the arrangements made for receiving at Suez any troops sent -by the Egyptian route; that letter would reach London about the 16th of -September; and if troops were sent off immediately, with everything -prepared, they could not have reached India till towards the end of -October—four months after the receipt of the first disastrous news from -Meerut. A vessel by the Cape route, if sent off _at once_, would reach -as soon. This argument depended wholly on the assumption that it would -be necessary to spend three months in sending and receiving messages, -before the troops could safely be started off from Southampton to -Alexandria. Some of those who differed from the government on this point -admitted that only a small number of troops could be conveyed by this -route, owing to the unfinished state of the land-conveyance from -Alexandria to Suez.[37] The thirty miles of sandy desert to be -traversed, either by marching or in vehicles, would necessarily entail -much difficulty and confusion if the number of troops were large, -especially as neither the isthmus nor its railway belonged to England. -Then, again, there are questions concerning calms, storms, monsoons, -trade-winds, shoals, and coral reefs, which were warmly discussed by the -advocates of different systems; some of whom contended that the Red Sea -cannot safely be depended on by ship-loads of troops during the second -half of the year; while others argued that the dangers of the route are -very slight. On the one side, it was represented that, by adopting the -Suez route, there would be many changes in the modes of travel, many -sources of confusion wherever those changes were made, many -uncertainties whether there would be steamers ready at Suez, many doubts -about the supply of coal at Aden and elsewhere, many perils of wreck in -and near the Red Sea, much deterioration of health to the troops during -the hot weather in that region, and much embarrassment felt by Viscount -Canning if the troops came to him faster than he could transfer them up -the country. Certain of these government doubts were afterwards admitted -to be well founded; others were shewn to be erroneous; and though a few -regiments were sent by the Suez route later in the year, it became -pretty generally admitted, that if only one or two regiments had taken -that route _early in July_, the benefit to India would have been very -great, and the difficulties not more than might have been easily -conquered. - -Next for consideration was the Cape route. Those who admitted that the -overland journey was suited only for a _small_ body of troops, and not -for an army of thirty thousand men, had yet to settle whether -sailing-ships or steamers were best fitted for this service. In some -quarters it was urged: ‘Employ our screw war-steamers; we are at peace -in Europe, and can send our soldiers quickly by this means to India, -without the expense of chartering steamers belonging to companies or -private persons. If sufficient bounties are offered, in one week we -could obtain seamen enough to man twenty war-steamers. Take the main -and lower-deck guns out of the ships; place fifteen hundred troops in -each of the large screw line-of-battle ships; and man each ship with -half the war complement, the soldiers themselves serving as marines.’ -To this it was replied that line-of-battle ships would be dearer -rather than cheaper than chartered vessels, because they could not -lessen the charge by back-cargoes. Sir Charles Napier contended, -moreover, that screw war-steamers could not be fitted out as -troop-ships in less than three months after the order was given; and -that great difficulty would be found in raising men for them. The -government was influenced by these or similar considerations; for no -troops were sent out in war-vessels—possibly owing to a prudential -wish to keep all war-ships ready for warlike exigencies. - -There remained, lastly, the question whether, the Cape route being -adopted, it would be better to hire steam-ships or sailing-ships for -conveying troops to India. Eager inquiries on this question were made in -parliament soon after the news of the outbreak arrived. The ministers, -in reference to the superiority of steamers over sailing-ships, stated -that, from the difficulty in procuring steamers of the requisite kind, -and the delay caused by the number of intermediate points at which they -would have to touch for coal, steamers would probably not reach the -Indian ports more quickly than sailing-ships. Lord Ellenborough admitted -that, when he was in India, sailing-vessels were found better than -steamers for India voyages in the autumnal half of the year; but this -left untouched the important improvements effected in steam-navigation -during the intervening period of fourteen years. The battle was much -contested. Sir Charles Wood, First Lord of the Admiralty, pointed out -that fast sailing-ships often went from England to Calcutta in 90 to 100 -days; that auxiliary screws had been known to take from 90 to 120 days; -and therefore that we were not certain of quicker voyages by steam than -by sail, even (which was doubtful) if coal enough were procurable at the -Cape. This roused the advocates of steaming, who complained that the -minister had compared quick sailing-ships with slow steamers. Mr Lindsey -asserted that the average duration of twenty-two sail-voyages was 132 -days; and that the steam-average would not exceed 94 days. Another -authority averred that the average of ninety-eight sail-voyages was 130 -days; and that of seven screw-steam voyages, 93 days. - -Such were a few of the points brought under consideration, in connection -with the schemes for sending troops to India. We mention them here, -because they bore intimately on the mutiny and its history. A compromise -between the various schemes was effected by the government, in this -way:—The ten thousand troops intended to be sent out, as reinforcements, -reliefs, and recruits, _before_ the news of the disasters reached -England, were despatched as originally intended, in ordinary -sailing-vessels; the four thousand additional troops, immediately -applied for by the Company, were despatched, half in screw-steamers, and -half in fast-sailing clippers; while the six thousand supplied on a -still later requisition were sent almost wholly in steamers. It was not -until late in the year, when the slowness of most of the voyages had -been made manifest, that the superiority of steaming became -unquestionable—provided the various coal-depôts could be kept well -supplied. Setting aside all further controversy as to the best mode of -transit, the activity of the movements was unquestionable. In May and -June few of the regiments and ships were ready, and therefore few only -were despatched; but after that the rapidity was something remarkable. -In July more than thirty troop-laden ships departed from our shores, -carrying numbers varying from 131 to 438 soldiers each. August was a -still more busy month, in relation both to the number of ships and the -average freight of each; there being forty troop-laden ships, carrying -from 208 to 1057 soldiers each. In July not a single steam-ship was -included in the number; but in August nearly half were steamers. The -most remarkable shipments were those in the _James Baines_ clipper -sailing-ship (1037 men of the 42d and 92d foot), the _Champion of the -Seas_ clipper (1032 men of the 42d and 20th foot) and the _Great -Britain_ screw-steamer (1057 men of the 8th Hussars and 17th Lancers). -In these three splendid ships the troops were conveyed with a degree of -comfort rarely if ever before attained in such service. While the -necessary arrangements were in progress for shipping off the twenty-four -thousand men chosen by the middle of July, other plans were being -organised for despatching further regiments; insomuch that, by the end -of the year, very nearly forty thousand men had been sent off to the -scene of mutiny. In what order and at what times these troops reached -their destination, may usefully be noted in a later page. Towards the -close of the year the Suez route was adopted for a few regiments; and -the rapidity of passage was such as to lead to much expression of regret -that that route had not been adopted earlier—although an opinion -continued to prevail on the part of the government and the Company that -it would not have been practicable to send the bulk of the army by that -means. - -Another important question arose during the year, how these troops ought -to be clothed, and their health secured. English soldiers complain of -their tightly buttoned and buckled garments in hot weather, even in an -English climate; but in an Indian summer the oppression of such clothing -is very grievous; and much anxiety was manifested, when it became known -that thirty or forty thousand troops were to set out for the East, as to -the dress to be adopted. The War-office issued a memorandum on the -subject, chiefly with the view of allaying public anxiety;[38] but it -became afterwards known that, owing to blunders and accidents similar to -those which so disastrously affected the Crimean army, the light -clothing, even if sufficient in quantity, was not in the right place at -the right time; and our gallant men were only kept from complaining by -their excitement at the work to be done. It must at the same time be -admitted that, owing to the slowness of the voyages, the majority of the -reinforcements did not land in India till the intense heat of summer had -passed. In reference to the important question of the health of the -troops, Dr James Harrison, of the Company’s service, drew up a series of -rules or suggestions, for the use of officers in the management of their -troops. These rules, which received the approval of Sir Colin Campbell, -bore relation to the hours of marching; the length of each march; the -kind of beverage best for the soldier before starting; the -marching-dress in hot weather; the precautions against sitting or lying -in wet clothes; the necessity for bathing; the best choice of food and -the best mode of cooking; the stimulants and beverages, &c. - -It would be difficult to enumerate all the modes in which the -government, the legislature, and the press, sought to meet the -difficulties and remedy the evils arising out of the Indian mutiny; nor -would such an enumeration be necessary, further than concerned the -really practicable and adopted measures. At a time when each mail from -India increased the sum-total of disastrous news, each grievance found -its own peculiar expositor, who insisted that _that_ particular -grievance had been the main cause of the mutiny, and that a remedy must -be found in that particular direction. Nevertheless, in a series of -short paragraphs to close the present chapter, it may be possible to -sketch the general character of the plans and thoughts that occupied the -public mind. - -Railways were not forgotten. It was strongly urged that if Indian -railways had been begun earlier, and carried to a further stage towards -completion, the mutiny either could not have happened at all, or might -have been crushed easily by a small force having great powers of -locomotion. The disorders in India did not prevent the forwarding of -schemes for new lines of railway—such as the Sinde Railway, from -Kurachee to Hydrabad, there to be connected with steamers up the Indus -to Moultan; the Punjaub Railway, from Moultan to Lahore, there to join -the grand trunk railway; the Oude Railway, to supply Lucknow with a -series of lines radiating in various directions; and the East Bengal -Railway, to accommodate the region eastward of Calcutta. But besides -these, the mutiny gave a new impetus to schemes for carrying railways -across Western Asia towards India; either from Scutari (opposite -Constantinople) to Bagdad, or from Antioch to the Euphrates, with a -railway or a steam-route thence through Mesopotamia to the Persian Gulf. -Some parts of these schemes were very wild; the projectors, in every -case, required guaranteed interest from government, on the ground that -the particular railway advocated would form a new and quick route from -England to India available for government purposes; but as no guarantee -was forthcoming, the schemes remained in abeyance. - -Electric telegraphs did not fail to occupy a portion of public favour; -and there is no question that their benefit was immense. Every lessening -of the time for transmitting a message from India to London, or _vice -versâ_, was so much gained to those responsible for quelling the mutiny. -In the middle of 1857, small portions of submarine cable were immersed -in the Mediterranean; but by the end of the year the islands of Corsica, -Sardinia, Malta, and Corfu were all connected, greatly shortening the -time for transmitting a telegram from Alexandria to Marseille. -Superadded to this, the usefulness of the telegraph encouraged the -projectors of new lines—from Corfu to Alexandria; from Antioch to the -Euphrates and the Persian Gulf; from Suez down the Red Sea to Aden and -Kurachee. Rival companies occupied much of the public attention; and, -had the British government been favourably disposed towards a guarantee -or subsidy, engineers were not wanting who would have undertaken to -connect London with Calcutta by an unbroken wire. - -River-steaming was advocated as one of the great things needed for -India. One scheme was for an Indus flotilla. Supposing a hundred miles -of railway to be constructed from Kurachee to Hydrabad, then the Indus -would be reached at a point whence it is navigable to Moultan for five -hundred and seventy miles; and it was proposed for this service to -establish a flotilla of fifteen steamers, fitted up for passengers and a -little cargo, and each towing two flat-bottom barges for the conveyance -of troops and heavy cargo. Irrespective of the success or failure of any -particular project, the establishment of steamers on the Indus was -unquestionably a practical good to which India had a right to look -forward; for, as a glance at a map will shew, the Indus instead of the -Ganges seems the natural route of communication from Europe to the upper -provinces of India. The Ganges provinces also would undergo an immense -development of resources by the increase of steam-navigation on that -noble river. - -Gun-boats for India did not fail to find advocates. It was deemed almost -a certainty that if light-draught vessels of this description had been -on two or three of the Indian rivers, especially the Ganges and the -Jumna, the mutineers would have met with formidable opponents; and even -if the mutiny were quelled, a few gun-boats might act as a cheap -substitute for a certain number of troops, in protecting places near the -banks of the great rivers. Impressed with this conviction, the East -India Company commissioned Messrs Rennie to build a small fleet of -high-pressure iron gun-boats; each to have one boiler, two engines, two -screw-propellers, and to carry a twelve-pounder gun amidships. The boats -were seventy-five feet long by twelve wide, and were so constructed as -to be stowed away in the hold of a ship for conveyance from England to -India. - -The means of locomotion or communication—railways, electric telegraphs, -river-steamers, river gun-boats—formed only one portion of the schemes -which occupied public thought during the first six months of the mutiny. -Still more attention was paid to men—men for fighting in India and for -defending our home-coasts. Shortly before the bad news began to arrive -from India, a council order announced that the militia would _not_ be -called out in 1857; two months afterwards, in reply to a question in the -House of Commons, Viscount Palmerston would not admit that circumstances -were so serious as to necessitate a change in this arrangement; he -thought that recruiting would be cheaper than the militia, as a means of -keeping up the strength of the army. In August, however, the ministers -obtained an act of parliament empowering them to embody some of the -militia during the recess, if the state of public affairs should render -such a step necessary. A system of active recruiting commenced, and was -continued steadily during several months. These recruits were intended, -not to increase the number of regiments, but to add a second battalion -to many regiments, and to increase the number of men in each battalion; -some of the regiments were, by this twofold process, raised from 800 or -1000 to 2000 or 2400 men each. Volunteers, also, came forward from -France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and other foreign countries; but these -were mostly adventurers who sought officers’ commissions in India, and -their services were not needed. The government made an attempt to -encourage enlisting by offering commissions in the army to any private -gentlemen who could bring forward a certain number of men each—a project -not attended with much success. At certain crises, when the news from -India was more than usually disastrous, appeals to patriotism shewed -themselves in the newspapers—‘A Young Englishman;’ ‘Another Young -Englishman;’ ‘A True Briton;’ ‘One of the Middle Class;’ or ‘A Young -Scotsman’—would write to the journals, pour out his patriotism or his -indignation, and shew what he would do if he only had the power. One -proposed that clerks and shopmen out of situations should be embodied -into a distinct volunteer corps; another said that, as he was a -gentleman, and wished to avenge the foul murder of innocent women and -children, he thought that he and such as he ought to be encouraged by -commissions in the Indian army; another suggested that, if government -would use them well, many young men would volunteer to serve in India, -to return to their former mode of life when the mutiny was over. Some, -rather in sarcasm than in earnest, suggested that drapers’ shopmen -should drop the yard-measure, and go to India to fight; leaving to women -the duty of serving muslins, and laces, and tapes. There was a certain -meaning in all the suggestions, as expressive of honest indignation at -the atrocities in India, especially those at Cawnpore; but, in its -practical result, volunteering fell to the ground; and even the militia -was not much appealed to. Various improvements were made in the -condition of the common soldier; and recruits for the regular army came -forward with much readiness. - -We must now mention those who offered their monetary instead of their -personal services in alleviation of the difficulties experienced in our -Indian empire. Long before the mutinies in India had arrived at their -greatest height, the question was anxiously debated both in that country -and in England, what would be the worldly condition of the numerous -families driven from their homes and robbed of all they possessed by the -sepoys and marauders at the various stations? Every mail brought home -fresh confirmation of the fact that the number of families thus -impoverished was rapidly increasing; while on the other hand it was -known that the East India Company could not reimburse the sufferers -without much previous consideration. For, in the first place, it would -have to be considered whether any distinction ought to be made between -the two classes of Europeans in India—the civil and military servants of -the Company, and those who, independent of the Company, had embarked -capital in enterprises connected with indigo factories, opium farms, -banks, printing-presses, &c.; and then would come a second inquiry -whether the personal property only, or the commercial stock in trade -also, should be considered as under the protection of the government. It -was felt that immediate suffering ought not to wait for the solution of -these questions; that when families had been burnt out or driven out of -their homes, penniless and almost unclothed, immediate aid was needed -from some quarter or other. This was admitted in the Punjaub, where Sir -John Lawrence organised a fund for the relief of the necessitous; and it -was admitted at Calcutta, where Lord and Lady Canning headed a -subscription for providing shelter, raiment, and food to the hundreds of -terrified fugitives who were constantly flocking to that capital. By the -time the principal revolts of June were known in England, the last week -of August had arrived; and then commenced one of those wonderful efforts -in which London takes the lead of all the world—the collection of a -large sum of money in a short time to ameliorate the sufferings arising -out of some great calamity. - -It was on the 25th of August that the lord-mayor presided at a meeting -at the Mansion House to establish a fund for the relief of the sufferers -by the Indian mutiny. The sum subscribed at the meeting did not much -exceed a thousand pounds; but the whole merits of the case being set -forth in newspapers, contributions poured in from all quarters, in the -same noble spirit as had been manifested during the Crimean disasters. -The high-born and the wealthy contributed large sums; the middle classes -rendered their aid; country committees and town committees organised -local subscriptions; large sums, made up of many small elements, were -raised as collections after sermons in the churches and chapels; and -when the Queen’s subjects in foreign and colonial regions heard of this -movement, they sought to shew that they too shared in the common English -feeling. Thousands swelled to tens of thousands, these to a hundred -thousand, until in the course of a few months the fund rose to three or -four hundred thousand pounds. In order to give system to the operations, -thirty-five thousand circulars were issued, by the central committee in -London, to all the authorities in church and state, to the ambassadors -and ministers at foreign courts, to the governors of British colonies, -and to the consuls at foreign ports. - -This Mutiny Relief Fund was administered by four committees—General, -Financial, Relief, and Ladies’ Committees. The General Committee settled -the principles on which the fund was to be administered, determined the -amount and destinations of the remittances to India, and controlled the -proceedings of the subordinate committees. The Financial Committee -supervised the accounts, the investments of the money, and the -arrangement of remittances. The Relief Committee decided on applications -for relief, on the administration of relief by donation or by loan, and -on the application of means for the maintenance and education of -children. The Ladies’ Committee took charge of such details as pertained -more particularly to their own sex. Each of these committees met once a -week. The first remittance was a sum of £2000 to Calcutta, to relieve -some of the families who had been driven by the mutineers to seek -shelter in that city. This was followed by frequent large remittances to -the same place, and to Agra, Delhi, Lucknow, Bombay, and Lahore. -Committees, formed in Calcutta and Bombay, corresponded with the head -committee in London, and joined in carrying out plans for the -expenditure of the fund. The donations and loans to persons who had -arrived in England were small in amount; most of the aid being afforded -to those who had not been able to leave India. The money was put out at -interest as fast as the amount in hand exceeded the immediate -requirements. At one time the government made an offer to appoint a -royal commission for the administration of the fund; but this was -declined; and there has been no reason for thinking that the -transference of authority would have been beneficial. It was soon found -that there were five classes of sufferers who would greatly need -assistance from this fund—families of civil and military officers whose -bungalows and furniture had been destroyed at the stations; the families -of assistants, clerks, and other subordinate _employés_ at the stations; -European private traders and settlers, many of whom had been utterly -impoverished; many missionary families and educational establishments; -and the families of a large number of pensioners, overseers, artificers, -indigo-workers, schoolmasters, shopkeepers, hotel-keepers, newspaper -printers, &c. To apportion the amount of misery among these five classes -would be impossible; but the past chapters of this work have afforded -examples, sufficiently sad and numerous, of the mode in which all ranks -of Europeans in India were suddenly plunged into want and desolation. At -Agra, when the fort had been relieved from a long investment or siege by -the rebels, almost the entire Christian population was not only -houseless, but the majority were without the most essential articles of -furniture or clothing; nearly all were living in cellars and vaults. At -many other stations it was nearly as bad; at Lucknow it was still worse. - -India speedily raised thirty thousand pounds on its own account, -irrespective of aid from England; and most of this was expended at -Calcutta in providing as follows: Board and lodging on arrival at -Calcutta for refugees without homes or friends to receive them; clothing -for refugees; monthly allowances for the support of families who were -not boarded and lodged out of the fund; loans for purchasing furniture, -clothing, &c.; free grants for similar purposes; passage and diet money -on board Ganges steamers; loans to officers and others to pay for the -passage of their families to England; free passage to England for the -widows and families of officers; and education of the children of -sufferers. These were nearly the same purposes as those to which the -larger English fund was applied. The East India Company adopted a wholly -distinct system in recognising the just claims of the officers more -immediately in its service, and of the widows and children of those who -fell during the mutiny—a system based on the established emoluments and -pensions of all in the Company’s service. - - * * * * * - -It will thus be seen that the news of the Indian Revolt, when it reached -London by successive mails, led to a remarkable and important series of -suggestions and plans—intended either to strengthen the hands of the -executive in dealing with the mutineers, or to succour those who had -been plunged into want by the crimes of which those mutineers were the -chief perpetrators. - - - Note. - - At the end of the last chapter a table was given of the number of - troops, European and native, in all the military divisions of India, - on the day when the mutiny commenced at Meerut. It will be - convenient to present here a second tabulation on a wholly different - basis—giving the _designations_ of the regiments instead of the - _numbers_ of men, and naming the _stations_ instead of the - _divisions_ in which they were cantoned or barracked. This will be - useful for purposes of reference, in relation to the gradual - annihilation of the Bengal Hindustani army. The former table applied - to the 10th of May 1857; the present will apply to a date as near - this as the _East India Register_ will permit—namely, the 6th of - May; while the royal troops in India will be named according to the - _Army List_ for the 1st of May—a sufficiently near approximation for - the present purpose. A few possible sources of error may usefully be - pointed out. 1. Some or other of the India regiments were at all - times moving from station to station; and these movements may in a - few cases render it doubtful whether a particular corps had or had - not left a particular station on the day named. 2. The station named - is that of the head-quarters and the bulk of the regiment: - detachments may have been at other places. 3. The Persian and - Chinese wars disturbed the distribution of troops belonging to the - respective presidencies. 4. The disarming and disbanding at - Barrackpore and Berhampore are not taken into account; for they were - not known in London at the time of compiling the official list. 5. - The _Army List_, giving an enumeration of royal regiments in India, - did not always note correctly the actual stations at a particular - time. These sources of error, however, will not be considerable in - amount. - - REGIMENTS AND STATIONS OF BENGAL ARMY—MAY 1857. - - GENERAL ANSON, Commander-in-chief. - - _European Cavalry._ - 6th Carabiniers (Queen’s), Meerut. - 9th Lancers (Queen’s), Umballa. - - _Native Regular Cavalry._ - 1st Regiment, Mhow. - 2d Regiment, Cawnpore. - 3d Regiment, Meerut. - 4th Regiment, Umballa. - 5th Regiment, Peshawur. - 6th Regiment, Nowgong. - 7th Regiment, Lucknow. - 8th Regiment, Lahore. - 9th Regiment, Sealkote. - 10th Regiment, Ferozpore. - - _Irregular and Local Cavalry._ - 1st Bengal Ir. C., Jelum. - 2d Bengal Ir. C., Goordaspore. - 3d Bengal Ir. C., Jhansi. - 4th Bengal Ir. C., Hansi. - 5th Bengal Ir. C., Sonthal. - 6th Bengal Ir. C., Moultan. - 7th Bengal Ir. C., Peshawur. - 8th Bengal Ir. C., Sultanpore. - 9th Bengal Ir. C., Hosheapore. - 10th Bengal Ir. C., Goordaspore. - 11th Bengal Ir. C., Berhampore. - 12th Bengal Ir. C., Segowlie. - 13th Bengal Ir. C., Bareilly, - 14th Bengal Ir. C., Jhansi. - 15th Bengal Ir. C., Oude. - 16th Bengal Ir. C., Rawul Pindee. - 17th Bengal Ir. C., Shumshabad. - 18th Bengal Ir. C., Peshawur. - 1st Gwalior Contingent Cavalry, Gwalior. - 2d Gwalior Contingent Cavalry, Augur. - 1st Punjaub Cavalry, Dera Ismael. - 2d Punjaub Cavalry, Dera Ismael. - 3d Punjaub Cavalry, Bunnoo. - 4th Punjaub Cavalry, Kohat. - 5th Punjaub Cavalry, Asnee. - 1st Oude Irregular Cavalry, Secrora. - 2d Oude Irregular Cavalry, Lucknow. - 3d Oude Irregular Cavalry, Pertabghur. - Nagpoor Irregular Cavalry, Taklee. - - _European Infantry._ - 8th Ft. (Qun.’s), Cawnpore. - 10th Ft. (Qun.’s), Wuzeerabad. - 24th Ft. (Qun.’s), Sealkote. - 27th Ft. (Qun.’s), Sealkote. - 29th Ft. (Qun.’s), Thayet Mhow. - 32d Ft. (Qun.’s), Kussowlie. - 35th Ft. (Qun.’s), Calcutta. - 52d Ft. (Qun.’s), Lucknow. - 53d Ft. (Qun.’s), Dugshai. - 60th Ft. (Qun.’s), Jullundur. - 61st Ft. (Qun.’s), Wuzeerabad. - 70th Ft. (Qun.’s), Ferozpore. - 75th Ft. (Qun.’s), Rawul Pindee. - 81st Ft. (Qun.’s), Lahore. - 87th Ft. (Qun.’s), Peshawur. - 1st Europeans (East India Company’s), Dugshai. - 2d Europeans (East India Company’s), Umballa. - 3d Europeans (East India Company’s), Agra. - - _Native Regular Infantry._ - 1st Regiment, Cawnpore. - 2d[39] Regiment, Barrackpore. - 3d Regiment, Phillour. - 4th Regiment, Noorpore. - 5th Regiment, Umballa. - 6th Regiment, Allahabad. - 7th Regiment, Dinapoor. - 8th Regiment, Dinapoor. - 9th Regiment, Allygurh. - 10th Regiment, Futteghur. - 11th Regiment, Allahabad. - 12th Regiment, Nowgong and - Jhansi. - 13th Regiment, Lucknow. - 14th Regiment, Moultan. - 15th Regiment, Meerut. - 16th[39] Regiment, Meean Meer. - 17th Regiment, Goruckpore. - 18th Regiment, Bareilly. - 19th Regiment, Berhampore. - 20th Regiment, Meerut. - 21st Regiment, Peshawur. - 22d Regiment, Fyzabad. - 23d Regiment, Mhow. - 24th Regiment, Peshawur. - 25th Regiment, Thayet Mhow. - 26th Regiment, Meean Meer. - 27th Regiment, Peshawur. - 28th Regiment, Shahjehanpoor. - 29th Regiment, Jullundur. - 30th Regiment, Agra. - 31st Regiment, Barrackpore. - 32d Regiment, Sonthal. - 33d Regiment, Hosheapore. - 34th Regiment, Barrackpore. - 35th Regiment, Sealkote. - 36th[40] Regiment, Jullundur. - 37th[40] Regiment, Benares. - 38th[41] Regiment, Delhi. - 39th[41] Regiment, Jelum. - 40th[41] Regiment, Dinapoor. - 41st Regiment, Seetapoor. - 42d Regiment, Saugor. - 43d Regiment, Barrackpore. - 44th Regiment, Agra. - 45th Regiment, Ferozpore. - 46th Regiment, Sealkote. - 47th[41] Regiment, Prome. - 48th Regiment, Lucknow. - 49th Regiment, Meean Meer. - 50th Regiment, Nagode. - 51st Regiment, Peshawur. - 52d Regiment, Jubbulpoor. - 53d Regiment, Cawnpore. - 54th Regiment, Delhi. - 55th Regiment, Nowsherah. - 56th Regiment, Cawnpore. - 57th Regiment, Ferozpore. - 58th Regiment, Rawul Pindee. - 59th Regiment, Umritsir. - 60th Regiment, Umballa. - 61st Regiment, Jullundur. - 62d Regiment, Moultan. - 63d Regiment, Barrackpore. - 64th Regiment, Peshawur. - 65th[41] Regiment, Dinapoor. - 66th[42] Regiment, Almora. - 67th[41] Regiment, {Etawah. - {Minpooree. - 68th Regiment, Bareilly. - 69th Regiment, Moultan. - 70th Regiment, Barrackpore. - 71st Regiment, Lucknow. - 72d Regiment, Agra. - 73d Regiment, Jumalpore. - 74th Regiment, Cawnpore. - - _Irregular and Local Infantry._ - 1st Oude Irregular Infantry, Persadpore. - 2d Oude Irregular Infantry, Secrora. - 3d Oude Irregular Infantry, Gonda. - 4th Oude Irregular Infantry, Lucknow. - 5th Oude Irregular Infantry, Durriabad. - 6th Oude Irregular Infantry, Fyzabad. - 7th Oude Irregular Infantry, Lucknow. - 8th Oude Irregular Infantry, Sultanpore. - 9th Oude Irregular Infantry, Seetapoor. - 10th Oude Irregular Infantry, Mullaong. - 1st Gwalior Contingent Infantry, Gwalior. - 2d Gwalior Contingent Infantry, Gwalior. - 3d Gwalior Contingent Infantry, Gwalior. - 4th Gwalior Contingent Infantry, Gwalior. - 5th Gwalior Contingent Infantry, Seepree. - 6th Gwalior Contingent Infantry, Lullutpore. - 7th Gwalior Contingent Infantry, Augur. - 1st Punjaub Infantry, Kohat. - 2d Punjaub Infantry, Kohat. - 3d Punjaub Infantry, Kohat. - 4th Punjaub Infantry, Dera Ghazi. - 5th Punjaub Infantry, Bunnoo. - 6th Punjaub Infantry, Dera Ismael. - 1st Sikh Infantry, Hazara. - 2d Sikh Infantry, Kangra. - 3d Sikh Infantry, Khan. - 4th Sikh Infantry, Umballa. - 1st Nagpoor Irregular Infantry, Seetabuldee. - 2d Nagpoor Irregular Infantry, Chandah. - 3d Nagpoor Irregular Infantry, Raypoor. - Regiment of Guides (foot and horse), Peshawur. - Regiment of Kelat-i-Ghilzi, Shubkuddur. - Regiment of Loodianah (Sikhs), Benares. - Regiment of Ferozpore (Sikhs), Mirzapore. - Ramgurh Light Infantry, Dorunda. - Hill Rangers, Bhagulpore. - Nusserree Rifles, Simla. - Pegu Light Infantry, Myan Owng. - Sirmoor Rifles, Almora. - Kumaon Battalion, Deyra. - Assam Light Infantry, 1st, Debroogurh. - Assam Light Infantry, 2nd Gowhatti. - Mhairwarra Battalion, Bewar. - Aracan Battalion, Akyab. - Hurrianah Light Infantry, Hansi. - Silhet Light Infantry, Cherrah. - Malwah Bheel Corps, Sirdarpore. - Mewar Bheel Corps, Khairwarah. - Sebundee Corps, Darjeeling. - - - _Artillery, Engineers, Sappers and Miners._ - Horse-artillery, 1st Brigade: - 3 European Troops. } - 2 Native Troops. } Head-quarters: - Horse-artillery, 2d Brigade: } Meerut. - 3 European Troops. } Jullundur. - 1 Native Troop. } Peshawur. - Horse-artillery, 3d Brigade: } Umballa. - 3 European Troops. } Cawnpore. - 1 Native Troop. } Sealkote. - Foot-artillery, 6 European Battalions. } Dumdum. - (4 Companies each.) } - Foot-artillery, 3 Native Battalions. } - (6 Companies each.) } - - Engineers, } Head-quarters: - Sappers and Miners, 8 Companies, } Roorkee. - - - _Mixed Corps—Cavalry, Infantry, and Artillery._ - Shekhawuttie Battalion, Midnapore. - Jhodpore Legion, Erinpoora. - Malwah Contingent, Mehidpore. - Bhopal Contingent, Sehore. - Kotah Contingent, Kurrowlee. - - - REGIMENTS AND STATIONS OF MADRAS ARMY—MAY 1857. - - SIR PATRICK GRANT, Commander-in-chief. - - _European Cavalry._ - 12th Lancers (Queen’s), Madras. - - _Native Cavalry._ - 1st Madras Light Cavalry, Trichinopoly. - 2d Madras Light Cavalry, Sholapore. - 3d Madras Light Cavalry, Bangalore. - 4th Madras Light Cavalry, Kamptee. - 5th Madras Light Cavalry, Bellary. - 6th Madras Light Cavalry, Jaulnah. - 7th Madras Light Cavalry, Secunderabad. - 8th Madras Light Cavalry, Bangalore. - - _European Infantry._ - 74th Foot (Queen’s), Madras. - 84th Foot (Queen’s), Burmah.[43] - 1st Europeans (East India Company’s), [Persia]. - 2d Europeans (East India Company’s), Burmah. - 3d Europeans (East India Company’s), Secunderabad. - - _Native Infantry._ - 1st Regiment,[44] Secunderabad. - 2d Regiment, Quilon. - 3d Regiment, Cananore. - 4th Regiment, Burmah. - 5th[44] Regiment, Berhampore. - 6th Regiment, Burmah. - 7th Regiment, Moulmein. - 8th Regiment, Rangoon. - 9th Regiment, Samulcottah. - 10th Regiment, Rangoon. - 11th Regiment, Cananore. - 12th Regiment, Madras. - 13th Regiment, Moulmein. - 14th Regiment, Singapore. - 15th Regiment, Burmah. - 16th[44] Regiment, Mangalore. - 17th Regiment, Madras. - 18th Regiment, Madras. - 19th Regiment, Bangalore. - 20th Regiment, French Rocks. - 21st Regiment, Paulghaut. - 22d Regiment, Secunderabad. - 23d Regiment, Russelcondah. - 24th[44] Regiment, Secunderabad. - 25th Regiment, Trichinopoly. - 26th[44] Regiment, Kamptee. - 27th Regiment, Vellore. - 28th Regiment, Hosungabad. - 29th Regiment, Penang. - 30th Regiment, Cuddapah. - 31st Regiment, Vizianagram. - 32d Regiment, Kamptee. - 33d Regiment, Kamptee. - 34th Regiment, Trichinopoly. - 35th Regiment, Hurryhur. - 36th[44] Regiment, Madras. - 37th[45] Regiment, Burmah. - 38th[44] Regiment, Singapore. - 39th Regiment, Madras. - 40th Regiment, Cuttack. - 41st Regiment, Secunderabad. - 42d Regiment, Secunderabad. - 43d Regiment, Vizagapatam. - 44th Regiment, Burmah. - 45th Regiment, Rangoon. - 46th Regiment, Henzana. - 47th Regiment, Bellary. - 48th Regiment, Moulmein. - 49th[44] Regiment, Secunderabad. - 50th Regiment, Bangalore. - 51st Regiment, Pallamcottah. - 52d Regiment, Mercara. - - - _Artillery, Engineers, Sappers and Miners._ - Horse-artillery, 4 European Troops. } - Horse-artillery, 2 Native Troops. } Head-quarters: - Foot-artillery, 4 European Battalions, } St Thomas’s Mount, - (4 Companies each.) } Bangalore, - Foot-artillery, 1 Native Battalion. } Kamptee, Saugor, - (6 Companies.) } Secunderabad. - - Engineers, Head-quarters: Fort St George. - Sappers and Miners, Head-quarters: Dowlaishweram. - - - REGIMENTS AND STATIONS OF BOMBAY ARMY—MAY 1857. - - SIR HENRY SOMERSET, Commander-in-chief. - - _European Cavalry._ - 14th Light Dragoons (Queen’s), Kirkee. - - _Native Regular Cavalry._ - 1st Lancers, Nuseerabad. - 2d Light Cavalry, Rajcote. - 3d Light Cavalry, [Persia.] - - _Native Irregular Cavalry._ - 1st Sinde Irregular Horse, Jacobabad. - 2d Sinde Irregular Horse, Jacobabad. - Poonah Irregular Horse, [Persia.] - Gujerat Irregular Horse, Ahmedabad. - South Mahratta Irregular Horse, [Persia.] - Cutch Irregular Horse, Bhooj. - - _European Infantry._ - 64th Foot (Queen’s), [Persia.] - 78th Foot (Queen’s), Poonah. - 86th Foot (Queen’s), Kurachee. - 1st Fusiliers (East India Company’s), Kurachee. - 2d Light Infantry (East India Company’s), [Persia.] - 3d Light Infantry (East India Company’s), Poonah. - - _Native Regular Infantry._ - 1st Regiment,[46] Baroda. - 2d[46] Regiment, Ahmedabad. - 3d Regiment, Sholapore. - 4th[47] Regiment, [Persia.] - 5th Regiment, Bombay. - 6th Regiment, Poonah. - 7th Regiment, Poonah. - 8th Regiment, Baroda. - 9th Regiment, Surat. - 10th Regiment, Nuseerabad. - 11th Regiment, Bombay. - 12th Regiment, Deesa. - 13th Regiment, Hydrabad. - 14th Regiment, Kurachee. - 15th Regiment, Bombay. - 16th Regiment, Shikarpore. - 17th Regiment, Bhooj. - 18th Regiment, [Aden.] - 19th Regiment, Mulligaum. - 20th Regiment, [Persia] - 21st Regiment, Neemuch. - 22d Regiment, Satara. - 23d Regiment, [Persia.] - 24th Regiment, Ahmednuggur. - 25th Regiment, Ahmedabad. - 26th Regiment, [Persia.] - 27th Regiment, Kolapore. - 28th Regiment, Dharwar. - 29th Regiment, Belgaum. - - _Native Irregular Infantry._ - 1st Belooch Battalion, Kurachee. - 2d Belooch Battalion, [Persia.] - Khandeish Bheel Corps, Dhurrungaum. - Rutnagherry Rangers, Rutnagherry. - Sawunt Waree Corps, Sawunt - Waree. - Satara Local Corps, Satara. - Kolapore Infantry Corps, Kolapore. - - - _Artillery, Engineers, Sappers and Miners._ - Horse-artillery, 1 European Brigade. } - (4 Troops.)[48] } Head-quarters: - Foot-artillery, 2 European Battalions. } Bombay. - (4 Companies each.) } Ahmedabad. - Foot-artillery, 2 Native Battalions. } Ahmednuggur. - (6 Companies each.) } - - Engineers, Head-quarters: Bombay, - Sappers and Miners, Head-quarters: Poonah and - Aden. - -[Illustration: - - Jumma Musjid, Agra.—Mosque built by Shah Jehan in 1656. -] - ------ - -Footnote 34: - - ┌───────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────┐ - │Presidency.│ Queen’s │Company’s │Total.│ - │ │Regiments.│Regiments.│ │ - ├───────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────┤ - │Bengal, │ 16│ 3│ 19│ - │Madras, │ 4│ 3│ 7│ - │Bombay, │ 4│ 3│ 7│ - ├───────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────┤ - │ │ 24│ 9│ 33│ - └───────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────┘ - -Footnote 35: - - ┌───────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────┐ - │Presidency.│ Queen’s │Company’s │Total.│ - │ │Regiments.│Regiments.│ │ - ├───────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────┤ - │Bengal, │ 15│ 4│ 19│ - │Madras, │ 5│ 4│ 9│ - │Bombay, │ 4│ 3│ 7│ - ├───────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────┤ - │ │ 24│ 11│ 35│ - └───────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────┘ - -Footnote 36: - - _First Division_, under Major-general Stalker— - - Natives, 3550 - Europeans, 2270 - ———— - 5820 - - _Second Division_, under Brigadier-general Havelock— - - Natives, 4370 - Europeans, 1770 - ———— - 6140 - -Footnote 37: - - In August 1857, of the whole railway distance marked out from - Alexandria through Cairo to Suez, 205 miles in length, about 175 miles - were finished—namely, from Alexandria to the crossing of the Nile, 65 - miles; from the crossing of the Nile to Cairo, 65 miles; from Cairo - towards Suez, 45 miles. The remainder of the journey consisted of 30 - miles of sandy desert, not at that time provided with a railway, but - traversed by omnibuses or vans. - -Footnote 38: - - ‘According to existing regulations of some years’ standing, every - soldier on his arrival in India is provided with the following - articles of clothing, in addition to those which compose his kit in - this country: - - ‘Mounted Men.—4 white jackets, 6 pair of white overalls, 2 pair of - Settringee overalls, 6 shirts, 4 pair of cotton socks, 1 pair of white - braces. - - ‘Foot-soldiers.—4 white jackets, 1 pair of English summer trousers, 5 - pair of white trousers, 5 white shirts, 2 check shirts, 1 pair of - white braces. - - ‘These articles are not supplied in this country, but form a part of - the soldier’s necessaries on his arrival in India, and are composed of - materials made on the spot, and best suited to the climate. - - ‘During his stay in India, China, Ceylon, and at other hot stations, - he is provided with a tunic and shell-jacket in alternate years; and - in the year in which the tunic is not issued, the difference in the - value of the two articles is paid to the soldier, to be expended (by - the officer commanding) for his benefit in any articles suited to the - climate of the station. - - ‘The force recently sent out to China and India has been provided with - white cotton helmet and forage-cap covers. - - ‘Any quantity of light clothing for troops can be procured on the spot - in India at the shortest notice.’ - -Footnote 39: - - Grenadiers. - -Footnote 40: - - Volunteers. - -Footnote 41: - - Volunteers. - -Footnote 42: - - Goorkhas. - -Footnote 43: - - Removed to Calcutta. - -Footnote 44: - - Rifles. - -Footnote 45: - - Grenadiers. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - THE SIEGE OF DELHI: JUNE AND JULY. - - -While these varied scenes were being presented; while sepoy regiments -were revolting throughout the whole breadth of Northern India, and a -handful of British troops was painfully toiling to control them; while -Henry Lawrence was struggling, and struggling even to death, to maintain -his position in Oude; while John Lawrence was sagaciously managing the -half-wild Punjaub at a troublous time; while Wheeler at Cawnpore, and -Colvin at Agra, were beset in the very thick of the mutineers; while -Neill and Havelock were advancing up the Jumna; while Canning was doing -his best at Calcutta, Harris and Elphinstone at Madras and Bombay, and -the imperial government at home, to meet the trying difficulties with a -determined front—while all this was doing, Delhi was the scene of a -continuous series of operations. Every eye was turned towards that -place. The British felt that there was no security for their power in -India till Delhi was retaken; the insurgents knew that they had a -rallying-point for all their disaffected countrymen, so long as the -Mogul city was theirs; and hence bands of armed men were attracted -thither by antagonistic motives. Although the real siege did not -commence till many weary weeks had passed, the plan and preparations for -it must be dated from the very day when the startling news spread over -India that Delhi had been seized by rebellious sepoys, under the -auspices of the decrepit, dethroned, debauched representative of the -Moguls. - -It was, as we have already seen (p. 70), on the morning of Monday the -11th of May, that the 11th and 20th regiments Bengal native infantry, -and the 3d Bengal cavalry, arrived at Delhi after a night-march from -Meerut, where they had mutinied on the preceding evening. At Delhi, we -have also seen, those mutineers were joined by the 38th, 54th, and 74th -native infantry. It was on that same 11th of May that evening saw the -six mutinous regiments masters of the imperial city; and the English -officers and residents, their wives and children, wanderers through -jungles and over streams and rivers. What occurred within Delhi on the -subsequent days is imperfectly known; the few Europeans who could not or -did not escape were in hiding; and scanty notices only have ever come to -light from those or other sources. A Lahore newspaper, three or four -months afterwards, gave a narrative prepared by a native, who was within -Delhi from the 21st of May to the 23d of June. Arriving ten days after -the mutiny, he found the six regiments occupying the Selimgurh and -Mohtabagh, but free to roam over the city; where the sepoys and sowars, -aided by the rabble of the place, plundered the better houses and shops, -stole horses from those who possessed them, ‘looted’ the passengers who -crossed the Jumna by the bridge of boats, and fought with each other for -the property which the fleeing British families had left behind them. -After a few days, something like order was restored, by leaders who -assumed command in the name of the King of Delhi. This was all the more -necessary when new arrivals of insurgent troops took place, from -Allygurh, Minpooree, Agra, Muttra, Hansi, Hissar, Umballa, Jullundur, -Nuseerabad, and other places. The mutineers did not, at any time, afford -proof that they were really well commanded; but still there _was_ -command, and the defence of the city was arranged on a definite plan. As -at Sebastopol, so at Delhi; the longer the besiegers delayed their -operations, the greater became the number of defenders within the place, -and the stronger the defence-works. - -It must be remembered, in tracing the history of the siege of Delhi, -that every soldier necessary for forming the siege-army had to be -brought from distant spots. The cantonment outside the city was wholly -in the hands of the rebels; and not a British soldier remained in arms -in or near the place. Mr Colvin at Agra speedily heard the news, but he -had no troops to send for the recapture. General Hewett had a British -force at Meerut—unskilfully handled, as many persons thought and still -think; and it remained to be seen what arrangements the -commander-in-chief could make to render this and other forces available -for the reconquest of the important city. - -Major-general Sir Henry Barnard was the medium of communication on this -occasion. Being stationed at Umballa, in command of the Sirhind military -division, he received telegraphic messages on the 11th of May from -Meerut and Delhi, announcing the disasters at those places. He -immediately despatched his aid-de-camp to Simla, to point out the urgent -need for General Anson’s presence on the plains instead of among the -hills. Anson, hearing this news on the 12th, first thought about his -troops, and then about his own movements. Knowing well the extreme -paucity of European regiments in the Delhi and Agra districts, and in -all the region thence eastward to Calcutta, he saw that any available -force to recover possession of Delhi must come chiefly from Sirhind and -the Punjaub. Many regiments were at the time at the hill-stations of -Simla, Dugshai, Kussowlie, Deyrah Dhoon, Subathoo, &c., where they were -posted during a time of peace in a healthy temperate region; but now -they had to descend from their sanitaria to take part in stern -operations in the plains. The commander-in-chief sent instant orders to -transfer the Queen’s 75th foot from Kussowlie to Umballa, the 1st and 2d -Bengal Europeans from Dugshai to Umballa, the Sirmoor battalion from -Deyrah Dhoon to Meerut, two companies of the Queen’s 8th foot from -Jullundur to Phillour, and two companies of the Queen’s 81st foot, -together with one company of European artillery, from Lahore to -Umritsir. These orders given, General Anson himself left Simla on the -evening of the 14th, and arrived at Umballa early on the 15th. Before he -started, he issued the proclamation already adverted to, announcing to -the troops of the native army generally that no cartridges would be -brought into use against the conscientious wishes of the soldiery; and -after he arrived at Umballa, fearing that his proclamation had not been -strong enough, he issued another, to the effect that no new cartridges -whatever should be served out—thereby, as he hoped, putting an end to -all fear concerning objectionable lubricating substances being used; for -he was not aware how largely hypocrisy was mixed up with sincerity in -the native scruples on this point. - -Anson and Barnard, when together at Umballa, had to measure well the -forces available to them. The Umballa magazines were nearly empty of -stores and ammunition; the artillery wagons were in the depôt at -Phillour; the medical officers dreaded the heat for troops to move in -such a season; and the commissariat was ill supplied with vehicles and -beasts of burden and draught. The only effectual course was found to be, -that of bringing small detachments from many different stations; and -this system was in active progress during the week following Anson’s -arrival at Umballa. On the 16th, troops came into that place from -Phillour and Subathoo. On the 17th arrived three European regiments from -the Hills,[49] which were shortly to be strengthened by artillery from -Phillour. The prospect was not altogether a cheering one, for two of the -regiments at the station were Bengal native troops (the 5th and 60th), -on whose fidelity only slight reliance could be placed at such a -critical period. In order that no time might he lost in forming the -nucleus of a force for Delhi, some of the troops were despatched that -same night; comprising one wing of a European regiment, a few horse, and -two guns. On successive days, other troops took their departure as -rapidly as the necessary arrangements could be made; but Anson was -greatly embarrassed by the distance between Umballa and the station -where the siege-guns were parked; he knew that a besieging army would be -of no use without those essential adjuncts; and it was on that account -that he was unable to respond to Viscount Canning’s urgent request that -he would push on rapidly towards Delhi. - -On the 23d of May, Anson sketched a plan of operations, which he -communicated to the brigadiers whose services were more immediately at -his disposal. Leaving Sir Henry Barnard in command at Umballa, he -proposed to head the siege-army himself. It was to consist[50] of three -brigades—one from Umballa, under Brigadier Halifax; a second from the -same place, under Brigadier Jones; and a third from Meerut, under -Brigadier Wilson. He proposed to send off the two brigades from Umballa -on various days, so that all the corps should reach Kurnaul, fifty miles -nearer to Delhi, by the 30th. Then, by starting on the 1st of June, he -expected to reach Bhagput on the 5th, with all his Umballa force except -the siege-train, which might possibly arrive on the 6th. Meanwhile -Major-general Hewett was to organise a brigade at Meerut, and send it to -Bhagput, where it would form a junction with the other two brigades. -Ghazeeoodeen Nuggur being a somewhat important post, as a key to the -Upper Doab, it was proposed that Brigadier Wilson should leave a small -force there—consisting of a part of the Sirmoor battalion, a part of the -Rampore horse, and a few guns—while he advanced with the rest of his -brigade to Bhagput. Lastly, it was supposed that the Meerut brigade, by -starting on the 1st or 2d of June, could reach the rendezvous on the -5th, and that then all could advance together towards Delhi. Such was -General Anson’s plan—a plan that he was not destined to put in execution -himself. - -It will be convenient to trace the course of proceeding in the following -mode—to describe the advance of the Meerut brigade to Bhagput, with its -adventures on the way; then to notice in a similar way the march of the -main body from Umballa to Bhagput; next the progress of the collected -siege-army from the last-named town to the crest or ridge bounding Delhi -on the north; and, lastly, the commencement of the siege-operations -themselves—operations lamentably retarded by the want of a sufficient -force of siege-guns. - -[Illustration: - - SIR HENRY BARNARD. -] - -Major-general Hewett, at Meerut, proceeded to organise a brigade in -accordance with the plan laid down by General Anson: retaining at his -head-quarters a force sufficient to protect Meerut and its -neighbourhood. It was on the 27th of May that this brigade was ready, -and that Colonel Archdall Wilson was placed in command of it—a gallant -officer afterwards better known as Brigadier or General Wilson. The -brigade was very small; comprising less than 500 of the 60th Rifles, 200 -of the Carabiniers, one battery and a troop of artillery. They started -on the evening of the 27th; and after marching during the cooler hours -of the 28th and 29th, encamped on the morning of the 30th at -Ghazeeoodeen Nuggur (Ghazee-u-deen Nuggur, Guznee de Nuggur). This was a -small town or village on the left bank of the river Hindoun, eighteen -miles east of Delhi, important as commanding one of the passages over -that river from Meerut, the passage being by a suspension-bridge. - -On that same day, the 30th of May, Brigadier Wilson was attacked by the -insurgents, who had sallied forth from Delhi for this purpose, and who -were doubtless anxious to prevent a junction of the Meerut force with -that from Kurnaul. The enemy appeared in force on the opposite side of -the river, with five guns in position. Wilson at once sent a body of -Rifles to command the suspension-bridge; while a few Carabiniers were -despatched along the river-bank to a place where they were able to ford. -The insurgents opened fire with their five heavy guns; whereupon the -brigadier sent off to the attacked points all his force except -sufficient to guard his camp; and then the contest became very brisk. -The Rifles, under Colonel Jones, were ordered to charge the enemy’s -guns; they rushed forward, disregarding grape and canister shot, and -advanced towards the guns. When they saw a shell about to burst, they -threw themselves down on their faces to avoid the danger, then jumped -up, and off again. They reached the guns, drove away the gunners, and -effected a capture. The enemy, beaten away from the defences of the -bridge, retreated to a large walled village, where they had the courage -to stand a hand-to-hand contest for a time—a struggle which no native -troops could long continue against the British Rifles. As evening came -on, the enemy fled with speed to Delhi, leaving behind them five guns, -ammunition, and stores. Colonel Coustance followed them some distance -with the Carabiniers; but it was not deemed prudent to continue the -pursuit after nightfall. In this smart affair 11 were killed, 21 wounded -or missing. Captain Andrews, with four of his riflemen, while taking -possession of two heavy pieces of ordnance on the causeway, close to the -toll-house of the bridge, were blown up by the explosion of an -ammunition-wagon, fired by one of the sepoy gunners. - -The mutineers did not allow Brigadier Wilson to remain many hours quiet. -He saw parties of their horse reconnoitring his position all the morning -of the 31st; and he kept, therefore, well on the alert. At one o’clock -the enemy, supposed to be five thousand in number, took up a position a -mile in length, on a ridge on the opposite side of the Hindoun, and -about a mile distant from Wilson’s advanced picket. Horse-artillery and -two 18-pounders were at once sent forward to reply to this fire, with a -party of Carabiniers to support; while another party, of Rifles, -Carabiniers, and guns, went to support the picket at the bridge. For -nearly two hours the contest was one of artillery alone, the British -guns being repeatedly and vainly charged by the enemy’s cavalry; the -enemy’s fire then slackening, and the Rifles having cleared a village on -the left of the toll-bar, the brigadier ordered a general advance. The -result was as on the preceding day; the mutineers were driven back. The -British all regretted they could not follow, and cut up the enemy in the -retreat; but the brigadier, seeing that many of his poor fellows fell -sun-stricken, was forced to call them back into camp when the action was -over. This victory was not so complete as that on the preceding day; for -the mutineers were able to carry off all their guns, two heavy and five -light. The killed and wounded on the side of the English were 24 in -number, of whom 10 were stricken down by the heat of the sun—a cause of -death that shews how terrible must have been the ordeal passed through -by all on such a day. Among the officers, Lieutenant Perkins was killed, -and Captain Johnson and Ensign Napier wounded. - -After the struggle of the 31st of May, the enemy did not molest Wilson -in his temporary camp at Ghazeeoodeen Nuggur. He provided for his -wounded, refitted his brigade, and waited for reinforcements. On the -morning of the 3d of June he was joined by another hundred of the 60th -Rifles from Meerut, and by a Goorkha regiment, the Sirmoor battalion, -from Deyrah Dhoon; and then lost no time in marching to the rendezvous. -The route taken was very circuitous, hilly, and rugged; and the brigade -did not reach the rendezvous head-quarters at Bhagput till the morning -of the 6th. - -We have now to trace the fortunes of the Umballa force. It was on the -23d of May, as has been shewn, that General Anson put forth the scheme -for an advance towards Delhi, in which the brigade from Meerut was to -take part. He left Umballa on the 24th, and reached Kurnaul on the 25th. -All the proposed regiments and detachments from Umballa had by that time -come in to Kurnaul except two troops of horse-artillery; but as the -siege-train was far in arrear, Anson telegraphed to Calcutta that he -would not be in a position to advance from Kurnaul towards Delhi until -the 31st of the month. On the 26th, the commander-in-chief’s plans were -ended by the ending of his life; an attack of cholera carried him off in -a few hours. He hastily summoned Sir Henry Barnard from Umballa; and his -last words were to place the Delhi force under the command of that -officer. At that time news and orders travelled slowly between Calcutta -and the northwest; for dâks were interrupted and telegraph wires cut; -and it was therefore necessary that the command should at once be given -to some one, without waiting for sanction from the governor-general. -Viscount Canning heard the news on the 3d of June, and immediately -confirmed the appointment of Sir Henry to the command of the siege-army; -but that confirmation was not known to the besiegers till long -afterwards. Major-general Reed, by the death of Anson, became -provisional commander-in-chief; and he left Rawul Pindee on the 28th of -May to join the head-quarters of the siege-army, but without superseding -Barnard. It was a terrible time for all these generals: Anson and -Halifax had both succumbed to cholera; Reed was so thoroughly broken -down by illness that he could not command in person; and Barnard was -summoned from a sick-bed by the dying commander-in-chief. - -Sir Henry Barnard did not feel justified in advancing from Kurnaul until -heavier guns than those he possessed could arrive from the Punjaub. On -the 31st, a 9-pounder battery—those already at hand being only -6-pounders—came into camp; and the march from Kurnaul to Paniput -commenced on that evening. Sir Henry expected to have met Brigadier -Wilson at Raee, where there was a bridge of boats over the Jumna; but -through some misconstruction or countermanding of orders, Wilson had -taken a much more circuitous route by Ghazeeoodeen Nuggur, and could not -join the Umballa brigade at the place or on the day expected. Barnard, -after a brief sojourn and a slight change of plan, sent out elephants to -aid in bringing forward the Meerut brigade, and advanced with the -greater portion of his own force to Alipore (or Aleepore), where he -arrived on the morning of the 5th of June. The chief artillery force -being with the Meerut brigade, Sir Henry waited for Wilson, who effected -a junction with him on the 6th; and on the 7th, the united forces were -reorganised, at a point so near Delhi that the troops looked forward -eagerly to a speedy encounter with the enemy. - -Many of the soldiers who thus assembled at a place distant only a few -miles from the famous city, which they all hoped soon to retake from the -hands of the enemy, had marched great distances. Among the number was -the corps of Guides, whose march was one of those determined exploits of -which soldiers always feel proud, and to which they point as proof that -they shrink not from fatigue and heat when a post of duty is assigned to -them. This remarkable corps was raised on the conclusion of the Sutlej -campaign, to act either as regular troops or as guides and spies, -according as the exigencies of the service might require. The men were -chosen for their sagacity and intelligence, as well as for their courage -and hardihood. They were inhabitants of the Punjaub, but belonged to no -one selected race or creed; for among them were to be found -mountaineers, borderers, men of the plains, and half-wild warriors. -Among them nearly all the dialects of Northern India were more or less -known; and they were as familiar with hill-fighting as with service on -the plains. They were often employed as intelligencers, and in -reconnoitring an enemy’s position. They were the best of all troops to -act against the robber hill-tribes, with whom India is so greatly -infested. Among the many useful pieces of Indian service effected by Sir -Henry Lawrence, was the suggestion of this corps; and Lord Hardinge, -when commander-in-chief, acted on it in 1846. The corps was at first -limited to one troop of cavalry and two companies of artillery, less -than three hundred men in all; but the Marquis of Dalhousie afterwards -raised it to three troops and six companies, about eight hundred and -fifty men, commanded by four European officers and a surgeon. The men -were dressed in a plain serviceable drab uniform. Their pay was eight -rupees per month for a foot-soldier, and twenty-four for a trooper. -These, then, were the Guides of whom English newspaper-readers heard so -much but knew so little. They were stationed at a remote post in the -Punjaub, not far from the Afghan frontier, when orders reached them to -march to Delhi, a distance of no less than 750 miles. They set off, -horse and foot together, and accomplished the distance in twenty-eight -days—a really great achievement in the heat of an Indian summer; they -suffered much, of course; but all took pride in their work, and obtained -high praise from the commander-in-chief. One of the English officers -afterwards declared that he had never before experienced the necessity -of ‘roughing’ it as on this occasion. Captain Daly commanded the whole -corps, while Captain Quintin Battye had special control of that portion -of it which consisted of troopers. - -The Guides, as has just been shewn, were an exceptional corps, raised -among the natives for a peculiar service. But the siege-army contained -gallant regiments of ordinary troops, whose marching was little less -severe. One of these was the 1st Bengal European Fusiliers; a British -regiment wholly belonging to the Company, and one which in old times was -known as Lord Lake’s ‘dear old dirty shirts.’ On the 13th of May it was -at Dugshai, a sanatarium and hill-station not far from Simla. Major -Jacob rode in hastily from Simla, announced that Meerut and Delhi were -in revolt, and brought an order for the regiment to march down to -Umballa forthwith, to await further orders. At five o’clock that same -day the men marched forth, with sixty rounds in pouch, and food in -haversack. After a twenty-four miles’ walk they refreshed on the ground, -supping and sleeping as best they could. At an hour after midnight they -renewed their march, taking advantage—as troops in India are wont to -do—of the cool hours of the night; they marched till six or seven, and -then rested during the heat of the day at Chundeegurh. From five till -ten in the evening they again advanced, and then had supper and three -hours’ rest at Mobarrackpore. Then, after a seven hours’ march during -the night of the 14th-15th, they reached Umballa—having accomplished -sixty miles in thirty-eight hours. Here they were compelled to remain -some days until the arrangements of the general in other directions were -completed; and during this detention many of their number were carried -off by cholera. At length four companies were sent on towards Kurnaul on -the 17th, under Captain Dennis; while the other companies did not start -till the 21st. The two wings of the regiments afterwards effected a -junction, and marched by Paniput, Soomalka, and Sursowlie, to Raee, -where they arrived on the 31st of May. Under a scorching sun every day, -the troops were well-nigh beaten down; but the hope of ‘thrashing the -rebels at Delhi’ cheered them on. One officer speaks of the glee with -which he and his companions came in sight of a field of onions, ‘all -green above and white below,’ and of the delightful relish they enjoyed -during a temporary rest. The regiment, after remaining at Raee till the -morning of the 5th of June, was then joined by its commandant, Colonel -Welchman. Forming now part of Brigadier Showers’ brigade, the 1st -Europeans marched to Alipore, where its fortunes were mixed up with -those of the other troops in the besieging army. - -Many at Calcutta wondered why Barnard did not make a more rapid advance -from Paniput and Raee to Alipore; and many at Raee wondered why Wilson -did not come in more quickly from Ghazeeoodeen Nuggur. The brigadier was -said to have had his plans somewhat changed by suggestions from one of -the Greatheds (Mr H. H. Greathed was agent, and Lieutenant W. H. -Greathed, aid-de-camp, for the lieutenant-governor of the Northwest -Provinces in the camp of the siege-army); while Sir Henry was anxious -both to secure Wilson’s co-operation as soon as he started, and to -preserve the health of his men during the trying season of heat. It is -greatly to the credit of him and all the officers, that the various -regiments, notwithstanding their long marches and fierce exposure to -heat, reached Delhi in admirable health—leaving cholera many miles -behind them. Having been joined by a siege-train on the 6th of June, and -by Brigadier Wilson’s forces on the 7th, Barnard began at once to -organise his plans for an advance. The reinforcements brought by Wilson -were very miscellaneous;[51] but they had fought well on the banks of -the Hindoun, and were an indispensable aid to the general. Major-general -Reed arrived from Rawul Pindee at midnight, not to take the command from -Barnard, but to sanction the line of proceedings as temporary -commander-in-chief. - -It was at one o’clock on the morning of the 8th of June that the -siege-army set out from Alipore, to march the ten miles which separate -that village from Delhi. Some of the reinforcements, such as the Guides, -had not yet arrived; but the troops which formed the army of march on -this morning, according to Sir Henry’s official dispatch, were as noted -below.[52] They advanced to a village, the name of which is variously -spelt in the dispatches, letters, and maps as Badulla Serai, -Bardul-ki-Serai, Badulee-ke-Serai, Bardeleeke Serai, Budleeka Suraee, -&c., about four miles from Delhi. Here the fighting began; here the -besiegers came in contact with the enemy who had been so long sought. -When within a short distance of the village, the sepoy watch-fires were -seen (for day had scarcely yet broken). Suddenly a report was heard, and -a shot and shell came roaring down the road to the advancing British -force; and then it became necessary to plan a mode of dealing with the -enemy, who were several thousands in number, in a strongly intrenched -position, with artillery well served. Sir Henry Barnard intrusted -Brigadiers Showers, Graves, and Grant with distinct duties—the first to -advance with his brigade on the right of the main trunk-road; the second -to take the left of the same road; and the third to cross the canal, -advance quietly, and recross in the rear of the enemy’s position at such -a time as a signal should direct them to effect a surprise. The guns -were placed in and on both sides of the road. When the hostile forces -met, the enemy opened a severe fire—a fire so severe, indeed, that the -general resolved to stop it by capturing the battery itself. This was -effected in a gallant manner by the 75th foot and the 1st Europeans; it -was perilous work, for the troops had to pass over open ground, with -very little shelter or cover. Several officers were struck down at this -point; but the most serious loss was produced by a cannon-shot which -killed Colonel Chester, adjutant-general of the army. The battery was -charged so determinedly that the artillerymen were forced to flee, -leaving their guns behind them; while the advance of the other two -brigades compelled them to a general flight. Colonel Welchman, of the -1st Fusiliers, in his eagerness galloped after three of the mutineers -and cut one of them down; but the act would have cost him his own life, -had not a private of his regiment come opportunely to his aid. - -A question now arose, whether to halt for a while, or push on towards -Delhi. It was between five and six o’clock on a summer morning; and -Barnard decided that it would be advisable not to allow the enemy time -to reassemble in or near the village. The men were much exhausted; but -after a hasty taste of rum and biscuit, they resumed their march. -Advancing in two columns, Brigadiers Wilson and Showers fought their way -along the main trunk-road; while Barnard and Graves turned off at -Azadpore by the road which led through the cantonment of Delhi—a -cantonment lately in the hands of the British authorities, but now -deserted. This advance was a continuous fight the whole way: the rebels -disputing the passage inch by inch. It then became perceptible that a -rocky ridge which bounds Delhi on the north was bristling with bayonets -and cannon, and that the conquest of this ridge would be a necessary -preliminary to an approach to Delhi. Barnard determined on a rapid -flank-movement to turn the right of the enemy’s position. With a force -consisting of the 60th Rifles under Colonel Jones, the 2d Europeans -under Captain Boyd, and a troop of horse-artillery under Captain Money, -Sir Henry rapidly advanced, ascended the ridge, took the enemy in flank, -compelled them to flee, and swept the whole length of the ridge—the -enemy abandoning twenty-six guns, with ammunition and camp-equipage. The -Rifles rendered signal service in this movement; taking advantage of -every slight cover, advancing closer to the enemy’s guns than other -infantry could safely do, and picking off the gunners. Brigadier Wilson -and his companions were enabled to advance by the main road; and he and -Barnard met on the ridge. From that hour the besieging army took up its -position before Delhi—never to leave it till months of hard fighting had -made them masters of the place. During the struggle on the ridge, two -incidents greatly exasperated the troops: one was the discovery that a -captured cart, which they supposed to contain ammunition, was full of -the mangled limbs and trunks of their murdered fellow-Christians; the -other was that two or three Europeans were found fighting for and with -the rebels—probably soldiers of fortune, ready to sell their services to -the highest bidders. Every European—and it was supposed that Delhi -contained others of the kind—so caught was sure to be cut to pieces by -the enraged soldiery, with a far more deadly hatred than sepoys -themselves could have inspired. This day’s work was not effected without -serious loss. Colonel Chester, we have said, was killed; as were -Captains Delamain and Russell, and Lieutenant Harrison. The wounded -comprised Colonel Herbert; Captains Dawson and Greville; Lieutenants -Light, Hunter, Davidson, Hare, Fitzgerald, Barter, Rivers, and Ellis; -and Ensign Pym. In all, officers and privates, there were 51 killed and -133 wounded. Nearly 50 horses were either killed or wounded. - -Here, then, in the afternoon of the 8th of June, were the British posted -before Delhi. It will be necessary to have a clear notion of the -relative positions of the besiegers and the besieged, to understand the -narrative which is to follow. Of Delhi itself an account is given -elsewhere, with a brief notice of the defence-works;[53] but the gates -and bastions must here be enumerated somewhat more minutely, as the plan -of the siege mainly depended on them. A small branch or nullah of the -Jumna is separated from the main stream by a sand-bank which forms an -island; the junction or rejoining of the two takes place where the Jumna -is crossed by a bridge of boats, and where the old fort called the -Selimgurh was built. Beginning at this point, we trace the circuit of -the wall and its fortifications. From the Selimgurh the wall borders—or -rather bordered (for it will be well to speak in the past tense)—the -nullah for about three-quarters of a mile, in a northwest direction, -marked by the Calcutta Gate, a martello tower, the Kaila Gate, the -Nuseergunje Bastion, and the Moree or Moira Bastion. The wall then -turned sharply to the west, or slightly southwest; and during a length -of about three-quarters of a mile presented the Moree Bastion just -named, the Cashmere Gate, the Moree Gate, and the Shah Bastion. To this -succeeded a portion about a mile in length, running nearly north and -south, and marked by the Cabool Gate, a martello tower, Burn Bastion, -the Lahore Gate, and the Gurstin Bastion. Then, an irregular polygonal -line of two miles in length carried the wall round to the bank of the -Jumna, by a course bending more and more to the east; here were -presented the Turushkana Gate, a martello tower, the Ajmeer Gate, the -Akbar Bastion, another martello tower, the Ochterlony Bastion, the -Turcoman Gate, a third and a fourth martello towers, and the Delhi Gate. -Lastly, along the bank of the river for a mile and a half, and separated -from the water at most times by a narrow sandy strip, was a continuation -of the wall, broken by the Wellesley and Nawab Bastions, the Duryagunje -Gate, a martello tower, the Rajghat Gate, the wall of the imperial -palace, and the defence-wall entirely surrounding the Selimgurh. Such -were the numerous gates, bastions, and towers at that period; many parts -of the wall and bastions were formed of masonry twelve feet thick, and -the whole had been further strengthened by the rebels during four weeks -of occupation. Outside the defences was a broad ditch twenty feet deep -from the ground, or thirty-five from the top of the wall. - -The position taken up by the besiegers may be thus briefly described. -The camp was pitched on the former parade-ground of the deserted -encampment, at a spot about a mile and a half from the northern wall of -the city, with a rocky ridge acting as a screen between it and the city. -This ridge was commanded by the rebels until the afternoon of the 8th; -but from that time it was in the hands of the besiegers. The British -line on this ridge rested on the left on an old tower used as a -signal-post, often called the Flagstaff Tower; at its centre, upon an -old mosque; and at its right, upon a house with enclosures strongly -placed at the point where the ridge begins to slope down towards the -plain. This house, formerly occupied by a Mahratta chief named Hindoo -Rao, was generally known as Hindoo Rao’s house. Owing to the ridge being -very oblique in reference to the position of the city, the right of the -line was of necessity thrown much forward, and hence Hindoo Rao’s house -became the most important post in the line. Near this house, owing to -its commanding position, the British planted three batteries; and to -protect these batteries, Rifles, Guides, and Sirmoor Goorkhas were -posted within convenient distance. Luckily for the British, Hindoo Rao’s -house was ‘pucka-built,’ that is, a substantial brick structure, and -bore up well against the storm of shot aimed at it by the rebels. - -When the British had effected a permanent lodgment on the ridge, with -the camp pitched in the old cantonment behind the ridge as a screen, the -time had arrived when the detailed plan for the siege was to be -determined, if it had not been determined already. Some military critics -averred that Sir Henry Barnard, only acquainted in a slight degree with -that part of India, displayed indecision, giving and countermanding -orders repeatedly, and leaving his subordinates in doubt concerning the -real plan of the siege. Others contended that the sudden assumption of -command on the death of General Anson, the small number of troops, and -the want of large siege-guns, were enough to render necessary great -caution in the mode of procedure. The truth appears to be, that the -rebels were found stronger in Delhi, than was suspected before the -siege-army approached close to the place; moreover, they had contested -the advance from Alipore more obstinately than had been expected—shewing -that, though not equal to British soldiers, it would not be safe to -despise their prowess. The plan of attack would obviously depend upon -the real or supposed defensive measures of the besieged. If the rebels -risked a battle outside the walls, they might very likely be defeated -and followed into the city and palace; but then would come a disastrous -street-fighting against enemies screened behind loopholed walls, and -firing upon besiegers much less numerous than themselves. Or the -half-crumbled walls might easily be scaled by active troops; but as -these troops would be a mere handful against large numbers, their -success would be very doubtful. A third plan, suggested by some among -the many advisers of that period, was to make an attack by water, or on -the river-side. The Jumna is at certain times so shallow at Delhi as to -be almost fordable, and leaving a strip of sand on which batteries might -be planted; these batteries might breach the river-wall of the palace, -and so disturb the garrison as to permit a large body of the besiegers -to enter under cover of the firing; but a rise in the river would -fatally affect this enterprise. A fourth plan suggested was to attack -near the Cashmere Gate, on the north side of the city; the siege-army -would in this case be protected on its left flank by the river, and -might employ all its force in breaching the wall between the gate and -the river; the guns would render the mainguard untenable; when the -assault was made, it would be on a part where there is much vacant -ground in the interior; and the besieging troops would have a better -chance than if at once entangled among the intricacies of loopholed -houses. Any project for starving out the garrison, if it ever entered -the mind of any soldier, was soon abandoned; the boundary was too -extensive, the gates too many, and the besiegers too few, to effect -this. - -[Illustration: - - Hindoo Rao’s House—Battery in front. -] - -During the early days after the arrival of the British, indications -appeared of an intention to blow open the Cashmere Gate, and effect a -forcible entry into the city at once; but these indications soon ceased; -and the besiegers found themselves compelled rather to resist attacks -than to make them; for the enemy, strong in numbers, made repeated -sorties from the various gates of the city, and endeavoured to dislodge -the British. One such sortie was made about noon on the 9th, within -twenty-four hours after the arrival of the besiegers; the enemy were, -however, easily repulsed, and driven in again. The corps of Guides met -with a loss on this day which occasioned much regret. Among those who -accompanied the hardy men all the way from the Afghan frontier was -Captain Quintin Battye, a young officer much beloved as commandant of -the cavalry portion of the corps. They arrived on the 8th; and on the -next day poor Battye was shot through the body; he lived twenty-four -hours in great agony, and then sank. The Guides had a large share in -this day’s work; many of them fell, in dislodging the enemy from a rocky -position which they temporarily occupied. On the 10th a little -skirmishing took place, but not so serious as on the preceding day; it -was found, however, that the white shirts of the men were a little too -conspicuous; and they underwent an extemporaneous process of dyeing to -deepen the colour. On the 12th, early in the morning, the enemy made a -sudden attack on both flanks; but all points were speedily defended. -They were first driven back on the left; then, after a repulse on the -right, they advanced a second time under the cover of thickly wooded -gardens near the Subzee Mundee—a suburb of Delhi about a mile and a -quarter northwest of the Cabool Gate. Major Jacob was then sent against -them with some of the Bengal Europeans; he beat them back till they got -beyond the suburb, and then returned to the camp. This morning’s affair -was supposed to have cost the enemy 250 men; the British loss was very -small. On this day, the British had the mortification of seeing two -regiments of Rohilcund mutineers, the 60th native infantry and the 4th -native cavalry, enter Delhi with bands playing and colours flying; the -defiant manner was quite as serious an affair as the augmentation of the -strength of the garrison. On the 13th a large enclosure in advance of -the British left, known as Metcalfe House, was occupied by them, and the -erection of a battery of heavy guns and mortars commenced. - -Not a day passed without some such struggles as have just been adverted -to. The besieging of the city had not really commenced, for the British -had not yet a force of artillery sufficient for that purpose; indeed, -they were now the besieged rather than the besiegers; for the enemy came -out of the city—horse, foot, and guns—and attempted to effect a surprise -on one part or other of the position on the ridge. Against the battery -at Metcalfe House a sortie was made on the 15th, and another was made on -the same day at the right of the line. On the 17th an exciting encounter -took place. A shot from the city struck the corner of Hindoo Rao’s -house, and glancing off, killed Lieutenant Wheatley of the Goorkhas. It -was then suspected that the enemy, besides their attacks on this house -in front, were throwing up a battery outside the western gates of the -town, at a large building known as the Eedghah, formerly used as a -serai. Thereupon a force was immediately organised, consisting of -horse-artillery, cavalry, Goorkhas, and Rifles, to drive them away from -that position. They passed through the Subzee Mundee to the Eedghah, -drove out the enemy, and captured the only gun which had yet been placed -there. One of the officers on this duty had a finger shot off, a bullet -through the wrist, another through the cheek, and another which broke -the collar-bone; yet he recovered, to fight again. - -On the 19th of June it came to the knowledge of Brigadier Grant that the -enemy intended to attack the camp in the rear; and as the safety of the -camp had been placed under his keeping, he made instant preparations to -frustrate the insurgents. These troops are believed to have been -augmentations of the insurgent forces, consisting of the 15th and 30th -native regiments from Nuseerabad. The brigadier advanced with six guns -and a squadron of lancers to reconnoitre, and found the enemy in -position half a mile in rear of the Ochterlony Gardens, northwest of the -camp. Troops quickly arrived, and a rapid exchange of fire began, the -enemy being strong in artillery as well as in infantry. Just as the dusk -of the evening came on, the enemy, by a series of skilful and vigorous -attacks, aided by well-served artillery, very nearly succeeded in -turning the flank of the British, and in capturing two guns; but both -these disasters were frustrated. The dusk deepened into darkness; but -the brigadier felt that it would not do to allow the enemy to occupy -that position during the night. A charge was made with great impetuosity -by horse and foot, with so much success, that the enemy were driven back -quite into the town. The brigadier had to regret the loss of Colonel -Yule of the 9th Lancers, who was knocked off his horse, and not found -again by his men till next morning; when they were shocked to see him -dead and mangled, with both thighs broken, a ball through the head just -over the eyes, his throat cut, and his hands much gashed. He had been on -leave of absence in Cashmere, but directly he heard of the work to be -done, travelled night and day till he reached his regiment just before -its arrival at Delhi. Lieutenant Alexander was also among the killed. -Captain Daly of the Guides, and six other officers, were wounded. All -the officers of the Guides, but one, received wounds. Altogether, the -day’s fighting resulted to the British in the loss of 19 killed and 77 -wounded; and it was a source of much regret that a few of these fell by -the hands of their own comrades, while fighting in some confusion as -darkness approached. No less than sixty horses fell. The brigadier did -not fail to mention the names of three private soldiers—Thomas Hancock, -John Purcell, and Roopur Khan—who behaved with great gallantry at a -critical moment. - -Sir Henry Barnard, for very cogent reasons, watched every movement on -the part of the mutineers who sallied forth from Delhi. On the 22d, he -saw a body of them come out of the city; and as they were not seen to -return at night, he suspected a masked attack. At six in the evening, he -sent out a party of infantry, Guides, and Sappers, to demolish two -bridges which carried the great road across a canal westward of the -camp, and over which the enemy were in the habit of taking their -artillery and columns when they wished to attack the camp in the rear; -this was a work of six hours, warmly contested but successfully -accomplished. On the 23d, Sir Henry, expecting a valuable convoy from -the Punjaub, adopted prompt measures for its protection. He sent out a -strong escort, which safely brought the convoy into camp. Scarcely had -this been effected, when his attention was drawn to the right of his -position, near Hindoo Rao’s house. It was afterwards ascertained that -the enemy, remembering the 23d of June as the centenary of the battle of -Plassy, had resolved to attempt a great victory over the British on that -day; incited, moreover, by the circumstance that two festivals, one -Mussulman and the other Hindoo, happened to occur on that day; and they -emerged from the city in vast force to effect this. They commenced their -attack on the Subzee Mundee side, having a strong position in a village -and among garden-walls. Here a combat was maintained during the whole of -the day, for the rebels continued their attacks with much pertinacity; -they lodged themselves in loopholed houses, a serai, and a mosque, -whence they could not be dislodged till they had wrought much mischief -by musketry. At length, however, they were driven back into the city. -The value of the precaution taken on the preceding evening, in -destroying the bridges, was made fully evident; for the rebels were -unable to cross the canal to get to the rear of the camp. The 1st -Europeans had a desperate contest in the Subzee Mundee, where -street-fighting, and firing from windows and house-tops, continued for -many hours. The British troops suffered terribly from the heat of the -midsummer sun, to which they were exposed from sunrise to sunset. Many -officers were brought away sun-struck and powerless. The Guides fought -for fifteen hours uninterruptedly, with no food, and only a little -water. At one o’clock, when the enemy were strengthened by large -reinforcements from the city, the Guides found themselves without -ammunition, and had to send back to the camp for more; but as great -delay occurred, they were in imminent peril of annihilation. Fortunately -a corps of Sikhs, who had arrived at camp that morning, rushed forward -at a critical moment, and aided the Guides in driving back the enemy. -One of the incidents of the day has been thus narrated, shewing how -little scruple a Goorkha felt when he met a sepoy: ‘In the intense heat, -a soldier of the 2d Europeans and a Goorkha sought the shade and -protection of a house near the Subzee Mundee, a window of which looked -into a lane where they were seated. Not long had they rested when, from -the open window, was seen to project the head of a sepoy. Now all -Hindoos have what ladies at home call “back-hair,” and this is usually -turned up into a knot; by this the unlucky wretch was at once seized, -and before he could even think of resistance, his head was at a stroke -severed from his body by the sharp curved knife of the Goorkha!’ This -day’s work was in every way very severe, and shewed the besiegers that -the rebels were in great strength. Lieutenant Jackson was killed; -Colonel Welchman, Captain Jones, and Lieutenant Murray, wounded. The -total loss of the day was 39 killed and 121 wounded. The enemy’s loss -was very much larger; indeed, one of the estimates raised the number up -to a thousand. The loss appears to have somewhat dispirited the -mutineers, for they made very few attacks on the following three days. - -But although there was a temporary cessation, Sir Henry Barnard, in his -official dispatches, shewed that he was much embarrassed by this -condition of affairs. His forces were few; those of the enemy were very -large; and the attacks were rendered more harassing by the uncertainty -of the point on which they would be made, and the impossibility of -judging whether they were about to be made on more points than one. The -onslaughts could only be successfully repulsed by the untiring and -unflinching gallantry of a small body of men. The enemy, instead of -being beleaguered within Delhi, were free to emerge from the city and -attack the besiegers’ position. The British did not complain: it was not -their wont; but they suffered greatly from this harassing kind of -warfare. Reinforcements were slowly coming in; in the last week of June -the Europeans numbered about three thousand; and they were well -satisfied with the native corps who fought by their side—the Guides, the -Goorkhas, and the Sikhs—all of whom joined very heartily in opposing the -rebel sepoys. The siege-material at this time consisted of five -batteries, mounting about fifteen guns and mortars, placed on various -points of the ridge; the bombardment of the city by these guns was not -very effective, for the distance averaged nearly a mile, and the guns -were not of large calibre. - -The interval from the 23d to the 30th of June passed much in the same -way as the two preceding weeks; the British siege-guns wrought very -little mischief to the city; while the enemy occasionally sallied forth -to attack either the camp or the works on the ridge. It was often -asserted, and facts seemed to corroborate the statement, that when -mutinous regiments from other places appeared before Delhi, they were -not afforded reception and shelter until they had earned it by making an -attack on the British position; and thus it happened that the besiegers -were opposed by a constantly increasing number of the enemy. The -defenders of the garrison fitted up a large battery on the left of the -Cashmere Gate, one at the gate itself, one at the Moree Gate, one at the -Ajmeer Gate, and one directly opposite Hindoo Rao’s house; against these -five batteries, for a long time, the British had only three; so that the -besieged were stronger than the besiegers in every way. The gunners, -too, within Delhi, were fully equal to those of the siege-army in -accuracy of aim; their balls and shells fell near Hindoo Rao’s house so -thickly as to render that post a very perilous one to hold. One shell -entered the gateway, and killed eight or nine officers and men who were -seeking shelter from the mid-day heat. - -[Illustration: - - The General and his Staff at the Mosque Picket before Delhi. -] - -It was pretty well ascertained, before June was half over, that Delhi -was not to be taken by a _coup de main_; and when Sir John Lawrence -became aware of that fact, he sent reinforcements down from the Punjaub -as rapidly as they could be collected. Every sepoy regiment that was -either disbanded or disarmed lessened his own danger, for he trusted -well in his Sikhs, Punjaubees, and Guides; and on that account he was -able to send Europeans and artillery. The reserve and depôt companies of -the regiments already serving before Delhi were sent down from the hills -to join their companions. A wing of H.M. 61st foot, a portion of the -8th, artillery from Jullundur, and artillerymen from Lahore, followed -the Guides and Sikhs, and gradually increased the besieging force. Then -came Punjaub rifles and Punjaub light horse; and there were still a few -Hindustani cavalry and horse-artillery in whom their officers placed -such unabated confidence that they were permitted to take part in the -siege-operations, on the ground that there were Europeans enough to -overawe them if they became unruly. These reinforcements of course came -in by degrees: we mention them all in one paragraph, but many weeks -elapsed before they could reach the Delhi camp. Fortunately, supplies -were plentiful; the country between Delhi and the Sutlej was kept pretty -free from the enemy; and the villagers were glad to find good customers -for the commodities they had to sell. It hence arose that, during the -later days of June, the British were well able to render nugatory all -sallies made by the enemy; they had food and beverages in good store; -and they were free from pestilential diseases. On the other hand, they -suffered intensely from the heat; and were much dissatisfied at the -small progress made towards the conquest of the city. Some expressed -their dissatisfaction by adverse criticisms on the general’s tactics; -while others admitted that a storming of Delhi would not be prudent -without further reinforcements. As to the heat, the troops wrote of it -in all their letters, spoke of it in all their narrations. One officer, -who had seventy-two hours of outpost-duty on a plain without the -slightest shelter, described his sensation in the daytime as if ‘a hot -iron had been going into his head.’ On a certain day, when some -additional troops arrived at camp after a twenty-two miles’ march, they -had scarcely lain down to rest when they were ordered out to repel an -attack by the enemy: they went, and gallantly did the work cut out for -them; but some of them ‘were so exhausted that they sank down on the -road, _even under fire_, and went off to sleep.’ - -July arrived. Brigadier Chamberlain had recently joined the camp, and -reinforcements were coming in; but on the other hand the rebels were -increasing their strength more rapidly than the British. The enemy began -the month by an attack which tried the prowess of the Guides and -Punjaubees, in a manner that brought great praise to those corps. In the -afternoon of the 1st, Major Reid, who was established with the -head-quarters of the Sirmoor battalion at Hindoo Rao’s house, observed -the mutineers turning out in great force from the Ajmeer and Turcoman -Gates, and assembling on the open plain outside. Then, looking round on -his rear right, he saw a large force, which was supposed to have come -out of Delhi on the previous day; comprising thirteen guns and mortars, -besides cavalry and infantry. The two forces joined about a mile from -the Eedghah Serai. At sunset 5000 or 6000 infantry advanced, passed -through the Pahareepore and Kissengunje suburbs, and approached towards -the British lines, taking cover of the buildings as they passed. The -extreme right of the line was attacked at the Pagoda picket, which was -held only by 150 Punjaubees and Guides, under Captain Travers. Major -Reid sent him a message to reserve his fire till the enemy approached -near, in order to husband his resources; while 150 British were being -collected to send to his aid. Throughout the whole night did this little -band of 300 men resist a large force of infantry and artillery, never -yielding an inch, but defending the few works which had been constructed -in that quarter. At daybreak, the enemy renewed the attacks with further -troops; but Reid brought a few more of his gallant fellows to repel -them. Evening, night, morning, noon, all passed in this way; and it was -not until the contest had continued twenty-two hours that the enemy -finally retired into the city. There may have been sufficient military -reasons why larger reinforcements were not sent to Major Reid from the -camp behind the ridge; but let the reasons have been what they may, the -handful of troops fought in the ratio of hundreds against thousands, and -never for an instant flinched during this hard day’s work. Major Reid -had the command of all the pickets and defence-works from Hindoo Rao’s -house to the Subzee Mundee. During the first twenty-eight days of the -siege, his positions were attacked no fewer than twenty-four times; yet -his singular medley of troops—Rifles, Guides, Sikhs, Punjaubees, -Goorkhas, &c.—fought as if for one common cause, without reference to -differences of religion or of nation. The officers, in these and similar -encounters, often passed through an ordeal which renders their survival -almost inconceivable. An artillery officer, in command of two -horse-artillery guns, on one occasion was surprised by 120 of the -enemy’s cavalry; he had no support, and could not apply his artillery -because his guns were limbered up. He fired four barrels of his revolver -and killed two men; and then knocked a third off his horse by throwing -his empty pistol at him. Two horsemen thereupon charged full tilt, and -rolled him and his horse over. He got up, and seeing a man on foot -coming at him to cut him down, rushed at him, got inside his sword, and -hit him full in the face with his fist. At that moment he was cut down -from behind; and was only saved from slaughter by a brother-officer, who -rode up, shot one sowar and sabred another, and then carried him off, -bleeding but safe. - -On the 2d, the Bareilly mutineers—or rather Rohilcund mutineers from -Bareilly, Moradabad, and Shahjehanpoor, consisting of five regiments and -a battery of artillery—crossed the Jumna and marched into Delhi, with -bands playing and colours flying—a sight sufficiently mortifying to the -besiegers, who were powerless to prevent it; for any advance in that -direction would have left the rear of their camp exposed. It afterwards -became known that the Bareilly leader was appointed general within -Delhi. The emergence of a large body of the enemy from the city on the -night of the 3d of July, induced Sir Henry Barnard to send Major Coke to -oppose them; with a force made up of portions of the Carabiniers, 9th -Lancers, 61st foot, Guides, Punjaubees, horse and foot artillery. Coke -started at two in the morning of the 4th. He went to Azadpore, the spot -where the great road and the road from the cantonment met. He found that -the enemy had planned an expedition to seize the British depôt of stores -at Alipore, and to cut off a convoy expected to arrive from the Punjaub. -When the major came up with them near the Rohtuk road, he at once -attacked them. During many hours, his troops were confronted with -numbers greatly exceeding their own; and what with the sun above and -swamps below, the major’s men became thoroughly exhausted by the time -they returned to camp. The rebels, it was true, were driven back; but -they got safely with their guns into Delhi; and thus was one more added -to the list of contests in which the besiegers suffered without -effecting anything towards the real object of the siege. The enemy’s -infantry on this occasion seem to have comprised the Bareilly men. An -officer of the Engineers, writing concerning this day’s work, said: ‘The -Bareilly rascals had the impudence to come round to our rear, and our -only regret is that one of them ever got back. I was out with the force -sent against them, and cannot say that I felt much pity for the -red-coated villains with “18,” “28,” and “68” on their buttons.’ This -officer gives expression to the bitter feeling that prevailed generally -in the British camp against the ‘Pandies’[54] or mutinous sepoys, for -their treachery, black ingratitude, and cruelty. ‘This is a war in its -very worst phase, for generosity enters into no one’s mind. Mercy seems -to have fled from us; and if ever there was such a thing as war to the -knife, we certainly have it here. If any one owes these sepoys a grudge, -I think I have some claim to one; but I must say that I cannot bring -myself to put my sword through a wounded man. I cannot say that I grieve -much when I see it done, as it invariably is; but grieve or not as you -please—he is a clever man who can now keep back a European from driving -his bayonet through a sepoy, even in the agonies of death.’ These were -the motives and feelings that rendered the Indian mutiny much more -terrible than an ordinary war. In allusion to sentiments at home, that -the British soldiers were becoming cruel and blood-thirsty, the same -officer wrote to a friend: ‘If you hear any such sentiments, by all -means ship off their propounder to this country at once. Let him see one -half of what _we_ have seen, and compare our brutality with that of the -rebels; then send him home again, and I think you will find him pretty -quiet on the subject for the rest of his life.’ - -A new engineer officer, Colonel Baird Smith, arrived to supersede -another whose operations had not met with approval. The colonel took -into consideration, with his commander, a plan for blowing in the Moree -and Cashmere Gates, and escalading the Moree and Cashmere Bastions; but -the plan was abandoned on account of the weakness of the siege-army. - -The 5th of July was marked by the death of Major-general Sir Henry -Barnard, who had held practical command of the Delhi field-force during -about five weeks, and had during that time borne much anxiety and -suffering. He knew that his countrymen at Calcutta as well as in England -would be continually propounding the question, ‘Why is Delhi not yet -taken?’ and the varied responsibilities connected with his position -necessarily gave him much disquietude. During the fierce heat of the 4th -he was on horseback nearly all day, directing the operations against the -Bareilly mutineers. Early on the following morning he sent for Colonel -Baird Smith, and explained his views concerning the mode in which he -thought the siege-operations should be carried on; immediately -afterwards he sent for medical aid; and before many hours had passed, he -was a corpse. Many of his friends afterwards complained that scant -justice was done to the memory of Sir Henry Barnard; in the halo that -was destined to surround the name of Wilson, men forgot that it was his -predecessor who had borne all the burden of collecting the siege-force, -of conducting it to the ridge outside Delhi, and of maintaining a -continued series of conflicts almost every day for five or six weeks. - -Major-general Reed, invalid as he was, immediately took the command of -the force after Barnard’s death; leaving, however, the active direction -mainly to Brigadier Chamberlain. It became every day more and more -apparent that, notwithstanding reinforcements, the British artillery was -too weak to cope with that of the enemy—whose artillerymen, taught by -those whom they now opposed, had become very skilful; and whose guns -were of heavier metal. The besiegers’ batteries were still nearly a mile -from the walls, for any nearer position could not be taken up without -terrible loss. To effect a breach with a few 18-pounders at this -distance was out of the question; and although the field-guns were -twenty or thirty in number, they were nearly useless for battering down -defences. - -The attacks from the enemy continued much as before, but resistance to -them became complicated by a new difficulty. There were two regiments of -Bengal irregular cavalry among the troops in the siege-army, and there -were a few ‘Poorbeahs’ or Hindustanis in the Punjaub regiments. These -men were carefully watched from the first; and it became by degrees -apparent that they were a danger instead of an aid to the British. Early -in the month a Brahmin subadar in a Punjaubee regiment was detected -inciting his companions-in-arms to murder their officers, and go over to -Delhi, saying it was God’s will the Feringhee ‘raj’ should cease. One of -the Punjaubees immediately revealed this plot to the officers, and the -incendiary was put to death that same evening. The other Poorbeahs in -the regiment were at once paid up, and discharged from the -camp—doubtless swelling the number of insurgents who entered Delhi. -Again, on the 9th, a party of the enemy’s cavalry, while attempting an -attack on the camp, was joined by some of the 9th irregulars belonging -to the siege-army, and with them tried to tempt the men of the native -horse-artillery. They were beaten back; and the afternoon of the same -day, the 9th of July, was marked by one of the many struggles in the -Subzee Mundee, all of which ended by the enemy being driven into Delhi. -If the rebel infantry had fought as well as the artillery, it might have -gone hard with the besiegers, for the sallies were generally made in -very great force. The rebels counted much on the value of the Subzee -Mundee; as a suburb, it had been rendered a mass of ruins by repeated -conflicts, and these ruins precisely suited the sepoy mode of fighting. -The sepoys found shelter in narrow streets and old houses, and behind -garden-walls, besides being protected by heavy guns from the city. In -this kind of skirmishing they were not far inferior to their opponents; -but in the open field, and especially under a charge with the bayonet, -they were invariably beaten, let the disparity of numbers be what it -might. All the officers, in their letters, spoke of the terrible -efficacy of the British bayonet; the sepoys became paralysed with terror -when this mode of attack was resorted to. On one occasion they were -constructing a defensive post at the Eedghah; the British attacked it -and drove in the entrance; there was no exit on the other side, and the -defenders were all bayoneted in the prison-house which they had thus -unwittingly constructed for themselves. - -On the morning of the 14th, the mutineers poured out in great numbers, -and attacked the batteries at Hindoo Rao’s house, and the picket in the -Subzee Mundee. The troops stationed at those places remained on the -defensive till three o’clock in the afternoon, struggling against a -force consisting of many regiments of insurgent infantry, a large body -of cavalry, and several field-pieces. It was indeed a most determined -attack, supported, moreover, by a fire of heavy artillery from the -walls. Why it was that so many hours elapsed before succour was sent -forth, is not very clear; but the troops who had to bear the brunt of -this onslaught comprised only detachments of the 60th and 75th foot, -with the Goorkhas of the Sirmoor battalion and the infantry of the -Guides. A column was formed, however, at the house above named, under -Brigadier Showers, consisting of the 1st Punjaub infantry, the 1st -Europeans, and six horse-artillery guns. Then commenced a double -contest; Showers attacking the enemy at the picket-house, and Major Reid -at Hindoo Rao’s house. After a fierce struggle the enemy were driven -back into the city, and narrowly escaped losing some of their guns. It -was a day’s work that could not be accomplished without a serious loss. -None of the officers, it is true, were killed in the field; but the list -of wounded was very large, comprising Brigadier Chamberlain (at that -time adjutant-general of the army), and Lieutenants Roberts, Thompson, -Walker, Geneste, Carnegie, Rivers, Faithful, Daniell, Ross, Tulloch, -Chester, Shebbeare, Hawes, Debrett, and Pollock. Tho wounding of so many -subalterns shews how actively different companies of troops must have -been engaged. Altogether, the operations of this day brought down 15 men -killed and 193 officers and men wounded. - -The heat was by this time somewhat alleviated by rains, which, however, -brought sickness and other discomforts with them. Men fell ill after -remaining many hours in damp clothes; and it was found that the fierce -heat was, after all, not so detrimental to health. Many young officers, -it is true, lately arrived from England, and not yet acclimatised, were -smitten down by sun-stroke, and a few died of apoplexy; but it is -nevertheless true that the army was surprisingly healthy during the hot -weather. One of the Carabiniers, writing in the rainy season, said: ‘The -last three days have been exceedingly wet; notwithstanding which we are -constantly in the saddle; no sooner has one alarm subsided than we are -turned out to meet the mutineers in another quarter.’ An officer of -Sappers, employed in blowing up a bridge, said: ‘We started about two -P.M., and returned about twelve at night drenched through and thoroughly -miserable, it having rained the whole time.’ - -The state of affairs in the middle of July was peculiar. It seemed to -the nation at home that the army of Delhi ought to be strong enough to -retake the city, especially when a goodly proportion of the number were -Europeans. Yet that this was not the case, was the opinion both of Reed -and of Wilson; although many daring spirits in the army longed to breach -the walls and take the place by storm. Twelve hundred wounded and sick -men had to be tended; all the others were kept fully employed in -repelling the sallies of the enemy. Major-general Reed, who ought never -to have assumed the command at all—so broken-down was he in health—gave -in altogether on the 17th, after the wounding of Chamberlain; he named -Brigadier Wilson, who had brought forward the Meerut brigade, as his -successor. The new commander immediately wrote to Sir John Lawrence a -letter (in French, as if distrusting spies), in which he candidly -announced that it would be dangerous and disastrous to attempt a storm -of the city; that the enemy were in great force, well armed, strong in -position, and constantly reinforced by accessions of insurgent -regiments; that they daily attacked the British, who could do little -more than repel the attacks; that his army was gradually diminishing by -these daily losses; that it would be impossible to take Delhi without at -least one more European regiment and two more Sikh regiments from the -Punjaub; and that if those additions did not speedily reach him, he -would be obliged to raise the siege, retreat to Kurnaul, and leave the -country all around Delhi to be ravaged by the mutineers. This letter -shewed the gravity with which Brigadier Wilson regarded the state of -matters at that critical time. Lawrence fully recognised the importance -of the issue, for he redoubled his exertions to send 900 European -Fusiliers and 1600 Punjaubees to the camp. - -General Reed’s resignation was twofold. He resigned the provisional -command-in-chief of the Bengal army as soon as he was officially -informed of the assumption of that office by Sir Patrick Grant; and he -resigned the command of the Delhi field-force to Brigadier Wilson, -because his health was too far broken to permit him to take part in -active duties. It was the virtual ending of his part in the wars of the -mutiny; he went to the hills, in search of that health which he could -never have recovered in the plains. - -Among the many contests in the second half of the month was one near -Ludlow Castle, a name given to the residence of Mr Fraser, the -commissioner of Delhi, one of those foully murdered on the 11th of May. -This house was within half a mile of the Cashmere Gate, near the river; -the enemy were found to be occupying it; but their works were attacked -and destroyed by a force under Brigadier Showers; while Sir T. -Metcalfe’s house, further northward, was taken and strengthened as a -defensive post by the British. - -Mr Colvin, writing from Agra to Havelock on the 22d of July, giving an -account of such proceedings at Delhi as had come to his knowledge, made -the following observations on the character which the struggle had -assumed: ‘The spirit by which both Hindoos and Mohammedans act together -at Delhi is very remarkable. You would well understand a gathering of -Mohammedan fanatical feeling at that place; but what is locally, I find, -known by the name of “Pandyism,” is just as strong. Pandies are, among -the Hindoos, all Brahmins. What absurd, distorted suspicions of our -intentions (which have been so perfectly innocent towards them) may have -been first worked upon, it is scarcely possible to say; but the thing -has now got beyond this, and it is a struggle for mastery, not a -question of mistrust or discontent. Mohammedans seem to be actively -misleading Hindoos for their own purposes. Sir Patrick Grant will not -know the Bengal army again. The Goorkhas, Sikhs, and Punjaubee -Mohammedans have remained quite faithful, and done their duty nobly at -Delhi; the bad spirit is wholly with the Poorbeahs.’ Mr Greathed, -Colvin’s commissioner with the siege-army, made every attempt to -ascertain, by means of spies and deserters, what were the alleged and -what the real motives for the stubborn resistance of the mutineers to -British rule. He wrote on this subject: ‘The result of all questionings -of sepoys who have fallen into our hands, regarding the cause of the -mutiny, is the same. They invariably cite the “cartouche” (cartridge) as -the origin; no other cause of complaint has been alluded to. His majesty -of Delhi has composed a couplet, to the effect that the English, who -boast of having vanquished rods of iron, have been overthrown in -Hindostan by a single cartridge. A consciousness of power had grown up -in the army, which could only be exercised by mutiny. The cry of the -cartridges brought the latent spirit of revolt into action.’ Mr Muir of -Agra, commenting on these remarks, said: ‘I fully believe this to be the -case with the main body of the sepoys. There were ringleaders, no doubt, -who had selfish views, and possibly held correspondence with the Delhi -family, &c.; but they made use of the cartridge as their argument to -gain over the mass of the army to the belief that their caste was -threatened.’ - -[Illustration: - - GENERAL WILSON. -] - -It will be unnecessary to trace day by day the struggles outside Delhi. -They continued as before; but the frequency was somewhat lessened, and -the danger also, for the defence-works on the ridge had been much -strengthened. Every bridge over the canal was blown up, except that on -the main road to Kurnaul and Umballa; and thus the enemy could not -easily attack the camp in the rear. It was not yet really a siege, for -the British poured very few shot or shell into the city or against the -walls. It was not an investment; for the British could not send a single -regiment to the southwest, south, or east of the city. It was little -more than a process of _waiting_ till further reinforcements could -arrive. - -At the close of July, Brigadier Wilson forwarded to the government a -very exact account of the state of his army, shewing what were his -resources for maintaining the siege on the one hand, and repelling -attacks by the enemy on the other. We present the chief particulars in a -foot-note, in an altered and more condensed form.[55] It appears that -out of this army of something more than 8000 men, above 1100 were -rendered non-effective by sickness or wounds; that of the whole number -of effectives, just about one-half were Europeans, belonging either to -the Queen’s or to the Company’s army; and that no European corps, except -perhaps the Lancers, comprised more than a fractional percentage of a -full regiment. A return sent in about the middle of the month had -comprised 300 men of the 4th and 17th Bengal irregular cavalry; but the -omission of this element at the end of the month shewed that those -dangerous companions had been got rid of. The corps of Guides and -Goorkhas had in a fortnight diminished from an aggregate number of 923 -to 571—so rapidly had those gallant men been brought down by balls, -bullets, and cholera. Ranked among the artillery and engineers were many -hundred syces and bildars, natives who merely aided in certain labouring -operations; and among the Sappers and Miners the Punjaubees were only -just learning their trade. - -[Illustration: - - Engineer Officers in Battery before Delhi. -] - -The casualty list of officers was a very serious one. From the time when -Brigadier Wilson encountered the enemy at Ghazeeoodeen Nuggur at the end -of May, till he made up his report at the end of July, the officers who -were killed or wounded were 101 in number. Anson, Barnard, Reed, -Chamberlain, Halifax, Graves—nearly all the general officers except -Wilson and Showers, were either dead or in some way disabled; and these -frequent changes in command doubtless affected the organisation and -movements of the army. - -Brigadier Wilson made every attempt, while doing the best he could with -his own forces, to ascertain the number and components of those -possessed by the enemy. Military commanders always aim at the -acquisition of such knowledge, effected by a species of espionage which, -however opposed to general feeling at other times, is deemed quite fair -in war. From the 11th of May, when the troubles began in Delhi, to the -end of July, there arrived in the city mutinous regiments from Meerut, -Hansi, Muttra, Lucknow, Nuseerabad, Jullundur, Ferozpore, Bareilly, -Jhansi, Gwalior, Neemuch, Allygurh, Agra, Rohtuk, Jhuggur, and -Allahabad. The list given in a note[56] is taken from the official -dispatch, which was itself a record of information obtained from various -native sources; but after making allowance for the fact that portions -only of many of the regiments had entered Delhi, and that the numbers -had been considerably lessened by the thirty or more encounters which -had taken place outside the walls, the military authorities brought down -the supposed number to a much lower limit than had before been -named—namely, 4000 disciplined cavalry, and 12,000 infantry, besides -3000 undisciplined levies. The rebels retained the formidable defensive -artillery which they found in Delhi, and brought thirty field-guns also -with them; but these guns were lessened in number one-half by successive -seizures made by the British. - -The condition and proceedings of the rebels within the city could, of -course, be known only imperfectly. The old king was looked up to by all -as the centre of authority, but it is probable that his real power was -small. Where regiments had arrived from so many different quarters, we -may suppose that the apportionment of military command was no easy -matter; and indeed there was, throughout, little evidence that the rebel -force had one head, one leader whose plans were obeyed by all. The -_Lahore Chronicle_ some time afterwards printed a narrative by a native, -of a residence in Delhi from the 13th to the 30th of July. Such -narratives can seldom be relied on; but so far as it went, this -revelation spoke of great discord among the leaders; great discontent -among the troops because their pay was in arrear; great perplexity on -the part of the old king because he had not funds enough to pay so large -an army; and great plundering of the citizens by the rude soldiery, who -deemed themselves masters of the situation. ‘When the sepoys,’ said this -native, ‘find out a rich house in the city, they accuse the owner after -the following manner, in order to plunder his property. They take a loaf -of bread and a bottle of grog with them, and make a noise at the door -and break it in pieces, get into the house, take possession of the cash -and valuables, and beat the poor householder, saying: “Where is the -Englishman you have been keeping in your house?” When he denies having -done so, they just shew him the bread and the bottle, and say: “How is -it that we happened to find these in your house? We are quite sure there -was an Englishman accommodated here, whom you quietly sent elsewhere -before our arrival.” Soon after, the talk is over, and the poor man is -disgracefully put into custody, where there is no inquiry made to prove -whether he is innocent or guilty; he cannot get his release unless he -bribes the general.’ The known attributes of oriental cunning give a -strong probability to this curious story. - - * * * * * - -Here, for the present, we take leave of the siege of Delhi, and of the -stage at which it had arrived by the end of July. Much has to be -narrated, in reference to other places, other generals, other -operations, before the final capture of the imperial city will call for -description. - -[Illustration: - - Bullock-wagon. -] - ------ - -Footnote 46: - - Grenadiers. - -Footnote 47: - - Rifles. - -Footnote 48: - - The first troop of horse-artillery was called Leslie’s Troop. - -Footnote 49: - - The troops at Umballa on the 17th comprised: - - Queen’s 75th foot. } Weak: only 1800 - 1st Bengal European Fusiliers. } bayonets in all. - 2d Bengal European Fusiliers. } - - 5th Bengal native infantry. - 60th Bengal native infantry. - Queen’s 9th Lancers. - 4th Bengal cavalry. - Two troops European horse-artillery. - -Footnote 50: - - 1st Umballa { Queen’s 75th foot. - Brigade. { 1st Bengal Europeans. - Brigadier Halifax. { Two squadrons 9th Lancers. - { One troop horse artillery. - - { 2d Bengal Europeans. - 2d Umballa { 60th native infantry. - Brigade. { Two squadrons 9th Lancers. - Brigadier Jones. { One squadron 4th Bengal Lancers. - { One troop horse-artillery. - - { One wing Queen’s 60th Rifles. - Meerut { Two squadrons Carabiniers. - Brigade. { One light field-battery. - Brigadier Wilson. { One troop horse-artillery. - { Native Sappers (if reliable). - { 120 artillerymen. - -Footnote 51: - Four guns of Major Tombs’ horse-artillery. - Major Scott’s horse field-battery. - Two 18-pounders, under Lieutenant Light. - Two squadrons of Carabiniers. - Six companies of 60th Rifles. - 400 Sirmoor Goorkhas. - -Footnote 52: - Head-quarters and six companies of H.M. 60th Rifles. - Head-quarters and nine companies of H.M. 75th foot. - 1st Bengal European Fusiliers. - 2d Bengal European Fusiliers head-qurs. and six companies. - Sirmoor battalion (Goorkhas), a wing. - Head-quarters detachment Sappers and Miners. - H.M. 9th Lancers. - H.M. 6th Dragoon-guards (Carabiniers), two squadrons. - Horse-artillery, one troop of 1st brigade. - Horse-artillery, two troops of 3d brigade. - Foot-artillery, two companies, - and No. 14 horse-battery. - Artillery recruits, detachment. - -Footnote 53: - - Chapter iv., pp. 63-65. - -Footnote 54: - - After the execution of Mungal Pandy at Barrackpore on the 8th of - April, for mutiny, the rebel sepoys acquired the soubriquet of - ‘Pandies’—especially those belonging to the Brahmin caste. - -Footnote 55: - - _Infantry_— Officers - and Men. - H.M. 8th foot, head-quarters, 188 - H.M. 61st foot, head-quarters, 296 - H.M. 75th foot, head-quarters, 513 - H.M. 60th Rifles, head-quarters, 299 - 1st European Bengal Fusiliers, 520 - 2d European Bengal Fusiliers, 556 - Guide Infantry, 275 - Sirmoor battalion, Goorkhas, 296 - 1st Punjaub Infantry, 725 - 4th Sikh Infantry, 345 - ———— = 4023 - - _Cavalry_— - H.M. Carabiniers, 153 - H.M. 9th Lancers, 428 - Guide Cavalry, 338 - 1st Punjaub Cavalry, 148 - 2d Punjaub Cavalry, 110 - 5th Punjaub Cavalry, (at Alipore), 116 - ———— = 1293 - - _Artillery and Engineers_— - Artillery, European and Native, 1129 - Bengal Sappers and Miners, 209 - Punjaub Sappers and Miners, 264 - ———— = 1602 - ———— - 6918 - - Besides these effectives, there were as non-effectives, 765 sick + 351 - wounded = 1116. - -Footnote 56: - - Bengal native infantry: 3d, 9th, 11th, 12th, 15th, 20th, 28th, 29th, - 30th, 36th, 38th, 44th, 45th, 54th, 57th, 60th, 61st, 67th, 68th, 72d, - 74th, 78th. - - Other native infantry: 5th and 7th Gwalior Contingent, Kotah - Contingent, Hurrianah battalion; together with 2600 miscellaneous - infantry. - - Native cavalry: Portions of five or six regiments, besides others of - the Gwalior and Malwah Contingents. - -[Illustration: - - SIR HENRY HAVELOCK. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - HAVELOCK’S CAMPAIGN: ALLAHABAD TO LUCKNOW. - - -If there be one name that stands out in brighter colours than any other -connected with the mutiny in India, perhaps it is that of Henry -Havelock. There are peculiar reasons for this. He came like a brilliant -meteor at a time when all else was gloomy and overshadowed. Anson had -died on the way to Delhi; Barnard had died in the camp before that city; -Reed had retired, broken down by age and sickness; Wilson had not yet -shewn whether he could work out victory at the great Mogul capital; -Wheeler was falling, or had fallen, a miserable victim to the treachery -of Nena Sahib; Henry Lawrence was no more; Hewett and Lloyd were under a -cloud, for mismanagement as military commanders—all this had rendered -the British nation grieved and irritated; and men fiercely demanded -‘Who’s to blame?’—as if it were necessary to seek relief by wreaking -vengeance on some persons or other. It was a crisis that pressed heavily -on Viscount Canning; but it was at the same time a crisis that insured -fervid gratitude to any general who could achieve victories with small -means. Such a general was Havelock. The English public knew little of -him, although he was well known in India. Commencing his career as a -soldier in 1816, Henry Havelock had borne his full share in all a -soldier’s varied fortune. He went to India in 1823; engaged in the -Burmese war in 1824; took part in a mission to the court of Siam in -1826; was promoted from lieutenant to captain in 1838; took an active -share in the stirring scenes of the Afghan campaign, which brought him a -brevet majority, and the order of C. B.; acted as Persian interpreter to -generals Elphinstone, Pollock, and Gough; fought at Gwalior in 1843; -became brevet lieutenant-colonel in 1844; fought with the bravest in -1845 at Moodkee, Ferozshah, and Sobraon; and in 1846 received the -appointment of deputy adjutant-general of the Queen’s troops at Bombay. -An Indian climate during so many years having told—in its customary sad -way—on his constitution, Henry Havelock returned for a sojourn in -England. Returning to Bombay in 1851, he became brevet colonel; and in -after years he was appointed quarter-master-general, and then -adjutant-general, of the whole of the Queen’s troops in India. When the -war with Persia broke out, he took command of one of the divisions in -1857; and when that war was ended, he returned to Bombay. All this was -known to official persons in India, but very few of the particulars were -familiar to the general public in the home-country; hence, when -Havelock’s victories were announced, the public were surprised as if by -the sudden appearance of a great genius. That he bore so heavy a -responsibility, or suffered such intense mental anxiety, as Wheeler at -Cawnpore, Inglis at Lucknow, or Colvin at Agra, is not probable; for he -had not hundreds of helpless women and children under his charge; but -the astonishing victories he achieved with a mere handful of men, and -the moral influence he thereby acquired for the British name throughout -the whole of the Doab, well entitled him to the outburst of grateful -feeling which the nation was not slow to exhibit. The only danger was, -lest this hero-worship should render the nation blind for a time to the -merits of other generals. - -Neill and Havelock, who worked so energetically together in planning the -relief of Lucknow, were brought from other regions of India to take part -in the operations on the Ganges. Neill, as colonel of the 1st Madras -European Fusiliers, accompanied that regiment to Calcutta, and thence -proceeded up the country to Benares, where his contest with the rebels -first began. Havelock, landing at Bombay from Persia, set off by steam -to go to Calcutta; he was wrecked on the way near Ceylon, and -experienced much perilous adventure before he could proceed on his -journey. At Calcutta—where he arrived, in the same steamer which brought -Sir Patrick Grant, on the 17th of June—he received the appointment of -brigadier-general,[57] to command such a force as could be hastily -collected for the relief, first of the Europeans at Cawnpore, and then -of those at Lucknow; and it was towards the close of June that he made -his appearance at Allahabad. - -Sufficient has been stated in former chapters to shew what was the state -of affairs at that time. Lucknow, Cawnpore, Agra, and Delhi were either -in the hands of the rebels, or were so beset by them that no British -commander was able to assist his brother-officers. Oude, the Doab, and -Rohilcund were in deplorable anarchy; and it depended either upon -Viscount Canning at Calcutta, or Sir John Lawrence at Lahore, to send -aid to the disturbed districts. Lawrence, as we have seen, and as we -shall see again in a future chapter, with admirable energy and -perseverance, sent such assistance as enabled Wilson to conquer Delhi; -while Canning, under enormous difficulty, sent up troops to Allahabad by -scores and fifties at a time, as rapidly as he could collect them at -Calcutta. - -Brigadier Neill preceded Havelock in the operations connected with the -repression of the mutiny in the Doab and adjacent regions. His own -regiment, the 1st Madras European Fusiliers, had been ordered to proceed -to Persia in the spring, but had received counter-orders in consequence -of the sudden termination of the war in that country. While at Bombay, -uncertain whether commands might be received to proceed to China, the -regiment heard the news of a revolt among the Bengal troops; and very -speedily, both Persia and China were forgotten in matters of much -greater exigency and importance. After making the voyage back from -Bombay to Madras, the regiment proceeded to Calcutta, and the men were -then sent up the country as rapidly as possible to Benares, some by road -and the rest by steamers. Neill himself reached that city on the 3d of -June, and was immediately engaged, as we have already seen (p. 154), in -disarming a mutinous regiment, and in maintaining order in the vicinity. -After six days of incessant work at Benares, the brigadier, hearing of -the mutiny at Allahabad, started off on the 9th to render service in -that region. With what a powerful hand he put down the rebels; with what -stern and prompt firmness he retained possession of that important city, -the ‘key to Upper India’—has already been briefly shewn.[58] The various -corps of the Madras Fusiliers reached Benares and Allahabad by degrees; -and fragments of other European regiments were sent up as fast as -possible, as the nucleus of a little army forming at Allahabad. - -The 1st of July may be taken as the day that marked the commencement of -General Havelock’s career in relation to the Indian Revolt. He and his -staff arrived at Allahabad on that day, after a rapid journey from -Calcutta. A few hours before his arrival, the first relieving column had -been sent off by Neill towards Cawnpore: consisting of 200 Madras -Fusiliers, 200 of the 84th foot, 300 Sikhs, and 120 irregular cavalry, -under Major Renaud; and a second, of larger proportions, was to follow -in a week or ten days’ time. The immediate object held in view, in the -march of both columns, was to liberate Sir Hugh Wheeler and his hapless -companions at Cawnpore; and, if this were accomplished, the second work -to be done was to advance and relieve Sir Henry Lawrence and the British -at Lucknow. It was not at that time known that, before the second column -could start from Allahabad, both Wheeler and Lawrence had been numbered -with the dead. Neill superseded the officer previously in command at -Allahabad; Havelock superseded Neill in command of the relieving force; -we shall have to speak of Outram superseding Havelock; and we have -already spoken of Patrick Grant superseding Reed, and of Colin Campbell -superseding Grant. All these supersessions were in virtue of military -routine, depending either on seniority, or on the exercise of a right to -make appointments. If these various officers had been unsuccessful, the -system of supersession would have been attacked by adverse judges as the -cause of the failure; but there was so much nobility of mind displayed -by four or five of the gallant men here named, that the vexation often -caused by supersession was much alleviated; while the nation at large -had ample reason to admire and be thankful for the deeds of arms that -accompanied generosity of feeling. - -On the 3d, an auxiliary force under Captain Spurgin, left Allahabad for -Cawnpore, irrespective of the two columns. It consisted only of 100 -Madras Europeans armed with rifles, 12 artillerymen, and two 6-pounder -guns; it went by steamer up the Ganges, partly in order to control the -mutineers on the banks, but in part also on account of the paucity of -means for land-conveyance. No steamer had had much success in that part -of the Ganges; and hence great interest was felt in the voyage of the -_Brahmaputra_. As a first difficulty, the engineers, having no coals, -were obliged to forage for wood every day on shore. On the second day of -the trip, this foraging had to be protected by half the force, against a -body of 500 insurgents on the Oude bank, provided with a large piece of -ordnance; the wood was not obtained without a regular battle, in which -50 English ‘thrashed’—to use a very favourite term among the -soldiers—just ten times their number of rebels, and captured their gun. -On they went, struggling against the rapid stream of the Ganges, and -never making more than two miles an hour. The enemy hovered on the -banks, and sent several round shot into the little iron steamer—a sort -of irritation that kept the crew and soldiers well on the alert. Day -after day passed in this way, Captain Spurgin timing his movements so as -to accord with the march of the land-columns. The steamer reached -Cawnpore on the 17th, just a fortnight after the departure from -Allahabad—a degree of slowness not altogether dependent on the -difficulty of the navigation, but partly due to the necessity of not -advancing more rapidly than the columns could fight their way on shore. - -The dismal news gradually reached Allahabad that some dreadful calamity -had occurred at Cawnpore. This information led Havelock to modify his -plans and quicken his movements; and, full of heart, he transmitted to -Calcutta the telegram already quoted, to the effect that ‘1000 -Europeans, 1000 Goorkhas, and 1000 Sikhs, with 8 or 10 guns, will thrash -everything.’ Among the troops he collected was a handful of volunteer -cavalry, consisting chiefly of officers who had been left without -command by the mutiny of their respective native regiments, or had -narrowly escaped massacre; the number amounted only to a score; but it -comprised just the sort of men who would be ready for any enterprise at -such a time. - -Major Renaud had every reason to be satisfied with the gallantry of the -Madras Fusiliers—to which corps he belonged—and of the other troops who -aided in forming his small column, in various minor operations during -the first nine days of the march from Allahabad. He everywhere pacified -the country by punishing the ringleaders in mutiny and rebellion -wherever and whenever they fell into his hands. Suddenly, however, he -found himself placed in an awkward position on the 10th. Cawnpore had -fallen; the British at that station had either been killed or thrown -into prison; and the rebel force thus freed from occupation had rapidly -pushed down to the vicinity of Futtehpoor—a town which had been in the -hands of the rebels since the 9th of June (see p. 172). That force was -at least 3500 strong, with 12 guns; whereas Renaud had at that time only -820 men and 2 guns. General Havelock, becoming aware of this state of -things, saw that his force ought to join that of Renaud as quickly as -possible. He marched twenty miles on the 11th, under a frightful sun, to -Synee; then, after resting a few hours, he and his troops resumed their -march at eleven o’clock in the evening, overtook Renaud during the -night, and marched with him by moonlight to Khaga, five miles short of -Futtehpoor. His little army consisted of about 2000 men, made up of a -curious collection of fragments from various regiments; and as it was -destined to achieve great results with limited resources, it may be -interesting to tabulate the component elements of this admirable little -band.[59] Havelock’s information proved to be better than that of the -enemy, for when he sent forward Colonel Tytler with a reconnaissance, -the enemy supposed they had only Renaud’s small force to contend with; -they fired on the colonel and his escort, and pushed forward two guns -and a force of infantry and cavalry. When the enemy began to cannonade -his front and threaten his right and left, Havelock saw that the time -was come to undeceive them: he would have preferred to give his worn-out -soldiers a few hours’ rest; but this was not now to be thought of, as, -to use his own words, ‘it would have injured the _morale_ of the troops -to permit them thus to be bearded.’ The work before him was sufficiently -formidable; for there was only the main trunk-road by which to approach -Futtehpoor easily; the fields on either side were covered with a depth -of two or three feet of water; there were many enclosures of great -strength, with high walls; and in front of the city were many villages, -hillocks, and mango-groves which the enemy occupied in force. Havelock -placed his eight guns on and near the main road, protected by 100 -riflemen of the 64th; the infantry came up at deploying distance, -covered by rifle-skirmishers; and the cavalry moved forward on the -flanks. The struggle was literally decided in ten minutes. The enemy saw -a few riflemen approach; but they knew little of the Enfield rifle; and -were panic-stricken with the length and accuracy of its range; they -shrank back in astonishment; and then Captain Maude, who had dashed over -the swamps with his artillery, poured into them a fire so rapid and -accurate as to complete their discomfiture. Three guns were abandoned at -once, and Havelock steadily advanced, with the 64th commanding the -centre, the 78th the right, the 84th and the Sikhs the left. He drove -the enemy before him at every point, capturing their guns one by one; -the garden enclosures, the barricades on the road, the city wall, the -streets of Futtehpoor, all were gained in turn. The enemy retreated -right through the city, till they reached a mile beyond it; but they -then attempted to make a stand. This attempt gave Havelock some trouble, -because his infantry were almost utterly exhausted by fatigue, and -because the few irregular horse shewed symptoms of a tendency to go over -to the enemy unless narrowly watched. Again the guns and rifles came to -the front, and again they attacked in a manner so irresistible as to put -the enemy effectively to flight. Havelock thus became master of -Futtehpoor, and parked 12 captured guns. It was with a justifiable pride -that the general, in sending his list of ‘casualties,’ remarked that it -was ‘perhaps the lightest that ever accompanied the announcement of such -success. Twelve British soldiers were struck down by the sun, and never -rose again;’ but not one was either killed or wounded in the action; his -casualties, 6 killed and 3 wounded, were among his native troops. The -truth seems to be, that the enemy were dismayed, first by finding that -Havelock had joined Renaud, and then by the wonderful range of the -Enfield rifles. ‘Our fight was fought neither with musket, nor bayonet, -nor sabre, but with Enfield rifles and cannon; so we took no prisoners. -The enemy’s fire scarcely reached us; ours, for four hours, allowed him -no repose.’ It was with good cause that he thanked and congratulated his -troops on the following day, in a ‘morning order,’ short but pithy.[60] - -While encamped at Kullenpore or Kullianpore, on the 14th, to which he -had marched after a sojourn at Futtehpoor sufficient to afford his -troops that rest which had become absolutely necessary, Havelock sent -off a brief telegram, announcing that his capture of artillery at -Futtehpoor would enable him to substitute nine excellent field-guns for -six of lighter calibre, and also to bring into action two light -6-pounders. - -This, then, was the brigadier-general’s first victory over the rebels; -it elated his own troops, and checked the audacity of those to whom he -was opposed. Neill, meanwhile, was anxiously watching at Allahabad. He -had worked hard to organise and send off the first portion of the force -under Renaud, the second under Spurgin, and the third under Havelock. He -had received from Renaud, on the 4th of the month, information which -rendered only too probable the rumour that an act of black treachery on -the part of Nena Sahib at Cawnpore had been followed by a wholesale -destruction of hapless fugitives in boats on the Ganges. Neill was thus -especially anxious that Renaud should advance at once with the first -column, and Spurgin with the detachment up the river; but Havelock saw -reason why those officers should somewhat delay their advance until he -could come up to them, in order that all might if possible enter -Cawnpore together. - -Havelock, after marching and resting on the 13th and 14th, came up again -with the enemy on the 15th. When approaching the small stream called the -Pandoo Nuddee, it became important to him to ascertain what was the -state of the bridge which carried the high road over that river, at a -spot about twenty miles from Cawnpore. The stream was too deep to be -fordable at that season: hence the importance of obtaining command of -the bridge. His intelligencers ascertained that the enemy intended to -dispute his passage at the village of Aong, four miles short of the -Nuddee; by means of two guns commanding the high road, skirmishers on -the right and left of those guns, and cavalry to hover on the flanks of -any advancing force. This information being obtained, Havelock sent -forward his skirmishers on the right and left of the road; then his -volunteer cavalry on the road itself; then the ten guns in line, mostly -on the left of the road; and then the infantry in line—the 64th and 84th -on the right flank; the 78th, Fusiliers, and Sikhs, on the left. The -struggle ahead was not a severe one, for the enemy receded as the -British under Colonel Tytler advanced; but Havelock was much harassed by -the attempts of the hostile cavalry to get into his rear and plunder his -baggage: attempts that required much exertion from his infantry to -resist, seeing that the thickly wooded country interfered with the -effect of cannon and musketry. The enemy after a time abandoned guns, -tents, ammunition, and other materials of war, and made a hasty retreat -through the village. - -This difficulty over, Havelock prepared for another struggle at the -Pandoo Nuddee, which it was necessary for him to cross as speedily as -possible. He rested and refreshed his troops for a few hours, and -advanced the same afternoon, on a fiercely hot July day. The enemy had -not destroyed the bridge, but had placed two guns in épaulement to -command it at the opposite side of the stream. Captain Maude disposed -his artillery so as to bring a converging fire upon the two guns of the -enemy; while the Madras Fusiliers commenced a fire with Enfield rifles -to pick off the gunners. The two guns were fired directly down the road -at the advancing British column; but after Maude had somewhat checked -this fire, the Fusiliers gallantly closed, rushed upon the bridge, and -captured both guns—an exploit in which Major Renaud was wounded. The -mutineers precipitately retreated. Thus did the brigadier-general -achieve two victories in one day—those of Aong and Pandoo Nuddee. True, -the victories were not great in a military sense; but they were effected -over a numerous force by a mere handful of troops, who fought after -wearying marches under a solar heat such as residents in England can -with difficulty imagine. Havelock had only 1 man killed during these two -actions; 25 were wounded. The loss of the enemy was at least ten times -greater; but the chief result of the battles was the dismay into which -Nena Sahib was thrown. - -General Havelock, like other commanders at that critical time, found the -native Bengal troops in his force not to be trusted. Their conduct in -presence of the enemy on the 12th excited his suspicion; it was, indeed, -worse than doubtful; and on the 14th he found it necessary to disarm and -dismount his sowars of the 13th Irregulars and 3d Oude Irregulars—at the -same time threatening with instant death any one of their number who -should attempt to escape. One of the officers at Allahabad who joined -the volunteer cavalry, and had opportunity of observing the conduct of -the irregulars at the battle of Futtehpoor, wrote thus concerning it: -‘On seeing the enemy, Palliser called to the men to charge, and dashed -on; but the scoundrels scarcely altered their speed, and met the enemy -at the same pace that they came down towards us. Their design was -evident; they came waving their swords to our men, and riding round our -party, making signs to them to go over to their side. When our men thus -hung back, a dash out would certainly have ended in our being cut up.’ -During a subsequent skirmish, ‘our rear-men turned tail and left us, -galloping back as hard as their horses could go; and we were forced to -commence a regular race for our necks.... I write this with shame and -grief; but it was no fault of Palliser’s or ours.’ Havelock saw the -necessity of disarming and dismounting such fellows. - -The scene of operations now approaches Cawnpore, that city of -unutterable horrors! It was a desperate struggle that Nena Sahib made to -retain the supremacy he had obtained at Cawnpore. He probably cared -little for kings of Delhi or for greased cartridges, provided he could -maintain a hold of sovereign power. When he had broken faith with Sir -Hugh Wheeler, and had carried his treachery to the extent of -indiscriminate slaughter in the Ganges boats, he naturally hoped to -become leader of the rebellious sepoys. In this object, however, he did -not wholly succeed; he and his immediate followers were Mahrattas; the -mutineers were mostly Hindustanis; and the latter made little account of -the Nena’s claim to sovereignty. Had the issue depended upon the -infantry sepoys, who were in chief part Hindoos, and who chiefly looked -for plunder, his projects might speedily have come to an end; but the -cavalry sepoys, being mostly Mohammedans, and exhibiting a more deadly -hatred towards the British, more readily joined him in a combined plan -of operations, and drew the sepoys to act with them. Leaving Delhi to be -held by the large body of mutineers, Nena Sahib took upon himself the -office of crushing any British force that might make its appearance from -Allahabad. When he heard that Renaud had started with his little band, -he got together a force of sowars, sepoys, Mahrattas, artillery, and -rabble; having motives of fear as well as of self-interest to induce him -to prevent the advance of his opponent. Not knowing that Renaud had been -joined by Havelock, the Mahratta chieftain sent bodies of troops -sufficient, as he believed, to check the advance; but when the gallant -general swept everything before him, the arch-fiend of Bithoor saw that -the matter was becoming serious. He had had experience of the -indomitable resistance, under accumulated suffering, of the hapless Sir -Hugh Wheeler and his companions; but now a British general had to be -encountered in the open field. So far as is known, it appears that as -soon as he heard of the passage of the Pandoo Nuddee by Havelock, Nena -Sahib ordered the slaughter of all the captives yet remaining alive at -Cawnpore—in order either that the dead might tell no tales, or that he -might wreak vengeance on the innocent for the frustration of his plans. -Having committed this bloody deed, he went out with an army, and took up -a position at Aherwa, the point at which the road to the cantonment -branches out from the main trunk-road to Cawnpore city. Nena Sahib -commanded five villages, with numerous intrenchments, armed with seven -guns; and in the rear was his infantry. Havelock, after advancing -sixteen miles from the Pandoo Nuddee to Aherwa during the night of the -15th, and after measuring the strength of this force, saw that his -troops would be shot down in alarming numbers before the guns could be -silenced and the intrenchments carried; he resolved, therefore, on a -flank-movement on the enemy’s left. As a preliminary, he left his camp -and baggage under proper escort at Maharajpoor, a few miles in the rear; -and gave his sunburnt and exhausted troops two or three hours’ rest in a -mango-grove during mid-day of the 16th, until the fierce heat should -have somewhat abated. The hour of struggle having arrived, Havelock -quietly wheeled his force round to the left flank of the enemy’s -position, behind a screen of clumps of mango. When the enemy detected -this manœuvre, great sensation was displayed; a body of horse was soon -sent to the left, and cannon opened fire in that direction. Then came a -series of operations in which the superb qualities of British infantry -were strikingly displayed. Villages were attacked and captured one after -another, by fragments of regiments so small that one marvels how the -enemy could have yielded before them. One such exploit is thus narrated -in Havelock’s own language: ‘The opportunity had arrived, for which I -have long anxiously waited, of developing the prowess of the 78th -Highlanders. Three guns of the enemy were strongly posted behind a lofty -hamlet, well intrenched. I directed this regiment to advance; and never -have I witnessed conduct more admirable. They were led by Colonel -Hamilton, and followed him with surpassing steadiness and gallantry -under a heavy fire. As they approached the village, they cheered and -charged with the bayonet, the pipes sounding the pibroch. Need I add -that the enemy fled, the village was taken, and the guns captured?’ -After three or four villages had thus changed hands, the enemy planted a -24-pounder gun on the cantonment road in such a position as to work much -mischief upon Havelock, whose artillery cattle were so worn out with -heat and fatigue that they could not drag the guns onward to a desired -position. The Nena appearing to have in project a renewed attack, -Havelock resolved to anticipate him; he cheered on his infantry to a -capture of the 24-pounder; they rushed along the road amid a storm of -grape-shot from the enemy, and never slackened till they had reached the -gun and captured it. Especially was the 64th, led by Major Stirling, -conspicuous in this bold enterprise. The enemy lost all heart; they -retreated, blew up the magazine of Cawnpore on their way, and then went -on to Bithoor. - -[Illustration: - - Plan of action near Cawnpore, July 16, 1857. -] - -Thus was fought the battle of Cawnpore, the conquest of which place had -for so many weeks been anxiously looked forward to by the British. True, -they had heard, and under too great a variety of detail to warrant -disbelief, that Sir Hugh Wheeler and his gallant companions had been -most treacherously murdered by the ruthless chieftain of Bithoor; but -yet a hope clung to them that some of their compatriots at least might -be alive at Cawnpore. On this 16th of July, Havelock’s small force was -lessened by the loss of 6 killed and 98 wounded or missing—a loss -wonderfully slight under the circumstances, but serious to him. Captain -Currie of the 84th received a wound so desperate that he sank under it -in a few hours; Major Stirling was slightly wounded; Captain Beatson, -attacked with cholera on the morning of the fight, held up with heroic -bearing during the whole day, but died soon afterwards. The enemy lost -seven guns on this day, of which three were 24-pounders. - -Some of the Europeans bore an almost incredible amount of hard labour on -this day of fierce July heat. One, a youth of eighteen who had joined -the volunteer cavalry, had been on picket all the preceding night, with -no refreshment save biscuit and water; he then marched with the rest -sixteen miles during the forenoon; then stood sentry for an hour with -the enemy hovering around him; then fought during the whole afternoon; -then lay down supperless to rest at nightfall, holding his horse’s -bridle the while; then mounted night-guard from nine till eleven -o’clock; and then had his midnight sleep broken by an alarm from the -enemy. It was on this occasion, too, that Lieutenant Marshman Havelock, -son of the general, to whom he acted as aid-de-camp, performed a -perilous duty in such a way as to earn for himself the Victoria Cross—a -badge of honour established in 1856 for acts of personal heroism. The -general thus narrated the incident, in one of his dispatches: ‘The 64th -regiment had been much under artillery-fire, from which it had severely -suffered. The whole of the infantry were lying down in line, when, -perceiving that the enemy had brought out the last reserved gun, a -24-pounder, and were rallying round it, I called up the regiment to rise -and advance. Without any other word from me, Lieutenant Havelock placed -himself on his horse, in front of the centre of the 64th, opposite the -muzzle of the gun. Major Stirling, commanding the regiment, was in -front, dismounted; but the lieutenant continued to move steadily on in -front of the regiment at a foot-pace, on his horse. The gun discharged -shot until the troops were within a short distance, when it fired grape. -In went the corps, led by the lieutenant, who still steered steadily on -the gun’s muzzle until it was mastered by a rush of the 64th.’ It is -difficult for civilians adequately to comprehend the cool courage -required in an act like this; where a soldier walks his horse directly -up in front of a large piece of cannon which is loaded and fired at him -and his comrades as rapidly as possible. - -What the British troops saw when they entered Cawnpore, has already -engaged our attention (pp. 142-145). None could ever forget it to their -dying day. It was on the 17th of July that Havelock, after a night’s -rest for his exhausted troops, entered the city, and learned the hideous -revelations of the slaughter-room and the well. What steps were -immediately taken in Cawnpore, has been noticed in the chapter just -cited; and the dismal story need not be repeated. The general could not -wait to attend to those matters at that time; he had still to learn what -were the movements of Nena Sahib after the battle of the preceding -day—whether the Mahratta intended or not to make a stand in his palace -at Bithoor. Sending forward part of his troops therefore on the -afternoon of the 17th, he found the enemy in a very strong position. -Their force consisted of the insurgent 31st and 42d Bengal infantry from -Saugor, the 17th from Fyzabad, sepoys from various other regiments, -troops of the cavalry regiments, and a portion of Nena Sahib’s -Mahrattas—about 4000 men in all. The plain in front of Bithoor, -diversified by thickets and villages, had two streams flowing through -it, not fordable, and only to be crossed by two narrow bridges. The -enemy held both bridges, and defended them well. The streams prevented -Havelock from turning the enemy’s flanks; and when his infantry -assaulted the position, they were received with heavy rifle and musketry -fire. After an hour of very severe struggle, he effected a crossing, -drove them back, captured their guns, and chased them towards Sorajpore. -He had no cavalry to maintain a pursuit—indeed the want of cavalry was -felt sadly by him in every one of his battles. This contest cost the -enemy about 250 men, the British about one-fifth of the number; in this -last-named list was included only one officer, Captain Mackenzie of the -78th Highlanders, who was slightly wounded. - -Here, then, was one part of the enterprise accomplished. Cawnpore had -been recaptured, and the road cleared of rebels between that place and -Allahabad. It was on the 30th of June that Renaud had left the -last-named place with the first division, and on the 3d of July that -Spurgin had set off with the detachment by steamer. It was on the 7th -that Havelock had placed himself at the head of the second division, and -marched forth to overtake the two others—carrying with him the -recollection of a scowl from many of the Mussulman inhabitants of the -city. He had seen, as he went along, evidences of Renaud’s stern energy, -in the number of rebellious sepoys hanging from gibbets and trees by the -roadside. He and his troops had made ordinary Indian marches the first -three or four days, in alternate rain and fierce heat, and within sight -of destroyed bungalows and devastated homesteads; but when the news from -Renaud arrived, forced marches were made. Then came the battle of -Futtehpoor on the 12th, that of Aong on the morning of the 14th, that of -Pundoo Nuddee on the afternoon of the same day, that of Cawnpore on the -16th, and that of Bithoor on the 17th—five victories in six days, -spreading the fame of Havelock far and wide throughout the surrounding -districts. The future tactics had then to be resolved upon. Cawnpore had -been recovered, although the garrison could not be saved; but there was -another British garrison, another group of suffering British women and -children, to be thought of—at Lucknow. The general well knew how -desperate was the work before him, with the reduced and sickened force -at his command; but he was not the man to shrink from making an attempt, -at least, to relieve Brigadier Inglis and his companions. Feeling the -urgent need of more troops, and the imperative necessity of holding -Cawnpore safely while he himself advanced into Oude, Havelock had -already sent to Allahabad, requesting Neill to come if possible in -person to Cawnpore, and to bring reinforcements with him. It was easier -for Neill to respond to the first of these two appeals than to the -second; he would have gone anywhere, borne any amount of fatigue, to -share in the good work; but he found himself already reduced to so few -troops at Allahabad as to be barely able to maintain that place. -Nevertheless, after counting heads and measuring strength, he ventured -to draft off 227 men of the 84th foot from his little force; he started -them forth on the 15th, partly by bullock-trains, to reach Cawnpore on -the 20th. He himself set out on the 16th—the day of the battle of -Cawnpore—leaving Allahabad under the command of Captain Drummond Hay of -the 78th Highlanders, until Colonel O’Brien could arrive. After a rapid -journey, Neill reached Cawnpore, took military command of that place and -its neighbourhood, and assisted Havelock in the preparations necessary -for crossing the Ganges into Oude. One great necessity was perceived on -the instant by both generals; English soldiers, with all their good -qualities, are prone to drink; and Havelock soon found, to use his own -words, that ‘half his men would be needed to keep the other half from -getting drunk’ if they had easy access to liquor; he therefore bought up -all spare beverages in Cawnpore, and placed them in the hands of the -commissariat. A calamity much grieved the little army at this time. -Major Renaud, who had so successfully brought forward the first column -from Allahabad, sank under the effects of a wound he had received. A -bullet had hit him above the knee, forcing part of the scabbard of his -sword into the wound, and causing much suffering; amputation seemed to -afford some relief, but only for a time; he died soon after the arrival -of Neill, who had highly valued him as a trusty officer in his own -Madras Fusiliers. - -Glancing at a map, we see that the high road from Cawnpore to Lucknow is -broken at its very commencement by the river Ganges, which, at this -point, varies from five hundred to two thousand yards in width. There -is, of course, no bridge here; and as the stream is usually very rapid, -the transport of troops necessarily becomes slow, difficult, and -dangerous work. Havelock began to cross on the 20th of July, but many -days elapsed before the task was completed. The _Brahmaputra_ steamer, -which brought Spurgin’s detachment to Cawnpore on the 17th, was, with a -few open boats, the only available resource for this work. By the 23d, -about 1100 of his troops had crossed over into Oude—every boat-load -having to battle against a broad and swift current. All possible baggage -was left behind, each man taking with him a very small supply of -clothing and food. - -On the 20th, Havelock sent a short telegram to the -commander-in-chief—announcing that Nena Sahib’s followers appeared to be -deserting him; that he had fled from Bithoor; that the British had -re-entered that place on the 19th; and that the palace had been reduced -to ashes, and 13 guns captured. On the next day a further communication -was sent to the effect that three more guns, and a number of animals, -had been brought along from Bithoor, and that the magazine had been -blown up. Subsequent events proved that the Nena, though forced to flee, -still retained a body of troops under his command. - -When the brigadier-general, on the 23d of July, had so far succeeded in -transporting his gallant little army over the majestic Ganges; and when -his sanguine hopes had led him to believe that he could conquer Lucknow -in two or three days, then arose in his mind the important strategic -question—What next? Should he remain in Oude after the capture of -Lucknow, and effect the thorough reconquest of that province; or should -he hastily recross the Ganges, march to Agra, liberate Colvin and the -other Europeans in the fort, pick up any available force there, and -advance to aid in the siege of Delhi? Sir Patrick Grant, who was -commander-in-chief at that time, was solicited by telegram for an answer -to this query. He strenuously recommended that Havelock, once in Oude, -should remain there if possible. ‘If he merely relieves the beleaguered -garrison of Lucknow, and, after accomplishing that object, instantly -recrosses the Ganges into our own provinces, it will be thought and -believed throughout India that he had signally failed to reconquer Oude, -and that he was driven out of the province by force of arms. The -insurgents, though beaten before Lucknow, would assuredly collect again, -and follow up the retiring army, prevent supplies from coming into camp, -and reduce our troops to great straits and hazards when recrossing the -Ganges—the passage of which, even when wholly unopposed, the -brigadier-general describes as having been a very difficult and tedious -operation.’ This exactly coincided with Havelock’s own view; and he -therefore turned a deaf ear to all applications for aid made to him by -the commanders at Agra and Delhi. - -It was not until the 25th that Havelock, after seeing his army safely -across the river, made the passage himself from the Doab into Oude. -Neill, with a very small number of troops, prepared to hold Cawnpore -safely during Havelock’s absence. He re-established British power -throughout the place; offered government rewards for bringing in -captured rebels and public property; appointed Captain Bruce to the post -of superintendent of the police and intelligence departments; purchased -troop-horses in the neighbouring districts; and made arrangements for -keeping the road open and unmolested between Cawnpore and Allahabad. All -this he did, besides taking care of Havelock’s sick and wounded, with a -force of only 300 men—such was the result of the bravery of a soldier -and the skill of a commander, when combined in the same person. - -When Havelock had advanced six miles from the Ganges, at a place called -Mungulwar, he was met by a messenger who had succeeded in eluding the -vigilance of the insurgents at Lucknow, and had brought a plan of that -city prepared by Major Anderson, together with some brief but valuable -information from Brigadier Inglis. The details were partly written in -Greek character, as a measure of precaution. Havelock now saw the full -importance and difficulty of the work before him. His own little band -was reduced to 1500 men, supported by 10 badly equipped and manned guns. -On the other hand, he learned that the enemy had intrenched and covered -with guns the long bridge across the Sye (Saee) at Bunnee, and had made -preparations for destroying it if the passage were forced. Nor was his -rear less imperiled than his front; for Nena Sahib had collected 3000 -men and several guns, with which he intended to get between Havelock and -the Ganges, to cut off his retreat. Nothing but the anxious dangers and -difficulties of the Europeans at Lucknow would have induced the gallant -man to advance under such perilous odds. He said in one of his -dispatches to the government on the 28th: ‘The communications convince -me of the extreme delicacy and difficulty of any operation to relieve -Inglis; it shall be attempted, however, at every risk.’ Could he have -known how anxiously the beleaguered British in the Residency at Lucknow -was looking for him, his heart would have bled for them; Major Anderson -had sent him a military plan, but the messenger was too much imperiled -to bring any lengthened narrative. - -The battle of Onao or Oonao was one of the most surprising of the series -in which Havelock was engaged. His passage towards Lucknow was disputed -on the 29th by the enemy, who had taken up a strong position. Their -right was protected by a swamp which could neither be forced nor turned; -their advanced corps was in a garden enclosure which assumed the form of -a bastion; and the rest of their force was posted in and behind a -village, the houses of which were loopholed and defended by 15 guns. The -passage between the village and the town of Onao was very narrow; but -along this passage the attack had to be made—because the swamp precluded -an advance on the one flank, while the flooded state of the country -equally rendered the other impassable. The attack was commenced by the -78th Highlanders and the 1st Fusiliers, who, with two guns, soon drove -the enemy out of the bastioned enclosure; but when they approached the -village, they were exposed to a hot fire from the loopholed houses. A -party of the 84th foot advanced in aid; and then a determined struggle -ensued; the village was set on fire, but still the enemy resisted with a -bravery worthy of a better cause. At length the passage between the town -and the village was forced; and then the enemy were seen drawn up in -great strength in an open plain—infantry, cavalry, and artillery. -Nevertheless Havelock attacked them, captured their guns, and put the -horse and foot to flight. During all this time a large detachment of -Nena Sahib’s troops, under Jupah Singh, threatened the left flank of the -British, in the not unreasonable hope of being able to annihilate such a -handful of men. No sooner had Havelock given his troops two or three -hours’ rest, than he advanced from Onao to Busherutgunje. This was a -walled town, with wet ditches, a gate defended by a round tower, four -pieces of cannon on and near the tower, loopholed and strengthened -buildings within the walls, and a broad and deep pond or lake beyond the -town. Havelock sent the Highlanders and Fusiliers, under cover of the -guns, to capture the earthworks and enter the town; while the 64th made -a flank movement on the left, and cut off the communication from the -town by a chaussée and bridge over the lake. His few horse could do -nothing for want of open ground on which to manœuvre; but his guns and -his infantry soon captured the place and drove the enemy before them. In -these two battles on one day, he had 12 killed and 76 wounded; while the -enemy is supposed to have lost half as many men as Havelock’s whole -force. He also captured 19 guns, but as he had no gunners to work them, -or horses to draw them, they were destroyed—two by spiking, and -seventeen by shot. In a dispatch relating to this day’s hard work, the -general, after describing the brief but desperate contest among the -loopholed houses, said: ‘Here some daring feats of bravery were -performed. Private Patrick Cavanagh, of the 64th, was cut literally in -pieces by the enemy, while setting an example of distinguished -gallantry. Had he lived I should have deemed him worthy of the Victoria -Cross; it could never have glittered on a more gallant breast.’ This -mode of noticing the merit of private soldiers endeared Havelock to his -troops. Cavanagh had been the first to leap over a wall from behind -which it was necessary to drive the enemy; he found himself confronted -by at least a dozen troopers, two or three of whom he killed; but he was -cut to pieces by the rest before his comrades could come to his aid. - -It must have been with a pang of deep regret that the general, hitherto -successful in every encounter, found it necessary, on the 31st of July, -to make his first retrograde movement. He never scrupled to attack -thousands of the enemy with hundreds of his own troops, in open battle; -the odds, whether five to one or ten to one, did not deter him; but when -his whole force, his miniature army of operations, became reduced to -little more than the number for one full regiment, the question arose -whether any men would be left at all, after fighting the whole distance -to Lucknow. He had no means for crossing the Sye river or the great -canal, as the enemy had taken care either to destroy or to guard all the -bridges; and in every military requirement—except courage—his force was -becoming daily weaker. Besides officers and men who had been killed or -wounded in fair fight, numbers had been struck down by the sun; while -others, through exposure to swamps and marshes, had been seized with -cholera, diarrhœa, and dysentery; insomuch that Havelock was losing at -the rate of fifty men a day. In addition to all this, as he could leave -no men behind him to keep open the communication with Cawnpore, he was -obliged to take all his sick and wounded with him. His little band being -now reduced by battle and disease to 1364 men, he determined on receding -two short marches, to wait until reinforcements of some kind could reach -him. Colonel Tytler, his quartermaster-general, strongly confirmed the -necessity of this retreat. He saw no possibility of more than 600 men -reaching Lucknow alive and in fighting condition; and they would then -have had two miles of street-fighting before reaching the Residency. He -recommended a retreat from Busherutgunje to Mungulwar; and this retreat -was made under the earnest hope that aid would arrive soon enough to -permit an advance to Lucknow within a week—aid most urgently needed, -seeing that the garrison at that place was becoming very short of -provisions. The troops, of course, were a little disheartened by this -retrograde movement. They rested in Busherutgunje from the early morning -of the 30th to the afternoon, when they received the order to retreat. -It was not till after the reasons were explained to them, that his -gallant companions in arms could at all reconcile themselves to this -order from the general. They marched back that evening to Onao, and the -following morning to Mungulwar. - -The month of August began under dispiriting circumstances to Havelock. -His chance of reaching Lucknow was smaller than ever; although greater -than ever was the need of the garrison at that place for his assistance. -He sent back his sick and wounded from Mungulwar to Cawnpore, across the -Ganges, and committed them to Neill’s keeping. He explained to that -general the reasons for his retreat, and asked for further -reinforcements if such were by any means obtainable. Neill was able -simply to send a few dozens of men, bringing Havelock’s effective number -up to about 1400. With these he set about reorganising his little band -during the first three days of the month—counting each man as if he had -been a gem above price. Every native had been got rid of; all his troops -were British; and therefore, few as they were, he felt entire reliance -on them. On the 4th he sent out his handful of volunteer cavalry to -reconnoitre the Lucknow road, to see what had become of the enemy. The -troopers dashed through Onao without interruption; but on approaching -Busherutgunje they saw ample evidence that the enemy were endeavouring -to block up the line of communication, by occupying in force a series of -hamlets between the town and the lake beyond it. The cavalry, having -thus obtained news critically important to the general, galloped back -the same evening to Onao, where they were joined by Havelock and his -force from Mungulwar. After a night’s bivouac at Onao, the British -marched forth in early morn, and met their old enemy for a second time -at Busherutgunje. Havelock, after a reconnaissance, resolved to deceive -the enemy by a show of cavalry in front, while he sent round guns and -infantry to turn their flanks. This manœuvre completely succeeded; the -enemy were surprised, shelled out of the town, and pursued by the -bayonet and the rifle through the whole of the hamlets to an open plain -beyond. They suffered much, but safely drew off all their guns except -two. Though a victory for Havelock, shewing the high qualities of his -men, it was not one that cheered him much. The enemy were still between -him and Lucknow, and he would have to encounter them again and again, -with probably great reinforcements on their side, ere he could succeed -in the object he had at heart. The morning of the 6th of August rose -gloomily to him; for he was forced to a conclusion that an attack on -Lucknow was wholly beyond his force. He returned from Busherutgunje -through Onao to his old quarters at Mungulwar; and when encamped there, -wrote or telegraphed to the commander-in-chief that he must abandon his -long-cherished enterprise until strengthened. All his staff-officers -joined in the opinion that to advance now to Lucknow would be ‘to court -annihilation,’ and would, moreover, seal the doom of the heroic Inglis -in that city—seeing that that officer could not possibly hold out -without the hopeful expectation, sooner or later, of relief from -Cawnpore. ‘I will remain,’ added Havelock in his notification, ‘till the -last moment in this position (Mungulwar), strengthening it, and hourly -improving my bridge-communication with Cawnpore, in the hope that some -error of the enemy may enable me to strike a blow against them, and give -the garrison an opportunity of blowing up their works and cutting their -way out.’ Havelock’s army now only just exceeded 1000 effective men—a -number absurd to designate as an army, were it not for its brilliant -achievements. Between Mungulwar and Lucknow it was known that there were -three strong posts, defended by 50 guns and 30,000 men. Every village on -the road, too (this being, in the turbulent province of Oude), was found -to be occupied by zemindars deadly hostile to the British. Neill had -only 500 reliable troops at Cawnpore, of whom one-half were on the -sick-list. Who can wonder, then, that even a Havelock shrank from an -advance to Lucknow at such a time? - -[Illustration: - - Plan of action near Bithoor, August 16, 1857. -] - -From the evening of the 6th to the morning of the 11th was the small -overworked column encamped at Mungulwar—fighting against cholera as a -more dreaded opponent than rebellious sepoys, and keeping a guarded -watch on the distrusted Oudians around. On the 11th, however, this -sojourn was disturbed; and the British found themselves called upon to -meet the enemy for the third time at the town of Busherutgunje. Early in -the morning Havelock received information that 4000 rebels, with some -guns, had advanced from Nawabgunge to that place. It did not suit his -views to have such a hostile force in position within a few hours’ march -of him; he therefore put his column in motion. His advanced guard drove -the enemy’s parties out of Onao; but when he marched onward to the -vicinity of Busherutgunje, he found the enemy far more numerous than he -had expected—spread out to a great distance right and left, and strongly -intrenched in the centre. Havelock saw reasons for postponing his attack -till the following day. He returned to Onao, where his troops bivouacked -on the wet ground amid much discomfort, and after a very scanty supper. -Such men, however, were not likely to make the worst of their troubles; -they rose on the 12th, ready to vanquish the enemy in their usual style. -In the two former battles of Busherutgunje, the enemy had depended -chiefly on defences in and behind the town; but in this instance they -had adopted the plan of intrenching the village of Boursekee Chowkee, in -advance of the town. Havelock was much retarded in bringing his battery -and supporting troops across the deep and wide morasses which protected -the enemy’s front, during which operation the enemy’s shot and shell -caused him some loss; but when these obstacles were surmounted, and his -artillery brought into play, the 78th Highlanders, without firing a -shot, rushed with a cheer upon the principal redoubt, and captured two -out of the three horse-battery guns with which it was armed. The enemy’s -extreme left being also turned, they were soon in full retreat. But -here, as before, the victory was little more than a manifestation of -British superiority in the field of battle; the enemy lost six to one of -the British, but still they remained on or near the Lucknow road. The -brigadier, just alike to his humble soldiers and to his -brother-officers, did not fail to mention the names of those who -particularly distinguished themselves. On one occasion it was his own -son Lieutenant Havelock; on another it was Patrick Cavanagh the private; -and now it was Lieutenant Crowe of the 78th Highlanders, who, on this -12th of August, had been the first man to climb into the enemy’s redoubt -at Boursekee Chowkee—an achievement which afterwards brought him the -Victoria cross. - -The conqueror for the third time retreated from Busherutgunje to -Mungulwar, of course a little weaker in men than in the morning. -Havelock’s object, in this third retreat, was not merely to reach -Mungulwar, but to recross the Ganges to Cawnpore, there to wait for -reinforcements before making another attempt to relieve Lucknow. The -advance of the 4000 rebels on the 11th had been mainly with the view of -cutting off the little band of heroes during this embarkation; but the -battle of the 12th frustrated this; and by evening of the 13th the whole -of the British had crossed the Ganges from the Oude bank to the Cawnpore -bank, by a bridge of boats and a boat-equipage which Colonel Tytler and -Captain Crommelin had used indefatigable exertions to prepare. - -There can be no question that this retreat was regarded by the -insurgents as a concession to their superior strength, as an admission -that even a Havelock could not penetrate to Lucknow at that time; it -elated them, and for the same reason it depressed the little band who -had achieved so much and suffered so severely. The general himself was -deeply grieved, for the prestige of the British name, but more -immediately for the safety of Brigadier Inglis and his companions. But -though grieved, he was too good a soldier to despond: he looked at his -difficulties manfully. Those difficulties were indeed great. While he -was fighting in Oude, bravely but vainly striving to advance to Lucknow, -Nena Sahib had been collecting a motley assemblage of troops near -Bithoor, for the purpose of re-establishing his power in that region. A -whole month had been available to him for this purpose, from the middle -of July to the middle of August; and during this time there had been -assembled the 31st and 42d native infantry from Saugor, the 17th from -Fyzabad, portions of the 34th disbanded at Barrackpore, troops of three -mutinied cavalry regiments, and odds and ends of Mahrattas. The Nena had -imitated Havelock in crossing into Oude, but had afterwards recrossed -into the Doab, with the evident intention of attacking Neill’s weak -force at Cawnpore. Bithoor he reoccupied without difficulty, for Neill -had no troops to station at that place, but now he planned an advance to -Cawnpore itself. As soon as Havelock had brought his column across the -Ganges on the 13th, the two generals concerted a plan; they resolved to -rest the troops on the 14th, attack Nena Sahib’s left wing on the 15th, -and march to Bithoor on the 16th. Neill, with a mere handful of men, -went out of his intrenchment, surprised the enemy’s left, and drove them -with precipitation from the vicinity of Cawnpore. This done, Havelock -laid his plan for a third visit to Bithoor on the 16th. He marched out -with about 1300 men—nearly all that he and Neill possessed between -them—and came up to the enemy about mid-day. They had established a -position in front of Bithoor, which Havelock characterised as one of the -strongest he had ever seen. They had two guns and an earthen redoubt in -and near a plantation of sugar and castor-oil plants, intrenched -quadrangles filled with troops, and two villages with loopholed houses -and walls. Havelock, after surveying the position, sent his artillery -along the main road; consisting of Maude’s battery, which had already -rendered such good service, and Olphert’s battery, recently forwarded -from Allahabad under Lieutenant Smithett. While the guns proceeded along -the main road, the infantry advanced in two wings on the right and left. -After a brief exchange of artillery-fire, the 78th Highlanders and the -Madras Fusiliers advanced in that fearless way which struck such -astonishment and panic into the mutineers; they captured and burned a -village, then forced their way through a sugar-plantation, then took the -redoubt, then captured two guns placed in a battery, and drove the -rebels before them at every point. The battery, redoubt, quadrangles, -villages, and plantations having been thus conquered, the British -crossed a bridge over a narrow but unfordable stream, and pursued the -enemy into and right through the town of Bithoor. Beyond this it was -impossible to pursue them, for Havelock had now scarcely a dozen -troopers, and his infantry were utterly exhausted by marching and -fighting during a fiercely hot day. The 64th and 84th foot, with the -Ferozpore Sikhs, were disabled from taking a full share in the day’s -operations, by a bend or branch of the unfordable stream which -intercepted their intended line of march; the chief glory of the day -rested with the 78th Highlanders and the Madras Fusiliers. Havelock, in -his dispatch relating to this battle, said: ‘I must do the mutineers the -justice to pronounce that they fought obstinately; otherwise they could -not for a whole hour have held their own, even with such advantages of -ground, against my powerful artillery-fire.’ Worn out with fatigue, the -British troops bivouacked that night near Bithoor; and on the 17th they -returned to Cawnpore. They had been fighting for six or seven weeks -under an Indian sun, almost from the day of their leaving Allahabad. -‘Rest they must have,’ said Neill, in one of his pithy telegrams. -Captain Mackenzie, of the Highlanders, was among those who received -wounds on this day. - -This may be regarded as terminating the Havelock campaign in the strict -sense of the term; that is, the campaign in which he was undisputed -chief. He was destined, before the hand of death struck him down, to -fight again against the rebellious sepoys, but under curious relations -towards a brother-officer—relations strikingly honourable to both, as -will presently be explained. A wonderful campaign it must indeed be -called. Between the 12th of July and the 17th of August, Havelock had -fought and won three battles in the Doab east of Cawnpore, three in the -vicinity of Cawnpore and Bithoor, and four in Oude—ten battles in -thirty-seven days; and this against an enemy manifold superior in -numbers, and with an army which naturally became weaker by each battle, -until at length its fighting power was almost extinguished. - -Precarious, indeed, was the state to which Havelock’s little force was -reduced. Shells, balls, bullets, sabres, heat, fatigue, and disease, -laid his poor fellows low; while his constant cry for reinforcements -was—not unheeded, certainly—but left unsatisfied. The cry was everywhere -the same—‘Send us troops;’ and the reply varied but little: ‘We have -none to send.’ On the 19th of August, he had 17 officers and 466 men -sick at Cawnpore; while those who were not sick were so exhausted as to -be scarcely fit for active service. Havelock and Neill thirsted to -encourage their handful of men by some brilliant achievement; but the -one essential would be the relief of Lucknow, and for this they were not -strong enough. The rebels, encouraged by this state of affairs, -assembled in great force on the Oude side of the Ganges; they threatened -to cross at Cawnpore, at a spot twelve miles lower down, and at -Futtehpoor; while, on the other side, the Gwalior Contingent threatened -the small British force from Calpee. Havelock telegraphed to the -commander-in-chief: ‘I could bring into the field 8 good guns, but the -enemy are reported to have 29 or 30; these are great odds, and my 900 -soldiers may be opposed to 5000 organised troops. The loss of a battle -would ruin everything in this part of India.’ After deducting his sick -and wounded, and two detachments to guard the cantonment and the road to -it, he had only 700 men ready for the field—perhaps the smallest ‘army’ -that modern warfare has exhibited. Every day the general became more -earnest and urgent in the language of his telegrams; he was quite -willing to ‘fight anything, and at any odds;’ but his failure of victory -would be ruinous at such a critical time. There were 5000 Gwalior troops -threatening his rear on the Jumna; there were 20,000 Oudians watching -him from the other side of the Ganges; there were 12,000 of the enemy on -his left at Furruckabad; and to oppose these 37,000 armed and -disciplined soldiers, he had only 700 effective men! The contrast would -have been ridiculous, but for the moral grandeur which gave almost a -sublimity to the devotedness of this little band. On the 21st, he -announced that unless reinforcements arrived soon, he would be compelled -to abandon all his hopes and plans, and return to Allahabad, whence he -had started on his career of conquest seven weeks before. He -endeavoured, meanwhile, to strengthen his position at Cawnpore, and to -send off sick and wounded to Allahabad, as a temporary relief. - -It would not be easy to decide who was beset by most anxiety towards the -close of August—Havelock or Inglis. The former, after his vain attempt -to reach Lucknow, wrote a note on the 4th which happily reached Inglis; -telling him of what had occurred, and adding, ‘You must aid us in every -way, even to cutting your way out, if we can’t force our way in. We have -only a small force.’ This note reached Inglis on the 15th; he wrote a -reply on the 16th, which—after the messenger had been exposed to seven -days of great peril—Havelock received on the 23d. This reply told how -terrible was the position of the Lucknow garrison—120 sick and wounded; -220 women, and 230 children; food and all necessaries scanty; disease -and filth all about them; officers toiling like common labourers from -morning till night; soldiers and civilians nearly worn out with fatigue; -enemy attacking every day, and forming mines to blow up the feeble -intrenchments; and no means of carriage even if the garrison succeeded -in quitting the place. The remaining days of the month were spent by -Havelock inactively but hopefully. True, he was becoming almost invested -by the rebels at Cawnpore, who saw that his handful of men could do -little against them; but, on the other hand, telegraphic communication -was well kept up with Allahabad, Benares, and Calcutta. He learned that -Canning, Campbell, and Outram were busily engaged in sending up every -possible reinforcement to him; and he wrote again and again to Inglis, -urging him to remain firm to the last, in the cheerful trust that aid -would come before the last act of despair—a surrender to the insurgents -at Lucknow. There was mention of nearly 2000 men being either on their -way or about to start from Calcutta, belonging to the 5th, 64th, 78th, -84th, and 90th regiments, the Madras Fusiliers, and the artillery; and -there were confident hopes expressed of great service being rendered by -the Naval Brigade, 500 ‘blue jackets,’ under Captain Peel, who left -Calcutta by steamer on the 20th. The governor-general knew that -Brigadier Inglis had a quarter of a million sterling of government money -under his charge in the Residency of Lucknow; and he sent telegrams to -Havelock and Neill, urging them, if possible, to convey instructions to -Inglis not to care about the money, but rather to use it in any way that -might best contribute to the liberation of his heroic and suffering -companions. - -New names now appear upon the scene—those of Outram and Campbell. -Major-general Sir James Outram, after successfully bringing the Persian -war to an end, had been appointed by the governor-general to the -military command of the Dinapoor and Cawnpore divisions; succeeding -Wheeler, who was killed at Cawnpore, and Lloyd, who had fallen into -disgrace at Dinapoor. This was a very important trust, seeing that it -placed under his control all the British officers engaged in the various -struggles at Lucknow, Cawnpore, Allahabad, Benares, Dinapoor, &c. He -arrived at Dinapoor to assume this command on the 18th of August, two -days after the date when Havelock had ended his series of ten battles. -It happened, too, that Sir Colin Campbell arrived in India about the -same time, to fill the office of commander-in-chief of all the armies of -the crown and the Company in India. For a period of two months, Sir -Patrick Grant had superintended military matters, remaining in -consultation with Viscount Canning at Calcutta, and corresponding with -the generals in the various provinces and divisions. Now, however, Sir -Patrick returned to his former post at Madras, and Sir Colin assumed -military command in his stead—remaining, like him, many weeks at -Calcutta, where he could better organise an army than in the upper -provinces. Campbell and Outram, the one at Calcutta and the other at -Dinapoor, speedily settled by telegram that every possible exertion -should be made to send up reinforcements to Havelock and Neill at -Cawnpore; and that those gallant men should be encouraged to hold on, -and not retreat from their important position. Outram had formed a plan -entirely distinct from that in which Havelock was concerned—namely, to -advance from Benares direct to Lucknow _viâ_ Jounpoor, a route -altogether northeast of the Ganges and the Doab; and to relieve -Brigadier Inglis and the devoted garrison of that city. When, however, -it became known that Inglis could not cut his way out of Lucknow without -powerful assistance, and that Havelock himself was in danger at -Cawnpore, Sir Colin Campbell suggested to Sir James Outram a -reconsideration of his plan; pointing out that an advance of a hundred -and fifty miles from Benares to Lucknow, through a country mostly in the -hands of the enemy, would under any circumstances be very perilous; and -submitting that a march by Allahabad to Cawnpore might probably be -better. The great problem in effect was—how could Outram best assist -Havelock and Neill, and how could all three best liberate Inglis from -his difficulties? To solve this problem, the few remaining days of -August, and the month of September, were looked forward to with anxiety. - -The plan of operations once agreed upon, Sir James Outram engaged in it -as quickly as possible. On the 1st of September, having made the -necessary military arrangements for the safety of the Dinapoor region, -he arrived at Allahabad, making a brief sojourn at Benares on his way. -He took with him 90 men of H.M. 90th foot—a small instalment of the -forces with which he hoped to strengthen Havelock’s little band. Three -days afterwards, 600 men of the same regiment reached Allahabad by -steamers—a slow and sure way which the government was forced to adopt -owing to the miserable deficiency in means of land-transport. No time -was lost in making these valuable troops available. Reckoning up the -various fragments of regiments which had arrived at Allahabad since -Havelock took his departure from that place two months before, Outram -found them to amount to something over 1700 men; he set off himself on -the 5th with a first column of 673 men; Major Simmonds started on the -same day with a second column of 674; about 90 more followed on the 6th; -and 300 remained to guard Allahabad, and to form the nucleus for further -reinforcements. On the 7th, Outram was at Hissa, progressing at a rate -that would probably carry him to Cawnpore by the 15th—all his men -eagerly hoping to have a brush with the ‘Pandies,’ and to aid in -augmenting the gallant little band under Havelock. - -While Sir James was on his march, he received information that a party -of insurgents from Oude were about to cross the Ganges into Doab, at a -place called Koondun Puttee, between Allahabad and Futtehpoor, and about -twenty miles from the last-named town. Seeing the importance of -frustrating this movement, he made arrangements accordingly. Being at -Thureedon on the 9th of September, he placed a small force under the -charge of Major Vincent Eyre, who had lately much distinguished himself -at Arrah; consisting of 100 of H.M. 5th, and 50 of the 64th regiments, -mounted on elephants, with two guns, tents, two days’ cooked provisions, -and supplies for three days more. These troops, not sorry at being -selected for such a novel enterprise, started off and reached Hutgong by -dusk on the 10th, where they were joined by 40 troopers of the 12th -Irregular Horse under Captain Johnson. Eyre, after resting his men, made -a moonlight march to Koondun Puttee, where he arrived at daybreak. The -enemy, in surprise, rushed hastily to their boats, with a view of -recrossing the Ganges into Oude; but this escape was not allowed to -them. The sword, musket, rifle, and cannon brought them down in such -numbers that hardly any saw Oude again. The number of the enemy was -about 300; a number not large, but likely to prove very disastrous if -they had obtained command of the road between Allahabad and Cawnpore. -Havelock evidently attached much importance to this service, for he said -in his dispatch: ‘I now consider my communications secure, which -otherwise must have been entirely cut off during our operations in Oude; -and a general insurrection, I am assured, would have followed throughout -the Doab had the enemy not been destroyed—they being but the -advanced-guard of more formidable invaders.’ This work achieved, the -different columns continued their march, until at length they safely -reached Cawnpore. - -[Illustration: - - BRIGADIER-GENERAL NEILL. -] - -The three generals—Outram, Havelock, and Neill—met on the 15th of -September at Cawnpore, delighted at being able to reinforce each other -for the hard work yet to be done. And now came a manifestation of noble -self-denial, a chivalrous sacrifice of mere personal inclination to a -higher sense of justice. Outram was higher in rank as a military -officer, and held a higher command in that part of India; he might have -claimed, and officially was entitled to claim, the command of the -forthcoming expedition; but he, like others, had gloried in the deeds of -Havelock, and was determined not to rob him of the honour of relieving -Lucknow. On the 16th, Sir James Outram issued an order,[61] in which, -among other things, he announced that Havelock had been raised from -brigadier-general to major-general; that that noble soldier should have -the opportunity of finishing what he had so well begun; that Outram -would accompany him as chief-commissioner of Oude, and would fight under -him as a volunteer, without interfering with his command; and that -Havelock should not be superseded in the command by Outram until the -relief of Lucknow should have been achieved. It was a worthy deed, -marking, as Havelock well expressed it, ‘characteristic generosity of -feeling;’ he announced it to his troops by an order on the same day, and -‘expressed his hope that they would, by their exemplary and gallant -conduct in the field, strive to justify the confidence thus reposed in -them.’ - -The two generals wished at once to ascertain from Calcutta what were the -views of Viscount Canning and Sir Colin Campbell concerning any ulterior -proceedings at Lucknow. Outram sent a telegram to Canning to inquire -whether, if Lucknow were recaptured, it should be held at all hazards, -as a matter of success and prestige. The governor-general at once sent -back a reply: ‘Save the garrison; never mind our prestige just now, -provided you liberate Inglis; we will recover prestige afterwards. I -cannot just now send you any more troops. Save the British in the -Residency, and act afterwards as your strength will permit.’ The two -generals proceeded to act on these instructions. Just two months had -elapsed since Havelock had made his appearance at Cawnpore as a victor; -and it was with great pain and anxiety that he had been forced to allow -those two months to pass away without sending one single soldier, one -single ration of food, to the forlorn band who so wonderfully stood -their ground in the Residency at Lucknow. Now, however, he looked -forward with brighter hopes; Outram was with him, under relations most -friendly and honourable; and both generals were fully determined to -suffer any sacrifice rather than leave Inglis and his companions -unrelieved. - -Outram himself planned the organisation of the new force for operations -in Oude; but he placed Havelock at the head of it, and took care that -Neill should have a share in the glory.[62] It consisted of two brigades -of infantry, one of cavalry, one of artillery, and an engineer -department. - -It was on the 19th of September that the two generals crossed with this -army into Oude, making use for that purpose of a bridge of boats over -the Ganges, most laboriously constructed by Captain Crommelin. The -enemy, assembled near the banks, retired after a nominal resistance to -Mungulwar. The heavy guns and the baggage were crossed over on the 20th. -On the 21st the British again came up with the enemy, turned their right -flank, drove them from their position, inflicted on them a severe loss, -and captured four guns. With the heroism of a true soldier, Sir James -Outram headed one of the charges that brought about this victory; -serving as a volunteer under Havelock. The enemy were not permitted to -destroy the Bunnee bridge over the Sye; and thus the victors were -enabled to pursue their route towards Lucknow. On the 23d, Havelock -again found himself in presence of the enemy, who had taken up a strong -position; their left posted in the enclosure of the Alum Bagh—a place -destined to world-wide notoriety—and their centre and right on low -hills. Alum Bagh is so near Lucknow that firing in the city could be -distinctly heard; and Havelock therefore gave a volley with his largest -guns, to tell the beleaguered garrison that aid was near. The British, -in order to encounter the enemy, had to pass straight along the high -road between morasses, during which they suffered much from artillery; -but when once enabled to deploy to the right and left, they gradually -gained an advantage, and added another to the list of their -victories—driving the enemy before them, but at the same time suffering -severely from the large numbers and the heavy firing of those to whom -they were opposed. They had been marching three days under a perfect -deluge of rain, irregularly fed, and badly housed in villages. Havelock -determined, therefore, to pitch camp, and to give his exhausted troops -one whole day’s rest on the 24th. - -At last came the eventful day, the 25th of September, when the -beleaguered garrison at Lucknow were to experience the joy of seeing -those whose arrival had been yearned for during so long and anxious a -period. Early on that morning, after depositing his baggage and tents -under an escort in the Alum Bagh, Havelock pursued his march. The 1st -brigade, with Outram attached to it as a volunteer, drove the enemy from -a succession of gardens and walled enclosures; while the other brigades -supported it. From the bridge of the Char Bagh over the canal, to the -Residency at Lucknow, was a distance in a straight line of about two -miles; and this interval was cut by trenches, crossed by palisades, and -intersected by loopholed houses. Progress in this direction being so -much obstructed, Havelock resolved to deploy along a narrow road that -skirted the left bank of the canal. On they went, until they came -opposite the palace of Kaiser or Kissurah Bagh, where two guns and a -body of insurgents were placed; and here the fire poured out on them was -so tremendous that, to use the words of the general, ‘nothing could live -under it;’ his troops had to pass a bridge partly under the influence of -this fire; but immediately afterwards they received the shelter of -buildings adjacent to the palace of Fureed Buksh. Darkness now coming -on, it was at one time proposed that the force should halt for the night -in and near the court of this palace; but Havelock could not bear the -idea of leaving the Residency for another night in the hands of the -enemy; he therefore ordered his trusty Highlanders, and little less -trusty Sikhs, to take the lead in the tremendous ordeal of a -street-fight through the large city of Lucknow. It was a desperate -struggle, but it was for a great purpose—and it succeeded. On that -night, within the British Residency, Havelock and Outram clasped hands -with Inglis, and listened to the outpourings of full hearts all around -them. The sick and the wounded, the broken-down and the emaciated, the -military and the civilians, the officers and the soldiers, the women and -the children—all within the Residency had passed a day of agonised -suspense, unable to help in their own deliverance; but when at length -Havelock’s advanced column could be seen in a street visible from the -buildings of the Residency—then broke forth such a cheer as none can -know but those placed in similar circumstances. - -When General Havelock penned a hasty dispatch narrating the events of -this day, he said: ‘To form a notion of the obstacles overcome, a -reference must be made to the events that are known to have occurred at -Buenos Ayres and Saragossa. Our advance was through streets of -flat-roofed and loopholed houses, each forming a separate fortress. I am -filled with surprise at the success of operations which demanded the -efforts of 10,000 good troops.’ The advantage cost him dearly. Sir James -Outram received a flesh-wound in the arm early in the day, but nothing -could subdue his spirit; though faint from loss of blood, he continued -till the end of the operations to sit on his horse, from which he only -dismounted at the gate of the Residency. Greatest loss of all was that -of the gallant and energetic Brigadier-general Neill, who from the 3d of -June to the 25th of September had been almost incessantly engaged in -conflicts with the enemy, in and between the cities of Benares, -Allahabad, Cawnpore, and Lucknow. He fell, to fight no more. From the -time when he left his native home in Ayrshire, a stripling sixteen years -of age, he had passed thirty years of his life in service, and had been -a trusty and trusted officer.[63] But although the loss of Neill was the -most deplored, on account of the peculiar services which he had -rendered, Havelock had to lament the melancholy list of gallant officers -who had equally desired to shew themselves as true soldiers on this -day.[64] No less than ten officers were either killed or wounded in the -78th Highlanders alone—shewing how terrible must have been the work in -which that heroic regiment led. The whole list of casualties comprised -119 officers and men killed, 339 wounded, and 77 missing. Of these last -Havelock said: ‘I much fear that, some or all, they have fallen into the -hands of a merciless foe.’ Thus was the force reduced by more than five -hundred men in one day. - -On the evening of this day, the 25th of September, Major-general -Havelock, within the Residency at Lucknow, gave back to Sir James Outram -the charge which had so generously been intrusted to him. He became -second in command to one who had all day fought chivalrously under him -as a volunteer. Here, then, this chapter may end. It was the last day of -Havelock’s campaign as an independent commander. What else he did before -disease ended his valuable life; what the Lucknow garrison had effected -to maintain their perilous position during so many weary weeks; what -were the circumstances that rendered necessary many more weeks of -detention in the Residency; by whom and at what time they were really -and finally relieved—are subjects that will engage our attention in -future pages. - ------ - -Footnote 57: - - It may be useful to note, for readers unfamiliar with military - matters, the meaning of the words _brevet_ and _brigadier_. A brevet - is a commission, conferring on an officer a degree of rank _next - above_ that which he holds in his particular regiment; without, - however, conveying the power of receiving the corresponding pay. - Besides being honorary as a mark of distinction, it qualifies the - officer to succeed to the full possession of the higher rank on a - vacancy occurring, in preference to one not holding a brevet. In the - British army brevet rank only applies to captains, majors, and - lieutenant-colonels. A _brigadier_ is a colonel or other officer of a - regiment who is made temporarily a general officer for a special - service, in command of a brigade, or more than one regiment. It is not - a permanent rank, but is considered as a stepping-stone to the office - of major-general. Many Indian officers who were colonels when the - Indian mutiny began, such as Henry Lawrence and Neill, were appointed - brigadier-generals for a special service, and rose to higher rank - before the mutiny was ended. - -Footnote 58: - - Chapter ix., pp. 159-161. - -Footnote 59: - - _British Troops_: - H.M. 64th foot (from Persia), 435 men; Major Stirling. - H.M. 78th Highlanders (from Persia), 284 men; Col. Hamilton. - H.M. 84th foot (from Pegu), 190 men; Lieut. Ayrton. - 1st Madras Fusiliers (from Madras), 376 men; Major Renaud. - Voluntary cavalry (from Allahabad), 20 men; Capt. Barrow. - Royal artillery (from Ceylon), 98 men; Capt. Maude. - ———— - 1403 - - _Native Troops_: - Regiment of Ferozpore (Sikhs), 448 men; Capt. Brasyer. - 13th Irr. Cav., and 3d Oude Cav., 95 men; Lieut. Palliser. - Artillery, 18 men; - ———— - 561 - - Colonel Tytler and Captain Beatson officiated as - quarter-master-general and adjutant-general of the force, irrespective - of particular regiments. - -Footnote 60: - - ‘Brigadier-general Havelock thanks his soldiers for their arduous - exertion of yesterday, which produced, in four hours, the strange - result of a whole army driven from a strong position, eleven guns - captured, and their whole force scattered to the winds, without the - loss of a single British soldier! - - ‘To what is this astonishing effect to be attributed? To the fire of - the British artillery, exceeding in rapidity and precision all that - the brigadier-general has ever witnessed in his not short career; to - the power of the Enfield rifle in British hands; to British pluck, - that good quality that has survived the revolution of the hour; and to - the blessing of Almighty God on a most righteous cause—the cause of - justice, humanity, truth, and good government in India.’ - -Footnote 61: - - ‘The important duty of first relieving the garrison of Lucknow has - been intrusted to Major-general Havelock, C.B.; and Major-general - Outram feels that it is due to this distinguished officer, and to the - strenuous and noble exertions which he has already made to effect that - object, that to him should accrue the honour of the achievement. - - ‘Major-general Outram is confident that the great end for which - General Havelock and his brave troops have so long and so gloriously - fought will now, under the blessing of Providence, be accomplished. - - ‘The major-general, therefore, in gratitude for and admiration of the - brilliant deeds in arms achieved by General Havelock and his gallant - troops, will cheerfully waive his rank on the occasion, and will - accompany the force to Lucknow in his civil capacity as - chief-commissioner of Oude, tendering his military services to General - Havelock as a volunteer. - - ‘On the relief of Lucknow, the major-general will resume his position - at the head of the forces.’ - -Footnote 62: - - ‘FIRST INFANTRY BRIGADE. - - ‘The 5th Fusiliers; 84th regiment; detachments 64th foot and 1st - Madras Fusiliers:—Brigadier-general Neill commanding, and nominating - his own brigade staff. - - ‘SECOND INFANTRY BRIGADE. - - ‘Her Majesty’s 78th Highlanders; her Majesty’s 90th Light Infantry; - and the Sikh regiment of Ferozpore:—Brigadier Hamilton commanding, and - nominating his own brigade staff. - - ‘THIRD (ARTILLERY) BRIGADE. - - ‘Captain Maude’s battery; Captain Olphert’s battery; Brevet-Major - Eyre’s battery:—Major Cope to command, and to appoint his own staff. - - ‘CAVALRY. - - ‘Volunteer cavalry to the left; Irregular cavalry to the - right:—Captain Barrow to command. - - ‘ENGINEER DEPARTMENT. - - ‘Chief-engineer, Captain Crommelin; assistant-engineers, Lieutenants - Leonard and Judge. - - ‘Major-general H. Havelock, C.B., to command the force.’ - -Footnote 63: - - The Queen afterwards gave to the brigadier-general’s wife the title - which she would have acquired in the regular way if her gallant - husband had lived a few weeks longer—that of Lady Neill. - -Footnote 64: - - _Officers Killed._—Brigadier-general Neill; Brigade-major Cooper; - Lieutenant-colonel Bazely; Captain Pakenham; Lieutenants Crump, - Warren, Bateman, Webster, Kirby, Poole, and Moultrie. - - _Officers Wounded._—Major-general Sir J. Outram; Lieutenant-colonel - Tytler; Captains Becher, Orr, Hodgson, Crommelin, Olphert, L’Estrange, - Johnson, Lockhart, Hastings, and Willis; Lieutenants Sitwell, - Havelock, Lynch, Palliser, Swanston, Birch, Crowe, Swanson, Grant, - Jolly, Macpherson, Barry, Oakley, Woolhouse, Knight, Preston, Arnold, - and Bailey. Some of the wounded officers afterwards died of their - wounds. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - THE DINAPOOR MUTINY, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. - - -After the first startling outbreak at Meerut, there was no instance of -mutiny that threw consternation over a more widely spreading range of -country than that at Dinapoor. This military station is in the midst of -the thickly populated province of Behar, between Bengal and Oude; a -province rich in opium, rice, and indigo plantations, and inhabited -chiefly by a class of Hindoos less warlike than those towards the west. -The Dinapoor mutiny was the one great event in the eastern half of -Northern India during July and August; and on this account it may -conveniently be treated as the central nucleus around which all the -minor events grouped themselves. In the regions surrounding the lower -course of the Ganges, and its branch the Hoogly, the disturbances were -of minor character; but along both sides of the great trunk-road there -was much more agitation, especially after the mutiny at the station -above named. Nevertheless, it will be desirable to take a bird’s-eye -glance at Bengal and Behar generally in this chapter, in relation to the -events of July and August—keeping steadily in mind the 25th of July, as -the day on which the occurrences at Dinapoor agitated all the natives, -paralysed many of the Europeans, and led to a train of truly remarkable -proceedings in and near the town of Arrah. - -First, then, for Calcutta, the Anglo-Indian capital. This city was not -afflicted by a mutiny, in the usual meaning of the term, at any time -during the year. Many reasons might be assigned for this exemption. -There were on all occasions more Europeans at Calcutta than in any other -city in India, who could have presented a formidable defence-corps if -they chose to combine for that purpose. There was the majesty of a -vice-regal court at Calcutta, not without its effect on the -impressionable minds of Asiatics. There were the head-quarters of all -authority in the city, insuring the promptest measures if exigency -should demand them. And lastly, Calcutta being the landing-place for -most of the English troops, rebel sepoys could never hope for much -chance of success in that capital. Mutiny there was not, but panic -unquestionably appeared—panic among the Europeans who did not belong to -the Company’s service, and whose imaginations were excited by the -terrible narratives brought in from the northwest, and highly coloured -during their transmission. It was an unfortunate circumstance that many -of these persons were hostile to the government of Viscount Canning; and -this hostility was especially displayed by those connected with the -press, on account of the restrictions already adverted to. Whatever may -be the varieties of opinion on the matters at issue, it is -unquestionable that difficulties were thrown in the way of the executive -by this want of accord. India has for a long period been rich in -coteries and parties. Among military men, the Queen’s officers and the -Company’s officers have had a little emulative pique; among non-military -men, there has been an envy by the non-officials of the civil servants -of the Company; and the military and the civilians have had their own -grounds for antagonism. Calcutta, above all other places, has been -marked by these sources of discord. - -Towards the close of July the government deemed it prudent to ascertain -what was the state of affairs in Calcutta with reference to the -possession, sale, or concealment of arms. The Europeans in the city, in -a state of perpetual alarm, kept up by unauthenticated paragraphs in the -newspapers, had indulged a belief that the natives had lately made large -purchases of arms, as if plotting mischief. Especially was this -suspicion entertained when news arrived from Havelock and Neill that all -the Europeans at Cawnpore had been murdered; almost wild with -excitement, rage, and terror, the Calcutta community set no bounds to -their apprehensions; they would fain have shot all the natives around -them, in vague dread of some diabolical plot. Mr Wauchope, commissioner -of police, was ordered to make strict inquiry concerning the possession -of arms. He found that the sale of weapons had been very large during -three mouths, but that nearly all the purchases had been made by -Europeans, and that hardly a house in Calcutta, inhabited by Christians, -was without one or more muskets or pistols. Many arms also had been -purchased in Calcutta, and taken into the provinces for the use of -indigo-planters, zemindars, and others, who naturally wished to have -near them a few weapons at such a turbulent period. Of any considerable -purchases of arms by the native population of Calcutta there was no -proof, and the superintendent disbelieved the rumour. This was the third -time in two months that the Anglo-Indian capital had been thrown into a -paroxysm of terror on this subject; and although the panic was shewn to -be groundless, the authorities nevertheless believed it to be expedient -to cause all firearms in the city to be registered. - -[Illustration: - - MAJOR VINCENT EYRE. -] - -No small part of the agitation at Calcutta arose from the shackles on -the press, already adverted to. Men of extreme opinions, and men of -excited feelings, longing to pour out their thoughts on paper, found -themselves less able so to do than in times gone by; there was the -seizure of their printing apparatus, the infliction of a heavy fine, -confronting them, and checking the movement of their pens. Sufficient -transpired, however, to render manifest these two facts—that the -European community at Calcutta violently hated the natives generally, -and violently opposed Viscount Canning personally. There was a very -general acquiescence in some such code of rules as the following, for -dealing with the natives—that every mutineer who had taken up arms or -quitted his ranks should be put to death; that every native, not a -soldier, who aided the mutineers, should in like manner be put to death; -that in every village in which a European had been murdered, a telegraph -wire cut, or a dâk stolen, a swift tribunal should exercise summary -justice; that every village in which a European fugitive had been -insulted or refused aid should be heavily fined; and that vengeance, -burning vengeance, was the only adequate measure to deal out to all who -had offended. The distressing tales brought by the fugitives had much -effect in keeping up the feeling denoted by such suggestions as these. -It was under the influence of the same disturbed state of the public -mind, that an address or petition was got up, condemnatory alike of -Viscount Canning and of the East India Company; it was intended to work -a considerable effect in England; but the obviously one-sided line of -argument vitiated its force and damaged its reception. - -As the month of July advanced, and fugitives came in from the disturbed -provinces, arrangements were made for accommodating them at Calcutta, -and—as we have seen—for alleviating their wants. It became also a point -of much importance to provide barracks or temporary homes of some kind -for the troops expected to arrive by sea from various regions. Among -buildings set apart for this latter purpose were the Town Hall, the Free -School, the Pleaders’ Chambers in the Sudder Court, and the Lower Orphan -School at Kidderpore. Many months would necessarily elapse before troops -in large numbers could arrive; but even a single regiment would require -considerable space to house it before it could be sent up the country. -In what way, during July and August, the English troops were sent to the -seats of disturbance, has already been sufficiently noticed; some were -despatched by steamers up the Ganges to Patna, Benares, and Allahabad; -while the rest mostly went from Calcutta to Raneegunge by railway, and -thence pursued their land-journey by any vehicles obtainable. - -It may here be remarked, that when Sir Colin Campbell arrived at -Calcutta, an immense amount of labour presented itself to his notice. -Before he could decide whether to advance northwest to the seat of war, -or to remain at the capital, he had carefully to examine the military -condition of India. The records of the war department were at Simla, -while the centre of authority was at Calcutta. The principal officers -were scattered throughout the disturbed districts; the desultory and -isolated struggles had relaxed the bond of military obedience; the -reinforcements as they arrived had to be fitted into their places; the -detached forces had to be brought into subordination to some general -plan; and the different branches of the service had to be brought into -harmony one with another. Hence Calcutta was for several weeks the -head-quarters of the veteran commander-in-chief, while these -all-important details of military organisation were in progress. - -In the wide belt of country forming the eastern margin of India, from -the Himalaya in the north to Pegu in the south, there was no mutiny -properly so called during July and August. All the disturbances were -limited to threatening symptoms which, if not attended to, might have -proved dangerous. The nature of these symptoms may be illustrated by a -few examples. At Jelpigoree, early in July, two men were detected -tampering with the sepoys of the 73d N. I.; and a trooper of the 11th -irregular cavalry was found guilty of insubordination. At Dinagepore the -moulvies or Mussulman religious teachers began to spread seditious -rumours. At Jessore, similar Mussulman tendencies were manifested. In -the third week of July tranquillity prevailed throughout the divisions -of Aracan, Chittagong, Dacca, Assam, and Darjeeling, comprising the belt -above adverted to; and if agitation were more observable towards the -close of the month, it was traceable to news of the Dinapoor mutiny, -presently to be noticed. Early in August the Jelpigoree native troops -were found to be in a very unsettled state, ready to mutiny at any time; -and on the 15th a plot was discovered for murdering the officers and -decamping towards the west. In consequence of this, orders were sent to -Assam and Darjeeling to aid the Jelpigoree officers in case of need. -During the remainder of August, a close watch was kept on the 73d N. I., -the chief native regiment in that part of India, sufficient to prevent -actual outbreaks; and native servants were disarmed during the Mohurrum -or Mohammedan festival, to guard against the effects of fanaticism. -Perhaps, however, the tranquillity of this eastern belt was more -efficiently secured by the near neighbourhood of half-civilised border -tribes, who had but little sympathy with the real Hindustanis, and were -willing to enter into the Company’s service as irregular troops and -armed police. - -Passing westward, to the line of route along the Hoogly to the Ganges, -and the country near it, we find traces of a little more turbulency, -owing to the presence of a greater number of native troops. About the -middle of July, the Barrackpore authorities asked for permission to -disarm the villages near at hand, in order to render more effectual the -previous disarming of native troops at Barrackpore itself—treated in a -former chapter. Early in August the behaviour of the troops at -Berhampore became suspicious; they had heard of the mutiny of the 8th N. -I. at places further west, and were with difficulty kept from imitating -the pernicious example. In the middle of the month, the commissioner of -Bhagulpore deemed it necessary to detain two detachments of H.M. 5th -Fusiliers, on their way up the Ganges, at Bhagulpore and Monghir; for -the 32d native infantry, and the 5th irregular cavalry, exhibited -symptoms not to be neglected. After the occurrences at Dinapoor, the -region around Berhampore and Moorshedabad could no longer be kept in -peace while the native troops retained their arms; it was determined -therefore, by Mr Spencer the commissioner, and Colonel Macgregor the -commandant, to adopt decisive measures while there was yet time. On the -1st of August, having the aid of H.M. 90th foot, they disarmed the 63d -native infantry and the 11th irregular cavalry at Berhampore; and on the -following day they similarly disarmed all the inhabitants of that place -and of Moorshedabad. Colonel Campbell, of the 90th, who had brought that -regiment from England in splendid condition in the _Himalaya_ steamer, -and who was on his way up the Ganges to the disturbed districts, was the -officer who practically effected this disarming at Berhampore; he spoke -of the 11th irregular cavalry as one of the most superb regiments he had -ever seen, in men, horses, and equipments; they were rendered almost -savage by the skill with which the colonel managed his delicate task; -and they reproached the sepoys of the 63d for having submitted so -quietly to the disarming. A little further up the country, at -Bhagulpore, about 200 troopers of the 5th irregular cavalry mutinied on -the 14th of August, taking the road towards Bowsee, but harming none of -their officers; on the 15th they passed through Bowsee to Rownee; and on -the 18th left Rownee for Gayah—bound for the disturbed regions in the -west. At Monghir, still higher up the Ganges, a terrible commotion was -produced by this occurrence; the civil commissioner shut himself up in a -fort, with a few of H.M. 5th Fusiliers, and left the city to its fate; -but fortunately Sir James Outram was at the time passing up the Ganges -in a steamer; he rebuked this pusillanimity, and recommended the -officials to shew a bolder front. - -Arriving now at the Patna and Dinapoor district, we must trace the -progress of affairs more in detail, to shew how the authorities were -placed before, and how after, the mutiny which it is the chief object of -this chapter to narrate. Patna is a large and important city, the centre -of an industrious region; while Dinapoor, in the immediate vicinity, is -the largest military station between Barrackpore and Allahabad. Mr -Tayler, civil commissioner, was the chief authority at the one place; -Major-general Lloyd was military commandant at the other; and it was -essentially necessary, for the preservation of peace in all that region, -that these two officials should act in harmony. We have already seen -(pp. 151-154) that, about the middle of June, the Patna district became -much agitated by the news of disturbances in other quarters; that the -police force was thereupon strengthened, and the ghats or landing-places -watched; that some of the Company’s treasure was removed to other -stations; that places of rendezvous were agreed upon in case of -emergency; that conspiracies among the Moslem inhabitants were more than -once discovered, in concert with other conspirators at Lucknow and -Cawnpore; and that on the 3d of July some of the fanatics murdered Dr -Lyell, principal assistant to the opium agent. We have also seen, in the -same chapter, that Dinapoor reposed upon a sort of moral volcano -throughout June; that although the native troops made loud professions -of loyalty, the Europeans were nevertheless in a very anxious -position—all living near together, all on the alert, and most of them -believing that the fidelity of the sepoys was not worth many days’ -purchase. Being thus on their guard, a mutiny ought not to have occurred -at their station; but it _did_ occur, and brought disgrace to the -general who was responsible for military affairs in that division. - -An intelligent clue to this whole series of transactions will be -obtained by tracing—first, the Dinapoor mutiny itself; then the mingled -disasters and successes, blunders and heroism, at Arrah; then the effect -of the mutiny on the districts of Behar north of the Ganges; and, -lastly, the effects on the wide-spreading region south of that river. - -The distance between the two cities is about ten miles. The barracks of -the European troops at Dinapoor were situated in a large square westward -of the native town; beyond this were the native lines; and most western -of all, by a very injudicious arrangement, was the magazine in which the -percussion-caps were stored—a matter apparently small in itself, but -serious in its consequences, as we shall presently see. Major-general -Lloyd, commander of the station, and of a vast military region called -the Dinapoor Division, had for some weeks been an object of almost as -much anxiety to the Europeans at the station as the sepoys themselves. -He was advanced in years, infirm, and irresolute. Unable to mount his -horse without assistance, and dreading to give orders that would have -the effect of sending any European troops away from Dinapoor, he was -singularly unfitted to cope with the difficulties of those times. It -points to some great defect in military routine, when one who had been a -gallant officer in his better days was thus left in possession of a -command he was no longer fitted to wield. Towards the close of July -there were three regiments of Bengal native infantry at that station, -the 7th, 8th, and 40th. There was also the greater portion of H.M. 10th -foot, together with two companies of the 37th, and two troops of -artillery. Not a British officer, except the major-general, doubted that -these Europeans could have disarmed and controlled the sepoys, had the -attempt been made at the proper time. The Calcutta inhabitants had -petitioned the governor-general to disarm the native regiments at -Dinapoor, and the officers of the Queen’s regiments at that station had -all along advocated a similar measure; but General Lloyd, like many -other Company’s officers, was proud of the sepoys, and trusted them to -the last; and Viscount Canning placed reliance on his experience, to -determine whether and when to effect this disarming. This reliance ended -in unfortunate results. - -On the 25th of July, the appearance of affairs led the major-general to -exhibit less than his former confidence in the native troops; he shrank, -it is true, from disarming them; but he sought to render their arms less -dangerous by quietly removing the percussion-caps from the magazine. Now -these caps had to be brought in front of the whole length of the sepoy -lines on the way from the magazine to the English barracks. Early in the -morning he sent the 10th and the artillery to the grand square, ready to -be moved towards the sepoy lines if disturbance should occur. Two -hackeries went down to the magazine under charge of an officer; the caps -were placed in them; and the vehicles were drawn some distance towards -the English lines. There then arose a shout among the sepoys: ‘Kill the -sahibs; don’t let the caps be taken away!’ The caps were taken, however, -and safely conveyed to the officers’ mess-room. The 10th were kept idle -in the square or in barracks all the forenoon; while the native officers -were ordered to go to the native lines, and ask the sepoys to give up -the caps already issued to them. Some of the sepoys obeyed this strange -demand—strange, because backed by no display of power; while some fired -their muskets and threatened to shoot the officers. At the sound of -these shots the 10th were ordered hastily to advance; they did so, but -only to see the rebel sepoys run off as fast as their legs could carry -them. Inexpressible was the mortification of the officers at this sight; -three entire regiments escaped across fields, with their arms and -accoutrements, to swell the ranks of the mutineers elsewhere; and so -stupid had been the orders given, that there was no force at hand to -stop them. The 10th, two companies of the 37th, and the artillery, all -were burning to castigate these men; yet was the escape so quickly and -completely effected that very few of the sepoys fell. The English -destroyed the sepoy lines, but did not pursue the mutineers, for their -perplexed commander would not permit them to leave him in danger. A -surgeon of the 10th, on seeing the officers threatened by the sepoys, -brought his hospital-guards to confront them; and even some of his -patients got upon the flat roof of the hospital, and fired at the -rebels. He then galloped off, and brought all the ladies and children to -the barracks for safety. Every man of the 10th regiment was vexed and -irritated by this day’s work; complaints against the general were loud, -deep, and many; and all the officers’ letters told plainly of the -general feeling among them. The regiment numbered little more than four -hundred bayonets; for many men were sick in hospital, and a detachment -was at Benares; but the four hundred, highly disciplined men, would not -have hesitated an instant to disarm, to fight, to pursue, the three -thousand rebels, had they been properly instructed and permitted so to -do. During eight or ten weeks the officers of that regiment had urged -the disarming of the sepoys; but their recommendations had not been -listened to, and now it was too late. The general himself, on the -forenoon of the 25th, went on board a steamer in the Ganges: ‘I had no -horse in cantonment,’ he said. ‘My stable was two miles distant; and -being unable at the time to walk far or much, I thought I should be most -useful on board the steamer with guns and riflemen.’ It is deeply to be -regretted that an old soldier should have been so placed as to find such -an explanation necessary. As a consequence of this retreat to a place of -shelter, the officers remained without commands and without a commander. -Some of the mutineers embarked in boats, with the intention of going -down the Ganges to Patna, or of crossing the river; but the detachment -of the 37th, on shore and in the steamer, killed most of them by -rifle-shots. The steamer did its work, unquestionably; but it was not -the place for a military commander at such a time. - -The question at once presented itself to the minds of all—whither had -the rebels gone? Evidence was soon afforded that the direction taken was -that of Arrah, a town twenty-four miles from Dinapoor, and separated -from it by the river Sone. Arrah, as a town, was not of great -importance; but it was the chief place in the district of Shahabad, and -was surrounded by a country whence much revenue was obtained by the East -India Company. During the troubles arising out of the mutiny, the chief -authority at Arrah was the magistrate, Mr Wake—a man who, by his energy -and public spirit, proved to be eminently fitted to hold power in -perilous times. During the whole of June and July he had watched the -progress of events with an anxious eye. Very soon after the mutiny -commenced, he wrote to the authorities at Calcutta, describing the -contents of certain native newspapers published about that time, and -suggesting the propriety of curbing the licence of those productions. On -the 10th of June he announced—with something like contempt in his -manner—that most of the Europeans employed on the railway-works near -Arrah had hurried away frightened by reports of mutinous symptoms at -Ghazeepore and Buxar; and he dwelt on the pernicious effects of the -example afforded by this timidity. About a week afterwards he induced -them all to return. From time to time he applied to Dinapoor, Patna, and -Calcutta, for a small detachment of troops to protect Arrah; but none -could be afforded. He suspected some of the chieftains and zemindars -near at hand, and more than suspected numerous disbanded sepoys who were -seen in the district; to detect plots, he detained and opened letters at -the post-office; but this course met with disapproval, as commencing a -system liable to great abuse. There were two influential men in the -neighbourhood—Baboo Koer Singh, and the Rajah of Doomraon—whose conduct -Mr Wake scrutinised very closely; they professed friendship and loyalty -to the government, but he doubted them. On the 11th of July, Arrah had -become surrounded by so many disbanded sepoys, and natives ready for any -mischief, that he applied to Patna for a party of Captain Rattray’s Sikh -police, which was furnished to him. - -Thus matters proceeded until the 25th of July, when rumours of something -disastrous at Dinapoor arrived. Arrah was now about to become suddenly -famous. The ‘Defence of Arrah’ was to be narrated in dispatches and -letters, in pamphlets and books, and was to cheer up many who had been -humiliated by blunders committed elsewhere. True, it was only a house -defended, not a town; it was less than a score of Europeans saved, not a -whole community; yet did it bring well-deserved praise to those -concerned in it, and encouragement to a spirited line of conduct on the -part of the Company’s civil servants elsewhere. - -[Illustration: - - Mr Boyle’s house at Arrah, defended for seven days against 3000 - rebels. -] - -On the evening of the day just named, Mr Wake received express news that -the native troops at Dinapoor had actually mutinied, or shewed symptoms -of so doing within a few hours. On the morning of the 26th, he heard -that some of the mutineers were crossing the river Sone, at a point -sixteen miles from Dinapoor, and advancing upon Arrah. His Hindustani -local police speedily ran away; but he and a trusty band of civilians -resolved to remain at their posts. They selected the bungalow of one of -their number, Mr Boyle, an engineer of the main trunk railway, and made -that their fortress. Or, more correctly, it was a building which Mr -Boyle had selected for some such purpose as this many days or even weeks -before, when the state of affairs began to look gloomy; it was a -detached two-storied house, about fifty feet square, standing within the -same compound as the bungalow inhabited by Mr Boyle; he fortified it -with stones and timber, and always kept some provisions in it. When the -other civilians learned this, some of them smiled; but the smile became -one of gratitude on the 26th of July. The Europeans who now took up -their abode in this fortified house were Messrs Wake, Boyle, Littledale, -Combe, Colvin, Halls, Field, Anderson, Godfrey, Cock, Tait, Hoyle, -Delpeiron, De Songa, and Dacosta; and a Mohammedan deputy-collector, -Syud Azimoodeen—all employed in various civil duties in or near Arrah: -not a military man among them. With them were 50 Sikhs of Captain -Rattray’s police battalion. The ladies and children had been sent away -to a place of safety. All that the defenders could bring into the house -was meat and grain for a few days’ short allowance for the Europeans, -with a very scanty supply of food for the Sikhs. As to weapons, most of -the Europeans, besides revolvers and hog-spears, had two -double-barrelled guns each, or a gun and a rifle; they had abundance of -ammunition, and wherewithal to make cartridges by thousands. Early in -the morning of the 27th, nearly the whole of the Dinapoor mutineers -marched into Arrah, released the prisoners in the jail, about four -hundred in number, rushed to the collectorate, and looted the treasury -of eighty thousand rupees. They then advanced to Boyle’s house, and kept -up a galling fire against it during the whole day, finding shelter -behind trees and adjacent buildings. And now did Baboo Koer Singh shew -himself in his true colours; he threw off the mask of friendliness, and -boldly headed the mutineers. It was afterwards ascertained that this -man, supposed to be in league with Nena Sahib, had openly become a rebel -instantly on hearing of the mutiny at Dinapoor: it was he who had -procured the boats in which they crossed the Sone; and he formed a plan -for joining the Oude insurgents after plundering the treasury of Arrah. -When in front of Mr Boyle’s house, Koer Singh and his myrmidons -endeavoured to bribe the Sikhs to desert; but these stanch fellows -remained true to their salt. On the 28th the insurgents having brought -two small cannon, the hastily defended house had then to bear a torrent -of cannon-balls as well as of musket-bullets. Thus the siege continued -day after day. The rebels even dragged one of the cannon up to the roof -of Mr Boyle’s bungalow, about sixty yards off, whence they could fire -into the defended house. ‘Nothing,’ said Mr Wake in his dispatch, ‘but -the cowardice, ignorance, and want of unanimity of our enemies, -prevented our fortification from being brought down about our ears.’ As -fast as the strength of the attack was increased, so fast did the -garrison increase their defences; to oppose a new battery, a new -barricade was raised; to defeat a mine, a countermine was run out. The -Sikhs worked untiringly, and seemed to glory in the gallant defence they -were making. When provisions began to run low, they made a sally one -night, and brought in four sheep—a precious treasure to them at such a -time. Seven whole days and nights did this continue—three thousand men -besieging seventy. On the last two days the cowards offered ‘terms,’ -which were contemptuously rejected. On the 2d of August the mutineers -marched off to the west of Arrah to fight Major Vincent Eyre; how they -fared, we shall see presently; but the battle brought about the -liberation of Mr Wake and his companions. Wonderful to relate, only one -member of the garrison, a Sikh policeman, received a dangerous wound; -all the rest escaped with mere bruises and scratches. The Sikhs were -justly proud of their share in the work. During the siege, when water -ran short, they dug a well underneath the house, and continued their -labour till they came to a spring; when all was happily ended, they -requested that the well might be built into a permanent one, as a -memento of their services; and that the house itself should receive the -inscription of ‘Futtehgurh’ or ‘stronghold of victory’—requests with -which Mr Boyle was not at all unwilling to comply. - -We must now direct attention again to Patna and Dinapoor, and notice the -measures taken to check if possible the triumph of the mutineers. Mr -Tayler at the one place had civil control, and General Lloyd at the -other had military control, over Arrah as well as all other towns in the -neighbourhood; and both felt that that station was placed in peril as -soon as the mutineers moved westward from Dinapoor. Some weeks earlier, -when the railway officials had hurried away from Arrah to Dinapoor in -affright, Mr Tayler rebuked them, saying that, ‘this is a crisis when -every Englishman should feel that his individual example is of an -importance which it is difficult to calculate. It is of great -consequence that Europeans should exhibit neither alarm nor panic; and -that, whenever it is practicable, they should band together for mutual -defence and protection.’ This rebuke aided Mr Wake’s advice in bringing -the railway people back to Arrah. It may here be remarked that Mr Tayler -himself was, during the early part of July, in a state of discord, not -only with the natives, but with many of the Europeans at Patna. He had -an unseemly wrangle with Mr Lowis the magistrate; and was himself -frequently reprimanded by the lieutenant-governor of Bengal. This -anarchy appears to have arisen from the fact that, at a time of much -difficulty, different views were entertained concerning the best policy -to be pursued—views, advocated in a way that much obstructed public -business. - -It was about one o’clock on the 25th that the authorities at Patna heard -alarming intelligence from Dinapoor. Mr Tayler at once summoned all the -Europeans resident in the city to his house, where measures of defence -were planned in case of an attack. At three o’clock a distant firing -announced that the mutiny had taken place; and within an hour or two -came the news that the mutinous regiments had marched off towards the -west. Mr Tayler made up an expeditionary force of about 100 -persons—Sikhs, Nujeebs, recruits, and volunteers—and sent it off that -same night towards Arrah, to watch the movements of the rebels. At dawn -on the following morning, however, unfavourable news came in from many -country stations; and the commissioner, uneasy about Patna and its -neighbourhood, recalled the corps. Tayler and Lloyd did not work well -together at that crisis. The commissioner wrote to the general on the -day after the mutiny, urging him to send 50 European troops either to -Chupra or to Mozufferpoor, or both, to protect those places from an -attack threatened by insurgents. To this application Lloyd returned a -somewhat querulous answer—that he had only 600 Europeans at Dinapoor; -that he was afraid of treachery on the part of Koer Singh; that he had -already been blamed by the Calcutta authorities for listening to -applications for troops to defend Patna, instead of sending them on to -Allahabad; and that he could render no aid for the purposes required. Mr -Tayler renewed the subject by announcing that he would send 50 Sikhs to -the two places named; and he strongly urged the general to send 200 men -to rout the mutineers who had gone to Arrah—proposing, at the same time, -the establishment of a corps of volunteer cavalry among the officers and -gentlemen of Patna and Dinapoor. In most of these matters Mr Tayler -appears to have judged more soundly than General Lloyd; but in one point -he was fatally in error—he believed that Baboo Koer Singh of Jugdispore -would remain faithful to the British government. - -If the ‘defence of Arrah’ has acquired notoriety, so has the ‘disaster’ -at that place—to which we must now direct attention. This disaster was -peculiarly mortifying to the British, as giving a temporary triumph to -the mutineers, and as involving a positive loss of many English soldiers -at a critical period. The revolt at Dinapoor having occurred on Saturday -the 25th of July, General Lloyd made no effort until Monday the 27th to -look after the sepoys; but on that day he sent a party of the 37th foot -from Dinapoor towards Arrah, for the purpose of dispersing the mutineers -assembled at that place, and for rescuing the European community hemmed -in there. The troops went in the _Horungotta_ steamer; but this -unfortunately went aground after three hours’ steaming, and the plan was -frustrated. On the evening of Tuesday the 28th, another expedition was -organised; and it was to this that the disastrous loss occurred. The -steamer _Bombay_ happening to arrive at Dinapoor in her downward passage -on the Ganges, Lloyd detained it, and arranged to send a detachment on -board. The _Bombay_ was to take a certain number of troops, steam up to -the spot where the _Horungotta_ had run aground, take in tow the -detachment from that steamer, and proceed up the river Sone to a -landing-place as near as possible to Arrah. This river enters the Ganges -at a point a few miles west of Dinapoor. Early in the morning of -Wednesday the 29th, the steamer started, and after picking up the other -detachment, the whole disembarked in the afternoon at Beharee Ghat—over -400 men in all, under Captain Dunbar.[65] The landing having been safely -effected on the left or west bank of the Sone, the troops marched to a -nullah which it was necessary to cross by means of boats. When, after a -considerable delay, this was accomplished, they resumed their march, -with a bright moon above them, a rough road beneath them, and a very few -of the enemy in sight; and the evening was far advanced when they -reached a bridge about a mile and a half short of Arrah. Here Captain -Harrison of the 37th suggested that they should halt until daylight, and -not incur the danger of entering the town by night; but Captain Dunbar, -of the 10th, who commanded the force, overruled this suggestion, under -an unfortunate impression that there would be little or no opposition. -This was the fatal mistake that wrecked the whole enterprise. The troops -arrived at Arrah at eleven at night, in black darkness, for the moon had -set; then passed through the outskirts of the town—the 10th leading, -then the Sikhs, then the 37th. Suddenly, while passing by a large tope -of mango-trees, a dreadful musketry-fire flashed out of the gloom; the -enemy, it now appeared, had been lying in ambush awaiting the arrival of -the unsuspecting force. Mr Wake and his companions were startled by the -sound of this musketry, audible enough in their beleaguered but -well-defended house; they at once inferred that something wrong had -occurred to British troops, and in this inference they were only too -correct. The suddenness of the attack, and the blackness of the night, -seem to have overwhelmed the detachment; the men lost their officers, -the officers their men: some ran off the road to fire into the tope, -others to obtain shelter; Dunbar fell dead; and Harrison had to assume -the command of men whom, at midnight and in utter darkness, he could not -see. The main body succeeded in reassembling in a field about four -hundred yards from the tope; and there they remained until -daylight—being joined at various periods of the night by stragglers, -some wounded and some unhurt, and being fired at almost continually by -the mutineers. It was a wretched humiliating night to the British. At -daybreak they counted heads, and then found how severe had been their -loss. Captain Harrison at once collecting the survivors into a body, -marched them back ten or eleven miles to the steamer. The men had fasted -so long (twenty-four hours), through some mismanagement, that they were -too weak to act as skirmishers; they defended themselves as long as -their ammunition lasted, but kept in column, pursued the whole way by a -large body of the enemy, who picked off the poor fellows with fatal -certainty. Arrived at the banks of the nullah, all organisation ceased; -the men rushed to the boats in disorder; some were run aground, some -drowned, some swam over, some were shot by sepoys and villagers on -shore. How the rest reached the steamer, they hardly knew; but this they -did know—that they had left many of their wounded comrades on shore, -with the certain fate of being butchered and mutilated by the enemy. It -was a mournful boat-load that the _Bombay_ carried back to Dinapoor on -the evening of the 30th of July. Captain Dunbar, Lieutenants Bagnall and -Ingilby, Ensigns Erskine, Sale, Birkett, and Anderson, and Messrs Cooper -and Platt (gentlemen-volunteers) were killed; Lieutenant Sandwith, -Ensign Venour, and Messrs Garstin and Macdonell (gentlemen-volunteers) -were wounded. Out of fifteen officers, twelve were killed or wounded. -The dismal list enumerated 170 officers and men killed, and 120 -wounded—290 out of 415! Havelock won half-a-dozen of his victories with -no greater loss than this. - -Here, then, was one disaster on the heels of another. General Lloyd’s -vacillation had permitted the native troops at Dinapoor to mutiny; and -now the unfortunate Captain Dunbar’s mismanagement had led to the -destruction of nearly two-thirds of the force sent to rout those -mutineers. Happily, Messrs Wake and Boyle, and their companions, still -held out; and happily there was a gallant officer near who had the skill -to command as well as the courage to fight. This officer was Major -Vincent Eyre, of the artillery. Being _en route_ up the Ganges with some -guns from Dinapoor to Allahabad, and having arrived at Ghazeepore on the -28th of July, he there learned the critical position of the handful of -Europeans in the house at Arrah. He applied to the authorities at -Ghazeepore for permission to make an attempt to relieve Mr Wake; they -gave it: he steamed back to Buxar, and there met a detachment of the 5th -Fusiliers going up the Ganges. Finding the officers and men heartily -willing to aid him, he formed a plan for marching a field-force from -Buxar to Arrah, and there attacking the Dinapoor mutineers and their -accomplice Koer Singh. Although dignified with the name of a -field-force, it consisted simply of about 160 men of H.M. 5th Fusiliers -under Captain L’Estrange, 12 mounted volunteers of the railway -department, and three guns; but under an able commander, it was destined -to prove more than a match for nearly _twenty times_ its number of -native troops. On the 30th of July, the morning when the detachment from -Dinapoor retreated from Arrah under such deplorable circumstances, Eyre -commenced a series of operations west of that town. He started from -Buxar, and marched twenty-eight miles to Shawpoor, where he heard of the -disaster that had overwhelmed Captain Dunbar’s party. He at once stated -to General Lloyd, in a dispatch: ‘I venture to affirm confidently that -no such disaster would have been likely to occur, had that detachment -advanced less precipitately, so as to have given full time for my force -to have approached direct from the opposite side; for the rebels would -then have been hemmed in between the two opposing forces, and must have -been utterly routed.’ Regret, however, being useless, Eyre proceeded to -carry out his own plan. Hearing that the enemy intended to destroy the -bridges _en route_, he pushed on again towards Arrah. On the 1st of -August, finding the bridge at Bullowtee just cut, he hastily constructed -a substitute, and marched on to Gujeratgunje by nightfall. Here he -bivouacked for the night. At daybreak on the 2d he started again, and -soon came in sight of the enemy, drawn up in great force in plantations -on either side of the road, with inundated rice-fields in front; they -had sallied out of Arrah to meet him. Perceiving that the enemy intended -to turn his flanks, he boldly pushed on against their centre, penetrated -it, and advanced to the village of Beebeegunje. The enemy, baffled by -his tactics, gave up their first plan, and hastily sought to prevent his -passage over a bridge near the village. In this they succeeded for a -time, by destroying the bridge. After resting his troops a while, -Eyre—seeing that the enemy had formed extensive earthworks beyond the -stream, and that they occupied the houses of the village in great -force—determined to make a detour to the right, and try to cross about a -mile higher up. The enemy, seeing his object, followed him quickly, and -attacked him with great boldness, being flushed by their recent victory -over the luckless river detachment. They were nearly 2500 strong in -mutinous sepoys alone, besides Koer Singh and his followers. After an -hour’s hard fighting, Eyre ordered Captain L’Estrange to make a charge -with infantry. Promptly and gallantly that officer obeyed the order; his -skirmishers on the right turned the enemy’s flank, the guns with grape -and shrapnell shells drove in the centre; and then the infantry -advanced—driving the enemy, panic-stricken, in all directions. Losing no -time, the major crossed the stream, and advanced through an open country -to within four miles of Arrah. Here he was suddenly brought up by an -impassable river, which cost him many hours’ hard labour to bridge -over—obtaining, fortunately, for that purpose, the aid of labourers -employed on the East Indian Railway, just close at hand. Koer Singh and -the rebels were so dismayed at these proceedings, that they left Arrah -altogether, and retreated in various directions. It seems almost -incredible, although the detailed official list places the matter beyond -all doubt, that Major Eyre, during nine hours’ severe fighting on this -day, lost only 2 killed and 14 wounded. - -As a means of enabling this energetic officer to follow up his success, -a reinforcement was sent to him from Dinapoor on the 7th of August, -consisting of 200 of H.M. 10th foot. This reinforcement entered Arrah on -the next day; and a party of 100 Sikhs having arrived a day or two -afterwards, the major was enabled to lay his plans for an expedition to -Jugdispore, twelve miles distant, to which place Koer Singh and a large -number of the mutineers had retired. The enterprise was not to be -commenced without some caution; for the roads were difficult for the -passage of troops at that season of the year, and the rebel chief’s fort -at Jugdispore was represented as being very strong and well defended. -All this, however, only whetted the desire of Eyre’s troops to try their -mettle against the enemy. The force consisted of just 500 men,[66] with -three guns. On the afternoon of the 11th he took his departure from -Arrah, marched eight miles, and encamped for the night on the bank of -the Gagur Nuddee. Resuming his progress next morning, he passed over two -miles of rice-fields nearly under water, which rendered the draught of -his guns very difficult. At eleven o’clock he espied some of the enemy -in the village of Tola Narainpore, evidently preparing to resist his -passage of a river immediately beyond. After a fight of skirmishers, -Eyre opened a fire of grape which roused up a large body of the enemy -concealed behind bushes. The detachment of the 10th foot, eager to -emulate the previous heroism of their comrades of the 5th Fusiliers, and -exasperated by their previous loss under Captain Dunbar, asked to be -permitted to charge the enemy at once; Eyre consented; Captain Patterson -led them on; they rushed with a shout and a cheer, and the enemy gave -way before a charge which they found irresistible. The other infantry -came up and assisted in dispersing the enemy from another village, -Dullaur, beyond the river. This accomplished, Eyre marched a mile and a -half through thick jungle to Jugdispore, maintaining a running-fight the -whole way. The treacherous Koer Singh’s stronghold was but feebly -defended; Eyre took possession of it early in the afternoon, and with it -large stores of grain, ammunition, and warlike material. The villagers -around Jugdispore immediately sent in tokens of submission to the -conqueror. Here as in the former instance, Major Eyre suffered -wonderfully small loss; not a man of his force was killed on this 12th -of August, and only six were wounded. The enemy lost 300. - -Eyre did not give Koer Singh much time to recover himself. The rebel -chief fled with a few followers to the Jutowrah jungle, where he had a -residence. Thither the major followed him on the 14th, or rather sent -Captain L’Estrange with a detachment; but all had dispersed, sepoys and -rebels alike; and L’Estrange returned after destroying residences -belonging to Koer Singh and his two brothers. - -It may suffice here to mention, that, so far as concerned the region -south and southwest of Arrah, the remaining days of August were spent in -the marching of the Dinapoor mutineers from place to place, and the -plundering or threatening of many towns as they passed. The authorities -would gladly have checked the course of so many armed rebels; but it -became a question whether Eyre or any other officer was strong enough in -Europeans to do so, and whether their aid was not more urgently needed -at Allahabad, Cawnpore, and Lucknow. The mutineers marched southward of -Mirzapore into Bundelcund, with the treacherous Koer Singh at their -head. The engineers and others connected with the works for the East -Indian railway were among those most perplexed by this movement of the -rebels; because the various places occupied temporarily by those persons -were just in the way of the mutineers. A lady, wife to one of these -officials, has recorded in a letter that she and her friends received -early news on the 25th of July that something was wrong at Dinapoor; -that on the 26th the rebels themselves made their appearance; that the -family got into a boat on the Sone, with no property but the clothes on -their backs; that they immediately rowed off towards Dinapoor as the -only means of escape; and that scarcely had they embarked when they saw -bungalow’s and property of every description—belonging to individuals, -to the railway company, and to the East India Company—a prey to -devastating flames. ‘Everything we have in the world is gone,’ said the -disconsolate writer; ‘what to do, or where to go, we know not.’ It is no -wonder that the letters of such sufferers contained bitter comments on -the government and politics of India—bitter, but often unjust. - -The effects of this mutiny of the Dinapoor sepoys were, as has already -been remarked, deep and wide-spreading. It is scarcely too much to say -that twenty or thirty millions of persons were thrown into agitation by -it. Along the whole line of the Ganges it was felt, from Calcutta up to -Allahabad; along the great trunk-road between these two cities, it was -felt; in the belt of country north of the Ganges; in the belt between -the Ganges and the great road; in the belt south of the great road—in -all these extensive regions, the news from Dinapoor threw Christians and -natives alike into a ferment. Some discontented natives had vague hopes -of advantage by the threatened dissolution of the English ‘raj;’ some of -the villagers dreaded the approach of marauders who made little scruple -in pillaging friend as well as foe; while all the Europeans cried out as -with one voice: ‘Send us reliable British troops.’ Viscount Canning had -none to send; and when ship-loads of troops did at length arrive at -Calcutta, they were so urgently wanted higher up the country that he -could spare few or none for regions east of Allahabad. - -The revenue-officers were placed in a position of trying difficulty in -those days. Besides collecting the taxes on land, salt, &c., and keeping -the money in the local treasuries until it could be sent safely to -Calcutta, they stored up large quantities of opium at certain factories, -which were in their special keeping. The Company were the purchasers of -the opium from the poppy-growers, and the sellers of it (at a large -profit) to British merchants at Calcutta or Bombay; and during the -interval of time between the buying and selling, the opium was stored in -godowns or warehouses at certain large towns. Patna was the chief of -these towns; and thus the revenue-officers of that place were especially -interested in the maintenance of tranquillity among the native troops in -the neighbouring station at Dinapoor. Dr Lyell, as was stated in a -former page, fell a victim to Mussulman fanaticism at Patna early in -July, about three weeks before the mutiny at Dinapoor. On the very day -before his murder, anxious for the responsibility thrown upon him, he -wrote an official letter which is interesting as illustrating the matter -now under consideration. He had just succeeded the chief opium-agent, -lately deceased, and had under his charge opium to the enormous value of -_two millions_ sterling, together with other government property of a -quarter of a million. He had endeavoured to strengthen the opium godowns -by barricading the gates with timber, and raising a breastwork of chests -filled with sand on the flat roofs—fearful lest an excited rabble should -attack the place. He had less than twenty Europeans on whom he could -rely. Major-general Lloyd at Dinapoor either could not or would not -supply him with any troops; and he sent to Calcutta urgent requisitions -for British troops, Sikh police, and guns. Matters became worse; Lyell -himself was massacred, and the native troops at Dinapoor mutinied; then, -at the end of July, the revenue-officers at Patna announced to the -government that the property under their charge had accumulated to three -millions sterling, and that they could not adequately protect it unless -reinforcements were sent. This appeared so serious at Calcutta, that -arrangements were made for throwing a few British troops, and a few -reliable Sikhs, into Patna. - -The region north of the Ganges and east of Oude was in a perpetual state -of flutter and uneasiness during those troubled weeks. There were few -troops, either native or British; but the rumours from other quarters, -gaining strength as they passed from mouth to mouth, occasioned great -uneasiness, especially among the Europeans engaged in indigo-planting -and other industrial pursuits. There was a small military station at -Segowlie, not far from the Nepaul frontier, under the charge of Major -Holmes; and this officer thought proper, even before the month of June -was ended, to proclaim martial law in the districts between Segowlie and -Patna. Mr Tayler, commissioner at the last-named city, thought this a -bold proceeding; but he sanctioned it on account of the disturbed state -of the country. The Calcutta government, however, considered that the -major had overstrained his authority, and rebuked him for so doing. -Before he could be informed of this rebuke, Holmes had assumed absolute -military control over all the region between Patna and Goruckpore—giving -orders to magistrates to watch the ghats or landing-places, to arrest -suspicious persons, to offer rewards for the apprehension of rebels, to -keep an eye on the petty rajahs and chieftains, to strengthen the native -police, and to act in all things subordinately to him as military -commander throughout the districts of Sarun, Tirhoot, and Chumparun. -Military men applauded this step, but the civilians took umbrage at an -assumption of power not warranted by any instructions received from -Calcutta. This energetic but hapless officer was not permitted to remain -many weeks in the position which he had taken up; his chief troops were -the 12th irregular cavalry; and these rose on the 24th of July at -Segowlie, murdered him and Mrs Holmes, as well as other Europeans, and -then bent their steps towards Azimghur. This atrocity caused great -consternation; for the 12th had been much trusted among the native -regiments, as one whose gallantry was a guarantee for its fidelity. -Gallantry was exchanged for cowardice and villainy this day. While the -major and his wife were riding out, four of the troopers came up to the -vehicle and _beheaded them both_ as they sat; this being the signal, the -rest of the regiment rose in mutiny, murdered the surgeon, his wife, and -children, plundered the treasury, and made off in the way just noticed. -When this savage act became known, and when the mutiny at Dinapoor on -the next following day was also known, nothing could exceed the -agitation among the Europeans. At Chupra, a station nearly opposite -Arrah, the Europeans at once abandoned their homes and occupations, and -ran off to Dinapoor, to be behind the shelter of a few hundred English -bayonets; this was, indeed, not to be wondered at, for Chupra itself was -threatened by the Segowlie mutineers. On the 30th, when the events at -Dinapoor became known at Calcutta, the government did all and more than -all that Major Holmes had before done; they declared martial law—not -only in the northern districts of Sarun, Tirhoot, and Chumparun, but -also in those districts of the Patna division south of the Ganges—Patna, -Behar, and Shahabad. All through the month of August, the districts -north of the river were in the state just noticed; no further mutinies -took place there, but the various stations were thrown into frequent -panics by the threatened irruption of insurgents from other quarters. It -was chiefly from Oude that these onslaughts were feared; for that -province contained more rebels than any other—more natives who, without -being actually soldiers, were quite ready to embark in any desperate -enterprise, military or marauding, against the English. - -We have said that the whole region right and left of the main trunk-road -was thrown into commotion by the mutiny at Dinapoor; this was certainly -the case, if we add to the disturbing causes the revolt of one or two -minor corps within this region itself. To describe how the region is -parcelled out into divisions, districts, and collectorates, is wholly -unnecessary: few in England know, and still fewer care, much concerning -these territorial details; but if the reader will roughly mark out with -his eye a sweep of country four hundred miles long by a hundred and -fifty in width, beginning at Moorshedabad or Midnapore, and ending at -Benares, and lying on the right or south of the Ganges—he will there see -that which, in July and August, was a region of perplexity. Small -military stations, and much more numerous civil stations, dot this -space. The dispatches relating to the events of those two months spoke -of dangers and alarms at places not one half of which are known even by -name to any but persons intimately connected with India—Hazarebagh, -Sheergotty, Burhee, Ramgurh, Sasseram, Bhagulpore, Bagoda, Ranchee, -Bowsee, Gayah, Pittorea, Raneegunge, Rownee, Dorunda, Chyebassa, Rotas, -Purulia, Bancorah, Dehree, Rotasgurh—all were places either disturbed by -the visits of mutineers, or thrown into commotion lest those visits -should be made at a time when means of defence were scanty. - -It not unfrequently happened, at that troubled period, that while the -British officers were making arrangements to disarm suspected regiments, -the men of those regiments anticipated that proceeding by marching off -in mutiny, of course taking their arms with them. Such happened to -Lieutenant Graham, commanding at Hazarebagh. Being at Dorunda on the -30th of July, and learning that the 8th B. N. I. were unreliable at -Hazarebagh, he marched off with a view to disarm them; taking with him -about 220 Ramgurh infantry, 30 Ramgurh cavalry, and two 6-pounder guns. -On that very day, long before he could reach Hazarebagh, the sepoys rose -in mutiny, plundered the treasury, and released all the prisoners. -Graham soon found himself in difficulties; he could not pass his guns -over the river Damoodah at Ramgurh, because his bullocks were too few -and too weak; and his Ramgurh infantry shewed signs of a disposition to -march back to Dorunda and take the guns with them. After an anxious -night, he crossed the river on the morning of the 31st, with his few -troopers; but his infantry broke their faith, and marched away with the -two guns. So far, therefore, from being able to disarm a suspected -regiment, the lieutenant had the mortification of hearing that the -regiment had mutinied, and, in addition, of seeing his own infantry -follow the pernicious example. One fact cheered Lieutenant Graham in his -anxious duty; his 30 sowars remained faithful to him. When Captain Drew, -who commanded the detachment at Hazarebagh, came to make his report, it -appeared that the men of the 8th B. N. I. numbered just 200 bayonets, -forming two companies of one of the regiments lately mutinied at -Dinapoor. When news reached the captain, on the 28th, of this last-named -mutiny, he made arrangements for removing the ladies and children from -the station, as he had seen enough to make him distrust his own men; he -also sent to Colonel Robbins at Dorunda, for the aid of Lieutenant -Graham’s Ramgurh force, and to Calcutta for any available aid in the -shape of European troops. Four ladies and six children were forwarded to -a place of safety, and Captain Drew passed the 29th in some anxiety. On -the 30th he addressed his men, praising the sepoys who in certain -regiments had remained faithful while their comrades revolted; his -native officers seemed to listen to him respectfully, but the sepoys -maintained an ominous silence. On that same afternoon the men ran to the -bells of arms, broke them open, and seized their muskets. The die was -cast. All the officers, military and civil, jumped on their horses, and -rode for twelve hours through jungle, reaching Bagoda on the trunk-road -on the morning of the 31st; after two hours’ rest they galloped forty -miles further, then took transit dâk to Raneegunge, whence they -travelled to Calcutta by railway. Meanwhile the mutineers released 800 -prisoners, burned the bungalows, and pillaged the treasury of seventy -thousand rupees. Whether a bold front might have prevented all this, -cannot now be known; Captain Drew asserted that if he and the other -officers had remained, they must inevitably have been killed on the -spot. - -An instructive illustration was afforded towards the close of July, of -the intimate connection between the rebel sepoys and the villages of -Behar or Western Bengal. The government issued a proclamation, offering -rewards for the apprehension of mutineers and deserters. Mr Money, -magistrate at Gayah, found by inquiries that the inhabitants of the -villages refused to aid in giving up such men; but he hit upon a mode of -ascertaining at least the connection between the sepoys and the villages -respectively. Every sepoy remitted to his village a portion of his pay, -by means of remittance-bills and descriptive rolls; each bill went to -the accountant; the receipt of the payee went back to the regiment; -while the descriptive roll was kept and filed in the office of the -magistrate, shewing the name and regiment of the remitter. Mr Money -thought it useful to collect and tabulate all these descriptive rolls -for two years; and thus was able to obtain a record of the name of every -sepoy belonging to every village within his jurisdiction. He could thus -track any rebel soldier who might return to his village in hope of -escaping punishment; for the native police, if ordered to apprehend a -particular man in a particular district would do so, although unwilling -to initiate inquiries. The matter is noted here, as shewing how closely -the ties of family were kept up by the sepoys in this regular -transmission of money from the soldier in his camp to his relations in -their village. - -During the first half of the month of July, before the state of affairs -at Dinapoor had assumed a serious import, the towns and districts -recently named were troubled rather by vague apprehensions than by -actual dangers. At Gayah, the chief town of a district south of Patna, -the magistrate was in much anxiety; the native inhabitants, in part -hopefully and in part fearfully, were looking out daily for news from -the mutineers in the Jumna and Ganges regions; and he felt much doubt -whether the Company’s treasury at that place was safe. So it was in most -of the towns and stations; from Raneegunge, where the finished portion -of the railway ended (at about a hundred and twenty miles from -Calcutta), to the districts approaching Benares and Patna, magistrates -and revenue-collectors, feeling their responsibility as civil servants -of the Company, cried aloud to Calcutta for a few, even a very few, -English troops, to set at rest their apprehensions; but Calcutta, as -these pages have over and over again shewn, had no troops to spare -except for the great stations further to the northwest. - -As the month advanced, these symptoms of uneasiness increased in number -and intensity; and when the isolated mutineers at Rownee, Monghir, -Hazarebagh, &c., became intensified by the more momentous outbreak at -Dinapoor, fear grew in some instances up to panic, and the Company’s -officers hastened away from stations which they believed themselves -unable to hold. But here, as elsewhere, difficulties raised different -qualities in different minds; many of these gentlemen behaved with a -heroism worthy of all praise, as Mr Wake and Mr Boyle had done at Arrah. -At some of the places not a single English soldier could be seen, or was -likely to be seen at that time; and under those circumstances it was a -fact of high importance that Captain Rattray’s battalion of Sikh police -remained stanch and true—ready to march in small detachments to any -threatened spot, and always rendering good service. When the two -companies of the 8th B. N. I. mutinied at Hazarebagh, towards the close -of the month, and when the Ramgurh force followed their example instead -of opposing them, the civilians in this wide region were really placed -in great peril; Hazarebagh wished to know what Ramgurh would do, -Sheergotty looked anxiously towards Gayah, and Raneegunge feared for the -safety of its railway station. The Raneegunge officials, after fleeing -to Calcutta, returned to their station about the middle of August, under -the protection of Sikh police. The wife of one of the civil servants of -the Company, writing from Raneegunge on the 7th of August, told of the -sad condition in which European fugitives reached that place, coming -from various disturbed districts. ‘We are overwhelmed with refugees from -all places. Some of the poor creatures have come without a thing but -what they have on, and I am obliged to give them all changes of clothes -for a time. Many came after riding seventy miles on one horse, and one -gentleman without a saddle—a doctor and two others in their -night-clothes—as they started while the wretches were firing into their -bungalows. My husband had to lend them clothes to go to Calcutta in.’ -The telegraphic messages or written letters that passed between Calcutta -and the various stations in Western Bengal, in July and August, occupy a -very large space in the blue-books relating to the mutiny; they -everywhere tell of officials expressing apprehensions of being obliged -to flee unless reinforcements could be sent to them; and of distinct -replies from the governor-general that, as he had no troops to send -them, they must bear up as long as their sagacity and resolution would -permit. The Europeans at Sheergotty left that station in a body, not -because they were attacked, but because they saw no hope of defence if -enemies should approach. Many Europeans, however, similarly placed, -afterwards regretted that they had fled; instances were not few of the -moral power obtained over the native mind by men who resolutely clung to -their duty in moments of peril; while in those cases where the -abandonment took place, ‘the thieves and rabble of the neighbourhood,’ -as an eye-witness remarked, ‘plundered the cutcheries and private -houses; and those who had grudges against their neighbours began to hope -and to prepare for an opportunity of vengeance.’ - -August found matters in an equally unsettled state. Many of the -magistrates and collectors now had a new difficulty. Mr Tayler, as -commissioner for the whole of the Patna division, ordered such of them -as were under his control to abandon their stations and come into Patna -for shelter; many were quite willing to do so; but others, resolute and -determined men, did not like this appearance of shrinking from their -duty in time of trouble. Mr Money, the magistrate of Gayah, called a -meeting of the Europeans at that station, and read Mr Tayler’s order to -them; it was decided by vote to abandon the place and its treasure, and -retreat to Patna. ‘We formed rather a picturesque cavalcade,’ said one -of the number, ‘as we wound out from Gayah; the elephants and horses; -the scarlet of the Europeans contrasting with the white dresses of the -Sikh soldiery; the party of gentlemen, armed to the teeth, who rode in -the midst; and the motley assemblage of writers, servants, and -hangers-on that crowded in the rear.’ While on the road towards Patna, -two of the gentlemen, Mr Money and Mr Hollings, feeling some humiliation -at the position they were in, resolved to march back to their posts even -if none others accompanied them. It happened that a few men of the 64th -foot had passed through Gayah a day or two before, and Mr Money was -enabled to bring them back for a short period. These two officials, it -is true, were afterwards driven away from Gayah by a band of released -prisoners, and fled to Calcutta; but their firmness in an hour of -difficulty won for them approval and promotion from the government. This -transaction at Gayah was connected with a series of quarrels which led -to much partisan spirit. Mr Tayler had long been in disfavour with Mr -Halliday, lieutenant-governor of Bengal, as an official of a very -intractable and insubordinate character; and after the issue of the -order lately adverted to, Mr Tayler was removed from his office -altogether—a step that led to a storm of letters, papers, pamphlets, -charges, and counter-charges, very exciting to the Calcutta community at -that time, but having little permanent interest in connection with the -mutiny. - -As the month advanced, the government were able to send a few English -troops to some of the stations above named. When Mr Halliday had -learned, by telegrams and letters, that not a single European remained -in Sheergotty or Bagoda, and that the native troops of the Ramgurh -battalion had mutinied at Ranchee, Purulia, and elsewhere, he earnestly -begged Lord Canning to send a few troops thither, or the whole region -would be left at the mercy of marauding bands. This the governor-general -was fortunately enabled to do, owing to the arrival about that time of -troops from the China expedition. - -When August ended, the Dinapoor mutineers, under Koer Singh, were -marching onwards to the Jumna regions, as if with the intention of -joining the mutineers in Bundelcund; the 12th irregulars, after their -atrocity at Segowlie, were bending their steps towards Oude; the Ramgurh -mutineers were marching westward to the Sone, as if to join Koer Singh; -while the petty chieftains, liberated prisoners, and ruffians of all -kinds, were looking out for ‘loot’ wherever there was a chance of -obtaining it. Bengal and Behar exhibited nothing that could be dignified -with the name of battles or war; it was simply anarchy, with -insufficient force on the part of the authorities to restore order. - -One unfortunate result of the Dinapoor mutiny was, that the Europeans -contracted a sentiment of hatred towards the natives, so deadly as to -defeat all the purposes of justice and fairness. When Sir James Outram -was at Dinapoor, on his way up the Ganges, he found that some of the -English soldiers had murdered several sepoys against whom nothing could -be charged—in revenge for the terrible loss suffered at Arrah. Sir James -noticed in one of his dispatches, with strong expressions of regret, the -distortion of feeling thus brought about by the mutiny; distortion, -because those soldiers were not, at other times, less inclined to be -just and manly than the other regiments of her Majesty’s army. It was a -sore trial for men, when scenes of brutal cruelty were everywhere before -their eyes, coolly to draw the line between justice and vengeance, and -to discriminate between the innocent and the guilty. - ------ - -Footnote 65: - - H.M. 10th foot, 153 officers and men. - H.M. 37th foot, 197 officers and men. - Sikhs of police battalion, 50 officers and men. - Sikhs of mutinied regiments, 15 officers and men. - ——— - 415 - -Footnote 66: - - H.M. 5th Fusiliers, 137 men, under Captain L’Estrange; H.M. 10th foot, - 197 men, under Captain Patterson; Sikh battalion, 150 men, under Mr - Wake, of Arrah celebrity; mounted volunteers, 16, under Lieutenant - Jackson. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - MINOR MUTINIES: JULY AND AUGUST. - - -The reader will easily appreciate the grounds on which it is deemed -inexpedient to carry out uninterruptedly the history of the mutiny at -any one spot. Unless contemporaneous events elsewhere be noticed, links -in the chain of causes and effects will be wanting. We have traced the -siege of Delhi down to a certain point in the line of operations; we -have followed the footsteps of Havelock until he reached the -ball-shattered home of the European residents at Lucknow; we have -watched the more immediate effects of the Dinapoor mutiny in the regions -of Bengal and Behar. It now, however, becomes necessary to inquire what -was doing elsewhere during the months of July and August—how the -Europeans at Agra fared, when the stations on all sides of them were in -the hands of the insurgents; how far the affrighted women and tender -children succeeded in finding refuge at the hill-stations of Nynee Tal -and its neighbourhood; what the Mahratta followers of Scindia and Holkar -were doing; to what extent Rohilcund and the Cis-Sutlej territory were -thrown into anarchy; whether or not Bombay and Madras, Nagpoor and the -Nizam’s country, remained at peace; how, in short, India generally was -affected during the two months above named. Fortunately, this duty will -not demand so full a measure of treatment as the analogous narratives -for earlier months. The isolated revolts in June occupied attention in -three successive Chapters[67]—because of their great number, the -wide-spreading area over which they occurred, the sufferings of many of -the Europeans, the romantic adventures of others, the daring bravery of -nearly all, and the necessity for describing the geographical and -military peculiarities of the several provinces and stations. These -matters having once been treated with moderate fulness, the narrative -may now proceed at an accelerated pace; insomuch that we shall be -enabled, in the present chapter, to take a bird’s-eye glance at the -isolated or miscellaneous events, whether mutinies or suppressions of -mutiny, belonging to the months of July and August. - -Let us begin by directing attention to that small but thickly populated -country lying between Patna and Allahabad, and extending in the other -direction from the Ganges to Nepaul. Goruckpore, Ghazeepore, Azimghur, -Jounpoor, and Benares, all lie within this region; Dinapoor, Buxar, -Mirzapore, Sultanpore, and Fyzabad, lie just beyond it; and towns and -villages of smaller character bestrew it more thickly than any other -part of India. When Henry Lawrence was dead, and Inglis powerless in -Oude for anything beyond maintaining his position in Lucknow; when -Wheeler had been killed at Cawnpore, and Lloyd superseded at Dinapoor; -when Colvin was shut up in Agra, and could do very little as -lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces—there was scarcely any -one who could exercise control within the region just marked out. If a -magistrate, collector, or commandant, succeeded in maintaining British -supremacy by mingled courage and sagacity, so far well; but he was in -few instances able to exercise power beyond the limits of his own town -or station. Under these circumstances, Viscount Canning created a new -office, that of ‘Lieutenant-governor of the Central Provinces,’ and gave -it to Mr J. P. Grant, one of the members of the Supreme Council at -Calcutta. The object in view was to restore order to a large range of -country that had been thrown into utter anarchy. The title was not, -perhaps, happily chosen; for there was already a ‘Central India,’ -comprising the Mahratta country around Indore or Malwah; and, moreover, -a jurisdiction was hardly ‘central’ that ran up to the borders of -Nepaul. Passing by this, however, the newly aggregated ‘Central -Provinces’ comprised the Allahabad division, the Benares division, and -the Saugor division; containing a large number of important cities and -towns. - -When Mr Grant assumed his new duties in August, he found that the -Goruckpore district was entirely in the hands of rebels. The leader of -the rebels was one Mahomed Hussein, who was at the head of a poorly -armed rabble, rather than of an organised military force, and who, with -that rabble, had been perpetrating acts of great barbarity. One -civilian, Mr Bird, had displayed that gallant spirit which so honourably -marked many of the Company’s servants: he remained behind, at his own -request, when the rest of the civil officers fled from Goruckpore; he -hoped to be able to maintain his position, but was forced after a time -to yield to the pressure of adverse circumstances, and escape to -Bettiah. The governor-general, during the month of June, accepted aid -which had been offered some time previously, by Jung Bahadoor of Nepaul. -In pursuance of this agreement, three thousand Goorkhas were sent down -from Khatmandoo, and entered British territory northward of Goruckpore. -They were ordered on shortly afterwards to Azimghur; and most of the -Goruckpore officials, availing themselves of this escort, quitted the -station with their movables and the government treasure. Some of the -Goorkhas then remained for a time at Azimghur, while the rest went to -escort the treasure to Jounpoor and Benares. While at Goruckpore, the -Goorkhas assisted in disarming such native troops as were at the -station. Much was expected from these hardy troops, and it is only just -to observe that they generally warranted the expectation. It was late in -June that the arrangement was entered into, the immediate object in view -being the pacification of the very districts now under notice. - -The Azimghur district had its full share in the troubles of the period. -During the first half of July, mutinous sepoys from other stations were -frequently threatening the town of Azimghur, and keeping the Europeans -perpetually on the watch. The 65th native infantry were very turbulent -in the vicinity. On a particular day the Company’s servants at the -station held a council of war; some voted that Azimghur was untenable, -and that a retreat should be made to Ghazeepore; but bolder councils -prevailed with the majority. At last a regular battle with the enemy -took place; a battle which has been described in such a lively manner by -Mr Venables, deputy-magistrate of Azimghur, that we cannot do better -than quote a portion of a letter in which he narrated the events of the -day.[68] The action was really worthy of note even in a military sense; -for a small force, headed by a civilian, defeated an enemy ten times as -numerous. Mr Venables received the thanks of the government for his -skill and courage on this occasion. But afterwards came a time of -mortification. Of the native troops which formed his little army on the -18th, more than half belonged to the very regiment which mutinied a few -days afterwards at Segowlie, after murdering their commandant, Major -Holmes. Mr Venables pondered on the question: ‘Will the detachment of -the 12th irregulars remain faithful at Azimghur, when another portion of -the same regiment has mutinied at Segowlie?’ He thought such a proof of -fidelity improbable; and therefore, he and the other Europeans sought to -avert danger by removing from Azimghur to Ghazeepore, which they did on -the 30th of July. The district all around the station at Azimghur -remained at the mercy of lawless marauders until the arrival of the -Goorkhas from Goruckpore, mentioned in the last paragraph. Then began a -struggle, which should act with the most effective energy—Oudian -insurgents from the west, openly hostile to the British; or Nepaul -Goorkhas from the north, serving in alliance with the British—a struggle -in which, it hardly need be said, many villages were reduced to ashes, -and much disturbance of peaceful industry produced. - -The Jounpoor district was even more completely disorganised than those -of Goruckpore and Azimghur; it had been almost entirely abandoned since -the first mutiny of the troops at that station in June. Not until after -a Goorkha force had marched into Jounpoor in August, could the civil -officers feel any safety in returning to their duties at that station. - -Benares, the most important place hereabouts, became a temporary home -for many officers who, by the revolt of their several native regiments, -had been suddenly and unwillingly deprived of active duties; there were -eight or ten of them, mostly belonging to Oude regiments which had -revolted. When Jung Bahadoor agreed to send a body of Goorkha troops -from Nepaul to the disturbed districts, the Calcutta government -transmitted orders for some of these unemployed officers to meet those -troops at Goruckpore, and act with them. Among those officers were -Captain Boileau and Lieutenants Miles, Hall, and Campbell. It was early -in July when this order was sent to Benares, but some weeks elapsed ere -the Goorkhas reached Goruckpore. Before this co-operation with the -Goorkhas took place, Benares was enabled to render a little good service -against the rebels by the aid of British troops, not stationed at that -place, but while on transit to the upper provinces. The gallant 78th -Highlanders, journeying from Calcutta to Allahabad, were divided into -portions according as the means of transport were presented, and -according to the necessities of the districts through which they passed. -On the 5th of July, Lieutenant-colonel Gordon, commanding the Benares -district, saw the necessity of checking some insurgents near that city; -and he intrusted that duty to Major Haliburton of the 78th. The major -started on the morning of the 6th, with a mixed detachment of Europeans -and natives, and marched eight miles on the Azimghur road. His advanced -cavalry reported a large body of the enemy half a mile ahead, with their -centre posted across the road, and their flanks resting on villages, -partially concealed behind trees and rising-ground. Their number was -about 500, aided by an equal number of villagers apparently eager for -mischief. The contest was soon over, and the enemy repelled. The chief -point that rendered the incident worthy of note was that a few of the -12th irregular cavalry, employed by Haliburton, shewed bad symptoms -during the day; they did not charge the enemy with alacrity; and they -appeared inclined to listen to the appeals made to their religious -feelings by the natives whom they were called upon to oppose. These -troopers belonged to the same regiment as those who afterwards mutinied -at Segowlie. - -After the departure of the Highlanders, this great and important Hindoo -city was frequently thrown into excitement by mutinies or reports of -mutinies at other places. Rumours came in early in August, to the effect -that the irregular cavalry from Segowlie, after murdering their -officers, were on their way to Jounpoor, thirty-five miles from Benares, -with the intention of visiting Benares itself. The city contained at -that time only 300 English soldiers, none of whom could safely be spared -to go out and confront the rebels. The civil lines at Benares comprised -that portion of the British station which contained the jails, the -courts of justice, and the residences of the commissioner, judge, -surgeon, &c.; it lay on the north of the Burnah River, while the -military lines were on the south, the two being connected by a bridge. -The civil station was thus peculiarly open to attack; and all that the -authorities could do for it was to post a party of soldiers and two guns -on the bridge; the prisoners were removed to the other side of the -river, the courts were abandoned, and all valuable property was taken -from the civil station to that of the European military in the -cantonment. The Rev. James Kennedy, chaplain of the station, has in a -letter mentioned a fact which shews in how agitated a state the English -community at Benares were at that time;[69] illustrating in a striking -way—as was more than once shewn during those turmoils in India—that the -panic arising from an apprehended danger was often worse than the -reality, paralysing the exertions of those who would have rendered good -service had actual fighting with an open enemy commenced. No sooner had -the dread of the Segowlie mutineers passed away, than an approach of -those from Dinapoor was threatened. Colonel Gordon, seeing the mischief -that would accrue from such a step, resolved to prevent it: he sent out -his handful of English soldiers, not merely to check the approach of the -rebels, but to drive them from the district altogether. Koer Singh and -his rabble army did not wait for this conflict; they gave Benares a -‘wide offing,’ and bent their steps towards Mirzapore. While the few -English soldiers were engaged on this duty, the sentinels left behind -were aided by the residents, headed by the judge—all keeping watch and -ward in turn, for the common safety. - -Mirzapore, from its large size and great importance as a commercial -city, and its position on the banks of the Ganges between Benares and -Allahabad, was often placed in considerable peril. No mutiny actually -occurred there, but the city was repeatedly threatened by mutineers from -other quarters, who, if successful, would certainly have been aided by -all the budmashes of the place, and by many Mussulmans higher in station -than mere rabble. The European residents were perpetually on the watch. -When a battery of artillery came up the Ganges _en route_ to Allahabad, -they earnestly entreated to be allowed to retain it for their own -protection; but Neill, the presiding genius at that time, would not -listen to this; Allahabad and Cawnpore must be thought of, and Mirzapore -must shift for itself. When the affairs at Segowlie and Dinapoor became -known, measures were taken for making some kind of stronghold at -Mirzapore. The Europeans intrenched the largest and strongest house -belonging to them, barricaded the streets, buried much property, placed -other property in guarded boats on the river, and prepared for service -four small guns and five hundred rounds of ammunition. On numbering -heads, they found 135 persons, all of whom had separate duties or posts -assigned to them in the hour of need; they also secured provision for a -month. This judicious line of policy answered the desired purpose: the -Dinapoor mutineers did not enter or molest Mirzapore. Those marauders -passed westward along a line of route further removed from the Ganges, -plundering as they went, and committing great devastation. On the 19th -of August, a small force set out from Mirzapore to check those acts of -violence; but the Dinapoor men generally managed to keep beyond the -reach of pursuers. A little later, when other regiments had mutinied in -the Saugor division, it was deemed prudent by the Calcutta authorities -to send a portion of a Madras regiment, with two guns, to aid in the -protection of Mirzapore. - -It may here be remarked, that along the line of country immediately -adjacent to the eastern frontier of Oude, the influence of that -turbulent province was made abundantly manifest during the period now -under notice. There were many zemindars near the border who maintained -bodies of armed men on foot. A rebel chief of Sultanpore, one Mehudee -Hussein, appeared to direct the movements in that region; he was one -among many who received direct commissions from the rebel authorities at -Lucknow, as chieftains expected to bring all their forces to bear -against the British. This fact alone suffices to shew how completely -Oude was at that time in the hands of the enemy. - -Mr Grant, as lieutenant-governor of the Central Provinces, was called -upon to exercise authority in the districts of Allahabad, Futtehpoor, -Cawnpore, Banda, and Humeerpoor, as well as in those of Goruckpore, -Ghazeepore, Jounpoor, Benares, and Mirzapore. When he settled down at -Benares as his head-quarters, towards the close of August, he found that -no civil business of the Company was carried on throughout the Doab, -from Allahabad to Cawnpore, except at Allahabad itself. Neill and -Havelock, by the gallant operations already described, obtained military -control of the great line of road; but their troops being lamentably -small in number, they were nearly powerless beyond a few miles’ distance -on either side of that road; while the judges and magistrates, the -commissioners and collectors, had in only a few instances been able to -resume their duties as civil servants of the Company. A large portion of -the population, driven from their villages either by the rebel sepoys or -by the British, had not yet returned; and the fertile Doab had become, -for a time, almost a desert. Banda and Humeerpoor, British districts -immediately south of the Doab, were temporarily but completely given up; -scarcely an Englishman remained within them, unless at hide-and-seek. -Some of the petty chiefs, including the rajahs of Mundah and Churkarree, -remained faithful. For a time, police in the service of the Company were -able to retain command in that part of the Allahabad division which lay -north of the Ganges; but the Oudians, as August advanced, crossed the -frontier, and gradually drove them away, thus further narrowing the belt -of country within which the Company’s ‘raj’ was respected. Koer Singh, -whose name has so often been mentioned, was ruler for a time south of -the Jumna, with his Dinapoor mutineers; it was supposed that he had -offered his services to Nena Sahib and to the King of Delhi, in hopes of -some substantial authority or advantages as a reward for his -co-operation. This unsettled state of the region south of the Jumna -placed Lieutenant Osborne in an extraordinary position. He was, as we -have already seen (p. 180), British representative at the court of the -Rajah of Rewah, a place southwest of Allahabad—unimportant in itself, -but surrounded by districts every one of which was in a state of -anarchy. Although the young rajah was friendly to the English, and aided -the lieutenant in his military plans for checking the mutineers, it was -at all times uncertain how far the Rewah troops themselves could be -depended on. At a somewhat later date than that to which this chapter -relates, Osborne was living in a tent at Rewah, with no Englishman of -any grade near him, and uncertain whether he could rely for an hour on -the fidelity of the native troops belonging to the rajah—defended by -little else than his own indomitable force of character. Koer Singh and -the Dinapoor mutineers had asked the rajah either to join them, or to -allow them to pass through his territory; he opposed it; his troops -wished it; and thus the rajah and the lieutenant were thrown into -antagonism with the Rewah troops. - -Another region or division placed under Mr Grant’s -lieutenant-governorship, Saugor, had witnessed very great disturbance -during the month of June, as has already been shewn;[70] and he found -the effects of that disturbance manifested in various ways throughout -July and August. Rewah, Nowgong, Jhansi, Saugor, Jubbulpoor, -Hosungabad—all had suffered, either from the mutiny of troops at those -towns, or by the arrival of mutineers from other stations. Nagpoor was -under a different government or control; but it would not on that -account have escaped the perils of those evil days, had it not been that -the troops distributed over that province belonged to the Madras rather -than to the Bengal army—a most important difference, as we have had many -opportunities of seeing. Mr Plowden, commissioner of Nagpoor, found it -comparatively easy to maintain his own territory in peace, for the -reason just stated; and he used all possible exertion to bring up troops -from Madras, and send them on to the Saugor province. His advice to -Major Erskine was, to disarm his Bengal troops at all the stations as -soon as he could obtain Madras troops; but the numbers of these latter -were not sufficient to permit the carrying out of such a plan. The -Saugor territory, in having the peaceful part of Bengal on the east, and -Nagpoor territory on the south, was pretty safe from disturbance on -those frontiers; but having the Jumna region on the north, and the -Mahratta dominions on the west, it had many sources of disturbance in -those directions. - -In the town and military station of Saugor, the state of affairs was -very remarkable. Brigadier Sage, in the month of June (p. 178), had -converted a large fort into a place of refuge for the ladies and -families of the officers, provisioned it for six months, placed the guns -in position, and guarded the whole by a body of European gunners. This -he did, not because the native regiments at the station (31st and 42d B. -N. I., and 3d irregular cavalry) had mutinied, but because they appeared -very unsettled, and received tempting offers from scheming chieftains in -the vicinity. The Calcutta authorities called upon the brigadier for an -explanation of the grounds on which he had shut up all the Europeans at -Saugor, three hundred in number, in the fort, without any actual mutiny -at that place; but on account of interrupted dâks and telegraphs, many -weeks elapsed before the various official communications could take -place, and during those weeks the brigadier was responsible for the -safety of the residents. The remarkable feature in all this was, not -that the native troops should mutiny, or that the Europeans should live -in a fortified residence, but that one regiment should remain faithful -when others at the same spot repudiated allegiance. Early in July the -42d and the cavalry endeavoured to incite the 31st to mutiny; but not -only did the latter remain true to their salt—they attacked and beat off -the rebels. On the 7th of the month a regular battle ensued; the 31st -and some of the irregular cavalry attacking the 42d and the rest of the -irregulars, and expelling them altogether from the station. ‘Well done, -31st,’ said Major Erskine, when news of this event reached Jubbulpoor. -It was not merely that two infantry regiments were in antagonism; but -two wings of one cavalry regiment were also at open war with each other. -So delighted were the English officers of the 31st at the conduct of -their men, that they were eager to join in the fray; but the brigadier -would not allow this; he distrusted all these regiments alike, and would -not allow the officers to place themselves in peril. Many at Saugor -thought that an excess of caution was herein exhibited. - -[Illustration: - - Fort at Agra, from the river Jumna. -] - -The other chief place in the province, Jubbulpoor, as shewn in a former -chapter (p. 178), had been thrown into much perplexity in the month of -June by the news of mutiny at Jhansi and Nuseerabad; and Major Erskine, -commissioner of the province, sought how he might best prevent the -pestilence from spreading southeastward. He was at Jubbulpoor with the -52d B. N. I. By a system of constant watchfulness he passed through that -month without an outbreak. It was, however, a month of anxiety; for such -of the ladies as did not retire to Kamptee for shelter, remained in -continual dread near their husbands at Jubbulpoor, seldom taking off -their clothes at night, and holding ready to flee at an hour’s warning—a -state of suspense entailing almost as much suffering as mutiny itself. -Early in July the Europeans fortified the Residency, and stored it with -half a year’s provisions for thirty officers, thirty ladies and -children, and several civilians; this was done on receipt of news that -the 42d native infantry and the 3d irregular cavalry had mutinied at -Saugor. The Residency was made very strong, being converted from a house -into a fort; three officers were made garrison engineers, two acted as -commissariat officers, and all the rest took specific duties. It became -not only the stronghold, but the home, night and day, for nearly seventy -persons. One of the officers who had the best means of knowing the -temper of the troops, while praising the 52d for still remaining -faithful under so many temptations from mutineers elsewhere, and while -promising them extra pay for their fidelity, nevertheless acknowledged -in a private letter that the regiment was a broken reed to rest upon. -‘To tell the truth, I doubt the regiment being much better than any -other. Circumstances alone keep the sepoys quiet. There is no treasure; -we merely collect enough to pay ourselves and them. If they plundered -the country, they could not take away the property; as the Bundelas -would loot and murder them.’ Speaking of the domestic economy of his -brother-officers and their families in the fortified Residency, he said: -‘The 52d mess manage everything in the _Khana peena_ line (eating and -drinking). Ladies and gentlemen all dine together—a strange scene, quite -a barrack-life. In the evening a few of us drive out; others ride and -walk. We cannot afford above six or eight to leave the garrison -together.’ July passed over in safety in Jubbulpoor. Early in August a -relieving force arrived from the Nagpoor territory, which, nearly -tranquil itself, was able to forward trusty Madras troops to regions -troubled by the faithless sepoys of the Bengal army. This force -consisted of the 33d Madras native infantry, a squadron of the 4th -Madras cavalry, 75 European artillerymen, and six guns. Major Erskine, -thus reinforced, set forth to restore order at Dumoh, and to proceed -thence to Saugor; to which place a Bombay column was expected to come, -viâ Indore and Bhopal. This was a part of the policy determined on by -the government at that time. Calcutta could supply no troops except for -the Cawnpore and Lucknow region; the Punjaub could furnish -reinforcements only for the siege of Delhi; and therefore it was -determined that columns should start from the Madras and Bombay -presidencies, comprising _no_ Bengal native troops, and should work -their way inwards and upwards to the disturbed provinces, sweeping away -mutineers wherever they encountered them. It was not until the latter -part of August that the Madras movable column could safely leave the -vicinity of Jubbulpoor for Dumoh and other disturbed stations, and even -then Major Erskine found it necessary to retain a portion of the troops. -How long the 52d remained faithful at Jubbulpoor we shall see in a -future page; but it may here be remarked that the English officers of -the native regiments were at that time placed in a position of -difficulty hardly to be comprehended by others. They either trusted -their sepoys, or felt a kind of shame in expressing distrust: if not in -actual peril, they were at least mortified and vexed; for they felt -their own honour touched when their regiments proved faithless. - -The Bengal troops at Nagode appear to have remained untouched by mutiny -until the 25th of August. On that day the 50th native infantry shewed -symptoms which caused some anxiety to the officers; two days afterwards -disturbances took place, and at a period somewhat beyond the limit to -which this chapter is confined the bulk of the regiment mutinied, and -marched off to join mutineers elsewhere. About 250 of the sepoys -remained true to their colours; they escorted their officers, and all -the ladies and children, safely from Nagode to Mirzapore. These -divergences among the men of the same regiment greatly complicate any -attempts to elucidate the causes of the Indian mutiny generally. That -the sepoys were often excited by temporary and exceptional impulses, is -quite certain; and such impulses were wholly beyond the power of the -Europeans correctly to estimate. There was one station at which a -portion of a native regiment mutinied and shot an officer; the sepoys of -his company threw themselves upon his body and wept, and then—joined the -mutineers! - -We pass from the Saugor province to those which were nominally under the -control of Mr Colvin as lieutenant-governor of the Northwest -Provinces—nominally, for, being himself shut up in Agra, he exercised -scarcely any control beyond the walls of the fort. Of the Doab, -sufficient has already been narrated to shew in what condition that -fertile region was placed during the months of July and August. Where -Havelock and Neill pitched their tents, there was British supremacy -maintained; but beyond the three cities of Allahabad, Futtehpoor, and -Cawnpore, and the high road connecting them, British power was little -more than a name. Higher up the Doab, at Etawah, Minpooree, Furruckabad, -Futteghur, Allygurh, Bolundshuhur, &c., anarchy was paramount. Crossing -the Ganges into Oude, the cessation of British rule was still more -complete. Scarcely an Englishman remained alive throughout the whole of -Oude, except in Lucknow; all who had not been killed had precipitately -escaped. Almost every landowner had become a petty chieftain, with his -fort, his guns, and his band of retainers. In no part of India, at no -time during the mutiny, was the hostility of the villagers more -strikingly shewn than in Oude: in other provinces the inhabitants of the -villages often aided the British troops on the march; but when Havelock, -Neill, and Outram were in Oude, every village on the road had to be -conquered, as if held by an avowed enemy. It has been often said that -the Indian outbreak was a revolt of soldiery, not a rebellion of a -people; but in Oude the contest was unquestionably with something more -than the military only. Whether their love for their deposed king was -sincere or only professed, the Oudians exhibited much animosity against -the British. What the beleaguered garrison of Lucknow were doing, we -shall see in the proper place. - -Of Agra city, and the fort or residency in which the Europeans were for -safety assembled, it will be remembered (p. 173) that after peaceably -but anxiously passing through the month of May, Mr Colvin, on the 1st of -June, found it necessary or expedient to disarm the 44th and 67th Bengal -native infantry—because two companies of those regiments had just -mutinied near Muttra, and because the bulk of the regiments exhibited -unmistakable signs of disaffection. This great and important city was -then left under the charge of the 3d European Fusiliers, a corps of -volunteer European cavalry under Lieutenant Greathed, and Captain -D’Oyley’s field-battery of six guns. Most of the disarmed native troops -deserted, to swell the insurgent ranks elsewhere; and in the course of -the month the jail-guard deserted also. Thus June came to its end—the -European residents still remaining at large, but making certain -precautions for their common safety at night. - -When July arrived, however, the state of affairs became much more -serious. The Europeans were forced into a battle, which ended in a -necessity for their shutting themselves up in the fort. The force was -very weak. The 3d Europeans only numbered about 600 men, the militia and -volunteers 200, and a few artillerymen belonging to the guns. Among the -officers present were several who had belonged to the Gwalior -Contingent, the various regiments and detachments of which had mutinied -at Hattrass, Neemuch, Augur, Lullutpore, and Gwalior, on various days -between the 28th of May and the 3d of July; these officers, having now -no commands, were glad to render aid in any available way towards the -defence of Agra. Just at this critical time, when the approach of a -hostile force was imminent, the Europeans were further troubled by the -sudden mutiny of the Kotah Contingent. This force—consisting of -infantry, cavalry, and artillery, about 700 men in all—having been -deemed loyal and trustworthy, had been brought about a month previously -to Agra from the southwest, and had during that time remained -true—collecting revenue, burning disaffected villages, capturing and -hanging rebels and mutineers. They were brought in from the vicinity -towards the close of June, to aid if necessary against the Neemuch -mutineers, and were encamped half-way between the barracks and -government-house. Suddenly and unexpectedly, on the evening of the 4th, -the cavalry portion of the Contingent rose in revolt, fired at their -officers, killed their sergeant-major, and then marched off, followed by -the infantry and the artillery—all but a few gunners, who enabled the -British to retain the two guns belonging to the Contingent. This revolt -startled the authorities, and necessitated a change of plan, for it had -been intended to attack the Neemuch force that very evening; nay, -matters were even still worse, for the Kotah villains at once joined -those from Neemuch. - -On the morning of Sunday the 5th of July (again Sunday!), an army of -mutineers being known to be near at hand, a reconnoitring party was sent -out to examine their position. The enemy were found to consist of about -4000 infantry and 1000 cavalry, with ten or twelve guns; they comprised -the 72d B. N. I., the 7th Gwalior Contingent infantry, the 1st Bengal -native cavalry, the Malwah Contingent cavalry—which had joined the -Neemuch men at Mehidpore—and fragments of other mutinied regiments, -together with a very efficient artillery corps. The arrival of the -Neemuch mutineers had for some time been expected; and as soon as it was -known, on the 3d, that the enemy had reached Futtehpore Sikri, about -twenty miles from Agra, the ladies and children, as well as many of the -civilians and traders, had as a measure of precaution abandoned their -houses in the city, and gone into the fort, which had been cleaned out, -made as habitable as possible, and largely supplied with provisions. The -reconnoitring party returned to announce that the enemy were at -Shahgunje, a village close to the lieutenant-governor’s house, three -miles from the cantonment and four from the fort. The authorities at -Agra resolved at once to go out and fight the enemy in open field; -seeing that the native citizens had begun to think slightingly of their -British masters, and that it was necessary to remove any suspicion of -fear or timidity. The brigadier made up a force equal to about -one-eighth of the enemy’s numbers; it consisted of seven very weak -companies of the 3d European Fusiliers, the militia and volunteers, and -a battery of artillery. The infantry were placed under Colonel Riddell, -and the artillery under Captain D’Oyley. As to the volunteer cavalry, it -was made up of a curious medley of unemployed military officers, -civilians, merchants, and writers—all willing to share the common danger -for the common good; but with untrained horses, and without regular -cavalry drill, they laboured under many disadvantages. About 200 men of -the 3d Europeans remained behind to guard the fort. - -At noon, the opposing forces met. The enemy occupied a strong position -behind Shahgunje, with their guns flanking the village, and the cavalry -flanking the guns. The British advanced in line, with their guns on each -flank, the infantry in the middle, and the mounted militia and -volunteers in the rear. When about six hundred yards from the enemy, the -infantry were ordered to lie down, to allow the guns to do their work -against the village, from behind the houses and walls of which the -enemy’s riflemen opened a very destructive fire. It was a bad omen that -women were seen in the village loading the rifles and muskets and -handing them to the mutineers to fire. For two hours an exchange of -artillery-fire was kept up—extremely fierce; shrapnel shells, -round-shot, and grape-shot, filling the air. A tumbril belonging to -D’Oyley’s battery now blew up, disabling one of the guns; the enemy’s -cavalry took advantage of this to gallop forward and charge; but the 3d -Europeans, jumping up, let fly a volley which effectually deterred them. -Most of the officers and soldiers had wished during these two hours for -a bolder course of action—a capture of the enemy’s guns by a direct -charge of infantry. Then followed a rapid musketry-fire, and a chasing -of the enemy out of the village by most of the infantry—the rest -guarding the guns. Unfortunately another tumbril blew up, disabling -another gun; and, moreover, D’Oyley had used up all the ammunition which -had been supplied to him. Upon this the order was given for retreat to -the city; and the retreat was made—much to the mortification of the -troops, for they had really won a victory. The rebels, it was afterwards -known, were themselves out of ammunition, and were just about to retreat -when they saw the retreat of the British; their infantry marched off -towards Muttra, but their cavalry and one gun harassed the British -during their return to the city. The artillery-fire of the mutineers -during the battle was spoken of with admiration even by those who were -every minute suffering from it; the native artillerymen had learned to -use effectively against us those guns which they had been paid and fed -to use in our defence. If the cavalry had been equally effective, the -British would probably have been cut off to a man. This battle of Agra -was a severe one to the British, for one-fourth of the small force were -killed or wounded. The officers suffered much: Majors Prendergast and -Thomas, Captains D’Oyley, Lamb, and Alexander, Lieutenants Pond, -Fellowes, Cockburn, Williams, and Bramley, were wounded, as well as many -gentlemen belonging to the volunteer horse. The loss of Captain D’Oyley -was very much deplored, for he was a great favourite. While managing his -guns, a shot struck him; he sat on the carriage, giving orders, in spite -of his wound; but at last he fell, saying: ‘Ah, they have done for me -now! Put a stone over my grave, and say I died at my guns.’ He sank the -next day. - -The British returned to Agra—not to the city, but to the fort; for three -or four thousand prisoners had got loose during the day, and had begun -to fire all the European buildings in the city. Officers and privates, -civilians and ladies, all who wrote of the events at Agra at that time, -told of the wild licence of that day and night. One eye-witness said: -‘Hardly a house has escaped destruction; and such houses and their -contents as were not consumed by fire have been completely gutted and -destroyed by other means. In fact, even if we were to leave the fort -to-morrow, there are not four houses in the place with roofs remaining -under which we could obtain shelter; and as for household property and -other things left outside, there is not a single article in existence in -serviceable order. The very doors and windows are removed, and every bit -of wood torn out, so that nothing remains but the bare brick walls. -Things are strewed about the roads and streets in every direction; and -wherever you move you see broken chairs and tables, carriages in -fragments, crockery, books, and every kind of property wantonly -destroyed.’ An officer of the 3d Europeans, after describing the battle, -and the return of the little force to the fort, said: ‘Immediately -afterwards the work of destruction commenced, the budmashes began to -plunder, bungalows on every side were set on fire—one continued blaze -the whole night. I went out the next morning. ‘Twas a dreadful sight -indeed; Agra was destroyed; churches, colleges, dwelling-houses, -barracks, everything burned.’ - -But they had something more to think of than the devastation in Agra -city; they had to contemplate their own situation in Agra Fort. Among -the number of Europeans, some had already borne strange adversities. One -officer had escaped, with his wife, in extraordinary guise, from Gwalior -at the time of the mutiny of the Contingent at that place. He had been -obliged to quit his wife at their bungalow in the midst of great danger, -to hasten down to his regiment in the lines; and when he found his -influence with his men had come to naught, and that shots were aimed at -him, three sepoys resolved to save him. They took off his hat, boots, -and trousers, wrapped him in a horse-cloth, huddled him between them, -and passed him off as a woman. They left him on the bank of a stream, -and went to fetch his wife from a position of great peril. She being too -weak to walk, they made up a horse-cloth into a sort of bag, tied it to -a musket, put her into it, shouldered the musket horizontally, and -carried her seven miles—her husband walking by her side, barefoot over -sharp stones. After meeting with further assistance, they reached Agra -somewhat more in comfort. Another officer, who had likewise served in -the Gwalior Contingent, and who had seen much hard service before the -mutiny of his corps compelled him to flee to Agra, counted up the wreck -of his property after the battle of the 5th of July, and found it to -consist of ‘a coat, a shirt, the greater portion of a pair of breeches, -a pair of jack-boots, one sock, a right good sword’—and a cannon-ball -through his leg; yet, recognising the useful truth that grumbling and -complaining are but poor medicines in a time of trouble, he bore up -cheerfully, and even cheered up Mr Colvin, who was at that time nearly -worn to the grave by sickness and anxiety. An officer of the 3d -Europeans said in a letter: ‘I lost everything in the world.... The -enemy went quietly off; but here we are; we can’t get out—no place to go -to—nothing to do but to wait for assistance.’ And a few days afterwards -he added: ‘Here we are like rats in a trap; there are from four to five -thousand people in this fort, military and civil, Eurasians, -half-castes, &c.; and when we shall get out, is a thing to be guessed -at.’ A surgeon of the recently mutinied Gwalior Contingent thus spoke of -what he saw around him: ‘The scene in the fort for the first few days -was a trying one. All the native servants ran off. I had eleven in the -morning, and at night not one. Ladies were seen cooking their own food, -officers drawing and carrying water from the wells, &c. Many people were -ruined, having escaped with only their clothes on their backs. We are -now shut up here, five hundred fighting-men with ammunition, and about -four or five thousand altogether, eagerly awaiting the arrival of -European troops.’ A commissariat officer said: ‘Here we are all living -in gun-sheds and casemates. The appearance of the interior is amusing, -and the streets (of the fort) are named; we have Regent and Oxford -Streets, the Quadrant, Burlington and Lowther Arcades, and Trafalgar -Square.’ The wife of one of the officers described her strange home: ‘We -are leading a very unsettled ship-like life. No one is allowed to leave -the fort, except bodies of armed men. We are living in a place they call -Palace Yard; it is a square, with a gallery round it, having open -arches; every married couple are allowed two arches.... It is no easy -matter to keep our arches clean and tidy.’ As all the Europeans in Agra -went to live in the fort, the number included the staff of the -_Mofussilite_ (’Provincial European’) newspaper, one of the journals -which had for some time been published in that city; the issue for the -3d of July had been printed at the usual office of the paper; but none -other appeared for twelve days, when a _Mofussilite_ was printed within -the fort itself. - -There was no exaggeration in the accounts of the number of persons thus -strangely incarcerated. So completely were the Europeans and their -native servants at Agra shut up within the fort, and so much was that -place regarded as a refuge for those who had been forced to flee from -other stations, that it gradually became crowded to an extraordinary -degree. On the 26th of July Mr Colvin determined to take a census of all -the persons who slept within the fort on that night; he did so, and -found them to amount to no less a number than 5845[71]—all of whom had -to be supplied with their daily food under military or garrison -arrangements. More than 2000 of the number were children, who could -render little or no return for the services so anxiously demanded by and -for them. Provided, however, the supply of food and other necessaries -were sufficient, the danger of the position was not at all comparable to -that of Sir Hugh Wheeler at Cawnpore or of Brigadier Inglis at Lucknow. -The fort at Agra (see wood-cut, p. 109) was a very large structure, a -sort of triangle whose sides extended from three to five eighths of a -mile each; it contained numerous large buildings within the walls, of -which the chief were the palace of Shahjehan, the Hall of Audience built -by the same emperor, and the Moti Musjid or Pearl Mosque. All the -buildings were at once appropriated, in various ways, to the wants of -the enormous number of persons who sought shelter therein. The defences -of the place, too, were greatly strengthened; sixty guns of heavy -calibre were mounted on the bastions; thirteen large mortars were placed -in position; the powder-magazines were secured from accidental -explosion; the external defences were improved by the levelling of many -houses in the city which approached too near the fort; and preparations -were completed for blowing up the superb Jumma Musjid (p. 229) if any -attempt were made by a hostile force to occupy it, seeing that its upper -ranges commanded the interior of the fort. The only insurgent force at -that time in possession of guns and mortars powerful enough to breach -strong walls was the Gwalior Contingent; and even if Scindia lost all -hold over that force, Agra was provisioned for ten months, and had -ammunition enough to stand a whole year’s siege. An officer of a -mutinied Gwalior regiment, writing from Agra after some weeks’ -confinement, said: ‘Almost all the roads are closed, and it is only by -secret messengers and spies that we can get any intelligence of what is -going on in the convulsed world around us. My letters from Scotland used -to reach me in thirty days; now if I get one in eighty days I -congratulate myself on my good-luck.... As for this fort, we can hold it -against any number for months; our only fear being for the women and -children, who would suffer much, and of whom we have some three -thousand. The health of the troops, &c., is, thank God, excellent, and -the wounded are doing well.’ Nevertheless, with all their sense of -security, the Europeans within the fort had enough to do to maintain -their cheerfulness. On the day and night of the 5th of July, property -had been burned and despoiled in the city to an enormous amount; and -most of this had belonged to the present inmates of the fort. The -merchants had been prosperous, their large shops had abounded with the -most costly articles of necessity and luxury—and now nearly all was -gone. The military officers had of course less to lose, but their -deprivation was perhaps still more complete. - -Throughout July and August the state of affairs thus continued at Agra. -The danger was small, but the discomforts of course numerous. Mr Colvin -sent repeated applications for a relieving force. There was, however, -none to aid him. His health failed greatly, and he did not bear up -against the anxieties of his position with the cheerful firmness -exhibited by many other of the officials at that trying time. Brigadier -Polwhele, former military commandant, was superseded by Colonel Cotton -when the account of the battle of the 5th of July became known at -Calcutta. Occasional sallies were made from the fort, to punish isolated -bodies of rebels at Futtehpore Sikri, Hattrass, and Allygurh; but the -European troops were too few to be very effective in this way. The most -note-worthy exploit took place during the latter half of August, when Mr -Colvin requested Colonel Cotton to organise a small force for driving -some mutineers from Allygurh. Major Montgomery set forth with this -miniature army,[72] reached Hattrass on the 21st, and there learned that -6000 mutineers, under Ghose Mahomed Khan, náib or lieutenant of the King -of Delhi, were prepared to resist him at Allygurh. Montgomery marched -from Allygurh to Sarsnee on the 23d, rested for the night in an indigo -factory and other buildings, and advanced on the following day to -Allygurh. There ensued a sharp conflict of two hours’ duration, in -gardens and enclosures outside the town; it ended in the defeat and -dispersion of the enemy, who left 300 dead on the field. The battle was -a gallant affair, worthy of ranking with those of Havelock; for -Montgomery contended against twenty times his own number; and, moreover, -many of the troops among the enemy were Ghazees or fanatic Mussulmans -who engaged fiercely in hand-to-hand contests with some of his troops. -His detachment of men was too small to enable him to enter and reoccupy -Allygurh: he was obliged to leave that place in the hands of the rebels, -and to return to Hattrass; but having replenished his stock of -ammunition and supplies, he advanced again to Allygurh, held it for -several days, and left a detachment there when he took his departure. - -Taking leave for the present of Agra, we may briefly state that almost -every other city and station in that part of India was in the hands of -the enemy during the months of July and August. Delhi was still under -siege; but there was scarcely a British soldier in any part of the Delhi -division except in the siege-camp before Delhi itself. In the Agra -division, as we have just seen, British influence extended very little -further than the walls of Agra Fort. In the Meerut division, the station -at that town was still held; the military lines were strongly fortified, -and supplied with provisions to an extent sufficient to remove immediate -anxiety. The region between Delhi and the Sutlej, containing Hansi, -Hissar, Sirsa, and other towns, was fortunately kept in some order by a -column under General Van Cortlandt, which moved quickly from place to -place, and put down a swarm of petty chieftains who were only too ready -to take advantage of the mutinies of the native troops. In the Rohilcund -division scarcely a town, except up in the hills, remained under British -control. - -Welcome as was the refuge which the wives and children of officers found -at the hill-stations in the Rohilcund and Cis-Sutlej provinces, their -tranquillity was frequently disturbed by the movements of rebels. Early -in August the civil commissioner of Kumaon received intelligence that an -attack was contemplated on Nynee Tal by Kalee Khan, one of the myrmidons -of Khan Bahadoor Khan of Bareilly, who had 3000 rabble with him; the -plunder and destruction of the station being the main objects in view. -Captain Ramsey, commandant at Nynee Tal, and Colonel M’Causland, -commanding the troops in the various stations of Kumaon, at once -determined to remove the ladies and children, two hundred in number, -from Nynee Tal to Almora, further away from Bareilly: this was done; and -then the colonel prepared to meet the mutineers, and confront them with -a detachment of the 66th Goorkhas. Kalee Khan set forth on his mission; -but when he heard that M’Causland was calmly waiting for him, he changed -his plan, returned to Bareilly, and avoided a conflict, the probable -result of which presented itself very clearly to his mind. At Nynee Tal, -at Almora, at Mussouree, at Simla, and at other places among the cool -hilly regions, ladies and children were assembled in large numbers, some -with their husbands and fathers, but many sent away from scenes of -strife in which those dear to them were compelled to engage. It was not -all idle hopelessness with them. Englishwomen can always find some -useful service to render, and are always ready to render it. A lady, -writing from Mussouree on the 9th of August, said: ‘We are very busy -working flannel clothes for our army before Delhi. They are very badly -off for these things; and being so much exposed at such a season of the -year, and in such a proverbially unhealthy locality, and fighting as -they have done so nobly, they really deserve to be provided for by us.’ -After enumerating the sums subscribed towards this object from various -quarters, the writer went on to say: ‘Mrs —— and myself are constantly -at work; for, with the exception of our tailors, and one or two others -given up to us by ladies, we can get none.... Wonderful to say, though I -never did such a thing in my life before, I have the management of our -portion of the business, which keeps me employed from early morning till -late at night. We meet, with several other ladies, at ——‘s house every -day, with as many tailors as we can collect, and stitch away.’ - -The great and important country of the Punjaub, though not free from -disturbance, was kept pretty well under control during July and August, -by the energy of Sir John Lawrence and the other officers of the -Company. We have seen[73] that on the 13th of May the 16th, 26th, and -49th regiments of Bengal native infantry, and the 8th Bengal cavalry, -were disarmed at Meean Meer, a cantonment six miles from the city of -Lahore; that on the same day the 45th and 57th native infantry mutinied -at Ferozpore, while the 10th cavalry was disarmed; that during the same -week, Umritsir, Jullundur, and Phillour were only saved from mutiny by -the promptness and spirit of some of the officers; that on the 20th, the -55th native infantry mutinied at Murdan in the Peshawur Valley; that -consequent upon this, the 24th, 27th, and 51st native infantry, and the -5th native cavalry, were on the 22d of the month disarmed in the station -of Peshawur itself; that early in June, the 4th native regiment was -disarmed at Noorpore; that on the 6th, the 36th and 61st native -infantry, and the 6th native cavalry, mutinied at Jullundur, and marched -off towards Phillour; that the 3d native cavalry, at the last-named -station, mutinied on the following day, unable to resist the temptation -thrown out to them by those from Jullundur; that the 14th native -infantry mutinied at Jelum on the 7th of July, maintaining a fierce -fight with a British detachment before their departure; that on the same -day the 58th native infantry, and two companies of the 14th, were -disarmed at Rawul Pindee; that on the 9th, the 46th native infantry, and -a wing of the 9th native cavalry, mutinied at Sealkote, and decamped -towards Delhi; that towards the close of July, the disarmed 26th -mutinied at Meean Meer, murdered Major Spencer, and marched off with the -intention of strengthening the insurgents at Delhi; that on the 19th of -August, a portion of the disarmed 10th cavalry mutinied at Ferozpore; -and that on the 28th of the same month, the disarmed 51st mutinied at -Peshawur, fled to the hills, and were almost annihilated. It thus -appears that about a dozen regiments mutinied in the Punjaub between the -middle of May and the end of August; that some of these had been -previously disarmed; and that others had been disarmed without having -mutinied. - -A few additional words may be given here relating to the partial mutiny -at Meean Meer. The four native regiments at that station, disarmed on -the 13th of May, remained in their lines until the 30th of July, -peaceful and without arms. On the last-named day, however, it became -known to the authorities that the men meditated flight. Major Spencer of -the 26th, and two native officers, were killed by the sepoys of that -regiment on that day—with what weapons does not clearly appear. The -murder of the unfortunate English officer deranged the plans of the -troops; all were to have decamped at a given signal; but now only the -26th made off, leaving the other three regiments in their lines. The -authorities, not well knowing whither the fugitives had gone, sent off -three strong parties of mounted police, to Umritsir, Hurrekee, and -Kussoor, the three routes towards the Sutlej. The men, however, had gone -northward; but within a few days they were almost entirely destroyed, -for the villagers aided the police in capturing or shooting the -miserable fugitives as they marched or ran in field and jungle. - -Without going over in detail any proceedings already recorded, it may be -convenient to condense in a small space a narrative of Brigadier-general -Nicholson’s operations in the later days of June and the first half of -July with a movable column placed under his command by Sir John -Lawrence. Having disarmed the 33d and 35th B. N. I., for reasons which -appeared to him amply sufficient, he began on the 27th of June to -retrace his steps from Phillour, and on the 5th of July he encamped at -Umritsir, to overawe the 59th B. N. I., and to hold a central position -whence he might march to any threatened point east or west. On the 7th, -hearing of the mutiny of the 14th native infantry at Jelum, and -receiving no satisfactory evidence that Colonel Ellice had been able to -frustrate or defeat the mutineers, he at once resolved on a measure of -precaution. He disarmed the 59th on the following morning—with very -great regret; for he had nothing to censure in the conduct of the men; -he took that step solely on account of the peril which, at such a time, -threatened any station containing Bengal troops without British; and he -added in his dispatch: ‘I beg very strongly to recommend this corps, -both as regards officers and men, to the favourable consideration of -government.’ On the 10th, receiving intelligence that the 46th native -infantry, and a wing of the 9th native cavalry, had mutinied at -Sealkote, Nicholson at once disarmed the other wing of the same cavalry -regiment, which formed part of his column. In the course of the same day -he learned that the Sealkote mutineers intended to march eastward, -through Goordaspore, Noorpore, Hoshyapoor, and Jullundur, to -Delhi—endeavouring to tempt to mutiny, on their way, the 2d irregular -cavalry at Goordaspore, the 4th native infantry at Noorpore, and the -16th irregular cavalry at Hoshyapoor. The problem thence arose—could -Nicholson intercept these mutineers before they reached Goordaspore? He -found he would have to make a forced march of forty miles in a northeast -direction to effect this. He did so, by energetic exertions, in twenty -hours. He came up with them at the Trimmoo ford over the Ravee, nine -miles from Goordaspore, on the 12th of July—his force now consisting of -H.M. 52d foot, 184 men of the Punjaub infantry, a company of the police -battalion, a few irregular horse, a troop of artillery, and three guns. -Nicholson defeated them after a short but sharp conflict on the river’s -bank; but his horsemen were not trustworthy, and he could not pursue the -enemy. About 300 mutineers, with one gun, took post on an island in the -river; these, by a well-planned movement, were almost entirely -annihilated on the 16th—and the ‘Sealkote mutineers’ disappeared from -the scene. It was with justice that the active leader thanked his troops -on the following day: ‘By a forced march of unusual length, performed at -a very trying season of the year, the column has been able to preserve -many stations and districts from pillage and plunder, to save more than -one regiment from the danger of too close a contact with the mutineers; -while the mutineer force itself, 1100 strong, notwithstanding the very -desperate character of the resistance offered by it, has been utterly -destroyed or dispersed.’ - -Let us now, as in a former chapter, glance at the state of affairs in -the vast region of India southward of the Ganges, the Jumna, and the -Sutlej—passing over Sinde without special mention, as being nearly free -from disturbing agencies. The reader will remember[74] that among the -various states, provinces, and districts of Nagpoor, Hyderabad, -Carnatic, Madras, Bombay, Holkar, Scindia, Rajpootana, &c., some became -subject to anarchy in certain instances during the month of -June—especially the three last-named states; and we have now to shew -that this anarchy continued, and in some cases extended, during July and -August; but it will also be made manifest that the amount of insurgency -bore a very small ratio to that in the stormy districts further north. - -Of Southwestern Bengal, Orissa, and Nagpoor, it is scarcely necessary -here to speak. The native troops were not influenced by a hostility so -fierce, a treachery so villainous, as those in Hindostan proper; there -were not so many zemindars and petty chieftains who had been wrought up -to irritation by the often questionable appropriations and annexations -of the Company; and there was easier access for the troops of the Madras -presidency, who, as has already been more than once observed, had small -sympathy with the petted sepoys and sowars of the larger presidency. The -mutinies or attempts at mutiny, in these provinces, were of slight -character during July and August. Mr Plowden, commissioner of Nagpoor, -was enabled, with troops sent by Lord Harris from Madras, not only to -maintain British supremacy throughout that large country (nearly equal -in size to England and Scotland combined), but also to assist Major -Erskine in the much more severely threatened territory of Saugor and -Nerbudda, lying between Nagpoor and the Jumna. - -The Madras presidency remained almost entirely at peace. Not only did -the native troops hold their faith with the government that fed and paid -them, but they cheerfully volunteered to serve against the mutinous -Bengal sepoys in the north. On the 3d of July the governor in council -issued a proclamation, announcing that several regiments had expressed -their desire to be employed in the Northwest Provinces or wherever else -their services might be required; that thanks would be publicly awarded -to the native officers and men of all the regiments who had thus come -forward; and that the favourable attention of the supreme government -towards them would be solicited. The corps that thus proffered their -services were the 3d, 11th, 16th, and 27th Madras native infantry, the -3d and 8th Madras native cavalry, a company of native foot-artillery, a -troop of native horse-artillery, and a detachment of native sappers and -miners. Many of these afterwards rendered good service in the battles -which distinguished—and we may at the same time add devastated—Northern -and Central India. Four days afterwards, Lord Harris was able to -announce that other regiments—the 17th, 30th, 36th, and 47th native -infantry, and the 5th native cavalry—had in a similar way come forward -‘to express their abhorrence of the traitorous conduct of the mutineers -of the Bengal army, and their desire to be employed wherever their -services may be required.’ Besides thus providing faithful soldiers, the -governor of Madras was in a position, at various times during July and -August, to send large supplies of arms, ammunition, and camp-equipage, -from Madras to Calcutta. In the city of Madras itself, and in the -various southern provinces and countries of Carnatic, Tanjore, -Travancore, Canara, Malabar, and Mysore, the same exemption from mutiny -was experienced. There were, it is true, discontents and occasional -plottings, but no formidable resistance to the British power. Many -persons there were who, without being rebels or open malcontents, -thought that the Company had dealt harshly with the native princes, and -were on that account deterred from such hearty sympathy with the British -as they might otherwise possibly have manifested. An officer in the -Madras army, writing when the mutiny was four months old, stated that in -the previous February, when that terrible movement had not yet -commenced, he went one day to take a sketch of a mosque, or rather a -collection of mosques, in the suburbs of Madras—tombs that were the -memorials of past Mussulman greatness. His conversation with an old man -of that faith[75] left upon his mind the impression that there was a -sentiment of injury borne, rights violated, nationality disregarded, -conveyed in the words of his temporary companion. - -There was, however, one occurrence in the Madras presidency which gave -rise to much uneasiness. The 8th Madras native cavalry was ordered to -march from Bangalore to Madras, and there embark for Calcutta. On -arriving at a place about twenty-five miles from Madras, on the 17th of -August, the men put forward a claim for the rates of pay, batta, and -pension which existed before the year 1837, and which were more -favourable than those of subsequent introduction. Such a claim, put -forward at such a moment, was very perplexing to the officers; they -hastened to Madras, and obtained the consent of the government to make -conciliatory offers to the men. After a further march of thirteen miles -to Poonamallee, the troopers again stopped, and declared they would not -go forth ‘to war against their countrymen.’ This being an act of -insubordination which of course could not be overlooked, two guns and -some artillerymen were promptly brought forward; the 8th cavalry were -unhorsed and disarmed, and sent to do dismounted duty at Arcot; while -their horses were forthwith shipped to Calcutta, where such accessions -were specially valuable. The affair caused great excitement at Madras; -the volunteers were warned that their services were to be available at a -moment’s notice; patrols were placed in the streets by day and night; -and guns were planted in certain directions. Happily, the prompt -disarming of this turbulent regiment prevented the poison from spreading -further. - -[Illustration: - - SKETCH MAP - _TO ILLUSTRATE_ - HAVELOCK’S OPERATIONS - - _DURING JULY & AUGUST_. - 1857 - - _From a Government Survey._ -] - -Bombay, like its sister presidency Madras, was affected only in a slight -degree by the storms that troubled Bengal and the northwest. The Bombay -troops, though, as the sequel shewed, not altogether equal in fidelity -to those of Madras, did nevertheless pass through the perilous ordeal -very creditably—rendering most valuable service in Rajpootana and other -regions of the north. There was a wealthy and powerful native community -at Bombay—that of the Parsees—which was nearly at all times ready to -support the government, and which greatly strengthened the hands of Lord -Elphinstone by so doing. It consisted of merchants, shipowners, and -bankers, many of whom had made large fortunes in the ordinary way of -trade. Those Parsees may always be distinguished from the other natives -of India by something peculiar in their names—Jamsetjee, Nowrojee, -Cursetjee, Bomanjee, Rustomjee, Hormuzjee, Luxmonjee, Maneekjee, -Sorabjee, Furdoonjee, Soonderjee, Ruttonjee, Wassewdewjee, Dhakjee, &c. -The Parsees are the descendants of those Persians who, refusing to -exchange the religion of Zoroaster for that of Mohammed, migrated to -India more than a thousand years ago; those still remaining in Persia -are few in number and degraded in position; but those at Bombay are -wealthy and active, and bear a high character both morally and -intellectually. The property in the island on which the city of Bombay -stands is chiefly in the hands of the Parsees; and it is usual for the -European commercial firms of Bombay to have a Parsee capitalist as one -of the partners. Although wearing the Asiatic costume, and adhering very -rigidly to their religious customs and observances, the Parsees -assimilate more than other eastern people to the social customs of -Europeans: they nearly all speak English, and have it carefully taught -to their children. There is something remarkable in a Parsee holding the -dignity of a baronet, in English fashion; such was the case a few years -ago, when a Parsee of enormous wealth, and of liberality as great as his -wealth, was made by Queen Victoria a baronet under the title of Sir -Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. It will at once be seen that such a body as the -Parsees, having little or no sympathy with Hindustani sepoys, and having -their worldly interests much bound up with the English, were likely to -be sources of strength instead of weakness in troubled times. They -headed an address to Lord Elphinstone, signed by about four hundred -natives of various castes and creeds.[76] It was not more adulatory, not -more filled with enthusiastic professions of loyalty, than many -addresses presented to Viscount Canning in Bengal; but it more nearly -corresponded with the conduct of those who signed it. - -If Bombay city, however, remained nearly undisturbed during July and -August, there were symptoms that required close watching in various -districts to the north, south, and east. Kolapore, one of the places -here adverted to, is distant about a hundred and eighty miles south from -Bombay. It is the chief place of a raj or state of the same name, and -was in the last century a scene of frequent contest between two Mahratta -princes, the Peishwa of Satara and the Rajah of Kolapore, each of whom -struggled against the claims to superiority put forth by the other. -About half a century ago began those relations towards the Company’s -government, which, as in so many other parts of India, led to the -gradual extinction of the rule of the native rajah; the British govern -‘in the name of the rajah,’ but the rajah’s authority remains in -abeyance. The military force belonging specially to the state, at the -time of the mutiny, amounted to about ten thousand men of all arms. It -was, however, among the Company’s own troops that the disaffection above -adverted to took place. The 27th Bombay native infantry, without any -previous symptoms of disaffection, suddenly mutinied at Kolapore, on the -day of a festival called the Buckree Eed (1st of August); or rather, a -portion of the regiment mutinied. While the officers were assembled in -the billiard-room of their mess-house on the evening of that day, a -jemadar rushed in and informed them that some of the sepoys had risen in -revolt; the officers hastened out; when three of them, ignorant of the -place, or bewildered in the darkness, went astray, and were taken and -murdered by the mutineers. The mother of the jemadar went to the house -of Major Rolland, the commanding officer, to warn the ladies of their -danger, and to afford them means of escape. No sooner had the ladies -hurried away, than the house was surrounded by mutineers, who, -disappointed at finding it empty, revenged themselves by slaughtering -the old woman. After plundering the treasury of forty thousand rupees, -the mutineers retired to a religious edifice in the town, and marched -off in early morning by the Phoonda Ghat towards Wagotun, on the coast. -The native commissioned officers of the regiment remained faithful; none -of them accompanied the mutineers. The outbreak ended most disastrously -to those concerned in it. When they got some distance from Kolapore, -they found themselves without food and without friends; and gradually -nearly all were destroyed by detachments sent against them, headed by -Major Rolland and Colonel Maughan, the latter of whom was British -resident at Kolapore. There were circumstances which justify a belief -that this was not so much a mutiny after the Bengal type, as an -association of the bad men of the regiment for purposes of plunder. - -This event at Kolapore threw the whole of the south Mahratta country -into a ferment. At Poonah, Satara, Belgaum, Dharwar, Rutnagherry, Sawunt -Waree, and other places, the threads of a Mohammedan conspiracy were -detected; and fortunately the germs of insurrection were nipped in the -bud. When Mr Rose, commissioner of Satara, found that the deposed royal -family of that state were engaged in plots and intrigues, he took a -small but reliable English force, entered Satara before daylight on the -6th of August, surrounded the palace, and ordered the rajah and the -ranees to prepare for instant departure. Resistance being useless, the -royal prisoners entered phaetons which had been brought for that -purpose, and before eight o’clock they were on the way to Poonah—to be -kept under the eye of the Bombay authorities until the political -atmosphere should become clearer, in a navy depôt on an island near -Bombay city. A plot was about the same time discovered at Poonah, -concerted between the moulvies of that place and of Belgaum, for -massacring the Europeans and native Christians of those stations; -letters were intercepted at the Poonah post-office, which enabled the -authorities to shun the coming evil. Many arrests of Mussulman -conspirators were made; and it was then found that matters had gone so -far as a preparation to blow up the arsenal at Poonah. The authorities -at once disarmed the natives of the cantonment bazaar. From most of the -out-stations, being troubled by these events, the English ladies were -sent by military escort to Bombay or to Poonah. Among other measures of -precaution, the remaining companies of the 27th native regiment were -disarmed at Kolapore and Rutnagherry; and examples of the terrible -‘blowing away from guns’ were resorted to, to check this incipient -revolution. The 28th Bombay native infantry, stationed at Dharwar, and -the 29th, stationed at Belgaum, had been raised at the same time as the -27th; and a few symptoms of insubordination were manifested by sepoys of -those regiments; but the timely arrival of a European regiment restored -quiet. The English were greatly exasperated when the fact came to light -that one of the conspirators detected at Belgaum was a moonshee who had -been receiving a hundred and fifty rupees per month for instructing -officers of regiments in Hindustani. - -The three presidencies were all anxiously watching the state of feeling -in the large and important country of Hyderabad, the dominions of the -Nizam; for that country borders on Nagpoor on the northeast; while on -the southeast and on the west it is conterminous with districts -belonging to Madras and to Bombay respectively. Its two largest cities, -Hyderabad in the southeast portion, and Aurungabad in the northwest, -contained many English families belonging to military and civil servants -of the Company; or at least the families were at stations not far from -those cities. By the terms of various treaties between the Nizam and the -Company, the latter had the right of maintaining a large military -cantonment at Secunderabad, a few miles north of Hyderabad city. This -cantonment was three miles in length, and was well provided with -officers’ bungalows and mess-houses, European barracks, sepoy lines, -horse-artillery lines, foot-artillery barracks, native bazaars, -parade-ground, hospitals, arsenal, and all the other requisites for a -large military station. The cavalry lines were two miles north of the -cantonment, at Bowenpilly. The military station for the troops belonging -to the Nizam as an independent sovereign was at Bolarum, somewhat -further away from Hyderabad, but still within easy reach of -Secunderabad. At the time of the mutiny the British resident at -Hyderabad was placed in a position of some difficulty. Although there -was a large force at Secunderabad, it comprised scarcely any British -troops; and therefore, if trouble arose, he could only look to defence -from natives by natives. The capital of the Deccan, or the Nizam’s -territory, comprised within itself many elements of insecurity. The -government and a large portion of the inhabitants were Mohammedan; the -rabble of the city was numerous and ruthless; the Nizam’s own army was -formed on the same model as the contingents which had so generally -mutinied in Hindostan; the Company’s own forces, as just mentioned, were -almost entirely native; and the city and province were at all times -thronged with predatory bands of Rohillas, Afghans, Arabs, and other -mercenaries, in the pay of the nobles and jaghiredars of the Hyderabad -court. It is almost certain that if the Nizam had turned against us, -Southern India would have been in a blaze of insurrection; but he was -faithful; and his chief minister, Salar Jung, steadily supported him in -all measures calculated to put down disturbance. The news of the -rebel-triumph at Delhi set in tumultuous motion the turbulent Mussulmans -of Hyderabad; and it has been well observed that ‘a single moment of -indecision, a single act of impolicy, a single false step, or a single -admission of weakness, might have turned Hyderabad into a Lucknow and -made a second Oude of the Deccan.’ The Nizam, his prime minister, and -the British resident, all brought sagacity and firmness to bear on the -duties of their respective offices; and thus the Deccan and Southern -India were saved. What might have been the case under other -circumstances was foreshadowed by the events of the 17th of July. On the -preceding day, intelligence was received at the Residency, which stands -clear of the city, but at the distance of some few miles from the -British cantonment at Secunderabad, that the mob in the city was much -excited, and that a scheme was on foot to press the Nizam to attack the -Residency. Notice was sent from the Residency to Salar Jung, and -preparations were made. Early in the evening on the 17th, a Rohilla -rabble stole forth from the city, and made for the Residency. An express -was at once sent off to cantonments for aid; and in the meantime the -guard, with three guns, went out to attack the insurgents. Captain -Holmes plied his grape-shot effectively from the three guns; and when -cavalry and horse-artillery arrived from Secunderabad, the Rohillas -received a total discomfiture. This was almost the only approach to a -mutiny that occurred in the portion of the Deccan near the Carnatic -frontier. - -Aurungabad, on the Bombay side of the Nizam’s dominions, was, in regard -to mutinies, less important than Hyderabad, because more easily -accessible for European troops; but more important, in so far as the -sepoy regiments of Malwah and Rajpootana were nearer at hand to be -affected by evil temptation. The city is about seventy miles distant -from Ahmednuggur, and a hundred and seventy from Bombay. Uneasiness -prevailed here so early as June. The 1st cavalry and the 2d infantry, of -the corps called the Hyderabad Contingent, were stationed at Aurungabad; -and of these, the former shewed signs of disaffection. Captain Abbott, -commanding the regiment, found on the morning of the 13th that his men -were murmuring and threatening, as if unwilling to act against mutineers -elsewhere; indeed, they had sworn to murder their officers if any -attempt were made to employ them in that way. Fortunately, the -ressaldars—each being a native captain of a troop of cavalry, and there -being therefore as many ressaldars in a regiment as there were troops or -companies—remained faithful; and Captain Abbott, with Lieutenant Dowker, -were enabled to discuss with these officers the state of the regiment. -The ressaldars assured the captain that many of the troopers had begun -to talk loudly about the King of Delhi as their rightful ruler. The -resident at the court of the Nizam, through the military secretary, -Major Briggs, advised Captain Abbott—seeing that no aid could be -expected from any other quarter—to speak in as conciliatory a tone as -possible to the men, and to promise them that they should not be -required to act against the insurgents at Delhi, provided they would be -obedient to other orders. Quiet was in this way restored; but it being a -dangerous precedent thus to allow troops to decide where and against -whom they would choose to fight, Major-general Woodburn, who had been -placed in command of a movable column from Bombay, marched through -Ahmednuggur to Aurungabad. This column consisted of the 28th Bombay -native infantry, the 14th dragoons, Captain Woolcombe’s battery, and a -pontoon train. When Woodburn arrived, he found that the ladies had all -left the Aurungabad station, that the officers were living barricaded in -the mess-room, and that all the Nizam’s troops exhibited unfavourable -symptoms. The first native cavalry, when confronted with Woodburn’s -troops, behaved in a very daring way; and about a hundred of them made -off, owing to the unwillingness of the general to open fire upon them, -although Abbott and Woolcombe saw the importance of so doing. - -In the country north of Bombay, and between it and Malwah, many slight -events occurred, sufficient to shew that the native troops were in an -agitated state, as if oscillating between the opposite principles of -fidelity and treachery. It was worthy of note, however, that the troops -thus affected were, in very few instances, those belonging to the -Company’s Bombay army; they were generally contingent corps, or -Mahrattas, or Rajpoots, or men imbued with the same ideas as the -Hindustanis and Oudians. Towards the close of July, a few troopers of -the Gujerat Irregular Horse endeavoured to incite their companions to -mutiny; they failed, and then decamped; but were pursued and captured, -and then hung in presence of their own regiment. - -Still further northward lies the country which, under the various names -of Scindia’s territory, Holkar’s territory, Malwah, and Bhopal, has -already been described as the chief seat of the Mahratta power, and -which corresponds pretty nearly with the region marked out by the -Company’s officials as ‘Central India.’ We have seen in former pages[77] -that Scindia, chief of the Mahratta state of which Gwalior is the -capital, offered the aid of his Contingent army to Mr Colvin in May; -that Lieutenant Cockburn, with half a cavalry regiment of this -Contingent, rendered good service in the region around Agra, until the -troopers deserted him; that the fidelity of Scindia to the British alone -prevented his troops generally from joining the rebels, for they -belonged to the same Hindustani and Oudian families, though serving a -Mahratta prince in a Mahratta state; that after certain detachments had -mutinied at Neemuch and elsewhere, the main body rose in revolt at -Gwalior on the 14th of June, murdered some of the English officers, -drove away the rest with their families, and formally threw off all -allegiance to the Company; and that Maharajah Scindia, under -circumstances of great difficulty and peril, managed to keep peace at -Gwalior—retaining and feeding the troops at that place, and yet -discountenancing their mutinous tendencies against the British. If he -had not acted with much tact and judgment, the Gwalior Contingent would -have marched to Agra in a body, and greatly imperiled the British ‘raj.’ -Not only did he keep those troublesome troops near him during the -remaining half of June, but also during July and August. Scindia’s -special army, entirely under his own control, were chiefly Mahrattas, -who had little sympathy with the soldiers of the Contingent; but they -were too few in number to put down the latter, and therefore he was -forced to temporise—partly by persuasions and promises, partly by -threats. Major Macpherson, the British political agent, and Brigadier -Ramsey, the military commandant, ceased to have influence at Gwalior; it -was Scindia’s good faith alone that stood the British in stead. - -[Illustration: - - Mount Aboo—Military Sanitarium in Rajpootana. -] - -Holkar’s Mahratta territory, with Indore for its chief city, we have, in -like manner, seen to be troubled with a mutinous spirit in the -Contingent troops, partly owing to temptation from other quarters. We -have briefly shewn in the chapters lately cited, that on the 28th of May -the 15th and 30th Bengal native infantry revolted at Nuseerabad; that on -the 2d of June, influenced by this pernicious example, the 72d B. N. I., -the 7th regiment of Gwalior Contingent infantry, and the main body of -the 1st Bengal native cavalry, mutinied at Neemuch; that on the 1st of -July, a portion of Holkar’s Contingent rose against the British at -Indore, without his wish or privity, and that he could not get even his -own special troops to act against those of the Contingent; that, on the -evening of the same day, the 23d Bengal native infantry, and one -squadron of the 1st Bengal native cavalry, mutinied at Mhow; and that -numerous British officers and their families were thrown into great -misery by these several occurrences. It now remains to be stated that, -during July and August, Holkar adopted nearly the same course as -Scindia; he remained faithful to the British, and endeavoured to quell -the mutinous spirit among his troops. Holkar possessed, however, less -influence than his brother-chieftain; most of the mutineers from Indore -and Mhow marched to Gwalior, and were only prevented by the shrewdness -of Scindia from extending their march to Agra. - -Among the troops in Rajpootana were the Deesa Field Brigade, commanded -towards the close of August by Brigadier Creagh, who had under his -control the troops at Deesa, those at the sanitarium on Mount Aboo, and -those at Erinpoora and other places in the neighbourhood. These places -were thrown into confusion during the last two weeks of the month, by -the mutiny of the Jhodpore legion, consisting partly of cavalry and -partly of infantry. Such of these men as were stationed at Erinpoora, -about 550 in number, rose in mutiny on the 22d. They suddenly threw off -their allegiance; seized the guns; made prisoners of Lieutenant Conolly -and the European serjeants; plundered the bazaar and some of the native -villages; burned all the officers’ bungalows, and destroyed or -appropriated all that they found therein; lived in tents on the -parade-ground for three days; and then marched off in the direction of -Nuseerabad. The cavalry, although forming part of the same legion, and -sharing in the movement, protected the Europeans from the infantry. -Among the latter, it was only the Hindustani portion which revolted; -there were some Bheels in the legion who remained faithful. On the -preceding day (21st), about 100 men of the legion had mutinied at Mount -Aboo; but as there was a detachment of H.M. 83d there, the mutineers did -nothing but hastily escape. A native chieftain, the Rao of Sihori, was -prompt to render any aid he could to Captain Hall at Mount Aboo. Another -portion of the Jhodpore legion was at Jhodpore itself, where the mutiny -placed in great peril Captain Monck Mason, British resident at that -native state; by his energy, he provided an asylum for many ladies and -children who had been driven from other stations; but he himself fell by -the swords of a body of mutinous troopers, under circumstances of -mingled cowardice and brutality. - -The state of this part of India during July and August may be summed up -in a few words. By the revolt of the Contingents of Scindia, Holkar, and -Bhopal, and of the Jhodpore legion, English residents were driven from -station to station in much peril and suffering, and English influence -became for a time almost a nullity; but the native chieftains for the -most part remained faithful, even though their troops revolted; and -there were hopes of ultimate success from the arrival of relieving -columns belonging to the Bombay army. Of that army, a few fragments of -regiments occasionally displayed mutinous symptoms, but not to such a -degree as to leaven the whole mass. What the officers felt through the -treachery of the troops, and what their families suffered during all -these strange events, need not again be described; both phases of the -Revolt have received many illustrations in former pages; but this -chapter may fittingly close with two short extracts from letters -relating to the mutinies at the stations of Mhow and Indore. An -artillery officer, commenting on the ingratitude of the sepoys towards -commanders who had always used them well, said: ‘I must not forget to -mention that Colonel Platt was like a father to the men; and that when -he had an opportunity of leaving them and joining a European corps last -summer, the men petitioned him to stay. He had been upwards of thirty -years with them, and when the mutiny took place he had so much -confidence in them that he rode up to their lines before we could get -out. When we found him next morning, both cheeks were blown off, his -back completely riddled with balls, one through each thigh, his chin -smashed into his mouth, and three sabre-cuts between the cheekbone and -temple; also a cut across the shoulder and the back of the neck.’ The -following few words are from the letters of a lady who was among those -that escaped death by flight from Indore: ‘I have already given you an -account of our three days and three nights of wandering, with little -rest and not much food, no clothes to change, burning sun, and deluges -of rain; but —— and I, perhaps, could bear these things better than -others, and suffered less. When we heard the poor famishing children -screaming for food, we could but thank God that ours were not with us, -but safe in England. We found kind friends here, and I am in Mrs ——‘s -clothes; everything we had being gone. The destructive wretches, after -we left Indore, commenced doing all the damage they could—cutting up -carpets with their tulwars, smashing chandeliers, marble tables, slabs, -chairs, &c.; they even cut out the cloth and lining of our carriages, -hacking up the woodwork. The Residency is uninhabitable, and almost all -have lost everything. I might have saved a few things in the hour and a -half that elapsed between the outbreak and our retreat; but I had so -relied on some of our defenders, and felt so secure of holding on, that -flight never for a moment occurred to me.’ - - - Note. - - _The British at the Military Stations._—The reader will have - gathered, from the details given in various chapters, that the - stations at which the military servants of the Company resided, in - the _Mofussil_ or country districts, bore a remarkable relation to - the Indian towns and cities. They were in most cases separated from - the towns by distances varying from one mile to ten, and formed - small towns in themselves. Sometimes the civil officers had their - bungalows and cutcheries near these military cantonments; while in - other instances they were in or near the city to which the - cantonment was a sort of appendage. Such, with more or less variety - of detail, was the case at Patna (Dinapoor), Benares (Chunar), - Cawnpore, Lucknow, Allahabad, Furruckabad (Futteghur), Agra, Delhi, - Gwalior, Lahore (Meean Meer), Nagpoor (Kamptee), Indore (Mhow), - Hyderabad (Secunderabad), Moorshedabad (Berhampore), Saugor, &c. The - marked separation between the native and the British portions of the - military stations has been described in a very animated way, by an - able and distinguished correspondent of the _Times_, one of whose - letters contains the following paragraph: - - ‘For six miles along the banks of the Ganges extend the ruins of the - English station of Cawnpore. You observe how distinct they are from - the city. The palace of the Victoria Regia at Chatsworth is not more - unlike the dirty ditch in which lives the humble duck-weed—Belgravia - is not more dissimilar to Spitalfields—than is the English quarter - of an Indian station to the city to which it is attached. The one is - generally several miles away from the other. There is no common - street, no link to connect the one with the others; and the one - knows nothing of the other. Here are broad roads, lined on each side - with trees and walls, or with park-like grounds, inside which you - can catch glimpses of gaily-painted one-storied villas, of brick, - covered with cement, decorated with Corinthian colonnades, - porticoes, and broad verandahs—each in its own wide park, with - gardens in front, orchards, and out-offices. There are narrow, - tortuous, unpaved lanes, hemmed in by tottering, haggard, miserable - houses, close and high, and packed as close as they can stand (and - only for that they would fall), swarming with a hungry-eyed - population. The mosque and the Hindoo temple are near each other, - but they both shun the church, just as the station avoids the - city.... In the station there are hotels, ball-rooms, magazines, - shops, where all the habits and customs of Europe, sometimes - improved and refined by the influence of the East, are to be found; - and when the cool of the evening sets in, out stream the carriages - and horses and buggies, for the fashionable drive past the long line - of detached villas within their neat enclosures, surrounded by - shadowing groves and rich gardens. They pass the lines or barracks - of the native infantry—a race of whom they know almost less than - they do of the people of the town; and they are satisfied with the - respect of action, with the sudden uprising, the stiff attitude of - attention, the cold salute, regardless of the insolence and dislike - of the eye; they chat and laugh, marry and are given in marriage, - have their horse-races, their balls, their card-parties, their - dinners, their plate, their tradesmen’s bills, their debts; in fact, - their everything that English society has, and thus they lived till - the deluge came upon them. We all know how nobly they stemmed its - force, what heroic struggles they made against its fury. But what a - surprise when it burst in upon them! What a blow to all their - traditions! What a rebuke to their blind confidence! There is at the - moment I write these lines a slight explosion close at hand, - followed by the ascent of some dark columns of earth and bricks into - the air. We are blowing up the Assembly-rooms of Cawnpore in order - to clear the ground in front of the guns of our intrenchment, and - billiard-rooms and ball-rooms are flying up in fragments to the - skies. Is not that a strange end for all Cawnpore society to come - to? Is it not a curious commentary on our rule, and on our position - in India?’ - -[Illustration: - - Native Musicians at a Sepoy station. -] - ------ - -Footnote 67: - - Chaps. ix., x., xi.: pp. 147-191. - -Footnote 68: - - ‘On the morning of the 18th they were not a mile off, so at noon we - marched through the city to meet them. Our force consisted of 160 - sepoys and 100 irregular cavalry or sowars, one six-pounder, and eight - men to work it. This gun was an old one that had been put up to fire - every day at noon. I rigged it out with a new carriage, made shot and - grape, and got it all in order. With my gun I kept the fellows in - front in check; but there were too many of them. There were from 2500 - to 3000 fighting-men, armed with matchlocks and swords, and many - thousands who had come to plunder. They outflanked us on both sides, - and the balls came in pretty fast. Men and horses were killed by my - side, but, thank God, I escaped unhurt! We retired through the city to - our intrenchments, followed by the enemy. They made several attacks, - coming up every time within a hundred yards; but they could not stand - the grape. At five P.M. they made their last attempt; but a lucky shot - I made with the gun sent them to the right-about. They lost heart, and - were seen no more. We killed from 150 to 200 of them, our own loss - being 18 killed and wounded, and eight horses. All their wounded and a - lot of others were cut up during their retreat by the rascally - villagers, who would have done the same to us had the day gone against - us. Our victory was complete. Not a house in Azimghur was plundered, - and the whole of the rebels have since dispersed. Please God, as soon - as I hear of Lucknow being relieved, I’ll be after them again. They - have paid me the compliment of offering five hundred rupees for my - head.’ - -Footnote 69: - - ‘In the evening there was a fearful though causeless panic at Rajghat, - where the intrenchment is being made. The cry arose: “The enemy are - coming.” The workmen, 3000 in number, rushed down the hill as for - their lives. Prisoners who were at work tried to make their escape, - and were with difficulty recovered. Gentlemen ran for their rifles; - the soldiers got under arms; the gunners rushed to their guns; and - altogether, there was indescribable confusion and terror. All this was - the result of a succession of peals of thunder, which were mistaken - for the firing of artillery!’ - -Footnote 70: - - Chapter xi., pp. 177-181. - -Footnote 71: - - Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Total. - Europeans, 1065 289 344 291 1989 - East Indians, 443 331 429 339 1542 - Native Christians, 267 177 205 209 858 - Hindoos, 942 49 162 4 1157 - Mohammedans, 244 10 42 3 299 - ———— ——— ———— ——— ———— - 2961 856 1182 846 5845 - -Footnote 72: - - 3d Europeans, 154 officers and men. - Artillery, 61 officers and men. - Militia, 22 officers and men. - Jât matchlockmen, 70 officers and men. - Two 9-pounders; one 24-pounder howitzer. - -Footnote 73: - - Chapter xii., pp. 193-205. - -Footnote 74: - - Chapter xi., pp. 176-190. - -Footnote 75: - - ‘We were still looking at the scene and speculating upon the tenants - of the tombs, when an old Mussulman came near us with a salam; he - accosted us, and I asked him in whose honour the tomb had been - erected. His reply struck me at the time as rather remarkable. “That,” - said he, pointing to the largest, “is the tomb of the Nawab Mustapha; - he reigned about 100 years ago: and that,” pointing to a smaller - mausoleum near it, “is the tomb of his dewan, and it was he who - counselled the nawab thus: ‘Beware of the French, for they are - soldiers, and will attack and dispossess you of your country; but - cherish the Englishman, for he is a merchant, and will enrich it.’ The - nawab listened to that advice, and see here!” The old man was - perfectly civil and respectful in his manner, but his tone was sad: it - spoke the language of disappointment and hostility, if hostility were - possible. In this case the man referred to our late assumption of the - Carnatic, upon the death of the last nawab, who died without issue. As - a general rule, never was a conquered country so mildly governed as - India has been under our rule; but you can scarcely expect that the - rulers we dispossessed, even though like ourselves they be foreigners, - and only held the country by virtue of conquest, will cede us the - precedence without a murmur.’ - -Footnote 76: - - ‘MY LORD—We, the undersigned inhabitants of Bombay, have observed with - sincere regret the late lamentable spread of mutiny and disaffection - among the Bengal native soldiery, and we have read with feelings of - horror and indignation the accounts of the cowardly and savage - atrocities perpetrated by the ruthless mutineers on such unfortunate - Europeans as fell into their hands. - - ‘While those who have ever received at the hands of government such - unvarying kindness and consideration have proved untrue to their salt - and false to their colours, it has afforded us much pleasure to - observe the unquestionable proof of attachment manifested by the - native princes, zemindars, and people of Upper India in at once and - unsolicited rallying around government and expressing their abhorrence - of the dastardly and ungrateful conduct of the insurgent soldiery. - Equally demanding admiration are the stanchness and fidelity displayed - by the men of the Bombay and Madras armies. - - ‘That we have not earlier hastened to assure your lordship of our - unchangeable loyalty, and to place our services at the disposal of - government, has arisen from the entire absence in our minds of any - apprehension of disaffection or outbreak on this side of India. - - ‘We still are without any fears for Bombay; but, lest our silence - should be misunderstood, and with a view to allay the fears which - false reports give rise to, we beg to place our services at the - disposal of government, to be employed in any manner that your - lordship may consider most conducive to the preservation of the public - peace and safety. - - ‘We beg to remain, my lord, your most obedient and faithful servants, - - ‘NOWROJEE JAMSETJEE, &c., &c.’ - -Footnote 77: - - Chapter vii., p. 111; chapter xi., pp. 181-189. - -[Illustration: - - BRIGADIER-GENERAL NICHOLSON.—Copied by permission from a Portrait - published by Messrs Gambart. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - THE SIEGE OF DELHI: FINAL OPERATIONS. - - -After eleven weeks of hostile occupation, after seven weeks of -besieging, the great city of Delhi still remained in the hands of a -mingled body of mutineers and rebels—mutineers who had thrown off their -soldierly allegiance to their British employers; and rebels who -clustered around the shadowy representative of an extinct Mogul dynasty. -Nay, more—not only was Delhi still unconquered at the end of July; it -was relatively stronger than ever. The siege-army had been increased; -but the besiegers had increased in number in a still larger ratio. -General Anson[78] had had thirteen days of command, in reference to the -preparations for the reconquest of the city, before his death; General -Barnard, forty, before he likewise died; General Reed, twelve, before -his retirement; General Wilson, thirteen, by the end of July; and now -the last-named commander was called upon to measure the strength with -which he could open the August series of siege-operations. - -It may be convenient slightly to recapitulate a few events, and to -mention a few dates, connected with the earlier weeks of the siege, as a -means of refreshing the memory of the reader concerning the train of -operations which, in the present chapter, is to be traced to an end. - -It will be remembered, then, that as soon as the startling mutinies at -Delhi and Meerut became known to the military authorities at the -hill-stations, the 75th foot were ordered down from Kussowlie, the 1st -Europeans from Dugshai, and the 2d Europeans from Subathoo—all to -proceed to Umballa, there to form portions of a siege-army for Delhi; -that a siege-train was prepared at Phillour; that Generals Anson and -Barnard, and other officers, held a council of war at Umballa on the -16th of May, and concerted such plans as were practicable on the spur of -the moment; and that troops began at once to march southeastward towards -Delhi. We have further seen that Anson was troubled by the presence of -Bengal native troops whom he could not trust, and by the scarcity of -good artillerymen to accompany his siege-train; and that his operations -were suddenly cut off by a fatal attack of cholera, under which he sank -on the 27th. Next we traced twelve days’ operations of Sir Henry -Barnard, during which he had advanced to Raneeput, Paniput, Rhye, -Alipore, Badulla Serai, and Azadpore, to the ridge northward of Delhi, -on which he established his siege-camp on the 8th of June; he had just -been joined by General Wilson, who had beaten the enemy at Ghazeeoodeen -Nuggur, and had crossed the Jumna from Meerut near Bhagput. Then came -the diversified siege-operations of the month of June, with a force -which began about 3000 strong, aided by 22 field-guns and 17 siege-guns -and mortars—the arrival on the 9th of the Guide corps, after their -surprising march in fiercely hot weather from Peshawur; the bold attack -made by the rebels on the same day; the manifest proofs that the -siege-guns were too light, too few, and too distant, to batter the -defences of the city; the commencement on the 13th, but the speedy -abandonment as impracticable, of a project for storming the place; the -continual arrival of mutineers to swell the number of defenders within -Delhi; the daily sallies of the enemy; the daily weakening of the small -British force; and the necessity for employing one-half of the whole -siege-army on picket-duty, to prevent surprises. We have seen how Hindoo -Rao’s house became a constant target for the enemy’s guns, and Metcalfe -House for attacks of less frequency; how Major Reid, with his Goorkhas -and Guides, guarded the ridge with indomitable steadiness, and made -successful attacks on the Eedghah and Kissengunje suburbs; and how -sedulously Barnard was forced to watch the movements of the enemy in the -rear of his camp. Passing from June to July, the details of the former -chapter told us that the siege-army became raised to about 6000 men, by -various reinforcements early in the last-named month; that an assault of -the city was again proposed, and again abandoned; that insurgent troops -poured into Delhi more rapidly than ever; that Sir Henry Barnard died on -the 5th, worn down by anxiety and cholera; that numerous canal-bridges -were destroyed, to prevent the enemy from gaining access to the rear of -the camp; that the British were continually thrown on the defensive, -instead of actively prosecuting the siege; that the few remaining Bengal -native troops in the siege-army were either sent to the Punjaub, or -disarmed and unhorsed, in distrust of their fidelity; that on the 17th, -General Reed gave up the command which had devolved upon him after the -death of Barnard, and was succeeded by Brigadier-general Wilson; and -that towards the close of the month the enemy made many desperate -attempts to turn the flanks and rear of the siege-camp, requiring all -the skill of the British to frustrate them.[79] - -August arrived. The besieged, in every way stronger than the besiegers, -continued their attacks on various sides of the heights. They gave -annoyance, but at the same time excited contempt by the manner in which -they avoided open hand-to-hand conflicts. An officer of engineers, -commenting on this matter in a private letter, said: ‘At Delhi, they are -five or six to one against us, and see the miserable attempts they make -to turn us out of our position. They swarm up the heights in front of -our batteries by thousands; the ground is so broken and full of ravines -and rocks, that they can come up the whole way unseen, or you may depend -upon it they would never venture. If they had the pluck of a goose, -their numbers might terrify us. It is in the Subzee Mundee that most of -the hard fighting goes on; they get into and on the tops of the houses, -and fire into our pickets there; this goes on until we send a force from -camp to turn them out, which we invariably do, but not without loss. We -have now cleared the ground all around of the trees, walls, and houses; -as a consequence, there is a large clear space around our pickets, and -Pandy will not venture out of cover; so we generally let him pop away -from a distance until he is tired.’ Early in the month, an attempt was -made to destroy the bridge of boats over the Jumna; the rains had set -in, the river was high, the stream strong, and these were deemed -favourable conditions. The engineers started three ‘infernal machines,’ -each consisting of a tub containing fifty pounds of powder, a stick -protruding from the tub, and a spring connected with an explosive -compound; the theory was, that if the tubs floated down to the bridge, -any contact with the stick would explode the contents of the tub, and -destroy one or more of the boats of the bridge; but there is no record -of success attending this adventure. The bridge of boats being a mile -and a half distant from the batteries on the ridge, it could not be -harmed by any guns at that time possessed by the British; and thus the -enemy, throughout the siege, had free and unmolested passage over the -Jumna. The supply of ammunition available to the mutineers seemed to be -almost inexhaustible; the British collected 450 round shot that had been -fired at them from the enemy’s guns in one day; and as the British -artillerymen were few in number, they were worked nearly to exhaustion -in keeping up the necessary cannonade to repel the enemy’s fire. -Although the ‘Pandies’ avoided contests in the open field, many of their -movements were made with much secrecy and skill—especially that of the -1st of August, when at least 5000 troops appeared in the vicinity of the -British position, by a combined movement from two different quarters, -and made an attack which nothing but the courage and skill of Major Reid -and his handful of brave fellows could have withstood. In some of these -numerous operations, when the rainy season commenced, the amount of -fatigue borne by the troops was excessive. It was the special duty of -the cavalry, not being immediately available for siege-services, to -guard the rear of the camp from surprise; and to insure this result, -they held themselves ready to ‘boot and saddle’ at a few minutes’ -notice—glad if they could insure only a few hours of sleep in the -twenty-four. Many an officer, on picket or reconnoitring duty, would be -in the saddle twelve hours together, in torrents of rain, without food -or refreshment of any kind. Yet, with all their trials, they spoke and -wrote cheerfully. An artillery-officer said: ‘Our position here is -certainly by nature a wonderfully secure one; and if the Pandies could -not have found a better place than Delhi as the head-quarters of their -mutiny, with an unlimited magazine at their disposal, I doubt if _we_ -could have been so well off anywhere else. Providence has assisted us in -every way. From the beginning, the weather has been most propitious; and -in cantonments I have never seen troops so healthy as they are here now. -Cholera occasionally pays us a visit, but that must always be expected -in a large standing camp. The river Jumna completely protects our left -flank and front; while the large jheel (water-course) which runs away to -the southwest is at this season quite impassable for miles, preventing -any surprise on our right flank; so that a few cavalry are sufficient as -a guard for three faces of our position’—that is, a few, if constantly -on the alert, and never shirking a hard day’s work in any weather. - -The enemy gradually tired of attacks on the rear of the camp, which -uniformly failed; but they did not cease to maintain an aggressive -attitude. Early in the month, they commenced a series of efforts to -drive the British from the Metcalfe post or picket. This Metcalfe House, -the peaceful residence of a civil-service officer until the disastrous -11th of May, had become an important post to the besiegers. As early as -four days after the arrival of the siege-army on the ridge, the enemy -had emerged from the city, concealed themselves in some ravines around -Sir T. Metcalfe’s house, and thence made a formidable attack on the -Flagstaff Tower. To prevent a recurrence of this danger, a large picket -was sent to occupy the house, and to form it into a river-side or left -flank to the siege-position. This picket was afterwards thrown in -advance of the house, and divided into three portions—one on a mound -near the road leading from the Cashmere Gate to the cantonment Sudder -bazaar; a second in a house midway between this mound and the river; and -a third in a range of stables close to the river. All the portions of -this picket were gradually strengthened by the engineers, as -reinforcements reached them. The Flagstaff Tower was also well guarded; -and as the night-sentries paced the whole distance between the tower and -the Metcalfe pickets, the belt of rugged ground between the ridge and -the river was effectually rendered impassable for the enemy. These -various accessions of strength, however, were made only at intervals, as -opportunity offered; at the time now under notice, they were very -imperfectly finished. The enemy plied the Metcalfe picket vigorously -with shot and shell, from guns brought out of the Cashmere Gate and -posted a few hundred yards in advance of the city wall; while a number -of infantry skirmishers, many of whom were riflemen, kept up a nearly -incessant fire from the jungle in front. Although the losses at the -Metcalfe picket were not numerous, owing to the good cover, the approach -to it for reliefs, etc., was rendered extremely perilous; and as this -species of attack was in many ways annoying to the British, General -Wilson resolved to frustrate it. He placed under the command of -Brigadier Showers a force of about 1300 men,[80] by whom the insurgents -were suddenly surprised on the morning of the 12th, and driven off with -great loss. It was a sharp contest, for the brigadier had more than a -hundred killed and wounded. Showers himself was in the list of wounded; -as were also Major Coke, Captain Greville, Lieutenants Sherriff, James, -Lindesay, Maunsell, and Owen. Four guns belonging to the enemy were -captured and brought into camp; but the chief advantage derived from the -skirmish was in securing the abandonment of a mode of attack likely to -be very annoying to the besiegers. The insurgents, it is true, by -placing guns on the opposite side of the Jumna, frequently sent a shot -or shell across; but the danger here was lessened by shifting the camp -of the 1st Punjaub infantry. - -That the siege-army was weakened by these perpetual encounters, need -hardly be said. Every day witnessed the carrying of many gallant fellows -to the camp-hospital or to the grave. At about the middle of August, the -force comprised 3571 European officers and men, and 2070 native officers -and men, fit for duty; with 28 horse-artillery guns (6 and 9 pounders) -and a small supply of siege-artillery. A detail of the component -elements of the force, and of the ratio which the effectives bore to the -sick and wounded, will be more usefully given presently in connection -with the September operations. Knowing well from dearly-bought -experience that he could not successfully assault and capture Delhi with -his present force, General Wilson looked anxiously for reinforcements -from the Punjaub, which were due about the middle of the month. Indeed, -all in camp were prepared to welcome one who, from the daring and energy -which characterised nearly all the operations with which he had been -intrusted, had earned from some the title of the ‘Lion,’ from others -that of the ‘Bayard,’ of the Punjaub. This was Brigadier-general -Nicholson, a soldier who had attained to that rank at an unusually early -age. About the end of June, Sir John Lawrence had intrusted to him a -flying column which had been organised at Wuzeerabad,[81] but which had -undergone many vicissitudes; for Nicholson had been compelled to disarm -all the Bengal native troops who were in his column. As we have seen in -former pages, the brigadier struck terror into the mutineers, and swept -away bands of rebels in front and on either side of him in the region -between the Chenab and the Sutlej. He nearly annihilated the Sealkote -mutineers near Goordaspore,[82] and then cleared the country during a -long march, in fearfully hot weather, to Delhi. He himself with a few -companions reached the city on the 8th of August; but the bulk of his -column did not arrive till the 14th. Its composition had undergone some -change; and it now comprised H.M. 52d foot, the remaining wing of the -61st foot, the 2d Punjaub infantry, 200 Moultan horse, and a small force -of artillery—in all, about 1100 Europeans and 1400 Punjaub troops. -Valuable, however, as was this accession of strength, it could not -immediately affect the siege-operations; seeing that it was necessary to -await the arrival of another siege-train, which Sir John Lawrence had -caused to be collected at Ferozpore, and which was on its way to Delhi, -with great stores of ammunition. - -As soon as General Wilson found himself aided by the energetic -Nicholson, he gave additional efficiency to his army by grouping the -infantry into four brigades, thus constituted: _First_ brigade, under -Brigadier Showers, H.M. 75th foot, 2d Bengal Europeans, and the Kumaon -battalion of Goorkhas; _Second_, under Colonel Lenfield, H.M. 52d foot, -H.M. 60th Rifles, and the Sirmoor battalion of Goorkhas; _Third_, under -Colonel Jones, H.M. 8th foot, H.M. 61st foot, and Rothney’s Sikhs; -_Fourth_, under Brigadier Nicholson, 1st Bengal Europeans, 1st Punjaub -infantry (Coke’s rifles), and 2d Punjaub infantry (Green’s Rifles). The -Guides were not brigaded, but were left free for service in any quarter. -The cavalry was placed under Brigadier Grant, and the artillery under -Brigadier Garbett. Nicholson had brought with him a few guns; -nevertheless it was necessary, as just remarked, to wait for a regular -siege-train before a bombardment of the city could be attempted. The -camp, organised as it now was, although it put on a somewhat more -regular appearance than before, was a singular phenomenon, owing to the -mode in which European and Asiatic elements were combined in it. An -officer who was present through all the operations has given, in a -letter which went the round of the newspapers, a graphic account of the -camp, with its British and native troops, its varieties of costume, its -dealers and servants, its tents and animals, and all the details of a -scene picturesque to an observer who could for a moment forget the stern -meaning which underlay it.[83] About the time of Nicholson’s arrival, -Lieutenant Hodson was intrusted by General Wilson with an enterprise -small in character but useful in result. It was to watch a party of the -enemy who had moved out from Delhi on the Rohtuk road, and to afford -support, if necessary, either to Soneeput or to the Jheend rajah, who -remained faithful to his alliance with the British. Hodson started on -the night of the 14th of August with a detachment of about 350 cavalry, -comprising 230 of the irregular horse named after himself, 100 Guide -cavalry, and a few Jheend cavalry. The enemy were known to have passed -through Samplah on the way to Rohtuk; and Hodson resolved to anticipate -them by a flank-movement. On the 15th, at the village of Khurkowdeh, he -captured a large number of mutineer cavalry, by a stratagem at once bold -and ingenious. On the 16th the enemy marched to Rohtuk, and Hodson in -pursuit of them. On the 17th skirmishes took place near Rohtuk itself; -but on the 18th Hodson succeeded in drawing forth the main body of -rebels, who suffered a speedy and complete defeat. They were not simply -mutineers from Delhi; they comprised many depredatory bodies that -greatly troubled such of the petty rajahs as wished to remain faithful -to or in alliance with the British. Lieutenant Hodson, by dispersing -them, aided in pacifying the district around the siege-camp—a matter of -much consideration. A letter from one of the officers of the Guides will -afford a good idea of the manner in which all fought in those stirring -times, and of the language in which the deeds were narrated when the -formality of official documents was not needed.[84] - -For ten days after Nicholson’s arrival, little was effected on either -side save this skirmish of Hodson’s at Rohtuk. Wilson did not want to -begin; it was not his strategy; he steadily held his own until the -formidable siege-train could arrive. On the other hand, the enemy were -foiled in every movement; all their attacks had failed. - -Nicholson was on the alert to render good service; and the opportunity -was not long in presenting itself. His energy as a soldier and his skill -as a general were rendered very conspicuous in his battle of Nujuffghur, -resembling in its tactics some of those in which Havelock had been -engaged. General Wilson obtained intelligence that a force of the enemy -was advancing from Delhi towards Bahadoorghur, with the apparent -intention of attacking the siege-camp in the rear; the distance between -the city and the town being about twenty miles, and the latter being -nearly due west of the former. Or, as seems more probable (seeing that -all attacks on the rear of the camp had signally failed), the enemy may -have intended to cross the Nujuffghur jheel or water-course, and -intercept the siege-train which they as well as the British knew to be -on the way from Ferozpore. One account of the matter is, that Bukhtar -Singh, a rebel who had gained unenviable notoriety at Bareilly, had got -into disfavour with the King of Delhi for his want of success as one of -the military leaders within the city; that he had offered, if a good -force were only placed at his disposal, to wipe off the discredit by a -crowning victory over the Feringhees; and that, in pursuance of this -object, he proposed to get in rear of the siege-camp, intercept the -expected siege-train, capture it, and cut off all communication between -the camp and Umballa. Whatever may have been the main purpose, the -expeditionary force was of considerable strength, amounting to 7000 men, -and comprising the whole or large portions of six mutinied infantry -regiments, three of irregular cavalry, and numerous artillery. The -general, on receipt of this information, at once placed a column[85] -under the command of Brigadier Nicholson, with instructions to frustrate -the operations of the enemy. The brigadier started at daybreak on the -25th of August, crossed two difficult swamps, and arrived at Nanglooe, a -village about midway between Delhi and Bahadoorghur. During a halt and a -reconnoitre, it was found that the enemy had crossed a bridge over the -Nujuffghur jheel, and would probably encamp in the afternoon near the -town of the same name. Nicholson determined to push on against them that -same evening. After another ten-mile march, during which his troops had -to wade through a sheet of water three feet deep, he came up with the -enemy about five o’clock, and found them posted in a position two miles -in length, extending from the bridge to the town: they had thirteen -guns, of which four were in a strong position at an old serai on their -left centre. The brigadier, after a brief reconnaissance, resolved first -to attack the enemy’s left centre, which was their strongest point, and -then, ‘changing front to the left,’ sweep down their line of guns -towards the bridge. His guns having fired a few rounds, the critical -moment for a charge arrived; he addressed his men, told them what a -bayonet charge had always been in the British army, and -shouted—‘Advance!’ The infantry charged, and drove the enemy out of the -serai with great impetuosity. He then changed front to the left, and so -completely outflanked the enemy that they fled at once from the field, -leaving thirteen guns behind them. While this was being done, Lieutenant -Lumsden advanced to Nujuffghur, and cleared it of insurgents. A small -number of the enemy concealed themselves in the neighbouring village of -Nuglee; and when attacked, in a way that left no loophole for escape, -they fought so desperately as to bring down a considerable number of -Lumsden’s party, including the lieutenant himself. The enemy’s cavalry -effected little or nothing; while Nicholson’s was employed chiefly in -guarding baggage and escorting guns. Nicholson passed the night near the -bridge, which had been the object of a fierce attack and defence during -the evening, and which he succeeded in blowing up about two o’clock in -the morning—thus cutting off one of the few approaches by which the -mutineers from the city could get to the main line of road behind the -camp. Nicholson returned to camp on the 26th, after a few hours’ rest -for his exhausted troops. They had indeed had a hard day’s labour on the -25th; for they marched eighteen miles to the field of battle—starting at -daybreak, and crossing two difficult swamps before they could arrive at -Nanglooe; and, to use the words of their commander in his dispatch, ‘as -it would not have been prudent to take the baggage across the ford at -Baprowla, they were obliged, after fourteen hours’ marching and -fighting, to bivouac on the field without food or covering of any kind.’ -There seems to have been something wrong here. One of the officers has -said: ‘Unfortunately, through some mistake, I suppose, the grog for the -men had not arrived, nor commissariat rations; and it is wonderful how -they bore up against the privations of a long march, some hard fighting, -and no food. A little grumbling was occasionally heard, but good-humour -and cheerfulness were the order of the day.’ Such of them as had time to -sleep at all during the night, slept on the damp ground; but all these -exigencies of a soldier’s life were soon forgotten, and the troops -returned to camp in high spirits at their success. Nicholson had relied -fully on the Punjaubees in the day of battle, and they justified his -reliance, for they emulated the courage and soldierly qualities of the -European troops who formed the _élite_ of the force. He had to regret -the loss of 25 killed, including Lieutenants Lumsden and Gabbett; and of -70 wounded, including Major Jacob and Lieutenant Elkington. The -brigadier’s official dispatch contained some curious particulars not -always given in such documents. It appears that during the day his men -fired off 17,000 musket and rifle charges, and 650 cannon-shot and -shells—a murderous torrent, that may perhaps convey to the mind of a -reader some faint idea of the terrible ordeal of a battle. He captured -all the enemy’s guns and ammunition; but a better result was, the -frustration of an attack which might have been very annoying, if not -dangerous, on the rear of the camp. Of the guns captured, nine were -English field-pieces, formerly belonging to the regular Bengal army; -while the other four were native brass guns belonging to the imperial -palace at Delhi. - -The Delhi insurgents, whether well or ill commanded, manifested no -careless inattention to what was occurring outside the city walls. They -were nearly always well informed of the proceedings of the besiegers. -They knew that a large siege-train was expected, which they much longed -to intercept; they knew that Brigadier Nicholson had gone out to -Nujuffghur on the morning of the 25th; they knew that he had not -returned to camp on the morning of the 26th; and they resolved on -another attack on the camp in its then weakened state. All was in vain, -however; in this as in every similar attempt they were beaten. As soon -as they made their appearance, General Wilson strengthened his pickets. -The enemy commenced by a fire with field-guns from Ludlow Castle against -the Mosque picket; but the attack never became serious; it was steadily -met, and the enemy, after suffering severely, retired into the city. - -During the later days of August, the enemy attempted little more than a -series of skirmishing attacks on the pickets. If, once now and then, -they appeared in force outside the walls as though about to attack in a -body, the intention was speedily abandoned, and they disappeared again -within the city. No evidence was afforded that they were headed by any -officer possessing unity of command and military ability. There was no -Sevajee, no Hyder among them. ‘Often,’ as an eye-witness observed, ‘like -an undisciplined mob, at best merely an agglomeration of regiments, the -rebels have attacked us again and again, and fiercely enough when under -cover, but always with a poverty of conception and want of plan that -betrayed the absence of a master-mind. And now that they know strong -reinforcements have joined our army, and that the day of retribution is -not far distant—although they may make an attempt to intercept the -siege-train—yet by their vacillating and abortive gatherings outside the -walls, and by the dissensions and desertions that are rife within, they -shew that the huge body of the insurrection is still without a vigorous -and life-giving spirit.’ - -True as this may have been in the particular instance, it is -nevertheless impossible not to be struck with the fact that the -mutineers maintained a remarkable degree of organisation after they had -forsworn their allegiance; the men of all the corps rallied round the -colours belonging to each particular regiment; and those regiments which -had customarily been massed into brigades, long strove to maintain the -brigade character. Although the insurrection possessed few elements of -unity, although the rebels could not form an army, or operate -comprehensively in the field, they sought to maintain the organisation -which their late British masters had given to them. There had usually -been a brigade of two, three, or four native regiments at each of the -larger military stations; from the station the brigade took its name; -and when the mutiny was many months old, the mutineers were still -recognisable as belonging to the brigades which they had once loyally -served—such as the Bareilly brigade, the Neemuch brigade, the Dinapoor -brigade, the Nuseerabad brigade, &c. Although single regiments and -fragments of regiments entered Delhi, to maintain the standard of -rebellion against the English ‘raj,’ nevertheless the majority were -distinguishable as brigaded forces. The Delhi brigade itself, consisting -of the 38th, 54th, and 74th regiments native infantry, formed the -material on which the Meerut brigade had worked on the 11th of May. This -Meerut brigade comprised the 11th and 20th infantry, and the 3d cavalry. -On the 16th of June arrived the Nuseerabad brigade, consisting of the -15th and 30th infantry, with horse and foot artillery; on the 22d, the -Jullundur and Phillour brigades entered, comprising the 3d, 36th, and -61st infantry, and the 6th cavalry; on the 1st and 2d of June came the -Bareilly or Rohilcund brigade, including the 18th, 28th, 29th, and 68th -infantry, and the 8th irregular cavalry; and later in the same month -came the Neemuch and Jhansi brigades. Even when combined within the -walls of Delhi, each brigade constituted a sort of family or community, -having to a great extent a way and a will of its own. The history of a -hundred years has shewn that the sepoys always fought well when well -commanded; and their ineffective fighting as mutineers may hence be -attributed in part to the fact that they were _not_ well commanded. - -It was about this period, the latter half of August, that an unfortunate -English lady—unfortunate in being so long in the hands of brutal -men—escaped from Delhi under circumstances which were narrated by the -Bombay and Calcutta newspapers as below.[86] She was the wife of one of -the civil officers of the Company engaged at Delhi before the mutiny; -but as the newspaper narratives were not always correct in matters of -identification, the name will not be given here. - -September arrived, and with it many indications that the siege would -soon present new and important features. Little is known of what passed -within Delhi during those days; but General Wilson learned from various -sources that the mutineers were in a very dissatisfied state at the -failure of all their attempts to dislodge the besiegers, or even to -disturb in any material degree the plan of the siege. They were without -a responsible and efficient leader, and were split up into small -sections; they had no united scheme of operations; nor were they -adequately provided with money to meet their daily demands. - -With the besiegers, on the other hand, prospects were brightening. The -siege-train, when it arrived early in September, made a formidable -increase in the ordnance before Delhi. As the name implies, the guns -were larger, and carried shot and shell more weighty, than those used in -battles and skirmishes; their main purpose being to make breaches in the -defence-works of the city, through which infantry might enter and -capture the place. Sir John Lawrence had been able to collect in the -Punjaub, and send to Delhi from Ferozpore, a train of about thirty heavy -pieces of artillery, consisting of guns, howitzers, and mortars of large -calibre. The difficulty was not to obtain the guns, but to secure and to -forward men to escort them, animals to draw them, ammunition to serve -them, carriages to convey the auxiliary stores, food and camp-equipage -for the men, fodder for the animals—whether horses, oxen, camels, or -elephants. Such was the disturbed state of India at that time, that -Lawrence had not been able to send this reinforcement until September; -and even then, all his skill, influence, and energy, were required to -surmount the numerous difficulties. About the same time there arrived in -camp a Belooch battalion from Kurachee, the 4th Punjaub infantry, the -Patan Irregular Horse, and reinforcements to H.M. 8th, 24th, 52d, and -60th regiments. The siege-army now reached an aggregate of about 9000 -men of all arms, effectives and non-effectives, including gun-lascars, -syce-drivers, Punjaubee Sappers and Miners, native infantry recruits, -and other men not comprised in regular regiments. There were also near -the camp or on their march to it, numerous troops belonging to the -Cashmere, Jheend, and Putialah Contingents. Out of the total number of -troops of all kinds, Wilson hoped to be enabled to find 9000 effective -infantry to make an assault on the city after a bombardment. To what -extent this hope was realised, we shall see presently. - -It is important to bear clearly in mind the relative positions of the -besiegers and the besieged, the siege-camp and the fortified city, at -that time. Let it not be forgotten that the British position before -Delhi, from the early days of June to those of September, was purely a -defensive one. The besiegers could neither invest the city nor batter -down its walls; the troops being too few for the first of these -enterprises, and the guns too weak for the second; while an assault, -though twice intended, was not attempted, because there was no force -sufficient to hold the city, even if it were captured. The position on -the north of the city, from Metcalfe House to the Subzee Mundee, was the -only one which they could successfully maintain. Nevertheless, though -limited to that one side, it was invaluable, because it enabled the -British to keep open a road of communication with the northwest, whence -all supplies must necessarily be obtained. The English public, grieved -and irritated by the astounding news from India, often reproached -Barnard and Wilson for their delay in ‘taking Delhi;’ and many of the -officers and soldiers on the spot longed for some dashing movement that -would restore British prestige, and give them their hour of revenge -against the mutineers. Subsequent experience, however, has gone far to -prove that the generals were right. The grounds for so thinking have -been thus set forth by an artillery-officer whose account of the siege -has found a place among the Blue-books: ‘Whether the city might or might -not have been carried by a _coup de main_, as was contemplated first in -June and afterwards in July, it is needless now to inquire; but judging -from the resistance we afterwards experienced in the actual assault, -when we had been greatly reinforced in men and guns, it appears to me -fortunate the attempt was not made. The strength of the place was never -supposed to consist in the strength of its actual defences, though these -were much undervalued; but every city, even without fortifications, is, -from its very nature, strongly defensible, unless it can be effectually -surrounded or bombarded. Moreover, within Delhi, the enemy possessed a -magazine containing upwards of two hundred guns, and an almost -inexhaustible supply of ammunition; while their numbers were certainly -never less than double those of the besiegers.’ But, more than this, -Delhi was not so weak a place as public opinion in England at that time -represented it to be. The numerous bastions presented regular faces and -flanks of masonry, with properly cut embrasures. The portions of wall or -curtain between the bastions were twenty-four feet high, two-thirds of -the height being twelve feet thick, and the remainder near the top being -a parapet three feet in thickness. Outside the wall was a broad beam or -ledge, screened by a parapet as a place for musketeers; below the beam -was a ditch, sixteen feet deep by twenty feet wide at the bottom, with -well-constructed escarp and counterscarp; and a good sloping glacis, -descending from the outer edge of the ditch, covered nearly half the -height of the wall from all assaults by distant batteries. Captain -Norman, who was present during the whole of the siege as assistant -adjutant-general, and who wrote a very lucid semi-official account of -the siege-operations, fully corroborates this statement of the strength -of the position. - -As a memento of a remarkable event in the military history of India, it -may be acceptable to present here a detailed list of all the troops -constituting the siege-army of Delhi in the second week of September, -when the assault was about to be made. The number, it will be seen, was -9866,[87] besides ‘unarmed and undisciplined pioneers,’ of whom no -enumeration was given. These, it must be remembered, were all -_effective_ troops, and did not include those who were disabled by -wounds or sickness. It should also be observed, that the Cashmere, -Jheend, and Putialah Contingents find no place in this list; they were -scarcely mentioned by General Wilson in his dispatches, although from -other sources of information they seem to have reached nearly three -thousand in number. Why the general and his staff should have had to -make the entry ‘strength unknown,’ in reference to them, does not -clearly appear. Concerning the other or more important elements of the -army, many of the regiments were represented only by detachments or -wings in the camp, the rest being at other places; but all that need be -noted in the list is the exact number of men. Glancing over this list, -it is impossible to avoid being struck with the fact how nearly the -Oudian or Hindustani element is excluded from it. There are Europeans, -Goorkhas, Sikhs, Punjaubees, Beloochees, and mountaineers from the -Afghan frontier; but the only entry referring clearly to the Bengal -native army is that of 78 men of the 4th irregular cavalry, and these -appear in the unsoldierlike condition, ‘disarmed and unhorsed.’ The -horse-artillery were frequently referred to in dispatches by the names -of the officers in command—such as Tombs’, Turner’s, Renny’s, and -Remington’s troops; while two light field-batteries were named after -Scott and Bourchier. There were also several companies of foot-artillery -serving with the siege-guns, which altogether numbered more than sixty -heavy pieces of ordnance of various kinds. It has been said above that -the list of 9866 excluded sick and wounded; these latter numbered at -that time no less than 3074; therefore the total of all ranks and all -degrees of efficiency nearly reached 13,000 men, even excluding the -unenumerated pioneers and contingents. In five regiments alone there -were 1300 men sick and wounded, almost equalling in number those in an -effective state; the 52d royal regiment and the Sirmoor battalion -exhibited a greater number on the sick-list than on that of the -effectives. - -Now commenced those operations of siege-warfare which depend more on -engineers and artillerymen than on infantry and cavalry—the arrangements -for bringing near the city guns numerous and powerful enough to batter -the walls. All hands were busy. The engineers and their assistants had -made 10,000 fascines, 10,000 gabions, and 100,000 sand-bags; -field-magazines, scaling-ladders, and spare platforms had been made in -great number. The north side of the city being that which was to be -assaulted, it was resolved to maintain the right of the position -strongly against the enemy, while the main attack was pushed on the -left—first, because the river would protect the left flank of the -advancing columns; and, secondly, because the troops would find -themselves in comparatively open ground in that part after a successful -assault, instead of being cooped up in narrow and fiercely defended -streets. One of the subsidiary measures taken was to form a trench to -the left of the Samee, and to construct at the end of it a battery for -four guns and two large howitzers. This Samee, better known to the -soldiers as the Sammy House, was an old temple, situated some way down -the slope of the ridge towards the city, and about half a mile distant -from the Moree Bastion; it had for some weeks been held by the British. -The purpose of this newly constructed Samee Battery was to prevent -sorties from the Lahore or Cabool Gates passing round the city wall to -annoy the breaching-batteries, and also to assist in keeping down the -fire of the Moree Bastion. The three main works on the north side of the -city were the Moree, Cashmere, and Water Bastions—all of which had been -strengthened by the British authorities some years before, when no one -dreamed that those strengthenings would be a disaster to the power which -ordered them to be effected. - -It was on the 7th of September that the besiegers began to render -visible those works which pertain especially to the storming of a -fortified post. Until then, there had been few or no trenches, -parallels, or zigzags, intended to enable the besiegers to approach near -the beleaguered city, preparatory to a forcible entry. On that night, -however, a working-party was sent out to establish two batteries about -seven hundred yards distant from the Moree Bastion. The sappers, -attacked by the enemy and defended by infantry, prosecuted their work -amid the peril which always surrounds that species of military labour. -One battery, on the left, of four 24-pounders, was intended to hold the -Cashmere Bastion partially in check; while the other, of five -18-pounders and one 8-inch howitzer, was to silence the Moree Bastion, -and prevent it interfering with the attack on the left. A trench was -made to connect the two batteries, and extending beyond them a little to -the right and left, so as to communicate with a wide and deep ravine -which, extending very nearly up to the left attack, formed a sort of -first parallel, affording good cover to the guard of the trenches. All -this was completed during the night or by the forenoon of the 8th; and -the two portions, with the trench connecting them, became known as -Brind’s Battery, named after the officer who worked it. - -At dusk on the evening of the 8th, a second working-party set forth, to -construct a battery to be called ‘No. 2.’ The enemy, influenced by an -opinion that the attack would be made on the right, had neglected the -ground at and near Ludlow Castle, a house situated barely seven hundred -yards from the Cashmere Gate. The British engineers, taking advantage of -this neglect, seized the position, occupied it with a strong detachment, -and employed the nights of the 9th and 10th in constructing a battery -upon it. The enemy, alarmed at this near approach, kept up a fierce -cannonade from the Cashmere and Water Bastions and from the Selimgurh; -but the besiegers had made their approach so carefully, that few of them -suffered. This battery, like Brind’s, was in two portions; one, -immediately in front of Ludlow Castle, for nine 24-pounders, was -intended to breach the wall between the Cashmere and Water Bastions, and -to render the parapet untenable by musketeers; the other, two hundred -yards further to the right, for seven 8-inch howitzers and two -18-pounders, was to aid in attaining the same objects. The ‘No. 2’ -Battery, from its magnitude, and the important duty assigned to it, was -placed under the control of two officers; Major Kaye commanded the right -position; while the left was intrusted to Major Campbell, who, being -wounded soon afterwards, was succeeded by Captain Johnson. - -[Illustration: - - Jumana Musjid at Delhi. From a Photograph. -] - -Still further was the powerful machinery for attack carried. On the -night of the 10th, Battery No. 3 was commenced, within two hundred yards -of the Water Bastion, behind a small ruined house in the custom-house -compound; it was bold and hazardous work to construct a battery in such -a spot, for the enemy kept up a destructive fire of musketry the whole -time. The object of No. 3, when mounted with six 18-pounders, was to -open a second breach in the Water Bastion. Battery No. 4 was in like -manner constructed during the nights of the 10th and 11th, at the -Koodseebagh near Ludlow Castle; it was mounted with ten heavy mortars, -placed under the charge of Major Tombs. Later in the siege a battery of -light mortars was worked by Captain Blunt from the rear of the -custom-house. To enable the whole of the siege-batteries to be armed, -most of the heavy guns were withdrawn from the ridge, leaving only a few -that were necessary to defend it from any attacks made by the enemy from -the Kissengunje and Subzee Mundee quarters. There being a deficiency of -foot-artillerymen to man the heavy guns and mortars, nearly all the -officers and men of the horse-artillery quitted the duties to which they -more especially belonged, and worked in the batteries during the -bombardment; as did likewise many volunteers from the British cavalry, -who were eager to take part in the fray. Even the infantry regiments -furnished volunteers from among the officers, who practised at the -ridge-batteries for many days before the breaching-batteries opened -their fire, when they transferred their services to the latter. The -newly raised Sikh artillerymen, proud to share the dangers and emulate -the courage of the British, were intrusted with the working of two of -the great guns, a duty which they afterwards performed to admiration. - -It thus appears that the works at the newly constructed -breaching-batteries bristled with forty-four heavy pieces of ordnance, -besides guns of lighter weight and smaller calibre at more distant -points. The murderous conflict could not much longer be delayed. The -besieged knew well the danger impending over them, and made arrangements -for a desperate resistance. No sooner did Brind’s Battery open fire on -the 8th than the enemy made a sortie from the city, principally of -cavalry; but they were soon driven in by the artillery. From the broken -ground below the ridge, and from a trench in front of the battery, they -kept up a constant fire of musketry; grape-shot had to be used against -them, from a light gun-battery near the Samee House. In like manner, -during the construction of the remaining breaching-batteries, the enemy -kept up a fierce and continuous fire from every available point, causing -great loss to the besiegers—not only among the fighting-men, but among -the natives employed as porters, magazine lascars, ordnance-drivers, &c. -The enemy went to work on the night of the 11th, and constructed an -advanced trench parallel to the British left attack, three or four -hundred yards distant from it; and from this they opened a very hot fire -of musketry. They also got some light guns, and one of heavier calibre, -into the open ground on the right of the siege-position, from which they -maintained an annoying enfilade fire. At the Custom-house Battery, -within two hundred yards of the city, the British were continually -assailed with a storm of bullets, which rendered their passage to and -from the spot extremely perilous. On more than one occasion, before -Battery No. 2 was finished, the mutineers sallied out from the Cashmere -Gate, and poured forth a volley of musketry at that spot; and it -required a very strong guard of infantry to protect the battery from a -closer attack. Some of the enemy’s guns, planted to enfilade the -batteries Nos. 1 and 2, were so sheltered that the ordnance on the ridge -and at the Samee House were never able effectually to silence them. From -another quarter, the Selimgurh or old fort, a constant fire of shells -was kept up, so skilfully pointed as to drop with perilous accuracy upon -three of the breaching-batteries. During the actual progress of the -bombardment and assault, only one attempt was made by the enemy to annoy -the besiegers in the rear; a body of horse crossed the canal at Azadpore -(at the junction of the two roads leading from the city and the -cantonment), drove in a picket of irregular horse, and created some -confusion; but parties of Punjaub and Guide cavalry, quickly arriving at -the spot, checked, pursued, and dispersed the intruders. - -Now commenced the fearful thunder of a cannonading. The engineers having -finished their work, handed it over to the artillerymen, who collected -around them vast stores of shot and shell. It was on the 11th of -September that the British siege-guns may be said to have opened their -systematic fire, although some had been already tested, and others were -not quite ready. The nine 24-pounders, in Major Campbell’s No. 2 -Battery, ‘opened the ball,’ to use the language of one of the engineers, -and soon shewed their tremendous power in bringing down huge pieces of -the wall near the Cashmere Bastion. The enemy’s guns on that bastion -attempted to reply, but were soon knocked over, and the bastion itself -rendered untenable. The work was hot on the 11th, but much hotter on the -12th, when Battery No. 3 opened its fire, and upwards of forty ponderous -pieces of ordnance belched forth ruin and slaughter on the devoted city. -All that night, all the next day and night, until the morning of the -14th, did this cannonading continue, with scarcely an interval of -silence. Soldiers like to be met in soldierly fashion, even if they -suffer by it. The British did not fail to give a word of praise to the -enemy; who, though unable to work a gun from any of the three bastions -that were so fiercely assailed, stuck to their artillery in the open -ground which enfiladed the right attack; they got a gun to bear through -one of the holes breached in the wall; they sent rockets from one of -their martello towers; and they poured forth a torrent of musketry from -their advanced trench and from the city walls. Throughout the warlike -operations here and elsewhere, the enemy were more effective in -artillery than in infantry, and less in cavalry than in either of the -other two. - -When the great day arrived—the day with which hopes and fears, anxieties -and responsibilities, had been so long associated—General Wilson made -arrangements for the final assault. The plan of operations was dependent -on the state to which the breaching-batteries had brought the -defence-works of the city during two or three days’ bombarding, by the -engineers under Colonel Baird Smith, and the artillery under Major -Gaitskell. It was known that the force of shot and shell poured against -the place had made breaches near the Cashmere and Water Bastions, -destroyed the defences of those bastions, and knocked down the parapets -which had afforded shelter to the enemy’s musketeers; but wishing to -ascertain the exact state of matters, the general, on the night of the -13th, sent down Lieutenants Medley and Lang on the dangerous duty of -examining the breach made in the city wall near the Cashmere Bastion; -while Lieutenants Greathed and Home made a similar examination of the -breach near the Water Bastion. These officers having announced that both -breaches were practicable for the entrance of storming-parties, the -general resolved that the next day, the 14th of September, should be -signalised by a storming of the great Mogul stronghold. He marshalled -his forces into columns,[88] the exact components of which it will be -interesting to record here; and to each column he prescribed a -particular line of duty. The 1st column, of 1000 men, was to assault the -main breach, and escalade the face of the Cashmere Bastion, after the -heavy siege-guns had finished their destructive work; it was to be -covered by a detachment of H.M. 60th Rifles. The 2d column, of 850 men, -similarly covered by a body of Rifles, was to advance on the Water -Bastion and carry the breach. The 3d column, of 950 men, was to be -directed against the Cashmere Gate, preceded by an explosion-party of -engineers under Lieutenants Home and Salkeld, and covered by a party of -Rifles. The 4th column (strength unrecorded) was to assail the enemy’s -strong position in the Kissengunje and Pahareepore suburbs, with a view -both of driving in the rebels, and of supporting the main attack by -forcing an entrance at the Cabool Gate; for this duty a miscellaneous -body of troops, almost wholly native, was told off. In addition to the -four columns, there was a reserve of 1300 men, covered by Rifles, which -was to await the result of the main attack, and take possession of -certain posts as soon as the columns entered the place. No more troops -were left at camp than were absolutely necessary for its protection; a -few convalescents of the infantry, and a few troopers and -horse-artillery, were all that could be spared for this duty. Nearly all -the pickets were handed over to the cavalry to guard. Arrangements were, -however, made to send back a force as speedily as possible to the camp -to guard the sick, wounded, stores, &c., which naturally became objects -of much solicitude to the general at such a time. Brigadier Grant, with -the bulk of the cavalry and some horse-artillery, moved down to the -vicinity of No. 1 Battery, to check any attempt that might be made by -the enemy, after a sortie from the Lahore or Ajmeer Gates, to attack the -storming columns in flank. - -The night which closed in the 13th and opened the 14th of September was -not one to be soon forgotten by the soldiers of the siege-army. Few of -them, officers or men, slept much; their thoughts were too intensely -directed towards the stern realities of the morrow, which would end the -career of so many among their number. At four o’clock on the morning of -the 14th, the different columns set forth on their march from the camp -to their respective places. The first three columns were, according to -the programme just cited, to engage in the actual assault on the -northern side of the city; the heads of those columns were to be kept -concealed until the moment for assault had arrived; and the signal for -that crisis was to be, the advance of the Rifles to the front, to act as -skirmishers. - -Brigadier Nicholson took the lead. He gave the signal; the Rifles rushed -to the front with a cheer, and skirmished along through the low jungle -which extended to within fifty yards of the ditch. The 1st and 2d -columns, under himself and Brigadier Jones, emerged from behind the -Koodseebagh, and advanced steadily towards the breached portions of the -wall. Up to this time the enemy’s guns had wrought little mischief on -the columns; but as soon as the latter emerged into the open ground, a -perfect storm of bullets met them from the front and both flanks; -officers and men were falling fast on the glacis; and for several -minutes it was impossible to get the ladders placed for a descent into -the ditch and an ascent of the escarp. After a fierce struggle, the -British bayonet, as usual, won the day; the troops dashed through and -over all obstacles, and entered the city through the breaches which the -guns had previously made in the walls. Now within the boundary of the -imperial city, the two brigadiers at once turned to the right, proceeded -along the ramparts, fought the sepoys inch by inch, overcame all -opposition, and captured in succession a small battery, a tower between -the Cashmere and Moree Bastions, the Moree itself, and the Cabool Gate; -but the vigorous attempts they made to take the Burn Bastion and the -Lahore Gate failed, so determined was the resistance opposed to them, -and so terrible the loss they suffered in officers and men. It was in -one of the many attacks on the Lahore Gate, when the troops had to -advance along a narrow lane swept by the enemy’s grape-shot and -musketry, that the bullet was fired which laid low the gallant -Nicholson—an officer in whom the whole army had reposed a full and deep -reliance. As far as the Cabool Gate, the two columns were enabled to -maintain their conquests; and they immediately made preparations for -opening fire from the bastions inwards upon the yet unconquered -buildings of the city—a sand-bag parapet being constructed across the -gorge or open rear of each bastion. - -We have now to see what was transpiring in another quarter, on this -morning of heroism and slaughter. While the 1st column was engaged in -forcing an entrance through the breach near the Cashmere Bastion, and -the 2d column a similar entrance through that near the Water Bastion, -the 3d directed its operations against the Cashmere Gate—through which, -it will be remembered, the troops of that column were to rush after an -explosion-party had blown in the gate itself. If there be any sublimity -in bloody warfare, it is manifested in the self-devotion with which a -soldier marches steadfastly to a position where he knows that death will -be almost certain and immediate. Such self-devotion was shewn by the -little band of heroes forming this explosion-party. They had to advance -in broad daylight to the gate, amid a storm of bullets from above, from -both flanks, and from a wicket in the gate itself; they had carefully to -lay down and adjust the bags of gunpowder close to the gate, to arrange -a train or fuse, to fire the bags, and to take their chance of being -themselves blown up by the explosion. The gallant men intrusted with -this dangerous duty were divided into two parties—an advanced and a -firing party. The first consisted of an engineer officer, Lieutenant -Home, two non-commissioned officers, Sergeants Smith and Carmichael, and -a few native sappers, who carried the powder-bags. The firing-party -consisted of Lieutenant Salkeld, Corporal Burgess, and a few native -sappers. Owing to some delay, the two parties did not set out for their -rendezvous at Ludlow Castle until broad daylight, and then they had to -encounter a heavy fire of musketry all the way. When the advanced party -reached the gate—a heavy wooden structure, flanked by massive walls—they -found that a part of the drawbridge over the ditch had been destroyed; -but, passing across the precarious footing afforded by the remaining -beams, they proceeded to lodge their powder-bags against the gate. The -wicket was open, and through it the enemy kept up a heavy fire. Sergeant -Carmichael, and a native sapper named Madhoo, were killed while laying -the bags; but Lieutenant Home only received a blow from a stone thrown -up by a bullet. The perilous duty of laying the bags being completed, -the advanced party slipped down into the ditch, to make room for the -firing-party, which then advanced. ‘Lieutenant Salkeld,’ said Colonel -Baird Smith, in his report of the engineering operations of the day, -‘while endeavouring to fire the charge, was shot through the arm and -leg, and handed over the slow match to Corporal Burgess, who fell -mortally wounded just as he had successfully accomplished the onerous -duty. Havildar Tilluh Singh, of the Sikhs, was wounded, and Ramloll -Sepoy of the same corps, was killed during this part of the operation. -The demolition being most successful, Lieutenant Home, happily not -wounded, caused the bugler (Hawthorne) to sound the regimental call of -the 52d, as the signal for the advancing columns. Fearing that amid the -noise of the assault the sounds might not be heard, he had the call -repeated three times, when the troops advanced and carried the gateway -with complete success.’ Sergeant Smith had a narrow escape from being -blown up. Seeing Burgess fall, and not knowing the exact result of the -gallant fellow’s efforts to fire the train, he ran forward; but seeing -the train alight, he had just time to throw himself into the ditch -before the explosion took place. The perilous nature of this kind of -duty gave rise to a correspondence in the public journals, from which a -few lines may not unsuitably be given in a note.[89] - -Colonel Campbell, with the 3d column, after the heroic explosion-party -had forced an entry for him through the Cashmere Gate, marched boldly -through the city towards the Jumma Musjid—a perilous enterprise; for the -distance was upwards of a mile even in a straight line, and many -populous streets would need to be traversed. In this march he was aided -by Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, a member of the Company’s civil service, -whose house outside Delhi has been so often mentioned, and who had been -a valuable adviser to the siege-army during the whole period of its -operations on the ridge. He knew Delhi well, and was thus enabled to -render Campbell essential service. Conducting the column by a circuitous -route, he kept it nearly free from opposition until the fine street, -called the Chandnee Chowk, was reached, where they took possession of -the Kotwallee. At this point, however, the troops began to fall rapidly -under the muskets of the enemy, and it was found to be impracticable to -achieve the object fondly hoped—the capture of the Jumma Musjid itself. -After a gallant struggle, the column fell back to the neighbourhood of -the English church near the Cashmere Gate, where it had the support of -the reserve. The colonel at once placed the 52d regiment in the church, -the Kumaon battalion in Skinner’s house, and the Punjaub infantry in the -houses at the junction of two streets that led from the centre of the -city to the open space around the church. Guns, too, were posted at the -last-named place, to check the advance of insurgents who had begun to -treat Campbell as a fleeing and defeated officer. He was in one sense -defeated; for he had to retreat nearly a mile, and saw his fine troops -cut up terribly all around him; nevertheless, before nightfall he had -placed himself in a position from which the enemy could not dislodge -him, and which enabled him to take a prominent part in the subsequent -operations. - -[Illustration: - - CORPORAL BURGESS, blown up at Cashmere Gate. -] - -Rather as a support to Colonel Campbell’s 3d column, than as a leading -corps, the reserve now comes for notice—its position being indeed -denoted by its name. This reserve column, under Brigadier Longfield, -had, it will be remembered, the duty of watching the result of the main -attack, and of taking possession of certain posts as soon as the other -columns had effected an entry into the city. The reserve followed the 3d -column through the Cashmere Gate, having previously spared the Belooch -battalion to render service near Hindoo Rao’s house. Longfield at once -cleared the college gardens of insurgents, and then told off his troops -so as to obtain efficient hold of the Water Bastion, the Cashmere Gate, -Skinner’s house, and a large commanding building called Ahmed Ali Khan’s -house. Skinner’s house, or in Indian form, Sikunder’s, had at one time -been the residence of Major Skinner, commander of a regiment of -irregular horse, which had acquired much celebrity; the house was large, -and presented many important advantages for a military force. - -There is yet another portion of the siege-army, whose fortune on this -14th of September has to be noticed—namely, that which was placed under -the command of Major Reid, for a series of operations in the western -suburbs of the city. Everything here was under a cloud of -disappointment; the operations were not attended with that degree of -success which the officers and men had fondly hoped. Captain Dwyer, in -command of the Cashmere field-force, was intrusted with the management -of 400 men of that force, and four guns; and the object he was to -endeavour to attain was the safe occupation of the Eedghah Serai, in -dangerous proximity to the garrison within the city. Early in the -morning he set out from the camp. Finding the road very difficult for -artillery, he pulled down a portion of stone-wall to enable his guns to -get upon the Rohtuk high road; the noise unfortunately attracted the -enemy, who immediately sent down 2000 men to that point. Dwyer kept up a -fire of artillery for three quarters of an hour; but finding that the -enemy, instead of being discomfited, were about to outflank him, he -resolved on a bold advance on the Eedghah. This resolve he could not -carry out; his troops were widely spread in skirmishing order, and could -not be collected in column; the guns could not be properly moved, for -the grass-cutters had taken away the horses. In short, the attempt was a -total failure, and the captain was compelled to retire without his guns. -The force appears to have been too small, and the Cashmerian troops -scarcely equal in soldierly discipline to the demands of the work -intrusted to them. This attack on the Eedghah was to have been part of a -larger enterprise intrusted to Major Reid, having in view the conquest -of the whole western suburb of Delhi, and the command of all outlets by -the western gates. The major advanced from the Subzee Mundee towards the -Kissengunje suburb; but he found the enemy so numerous and strongly -posted, and he met with such a strenuous opposition, that his progress -was soon checked. The gallant Reid himself being struck down wounded, as -well as many other officers, Captain Muter of the 60th Rifles, and -Captain R. C. Lawrence, political agent with the Cashmere Contingent, -felt it necessary promptly to decide on the course best to be pursued. -They found the different detachments, of which the column consisted, so -broken and disorganised by the heavy fire of the enemy, that it was -impossible to reform them on broken ground, and under a severe fire the -attack on the Kissengunje could not be renewed; all they attempted was -to keep the enemy in check for an hour, without losing ground. They -waited for a reinforcement of artillery, which Reid had sent for before -being wounded; but these guns, through some unexplained cause, failed to -arrive. Seeing the enemy increase in force, and fearing for the safety -of the batteries below Hindoo Rao’s house, the officers gave up the -attack and retired, strengthening the batteries and the Subzee Mundee -picket. The failure of Captain Dwyer’s attack greatly increased the -difficulty of the position; for the enemy was thereby enabled to advance -on the right flank of the main column, endanger its rear, and hotly -press the Subzee Mundee picket. Reid, Lawrence, Dwyer, Muter—all were -mortified at their failure in this suburban operation. - -Thus ended the 14th of September, a day on which British authority was -partially restored in the ‘city of the Moguls,’ after an interregnum of -eighteen weeks. Partial, indeed, was the reconquest; for the portion of -the city held bore so small a ratio to the whole, that the troops -foresaw a terrible and sanguinary ordeal to be gone through before the -British flag would again wave undisputed over the conquered city. The -loss was very large, in relation to the strength of the army generally. -There fell on this one day, 8 British officers, 162 British troops, and -103 native troops, killed; while the list of wounded comprised 52 -British officers, 512 British troops, and 310 native troops—a total of -1135. When night closed around the survivors, the 1st and 2d columns -held all the towers, bastions, and ramparts from the vicinity of the -Cashmere Gate to the Cabool Gate; the 3d column and the reserve held the -Cashmere Gate, the English church, Skinner’s house, the Water Bastion, -Ahmed Ali Khan’s house, the college gardens, and many buildings and open -spots in that part of Delhi; while the 4th column, defeated in the -western suburbs, had retreated to the camp or the ridge. - -Snatching a little occasional repose during the night, the besiegers -found themselves at dawn on the 15th, as we have said, masters of a -_part_ only of Delhi; and they prepared for the stern work before them. -They dragged several mortars into position, at various points between -the Cashmere and Cabool Gates, to shell the heart of the city and the -imperial palace. A battery, commanding the Selimgurh and a part of the -palace, was also established in the college gardens; and several houses -were taken and armed in advance or further to the south. The enemy, -meanwhile, kept up a vigorous fire from the Selimgurh and the magazine -upon the positions occupied by the British, and skirmishing went on at -all the advanced posts. This, be it understood, was within the city -itself; the British being in command of a strip of ground and buildings -just within the northern wall; while all the rest was still in the hands -of the rebels. It was in every way a strange position for an army to -occupy; the city was filled with hostile soldiery, who had the command -of an immense array of guns and a vast store of ammunition, and whose -musketry told with fatal effect from loopholed walls and houses in all -the streets within reach; while the besiegers themselves were separated -by a lofty city wall from their own camp. - -The 16th was marked by a greater progress than the 15th towards a -conquest of the city, because the newly established batteries began to -shew signs of work. The guns in the college garden having effected a -breach in the magazine defences, that important building was stormed and -taken, with a loss comparatively slight, by the 61st, the 4th Punjaub, -and the Beloochees.[90] Outside the city, the Kissengunje suburb was -this day evacuated by the enemy, leaving five guns, which were speedily -captured by a detachment sent down from Hindoo Rao’s house; it was then -found that the enemy’s position here had been one of immense strength, -and the failure of Major Reid’s attack received a ready explanation. - -Another day dawned, and witnessed the commencement of operations which -placed a further portion of the city in the hands of the conquerors. The -magazine having been captured, it became important to secure the whole -line of rampart and forts from that point to the Cabool Gate, comprising -the northeast as well as the north sides of the city. This was begun on -the 17th, and completed on the 18th, giving to the British a firm hold -of everything behind a straight line extending from the magazine to the -Cabool Gate. A bold advance southward could now be made. Columns were -sent forth, which captured the Delhi bank, Major Abbott’s house, and the -house of Khan Mohammed Khan, and made a near approach to the palace and -the Chandnee Chowk. The pen can easily record this, but it must leave to -the imagination of the reader to conceive how great must have been the -peril of soldiers thus advancing inch by inch through a crowded city; -field-artillery was brought to bear against them from almost every -street, muskets from almost every house-top and window; and many a -gallant fellow was laid low. One great advantage the besiegers now had, -was in the command of mortars brought out from the magazine; these were -placed in selected positions, and employed to shell the palace and the -quarters of the town occupied by the enemy. It was now that the -insurgents were seen to be gradually escaping from the palace into the -southern parts of the city, and thence through the southern gates into -open country not yet attacked by the British. Over the bridge of boats -they could not go, for the guns of the conquerors commanded it. Or, it -may more correctly be said, the command of the bridge of boats enabled -the conquerors to check that passage if they chose; but General Wilson -did not make war on women and children, or on such males as appeared to -be peaceful citizens: he allowed them to depart from the city if they -wished—which nearly all did, for they feared terrible retribution at the -hands of the British soldiery. - -After another night within the imperial city, the conquerors achieved -further successes on the 19th. The post called the Burn Bastion, -situated on the west side of the city, close to the Lahore Gate, was -surprised and captured by a detachment sent from the already conquered -Cabool Gate. This swept the enemy from another large extent of wall. On -the following morning a detachment of cavalry, going from the ridge by -way of the Kissengunje and the Eedghah, found that the enemy had -evacuated a large and strong camp long occupied by them outside the -Delhi Gate. Lieutenant Hodson at once took possession of it; and a mere -glance shewed, by the quantities of clothing, plunder, and ammunition -lying around, that the enemy must have made a very precipitate flight. -The cavalry, entering the city by the Delhi Gate—which, together with -the Gurstin Bastion, had just been attacked and taken by the infantry, -galloped on to the sumptuous Jumma Musjid, of which they took -possession, being speedily supported by infantry and guns. While all -this was going on, the imperial palace was the object of a distinct -attack. A column advanced along the Chandnee Chowk, placed powder-bags -against the gate, blew it in, and entered the palace. The enormous -building was found to be deserted by all but a few fanatics and numerous -wounded sepoys. - -Thus at length was the great city of Delhi reconquered by its former -masters; thus again did the Feringhee become paramount over the Mogul. -Captain Norman, whose semi-official account of the siege has already -been adverted to, closed his narrative by saying: ‘It is impossible to -conclude without alluding to the trials and constancy of the troops -employed in this arduous siege. Called on at the hottest season of the -year to take the field, imperfectly equipped, and with the extent of -difficulties to be faced very imperfectly known, all felt that a crisis -had arrived, to meet which every man’s cheerful, willing, and heartfelt -energies must be put forth to the utmost; and how well this was done, -those who were with the army know and can never forget. For the first -five weeks every effort was required, not indeed to take Delhi, but even -to hold our own position; and day after day, for hours together, every -soldier was under arms under a burning sun, and constantly exposed to -fire. Notwithstanding the daily casualties in action, the numerous -deaths by cholera, the discouraging reports relative to the fidelity of -some of the native portions of our own force, the distressing accounts -from all parts of the country, the constant arrival of large -reinforcements of mutineers, and the apparent impossibility of aid ever -reaching in sufficient strength to enable us to take the place—the -courage and confidence of the army never flagged. And, besides enduring -a constant and often deadly cannonade, for more than three months, in -thirty different combats, our troops invariably were successful, always -against long odds, and often opposed to ten times their numbers, who had -all the advantages of ground and superior artillery.’ - -Taking the 30th of May as the date when the first conflict between the -besiegers and defenders of Delhi took place, at some distance from Delhi -itself, the interval of 113 days between that date and the final capture -on the 20th of September was marked by a very large death-list. It could -not be otherwise. Where men were exposed during so many days and nights -to shells, balls, bullets, swords, heat, swamps, fatigue, and disease, -the hand of the destroyer must indeed have been heavy. And, as in all -similar instances, the list of wounded was much larger than that of -killed. The official list comprised the names of 46 European officers -who had either been killed in battle, or died from wounds received; and -of 140 others whose wounds had not proved fatal. But the -adjutant-general is seldom accustomed to comprise in his lists those who -fall with disease without being wounded; and thus the Delhi enumeration -did not include the names of Generals Anson and Barnard, or of any of -the numerous officers, who, though not wounded before Delhi, -unquestionably met their death in connection with the preparations for, -or conduct of, the siege. Distributed under different headings, the -killed and wounded amounted altogether to 3807,[91] to which were added -30 missing. Of the horses there were 186 killed and 378 wounded. Of the -number of insurgents who fell during the struggle, no authentic -knowledge could be obtained. - -The official dispatches were nearly silent concerning the proceedings, -except military, in the interval of six days between the first assault -of the city and the final subjugation, and during the remaining ten days -of September. General Wilson, shortly before the final attack was to be -made, issued an address to his soldiers, from which a few sentences are -here given in a note;[92] and in which, it will be seen, they were -instructed to give no quarter to the mutineers—that is, make no -prisoners, but put all armed rebels to death. This was attended to; but -something more was done, something darker and less justifiable. It is -not customary for soldiers to stab wounded and sick men in an enemy’s -army; but such was done at Delhi. The sense of hatred towards the -mutinous sepoys was so intense, the recollection of the atrocities at -Cawnpore was so vivid, that vengeance took place of every other feeling. -The troops did that which they would have scorned to do against the -Russians in the Crimean war—they bayoneted men no longer capable of -resistance. They refused to consider the rules of honourable warfare -applicable to black-hearted traitors; their officers joined them in this -refusal; and their general’s address justified them up to a certain -point. If the rule laid down by Wilson had been strictly adhered to, -there would have been military precedence to sanction it; but the common -soldiers did not discriminate in their passion; and many a dark-skinned -inhabitant of Delhi fell under the bayonet, against whom no charge of -complicity with the mutineers could be proved. The letters written home -to friends in England, soon after the battle, and made public, -abundantly prove this; the soldiers were thirsting for vengeance, and -they slaked their thirst. Many of the villagers of India, indeed, bore -cruel injustice during that extraordinary period. Instances frequently -came to light, such as the following: A revolted regiment or a predatory -band would enter a village, demand and obtain money, food, and other -supplies by threats of vengeance if the demand were not complied with, -and then depart; an English corps, entering soon afterwards, would fine -and punish the villagers for having aided the enemy. One thing, however, -the British soldiers did _not_ do; they did not murder women and -children. This humanity, heroism, justice, or whatever it may best be -called, was more than the natives generally expected: the leaders in the -revolt had sedulously disseminated a rumour that the British would abuse -all the women, and murder them and their children, in all towns and -stations where mutinies had taken place; and under the influence of this -belief, many of the natives put their wives to death rather than expose -them to the apprehended indignities. While, at one part of Delhi, the -conquerors (if the narrators are to be believed) found Christian women -_crucified_ against the walls in the streets; at another part, nearly -twenty native women were found lying side by side with their throats -cut, their husbands having put them to death to prevent them from -falling into the hands of the conquerors. - -What other scenes of wild licence took place within Delhi during those -excited days, we may infer from collateral evidence. The mutineers, -quite as much in love with plunder as with nationality, had been wont to -carry about with them from place to place the _loot_ which they had -gathered during the sack of the stations and towns. As a consequence, -Delhi contained temporarily an enormous amount of miscellaneous wealth; -and such of this as the fugitives could not carry away with them, was -regarded as spoil by the conquerors. There are certain rules in the -English army concerning prizes and prize-money, which the soldiers more -or less closely obey; but the Punjaubee and Goorkha allies, more -accustomed to Asiatic notions of warfare, revelled in the unbridled -freedom of their new position, and were with difficulty maintained in -discipline. There was a large store of beverage, also, in the city, -which the conquerors soon got at; and as intemperance is one of the weak -points of English soldiers, many scenes of drunkenness ensued. - -But all these are among the exigencies of war. The soldiers bore up -manfully against their varied trials, fought heroically, and conquered; -and it is not by the standards of conduct familiar to quiet persons at -home that they should be judged. When General Wilson reported the result -of his hard labours, he said in his dispatch: ‘Thus has the important -duty committed to this force been accomplished, and its object attained. -Delhi, the focus of rebellion and insurrection, and the scene of so much -horrible cruelty, taken and made desolate; the king a prisoner in our -hands; and the mutineers, notwithstanding their great numerical -superiority and their vast resources in ordnance, and all the munitions -and appliances of war, defeated on every occasion of engagement with our -troops, are now driven with slaughter in confusion and dismay from their -boasted stronghold.... Little remains for me to say, but to again -express my unqualified approbation of the conduct and spirit of the -whole of the troops, not only on this occasion, but during the entire -period they have been in the field.... For four months of the most -trying season of the year this force, originally very weak in number, -has been exposed to the repeated and determined attacks of an enemy far -outnumbering it, and supported by a numerous and powerful artillery. The -duties imposed upon all have been laborious, harassing, and incessant, -and notwithstanding heavy losses, both in action and from disease, have -been at all times zealously and cheerfully performed.’ And in similar -language, when the news was known at Calcutta, did Viscount Canning -acknowledge the heroism of those who had conquered Delhi.[93] - -It will be seen above that the governor-general spoke of the ‘king a -prisoner.’ This must now be explained. When all hope of retaining Delhi -faded away, the aged king—who had in effect been more a puppet in the -hands of ambitious leaders than a king, during four months—fled from the -city, as did nearly all the members and retainers of the once imperial -family. It fell to the lot of Captain (afterwards Major) Hodson to -capture the king and other royal personages. This officer was assistant -quartermaster-general, and intelligence-officer on General Wilson’s -staff. His long acquaintance as a cavalry officer with Sikhs, -Punjaubees, and Afghans had given him much knowledge of the native -character, and enabled him to obtain remarkably minute information -concerning the movements and intentions of the enemy; to insure this, he -was invested with power to reward or punish in proportion to the deserts -of those who assisted him. It was known directly the Cashmere Gate was -conquered that the exodus of the less warlike inhabitants of Delhi was -beginning; but not then, nor until six days afterwards, could this be -stopped, for the southern gates were wholly beyond reach of the -conquerors. The imperial palace was captured, and was found nearly -empty, on the 20th; and on the following day Captain Hodson learned that -the king and his family had left the city with a large force by the -Ajmeer Gate, and had gone to the Kootub, a suburban palace about nine -miles from Delhi. Hodson urged that a detachment should be sent in -pursuit, but Wilson did not think he could spare troops for this -service. While this subject was under consideration, messengers were -coming from the king, and among others Zeenat Mahal, a favourite begum, -making ridiculous offers on his part, as if he were still the power -paramount—all of which were of course rejected. As these offers could -not be accepted; as Wilson could not or would not send a detachment at -once to defeat or capture the mutinous troops who had departed with the -king; and as it was, nevertheless, desirable to have the king’s person -in safe custody—Captain Hodson received permission to promise the aged -sovereign his life, and exemption from immediate personal indignity, if -he would surrender. - -Thus armed, Hodson laid his plans. He started with fifty of his own -native irregular troopers to Humayoon’s Tomb, about three miles from the -Kootub. Concealing himself and his men among some old buildings close by -the gateway of the tomb, he sent his demand up to the palace. After two -hours of anxious suspense, he received a message from the king that he -would deliver himself up to Captain Hodson only, and on condition that -he repeated with his own lips the pledge of the government for his -safety. The captain then went out into the middle of the road in front -of the gateway, and said he was ready to receive his captives and renew -the promise. ‘You may picture to yourself,’ said one familiar with the -spot, ‘the scene before that magnificent gateway, with the milk-white -domes of the tomb towering up from within, one white man among a host of -natives, yet determined to secure his prisoners or perish in the -attempt.’ After a time, a procession began to arrive from the palace. -Threats and promises soon did their work; and the king, his begum Zeenat -Mahal, and her son Jumma Bukht, were escorted to Delhi. It was a -striking manifestation of moral power; for there were hundreds or even -thousands of retainers in the procession, any one of whom could by a -shot have put an end to Hodson’s life; but he rode at the side of the -imperial palanquins, cool and undaunted, and they touched him not. As -the city was approached, the followers and bystanders slunk away, being -unwilling to confront the British troops. The captain rode on a few -paces ahead, and ordered the Lahore Gate to be opened. ‘Who have you -there in the palanquin?’ asked the officer on duty. ‘Only the King of -Delhi,’ was the reply. The guard were all enraptured, and wanted to -greet Hodson with a cheer; but he said the king would probably take the -honour to himself, which was not desirable. On they went, through the -once magnificent but now deserted Chandnee Chowk; and the daring captor, -at the gate of the palace, handed up his royal prisoners to the civil -authorities. - -[Illustration: - - Scene of Capture of the Princes of Delhi—Tomb of Emperor Humayoon. -] - -Captain Hodson’s work was not yet finished; there were other members of -the royal family towards whom his attention was directed. Early on the -following morning, he started to avail himself of information he -obtained concerning three of the princes, who were known to have been -guilty of monstrous deeds which rendered them worthy of instant death. -He went with a hundred of his troopers to the Tomb of Humayoon, where -the princes were concealed. After accepting ‘king’s evidence,’ bribing, -threatening, and manœuvring, Hudson secured his prisoners, and sent them -off with a small escort to the city. Entering the tomb, he found it -filled with an enormous number of palace scum and city rabble, mostly -armed; but so thoroughly cowed were they by his fearless demeanour, that -they quietly obeyed his order to lay down their arms and depart. The -captain and his men then moved warily off to the city; and at a short -distance from the gate, he found the vehicle containing the princes -surrounded by a mob, who seemed disposed to resist him. What followed -must be given in the words of an officer who was in a position to obtain -accurate information. ‘This was no time for hesitation or delay. Hodson -dashed at once into the midst—in few but energetic words explained “that -these were the men who had not only rebelled against the government, but -had ordered and witnessed the massacre and shameful exposure of innocent -women and children; and that thus therefore the government punished such -traitors, taken in open resistance”—shooting them down at the word. The -effect was instantaneous and wonderful. Not another hand was raised, not -another weapon levelled, and the Mohammedans of the troop and some -influential moulvies among the bystanders exclaimed, as if by -simultaneous impulse: “Well and rightly done! Their crime has met with -its just penalty. These were they who gave the signal for the death of -helpless women and children, and outraged decency by the exposure of -their persons, and now a righteous judgment has fallen on them. God is -great!” The remaining weapons were then laid down, and the crowd slowly -and quietly dispersed. The bodies were then carried into the city, and -thrown out on the very spot where the blood of their innocent victims -still stained the earth. They remained there till the 24th, when, for -sanitary reasons, they were removed from the Chibootra in front of the -Kotwallee. The effect of this just retribution was as miraculous on the -populace as it was deserved by the criminals.’ Thus were put to death -two of the old king’s sons, Mirza Mogul Beg, and another whose name is -doubtful, together with Mirza’s son. - -What was done to restore order in Delhi after its recapture; who was -appointed to command it; what arrangements were made for bringing to -justice the wretched king who was now a prisoner; and what military plan -was formed for pursuing the mutinous regiments which had escaped from -the city—will more conveniently be noticed in subsequent pages. - -The country did not fail to do honour to those who had been concerned in -the conquest of the imperial city. The commander of the siege-army was -of course the first to be noticed. Although he had no European -reputation, Archdale Wilson had served as an artillery officer nearly -forty years in India. He was employed at the siege of Bhurtpore in 1824, -and in many other active services; but his chief duties confined him to -the artillery depôts. It is a curious fact that most of the guns -employed by him at the siege of Delhi, as well as those used by the -enemy against him, had been cast by him as superintendent of the -gun-foundry at Calcutta many years before, and bore his name as part of -the device. He held in succession the offices of adjutant-general of -artillery and commandant of artillery. At the commencement of the -mutiny, his regimental rank was that of lieutenant-colonel of the Bengal -artillery; but he acted as brigadier at Meerut, and was afterwards -promoted to the rank of major-general. The Queen, in November, raised -him to the baronetcy, and made him a Knight Commander of the Order of -the Bath; and thus the artillery officer had risen to the rank of -‘Major-general Sir Archdale Wilson, K.C.B.’ The East India Company, too, -sought to bestow honour—or something more solid than honour—on the -victorious commander; the court of proprietors, on the suggestion of the -court of directors, voted a pension of £1000 per annum to Sir Archdale -Wilson, to commence from the day when his troops entered Delhi. - -What honours Brigadier Nicholson would have earned, had his valuable -life been spared, it would be useless to surmise. He was an especial -favourite among the soldiers in the Indian army—more so, perhaps, than -some whose names are better known to English readers; and his death -within the walls of Delhi was very generally deplored. He had not yet -attained his 35th year—a very early age at which to obtain brigade -command, either in the Company’s or the Queen’s armies. Nothing but the -unbounded confidence of Sir John Lawrence in the military genius of -Nicholson would have justified him in making so young a man, a simple -regimental captain (brevet-major), brigadier of a column destined to -fight the rebels all the way from the Punjaub to Delhi; yet even those -seniors who were superseded by this arrangement felt that the duty was -intrusted to one equal to its demands. He had seen hard service during -the Afghan and Punjaub campaigns, as captain in the 27th Bengal native -infantry; and had, instead of idling his time during a furlough visit to -England, studied the armies and military organisation of continental -Europe. An officer who served with him during the mutiny said: ‘He had a -constitution of iron. The day we marched to Murdan he was _twenty-six_ -hours in the saddle, following up the mutineers.’ The Queen granted the -posthumous dignity of Knight Commander of the Bath upon -Brigadier-general John Nicholson; and as he was unmarried, the East -India Company departed from their general rule, by bestowing a special -grant of £500 per annum upon his widowed mother, who had in earlier -years lost another son in the Company’s service. - -One among many civil servants of the Company who fell during the siege -was Hervey Harris Greathed, a member of a family well known in India. -After filling various official situations in the Punjaub, Rajpootana, -and Meerut, he became chief-commissioner of Delhi, after the foul murder -of Mr Simon Fraser on the 11th of May. Serve or remain in Delhi itself -he could not, for obvious reasons; but he was with Wilson’s army in the -expedition from Meerut to Delhi, and then remained with the siege-army -on the heights, where his intimate knowledge of India and the natives -was of essential value. He died of cholera just before the conclusion of -the siege. His brothers, Robert and George Herbert, had already died in -the services of the Company or the crown; but two others, Edward Harris -and William Wilberforce Harris, survived to achieve fame as gallant -officers. - -Another of those who fell on the day of the assault was Lieutenant -Philip Salkeld, of the Bengal engineers. He was the son of a Dorsetshire -clergyman, and went to India in 1850, in his twentieth year, in the -corps of Sappers and Miners. He was employed for four years as an -engineer in connection with the new works of the grand trunk-road, in -Upper India; and was then transferred to the executive engineers’ -department in the Delhi division. His first taste of war was in relation -to the mutinies; he was engaged in all the operations of the siege of -Delhi, and was struck down while gallantly exploding the Cashmere Gate. -He lingered in great pain, and died about the 10th of October. The Rev. -S. G. Osborne, in a letter written soon after the news of Salkeld’s -death reached England, said: ‘This young officer has not more -distinguished himself in his profession by his devotion to his country’s -service of his life, than he stands distinguished in the memory of those -who knew him for his virtues as a son and brother. His father, a -clergyman in Dorsetshire, by a reverse of fortune some years since, was -with a large family reduced, I may say, to utter poverty. This, his -soldier son, supported out of his own professional income one of his -brothers at school, helping a sister, obliged to earn her own bread as a -governess, to put another brother to school. Just before his death he -had saved a sum of £1000, which was in the bank at Delhi, and was -therefore lost to him, and, more than this, it was lost to the -honourable purpose to which, as a son and brother, he had devoted it. In -his native county it has been determined to erect a monument to his -memory by subscription. Cadetships having been given to two of his young -brothers, it is now wisely resolved that while the memorial which is to -hand down his name to posterity in connection with his glorious death -shall be all that is necessary for the purpose, every farthing collected -beyond the sum necessary for this shall be expended as he would have -desired, for the good of these his young brothers.’ - -Lieutenant Duncan Home, another hero of the Cashmere Gate, was not one -of the wounded on that perilous occasion; he lived to receive the -approval of his superior in the engineering department; but his death -occurred even sooner than that of his companion in arms, for he was -mortally wounded on the 1st of October while engaged with an -expeditionary force in pursuit of the fleeing rebels. It was on that -day, a few hours before he received the fatal bullet, that he wrote a -letter to his mother in England; in which, after describing the -operations at the Cashmere Gate, he said: ‘I was then continually on -duty until the king evacuated the palace. I had never more than four -hours’ sleep in the twenty-four, and then only by snatches. I had also -the pleasure of blowing in the gate of the palace; luckily no one fired -at me, there being so few men left in the palace.’ - -Salkeld and Home received the ‘Victoria Cross,’ a much-coveted honour -among the British troops engaged in the Indian war. As did likewise -Sergeant Smith, who so boldly risked, yet saved, his life; and also -Bugler Hawthorne of the 52d, who blew his signal-blast in spite of the -shots whistling around him. Poor Sergeant Carmichael and Corporal -Burgess did not live to share in this honour; they fell bullet-pierced. - -[Illustration: - - State Palanquin. -] - ------ - -Footnote 78: - - Chap. xiv., pp. 230-246. - -Footnote 79: - - By comparing two wood-cuts—‘Bird’s-eye View of Delhi’ (p. 64), and - ‘Delhi from Flagstaff Tower’ (p. 76)—the reader will be assisted in - forming an idea of the relative positions of the mutineers within the - city, and of the British on the ridge and in the camp behind it. The - ‘Bird’s-eye View’ will be the most useful for this purpose, as - combining the characteristics of a _view_ and a _plan_, and shewing - very clearly the river, the bridge of boats, the camp, the ridge, the - broken ground in front of it, the Flagstaff Tower, Metcalfe House, the - Custom-house, Hindoo Rao’s house, the Samee House, the Selimgurh fort, - the city, the imperial palace, the Jumma Musjid, the walls and - bastions, the western suburbs, &c. - -Footnote 80: - - H.M. 75th foot, 100 men. - 1st Bengal Europeans, 350 men. - Coke’s Punjaub Rifles, 250 men. - H.M. 8th foot, 100 men. - 2d Bengal Europeans, 100 men. - Kumaon Goorkhas, 100 men. - 4th Sikh infantry, 100 men. - H.M. 9th Lancers, one squadron. - Horse artillery, six guns. - -Footnote 81: - H.M. 52d light infantry. - 35th Bengal native infantry. - 2d Punjaub infantry. - 9th Bengal native cavalry, one wing. - Moultan horse. - Dawe’s troop of horse-artillery. - Smyth’s troop of native foot-artillery. - Bourchier’s light-infantry battery. - -Footnote 82: - - During that famous pursuit and defeat of the Sealkote mutineers, a - wing of H.M. 52d foot marched sixty-two miles in forty-eight hours of - an Indian summer, besides fighting with an enemy who resisted with - more than their usual determination. It was work worthy of a regiment - which had marched _three thousand miles in four years_. - -Footnote 83: - - ‘What a sight our camp would be even to those who visited Sebastopol! - The long lines of tents, the thatched hovels of the native servants, - the rows of horses, the parks of artillery, the English soldier in his - gray linen coat and trousers (he has fought as bravely as ever without - pipeclay), the Sikhs with their red and blue turbans, the Afghans with - their red and blue turbans, their wild air, and their gay head-dresses - and coloured saddle-cloths, and the little Goorkhas, dressed up to the - ugliness of demons in black worsted Kilmarnock hats and woollen - coats—the truest, bravest soldiers in our pay. There are scarcely any - Poorbeahs (Hindustanis) left in our ranks, but of native servants many - a score. In the rear are the booths of the native bazaars, and further - out on the plain the thousands of camels, bullocks, and horses that - carry our baggage. The soldiers are loitering through the lines or in - the bazaars. Suddenly the alarm is sounded. Every one rushes to his - tent. The infantry soldier seizes his musket and slings on his pouch, - the artilleryman gets his guns harnessed, the Afghan rides out to - explore; in a few minutes everybody is in his place. - - ‘If we go to the summit of the ridge of hill which separates us from - the city, we see the river winding along to the left, the bridge of - boats, the towers of the palace, and the high roof and minarets of the - great mosque, the roofs and gardens of the doomed city, and the - elegant-looking walls, with batteries here and there, the white smoke - of which rises slowly up among the green foliage that clusters round - the ramparts.’ - -Footnote 84: - - ‘The first day we marched to a place called Khurkowdeh, but such a - march! We had to go through water for miles up to the horses’ girths. - We took Khurkowdeh by surprise, and Hodson immediately placed men over - the gates, and we went in. Shot one scoundrel instanter, cut down - another, and took a ressaldar (native officer) and some sowars - (troopers) prisoners, and came to a house occupied by some more, who - would not let us in at all; at last, we rushed in and found the - rascals had taken to the upper story, and still kept us at bay. There - was only one door and a kirkee (window). I shoved in my head through - the door, with a pistol in my hand, and got a clip over my turban for - my pains; my pistol missed fire at the man’s breast (you must send me - a revolver), so I got out of that as fast as I could, and then tried - the kirkee with the other barrel, and very nearly got another cut. We - tried every means to get in, but could not, so we fired the house, and - out they rushed a muck among us. The first fellow went at ——, who - wounded him, but somehow or other he slipped and fell on his back. I - saw him fall, and, thinking he was hurt, rushed to the rescue. A Guide - got a chop at the fellow, and I gave him such a swinging back-hander - that he fell dead. I then went at another fellow rushing by my left, - and sent my sword through him, like butter, and bagged him. I then - looked round and saw a sword come crash on the shoulders of a poor - youth; oh, such a cut; and up went the sword again, and the next - moment the boy would have been in eternity, but I ran forward and - covered him with my sword and saved him. During this it was over with - seven men. —— had shot one with his revolver, and the other four were - cut down at once. Having polished off these fellows, we held an - impromptu court-martial on those we had taken, and shot them - all—murderers every one, who were justly rewarded for their deeds.’ - -Footnote 85: - - H.M. 9th Lancers (Captain Sarrell), One squadron. - Guide cavalry (Captain Sandford), 120 men. - 2d Punjaub cavalry, 80 men. - Moultan horse. - H.M. 61st foot (Colonel Renny), 420 men. - 1st Bengal Europeans (Major Jacob), 380 men. - 1st Punjaub infantry (Coke’s), 400 men. - 2d Punjaub Infantry (Green’s), 400 men. - Sappers and Miners, 30 men. - Horse-artillery (Tombs’ and Olphert’s), Sixteen guns. - - Captain (now Major) Olphert being ill, the command of his troop was - taken by Captain Remington. - -Footnote 86: - - ‘Mrs ——, the wife of Mr ——, made her escape from Delhi on the morning - of the 19th. Poor creature, she was almost reduced to a skeleton; as - she had been kept in a sort of dungeon while in Delhi. Two - chuprassees, who, it appears, have all along been faithful to her, - aided her in making her attempt to escape. They passed through the - Ajmeer Gate, but not wholly unobserved by the mutineers’ sentries, as - one of the chuprassees was shot by them. It being dark at the time, - she lay hidden among the long web-grass until the dawn of day, when - she sent the chuprassee to reconnoitre, and as luck would have it, he - came across the European picket stationed at Subzee Mundee. So soon as - he could discover who they were, he went and brought the lady into the - picket-house amongst the soldiers, who did all they could to insure - her safety. As soon as she arrived inside the square, she fell down - upon her knees, and offered up a prayer to Heaven for her safe - deliverance. All she had round her body was a dirty piece of cloth, - and another piece folded round her head. She was in a terrible - condition; but I feel assured that there was not a single European but - felt greatly concerned in her behalf; and some even shed tears of pity - when they heard the tale of woe that she related. After being - interrogated by the officers for a short time, Captain Bailey provided - a doolie for her, and sent her under escort safe to camp, where she - has been provided with a staff-tent, and everything that she - requires.’ - -Footnote 87: - - _Artillery, Engineers, &c._ - European { Artillerymen of all kinds, 1350 - and { Engineers, Sappers, Miners, &c., 722 - Native. { Pioneers, unarmed and undisciplined, ? - ———— - 2072 - - _Cavalry._ - { H.M. Carabiniers, 123 - European. { H.M. 9th Lancers, 391 - - { 4th irregular cavalry (disarmed and unhorsed), 78 - { 1st Punjaub cavalry, 147 - Native. { 2d Punjaub cavalry, 114 - { 5th Punjaub cavalry, 107 - { Hodson’s Irregular Horse, 462 - { Guide corps, cavalry, 283 - ———— - 1705 - - _Infantry._ - { H.M. 8th foot, 322 - { H.M. 52d foot, 302 - { H.M. 60th Rifles, 390 - European. { H.M. 61st foot, 402 - { H.M. 75th foot, 459 - { 1st Bengal European Fusiliers, 427 - { 2d Bengal European Fusiliers, 370 - - { Sirmoor battalion, Goorkhas, 212 - { Kumaon battalion, Goorkhas, 312 - { Guide corps, infantry, 302 - Native. { 4th Sikh infantry, 414 - { 1st Punjaub infantry, 664 - { 2d Punjaub infantry, 650 - { 4th Punjaub infantry, 541 - { Belooch battalion, 322 - ———— - 6089 - -Footnote 88: - - _1st Column_, under Brigadier-general Nicholson— - Men. - H.M. 75th foot (Lieutenant-colonel Herbert), 300 - 1st Bengal Europeans (Major Jacob), 250 - 2d Punjaub infantry (Captain Green), 450 - - _2d Column_, under Brigadier Jones— - H.M. 8th foot (Lieutenant-colonel Greathed), 250 - 2d Bengal Europeans (Captain Boyd), 250 - 4th Sikh infantry (Captain Rothney), 350 - - _3d Column_, under Colonel Campbell— - H.M. 52d foot (Major Vigors), 200 - Kumaon Goorkhas (Captain Ramsay), 250 - 1st Punjaub infantry (Lieutenant Nicholson), 500 - - _4th Column_, under Major Reid— - Sirmoor Goorkhas,} - Guide infantry, } Besides Cashmere Contingent, - European pickets,} of which strength unknown. 850 - Native pickets, } - - _Reserve_, under Brigadier Longfield— - H.M. 61st foot (Lieutenant-colonel Deacon), 250 - 4th Punjaub infantry (Captain Wilde), 450 - Belooch battalion (Lieutenant-colonel Farquhar), 300 - Jheend auxiliaries (Lieutenant-colonel Dunsford), 300 - - The engineer officers were attached to the several columns as follows: - - To the 1st column, Lieuts. Medley, Lang, and Bingham. - To the 2d column, Lieuts. Greathed, Hovenden, and Pemberton. - To the 3d column, Lieuts. Home, Salkeld, and Tandy. - To the 4th column, Lieuts. Maunsell and Tennant. - To the Reserve, Lieuts. Ward and Thackeray. - -Footnote 89: - - One of the writers remarked: ‘The stout rope-mat which forms an - efficient screen to the Russian artillerymen while serving their gun, - impervious to the Minié ball, which lodges harmlessly in its rough and - rugged surface, may surely suggest to our engineers the expediency of - some effort to shield the valuable lives of our men when exposed to - the enemy’s fire. In ancient warfare, all nations appear to have - defended themselves from the deadly arrow by shields, and why the - principle of the testudo should be ignored in modern times is not - obvious. Take the instance before us—Lieutenant Salkeld and a few - others undertake the important, but most perilous duty of blowing in - the Cashmere Gate, by bags of gunpowder, in broad daylight, and in the - face of numerous foes, whose concentrated fire threatens the whole - party with certain death. It is accomplished, but at what a loss! - Marvellous indeed was it that one escaped. Now, as a plain man, - without any scientific pretensions, I ask, could not, and might not, - some kind of defensive screen have been furnished for the protection - of these few devoted men? Suppose a light cart or truck on three - wheels, having a semicircular framework in front, against which might - be lashed a rope-matting, and inside a sufficient number of sacks of - wool or hay, propelled by means of a central cross-bar pushed against - by four men within the semicircle, the engineers could advance, and on - reaching the gate, perform their work through a central orifice in the - outer matting, made to open like a flap. The party would then retire - in a similar manner, merely reversing the mode of propulsion, until - the danger was past.’ Another, Mr Rock of Hastings, said: ‘In July - 1848, I sent a plan for a movable shield for attacking barricades, to - General Cavaignac, at Paris; and on the 13th or 14th of July your own - columns (the _Times_) contained descriptions of my machine, and a - statement by your Paris correspondent that it had been constructed at - the Ecole Militaire in that city. Fortunately, it was never used - there, but there seems to me no valid reason why such a contrivance - should not be used on occasions like that which recently occurred at - Delhi. The truck proposed, with a shield in front, would serve to - carry the powder-bags, without incurring the chance of their being - dropped owing to the fall of one or two of the men employed on the - service, while the chances of premature ignition would be diminished. - These, I think, are advantages tending to insure success which should - induce military engineers to use movable cover for their men when - possible, even if they despise it as a personal protection.’ - -Footnote 90: - - When the magazine was so heroically fired by Lieutenant Willoughby, - four months earlier, the destruction caused was very much smaller than - had been reported and believed. The stores in the magazine had been - available to the rebels during the greater part of the siege. - -Footnote 91: - - _Europeans_— Killed. Wounded. - Officers, 46 140 - Non-commissioned officers, 50 113 - Rank and file, 476 1313 - - _Natives_— - Officers, 14 49 - Non-commissioned officers, 37 104 - Rank and file, 389 1076 - -Footnote 92: - - ‘The force assembled before Delhi has had much hardship and fatigue to - undergo since its arrival in this camp, all of which has been most - cheerfully borne by officers and men. The time is now drawing near - when the major-general commanding the force trusts that their labours - will be over, and that they will be rewarded by the capture of a city - for all their past exertions and for a cheerful endurance of still - greater fatigue and exposure.... The artillery will have even harder - work than they yet have had, and which they have so well and - cheerfully performed hitherto; this, however, will be for a short - period only, and when ordered to the assault, the major-general feels - assured British pluck and determination will carry everything before - them, and that the blood-thirsty and murderous mutineers against whom - they are fighting will be driven headlong out of their stronghold or - be exterminated. - - ‘Major-general Wilson need hardly remind the troops of the cruel - murders committed on their officers and comrades, as well as their - wives and children, to move them in the deadly struggle. _No quarter - should be given to the mutineers_; at the same time, for the sake of - humanity, and the honour of the country they belong to, he calls upon - them to spare all women and children that may come in their way.... It - is to be explained to every regiment that indiscriminate plunder will - not be allowed; that prize-agents have been appointed, by whom all - captured property will be collected and sold, to be divided, according - to the rules and regulations on this head fairly among all men - engaged; and that any man found guilty of having concealed captured - property will be made to restore it, and will forfeit all claims to - the general prize; he will also be likely to be made over to the - provost-marshal, to be summarily dealt with.’ - -Footnote 93: - - ‘The reports and returns which accompany this dispatch establish the - arduous nature of a contest carried on against an enemy vastly - superior in numbers, holding a strong position, furnished with - unlimited appliances, and aided by the most exhausting and sickly - season of the year. - - ‘They set forth the indomitable courage and perseverance, the heroic - self-devotion and fortitude, the steady discipline, and stern resolve - of English soldiers. - - ‘There is no mistaking the earnestness of purpose with which the - struggle has been maintained by Major-general Wilson’s army. Every - heart was in the cause; and while their numbers were, according to all - ordinary rule, fearfully unequal to the task, every man has given his - aid, wherever and in whatever manner it could most avail, to hasten - retribution upon a treacherous and murderous foe. - - ‘In the name of outraged humanity, in memory of innocent blood - ruthlessly shed, and in acknowledgment of the first signal vengeance - inflicted upon the foulest treason, the governor-general in council - records his gratitude to Major-general Wilson and the brave army of - Delhi. He does so in the sure conviction that a like tribute awaits - them, not in England only, but wherever within the limits of - civilisation the news of their well-earned triumph shall reach.’ - - Some days afterwards, Lord Canning issued a more formal and complete - proclamation, of which a few paragraphs may here be given: ‘Delhi, the - focus of the treason and revolt which for four months have harassed - Hindostan, and the stronghold in which the mutinous army of Bengal has - sought to concentrate its power, has been wrested from the rebels. The - king is a prisoner in the palace. The head-quarters of Major-general - Wilson are established in the Dewani Khas [the “Elysium” of the Mogul - palace-builders, and of Moore’s _Lalla Rookh_]. A strong column is in - pursuit of the fugitives. - - ‘Whatever may be the motives and passions by which the mutinous - soldiery, and those who are leagued with them, have been instigated to - faithlessness, rebellion, and crimes at which the heart sickens, it is - certain that they have found encouragement in the delusive belief that - India was weakly guarded by England, and that before the government - could gather together its strength against them, their ends would be - gained. - - ‘They are now undeceived. - - ‘Before a single soldier of the many thousands who are hastening from - England to uphold the supremacy of the British power has set foot on - these shores, the rebel force, where it was strongest and most united, - and where it had the command of unbounded military appliances, has - been destroyed or scattered by an army collected within the limits of - the Northwestern Provinces and the Punjaub alone. - - ‘The work has been done before the support of those battalions which - have been collected in Bengal from the forces of the Queen in China - and in her Majesty’s eastern colonies could reach Major-general - Wilson’s army; and it is by the courage and endurance of that gallant - army alone, by the skill, sound judgment, and steady resolution of its - brave commander, and by the aid of some native chiefs true to their - allegiance, that, under the blessing of God, the head of the rebellion - has been crushed, and the cause of loyalty, humanity, and rightful - authority vindicated.’ - -[Illustration: - - SIR J. E. W. INGLIS, defender of Lucknow. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - THE STORY OF THE LUCKNOW RESIDENCY. - - -There were events that made a deeper impression on the minds of the -English public; military exploits more grand and comprehensive; episodes -more fatal, more harrowing; trains of operation in which well-known -heroic names more frequently found place—but there was nothing in the -whole history of the Indian mutiny more admirable or worthy of study -than the defence of Lucknow by Brigadier Inglis and the British who were -shut up with him in the Residency. Such a triumph over difficulties has -not often been placed upon record. Nothing but the most resolute -determination, the most complete soldierly obedience, the most untiring -watchfulness, the most gentle care of those who from sex or age were -unable to defend themselves, the most thorough reliance on himself and -on those around him, could have enabled that gallant man to bear up -against the overwhelming difficulties which pressed upon him throughout -the months of July, August, and September. He occupied one corner of an -enormous city, every other part of which was swarming with deadly -enemies. No companion could leave him, without danger of instant death -at the hands of the rebel sepoys and the Lucknow rabble; no friends -could succour him, seeing that anything less than a considerable -military force would have been cut off ere it reached the gates of the -Residency; no food or drink, no medicines or comforts, no clothing, no -ammunition, in addition to that which was actually within the place at -the beginning of July, could be brought in. Great beyond expression were -the responsibilities and anxieties of one placed in command during -eighty-seven of such days—but there was also a moral grandeur in the -situation, never to be forgotten. - -In former chapters of this work,[94] much has been said concerning -Lucknow, its relations towards the British government on the one hand, -and the court of Oude on the other, and the operations which enabled -Havelock and Neill to bring a small reinforcement to its British -garrison towards the close of September; but what the garrison did and -suffered during the three months before this succour could reach them, -has yet to be told. The eventful story may be given conveniently in this -place, as one among certain intermediate subjects between the military -operations of Sir Henry Havelock and those of Sir Colin Campbell. - -Let us endeavour, by recapitulating a few facts, to realise in some -degree the position of the British at Lucknow when July commenced. The -city is a little over fifty miles from Cawnpore—exactly fifty to the -Alum Bagh, fifty-three to the Residency, and fifty-seven to the -cantonment. Most of its principal buildings, including the Residency, -were on the right or southwest bank of the river Goomtee. There was a -cantonment Residency, and also a city Residency, at both of which, -according to his daily duties, it was the custom of the lamented Sir -Henry Lawrence to dwell, before the troubles of the mutiny began; but it -is the city Residency which has acquired a notoriety that will never -die. It is also necessary to bear in mind that the mere official mansion -called the Residency bore but a small ratio to the area and the -buildings now known to English readers by that name. This ambiguity is -not without its inconveniences, for it denotes a Residency _within_ a -Residency. Understanding the Residency to mean English Lucknow, the part -of the city containing the offices and dwellings of most of the official -English residents, then it may be described as an irregular quadrangle a -few hundred yards square, jutting out at the north corner, and indented -or contracted at the west. Within that limit were numerous residences -and other buildings, some military, some political or civil, some -private. The word ‘garrison’ was applied after the defence began, to -buildings which had previously been private or official residences; if, -therefore, the reader meets in one map with ‘Fayrer’s House,’ and in -another with ‘Fayrer’s Garrison,’ he must infer that a private residence -was fortified as a stronghold when the troubles began. In this chapter -we shall in most instances denominate the whole area as the -_intrenchment_ or _enclosure_, with the Residency itself as one of the -buildings; and we shall furthermore retain the original designation of -_house_, rather than _garrison_, for each of the minor residences. The -northeast side of the whole enclosure was nearly parallel with the -river; and the north corner was in near proximity to an iron bridge -carrying a road over the river to the cantonment. - -How the British became cooped up within that enclosure, the reader -already knows; a few words will bring to recollection the facts fully -treated in the chapters lately cited. We have there seen that there were -burnings of bungalows, and cartridge troubles, as early as April, in the -cantonment of Lucknow; that on the 3d of May some of the native troops -became insubordinate at the Moosa Bagh, a military post three or four -miles northwest of the Residency; that the 3d Oude infantry was broken -into fragments by this mutiny and its consequences; that Sir Henry -Lawrence sought to restore a healthy feeling by munificently rewarding -certain native soldiers who had remained faithful under temptation; that -towards the close of the month he attended very sedulously to various -magazines and military posts in and near the city; that he fortified the -English quarter by placing defence-works on and near the walls by which -it was already three-fourths surrounded, and by setting up other -defences on the remaining fourth side; that he brought all the women and -children, and all the sick, of the English community, into the space -thus enclosed and guarded; that on the last two days of the month he had -the vexation of seeing most of the native troops in Lucknow and at the -cantonment, belonging to the 13th, 48th, and 71st infantry, and the 7th -cavalry, march off in mutiny towards Seetapoor; and that of the seven -hundred who remained behind, he did not know how many he could trust -even for a single hour. Next, under the month of June, we have seen that -nearly all the districts of Oude fell one by one into the hands of the -insurgents, increasing at every stage the difficulties which beset Sir -Henry as civil and military chief of the province; that he knew the -mutineers were approaching Lucknow as a hostile army, and that he looked -around in vain for reinforcements; that he paid off most of the sepoys -still remaining with him, glad to get rid of men whose continuance in -fidelity could not be relied on; that he greatly strengthened the -Residency, and also the Muchee Bhowan, a castellated structure northwest -of it, formerly inhabited by the dependents of the King of Oude; that -all his letters and messages to other places became gradually cut off, -leaving him without news of the occurrences in other parts of India; -that he stored the Residency with six months’ provisions for a thousand -persons as a means of preparing for the worst; and that on the last day -of the month he fought a most disastrous battle with the mutineers at -Chinhut, seven or eight miles out of Lucknow. Then, when July opened, we -have seen the British in a critical and painful situation. Lawrence -having lost many of his most valued troops, could no longer garrison the -Muchee Bhowan, the cantonment, the dâk bungalow, or any place beyond the -Residency. No European was safe except within the Residency enclosure; -and how little safety was found there was miserably shewn on the 2d of -the month, when a shell from the insurgents wounded the great and good -Sir Henry Lawrence, causing his death on the 4th, after he had made over -the military command of Lucknow to Brigadier Inglis, and the civil -command to Major Banks. - -The Europeans, then, become prisoners within the walls of the Residency -enclosure at Lucknow—officers, soldiers, revenue-collectors, judges, -magistrates, chaplains, merchants, ladies, children. And with them were -such native soldiers and native servants as still remained faithful to -the British ‘raj.’ What was the exact number of persons thus thrown into -involuntary companionship at the beginning of July appears somewhat -uncertain; but an exact enumeration has been given of those who took up -their quarters within the Residency on the 30th of May, when the -symptoms of mutiny rendered it no longer safe that the women and -children should remain in the city or at the cantonment. The number was -794.[95] The principal persons belonging to the European community at -Lucknow were the following: Sir Henry Lawrence, chief-commissioner; -Captain Hayes, military secretary; Major Anderson, chief-engineer; -Brigadier Inglis, commandant of the garrison; Brigadier Handscomb, -commandant of the Oude brigade; Captain Carnegie, provost-marshal; -Captain Simons, chief artillery officer; Colonel Master, 7th native -cavalry; Colonel Case and Major Low, H.M. 32d foot; Major Bruyère, 13th -native infantry; Major Apthorp, 41st native infantry; Colonel Palmer and -Major Bird, 48th native infantry; Colonel Halford, 71st native infantry; -Brigadier Gray, Oude Irregulars; Mr Gubbins, finance commissioner; Mr -Ommaney, judicial commissioner; Mr Cooper, chief-secretary. Some of -these died between the 30th of May and the 4th of July, but a few only. -When the whole of the Europeans, officers and privates, had been hastily -driven by the mutiny from the cantonment to the Residency; when all the -native troops who remained faithful had been in like manner removed to -the same place; and when the Muchee Bhowan and all the other buildings -in Lucknow had been abandoned by the British and their adherents—the -intrenched position at and around the Residency became necessarily the -home of a very much larger number of persons; comprising, in addition to -the eight hundred or so just adverted to, many hundred British soldiers, -and such of the sepoys as remained ‘true to their salt.’ - -In one sense, the Europeans were not taken by surprise. They had watched -the energetic exertions of Sir Henry during the month of June, in which -he exhibited so sagacious a foresight of troubles about to come. They -had seen him accumulate a vast store of provisions; procure tents and -firewood for the Residency; arm it gradually with twenty-four guns and -ten mortars; order in vast quantities of shot, shell, and gunpowder, -from the Muchee Bhowan and the magazines; make arrangements for blowing -up all the warlike _matériel_ which he could not bring in; bury his -barrels of powder beneath the earth in certain open spots in the -enclosure; bury, in like manner, twenty-three lacs of the Company’s -money, until more peaceful days should arrive; destroy many outlying -buildings which commanded or overtopped the Residency; organise all the -males in the place as component elements in a defensive force; bring in -everything useful from the cantonment; build up, in front of the chief -structures in the enclosure, huge stacks of firewood, covered with earth -and pierced for guns; bring the royal jewels and other valuables from -the king’s palace into the Residency for safety; and disarm—much to -their chagrin—the servants and dependents of the late royal family. All -this the Europeans had seen the gallant Lawrence effect during the five -weeks which preceded his death. Of the non-military men suddenly -converted into soldiers, Captain Anderson says: ‘Sir Henry Lawrence -deemed it expedient to enrol all the European and Eurasian writers in -the public offices as volunteers, and he directed arms and ammunition to -be served out to them. Some of these men were taken into the volunteer -cavalry—which also comprised officers civil and military—and the -remainder were drilled as infantry. At the commencement, when these men -were first brought together, to be regularly drilled by sergeants from -Her Majesty’s 32d regiment, the chance of ever making them act in a body -seemed almost hopeless. There were men of all ages, sizes, and figures. -Here stood a tall athletic Englishman; there came a fat and heavy -Eurasian, with more width about the waist than across the chest; next to -the Eurasian came another of the same class, who looked like a -porter-barrel, short and squat, and the belt round his waist very -closely resembled a hoop; not far off you observed an old, bent-double -man, who seemed too weak to support the weight of his musket and -pouch.... We must not always judge by appearances. Amongst this -awkward-looking body there sprang up, during the siege, bold, intrepid, -and daring men!’ - -Notwithstanding these preparations, however, the calamity fell upon the -inmates too suddenly. The fatal result of the battle of Chinhut -compelled every one to take refuge within the Residency enclosure; even -those who had hitherto lived in the city, rushed in, without -preparation, many leaving all their property behind them except a few -trifling articles. No one was, or ever could be, bitter against Sir -Henry Lawrence; yet were there many criticisms, many expressions of -regret, at the policy which led to the battle; and it is unquestionable -that much of the misery subsequently borne arose from the precipitate -arrangements rendered inevitable on the 30th of June and the following -day. When they saw the rebels march into Lucknow, invest the Residency, -set up a howitzer-battery in front of it, and loophole the walls of -houses for musketry, the Europeans could no longer wait to provide for -domestic and personal comforts, or even conveniences: they hastened to -their prison-house with such resources as could be hastily provided. - -Here, then, was a British community thrown most unexpectedly into close -companionship, under circumstances trying to all. It is no wonder that -some among the number kept diaries of the strange scenes they witnessed, -the sad distresses they bore; nor could there be other than a strong -yearning on the part of the English public for a perusal of such diaries -or narratives. Hence the publication of several small but deeply -interesting volumes relating to the defence of Lucknow—one by Mr Rees, a -Calcutta merchant, who happened, unluckily for himself, to be at Lucknow -when the troubles began; another by the wife of one of the two English -chaplains; a third by Captain Anderson; a fourth by a staff-officer.[96] -Such diaries, when used in illustration and correction one of another, -are and must ever be the best sources of information concerning the -inner life of Lucknow during that extraordinary period. - -Terrible was the confusion within the Residency enclosure for the first -few days. Those who had hastened into the place from other spots were -endeavouring to find or make something which they could call ‘home;’ -those who had been wounded at Chinhut were suffering in agony within the -walls of a building hastily fitted up for them; while the military men -looked anxiously around at the defences of the place, to see what could -be done to keep the enemy out. When the officers, civil or military, -went on the roofs of the houses, they had the mortification of seeing -the mutineers gradually concentrating their forces towards the -Residency; they saw, also, that the prisoners had escaped from the -jails, to join the ranks of those who hated or at any rate opposed the -Feringhees. - -Arrangements had for some time been in progress, and were now hastily -completed, to fortify the principal buildings within the enclosure. If -we imagine this English Lucknow to be an irregular diamond-shaped -enclosure, with the acute angles very nearly north and south; then it -may be said that the south angle was the nearest point to the Cawnpore -road, and the north angle the nearest to the iron bridge over the -Goomtee towards the cantonment. Near the south point was the house of -Captain Anderson, standing in the middle of a garden or open court -surrounded by a wall; the house was defended by barricades, and -loopholed for musketry; while the garden was strengthened by a trench -and rows of palisades. Next to this house, and communicating with it by -a hole in the wall, was a newly constructed defence-work that received -the name of the Cawnpore Battery, mounted with guns, and intended to -command some of the houses and streets adjacent to the Cawnpore road. Mr -Deprat’s house had a verandah which, for defensive purposes, was blocked -up with a mud-wall six feet high and two feet and a half thick; this -wall was continued in a straight line to that of the next house, and -carried up to a height of nine feet, with loopholes for musketry. Next -to this was a house occupied as a school for boys of the Martinière -College,[97] strengthened by a stockade of beams placed before it; and -adjacent was a street or road defended by stockades, barricades, and a -trench. Further towards the western angle of the enclosure was a -building formerly known as the Daroo Shuffa or King’s Hospital, but now -called the Brigade Mess-house, having a well-protected and lofty terrace -which commanded an exterior building called Johannes’ house. In its rear -was a parallelogram, divided by buildings into two squares or courts, -occupied in various ways by officers and their families. Then came -groups of low brick buildings around two quadrangles called the Sikh -Squares, on the tops of which erections were thrown up to enable the -troops to fire out upon the town. Separated from these by a narrow lane -was the house of Mr Gubbins, the financial commissioner; the lane was -barricaded by earth, beams, and brambles; the buildings were -strengthened in every way; while the extreme western point was a battery -formed by Mr Gubbins himself. Then, passing along the northwest side -were seen in turn the racket-court, the slaughter-house, the sheep-pen, -and the butcher-yard, all near the boundary of the fortified position, -and separated one from another by wide open spaces; there was a -storehouse for _bhoosa_ (cut chaff for cattle-food), and a guardhouse -for Europeans; and all the buildings were loopholed for musketry. In the -rear of the Bhoosa Intrenchment, as this post was called, was Mr -Ommaney’s house, guarded by a deep ditch and a cactus-hedge, and -provided with two pieces of ordnance. North of the slaughter-house a -mortar-battery was formed. The English church was the next important -building towards the north; it was speedily converted into a granary; -and in the church-yard was formed a mortar-battery capable of shelling -all the portion of the city between it and the iron bridge. This -church-yard was destined afterwards to present melancholy proofs of the -large number of deaths among the English defenders of the place. Beyond -the church-yard was Lieutenant Innes’s house, in dangerous proximity to -many buildings held by the rebels, and bounded on two sides by a garden; -it was a difficult but most important duty to strengthen this house as -much as possible. The extreme northern part of the whole enclosure, not -five hundred yards from the iron bridge, was scarcely susceptible of -defence in itself; but it was fully protected by the Redan Battery, -constructed by Captain Fulton: this was decidedly the best battery in -the whole place, commanding a wide sweep of city and country on both -banks of the river. Along the northeast side, connected at one end with -the Redan, was a series of earthworks, fascines, and sand-bags, -loopholed for musketry, and mounted with guns. A long range of sloping -garden-ground was turned into a glacis in front of the line of -intrenchment just named. In the centre of the northern half of the whole -place was the Residency proper, the official home of the -chief-commissioner; this was a large and beautiful brick building, which -was speedily made to accommodate many hundred persons; and as it was on -high ground, the terrace-roof commanded a view of the whole city—to -whoever would incur the peril of standing there.[98] The hospital, a -very large building near the eastern angle of the whole enclosure, had -once been the banqueting-room for the British resident at the King of -Oude’s court; but it was now occupied as a hospital, a dispensary, -officers’ quarters, and a laboratory for making fuses and cartridges; it -was defended by mortars and guns in various directions. The Ballee or -Bailey guard was near the hospital, but on a lower level; various parts -of it were occupied as a store-room, a treasury, and barracks; the -portion really constituting the Bailey guard gate, the station of the -sepoys formerly guarding the Residency, was unluckily beyond the limits -of the enclosure, and was productive of more harm than good to the -garrison; as a means of security, the gateway was blocked up with earth, -and defended by guns. Dr Fayrer’s house, south of the hospital, had a -terrace-roof whence rifles were frequently brought to bear on the -insurgents, and near it a gun or two were placed in position. Southward -again was the civil dispensary; and near this the post-office, a -building which, from its position and construction, was one of the most -important in the whole place; soldiers were barracked in the interior, a -shell and fuse room was set apart, the engineers made it their -head-quarters, several families resided in it, and guns and mortars were -planted in and around it. The financial-office, and the house of Mrs -Sago (mistress of a charity-school), were on the southeast side of the -enclosure, and were with great difficulty brought into a defensive -state. The judicial office, near Sago’s house, could only be protected -from an open lane by a wall of fascines and earth. The jail, near the -Cawnpore Gate, was converted into barracks; and the native hospital -became a tolerably sheltered place. The Begum’s Kothee, or ‘lady’s -house’ (formerly belonging to a native lady of rank), was in the centre -of the whole enclosure; it comprised many buildings, which were -afterwards parcelled off as commissariat store-rooms, cooking-rooms, and -dwellings for officers’ families. - -It will thus be seen that the Residency at Lucknow, so often mentioned -in connection with the history of the mutiny, was a small town rather -than a single building. But it will also be seen that this small town -was most dangerously placed, in juxtaposition to a large city full of -hostile inhabitants and revolted sepoys. Before Sir Henry Lawrence took -it in hand in June, it could be approached and entered from all sides; -and at the beginning of July only a part of the defence-works above -described were completed. The officers had to fight and build, to suffer -and work, to watch and fortify, day after day, under privations -difficult for others to appreciate. The various houses, more frequently -designated _garrisons_ by those engaged in the siege, did really deserve -that title in a military sense; for they were gradually transformed into -little forts or strongholds, each placed under one commander, and each -defended indomitably against all attacks from the enemy. To give one as -an example of many—Captain Anderson, who had resided at Lucknow, as -assistant-commissioner, ever since the annexation of Oude, made his own -house one of these fortified posts; he had under him eighteen men and -one subaltern officer, with whose aid he withstood a _five months’_ -siege, notwithstanding the enemy had nine 9-pounder guns playing on his -house. The wall of the compound around the house was levelled, and a -stockade put in its place; within the stockade was a ditch, then an -earthwork five feet high, and then another ditch with pointed bamboos, -forming a _chevaux-de-frise_. It was, in truth, a small citadel, and one -very important for the safety of the whole place. - -[Illustration: - - Plan of Residency and part of the City of Lucknow. -] - -The siege began on the 1st of July, the day following the disastrous -battle of Chinhut. It was indeed a siege, even more so than that to -which Sir Hugh Wheeler had been exposed at Cawnpore; for there was not -only constant firing of musketry, cannon, and mortars, by the -mutineers against the Residency; but there were also subterranean -mines or galleries dug from the outer streets under the enclosing -wall, to blow up the defenders and their defence-works. At every hour -of the day, at every corner of the Residency enclosure, was it -necessary to keep strict watch. A telegraph, worked at the top of one -of the buildings, gave signals to the officers at the Muchee Bhowan, -directing them to blow up that fort, and retire to the Residency with -the treasure and the guns. This was a most perilous enterprise, but -under the skilful superintendence of Captain Francis and Lieutenant -Huxhain it succeeded; 240 barrels of gunpowder, and 600,000 rounds of -ammunition, were blown into the air, to prevent them from falling into -the hands of the enemy; and then the few officers and soldiers marched -from the Muchee Bhowan to the Residency, where they helped to -strengthen the wofully small number of efficient fighting-men.[99] All -this was done by midnight on the 1st. On the 2d, while resting on a -couch after his exhausting and anxious labours, Sir Henry Lawrence was -struck by the shell which took away his valuable life; for it was a -day on which _ten thousand_ rebels were firing shells, balls, and -bullets into or at the Residency. Miss Palmer, daughter of Colonel -Palmer of the 48th, had her thigh shattered by a ball which entered -one of the buildings; and Mr Ommaney was among the wounded. On the 3d -dire confusion was everywhere visible; for all felt that their great -leader would die of his wound: none had yet fully realised the -appalling difficulties of their position; yet were they distracted by -family anxieties on the one hand, and public duty on the other. On the -4th, Lawrence descended to the grave; on that day his nephew, Mr G. H. -Lawrence, was wounded; and on that day, also, all order or legitimate -trade ceased in the city, for marauders and budmashes plundered the -shops. No military honours marked the funeral of Sir Henry; there was -neither time nor opportunity for any display; a hurried prayer was -repeated amid the booming of the enemy’s cannon, and a few spadefuls -of earth speedily covered the mortal remains of one whose good name -was not likely soon to die.[100] On or about the 5th, the enemy seized -the building known as Johannes’ house, from which they were able to -keep up a deadly fire of musketry against Anderson’s house, the jail -barracks, the post-office, and the Begum’s Kothee; it was afterwards -much regretted that this house had not been included among those -demolished by Sir Henry. On the 6th and 7th, the harassing fire -continued from various points. Some of the bhoosa, or chopped straw -for bullocks’ fodder, had been left in an ill-defended place; it was -fired by the enemy, and totally consumed, placing in imminent danger a -powder-magazine at no great distance. Major Francis had both his legs -cut off by a cannon-ball, while quietly sitting in the mess-room; Mr -Marshall, an opium-merchant, was killed, and the Rev. Mr Polehampton -was wounded, about this time. It was a cruel vexation to the garrison -to see and feel how much they were suffering through the skilful -gunnery which the British had taught to the miscreants now in the -insurgent army. The enemy’s artillerymen displayed great rapidity, -ingenuity, and perseverance, in planting batteries in positions -totally unlooked for; some even on house-tops, and others in spots -where the garrison could not respond to their fire. It was more than -suspected that Europeans were among them; indeed one reckless member -of an otherwise worthy English family was recognised among the number, -bringing discredit upon brothers and cousins who were at that very -time gallantly serving the Company elsewhere. Many of the enemy’s -batteries were not more than fifty or a hundred yards distant from the -marginal buildings of the Residency enclosure; the balls knocked down -pillars and verandahs with fearful accuracy. Most of the deaths, -however, from ten to twenty a day, were caused by musket-bullets; the -enemy had many good marksmen—especially a rebel African, who used his -musket with deadly effect from Johannes’ house. If Sir Henry Lawrence -had been a sterner soldier, if he had not been influenced by such -considerate feelings for the opinions and prejudices of others, the -British would have lost fewer lives than they did in Lucknow. We have -already said that many of the houses around the Residency were -destroyed by orders of Sir Henry, to prevent the enemy from converting -them into strongholds; but it was afterwards known that the military -officers under him urged the necessity for a still greater demolition. -Brigadier Inglis, when at a later date he made a military report of -the siege and the defence, adverted to this point in very decisive -language. ‘When the blockade commenced,’ he said, ‘only two of our -batteries were completed, part of the defences were yet in an -unfinished condition, and the buildings in the immediate vicinity, -which gave cover to the enemy, were only very partially cleared away. -Indeed, our heaviest losses have been caused by the fire from the -enemy’s sharpshooters, stationed in the adjoining mosques and houses -of the native nobility, to the necessity of destroying which the -attention of Sir Henry had been repeatedly drawn by the staff of -engineers; but his invariable reply was: “Spare the holy places, and -private property too, as far as possible;” and we have consequently -suffered severely from our very tenderness to the religious prejudices -and respect to the rights of our rebellious citizens and soldiery. As -soon as the enemy had thoroughly completed the investment of the -Residency, they occupied these houses, some of which were within easy -pistol-shot of our barricades, in immense force, and rapidly made -loopholes on those sides which bore on our post, from which they kept -up a terrific and incessant fire day and night.’ - -The second week of the siege began, bringing with it an augmentation of -the troubles already bitterly tasted. One day the Bailey guard would be -fiercely attacked, another day the Cawnpore Battery, demanding incessant -watchfulness on the part of the officers and men posted at those -outworks. Brigadier Inglis sent off letters and messages to Cawnpore and -Allahabad; but none reached their destination, the messengers being all -intercepted on the way. He did not know how his missives fared; he only -knew that no aid, no intelligence, reached him, and he measured his -resources with an anxious heart. Sometimes a few officers would retire -to snatch a little rest just before midnight, and then would be roused -at one or two o’clock in the morning by a message that Gubbins’s -house—or ‘garrison,’ as most of the houses within the enclosure were now -called—or the Bailey guard, or some other important post, was closely -attacked. Sleep, food, everything was forgotten at such moments, except -the one paramount duty of repelling the enemy at the attacked point. One -day a rebel musketeer pushed forward to such a spot as enabled him to -shoot Lieutenant Charlton within side the very door of the church. The -enemy sometimes fired logs of wood from their cannon and mortars, as if -deficient in shot and shell; but they did not slacken from this or any -other cause; they sent shots which set the commissioner’s house on fire, -causing much danger and difficulty in extinguishing the flames; and it -became perilous for any one within the enclosure to be seen for an -instant by the enemy—so deadly accurate were their marksmen. Once now -and then the officers with a few men, longing for a dash that would -inspirit them in the midst of their troubles, would astonish the enemy -by making a sortie beyond the defences, spiking a gun or two, -despatching a few of the rebels, and hastening back to the enclosure. -Lives being, however, too valuable to be risked for advantages so small -as these, the brigadier sought rather to discourage than encourage such -acts of heroism. Mr Bryson and Lieutenant Baxter were among the many who -fell at this time. The officers did men’s duty, the civilians did -military duty; for there were not hands enough to guard properly the -numerous threatened points. One night all spare hands would be called -upon to cover with tarpaulin the bhoosa stacks in the racket-court; on -another, civilians who never before did labourers’ work were called up -to dig earth and to carry sand-bags for batteries or breastworks; or -they would stand sentinels all night in drenching rains. And then, -perhaps on returning to their houses or ‘garrisons’ in the morning, they -would find them untenable by reason of the torrent of balls and bullets -to which they had been exposed. The open spots between the several -buildings became gradually more and more dangerous. ‘A man could not -shew his nose,’ says Captain Anderson, ‘without hearing the whiz of -bullets close to his head. The shot, too, came from every direction; and -when a poor fellow had nearly jerked his head off his shoulders in -making humble salutations to passing bullets, he would have his penance -disagreeably changed into a sudden and severe contortion of the whole -body to avoid a round shot or shell. So soon as a man left his post he -had no time for meditation; his only plan was to proceed rapidly. In -fact, to walk slow was in some places very, very dangerous; and many a -poor fellow was shot, who was too proud to run past places where bullets -danced on the walls like a handful of pease in a frying-pan.’ - -The third week arrived. Now were the gallant defenders still more -distressed and indignant than they had hitherto been; for the enemy -commenced firing at the Brigade Mess, where large numbers of ladies and -children had taken refuge; attacks were thus made on those who could not -defend themselves, and the officers and soldiers found their attention -distracted from necessary duties at other points. Anderson’s house had -by this time become so riddled with shot, that the stores were removed -from it; and Deprat’s house, similarly battered by the enemy, in like -manner became uninhabitable. The buildings near the boundary naturally -suffered most; and, as a consequence, those nearer the centre became -more and more crowded with inmates. Day by day did officers and men work -hard to strengthen the defences. Mortars were placed behind the -earthwork at the post-office, to jet forth shells upon the troublesome -Johannes’ house; stockades and traverses were made, to screen the -entrance to the Residency, within which so many persons were domiciled. -Nevertheless the attack increased in vigour quite as rapidly as the -defence; for the insurgents appear to have received large -reinforcements. Their custom was to fire all night, so as to afford the -garrison no rest, and thus tire them out; they so pointed a mortar as to -send two shells directly into the Residency itself; they commenced a new -battery, to bear upon Gubbins’s house; their cannon-balls—of which there -were indications of a new supply—fell upon and into Fayrer’s and -Gubbins’s houses, the post-office and the Brigade Mess; a shot burst -through a room in which many of the principal officers were -breakfasting; a mine was sprung inside the Water Gate, intended to blow -up the Redan Battery; and at the same time vigorous attacks were made -with guns and musketry on almost every part of the enclosure, as if to -bewilder the garrison with crushing onslaughts on every side. The pen -cannot describe the state of incessant anxiety into which these daily -proceedings threw the forlorn inmates of the place: no one could look -forward to a night of sleep after a harassing day; for the booming of -cannon, and the anticipated visit of a cannon-ball or a mortar-shell, -drove away sleep from most eyelids. It was on the 20th that the -specially vigorous attack, just adverted to, was made; so general and -energetic, that it almost partook of the character of a storming or -assault of a beleaguered city. Nothing but the most untiring assiduity -could have saved the garrison from destruction. Every one who could -handle a musket or load a cannon, did so; others helped to construct -stockades and earthen barriers; and even many of the sick and wounded -rose from their pallets, staggered along to the points most attacked, -sought to aid in the general cause, and in some instances dropped dead -while so doing. Almost every building was the object of a distinct -attack. The Redan Battery was fortunately not blown up, the enemy having -miscalculated the distance of their mine; but the explosion was followed -by a desperate struggle on the glacis outside, in which the insurgents -were mowed down by grape-shot before they would abandon their attempt to -enter at that point. At Innes’s house, Lieutenant Loughnan maintained a -long and fierce contest against a body of insurgents twentyfold more -numerous than the little band who aided him; before they desisted, no -less than a hundred dead and wounded were carried off by the rebels. The -financial office and Sago’s house, entirely defended by non-military -men, bore up bravely against the torrent brought against them. The -judicial office, under Captain Germon, and Anderson’s house, under -Captain Anderson, were not only successfully defended, but the handful -of troops aided other points where there were no military men. The -Brigade Mess, Gubbins’s house, the houses near the Cawnpore Battery—all -were attacked with vigour, but every attack was repelled. - -When the muster-roll was called after these exciting scenes, it was -found that many valuable lives had been lost. Yet is it truly remarkable -that less than thirty persons of all classes in the garrison were killed -or wounded on the 20th. No officer was killed; among the wounded were -Captains Lowe and Forbes, Lieutenants Edmonstone and M’Farlane, and -Adjutant Smith. Mr Rees asserts that the loss of the enemy, during seven -hours of incessant fighting, could hardly have been less than a thousand -men. It was the grape-shot poured forth from the garrison that worked -this terrible destruction. The week had been attended with its usual -list of isolated losses within the enclosure. On one day Lieutenant -Lester was killed; on another, Lieutenants Bryce and O’Brien were -wounded; and on another, Lieutenant Harmer was laid low. - -The arrival of the fourth week of the siege found Brigadier Inglis and -his companions stout in heart, but yet depressed in spirits; proud of -what they had achieved on the 20th, but fearful that many more such -dangers would beset them. The detachment of the 32d foot was that on -which Inglis most relied in a military point of view, and in that the -casualties had been 150 in three weeks. He had sent out repeated -messengers, but had hitherto obtained not a word of news from any -quarter; shut out from the world of India, he knew of nothing but his -own cares and responsibilities. On the 23d, however, a gleam of joy shot -through the garrison; a messenger, amid imminent peril, had been to -Cawnpore, and brought back news of Havelock’s victories in the Doab. -Inglis immediately sent him off again, with an urgent request to the -gallant general to advance with his column to Lucknow as quickly as -possible. The English residents began to count the days that must elapse -before Havelock could arrive—a hopeful thing at the time, but bitterly -disappointing afterwards; for they knew not how or why it was that -succour did not arrive. Whatever might be the hopes or fears for the -future, there was an ever-present danger which demanded daily and hourly -attention. Although mortified by their late defeat, the enemy did not on -that account give up their attacks. On narrowly watching, the engineers -detected the enemy forming a mine beneath the ground from Johannes’ -house to the Sikh Square and the Brigade Mess; they could hear the -miners at their subterraneous work, and they did what military engineers -are accustomed to in such cases—run out a countermine, and destroy the -enemy’s handiwork by an explosion. Above ground the attack was -maintained chiefly by artillery, the hurling of balls, shells, -shrapnels, and those abominable compounds of pitchy and sulphureous -substances which artillerymen call ‘stinkpots.’ The breakfast-table of -the officers at the post-office was one morning visited by an eight-inch -shell, which fell on it without exploding. On the 25th a letter arrived -from Colonel Tytler at Cawnpore, the first received from any quarter -throughout July; for the former messenger had brought rumours concerning -Havelock, not a letter or a message. Great was the joy at learning that -Havelock intended to advance to Lucknow; and Inglis at once sent off to -him a plan of the city, to aid his proceedings—offering the messenger -five thousand rupees if he safely brought back an answer. An anxious -time indeed was it for all, and well might they look out for succour. -Major Banks, the civil commissioner appointed by Sir Henry Lawrence, was -shot dead while reconnoitring from the top of an outhouse; he was an -officer who had served nearly thirty years in India, and who, both as a -soldier and a linguist, had won a good name. Dr Brydon was wounded; the -Rev. Mr Polehampton was killed, as were Lieutenants Lewin, Shepherd, and -Archer, and many others whose lives were valuable, not only to their -families, but to all in the garrison. The death of Major Banks increased -the cares and responsibilities of Brigadier Inglis, who, now that there -was no chief-commissioner, felt the necessity of placing the whole -community under strict military-garrison rules. - -In the official dispatch afterwards prepared by Inglis, full justice was -done to the ingenuity and perseverance of the besiegers. Speaking of the -large guns placed in batteries on every side of the enclosure, he said: -‘These were planted all round our post at small distances, some being -actually within fifty yards of our defences, but in places where our own -heavy guns could not reply to them; while the perseverance and ingenuity -of the enemy in erecting barricades in front of and around their guns, -in a very short time rendered all attempts to silence them by musketry -entirely unavailing. Neither could they be effectually silenced by -shells, by reason of their extreme proximity to our position, and -because, moreover, the enemy had recourse to digging very narrow -trenches about eight feet in depth in rear of each gun, in which the men -lay while our shells were flying, and which so effectually concealed -them, even while working the gun, that our baffled sharpshooters could -only see their hands while in the act of loading.’ - -And now, the reader may ask, what were the ladies and children doing -during this terrible month of July; and how did the officers and men -fare in their domestic and personal matters? It is a sad tale, full of -trouble and misery; and yet it is a heroic tale. No one flinched, no one -dreamed for an instant of succumbing to the enemy. It must be -remembered, as a beginning of all the privations, that the Europeans -went into the Residency very scantily supplied with personal -necessaries. When the cantonment was burned during the mutiny of the -31st of May, much property belonging to the officers was destroyed; and -when every one hurried in for shelter after the disastrous 30th of June, -no time was allowed for making purchases in the city, or bringing in -property from bungalows or storehouses outside the official stronghold. -Hence every one was driven to make the best of such commodities as had -been secured by the last day of June. Even during the greater part of -that month the troubles were many; the enclosure Residency was full of -officers and men, all hard at work; the heat was excessive; cholera, -dysentery, and small-pox were at their deadly work; the church being -full of grain, those who sought religious aid in time of need met for -divine service in any available spot; most of the native servants ran -away when the troubles began; and many of them ended their service by -robbing their masters. - -How July opened for the British, may faintly be imagined. The -commissariat chief was ill; no one could promptly organise that office -under the sudden emergency; the food and draught bullocks, unattended -to, roamed about the place; and many of them were shot, or tumbled into -wells. Terrible work was it for the officers to bury the killed -bullocks, lest their decaying carcasses should taint the air in -excessively hot weather. Some of the artillery horses were driven mad -for want of food and water. Day after day, after working hard in the -trenches, the officers had to employ themselves at night in burying dead -bullocks and horses—officers, be it understood; for the men were all -employed as sentries or in other duties. It was not until after many -days that they could turn out of the enclosure all the spare horses, and -secure the rest. As the heat continued, and as the dead bodies of -animals increased in number, the stench became overpowering, and was one -of the greatest grievances to which the garrison were exposed; the -temperature at night was often less patiently borne than that by day, -and the officers and men were troubled by painful boils. Even when wet -days occurred, matters were not much improved; for the hot vapours from -stagnant pools engendered fever, cholera, dysentery, and diarrhœa. The -children died rapidly, and the hospital-rooms were always full; the sick -and wounded could not be carried to upper apartments, because the -enemy’s shot and shell rendered all such places untenable. The officers -were put on half-rations early in the month; and even those rations they -in many cases had to cook for themselves, owing to the disappearance of -the native servants. The English ladies suffered unnumbered privations -and inconveniences. The clergyman’s wife, in her _Diary_, told of the -very first day of the siege in these words: ‘No sooner was the first gun -fired, than the ladies and children—congregated in large numbers in Dr -Fayrer’s house—were all hurried down stairs into an underground room -called the Tye Khana, damp, dark, and gloomy as a vault, and excessively -dirty. Here we sat all day, feeling too miserable, anxious, and -terrified to speak, the gentlemen occasionally coming down to reassure -us and tell us how things were going on. —— was nearly all the day in -the hospital, where the scene was terrible; the place so crowded with -wounded and dying men that there was no room to pass between them, and -everything in a state of indescribable misery, discomfort, and -confusion.’ In the preceding month it had been a hardship for the ladies -to be deprived of the luxuries of Anglo-Indian life; but they were now -driven to measure comforts by a different standard. They were called -upon to sweep their own rooms, draw water from the wells, wash their own -clothes, and perform all the menial duties of a household; while their -husbands or fathers were cramped up in little outhouses or stables, or -anywhere that might afford temporary shelter at night. When food became -scanty and disease prevalent, these troubles were of course augmented, -and difference of rank became almost obliterated where all had to suffer -alike. Many families were huddled together in one large room, and all -privacy was destroyed. The sick and wounded were, as may be supposed, in -sad plight; for, kind as the rest were, there were too many harassing -duties to permit them to help adequately those who were too weak to help -themselves. Officers and men were lying about in the hospital rooms, -covered with blood and often with vermin; the _dhobees_ or washermen -were too weak-handed for the preservation of cleanliness, and few of the -British had the luxury of a change of linen; the windows being kept -closed and barricaded, to prevent the entrance of shot from without, the -pestilential atmosphere carried off almost as many unfortunates as the -enemy’s missiles. The writer of the _Lady’s Diary_, whose narrative is -seldom relieved by one gleam of cheerfulness, departs from her habitual -sadness when describing the mode in which eleven ladies and seven -children slept on the floor in the Tye Khana or cellar, ‘fitting into -each other like bits into a puzzle.’ Chairs being few in number, most of -the ladies sat on the floor, and at meal-times placed their plates on -their knees. The cellar being perfectly dark, candles were lighted at -meal-times. The reason for keeping so many persons in this subterranean -abode was to lessen the chance of their being shot in any upper -apartment. Of one torment, the flies, every person complained bitterly -who was shut up in the Residency enclosure on those fearfully hot days. -Mr Rees says: ‘They daily increased to such an extent that we at last -began to feel life irksome, more on their account than from any other of -our numerous troubles. In the day, flies; at night, mosquitoes. But the -latter were bearable; the former intolerable. Lucknow had always been -noted for its flies; but at no time had they been known to be so -troublesome. The mass of putrid matter that was allowed to accumulate, -the rains, the commissariat stores, the hospital, had attracted these -insects in incredible numbers. The Egyptians could not possibly have -been more molested than we were by this pest. They swarmed in millions, -and though we blew daily some hundreds of thousands into the air, this -seemed to make no diminution in their numbers; the ground was still -black with them, and the tables were literally covered with these cursed -flies. We could not sleep in the day on account of them. We could -scarcely eat. Our beef, of which we got a tolerably small quantity every -day, was usually studded with them; and when I ate my miserable boiled -lentil-soup and unleavened bread, a number of scamps flew into my mouth, -or tumbled into and floated about in my plate.’ - -Let us proceed, and watch the military operations of the month of -August. - -The fifth week of the siege opened with the same scenes as before, -deepened in intensity. The enemy, it is true, did not attack with more -vigour, but the defenders were gradually weakened in every one of their -resources—except courage, and the resolution to bear all rather than -yield to the enemy. Colonel Tytler’s letter had afforded hope that the -relieving column under Havelock would arrive at Lucknow before the end -of July; but when the 30th and 31st had passed, and the 1st and 2d of -August had passed also, then were their hopes cruelly dashed. It -required all the energy of Brigadier Inglis to keep up the spirits of -himself and his companions under the disappointment. He did not know, -and was destined to remain for some time in ignorance, that Havelock had -been forced to return to Cawnpore, owing to the losses suffered by his -heroic little band. About the beginning of the month, great numbers of -additional rebel sepoys entered Lucknow, increasing the phalanx opposed -to the British. They began a new mine near Sago’s house, and another -near the Brigade Mess, in which many of the ladies and children were -sheltered; and it required all the activity of the officers to frustrate -these underground enemies. The rebels planted a 24-pounder near the iron -bridge, to batter the church and the Residency. On one day a shell burst -in a room of the Begum’s Kothee, where Lieutenant James and Mr Lawrence -were ill in bed, but without injuring them; and on another a soldier was -shot dead by a cannon-ball in the very centre room of the hospital. -Inglis tried, but tried in vain, to get any one to take a letter, even -so small as to go into a quill, to Havelock; the enterprise was so -perilous, that the offer of a great reward fell powerless. Thus reduced -to his own resources, he began anxiously to count up his stores and -supplies: he protected the powder-magazine with heavy beams, laden with -a great thickness of earth; and he got the civilians to labour at the -earthworks, and to watch the batteries, for nearly all his engineers -were ill. One engineer-officer, Captain Fulton, was happily spared from -illness longer than most of the others; and he laboured unremittingly -and most skilfully to baffle the enemy’s mining by countermining: he -organised a body of sappers from among the humbler members of the -garrison, and begged every one who did sentry-duty at night to listen -for and give information concerning any underground sounds that denoted -the driving of galleries or mines by the enemy. One of the ladies, Mrs -Dorin, was among the number who this week fell from the shots of the -enemy. An event of this kind was peculiarly distressing to all; an -officer learns to brave death, but he is inexpressibly saddened when he -sees tender women falling near him by bullets. - -The sixth week arrived. The brigadier, by redoubling his offers, did at -length succeed in obtaining the aid of a native, who started on the -dangerous duty of conveying a small note to General Havelock at -Cawnpore. This done, he renewed his anxious superintendence of matters -within the enclosure. The enemy mounted on the top of Johannes’ house, -and thence kept up a very annoying fire on the Brigade Mess. They also -recommenced mining near the Redan. On the 8th of August the garrison -could hear and see much marching and countermarching of troops within -the city, without being able to divine its cause; they fondly hoped, -when the booming of guns was heard, that Havelock was approaching. This -hope was, however, speedily and bitterly dashed; for on the following -day a great force of rebels was seen to approach from the direction of -the cantonment, cross the river, and join the main body of the -insurgents within Lucknow. This was a bad omen, for it prefigured an -increase in the number, frequency, and varieties of attack. On the 10th -the enemy succeeded in exploding one of their mines opposite Johannes’ -house; it blew up sixty feet of palisades and earthen defences. Under -cover of this surprise, and of a tremendous firing of guns, the enemy -pushed forward into all the buildings near the Cawnpore Battery and -Johannes’ house; but they encountered so steady and determined a -resistance that they were beaten at all points. Near Sago’s house, too, -they fired another mine, which blew up two soldiers; but here, in like -manner, they were repulsed after a fierce contest. This explosion was -accompanied or attended by an incident almost as strange as that -connected with the soldier at Muchee Bhowan; the two men were blown into -the air, but both escaped with their lives; one fell within the -enclosure, slightly bruised, but not seriously injured; the other, -falling into an open road between the enclosure and the enemy, jumped up -when he found himself unhurt, and clambered over a wall or through the -breach, untouched by the storm of bullets sent after him. On the same -day there were other attacks on Innes’s, Anderson’s, and Gubbins’s -houses or garrisons. Of the attacks on the Brigade Mess, the Cawnpore -Battery, and Anderson’s house, Brigadier Inglis afterwards thus spoke in -his dispatch: ‘The enemy sprang a mine close to the Brigade Mess, which -entirely destroyed our defences for the space of twenty feet, and blew -in a great portion of the outside wall of the house occupied by Mr -Schilling’s garrison. On the dust clearing away, a breach appeared -through which a regiment could have advanced in perfect order, and a few -of the enemy came on with the utmost determination; but they were met -with such a withering flank-fire of musketry from the officers and men -holding the top of the Brigade Mess, that they beat a speedy retreat, -leaving the more adventurous of their numbers lying on the crest of the -breach. While this operation was going on, another large body advanced -on the Cawnpore Battery, and succeeded in locating themselves for a few -minutes in the ditch. They were, however, dislodged by hand-grenades. At -Captain Anderson’s post, they also came boldly forward with -scaling-ladders, which they planted against the wall; but here, as -elsewhere, they were met with the most indomitable resolution; and the -leaders being slain, the rest fled, leaving the ladders, and retreated -to their batteries and loopholed defences, whence they kept up for the -rest of the day an unusually heavy cannonade and musketry fire.’ All the -attacks, it is true, were frustrated, but only by fearful labour on the -part of the defenders; every man was worn down by exhaustion on this -terrible day. A message or rather a rumour was received, obscure in its -purport, but conveying the impression that Havelock had been baffled in -his attempt to reach Lucknow: news that produced very great despondency -in the garrison, among those who had become sick at heart as well as in -body. When a cannon-ball rushed along and demolished the verandah of the -Residency or chief-commissioner’s house, it could not do less than add -to the trepidation of the numerous families domiciled within the walls -of that building, already brought into a state of nervous agitation by -the incessant noises and dangers. Death and wounds were as rife as ever -during this week. A shot broke the leg of Ensign Studdy while -breakfasting in the Residency; Captain Waterman was wounded; Lieutenant -Bryce died of a wound received some days earlier; Major Anderson, -chief-engineer, died of dysentery and over-fatigue, bringing grief to -the whole garrison for the loss of a most valuable and intrepid officer. -These were the chief names: those of humbler rank who fell to rise no -more were too many to be officially recorded; they were hastily buried -in the church-yard, and soon driven from the memories of those who had -no time to dwell on the past. - -Up to the day when the seventh week of the siege opened, there had been -twenty letters sent for succour, first by Sir Henry Lawrence, and then -by Brigadier Inglis; and to only one of these had a direct reply been -received. Only a few of them, indeed, had reached their destinations; -and of these few, a reply from one alone safely passed through all the -perils between Cawnpore and Lucknow. As has been already said, this -reply was not such as to comfort the British residents; they had to -rouse themselves to a continuance of the same kind of exertions as -before. The enemy did not give them one day, scarcely one hour, of rest. -On the 12th of August so fierce an attack was made on the Cawnpore -Battery, that all the defenders were forced to shield themselves from -the balls and bullets—still remaining at hand, however, in case a closer -assault were attempted. It being found, too, that a mine was being run -by the enemy in the direction of Sago’s house, some of the officers made -a daring sortie to examine this mine, much to their own peril. Then -commenced, as before, a system of countermining, each party of miners -being able to hear the other working in an adjoining gallery; it became -a struggle which should blow the other up; the British succeeded, and -shattered all the works of the enemy at that spot. Nothing in the whole -progress of the siege was more extraordinary than this perpetual mining -and countermining. While the infantry and artillery on both sides were -at their usual deadly work in the open air, the Sappers and Miners were -converting the ground beneath into a honey-comb of dark galleries and -passages—the enemy attempting to blow up the defence-works, and the -defenders attempting to anticipate this by blowing up the enemy. -Whenever the firing by the mutineers slackened in any material degree, -the defenders took advantage of the opportunity to make new sand-bags -for batteries and earthworks, in place of the old ones which had been -destroyed. The 15th of August was a white day within the enclosure; _no -burial took place_. It was also rendered notable by the receipt of a -letter from General Havelock—a letter telling of inability to afford -present succour, and therefore a mournful letter; but still it was -better than none, seeing that it pointed out to all the necessity for -continued exertions in the common cause. Now came the time when a great -increase of discomfort was in store for the numerous persons who had -been accommodated in the Residency, the official house of the -chief-commissioner. The building had been so shaken by shells and balls -that it was no longer secure; and the inmates were removed to other -quarters. On the 18th a terrible commotion took place; the enemy -exploded a mine under the Sikh Square or barrack, and made a breach of -thirty feet in the defence-boundary of the enclosure. Instantly all -hands were set to work; boxes, planks, doors, beams, were brought from -various quarters to stop up the gap; while muskets and pistols were -brought to bear upon the assailants. Not only did the gallant fellows -within the enclosure repel the enemy, but they made a sortie, and blew -up some of the exterior buildings which were in inconvenient proximity. -By the explosion on this day, Captain Orr, Lieutenant Meecham, and other -officers and men, were hurled into the air, but with less serious -results than might have been expected; several, however, were suffocated -by the débris which fell upon them. - -By the eighth week the garrison had become in a strange way accustomed -to bullets and balls; that is, though always in misery of some kind or -other, the report of firearms had been rendered so thoroughly familiar -to them, through every day and night’s experience, that it was a matter -of course to hear missiles whiz past the ear. Mr Rees, speaking of his -daily movements from building to building in the enclosure, says: ‘At -one time a bullet passed through my hat; at another I escaped being shot -dead by one of the enemy’s best riflemen, by an unfortunate soldier -passing unexpectedly before me, and receiving the wound through the -temples instead; at another I moved off from a place where in less than -a twinkling of an eye afterwards a musket-bullet stuck in the wall; at -another, again, I was covered with dust and pieces of brick by a -round-shot that struck the wall not two inches away from me; at another, -again, a shell burst a couple of yards away from me, killing an old -woman, and wounding a native boy and a native cook.’ Every day was -marked by some vicissitudes. On the 20th, the enemy opened a tremendous -cannonading, which knocked down a guard-room over the Mess-house, and -lessened the number of places from which the garrison could obtain a -look-out. The enemy were also on that day detected in the attempt to run -new mines under the Cawnpore Battery and the Bailey guard. This led to a -brilliant sortie, headed by Captain M’Cabe and Lieutenant Browne, which -resulted not only in the spiking of two of the enemy’s guns, but also in -the blowing up of Johannes’ house, which had been such a perpetual -source of annoyance to the garrison. It was one of the best day’s work -yet accomplished, and cheered the poor, hard-worked fellows for a time. -Yet they had enough to trouble them; the Cawnpore and Redan batteries -were almost knocked to pieces, and needed constant repair; the judicial -office became so riddled with shot that the women and children had to be -removed from it; the enemy’s sharpshooters were deadly accurate in their -aim; their miners began new mines as fast as the old ones were destroyed -or rendered innoxious; and Inglis’s little band was rapidly thinning. - -Another week arrived, the last in August, and the ninth of this perilous -life in the fortified enclosure. The days exhibited variations in the -degree of danger, but not one really bright gleam cheered the hearts of -the garrison. An advantage had been gained by the successful mining and -blowing up of Johannes’ house, once the residence of a merchant of that -name; it had been a post from which an African eunuch belonging to the -late king’s court had kept up a most fatal and accurate fire into the -enclosure, bringing down more Europeans than any other person in the -enemy’s ranks. An advantage was thus gained, it is certain; but there -were miseries in abundance in other quarters. Gubbins’s house had become -so shot-riddled, that the ladies and children domiciled there were too -much imperiled to remain longer; they were removed to other buildings, -adding to the number of inmates in rooms already sadly overcrowded. -Among the natives in the enclosure, desertions frequently took place; a -fact at which no one could reasonably be surprised, but which -nevertheless greatly added to the labours of those on whom devolved the -defence of the place. Distressingly severe as those labours had all -along been, they were now doubly so; for the enemy erected a new battery -opposite the Bailey guard, and commenced new mines in all directions. As -the defenders could seldom venture on a sortie to examine the enemy’s -works of attack, they were driven to the construction of -‘listening-galleries’—underground passages where the sound of the -enemy’s mining picks and shovels could be heard. And then would be -renewed the digging of countermines, and a struggle to determine which -party should be the first to blow up the other. The Mohurrum or -Mohammedan festival commenced this week; a period in which fanatical -Mussulmans are so fierce against all who dissent from their faith, that -the garrison apprehended a new onslaught with more force than ever; this -fear passed away, however, for though there was much ‘tom-tom’ -processioning and buffalo-horn bugling in the city, the attacks on the -enclosure did not differ much from their usual character. Another letter -was received from Havelock, which gave joy to men who found that they -were not wholly forgotten by friends in the outer world; but when they -heard that a period of at least three weeks longer must elapse before he -could possibly reach them, their overcharged hearts sank again, and deep -despondency existed for a time among them. - -[Illustration: - - English Church and Residency at Lucknow—from Officers’ Quarters. -] - -During this month of August, the women and children, the sick and -wounded, of course suffered much more terribly than in the previous -month of July. Every kind of peril and discomfort had increased in -severity; every means of succour and solace had diminished in quantity. -Death struck down many; disease and wounds laid low a still greater -number; and those who remained were a prey to carking cares, which wore -down both mind and body. Those who, in a Christian country, are -accustomed to pay the last token of respect to departed friends by -decent funeral ceremonies, were often pained by their disability to do -so in the Lucknow enclosure, under the straitened circumstances of their -position. The Rev. Mr Polehampton, after working day and night in his -kindly offices among the sick and wounded, was at length himself struck -down by cholera; and then came the mournful question, whether he could -have a coffin and a separate grave. The writer of the _Diary_, wife of -the clergyman who succeeded Mr Polehampton in his duties as a pastor, -says that her husband read the funeral-service over the dead body in -presence of the mourning widow, on the day and in the room where the -death took place, before removal for instant interment. ‘She (the widow) -was extremely anxious he should have a coffin, a wish it seemed -impossible to gratify; but —— instituted a search, and found one stored -away with some old boxes under the staircase in the hospital; and he -also had a separate grave dug for him. Since the siege, the bodies have -hitherto always been buried several in the same grave, and sewn up in -their bedding, as there are no people and no time to make coffins.’ In -their troubled state of feeling, vexations affected the different -members of the imprisoned community more acutely than would have been -the case at other times. The plague of flies can be adverted to in a -half-laughing manner by a man in health; but in the Lucknow enclosure it -was a real plague, a source of exquisite misery, against which more -complaints were uttered than almost anything else. There were also -troublesome and painful boils on the person, brought on by high -temperature and insufficient diet and medicines. Whatever might be the -amount of care taken, bullocks were frequently killed by the shot of the -enemy; and as animals so dying were not fit for human food, it became -necessary to bury the carcasses at once. A frightful duty this was, -mostly performed (as has already been stated) at night by officers, -whose few hours of possible sleep were cut short by this revolting sort -of labour. No one could leave the enclosure, except native servants -determined on escape; not an inch of ground belonged to the British -beyond the limits of the intrenched position; and therefore whatever had -to be put out of sight—dead bodies of human beings, carcasses of -bullocks and horses, garbage and refuse of every kind—could only so be -treated by being buried underground in the few open spots between the -buildings. And this, too, in the August of an Indian climate, when even -the best sanitary arrangements fail to remove offensive odours. The -officers, in all their letters and diaries, spoke of this portion of -their labours as being most distressing; while the poor women, cabined -by dozens together in single rooms, yearned, but yearned in vain, for -the breathing of a little air free from impurities. They dared not move -out, for the balls and bullets of the enemy were whizzing across and -into every open spot. Sometimes an 18-pounder shot would burst into a -room where two or three of them were dressing, or where a larger number -were at meals. In some of the houses or ‘garrisons,’ where many ladies -formed one community, they used to take it in turn to keep awake for -hourly watches during the night; one of them said in a letter: ‘I don’t -exactly know what is gained by these night-watchings—except that we are -all very nervous, and are expecting some dreadful catastrophe to -happen.’ The little children died off rapidly, their maladies being more -than could be met by the resources at hand; and those who bore up -against the afflictions were much emaciated. The husbands and fathers, -worn out with daily fatigue and nightly watching, had little solace to -afford their families; and thus the women and children were left to pass -the weary hours as best they could. A few little creatures, -‘siege-babies,’ as their poor mothers called them, came into the world -during this stormy period; and with them each day was a struggle for -life. When the native servants one by one escaped, the discomforts of -the English women of course underwent much aggravation; and when the -house or bungalow of Mr Gubbins became untenable through shot and -bullet, the difficulty was immense of finding shelter elsewhere; every -place was already overcrowded. Much additional misery befell the -officers and men from this fact—that the commissariat quarter, offensive -to every sense on account of the organic accumulations inseparable from -the slaughtering and cutting up of animals—was one of the weakest parts -in the whole enclosure, and required to be guarded at all hours by armed -men, who loathed the spot for the reason just mentioned. The chaplain, -too, found the church-yard getting into such a horrible state that he -dared not go near the graves to read the funeral-service. Mr Rees -mentions an instance to illustrate the anxieties of those who, willing -to suffer themselves, were almost crushed by witnessing the privations -of those dear to them. ‘He’ (mentioning one of the officers) ‘had at -first told me of his wife being feverish and quite overcome with the -abominable life she had to lead. And then he talked to me of his boy -Herbert; how he was attacked with cholera, and feared he was very ill; -and how, instead of being able to watch by his bedside, he had been all -night digging at Captain Fulton’s mine; and then how his child next -night was convulsed, and what little hope of his darling being spared to -them—how heart-rending the boy’s sufferings were to his parents’ -feelings—how even his (the father’s) iron constitution was at last -giving way—how he had neither medicine, nor attendance, nor proper food -for the child—and how the blowing up of the mine so close to his sick -child had frightened him. And then to-day he told me, with tears in his -eyes, that yesterday—the anniversary of his birthday—his poor child was -called away. “God’s will be done,” said he; “but it is terrible to think -of. At night we dug a hole in the garden, and there, wrapped in a -blanket, we laid him.”’ This case is not singular; many another poor -parent’s heart was thus torn. - -The provisioning of the garrison was of course a perpetual source of -anxiety to Brigadier Inglis and the other officers; or rather, the -distribution of the food already possessed, and rapidly becoming -exhausted, without any prospect of replenishing. Fresh meat was in store -for the garrison as long as any healthy bullocks remained; but in other -articles of food the deficiency became serious as the month advanced. An -immense store of attah—the coarse meal from which chupatties or cakes -were made—had been provided by Sir Henry Lawrence; but this was now -nearly exhausted, and the garrison had to grind corn daily, from the -store kept in the impromptu granaries. The women and the elder children -were much employed in this corn-grinding, by means of hand-mills. To -economise the meal thus laboriously ground, rice and unground wheat were -served out to the natives. The animal food was likely to be limited, by -the want not of bullocks, but of bhoosa or fodder to feed them; and the -commissariat-officers saw clearly before them the approach of a time -when the poor animals must die for want of food. The tea and sugar were -exhausted, except a little store kept for invalids. The tobacco was all -gone; and the soldiers, yearning for a pipe after a hard day’s work, -smoked dried leaves as the only obtainable substitute. A few casks of -porter still remained, to be guarded as a precious treasure. Once now -and then, when an officer was struck down to death, an auction would be -held of the few trifling comforts which he had been able to bring with -him into the enclosure; and then the prices given by those who possessed -means plainly told how eager was the desire for some little change in -the poor and insufficient daily food. A few effects left by Sir Henry -Lawrence were sold; among them, £16 was given for a dozen bottles of -brandy, £7 for a dozen of beer, the same amount for a dozen of sherry, -£7 for a ham, £4 for a quart bottle of honey, £5 for two small tins of -preserved soup, and £3 for a cake of chocolate. Sugar was the luxury for -which most craving was exhibited. - -We pass on now to another month, September, whose early days ushered in -the tenth week of the captivity. - -New mines were everywhere discovered. The British, officers and men, -attended sedulously to the underground listening-galleries adverted to -in a former paragraph, and there obtained unmistakable evidence that the -enemy were running mines towards Sago’s house, the Brigade Mess, the -Bailey guard, and other buildings, with the customary intent of blowing -them up, and making a forcible entry into the enclosure. Untiring -exertions at countermining alone frustrated these terrible operations. -On one day, the upper part of the Brigade Mess was smashed in by a shot; -on another, a breach was made in the wall of the Martinière temporary -school, requiring very speedy stockading and barricading to prevent the -entrance of the enemy; on another, a few engineers made a gallant sortie -from Innes’s house, and succeeded in blowing up a building from which -the enemy had maintained an annoying fire of musketry; and on another -day, an officer had the curiosity to count the cannon-balls, varying -from 3 to 24 pounds each, which had fallen on the roof of one building -alone, the Brigade Mess—they were no less than 280 in number! On the 5th -of the month, the enemy made a more than usually impetuous attack; there -were 5000 of them in sight from the Residency; they had formed a battery -on the other side of the river; they exploded two mines near the Bailey -guard and the mess-house; they advanced to Gubbins’s house and to the -Sikh Square, bringing with them long ladders to effect an escalade—in -short, they seemed determined to carry their point on this occasion. All -was in vain, however; the garrison, though worked almost to death, -gallantly rushed to every endangered spot and repelled the enemy, -hastily reconstructing such defence-works as had been destroyed or -damaged. Fortunately, the two exploded mines were short of their -intended distance: they wrought but little damage. Much marching and -countermarching were occasionally visible among the troops in the city: -vague rumours reached the Residency that Havelock had a second time -vanquished Nena Sahib’s troops at Cawnpore or Bithoor; but to what -extent these movements and rumours would influence the garrison was left -painfully undecided. The nights were more terrible than the days; for -the enemy, as if to destroy all chance of sleep, kept up a torrent of -musketry, accompanied by much shouting and screaming. Many of the -officers worked with almost superhuman energy at this time. Captains -Fulton and Anderson, Lieutenants Aitken, Clery, Innes, Hutchinson, -Tulloch, Birch, Hay, and others, were constantly on the watch for mines, -and sedulously digging countermines to foil them. - -The eleventh week found the garrison more than ever exposed to hourly -peril. The officers, driven from place to place for their few hours of -repast and repose, had latterly messed in one of the buildings of the -Begum’s Kothee; this fact seemed to be well known to the rebels, who -were from the first better acquainted with what transpired inside the -fort than the garrison were with external affairs; they directed their -shells and balls so thickly on that spot, that ingress and egress were -equally difficult. Two sides of Innes’s house were blown in, and the -whole structure made little else than a heap of ruins; the Residency, -too, became so tottering, that renewed precautions had to be taken in -that quarter; new mines were perpetually discovered, directed to points -underneath the various buildings; and the enemy sought to increase their -means of annoyance by booming forth shells filled with abominable and -filthy compositions. Perhaps the most harassing troubles were owing to -the uncertainty of the time and place when active services would be -needed. The officers could not reckon upon a single minute of peace. ‘In -the midst of all these miseries,’ says Captain Anderson, ‘you would hear -the cry of “Turn out;” and you had to seize your musket and rush to your -post. Then there was a constant state of anxiety as to whether we were -mined or not; and we were not quite sure, whilst we were at a loophole, -that we might not suddenly see the ground open, or observe the whole -materials of the house fly into the air by the explosion of a mine. -Shells came smashing into our rooms, and dashed our property to pieces; -then followed round-shot, and down tumbled huge pieces of masonry, while -hits of wood and brick flew in all directions. I have seen beds -literally blown to atoms, and trunks and boxes completely smashed into -little bits.’ Nevertheless, there was no flinching in the garrison; if a -mine were discovered, a countermine was run out to frustrate it; if a -wall or a verandah were knocked down by shot, the débris was instantly -used to form a rampart, barricade, or stockade. On the 14th of the -month, a loss was incurred which caused grief throughout the garrison. -Captain Fulton, whose indomitable energy had won the admiration of all -in his duties as engineer, and whose kindness of manner had rendered him -a general favourite, was struck by a cannon-ball which took his head -completely off. Brigadier Inglis felt this loss sensitively, for Fulton -had been to him an invaluable aid in all his trials and difficulties. -Fulton, who was especially marked by his skill and promptness in -countermining, had succeeded Major Anderson as chief-engineer, and was -himself now succeeded by Captain Anderson. - -The twelfth week, the last which the beleaguered English were destined -to suffer before the one which was to bring Havelock and Neill to -Lucknow, found them in great despondency. They had lately lost a number -of valuable officers. Lieutenant Birch fell; then M. Deprat, a merchant -who worked and fought most valiantly at the defences; then Captain -Cunliffe; and then Lieutenant Graham, whose mental firmness gave way -under privation, grief, and wounds, leading him to commit suicide. As a -natural consequence of these and similar losses, harder work than ever -pressed on those who remained alive. Never for a moment was the look-out -neglected. At all hours of the day and night, officers were posted on -the roofs of the Residency and the post-office, finding such shelter as -they could while watching intently the river, the bridges, the roads, -and the buildings in and around the city; every fact they observed, -serious in its apparent import, was at once reported to Brigadier -Inglis, who made such defensive arrangements as the circumstances made -desirable, and as his gradually lessened means rendered possible. What -were the sleepless nights thus added to harassing days for the -responsible guardian of the forlorn band, may to some extent be -conceived. The enemy’s batteries were now more numerous than ever. They -were constructed near the iron bridge; in a piece of open ground that -formerly comprised the Residency kitchen-garden; near a mosque by the -swampy ground on the river’s bank; in front of a range of buildings -called the Captan Bazaar; in the Taree Kothee opposite the Bailey guard; -near the clock-tower opposite the financial office; in a garden and -buildings opposite the judicial office and Anderson’s house; in numerous -buildings that bore upon the Cawnpore Battery and the Brigade Mess; in -fields and buildings that commanded Gubbins’s house; and in positions on -the northwest of the enclosure—in other words, the whole place was -surrounded by batteries bristling with mortars and great guns, some or -other of which were almost incessantly firing shot and shell into it. - -And what, the reader may anxiously ask, was the domestic or personal -life of the inmates of the enclosure during these three weeks of -September? It was sad indeed—beyond the former sadness. If the men -toiled and watched in sultry dry weather, they were nearly overcome by -heat and noisome odours; if they slept in the trenches in damp nights -after great heat, they suffered terribly in their limbs and bones, for -they had neither tents nor change of clothing. Such was the state to -which the whole of the ground was brought, by refuse of every kind, that -a pool resulting from a shower of rain soon became an insupportable -nuisance; sanitary cleansings were unattainable by a community who had -neither surplus labour nor efficient drains at command. Half the -officers were ill at one time, from disease, over-fatigue, and -insufficient diet; and when they were thus laid prostrate, they had -neither medicines nor surgeons sufficient for their need. There was not -a sound roof in the whole place. On one day a cannon-ball entered at one -end of the largest room in the hospital, traversed the whole length, and -went out at the other—but, singular to relate, it did not hurt one human -being in the whole crowded apartment. In the commissariat department, -some of the bullocks yet remaining fell sick through privations, others -were shot; thereby lessening the reserve store, and adding to the -repulsive night-duties of the officers already adverted to. Of the few -native servants still remaining, hardly one now could be retained; and -the saving of their simple food was an inadequate counterbalance for the -loss of their assistance in drudgery labours. There were not, however, -wanting proofs of a fact abundantly illustrated in many walks of -life—the moral healthiness of useful employment. One of the ladies, -whose early weeks in the Residency had been weeks of misery, afterwards -wrote thus: ‘I now find every hour of the day fully occupied. It is a -great comfort to have so much to do, and to feel one’s self of some -little use; it helps one to keep up one’s spirits much better than would -otherwise be possible under the circumstances.’ The live-stock, the rum, -the porter, were all getting low; tea, sugar, coffee, and chocolate had -long disappeared from the rations. Such officers and civilians as had -money in their pockets, were willing to give almost any prices for the -few luxuries still remaining in private hands, in order that they might -in some degree alleviate the sufferings of their wives and children. -Forty shillings were eagerly given for a bottle of brandy; thirty-two -for a bottle of curaçoa; forty for a small fowl; sixteen shillings per -pound were offered, but offered in vain, for sugar; two shillings a -pound for coarse flour; ten shillings a pound for a little half-rancid -butter or ghee; tobacco, four shillings _a leaf_; a bottle of pickles, -forty shillings. Mr Rees sold a gold watch to a companion who had money -to spare, and with it purchased the luxury of smoking cigars at two -shillings each; but when those bits of rolled tobacco-leaf commanded -three rupees or six shillings each, he bade adieu to his last remaining -source of personal enjoyment. What any one _gave_, he gave out of kind -sympathy to his suffering companions; but what he _sold_, he sold in the -usual commercial spirit to the highest bidder. The attire was reduced to -the most piteous condition. Many of the officers had found much of their -clothing burned nearly four months earlier, during the mutiny at the -cantonment; and the troubles of June had prevented them from making -purchases in the city before the arrival of the day when they were all -alike to be shut up in the enclosure. As a consequence, their remaining -clothes wore away to rags, or something worse. There was scarcely a -vestige of a military uniform visible throughout the place. Officers -worked and fought, dined and slept, in shirt, trousers, and slippers; -one made himself a coat out of a billiard table-cloth; and another -contrived a sort of shirt out of a piece of floor-cloth. When the -trifling effects of one of the deceased officers came to be examined and -sold, a little underclothing was sought for with an eagerness which -sumptuous garments would not have excited; four pounds sterling were -given for a new flannel-shirt, and twelve pounds for five others which -had already rendered much service. - -Joy, joy beyond expression rang through the enclosure when, on the 21st -of September, the rumour ran round that a messenger had arrived with -good news. Inglis had, a few days before, sent off a spy on the -often-tried but generally unsuccessful attempt to carry a small note -(enclosed in a quill); the peril had been great, but the man safely -returned with a small written reply from Havelock, announcing that -Outram and himself were on the road from Cawnpore, and expected to reach -Lucknow in three or four days. Hearts were filled to overflowing with -this announcement. Many wept for joy, some laughed and shouted, more -sank on their knees in thanksgiving, while the sick and wounded rose -from their pallets, as if wondrously strengthened by the glad tidings. -All worked hard and vigorously, in their respective ways, to prepare for -the struggle inevitable on any attempt of the two generals to penetrate -through the streets of the city; the inmates of the garrison could not, -it is true, leave their stronghold to join in the fight, but they might -possibly aid when the forlorn-hope was approaching the Bailey guard, the -probable place of entrance. The 22d passed over in hopes and fears, -expectations and preparations. On the 23d, musketry was heard on the -Cawnpore road, and much agitation was visible within the city. On the -next day, cannonading and musketry were again heard; and then were the -garrison rejoiced at seeing multitudes escaping out of the city, and -over the bridge to the other side of the river—rejoiced, because this -movement denoted success on the part of the advancing British. - -The 25th arrived—the day of deliverance! Prodigious agitation and alarm -had marked the city all night: movements of men and horses, and all the -indications of a city in commotion. At noon, the increasing sounds told -that street-fighting was going on; those who went on the top of the -Residency for a look-out could see the smoke of musketry, but nothing -else. As the afternoon advanced, the sounds came nearer and nearer;[101] -then was heard the sharp crack of rifles; then was gradually perceived -the flash of musketry; and then the well-known uniforms of a friendly -hand. Outram and Havelock, when they had fought their way over the canal -by the Char Bagh Bridge (bridge of the ‘four gardens’), intended to have -taken the straight road to the Residency; but this road had been blocked -up by the enemy with guns, palisades, stockades, barricades, concealed -pits and trenches, and other obstacles. The two generals therefore -diverged to the right, marched along a by-road to the eastern part of -the city, and there fought their way through a continuous line of -streets to the Bailey guard entrance of the Residency enclosure, -suffering terribly as they went.[102] Great was the shout with which -they were welcomed, and warm the grasp with which Inglis thanked his -deliverers. ‘The immense enthusiasm,’ says Mr Rees, ‘with which they -were greeted defies description. As their hurrah and ours rang in my -ears, I was nigh bursting with joy.... We felt not only happy, happy -beyond imagination, and grateful to that God of mercy who, by our noble -deliverers, Havelock and Outram, and their gallant troops, had thus -snatched us from imminent death; but we also felt proud of the defence -we had made, and the success with which, with such fearful odds to -contend against, we had preserved, not only our own lives, but the -honour and lives of the women and children intrusted to our keeping. As -our deliverers poured in, they continued to greet us with loud -hurrahs.... We ran up to them, officers and men without distinction, and -shook them by the hands—how cordially, who can describe? The shrill -notes of the Highlanders’ bagpipes now pierced our ears. Not the most -beautiful music ever was more welcome, more joy-bringing. And these -brave men themselves, many of them bloody and exhausted, forgot the loss -of their comrades, the pain of their wounds, the fatigue of overcoming -the fearful obstacles they had combated for our sakes, in the pleasure -of having accomplished our relief.’ What the women felt on this day, the -_Lady’s Diary_ will tell us. ‘Never shall I forget the moment to the -latest day I live. It was most overpowering. We had no idea they were so -near, and were breathing air in the portico as usual at that hour, -speculating when they might be in—not expecting they could reach us for -several days longer; when suddenly, just at dark, we heard a very sharp -fire of musketry close by, and then a tremendous cheering. An instant -after, the sound of bagpipes, then soldiers running up the road, our -compound and verandah filled with our deliverers, and all of us shaking -hands franticly, and exchanging fervent “God bless you’s!” with the -gallant men and officers of the 78th Highlanders. Sir James Outram and -staff were the next to come in, and the state of joyful confusion and -excitement was beyond all description. The big, rough-bearded soldiers -were seizing the little children out of our arms, kissing them with -tears rolling down their cheeks, and thanking God they had come in time -to save them from the fate of those at Cawnpore. We were all rushing -about to give the poor fellows drinks of water, for they were perfectly -exhausted; and tea was made down in the Tye Khana, of which a large -party of tired, thirsty officers partook, without milk or sugar; we had -nothing to give them to eat. Every one’s tongue seemed going at once -with so much to ask and to tell; and the faces of utter strangers beamed -upon each other like those of dearest friends and brothers.’ - -After a night, in which joy kept many awake whom fatigue would have else -sent into a deep sleep, the dawn of the 26th ushered in a day in which -there was again to be much severe fighting; for some of Havelock’s -heroic little band had been left in palatial buildings outside the -Residency enclosure, which they managed to hold during the night. To -succour these comrades, to bring in the guns which they had guarded, and -to obtain firm possession of the buildings, were objects that required -great exertion and daring courage. The attempt succeeded. The palaces of -Fureed Buksh and Taree Kothee were conquered from the enemy, and formed -into new intrenched positions, which greatly relieved the overcrowded -Residency. When the further conquest of the Chuttur Munzil palace and -other buildings near the river-side had been effected, the position held -by the British was thrice as large in area as that which Brigadier -Inglis had so long and so gallantly defended. It lay along the -river-bank for a considerable distance; while on the other side it was -bounded by a dense mass of the streets constituting the main portion of -the city. - -One of the results of Havelock and Outram’s advance was the capture of -an important outpost. At a spot three or four miles out of Lucknow, near -the new road from Cawnpore, was the Alum Bagh, the ‘garden of the Lady -Alum or beauty of the world.’ It comprised several buildings, including -a palace, a mosque, and an emambarra or private temple, bounded by a -beautiful garden, which was itself in the middle of a park, and the park -enclosed in a wall with corner towers. There was abundant space within -it for a large military force, and it was susceptible of being made a -stronghold if the defences were well maintained. Havelock, on his -advance from Cawnpore, found the enemy drawn up in considerable -strength, within and without the wall of the Alum Bagh; and it was only -after a hot and fierce contest that he could capture the place. He -encamped there on the night of the 23d, and had to bear many attacks -from the enemy near the same spot on the 24th. On the 25th he advanced -to Lucknow, and maintained the sanguinary street-fight already noticed. -The Alum Bagh was too important a place to be abandoned when once -conquered. Havelock left there the baggage, ammunition, sick, and -wounded, of his relieving force; with 300 men to protect them, and an -immense array of elephants, camels, horses, camp-followers, and laden -carts; and with four guns to aid in the defence. No one for an instant -supposed that that detachment would be left there without further aid. -Havelock and his men fully expected, that, Lucknow once conquered, the -Alum Bagh would simply be one of the strongholds of his position with -which he could communicate when he pleased. Little did he look forward -to the state of things actually produced, when the occupants of the Alum -Bagh were so completely isolated from the British in the city, that they -could not send even a message, unless by good-fortune a _kossid_ or -native messenger succeeded in conveying, in a quill or in the sole of -his shoe, a brief letter from the one place to the other. - -This isolated position of the little garrison at Alum Bagh was, -moreover, only one among many grave subjects that speedily presented -themselves for consideration. After the first outburst of thankfulness -at the arrival of the welcome deliverers, the residents in the Lucknow -intrenchment had to ask themselves to what extent it was really a -deliverance. Then did they find that, in effect, they were as close -prisoners as ever. Havelock had lost nearly one-third of his small force -during the desperate encounters of the past few days; and those who -survived were far too weak for any considerable military operations. The -one great, absorbing, sacred, deeply earnest object he had all along -held in view, was to save his fellow-countrymen, their wives and -children, from horrors such as had been perpetrated at Cawnpore. To his -dying day he remained deeply grateful that he had been permitted to -effect this; but what more could he do? Could he remain a conqueror in -Lucknow, or could he bring away from that city all those who for four -months had been exposed to such peril! He could do neither the one nor -the other. The result of the fighting on the 25th and 26th of September -had given to him the command of a larger portion of the city than the -Residency enclosure, which had been so long and so gallantly maintained -by Inglis; but he could neither gain another inch without struggling for -it, nor retain the portion already acquired without incessant -watchfulness and assiduity. Nor could he make the Residency and the Alum -Bagh component parts of one great stronghold, seeing that the British -were alike besieged in the one and the other, and could not hold -intercommunication. Nor could he send the women and children to -Allahabad or any other place of safety; they would all have been cut to -pieces on the road, so small was the escort he could afford, and so -overwhelming the force of the enemy. The whole of the immediate benefit -consisted in an increase in the number of British for the defence-works; -but as these hard-working and hard-fighting troops brought little or no -supplies further than the Alum Bagh, there was an increase rather in the -number of mouths to be fed than in the means of feeding them. The -disappointment of Inglis’s garrison, after the first joy had passed, was -very severe. Captivity and short commons were still to be their lot. -Many councils of war were held, to determine what should be done. A -party of volunteer cavalry on one day set out with the intention of -cutting their way to the Alum Bagh, and perhaps to Cawnpore, to seek for -reinforcements and to give notice of the exact state of affairs; but -they were driven back almost immediately, by a body of rebels too large -to be resisted. Sir James Outram sought to ascertain whether any of the -influential natives in the city were disposed, by tempting offers, to -render him and his companions aid in their difficulties; but here in -like manner failure resulted. The scene was very miserable until -something like order could be restored. The poor fellows who had fallen -on the 25th and 26th had been brought into the intrenchment, some to be -buried, some to be healed if possible. The authoress of the _Lady’s -Diary_ said: ‘The hospital is so densely crowded, that many have to lie -outside in the open air, without bed or shelter. —— says he never saw -such a heart-sickening scene. It is far worse than that after -Chinhut—amputated arms and legs lying about in heaps all over the -hospital, and the crowd and confusion such that little can be done to -alleviate the intense discomfort and pain of the poor sufferers.’ - -It might be interesting to surviving friends, but would be tedious to -general readers, to present here a list of all the persons mentioned by -name in Brigadier Inglis’s dispatch as having distinguished themselves -in this most gallant struggle. They amount to about ninety in number. -Indeed, it may well be supposed that at such a time every soldier worthy -of the name, every civilian with a drop of honest blood in him, would -achieve things of which, at another time, he would scarcely deem himself -capable. Not only British; for Captain Anderson mentions two gentlemen -of foreign birth, a Frenchman and an Italian, who, shut up like the rest -in the intrenchment, fought and worked as untiringly as their -companions. In a foot-note we give the names of officers mentioned by -Brigadier Inglis as having died during the siege;[103] and in another, -of those who commanded eleven of the outposts or ‘garrisons,’ those -fortified houses which were defended in so extraordinary a way.[104] Of -all these he had a kindly word to say; as well as of the artillery and -engineer officers, the infantry officers, the officers of the staff, the -surgeons and the chaplains, the commissariat-officers, the -gentlemen-volunteers, the humble rank and file, and the ladies who -became the ‘Florence Nightingales’ of the garrison. Nothing, perhaps, in -the whole course of the siege, was more remarkable than the conduct of -the native troops. It will be remembered that when three native infantry -regiments mutinied at the cantonment on the 30th of May, some of the -sepoys in each remained faithful. This select band shared all the -labours and sufferings of the British during the siege. With scanty -food, little and broken sleep, harassing exertions, daily fightings, -they remained steadfast to the last. Though sorely tempted by the -mutineers, who would often converse with them over the palisades of the -intrenchment, they never flinched from their duty. What they were on the -30th of May, they were on the 25th of September, soldiers ‘true to their -salt.’ Few things are more embarrassing, in taking an estimate of the -causes and progress of the Revolt, than to meet with such anomalies as -this. Explain it how we may, it would be gross injustice to withhold -from such men a tribute of admiration for their fidelity at so trying a -time. May there not have been something of a moral grandeur, a sublimity -of heroism, in the conduct of the devoted garrison, that touched the -hearts of these sepoys, and appealed to their better nature? - -Viscount Canning did not fail to give an official recognition of the -merits of those who had made this glorious defence. In an ‘Order in -Council,’ issued at Calcutta, after adverting to the receipt of a -military account of the proceedings from Brigadier Inglis, his lordship -said: - -‘The governor-general in council believes that never has a tale been -told which will so stir the hearts of Englishmen and Englishwomen.... -There does not stand recorded in the annals of war an achievement more -truly heroic than the defence of the Residency at Lucknow. That defence -has not only called forth all the energy and daring which belong to -Englishmen in the hour of active conflict, but it has exhibited -continuously, and in the highest degree, that noble and sustained -courage which against enormous odds and fearful disadvantages, against -hope deferred, and through increasing toil and wear of body and mind, -still holds on day after day, and triumphs. The heavy guns of the -assailants, posted almost in security within fifty yards of the -intrenchments—so near, indeed, that the solicitations, threats, and -taunts which the rebels addressed to the native defenders of the -garrison were easily heard by those true-hearted men; the fire of the -enemy’s musketry, so searching that it penetrated the innermost retreat -of the women and children and of the wounded; their desperate attempts, -repeatedly made, to force an entry after blowing in the defences; the -perpetual mining of the works; the weary night-watching for the expected -signal of relief; and the steady waste of precious lives until the -number of English gunners was reduced below that of the guns to be -worked—all these constitute features in a history which the -fellow-countrymen of the heroes of Lucknow will read with swelling -hearts, and which will endure for ever as a lesson to those who shall -hope, by treachery, numbers, or boldness in their treason, to overcome -the indomitable spirit of Englishmen.’ - -The officer who so nobly held the command after Lawrence and Banks -had been stricken down by death, well earned the honours which the -Queen afterwards conferred upon him. He entered Lucknow as a -lieutenant-colonel; he left it as Major-general Sir John Eardley -Wilmot Inglis, K.C.B. Promotion in various ways awaited many of -the other officers; but the immediate recognition by the -governor-general of the services rendered by the garrison was -embodied in the following general order: ‘Every officer and -soldier, European and native, who has formed part of the garrison -of the Residency between the 29th of June and the 25th of -September last shall receive six months’ batta. Every civilian in -the covenanted service of the East India Company who has taken -part in the defence of the Residency within the above-named dates -shall receive six months’ batta, at a rate calculated according to -the military rank with which his standing corresponds. Every -uncovenanted civil officer or volunteer who has taken a like part -shall receive six months’ batta, at a rate to be fixed according -to the functions and position which may have been assigned to him. -Every native commissioned and non-commissioned officer and soldier -who has formed part of the garrison shall receive the Order of -Merit, with the increase of pay attached thereto, and shall be -permitted to count three years of additional service. The soldiers -of the 13th, 48th, and 71st regiments native infantry, who have -been part of the garrison, shall be formed into a regiment of the -line, to be called “the Regiment of Lucknow,” the further -constitution of which, as regards officers and men, will be -notified hereafter.’ - -What was done at Lucknow during October and November must be recorded in -a future chapter. While Outram, Havelock, and Inglis were maintaining -themselves, by indomitable resolution, in the Residency and the Alum -Bagh, Sir Colin Campbell was collecting a force adequate, if not to the -actual reconquest of Lucknow, at least to the rescue of all the British -of every class residing in that hateful city. Those two concurrent lines -of proceeding will be treated in intimate connection, a few pages on. - - - Note. - - _Brigadier Inglis’s Dispatch._—In order that the narrative contained - in the foregoing chapter might not be interrupted by too many - extracts from official documents, little has been said of the report - which Brigadier Inglis drew up of the siege soon after the arrival - of Outram and Havelock. So vividly, however, and in all respects so - worthily, did that report or dispatch portray the trying - difficulties of the position, and the heroic conduct of the - garrison, that it may be well to give a portion of it in this place. - - ‘The right honourable the governor-general in council will feel that - it would be impossible to crowd within the limits of a dispatch even - the principal events, much less the individual acts of gallantry, - which have marked this protracted struggle. But I can - conscientiously declare my conviction, that few troops have ever - undergone greater hardships, exposed as they have been to a - never-ceasing musketry-fire and cannonade. They have also - experienced the alternate vicissitudes of extreme wet and of intense - heat, and that, too, with very insufficient shelter from either, and - in many places without any shelter at all. In addition to having had - to repel real attacks, they have been exposed night and day to the - hardly less harassing false alarms which the enemy have been - constantly raising. The insurgents have frequently fired very - heavily, sounded the advance, and shouted for several hours - together, though not a man could be seen: with the view, of course, - of harassing our small and exhausted force. In this object they - succeeded, for no part has been strong enough to allow of a portion - only of the garrison being prepared in the event of a false attack - being turned into a real one; all, therefore, had to stand to their - arms and to remain at their posts until the demonstration had - ceased; and such attacks were of almost nightly occurrence. The - whole of the officers and men have been on duty night and day during - the 87 days which the siege had lasted up to the arrival of Sir J. - Outram, G.C.B. In addition to this incessant military duty, the - force has been nightly employed in repairing defences, in moving - guns, in burying dead animals, in conveying ammunition and - commissariat stores from one place to another, and in other - fatigue-duties too numerous and too trivial to enumerate here. I - feel, however, that any words of mine will fail to convey any - adequate idea of what the fatigue and labours have been—labours in - which all ranks and all classes, civilians, officers, and soldiers, - have all borne an equally noble part. All have together descended - into the mine, and have together handled the shovel for the - interment of the putrid bullocks; and all, accoutred with musket and - bayonet, have relieved each other on sentry without regard to the - distinctions of rank, civil or military. Notwithstanding all these - hardships, the garrison has made no less than five sorties, in which - they spiked two of the enemy’s heaviest guns, and blew up several of - the houses from which they had kept up their most harassing fire. - Owing to the extreme paucity of our numbers, each man was taught to - feel that on his own individual efforts alone depended in no small - measure the safety of the entire position. This consciousness - incited every officer, soldier, and man, to defend the post assigned - to him with such desperate tenacity, and to fight for the lives - which Providence had intrusted to his care with such dauntless - determination, that the enemy, despite their constant attacks, their - heavy mines, their overwhelming numbers, and their incessant fire, - could never succeed in gaining one single inch of ground within the - bounds of this straggling position, which was so feebly fortified, - that had they once obtained a footing in any of the outposts the - whole place must inevitably have fallen. - - ‘If further proof be wanting of the desperate nature of the struggle - which we have, under God’s blessing, so long and so successfully - waged, I would point to the roofless and ruined houses, to the - crumbled walls, to the exploded mines, to the open breaches, to the - shattered and disabled guns and defences, and lastly, to the long - and melancholy list of the brave and devoted officers and men who - have fallen. These silent witnesses bear sad and solemn testimony to - the way in which this feeble position has been defended. - - ‘During the early part of these vicissitudes, we were left without - any information whatever regarding the posture of affairs outside. - An occasional spy did indeed come in with the object of inducing our - sepoys and servants to desert; but the intelligence derived from - such sources was, of course, entirely untrustworthy. We sent our - messengers, daily calling for aid, and asking for information, none - of whom ever returned until the 26th day of the siege; when a - pensioner named Ungud came back with a letter from General - Havelock’s camp, informing us that they were advancing with a force - sufficient to bear down all opposition, and would be with us in five - or six days. A messenger was immediately despatched, requesting that - on the evening of their arrival on the outskirts of the city two - rockets might be sent up, in order that we might take the necessary - measures for assisting them while forcing their way in. The sixth - day, however, expired, and they came not; but for many evenings - after, officers and men watched for the ascension of the expected - rockets, with hopes such as make the heart sick. We knew not then, - nor did we learn until the 29th of August—or 35 days later—that the - relieving force, after having fought most nobly to effect our - deliverance, had been obliged to fall back for reinforcements; and - this was the last communication we received until two days before - the arrival of Sir James Outram, on the 25th of September. - - ‘Besides heavy visitations of cholera and small-pox, we have also - had to contend against a sickness which has almost universally - pervaded the garrison. Commencing with a very painful eruption, it - has merged into a low fever, combined with diarrhœa; and although - few or no men have actually died from its effects, it leaves behind - a weakness and lassitude which, in the absence of all material - sustenance, save coarse beef, and still coarser flour, none have - been able entirely to get over. The mortality among the women and - children, and especially among the latter, from these diseases and - from other causes, has been perhaps the most painful characteristic - of the siege. The want of native servants has also been a source of - much privation. Owing to the suddenness with which we were besieged, - many of these people, who might perhaps have otherwise proved - faithful to their employers, but who were outside the defences at - the time, were altogether excluded. Very many more deserted, and - several families were consequently left without the services of a - single domestic. Several ladies have had to tend their children, and - even to wash their own clothes, as well as to cook their scanty - meals, entirely unaided. Combined with the absence of servants, the - want of proper accommodation has probably been the cause of much of - the disease with which we have been afflicted. - - ‘I cannot refrain from bringing to the prominent notice of his - lordship in council the patient endurance and the Christian - resignation which have been evinced by the women of this garrison. - They have animated us by their example. Many, alas! have been made - widows and their children fatherless in this cruel struggle. But all - such seem resigned to the will of Providence; and many—among whom - may be mentioned the honoured names of Birch, of Polehampton, of - Barbor, and of Gall—have, after the example of Miss Nightingale, - constituted themselves the tender and solicitous nurses of the - wounded and dying soldiers in the hospital.’ - - [After enumerating the officers and civilians who had wrought - untiringly in the good cause, Brigadier Inglis did ample justice to - the humbler combatants.] - - ‘Lastly, I have the pleasure of bringing the splendid behaviour of - the soldiers—namely, the men of her Majesty’s 32d foot, the small - detachment of her Majesty’s 84th foot, the European and native - artillery, the 13th, 48th, and 71st regiments of native infantry, - and the Sikhs of the respective corps—to the notice of the - government of India. The losses sustained by her Majesty’s 32d, - which is now barely 300 strong, by her Majesty’s 84th, and by the - European artillery, shew at least that they knew how to die in the - cause of their countrymen. Their conduct under the fire, the - exposure, and the privations which they have had to undergo, has - been throughout most admirable and praiseworthy. - - ‘As another instance of the desperate character of our defence, and - the difficulties we have had to contend with, I may mention that the - number of our artillerymen was so reduced, that on the occasion of - an attack, the gunners, aided as they were by men of her Majesty’s - 32d foot, and by volunteers of all classes, had to run from one - battery to another wherever the fire of the enemy was hottest, there - not being nearly enough men to serve half the number of guns at the - same time. In short, at last the number of European gunners was only - 24, while we had, including mortars, no less than 30 guns in - position. - - ‘With respect to the native troops, I am of opinion that their - loyalty has never been surpassed. They were indifferently fed and - worse housed. They were exposed, especially the 13th regiment, under - the gallant Lieutenant Aitken, to a most galling fire of round-shot - and musketry, which materially decreased their numbers. They were so - near the enemy that conversation could be carried on between them; - and every effort, persuasion, promise, and threat, was alternately - resorted to in vain to seduce them from their allegiance to the - handful of Europeans, who, in all probability, would have been - sacrificed by their desertion.’ - ------ - -Footnote 94: - - Chap. vi., pp. 82-96. Chap. x., pp. 163-165. Chap, xv., pp. 247-263. - -Footnote 95: - - General staff, 9 - Brigade staff, 5 - Artillery, 9 - Engineers, 3 - H.M. 32d foot, 22 - H.M. 84th foot, 2 - 7th Bengal native cavalry, 13 - 13th Bengal native infantry, 10 - 41st Bengal native infantry, 11 - 48th Bengal native infantry, 14 - 71st Bengal native infantry, 11 - Oude brigade, 26 - Various officers, 9 - Civil service, 9 - Surgeons, 2 - Chaplains, 2 - Ladies, 69 - Ladies, children of, 68 - Other women, 171 - Other women, children of, 196 - Uncovenanted servants, 125 - Martinière school, 8 - ——— - 794 - - Another account gave the number 865, including about 50 native - children in the Martinière school. - -Footnote 96: - - _Personal Narrative of the Siege of Lucknow, from its Commencement to - its Relief._ By L. E. Ruutz Rees, one or the Survivors. - - _A Lady’s Diary of the Siege of Lucknow, written for the Perusal of - Friends at Home._ - - _A Personal Journal of the Siege of Lucknow._ By Captain R. P. - Anderson, 25th Regiment N. I., commanding an outpost. - - _The Defence of Lucknow: a Diary recording the Daily Events during the - Siege of the European Residency._ By a Staff-officer. - -Footnote 97: - - In a former chapter (p. 84), a brief notice is given of Claude - Martine, a French adventurer who rose to great wealth and influence at - Lucknow, and who lived in a fantastic palace called Constantia, - southeastward of the city. His name will, however, be more favourably - held in remembrance as the founder of a college, named by him the - Martinière, for Eurasian or half-caste children. This college was - situated near the eastern extremity of the city; but when the troubles - began, the principals and the children removed to a building hastily - set apart for them within the Residency enclosure. The authoress of - the _Lady’s Diary_, whose husband was connected as a pastor with the - Martinière, thus speaks of this transfer: ‘The Martinière is - abandoned, and I suppose we shall lose all our remaining property, - which we have been obliged to leave to its fate, as nothing more can - be brought in here. We got our small remnant of clothes; but - furniture, harp, books, carriage-horses, &c., are left at the - Martinière. The poor boys are all stowed away in a hot close native - building, and it will be a wonder if they don’t get ill.’ - -Footnote 98: - - The wood-cut at p. 93 represents a part of the Residency in this - limited sense of the term; the view at p. 82 will convey some notion - of the appearance of the city of Lucknow as seen from the terrace-roof - of this building. The plan on next page will give an idea of the - Residency before siege; and in the next Part will be given a plan of - the Residency under siege, shewing the relation which the enemies’ - guns bore to those of the besieged. - -Footnote 99: - - Mr Rees relates a strange anecdote in connection with this retreat - from the Muchee Bhowan to the Residency: ‘We saved all but one man, - who, having been intoxicated, and concealed in some corner, could not - be found when the muster-roll was called. The French say, _Il y a un - Dieu pour les ivrognes_; and the truth of the proverb was never better - exemplified than in this man’s case. He had been thrown into the air, - had returned unhurt to mother-earth, continued his drunken sleep - again, had awaked next morning, found the fort to his surprise a mass - of deserted ruins, and quietly walked back to the Residency without - being molested by a soul; and even bringing with him a pair of - bullocks attached to a cart of ammunition. It is very probable that - the débris of these extensive buildings must have seriously injured - the adjacent houses and many of the rebel army—thus giving the - fortunate man the means of escaping. - -Footnote 100: - - The authoress of the _Lady’s Diary_ gives an affecting account of the - hour that succeeded the wounding of Sir Henry Lawrence. She, with her - husband, was at that time in the house of Dr Fayrer, a surgeon who had - more than once urged upon Sir Henry the paramount duty of cherishing - his own life as one valuable to others even if slighted by himself. - ‘He was brought over to this house immediately. —— prayed with him, - and administered the Holy Communion to him. He was quite sensible, - though his agony was extreme. He spoke for nearly an hour, quite - calmly, expressing his last wishes with regard to his children. He - sent affectionate messages to them and to each of his brothers and - sisters. He particularly mentioned the Lawrence Asylum, and entreated - that government might be urged to give it support. He bade farewell to - all the gentlemen who were standing round his bed, and said a few - words of advice and kindness to each.... There was not a dry eye - there; every one was so deeply affected and grieved at the loss of - such a man.’ - - It may here be stated that the Queen afterwards bestowed a baronetcy - on Sir Henry’s eldest son, Alexander Lawrence; to whom also the East - India Company voted a pension of £1000 per annum. - -Footnote 101: - - The _Jersey Times_ of December 10, 1857, contained what professed to - be an extract of a letter from M. de Bannerol, a French physician in - the service of Mussur Rajah, dated October 8, and published in _Le - Pays_ (Paris paper), giving an account of the feelings of the - Christian women shut up within Lucknow just before their relief. It - went on to state how Jessie Brown, a corporal’s wife, cheered the - party in the depth of their terrors and despair, by starting up and - declaring that, amidst the roar of the artillery, she caught the faint - sound of the _slogan_ of the approaching Highlanders, particularly - that of the Macgregor, ‘the grandest of them a’!’ The soldiers - intermitted firing to listen, but could hear nothing of the kind, and - despair once more settled down upon the party. After a little - interval, Jessie broke out once more with words of hope, referring to - the sound of the Highland bagpipes, which the party at length - acknowledged they heard; and then by one impulse, all fell on their - knees, ‘and nothing was heard but the bursting sob and the voice of - prayer.’ The tale has made so great an impression on the public mind, - that we feel much reluctance in expressing our belief that it is - either wholly a fiction, or only based slightly in fact. What excited - our distrust from the first was the allusion to the slogans or - war-cries of the respective clans—things which have had no practical - existence for centuries, and which would manifestly be inappropriate - in regiments composed of a miscellany of clansmen, not to speak of the - large admixture of Lowlanders. We are assured that the story is looked - upon in the best-informed quarters as purely a tale of the - imagination. - -Footnote 102: - - See chap. xv., p. 263. - -Footnote 103: - - Sir Henry Lawrence; Major Banks; Lieutenant-colonel Case, Captains - Steevens, Mansfield, Radcliffe, and M’Cabe, 32d foot; Captain Francis, - 13th N. I.; Lieutenants Shepherd and Archer, 7th native cavalry; - Captain Hughes, 57th N. I.; Major Anderson and Captain Fulton, - engineers; Captain Simons, artillery. - -Footnote 104: - - Colonel Master and Captain Boileau, 7th N.C.; Major Apthorp and - Captain Sanders, 41st N.I.; Captain Germon and Lieutenants Aitken and - Loughnan, 13th N.I.; Captain Anderson, 25th N.I.; Lieutenant Graydon, - 44th N.I.; Lieutenant Longmore, 71st N.I.; Mr Schilling, principal of - the Martinière College. - -[Illustration: - - MR COLVIN, Lieutenant-governor of Northwest Provinces. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - MINOR CONFLICTS: SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER. - - -Leaving for a while the affairs of Lucknow—which by the progress of -events had become far more important than those of Delhi or of any other -city in India—we may conveniently devote the present chapter to a rapid -glance at the general state of affairs during the months of September -and October: noticing only such scenes of discord, and such military -operations, as arose immediately out of the Revolt. The subject may be -treated in the same style as in Chapter xvii., relating to the months of -July and August, but more briefly; for, in truth, so few Bengal native -regiments now remained ‘true to their salt,’ that the materials for -further mutiny were almost exhausted. - -Of Calcutta, and the region around it on all sides, little need be said. -Mutiny in that neighbourhood would not have been easy during the autumn -months; for British troops were gradually arriving, who would speedily -have put down any rebellious risings. Sometimes alarms agitated the -civilians and traders in the city; but nothing really serious called for -notice. The ex-king of Oude continued to be watched carefully at -Calcutta. Whatever honeyed phrases may have been used to render his -detention more palatable, none of the government officers placed any -reliance on his fidelity or peacefulness. In truth, if he _had_ -displayed those qualities, after being compelled to witness the -annexation of his country to the British raj, he would have been -something more (or less) than oriental. At various times during the -summer and autumn months, scrutinising inquiries were made into the -conduct of the king and his retainers. Thus, on the 16th of August, a -person who had for some time resided at Calcutta, under the assumed -title of Bishop of Bagdad, but whose real name was Syed Hossein Shubber, -was with five others arrested, for complicity in plots affecting the -British government; and, consequent on papers discovered, three -retainers of the king were arrested about a week afterwards. The -government kept secret the details of these affairs, pending further -inquiry; but it was apparent enough that mischief was fermenting in the -minds of the royal prisoner’s retainers. Unquestionably many natives -sincerely believed the king to have been an ill-used man—an opinion -shared also by many Europeans—and they did not deem it treason to aid -him in his misfortunes. - -Much to the vexation of the government, the district of Assam, little -known to Europeans except as a region where tea is experimentally grown, -was drawn into the vortex of trouble early in September. Many of the -sepoys of the 1st Assam native infantry came from the neighbourhood of -Arrah, and were closely related to one regiment (the 40th) of the -Dinapoor mutineers; while others were from the estates of Koer Singh. -When, therefore, the news of the Dinapoor mutiny became known, the Assam -regiment was thrown into much agitation. There was a rajah in Assam, one -Saring Kunderpessawar Singh, who secretly engaged in treasonable -correspondence, and who received offers of support from the Arrah men of -the Assam regiment, if he would openly break with the British. There -were also Hindustanis in the 2d Assam native regiment; while the -artillery companies at Debrooghur were entirely Hindustanis. It was -known likewise that many of the neighbouring tribes were in a -disaffected state, and that a religious mendicant was rapidly moving -about with some secret but apparently mischievous purpose. By degrees a -plot was discovered. The conspirators planned on a given day to murder -all the Christians in Assam, and then plunder the stations. Fortunately -this project was known in time. The Calcutta government having no -soldiers to spare, organised a force of English seamen, trained as -gunners, and sent them by a steamer up the Brahmaputra to Debrooghur, to -be employed as the local authorities might deem advisable. One of the -circumstances connected with this movement illustrates the antagonism -between governing authorities and newspaper writers on military -matters—an antagonism frequently felt during the Indian Revolt as during -the Russian war. A responsible leader wishes to keep his plans of -strategy secret from the enemy; a newspaper writer wishes to give as -much news as possible on all subjects; and these two modes of -procedure do not always flow in harmonious concord. Mr Halliday, -lieutenant-governor of Bengal, in reporting on this Assam affair, said: -‘The utmost care was taken to despatch the force to Assam with the -secrecy necessary to prevent its destination being known; but it is -feared that this intention has been frustrated by the ill-judged -publication of the departure of the steamer, and notification of its -objects, by the Calcutta papers. It is hoped that this injudicious -proceeding may not be attended with the serious results that would ensue -from a revolt in the province in its present unprotected state. Such an -untoward contingency was feared by the officers in Assam, who pointed -out the urgent necessity of extreme care being observed in preventing -the promulgation of the transmission, before its arrival, of any -European force that might be sent; lest the knowledge of the approach of -aid should cause a premature explosion of the expected revolt.’ The -force consisted of 100 armed sailors, with two 12-pounder guns; they set -out on the 11th of September, under the charge of Lieutenant Davies, in -the steamer _Horungotta_; and were to be at the disposal of Colonel -Jenkins on arriving in Assam. As a curious example of the different -light in which different tribes were at this time viewed, it may be -stated that all the men of the 1st Assam infantry who were _not_ -Hindustanis were called in from the outposts to Debrooghur, as a -protection in case the remainder of the regiment should mutiny. Captain -Lowther, commanding a corps of Goorkhas, was sent from another station -to capture the rajah; this he managed admirably, and in so doing, -effectually crushed the incipient mutiny. The captain, in a private -letter, told in excellent style the story of his expedition; from which -we will extract so much as relates to the night-scene in the rajah’s -palace at Debrooghur.[105] - -Some weeks afterwards, towards the close of October, Mr Halliday -entertained much distrust of the 73d Bengal native infantry, of which -two companies were at Dacca, and the main body at Jelpigoree, near the -Bhotan frontier. By precautionary measures, however, he prevented for a -time any actual outbreak of this particular regiment. - -There were reasons why the towns on the banks of the Lower Ganges -remained tolerably free from rebellion during the months now under -notice. English regiments, in wings or detachments, were sent up the -river in flats tugged by steamers, from Calcutta towards Upper India; -and the turbulent rabble of the towns were awed into quietness by the -vicinity of these red-coats. Berhampore, Moorshedabad, Rajmahal, -Bhagulpore, Monghir, Patna, Dinapoor, Buxar, Ghazeepore, Benares, -Mirzapore—all felt the benefit of this occasional passing of British -troops along the Ganges, in the moral effect produced on the natives. -True, the arrivals at Calcutta were few and far apart until October was -well advanced; true, many of the troops were sent by land along the main -trunk-road, for greater expedition; true, those who went by water were -too urgently needed in the Doab and in Oude to be spared for -intermediate service at the towns above named; but, nevertheless, the -mere transit of a few English regiments effected much towards the -tranquillising of Bengal. Early in the month of August, Lord Elgin had -come to Calcutta, and placed at the disposal of Lord Canning two -war-steamers, the _Shannon_ and the _Pearl_; and from among the -resources of these steamers was organised a splendid naval brigade, -consisting of 400 able British seamen, and no less than ten of the -enormous 68-pounder guns which such seamen know so well how to handle. -They started from Calcutta up the Hoogly and the Ganges, under the -command of Captain Peel, who had so gallantly managed a naval-battery in -the Crimea during the siege of Sebastopol. If such a man could fret, he -would have fretted at the slowness of his voyage. Week after week -elapsed, without his reaching those districts where his services would -be invaluable. Half of August and the whole of September thus passed -wearily away in this most tedious voyage. The upward passage is always -tardy, against the stream; and his ponderous artillery rendered slowness -still more slow. It was not until the 30th of September that he, with -286 men of his brigade, arrived at Benares. Hastening on, he arrived -with 94 men at Allahabad on the 3d of October; and four days afterwards -the rest joined him, with their enormous guns and store of ammunition. A -small naval brigade, under Captain Sotheby, was placed at the disposal -of the Patna authorities, to be used against certain insurgents in the -neighbourhood. - -The portion of Bengal north of the Ganges was almost entirely free from -disturbance during these two months; but the parallel portion of Behar -was in a very different state. The actual mutinies there had been few in -number, for in truth there had not been many native troops quartered in -that region; but the rebellious chieftains and zemindars were many, each -of whom could command the services of a body of retainers ready for any -mischief. Patna, in September, as in earlier months, was disturbed -rather by anarchy in other regions than by actual mutinies within the -city itself. In what way the Dinapoor troubles affected it, we have seen -in an earlier chapter. Its present difficulties lay rather with the -districts north and northwest of the city, where the revenue collectors -had been driven from place to place by mutinous sepoys, and by petty -chieftains who wished to strengthen themselves at the expense of the -English ‘raj.’ The abandonment of Goruckpore by the officials, in a -moment of fright, had had the effect of exposing the Chupra, Chumparun, -and Mozufferpoor districts to the attacks of rebels, especially such as -had placed themselves under the banner of the Mussulman chieftain -Mahomed Hussein Khan, the self-appointed ‘ruler in the name and on -behalf of the King of Oude.’ This man had collected a considerable -force, and had organised a species of government at Goruckpore. The -military power in the hands of the Company’s servants in the Chupra and -Tirhoot districts consisted chiefly of a few Sikhs of the police -battalion, quite unequal to the resistance of an incursion by Mahomed -Hussein. The civilians of those districts sent urgent applications to -Patna for military aid. But how could this be furnished? Troops and -artillery were so imperatively demanded at Cawnpore, to aid the -operations at Lucknow, that none could be detained on their passage up -the river; the Dinapoor garrison, reduced by the mutiny and its -consequences, could only spare a few troops for Patna itself; the troops -going up the main trunk-road from Calcutta to Upper India could barely -afford time and strength to encounter the Ramgurh insurgents, without -attempting anything north of the Ganges. There happened, however, to be -a Madras regiment passing up by steamer to Allahabad; and permission was -obtained to detain a portion of this regiment for service in the -Goruckpore region; while the Rajahs of Bettiah and Hutwah were -encouraged to maintain a friendly attitude in support of the British -authorities. The rebel or rather rabble forces under Mahomed Hussein -were ill armed and worse disciplined; and it was probable that a few men -of the 17th M. N. I., with a few Sikhs, could have beaten them at any -time; but it was felt necessary to reoccupy Goruckpore at once, to -prevent the neighbouring zemindars and thalookdars from joining the -malcontents. - -That Lord Canning accepted an offer of several Goorkha regiments, from -Jung Bahadoor of Nepaul, has been stated in a former chapter; but a very -long time elapsed before those hardy little troops were enabled to -render much service. The process of collecting them at Khatmandoo and -elsewhere occupied several weeks, and it was not until the beginning of -September that they reached Jounpoor, a station in the very heart of the -disturbed districts. Even then, there was much tardiness in bringing -them into active service; for the English officers appointed to command -them did not at first understand the difference of management required -by Hindustani sepoys and Nepaulese Goorkhas. Happily, an opportunity -occurred for remedying this defect. A smart affair on the 20th of -September afforded the Goorkhas an opportunity of shewing their -gallantry. Colonel Wroughton, military commandant at Jounpoor, having -heard that Azimghur was threatened with an attack by 8000 rebels under -Madhoo Singh of Atrowlia, resolved to send a regiment of Goorkhas from -Jounpoor to strengthen the force already at Azimghur. They started at -once, marched the distance in a day and a half, and reached the -threatened city on the evening of the 19th. This was the Shere regiment -of Jung Bahadoor’s force, under Colonel Shumshere Singh, a Nepaulese -officer. At a very early hour on the morning of the 20th, it was -ascertained that a large body of rebels had assembled in and near the -neighbouring village of Mundoree. A force of 1200 men, mostly belonging -to three Goorkha regiments, was immediately sent out to disperse -them—Captain Boileau commanding, Colonel Shumshere Singh heading the -Goorkhas, and Mr Venables (whose prowess had already been displayed in -the same district) taking charge of a small body of local horse. Finding -that the rebels were posted in a clump of trees and in a jheel behind -the village, Captain Boileau directed Shumshere Singh to advance his -Goorkhas at double pace. This was done, despite the fire from several -guns; the little Goorkhas charged, drove the enemy away towards -Captangunje, and captured three brass guns and all the camp-equipage. Mr -Venables was seen wherever the fighting was thickest; he was up at the -first gun taken, and killed three of the enemy with his own hand. About -200 of the enemy were laid low in this brief encounter, and one-sixth of -this number on the part of the victors. - -This little battle of Mundoree had a moral effect, superadded to the -immediate dispersing of a body of rebels. It shewed the soldierly -conduct of the Goorkhas, who had marched fifty miles in two days, and -then won a battle in a kind of country to which they were unaccustomed. -It proved the intrepidity of one of the civil servants of the Company, -whose sterling qualities were brought forth at a critical time. -Moreover, it dissipated a prejudice against the Goorkhas formed by some -of the British officers. These troops had hitherto remained nearly -inactive in the region between Nepaul and the Ganges. Jung Bahadoor had -sent them, under a native officer, Colonel Puhlwan Singh, to be employed -wherever the authorities deemed best. Colonel Wroughton, and other -British officers, formed an opinion that the Nepaulese troops were -incapable of rapid movement, and that their native officers dreaded the -responsibility of independent action. Mr Grant, lieutenant-governor of -the Central Provinces, in an official letter to Colonel Wroughton after -the battle of Mundoree, pointed out that this opinion had been very -detrimental to the public service, in discouraging any employment of the -Goorkhas. He added: ‘It was natural to expect that foreigners, and those -foreigners mountaineers, unaccustomed either to the plains or to their -inhabitants, should at first feel some awkwardness in the new position -in which they were placed, with everything strange around them. The -sagacity of Jung Bahadoor had already foreseen this difficulty; and it -was at his earnest desire that British officers were attached to the -Goorkha force, to encourage the officers and men, and to explain how -operations should be carried on in such a country and such a climate as -that in which they now for the first time marched, and against such an -enemy as they now for the first time met.... The lieutenant-governor -will now confidently look to you that the Goorkha force is henceforth -actively employed in the service for which it was placed at the disposal -of the British government by the Nepaulese.’ It must be borne in mind, -to prevent confusion, that this Goorkha force, lent by Jung Bahadoor, -was distinct from the Goorkha battalions of Sirmoor and Kumaon, often -mentioned in former chapters; those battalions were part of the Bengal -native army, fortunately consisting of Goorkhas instead of ‘Pandies;’ -whereas the new force was a Nepaulese army, lent for a special purpose. - -Mr Grant, the temporarily appointed lieutenant-governor just mentioned, -employed all his energies throughout September and October in promoting -the transit of British troops from the lower to the upper provinces, to -aid in the operations at Cawnpore and Lucknow. He could not, however, -forget the fact that the eastern frontier of Oude adjoined the British -districts of Goruckpore, Jounpoor, and Azimghur; and that the Oude -rebels were continually making demonstrations on that side. He longed -for British troops, to strengthen and encourage the Goorkhas in his -service, and occasionally applied for a few; but he, as all others, was -told that the relief of the residents at Lucknow must precede, and be -paramount over, all other military operations whatever. Writing to Lord -Canning from Benares on the 15th of October, he said: ‘It is a point for -consideration, how much longer it will be otherwise than imprudent to -continue to send the whole of the daily arrivals of Europeans nearly -half-way round the province of Oude, in order to create a pressure upon -the rear of the mutineers and insurgents of that province from the -direction of Cawnpore and Lucknow, whilst our home districts are left -thus open to them in their front.’ He expressed a hope that the Punjaub -and Delhi regions would be able to supply nearly troops enough for -immediate operations at Lucknow; and that a portion of the British -regiments sent up from the lower provinces would be permitted to form -the nucleus of a new army at Benares, for operations on the eastern -frontier of Oude. Many weeks elapsed, however, before this suggestion -could meet with practical attention. - -Thus it was throughout the districts of Goruckpore, Jounpoor, Azimghur, -and others eastward of Oude and north of the Ganges. If the British had -had to contend only with mutinied sepoys and sowars, victory would more -generally and completely have attended their exertions; but rebellious -chieftains were numerous, and these, encouraged by the newly established -rebel government at Lucknow, continually harassed the British officials -placed in charge of those districts. The colonels, captains, judges, -magistrates, collectors—all cried aloud for more European troops; their -cries were heeded at Calcutta, but could not be satisfied, for reasons -already sufficiently explained. - -Let us cross the Ganges, and watch the state of affairs in the -southwestern districts of Bengal and Behar during the months of -September and October. - -Throughout this wide region, the troubles arose rather from sepoys -already rebellious, than from new instances of mutiny. Preceding -chapters have shewn that the 8th Bengal native infantry mutinied at -Hazarebagh on the 30th of July; that the infantry of the Ramgurh -battalion followed the pernicious example on the next day; that the 5th -irregular cavalry mutinied at Bhagulpore on the 14th of August; and that -the 7th, 8th, and 40th regiments of native infantry which mutinied at -Dinapoor on the 25th of July, kept the whole of Western Bengal in -agitation throughout August, by rendering uncertain in which direction -they would march, under the rebel chieftain, Koer Singh. The only -additional mutiny, in this region, was that of the 32d native infantry, -presently to be noticed. The elements of anarchy were, however, already -numerous and violent enough to plunge the whole district into disorder. -Some of the towns were the centres of opium-growing or indigo-producing -regions; many were surrounded simply by rice or cornfields; others, -again, were military stations, at which the Company were accustomed to -keep troops; while several were dâk or post stations, for the -maintenance of communication along the great trunk-road from Calcutta to -Benares. But wherever and whatever they may have been, these towns were -seldom at peace during the months now under notice. The towns-people and -the surrounding villagers were perpetually affected by rumours that the -mutinous 5th cavalry were coming, or the mutinous 8th infantry, or the -Ramgurh mutineers, or those from Dinapoor. For, it must be borne in -mind, we are now treating of a part of India inhabited chiefly by -Bengalees, a race too timid to supply many fighting rebels—too fond of -quiet industry willingly to belt on the sword or shoulder the matchlock. -They may or may not have loved the British; if not, they would rather -intrigue than fight against them. In the contest arising out of the -mutiny, these Bengalees suffered greatly. The mutineers, joined by the -released vagabonds from the jails, too frequently plundered all alike, -Feringhee and native; and the quiet trader or cultivator had much reason -to dread the approach of such workers of mischief. The Europeans, few in -number, and oppressed with responsibility, knew not which way to turn -for aid. Revenue collectors, with many lacs of the Company’s rupees, -feared for the safety of their treasure. Military officers, endeavouring -with a handful of troops to check the passage of mutineers, were -bewildered by the vague and conflicting intelligence which reached them. -Officials at the dâk-stations, impressed daily by stringent orders from -Calcutta to keep open the main line of road for the passage of English -troops to Upper India, were in perpetual anxiety lest bands of mutineers -should approach and cut off the dâks altogether. Every one begged and -prayed the Calcutta government to send him a few trusty troops; every -one assured the government that the salvation of that part of India -depended on the request being acceded to. - -Dorunda, sixty miles south of Hazarebagh, was a scene of violence on the -11th of September. The Ramgurh mutineers destroyed the public and -private buildings at this place, plundered the town, committed great -atrocities on the towns-people, beheaded a native surgeon belonging to -the jail, and marched off in the direction of Tikhoo Ghat, taking with -them four guns and a large amount of plunder and ammunition. Their -apparent intention was to march through the Palamow district, and effect -a junction with Koer Singh, with whom they had been in correspondence. -Only four men of the Ramgurh irregular cavalry were of the party; all -the rest were infantry. The cavalry, remaining faithful as a body, -seized the first opportunity of joining their officers at Hazarebagh. -This was another instance of divergence between the two parts of one -corps, wholly inexplicable to the British officers, who could offer no -reason why the infantry had lapsed, while the cavalry remained faithful. -In this part of India the mutineers were not supported by the zemindars -or landowners, as in other districts; and hence the few British troops -were better enabled to lay plans for the frustration of these workers of -mischief. Captain Fischer, Captain Dalton, Major English, Captain Oakes, -Captain Davies, Captain Rattray, Lieutenant Graham, Lieutenant Birch, -and other officers, were in command of small bodies of troops in this -region during the greater part of the month; these troops consisted of -Madras natives, Sikhs, and a very few British; and the numerous trifling -but serviceable affairs in which they were engaged bore relation to the -regiments which had mutinied at Ramgurh, Bhagulpore, and Dinapoor, and -to the chieftains and marauders who joined those disloyal soldiers. - -For the reasons already assigned, however, the British troops were very -few in number; while the Madras troops were so urgently needed in the -more turbulent Saugor provinces, that they could barely be spared for -service in Bengal. Regiments had not at that time begun to arrive very -rapidly from England; the few that did land at Calcutta, were eagerly -caught up for service in the Doab and Oude. In most instances, the aid -which was afforded by English troops to the region now under notice, -depended on a temporary stoppage of a regiment or detachment on its -passage to the upper provinces; in urgent cases, the government ordered -or permitted a small British force to diverge from its direct line of -march, and render aid to a Bengal town or station at a particular -juncture. Such was the case with H.M. 53d foot. Major English, with a -wing of this regiment, had a contest with the Ramgurh mutineers on the -29th of September. He marched from Hazarebagh to Sillis Chowk, where he -heard news of these insurgents; and by further active movements he came -up with them on the 2d of October, just as they had begun to plunder the -town of Chuttra. The mutineers planted two guns so as to play upon the -British; but the latter, in the way which had by this time become quite -common with their comrades in India, determined to attack and take the -guns by a fearless advance. On they went, through rice-fields, behind -rocks and underwood, through lanes and round buildings, running and -cheering, until they had captured four guns in succession, together with -ammunition, ten elephants, and other warlike appliances, and sent the -enemy fleeing. The officers dashed on at the head of their respective -parties of men in a way that astonished the enemy; and the major, -viewing these enterprises with the eye of a soldier, said in his -dispatch: ‘It was splendid to see them rush on the guns.’ His loss was, -however, considerable; 5 killed and 33 wounded out of three companies -only. In addition to military trophies, Major English took fifty -thousand rupees of the Company’s treasure from the mutineers, who, like -mutineers elsewhere, regarded the revenue collections as fair booty when -once they had thrown off allegiance. During the operations of the 53d in -this region—one, in many parts of which British soldiers had never been -seen—an instance was afforded of the dismay into which the civilians -were sometimes thrown by the withdrawal of trusty troops; it was -narrated in a letter written by an officer of that regiment.[106] - -The native regiments were often distributed in detachments at different -stations; and it frequently happened—as just adverted to—for reasons -wholly inexplicable to the authorities, that some of those component -elements remained faithful long after others had mutinied. Such was the -case in reference to the 32d B. N. I. Two companies of that regiment, -stationed at Deoghur in the Sonthal district, rose in mutiny on the 9th -of October, murdered Lieutenant Cooper and the assistant-commissary, -looted the bazaar, and then marched off to Rohnee, taking with them -Lieutenant Rennie as a prisoner. Two other companies of the regiment -were at that time _en route_ from Burhait to Soorie, while the -headquarter companies were at Bowsee. The authorities at Calcutta at -once sought to ascertain what was the feeling among the men at the -stations just named; but, pending these inquiries, orders were given to -despatch a wing of H.M. 13th foot from Calcutta to the Sonthal district, -to control the mutineers. Major English was at that time going to the -upper provinces with a detachment of H.M. 53d foot; but he was now -ordered to turn aside for a while, and aid in pacifying the district -before pursuing his journey to Benares. Although the remaining companies -of the native 32d did afterwards take rank among the mutineers, they -were ‘true to their salt’ for some time after the treachery of their -companions had become known. - -This 32d mutinous regiment succeeded in crossing the Sone river, with -the intention of joining Koer Singh and the Dinapoor mutineers—a feat -managed in a way that greatly mortified Major English’s 53d. On the 20th -of October the wing of this latter regiment proceeded from Sheergotty to -Gayah, to reassure the uneasy officials at that station; and on the 22d -they started again, to intercept the mutineers. After much hot and -wearying marching, they returned to Gayah, without having encountered -the mutineers, one portion of whom had crossed the Sone. Some days -later, news arrived that the second portion of the 32d, that which had -not at first mutinied, was, in like manner, marching towards the river. -On the 1st of November the 53d started in pursuit, marched thirty miles -during the night to Hurwa, rested a while, marched ten miles further to -Nowada during the evening, and came up with the mutineers in the night. -A skirmish by moonlight took place, greatly to the advantage of the -rebels, who had a better knowledge of the country than their opponents. -The sepoys did not want to fight, they wished to march towards the Sone; -and this they did day after day until the 6th, followed closely all the -way by the British. The pursued outstripped the pursuers, and safely -crossed the river—much to the vexation of the major and his troops. One -of the officers present has said: ‘This was very provoking; for if we -had but caught them, we should have got as much credit for it as for -Chuttra. The country we went through was, for the most part, over swampy -rice-fields; when we gave up the pursuit we had gone 130 miles in 108 -hours; and, on our return to Gayah, we had been 170 miles in exactly one -week. After the second day we sent our tents and bedding back; so that -we marched as lightly as possible, and were by that means able to give -the men an occasional lift on the elephants.’ - -Throughout these miscellaneous and often desultory operations in Bengal, -if the Sikhs had proved faithless, all would have gone to ruin. It was -more easy to obtain a thousand Sikhs than a hundred British, and thus -they were made use of as a sort of military police, irrespective of the -regular regiments raised in the Punjaub. Few circumstances are more -observable throughout the Revolt, than the fidelity of these men. -Insubordination there was, certainly, in some instances, but not in -sufficient degree to affect the character of the whole. Captain -Rattray’s Sikhs have often been mentioned. These were a corps of -military police, formed for rendering service in any part of Bengal; and -in the rendering of this service they were most admirable. The -lieutenant-governor of Bengal, in a paper drawn up early in September, -said: ‘The commandant of the Sikh Police Battalion has pleaded strongly -on his own behalf, and on that of his men, for the assembling of the -scattered fragments of his corps, to enable them to strike such a blow -as to prove the high military spirit and discipline of the regiment. The -urgent necessities which caused the separation of Captain Rattray’s -regiment renders it impossible, in existing circumstances, to call in -all detachments to head-quarters; but its admirable discipline, daring, -and devotion at Arrah and Jugdispore, and its good conduct everywhere, -have fully established its character for soldierly qualities of the -highest order. It would be difficult to exaggerate the value of the -services which it has rendered to the state since the commencement of -the present troubles; and the trust and confidence everywhere reposed in -it, prove that these services are neither underrated nor disregarded. Of -the men, all who have distinguished themselves for conspicuous deeds of -valour and loyalty, have already been rewarded.’ As individuals, too, -the Sikhs were reliable in a remarkable degree, when Hindustanis were -falling away on all sides. When the troubles broke out at Benares, early -in the mutiny, a Sikh chieftain, by name Rajah Soorut Singh, rendered -invaluable service to the British residents, which they did not fail -gratefully to remember at a later period. A few of the Company’s -servants, civil and military, at Benares and other towns in that part of -India, caused to be manufactured by Mr Westley Richards of Birmingham, -for presentation to Soorut Singh, a splendid set of firearms, effective -for use as well as superb in appearance. - -We will now cross the Sone, and trace the progress of affairs in the -Bundelcund and Saugor provinces. - -It will be remembered, from the details given in former chapters, that -the native inhabitants of Bundelcund, and other regions south of the -Jumna and the Central Ganges, displayed a more turbulent tendency than -those of Bengal. They had for ages been more addicted to war, and had -among them a greater number of chieftains employing retainers in their -pay, than the Bengalese; and they were within easier reach of the -temptations thrown out by Nena Sahib, the King of Delhi, Koer Singh, and -the agents of the deposed King of Oude. Lieutenant (now Captain) -Osborne, the British resident at Rewah, was one who felt the full force -of this state of circumstances. As he had been in August, so was he now -in September, almost the only Englishman within a wide range of country -southwest of Allahabad; the rajah of Rewah was faithful, but his native -troops were prone to rebellion; and it was only by wonderful sagacity -and firmness that he could protect both the rajah and himself from the -vortex. - -In a wide region eastward of Rewah, the question arose, every day -throughout September, where is Koer Singh? This treacherous chieftain, -who headed the Dinapoor mutineers from the day of their entering Arrah, -was continually marching about with his rebel army of something like -3000 men, apparently uncertain of his plans—an uncertainty very -perplexing to the British officials, who, having a mere handful of -troops at their disposal, did not know where that handful might most -profitably be employed. On one day Koer Singh, with his brother Ummer -Singh, would be reported at Rotas, on another day at Sasseram; sometimes -there was a rumour of the rebels being about to march to Rewah and -Bundelcund; at others, that they were going to join the Goruckpore -insurgents; and at others, again, that the Dinapoor and Ramgurh -mutineers would act in concert. Wherever they went, however, plunder and -rapine marked their footsteps. At one of the towns, the heirs of a -zemindar, whose estates had been forfeited many years before, levied a -thousand men to aid in seizing the property from the present -proprietors. This was one among many proofs afforded during the mutiny, -that chieftains and landowners sought to make the revolt of the native -soldiery a means for insuring their own private ends, whether those ends -were justifiable or not. The authorities at Patna and elsewhere -endeavoured to meet these varied difficulties as best they could with -their limited resources. They sent to Calcutta all the ladies and -children from disturbed districts, so far as they possessed means of -conveyance. They empowered the indigo-planters to raise small bodies of -police force in their respective districts. They obtained the aid of two -regiments of Goorkhas in the Chumparun district, by which the -restoration of tranquillity might reasonably be expected. They seized -the estates of Koer Singh and Ummer Singh at Arrah, as traitors. They -imposed heavy fines on villages which had sent men to take active part -in the disturbances. Lastly, they used all their energies to protect -that part of the main trunk-road which passes near the river Sone; -seeing that the march of European troops from Calcutta to the upper -provinces would be materially affected by any interruption in that -quarter. The newly arrived British regiments could not go up as an army, -but as small detachments in bullock-wagons, and therefore were not -prepared for sudden encounters with large numbers of the enemy. - -The 5th irregular cavalry, who had mutinied in this part of India some -weeks before, continued a system of plundering, levying contributions, -and destroying public property. Every day that transpired, leaving these -daring atrocities unchecked, weakened British prestige, and encouraged -marauders on all sides to imitate the example so fatally set before -them. The authorities felt and acknowledged this; yet, for the reasons -already noticed, they could do little to check it. Captain Rattray, at -the head of a portion of his Sikh police, encountered the 5th irregulars -on the 8th of the month; but, as a cavalry force, they were too strong -for him; they beat him in action, out-generalled him in movement, -released four hundred prisoners from one of the jails, and then marched -west toward the river Sone. The mutinous sowars were subsequently heard -of at Tikane, Daoodnuggur, Baroon, and other places; everywhere -committing great depredations. Thus was a large and important region, on -either side of the main trunk-road, and extending two hundred miles -along that road, kept in a state of daily agitation. The 5th irregular -cavalry in one quarter, Koer Singh in another, and his brothers Ummer -Singh and Nishan Singh in a third, were all busily employed in -depredation; patriotism or nationality had little hold on their thoughts -just then; for they plundered whomsoever had property to lose, without -much regard to race or creed. The government offered large rewards for -the capture of these leaders, but without effect: the rebels generally -resisted this kind of temptation. Opium-crops to the value of half a -million sterling were at that time ripening in the Behar and Arrah -districts alone; and it was feared that all these would be devastated -unless aid arrived from Calcutta. - -Mr Wake, and the other civil servants who had so gallantly defended -themselves at Arrah, against an enormous force of the enemy, returned to -that station about the middle of September, to resume their duties; but -as it was feared that Ummer Singh and the 5th irregulars would effect a -junction, and attempt to reoccupy Jugdispore, those officers were -authorised to fall back upon Dinapoor or Buxar, in the event of being -attacked; although they themselves expressed a wish rather to remain at -their posts and fortify themselves against the rebels as they had done -before. The necessity of making this choice, however, did not arise. The -5th cavalry, after their victory over Rattray’s Sikhs, and during their -visits to the towns and villages near the Sone, committed, as we have -just said, every kind of atrocity—plundering houses, levying -contributions, breaking open the zenanas of Hindoo houses, abusing the -women, and destroying property too bulky to be carried away—all this -they did; but for some unexplained reason, they avoided the redoubtable -little band at Arrah. - -The Saugor and Nerbudda provinces, of which the chief towns and stations -were Banda, Jaloun, Jhansi, Saugor, Jubbulpoor, Nagode, Dumoh, Nowgong, -Mundlah, and Hosungabad, were, as we have seen, in a very precarious -state in the month of August. At Saugor, so early as the month of June, -Brigadier Sage had brought all the Europeans into a well-armed and amply -provisioned fort, guarded by a body of European gunners, and by the -still faithful 31st regiment of Bengal infantry; and there the Europeans -remained at the close of August, almost cut off from communication with -their fellow-countrymen elsewhere. Jubbulpoor had passed through the -summer months without actual mutiny; but the revolt of the 42d infantry -and the 3d irregular cavalry, at neighbouring stations, and certain -suspicious symptoms afforded by the 52d at Jubbulpoor itself, led Major -Erskine to fortify the Residency, and provision it for six months. -Banda, Jhansi, and Jaloun, had long fallen into the hands of the rebels; -Mundlah and Hosungabad were at the mercy of circumstances occurring at -other places; Nagode would be reliable only so long as the 50th native -infantry remained true; and Dumoh would be scarcely tenable if -Jubbulpoor were in danger. Thus, at the end of August, British supremacy -in the Saugor and Nerbudda territories hung by a thread. The Calcutta -authorities, unable to supply British troops for Bengal or Behar, were -equally debarred from rendering assistance to these territories. -September opened very gloomily for the officers intrusted with duties in -this quarter. The Punjaub and Calcutta could only furnish trustworthy -troops for the Jumna and Doab regions, where the war raged with greatest -fierceness; it was from Madras and Bombay alone that aid could be -expected. Fortunately, the large regions of Nagpoor and Hyderabad were -nearly at peace, and thus a passage could be afforded for troops from -the south which would not have been practicable had those countries been -plunged in anarchy. - -Towards the middle of September, Lieutenant Clark, deputy-commissioner -of Jubbulpoor, learned a few facts that put him on the track of a -conspiracy. It came out, on inquiry, that Rajah Shunker Shah, and many -other chieftains and zemindars in the neighbourhood of Jubbulpoor, -acting in concert with some of the sepoys of the 52d B. N. I., intended -to attack the cantonment on the last day of the Mohurrum, murder all the -Europeans, burn the cantonments, and plunder the treasury and city. By a -bold and prompt movement, the chief conspirators were seized on the -14th. The lieutenant, writing to the commissioner of Nagpoor, announced -the result in brief but significant language. ‘I have been fortunate -enough to get conclusive evidence by means of spies, without the -conspirators taking alarm; and this morning, with a party of sowars and -police, bagged thirty, and two rajahs (ringleaders) among them. Of -course they swing. Many of my principal zemindars, and some—I wish I -knew how many—of the 52d, are in the plot.’ In Rajah Shunker’s house, -among other treasonable papers, was found a sort of prayer, invoking his -deity to aid him in the destruction of all Europeans, the overturning of -the government, and the re-establishment of his own power. The paper was -found in a silk bag in which he kept his fan, and was a scrap torn from -a government proclamation issued after the massacre at Meerut. In this -instance, therefore, the official expression of horror and wrath at the -opening scene of the mutiny, instead of deterring, encouraged others to -walk in the same bloody path. The prayer or invocation was afterwards -translated from the Hindee into English, and published among the -parliamentary papers.[107] The execution of the rajah and his son was -something more terrible than was implied by the lieutenant’s curt -announcement, ‘of course they swing.’ It was one among many examples of -that ‘blowing away from guns’ to which the records of the mutiny -habituated English newspaper readers. An officer stationed at Jubbulpoor -at the time, after noticing the complicity of these two guilty men, -describes the execution in a brief but painfully vivid way. ‘At the head -of the conspiracy was Shunker Shah, the Ghond rajah, and his son. Their -place of abode is about four miles from Jubbulpoor. In former days this -family ruled over all this part of the country; they can trace their -descent for sixty generations. The family had been deprived of -everything by the Mahrattas, and were in great poverty when we took -possession. Our government raised them up from this state, and gave them -sufficient to support themselves comfortably; and now they shewed their -gratitude by conspiring against us in our time of sore trial. The family -have neither much property nor power, but the ancient name and prestige -was a point on which to rally.... On the 18th, at 11 o’clock A.M., our -two guns were advanced a few hundred yards in front of the Residency, -covered by a company of the 33d and a few troopers, and it became known -that the Ghond rajah and his son were about to be blown away from the -cannon’s mouth. The old man walked up to the guns with a firm stride; -the son appeared more dejected. The old man, with his snow-white hair -and firm manner, almost excited compassion; and one had to remember, -before such feelings could be checked, how atrociously he intended to -deal with us had his conspiracy succeeded; the evidence of his guilt was -overwhelming. All was over in a few minutes. The scattered remains were -pounced upon by kites and vultures, but what could be collected was -handed over to the ranee.’ - -Although Lieutenant Clark was thus enabled, by mingled caution and -decision, to frustrate the atrocious plot of which Jubbulpoor was to -have been the theatre, he could not prevent the mutiny of the 52d native -regiment. That corps revolted, albeit without perpetrating the cruelties -and rapine intended. It was on the 18th that this rising took place, the -troops at once marching off quietly towards Dumoh. One old subadar they -tied on a horse, because he did not wish to join, and because they did -not choose to leave him behind. It was supposed that the 52d had gone -towards Dumoh, to capture guns there, and then return to plunder -Jubbulpoor. Two days before this, namely, on the 16th, the greater part -of the 50th regiment Bengal infantry threw off allegiance. Being -stationed at Nagode, they suddenly rose, released the prisoners from the -jail, burned the bungalows, and rendered the place no longer safe for -Europeans. Mr Ellis and the other civilians fled to Paunna, while -Colonel Hampton and the other military officers made their escape -towards Jokhie—leaving every vestige of their property behind, except -the clothes on their backs. Two companies of the regiment, remaining -faithful, accompanied their officers safely to Mirzapore, a journey -which occupied them twelve days. - -The Europeans at Dumoh, a civil station on the road from Saugor to -Jubbulpoor, were thrown into much tribulation by news of these mutinies -at other places. When both the 50th and 52d regiments had ‘gone’—a term -that acquired much significance in India at that time—Major Erskine, -chief-commissioner of the Saugor and Nerbudda territories, who happened -to be at Dumoh, summoned a council of war on the 20th of September, to -consider what was best to be done. It was resolved that Dumoh could not -long be held against any considerable body of mutineers; and that -advantage should be taken of the temporary presence of a column of -Madras native troops to employ that column as an escort for the -civilians and the Company’s treasure from Dumoh to Jubbulpoor. There was -a detachment of the still faithful 31st at Dumoh; and this was sent to -join the main body of the regiment at Saugor, to be out of the way of -temptation from mutinous sepoys. - -This convoy of men and money from Dumoh led to a smart military -encounter. The Madras movable column which afforded the required -protection numbered about 500 men of all arms, under Colonel Miller. -Leaving Dumoh on the 21st, and being much obstructed in passing the -river Nowtah, Colonel Miller reached Sigrampore on the 26th; where he -heard that the main body of the mutineers were at Konee, on the banks of -a river which the column would need to cross on its way to Jubbulpoor. -The colonel at once despatched a force of about 100 men, under -Lieutenant Watson, to secure the boats on the river; but the enemy -baffled this officer, who had much difficulty in preserving his men. -Miller then advanced with his whole column, met the enemy, and fought a -brief but decisive battle, which ended in the utter rout of the rebel -sepoys. If it had been a purely military affair, the colonel was strong -enough to defeat a more numerous body of the enemy; but he was hampered -by the presence of civilians, treasure, and 120 sepoys of the 52d, who -had been disarmed at Dumoh on news of the revolt of the main body, and -whom it was necessary to take with the column. It was, indeed, a strange -state of things; for the disarmed men were of course eager enough to -rush over and join their companions of the same regiment. - -It is not matter for censure if men placed in authority at different -stations, in time of peril, occasionally differed concerning the -relative importance of those stations. Thus, when the 50th and 52d -native regiments mutinied, a question arose which principal city, Saugor -or Jubbulpoor, should be regarded as a last stronghold in the event of -the British being nearly overpowered. Major Erskine, at Jubbulpoor, -urged the claims of that city, as having certain facilities for the -receipt of reinforcements, should such happily be afforded; and as -having many European women and children within the fort, who could not -be removed without danger. Brigadier Sage, on the other hand, -urged—‘Whatever you do, let me retain Saugor. It is the key to Central -India. It has a good fort and magazine. It is provisioned for six or -eight months for three hundred men, and has thirty thousand maunds of -grain in addition. It has a siege-train, which will fall into the hands -of the enemy if we leave the place. It contains 170 women and children, -who could not be withdrawn without danger.’ In such or similar words was -the retention of Saugor advocated. The discussion happily ended by both -towns being retained. Those officials of the Company, military or civil, -who resolutely fortified, instead of abandoning their positions, were in -most instances rewarded with success—unless the enemy were in unusually -overwhelming force. - -Nearly all parts of the Saugor and Nerbudda territories were in wild -confusion at the close of September. The Kamptee column of Madras troops -had, as we have just seen, broken up the 52d mutineers; but still those -rebels lay concealed in jungles, ready for mischief whenever an -opportunity might offer; while the Madrasses, distracted by many -applications from different quarters, had been unable to prevent the -mutinous 50th regiment, at Nagode, from marching off to join the -Dinapoor mutineers near Banda. At Saugor, Brigadier Sage and the British -were safe, because they were in a strong and well-provisioned fort, and -because the 31st native infantry exhibited no signs of disaffection; -nevertheless the whole country around was in the hands of rebellious -chieftains. On one occasion he sent out the greater part of his force to -attack the Rajah of Bankipore at Nurriowlee, ten miles from Saugor; but -the attack was unskilfully made—it failed, and greatly lowered British -prestige in the neighbourhood. - -As in September, so in October, these provinces were held by a very -slender tie. Nearly all the chiefs of Bundelcund, on the border, were -ready to rise in rebellion at news of any discomfiture of the British. -Numerous thakoors had risen, and, with their followers, were plundering -the villages in every direction. At Jubbulpoor, Hosungabad, Nursingpore, -Jaloun, Jhansi, Saugor, Mundlah, Dumoh, there was scarcely an English -soldier; and the presence of a few hundred Madras troops alone stood -between the authorities and frightful anarchy. Indeed, Jaloun, Jhansi, -and Dumoh were out of British hands altogether. The commissioner of -Nagpoor was unable to send up any more Madrasses from the south; Mr -Grant was unable to send any from Benares; the independent and -half-distrusted state of Rewah lay on one border; the thoroughly -rebellious state of Banda on another—and thus Major Erskine looked with -gloomy apprehensions on the fate of the provinces under his charge. As -the month drew to a close, his accounts were still more dismal. In one -letter he said: ‘The mass of native chiefs disbelieve in the existence -of a British army; and nothing but the presence of troops among them -will convince them of their error.’ Again find again were such messages -and representations sent to Viscount Canning, as chief authority in -India; again and again did he announce that he had no British troops to -spare. To Major Erskine’s letters he replied that he ‘must say broadly -and plainly that he would consider the sacrifice of the garrison in -Lucknow as a far greater calamity and reproach to the government than an -outbreak of the Rewah or Bundelcund states, even if followed by -rebellion and temporary loss of our authority in our own territories on -the Nerbudda.’ At the close of the month, Koer Singh and the Dinapoor -mutineers were somewhere between Banda and Calpee; while Captain -Osborne-one of the most remarkable men whom the Indian Revolt brought -into notice—still maintained his extraordinary position at Rewah. - -We pass now further to the west—to the cities and towns on the Jumna -river, and to the regions of Central India between that river and -Bombay. Here, little need detain us until we come to Agra. Futtehpoor, -Cawnpore, and Futteghur, though not in Oude, were on its frontier, and -were involved in the fortunes of that province. Captain Peel’s movements -with his naval brigade, in the Doab, may be left for treatment in -connection with the affairs of Lucknow. - -Agra experienced a loss early in September, in the death of John Russell -Colvin, the lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces. He fell from -sickness, brought on mainly by the intense anxieties arising out of his -position. He was a remarkable man, a true specimen of those civilians -developed into usefulness by the unique policy of the East India -Company. In England a public man becomes a statesman through a multitude -of minor and exceptional causes; in India, under the Company’s ‘raj,’ -statesmen were educated professedly and designedly for their work. In -England, we have seen the same statesman transferred from the Exchequer -to the India Board, and from thence to the Admiralty, as if the same -kind of knowledge were required for all three situations; in India, the -statesman’s education bore more close relation to the duties of the -offices he was likely to fill. No defects in the Company’s government, -no evils arising out of ‘traditional policy,’ no favouritism or -nepotism—can blot out the fact that the system brought out the best -qualities of the men in their service. Well will it be if the imperial -government, in future ages, is served so faithfully, skilfully, and -energetically in India as the Company’s government, during the last -half-century, has been served by the Malcolms, Metcalfes, Munros, Birds, -Thomasons, Elphinstones, Montgomerys, Outrams, Lawrences, and -Colvins—most of them civilians, whose apprenticeship to Indian -statesmanship began almost from boyhood. - -Mr Colvin, whose death has suggested the above few remarks, had seen as -much political service as almost any man in India. He was born in -Calcutta, the son of a merchant engaged in the Calcutta trade. After -receiving his education in England, and carrying off high honours at -Haileybury, he went to India in the Company’s service in 1826; and for -thirty-one years was seldom free from public duties, mostly special and -local. The number of offices he served in succession was remarkably -large. He was assistant to the registrar of the Sudder Court at -Calcutta; assistant to the British resident at Hyderabad; -assistant-secretary in the revenue and judicial department at Calcutta; -secretary to the Board of Revenue in the Lower Provinces; private -secretary to Governor-general Lord Auckland; British resident in Nepaul; -commissioner of the Tenasserim provinces; judge of the Sudder Court; and -lastly, lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces—ruler over a -territory containing as many inhabitants as the United Kingdom of Great -Britain and Ireland. All these offices he filled in succession, and the -first eight qualified him for the onerous duties of the ninth and last. -Throughout the mutiny, the only point on which Mr Colvin differed from -Viscount Canning was in the policy of the proclamation issued on the -25th of May. It was at the time, and will ever remain, a point fairly -open to discussion, whether Colvin’s proclamation[108] was or was not -too lenient towards the rebellious sepoys. If Canning’s decision partook -more of that of John Lawrence, it is equally certain that Colvin’s views -were pretty nearly shared by Henry Lawrence, in the early stages of the -mutiny. Irrespective of this question of the proclamation, Colvin’s -position at Agra was one of painful difficulty. He was not so successful -as Sir John Lawrence in the Punjaub, and his name has not found a place -among the great men whom the mutiny brought into notice; but it would be -unfair to leave unnoticed the circumstances which paralysed the ruler of -Agra. A distinguished civilian, who knew both Colvin and Lawrence, and -who has written under the assumed name of ‘Indophilus,’ thus compares -the position of the two men: ‘Colvin, with a higher official position, -had less real command over events than his neighbour in the Punjaub. -John Lawrence ruled a people who had for generations cherished a -religious and political feud with the people of Hindostan Proper; and -Delhi was, in Sikh estimation, the accursed city drunk with the blood of -saints and martyrs. John Colvin’s government was itself the focus of the -insurrection. Lawrence may be said to have been his own -commander-in-chief; and after a European force had been detached to -Delhi immediately on the outbreak, he still had at his disposal seven -European regiments, including the one sent from Bombay to Moultan, -besides European artillery and a local Sikh force of about 20,000 -first-rate irregulars of all arms. Colvin was merely the civil governor -of the Northwest Provinces; and as the posts (dâks) were stopped, he -could not even communicate with the commander-in-chief, with whom the -entire disposal of the military force rested. Lawrence had three days’ -exclusive knowledge by telegraph of what had taken place at Meerut and -Delhi, during which interval he made his arrangements for disarming the -sepoy regiments stationed in the Punjaub. Colvin had no warning; and the -military insurrection had actually broken out within his government, and -the mutineers were in possession of Delhi, before he could begin to act; -but he promptly and vigorously did what was in his power.’ We have seen -in former chapters what course Mr Colvin adopted between May and -August.[109] He opened communications with the authorities all around -him, as soon as he knew that the mutiny had begun; he disarmed the 44th -and 67th native infantry on the 1st of June; he raised a corps of -volunteer horse for service in the neighbourhood; he organised a -foot-militia among the civilians and traders, for the protection of the -city; and he kept a close watch on the proceedings of the Gwalior -mutineers. In July occurred the mutiny of the troopers of the Kotah -Contingent; then the ill-managed battle outside Agra on the 5th; then -the shutting up of Mr Colvin and six thousand persons within the fort; -and then the passing of two weary months, during which the -lieutenant-governor was powerless through his inability to obtain trusty -troops from any quarter whatever. His health and spirits failed, and he -died on the 9th of September—still hemmed within the walls of the fort -at Agra. Mr Reade, the leading civilian, assumed authority until orders -could be received from Calcutta; Colonel Frazer afterwards received the -appointment—not of lieutenant-governor of the Northwest Provinces, for -that government had by this time disappeared under the force of the -mutiny—but of chief-commissioner at Agra. Viscount Canning, in a -government order, gracefully and properly acknowledged the merits of Mr -Colvin.[110] - -[Illustration: - - Camp within the Fort, Agra.—From a Photograph. -] - -The Europeans resident in Agra, after Mr Colvin’s decease, were still -unable to liberate themselves; for Delhi had not yet fallen, nor had -English prestige been yet restored by Havelock’s success at Lucknow. The -English officers felt their enforced idleness very irksome. They, like -all the other Europeans, were confined within the fort; no daring -military exploits could be looked forward to hopefully, because there -ware scarcely any troops to command. For three months the Gwalior -mutineers had been their _bête noir_, their object of apprehension, as -being powerful and not far distant. They occasionally heard news from -Gwalior, but of too uncertain a nature to satisfy their doubts. Early in -September one of the officers wrote: ‘A portion of the rebel army of -Gwalior has marched; but their intentions are not yet known. They still -say they are coming to turn us out of the fort, and perform all sorts of -gallant deeds. Had they come at first, they would have given us a good -deal of trouble, as we were not prepared for a siege—guns not mounted, -magazines not shell-proof, provisions not in sufficient quantity, and -(worst of all) two thousand women and children without any protection -from the enemy’s fire. All this is now being rapidly remedied, and now -we could stand a siege with comfort. One of the greatest wants is that -of tobacco; the soldiers have none; and few men know so well as they do -the comfort of a pipe after a hard day’s work, whether under a broiling -sun or in drenching rain.’ The British officers at Agra were embittered -by becoming acquainted with the fact, that many influential natives now -in rebellion were among those who made the most fervent demonstrations -of loyalty when the mutiny first began. - -Of the affairs of Delhi we shall speak presently. Meanwhile, it may be -well to describe the movements of a distinct corps, having its origin in -the capture of that city. Although General Wilson seized all the gates -and buildings of the imperial city one by one, he could not prevent the -escape of the mutineers from the southern gate, the opposite to that -where the siege-works had been carried on. By the 21st of September, -when the conquest was completed, large bodies of the rebels were far -away, on their march to other scenes of struggle. The chief body marched -down the right bank of the Jumna on the Muttra road, with the intention -of crossing over into the Doab. Brigadier Showers was sent with a force -to pursue another body of rebels in another direction; but the -operations now under notice were those of the column under Colonel E. H. -Greathed (of H.M. 8th foot), organised at Delhi on the 23d of -September—about 3000 strong.[111] Starting on the 24th, Greathed crossed -the Jumna, and marched towards Bolundshuhur. Here a body of fugitive -mutineers was encountered on the 28th. A sharp action ensued, which -ended in the flight of the enemy, leaving behind them two guns and much -ammunition. As a consequence of this defeat, a newly set-up rajah, one -Waladad Khan, abandoned the fort of Malagurh, and fled. It was in the -blowing-up of this fort, by order of the colonel, that Lieutenant Home, -who had so distinguished himself at the storming of the Cashmere Gate, -was killed. One of his brother-officers said in a letter: ‘The loss of -poor Home has thrown a cloud over all our successes. He was brave among -brave men, and an honour to our service.’ Greathed advanced day after -day, burning villages which were known to have been nests of insurgents. -In one of those places, Koorjah, he found the skeleton of a European -woman, the head cut off, and the legs hacked and cut. On the 5th of -October, the column reached Allygurh, scoured through the town, and cut -up a large body of rebels, taking eleven guns from them. Greathed was at -Akerabad the next day, where Mungal Singh and his brother had raised the -standard of rebellion; but these chieftains were killed, as well as most -of their retainers. On the 9th, he reached Hattrass. At this place his -movements were suddenly disturbed; he had intended to march down the -Doab to aid Havelock, Outram, and Inglis; but now news from Agra reached -him that led to a change of plan. To understand this, attention must be -turned to the state of affairs in the Mahratta dominions of Scindia, the -northern boundary of which approached very near Agra. - -From the day when Scindia’s Gwalior Contingent rose in mutiny against -British authority, on the 14th of June, nothing but the personal -faithfulness of Scindia himself prevented the mutineers from joining -their compatriots at Delhi or elsewhere. Every British officer being -driven away from Gwalior, the powerful army forming the Contingent might -easily have made itself master of all that part of the Mahratta -dominions; but Scindia, by a remarkable exercise of steadiness and -shrewdness, kept them near him. He would not make himself personally an -enemy to them; neither, on the other hand, would he express approval of -their act of mutiny. He still remained their paymaster, and held his -power over them partly by keeping their pay in arrear. All through the -months of July and August did this singular state of affairs continue. A -few detachments of the Contingent had marched off from other stations, -but the main body remained quiet. The Indore mutineers from Holkar’s -Contingent had for some time been encamped near them at Gwalior, much -against Scindia’s inclination. Early in September the two bodies -disagreed concerning future plans—the Indore men wishing to speed to -Delhi, the Gwalior men to Cawnpore. Some of the maharajah’s own troops, -distinct from the Contingent, were seduced from their allegiance by the -Indore men, and marched off with them on the 5th, with seven guns and a -good store of ammunition. Some of the budmashes or vagabonds of Gwalior -joined them; but the Gwalior Contingent proper still remained quiet near -that city. This quietness, however, did not promise to be of long -continuance. On the 7th, the native officers went to Scindia, and -demanded from him food and conveyance for a march either to Agra or to -Cawnpore. The maharajah’s response not being satisfactory to them, they -began to seize oxen, buffaloes, mules, horses, camels, and carts from -the neighbouring villagers, and a few elephants from the richer men. -Some violence against Scindia himself appeared probable; but he found -the main body of his own little army disposed to remain faithful, and -hence the Contingent had little inducement to attack him. The landowners -in the neighbourhood offered to aid him with their retainers, thus -lessening the danger to which he might otherwise have been exposed. -About the middle of the month a fierce struggle seemed imminent; but -Scindia and his supporters continued firm, and the Contingent did not -for some time attempt any manœuvre likely to be serious to the British. -We can therefore follow the steps of the other army of mischief-workers. - -When the miscellaneous body of Indore mutineers, Gwalior traitors, and -budmashes left Gwalior, they proceeded towards the river Chumbul, which -they crossed on the 7th of September, and then took possession of the -fort of Dholpore, a place about thirty miles from Agra—at the point -where the trunk-road from Delhi to Bombay crosses the Chumbul, and -therefore a very important spot in relation to any arrival of -reinforcements for the British. In that very week the final bombardment -of Delhi began; and if the mutineers had marched thither, they might -seriously have embarrassed General Wilson’s operations. They appear, -however, to have remained near Dholpore, supporting and strengthening -themselves by plunder in the neighbouring region. When Delhi fell, and -its defenders escaped, the Dholpore mutineers—as we may now conveniently -call them—had no motive for marching towards the imperial city; but, -near the close of the month, they began to lay plans for an attack on -Agra. - -When October arrived, Mr Reade, and Colonels Cotton and Frazer, had to -direct their attention not only to these Dholpore mutineers, but to -dangerous neighbours from other quarters. A glance at a map will shew -that when mutineers and marauders escaped from Delhi towards the Lower -Ganges, Agra would necessarily be not far from the line of route. When, -therefore, the authorities at the last-named city heard of the fall of -Delhi, they naturally looked with some anxiety to the course pursued by -the fugitives. They speedily heard that a crowd of mutineers, fanatics, -felons, and miscreants of every description, had found their way to -Muttra, and were engaged in constructing a bridge of boats over the -Jumna; in order, as appeared probable, to open a communication with the -Indore or Dholpore mutineers. Hence the extreme anxiety of the Agra -authorities that Greathed’s column, in pursuit of the fugitive rebels, -should march down the right instead of the left bank of the Jumna, in -order to aid Agra, and cut off the communication with Dholpore; and -hence great disappointment, when it was found that the active leader of -that column was marching rapidly on towards Cawnpore—without thinking of -Agra. At such a time, each officer naturally thought first and -principally of the safety of the city or station for which he was -responsible; and the commanders of movable columns were often -embarrassed by conflicting requisitions from different quarters. - -[Illustration: - - LIEUTENANT HOME, Bengal Engineers. -] - -Such was the state of feeling in Agra at the end of September. Early in -October, matters became more serious. The authorities received news that -an attack on Agra was meditated by the rebels—comprising the 23d B. N. -I. and the 1st B. N. C. of the Indore Contingent, from Mhow; a part of -the fugitive forces from Delhi; and malcontents from Dholpore and the -neighbourhood. Means were immediately sought for frustrating this -attack. The rebels were known to be on the advance on the 6th; it was -also known that on that day Colonel Greathed had arrived with his column -at Akrabad, one day’s march from Allygurh, on his way towards Cawnpore. -It was thereupon resolved to obtain the aid of Greathed at Agra, before -he further prosecuted his march. This energetic officer, who was rapidly -following up a fugitive brigade from Delhi, very unwillingly postponed -an object on which he had set his heart; but the danger to Agra becoming -very imminent, he turned aside to lend his aid at that point. After -marching forty-four miles in twenty-eight hours—a tremendous achievement -in an Indian climate—Greathed arrived at the parade-ground of Agra on -the morning of the 10th of October. Before his tired troops could enjoy -even three hours’ rest, they found themselves engaged in battle with the -enemy, who suddenly attacked their camp. The rebels made a spirited dash -with their cavalry, and opened a brisk fire with artillery half hidden -behind luxuriant standing corn. Not a moment did Greathed delay. He -moved to the right with a view of outflanking the enemy and capturing -their guns on that side; and his arrangements in other quarters soon -enabled him to charge and capture the enemy’s guns and standards. On -they went, the mutineers retreating and Greathed following them up, -until he reached a village three miles out on the Gwalior road. Here -Colonel Cotton came up, and assumed the command; the infantry drove the -rebels to the five-mile point, and the cavalry and artillery continued -the pursuit; until at length the enemy were utterly routed. They lost -twelve guns, and the whole of their tents, baggage, ammunition, and -vehicles of every description. It was a complete discomfiture. Colonel -Greathed obtained, and deservedly, high praise for the celerity and -energy of his movements. By the time the battle and pursuit were over, -his cavalry had marched sixty-four and his infantry fifty-four miles in -thirty-six hours; while Captain Bourchier’s 9-pounder battery had come -in from Hattrass, thirty miles distant, during the night without a halt. -Greathed’s loss in the action was 11 killed and 56 wounded. It was a -strange time for the mutineers to make an attack on Agra. During the -siege of Delhi, Wilson could not have spared a single regiment from his -siege-camp, nor could any other general have brought resources to bear -on the relief of Agra; whereas now, in this second week of October, -Greathed with a strong column was within two days’ march of the city. If -they were not aware of this fact, then was their information less -complete than usual; if they hoped to check his advance down the Doab, -then did they wofully underrate his strength and gallantry. - -While tracing briefly the progress of the movable column after this -battle of Agra, it may be well to advert to a source of vexation that -sometimes presented itself during the wars of the mutiny, at Agra as -elsewhere. Many of the gallant men concerned in struggling against the -mutineers were occasionally much perplexed by questions of seniority, at -times and places when they could refer for solution neither to the -governor-general nor to the commander-in-chief. Such was the case in -reference to Greathed’s column. General Gowan in Sirhind, General Penny -at Delhi, the chief-commissioner at Agra, all had some authority in -military matters in the Northwest Provinces. Colonel Cotton, at Agra, -finished the battle which Greathed began—not because it had been badly -fought, but because Cotton was senior to Greathed. Again, while Greathed -was marching quickly and fighting valiantly on the road to Cawnpore, -after the battle of Agra, Colonel Hope Grant of the 9th Lancers, made -brigadier in order that he might assume higher command, was sent out -from Delhi viâ Agra to supersede him—not because he was a better officer -than Greathed, but because he was senior in rank. Grant joined the -column on the 19th of October, and became its leader. The change caused -a busy paper-war between the generals and commissioners who had made the -respective appointments, and who could not, at such a troubled time, -rightly measure the relative strength of their own claims to authority. -Whether under Hope Grant, however, or under Greathed, the column was in -good hands. On the 19th, the column marched twenty-four miles, and -entered Minpooree. A native rajah had long ruled that place during the -anarchy of the provinces; but no sooner did he hear of the approach of -the British than he fled—leaving behind him several guns, 14,000 pounds -of powder, 230,000 rupees, and much other property, which had been taken -from the Company’s officers when the mutiny began. There was no -fighting, only a re-occupation. After another severe punishment of the -rebels at Kanouge on the 23d, the column marched towards Cawnpore, which -was reached on the 26th. - -Returning to the affairs of the various Mahratta states, it may now be -mentioned that the Gwalior Contingent did at last, in the month of -October, make a move. They marched slowly and heavily (six regiments, -four batteries, and a siege-train), leaving Gwalior on the 15th, and -advancing eastward towards Jaloun and Calpee, as if with the intention -of crossing the Jumna at the last-named place into the Doab; but the -month came to an end without any serious demonstration on their part. -Had Nena Sahib been as bold and skilful as he was vicious, he might have -wrought great mischief to the English at this time. If he had placed -himself at the head of the Gwalior Contingent (which was fully -expected), and had marched with them southward through Bundelcund to the -Saugor and Nerbudda territories, he would have picked up rebellious -Bundelas at every village, and have advanced towards the Nerbudda in -such strength as to render it very doubtful whether the available Madras -and Bombay troops could have confronted him. He had ambition enough to -place himself at the head of all the Mahratta princes, but neither skill -nor courage for such a position. So far as concerns Agra, the residents -continued in the fort, in no great danger, but too weak in military to -engage in any extensive operations. The only contest, indeed, during the -rest of the month was on the 28th, when a party from the fort sallied -out, and dispersed a body of rebels assembled at Futtehpore Sikri. - -The wide region comprised within the political limits of the Mahratta -and Rajpootana states was in a very disturbed condition during September -and October. Besides the Gwalior Contingent in Scindia’s dominions, -there were Holkar’s Contingent, the Bhopal and Kotah Contingents, the -Jhodpore legion, and other bodies of native troops, the partial mutiny -of which kept the country in perpetual agitation. All Bengal troops were -sources of mischief, for they were the very elements among which the -disaffection grew up; European troops could be sent neither from -Calcutta nor the Punjaub; and therefore it depended either on Bombay or -Madras (chiefly the former) to send troops by whom the insurgents could -be put down. These troops, for reasons already sufficiently explained, -were few in number; and it was a work of great difficulty to transfer -them from place to place where anarchy most prevailed; indeed, the -commanding officers were often distracted by appeals to them from -various quarters for aid—appeals incompatible one with another. - -Colonel Lawrence had a contest with the mutineers of the Jhodpore -legion, about the middle of September, in Rajpootana. He marched to and -through various places, the names of which have hardly been heard of in -England, such as Beaur, Chiliamas, Barr, Peeplia, Bugree, Chaputtia, and -Awah; these movements took place between the 14th and the 18th of the -month; and on the last-named date he encountered the rebels at Awah. He -had with him 200 of H.M. 83d foot, 250 Mhairwara battalion, two -squadrons of Bombay native cavalry, and 5 guns. It was an artillery -attack on both sides, lasting three hours. Lawrence seems to have -distrusted his own strength; he would not bring his infantry and cavalry -into action, fearful of losing any of his men just at that place and -time. In short, his attack failed; the rebels retained hold of Awah, and -Lawrence, finding his supplies running short, retired to Beaur. The -rebels had the guns of the legion with them, and worked them well. It -was an untoward affair; for the Rajah of Jhodpore, friendly to the -English, had just before met with a defeat of his own troops by the same -legion, in an action which involved the death of Captain Monck Mason, -the British resident; and now prestige was still further damaged by the -retreat of Lawrence after a desultory action. The colonel had come with -a small Bombay column to Ajmeer, to watch the movements of rebels in and -near Ajmeer, Nuseerabad, Awah, and other places in that part of -Rajpootana; and any discomfiture at such a time was likely to afford a -bad example. At Kotali, Neemuch, Mundisore, Mehidpore, Indore, Mhow, -Bhopal, &c., an uneasy feeling similarly prevailed, arising out of -disturbances too small to be separately noticed here, but important as -indicating a wide belt of disaffected country between the Jumna and the -Bombay presidency. The strange character of the whole of that region, in -a political sense, was well expressed by an English officer, who, -writing from Neemuch, said: ‘This station is in the heart of Rajpootana, -a country abounding in and surrounded by native states which compose -anything but one family, and between any two of which it is very -difficult to determine at any given time what relation exists. There are -Holkar’s troops, and Scindia’s troops, and Salomba’s troops, and the -mercenary troops of Odeypore, the Kotah Contingent, the Jeypoor, -Jhodpore, Meywar, and Malwar corps, and a host more; and when any little -dispute arises in the country, a sort of jumble takes place between -these bodies, during which two of them at least are pretty sure to come -into collision.’ These petty quarrels among the chieftains were -sometimes advantageous to the British; but the soldiery were so strongly -affected with mutinous tendencies, that a friendly rajah could seldom -give practical value to his friendliness. - -It is unnecessary to notice in detail the petty military operations of -that region. No great success attended any of them. One was at Nimbhera, -or Nimbhaira, between Neemuch and Nuseerabad. Here a contest took place -on the 20th of September, in which a native rajah was worsted by Colonel -Jackson and 350 miscellaneous troops. Another occurred some weeks later, -when the Mundisore insurgents, on the 22d of October, made an attack on -Jeerun, a town about ten miles from Neemuch. A force of about 400 men -was at once sent out from this station, chiefly Bombay native troops, -but headed by 50 of H.M. 83d foot, under Captains Simpson, Bannister, -and Tucker. The enemy were found drawn up in force. Tucker brought two -guns and a mortar to bear upon them, and sent his infantry to attack the -town; but the enemy checked them by overpowering numbers, and captured -the mortar. The cavalry now made an attack, followed by the infantry, -and the mortar was speedily retaken. The enemy were driven into the -fort, and their fire entirely silenced. The Neemuch force was not strong -enough to take the fort at that time, but the insurgents evacuated it -during the night, and marched off. The encounter was rather severe to -the British officers engaged; for two of them (Captains Tucker and Read) -were killed, and five wounded. The miscreants cut off Captain Tucker’s -head as soon as he had fallen. - -One of the most pathetic stories of that period had relation, not to a -battle or a wholesale slaughter, but to the assassination of a father -and two sons under very cowardly and inexplicable circumstances. Major -Burton was British political agent at Kotah, a Rajpootana state of which -the chief town lies northeast of Neemuch—a situation he had filled for -thirteen years, always on friendly terms with the native rajah and the -people generally. He had been four months at Neemuch, but returned to -Kotah on the 12th of October, accompanied by two sons scarcely arrived -at manhood. On the 15th, two regiments of the rajah’s native army -revolted, and surrounded the Residency in which Major Burton and his -sons had just taken up their abode. What followed may best be told in -the words of a third son, Mr C. W. Burton, of Neemuch.[112] - -Let us on to Delhi, and watch how the imperial city fared after the -siege. - -As soon as the conquest had been completely effected, on the 21st of -September,[113] it became necessary to make arrangements for the -internal government of the city, irrespective of any more permanent or -important appointments. Colonel Burn was made military governor. This -officer had been thirty years in the Company’s service—first in the -Bengal native infantry; then in raising three native regiments on the -Afghan frontier; next in the operations of the Afghan war; then in those -of the Sikh war; afterwards as secretary to the commissioners of the -Punjaub; and, lastly, as an officer in Nicholson’s movable column. -Colonel Burn being made military governor of Delhi, Colonel Innes -received the appointment of commandant of the palace. Mr Hervey Harris -Greathed, who had been appointed civil commissioner for Delhi as soon as -the murder of Mr Simon Fraser on the 11th of May became known, lived -through all the vicissitudes of the siege, but sank through illness -almost as soon as the victorious army entered the imperial city; he was -succeeded in his office by Mr Saunders. Another change may here be -mentioned. General Wilson, worn out by his anxieties and labours in the -siege-camp, retired two or three weeks after the conquest, for the -recovery of his health in the hill-country, and was succeeded in the -supreme command at Delhi by General Penny—subject to any more -authoritative change by order of the Calcutta government. - -Within, the city of Delhi was a very desolation. Nearly all the native -inhabitants left it, in dread lest the English soldiers should retaliate -upon them the atrocities perpetrated by the insurgents upon defenceless -Europeans. The authorities had no wish for the immediate return of these -people, until it could be ascertained to what extent the traders and -working population had connived at the rebellion of the sepoys. Even -many weeks after all fighting had ceased in and near the city, one of -the officers wrote of the state of Delhi in the following terms: ‘Every -wall or bastion that faced our camp is in almost shapeless ruin; but the -white marble pavilions of the palace rise unharmed along the Jumna’s -bank. In one of these live the.... There is no describing the beauty and -quaintness of their rooms. I long for photographs to send home. They are -all of inlaid marble, with semianahs pitched in the zenana courts -between. But all around speaks of awful war—the rows on rows of captured -guns—the groups of English soldiers at every post; and not English only, -for our brave defenders the Goorkhas, Sikhs, and Punjaubees mingle among -them. A strange army indeed, with not a trace of pipeclay! It is a -frightful drive from the palace to the Cashmere Gate—every house rent, -riven, and tottering; the church battered, and piles of rubbish on every -side. Alas! the burnt European houses and deserted shops! Desolate -Delhi! and yet we are told it is clearing and much improved since the -storming of the place. It has only as yet a handful of inhabitants in -its great street, the Chandnee Chowk, who are all Hindoos, I believe. -Many miserable wretches prowl through the camps outside the city begging -for admission at the various gates; but none are admitted whose -respectability cannot be vouched for. Cart-loads of ball are being daily -dug out from the Moree Bastion, now a shapeless, battered mass.’ - -The conquerors of Delhi, wishing to prevent for ever the imperial city -from becoming a stronghold for rebels, proposed to destroy at once all -the fortifications. The Calcutta government, on receiving news of the -final capture, telegraphed to General Wilson to the following effect: -‘The governor-general in council desires that you will at once proceed -to demolish the defences of Delhi. You will spare places of worship, -tombs, and all ancient buildings of interest. You will blow up, or -otherwise destroy all fortifications; and you will so far destroy the -walls and gates of the city as to make them useless for defence. As you -will not be able to do this completely with the force at present -available at Delhi, you will select the points at which the work may be -commenced with the best effect, and operate there.’ After General Wilson -had retired, and General Penny had assumed command at Delhi, information -reached Sir John Lawrence at Lahore of the intended demolition. He -evidently did not approve of the plan in its totality, and suggested -delay even in commencing it, until further orders could be received from -Calcutta. He thus telegraphed to Delhi on the 21st of October: ‘I do not -think any danger could arise from delay. If the fortifications be -dismantled, I would suggest that it be done as was the case at Lahore; -we filled in the ditches by cutting down the glacis, lowered the walls, -and dismantled the covering-works in front of the gates and bastions. A -wall of ten or twelve feet high could do no harm, and would be very -useful for police purposes. Delhi, without any walls, would be exposed -to constant depredations from the Meeras, Goojurs, and other predatory -races. Even such a partial demolition will cost several lacs of rupees -and take a long time; at Lahore it cost two lacs, and occupied upwards -of two years.’ - -One subject connected with the capture of Delhi was curiously -illustrative of the state of the public mind as exhibited during the -autumn of 1857. Anything less than a sanguinary retaliation for the -atrocities committed by the natives in India was in many quarters -regarded almost as a treasonable shrinking from justice. Kill, kill, -kill all—was the injunction implied, if not expressed. Among the British -residents in India this desire for blood was so strong, that it -distempered the judgment of persons otherwise amiable and generous. -Instead of acting on the principle that it is better for a few guilty to -escape than for one innocent man to be punished, the doctrine -extensively taught at that time reversed this rule of conduct. It is of -course not difficult to account for this. The feelings of those who, a -few short months before, had been peacefully engaged in the usual -Anglo-Indian mode of life, were suddenly rent by a terrible calamity. -Husbands, brothers, sons—wives, sisters, daughters—were not only put to -death unjustly, but the black deed was accompanied by brutalities that -struck horror into the hearts of all survivors. It was not at such a -time that men could judge calmly. The subject is mentioned here because -it points to one of the difficulties, almost without parallel in -intensity, that pressed upon the nobleman whose fate it was to govern -India at such a time. Every proclamation or dispatch, issued by Viscount -Canning, which contained instructions to the Company’s officers tending -to leniency towards any of the dark skins, was misquoted, -misrepresented, violently condemned, and attributed to what in bitter -scorn was called the ‘clemency of Canning.’ It required great moral -courage, at such a time, to form a definite plan of action, and to -maintain it in spite of clamour. Differences of opinion on these -difficult matters of state policy are of course reasonable enough; the -point is mentioned here only in its historical relation to an almost -frenzied state of public opinion at a particular time. - -[Illustration: - - COLONEL BURN, Military Governor of Delhi. -] - -The treatment of the King of Delhi was one of the subjects connected -with this state of feeling. When taken a prisoner, the dethroned monarch -was not shot. ‘Why is this?’ it was asked. Because Captain Hodson -promised the king his life if he would surrender quietly. For a long -time this gallant officer was an object of violent abuse for this line -of conduct. ‘Why did Hodson dare to do this?’ was the inquiry. It was -not until evidence clear and decisive had been afforded, of General -Wilson’s sanction having been given to this proceeding, that the subject -fell into its proper place as one open to fair and temperate discussion. -Again, letters written anonymously at Delhi appeared in the Calcutta -newspapers, announcing that the ex-royal family were treated with the -most obsequious deference; and the ‘clemency’ was again contrasted with -the ‘righteous demand for blood.’ So much of this as was untrue -gradually fell out of repute; and then the simple fact became known that -the king was to be tried as a traitor, but was not to be treated as a -felon until found guilty. Mrs Hodson, wife to the officer who effected -the capture, paid a visit to the royal captives, which she described in -a highly interesting letter to an English relation, afterwards made -public; whatever else it shewed, it afforded no indication that the aged -profligate was treated with a degree of luxurious attention offensive to -the European residents of the place.[114] - -For all else, Delhi furnished nothing calling for special notice during -the six weeks following the siege. - -Of two columns, despatched from Delhi to pursue and punish the rebels -after the siege, that under Colonel Greathed has already been noticed. A -second, under Brigadier Showers, was engaged throughout October, mostly -west and northwest of Delhi. Some of the petty rajahs between the Jumna -and the Sutlej were in an embarrassing position; they would have drawn -down on their heads eventual defeat by the British if they joined the -rebels; while they were in immediate danger from the enmity of marauders -and mutineers if they remained faithful to the British. To their credit -be it said, most of them remained true to their treaties; they assisted -the British in a time of trouble to the extent of their means. -Especially was this the case in relation to the Rajahs of Jheend and -Putialah, without whose friendly aid it would have scarcely been -possible for Sir John Lawrence to send reinforcements from the Punjaub -to General Wilson at Delhi. An exception was afforded by the Rajah of -Jhujjur, whose treacherous conduct earned for him a severe defeat by -Brigadier Showers about the middle of October. That officer was, later -in the month, actively engaged in defeating and punishing rebels at -Sonah, Bullubgurh, and other places. - -Of the country north and northeast of Delhi, little need be said. -Rohilcund was almost wholly in the hands of the rebels during September -and October. In the districts of Bareilly, Boodayoun, Mooradabad, -Shahjehanpoor, and Bijnour, the English might be reckoned by tens—so -fierce had been the tempest which had swept them away. Happily Nynee Tal -still remained a refuge for many non-combatants, who could not yet be -safely removed to Calcutta or Bombay. Khan Bahadoor Khan—a notorious -offender whose name has more than once been mentioned in these pages, -and who, after being a well-paid deputy-collector in the Company’s -service, shewed his gratitude by committing great atrocities as -self-elected Nawab of Bareilly—planned an attack on Nynee Tal about the -middle of September. He sent a force of 800 men, under his nephew, Nizam -Ullie Khan. Major Ramsey, however, speedily mustered 300 Goorkhas, and -about 50 miscellaneous volunteers and troopers; this force, sallying -forth from Nynee Tal on the 18th, encountered the Bareilly rebels at -Huldwanee, near the foot of the hills, and gave so effective a defeat to -them as to prevent any repetition of the attack for a very long time. - -All around the district of Meerut the movements of the rebels were -sensibly checked by the fact that that important military station still -remained in the hands of the British. After the first day of outbreak -(10th of May), Meerut was provisioned and intrenched in such a way as to -render it safe from all attacks, especially as the garrison had a good -store of artillery; and as small bands of trusty troops could -occasionally be spared for temporary expeditions, the mutineers were -kept from any very near approach to Meerut itself. The chief annoyance -was from the Goojurs and other predatory tribes, who sought to reap a -golden harvest from the social anarchy around them. - -Happily, the extreme northwest remained nearly at peace. The Punjaub, -under the firm control of Sir John Lawrence, although occasionally -disturbed by temporary acts of lawlessness, was in general tranquil. A -few English troops ascended from Kurachee by way of the Indus and -Moultan; and a few native regiments came from Bombay and Sinde; but the -Sikhs and Mussulmans of the Punjaub itself were found to be for the most -part reliable, under the able hands of Cotton and Edwardes. In Sinde a -similar state of affairs was exhibited: a few isolated acts of -rebellion, sufficient to set the authorities on the alert without -seriously disquieting them. On one occasion a company of native -artillery was disarmed at Hydrabad, on suspicion of being tainted with -disloyalty. On another occasion the 21st native infantry was disarmed at -Kurachee, because twenty or thirty of the men displayed bad symptoms. -And on another, a few men of the 16th native infantry were detected in -an attempt to excite their companions to mutiny. All these instances -tended to shew, that if Sinde had been nearer to Hindostan or Oude, the -Bengal portion of the army there stationed would in all probability have -revolted; but being in a remote region, and among a people who had few -sympathies with Brahmin sepoys, the incendiarism died out for lack of -fuel. - -Happily, again, the southern or peninsular portion of India was left -nearly free from the curse of rebellion during the two months now under -notice in Mysore, in the various provinces of the Madras presidency, in -the South Mahratta country, and in the provinces around Bombay, the -disturbances were few. In the Deccan, the Nizam and his prime minister -remained stanch throughout; and although the city of Hyderabad was kept -in much commotion by fanatical moulvies and fakeers, and by turbulent -Rohillas and Deccanees, there was no actual mutiny of entire regiments, -or successful scheme of rebellion. At Ahmedabad, midway between Bombay -and the disturbed region of Rajpootana, one of those terrible events -occurred on the 26th of October—a blowing away of five men from guns. -All the officers whose duty it was to attend on those fearful occasions -united in hoping that such a sight might never again meet their eyes. - -[Illustration: - - Ruins near Kootub Minar, Delhi. -] - ------ - -Footnote 105: - - ‘I told off my men rapidly, and formed them into parties, so as - completely to surround and cover every outlet and corner. The main - party, consisting mostly of my own particular sharpshooters and - body-guard, watched the front; another moved towards the town, there - to arrest an educated Bengalee, agent to the conspirators; another to - the rear, to cut off escape towards the town; while my friend the - Political crept quietly past some outhouses with his police, and under - the palace walls awaited my signal for opening the ball. - - ‘Before long the ominous barking of a disturbed cur in the direction - of the party sent after the prime-minister proclaimed that no time was - to be lost. Off I went towards the guard-shed in front of the palace, - my personal sharpshooters following at the double. The noise, of - course, awoke the sleeping guard, and as they started up from their - slumbers I caught one firmly by the throat; the little Goorkha next me - felled with a but-end blow another of them while they were getting to - arms, I having strictly forbidden my men to fire until obliged; the - remainder, as we rushed in, took to flight, and my eager party wished - to fire on them, which I prevented, not considering such valiant game - worth powder and shot. In the darkness and confusion, no means of - entrance could at once be found. My police guide, however, having been - often in the palace, knew every room in it, and, thrusting himself in - at a door, acted ferret to perfection, and by dint of activity, soon - brought me into the presence of the rajah, who, though young in years, - is old in sin: he refused to surrender or admit any one—a resolution - which cooled instanter on my calling my men to set fire to the palace; - he then with a bad grace delivered up to me his state-sword. A shout - from the opposite doors proclaimed an entry there. The queen-mother - and the rest of the female royalty and attendants were seized while - trying to descend on that side. Then came a chorus of shouting and - struggling, and bawling for lights and assistance; at last, a lamp - being procured, we proceeded to examine the palace: we wandered in - dark passages and cells, while I mounted a guard at every door. The - air being confined and heated within the royal residence, I sat - outside until after daybreak, and then proceeded to rummage for papers - and letters; several boxes of these we appropriated, and counted out - his treasure, all in gold vessels and ingots; we found a quantity of - arms, spiked some guns, one of them of French make; all day we were - hard at work, searching and translating papers. The prime-minister was - found at his house, fast asleep. In the heat of the afternoon, we went - to his residence in the town, and by dint of keeping fans going over - us, carried out a thorough search. We did not get as many of his - papers as we wanted, he having been told by his correspondents to - destroy all letters after reading them. - - ‘At sunset I carried off my prisoners over the same bad ground by - which we had so stealthily arrived. We were followed by about 2000 - infuriated Mussulmans, crying, praying, and prostrating themselves to - the object of their lingering hope of rebellion (the rajah), but we - drove them off.’ - -Footnote 106: - - ‘The ejected civilians from Dorunda had come on ahead and offered our - small party breakfast, which we gladly accepted. While waiting until - it was ready, the chief-commissioner got an electric-telegraph - dispatch from the governor-general, ordering the whole of the 53d - party under Major English back again to the main trunk-road. You never - saw anything like the long faces they all had at this announcement; - for the commissioner had just had intelligence on which he thought he - could rely, that the mutineers were still kept at bay by the party at - the pass, through which they must get through to effect their escape - from us; and they did not think that 250 Madras sepoys with two guns - would be sufficient to attack 850 desperate men caught in a trap. - Moreover, the retirement of the Europeans would run like wildfire - through the district; and I heard them all say they would not answer - for what might happen.’ The column _did_ advance to Dorunda, and - dispersed the miscreants; but it had to hasten to other regions, and - then—‘All the residents are very much disgusted at our going back, as - the moral effect of our arrival must be great, the natives here having - as much idea of a European soldier as they have of a whale, never - having seen either; and the fact of their being put as prisoners under - a European guard frightens them more than a thousand deaths.’ - -Footnote 107: - - Shut the mouth of slanderers, bite and - Eat up backbiters, trample down the sinners, - You, _Sutrsingharka_. - Kill the British, exterminate them, - _Mat Chundee_. - Let not the enemy escape, nor the offspring of such, - Oh, _Singharka_. - Shew favour to Shunker! - Support your slave! - Listen to the cry of religion, - _Mathalka_. - Eat up the unclean! - Make no delay! - Now devour them, - And that quickly, - _Ghormatkalka_. - - The words in italics are various names of the goddess Devee or Deva, - ‘the destroyer.’ - -Footnote 108: - - See p. 111. - -Footnote 109: - - Chap. vii., pp. 109-111. Chap. x., pp. 173, 174. Chap. xvii., pp. - 282-286. - -Footnote 110: - - ‘It is the melancholy duty of the Right Honourable the - Governor-general in Council to announce the death of the Honourable - John Russell Colvin, the lieutenant-governor of the Northwest - Provinces. - - ‘Worn by the unceasing anxieties and labours of his charge, which - placed him in the very front of the dangers by which of late India has - been threatened, health and strength gave way; and the - Governor-general in Council has to deplore with sincere grief the loss - of one of the most distinguished among the servants of the East India - Company. - - ‘The death of Mr Colvin has occurred at a time when his ripe - experience, his high ability, and his untiring energy would have been - more than usually valuable to the state. - - ‘But his career did not close before he had won for himself a high - reputation in each of the various branches of administration to which - he was at different times attached, nor until he had been worthily - selected to fill the highest position in Northern India; and he leaves - a name which not friends alone, but all who have been associated with - him in the duties of government, and all who may follow in his path, - will delight to honour. - - ‘The Right Honourable the Governor-general in Council directs that the - flag shall be lowered half-mast high, and that 17 minute-guns shall be - fired at the seats of government in India upon the receipt of the - present notification.’ - -Footnote 111: - H.M. 8th foot. - H.M. 75th foot. - 2d Punjaub infantry. - 4th Punjaub infantry. - H.M. 9th Lancers. - 1st Punjaub cavalry. - 2d Punjaub cavalry. - 5th Punjaub cavalry. - Two troops horse-artillery. - Light field-battery. - Pearson’s 9-pounder battery. - -Footnote 112: - - ‘The political agent was himself the first to discover their approach; - and, as he had only returned to Kotah three days previously from an - absence of four months, he believed the number of people he saw - advancing merely to be some of the chief subordinates coming to pay - him the usual visit of ceremony and respect. In a second he was - cruelly undeceived. The mutineers rushed into the house; the servants, - both private and public, abandoned him with only one exception (a - camel-driver); and the agent, his boys, and this one solitary servant - fled to the top of the house for safety, snatching up such few arms as - were within their reach. The fiends pursued; but the cowardly ruffians - were driven back for the time by the youngest boy shooting one in the - thigh. When there, they naturally hoped the agency-servants or their - own would have returned with assistance from the chief; but no—all - fled, and no help came. In the meantime, the mutineers proceeded to - loot the house, and they (the major and his sons) saw from their - position all their property carried away. A little while and two guns - were brought to play upon the bungalow, the upper part of which caught - fire from the lighted sticks which the miscreants from time to time - threw up. Balls fell around them, the little room at the top fell in, - and they were yet unhurt—and this for five long and weary hours. Major - Burton wished to parley with the mutineers, in the hope they would be - contented if he gave himself up, and allow his boys to escape; but his - children would not allow of such a sacrifice for their sakes; and like - brave men and good Christians, they all knelt down and uttered their - last prayers to that God who will surely avenge their cause. All now - seemed comparatively quiet, and they began to hope the danger over, - and let down the one servant who was still with them on a mission to - the Sikh soldiers and others, who were placed by the chief for the - personal protection of the agent round his bungalow, and of whom at - the time there were not less than 140, to beg of them to loosen the - boat, that an escape might be attempted across the river. They said: - “We have had no orders.” At this moment a shot from a pistol was - fired. Scaling-ladders had been obtained, the murderers ascended the - walls, and the father and his sons were at one fell stroke - destroyed.... The maharajah was enabled to recover the bodies of the - agent and both his sons in the evening, and they were carefully buried - by his order. Dr Salder’s house was attacked at the same time with the - agency-house. He was cut down outside, in sight of the agent, as was - also Mr Saviell, the doctor of the dispensary in the city, and one or - two others whose names are not certain.’ - -Footnote 113: - - Chap. xviii., pp. 295-315. - -Footnote 114: - - ‘There is a report, which has been mischievously set about, and may - have mischievous consequences—namely, that the king has the whole of - his retinue, and has returned to his own apartments in the palace. - - ‘This is perfectly untrue. I went with Mr Saunders, the civil - commissioner, and his wife, to see the unfortunate and guilty wretch. - We mounted a flight of stone steps, at the bottom and top of which was - a European sentry. A small low door opened into a room, half of which - was partitioned off with a grass-matting called chitac, behind which - was a woman cooking some atrocious compound, if I might judge from the - smell. In the other half was a native bedstead—that is, a frame of - bamboo on four legs, with grass-rope strung across it; on this was - lying and smoking a hookah an old man with a long white beard; no - other article of furniture whatever was in the room, and I am almost - ashamed to say that a feeling of pity mingled with my disgust at - seeing a man recently lord of an imperial city, almost unparalleled - for riches and magnificence, confined in a low, close, dirty room, - which the lowest slave of his household would scarcely have occupied, - in the very palace where he had reigned supreme, with power of life - and death, untrammelled by any law, within the precincts of a royal - residence as large as a considerable-sized town; streets, galleries, - towers, mosques, forts, and gardens, a private and a public hall of - justice, and innumerable courts, passages, and staircases. Its - magnificence can only be equalled by the atrocities which have been - committed there. But to go back to the degraded king. The boy, Jumma - Bukht, repeated my name after Mr Saunders. The old man raised his head - and looked at me, then muttered something I could not hear, and at the - moment the boy, who had been called from the opposite door, came and - told me that his mother, the begum, wished to see me. Mrs Saunders - then took possession of me, and we went on into a smaller, darker, - dirtier room than the first, in which were some eight or ten women - crowding round a common “charpoy” or couch, on which was a dark, fat, - shrewd, but sensual-looking woman, to whom my attention was - particularly drawn. She took hold of my hand—I shuddered a little—and - told me that my husband was a great warrior; but that if the king’s - life and her son’s had not been promised them by the government, the - king was preparing a great army which would have annihilated us. The - other women stood round in silence till her speech was finished, and - then crowded round, asking how many children I had, and if they were - all boys; examined my dress, and seemed particularly amused by my - bonnet and parasol. They were, with one exception, coarse, low-caste - women, as devoid of ornament as of beauty. Zeenat Mahal asked me—a - great honour, I found, which I did not appreciate—to sit down on her - bed; but I declined, as it looked so dirty. Mr Saunders was much - amused at my refusal, and told me it would have been more than my life - was worth six months before to have done so; and I have no doubt of - it.’ - -[Illustration: - - Lucknow, from the Observatory. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - THE RESCUE AT LUCKNOW, BY SIR COLIN CAMPBELL. - - -A little care is needed to avoid confusion in the use of the words -‘siege,’ ‘defence,’ and ‘relief,’ relating to Lucknow—so peculiar and -complicated were the military operations in and near that city during -the mutiny. In the first place, there was the defence of the Residency -by Brigadier Inglis, during July, August, and September: the mutineers -and rebels in the city itself being the besiegers. Secondly, in the -closing week of September, came the siege of Lucknow city by the British -under Havelock, Outram, and Neill: the rebels being the besieged, and -Inglis’s little band, still shut up within the Residency enclosure, -being unable to take an active part in the operations. Next, for a -further period of seven or eight weeks, a renewed defence of the British -position was maintained by Havelock, Outram, and Inglis—the mutineers -and rebels being, as in the first instance, the besiegers. Then, in the -third week of November, occurred a siege of the city by Sir Colin -Campbell: the mutineers and rebels being the defenders, and the British -inmates of the Residency being enabled to aid the operations of the -commander-in-chief. After this, there was another defence of the Alum -Bagh against the rebels by Outram, and another siege of Lucknow by -Campbell. It follows, therefore, that the ‘siege,’ the ‘defence,’ or the -‘relief’ of Lucknow should not be mentioned without defining the period -to which the expression refers. - -With this explanatory remark, the scope of the present chapter may be -easily shewn. In former pages[115] the eventful defence of the Residency -at Lucknow from the beginning of July to near the close of September, by -Brigadier Inglis, was described; together with the arrival of a small -army under Havelock and Outram, and the terrible conflict in the streets -of the city. In the present chapter the sequel of the story will be -given—shewing how it arose that Havelock and Outram could not escort the -suffering women and children, sick and wounded, from Lucknow to a place -of safety; how they struggled on for eight weeks longer; what -preparations Sir Colin Campbell made to collect an army of relief; how -he fought his way to Lucknow; and by what felicitous arrangements he -safely brought away those who, from sex, age, sickness, or wounds, were -unable to defend themselves against a fierce and relentless enemy. - -On the 26th of September, when a few hours’ sleep had closed the -agitating proceedings of the previous day, it was found that the -‘relief’ of Lucknow was a relief rather in name than in substance. Sir -Henry Havelock surrendered the command which had been generously left in -his hands up to this time by a superior officer; Brigadier Inglis -surrendered the military control of the intrenched position, or rather -continued to hold it under the supervision of another; while Sir James -Outram, in virtue of an arrangement previously made, assumed the -leadership of all the British forces, and the exercise of all British -power, throughout Oude. At present, this leadership and power were of -humble dimensions, for he commanded very little more of the province -than the few acres at the Residency and the Alum Bagh. Of the gallant -troops, under 3000 in number, who, led by Havelock, Outram, and Neill, -had left Cawnpore on the 19th of September, nearly one-third were -stricken down by the time the Residency was reached. The survivors were -too few in number to form a safe escort for the women and children from -Lucknow to Cawnpore; the march would have been an awful one, marked by -bloodshed at every step; the soldiers, distracted by the double duties -of protectors and combatants, would have been too weak for either. They -brought muscle and sinew to aid in constructing countermines and -batteries; they enlarged the area of the intrenched or fortified -position—but they could not rescue those who had so long borne the -wonderful siege. - -Some of the troops, in charge of guns, baggage, and baggage animals, had -defended a position outside the Residency enclosure during the night; -and arrangements were now made to secure the new or enlarged -area—including the Clock Tower, the Jail, a mosque, the Taree Kothee, -the Chuttur Munzil palace, the Fureed Buksh palace, the Pyne Bagh, and -other buildings and gardens. It was not without severe fighting and much -loss on the 26th that the wounded were placed in safety, the guns -secured, and the new position fortified. When these palaces, which had -until now been respected, were conquered from the enemy, they were -regarded as fair military spoil. The buildings formed a labyrinth of -court-yards, inner gardens, balconies, gateways, passages, verandahs, -rotundas, outhouses, and pavilions; and all became a scene of plunder. -‘Everywhere,’ says Mr Rees, ‘might be seen people helping themselves to -whatever they pleased. Jewels, shawls, dresses, pieces of satin, silk, -broadcloths, coverings, rich embroidered velvet saddles for horses and -elephants, the most magnificent divan carpets studded with pearls, -dresses of cloth of gold, turbans of the most costly brocade, the finest -muslins, the most valuable swords and poniards, thousands of flint-guns, -caps, muskets, ammunition, cash, books, pictures, European clocks, -English clothes, full-dress officers’ uniforms, epaulettes, -aiguillettes, manuscripts, charms; vehicles of the most grotesque forms, -shaped like fish, dragons, and sea-horses; imauns or representations of -the Prophet’s hands, cups, saucers, cooking-utensils, china-ware -sufficient to set up fifty merchants in Lombard Street, scientific -instruments, ivory telescopes, pistols; and (what was better than all) -tobacco, tea, rice, grain, spices, and vegetables.’ There is no proof -that much order was observed in the partition or distribution; every one -appears to have helped himself to what he pleased; and many collected -large stores of useful and ornamental articles which they afterwards -sold at high prices. There was a good deal of luxurious living for the -first few days, on the savoury provisions found in the palaces; and we -may in some degree imagine how this was enjoyed, after such sorry -rations of chupatties, stewed peas, and morsels of tough gun-bullock -beef. There was, perhaps, something undignified in all this scrambling -spoliation that jars with one’s notions of heroism and exalted courage; -but military men are accustomed to overlook it in the moment of victory. - -When Sir James Outram clearly ascertained that the rebels and mutineers, -instead of escaping from the city, were closing in more and more -resolutely, he saw that no departure would be practicable either for -officers or men, military or civilians, women or children. He -endeavoured to open negotiations with Maun Singh, a powerful thalookdar -or landowner;[116] to win him over to the side of the British, and -thereby lessen the difficulties of the position; but the wily Oudian, -balancing the relative advantages of loyalty and rebellion, gave -specious answers on which no dependence could be placed. It became -necessary to prepare for a new defence against a new siege. All the old -‘garrisons’ were strengthened, and new ones formed; all the guns and -mortars were placed in effective positions, and all the soldiers told -off to regular duties. As Outram and Havelock had brought scarcely any -provisions with them into the Residency; and as those found in the -palaces were articles of luxury rather than of solid food, a very -careful commissariat adjustment became necessary—it being now evident -that the daily rations must of necessity be small in quantity and coarse -in quality. The enemy renewed their old system of firing, day after day, -into the British position; they broke down the bridges over canals and -small streams between the Residency and the Alum Bagh; and they -captured, or sought to capture, every one who attempted to leave the -intrenchment. On the other hand, the British made frequent sorties, to -capture guns, blow up buildings, and dislodge parties of the enemy. Six -days after the entry of Outram and Havelock, a soldier was found under -circumstances not a little strange. Some of the garrison having sallied -forth to capture two guns on the Cawnpore road, a private of the Madras -Europeans was discovered in a dry well, where the poor fellow had been -hiding several days. He had fortunately some tea-leaves and biscuits in -his pockets, on which he had managed to support life; he had heard the -enemy all round him, but had not dared to utter a sound. The well -contained the dead body of a native sepoy; and the atmosphere hence -became so pestilential and frightful that the poor European was wont to -creep out at night to breathe a little fresh air. Great was his joy when -at length he heard friendly voices; he shouted loudly for help, in spite -of his exhausted state, and was barely saved from being shot by his -countrymen as a rebel, so black and filthy was his appearance. - -Throughout the month of October did this state of affairs in Lucknow -continue. Outram had brought his guns into the intrenchment by clearing -a passage for them through the palaces; he had destroyed Phillips’ or -Philip’s Battery, with which the enemy had been accustomed greatly to -annoy the garrison; he had blown up and cleared away a mass of buildings -on the Cawnpore road; he had strengthened all the points of the position -held by himself and Havelock; but still he could neither send aid to the -Alum Bagh, nor receive aid from it. He could do nothing but maintain his -position, until Sir Colin Campbell should be able to advance from -Cawnpore with a new army. A few messages, in spite of the enemy’s -vigilance, were sent and received. Outram was glad to learn that a -convoy of provisions had reached the Alum Bagh from Cawnpore, and that -Greathed was marching down the Doab with a column from Delhi. As for -Lucknow itself, matters remained much as before—sorties, firing, blowing -up, &c.; but it must at the same time be admitted that Outram was more -favourably placed in this respect than Inglis had been; his fighting-men -were three or four times as numerous, and were thus enabled to guard all -the posts with an amount of labour less terribly exhausting. Danger was, -of course, not over; cannon-balls and bullets still did their work. The -authoress of the _Lady’s Diary_ on one day recorded: ‘An 18-pounder came -through our unfortunate room; it broke the panel of the door, and -knocked the whole of the barricade down, upsetting everything. My -dressing-table was sent flying through the door, and if the shot had -come a little earlier, my head would have gone with it. The box where E. -usually sits to nurse baby was smashed flat.’ Breakfasts of chupatties -and boiled peas were now seldom relieved by better fare; many a diner -rose from his meal nearly as hungry as when he sat down. Personal attire -was becoming more and more threadbare. Poor Captain Fulton’s very old -flannel-shirt, time-worn and soiled, sold by auction for forty-five -rupees—four pounds ten shillings sterling. - -Little news could be obtained from the city itself, beyond the limits of -the British position; but that little tended to shew that the rebels had -set up a natural son of the deposed king as ‘Padishah’ of Oude, as a -sort of tributary prince to the King of Delhi. Being a child only eight -or ten years old, the real power was vested in a minister and a council -of state. The minister was one Shirreff-u-Dowlah; the commander-in-chief -was Hissamut-u-Dowlah; the council of state was formed of the late -king’s principal servants, the chieftains and thalookdars of Oude, and -the self-elected leaders of the rebel sepoys; while the army was -officered in the orthodox manner by generals, brigadiers, colonels, -majors, captains, subalterns, &c. There was a strange sort of democracy -underlying the despotism; for the sepoys elected their officers, and the -officers their commander; and as those who built up felt that they had -the right to pull down, the tenure of office was very precarious. The -mongrel government at Lucknow was thus formed of three elements—regal, -aristocratic, and military, each trusting the other two only so far as -self-interest seemed to warrant. The worst news received was that a -small body of Europeans, including Sir Mountstuart Jackson and his -sister, fugitives from Seetapoor, were in the hands of the rebels, in -one of the palaces in Lucknow, and that a terrible fate impended over -them. - -[Illustration: - - The Residency and its Defences, Lucknow. -] - -November began with very low resources, but with raised hopes; for it -was known that the commander-in-chief was busily making arrangements for -a final relief of the garrison. Brigadier—or, as his well-earned -initials of K.C.B. now entitled him to be called, Sir John—Inglis -remained in command of the old or Residency intrenchment; Sir Henry -Havelock took charge of the new or palatial position; while Sir James -Outram commanded the whole. Labour being abundant, great improvements -were made in all parts; sanitary plans were carried out, and hospitals -made more comfortable; overcrowded buildings were eased by the occupancy -of other places; cool weather brought increase of health; and -improvements were visible in every particular except two—food and -raiment. On the 9th of the month, Mr Cavanagh, who in more peaceful -times had been an ‘uncovenanted servant’ of the Company, or clerk to a -civil officer in Lucknow, made a journey on foot to a point far beyond -the Alum Bagh under most adventurous circumstances,[117] to communicate -in person full details of what was passing within the Residency, to -concert plans in anticipation of the arrival of Sir Colin, and perhaps -to act as a guide through the labyrinthine streets of the city. As an -immediate consequence of this expedition, a system of semaphore -telegraphy was established from the one post to the other, by which it -was speedily known that Mr Cavanagh had succeeded in his bold attempt, -and that Sir Colin arrived at the Alum Bagh on the 11th. Arrangements -were now at once made to aid the advance of the commander-in-chief as -effectively as possible. Day after day Havelock sent out strong parties -to clear some of the streets and buildings in the southeastern half of -the city—blowing up batteries and houses, and dislodging the enemy, in -order to lessen the amount of resistance which Sir Colin would -inevitably encounter.[118] - -All this time, while the British in Lucknow were stoutly maintaining -their ground against the enemy, some of their companions-in-arms—near at -hand, but as inaccessible as if fifty miles distant—had their own -troubles to bear. The position of the small detachment at the Alum Bagh -was as trying as it was unexpected. When Havelock left a few hundred -soldiers at that post, with four guns, vehicles, animals, baggage, -ammunition stores, camp-followers, sick, and wounded, he never for an -instant supposed that he would be cut off from them, and that the -Residency and the Alum Bagh would be the objects of two separate and -distinct sieges. Such, however, was the case. Not a soldier could go -from the one place to the other; and it was with the utmost difficulty -that a messenger could convey a small note rolled up in a quill. The -place, however, was tolerably well armed and fortified; and as the enemy -did not swarm in any great numbers between it and Cawnpore, -reinforcements were gradually able to reach the Alum Bagh, although they -could not push on through the remaining four miles to the Residency. On -the 3d of October, a convoy of 300 men of the 64th regiment, with -provisions, under Major Bingham, started from Cawnpore, and safely -reached the Alum Bagh; he could not penetrate further, but the supplies -thus obtained at the Alum Bagh itself were very valuable. On the 14th, a -second convoy, under Major M’Intyre of the 78th Highlanders, was -despatched; but he was attacked by the enemy in such force, that he -could not reach the Alum Bagh; he returned, and had some difficulty in -preventing the supplies from falling into the hands of the enemy. -Another attempt afterwards succeeded. Colonel Wilson, commanding at -Cawnpore, received the small detachments of British troops sent up from -time to time from the lower provinces, as well as the supplies coming in -from every quarter. His duty was, not to make conquests, but to send men -and provisions to the Alum Bagh or the Residency as often as any -opportunity occurred for so doing, he knew that the Alum Bagh batteries -commanded all the approaches, and that the ground was cleared and -exposed for five hundred yards on all sides; he did not therefore -apprehend any serious calamity to the miscellaneous force shut up in -that place, provided he could send provisions in good time. The three or -four miles from the Alum Bagh to the Residency were, it is true, beset -by difficulties of a most formidable character; bridges were broken, and -lines of intrenchment formed, while mutineers and rebels occupied the -district in great force; but they directed their attention rather to the -Residency than to the Alum Bagh, thereby leaving the latter -comparatively unmolested. Much sickness arose within the place, owing to -the deficiency of space and of fresh air; and in the intervals between -the arrivals of the convoys, provisions were scanty, and the distress -was considerable. Nevertheless, the occupants of the Alum Bagh, with -such men as Havelock and Inglis near them, never for an instant thought -of succumbing; they would fight and endure till aid arrived. - -Having thus watched the proceedings of the beleaguered garrisons at the -Residency and the Alum Bagh, we may now trace the footsteps of Sir Colin -Campbell, in his operations for their relief. - -The commander-in-chief, as has already been stated, remained at Calcutta -many weeks after his arrival in India. He was called upon to remodel the -whole military machinery, and to arrange with the governor-general the -system of strategy which would be most desirable under the actual state -of affairs. He watched with intense interest the progress of events on -the banks of the Jumna and the Ganges. He gave due praise to Wilson for -the conquest of Delhi, and to Greathed for the conquering march through -the Doab. He admired, as a soldier might well admire, the struggles of -Havelock’s gallant little army ere Outram had joined him; the combined -operations of Havelock and Outram; and the wonderful defence made by -Inglis against a host of opponents. He sent up from Calcutta, as soon as -they arrived, reinforcements for the lamentably small British army; and -he sent orders for brigading and marshalling, at Allahabad and at -Cawnpore, such troops as could arrive from Calcutta on the one hand, and -from Delhi on the other. At last, he himself departed from Calcutta on -the 28th of October, travelling like a courier, narrowly escaping -capture by rebels on the way, and arriving at Cawnpore on the 3d of -November—utterly heedless of the glitter and trappings that usually -surround a commander-in-chief in India. - -By what steps the various regiments reached Cawnpore, need not be traced -in detail. As fast as they arrived, so did some degree of tranquillity -succeed to anarchy. A portion of railway had for some weeks been -finished from Allahabad to Lohunda, forty-two miles towards Futtehpoor, -but had been stopped in its working by the mutiny; arrangements were now -made, however, for bringing it into use, and for finishing the section -between Lohunda and Futtehpoor. The English regiments, from China and -elsewhere, went up from Calcutta by road or river, in the modes so often -described; and were engaged in occasional skirmishes on the way, at -times and places which have in like manner been mentioned. Benares was -the converging point for the road and river routes; from thence the -troops went up by Mirzapore to Allahabad; thence to Lohunda by rail; -and, lastly, to Futtehpoor and Cawnpore by road-march or -bullock-vehicles. A column under Colonel Berkeley was on its way; -another under Colonel Hinde was in or near Rewah; another under Colonel -Longden was near Jounpoor; while Colonel Wroughton, with the Goorkhas -furnished by Jung Bahadoor, was on the Goruckpore frontier of Oude. -True, some of these so-called columns were scarcely equal to one -regiment in strength; but each formed a nucleus around which other -troops might accumulate. Greathed’s column, now better known as Hope -Grant’s, was the main element in Sir Colin’s present force. It crossed -the Ganges from Cawnpore into Oude on the 30th of October, about 3500 -strong, with 18 guns, and advanced without opposition towards the Alum -Bagh, near which it encamped, and awaited the arrival of the -commander-in-chief. - -A little may usefully be said here concerning the proceedings of the -naval brigade, already noticed as having been placed under the command -of Captain Peel, and as having arrived safely at Allahabad after a very -wearisome voyage up the Ganges. On the 4th of October Sir Colin -Campbell, then at Calcutta, telegraphed to Peel: ‘In the course of about -a week there will be a continuous stream of troops, at the rate of about -ninety a day, passing into Allahabad, which I trust will not cease for -the next three months.’ Captain Peel was employed during October in -facilitating the passage of troops and artillery up to Cawnpore. On the -20th Lieutenant Vaughan joined him, bringing 126 more naval officers and -seamen, which raised the strength of the naval brigade to 516. Most of -these new arrivals were sailors of the merchant service at Calcutta, who -had agreed with much alacrity to join the brigade. On the 23d he sent -off 100 seamen to Cawnpore, in charge of four siege train 24-pounders. -On the 27th he despatched 170 more, in charge of four 24-pounders and -two 8-inch howitzers; and on the same day a military escort was provided -for a large amount of ammunition. Next, Captain Peel himself started for -Cawnpore; and was soon afterwards joined on the road by Colonel Powell -with the head-quarters of H.M. 53d regiment. Rather unexpectedly, a -battle took place on the way. While at Thurea, on the 31st, news reached -them that the Dinapoor mutineers, with three guns, had crossed the -Jumna, and were about either to attack Futtehpoor, or to march towards -Oude. Powell and Peel had with them troops and sailors numbering -altogether about 700, in charge of a large and valuable convoy of siege -and other stores: They marched that same evening to the camping-ground -of Futtehpoor, where they were joined by some of the 93d Highlanders; -and on the morning of the 1st of November a column of about 500 men -marched twenty-four miles to Kudjna. The enemy were here found, with -their guns commanding the road, their right occupying a high embankment, -screened by a grove, and their left on the other side of the road. A -part of the column advanced against the guns, while the rest rendered -support on either side. A sharp battle of two hours’ duration ensued, -during which the enemy kept up so severe a fire of musketry that many of -the English fell, including Colonel Powell, who received a musket-ball -in the forehead. Captain Peel, although a sailor, then took the command; -he carried a force round the upper end of the embankment, divided the -enemy, and drove them from all their positions, capturing their camp and -two of their tumbrils. His men were so worn out by 72 miles of marching -in three days, that he could not organise a pursuit. Collecting his dead -and wounded, which amounted in number to no less than 95, he marched -back to Binkee; and after a little rest, the column, minus those who -fell in this battle, continued the march towards Cawnpore. It was -supposed the enemy numbered not fewer than 4000 men, of whom one half -were mutinous sepoys from the Bengal army, and the other half rebels -whom they had picked up on the way. After leaving some of his men at -Cawnpore, to serve as artillerymen, Peel advanced with his heavy guns, -and about 250 sailors, towards the Alum Bagh. - -Understanding, then, that regiments and detachments of various kinds -were working their way, at the close of October and early in November, -towards Cawnpore, and across the Ganges into Oude, we may resume our -notice of Sir Colin Campbell’s movements. - -Remaining at Cawnpore no longer than was necessary to organise his -various military arrangements, the commander-in-chief crossed the Ganges -on the 9th of November, and joined Hope Grant’s column on the same day -at camp Buntara, six miles short of the Alum Bagh. Wishing to have the -aid of other detachments which were then on the road, he remained at -Buntara till the morning of the 12th, when he started with the force -which he had collected with so much trouble.[119] Advancing towards the -Alum Bagh, he defeated a party of the enemy in a skirmish at a small -fort called Jellalabad, a little way to the right of the main road, and -five or six miles from the city. This fort being taken and blown up, Sir -Colin pushed on and encamped for the night outside the Alum Bagh. -Knowing that Havelock and Outram two months before had suffered severely -in cutting their way through the city, Campbell now formed a plan of -approach at the extreme eastern or rather southeastern suburb, and of -battering down the enemy’s defences step by step, and day after day, so -as to form a passage for his infantry with comparatively small loss. -This he had reason to hope; because there was a large open space at that -end of the city, which—although containing many mosques, palaces, and -other buildings—had few of those deep narrow lanes which had proved so -dangerous to the former force. Hence the tactics of the next few days -were to consist of a series of partial sieges, each directed against a -particular stronghold, and each capture to form a base of operations for -attacks on other posts nearer the heart of the city, until at length the -Residency could be reached. The palaces, buildings, and gardens that -would be encountered in this route were the Dil Koosha palace and park, -the Martinière college, the Secunder Bagh, the Shah Nujeef, the palace -Mess-house, the Observatory, the Motee Mehal, the Keisah or Kaiser Bagh, -and various palatial buildings, of which the names are not clearly -rendered; until at length those posts would be reached (the Chuttur -Munzil, the Pyne Bagh, the Fureed Buksh palace, the Clock Tower, and the -Taree Kothee) which were held by Havelock, and lastly those (the -Residency and the other buildings within Inglis’s original intrenchment) -which were held by Outram. - -After changing the garrison at the Alum Bagh, giving a little rest to -troops who had recently had much heavy marching, and receiving an -addition of about 650 men[120] from Cawnpore, Sir Colin commenced his -arduous operations on the morning of the 14th, with a miscellaneous -force of about 4000 men. As he approached the Dil Koosha park, the -leading troops encountered a long line of musketry-fire; he quickly sent -up reinforcements; and after a running-fight of about two hours, he -drove the enemy down the hill to the Martinière college, across the -garden and park of the Martinière, and far beyond the canal. This was -effected without any great loss on either side. Campbell had now secured -the Dil Koosha (’Heart’s Delight’) and the Martinière (Martine’s college -for half-caste children). Hope Grant’s brigade, flanked by Bourchier’s -field-battery and Peel’s heavy guns, was brought to the side of the -canal (which enters the river Goomtee close to the Martinière), where -they effectually kept the enemy in check. When night came, Sir Colin -found he had made a good beginning; he had not only secured the -easternmost buildings of Lucknow, but he had brought with him fourteen -days’ provisions for his own troops, and an equal proportion for those -under Outram and Havelock; he had also brought all his heavy baggage -(except tents, left at the Alum Bagh), and was therefore prepared to -make a stand for several days at the Dil Koosha if necessary. - -After further completing his arrangements on the 15th, and exchanging -messages or signals with Havelock and Outram, the commander-in-chief -resumed his operations on the 16th. Leaving every description of baggage -at the Dil Koosha, and supplying every soldier’s haversack with three -days’ food, he crossed the canal and advanced to the Secunder Bagh—a -high-walled enclosure of strong masonry, about a hundred and twenty -yards square, loopholed on all sides for musketry, and held in great -force by the enemy. Opposite to it was a village at a distance of about -a hundred yards, also loopholed and guarded by musketeers. After a -determined struggle of two hours, during which artillery and infantry -were brought to bear against them in considerable force, the enemy were -driven out of the Secunder Bagh, the village, and a range of barracks -hard by—all of which speedily became valuable strongholds to the -conquerors. Sir Colin described this as a very desperate encounter, no -less than 2000 of the enemy having fallen, chiefly after the storming of -the Secunder Bagh itself by parties of the 53d and 93d regiments, aided -by the 4th Punjaub infantry and a few miscellaneous troops. Indeed the -enemy, well armed, crowded the Secunder Bagh in such numbers, that he -said ‘there never was a bolder feat of arms’ than the storming. Captain -Peel’s naval siege-train then went to the front, and advanced towards -the Shah Nujeef—a domed mosque with a garden, which had been converted -into a strong post by the enemy; the wall of the enclosure had been -loopholed with great care; the entrance had been covered by a regular -work in masonry; and the top of the building had been crowned with a -parapet. Peel was aided by a field-battery and some mortars; while the -village to the left had been cleared of the enemy by Brigadier Hope and -Colonel Gordon. A heavy cannonade was maintained against the Shah Nujeef -for no less a space than three hours. The enemy defended the post very -obstinately, keeping up an unceasing fire of musketry from the mosque -and the defences in the garden. At last Sir Colin ordered the place to -be stormed, which was effected in an intrepid manner by the 93d -Highlanders, a battalion of detachments, and the naval brigade. In his -dispatch, the commander-in-chief said: ‘Captain Peel led up his heavy -guns with extraordinary gallantry to within a few yards of the building, -to batter the massive stone-walls. The withering fire of the Highlanders -effectually covered the naval brigade from great loss; but it was an -action almost unexampled in war. Captain Peel behaved very much as if he -had been laying the _Shannon_ alongside an enemy’s frigate.’ - -While Sir Colin and his troops were thus engaged, Havelock contributed -towards the success of the general plan by the capture of a range of -buildings in advance of the palace of Fureed Buksh. It had been agreed -by signal and secret message, that as soon as Sir Colin should reach the -Secunder Bagh, the outer wall of the advance garden of the Fureed Buksh -(Havelock’s most eastern post), in which the enemy had before made -several breaches, should be blown in by mines previously prepared; that -two powerful batteries erected in the enclosure should then open on the -insurgents in front; and that after the desired effect had been -produced, the troops should storm two buildings known as the Hern Khana -or Deer-house and the Engine-house. This was successfully accomplished. -At about eleven o’clock, the operations began. The mines were exploded; -the wall was demolished; the works beyond were shelled by mortars; two -of the mines at the Hern Khana were charged with destructive effect; and -the infantry—eager for a little active work after being many weeks pent -up within their intrenchment—dashed through the Chuttur Munzil and -carried all before them, capturing the several buildings which had been -marked out by previous arrangement. - -Thus ended the important operations of the 16th, sanguinary in Sir -Colin’s force, but much less so in that of Havelock—operations during -which the Secunder Bagh, the Shah Nujeef, the Hern Khana, the -Engine-house, and many minor buildings, were captured. On the 17th, the -commander-in-chief, after overcoming many obstacles, opened a -communication between the canal and the left rear of a range of -barracks, that facilitated his subsequent proceedings. Captain Peel -meanwhile began to operate with his now famous naval brigade against a -building called in the maps the Mess-house—a large structure, defended -by a ditch twelve feet broad, and scarped with masonry, and by a -loopholed mud-wall beyond the ditch. As a part of Sir Colin’s general -plan—that of employing artillery as much as possible, to save his -infantry—a cannonading was continued for several hours against this -Mess-house; and then it was stormed and taken without much difficulty by -various detachments of the 53d, the 90th, the Punjaubees, and other -regiments. This done, the troops pressed forward with great vigour, and -lined a wall that separated the Mess-house from the Motee Mehal (’Pearl -Palace’). This last-named place consisted of a wide enclosure containing -many buildings. Here the enemy determined to make one last desperate -stand; they fought with energy and determination for an hour, but then -gave way. Sir Colin’s troops broke an opening through the wall, aided by -the sappers, and then they poured through, rushing onward until they -reached the part of the city which for seven or eight weeks had been in -the hands of Havelock. On the evening of this day the British found -themselves in possession of nearly the whole river-side of Lucknow from -the iron bridge to the Dil Koosha. - -It may not be amiss here to mention that these operations during the -second decade of November were conducted by the following officers: Sir -Colin Campbell commanded the whole. General Mansfield officiated as -chief of the staff. Brigadier Hope Grant was in immediate command of the -column, formerly known as Greathed’s, which constituted the chief part -of Sir Colin’s force. Colonel Greathed, now raised to brigadier-general -as a mark of Sir Colin’s estimate of his services, commanded one of the -brigades of infantry. Brigadiers Russell and Adrian Hope took two other -infantry brigades. Brigadier Little commanded the cavalry, Brigadier -Crauford the artillery, Lieutenant Lennox the engineers, and Captain -Peel the naval brigade. The operations brought the honorary distinction -of K.C.B. to Grant and Peel, who became Sir James Hope Grant and Sir -William Peel. Sir Colin’s advance to the Residency, however, with the -collateral struggles to which it gave rise, was severe in its results to -his force, though less so than the operations of Outram and Havelock in -September. He had to mourn the loss of 122 killed and 345 wounded. Out -of this number there were 10 officers killed and 33 wounded. Sir Colin -himself received a slight wound, but not such as to check his activity -for an hour.[121] The loss of the enemy was frightfully severe; the -exact amount was not known to the British, but it must have reached -three or four thousand. They fought at the Secunder Bagh and the Shah -Nujeef with a fierceness which rendered immense slaughter inevitable; -for Peel’s powerful artillery swept them down fearfully. - -Whether the transports of joy that animated the British in Lucknow on -the 17th of November were equal in intensity to those which had broken -forth fifty-three days before, can never be exactly measured; men’s -emotions are not susceptible of such nice estimate. Suffice it to say, -that as Inglis, on the 25th of September, had warmly grasped the hands -of his deliverers Havelock and Outram; so did Outram, Havelock, and -Inglis now welcome with all fervour Sir Colin Campbell and those who -with him had just fought their way through the hostile streets of -Lucknow. Then, when a few hours had enabled the new-comers to spread -forth some of the supplies which their commissariat had provided, and -the old inmates had done what little they could to render quiet eating -and drinking possible—then were experienced once again the luxuries of -wheaten bread, fresh butter, oranges, and other articles which are never -luxuries save to those who have been long unable to obtain them. And -then the feast of letters and newspapers from England was scarcely less -delightful; for so close had been the investment of the Residency, that -the inmates had been practically shut out from the world during the -greater part of the summer and autumn. - -The jubilation was, however, soon ended. Almost immediately on Sir -Colin’s arrival, an announcement was made that every European was to -leave Lucknow and retire to Cawnpore. Many in the garrison had fondly -hoped that the success of the commander-in-chief would have restored -British control over the city; that comfort was about to succeed -discomfort; that officers and civilians would resume their former duties -under their former easy conditions; and that the ladies and children -might rest a while in quiet, to recover health and strength before -retiring to Calcutta or to the Hills. But such was not to be. Campbell -had come to Lucknow almost solely to liberate them; and his plan of -strategy—or, more probably, the number of available troops at his -command—did not permit him to leave his small force in the Oudian -capital; for there was hot work to look forward to. The enemy, -notwithstanding their losses, still numbered fifty thousand fighting-men -in and near Lucknow, shewing no symptoms of retreat, but rather a -determination to defend the rest of the city street by street. To attack -them further would have been to sacrifice a force already much reduced, -and to risk the necessity for a third relief. Sir Colin issued an order, -therefore, not only that all were to depart, but to depart quickly. The -sick and wounded were to be removed directly from the Residency to the -Dil Koosha—a distance of four miles in a straight line, but five or six -if it were necessary to take a circuitous route to avoid the enemy; the -women and children were to follow the same route on the next day; and -the bulk of the soldiers were to depart when all else had been provided -for. An encampment was prepared in the Dil Koosha park, with such -necessaries and comforts as could be hastily brought together for sick, -wounded, women, and children. The sojourn at the Dil Koosha was to be a -brief one, sufficient only for the organisation of a convoy to Cawnpore. -Only a small amount of personal baggage was allowed for each person; and -thus those who possessed property were forced to leave most of it -behind. The property, it is true, was very scanty; but the garrison felt -vexed at leaving even a trifle as a booty to the rebels. As the ordnance -stores and the Company’s treasure (twenty-three lacs of rupees, safely -preserved through all the trying scenes of half a year) were to be -removed to the Dil Koosha about the same time as the non-combatants, and -as all this was to be effected without exciting the suspicions of the -rebels, the utmost vigilance and caution were needed. - -The exodus from the Residency, and the escape to the Dil Koosha, through -nearly the whole length of the city of Lucknow, will never be forgotten -by those who took part therein. Many delicate ladies, unprovided with -vehicles or horses, had to walk over five or six miles of very rough -ground, exposed at one place to the fire of the enemy’s musketry. The -authoress of the _Lady’s Diary_, with two other ladies, secured a -carriage to convey them. ‘We had a pair of starved horses of Mr -Gubbins’s to drag us; but the wretched animals had been on siege-fare so -long that they had forgotten the use of their legs, and had no strength, -so came to a stand-still every five minutes, invariably choosing the -most dangerous parts of the road for their halt. At one place we were -under so hot a fire that we got out and ran for our lives—leaving the -vehicle to its fate; and two poor natives, who were helping to push it -on behind, were shot. At the Fureed Buksh we had to wait a long time, as -the carriage could not be got through a gateway till some stores were -cleared away. Some of the officers of the 90th invited us inside, and -gave us wine and water, which was very refreshing. We walked after that -every step of the way to Secunderabad [Secunder Bagh], where we all had -to wait several hours till doolies arrived to take on all the women; and -we proceeded under a strong escort to Dil Koosha. The road to -Secunderabad was frightfully dangerous in places. In one spot we were -passing a 24-pounder manned by some sailors of the naval brigade; they -all called out to us to bend low and run as fast as we could; we had -hardly done so when a volley of grape whizzed over our heads and struck -a wall beyond. At Secunderabad we found the place overflowing with women -and children of the Lucknow garrison.... At about nine o’clock P.M. we -started again in doolies. The crowd and confusion were excessive, the -enemy hovering round and firing occasional shots, and we were borne -along in the most solemn silence; the only sounds were the tramp, tramp, -tramp of the doolie-bearers and the screaming of the jackals. It was an -awful time; one felt as if one’s life hung in a balance, with the fate -we had so long dreaded; but our merciful Father, who has protected us -through so many and great dangers, brought us in safety to Dil Koosha, -where we arrived about two o’clock in the morning.’ They found shelter -in the hastily prepared Dil Koosha encampment, already mentioned; and -then, for the first time during five months, they snatched a little -sleep beyond the Residency intrenchment. Mrs (now Lady) Inglis behaved -on this occasion in a manner worthy of her name; a doolie or -hospital-litter was prepared for her accommodation; but she refused it, -in order that the sick and wounded might be better attended to. Mr Rees -gives an extract from a letter of this lady, in which the incidents of -the day are narrated nearly in the same terms as by the chaplain’s wife; -but the following few additional facts may be given: ‘The road was quite -safe except in three places, where it was overlooked by the enemy’s -position, and where we had to run. One poor woman was wounded at one of -these places. We arrived at Secunder Bagh about six, and found every one -assembled there, awaiting an escort and doolies to carry us on. When I -tell you that upwards of two thousand men had been hastily buried there -the day before, you can fancy what a place it was.... We were regaled -with tea and plenty of milk, and bread and butter—luxuries we had not -enjoyed since the commencement of our troubles. At ten o’clock we -recommenced our journey; most of the ladies were in palanquins, but we -had a covered-cart drawn by two obstinate bullocks. We had a force of -infantry and cavalry with us, but had not proceeded half a mile when the -column was halted, and an order sent back for reinforcements; some noise -was heard, and it was believed we might be attacked. However, it proved -a false alarm; and after two disagreeable and rather anxious hours, we -arrived safely at the Dil Koosha, and were quartered in tents pitched -for our reception.’ The charnel-house at the Secunder Bagh, mentioned in -this extract, was the place where most of the slaughter of the enemy had -occurred, and where the dead bodies had been hastily interred; the -atmosphere around it was for many days in a frightful state. - -The military movement in this evacuation of the Residency was spoken of -by Sir Colin, in his official dispatch, as something masterly. He told -how Outram so planned that each corps and regiment, each detachment and -picket, should be able to march out silently in the dead of the night, -without exciting suspicion among the myriads of enemies near; and yet -that there should be guns and riflemen so posted as to repel the enemy -if they should attempt any serious molestation of the retiring troops. -It must be remembered that Outran and Havelock’s gallant and -much-enduring men had many things to effect after the non-combatants had -departed from the Residency. They were called upon to bring away as many -of the stores as could conveniently be conveyed, and to destroy those -which, if left behind, would too much strengthen the enemy; they had to -escort and protect their weaker companions, and to maintain a -bombardment of the Kaiser Bagh and other posts, to deceive the enemy. -The last of the men came out as quietly and cautiously as possible, in -the dead of the night between the 22d and 23d of November, leaving -lights burning, that the departure might not be suspected. They silently -passed through the streets and roads, and safely reached the Dil Koosha. -Captain Waterman, through some misconception, was left behind, and found -himself, at two o’clock in the morning, the only living man in the -intrenched position which had lately been so crowded. The situation was -a terrible one, surrounded as he was by fifty thousand vindictive armed -enemies. In an agony of mind, he ran past the Taree Kothee, the Fureed -Buksh, the Chuttur Munzil, the Motee Mehal, the Secunder Bagh, and the -Martinière, to the Dil Koosha, which he reached in a state of mental and -bodily prostration. Sir Colin was among the last to leave the place. So -cleverly was the evacuation managed (without the loss of one man), that -the enemy continued to fire into the Residency enclosure long after the -British had quitted it. What the scene was among the women and children, -we have just been informed; what it was among the soldiers, is well -described in a letter from one of the officers: ‘An anxious night indeed -that was! We left at twelve o’clock, having withdrawn all our guns from -position, so that if the scoundrels had only come on, we should have had -to fight every inch of our way while retiring; but the hand of -Providence, which had watched the little garrison for so long a time, -never left it to the last. The eye of the wicked was blinded while we -marched breathlessly with beating hearts from our post, and, forming -into line, walked through the narrow defiles and trenches leading from -the ever-memorable Bailey guard. Out we went, while the enemy’s guns -still pounded the old wall, and while the bullets still whistled over -the buildings; and, after a six miles’ walk in ankle-deep sand, we were -halted in a field and told to make ourselves comfortable for the night. -Here we were in a pretty plight. Nothing to cover ourselves, while the -cold was intense; so we lay down like so many sheep huddled together to -keep ourselves warm, and so lay till the morning, when we rose stiff and -cold, with a pretty prospect of the chance of finding our servants in a -camp of 9000 men.’ - -The world-renowned ‘Residency’ at Lucknow being thus abandoned, it may -be well to give in a note[122] Sir James Outram’s comments on the eight -weeks’ defence of that place, as a sequel to Brigadier Inglis’s account -(p. 336) of the previous three months’ defence before Outram arrived. To -Outram was due the planning and execution of the strategical movement by -which the evacuation of the Residency was accomplished. The -commander-in-chief, in a general order issued on the 23d, thus spoke of -it: ‘The movement of retreat last night, by which the final rescue of -the garrison was effected, was a model of discipline and exactness. The -consequence was, that the enemy was completely deceived, and the force -retired by a narrow, tortuous lane—the only line of retreat open—in the -face of fifty thousand enemies, without molestation.’[123] - -Great and universal was the grief throughout the camp when the rumour -rapidly spread that Havelock, the gallant Christian soldier, was dead. -He shared the duties of Outram at the Dil Koosha on the 23d and 24th, -but died the next day, stricken down by dysentery, brought on by -over-fatigue. All men talked of him as a religious as well as a brave -man—as one, more than most men of his time, who resembled some of the -Puritans of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. A few words may -give the outline of his career. Henry Havelock was born near -Sunderland in 1795. He was educated at the Charterhouse, and then -studied for the bar for a short time; but afterwards adopted the -military profession, following the example of his elder brother -William. He entered the 95th regiment just after the battle of -Waterloo, and during forty-two years saw a good deal of active -service. After serving eight years in the United Kingdom, he exchanged -into the 13th regiment, and went to India in 1823. He joined in the -first Burmese war, of which he afterwards wrote and published a -narrative. He served in various capacities twenty-three years before -he became a captain, having no patronage in high places to facilitate -his advancement. Then he served in the Afghan campaign, of which he -wrote a memoir; and took a leading part in the memorable defence of -Jelalabad. Rising gradually in office and in influence, he served in -later periods at Gwalior, Moodkee, Ferozshah, Sobraon, the Sutlej, and -other scenes of battle. When the Persian war broke out at the close of -1856, he was put in command of one division of the Anglo-Indian army; -and when that war ended, he returned to India. What he achieved during -1857 the foregoing pages have shewn. All classes in England mourned -his death. The Duke of Cambridge as commander-in-chief, Lords -Palmerston and Panmure as ministers of the crown, the Earl of Derby as -chief representative of the party at that time in opposition, the -Court of Directors, the Court of Proprietors, the corporation of -London, public functionaries and municipal bodies, religious and -missionary societies—all sought to pay respect to the noble soldier -who was at once pious, daring, and skilful. His widow, made Lady -Havelock in virtue of his knighthood, received a pension of £1000 a -year. His son received a baronetcy from the Queen, the rank of major -from the commander-in-chief, and a pension of £1000 a year from the -House of Commons. The public afterwards took up the subject of a -monument to the hero, and a provision for his daughters, as matters -not unworthy of support by voluntary efforts independent of the -government. With or without a monument, the name of Henry Havelock -will be held in grateful remembrance by the nation. - -Sir Colin Campbell, like all around him, mourned the loss of his gallant -coadjutor; but his thoughts had no time to dwell on that topic. He had -to think of the living, to plan the march from the Dil Koosha to the -Alum Bagh, and thence onward to Cawnpore. Certain state-prisoners had to -be guarded, as well as the women and children, the sick and the wounded, -the treasure and the stores. The whole army was thrown into two -divisions: one under Brigadier Hope Grant, to form an escort from the -Dil Koosha to the Alum Bagh; the other, under Outram, to keep the enemy -at bay until the convoy was safely on its road. It was on the 24th that -this novel and picturesque procession set out. The distance to the Alum -Bagh was about four miles; and over the whole length of very rough road -was a stream of bullock-carriages, palanquins, carts, camels, elephants, -guns, ammunition and store wagons, soldiers, sailors (of the naval -brigade), sick, wounded, women, children, and prisoners. The delays were -great, the stoppages many, the fatigue distressing, the dust annoying; -and all gladly rested their weary limbs at the Alum Bagh when night -came. - -It had been fully intended to afford the troops and their convoy several -days’ repose at the Alum Bagh; but on the 27th, Sir Colin was surprised -to hear very heavy firing in the direction of Cawnpore. No news had -reached him from that place for several days; therefore fearing some -disaster, he felt it necessary to push forward as quickly as possible. -Leaving Outram in command of part of the force at the Alum Bagh, and -placing the rest under the immediate command of Hope Grant, he resumed -his march at nine o’clock on the morning of the 28th. Messages now -reached him, telling of a reverse which General Windham had suffered at -Cawnpore, at the hands of the Gwalior mutineers. Sir Colin hastened -forward, convoy and all; but he and a few officers took the start, and -galloped on to Cawnpore that same night. The nature of Windham’s -disaster will come for notice in the next chapter; here we have only to -speak of its immediate effect upon Sir Colin’s plans. The enormous train -of helpless women, children, sick, and wounded, could cross the Ganges -and quit Oude only by a bridge of boats; if that were broken, the result -might be tragical indeed. Orders were sent for the heavy guns to hurry -on, and to take up such a position as would prevent the enemy from -destroying or attacking the bridge; while a mixed force of infantry, -cavalry, and horse-artillery was to cross quickly, and command the -Cawnpore end of the bridge. Happily all this was effected just in time. -When the passage was rendered safe, the artillery, the remaining troops, -and the non-combatants, were ordered to file over the bridge; this they -did, occupying the bridge in a continuous stream for _thirty -hours_—unmolested, owing to Sir Colin’s prompt plans, by the enemy’s -guns. All having safely crossed, the troops encamped around the ruinous -old intrenchment rendered memorable by the gallant spirit and hapless -fate of Sir Hugh Wheeler; while the women, children, sick, and wounded, -were put temporarily into occupation of the old foot-artillery lines. - -[Illustration: - - Fort of Alum Bagh, near Lucknow. -] - -Although Sir Colin Campbell abandoned Lucknow for a while, he did not -abandon the Alum Bagh. This post, a compact enclosure, capable of being -defended on all sides, would afford an important base for future -operations if maintained. Taking Hope Grant’s division back with him to -Cawnpore, he left Outram with three to four thousand men to hold the -Alum Bagh against all odds, furnishing him with as large a supply as -possible of provisions and stores. This force consisted of all the -remaining or available companies of H.M. 5th, 78th, 84th, and 90th foot, -the Madras Europeans, the Ferozpore Sikhs, three field-batteries, some -heavy guns, two squadrons of the military train acting as dragoons, and -a body of irregular cavalry. While the enemy were busily engaged in -refortifying the city, so as to make it more formidable than ever, Sir -James was making the Alum Bagh proof against all their attacks. The -position thus occupied included not only the Alum Bagh itself, but a -standing camp about three-quarters of a mile distant, and the bridge of -Bunnee, which was separately held by 400 Madras sepoys and two guns. - -Serious work and anxious thoughts occupied the mind of the -commander-in-chief. He could do little in active military operations -while so many helpless beings were depending on him for protection. -Hence the sojourn of those who, from sex, age, or sickness, could render -no active service at Cawnpore, was rendered as brief as possible. -Vehicles, animals, provisions, and stores, were quickly collected; and -on the 3d of December the march was resumed towards Allahabad—under an -escort of H.M. 34th foot, two guns, and some cavalry. How the released -Europeans fared on their journey; how they were cheered and greeted at -Allahabad; how they felicitated themselves on once again sleeping in -safety; and how they ultimately reached Calcutta by steamers on the -Ganges—need not be told in detail. Let it suffice to say that when the -ladies and children, with the invalided officers, who had passed through -so wonderful a series of events, were approaching Calcutta, Lord Canning -issued a notification, in which he said: ‘No one will wish to obtrude -upon those who are under bereavement or sickness any show of ceremony -which shall impose fatigue or pain. The best welcome which can be -tendered upon such an occasion is one which shall break in as little as -possible upon privacy and rest. But the rescue of these sufferers is a -victory beyond all price; and in testimony of the public joy with which -it is hailed, and of the admiration with which their heroic endurance -and courage are viewed,’ it was ordered that a royal salute should be -fired from the ramparts of Fort William as soon as the steamer arrived; -that all ships-of-war in the river should be dressed in honour of the -day; that officers would be appointed to conduct the passengers on -shore; and that the state-barges of the governor-general should be in -attendance. - -Thus ended a great achievement. The women, children, sick, and wounded, -who had to be brought away from the very heart of a city swarming with -deadly enemies, and escorted through a country beset by mutinous sepoys -and rebellious chieftains, were not fewer than _two thousand_ in number. -Let it be remembered, that while this helpless train of persons was on -the way through Oude, behind them was the enormous hostile force of -Lucknow, while in front of them were the Gwalior mutineers flushed by a -recent victory. That all should have passed through this perilous ordeal -with scarcely the loss of one life, reflects lasting credit on the -generals who planned and executed the manœuvre. Of the five noble -officers whose names are imperishably connected with the extraordinary -sieges and defences of Lucknow—Inglis, Havelock, Neill, Outram, and -Campbell—two fell before the grateful thanks of their countrymen at home -could reach them; but the remaining three, when Christmas arrived, had -the infinite satisfaction of knowing that their arduous labours had been -rewarded by the safe arrival, at or near Calcutta, of the tender and -weakened, the broken-down and invalided—those who had so long formed the -European community in the Lucknow Residency. - - - Note. - - _Cavanagh’s Adventure._—At p. 362 it is mentioned that Mr Cavanagh, - an uncovenanted civil servant of the Company in the Residency at - Lucknow, volunteered to make the perilous journey from that post to - the commander-in-chief’s camp many miles beyond the Alum Bagh, in - order to establish more complete correspondence between Sir James - Outram and Sir Colin Campbell than was possible by the simple medium - of a small note enclosed in a quill. Mr Cavanagh’s account of his - hair-breadth run was afterwards published in the Blue-books; and as - it affords a good idea of the state of Lucknow and its environs at - the time, we will reprint it here: - - ‘While passing through the intrenchment of Lucknow, about ten - o’clock A.M. on the 9th inst., I learned that a spy had come in from - Cawnpore, and that he was going back in the night as far as the Alum - Bagh with dispatches to his excellency, Sir Colin Campbell, the - commander-in-chief, who, it was said, was approaching Lucknow with - 5000 or 6000 men. - - ‘I sought out the spy, whose name is Kanoujee Lall, and who was in - the court of the deputy-commissioner of Duriabad before the outbreak - in Oude. He had taken letters from the intrenchment before, but I - had never seen him till now. I found him intelligent, and imparted - to him my desire to venture in disguise to the Alum Bagh in his - company. He hesitated a great deal at acting as my guide, but made - no attempt to exaggerate the dangers of the road. He merely urged - that there was more chance of detection by our going together, and - proposed that we should take different roads, and meet outside of - the city, to which I objected. I left him to transact some business, - my mind dwelling all the time on the means of accomplishing my - object. - - ‘I had, some days previously, witnessed the preparation of plans - which were being made by direction of Sir James Outram to assist the - commander-in-chief in his march into Lucknow for the relief of the - besieged, and it then occurred to me that some one with the - requisite local knowledge ought to attempt to reach his excellency’s - camp beyond or at the Alum Bagh. The news of Sir Colin Campbell’s - advance revived the idea, and I made up my mind to go myself at two - o’clock, after finishing the business I was engaged upon. I - mentioned to Colonel R. Napier, chief of Sir James Outram’s staff, - that I was willing to proceed through the enemy to the Alum Bagh, if - the general thought my doing so would be of service to the - commander-in-chief. He was surprised at the offer, and seemed to - regard the enterprise as fraught with too much danger to be assented - to; but he did me the favour of communicating the offer to Sir James - Outram, because he considered that my zeal deserved to be brought to - his notice. - - ‘Sir James did not encourage me to undertake the journey, declaring - that he thought it so dangerous that he would not himself have asked - any officer to attempt it. I, however, spoke so confidently of - success, and treated the dangers so lightly, that he at last - yielded, and did me the honour of adding, that if I succeeded in - reaching the commander-in-chief, my knowledge would be a great help - to him. - - ‘I secretly arranged for a disguise, so that my departure might not - be known to my wife, as she was not well enough to bear the prospect - of an eternal separation. When I left home, about seven o’clock in - the evening, she thought I was gone on duty for the night to the - mines; for I was working as an assistant field-engineer, by order of - Sir James Outram. - - ‘By half-past seven o’clock my disguise was completed, and when I - entered the room of Colonel Napier, no one in it recognised me. I - was dressed as a budmash, or as an irregular soldier of the city, - with sword and shield, native-made shoes, tight trousers, a yellow - silk koortah over a tight-fitting white muslin shirt, a - yellow-coloured chintz sheet thrown round my shoulders, a - cream-coloured turban, and a white waistband or kumurbund. My face, - down to the shoulders, and my hands, to the wrists, were coloured - with lampblack, the cork used being dipped in oil to cause the - colour to adhere a little. I could get nothing better. I had little - confidence in the disguise of my features, and I trusted more to the - darkness of the night; but Sir James Outram and his staff seemed - satisfied. After being provided with a small double-barrelled - pistol, and a pair of broad pyjamahs over the tight drawers, I - proceeded with Kanoujee Lall to the right bank of the river Goomtee, - running north of our intrenchment, accompanied by Captain Hardinge, - of the irregular cavalry. - - ‘Here we undressed and quietly forded the river, which was only - about four and a half feet deep, and about a hundred yards wide at - this point. My courage failed me while in the water, and if my guide - had been within reach, I should perhaps have pulled him back and - abandoned the enterprise; but he waded quickly through the stream. - Reaching the opposite bank, we went crouching up a ditch for three - hundred yards, to a grove of low trees on the edge of a pond, where - we stopped to dress. While we were here, a man came down to the pond - to wash, and went away again without observing us. - - ‘My confidence now returned to me, and with my tulwar resting on my - shoulder we advanced into the huts in front, where I accosted a - matchlockman, who answered to my remark that the night was cold: “It - is very cold—in fact, it is a cold night.” I passed him, adding that - it would be colder by and by. - - ‘After going six or seven hundred yards further, we reached the iron - bridge over the Goomtee, where we were stopped and called over by a - native officer who was seated in an upper-storied house, and seemed - to be in command of a cavalry picket, whose horses were near the - place saddled. My guide advanced to the light, and I stayed a little - back in the shade. After being told that we had come from - Mundeon—our old cantonment, and then in the possession of the - enemy—and that we were going into the city to our homes, he let us - proceed. We continued on along the left bank of the river to the - stone bridge, which is about eight or nine hundred yards from the - iron bridge, passing unnoticed through a number of sepoys and - matchlockmen, some of whom were escorting persons of rank in - palanquins preceded by torches. - - ‘Recrossing the Goomtee by the stone bridge, we went by a sentry - unobserved, who was closely questioning a dirtily dressed native, - and into the chowk or principal street of the city of Lucknow, which - was not illuminated as much as it used to be previous to the siege, - nor was it so crowded. I jostled against several armed men in the - street without being spoken to, and only met one guard of seven - sepoys, who were amusing themselves with some women of pleasure. - - ‘When issuing from the city into the country, we were challenged by - a chowkeedar, or watchman, who, without stopping us, merely asked - who we were. The part of the city traversed that night by me seemed - to have been deserted by at least a third of its inhabitants. - - ‘I was in great spirits when we reached the green fields, into which - I had not been for five months. Everything around us smelt sweet, - and a carrot I took from the roadside was the most delicious I had - ever tasted. I gave vent to my feelings in a conversation with - Kanoujee Lall, who joined in my admiration of the province of Oude, - and lamentation that it was now in the hands of wretches whose - misgovernment and rapacity were ruining it. - - ‘A further walk of a few miles was accomplished in high spirits. But - there was trouble before us. We had taken the wrong road, and were - now quite out of our way in the Dil Koosha Park, which was occupied - by the enemy. I went within twenty yards of two guns to see what - strength they were, and returned to the guide, who was in great - alarm, and begged I would not distrust him because of the mistake, - as it was caused by his anxiety to take me away from the pickets of - the enemy. I bade him not to be frightened of me, for I was not - annoyed, as such accidents were not unfrequent even when there was - no danger to be avoided. It was now about midnight. We endeavoured - to persuade a cultivator, who was watching his crop, to shew us the - way for a short distance, but he urged old age and lameness; and - another, whom I peremptorily told to come with us, ran off - screaming, and alarmed the whole village. We next walked quickly - away into the canal, running under the Char Bagh, in which I fell - several times, owing to my shoes being wet and slippery and my feet - sore. The shoes were hard and tight, and had rubbed the skin off my - toes, and cut into the flesh above the heels. - - ‘In two hours more we were again in the right direction, two women - in the village we passed having kindly helped us to find it. About - two o’clock we reached an advanced picket of sepoys, who told us the - way, after asking where we had come from, and whither we were going. - I thought it safer to go up to the picket, than to try to pass them - unobserved. - - ‘Kanoujee Lall now begged I would not press him to take me into the - Alum Bagh, as he did not know the way in, and the enemy were - strongly posted around the place. I was tired, and in pain from the - shoes, and would therefore have preferred going into the Alum Bagh; - but, as the guide feared attempting it, I desired him to go on to - the camp of the commander-in-chief, which he said was near Bunnee (a - village eighteen miles from Lucknow) upon the Cawnpore road. The - moon had risen by this time, and we could see well ahead. - - ‘By three o’clock we arrived at a grove of mango-trees, situated on - a plain, in which a man was singing at the top of his voice. I - thought he was a villager, but he got alarmed on hearing us - approach; and astonished us, too, by calling out a guard of - twenty-five sepoys, all of whom asked questions. Kanoujee Lall here - lost heart for the first time, and threw away the letter intrusted - to him for Sir Colin Campbell. I kept mine safe in my turban. We - satisfied the guard that we were poor men travelling to Umroula, a - village two miles this side of the chief’s camp, to inform a friend - of the death of his brother by a shot from the British intrenchment - at Lucknow, and they told us the road. They appeared to be greatly - relieved on discovering that it was not their terrible foe, who was - only a few miles in advance of them. We went in the direction - indicated by them, and after walking for half an hour we got into a - jheel or swamp, which are numerous and large in Oude. We had to wade - through it for two hours up to our waists in water, and through - weeds; for before we found out that we were in a jheel, we had gone - too far to recede. I was nearly exhausted on getting out of the - water, having made great exertions to force our way through the - weeds, and to prevent the colour being washed off my face. It was - nearly gone from my hands. - - ‘I now rested for fifteen minutes, despite the remonstrances of the - guide, and went forward, passing between two pickets of the enemy, - who had no sentries thrown out. It was near four o’clock in the - morning when I stopped at the corner of a tope or grove of trees to - sleep for an hour, which Kanoujee Lall entreated I would not do; but - I thought he overrated the danger, and, lying down, I told him to - see if there was any one in the grove who would tell him where we - then were. - - ‘We had not gone far when I heard the English challenge “Who comes - there?” with a native accent. We had reached a British cavalry - outpost: my eyes filled with joyful tears, and I shook the Sikh - officer in charge of the picket heartily by the hand. The old - soldier was as pleased as myself when he heard whence I had come; - and he was good enough to send two of his men to conduct me to the - camp of the advance-guard. An officer of her Majesty’s 9th Lancers, - who was visiting his pickets, met me on the way, and took me to his - tent, where I got dry stockings and trousers, and, what I much - needed, a glass of brandy—a liquor I had not tasted for nearly two - months. - - ‘I thanked God for having safely conducted me through this dangerous - enterprise, and Kanoujee Lall for the courage and intelligence with - which he had conducted himself during this trying night. When we - were questioned, he let me speak as little as possible. He always - had a ready answer, and I feel that I am indebted to him in a great - measure more than to myself for my escape. It will give me great - satisfaction to hear that he has been suitably rewarded. - - ‘In undertaking this enterprise, I was actuated by a sense of duty, - believing that I could be of use to his excellency the - commander-in-chief when approaching, for its relief, the besieged - garrison, which had heroically resisted the attack of thirty times - its own number for nearly five months, within a weak and irregular - intrenchment; and, secondly, because I was anxious to perform some - service which would insure to me the honour of wearing our Most - Gracious Majesty’s Cross. - - ‘My reception by Sir Colin Campbell and his staff was cordial and - kind to the utmost degree; and if I never have more than the - remembrance of their condescension and of the heartfelt - congratulation of Sir James Outram and of all the officers of his - garrison on my safe return to them—I shall not repine, though to be - sure having the Victoria Cross would make me a prouder and a happier - man. - - ‘JAMES CAVANAGH. - - ‘_Camp, Alum Bagh, Nov. 24._’ - -[Illustration: - - GROUP OF MAHRATTA ARMS.—From the Collection of Sir S. Meyrick: _a_ - _a_, Helmet; _b_, Sword; _c_, Musket; _d_, Knife and Sheath; _e_, - Mace; _f_, Shield. -] - ------ - -Footnote 115: - - ‘Story of the Lucknow Residency,’ chap. xix. pp. 316-337. - -Footnote 116: - - The _thalookdaree_ system of Oude requires a little explanation, in - relation to the participants in the Revolt. Most of the annexations - effected by the East India Company were followed by changes either in - the ownership of the soil, or in the assessment of land-tax—such - land-tax being the chief item in the Company’s revenue. When the - several annexations occurred, it was found throughout a great part of - India that superior holders—whether proprietors, hereditary farmers of - revenue, or hereditary middlemen—held large tracts of land, in a - middle position between the native governments and the cultivating - communities, and were responsible for the revenue to the state. In - Bengal, these influential men were generally recognised by the Company - as proprietors, and the rights of the sub-holders almost wholly - ignored. In the Northwest Provinces, acquired by the Company at a much - later date, the thalookdars, zemindars, or whatever these landowners - may have been called, were generally set aside; but the asserted - rights of some of them became subjects of endless litigation in the - courts of law; the landowners frequently obtained decrees against the - Company, and many received a percentage in compromise of their rights - or claims. In Oude, annexed in 1856, the thalookdaree system was - particularly strong. Almost the whole country had by degrees become - parcelled out among great thalookdars or zemindars. Though under a - Mohammedan government, these men were almost universally - Hindoos—native chiefs who had obtained great prescription, exercised - great power and authority, and were in fact feudatories of the - government. They were much more than mere middlemen or farmers of - revenue. They had their own forts, troops, and guns; they obeyed their - nawab or king so far as they chose or were compelled; they seized with - the strong hand estates which had unquestionably belonged to village - communities in earlier times; and they fought with each other as - English barons or Scottish clan-chieftains were wont to do in past - ages. Sir William Sleeman estimated the number of armed retainers, - whose services these thalookdars could command, at scarcely less than - one hundred thousand; while they had nearly five hundred pieces of - cannon in their several forts or strongholds. Under this system the - village proprietary rights, even if not actually thrown aside and - disregarded, became more weak and undefined than when the villagers - held directly from the government. Hence arose a very embarrassing - question when the Company took possession of Oude. With whom was the - settlement to be made? The thalookdars were strong and in possession; - the village communities were dormant, broken, and ill defined. It - would have taken some time to suppress the one and revive the other. - The opinions of revenue officers in the Northwest Provinces ran - strongly in favour of village proprietaries; still stronger in the - Punjaub; and Oude was treated somewhat in the same way. The result in - many cases was to eject the thalookdars, and make direct settlements - with the village communities. When the Revolt began, the thalookdars - at first behaved well to the British personally; with the butchery by - a rabble they had no sympathy; and many were the Europeans whose lives - they saved. But, the Company’s government being for a time upset; and - the period since the annexation having been too short to destroy the - strength of the thalookdars, or to enable the village proprietors to - acquire a steady possession of their rights—the thalookdars almost - universally resumed what they considered to be their own. There is - evidence, too, that in this course of proceeding they met with a - considerable amount of popular support. It was in this way they became - committed against the British government. Till Havelock’s retreat from - his unsuccessful attempt to relieve Lucknow in August, the thalookdars - adopted a temporising policy; but when they saw him and Outram retreat - across the Ganges to Cawnpore, they thought their time had arrived. - They began to act in concert—not because they had much sympathy with - mutinous sepoys, with the decrepit king of Delhi, or with the deposed - king of Oude—but in the hope that, amid the general anarchy, they - might regain their old influence. - -Footnote 117: - - See NOTE, at the end of this chapter. - -Footnote 118: - - One of the two hard-worked and sorely tried chaplains, in a letter to - a relation when the dangers were past, employed a few simple words - that really described the position of the Residency enclosure better - than any long technical details. English friends had talked and - written concerning the ‘impregnable fort’ in which the garrison were - confined; to which he replied: ‘We were in no fort at all; we occupied - a few houses in a large garden, with a low wall on one side, and only - an earthen parapet on the other, in the middle of a large city, the - buildings of which completely commanded us, and swarming with - thousands of our deadly foes, thirsting for our blood. God gave us - protection and pluck, the former in a wonderful degree, or not one of - us would be here to tell about it.... The engineers calculated that - all those months never one second elapsed without a shot being thrown - in at us, and at times upwards of seventy per second, besides round - shot and shell.’ This probably means that the _average_ was a shot per - second for nearly five months—_twelve or fourteen million deadly - missiles_ thrown into this narrow and crowded space. - -Footnote 119: - H.M. 8th, 53d, 75th, and 93d foot. - 2d and 4th Punjaub infantry. - H.M. 9th Lancers. - Detachments 1st, 2d, and 5th Punjaub cavalry. - Detachment Hodson’s Horse. - Detachments Bengal and Punjaub Sappers and Miners. - Naval brigade, 8 guns; Bengal H.A., 10 guns. - Bengal horse field-battery, 6 guns; Heavy field-battery. - —About 700 cavalry and 2700 Infantry, besides artillery. - -Footnote 120: - - Detachments H.M. 23d and 82d foot. - - Detachments Madras horse-artillery, royal artillery, royal engineers, - and military train. - -Footnote 121: - - The officers killed were Lieutenant-colonel Biddulph; Captains Hardy, - Wheatcroft, Dalzell, and Lumsden; Lieutenants Mayne, Frankland, and - Dobbs; Ensign Thompson; and Midshipman Daniel. The wounded were Sir - Colin Campbell; Brigadier Russell; Lieutenant-colonels Ewart and Hale; - Majors Alison and Barnston; Captains Alison, Anson, Grant, Hammond, - Travers, Walton, and Burroughs; Lieutenants Salmond, Milman, Ford, - Halkett, Munro, French, Wynne, Cooper, Welch, Goldsmith, Wood, Paul, - M’Queen, Oldfield, and Henderson; Ensigns Watson, Powell, and - M’Namara; Midshipman Lord A. P. Clinton; and Assistant-surgeon Veale. - -Footnote 122: - - ‘I am aware of no parallel to our series of mines in modern war. - Twenty-one shafts, aggregating 200 feet in depth, and 3291 feet of - gallery, have been executed. The enemy advanced twenty mines against - the palaces and outposts; of these they exploded three, which caused - us loss of life, and two which did no injury; seven have been blown - in; and out of seven others the enemy have been driven, and their - galleries taken possession of by our miners—results of which the - engineer department may well be proud. The reports and plans forwarded - by Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B., and now submitted to his excellency, - will explain how a line of gardens, courts, and dwelling-houses, - without fortified _enceinte_, without flanking defences, and closely - connected with the buildings of a city, has been maintained for eight - weeks in a certain degree of security; notwithstanding the close and - constant musketry-fire from loopholed walls and windows, often within - thirty yards, and from every lofty building within rifle-range, and - notwithstanding a frequent though desultory fire of round-shot and - grape from guns posted at various distances, from seventy to five - hundred yards. This result has been obtained by the skill and courage - of the engineer and quartermaster-general’s departments, zealously - aided by the brave officers and soldiers, who have displayed the same - cool determination and cheerful alacrity in the toils of the trench - and amid the concealed dangers of the mine that they had previously - exhibited when forcing their way into Lucknow at the point of the - bayonet, and amid a most murderous fire.’ - -Footnote 123: - - The fate of the few English prisoners at Lucknow is not clearly - traceable; but one account has stated that four Englishmen were put to - death on the night when the Residency was finally evacuated. When the - English troops, the women and children, the guns and baggage, and a - quarter of a million sterling in silver, had safely reached the Dil - Koosha, the leaders among the rebels became enraged beyond measure at - a manœuvre which completely balked them. A few of them rushed to the - Kaiser Bagh, where the unfortunate prisoners were confined, tied four - of them—Sir Mountstuart Jackson, Mr Orr, Mr Barnes, and Sergeant - Martin—to guns, and blew them away. The ladies were said to have been - spared at the intercession of one of the begums or princesses of Oude. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - CLOSING EVENTS OF THE YEAR. - - -The expedition of Sir Colin Campbell to Lucknow in November, followed by -the extraordinary rescue of the British residents at that city, formed -an episode in the history of the Indian Revolt well worthy of being -treated singly and separately from other matters. This having been done, -the present chapter may conveniently be devoted to the closing events of -the year in other places, touching only upon such occurrences as -immediately affected the mutiny or the plans for its suppression. As in -the former chapters[124]—relating, the one to July and August, and the -other to September and October—the survey (applicable in this case to -November and December) may usefully begin in the Calcutta provinces, and -thence travel westward. - -Calcutta itself, for reasons more than once stated, was not likely to be -materially affected by mutinous proceedings. The interests of the native -towns-people, concerned in supplying the wants of a larger number of -Europeans than resided at any other city in India, led them to prefer -scenes of quiet, even if the Bengalee character had been more warlike -than is its wont; while the frequent landing of British troops from -other shores kept in awe such of the sepoy soldiers as still remained in -arms. A naval squadron anchored in the Hoogly, with sufficient power of -metal to batter the city to ruins if danger arose. The natives, except a -few of fanatical character, were more disposed to seek for holiday than -for war; and holiday occasionally fell to their share, in the -proceedings of the British themselves. On one day, towards the close of -November, there were 4500 British troops temporarily garrisoned at -Calcutta, and 11 ships-of-war anchored in the river. The troops -comprised H.M. 19th, 20th, 42d, 54th, 79th, and 97th regiments of foot, -or portions of them, together with one battalion of the 60th Rifles, and -one of the Rifle brigade. A review of most of these fine troops was held -on the Calcutta volunteers’ parade-ground, before the journey to the -upper provinces commenced. The Calcutta government commenced operations -for reorganising the vast regions which had been thrown into confusion -by the Revolt. A plan was sketched out for separating the divisions of -Delhi and Meerut from the Northwest Provinces, and transferring them to -the government of the Punjaub—in order that they might share in the -peculiar system of executive rule which had been found to work well in -the Punjaub, under the energetic control of Sir John Lawrence. The rest -of the Northwest Provinces could not be permanently reorganised until -the warlike operations had made further advance. Another proceeding on -the part of the government was to send out a commission to the Andaman -Islands, to examine how far they were suited as a penal settlement for -rebels or traitors sentenced to transportation; the commission comprised -naval and medical officers, who were empowered to select a spot healthy -in situation and easily defended. - -In the easternmost districts of India, mutiny shewed itself in small -degree. It could hardly be other than slight, however; for the -Hindustani troops were few in number, and the general population not ill -affected. Three companies of the 34th Bengal native infantry, it will be -remembered,[125] were stationed at Chittagong at the very beginning of -the troubles in March and April; they not only remained faithful when -the other companies of the same regiment became mutinous at Berhampore, -but made a very high-flown declaration of their loyalty. After remaining -‘true to their salt’ throughout the whole of the summer and autumn, -these three companies at length yielded to the general mania. They broke -out into mutiny at Chittagong on the 18th of November, burnt their -lines, blew up the magazine, looted the treasury, and commenced a search -for Europeans. These latter escaped, chiefly in boats upon the river. -The mutineers then released the convicts from the jail, and decamped. -They moved northward, apparently tending toward Tipperah, where a petty -rajah held his court. Directly this was known, Major Byng, commanding a -Silhet native regiment, marched down from the hills, and met the -mutineers. A brief conflict ensued, in which the major unfortunately -received a mortal wound; but the misguided men of the 34th, meeting with -no kind of sympathy from the Silhetees, were almost wholly annihilated -within a few days. - -There were at that time two companies of the 73d native regiment at -Dacca; and as soon as the authorities received from the magistrate of -Chittagong news of what had occurred at the last-mentioned place, they -resolved to disarm those two companies, as a precaution against -mischief. The sepoys, however, hearing the news from Chittagong more -speedily than the authorities, prepared for resistance. A party of -volunteers disarmed a few scattered sepoys; but as the others had -artillery to assist them, a hundred English sailors, with two or three -howitzers, were told off to deal with them. A sharp contest ensued at -the sepoy barracks, with balls, grape, and musketry; until at length the -sailors, determined on a closer attack, rushed upon the sepoys, drove -them out of the barracks, and killed many on the spot. The rest set off -on a hasty march to Jelpigoree, the head-quarters of the regiment. So -utterly was that part of India denuded of British troops, that there -were none to repel even one or two hundred mutineers; and many villages -were plundered on the road. The check came from a quarter where -apparently the mutineers least expected it—from the men of their own -regiment. The motives of the native troops were as inscrutable now as at -any former time; for although the two companies thus rebelled, fought, -and fled, the bulk of the regiment remained faithful. They had even -quietly permitted two hundred Goorkhas to join the regiment—that step -having been adopted by the authorities to infuse new blood into the -corps. An officer of the 73d, writing from Jelpigoree on the 3d of -December, said: ‘Our men have sworn to their native officers (not to us) -that they will do their duty; and our spies, who have hitherto proved so -trustworthy, declare that we may fully depend on the regiment. Yesterday -the test commenced by our ordering accoutrements and ammunition to be -served out to our two hundred Goorkhas. This was done cheerfully, and is -a very good indication of the prevailing feeling. A strange scene it -was, watching the sepoys doling out ammunition to Goorkhas to fight -against their own (the sepoys’) comrades, and it did one’s heart good to -see it: we are all under arms, and very sanguine.’ These men actually -joined in routing the mutinous companies of their own regiment, and in -driving them towards Bhotan, where they died miserably among an -unsympathising population.—Such discrepancies in conduct between -different regiments and different companies of the same regiment, threw -great difficulties in the way of any logical tracing of the causes of -the Revolt. - -In a wide region of Bengal westward of Calcutta, the only incidents -requiring notice were two or three in which the Shekhawuttie battalion -shewed that it still remained faithful to the Company’s raj—almost the -last relic of the once magnificent Bengal army. With this regiment -Colonel Forster put down the recusant Rajah of Pachete, whose domain -touched the grand trunk-road above Raneegunge. After hovering some time -on the verge of treason, this man at length refused to obey the British -resident at Rugonauthpoor, Mr Lushington, who was obliged to intrench -himself in self-defence. Colonel Forster hastened thither; and by his -own boldness of bearing, and the faithfulness of his Shekhawutties, he -captured the rajah, a fort of no inconsiderable strength, much wealth, -and a mass of treasonable correspondence—without firing a shot. Shortly -afterwards, Forster marched to Sumbhulpore, where a band of ruffians, -headed by one of their own class, had commenced a course of violence -that needed and obtained a prompt check. - -Let us hasten on to the busier scenes of the northwest, viewing them in -connection with Cawnpore as a central point of strategy, and with Sir -Colin Campbell as leader of all the British operations. This may the -more appropriately be done; because there were no events on the Lower -Ganges, between Calcutta and Benares, requiring notice, so far as -concerned the months of November and December. - -Cawnpore was a centre in military matters for the following reasons. On -one side of it was Lucknow, so important in relation to the occupancy of -Oude; Allahabad, on another side, was on the great line of route for -troops from Calcutta; Agra and Delhi, towards the northwest, lay on the -path of approach from the Punjaub; while on the south and southwest were -the roads along which armies or columns of armies might march from the -two southern provinces of Madras and Bombay. Hence Sir Colin Campbell -made earnest endeavours to maintain a good position at Cawnpore, as a -convenient base of operations. Colonel Wilson, as commandant, was -instructed to attend to the wants of Lucknow so far as he could, and to -watch the movements of insurgent troops in the neighbourhood. This -continued throughout October. In November, when Sir Colin went with his -small army to relieve Lucknow, he left General Windham—well known in -Crimean warfare as the ‘hero of the Redan’—in command at Cawnpore, not -to fight, but to keep communication safely open from Lucknow _viâ_ -Cawnpore to Allahabad. Sir Colin, it will be remembered,[126] hurried -back to Cawnpore at the end of November on account of events that had -occurred during his absence. What those events were, we have now to -narrate. - -The series of disasters that occurred to General Windham originated in -part in the want of good communication between him and Sir Colin -Campbell. Whether the messengers were stopped by the way, does not -clearly appear; but Sir Colin remained in ignorance that the Gwalior -mutineers were approaching Cawnpore; while Windham received no replies -to letters sent by him, asking for instructions for his guidance. Sir -Colin knew nothing of Windham’s troubles until, on the 27th of November, -he heard at the Alum Bagh the noise of artillery-firing at Cawnpore; -while Windham received no aid or advice until Sir Colin himself appeared -late on the following day. Whether or not there were defective tactics -in the subsequent management of the affair, this uncertainty at the -beginning was unquestionably disadvantageous. Windham knew, about the -middle of the month, that the Gwalior and Indore mutineers, swelled to -20,000 strong by reinforcements of rebels from various quarters, had -reached within about thirty miles of Cawnpore, on the Calpee road; and a -week later he found that they were within twenty miles. As the troops at -his command barely exceeded 2000 men, and as he received no news from -Campbell, he considered how best to maintain his position. He was in an -intrenchment or intrenched fort, far distant from the one formerly -occupied by Sir Hugh Wheeler, and placed close to the Ganges, so as to -command the bridge of boats; there being within the intrenchment the -requisite buildings for the daily necessities of his force. As the city -of Cawnpore lay between him and the Calpee road, he deemed it necessary -to take up a new position. Leaving some of his troops, therefore, in the -intrenchment, he formed with the remainder a new camp at Dhuboulee, -close to the canal westward of the city, at a point where he believed he -would be able to watch and frustrate the enemy. - -On the 26th, finding that the mutineers were approaching, he went out to -encounter them. He started at three in the morning with about 1200 -infantry (chiefly of the 34th, 82d, 88th, and Rifles, 100 Sikh cavalry -and eight guns), and marched eight or nine miles to Bhowsee, near the -Pandoo Nuddee—leaving his camp-equipage and baggage near the city. -Brigadier Carthew was second in command; and the chief officers under -him were Colonels Walpole, Kelly, and Maxwell. The enemy were found -strongly posted on the opposite side of the dry bed of the Pandoo -Nuddee. The British advanced with a line of skirmishers along the whole -front, with supports on each flank, and a reserve in the centre. The -enemy opened a heavy fire of artillery from siege and field guns; but -such was the eagerness of the British troops to engage, that they -carried the position with a rush, cheering as they went; and a village, -half a mile in the rear of the enemy, was rapidly cleared. The mutineers -hastily took to flight, leaving behind them two howitzers and one gun. -At this point, apparently for the first time, Windham became aware that -he had been engaging the advanced column only of the enemy, and that the -main force was near at hand. Rendered uneasy by his position, he -resolved on retiring to protect the city, camp, cantonment, -intrenchment, and bridge of boats. This he did. - -So far, then, the operations of the 26th were to a certain extent -successful. But disaster followed. He encamped for the night on the -Jewee Plain, on the Calpee side of Cawnpore, having the city between him -and the intrenchment. Whether Windham did not know that the enemy were -so near in great force, whether his camping-ground was ill chosen, or -whether he left his flanks unprotected, certain it is that, about noon -on the 27th, when his men were preparing for a camp-dinner, they were -surprised by an onslaught of the enemy in immense force, from behind a -thick cover of trees and brushwood, beginning with an overwhelming -artillery cannonade. For five hours did this attack continue, chiefly -near the point of junction of the Delhi and Calpee roads. Distracted by -an attack on three sides of him, Windham hastened to see what was doing -on the fourth side, towards the city; and here he ascertained that the -mutineers had turned his flanks, got into the city, and were beginning -to attack the intrenchment near the bridge. Retreat was at once resolved -on; and although the general’s dispatch did not state the fact, the -private letters shew that the retreat was _sauve qui peut_. For, in -truth, it became a matter of speed, whether the British could rush back -to the intrenchment in time to save it. They did so; but at the expense -of a large store of tents, saddlery, harness, camp-equipage, and private -property—all of which had to be abandoned in the hasty scamper from the -camp to the intrenchment. This booty the enemy at once seized upon, and -either appropriated or burned according to its degree of usefulness. No -less than five hundred tents fed a bonfire that night—a loss quite -irreparable at that time to the British. - -Bitter was the mortification with which the troops contemplated this -day’s work. One of the officers said in a private letter: ‘You will read -the account of this day’s fighting with astonishment; for it tells how -English troops, with their trophies and their mottoes, and their -far-famed bravery, were repulsed and lost their camp, their baggage, and -their position, by [to?] the scouted and degraded natives of India.’ The -beaten ‘Feringhees,’ as the enemy had now a right to call them, did -certainly retreat to their intrenchment amid overturned tents, pillaged -baggage, men’s kits, fleeing camels, elephants, horses, and servants. -Another officer who had just come up from Allahabad, and who was within -the intrenchment on the afternoon of this day, thus described the scene: -‘Saw our troops retreating into the outer intrenchment. A regular panic -followed. Trains of elephants, camels, horses, bullock-wagons, and -coolies came in at the principal gate, laden with stuff. The principal -buildings are the General Hospital, the Sailors’ Hospital, the -Post-office, and the Commissariat-cellars. Around these houses, which -are scattered, crowds of camels, bullocks, and horses were collected, -fastened by ropes to stakes in the ground, and among the animals, piles -of trunks, beds, chairs, and miscellaneous furniture and baggage. There -was scarcely room to move. Met one of the chaplains hastening into the -intrenchment. He had left everything in his tent outside. The servants -almost everywhere abandoned their masters when they heard the guns. -Mounted officers were galloping across the rough ground between the -inner and outer intrenchments, and doolie after doolie, with its red -curtains down, concealing some poor victim, passed on to the hospitals. -The poor fellows were brought in, shot, cut, shattered, and wounded in -every imaginable way; and as they went by, raw stumps might be seen -hanging over the sides of the doolies, literally like torn butcher-meat. -The agonies which I saw some of them endure during the surgical -operations were such as no tongue or pen can describe. The surgeons, who -did their utmost, were so overworked, that many sufferers lay bleeding -for hours before it was possible to attend to them.’ During the hasty -retreat, one of the guns had been overturned in a narrow street in -Cawnpore. The British could not wait to bring it away; but at night -General Windham ordered 100 men of the 64th to aid a few seamen of the -naval brigade in an expedition to secure the gun. It was a delicate -task, in a city crowded with the enemy; how it was done, one of the -officers of the naval brigade has told.[127] - -What was next to be done, became an important question. General Windham -assembled his superior officers, and conferred with them. If he could -have obtained reliable information concerning the position of the -enemy’s artillery, he would have proposed a night-attack; but, in -ignorance on this important point, it was resolved to defer operations -till the morrow. Early on the 28th, accordingly, the force was divided -into four sections, thus distributed: One, under Walpole, was to defend -the advanced portion of the town on the left side of the canal; a -second, under Wilson, was to hold the intrenchment, and establish a -strong picket on the extreme right; a third, under Carthew, was to hold -the Bithoor road in advance of the intrenchment, receiving support from -the picket there if needed; while the fourth section, under Windham -himself, was to defend the portion of the town nearest the Ganges on the -left of the canal, and support Walpole if needful. These several -arrangements were especially intended to protect the intrenchment and -the bridge of boats—so important in relation to Sir Colin Campbell’s -operations in Oude. The British position was to be wholly defensive. A -severe struggle ensued. The Gwalior mutineers were now joined by another -force under Nena Sahib, and a third under his brother Bhola Sahib; -altogether the insurgents numbered 21,000. They marched unmolested -towards the city and cantonment; and then were the few British sorely -pressed indeed. Walpole was speedily engaged in very hard fighting; and -it was on his side only that anything like a victory was achieved. Aided -by Colonels Woodford and Watson, and Captain Greene, Walpole repulsed a -vigorous attack made by the enemy, and captured two 18-pounder guns. -Carthew, who struggled from morning till night against a most formidable -body of the enemy, was at length obliged to retire from his position. -Wilson, eager to render service at an exposed point, led his section of -troops—chiefly consisting of H.M. 64th foot—against four guns planted by -the enemy in front of Carthew’s position. He and his gallant men -advanced in the face of the enemy, and under a murderous fire, for more -than half a mile, up a ravine commanded by high ground in front as well -as on both sides. From the ridge in front, the four 9-pounders played -upon them as they rushed forward. After reaching and almost capturing -the guns, they were encountered by a very large force of the enemy who -had hitherto been hidden; further progress was impossible; they -retreated, and saw their officers falling around them in mournful -number. Colonel Wilson himself was killed; as were also Major Stirling, -Captain M’Crea, and Captain Morphey; while many other officers were -wounded. It was a defeat and a loss, for which no counterbalancing -advantage was gained. - -Thus the 28th had increased the humiliation of the preceding day. Tents, -baggage, officers, prestige—all had suffered. The mutineers revelled in -the city as conquerors on the night of the 28th, seizing everything -which had belonged to the British. More than 10,000 rounds of Enfield -cartridges, the mess-plate of four Queen’s regiments, paymasters’ -chests, and a large amount of miscellaneous property, fell into their -hands. On the morning of the 29th the insurgents began to bombard the -intrenchment and the bridge of boats. Had not Sir Colin Campbell arrived -at that critical time, it is hard to say what might have been the amount -of disaster; for the enemy were in immense strength; and if the bridge -of boats had been broken, the fate of the refugees from Lucknow might -have been sad indeed. All that day did the firing of the enemy continue. -All that day did the living stream from Lucknow approach the bridge. Sir -Colin immediately assumed command at Cawnpore. Mortifying as it was to -him to leave the enemy in possession of the city and everything west of -it, he had no alternative. One holy duty pressed upon him—to protect the -helpless Lucknow convoy until it could be sent on to Allahabad. He -despatched Hope Grant with a column, to keep open the road from Cawnpore -through Futtehpoor to Allahabad; while he employed all his other troops -in keeping the enemy at bay. The officers in the intrenchment, looking -over their earthworks, could see the six miles’ train of women, -children, sick, wounded, bearers, servants, camp-followers, horses, -oxen, camels, elephants, wagons, carts, palanquins, doolies, advancing -along the road to the bridge; and most narrowly were the movements of -the enemy watched, to prevent any interruption to the passage of the -cavalcade over the frail bridge. - -This unfortunate series of events at Cawnpore greatly disconcerted Sir -Colin Campbell. In his first dispatch to government relating to them, he -referred almost without comment to Windham’s own narrative. Three weeks -afterwards a singularly worded dispatch was issued from his camp near -Cawnpore, expressing a regret at an ‘omission’ in his former dispatch; -and adding, ‘I desire to make my acknowledgment of the great -difficulties in which Major-general Windham, C.B., was placed during the -operations he describes in his dispatch; and to recommend him and the -officers whom he notices as having rendered him assistance to your -lordship’s protection and good offices.’ Lord Canning shortly afterwards -issued a general order, containing an echo of Sir Colin’s dispatch. -General Windham continued for a time with the commander-in-chief. If -official dissatisfaction with his management at Cawnpore existed, it was -either hushed up or smoothed away by subsequent explanations. - -The month of December opened amid events that caused sufficient anxiety -to Sir Colin Campbell. The convoy of Lucknow fugitives had not yet been -sent away; the Gwalior mutineers had not yet been defeated. He was -compelled to act on the defensive until his helpless non-combatants were -provided for. During one week, from the 26th of November to the 2d of -December, the loss in British officers had been very considerable in and -near Cawnpore; for 10 were reported killed, 32 wounded, and 2 missing. -The commander-in-chief, therefore, while repelling the still audacious -insurgents, had to promote and establish numerous officers, as well as -to reorganise his force. - -It was a great relief to Sir Colin when the convoy left Cawnpore on its -march towards Allahabad. He was then free to act as a military -commander; and the enemy did not long delay in giving him an opportunity -of proving his powers of command. On the 5th of December the enemy’s -artillery attacked his left pickets, while their infantry shewed on the -same quarter; they also fired on the British pickets in the -Generalgunje—an old bazaar extending along the canal in front of the -line occupied by the camp. Brigadier Greathed had held this advanced -position supported by Peel’s and Bourchier’s guns. Sir Colin resolved to -take the offensive on the following day. The enemy occupied a strong -position. Their centre was in the city of Cawnpore, and lined the houses -and bazaars overhanging the canal and the barricaded streets; their -right stretched away to a point beyond the crossing of the main -trunk-road over the canal; while their left occupied the old cantonment, -from which General Windham’s post had been principally assailed. The -canal, along which were placed the centre and the right, was thus the -main feature of the enemy’s position, and could only be passed by two -bridges. The enemy’s camp was two miles in rear of their right, on the -Calpee road, which was intended to be their line of advance and retreat. -Sir Colin well studied this position before he formed his plan. ‘It -appeared to me,’ he said in his dispatch, ‘that if the enemy’s right -were vigorously attacked, it would be driven from its position without -assistance being able to come from other parts of the line: the wall of -the town, which gave cover to our attacking columns on the right, being -an effective obstacle to the movement of any portion of the enemy’s -troops from their left to their right.’ In fact, his quick eye saw that -the Gwalior mutineers had placed one-half their force in such a spot -that it could not help the other half, provided the attack were made in -a certain fashion. It was really a large and powerful army to which he -was now confronted; so many other mutinous regiments had joined the -Gwalior Contingent, that their force was now estimated at little short -of 25,000 men, with about 40 pieces of artillery. - -[Illustration: - - The Battle of Cawnpore, December 6, 1857. -] - -On the morning of the 6th, the commander-in-chief assigned to all his -several corps and regiments their respective duties.[128] General -Windham opened a heavy bombardment at nine o’clock, from the -intrenchment in the old cantonment, to induce the enemy to believe that -the attack would be in that quarter. For two hours, the rest of the -force was quietly taking up its position—Greathed’s column in front of -the enemy’s centre, and the other columns in rear of the old cavalry -lines, effectually masked from observation. When it was judged that -Windham’s fire had drawn the enemy’s attention away from the real point -of attack, Sir Colin sent his cavalry and horse-artillery by a detour on -the left, to cross the canal a mile and a half higher up, and assail the -enemy’s rear; while the infantry deployed in parallel lines fronting the -canal. Captain Peel was the first man to cross the canal bridge for the -attack on the enemy’s camp; the heavy guns followed him; and in a few -minutes the enemy were astonished at finding themselves in the heat of -battle on a side not at all contemplated by them. Their defeat was equal -to their surprise. Sir Colin’s regiments crossed the canal by various -bridges, reached the enemy’s camp, cut their forces in two, and then -completely routed them—pursuing them for fourteen miles on the Calpee -road, and capturing guns and wagons as they went. In all this work the -sailors of the naval brigade pushed forward with an energy which seems -to have struck even the commander-in-chief, accustomed as he was to -deeds of daring. In his official dispatch he said: ‘I must here draw -attention to the manner in which the heavy 24-pounder guns were impelled -and managed by Captain Peel and his gallant sailors. Through the -extraordinary energy and good-will with which the latter have worked, -their guns have been constantly in advance throughout our late -operations, from the relief of Lucknow till now—as if they were light -field-pieces. The service rendered by them in clearing our front has -been incalculable. On this occasion there was the sight beheld of -24-pounder guns advancing with the first line of skirmishers.’ Before -Sir Colin returned to camp in the evening, the enemy had been driven -entirely and completely away from Cawnpore. The four infantry brigades -engaged in this hot day’s work were headed by Brigadiers Greathed, -Adrian Hope, Walpole, and Inglis. Windham was only employed in masking -the real nature of the attack. Sir Colin mentioned this matter in the -following peculiar terms: ‘Owing to his knowledge of the ground, I -requested Major-general Windham to remain in command of the -intrenchment, the fire of which was a very important feature in the -operations of the 6th of December; although I felt and explained to -General Windham that it was a command hardly worthy of his rank.’ - -There was a subsidiary operation in this battle of the 6th. After the -capture of the enemy’s camp, in the afternoon, General Mansfield was -sent to occupy a position called the Subadar’s Tank, in rear of the -enemy’s left, and about a mile and a half from the intrenchment. Having -taken measures for the safeguard of the captured camp, and for -maintaining a good post on the Calpee road, Mansfield advanced towards -the Tank—struggling over broken ground and through enclosures, and -driving parties of the enemy before him. After a good deal of -manœuvring, in ground that greatly assisted the rebels, Mansfield -succeeded in securing the position sought, and had the satisfaction of -seeing large bodies of the enemy’s infantry and cavalry move off -westward in full retreat. As it was not practicable to communicate with -Sir Colin after sunset, the position taken up being almost isolated; and -as there were considerable numbers of the enemy still in occupation of -the town and the old cantonment—Mansfield strengthened the pickets all -round his position, and bivouacked his troops for the night, where they -were left undisturbed by the enemy. - -The mutineers were so thoroughly worsted in these operations on the 6th, -that they retired from Cawnpore, irresolute touching their future -plans—some marching in one direction, some in another. After securing -and consolidating his position on the 7th, Sir Colin prepared further -work for his lieutenants. On the 8th, he gave orders to Brigadier Hope -Grant to march to Bithoor, and, if it should appear to him desirable, to -advance further to Serai Ghat, a ferry over the Ganges about twenty-five -miles above Cawnpore. This energetic officer set off with a strong -column of 2800 men[129] and 11 guns, and marched through Bithoor to -Soorajpore, three miles short of Serai Ghat. Here he bivouacked for the -night. Early in the morning of the 9th, leaving a portion of his column -to guard the baggage, he advanced with the main body, and found the -enemy assembling on the bank of the river. The opposing forces soon got -engaged in an artillery action, in which Grant’s guns narrowly escaped -being lost in a quicksand at the river-side. After a sharp firing for -half an hour, the enemy’s guns were silenced and then withdrawn. Then -came up a force of the rebels’ cavalry, to endeavour to capture Grant’s -guns; but he promptly sent forward his own cavalry, which advanced upon -them, drove them away, pursued them, and cut up a considerable number. -The nature of the ground, however, was such that most of the enemy -reached the cover of trees and houses before the British could intercept -them. Hope Grant’s infantry was not engaged in this conflict; the -retreat of the enemy taking place before their aid was needed. The enemy -left behind them fourteen brass guns and howitzers, one iron 18-pounder, -together with a large store of wagons and ammunition—all of which were -speedily secured by the conquerors. These trophies were brought away by -the exertions of the infantry, who had much difficulty to contend -against along the quicksands. The troops had been marching and fighting -for thirty hours, with few and short intervals, and had scarcely eaten -for twenty-four hours; so that a supper, a night’s rest, and a quiet day -on the 10th, were very welcome to them. This affair at Serai Ghat -completely succeeded; but the most extraordinary fact relating to it has -yet to be mentioned. Hope Grant’s casualty-list _was a blank_! In his -dispatch he said: ‘I am truly grateful to God, and happy to say, that -though the fire of grape from the enemy was most severe and well placed, -falling among the artillery like hail, I had not a single man even -wounded, and only one horse of Captain Middleton’s battery killed. It -was truly marvellous and providential. Thirteen guns, most of them -9-pounders and 24-pounder howitzers, were playing with grape on the -gallant artillery, and with round-shot upon the cavalry, the former -within about five hundred yards—and his excellency is well aware with -what precision these rebels fire their guns—yet not one single man was -wounded.’ It requires all one’s faith in the honour of a truthful man to -credit such a marvellous announcement. - -In the various operations from the 3d to the 8th of December inclusive, -Sir Colin suffered a loss of 13 killed and 86 wounded—a mere trifle -compared with the strength of his force and the kind of enemy with whom -he had to deal. Among the killed were Lieutenants Salmond and Vincent; -and among the wounded, General Mansfield, Lieutenant-colonel Horsford, -Captains Longden, Forbes, and Mansfield, Lieutenants Neill and Stirling, -Ensigns Wrench, Graham, and Dyce. Lieutenant Stirling afterwards died -from the effects of a wound which was at first reputed curable. - -The occurrences narrated in the last few pages will have shewn by what -steps Sir Colin Campbell obtained a firm footing at Cawnpore, as a -centre from which he and his officers might operate in various -directions. He had removed the British from Lucknow; he had furnished to -Outram such a force as would enable that general to hold the Alum Bagh -against all assailants; and he had dispersed the formidable rebel army -which so endangered Windham and the British interests at Cawnpore. In -the latter half of December he prepared to start off, with one portion -of his force, towards Furruckabad; while Walpole was to proceed to -Etawah, and Hope Grant to Futtehpoor; leaving Seaton to operate near -Minpooree, Franks near Benares, and other brigadiers and colonels in -various directions as rapidly as small columns could be brought -together. The object appeared to be, to attack and disperse the enemy in -various parts of the Northwest Provinces, and either permit or compel -them to retreat into Oude—where a great effort, made early in the -ensuing year, might possibly crush the rebellion altogether. So much of -these operations as took place in December may briefly be noticed here, -before proceeding to the affairs of Central India. - -The whole region around Benares, Mirzapore, Allahabad, Goruckpore, and -Jounpoor was thrown into occasional uneasiness—not so much by rebellious -manifestations at those places, as by temptations thrown out by the -Oudians. Mahomed Hussein was still powerful as a leader near the Oudian -frontier; and he left no means untried to rally numerous insurgents -around his standard. As the British could spare very few troops for -service in this quarter, Mahomed Hussein remained throughout the most of -the year master in and near Goruckpore. Even if the British were enabled -to defeat him occasionally, they had no cavalry wherewith to organise a -pursuit, and he speedily returned to his old quarters. Thus, towards the -close of December, Colonel Rowcroft, with a mixed body of English -sailors, Sikh police, and Goorkha irregulars, defeated this chieftain -near Mujhowlee; but, unable to pursue him without cavalry, the victory -was of little effect. Jung Bahadoor, as we have seen in a former -chapter, sent a strong body of Goorkhas several weeks earlier to aid in -the pacification of this part of India; and the gallant little Nepaulese -warriors enabled the few English officers to effect that which would -have been impracticable without such assistance. Jung Bahadoor himself, -in conformity with an engagement made with Viscount Canning, prepared to -join in the scene in person. He descended with 9000 picked men from his -mountains in December, to attack the Oudian rebels near Goruckpore and -Azimghur, and drive them back to their own country. It was just at the -close of the year that he began to encounter the enemy, and to obtain -successes which left Franks, Rowcroft, Longden, and other officers, free -to engage in such operations as Sir Colin Campbell might plan for them -at the opening of the new year. - -Allahabad and Mirzapore, though often threatened, remained safely in -British hands. In the Rewah district, southwest of those cities, the -rajah still continued faithful, and Captain Osborne still carried on -those energetic operations by which he had so long and so wonderfully -maintained his post in a territory where he was almost the sole -Englishman, and where many of the rajah’s troops were burning with -impatience to join the insurgents elsewhere. Osborne was incessantly on -the watch, and almost incessantly in motion, to keep open the important -line of route between Mirzapore through Rewah to Jubbulpoor—part of the -available postal route between Calcutta and Bombay. There was a nest of -rebels at Myhere that gave him much trouble; but, aided by the faithful -portion of the rajah’s troops, he defeated them at Kunchynpore and -Zorah; and finally, on the 28th of December, stormed and captured Myhere -itself. - -In Oude, as the last chapter sufficiently shewed, British power was -represented simply and solely by Sir James Outram and his companions in -the Alum Bagh and at the Bridge of Bunnee. Lucknow was quite in the -hands of the enemy, as were all the provincial districts of Oude. Sir -James maintained his post steadily; not strong enough to make conquests, -but holding the key to a position that might become all-important as -soon as the commander-in-chief should resume operations in that quarter. -So well did he keep watch and guard, that the movements of any insurgent -troops in his vicinity became speedily known to him. On the 22d of -December, the rebels made a clever attempt to obtain possession of the -road to Cawnpore. They posted 1200 men inside a jungle, with a sandy -plain in front and a road close at hand. Sir James, detecting the -intended plan, silently moved out two regiments in the dead of the -night. The soft sand deadened all sound; and dawn found them within the -enemy’s pickets. A rattling volley and a cheer startled the enemy, who, -after one discharge of their muskets, fled, leaving a hundred of their -number dead on the field, besides four guns and several -ammunition-wagons. One good result of this victory was, to induce some -of the villagers to bring supplies for sale to the camp. - -In Rohilcund, nothing could at present be effected to wrest the province -from the enemy, until the Doab had been cleared from the host of rebels -and marauders who infested it. - -The proceedings of certain columns in the Doab, both before and after -Sir Colin’s victory at Cawnpore, must here be noticed. - -Colonel Seaton, during the month of November, was placed in command of a -column—consisting of one wing of the 1st Bengal Europeans, the 7th -Punjaub infantry, a squadron of Carabiniers, Hodson’s Horse, a troop of -horse-artillery, and two companies of Sappers and Miners. Seaton started -from Delhi, and worked his way southeastward, between the Jumna and the -Ganges, clearing off small portions of the enemy as he went. After -picking up at Allygurh a small force from the Agra garrison under Major -Eld, he started again on the 13th of December, towards Etawah and -Minpooree. The self-styled Rajah of Minpooree, who had fled at the -approach of Greathed’s column in October, afterwards returned to his old -haunts, and expelled the officials established there by Greathed. His -palace had been blown up, and his treasury and jewel-house looted; yet -he possessed influence enough to collect a band of retainers in his -service. To punish this rebel was one of the duties intrusted to Colonel -Seaton. On the 14th, he fell in with a body of the insurgents, 4000 -strong, at Gunjeree, on a small stream called the Neem Nuddee. His -column suddenly surprised them, disordered them by a brilliant charge of -Carabiniers, and drove them in confusion along the Futteghur -road—capturing several guns on the way. Hodson’s Horse cut down many of -them during a brief pursuit. On the 15th, the column marched to -Khasgunj, and on the 16th to Sahawur—in each case only to learn that the -enemy had just fled. Seaton, determined not to give them up readily, -marched on to Putialah, several miles further on the Furruckabad road, -where he came up with them on the morning of the 17th. They were drawn -up in a good position, with their centre and left posted behind ravines, -and their right abutting on a tope of trees in front of the village. -After having caused this position to be well reconnoitred by Captain -Hodson and Lieutenant Greathed, Colonel Seaton began the contest with a -sharp fire of light artillery, to which the enemy promptly responded. He -then ordered the cavalry round to the right, to avoid the ravines, and -to attack the enemy in flank. While this was being done, the infantry, -deploying into line, advanced boldly on the enemy’s right, charged with -the bayonet, and speedily drove them out of the tope and village. The -rout was complete, the cavalry having got round beyond the ravines, and -reached a point whence they could pursue the fleeing enemy. Thirteen -guns, camp-equipage, baggage, ammunition, and stores fell into the hands -of the conquerors; while no less than 600 of the enemy were computed to -have fallen in the field or during the pursuit. Leaving Furruckabad and -its chieftain to be dealt with by Sir Colin Campbell, Colonel Seaton -moved on towards Minpooree. He found the enemy awaiting him, posted a -mile west of the city, with their front screened by large trees, under -cover of which their guns opened upon the column as it came up. Seaton, -by a flank-movement, disconcerted them, and they commenced a retreat, -which resulted in the loss of six guns and a large number of men. The -colonel at once took possession of Minpooree. - -Brigadier Showers, another officer to whom the management of a column -was intrusted, started, like Seaton, from Delhi, and, like him, sought -to regain towns and districts which had long been a prey to misrule. -This column began its operations in October, and during the following -month returned to Delhi, after having retaken Nunoond, Dadree, and other -places southwest of the city, together with many lacs of rupees which -the rebels had looted from the several treasuries of the Company. -Between Delhi and the Sutlej, General Van Cortlandt maintained -tranquillity by the aid of a small force. Colonel Gerrard was the -commander of another small column; consisting of one European regiment -and a miscellaneous body of native troops. With this he marched to -Rewaree, and thence to the town of Narnoul in Jhujjur, where a rebel -chief, Sunnand Khan, had taken post with a number of armed retainers. -Gerrard defeated them, and captured their stronghold, but his own -gallant life was forfeited. Another small force, divided into -detachments according to the services required, took charge of the -triangular space of country included between Agra, Muttra, and Allygurh. -Colonel Riddell and Major Eld moved about actively within this space—now -watching the movements of rebellious chieftains, now cutting off the -advance of mutineers from Rohilcund. - -Colonel Walpole of the Rifle Brigade, in the higher capacity of -brigadier, was intrusted by Sir Colin Campbell with the command of a -column, consisting of H.M. 88th foot, two battalions of the Rifle -Brigade, three squadrons of the 9th Lancers, the 1st Punjaub cavalry, -Bourchier’s battery, and Blunt’s troop of horse-artillery. His duty was -to sweep along the western half of the Doab, near the Jumna, and clear -it of rebels. He started from Cawnpore on the 18th of December, and on -the following day reached Akburpore, half-way to Calpee. Here he -remained a few days, settling the surrounding country, which had long -been disturbed by the Gwalior mutineers. From thence he proceeded -towards Etawah, to clear the country in the direction of Agra and -Dholpore. - -It will thus be seen that, while Sir Colin was engaged in the larger -operations at Lucknow and Cawnpore, and soon after the completion of -those operations, small columns of troops were marching and fighting in -various parts of the Northwest Provinces, clearing away bands of -insurgents. The mutinied sepoy regiments still kept together in large -bodies, mostly in Oude or on its borders; the insurgents here adverted -to were rather marauders and plunderers, who were influenced very little -either by creed or by nationality in taking up arms; they were retainers -of ambitious petty chieftains, or they were reckless men, who hoped in -the scramble to enrich themselves with plunder. - -The commander-in-chief himself took the field just before the close of -the year. Having made arrangements for the security of Cawnpore after -the great victory over the Gwalior mutineers, and having marked out -separate paths of duty to be followed by Seaton, Walpole, Hope Grant, -Franks, Rowcroft, and other officers, he directed his attention towards -Furruckabad, which had long been in hostile hands. This city, near the -point of junction of Oude, Rohilcund, and the Doab, it was important to -place again under British control. Colonel Seaton was ordered to direct -his march towards that point, after other operations in the Doab; and -Sir Colin now arranged to co-operate with him. Leaving Cawnpore in the -last week of December, he marched up the great trunk-road, by way of -Meerun-ke-Serai. It was not, however, until the year 1858 had arrived, -that Campbell, Walpole, and Seaton, meeting from various points, -effected a thorough capture of Furruckabad, and of the long deserted -cantonment at Futteghur. Here, however, as in many other quarters, the -commander-in-chief had to bear the vexation of losing his prey; the -enemy, wonderfully alert in their movements, escaped from those places -just before he reached them; he captured both the towns, but the enemy -were still at large to fight elsewhere. - -Let us on to Delhi. - -Ever since the conquest in September, the imperial city had gradually -assumed a state somewhat more orderly than was possible immediately -after the siege. Many weeks after the conquest, when the _Delhi Gazette_ -had again got into working-order, it contained a graphic account of the -city in its condition at that time. On the road from Kurnaul to Delhi -was an almost continuous line of dead carcasses of camels, horses, and -bullocks, with their skins dried into parchment over the mouldering -bones. Here and there were remains of intrenchments, where battles had -been fought on the road. From Badulla Serai to the Lahore Gate of the -city every tree was either levelled with the ground, or the branches -lopped off with round-shot. The garden-houses of the wealthy citizens -were in almost every instance masses of ruins, with the bleaching -remains of men and beasts around them. Here and there might be seen a -perfectly white skeleton of a human being; while on all sides lay -scattered fragments of red and blue clothing, cartouch-boxes, -round-shot, fragments of shell, and grape-shot. Near the Subzee Mundee -every tree was a mere bare trunk, with the branches and foliage gone, -and shot-marks visible all around. The gaily ornamented residences near -at hand were masses of blackened ruins, with sand-bags and loopholed -screens which told of many a scene of fiery warfare. With the exception -of the Moree Bastion and the Cashmere Gate, the northern wall of the -city did not exhibit much evidence of devastation. The Cashmere Gate -breach had been repaired. The mainguard was wholly destroyed. St James’s -Church was full of shot-holes, even up to the ball and cross. Most of -the houses in this part of the city were utter ruins, some blackened as -if by fire. The Bank, formerly the residence of the Begum Sumroo, had -nothing but the walls and fragments of verandah remaining; and in a like -state was the house of Sir T. Metcalfe. In the narrow street leading -from Skinner’s house to the Chandnee Chowk, every house bore visible -proof of the showers of musket-balls that must have fallen; and every -door was completely riddled. The roads were still cut up with shot and -shell furrows. In many of the streets might be seen the _débris_ of -archways, which had been built up by the city people, but broken into by -our troops. Shop-doors and huge gates lay about in all directions, many -of which were well backed up by heavy stone-work, logs of wood, &c.; and -remains of sand-bag defences were numerous. In short, the city shewed -that it had been obstinately defended, and that its conquest must have -been terrible work for besiegers as well as besieged. - -The aged king and his family still continued to be the subjects of -newspaper gossip, mostly in a strain of fierce invective against the -authorities for shewing lenity. It was stated in a former chapter,[130] -that Mrs Hodson, wife to the gallant officer who had captured the king, -made public the result of a visit to the royal captives, as shewing that -no undue luxury marked their prison-life. But still the charges and -insinuations continued. Newspaper paragraphs circulated the news that -Jumma Bukht, son or grandson of the king, was allowed to ride about the -streets of Delhi on an elephant, with an English colonel behind him; and -that indulgence was granted to men whose only desert was speedy hanging. -Captain (Major) Hodson himself made public a refutation of this charge, -shewing the absurd way in which a very trifling incident had been -magnified into a state proceeding. A military commission was appointed -to try such leaders of the mutiny as were captured in or near Delhi. By -sentence of this tribunal, twenty subordinate members of the royal -family were executed on the 18th of November. Shortly afterwards, -various chiefs of Goorgaon, Jhujjur, and Babulgurh were similarly put -upon their trial, and sentenced according to the strength of the -evidence brought against them. - -[Illustration: - - St James’s Church, Delhi. -] - -The subject of prize-money remained for many weeks, or even months, -involved in much controversy in Delhi. Notwithstanding the ruin and -devastation, the amount of property recovered was very large, including -forfeitures declared against those who were convicted of treason. This -wealth reverted to the state, as a slight set-off for the vast expenses -incurred. Some of the officers and soldiers, however, fondly hoped that -it would be regarded as booty for the troops; and were thrown rather -into discontent by an announcement that the reward of the conquerors of -Delhi was to consist of six months’ ‘batta’ or pay. It was just one of -those questions on which much might be said on both sides. By a -subsequent arrangement, much of the personal property lately belonging -to the rebels was set apart, and treated as prize-money to be shared by -the soldiers engaged in the capture. - -The leniency question, the prize-money question, and the paucity of -reward to the engineer officers engaged in the siege of Delhi, were -among many subjects made matter for controversy during the later weeks -of the year. But these we may pass over without further comment. Suffice -it to say that the reconquered city remained in British hands, and was -gradually brought under the control of the British authorities. As to -the aged king, preparations were made for subjecting him to a regular -trial, to be commenced shortly after the arrival of the new year. - -Of the Punjaub, little need be said. Happily for British interests in -India, the same powerful mind continued to wield the destinies of the -remote province. Sir John Lawrence, watchful over everything that -occurred, not only maintained the Punjaub in quiet, but sent frequent -reinforcements to other provinces. During the summer and autumn, the -number of Sikh and Punjaubee regiments which he raised was something -marvellous. Occasionally some of the wild tribes exhibited signs of -insubordination; but they were met with such a determined front, and -they received so little sympathy from the mass of the people, that their -turbulence fell harmless. John Lawrence saved the Punjaub, and the -Punjaub saved British India. - -In all the portion of the empire included within the Saugor territories, -Bundelcund, the Mahratta states, and Rajpootana, the months of November -and December differed from the previous months principally in this -circumstance—that the new mutinies were fewer, because the materials for -mutiny were becoming exhausted; but that the battles were more numerous, -because small armies were gradually being sent up from Madras and -Bombay. - -In October and November, many military operations in the Mahratta and -Saugor countries were placed in doubt, so far as concerned the -comprehension of them in England, by a difference of only one letter in -the names of two commanders. The movements of Brigadier Steuart were -often attributed to Brigadier Stuart, and _vice versâ_. Steuart -commanded a column in the Deccan, which marched to Hosungabad, and then -across the Nerbudda to Sehore. His duty was to protect Saugor on the -right, Indore on the left, and Bhopal in the centre. By these movements, -Saugor and Jubbulpoor were rendered tolerably safe. Holkar, at Indore, -was sadly troubled by the mutinous feeling among his own troops. In -order to maintain British influence in that important quarter, the -Bombay government organised a new column, which, strengthened by other -troops, would form a Malwah Field Force, to be placed under the command -of Sir Hugh Rose; while Sir Robert Hamilton was ordered to resume his -old appointment as British resident at Holkar’s court. - -Brigadier Stuart, portions of whose column were engaged in and near -Neemuch, Mundisore, Dhar, Mehidpore, Rampoora, and Kotah in October, -swept off many parties of rebels from the regions bordering on Malwah -and Rajpootana. Nevertheless the state of affairs remained very -unsettled. Many petty chieftains, incited by the numerical weakness of -the British, and by the unexpected stand made by rebels elsewhere, -appeared by tacit agreement to consider this the proper time to set up -as little kings on their own account, each relying on the services of -retainers who probably thought that something good might come to their -share in the scramble. - -At a somewhat later date, when Stuart was in command of the Malwah Field -Force, before its name was changed to the ‘First Brigade of the Nerbudda -Field Force,’ he had a contest with the Mundisore rebels. Being joined -by a portion of the Hyderabad Contingent under Major Orr, Stuart -approached within three or four miles of Mundisore on the 21st of -November. This town is a few miles south of Neemuch, on the road to -Indore. The brigadier encamped until a good reconnaissance could be -effected. The rebel enemy at Mundisore, hearing of his approach, had -posted pickets entirely covering the country over which he was -advancing; they also mustered in some force outside the walls, and -appeared inclined to attack. In the afternoon he found that the enemy -were advancing in form, threatening his centre and both flanks at the -same time. They advanced steadily, in great numbers and with banners -flying: and he went forth to meet them. The struggle was a brief one. -Major Orr easily repulsed the enemy’s attack on the left flank; Captain -Orr and Lieutenant Dew checked that on the right; a few rounds of -artillery preserved the centre; and the enemy, giving way at all points, -retreated into the town. Brigadier Stuart had now another matter to -consider. He heard that a rebel army of 5000 men, employed in besieging -Neemuch, intended to raise the siege, and to join their companions at -Mundisore. This he resolved to prevent if possible by intercepting them. -Accordingly, early on the 22d, he marched to such a position as would -command the approaches to Mundisore; and later in the day his cavalry -were engaged with a party of rebel horse under Heera Singh—one of many -Rajpoot chieftains who took up arms at that disturbed period. Keeping a -sharp watch during the night, Stuart prepared on the morning of the 23d -to control the Neemuch and Mundisore road both from the north and the -south. The enemy appeared, and took up a strong position with their -right in and beyond the village of Goraria, their right centre covered -by a date nullah and lines of date-trees, their battery of six guns on -rising ground, with a large mud-hut protecting their gunners, and their -left stretched along the ridge running east from the village. The battle -that ensued was a very severe one. Stuart was obliged to recall a body -of infantry, who charged a village that seemed full of the enemy; the -rebels took possession of the houses, from which they kept up a very -galling fire. The British could doubtless have taken the village; but -the brigadier found his rear attacked by a second body of the enemy, -requiring a new distribution of his troops. The engagements of this day -resulted in a sort of drawn battle. On the 24th, the village was shelled -for three hours; and was then captured by H.M. 86th and a native -regiment, with considerable loss on both sides. During the ensuing night -the enemy evacuated Mundisore and the whole vicinity, dispersing in -flight throughout the country, after having lost at least fifteen -hundred men during the four days. The brigadier then moved his camp to -Mundisore, and made arrangements for dismantling the fort and destroying -the guns before leaving the neighbourhood. By this series of operations, -not only was Mundisore cleared of rebels, but Neemuch was relieved from -a force which pressed very threateningly upon it. - -The siege of Neemuch must now be noticed. The small English garrison at -this station had for months been threatened by the Mundisore rebels; but -it was not until the 8th of November that a formidable attack was -actually made. A force of 5000 infantry, with three guns, advanced to -within two miles of the town; and as it was impossible to meet such -numbers in the open field, Captain Simpson prepared for the best defence -he could make within the fort. Intrenchments had been formed some time -before; but unfortunately they were too extensive to be effectively -defended by the few hands in the garrison; and they thus speedily became -occupied by the enemy. On the 9th, the enemy marched in full force into -the bazaar and cantonment, plundering wherever they went. They then -placed their guns at convenient distances, and began playing steadily -against the fort. This cannonading was continued for several days. The -rebels managed to build batteries for their guns in such positions that, -from the foliage and other obstacles, they were unobservable from the -walls of the fort. After about a fortnight of this battering, the rebels -resolved to attempt an escalade. They brought forward huge ladders on -wheels, affording room for four men abreast, and placed them against the -walls of the fort; but here they were met by such steady and continuous -volleys of musketry that not a man could enter. A Beloochee Mohammedan, -belonging to the 12th Bombay native infantry, doing duty in Neemuch, -performed an act of gallantry that won for him much and well-deserved -applause. One of the besiegers, in retreating from the withering -musketry-fire from the fort, dropped a splendid Mussulman green flag on -the ground. The Beloochee at once offered to capture this flag. Under -cover of a tremendous fire of musketry, he and a havildar were lowered -by a rope from one of the enclosures; quick as lightning the flag was -secured, and in a few minutes waved on the walls of Neemuch. The -movements of Brigadier Stuart, recorded in the last paragraph, now -disturbed the rebels; they departed, and Neemuch was for a time spared -further molestation. - -This narrative may pass over without particular mention the other -regions of the vast empire of India. Disturbances there were in November -and December, but not of such grave importance as to call for record. At -Saugor and at Jubbulpore, the Europeans cried loudly for more troops, -but they were still able to defend themselves against actual attacks. At -Gwalior and at Bhopal, at Indore and at Mhow, although the vexations -were many, the continued fidelity of Scindia and Holkar lessened the -calamities that might otherwise have befallen the British. In Rajpootana -and Gujerat, petty chieftains would from time to time unfurl the flag of -rebellion, and collect a band of fighting retainers around them; but -these territories were within practicable reach of Bombay, whence -columns marched for the pacification of the upper country. Some portions -of the Nizam’s territory were occasionally troubled by insubordinate -troops belonging to the contingent; as the Nizam and his prime-minister, -however, remained firm in their alliance with the British, and as the -distance was very great to the turbulent regions of the Jumna, serious -danger was averted. In the South Mahratta country, around Kolapore, -Sholapore, Satara, and Poonah, indications once now and then appeared -that fanatic Mohammedans were ready to unfurl the green flag against the -infidel Feringhees; but the near vicinity of the presidential city of -Bombay, and the quiet demeanour of the natives further south, prevented -the intended conspiracies from becoming serious in magnitude. In the -Madras presidency, tranquillity was almost wholly undisturbed. - -Thus ended the extraordinary year 1857—the most momentous that the -English had ever experienced in India. - - - Notes. - - _Proposed Re-organisation of the Indian Army._—In closing the - narrative for the year 1857, it may be useful to advert to two - important subjects which occupied the attention of the East India - Company—the state of the army, and the causes of the mutiny. Instead - of rushing to conclusions on imperfect data, the Court of Directors - instructed the governor-general to appoint two commissions of - inquiry, empowered to collect information on those two subjects. The - letters of instruction were both dated the 25th of November; the - first ran as follows: - - ‘1. We trust that when success, by the blessing of Divine - Providence, shall have attended your efforts to put down the - mutiny of the native army of your presidency, and to re-establish - the authority of the government in the disturbed districts, you - will be enabled to take advantage of the services of select - officers of ability and experience, to assist you, by - investigation and by practical counsel founded thereon, in forming - wise conclusions on the most important subject which must soon - press for decision—namely, the proper organisation of our army in - India. - - ‘2. To this end we authorise you to appoint, as soon as - circumstances will permit, a commission, composed of military - officers of the armies of the three presidencies (with whom should - be associated officers of the Queen’s army who have had experience - of Indian service), on whose knowledge, experience, and judgment you - can rely; together with one or more civil servants, whom you may - consider to be specially qualified for such a duty by their - knowledge of the native character and general administrative - experience. - - ‘3. In framing instructions for the guidance of this commission, we - are desirous that the following heads of inquiry should be - specified, in addition to any others which you may consider to - deserve their attention: - - ‘1st, Should corps be raised each in a prescribed district, and be - recruited there, and there only? - - ‘2d, Should corps be composed of troops or companies, each of which - shall consist of separate tribes or castes; or should the tribes or - castes be mixed up together in the whole regiment? - - ‘3d, Should a company or companies of Europeans form a component - part of a native regiment? - - ‘4th, What alterations should be made in your recruiting regulations - relating to tribes and castes, with a view to determine the future - composition of the native army? - - ‘5th, Will it be expedient to enlist natives of other tropical - countries, equally qualified for service in India, with the natives - of the country; and if so, should they be formed in separate - regiments, or in companies, or otherwise? - - ‘6th, Whether, in native infantry regiments, the discontinuance of - the grades of native commissioned officers, and the substitution of - a European sergeant and corporal to each company, is advisable; and - if so, whether, in lieu of the prospect of distinction and emolument - arising out of these grades, it would be advisable to establish - graduated scales of good-service pay and retiring pensions, - claimable after specified periods of service? - - ‘7th, Whether the system of promotion generally, by seniority, to - the grades of native commissioned officers (if these are retained), - should not be altered and assimilated to the systems in force at - Madras and Bombay? - - ‘8th, If separate corps are to be maintained for military and police - purposes, what will be the best organisation for each branch - respectively? - - ‘9th, Have the powers of commanding officers of native corps, and - the powers of officers in charge of companies, been diminished? What - consequences have been the result? Is it desirable that those powers - should be increased, or what other measures should be adopted for - the improvement of discipline? - - ‘10th, Should cadets be trained and drilled in European regiments - before they are posted to native regiments; or what would be the - best mode of drilling and training cadets before they are posted to - native regiments? - - ‘11th, Should the special rules regulating punishment in the native - army be retained; or should they be assimilated to the rules which - obtain in the British army; or ought there to be any, and what, - changes in those rules, or in the system of punishment? - - ‘12th, How can the demands for European officers for staff and - detached employments be best provided for, without injuring the - efficiency of regiments? - - ‘4. It is to be understood that the inquiries to be made by the - commission, and the opinions to be offered by them, are to have - reference to the several branches of the native army—infantry, - regular and irregular; cavalry, regular and irregular; artillery, - and Sappers and Miners; and, with respect to the artillery, and - Sappers and Miners, whether they should be composed, as heretofore, - of Europeans and natives, or be entirely European? - - ‘5. To aid your government in forming an opinion as to the - proportion which the European should bear to the native portion of - the army in India generally, and at each presidency separately, we - would recommend that your government should call upon the commission - to give their opinions on this very important question; and we can - entertain no doubt that the enlarged knowledge and experience of the - members of the Commission will enable them to furnish you with - valuable information on this head. - - ‘6. Having obtained opinions on all these heads of inquiry, and on - such other heads as you may deem to be essential to the thorough - development of the important questions at issue, you will refer - the views of the commission for the consideration of the - commander-in-chief, and will then furnish us with the results of - your careful deliberation upon the whole of the measures which - should, in your judgment, be taken for the organisation and - maintenance, in the utmost practicable state of efficiency, of - whatever military force you may think it desirable to form. - - ‘7. The commission itself may be instructed to make to the - governor-general in council any suggestions or recommendations which - occur to them, although not on matters comprised in the specified - heads of inquiry.’ - - _Proposed Inquiry into the Causes of the Mutiny._—The second letter - adverted to above was in the following terms: - - ‘1. Although we are well aware that, from the period when the mutiny - of the Bengal army assumed a formidable aspect, your time must - necessarily have been too much engrossed by the pressing exigencies - of the public-service during each passing day, and in taking - provident measures for the future, to admit of your directing much - of your attention to past events, we have no doubt that you have not - omitted to take advantage of all the means and opportunities at your - command for the important purpose of investigating the causes of the - extraordinary disaffection in the ranks of that army, which has, - unhappily, given rise to so much bloodshed and misery. - - ‘2. In this persuasion, and as a review of the voluminous records - containing the details of the events which have occurred since the - first display of disaffection at Barrackpore, has entirely failed to - satisfy our minds in regard to the immediate causes of the mutiny, - we desire that you will lose no time in reporting to us your - opinions on the subject, embracing the following heads, together - with any others which you may deem it necessary to add, in order to - the full elucidation of the subject: - - ‘1st, The state of feeling of the sepoy towards the government for - some time preceding the outbreak. - - ‘2d, Any causes which of late years may be thought likely to have - affected their loyalty and devotion to the service. - - ‘3d, Whether their loyalty had been affected by the instigations of - emissaries of foreign powers, or native states, or by any general - measures of our administration affecting themselves or any other - classes of our subjects? - - ‘4th, Whether the proposed use of the new cartridges was to any, and - what, extent the cause of the outbreak? - - ‘5th, Whether the objects which the mutineers are supposed to have - had in view were directed to the subversion of the British power in - India, or to the attainment of pecuniary or other advantages? - - ‘6th, Whether the progress of the mutiny can be traced to general - combination or concert, or was the result of separate impulses at - the several stations of regiments; and, if the former, how the - combination was carried on without any knowledge or suspicion of it - on the part of the regimental officers? - - ‘3. If, however, you should not feel yourselves to be in possession - of information sufficient to form a well-grounded opinion upon the - causes and objects of the mutiny, we authorise you to appoint a - special mixed commission for a preliminary investigation into the - same, to be composed of officers selected from all branches of the - services of India, in whose personal experience and soundness of - judgment you have entire confidence. In that case, you will lose no - time in reporting to us your sentiments upon the conclusions arrived - at by the commission.’ - -[Illustration] - ------ - -Footnote 124: - - Chap. xvii., pp. 277-294; chap. xx., pp. 338-358. - -Footnote 125: - - See p. 103. - -Footnote 126: - - Chap. xxi., p. 369. - -Footnote 127: - - ‘We marched off under the guidance of a native, who said he would take - us to the spot where the gun lay. We told him he should be well - rewarded if he brought us to the gun, but if he brought us into a - trap, we had a soldier by him “at full cock” ready to blow his brains - out. We passed our outside pickets, and entered the town through very - narrow streets without a single nigger being seen, or a shot fired on - either side. We crept along; not a soul spoke a word, all was still as - death; and after marching in this way into the very heart of the town, - our guide brought us to the very spot into which the gun was capsized. - The soldiers were posted on each side, and then we went to work. Not a - man spoke above his breath, and each stone was laid down quietly. When - we thought we had cleared enough, I ordered the men to put their - shoulders to the wheel and gun, and when all was ready, and every man - had his pound before him, I said “Heave!” and up she righted. We then - limbered up, called the soldiers to follow, and we marched into the - intrenchments with our gun without a shot being fired. When we got in, - the colonel returned us his best thanks, and gave us all an extra - ration of grog; we then returned to our guns in the battery.’ - -Footnote 128: - - The regiments or portions of regiments—made up into four brigades of - infantry, one of cavalry, one of artillery, and one of engineers—were - the following: H.M. 8th, 23d, 32d, 38th, 42d, 53d, 64th, 82d, and 93d - foot; Rifle Brigade; 2d and 4th Punjaub infantry; H.M. 9th Lancers; - 1st, 2d, and 5th Punjaub cavalry; Hodson’s Horse; horse-artillery; - light field-battery; heavy field-battery; Naval brigade; Queen’s and - Company’s Engineers; Sappers and Miners. - -Footnote 129: - - 42d Highlanders, 403 - 53d foot, 413 - 93d Highlanders, 806 - 4th Punjaub rifles, 332 - 9th Lancers, 327 - 5th Punjaub cavalry, 85 - Hodson’s Horse, 109 - Horse-artillery, 83 - Foot-artillery, 139 - Sappers, 100 - -Footnote 130: - - P. 356 - -[Illustration: - - COLONEL E. H. GREATHED. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - A SECOND YEAR OF REBELLION. - - -When, at the opening of 1858, the stirring events of the preceding year -came to be passed in review, most men admitted that the progress of the -Indian Revolt had outrun their expectations and falsified their hopes. -Some had believed that the fall of Delhi would occur after a few days of -besieging, bringing with it a pacification of the whole country. Some, -allowing that this capture might very probably be retarded several -weeks, did not the less look to a general pacification as a natural -result. Others, relying on the heroic Havelock and the energetic Neill, -prepared to date the termination of the rebellion from the expected -capture of Lucknow. Others, recognising Sir Colin Campbell as ‘the right -man in the right place,’ strengthened themselves in the belief that he -would march at once from Calcutta to Cawnpore, and put down all the -rebels before the summer was well over. Some believed that the sepoys, -lamenting the ill success of their treachery to the British government, -would return to their allegiance without inoculating other portions of -the Indian community with the virus of lawlessness. Others had fondly -hoped that, under the pressure of public opinion in England, such large -numbers of fine troops would have been sent over in the summer and -autumn, as would suffice to quell the mutiny even though the sepoys -remained obstinate. - -All these hopes were dashed. The gloomy prophets, on this occasion, were -in the ascendant. The mutiny had spread to almost every native regiment -in the Bengal army. It had been accompanied by an unexpected display of -military organisation among the revolted sepoys. It had incited many -ambitious chieftains to try their chance for an increase of power. It -had been encouraged and extended by the long delay in the conquest of -Delhi. It had further received a certain glow of triumph from the -extraordinary events at Lucknow, which left the rebels perfect masters -of the city at the end of the year. It had been permitted to grow to -unwonted magnitude by the extreme slowness with which British troops -arrived at Indian ports. Lastly, it had become surrounded by very -un-English attributes, in the savage feeling of vengeance engendered in -the minds of English officers and soldiers by the sepoy atrocities. - -It is true that Englishmen had much to be proud of, in the achievements -of their countrymen during the past year. They could point to the -sagacity of Sir Henry Lawrence, in quietly fortifying and provisioning -the Residency at Lucknow at a time when less acute observers saw no -storm in the distance. They could admire, and wonder while they admired, -the heroism with which Sir Hugh Wheeler and his companions had so long -maintained a wretchedly weak position against a large army of mutineers -headed by an arch-traitor. They could follow with delight the footsteps -of Sir Henry Havelock, winning victory after victory over forces five or -ten times as strong as his own. They could shew how, in a hot climate, -Neill had advanced from the east and Nicholson from the west, fighting -energetically against all obstacles, and dying like true soldiers at the -head of their columns. They could ask the world whether a garrison was -ever more nobly defended, under circumstances of trying difficulty, than -the Residency under Inglis; and whether a garrison was ever brought away -from the middle of a hostile city under more extraordinary conditions, -and with more complete success, than was achieved in the ‘Exodus from -Lucknow’ under Campbell, Outram, and Havelock. They could point to Sir -John Lawrence for an example of what a civilian could do, maintaining a -large and recently conquered country at peace by the energy of his own -individual character, raising regiment after regiment of trustworthy -native troops, and sending an army to reconquer Delhi before a single -additional soldier could arrive from England. They could point to the -exertions of numerous individuals, any one of whom would have been a -hero if his heroism had not been eclipsed by that of men better known to -fame. - -These recollections afforded some consolation under the disappointment -occasioned by the long continuance of the war waged by the mutineers. -Yet were they far from being an adequate reward for the blood and -treasure expended; the prevailing natural feeling was one of -disappointment. Nor were theorists less at fault in their estimate of -causes, than practical men in their expectation of results. Still was -the question put, ‘What was the cause of the mutiny?’ And still were the -answers as diverse as ever. From May to December the theories multiplied -faster than the means of solving them. On the religious side, men banded -themselves chiefly into two parties. One said that the native troops in -India had revolted because we, as a nation, had tampered with their -religion. We had nearly put down infanticide and suttee; we paid less -respect than formerly to their idols and holy places; we had allowed -pious officers to preach to the sepoys in their regiments, and -missionaries to inveigh against brahmins and temples; and we so clumsily -managed a new contrivance in the fabrication and use of cartridges, as -to induce a suspicion in the native mind that a personal insult to their -religious prejudices was intended. On the other hand, religious -Christians contended that the revolt was a mark of God’s anger against -the English nation. They urged that a people possessing the Bible ought -long ago, by government as well as by individual efforts, to have -distributed it throughout the length and breadth of India; that we ought -to have encouraged churches and chapels, ministers and missionaries, -Bible-classes and Scripture-readers; that we ought to have disregarded -caste prejudices, and boldly proclaimed that Hindooism and Moslemism -were worse than mockeries, and that no expectations of happiness in this -life or the next were sound but such as rested on Biblical grounds—in -short, that England had had a magnificent opportunity, and a deep -obligation, to teach with all her power the way of salvation to two -hundred million benighted beings; and that, failing this, the Revolt had -been a consequent and deserved calamity. Another class of reasoners -attributed the outbreak to the want of sympathy between the Europeans -and the natives in the general relations of life. A young man was sent -out to India by the Company, either as a writer in the civil service or -as a cadet in the army; he learned the immediate duties of his office, -studied just so much of the vernacular languages and customs as were -absolutely needed, rose in the middle years of his life to higher -offices and emoluments, and returned to end his days in England. He held -the natives in contempt; he neither knew nor cared what passed in their -inmost hearts; he treated India as a conquered country, held especially -for the benefit of the Company’s servants. Hence, according to the view -now under notice, the natives, having nothing for which to love and -respect the British, were glad to avail themselves of any pretext to -expel the foreign element from their land. Military men, acquainted with -the Bombay and Madras armies, insisted that the mutiny had arisen from -the organisation of that of Bengal; in which the Brahmin sepoys and -Rajpoot sowars had been so pampered and petted, that they began to deem -themselves masters instead of subjects, and to aim at a sort of military -despotism on their own account. Other speculators, pointing to the fact -that Mohammedans have in all ages been intensely fanatical, regarded the -mutiny as only one among many indications of an attempt to revive the -past glories of the Moguls, when the followers of Mahomet were the -rulers in India. Others again, keeping clear of the larger questions of -creed and race, attributed the troubles to the policy of annexation, -which had been pursued to so extraordinary a degree in recent years. -These reasoners urged that, whatever may have been the faults and -follies of the King of Oude, five million natives unquestionably looked -up to him as their sovereign, and felt their prejudices shocked and -their alarm excited, when, in 1856, he was rudely hurled from his -throne, and made a pensioner dependent on a company of merchants. -Another class of theorists, impressed with a horror of taxation, pitied -the poor Hindoos who had to pay so much to the Company for permission to -live on the soil, so much for the salt monopoly, so much for other dues; -and sought to find a reason for the mutiny in the desire to throw off -these imposts. Commercial men, estimating nations and countries by a -standard familiar to themselves, had long complained that the Company -did not encourage independent commerce in India; and now they said: ‘If -you had acted with English good sense, the revolt would never have -occurred. Afford facilities for the construction of railways, canals, -and docks; build ships and steamers; develop your mineral wealth in coal -and iron; sell or let plots of land to men who will bring English -experience and English machinery to bear on its cultivation; grow tea -and coffee, sugar and cocoa, timber and fruits, cotton and flax, corn -and pulse, on the soils favourable to the respective produce—do all -this, or afford facilities for others to do it, and the natives of India -will then have something more profitable to think of than mutiny and -bloodshed.’ - -We point to these various theories for the purpose of remarking, that -the controversies relating to them were as warmly conducted at the end -of the year as when the news of the cartridge troubles first reached -England. The higher the position, the more extensive the experience, of -public men, the more chary were they in committing themselves to any -special modes of explanation; it was by those who knew little, that the -boldest assertions were hazarded. An opinion was gradually growing up -among cautious reasoners, that the revolt must have been the composite -resultant of many co-ordinate or coexistent causes, each of which -contributed towards it in a particular way; but such reasoners would -necessarily perceive that a true solution could only be arrived at when -all the separate items were known, and properly estimated. Hence the -authorities, both in England and in India, recommended and followed a -plan that may thus be enunciated—first suppress the mutiny; then collect -gradually evidence of its various predisposing causes; and, finally, -make use of that evidence in remodelling the institutions of British -India on a firmer basis. The NOTES at the end of the last chapter shewed -that the Company took the common-sense view, of inquiring into the -probable causes of the mutiny before planning the reorganisation of -Indian affairs. The candid acknowledgment by the Directors, that the -voluminous documents hitherto produced had ‘entirely failed to satisfy -their minds in regard to the immediate causes of the mutiny,’ was full -of significance, and, it may be added, of caution to others. - -So far as concerns the present Chronicle, the treatment will necessarily -be affected by the character of the struggle. At the beginning of 1858, -scarcely any symptoms of further mutiny were presented. The Bengal army -was gone, scattered in anarchy; the armies of Bombay, Madras, and the -Punjaub, were almost wholly sound; and the daily events consisted mainly -of military operations against the revolted sepoy regiments of the -Bengal army, and against such chieftains as had brought their retainers -into the field for selfish purposes. Hence the narrative may march on -more rapidly than before. - -All the interest of the military operations in India, at the opening of -the new year, grouped itself around the commander-in-chief. Slow as had -been the arrival of British troops in India, during the months when -Wheeler, Havelock, Neill, Outram, Inglis, Barnard, Wilson, and Nicholson -were struggling against difficulties, the disembarkations were very -numerous in November and December. When the old year gave place to the -new, it was estimated that 23,000 British troops had landed at Calcutta -since the troubles began, besides others put on shore at Bombay, Madras, -and Kurachee.[131] They had advanced into the upper provinces, by those -routes and modes which have so often been adverted to, and were placed -under the brigadiers whom Sir Colin Campbell had appointed to conduct -the various operations planned by him. We have first, therefore, to -notice such of the proceedings of the commander-in-chief as took place -during the month of January; turning attention afterwards to military -proceedings in other quarters. - -Sir Colin Campbell, as the last chapter shewed, rescued Cawnpore and -General Windham from trouble at the close of November and the beginning -of the following month. He did not move from the vicinity of that city -till towards the end of December. Writing to Viscount Canning on this -subject, on the 6th of January, he said: ‘I am informed by the civil -authorities that my protracted stay at Cawnpore was of much benefit; and -I am convinced that, apart from any immediate military object, it is -necessary, for the re-establishment of authority, that the march of the -troops should be deliberate. Time is thus afforded to the magistrates -and special commissioners to visit rebellious towns and villages, and -again display to the people in unmistakable manner the resolution of -your lordship’s government to visit punishment on all those who during -the last few months have set aside their allegiance.’ He at the same -time glanced rapidly at the chief military operations which had marked -the month of December in the Gangetic and Jumna regions—such as Outram’s -defence at the Alum Bagh; Adrian Hope’s clean sweep of Nena Sahib’s -property at Bithoor;[132] Walpole’s expedition to Etawah and Minpooree; -Seaton’s energetic movements with a column from Delhi; and Windham’s -expedition to Futtiah. - -When the vehicles had returned to Cawnpore, after conveying the Lucknow -fugitives to Allahabad, the commander-in-chief prepared to move his -head-quarters to Furruckabad and Fort Futteghur, near which places many -insurgent chieftains required to be dealt with. He started on the 24th -of December and marched to Chowrepore. After remaining there some time -to organise his force into brigades, &c., he renewed his march on the -28th, and reached Meerun-ke-Serai. At the several halting-places of -himself and his brigadiers, he made arrangements for destroying the -country-boats on the Ganges, in order to prevent molestation of the Doab -from the Oude side of the river when the troops should have moved on. On -the 31st he arrived at Goorsaigunje; Greathed, Windham, and Hope Grant -all being with him. On the first day of the new year, Sir Colin sent -forth two regiments under Adrian Hope to secure the iron -suspension-bridge over the Kallee Nuddee, a very important point on the -road from Cawnpore to Futteghur. A party of sailors were quite delighted -to assist in this work, replacing with ropes some of the ironwork which -the rebels had begun to destroy. On the 2d the enemy, hovering in -villages near the bridge, attacked Sir Colin’s pickets and advanced -columns; but they were speedily defeated and driven across the Ganges -into Rohilcund.[133] Proof was here afforded that the insurgents had not -forgotten the advantages of organisation. ‘The rebels,’ said the -commander-in-chief in his dispatch, ‘who were dispersed on this -occasion, consisted of three or four battalions of the 41st and other -corps of native infantry. In the 41st, the rebels had begun with much -system to organise a second battalion, their recruits being dressed in a -neat uniform.’ On the 3d, Sir Colin reached Futteghur, the old British -station near the city of Furruckabad. Fortunately, the enemy, who had -held Futteghur for at least six months, now retreated so precipitately -that they had not time to destroy the government property within the -place. Sir Colin found a large amount of stores of the most valuable -description, belonging to the gun and clothing agencies. Having secured -these important items of military property, he sent a large stock of -grain to Cawnpore, to lighten the labours of the commissariat for the -supply of Sir James Outram at the Alum Bagh. The Nawab of Furruckabad -had long been among the most ferocious leaders of the insurgents; and -the commander-in-chief now proceeded to such measures as would punish -him severely for his treachery. ‘The destruction of the Nawab’s palaces -is in process. I think it right that not a stone should be left unturned -in all the residences of the rebellious chiefs. They are far more guilty -than their misguided followers.’ - -On the 6th of January, then, the commander-in-chief was on the banks of -the Ganges at Futteghur. With him were the brigades and columns of Hope -Grant, Adrian Hope, Walpole, Windham, Seaton, Greathed, and Little; -Inglis, with a movable column, was restoring order in a part of the Doab -between Cawnpore and Etawah; while Outram was still at the Alum Bagh. -Sir Colin scarcely moved from that spot during the remainder of the -month. He was waiting for more troops from Calcutta, and for vast stores -of warlike material from the upper provinces. It may here be remarked -that the enormous weight of stores and ammunition required for an army, -and the vast distances to be traversed in India, gave a stupendous -character to some of the convoys occasionally prepared. Thus, on the 22d -of January, about 3000 troops started from Agra for the Cawnpore -regions, having in charge 19 guns of various calibre, and 1500 carts -laden with stores and ammunition. There were 750 rounds of ammunition -for each of 24 guns, and 500 for each of 44 howitzers and mortars—all -required by the commander-in-chief. Several ladies, _en route_ to -Calcutta, took advantage of the protection of this force. The above -numbers give a very imperfect idea of the convoy; for native servants -and camp-followers, together with animals of draught and burden, always -accompany such a train in swarms almost inconceivable. - -When the English public found that the whole of the autumn months, and -the winter so far as the end of January, had passed away without any -great achievement except the relief of Lucknow, portions of them began -to complain and to censure. They could not and would not find fault with -Sir Colin, because he was a general favourite; and therefore they rushed -to a conclusion inimical to Viscount Canning, who from the first had -been made to bear the burden of a vast amount of anonymous abuse. A -story arose that the governor-general and the commander-in-chief were at -‘cross-purposes,’ that Campbell was doing nothing because Canning -thwarted him. The Duke of Cambridge and Lord Panmure took occasion, in -the House of Lords, to give authoritative contradictions to these -rumours; and among other evidence adduced was a letter written by Sir -Colin to his royal highness—the one as commander-in-chief in India, the -other as commander-in-chief of all the Queen’s forces generally—just -when he was about to set off to head the military operations at Cawnpore -and Lucknow. ‘Now that I am on the point of leaving Calcutta,’ he said, -‘I would beg, with the greatest respect to the governor-general, to -record the deep sense of the obligation I entertain towards his -lordship. Our intercourse has been most cordial, intimate, and -unreserved. I cannot be sufficiently thankful for his lordship’s -confidence and support, and the kindly manner in which they have been -afforded, to my great personal satisfaction. One at a distance, and -unacquainted with the ordinary mode of transacting business in this -country, could hardly estimate the gain to the public service which has -thus been made. But I allude principally to my own feelings of -gratification.’ Whether or not the governor-general and the -commander-in-chief were divided in opinion touching the best policy to -pursue, it is certain that men in lower though influential positions -differed widely in their views on this point. Some were anxious that -Lucknow should be attacked at once. They urged that that city being the -chief seat of rebellion, a crushing of the force there would dishearten -the rebels elsewhere; whereas every day lost would add to the strength -of Lucknow. Even our victories increased the number and desperation of -its defenders; and, therefore, till this central point was captured, the -revolt would always have a nucleus, a flag around which the discontented -might rally. On the other hand, it was urged that Rohilcund should be -cleared before Lucknow could be profitably seized. Large bands still -roaming over that province might interrupt the commander-in-chief’s -communications, if he left them in his rear while engaged in Oude. -Again, Sir Colin was waiting for more troops. It was asserted that, even -if he could conquer sixty or eighty thousand fighting-men in the streets -of Lucknow, he could not leave a force there while he was endeavouring -to clear out Rohilcund. So far as can be judged from attainable -evidence, it appears that Sir Colin himself held this second -opinion—resolving to clear the outworks before attacking the central -stronghold of rebellion. - -Leaving the commander-in-chief for a while, we may suitably direct -attention to the proceedings of other generals in other parts of the -wide field of operations—beginning with those connected with Sir James -Outram. - -The Alum Bagh, never once out of English hands since the month of -September, remained a very important stronghold. The reader will perhaps -recall to mind the relation which that fort bore to the operations at -Lucknow; but a short recapitulation may not be misplaced here. When -Havelock and Outram, on the 25th of September, advanced to Lucknow, they -left Colonel M’Intyre, of the 78th Highlanders, in command at the Alum -Bagh, with orders to maintain that post until further instructions -reached him. He had with him 280 English soldiers of various regiments, -a few Sikhs, 4 guns, 128 sick and wounded, between 4000 and 5000 native -camp-followers, large numbers of cattle, and a valuable store of -baggage, ammunition, and other military appliances. His supply of food -for the natives was very scanty, and those poor creatures soon suffered -terribly from hunger. After a few days, they stealthily collected crops -of rice and grain in fields near at hand, under protection of the guns; -but this resource was soon exhausted. It is a familiar occurrence in the -annals of Indian warfare, that the camp-followers and army-servants -exceed by five or ten fold the number of actual combatants; and thus is -to be explained the strange composition of the miscellaneous body -collected within the walls of the Alum Bagh. Unable to receive aid or -even instructions from the Residency, M’Intyre maintained his position -as best he could. A convoy of provisions reached him from Cawnpore on -the 7th of October, under Major Bingham, and another on the 25th under -Major Barnston. Some of the troops remained with him on each occasion, -raising his force altogether to 900 fighting-men and ten guns. Meanwhile -he fortified his position with bastions and other defence-works, and -contended successfully against the enemy, who constructed five batteries -in various parts of the exterior, and brought artillery-fire to bear -against him day after day. They also held the neighbouring fort of -Jelalabad, which formed a sixth base of attack. So steadily and -actively, however, did the colonel maintain his defence, that the -enemy’s fire occasioned him very little loss. Matters continued thus -until the middle of November, when Sir Colin Campbell, conquering -Jelalabad, and reaching Alum Bagh, made a few changes in the garrison. -Then, in the last week of the month, Sir James Outram became master of -the Alum Bagh, with a picked force of 3000 to 4000 men. He easily -maintained his position throughout December, and gave the enemy a severe -defeat on the 22d, at a place called Giulee, three miles from Alum Bagh -on the Dil Koosha road. The opening of the year 1858 found Outram still -at his post, and the enemy still endeavouring or hoping to cut off his -communications and starve him out.[134] Some of his troops were away, -convoying a supply of provisions from Cawnpore; and the enemy, knowing -this, resolved to attack him on the 12th of January in his weakened -state. Fathoming their intentions, he prepared for defence. At sunrise -they appeared, to the immense number of at least 30,000, and formed a -wide semicircle in front and flank of his position. Outram, massing his -troops into two brigades, sent them out to confront the enemy. Then -commenced a very fierce battle; for while the main body of the enemy -attacked these two brigades, a second proceeded to assault the fort of -Jelalabad, while a third by a detour reached the Alum Bagh itself, and -endeavoured to cut off Outram’s communications with it. From sunrise -till four o’clock in the afternoon did the struggle continue, every -British gun being incessantly engaged in repelling the advances of dense -masses of the enemy. Foiled at every point, the insurgents at length -withdrew to the city or to their original positions in the gardens and -villages. It was a very serious struggle, for the enemy fought well and -were in overwhelming numbers; nevertheless, their discomfiture was -complete. Four days afterwards they made another attack, in smaller -numbers, but with greater boldness: the result was the same as -before—complete defeat and severe loss. Thus did this skilful and -watchful commander frustrate every hostile attempt made by the swarms of -insurgents who surrounded him. - -We turn our attention next further eastward. The Nepaulese leader, Jung -Bahadoor, with Brigadier MacGregor as representative of British -interests, entered Goruckpore on the 6th of January, thus taking -possession of a city which for many months had been almost entirely in -the hands of rebels. The force was Goorkha, the officers were Nepaulese -and English. Jung Bahadoor and Brigadier MacGregor being the two -leaders, the brigades were thus commanded—the first by Run Singh and -Captain Plowden, the second by Sunmuck Singh and Captain Edmonstone, the -third by Junga Doge and Lieutenant Foote, and the artillery by Loll -Singh and Major Fitzgerald. This singular combination was made because, -although Jung Bahadoor was entitled to appoint his own native officers, -it was nevertheless desirable that English officers should be at hand to -advise or even control if necessary. The advancing force had first to -effect a passage over a nullah, the bridge of which was broken, and the -banks stoutly defended by the enemy; this was done after a short but -sharp conflict. The enemy fled from the nullah through a jungle towards -the city, pursued by the Goorkhas; but the latter could not equal the -sepoys in running over loose sand, and therefore could not come up with -them. All the baggage having crossed the nullah, Jung Bahadoor steadily -advanced towards the city, attacked by new parties of the enemy in -skirmishing form on both flanks. Many hundreds of the rebels rushed into -the river Ribtee, to effect a safe crossing to the other side, adjacent -to the Oude frontier; but they were shot down or drowned in considerable -numbers in this attempt to escape. Goruckpore was entered, and taken -possession of in the English name. It is curious to trace, in the -military dispatch of Brigadier MacGregor to the Calcutta authorities, -the same conventional ‘mention’ of Nepaulese officers as is customary in -the British army. Colonel Loll Singh ‘proved himself a good artillery -officer;’ Captain Suzan Singh’s ‘very effective fire was much admired;’ -Brigadier Junga Doge ‘reaped, conjointly with the artillery, the -principal honours of the day;’ Brigadier Sunmuck Singh’s brigade ‘was -well in advance;’ Brigadier Run Singh’s brigade ‘was most skilfully led -through the forest;’ and Brigadier Jodh Adhikaree was only shut out from -praise by the fact that his brigade was not brought into action. The -names of the British officers were set forth in parallel order, each to -receive praise by the side of his Nepaulese companion. The English -commander of a military force, we may here remark, must often be -embarrassed while writing his dispatches; for unless he mentions the -name of almost every officer, he gives offence; while it taxes his -powers of composition to vary the terms in which encomiums are -expressed. When Goruckpore was once again placed under British control, -the authorities quickly put down the so-called government which had been -introduced by Mahomed Hussein, the self-appointed nazim or chief. Such -of his adherents as had clearly been rebellious were quickly tried, and -many of them executed. All the convicted natives who were not sentenced -to hanging were made to do sweeper’s work, within the church, jail, and -other buildings, without respect to their caste, creed, or former -dignity. Mushurruff Khan, and other rebellious leaders in the district -between Goruckpore and the Oude frontier, were one by one captured, to -the manifest pacification of the country villages and planters’ estates. - -In the wide stretch of country between Patna and Allahabad, and between -the Ganges on the south and Nepaul on the north, everything was awaiting -the completion of the commander-in-chief’s plans. In and near Arrah, -Azimghur, Ghazeepore, Jounpoor, Benares, and Mirzapore, there were -bodies of malcontents ready to break out into open rebellion as soon as -any favourable opportunities should occur for so doing, but checked by -the gradually increasing power of the British. On one occasion, towards -the close of the month, Brigadier Franks marched out of Secundra, near -Allahabad, against a body of 500 rebels, who were posted with several -guns at Nussunpore. He totally defeated them, and captured two of their -guns. About the same time, on the 22d of the month, Colonel Rowcroft, -with detachments of H.M. 10th foot, sailors, Sikhs, and Goorkhas, -proceeded from Azimghur towards the Oudian frontier, there to aid in -hemming in the rebels. Indeed, Jung Bahadoor, Franks, and Rowcroft, at -the end of the month, feeling that all was pretty secure on the east of -the frontier, were gradually drawing a cordon round the Oudians, from -Nepaul in the north to the Ganges on the south—ready to concur in any -large scheme of operations which Sir Colin Campbell might be enabled to -initiate. - -The brigadiers who were more immediately under the eye of Sir Colin -Campbell were employed during the month of January, as has already been -implied, in clearing away bands of insurgents in the Doab and -neighbouring districts. To detail the various minor contests will be -unnecessary; one or two will suffice as samples of all. On the 27th of -the month, Brigadier Adrian Hope had a smart contest with the enemy at -Shumshabad. Taking with him a small column,[135] he started from -Futteghur on the previous day, and proceeded through Kooshinabad to -Shumshabad, where he found the enemy in considerable force. They -occupied a commanding knoll on the edge of the plateau overlooking the -plain stretching towards the river. On the knoll was a Mussulman tomb, -surrounded by the remains of an old intrenchment, upon which they had -raised a sand-bag battery; their front was defended by a ravine -impassable for cavalry or guns. Hope, having formed his plan of attack, -moved over some broken ground towards the enemy’s camp. They at once -opened with a well-directed fire of round-shot. Silencing these guns by -a flank fire, Hope ordered his infantry to advance out of a hollow where -they had been screened; they did so, rushed upon the camp, and captured -it. Then began a pursuit of the fleeing enemy by Hope’s cavalry, and the -securing of several guns and much ammunition which they had left behind -them. The brigadier believed the insurgents to consist of two of the -mutinied Bareilly regiments, accompanied by a motley group of rebels -anxious for plunder. About the same day, another district near -Furruckabad became the scene of a fierce encounter. A body of rebels -about 5000 strong, with four guns, being heard of at a distance of some -miles from the city, a force was sent out—consisting of H.M. 42d and 53d -foot, the 4th Punjaubees, two squadrons of H.M. 9th Lancers, two of -Hodson’s Horse, a horse-battery, and two troops of horse-artillery. The -enemy’s guns were planted on the site of an old mud-fort on rising -ground, whence they opened fire as soon as the British came in sight. -The morning being densely foggy, the column proceeded cautiously to -prevent a surprise. The action that ensued was chiefly carried on by -artillery and cavalry, and was marked by several deaths on the side of -the British owing to the blowing up of tumbrils. Among the wounded was -the gallant Hodson, whose name had become so well known in connection -with an active and useful body of Punjaub or Sikh irregular cavalry. The -result of this, as of almost all similar contests, was the defeat and -dispersion of the enemy. A glance at a map will shew that at Furruckabad -and Futteghur (the latter a military station near the former), the -commander-in-chief was in an admirable position to send out detachments -on special service. Bareilly, Allygurh, Agra, Muttra, Minpooree, -Gwalior, Etawah, Calpee, Cawnpore, and Lucknow, formed an irregular -circle of which Furruckabad was the centre. - -On the first day of the year the little colony at Nynee Tal received one -of the alarms to which it had been so often subjected for six months; -but, as in all the other instances, the danger was promptly averted. The -subsidiary station at Huldwanee, eighteen miles distant, was attacked -early in the morning by a large number of the Bareilly rebels. Some time -previously, a force of about 600 Goorkhas had been sent to that station; -but owing to the absence of the commandant at Almora, and to the neglect -in making any defensive arrangements, the place was not well prepared to -resist a surprise. The enemy opened an artillery fire most unexpectedly, -for their approach was not in the least anticipated. The gallant little -Goorkhas, however, speedily turned out, met the enemy hand to hand, -defeated them, pursued them three or four miles from the station, and -cut down a considerable number of them. - -Of the two imperial or once imperial cities, Agra and Delhi, little need -be said in connection with the events of January. Agra, it will be -remembered, was never out of British hands during the turmoils of 1857, -although severely pressed; and when Delhi on the one side, and Cawnpore -on the other, were recovered, there was less chance than ever that Agra -would fall into the hands of the enemy. The citizens resumed their -ordinary employments, and the British authorities re-established their -civil control.[136] - -After four months of strict military occupancy, the city of Delhi was -thrown open to natives who during that interval had been excluded. On -the 18th of January an order to this intent came into operation. Each -person availing himself of it had to pay one rupee four annas to the -kotwallee or police authority; for this he was provided with a ticket, -which insured him certain facilities for living and trading within the -city. The Chandnee Chowk began to resume its former lively appearance; a -military band resumed its evening music in the open space fronting the -English church; and, ‘but for the shot-holes all around,’ as an -eye-witness observed, ‘the signs of many sanguinary months were passing -away.’ A formal charge was drawn up, and judicial proceedings commenced, -against the imprisoned king; but as the trial chiefly took place in -February, we may defer for a few pages any notice of the proceedings. - -Everything westward of Delhi may happily be dismissed in the same -language which has so often sufficed in former chapters. Sir John -Lawrence, with his able coadjutors Montgomery, Cotton, and Edwardes, -still held the whole length and breadth of the Punjaub at peace or -nearly so. And the same may in like manner be said of Sinde, where Mr -Frere and General Jacob held sway. - -Of the state of the widely scattered and diversely governed regions of -Central India and Rajpootana at the beginning of the year, it is -difficult to give a correct picture. Unlike the Hindustani regions, they -were inhabited by a very motley population—Bundelas, Rajpoots, Rohillas, -Mahrattas, Bheels, Jâts, Ghonds, all mingled, and governed by chieftains -who cared much more for their own petty authority than for the kings of -Delhi and Lucknow, or for castes and creeds. Luckily the two principal -Mahratta leaders, Scindia and Holkar, still remained faithful to the -British, and thus rendered possible what would have been impossible -without their assistance. If to Central India and Rajpootana, we add -Bundelcund and the Saugor territories, we shall have a wide sweep of -country approached nearest at one point by the Calcutta presidency, at -another by the Madras presidency, and at a third by that of Bombay. As, -however, Calcutta had no troops to spare for that part of India, Madras -and Bombay sent up columns and ‘field-forces’ as fast as they could be -provided; and thus it is that we read of small military bodies under -Stuart, Steuart, Roberts, Whitlock, Rose, Raines, and other officers. -According to the number of troops composing them, and the districts in -which their services were required, these columns received various -names—such as ‘Rajpootana Field-force,’ ‘Nerbudda Field-force,’ ‘Malwah -Field-force,’ and ‘Central India Field-force.’ The mere naming might be -of small consequence, were it not that confusion arose occasionally by -different appellations being employed at different times for the very -same force. At various periods during the month encounters took place, a -few of which may briefly be noticed. - -On the 6th of January, a small force of about 500 miscellaneous troops, -with guns, set out from Camp Muddah in Rajpootana, under Major Raines, -to rout a body of rebels at Rowah. They found the village strongly -fortified by a hedge fronting a deep ditch and breastwork of earth, -thick and loopholed. After a reconnaissance the major advanced; when the -enemy opened fire, bringing down branches of trees with a crash among -the British. When a hot artillery and infantry fire had been maintained -for some time, about 200 men of the 10th Bombay N.I. received orders to -storm the village; they advanced in admirable order, dashed forward, -cleared the hedge, mounted to the opposite side, and compelled the -insurgents to make a precipitate retreat. The village was burned to -ashes, and the force returned to camp—having marched over deep sand in a -thick jungle for twenty-two miles. One of the horrors of war was -illustrated forcibly in a few brief words contained in an officer’s -narrative of this engagement: ‘The villagers were mowed down in sections -by the artillery, as they were entering a cave on the sides of the rock -in rear of the village.’ Nothing perplexed the English officers more -than to determine how far to compassionate the native villagers; -sometimes these poor creatures suffered terribly and undeservedly; but -on other occasions they unquestionably assisted the rebels.’ - -[Illustration: - - Houses in the Chandnee Chowk, Delhi. -] - -Sir Hugh Rose had a short but decisive encounter with a body of rebels -at Ratgurh or Rutgurh towards the close of the month. This was a town in -Central India, between Saugor and Bhopal, in and near which many -chieftains had unfurled the banner of rebellion, at the head of whom was -Nawab Fazil Mahomed Khan. Ratgurh was a strong place, in good repair, -and supplied with a year’s provisions. The rebels intended to have made -a bold stand; but they lost heart when they saw siege-artillery brought -up to a position which they had deemed unattainable, and applied to the -breaching of their fort. Many of the defenders abandoned the fort during -the night, letting themselves down by ropes from the rocks, &c. On the -next day some of their number, aided by many mutinous sepoys, emerged -from the thick jungles in the neighbourhood, attacked the videttes -guarding the rear of Sir Hugh’s camp, and attempted to relieve the fort; -but they were driven across the river Betwah, and the fort securely -captured. It is worthy of note how many of the contests during the wars -of the mutiny partook of the nature of sieges. Mud-forts have been -famous in India for centuries, and the natives exhibit much tact in -defending them. As long as guns attack from a safe distance, such -strongholds may be long defended; but a storming by British bayonets -utterly paralyses the garrisons. Sir Hugh bent his attention towards -Saugor also, which had for many months been invested by a large body of -the enemy. With the second brigade of the Central India Field-force, -reinforced by the 3d Europeans and the 3d native cavalry from the Poonah -division, he laid his plans for an effective relief of that place. -General Whitlock, with a Madras column, was also bound for Saugor; but -it was expected that Rose would reach that place before him. - -In another region, much nearer Calcutta, a small military affair -presented itself for notice. Just before the commencement of the new -year, Sumbhulpore was relieved from a trouble that had pressed upon it, -in the presence of a miscellaneous body of rebels. A small force of less -than 300 troops, consisting of Madras native infantry, Ramgurh infantry, -and Nagpoor irregular cavalry, made a forced march from Nagpoor to -Sumbhulpore; and on the 30th of December Captain Wood marched out with -this force to chastise a body of rebels encamped in a gorse-land near -the city. The victory was speedy and decisive, and was rendered more -valuable by the capture of three native chieftains who had been leaders -in the rebellion. The rebels were not sepoys, but escaped convicts. - -The large and important regions of Nagpoor and Hyderabad exhibited -nearly the same features at the beginning of the year as they had done -during the summer and autumn. Containing very few pure Hindustanis of -the Brahmin and Rajpoot castes, and being within comparatively easy -reach of the trusty and trusted native troops of the Madras presidency, -they were seldom disturbed by symptoms of mutiny. The British -commissioners or residents had, it is true, much to render them anxious; -but the perils were not so great as those which weighed down their -brother-officials in other regions. The Deccan, or Hyderabad, or the -Nizam’s Country—for it was known by all three names—had from the first -been more troubled by marauders than by regular military mutineers. The -villages of Mugrool, Janappul, Sind Kaid, Rungeenee, and Dawulgaum, -mostly distant about twenty or thirty miles from Jaulnah, were infested -during January by predatory bands of Rohillas and Bheels, who alarmed -the villages by acts of plunder, dacoitee, and cruelty. They even went -so far as to plunder the treasure-chest of a regiment of the Hyderabad -Contingent, while on the way from Aurungabad to Jaulnab, and barely two -miles from the last-named place. The officer commanding at Jaulnah sent -a small force in pursuit; but the marauders, here as elsewhere, were -swift of foot, and made clear off with their booty. These Bheels, a -half-savage mountain tribe, gave annoyance in more districts than one. -Captain Montgomery, superintendent of police at Ahmednuggur, a city -between Jaulnah and Bombay, found it necessary to go out and attack a -strong body of them, who held a position in a jungle twelve miles from -Chandore. He had with him a miscellaneous force of Bombay native troops; -but after three successive attempts he was beaten back from the enemy’s -position, and wounded, as well as three of his officers. - -The Nagpoor force, though never very closely in league with the -mutineers further north, contrived to rouse suspicion and bring down -punishment early in the year. The Nagpoor irregulars had been disarmed -by Brigadier Prior very early in the history of the Revolt; but Mr -Plowden, commissioner of the Nagpoor territory, believing that they -might be trusted, advised that their weapons should again be given to -them. The conduct of the men throughout the rest of the year justified -this reliance; but, with the strange inconsistency that so often marked -the proceedings of the natives, they stained the first month of the year -with a deed of violence. On the 18th of January, at Raeepore, a place on -the road between Nagpoor and Cuttack, a party of Mussulman gunners in -the Nagpoor artillery suddenly rose, murdered Sergeant-major Sidwell, -and called on the 3d Nagpoor irregular infantry to assist them in -exterminating the Europeans. Either the 3d were innocent in the matter, -or their hearts failed them; for they not only remained firm, but at -once assisted in disarming the gunners. On the 22d, Lieutenant Elliott, -deputy-commissioner, rode into Raeepore, and immediately brought the -gunners to trial; all but one were found guilty, and were hung that same -evening, amid frantic appeals to their comrades to save them for the -sake of their common faith—an appeal to which the infantry did not -respond. - -It may be observed, in relation to all the military operations in the -month of January, that there were certain rebel leaders whose personal -movements were seldom clearly known to the British officers. Nena Sahib -of Bithoor, Koer Singh of Jugdispore, and Mohammed Khan of Bareilly, -were unquestionably urging the sepoys and rebels to continue the -struggle against the Company’s ‘raj;’ but their own marchings and -retreatings from place to place were veiled in much obscurity. There -was, in truth, a very intelligible motive for this; for a price was -placed upon the head of each, and he could not fully know whether any -traitor were at his elbow. Some of the leaders, such as the Rajah of -Minpooree and the Nawab of Furruckabad, were believed to have joined -their fortunes with those of the defenders of Lucknow; while Mahomed -Hussein, as we have seen, was hovering between Oude and Goruckpore, -according to the strength of the Goorkhas sent against him. It was known -that many of the Gwalior mutineers, after their severe defeat in -December, had collected again in Bundelcund; but it was not clearly -ascertained who among them assumed the post of leader. - -[Illustration] - ------ - -Footnote 131: - - A return was prepared by order of parliament, of the odds and ends - composing what was called the _sea-kit_ of English soldiers going out - to India, the cost at which they were estimated, and the mode of - paying for them: - - Articles. Price. - Two canvas frocks at 3_s._ 3_d._ (jackets substituted for £0 6 6 - frocks in the case of sergeants), - One pair canvas trousers, 0 3 4 - One neck handkerchief, 0 0 8 - One pair of shoes, 0 6 0 - Three pounds of marine soap, at 7_d._, 0 1 9 - Two pounds of yellow soap, at 7_d._, 0 1 2 - Nine balls of pipeclay, 0 0 9 - One quart tin-pot, with hook, 0 1 0 - One scrubbing-brush, 0 0 8 - Three tins of blacking, 0 1 0 - One clasp-knife, 0 1 0 - One bag in lieu of haversack, 0 0 10 - Needles and thread, 0 1 0 - Three pounds of tobacco, at 2_s._ 8_d._, 0 8 0 - Two flannel-belts, 0 2 0 - Two check-shirts, at 2_s._ 6_d._, 0 5 0 - —— —— — - £2 0 8 - - ‘The prices,’ as the return tells us, ‘are unavoidably liable to - variation, but those in the above list will serve as a general - standard for guidance. These extra necessaries are paid for by the men - to whom they are issued, out of pay advanced for the purpose. Tobacco - is issued to such men only as are in the habit of using it; and if any - man be provided already with any of the above articles, and such are - in a serviceable condition, a duplicate supply is not given.’ - - It will at once be understood that the ordinary equipment of the - soldier is not here mentioned; only the extras for the sea-voyage - being included. The ‘nine balls of pipeclay’ constitute perhaps the - worst item in the list. - -Footnote 132: - - Before the final departure from the neighbourhood of Cawnpore, the - British troops did their best to despoil one who received more - execration than any other man in India. An officer writing at the - close of the year, said: ‘We have made very good use of our delay at - Cawnpore. The Highland brigade was encamped at Bithoor, and employed - in raising all Nena Sahib’s valuables from a well. The operation was a - most difficult one, as the well was deep and full of water. However, - it was very successful; for not including their last day’s work (a - very good one) they raised 75½ pounds of gold in various shapes, and - 252 pounds of silver. The last day they got an enormous quantity of - gold and silver, so heavy that a man could just carry it. I hope they - will come upon Bajee Rao’s Jewels. There are two more wells yet to - open. The Nena is “beating his breast” at our well-successes.’ - -Footnote 133: - - One incident of this affair was afterwards thus described by an - officer present: ‘A brigade was sent to repair the suspension-bridge. - They commenced work on the 1st, and by morning of the 2d had finished - it all but one or two planks, which they were laying down, when the - chief saw the villagers come out of the village opposite. He desired - some one to go and tell them not to be afraid, as they would not be - hurt; when all of a sudden bang came a round-shot from amongst them, - which killed four men of the 53d. The enemy were then discovered to be - in force; the naval brigade soon opened on them, pitching into the - village for about two hours, they returning it with an 18-pounder and - a 9-pounder. When the firing commenced, we were all sent for, the - bridge was soon finished, and then the chief with his force crossed, - turned them out of the village, and pursued them with cavalry and - artillery for about eight miles.’ - -Footnote 134: - - Sir James Outram’s total force in and near the Alum Bagh, at the - beginning of the year, was made up of the following elements: - - H.M. 5th, 75th, 78th, 84th, and 90th foot. - 1st Madras Europeans. - Brasyer’s Ferozpore Sikhs. - 12th irregular cavalry. - Hardinge’s corps. - Military train. - Engineer park. - Artillery park. - Madras Sappers and Miners. - Royal artillery, under Eyre and Maude. - Bengal artillery, under Olphert. - -Footnote 135: - 9th Lancers, two squadrons. - Hodson’s Horse, 200. - Bengal H.A. one troop. - Bengal F.A. 4 guns. - 42d Highlanders. - 53d foot. - 4th Punjaub rifles. - -Footnote 136: - - The condition of the British quarters in Agra at the beginning of the - year was briefly told by one of the writers in the _Mofussilite_ - newspaper, after the severe pressure on the garrison had ceased: ‘The - fort is being abandoned by every one who has a house which can be made - in the least degree habitable; but many people will still be compelled - to remain within its gloomy walls for an indefinite period; as in many - instances the destruction of houses has been so complete, that it will - be a work of time and a matter of considerable expense to place them - in anything like decent repair.... As we are fortunate enough to - possess a good house with a pucka roof, which has been put into - excellent repair, we intend publishing next Tuesday’s paper in that - building—the former printing-office of the _Mofussilite_. We shall all - be put to great straits for furniture, crockery, and such like things; - for although a charpoy (stump-bedstead), a teapoy, and a couple of - broken chairs, were as much as we could find room for in one of our - little cells of the fort, yet we shall soon require rather more when - we dwell in roomier habitations. Our distant friends must know that it - is a rare thing to see two plates of the same pattern on any table, - and that none but those upon whom fortune has smiled indulge in glass - tumblers. Tin pots are the height of our ambition. Port, sherry, - brandy, Allsopp, and Bass, are beverages generally as unknown to this - community as they were to Robinson Crusoe.’ - -[Illustration: - - SIR JAMES OUTRAM. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - MILITARY OPERATIONS IN FEBRUARY. - - -Impatient as the whole British nation was to hear of a brilliant and -successful termination of the struggle in India, every telegram, every -weekly mail, shewed that the time for this satisfaction was still far -distant. The mutineers were beaten, but not crushed; the rebellious -chieftains were checked, but not extinguished; their deluded followers -were disappointed in the results obtained, but not deterred from making -further efforts. England, with all her delays and waverings of opinion, -had sent over a large, fine, and complete army; the Punjaub had supplied -such a force of reliable troops as no one would have ventured beforehand -to anticipate; generals had been brought into notice by the exigencies -of public affairs who possessed those fine soldierly attributes which a -nation is proud to recognise; the authorities, steady at their posts, -never for a moment doubted that the British ‘raj’ would be established -on a firmer basis than ever—and yet everything was in turmoil in India. -Blood and treasure were being daily expended; but the time had not -arrived when any adequate return was obtained for these losses. January -having passed, men speculated whether Lucknow and Oude—to say nothing of -other cities and provinces—would fall permanently into British hands -during the month of February. What was the response to this much-mooted -question, the present chapter will shew. - -The gallant commander-in-chief, Sir Colin Campbell, being the chief -actor in the busy military scenes of the period, it may be well to trace -his movements during the month of February, before noticing the -marchings and battles of other generals. - -It will be remembered, from the details given in the last chapter, that -Sir Colin, after the capture of Furruckabad and Futteghur early in -January, remained during the greater part of that month encamped in that -neighbourhood, organising the military arrangements necessary for an -advance into Oude. These arrangements involved the arrival of siege-guns -from Delhi and Agra, and the concentration at one point of different -columns under his brigadiers. Among various subsidiary operations, -Captain Taylor, of the Engineers, was sent to the Alum Bagh, to report -as far as possible on the defensive works thrown up by the enemy in and -near Lucknow, and to gather a strong engineer force to aid the -commander-in-chief. Sir Colin remained nearly stationary during these -preliminary proceedings, elaborating the details of his plan of -strategy, in conjunction with his chief of the staff, General Mansfield. -When his troops and his missiles, his _personnel_ and _matériel_, were -pretty well collected, he returned from Futteghur to Cawnpore on the 4th -of February. Viscount Canning had shortly before gone up from Calcutta -to Allahabad; and Sir Colin started off on the 8th to meet him. What -these two representatives of British power agreed on during their -interview, they of course kept to themselves; but every one felt the -probability that some extensive scheme of policy, military and -political, to be worked out by soldiers and civilians in unison, was -discussed and mutually accepted. Returning again to Cawnpore, the -commander-in-chief made the last arrangements for giving activity to the -force which had been so slowly and with so much difficulty collected. -Fain would many critics have censured the old general for delay; fain -would they have urged that in two months he had only fought two -battles—at Cawnpore and at Furruckabad—while the world was impatiently -waiting to hear of the reconquest of Oude; but as he kept his own -council with remarkable reticence, criticism gave way to a belief that -there must have been good and sufficient cause for the caution which -marked all his proceedings. - -On or about the 11th of February, all the preparatory operations were -completed, and an army, larger than any which had up to that time -appeared against the rebels, began to cross the Ganges from Cawnpore -into Oude. It had originally been intended to effect the crossing of a -portion of the army at Futteghur; but Cawnpore was afterwards selected. -The crossing was necessarily a slow and difficult one, on account of the -vast _impedimenta_ of an Indian army. To increase the facilities, a -second bridge of boats was constructed. Even with this addition the -passage across the Ganges lasted several days; for each bullock-cart -carried but little. A small portion only of the ammunition, irrespective -of all other equipage and baggage, required the services of fifteen -hundred carts. The artillery was on an enormous scale; the siege-guns, -the naval-brigade guns, the field-guns, and the horse-artillery guns, -numbered not much less than two hundred in all. After crossing, the army -distributed itself at certain places on the line of route from Cawnpore -to Lucknow. For instance, on the 15th of the month, the head-quarters -were still at Cawnpore; one portion of the army was encamped at Onao, -one march from Cawnpore; another at Busherutgunje, a march and a half -from Cawnpore; a third at Nawabgunge, two marches from Cawnpore; a -fourth, under Outram, at the Alum Bagh; and a fifth at Sheorajpore, -twenty miles from Cawnpore on the Allygurh road. Sir Colin himself still -remained with head-quarters at Cawnpore—partly to provide for the safety -of convoys of ladies and children passing down from Agra through -Cawnpore to Allahabad; partly to await the entry into Oude, from the -east, of the forces under Jung Bahadoor and Brigadier Franks; and partly -to watch the proceedings of a large body of the enemy near Calpee, who -were threatening again to overrun the Doab unless strongly held in -check. - -It may here usefully be stated that Sir Colin organised his Oudian army -before any of the regiments began to cross into that province. As a -permanent record of the component elements of that fine force, we give -the details in a note at the end of the present chapter; but a summary -may not be out of place here. The ‘army of Oude,’ as tabulated on the -10th of February, comprised such regiments and corps as were at that -time under the more immediate command of Sir Colin Campbell; and took no -account of the separate forces under Jung Bahadoor, Franks, Seaton, -Macgregor, Windham, Inglis, Van Cortlandt, Rose, Stuart, Steuart, Orr, -Whitlock, Greathed, Penny, M’Causland, Roberts, and other officers whose -services were required elsewhere, or who had not reached the Oudian -frontier at that date. The army of Oude, thus limited in its meaning, -was systematically classified. There were three divisions of infantry, -under Outram, Walpole, and a third general afterwards to be named. These -were subdivided into six brigades, under Hamilton, Russell, Franklyn, -Adrian Hope, Douglas, and Horsford—two brigades to each division. Each -brigade was further divided into three regiments or battalions. The -Queen’s regiments of infantry in the six brigades were the 5th, 23d, -34th, 38th, 42d, 53d, 78th, 79th, 84th, 90th, and 93d, and two -battalions of the Rifle Brigade. The other infantry regiments were -Company’s Europeans, Sikhs, and Punjaubees; the Goorkhas were in corps -not yet incorporated in the army of Oude. A fourth division of infantry, -under Franks, Wroughton, and Puhlwan Singh, was provided for, but did -not at that time form a part of the army of Oude. The cavalry formed one -division, under Hope Grant, and was separated into two brigades, under -William Campbell and Little. The Queen’s cavalry regiments in this -division were the 2d Dragoon Guards, the 7th Hussars, and the 9th -Lancers; the other cavalry were Sikhs, Punjaubees, and a few volunteers -and irregulars of miscellaneous origin. The artillery division, under -Archdale Wilson (the conqueror of Delhi), comprised a field-artillery -brigade under Wood, a siege-artillery brigade under Barker, a naval -brigade under Peel, and an engineer brigade under Napier. - -Not until the last day of February did the commander-in-chief cross over -the Ganges, and take command of the army destined to besiege and finally -capture the great city of Lucknow. Meanwhile Sir James Outram, at the -Alum Bagh, had been daily in communication with the other officers, and -had prepared detailed plans of everything relating to Lucknow and its -defences, so far as he was acquainted with them. The engineers, too, had -been busily engaged in preparing that vast store of siege-materials -which is necessary for the attack of strongly defended fortifications. - -What the army of Oude effected during the month of March, the next -chapter will shew. Before quitting this part of the February operations, -however, it may be well to notice episodically the remarkable connection -between the newspaper press and the battle-field in recent times. In the -great wars of former days, correspondents residing at the chief cities -in foreign countries were wont to send such items of information as they -could pick up to the editors of English newspapers; and military -officers, cautiously and anonymously, sent occasional criticisms on the -details of the battles in which they were engaged. It was left for the -period of the Crimean war, however, to commence, or at least to perfect, -a system by which a non-military writer is sent out at enormous expense, -to join an army in the field or at a siege, to bear some danger and much -privation, to see with his own eyes everything that can be seen, and to -write such descriptions of the scenes as shall be intelligible to -ordinary newspaper readers. Mr W. H. Russell, of the _Times_, gave an -importance to such communications never before equalled, by the -brilliant style in which he described the military operations in -Bulgaria and the Crimea during the Russian war of 1854-5; and the system -was ably carried out by special correspondents connected with the staff -of some of the other London newspapers. When the Indian mutiny was half -a year old, Mr Russell started from England, to do that for India which -he had before done for the Crimea—mix in the turmoil of war, and -describe battles in a graphic and vivid way. What he saw and what he did -in February initiated him into many of the peculiarities of Indian life, -when scenes of slaughter had not yet come under his notice. Leaving -Calcutta on the 4th of February, he went like other travellers to -Raneegunge by railway, and thence to Benares by gharry dâk—a -four-wheeled, venetian-blinded, oblong vehicle, driven by a native with -‘mail post guard’ inscribed on his brass belt-plate, and drawn at the -rate of seven miles an hour by a single horse, the horse being changed -at post-houses at every few miles’ distance. On the way were troops -going up with great regularity, travelling 35 miles per day in -bullock-carts, and supplied with comfortable meals and sleeping-places -at the dâk-bungalows. Travelling thus by way of Burdwan, Nimeaghat, -Sheergotty, and Noubutpore, he arrived at Benares; this city, ‘long, -straggling, and Turkish looking,’ was completely commanded by a new fort -at Rajghat, built since the troubles of the preceding summer. Thence to -Allahabad the fields were rich with corn, and the roads thronged by -natives and trains of bullock-hackeries laden with cotton for the -Benares and Mirzapore markets. Arrived at Allahabad, Mr Russell -commenced his camp-life, messing generally with some of the officers, -and sleeping under a tent. Viscount Canning and his suite were at that -time living under canvas within the fort; while all around were -evidences of military preparation for the English regiments sent up from -Calcutta. Thence he travelled for fifty miles by the second portion of -the great trunk-railway. The rebels in the preceding June had attacked -the locomotives in an extraordinary way, if his account is to be taken -as anything more than mere raillery: ‘They fired musketry at the engines -for some time at a distance, as if they were living bodies; then -advanced cautiously, and finding that the engines did not stir, began to -belabour them with sticks, all the time calling them names and abusing -them.’ By horse-dâk Mr Russell proceeded through Futtehpoor to Cawnpore, -where he, like all others, was struck with astonishment that poor Sir -Hugh Wheeler’s ‘intrenchment’ could ever have held out so long as it -did. Sir Colin Campbell was then at Cawnpore, living in a small -subaltern’s tent, working incessantly, and provided with an amount of -personal ‘baggage’ so marvellously small as to shew how little the old -soldier regarded luxuries. Mr Russell remained at Cawnpore till the -27th, when he joined the army in the march towards Lucknow. He had -provided, in true Indian fashion, for the carriage of himself and -baggage, a saddle-horse, a horse-gharry, and four camels. His account of -the preparations for his march is not only amusing from the way in which -it is told, but is instructive on matters relating to travelling in -India.[137] The end of February found Mr Russell, a civilian immersed in -all the bustle of an army, ready to see and hear whatever the month of -March should present to his attention. - -Leaving for the present the commander-in-chief and his army, we shall -briefly trace the operations, so far as they occurred in the month of -February, of such of his generals as were employed in duties away from -his immediate control and supervision. - -Sir James Outram at once presents claims for notice; for though -appointed general of one of the divisions of the army of Oude, he held -an independent command until the month had expired. During more than -three months this distinguished officer had never seen Sir Colin -Campbell; during more than five months he had never once been away from -the vicinity of Lucknow and the Alum Bagh. He marched with Havelock and -Neill from Cawnpore to the capital of Oude in September, and relieved or -rather reinforced Inglis; he commanded the British Residency at Lucknow -during October, with Havelock and Inglis as his subordinates; he aided -Sir Colin to effect the ‘rescue’ in November; and then he commanded at -the Alum Bagh throughout the whole of December, January, and February. -What he did in the first two of these months, we have seen in former -chapters; what were his military proceedings in February, a few lines -will suffice to shew. - -Whether the enemy supposed that, by another attack on the Alum Bagh, -they might disturb the extensive plans of the British; whether they were -influenced by a sudden impulse to achieve a limited success; or whether -another motive existed, presently to be mentioned—they fought another -battle with Sir James Outram, and received their usual defeat. On the -morning of the 21st of February, no less than 20,000 of the enemy -attacked the Alum Bagh. Having filled all the trenches with as many men -as they could hold, and placed large masses of infantry in the topes as -a support, they commenced a simultaneous movement round both flanks of -Outram’s position—threatening at the same time the whole length of -front, the northeast corner of the Alum Bagh, and the picket and fort at -Jelalabad. Outram, perceiving at a glance the nature of the attack, -strengthened the several endangered points. At the Alum Bagh and -Jelalabad posts the enemy received a severe check, having come within -range of the grape-shot which the British poured out upon them. He -detached about 250 cavalry, and two field-pieces, under Captain Barrow, -to the rear of Jelalabad; here Barrow came suddenly upon 2000 of the -enemy’s cavalry, and 5000 infantry, whom he kept at bay so effectually -with his two field-guns, that they were quite frustrated in their -intended scheme of attack. The enemy’s attack on Outram’s left flank was -made by no fewer than 5000 cavalry and 8000 infantry. To oppose these he -sent only four field-guns and 120 men of the military train, under Major -Robertson; but this mere handful of men, with the guns, drove away the -enemy. A large convoy was at the time on the road from Cawnpore; and the -escort for this convoy had taken away most of Outram’s cavalry. It is -not surprising that the enemy should select such a time for attacking -the Alum Bagh and endeavouring to intercept the convoy; but it is -certainly a matter for wonder that such a large army should suffer -itself to be beaten by a few hundred men. The casualty-list, too, was as -surprising as anything else; for Outram had only 9 wounded and _none_ -killed; whereas the enemy’s loss was adverted to in the following terms: -‘The reports from the city state the enemy to have lost 60 killed and -200 wounded in their attack on the Alum Bagh, and about 80 or 90 killed -in front of Jelalabad. This was exclusive of their loss on the left -flank, and along our front, where our heavy artillery had constant -opportunities of firing shell and shrapnel into the midst of their -moving masses. I consider their loss to have been heavier than on any of -their previous attacks.’ At this very time the bulk of Sir Colin’s army -was approaching the Alum Bagh; the enemy well knew that fact, and had -only been induced to hazard the attack on the 21st by the temporary -absence of some of Outram’s troops. The attack having failed, they -hastened back to strengthen their defensive arrangements at Lucknow. - -It may now be well to notice what was doing eastward of Oude. The strong -Goorkha force under Jung Bahadoor, and the effective column of -miscellaneous troops under Brigadier Franks, had greatly improved the -condition of that portion of country which lay between Oude and Lower -Bengal, around the cities and stations of Patna, Dinapoor, Arrah, Buxar, -Ghazeepore, Azimghur, Goruckpore, Jounpoor, Benares, and Mirzapore. -Mutineers there were, and marauders connected with rebel chieftains; but -their audacity, except in the immediate vicinity of Oude, was checked by -the increasing power of the forces brought to bear against them. - -Brigadier Franks, one of the most energetic and admired of the officers -whom the wars of the mutiny brought forth, had since the month of -December commanded a column called the Jounpoor Field-force, which had -been employed in chastising and expelling bodies of rebels from the -Azimghur, Allahabad, and Jounpoor districts. During these operations, he -had defeated the enemy at many places. The time was now approaching when -Franks was to join Sir Colin in the final operations against Lucknow; -and when his Jounpoor field-force, losing its individuality, was to form -the fourth division of infantry in the army of Oude, with Franks as its -general of division. That change, however, was not likely to occur until -the month of March had arrived. About the middle of February he was with -his force at Budleepore, a town on the route from Jounpoor to Sultanpore -in Oude. His force comprised H.M. 10th, 20th, and 97th regiments, six -regiments of Goorkhas, and twenty guns. Colonel Puhlwan Singh commanded -the Goorkhas, and Colonel Maberley the artillery. The force was a strong -one, containing 2300 Europeans and 3200 Goorkhas, and an excellent park -of guns. There was one month’s provisions collected; and Franks was -awaiting the orders of Sir Colin for an advance into Oude. Colonel -Wroughton was with him, having no distinct military command, but acting -as a medium of communication between Franks and Puhlwan Singh; being -familiar with the Goorkhas, his services were valuable in giving such -instructions to the Nepaulese auxiliaries as would enable them to -understand and obey the orders of the brigadier. - -Although placed in an expectant attitude, until he could receive -instructions from Sir Colin, and until he heard of Jung Bahadoor’s -crossing of the frontier into Oude, Brigadier Franks was quite ripe for -an encounter with the enemy whenever and wherever he could meet with -them. They gave him an opportunity before the month was out, and he made -ample use of it. He crossed the frontier into Oude near Singramow, on -the 19th, and received speedy proof that a very large body of the enemy -was before him—ordered, apparently, by the self-appointed authorities at -Lucknow, to prevent him from approaching that city. Franks, however, -cleverly deceiving the rebel leader, Nazim Mahomed Hossein, attacked his -army in detail, first at Chandah and then at Humeerpoor. The section of -the rebels at Chandah, under Bunda Hossein, comprised among other troops -the mutinous sepoys of the 20th, 28th, 48th, and 71st Bengal native -regiments. Franks attacked them in a strong position. They were in the -fort and intrenchments, and crowning a long row of hillocks in front of -the town; every neighbouring tope and village was full of them. -Nevertheless he defeated them, and captured six of their guns. Giving -his troops only a very brief rest, he marched on to Humeerpoor, two or -three miles distant, on that same evening, and attacked a still larger -force under the Nazim himself. The defeat was equally significant. ‘Our -Enfield rifles did it all,’ wrote one of the English officers. The enemy -retreated during the night, and Franks and his brave men bivouacked, -after having, in the two engagements, inflicted a loss on their -opponents of six guns and 800 men killed and wounded. The brigadier -himself had been in the saddle fifteen hours on this severe day. After -resting on the 20th, Franks and his opponent the Nazim, the one at -Humeerpoor and the other at Warree, sought which should be the first to -obtain possession of the pass, jungle, and fort of Badshaigunje. By a -forced march, the English brigadier outmanœuvred the Nazim, gained the -fort, and waited till reinforcements could reach him. The two forces -came in sight of each other again on the 23d, by which time the Nazim -and Bunda Hossein had swelled their motley army to no less than 25,000 -men, comprising 5000 revolted sepoys, 1100 sowars, and the rest rabble; -having with them 25 guns. The result of this encounter was a severe -battle, fought near Sultanpore. The enemy had taken up a very wide -position; their centre resting on the old cantonment and sepoy lines, -thence extending through villages and topes, and screened in front by -hillocks and nullahs. Franks turned the enemy’s right by a detour, drew -them into a hot struggle, and won a complete victory. No less than 1800 -insurgents were killed and wounded, including two or three rebel -chieftains. The victors captured twenty pieces of artillery, and the -whole of the enemy’s standing camp, baggage, ammunition, &c. The result -of this battle was that the enemy were frustrated in the attempt to -check the advance of Franks into Oude; he found the roads to Lucknow and -Fyzabad entirely open to him. If he had had cavalry, he would have -pursued and cut up the enemy in retreat; but 250 horse, long and -anxiously expected from Allahabad, did not arrive at Sultanpore until -the day after the battle. These three actions, two on the 19th and one -on the 23d, were marked by that anomaly which the military operations in -India so often exhibited—the disparity between the losses on the two -sides. Nothing but a full trust in the truthfulness of a gallant officer -would render credible the fact that, after conflicts in which 2600 of -the enemy were killed and wounded, the conqueror could write as follows: -‘I am proud to announce that, through the glorious conduct of the -officers and men of this force, European and Nepaulese, I have been -enabled by manœuvring to achieve these brilliant results with the loss -on our side, in all three actions, of only 2 men killed and 16 -wounded’—and this, be it remembered, in contesting against four times -his own numbers. - -While this Jounpoor field-force was thus actively engaged, a small body -of English sailors were slowly advancing by another route into Oude. -Ever active to be up and doing, a band of about 250 tars, belonging to -the steam-frigate _Pearl_, were delighted at being formed into a naval -brigade, and offered a chance of meeting and well belabouring the -‘Pandies.’ Under Captain Sotheby, they were sent up the river Gogra in -the Company’s steamer _Jumna_. They embarked near Dinapoor, and -disembarked on the 20th at Nowraine, twenty miles short of Fyzabad. The -enemy had two forts at that place, both of which were speedily taken, -together with guns and ammunition, and the enemy driven away with great -loss. Jung Bahadoor, with his Nepaulese contingent, was at the time not -far distant; and Colonel Rowcroft, with 2000 Goorkhas, aided in the -attack. - -The proceedings of the Nepaulese leader must now be noticed. The English -officers frequently, though cautiously, complained of the slowness of -his movements; and Sir Colin Campbell was becoming impatient for his -appearance near the great scene of conflict at Lucknow. He had been many -weeks in the region around Goruckpore, with a fine army of 9000 -Goorkhas; and though he had aided in putting down many bands of -insurgents, it was now hoped that he would at once advance towards the -centre of Oude. This he did, but not rapidly, during the month of -February. - -On the 26th, while Jung Bahadoor and Brigadier Macgregor were on the -march from Mobarukhpoor to Ukberpoor, on the way to Fyzabad, they -learned that a small body of rebels were in a fort at Berozepoor. A -portion of the body-guard went to the place, and relied on a promise -made by the rebels that they would evacuate the fort in forty minutes. -Instead of departing, the enemy prepared for a defence; and a desperate -fight ensued around a small fort distinguished by much novelty of -construction. The fort was so completely surrounded by an impenetrable -hedge of bamboos, that the besiegers were in much doubt concerning the -nature of the defences within. At one place they were stopped by a -ditch, at another by a high mud-wall and bastion, at another by a row of -lofty bamboo-stakes. The place being very small, an attempt was made to -storm it by assault; but so many were the obstacles, that a clearance by -cannonade became necessary; and it was not until after much artillery -firing, and much loss of life, that the fort was captured. So peculiar -was the construction of the place, that Captain Holland was obliged to -drag a 6-pounder gun through a bamboo-fence and an outer ditch, before -he could breach a mud-wall which had until then been invisible. It was -certainly no small achievement, in a military point of view, for the -enemy to have constructed a fort entirely novel to the besiegers, and -capable of being defended for several hours by less than forty men -against many hundreds. When all was over, Brigadier Macgregor, wishing -to know something more of the nature and construction of this little -fort of Berozepoor, requested Lieutenant Sankey, of the Madras -Engineers, to examine and report thereon—seeing that there might be like -forts elsewhere, with which it would be well to be familiar. Near the -village of Berozepoor, then, the fort was built. It was only sixty feet -square, with circular bastions at the angles, and a banquette just -within the parapet on which musketeers might stand. The mud-rampart was -fifteen feet above the level of the ground, very thick at the bottom and -loopholed for musketry at the top. It was surrounded by a ditch, this -again by a belt of high bamboos, which was in turn encircled by another -ditch ten or twelve feet deep. A row of newly planted bamboo slips, -eight or ten feet high, was placed on the immediate lip of the -counterscarp of the outer ditch. Lieutenant Sankey said in his report: -‘Viewed from the outside, nothing very suspicious or formidable was -discoverable about the place. It had all the appearance of an ordinary -clump of bamboos at the corner of a village; which latter, like all -inhabited places in this part of the country, was very well screened in -foliage.’ He found it, however, ‘a very hedgehog of fortification. -Nothing could be more difficult of approach; every portion bristling -with thorns, and intercepted by ditches and banks.’ - -A little must now be said concerning a few isolated operations, -belonging to the month of February, near the Jumna and the Ganges, in -which Seaton, Maxwell, and Hope Grant were concerned. Colonel Seaton, at -the close of the month, was at Mahomedabad, a few miles distant from -Futteghur. He had with him a detachment of the 82d foot, 300 of De -Kantzow’s horse, 350 of De Kantzow’s foot, and 40 Sikh troopers. After -waiting for the arrival of the 4th Punjaub infantry, the 3d Europeans, -Alexander’s Horse, and nine guns, he was enabled to organise an -efficient column for chastising the rebels in a number of villages -around Futteghur. Those operations, however, scarcely commenced until -the month of March. - -Colonel Maxwell had the gratification of defeating a body of insurgents -who had for a long time given much anxiety to the British -officers—anxiety arising from a doubt concerning the plans and movements -of the insurgents. The Gwalior mutineers are here alluded to. They did -not allow the month to pass away wholly without giving signs of -activity; though those signs were few and unimportant. Colonel Maxwell, -commanding a detachment sent out from Cawnpore, suddenly found himself -attacked on the 4th by the mutineers, who marched from Calpee to his -camp at Bhogneepore. The broken nature of the ground, the cover of the -crops, and the dimness of the light at five o’clock on a winter’s -morning, prevented Maxwell from forming a correct estimate of numbers; -but he had every reason for believing them to be in great strength. He -could only bring against them five companies of H.M. 88th foot, 50 -troopers, and 2 guns; yet with this small force he maintained a -running-fight for four hours. The enemy disputed every inch of the -ground, making a stand at Chowra, a place three or four miles distant -from the camp. He pursued them until they retreated across a small -river, keeping up the fire of their skirmishers to the very last. It is -difficult to understand what could have been the nature of the enemy’s -fire; for while, after the battle, the bodies of eighty rebels were -found dead upon the field, Colonel Maxwell recorded only five wounded -(none killed) in his own little force. Among the wounded was Lieutenant -Thompson, one of the few who escaped alive from Cawnpore. - -About the middle of February, it became known that bodies of the enemy -were in motion near the fords or ghats on the left bank of the Ganges, -between Futteghur and Cawnpore, ready for any mischief that might -present itself. To clear away these rebels, a movable column was -organised, consisting of H.M. 34th, 38th, and 53d regiments, squadrons -of the 7th Hussars and 9th Lancers, squadrons of Hodson’s Horse and -Watson’s Horse, a company of Sappers and Miners, and a few guns. This -column was to start from the main Lucknow road at a point near Bunnee, -and to proceed on a line inclining towards the Ganges at such an angle -as to sweep the rebels towards the west, where, at present, they would -be less mischievous than if near the banks of the river. Sir Hope Grant -took command of this column, which consisted of 3246 men (2240 infantry, -636 cavalry, 326 artillery, and 44 native Sappers). One of his -achievements with this column consisted in the storming and capture of -the town of Meeangunje or Meagunje, on the 23d of February. In the -course of his various marchings, he learned that a body of the enemy had -taken up a strong position at Meeangunje, a town between Lucknow and -Futteghur. They had 2000 infantry in the town, 300 cavalry outside, and -five or six guns. Hope Grant’s force being stronger than theirs, a -victory was naturally to be expected, although the position was a strong -one. Meeangunje was surrounded by a stone wall fourteen feet high, and -had three strong gates, opening into the Lucknow, Cawnpore, and -Rohilcund roads respectively; there were also numerous bastions on all -sides. At each of the gates the enemy placed guns behind strong -breastworks, and the breastworks themselves were covered by trees. After -a careful reconnoitring, Grant found a weak point on the fourth side of -the town, where he could bring two heavy guns within three or four -hundred yards of the wall, at a place where a postern-gate pierced it. -Telling off part of his force to command the Lucknow road, another part -to the Rohilcund road, and the rest to await behind a village the result -of the cannonading, he opened fire. In less than an hour, the two heavy -guns made a practicable breach in the wall. Grant at once ordered H.M. -53d to advance to the assault. The regiment separated into two wings, -one of which, after entering the breach, proceeded under Colonel English -through the left of the town; while the other, under Major Payne, -penetrated to the right. This work was admirably done; the infantry -advancing through a labyrinth of lanes, and driving the enemy before -them at every yard. The town was captured, and with it six guns. The -enemy, in endeavouring to escape by the several gates, were killed or -captured to the number of nearly a thousand altogether. Here occurred -another of those inexplicable anomalies already adverted to; Sir Hope -Grant, in language too distinct to be misinterpreted, stated that his -loss was only 2 killed and 19 wounded. - -The Doab had undergone a wonderful improvement during the winter months. -District after district was gradually falling out of the enemy’s hands, -and into the power of the British. Nevertheless, there was much need for -caution. The insurgents were cunning, and often appeared where little -expected. The commander-in-chief’s operations, in February as in -December, were influenced by the necessity of providing for the safety -of non-combatants escaping from the scenes of strife. In the earlier -month, as we have already seen, Sir Colin could not chastise the Gwalior -mutineers until he had sent off the women, children, sick, and wounded -from Lucknow to Cawnpore, Futtehpoor, and Allahabad; and now, in -February, he had to secure the passage of a convoy from Agra, comprising -a large number of ladies and 140 children. Protected by the 3d Bengal -Europeans, some irregular horse, and two guns, these helpless persons -left Agra on the 11th of February, and proceeded by way of Ferozabad and -Minpooree to Cawnpore—thence to be forwarded to Allahabad. On the way, -the convoy watched narrowly for any indications of the presence of Nena -Sahib, who was reported to be in movement somewhere in that quarter. - -Of Delhi, the chief matter here to be noticed, is the trial of the old -imprisoned king, for complicity in the mutiny and its atrocities. -Without formally limiting the account to the month of February, the -general course of the investigation may briefly be traced. - -The trial commenced on the 27th of January, in the celebrated imperial -chamber of the Dewani Khas, the ‘Elysium’ where in former days Mogul -power had been displayed in all its gorgeousness. The tribunal was a -court-martial, all the members being military officers. The president -was Colonel Dawes (in lieu of Brigadier Showers, who, though first -appointed, had been obliged to leave for service elsewhere). The other -members were Major Palmer, Major Redmond, Major Sawyers, and Captain -Rothney. Major Harriott, deputy-judge-advocate-general, officiated as -government prosecutor. The charges against the king were set forth under -four headings.[138] It may be doubted whether the wearisome legal -phraseology (’to raise, levy, and make insurrection, rebellion, and -war’—‘treasonably conspire, consult, and agree with,’ &c.) was well -fitted for the purpose; but this may depend on the mode in which the -English was translated into Hindustani. - -It was impossible for the spectators to regard without emotion the -appearance of the aged monarch, the last representative of a long line -of Indian potentates, thus brought as a culprit before a tribunal of -English officers. Even those who considered him simply as a hoary-headed -villain were interested by the proceedings. After being in attendance -some time, sitting in a palanquin outside the court, under a guard of -Rifles, he was summoned within at about noon. He appeared very infirm, -and tottered into court supported on one side by his favourite son, -Jumma Bukht, and on the other by a confidential servant. He sat coiled -up on a cushion at the left of the president; and ‘presented such a -picture of helpless imbecility as, under other circumstances, must have -awakened pity.’ His son stood a few yards to the left, and the guard of -Rifles beyond all. - -After the members of the court, the prosecutor, and the interpreter, had -taken the usual oaths, the prosecutor proceeded to read the charges -against the prisoner. He next addressed the court in a concise and -explanatory manner; and announced that, though the king would be tried -to ascertain whether he were guilty or not guilty, no capital sentence -could be passed upon him, in consequence of his life having been -guaranteed to him by Sir Archdale Wilson, through Captain Hodson. When -the king was asked, through the interpreter, whether he was guilty or -innocent, he professed to be ignorant of the nature of the charges -against him. This, however, was affected ignorance, for the charges had -long before been presented to him, translated into his own language. -After considerable delay, he pleaded ‘not guilty.’ - -During several sittings of the court, occupying many weeks, numerous -witnesses were examined. Among them were Jutmull, Mukkhun Lall, Captain -Forrest, Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, Hussun Uskeree, Bukhtawar, Kishen, -Chunee, Golam, Essamoola Khan, and other persons, European, Eurasian or -half-caste, and native. The evidence brought against the king was of -very varied character, tending to shew that he both aided in inciting -the mutiny, and in encouraging the atrocities of the mutineers. Some of -the evidence proved that, so long ago as the summer of 1856, the King of -Delhi had been in correspondence with the Shah of Persia, touching an -overturning of the English ‘raj’ in India: in a manner and at a time -corresponding with the advance of the Persians towards Herat. Other -portions confirmed the fact that many of the massacres at Delhi, at the -beginning of the Revolt, were sanctioned by the palace profligates, and -even committed immediately under the king’s own apartments. Sir T. -Metcalfe, in his evidence, stated it as his opinion, derived from an -intimate acquaintance with Delhi and its inhabitants, that the Revolt -was the legitimate fruit of a Mussulman conspiracy; that the courts of -Delhi and Lucknow were concerned in this conspiracy; that the war with -Persia helped to strengthen it; that the Hindoos were used as tools in -the matter by the Mohammedans; and that the affair of the greased -cartridges was regarded as a lucky opportunity for enlisting Hindoo -prejudices. - -During the trial the king displayed a mingled silliness and cunning that -revealed much of his character. Sometimes, while the evidence was being -taken, he would coil himself up on his cushion, and appear lost in the -land of dreams. Except when anything particular struck him, he paid, or -appeared to pay, no attention whatever to the proceedings. On one of the -days he was aroused from sleep, to reply to a question put by the court. -Sometimes he would rouse up, as if by some sudden impulse, and make an -exclamation in denial of a witness’s statement. Once, when the intrigues -of Persia were under notice, he asked whether the Persians and the -Russians were the same people. On the twelfth day of the trial, the king -was more animated than usual; he several times declared his innocence of -everything; and amused himself by twisting and untwisting a scarf round -his head. - -Without tracing the incidents of the trial day by day, or quoting the -evidence, it may suffice to say that the guilt of the aged sinner was -sufficiently proved, on some if not all of the charges. The safety of -his life being guaranteed, imprisonment became the only probable -punishment. He was sentenced for the rest of his days to -transportation—either to one of the Andaman Islands (a group in the -eastern portion of the Bay of Bengal), or to some other place that might -be selected. It may not be inappropriate to mention that some of the -witnesses proved that Mr Colvin at Agra, and Sir Theophilus Metcalfe at -Delhi, were told of a forthcoming Mohammedan conspiracy many weeks -before the Meerut outbreak; so utterly, however, did these authorities -disregard the rumour, that they did not even report it to the Calcutta -government. There were only a few men in India, in the spring of 1857, -who believed that the British ‘raj’ was ‘on the edge of a volcano.’ - -In connection with the fate of the old king, much attention was -necessarily bestowed on the past conduct of his favourite young wife, -the intriguing Sultana Zeenat Mahal, the ‘dark, fat, shrewd, but -sensual-looking woman,’ whom Mrs Hodson visited in the prison,[139] in -relation to the Revolt. Ever since the year 1853, a feud had existed in -the royal family, arising out of the polygamic troubles so frequent in -oriental countries. The king, instigated by Zeenat Mahal, wished to name -the child of his old age, Mirza Jumma Bukht, heir to the throne of -Akbar; but the British government insisted on recognising the superior -claims of an elder son, Mirza Fukhr-oo-deen. Strife and contest -immediately commenced, and never ceased until one obstacle was removed -from the path. Mirza Fukhr-oo-deen died in 1856, as alleged, of cholera, -but not without suspicion of foul play. From that time till the -beginning of the mutiny in the following year, the imperial palace was a -focus of intriguing. The sultana bent her whole energies towards -obtaining the heirship to the throne of the Moguls for her own son. She -was known to have declared that this object would be persistently and -steadily pursued, and to have opened many communications thereon with -the authorities at Calcutta. When, however, it was announced that a -grandson of the king should, after him, possess all that remained of -imperial power, her plans were at once dashed. It thenceforward became a -question with her whether, by an overturn of the English ‘raj,’ she -could obtain that which was denied to her by the government; and when -other sources of revolt and rebellion appeared, there was an -intelligible reason why she should encourage the insurgents. Nothing -came out at the trial so clear as to fix guilt unquestionably upon her; -but there remained on men’s minds a suspicion to which collateral -circumstances afforded much probability. - -Transferring attention from Delhi to Rohilcund and the Hills, it may at -once be explained that little occurred during the month of February -requiring detailed notice. The time had not yet arrived when Sir Colin -Campbell could send strong columns to sweep away the rebels in that -quarter. Bareilly was still the head-quarters of a rebel force, which -ruled almost the whole of Rohilcund. Khan Bahadoor Khan, the -self-appointed chief, had still around him a large body of revolted -sepoys and insurgent retainers; and in the whole region between Oude on -the one side, and Delhi and Meerut on the other, very little was under -British control. The time, however, for making a demonstration in this -quarter was approaching. Among other military arrangements planned about -the middle of February, was the formation of a movable column at Meerut, -to be held in readiness to march anywhere at a short notice. It was to -consist of a squadron of Carabiniers, a wing of the 60th Rifles, a wing -of the Belooch battalion, the 1st Punjaub infantry, the Moultanee horse, -a field-battery, two 18-pounders, and one 8-inch howitzer. There was at -the same time at Looksar, near Roorkee, a small force under Captain -Brind, consisting of a squadron of Carabiniere, Hughes’s irregular -cavalry, detachments of Coke’s Rifles, of the Nusseree battalion, and of -the 3d Punjaub infantry, and a troop of horse-artillery. At Roorkee -another corps was to be formed, under Major Coke, to consist of Punjaub -regiments about to arrive. It was proposed that these three bodies—the -movable column at Meerut, Brind’s corps at Looksar, and Coke’s corps at -Roorkee—should ultimately form a Rohilcund field-force, under General -Penny. What was effected by means of this force, will come for notice in -a future page; little could be achieved until the commander-in-chief had -broken the strength of the enemy in Oude, now the great centre of -rebellion. - -The hilly country in and around Kumaon, although too far removed from -the Jumna regions to be frequently engaged in the horrors of war, was -nevertheless occasionally made a battle-ground between hostile forces. -Early in February, Colonel M’Causland, commanding in Kumaon, formed a -camp at Huldwanee, to protect the Kumaon hills, and to clear the Barbur -and Turale districts of rebels. He found two formidable bodies of the -enemy threatening that region. One, under a leader named Fuzul Huq, -consisting of 4000 men and 6 guns, was encamped at Sunda, in a strong -position on the banks of the Sookhee river, about fifteen miles from -Huldwanee, on the Peleebheet road. The other, under Khali Khan, -consisting of 5000 men and 4 guns, was encamped at Churpurah, on the -Paha Nuddee, sixteen miles from Huldwanee, on the Bareilly road. So far -as could be judged, it appeared as if these 9000 men intended to make a -combined attack on Huldwanee, and then to force the hill-passes. To -encounter these enemies, M’Causland’s force was but small, consisting of -700 Goorkha infantry, 200 horse, and 2 field-guns; nevertheless he -resolved to confront them boldly. On the 9th of February he commenced a -movement intended to prevent the junction of the two hostile forces. In -the dead of the night, leaving his tents to be guarded by a few men in a -barricaded square called the Mundee, he marched out as quietly as -possible to the place occupied by Khali Khan’s army. He came up to them -at daybreak on the 10th, and found them encamped in a strong position; -with their rear and left protected by the Paha Nuddee, a small village -filled with infantry on their right flank, their front protected by -rough ground intersected with nullahs and long jungle-grass, and the -road commanded by four pieces of artillery. So completely did he -surprise them, that when his cavalry first appeared, the rebels thought -their allies under Fuzul Huq had arrived. Finding the enemy’s right -flank the best to attack, the colonel sent most of his men to that -point, covered by the fire of his two guns. The contest was sharp and -severe. In about an hour the Goorkhas had captured the enemy’s guns, cut -down every artilleryman serving them, and dislodged the enemy from the -village. Meanwhile the few horse made a gallant charge, repulsing a -superior body of the enemy’s cavalry, and taking a standard. The -colonel’s two guns worked immense execution among the enemy’s cavalry, -‘into which’ (to use the professional language of the commander) ‘they -poured shrapnel with beautiful precision and tremendous effect.’ The -victory was complete. The enemy lost their guns, ammunition, -standing-camp, baggage, 300 killed, and 600 wounded. The colonel, having -thus defeated nearly six times his number, returned to Huldwanee—his -gallant Goorkhas having marched thirty-four miles and fought a severe -battle in thirteen hours. It was deemed necessary to return at once, -lest their prolonged absence from Huldwanee should tempt Fuzul Huq, -whose army was not far distant, to make a dash on the camp and station. - -Nynee Tal was deeply interested in all these movements. During February -it was hemmed in by the rebels on one side, and by the hill-snows on the -other. The enemy, deterred by the gallant force at Huldwanee, hoped to -penetrate to the little colony by a detour through the Kulleedongee -Pass. This hope, however, was not worth much to them; for the pass was -long and fatiguing; and near its top was a small body of Goorkhas, who, -with a few guns, were determined to make a stout resistance if any -attack were made. - -The Punjaub and Sinde were nearly at peace. The few instances of -turbulence, or of military operation, may pass without record here. - -In that vast range of country which has in so many chapters required -attention, comprising Rajpootana, Gujerat, Central India, the Mahratta -States, Bundelcund, and the Saugor territories, the month of February -exhibited the gradual strengthening of British columns sent up from -Bombay and Madras, and the success of numerous small engagements in -which the names of Rose, Roberts, Orr, Whitlock, Stuart, Steuart, and -other officers are concerned. Being small in themselves, these -engagements hardly need separate notice; but taken collectively, they -tended to assist the commander-in-chief’s plans towards the general -pacification of India. - -The month of February witnessed the conclusion of a series of services -rendered by a small force under somewhat remarkable circumstances. -Mention has frequently been made of Captain Osborne, political agent at -Rewah, almost the only Englishman within a turbulent district. -Fortunately, the Rajahs of Rewah and Nagode remained faithful to the -British; they, with the aid of Osborne, formed a corps of such of their -native troops as they felt could be trusted; and this corps was placed -under Colonel Hinde for active service. It was November when the corps -was first organised; but, the troops being undisciplined, badly -equipped, and badly armed, and the arrangements for marching and camping -being very defective, it was the middle of December before the corps -started from the town of Rewah. The duty to be performed was to keep -open and safe the road from Rewah to Jubbulpoor (one of the great -highways of India), and to capture such forts by the way as were in -hostile hands. Imperfect as were the materials at his command, Colonel -Hinde nevertheless, between the middle of December and the middle of -February, captured six forts, forty guns, two mortars, and two -standards; rendered the great road to the Deccan secure; re-established -dâk and police bungalows; restored order in the Myhere territory; -annexed the small territory of the rebellious chieftains of -Bijeeragooghar; appointed tehsildars and police therein; and captured a -large number of turbulent rebels. The six forts taken were Kunchunpore, -Goonah, Myhere, Jokai, Khunwara, and Bijeeragooghar. These services -having been rendered, Captain Osborne recalled the corps to Rewah; and -the governor-general thanked both him and Colonel Hinde for what they -had effected in a troubled region, with very limited means. It is -pleasant—amid the treachery of so many ‘Pandies’ and ‘Singhs’—to read -that Osborne and Hinde had a good word to say for Dinbund Pandy, Lullaie -Singh, Sewgobind Pandy, Davy Singh, and Bisseshur Singh—Rewah and Nagode -native officers, who were both faithful and brave in the hour of need. - -Brigadier Whitlock, with a Madras column, was rendering service in the -country between Nagpoor and Bundelcund. He had various skirmishes with -bands of rebels at Jubbulpoor and Sleemanabad; and when he had restored -something like order in that region, he moved off towards Cawnpore, -there to take part if necessary in the operations of the army of Oude. - -Few Europeans in India had better reason than those at Saugor to welcome -the approach of some of their countrymen as deliverers. So far back as -the month of June, the officers, their ladies, and the civilians, had -been shut up in the fort by orders of Brigadier Sage, on account of the -suspicious symptoms presented by the 31st, 42d, and other native -regiments. There they remained throughout the whole of the autumn and -part of the winter, too strong to be seriously molested, and too well -supplied with food to suffer those privations which were so sadly -experienced at Lucknow. Sir Hugh Rose arrived with his force at Saugor -on the 3d of February, and liberated those who had so long been confined -within the fort. No battle was needed to effect this; for though the -garrison were almost entirely without reliable troops, they were not -besieged by any considerable force of the enemy. Rose, who had collected -a force with much difficulty from various quarters, prepared after the -relief of Saugor to attack numerous bands of rebels in that part of -India. He assaulted the strong fortress of Garra Kotah, at the -confluence of the Sonah and the Guddarree; he captured it, pursued and -cut up the enemy, and then marched towards Jhansi, where busy work -awaited him in the following month. - -General Roberts, towards the close of February, was collecting a force -at and near Nuseerabad, for operations in that part of Rajpootana. He -went with the head-quarters of H.M. 95th from Deesa to Beaur, and thence -to Nuseerabad, where he arrived on the 22d. He was to be joined shortly -afterwards by the 72d Highlanders from Deesa, and by 200 of the Sinde -horse under Major Green; and when strengthened by other regiments, -especially a good body of cavalry, he intended to march towards Kotah, a -very strong fortress which had long been in the hands of a rebel -chieftain. - -[Illustration: - - Moulvies, or Mohammedan Religious Teachers. -] - -The regions forming the central and southern portions of the Bombay -presidency were a little disturbed by fanatical Mohammedans, who, though -unable to bring any very large number of conspirators into their plan of -action, did nevertheless make many attempts to raise the green flag, the -symbol of Moslem supremacy. There were no mutinies of whole regiments, -however, or even companies of regiments. Indeed the instigators of -mischief were rather rioters than soldiers; and the authorities only -regarded these outbreaks seriously as sparks that might possibly kindle -inflammable materials elsewhere. - -The Nizam’s country, generally peaceful on account of his fidelity to -the English, became a field of temporary struggle owing to the -insubordination of a minor chieftain, the Rajah of Shorapore. His small -territory, bounded on one side by the river Kistnah, occupied an angle -in the dominions of the Nizam. Wishing, perhaps, to rise from the rank -of a petty chieftain to one of greater power, he had for some time -displayed hostility towards the British. But his career now came to an -end. A force left Belgaum at the end of January, to advance to -Shorapore; another left Kulladghee for the same destination; while a -third advanced from Madras. The Nizam, at the same time, acting in -harmony with his prime minister and Colonel Davidson, issued a -proclamation denouncing as rebels any of his subjects who should assist -the chief of Shorapore. These various measures had the desired result; -the insurgents were dispersed, Shorapore seized, and the chief made -prisoner. - -In reference to such occurrences as the one described in the last -paragraph, it may be observed that many of the residents, or British -representatives at the courts of native princes, exhibited a wisdom and -intrepidity which claim for them a rank by the side of the military -heroes whose names are much better known to the world. Such a one was -Colonel Davidson, British resident at the Nizam’s court at Hyderabad in -the Deccau. During many months, he, with a few hundred faithful troops, -maintained English prestige amongst a fanatic Mussulman population of -two or three hundred thousand men, who often threatened the handful of -British in the city. ‘Disaffected persons,’ a well-informed authority -has said, ‘thronged to the Nizam’s palace by day and by night, with -imprecations upon their lips against Europeans. It was impossible to -tell when mutiny might break out among the native soldiers; and it was -certain that the rabble were only awaiting their opportunity to glut -themselves with English blood. Yet amidst all this the British resident -never faltered or wavered; and by mere force of character he preserved -peace in the city and district, and succeeded in securing to our side -the Nizam and his minister Salar Jung. This Salar Jung was a young and -well-educated man, who for his friendship to the British was hated by -the Mussulmans.’ The position of this minister was almost as dangerous -as that of the resident; for if the attack of the 17th of July[140] had -succeeded, he would have shared the common fate of the British. Colonel -Davidson not only secured Hyderabad, but was subsequently enabled to -send a considerable cavalry force for service elsewhere. - -Among other political arrangements of the month, was the termination of -a short governorship in the regions around Allahabad. On the 4th of -August, in the preceding year, after the Northwest Provinces had been -thrown into anarchy by the mutiny, a ‘lieutenant governorship of the -Central Provinces’ was established, and placed in the hands of Mr John -Peter Grant, one of the members of the Supreme Council at Calcutta. A -few weeks afterwards, on the 19th of September, some of the other -provinces in the Jumna regions were placed under a ‘chief-commissioner -of the Northwest Provinces.’ Both of these offices were abolished by the -governor-general in council, on the 9th of February; and Viscount -Canning, then at Allahabad, took under his immediate authority and -control the whole of the provinces lately placed under those officers. -He became in fact, though not in name, and for a temporary period, -governor of a presidency of which Allahabad was the capital. At or about -the same time, Meerut and Delhi were handed over to the -chief-commissioner of the Punjaub. Thus, all the political power between -Calcutta and the Afghan frontier being in the hands of Canning and -Lawrence, and all the military power in Sir Colin Campbell, it was hoped -that greater energy and precision would be thrown into the combined -operations. - - - Notes. - - _Sir Colin Campbell’s Army of Oude._—On the 10th of February, as - stated in the text of this chapter, the commander-in-chief made a - formal announcement of the component elements of the army with which - he was about to enter Oude. These particulars we give here in a - note, as a permanent record of an interesting matter in the military - history of the Revolt. It must be clearly borne in mind, however, - that this army of Oude comprised only such troops as were at that - date under the immediate command of Sir Colin. Columns, corps, and - field-forces, under Franks, Seaton, Jung Bahadoor, Macgregor, - Windham, Van Cortlandt, Penny, M’Causland, Greathed, Roberts, Rose, - Steuart, Stuart, Whitlock, and other officers, were rendering active - or defensive services in various parts of India; and it depended on - the course of circumstances whether any and which of these could - assist in the grand operations against Lucknow. - - ‘_Head-quarters, Camp Cawnpore, Feb. 10._ - - ‘The troops now in Oude, and those advancing into that province, are - formed into divisions and brigades, and staff-officers are attached - us follows; the whole being under the personal command of his - Excellency the Commander-in-chief. - - ‘Such appointments as now appear for the first time will take effect - from this date. - - Artillery Division. - - ‘Staff.—Major-general Sir A. Wilson, K.C.B., Bengal Artillery, - commanding; Major E. B. Johnson, Bengal Artillery, Assistant - Adjutant-general; Lieutenant R. Biddulph, Royal Artillery, - Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general; Lieutenant-colonel C. Hogge, - Bengal Artillery, Director of Artillery in the Ordnance Department; - Captain C. H. Barchard, 20th Regiment Native Infantry, Aid-de-camp; - Lieutenant H. G. Deedes, 60th Royal Rifles, Extra Aid-de-camp. - - ‘Brigade of Field-artillery.—Brigadier D. E. Wood, C.B., Royal - Horse-artillery; Lieutenant J. S. Frith, Bengal Horse-artillery, - Major of Brigade.—E troop Royal Horse-artillery; F Troop Royal - Horse-artillery; 1st Troop 1st Brigade Bengal Artillery; 2d Troop - 1st Brigade Bengal Artillery; 2d Troop 3d Brigade Bengal Artillery; - 3d Troop 3d Brigade Bengal Artillery; 3d Company 14th Battalion - Royal Artillery, and No. 20, Light Field-battery; 2d Company 3d - Battalion Bengal Artillery, and No. 12 Light Field-battery. - - ‘Brigade of Siege-artillery.—Brigadier G. R. Barker, C.B., Royal - Artillery; Lieutenant A. Bunny, Bengal Horse-artillery, Major of - Brigade.—3d Company 8th Battalion Royal Artillery; 6th Company 11th - Battalion Royal Artillery; 5th Company 12th Battalion Royal - Artillery; 5th Company 13th Battalion Royal Artillery; 4th Company - 1st Battalion Bengal Artillery; 1st Company 5th Battalion Bengal - Artillery; 3d Company 5th Battalion Bengal Artillery; Detachment - Bengal Artillery recruits. - - ‘The Naval Brigade will form part of the division under Sir Archdale - Wilson, but will be under the immediate command of Captain W. Peel, - C.B., Royal Navy, and independent of the Brigade of Siege-artillery. - - ‘Engineer Brigade.—Brigadier R. Napier, Bengal Engineers, - Chief-engineer; Major of Brigade, Lieutenant H. Bingham, Veteran - Establishment, Brigade Quartermaster; Lieutenant-colonel H. D. - Harness, Royal Engineers, commanding Royal Engineers; Captain A. - Taylor, Bengal Engineers, commanding Bengal Engineers.—4th Company - Royal Engineers; 23d Company Royal Engineers; Head-quarters Bengal - Sappers and Miners; Punjaub Sappers and Miners; corps of Pioneers. - - Cavalry Division. - - ‘Brigadier-general J. H. Grant, C.B., commanding; Captain W. - Hamilton, 9th Lancers, Deputy-assistant-adjutant-general; - Lieutenant F. S. Roberts, Bengal Horse-artillery, - Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general; Captain the Hon. A. H. A. - Anson, her Majesty’s 84th Regiment, Aid-de-camp. - - ‘1st Brigade.—Brigadier A. Little, her Majesty’s 9th Lancers; - Captain H. A. Sarel, her Majesty’s 17th Lancers, Major of - Brigade.—Her Majesty’s 9th Lancers; 2d Battalion Military Train; 2d - Punjaub Cavalry; Detachment 5th Punjaub Cavalry; Wale’s Horse. - - ‘2d Brigade.—Brigadier W. Campbell, her Majesty’s 2d Dragoon Guards; - Captain H. Forbes, 1st Light Cavalry, Major of Brigade.—Her - Majesty’s 2d Dragoon Guards; her Majesty’s 7th (Queen’s Own) - Hussars; Volunteer Cavalry; Detachment 1st Punjaub Cavalry; Hodson’s - Horse. - - 1st Infantry Division. - - ‘Major-general Sir J. Outram, G.C.B., Bombay Army, commanding; - Captain D. S. Dodgson, 30th Native Infantry, - Deputy-assistant-adjutant-general; Lieutenant W. R. Moorsom, - her Majesty’s 52d Light Infantry, - Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general; Lieutenant F. E. A. - Chamier, 34th Native Infantry, Aid-de-camp; Lieutenant - Hargood, 1st Madras Fusiliers, Extra Aid-de-camp. - - ‘1st Brigade.—Brigadier D. Russell, her Majesty’s 84th Regiment.—Her - Majesty’s 5th Fusiliers; her Majesty’s 84th Regiment; 1st Madras - Fusiliers. - - ‘2d Brigade.—Brigadier C. Franklyn, her Majesty’s 84th Regiment.—Her - Majesty’s 78th Highlanders; her Majesty’s 90th Light Infantry; - Regiment of Ferozpore. - - 2d Infantry Division. - - ‘Captain R. C. Stewart, her Majesty’s 35th Regiment, - Deputy-assistant-adjutant-general; Captain D. C. Shute, - Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general. - - ‘3d Brigade.—Brigadier W. Hamilton, her Majesty’s 78th Highlanders, - commanding; Captain G. N. Fendall, her Majesty’s 53d Regiment, Major - of Brigade.—Her Majesty’s 34th Regiment; her Majesty’s 38th - Regiment; her Majesty’s 53d Regiment. - - ‘4th Brigade.—Brigadier the Hon. A. Hope, her Majesty’s 93d - Highlanders; Captain J. H. Cox, her Majesty’s 75th Regiment, Major - of Brigade.—Her Majesty’s 42d Highlanders; her Majesty’s 93d - Highlanders; 4th Punjaub Rifles. - - 3d Infantry Division. - - ‘Brigadier-general R. Walpole, Rifle Brigade, commanding; - Captain C. A. Beerwell, 71st Regiment Native Infantry, - Deputy-assistant-adjutant-general; Captain T. A. Carey, 17th - Regiment Native Infantry, Deputy-assistant-quarter-master-general. - - ‘5th Brigade.—Brigadier Douglas, her Majesty’s 79th Highlanders.—Her - Majesty’s 23d Fusiliers; her Majesty’s 79th Highlanders; 1st Bengal - Fusiliers. - - ‘6th Brigade.—Brigadier A. H. Horsford, Rifle Brigade.—2d Battalion - Rifle Brigade; 3d Battalion Rifle Brigade; 2d Punjaub Infantry. - - ‘Captain C. C. Johnson, Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general, will - be attached to army head-quarters. Deputy-judge Advocate-general to - the Force.—Captain A. C. Robertson, Her Majesty’s 8th (the King’s) - Regiment. Field Paymaster.—Captain F. C. Tombs, 18th Regiment Native - Infantry. Baggage Master.—Lieutenant J. Morland, 1st Bengal - Fusiliers. Provost Marshal.—Captain A. C. Warner, 7th Light Cavalry. - Postmaster.—Major C. Apthorp, 41st Native Infantry. Superintending - Surgeon.—J. C. Brown, M.B., Bengal Horse-artillery. Field - Surgeon.—Surgeon Wilkie. Medical Storekeeper.—Assistant-surgeon - Corbyn, M.D. - - ‘All staff appointments connected with Major-general Sir J. Outram’s - force not specified above will hold good until the junction of that - force with army head-quarters. - - ‘All appointments not filled up in the above order are to be - temporarily provided for under the orders of officers commanding - divisions and brigades. - - * * * * * - - ‘The following is the General Staff of the army advancing into Oude: - - ‘Commander-in-chief.—His Excellency General Sir Colin Campbell, - G.C.B., Her Majesty’s service. - - ‘Military Secretary to Commander-in-chief.—Major A. Alison, - her Majesty’s service (wounded). Acting Secretary and - Aid-de-camp.—Colonel A. C. Sterling, C.B., her Majesty’s - service. Aid-de-camp.—Captain Sir D. Baird, 98th foot. - Aid-de-camp.—Lieutenant F. M. Alison, 72d Highlanders. - Aid-de-camp.—Captain W. T. Forster, 18th foot. Commandant at - head-quarters, and interpreter.—Captain J. Metcalfe, Bengal - infantry. Surgeon.—Staff-surgeon J. J. Clifford, M.D., her Majesty’s - service. Chief of the Staff.—Major-general W. R. Mansfield, her - Majesty’s service. Deputy-assistant Adjutant-general to the Chief of - the Staff.—Captain R. J. Hope Johnstone, Bombay infantry. - Aid-de-camp to the Chief of the Staff.—Captain C. Mansfield, 33d - foot (wounded). Acting Aid-de-camp.—Lieutenant D. Murray, 64th foot. - Deputy-adjutant-general of the Army.—Major H. W. Norman, Bengal - infantry. Assistant Adjutant-general of the Army.—Captain D. M. - Stewart, Bengal infantry. Deputy-adjutant-general, her - Majesty’s troops.—Colonel the Hon. W. L. Pakenham, C.B. - Assistant-quartermaster-general of the Army.—Captain G. Allgood, - Bengal infantry. Deputy-assistant-quartermaster-general.—Captain C. - C. Johnson, Bengal infantry. Acting quarter-master-general of her - Majesty’s Forces.—Captain C. F. Seymour, 84th foot. Judge - Advocate-general.—Lieutenant-Colonel K. Young, Bengal infantry. - Deputy Judge Advocate-general.—Captain A. C. Robertson, 8th foot. - Principal Commissariat Officer.—Captain C. M. Fitzgerald Bengal - infantry. Commissary of Ordnance.—Captain W. T. Brown, Bengal - artillery. Field Paymaster.—Captain F. C. Tombs, Bengal infantry. - Provost Marshal.—Captain A. C. Warner, Bengal cavalry. Baggage - Master.—Lieutenant J. Morland, Bengal infantry. Principal Medical - Officer, Queen’s Troops.—Dr J. C. Tice. Superintending - Surgeon.—Surgeon J. C. Brown, Bengal artillery.’ - - * * * * * - - _Mohammedan Rebel Leaders._—Whatever may have been the proximate - causes of the Revolt, it is certain that the rebel leaders were - found relatively more numerous among the Mohammedans than among the - Hindoos. They talked more frequently and fiercely about fighting for - the faith; and they dragged into the meshes of a net many Hindoos - who would otherwise have remained free from treasonable - entanglement. Several native proclamations have been noticed in - earlier chapters of this work; and we now present another, - illustrative of Mussulman intrigues. It purports to come from Prince - Mirza Mahomed Feroze Shah, and was dated the 3d of Rujub 1274, - corresponding to the 17th of February 1858: - - ‘Be it known to all the Hindoo and Mohammedan inhabitants of India - that to rule over a country is one of the greatest blessings from - Heaven, and it is denied to a tyrant or an oppressor. Within the - last few years the British commenced to oppress the people in India - under different pleas, and contrived to eradicate Hindooism and - Mohammedanism, and to make all the people embrace Christianity. The - Almighty Power observing this, diverted the hearts of the people to - a different course, and now every one has turned to annihilate the - English, and they have nearly done so. Through avarice and ambition, - the British have shewn some resistance, though in vain. Through - Divine mercy, that will in a short time be reduced to nothing. Let - this also be known to all the Hindoos and Mussulmans, that the - English bear the bitterest enmity towards them. Should they again - become predominant in this country—which, God forbid—they will - destroy religion, property, and even the life of every one. A brief - sketch of the views and intentions of the Supreme Court and - Parliament is hereby given, in order to warn the people that they - should get rid of habits of negligence, and strive in unity to - destroy the infidels. When the Indian troops mutinied to save their - religion, and killed all infidels in several places, the wise men of - England were of opinion that had the British authorities in India - kept the following things in view, the mutiny would never have - broken out: 1. They should have destroyed the race of the former - kings and nobles. 2. They should have burnt all books of every other - religion. 3. They should not have left even a biswa of ground to any - of the native rulers. 4. They should have intermarried among the - natives, so that after a short time all would have become one race. - 5. They should not have taught the use of artillery to the natives. - 6. They should not have left arms among the natives. 7. They should - not have employed any native until he consented to eat and drink - with Europeans. 8. The mosques and Hindoo temples should not have - been allowed to stand. 9. Neither Moulvies nor Brahmins should have - been allowed to preach. 10. The several cases brought into the - courts should have been decided according to English laws. 11. - English priests should have performed all nuptial ceremonies of the - natives according to their English customs. 12. All prescriptions of - the Hindoo and Mussulman physicians should have been prohibited, and - English medicines furnished instead. 13. Neither Hindoo nor - Mussulman fakeers should have been allowed to convert people without - the permission of English missionaries. 14. European doctors only - should have been allowed to assist native women in childbed.—But the - authorities did not take means to introduce these measures. On the - contrary, they encouraged the people: so much so, that they at last - broke out. Had the authorities kept in view the maxims above alluded - to, the natives would have remained quiet for thousands of years. - These are now the real intentions of the English; but all of us must - conjointly exert ourselves for the protection of our lives, - property, and religion, and to root out the English from this - country. Thus we shall, indeed, through Divine mercy, gain a great - victory over them. I (the prince) now draw a brief sketch of my - travels, and I hope the people will pay attention to what I say. - Before the destruction of the English, I went on a pilgrimage to - Mecca, and on my return I observed that the English were in a bad - and hazardous position. I therefore offered thanks to God, because - it is in my nature to follow the principles of my religion and to - promulgate justice. I persuaded many at Delhi to raise a religious - war; I then hastened towards Gwalior, where the majority of the - military officers promised to kill the English and take up my cause. - A small portion of the Gwalior army accompanied me. I had not the - least intention to announce war before I had everything in order; - but the army became very enthusiastic, and commenced fighting with - the enemy (the English). Though our army was then but a handful, and - that of the enemy very large in numbers, still we fought manfully; - and, though apparently we were defeated, in reality we were - victorious over our enemy, for we killed 1000 of them. Since then I - have been collecting as well as exhorting the people. I have exerted - myself in procuring ammunition up to this day, now four months since - the commencement. Thank God, an army of 150,000 old and new men are - now bound by a solemn oath to embrace my cause. I have collected - considerable treasury and munitions of war in many places, and in a - short time I shall clear the country of all infidels. Since the real - purpose of this war is to save religion, let every Hindoo and - Mussulman render assistance to the utmost. Those that are old should - offer their prayers. The rich, but old, should assist our sacred - warriors with money. Those in perfect health, as well as young, - should attend in person. But all those who are in the service of - either Mirza Birjish Kadur Bahadoor in Lucknow and of Khan Bahadoor - Khan at Bareilly should not venture out to join us, for these rulers - are themselves using their best endeavours to clear the country of - all infidels. All who join us should do so solely with a view of - promulgating their religion, not with that of worldly avarice. Thus - victory will certainly smile upon us; then distinguished posts will - be conferred on the people at large. The delay in defeating the - English has been caused by people killing innocent children and - women without any permission whatever from the leaders, whose - commands were not obeyed. Let us all avoid such practices, and then - proclaim a sacred war. Lastly, the great and small in this campaign - will be equal, for we are waging a religious war. I (the prince) do - now proclaim a sacred war, and exhort all, according to the tenets - of their religion, to exert themselves. The rest I leave to God. We - shall certainly conquer the English, consequently I invite the - people again to my assistance.—Printed at Bareilly, by Shaick Nisar - Ally, under the supervision of Moulvie Mahomed Kootoob Shah.’ - -[Illustration] - ------ - -Footnote 137: - - ‘I have not as yet said one word of the two other camels which were - appointed to carry my tent. Under the eaves of that tent had gathered - a strange population—they came as sparrows come to a house, without - the knowledge or consent of the owner; but the analogy fails in other - respects except noise, because the natives require to be paid. There - are two men who belong to the tent-post, as in England certain - gentlemen belong to horses; then there is a man to carry water, who - belongs to a large skin to contain that liquid; next there is a - cleaner or sweeper; then there is a khitmutgar or servant, and there - is his and my master, one Simon, “an assizes man” he says himself, but - he only means that he is a follower of St Francisco d’Assisi; and then - follow camel-keepers, and horse-keepers, and grass-cutters; so that I - feel very much as Sancho did in his government of Barataria. On the - morning of the 27th, soon after midnight, commenced a tumult in camp, - the like of which I never heard before; first began a loud tapping of - all the tent-pegs, as if an army of gigantic woodpeckers were - attacking us. This was caused by the kélassies, or tent-men, loosening - the tent-pegs, so that they might be drawn easily from the ground when - the word to march was given. Then followed a most hideous grumbling, - growling, roaring noise, as if many thousands of aldermen were choking - all at once, only that it was kept up for hours; that was caused by - the camels objecting to the placement of the smallest article on their - backs, and continuing their opposition till they stalked off with - their loads. Then came the trumpeting of elephants, the squeaking of - bullock cart-wheels, the hum and buzz of thousands of voices, and at - last the first bugle-call, which announced that the time for turning - out had arrived. Daylight was still striving with the moonlight for - mastery, and casting a sort of neutral tint over the camping-ground, - on which blazed the flames of many watch-fires, when the heads of our - columns began to cross the bridge of boats at Cawnpore. There was but - a waste of baked earth where, at sunset, had been a camp—only a few - tents belonging to the commander-in-chief and the head-quarters’ - staff, were left behind; and for hours the bridge echoed to the tramp - of men and horse, the rumble of artillery, and the tread of - innumerable elephants, and camels, and oxen. The Ganges is at this - season at its lowest, and the bridges are not, I should think, more - than 300 yards long; one is used for the exit, the other for the - entrance of Cawnpore. They lead to a level sandy plain, overflowed by - the Ganges for several hundred yards in the rainy season, on which - there were now moving, as far as the eye could reach, the strings of - baggage animals and the commissariat carts of the army, with their - fantastic followers.’ - -Footnote 138: - - ‘COPY OF CHARGES PREFERRED AGAINST MAHOMED BAHADOOR SHAH, EX-KING OF - DELHI. - - ‘1. For that he, being a pensioner of the British government in India, - did at Delhi, at various times between the 10th of May and 1st of - October 1857, encourage, aid, and abet Mahomed Bukht Khan, Subadar of - the regiment of artillery, and divers others, non-commissioned - officers and soldiers, unknown, of the East India Company’s army, in - the crimes of mutiny and rebellion against the state. - - ‘2. For having, at Delhi, at various times between the 10th of May and - 1st of October 1857, encouraged, aided, and abetted Mirza Mogul, his - own son, a subject of the British government in India, and divers - other unknown inhabitants of Delhi and of the Northwest provinces of - India, also subjects of the said British government, to rebel and wage - war against the state. - - ‘3. For that he, being a subject of the British government in India, - and not regarding the duty of his allegiance, did at Delhi, on the - 11th of May 1857, or thereabouts, as a false traitor against the - state, proclaim and declare himself the reigning king and sovereign of - India, and did then and there traitorously seize and take unlawful - possession of the city of Delhi; and did, moreover, at various times - between the 10th of May and 1st of October 1857, as such false traitor - aforesaid, treasonably conspire, consult, and agree with Mirza Mogul, - his son, and with Mahomed Bukht Khan, subadar of the regiment of - artillery, and divers other false traitors unknown, to raise, levy, - and make insurrection, rebellion, and war against the state; and, - further to fulfil and perfect his treasonable design of overthrowing - and destroying the British government in India, did assemble armed - forces at Delhi, and send them forth to fight and wage war against the - said British government. - - ‘4. For that he, at Delhi, on the 16th of May 1857, or thereabouts, - did, within the precincts of the palace at Delhi, feloniously cause - and become accessory to the murder of 49 persons, chiefly women and - children, of European and mixed European descent; and did, moreover, - between the 10th of May and the 1st of October 1857, encourage and - abet divers soldiers and others in murdering European officers and - other English subjects, including women and children, both by giving - and promising such murderers service, advancement, and distinction; - and further, that he issued orders to different native rulers, having - local authority in India, to slay and murder Christians and English - people whenever and wherever found in their territories; the whole or - any part of such conduct being a heinous offence under the provisions - of Act 16, of 1857, of the Legislative Council of India. - - ‘FREDERICK J. HARRIOTT, MAJOR, - ‘_Deputy judge-advocate-general, Government Prosecutor_. - - ‘_Jan. 5, 1858._’ - -Footnote 139: - - Chap. xx., p. 357. - -Footnote 140: - - See chap. xvii., p. 291. - -[Illustration: - - Goorkhas in their native country, Nepaul. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - FINAL CONQUEST OF LUCKNOW: MARCH. - - -The month at length arrived which was to witness the great siege of -Lucknow, the capture of that important city, and the commencement of a -re-establishment of British influence in Oude. The city which, excepting -a small portion near and around the Residency, had been wholly in the -hands of the rebels since the beginning of July, was to revert to the -Company’s possession in March, by a series of military operations which -it is the purpose of this chapter to trace. - -The extraordinary events in that city have been too frequently dwelt on -in past chapters to render any lengthened notice here necessary. The -reader will only have to bear in mind that Lawrence maintained the -Residency intact until his death early in July; that Inglis continued -the defence until September; that Outram and Havelock held the same -position until November; and that from thence to March the city was -wholly in the hands of the enemy—the Alum Bagh alone being held by -Outram. Concerning the buildings and general arrangement of Lucknow, it -may be useful here to freshen the recollection by a few descriptive -details. The city lies on the right bank of the river Goomtee, which -there runs nearly from northwest to southeast. All the buildings on the -opposite or left bank of the river are merely suburban. After winding -round the buildings called the Martinière and the Dil Koosha, the river -changes its course towards the south. The southeastern extremity of the -city is bounded by a canal, which enters the Goomtee near the -Martinière. There is no defined boundary on the southwest, west, or -northwest, the urban giving way to the rural in the same gradual way as -in most English towns. Between the crowded or commercial part of the -city, and the river, extends—or extended at the time of the Revolt (for -it will be convenient to adopt the past tense in this description)—a -long series of palaces and gardens, occupying collectively an immense -area, and known by the several names of the Taree Kothee, Fureed Buksh, -Pyne Bagh, Chuttur Munzil, Kaiser Bagh, Shah Munzil, Motee Mehal, Shah -Nujeef, Secunder Bagh, &c. Still further in the same line, were the -buildings once famous as the Residency, the Muchee Bhowan, the great -Emanbarra, and the Moosa Bagh. In short, for a distance of at least five -miles, there was a string of royal or governmental buildings along the -right bank of the river, forming a belt between it and the poorer or -denser streets of the city. There was a stone bridge beyond the Muchee -Bhowan, an iron bridge near the Residency, and—in peaceful times—a -bridge of boats near the Motee Mehal. As to the general aspect of the -city, when seen from a distance, writers have been at a loss for similes -applicable to it, owing chiefly to the vast space over which the -buildings are dotted. ‘If,’ in the quaint words of one writer, ‘Clapham -were overrun by a Mohammedan conqueror, who stuck up domes, cupolas, and -minarets on half the meeting-houses and mansions; and if that pleasant -suburb, when all the trees are green, were spread for eighteen or twenty -miles over a dead level surface—the aspect it would present might in -some degree give one a notion of Lucknow.’ - -The city, in the interval between November and March, had been fortified -by the rebels in great strength. Although not enclosed like Delhi by a -fortified wall, its many square miles of area, full of narrow streets -and high houses, and occupied by an enormous military force in addition -to the ordinary population, constituted a formidable stronghold in -itself. But the rebels did not neglect the usual precautions of -defensive warfare. Rightly judging that the English commander would -avoid a hand-to-hand contest in the streets, and would direct his attack -towards the southeastern suburb, they spared no labour in strengthening -that side of the city. In considering their plan of fortification, they -treated the courts and buildings of the Kaiser Bagh as a sort of -citadel, and interposed a triple series of obstacles between it and the -besiegers. First, exterior of the three, was a line of defence extending -from the river to a building known as Banks’s house, once occupied by -Major Banks; the canal formed the wet ditch of this line, and within the -canal was a rampart or elevated earthwork. The second defence consisted -of an earthwork beginning at the river-side near the Motee Mehal, the -Mess-house, and the Emanbarra. The third or interior defence was the -principal rampart of the Kaiser Bagh itself. All these lines consisted -of well-constructed earthen parapets or ridges, fronted by wide and deep -ditches, and strengthened at intervals by bastions. Not relying wholly -on these formidable lines, the enemy had loopholed and fortified almost -every house and enclosure, constructed strong counter-guards in front of -the gateways, and placed isolated bastions, stockades, and traverses -across the principal streets. The three lines of defence all abutted at -one end on the river Goomtee, and at the other on the great street or -road called the Huzrutgunje; which street was among the principal of -those loopholed and bastioned. It was estimated that the enemy defended -their works with nearly 100 guns and mortars. The insurgent troops were -variously computed at 40,000 to 80,000 in number; the estimate could not -be a precise one, because it was impossible to determine how many -peasants from the country or desperate characters from the city joined -the regular sepoys. There is, however, reason to believe that, at the -beginning of March, the city contained 30,000 revolted sepoys, 50,000 -volunteers and armed retainers of chieftains, and an ordinary city -population of no less than 300,000 souls. It was a terrible thought that -a city should be bombarded containing so large a number of living -beings; but, as one of the stern necessities of the war, it was -imperative. The chieftains of Oude, and the revolted sepoys of the -Company’s army, were there in great number; and until they were subdued, -nothing could be effected towards the pacification of this part of -India. - -It may not be out of place here to notice a few of the individuals who, -during the interregnum in Oude, assumed sovereign or governing power. -The newly set up king was a boy of eight or ten years old, a son of the -deposed king living at that time under surveillance at Calcutta. As a -boy, he was a puppet in the hands of others. The prime mover in all the -intrigues was his mother, the Begum Huzrut Mehal, who professed to be -regent during his minority, and to be assisted by a council of state. -She was a woman of much energy of character, and conducted public -affairs in an apartment of the Kaiser Bagh. Morally she was tainted in -full measure with oriental vices. Like Catherine of Russia she raised -one of her paramours, Mummoo Khan, to the office of chief judge, and did -not scruple openly to acknowledge her relations towards him. “While -executing the Begum’s commands in all that related to the management of -the newly formed government, he enriched himself at the expense of the -people generally. The chief minister was one Shirreff-u-Dowlah, and the -generalissimo Hissamut-u-Dowlah; but Mummoo Khan, held up by courtly -favour, had sources of power superior to both. Another notability was a -Moulvie or Mussulman fanatic who, though professing allegiance to the -boy-king of Oude, was suspected of aiming at the throne himself. Most of -the officers of the government purchased their places by large gifts to -the Begum or her favourite, knowing that they would obtain an ample -return during the anarchy of the period. The eunuchs of the royal -palaces held, nominally if not really, military commands. The whole city -of Lucknow, it is quite evident, was a hideous mass of intrigue, in -which the various members of the royal family sought how best they could -obtain power and wealth at the expense of the bulk of the people; while -their ministers and officers were parasitical just so far as might be -subservient to their own interests. The trading classes generally had -very little reason to rejoice at the temporary cessation of the British -‘raj.’ The Begum and the Moulvie leader were regarded as the chief -instruments in the opposition to the British. Every measure was resorted -to that could raise the fanaticism of the native population. The -English, and especially their Sikh allies, were represented as -systematically murdering all who fell into their hands. On one occasion, -shortly before the arrival of Sir Colin, the Begum rode through the -streets of the city on an elephant, as one might imagine our Elizabeth -appearing before her troops at Tilbury; and she used all her arts to -induce the several chieftains to make her cause theirs. - -These preliminaries settled, the narrative may be proceeded with. How -the troops under the commander-in-chief approached Lucknow in February, -and what were the components of the army of Oude, in generals and -soldiers, the last chapter shewed. - -When, on the 1st of March, Sir Colin Campbell was within a few miles of -Lucknow, in his camp at Buntara, he fully considered all the information -obtainable up to that time concerning the defences of the city. One -result of the inquiry, was to convince him that a necessity would arise -for operating from both sides of the Goomtee river, whenever the actual -assault should take place.[141] This would be necessary, or at least -desirable, because such a course would enable him to enfilade (that is, -attack laterally or at the extremities) many of the enemy’s newly -constructed works; and because he would thus be able to cut off the -enemy from their external sources of supply. It is true that he could -not hope wholly to surround a city which, with its fortified suburbs, -had a circuit of little less than twenty miles; still he would make an -important approach towards that condition by cannonading from both sides -of the river. One of his earliest preparations, therefore, had relation -to the means of crossing the river; and to this end his engineers were -busily engaged in fitting casks so that they might be placed across the -river as a floating-bridge. The former bridge of boats, opposite some of -the palaces, had been removed by the insurgents; while the iron and -stone bridges were well watched by them. - -On the 2d, Sir Colin marched at daybreak from his camp at Buntara, -diverged from the road to the Alum Bagh, and took that which went near -the Jelalabad fort towards the eastern margin of the suburbs. With a -portion only of his army, he advanced to the Dil Koosha, the palace and -park at the easternmost extremity of the city. The chief officers with -him at the time of this advance were Generals Lugard, Adrian Hope, Hope -Grant, Little, and Archdale Wilson. His main object at first, with a -force of five or six thousand men, was to march to such a spot, near the -Dil Koosha, as would enable him to form a camp just beyond reach of the -enemy’s guns; and to protect his enormous siege-train as it gradually -arrived, until the time was come for commencing active operations. Not -only the siege-train, but the countless appendages of an Indian army, -would equally require protection during its passage from Buntara to the -Dil Koosha. Mr Russell, who accompanied this expedition in person, says -that no language can correctly convey an idea of the vastness in the -number of elephants, camels, oxen, horses, camp-followers, and vehicles -that daily demanded the commander-in-chief’s attention at this period. -‘Who really can bring before his mind’s eye a train of baggage-animals -twenty-five miles long, a string of sixteen thousand camels, a -siege-train park covering a space of four hundred by four hundred yards, -with twelve thousand oxen attached to it, and a following of sixty -thousand non-combatants?’ Even the doolies or litter-carriages for -wounded men constituted a formidable item. To each company of a regiment -there were ten doolies, and to each dooly were six coolies or native -porters: thus there were nearly five hundred dooly-carriers for each -average regiment; and even with this large supply, if the sick and -wounded in any one regiment exceeded eighty men, there would be more -than the coolies could properly attend to. - -The force with which Sir Colin started from Buntara brought a few guns -only. These were dragged along the centre of the line of route; the -infantry were on either side of them, the cavalry and horse-artillery -outside all, and the baggage in the rear. Each soldier took a small -quantity of food with him. The march was through a flat well-cultivated -country, past the Jelalabad fort, but a mile or so distant from the Alum -Bagh. The skirmishers at the head of the column, as they approached the -Dil Koosha, found a body of insurgent troopers watching their progress. -When the column began to close on the advance-guard, the enemy opened -fire with several guns which were in position in strong bastions along -the line of canal—the outermost of the three lines of defence before -adverted to. This fire was heavy and well sustained. It was not -difficult to capture the Dil Koosha itself; but Sir Colin’s troops were -much annoyed by the enemy’s fire over the open country, until they could -secure the Dil Koosha and the Mahomed Bagh as advanced pickets, with -heavy guns placed in battery to oppose the enemy’s artillery. This once -effected, a secure base for further operations was obtained, with the -right resting on the river. It was a good day’s work, not in conquest, -but in the preparations for conquest. - -When Sir Colin came to reconnoitre the enemy’s position, he found that -the new lines of defence, constructed since November, were vast and well -planned. He further saw that no immediate attack could be successfully -made upon them by infantry, without such a sacrifice of life as he had -determined if possible to avoid. To fight with artillery, before sending -in his foot-soldiers to fight, was his plan; and he now at once sent -back a messenger to the camp at Buntara, for the rest of the troops and -heavy siege-artillery to advance without delay. All during the following -night was the road from Buntara to the Dil Koosha filled with an -apparently endless train of soldiers, guns, commissariat-carts, beasts -of burden and of draught, and camp-followers—ready to swell the large -number already at the last-named place. This train was protected on -either side by cavalry and horse artillery, ready to dash out against -any of the enemy that should threaten interruption. - -During the whole day on the 3d, the operations consisted chiefly in this -bringing forward of guns and bodies of troops to positions necessary to -be occupied when the regular siege began. When the remainder of the -siege-train had arrived, and also General Walpole’s division, Sir -Colin’s position embraced all the open ground on the southeastern margin -of the city, with his right flank resting on the Goomtee, and his left -in the direction of the Alum Bagh. The Alum Bagh and the Jelalabad fort -were both occupied by portions of his troops, and the country between -them was controlled by Hodson’s Irregular Horse; while a strong brigade -of cavalry, under Brigadier W. Campbell, swept the suburbs northwest of -the Alum Bagh. By this arrangement, almost the entire southern half of -the city was invested by his forces. The Dil Koosha was head-quarters, -surrounded by the tents in which the soldiers took their few brief hours -of repose. The palace, built in an Italian style, still retained much of -the splendour belonging to it in more peaceful days, when it was the -‘Heart’s Delight’ of the sensual monarch; but now it was well guarded by -42d Highlanders, ready to grapple with princelings and sepoys at any -moment. From the roof of this palace could be seen the chief buildings -of the city, as well as the vast defensive preparations which the enemy -had made. The sepoys in the Martinière maintained a rifle-fire against -such of the British as made their appearance on the flat roof of the Dil -Koosha; but the distance was too great to render the fire dangerous. - -The operations of the 4th were a sequel to those of the 3d—not an actual -commencement of the siege, but a furtherance of the arrangements -necessary to render the siege successful. The camp was extended from the -Dil Koosha to Bibiapore, a house and enclosure a little further down the -right bank of the river. From the glimpses obtained by the skirmishers -and pickets, and from the information brought in by spies, it was -ascertained that many of the inhabitants, terrified at the formidable -preparations for the siege, were fleeing from the city on the opposite -side; and that the ‘authorities’ were endeavouring to check this flight, -wishing the inhabitants to fight for their property and their lives -within the city itself. There were intelligible reasons for this on both -sides. The citizens, whether their love for their native royal family -was great or small, had little inclination to sacrifice their own -personal interests to that sentiment; while, on the other hand, the -rebel leaders cared not how many townsmen were ruined, so long as the -privileges and profits of government remained with themselves, rather -than reverting to the British. - -It was on the 5th that General Franks joined the commander-in-chief, -with that corps which now became the fourth division of the army of -Oude. He had fought his way half across the province, from the Jounpoor -frontier, defeating many bodies of rebels on the way, and arriving at -Lucknow precisely at the time which had been agreed on. Jung Bahadoor -and his large Nepaulese army did not arrive at the time specified: a -want of punctuality which disturbed both the plans and the equanimity of -Sir Colin. The components of the army of Oude, as laid down by the -commander-in-chief on the 10th of February, were enumerated in a note at -the end of the last chapter. At present, on the 5th of March, when -Franks had arrived, the army before Lucknow consisted approximately of -the following numbers of troops—First division of infantry, under -Outram, about 5000 strong; second, under Lugard, 5400; third, under -Walpole, 4300; fourth, under Franks, 4800; cavalry, under Hope Grant and -other commanders, distributed among the infantry divisions; artillery, -including the naval brigade, 1100; and engineers, 1700. The army of Oude -was often said to consist of 30,000 troops, of whom 18,000 were British -and the rest native; but such an estimate was worth little unless the -exact day be named to which it applied. The army varied both by arrivals -and departures. - -The portion of the siege-plan connected with the left bank of the river -had never been lost sight of during the preparatory operations on the -right. While the infantry, cavalry, artillery, and commissariat were -busily engaged in camping near the Dil Koosha, the engineers were -collecting the casks, fascines of fagots, ropes, and timbers, necessary -for forming a bridge, or rather two bridges, across the Goomtee, at some -point below where the enemy were in greatest force. The spot selected -was near head-quarters at Bibiapore, where the river was about forty -yards wide. The enemy, uneasy at the proceedings of the engineers, -gradually assembled in considerable numbers on the opposite bank; but as -the British brought up guns to oppose them, the engineering works -proceeded without much molestation. These bridges exemplified some of -the contrivances which military commanders are accustomed to adopt, in -the course of their onerous duties. The groundwork of each was a -collection of empty beer-casks, lashed by ropes to timber cross-pieces, -and floated off one by one to their positions; a firm roadway of -planking was afterwards fixed on the top of the whole range from end to -end. Firm indeed must the construction necessarily have been; for -troopers on their horses, heavy guns and mortars, ammunition-wagons, and -commissariat carts, all would have to pass over these bridges, secure so -far as possible from accident to man or beast. - -To Sir James Outram was intrusted the command of that portion of the -army which was to cross by these bridges of casks, and operate against -the city from the left bank of the Goomtee. This gallant officer had -been in and near the Alum Bagh for a period of just one hundred days, -from November to March, defending himself successfully against numerous -attacks made on him by the enemy, as narrated in former chapters. It was -right that he should now have the most important command under Sir -Colin. He took his departure from the Alum Bagh—leaving that important -post, which he had so long and so well defended, to the care of -Brigadier Franklyn and of the 5th and 78th Queen’s regiments of foot. -The force intrusted to him consisted of Walpole’s division of infantry, -together with regiments and detachments from other divisions.[142] -Franks with his division took Walpole’s place near the Dil Koosha. The -plan of attack agreed upon was, that Outram, after crossing the Goomtee, -should advance up the left bank; while the troops in position at the Dil -Koosha were to remain at rest until it should have become apparent that -the first line of the enemy’s works, or the rampart running along the -canal and abutting on the Goomtee, had been turned. Sir James, arriving -at the Dil Koosha from the Alum Bagh, effected his crossing safely on -the 6th, and pitched his camp for the night on the left bank of the -river, near the race-course. It was a formidable burden for the bridges -to bear, comprising, besides the infantry and cavalry, thirty guns, and -a large train of baggage and ammunition animals; nevertheless the -floating fabrics bore up well, and fully answered their intended -purpose. English troops of the line, Highlanders, lancers, hussars, -dragoons, artillery, engineers, commissariat, horses, oxen, camels, -elephants—all passed safely over, and speedily fell into orderly array -on the other side of the river. This was, of course, not done without a -little fighting. The enemy could not be blind to the proceeding, nor to -the consequences likely to result from it. There was skirmishing in -front of the Chukkur Walla Kothee, or Yellow House, a circular building -on the left bank of the river; and there was much prancing about of -leading personages who hastily came out of the city; but nothing -disturbed Sir James from securely encamping at night. - -While Outram was thus crossing the river on the 6th, Sir Colin remained -simply on the defensive near the Dil Koosha, deferring all active -operations until the subsidiary force had got into fighting order on the -left bank. The enemy maintained a continuous fire from the Martinière; -but the gunnery was not good, and very little mischief was occasioned. -One of the most striking circumstances connected with the position and -proceedings of the commander-in-chief was that he _carried the electric -telegraph with him_ from camp to camp, from post to post. Chiefly -through the energy of Lieutenant Patrick Stewart, poles were set up and -wires extended wherever Sir Colin went. Calcutta, Allahabad, Cawnpore, -Buntara, and the Alum Bagh, could all communicate instantly; and now a -wire made its appearance through a drawing-room window at the Dil Koosha -itself, being stretched over a row of poles along the line of route -which the commander-in-chief and his troops had followed. Nay, the wires -even followed Outram over the river, and made their appearance—for the -first time in the history of Oude—on the left bank. No sooner did Sir -Colin advance a few miles, than Stewart followed him with poles and -wires, galvanic batteries and signalling apparatus—daring all dangers, -conquering all difficulties, and setting up a talking-machine close to -the very enemy themselves. It may almost literally be said that, -wherever he lay down his head at night, Sir Colin could touch a handle, -and converse with Lord Canning at Allahabad before he went to sleep. The -value of the electric telegraph was quite beyond all estimate during -these wars and movements: it was worth a large army in itself. - -On the 7th, Sir James Outram, while making his arrangements on the -opposite side of the river, was attacked in great force by the enemy. On -the preceding day, he had baffled them in all their attempts, with a -loss of only 2 killed and 10 wounded; and he was not now likely to be -seriously affected even by four or five times his number. The enemy -occupied the race-course stand with infantry, and bodies of cavalry -galloped up to the same spot with the intention of disturbing Outram’s -camp. He resisted all the attacks, chased them to a distance with his -cavalry, and maintained his advantageous camping-ground.[143] The road -from Fyzabad and from the cantonment passed near his camp; and as all -that region had for many months been entirely in the hands of the -rebels, there was a liability at any moment of some sudden onslaught -being made on him. The commander-in-chief had foreseen this, when he -placed at the disposal of Outram a division strong enough to form a -compact little army in itself. - -The result of a careful reconnaissance made on the 8th, by Sir Colin, -resulted in instructions to Outram to arrange his batteries during the -night, and on the following day to attack the enemy’s position, the key -to which was the Chukkur Walla Kothee. On the morning of the 9th, -accordingly, Sir James made the attack with excellent effect; the enemy -being driven out at all points, and the Yellow House seized. He advanced -his whole force for some distance through ground affording excellent -cover for the enemy. He was by that means enabled to bring his right -flank forward to occupy the Fyzabad road, which he crossed by a bridge -over a nullah, and to plant his batteries for the purpose of enfilading -the works upon the canal. During this day’s operations, much skirmishing -took place between his Sikhs and Rifles and the enemy; but the most -obstinate contest was maintained within the Yellow House itself, where a -few fanatics, shutting themselves up, resisted for several hours all -attempts to dislodge them. They were at length expelled, fighting -desperately to the last. Outram was then enabled to take the villages of -Jeamoor and Jijowly, and to advance to the Padishah Bagh or King’s -Garden, opposite the Fureed Buksh palace, and to commence an enfilade -fire on the lines of the Kaiser Bagh defences. - -While Outram was engaged in these successful operations of the 9th on -the left bank of the Goomtee, a very heavy fire was kept up against the -Martinière, from mortars and guns placed in position on the Dil Koosha -plateau. Sir Colin had purposely deferred this assault until Outram had -captured the Yellow House, and commenced that flank attack which so -embarrassed the enemy. The sailors of the naval brigade were joyously -engaged on this day; for the thicker the fight, the better were they -pleased. They commanded four great guns on the road near the Dil Koosha; -and with these they battered away, not only against the Martinière, but -also against a cluster of small houses near that building. Captain Sir -William Peel managed to throw not only shot and shell, but also rockets, -into enclosures which contained numerous insurgent musketeers—a -visitation which necessarily prompted a hasty flight. It had well-nigh -been a bad day for the British, however; for Peel received a musket-ball -in the thigh while walking about fearlessly among his guns; the ball was -extracted under the influence of chloroform; but the wound nearly proved -fatal through the eagerness of the gallant man to return to the fray. He -was, however, spared for the present. The enemy resisted this day’s -attack with a good deal of resolution; for they fired shot right over -the Martinière towards the Dil Koosha, from guns in their bastions on -the canal line of defence. When the cannonading had proceeded to the -desired extent, a storming of the Martinière took place, by troops under -the command of Sir Edward Lugard and other able officers. The -instructions given by the commander-in-chief for this enterprise were -minute and complete,[144] and were carried out to the letter. The -infantry marched forward from their camp behind the Dil Koosha, their -bayonets glittering in the sun; and it was remarked that the sight of -these terrible bayonets appeared to throw the enemy into more -trepidation than all the guns and howitzers, mortars and rockets. A -bayonet-charge by the British was more than any of the ‘Pandies’ could -bear. Silently and swiftly the Highlanders and Punjaubees marched on, -the former towards the Martinière, and the latter towards the trenches -that flanked that building; while the other regiments of Lugard’s column -followed closely in the rear. Distracted by Outram’s enfilade fire from -the other side of the river, and by Lugard’s advance in front, the enemy -made but a feeble resistance. The 42d Highlanders and the Punjaubee -infantry climbed up the intrenchment abutting on the river, and rushed -along the whole line of works, till they got to the neighbourhood of -Banks’s house. Meanwhile, another body of infantry advanced to the -Martinière, and captured the building and the whole of the enclosure -surrounding it. All this was done with very little bloodshed on either -side; for Lugard’s men, in obedience to orders, did not fire; while the -enemy escaped from the walls and trenches without maintaining a -hand-to-hand contest. This abandonment of the defence-works would not -have taken place so speedily had not Outram’s flanking fire enfiladed -the whole line; but the insurgent artillerymen found it impossible to -withstand the ordeal to which they were now exposed. Sir Colin’s plan -had been so carefully made, and so admirably carried out, that this -capture of the enemy’s exterior line of defence was effected almost -without loss. - -On the 10th, while Outram was engaged in strengthening the position -which he had taken up, he sent Hope Grant with the cavalry of the -division to patrol over the whole of the country between the left bank -of the Goomtee and the old cantonment. This was done with the view of -preventing any surprise by the approach of bodies of the rebels in that -quarter. An extensive system of patrolling or reconnaissance had formed -from the first a part of Sir Colin’s plan for the tactics of the siege. -Outram on this day brought his heavy guns into a position to rake the -enemy’s lines, to annoy the Kaiser Bagh with a vertical and direct fire, -to attack the suburbs in the vicinity of the iron and stone bridges, and -to command the iron bridge from the left bank; all of which operations -he carried out with great success. The enemy, however, still held the -right end of the iron bridge so pertinaciously, that it was not until -after a very heavy cannonading that the conquest was effected. - -On the city side of the river, on this day, the operations consisted -mainly in securing the conquests effected on the 9th. At a very early -hour in the morning, while yet dusk, the rebel sepoys advanced in great -strength to reoccupy the defence-line of the canal, apparently not -knowing that the Highlanders and Punjaubees had maintained that position -during the night; they were speedily undeceived by a volley of musketry -which put them to flight. At sunrise a disposition of troops and heavy -guns was made by Lugard for an attack on Banks’s house; and this house, -captured about noon, was at once secured as a strong military post. - -Thus did this remarkable siege go on day after day. Nothing was hurried, -nothing unforeseen. All the movements were made as if the city and its -environs formed a vast chess-board on which the commander-in-chief could -see the position of all the pieces and pawns. Nay, so fully had he -studied the matter, that he had some such command over the ground as is -maintained by a chess-player who conducts and wins a game without seeing -the board. Every force, every movement, was made conducive to one common -end—the conquest of the city without the loss of much British blood, and -without leaving any lurking-place in the hands of the enemy. - -The conquest and fortifying of Banks’s house enabled Sir Colin to -commence the second part of his operations. Having captured the enemy’s -exterior line of defence, he had now to attack the second or middle -line, which (as has been already shewn) began at the river-side near the -Motee Mehal, the Mess-house, and the Emanbarra. The plan he formed was -to use the great block of houses and palaces extending from Banks’s -house to the Kaiser Bagh as an approach, instead of sapping up towards -the second line of works. ‘The operation,’ as he said in his dispatch, -‘had now become one of an engineering character; and the most earnest -endeavours were made to save the infantry from being hazarded before due -preparation had been made.’ The chief engineer, Brigadier Napier, placed -his batteries in such positions as to shell and breach a large block of -the palaces known as the Begum Kothee. This bombardment, on the 11th, -was long and severe; for the front of the palaces was screened by -outhouses, earthworks, and parapets, which required to be well battered -before the infantry could make the assault. The 8-inch guns of the naval -brigade were the chief instruments in this formidable cannonade. At -length, about four o’clock in the afternoon, Napier announced that the -breaches were practicable, and Lugard at once made arrangements for -storming the Begum Kothee. He had with him the 93d Highlanders, the 4th -Punjaub Rifles, and 1000 Goorkhas, and was aided in the assault by -Adrian Hope. His troops speedily secured the whole block of buildings, -and inflicted a very heavy loss on the enemy. The attack was one of a -desperate character, and was characterised by Sir Colin as ‘the sternest -struggle which occurred during the siege.’ From that point Napier pushed -his engineering approaches with great judgment through the enclosures, -by the aid of the sappers and the heavy guns; the troops immediately -occupying the ground as he advanced, and the mortars being moved from -one position to another as the ground was won on which they could be -placed. Outram was not idle during these operations. He obtained -possession of the iron bridge, leading over the river from the -cantonment to the city, and swept away the enemy from every part of the -left bank of the river between that bridge and the Padishah Bagh; thus -leaving him in a position to enfilade the central and inner lines of -defence established by the enemy among the palaces. - -It was while these serious and important operations were in progress, on -the 11th of March, that the commander-in-chief was called upon to attend -to a ceremonial affair, from which he would doubtless have willingly -been spared. The preceding chapters have shewn how Jung Bahadoor, -descending from the Nepaulese mountains with an army of 9000 Goorkhas, -rendered a little service in the Goruckpore and Jounpoor districts, and -then advanced into Oude to assist in the operations against Lucknow. His -movements had been dilatory; and Sir Colin was forced to arrange all the -details of the siege as if no reliance could be placed in this ally. At -length, however, on the afternoon of the 11th, Jung Bahadoor appeared at -the Dil Koosha; he and Sir Colin met for the first time. The meeting was -a curious one. The Nepaul chieftain, thoroughly Asiatic in everything, -prepared for the interview as one on which he might lavish all his -splendour of gold, satin, pearls, and diamonds; the old Highland -officer, on the other hand, plain beyond the usual plainness of a -soldier in all that concerned personal indulgences,[145] was somewhat -tried even by the necessity for his full regimentals and decorative -appendages. A continuous battle was going on, in which he thought of his -soldiers’ lives, and of the tactics necessary to insure a victory; at -such a time, and in such a climate, he would gladly have dispensed with -the scarlet and the feathers of his rank, and of the oriental -compliments in which truth takes little part. A tasteful canopy was -prepared in front of Sir Colin’s mess-tent; and here were assembled the -commander-in-chief, Archdale Wilson, Hope Grant, a glittering group of -staff-officers and aids-de-camp, a Highland guard of honour, an escort -of Lancers, bands, pipers, drums, flags, and all the paraphernalia for a -military show. Sir Colin was punctual; Jung Bahadoor was not. Sir Colin, -his thoughts all the while directed towards Lugard’s operations at the -Begum Kothee, felt the approaching ceremony, and the delay in beginning -it, as a sore interruption. At length the Nepaulese chieftain appeared. -Jung Bahadoor had, as Nepaulese ambassador, made himself famous in -London a few years before, by his gorgeous dress and lavish expenditure; -and he now appeared in fully as great splendour. The presentations, the -greetings, the compliments, the speeches, were all of the wonted kind; -but when Captain Hope Johnstone, as one of the officers of the chief of -the staff, entered to announce that ‘the Begum Kothee is taken,’ Sir -Colin broke through all ceremony, expressed a soldier’s pleasure at the -news, and brought the interview to a termination. Jung Bahadoor returned -to his own camp; and the commander-in-chief instantly resumed his -ordinary military duties. Sir Colin was evidently somewhat puzzled to -know how best to employ his gorgeous colleague; although his courtesy -would not allow him to shew it. The Goorkhas moved close to the canal on -the 13th; and on the following day Sir Colin requested Jung Bahadoor to -cross the canal, and attack the suburbs to the left of Banks’s house. As -he was obliged, just at that critical time, to mass all the available -strength of his British troops in the double attack along the banks of -the Goomtee, the commander-in-chief had few to spare for his left wing; -and he speaks of the troops of the Nepaulese leader as being ‘most -advantageously employed for several days,’ in thus covering his left. - -We return to the siege operations. So great had been the progress made -on the 11th, that the development of the commander-in-chief’s strategy -became every hour more and more clear. Outram’s heavy fire with guns and -mortars produced great effect on the Kaiser Bagh; while the Begum Kothee -became a post from which an attack could be made on the Emanbarra, a -large building situated between the Begum Kothee and the Kaiser -Bagh.[146] The Begum Kothee palace, when visited by the officers of the -staff on the morning of the 12th, astonished them by the strength which -the enemy had given to it. The walls were so loopholed for musketry, the -bastions and cannon were so numerous, the ditch around it was so deep, -and the earthen rampart so high, that all marvelled how it came to be so -easily captured on the preceding day. The enemy might have held it -against double of Lugard’s force, had they not been paralysed by the -bayonet. It was a strange sight, on the following morning, to see -Highlanders and Punjaubees roaming about gorgeous saloons and zenanas, -still containing many articles of dress and personal ornaments which the -ladies of the palace had not had time to carry away with them. Whither -the inmates had fled, the conquerors at that time did not know, and in -all probability did not care. It was a strange and unnatural sight; -splendour and blood appeared to have struggled for mastery in the -various courts and rooms of the palace, many contests having taken place -with small numbers of the enemy.[147] From this building, we have said, -Sir Colin determined that progress should be made towards the Emanbarra, -not by open assault, but by sapping through a mass of intermediate -buildings. - -[Illustration: - - Gateway of the Emanbarra at Lucknow. -] - -The 12th was the day when the sapping commenced; but so many and so -intricate were the buildings, that three days were occupied in this -series of operations; seeing that it was necessary to destroy or at -least to render innoxious such houses as might have concealed large -bodies of the enemy. Lugard’s troops having been hotly engaged on the -11th, they were now relieved by others under Franks. The work was of -formidable character; for the flat roofs of many of the houses were -covered with two or three feet of earth, baked in the sun, and loopholed -for musketry. Every such house had to be well scrutinised, before a -further advance was made. The sappers made passages, either actually -underground, or through the lower portions of the walls and enclosures -surrounding the buildings. On the 13th these approaches were so far -completed that a large number of guns and mortars could be brought -forward, and placed in position for bombarding the Emanbarra. On this -day, too, Jung Bahadoor’s troops took possession of a mass of suburban -houses southward of the city, between Sir Colin’s camp and the Alum -Bagh; after which the commander-in-chief paid a return visit to the -Nepaulese chieftain, who strove to display still more magnificence than -at the former interview. - -The 14th of March was one of the busy days of the siege. The sap was -carried on so successfully that the Emanbarra could be bombarded by -heavy guns and mortars, and then taken. Directly this was done, -Brasyer’s Sikhs, pressing forward in pursuit of the fleeing enemy, -entered the Kaiser Bagh—the third or inner line of defence having been -turned without a single gun being fired from it. Supports were quickly -thrown in, and the British troops found themselves speedily in a part of -the city already well known to Campbell and Outram during their -operations of November—surrounded by the Mess-house, the Taree Kothee, -the Motee Mehal, and the Chuttur Munzil. All these buildings were near -them, and all were occupied by them before night closed in. As fast as -the infantry seized these several positions, so did the engineers -proceed to secure the outposts towards the south and west. As in many -other cases when it was the lot of the English in India to fight their -greatest battles, or bear their greatest sufferings, on Sundays; so was -it on a Sunday that these busy operations of the 14th took place. The -front walls of the Kaiser Bagh and the Motee Mehal were extensively -mined; insomuch that when the artillery had effected its dread work, the -infantry could approach much more safely than if exposed to the sight of -sharpshooters and matchlockmen. It is true that neither English nor -Highlanders, neither Sikhs nor Goorkhas, would have hesitated to rush -forward and storm these buildings without a sap; but as Sir Colin was -well supplied with heavy guns, he acted steadily on the plan of -employing them as much as possible before sending on his men—feeling -that the loss of men would be more difficult to replace than that of -guns and missiles, at such a time and in such a country. In his dispatch -relating to the operations of the 14th of March, he said: ‘The day was -one of continued exertion; and every one felt that, although much -remained to be done before the final expulsion of the rebels, the most -difficult part of the undertaking had been overcome. This is not the -place for a description of the various buildings sapped into or stormed. -Suffice it to say that they formed a range of massive palaces and walled -courts of vast extent, equalled perhaps, but not surpassed, in any -capital of Europe. Every outlet had been covered by a work, and on every -side were prepared barricades and loopholed parapets. The extraordinary -industry evinced by the enemy in this respect has been really -unexampled. Hence the absolute necessity for holding the troops in hand, -till at each successive move forward the engineers reported to me that -all which could be effected by artillery and the sappers had been done, -before the troops were led to the assault.’ - -A little must here be said concerning the share which Sir James Outram -had in the operations of the 12th and two following days. All his -tactics, on the left bank of the river, were especially intended to -support those of the commander-in-chief on the right bank. On the 12th -his heavy guns, at and near the Padishah Bagh, poured forth a torrent of -shot, to dislodge the enemy from certain positions near the city. His -head-quarters were established under a small tope of trees near a ruined -mosque; and he, as well as Lugard and Walpole, lived as simply as -possible under tents. The Padishah Bagh itself—a suburban palace with -beautiful saloons, halls, terraces, orange-groves and fountains—was held -by H.M. 23d. The left bank of the river being occupied as far up as the -iron suspension bridge, Outram planted two or three guns to guard that -position from any hostile attack from the north; while two or three -regiments of his own infantry, in convenient spots near the bridge, kept -up a musketry-fire against such of the enemy as were visible and within -reach on the opposite or city side of the river. This musketry-fire was -continued all day on the 13th, while the batteries of heavy guns were -being brought further and further into position. On the 14th, the same -operations were continued; but the conquest of the Kaiser Bagh was so -sudden and unexpected on this day, that the proceedings on the left bank -of the river were relatively unimportant. - -When the morning of the 15th arrived, Sir Colin Campbell felt that he -might call Lucknow his own; for although much remained to be done, the -conquests achieved were vast and important. The Mahomed Bagh, the Dil -Koosha, the Martinière, the Secunder Bagh, the Emanbarra, the -Mess-house, the Shah Munzil, the Motee Mehal, the Begum Kothee, and the -Kaiser Bagh, were all in his hands—constituting by far the strongest and -most important of the palatial buildings along the banks of the river. -Moreover, the natives were evidently dismayed; vast numbers were leaving -the city on the Rohilcund side; and spies brought information that the -rebel leaders encountered much difficulty in keeping the sepoys steadily -at the defence-works. The progress made by the British had surprised and -alarmed the insurgents, and tended to paralyse their exertions. Some of -the British officers had entertained a belief that the Kaiser Bagh was -the key to the enemy’s position, whereas others had looked rather to the -Begum Kothee. The latter proved to be right. The enemy had greatly -relied on the last-named building; insomuch that, when it was captured, -they rushed in wild confusion to the Kaiser Bagh, intent rather upon -flight than upon a stubborn resistance. The garrison of the Kaiser Bagh, -disconcerted by this irruption of their brother insurgents, were -rendered almost unable, even if willing, to make a manful resistance. -The British were almost as much surprised by the speedy capture of the -Kaiser Bagh, as the enemy were by the loss of the Begum Kothee. When the -great palace changed hands, the smoke and blood and cries of war were -strangely mingled with the magnificence of kiosks, mosques, corridors, -courts, gardens, terraces, saloons, mirrors, gilding, chandeliers, -tapestry, statues, pictures, and costly furniture, in this strange -jumble of oriental and European splendour. - -A soldier loses all his heroism when the hour for prize and plunder -arrives. Those, whether officers or spectators, who have described the -scene which was presented when these Lucknow palaces were conquered, -tell plainly of a period of wild licence and absorbing greed. On the one -hand there were palaces containing vast stores of oriental and European -luxuries; on the other, there were bands of armed men, brave and -faithful, but at the same time poor and unlettered, who suddenly found -themselves masters of all these splendours, with very little check or -supervision on the part of their officers. At first, in a spirit of -triumphant revenge, costly articles were broken which were too large to -be carried away; glass chandeliers were hurled to the ground, mirrors -shattered into countless fragments, statues mutilated and overturned, -pictures stabbed and torn, doors of costly wood torn from their hinges. -But when this destruction had been wreaked, and when the troops had -forced their way through courts and corridors strewn with sepoys’ brass -lotas or drinking-vessels, charpoys, clothing, belts, ammunition, -muskets, matchlocks, swords, pistols, chupatties, and other evidences of -precipitate flight—when this had all occurred, then did the love of -plunder seize hold of the men. The Kaiser Bagh had been so quickly -conquered, that the subaltern officers had not yet received instructions -how to control the movements of the troops in this matter. Sikhs, -Highlanders, English, were soon busily engaged. In one splendid saloon -might be seen a party of Sikhs melting down gold and silver lace for the -sake of the precious metals; in another, a quantity of shawls, lace, -pearls, and embroidery of gold and silver, was being divided equally -among a group of soldiers. In a sort of treasure-room, apparently -belonging to some high personage, a few men of two British regiments -found caskets and boxes containing diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls, -opals, and other gems, made into necklaces, bracelets, earrings, -girdles, &c.; together with gold-mounted pistols, jewel-hilted swords, -saddle-cloths covered with gold and pearls, gold-handled riding-canes, -jewelled cups of agate and jade, japanned boxes filled with crystal and -jade vessels. And, as it appeared that every one felt himself permitted -or at least enabled to retain whatever he could capture, the -camp-followers rushed in and seized all that the soldiers had left. -Coolies, syces, khitmutgars, dooly-bearers, and grass-cutters, were seen -running hither and thither, laden with costly clothing, swords, -firelocks, brass pots, and other articles larger in bulk than the actual -soldiers could readily have disposed of. It was a saturnalia, during -which it is believed that some of the troops appropriated enough -treasure, if converted into its value in money, to render them -independent of labour for the rest of their lives. But each man kept, in -whole or in part, his own secret. - -Let us on from this extraordinary scene. The 15th was chiefly employed -in securing what had been captured, removing powder, destroying mines, -and fixing mortars for the further bombardment of the positions still -held by the enemy, on the right bank of the Goomtee, and in the heart of -the city. As the infantry and artillery could fulfil this duty, without -the aid of horse, two bodies of cavalry, under Walpole and Hope Grant, -were sent out to prevent, if possible, the escape of the enemy on the -sides of the city not subject to immediate attack. One of these generals -proceeded towards the Sundeela road, and the other to that leading to -Seetapoor. Whether this flight of the enemy disappointed or not the -expectations of the commander-in-chief, was a question which he kept to -himself. The city, for all practical military purposes, was twenty miles -in circumference; and he could not have guarded all the outlets without -a very much larger army than that which was at his disposal. Like as at -Sebastopol, the siege was not aided by a complete investiture of the -place besieged. It is possible that the capture of the Kaiser Bagh, and -the consequent flight of the enemy, occurred too early for Sir Colin to -be enabled to put in operation certain manœuvres on the other side of -the city. Be this as it may, large numbers of rebel sepoys, and a still -larger of the regular inhabitants of the city escaped during the 14th -and 15th, mostly over the stone bridge—as if hopeful of safety in -Rohilcund and Upper Oude. - -On the 16th Sir James Outram, after ten days of active operation on the -left bank of the Goomtee, crossed over by a bridge of casks opposite the -Secunder Bagh; and he then advanced through the Chuttur Munzil towards -the Residency. To lessen the chance of the enemy’s retreat as much as -possible, he marched right through the city, not only to the iron bridge -near the Residency, but to the stone bridge near the Muchee Bhowan. All -this was an enterprise of remarkable boldness, for the buildings to be -successively conquered and entered were very numerous. Outram shifted -his own head-quarters to Banks’s house, on the city side of the river; -and it was here that he received a letter from the Begum, or mother of -the young boy-king, containing some sort of proposition for compromise -or cessation of hostilities. Whatever it may have been, no successful -result attended this missive: the progress and conquest went on as -before. His troops, as they advanced to the Chuttur Munzil, the Pyne -Bagh, the Fureed Buksh, and the Taree Kothee, found all these buildings -abandoned by the enemy—who had been too much dismayed by the operations -of the 16th to make a bold stand. At length he approached the Residency, -the enclosed spot whose name will ever be imperishably associated with -Inglis’s defence of the British garrison, and in which Outram himself -had passed many anxious weeks between September and November. Hardly a -building remained standing within the enclosure; all had been riddled -and shattered during the long period from July to November, and most of -them subsequently destroyed by the enemy. Up to this time Outram’s march -of the 16th through the city had been almost unopposed; but he now -ascertained that the houses and palaces between the iron and stone -bridges were occupied by the enemy in considerable force. Hard fighting -at once commenced here, in which the 20th, 23d, and 79th regiments were -actively engaged. They advanced at a rapid pace from the Residency -towards the iron bridge. A 9-pounder, planted to command a road by the -way, fired grape into them; but it was speedily captured. By that time -the large guns were brought into position, to play upon the stone -bridge, the Emanbarra of Azof-u-Dowlah, and other structures northwest -of the iron bridge. At that time Grant and his troopers were near the -stone bridge on the left side of the river, while Outram’s guns were -firing on it from the right bank; as a consequence, no more escape was -permitted by that channel; and the fugitives therefore ran along the -right bank of the river, to a part of the open country northwest of -Lucknow, not yet controlled by the English. Many of the rebel sepoys -resolved to make a stand at the Moosa Bagh, a building at the extreme -limits of the city in this direction; but the day was too far advanced -to attack them at that spot; and the troops were glad to rest for the -night in the splendid saloons and courts of the Emanbarra—one of the -grandest among the many grand structures in Lucknow. - -While Outram was engaged in these operations on the 16th, obtaining a -mastery along almost the whole right bank of the river, the enemy very -unexpectedly made an attack on the Alum Bagh, which was only held by a -small English force under Brigadier Franklyn. Sir Colin Campbell -immediately requested Jung Bahadoor to advance to his left up the canal, -and take in reverse the post from which the enemy was making the attack. -The Nepaulese chieftain performed this service successfully, capturing -the post and the guns, and expelling the enemy. - -When the morning of the 17th arrived, the commander-in-chief found -himself so undoubtedly the master of Lucknow, that he was enabled to -dispense with the services of some of his gallant artillery officers, -whose aid was much wanted at Futteghur and elsewhere. Still, though the -great conquest was mainly effected, the minor details had yet to be -filled up. There were isolated buildings in which small knots of the -enemy had fortified themselves; these it would be necessary to capture. -It was also very desirable to check the camp-followers in their manifest -tendency for plundering the shops and private houses of the city. Sir -Colin did not wish the townsmen to regard him as an enemy; he encouraged -them, so far as they had not been in complicity with the rebels, to -return to their homes and occupations; and it was very essential that -those homes should, in the meantime, be spared from reckless _looting_. -In some of the streets, pickets of soldiers were placed, to compel the -camp-followers to disgorge the plunder which they had appropriated; and -thus was collected a strange medley of trinkets and utensils, which the -temporary holders gave up with sore unwillingness. Here and there, where -a soldier had a little leisure and opportunity, he would hold a kind of -mock-auction, at which not only camp-followers but officers would buy -treasures for a mere trifle; but these instances were few, for there was -not much ready cash among the conquerors. Sir Colin found it necessary -to issue an order concerning the plundering system.[148] Outram and Jung -Bahadoor took part in a series of operations, on the 17th, intended to -obtain control over the northwest section of the city. The one set forth -from the river, the other from the vicinity of the Alum Bagh; and during -the day they cleared out many nests of rebels. There was also an action -on the margin of the city, in which the enemy managed to bring together -a considerable force of horse, foot, and artillery; their guns were -captured, however, and themselves put to flight. - -Sir Colin, responsible for many places besides Lucknow, and for many -troops besides those under his immediate command, now made daily changes -in the duties of his officers. Major (now Lieutenant-colonel) Vincent -Eyre and Major (now also Lieutenant-colonel) Turner, two of the most -distinguished artillery officers, departed for Futteghur and Idrapore; -and Franklyn went to Cawnpore. Inglis succeeded Franklyn at the Alum -Bagh. Sir Archdale Wilson and Brigadier Russell took their departure on -sick-leave. - -A considerable force of the enemy still lingered around the Alum Bagh, -irresolute as to any actual attacks, but loath to quit the neighbourhood -until the last ray of hope was extinguished. With these rebels Jung -Bahadoor had many smart contests. He had been instructed by Sir Colin to -obtain secure possession of the suburbs of the city near the Char -Bagh—the bridge that carried the Cawnpore road over the canal. - -It was on this day, the 17th, and partly in consequence of the success -attending the operations of the Goorkhas, that two English ladies, Mrs -Orr and Miss Jackson, were delivered from the hands of enemies who had -long held them in bondage. It will be remembered that on the night of -the 22d of November,[149] the insurgents in Lucknow, enraged at the safe -evacuation of the Residency by the British, put to death certain English -prisoners who had long been in confinement in the Kaiser Bagh. Among -them were Mr Orr and Sir Mountstuart Jackson. So far as any authentic -news could be obtained, it appeared that Mrs Orr and Miss Jackson had -been spared; partly, as some said, through the intervention of the -Begum. During the subsequent period of nearly four months, the fate of -those unhappy ladies remained unknown to their English friends. On the -day in question, however (the 17th of March), Captain M’Neil and -Lieutenant Bogle, both attached to the Goorkha force, while exploring -some of the deserted streets in the suburb, were accosted by a native -who asked their protection for his house and property. The man sought to -purchase this protection by a revelation concerning certain English -ladies, who, he declared, were in confinement in a place known to him. -Almost immediately another native brought a note from Mrs Orr and Miss -Jackson, begging earnestly for succour. M’Neil and Bogle instantly -obtained a guard of fifty Goorkhas, and, guided by the natives, went on -their errand of mercy. After walking through half a mile of narrow -streets, doubtful of an ambush at every turning, they came to a house -occupied by one Meer Wajeed Ali, who held, or had held, some office -under the court. After a little parleying, M’Neil and Bogle were led to -an obscure apartment, where were seated two ladies in oriental costume. -These were the prisoners, who had so long been excluded from every one -of their own country, and who were overwhelmed with tearful joy at this -happy deliverance. It was not clearly known whether this Meer Wajeed Ali -was endeavouring to buy off safety for himself by betraying a trust -imposed in him; but the two English officers deemed it best to lose no -time in securing their countrywomen’s safety, whether he were a -double-dealer or not; they procured a palanquin, put the ladies into it, -and marched off with their living treasure—proud enough with their -afternoon’s work. When these poor ladies came to tell their sad tale of -woe, with countenances on which marks of deep suffering were expressed, -it became known that, though not exposed to any actual barbarities or -atrocities, like so many of their countrywomen in other parts of India, -their lives had been made very miserable by the unfeeling conduct of -their jailers, who were permitted to use gross and insulting language in -their presence, and to harrow them with recitals of what Europeans were -and had been suffering. They had had food in moderate sufficiency, but -of other sources of solace they were almost wholly bereft. It was fully -believed that they would not have been restored alive, had the jailer -obeyed the orders issued to him by the Moulvie. - -After a day of comparative repose on the 18th, a combined movement -against the Moosa Bagh was organised on the 19th. This was the last -position held by the enemy on the line of the Goomtee, somewhat beyond -the extreme northwest limit of the city. Outram moved forward directly -against the place; Hope Grant cannonaded it from the left bank; while -William Campbell, approaching on the remote side from the Alum Bagh, -prevented retreat in that direction. Some said the Begum was there, some -the Moulvie or fanatic chieftain; but on this point nothing was known. -All that was certain was that several thousand insurgents, driven from -other places, had congregated within the buildings and courts of the -Moosa Bagh. Outram’s troops started from the Emanbarra on this -expedition early in the morning; he himself joined them from Banks’s -house, while Sir Colin rode over to see in person how the work was -effected. Opposite the Moosa Bagh, which was a large structure -surrounded by an enclosed court, was the residence of Ali Nuckee Khan, -vizier or prime-minister to the deposed King of Oude; and in other parts -of the vicinity were numerous mansions and mosques. If the rebels had -held well together, they might have made a stout resistance here, for -the buildings contained many elements of strength; but discord reigned; -the Begum reproached the thalookdars, the thalookdars the sepoys; while -the Moulvie was suspected of an intention to set up as King of Oude on -his own account. Outram’s column was to make the direct attack; Hope -Grant’s cavalry and horse-artillery were to command certain roads of -approach and exit on the river-side; while William Campbell’s cavalry, -aided by two or three infantry regiments, were to command the opposite -side. The contest can hardly be called a battle or a siege; for as soon -as the rebels clearly ascertained that the British were approaching, -they abandoned court after court, house after house, and escaped towards -the northwest, by the only avenue available. Although they did not -fight, they escaped more successfully than Sir Colin had wished or -intended. Whether the three movements were not timed in unison, or -whether collateral objects engaged the attention of Brigadier Campbell, -certain it is that few of the enemy were killed, and that many thousands -safely marched or ran out. The open country, covered with enclosures and -cornfields, enabled the sepoys better to escape than the British to -pursue them. A regiment of Sikhs was sent to occupy the Moosa Bagh; and -now was Lucknow still more fully than before in the hands of the -commander-in-chief. - -On the 20th, further measures were taken, by proclamation and otherwise, -to induce the peaceful portion of the inhabitants to return to their -homes. This was desirable in every sense. Until the ordinary relations -of society were re-introduced, anything like civil government was simply -impossible; while, so long as the houses, deserted by their proper -inhabitants, served as hiding-places for fanatics and budmashes, the -streets were never for an instant safe. Many officers and soldiers were -shot by concealed antagonists, long after the great buildings of the -city had been conquered. Moreover, the Sikhs and Goorkhas were becoming -very unruly. The plunder had acted upon them as an intoxicating -indulgence, shaking the steady obedience which they were wont to exhibit -when actively engaged against the enemy. Even at a time when Sir Colin -was planning which of his generals he could spare, for service elsewhere -or for sick-leave, and which regiments should form new columns for -active service in other districts—even at such a time it was discovered -that bodies of the enemy were lurking in houses near Outram’s -head-quarters, bent upon mischief or revenge; and there was much -musketry-fire necessary before they could be dislodged. The -‘sick-leave,’ just adverted to, was becoming largely applied for. Many -officers, so gallant and untiring as to be untouched by any suspicion of -their willingness to shirk danger and hard work, gave in; they had -become weakened in body and mind by laborious duties, and needed repose. - -[Illustration: - - MAJOR HODSON, Commandant of Hodson’s Horse. -] - -The Moulvie, who had held great power within Lucknow, and whose -influence was even now not extinguished, commanded a stronghold in the -very heart of the city. Sir Edward Lugard was requested to dislodge him -on the 21st. This he did after a sharp contest; and Brigadier W. -Campbell, with his cavalry, placed himself in such a position, that he -was enabled to attack the enemy who were put to flight by Lugard, and to -inflict heavy loss on them during a pursuit of six miles. The conquest -of the Moulvie’s stronghold had this useful effect among others; that it -enabled Sir Colin to expedite the arrangements for the return of such of -the inhabitants as were not too deeply steeped in rebellion to render -return expedient. Among those who fell on this occasion, on the side of -the enemy, was Shirreff-u-Dowlah, the chief-minister of the rebel -boy-king, or rather of his mother the Begum; this man had been in -collision with the Moulvie, each envious of the other’s authority; and -there were those who thought it was by a treacherous blow that he now -fell. Even in this, the last contest within the city, the sappers had to -be employed; for the Moulvie had so intrenched himself, with many -hundred followers, that he could not be dislodged by the force at first -sent against him; the engineers were forced to sap under and through -some surrounding buildings, before the infantry could obtain command of -that in which the Moulvie was lodged. - -This was the last day of those complicated scenes of tactics and -fighting which formed collectively the siege of Lucknow, and which had -lasted from the 2d to the 21st of March. Concerning the cavalry -expeditions, during the third week of this period, it is pretty evident -that they had been fruitless in great results. Sir Hope Grant had cut up -a few hundred fugitive rebels in one spot, and intercepted more in -another; Brigadier William Campbell had rendered useful service both in -and beyond the suburbs of the city; but the proofs were not to be -doubted that the mutinied sepoys and rebel volunteers had safely escaped -from the city, not merely by thousands, but by tens of thousands; and -that they still retained a sufficiency of military organisation to -render them annoying and even formidable. When this news reached -England, it damped considerably the pleasure afforded by the conquest of -Lucknow. The nation asked, but asked without the probability of -receiving a reply, whether the enemy had in this particular foiled a -part of the commander-in-chief’s plan; and whether the governor-general -shared the opinions of the commander concerning the plan of strategy, -and the consequences resulting from it? - -The losses suffered by the British army during the operations at -Lucknow, though necessarily considerable, were small in comparison -with those which would have been borne if artillery had not been so -largely used. Sir Colin from the first determined that shells and -balls should do as much of the dread work as possible, clearing away -or breaching the enemy’s defence-works before he sent in his infantry -to close quarters. During the entire series of operations, from the 2d -to the 21st of March, he had 19 officers killed and 48 wounded. The -whole of the generals and brigadiers escaped untouched; and there were -only two officers among the wounded so high in military rank as -lieutenant-colonel. The killed and wounded among the troops generally -were about 1100. The enemy’s loss could hardly have been less than -4000. One of the deaths most regretted during these operations was -that of Major Hodson; who, as the commander of ‘Hodson’s Horse,’ and -as the captor of the King of Delhi, had been prominently engaged in -the Indian wars. It was on the day marked by the conquest of the Begum -Kothee that he fell. Having no especial duty on that day, and hearing -that Brigadier Napier was busily engaged in engineering operations -connected with the attack on that palace, he rode over to him, and -joined in that storming attack which Sir Colin characterised as ‘the -sternest struggle which occurred during the siege.’ Hodson, while -assisting in clearing the court-yards and buildings near the palace of -parties of the enemy lurking there, was shot by a sepoy. His orderly, -a large powerful Sikh, carried him in his arms to a spot beyond the -reach of shot, whence he was carried in a dooly to Banks’s house, -where surgical aid could be obtained. Some of his own irregular -troopers cried over him like children. The shot had passed through the -liver, and he died after a night of great agony. A spot was chosen for -his grave near a tope of bamboos behind the Martinière. Sir Colin and -his staff attended the funeral, at which the old chief was much -affected; he had highly valued Hodson, and did not allow many hours to -elapse before he wrote a graceful and feeling letter to the widow of -the deceased officer. As soon as possible a telegraphic message was -sent to bring down Captain Daly, the commandant of the famous corps of -Guides; he was every way fitted to command a similar body of irregular -cavalry, ‘Hodson’s Horse.’ - -No sooner was the city of Lucknow clearly and unequivocally in the hands -of Sir Colin Campbell, than he completely broke up the lately formidable -‘army of Oude.’ The troops had nothing more immediately to do at that -spot; while their services were urgently needed elsewhere. With regret -did the soldiers leave a place where such extraordinary gains had fallen -to the lot of some among their number; or, more correctly, this regret -endured only until the very stringent regulations put an effectual stop -to all plundering. The regiments were reorganised into brigades and -divisions; new brigadiers were appointed in lieu of those on -‘sick-leave;’ and a dispersion of the army commenced. - -It is impossible to read Sir Colin Campbell’s mention of Jung Bahadoor -without feeling that he estimated at a small price the value of the -services yielded by the Nepaulese leader. Whether it was that the -arrival of the Goorkha army was delayed beyond the date when the -greatest services might have been rendered, or that Sir Colin found it -embarrassing to issue orders to one who was little less than a king, it -is plain that not much was effected by Jung Bahadoor during the -operations at Lucknow. He came when the siege was half over; he departed -a fortnight afterwards; and although the commander-in-chief said in a -courteous dispatch: ‘I found the utmost willingness on his part to -accede to any desire of mine during the progress of the siege; and from -the first his Highness was pleased to justify his words that he was -happy to be serving under my command’—although these were the words -used, there was an absence of any reference to special deeds of -conquest. It was a pretty general opinion among the officers that the -nine thousand soldiers of the Nepaulese army were far inferior in -military qualities to those Goorkhas who had for many years formed two -or three regiments in the Bengal army. When the looting in the city -began, Jung Bahadoor’s Goorkhas could scarcely be held in any control; -like the Sikhs, they were wild with oriental excitement, and Sir Colin -was more anxious concerning them than his own European troops. Viscount -Canning, who was in intimate correspondence with the commander-in-chief -through the medium of the electric telegraph, exchanged opinions with -him in terms known only to themselves; but the announcement made public -was to the effect that the governor-general solicited the aid of the -Goorkha troops in the neighbourhood of Allahabad, and invited Jung -Bahadoor to a personal conference with him at that city. It was during -the last week in March that the Nepaulese allies quitted Lucknow, and -marched off towards the Oude frontier. - -Of the troops which remained at Lucknow, after the departure of some of -the brigades, it need only be said in this place that they began to -experience the heat of an Indian equinox, which, though much less than -that of summer, is nevertheless severely felt by Europeans. A letter -from an assistant-surgeon in the division lately commanded by Brigadier -Franks, conveyed a good impression of camp-troubles at such a time.[150] - -When the governor-general wrote the usual thanks and compliments after -the conquest of Lucknow, he adverted very properly to the previous -operations, which, though not conquests in the ordinary sense of the -term, had won so much fame for Inglis, Havelock, Neill, Outram, and -Campbell; and then after mentioning some of the most obvious facts -connected with the siege,[151] praised all those whom Sir Colin had -pointed out as being worthy of praise. Concerning the proclamation which -Lord Canning issued, or proposed to issue, to the natives of Oude, it -will be convenient to defer notice of it to a future chapter; when -attention will be called to the important debates in the imperial -legislature relating to that subject. - -Here this chapter may suitably end. It was designed as a medium for the -remarkable episode of the final conquest of Lucknow in the month of -March; and will be best kept free from all topics relating to other -parts of India. - - - Note. - - _Lucknow Proclamations._—When Sir Colin Campbell had effectually - conquered Lucknow, and had gathered information concerning the - proceedings of the rebels since the preceding month of November, it - was found that no means had been left untried to madden the populace - into a death-struggle with the British. Among other methods, printed - proclamations were posted up in all the police stations, not only in - Lucknow, but in many other parts of Oude. - - One of these proclamations, addressed to the Mohammedans, ran thus: - - ‘God says in the Koran: “Do not enter into the friendship of Jews - and Christians; those who are their friends are of them—that is, the - friends of Christians are Christians, and friends of Jews are Jews. - God never shews his way to infidels.” - - ‘By this it is evident that to befriend Christians, is irreligious. - Those who are their friends are not Mohammedans; therefore all the - Mohammedan fraternity should with all their hearts be deadly enemies - to the Christians, and never befriend them in any way; otherwise, - all will lose their religion, and become infidels. - - ‘Some people, weak in faith and worldly, think that if they offend - the Christians, they will fall their victims when their rule is - re-established. God says of these people: “Look in the hearts of - these unbelievers, who are anxious to seek the friendship of - Christians through fear of receiving injury,” to remove their doubts - and assure their wavering mind. It is also said that “God will - shortly give us victory, or will do something by which our enemies - will be ashamed of themselves.” The Mussulmans should therefore - always hope, and never believe that the Christians will be - victorious and injure them; but, on the contrary, should hope to - gain the victory and destroy all Christians. - - ‘If all the Mohammedans join and remain firm to their faith, they - would no doubt gain victory over the Christians, because God says - that the victory is due to the faithful from Him; but if they become - cowards and infirm to their religion, and do not sacrifice their - private interest for the public good, the Europeans will be - victorious, and, having subdued the Mohammedans, they will disarm, - hang, shoot, or blow them away, seize upon their women and children, - disgrace, dishonour, and christianise them, dig up their houses and - carry off their property; they will also burn religious and sacred - books, destroy the musjids, and efface the name of Islam from the - world. - - ‘If the Mohammedans have any shame, they should all join and prepare - themselves to kill the Christians without minding any one who says - to the contrary; they should also know that no one dies before his - time, and when the time comes, nothing can save them. Thousands of - men are carried off by cholera and other pestilence; but it is not - known whether they die in their senses, and be faithful to their own - religion. - - ‘To be killed in a war against Christians is a proof of obtaining - martyrdom. All good Mohammedans pray for such a death; therefore, - every one should sacrifice his life for such a reward. Every one is - to die assuredly, and those Mohammedans who would spare themselves - now will be sorry on their death for their neglect. - - ‘As it is the duty of all men and women to oppose, kill, and expel - the Europeans for deeds committed by them at Delhi, Jhujur, Rewaree, - and the Doab, all the Mohammedans should discharge their duty with a - willing heart; if they neglect, and the Europeans overpower them, - they will be disarmed, hung, and treated like the inhabitants of - other unfortunate countries, and will have nothing but regret and - sorrow for their lot. Wherefore this notice is given to warn the - public.’ - - Another proclamation, addressed principally to zemindars and Hindoos - in general, but to Mohammedans also, was couched in the following - terms: - - ‘All the Hindoos and Mohammedans know that man loves four things - most: 1, his religion and caste; 2, his honour; 3, his own and his - kinsmen’s lives; 4, his property. All these four are well protected - under native rulers; no one interferes with any one’s religion; - every one enjoys his respectability according to his caste and - wealth. All the respectable people—Syad, Shaikh, Mogul, and Patan, - among Mohammedans; and Brahmins, Chatrees, Bys, and Kaeths, among - the Hindoos—are respected according to their castes. No low-caste - people like chumars, dhanook, and passees, can be equal to and - address them disrespectfully. No one’s life or property is taken - unless for some heinous crime. - - ‘The British are quite against these four things—they want to spoil - every one’s caste, and wish both the Mohammedans and Hindoos to - become Christians. Thousands have turned renegades, and many will - become so yet; both the nobles and low caste are equal in their - eyes; they disgrace the nobles in the presence of the ignoble; they - arrest or summon to their courts the gentry, nawabs, and rajahs at - the instance of a chumar, and disgrace them; wherever they go they - hang the respectable people, kill their women and children; their - troops dishonour the women, and dig up and carry off their buried - property. They do not kill the mahajuns, but dishonour their women, - and carry off their money. They disarm the people wherever they go, - and when the people are disarmed, they hang, shoot, or blow them - away. - - ‘In some places, they deceive the landholders by promising them - remittance of revenue, or lessen the amount of their lease; their - object is that when their government is settled, and every one - becomes their subject, they can readily, according to their wish, - hang, disgrace, or christianise them. Some of the foolish - landholders have been deceived, but those who are wise and careful - do not fall into their snares. - - ‘Therefore, all the Hindoos and Mohammedans who wish to save their - religion, honour, life, and property, are warned to join the - government forces, and not to be deceived by the British. - - ‘The passees (low-caste servants) should also know that the - chowkeedaree (office of watchmen) is their hereditary right, but the - British appoint burkundauzes in their posts, and deprive them of - their rights; they should therefore kill and plunder the British and - their followers, and annoy them by committing robbery and thefts in - their camp.’ - -[Illustration: - - HINDOO METALLIC ORNAMENTS. - - _a_ Women’s Earrings. _b_ Parsee Women’s Neck-ring. _c_ Women’s - Nose-rings. _d_ Women’s Forehead Ornament. _f_ Men’s Earrings. _g_ - Women’s Anklets. _h_ Women’s Armlets. _i_ Women’s Toe-rings. _k_ - Women’s Finger-rings. _l_ Women’s Necklace. _m_ Men’s Necklace. -] - ------ - -Footnote 141: - - The plans of Lucknow at pp. 321 and 362 will convey an idea of the - situation of the city relatively to the river. - -Footnote 142: - 23d Fusiliers. - 79th Highlanders. - Rifle Brigade, two battalions. - 1st Bengal Europeans. - 3d Punjaub infantry. - 2d Dragoon Guards. - 9th Lancers. - 1st, 2d, and 5th Punjaub cavalry, detachment. - D’Aguilar’s troop, horse-artillery. - Remington’s troop, royal artillery. - M’Kinnon’s troop, royal artillery. - Gibbon’s light field-battery. - Middleton’s light field-battery. - Head-quarters, field-artillery brigade. - -Footnote 143: - - Mr Russell, all day on the 6th and 7th, was watching the proceedings - from a position such as has seldom before been occupied by a newspaper - writer. He was on the roof of the Dil Koosha, taking his chance of - such shots as came from the Martinière, and viewing Outram’s marchings - and fightings by means of a telescope. Sometimes his resolution was - nearly baffled by heat and dust. ‘The wind was all but - intolerable—very hot and very high, and surcharged with dust. I had a - little camp-table and chair placed on the top of the building, and - tried to write; but the heat and the dust were intolerable. I tried to - look out, but the glasses were filled with dust; a fog would be just - as good a medium.’ - -Footnote 144: - - ‘He (Sir Edward Lugard) will employ for the purpose the 4th brigade, - with the 38th and 53d regiments of the 3d brigade in support. - - ‘The 42d Highlanders will lead the attack, and seize, as a first - measure, the huts and ruined houses to the left of the Martinière, as - viewed from the brigadier-general’s front. - - ‘While the movement is being made upon the huts in question, the wall - below the right heavy battery will be lined very thickly, with at - least the wing of a regiment, which will be flanked again by a troop - of R.A. The huts having been seized, this extended wing behind the - wall will advance right across the open on the building of the - Martinière, its place being taken immediately by a regiment in - support, which will also move rapidly forward on the building. But the - attack on the huts is not to stop there. As soon as they are in, the - Highlanders must turn sharp on the building of the Martinière, also - following up the retreating enemy. The heavy guns of the right - battery, as well as those belonging to the troop, will search the - intrenchments of the tank and the brushwood to the right while this - advance is going forward. - - ‘The whole line of the ruined huts, Martinière, &c., having been - seized, the engineers attached to the 2d division for the operation - will be set to work immediately by the brigadier-general to give cover - to the troops. - - ‘The men employed in the attack will use nothing but the bayonet. They - are absolutely forbidden to fire a shot till the position is won. This - must be thoroughly explained to the men, and they will be told also - that their advance is flanked on every side by heavy and light - artillery, as well as by the infantry fire on the right. - - ‘The brigadier-general will cause his whole division to dine at 12 - o’clock. Inlying pickets will remain in camp. The 90th foot, now in - the Mahomed Bagh, will be relieved by a regiment from - Brigadier-general Franks’s division. The troops will not be allowed to - pass the lines of huts and the building without orders.’ - -Footnote 145: - - When Sir Colin started from Buntara to the Dil Koosha on the 2d of - March, Mr Russell says of his personal appearance: ‘He wears a - serviceable air which bespeaks confidence and resolution, and gives - the notion of hard work and success. Everything about him is for - service, even down to the keen-edged sabre in a coarse leather sheath, - not dangling and clattering from his side and hitting the flanks of - his horse from gaudy sling-belts, but tucked up compactly by a stout - shoulder-belt just over his hip.... And so of his nether man; not - clothed in regulation with gold stripes, but in stout brown corduroy, - warranted to wear in any climate. The chief of the staff and the - officers of the staff for the most part follow the example of the - commander-in-chief.’ - -Footnote 146: - - It is well to bear in mind the distinction between two great - Emanbarras at Lucknow; one, called the Emanbarra of Ghazee-u-deen - Hyder, just mentioned; and the other, the Emanbarra of Azof-u-Dowlah, - between the Muchee Bhowan and the Moosa Bagh. - -Footnote 147: - - The graphic writer to whom we have more than once adverted was among - those who hastened to the Begum Kothee as a spectator on this morning. - Among the scenes that met his view he said: ‘I saw one of the - fanatics, a fine old sepoy with a grizzled moustache, lying dead in - the court, a sword-cut across his temple, a bayonet-thrust through his - neck, his thigh broken by a bullet, and his stomach slashed open, in a - desperate attempt to escape. There had been five or six of these - fellows altogether, and they had either been surprised and unable to - escape, or had shut themselves up in desperation in a small room, one - of many looking out on the court. At first, attempts were made to - start them by throwing in live shell. A bag of gunpowder was more - successful; and out they charged, and, with the exception of one man, - were shot and bayoneted on the spot. The man who got away did so by a - desperate leap through a window, amid a shower of bullets and many - bayonet-thrusts. Such are the common incidents of this war. From court - to court of the huge pile of buildings we wandered through the same - scenes—dead sepoys—blood-splashed gardens—groups of eager Highlanders, - looking out for the enemy’s loopholes—more eager groups of plunderers - searching the dead, many of whom lay heaped on the top of each other, - amid the ruins of rooms brought down upon them by our cannon-shot. Two - of these were veritable chambers of horrors. It must be remembered - that the sepoys and matchlockmen wear cotton clothes, many at this - time of year using thickly quilted tunics; and in each room there is a - number of _resais_, or quilted cotton coverlets, which serve as beds - and quilts to the natives. The explosion of powder sets fire to this - cotton very readily, and it may be easily conceived how horrible are - the consequences where a number of these sepoys and Nujeebs get into a - place whence there is no escape, and where they fall in heaps by our - shot. The matches of the men and the discharges of their guns set fire - to their cotton clothing; it is fed by the very fat of the dead - bodies; the smell is pungent and overpowering, and nauseous to a - degree. I looked in at two such rooms, where, through the dense smoke, - I could see piles of bodies; and I was obliged to own that the horrors - of the hospital at Sebastopol were far exceeded by what I witnessed. - Upwards of 300 dead were found in the courts of the palace, and, if we - put the wounded carried off at 700, we may reckon that the capture of - the place cost the enemy 1000 men at least. The rooms of the building - round the numerous courts were for the most part small and dark, - compared with the great size of the corridors and garden enclosures. - The state-saloon, fitted up for durbars and entertainments, once - possessed some claims to magnificence, which were, however, now lying - under our feet in the shape of lustres, mirrors, pier-glasses, gilt - tables, damask, silk and satin, embroidered fragments of furniture, - and marble tables, over which one made his way from place to place - with difficulty. The camp-followers were busily engaged in selecting - and carrying away such articles as attracted their fancy—shawls, - _resais_, cushions, umbrellas, swords, matchlocks, tom-toms or drums, - pictures, looking-glasses, trumpets; but the more valuable plunder - disappeared last night. It will be long before a Begum can live here - in state again. Every room and wall and tower are battered and - breached by our shot.’ - -Footnote 148: - - ‘It having been understood that several small pieces of ordnance - captured in the city have been appropriated by individuals, all - persons having such in their possession are directed at once to make - them over to the commissary of ordnance in charge of the park. - - ‘It is reported to the commander-in-chief that the Sikhs and other - native soldiers are plundering in a most outrageous manner, and refuse - to give up their plunder to the guards told off for the express - purpose of checking such proceedings. His excellency desires that - strong parties, under the command of European officers, be immediately - sent out from each native regiment to put a stop to these excesses. - - ‘Commanding officers of native regiments are called upon to use their - best endeavours to restore order, and are held responsible that all - their men who are not on duty remain in camp, and that those who are - on duty do not quit their posts. - - ‘All native soldiers not on duty are to be confined to camp till - further orders, and all who may now be on duty in the city are to be - relieved and sent back to camp. - - ‘All commanding officers are enjoined to use their best endeavours to - prevent their followers quitting camp.’ - -Footnote 149: - - Chap. xxi. p. 369. - -Footnote 150: - - ‘Though we are all in the town, our camp and hospital are still in the - old place. While I write this in my tent in camp, the thermometer is - at 100 degrees; not a breath of wind, and the flies—I can pity the - Egyptians now—the tent is filled with them, and everything edible - covered with them. We drink and eat flies, and in our turn are eaten - by them. They nestle in your hair, and commit the most determined - suicides in your tea or soup. Old-fashioned looking crickets come out - of holes and stare at you; lizards run wildly across the tent; and - ants by the thousand ply their wonted avocations utterly unmindful of - your presence. When night arrives, it becomes a little cooler, the - candles are lit, all the flies (save the suicides) have gone to roost - upon the tent-poles, and you fancy that your troubles are over. Vain - hope! the tent-doors are open; in flies a locust, hops into some dish, - kicks himself out again, hitting you in the face, and finally bolts - out at the opposite door. Then comes a flock of moths, all sizes and - shapes, which dart madly at the lights. At last you put out your - candle, and get into bed, when a new sound commences. Hum, hum, - something soft and light settles on your face and hands: a sensation - of red-hot needles intimates that the mosquitoes are upon you. The - domestic flea and bug also abound; their appetites quite unimpaired by - the climate. Jackals and pariah dogs yell and howl all night. Day - dawns, and you have your flies down upon you lively as ever. This will - give you some idea of our tent comforts.’ - -Footnote 151: - - ‘From the 2d to the 16th of March a series of masterly operations took - place, by which the commander-in-chief, nobly supported in his - well-laid plans of attack by the ability and skill of the general - officers, and by the indomitable bravery and resolution of the - officers and men of all arms, drove the rebels successively from all - their strongly fortified posts, till the whole fell into the - possession of our troops. That this great success should have been - accomplished at so little cost of valuable lives, enhances the honour - due to the leader who has achieved it.’ After mentioning the - remarkable services rendered by Outram during more than five months in - the Residency and the Alum Bagh, Viscount Canning could not do other - than recognise the crowning service of that distinguished man, as the - second in command under Campbell during the great operations of March. - -[Illustration: - - BARRACKPORE. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - MINOR EVENTS IN MARCH. - - -Having briefly narrated in the last chapter the progress of Sir Colin -Campbell’s army in Oude, from the beginning towards the close of March; -it now becomes expedient to watch the operations of those military -officers who, during the same month, were engaged in services in other -parts of India. The achievements were not so great in magnitude or -notoriety, but they do not the less require to be noticed: seeing that -they illustrate the state of feeling among the native population, the -fluctuations of fortune among the rebels, and the struggles of British -officers amid great difficulties. - -As in former chapters, there will be a convenience in beginning with the -Calcutta regions, and transferring attention successively to the west, -northwest, and southwest. - -The Anglo-Indian capital was shorn of somewhat of its splendour during -the spring months, by the absence of the governor-general at Allahabad; -but in truth this was a secondary matter; for it was not a time for -levees, gaieties, or vice-regal presentations and splendour. Calcutta -experienced a panic so late in the history of the mutiny as the 3d of -March—one of many to which a somewhat excitable population had been -exposed. A telegraphic message was received from Barrackpore, to the -effect that the sepoys of two native regiments at that station—the 2d -and the 23d B. N. I.—were deserting in bodies of ten or twelve; and that -the deserters were supposed to be making their way to Calcutta. The -officers of the volunteer guards were at once requested to send pickets -to certain unprotected buildings in Calcutta. Very speedily these -pickets were told off; cavalry patrolled the streets all night; the -artillerymen remained watchful within the fort; and the English troops -present were kept under arms. The rumour proved to have been greatly -exaggerated, and the suspected danger passed away—but not without -causing much trepidation among the unwarlike portion of the Calcutta -community. - -So numerous were the European troops that arrived at Calcutta during the -winter, and so obvious the necessity for increasing the strength of that -branch of the army in India, that preparations were made for -accommodating them within easy reach of the capital. Barrackpore, -although well supplied with sepoy lines, had never held European troops -in large number. It was now resolved, instead of building new European -barracks at that place, to increase those at Chinsura. This town, about -twenty miles from Calcutta, on the banks of the Hoogly, had already a -fine European barrack and military hospital, in a very healthy spot. -About the month of March, many hundred men were set to work, to increase -the barrack accommodation to a level with the wants of five thousand -European troops, and to raze all the buildings within five hundred yards -on all sides, to form parade-grounds, &c. - -In the regions north and east of Calcutta, the materials for rebellion -were pretty nearly exhausted. There had from the first been only a small -amount of disturbance in those districts; and it became gradually -evident that the town and village population were desirous of continuing -their peaceful avocations, uninterrupted by mutinous sepoys or fanatical -Mohammedans. - -It was in many ways fortunate that the recently acquired province of -Pegu had remained peaceful during the dangerous periods of the mutiny. -Had revolt or treason been at work in that quarter, the embarrassment of -the government would have been seriously aggravated. Disturbances, it is -true, did take place; but they were not of such magnitude as to give -occasion for alarm. This was mainly owing to the policy of the King of -Burmah. We had taken from him a rich province, a slice out of his -empire, by a mingled course of war and politics; and he was no more -likely to be content with that result than any other defeated monarch. -But he was a shrewd observant man; he measured the power of England, and -saw reason to believe that he would weaken rather than strengthen -himself by any hostility at this time. There were not wanting those near -him who urged him to a different policy. Burmah, like other countries, -had its war-party, who kept up a spirit of bitterness towards the -British. This party was headed by the king’s brother, and by many of the -old dispossessed Burman officials of Pegu. There is reason to believe -that, had the strength of the rebels in Oude remained much longer -unbroken, the King of Burmah might have been drawn or driven into -hostility in spite of himself. Whenever news came over from the opposite -side of the Bay of Bengal, the Mohammedans resident in Burmah made the -most of such parts of it as indicated a decline of the English ‘raj,’ -and gave strength to a feeling among the Burmese which the king might -not much longer have been able to resist. In the early part of 1857 -there were four European regiments in Pegu; but the urgent demands from -India had led to the withdrawal of all these, except a wing of the 2d -Madras Europeans at Toungoo, and a few of H.M. 29th at Thayetmyo; and -even of native Madras troops in Pegu, the number was but small. There -was a time, in the autumn of that year, when the war-party might have -wrought serious mischief to British interests; but when steam-frigates, -corvettes, gun-boats, and regiments from various quarters began to shew -themselves at Rangoon or in the Irrawaddy, or were known to be passing -up the Bay towards Calcutta, the chances were altered. Instead of -fighting, the king did a much wiser thing, whether from humane or from -politic motives—he subscribed ten thousand rupees towards the Mutiny -Relief Fund. - -West and southwest of Calcutta, in a part of India very imperfectly -known to Europeans, tranquillity was occasionally disturbed, not so much -by mutinous sepoys, as by ambitious chieftains desirous of strengthening -themselves in a time of anarchy and uncertain allegiance. In the region -around Chyabassa, many petty occurrences from time to time kept the few -Europeans in anxiety. There were not many rebel sepoys in that quarter, -it is true; but, on the other hand, there were few troops of any kind to -aid Captain Moncrieff, the senior assistant-commissioner. A semi-savage -tribe, called Coles or Koles, infested the neighbourhood. On the 25th of -March, three thousand of these Coles, with a medley of guns, muskets, -and native weapons of all kinds, assembled at Chuckerderpore, where -Moncrieff had a small camp of marines and two guns; they were, however, -dispersed by a mere handful of men, and three of their guns taken. This -district was kept in an agitated state mainly by the machinations of a -turbulent chieftain, the Rajah of Porahat. - -Let us advance, however, to those regions where the audacity of the -insurgents was more seriously felt—the regions of the Middle Ganges and -the Lower Jumna. The Lower Ganges, between Calcutta and Dinapoor, -remained peacefully in the hands of cultivators and traders, who were -glad enough to be free from the visitations of fighting-men; but from -Dinapoor upwards the sources of discordance were numerous. A few -mutineers lurked about, aided by a much larger proportion of desperate -characters, who took service under chieftains (mostly Mohammedan) bent -upon increasing their own power at the expense of the British. - -The Azimghur district, nearly north of Benares, became in March the -scene of a conflict which certainly gave a triumph for a time to the -enemy, although it was favourable to the British in the first instance. -This conflict took place on the 21st at Atrowlia, between a body of -insurgents on the one side, and a small force under Colonel Millman of -H.M. 37th, commandant of the Azimghur field-force. Being in camp at -Koelsa, he received information from Mr Davies, magistrate of Azimghur, -that a considerable body of mutineers was in the neighbourhood of -Atrowlia, a place about twenty-five miles from that city. The colonel -immediately set out, with about 260 infantry, cavalry, and gunners, and -two pieces of ordnance—his troops being British and Madrasses. At -daybreak on the 22d, he espied the enemy—chiefly sepoys of the Dinapoor -brigade, who had followed the fortunes of Koer Singh—posted in several -topes of mango-trees. His infantry of the 37th, his Madras cavalry under -Colonel Cumberlege, and his two guns, speedily discomfited the enemy and -put them to flight; but his day’s work was not ended. While his men were -halting in the neighbourhood of Atrowlia, and breakfast was being -prepared among the topes of trees, news was suddenly brought that the -rebels were advancing in great force. Millman, immediately proceeding -with some skirmishers to ascertain their strength, found them strongly -posted behind a mud-wall, in the midst of topes of trees and -sugar-canes. He sent back orders for his troops to advance; but the -enemy increased in number so rapidly, that he could not contend against -them; he retired slowly from Atrowlia to his camp at Koelsa, followed by -the enemy, who fired at a distance, and endeavoured to turn his flanks. -He made one dash with his cavalry; but news, or at least a rumour, -reaching the camp, that no fewer than 5000 rebels were approaching, such -a panic was created among his camp-followers, that many of the -hackery-drivers left their carts, and all the cooks ran away. The -colonel, perplexed both by his foes and his camp-followers, and -conscious that his camp was untenable in case of a night-attack, and -that adequate supplies would be wanting for his men—deemed it expedient -to retreat to Azimghur, which he did the same day. He was compelled to -abandon a portion of his tents and baggage, which fell into the hands of -the enemy. - -This was a vexatious and serious discomfiture. It told unfavourably in -two directions; for while it paralysed the exertions of the few British -officers and troops in that region, it afforded to the rebels an excuse -for vaunting abroad their prowess and success. The natives, inexplicable -in character to Europeans, were often incredulous to rumours of defeat -among their own countrymen; but rumours on the other side spread among -them with astounding rapidity, encouraging them to schemes of resistance -which they might possibly otherwise have avoided. - -It was a natural consequence of the withdrawal from Atrowlia, and the -retreat to Azimghur, that the last-named station should itself become -imperiled; for a wide range of country was thus left wholly at the mercy -of Koer Singh and his associates. The British in Azimghur proceeded to -intrench themselves within the jail, which was surrounded by a deep -ditch; and every man was set to work to strengthen the fortifications. -The rebels gradually approached, to the number of four or five thousand; -and then the small garrison was fairly besieged—all the rest of the city -being in the hands of the insurgents. A messenger was despatched to -Benares on the 26th, to announce the state of affairs; but all that the -authorities at that place could do, on the spur of the moment, was to -send fifty dragoons in carts, drawn by bullocks and pushed on by -coolies. A telegraphic message was at the same time sent to Allahabad; -consequent upon which a wing of H.M. 13th foot, and the depôt of the 2d, -started off to Benares, for service at that place or at Azimghur. There -was a rumour that Koer Singh intended to attack Ghazeepore or Benares, -or both, on his way from Azimghur to Arrah; and this rumour led to much -entreaty for aid to the threatened stations. - -It will hereafter be seen that Azimghur needed the care of Sir Colin -Campbell. Meanwhile we may notice the state of affairs in a district -somewhat further north. - -The neighbourhood of Goruckpore was the scene of a contest early in -March. At that time there were assembled about 200 men of the naval -brigade, under Captain Sotheby, 200 Bengal yeomanry cavalry, 900 -Goorkhas, a few Sikhs and four guns—under Colonel Rowcroft. This motley -but stanch garrison was attacked on the 5th in great force by several -influential rebels, who had with them an army of 12,000 men, including -3500 sepoys of mutinied Bengal regiments. Between eight o’clock and -noon, Rowcroft not only defeated this greatly superior force, but chased -the enemy seven miles, nearly to their encampment at Bilwa or Belwar. -The enemy lost 400 or 500 in killed and wounded, eight guns, and much -ammunition. Among the leaders of the rebels were the Nazim Mahomed -Hussein, Rajah Dabie Buksh of Gonda, the Rajah of Churdah, and Mehndee -Ali Hussein, who were all mounted on elephants. This victory was a very -fortunate one; for not only was Goruckpore saved from being a second -time overrun by insurgents, but Colonel Rowcroft received news that many -thousand villagers on the banks of the Gogra were ready to rise in -rebellion if he had been defeated. This kind of peril was constantly -impressed on the minds of the British officers; the consequences of a -disaster were always more than they could safely calculate. - -A defeat was experienced by a small force in the Allahabad district -towards the close of March, owing to the want of due information -concerning the position and strength of the enemy. Two companies of H.M. -54th, a hundred Sikhs, a few Madras cavalry, and two guns, went out to -attack some rebels at a place called Suraon, between Allahabad and -Gopeegunje. Insufficiently informed of the locality, the force came -suddenly to a spot surrounded by a jungle, in which a large body of -rebels were concealed. Much to the astonishment of the magistrate of the -district, those rebels possessed six pieces of artillery; a fire was -opened, which wrought much mischief to the British force, and eventually -compelled it to retreat. This was a small affair, but it rendered the -authorities uneasy; for it shewed that within a few hours of Allahabad, -where the governor-general had temporarily taken up his quarters, there -were not only insurgents ready for mischief, but that those insurgents, -in some way and from some source not easily accounted for, had possessed -themselves of artillery. - -Jung Bahadoor’s participation in the later stages of the siege of -Lucknow was noticed in the last chapter. He had entered Oude from the -east; and shortly before his junction with Sir Colin, his advanced -division had a sharp engagement with a force of the enemy, which may -briefly be noticed here. Captain Plowden was in charge of this division; -and under him were a few English and many Nepaulese officers, commanding -the Goorkha regiments of which the division consisted. Having received -information that the Nazim Mahomed Hussein, with a force of 4000 men, -intended to dispute the passage of Jung Bahadoor’s army at the road to -Lucknow over the Kandoo Nuddee, Captain Plowden prepared to contest the -matter with him. His division consisted of seven Goorkha regiments, -about 4000 strong, with thirteen guns. On the morning of the 5th of -March, he found the enemy drawn up in detached parties near the bridge; -he opened fire with his guns, and then charged with infantry in line. -His progress was much disturbed by an intervening space of bush-jungle -and deep ravines; nevertheless his Goorkhas charged resolutely, drove -back the enemy at all points, pursued them for two or three miles, -killed 600 of their number, and captured a gun—without losing more than -17 in killed and wounded. Captain Plowden, in his dispatch, told how he -had been aided by the Nepaulese General Khurruk Bahadoor, the two -brigadiers Junga Doje and Run Sing Bahadoor, Colonel Teela Bickrum Singh -Tappah, and other officers whose names present a formidable appearance. -The Nepaulese army pursued its way to Lucknow, and rendered a small -amount of assistance. When their services had terminated at that city, -Jung Bahadoor took a few of the best regiments with him to Allahabad, on -his expedition to an interview with the governor-general; but the main -body of his army marched off _viâ_ Nawabgunge, on the Fyzabad route, -towards the Nepaul and Goruckpore frontier. Whether Jung Bahadoor was -negotiating with Lord Canning concerning the price at which the services -of the Goorkhas were to be purchased; or whether any project was afoot -for transferring some of the Goorkha regiments formally to the British -service—was not made publicly known; but it was understood that the main -Nepaulese force would remain near Nawabgunge until after the interview -between the two great personages. - -Of the wildly excited province of Oude, it is scarcely necessary to say -much here. The great event of the month, the siege of Lucknow, has -already been recorded; the other parts of the province were still almost -wholly in the hands of the insurgents. It will, however, contribute -towards an understanding of the state of the province in March, if we -advert to a few facts concerning the temporary occupants of the city of -Lucknow, and the arrangements made by Sir Colin affecting his army. - -First, a word or two concerning the soldiery. It would be quite -impossible to say which regiments of the Queen’s army rendered most -service or behaved most valiantly; but the defence of Lucknow had been -so extraordinary in its character, that the government deemed it right -to notice specially the courage and fortitude of the 32d -infantry—Inglis’s main prop during his defence of the Residency from the -1st of July till the arrival of Havelock and Outram near the end of -September. There was put forth an announcement to the effect that ‘her -Majesty, in consideration of the enduring fortitude and persevering -gallantry displayed in defence of the Residency at Lucknow, has been -graciously pleased to command that the 32d be clothed, equipped, and -trained as a light infantry regiment, from the 26th of February 1858. -Her Majesty has also been pleased to command that the word “Lucknow” -shall be borne on the regimental colour of the 32d light infantry, in -commemoration of the enduring fortitude and persevering gallantry -displayed in the defence of the Residency of Lucknow for eighty-seven -days.’ Many of the other royal regiments had borne more fighting in the -open field; but none equalled the 32d in long enduring privation and -heroism, owing to the extraordinary circumstances in which the regiment -had been placed. - -Next, concerning the city itself, the place which had undergone so -strange a series of sieges and defences. In Lucknow, after the -recapture, the shopkeepers gradually returned, opened their places of -business, and resumed commercial dealings. Many parts of the city had -been so battered by shot and shell that the buildings were scarcely -habitable; but as this only occurred to a small extent in the trading -streets, there was little interruption on that ground to the return of -the inhabitants. The chief obstacles were—the complicity of many of the -towns-people in the proceedings of the mutineers, and the impoverishment -of others by several days of fighting, anarchy, and plunder. The troops -destined for the defence of the city were quartered in some among the -many palaces, not so much battered by cannonading as the others. A clear -space was formed around the Kaiser Bagh, by the demolition of small -buildings; and operations were made for opening a wide street or avenue -entirely through the city, from the iron bridge to the canal—strategic -precautions, intended to give the garrison control over the city in case -of a turbulent rising. Precautions were in truth still necessary. -Lucknow had contained more ruffians, more desperate characters ready for -any lawless enterprises, than most other cities in India; and the -British authorities felt by no means certain that the lurking-places in -the narrow streets were yet cleared of them. The officers bore in mind, -with regret and resentment, that two of their companions had been -murdered in the city when the siege might have been deemed fairly over. -These two were Lieutenants Cape and Thackwell. They rode from the camp -into the city, but for what purpose was not clearly known to their -companions. They got off their horses, tied them to a doorpost, and went -into a house. It is supposed that budmashes, prowling about, shot them; -but the only certainty is that, when some of the Madras fusiliers went -out to search for them, the headless trunks of the two unfortunate -officers were all that remained to reveal the secret of their fate. - -The details given in the last chapter will have rendered evident the -fact that the escape of the rebels from Lucknow after the siege was far -more complete than the English public had expected or wished. How far it -disappointed those immediately responsible, no one but themselves knew. -A secrecy enveloped the plans of the commander-in-chief; he told just so -much as he wished to be known, and kept the rest to himself, or shared -it with the governor-general. Whether foreseen or not, however, the -escape of the rebels was very marked and significant. Sir Hope Grant and -other cavalry leaders endeavoured to check them, but the check was of -small account; in truth, the cavalry were too few for a belt of country -so wide. When the fact became indisputably clear that the main body of -insurgents had got away, the question arose—whither? The camping-grounds -of the fugitive rebels were very imperfectly known to the British -authorities. It was supposed, but on uncertain information, that, at the -end of the month of March, Nena Sahib was at Bareilly, with 2000 men, -and many members of his family; that the Begum of Oude was at Khyrabad, -with nearly 10,000 men; that 2000 more were near Shahjehanpoor; and that -Khan Bahadoor Khan was concocting some scheme of operations with the -Nena, having Rohilcund for its theatre. These were the suppositions, -founded on vague data. - -One thing Sir Colin speedily decided on. It was useless to keep a fine -army at Lucknow, while so much serious work had to be done elsewhere. As -already mentioned, he broke up his ‘army of Oude’ into separate -portions. Jung Bahadoor having taken his departure with his nine -thousand Nepaulese, the commander-in-chief proceeded to organise columns -or divisions for special service in various directions. On the 29th of -March Sir Colin issued a general order, pointing to the forthcoming -duties of these portions of the army. The 5th and 78th regiments were to -march from the Alum Bagh to Cawnpore. The artillery at the Alum Bagh was -to be divided, some to return to the camp at Lucknow, the rest to join -the 5th regiment. The troops to be left at Lucknow were to be formed -into a division under Sir Hope Grant. This was to comprise H.M. 20th, -28th, 33d, 53d, 90th, and 93d infantry, the 2d Dragoon Guards, three -Punjaub regiments of horse, and various detachments of artillery and -engineers, with Brigadiers W. Campbell and Barker as subordinate -commanders. Sir Edward Lugard was to form and command a division to be -called the ‘Azimghur Field-force,’ to consist of H.M. 10th regiment, -various detachments of cavalry, artillery, and engineers, and whatever -troops might at that time be in the Azimghur district. The infantry of -this force was to form a brigade under Brigadier Douglas; and the -destination was the district from which the force was named—a district, -as we have lately seen, greatly endangered by the presence of a large -rebel force. Indeed, so urgent was the need for aid in that quarter, -that Lugard started off at once. Another division, for service in -Rohilcund, was placed under the command of General Walpole. It comprised -H.M. 42d, 79th, and 93d infantry, two battalions of the Rifle Brigade, -the 1st Bengal Europeans, two regiments of native infantry, H.M. 7th -Hussars and 9th Lancers, three regiments of Punjaub cavalry, the Naval -Brigade from H.M. steamer _Shannon_, and various detachments of -artillery and engineers. Everything portended that this division would -have hot work before it—hot both in the common and the figurative sense; -for the powerful sun of the month of April would soon pour down on the -heads of the troops; while it was quite certain that Rohilcund contained -a large number of mutinied sepoys, rebel leaders, and desperate men -ready for any deeds of violence and anarchy. - -It may here suitably be mentioned, that Sir Colin Campbell’s experience -of Oudian warfare taught him the necessity of caution in all attacks on -the forts with which that province was so fully provided. His officers -would have dashed at them, as at other obstacles; but he forbade -enterprises likely to be followed by losses which good guns might -obviate. On the 24th of March, just when the army of Oude was about to -be broken up, he issued a general order concerning the arrangements to -be made for attacking such strongholds.[152] - -Quitting Oude for a time, and transferring attention to the important -and fertile Doab between the Ganges and the Jumna, we shall see that the -month of March found that part of India still much distracted by -fighting and lawless violence. True, Allahabad was in British hands at -one end of it, Delhi at the other, Cawnpore and Agra at intermediate -points; but nevertheless there were numerous bands of rebels roaming -about the open country. Whether two or three of these towns were on -river-banks just beyond the Doab, does not affect the question, which is -not one of mere geographical nomenclature. - -The Lower Doab was brought more fully than before within the influence -of military control, by the opening of a further portion of the great -trunk-railway to Futtehpoor, placing that town within a few hours’ -distance of Allahabad. This opening took place on the 25th of March; -when Viscount Canning, with nearly all the civil officers of the -last-named city, made the inaugurating journey to Futtehpoor, amid the -holiday accompaniments of flags, triumphal arches, bands of music, -feasting, and speech-making. Further to the northwest, Cawnpore remained -a kind of central point, whence troops could be sent to quarters where -they were most needed. A few regiments only were kept there, sufficient -to guard against sudden surprises. All the British who entered the place -beheld with melancholy interest the cross erected near the terrible well -by the men of the 32d, in memory of the women and children of that -regiment, included among the victims of Nena Sahib. - -There was an important town, southwest of Cawnpore, which seemed likely -to be a scene of warfare. During the month of March, it became very -apparent that Calpee was a spot which would speedily require attention -on the part of the military authorities. When Sir Colin Campbell -defeated the Gwalior mutineers at Cawnpore, many weeks earlier, they -fled from that neighbourhood. Rumours spread around that a considerable -portion of the defeated force had fled southwest to Calpee, fortified -themselves there, and called upon the neighbouring zemindars for -supplies of men and money—both of which were forthcoming. The truth of -this rumour, doubtful for a time, became confirmed as the spring -advanced. It was now certain that rebels in great force occupied Calpee, -well supplied with artillery and other munitions of war, and eagerly -watching for a chance of making an attack on Cawnpore—should that -oft-besieged place be left at any time insufficiently guarded. To what -extent Nena Sahib or his brothers were connected with this Calpee force, -was not known. The struggles in and near that town belong to a month -beyond that to which this chapter relates. - -The great city of Agra remained peacefully in the hands of the British. -Occasionally, small columns were sent out to attack and disperse bodies -of mutineers who were working mischief in the country districts; but the -formidable brigades of mutinied regiments were not in that quarter. As -one instance; on the 11th of March, Brigadier Showers found it necessary -to chastise some rebels at Bah, in the Agra district. He set forth with -two companies of the 8th foot, 400 of the Sikh police, two guns, a -howitzer, and a mortar; and encountered a motley force of 4000 -rebels—comprising three troops of insurgent cavalry, three companies of -infantry, and a body of escaped convicts. These ruffians had assaulted -and captured the town of Bah, plundered all the houses, carried off the -cattle, and murdered some of the wealthier inhabitants. This body of -rebels appeared to have come from the direction of the Gwalior -territories across the Chumbul. Many of their leaders had been in the -civil service of the Company, but turned rebels when they thought -rebellion would be more profitable. Against these men Brigadier Showers -marched from Agra. A strange wild contest ensued. The enemy did not -stand to fight a battle, but made use of ravines, rocks, temples, topes, -and villages as places whence masked attacks might be effected. There -were no roads thereabouts, and Showers experienced much difficulty in -struggling through jungles and ravines. - -It was often difficult for the officers in command to muster troops -enough to put down these bands of insurgents. At one period during the -month, Colonel Riddell marched out from Minpooree to aid in intercepting -fugitives from Lucknow. While he was gone, information arrived that -Etawah was threatened by a large body of rebels. No aid being available -from Minpooree, a telegraphic message was sent on to Futteghur -(Furruckabad); and Colonel Seaton immediately ordered a regiment of -Bengal Europeans to march to the threatened spot. These minor operations -were often very harassing to the troops, who had to march great -distances, and wage contests which did not bring them so much glory as a -regular siege or a great battle. Officers naturally preferred those -battle-fields which would bring their names in honourable form into the -official gazettes; and private soldiers those which might earn for some -of them the Victoria Cross; but many weary months passed over some of -the corps, during which the troops were engaged in harassing pursuit of -marauders and ruffians whom they heartily despised, and to conquer whom -brought them very little increase of military reputation. - -Speaking generally, it may be said that, at the end of March, the -efforts made by the British officers in the Doab were directed chiefly -to prevent the escape of rebels across the Ganges from Oude. One small -force was watching to this intent at and near Cawnpore; another was in -the Minpooree district; a third was marching down the road from Meerut -to Futteghur; while two others, under Chamberlain and Coke, were -endeavouring to control the Gangetic valley between Futteghur and -Roorkee. - -Further to the northwest, the region around Delhi was nearly all in -British hands, and the city itself wholly so—all the mutinous regiments -being far away. The authorities, after Delhi had remained several months -peacefully in their hands, resolved on the formation of a camel corps, -under a peculiar system of organisation. It was completed by the end of -March, by a native named Lalla Jotee Pershaud, under the superintendence -of Captain Chalmers, assistant commissary-general. The camels, 400 in -number, were selected with great care, in the Bikaneer district. The -drivers were armed each with a sword and fusil; and each camel was -fitted to carry a European soldier if necessary. The drivers, equivalent -to troopers or cavalry-men, were carefully selected from the natives of -Rajpootana. The purpose in view was to form a corps of armed men capable -of moving with great rapidity to any spot where their services might be -urgently needed. Lalla Jotee Pershaud was a wealthy and influential man; -and it was intended to make the officering of the corps such as would -render it an acceptable compliment to friendly natives of good position. - -As to the city itself, no semblance of fighting was presented. The -conquest by Sir Archdale Wilson, half a year before, had been so -complete, that no enemy remained to fight with. The British kept just -sufficient reliable troops in the place to defend it from surprise; but -the authority was mainly transferred to civil commissioners, who -gradually re-established order and reorganised the revenue department. -The old king still resided there, waiting for his time of punishment. A -special tribunal tried and executed a large number of rebels. - -A curious struggle of opinions arose on the question—What should be done -with Delhi? Not only within that city itself, but all over India, the -controversy was maintained with much earnestness. The opinions resolved -themselves into three varieties—advocating destruction, decay, and -conservation, respectively. When the city was captured, a very general -desire was expressed, under the influence of fierce indignation, to -destroy the place altogether, leaving not one stone upon another to tell -where Delhi had been—or rather, leaving the stones to tell where Delhi -had ceased to be. The destructives, if these persons may thus be called, -argued that Delhi should be extinguished from the list of cities, -because it was the centre of disaffection, the scene of the first and -worst stroke levelled at British power; that the Mohammedans of India -would ever think they had a national rallying-point, so long as Delhi -remained; and that the destruction of this rallying-point would impress -them with an idea of British power. The place has a charm for native -ears; it is a sign, a symbol, a standard, a flag of nationality, the -memory of which should be effaced, as something dangerous to the future -security of the British ‘raj.’ Delhi, they urged, should be regarded -rather as a dynastic than a commercial capital; everything in it recalls -the past greatness of a race which had just been foremost in mutiny. For -all these reasons—destroy Delhi. Gradually there arose a second party, -who suggested decay rather than destruction. They said: ‘Destroy Delhi, -and it would be perpetually an object of regret to the followers of -Islam; but Delhi decayed would excite only a feeling of contempt. No -tradition of sovereignty could attach to a dirty little village in which -a population of pauper Mussulmans, around the ruins of old palaces, -scrambled for the charity of a contemptuous traveller.’ They recommended -that the European troops at Delhi should be removed to Hansi, where they -might be easily accommodated; that the arsenal should be removed to -Ferozpore; or that an entirely new European city should be built, lower -down the Jumna; and that Delhi should then be left to be supported by -natives alone, burdened by a special taxation as a punishment for -treason—this, it was believed, would gradually rob the city of all its -dignity and importance. But there arose a third party, to which, it was -reputed, no less a personage than Sir John Lawrence belonged, urging the -preservation of Delhi. The grounds for this advice were many and -important. It was pointed out, among other things—that Delhi is -admirably placed, geographically and politically; that its site was -selected by men who looked primarily to the maintenance of power in the -northwestern regions of India; that, as a commercial entrepôt, it is the -point at which the two great streams of Central Asian trade diverge to -Calcutta and Bombay; that, as a military cantonment, the city commands -the Jumna at the best point for crossing the river; that it is the most -central point from which the marauding Goojurs and Meewatties could be -controlled; that the imperial palace would form an admirable fortress, -to be garrisoned by British troops; and that the walls, brought at one -point within a narrower sweep, would keep out plunderers and protect the -magazine. - -Whatever was to be the course pursued, Delhi remained, at the period to -which this chapter relates, undestroyed. The city-wall was still -standing, with the breaches hastily earthed up; all the gates had been -closed, except the Cashmere, Lahore, and Calcutta Gates, but none -destroyed; the fractured Cashmere Gate had been replaced by a temporary -wooden barrier; the English church had been painted and repaired; the -college, riddled by cannon and musket balls, had been converted into a -barrack; the magazine remained as poor Willoughby had left it, half -blown up; and the palace had not suffered very materially from the -siege. Concerning the principal street of the city, an eye-witness wrote -as follows: ‘The Chandnee Chowk is the only street we have seen in India -to which the terms of descriptive admiration bestowed on European cities -justly apply. If the traveller does not examine details too minutely, -the cheerful picturesque aspect of the Chandnee Chowk may remind him for -a moment of the Parisian boulevards. In the centre of a spacious street -is a double row of well-grown trees, on either side a broad roadway -flanked by irregular picturesque buildings. But if we speak of this -street as being in 1858 cheerful, we can allude only to its -architectural structure. Neither its associations nor its own present -accompaniments and accessories are other than gloomy. Every house has -been plundered; and the little show of property, as it begins again -under the protection of British bayonets slowly to accumulate, cannot -disguise the ruin which 1857 has created. To a stranger, the population -that flows up and down the shining street would seem large; but to one -who saw Delhi and the Chandnee Chowk before the rebellion, it is but as -the ghost of the former life of the place that moves to and fro. There -is the mosque where Nadir Shah sat and witnessed his great massacre. -There is the Kotwallee or police-station, whereat were exposed the -bodies of murdered Europeans, and afterwards of their murderers the -princes, whom Hodson slew. In front of this building stand now three -large gibbets, whereon have been already justly executed between two and -three hundred of those who joined in the murder and rapine of the 11th -of May, and on which more culprits are destined yet to pay for their -crimes. Everywhere the demeanour of the native population is more than -respectful to the Europeans—it is cringing. Fear possesses every soul. -Never was a conquest more thorough than is for the present that of Delhi -and its neighbourhood by the British. The present disposition of the -native mind in Delhi towards us, of terror and trembling obedience, is -one which no wise man can wish permanently to continue. It is a -disposition, however, which no wise man will deny that it was necessary -temporarily to create, if the mild uniformity of British rule was ever -again to be asserted in Delhi.’ In connection with these observations, -it may be stated that the cringing servility of the natives, so manifest -at Delhi, was by no means so evident in Oude and the Doab. A sullen -haughtiness, or perhaps a fierce vindictiveness, was visible on the -countenances of a very large percentage of those natives with whom the -British came into contact, telling of discontent, or of hostile passion. - -[Illustration: - - Kootub Minar, near Delhi. -] - -Of Rohilcund it is not necessary to say much in this chapter. The -greater part of it still continued, as it had been for nine months, in -the hands of the rebels; and in addition to this, many of the escaped -mutineer regiments from Lucknow had unquestionably directed their steps -to this province, to swell the numbers of those who were in arms against -the British. General Walpole was sent out against them with a powerful -column; what he achieved, we shall see in the proper place. - -That part of Rohilcund which constitutes the ‘Hills,’ the group of -healthy hill-stations at the base of the Himalaya, though nearly cut off -from communication with the Jumna regions, maintained itself bravely, -never once falling into the hands of the armed insurgents. Colonel -M’Causland, military commandant in Kumaon, so steadily and watchfully -maintained British interests in that remote hilly province, that he -generally detected hostile machinations in time to frustrate them. He -had chiefly Goorkhas for troops, Rohilcund rebels for opponents; and he -seldom failed to baffle and defeat those rebels, whether his force were -great or small. Early in March he heard that the insurgents had sent a -detachment to collect revenue—that is, to plunder—at Sitargunje, a place -twenty-five miles from his camp at Huldwanee. He determined to surprise -them; and although the success was not so great as he could have wished, -through the unexpected absence of the larger part of the enemy’s force, -still those who were met with were speedily vanquished. He intrusted the -enterprise to Captain Baugh, who commanded the Nepaul Contingent in the -Kumaon brigade. Baugh started off on the evening of the 3d, taking with -him about 220 horse and foot, and two mountain howitzers. To expedite -matters, he mounted his infantry and artillery on elephants; but during -the night his progress was retarded ‘by an elephant carrying one of the -mountain howitzers falling sick.’ Arriving at Sitargunje early in the -morning of the 4th, he found that the main body of rebels had departed -on the preceding day to a village about six miles distant. Most of those -remaining were within the government tehseel, a high building forty or -fifty yards square; and these did not fight; they fell or escaped as -their individual luck determined. Captain Baugh brought away from the -place whatever he thought might be most useful. Finding that the main -body of the insurgents, under Fuzul Huq, numbered not less than 5000 -men, with six guns, he did not deem it prudent to march after them with -his little force to Butteree, the village where they were on that day -encamped, about midway between Huldwanee and Bareilly. - -The Punjaub and Sirhind continued to be nearly free from anarchy. Yet -there were symptoms which, if left unattended to, might have led to -evil. The 4th regiment Bengal native cavalry, one of the last remaining -links in that fine army, was disarmed and unhorsed at Umballa during the -month of March. After ten months of faithfulness, amid the treachery of -so many of their compatriots, these troopers at length exhibited a -tendency to insubordination, not safely to be overlooked. In the Punjaub -generally the movements of troops were very frequent and rapid, shewing -that the authorities were well on the alert. Wishing to obtain a healthy -military station west of the Indus, the brigadier in command laid the -foundation of Campbellpore—a station named in honour of the -commander-in-chief. This custom was often adopted in India: witness -Jacobabad and Sleemanabad. - -One of the most instructive facts brought to light during the wars of -the mutiny, was the ardour with which some of the natives of India -joined in waging battle with others. During the first and second Sikh -wars, the sepoys of the Bengal native army unquestionably fought -heroically against the Sikhs, winning battles in a way that excited the -admiration of their British officers. And now the Sikhs shewed -themselves equally willing to aid the British against the sepoys, and -equally able to vanquish them in the field. Two inferences may -legitimately be drawn from this—that success depended rather on the -British officers than on the kind of troops whom they commanded; and -that the maintenance of an army formed of any one nation in India is not -so safe as the admixture of nationalities, each to act as a check upon -the other. The subject is adverted to in this place, because the month -of March witnessed the return of the Guides to Peshawur, and the honours -that marked that event. It will be remembered[153] that this celebrated -corps, chosen among the Punjaubees for their activity and intelligence, -consisted of two small regiments, one of infantry and one of cavalry; -that they made an extraordinary march of 750 miles, from Peshawur to -Delhi, in the hot weather of June 1857; and that they served most -gallantly in the operations against that city during the autumnal -months. They remained until February in and near Delhi, and then -returned to their native country. Major-general Cotton, commanding in -the Peshawur division, made a point of giving the gallant fellows an -honorary reception. He caused all the troops in the Peshawur cantonment -to be paraded on the 16th of March. On the approach of the Guides to the -parade-ground, the assembled troops saluted and the guns fired; the -major-general delivered an address; a _feu de joie_ and an ordnance -salute of twenty guns followed; and the Guides marched past him in full -military array. Captain Battye, who had commanded the cavalry portion of -the force, was killed almost immediately on the arrival of the Guides at -Delhi; but Captain Daly lived to return. Cotton addressed Daly and his -companions first, welcoming them back to Peshawur; and then he addressed -the Peshawur force generally, telling them of the wonderful march which -the Guides had made nine months before, and of their deeds at Delhi. -‘Within three hours after reaching Delhi, the Guides engaged the enemy, -and every one of their officers was wounded. For nearly four months, -officers and men were almost constantly in action, sometimes twice a -day. They took 600 men to Delhi, and received 200 recruits during the -siege. Not one man deserted to the enemy or from the corps; but no less -than 350 were killed and wounded, and 120 fell to rise no more. I need -not dwell on their separate deeds of valour, their general actions, -their skirmishes, or their single combats; but as a specimen of the -spirit that animated the corps, I will mention that a mere boy, Singh by -name, bore a wounded European soldier out of the battle.’ - -In connection with this subject, it may be remarked that the personal -character of the British officers has always exercised a very notable -influence over the native troops of India. In Brigadier Hodgson’s -_Opinions on the Indian Army_, an anecdote is related, illustrative of -the power possessed over the sepoys by any commander whose prowess and -genius they had learned to value. A native officer, speaking to him of -events which he had himself witnessed, said: ‘During the campaign -against the Mahrattas, in the year 1804, we made a tremendous forced -march of 54 miles in 30 hours, and surprised Holkar and his cavalry at -Furruckabad, and routed them with great slaughter. We had marched 250 -miles in 13 days. The troops had been upon very short commons for some -time; and you, sir, know what a tyrant a hungry belly is. The sepahees -(sepoys) began to be very loud in their grumblings, and expressed their -discontent pretty freely. This was reported. A short time afterwards, -Lick Sahib Bahadoor (Lord Lake) was observed riding past the column -_eating dry pulse_. This fact spread rapidly through the ranks; and from -that moment, not the whisper of a murmur was heard. I believe, sir, had -a man grumbled after that, he would have run the risk of being put to -death by his companions—such was the love and veneration the sepahees -had for Lick Sahib Bahadoor.’ - -Some of the half-savage mountain tribes of Peshawur and the Afghan -frontier gave occasional trouble; but neither there nor in Sinde were -the authorities prevented from sending reinforcements to the more -troubled provinces. In connection with Sinde, it may be mentioned that -Mr Frere, commissioner of that province, communicated a singular -document to Lord Elphinstone, governor of the Bombay presidency. It was -not directly connected with the mutiny or its instigators; but was -nevertheless deemed important by Mr Frere, as illustrating phases of -Hindoo character concerning which Europeans know so little. The -information was given by Mr Macdonald, deputy-collector of Larkhana, in -his weekly digest under date 20th of March. We transcribe it in a -foot-note.[154] - -We may now conveniently turn our attention to Central India—that region, -south of the Jumna, in which Mahrattas and Bundelas were so strong. We -have stated in former chapters that Sir Hugh Rose, a distinguished -Bombay officer, was placed in command of various regiments and -detachments known collectively as the ‘Central India Field-force.’ He -was gradually working his way northward to the notorious city of Jhansi, -defeating rebels everywhere on his road. On the 4th of March, Sir Hugh -Rose was enabled to telegraph the following news, from his camp at -Peeplia: ‘Yesterday, the troops under my command forced the pass of -Mudenpore, after a short but very vigorous resistance. The troops, -British and native, behaved gallantly. The pass is extremely strong, and -the enemy suffered severely. They numbered about 4000 or 5000 Pathans -and Bundelas, and 600 or 700 sepoys of the 52d and other regiments. I -sent Major Orr in pursuit; and he cut up 50 or 60 rebels, of whom a -large proportion were sepoys. The enemy are scattered in every -direction. They have abandoned the little fortress of Seraj, a fort or -arsenal which is the property of the Rajah of Shagurh, in which I shall -have a small force to keep up my communication with Saugor. I am now in -communication with my first brigade (under Brigadier Stuart) at -Chendaree, and this gives me command of the whole of the country up to -Jhansi, with the exception of two or three forts, which I can take.’ -About a week later, he sent news to Bombay that the capture of the pass -of Mudenpore—on the line of hills which separated the British district -of Saugor from the little state of Shagurh—and the defeat of the rebels -on the 3d, had produced advantages far exceeding those at first -anticipated by him. The rebels had successively abandoned several -strongholds which they had possessed—first the fort of Seraj, with four -guns, a rude manufactory for powder, shot and shell, carriages and -tents; then the town and fort of Murrowra, with a triple line of -defences; then the town and fort of Multhone; next the pass of Goonah; -then the pass and town of Hurat; and lastly, the fort of Cornel Gurh. As -all the passes had been fortified and barricaded, their precipitate -abandonment by the rebels was fortunate for Sir Hugh. Another result was -the occupation by him of the hitherto independent district of Shagurh; -the rajah having joined the rebels, Sir Robert Hamilton and Sir Hugh -Rose resolved to punish him by ‘annexing’ his small territory, or at -least occupying it until instructions could be received from Calcutta. -Accordingly, on the 10th of March, the British flag was hoisted at -Murrowra, in Shagurh, in presence of Rose’s second brigade, under a -salute of twenty-one guns. The encampment of the brigade at this time -was about twenty-five miles from Jhansi. Rose and Hamilton were well on -the alert; for Balla Sahib, brother of the Nena, was at that time -heading an army of rabble, and levying contributions in various parts of -Bundelcund. What troops this rebel had with him, was not clearly known; -but it was found that the Rajah of Chuanpore had been mulcted by him of -seven lacs of rupees; and the Rajah of Churkaree, resisting a similar -demand, had had his town destroyed by fire, and was compelled to take -refuge in his fort. Mr Carne, British resident in Churkaree, narrowly -escaped capture at the hands of the rebels. - -While Rose was thus engaged, Brigadier Stuart, with the first brigade of -the Central India Field-force, was clearing out various rebel haunts in -districts lying southward of Jhansi. On the morning of the 6th of March, -Stuart’s column or brigade set out from his camp near the Chendaree -fort, and marched six or eight miles to Khookwasas, a fort near which a -large body of rebels were assembled. The route being through a thick -jungle nearly the whole distance, the 25th and 86th regiments advanced -cautiously, in skirmishing order. Arriving at a small pass near the -fort, Stuart found that the enemy had barricaded the road, and lined the -hills on either side with matchlockmen. The engineers soon cleared away -the barricades; while a small party of the 86th rushed up the hills and -dislodged the matchlockmen. Shortly afterwards, however, it was -ascertained that the chief body of the enemy had taken up a position -behind the wall of an enclosure about a mile from the fort. The 86th -dashed forwards to gain this enclosure; two of the officers, Lieutenant -Lewis and Captain Keating, climbed to its top before any of their men, -and jumped down into the interior of the enclosure. The troops soon -cleared out the enclosure, and then pursued their operations against the -fort itself. Working his way steadily onwards, defeating and expelling -bodies of insurgents from neighbouring villages, Stuart was at length -enabled, on the 17th, to capture the fort of Chendaree itself. This -place, situated in Malwah, about a hundred miles from Gwalior, is in a -district which was assigned by Scindia in 1844, according to agreement -with the British government, to assist in the maintenance of the Gwalior -Contingent. The fort—consisting of a strong rampart of sandstone, -flanked by circular towers, and crowning a high hill—was in the hands of -insurgents at the date now under notice; and it was Brigadier Stuart’s -duty to capture it. After cannonading on the evening of the 16th, he -formed a practicable breach in the walls, and resolved to take the place -by assault on the following morning. This he did very effectually. The -25th and 86th regiments, by an impetuous rush, carried everything before -them. Captain Keating was severely wounded whilst foremost with the -storming-party. The enemy mostly escaped, on account of the simple -failure of a letter. On the preceding evening, the brigadier received a -message informing him that Captain Abbott was within available distance -with a considerable body of irregular cavalry; and in return a letter -was despatched to Abbott, requesting him to gallop forward and invest -the north side of the fort. This letter did not reach Abbott in time; -and as a consequence, there was no obstacle to the escape of the rebels -northward. All the guns, eight of iron and two of brass, were taken. The -fort was given up to the keeping of one of Scindia’s lieutenants or -soubahs, in friendly relation with the British; and the inhabitants of -the town resumed their peaceful avocations, apparently glad to get rid -of the presence of the rebels. - -Stuart’s operations at Chendaree greatly facilitated the advance of Sir -Hugh Rose towards Jhansi. He marched on, with the second brigade of his -Central India Field-force, and reached that blood-stained city on the -21st of March. He gave a sketch of his operations from the 20th to the -25th in the following brief telegraphic form: ‘On the 20th my cavalry -invested as much as possible the fort and town of Jhansi. The next day -the rest of my force arrived. The rebels have fortified the walls of the -town, and, shutting themselves up in the town and fort, have not -defended the advanced position of Jhansi. The ranee has left her palace -in the town, and has gone into the fort. The rebel garrison numbers -about 1500 sepoys, of whom 500 are cavalry, and 10,000 Bundelas, with 30 -or 40 cannon. Their position is strong; but I have occupied two good -positions, one a breaching, the other a flanking one. I have been -delayed by the want of a plan of Jhansi, and consequently have been -obliged to make long and repeated reconnaissances. I opened a flanking -fire, vertical and horizontal, yesterday (the 25th), and hope to open a -breaching fire to-morrow, or at latest the next day.’ We shall see in a -later page that Sir Hugh completely succeeded in his assault, early in -April. - -The present may be a proper place in which to advert to a matter which -greatly agitated the public mind from time to time, both in England and -India—namely, the conduct of the insurgents towards those of the British -who unfortunately fell into their power. Jhansi was one of the stations -in respect to which horror was most distressingly expressed. The morbid -taste for horrors engendered by the incidents of the Revolt gave rise to -many exaggerations. The terrible news from Delhi, Cawnpore, Jhansi, and -other places, during the early months of the struggle, produced mischief -in two ways; it created a demand for indiscriminate sanguinary -vengeance; and it produced a tendency, not only to believe, but to -exaggerate, all rumours of atrocities as committed by the natives. In -England as well as at Calcutta, controversies almost of a fierce -character arose on these points; the advocates on one side treating it -as a point of honour to believe the tragedies in their worst form; while -those on the other, in bitter terms demanded proof that the rumours were -true. It was extremely difficult to disprove any statements concerning -atrocities committed; for in most cases there were no Europeans left -behind to give trustworthy testimony. Circumstances became known, during -the progress of the military operations, which led to an inference that, -though inhuman slaughter of innocent persons unquestionably took place -soon after Delhi fell into the hands of the insurgents, it was not -preceded by so much of hideous barbarity towards the women and children -as had at first been reported and believed. It also became more and more -evident, as time advanced, that many of the inscriptions on the wall of -the slaughter-room at Cawnpore must have been written _after_ the -departure or death of the hapless persons whose writing they professed -to be, by some one who failed to see the cruelty of the hoax he was -perpetrating. This subject is adverted to in the present place, because -the month of March lightened a little the terrible severity of the story -of Jhansi, one of those which made a distressing impression on the -public mind. It will be remembered[155] that, early in June of the -preceding year, the British at Jhansi, upwards of fifty in number, were -all put to death by the insurgents, acting at the instigation of a -woman, the ranee or chieftainess of Jhansi; the destruction was so -complete, that no European was left to tell the true incidents. Nine -months afterwards, in the month of March, some of the English newspapers -in India gave a detail of revolting indignities said to have been -inflicted on the females of the party at Jhansi—greatly adding to the -distress already felt by the relatives of the murdered persons. Jhansi -had by that time been restored to British rule; and Captain Pinkney, -superintendent of Jhansi, Jaloun, and Chendaree, determined to ascertain -how far the real facts could be got at. After a diligent inquiry in -various quarters, he arrived at a belief that the massacre, however -barbarous, had not been deepened in atrocity by the frightful -circumstances put forth in the newspapers. The truth appeared to him to -be as follows: When the British in the fort were unable longer to hold -out through want of food, they surrendered to the rebels, who swore that -they would spare all their lives. No sooner, however, were the -fort-gates opened, than the rebels entered, bound the men, and took them -as well as the women and children to a place outside the city-walls -called the Jokun Bagh. Here the men were placed in one group, and the -women and children in another. The rebels and the ranee’s armed servants -then murdered all the men, Major Skene being the first cut down by the -jail darogah, one Bukshish Ali. After this the women and children were -put to death with swords and spears. The dead bodies were stripped, and -left two days in the Jokun Bagh, when they were all thrown into a -neighbouring stream. Shortly after the writing of Captain Pinkney’s -report, a letter was sent to the supreme government by Sir Robert -Hamilton, political agent in Central India, in which a few of the facts -were somewhat differently stated. According to his account, when the -unhappy Europeans reached the Jokun Bagh, ‘they were stopped on the -roadside under some trees. They were accompanied by a crowd of mutinous -sepoys, irregular sowars, disaffected police, fanatic Mussulmans, men in -the service of the ranee, inhabitants of the town, and rabble. Here -Bukshish Ali, jail darogah, called out: “It is the ressaldar’s order -that all should be killed;” and immediately cut down Captain (Major) -Skene, to whom he was indebted for his situation under government. An -indiscriminate slaughter of the men, women, and children then commenced; -all were mercilessly destroyed, and their bodies left strewn about the -road, where they remained until the third day, when, by permission of -the same ressaldar, they were all buried in two gravel-pits close by.’ -Execrable as this was, it was far less harrowing than the newspaper -narratives which had given rise to the investigation. Captain Pinkney -ascertained that the total number of Europeans thus barbarously murdered -was sixty-seven, of whom just about one half were women and children. -Sir Robert Hamilton caused the ground around the two gravel-pits to be -cleared, and an enclosing wall to be built; he and all the other -officials, on a selected day, attended a funeral-service at the spot, -delivered by the Rev. Mr Schwabe, chaplain to the station; and he also -planned the erection of an obelisk. Strange that India should become the -ground for so many obelisks and crosses erected in memory of Europeans -ruthlessly murdered by natives. One hundred and two years before, in -1756, Suraj-u-Dowlah, after conquering Calcutta from the Company’s -servants, drove a hundred and forty-six adult Europeans, on a sultry -June evening, into a dungeon only twenty feet square; and of those -miserable creatures, a hundred and twenty-three died during the night, -of heat, thirst, pressure, suffocation, and madness. An obelisk was -afterwards set up, to mark this terrible ‘Black Hole of Calcutta.’ And -now, in the middle of the nineteenth century, the English again found -themselves engaged in erecting these damning memorials of native -brutality, at Cawnpore and at Jhansi. - -[Illustration: - - Obelisk built on the Site of the Black Hole, Calcutta, to commemorate - the Murder of the One Hundred and Twenty-three Englishmen.—From a - Drawing in the India House. -] - -Leaving Jhansi and its mournful recollections for a while, we pass over -from the Mahratta territories into Rajpootana; where numerous petty -chieftains kept the territory in a state of much agitation. There were -scarcely any of the mutinied Bengal regiments in that part of India; but -the Kotah Contingent, and other auxiliary corps which had revolted, -sided with some of the chieftains in hostilities against the British. So -far as concerns the operations of the month of March, those of the Kotah -insurgents were the chief that call for attention. We have in former -pages alluded to a ‘Rajpootana Field-force,’ formed of several regiments -sent up from Bombay. The first division of this force set forth from -Nuseerabad on the 10th of March, for service against Kotah. It consisted -of H.M. 95th foot, a wing of the 83d, the 10th Bombay infantry, the -Sinde horse, and some horse and foot artillery. Siege-material of -formidable character accompanied the column; comprising eighteen -field-pieces, of which ten were 8-inch mortars and howitzers, and an -immense supply of ammunition. The second division, that started on the -following day, consisted of H.M. 72d foot, a wing of the 83d, the 1st -Bombay Lancers, a mountain train, Brown’s battery, and an engineering -corps. The 8th Hussars, with detachments of horse and foot artillery, -were afterwards to join the columns. Several of the guns in the -siege-train were drawn by elephants. Brigadier-general Lawrence -accompanied this field-force, but only in a political capacity; the -military command was held by General Roberts. The conquest of Kotah was -looked forward to as a difficult enterprise, not only from the force of -the enemy in men and guns, but from the peculiar position of the town -itself. Kotah is bounded by the deep river Chumbul on one side, and by a -lake on the other; and there was a probability that batteries would have -to be erected on the opposite side of the river. The approach to it by -land from Nuseerabad was also beset by many obstacles. It would be -necessary to traverse the Mokundurra Pass, a long and narrow valley -between two parallel ranges of hills, easily rendered formidable by a -small number of men. It was altogether a larger and more important -operation than the conquest of the numerous petty forts with which -Rajpootana abounded. Many persons in India thought that those forts -might safely be left to themselves; since the hill-chieftains were more -frequently incited by hostility towards each other than towards the -British, and since it was very little better than a waste of power to -pursue them into the wilds and jungles which intersect that part of -India. One favourable circumstance in connection with Kotah was, that -the rajah was faithful, and as much opposed as the British to the -insurgents. - -The middle of the month was occupied by the march of Roberts’s force -from Nuseerabad, over a difficult country. Surmounting all obstacles, -the general arrived at Kotah on the 22d of March, and encamped a mile or -two distant, on the north bank of the Chumbul. The rebels were in -possession of the south bank, having with them a powerful array of guns, -many of large calibre. The fort, the palace, and half the city, were -held by the rajah, with Rajpoots and troops from Kerowlie. On the 25th, -a portion of the British, about 300 in number, under Major Heatley, -crossed the river, to aid the rajah at a critical moment. The rebels had -that morning made a desperate attempt to escalade the walls, and drive -the rajah’s troops into their only remaining stronghold, the castle; but -this attempt was frustrated; had it succeeded, the rebels would have -commanded the ferry over the river. Portions of H.M. 83d, and of the -Bombay troops, formed the small force which crossed the river on the -25th. Two days afterwards, 600 men of H.M. 95th, with two 9-pounders, -crossed over. On the 30th General Roberts was able to announce by -telegraph, ‘I this day assaulted the town of Kotah with complete -success, and comparatively trifling loss. No officer killed. The whole -town is in my possession.’ Upwards of fifty guns were captured. The -victory was gained by a clever flank-movement, which turned the enemy’s -position, and rendered their defences useless. This was a point in -tactics which the rebels seldom attended to sufficiently; they -repeatedly lost battles by allowing their flanks to be turned. - -Eastward of the Mahratta and Rajpoot territories, there were isolated -bodies of insurgents in the Saugor regions, between the Jumna on the -north and Nagpoor on the south. But General Whitlock, with a field-force -gathered from the Madras presidency, kept these rebels under some -control. His movements, however, scarcely need record here. - -The South Mahratta country kept up just so much disturbance as to demand -the vigilant attention of the authorities, without exciting any serious -apprehension. In the month of March there was much of this disturbance, -near the frontier between the two presidencies of Bombay and Madras, at -Belgaum. On the one side, the Bombay government offered a large reward -for the apprehension of three brothers, rebel leaders, Baba Desaee, Nena -Desaee, and Hunmunt Desaee; while the governor of the Madras presidency -put in force a disarming statute on his side of the frontier. One of the -leaders, Hunmunt Desaee, after many contests, was driven, with the wives -and families of others among the insurgents, into a tower on the summit -of a peak in the Coonung range; it was a one-storied structure, with a -ladder leading to an entrance trap-door. Such towers had been used by -the military police in that range, and Hunmunt defended himself here as -long as he could. There were other traitors in this part of the country. -Towards the close of March, Mr Manson, one of the Company’s civil -servants, obtained a clue to a conspiracy in which several natives—Naga -Ramchunder, Balla Bhoplay, Bhow Shrof Chowdry, and others—were -concerned; having for its object the collecting of guns unknown to the -British authorities, and the inciting of other natives to acts of -rebellion. One of these men was the chief of Jamkhundie, one a -money-lender, and two others were Brahmins. The money-lender was -supposed to have assisted the mutineers of Kolapore with pecuniary means -for carrying on their operations. By lodging these mischief-makers in -safe keeping at Belgaum and Satara, preparatory to a trial, the -authorities checked an incipient disturbance. - -This little patch of country, inhabited to a considerable extent by the -southern Mahrattas, was the only part of the Bombay presidency south of -the city itself which was in any anxiety concerning the proceedings of -the insurgents. And indeed, northward of the city, there were no -manifestations of rebellion short of the regions around Gujerat and -Rajpootana; where even those who were disposed to be peaceful found -themselves embarrassed and imperiled by the turbulence of their -neighbours. In Gujerat, Sir Richmond Shakespear commenced and steadily -carried on a general disarming of the population; the Guicowar or native -sovereign cordially assisted him, and the two together collected many -guns and thousands of stands of arms. As to the Madras presidency, it -was quite at peace. From Cuttack in the north to Travancore in the -south, there were no rebellious regiments, and few chieftains who -ventured to endanger their safety by disputing the British ‘raj.’ In the -Nagpoor and Saugor territories, belonging rather to the Bengal than to -the Madras presidency, the elements of convulsion surged occasionally, -but not to a very alarming extent. The Nizam’s country was troubled in a -way which shews how desirable it is that orientals should not be tempted -by anarchy or weakness in the governing power. The regular troops were -moderately steady; but the news of mutiny elsewhere excited all the -turbulent elements of the Deccan. Robber chieftains and city ruffians -rose, not so much against the British, as against any who had property -to lose. The town of Mulgate, held by a chieftain who commanded a motley -band of Rohillas and Arabs, resisted the Nizam’s authority for some -time; but it fell, and the leaders were taken prisoner. - -This chapter will have shewn that, when the last day of March arrived, -the attention of the military authorities in India was chiefly directed -to those districts which had Azimghur, Bareilly, Calpee, and Jhansi for -their chief cities, and which swarmed with large bodies of rebels ready -to make a desperate resistance. It was left for the months of April and -May to develop the strategic operations against those places. - - - Notes. - - So frequent is the mention, in all matters relating to the local - government of India, of ‘covenanted’ and ‘uncovenanted’ service, and - so peculiar the duties of those covenanted servants who bear or bore - the title of ‘collectors’—that it may be well to sketch briefly the - Company’s remarkable system, so far as it refers to those two - subjects. The collectors and magistrates suffered much and braved - much during the mutiny, owing to their peculiarly intimate relations - with the natives; and their duties deserve on that account a little - attention in the present work. For many reasons it will be - desirable, as in the volume generally, to adopt the past tense in - speaking of this system—bearing in mind, however, that the system - was fully in operation during the mutiny, except when the officials - were actually driven away from their districts. - - _’Covenanted’ and ‘Uncovenanted’ Service._—The ‘services’ supported - by the East India Company were of four kinds—civil, military, naval, - and ecclesiastical. The military has already been frequently - noticed; the Company supported a military force of something near - three hundred thousand men, involving various engagements on the one - hand with the British crown, and on the other with native princes. - The naval service was limited to a force of about sixty vessels and - five thousand men, employed chiefly in surveying, coast-guarding, - mail-conveyance, and the prevention of piracy. The ecclesiastical - service, maintained by the Company for their own servants only, - consisted of three Church of England bishops, about a hundred and - forty Protestant clergymen, three Roman Catholic bishops, and about - eighty Roman Catholic priests. The Protestants were liberally - supported; the Roman Catholics simply received a grant, in aid of - larger funds to be derived by them from other quarters. But it was - the civil service that constituted the most remarkable feature in - the Company’s organisation, embracing all the persons engaged in the - collection of revenue or the administration of justice. - - The civil service was of two kinds, covenanted and uncovenanted. The - uncovenanted civil servants were very much like _employés_ in other - countries, paid reasonably for their services, but having no - peculiar privileges—no declared provision for life, no claim to - promotion by seniority, no stipulated furlough or leave of absence, - no claimable pension. They comprised Europeans, Eurasians or - half-castes, and natives. Subordinate duties, fiscal and judicial, - were intrusted to them, according to their range of ability and - supposed honesty, as judged by the local governments. The Europeans - in this class were chiefly persons who had gone out to India in some - other capacity, or were sons of officers already in service in - India. The European and Eurasian uncovenanted servants barely - reached three thousand in number. The class was mainly composed of - natives—Mohammedans more generally than Hindoos. The employment of - natives as uncovenanted servants of the Company was commenced by - Lord William Bentinck (1828 to 1835), and steadily increased under - other governors-general: insomuch that the judicial administration - of the lower courts fell almost wholly into the hands of natives. - The humbler offices in the revenue department were also filled by - them. A few of the uncovenanted servants received salaries ranging - from £500 to £800 per annum; but in the greater number of instances - the amount was far lower. - - The covenanted servants comprised nominated or favoured persons who, - after receiving a special education in the Company’s seminary at - Haileybury, were subjected to examination in England, and then sent - out to India at the Company’s expense. They entered into a covenant, - prescribed by ancient custom, ‘That they shall obey all orders; that - they shall discharge all debts; and that they shall treat the - natives of India well.’ Until 1853 (when a system of public - competition was established by the charter granted to the Company in - that year), the appointment of persons to this favoured service was - wholly in the patronage of the directors. After a certain amount of - tuition and examination, the young men (’writers,’ as they were - sometimes called) were conveyed to India, where they pursued further - studies, chiefly in oriental languages, at Calcutta, Madras, or - Bombay. While so studying, they received an ‘out-of-employ - allowance.’ At length they commenced employment as ‘assistants’ to - magistrates and collectors in country districts, as soon as they - possessed a certain amount of knowledge of vernacular languages, - criminal law, and revenue law. Their daily duties were partly - magisterial, partly fiscal. After some years’ practice, the - assistant was competent for promotion. He became collector or - magistrate of a district, under regulations differing in the - different presidencies. In Bengal, the offices of judge, magistrate, - and collector were held by three different persons, all - ‘covenanted;’ in the other presidencies the offices of magistrate - and collector were held by the same person; in the ‘non-regulation - provinces’ (Punjaub, Nagpoor, Sinde, &c.), all three offices were - held by one person. The local government had a voice in the - selection of persons to fill these offices; but the principle of - promotion by seniority was extensively acted on, and was almost - claimed as a right by the ‘covenanted.’ The salaries paid were very - munificent. The lowest assistant received £500 per annum, and the - amount rose gradually to £10,000 per annum, the salary of a member - of the Supreme Council at Calcutta. - - Such were the chief points of difference between the covenanted and - uncovenanted services of the East India Company. It was not so much - a distinction of race, colour, or creed, as a means of favouring - selected persons in England, and of giving those persons a special - education to fit them for civil duties in India. - - * * * * * - - _Collectors and Collectorates._—We shall next notice in a succinct - way the remarkable duties of such of the covenanted civil servants - as filled the office of collector—especially in those districts - where the collector was also the magistrate. In the Northwest - Provinces, to which the mutiny was mainly confined, the - collector-magistrate of each district was in many matters controlled - by the commissioner of the province in which the district was - situated; but he had in a larger degree than the commissioner an - intimate knowledge of the villages and villagers of India, their - incomes, hopes, fears, wants, and peculiarities; and he became more - deeply involved in anxieties and dangers consequent on the mutiny. - - The term ‘collector’ very inadequately expresses the status and - duties of the official so named. So far from being a mere - tax-gatherer, he was a revenue judge, an executive district - authority, with large powers and heavy responsibilities. As - collector and magistrate, he was responsible to two different - departments—to the higher judicial courts for his conduct as a - magistrate, and to the revenue department in all that concerned his - collectorship. He had two sets of assistants, with duties clearly - defined and separated. The magisterial duties being dismissed - without further description, as susceptible of easy comprehension, - we shall dwell only on the collectorship. - - The duties of the collector were fivefold. He was collector of - government revenue; registrar of landed property in his district; - revenue judge between landlord and tenant; ministerial officer of - courts of justice; and treasurer and accountant of the district. - None but a man of varied and extensive attainments, united to zeal - and industry, could adequately fulfil so many duties; many of the - great names in the recent years of Indian history are those of men - who laid the foundations for their greatness as collectors. The - districts over which the collectors presided varied greatly in size - and wealth; but in all cases they comprised several thousand - villages each, and yielded revenue varying from one to two hundred - thousand pounds per annum—for the whole of which the collector was - responsible. In the whole of India, the collectorates were somewhat - under a hundred and seventy in number, for the most part identical - with districts, but in a few cases comprising whole provinces newly - annexed; and these collectorates yielded, in 1856, revenue to the - amount of about thirty millions sterling. - - The collector-magistrate had generally two assistants, like himself - ‘covenanted’ servants of the Company. Besides these there were - ‘uncovenanted’ servants, European and native, sufficient in number - for the duties to be rendered. The district was marked out into - sub-districts containing from one to two hundred villages each. The - collector resided at the head-station of the district, with a staff - of clerks, writers, and record-keepers. Each sub-district was under - the revenue management of a responsible native officer, who had - subordinates under him to keep his accounts and conduct the details - of his office. Carrying down the classification still more minutely, - every village in every sub-district had its headman and its native - accountant, who were in intimate correspondence concerning the - revenue of the village. - - The chief official of the district, as collector of government - revenue, obtained this revenue mainly from three sources—land-tax, - spirit and drug duty, and stamps. The second and third items were so - small in amount, that many well-wishers of the Company urged the - abandonment of those imposts; and at anyrate only a small share of - the collector’s attention was devoted to them. The land-tax was the - great source of revenue; and until the government of India undergoes - an entire revolution both in spirit and in practice, such must - continue to be the case. So decided was the importance of this tax - compared with all others, that of the thirty millions sterling - raised in 1856, no less than seventeen millions resulted from - land-tax. The land-tax formed the great fund out of which the vast - expenses for the executive government, military and civil, were - mainly paid. Hence the importance of the revenue-collector and his - land-tax duties. The assessment of the land, for the realisation of - the tax, differed in different presidencies, according to the - relations existing between the state, the landowners, the farmers, - and the labourers. In Bengal the revenue was collected in gross from - great and powerful zemindars, the state having little or nothing to - do with the actual cultivators. In Madras no zemindars or great men - were recognised; the state drew the tax from the ryots or - cultivators, each on his own bit of land. In Bombay the Madras - system existed in a modified form. In Oude nothing could be done - till the annexation in 1856, when the peculiar _thalookdaree_ - system[156] laid a foundation for many troubles in the following - year. In the Northwest Provinces the assessment depended on the - peculiar village tenures, which had existed from time immemorial, - and according to which the ownership of the soil could not be - interfered with by the state so long as the village paid the - revenue. Great as may have been, and great as were, the differences - between the Hindoo, Mohammedan, and English governments, this - village system maintained its ground century after century. The - tenure of land in these provinces, recognised by the Company as - among those institutions which they wished to respect, were mainly - three in number: - - _Zemindaree_—denoting those estates where the property was held - collectively without any territorial division, whether the - owners were one, few, or many. - - _Puttidaree_—those estates where the property was partially or - entirely divided, and held separately by the coparceners. - - _Bhyacharuh_—estates held by coparcenary communities, where - actual possession had overborne law; it was a kind of - Puttidaree founded on actuality rather than right. - - Whichever of these systems prevailed, the Company respected it in - assessing the land-tax; and thus each piece of land was represented - in the tax-books by the name of a particular tax-payer or community - of tax-payers. The actual assessment, the percentage on produce, - depended on circumstances specially ascertained in each district; - but the two guiding principles laid down by the Company, when they - established a revenue-system for the Northwest Provinces were—that - the rate should be light enough to leave a wide margin of profit to - the cultivators; and that it should be fixed without alteration for - a considerable period of years. The collector, knowing how much was - assessed upon every village or every piece of land, was armed with - powers sufficient to enforce payment. Whether the assessment was - ‘light’ or not, was a standing controversy between those who - respectively supported the zemindaree, the ryotwaree, and the - village systems. The Company’s advocates generally urged that, - though the ratio of tax to produce seemed heavy, any comparison with - English land-tax would be fallacious; seeing that the villagers and - cultivators in India were not called upon to pay, in addition to - land-tax, any such imposts as excise, tithes, church-rates, - county-rates, poor-rates, or income-tax. The excellences and defects - of the system, however, are not discussed here; we simply describe - the system itself. - - The collector, having a definite amount to receive, from a definite - number of villages, represented by a definite number of persons, - could neither increase nor lessen, anticipate nor postpone, the tax, - without special reasons. If a district suffered from drought, the - government often deferred or wholly remitted the tax; but this only - under well-defined circumstances. The collector’s register recorded - all changes in ownership or occupancy by death or private transfer; - and as he knew each year who _ought_ to pay, he was intrusted with - certain powers to enforce payment by imprisonment, distraint of - personal property, annulment of lease, sequestration of profits, - transfer of defaulting share to a solvent shareholder of the same - community, farming of the estate to a stranger, or sale by public - auction. - - In most districts, until the time of the Revolt, the collection of - revenue was an easy task, occupying only a portion of the - collector’s thoughts in May and June, November and December. ‘So - complete the machinery,’ said a writer in the _Calcutta Review_, ‘so - prosperous the provinces, so well adjusted the assessment, that the - golden shower fell uninterruptedly; and the collector, who had - without an effort of his own transmitted a royal ransom half-yearly - to the public treasury, was scarcely aware of the financial feat - which he and his subordinates had performed.’ But when a drought, an - inundation, or any great calamity interfered with the growth or - harvesting of the crop, the collector’s duties were most trying and - laborious; seeing that he had to listen to petitions for relief or - delay from hundreds or thousands of villages in his district. - - His ordinary duties as a collector of revenue occupied only a - small portion of his time and thoughts. As registrar of landed - property, he kept maps and registers of land, drawn out with a - degree of minuteness scarcely paralleled in any other country in - the world; and these maps and registers were renewed or corrected - annually, to shew the size, position, ownership, and crop of every - cultivated field in the whole district. As revenue judge between - landlord and tenant, he was often called upon to assist the - responsible landowner to collect his rent from the cultivators, or - to assist the cultivator in resisting oppression by the landlord; - it was a duty requiring a knowledge both of law and of revenue - matters. As a ministerial officer of the courts of justice, he had - to put in force, somewhat in the manner of a sheriff, all - decisions of the judge relating to land, transfers of property, or - arrears of land-tax; and his local knowledge often enabled him to - assist the judge in arriving at an equitable decision. As - treasurer and accountant, he took care of the bags of silver coin - in which the land-tax and the other taxes were chiefly paid, - tested and weighed the coin before making up his accounts, paid - monthly stipends to some of the military and civil officers of the - district, kept a minute debtor and creditor account, and - transmitted his accounts and his surplus silver to Calcutta. In - addition to all these duties, the collector, considered as the - European who possessed most knowledge on various subjects in his - district, performed miscellaneous duties scarcely susceptible of - enumeration. ‘Everything that is to be done by the executive, must - be done by him, in one of his capacities; and we find him, within - his jurisdiction, publican [tax-gatherer], auctioneer, sheriff, - road-maker, timber-dealer, enlisting sergeant, sutler, slayer of - wild beasts, wool-seller, cattle-breeder, postmaster, vaccinator, - discounter of bills, and registrar-general—in which last capacity - he has also to tie the marriage-knot for those who object to the - Thirty-nine Articles. Latterly, he has been made schoolmaster of - his district also. Every new measure of government places an extra - straw on the collector’s back. Whatever happens to be the - prevailing hobby, the collector suffers. One day specimens are - called for, for the Exhibitions of London or Paris; the next day, - the cry is for iron and timber for the railway, or poles for the - telegraph.’ - -[Illustration: - - GROUP OF INDIAN ARMS. - - 1. Matchlock. 2. Head of a Hunting-spear. 3. Potta. 4. Creece. 5. - Knife. 6. Hunting Tulwar. 7. Common Tulwar. 8. Kundeer. 9. Kundeer. - 10. Ballagondeeka. 11. Powder-horn. 12. Pouch for balls. 13. Bow. - 14. Arrow. 15. Borsee Spear—carried before chiefs, &c. 16. Bottom - end of a Spear. 17. Head of common Spear. -] - ------ - -Footnote 152: - - ‘The commander-in-chief prohibits columns from moving to the attack of - forts, whether large or small, without at least two heavy guns, or a - heavy gun and a heavy howitzer. If possible, such columns should - always have mortars also; namely, two 8-inch and two 5½-inch. - Arrangements are to be made by the inspector-general of ordnance to - insure the presence of a proportion of heavy guns, howitzers, mortars, - and cohorns, at all stations where British regiments are quartered. - Wherever there is a possibility of movable columns being organised, - the necessary elephant and bullock draught should be maintained. When - an expedition against a fort is deemed absolutely necessary, and heavy - ordnance cannot be obtained, a special reference is to be made to the - chief of the staff by telegraph. If, however, the station be removed - from the wire, the general officer commanding the division or station - must, of course, exercise a discretionary power; but the - commander-in-chief begs that it may be recollected, as a principle, - that, except in cases of the most absolute necessity, forts are not to - be attacked with light guns only.’ - -Footnote 153: - - Chap. xiv., p. 234. - -Footnote 154: - - ‘A circumstance well worthy of note has taken place during the last - week; it calls for remark, inasmuch as it exposes the peculiar - superstitions of the Hindoo shopkeepers of this country. In the - talooka of Nuseerabad, below the hills which form the western boundary - of Sinde, and not far south of the jaghire of Ghybee Khan, the Sirdar - of the Chandia tribe, there stands the ancient and still important - town of Hamal. It is situated on a mound close to the great Western - Trunk-road, which runs from the town of Dost Allee, in Kumbur, to that - of Gool Mahomed Luggaree; this part of the country is annually flooded - by the hill-torrents, and for this reason all the towns are built on - eminences, and surrounded by strong bunds. About twelve months ago, a - certain shopkeeper of the town went out to his field with his donkey - to work. On returning in the evening he loaded the ass, and was - proceeding homewards, when the animal fell down and died. The Hindoos - of that town consider that if, through any man’s carelessness, the - death of a beast of burden is caused, that man must make a pilgrimage - to the town of Narrainsir, a few miles south of Lucput, in the Runn of - Kutch, and there, shaving his head and performing other numerous - ceremonies, expiate his fault. Consequently, when this unfortunate man - returned home and reported the death of the donkey, he was at once - told that, unless he immediately made the requisite pilgrimage to - Narrainsir, and there expiated his fault, they would neither eat nor - drink with him, nor hold any intercourse whatever with him. As the - poor man thought the ass’s death was in no way brought about by any - fault of his, he appealed to the punchayets (Hindoo juries of five - persons each) of Larkhana, Guerrilla, and Kumbar, other large towns in - the Larkhana district. They returned answer that the punchayet of - Hamal was wrong in its decision, and that they acquitted the man of - all blame as to the cause of the ass’s death. A controversy was at - once raised throughout this part of the country, and it ended in all - the punchayets of the towns of the Katcha country siding with the - punchayet of Hamal, and the punchayets of the towns on the plain near - the river taking part with Larkhana. The dispute came to a climax - during the past week, when the Larkhana punchayet, in the name and - acting for the minor towns near the river, issued a notice that the - Hindoos of these towns would no longer associate with, nor have any - intercourse with those of Hamal, Ghybee Dherah, and other towns of the - Katcha country. This challenge was at once accepted, and the - punchayets of the Katcha country issued a counter-notice, forbidding - all Hindoos of their towns to hold intercourse with those of the - district towns above mentioned; marriages before agreed upon have been - broken off, agencies broken up, partnerships dissolved, and even the - ties of relationship are no longer binding. To such an extent do the - superstitious feelings of these men act upon their social conduct.’ - -Footnote 155: - - Chap. xi., p. 179. - -Footnote 156: - - Chap. xxi., p. 360. - -[Illustration: - - Zemindar, Hindoo landowner. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - DISCUSSIONS ON REBEL PUNISHMENTS. - - -Before entering on the military struggles that marked the month of -April, it may be desirable to notice the phases of public feeling -concerning the amount of punishment due to the mutineers and rebels in -India. The discussions on this subject undoubtedly influenced the course -of proceeding adopted both by the military and the civil authorities; -although it may not be possible to measure the exact amount of that -influence, or the exact date at which it was felt. Some of the -proceedings of Viscount Canning at Calcutta, in reference to this -matter, belonged to the month of March; some of the discussions in the -imperial parliament, and at the India House, bearing on Canning’s line -of policy, belonged to later months; but it will be useful to give a -rapid sketch, in this place, of the nature of the discussion generally, -and of the remarkable tone given to it by party politics in England. All -reference to the debates concerning the reorganisation of the Indian -government, whether at home or in India itself, may more fittingly be -postponed to a later chapter. - -Almost from the first, a large portion of the Anglo-Indian population -cried aloud for most summary and sanguinary vengeance on rebels and -mutineers of all kinds, Mohammedan and Hindoo, towns-people and country -peasants. General Neill was idolised for a time by this class—not so -much because he was a gallant soldier and a skilful commander, as -because he was supposed to be terribly severe in his treatment of -insurgents. This matter has been adverted to in former pages, as well as -the torrents of abuse that were poured upon the governor-general for -‘clemency’—a word used in a mocking and bitter spirit. Many of the -censors afterwards joined the ranks of those who abused the same -governor-general for a policy supposed to be antagonistic to that of -‘clemency.’ The fact is again mentioned here, owing to its connection -with a controversy that gave rise to formidable parliamentary struggles -many months afterwards. The proceedings of four different bodies—the -Calcutta government, the Board of Control, the Houses of Parliament, and -the Court of Directors—must be briefly noticed to shew the course of -this controversy. - -At first, when the mutiny was still in its earlier stages, the friends -and relations of those who had suffered barbarous treatment at the hands -of the natives gave utterance to a wild demand for vengeance, springing -not unnaturally from an excited state of feeling. The following, from -one of the Calcutta journals, is a fair example of this kind of writing -in its milder form: ‘Not the least amongst the thousand evils which will -follow in the track of the rebellion is the indurating effect it will -have upon the feelings of our countrywomen when the struggle is over. -There are many hundreds of English ladies who lie down nightly to dream -of horrors too great for utterance; who scarcely converse except upon -one dreadful subject; and who would be found almost as willing as their -husbands and fathers to go out and do battle with the mutineers, _if -they could only insure the infliction of deep and thorough vengeance_. -It is a contest with murderers who are not satisfied with their life’s -blood, that they have to expect daily. Their very servants are perhaps -in league to destroy them. They suffer almost hourly worse than the -pains of death. Many have already died by homicidal hands; but more from -the pangs of starvation and travel, from the agonies of terror, and the -slow process of exhaustion. _And all this while friends and relatives -sigh vainly for the coming of the day of retribution._’ The italicised -passages shew only a very moderate use of the words ‘vengeance’ and -‘retribution,’ but may suffice to indicate the feeling here adverted to. - -The Calcutta government, as has been duly recorded in the proper -chapters, from time to time issued orders and proclamations relating to -the treatment which the mutineers were to receive, or which was to be -meted out to non-military natives who should shew signs of -insubordination. There was, as one instance, the line of policy -contested between Mr Colvin and Lord Canning. The former issued, or -intended to issue, a proclamation to the mutineers of the Northwest -Provinces, in which, among other things, he promised that ‘soldiers -engaged in the late disturbances, who are desirous of going to their own -homes, and who give up their arms at the nearest government civil or -military post, and retire quietly, shall be permitted to do so -unmolested;’ whereas Lord Canning insisted that this indulgence or -leniency should not be extended to any regiments which had murdered or -ill-used their officers, or committed cruel outrages on other persons. -Then there were several orders and statutes proclaiming martial law in -the disturbed districts; appointing commissioners to try mutineers by a -very summary process; authorising military officers to deal with rebel -towns-people as well as with revolted sepoys; enabling the police to -arrest suspected persons without the formality of a warrant; making -zemindars and landowners responsible for the surrendering of any -ill-doers on their estates; and other measures of a similar kind. When, -in the month of July, Viscount Canning found it needful to check the -over-zeal of some of the tribunals at Allahabad, who were prone to hang -accused persons without sufficient evidence of their guilt, he was -accused of interference with the righteous demand for blood. It is true, -that these were, in the first instance, merely newspaper accusations; -but as the English public looked to newspapers for the chief part of -their information concerning India, these controversies gave rise to a -very unhealthy excitement; and weeks, or even months, often passed -before the truth could be known—as was strikingly evidenced in the case -of the lieutenant-governor of the Central Provinces, whose supposed -‘clemency’ (in a matter of which, as soon appeared, he knew absolutely -nothing) was held over him as a reproach for nearly four months. In -September appeared a proclamation at Agra, warning the natives of the -possible consequences of any complicity on their parts in the -proceedings of the mutineers. Part of the proclamation ran as follows: -‘The government of these provinces calls on all landowners and farmers, -with their tenantry, and on all well-disposed subjects, to give all -possible assistance to the authorities in bringing those outcasts -(mutineers and rebels) to justice. Landowners and farmers of land, -especially, are reminded of the terms of their engagement not to harbour -or countenance criminals and evil-disposed persons. The government -requires proofs of the fidelity and loyalty of all classes of its -subjects, in recovering the arms, elephants, horses, camels, and other -government property, which have been feloniously taken by the offenders. -All persons are warned against purchasing or bartering for any such -property of the state under the severest penalties; and rewards will be -paid to those who, immediately on obtaining possession of the same, -bring them to the nearest civil or military station.’ - -So far as concerns the imperial parliament, little took place during the -year 1857 touching on the subject of the present chapter. The opposition -party sought to shew that her Majesty’s ministers were responsible for -the outbreak; some members of both Houses broached their views -concerning the causes of the mutiny; others criticised the mode in which -troops were sent to India; some condemned, others defended, Viscount -Canning; many put forth suggestions concerning the future government of -India; many more sought to overwhelm with guilt the East India Company; -while missionaries, civil servants, Indian judges, aristocratic -officers, favoured commanders, were made subjects of frequent and warm -debate—but the members of the legislature generally held aloof from that -excessive demand for a sanguinary policy towards the insurgents, so much -dwelt on by many of the Anglo-Indians. After passing an act, containing -among other provisions clauses relating to ‘The Punishment of Mutiny and -Desertion of Officers and Soldiers in the Service of the East India -Company,’ parliament was prorogued on the 28th of August. During the -recess, the press was busy on those accusations and reclamations already -adverted to—in turn correcting, and corrected by, the official documents -which from time to time appeared. Commercial troubles having agitated -the country during the autumn, parliament met again on the 3d of -December, for a short session before Christmas. Although the purpose of -meeting was prescribed and limited, the members of the legislature did -not deem it necessary or desirable to remain silent on a subject so -uppermost in men’s thoughts as the mutiny in India. Speeches were made, -motions brought forward, explanations given, and returns ordered, on the -state of the army, the mode of sending over troops, the conduct of the -government, and various other matters bearing on the struggle in the -East. The speech from the throne contained many allusions to that -struggle, but none that bore on the mode of punishing the rebels. The -Earl of Derby, in a speech on the opening-night, sought to discourage -the cry for vengeance raised in many quarters. After urging that England -should deal with the mutineers in justice and not in revenge, he added: -‘For every man taken with arms in his hands there ought to be a -righteous punishment, and that punishment death. For those miscreants -who have perpetrated unmentionable and unimaginable atrocities upon -women, death is too mild a sentence. On them should be inflicted the -heavier punishment—a life embittered by corporal punishment in the first -instance, and afterwards doomed to the most degrading slavery. Be they -Brahmins of the highest caste, they should be forced to undergo the -lowest, most degrading, most hopeless slavery. But, while he would take -this course, he earnestly deprecated the extension of a feeling of -hostility to the whole native population. From letters which he had -seen, he feared that every white man in India who had suffered in any -way by the mutiny came to regard every man with a black face as his -enemy. Now, that was a feeling which should be restrained, if not by -Christianity, at least by motives of sound policy. Measures should be -taken to convince the natives that the English are their masters; but -they must also be convinced that the English are their benefactors. We -should not try to govern India by the sword alone.’ This sentiment was -also well expressed by Mr Mangles, chairman of the East India Company, -at the Haileybury examination on the 7th of December. Addressing the -assembled professors, prizemen, students, and Company’s officers -present, he adverted to the sudden rupture of friendly relations in -India, and added: ‘For many years to come, there must exist strong -mistrust and suspicion, if not more bitter feelings, between those who -rule and those who are subject. It is impossible that it should be -otherwise, after the scenes which have been passed through, the -treacheries and murders—and worse than murders—that have been rife -throughout the land. But, gentlemen, you are bound to struggle with -those feelings and subdue them. It will be your duty to remember that -only a small part, an infinitesimal part, of the population of India -have been engaged in these frightful and scandalous outrages.’ [Here -many striking instances of fidelity were brought to notice.] ‘It would -therefore be most unjust to bring the charge of treachery against the -whole people of India. It will be your duty, under these circumstances, -to struggle against the suspicion and distrust which have been -engendered by recent events, and to endeavour to win the affections of -the people over whom you are called upon to exercise power. If we cannot -govern India in that way, we ought to give up the country and come -away.’ - -When parliament met for the usual session, in February, a question was -put by the Earl of Ellenborough, concerning the policy intended to be -pursued towards the rebels. Adverting to a rumour of some very wholesale -series of military executions in Central India, he said: ‘Without -questioning the justice of the sentence in that particular case, he -doubted if capital punishment was so efficacious as a severe flogging. -The natives were not afraid of death, but shrank from corporal pain. -Besides, it is quite impossible to hang all the mutineers, and the -continued exhibition of unrelenting severity must inevitably create a -blood-feud between the natives and their European masters.’ Earl -Granville, on the part of the government, replied that no particular -instructions had been sent out to Viscount Canning on this matter, -because the utmost reliance was placed on the justice and firmness of -that nobleman: he added, that he agreed in the opinion that the frequent -spectacle of capital punishment must have the worst possible effect; and -he concluded by stating that the governor-general was directing his -thoughts towards the possibility of transporting some of the evildoers -to the Andaman Islands. - -Now occurred a change in political matters which threw Indian -discussions into a new channel. Hitherto, the subject of the punishment -of mutineers had been discussed in parliament with reference rather to -persons than to property. The ministry, however, having been changed on -grounds quite irrespective of Indian affairs, and the Earl of Derby -having succeeded Viscount Palmerston as premier, India was dragged into -the consequences of this change. The Earl of Ellenborough, admitted on -all hands to be a well-informed statesman on Indian matters, however -opinions might differ concerning his temper and prudence, was appointed -president of the Board of Control. When governor-general of India, many -years earlier, he had been in frequent collision with the East India -Company, as represented both by the Court of Directors and by the -Calcutta government; and it was thought probable that his new assumption -of authority in Indian affairs would be marked by something notable and -important. It was so. The singular termination of his ministerial career -was closely and immediately connected with the subject to which this -chapter relates, in a way that may now be briefly narrated. - -At first this question of punishment had to be discussed by the new -government in the same manner as before—that is, in relation to the -sanguinary vengeance advocated by many writers of letters and newspaper -articles, especially at Calcutta. On the 18th of March, Mr Rich moved in -the House of Commons for the production of certain papers which he -expected would throw light on this matter, he contended that the conduct -of the army, in the punishment of the insurgents, was merciless and -cruel. He intimated the necessity of requiring the authorities in India -to act strictly up to the instructions of Lord Canning, who, he thought, -deserved honour for his firmness and humanity. The Calcutta journals, he -asserted, recommended that Oude should be made one wide slaughter-house, -in which extermination should be the rule rather than the exception; and -it was but right that the government should at once check this terrible -feeling of sanguinary animosity. Most of the speakers in the debate that -followed agreed in the view taken by Mr Rich; and more than one of them -broached the doctrine that the insurgents in Oude ought not to be -treated like rebel sepoys—seeing that, whether wisely or unwisely, they -were fighting for what they deemed national independence. - -During the first half of the month of April, nothing occurred in -parliament involving any very great collision of opinions on this -particular subject; but towards the close of the month a clashing of -views on Oude affairs became manifest to the public. Throughout the -first ten months of the mutiny, while Viscount Palmerston was at the -head of affairs, the opposition party, in both Houses of Parliament, -frequently appeared as advocates for the deposed royal family of Oude, -dwelling on the injustice involved in the deposition. Much of this -advocacy may have been sincere, but much also was mere special pleading; -for the speakers well knew that, if in office, they would not and could -not seek to undo what had been done. No sooner did a change of ministry -take place, than the new occupants of office became much more cautious -in denouncing the ‘annexation of Oude;’ seeing that, if an iniquity at -all, it was one in which the Marquis of Dalhousie, the Calcutta -government, the Court of Directors, the Crown, and both Houses of -Parliament, were all implicated. Every one now saw that the practical -question before the country was—not the rights or wrongs of the -annexation—but the treatment of insurgents engaged in the warlike -struggle. It became known that the Secret Committee of the Court of -Directors had sent a letter to the governor-general in council, dated -the 24th of March, relating to the treatment which it was desirable that -rebels and mutineers should receive. So peculiar and anomalous were the -functions of this Secret Committee, that although nominally belonging to -the Court of Directors, it was little other than the mouthpiece of the -president of the Board of Control. The letter was really from the Earl -of Ellenborough, rather than from any one else. - -Before pursuing this narrative, it may be well to say a few words -concerning the organisation and functions of this Secret Committee—one -of the many anomalies connected with our government of India. Mr Arthur -Mills (_India in 1858_) described the relation between the Secret -Committee, the Court of Directors, and the Board of Control, in the -following terms: ‘The Court of Directors meets weekly at the East India -House for the transaction of business, the ordinary details of which are -discharged by three committees—1. Finance and home; 2. Political and -military; 3. Revenue, judicial, and legislative. There is also a “Secret -Committee,” with peculiar functions altogether different from those of -the three ordinary committees. The office of the Secret Committee is -purely ministerial. It receives from India all dispatches on matters -with respect to which secrecy is deemed important—including those which -relate to war, peace, or negotiations with native powers or states -within the limits of the charter, or other states or princes; and -forwards such dispatches to the Board of Control. The Secret Committee -also transmits to India, after signature, dispatches prepared by that -Board, which it is bound to do, under oath, “without disclosing the -same.” The Secret Committee is composed, as prescribed by act of -parliament, of three directors. The court may elect whom they please; -but the chairman, deputy-chairman, and senior member of the court, are -almost invariably appointed. The papers of the Secret Committee are in -charge of the examiner at the East India House, who is clerk to the -committee.... There is also a secret department in the Board of Control, -for the purpose of carrying on written and oral communications with the -Secret Committee of the Court of Directors. The oral communications are -for the most part carried on through the president personally; in the -written communications he is assisted by a senior clerk, and -occasionally by the secretaries of the Board. On the arrival of secret -dispatches from India, the copy intended for the Board is sent to the -senior clerk in the secret department, who prepares a _précis_ of all -the letters and enclosures, which he lays before the president; who -thereupon gives him instructions, oral or written, for the preparation -of an answer, or sometimes drafts one himself. It is then copied in -official form, and transmitted to the Secret Committee of the East India -House.’ - -The secret dispatch, produced by the authority here described, began by -expressing a hope[157] that, as soon as Lucknow should fall before the -conquering arm of Sir Colin Campbell, the governor-general would feel -himself sufficiently strong to act towards the natives with the -generosity as well as the justice which is congenial to the British -character. The subsequent paragraphs laid down the propositions that it -would be better, except in aggravated instances, to award punishment -such as is usual against enemies captured in regular war, than against -rebels and mutineers—the exceptions being those in which the fighting by -the insurgents ‘exceeded the licence of legitimate hostilities;’ that -the insanity of ten months ought not to blot out the recollection of a -hundred years of fidelity; that the punishment of death had been far too -frequently awarded; and that the governor-general ought sternly to -resist the entreaties of those who would urge him to the adoption of a -sanguinary policy. - -The 6th of May was the date on which the battle may be said to have -begun in parliament, on the policy to be pursued towards Oude. Mr -Bright, in the House of Commons, asked the ministers whether there was -any authenticity in a certain proclamation concerning Oude, said to have -been issued by Viscount Canning; whether, if authentic, it had been -issued in accordance with any directions from the home government; and, -if not so sanctioned, what steps the government intended to take in -relation to it? These questions came upon the House generally by -surprise, as indicating a revelation of things hitherto hidden; and it -was then for the first time made public, by the minister who replied to -these questions—that the government had, three weeks before, received a -dispatch containing a copy of the proclamation adverted to; that the -matter was immediately taken into consideration by the government; that -a _secret_ dispatch had been sent off, stating the views of the -government on the matter; and that there would be no objection to -produce both the proclamation and the dispatch. This announcement was -the forerunner of a storm, in which the passion of party was strongly -mixed up. On the 7th, in the House of Lords, the Earl of Ellenborough -moved for the production of certain papers, analogous to those ordered -by the other House on the preceding night; and then arose a debate -whether Viscount Canning had really issued the proclamation he intended; -whether it was a proper proclamation to issue; whether it was right that -the Earl of Ellenborough should reprimand Viscount Canning in so -imperious a way as he was accused of doing; whether the secret dispatch -containing that reprimand should have been kept so entirely concealed -from the Court of Directors; whether it should have been sent out to -Calcutta at the time it was; and whether a so-called _secret_ dispatch -ought to make its appearance among parliamentary papers, unrelieved by -any comments on it by Viscount Canning. There was unquestionably -something strange in the mode of proceeding; for the dispatch, although -not made known to the Court of Directors until the morning of the 7th, -had been communicated to certain members of both Houses on the 6th. Earl -Granville urged that, if the government wished to get rid of Viscount -Canning, the usual course might have been adopted for so doing; but that -it was neither just nor generous to keep him in office, and yet give -publicity to such insulting censure on him. The Earls of Derby and -Ellenborough replied that it was not intended to dismiss Viscount -Canning, or even to censure him; but to induce him to make such -modifications in his proposed proclamation as would render the policy -adopted in Oude less severe. - -It now becomes necessary to attend to this much-canvassed proclamation -itself, before noticing the further debates concerning it. - -The proclamation in question, and the explanations bearing on it, were -dated at a period when, from the absence of an electric telegraph -between England and India, they could not of course be known in the -former country. On the 3d of March, while at Allahabad, paying anxious -attention to the daily telegrams received from Oude, Viscount Canning -sent a proclamation and an explanatory letter to that province, relating -to the treatment to be meted out to rebels.[158] Although Sir Colin -Campbell commanded the army of Oude, and conducted the military -operations, Sir James Outram was chief-commissioner of the province; and -on his shoulders rested, at that time, all that could be effected in the -way of civil government. The proclamation was to be at once a sentence, -a warning, and a threat, addressed to the inhabitants of Oude. It -announced that Lucknow, after months of anarchy, was now again in -British hands; it dwelt on the fact that many of the citizens, even -those who had shared the bounty of the government, had joined the -insurgents; and it declared, that the day of retribution for evildoers -had arrived. It proceeded to name six rajahs, thalookdars, and -zemindars, who had remained faithful amid great temptation, and who were -not only to retain their estates, but were to receive additional -rewards. It promised a proportionate reward to all other chieftains who -could prove that they had been loyal. With these exceptions, the whole -proprietary right to the soil of Oude was declared to be forfeited to -the British crown—subject only to such indulgences as might, as a matter -of _favour_, be conceded to individuals, conditional on their immediate -submission to the supreme authority, their surrendering of arms, and -their steady assistance in the maintenance of order and discipline; and -conditional, also, on their innocence of shedding the blood of -Englishmen and Englishwomen in the cruel outrages which had taken place. -The stringent and startling clause in this proclamation was that which -related to the confiscation: declaring that, with the few specified -exceptions, ‘the proprietary right in the soil of the province is -confiscated to the British government, which will dispose of that right -in such manner as it may seem fitting.’ In the letter to Sir James -Outram accompanying this draft of a proclamation, Viscount Canning -stated that the proclamation was not to be issued until Lucknow had been -fully conquered by Sir Colin Campbell; and that, when so issued, it was -to be addressed only to the non-military inhabitants of Oude, without in -the slightest degree offering pardon or lenity to rebel sepoys. The -proclamation was spoken of as a very indulgent one; seeing that it -promised an exemption, almost general, from the penalties of death and -imprisonment, to Oudian chieftains and others who had gone against the -government; the confiscation of estates was treated as a merciful -diminution of punishment, rather than as a severe measure of justice. -Sir James Outram was to exercise his judgment as to the mode and the -time for issuing the proclamation, in the English, Hindee, and Persian -languages. He was supplied with suggestions, rather than strict -instructions, how to deal with those Oudians who had been inveterate -opponents of the government, but without being concerned in actual -murder; how to regard those who had fought in the insurgent ranks, but -shewed a willingness to surrender their arms; and how to draw a line -between the chieftains on the one hand and their less responsible -retainers on the other. - -Such being the general character of the proposed proclamation and its -accompanying letter, we proceed with the debate. - -After the discussions on Friday the 7th of May, the conduct of the -government underwent much discussion out of parliament; the supporters -of Viscount Canning contending that the publication of the secret -dispatch was unfair to that nobleman, even if the dispatch itself were -defensible. On the 10th, the Earl of Shaftesbury gave notice of a -resolution condemnatory of the publication; and Mr Cardwell gave notice -of a similar resolution in the House of Commons. In the course of an -irregular discussion, it appeared that the government had not received a -single official dispatch from Viscount Canning since that which -contained the draft of his proposed proclamation, and they were quite in -the dark whether the proclamation had been issued, altered or unaltered. -It also became known that the _late_ president of the Board of Control, -Mr Vernon Smith, had received a letter from Viscount Canning, stating -that the proclamation would require an explanatory dispatch, which he -had not had time to prepare. - -On the next day, March 11th, parliament was surprised by an announcement -that the Earl of Ellenborough, without consulting his colleagues, had -resigned into the Queen’s hands his seals of office as president of the -Board of Control. Amid the courteous expressions of regret on the part -of the other ministers, at losing so important a coadjutor, it soon -became evident that the publication of the secret dispatch had emanated -from the Earl of Ellenborough, without the knowledge or consent of the -Earl of Derby and the cabinet. He found that he had drawn them into -trouble; and he resolved to take the whole blame on himself—resigning -office to shield others from censure. There was a generosity in this -which touched his colleagues. The Earl of Derby candidly admitted that -there were parts of the secret dispatch which he could not quite -approve, and that the publication of it was indefensible; but that he -deeply regretted the resignation of the Earl of Ellenborough. - -This will be the proper place in which to notice the celebrated dispatch -fraught with such important consequences. On the 24th of March, after -Viscount Canning’s proclamation had been penned, but long before any -news concerning it could reach England, the Secret Committee wrote to -him on the subject of the treatment of the rebels generally. The letter -was virtually from the Earl of Ellenborough; although, on account of the -absurd system of double government, it professed to emanate from a -committee sitting in Leadenhall Street. The general character of this -letter was noticed in a recent paragraph, and the letter itself is given -in Note G; it may therefore be passed without further notice here. When, -on the 12th of April, a draft-copy of Viscount Canning’s proposed -proclamation reached England, the Earl of Ellenborough wrote the -much-discussed ‘secret dispatch,’ purporting, as before, to come from -the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors. A few days elapsed -before the writing, and a few more before the forwarding, of this -document. The earl[159] expressed his apprehension that the proposed -proclamation would raise such a ferment in Oude as to render -pacification almost impossible. He declared his belief that the mode of -settling the land-tenure when the British took possession of Oude had -been in many ways unjust, and had been the chief cause of the general -and national character of the disaffection in that province. He asserted -that the Oudians would view with dismay a proclamation which cut them -off, as a nation, from the ownership of land so long cherished by them; -and would deem it righteous to battle still more energetically than -before against a government which could adopt such a course of policy. -He went through a process of argument to shew that the Oudians regretted -the dethronement of their native king; that their regret ought to be at -least respected; that they had never, as a nation, acknowledged British -suzerainty; that they ought not to be treated as rebels in the same -sense as the inhabitants of those parts of India which had long been -under British control; and that the conflict in which they had engaged -should on this account be regarded rather as legitimate war than as -rebellion. The haughty and stinging portions of the dispatch were -contained in the fifteenth and two following clauses or paragraphs; in -which the earl, addressing the greatest British functionary in India, -said: ‘Other conquerors, when they have succeeded in overcoming -resistance, have excepted a few persons as still deserving of -punishment; but have, with a generous policy, extended their clemency to -the great body of the people. You have acted upon a different principle. -You have reserved a few as deserving of special favour, and you have -struck with what they will feel as the severest of punishment the mass -of the inhabitants of the country. We cannot but think that the -precedents from which you have departed will appear to have been -conceived in a spirit of wisdom superior to that which appears in the -precedent you have made.’ - -[Illustration: - - East India House. -] - -Such was the celebrated secret dispatch, the writing and promulgation of -which led to the resignation of the Earl of Ellenborough. That -resignation produced an exciting controversy in and out of parliament. -As the offender, the president of the Board of Control, had sacrificed -himself, was it necessary or desirable to make the ministry generally -responsible for his supposed or alleged misdeeds? Party considerations -speedily became mixed up with the discussion of this question. The Whigs -had recently been displaced by the Conservatives, under circumstances -that occasioned much irritation; and each party availed itself of the -India controversy as a handle to be employed against the other. On the -one side it was contended that Viscount Canning deserved praise rather -than censure, for his untiring attention to the affairs of India during -a troubled period; that, even if his proposed proclamation were -injudicious, it was not right to publish the secret dispatch relating -thereto, until he had explained the reasons for framing his -proclamation; and that the ministers ought not to be shielded from blame -simply on account of the resignation of their colleague. On the other -hand, the ministers endeavoured to shew that this resignation ought to -be taken into account; and when this failed, they took up the cause of -the Oudians, contending that the inhabitants of that province were in a -different category from the other natives of India. - -When the great debates on this subject came on in both Houses, on the -14th of May, the ministers dwelt forcibly on the conduct of Mr Vernon -Smith, who had received a letter or letters from Viscount Canning, which -he ought, in the interests of the public, to have communicated to the -government, but which he shewed only to members of his own party. It was -urged—and the argument made a great impression both in and out of -parliament—that if the Earl of Ellenborough had known of Viscount -Canning’s intention to send home an explanation concerning the intent -and scope of the proclamation, it might possibly have led to a -modification of the secret dispatch, or even to an abandonment of it. In -the House of Lords, the case against the government was argued by Lords -Shaftesbury, Argyll, Somerset, Cranworth, Grey, Newcastle, and -Granville; while the arguments on the other side were maintained by -Lords Ellenborough, Derby, Carnarvon, Chelmsford, and Donoughmore. The -Earl of Shaftesbury had couched his resolution in such a form[160] as he -thought was calculated to insure Viscount Canning fair-play whenever his -intentions and proceedings should be really known. Without undertaking -to defend the proclamation, in the absence of any proof whether that -document had or had not undergone modification, he contended that the -dispatch passed on the governor-general a cruel and unmerited censure; -that this so-called ‘secret’ dispatch was evidently intended by its -writer to be a public one, administering rebuke that should be known to -all the world; that its publication was perilous, even seditious, -inasmuch as it encouraged the people of Oude to persevere in rebellion, -and virtually absolved them from all blame for their past conduct. The -Earl of Ellenborough, in reply, defended every word of the dispatch; he -insisted that it would be impossible to govern India peacefully even for -a day, if the proclamation were acted on in its full spirit. He cared -not for office; he resigned because he had unintentionally embarrassed -his colleagues, not because he regretted any part of his conduct. The -Earl of Derby, and other members of the cabinet, described the -resolutions as a party manœuvre to overthrow the government; claimed an -acquittal on the plea that their colleague had taken all the blame of -the publication to himself; and complained that the governor-general had -not sent one single letter to the new government, explanatory of his -plans and motives. When the debate was ended, the result shewed a very -close division—there being contents, 159, non-contents, 168; giving a -majority of 9 for ministers. - -Far more exciting and influential was the debate in the Commons on the -same night. From the day when Mr Cardwell gave notice of his -resolutions, the case was regarded as a serious one for the ministers; -seeing that he was a distinguished member of an independent party in the -House, and would be able to bring a large accession to the regular -opposition votes. The very fact of the Earl of Ellenborough having -resigned, seemed to afford proof that the publication of the dispatch, -if not the writing of it, was disapproved by some of the ministers, and -would weaken them in the approaching debate. Mr Cardwell’s -resolutions,[161] like those of the Earl of Shaftesbury, did not bind -the House to any approval of the much-talked-of proclamation, whether -issued or unissued; they related only to the unfairness of the dispatch -in the absence of further news from India, and to the still greater -unfairness of making the reproof contained in that dispatch patent to -all the world. The members of the Whig opposition, and all who sided -with them in the debate, adhered pretty closely to this line of -argument; but the ministers and their supporters travelled much further. -They felt that the only justification for the dispatch and its -publication was to be found in the proclamation; and they therefore gave -the proclamation as black a character as it could well receive. Viscount -Canning was abused in round terms as a tyrant and spoliator; and those -who supported him were accused of being influenced purely by factious -motives in bringing forward the resolutions. The attack against the -government was maintained by Mr Cardwell, Lord John Russell, Mr Vernon -Smith, Mr Lowe, Colonel Sykes, and others, and resisted by the -solicitor-general, Lord Stanley, Mr Baillie, &c. The debate was -adjourned to the 17th, when it became evident that many of the -independent members intended to support the government—partly because -they disapproved of the Canning proclamation; partly because they -suspected the Whigs of an intention to make this Indian question a -stepping-stone to a return to office; and partly because they condemned -the conduct of the late president of the Board of Control, in -withholding Canning’s letter. This last-named circumstance told very -seriously against the Whig party; the Conservatives made the most of it, -and won over many adherents from among the independent members. Again -was the debate adjourned, to the 18th. It now became still more evident -that the division-list would present an aspect far different from that -at first expected; the prophesied majority for the resolutions gradually -fell, and the ministers began to look confidently to a decision in their -favour. A new element had entered into the case. If the Derby ministry -would have resigned office when beaten, there was a sufficient number of -independent members ready to carry the motion against them; but as there -was a threat of a dissolution, and as many seats would be endangered by -a general election, self-interest became mixed up with patriotism. -Another adjournment took place, to the 20th, on which day the House was -addressed by Sir James Graham, Mr Bright, Sir R. Bethell, Mr Labouchere, -and other members of influence. The current of debate set in very much -in favour of the government. It transpired that many eminent men in -India—including Sir James Outram, Sir John Lawrence, General Mansfield, -and General Franks—had all in various ways expressed an opinion that -Lord Canning’s proclamation, if issued in the form originally intended, -would be productive of some mischief in Oude. - -This, therefore, will be a convenient place in which to notice the -officially recorded opinions of Outram on the subject—the only ones -which were presented before the House in a formal and undoubted manner. -The documents received from India shewed that Sir James entertained many -misgivings concerning the proclamation and its probable tendency. The -proclamation and its accompanying letter being sent to him from -Allahabad, he replied on the 8th, in a communication[162] pointing out -to Viscount Canning the paragraphs which appeared to him mischievous. He -declared his belief that there were not a dozen landowners throughout -the whole of Oude who had not in some way or other assisted the rebels -during the past struggle; and that, therefore, there would be hardly any -exceptions to the sweeping confiscation proposed by the -governor-general. He asserted most distinctly his conviction that, as -soon as the proclamation should be made public, nearly all the chiefs -and thalookdars would retire to their domains, and prepare for a -desperate resistance. He expressed an opinion that the landowners had -been very unjustly treated in the land-settlement after the annexation; -that, apart from this, their sympathy with the rebels was an exceedingly -natural feeling, under the peculiar circumstances of Oude; that it was -not until the mutiny was many weeks old that they turned against us; -that they ought to be regarded rather as honourable enemies than as -rebels; that they would be converted into relentless enemies if their -lands were confiscated, maintaining a guerrilla war which would ‘involve -the loss of thousands of Europeans by battle, disease, and exposure;’ -but that if their lands were insured to them, they would probably be -more attached to British rule than ever they had yet been. It is evident -that Sir James Outram had already discussed this subject with the -governor-general, for he apologises for ‘once more’ urging his views -upon his lordship. A brief reply[163] was immediately sent to this -letter, proposing a very slight increase of leniency in the treatment of -the landowners, but leaving the general spirit of the proclamation -untouched. Later in the month, the governor-general replied more at -length to the arguments of Sir James. He admitted[164] that the -inhabitants of Oude were far differently placed from those of Bengal and -the Northwest Provinces, in respect to allegiance to the British crown; -both because the annexation had been recent, and because it had been no -voluntary act on the part of the Oudians. But he would not admit that, -on those grounds, the rebel thalookdars should be treated so indulgently -as Outram proposed. He urged that exemption from death, transportation, -and imprisonment, was a great boon, sufficiently marking the treatment -of the Oudians from that of other natives. Without entering on the -question whether the settlement of the land-claims had been unjust, he -offered his reasons for thinking that that matter had not had much to do -with the complicity of the thalookdars in the rebellion. He attributed -this complicity mainly to ‘the repugnance which they feel to suffer any -restraint of their hitherto arbitrary powers over those about them; to a -diminution of their importance by being brought under equal laws; and to -the obligation of disbanding their armed followers, and of living a -peaceful and orderly life.’ He maintained that if Sir James’s suggestion -were acted on, the rebels would be treated, not merely as honourable -enemies, but as enemies _who had won the day_; and that this would be -accepted by the natives as a confession of fear and weakness, -encouraging them to regard rebellion as likely to be a profitable game. -In short, Viscount Canning insisted on his proclamation being maintained -in its chief features. - -It was impossible that such a letter as that of Sir James Outram could -fail, when made known, to exert a considerable influence in the House of -Commons. The resemblance between it and the Earl of Ellenborough’s -dispatch was very close, except in relation to discourteous and haughty -language, which Outram neither did nor could use. On the 21st of May, -after five nights’ debate, marked by speeches from almost all the -eminent men in the House, the contest ended in a kind of drawn battle. -Influenced by a great variety of motives, the opponents of the -government urged upon Mr Cardwell the withdrawal of his resolutions. -They did not wish to be compelled to vote. Some had been impressed by -the recorded opinion of Outram, and the rumoured opinions of Lawrence -and other eminent men in India; some disliked party tactics, even -against their opponents; some were afraid of a general election, if -their votes should lead to a dissolution of parliament. All the leaders -of the Whig party joined in a wish to withdraw the resolutions; and this -was done. The affair had, however, been so managed throughout as to give -a good deal of triumph to the Conservative government, and to strengthen -that government for the rest of the session. - -What was the ultimate fate of the much-condemned proclamation, will -remain to be shewn in a later page. Two further documents relating to -this matter are given in Notes I and K. - - - Notes. - - The official documents referred to in this chapter are of so much - importance, in reference to the political history of the Indian - Revolt, and to the opinions entertained by public men concerning the - feelings of the natives, that it may be well to present the chief of - them in full. Owing to the length of time necessary for the - transmission of letters between England and India, two or more of - these documents were crossing the ocean at the same time, in - opposite directions, and therefore could not exactly partake of the - nature of question and answer. We shall attempt no other - classification than that of placing in one group the documents - written in India; and in another those written in London—observing, - in each group, the order of dates. - - - A. - - The first document here given is a letter dictated by Viscount - Canning when at Allahabad, and signed by his secretary, Mr - Edmonstone. It was addressed to Sir James Outram, in his capacity of - chief-commissioner of Oude, and was written at a time when the fall - of Lucknow was soon expected: - - ‘ALLAHABAD, _March 3, 1858_. - - ‘SIR—I am directed by the Right Honourable the Governor-general, to - enclose to you a copy of a proclamation which is to be issued by the - chief-commissioner at Lucknow, as soon as the British troops under - His Excellency the Commander-in-chief shall have possession or - command of the city. - - ‘2. This proclamation is addressed to the chiefs and inhabitants of - Oude only, and not to the sepoys. - - ‘3. The governor-general has not considered it desirable that this - proclamation should appear until the capital is either actually in - our hands or lying at our mercy. He believes that any proclamation - put forth in Oude in a liberal and forgiving spirit would be open to - misconstruction, and capable of perversion, if not preceded by a - manifestation of our power; and that this would be especially the - case at Lucknow—which, although it has recently been the scene of - unparalleled heroism and daring, and of one of the most brilliant - and successful feats of arms which British India has ever - witnessed—is still sedulously represented by the rebels as being - beyond our power to take or to hold. - - ‘4. If an exemption, almost general, from the penalties of death, - transportation, and imprisonment, such as is now about to be offered - to men who have been in rebellion, had been publicly proclaimed - before a heavy blow had been struck, it is at least as likely that - resistance would have been encouraged by the seeming exhibition of - weakness, as that it would have been disarmed by a generous - forbearance. - - ‘5. Translations of the proclamation into Hindee and Persian - accompany this dispatch. - - ‘6. It will be for the chief-commissioner in communication with His - Excellency the Commander-in-chief, to determine the moment at which - the proclamation shall be published, and the manner of disseminating - it through the province; as also the mode in which those who may - surrender themselves under it shall be immediately and for the - present dealt with. - - ‘7. This last question, considering that we shall not be in firm - possession of any large portion of the province when the - proclamation begins to take effect, and that the bulk of our troops, - native as well as European, will be needed for other purposes than - to keep guard through its districts—is one of some difficulty. It is - clear, too, that the same treatment will not be applicable to all - who may present themselves. - - ‘8. Amongst these there may be some who have been continuously in - arms against the government, and who have shewn inveterate - opposition to the last, but who are free from the suspicion of - having put to death or injured Europeans who fell in their way. - - ‘9. To these men their lives are guaranteed and their honour; that - is, in native acceptation—they will neither be transported across - sea, nor placed in prison. - - ‘10. Probably the most easy and effectual way of disposing of them, - in the first instance, will be to require that they shall reside in - Lucknow under surveillance and in charge of an officer appointed for - that purpose. - - ‘11. Their ultimate condition and place of residence may remain to - be determined hereafter, when the chief-commissioner shall be able - to report fully to the governor-general upon the individual - character and past conduct of each. - - ‘12. There will be others who, although they have taken up arms - against the government, have done so less heartily, and upon whom, - for other causes, the chief-commissioner may not see reason to put - restraint. These, after surrendering their arms, might be allowed to - go to their homes, with such security for their peaceable conduct as - the chief-commissioner may think proper to require. - - ‘13. One obvious security will be that of making it clearly - understood by them, that the amount of favour which they shall - hereafter receive, and the condition in which they shall be - re-established, will be in part dependent upon their conduct after - dismissal. - - ‘14. The permission to return to their homes must not be considered - as a reinstatement of them in the possession of their lands, for the - deliberate disposal of which the government will preserve itself - unfettered. - - ‘15. There will probably be a third class, less compromised by acts - of past hostility to the government, in whom the chief-commissioner - may see reason to repose enough of confidence to justify their - services being at once enlisted on the side of order, towards the - maintenance of which in their respective districts they might be - called upon to organise a temporary police. - - ‘16. The foregoing remarks apply to the thalookdars and chiefs of - the province. As regards their followers who may make submission - with them, these, from their numbers, must of necessity be dismissed - to their homes. But before this is done, their names and places of - residence should be registered, and they should receive a warning - that any disturbance of the peace or resistance of authority which - may occur in their neighbourhood, will be visited, not upon the - individual offenders alone, but by heavy fines upon the villages. - - ‘17. I am to observe that the governor-general wishes the - chief-commissioner to consider what has been above written as - suggestions rather than instructions, and as indicating generally - the spirit in which his lordship desires that the proclamation - should be followed up, without tying down the action of the - chief-commissioner in matters which may have to be judged under - circumstances which cannot be foreseen. - - ‘18. There remains one more point for notice. - - ‘19. The proclamation is addressed to the chiefs and inhabitants of - Oude, not to mutineers. - - ‘20. To the latter, the governor-general does not intend that any - overture should be made at present. - - ‘21. But it is possible that some may surrender themselves, or seek - terms, and it is necessary that the chief-commissioner should be - prepared to meet any advances from them. - - ‘22. The sole promise which can be given to any mutineer is, that - his life shall be spared; and this promise must not be made if the - man belongs to a regiment which has murdered its officers, or if - there be other _primâ facie_ reason to suppose that he has been - implicated in any specially atrocious crime. Beyond the guarantee of - life to those who, not coming within the above-stated exception, - shall surrender themselves, the governor-general cannot sanction the - giving of any specific pledge. - - ‘23. Voluntary submission will be counted in mitigation of - punishment, but nothing must be said to those who so submit - themselves which shall bar the government from awarding to each such - measure of secondary punishment as in its justice it may deem - fitting.—I have, &c., - - (Signed) ‘G. F. EDMONSTONE. - - _’Allahabad, March 3, 1858.’_ - - - B. - - The proclamation referred to in the above letter ran as follows: - - ‘PROCLAMATION. - - ‘The army of His Excellency the Commander-in-chief is in possession - of Lucknow, and the city lies at the mercy of the British - government, whose authority it has for nine months rebelliously - defied and resisted. - - ‘This resistance, begun by a mutinous soldiery, has found support - from the inhabitants of the city and of the province of Oude at - large. Many who owed their prosperity to the British government, as - well as those who believed themselves aggrieved by it, have joined - in this bad cause, and have ranged themselves with the enemies of - the state. - - ‘They have been guilty of a great crime, and have subjected - themselves to a just retribution. - - ‘The capital of their country is now once more in the hands of the - British troops. - - ‘From this day it will be held by a force which nothing can - withstand, and the authority of the government will be carried into - every corner of the province. - - ‘The time, then, has come at which the Right Honourable the - Governor-general of India deems it right to make known the mode in - which the British government will deal with the thalookdars, chiefs, - and landholders of Oude, and their followers. - - ‘The first care of the governor-general will be to reward those who - have been steadfast in their allegiance at a time when the authority - of the government was partially overborne, and who have proved this - by the support and assistance which they have given to British - officers. - - ‘Therefore the Right Honourable the Governor-general hereby declares - that - - ‘Drigliejjie Singh, Rajah of Bulrampore; - ‘Koolwunt Singh, Rajah of Pudnaha; - ‘Rao Hurdeo Buksh Singh, of Kutiaree; - ‘Kasheepershaud, Thalookdar of Sissaindee; - ‘Zuhr Singh, Zemindar of Gopaul Kheir; and - ‘Chundeeloll, Zemindar of Moraon (Baiswarah), - - are henceforward the sole hereditary proprietors of the lands which - they held when Oude came under British rule, subject only to such - moderate assessment as may be imposed upon them, and that those - loyal men will be further rewarded in such manner and to such extent - as, upon consideration of their merits and their position, the - governor-general shall determine. - - ‘A proportionate measure of reward and honour, according to their - deserts, will be conferred upon others in whose favour like claims - may be established to the satisfaction of the government. - - ‘The governor-general further proclaims to the people of Oude that, - with the above-mentioned exceptions, the proprietary right in the - soil of the province is confiscated to the British government, which - will dispose of that right in such manner as it may seem fitting. - - ‘To those thalookdars, chiefs, and landholders, with their - followers, who shall make immediate submission to the - chief-commissioner of Oude, surrendering their arms and obeying his - orders, the Right Honourable the Governor-general promises that - their lives and honour shall be safe, provided that their hands are - unstained with English blood murderously shed. - - ‘But, as regards any further indulgence which may be extended to - them, and the condition in which they may hereafter be placed, they - must throw themselves upon the justice and mercy of the British - government. - - ‘To those among them who shall promptly come forward and give to the - chief-commissioner their support in the restoration of peace and - order, this indulgence will be large, and the governor-general will - be ready to view liberally the claims which they may thus acquire to - the restitution of their former rights. - - ‘As participation in the murder of Englishmen and Englishwomen will - exclude those who are guilty of it from all mercy, so will those who - have protected English lives be specially entitled to consideration - and leniency. - - ‘By order of the Right Honourable the Governor-general of India. - - ‘G. F. EDMONSTONE, - _Secretary to the Government of India_.’ - - - C. - - Sir James Outram, not fully satisfied with this proclamation, - directed his secretary, Mr Couper, to write as follows to Mr - Edmonstone: - - ‘CAMP, CHIMLUT, _March 8, 1858_. - - ‘SIR—I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, No. - 191, dated 3d inst., enclosing a proclamation to be issued to the - landholders, chiefs, and inhabitants of Oude, upon the fall of the - capital. - - ‘2. In this proclamation a hereditary title in their estates is - promised to such landholders as have been steadfast in their - allegiance, and, with these exceptions, the proprietary right in the - soil of the province is confiscated. - - ‘3. The chief-commissioner desires me to observe that, in his - belief, there are not a dozen landowners in the province who have - not themselves borne arms against us, or sent a representative to - the durbar, or assisted the rebel government with men or money. The - effect of the proclamation, therefore, will be to confiscate the - entire proprietary right in the soil; and this being the case, it - is, of course, hopeless to attempt to enlist the landowners on the - side of order; on the contrary, it is the chief-commissioner’s firm - conviction that as soon as the chiefs and thalookdars become - acquainted with the determination of the government to confiscate - their rights, they will betake themselves at once to their domains, - and prepare for a desperate and prolonged resistance. - - ‘4. The chief-commissioner deems this matter of such vital - importance, that, at the risk of being deemed importunate, he - ventures to submit his views once more, in the hope that the Right - Hon. the Governor-general may yet be induced to reconsider the - subject. - - ‘5. He is of opinion that the landholders were most unjustly treated - under our settlement operations, and even had they not been so, that - it would have required a degree of fidelity on their part quite - foreign to the usual character of an Asiatic, to have remained - faithful to our government under the shocks to which it was exposed - in Oude. In fact, it was not until our rule was virtually at an end, - the whole country overrun, and the capital in the hands of the rebel - soldiery, that the thalookdars, smarting as they were under the loss - of their lands, sided against us. The chief-commissioner thinks, - therefore, that they ought hardly to be considered as rebels, but - rather as honourable enemies, to whom terms, such as they could - without loss of dignity accept, should be offered at the termination - of the campaign. - - ‘If these men be given back their lands, they will at once aid us in - restoring order; and a police will soon be organised with their - co-operation, which will render unnecessary the presence of our - enormous army to re-establish tranquillity and confidence. - - ‘But, if their life and freedom from imprisonment only be offered, - they will resist; and the chief-commissioner foresees that we are - only at the commencement of a guerrilla war for the extirpation, - root and branch, of this class of men, which will involve the loss - of thousands of Europeans by battle, disease, and exposure. It must - be borne in mind that this species of warfare has always been - peculiarly harassing to our Indian forces, and will be far more so - at present, when we are without a native army. - - ‘6. For the above reasons, the chief-commissioner earnestly requests - that such landholders and chiefs as have not been accomplices in the - cold-blooded murder of Europeans may be enlisted on our side by the - restoration of their ancient possessions, subject to such - restrictions as will protect their dependents from oppression. If - his lordship agree to this proposition, it will not yet be too late - to communicate his assent by electric telegraph before the fall of - the city, which will probably not take place for some days. Should - no such communication be received, the chief-commissioner will act - upon his present instructions, satisfied that he has done all in his - power to convince his lordship that they will be ineffectual to - re-establish our rule on a firm basis in Oude.—I have, &c., - - (Signed) ‘G. COUPER, - ‘_Secretary to Chief-commissioner_. - - ‘_Chief-commissioner’s Office, Camp, Chimlut, March 8._’ - - - D. - - Mr Edmonstone, on the part of Viscount Canning, wrote the following - brief reply, suggesting an additional clause to the proclamation, - and promising a more detailed communication at a future time: - - ‘ALLAHABAD, _March 10, 1853_. - - ‘SIR—Your secretary’s letter of the 8th instant was delivered to me - at an early hour this morning, by Captain F. Birch, and it will - receive a detailed reply in due course. - - ‘Meanwhile, I am desired by the Right Honourable the - Governor-general to subjoin a clause which may be inserted in the - proclamation (forwarded with my letter, No. 191, of the 3d instant), - after the paragraph which ends with the words, “justice and mercy of - the British government.” - - ‘“To those amongst them who shall promptly come forward, and give to - the chief-commissioner their support in the restoration of peace and - order, this indulgence will be large, and the governor-general will - be ready to view liberally the claims which they may thus acquire to - a restitution of their former rights.” - - ‘2. This clause will add little or nothing to your discretionary - power, but it may serve to indicate more clearly to the thalookdars - the liberal spirit in which the governor-general is prepared to - review and reciprocate any advances on their part. - - ‘3. It is expected that you will find means to translate this - additional clause into the vernacular languages, and that you will - be able to have copies of the proclamation, so amended, prepared in - sufficient numbers for immediate use. If more should be required, - the magistrate of Cawnpore will lithograph them on your requisition. - - ‘4. It is very important, as you will readily see, that every copy - of the vernacular version of the proclamation sent to you, with my - letter of the 3d instant, should be carefully destroyed.—I have, - &c., - - (Signed) ‘G. F. EDMONSTONE, - ‘_Secretary, Government of India, with the - Governor-general_. - - ‘_Allahabad, March 10, 1858._’ - - - E. - - It was not until after a lapse of three weeks that the promised - detailed reply was sent to Sir James Outram, in the following terms: - - ‘ALLAHABAD, _March 31, 1858_. - - ‘SIR—In replying at once on the 10th inst. to your secretary’s - letter of the 8th, in which you urged reasons against the issue of - the proclamation to the thalookdars and landholders of Oude, which - had been transmitted to you by the Right Hon. the Governor-general, - my answer was confined to communicating to you the addition which - his lordship was willing to make to that proclamation, without - entering into the general questions raised in your letter. The - governor-general desires me to express his hope that you will not - have supposed that the arguments adduced by you were not fully - weighed by him, or that your opinion upon a subject on which you are - so well entitled to offer one, has not been received with sincere - respect, although he was unable to concur in it. - - ‘2. I am now directed by his lordship to explain the grounds upon - which the course advocated in your letter—namely, that such - landholders and chiefs as have not been accomplices in the - cold-blooded murder of Europeans should be enlisted on our side by - the restoration of their ancient possessions, subject to such - restrictions as will protect their dependents from oppression—is, in - the opinion of the governor-general, inadmissible. - - ‘3. The governor-general entirely agrees with you in viewing the - thalookdars and landholders of Oude in a very different light from - that in which rebels in our old provinces are to be regarded. The - people of Oude had been subjects of the British government for - little more than one year when the mutinies broke out; they had - become so by no act of their own. By the introduction of our rule - many of the chiefs had suffered a loss of property, and all had - experienced a diminution of the importance and arbitrary power which - they had hitherto enjoyed; and it is no marvel that those amongst - them who had thus been losers should, when they saw our authority - dissolved, have hastened to shake off their new allegiance. - - ‘4. The governor-general views these circumstances as a palliation - of acts of rebellion, even where hostility has been most active and - systematic. Accordingly, punishment by death or imprisonment is at - once put aside by the proclamation in the case of all who shall - submit themselves to the government, and who are not murderers; and - whilst confiscation of proprietary rights in the land is declared to - be the general penalty, the means of obtaining more or less of - exemption from it, and of establishing a claim to restitution of - rights, have been pointed out, and are within the reach of all - without injury to their honour. Nothing more is required for this - than that they should promptly tender their adhesion, and help to - maintain peace and order. - - ‘5. The governor-general considers that the course thus taken is one - consistent with the dignity of the government, and abundantly - lenient. To have followed that which is suggested in your - secretary’s letter would, in his lordship’s opinion, have been to - treat the rebels not only as honourable enemies, but as enemies who - had won the day. - - ‘In the course of the rebellion, most of the leaders in it, probably - all, have retaken to themselves the lands and villages of which they - were deprived, by the summary settlement which followed the - establishment of our government in Oude. If upon the capture of - Lucknow by the commander-in-chief, before our strength had been seen - or felt in the distant districts, and before any submission had been - received or invited from them, the rights of the rebel chiefs to all - their ancient possessions had been recognised by the government, it - is not possible that the act would not have been viewed as dictated - by fear or weakness. It would have led the people of Oude, and all - who are watching the course of events in that province, to the - conclusion that rebellion against the British government cannot be a - losing game; and although it might have purchased an immediate - return to order, it would not assuredly have placed the future peace - of the province upon a secure foundation. - - ‘6. You observe, indeed, that the landholders were most unjustly - treated under our settlement. The governor-general desires me to - observe that if this were unreservedly the case, or if the - proceedings of the commissioners by which many of the thalookdars - were deprived of portions of their possessions had been generally - unjust, he would gladly have concurred in your recommendation, and - would have been ready, at the risk of any misinterpretation of the - motives of the government, to reinstate the thalookdars at once in - their old possessions. But it is not so. As a question of policy, - indeed, the governor-general considers that it may well be doubted - whether the attempt to introduce into Oude a system of village - settlement in place of the old settlement under thalookdars was a - wise one; but this is a point which need not be discussed here. As a - question of justice, it is certain that the land and villages taken - from the thalookdars had, for the most part, been usurped by them - through fraud or violence. - - ‘7. That unjust decisions were come to by some of our local officers - in investigating and judging the titles of the landowners is, the - governor-general fears, too true; but the proper way of rectifying - such injustice is by a re-hearing where complaint is made. This, you - are aware, is the course which the governor-general is prepared to - adopt, and to carry out in a liberal and conciliatory spirit. It is - a very different one from proclaiming that indiscriminate - restitution of all their ancient possessions is at once to be - yielded to the landowners. - - ‘8. That the hostility of the thalookdars of Oude who have been most - active against the British government has been provoked, or is - excused, by the injustice with which they have been treated, would - seem to be your opinion. - - ‘But I am to observe, that there are some facts which deserve to be - weighed before pronouncing that this is the case. - - ‘9. No chiefs have been more open in their rebellion than the rajahs - of Churda, Bhinga, and Gonda. The governor-general believes that the - first of these did not lose a single village by the summary - settlement, and certainly his assessment was materially reduced. The - second was dealt with in a like liberal manner. The Rajah of Gonda - lost about 30 villages out of 400; but his assessment was lowered by - some 10,000 rupees. - - ‘10. No one was more benefited by the change of government than the - young Rajah of Naupara. His estates had been the object of a civil - war with a rival claimant for three years, and of these he was at - once recognised as sole proprietor by the British government, losing - only six villages out of more than a thousand. His mother was - appointed guardian, but her troops have been fighting against us at - Lucknow from the beginning. - - ‘11. The Rajah of Dhowrera, also a minor, was treated with equal - liberality. Every village was settled with his family; yet these - people turned upon Captain Hearsey and his party, refused them - shelter, pursued them, captured the ladies, and sent them into - Lucknow. - - ‘12. Ushruf Bux Khan, a large thalookdar in Gonda, who had long been - an object of persecution by the late government, was established in - the possession of all his property by us; yet he has been strongly - hostile. - - ‘13. It is clear that injustice at the hands of the British - government has not been the cause of the hostility which, in these - instances at least, has been displayed towards our rule. - - ‘14. The moving spirit of these men and of others amongst the chiefs - of Oude must be looked for elsewhere; and, in the opinion of the - governor-general, it is to be found mainly in the repugnance which - they feel to suffer any restraint of their hitherto arbitrary powers - over those about them, to a diminution of their importance by being - brought under equal laws, and to the obligation of disbanding their - armed followers, and of living a peaceful and orderly life. - - ‘The penalty of confiscation of property is no more than a just one - in such cases as have been above recited; and although - considerations of policy and mercy, and the newness of our rule, - prescribe a relaxation of the sentence more or less large according - to the features of each case, this relaxation must be preceded by - submission, and the governor-general cannot consent to offer all, - without distinction, an entire exemption from penalty, and the - restoration of all former possessions, even though they should not - have been guilty of the murder of Europeans.—I have, &c., - - (Signed) ‘G. F. EDMONSTONE, - ‘_Secretary to the Government of India, - with the Governor-general_. - - ‘_Allahabad, March 31, 1858._’ - - - F. - - The following document, though not pertaining to the affairs of - Oude, may usefully be given here, bearing as it does on the - treatment proposed to be adopted towards mutineers and rebels. It - was written, in the name of Viscount Canning, by the secretary to - the government of the Northwest Provinces, and was addressed to the - functionaries of the disturbed province of Rohilcund: - - ‘AGRA, _April 28, 1858_. - - ‘SIR—I am directed to communicate to you the general principles - which the Right Honourable the Governor-general desires to see - followed by all civil and other officers who will exercise judicial - or magisterial powers in Rohilcund, on the re-entry of British - troops into that province. - - ‘2. The condition of Rohilcund has been, in some respects, peculiar. - The progress of the Revolt in the interior has until lately suffered - little check. The people, left to themselves, have in many quarters - engaged actively in hostilities against each other; but direct - opposition to British authority has been mainly confined to the - several Sudder towns, to the frontier on the Ganges, and to the - expeditions against Nynee Tal. - - ‘3. Under these circumstances, his lordship considers it just to - distinguish, by a widely differing treatment, the simple bearing of - arms, or even acts of social violence committed at a period when the - check of lawful government was removed, from acts directly involving - treason against the state, or a deliberate defiance of its - authority. Excepting instances of much aggravation, it is not the - wish of government that public prosecutions should be set on foot on - account of offences of the former class. - - ‘4. Further, in respect of treason and defiance of British - authority, his lordship desires that criminal proceedings shall be - taken only against leaders, and against such persons, whether high - or low, as have distinguished themselves by activity and rancour - against the government, or by persistence in opposition to its - authority after the advance of troops and the re-occupation of - stations. The governor-general will admit to amnesty all other - classes, even though they have borne arms on the side of the rebels, - provided that they tender an early and complete submission. But - continuance in opposition will exclude from pardon. - - ‘5. The governor-general has reason to believe that an impression - exists in Rohilcund that the Mohammedan population, as such, is to - be proscribed and crushed. It is likely that the rumour has been - raised and fostered by the rebel leaders to excite apprehension and - mistrust of the government. His lordship desires that every - appropriate occasion may be taken to disabuse the people of this - gross error. Such suspected rebels as may be brought to trial will - be tried each by his own acts. Each will stand or fall by the line - of conduct which he shall be proved to have followed. The government - will maintain, as it has always maintained, a strict impartiality in - its administration. Equal justice will be shared by all its - subjects, whether Hindoos or Mohammedans. You will make public these - views, and instruct the chief district officers to make them widely - known, in such manner as may appear to be most effectual. - - ‘6. It will be your care, in accordance with the injunctions of - his lordship’s orders, embodied in the circular order dated the - 19th February, to bring forward, for early notice by the - governor-general, the several examples of conspicuously faithful - conduct exhibited by many of the inhabitants of Rohilcund, under - circumstances of peculiar difficulty.—I have, &c., - - ‘W. MUIR, - ‘_Sec. to Govt. NW. P._’ - - - G. - - We now transfer attention to four of the documents written in - London. The first was nominally from the ‘Secret Committee,’ really - from the Earl of Ellenborough, and was suggested by the state of - affairs in India during the second half of the month of February: - - ‘_The Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India - Company, to the Governor-general of India in Council, March 24, - 1858._ - - ‘The telegram from Calcutta, dated the 22d ult., which arrived this - morning, conveys intelligence of the concentration of the force - under the commander-in-chief, and of that under Jung Bahadoor, upon - Lucknow; and we trust we may indulge the expectation that, ere this, - that city has been evacuated by the rebels, and that no considerable - corps remains united against us in the field. - - ‘2. If this happy result should have been attained, it will be very - satisfactory to us to learn that you have deemed yourselves - sufficiently strong to be enabled to act towards the people with the - generosity, as well as the justice, which are congenial to the - British character. - - ‘3. Crimes have been committed against us which it would be a crime - to forgive; and some large exceptions there must be, of the persons - guilty of such crimes, from any act of amnesty which could be - granted; but it must be as impossible, as it would be abhorrent from - our feelings, to inflict the extreme penalty which the law might - strictly award upon all who have swerved from their allegiance. - - ‘4. To us it appears that, whenever open resistance shall have - ceased, it would be prudent, in awarding punishment, rather to - follow the practice which prevails after the conquest of a country - which has defended itself to the last by desperate war, than that - which may perhaps be lawfully adopted after the suppression of - mutiny and rebellion, such acts always being excepted from - forgiveness or mitigation of punishment as have exceeded the licence - of legitimate hostilities. - - ‘5. While we may be unable to forget the insanity which, during the - last ten months, has pervaded the army and a large portion of the - people, we should at the same time remember the previous fidelity of - a hundred years, and so conduct ourselves towards those who have - erred as to remove their delusions and their fears, and - re-establish, if we can, that confidence which was so long the - foundation of our power. - - ‘6. It would be desirable that, in every case, the disarming of a - district, either by the seizure of arms or by their surrender, - should precede the application to it of any amnesty; but there may - be circumstances which would render expedient a different course of - proceeding. Upon these exceptional cases, you and the officers - acting under your orders must decide. - - ‘7. The disarming of a district having been effected, with - exceptions, under your licence, in favour of native gentlemen, whose - feelings of honour would be affected by being deprived of the - privilege of wearing arms, and of any other persons in whom you may - confide, we think the possession of arms should be punished in every - case by a severe penalty; but unless the possession of arms should - be combined with other acts, leading to the conclusion that they - were retained for the perpetration of crimes, that penalty should - not be death. Of course the possession of arms by Englishmen must - always remain lawful. - - ‘8. Death has of late been but too common a punishment. It loses - whatever terror it might otherwise have when so indiscriminately - applied; but, in fact, in India there is not commonly a fear of - death, although there ever must be a fear of pain. - - ‘9. In every amnestied district, the ordinary administration of the - law should as soon as possible be restored. - - ‘10. In carrying these views into execution, you may meet with - obstruction from those who, maddened by the scenes they have - witnessed, may desire to substitute their own policy for that of the - government; but persevere firmly in doing what you may think right; - make those who would counteract you feel that you are resolved to - rule, and that you will be served by none who will not obey. - - ‘11. Acting in this spirit, you may rely upon our unqualified - support.’ - - - H. - - Three or four weeks afterwards, was written the ‘secret dispatch’ - which gave rise to so vehement a debate in parliament: - - ‘_April 19, 1858._ - - ‘Our letter of the 24th of March 1858 will have put you in - possession of our general views with respect to the treatment of the - people in the event of the evacuation of Lucknow by the enemy. - - ‘2. On the 12th inst., we received from you a copy of the letter, - dated the 3d of March, addressed by your secretary to the secretary - to the chief-commissioner in Oude, which letter enclosed a copy of - the proclamation to be issued by the chief-commissioner as soon as - the British troops should have command of the city of Lucknow, and - conveyed instructions as to the manner in which he was to act with - respect to different classes of persons, in execution of the views - of the governor-general. - - ‘3. The people of Oude will see only the proclamation. - - ‘4. That authoritative expression of the will of the government - informs the people that six persons, who are named as having been - steadfast in their allegiance, are henceforward the sole hereditary - proprietors of the lands they held when Oude came under British - rule, subject only to such moderate assessment as may be imposed - upon them; that others in whose favour like claims may be - established will have conferred upon them a proportionate measure of - reward and honour; and that, with these exceptions, the proprietary - right in the soil of the province is confiscated to the British - government. - - ‘5. We cannot but express to you our apprehension that this decree, - pronouncing the disinherison of a people, will throw difficulties - almost insurmountable in the way of the re-establishment of peace. - - ‘6. We are under the impression that the war in Oude has derived - much of its popular character from the rigorous manner in which, - without regard to what the chief landholders had become accustomed - to consider as their rights, the summary settlement had, in a large - portion of the province, been carried out by your officers. - - ‘7. The landholders of India are as much attached to the soil - occupied by their ancestors, and are as sensitive with respect to - the rights in the soil they deem themselves to possess, as the - occupiers of land in any country of which we have a knowledge. - - ‘8. Whatever may be your ultimate and undisclosed intentions, your - proclamation will appear to deprive the great body of the people of - all hope upon the subject most dear to them as individuals, while - the substitution of our rule for that of their native sovereign has - naturally excited against us whatever they may have of national - feeling. - - ‘9. We cannot but in justice consider that those who resist our - authority in Oude are under very different circumstances from those - who have acted against us in provinces which have been long under - our government. - - ‘10. We dethroned the King of Oude, and took possession of his - kingdom, by virtue of a treaty which had been subsequently modified - by another treaty, under which, had it been held to be in force, the - course we adopted could not have been lawfully pursued; but we held - that it was not in force, although the fact of its not having been - ratified in England, as regarded the provision on which we rely for - our justification, had not been previously made known to the King of - Oude. - - ‘11. That sovereign and his ancestors had been uniformly faithful to - their treaty engagements with us, however ill they may have governed - their subjects. - - ‘12. They had more than once assisted us in our difficulties, and - not a suspicion had ever been entertained of any hostile disposition - on their part towards our government. - - ‘13. Suddenly the people saw their king taken from amongst them, and - our administration substituted for his, which, however bad, was at - least native; and this sudden change of government was immediately - followed by a summary settlement of the revenue, which, in a very - considerable portion of the province, deprived the most influential - landholders of what they deemed to be their property—of what - certainly had long given wealth, and distinction, and power to their - families. - - ‘14. We must admit that, under these circumstances, the hostilities - which have been carried on in Oude have rather the character of - legitimate war than that of rebellion, and that the people of Oude - should rather be regarded with indulgent consideration, than made - the objects of a penalty exceeding in extent and in severity almost - any which has been recorded in history as inflicted upon a subdued - nation. - - ‘15. Other conquerors, when they have succeeded in overcoming - resistance, have excepted a few persons as still deserving of - punishment, but have, with a generous policy, extended their - clemency to the great body of the people. - - ‘16. You have acted upon a different principle. You have reserved a - few as deserving of special favour, and you have struck with what - they will feel as the severest of punishment the mass of the - inhabitants of the country. - - ‘17. We cannot but think that the precedents from whom you have - departed will appear to have been conceived in a spirit of wisdom - superior to that which appears in the precedent you have made. - - ‘18. We desire that you will mitigate in practice the stringent - severity of the decree of confiscation you have issued against the - landholders of Oude. - - ‘19. We desire to see British authority in India rest upon the - willing obedience of a contented people; there cannot be contentment - where there is general confiscation. - - ‘20. Government cannot long be maintained by any force in a country - where the whole people is rendered hostile by a sense of wrong; and - if it were possible so to maintain it, it would not be a - consummation to be desired.’ - - - I. - - The Court of Directors, before the secret dispatch became known to - them, adopted courteous language in the following letter of - instructions sent to Viscount Canning, referring to an earlier - communication: - - ‘_May 5, 1858._ - - ‘1. You will have received, by the mail of the 25th of March, a - letter from the secret committee, which has since been laid before - us, respecting the policy which it becomes you to pursue towards - those natives of India who have recently been in arms against the - authority of the British government. - - ‘2. That letter emphatically confirms the principles which you have - already adopted, as set forth in your circular of the 31st of July - 1857, by impressing upon you the propriety of pursuing, after the - conquest of the revolted provinces, a course of policy distinguished - by a wise and discriminating generosity. You are exhorted to temper - justice with mercy, and, except in cases of extreme criminality, to - grant an amnesty to the vanquished. In the sentiments expressed by - the secret committee we entirely concur. While there are some crimes - which humanity calls upon you to punish with the utmost severity, - there are others of a less aggravated character, which it would be - equally unjust and impolitic not to pardon and to forget. - - ‘3. The offences with which you will be called upon to deal are of - three different kinds. Firstly, high crimes, instigated by malice - prepense, and aggravated by treachery and cruelty. Secondly, - offences the results rather of weakness than of malice, into which - it is believed that many have been drawn by the contamination of - example, by the fear of opposing themselves to their more powerful - countrymen, or by the belief that they have been compromised by the - acts of their associates, rather than by any active desire to - embarrass the existing government. And, thirdly, offences of a less - positive character, amounting to little more than passive connivance - at evil, or at most to the act of giving such assistance to the - rebels as, if not given, would have been forcibly extorted, and - which in many cases it would have been death to refuse to bodies of - licentious and exasperated mutineers. - - ‘4. It is the first only of these offences, the perpetrators of - which, and their accomplices, it will be your duty to visit with the - severest penalty which you can inflict; and it is, happily, in such - cases of exceptional atrocity, that you will have the least - difficulty in proving both the commission of the offence and the - identity of the offender. In the other cases you might often be left - in doubt, not only of the extent of the offence committed, but of - its actual commission by the accused persons; and although we are - aware that the retribution which might be righteously inflicted upon - the guilty may be in some measure restricted by too much nicety of - specification, and that, in dealing with so large a mass of crime, - it is difficult to avoid the commission of some acts of individual - injustice, we may still express our desire that the utmost exertion - may be made to confine, within the smallest possible compass, these - cases of uncertain proof and dubious identity, even though your - retributary measures should thus fall short of what in strict - justice might be inflicted. - - ‘5. As soon as you have suppressed the active hostility of the - enemy, your first care will be the restoration of public confidence. - It will be your privilege when the disorganised provinces shall no - longer be convulsed by intestine disorder, to set an example of - toleration and forbearance towards the subject people, and to - endeavour by every means consistent with the security of the British - empire in the east, to allay the irritation and suspicion, which, if - suffered to retain possession of the minds of the native and - European inhabitants of the country, will eventually lead to nothing - less calamitous than a war of races. - - ‘6. In dealing with the people of Oude, you will doubtless be moved - by special considerations of justice and of policy. Throughout the - recent contest, we have ever regarded such of the inhabitants of - that country as—not being sepoys or pensioners of our own army—have - been in arms against us as an exceptional class. They cannot be - considered as traitors or even rebels, for they had not pledged - their fidelity to us, and they had scarcely become our subjects. - Many, by the introduction of a new system of government, had - necessarily been deprived of the maintenance they had latterly - enjoyed; and others feared that the speedy loss of their means of - subsistence must follow from the same course. It was natural that - such persons should avail themselves of the opportunity presented by - the distracted state of the country, to strike a blow for the - restoration of the native rule, under which the permitted - disorganisation of the country had so long been to them a source of - unlawful profit. Neither the disbanded soldiers of the late native - government, nor the great thalookdars and their retainers, were - under any obligation of fidelity to our government for benefits - conferred upon them. You would be justified, therefore, in dealing - with them as you would with a foreign enemy, and in ceasing to - consider them objects of punishment after they have once laid down - their arms. - - ‘7. Of these arms they must for ever be deprived. You will - doubtless, in prosecution of this object, address yourself in the - first instance to the case of the great thalookdars, who so - successfully defied the late government, and many of whom, with - large bodies of armed men, appear to have aided the efforts of the - mutinous soldiery of the Bengal army. The destruction of the - fortified strongholds of these powerful landholders, the forfeiture - of their remaining guns, the disarming and disbanding of their - followers, will be amongst your first works. But, whilst you are - depriving this influential and once dangerous class of people of - their power of openly resisting your authority, you will, we have no - doubt, exert yourself by every possible means to reconcile them to - British rule, and encourage them, by liberal arrangements made in - accordance with ancient usages, to become industrious - agriculturists, and to employ in the cultivation of the soil the men - who, as armed retainers, have so long wasted the substance of their - masters and desolated the land. We believe that these landholders - may be taught that their holdings will be more profitable to them - under a strong government, capable of maintaining the peace of the - country, and severely punishing agrarian outrages, than under one - which perpetually invites, by its weakness, the ruinous arbitration - of the sword. - - ‘8. Having thus endeavoured, on the re-establishment of the - authority of the British government in Oude, to reassure the great - landholders, you will proceed to consider, in the same spirit of - toleration and forbearance, the condition of the great body of the - people. You will bear in mind that it is necessary, in a transition - state from one government to another, to deal tenderly with existing - usages, and sometimes even with existing abuses. All precipitate - reforms are dangerous. It is often wiser even to tolerate evil for a - time, than to alarm and to irritate the minds of the people by the - sudden introduction of changes which time can alone teach them to - appreciate, or even, perhaps, to understand. You will be especially - careful, in the readjustment of the fiscal system of the province, - to avoid the imposition of unaccustomed taxes, whether of a general - or of a local character, pressing heavily upon the industrial - resources and affecting the daily comforts of the people. We do not - estimate the successful administration of a newly acquired province - according to the financial results of the first few years. At such a - time we should endeavour to conciliate the people by wise - concessions, and to do nothing to encourage the belief that the - British government is more covetous of revenue than the native ruler - whom it has supplanted.’ - - - K. - - The last document here given is a letter of instructions from the - Court of Directors, kind and courteous towards the governor-general, - but evidently conveying an opinion that the proposed proclamation, - unless modified and acted on with caution, would be too severe for - the purpose in view: - - ‘_Political Department, 18th of May (No. 20) 1858._ - - ‘1. The secret committee has communicated to us the - governor-general’s secret letter, dated 5th March (No. 9) 1858, with - its enclosures, consisting of a letter addressed to the - chief-commissioner of Oude, dated 3d of March, and of the - proclamation referred to therein, which was to be issued by Sir - James Outram to the chiefs and inhabitants of Oude as soon as the - British troops should have possession or command of the city of - Lucknow. - - ‘2. We have also received communication of the letter addressed to - your government by the secret committee, under date the 19th of - April last, on the subject of the draft of proclamation. - - ‘3. Our political letter of the 5th of May has apprised you of our - strong sense of the distinction which ought to be maintained between - the revolted sepoys and the chiefs and people of Oude, and the - comparative indulgence with which, equally from justice and policy, - the insurgents of that country (other than sepoys) ought to be - regarded. In accordance with these views, we entirely approve the - guarantee of life and honour given by the proposed proclamation to - all thalookdars, chiefs, and landholders, with their followers, who - should make immediate submission, surrender their arms, and obey the - orders of the British government, provided they have not - participated in the murder “of Englishmen or Englishwomen.” - - ‘4. We are prepared to learn that in publicly declaring that, with - the exception of the lands of six persons who had been steadfast in - their allegiance, the proprietary right in the soil of the province - was confiscated to the British government, the governor-general - intended no more than to reserve to himself entire liberty of - action, and to give the character of mercy to the confirmation of - all rights not prejudicial to the public welfare, the owners of - which might not, by their conduct, have excluded themselves from - indulgent consideration. - - ‘5. His lordship must have been well aware that the words of the - proclamation, without the comment on it which we trust was speedily - afforded by your actions, must have produced the expectation of much - more general and indiscriminate dispossession than could have been - consistent with justice or with policy. We shall doubtless be - informed, in due course, of the reasons which induced the - governor-general to employ those terms, and of the means which, we - presume, have been taken of making known in Oude the merciful - character which we assume must still belong to your views. In the - meantime, it is due to the governor-general that we should express - our entire reliance that on this, as on former occasions, it has - been his firm resolution to shew to all whose crimes are not too - great for any indulgence, the utmost degree of leniency consistent - with the early restoration and firm maintenance of lawful authority. - - ‘We accordingly have to inform you, that on receiving communication - of the papers now acknowledged, the Court of Directors passed the - following resolution: - - ‘“Resolved—That in reference to the dispatch from the secret - committee to the governor-general of India, dated the 19th ult., - with the documents therein alluded to, and this day laid before the - Court of Directors, this court desires to express its continued - confidence in the governor-general, Lord Canning, and its conviction - that his measure for the pacification of Oude, and the other - disturbed districts in India, will be characterised by a generous - policy, and by the utmost clemency that is found to be consistent - with the satisfactory accomplishment of that important object.”—We - are, &c. - - (Signed) - - ‘F. CURRIE, - W. J. EASTWICK, - &c. &c. - - ‘_London, May 18, 1858._’ - -[Illustration: - - Ganges Transport Boat. -] - ------ - -Footnote 157: - - See Note G, at the end of the chapter. - -Footnote 158: - - See notes A and B, at the end of the chapter; where many of the - documents here referred to are printed in full. - -Footnote 159: - - See Note H. - -Footnote 160: - - ‘1. That it appears, from papers laid upon the table of this House, - that a dispatch has been addressed by the Secret Committee of the - Court of Directors, to the governor-general of India, disapproving a - proclamation which the governor-general had informed the court he - intended to issue after the fall of Lucknow. - - ‘2. That it is known only from intelligence that has reached this - country, by correspondence published in newspapers, that the intended - proclamation has been issued, and with an important modification, no - official account of this proceeding having yet been received; that - this House is still without full information as to the grounds upon - which Lord Canning had acted, and his answer to the objections made to - his intended proclamation in the dispatch of the Secret Committee - cannot be received for several weeks. - - ‘3. That, under these circumstances, this House is unable to form a - judgment on the proclamation issued by Lord Canning, but thinks it - right to express its disapprobation of the premature publication by - her Majesty’s ministers of the dispatch addressed to the - governor-general; since this public condemnation of his conduct is - calculated to weaken the authority of the governor-general of India, - and to encourage those who are now in arms against this country.’ - -Footnote 161: - - ‘That this House, whilst it abstains from expressing any opinion on - the policy of any proclamation which may have been issued by the - governor-general of India with relation to Oude, has seen with great - and serious apprehension that her Majesty’s government have addressed - to the governor-general of India, through the Secret Committee of the - East India directors, and have published, a dispatch condemning in - strong terms the conduct of the governor-general. And this House is of - opinion that such a course upon the part of her Majesty’s government - must tend, under the present circumstances of India, to produce a most - prejudicial effect, by weakening the authority of the - governor-general, and encouraging further resistance on the part of - those who are still in arms against us.’ - -Footnote 162: - - See Note C. - -Footnote 163: - - See Note D. - -Footnote 164: - - See Note E. - -[Illustration: - - JUNG BAHADOOR, of Nepaul. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - MILITARY OPERATIONS IN APRIL. - - -The British officers and soldiers in India looked forward, not without -anxiety, to a hot-weather campaign in the summer of 1858. Much -disappointment was felt, too, in England, when necessity for such a -campaign became manifest. Persons in all ranks had fondly hoped that, -when Sir Colin Campbell had spent two or three months in preparing for -the siege of Lucknow, he would be enabled so to invest that city as to -render the escape of the mutineers impossible; and that in conquering -it, the heart of the rebellion would be crushed out. The result did not -answer to this expectation. Lucknow was conquered; but the prisoners -taken could be reckoned simply by dozens; nearly all the rebels who were -not killed escaped into the provinces. It is true that they were now a -dispersed body instead of a concentrated army; but it is also true that, -in abandoning Lucknow, they would retire to many towns and forts where -guns could be found, and where a formidable stand might be made against -British troops. Let the summer approach, and the ratio of advantages on -the two sides would be changed in character. Hot weather may affect the -sepoy, but it affects him relatively less than the Englishman. It is -heart-breaking work to a gallant soldier to feel his bodily strength -failing through heat, at a time when his spirit is as heroic as ever. -The rebels were astute enough to know this. The lithe Hindoo, with -supple limbs and no superfluous flesh, can make great marches—especially -when he retreats. His goods and chattels are few in number; his -household arrangements simple; and it costs him little time or thought -to shift his quarters at a short notice, in a period of peace. During -war or rebellion, when he becomes a soldier, his worldly position is -even more simple than before. A man who can live upon rice, parched -corn, and water, and to whom it is a matter of much indifference whether -he is clothed or not, has a remarkable freedom of movement, requiring -little intricacy of commissariat arrangements. The English, during the -war of the mutiny, had ample means of observing this mobility of the -native rebel troops, and ample reasons for lamenting its consequences. -If this were so during the winter, it would be still more decidedly the -case during a hot-weather campaign, when exhaustion and _coups de -soleil_ work so terribly on the European constitution. It was this -consideration, as we have said, that gave rise to much disappointment, -both in India and in England, when the real sequel of the siege of -Lucknow became apparent. The disappointment resolved itself in some -quarters into adverse criticism on Sir Colin Campbell’s tactics; but -even those who deemed it wise and just to postpone such criticism, could -not postpone their anxiety when they found that the rebels, fleeing from -Lucknow, assumed such an attitude elsewhere as would render a summer -campaign necessary. - -The long sojourn of the commander-in-chief in and near the Oudian -capital, and the frequent communications between him and the -governor-general, told of serious and weighty discussions concerning the -policy to be pursued. Rumours circulated of an antagonism of plans; of -one project for leaving the rebels unmolested until after the hot season -should have passed, and of another for crushing them in detail before -they could succeed in recombining. But whatever might have been the -rumours, the policy adopted followed the latter of these two courses. -The army of Lucknow, broken up into divisions or columns, was set again -to work, to pursue and defeat those insurgents who kept the field with a -pertinacity little expected when the mutiny began. So much of those -operations as took place during the month of April, it is the purpose of -this chapter to narrate; but a few words may previously be said -concerning the state of affairs in Bengal, more dependent on Calcutta -than on the army of Oude or the commander-in-chief. - -The fact has already been adverted to that the supreme government, amid -all the anxiety of the rebellion in the northwest, began in the spring -of the year to take measures for the better protection of Lower Bengal. -That province, the most important in the whole of India, had been very -little affected by the mutiny, chiefly because there were few Mohammedan -leaders inclined to become rebels; but the authorities could not close -their eyes to the facts that the province was very insufficiently -defended, and that any successful revolt there would be more disastrous -than in other regions. So long as the delta of the Ganges remained in -British hands, there would always be a base of operations for -reconquering Upper India, if necessary; but that delta once lost, the -services of a Clive, backed by a large army from England, would be again -needed to recover it. A plan was therefore formed for locating five or -six thousand European troops in Bengal, quartered at Calcutta, Dumdum, -Chinsura, Barrackpore, Dinapoor, Benares, and one or two other places. -It became very seriously contested whether any native army whatever -would be needed in the province. The Bengalees are peaceful, and have -few ambitious chieftains among them; hence, it was argued, a few -thousand British troops, and a few hundred seamen of the Naval Brigade, -would suffice to protect the province. There were ‘divisional -battalions’ of native troops still at certain stations, as a sort of -military police; but the regular Bengal native army had been -extinguished, or had extinguished itself. So useful had a few hundred -seamen become, that their employment led to many such suggestions as the -following—‘Wherever these seamen are, there is a feeling of absolute -security at once from external attack and internal treachery. Bengal has -now been nearly twelve months without a native army, and within that -twelve months they have never once been missed. Why not retain this -security? Why not strike off Bengal from the provinces to be occupied by -a native force, and render our improvised force a permanent institution? -A company of European sailors would be a nucleus for the armed police in -each division. Why not keep them up as such, give them permanent -allowances, recruit them primarily from the same useful class? There can -be no want of men when once such a permanent opening is known. They -would not only protect the great cities, and double the physical force -on which all authority must ultimately rest, but act as a permanent -check on the divisional battalions. We want such a check. These men may -be as faithful as the sepoys have been false, as attached to Europeans -as the sepoys have proved themselves hostile; but there can never be any -proof of the fact. Let us not again trust armed natives without the -precautions we take in our ships against our own sailors—a check by a -different body.’ All such considerations necessarily resolved themselves -into a much larger inquiry, to be conducted deliberately and -cautiously—how ought the army of India to be re-constituted? - -Semi-barbarous tribes in many instances took advantage of the disturbed -state of British influence in India, to make inroads into districts not -properly belonging to them; and it sometimes happened that the -correction of these evildoers was a very difficult matter. Such an -instance occurred in the month now under notice. On the borders of -Assam, at the extreme northeast corner of India, were a wild mountain -tribe called Abors, who had for some time been engaged in a system of -marauding on the Assam side of the frontier. Captain Bivar, at -Debrooghur, set forth to punish them, taking with him a mixed force of -sailors and Goorkhas. The Abors retreated to their fastnesses, and Bivar -attempted to follow them; but this was an unsuccessful manœuvre. The -Abors brought down many of his men by poisoned arrows, and maimed others -by rolling down stones upon them from the rocks; a portion of their -numbers, meanwhile, making a circuit, fell upon the baggage-boats, and -captured the whole of the baggage. Captain Bivar and his companions -suffered many privations before they safely got back to Debrooghur. -These, however, were minor difficulties, involving no very serious -consequences. Throughout the northeast region of India there were few -‘Pandies,’ few sepoys of Hindustani race; and thus the materials for -rebellion were deprived of one very mischievous ingredient. - -The Calcutta authorities found it necessary to make stringent rules -concerning ladies and children; and hence some of the magistrates and -collectors, the representatives of the Company in a civil capacity in -the country districts, were occasionally placed in troublesome -circumstances by family considerations during times of tumult. From the -first, the Calcutta government had endeavoured, by every available -means, to prevent women and children from going to the scenes of danger: -knowing how seriously the movements of the officers, military and civil, -would be interfered with by the presence of helpless relatives during -scenes of fighting and tumult. One of the magistrates, in Western -Bengal, was brought into difficulty by disobedience to this order. His -wife entreated that she might come to him at his station. She did so. -Shortly afterwards a rumour spread that a large force of the enemy was -approaching. The lady grew frightened, and the husband anxious. He took -her to another place, and was thereby absent from his post at a critical -time. The government suspended him from office for disobeying orders in -having his wife at the station, and for quitting his district without -leave at a time when his presence was imperatively needed. - -One other matter may be mentioned here, in connection with the local -government, before proceeding to the affairs of Oude and the northwest. -The Calcutta authorities shared with the Court of Directors, the English -government, and the House of Commons, the power of rewarding or -honouring their troops for good services; the modes adopted were many; -but amid the controversies which occasionally arose concerning military -honours, medals, promotions, and encomiums, it was made very manifest -during the wars of the mutiny that the Victoria Cross, the recognition -of individual valour, was one of the most highly valued by the soldiery, -both officers and privates. The paltriness of the bits of metal and -ribbon, or the tastelessness of the design, might be abundantly -criticised; but when it became publicly known that the Cross would be -given _only_ to those who had shewn themselves to be brave among the -brave, the value of the symbol was great, such as a soldier or sailor -could alone appreciate. From time to time notices appeared in the -_London Gazette_, emanating from the War-office, giving the utmost -publicity to the instances in which the Victoria Cross was bestowed. The -name of the officer or soldier, the regiment or corps to which he -belonged, the commanding officer who had made the recommendation, the -dispatch in which the deed of bravery was recorded, the date and place -of that deed, the nature of the deed itself—all were briefly set forth; -and there can be little doubt that the recipients of the Cross would -cherish that memorial, and the _Gazette_ notice, to the end of their -lives. Incidental notices of this honorary testimonial have been -frequently made in former chapters; and it is mentioned again here -because of its importance in including officers and privates in the same -category. Thus, on the 27th of April, to give one instance, the _London -Gazette_ announced the bestowal of the Victoria Cross on -Lieutenant-colonel Henry Tombs, of the Bengal artillery; Lieutenant -James Hills, of the same corps; Lieutenant William Alexander Kerr, of -the 24th Bombay native infantry; Sergeant John Smith, of the Bengal -Sappers and Miners; Bugler Robert Hawthorne, of the 52d foot; -Lance-corporal Henry Smith, of the same regiment; Sergeant Bernard -Diamond, of the Bengal horse-artillery; and Gunner Richard Fitzgerald, -of the same corps. Sergeant Smith and Bugler Hawthorne, it will be -remembered, assisted poor Home, Salkeld, and Burgess in blowing up the -Cashmere Gate at Delhi; unlike their heroic but less fortunate -companions, they lived to receive the Victoria Cross.[165] - -Let us now pass to the stormy northwest regions. Beginning with Lucknow -as a centre, it will be convenient to treat of Sir Colin’s arrangements -at that place, and then to notice in succession the operations of his -brigadiers in their movements radially from that centre, so far as they -were connected with the month of April. - -That portion of the army which remained in Lucknow found the month of -April to open with a degree of heat very distressing to bear. A -temperature of 100° F., under the shade of a tent, was not at all -unusual. When the wind was calm, the pressure of temperature was not -much felt; but the blowing of a hot wind was truly terrible—not only -from the heat itself, but from the clouds of dust laden with particles -of matter of the most offensive kind. Every organ of sense, every nerve, -every pore, was distressed. And it was at such a time that a commander -was called upon to plan, and officers and soldiers to execute, military -operations with as much care and exactitude as if under a cool and -temperate sky. There were putrefying bodies yet unburied in the -vicinity, pools of recently dried blood in the streets and gardens, and -abominations of every kind in this city of palaces: how these affected -the air, in a temperature higher than is ever known in England, may be -imperfectly, and only imperfectly, conceived.[166] - -The last chapter told in what way the treatment of the Oude rebels -engaged the attention of the imperial legislature, and what were the -violent discussions to which that subject gave rise. In this place it -will only be necessary to state that, long before Viscount Canning -came to hear the views of the two Houses of Parliament, he found it -necessary to determine, if not the policy itself, at least the names -of those who would have the onerous task of re-establishing civil -government in the distracted province. Mr Montgomery, who, as judicial -commissioner of the Punjaub, had rendered admirable service to Sir -John Lawrence, was selected by the governor-general to fill the office -of chief-commissioner of Oude—aided by a staff of judicial and -financial commissioners, civil and military secretaries, -deputy-commissioners, commissioners of divisions, deputy-commissioners -of districts, and other officers. It was believed that he combined the -valuable qualities of sagacity, experience, firmness, and -conciliation. Oude was to be parcelled out into four divisions, and -each division into three districts. The intention was, that as soon as -any part of the province was brought into some degree of order by Sir -Colin and his brigadiers, Montgomery should take it in hand, and bring -it to order in relation to judicial and revenue affairs. Large powers -were given to him, in relation to ‘proclamations’ and everything else; -and it remained for time to shew the result. - -While on this subject, it may be well to advert to the conduct and -position of one particular native of Oude. During many months the line -of policy pursued by the influential Oudian landowner, Rajah Maun -Singh, was a subject of much anxiety among the British authorities. -His power in Oude was very considerable, and it was fondly hoped or -wished that he might prove faithful in mutinous times. This hope was -founded on two kinds of evidence, positive and negative—proofs that he -had often befriended the poor European fugitives in the hour of -greatest need, and that on many occasions he had _not_ injured the -British when he might easily have done so. Nevertheless it was -impossible to get rid of the impression that he was ‘playing fast and -loose;’ reserving himself for whichever party should gain the -ascendency in the Indian struggle. So much importance was attached in -England to this rajah’s conduct, that the House of Commons ordered the -production of any documents that might throw light upon it. The papers -produced ranged over a period of six months. So early as June 1857, -when the mutiny was only six or seven weeks old, Mr Tucker, -commissioner of Benares, wrote to Maun Singh concerning the relations -between him and the British government—acknowledging the steadiness of -the rajah in maintaining the district of Fyzabad in a peaceful -condition, so far as he could, and assuring him that it would be good -policy for him to continue in the same path. He told him that although -England was engaged in a war with China, and had only just concluded -one with Persia, and that moreover her Hindustani troops had proved -faithless, she would undoubtedly triumph over all opposition from -within and without, and would equally remember those who had been true -and those who had been false to her—to reward the one and punish the -other. It was a letter of thanks for the past, and of warning for the -future. During the same month, Maun Singh was in correspondence with -Mr Paterson, magistrate of Goruckpore, giving and receiving friendly -assurances, and impressing the magistrate with a belief in his sincere -desire to remain faithful to the British government during a time of -trouble. In the middle of July he was in correspondence with Mr -Wingfield, British political agent with the Goorkha force at that time -in the Goruckpore district. Maun Singh, it may here be remarked, had -suffered severely in his estate, by the land-settlement made when the -Company took possession of Oude; he had suffered, whether rightly or -wrongly; and the Calcutta authorities were naturally anxious to know -whether his losses had converted him into a rebel. He wrote to Mr -Wingfield, promising to adhere faithfully to a course of friendliness -towards the English. Mr Wingfield recommended the government to trust -Maun Singh, to supply him with a certain amount of funds, and to -believe that he was able and willing to keep the districts of Fyzabad -and Sultanpore tolerably free from anarchy. He added: ‘All I see and -hear of Maun Singh makes me think him stanch up to this moment. He has -exerted himself in every way to protect the women and children that -were left at Fyzabad, and to place them in safety. He sent four -sergeants’ wives and seven children to this place; but we cannot -expect him to sacrifice himself for us. He has doubtless already made -himself obnoxious to the rebels by his open adhesion to our cause; and -if fortune goes against us at Lucknow, instead of being able to render -us any assistance, he will himself have to take shelter here.’ The -Calcutta government authorised Mr Wingfield to thank Maun Singh for -his actions and his promises, and to assist him with money to a -certain prescribed amount. In August a letter was sent to the rajah -himself by the government, thanking him for what he had done, and -urging him to a continuance in the same course. Many months -afterwards, the Calcutta authorities had again to discuss this -subject. During the autumn, Maun Singh’s former promises had been a -good deal belied. He had been in and near Lucknow during the period -when Havelock, Outram, and Campbell were engaged in warfare at that -city; and it was more than suspected that he had aided the insurgents. -True, he was a man who, having something of the feelings of a -gentleman, rather succoured than persecuted hapless fugitives who were -powerless for aught save suffering; but his proceedings in other ways -were not satisfactory. When Outram commanded in the Residency, shut up -with Havelock and Inglis, he exchanged many communications with the -rajah, but to no satisfactory end. During the winter, rumours reached -Maun Singh that the governor-general, regarding him as a traitor in -spite of his many promises, intended to deprive him of his estates, as -a punishment. He wrote a reproachful letter to Mr Brereton, the -magistrate at Goruckpore—complaining that this was a poor reward for -his services; that he went with his family to Lucknow because he was -threatened by insurgents at Fyzabad; but that throughout the various -sieges at Lucknow he never joined the rebels in attacking the British. -Among various letters from the officials, were two which shewed that -Mr Wingfield had greatly modified his former favourable opinion of the -Fyzabad rajah. On the 2d of February he wrote: ‘Maun Singh is not the -man to be selected as an object of clemency. He has not the excuse of -having been hurried into insurrection by the force of example, the -impetuosity of his feelings, or even regard for his personal safety. -He withstood all these trials; for it was on mature reflection, and -after weighing all the chances on either side, that he chose that of -rebellion. As long as he thought the success of the insurrection was -but transient, and that our government would speedily recover its -position, he professed loyalty, and even supported us; but when he -heard that the Goorkhas were not to march through Fyzabad, and that -Havelock had been obliged to abandon his design of relieving the -Residency and to retire on Cawnpore, he thought our case hopeless, and -joined what appeared the triumphant side. He has now found out his -mistake, and wishes to turn again.’ Again, on the 12th of February Mr -Wingfield wrote: ‘On Maun Singh’s conduct I look with some distrust, -which his letter does not tend to remove. Our Fyzabad news-writer, -whose information has invariably proved correct, reports that the -rajah has had an interview with some of the sepoy officers, and agreed -to their proposal to invade this (Goruckpore) district, and moved -three of his guns down to the Ghat. It would be quite consistent with -his known character for duplicity to infer that, while aiding the -insurgents, he is trying to keep well with us.’ The double-dealer had, -indeed, his hands full of employment; for he had been sounding Sir -James Outram at the Alum Bagh, before he applied to the Goruckpore -authorities, at the very time that he had on hand some sort of -negotiation with the rebels. He succeeded so far as this—that no party -liked absolutely to throw him off. Mr Wingfield, in writing to the -government, candidly admitted that, inscrutable and unreliable as Maun -Singh was, matters would have gone worse for the British in Oude if he -had not been there. ‘It must be admitted that his neutrality up to the -present time has paralysed the plans of the insurgents, and has made -him the object of their indignation. Had he declared himself openly -against us, the district of Goruckpore would long ago have been -invaded.’ On the 16th of February the governor-general sent orders -from Allahabad, as to the mode in which any overtures from Maun Singh -should be received. He directed that the rajah should be thanked for -the humanity he had shewn towards individuals; reminded that strong -suspicions were entertained of his complicity with the rebels; -threatened with a full and searching inquiry into his past conduct; -and recommended to submit himself—without any other conditions than a -promise of his life and honour—to the British authorities. But Maun -Singh did not follow this advice—he remained throughout the spring -months balancing and trimming between loyalty and disloyalty. - -Reverting to the state of affairs at Lucknow, it may here be observed -that the commander-in-chief remained in that city until the middle of -April. There was nothing Napoleonic, nothing rapid, in his movements -after the conquest; but those who knew him best knew that he was -organising plans of operation for all his brigadiers, and on all sides -of the Oudian capital. So thoroughly was he master of his own secrets, -and of his correspondence with the governor-general, that very little -concerning his plans were known until the very day of operation. Even -the higher officers had little but conjecture to rest upon; while the -mere retailers of gossip were sorely puzzled for materials. It may be -that the excessive publicity of the details of the Crimean war had -rendered military authorities uneasy, and tended to render them chary of -giving information of their plans in any subsequent wars. During the -second week in the month, Sir Colin Campbell took a rapid gallop to -Allahabad—a long distance and a somewhat perilous ride in such a -disturbed state of the country; but he was not a man to care for -distance or for danger, as personally affecting himself. He had many -weighty questions to settle with Viscount Canning; and as the -governor-general could not or would not go to the commander, the -commander went to the governor-general. The result of the interview was -the departure of Sir Colin Campbell himself, as well as his generals, -for active service in districts distant from Lucknow. - -It will be desirable to trace the movements of the generals and -brigadiers singly before noticing those of the commander-in-chief and -his head-quarters. - -And first, for Sir James Outram. This eminent man, the second in -influence among the military commanders in India, quitted Lucknow nearly -at the same time as many other officers; but on a different mission. -When that city was conquered, Outram at once became supreme authority -there, as chief-commissioner of Oude. He collected round him a civil -staff, and proceeded to enrol a police, establish police-stations, and -restore order in the city. From these duties, however, he was summoned -away. His services were needed at Calcutta. The supreme council in that -city generally contained one military officer among its members, to -advise on matters pertaining to war. General Low, who had for some time -filled that position, retired to England; and Outram was chosen to -supply his place. Personally, it was well that Sir James should quit the -camp for a while, after half a year’s incessant military employment in -Oude; and professionally, it was desirable that the council at Calcutta -should have the benefit of his assistance, in any plans for the -reorganisation of the Indian army—a most important matter, towards which -the attention of the authorities was necessarily much directed. Sir -James did not forget his old companions-in-arms. As soon as he reached -Calcutta, he gave orders that copies of one of the newspapers should be -regularly sent to the hospitals of six of the British regiments at -Cawnpore, Meerut, Lucknow, and Benares; he knew how irksome are the -hours in a sick-room, and how joyfully a few books or journals are -hailed in such a place. - -The lines of operation marked out for the other generals naturally bore -relation to the real or supposed position of the insurgent forces. The -rumours which reached head-quarters concerning the concentration of -rebel leaders in Rohilcund, even making allowance for exaggerations, -told of a somewhat formidable organisation. Among the best-known names -included in the list were Khan Bahadoor Khan, Nena Sahib, Fuzul Huq, -Waladid Khan, and the Nawab of Furruckabad. Khan Bahadoor Khan was chief -ruler; and he appears to have organised something like a regular -government, with dewans, moonshees, naibs, darogahs, kotwals, nazims, -and military commanders. Nena Sahib was there as a sort of distinguished -refugee; as were also two shahzadas or princes of the royal family of -Delhi. Nena Sahib is supposed to have arrived at Bareilly in Rohilcund, -after Sir Colin’s great victory at Lucknow, with four hundred troopers, -and to have taken up his abode in the fine large native school-room -built by the British in that city. One among many bazaar reports was, -that Khan Bahadoor Khan began to entertain misgivings concerning the -ultimate success of his rebel policy; but that Nena Sahib, acting on his -fears, insisted that a drawing back would be ruinous. Another rumour, -having much probability to recommend it, was to the effect that Nena -Sahib looked to Central India, the region of Gwalior, Kotah, and Indore, -as the field in which his own personal success might ultimately be best -insured, on account of his great influence among the Mahrattas of that -region; and it was supposed that, failing of success in Oude and -Rohilcund, he would endeavour to cross the Ganges and the Jumna into -Bundelcund and Central India. Hence one of the points of policy on the -side of the commander-in-chief, was to guard those great rivers at as -many ghats or passing-places as possible—in the hope that, confined to -Oude and Rohilcund, the rebels might be crushed; and in the fear that, -scattered over Central India, they might again become powerful. Whether -his forces were sufficiently numerous for this duty, was one of the many -questions that pressed upon Sir Colin Campbell. The trite saying of an -enemy ‘not knowing when they were beaten,’ was many times revived by the -British officers in those days; the mutineers seldom gained a victory; -but on the other hand, they were not much disheartened by defeat; they -retreated, only to collect and fight again; and thus the British troops -seldom felt that a victory would give an unquestionably permanent -advantage. - -Of the leaders who had taken part in the conquest of Lucknow, Jung -Bahadoor, the Nepaulese chieftain—as has been shown in a former -chapter—went to Allahabad with a body-guard, to hold an interview with -the governor-general. The rest of the Goorkha contingent retraced their -steps by slow degrees towards their Nepaulese home. So late as the 22d -of April, the main body of Goorkhas were no further from Lucknow than -Nawabgunge, a town on the banks of the Gogra, northeast of the capital -of Oude. On that day, they marched to Sutturgunje, and on the 23d to -Durriabad. This town had a fort which might have made a stout -resistance, but there were no rebel troops at hand to put the matter to -proof. After remaining at Durriabad two days, the Goorkhas marched on -the 25th to Shugahgunje, on the 26th to Mobarrukgunje, and on the 27th -to Durabgunje—all of them places on or near the banks of the Gogra, on -the route towards Fyzabad. Resting two days at Durabgunje, they marched -on the 29th to Ayodha or Oude, the ancient Hindoo capital, afterwards -supplanted by the Mohammedan Fyzabad, just at hand—which Fyzabad was in -its turn supplanted by Lucknow. On the last day of the month, the -Goorkhas were on one side of the river Gogra at Fyzabad, and a body of -rebels on the other—each intently watching the other, but without -fighting. Maun Singh was at that time at Fyzabad, friendly to the -British. Little satisfaction appears to have been derived by any party -from this co-operation of the Goorkhas with the British. In the -preceding July and August, when Havelock was straining every nerve to -bring a small force up to Lucknow, and when Inglis was contending -against stupendous difficulties in that city—in those months, there was -an army of three or four thousand Goorkhas near the eastern frontier of -Oude, badly commanded and insufficiently employed. Why they were not -pushed on to Lucknow, as an auxiliary force, was known only to the -authorities; but, in its effect, this inactivity of the Goorkhas called -forth much adverse criticism. Again, during the six months from the -beginning of September to the beginning of March, the assistance from -Nepaul was not of such a character as had been hoped by those who knew -that the Goorkhas enlisted in the Sirmoor and Kumaon battalions were -really brave and efficient troops, and who expected that Jung Bahadoor’s -Goorkhas would prove to be men of the same stamp. Why the aid rendered -was so small, was a politico-military question, on which very little -information was afforded. When, at last, a really large Nepaulese army -entered Oude, its movements were so slow that Sir Colin began the siege -of Lucknow without its aid; and when the siege was over, the army began -to march back again, without participating further in the war. This was -a very impotent result; and the Nepaulese episode was by no means a -brilliant one in the history of the wars of the mutiny. So far as -concerns the march during the month of April, from Lucknow towards the -Nepaul frontier, it may be remarked that the Goorkhas dreaded the -approaching hot weather, that their number of sick was very large, and -that the carts for their baggage were so enormous in number as greatly -to impede their movements. - -[Illustration: - - Goorkha Havildar or Sergeant. -] - -Another of the generals concerned in the siege of Lucknow, Sir Edward -Lugard, was intrusted by the commander-in-chief with service in a region -infested by Koer Singh—the chieftain whose name had been so closely -associated with the Dinapoor mutiny and the ‘disaster at Arrah,’ in the -preceding summer. This rebel had worked round nearly in a circle—not -metaphorically, but topographically. He had marched at the head of -insurgents south and southwest from Arrah, then west into Bundelcund, -then north into the Doab and Oude; and now it was his fortune to be -driven east and southeast back to his old quarters in the neighbourhood -of Arrah. - -Before Lugard could cross the frontier into the provinces eastward of -Oude, it was found necessary to bring smaller forces to bear upon bodies -of rebels infesting those provinces, and threatening to command the -region between the rivers Goomtee and Gogra. The city of Azimghur was in -this way greatly indebted to the gallant exertions of Lord Mark Kerr. -This officer, immediately on the arrival of news that Azimghur was beset -by the enemy, started off from Benares on the 2d of April, with 450 men -of H.M. 13th regiment and Queen’s Bays, and two 6-pounder guns. Though -impeded by a train of three hundred bullock-carts laden with ammunition, -Kerr pushed forward with such rapidity that he arrived in the -neighbourhood of Azimghur on the third day after quitting Benares. Here -he was opposed by three or four thousand rebels, comprising a large -proportion of sepoys of the too celebrated Dinapoor brigade. The rebels -were commanded with some skill by a subadar of one of the mutinied -regiments. They occupied a position of considerable strength, on the -right and left sides of the main road; their right resting on a strong -village, and their left protected by a ditch and embankment. Lord Mark -succeeded in dislodging those of the enemy who were immediately in his -front; but while thus engaged, his convoy in the rear was attacked by -eight hundred rebels, who were with great difficulty beaten off, at the -expense of the life of Captain Jones, who was guarding the convoy. -Overcoming all resistance, Lord Mark succeeded in reaching a point near -Azimghur, and remained there until the arrival of Lugard’s column from -Lucknow. This portion of the rebels did not return to the city after the -action, but retired in good order, taking their guns and baggage with -them. - -Azimghur, however, needed the assistance of a larger force than Kerr -could bring against it; for Koer Singh, with a formidable band of -rebels, had to be contended against, in a region containing many large -towns. Sir Edward Lugard, placed by Sir Colin Campbell in command of a -column destined for service in this region, started from Lucknow during -the last week in March; but the destruction of a bridge over the Goomtee -at Sultanpore greatly delayed his progress, and compelled him to take a -circuitous route by Jounpoor, which city he did not reach till the 9th -of April. His column was a strong one; comprising three regiments of -infantry, three of Sikh horse, a military train, three batteries of -horse-artillery, and seven hundred carts full of warlike stores. On the -evening of the 10th, he marched out from Jounpoor, to encounter Gholab -Hossein, one of the rebel chuckladars or leaders. The enemy did not stay -to fight, but retreated precipitately. They required close watching, -however; for while Sir Edward was on the march from Jounpoor to -Azimghur, a large rebel force got into his rear, and attempted to -re-enter Jounpoor. This caused him to modify his plan, and to disperse -the rebels before proceeding to Azimghur. In this he succeeded, but lost -the services of Lieutenant Charles Havelock, nephew of the distinguished -general. The gallant young officer, at the commencement of the mutiny, -had been adjutant of the 12th Bengal native irregular cavalry, and was -thrown out of employment by the revolt of that regiment. He then went as -a volunteer with his uncle, and was for nine months more or less engaged -in the operations in and around Lucknow. When Lugard left the army of -Oude, and took command of the column whose operations are here being -recorded, young Havelock accompanied him, holding a command in a Goorkha -battalion. It was while Lugard was dispersing the rebels near Jounpoor, -that the lieutenant was killed by a shot from a hut in an obscure -village. - -Sir Edward, resuming his march towards Azimghur, reached that city at -length on the 15th, somewhat vexed at the numerous delays that had -occurred on his journey. On his arrival at the bridge of boats which -crossed the small river Tons at that city, he encountered a portion of -Koer Singh’s main army. They fought well, and with some determination; -and it was not without a struggle that he defeated and dispersed them. -Mr Venables, the civilian who had gained so high a reputation for -courage during the earlier mutinous proceedings in the district, was -wounded on this occasion. The East India Company had reason to be proud -of its civilians, for the most part, during the troubles; Mr Venables -was only one among many who nobly distinguished themselves. After this -battle at the bridge, it soon became evident, as in many other -instances, that the rebels had been too quick for their pursuers. Koer -Singh and the main body of his force were quitting Azimghur on the one -side just when Lugard entered it on the other; the fighting was merely -with the rear guard, and all the rest of the insurgents marched off -safely. As it was by no means desirable that they should escape to work -mischief elsewhere, Sir Edward, on the 16th, sent off Brigadier Douglas -in pursuit of them, with the 37th and 84th regiments, some cavalry and -artillery. Lugard himself proposed to encamp for a while at Azimghur. - -We have now for a time to leave Sir Edward Lugard, and to notice the -unsatisfactory result of the operations which he initiated. The town of -Arrah was destined to be the scene of another discomfiture of British -troops, as mortifying if not as disastrous as that which occurred early -in the mutiny, and inflicted by the same hand—Koer Singh. When this -indefatigable rebel was driven out of Azimghur, he separated from some -of the other chieftains, at a point which he believed would enable him -to cross the Ganges into the district of Shahabad, where Arrah would be -near at hand. He marched with two thousand sepoys and a host of rabble. -Brigadier Douglas pursued him with great rapidity, marching a hundred -miles in five days of great heat; he came up with the rebels at Bansdeh, -defeated them, and drove them to Beyriah, Koer Singh himself being -wounded. On the 21st, a portion of Douglas’s force again came up with -the enemy while in the act of crossing the Ganges at Seoporeghat in the -Ghazeepore district. It appeared that Koer Singh had cleverly outwitted -Colonel Cumberlege, who, with two regiments of Madras cavalry, was -endeavouring to aid Douglas in crushing him at a particular spot. Koer -Singh did not wait to be crushed, but swiftly and silently marched to -the Ganges at a spot not guarded by Cumberlege. When Douglas’s troops -came up, they killed a few of the rebels, and captured two guns, six -elephants, and much ammunition and treasure—but the interception had not -been prompt enough; for Koer Singh and the greater part of his force had -safely crossed to the right bank of the river. The remainder of -Douglas’s column came up on the evening of this day, quite worn out with -their long march, and needing some days’ rest. Koer Singh, although -beaten first by Lugard and then by Douglas, had baffled them both in -reference to a successful flight; and now it was his fortune (though -wounded) to baffle a third British officer. The rebels reached Koer -Singh’s hereditary domain of Jugdispore. The town of Arrah was at that -time occupied by 150 men of H.M. 35th foot, 150 of Rattray’s Sikhs, and -50 seamen of the Naval Brigade—the whole under Captain Le Grand. This -officer, hearing of the approach of the rebels, and knowing that small -bodies had often defeated large armies during the course of the war, -sallied forth to prevent the march of Koer Singh to Jugdispore, or else -to disturb him at that place. He found them posted in a jungle. They -were nearly two thousand in number, but dispirited, and without guns. Le -Grand’s small force, with the two 12-pounder howitzers, encountered the -enemy about two miles from Jugdispore, at daylight on the 23d. After an -ineffectual firing of the howitzers, a bugle-call threw everything into -confusion. Whether Le Grand, fearing to be surrounded, sounded a -retreat, or whether some other signal was misinterpreted, it appears -certain that his force fell into inextricable confusion; they abandoned -guns and elephants, and fled towards Arrah, followed by numbers of the -enemy, who shot and cut down many of them. The 35th suffered terribly; -two-thirds of their number were either killed or wounded, including -Captain Le Grand himself, Lieutenant Massey, and Dr Clarke. This -mortifying calamity, in which the unfortunate Le Grand is said to have -disobeyed instructions given by the superior officer of the district, -gave rise to much bitter controversy. The 35th was one of those -regiments of which the colonel was an old man, shattered in health, and -not well fitted to head his troops in active service. It was also, in -the heat of controversy, brought as a charge against him that he was a -martinet in matters of discipline, and kept his soldiers in red cloth -and pipe-clayed belts under the tremendous heat of an Indian sun. The -charges, in this as in many similar cases, may have been overwrought; -but all felt that the 35th had not behaved in such a way as English -troops are wont to behave when well commanded—and hence the inference -that they were _not_ well commanded. - -A new series of operations became necessary as a consequence of this -disaster near Jugdispore. The news hastened the movements of Brigadier -Douglas, who on the 25th crossed the Ganges at Seenaghat, and pushed on -the 84th foot and two guns towards Jugdispore. It was, however, not till -the month of May that that jungle-haunt of rebels was effectually -cleared out. Meanwhile a little had been doing at another spot in the -same region. When, after the action at the bridge of Azimghur, Koer -Singh’s force divided into three, one of these divisions, with several -horse-artillery guns, marched towards Ghazeepore. Brigadier Gordon, at -Benares, at once ordered two companies of H.M. 54th to proceed to -Ghazeepore by hasty marches, half the number being carried on elephants -or in ekahs. It was hoped that these troops, coming in aid of small -numbers of royal troops, European cavalry, Madras cavalry, and two -6-pounder guns, already at Ghazeepore, would suffice to protect that -important city from the rebels; and this hope was realised. Considerably -to the northwest, between Goruckpore and the Oude frontier, Colonel -Rowcroft maintained a small force, with which from time to time he -repelled attacks made by the enemy. On the 17th of April, when at -Amorah, his camp was attacked by three thousand rebels; the attack was -not effectually resisted without eight hours’ hard fighting. The sepoys, -almost for the first time in the war, endeavoured to resist a cavalry -charge in British fashion, by kneeling in a line with upturned bayonets; -but a corps of Bengal yeomanry cavalry made the charge with such -impetuosity that the enemy were overthrown and a victory gained. - -Such, in brief, was the general character of the operations eastward of -Oude. We have next to touch upon those of Sir Hope Grant, in Oude -itself. - -This gallant general, as colonel of a cavalry regiment, had commenced -his share in the war as a subordinate to one or more brigadiers; but he -had since proved himself well worthy of the command of a column under -his own responsibility. When Sir Colin Campbell parcelled out among his -chief officers various duties consequent on the flight of the insurgents -from Lucknow, a column or division was made up, to be commanded by Sir -Hope Grant, to look after such of the rebels as had taken a northerly -direction. His column consisted of H.M. 38th foot, one battalion of the -Rifle Brigade, a regiment of Sikhs, H.M. 9th Lancers (Hope Grant’s own -regiment), a small body of reliable native cavalry, two troops of -horse-artillery, and a small siege and mortar train. It was known or -believed that the Moulvie of Fyzabad had collected a force near Baree, -about thirty miles north of Lucknow; and that the Begum of Oude, with -several cart-loads of treasure, had fled for concealment to Bitowlie, -the domain of a rebel named Gorhuccus Singh. To what extent Sir Hope -Grant would be able to capture, intercept, or defeat the rebels in the -service of these leaders, was a problem yet to be solved. He set out -from Lucknow on the 11th of April, with Brigadier Horsford as his second -in command. In the first three days the troops marched to Baree, on the -Khyrabad road; and then was experienced one of the perplexities of the -campaign. Every brigadier or divisional general was painfully impressed -with the danger of moving in a country where the mass of the population -was unfriendly. In many provinces the towns-people and villagers were -for the most part disposed, if not to aid the British, at least to hold -aloof; but the fact could not be concealed that the Oudians generally -were in a rebellious state of feeling, and would gladly have aided to -cut off the resources of Sir Colin’s lieutenants. It was merely one -among many examples, when Sir Hope Grant set out towards the Gogra, in -hopes to overtake the Begum and her fleeing forces; his column or -field-force was accompanied by no less than 6000 hackeries or vehicles -of various kinds, forming a line of nearly twenty miles; and it was -essentially necessary, while assuming the offensive in front, that the -flanks and rear of this immense train should be protected—a difficult -duty in a hostile country. Scarcely had Grant approached near Baree, -when the cavalry of the Moulvie’s rebel force got into his rear, and -attempted to cut off the enormous baggage-train. Sir Hope was too good a -general to be taken by surprise; but his rear-guard found enough to do -to repel the attack made upon them, and to protect the enormous -baggage-train. This done, and some horse-artillery guns captured, Sir -Hope Grant resumed his march. Turning eastward from Baree, he marched -towards the Gogra, in the hope of intercepting the flight of the Begum -of Oude, her paramour Mummoo Khan, and a large force of rebels. On the -15th he reached Mohamedabad, on this route; and on the 17th he halted at -Ramnuggur for a few days, while a strong reconnoitring party set forth -to ascertain if possible the exact position and strength of the rebels. -The news obtained was very indefinite, and amounted to little more than -this—that the Begum and Mummoo Khan were retreating northward with one -large force, and the Moulvie westward with another; but that it would -not be very easy to catch either, as the sepoys were celebrated for -celerity of movement during a retreat. Sir Hope Grant dispersed various -bodies of rebels, and disturbed the plans of the Begum and the Moulvie; -but he returned to Lucknow towards the close of the month without having -caught either of those wily personages, and with many of his troops laid -prostrate by the heat of the sun. - -[Illustration: - - GHAZEEPORE. -] - -We turn now towards the west or northwest, on the Rohilcund side of -Oude. It has already been mentioned, that after the fall of Lucknow, -many of the rebel leaders fled to Rohilcund, with the hope of making a -bold stand at Bareilly, Shahjehanpoor, Moradabad, and other towns in -that province. Khan Bahadoor Khan, the self-appointed chief of Bareilly, -was nominally the head of the whole confederacy in this region; but it -depended on the chapter of accidents how long this leadership would -continue. At any rate, Sir Colin Campbell saw that he could not allow -this nest of rebels to remain untouched; Bareilly must be conquered, as -Delhi and Lucknow had been. The veteran commander probably mourned in -secret the necessity for sending his gallant troops on a long march, -into a new field of action, with a sun blazing on them like a ball of -fire; but seeing the necessity, he commanded, and they obeyed. His plan -of strategy comprised a twofold line of action—an advance of one column -northwestward from Lucknow; and an advance of another southeastward from -Roorkee; the two columns to assist in clearing the border districts of -Rohilcund, and then to meet at Bareilly, the chief city of the province. -We will notice first the operations of the force on the northeast -border. - -Brigadier Jones, with the Roorkee field-force, commenced operations in -the eastern part of Rohilcund, about the middle of April. His force -consisted of H.M. 60th Rifles, the 1st Sikh infantry, Coke’s Rifles, the -17th Punjaub infantry, the Moultan Horse, with detachments of artillery -and engineers. The force numbered three thousand good troops in all, and -was strengthened by eight heavy and six light guns. Major (now -Brigadier) Coke, whose Punjaub riflemen had gained for themselves so -high a reputation, commanded the infantry portion of Jones’s column. The -column marched from Roorkee on the 15th, and made arrangements for -crossing to the left bank of the Ganges as soon as possible. A large -number of the enemy having intrenched themselves at Nagul, about sixteen -miles below Hurdwar on the left bank, Jones made his dispositions -accordingly. He determined to send his heavy guns and baggage to the -ghat opposite Nagul; while his main body should cross at Hurdwar, march -down the river on the other side, and take the intrenchment in flank. -This plan was completely carried out by the evening of the 17th—Nagul -being taken, the enemy driven away with great loss, and the whole column -safely encamped on that side of the Ganges which would afford easier -access to the hot-bed of the rebels at Bareilly. Four days afterwards, -Brigadier Jones encountered the Daranuggur insurgent force near Nageena -or Nuggeena, on the banks of a canal. The insurgents maintained a fire -for a time from nine guns; but Jones speedily attacked them with his -cavalry, outflanked them, charged, captured the guns and six elephants, -and put the enemy speedily to flight, after very considerable loss. -Jones’s killed and wounded were few in number; but he had to regret the -loss of Lieutenant Gostling, who was shot through the heart while -heading some of the troops. The brigadier resumed his march. Luckily for -British interests, Mooradabad was not so deeply steeped in rebellion as -Bareilly; and the Rajah of Rampore, not far distant, was faithful so far -as his small power would extend. The benefit of this state of affairs -was felt at the time now under notice. Feroze Shah, one of the Shahzadas -or princes of Delhi in league with the Bareilly mutineers, marched on -the 21st of April towards Mooradabad, to demand money and supplies. He -was refused; and much fighting and pillage resulted as consequences. -Brigadier Jones’s column came up opportunely; he entered Mooradabad on -the 26th, checked the plundering, drove out the rebels, captured many -insurgent chieftains, and re-established the confidence of the -towns-people. At the end of the month, Jones was still in Mooradabad or -its neighbourhood, ready for co-operation in May with another column -which we must now notice. - -While Jones had been thus occupied, Bareilly and the rebels were -threatened on the other side by the Rohilcund field-force. During the -first two or three weeks after the conquest of Lucknow, Sir Colin -Campbell was engaged in various plans which did not permit of the -immediate dispatch of troops to Rohilcund; but on the 7th of April -several regiments began to assemble at the Moosa Bagh, to form a small -special army for service in that province. Why they were not despatched -earlier, was one of the many problems which the commander-in-chief kept -to himself. On the 9th this minor army, the Rohilcund field-force, set -out, with General Walpole as its commander, and Brigadier Adrian Hope at -the head of the infantry. The distance from Lucknow to Bareilly, about -fifteen marches, was through a region so ill provided with roads that -few or no night-marches could be made; it was necessary to have the aid -of daylight to avoid plunging into unforeseen difficulties and dangers. -As a consequence, the troops would be exposed to the heat of an Indian -sun during their journey, and had to look forward to many trials on that -account. Not the least among the numerous perplexities that arose out of -the defective state of the roads, was the difficulty of dragging the -guns which necessarily accompanied such a force; cavalry and infantry -were, in all such cases, inevitably delayed by the necessity of waiting -until the ponderous pieces of ordnance could arrive.[167] - -Walpole’s field-force, resting at night under shady groves, it was hoped -might reach Bareilly about the 24th of the month; and this was the more -to be desired, seeing that Rohilcund, from its position in relation to -numerous rivers, becomes almost impassable as soon as the rains set -in—about the end of May or the beginning of June. Marching onward in -accordance with the plan laid down, Walpole came on the 14th of April to -one of the many forts which have so often been mentioned in connection -with the affairs of Oude. The name of the place, situated about fifty -miles from Lucknow, and ten from the Ganges, was variously spelled -Rhodamow, Roodhamow, Roer, and Roowah; but whatever the spelling, the -fort became associated in the minds of the British troops with more -angry complainings than any other connected with the war; since it was -the scene of a mortifying repulse which better generalship might have -avoided, and which was accompanied by the death of a very favourite -officer. Rhodamow was a small fort or group of houses enclosed by a high -mud-wall, loopholed for musketry, provided with irregular bastions at -the angles, and having two gates. It was a petty place, in relation to -the largeness of the force about to attack it—nearly six thousand men. -While marching through the jungle towards Rohilcund, Walpole heard that -fifteen hundred insurgents had thrown themselves into this fort of -Rhodamow; but the number proved to be much smaller. He attacked it with -infantry without previously using his artillery, and without (as it -would appear) a sufficient reconnaissance. He sent on the 42d -Highlanders and the 4th Punjaub infantry to take the fort; but no sooner -did the troops approach it than they were received by so fierce and -unexpected a fire of musketry, from a concealed enemy, that not only was -the advance checked, but the gallant Brigadier Adrian Hope was killed at -the head of his Highlanders. The troops could not immediately and -effectually reply to this fire, for their opponents were hidden behind -the loopholed wall. Everything seems to have been thrown into confusion -by this first fatal mistake; the supports were sent up too late, or to -the wrong place; and the exasperated troops were forced to retire, amid -yells of triumph from the enemy. The heavy guns were then brought to do -that which they ought to have done at first; they began to breach the -wall, but the enemy quietly evacuated the fort during the night, with -scarcely any loss. Besides Adrian Hope, several other officers were -either killed or wounded, and nearly a hundred rank and file. During -this mortifying disaster, in which the Highlanders were particularly -unfortunate in the loss of officers, Quartermaster Sergeant Simpson, of -the 42d, displayed that daring spirit of gallantry which so endears a -soldier to his companions. When the infantry had been recalled from the -attack, Simpson heard that two officers of his regiment had been left -behind, dead or wounded in the ditch outside the wall. He rushed out, -seized the body of Captain Bromley, and brought it back amid a torrent -of musketry; setting forth again, he brought in the body of Captain -Douglas in a similar way, and he did not cease until seven had been thus -brought away—to be recovered if only wounded, to be decently interred if -dead. It was a day, however, the memory of which could not be sweetened -by any such displays of gallantry, or by many subsequent victories; the -men of the two Highland regiments felt as if a deep personal injury had -been inflicted on them by the commander of the column. Sir Colin -Campbell, when the news of this untoward event reached him, paid a -marked compliment to Adrian Hope in his dispatch. ‘The death of this -most distinguished and gallant officer causes the deepest grief to the -commander-in-chief. Still young in years, he had risen to high command; -and by his undaunted courage, combined as it was with extreme kindness -and charm of manner, had secured the confidence of his brigade in no -ordinary degree.’ Viscount Canning, in a like spirit, officially -notified that ‘no more mournful duty has fallen upon the -governor-general in the course of the present contest than that of -recording the premature death of this distinguished young commander.’ - -General Walpole pursued his march, and had a successful encounter on the -22d with a large body of the enemy at Sirsa. His cavalry and artillery -attacked them so vigorously as to capture their guns and camp, and to -drive them over the Ramgunga in such haste as to leave them no time for -destroying the bridge of boats at that place. This achievement was -fortunate, for it enabled Walpole on the 23d to transport his heavy guns -quickly and safely over the Ramgunga at Allygunje. A few days after -this, he was joined by the commander-in-chief, whose movements we must -next notice. - -It was immediately after Sir Colin Campbell’s return from his interview -with the governor-general at Allahabad, that he withdrew from Lucknow -all the remaining troops, except those destined for the defence of that -important city, and for the re-establishment of British influence in -Oude. He formed an expeditionary army, which he headed himself—or -rather, the army set forth from Lucknow to Cawnpore, and the -commander-in-chief joined it at the last-named place on the 17th of -April. The result of the conference at Allahabad had been, a -determination to march up the Doab to Furruckabad, and to attack the -Rohilcund rebels on a side where neither Jones nor Walpole could well -reach them. The heat was great, the rivers were rising, and the rains -were coming in a few weeks; and it became now a question whether the -movements from Lucknow as a centre had or had not been too long delayed. -Sir Colin with his column—for, being a mere remnant, it was too small a -force to designate an army—took their departure from Cawnpore on the -18th, leaving that city in the hands of a small but (at present) -sufficient body of troops. On the 19th he advanced to Kilianpore, on the -20th to Poorah, and on the 21st to Urrowl—marching during early morn, -and encamping in the hotter hours of the day. The day’s work commenced, -indeed, so early as one o’clock in the morning; when the elephants and -camels began to be loaded with their burdens, the equipage and tents -packed up, and the marching arrangements completed. Between two or three -o’clock, all being in readiness, away went infantry, cavalry, artillery, -engineers, commissariat, and a countless host of natives, horses, -camels, elephants, bullocks, and vehicles—covering an area of which the -real soldiers occupied but a very small part. They marched or rode till -about six o’clock; when all prepared for breakfast, and for a hot day -during which little active exertion was possible without imminent danger -of _coup de soleil_. Sir Colin’s train of munition and supplies was -enormous; for, in addition to the usual baggage of an army, he had to -take large commissariat supplies with him. The villagers held aloof in a -manner not usual in the earlier stages of the mutiny, and in other parts -of India; they did not come forward to engage in a traffic which would -certainly have been profitable to them, in selling provisions to the -army. Whether this arose from inability or disinclination, was a matter -for controversy; but the fact itself occasioned embarrassment and -uneasiness to a commander who had to drag with his army a huge train of -animals and vehicles filled with food. The enormous number of natives, -too, that accompanied the force, with their wives and families, exerted -its usual cumbrous effect on the movements of the troops; so that the -fighting-men themselves bore but a minute fractional ratio to the living -and dead accompaniments of the column. It is useless to complain of -this. An army of five thousand, or any other number, of British troops -_must_ have a large train of native attendants, to contend against the -peculiarities of Indian climate and Indian customs. Mr Russell, marching -with this portion of the late ‘Army of Oude,’ said: ‘If the people we -see around us, who are ten or twelve to one as compared with us in this -camp, were—not to arm and cut our throats, or poison us, or anything of -that kind—but simply bid us a silent good-bye this night, and leave us, -India would be lost to us in a day. It requires only that, and all the -power of England could not hold the eastern empire. We could not even -strike our tents without these men to-morrow. We are dependent on -them—even the common soldier is—for the water we drink and the meals we -eat, for our transport, for all but the air we breathe; and the latter, -it must be admitted, is not improved by them sometimes. The moment that -such a thing becomes possible as a popular desertion, through patriotic -or any other motives, from the service of the state, it becomes -impossible to hold India except upon sufferance. It is the rupee, -self-interest, and the necessities of a population trained to follow -camps, which afford guarantees against such a secession—unlikely enough -indeed in any nation, and scarcely possible in any war.... We are, in -fact, waging war against Hindoos and Mussulmans by the aid and with the -consent of other Hindoos and Mussulmans, just as Alexander was able to -beat Porus by the aid of his Indian allies; and no European or other -state can ever rule in India without the co-operation and assistance of -a large proportion of the races which inhabit the vast peninsula.’ - -Sir Colin marched on the 22d to Meerun-ke-serai, near the ruins of the -ancient city of Canouje; on the 23d to Gosaigunje; and on the 24th to -Kamalgunje—approaching each day nearer to Furruckabad. Every day’s -camping-ground was selected near the Ganges, both for the sake of -salubrity, and to check if possible the passage of rebel bands over the -river from Oude into the Doab. On the 25th the column reached -Furruckabad, or rather the adjacent English station of Futteghur. -General Penny came from a neighbouring district to confer with the -commander-in-chief on matters connected with the Rohilcund campaign, and -then returned to the column or brigade which he commanded. Futteghur had -regained a part of its former importance, as the place where most of the -artillery-carriages and sepoy-clothing were made, and where vast -quantities of timber and cloth had fallen as spoil to the enemy. - -The sojourn at Futteghur was very brief. The electric telegraph had been -busy transmitting information to and from Allahabad; and as Sir Colin’s -plans were already made, he lost no time in putting them in execution. -The main plan comprised four movements—Campbell from Futteghur, Walpole -from Lucknow, Jones from Roorkee, and Penny from Puttealee; all intended -to hem the rebels into the middle of Rohilcund, and there crush them. -The marches of Walpole and Jones have already been noticed; Penny was to -march his column towards Meerunpore Muttra, between Shahjehanpoor and -Bareilly, after crossing the Ganges near Nudowlee; while the -commander-in-chief was to enter Rohilcund directly from Futteghur. In -the middle of the night between the 26th and 27th his column, elephants -and guns and all, crossed the Ganges by the bridge of boats, and entered -the province which was to be a scene of hostilities. After a few hours -the column reached the river Ramgunga, which it crossed by the bridge of -boats fortunately secured by Walpole as the fruit of his victory at -Allygunje; and soon afterwards the commander-in-chief effected a -junction with Walpole, at Tingree near the Ramgunga. No very long time -for repose was allowed; stern work was to be done, and the sooner -commenced, the less would it be checked by heat and prohibited by rains. -A march of a few hours brought the now united columns to Jelalabad—one -of many places of that name in India. It was a fort which had lately -been occupied by a small body of matchlockmen, who had precipitately -abandoned it when news of Sir Colin’s approach reached them. A small -village lay near, and was governed by the fort. The Moulvie of Fyzabad -was believed to have intended to make a stand at this place, but to have -abandoned it for a larger stronghold at Shahjehanpoor. On the 29th, a -further approach was made to Kanth. Each day was pretty well like that -which preceded it—the same early marching, camping, and resting, and the -same struggle with the camp-followers, who, however closely watched, -pertinaciously plundered the villages through or near which they -passed—thereby terrifying and exasperating all villagers alike, whether -friendly or unfriendly to the British. This system of plunder by the -camp-followers was one of the greatest troubles to which the generals of -the several columns were exposed; severe punishments were threatened, -but all in vain. - -It was on the last day of the month that Sir Colin Campbell and General -Walpole arrived at Shahjehanpoor; and then it was to learn that the wily -and active Moulvie had again outmanœuvred them. The plan had been to -draw a cordon more and more closely round the rebels at Shahjehanpoor -and Bareilly, and thus to catch them as in a trap. But the Moulvie would -not enter the trap. He held Shahjehanpoor, with a considerable force of -men and guns, as long as he deemed it safe, and then escaped just at the -right moment. It was well to regain Shahjehanpoor, after that place had -been eleven months in the hands of rebels; but it was vexing to learn -that the Moulvie had retreated towards Oude—the very province where his -presence was least desired by the British. Nena Sahib, it was also -ascertained, had quitted Shahjehanpoor a few days earlier, and just -before leaving, had ordered the government buildings to be destroyed, in -order that the British troops might find no shelter when they arrived. -This cowardly, ruthless, but active and inventive chieftain succeeded in -his aim in this matter; there were few roofed buildings left, and the -encampment had to be effected under a tope of trees, with earthen -intrenchments thrown up around. - -It is evident, from this summary of Rohilcund affairs, that the -operations against the rebels in that province did not advance far -during the month of April, as concerns any effective crushing of the -rebellion. The insurgents were beaten wherever met with; but their -ubiquity and vitality greatly puzzled Sir Colin and his brigadier; and -it remained to be seen how far the month of May would witness the -re-establishment of British authority in Rohilcund and Oude. Some of the -columns and field-forces had penetrated from the east and south as far -as Shahjehanpoor, others from the west and northwest as far as -Mooradabad; but Bareilly, the chief city in Rohilcund, had not been -reached by any of them at the end of April. - -Few events caused more regret in the army at this period than the death -of Captain Sir William Peel, the gallant seaman who had earned so high a -reputation as commander of the Naval Brigade. After his wound, received -at Lucknow, he was carried in a doolie or litter to Cawnpore; and when -at that station he gradually became able to walk about slowly by the aid -of a stick. He soon, however, exhibited symptoms of small-pox, which, -acting on a system at once ardent and debilitated, proved fatal. He died -at Cawnpore after Sir Colin Campbell’s force had departed from that -place towards Futteghur; and thus the Queen and the country lost the -services of an eminent son of an eminent statesman. Every one felt the -justice of the special compliment paid to this gallant naval officer by -the governor-general, in the official order issued immediately on the -receipt of the news of Peel’s death.[168] Throughout the Crimean, -Persian, and Indian wars, the British navy had been engaged in less -fighting than many of its ardent members wished; and it was therefore -all the more incumbent on the authorities to notice the exertions of -naval brigades when on shore. - -Throughout the extent of the Upper Doab, the British officers found much -difficulty in maintaining a fair stand against the rebels. Not that -there were large bodies of trained sepoys in the field, as in the -regions just described, and in Central India; but there were numerous -chieftains, each at the head of a small band of followers, ready to -harass any spot not protected by English troops. Brigadier Penny, in -command of a field-force organised at Delhi, was watching the district -between that city and the Ganges—ready to put down insurgents wherever -he could encounter them, and hoping to assist the commander-in-chief in -Rohilcund. Another column, under Brigadier Seaton, controlled the region -around Futteghur before Sir Colin reached that place; and he, like -Penny, Jones, Walpole, Hope Grant, Lugard, and all the other commanders -of sections of the army, found an active watchfulness of the enemy -necessary. One among Seaton’s engagements in the month of April may be -briefly noticed. On the 6th, when evening had darkened into night, he -marched from Futteghur to attack a body of rebels concerning whom he had -received information. He took with him about 1400 men—comprising 600 of -H.M. 82d under Colonel Hall, 400 Sikhs under Captain Stafford, 150 -cavalry under Lieutenant St John, and 200 of the Futteghur -mounted-police battalion under Lieutenant de Kantzow—together with five -guns under Major Smith. After marching all night, Seaton came up with -the enemy at seven in the morning, at a place called Kankur. The enemy’s -force was very large, though not well organised, and included nearly a -thousand troopers well mounted and armed. After an artillery-fire on -both sides, and a sharp fire from Enfield rifles, the 82d rushed -forward, entered the village, and worked terrible execution. The rebels -fled, abandoning their camp, ammunition, and stores; together with -papers and correspondence which threw light on some of the hitherto -obscure proceedings of the mutineers. The rebel Rajah of Minpooree was -the chief leader of the insurgents, and with him were Ismael Khan and -Mohson Ali Khan. - -The Minpooree district was much troubled by this rebellious rajah; but -as Futteghur on the one side, and Agra on the other, were now in English -hands, the rebels were more readily kept in subjection. Agra itself was -safe, and so was the main line of road thence through Muttra to Delhi. - -One of the few pleasant scenes of the month, at Delhi, was the awarding -of honour and profit to a native who had befriended Europeans in the -hour of greatest need. Ten months before, when mutiny was still new and -terrible, the native troops at Bhurtpore rose in revolt, and compelled -the Europeans in the neighbourhood to flee for their lives. The poor -fugitives, thirty-two in number—chiefly women and children—roamed from -place to place, uncertain where they might sleep in peace. On one day -they arrived at the village of Mahonah. Here they met with one Hidayut -Ali, a ressaldar (troop-captain), of a regiment of irregular cavalry -which had mutinied at Mozuffernugger; he was on furlough or leave of -absence at his native village, and did not join his mutinous companions. -He received the fugitives with kindness and courtesy, fed them -liberally, gave them a comfortable house, renewed their toil-worn -garments, posted village sentries to give notice of the approach of any -mutineers, disregarded a rebuke sent to him by the insurgents at Delhi, -formed the villagers into an escort, and finally placed the thirty-two -fugitives in a position which enabled them safely to reach Agra. This -noble conduct was not forgotten. In April the commissioner held a grand -durbar at Delhi, made a complimentary speech to Hidayut Ali, presented -him with a sword valued at a thousand rupees, and announced that the -government intended to bestow upon him the jaghire or revenues of his -native village. - -Good-fortune continued to mark the wide and important region of the -Punjaub, in the absence of any of those great assemblages of rebels -which so distracted the provinces further to the southeast. Nevertheless -Sir John Lawrence found a demand on him for unceasing watchfulness. The -longer the struggle continued in Hindostan and Central India, the more -danger was there that the Punjaubees, imbibing an idea that the British -were weak, would encourage a hope of regaining national independence. -There was also a grave question involved in the constitution of the -native army. When the troubles began in the month of May, and when -Canning was beset with so many difficulties in his attempt to send up -troops from Calcutta, John Lawrence came to the rescue in a manner -deserving the lasting gratitude of all concerned in the maintenance of -British rule in India. He felt a trusty reliance that the inhabitants of -the Punjaub, governed as he (aided by Montgomery, Cotton, Edwardes, and -other energetic men) had governed them, would remain faithful, and would -be willing to accept active service as soldiers in British pay. His -trust was well founded. He sent to Delhi those troops, without which the -conquest of the city could not have been effected; and he continued to -raise regiment after regiment of Sikhs and Punjaubees—equipping, -drilling, and paying a number so large as to constitute in itself a -powerful army. But there would necessarily be a limit to this process. -The Sikhs were faithful so far; but what if they should begin to feel -their power, and turn to a national object the arms which had been given -to them to fight in the British cause? Not many years had elapsed since -they had fought fiercely at Moultan and Lahore, Sobraon and -Chillianwalla, Moodkee and Ferozshah, against those very English whom -they were now defending; and it was at least possible, if not probable, -that dreams of reconquest might occupy their thoughts. Sir John Lawrence -brought to an end his further raising of regiments; and there can be -little doubt that the governor-general and the commander-in-chief -appreciated the motives by which he had been influenced. In political -affairs the Punjaub was very active; for not only did Lawrence become -chief authority over a larger region than before, but many of his -assistants were taken away from him. When Sir James Outram went to -Calcutta as a member of the supreme council, Mr Montgomery was appointed -chief-commissioner of Oude, and took with him many of the most -experienced civilians from Lahore to Lucknow. This necessitated great -changes in the _personnel_ of the Punjaub civil service, the -commissionerships and sub-commissionerships of districts, &c. - -Peshawur, the most remote portion of Northwest India, was throughout the -period of the Revolt more troubled by marauding mountaineers than by -revolted sepoys. Very few Hindoos inhabited that region; the population -was mostly Mussulman, especially among the hills; and these followers of -Islam had but little sympathy with those in Hindostan Proper. The -disturbances, such as they were, were of local character. In April, it -became necessary to visit with some severity certain tribes which -throughout the winter had been engaged in rebellion and rapine. General -Cotton and Colonel Edwardes, two of the most trusted officers in the -Indian army, collected a column at Nowsherah for service against the -hill-men; and at the close of the month there were nearly four thousand -men in rendezvous, ready for service. It comprised detachments of H.M. -81st and 98th foot; of the 8th, 9th, and 18th Punjaub infantry; of other -native infantry; of the 7th and 18th irregular cavalry; of the Guide -cavalry; and of various artillery and engineer corps. On the 28th of the -month, Cotton was at a place among the hills called Mungultana, a -stronghold of some of the frontier fanatics. The place was easily taken, -and the insurgents dispersed; as they were at Jelemkhana, Sitana, and -other places, soon afterwards; but it was hard work for the troops, over -very bad roadless tracks in hot weather. - -[Illustration: - - Fort of Peshawur. -] - -It was a strange but hopeful sign that, amid all the sanguinary -proceedings in India—the ruthless barbarities of some among the sepoys -and rebels, and the military retributions wrought by the British—amid -all this, the peaceful, civilising agency of railways was steadily -though slowly advancing. A recent chapter shewed that the grand -trunk-railway was extended into the Doab, the very hot-bed of -insurrection, during the month of March: the engineers, mechanics, and -labourers having been accustomed to resume their operations as soon as -the insurgents were driven away from any spot where the works were in -progress. In the Madras and Bombay presidencies, little affected by -rebellion, various railways were gradually advancing; and now, in the -month of April, the province of Sinde was to have its heyday of railway -rejoicing. In an earlier portion of the volume,[169] a brief account was -given of the schemes, present and prospective, for supplying India with -railways. Among those was one for a line, 120 miles in length, from -Kurachee to Hydrabad in Sinde: expected, if no difficulties intervened, -to be finished towards the close of 1859. This was to be one link in a -vast and extensive chain, if the hopes of its projectors were ever -realised. Kurachee is not at the mouth of the Indus; but it has an -excellent harbour, in which large merchantmen can cast anchor; and -engineers were enabled to shew that a little over one hundred miles of -railway would connect this port with the Indus at a point above the -delta of that river, and just where Hydrabad, the chief city of Sinde, -is situated. Such a railway would, in fact, bear a remarkably close -analogy to that in Egypt, from Alexandria to Cairo—each connecting a -seaport with a capital, and avoiding delta navigation much impeded by -shallows and shifting sands. From Hydrabad there are 570 miles of Indus -available for river-steaming up to Moultan, in the Punjaub. From that -city a railway would be planned through Lahore to Umritsir, where a -junction would be formed with the grand trunk-line, and thus Kurachee -connected with Calcutta by rapid means of travel—a great scheme, worthy -of the age and the country. It could, however, only have small -beginnings. On the 29th of April, the first sod of the ‘Sinde Railway’ -was turned at Kurachee. It would be well if all rejoicings were based on -such rational grounds as those which marked that day in the young -Alexandria of Western India. Mr Frere, commissioner of Sinde, presided -over the ceremonies. All was gaiety. The 51st regiment lent its aid in -military pomp; and all the notabilities of the place—political, -military, naval, clerical, commercial, and engineering—were gathered -together. And not only so; but the lookers-on comprised many of those -who well marvelled what a railway could be, and how a carriage could -move without visible means of draught or propulsion—Parsees, Hindoos, -Beloochees, Sindians, Afghans, Punjaubees—all were there, with their -picturesque garments, and their little less picturesque native vehicles. -How the officiating dignitary turned the sod and wheeled the barrow; how -the band played and the people cheered; how the chief personages -celebrated the event by a dinner; how, at that dinner, a triumphant -specimen of confectionary was displayed, comprising sweetmeat Kurachees, -Calcuttas, rivers, mosques, ghats, temples, wheelbarrows, pick-axes, -rails, locomotives, bridges, tunnels—need not be told: they belong to -one remarkable aspect of modern European and American society, which -becomes doubly interesting when exhibited among the less active, more -sensuous orientals. - -We now turn to that stormy, unsettled region southwest of the Jumna, -comprising Bundelcund, Central India, and Rajpootana. - -Probably no commander had a series of more uninterrupted successes -during the wars of the mutiny than Sir Hugh Rose. Looking neither to -Calcutta nor to the Punjaub, for aid, but relying on the resources of -the Bombay presidency, he gradually accumulated a force for service in -Central India which defeated the rebels wherever they were met with. We -have seen that, in January, Sir Hugh was busily engaged in defeating and -dispersing rebels at Ratgurh, and in various parts of the district -between Bhopal and Saugor. We find him in February relieving the British -garrison which had for so many months been shut up within the fort of -the last-named city, and then clearing a vast range of country in the -direction of Jhansi. Lastly, we have seen how, after subduing a district -in which rebellious Mahrattas were very numerous, he approached nearer -and nearer to Jhansi during the early weeks of March; that he arrived -within a short distance of that city on the 21st of that month, with the -second brigade of the Central India field-force; that the rebels -fortified the walls of the town, and shut themselves up within the town -and fort; that the mutinied sepoys and rebel Bundelas in the place were -computed at eleven or twelve thousand; that the Ranee of Jhansi had left -her palace to seek greater safety in the fort; that Rose’s first brigade -joined him on the 25th; and that he then commenced the siege in a -determined manner. From this point, the narrative of Sir Hugh’s -operations may be carried into the following month. - -Before the first week in April had terminated, this distinguished -general had gained very considerable advantages over the enemy. At -daybreak on the first of the month, his force encountered an army of the -enemy outside the walls of Jhansi, and completely defeated them. The -rebels were commanded by a Mahratta chieftain, Tanteea Topee, a relative -of Nena Sahib, who had marched thither in the hope of being able to -relieve his brother rebels shut up within the beleaguered city. Sir Hugh -divided his force into two parts—one to continue the siege, and the -other to meet Tanteea Topee in the field. The rebels, including among -their number two regiments of the traitorous Gwalior Contingent, fought -desperately; but Rose succeeded in turning their left flank with -artillery and cavalry, breaking up their array, and putting them to -flight. It was a severe contest, for the rebels defended themselves -individually to the last, even when their order of battle was broken. -Rose pursued them to the river Betwah, and captured all their guns and -ammunition. During the pursuit, they endeavoured to check him by setting -the jungle on fire; but his cavalry and horse-artillery, nothing -daunted, galloped through the flames, and kept close at the heels of the -fugitives. The whole line of retreat became strewed with dead bodies; -and it was estimated that the day’s sanguinary work had cost the enemy -not less than fifteen hundred men. - -This battle was followed by a result more favourable than Sir Hugh had -ventured to hope. The ranee, shut up within Jhansi, well knew that -Tanteea Topee was hastening to her assistance; for there was everywhere -an intercommunication between the insurgents too close for the British -to baffle. She knew of his approach, and hoped that he would be able to -defeat and drive away the besiegers; but the battle of the Betwah -dismayed her, and the result was very favourable to the British. In -arranging for the siege, Sir Hugh divided his infantry into four -detachments, two on the right and two on the left. H.M. 86th, and the -25th Bombay infantry, soon gained the walls, some by breach and others -by escalade. Lieutenant Dartnell of the 86th, who was foremost in the -assault, narrowly escaped being cut to pieces directly he entered the -place. These two regiments were on the left attack. The attack on the -right was less successful, owing to the use of defective ladders; the -troops were for some time exposed to a murderous fire; but at length -they entered the place, and joined their companions near the ranee’s -palace. A discovery was now made. The ranee had evacuated the place -during the night, with such of her troops as could break through the -cordon which Rose endeavoured to draw round Jhansi. In the endeavour of -the garrison to escape, the slaughter was terrible; insomuch that, -during the storming of the fort and the pursuit of the garrison, more -than three thousand of the rebels were laid low, besides the fifteen -hundred during the battle. Much of this slaughter was within the city -itself; for the towns-people were believed to have favoured the rebels, -and the soldiers took severe vengeance before their officers could check -the bloodshed. All this stern fighting could not be carried on without -loss on the part of the British. Sir Hugh had to lament the fall of -Lieutenant-colonel Turnbull, Captain Sinclair, Lieutenants Meicklejohn -and Park, and Dr Stack, besides a number of non-commissioned officers -and privates. The evacuation of the place in so sudden a way greatly -lessened his chance of loss, for its defence might have been long -continued. ‘Jhansi,’ he said in his telegraphic dispatch, ‘is not a -fort, but its strength makes it a fortress; it could not have been -breached; it could only have been taken by mining and blowing up one -bastion after another.’ - -After this signal defeat of the rebels at Jhansi, the victorious army of -Sir Hugh gradually prepared to move towards Calpee, a town on the Jumna, -on the line of road from Jhansi to Cawnpore. Symptoms appeared to shew -that a struggle would take place at this spot. Two rebel leaders made -renewed exertions to regain lost ground in that region. The chief of -these was Tanteea Topee, lately defeated at Jhansi; he had with him two -mutinied infantry regiments, seven hundred cavalry, a large following of -Ghazees or fanatics, and twelve guns. The other was Ram Rao Gobind, who -had the command of three thousand rabble and four guns. These two -leaders resolved to act on some common plan; and Sir Hugh Rose equally -resolved to defeat them. Nevertheless this gallant officer had much need -for careful planning long after he was master of Jhansi. He had a large -number of sick and wounded, whose safety it would be necessary to -provide for; and the roads around that city were still infested with -remnants of the Kotah rebels and the Chanderee garrison. He himself -remained at Jhansi until such time as he could resume his march without -danger to those left behind; but he gave active employment to portions -of his force. About the middle of the month he sent Major Orr with a -column from Jhansi across the Betwah to Mhow, to clear that part of the -country of rebels, and afterwards to join Rose and the main body of the -force on the road to Calpee; the major had many small encounters with -the rajahs of Bampore and Shagurh, and with detached parties of rebels. -Some days afterwards, on the 21st, Sir Hugh despatched Major Gall, with -detachments of cavalry and artillery, to a point on the Calpee road, to -watch the enemy and aid Major Orr if necessary. Gall, besides other -minor engagements, captured a fort belonging to the Rajah of Sumpter; -the rebels in it proved to be disguised mutineers of the 12th Bengal -native infantry, who fought desperately until all were killed. Sir Hugh, -with his first brigade and head-quarters, did not take his departure -from Jhansi until the 25th. He marched ten miles that day to Boregaum, -on the Calpee road, and resumed his progress on subsequent days. His -second brigade was soon to follow him—with the exception of detachments -of the 3d Bombay Europeans, the 24th Bombay native infantry, and -artillery, left under the charge of Colonel Liddell to protect Jhansi -and the sick and wounded. Rumours reached Sir Hugh that four of the -rebel leaders—the Ranee of Jhansi, Tanteea Topee, the Rajah of Shagurh, -and the Rajah of Bampore—with seven thousand men and four guns, intended -if possible to intercept him, and prevent his march to Calpee. To what -result all these manœuvres on both sides led, was left to the month of -May to determine. - -While these operations were going on in and near the Jhansi district, -General Whitlock, with a column of Madras troops, was engaged a little -further eastward, in a district of Bundelcund having Banda for its chief -town. He was frequently in contact with large or small bodies of rebels. -One of these struggles took place on the 19th of April, when he -encountered a force of seven thousand insurgents headed by the Nawab of -Banda. Whitlock defeated the Nawab, captured Banda, killed five hundred -of the enemy, and took several guns. After this victory, he gradually -worked his way towards Calpee, to aid in Rose’s operations. - -The city of Saugor remained in a somewhat peculiar condition during the -spring months—secure itself, but surrounded by a disturbed district. The -European residents were living in cantonments, sufficiently protected by -troops left there by General Whitlock after he relieved the place early -in February. These troops were neither stationary nor idle; the vicinity -was swarming with rebels and malcontents, whom it was necessary to check -by frequent pursuit and defeat. Those two exceptions to the generally -mutinous condition of the Bengal native army, the 31st and 42d -regiments, still remained in and near Saugor—or such portions of them as -had not become tainted by insubordination. Divided into small -detachments, they assisted the European and Madras troops in keeping -open the line of communication between Saugor and the district marked by -the victorious operations of Sir Hugh Rose. - -Turning to the Mahratta and Rajpootana states, we find that, on the 2d -of April, a large body of rebels, many thousands in number, with ten -guns, crossed the Parbuttee river at Copoind into Scindia’s Gwalior -territory. They were fleeing from Kotah, where a British force had -severely handled them. Scindia still remained true to his alliance. Many -of his officers, each with a small force, opposed the rebels at -different points, drove them back across the river, and overturned many -of their guns and wagons in the stream. The rebels, accompanied by large -numbers of women and children, made their way by other routes towards -Bundelcund. - -Kotah, just mentioned, was closely connected with the insurgent and -military operations in Rajpootana. It will be remembered[170] that in -the month of March General Roberts, commanding the Rajpootana -field-force, marched from Nuseerabad towards Kotah, accompanied by -Richard Lawrence as political representative; that many difficulties had -to be surmounted on the march; that Kotah was reached on the 22d; and -that Roberts captured that place just before the end of the month, -defeating a large body of rebels, and obtaining possession of an -extensive store of ordnance and ammunition. After this victory, Roberts -remained a long time at Kotah. Many other places would have welcomed his -appearance; but there were doubts how far Kotah could safely be left, -seeing that the neighbourhood was in a very disaffected state. The Kotah -rebels, on the other hand, were greatly disconcerted at the news of the -fall of Jhansi, which interfered with their plans and hopes. They had -been camping for a while at Kularus, on the road from Gwalior to Bombay, -but began now to move off towards the south. Captain Mayne, with some of -Scindia’s troops, was at that place on the 11th of April, and found that -the Kotah rebels, about four thousand strong, with six guns, had joined -the rebel Rajah of Nirwur, six miles distant. Captain Mayne was -preparing to watch and follow them, but the troops at his command -consisted of only a few hundred men, and he could do little more than -reconnoitre. Later in the month, General Roberts organised a column to -look after the rebels at Goonah, Chupra, and other places. The column -consisted of H.M. 95th foot, the 10th Bombay native infantry, a wing of -the 8th hussars, a wing of the 1st lancers, and a troop of -horse-artillery; and it started from Kotah for active service on the -24th. Thus the month of April passed away; Roberts himself remaining at -Kotah; while some of his officers, each with a detachment of the -Rajpootana field-force, were engaged in chastising bodies of rebels in -the turbulent region on the border of the Rajpoot and Mahratta -territories. Like Sir Hugh Rose at Jhansi, he had to consider how his -conquered city would fare if he quitted it. - -The province of Gujerat, lying as it does between Rajpootana and Bombay, -was narrowly watched by the government of that presidency; and as one -precaution, all the inhabitants were disarmed. On the 8th of April, a -field-force, comprising about a thousand men of all arms, left Ahmedabad -to conduct the disarming. Another column of about the same strength was -preparing to march from the same station about a week later. It was -expected that the difficulties of the troops would arise, not so much -from the opposition of the natives, as from the gradually increasing -heat of the weather. - -Southward of Bombay there was still, as in the earlier months of the -year, just so much of insubordination as to need careful watching on the -part of the government, but without presenting any very alarming -symptoms. The small Mahratta state of Satara was a little troubled. Two -officers of the recently deposed rajah, his commander-in-chief and his -commandant of artillery, were detected in treasonable correspondence -with Nena Sahib. One of them, having been found guilty, was sentenced to -be hanged; the indignity struck with horror one imbued with high-caste -notions, and he asked to be blown away from a gun as a more noble death; -this was refused; and under the influence of dismay and grief, he made a -confession which afforded a clue to a further conspiracy. There was much -in these southern Mahrattas which puzzled the authorities. To what -extent the natives were bound into a brotherhood by secret compact, the -English never could and never did know. Much comment was excited by an -occurrence at Kolapore, where two native officers were blown away from -guns, on conviction of being concerned in the mutiny and rebellion. It -was remembered that those very men had sat on courts-martial which -condemned numbers of their fellow-mutineers to the same punishment which -was their own ultimate doom. One of the principal witnesses against them -was a colleague whom they had sentenced to death, but who escaped by -making a confession which implicated them. Many others, however, -condemned by the court of which these two men were members, died without -making a similar confession, although it was believed that they also -might have implicated their judges. - - - Note. - - _Native Police of India._—So peculiar was the position of the native - police of India—as a medium between the military and the civilians, - and between the government and the people—that it may be desirable - to say a few words on the organisation of that body. All parties - agreed that this organisation was defective in many points, and - numerous reforms were suggested; but the Revolt found the police - system still in force unreformed. The information here given is - obtained chiefly from a dispatch sent from the India House about six - months before the Revolt began, at a time when few or none saw the - dark shadow that was hovering over our eastern empire. - - In Bengal, each district was subdivided into smaller jurisdictions, - each having its local police. The police were charged with duties - both preventive and detective. They were prohibited from inquiring - into cases of a petty nature; but complaints in cases of a more - serious character were usually laid before the police - _darogah_—whose duties were something more than those of an English - police superintendent, something less than those of an English - magistrate. The darogah was authorised to examine the complaints - brought before him, to issue process of arrest, to summon witnesses, - to examine the accused, and to forward the case to the magistrate or - collector-magistrate, or submit a report of his proceedings, - according as the evidence seemed to warrant the one or the other - course. - - In the Northwest Provinces the native revenue-officers called - _tehsildars_ were, at the discretion of the government, invested - with the powers of police darogahs; whereas in Bengal the revenue - service was kept wholly distinct from the police or magisterial. - - In the Madras presidency, the duties ordinarily performed in Bengal - by the police darogahs were, even more generally than in the - Northwest Provinces, performed by the tehsildar; indeed it was a - recognised part of the system that the tehsildar and the darogah - were the same person. This double function carried with it an - increase of power. The Madras tehsildar-darogah was authorised, not - only to inquire into petty cases (which the Bengal darogah was - prohibited from doing), but also to proceed in certain specified - instances to judgment, sentence, and the infliction of punishment. - - In the Bombay presidency, the revenue and police functions were, - until a recent period, combined in the same way as in Madras. The - tehsildars, besides their revenue duties, were authorised in their - police capacity to investigate all complaints of a criminal nature, - and to exercise a penal jurisdiction in respect of certain petty - offences. Within a few months before the Revolt, however, a change - was made in the organisation. A new officer, a superintendent of - police, was placed under the magistrate. The magistrate, confining - himself for the most part to judicial and administrative matters, - left to his superintendent of police the control of the executive - police and the command of the entire stipendiary body, with the - initiative in the prevention and detection of crime. To aid this - superintendent in the supervision of the district police, there was - placed in each police division an officer called joint-police - _amildar_; whose duties, in regard to the preservation of the public - peace and the investigation of serious crimes, were nearly similar - to those of the Bengal darogah, but without including any power of - punishing even for the most trivial offences. - - It thus appears that, apart from the penal powers exercised by the - Madras district police, the Bengal _darogah_, the Madras - _tehsildar_, and the Bombay _amildar_, all acted to a certain extent - judicially when engaged in investigating crimes of a serious nature. - They examined the parties and the evidence, and they formed a - judgment on the case to the extent of deciding whether it was one - for the immediate arrest of the accused and transmission to the - magistrate, or otherwise. - - No doubt the founders of this police system anticipated beneficial - results from it; but those results were not obtained. It was very - inefficient for the detection of crime, and almost useless for - prevention. There were defects both in organisation and in - procedure. The police force attached to each division was too much - localised and isolated; and the notion of combination between any - separate parts of it, with a view of accomplishing extensive police - objects, was seldom entertained. Although unable to check crime to - the extent intended and hoped for, the police were very unscrupulous - in their mode of wielding their authority, and bore a very general - character for oppression and corruption. The great source of - mischief was found to be, the want of efficient control and - overlooking. The native police had a proneness to oriental modes of - administering justice, in which bribery and barbarity perform a - great part: this tendency required to be constantly checked by - Europeans; and if the magistrate or collector-magistrate found his - time too fully occupied to exercise this supervision, the police - wrought much mischief, and brought the English ‘raj’ into disfavour. - Where the district was smaller than usual, or where the magistrate - was more than commonly zealous and active, the police were found to - be more efficient through more supervision. Whenever it was found - necessary to grapple effectually with any particular crimes, such as - _thuggee_ or _dacoitee_, the ordinary police proved to be wholly - useless; an entirely separate instrumentality was needed. Besides - the want of effective supervision, the native police were underpaid, - and had therefore an excuse for listening to the temptations of - bribery. - - In the dispatch already adverted to, written by the Court of - Directors, a course of improvement was pointed out, without which - the native police, it was affirmed, could not rise to the proper - degree of efficiency. The suggestions were briefly as follows: To - separate the police from the administration of the land-revenue, in - those provinces where those duties had been customarily united; in - order that the native officer should not be intrusted with double - functions, each of which would interfere with the other. To subject - all the police to frequent visit and inspection, that they might - feel the influence of a vigilant eye over them. To relieve the - collector-magistrate from this addition to his many duties, by - appointing in each district a European officer with no other duty - than that of managing the police of the district, subject to a - general superintendent of police for each presidency. To increase - the salaries of the police, in order that the office might have a - higher dignity in the estimation of the natives, and in order that - the official might be less tempted to extortion or bribery. To - empower the authorities to punish and degrade, more readily than was - before possible, those police who oppressed the people or otherwise - displayed injustice; and to reward those who displayed more than - ordinary intelligence and honesty, a further suggestion was made, - arising out of the organisation of the Punjaub under the Lawrences - and their coadjutors; in which there was a preventive police with a - military organisation, and a wholly distinct detective police with a - civil organisation. This system was found to work so well, that the - Court of Directors submitted to the Calcutta government an inquiry - whether the police generally might not with advantage be thus - separated into two parts, preventive and detective, each exercised - by a different set of men. - - The Revolt broke out before the reform of the police system could - commence; and then, like other reforms, it was left to be settled in - more peaceful days. - -[Illustration] - ------ - -Footnote 165: - - The following will give an idea of the mode in which the _Gazette_ - announcements were made: ‘24th Bombay N. I.—Lieutenant William - Alexander Kerr; date of act of bravery, July 10, 1857.—On the breaking - out of a mutiny in the 27th Bombay N. I. in July 1857, a party of the - mutineers took up a position in the stronghold or _paga_ near the town - of Kolapore, and defended themselves to extremity. “Lieutenant Kerr, - of the Southern Mahratta Irregular Horse, took a prominent share in - the attack on the position; and at the moment when its capture was of - great public importance, he made a dash at one of the gateways, with - some dismounted horsemen, and forced an entrance by breaking down the - gate. The attack was completely successful, and the defenders were - either killed, wounded, or captured—a result that may with perfect - justice be attributed to Lieutenant Kerr’s dashing and devoted - bravery.” (Letter from the Political Superintendent at Kolapore to the - Adjutant-general of the Army, dated September 10, 1857.)’ - -Footnote 166: - - ‘Of the dust it is quite beyond the powers of writing to give a - description. It is so fine and subtle, that long after the causes - which raised it have ceased to exert their influence, you may see it - like a veil of gauze between your eyes and every object. The sun, - while yet six or seven degrees above the horizon, is hid from sight by - it as though the luminary were enveloped in a thick fog; and at early - morning and evening, this vapour of dust suspended high in air seems - like a rain-cloud clinging to a hillside. When this dust is set - rapidly in motion by a hot wind, and when the grosser sand, composed - of minute fragments of talc, scales of mica, and earth, is impelled in - quick successive waves through the heated atmosphere, the effect is - quite sufficient to make one detest India for ever. Every article in - your tent, your hair, eyes, and nose, are filled and covered with this - dust, which deposits a coating half an inch thick all over the - tent.’—W. H. RUSSELL. - -Footnote 167: - - It may here be remarked that the difficulty of moving heavy ordnance - over the bad roads and roadless tracts of India, painfully felt by the - artillery officers engaged in the war, suggested to the East India - Company an inquiry into the possibility of employing locomotives for - such a purpose. A machine, called ‘Boydell’s Traction Engine,’ - patented some time before in England, was tested with a view to - ascertain the degree of its availability for this purpose. The - peculiarity of this engine was, that it was a locomotive _carrying its - own railway_. Six flat boards were ranged round each of the great - wheels in such a way that each board came in succession _under_ the - wheel, and formed, for a few feet, a flat plankroad or tramway for the - wheel to roll upon. It was supposed that the vehicle would move much - more easily by this contrivance, than if the narrow periphery of the - wheel ran upon soft mud or irregular pebbles and gravel. The motion of - the wheel placed each plank down at its proper time and place, and - lifted it up again, in such a way that there was always one of the - boards flat on the ground, beneath the wheel. Colonel Sir Frederick - Abbott and Colonel Sir Proby Cautley, on the part of the directors, - tested this machine at Woolwich—where it drew forty tons of ordnance - along a common road, uphill as well as upon the level. Another - road-locomotive, by Messrs Napier, was tested for a similar purpose. - The results were of good augury for the future; but the machines were - not perfected early enough to be made applicable for the wars of the - mutiny. - -Footnote 168: - - ‘_Allahabad, April 30._—It is the melancholy duty of the Right - Honourable the Governor-general to announce the death of that most - distinguished officer, Captain Sir William Peel, K.C.B., late in - command of her Majesty’s ship _Shannon_, and of the Naval Brigade in - the Northwest Provinces. - - ‘Sir William Peel died at Cawnpore, on the 27th instant, of small-pox. - He had been wounded at the commencement of the last advance upon - Lucknow, but had nearly recovered from the wound, and was on his way - to Calcutta, when struck by the disease which has brought his - honourable career to an early close. - - ‘Sir William Peel’s services in the field during the last seven months - are well known in India and in England. But it is not so well known - how great the value of his presence and example has been wherever - during this eventful period his duty has led him. - - ‘The loss of his daring but thoughtful courage, joined with eminent - abilities, is a very heavy one to his country; but it is not more to - be deplored than the loss of that influence which his earnest - character, admirable temper, and gentle kindly bearing exercised over - all within his reach—an influence which was exerted unceasingly for - the public good, and of which the governor-general believes that it - may with truth be said that there is not a man of any rank or - profession who, having been associated with Sir William Peel in these - times of anxiety and danger, has not felt and acknowledged it.’ - -Footnote 169: - - Chap. vii., NOTES, p. 119. - -Footnote 170: - - Chap. xxvi., p. 441. - -[Illustration: - - Summer Costumes, Indian Army. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - PROGRESS OF EVENTS IN MAY. - - -When, on the 10th of May 1858, the course of twelve months had been -completed since the commencement of the mutiny, the nation looked back -at the events of that period as a terrible episode in the history of -British dominion. Into how many thousands of families mourning had been -introduced by it, no one correctly knew; the problem was a dismal one, -which few had the heart to investigate. Those who, not affected by -private grief, or hiding their grief in a sense of public duty, viewed -the twelvemonth’s conflict in a national sense, saw in it a mingled -cause for humiliation and pride—humiliation that British rule should be -so trampled on by those who had been long and peacefully under it; pride -that so many public servants, so many private persons, should have -proved worthy of their country in a time of severe and bitter trial. In -military matters, the once great Bengal native army had almost ceased to -exist. Twenty thousand disarmed sepoys were in and near the Punjaub, -carefully watched lest they should join the ranks of the insurgents; -disarmed regiments were similarly detained elsewhere; others had been -almost annihilated by twelve months of fierce warfare; others were still -engaged as the nuclei of rebel armies; while the number of Bengal sepoys -was very small indeed, reckoned by hundreds rather than thousands, who -still fought faithfully on the side of the British. The Madras and -Bombay troops had, happily for India and England’s interest therein, -remained almost wholly ‘true to their salt;’ enabling the governors of -those two presidencies to send gallant field-forces into the disturbed -northern and central provinces. Sikhs, Punjaubees, Moultanese, -Scindians, Beloochees, and hill-men on the Afghan frontier, had rendered -services of such lasting importance in Hindostan, that they may almost -be regarded as the preservers of the English ‘raj;’ this they had been -enabled to do from two causes—the want of sympathy between the mutineers -and those northwestern tribes; and the admirable system of Punjaub -government organised by the Lawrences. In civil matters, India had -witnessed the almost total breaking up of the ordinary revenue and -magisterial arrangements, in provinces containing at least fifty -millions of souls; Europeans driven into hiding-places, even if not -murdered; and treasuries plundered by bands of ruffians, who gladly -hailed the state of anarchy brought on by the mutiny of the sepoy -regiments. Among the superior members of the government, Viscount -Canning still maintained his position, battling against unnumbered -difficulties; Sir Colin Campbell still remained at the head of the army, -well aware that his utmost skill as a military commander would long be -needed; and Sir John Lawrence still held the Punjaub in his wonderful -grasp, displaying governing powers of the very highest order at an -eminently critical time. On the other hand, the Anglo-Indians had to -mourn over a sad death-list. Henry Lawrence, Havelock, Colvin, Neill, -Venables, Nicholson, William Peel, Adrian Hope, Wheeler, Barnard, Banks, -Battye—all, and a vast many more gallant spirits, had sunk under the -terrible pressure of the past twelve months. - -Appropriating the present chapter to a rapid glance at the progress of -events in the month of May, and beginning (as usual) with the Bengal -regions, we may conveniently notice two or three arrangements made by -the Calcutta government, bearing relation either to the state of the -army, or to the condition of civilians affected by the mutiny. - -Among the earliest measures taken to reconstruct the Bengal army, so -shattered by the mutiny, was one announced in a government notification -on the 7th of May. It was to the effect that four regiments of Bengal -_European_ cavalry should be formed, in lieu of eight regiments of -Bengal _native_ cavalry, erased from the list of the establishment for -mutinous conduct. Each regiment was to consist of 1 colonel, 2 -lieutenant-colonels, 2 majors, 14 captains, 18 lieutenants, 8 cornets, 1 -adjutant, 1 interpreter and quartermaster, 4 surgeons and assistants, -119 non-commissioned and subordinate officers of various kinds, and 700 -privates; making a total of 870—an unusually large number for a cavalry -regiment. In addition to these, there were to be native syces, -grass-cutters, and quarter-masters, attached to each regiment; and -various persons employed at the depôt. The pay was to be the same as in -the royal dragoon regiments. Each regiment was to be divided into ten -troops. As the officers were to be about doubly as numerous as the -English officers in the disbanded native regiments, it was calculated -that the four new would absorb the officers of eight old regiments. The -regiments thus extinguished by this first process, were the 1st, 2d, 3d, -4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th Bengal native cavalry; the 5th and the 8th -were left to be dealt with at some subsequent period. As for any larger -measures connected with the reconstruction of a _native_ Bengal army, -these were left for determination at a later period, after collating the -opinions of the most experienced authorities in India. - -The distress experienced by the British troops from the intense heat of -the Indian sun, and the severe strictures passed by the press and by -members of the legislature on those regimental officers who permitted or -compelled their soldiers to swelter in red cloth, led to the issuing of -orders concerning light summer clothing. It was found that a kind of -gray or dust-coloured linen called _khakee_ or _carkey_ was better -suited than anything else—even white—as a material for clothing in the -hot season; and hence the issuing of an order by the adjutant-general, -on the 21st of May, to the effect noted below.[171] This question -concerning appropriate clothing had long been discussed by military men -in India: the officers of greatest experience being those who most -disapproved the wearing of closely fitting garments in such a climate. -General Jacob had resolutely contended against the adoption of English -uniforms by the sepoys of the Company’s army. He said: ‘A sepoy of the -line, dressed in a tight coat; trousers in which he can scarcely walk, -and cannot stoop at all; bound to an immense and totally useless -knapsack, so that he can scarcely breathe; strapped, belted, and -pipe-clayed within an inch of his life; with a rigid basket-shako on his -head, which requires the skill of a juggler to balance, and which cuts -deep into his brow if worn for an hour; and with a leather-stock round -his neck, to complete his absurd costume—when compared with the same -sepoy, clothed, armed, and accoutred solely with regard to his comfort -and efficiency—forms the most perfect example of what is madly called -the “regular” system with many European officers, contrasted with the -system of common sense now recommended for adoption.’ The graphic -description by Mr Russell, of the officers and men in Sir Colin -Campbell’s army of Oude, shews how eager soldiers are to get rid of -their irksome uniforms when permitted, under the influence of a heat -denoted by the cabalistic mark 100° F. or 110° F.: ‘Except the -Highlanders—and when they left Lucknow they were panting for their -summer clothes, and had sent officers to Cawnpore to hurry them—not a -corps that I have seen sport a morsel of pink or shew a fragment of -English scarlet. The Highlanders wear eccentric shades of gray linen -over their bonnets—the kilt is discarded, or worn out in some regiments; -and flies, mosquitoes, and the sun are fast rendering it impossible in -the others. Already many officers who can get trews have discarded the -ponderous folds of woollen stuff tucked into massive wads over the hips, -and have provided some defence against the baking of their calves by -day, and have sought to protect their persons against the assaults of -innumerable entomological enemies by night. The artillery had been -furnished with excellent head-covers and good frocks of light stuff.... -The 7th Hussars, the Military Train, have vestiary idiosyncrasies of -their own; but there is some sort of uniformity among the men. Among the -officers, individual taste and fantasy have full play. The infantry -regiments, for the most part, are dressed in linen frocks, dyed carkey -or gray slate-colour—slate-blue trousers, and shakos protected by -puggerees, or linen covers, from the sun. The peculiarity of carkey is -that the dyer seems to be unable to match it in any two pieces, and that -it exhibits endless varieties of shade, varying with every washing, so -that the effect is rather various than pleasing on the march or on the -parade-ground. But the officers, as I have said, do not confine -themselves to carkey or anything else. It is really wonderful what -fecundity of invention in dress there is, after all, in the British mind -when its talents can be properly developed. To begin with the -head-dress. The favourite wear is a helmet of varying shape, but of -uniform ugliness.... Whatever it might be in polished steel or burnished -metal, the helmet is a decided failure in felt, or wicker-work, or pith, -so far as external effect is concerned. It is variously fabricated, with -many varieties of interior ducts and passages leading to escape-holes -for imaginary hot air in the front or top, and around it are twisted -infinite colours and forms of turbans with fringed ends and laced -fringes. When a peacock’s feather, with the iris end displayed, is -inserted in the hole in the top of the helmet, or is stuck in the -puggeree around it, the effect of the covering is much enhanced; and -this style is rather patronised by some of the staff. The coat may be of -any cut or material, but shooting-jackets hold their own in the highest -posts; and a carkey-coloured jerkin, with a few inches of iron -curb-chain sewed on the shoulders to resist sabre-cuts, is a general -favourite.... As to the clothing of the nether man, nothing but a series -of photographs could give the least notion of the numerous combinations -which can be made out of a leg, leather, pantaloons, and small-clothes. -Long stage-boots of buff-coloured leather—for the manufacture of which -Cawnpore is famous—pulled up over knee-breeches of leather or regimental -trousers, are common. There are officers who prefer wearing their -Wellingtons outside their pantaloons, thus exhibiting tops of very -bright colours; and the boot and baggy trousers of the Zouave officer -are not unknown.’ - -The next point to be adverted to affected civilians and private traders -more extensively than the military. The compensation to sufferers by the -mutiny, a much-disputed question for nearly twelve months, was put into -a train for settlement by a government order issued at Calcutta in May. -This order applied to Bengal only, as being a region quite large enough -to be brought within one set of official rules. The compensation was to -be for loss of property and effects, leaving losses affecting life or -health to be settled by a distinct machinery. A Mr E. Jackson was -appointed at Calcutta as commissioner to inquire into claims for -compensation. A limit was named, the 26th of August, after which no -claims would be received from persons resident in India: an extension of -time being allowed for those who were not in that country. In cases -where the amount claimed did not exceed fifty thousand rupees, the -application to the commissioner was to be accompanied by a detailed -statement of the particulars of the claim, and of the evidence adducible -in support of it; but where the property was of higher amount, the -regulation required only a general estimate to accompany the -application, a further period of three months being allowed for the -preparation and submission of the detailed statement of losses. It was -at the same time very pointedly mentioned that these preliminary -operations did not constitute an actual _claim_ on the Company for any -compensation whatever. ‘It is to be understood that the registry of -applications above provided for does not imply any recognition of claims -to compensation; the Honourable Court of Directors having expressly -reserved their final decision upon the question, whether or not -compensation for losses sustained by the mutiny shall be awarded.’ The -Company probably deemed it wise, in the uncertainty how large might be -the total aggregate sum claimed, to avoid any formal pledge that these -compensations could be rightfully demanded and would be really paid. The -above, we have said, applied to Bengal; but about the same time a -similar notification appeared at Allahabad, applicable to the Northwest -Provinces. Mr C. Grant and Mr E. H. Longden were named commissioners to -record and register claims. The conditions were generally the same as -those in Bengal; and to them was added an announcement that -‘Applications will be received, subject to the same rules, from natives -of the country for compensation, on account of loss of property caused -by their known loyalty and attachment to the British government.’ A -similar announcement was afterwards made, extending the boon to the -province of Oude. - -Superadded to the arrangements made for the succour of those who had -borne pecuniary loss by the mutiny, was one dated May 25th. This was to -the effect that some provision would be made for the relief of the -destitute families of persons who had died after the loss of their -property, even though the death were not occasioned by the mutiny. It -was thereupon determined that grants of money should be given to -families rendered impoverished by this double calamity; the grants to be -regulated on the same principle as those allowed to European and native -officers of the government. - -[Illustration: - - DACCA. -] - -One of the resolutions arrived at by the authorities at Calcutta gave -very general satisfaction—except to a few officers jealous of any -encroachments on the privileges of the army. Whether suggested at home, -or in India, the movement was in the right direction. The regulation was -to the effect that civilians who had distinguished themselves in the -field since the commencement of the mutiny, or who should so distinguish -themselves before the mutiny ended, should be allowed to participate in -the honours which had hitherto been considered peculiar to the military -service. The civil servants of the Company, as a body, greatly raised -themselves in the estimation of the nation by the gallantry which many -of them displayed under circumstances of great peril—not only in -defending their posts against large bodies of insurgents, but in sharing -those field and siege operations which are more immediately sources of -honour to military men. What those honours were to be, depended partly -on the crown, partly on the Company; but the object of the order was to -shew that the civil position of a gallant man should not necessarily be -a bar to his occupancy of an honoured place among military men. - -In entering now upon the military operations of the month, it is -satisfactory to know that nothing important presents itself for record -in connection with the eastern regions of Bengal. There were few or no -actual mutinies, for reasons more than once assigned in former chapters. -Notwithstanding this safety, however—partly through the superstitious -character of the natives of India, and partly through the uneasy feeling -prevailing in the minds of Europeans during the mutiny—the newspapers -were frequently engaged in discussing mysteries, rumours, and prophecies -of a strange character. One, connected more with Bengal than with the -other provinces, related to ‘something white,’ which was to be ominous -of British rule in India. Where it arose, or how, remained as -undiscoverable as the chupatty mystery; but the rumour put on various -forms at different times and places. At Tipperah, the native story told -of a ‘white thing’ which would be unprocurable after some time. At -Chittagong, a particular day was named, when, ‘out of four things, three -would be given and one withheld;’ and at Jessore, the bazaar-people -became so excited concerning a prophetic rumour of an equally -enigmatical kind, that the magistrate endeavoured to elicit something -from his police-darogah that might explain it; but the man either could -not or would not tell how the story arose. In Dacca and other places the -prediction assumed this form—that after a certain period, a certain -‘white thing’ would cease to exist in India; and in some instances the -exact interval was named, ‘three months and thirteen days.’ - -Occasionally, the authorities found it necessary to watch very closely -the proceedings of Mohammedan fanatics; who, at Burdwan, Jessore, -Rungpoor, and other places, were detected in attempts to rouse up the -people to a religious war. Fortunately, the townsmen and villagers did -not respond to these appeals. Southwest of Calcutta, the Sumbhulpore -district, disturbed occasionally by rebel bands intent on plunder, was -kept for the most part tranquil by the firm management of Colonel -Forster. In the month of May he hit upon the plan of inviting the still -faithful chieftains of the districts to furnish each a certain number of -soldiers to defend British interests, on promise of a due recognition of -their services afterwards. The chieftains raised two thousand -matchlockmen among them, and took up such positions as Colonel Forster -indicated—a measure which completely frustrated and cowed the rebels. - -We may pass at once to a consideration of the state of affairs in Behar -or Western Bengal, comprising the districts around what may be called -the Middle Ganges. This region, as former chapters have sufficiently -told, and as a glance at a map will at once shew, contains many -important cities and towns, which were thrown into great commotion by -the mutiny—such as Patna, Dinapoor, Arrah, Buxar, Azimghur, Goruckpore, -Ghazeepore, Jounpoor, Sasseram, Benares, Chunargur, and Mirzapore. It is -true that many of these were formerly included within the government of -the ‘Northwest Provinces,’ and then in that of the ‘Central Provinces;’ -but this is a matter of little consequence to our present purpose; if we -consider them all to belong to the Mid-Ganges region, it will suffice -for the present purpose. - -The condition of the region just defined, during May, depended mainly on -the relation between Sir Edward Lugard on the one hand, and the -Jugdispore rebels on the other. How it fared with this active general -and the troops under his command, when April closed, we have already -seen. It will be remembered that about the middle of that month, Koer -Singh took up a strong position at Azimutgurh, from which Lugard deemed -it necessary to dislodge him; that Lugard himself remained encamped at -Azimghur with the bulk of his Azimghur field-force, in order that he -might watch the proceedings of numerous bands of rebels under the Rajahs -of Nuhurpoor and Naweejer and Gholam Hossein, hovering about the -districts of Sandah, Mundoree, and Koelser; but that he made up a strong -column to pursue Koer Singh. This column, placed under the command of -Brigadier Douglas, consisted of the following troops: H.M. 4th foot; a -wing of the 37th foot; a detachment of Punjaub Sappers; two squadrons of -Sikh cavalry; a squadron of the Military Train; and nine guns and -mortars. Then followed the series of cross-purposes, in which Koer Singh -was permitted or enabled to work much more mischief than Sir Edward had -anticipated. The events may briefly be recapitulated thus: On the 17th -and 18th, Douglas, after starting with his column from Azimghur, came up -with the rebels, defeated them at Azimutgurh, and chased them to Ghosee, -Nugra, and Secunderpore. On the 19th he found that they intended to -cross the Gogra before he could come up to them in pursuit—an intention -which he strove to render nugatory. On the 20th he encountered them -again, at Muneer Khas, defeated them with great slaughter, captured most -of their munitions of war, and dispersed the rebels, the main body of -whom fled towards Bullah and Beyriah. On the 21st, Douglas had the -mortification, on reaching Sheopore, of finding that Koer Singh had -outwitted the officer who had been ordered to guard the passage of the -Ganges in the vicinity of Ghazeepore with about nine hundred men; the -wily chief of Jugdispore had got in the rear of the detachment by a -flank-movement, and had crossed the Ganges at an undefended spot. Then -followed Captain Le Grand’s disastrous expedition to Jugdispore on the -23d; the crossing of the Ganges on the 25th by Douglas, with his column; -and the advance towards Arrah and Jugdispore to retrieve the disaster. -To what results these operations led in the month of May, we have now to -see. - -Brigadier Douglas arrived at Arrah with a part of his force on the 1st -of May, the rest having arrived two days earlier; but Douglas not being -in sufficient force to effectually encompass the enemy, and the -importance of thoroughly routing Koer Singh being evident, Sir Edward -Lugard, leaving a few troops to guard Azimghur, set out for the Ganges -with his main column, crossed over into the Shahabad district on the 3d -and following days, and prepared for operations in the direction of -Arrah and Jugdispore. The rebels, estimated at seven or eight thousand, -were supposed to be intrenching themselves, and getting in supplies. On -the 8th, Sir Edward arrived in the vicinity of Jugdispore, and came in -sight of some of the rebels. Two companies of the 84th foot, with -detachments of Madras Rifles, and Sikh horse, aided by two -horse-artillery guns, were sent back to Arrah, to protect that place -while operations were being directed against Jugdispore. The -commissioner of Patna at the same time sent the steamer _Patna_ up the -Ganges, to watch the ghâts or ferries. On the 9th, Sir Edward marched -his force from Beheea to an open plain a little to the west of -Jugdispore. Here he intended to encamp for a while, to allow Colonel -Corfield to come up with some additional troops from Sasseram. -Circumstances occurred, however, to change his plan. In the afternoon of -this day a large body of rebels formed outside the jungle, and moved in -the direction of Arrah; but these were quickly followed by cavalry and -horse-artillery, and driven back into the jungle. Another body, much -more numerous, began to fire into Sir Edward’s camp before he could get -his baggage well up and tents fixed. This determined him to attack them -at once. Dividing his force into three columns, he planned an assault on -Jugdispore on three points at once. The place was carried after a little -skirmishing, the rebels making only a slight resistance; they retired to -Lutwarpore, in the jungle district, taking with them two guns which they -had captured from the British in the preceding month. The loss on both -sides was trifling. Leaving a strong party to retain Jugdispore, Lugard -returned to his camp in the evening. According to the rumours prevalent, -Koer Singh, who had so long been a source of annoyance to the British, -had died of his wounds; and the rebels, under his brother Ummer Singh, -were ill supplied and in much confusion. A nephew of Koer Singh, named -Ritbhunghur Singh, gave himself up to the British a short time -afterwards—hopeful of insuring forgiveness by being able to shew that, -in earlier months, he had befriended certain Europeans in a time of -great peril. On the 10th, after ordering all the fortifications at -Jugdispore, and all the buildings which had belonged to Koer Singh, to -be destroyed, Lugard prepared to follow the rebels into the jungle. He -arranged that Colonel Corfield, with the Sasseram force, should approach -Lutwarpore in one direction, while he himself intended to advance upon -it from Jugdispore. On the 11th and 12th much fighting took place. Sir -Edward took the rebels by surprise; they expected to be attacked from -Arrah or Beheea, but he marched westward through a belt of jungle to -Hettumpore, and attacked them on a side which they believed to be quite -safe. Lugard and Corfield were everywhere successful. It was, however, a -harassing kind of warfare, bringing more fatigue than glory; the rebels, -though chastised everywhere, avoided a regular engagement, and retreated -into the jungle after every partial skirmish. At Arrah, Jugdispore, -Lutwarpore, Hettumpore, Beheea, Peroo, and Chitowra, Lugard defeated and -cut them up at various times in the course of the month; yet he could -not prevent them from recombining, and collecting around them a rabble -of budmashes and jail-felons. Sir Edward hoped, at any rate, to be able -so to employ a strong detachment of cavalry as to prevent the rebels -from crossing the river Sone, and carrying anarchy into other districts. -They nevertheless continued to harass the neighbourhood by freebooting -expeditions, if not by formidable military projects. After Lugard’s -defeat of the main force, some of the insurgents broke up into bands of -a few hundreds each, and were joined by budmashes from the towns and -revolted villages. One party attacked an indigo factory near Dumoran, -and burned it to the ground; another effected a murderous outbreak at -the village of Rajpore, near Buxar; another threatened the -railway-bridge works at Karminassa. These mischievous proceedings -naturally threw the whole district into agitation. The threat against -the railway-works was fully carried out about the end of the month; for -the devastators destroyed the engineers’ bungalows and the workmen’s -sheds, set fire to all the wood and coal collected for brick-burning, -destroyed everything they could easily lay their hands on, and -effectually stopped the works for a time. Nothing could be done to quell -these disturbances, until a British force appeared. - -Practically, therefore, the ‘Azimghur field-force,’ under Sir Edward -Lugard, succeeded in breaking down the military organisation of the -rebels in that part of India, without being able to prevent the -formation of roaming bands bent on slaughter and devastation. And even -the limited amount of advantage gained was purchased at a high price; -for the tremendous heat of the sun struck down the poor soldiers with -fatal certainty; numbers of them were carried from Jugdispore to Arrah, -towards the close of the month—prostrated by sickness, wounds, fatigue -from jungle fighting, and sun-stroke. - -Somewhat further to the north, in the Goruckpore district, another group -of rebels continued to harass the country, disturbing the operations of -peaceful planters and traders. About the end of May, the rebel leader -Mahomed Hussein, with four thousand men, suddenly made an attack upon -the Rajah of Bansee, one of those who had remained faithful to the -British government. The rajah was obliged to flee to a stronghold in a -neighbouring jungle; and then his palace, with the town of Bansee, were -plundered by the rebels. Mr Wingfield, the commissioner of Goruckpore, -immediately started forth with two hundred and fifty Europeans and some -guns to the relief of the rajah, whom he found besieged in his -stronghold. The enemy fled precipitately on hearing of Wingfield’s -approach, notwithstanding the immense disparity of force. The energetic -commissioner then proceeded with the rajah to attack some rebel -villages; while a simultaneous advance was made on Amood by Colonel -Rowcroft. The object of these demonstrations was to keep the rebels in -check until the rains set in, and the waters of the Gogra rose. Towards -the end of the month, four Europeans came into Goruckpore from a -neighbouring station, where they had been suddenly attacked by a body of -rabble under one Baboo Surdoun Singh, and other leaders. This was one -among many evidences of a still disturbed condition of the Goruckpore -district. The district was in a slight degree protected by the passage -of a body of troops who, though retiring rather than fighting, exerted -some kind of influence on the evildoer of the country. We speak of the -Goorkhas of Jung Bahadoor’s Nepaulese contingent. These troops retreated -slowly from Oude towards their own country, neither receiving nor giving -satisfaction from their late share in the warlike operations. After a -sojourn of some time at Goruckpore, they resumed their march on the 17th -of May, proceeding by brigades, and consuming much time in arranging and -dragging their enormous supply of vehicles. They crossed the river -Gunduck at Bagaha, with much difficulty. A distance of about thirty -miles then brought them to Bettiah, and fourteen more to Segowlie—very -near the frontier of the British dominions. It was early in the -following month when the Goorkhas finally reached their native country, -Nepaul—their leader Jung Bahadoor being, though still faithful as an -ally, somewhat dissatisfied by his failure in obtaining notable -advantage from the governor-general in return for services rendered. -Viscount Canning had, many months earlier, received fierce newspaper -abuse for not having availed himself more promptly of aid offered by -Jung Bahadoor; but there now appeared much probability that caution had -been all along necessary in dealing with this ambitious chieftain. - -Directing attention next to the region of the Jumna and the Upper -Ganges, we have to notice the continuance of insubordination around the -Allahabad region, almost in the very presence of the governor-general -himself, who still remained, with his staff, in that station. One of the -most vexing symptoms of mischief at this place was the occurrence of -incendiarism—the burning of buildings by miscreants who could not be -discovered. On the 24th of May a new range of barracks was found to be -on fire, and six bungalows were completely destroyed. The prevalence of -a fierce wind, and the scarcity of water, frustrated for some time all -attempts to extinguish the flames. One poor invalid soldier was burned -to death, and many others injured. Beyond the limits of the city itself, -it was a state of things very unexpected by the supreme authorities, -that the road from Allahabad through Futtehpoor to Cawnpore—a road more -traversed than any other by British troops throughout twelve months of -anarchy—should in the middle of May be scarcely passable without a -strong escort. Yet such was the case. The opposition to the British raj, -though it had assumed a guerrilla character, was very harassing to deal -with. The British were strong in a few places; but the rebels were in -numerous small bodies, scattered all over the surrounding country; and -these bodies occasioned temporary panics at spots where there was no -force to meet them. The thorough knowledge of the country, possessed by -some of the leaders, enabled them to baffle the pursuers; and thus it -arose that these petty bands occasioned alarms disproportionate to the -number of men comprising them. Sometimes they would occupy the great -trunk-road, between Allahabad and Cawnpore, and close up all means of -transit unless attacked and driven away by force. On the other hand, -this district exhibited a remarkable union of the new with the old, the -European with the oriental, the practical with the primitive—arising out -of the opening of a railway through a part of the route. After reading, -as we so often have in this volume, of toilsome marches by sunburnt and -exhausted troops over rough roads and through jungle-thickets, it is -with a peculiar feeling of interest that we find an announcement to the -effect, that ‘on the 26th of May a special train left Allahabad with a -party of Sikhs to reinforce Futtehpoor, which was said to be threatened -by a large force of the enemy.’ Had this railway been opened when or -soon after the Revolt began, there is at least a fair probability that -the Cawnpore massacre might have been prevented—provided always that the -railway itself, with its locomotives and carriages, were _not in rebels’ -hands_. - -Allahabad, about the period now under notice, was made the subject of a -very important project, one of many arising out of the mutiny. The -Indian government had long and fully considered the various advantages -likely to be derived from the founding of a great Anglo-Indian capital -at some spot far removed from the three older presidential cities of -Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. The spot selected was Allahabad. The -peculiarities of this very important station, before and during the -mutiny, have been frequently noticed in past chapters. Occupying the -point of the peninsula formed by the junction of the two grand rivers -Ganges and Jumna, Allahabad is scarcely paralleled for situation by any -other city in India. The one river brings down to it a stream of traffic -from Kumaon, Rohilcund, Furruckabad, Cawnpore, Futtehpoor, and the -southwestern districts of Oude; while the other brings down that from -Kurnaul, Roorkee, Meerut, Delhi, Muttra, Agra, Calpee, and a wide range -of country in Rajpootana, Bundelcund, and the Doab. On the other sides, -too, it has an extraordinary number of large military and commercial -towns within easy reach (in peaceful times), such as Lucknow, Fyzabad, -Sultanpore, Goruckpore, Azimghur, Jounpoor, Benares, Ghazeepore, -Mirzapore, Dinapoor, and Patna. Agra was at one time intended to have -been converted into a presidential city, the capital of an Agra -presidency; but the intention was not fully carried out; the Northwest -Provinces were formed into a lieutenant-governorship, with Agra as the -seat of government; but the events of the mutiny shewed the necessity of -holding with a strong hand the position of Allahabad, as a centre of -great influence; and Agra began to fall in relative importance. - -[Illustration: - - FYZABAD. -] - -It has been remarked that England has seldom built cities as a nation, -as a government; cities have _grown_, like the constitution, without -those preconceived theories of centralised organisation which are so -prevalent on the continent of Europe. It has been much the same in India -as in England. The three presidential capitals—Calcutta, Madras, and -Bombay—became what they are, not from the development of a plan, but -from a series of incidents having little relative connection. ‘Our three -capitals are congeries of houses, without order, or beauty, or -healthiness other than nature may have supplied. Our cantonments, which -sometimes grow into cities, are generally stuck down in a plain as a -kind of petrified encampment. Even when founding, as in Rangoon, it is -with the utmost difficulty we can compel successive governors to care -whether the original plan be not set aside.’ A problem arose whether -Allahabad might not be an exception to this rule. Standing at the -extreme end of the Doab, and bounded by two fine rivers on the north, -south, and east, it is susceptible of any degree of enlargement by -including additional ground on the west; it might be made one of the -strongest forts in India; and its rivers, aided by the railway when -finished, might make it a great centre of trade. Most of the conditions, -therefore, were favourable to the building of a fine Anglo-Indian city -on that spot. The river frontages, it is easily seen, might easily be -defended against any attacks which orientals could bring against them. -On the west or land side, it was proposed to construct a line of -intrenchment, or a sort of intrenched camp, four miles in length, from -river to river. This fortification would consist mainly of two great -redoubts on the river-banks, each capable of holding an entire regiment, -but each defensible by a small force if necessary. With these two -redoubts, and one midway between them, and earthern embankments to -connect the three, it would be possible to render Allahabad impregnable -to any hostile force likely to be brought against it. Within the space -thus marked out by the embankment and the rivers would be included a -cantonment, a European town, and a native town. The cantonment, a -complete military establishment for four or five regiments, would be -near the western boundary, on the Jumna side. Eastward of this would be -the new English town, built in plots of ground let on lease to builders -(native or European), who would be required, in building houses, shops, -and hotels, to conform to some general plan, having reference to the -railway station as a centre of trade. Nearer the Ganges would be the -native town; while at the point of junction of the two rivers would be -the existing fort, extended and enlarged so as to form if needed a last -stronghold for all the Europeans in Allahabad. Many of the details in -the plan were suggested during a period of panic fear, when the natives -were looked upon as if they were permanently bitter enemies; and, during -the long course of years necessary for working out the idea, great -modification in these details might be expected; but the general -character of the scheme, as developed about the period to which this -chapter relates, may be understood from the above brief sketch. - -It was on the 5th of May that a notification appeared at Allahabad, -signed by Mr Thornhill, officiating commissioner under the -governor-general, concerning the leasing of land in that city for -building purposes. The terms were evidently framed with the intention of -attracting the notice of commercial firms, at Calcutta and elsewhere, to -Allahabad as a future emporium of commerce. The regulations may be -summarily noticed as follow: A new civil European town to be formed near -the railway station at Allahabad, distinct from the cantonment, the -native town, and the fort. Land, in plots of three acres each, to be let -on lease by the government, for the erection of shops, hotels, -warehouses, and other buildings requisite for a European population. -Each plot to have a frontage of three hundred feet on a public road, -with a smaller road in the rear. Some of the plots to be let for -dwelling-houses; and these, as well as the hotels and shops, to receive -a certain systematic arrangement, laid down by the authorities for the -general convenience of the whole community. Priority of choice to be -given to those who intend to construct hotels, on account of the great -necessity for that species of accommodation in a newly collected -community. Plots, competed for by two or more persons, to be sold by -auction to the highest bidder. The lease to be for fifty years, unless a -shorter time be specified by agreement; and the lessee to have the -privilege of renewal, under approval as to conditions, but not with any -rise of rental. The rent to be thirty rupees (about £3) per acre per -annum. Leases to be transferable, and sub-letting to be permitted, on -payment of a registration fee; provided the transferree or sublessee -enter into an engagement to fulfil the necessary conditions to the -government. Every lessee to specify the kind of structures he intends to -build on his plot; to commence building within one year after obtaining -the lease; and to finish in three years—on forfeiture both of the lease -and of a money penalty, if the building fail in kind, value, or time. -Lessees to be subject to such rates and taxes as may be imposed for -municipal purposes, and to all regulations of police and conservancy. -Lessees to be placed under stringent rules, concerning the employment of -thatch or other inflammable materials for the roofs of buildings. As a -general rule, one plot to one lessee; but if a special application be -made, and supported on sufficient grounds, two or more plots to be -leased together.—Such were the general regulations. At the time of -issuing the order, there were about forty plots set out as a -commencement to the system. - -The turbulent province of Oude next calls for attention; and as Sir -Colin Campbell’s operations bore almost equal reference to Oude and -Rohilcund, we will treat both provinces together. - -It will be remembered, from the details given in the last chapter, that -after the great conquest of Lucknow in March, a considerable time -elapsed before any effective attempts were made to overtake and defeat -the rebels who had escaped from that city. A few troopers and a few guns -were, it is true, sent in pursuit, but with no resources for a long -series of marchings and encampings. We have seen that Brigadier John -Jones, with the Roorkee field-force, about three thousand strong—H.M. -60th Rifles, 1st Sikh infantry, Coke’s Rifles, 17th Punjaub infantry, -the Moultan Horse, and detachments of artillery and engineers—advanced -into the heart of Rohilcund from the northwest, while Sir Colin Campbell -and General Walpole operated from the Oude or southeastern side: the -object being to hem in such of the rebels as had assembled in any force -in Rohilcund. Recapitulating the narrative in a few words, we may remind -the reader that Jones started from Roorkee on the 15th of the month; -crossed the Ganges on the 17th; defeated a body of rebels at Nagul on -the same day; and advanced during the next four days steadily on the -road to Mooradabad. On the 22d, he fought and won the battle of Nageena; -on the 23d, at Noorpoor, he struck into the high road from -Mozuffernugger to Mooradabad, with a view of protecting one of the ghâts -or ferries of the Ganges; on the 24th, he reached Chujlite, where he -learned that Feroze Shah, one of the numerous princes of the House of -Delhi, had taken and entered Mooradabad two days before; and on the 25th -he reached that town, which had been hastily evacuated by Feroze Shah on -the news of Jones’s approach. Encamping outside the town, Jones ordered -Lieutenant-colonel (formerly Major) Coke, who commanded the infantry -portion of his force, to march into Mooradabad, and make a diligent -search for a number of rebel chieftains believed to be hidden there. -This search was attended with unexpected success. Coke placed parties of -the Moultan cavalry at all the outlets of the city, to prevent escapes, -and then he attacked and searched all the houses in which rebel -chieftains were believed to be concealed. The capture of one of them was -marked by a daring act of intrepidity on the part of an English officer. -Nawab Mujjoo Khan, the chief of the rebels hereabouts, had caused -himself to be proclaimed Nawab of Mooradabad, and had instigated the -people to murder and plunder the Europeans in the place, many months -earlier. To capture this villain was a point of some importance. Coke -proceeded to the Nawab’s house with two guns, a party of Sappers, and -the 1st Punjaub infantry. The soldiers of the Nawab’s guard making a -stout resistance, many of them were shot down, including the son and -nephew of the Nawab. Lieutenant Angelo then burst open the door of the -room in which the Nawab and another of his sons were concealed, and -captured them. While so occupied, he was fired upon by some of the -Nawab’s guard, from an upper room; whereupon he rushed up stairs, burst -open the door, entered the room single-handed, and shot three men in -succession with his revolver; some of his troops then coming up, he -captured the rest of the guard. In short, the search was thoroughly -successful. The names and titles of twenty-one rebel chieftains -captured, containing many repetitions of Khan, Sheik, Ali, Hossein, Beg, -and Shah, shewed that these evildoers were mostly Mohammedans—the -Hindoos of Rohilcund having been much less extensively involved in -rebellion. While Jones was thus operating in the northwest, Walpole was -engaged, though less successfully, in the southeast. He started on the -9th from Lucknow, with the ‘Rohilcund Field-force,’ five thousand -strong; received a mortifying discomfiture on the 14th at Fort Rhodamow, -rendered more distressing by the death of Brigadier Adrian Hope; -defeated the rebels at Sirsa on the 22d; and crossed the Ramgunga at -Allygunje on the 23d. The commander-in-chief himself left Lucknow about -the middle of the month; started from Cawnpore at the head of a small -column on the 18th; advanced to Kilianpore, Poorah, Urrowl, -Meerun-ke-serai, Gosaigunje, and Kamalgunje between that date and the -24th; entered Furruckabad and Futteghur on the 25th; crossed the Ganges -on the 26th and 27th; joined Walpole’s field-force on the banks of the -Ramgunga on the 28th; marched to Kanth on the 29th; and reached -Shahjehanpoor on the 30th, in force sufficient to retake that city, but -not in time to capture the rebel Moulvie of Fyzabad, who escaped to work -mischief elsewhere.—We thus call to mind that, at the end of April, -Campbell and Walpole had advanced from the southeast as far as -Shahjehanpoor; while Jones had advanced from the northwest to -Mooradabad—the two forces being separated by the city of Bareilly, and a -wide expanse of intervening country. About the same time General Penny -was planning a march with a third column towards a point between -Bareilly and Shahjehanpoor, after crossing the Ganges at Nudowlee; he -was to march through the Budayoon district, and to unite his column with -Sir Colin’s main force at Meeranpore Kutra, six marches distant from -Futteghur. Bareilly, the chief city of Rohilcund Proper, became the -point to which the attention of the commanders of all three forces were -directed. We have now to see to what result these combinations led in -the following month. - -On the 2d of May the Rohilcund field-force, of which Sir Colin Campbell -now assumed the command in person, started from Shahjehanpoor, to -commence operations against Bareilly. A small force was left behind for -the defence of Shahjehanpoor, comprising one wing of the 82d foot, De -Kantzow’s Irregular Horse, four guns, and a few artillerymen and -sappers, under Colonel Hall. What befel this small force will presently -appear. Sir Colin marched on the 2d to Tilmul, over a fertile flat -country, diversified with topes of trees, but nearly overwhelmed with -dust, and inhabited by villagers who were thrown into great doubt by the -approach of what they feared might be a hostile force. On the 3d he -advanced from Tilmul to Futtehgunje; where he was joined by the force -which General Penny had undertaken to bring into Rohilcund from the -west. - -At this point it is desirable, before tracing the further operations of -the commander-in-chief, to notice the course of events which led to the -death of General Penny. Being at Nerowlee, on the 29th of April, and -believing that the rebels were in some force at the town of Oosait, -Penny set out with a column for service in that direction. This column -consisted of something under 1500 men: namely, 200 Carabiniers, 350 H.M. -64th, 250 Moultan Horse, 360 Belooch 1st battalion, 300 Punjaub 2d -infantry, a heavy field-battery, and a light field-battery with four -guns. The column left Nerowlee about nine in the evening; but various -delays prevented Penny from reaching Oosait, seven miles distant, until -midnight. It then appeared that the enemy had retired from Oosait, and, -as native rumour said, had retreated to Datagunje. The column advanced -deliberately, under the impression that no enemy was near; but when -arrived at Kukerowlee, it suddenly fell into an ambuscade. From the -language used by Colonel Jones of the Carabiniers, whose lot it was to -write the official account of this affair, it is evident that General -Penny had been remiss in precautionary measures; he shared the belief of -Mr Wilson, a political resident who accompanied him, that no enemy was -near, and under the influence of this belief he relaxed the systematic -order of march which had been maintained until Oosait was reached. ‘From -this point,’ we are told, ‘military precautions were somewhat neglected, -the mounted portion of the column being allowed very considerably to -outmarch the infantry; and eventually, though an advanced-guard was kept -up, it was held back immediately in front of the artillery.’ Penny with -his staff, and Mr Wilson, were riding at the head of the advanced-guard; -when at four o’clock, near Kukerowlee, they came into the midst of a -wholly unexpected body of the enemy; who poured out grape and round shot -at not more than forty yards’ distance, charged down from the left with -horsemen, and opened fire with musketry in front. One of the first who -fell was General Penny, brought low by grape-shot. Colonel H. R. Jones, -who now took the command, made the best arrangements he could to meet -the emergency. The four guns of the light field-battery were quickly -ordered up to the front, and the cavalry were brought forward ready for -a charge. There were, however, many difficulties to contend against. The -enemy’s right occupied a mass of sand-hills; their left was protected by -thick groves of trees; the town of Kukerowlee was in their rear to fall -back upon; and the dimness of the light rendered it impossible rightly -to judge the number and position of the rebels. Under these -circumstances, Colonel Jones deemed it best merely to hold his ground -until daylight should suggest the most fitting course of procedure, and -until the infantry should have arrived. When the 64th came up with the -cavalry and artillery which Penny had imprudently allowed to go so far -ahead, Colonel Bingham at once charged the enemy in front, and drove -them into the town. This done, Jones ordered the artillery to shell the -town; this completely paralysed the rebels, who soon began to escape -from the opposite side. Hereupon Jones sent his cavalry in pursuit; many -of the enemy were cut up, and one gun taken; but it was not deemed -prudent to continue this pursuit to any great distance, in a district -imperfectly known. This battle of Kukerowlee was thus, like nearly all -the battles, won by the British; and had it not been for the unfortunate -want of foresight on the part of General Penny, he might have been -spared to write the dispatch which described it. He was the only officer -killed. Those wounded were Captains Forster and Betty, Lieutenants -Eckford, Davies, and Graham. Eckford’s escape from death was very -extraordinary. The first fire opened by the rebels shot his horse from -under him; he then mounted an artillery-horse; a party of -Ghazees—fanatics who have sworn to die for their ‘deen’ or -faith—attacked him, wounded him, and stabbed his horse; Eckford fell -off; and a Ghazee gave him a tremendous cut over the back of the right -shoulder, and left him for dead; Surgeon Jones came up, and helped the -wounded lieutenant along; but the enemy pursuing, Eckford was made to -lie down flat on his face as if dead; the enemy passed on without -noticing him, and he was afterwards rescued by some of his companions. -Three days after this encounter with the rebels, Colonel Jones succeeded -in bringing poor Penny’s column into safe junction with Sir Colin’s -force at Futtehgunje—the mutineers and ruffians from the district of -Budayoon retiring before him, and swelling the mass of insurgents at -Bareilly. - -While this was doing, another Jones was marching through Rohilcund in a -different direction. It is necessary to avoid confusion in this matter, -by bearing in mind that Brigadier John Jones commanded the ‘Roorkee -field-force;’ while Colonel H. R. Jones held the temporary command of -the column lately headed by General Penny. The brigadier, in pursuance -of a plan laid down by Sir Colin, directed his march so that both might -reach Bareilly on the same day, the one from Mooradabad and the other -from Shahjehanpoor. While on his march, Jones expected to come up with -the rebels at Meergunje, a place within a few miles of Bareilly. He -found, however, that after constructing two batteries at the first-named -place, they had apparently misdoubted their safety, and retreated to -Bareilly. Cavalry, sent on in pursuit, overtook the rear of the rebels, -cut down great numbers of them, and captured two guns. At an early hour -on the 6th, the brigadier with his force arrived within a mile and a -half of a bridge contiguous to Bareilly, known as Bahadoor Singh’s -bridge. His reconnoitring party was fired upon. A skirmish at once -ensued, which lasted three hours, and ended in the capture of the -bridge; the rebels were driven back with great slaughter into Bareilly. -Just as Jones reached the margin of the city, he heard a cannonading -which denoted the arrival of the commander-in-chief from the opposite -direction. - -Having thus noticed the coalescence of the forces under the two Joneses, -we shall be prepared to trace the march of Sir Colin Campbell towards -the common centre to which the attention of all was now directed. - -After being reinforced at Futtehgunje by the column recently under the -command of Penny, Sir Colin resumed his march on the 3d of May. As he -advanced, he received news that the rebels were in much disorder. -Several of the chiefs had left them; and Nena Sahib, a coward -throughout, had sought safety by fleeing towards the border-region -between Oude and Nepaul. The main body had been some time at Fureedpore; -but when they heard of Sir Colin being at Futtehgunje they retreated to -Bareilly—thereby running into the power of another column. The -villagers, mostly Hindoos, told distressing tales of the extortions and -wrongs they had suffered at the hands of the Mohammedan chieftains, -during the twelve months that Rohilcund had been in the power of the -rebels; they made great profession of their joy at seeing the arrival of -an English army; but past experience had shewn that such profession -should be received with much qualification. Certain it was, that Sir -Colin Campbell, during his marches through Oude, the Doab, and -Rohilcund, received very little aid, and very little correct -information, from the villagers of the districts through which he -passed; they were either timid, or double-dealing, or both. In one of -his dispatches he said: ‘In spite of the assumed friendship of the -Hindoo portion of the population, I have not found it easier to obtain -information in Rohilcund, on which trust could be put, than has been the -case in dealing with the insurrection in other parts of the empire.’ On -the 4th, the commander-in-chief advanced from Futtehgunje to Fureedpore, -only one march from Bareilly. Rumours now arrived that not only Nena -Sahib, but the Delhi prince Feroze Shah, had sought safety by flight -from Bareilly; but that Khan Mahomed Khan still remained at the head of -the rebels. On this point, however, and on the number of the enemy’s -forces, no information was obtained that could be relied upon. As for -Bareilly itself, supposing no fortifications to have been thrown up by -the rebels, it could not long maintain a siege; seeing that, with the -exception of a stream with rather steep banks, there was no obstacle to -the entrance of a force from without. The city itself consisted mainly -of a street two miles long, with numerous narrow streets and lanes -branching off to the right and left; outside these streets and lanes -were large suburbs of detached houses, walled gardens, plantations, and -enclosures; and outside the suburbs were wide plains intersected by -nullahs. It was at present uncertain whether the two forces, from -Shahjehanpoor and Mooradabad, could prevent the escape of the enemy over -these lateral suburbs and plains; but such was certainly the hope and -wish of the commander-in-chief. - -[Illustration: - - Hindoo Fruit-girl. -] - -Early in the morning of the 5th, Sir Colin left his camping-ground at -Fureedpore, and advanced towards Bareilly. After a brief halt, the -videttes detected a body of rebel cavalry in the distance; and Sir Colin -at once marshalled his forces for an attack. The whole force was -brigaded into two brigades of cavalry, under Jones and Hagart; one of -artillery, under Brind; and two of infantry, under Hay and Stisted.[172] -Without reference to the brigades, however, the order of advance was -thus arranged: the 2d Punjaub cavalry formed a line of skirmishers on -the left of the main-road; the Lahore light horse formed a similar line -on the right; while across the road, and in support of these -skirmishers, was a line formed by troops of the 9th Lancers and the 1st -Punjaub cavalry, a troop of horse-artillery, and several field-guns. -Then came the 78th Highlanders, and a body of Sappers and Engineers, -along the road; the 93d foot on the right of the road; and the 42d -Highlanders on the left. Next, supporting and flanking these, were the -79th foot, the Carabiniers, the Moultan Horse, the remainder of the 9th -Lancers and of the Punjaub cavalry, and a wing of the Belooch battalion. -Then came the siege-train and the enormous array of baggage; flanked by -the 64th foot, a wing of the 82d, the 2d Punjaub infantry, and the 4th -Punjaub rifles. Lastly came the rear-guard, comprising the 22d Punjaub -infantry, the 17th irregular cavalry, a squadron of the 5th Punjaub -cavalry, and a troop of horse-artillery. As this strong force advanced, -the rebels fired a few shot from a battery set up at the entrance to -Bareilly; but they made scarcely any attempt to fortify or defend either -the stream that crossed the high road, or the bridge over the stream. -The enemy’s infantry appeared to be mostly congregated in the old -cantonment or sepoy-lines, while the cavalry were hovering about in -topes of trees. The infantry scarcely shewed; but the cavalry, aided by -horse-artillery, made demonstrations as if about to attack, in numbers -estimated at two or three thousand. This did not stay the progress of -Sir Colin, who was too strong to be affected by such an attempt. -Advancing through a suburb on one side of the city, he ordered the 42d, -the 79th, and a Sikh or Punjaub regiment, to explore a ruined mass of -one-storied houses. What followed may best be told in the language of Mr -Russell, who was with the army at the time: ‘As soon as the Sikhs got -into the houses, they were exposed to a heavy fire from a large body of -matchlockmen concealed around them. They either retired of their own -accord, or were ordered to do so; at all events, they fell back with -rapidity and disorder upon the advancing Highlanders. And now occurred a -most extraordinary scene. Among the matchlockmen, who, to the number of -seven or eight hundred, were lying behind the walls of the houses, was a -body of Ghazees or Mussulman fanatics, who, like the Roman Decii, devote -their lives with solemn oaths to their country or their faith. Uttering -loud cries, “Bismillah, Allah, deen, deen!” one hundred and thirty of -these fanatics, sword in hand, with small circular bucklers on the left -arm, and green cummerbungs, rushed out after the Sikhs, and dashed at -the left of the right wing of the Highlanders. With bodies bent and -heads low, waving their tulwars with a circular motion in the air, they -came on with astonishing rapidity. At first they were mistaken for -Sikhs, whose passage had already somewhat disordered our ranks. -Fortunately, Sir Colin Campbell was close up with the 42d; his keen, -quick eye detected the case at once. “Steady, men, steady; close up the -ranks. Bayonet them as they come on.” It was just in time; for these -madmen, furious with bang, were already among us, and a body of them -sweeping around the left of the right wing got into the rear of the -regiment. The struggle was sanguinary but short. Three of them dashed so -suddenly at Colonel Cameron that they pulled him off his horse ere he -could defend himself. His sword fell out of its sheath, and he would -have been hacked to pieces in another moment but for the gallant -promptitude of Colour-sergeant Gardiner, who, stepping out of the ranks, -drove his bayonet through two of them in the twinkling of an eye. The -third was shot by one of the 42d. Brigadier Walpole had a similar -escape; he was seized by two or three of the Ghazees, who sought to put -him off his horse, while others cut at him with their tulwars. He -received two cuts on the hand, but he was delivered from the enemy by -the quick bayonets of the 42d. In a few minutes the dead bodies of one -hundred and thirty-three of these Ghazees, and some eighteen or twenty -wounded men of ours, were all the tokens left of the struggle.’ - -Sir Colin had not yet reached Bareilly. The little skirmishing that had -occurred was in one of the suburbs. The enemy’s cavalry, though -powerless for any serious attack, succeeded in creating, by a dash -across the plain towards the baggage, an indescribable amount of alarm -among the camp-followers, bazaar-traders, horses, camels, bullocks, and -elephants. There was not much real fighting throughout the day; but the -heat was so intense, the poor soldiers suffered so much from thirst, so -many were brought low by sun-stroke, and all were so fatigued, that Sir -Colin resolved to bivouac on the plain for the night, postponing till -the next day an advance into, and the capture of, the city of Bareilly. - -Whether this delay on the road to victory was sound or not in a military -sense, it afforded the enemy an opportunity to escape, which they did -not fail to take advantage of. On the morning of the 6th, it was -ascertained that many of the leaders, and a large body of rebel troops, -had quietly left the place. Guns were brought to bear upon certain -buildings in the city, known or suspected to be full of insurgents; and -it was while this cannonade was in progress that Sir Colin became aware -of the arrival of Brigadier Jones, already adverted to. On the 7th the -two forces advanced into the city, and took complete possession of it, -but without capturing any of the leaders, or preventing the escape of -the main body of rebels. A large quantity of artillery, mostly of recent -native manufacture, fell into the hands of the victors, together with a -great store of shell, shot, and powder, for the manufacture of which, -materials and machinery had been provided by the rebels. - -Before proceeding with the narrative of Bareilly affairs, it will be -necessary to notice a very remarkable episode at Shahjehanpoor. It will -be remembered that when Sir Colin Campbell started from that place on -the 2d of May, to advance on Bareilly, he left behind him a small -defensive force. In his dispatch he said: ‘When I passed through -Shahjehanpoor, I was informed that the Fyzabad Moulvie, and the Nawab of -the former place, were at Mohumdee, with a considerable body of men who -had retired from Shahjehanpoor; and I thought it would be impolitic to -leave the district without evidence of our presence.’ He therefore told -off a small defensive force; comprising a wing of the 82d foot, -Lieutenant De Kantzow’s irregular horse, a few artillerymen, and four -guns. In obedience to orders left by Sir Colin, Colonel Hall, of the -82d, marched this small force from the camp at Azeezgunje, to occupy the -jail in the cantonment of Shahjehanpoor as a military post. There being -no shade within the cantonment, he pitched his camp for a time in a tope -of trees near the jail. He next formed the jail into a small intrenched -position, with four guns, and as large a supply of provisions as he -could procure. All this was done in one day, the 2d of May; and, indeed, -not an hour was to be lost; for a spy appeared on the following morning -to announce that a large body of rebels had arrived within four miles of -the place. This announcement proved to be correct. A strong band of -insurgents from Mohumdee in Oude, taking advantage of Sir Colin’s -departure from Shahjehanpoor, were advancing to regain possession of -that station. Colonel Hall immediately sent his baggage and provisions -into the jail, and ordered four companies of the 82d to guard the camp -during this transfer. Going out to reconnoitre, he saw the enemy’s -cavalry approaching. Lieutenant De Kantzow would willingly have charged -the enemy with his small body of horse; but the colonel, knowing the -overwhelming force of the rebels, and noting his instructions to act on -the defensive, forbade this charge. Both went into the jail, with their -handful of troops, and prepared for a resolute defence. The rebels -arrived, seized the old fort, plundered the town, put many of the -principal inhabitants to death, and established patrols on the river’s -bank. It was computed that they were little less than eight thousand -strong, with twelve guns. Against this strong force, Hall held his -position for eight days and nights, sustaining a continuous bombardment, -without thinking for an instant of yielding. Not until the 7th of the -month did the commander-in-chief hear of this disaster at Shahjehanpoor. -He at once made up a brigade; consisting of the 60th Rifles, the 79th -Highlanders, a wing of the 82d foot, the 22d Punjaub infantry, two -squadrons of Carabiniers, Cureton’s Horse, with some artillery and guns. -Brigadier Jones, who commanded this brigade, received at the same time -from Sir Colin discretionary power to attack the enemy at Mohumdee after -the relief of Hall at Shahjehanpoor, if he should so deem it expedient. -Jones, at the head of his brigade, started from Bareilly on the 8th, and -reached Shahjehanpoor on the 11th. At daybreak, a body of the enemy -having been seen, Jones sent out the Mooltan Horse to pursue them; but a -heavy mass of troops being now visible, it became necessary to draw up -in order of battle. The enemy’s cavalry began the battle; these were -driven off by Jones’s howitzers. Then the Highlanders and Rifles were -pushed on as skirmishers, supported by horse-artillery; and in a short -time the rebels were put to flight—allowing the brigadier to select his -own point of entrance into Shahjehanpoor. Fortunately he made himself -acquainted with the fact that many buildings in the suburbs had been -loopholed for musketry, and with the probability that many others in the -heart of the town had been similarly treated; he thereupon avoided the -main street, and made a detour through the eastern suburbs. No enemy was -visible within the town, until a strong party of troopers were found -drawn up near the school-house; these were quickly dispersed by a few -shrapnell shells, and a pursuit by the Carabiniers, leaving a gun and -some ammunition-wagons behind them. Jones continued his march by the -church, and across the parade-ground to the jail, where the gallant -little garrison under Colonel Hall had so long defended themselves -against an overwhelming force. The bold stand made by this officer was -an enterprise that excited little attention amid the various excitements -of the period; but Sir Colin Campbell did not fail to see that the -defence had been prompt, energetic, and skilful. The adjutant-general, -writing to the governor-general, said: ‘I am directed by the -commander-in-chief to inform his lordship that the lieutenant-colonel -hardly does justice to himself in his report of this defence, which was -conducted by him with prudence and skill, and consequently with trifling -loss. I am to add that Lieutenant-colonel Hall, although he makes no -mention of the fact, was himself wounded by a musket-bullet in the leg, -from the effect of which he has not yet (May 29th) recovered.’ - -To return to Bareilly. After the operations which have now been briefly -described, the insurgents were so completely driven out of Mooradabad, -Bareilly, and Shahjehanpoor, the principal towns in this province, that -it was no longer deemed necessary to keep up the ‘Rohilcund field-force’ -in its collected form; the various brigades, cavalry and infantry, were -broken up, and Sir Colin gave separate duties to his various officers, -according to the tenor of the information received from various parts of -the country. Some corps and detachments remained at Bareilly; some went -to Lucknow; one or two Punjaub regiments set off towards Meerut; and -General Walpole was placed in command in Kumaon and Rohilcund. It was -just at this time, the 11th of May, that Sir Colin Campbell received an -official notification from the Queen to thank his troops in her name for -their gallant services in earlier months. The address was, of course, -merely of a customary kind under such circumstances; but it constituted -one among the list of honours to which soldiers look as some reward for -their hard life.[173] The ‘last stronghold’ adverted to by him was -Bareilly; he could not then know that another stronghold, Gwalior, was -destined to be the scene of a much more sanguinary struggle. - -Among the arrangements more immediately affecting Rohilcund, was the -formation of a column for special service in the country districts. This -column, placed under the command of Lieutenant-colonel (now Brigadier) -Coke, comprised a wing of the 42d Highlanders, the 1st Punjaub rifles, -the 1st Sikh infantry, a detachment of the 24th Punjaub infantry, a -squadron of Carabiniers, the Moultan Horse, a detachment of the 17th -irregular cavalry, and a considerable force of artillery. With three -weeks’ supplies for the European troops, and four weeks’ for the native, -this column set forth from Bareilly on the 12th of May. - -The commander-in-chief, leaving instructions for the formation of -efficient defences at Bareilly, started off to some more central -station, where he could be in easy communication with the various -columns engaged in different parts of Northern India. General Walpole -took command of the whole of the Rohilcund troops; having under him -Coke’s brigade just adverted to, and Major Lennox to superintend the -engineering works at Bareilly. Mr Alexander established himself as civil -commissioner, to reorganise a government for that long-distracted -province. Being thus satisfied that affairs were in a good train, Sir -Colin started on the 15th, taking with him his head-quarters staff, the -64th foot, a wing of the 9th Lancers, and detachments of other troops. -The veteran commander bore heat and fatigue in a manner that astonished -his subordinates; he got through an amount of work which knocked up his -aids-de-camp; and was always ready to advise or command, as if rest and -food were contingencies that he cared not about. The natives, when any -of them sought for and obtained an interview with him, were often a good -deal surprised to see the commander of the mighty British army in -shirt-sleeves and a pith-hat; but the keen eye and the cool manner of -the old soldier told that he had all his wits about him, and was none -the worse from the absence of glitter and personal adornment. His -advance in the first instance was to Fureedpore, as a first stage -towards Futteghur; his second to Futtehgunje; but here he heard news -that changed his plans. To understand what occurred, we must revert to -the affairs at Shahjehanpoor. - -When Brigadier Jones had relieved Colonel Hall from his difficulties on -the 11th, he found that he had been engaged with a fragment only of the -enemy’s force; and he prepared for the contingency of a hostile -encounter. On the 15th he was attacked with great fury and in great -force by the rebels, who were headed by the Moulvie of Fyzabad, the -Begum of Oude, the Shahzada of Delhi, and (as some thought) by Nena -Sahib. The struggle continued throughout the day, and needed all the -activity and resources of the brigadier. So large was the body of -rebels, indeed, that he could do nothing more than act on the defensive -until reinforcements could reach him. This was the information received -by Sir Colin when at Futtehgunje. He immediately re-arranged his forces. -Leaving the 47th and 93d foot, the 17th Punjaub infantry, the 2d Sikh -cavalry, and some horse and foot artillery, to guard Bareilly; he -hastened towards Shahjehanpoor with the 64th foot, the Belooch -battalion, the 9th Lancers, and some horse and foot artillery. On the -17th he marched to Tilhur; moving cautiously, for the rebels were known -to be in great force not far distant. He rested during the mid-day heat, -in a tope of mango-trees beyond the village of Tilhur. In the evening, -information arrived that the Moulvie, with a large force, was strongly -posted on the Mohumdee road, a few miles northeast of Shahjehanpoor. -Mohumdee, which had been made a stronghold by the rebels, comprised a -brick-fort, mounted with twelve or fifteen guns, strengthened in various -ways, and protected within and without by troops. The Moulvie, as the -most skilful of the insurgent leaders, held the chief command in these -parts; but the Begum of Oude, and the Shahzada of Delhi, were believed -to be near at hand. Mohumdee itself was about twenty miles from -Shahjehanpoor; but the whole road was more or less commanded by the -rebels. In the early morn of the 18th Sir Colin started again. Arriving -at Shahjehanpoor, he passed the old camping-ground, made a partial -circuit of the city to the bridge of boats, crossed the bridge, and -traversed the city to the other side. It was found that the city had -suffered considerably by the cannonading which Brigadier Jones had been -compelled to inflict upon it, in his operations for the relief of the -little garrison under Colonel Hall; and that many of the respectable -inhabitants had deserted the place until more peaceful times, more -facilities for quiet trade, should arrive. - -When Sir Colin’s force joined that under Brigadier Jones, and the two -commanders compared notes, it was found that the brigadier’s troops had -suffered intensely from the heat. Mr Russell, who at that time—sick and -hurt by a kick from a horse—was carried in a doolie or litter among the -‘baggage’ of Sir Colin’s army, was not sufficiently in front to witness -much of the fighting; but his diary is full of vivid pictures of -camp-life under a burning sun: ‘In Rose’s attack on the enemy at Koonch, -eight men fell dead in the ranks, and upwards of twenty officers and men -had to be carried from the field through the heat of the sun. Nineteen -of our casualties at Bareilly, ten of which were fatal, were caused in -the same way. In fact, every march henceforth after ten o’clock in the -morning must be attended with loss of life.’—‘A peep into most of the -tents would discover many of the head-quarters’ staff panting on their -charpoys, in the nearest possible approach to Adamite costume, and -gasping for breath like carp on the banks of a moat. It may readily be -imagined—if officers, each of whom has a tent to himself, with kuskus -tatties, punkahs, and similar appliances to reduce the temperature, -suffer so much from heat—what the men endure, packed ten or twelve in a -tent, and in some regiments eighteen or twenty, without such resources, -and without change of light clothing; and how heavily picket-duty, -outlying and inlying, presses upon them.’ In encamping after a twilight -morning march, ‘it may be easily imagined how anxiously each man surveys -the trees about his tent as the site is marked out, and calculates what -shelter it will give him, and at what time the sun will find out his -weak points during the day; for indeed the rays do strike through every -interstice like red-hot shot. There is no indecision of shadow, no -infirmity of outline; for wherever the sun falls on the side of a tent, -it seems to punch out a fervid blazing pattern on the gray ground of the -canvas.’—‘The motion of a doolie is by no means unpleasant; but I -confess my experience of its comforts has now lasted quite long enough. -It is a long cot slung from a bamboo-pole, borne on the shoulders of -four men, two in front and two behind, who at a shuffling pace carry you -along the road at the rate of four miles an hour; and two spare men -follow as a relief. As the bottom of the litter hangs close to the -ground, the occupant has more than his share of all the dust that is -going; but if the curtains or tilts are let down, the heat becomes -insupportable.’—‘The march of Jones’s column to the relief of -Shahjehanpoor had told heavily upon the men. Upwards of thirty rank and -file of the 79th fell out in marching to and through the city; and the -60th Rifles, accustomed though they be to Indian warfare, were deprived -of the services of upwards of forty men from sun-stroke. It was -pitiable, I was told, to see the poor fellows lying in their doolies, -gasping their last. The veins of the arm were opened, and leeches -applied to the temples; but notwithstanding every care, the greater -number of the cases were fatal almost immediately; and even among the -cases of those who recovered, there are few who are fit for active -service again, except after a long interval of rest.’—‘I own I am -distressed when I see the 60th Rifles dressed in dark-green tunics, -which absorb the heat almost as much as if they were made of black -cloth, and their cloth forage-caps poorly covered with a few folds of -dark cotton. What shall we say of the 79th Highlanders, who still wear -that picturesque and extraordinary head-dress, with the addition of a -flap of gray cloth over the ears? If it were white, perhaps it would -afford some protection against the sun; but, as it is, this mass of -black feathers is surely not the head-dress that would be chosen by any -one, except a foolish fantastic savage, for the plains of India.’ - -Having arrived at Shahjehanpoor on the 18th, the commander-in-chief -wished to give his troops a little needful rest during the heat of the -day. A cavalry detachment, however, having gone out to reconnoitre, came -in sight of a small mud-fort containing four guns; the guns fired upon -the cavalry; the report of this firing brought forward a body of the -enemy’s troopers; and the appearance of these drew out Sir Colin and -nearly the whole of his force. Thus a battle-array was very unexpectedly -formed. Among the rebels was a large body of Rohilla troopers—active, -determined, well mounted, and well armed; and as these men fought better -than was wont among the enemy, and were supported by many guns, there -followed a good deal of cavalry and artillery skirmishing. During the -firing, a round-shot passed so close to Sir Colin Campbell and General -Mansfield as greatly to endanger both, and to increase the desire among -the soldiers generally that the commander-in-chief, who was very careful -of his men’s lives, would attach a little more value to his own. -Although the result of the encounter was to drive off the enemy to a -greater distance, it was not wholly satisfactory or decisive; Sir Colin -had not intended to resume active service until his troops had been -refreshed by a few hours’ rest; but the reconnaissance had been so -managed as to precipitate an engagement with the enemy. It was only a -small part of the rebel force that was thus encountered on the 18th; the -main body, eight or ten thousand strong, was at Mohumdee. - -The commander-in-chief, finding himself too weak in cavalry to pursue -the enemy with any effect, suspended operations for a few days; -remaining at Shahjehanpoor until Brigadier Coke’s column could join him -from the district of Pileebheet. Coke, in accordance with a plan already -noticed, was preparing to sweep round the country by way of Boodayoun to -Mooradabad; but he now joined Sir Colin, on the 22d; and preparations -were made for an immediate advance upon the rebel position at Mohumdee. -Again were the enemy beaten, and again did the Moulvie and the other -leaders escape. When the British marched to that place on the 24th they -found that the rebels had evacuated their strong fort, after destroying -the defence-works. They had also destroyed Kujoorea, a very strong -doubly intrenched position, surrounded by thick bamboo-hedges, and -having a citadel. Several guns were dug up at the last-named place; and -much property was discovered which had once belonged to the unfortunate -Europeans murdered by the rebels nearly twelve months earlier. - -Throughout the operations in Oude and Rohilcund, from May 1857 till May -1858, one of the master-spirits among the rebels was the Moulvie of -Fyzabad—a man whose name has been so often mentioned: ‘A tall, lean, and -muscular man, with lantern jaws, long thin lips, high aquiline nose, -deep-set large dark eyes, beetle brows, long beard, and coarse black -hair falling in masses over his shoulders.’ During the investigations -which were subsequently made into the plans and intrigues of the rebels -in Oude, the fact was ascertained that this Moulvie had been known many -years before as Ahmed Shah, a sort of inspired fanatic or fakeer. He -travelled through the Northwest Provinces on some sort of miraculous -mission which was a mystery to the Europeans; his stay at Agra was of -considerable duration, and was marked by the exercise of much influence -over the Mohammedan natives. Mr Drummond, magistrate of that city, kept -an eye on him as a suspicious character; and it was afterwards regarded -as a probability that the Moulvie had been engaged in some plotting -inimical to the English ‘raj.’ The commencement of the mutiny in May -1857 may have been determined by unforeseen circumstances; but abundant -proofs were gradually obtained that some sort of conspiracy had been -long before formed, and hence a reasonable inference that the Moulvie -may have been one of the conspirators. When the troops mutinied at -Fyzabad in June, they placed the Moulvie at their head. He had been in -that city in April, attended by several fanatic followers; and here he -circulated seditious papers, openly proclaiming a religious war. -Although the police on this occasion were ordered to arrest him, he and -his followers made an armed resistance which could not be suppressed -without military aid. The Moulvie was captured, tried, and condemned for -execution; but the Revolt broke out before he could thus be got rid of, -and then he suddenly changed character from a felon to a leader of a -formidable body of armed men. Though sometimes eclipsed in power by -other leaders, he maintained great influence over the rebels throughout -the turbulent proceedings of the period. There can be little doubt that -he had much of the sincerity of a true religious fanatic; and as he was -an able man, and free from the dastardly cruelty that so stained the -names of Nena Sahib and other leaders of unenviable notoriety, a certain -kind of respect was felt for him by the British whom he opposed. - -When the month of May ended, and Sir Colin Campbell had proceeded to -Futteghur as a central station whence he could conveniently watch the -progress of events, the Rohilcund and Roorkee field-forces were broken -up; and the regiments which had composed them were set apart for various -detached duties. Brigadier Seaton remained at Shahjehanpoor, with the -60th Rifles, the 82d foot, the 22d Punjaub infantry, Cureton’s cavalry, -two squadrons of the 6th Dragoon Guards, and some artillery. The 79th -Highlanders, and various detachments of artillery, took their departure -for Futteghur. The 64th went to Meerut; the 9th Lancers to Umballa; and -Coke’s Sikh brigade to Boodayoun or Pileebheet. At the end of the month -all was quiet at and near Shahjehanpoor, and the peaceful portion of the -inhabitants were returning; but it was doubtful how soon a new irruption -of rebels from Oude would throw everything again into confusion. Indeed -there were at that time many rebel leaders at the head of small bodies -of insurgents, ready for mischief; among whom were Baboo Ramnarain of -Islamnuggur, and Nizam Ali of Shahee—but these men could safely be -regarded rather as guerrilla chieftains than as military leaders. - -It was on this fitting occasion, when there seemed to be a lull in the -din of war, that Sir Colin Campbell issued a congratulatory address to -the troops of the Anglo-Indian armies. Although the address was not made -publicly known to the troops by the adjutant-general until the following -month, it was dated the 28th of May, and ran as follows: - -‘In the month of October 1857 the garrison of Lucknow was still shut up, -the road from Calcutta to Cawnpore was unsafe, the communications with -the northwest were entirely closed, and the civil and military -functionaries had disappeared altogether from wide and numerous -provinces. Under instructions from the Right Honourable the -Governor-general, a large plan was designed, by which the resources of -the three presidencies, after the arrival of reinforcements from -England, should be made available for combined action. Thus, while the -army of Bengal, gathering strength from day to day, has recovered the -Gangetic Doab, restored the communications with the northwest of the -empire, relieved the old garrison of Lucknow, afterwards taking that -city, reoccupying Rohilcund, and finally insuring in a great measure the -tranquillity of the old provinces—the three columns put in movement from -Bombay and Madras have rendered like great and efficient services in -their long and difficult marches on the Jumna, through Central India, -and in Rajpootana. These columns, under Major-generals Sir Hugh Rose, -K.C.B., Whitlock, and Roberts, have admirably performed their share in -the general combination arranged under the orders of his lordship the -governor-general. This combination was spread over a surface ranging -from the boundaries of Bombay and Madras to the extreme northwest of -India. By their patient endurance of fatigue, their unfailing obedience, -and their steadfast gallantry, the troops have enabled the generals to -fulfil their instructions. In no war has it ever happened that troops -have been more often engaged than during the campaigns which have now -terminated. In no war has it ever happened that troops should always -contend against immense numerical odds, as has been invariably the case -in every encounter during the struggle of the last year; and in no war -has constant success without a check been more conspicuously achieved. -It has not occurred that one column here, another there, has won more -honour than the other portions of the army; the various corps have done -like hard work, have struggled through the difficulties of a hot-weather -campaign, and have compensated for paucity of numbers in the vast area -of operations by continuous and unexampled marching, notwithstanding the -season. It is probable that much yet remains for the army to perform; -but now that the commander-in-chief is able to give the greater part of -it rest for a time, he chooses this moment to congratulate the generals -and troops on the great results which have attended their labours. He -can fairly say that they have accomplished in a few months what was -believed by the ill-wishers of England to be either beyond her strength, -or to be the work of many years.’ - -This address is not fully intelligible without taking into account -certain brilliant proceedings in Central India, hereafter to be noticed; -but it is transcribed here as a suitable termination to the Rohilcund -operations in the month of May. The other important affairs bearing -relation to it will find their due place of record. - -Oude itself has been very little mentioned in this chapter. The reason -is, that the most important section of the rebels escaped from that -province into Rohilcund, after the great siege of Lucknow, thereby -determining the main scene of struggle during May. There was not, -however, a total cessation of fighting in Oude. Sir Hope Grant, who had -been left at Lucknow by Sir Colin Campbell, had more than one encounter -with the rebels in the course of the month. Some of these operations -brought him, on the 10th, to a place called Doundea Khera, a fort -belonging to the rebel Ram Buksh. This fort, though of mud, was of -considerable strength; it was square, with earthen walls and bastions of -considerable thickness; it had four guns, and was rendered difficult of -approach by a ditch and belt of prickly jungle. The fort was, however, -found deserted when Sir Hope arrived. His work then consisted in -destroying the fort, and such of the buildings as could be shewn to have -belonged to Ram Buksh. This done, he advanced on the 12th to Nuggur. -Hearing that two thalookdars or chieftains, Beni Madhoo and Shewrutten -Singh, had assembled an army of fifteen thousand infantry, sixteen -hundred cavalry, and eleven guns, at Sirsee, a village and fort about -five miles off, Grant determined to attack them at once. He left all his -baggage, supplies, &c., with tents struck, in a safe position, with a -force of cavalry, infantry, and artillery for their protection. From the -extreme difficulty of obtaining correct information in that country, Sir -Hope was in much doubt concerning the ground occupied by the enemy; and -eventually he found it stronger than he had expected. The rebels were -drawn up on the banks of a nullah, with an extensive thick jungle in -their rear, rendered still stronger by the fortified village of Towrie. -At five in the afternoon the enemy’s first gun opened fire; but as soon -as Grant had formed his column, with cavalry and horse-artillery -covering his right flank, the rebels were attacked with such boldness -and vigour that they gave way, and were driven into the jungle, leaving -two iron guns behind them. Grant’s column was at one time almost -surrounded by the rebels; but a prompt movement of some of the regiments -speedily removed this difficulty. The rebels suffered severe loss, -including that of one of their leaders, Shewrutten. Sir Hope Grant, -deeming it imprudent to allow his troops to enter the jungle, bivouacked -for the night on the ground where the battle had been fought, and -returned on the morning of the 13th to his camp at Nuggur. During these -operations, he found himself within a short distance of the small Hindoo -temple in which Lieutenants Delafosse and Thomson, and several other -Europeans, sought refuge after their escape from the boat-massacre at -Cawnpore, eleven months earlier.[174] Much blood having been spilled on -that occasion, one of the objects of the present expedition was to bring -certain of the native miscreants to justice. Mr Elliott, -assistant-commissioner, who accompanied the column, went on to the -temple with a squadron of cavalry, took a few prisoners, and then -destroyed the temple—which still exhibited the shot-holes resulting from -the dastardly attack of a large body of natives on a few unarmed -Europeans. - -Towards the close of the month, Hope Grant found that a body of the -enemy was threatening Bunnee, and endeavouring to obtain command of the -high road between Lucknow and Cawnpore; this necessitated an expedition -on his part to frustrate the design. As a means of better controlling -approach to the capital, he blew up the stone-bridge over the Goomtee, -thus leaving the iron suspension-bridge as the only mode of crossing. - -Of Lucknow, little need be said in this chapter. The engineers were -employed in constructing such batteries and strongholds, and clearing -away such native buildings, as might enable a small British force to -defend the place; while Mr Montgomery, the newly appointed -chief-commissioner, was cautiously feeling his way towards a -re-establishment of civil government. Viscount Canning had given him -plenary powers, in reference to the issue of any proclamation to the -natives—powers which required much tact in their exercise; for there was -still a large amount of fierce opposition and vindictive feeling to -contend against. - -In the Doab, and the district adjacent to it, several minor affairs took -place during the month, sufficient to indicate a very turbulent -condition of portions of the population, even if not of great military -importance. At one period of the month five thousand rebels, in two -bodies, crossed the Kallee Nuddee, and marched along the western -boundary of the Futteghur district, burning and destroying villages. -They then crossed the Ganges into Oude by the Shorapore Ghât, taking -with them several guns. Here, however, they were watched and checked by -a small force under Brigadier Carthew, and by Cureton’s Horse. About the -same time, a party of a thousand rebels, with four guns, marched from -Humeerpore to Asung, on the great trunk-road between Lullutpore and -Cawnpore; they commanded that road for several days, until a force could -be sent out to dislodge them. Higher up the Doab, the fort and village -of Ayana, in the Etawah district, were taken by a party of Alexander’s -Horse, and a rebel chief, named Roop Singh, expelled. Colonel Riddell, -who commanded a column from Etawah, encountered and defeated small -bodies of rebels near Ooriya and Sheregurh, and then descended the -Ganges in boats to Calpee, to take part in an important series of -operations in which the Central India field-force was mainly concerned. -Brigadier Showers, during the greater part of this month, was employed -in various ways around Agra as a centre. Among other measures, he -organised a corps of Jât cavalry, to defend the ghâts of the Ganges, and -prevent rebels from crossing the river. Agra itself, with the brigadier -at hand to check rising disturbances, remained free from serious -troubles; though from time to time rumours were circulated which threw -the Europeans into some uneasiness. As the native inhabitants still -possessed a number of old firelocks, swords, and other weapons; it was -deemed prudent to issue an order for disarming. An immense collection of -queer native weapons was the result—not very formidable to English -troops, but mischievous as a possible element of strength to the -disaffected. Many of the guns in the fort were kept pointed towards the -city, as a menace to evildoers. - -In reference to many parts of the Doab, there was ample reason for -British officers feeling great uneasiness at the danger which still -surrounded them in the Northwest Provinces, wherever they were -undefended by troops. The murder of Major Waterfield was a case in -point. About the middle of May the major and Captain Fanshawe were -travelling towards Allygurh _viâ_ Agra. In the middle of the night, near -Ferozabad, a band of a hundred and fifty rebels surrounded the vehicle, -shot the driver, and attacked the travellers. The two officers used -their revolvers as quickly as they could; but the unfortunate Waterfield -received two shots, one in the head and one through the chest, besides a -sword-cut across the body; he fell dead on the spot. Fanshawe’s escape -was most extraordinary. The rebels got him out of the carriage, and -surrounded him; but they pressed together so closely that each prevented -his neighbour from striking. Fanshawe quickly drew his sword, and swung -it right and left so vigorously that he forced a passage for himself -through the cowardly crew; some pursued him, but a severe sword-cut to -one of them deterred the rest. The captain ran on at great speed, -climbed up a tree, and there remained till the danger was over. His -courage and promptness saved him from any further injury than a slight -wound in the hand. Poor Waterfield’s remains, when sought for some time -afterwards, were found lying among the embers of the burned vehicle; -they were carried into Agra, and interred with military honours. The -native driver was found dead, with the head nearly severed from the -body. - -Nynee Tal, Mussouree, and the other hill-stations towards which the sick -and the weak looked with so much yearning, were almost wholly free from -disturbance during May. One of the few events calling for notice was an -expedition from Huldwanee by Captain Crossman. Receiving news that two -rebel leaders, Nizam Ali Khan and Kali Khan, were preparing for mischief -at a place called Bahonee, he started off on the 8th of May, with two or -three companies of his own regiment, and a hundred Goorkhas mounted on -elephants. He missed the two leaders, but captured many other rebels, -included Kali Khan’s brother—all in the service of the notorious Khan -Bahadoor Khan, self-appointed chief of Bareilly. After burning five -rebel villages, in which great atrocities had been perpetrated against -Christians many months before, Crossman returned to Huldwanee—having -been in incessant movement for twenty-six hours. - -Fortunately, the other regions of India presented so few instances—with -a notable exception, presently to be mentioned—of rebellious -proceedings, that a few paragraphs will suffice for their treatment. - -During the earlier half of the month of May, minor engagements took -place in the Nagpoor territory, for the dispersion of bands of marauders -and insurgents. The rebels were so little influential, the troops sent -against them so few in number, and the towns and villages so little -known, that it is unnecessary to trace these operations in detail. The -localities concerned were Arpeillee, Ghote, Ashtee, Koonserra, -Chamoorshee, and others equally obscure. The insurgents were a -contemptible rabble, headed by refractory zemindars; but as their -country was almost a complete jungle, it was very difficult work for -Lieutenant Nuttall and Captain Crichton to put them down. The first of -these two officers had under him five companies of the Nagpoor irregular -infantry, with one gun; the other was deputy-commissioner of the -district. A party of two thousand rebels, under the zemindar of -Arpeillee—about a hundred miles south of Nagpoor—ravaged many villages; -and at one spot they brutally murdered Mr Gartlan and Mr Hall, -electric-telegraph inspectors, taking away all the public and private -property from the station. The marauders and murderers were gradually -put down; and this necessary work, though difficult from the cause above -mentioned, was facilitated by the peaceful tendencies of the villagers -generally, who rather dreaded than favoured Yenkut Rao, Bapoo Rao, and -the other rebel zemindars. It also tended to lessen the duration of the -contest, and insure its success, that Milloo Potail, and some other -chieftains, sided with the British. Bapoo Rao, the head rebel of the -district, was believed to be bending his steps towards the Nizam’s -country; but as he would there fall into the hands of an ally of the -British, little doubt was entertained that his career would soon be cut -short. - -The Nizam and his prime-minister kept the large territory of Hyderabad -free from any extensive military disturbances; but the country districts -were so harassed by bands of marauding Rohilla freebooters, that the -Nizam requested the Bombay government to furnish a small force for -putting down this evil. Accordingly a corps of a few hundred men were -sent to the region between Aurungabad and Jaulnah—with very evident and -speedy effect. - -It will be remembered that, in connection with the events of the month -of April, the intended disarming of the province of Gujerat was adverted -to. This critical and important operation was carried out during May. -Sir Richmond Shakespear, who held a military as well as a political -position in that province, managed the enterprise so firmly and -skilfully that village after village was disarmed, and rendered so far -powerless for mischief. Many unruly chieftains regarded this affair as -very unpalatable. It was a work of great peril, for the turbulent -natives were out of all proportion more numerous than any troops Sir -Richmond could command; but he brought to bear that wonderful influence -which many Englishmen possessed over the natives—influence shewing the -predominance of moral over physical power. The native sovereign of -Gujerat, the Guicowar, had all along been faithful and friendly to the -British; he trusted Sir Richmond Shakespear as fully as Scindia trusted -Sir Robert Hamilton, and gave an eager assent to the disarming of his -somewhat turbulent subjects. The Nizam, the Guicowar, Scindia, and -Holkar—all remained true to the British alliance during the hour of -trouble; if they had failed us, the difficulties of reconquest would -have been immensely increased, if not insuperable. - -Of the Bombay presidency mention may be postponed to the chapter -relating to the month of June, so far as concerns the appearance and -suppression of slight rebellious symptoms. One of the minor events in -Bombay city at this period was the conferring of a baronetcy on a native -gentleman, the high-minded liberal Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. He had long -before been knighted; but his continued and valuable assistance to the -government through all trials and difficulties now won for him further -honour. The Parsee merchant became Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, -Bart.—perhaps the most remarkable among baronets, race and creed -considered. Whatever he did, was done in princely style. In order that -his new hereditary dignity might not be shamed by any paucity of wealth -on the part of his descendants, he at once invested twenty-five lacs of -rupees in the Bombay four per cents., to entail an income of ten -thousand pounds a year on the holder of the baronetcy. A large mansion -at Mazagon was for a like purpose entailed; and the old merchant-prince -felt a commendable pride in thinking that Bombay might possibly, for -centuries to come, count among its inhabitants a Sir Jamsetjee -Jejeebhoy. - -The reader will have observed that this chapter is silent concerning the -brilliant campaign of Sir Hugh Rose in Central India, and of the -subsidiary operations under Generals Roberts and Whitlock. It has been -considered advantageous, on account of the great importance of Sir -Hugh’s exploits, and of the intimate manner in which his proceedings in -June were determined by those of May, to treat those transactions in a -separate chapter, apart from those connected with the names of Campbell, -Lugard, Douglas, Grant, Walpole, Jones, and Penny. The narrative will -next, therefore, take up the affairs of Central India during the months -of May and June. - - - Note. - - _Transport of Troops to India._—Early in the session of 1858, many - members of the legislature, anxious to witness the adoption of the - speediest mode of transporting troops to India, insisted not only - that the overland route viâ Suez ought to have been adopted from - the first, but also that the government and the East India Company - ought to receive national censure for their real or supposed - remissness on this point. In former chapters the fact has been - rendered evident that, among the many important questions pressed - upon the attention of the government, none was more imminent than - that which related to the mode of strengthening the British army - in India. England, not a military country in the continental - estimate of that phrase, could ill spare troops to wage a great - war in her Eastern possessions; and yet such a course was - absolutely necessary. With ninety-nine regiments of line-infantry, - and a proportionate number of troops of other kinds, she had to - defend nearly thirty colonies besides the home country. Nay, at - the very time when the mutiny began, she had barely finished a war - with Persia, and had just commenced another with China—superadded - to the defensive requirements just adverted to. Had the Persian - expedition not been brought to a successful termination in the - spring of 1857, and had the regiments destined for China become - practically engaged in hostilities in that country at that time, - it is difficult to imagine how the governor-general could have - sent up any reinforcements from Calcutta, or Lord Elphinstone from - Bombay, until summer had far advanced. Under the particular - circumstances of time and place, however, Generals Outram and - Havelock were released from their duties in Persia time enough to - conduct the important operations at Lucknow and elsewhere—bringing - with them the Queen’s troops and Company’s troops which had been - engaged in the war in that country; while, on the other side, - troops intended for service in China were rendered available for - the needs of India. Still, this did not affect the strictures - passed in the home country. Members of the legislature inquired, - and journalists inquired: ‘Why was not the overland route adopted - for or by troops sent from England?’ Hence the appointment of a - committee of the House of Commons—‘To inquire concerning the - measures resorted to, or which were available, and as to the lines - of communication adopted for reinforcing our army during the - pending Revolt in India, and report thereon to the House: with a - view to ascertaining the arrangements which should be made towards - meeting any future important emergencies involving the security of - our Eastern dominions.’ - - As the report given in by the committee was comprised within a few - paragraphs, we will present it unaltered here, and then touch upon a - few matters of detail connected with the subject. - - The committee agreed to report: - - ‘1. That the inquiry which this committee has been appointed to - conduct may be divided into three branches: the first, relating to - the overland route to India; the second, to the employment of - steamers, as compared with sailing-vessels, for the transport of - troops round the Cape of Good Hope; and the third, to the use made - during the mutiny of the military resources of this country and of - the colonies. - - ‘2. That the Court of Directors appear, from the first intelligence - of the mutiny at Meerut, to have been sensible of the advantages of - the overland route, and to have lost no time in recommending its - adoption; but that political and other considerations deterred her - Majesty’s ministers from at once assenting to that recommendation. - - ‘3. That the committee cannot judge of the validity of those - political objections, as they felt themselves precluded from - inquiring into them; but that they ceased to prevail in the first - week of September, when the more serious character of the war and - the lateness of the season for ships departing for Calcutta, led to - a formal requisition from the Court of Directors, and to a - compliance with it on the part of the cabinet. - - ‘4. That it would have been desirable, independently of political - considerations, to have taken advantage of the overland route at the - earliest possible period; and, apart from such considerations, it is - much to be regretted that the steps that were taken in September to - transmit small bodies of troops by this route were not resorted to - at an earlier date. That the transport, however, of any large body - of troops would have required previous arrangements, and that the - evidence laid before the committee leaves great room to doubt - whether any considerable reinforcements could have been sent in the - months of July and August, with a prospect of their arrival in India - so far in advance of those sent round the Cape as to give any great - advantage in favour of this route. - - ‘5. That although the overland route may be advantageously employed - in times of emergency, it would not be advisable that it should be - relied upon as the ordinary route for the transmission of troops to - India. - - ‘6. That if steamers had been used in greater numbers, the - reinforcements would have reached India more quickly than they did - by sailing-vessels; but that no evidence has been laid before the - committee to shew that, at the time the emergency arose, a greater - amount of steam-transport was attainable; whilst it has been shewn - that grave doubts existed whether the supply of coal on the route - would have been sufficient for a larger number of steam-vessels than - were actually employed. - - ‘7. That steamers should for the future be always made use of, as - far as possible, in urgent cases; but that, for the transmission of - the ordinary reliefs, the committee would not recommend the adoption - of so costly a mode of transport. - - ‘8. That the governors of Ceylon and the Mauritius gave early and - valuable assistance to the government of India, and deserve great - praise for the zeal and promptitude with which they acted; that the - governor of the Cape, without loss of time, forwarded treasure and - horses, together with a portion of the troops at his disposal, but - that he did not send the whole amount of the force which he was - instructed by the home government to transmit to India; that the - committee have not the means of judging whether the circumstances of - the colony did or did not justify Sir George Grey in taking this - course. - - ‘9. That the committee observe with satisfaction that the people of - Canada displayed great readiness to afford assistance to the - mother-country, and that the committee are of opinion that it is - highly desirable to give every encouragement to such demonstrations - of loyalty on the part of the colonies. - - ‘10. That on the whole, considering the suddenness of the danger, - and the distance to which the troops were to be sent, the committee - are of opinion that great credit is due to the Court of Directors of - the East India Company for the promptitude and efficiency with which - they discharged the difficult task of transmitting reinforcements to - the army in India during the past year.’ - - From the tenor of this report, it is evident that the East India - directors were ready to adopt the overland route before the - government gave in their adhesion. The ‘political reasons’ for - avoiding that route were connected with the relations between Egypt - and various European countries: relations often involving jealousy - and diplomatic intrigue, and likely to be thrown into some - perplexity by the passage of troops belonging to another nation. The - ministers were unwilling to speak out plainly on this point, - possibly for fear of giving offence to France; and the committee, - though sorely against the wish of some of its members, refrained - from pressing them on this point; hence the cautious phraseology of - the report, throwing a sort of shield over the government. - - In reference to the proceedings connected with the transport of - troops to India, it may be well to advert to a few dates. The home - government received, on the 9th of April, the first intimation that - a disaffected spirit had made its appearance among the native troops - at Barrackpore. On the 19th of May, Lord Ellenborough inquired in - the House of Lords whether reinforcements were being sent to India; - a reply in the affirmative was given, accompanied by an expression - of opinion that the disaffection was of very minor character. - Shortly afterwards, in the House of Commons, a similar belief was - expressed by members of the government that the occurrences at - Barrackpore were trifling, not likely to lead to serious results. At - that period, as we have already seen,[175] the Bengal presidency, - including the vast range of territory from Pegu to Peshawur, - contained about 23,000 European troops and 119,000 native; the - Madras presidency, 10,000 European and 50,000 native; the Bombay - presidency, 5000 European and 31,000 native—making a total of about - 38,000 Company’s and Queen’s European troops, and 200,000 native. - These, the actual numbers, were exclusive of the large brigades of - the Bombay army at that time engaged in, or not yet returned from, - the Persian expedition. During May, the government and the East - India directors decided that more European troops ought to be in - India, in consideration both of the condition of India itself, and - of the incidence of war in Persia and China; and the early dispatch - of four regiments was decided on. At length, on the 27th of June, - arrived a telegram announcing the revolt at Meerut and the seizure - of Delhi by the mutineers. While Lord Elgin on the way to China, - Lord Harris at Madras, Lord Elphinstone at Bombay, Sir Henry Ward at - Ceylon, Sir James Higginson at Mauritius, and Sir George Grey at the - Cape of Good Hope, were using their best exertions to send troops to - aid Viscount Canning, the home authorities considered what best - could be done in furnishing reinforcements from England. There were - no less than 13,000 troops at the Cape of Good Hope at that time, - including ten regiments of Queen’s infantry; it was fully believed - in England that the governor might well have spared the greater - portion of these troops; and the smallness of the number really - contributed by him led to much disappointment in India, and much - adverse criticism in England. - - When the authorities at the War-office commenced their arrangements - for despatching troops to India, they had to provide for a - sea-voyage of about fourteen thousand miles. A question arose - whether, without changing the route or shortening the distance, the - duration of the voyage might not be lessened by the employment of - steam-vessels instead of sailing-ships. The Admiralty, and most - members of the government, opposed this change on various grounds, - principally in relation to difficulties in the supply of fuel, but - partly in relation to monsoons and other winds. By the 10th of July, - out of 31 vessels chartered by the government and the Company for - conveying troops to India, nearly all were sailing-ships. A change - of feeling took place about that date; the nation estimated time to - be so valuable, that the authorities were almost coerced into the - chartering of some of the noble merchant-steamers, the rapid voyages - of which were already known. Between the 10th of July and the 1st of - December, 59 ships were chartered, of which 29 were screw-steamers. - The autumnal averages of passages to India were greatly in favour of - steamers. Within a certain number of weeks there were 62 troop-laden - ships despatched from England to one or other of the ports, - Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Kurachee; the average duration of all the - voyages was 120 days by sailing-vessels, and only 83 days by - steamers—a diminution of nearly one-third. Extending the list of - ships to a later date, so as to include a greater number, it was - found that 82 ships carried 30,378 troops from the United Kingdom to - India—thus divided: 66 sailing-ships carried 16,234 men, averaging - 299 each; 27 steamers carried 14,144, averaging 522 each. It was - calculated that 14,000 of these British soldiers arrived in India - _five weeks earlier_, by the adoption of steam instead of - sailing-vessels. It is impossible to estimate what amount of change - might have been produced in the aspect of Indian affairs, had these - steam-voyages been made in the summer rather than in the autumn; it - might not have been permitted to the mutineers to rule triumphant at - Lucknow till the spring of the following year, or the fidelity of - wavering chieftains to give way under the long continuance of the - struggle. - - Besides the two inquiries concerning the promptness with which - troops were sent, and the kind of vessels employed to convey them, - there was a third relating to the route adopted. From the earliest - news of the revolt at Meerut, many persons in and out of parliament - strenuously recommended the use of the overland route, as being much - shorter than any possible ocean-route. The Court of Directors viewed - this proposal more favourably than the government. Until the month - of September, ‘political difficulties’ were dimly hinted at by - ministers, but without any candid explanations; and as the - objections gave way in the month just named, the nation arrived at a - pretty general conclusion that these difficulties had never been of - a very insurmountable character. It is only fair to state, however, - that many experienced men viewed the overland route with distrust, - independently of any political considerations. They adverted to the - incompleteness of the railway arrangements between Alexandria and - Cairo; to the difficulty of troops marching or riding over the sandy - desert from Cairo to Suez; to the wretchedness of Suez as a place of - re-embarkation; and to the unhealthiness of a voyage down the Red - Sea in hot summer weather. Nevertheless, it was an important fact - that the East India directors, most of whom possessed personal - knowledge concerning the routes to India, urged the government from - the first to send at least a portion of the troops by the Suez - route. It was not until the 19th of September that assent was given; - and the 13th of October witnessed the arrival of the first - detachment of English troops into the Indian Ocean _viâ_ Suez. These - started from Malta on the 1st of the month. On the 2d of October, - the first regiment started from England direct, to take the overland - route to India. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam-navigation - Company, having practically almost a monopoly of the Suez route, - conveyed the greater portion of the troops sent in this way; and it - may be useful to note the length of journey in the principal - instances. The following are tabulated examples giving certain - items—such as, the name of the steamer, the date of leaving England, - the number of troops conveyed, and the time of reaching Alexandria, - to commence the overland portion of the journey: - - Steamer. Left England. No. of Days to - Troops. Alexandria. - _Sultan_, 1857. Oct. 2 248 13 days. - _Dutchman_, Oct. 14 256 17 days. - _Sultan_, Nov. 17 264 14 days. - _Euxine_, Dec. 2 236 15 days. - _Indus_, Dec. 4 83 14 days. - _Abeona_, Dec. 8 861 15 days. - _Pera_, 1858. Feb. 4 231 15 days. - _Ripon_, Feb. 11 242 15 days. - _Sultan_, Feb. 24 244 13 days. - _Malabar_, Mar. 11 264 14 days. - _Ripon_, Mar. 27 420 14 days. - _Benares_, Apr. 8 607 17 days. - - Thus the voyage was made on an average in about 14½ days, from the - shores of England to those of Egypt. The landing at Alexandria, the - railway journey to Cairo, the journey by vans and donkeys across the - desert, the short detention at Suez, and the embarkation in another - steamer at that port, occupied a number of days varying from 2 to - 17—depending chiefly on the circumstance whether or not a steamer - was ready at Suez to receive the troops when they arrived from - Alexandria; the average was about 5½ days. From Suez the voyages - were made to Kurachee, Bombay, Ceylon, Madras, or Calcutta. The - steamers took forward all the troops mentioned in the above list, as - well as others which reached Alexandria by other means. Most of - these troops were landed at Bombay or Kurachee, as being nearer than - Calcutta; and the average length of voyage was just 16 days. The - result, then, presented was this: - - England to Alexandria, 14½ days’ average. - Alexandria to Suez, 5½ days’ average. - Suez to India, 16 days’ average. - ——— - 36 days’ average. - - Those which went to Calcutta instead of Bombay or Kurachee, were - about 3 days longer. Comparing these figures with those before - given, we arrive at the following remarkable conclusion: - - Sailing-ships round Cape, 120 days’ average. - Steamers round Cape, 83 days’ average. - Suez route, 36 days’ average. - - This, as a question of time, triumphantly justified all that had - been said by the advocates of the shortest route; nor did it appear - that there were any counterbalancing disadvantages experienced. - Between the 6th of November 1857, and the 18th of May 1858, more - than 5000 officers and soldiers landed in India, who had travelled - by the Suez overland route from England. - -[Illustration] - ------ - -Footnote 171: - - ‘With the concurrence of the government, the commander-in-chief is - pleased to direct that white clothing shall be discontinued in the - European regiments of the Honourable Company’s army; and that for the - future the summer-clothing of the European soldiers shall consist of - two suits of “khakee,” corresponding in pattern and material with the - clothing recently sanctioned for the royal army of England. Corps are - to be permitted to wear out serviceable summer-clothing of the old - pattern now in use; but in regiments in which this clothing requires - to be renewed, the new pattern now established is to be introduced - without delay. Commanding officers will take steps to obtain patterns - from regiments of her Majesty’s service. A complete suit, including - cap-cover, should not exceed in cost 4-12 rupees. The summer-clothing - now authorised will be supplied from the clothing agency of the - presidency to all recruits of the Company’s service arriving at - Calcutta between 1st February and 1st October, to be issued with the - least possible delay after arrival of the recruits.’ - -Footnote 172: - - _Cavalry._—_1st Brigade_, under Brigadier Jones (6th Dragoon Guards). - Head-quarters and two squadrons 6th Dragoon Guards, under Captain - Bickerstaff; Captain Lind’s Moultanee horse. _2d Brigade_, under - Brigadier Hagart (7th Hussars). Her Majesty’s 9th Lancers, under Major - Coles; 2d Punjaub cavalry, under Major S. Browne; detachments of - Lahore light horse, 1st Punjaub cavalry, 5th Punjaub cavalry, and 17th - irregular cavalry. - - _Artillery._—Under Lieutenant-colonel Brind, C.B., B.A.; - Lieutenant-colonel Tombs’s troop, B.H.A.; Lieutenant-colonel - Remington’s troop, B.H.A.; Major Hammond’s light field-battery, B.A., - four guns; two heavy field-batteries. Captain Francis, B.A.; - siege-train with Major Le Mesurier’s company, B.A., under Captain - Cookworthy’s detachment, B.A.; detachment R.E. Bengal and Punjaub; - Sappers and Miners, under Lieutenant-colonel Harness, R.E., - chief-engineer to the force. - - _Infantry._—_Highland Brigade_, under Lieutenant-colonel Leith Hay, - C.B. (her Majesty’s 92d Highlanders). Her Majesty’s 42d Highlanders, - under Lieutenant-colonel Cameron; her Majesty’s 79th Highlanders, - under Lieutenant-colonel Taylor, C.B.; her Majesty’s 93d Highlanders, - under Lieutenant-colonel Ross; 4th Punjaub Rifles, Lieutenant M’Queen; - Belooch Battalion, Captain Beville. _Brigadier Stisted’s_ (70th) - _Brigade_. Seven companies her Majesty’s 64th foot, Lieutenant-colonel - Bingham, C.B.; her Majesty’s 78th Highlanders, Colonel Hamilton; 4 - companies her Majesty’s 82 foot, Colonel the Hon. P. Herbert, C.B.; 2d - Punjaub infantry, Lieutenant-colonel Greene; 22d Punjaub infantry, - Captain Stafford. - -Footnote 173: - - ‘The commander-in-chief has received the most gracious commands of her - Majesty the Queen to communicate to the army an expression of the deep - interest felt by the Queen in the exertions of the troops, and the - successful progress of the campaign. - - ‘Sir Colin Campbell has delayed giving execution to the royal command, - until he was able to announce to the army that the last stronghold of - rebellion had fallen before the persevering attempts of the troops of - her Majesty and the Hon. East India Company. - - ‘It is impossible for the commander-in-chief to express adequately his - sense of the high honour done to him in having been chosen by the - Queen to convey her Majesty’s most gracious acknowledgments to the - army, in the ranks of which he has passed his life. - - ‘The commander-in-chief ventures to quote the very words of the Queen: - - ‘“That so many gallant, brave, and distinguished men, beginning with - one whose name will ever be remembered with pride, Brigadier-general - Havelock, should have died and fallen, is a great grief to the Queen. - To all Europeans and native troops who have fought so nobly and so - gallantly—and amongst whom the Queen is rejoiced to see the 93d—the - Queen wishes Sir Colin to convey the expression of her great - admiration and gratitude.”’ - -Footnote 174: - - See Chap. viii., p. 138. - -Footnote 175: - - Chapter xii., p. 208. - -[Illustration: - - SIR HUGH ROSE. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXX. - ROSE’S VICTORIES AT CALPEE AND GWALIOR. - - -The fame of Sir Hugh Rose came somewhat unexpectedly upon the British -people. Although well known to persons connected with India as a gallant -officer belonging to the Bombay army, Rose’s military services were not -‘household words’ in the mother-country. Henry Havelock had made himself -the hero of the wars of the mutiny by victories won in a time when the -prospects were stern and gloomy; and it was not easy for others to -become heroes of like kind, when compared in the popular mind with such -a noble soldier. Hence it may possibly be that the relative merits of -Campbell, Havelock, Neill, Wilson, Nicholson, Outram, Hope Grant, -Inglis, Rose, Roberts, Napier, Eyre, Greathed, Jones, Smith, Lugard, and -other officers, as military leaders, will remain undecided for a long -period—until dispatches, memoirs, and journals have thrown light on the -minuter details of the operations. Be this as it may, Sir Hugh Rose won -for himself a high name by a series of military exploits skilfully -conceived and brilliantly executed. - -To understand the true scope of Rose’s proceedings in the months of May -and June, it may be well to recapitulate briefly the state of matters at -the close of the preceding month. - -After Sir Hugh—with the 1st brigade of his Central India Field-force -under Brigadier Stuart, and the 2d brigade under Brigadier Steuart—had -captured the important city of Jhansi, in the early part of April, his -subsequent proceedings were determined according to the manœuvres of the -rebels elsewhere. Jhansi, as the strongest and most important place in -Bundelcund, was a valuable conquest; but as the Ranee and Tanteea -Topee—the one chieftainess of Jhansi, and the other a representative of -the Mahratta influence of Nena Sahib in these parts—had escaped, with -the greater part of their rebel troops, it became necessary to continue -the attack against them wherever they might be. The safety of Jhansi, -the succour of the sick and wounded, and the reconstruction of his -field-force, detained Rose in that city until the 25th of the month; but -Majors Orr and Gall were in the interim actively employed in chasing and -defeating various bodies of rebels in the surrounding country. Orr was -sent from Jhansi across the river Betwah to Mhow, to clear that region -from insurgents, and then to join Rose on the way to Calpee; he captured -a small fort at Goorwai, near the Betwah, and kept a sharp watch on the -proceedings of the rebel Rajahs of Banpore and Shagurh. Gall, with two -squadrons of the 14th Dragoons and three 9-pounders, was commissioned to -reconnoitre the position and proceedings of the rebels on the Calpee -road; he captured the fort of Lohare, belonging to the insurgent Rajah -of Sumpter. Hearing that Tanteea Topee, Ram Rao Gobind, and other -leaders, had made Calpee a stronghold, and intended to dispute the -passage of the road from Jhansi to that place, Rose laid his plans -accordingly. Calpee, though not a large place, was important as being on -the right bank of the Jumna, and on the main road from Jhansi to -Cawnpore. During the later days of April, Sir Hugh was on the road to -Calpee with the greater part of his two brigades; the rest of his -troops, under Orr, Gall, and one or two other officers, being engaged in -detached services. At that same time, General Whitlock, after defeating -many bodies of rebels in and near the Banda district, was gradually -tending towards a junction with Rose at Calpee; while General Roberts -was at Kotah, keeping a vigilant eye on numerous turbulent bands in -Rajpootana. - -When May arrived, Sir Hugh, needing the services of Majors Orr and Gall -with his main force, requested General Whitlock to watch the districts -in which those two officers had been engaged. Being joined on the 8th by -his second brigade (except the regiments and detachments left to guard -Jhansi), he resumed his march on the 9th. News reached him that Tanteea -Topee and the Ranee intended to dispute his passage towards Calpee at a -place called Koonch, with a considerable force of cavalry and infantry. -As soon as he arrived at Koonch, he engaged the enemy, drove them from -their intrenchment, entered the town, cut them up severely, pursued them -to a considerable distance, and captured several guns. The heat on this -occasion was fearful. Rose himself was three times during the day -disabled by the sun, but on each occasion rallied, and was able to -remount; he caused buckets of cold water to be dashed on him, and then -resumed the saddle, all wet as he was. Thirteen of his gallant but -overwrought soldiers were killed by sun-stroke. Nothing daunted by this -severe ordeal, he marched on to Hurdwee, Corai, Ottah, and other -villages obscure to English readers, capturing a few more guns as he -went. Guided by the information which reached him concerning the -proceedings of the rebels, Sir Hugh, when about ten miles from Calpee, -bent his line of march slightly to the west, in order to strike the -Jumna near Jaloun, a little to the northwest of Calpee. He had also -arranged that Colonel Riddell, with a column from Etawah, should move -down upon Calpee from the north; that Colonel Maxwell, with a column -from Cawnpore, should advance from the east; and that General Whitlock -should watch the country at the south. The purpose of this combination -evidently was, not only that Calpee should be taken, but that all -outlets for the escape of the rebels should as far as possible be -closed. - -On the 15th, the two brigades of Rose’s force joined at a point about -six miles from Calpee. A large mass of the enemy here made a dash at the -baggage and rear-guard, but were driven off without effecting much -mischief. When he reached the Jumna, Rose determined to encamp for a -while in a well-watered spot; and was enabled, by a personal visit from -Colonel Maxwell, to concert further plans with him, to be put in force -on the arrival of Maxwell’s column. On the 16th, a strong reconnoitring -column under Major Gall proceeded along the Calpee road; it consisted of -various detachments of infantry, cavalry, and horse-artillery. On the -same day, the second brigade was attacked by the enemy in great force, -and was not relieved without a sharp skirmish. On the 17th, the enemy -made another attack, which was, however, repulsed with less difficulty. -Nena Sahib’s nephew was believed to be the leader of the rebels on these -two occasions. It was not until the 18th that Rose could begin shelling -the earthworks which they had thrown up in front of the town. Greatly to -their astonishment, the enemy found that Maxwell arrived at the opposite -bank of the Jumna on the 19th, to assist in bombarding the place; they -apparently had not expected this, and were not prepared with defences on -that side. On the 20th, they came out in great force on the hills and -nullahs around the town, attempted to turn the flank of Sir Hugh’s -position, and displayed a determination and perseverance which they had -not hitherto exhibited; but they were, as usual, driven in again. On the -21st, a portion of Maxwell’s column crossed the Jumna and joined Rose; -while his heavy artillery and mortars were got into position. On the -22d, Maxwell’s batteries opened fire across the river, and continued it -throughout the night, while Sir Hugh was making arrangements for the -assault. The rebels, uneasy at the prospect before them, and needing -nothing but artillery to reply to Maxwell’s fire, resolved to employ the -rest of their force in a vigorous attack on Rose’s camp at Gulowlie. -Accordingly, on that same day, the 22d, they issued forth from Calpee in -great force, and attacked him with determination. Rose’s right being -hard pressed by them, he brought up his reserve corps, charged with the -bayonet, and repulsed the assailants at that point. Then moving his -whole line forward, he put the enemy completely to rout. In these -assaults, the rebels had the advantage of position; the country all -round Calpee was very rugged and uneven, with steep ravines and numerous -nullahs; insomuch that Rose had much difficulty in bringing his -artillery into position. The assaults were made by numbers estimated at -not far less than fifteen thousand men. The 71st and 86th foot wrought -terrible destruction amongst the dense masses of the enemy. About noon -on the 23d, the victorious Sir Hugh marched on from Gulowlie to Calpee. -The enemy, who were reported to have chosen Calpee as a last -stand-point, and to have sworn either to destroy Sir Hugh’s army or to -die in the attempt, now forgot their oath; they fled panic-stricken -after firing a few shot, and left him master of the town and fort of -Calpee. This evacuation was hastened by the effect of Maxwell’s -bombardment from the other side of the river. - -Throughout the whole of the wars of the mutiny, the mutineers succeeded -in escaping after defeat; they neither surrendered as prisoners of war, -nor remained in the captured towns to be slaughtered. They were nimble -and on the watch, knew the roads and jungles well, and had generally -good intelligence of what was going on; while the British were seldom or -never in such force as to be enabled completely to surround the places -besieged: as a consequence, each siege ended in a flight. Thus it had -been in Behar, Oude, the Doab, and Rohilcund; and thus Rose and his -coadjutors found it in Bundelcund, Rajpootana, and Central India. Sir -Hugh had given his troops a few hours’ repose after the hot work of the -22d; and this respite seems to have encouraged the rebels to flee from -the beleaguered town; but they would probably have succeeded in doing -the same thing, though with greater loss, if he had advanced at once. -The British had lost about forty commissariat carts, laden with tea, -sugar, arrack, and medical comforts; but their loss in killed and -wounded throughout these operations was very inconsiderable. - -Sir Hugh Rose inferred, from the evidences presented to his notice, that -the rebels had considered Calpee an arsenal and a point of great -importance. Fifteen guns were kept in the fort, of which one was an -18-pounder of the Gwalior Contingent, and two others 9-pounder mortars -made by the rebels. Twenty-four standards were found, one of which had -belonged to the Kotah Contingent, while most of the rest were the -colours of the several regiments of the Gwalior Contingent. A -subterranean magazine was found to contain ten thousand pounds of -English powder in barrels, nine thousand pounds of shot and empty -shells, a quantity of eight-inch filled shrapnell-shells, siege and ball -ammunition, intrenching tools of all kinds, tents new and old, boxes of -new flint and percussion muskets, and ordnance stores of all kinds—worth -several lacs of rupees. There were also three or four cannon foundries -in the town, with all the requisites for a wheel and gun-carriage -manufactory. In short, it was an arsenal, which the rebels hoped and -intended to hold to the last; but Sir Hugh’s victory at Gulowlie, and -his appearance at Calpee, gave them a complete panic: they thought more -of flight than of fighting. - -The question speedily arose, however—Whither had the rebels gone? Their -losses were very large, but the bulk of the force had unquestionably -escaped. Some, it was found, had crossed the Jumna into the Doab, by a -bridge of boats which had eluded the search of the British; but the -rest, enough to form an army of no mean strength, finding that Rose had -not fully guarded the side of Calpee leading to Gwalior, retreated by -that road with amazing celerity. Sir Hugh thereupon organised a flying -column to pursue them, under the command of Colonel Robertson. This -column did not effect much, owing in part to the proverbial celerity of -the rebels, and in part also to difficulties of other kinds. Heavy rains -on the first two days rendered the roads almost impassable, greatly -retarding the progress of the column. The enemy attempted to make a -stand at Mahona and Indoorkee, two places on the road; but when they -heard of the approach of Robertson, they continued their retreat in the -direction of Gwalior. The column reached Irawan on the 29th; and there a -brief halt was made until commissariat supplies could be sent up from -Calpee. An officer belonging to the column adverted, in a private -letter, to certain symptoms that the villagers were becoming tired of -the anarchy into which their country had been thrown. ‘The feeling of -the country is strong against the rebels now, whatever it may have been; -and the rural population has welcomed our advent in the most -unmistakable manner. At the different villages as we go along, many of -them come out and meet us with earthen vessels full of water, knowing it -to be our greatest want in such weather; and at our camping-ground they -furnish us voluntarily with supplies of grain, grass, &c., in the most -liberal manner. They declare the rebels plundered them right and left, -and that they are delighted to have the English raj once more. It is not -only the inhabitants of the towns and villages where we encamp who are -so anxious to evince their good feeling; but the people, for miles -round, have been coming to make their salaam, bringing forage for our -camp with them, and thanking us for having delivered them from their -oppressors. They say that for a year they have had no peace; but they -have now a hope that order will be once more restored.’ Concerning this -statement it may suffice to remark, that though the villagers were -unquestionably in worse plight under the rebels than under the British, -their obsequious protestations to that effect were not always to be -depended on; their fears gave them duplicity, inducing them to curry -favour with whichever side happened at the moment to be greatest in -power. - -Colonel Robertson, though he inflicted some loss on the fugitives, did -not materially check them. His column—comprising the 25th Bombay native -infantry, the 3d Bombay native cavalry, and 150 Hyderabad horse—pursued -the rebels on the Gwalior road, but did not come up with the main body. -On the 2d of June he was joined by two squadrons of the 14th dragoons, a -wing of the 86th foot, and four 9-pounders. On the next day, when at -Moharar, about midway between Calpee and Gwalior (fifty-five miles from -each) he heard news of startling import from the last-named -city—presently to be noticed. About the same time Brigadier Steuart -marched to Attakona on the Gwalior road, with H.M. 71st, a wing of the -86th, a squadron of the 14th Dragoons, and some guns, to aid in the -pursuit of the rebels. - -While these events were in progress on the south of the Jumna, Colonel -Riddell was advancing from the northwest on the north side of the same -river. On the 16th of May, Riddell was at Graya, with the 3d Bengal -Europeans, Alexander’s Horse, and two guns; he had a smart skirmish with -a party of rebels, who received a very severe defeat. Some of the Etawah -troops floated down the Jumna in boats, under the charge of Mr Hume, a -magistrate, and safely joined Sir Hugh at Calpee. On their way they were -attacked by a body of insurgents much more numerous than themselves; -whereupon Lieutenant Sheriff landed with a hundred and fifty men at -Bhijulpore, brought the rebels to an engagement, defeated them, drove -them off, and captured four guns with a large store of ammunition. On -the 25th, when on the banks of the Jumna some distance above Calpee, -Colonel Riddell saw a camp of rebels on the other side, evidently -resting a while after their escape on the 23d; he sent the 2d Bengal -Europeans across, and captured much of the camp-equipage—the enemy not -waiting to contest the matter with him. - -When Calpee had been securely taken, and flying columns had gone off in -pursuit of the enemy, to disperse if not to capture, Sir Hugh Rose -conceived that the arduous labours of his Central India Field-force were -for a time ended, and that his exhausted troops might take rest. He -issued to them a glowing address, adverting with commendable pride to -the unswerving gallantry which they had so long exhibited: ‘Soldiers! -you have marched more than a thousand miles, and taken more than a -hundred guns. You have forced your way through mountain-passes and -intricate jungles, and over rivers. You have captured the strongest -forts, and beaten the enemy, no matter what the odds, whenever you met -him. You have restored extensive districts to the government, and peace -and order now where before for a twelvemonth were tyranny and rebellion. -You have done all this, and you never had a check. I thank you with all -sincerity for your bravery, your devotion, and your discipline. When you -first marched, I told you that you, as British soldiers, had more than -enough of courage for the work which was before you, but that courage -without discipline was of no avail; and I exhorted you to let discipline -be your watchword. You have attended to my orders. In hardships, in -temptations and danger, you have obeyed your general, and you have never -left your ranks; you have fought against the strong, and you have -protected the rights of the weak and defenceless, of foes as well as of -friends. I have seen you in the ardour of the combat preserve and place -children out of harm’s way. This is the discipline of Christian -soldiers, and it is what has brought you triumphant from the shores of -Western India to the waters of the Jumna, and establishes without doubt -that you will find no place to equal the glory of your arms.’ - -Little did the gallant Sir Hugh suspect that the very day on which he -issued this hearty and well-merited address (the 1st of June) would be -marked by the capture of Gwalior by the defeated Calpee rebels, the -flight of Scindia to Agra, and the necessity for an immediate resumption -of active operations by his unrested Central India Field-force. - -The rebels, it afterwards appeared, having out-marched Colonel -Robertson, arrived on the 30th of May at the Moorar cantonment, in the -neighbourhood of Gwalior, the old quarters of the Gwalior Contingent. -Tanteea Topee, a leader whose activity was worthy of a better cause, had -preceded them, to tamper with Scindia’s troops. The Maharajah, when he -heard news of the rebels’ approach, sent an urgent message to Agra for -aid; but before aid could reach him, matters had arrived at a crisis. - -The position of the Maharajah of Gwalior had all along been a remarkable -and perilous one, calling for the exercise of an amount of sagacity and -prudence rarely exhibited by so youthful a prince. Although only -twenty-three years of age, he had been for five years Maharajah in his -own right, after shaking off a regency that had inflicted much misery on -his country; and during these five years his conduct had won the respect -of the British authorities. The mutiny placed him in an embarrassing -position. The Gwalior Contingent, kept up by him in accordance with a -treaty with the Company, consisted mainly of Hindustanis and Oudians, -strongly in sympathy with their compatriots in the Jumna and Ganges -regions. His own independent army, it is true, consisted chiefly of -Mahrattas, a Hindoo race having little in common with the Hindustanis; -but he could not feel certain how long either of the two armies would -remain faithful. After many doubtful symptoms, in July 1857, as we have -seen in former chapters, the Gwalior Contingent went over in a body to -the enemy—thus adding ten or twelve thousand disciplined and well-armed -troops to the rebel cause. Scindia contrived for two or three months to -remain on neutral terms with the Contingent—on the one hand, not -sanctioning their proceedings: on the other, not bringing down their -enmity upon himself. During the winter they were engaged in encounters -at various places, which have been duly noticed in the proper chapters. -When Sir Hugh Rose’s name had become as much known and feared in Central -India as Havelock’s had been in the Northwest Provinces many months -before, the rebels began to look to Gwalior, the strongest city in that -part of India, as a possible place of permanent refuge; and many of the -Mahratta and Rajpoot chieftains appear to have come to an agreement, -that if Scindia would not join them against the British, they would -attack him, dethrone him, and set up another Maharajah in his stead. -Meanwhile the Gwalior prince, a brave and shrewd man, as well as a -faithful ally, looked narrowly at the circumstances that surrounded him. -He had some cause to suspect his own national or regular army, but -deemed it best to conceal his suspicions. There was every cause for -apprehension, therefore, on his part, when he found a large body of -insurgent troops approaching his capital—especially as some of the -regiments of the old Gwalior Contingent were among the number. - -Although aid from Agra or Calpee had not arrived, Scindia had courage -and skill enough to make a bold stand against them, if his own troops -had proved faithful; but treachery effected that which fair fighting -might not easily have done. Scindia’s body-guard remained faithful. Such -was not, however, the case with the bulk of his infantry, who had been -tampered with by Tanteea Topee, and had agreed to desert their sovereign -in his hour of greatest need. This was doubtless the motive of the rebel -leader in preceding the march of the Calpee fugitives. When the struggle -began, Scindia’s force comprised two or three thousand cavalry, six -thousand infantry, and eight guns; that of the enemy consisted of four -thousand cavalry, seven thousand infantry, and twelve guns—no -overwhelming disparity, if Scindia’s own troops had been true. The -rebels did not want for leaders; seeing that they had the Ranee of -Jhansi, the Nawab of Banda, Tanteea Topee, Rao Sahib, Ram Rao Gobind, -and Luchmun Nena. Rao Sahib, nephew of the Nena, was the nominal leader -of the Mahrattas in this motley force; but Tanteea Topee was really the -man of action and power. Certainly the most remarkable among the number -was the Ranee of Jhansi, a woman who—but for her cruelty to the English -at that station—would command something like respect. Whether she had -been unjustly treated by the Company, in relation to the ‘annexations’ -in former years, was one among many questions of a similar kind on which -opinions were divided; but supposing her to be sincere in a belief that -territory had been wrongly taken from her, then did her conduct (barring -her cruelty and her unbounded licentiousness) bear something like the -stamp of heroism. At anyrate, she proved herself a very Amazon in these -warlike contests—riding like a man, bearing arms like a man, leading and -fighting like a man, and exhorting her troops to contend to the last -against the hated Feringhees. - -The battle between the Maharajah and the insurgents was of brief -duration. The enemy, at about seven o’clock on the morning of the 1st of -June, made their appearance in battle-array. Scindia took up a position -about two miles eastward of the Moorar cantonment; placing his troops in -three divisions, of which the centre was commanded by him in person. The -rebels pushed on a cloud of mounted skirmishers, with zumborucks or -camel-guns; these were steadily confronted by Scindia’s centre division. -But now did the treachery appear. It is not quite clear whether the -right and left divisions of his force remained idle during the fighting -of the centre division, waited for the capture of guns as a signal for -revolt, marched over to the opposite side, and began to fire on such of -their astonished companions as still remained true to Scindia; or -whether the left division went over at the commencement of the fighting, -and was followed soon after by the right; but at anyrate the centre, -comprising the body-guard with some other troops, could not long contend -against such immense odds. The body-guard fought manfully until half -their number had fallen, and the rest fled. Scindia himself, too, -powerless against such numerous opponents, sought safety in flight, and -fortunately found it. Attended by a few faithful troops, the Maharajah -galloped off by way of the Saugor Tal, the Residency, and the Phool -Bagh, avoiding the Lashkar or permanent camp of his (late) army; he then -took to the open country, by the Dholpore road, and reached Agra two -days afterwards. The rebels sent a troop of cavalry sixteen or eighteen -miles in pursuit, but he happily kept ahead of them. Most of the members -of his family fled to Seepree, while his courtiers were scattered in all -directions. - -Directly the Maharajah had thus been driven out of his capital, the -rebels entered Gwalior, and endeavoured to form a regular government. -They chose Nena Sahib as ‘Peishwa,’ or head of all the Mahratta princes. -They next set up Rao Sahib, the Nena’s nephew, as chief of Gwalior. -These selections appear to have been assented to by Scindia’s traitorous -troops as well as by the other rebels. All the troops were to have a -certain number of months’ pay for their services in this achievement. -The army was nevertheless the great difficulty to be contended against -by the rebel leaders. The insurgents from Calpee, and the newly revolted -troops of Scindia, had worked together for a common object in this -instance; but there was jealousy between them; and nothing could make -them continue together without the liberal distribution of money—partly -as arrears of pay, partly as an advance. Ram Rao Gobind, who had long -before been discharged from Scindia’s service for dishonesty, became -prime-minister. The main bulk of the army, under the masculine Ranee of -Jhansi, remained encamped in a garden called the Phool Bagh, outside the -city; while pickets and guns were sent to guard all the roads of -approach. The property of the principal inhabitants was sequestered, in -real or pretended punishment for friendliness towards the Maharajah and -the British. Scindia possessed an immense treasure in his palace, which -he could not take away in his flight; this the rebels seized, by the -connivance of the truculent treasurer, Ameerchand Batya; and it was out -of this treasure they were enabled to reward the troops. They also -declared a formal confiscation of all the royal property. Four petty -Mahratta chieftains in the district of Shakerwarree—named Kunughat, -Gholab Singh, Dooghur Shah, and Bukhtawar Singh—had some time previously -declared themselves independent, and had been captured and imprisoned by -Scindia for so doing; these men were now set at liberty by the newly -constituted authorities, and received insignia and dresses of honour, on -condition of raising forces in their several localities to oppose any -British troops who might attempt to cross the Chumbul and approach -Gwalior. The leaders mustered and reviewed their troops, plundered and -burnt the civil station, and liberated such prisoners as they thought -might be useful to them. They also sent letters of invitation to the -Rajahs of Banpore, Shagurh, &c., to join them. - -Thus did a body of rebels, collected from different quarters, and -actuated by different motives, expel the Maharajah Scindia from the -throne of Gwalior, and install a government avowedly and bitterly -hostile to him and to the British with whom he was in alliance. -Throughout twelve months’ events at Gwalior, the more experienced of the -Company’s officers frequently directed their attention to a certain -member of Scindia’s family, in doubt whether treachery might have been -exhibited in that quarter. This was a princess, advanced in life, whose -influence at Gwalior was known to be considerable, and whose experience -of the checkered politics of Indian princedoms had extended over a very -lengthened period. She was known as the Baeza Baee of Gwalior. Sixty -years before the mutiny began, she was the beauty of the Deccan, the -young bride of the victorious Dowlut Rao Scindia of 1797; and she lived -through all the vicissitudes of those sixty years. During thirty years -of married life she exercised great influence over her husband and the -court of Gwalior, exhibiting more energy of purpose than is wont among -eastern women. In 1827 Scindia died without a legitimate son; and the -widow, in accordance with Indian custom, adopted a kinsman of the late -Maharajah to be the new Scindia. The Baeza Baee as regent, and Moodkee -Rao as expectant rajah, had many quarrels during the next seven years: -these ended, in 1834, in the installation of the young man as rajah, and -in the retirement of the widowed princess to Dholpore. Tumults -continued; for the princess was considered the more skilful ruler of the -two, and many of the Mahrattas of Gwalior wished her to continue as -regent. Whether from justice, or from motives of cold policy, the -British government sided with Scindia against the Baeza Baee; and she -was ordered to take up her abode in some district beyond the limits of -the Gwalior territory. In 1843, when Moodkee Rao Scindia died, this -territory came more closely than before under British influence; a new -Scindia was chosen, with the consent of the governor-general, from among -the relations of the deceased Maharajah; and with this new Scindia the -aged Baeza Baee appears to have resided until the time of the mutiny. -Nothing unfavourable was known against this venerable lady; but when it -was considered that she was a woman of great energy, and that many other -native princesses of great energy—such as the Ranee of Jhansi and the -Begum of Oude—had thrown their influence in the scale against the -English, it was deemed proper to watch her movements. And this the more -especially, as she had some cause to complain of the English policy in -the Mahratta dominions in past years. Although watched, however, nothing -appeared to justify suspicion of her complicity with the rebels. - -Great was the anxiety at all the British stations when the news arrived -that Gwalior, the strongest and most important city in Central India, -and the capital of a native sovereign uniformly true to the British -alliance, had fallen into the hands of the rebels. In many minds a -desponding feeling was at once manifest; while those who did not despond -freely acknowledged that the situation was a critical one, calling for -the exercise of promptness, skill, and courage. All felt that the -conqueror of Jhansi and Calpee was the fit man to undertake the -reconquest of Gwalior, both from his military fame and from the -circumstances of his position—having around him many columns and corps -which he could bring to one centre. It was in the true spirit of heroism -that Sir Hugh Rose laid aside all thoughts of self when the exigencies -of the service called for his attention. He had won a complete victory -at Calpee, and believed that in so doing he had crushed the rebels in -Bundelcund and Scindia’s territory. Then, and then only, did he think of -himself—of his exhausted frame, his mind worn by six months of -unremitting duty, his brain fevered by repeated attacks of sun-stroke in -the fearful heat of that climate. He knew that he had honestly done his -part, and that he might with the consent of every one claim an exemption -for a time from active service. He intended to go down to Bombay on -sick-certificate—after having sent off a column in pursuit of the -fleeing rebels, and made arrangements for his successor. Such were Sir -Hugh’s thoughts when June opened. The startling news from Gwalior, -however, overturned all his plans. When he found that Scindia’s capital -was in the hands of the insurgents whom he had so recently beaten at -Calpee, all thoughts concerning fatigue and heat, anxiety and sickness, -were promptly dismissed from his mind. He determined to finish the work -he had begun, by reconquering the great Mahratta city. No time was to be -lost. Every day that Gwalior remained in the hands of the rebels would -weaken the British prestige, and add strength to the audacity of the -rebels. - -Sir Hugh’s first measure was to request the presence of General Whitlock -at Calpee, to hold that place safely during the operations further -westward. Whitlock was at Moudha, between Banda and Humeerpoor, when he -heard the news; he at once advanced towards Calpee by the ford of the -Betwah at Humeerpoor. Rose’s next step was to organise two brigades for -rapid march to Gwalior. Of those brigades the infantry consisted of H.M. -86th foot, a wing of the 71st Highlanders, a wing of the 3d Bombay -Europeans, the 24th and 25th Bombay native infantry, and the 5th -Hyderabad infantry; the cavalry comprised wings of the 4th and 14th -Dragoons, the 3d Hyderabad cavalry, and a portion of the 3d Bombay -native cavalry; the artillery and engineers consisted of a company of -the Royal Engineers, Bombay Sappers and Miners, Madras Sappers and -Miners, two light field-batteries, Leslie’s troop of Bombay -horse-artillery, and a siege-train consisting of two 16-pounders, three -18-pounders, eight 8-inch mortars, two 10-inch mortars, and one 8-inch -howitzer. The first of these two brigades was placed under the command -of Brigadier C. S. Stuart, of the Bombay army; the second under -Brigadier R. Napier, of the Bengal Engineers. Arrangements were made for -the co-operation of a third brigade from Seepree, under Brigadier Smith. -Orders were at the same time given for bringing up Major Orr’s column -from the south, and for joining it with Smith’s brigade somewhere on the -road to Gwalior; Colonel Maxwell, with the 5th Fusiliers and the 88th -foot, was invited to advance from Cawnpore to Calpee; while Colonel -Riddell was instructed to cross the Chumbul with his Etawah column. Rose -did not know what might be the number of insurgents against whom he -would have to contend when he reached Gwalior, and on that account he -called in reinforcements from various quarters. - -Pushing on his two main brigades as rapidly as possible, Sir Hugh -appeared in the vicinity of Gwalior on the ninth day after leaving -Calpee—allowing his troops no more rest by the way than was absolutely -needed. On the evening of the 15th of June he was at Sepowlie, about ten -miles from the Moorar cantonment; and by six o’clock on the following -morning he reached the cantonment itself. Sir Hugh galloped forward with -his staff to a point about midway between the cantonment and the city; -and there began to reconnoitre the position taken up by the enemy. -Gwalior is very remarkable as a military position, owing to the relation -which the city bears to a strong and lofty hill-fort. ‘The rock on which -the hill-fort is situated,’ says Mr Thornton, ‘is completely isolated; -though seven hundred yards to the north is a conical hill surmounted by -a very remarkable building of stone; and on the southeast, south, and -southwest, are similar hills, which form a sort of amphitheatre at the -distance of from one to four miles. The sandstone of the hill-fort is -arranged in horizontal strata, and its face presents so steep a fracture -as to form a perpendicular precipice. Where the rock was naturally less -precipitous, it has been so scarped as to be rendered perpendicular; and -in some places the upper part considerably overhangs the lower. The -greatest length of the rock, which is from northeast to southwest, is a -mile and a half; the greatest breadth three hundred yards. The height at -the south end, where it is greatest, is 342 feet. On the eastern face of -the rock, several colossal figures are sculptured in bold relief. A -rampart runs round the edge of the rock, conforming to the outline of -its summit; and as its height is uniform above the verge, its top has an -irregular appearance. The entrance within the enclosure of the rampart -is towards the north end of the east side; first, by means of a steep -road, and higher up by steps cut in the face of the rock, of such a size -and of so moderate a degree of acclivity that elephants easily make -their way up. This huge staircase is protected on the outer side by a -high and massive stone-wall, and is swept by several traversing guns -pointing down it: the passage up to the interior being through a -succession of seven gates. The citadel is at the northeastern extremity -of the enclosure, and has a very striking appearance. Adjoining is a -series of six lofty round towers or bastions, connected by curtains of -great height and thickness. There are within the enclosure of the -rampart several spacious tanks, capable of supplying an adequate -garrison; though fifteen thousand men would be required fully to man the -defences.’ The town of Gwalior, it may suffice to state, was situated -along the eastern base of the rock. The Lashkar, or permanent camp of -the Maharajah, stretch out from the southwest end of the rock; whereas -the Moorar, or cantonment of the old Gwalior Contingent, was on the -opposite side of the town. - -Such was the place which Sir Hugh Rose found it necessary to -reconnoitre, preparatory to a siege. The hill-fort, the Lashkar, the -Moorar, the city, and the semicircular belt of hills, all needed -examination, sufficient at least to determine at what points the rebel -army was distributed, and what defences had been thrown up. He found -that only a few troops were in the city itself, the main body being -placed in groups on and near the surrounding hills and cantonments. -Rumour assigned to the rebels a force of seventeen thousand men in arms; -but the means for testing the truth of this rumour were wanting. - -The examination made by Rose led him to a determination to attack the -Moorar cantonment suddenly, before the other portions of the rebels -could arrive from the more distant stations—to adopt, in fact, the -Napoleon tactics, possible only when rapid movements are made. Brigadier -Smith was operating on the hills south of the town, as we shall -presently see; but Rose carried out his own portion of the attack -independently. Orders were at once given. The cavalry and guns were -placed on each flank; while the infantry, in two divisions, prepared to -advance. The 86th headed the attack, as part of the second brigade. No -sooner did the enemy find themselves attacked, than they poured out a -well-directed fire of musketry and field-guns; but this was speedily -silenced, and the rebels forced to make a precipitate retreat. Many of -them escaped into the city over a stone-bridge, the existence of which -was not correctly known to Sir Hugh. Four pieces of ordnance were at the -same time dragged over the bridge to the Lashkar camp—somewhat to the -vexation of the British, who wished to seize them: the capture, however, -was not long delayed. The main body of rebels, after being driven -through the whole length of the cantonment, were chased over a wide -expanse of country. Some terrible fighting occurred during this chase. -At one spot a number of the enemy had been driven into a fortified -trench around a village, and here they maintained a desperate -hand-to-hand struggle, until the trench was nearly choked with dead and -wounded bodies. It was while rushing on at the head of a company of the -71st Highlanders in this contest that Lieutenant Neave fell, mortally -wounded. The rebels engaged in this struggle included several men of the -Maharajah’s 1st regiment. A strong body of the enemy’s cavalry were -drawn up about half a mile from the bridge; but they did not venture -forth; and Sir Hugh encamped for the night in the Moorar cantonment. - -This, then, was the first scene in the conquest. Sir Hugh had obtained -safe possession of the cantonment of Moorar, and had conquered and -expelled such of the insurgents as had taken up a position there. -Nevertheless this was only a preliminary measure; for the city and the -rock-fort were still in the hands of the enemy. Either through want of -means or want of foresight, the rebels had done little to strengthen -this fort; or, perchance, reposing on the Indian idea that that famous -fortress was impregnable, they deemed such a precaution unnecessary. -Instead of attending to that duty, they disposed their forces so as to -guard the roads of approach from Indoorkee, Seepree, and other places; -and it was in this field-service that the mail-clad Amazon, the Ranee of -Jhansi, engaged. - -We must now trace the progress of Brigadier Smith, who had taken charge -of the operations from the south, and who would need to obtain command -of the hills southward of the city before he could reach Gwalior itself. -This active officer had to make a long march before he could reach the -scene of conflict. His column—comprising a wing of the 8th Hussars, a -wing of the Bombay Lancers, H.M. 95th foot, the 10th Native Bombay -infantry, and a troop of Bombay horse-artillery—started from Seepree, -and was joined, on the 15th of June, at Antree, by Major Orr with his -men of the Hyderabad Contingent. Setting out from that place, the -brigadier, thus reinforced, arrived on the 17th at Kotah-ke-serai, a -place about eight miles from Gwalior, on the little river Oomrah. Here -was a small square fort, and also a native travellers’ bungalow (implied -by the words _ke-serai_). As he approached this place, the brigadier -could see masses of the enemy’s cavalry and infantry in motion at the -base of some neighbouring hills—some of those already adverted to as -forming a semicircular belt around the southern half of Gwalior. These -hills it was necessary for him to cross to get to the Lashkar -camping-ground. Two companies of infantry, belonging to the 10th and -95th regiments, were thrown across the river as skirmishers, with a -squadron of Hussars as videttes; while the rest of his column remained -south of the river, to guard the ford and the fort. After a little -skirmishing, some of his cavalry crossed the river, and came under the -fire of a battery until then unperceived. Much sharp fighting ensued: -the enemy having been permitted to retain their hold of the hills on one -side of the river, in consequence of a movement made by Smith under -false information. The road from Jhansi to Gwalior crosses the hills -that lie southward of the Lashkar; and, before debouching from these -hills, it runs for several hundred yards through a defile along which a -canal had been excavated; the eastern embankment of this canal, twenty -or twenty-five feet in height, supplied an excellent cover for Smith’s -troops during their advance. It was while his column was thus marching -through the defile, defended by three or four guns on a neighbouring -hill, that the principal part of the day’s fighting took place. When -night came, Smith had secured the defile, the road, and the adjoining -hills; while the enemy occupied the hills on the other side of the -canal. The most distinguished person who fell in this day’s fighting was -the Ranee of Jhansi—an Amazon to the last. The account given of her -death is simply as follows: ‘The Ranee, in trying to escape over the -canal which separated the camp from the Phool Bagh parade, fell with her -horse, and was cut down by a Hussar; she still endeavoured to get over, -when a bullet struck her in the breast, and she fell to rise no more.’ -The natives are said to have hastily burned her dead body, to save it -from apprehended desecration by the Feringhees. During the night between -the 17th and 18th, the enemy constructed a battery on one of their -hills, from which they poured forth a well-directed fire, lessened in -serious results by the greatness of the distance. It was not without -much difficulty and constant firing that the brigadier, during the 18th, -became master of the hills, and drove away the enemy, who were led with -much energy by Tanteea Topee. - -[Illustration: - - GWALIOR. -] - -While Brigadier Smith was thus closely engaged on the southern hills, -Sir Hugh Rose contented himself with maintaining his won position at the -Moorar cantonment; he could not safely advance into the city until Smith -had achieved his portion of the work. On the 18th, when the brigadier -had surmounted some of the southern hills, Sir Hugh, seeing that the -enemy’s strong positions were on that side of the city, joined him by a -flank-movement of twelve miles—leaving only a sufficient number of -troops to guard his camp at the Moorar. Rose bivouacked for the night in -rear of Smith’s position, thus enabling both to act together on the -morrow. The enemy still occupied some of the heights nearest to the -city; and from these heights, as well as from the rock-fort, on the -19th, they poured out a fire of shot, shell, and shrapnell. Rose, after -narrowly examining the chief of the heights occupied by the enemy, -resolve to capture it by storm. Two of the choice infantry regiments -sent on in advance, ascended this height—the 71st on the right, the 86th -on the left; other regiments supported them; while the artillery was -plied wherever the most effective result could be produced. The scheme -required that some of the guns should be taken across the canal, in -order to form a battery on one of the hills; and the sappers executed -this difficult work under a hot fire. The struggle was not a long one; -the infantry ran intrepidly up to the enemy’s guns, and captured them. -The height was now gained; and large masses of the enemy came full in -view in the plain below. The rebels, losing heart at their failures, -became panic-stricken when the height was taken; they began to flee in -all directions. Then was the time for Rose’s cavalry to render useful -service; the troopers scoured the plain in all directions, cutting off -the wretched fugitives in large numbers. By four o’clock in the day, -Rose was master of Gwalior, to the inexpressible astonishment of the -enemy. There was scarcely any fighting in the city itself, or in the -Lashkar camp; nor was there much firing from the rock-fort; when the -heights were gained, the rebels gave way on all sides. While Brigadier -Smith advanced with cavalry and artillery to occupy the plain of the -Phool Bagh, Sir Hugh pushed on to the palace. Very little opposition was -encountered; few of the enemy being met with either there or at the -Lashkar. After providing for the safety of the palace, by posting -Europeans and Bombay infantry at the entrances, Sir Hugh made -arrangements for the security of the city. This he found comparatively -easy; for the regular inhabitants of the place had good reason to wish -for the suppression of the rebels, and gladly aided the conquerors in -restoring order. - -[Illustration: - - THE RANEE OF JHANSI. -] - -Thus, on the night of the 19th, Sir Hugh Rose was virtually conqueror, -though not thoroughly. The seizure of palace, city, and cantonments did -not necessarily imply the seizure of the rock-fort, the bold fortress -which for ages has rendered Gwalior so famous in India. In point of -fact, the conquest of this fort was deferred until the 20th; Sir Hugh -looked upon it as an easy achievement, because it became known that only -a few natives remained within the place. The conquest was not effected -without causing the death of a gallant officer—Lieutenant Arthur Rose, -of the 25th Bombay native infantry. As soon as the city had fallen into -the hands of the besiegers, the lieutenant was sent by the -commanding-officer of his regiment to guard the Kotwallee or -police-station. A shot or two being unexpectedly fired from the fort, -Rose proposed to a brother-officer, Lieutenant Waller, the daring -project of capturing it with the handful of men at their joint -disposal—urging that, though the risk would be great, the honour would -be proportionally great if the attempt succeeded. Off they started, -taking with them a blacksmith. This man, with his lusty arm and his -heavy hammer, broke in the outermost or lowermost of the many gates that -guarded the ascent of the rock on which the fort was situated; then -another, and another, until all the six gates were broken into, and -entered by the little band of assailants. It is hardly to be expected, -that if the gates were really strong and securely fastened, they could -have been burst open in this way; but the confusion resulting from the -fighting had probably caused some of the defensive arrangements to be -neglected. At various points on the ascent the assailants were fired at -by the few rebels in the place; and near the top a desperate -hand-to-hand conflict took place, during which the numbers were thinned -on both sides. While Rose was encouraging his men in their hot work, a -musket was fired at him from behind a wall; and the bullet, striking him -on the right of the spine, passed through his body. The man who had -fired the fatal shot, a Bareilly mutineer, then rushed out, and cut him -across the knee and the wrist with a sword. Waller came up, and -despatched this fellow, but too late to save the life of his poor friend -Rose.[176] - -Several days before the conquest of Gwalior was finally completed, -arrangements were made for reinstating Scindia upon the throne from -which he had been so suddenly and unexpectedly hurled. Irrespective of -the justice of Scindia’s cause, Sir Robert Hamilton and Sir Hugh Rose -wished him to return at once from Agra to Gwalior for another reason—to -enable the British to judge who among the townsmen deserved punishment, -and who were worthy of forgiveness. It was also very important to shew -that the government meant promptly and firmly to support so faithful a -man, as an encouragement to other native princes to maintain faith with -the British. Even before Rose had reached Gwalior, and when the result -of the approaching battle could not in any degree be foreseen, Hamilton, -as political resident at the court of Gwalior, sent a dispatch to -Scindia at Agra, requesting him to move down at once to the Chumbul, -that he might be in readiness to present himself at Gwalior whenever the -proper time should arrive. Accordingly the temporarily dethroned -Maharajah set out from Agra on the 13th of June with all his retinue, -escorted by a party of Meade’s Horse, and by some of his own troopers -who still remained faithful. He reached Dholpore on the 15th, where he -joined Colonel Riddell’s column. On the next he faintly heard the roar -of cannon at his capital, thirty-seven miles distant; and in the evening -an express arrived from Sir Robert Hamilton, announcing the capture of -the cantonment—the first stage towards the capture of Gwalior itself. -Crossing the Chumbul, and mounting his horse, Scindia galloped off, and -rode all night, reaching Gwalior on the 17th. During the next three -days, the presence and advice of the Maharajah were very valuable to the -British authorities, contributing much towards the final conquest. On -the 20th, when all the fighting was well-nigh over, Scindia was restored -to his throne with as much oriental pomp as could be commanded in the -limited time: Rose, Hamilton, and all the chief military and civil -officers, accompanying him in procession from the camp to the palace. It -was a good augury that the townsmen, who lined all the streets, seemed -right glad to have him back again amongst them. - -When Gwalior was fairly cleared of rebels, and Scindia reinstated as -Maharajah, two official congratulatory documents were issued, one by Sir -Colin Campbell, and the other by Viscount Canning—somewhat differing in -character, but tending to the same end. Sir Colin congratulated Sir Hugh -Rose on the successful result of his rapid advance upon Gwalior, and the -restoration of Scindia. He adverted to these as a happy termination of -Rose’s brilliant campaign in Central India—a campaign illustrated by -many engagements in the open field; by the relief of Saugor; by the -capture of Ratgurh, Shagurh, and Chendaree; by the memorable siege of -Jhansi; by the fall of Calpee; and lastly, by the re-occupation of -Gwalior. While thanking Rose and his troops heartily for their glorious -deeds, Sir Colin did not fail to notice two other generals who had -shared in the hot work of those regions. ‘It must not be forgotten that -the advance of the Central India Field-force formed part of a large -combination, and was rendered possible by the movement of Major-general -Roberts, of the Bombay army, into Rajpootana, on the one side; and of -Major-general Whitlock, of the Madras army, on the other; and by the -support they respectively gave to Major-general Sir Hugh Rose as he -moved onwards in obedience to his instructions.’ Viscount Canning’s -proclamation was more formal, and was intended to meet the eye of -Scindia quite as much as those of the gallant troops who had just -reinstated him; it had a political object, to encourage native princes -in a course of fidelity, by shewing that the British government would -aid in maintaining them on their thrones, just in proportion to their -good faith.[177] - -The British had reconquered every part of the city and neighbourhood of -Gwalior, reinstated Scindia on his throne, wrought terrible execution on -the insurgents, and compelled the main body to seek safety in flight. -But the questions then arose, in this as in all previous instances—to -what quarter had the fugitives retreated, and what amount of mischief -might they produce during and in consequence of their retreat? It was -soon ascertained that, while others had chosen a different route, the -main body had taken the road to Kurowlee. Hence it became an object with -Sir Hugh to send off a force in pursuit, in the hope of so completely -cutting up the fugitives as to prevent them from reassembling as an -organised army at any other spot. He invited the co-operation of -Brigadier Showers from another quarter, but depended chiefly on the -exertions of a flying column hastily made up, and placed under the -command of Brigadier Napier. On the 20th, within a few hours after the -capture of Gwalior, Napier set forth; and the next few days were marked -by deeds of gallantry worthy of the name he bore. The column consisted -of a troop of horse-artillery, a troop of the 14th Dragoons, a wing of -the Hyderabad Contingent cavalry, and three troops of Meade’s -Horse—altogether about six hundred men, with six guns. Starting from the -Moorar cantonment, and passing from the Residency into the open country, -Napier reached Sunnowlie, twenty-four miles from Gwalior, by three -o’clock the next morning. On approaching Jowra Alipore, a few hours -afterwards, he descried the enemy in great force, with nearly thirty -guns. Not waiting to consider how small his numbers were compared with -those opposed to him, Napier resolved to grapple with the enemy. He -moved his column to the cover of a rising-ground which afforded partial -concealment; and finding the rebels disposed to move off, he at once -attacked them, with a chivalrous daring worthy of all praise. The column -galloped off to the right, towards the enemy’s guns, of which nine were -grouped in and around a small tope of trees. Captain Lightfoot’s -horse-artillery galloped up to the front, poured in two rounds of shot -at a distance of five hundred yards, limbered up, and dashed off to the -enemy’s guns, even outstripping the supporting cavalry; these guns, -being found deserted by the enemy, were at once captured. Of fighting, -there was really little in amount. The enemy, supposed to be at least -ten times as numerous as Napier’s troops, and supplied with formidable -artillery, scarcely made a stand at any point; the necessity for flight -from Gwalior had produced a sort of panic, and they made but little -resistance to Napier. They ran off in various directions, but chiefly -towards the south. Their haste was too great, and the pursuit too -prompt, to enable them to save any of their guns; Napier seized them -all, twenty-five in number, together with numerous stands of arms. Great -as was this achievement, however, considering the relative forces of the -belligerents, the result was hardly satisfactory in a political point of -view. The hope was not merely to recover Gwalior, but to crush the rebel -forces. Gwalior, it is true, was taken, and artillery in much strength -was captured; still the main body of the rebels escaped from Rose at -Gwalior on the 19th, and the same main body escaped from Napier at Jowra -Alipore on the 21st. Although they had few or no guns, they fled as an -army and not as a rabble; they retained that sort of military -organisation which might enable them to work mischief elsewhere. Napier, -wishing to prevent this as far as possible, pursued them some distance; -but as the rebels were wonderfully quick in their movements, they -gradually increased the distance between them and their pursuer, until -at length Napier was thirty miles behind. He then gave up a pursuit -which was likely to be fruitless, and returned to Gwalior with the guns -he had captured. It was afterwards made a subject for question whether -Rose should not have placed a greater force of light cavalry at Napier’s -disposal; but there appears much probability that, when once in flight, -the rebels would have succeeded in escaping, in this as in all similar -instances. They had attained great mastery in the art of fleeing. - -Who was the leader of the body of rebels adverted to in the preceding -paragraph was not clearly known; perhaps there was no recognised leader -in the hasty flight. Another body, however, estimated at five or six -thousand in number, followed the orders of the indefatigable Tanteea -Topee; he led them across the Chumbul, past Shree Muttra and Hindoun, -and made towards Jeypoor—the chief city of the principal among the -Rajpoot states. So far as could be ascertained, he hoped to obtain the -assistance of insurgent chieftains in that region. He carried with him -the crown-jewels, and an immense amount of treasure, that had belonged -to Scindia. There was a possibility that Tanteea Topee, by bending a -little to the north, would advance to Bhurtpore instead of Jeypoor. The -population of Bhurtpore was warlike, and Tanteea Topee could not enter -within the earthen walls if opposed; but it was impossible at that time -to rely on any body of Rajpoot troops; and hence the British authorities -watched with some anxiety the progress of the rebel leader. - -When, a few weeks earlier, Sir Hugh Rose had thanked his gallant troops -after the capture of Calpee, he hoped to be able to retire to Bombay, to -recruit his shattered health after so much active service in hot -weather. This hope was founded on what appeared to be rational grounds. -The last stronghold of the enemy had fallen into his hands, with its -guns, ammunition, and stores. Detached posts, it is true, might require -to be carefully guarded; isolated bodies of rebels might need pursuit -and punishment; but there did not appear to be any enterprise of such -magnitude and importance as to demand the combined services of the -different regiments in the Central India Field-force. Therefore it was -that, almost immediately after the fall of Calpee, Sir Hugh issued the -glowing address to his troops, already adverted to. His hope of -retirement, however, was for a time frustrated by the defeat of Scindia -by the rebels; but when he had retaken Gwalior, and reinstated the -Maharajah upon the throne, Sir Hugh found himself enabled to fulfil his -wish. Towards the close of June he issued another address to his troops, -in which he said: ‘The major-general commanding being on the point of -resigning the command of the Poonah division of the Bombay army,[178] on -account of ill health, bids farewell to the Central India Field-force; -and at the same time expresses the pleasure he feels that he commanded -them when they gained one more laurel at Gwalior. The major-general -witnessed with satisfaction how the troops and their gallant comrades in -arms—the Rajpootana brigade, under General Smith—stormed height after -height, and gun after gun, under the fire of a numerous field and siege -artillery, taking finally by assault two 18-pounders at Gwalior. Not a -man in these forces enjoyed his natural strength or health; and an -Indian sun, and months of marching and broken rest, had told on the -strongest; but the moment they were told to take Gwalior for their Queen -and country, they thought of nothing but victory. They gained it, -restoring England’s true and brave ally to his throne; putting to -complete rout the rebel army; killing numbers of them; and taking from -them in the field, exclusive of those in the fort, fifty-two pieces of -artillery, all their stores and ammunition, and capturing the city and -fort of Gwalior, reckoned the strongest in India. The major-general -thanks sincerely Brigadier-general Napier, C.B., Brigadier Stuart, -C.B.,[179] and Brigadier Smith, commanding brigades in the field, for -the very efficient and able assistance which they gave him, and to which -he attributes the success of the day. He bids them and their brave -soldiers once more a kind farewell. He cannot do so under better aspects -than those of the victory of Gwalior.’ - -Every one admitted that Sir Hugh Rose had well earned a season of -repose, after his five months of marching, fighting, besieging, and -conquering. It was on the 12th of January 1858 that he took command of -his Central India Field-force at Sehore. On the 23d he captured the town -of Ratgurh; on the 28th, defeated the enemy in the field; and on the -30th, captured the fort of Ratgurh. February came, and with it, the -relief of Saugor and the capture of the fort of Garra Kotah. In March he -forced the pass of Mudenpore; captured a series of strongholds which -gave him command of Bundelcund; took and burned Churkaree; and occupied -Tal Behut. In April he defeated the rebel army of Tanteea Topee, near -Jhansi; captured that city; and afterwards stormed and captured the fort -belonging to it. In May he took the fort of Koonch; then fought a severe -battle near Calpee; and eventually captured the fort at that place. -Lastly, in June, as we have just seen, he thoroughly defeated the -Gwalior mutineers, captured that important Mahratta city and fort, and -replaced Scindia on the throne of his ancestors. Second to Havelock—and -it may be doubted whether even this exception should be made—there was -no general engaged in the wars arising out of the mutiny, whose -operations were so numerous and so uniformly successful as those of Sir -Hugh Rose. It must at the same time be admitted that Havelock, from -first to last, had far smaller forces at his command. - -The Central India Field-force underwent a total break up after the -capture of Gwalior. The 95th regiment remained for a time within the -rock-fort. Two of the Queen’s regiments of infantry, and one of the -Bombay regiments, with detachments of cavalry and artillery, occupied -the Moorar cantonment, until further directions could be received. At -Jhansi were stationed the 3d Bombay Europeans, the 24th Bombay native -infantry, with cavalry and artillery. Brigadier Smith’s Rajpootana -brigade, which had rendered such good service at the siege of Gwalior, -was distributed into three portions—one remaining at Gwalior, and the -others going to Seepree and Goonah. All these troops absolutely needed -rest. Whatever exertions were necessary to check the career of the -fugitive rebels, were intrusted to troops from other quarters, -especially to General Roberts, who held command of all the available -troops in Rajpootana. Nothing but dire necessity kept British soldiers -in the field under a midsummer sun in the plains of India. As to Sir -Hugh Rose, a triumphant reception awaited him at Bombay; all ranks -strove to render him honour, as one who had brought great renown to the -Bombay army. - ------ - -Footnote 176: - - Brigadier Stuart, when he heard of the fatal termination of this bold - and daring achievement, issued the following general order: ‘Brigadier - Stuart has received with the deepest regret a report of the death of - Lieutenant Rose, 25th Bombay N. I., who was mortally wounded - yesterday, on entering the fort of Gwalior, on duty with his men. The - brigadier feels assured that the whole brigade unite with him in - deploring the early death of this gallant officer, whose many sterling - qualities none who knew him could fail to appreciate.’ - -Footnote 177: - - ‘_Allahabad, June 24, 1858._—The Right Honourable the Governor-general - has the highest gratification in announcing that the town and fort of - Gwalior were conquered by Major-general Sir Hugh Rose on the 19th - instant, after a general action in which the rebels, who had usurped - the authority of Maharajah Scindia, were totally defeated. On the 20th - of June, the Maharajah Scindia, attended by the governor-general’s - agent for Central India, and Sir Hugh Rose, and escorted by British - troops, was restored to the palace of his ancestors, and was welcomed - by his subjects with every mark of loyalty and attachment. It was on - the 1st of June that the rebels, aided by the treachery of some of - Maharajah Scindia’s troops, seized the capital of his highness’s - kingdom, and hoped to establish a new government under a pretender in - his highness’s territory. Eighteen days had not elapsed before they - were compelled to evacuate the town and fort of Gwalior, and to - relinquish the authority which they had endeavoured to usurp. The - promptitude and success with which the strength of the British - government has been put forth to the restoration of its faithful ally - to the capital of his territory, and the continued presence of British - troops at Gwalior to support his highness in the re-establishment of - his administration, offer to all a convincing proof that the British - government has the will and the power to befriend those who, like - Maharajah Scindia, do not shrink from their obligation or hesitate to - avow their loyalty. The Right Honourable the Governor-general, in - order to mark his appreciation of the Maharajah Scindia’s friendship, - and his gratification at the re-establishment of his highness’s - authority in his ancestral dominions, is pleased to direct that a - royal salute shall be fired at every principal station in India.’ - -Footnote 178: - - The Central India Field-force was a kind of offshoot from the Poonah - division of the Bombay army. - -Footnote 179: - - Brigadier Steuart, who had been with Sir Hugh Rose in the earlier - scenes of the campaign, retired through ill health before the - operations at Gwalior began. His brigade passed to the command of - Napier. - -[Illustration: - - DARJEELING—Hill Sanatorium in Sikkim. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI. - STATE OF AFFAIRS AT THE END OF JUNE. - - -Although the military operations conducted by Sir Hugh Rose and his -heroic companions, bearing relation to the reconquest of Gwalior, and -the re-establishment of Scindia on his Mahratta throne, were the most -interesting events in India during the month of June, the other -provinces also witnessed struggles and contests which equally need to be -chronicled; seeing that they all contributed towards the one great and -earnestly desired result—the pacification of the Anglo-Indian empire. -Terrible, it is true, were the labours of the gallant men who fought and -marched against the rebels under the scorching heat of an Indian -sun—heat which was that year excessive, even for India itself; but such -labours were necessary, and were borne with a degree of cheerfulness -which commands our admiration for the sterling qualities of British -troops. Sir Colin Campbell yearned to place his brave men under shade -and at rest, until such time as the rains should have cooled down the -summer’s fiery temperature; he did so to such an extent as was -practicable; but this extent was not great. June, as we shall see, was a -month of much fighting in the regions adjacent to the Ganges, the Jumna, -the Chumbul, and the Sone. - -Calcutta saw nothing of the governor-general during many months. He took -up his abode at Allahabad; filling the offices not only of -governor-general of the whole of India, but special governor of some of -those disturbed regions which had at one time been called the Northwest -Provinces, and at another the Central Provinces. This he had done in -order that he might be in more easy communication with the -commander-in-chief, and in more prompt receipt of intelligence from the -various stations and camps in Oude, Behar, Rohilcund, the Doab, -Bundelcund, Central India, and Rajpootana. How the weight of -responsibility pressed on one who had to govern at such a time and in -such a climate, few were aware; he worked on, early and late, thinking -only how best he could act as the Queen’s viceroy for India. Calcutta -had not much more to do with Lord Canning’s proceedings at that period, -than the other presidential cities; for he had his staff of government -employés with him at Allahabad. - -Bengal was nearly at peace in June; few troubles disturbed the equable -flow of commerce and industry. One slight transaction of an opposite -kind may, however, be briefly noticed. A body of sailors sent from -Calcutta had an opportunity of bringing some rebels to an account, and -defeating them in the wonted style. A naval brigade, under Captain -Moore, was stationed in the district of Singbhoom, southwest of -Calcutta, near the frontier between the Bengal and Madras presidencies. -The district comprised the four petty states of Singbhoom, Colehan, -Surakella, and Khursawa, each of which had its rajah or chieftain. The -only town of any note in the district was Chyebassa; and here was the -Company’s civil station. The Rajah of Singbhoom, at the period now under -notice, was endeavouring, like many other rajahs, to strengthen himself -by throwing off British supremacy. It happened, on the 9th of the month, -when the brigade was encamped at Chuckerderpore, but when some of the -officers had gone to Chyebassa, that the camp was suddenly attacked by -the rajah’s motley retinue of Koles, a half-savage tribe armed with -battle-axes, bows and arrows, spears, and matchlocks. They invested the -camp on all sides, and made a very fierce attack. The seamen poured in a -few shells among them, which threw them into much disorder. After this a -party of thirty went out, and committed much havoc among them in a -hand-to-hand contest. Captain Moncrieff then rode in from Chyebassa, -with a cavalry escort, and at once engaged with the rebels. After five -hours’ skirmishing, the mid-day sun exhausted alike Europeans and Koles; -and nothing further occurred till the morning of the 10th. The rebels -were so numerous that the brigade could only attack them on one side at -once; and thus it was not until the arrival of a hundred Ramgurh troops -and fifty Sikhs, at noon on the 11th, that the rajah and his Koles gave -way—retreating to the jungles of Porahaut. - -In other parts of Bengal there were petty chieftains of like -character, who were quite willing to set up as kings on their own -account—regardless of treaties existing between them and the Company, -and actuated solely by the temptations afforded during a period of -disorder. But the conditions were not favourable to them. The meek and -cowardly Bengalees did not imitate the Hindustanis of the Doab and -Oude; the hill-tribes were too few in number to be formidable; and the -steady arrival of British troops at Calcutta strengthened the hands of -the authorities in all the surrounding regions. Arrangements were -gradually made for increasing the number of European troops at -Calcutta, Dacca, Barrackpore, Berhampore, Hazarebagh, Jessore, and one -or two other stations—so as to place the whole of Bengal more -immediately under the eye of the military authorities. - -These defensive measures extended as far north as Darjeeling—one of -those healthy and temperate Hill-stations which have so often been -adverted to in former chapters as important _sanitaria_ for the English -in India. Simla, Landour, Kussowlie, Subathoo, Mussouree, Dugshai, -Almora, and Nynee Tal, are all of this character; and to these may be -added Darjeeling. A patch of hill-country, containing about three -hundred square miles, and formerly belonging to the Rajah of Sikim, was -obtained by the Company a few years ago, and Darjeeling established near -its centre. The Himalayas bound it on the north, Nepaul on the west, -Bhotan on the east, and two of the Bengal districts on the south. The -hills and valleys are beautiful, and the climate healthy. Darjeeling is -more particularly mentioned in this place, because, about the date to -which this chapter refers, public attention was called to a project for -establishing a settlement called Hope Town, on the slopes of a hill near -Darjeeling. This settlement was to be for independent emigrants, -colonists, or settlers, from the plains, or even from Europe; who, it -was hoped, might be tempted to that region by a fertile soil and a -magnificent climate, and thus gradually introduce English farming at the -base of the Himalayas. A company or society purchased or leased about -fourteen thousand acres of hill-land, in Darjeeling district, but not in -immediate contiguity to Darjeeling town. It was announced that the -locality contained clay for bricks, rubble for masonry, lime for mortar, -timber for carpentry and for fuel, and all the essential requisites for -building; water was abundant, from the mountain streams and springs; -while peaceful natives in the neighbouring plains would be eager to -obtain employment as artisans and labourers. The elevation of the land, -varying from three to six thousand feet, offered much facility of -choice. As the government had commenced a road from Darjeeling and Hope -Town to Caragola Ghât on the Ganges, there would be good markets for -hill produce in many parts of Bengal—perhaps in Calcutta itself. When -the project of this Hope Town settlement was first formed in 1856, it -was intended that the projectors should grant leases of small plots for -farms or dwellings, for a fixed number of years, and at a rental so -small as to attract settlers; while at the same time this rental should -so far exceed what the speculators paid to the government as to enable -them to construct a road, and build a school-room, church, library, and -other component elements for a town. This, it may be observed, was only -one among several colonising projects brought before public notice in -India. The land containing many magnificent tracts, and the climate -presenting many varieties of temperature, it has often been urged that -that noble country presents advantages for settlement which ought no -longer to be overlooked. So long as the East India Company’s power -existed, any colonising schemes would necessarily prove almost abortive; -but now that British India owns no other ruler than the sovereign of -England, there may in future years be an opening offered for the -thorough examination and testing of this important question, that its -merits and demerits may be fairly compared. Some of the advocates of -colonisation have painted imaginary pictures so glowing as to represent -India as the true Dorado or Golden Land of the widely spreading British -empire; some of the opponents of colonisation, on the other hand, have -asserted that British farmers could not live in India if they would, and -would not if they could:—the future will strike out a practicable mean -between these two extremes. - -The controversy concerning Indian heat, in reference to the wants and -constitutions of English settlers, bore very closely on the subject of -colonisation, and on the difference between the hilly districts and the -plains. In military matters, however, and in reference to the struggle -actually going on, all admitted that the summer of 1858 had been more -than usually fierce in its heat. A correspondent of one of the journals -said: ‘As if to try the endurance of Englishmen to the utmost, the -season has been such as has not been known since 1833. Those who know -Bengal will understand it when I say that on the 15th inst. one -clergyman in Calcutta buried forty-eight Englishmen, chiefly sailors. In -one ship the captain, chief-mate, and twenty-six men, had all apoplexy -at once. Nine men from Fort-William were buried one morning from the -same cause. Her Majesty’s 19th, at Barrackpore, who are nearly all under -cover, and who are most carefully looked after, have 200 men unfit for -duty from immense boils. All over the country paragraph after paragraph -announces the deaths of so many men at such a place from apoplexy.’ The -same writer mentions the case of a colonel who, just arrived with his -regiment at Calcutta, and, unfamiliar with an Indian climate, marched -off his men _with their stocks on_: in an hour afterwards he and his -instructor in rifle-practice were both dead from apoplexy. - -Before quitting Calcutta, it may be well to mention that the month of -June was marked by an honourable and energetic movement for recording -the services and cherishing the memory of Mr Venables, one of those -civil servants of the Company who displayed an undaunted spirit, and -considerable military talent, in times of great trial. It will be -remembered that, after many months of active service, both civil and -military, Mr Venables was wounded at Azimghur on the 15th of April;[180] -from the effects of this wound he soon afterwards sank—dying as he had -lived, a frank and gallant man. A committee was formed in Calcutta to -found, by individual subscriptions, some sort of memorial worthy of the -man. Viscount Canning took an early opportunity of joining in this -manifestation; and in a letter to the committee he spoke of Mr Venables -in the following terms: ‘It will be a satisfaction to me to join in this -good work, not only on account of the admiration which I feel for the -high qualities which Mr Venables devoted to the public service, his -intrepidity in the field, his energy and calm temper in upholding the -civil authority, and his thoroughly just appreciation of the people and -circumstances with which he had to deal; but also, and especially, on -account of circumstances attending the last service which Mr Venables -rendered to his country. After the capture of Lucknow, where he was -attached to Brigadier General Franks’ column, Mr Venables came to -Allahabad. He was broken in health and spirits, anxious for rest, and -looking forward eagerly to his return to England, for which his -preparations were made. At that time the appearance of affairs near -Azimghur was threatening; and I asked Mr Venables to forego his -departure from India, and return to that district, with which he was -intimately acquainted—there to assist in preserving order until danger -should have passed away. He at once consented cheerfully; and that -consent cost him his life. I am certain that the Court of Directors, who -are fully informed of all particulars of Mr Venables’s great services -and untimely death, will be eager to mark, in such manner as shall seem -best to them, their appreciation of the character of this brave, -self-denying English gentleman; and I am truly glad to have an -opportunity of joining with his fellow-countrymen in India in testifying -the sincere respect which I feel for his memory.’ - -Beyond the limits of Bengal, one of the many interesting questions that -pressed upon public attention bore relation to Nepaul and Jung Bahadoor. -That gay, gorgeous, shrewd, and unscrupulous chieftain had gone back to -his own country somewhat dissatisfied with his share in the Oude -campaign, or with the advantages accruing from it. Queen Victoria had -made him a Grand Cross of the Bath—a gentle knight ‘sans peur et sans -reproche,’ according to the original meaning of that honourable -distinction; but there were those who believed he would have better -welcomed some more substantial recognition of his services, such as a -fair slice out of the territory of Oude. Some doubted his fidelity to -the British cause, and among these were several of the leaders among the -rebels. There came to light a most remarkable correspondence, shewing in -what way Jung Bahadoor was tempted to swerve from his allegiance, and in -what way he resisted the temptation. Several letters were made public—by -what agency does not clearly appear—addressed by the Begum of Oude and -her adherents to the Nepaulese chieftain. About the period to which this -chapter relates, the rebel party at Lucknow disseminated rumours to the -effect that Jung Bahadoor, after his return to Nepaul, had been written -to by the Begum, and that he had undertaken to throw in his lot with the -‘patriots’ of Oude. That the attempt was made is clear enough; but the -nature of the response, so far as the published correspondence revealed -it, certainly does not seem to implicate him. One letter, apparently -written about the end of May, was signed by Mahomed Surfraz Ali, who -designated himself ambassador of the King of Oude. It began by -expressing astonishment that Nepaul should have aided the infidel -British, after having in former days been in friendly alliance with -Oude. ‘The chiefs of every tribe,’ it said, ‘should fight for their -religion as long as they live.’ Considering that the Oude royal family -were Mohammedans, and the Nepaulese Hindoos, the ambassador had some -difficulty in so framing his letter as to prove that Jung Bahadoor ought -to aid them rather than the English; and indeed his logic was somewhat -lame. The ambassador stated that he was then writing at Toolseepore, -whither he had been sent by the powerful Moulvie Ahmedoolah Shah, on the -part of the King of Oude, to act as accredited agent or ambassador with -the Nepaul authorities. He proceeded to state that seven letters, in the -Persian language, had been written by Mahomed Khan Bahadoor, viceroy of -Oude, to as many of the chief personages in Oude—among others, to Jung -Bahadoor himself; and that two letters, in the Hindee language, had been -written under the seal of the King of Oude, one addressed to the King of -Nepaul, and one to Jung Bahadoor. Mahomed Surfraz Ali added: ‘Neither I -nor the servants of our government are acquainted with your titles, or -those of your authorities, so we cannot address you properly. I am in -hopes that you will send me word how we should address you; and pray -forgive any mistakes or omissions in this letter.’ He begged the favour -of a letter, with the chieftain’s seal attached, for presentation to the -court of Oude. The letters purporting to be written by or for ‘Ramzan -Ali Khan Mirza Birjiz Kudr Bahadoor,’ King of Oude, assumed quite a -regal style, and almost claimed the alliance of the Nepaul Maharajah as -a right. The royal letter-writer made short work of the causes of the -mutiny: ‘The British some time ago attempted to interfere with the faith -of both the Hindoos and the Mohammedans, by preparing cartridges with -cows’ grease for the Hindoos, and that of pigs’ for the Mohammedans, and -ordering them to bite them with their teeth. The sepoys refused, and -were ordered by the British to be blown away from guns on the -parade-ground. This is the cause of the war breaking out, and probably -you are acquainted with it. But I am ignorant as to how they managed to -get your troops, which they brought down here, and began to commit every -sort of violence, and to pull down temples, mosques, imaumbarahs, and -sacred places. You are well aware of the treachery of the British; and -it is proper you should preserve the standard of religion, and make the -tree of friendship between you and me fresh.’ The real correspondents, -in this exchange of letters, were the Begum of Oude and Jung Bahadoor. -The astute chieftain wrote a reply, couched in such terms as to suggest -a probability that the British resident at Khatmandoo was at his elbow. -One of his high-flown paragraphs ran thus: ‘Since the star of faith and -integrity, sincerity in words as well as in acts, and wisdom and -comprehension, of the British, are shining as bright as the sun in every -quarter of the globe, be assured that my government will never disunite -itself from the friendship of the exalted British government, or be -instigated to join with any monarch against it, be he as high as heaven. -What grounds can we have for connecting ourselves with the Hindoos and -Mohammedans of Hindostan?’ And he ended with this bit of advice: ‘As you -have sent me a friendly letter, let me persuade you, that if any person, -Hindoo or Mohammedan, who has not murdered a British lady or child, goes -immediately to Mr Montgomery, the chief-commissioner of Lucknow, and -surrenders his arms, and makes submission, he will be permitted to -retain his honour, and his crime will be pardoned. If you still be -inclined to make war on the British, no rajah or king in the world will -give you an asylum; and death will be the end of it.’ This reply, -supposing it to be a spontaneous expression of the real sentiments of -Jung Bahadoor, would have possessed very high value; but a large -deduction must probably be made both from the spontaneity and the -sincerity. - -It may perhaps be well to notice that the royal house of Oude was at -discord with itself in those days, and that the king’s name was used ‘as -a tower of strength’ by intriguers who cared little for rightful -ownership. The real king—that is, the ex-king—was at Calcutta, a -prisoner and a half-idiot, with depravity enough to enjoy plots, but not -brains to execute them. The legitimate son and heir, so to speak, was in -Europe, where he had lately buried his grandmother the dowager-queen of -Oude, and was spending his father’s money at a very rapid rate. The -regal personages at Lucknow were the Begum and her son. The Begum was -one of the king’s many ladies; and her son was a weak-headed youth of -thirteen years old—‘illegitimate,’ according to the assertions of the -‘legitimate’ son at that time in Europe. The exiled king and his two -sons were, in reference to these machinations at Lucknow, mere tools or -pretences; the real mover was the clever and ambitious Begum. In Nepaul, -likewise, the real power was possessed, not by the maharajah, or -sovereign, but by his all-controlling, king-making subject, Jung -Bahadoor. - -The proceedings of the Oudian intriguers during the month of June will -presently be noticed in other ways; but it will be convenient first to -attend to the affairs of Behar. - -In former chapters it has been narrated, in sufficient fulness for the -purpose in view, how the western provinces of Behar were troubled by the -Jugdispore and Dinapoor rebels, and with how many difficulties Sir -Edward Lugard had to contend in bringing his ‘Azimghur Field-force’ to -bear against them. The month of June offered no exception to this state -of things. Most harassing indeed were the labours which they brought -upon him, testing his patience and perseverance more, perhaps, than his -military skill. Notwithstanding the numerous defeats which they had -suffered, these mutinied sepoys and armed budmashes were continually -moving from place to place—giving evidence of their presence by murder, -plunder, and burning. The jungles around Jugdispore afforded many -facilities for hiding and secret flight. One of the many defeats -inflicted by Sir Edward occurred on the 27th of May. Immediately -afterwards a body of several hundreds of those insurgents issued from -the eastern portion of the jungle, and shewed themselves in their true -character as marauders bent on mischief, rather than as soldiers -fighting for a definite cause. On the 30th they burned an indigo factory -at Twining Gunge, a place near Dumoran; whilst on the same day another -body advanced to the village of Rajpore, within eight miles of Buxar, -and murdered two natives in government service. From thence they -wandered, during the next four or five days, among the neighbouring -villages, working mischief at every step. In anything like a military -sense, these bands of marauders were contemptible; but so numerous were -the unemployed and half-fed ruffians in the disturbed districts, that -there were always materials at hand for swelling the numbers of these -freebooting insurgents. Lugard was compelled to keep his troops moving -about, between Arrah and Buxar; while the authorities at Ghazeepore and -Benares were on the alert to check any advance of the rebels towards -those cities. On the 2d of June he divided his force into two wings, and -established camps at Keshwa and Dulleepore, with a line of posts across -the jungle. On the next day he cut a broad road through the jungle to -connect the two camps. Having thus completely hemmed a considerable body -of the rebels within the southern end of the jungle, he attacked them -with his whole force on the 4th, with a very successful result—so far as -regarded the maintenance of military superiority. The rebels attempted -for a time to make a stand; but the 10th and 84th foot, charging with -the bayonet, defeated them with great slaughter. Here again, however, -was the old story repeated; his hope of capturing the main body of -rebels was frustrated; they broke up into small bands, and fled in -various directions. - -Instead of describing numerous petty contests that occurred during the -month, it may be well to illustrate the peculiar characteristics of the -struggle by one particular instance, to shew that the British troops in -Behar had more certainty of hard work than chance of glory. During the -first week in June, Sir Edward intrusted to Brigadier Douglas the duty -of intercepting a body of rebels from the Jugdispore district towards -Buxar—a difficult duty, on account of the ingenuity of the rebels in -eluding pursuit. Douglas started on the 7th, taking with him H.M. 84th -foot, a troop of the 4th Madras cavalry, three troops of the military -train, and three guns of the royal horse-artillery. On that and the two -following days he marched to Buxar, by way of Shahpoor and Saumgunje. -Between the 10th and the 13th he was busily engaged in the almost -hopeless task of catching the rebels who were known to be marching and -marauding not far distant. Now he would descry a few hundred of them in -a tope of trees, and send his horse-artillery to disperse them with -grape-shot; now he would cross the little river Surronuddee, or the -Kurrumnassa, or hasten to the Sheapoor Ghât, in the hope of cutting off -fugitives; now he would march through or near the villages of Ghamur, -Chawsa, or Barra, in search either of rebels or of intelligence. His -success by no means repaid him for his harassing exertions; he could -seldom rely on information obtained concerning the movements of the -rebels, and still more seldom could he catch the rebels themselves. In -his dispatch relating to these operations, the brigadier said: ‘Three -men of the royal horse-artillery died during the night from the effects -of the sun, and one man of the 84th.... The heat during the operations -was intense, and the troops suffered much, particularly the 84th -regiment, who have now been thirteen months in the field. I consider -this regiment at present to be quite unfit for active service; the men -have no positive disease, but they are so exhausted that they can -neither eat nor sleep.’ If they could have encountered the enemy, and -thoroughly vanquished them in a regular battle, the overworked and -heat-worn soldiers would have borne this and more than this cheerfully; -but they had to deal with rebels who eluded their search in an -extraordinary way. Sir Edward Lugard, in a dispatch written on the 14th, -dated from his camp at Narainpoor, near Jugdispore, adverted to this -subject in the following terms: ‘To shew the rapidity and secrecy with -which the rebels conduct their movements, I beg to state, that in order -to guard against the return of any party from the west towards the -jungles, without my getting timely intelligence, so that I might -intercept them, I posted at Roop-Saugor—a village thirteen miles to my -southwest, on the track taken by the rebels in their flight—Captain -Rattray, with his Sikh battalion. He again threw forward scouts some -miles in the same direction, and constantly had parties patrolling in -the different villages. But in spite of every precaution, the rebel -force were at Medneepore, within four miles of him, before he could -communicate with me, and passed on towards the jungle the same night. -Every endeavour to obtain information from the people of the district -has proved vain; scarcely ever has any intelligence been given to us, -until the time has passed when advantage could be taken of it.’ - -In reference to these Jugdispore rebels, it has been remarked that they -were neither Sikhs from the west, nor Poorbeahs from the east; but -chiefly Bhojpoories of the Shahabad district, most of them born on Koer -Singh’s own estates. Moreover, causes have been assigned for thinking -that these, as well as other rebels, adhered most to those leaders who -could treat them best, whether in pay or plunder, without much reference -to their military abilities. ‘The extraordinary variations in the -numbers of the insurgents may be partly accounted for by variations in -the readiness of pay. Koer Singh, when he left Oude, had barely five -hundred men in his train. As he marched, every straggling sepoy, every -embarrassed scoundrel with a sword, enlisted in his service. By the time -he reached Azimghur he had two thousand five hundred followers; most, -but not all, well armed. The flight across the river dispersed them once -more; and it was not till the check sustained by H.M. 35th that they -thronged to him again. Apparently the leaders are well aware of the -advantage this peculiarity affords. Thus, after their defeat by Sir E. -Lugard, the great bulk of the Behar insurgents vanished; the work was -apparently complete, and the military ends of the campaign to all -appearance accomplished. The leaders, however, remained in the jungle, -and in five days their followers were round them again; they had glided -back in twos and threes, by paths on which no European would be met.’ - -After many weeks of fatiguing duty in this region, Sir Edward Lugard, -worn with heat and sickness, resigned the command about the end of June; -handing over to Colonel Douglas the office of chasing the Jugdispore -rebels from place to place. Nor was it in that particular locality alone -that this duty had to be fulfilled. Ummer Singh, equalling his deceased -brother in activity, was no sooner defeated in one place than he made -his appearance in another, carrying discord into villages where his -presence was as little desired by natives as by Europeans. While Colonel -Douglas was on his way towards the scene of his new command, news -reached him that the English at Gayah had been driven into intrenchments -by a party of a hundred and fifty rebel prisoners, who had been set at -liberty by the native police employed to watch them, and were speedily -joined by the jail convicts; all—prisoners, police, and convicts—became -suddenly ‘patriots,’ and shewed their patriotism by threatening all the -officials at the station. This is believed to have been done by some -connivance with Ummer Singh. The Europeans at Gayah were thrown into a -great ferment by this visitation; the few troops present were withdrawn -into the intrenchment, as were likewise the civilians, ladies, and -children. No immediate attack followed; but the incident furnished one -among many proofs that the native police were, in most of the Bengal and -Hindostan provinces, a source of more danger than protection to the -British—except the Sikh police, who almost uniformly behaved well. - -The transactions in Oude, during the month of June, told of rebels -defeated but not disbanded, weakened but not captured. There were many -leaders, and these required to be narrowly watched. - -One of the first cares of the authorities was to place the important -city of Lucknow in such a state of defence as to render it safe from -attacks within and without. Various military works were planned by -Colonel Napier, and were executed by Major Crommelin after Napier’s -departure. From the vast extent of Lucknow, and the absence of any very -prominent features of the ground, it was a difficult city to defend -except by a large body of troops. The point which gave the nearest -approach to a command over the city was the old fort or Muchee Bhowan, -near which was the great Emanbarra, capable of sheltering a large number -of troops. It was decided to select several spots as military posts, to -clear the ground round those spots, and to open streets or roads of -communication from post to post. The Muchee Bhowan was selected as the -chief of these posts; a second was near the iron bridge leading over the -Goomtee to the Fyzabad road; a third was on the site of the Residency, -now a heap of ruins; a fourth was at the Moosa Bagh. All suburbs and -buildings lying on the banks of the river, likely to intercept the free -march of troops from the Muchee Bhowan to the Moosa Bagh, were ordered -to be swept away. Large masses of houses were also removed, to form good -military roads from the Muchee Bhowan to the Char Bagh, the Moosa Bagh, -the stone bridge, the iron bridge, and the old cantonment. The vast -range of palaces, such as the Fureed Buksh, the Chuttur Munzil, the -Kaiser Bagh, &c., were converted temporarily into barracks, and all the -streets and buildings near them either pulled down or thrown open. The -Martinière, the Dil Koosha, and Banks’s house, were formed into military -posts on the eastern side of the city. The two extremes of these posts, -from northwest to southeast, were not far short of seven miles asunder; -they would require a considerable number of troops for their occupancy -and defence; but under any circumstances such would be required in the -great capital of Oude for a long period to come. - -The Alum Bagh continued to be maintained, as an important and useful -station on the road from Lucknow to Cawnpore. It was destined to live in -history as a place which Sir James Outram had defended for nearly four -months against armed forces estimated at little short of a hundred -thousand men. It was not originally a fort, only a palace in the midst -of a walled garden; but it presented facilities for being made into -useful shelter for troops. Another place, the bridge of Bunnee, over the -river Sye, was also carefully maintained as an important military post -between Lucknow and Cawnpore. During the latter part of May, the English -troops employed with Sir Hope Grant in various expeditions against the -enemy suffered severely from the heat; and it was found necessary to -give the 38th regiment a temporary sojourn in the Emanbarra at Lucknow, -supplying their place by the 53d. On the 3d of June the Bunnee force -moved out, to disperse a body of rebels who had posted themselves near -Pooroa. There was another duty of a singular kind intrusted to these -troops. The Rajah of Kupoorthully, a Sikh chieftain, who had rendered -valuable services to the government in time of need, received as a -reward an extensive jaghire or domain in Oude. In order that he might -defend both himself and British interests in that domain, he was -assisted in intrenching himself, and was supplied with guns, mortars, -and ammunition; this was irrespective of his own force of four thousand -Sikh troops. - -Shortly after the opening of the month, rumours reached the authorities -at Lucknow that a body of rebels, estimated at seventeen or eighteen -thousand, had crossed the Gogra, and taken up a position at Ramnuggur -Dhumaree, under the orders of Gorhuccus Singh. The correctness of this -report was not certain—nor of others that Madhoo Singh was at the head -of five thousand rebels at Goosaengunje, Benee Madhoo with a small -number in the Poorwah district, and Dunkha Shah with a larger force near -Chinhut. Still, though these numbers were probably exaggerated by -alarmists, it was not considered prudent to leave the northeast region -of Oude unprotected. Accordingly, a movable column was organised, to -proceed towards Fyzabad. - -Sir Hope Grant, intrusted at that time with the conduct of military -affairs in Oude, himself conducted an expedition towards the districts -just adverted to. A little before midnight on the 12th of June, acting -on information which had reached him, he marched from Lucknow to -Chinhut, and thence towards Nawabgunge, on the Fyzabad road. His force -consisted of the 2d and 3d battalions of the Rifle Brigade, the 5th -Punjaub Rifles, a detachment of Engineers and Sappers, the 7th Hussars, -two squadrons of the 2d Dragoon Guards, Hodson’s Horse, a squadron of -the first Sikh cavalry, a troop of mounted police, a troop of -horse-artillery, and two light field-batteries. Leaving a garrison -column at Chinhut, under Colonel Purnell, and intrusting the same -officer with the temporary charge of the baggage and supplies belonging -to the column, Sir Hope resumed his march during the night towards -Nawabgunge, where sixteen thousand rebels had assembled, with several -guns. By daylight on the following morning he crossed the Beti Nuddee at -Quadrigunje, by means of a ford. He had purposely adopted this route -instead of advancing to the bridge on the Fyzabad road; in order that, -after crossing the nullah, he might get between the enemy and a large -jungle. As a strong force of rebels defended the ford, a sharp -artillery-fire, kept up by Mackinnon’s horse-artillery and Johnson’s -battery, was necessary to effect this passage. Having surmounted this -obstacle, Sir Hope, approaching nearer to Nawabgunge, got into the -jungle district. Here the rebels made an attempt to surround him on all -sides, and pick off his men by repeated volleys of musketry. The general -speedily changed the aspect of affairs. He sent a troop of -horse-artillery to the front; Johnson’s battery and two squadrons of -horse were sent to defend the left; while a larger body confronted the -rebels on the right—where the enemy apparently expected to find and to -capture Sir Hope’s baggage. The struggle was very fierce, and the -slaughter of the rebels considerable; the enemy, fanatical as well as -numerous, gave exercise for all Grant’s boldness and sagacity in -contending with them. The victory was complete—and yet it was -indefinite; for the rebels, as usual, escaped, to renew their mischief -at some other time and place. Nearly six hundred of their number were -slain; the wounded were much more numerous. Hope Grant’s list of killed -and wounded numbered about a hundred. Many of the rebels were Ghazees or -Mohammedan fanatics, far more difficult to deal with than the mutinied -sepoys. Adverting to some of the operations on the right flank, Grant -said in his dispatch: ‘On arriving at this point, I found that a large -number of Ghazees, with two guns, had come out on the open plain, and -attacked Hodson’s Horse. I immediately ordered up the other four guns -under the command of Lieutenant Percival, and two squadrons of the 7th -Hussars under Major Sir W. Russell, and opened grape upon them within -three or four hundred yards with terrible effect. But the fanatics made -the most determined resistance; and two men in the midst of a shower of -grape brought forward two green standards, which they planted in the -ground beside their guns, and rallied their men. Captain Atherley’s two -companies of the 3d battalion Rifle Brigade at this moment advanced to -the attack, which obliged the rebels to move off. The cavalry then got -between them and the guns; and the 7th Hussars, led gallantly by Sir W. -Russell, supported by Hodson’s Horse under Major Daly, swept through -them—killing every man.’ Whatever may have been the causes, proximate or -remote, of the mutiny, it is quite evident that such Mussulman fanatics -as these, with their green flag of rebellion and their cries of ‘Deen! -deen!’ had been worked up, or had worked themselves up, to something -like a sincere belief that they were fighting for their religion. - -The chief body of rebels, as has just been stated, succeeded in escaping -from Nawabgunge after the battle. They fled chiefly to Ramnuggur and -Mahadeo on the banks of the Gogra, and to Bhitowlie at the junction of -that river with the Chowka—with the apparent and probable intention of -throwing up earthworks for the defence of those positions. - -Just about the time when Sir Hope Grant defeated these Nawabgunge -rebels—supposed to have been headed by the Begum of Oude and her -paramour Mummoo Khan—the career of the energetic Moulvie was suddenly -cut short at another. This remarkable man, Moulvie Ahmedullah Shah, died -as he had long lived, struggling against the Feringhees and all who -supported them. On the 15th of June, after having been driven from place -to place by the various British columns and detachments, he arrived from -Mohumdee at Powayne, a town about sixteen miles northeast of -Shahjehanpoor. He had with him a considerable body of horse, and some -guns. The Rajah of Powayne, named Juggernath Singh, having incurred the -displeasure of the Moulvie by sheltering two native servants of the -Company, was attacked by him. Juggernath Singh, and his two brothers -Buldeo Singh and Komul Singh, went out to confront the Moulvie as best -they could. A skirmish ensued, which lasted three hours. The most -notable result was the death of the Moulvie; he received a shot, and -fell; his head was at once severed; and the Rajah sent the head and -trunk to Shahjehanpoor, to be delivered to Mr Gilbert Money, the -commissioner. Glad as the British may have been to get rid of a -formidable enemy, it is doubtful whether Mr Money received the bleeding -gift with much gratification. The Rajah of Powayne, however, had long -been an object of suspicion, on account of his unfeeling conduct towards -some of the poor fugitives in the early days of the Revolt; and as the -British cause was now obviously the winning cause, he was anxious, by -his alacrity in dealing with the dead body of the Moulvie, to win favour -with the authorities. A very large reward had been offered by the -government to whoever could capture the Moulvie; and although some doubt -was expressed whether this was intended to apply as well to the bleeding -corpse as to the living man, the reward was paid to the Powayne -chieftain. - -[Illustration: - - Principal Street in Lucknow. -] - -It was unquestionably a great gain to the British to know that the -Moulvie was really removed from the field of strife. As to the Begum, -she still remained unsubdued, moving from place to place according as -she could gather a large body of adherents around her. It was about the -second week in June, so far as is rendered apparent by the -correspondence, that she received Jung Bahadoor’s very decisive -rejection of the appeal made by her for his alliance, lately adverted -to; and as she lost nearly at the same time her able coadjutor the -Moulvie, her prospects became more gloomy. Of Nena Sahib, little more -could be said than that he was true to his character—a coward in all -things. Where he was at any particular time, the British seldom -certainly knew: he had not the courage of the Moulvie, or the Begum, or -the Ranee. - -In connection rather with the province of Goruckpore than with that of -Oude, though nearly on the boundary-line between the two, must be -mentioned two encounters in which the naval brigade honourably -distinguished itself. The _Shannon’s_ seamen, it will be remembered, -supplied a naval brigade under the lamented Captain Sir William Peel, -for service in Oude; but there was also another brigade furnished by the -_Pearl_, of which Captain Sotheby was commander. During May and June, -this brigade was associated with certain troops and marines in the -maintenance of order on the Goruckpore frontier of Oude. While on -detached service, Major Cox and Lieutenant Turnour came in contact with -the enemy on the 9th of June. The lieutenant had under him two -12-pounder howitzers, a 24-pounder rocket-tube, and about fifty seamen -of the _Pearl’s_ crew; Lieutenant Pym had the control of about twenty -marines from the same ship; while Major Cox, who commanded the whole -detachment, had under him a small military force comprising two hundred -men of the 13th light infantry, two troops of Madras cavalry, two troops -of Bengal cavalry, and twenty Sikhs. It was altogether a singular medley -of combatants. Having heard that Mahomed Hussein was occupying the -neighbouring village of Amorha or Amorah in great force, Major Cox -resolved to attack him. He divided his detachment into two parts, one -headed by himself, and the other by Major Richardson. The seamen and -marines were attached to Richardson’s party. Starting at two o’clock in -the morning, they marched along the road leading through the village. -When within a mile of Amorah, they received a heavy fire from the rebel -skirmishers; these were immediately attacked and driven in by Pym and -the marines; while the guns threw shot and shell on the main body. -Attempting to retreat on the other flank, Cox met and frustrated them; -and the result of the skirmish was a decisive abandonment of the village -by the rebels. Nine days afterwards another force, similar in -constitution but larger in numbers, comprising in its naval element -about a hundred and ten seamen, set out from Captangunje to make another -attack on Mahomed Hussein, who was posted with four thousand rebels at -Hurreah, about eight miles off. On approaching near Hurreah, the enemy’s -skirmishers were descried thrown across the river Gogra, screened in -thick bamboo jungles, villages, topes of trees, and a dry nullah. -British skirmishers were quickly sent on ahead, drove in the enemy, and -waded the river after them up to their waists; the guns followed, and -the enemy were driven from tope to tope, and from every place of -concealment, and chased for four miles. The heat was tremendous; -insomuch that seven hours’ marching, fighting, and pursuing nearly -knocked up officers and men. Mahomed Hussein, however, was severely -defeated, and this was deemed a sufficient reward for all the fatigues -and privations. The _Pearl’s_ naval brigade counted this as the tenth -time in which it had been in action in nine months. - -It may be here mentioned that an endeavour was made, towards the end of -June, to estimate the number of thalookdars and other petty chieftains -who were in arms against the British in the province of Oude; together -with the amount of force at their disposal. The estimate was not wholly -reliable, for the means of obtaining correct information were very -deficient. The list published in some of the Bombay newspapers, -professing to be the nearest attainable approach to the truth, included -the names of about thirty-five ‘thalookdars,’ ‘rajahs,’ and -‘chuckladars,’ holding among them about twenty-five mud-forts, with -nearly a hundred guns, and forty thousand armed retainers. The chief -items in this curious list were—‘The three chuckladars Mahomed Hussein, -Mehndee Hussein, and Shaik Padil Imam, have twenty-three guns and ten -thousand men massed about Sultanpore; some occupying Saloun, ten kos -from Roy Bareilly’—‘At Nain, within nine kos of Roy Bareilly, four -thalookdars, named Juggernath Buksh, Bugwan Buksh, Bussunth Singh, and -Juggernath (?), have collected eight guns and six thousand men’—‘Banie -Madhao, thalookdar; at Sukerpore, a strong fort surrounded by jungle, a -few kos from Roy Bareilly; nineteen guns and eight thousand men’—‘Rajah -Ali Buksh Khan, at Moham, a small fort twenty-five kos east of Lucknow; -five guns and fifteen hundred men.’ Most of the rebel gatherings here -adverted to were in the region around Roy Bareilly, southeast of -Lucknow. - -But notwithstanding these high-sounding names and formidable numbers, -the cause of regular government in Oude was gradually advancing. The -rebels could no longer endanger; they could only annoy. Mr Montgomery, -at Lucknow, intrusted with large powers by the governor-general, was -gradually feeling his way. While Crommelin took charge of the immediate -defence of that city, and Hope Grant was grappling with the rebels in -the open field, Montgomery was employed in re-establishing the network -of judicial and revenue organisation, as favourable opportunities arose. -The Rajah of Kapoorthully, lately adverted to, undertook the defence of -the region between the Bunnee and Cawnpore; while Hope Grant kept a -vigilant eye on the centre of Oude. The astute and double-dealing Maun -Singh was placed in a singular position. He was distrusted by both -parties, because he would not openly side with one against the other. As -the chieftain of Shahgunje, on the river Gogra, very near the eastern -frontier of Oude, he would be formidable either as a friend or a foe. He -had a fort, guns, and men at his command. There could be no question -that for thirteen months he had been watching the progress of events, to -determine in which balance to throw his sword; and it was equally -evident that he was gradually recognising more and more the value of -English friendship—as a consequence, he was bitterly disliked by the -rebel leaders. Taking a view of the state of Oude generally during June, -it is necessary to make a distinction between the earlier and the later -days of the month. The former was much less favourable than the latter. -It could not truthfully be said that the pacification proceeded rapidly. -Injury was wrought by the party-tactics concerning the famous -proclamation penned by Viscount Canning and condemned by the Earl of -Ellenborough. The violent discussions arising out of that collision of -opinion could not be wholly concealed from the natives of India. It -cannot be doubted that many of the reckless and unscrupulous speeches -made in the British parliament became known to, and cherished by, the -insurgent chieftains. When a halo of suffering virtue was thrown around -the Oudian royal family, and when the Queen of England’s viceroy in -India was spoken of almost as a murderer and robber, the power of the -government became necessarily shaken, and the difficulties of -pacification increased. The proclamation was modified; nay, Mr -Montgomery received discretionary powers to determine whether, and when, -and where there should be a proclamation at all—the governor-general -wisely leaving it to his sagacity to be guided by the circumstance of -time and place. At the beginning of June little had been effected -towards winning the submission of the malcontent thalookdars and -chuckladars; the hopes of successful rebellion had not been sufficiently -damped. Nevertheless, as the month advanced, and when the Moulvie was -dead and the Gwalior rebels beaten, the Oudian landowners, by ones and -twos, began to look out for a compromise, which might enable them safely -to abandon a losing cause. One of the most embarrassing difficulties -perhaps was this—that the rebel leaders made instant war against any -thalookdars or chuckladars who gave in their submission to the British -government under the modified proclamation—thereby deterring the more -timid landowners from the adoption of this course. Maun Singh himself -was besieged by an insurgent force; but his means of resistance were -considerable. - -One of the evidences afforded that the pacification of Oude was -considered to be gradually approaching, was the disbandment of the corps -of Volunteer Cavalry, which was composed almost wholly of officers and -gentlemen, and which had rendered such eminent services at a time when -European troops were doubly precious from their extreme rarity. In a -notification issued at Calcutta, Viscount Canning, after mentioning some -of the arrangements connected with the disbanding, thus spoke of the -services of the corps: ‘The Volunteer Cavalry took a prominent part in -all the successes which marked the advance of the late Major-general Sir -Henry Havelock from Allahabad to Lucknow; and on every occasion of its -employment against the rebels—whether on the advance to Lucknow, or as -part of the force with which Major-general Sir James Outram held Alum -Bagh—this corps has greatly distinguished itself by its gallantry in -action, and by its fortitude and endurance under great exposure and -fatigue. The governor-general offers to Major Barrow, who ably commanded -the Volunteer Cavalry, and boldly led them in all the operations in -which they were engaged, his most cordial acknowledgments for his very -valuable services: and to Captain Lynch, and all the officers and men -who composed this corps, his lordship tenders his best thanks for the -eminent good conduct and exemplary courage which they displayed during -the whole time that the corps was embodied.’ The farewell of Sir James -Outram was more hearty, because less official.[181] - -Directing our attention next to the Doab and Rohilcund, it becomes at -once apparent that organisation and systematic government made great -advances during the month of June. The Doab no longer contained any -large body of armed rebels. There were numerous smaller bands, but these -bands chiefly made use of the Doab as a route of passage. The hopes of -the rebel leaders were directed mainly towards two regions—Oude, on the -north of the Ganges; and Central India, on the south of the Jumna. -According as the fortunes of war (or rather depredation) tended in the -one direction or the other, so did groups of armed insurgents cross, or -attempt to cross, those rivers by means of the ghâts or ferries. If the -chances for rebel success appeared stronger at Lucknow or Fyzabad, -Bareilly or Shahjehanpoor, this current tended northward, or rather -northeastward: if Calpee or Jhansi, Gwalior or Jeypoor, excited the -hopes of the insurgents, the current took an opposite direction. The -Doab, in either case, was regarded rather as a line of transit than as a -field of contest. Sir Colin Campbell, well acquainted with this fact, -devoted a portion of his attention to the ghâts on the two great rivers. -It became very important to check if possible the marching and -countermarching of the rebels across the Doab; and several columns and -detachments of troops were engaged in this duty during the month now -under notice. The success of the few actual encounters depended very -much on the course of events in Scindia’s dominions, narrated in the -last chapter. When Gwalior fell into the hands of Tanteea Topee and his -associates, all the turbulent chieftains in the surrounding districts -displayed an audacity and hopefulness which they had not exhibited -during the preceding month; but when Sir Hugh Rose reconquered that -city, and replaced Scindia on his throne, timidity succeeded to -audacity, misgiving to hopefulness. - -The commander-in-chief, after his participation in the reconquest and -pacification of Rohilcund, returned to his former quarters at Futteghur, -where he remained until the second week in June. Throughout the month he -was personally engaged in no hostilities; he was occupied either in -studying how to give his heat-worn soldiers repose, or how best to -employ those whose services in the field were still indispensable. The -governor-general much desired his presence at Allahabad, to confer with -him personally on the military arrangements necessary during the summer -and autumn. It afforded a significant proof of the scattered position of -the British forces, that during the first week in June there were no -soldiers that could be spared to escort Sir Colin from Futteghur to -Allahabad. Quiet as the Doab was, compared with its condition earlier in -the year, there were still rebel bands occasionally crossing and -recrossing it, and these bands would have hazarded much to capture a -prize so important as the commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Indian army. -He could not safely move without an escort, and he had to delay his -journey until a few troops came in from Shahjehanpoor and other -stations. While at Futteghur he caused a search to be made in the -bazaars of that place and Furruckabad for sulphur, in order that any -stores of that substance might be seized by and for the government. The -rebels of the various provinces still possessed many guns; the -chieftains and landowners still owned more weapons of various kinds than -they chose to acknowledge to the government; there was iron for the -making of cannon-balls; there were charcoal and saltpetre towards the -making of gunpowder; but there was one ingredient, sulphur, without -which all the firearms of the insurgents would be useless; and as -sulphur was an imported article in India, the government made attempts -to obtain possession of any stores of that substance that might be in -doubtful hands. Percussion-caps, too, were becoming scarce among the -rebels; and, the materials and machinery for making more being wanting, -they were perforce superseded by the less effective matchlock. - -The state of the Doab at that time is well told in connection with a -journey made by Mr Russell. After the Rohilcund campaign was over, this -active journalist looked about him to determine what was best worth -seeing and describing, in reference to his special duties. If he went -with or after Sir Colin to Allahabad, he would get to the head-quarters -of politics, where very few stirring military operations were to be -witnessed; if he went northeast into Oude, or southwest into Central -India, he might, after much danger and difficulty, become involved in -the movements of some flying column, ill assorting with the necessities -of a lame man—for he still suffered from an injury by a kick from a -horse. Mr Russell therefore resolved upon a journey through the Upper -Doab from Futteghur to Delhi, and thence by Umballa to the healthy -hill-station of Simla. He travelled by Bhowgong, Eytah, Gosaigunje, and -Allygurh, meeting with ample evidence on the way of the ruin resulting -from thirteen months of anarchy. Of the dâk bungalows or stations he -says: ‘Let no one understand by this a pleasant roadside hostelry with -large out-offices, spacious court-yard, teams of horses, and hissing -ostlers; rather let him see a mud-hovel by the way, standing out, the -only elevation in the dead level of baked earth, a few trees under which -are tethered some wretched horses, and a group of men’—whose dress -consisted of little beyond a turban. From Bhowgong to Eytah the country -looked like a desert; and by the roadside, at intervals of ten miles or -less, were thannahs or police-stations—small one-storied houses, bearing -traces of the destructiveness of the rebel leader which had so often -swept the district. He crossed the Kallee Nuddee at a point where the -Company had never yet introduced the civilised agency of a regular -bridge. The gharry was pushed and dragged down a shelving bank of loose -sand, and then over a rickety creaky bridge of boats—the native -attendants making much use of the primitive distended bladders and -earthen jars as floating supporters. Arrived at Eytah, he found the -place little other than a heap of blackened ruins, with enclosures -broken down and trees lopped off at the stem. Yet here were three -Englishmen, civil servants of the Company, engaged in re-establishing -the machinery of regular government. Mr Russell, like every one else, -tried all the varieties of language to express adequately the tremendous -heat of an Indian June. He left Eytah at two in the afternoon. ‘The -gharry was like an oven; the metal-work burning so that it could not be -borne in contact with the hand for an instant. The wind reminded me of -the deadly blast which swept over us on the march to Futteghur that -dreadful morning when we left Rohilcund. Not a tree to shade the road; -on each side a parched, dull, dun-coloured plain, with the waving -heat-lines dancing up and down over its blighted surface; and whirling -dust-storms or “devils,” as they are called, careering to and fro as if -in demoniac glee in their own infernal region. On such a day as this -Lake’s men (half a century earlier) fell file after file on their -dreadful journey. Could I have found shelter, I would gladly have -stopped, for even the natives suffered, and the horses were quite done -up; but in India, in peace and war, one’s motto must be “No backward -step!”—so on we went.’ After passing through many small towns and poor -villages, in which half the houses were either ruined or shut up, he -reached Allygurh, where, ‘being late, there was nothing ready at the -bungalow but mosquitoes.’ Pursuing his journey, he at length reached -Delhi. - -The imperial city was now wholly and safely under British control. -Sentries guarded the bridge of boats over the Jumna, allowing no native -to pass without scrutiny; the fort of the Selimgurh was garrisoned by a -small but trusty detachment. The plan, once contemplated, of destroying -the defences, had not been adopted; the majestic wall, though shattered -and ball-pierced in parts, remained in other respects entire. The -defences were, altogether, calculated to strike a stranger with -surprise, at the height and solidity of the wall, the formidable nature -of the bastions, the depth and width of the dry ditch, the completeness -of the glacis, and the security of such of the gates as had not been -battered down or blown in. Some of the streets of the city had escaped -the havoc of war; but others exhibited the effects of bombardment and -assault in a terrible degree, although nine months of peaceful -occupation had intervened; houses pitted with marks of shot and bullet, -public buildings shattered and half in ruins, trees by the wayside split -and rent, doors and windows splintered, gables torn out of houses, -jagged holes completely through the walls. Half the houses in the city -were shut; and the other half had not yet regained their regular steady -inhabitants. The mighty palace of the Moguls was nearly as grand as ever -on the outside; but all within displayed a wreck of oriental splendour. -The exquisite Dewani Khas, when Mr Russell was there, instead of being -filled with turbaned and bejewelled rajahs, Mogul guards, and oriental -magnificence, as in the olden days, was occupied by British -infantry—infantry, too, engaged in the humblest of barrack domestic -duties. ‘From pillar to pillar and column to column extended the -graceful arches of the clothes-line, with shirts and socks and drawers -flaunting in the air in lieu of silken banners. Long lines of charpoys -or bedsteads stretched from one end of the hall to the other—arms were -piled against the columns—pouches, belts, and bayonets depended from the -walls; and in the place where once blazed the fabulous glories of the -peacock’s throne, reclined a private of her Majesty’s 61st, of a very -Milesian type of countenance.’ - -[Illustration: - - SURAT.—From a View in the Library of the East India Company. -] - -The old king still remained a prisoner at Delhi. The drivelling, sensual -descendant of Tamerlane, shorn of everything that could impart dignity, -occupied some of the smaller apartments of the palace, with a few of his -wives, children, and grandchildren, near him. All were fretful and -discontented, as they well might be: for they had nothing to see, -nowhere to go, no honours to receive, no magnificence to luxuriate in. -When interrogated by visitors concerning the early days of the Revolt, -he was peevish, and wished to change the subject; and when his youngest -begum, and his son Jumma Bukht, were induced to converse, the absence of -family unity—if such a thing is possible in an oriental palace—was -apparent enough. - -Considered politically, Delhi had the great advantage, during the spring -months, of being placed under Sir John Lawrence. The province which -contained the once imperial city was detached from the ‘northwestern’ -group, and made—with Sirhind, the Punjaub, and the Peshawur Valley—one -compact and extensive government, under the control of one who, morally -speaking, was perhaps the greatest man in India. It was necessary to -reconstruct a government; but much careful consideration was needed -before the principle of construction could be settled. If the peaceful -industrious population would return to their homes and occupations, -their presence would doubtless be welcome; but the neighbouring villages -still swarmed with desperate characters, whose residence in Delhi would -be productive of evil. Many of the better class of natives feared that -the imperial city would never recover; that the injury which its -buildings had received during the siege, the disturbance of trade by the -hurried exit of the regular inhabitants, the enormous losses by plunder -and forfeiture, and the break-up of the imperial establishment in the -palace, had combined to inflict a blow which would be fatal to the once -great Mogul capital. Delhi, nevertheless, had outlived many terrible -storms; and these prognostications might be destined to fail. - -[Illustration: - - LAHORE. -] - -One consequence of the steady occupation of Delhi during the winter and -spring was the gradual departure of troops to other districts where they -were more needed. Among these was one of the native regiments. The -‘gallant little Goorkhas,’ as the British troops were accustomed to -designate the soldiers of the Sirmoor and Kumaon battalions, held their -high reputation to the very last. The Sirmoor battalion had marched down -to Delhi at the very beginning of the disturbances, and during more than -twelve months had been on continuous duty in and near that region. The -time had now come when a respite could be given to their labours. They -took their departure to the healthy hill-station of Deyrah Dhoon. As -they marched out of Delhi, headed by their commandant, Colonel Reid, -they were escorted over the bridge by the 2d Bengal Europeans, who -cheered them lustily, and inspirited them with a melody, the meaning of -which they had perchance by this time learned—‘_Should auld acquaintance -be forgot_.’ An officer, well familiar with these ‘jolly little -Goorkhas,’ remarked on this occasion: ‘There is not in military history -a brighter or purer page than the record of the services and faithful -conduct of the Sirmoor Goorkha battalion during the past year. First in -the field, always in front, prominent, and incessantly fighting -throughout the entire campaign and siege-operations before Delhi, the -regiment has covered itself with honour and glory. In our darkest days, -there was never a whisper, a suspicion, the shadow of a doubt of the -honest loyalty and fidelity of these brave, simple-minded, and devoted -soldiers. When others turned traitors, robbers, assassins, these rushed -without a moment’s hesitation to our side, fought the good fight, bled, -and died, faithful to their salt, honourable and true to the last.’ - -The Punjaub—at Lahore and all the other cities and stations—was so -steadily and watchfully governed, that no disturbances took place except -of a very slight character—personally distressing, it is true, but not -nationally or politically of any moment. One such was the following: On -a certain day a number of disbanded sepoys, who had long before taken -refuge in Cashmere, recrossed the frontiers, and attacked the Christians -stationed at a place called Madhopore; they murdered a few, including -children, under circumstances of great barbarity. No other reason could -be assigned for this brutality than a vengeful thirst for European -blood. Hastily they crossed again into Cashmere, taking with them a -quantity of plunder. A demand was at once made upon the chief of -Cashmere, Rumbeer Singh, to capture and give them up; which demand was -shortly afterwards attended to, although he had exhibited a little -remissness in this matter in one or two former instances. The Rajah of -Cashmere was not wholly unsuspected, indeed, of unfavourable views -towards the British; and, with a less firm man than John Lawrence at his -elbow, he might possibly have made his mountain territory a retreat for -rebels. - -Sinde, the land of the Indus, remained firmly in the hands of Mr Frere -and General Jacob, the one as civil commissioner and the other as -military commandant. At one period during the month, however, Frere was -called upon to settle a question of religious zealotry, which might have -kindled into a flame if not promptly dealt with. A Mohammedan of -respectable character came to him, while at Hydrabad, and complained of -an inscription on the inner wall of an open-fronted shop belonging to -the Christian Mission. The inscription comprised one or two quotations -from the Koran, and an argument to disprove the divine authority of the -Prophet of Islam, from the evidence of the Koran itself. It was prepared -and written, in the Sindhi and Arabic languages, by the Rev. Mr -Matchett; and the Rev. Mr Gell caused it to be conspicuously exhibited -in the open shop where Bibles were sold or distributed. The complainant -was one Gholam Ali, a Mohammedan lately returned from a pilgrimage to -Mecca. He stated to Mr Frere that the inscription, visible to all the -passers-by in the main bazaar of the city, was irritating and offensive -to the Mohammedans. Mr Frere read the inscription; and in afterwards -explaining to Lord Elphinstone the reasons which determined his decision -on the subject, he said: ‘I am willing to be judged by any one who has -any acquaintance with the ordinary feelings of a bigoted Mohammedan -population as to the probable effects of such a placard on them. I feel -confident that any such unprejudiced person would agree with me, that -there was much danger of its causing an outbreak of fanatical violence; -and holding that opinion, I cannot think that I should have been -justified in allowing it to remain. It is quite possible it might never -have caused any breach of the peace; but I did not think the present a -time to try unnecessary experiments as to how much a fanatical native -population will or will not bear in the way of provocation.’ Mr Frere -wrote to the Rev. Mr Gell, the mission-superintendent, requesting him to -remove the inscription; on the ground that, however well meant, it might -produce more harm than good. This proceeding led to a violent outcry on -the part of the missionaries and their supporters, and to an erroneous -narrative forwarded to the government of Bombay—accusing Mr Frere of -encouraging Mohammedanism and insulting Christianity. It was one of -those numerous occasions, presented during the course of the Revolt and -its suppression, in which the governing authorities had much difficulty -in steering clearly through the opposite dangers of two religious -extremes. - -Sir Hugh Rose’s operations in Central India during the month of June -were treated so fully in the last chapter, that little need be added -here on the subject. The recapture of Gwalior was the great event; all -the operations in Rajpootana, Bundelcund, Goojerat, and Holkar’s -territory, were subordinate to it. When the month closed, General -Roberts, with the ‘Rajpootana Field-force,’ was on the march from -Nuseerabad to Jeypoor, to check the progress of the Gwalior fugitives in -that direction. Brigadier Showers was at or near Futtehpore Sikri, -guarding the Agra route. Major Ramsey was advancing from Rohilcund with -the Kumaon battalion. The English residents at Jeypoor and Bhurtpore -were actively engaged in supporting, so far as was practicable, the -loyal tendencies of the rajahs of those two states, so as to enable them -to resist the rebels if the latter were to enter either of those cities. -The doubt was, not so much of the rajahs, as of the soldiery in their -pay, whose fidelity could not wholly be relied on. The main body of -Gwalior fugitives were at that time somewhere near Hindoun, a town about -equidistant from Gwalior, Agra, and Jeypoor; whether they were about to -advance to Ummerpore on the Jeypoor road, to Mhow on the Ulwar road, or -to any other point, was not well known. Indeed, the rebels themselves -seemed to be divided in opinion as to their future movements; they were -looking around, to find some rajah, nawab, or nazim who would join them -in rebellion; but those chieftains were becoming more and more cautious -how they committed themselves in this way. The spectacle of rajahs blown -away from guns, and nawabs hung from gallows, was by no means -encouraging. - -General Whitlock’s field-force, at the end of June, was distributed in -various parts of Bundelcund, keeping in subjection the petty chieftains -here and there in arms; for there was no longer anything like a -formidable army of rebels opposed to him. Brigadier Carpenter, with -three or four hundred men, and two guns, was at Kirkee. Major Dallas, -with the 1st Madras N.I., was assisting the civil authorities in -re-establishing the revenue and judicial departments. Colonel Reede, -with two hundred men and two guns, was sent to look after the safety of -Humeerpoor and its neighbourhood. Brigadier Macduff, with a portion of -H.M. 43d foot, went to Calpee. Brigadier Munsey, with a small column of -infantry, cavalry, and artillery, was sent to Nowgong, to protect a -convoy of stores on their way from Saugor. The remainder of the force -encamped for a while at Banda as head-quarters, having with them Narain -Rao and Madhoo Rao as prisoners, a large number of guns, and a -considerable amount of treasure and jewels captured from the rebels. -Whitlock’s long-continued exertions, although not attended by any great -battles, had gradually restored something like tranquillity to this -distracted region. Bundelcund and the Saugor territory, from the Jumna -to the Nerbudda, had for nearly twelve months been in a miserable -condition. The various bands of mutineers passing from Dinapoor and -elsewhere wrought great mischief; powerful villages preyed upon their -weaker neighbours; and the self-installed nawabs and rajahs extorted -every farthing they could get from the peasantry and towns-people. Many -villages were completely deserted; many more had been burned to the -ground, and the people plundered of all the grain and other property -which they possessed. The lesson which the peaceful natives had received -from the rebels was a severe one, calculated to teach them the -advantages of regular government under British influence. - -Among the many ‘field-forces’ which about this time were broken up, to -relieve the troops from some of their exhausting labours in fiercely hot -weather, was a small one called the ‘Satpoora Field-force.’ Satpoora is -a town in Holkar’s Mahratta dominions, about seventy-five miles -southeast of Indore, and very near the boundary of the Nagpoor -territory. Satpoora also gives name to a range of mountains which, -running east and west, separates the valley of the Taptee from that of -the Nerbudda; and it was in this sense that the designation ‘Satpoora -Field-force’ was given to a small body of troops collected for the -defence of the region in question. Major Evans, commanding this force, -took farewell of his men on the 22d of June. In an order or address, -dated from his camp at Jalwana, he thanked Captain Sealey and the -artillery, Captain Langston and the Rifles, Captain Baugh and the 9th -Bombay N.I., Captain Briggs and the 19th, Lieutenant Latouche and the -Poonah horse—being the components of his force. He made special mention -of a certain encounter on the 11th of April; ‘when the insurgents, -posted in positions from which they supposed they could not be driven, -were at once attacked at three different points; and despite a most -obstinate and deadly resistance, were signally defeated and dispersed.’ -He proceeded in commendatory terms to state that ‘the effect on the -enemy has been so dispiriting that they have never again dared to -collect in force; the disaffected chiefs themselves wandering about in -concealment. The force has therefore been disappointed in not being able -again to shew their prowess, which all were so eager to do, and would -have done so well, had opportunity offered.’ - -Gujerat, the Guicowar’s territory—situated south of Rajpootana, and west -of Holkar’s territory—had, it will be remembered, been most happily and -effectively disarmed by Sir Richmond Shakespear, political resident at -the court of the Guicowar; thereby lessening the probability of any -hostile outbreak. Gujerat became subject, however, during this month, to -one of those strange mysteries in which orientals so much delight. The -lotus, and the chupatties, and the ‘something white,’ had had their day; -and now arose the mystery of _twigs_. It was ascertained that twigs or -small branches had been circulated from village to village in the -province of Gujerat, as signals or watchwords; but nothing could be -learned concerning their meaning. An ancient custom existed in many -parts of India, of measuring the footprints with straws or twigs -whenever a robbery had been committed, then forwarding them from village -to village, until the measurement was found to implicate some one -villager; after which the village was made responsible. This and many -other ancient customs were referred to; but nothing appeared to throw -light on the meaning of the twigs thus transmitted through Gujerat. - -To assist in the maintenance of tranquillity in the Deccan, a small -field-force, composed of troops selected from the Poonah division of the -Bombay army, was made up, and placed under the command of Colonel Gall. -Starting from Poonah, the colonel arrived at Aurungabad on the 8th of -June, and resumed his march on the following day to Jaulnah, a military -station in the northwest corner of the Nizam’s dominions. Large bands of -Rohilla marauders, expelled from the city of Hyderabad by the Nizam’s -troops, were known to be in various villages in the Jaulnah district; -and it was deemed expedient to hold Colonel Gall’s force in readiness to -watch and disperse these men, lest their machinations should assume a -military form. A new cavalry corps named Beatson’s Horse assisted in -this object. This corps, organised by and under the active officer of -that name, consisted of recruits from various parts of the Deccan, for -active service in any regions where their presence might be deemed most -useful. At present, their quarters were at Jaulnah, where they were -regularly picketed around the encampment at night. Arrangements were -also made for strengthening the Jaulnah district with a wing of the 92d -Highlanders, and with several guns. - -Of the presidency of Bombay it may happily be said that—partly owing to -the scarcity of the Poorbeah element in the native army, partly to the -sagacious and energetic government of Lord Elphinstone—the curse of -rebellion was rendered very little apparent. Sinde, placed temporarily -under that presidency, was well looked after by Mr Frere; Gujerat was -safe under Sir Richmond Shakespear; Rajpootana was watched by the -vigilant eye of General Roberts; while the northern Mahratta states, so -far as they were subject to Bombay influence, were under the care of Sir -Robert Hamilton. - -Certain occurrences in the South Mahratta country, however, deserve to -be noticed both in their political and their military phases. - -Nothing is more certain than that many of the insurgent bodies in India -rose in arms on account of personal or local matters, bearing little -relation to the great military revolt, or to the so-called national -rebellion. The derangement of regular government furnished opportunity -for those who had real or assumed grievances. An example of this kind -was furnished in the South Mahratta country. The natives of one of the -least known districts south of Bombay had been in the habit of cutting -down trees wherever they pleased, for the purpose of planting the -cleared ground with various kinds of grain. The Bombay government at -length put a stop to this wholesale destruction of timber. This stoppage -was looked upon by the natives as an infringement of their ‘vested -rights.’ A mischief-maker—one of the many usually at hand when the -populace are excited—appeared in the person of the Rajah of Jumbote, a -place southwest of Belgaum. He believed, or persuaded the people to -believe, that Nena Sahib held Poonah with a large force; that the -British troops were kept in check almost everywhere; and that it was a -favourable time for a rise against the constituted authorities who held -sway there. Another cause for disaffection arose out of the Hindoo -custom of adoption; and this was felt in the South Mahratta country as -in other parts of India. Many circumstances arose during the Revolt, -shewing that the natives are familiar with and attached to this custom. -When a prince, a chief, or a landowner, had no legitimate heir, it was -customary for him to name a successor or heir, generally from among his -kinsmen. So long as the East India Company had no territorial rights in -a particular province or region, there was no motive for interfering -with this custom; but self-interest afterwards stepped in, in a way that -may be very easily explained. The Company, we will suppose, made a -treaty with a native prince, to the effect that a certain state or a -certain revenue should belong to him ‘and his heirs for ever.’ If he had -no legitimate heir, the Company was tempted to seize the golden prize -after his death, under the plea that the _adopted_ son was not a true -representative. A Hindoo custom was interpreted in an English sense, -and, being found wanting, was disallowed; thereby enriching the Company. -English lawyers found no difficulty in supporting this course of -proceeding, because it was consistent with English law. It was not, -however, until the governor-generalship of the Marquis of Dalhousie, -that this kind of confiscation was extensively acted on; and hence the -interval between 1848 and 1858 was marked by much more irritation among -native princely families, than had been before exhibited in connection -with this particular subject. Be it right or wrong, thus to interpret a -Hindoo usage by an English test, the history of the Revolt plainly -shewed that many of the bitterest enemies of the government were persons -whose domains or revenues had been disturbed by a refusal of the Company -to acknowledge the principle of adoption in heirship. The miscreant Nena -Sahib, the spirited but unscrupulous Ranee of Jhansi, many of the -princes of the house of Delhi, and others whose names and deeds have -often been recorded in these pages, had—for some years preceding the -outbreak—brooded over their real or fancied wrongs in some such matters -as these. Is it matter for surprise that they welcomed a day of -revenge—a day that might possibly restore to them that of which they -deemed themselves unjustly deprived? - -The Rajah of Nargoond was one of those to whom, in a minor degree, this -principle applied. He was a South Mahratta prince, holding a small -territory eastward of Dharwar—separated from Bombay by the once -disturbed Kolapore district. Being one of the tributaries to the Bombay -government, he petitioned for leave to adopt an heir to his raj or -rajahship; and the result of this petition was such as to render him a -bitter enemy. His enmity made itself apparent about the date to which -this chapter relates, in intrigues with the malcontents around him. A -ruthless murder brought matters to an issue. Mr Manson, political agent -for the South Mahratta country, having cause to suspect the rajah, set -out from Belgaum to seek a personal interview with him, in the hope of -dissuading him from rebel movements. They had been on terms of intimacy, -which seemed to justify this hope. On the evening of the 29th of May, Mr -Manson reached Ramdroog—the chieftain of which advised him to be on his -guard, as the Rajah of Nargoond could not be relied on. The unhappy -gentleman, believing otherwise, pushed on towards Nargoond. That same -night his palanquin was surrounded by a body of the rajah’s troops at -Soorbund, fifteen miles from Nargoond, and the political agent was -foully murdered, together with most of his escort. - -The Bombay government at once issued orders to attack the insurgents, -and deal severely with the disaffected chieftains. It had been already -ascertained that in the Dharwar collectorate, besides the Rajah of -Nargoond, there were Bheem Rao of Moondurg, and the Desaee of Hembegee, -to be confronted. The South Mahratta country, being near the -boundary-line between the Bombay and Madras presidencies, had facilities -for receiving small bodies of troops from two directions, to quell any -disturbances that might arise. A Madras column, setting out from Bellary -under Major Hughes, proceeded northward, and invested the stronghold of -Bheem Rao at Kopal or Copal. A message was sent to this chief, giving -him three hours to remove the women and children from the place. He -returned no answer; whereupon a cannonade was opened. A breach was made -practicable; a storming-party entered; the rebels gave way at every -point; and very speedily the town and fort were in Major Hughes’s -possession. Bheem Rao himself, as well as Kenchengowda, the Desaee of -Hembegee, were among the slain on this occasion. While Hughes was thus -occupied at Kopal, a small column of Bombay troops was engaged in -another part of the South Mahratta country. Three or four hundred men, -with two guns, started from Belgaum under Captain Paget, and joined a -party of Mahratta horse under Colonel Malcolm at Noolgoond. They -advanced on the 1st of June to Nargoond, the stronghold of the rebel -rajah. This stronghold consisted of a fortress on the summit of a rock -eight hundred feet high, with the town at its base. A reconnaissance -being made, it was found that nearly two thousand rebels were encamped -about a mile out of the town; and the rajah could be seen, on an -elephant, brandishing his sword. Malcolm sent on the Mahratta horse to -commence the attack; with the two guns, two companies of the 74th -Highlanders, and one of the 28th Bombay infantry, to support. Of -fighting there was scarcely any; the rebels very soon fled from the -plain and the town, and left them in the hands of Malcolm. The -rock-fortress, however, still remained unconquered. Early in the morning -of the 2d, a storming-party was sent to ascend the steep and rugged -pathway which led up to the gate of the fortress, prepared to blow it -open with powder. Only one rebel was visible; and after a couple of -rifles had been fired at him, the gate was forced open and an entrance -obtained. Four men, the only occupants of the fortress, threw themselves -over a precipitous wall in a panic terror, and were dashed to -pieces—either not understanding or not believing the promise of quarter -offered to them. - -[Illustration: - - KOLAPORE. -] - -Thus fell the fortress of Nargoond, which had been regarded as a -formidable stronghold ever since the days of Tippoo Saib. The rajah fled -early in the fight, with seven of his principal followers. Mr Souter, -police-superintendent at Belgaum, knowing the rajah’s complicity in the -murder of Mr Manson,[182] set out in pursuit of him. At sunset on the -2d, the rajah and his followers were discovered skulking in a belt of -jungle on the banks of the Malpurba, near Ramdroog; all but one were -captured, just as they were about to start for Punderpore. They were -sent to Belgaum, to be tried by a special commission. As to the rajah, -the last hour of this wretched man was marked by very unseemly -circumstances. On the 11th of June he was brought to trial, before -Captain Schneider, political agent at Belgaum. He was found guilty of -the crimes imputed to him, and was sentenced to be hanged on the next -day. Early in the morning of the 12th, two companies of H.M. 56th, and -two of the 20th Bombay native infantry, marched into Belgaum from -Dharwar to afford a guard during the execution. When the last hour was -approaching, the rajah begged hard to be blown from a gun, as a less -degrading death than hanging; but the authorities on the spot were not -empowered to accede to this application. The gallows was erected, and -the hanging effected; but the rope broke, and the wretched man fell to -the ground, where an undignified struggle took place between him and his -executioners. The extreme sentence of the law was at length carried out, -but not without evidences of mismanagement that added to the painfulness -of the whole scene. - -In connection with the affairs of the Bombay presidency generally, a few -observations may be made on the state of the native army. One of the -questions that pressed upon the authorities during many months bore -relation to the treatment of the disarmed sepoy regiments—regiments -which, though disarmed for suspicious conduct, had not so far committed -themselves as to receive any more severe punishment. In the Punjaub Sir -John Lawrence was troubled with the safe keeping of many thousands of -these men; he dared not re-arm them, for their fidelity was more than -doubtful; and he would not disband and dismiss them, lest they should -swell the ranks of the rebels. Lord Elphinstone, governor of Bombay, was -affected by this difficulty only in a small degree, because the -mutineers in the Bombay army were few in number. A proceeding took -place, however, in the month now under notice, which will illustrate one -of the modes adopted of dealing with these dangerous incumbrances. It -will be remembered[183] that in the early part of August 1857 many parts -of the South Mahratta country were thrown into agitation by the -appearance of mutiny among certain of the Bombay native troops. -Kolapore, Poonah, Satara, Belgaum, Dharwar, Rutnagherry, and Sawunt -Waree were the chief places affected; a plot was discovered, in which -some of the troops were leagued with certain Mohammedan -fanatics—discovered in time to prevent the massacre of numerous -Europeans. The 21st and 27th regiments were two of those implicated; or -rather some of the companies in those regiments; while other companies, -not actually detected in the conspiracy, were simply disarmed. In this -disarmed state the men remained more than ten months, watched, but not -treated otherwise as culprits. At length a settlement of their treatment -was effected. Lord Elphinstone and his council decided as follows: That -the native commissioned officers, present when the disarming took place, -should be dismissed from the army, unless they could bring forward -special proofs of fidelity—that of the native non-commissioned officers, -the elder should be expelled, and the younger reduced to the ranks—that -the sepoys or privates should not be expelled unless special grounds -were assignable in their disfavor—that the 21st and 27th regiments -should be formally erased from the Bombay army list, to mark with some -stigma the conduct of those regiments—that two new regiments, to be -called the 30th and 31st infantry, should be formed, with a rank lower -in dignity than that of the other native infantry regiments of the -Bombay army—that all the privates of the (late) 21st and 27th, with -excepted instances, and such native officers as could clear themselves -from ill charges, should form the bulk of the two new regiments—finally, -that the vacancies in the list of officers (subadars, jemadars, -havildars, naiks) should be filled by chosen sepoys who had worthily -distinguished themselves in the campaigns of Rajpootana and Central -India. Lord Elphinstone, in his order in council relating to this -matter, dwelt upon the disgrace which had been brought upon the Bombay -army by the misdeeds of some of the men of the late 21st and 27th -regiments; adverted to the terrible deaths which most of them had met -with in the Kolapore region; exhorted the rest to beware how they -listened to the solicitations and machinations of traitors; and added: -‘The Governor in Council trusts that the 30th and 31st regiments will, -by their future conduct, shew their determination to render themselves -worthy of the leniency with which they have been treated, and to wipe -out the stain which the crimes of the 21st and 27th have left upon the -character of the Bombay army; so that the recollection of their past -misdeeds may be as effectually effaced from the minds of men, as their -former numbers will be erased from the roll of the army.’ - -Another instance, somewhat analogous to this, was presented in the -Punjaub. During the early days of the Revolt, the 36th and 61st Bengal -regiments at Jullundur, and the 3d at Phillour, were among those which -mutinied. Some of the sepoys in each, however, remained free from the -taint; they stood faithful under great temptation. At a later date even -these men were disarmed, from motives of policy; and they had none but -nominal duties intrusted to them. At length Sir John Lawrence, finding -that these men had passed through the ordeal honourably, proposed that -they should be re-armed, and noticed in a way consistent with their -merits. This was agreed to. About three hundred and fifty officers and -men, the faithful exceptions of three unfaithful regiments, were formed -into a special corps to be called the Wufadar Pultun or ‘faithful -regiment.’ This new corps was to be in four companies, organised on the -same footing as the Punjaub irregular infantry; and was to be stationed -at some place where the men would not have their feelings wounded and -irritated by the taunts of the Punjaubee soldiery—between whom and the -Hindustani sepoys the relations were anything but amicable. Any of the -selected number who preferred it, might receive an honourable discharge -from the army instead of entering any new corps. The experiment was -regarded as an important one; seeing that it might afford a clue to the -best mode of dealing with the numerous disarmed sepoys in the Punjaub. - -The Bombay presidency was not so closely engaged in political and -military matters as to neglect the machinery of peaceful industry, the -stay and support of a nation. Another of those paths to commerce and -civilisation, railways, was opened for traffic in India in June. It was -a portion of a great trunk-line which, when completed, would connect -Bombay with Madras. The length opened was from Khandalla to Poonah; and -this, with another portion opened in 1853, completed a route from Bombay -to Poonah, excepting a long tunnel under the range of hills called the -Bhore Ghauts, which was not expected to be completed until 1860. On the -day of ceremonial opening, a journey was made from Bombay to Poonah and -back in eighteen hours, including four hours of portage or porterage at -the Bhore Ghauts. There were intermediate stations at Kirkee and -Tulligaum. The Company organised a scheme including conveyance across -the ghauts, by palkees and gharries, as part of their passenger -contract. An instructive index to the advancing state of society in -India was afforded by the fact, that one of the great Parsee merchants -of Bombay, Cursetjee Jamsetjee, was the leading personage in the -hospitalities connected with this railway-opening ceremonial. - -A few remarks on the sister presidency, and this chapter may close. - -If Madras, now as in former months, was wholly spared from fighting and -treason, it at least furnished an instance of the difficulty attending -any collision on religious matters with the natives. The Wesleyan -missionaries had a chapel and school in the district of Madras city -called Royapettah. Many native children attended the school, for the -sake of the secular instruction there given, without becoming formal -converts. One of them, a youth of fifteen or sixteen, mentioned to the -Rev. Mr Jenkins, the Wesleyan minister, his wish to become a Christian; -it was found on inquiry, however, that the parents were averse to this; -and Mr Jenkins left it to the youth whether he would join the mission or -return to his parents. He chose the former course. Hereupon a -disturbance commenced among the friends of the family; this was put down -by the police; but as the youth remained at the mission-house, the -religious prejudices of the natives became excited, and the disturbance -swelled into a riot. A mob collected in front of the mission-house, -entered the compound, threw stones and bricks at the house, forced open -the door, and broke all the furniture. Mr Jenkins and another missionary -named Stephenson, retreated from room to room, until they got into the -bathroom, and then managed to climb over a wall into another compound, -where they found protection. It was a mere local and temporary riot, -followed by the capture of some of the offenders and the escape of -others; but it was just such a spark as, in other regions of India, -might have set a whole province into a flame. The missionaries, -estimating the youth’s age at seventeen or eighteen years, claimed for -him a right of determining whether he would return to his parents (who -belonged to the Moodelly caste), or enter the mission; whereas some of -the zealots on the other side, declaring that his age was only twelve or -thirteen, advocated the rightful exercise of parental authority. The -magistrates, without entering into this question of disputed figures, -recommended to the missionaries the exercise of great caution, in any -matters likely to arouse the religious animosity of the natives; and -there can be little doubt that, in the prevailing state of native -feeling, such caution was eminently necessary. - - - Note. - - _Queen’s Regiments in India in June_.—Sufficient has been said in - former chapters to convey some notion of the European element in the - Indian army in past years; the necessity for increasing the strength - of that element; the relation between the Queen’s troops and the - Company’s troops; the difficulty of sparing additional troops from - England; the mode in which that difficulty was overcome; and the - controversy concerning the best route for troop-ships. It seems - desirable to add here a few particulars concerning the actual number - of European troops in India at or about the time to which this - chapter relates, and the localities in which they were stationed. - - The following list, correct as to the regiments, is liable to - modification in respect of localities. Many of the regiments were at - the time in detachments, serving in different places; in such cases, - the station of the main body only is named. Other regiments were at - the time on the march; these are referred to the station towards - which they were marching. - - - QUEEN’S TROOPS IN THE BENGAL ARMY. - - It may here be remarked, that the distinctions between ‘fusiliers,’ - ‘foot,’ ‘light infantry,’ ‘Highlanders,’ and ‘rifles,’ are more - nominal than real; these are all infantry regiments of the line, - with a special number attached to each—except the particular corps - called the ‘Rifle Brigade.’ - - _Cavalry._ - 2d Dra. Gds., Lucknow. - 6th Dra. Gds., Meerut. - 7th Dra. Gds., Sealkote. - 7th Lt. Dra., Lucknow. - 9th Lancers, Umballa. - Mil. Trn., 2d bat., Benares. - - _Horse-artillery._ - E Troop, Allahabad. - F Troop, Lucknow. - - _Foot-artillery._ - 2d Bat. 8th Com. Benares. - 3d Bat. 5th Com. Calcutta. - 5th Bat. 4th Com. Lucknow. - 6th Bat. 1st Com. Moultan. - 7th Bat. 6th Com. Rawul Pindee. - 8th Bat. 3d Com. Lucknow. - 9th Bat. 3d Com. Dumdum. - 11th Bat. 6th Com. Lucknow. - 12th Bat. 5th Com. Lucknow. - 13th Bat. 5th Com. Bunnee. - 13th Bat. 6th Com. Lucknow. - 14th Bat. 3d Com. Agra. - 14th Bat. 4th Com. Allahabad. - 14th Bat. 7th Com. Futteghur. - - _Engineers._ - 4th Company, Lucknow. - 23d Company, Lucknow. - - _Infantry._ - 5th Fusiliers, Calpee. - 7th Fusiliers, Meean Meer. - 8th foot, Agra. - 10th foot, Dinapoor. - 13th Lt. Infantry, Goruckpore. - 19th foot, Barrackpore. - 20th foot, Lucknow. - 23d Fusiliers, Lucknow. - 24th foot, Ferozpore. - 27th foot, Umballa. - 29th foot, Rangoon. - 32d Lt. Infantry, Allahabad. - 34th foot, Azimghur. - 35th foot, Dinapoor. - 37th foot, Ghazeepore. - 38th foot, Lucknow. - 42d Highlanders, Bareilly. - 52d foot, Sealkote. - 53d foot, Lucknow. - 54th foot, Allahabad. - 60th Rif., 1st bat. Shahjehanpoor. - 60th Rif., 2d bat. Dinapoor. - 61st Delhi. - 70th Peshawur. - 73d Sheergotty. - 75th Meerut. - 77th Calcutta. - 79th Futteghur. - 80th Cawnpore. - 81st Nowsherah. - 82d Shahjehanpoor. - 84th Buxar. - 87th Jullundur. - 88th Cawnpore. - 90th Lucknow. - 93d Bareilly. - 97th Lucknow. - 98th Campbellpoor. - Rif. Brig., 2d bat. Lucknow. - Rif. Brig., 3d bat. Lucknow. - - - QUEEN’S TROOPS IN THE BOMBAY ARMY. - - The preceding list, relating to the Bengal army, gives the names and - localities of regiments for the later weeks of June; the following, - having reference to the Bombay army, applies to the earlier part of - the same month; but the difference in this respect cannot be - considerable. - - _Cavalry._ - 3d Drag. Guards, Kirkee. - 8th Hussars, Nuseerabad. - 14th Light Drag., Calpee. - 17th Lancers, Kirkee. - - _Horse-artillery._ - D Troop, Poonah. - - _Foot-artillery._ - 1st Bat. 8th Com., Baroda. - 4th Bat. 3d Com. Rajpootana. - 6th Bat. 1st Com. Sinde. - 11th Bat. 2d Com., Rajpootana. - 11th Bat. 7th Com. Bombay. - 14th Bat. 5th Com. Cen. India. - 14th Bat. 8th Com. Dharwar. - - _Engineers._ - 11th Company, Rajpootana. - 21st Company, Cen. India. - - _Infantry._ - 4th foot, Gujerat. - 18th Royal Irish, Poonah. - 33d foot, Poonah. - 51st foot, Kurachee. - 56th foot, Belgaum. - 57th foot, Aden. - 64th foot, Allygurh. - 71st Highlanders, Calpee. - 72d Highlanders, Neemuch. - 78th Highlanders, Alum Bagh. - 83d foot, Rajpootana. - 86th foot, Calpee. - 89th foot, Ahmedabad. - 92d Highlanders, Bombay. - 95th foot, Rajpootana. - - - QUEEN’S TROOPS IN THE MADRAS ARMY. - - The following list applies to the state of affairs about the third - week in June: - - _Cavalry._ - 1st Drag. Guards, Bangalore. - 12th Lancers, Kurnool. - - _Horse-artillery._ - II Troop, Mount. - - _Foot-artillery._ - 3d Bat. 3d Com., Bangalore. - 14th Bat. 6th Com., Bundelcund. - - _Infantry._ - 1st foot, 1st Battalion, Secunderabad. - 43d foot, Bundelcund. - 44th foot, Madras. - 60th Rifles, 3d Battalion, Bangalore. - 66th foot, Cananore. - 68th foot, Rangoon. - 69th foot, Vizagapatam. - 74th foot, Bellary. - - Summing up these entries, it will be seen that out of the 99 - regiments of the line in the British army (the 100th, a new Canadian - regiment, had not at that time completed its organisation), no less - than 59 were in India in June 1858; with a proportion of the other - branches of the military service. Nothing can more strikingly - illustrate the importance attached to the state of our Indian - possessions. - - On the 1st of January 1857, there were about 26,000 royal troops and - 12,000 Company’s European troops in India. During the ensuing - fifteen months, to April 1858, there were sent over 42,000 royal - troops and 5000 Company’s Europeans. These would have given a total - of 85,000 British troops in India; but it was estimated that war, - sickness, and heat had lessened this number to 50,000 available - effective men. At that time the arrangements of the English - authorities were such as to insure the speedy increase of this - European element to not less than 70,000 men; and during the summer, - still further advances were made in the same direction. - -[Illustration] - ------ - -Footnote 180: - - Chapter xxviii., p. 469. - -Footnote 181: - - ‘MY DEAR BARROW—We are about to separate, perhaps for ever; but, - believe me, I shall ever retain you in affectionate remembrance, and - ever speak with that intense admiration which I feel for the glorious - volunteers whom you have commanded with such distinction. It would - afford me much pleasure to shake every one of them by the hand, and - tell them how warmly I feel towards them. But this is impossible; my - pressing duties will not allow me even to write a few farewell lines - to each of your officers: but I trust to your communicating to them - individually my affectionate adieu and sincerest wishes for their - prosperity. May God bless you and them.’ From one like Sir James, who - had had such special means of observing and appreciating the exertions - of the volunteer cavalry, this warm and genial letter must have been - doubly gratifying. - -Footnote 182: - - The governor of Bombay, in a public notification, used many - expressions of respect towards the memory of the political agent. - Adverting to the advice given to Mr Manson not to trust himself to the - mercies of the Rajah of Nargoond, Lord Elphinstone said: ‘But with - that noble devotion to duty, of which the recent history of India has - presented so many instances, Mr Manson determined to make a final - effort to save the chief, by his personal influence, from the ruin - impending over him.’ He added that the facts shewed ‘that a gallant - and accomplished gentleman, who had proved himself a most valuable - servant of the state, has been basely murdered.’ And he concluded by - announcing that ‘the body of Mr Manson has been recovered, and has - been buried at Kulladgee. The Right Hon. the Governor in Council will - regard it as a sacred duty to make a provision for the families of the - brave men who lost their lives in defending one whose untimely fate is - now so deeply deplored.’ - -Footnote 183: - - See Chap. xvii., pp. 289, 290. - -[Illustration: - - Almorah, Hill-station in Kumaon. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII. - GRADUAL PACIFICATION IN THE AUTUMN. - - -If the events of the three months—July, August, and September, 1858—be -estimated without due consideration, it might appear that the progress -made in India was hardly such as could fairly be called ‘pacification.’ -When it is found how frequently the Jugdispore rebels are mentioned in -connection with the affairs of Behar; how numerous were the thalookdars -of Oude still in arms; how large an insurgent force the Begum held under -her command; how fruitless were all the attempts to capture the -miscreant Nena Sahib; how severely the friendly thalookdars and -zemindars of Oude were treated by those in the rebel ranks, as a means -of deterring others from joining the English; how active was Tanteea -Topee in escaping from Roberts and Napier, Smith and Michel, with his -treasure plundered from the Maharajah Scindia; how many petty chieftains -in the Bundelcund and Mahratta territories were endeavouring to raise -themselves in power, during a period of disorder, by violence and -plunder—there may be some justification for regarding the state of India -as far from peaceful during those three months. But notwithstanding -these appearances, the pacification of the empire was unquestionably in -progress. The Bengal sepoys, the real mutineers, were becoming lessened -in number every week, by the sword, the bullet, the gallows, and -privation. The insurgent bands, though many and apparently strong, -consisted more and more exclusively of rabble ruffians, whose chief -motive for action was plunder, and who seldom ventured to stand a -contest even with one-twentieth part their number of English troops. The -regiments and drafts sent out from England, both to the Queen’s and the -Company’s armies, were regularly continued, so as to render it possible -to supply a few British troops to all the points attacked or troubled. -There was a steady increase in the number of Jâts, Goorkhas, Bheels, -Scindians, Beloochees, &c., enlisted in British service, having little -or no sympathy with the high-caste Hindustani Oudians who had been the -authors of so much mischief. There was a re-establishment of civil -government in all the provinces, and (excepting Oude) in nearly all the -districts of each province; attended by a renewal of the revenue -arrangements, and by the maintenance of police bodies who aided in -putting down rebels and marauders. There was an almost total absence of -anything like nationality in the motions of the insurgents, or unity of -purpose in their proceedings; the decrepit Emperor of Delhi, and the -half-witted King of Oude, both of them prisoners, had almost gone out of -the thoughts of the natives—who, so far as they rebelled at all, looked -out for new leaders, new paymasters, new plunder. In short, the British -government had gained the upper hand in every province throughout India; -and preparations were everywhere made to maintain this hold so firmly, -that the discomfiture of the rebels became a matter almost of moral -certainty. Much remained to be done, and much time would be needed for -doing it; but the ‘beginning of the end’ was come, and men could speak -without impropriety of the gradual pacification of India. - -The events of these three months will not require any lengthened -treatment; of new mutinies there was only one; and the military and -other operations will admit of rapid recital. - -Calcutta saw nothing of Viscount Canning during the spring, summer, and -autumn. His lordship, as governor-general, appreciated the importance of -being near Sir Colin Campbell, to consult with him daily on various -matters affecting the military operations in the disturbed districts. -Both were at Allahabad throughout the period to which this chapter -relates. The supreme council, however, remained at the presidential -capital, giving effect to numerous legislative measures, and carrying on -the regular government of the presidency. Calcutta was now almost -entirely free from those panics which so frequently disturbed it during -the early months of the mutiny; rapine and bloodshed did not approach -the city, and the English residents gradually sobered down. Although the -violent and often absurd opposition to the governor-general had not -quite ceased, it had greatly lessened; the dignified firmness of Lord -Canning made a gradual conquest. Some of the newspapers, here as at -Bombay, invented proclamations and narratives, crimes and accusations, -with a disregard of truth which would hardly have been shewn by any -journals in the mother-country; and those effusions which were not -actually invented, too often received a colour ill calculated to convey -a correct idea of their nature. Many of the journalists never forgot or -forgave the restrictions which the governor-general deemed it prudent to -place on the press in the summer of 1857; the amount of anonymous -slander heaped on him was immense. One circumstance which enabled his -lordship to live down the calumnies, was the discovery, made by the -journalists in the following summer, that Lord Derby’s government was -not more disposed than that of Lord Palmerston to expel Viscount Canning -from office—a matter which will have to be noticed more fully in another -chapter. The more moderate journalists of the Anglo-Indian press, it -must in fairness be stated, did their part towards bringing about a more -healthy state of feeling. - -That the authorities at Calcutta were not insensible to the value of -newspapers and journals, in a region so far away from England, was shewn -by an arrangement made in the month of August—which afforded at the same -time a quiet but significant proof of an improved attention towards the -well-being of soldiers. An order was issued that a supply of newspapers -and periodicals should be forwarded to the different military hospitals -in Calcutta at the public expense. Those for the officers’ hospital[184] -comprised some magazines of a higher class than were included in the -list for the men’s hospitals; but such were to be sent afterwards to the -men’s hospitals, when the officers had perused them. - -In connection with military matters, in and near the presidential city, -it may be mentioned that the neighbourhood of Calcutta was the scene of -a settlement or colonisation very novel, and as unsatisfactory as it was -novel. It has been the custom to send over a small number of soldiers’ -wives with every British regiment sent to our colonies or foreign -territories. During the course of twelve months so many regiments -arrived at Calcutta, that these soldiers’ wives accumulated to eighteen -hundred in number. They were consigned to the station at Dumdum, a few -miles north of Calcutta; and were attended by three or four surgeons and -one Protestant chaplain. The accommodation provided for them was -sufficient for the women themselves, but not for the children, who added -greatly to their number. Many of these women, being of that ignorant and -ill-regulated class from which soldiers too frequently choose their -wives, brought with them dirty habits and drinking tendencies; and -these, when the fierce heat of an Indian summer came, engendered -dysentery and diarrhœa, from which diseases a large number of women and -children died. Other irregularities of conduct appeared, among a mass of -women so strangely separated from all home-ties; and arrangements were -gradually made for breaking up this singular colony. - -The details given in former chapters, especially in the ‘notes,’ will -have shewn how large was the number of regiments conveyed from the -United Kingdom and the colonies to India; and when it is remembered that -far more of these landed at Calcutta than at Madras, Bombay, or -Kurachee, it will easily be understood how military an aspect they gave -to the first-named city. Still, numerous as they were, they were never -equal to the demand. Without making any long stay at Calcutta, they -marched to the scenes of action in the northwest. In the scarcity of -regular troops, the Bengal government derived much valuable services -from naval and marine brigades—men occupying a middle position between -soldiers and sailors. Captain Sir William Peel’s naval brigade has been -often mentioned, in connection with gallant achievements in Oude; and -Captain Sotheby’s naval brigade also won a good name, in the provinces -eastward of Oude. But besides these, there were about a dozen different -bodies in Bengal, each consisting of a commandant, two under-officers, a -hundred men, and two light field-guns. Being well drilled, and -accustomed to active movements, these parties were held in readiness to -march off at short notice to any districts where a few resolute -disciplined men could overawe turbulent towns-people; and thus they held -the eastern districts in quietness without drawing on the regular -military strength of the presidency. The _Shannon_ naval brigade -acquired great fame; the heroic Peel had made himself a universal -favourite, and the brigade became a noted body, not only for their own -services, but for their connection with their late gallant commander. -When the brigade returned down the Ganges, the residents of Calcutta -gave them a public reception and a grand dinner. Sir James Outram was -present at the dinner, and, in a graceful and appropriate way, told of -his own experience of the services of the brigade at Lucknow in the -memorable days of the previous winter. ‘Almost the first white faces I -saw, when the lamented Havelock and I rushed out of our prison to greet -Sir Colin at the head of our deliverers, were the hearty, jolly, smiling -faces of some of you _Shannon_ men, who were pounding away with two big -guns at the palace; and I then, for the first time in my life, had the -opportunity of seeing and admiring the coolness of British sailors under -fire. There you were, working in the open plains, without cover, or -screen, or rampart of any kind, your guns within musket-range of the -enemy, as coolly as if you were practising at the Woolwich target. And -that it was a hot fire you were exposed to, was proved by three of the -small staff that accompanied us (Napier, young Havelock, and Sitwell) -being knocked over by musket-balls in passing to the rear of those guns, -consequently further from the enemy than yourselves.’ Such a speech from -such a man was about the most acceptable compliment that the brigade -could receive, and was well calculated to produce a healthy emulation in -other quarters. - -The authorities at all the stations were on the watch for any symptoms -which, though trivial in themselves, might indicate the state of feeling -among the soldiery or the natives generally. Thus, on the 10th of July, -at Barrackpore, a chuprassee happening to go down to a tank near the -lines, saw a bayonet half in and half out of the water. A search was -thereupon ordered; when about a hundred weapons—muskets, sabres, and -bayonets—with balls and other ammunition—were discovered at the bottom -of the tank. These warlike materials were rendered almost valueless by -the action of the water; but their presence in the tank was not the less -a mystery needing to be investigated. The authorities, in this as in -many similar cases, thought it prudent not to divulge the results of -their investigation. - -The great jails of India were a source of much trouble and anxiety -during the mutiny. All the large towns contained such places of -incarceration, which were usually full of very desperate characters; and -these men were rejoiced at any opportunity of revenging themselves on -the authorities. Such opportunities were often afforded; for, as we have -many times had occasion to narrate, the mutineers frequently broke open -the jails as a means of strengthening their power by the aid of hundreds -or thousands of budmashes ready for any atrocities. So late as the 31st -of July, at Mymensing, in the eastern part of Bengal, the prisoners in -the jail, six hundred in number, having overpowered the guard, escaped, -seized many tulwars and muskets, and marched off towards Jumalpore. The -Europeans at this place made hurried preparations for defence, and sent -out such town-guards and police as they could muster, to attack the -escaped prisoners outside the station. About half of the number were -killed or recaptured, and the rest escaped to work mischief elsewhere. -It is believed, however, that in this particular case, the prisoners had -no immediate connection with rebels or mutinous sepoys; certain prison -arrangements concerning food excited their anger, and under the -influence of this anger they broke forth. - -So far as concerns actual mutiny, the whole province of Bengal was -nearly exempt from that infliction during the period now under -consideration; regular government was maintained, and very few rebels -troubled the course of peaceful industry. - -Behar, however, was not so fortunate. Situated between Bengal and Oude, -it was nearer to the scenes of anarchy, and shared in them more fully. -Sir Edward Lugard, as we have seen, was employed there during the spring -months; but having brought the Jugdispore rebels, as he believed, to the -condition of mere bandits and marauders, he did not think it well to -keep his force in active service during the rainy season, when they -would probably suffer more from inclement weather than from the enemy. -He resigned command, on account of his shattered health, and his -Azimghur field-force was broken up. The 10th foot, and the Madras -artillery, went to Dinapoor; the 84th foot and the military train, under -Brigadier Douglas, departed for Benares; the royal artillery were -summoned to Allahabad; the Sikh cavalry and the Madras rifles went to -Sasseram; and the Madras cavalry to Ghazeepore. Captain Rattray, with -his Sikhs, was left at Jugdispore, whence he made frequent excursions to -dislodge small parties of rebels. - -A series of minor occurrences took place in this part of Behar, during -July, sufficient to require the notice of a few active officers at the -head of small bodies of reliable troops, but tending on the other hand -to shew that the military power of the rebels was nearly broken down—to -be followed by the predatory excursions of ruffian bands whose chief or -only motive was plunder. On the 8th a body of rebels entered Arrah, -fired some shot, and burnt Mr Victor’s bungalow; the troops at that -station being too few to effectually dislodge them, a reinforcement was -sent from Patna, which drove them away. Brigadier Douglas was placed in -command of the whole of this disturbed portion of Behar, from Dinapoor -to Ghazeepore, including the Arrah and Jugdispore districts; and he so -marshalled and organised the troops placed at his disposal as to enable -him to bring small bodies to act promptly upon any disturbed spots. He -established strong posts at moderate distances in all directions. The -rebels in this quarter having few or no guns left, Douglas felt that -their virtual extinction, though slow, would be certain. He was -constantly on the alert; insomuch that the miscreants could never remain -long to work mischief in one place. Meghur Singh, Joodhur Singh, and -many other ‘Singhs,’ headed small bands at this time. On the 17th, -Captain Rattray had a smart encounter with some of these people at -Dehree, or rather, it was a capture, with scarcely any encounter at all. -His telegram to Allahabad described it very pithily: ‘Sangram Singh -having committed some murders in the neighbourhood of Rotas, and the -road being completely closed by him, I sent out a party of eight picked -men from my regiment, with orders to kill or bring in Sangram Singh. -This party succeeded most signally. They disguised themselves as -mutinous sepoys, brought in Sangram Singh last night, and killed his -brother (the man who committed the late murders by Sangram Singh’s -orders), his sons, nephew, and grandsons, amounting in all to nine -persons—bringing in their heads. At this capture, all the people of the -south [of the district?] are much rejoiced. The hills for the present -are clear from rebels. I shall try Sangram Singh to-morrow.’ The -trunk-road from Calcutta to the upper provinces, about Sasseram, -Jehanabad, Karumnassa, and other places, was frequently blocked by small -parties of rebels or marauders; and then it became necessary to send out -detachments to disperse them. As it was of immense importance to -maintain this road open for traffic, military and commercial, the -authorities, at Patna, Benares, and elsewhere, were on the alert to hunt -down any predatory bands that might make their appearance. - -Although Douglas commanded the district in which Jugdispore is situated, -he did not hold Jugdispore itself. That place had changed hands more -than once, since the day when Koer Singh headed the Dinapoor mutineers; -and it was at the beginning of August held by Ummer Singh, with the -chief body of the Behar rebels. Brigadier Douglas gradually organised -arrangements for another attack on this place. His object was, if -possible, so to surround Ummer Singh that he should only have one outlet -of escape, towards Benares and Mirzapore, where there were sufficient -English troops to bring him to bay. The rebels, however, made so many -separate attacks at various places in the Shahabad district, and moved -about with such surprising celerity, that Douglas was forced to postpone -his main attack for a time, seeing that Jugdispore could not be invested -unless he had most of his troops near that spot. All through the month -of August we hear of partial engagements between small parties of rebels -and much smaller parties of the English—ending, in almost every case, in -the flight of the former, but not the less harassing to the latter. At -one time we read of an appearance of these ubiquitous insurgents at -Rasserah; at another at Arrah; at others at Belowtee, Nowadda, -Jugragunje, Masseegunje, Roopsauguty, Doomraon, Burrarpore, Chowpore, -Pah, Nurreehurgunje, Kuseea, Nissreegunje, and other towns and -villages—mostly south of the Ganges and west of the Sone. - -It is unnecessary to trace the operations in this province during -September. There was no rebel army, properly so called; but there were -small bands in various directions—plundering villages, burning -indigo-works, molesting opium-grounds, murdering unprotected persons -known or supposed to be friendly to the British, and committing -atrocities from motives either of personal vengeance or of plunder. Of -patriotism there was nothing; for the peaceful villages suffered as much -from these ruffians as the servants of the state. The state of matters -was well described by an eye-witness, who said that Shahabad (the -district which contains Arrah and Jugdispore) ‘is one of the richest -districts in Behar, and is pillaged from end to end; it is what an Irish -county would be with the Rockites masters of the opportunity.’ It was a -riot rather than a rebellion; a series of disorders produced by -ruffians, rather than a manifestation of patriotism or national -independence. To restore tranquillity, required more troops than -Brigadier Douglas could command at that time; but everything foretold a -gradual suppression of this state of disorder, when October brought him -more troops and cooler weather. - -We now pass on to the turbulent province of Oude—that region which, from -the very beginning of the mutiny, was the most difficult to deal with. -It will be remembered, from the details given in the former chapters, -that Lucknow was entirely reconquered by the British; that the line of -communication between that city and Cawnpore was safely in their hands; -that after Sir Colin Campbell, Sir James Outram, and other generals had -taken their departure to other provinces, Sir Hope Grant remained in -military command of Oude; and that Mr Montgomery, who had been -Lawrence’s coadjutor in the Punjaub, undertook, as chief-commissioner of -Oude, the difficult task of re-establishing civil government in that -distracted country. - -It may be well here to take some notice of an important state document -relating to Oude and its government, its thalookdars and its zemindars. - -During the spring and summer,[185] the two Houses of Parliament were -hotly engaged in a contest concerning Viscount Canning and the Earl of -Ellenborough, which branched off into a contest between Whigs and -Conservatives, marked by great bitterness on both sides. The immediate -cause was a proclamation intended to have been issued (but never -actually issued) by Viscount Canning in Oude, announcing the forfeiture -of all estates belonging to thalookdars and zemindars who had been -guilty of complicity with the rebels. The Earl of Ellenborough, during -his brief tenure of office as president of the Board of Control, wrote -the celebrated ‘secret dispatch’ (dated April 19th),[186] in which he -condemned the proposed proclamation, and haughtily reproved the -governor-general himself. It was a dispatch, of which the following -words were disapproved even by the earl’s own party: ‘We must admit -that, under these circumstances, the hostilities which have been carried -on in Oude have rather the character of legitimate war than that of -rebellion, and that the people of Oude should rather be regarded with -indulgent consideration, than made the objects of a penalty exceeding in -extent and in severity almost any which has been recorded in history as -inflicted upon a subdued nation. Other conquerors, when they have -succeeded in overcoming resistance, have excepted a few persons as still -deserving of punishment, but have, with a generous policy, extended -their clemency to the great body of the people. You have acted upon a -different principle. You have reserved a few as deserving of special -favour, and you have struck with what they will feel as the severest of -punishment the mass of the inhabitants of the country. We cannot but -think that the precedents from which you have departed will appear to -have been conceived in a spirit of wisdom superior to that which appears -in the precedent you have made.’ - -It was not until the month of October that the English public were made -acquainted with Viscount Canning’s reply to this dispatch. During the -interval of five or six months, speculation was active as to the mode in -which he would view it, and the course he would adopt in relation to it. -His reply was dated ‘Allahabad, June 17th,’ and, when at length publicly -known, attracted general attention for its dignified tone. Even those -who continued to believe that the much-canvassed proclamation would not -have been a just one to issue, admitted (in most instances) the cogency -of the governor-general’s arguments against the Ellenborough -dispatch—especially in relation to the unfairness of making public a -professedly ‘secret’ dispatch. The reply was not addressed to the earl, -whose name was not mentioned in it throughout; its address was to ‘the -Secret Committee of the Court of Directors,’ in accordance with official -rule; but the earl was responsible, and alone responsible, for the -dispatch and the severe language it contained. The personal part of -Viscount Canning’s reply, the calm but indignant allusion to the -ungenerous treatment he had received, was comprised in the first six -clauses, which we give in a foot-note.[187] He proceeded to notice the -strange way in which the Ellenborough dispatch almost justified the -Oudians, as if they were fighting for a righteous cause—quite legitimate -in a member of the legislature, proposing a reconsideration of the -annexation of Oude; but quite unjustifiable in a minister serving Queen -Victoria, who was at that moment, rightly or wrongly, the real Queen of -Oude. Viscount Canning declined to discuss the policy which, two years -earlier, had dictated the annexation; it was not his performance, nor -was he empowered to undo it when once done. But he felt it incumbent on -him to point out the disastrous effects which might follow, if the -Oudians were encouraged by such reasonings as those contained in the -Ellenborough dispatch. Speaking of the Begum, the Moulvie, the Nazim, -and other rebel leaders in Oude, he stated that there was scarcely any -unity of plan or sympathy of purpose among them; ‘but,’ he added, ‘I -cannot think this want of unity will long continue. If it shall once -become manifest that the British government hesitates to declare its -right to possess Oude, and that it regards itself as a wrongful intruder -into the place of the dynasty which the Begum claims to represent, I -believe that this would draw to the side of the Begum many who have -hitherto shewn no sympathy with the late ruling family, and that it is -just what is wanting to give a national character to her cause. An -uncompromising assertion of our authority in Oude is perfectly -compatible with a merciful exercise of it; and I respectfully submit -that if the government of India is not supported in making this -assertion, and in declaring that the recent acts of the people of Oude -are acts of rebellion, and that they may in strict right be treated as -such, a powerful temptation will be offered to them to maintain their -present struggle or to renew it.’ - -The governor-general’s defence of the proclamation itself we need not -notice at any length; the proclamation was never issued in its original -form—the subject being left generally to the discretion of Mr -Montgomery. The tenor of his reply may be thus briefly indicated—That he -went to Allahabad to reside, chiefly that he might be able personally to -investigate the state of Oude; that he soon decided to make a difference -between mutinied sepoys and Oudian rebels; that the latter should not be -put to death for appearing in arms against the authorities, unless they -had committed actual murder; that the general punishment for Oudian -rebellion should be confiscation of estates, a punishment frequently -enforced against rebels in past years, both by the British and by the -native governments; that it is a punishment which in no way affects the -honour of the most sensitive Rajpoot or Brahmin; that it admits of every -gradation, according to the severity or lightness of the offence; that -it would enable the government to reward friendly thalookdars and -zemindars with estates taken from those who had rebelled; that most of -the thalookdars had acquired their estates by spoliation of the village -communities, at a time when they (the thalookdars) were acting under the -native government as ‘nazims’ (governors) or ‘chuckladars’ (collectors -of government rents); that, as a matter of abstract right, it would be -just to give these estates back again to the village communities; but -that, as there would be insuperable difficulties to this course, it -would be better to take the forfeited estates of rebellious thalookdars -as government property, out of which faithful villages and individuals -might be rewarded. - -Another reply, written by Viscount Canning on the 7th of July, was to -the dispatch of the Court of Directors dated the 18th of May. In that -dispatch the directors, while expressing full confidence in the -governor-general, courteously requested him to furnish an explanation of -the circumstances and motives which led him to frame the proclamation. -This explanation he most readily gave, in terms equivalent to those -above indicated. He expressed, too, his thankfulness for the tone in -which the directors had written to him. ‘Such an expression of the -sentiments of your honourable court would be to me a source of -gratification and just pride under any circumstances; but the generous -and timely promptitude with which you have been pleased to issue it, and -the fact that it contains approval of the past, as well as trust for the -future, has greatly enhanced its value. Your honourable court have -rightly judged, that in the midst of difficulties no support is so -cheering to a public servant, or so strengthening, as that which is -derived from a declared approval of the spirit by which his past acts -have been guided.’ - -It may be here remarked that some of the European inhabitants of -Calcutta, who had from the first placed themselves in antagonism with -Viscount Canning, prepared an address to the Earl of Ellenborough, -thanking him for the ‘secret’ dispatch, denouncing the principles and -the policy acted on by the governor-general, lamenting the earl’s -retirement after so brief a tenure of office, denouncing the Whigs, and -expressing a hope that the earl, whether in or out of office, would long -live to ‘uphold the honour and interests of British India.’ - -We now proceed to a brief narrative of the course of events in Oude -during July, August, and September. - -The province, in the first of these three months, was in a remarkable -condition. Mr Montgomery, as chief-commissioner, intrusted with large -powers, gradually felt his way towards a re-establishment of British -influence. Most of the dependants and adherents of the deposed royal -family belonged to Lucknow; and it was hence in that city that they -required most carefully to be watched. In the provinces, the late king’s -power and the present British power were regarded with about equal -indifference or dislike. A sort of feudalism prevailed, inimical to the -recognition of any central authority, except in merely nominal matters. -There were rebel forces under different leaders at different spots; but -it is doubtful whether any of them were fighting for the deposed king; -each leader had an eye to the assumption of power by or for himself. -Even the Begum, one of the king’s wives, was influenced by motives very -far removed from affection to her lord. Great as Montgomery’s -difficulties were, therefore, they were less than would have been -occasioned by a concentration of action, a unity of purpose, among the -malcontents. He reorganised civil tribunals and offices in such -districts as were within his power, and waited for favourable -opportunities to do the like in other districts. - -General Sir Hope Grant was Mr Montgomery’s coadjutor in these labours, -bringing military power to bear where civil power was insufficient. In -the early part of the month he remained at Lucknow, keeping together a -small but efficient army, and watching the course of events around him. -Later in the month, however, he deemed it necessary to take the field, -and endeavour to chastise a large body of rebels who were setting up the -Begum in authority at Fyzabad. On the 21st he started off in that -direction, taking with him a force comprising the 1st Madras Europeans, -the 2d battalion of the Rifle Brigade, the 1st Punjaub infantry, the 7th -Hussars, Hodson’s Horse, twelve light guns, and a heavy train. It was -considered probable that, on his way, Grant would relieve Maun Singh, -the powerful thalookdar so often mentioned, who was besieged in his fort -at Shahgunje by many thousand rebels. This cunning time-server had drawn -suspicion upon his acts and motives on many former occasions; but as it -was more desirable to have him as a friend than an enemy, and as he had -unquestionably earned the enmity of the rebels by his refusal to act -openly against the British, it was considered prudent to pay some -attention to his present applications for aid. Grant and Montgomery, the -one as general and the other as commissioner, held possession of the -road from Cawnpore to Lucknow, and the road from Lucknow to Nawabgunge; -it was hoped that Grant’s expedition would obtain command likewise of -the road from Nawabgunge to Fyzabad. These are the three components of -one main road which nearly intersects Oude from west to east; the -possession of it would render practicable the gradual crushing of the -rebel bands in different forts north and south of the road. The rebel -leaders, about the middle of the month, were believed to comprise the -Begum of Oude, her paramour Mummoo Khan, Beni Madhoo, Baboo Rambuksh, -Bihonath Singh, Chandabuksh, Gholab Singh, Nurput Singh, the Shahzada -Feroze Shah, Bhopal Singh, and others of less note; they had under their -command sixty or seventy thousand armed men of various grades, and forty -or fifty guns. More than half of the whole number were supposed to be -with the Begum and Mummoo Khan, at Chowka-Ghât, beyond the river Gogra; -and to these Sir Hope Grant directed his chief attention. Where Nena -Sahib was hiding, the British authorities could never definitely learn; -although it was known that he was near the northern or Nepaul frontier -of Oude. It was believed that he, as well as the Begum, was becoming -straitened for want of funds—appliances without which they could never -hope to keep their rebel forces together. - -The general, with his force from Lucknow, experienced no obstruction in -his march towards Fyzabad. He arrived at a point within fourteen miles -of that city by the 28th of July, having passed on his way through -Nawabgunge—leaving the Rajah of Kupoorthulla to keep open his -communications. His advance alarmed the rebel army which was at that -time engaged in besieging Maun Singh in Shahgunje (twelve miles south of -Fyzabad); it broke up into three divisions—one of which fled towards -Gonda; a second marched for Sultanpore on the Goomtee; while a third -made for Tanda on the Gogra. This precipitate flight shewed in a -striking way the dread felt by the insurgents of an encounter with Sir -Hope Grant; for their numbers are supposed to have been at least ten -times as great as his. On the 29th, Grant entered Fyzabad, and there -heard that a large body of rebels were escaping across the Gogra a mile -or two ahead; he pushed on with cavalry and horse-artillery, but was -only in time to send a few round-shot into their rear. On the following -day, Maun Singh, now delivered from beleaguerment, had an interview with -him. On the 2d of August, two of the three divisions of the rebel army -contrived to join in the vicinity of Sultanpore, where they again formed -a compact army of eighteen thousand men, with eleven guns. -Notwithstanding the escape of the rebels, Grant’s undisputed occupation -of Fyzabad made a great impression in the whole province. This place was -a centre of Mohammedan influence; while near it was the very ancient -though decayed city of Ayodha or Oude, one of the most sacred of Hindoo -cities. Religious quarrels had often broken out between the two -communities; and now the British shewed themselves masters alike over -the Mohammedan and the Hindoo cities. - -It was a great advantage at this time that Hurdeo Buksh, a powerful -zemindar of Oude, was enabled to give practical efficiency to the -friendly feeling with which he had regarded the English throughout the -mutiny. At his estate of Dhurrenpore, not far from Nawabgunge, he -organised a small force of retainers, which, with two guns, he employed -in fighting against some of the neighbouring thalookdars and zemindars -who were hostile to British interests. Such instances were few in -number, but they were gradually increasing; and to such agency the -ultimate pacification of Oude would necessarily be in considerable part -due. - -While Grant was encamped at Fyzabad, he made arrangements for routing -some of the rebel bodies stationed in places to the east and southeast, -whither they had fled on his approach. He made up a column—comprising -the 1st Madras Europeans, the 5th Punjaub Rifles, a detachment of Madras -Sappers, a detachment of the 7th Hussars, 300 of Hodson’s Horse, and a -troop of horse-artillery. With this force, Brigadier Horsford was -directed to proceed to Sultanpore, whither an important section of the -rebels had retreated. Heavy rains prevented the departure of the -brigadier so soon as had been intended; but he set forth on the 9th of -August, and was joined on the way by a small force from Lucknow, -comprising Brasyer’s Sikhs and two horse-artillery guns. On the 13th, -Horsford took possession of Sultanpore, after a tough opposition from -sixteen or eighteen thousand rebels; he not only drove the enemy across -the river Goomtee, but shelled them out of the cantonments on the -opposite banks. The most determined of the combatants among the rebels -were believed to be those regiments of mutinied sepoys which had been -known as the Nuseerabad brigade; they had established three posts to -guard the ghâts or ferries across the river, and held these ghâts for a -time with such obstinacy as to occasion them a severe loss. - -Sultanpore occupied an important position in relation to the rest of -Oude; being on the same river (the Goomtee) as Lucknow, and on the high -road from Allahabad to Fyzabad. It was evident that this place, from the -relative positions of the opposing forces, could not long remain at -peace. The rebels endeavoured to regain possession of it after their -defeat; while Sir Hope Grant resolved to prevent them. They returned to -the Goomtee, and occupied many villages nearly opposite the city. On the -24th of August, Grant made preparations for crossing the river and -attacking them. This plan he put in execution on the following day; when -twelve hundred foot and two guns effected the passage, and seized three -villages immediately in front. The rebels, however, maintained a -position from which they could send over shot into the British camp; -this lasted until the 29th, when they were driven from their position, -and compelled to retire towards Sassenpore, where they reassembled about -seven thousand of their number, with eight guns. - -The first days of September found this body of rebels separating and -recombining, lessening and augmenting, in a manner that renders it -difficult to trace the actual movements. The real mutinous sepoys, the -‘Pandies’ of the once mighty Bengal army, were now few among them; and -the fluctuating numbers were made up chiefly of the adherents of the -rebellious thalookdars and zemindars of Oude—the vassals of those feudal -barons—together with felons and scoundrels of various kinds. On one day -they appeared likely to retire to Amethee, the stronghold of a rebel -named Lall Madhoo Singh; on another, they shewed symptoms of marching to -Mozuffernugger, a place about ten miles from Sultanpore; while on a -third, some of them made their appearance at a town about twenty miles -from Sultanpore on the Lucknow road. - -At this time (September) the position of the British in Oude, so far as -concerned the possession of actual governing power, was very singular. -They held a belt of country right across the centre of the province from -east to west; while the districts north and south of that belt were -either in the possession of rebels, or were greatly troubled by them. -The position was thus clearly described by the Lucknow correspondent of -the _Bombay Gazette_: ‘The districts in our possession lie in a large -ellipse, of which Lucknow and Durriabad are foci, the ends of one -diameter being Cawnpore and Fyzabad. These cities are situated almost -due east and west. Our civil jurisdiction extends, on the average, -twenty-five miles all round Lucknow, and not much less round Durriabad. -Our line of communication is uninterrupted from Cawnpore to Fyzabad, -which latter borders on the Goruckpore district.’ North of this belt or -ellipse were various bodies of rebels under the Begum, Mummoo Khan, -Feroze Shah, Hurdut Singh, and other leaders; while south of the belt -were other bodies under Beni Madhoo, Hunmunt Singh, the Rajah of Gonda, -&c. Irrespective of these, were Nena Sahib and some of his relations -who, though not to be encountered, were known to be still in the -northeast of Oude, near the Nepaul frontier. Sir Hope Grant had -immediate control over both banks of the Goomtee, near Sultanpore, and -was preparing for a decisive advance against the rebels as soon as he -was joined by Brigadier Berkeley, who was sent from Allahabad on an -expedition presently to be noticed. - -The portion of Oude nearest to Rohilcund, where the energetic Moulvie -had lately lost his life, was kept for a long time in a state of anarchy -by a combination of rebel chieftains, who declared hostility against the -Rajah of Powayne for having betrayed and killed the Moulvie. They at -first quarrelled a good deal concerning the possession of the effects of -the deceased leader; but the Begum put in a claim, which seems to have -been acceded to. Although the authorities at Lucknow could not at this -time spare a force to rout out the insurgents on this side of Oude, the -service was rendered from Rohilcund, as will be shewn shortly. - -In a district of Oude between Lucknow and the Rohilcund frontier, a -gallant affair was achieved by Mr Cavanagh, who had gained so much -renown by carrying the message from Sir James Outram at Lucknow to Sir -Colin Campbell’s camp. Being appointed chief civil officer of the -Muhiabad district, he arranged with Captain Dawson and Lieutenant French -to defend the district from rebels as well as they could, by the aid of -a few native police and sowars. On the 30th of July a body of 1500 -insurgents, with one gun, made a sudden attack on a small out-station -defended only by about 70 men. The place was gallantly held until -Cavanagh and French reached it. One bold charge sent the rebels fleeing -in all directions; and the district was soon pacified. Mr Cavanagh had -the tact to win over several small zemindars to the British cause, by -threatening to punish them if insubordinate, and by undertaking to aid -them if they were attacked by rebel bands; they combined to maintain -four hundred matchlockmen at their own expense in the British cause. -Many of the petty rajahs and zemindars had themselves been more than -suspected; but the civil authorities were empowered to win them over, by -an indulgent forgetfulness of their past conduct. - -[Illustration: - - Interior of Hindoo Rajah’s House. -] - -On another side of Oude, near Allahabad and the apex of the Doab, there -were many bold and reckless thalookdars, who held out threats to all of -their class who dared to profess friendship to the English. A loyal -thalookdar, Baboo Rampursand Singh, was attacked by a number of these -confederated chieftains with their retainers at Soraon; they took him -and his family prisoners, destroyed his house, and sacked the village. -As this course of proceeding would have deterred friendly thalookdars -from a persistence in their loyalty, and still more certainly deterred -waverers from making a choice adverse to the rebel cause, means were -taken to check it. Brigadier Berkeley was placed in command of a ‘Soraon -Field-force,’ hastily collected, comprising 200 of H.M. 32d foot, the -7th Punjaub infantry, about 150 other infantry, two troops of Lahore -light horse, a detachment of Madras cavalry, detachments of horse and -foot artillery, and nine guns and mortars. The brigadier set out for -Allahabad, where the force had been collected, crossed the Ganges, -marched to the Oude frontier, and came in sight of a body of rebels on -the 14th of July, at the fort and village of Dehaign—one of the small -forts in which Oude abounded. The rebels retired into the fort on his -approach, allowing his skirmishers to take easy possession of the -village. He encircled the fort with cavalry, and placed horse-artillery -to watch any outlets of escape. A firing by heavy guns was not -satisfactory to him, owing to the fort being completely hidden by trees -and thick scrubby jungle; and he therefore resolved on storming the -place by his infantry. The assault was speedily and thoroughly -successful. About 250 of the rebels were killed in the fort and ditch; -and about as many more were chased through the jungle and cut down by -the cavalry and horse-artillery. The place was not properly a fort; it -was a large area of jungle surrounded by a dilapidated earthen wall and -ditch, and fenced with a thorny abattis, having a brick house in the -centre. The rebels being driven out, Brigadier Berkeley caused the -jungle to be cut, the walls to be levelled, and the house destroyed. -After resting on the 15th, Berkeley proceeded on the 16th to the fort of -Tiroul, seven miles north of Soraon. He found this fort in the middle of -an impenetrable thorny jungle, through which a few paths were cut in -directions known only to the natives; it was surrounded by a very thick -thorny abattis; and it had walls, bastions, ditches, escarps, like a -miniature fortress, with a stronghold in the centre to which the -garrison could retire when closely pressed. There were only three guns -on the bastions, but the walls were loopholed for musketry. So thick was -the belt of trees and jungle around, that the brigadier could scarcely -obtain a sight of the fort; he therefore deemed it prudent to employ his -mortars and a 24-pounder howitzer before sending in his infantry to -assault. This succeeded; the enemy evacuated the place during the night, -leaving behind them their three guns and gun-ammunition. The infantry -were on the alert to assist, but the enemy left them nothing to do. Fort -Tiroul was then destroyed, as fort Soraon had been. The former was -rather a superior example of an Oudian fort; although the walls and -bastions were only of earth, they were of such considerable thickness, -and were aided so greatly by loopholed parapets, ditches, breastworks, -rifle-pits, thorny abattis, zigzag intrenchments, and thick jungle—that -the enemy might have made a tough resistance to an infantry attack, if -they had not been frightened out by shells and balls. By a somewhat -similar train of operations, Brigadier Berkeley captured and destroyed a -fort at Bhyspoor; and having thus finished the work intrusted to him, he -returned with his temporary ‘Soraon Field-force’ to Allahabad. After a -brief interval, he was again sent forth, to demolish other Oudian forts -at places accessible from Allahabad, of which one was at Pertabghur; and -then to advance to Sultanpore, to aid Sir Hope Grant. The two generals -would then command a semicircle of country, within which most of the -rebels in the eastern half of Oude would be enclosed; and an advance of -other columns from Lucknow would completely hem them in. There were many -symptoms, at the end of the month, that numerous zemindars and -thalookdars were only waiting for a decent pretext, a decisive success -of the British, to give in their adhesion. - -The banks of the Ganges nearest to the province of Oude, even so low -down as Allahabad, where the governor-general and the commander-in-chief -were residing, required close watching; they were infested by bands of -rebels, some of whom devastated the villages, while others sought to -cross the Ganges into the Doab; and carry mischief into new districts. -Towards the close of July—to cite one among many instances—it became -known that the rebels had collected many boats on the Oude side of the -river, ready to cross over into the Doab if the fortune of war should -render this desirable. The authorities at once sent up the _Jumna_ -steamer, with a party of 130 Sikhs and two guns. At Manickpore and -Kunkur, some distance up the river, they found more than twenty boats, -which they succeeded in destroying; but the two forts were well armed -with guns and rebels, and could not be safely attacked at that -time—another and stronger expeditionary force was required to effect -this. In August, and again in September, small forces were sent up from -Allahabad by river, which had the desired effect of checking these -insurgents. - -Viscount Canning and Sir Colin Campbell both remained at Allahabad -throughout the period to which this chapter relates—where, indeed, they -had long been located. It was convenient for each in his special -capacity, owing to its central situation. Sir Colin needed to be -informed daily of the proceedings of all the brigades, columns, forces, -and detachments which were out on active service. Gladly would he have -kept them all under cover until the rainy season had passed; but the -exigencies of the service prevented this: some troops were necessarily -in the field—in Behar, in Oude, in Rohilcund, in Bundelcund, in the -Mahratta states, in Rajpootana; and these, whether their number were few -or many, were all working to one common end. At no other city could Sir -Colin receive news from all those regions more promptly than at -Allahabad. Again, Viscount Canning found it necessary to be in intimate -communication with the commander-in-chief, in relation to all projects -and arrangements involving military operations, on which the ultimate -pacification of India so much depended. It was desirable, also, that he -should be near Oude, the affairs of which were far more delicate than -those of any other Indian province. Many events were likely to arise, -concerning which the electric telegraph, though instantaneous, might be -too curt and enigmatical, and which would be much better settled by a -personal conference with the chief to whom the government of the -Anglo-Indian empire was consigned. - -Orders and dispatches, military and political, were issued in great -number from Allahabad, which was the substitute for Calcutta at that -time. Much progress had been made towards the construction of a new -English town, with houses, hotels, offices, and shops; and much also in -the building of new barracks, for the English troops which must -necessarily continue to be stationed at this important place. The -governor-general and the commander-in-chief were each surrounded with -his staff of officials, for the transaction of business; and both worked -untiringly for the public benefit. - -From time to time Viscount Canning gave effect to several -recommendations made by the generals and brigadiers for an -acknowledgment of the fidelity and bravery of native soldiers. At a -period when the treachery of the ‘Pandies’ of the Bengal army had been -productive of such bitter fruit, it was doubly desirable to praise and -reward such native troops as bore up well against the temptations to -which they were exposed. On one day he issued orders for the promotion -of certain officers and men of the Hyderabad Contingent, for conspicuous -gallantry in the action at Banda; and in orders of subsequent dates, -other well-deserving native troops were singled out for reward. -Ressaldars were promoted to be ressaldar-majors, duffadars to be -ressaldars or jemadars, bargheers and silladars to be duffadars, naiks -to be havildars, and so on—these being some of the many designations of -native military officers in India. One of the higher grade of native -officers in the Hyderabad Contingent, Ressaldar-major Meer Dilawar -Hossein, was made a member of the First Class of ‘the Order of British -India,’ with the title of ‘Sirdar Bahadoor.’ Sometimes towns themselves -were complimented, as a mode of gratifying the inhabitants, when good -service had been rendered. Thus Sasseram became the subject of the -following order: ‘As a special mark of the consideration of government -for the loyal services rendered by Shah Koobeeroodeen Ahmed of Sasseram, -and his fellow towns-people, in repelling the mutineers, the Right Hon. -the Governor-general is pleased to confer upon Sasseram the name of -Nasirool Hook-Kusbah, “Sasseram the aider or supporter of the rulers.”’ - -Sir Colin Campbell’s[188] daily duties of course bore relation chiefly -to military matters. On one occasion, while at Allahabad, he reviewed -the camel-corps as one of the reinforcements which from time to time -arrived at that place. This was towards the close of July. It was a -curious sight to see four hundred camels going through their military -evolutions on the _maîdan_ or plain outside the city. These ungainly -beasts performed almost all the usual cavalry movements. Besides an -armed native driver, each camel carried an English soldier, who occupied -the back seat, and was in a position to use his rifle. The camels had -been trained to the word of command. On a recognised touch of the -guiding-string, they dropped on their knees, the riflemen descended -quickly, went on for a distance in skirmishing order, remounted on the -recall being signalled, and the camels then rose in their wonted clumsy -manner. This corps was likely to render very valuable service, by -rapidly conveying a few skilled riflemen to distances and over tracts -which would be beyond the reach of infantry. - -The commander-in-chief, a man indefatigable in the performance of his -duties, acquired for himself the reputation of being a general who -insisted on all the duties of regimental service being properly attended -to by the officers; to the effect that all alike should _work_ for the -common cause, in camps and barracks, as well as in the field. The -following order, issued about the close of August, will shew how -numerous were the duties thus marked out: ‘The commander-in-chief begs -that general officers commanding divisions and brigades will urge -commanding-officers of her Majesty’s regiments, troops, and batteries, -to give their most particular attention to all points of interior -economy; to examine and correct regimental books; to re-enlist soldiers -of limited service willing to renew their engagements; to complete -soldiers’ clothing and necessaries, examine soldiers’ accounts, -soldiers’ claims, and small account-books; to close, and render to the -proper departments, the accounts of deceased officers and soldiers; to -examine arms, accoutrements, and ammunition, and repair deficiencies; to -continue judging-distance drills and musketry-instruction, as far as the -climate will permit; to provide occupation for soldiers without -harassing them by mere routine drills; to consider their comforts, diet, -and amusements; to re-establish the regimental school, and encourage by -every means the study of the Hindustani language, both by officers and -soldiers disposed to study it; to ascertain by inquiry what means exist -in the neighbourhood of their quarters, both in materials and workmen, -to furnish their regiments with boots and clothing, in the event of -failure of the usual supply; finally, to maintain the most exact -discipline, the strict performance of all duties, and proper marks of -respect to officers; which will be much assisted by a proper example on -the part of officers, in dress and deportment, regularity in their -duties, and treatment of native servants and followers.’ - -This last clause, ‘treatment of native servants and followers,’ related -to a serious matter. Many of the younger officers, chiefly those whose -knowledge of India had extended only over a few months, had acquired the -habit of speaking and writing of the natives as if they were all fiends -alike, to sabre and hang whom was a pleasurable duty. The atrocities of -some were visited on all. The ‘Pandies’ who had begun the mutiny were -now mixed up with others in the common designations of ‘niggers’ and -‘devils;’ and the officers above alluded to were far too prone to use -the stick or the whip on the shoulders of natives, simply because they -were natives, even when inoffensively employed. The observant -correspondents of some of the London journals were too much struck with -this dangerous tendency to allow it to pass unnoticed; they commented on -it with severity. The letters from officers, made public in the journals -published in India, furnished abundant proof of the feelings and -language adverted to, conveyed in their own terms. Unless the mutiny -were to end with general enmity on both sides, it was essential that an -improved tone should prevail in this matter; and to this end, many hints -were given by the authorities, in England as well as in India. - -A few words will suffice to say all that need be said concerning the -Doab and Rohilcund, the regions in which the mutiny really commenced. - -Rohilcund was troubled with nothing beyond trifling disturbances during -the month of July; and these came chiefly from Oude. Rebel leaders, with -small bands of depredators, crossed the frontier, and harried some of -the neighbouring villages. So little, however, was there of an organised -rebel army in the province, that the predatory irruptions were easily -quelled by means of small detachments of troops. At one period in the -month a body of Oudians crossed into the northern part of Rohilcund, and -combined with a rabble under one Nizam Ali in the wild Roodurpore tract -of country. As it was considered possible that an attack on Pileebheet -might be contemplated, the authorities at Bareilly sent a small -force—comprising the Rohilcund Horse, a troop or two of Punjaub cavalry, -and three companies of the Kumaon levies—to Pileebheet; this movement -caused the insurgents to retire quickly. In the neighbourhood of -Mohumdee, where much fighting had taken place during Sir Colin -Campbell’s campaign in the spring, bands of rebels still hovered about, -looking for any chances of success, and requiring to be carefully -watched. One, of about four thousand men, was under Khan Bahadoor Khan -of Bareilly; a second, under Khan Ali Nazim of Oude, numbered five -thousand; and a third, under Wilayut Shah, mustered three thousand. -These, with twenty or thirty guns, might have wrought much mischief if -combined with the Oude rebels; but they were so placed on the frontier -of the two provinces as to be nearly isolated, and afraid of any bold -movements. The authorities, however, were on their guard. A force, -including De Kantzow’s Horse, was sent for the protection of Powayne; -and Rajah Juggernath Singh, of that place, had about two thousand men -who could be depended upon to oppose the rebels. In August, the town and -station of Pileebheet were frequently threatened by one Kala Khan, who -had three thousand budmashes at his beck, with four guns. As it was -deemed necessary to defend Noria, a station about ten miles distant, a -small force was sent out from Pileebheet to effect this. Kala Khan -attacked the force at Sersown, and brought on an engagement in which his -three thousand were opposed to about five hundred. He received a severe -defeat, and lost his guns, three elephants, and a number of bullocks. -This occurred during the last week in August. In September, matters -remained nearly in the same state; the authorities in Rohilcund could -not at once spare troops in sufficient number to put down the insurgents -thoroughly; but the successes of Sir Hope Grant, in the central parts of -Oude, would gradually but necessarily weaken the isolated bands of -rebels on the frontier of the two provinces. - -Meerut and Delhi had long been at peace. No symptoms of rebel armies -appeared near those cities. Sir John Lawrence, having had the province -of Delhi attached to his government of the Punjaub, was ruling it with -the same vigour as his other provinces. All the natives, Hindoo and -Mohammedan, saw that he was a man not to be trifled with. Many of the -antiquated usages of the East India Company, in force in other -provinces, he abrogated, and introduced a system more suitable to the -actual condition of the country and its inhabitants. The ‘regulations,’ -as they are called, he abolished altogether; and established in their -place a system of government in which summary trial by _vivâ voce_ -examination was adopted. A military police was organised; and every -village compelled to pay compensation for any damage done within its -boundaries. - -The district around Etawah was occasionally disturbed by a dacoit leader -named Roop Singh, who collected a band of adherents, comprising a few of -the Gwalior Contingent, a few of the mutinied troops from Scindia’s own -army, and numerous matchlockmen from the ravines of the Jumna. With this -motley force he levied contributions from such of the villages as were -not strong enough to resist him. He made his appearance at Ajeetmul and -other places early in July; but was speedily routed out by a small -detachment sent in pursuit. During August, this part of India was -infested by men of the same class as those who troubled so many other -provinces—reckless adventurers and escaped felons, who took advantage of -the state of public affairs to plunder villages, and make exactions on -every side. Some of them were headed by chieftains who could boast of a -few hundred retainers, and who, with retainers and rabble together, gave -more organisation to the plunderers. The principal among them was Roop -Singh, mentioned above, who kept armed possession of a fort at Burhee, -Bhurree, or Burhay, at the junction of the Chumbul with the Jumna, and -occasioned great annoyance by attacking boats and levying toll as they -passed. To keep these several mischief-makers in subjection required -much activity on the part of the troops belonging to the district. -Towards the close of the month, a force was sent out from Etawah -purposely to take this fort and disperse the rebels. This was -effectually accomplished on the 28th. Suspecting what was intended, the -rebels attempted to check the progress of the boats carrying the -detachment, at a place called Gurha Koodor, a fortified village three -miles higher up. So long as the troops were in the boats, the rebels -made a show of determination on shore; but a landing soon scattered them -in all directions. The troops then re-embarked, floated down to Burhee, -landed, took possession of the fort, and compelled Roop Singh to make a -hasty retreat. This done, they collected and secured all the boats in -the neighbouring parts of the rivers Jumna, Chumbul, and Kooraree, as a -measure of precaution, clearing all the rebels from the vicinity of -Dholpore. They then proceeded against the chief of Chuckernuggur, -another leader of rebel bands whom it was necessary to put down. In -September, Etawah, like the other districts around it, was very little -troubled by warlike or mutinous proceedings. - -Agra found no difficulty in maintaining order in and near the city. -When, in June, the temporary success of Tanteea Topee and the Gwalior -mutineers gave some cause for alarm, the authorities of Agra sent out -troops to escort Scindia back to the capital of his dominions; and when, -at a later date, those mutineers were fleeing from Gwalior, and were -believed to be on the way to Bhurtpore or Odeypore, a detachment was -sent out to check their approach. This detachment consisted of the 3d -Bengal Europeans and a battery of guns, and was placed in aid of -Brigadier Showers’s force. The demonstration took effect; for (as we -shall see more in detail presently), Tanteea Topee bent his steps -southward, away from the threatened assault; and Showers was enabled to -send back the detachment through Futtehpore Sikri to Agra. From that -time, during the summer and autumn months, Agra and its neighbourhood -were at peace. - -Directing attention next to the Punjaub, we may remark that those who -had the keenest sense of the value of loyal integrity in times of -trouble, were anxious to see the day when some recognition should be -shewn of the services of three native rajahs, without whose co-operation -it would scarcely have been possible for Sir John Lawrence to have sent -those troops from the Punjaub which enabled Sir Archdale Wilson to -recapture Delhi. These were the Rajahs of Putialah, Jheend, and -Nabah—three small states which were at one time included within Sirhind, -then among the ‘Sikh protected states,’ and then among the ‘Cis-Sutlej -states.’ The rajahs were semi-independent, having most of the privileges -of independent rulers, but being at the same time under certain -engagements to the British government. If they had swelled the ranks of -the insurgents, it is difficult to see how Hindostan could have been -recovered; for these states intervene between Lahore and Umritsir on the -one side, and Delhi on the other. From first to last the rajahs not only -fulfilled their engagements, but more; and the government had abundant -reason to be glad that these three territories had not been ‘annexed;’ -for annexation, if not the cause, was unquestionably one of the -aggravations to mutiny. Viscount Canning, in July, rewarded these three -Sikh chiefs (for they were Sikhs, though not exactly Punjaubees) with -estates and honours. The Rajah—or rather Maharajah, for he was of higher -grade than the other two—of Putialah received certain territories in -Jhujjur and Bhudour, on a certain military tenure in return for the -revenues. He also received the gift of a house at Delhi which, once -belonging to one of the begums of the imperial family, had been -confiscated on account of her complicity in the mutiny. Lastly, his -honorary titles were increased by the following: ‘Furzund Khan, Munsoor -Zuman, Ameer-ool-Omrah, Maharajah Dhurraj Rajahshur Sree Maharajah -Rajgan, Nirundur Singh Mahundur Bahadoor’—an accumulation, the weight of -which would be oppressive to any but an oriental prince. The translation -is said to be: ‘Special Son, Conqueror of the World, Chief of the -Chiefs, Maharajah of Rajahs’—and so on. The Rajah of Jheend received the -Dadree territory, thirteen villages in the Koolran Pergunnah, and a -confiscated royal house at Delhi. The additions were: That he be allowed -a salute of eleven guns; that his presents be increased from eleven to -fifteen trays; that his state visits to the governor-general be returned -by the secretary; and that his honorary titles be thus increased: ‘Most -cherished Son of true Faith, Rajah Surroop Singh Walee Jheend.’ The -Rajah of Nabah received similar presents, and the honorary appellations -of—‘Noble Son of good Faith, Berar Bunsee Sirmoor Rajah Bhurpoor Singh -Malindur Bahadoor.’ The revenues made over to these rajahs amounted—to -the first, about £20,000 per annum; to the second, £12,000; to the -third, £11,000. - -[Illustration: - - UMRITSIR. -] - -We may smile at these extravagances of compliment, but the services -rendered deserved a solid reward as well as an addition to honorary -titles. For, it must be remembered, the Rajah of Putialah maintained a -contingent of 5000 troops—protected the stations of Umballa and Kurnaul -at the outbreak of the mutiny—guarded the grand trunk-road from Kurnaul -to Phillour, keeping it open for the passage of British and Punjaub -troops—co-operated with General Van Cortlandt in Hissar—lent money when -Sir John Lawrence’s coffers were running low—and encouraged others by -his own unswerving loyalty. Again: the Rajah of Jheend, whose contingent -was very small, did not hesitate to leave his own territory undefended, -and march towards Delhi—assisting to defend most of the stations between -that city and Kurnaul, and to keep open the communication across the -Jumna. Again: the Rajah of Nabah, at the very outset of the -disturbances, proceeded to aid Mr Commissioner Barnes in maintaining -Loodianah—supplied an escort for the siege-train—gallantly opposed the -Jullundur mutineers—provided carriage for stores—and made loans to the -Punjaub government in a time of monetary need. The districts given to -these rajahs, at the suggestion of Sir John Lawrence, were so chosen as -to furnish a prudent barrier of Sikhs between turbulent Mohammedans on -the one side and equally turbulent Rajpoots on the other. - -Nor did the authorities neglect to recognise the services of humbler -persons, although, principally from the proverbial slowness of official -movements, the recognition was often delayed to an unreasonable extent. -Occasion has more than once presented itself, in former chapters, for -noticing the bestowal of the much-prized Victoria Cross on officers and -soldiers who had distinguished themselves by acts of personal valour. -Owing to the dilatory official routine just adverted to, it was not -until the 27th of July that Sergeant Smith and Bugler Hawthorne received -the Victoria Cross for their intrepid services at the siege of Delhi ten -months before. Their regiment, the 52d foot, was at Sealkote in the -Punjaub on that date; and Brigadier Stisted had the pleasure of giving -the honouring insignia to them. He told them that the Victoria Cross is -in reality more honourable than the Order of the Bath, seeing that no -one can obtain it except by virtue of well-authenticated acts of -heroism. He gracefully admitted that his own Order of the Bath was due -more to the pluck and bravery of his men than to his own individual -services; and in reference to the Victoria Cross he added: ‘I only wish -I had it myself.’ Another bestowal of this honour we will briefly -mention, to shew what kind of spirit is to be found within the breasts -of British troops. The award of the Cross, in this instance, was delayed -no less than fourteen months after the achievement for which it was -given; and the soldier may well have doubted whether he would ever -receive it. The instance was that of Gunner William Connolly, of the -Bengal horse-artillery; and the conduct for which his officer, -Lieutenant Cookes, recommended him for this distinction, was recorded in -a dispatch from which an extract is here given in a foot-note.[189] - -A very unexpected event, in July, was the revolt of a regiment, or a -portion of a regiment, in that region of India which was believed to be -more vigorously governed and in better hands than any other—the Punjaub. -The facts, as they afterwards came out (mostly, however, on hearsay -evidence), appear to have been nearly as follow: The 18th Punjaub -infantry, stationed at Dera Ismael Khan, on the western side of the -Indus, contained among its numbers about a hundred Malwaie Sikhs, a -peculiar tribe different from the other Sikhs of the Punjaub. These -Malwaies planned a mutiny. On a particular night, some of them were to -murder the officers of the station; the fort was to be seized; and the -39th Bengal native infantry, which had been disarmed some time -previously, was to be re-armed from the magazines and stores of the -fort. The two regiments of mutineers, perhaps joined by the Sikhs of -Renny’s regiment at Bunnoo, were then to embark in boats on the Indus, -taking with them the guns, ammunition, and treasure, and were to float -down to Dera Ghazee Khan; here they expected to be joined by the native -garrison, with whom they would cross the Indus to Moultan; and lastly, -with two regiments from the last-named place, they hoped to march upon -Lahore. Such was the account, probably magnified in some of its -particulars, obtained of the plans of the mutineers. So far as concerned -the actual facts, the plot was discovered in time to prevent its -execution. On the evening of the 20th, Major Gardiner of the 10th -Punjaub infantry, and Captain Smith of the artillery, having received -from some quarter a hint of what was intended, went down to the lines at -ten o’clock at night, and summoned two of the men to appear. One, a -sepoy, came first; he was ordered at once to be confined; but no sooner -did he hear the order, than he ran off. Just as the guard were about -re-capturing this man, a jemadar rushed out, cut down one of them, and -wounded another. The sepoy and the jemadar, who were the ringleaders in -the plot, escaped for a time, but were captured a few days afterwards. -As soon as Sir John Lawrence heard of this occurrence, he ordered the -disarmed 39th to be sent to Sealkote, where their movements could be -more carefully watched. - -Still more serious, in its nature if not in its intention, was the -outbreak of the 62d and 69th Bengal native infantry, with a native troop -of horse-artillery, at Moultan. These disarmed regiments, like many -others in similar plight, were a source of embarrassment to the -authorities. They could not safely be re-armed, for their Hindustani -sympathies caused them to be suspected; while it was a waste of power to -employ English soldiers to watch these unarmed men in their lines. At -length it was determined to disband the two regiments, and let the men -depart, a few at a time, and under necessary precautions, to their own -homes. When this order was read out to them, they appeared satisfied; -but a rumour or suspicion spread that there was an intention of -destroying them piecemeal on the way. Whether this or any other motive -actuated them, is not fully known; but they broke out into rebellion on -the 31st of August. There were at Moultan at the time about 170 of the -royal artillery, a wing of the 1st Bengal Europeans, the 11th Punjaub -infantry, and the 1st Bengal irregular cavalry. Just as the mid-day gun -fired, the two disarmed mutinous regiments rose in mutiny, seized -anything they could find as weapons, and made a desperate assault on the -troops at the station not in their plot. The 62d made their attack on -the artillery stables and the European barracks; the 69th went at the -guns and the artillery barracks. As these mutineers had few weapons but -sticks, their attack appeared so strange, and was so wholly unexpected, -that the loyal troops at the station were at first hardly prepared to -resist them, and a few Europeans lost their lives; but when once the -real nature of the mad attempt was clearly seen, the result was fearful. -The misguided men were shot or cut down by all parties and in all -quarters. Of thirteen hundred mutineers, few lived to return to their -own Hindostan; three or four hundred were laid low in and near Moultan, -others were shot by villagers, others were captured and brought in for -military execution. It was the nearest approach to the utter -annihilation of two regiments, perhaps, that occurred throughout the -wars of the mutiny. The sepoys sometimes behaved more like madmen, at -others more like children, than rational beings. In the present case -they had scarcely a chance of success; for the Sikhs and Punjaubees -around them displayed no affection for Hindustanis; the soldiery shot -and cut them down, while the peasantry captured them for the sake of the -reward offered. They possibly reckoned on the support of the 1st Bengal -irregular cavalry; but this regiment remained loyal, and assisted in -cutting down the sepoys instead of befriending them. - -This occurrence strongly attracted the attention of the government. The -disarmed sepoys, as has been more than once mentioned, were a source of -much perplexity; it was not decided in what way best to set them free; -and on the other hand, such an outbreak as this shewed that it would not -be safe to re-arm them. There was at the same time a necessity for -watching the Sikh and Punjaubee troops—now nearly 70,000 in number. -Hitherto they had behaved admirably, fighting manfully for the -government at times and places where the Hindustanis had been -treacherous. That they had done so, afforded a justification for the -confidence which Sir John Lawrence had placed in them; but that -sagacious man saw that recruiting had gone quite far enough in this -direction. It was just possible that the Punjaub army might become too -strong, and rejoice in its strength by means of insubordination. - -One of the incidents in the Punjaub during the month of August related -to a physical rather than a moral outbreak—the overwhelming of a -military station by a river torrent. The Indus, when about to enter the -Punjaub from the Himalaya, passes through a narrow ravine in the Irhagan -Hills. The rocks on either side here, undermined by the action of the -water through unknown centuries, broke away and fell into the river. -Half the water of the stream still continued to find its way onward; but -the other half became dammed up, and accumulated into a vast lake. When -the pressure of this body of water had augmented to an irresistible -degree (which it did in fifteen days), it burst its barrier and rushed -down with indescribable force, sweeping away villages on its banks. At -Attock the level of the river rose fifty feet in one hour, carrying away -the bridge of boats which constituted the only roadway over the Indus, -and destroying workshops and timber-stores on the banks. The Cabool -river, coming from Afghanistan, and joining the Indus at Attock, had its -stream driven backwards or upwards with fearful rapidity; it speedily -overflowed its banks, and destroyed nearly all the houses at the -military station of Nowsherah. ‘The officers,’ said an eye-witness, ‘not -knowing when it would stop, but hoping the flood would soon subside, put -all their things on the tops of their houses; but the water still -continued rising, and house after house went down before it.... The -barracks were flooded and vacated by the troops; and all, gentle and -simple, had to pass the night on some sand-hills.’ The barracks, being -‘pucka-built’ (burnt bricks and mortar), were not destroyed, although -flooded; the other buildings, being ‘rutcha-built’ (unburnt bricks and -mud), were destroyed. The troops were at once removed to Peshawur; but -the destruction of the boat-bridge at Attock threatened a serious -interruption to military movements. - -Nothing occurred in the Punjaub during September to need record here; -nor did Sinde depart from its usual peaceful condition. Both of these -large provinces, filling up the western belt of India from the Himalaya -to the ocean, were held well in hand by the civil and military -authorities. - -Attention must now be transferred to those regions which, during many -months, had been disturbed by anarchy and rebellion—Bundelcund, the -Mahratta States, and Rajpootana. These large territories contained many -petty chieftains, among whom a considerable number were prone to seize -this opportunity to strengthen themselves by plundering their -neighbours. Of patriotism, there was little enough; men appeared in arms -for their own interests, or what they deemed their own interests, rather -than for any common cause involving nationality or affection to native -princes. - -Bundelcund and the Saugor provinces were chiefly under the military -control of General Whitlock, who had advanced from Madras with a force -consisting chiefly of Madras troops, and had gradually established -regular government in districts long troubled by violence and confusion. -At the end of June, as the last chapter shewed, Whitlock’s force was -divided into a great many detachments, which overawed the turbulent at -as many different stations; and the same state of matters continued, -with slight variations, during the next three months. It must, however, -be mentioned here, in relation to military commands, that—as one mode of -facilitating the thorough discomfiture of the rebels—Viscount Canning -made a new arrangement affecting the Saugor and Gwalior territories. -That portion of India having been much disturbed during a period of more -than twelve months, it was determined to establish there two military -divisions instead of one, and to place in command of those divisions two -of the generals who by hard fighting had become accustomed to the -district and the class of inhabitants. General Whitlock was appointed to -the Saugor division, which was made to extend to the Jumna, and to -include the districts of Saugor, Jubbulpoor, Banda, Humeerpoor, and -Calpee, with Saugor as the military head-quarters. General Napier was -appointed to the Gwalior division, which was made to include Gwalior, -Sepree, Goonah, and Jhansi. This arrangement, organised about the end of -July, was to hold good whether any rebels should make a sudden outbreak, -or whether the troops were fortunate enough to have a period of repose -during the rainy season. Whitlock’s force, consisting of H.M. 43d foot, -the 1st and 19th Madras native infantry, with a proportion of cavalry -and artillery—was mainly in two brigades, under Brigadiers Macduff and -Rice. - -Brief mention was made in the last chapter of a large capture of -treasure by General Whitlock. This matter must here be noticed a little -more fully, on account of its connection with the intricacies of -Mahratta dynastic changes. During the general’s operations in -Bundelcund, he marched from Banda towards Kirwee in two brigades, -intending to attack Narain Rao at the last-named place. This chieftain, -a descendant of the Peishwa of the Mahrattas, possessed a rabble army, -with which for a time he attempted to block up the roads of approach to -Kirwee. The resistance made, however, was very slight; and shortly -before Whitlock entered the place, Radha Govind, an adherent of Narain -Rao, escaped from the town in the opposite direction, taking with him -most of the armed men, and a large quantity of money and jewels, but no -guns. Narain Rao, and another Mahratta leader named Madhoo Rao, remained -at Kirwee. Their fears having been roused, they now resolved to -surrender as a means of obtaining forgiveness for their rebellious -proceedings. They came out to meet Whitlock, at a camping-ground a few -miles from Kirwee. Delivering up their swords, they were kept securely -for a time. Whitlock took possession of the town and palace, and found -that the rebels had been busily engaged in casting cannon, making -gunpowder, and enlisting men. In the palace and its precincts were -discovered forty pieces of cannon, an immense supply of shot and powder, -two thousand stands of arms, numerous swords and matchlocks, -accoutrements of many of the rebel sepoy regiments, elephants and -horses, and a vast store of wealth in cash and jewels. It was -conjectured that the jewels might possibly be those which, half a -century earlier, had mysteriously disappeared from Poonah, and were -supposed to be in possession either of Scindia or Holkar, the most -powerful of the Mahratta chiefs in those days; but the discovery now led -to an opinion that the jewels had been stolen or appropriated by Bajee -Rao, father of Narain Rao, and hidden by that family for half a century. -As to the quantity and value of cash and jewels captured, it will be -prudent to venture on no estimate. Some of the Anglo-Indian journals -spoke of ‘a hundred and forty cart-loads of gold ingots and nuggets, and -forty lacs of rupees,’ besides the jewels; but to whatever degree this -estimate may have been exaggerated, the largeness of the sum gave rise -to many inquiries concerning the history of the family to which it had -belonged, and of which Nena Sahib was an ‘adopted’ member. It then -transpired, that the first Peishwa of the Mahrattas, who died in 1720, -was succeeded by Balajee Rao Sahib; one of Balajee’s sons, Ragoba Dada, -died in 1784; and from him were descended Narain Rao and Madhoo Rao, by -one branch, and Nena Sahib by another—or rather, all these three -individuals were adopted sons of Ragoba’s descendants. According to the -loose principles of oriental heirship, therefore, it was not difficult -for any one among several Mahratta princes to set up a claim to the -enormous wealth which, at a time of discord at the Peishwa’s court, -somehow disappeared from the treasury at Poonah. - -Throughout India, there was no province which more strikingly -illustrated than Bundelcund the misery which some of the villages must -have suffered during many months of anarchy, when predatory bands were -passing to and fro, and rebel leaders were forcing contributions from -all who had anything to lose. Writing early in July concerning the Banda -district, a British officer said: ‘This district has suffered very -extensively in the long interval of disorder to which it was abandoned; -the various bands of mutineers passing up from Dinapoor did great -mischief; various powerful villages preyed considerably upon their -weaker neighbours; and, lastly, the Nawab and Narain Rao’s officials -extracted by torture every farthing they could get. Many villages are -completely deserted, and many more have been burned to the ground, and -the people plundered of all the grain and cattle and other property -which they possessed. They have gained a very fair idea of what they are -to expect under a native government; and I firmly believe they generally -hail our return with delight.’ - -The difficulty of supplying English troops, or reliable native troops, -to the numerous points where insurgents were known to be lurking, led -occasionally to rebel successes little looked for by the authorities. -Thus, on the first of August, a party of mutinous sepoys, headed by a -subadar, took possession of the town of Jaloun, near the frontier of -Scindia’s territory; this they were enabled to do by the connivance of -some of the inhabitants, who opened the gates for them. They were, -however, speedily driven out by a small force from Calpee, under -Brigadier Macduff. A slight but brilliant cavalry affair occurred about -the middle of August, in a district of the Saugor territory placed under -General Whitlock’s care. A body of a thousand rebels, under Indur Goshun -and other chiefs, had for some time been committing great havoc in the -district, plundering the villages, and ill-using all the inhabitants who -would not yield to their demands. After having thus treated Shahpoor, -they advanced to Garrakotah with similar intent. To prevent this, a -small force was sent from Saugor under Captain Finch. He made a forced -march; and when within a few miles of them, seeing his infantry were -tired out, he rushed forward with only sixty-seven troopers. So -impetuous was the charge made by these horsemen on the rebels, that they -killed a hundred and fifty, took many wounded prisoners, and brought -away three hundred matchlocks and swords. The leader of the rebels, -Indur Goshun, was among the slain. In another part of Bundelcund, -between Banda and Rewah, about the middle of August, were three groups -of rebels—one under Baboo Radha Govind and Gulabraee, a second under -Runmunt Singh, and a third under Punjah Singh and Dere Singh. They were -supposed to amount, in all, to six thousand men; but only three hundred -of these were regular sepoys, and two hundred horsemen, the rest being -adventurers and rabble. After ravaging many villages, they approached -the station of Kirwee on the 13th. Brigadier Carpenter at once went out -to meet them with a small force from Kirwee; he found Runmunt Singh’s -band drawn up as if for battle, but a few shots sent them fleeing. About -the same time Punjab Singh and Dere Singh were defeated by a small force -under Captain Griffin. Early in August, Captain Ashburner set out from -Jhansi with five hundred men, on the duty of dispersing a few Bundela -chiefs who had been engaged in rebellious machinations. The weather -being very heavy, and the rebels swift of foot, a long period elapsed -before anything decisive could be effected; but on the 1st of September, -he came up with a body of rebels, occupying Mahoni and Mow Mahoni, two -villages on the opposite banks of the small river Pooj, both surrounded -by deep and difficult ravines, which rendered them strong places. After -a little skirmishing, the rebels were driven by shot and shell out of -Mahoni, and Ashburner crossed to attack a fort at Mow Mahoni. Symptoms -soon appeared that the rebels were making off. Ashburner despatched -fifty cavalry, all he had to spare at the moment, under Lieutenant -Moore, to gallop after and cut them up in retreat. Moore effected this -in dashing style. - -We now turn to a region further west, in which the operations were more -important than those of Bundelcund. - -Referring to former chapters for the details of Sir Hugh Rose’s victory -over the Gwalior mutineers, and of his retirement to Bombay after a long -season of incessant activity; we proceed to notice the operations of the -troops after he parted company from them. His small but famous army, the -‘Central India Field-force,’ was broken up into detachments about the -middle of July. The hope entertained was, that the fatigued soldiers -might be able to go into quarters during the rainy season, as a means of -recruiting their strength for any operations that might be necessary -when the cooler and more tranquil weather of the autumn arrived. To -understand this, it may be well to bear in mind that the rains of -Britain furnish no adequate test of those of India, which fall in -enormous abundance at certain seasons, rendering field-operations, -whether for industry or war, very difficult. The detachments above -adverted to could only in part obtain cessation of duties during the -rainy season of 1858. At Jhansi were General Napier and Colonel Liddell; -with a squadron of the 14th Light Dragoons, a wing of the 3d Bombay -cavalry, the 3d Bombay Europeans, the 24th Bombay native infantry, a -company of Bombay Sappers, and three guns of the late Bhopal Contingent. -At Gwalior, under Brigadier Stuart, were three squadrons of the 14th -Light Dragoons, Meade’s Horse, a wing of the 71st Highlanders, the 86th -foot, the 95th foot, the 25th Bombay native infantry, a company of -Bombay artillery, a company of royal engineers, and a light -field-battery. At Seepree, under Brigadier Smith, were two squadrons of -the 8th Hussars, two of the 1st Bombay Lancers, the 10th Bombay native -infantry, and a troop of Bombay horse-artillery. Lastly, at Goonah, were -Mayne’s irregular horse. Sir Hugh Rose himself was at that time at -Bombay receiving the well-won congratulations of all classes, and -resting for a while from his exhausting labours. - -At Gwalior, where the rainy season soon began to shew symptoms, General -Napier made preparations for the comfortable housing of his troops. The -Maharajah, now more firmly knit than ever in bonds of amity with the -British, lent his aid in this matter. Sir Robert Hamilton again took up -his permanent residence in the city, gradually re-establishing political -relations with the various petty states around. During July there was -scarcely any fighting in Scindia’s territory; and the component elements -of the now-dissolved Central India Field-force were allowed to remain -pretty well at peace. - -Before tracing the Central India operations of August, it may be well to -see what was doing in Rajpootana during July. - -After the siege and capture of Gwalior by Sir Hugh Rose, as we have -already narrated, the rebels made a hasty flight northwestward, across -the river Chumbul, into Rajpootana; where a victory was gained over them -by General Napier, who had been despatched after them for that purpose -by Sir Hugh Rose. They appear to have separated, after that, into three -bodies. The most important section, under Tanteea Topee and Rao Sahib, -received the especial watchfulness of General Roberts, as comprising -some of the best of the mutinied troops, and possessing a large amount -of Scindia’s property. Roberts took up the work which Rose had laid -down. His ‘Rajpootana Field-force,’ now that detachments had been -separated from it for service in various quarters, was by no means a -large one. It comprised H.M. 83d foot, a wing of the 72d Highlanders, -wings of the 12th and 13th Bombay native infantry, a few squadrons of -the 8th Hussars and 1st Bombay Lancers, 400 Belooch horse, a light -field-battery, and a siege-train of six pieces. The chief body of -rebels, under Tanteea Topee and Rao Sahib, made their appearance, a few -days after their defeat at Gwalior, at a point more than a hundred miles -to the northwest, threatening Jeypoor. Roberts at once marched from -Nuseerabad, to check these fugitives. He reached Jeypoor without -opposition on the 2d of July; and there he learned news of Tanteea’s -miscellaneous force of about ten thousand men. The rebel leader was -reported to have with him Scindia’s crown-jewels and treasure, the -former estimated at one million sterling value, and the latter at two -millions. The treasure, being mostly in silver, was of enormous weight; -and Tanteea had been endeavouring to exchange it for gold, on terms that -would have tempted any money-changer in more peaceful times: seeing that -fifty shillings’ worth of silver was offered for gold mohurs worth only -thirty shillings each. On the 5th Tanteea and his troops were at -Dowlutpore, thirty-four miles south of Jeypoor; and it thereupon became -a problem whether Roberts could overtake them before they reached the -more southern states of Rajpootana; for he was on that day at Sanganeer, -near Jeypoor. During the next few days, large bodies of rebels were -seen, or reported to have been seen, at places whose names are not -familiar to English readers—such as Chatsoo, Lalsoont, Tongha, Gureasa, -Karier, Madhopore, Jullanee, Tonk, Bursoonie, Bhoomgurh, &c.—all -situated in the northeast part of Rajpootana, and separated from the -Gwalior region by the river Chumbul. We also find that General Roberts -marched through or halted at many places whose names are equally -unfamiliar—Sherdoss, Gurbroassa, Glooloussee, Donghur, Kukkor, Rumpore, -and Bhugree. In fact, the rebels marched wherever they thought they -could capture a stronghold which might serve them as a citadel; while -Roberts tried every means to intercept them in their progress. On the -9th, the rebels took possession of the town of Tonk—situated on the -river Bunnas, nearly due east of Nuseerabad, and about one-third of the -distance from that station to Gwalior; they plundered it, captured three -brass guns and a little ammunition, and besieged the Nawab in the -neighbouring fort of Bhoomgurh. Roberts immediately sent on a detachment -under Major Holmes, in advance of his main force; and the enemy hastily -departed as soon as they heard of this. To enable him to keep up the -pursuit more effectually, the general sent to Seepree for Colonel -Smith’s brigade. There was strong reason to suspect that the rebels -wished to penetrate into Mewar and Malwah, provinces far to the south of -Gwalior and Jeypoor, and in which the Mahrattas and Rajpoots counted -many leaders who were ripe for mischief. To prevent this southward -progress was one of the objects which General Roberts held well in view; -this was the more necessary, because the country here indicated affords -many mountain fastnesses from which it would be difficult to expel -insurgent bands. Roberts was disappointed in not being able to come up -with the Gwalior rebels at Tonk; but a few days’ sojourn at that town -greatly relieved his troops, who had suffered severely during a -fortnight’s marching in sultry weather, losing many of their number by -sun-stroke. - -By the 23d of the month, when Major Holmes was still in pursuit of the -enemy, who were reported to be approaching the fortress of Mandulghur in -Mewar, Roberts broke up his temporary camp at Tonk, and recrossed the -river Bunnas—his movements being greatly retarded by the swollen state -of the stream and the swampy condition of the fields and roads. After -wading for a whole week through an almost continuous slimy swamp, he -came within twenty-four miles of Nuseerabad on the 1st of August. -Sending all his sick to that station, he prepared to continue a pursuit -of Tanteea Topee towards the south, with as great a rapidity as the -state of the country would permit. - -We now turn again to the Gwalior territory, to trace such operations as -took place in the month of August. - -About the middle of the month, there were no fewer than five detachments -of the late Central India Field-force marching about the country on and -near the confines of Scindia’s Gwalior territory. Sir Hugh Rose’s wish -and expectation, that his exhausted troops would be able to remain -quietly at quarters during the rainy season, were not realised; the -state of affairs rendered active service still necessary. One -detachment, under General Napier, had set out from Gwalior, and was on -the way to Paoree, on an expedition presently to be mentioned; a second -was at Burwa Saugor, on the river Betwah; a third at Nota, sixty miles -from Jhansi, on the Calpee road; a fourth at Fyzabad (one of many places -of that name), fifty miles from Jhansi on the Saugor road; and a fifth, -consisting of Sappers and Miners, were preparing a bridge over the -Betwah, ten miles from Jhansi. Colonel Liddell, at that period -commandant of the Jhansi district, was on the alert to supply small -detachments of troops to such places in the vicinity as appeared to need -protection; and he himself started off to Burwa Saugor, near which place -a rebel chieftain was marching about with three thousand men and two or -three guns. - -A circumstance occurred, early in August, which led to an expedition in -a new direction, and to an eventual co-operation of General Napier with -General Roberts in a pursuit of the rebels. This occurrence was an -outbreak which required immediate attention. A petty Mahratta chieftain, -Man Singh (not Maun Singh of Oude), who had conceived himself aggrieved -by Scindia, put himself at the head of 2000 men, and on the 3d of the -month, attacked and captured the strong fort of Paoree, southwest of -Gwalior, and about eighteen miles from Seepree. Brigadier Smith, on -hearing of this, started off on the 5th from the last-named station, -with a force consisting of four squadrons of the 8th Hussars, the 1st -Bombay Lancers, a wing of H.M. 95th foot, and three field-guns. On -nearing Paoree, Man Singh sent a messenger to inquire what was the -purpose of the brigadier, seeing that the quarrel was with Scindia and -not with the English; he obtained an interview, and stated that his -grievance arose from the refusal of Scindia to recognise his (Man -Singh’s) right to succeed his father in the principality of Nerwar and -the country adjacent; and he further declared that he had no connection -with the mutineers and rebels who were fighting against the English. -Brigadier Smith, responsible for a time for the peace of that district, -could not admit such a plea in justification of the maintenance of an -armed force against the sovereign of the country; it would have been -dangerous. Man Singh, thereupon, increasing the number of his retainers -within the fort of Paoree to three or four thousand, prepared to defend -himself. Scindia had some time before stored the fort with six months’ -provisions, in case he should deem it at any time necessary to defend -the place from the rebels; but this proved to be an unlucky precaution, -for Man Singh captured the place in a single night, and then had the six -months’ supplies to count upon. Brigadier Smith, finding his eleven -hundred men too few to capture the fort, sent to Gwalior for a -reinforcement and for a few siege-guns. In accordance with this -requisition, a force of about 600 horse and foot, with five guns and -four mortars, set out from Gwalior on the 11th. General Napier, feeling -the importance of settling this matter quickly, resolved to attend to it -in person; he started from Gwalior, reached Mahona on the 14th, and -Seepree on the 17th, and joined Smith on the 19th. On the 23d, this -demonstration had its effect on Man Singh, who, with another chieftain, -Ajheet Singh, had been holding Paoree. Napier poured a vertical fire -into the fort for twenty-four hours, and then commenced using his -breaching-batteries. But the enemy did not await the result; they -evacuated the place, and fled through a jungle country towards the -south. Napier entered Paoree, garrisoned it, and hastily made up a -column, with which Colonel Robertson started off in pursuit of the -rebels. Robertson, after many days’ rapid march, came up nearly to the -rear of Man Singh’s fleeing force; but that active leader, scenting the -danger, made his rebels separate into three parties, with instructions -to recombine at an appointed place; and for the present pursuit was -unavailable. When August closed, Man Singh was at Sirsee, north of -Goonah, with (it was supposed) about sixteen hundred men, but no guns. -General Napier, having destroyed the fortifications at Paoree, and burst -the guns, retired to Seepree, where he was encamped at the end of the -month, making arrangements for a further pursuit of Man Singh in -September. - -While the forces in the Gwalior territory were thus employed, General -Roberts was engaged in a more important series of operations in -Rajpootana. On the 1st of August, as we have seen, Roberts was -sufficiently near Nuseerabad to send his sick to that station, where -they could be better attended to than on the march; while he himself -would be more free to make a rapid advance southward. Major Holmes, many -days before, had been sent from Tonk by Roberts, with a force consisting -of 120 Bombay Lancers, 220 of H.M. 72d foot, four companies of the 12th -Bombay N.I., and four guns—to pursue the retreating rebels in a certain -(or rather an uncertain) direction. The duty was a most harassing one. -It was difficult to obtain reliable information of the route taken by -the rebels; and even when the route was known, they never once allowed -him to overtake them—so rapid were their movements. So important was it -considered to catch these Gwalior mutineers, that the Bombay government -(with whom the operations in Rajpootana rested) sent out small -expeditionary forces from various places, according as probabilities -offered for intercepting the mutineers. Thus, on the 1st of August, -Major Taylor started from Neemuch with a force, consisting of 300 of -H.M. 72d Highlanders, 400 of the 13th Bombay N.I., 180 of the 2d Light -Cavalry, a few engineers, four guns, and a military train. It was -believed that, on that day, about seven thousand of the Gwalior -mutineers were somewhere between Chittore and Rampoora, a few miles -distant from Neemuch; and Major Taylor entertained a hope that he might -intercept and defeat them. We have already seen that General Roberts had -had a most harassing duty, attended with very little success, seeing -that he could seldom manage to reach a town or village in which the -rebels had halted, until after they had taken their departure; and it -was now Major Taylor’s turn to share the same ill-luck. He returned to -Neemuch on the 7th, disappointed. His advance-guard had seen the rebels -near Rampoora in great force; yet the latter, though many times stronger -than himself in troops, would not stand the chance of an engagement. The -rebels escaped, and Taylor returned with his mission unfulfilled. - -[Illustration: - - JEYPOOR. -] - -One advantage, at any rate, the British could count upon at this -period—the fidelity of many native rajahs, who would have terribly -complicated the state of affairs if they had joined the rebels. Tanteea -Topee sounded the Rajah of Jeypoor, then the Rajah of Kotah, next the -Rajah of Ulwar, all of them native princes of Rajpootana; and it was on -account of the refusal of those rajahs to receive or countenance him, -that the rebel made such strangely circuitous marches from one state to -another. Whither he went, however, thither did Roberts follow him. The -general, after sending his sick to Nuseerabad, marched to Champaneer on -the 4th, and to Deolia on the 5th. At that time, it was believed that -the rebels, checked in some of their plans by the floods, had turned -aside from Mandulghur to Deekodee, in the direction of Odeypore. On the -8th—after a forced march with 500 of H.M. 83d, 200 Bombay infantry, 60 -Gujerat horse, and three guns—General Roberts came up with a body of -rebels near Sunganeer (not Sauganeer near Jeypoor), where they occupied -a line on the opposite side of the river Rotasery. He speedily routed -them; but as usual, they fled too rapidly for him to overtake them; they -made towards the Odeypore road. Roberts, again disappointed of his prey, -was forced to rest his exhausted troops for a while. - -The general, when Major Holmes had rejoined him after a fruitless -pursuit of the mutineers, again considered anxiously the conditions and -possibilities of this extraordinary chase. He had, each day, to -endeavour to discover the locality of the rebels, then to guess at their -probable future movements, and, lastly, to lay plans for overtaking or -intercepting them. On the 11th, they were supposed to be at Lawah; and -on the 12th, they marched to the crest of the Chutterbhoog Ghaut, with a -view of passing from Mewar into Marwar. Captain Hall, commanding at -Erinpoora, held a post at the foot of this ghaut, with a small force -sufficient to deter the rebels. They thereupon changed their plan, -retraced their steps to some distance, and marched over a rocky country -to Kattara or Katario, a village near the Nathdwara Hills; here they -encamped on the 13th. Meanwhile General Roberts, with his force -strengthened by that of Major Holmes, started from the vicinity of -Sunganeer on the 11th, and by the evening of the 13th had marched -sixty-seven miles. On that night he was at Kunkrowlee, within eight -miles of the rebels; but his troops were too much exhausted to proceed -further without a little rest. On the forenoon of the 14th he descried -the enemy defiling through a very hilly country covered with rocks and -loose stones; he had, in fact, reached Kattara, the village mentioned -above. They took up an excellent position on a line of rocky hills, on -the crest of which they planted four guns, which they began to work -actively. Roberts thereupon sent Major Holmes by a detour into that -region; for, even if the rebels were not overtaken, it would be -desirable to give them no rest to consolidate their plans. At length the -general had the gratification of overtaking and defeating these -insurgents, in search of whom he had been so long engaged. He advanced -his troops through the defile, his horse-artillery beating off the enemy -until the infantry could form into line. After a brief period, the -rebels shewed symptoms of retiring. On mounting the crest, the infantry -saw them endeavouring to carry away two of their guns with a small -escort; a volley soon set them to flight, and rendered the guns an easy -capture. The flight soon became a rout; the rebels escaped in various -directions, and the victors came upon a camp covered with arms and -accoutrements. The cavalry and horse-artillery followed the fugitives -for ten miles, cutting down great numbers. Roberts captured all the guns -which the enemy had brought from Tonk, four elephants, a number of -camels, and much ammunition—with surprisingly little loss to himself. - -It was at this time regarded, by some of the authorities, as a hopeful -symptom that the rebels were now descending to a part of India inhabited -by Bheels and other half-civilised tribes, who would think much more of -the wealth than of the so-called patriotism of the mutineers. Most of -Tanteea Topee’s men were laden with silver coin, their share of the -booty from Gwalior; this cash they carried with them, although in food -and clothing they were ill provided; and there was a probability that, -if once they ceased to be a compact army, they would individually be -robbed by the Bheel villagers. Nevertheless, whatever may have been the -hope or expectation in this respect, Roberts and his officers could -never intercept the treasure which Tanteea Topee was known to have with -him. This treasure, consisting of jewels and money (except the share of -plunder distributed among the men) was carried on elephants; and so well -were those elephants guarded, whether during fighting or fleeing, that -the British could never capture them. - -Few of the troops in British service had had harder work with little -brilliant result than those in General Roberts’s Rajpootana Field-force. -The country is wild and rugged, the weather was rainy and hot at the -same time, and the duty intrusted to the troops was to chase an enemy -who would not fight, and who were celebrated for their fleetness in -escaping. Hence it was with more than usual pleasure that the -hard-worked men regarded their victory at Kattara; they felt they had a -fair claim to the compliment which their commander paid them, in a -general order issued the day after the battle.[190] - -After the victory at Kattara, Roberts left the further pursuit of the -rebels for a time to Brigadier Parkes. This officer had started from -Neemuch on the 11th with a miscellaneous force of about 1300 men, -comprising 72d Highlanders, native infantry, Bombay cavalry, royal -engineers, royal artillery, Bheels, and Mewar troopers. By a series of -forced marches, Parkes headed the rebels in such a way as greatly to aid -General Roberts at Kattara. A few days’ sojourn having refreshed them, -the troops were again brought into action. Tanteea Topee, by amazing -quickness of movement, traversed a wide belt of country eastward to the -river Chumbul, which he crossed near Sagoodar on the 20th. Continuing -his route, he arrived at Julra Patteen, a town on the main road from -Agra to Indore; it was on the confines of the Rajpoot and Mahratta -territories, and was held by a petty chieftainess or Rana. After a brief -conflict, in which he was assisted by a few of the troops of the Rana, -who broke their allegiance, he captured the place, levied contributions -on the inhabitants, and took possession of all the guns, treasure, and -ammunition he could find. Here, then, this extraordinary conflict took a -new turn; a new region had to be attended to, although against the same -offender as before; and new columns had to be despatched in pursuit. The -flooding of the river Chumbul cut off Roberts and Parkes for a time from -a further pursuit of Tanteea Topee; and therefore two new columns were -sent, one from Indore under Colonel Hope, and one from Mhow under -Colonel Lockhart. The great point now was to prevent Tanteea from -getting into Malwah, and thence crossing the Nerbudda into the Deccan. - -Before treating of the operations against this leader in September, it -may be well to see what progress was made in checking the rebel leader -who had appeared in Scindia’s territory—Man Singh. General Napier made -up a new force, comprising certain regiments from his own and Brigadier -Smith’s brigades, and placed it under the command of Colonel Robertson, -with baggage and vehicles so arranged as to facilitate rapid movement. -Setting out from Paoree on the 27th of August, the colonel marched -eighteen miles to Bhanore; on the 28th, nineteen miles to Gunneish; and -so on for several days, until he reached Burrumpore, near the river -Parbuttee. Here, on the 2d of September, he learned that a body of -rebels, under Man Singh, were a few miles ahead, endeavouring to reach a -fort which they might seize as a stronghold. Pushing on rapidly, -Robertson came up with them on the 5th, near the village of Bujeepore. -They had not kept a good look-out; they had no suspicion that an active -British officer was at their heels; consequently, when Robertson came -suddenly upon them with horse and foot, while they were preparing their -morning meal, their panic was extreme. They fled through the village, -over a hill, across a river, and into a jungle; but the pursuers were so -close behind them that the slaughter was very considerable. These rebels -were nearly all good troops, from Scindia’s body-guard and from the -Gwalior Contingent; they were supposed to have been among the fugitives -from Gwalior with Tanteea Topee, but at what time or in what locality -they had separated from that leader, and joined Man Singh, was not -clearly known. About the middle of the month, Colonel Robertson was at -Goonah; Brigadier Smith was searching for Man Singh; while General -Napier was watching for any symptoms of the approach of the last-named -leader towards Gwalior or its vicinity. - -While affairs were thus progressing in the Mahratta country during -September, new efforts were made to meet the existing state of things a -little further to the west. When Tanteea Topee crossed the Chumbul -towards Julra Patteen, and when that river began to swell, General -Roberts’s Rajpootana Field-force was unable conveniently to continue the -pursuit of the rebel; and, therefore, arrangements were made from the -south. As a means of hemming in the rebels as much as possible, and -preventing them from carrying their mischief into other regions, a -‘Malwah Field-force’ was sent up from Mhow, under General Michel. -Tanteea Topee does not appear to have regarded Julra Patteen as a -stronghold in which it was worth his while to remain; he plundered the -place of some treasure and many guns, and then took his departure. He -must, however, have wavered considerably in his plans; for he took a -fortnight in reaching Rajghurh—a place only sixty miles distant. He was -probably seeking for any rajah or chieftain who would join his standard. -At Rajghurh, Tanteea Topee was joined by some of the beaten followers of -Man Singh, probably by Man Singh himself, and seemed to be meditating an -attack upon Bhopal. Tanteea and Michel were now both contending which -should reach a particular station first, on the Bhopal and Seronj road, -as the possession of that station (Beora) would give the holder a -powerful command over the district—especially as it was one of the -telegraph stations, by which Calcutta and Bombay held communication with -each other. Michel came up with Tanteea Topee on the 15th of September, -before he reached Beora. The rebels would not meet him openly in the -field, but kept up a running-fight. When they saw defeat awaited them, -they thought more of their elephant-loads of treasure than of their -guns; they escaped with the former, and abandoned the latter, which they -had brought from Julra Patteen. At the expense, of one killed and three -wounded, General Michel gained a victory which cost the enemy three -hundred men, twenty-seven guns, a train of draught bullocks, and much -ammunition. - -Towards the close of September, Tanteea Topee was in this remarkable -position. He was near Seronj, on the high road from Gwalior to Bhopal, -looking for any outlet that might offer, or for any chieftain who would -join his standard. Roberts was on the west of him; Napier, Smith, and -Robertson were on his north; Michel, Hope, and Lockhart, on the south; -and Whitlock on the east. Active he assuredly had been; for since the -fall of Gwalior he and his mutineers and budmashes had traversed a vast -area of the Rajpoot and Mahratta territories; but he was now within the -limits of a cordon, from which there was little chance of his ultimate -escape. - -Of the other parts of India, it is scarcely necessary here to say -anything. The course of peaceful industry had been little disturbed, and -the civil government had been steadily in the ascendant. All round the -west and south of Rajpootana did this state of things continue, and so -downward into the long-established districts of Surat, Poonah, Bombay, -&c. It is well to observe, however, that even in the Bombay presidency, -slight occurrences shewed from time to time that the leaven of -Hindustani ‘pandyism’ was working mischief. The safety of that army -depended on an admixture of different creeds and castes in its ranks; -there were in it Rajpoots and Brahmins, as in the (late) Bengal native -army, and these elements were sometimes worked upon by fermenters of -mischief. Generally speaking, however, these, as well as the other -components of the Bombay army, behaved well. Their faithfulness was -shewn in the month of August, in connection with a circumstance which -might else have been productive of disaster. Among the troops quartered -at Gwalior after its reconquest by Sir Hugh Rose was the 25th Bombay N. -I., containing, like other regiments of the same army, a small -proportion of Hindustani Oudians. A non-commissioned officer of this -regiment, a havildar-major, went to the adjutant, and told him that a -Brahmin pundit, one Wamun Bhut, was endeavouring to tamper with the -Hindustanis of the regiment, and, through them, with the regiment -generally; he also expressed an opinion that there were persons in the -city of Gwalior concerned in this conspiracy. Captain Little, when -informed by the adjutant of this communication, laid a plan for -detecting the plotters. He found Havildar-major Koonjul Singh, Naik -Doorga Tewarree, and private Sunnoo Ladh ready to aid him. These three -native soldiers, pretending to bend to the Brahmin’s solicitations, -gradually learned many particulars of the conspiracy, which they -faithfully revealed to the captain. A purwannah or written order was -produced, from no less a personage than Nena Sahib, making magnificent -promises if the regiment, or any portion of it, would join his standard; -they were to kill all their officers, and as many Europeans as possible, -and then depart to a place appointed. At length, on the 29th, the naik -made an appointment to meet the two chief conspirators, a Brahmin and a -Mahratta chief, under a large tree near the camp; where the -havildar-major would expect to have an opportunity of reading the -purwannah. Captain Little, with the adjutant and the quartermaster, -arranged to move suddenly to the spot at the appointed time: they did -so; the conspirators were seized, and the document taken from them. Two -other leaders in the plot were afterwards seized: all four were blown -from guns on the 7th of September; and many others were placed in -confinement on evidence furnished by the purwannah itself. It became -evident that Nena Sahib, a Mahratta, had many emissaries at work in this -Mahratta territory, although he himself was hiding in inglorious -security far away. - -[Illustration: - - POONAH. -] - -Lord Elphinstone, governor of Bombay, with his commander-in-chief, Sir -Henry Somerset, established several new corps, as means of gradually -increasing the strength of the Bombay army. Two Belooch regiments, a 2d -regiment of South Mahratta Horse, and a Bombay Naval Artillery Brigade, -were among the new components of the army. - -The South Mahratta country, lower down the peninsula than Bombay, had -quite recovered from the disturbances which marked it in earlier months. -Satara, Kolapore, Sawuntwaree, Belgaum—all were peaceful. On the eastern -or Madras side of the peninsula, too, troubles were few. It is true, -there was a repetition in September of a dispute which had occurred -three months before, between natives who wished to bring up their -children in their own faith, and missionaries who wished to convert -those children to Christianity; but this was a source of discord which -the governor, if firm, could readily allay. Lord Harris had not an -Indian reputation like that of Lawrence or Elphinstone; but he had tact -and decision enough for the duties of his office—the maintenance of -peace in a presidency where there were few or no Hindustani sepoys. - -Of the large country of the Deccan, Hyderabad, or the Nizam’s dominions, -nothing disastrous has to be told. A pleasant proof was afforded of the -continuance of friendly relations between the British and the Nizam, by -a grand banquet given at Hyderabad on the 2d of July by Salar Jung to -Colonel Davidson. These two officers—the one prime-minister to the -Nizam, the other British resident at the Nizam’s court—had throughout -the mutinies acted in perfect harmony and good faith. All the British -officers and their families at Secunderabad, the cantonment of the -Hyderabad Contingent, were invited. The guests came from Secunderabad to -the Residency at Hyderabad, and thence on elephants and in palanquins to -the minister’s palace. The entertainment was in celebration of the birth -of the Nizam’s son, Meer Akbar Ally, heir to the throne of the Deccan; -and everything was done, by an admixture of oriental magnificence with -European courtesies, to render it worthy of the occasion. It was, -however, not so much the grandeur of the banquet, as the sentiment it -conveyed towards the British at a critical time, that rendered this -proceeding on the part of the Nizam’s prime-minister important. The -Nizam’s dominions were at that time the scene of party struggles between -two sets of politicians—the adherents of Salar Jung, and those of -Shumsul Oomrah; but both of the leaders were fortunately advocates of an -English alliance. - -[Illustration: - - HYDERABAD. -] - -The northwest portion of the Nizam’s dominions, around Aurungabad and -Jaulnah, in near neighbourhood to some of the Mahratta states, was -troubled occasionally by bands of marauders, who hoped to establish a -link of connection between the anarchists of Hindostan and those of the -Deccan. They were, however, kept in check by Colonel Beatson, who -brought his corps of irregulars, ‘Beatson’s Horse,’ to Jaulnah, there to -remain during the rainy season—maintaining order in the surrounding -districts, and holding himself ready to march with his troopers to any -disturbed region where their services might be needed. - ------ - -Footnote 184: - - To the officers’ hospital—_Calcutta Englishman_, _Bengal Hurkaru_, - _Phœnix_, _Illustrated London News_, _Punch_, _Blackwood’s Magazine_, - _Fraser’s Magazine_, _New Monthly Magazine_, _Monthly Army List_, four - copies _Chambers’s Journal_, four copies _Family Herald_. To the men’s - hospitals—two copies _Calcutta Englishman_, two copies _Bengal - Hurkaru_, two copies _Phœnix_, two copies _Illustrated London News_, - two copies _Punch_, two copies _Household Words_, twelve copies - _Chambers’s Journal_, twelve copies _Family Herald_. - -Footnote 185: - - See Chap. xxvii., pp. 450-461. - -Footnote 186: - - Ibid, p. 459. - -Footnote 187: - - ‘1. The dispatch condemns in the strongest terms the proclamation - which, on the 3d of March, I directed the chief-commissioner of Oude - to issue from Lucknow. - - ‘2. Although written in the Secret Committee, the dispatch was made - public in England three weeks before it reached my hands. It will in a - few days be read in every station in Hindostan. - - ‘3. Before the dispatch was published in England, it had been - announced to parliament by a minister of the Crown as conveying - disapproval in every sense of the policy indicated by the - governor-general’s proclamation. Whether this description was an - accurate one or not I do not inquire. The telegraph has already - carried it over the length and breadth of India. - - ‘4. I need scarcely tell your honourable committee that the existence - of such a dispatch, even had it never passed out of the records of the - Secret Department, would be deeply mortifying to me, however confident - I might feel that your honourable committee would, upon - reconsideration, relieve me of the censure which it casts upon me. - Still less necessary is it for me to point out that the publication of - the document, preceded as it has been by an authoritative declaration - of its meaning and spirit, is calculated greatly to increase the - difficulties in which the government of India is placed, not only by - weakening the authority of the governor-general, but by encouraging - resistance and delusive hopes in many classes of the population of - Oude. - - ‘5. So far as the dispatch and the mode in which it has been dealt - with affect myself personally, I will trouble your honourable - committee with very few words. No taunts or sarcasms, come from what - quarter they may, will turn me from the path which I believe to be - that of my public duty. I believe that a change in the head of the - government of India at this time, if it took place under the - circumstances which indicated a repudiation on the part of the - government in England of the policy which has hitherto been pursued - towards the rebels of Oude, would seriously retard the pacification of - the country. I believe that that policy has been from the beginning - merciful without weakness, and indulgent without compromise of the - dignity of the government. I believe that wherever the authority of - the government has been established, it has become manifest to the - people in Oude, as elsewhere, that the indulgence to those who make - submission, and who are free from atrocious crime, will be large. I - believe that the issue of the proclamation which has been so severely - condemned was thoroughly consistent with that policy, and that it is - so viewed by those to whom it is addressed. I believe that that - policy, if steadily pursued, offers the best and earliest prospect of - restoring peace to Oude upon a stable footing. - - ‘6. Firm in these convictions, I will not, in a time of unexampled - difficulty, danger, and toil, lay down of my own act the high trust - which I have the honour to hold; but I will, with the permission of - your honourable committee, state the grounds upon which those - convictions rest, and describe the course of policy which I have - pursued in dealing with the rebellion in Oude. If, when I have done - so, it shall be deemed that that policy has been erroneous, or that, - not being erroneous, it has been feebly and ineffectually carried out, - or that for any reason the confidence of those who are responsible for - the administration of Indian affairs in England should be withheld - from me, I make it my respectful but urgent request, through your - honourable committee, that I may be relieved of the office of - governor-general of India with the least possible delay.’ - -Footnote 188: - - It may here be mentioned that, about the date to which these events - refer, the commander-in-chief began to be frequently designated by his - peerage-title. He had been created Baron Clyde of Clydesdale, in - recognition of his valuable military services. To prevent confusion, - however, it may be well, in the remaining pages of this work, to - retain the more familiar appellation, Sir Colin Campbell. - -Footnote 189: - - ‘I advanced my half-troop at a gallop, and engaged the enemy within - easy musket-range. The sponge-man of one of my guns having been shot - during the advance, Gunner Connolly assumed the duties of second - sponge-man; and he had barely assisted in two discharges of his gun, - when a musket-ball through the left thigh felled him to the ground. - Nothing daunted by pain and loss of blood, he was endeavouring to - resume his post, when I ordered a movement in retirement. Though - severely wounded, he was mounted on his horse in the gun-team, rode to - the next position which the guns took up, and manfully declined going - to the rear when the necessity of his so doing was represented to him. - About 11 o’clock A.M., when the guns were still in action, the same - gunner, while sponging, was again knocked down by a musket-ball - striking him on the hip, thereby causing great faintness and partial - unconsciousness; for the pain appeared excessive, and the blood flowed - fast. On seeing this, I gave directions for his removal out of action; - but this brave man, hearing me, staggered to his feet and said: “No, - sir; I’ll not go there while I can work here;” and shortly afterwards - he again resumed his post as sponge-man. Late in the afternoon of the - same day, my three guns were engaged at a hundred yards from the walls - of a village with the defenders—namely, the 14th native infantry, - mutineers—amid a storm of bullets, which did great execution. Gunner - Connolly, though suffering severely from his two previous wounds, was - wielding his sponge with an energy and courage which attracted the - admiration of his comrades; and while cheerfully encouraging a wounded - man to hasten in bringing up ammunition, a musket-ball tore through - the muscles of his right leg. With the most undaunted bravery, he - struggled on; and not till he had loaded six times, did this man give - way, when, through loss of blood, he fell into my arms; I placed him - upon a wagon, which shortly afterwards bore him in a state of - unconsciousness from the fight.’ - -Footnote 190: - - The major-general commanding has sincere pleasure in congratulating - the troops under his command on the great success achieved by them - yesterday. All have shewn most conspicuous gallantry in action; and - the patient unmurmuring endurance of fatigue during the recent forced - marches has enabled them to close with an enemy proverbially active in - movements. The horse-artillery and cavalry (the latter nineteen hours - in the saddle) have by their spirit and alacrity completed the - success, and inflicted a most signal punishment on the rebels. The - major-general tenders his hearty thanks to all, and doubts not but - their brave and earnest devotion will meet with the approval of his - excellency the commander-in-chief. - -[Illustration: - - Government Buildings, Madras.—From a Drawing by Thomas Daniell. -] - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - LAST DAYS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY’S RULE. - - -The demise of the great East India Company has now to be recorded—the -cessation of functions in the mightiest and most extraordinary -commercial body the world ever saw. The natives of India never did and -never could rightly understand the relations borne by the Company to the -crown and nation of England. They were familiar with some such name as -‘Koompanee;’ but whether this Koompanee was a king, a queen, a viceroy, -a minister, a council, a parliament, was a question left in a state of -ludicrous doubt. And no wonder. It has at all times been difficult even -for Englishmen, accustomed to the daily perusal of newspapers, to -understand the relations between the Crown and the Company. Men asked -whether the Punjaub was taken possession of by the Queen or by the -Company; and if by the Queen, why the Company was made to bear the -expense of the Punjaub war? So of the war in Persia, the annexation of -Oude, the disastrous campaign in Afghanistan, the Burmese war—were these -operations conducted by and for the Queen, or by and for the -Company?—who was to blame if wrong?—who to bear the cost whether right -or wrong?—who to reap the advantage? Even members of parliament gave -contradictory answers to these and similar questions; nay, the cabinet -ministers and the Court of Directors disputed on these very points. The -Company was gradually shorn of its trading privileges by statutes passed -in the years 1813, 1833, and 1853; and as its governing privileges had, -in great part, gone over to the Board of Control, it seemed by no means -clear for what purpose the Company continued to exist. There was a -guarantee of 10½ per cent. on £6,000,000 of India stock, secured out of -the revenues of India—the stock to be redeemable by parliament at cent. -per cent. premium after the year 1874; and it appeared as if the whole -machinery of the Indian government was maintained merely to insure this -dividend, and to obtain offices and emoluments for persons connected -with the Company. The directors always disowned this narrow view of the -Company’s position; and there can be no doubt that many of them and of -their servants had the welfare of the magnificent Indian empire deeply -at heart. Still, the anomaly remained, of a governing body whose -governing powers no one rightly understood. - -When the Revolt began in 1857, the nation’s cry was at once against the -East India Company. The Company must have governed wrongly, it was -argued, or this calamity would never have occurred. Throughout a period -of six months did a storm of indignation continue, in speeches, -addresses, lectures, sermons, pamphlets, books, reviews, magazines, and -leading articles in newspapers. By degrees the inquiry arose, whether -the directors were free agents in the mode of governing India; whether -the Board of Control did not overrule them; and whether the disasters -were not traceable fully as much to the Board as to the directors? Hence -arose another question, whether the double government—by a Court sitting -in Leadenhall Street, and a Board sitting in Cannon Row—was not an evil -that ought to be abolished, even without reference to actual blame as -concerning the Revolt? The virulent abuse of the Company was gradually -felt to be unjust; but the unsatisfactory nature of the double -government became more and more evident as the year advanced. - -There was a preliminary or short session of parliament held in that -year, during a few days before Christmas, for the consideration of -special business arising out of the commercial disasters of the autumn; -but as every one knew that India and its affairs must necessarily -receive some notice, the speech from the throne was looked for with much -eagerness. On the 3d of December, when parliament met, the ministers put -into the Queen’s mouth only this very brief allusion to projected -changes in the Indian government: ‘The affairs of my East Indian -dominions will require your serious consideration, and I recommend them -to your earnest attention.’ These vague words were useless without a -glossary; but the glossary was not forthcoming. Ministers, when -questioned and sounded as to their plans, postponed all explanations to -a later date. - -The first public announcement of the intentions of the government was -made shortly before Christmas. A General Court of Proprietors of the -East India Company was held on the 23d of December, for the discussion -of various matters relating to India; and, in the course of the -proceedings, the chairman of the Company announced that, on the 19th, an -official interview had been held, by appointment, with Lord Palmerston. -On this occasion, the prime minister informed the Court of Directors -that it was the intention of the ministry, early in the approaching -year, to bring a bill into parliament for the purpose of placing the -government of British India under the direct authority of the crown. In -this interview, as in the royal speech, no matters of detail were -entered upon. The members of parliament in the one assembly, the -proprietors of East India stock in the other, were equally unable to -obtain information concerning the provisions of the intended measure. -All that could be elicited was, that the ‘double government’ of India -would cease; and a written notice or letter to this effect was -transmitted from the First Lord of the Treasury to the Court of -Directors on the 23d. - -During the period of six or seven weeks between the preliminary and the -regular sessions, the journalists had full scope for their speculations. -Those who, from the first, had attributed the Revolt in India to the -Company’s misgovernment, rejoiced in the hoped-for extinction of that -body, and sketched delightful pictures of happy India under imperial -sway. Those who supported the Company and vested interests, predicted -the utter ruin of British influence in India if ‘parliamentary -government’ were introduced—a mode of government, as they alleged, -neither cared for nor understood by the natives of that region, and -utterly unsuited to oriental ideas. Those, the moderate thinkers, who -believed that on this as on other subjects the truth lies between two -extremes, looked forward hopefully to such a change as might throw new -vigour, and more advanced ideas, into the somewhat antiquated policy of -the East India Company, without destroying those parts of the system -which had been the useful growth of long experience. Many things had -transpired during the year, tending to shew that the Court of Directors -had been more prompt than the Board of Control, in matters requiring -urgent attention; and that, therefore, whatever might be the evils of -the double government, it would not be just to throw all the onus on the -Company. - -Early in January 1858, on a requisition to that effect, a special Court -of Proprietors was summoned, to meet on the 15th, for considering ‘the -communication addressed to the Court of Directors from the government -respecting the continuance of the powers of this Company.’ At this -meeting, it transpired that the directors had written to Lord -Palmerston, just before the Christmas vacation; but as no cabinet -council had been held in the interim, and as no reply to that letter had -been received, it had been deemed most courteous towards the government -to withhold the publication of the letter for a time. A long debate -ensued. One of the proprietors brought forward a resolution to the -effect, ‘That the proposed transfer of the governing power of the East -India Company to the crown is opposed to the rights and privileges of -the East India Company, fraught with danger to the constitutional -interests of England, perilous to the safety of the Indian empire, and -calls for the resistance of this corporation by all constitutional -means.’ Many of the supporters of this resolution carried their -arguments to the verge of extravagance—asserting that ‘our Indian -empire, already tottering and shaking, will fall to the ground without -hope of recovery, if the East India Company should be abolished’—and -that ‘by means of the enormous patronage that would be placed in the -hands of the government, ministers would possess the power of corrupting -the people of this country beyond the hope of their ever recovering -their virtue or their patriotism.’ Most of the defenders of the Company, -however, adopted a more moderate tone. Colonel Sykes, speaking for -himself and some of his brother-directors, declared: ‘If we believed for -one moment that any change in the present administration of the -government of India would be advantageous to the people of India, would -advance their material interests, and promote their comforts, we should -gladly submit to any personal suffering or loss contingent upon that -change.’ He added, however, ‘By the indefeasible principles of justice, -and the ordinary usages of our courts of law, it is always necessary -that a bill of indictment with certain counts should be preferred before -a man is condemned; and I am curious to know what will be the counts of -the indictment in the case of this Company; for at present we have -nothing but a vague outline before us.’ Finally it was agreed to adjourn -the discussion, on the ground that, until the views of the government -had been further explained, it would be impossible to know whether the -words of the resolution were true, that the proposed change would be -‘fraught with danger to the constitutional interests of England, and -perilous to the safety of the Indian empire.’ - -On the renewal of the debate at the India House, on January 20th, the -directors presented a copy of a letter which they had addressed to the -government on the last day of the old year. In this letter they said: -‘The court were prepared to expect that a searching inquiry would be -instituted into the causes, remote as well as immediate, of the mutiny -in the Bengal native army. They have themselves issued instructions to -the government of India to appoint a commission in view to such an -inquiry; and it would have been satisfactory to them, if it had been -proposed to parliament, not only to do the same, but to extend the scope -of the inquiry to the conduct of the home government, for the purpose of -ascertaining whether the mutiny could, wholly or partially, be ascribed -to mismanagement on the part of the court acting under the control of -the Board of Commissioners. But it has surprised the court to hear that -her Majesty’s government—not imputing, so far as the court are informed, -any blame to the home authorities in connection with the mutiny, and -without intending any inquiry by parliament, or awaiting the result of -inquiry by the local government—should, even before the mutiny was -quelled, and whilst considerable excitement prevailed throughout India, -determine to propose the immediate supersession of the authority of the -East India Company; who are entitled, at least, to the credit of having -so administered the government of India, that the heads of all the -native states, and the mass of the population, amid the excitements of a -mutinous soldiery inflamed by unfounded apprehension of danger to their -religion, have remained true to the Company’s rule. The court would fail -in their duty to your lordship and to the country if they did not -express their serious apprehension that so important a change will be -misunderstood by the people of India.’ This letter failed to elicit any -explanatory response from the government. Lord Palmerston, in a reply -dated January 18th, after assuring the directors that their observations -would be duly considered by the government, simply added: ‘I forbear -from entering at present into any examination of those observations and -opinions; first, because any correspondence with you on such matters -would be most conveniently carried on through the usual official channel -of the president of the Board of Control; and, secondly, because the -grounds on which the intentions of her Majesty’s government have been -formed, and the detailed arrangements of the measure which they mean to -propose, will best be explained when that measure shall be submitted to -the consideration of parliament.’ The directors about the same time -prepared a petition to both Houses of Parliament, explanatory of the -reasons which induced them to deprecate any sudden transference of -governing power from the Company to the Crown. As this petition was very -carefully prepared, by two of the most eminent men in the Company’s -service; as it contains a considerable amount of useful information; and -as it presents in its best aspects all that could be said in favour of -the Company—it may fittingly be transcribed in the present work. To -prevent interruption to the thread of the narrative, however, it will be -given in the Appendix (A), as the first of a series of documents.[191] - -When these various letters and petitions came under the notice of the -Court of Proprietors, they gave rise to an animated discussion. Most of -the proprietors admired the petition, as a masterly document; and many -of the speakers dwelt at great length on the benefits which the Company -had conferred upon India. One of the directors, Sir Lawrence Peel, -feeling the awkwardness of dealing with a government measure not yet -before them, said: ‘I have not signed the petition which you have just -heard read; and I will shortly state the reason why. I entirely concur -in the praises which have been bestowed upon that document. It is a most -ably reasoned and worded production; it does infinite credit to those -whose work it is; and it is much to the honour of this establishment -that it has talent capable of producing such a document. But I have not -signed the petition, because I have not thought it a prudent course to -petition against a measure, the particulars of which I am not acquainted -with.’ The debate was further adjourned from the 20th to the 27th, and -then to the 28th, when the speeches ran to great length. On one or other -of the four days of meeting, most of the directors of the Company -expressed their opinions—on the 13th, Mr Ross D. Mangles (chairman), and -Colonel Sykes; on the 20th, Sir Lawrence Peel and Captain Eastwick; on -the 27th, Mr Charles Mills, Sir Henry Rawlinson, Captain Shepherd, Mr -Macnaghten, and Sir F. Currie (deputy-chairman); on the 28th, Mr Prinsep -and Mr Willoughby. As might have been expected, a general agreement -marked the directors’ speeches; they were the arguments of men who -defended rights which they believed to be rudely assailed. Some of the -directors complained that the government notice was not explicit enough. -Some thought that, at any rate, it clearly foreshadowed the destruction -of the Company’s power. Some contended that, if the Company did not -speak out at once, it would in a few weeks be too late. Some insisted -that the government brought forward the proposed measure in order to -shift the responsibility for the mutiny to other shoulders. Some accused -the ministers of being influenced by a grasping for patronage, a desire -to appropriate the nominations to appointments. One of the few who -departed from the general tone of argument was Sir Henry Rawlinson, who -assented neither to the resolution nor to the petition. He dwelt at some -length on the two propositions mainly concerned—namely, ‘that the -transfer of the government of India to the Crown would be unjust to the -East India Company;’ and that such transfer ‘would be fatal to British -rule in India.’ Most of the other speakers had contended or implied that -the first clause of this statement involved the second; that the -transfer would be equally unjust to the Company, and injurious to India. -Sir Henry combated this. He contended that the connection was not a -necessary one. After a very protracted debate, the original resolution -was passed almost unanimously; and then the petition to both Houses of -Parliament was sanctioned as that of the Company generally. - -Just at this period, the directors caused to be prepared, and published -at a cheap price, an elaborate ‘_Memorandum of the Improvements in the -Administration of India during the last Thirty Years_.’ It was evidently -intended to fall into the hands of such members of parliament as might -be disposed to take up the cause of the Company in the forthcoming -debates, and to supply them with arguments in favour of the Company, -derived from a recital of the marked improvements introduced in Indian -government. To this extent, it was simply a brief placed in the hands of -counsel; but the _Memorandum_ deserves to be regarded also in a -historical light; for nothing but a very narrow prejudice could blind an -observer to the fact that vast changes had been introduced into the -legislative and administrative rule of India, during the period -indicated, and that these changes had for the most part been conceived -in an enlightened spirit—corresponding in direction, if not in -intensity, with the improved state of public opinion at home on -political subjects. - -Parliament reassembled for the regular session on the 4th of February, -fully alive to the importance of attending to all matters bearing on the -welfare of India. Earl Grey, on the 11th, presented to the House of -Lords the elaborate petition from the East India Company, lately -adverted to. Characterising this as a ‘state paper deserving the highest -commendation,’ the earl earnestly deprecated the abolition of the Court -of Directors, and the transfer of their authority to the ministry of the -day; grounding his argument on the assumption that the interposition of -an independent body, well informed on Indian affairs, between the -government and the natives of that country, was essential to the general -welfare. He admitted the need for reform, but not abolition. The Duke of -Argyll, on the part of the government, admitted that the Company’s -petition was temperate and dignified, but denied that its reasoning was -conclusive. The Earl of Ellenborough, agreeing that the Queen’s name -would be powerfully influential as the direct ruler of India, at the -same time doubted whether any grand or sweeping reform ought to be -attempted while India was still in revolt. The Earl of Derby joined in -this opinion, and furthermore complained of discourtesy shewn by the -ministers toward the directors, in so long withholding from them a -candid exposition of the provisions of the intended measure. - -On the following day, the 12th of the month, the long-expected bill was -introduced to the House of Commons by Lord Palmerston—or rather, leave -to bring in the bill was moved. The first minister of the Crown, in his -speech on the occasion, disowned any hostility to the Company, in -reference either to the Revolt or to matters of general government. He -based the necessity for the measure on the anomaly of the Company’s -position. When the commercial privileges were withdrawn, chiefly in -1833, the Company (he urged) became a mere phantom of what it had been, -and subsided into a sort of agency of the imperial government, without, -however, responsibility to parliament. Admitting the advantages of -checks as securities for honesty and efficiency in administrative -affairs, he contended that check and counter-check had been so -multiplied in the ‘double government’ of India, as to paralyse action. -He considered that complete authority should vest where complete -responsibility was expected, and not in an irresponsible body of -merchants. His lordship concluded by giving an outline of the bill by -which the proposed changes were to be effected. - -As the Palmerston Bill, or ‘India Bill, No. 1,’ as it was afterwards -called, was not passed into a law, it will not be necessary to reprint -it in this work; nevertheless, to illustrate its bearing on the -subsequent debates, the pith of its principal clauses may usefully be -given here: The government of the territories under the control of the -East India Company, and all powers in relation to government vested in -or exercised by the Company, to become vested in and exercised by the -sovereign—India to be henceforth governed in the Queen’s name—The real -and personal property of the Company to be vested in Her Majesty for the -purposes of the government of India—The appointments of governor-general -of India, with ordinary members of the Council of India, and governors -of the three presidencies, now made by the directors of the Company with -the approbation of her Majesty, and other appointments, to be made by -the Queen under her royal sign-manual—A council to be established, under -the title of ‘The President and Council for the Affairs of India,’ to be -appointed by her Majesty—This council to consist of eight persons, -exclusive of its president—In the first nomination of this council, two -members to be named for four years, two for six, two for eight, and two -for ten years—The members of council to be chosen from among persons who -had been directors of the East India Company, or ten years at least in -the service of the Crown or Company in India, or fifteen years simply -resident in India—Members of council, like the judges, only to be -removable by the Queen, on an address from both Houses of Parliament—The -president of the council eligible to sit in the Commons House of -Parliament—Four members of council to form a quorum—Each ordinary member -to receive a yearly salary of £1000; and the president to receive the -salary of a secretary of state—The council to exercise the power now -vested in the Company and the Board of Control; but a specified number -of cadetships to be given to sons of civil and military servants in -India—Appointments hitherto made in India to continue to be made in that -country—Military forces, paid out of the revenues of India, not to be -employed beyond the limits of Asia—Servants of the Company to become -servants of the crown—The Board of Control to be abolished. - -Such was the spirit of the bill which Lord Palmerston asked leave to -introduce. Mr T. Baring moved as an amendment, ‘That it is not at -present expedient to legislate for the government of India.’ Thereupon a -debate arose, which extended through three evenings. The government -measure was supported by speeches from Lord Palmerston, Sir Erskine -Perry, Mr Ayrton, Sir Cornwall Lewis, Mr Roebuck, Mr Lowe, Mr Slaney, -Sir W. Rawlinson, Mr A. Mills, Sir Charles Wood, and Lord John Russell; -while it was opposed on various grounds by Mr T. Baring, Mr Monckton -Milnes, Sir J. Elphinstone, Mr Ross D. Mangles, Mr Whiteside, Mr -Liddell, Mr Crawford, Colonel Sykes, Mr Willoughby, Sir E. B. Lytton, -and Mr Disraeli. The reasonings in favour of the government measure were -such as the following: That the proper time for legislation had come, -when the attention of the country was strongly directed to Indian -affairs; that all accounts from India shewed that some great measure was -eagerly expected; that it was dangerous any longer to maintain an -effete, useless, and cumbrous machine, which the Court of Directors had -virtually become; that the Company’s ‘traditionary policy’ unfitted it -to march with the age in useful reforms; that as the Board of Control -really possessed the ruling power, the double government was a sham as -well as an obstruction; that the princes of India felt themselves -degraded in being the vassals and tributaries of a mere mercantile body; -that, such was the anomaly of the double government, it was possible -that the Company might be at war with a power with which her Majesty was -at peace, thus involving the nation in inextricable embarrassment; that, -with the exception of a very small section of the covenanted civil -servants, the European community and the officers of the Indian army -would prefer the government of the crown to that of the Company; that -the natives of India having been thrown into doubt concerning the -intentions of the Company to interfere with their religion, some -authoritative announcement of the Queen’s respect for their views on -that subject would be very satisfactory; and that as the native Bengal -army had disappeared, as India must in future be garrisoned by a large -force of royal troops, and as the military power would then belong to -the crown, it was desirable that the political power should go with it. -Among the pleas urged on the opposite side were such as follow: That the -natives of India would anticipate an increased stringency of British -power, under the proposed _régime_; that the ministerial influence and -patronage, in Indian matters, would be dangerous to England herself; -that as the Whig and Conservative parties had both supported the system -of double government in the India Bill of 1853, there was no reason for -making this sudden change in 1858; that before any change of government -was effected, it was imperatively necessary that an inquiry should be -made into the causes and circumstances of the Revolt; that the direct -exercise of governing power by a queen, formally designated ‘Defender of -the Faith,’ could not be agreeable either to the Hindoos or the -Mohammedans of India, whose ideas of ‘faith’ were so widely different -from those of Christians; that, as all previous organic changes in the -administration of the government of India had been preceded by an -inquiry into the character of that government, so ought it in fairness -to be in the present case; that if the proposed change were effected, -European theories and novelties, owing to the pressure of public opinion -on the ministry, would be attempted to be grafted on Asiatic prejudices -and immobility, without due regard to the inherent antagonism of the two -systems; and that the enormous extent, population, revenue, and commerce -of India ought not to be imperiled by a measure, the consequences of -which could not at present be foreseen. - -This debate ended on the 18th; the House of Commons, by a majority of -318 to 173, granting leave for the introduction of the bill—it being -understood that a considerable time would elapse before the second -reading, in order that the details of the measure might be duly -considered by all who took an interest in the matter. - -Before, however, any very great attention could be given to the subject, -either in or out of parliament, a most unexpected change took place in -the political relations of the government. The same minister who, on the -18th of February, obtained leave to bring in the India Bill, was placed -on the 19th in a minority which led to the resignation of himself and -his colleagues. Circumstances connected with an attempted assassination -of the Emperor of the French induced the Palmerston government to bring -in a measure which proved obnoxious to the House of Commons; the measure -was rejected by 234 against 219, and the government accordingly -resigned. So far as concerned the immediate effect, the most important -fact connected with India was the offer by the Earl of Derby, the new -premier, of the presidency of the India Board to the Earl of -Ellenborough. This nobleman had long been in collision with the East -India Company and its civil servants. Twice already had he been -president of the Board of Control, and in 1842-3-4 he had filled the -responsible office of governor-general of India. In both offices, and at -all times, he had cherished as much as possible the royal influence in -India against the Company’s, the military against the civil. As a -consequence, his enemies were bitter, his friends enthusiastic. The -author of an anonymous ‘red pamphlet,’ which attracted much notice -during the Revolt, spoke of the Earl of Ellenborough as the one great -man who could alone be the saviour of India—as the chivalrous knight who -would shiver to atoms the ‘vested rights’ and ‘traditionary policy’ of -the Court of Directors. It was natural, therefore, that the accession of -the earl to the new government should be regarded as an important -matter, either for good or evil. - -It speedily became apparent that the new president of the Board of -Control would find difficulty in framing a line of proceeding on Indian -affairs. His own predilections were quite as much against the Company, -as those of his predecessor; but many of his colleagues in the Derby -government had committed themselves, when out of office, to a defence of -the Company, and to a condemnation of any immediate alteration in the -Indian government. Either he must change his opinions, or they belie -their own words. The Court of Directors would fain have expected -indulgent treatment from the Derby administration, judging from the -speeches of the two preceding months; but their past experience of the -Earl of Ellenborough threw a damp over their hope. - -Three weeks after the vote which occasioned the change of government, -Lord Palmerston proposed the postponement of the second reading of his -India Bill until the 22d of April—a further lapse of six weeks; and this -was agreed to. He would not withdraw the bill, because he still adhered -to its provisions; he would not at once proceed with it, because his -opponents were now in office, and he preferred to see what course they -would adopt. The fate of India was thus placed in suspense for several -weeks, simply through a party struggle arising out of French affairs; -the great question—’Who shall govern India?’—was made subservient to -party politics. - -Although Lord Palmerston had named the 22d of April as the day for -reconsidering his India Bill, this did not tie down the Derby ministry -to the adoption of any particular line of policy. After many discussions -in the cabinet, it was resolved that the ministers should ‘eat their -words’ by legislating for India, although it had before been declared a -wrong time for so doing; and that, throwing Lord Palmerston’s bill -aside, a new India Bill should be introduced. - -Accordingly, on the 26th of March, Mr Disraeli, the new Chancellor of -the Exchequer, moved for leave to bring in that which was afterwards -called the ‘India Bill No. 2.’ As in a former instance, this bill may be -most usefully rendered intelligible by a condensed summary: A secretary -of state for India, to be appointed by the Queen—This secretary to be -president of a Council of India—The council to consist of eighteen -persons, nine nominated and nine elected—The nominated councillors to be -appointed under the royal sign-manual by the crown, and to represent -nine distinct interests—Those nine interests to be represented as -follow: the first councillor to have belonged for at least ten years to -the Bengal civil service; the second to the Madras service; the third to -the Bombay service; and the fourth to the Upper or Punjaub provinces, -under similar conditions; the fifth to have been British resident at the -court of some native prince; the sixth to have served at least five -years with the Queen’s troops in India; the seventh, to have served the -Company ten years in the Bengal army; and the eighth and ninth, -similarly in the Madras and Bombay armies—The nine nominated members to -be named in the bill itself, so as to give them parliamentary as well as -royal sanction—The remaining eight members of the council to be chosen -by popular election—Four of such elected members to be chosen from among -persons who had served the Crown or the Company at least ten years in -any branch of the Indian service, or had resided fifteen years in India; -and to be chosen by persons who had been ten years in the service of the -Crown or the Company, or possessed £1000 of India stock, or possessed -£2000 of capital in any Indian railway or joint-stock public works—The -other five of such elected members to be chosen from among persons who, -for at least ten years, had been engaged in the commerce of India, or in -the export of manufactured articles thither; and to be chosen by the -parliamentary constituencies of five large centres of commerce and -manufactures in the United Kingdom, namely, London, Liverpool, -Manchester, Glasgow, and Belfast—the Secretary of State for India to -have the power of dividing the council, thus constituted, into -committees, and to exercise a general supervision over these -committees—The secretary alone, or six councillors in union, to have -power to summon a meeting of the council—The councillors not to be -eligible to sit in parliament, but to have each £1000 per annum for -their services—The patronage heretofore exercised by the East India -Company to be now exercised by the Council—The army of India not to be -directly affected by the bill—The revenues of India to bear the expenses -of the government of India—A royal commission to be sent to India, to -investigate all the facts and conditions of Indian finance. - -It will be seen that this remarkable scheme was based on the idea of -conciliating as many different interests as possible, in England and in -India. Mr Disraeli, in the course of his speech, mentioned the names of -the nine gentlemen whom it was proposed to nominate to the council on -the part of the crown; and in relation to the vast powers of the -secretary and council, he said: ‘To establish a British minister with -unrestricted authority, subject to the moral control of a body of men -who by their special knowledge, their independence, their experience, -their distinction, and their public merit, are, nevertheless, invested -with an authority which can control even a despotic minister, and which -no mere act of parliament can confer upon them, is, I admit, no ordinary -difficulty to encounter; and to devise the means by which it may be -accomplished is a task which only with the indulgence of this House and -with the assistance of parliament we can hope to perform.’ - -Criticisms were much more numerous and contradictory on this than on -Lord Palmerston’s bill. It was no longer a contest of Conservatives -against Whigs. The new bill was examined on its merits. The friends of -the East India Company, expecting something favourable from the change -of government, were much disappointed; they analysed the clauses of the -bill, but found not what they sought. True, the old Indian interests -were to be represented in the new council; but just one-half of the -members were to be nominees of the crown, and five others were to be -elected by popular constituencies over which the Company possessed no -control. Even those who cared little whether the Company lived or died, -provided India were well governed, differed among themselves in opinion -whether the popular element would be usefully introduced in the manner -proposed. The objections were more extensively urged out of parliament -than within; for after the first reading of the bill, on the 26th of -March, the further consideration of it was postponed to the 19th of -April. - -The Conservatives had reproved the Whigs for discourtesy to the East -India Company, in not giving due notice of the provisions of ‘Bill No. -1;’ but now equal discourtesy (if discourtesy it were) was shewn by the -first-named party in reference to ‘Bill No. 2.’ On the 24th of March, at -a quarterly meeting of the Company, and only two days before Mr Disraeli -introduced his measure—or rather the Ellenborough measure—into the House -of Commons, the chairman of the Court of Directors was asked whether he -knew aught concerning the provisions of a bill so nearly touching the -interests of the Company; to which he replied: ‘I know no more about the -forthcoming bill than I knew of the last before its introduction into -parliament.’ On the 7th of April, however, at a special Court of -Proprietors, the directors presented copies of the bills, ‘No. 1’ and -‘No. 2;’ and at the same time presented a Report against both. In the -debate, on the 7th and 13th, arising out of the presentation of the -Report, there was a pretty general opinion among the proprietors, that -if Lord Palmerston’s India Bill was bad, Mr Disraeli’s was not one whit -better, in reference to the interests of the Company; and there was a -final vote for the following resolution: ‘That this court concur in the -opinion of the Court of Directors, that neither of the bills now before -parliament is calculated to secure good government to India; and they -accordingly authorise and request the Court of Directors to take such -measures as may appear to them desirable for resisting the passing of -either bill through parliament, and for introducing into any bill for -altering the constitution of the government of India such conditions as -may promise a system of administration calculated to promote the -interests of the people of India, and to prove conducive to the general -welfare.’ One of the proprietors having expressed an opinion that the -directors ought to prepare a third bill, more just than either of the -other two, the chairman very fairly pointed out that it was not the -Company’s duty so to do. - -Under somewhat unfavourable circumstances did the Derby ministry renew -the consideration of Indian affairs after the Easter recess. Parliament, -it is true, had not yet had time or opportunity to criticise ‘Bill No. -2;’ but that measure had been very unfavourably received both by the -East India Company and by the newspaper press; and it became generally -known that the ministers would gladly accept any decent excuse for -abandoning or at least modifying the bill. This excuse was furnished to -them by Lord John Russell. On the 12th of April, when the Commons -resumed their sittings after the Easter vacation, his lordship expressed -an opinion that the bill was ill calculated to insure the desired end; -that its discussion was likely to be disfigured by a party contest; and -that it would be better to agree to a set of resolutions in committee, -on which a new bill might be founded. Mr Disraeli accepted this -suggestion with an eagerness which led many members to surmise that a -private compact had been made in the matter. He suggested that Lord John -Russell should draw up the resolutions; but as his lordship declined -this task, Mr Disraeli undertook it on the part of the government. -Hereupon a new phase was presented by the debate. One member expressed -his astonishment that the Chancellor of the Exchequer should be so ready -to hand over the functions of government to the care of a private -member. Another declared he could not see what advantage was to be -gained by a resolution in committee in lieu of a bill in the whole -House. The members of the late Whig government all condemned the plan -suggested by Lord John and accepted by Mr Disraeli; but, pending the -introduction of the proposed resolutions, they would not frustrate the -plan. Mr Mangles, on the part of the East India Company, expressed an -earnest hope that all party feeling would be excluded from the debates -on India. The East India Company, he remarked, could hardly be expected -to acquiesce in a measure for their own extinction; nevertheless, if -such should be proved to be inevitable, the directors would give their -best assistance to the perfecting of any measure which the House might -think proper to adopt. Mr Disraeli finally promised to prepare a set of -resolutions, and to bring them in for discussion on the 26th. - -The state, then, to which this intricate discussion had been brought was -this—the ‘Bill No. 1,’ proposed by Lord Palmerston, stood over for a -second reading on the 22d of April; the ‘Bill No. 2,’ proposed by Mr -Disraeli, was placed in abeyance for a time; while the ‘resolutions,’ to -be prepared by Mr Disraeli on the suggestion of Lord John Russell, and -intended as a means of improving ‘Bill No. 2,’ or perhaps of leading to -a ‘Bill No. 3,’ were to be introduced on the 26th of April. It was -pretty generally felt, both within and without the walls of parliament, -that the whole subject was in great confusion, and that the ministers -themselves had no definite notion of the best course to pursue. At the -meeting of the East India Company on the 13th, Mr Mangles, who was a -member of parliament as well as chairman of the Company, said: ‘After -the extraordinary occurrences we have witnessed within the last six -weeks, in which we have seen a minister ousted who was supposed to have -the support of a most commanding majority, and another minister placed -in power without having a majority, or even a considerable minority, he -would be a very bold man who would prophesy what the fate of any new -measure in the House of Commons would be.’ - -On the 23d of April, Mr Disraeli announced his intention of abandoning -‘Bill No. 2’ altogether, and of postponing the preparation of ‘Bill No. -3’ until the House should have agreed to any ‘resolutions’ bearing on -the subject. Lord Palmerston would not withdraw his ‘Bill No. 1;’ he -simply held it in abeyance for a time, to watch the course of pending -events. On the 26th, Mr Disraeli craved four days more for the -preparation of his resolutions. He made a speech, in which he praised -his own ‘Bill No. 2’ at the expense of his antagonist’s ‘Bill No. 1;’ -but, as he had ‘voluntarily stifled his own baby’—to use the -illustration of another speaker—his arguments fell with little force. -The illustration, in truth, was so tempting, that it was long made use -of both in and out of parliament. Lord Palmerston said: ‘The measure, -upon which the right honourable gentleman has pronounced so unbounded a -funeral panegyric, has been murdered by himself. If he thought so well -of the merits of the bill, why did he kill it?’ Mr Gregory, wishing, by -getting rid of the proposed ‘resolutions,’ to postpone all legislation -on the subject until another year, moved as an amendment—‘That at this -moment it is not expedient to pass any resolutions for the future -government of India.’ A general desire prevailed in the House, however, -that some measure or other should be passed into a law, to strengthen -and render more definite the governing authority in India; and the -amendment was withdrawn. - -At length, on the 30th of April, the resolutions were proposed. They -departed very widely from ‘Bill No. 2.’ The members of the council, -instead of being definitely eighteen in number, were to be ‘not less -than twelve and not more than eighteen.’ The scheme for representing -classes, services, presidencies, and commercial communities in the -council was given up; as was likewise the election of a portion of the -members by parliamentary constituencies. As the whole of the fourteen -resolutions, if agreed to, would require a separate agreement for each, -and as every member would be allowed to speak on every resolution if he -so chose, there were the materials presented for a very lengthened -debate. There was a preliminary discussion, moreover, on a motion -intended to extinguish the resolutions altogether. Lord Harry Vane -moved—‘That the change of circumstances since the first proposal by her -Majesty’s late advisers, to transfer the government of India from the -East India Company to the Crown, renders it inexpedient to proceed -further with legislation on the subject during the present session.’ -This proposal, however, was negatived by 447 to 57. - -It would scarcely be possible, and scarcely worth while if possible, to -follow all the intricacies of the debate on the ‘resolutions.’ Every -part of the India question was opened again and again; every speaker -considered himself at liberty to wander from principles to details, and -back again; and hence the amount of speaking was enormous. Should there -be a secretary of state for India, or only a president of a council? -Should there be a council at all, or only a secretary with his -subordinates, as in the home, foreign, colonial, and war departments? If -a council, should it be wholly nominated, wholly elective, or part of -each? Who should nominate, and who elect, and under what conditions? -Should the secretary or president possess any power without his council, -and how much? Should the East India Company, or not, be represented in -the new council? By whom should the enormous patronage of the Court of -Directors be hereafter exercised? What would become of the ‘vested -rights’ of the Company, such as the receipt of dividends on the East -India stock? In what relation would the governor-general of India stand -to the new council? Would the local governments of the three -presidencies be interfered with? Who would organise and support the -Indian army? What would be done in relation to missionaries, idolatrous -practices, caste, education, public works, manufactures, commerce, &c., -in India?—These were some of the questions which were discussed, not -once merely, but over and over again. Owing to the strange ministerial -changes, the independent members in the House had had but few -opportunities of fully expressing their sentiments; they did so now, at -ample length. Many long nights of debate were spent over the -resolutions; many amendments proposed; many alterations assented to by -the ministers. It occupied three evenings—April 30, May 3, and May 7—to -settle the first three resolutions; or rather, to agree to the first, to -modify the second, and to withdraw the third. At this period occurred -the exciting episode concerning the Oude proclamation, the censure of -Viscount Canning, and the resignation of the Earl of Ellenborough.[192] -As there was now no president of the Board of Control, the India -resolutions could not conveniently be proceeded with; and therefore -everything remained for a time at a dead-lock. Soon afterwards Lord -Stanley, son of the Earl of Derby, accepted the seals of the office -vacated by the Earl of Ellenborough. He had every claim to the -indulgence of the House, in the difficulty of his new position; and this -indulgence was willingly shewn to him; he was permitted to choose his -own time, after the ceremony of his re-election, to bring the great -question of India once again before the Commons House, in the hope of -arriving at some practicable solution. For a period of one full month -did the further consideration of the resolutions remain in abeyance, -while these party tactics and ministerial changes were engaging public -attention. - -At length, on the 7th of June, when the subject was resumed, and when -Lord Stanley took the lead on Indian affairs in the House of Commons, it -began to be apparent that the resolutions were less valued by the -government than they had before been. The debate concerning them, -however, continued. When the time came for deciding how many members -should compose the new Council of India, Mr Gladstone reopened the whole -question by moving as an amendment, ‘That, regard being had to the -position of affairs in India, it is expedient to constitute the Court of -Directors of the East India Company, by an act of the present session, -to be a council for administering the government of India in the name of -her Majesty, under the superintendence of such responsible minister, -until the end of the next session of parliament.’ Mr Gladstone proposed -this amendment under a belief that it was not practicable, during the -existing session of parliament, to perfect a scheme of government for -India that would be worthy of the nation. The problem to be solved was -one of the most formidable ever presented to any nation or any -legislature in the history of the world, and the evils of delay would be -insignificant in comparison with those of crude and hasty legislation. -His suggestion, he contended, would not be inconsistent with the -appointment of a new council in the following year, if it should be -deemed desirable to make such appointment. Lord Stanley opposed this -amendment—on the grounds that it had all the evils of a temporary and -provisional measure; that the directors, as a council merely for one -year, would be placed in an inconvenient position; that having been told -that they were doomed, and that nothing could save them as a permanent -body, they would slacken their zeal and energy, and impair the -confidence of the public; that the much-condemned delays would still -continue; and that the public service would derive no advantage. The -friends of the East India Company supported this amendment; but it was -rejected by 265 against 116. Mr Roebuck then made an attempt to -extinguish the council both in theory and in fact. He contended that a -Secretary of State, alone responsible for all his acts, relying upon his -own mind for guidance and counsel, and having a more direct interest in -doing right, was morally and mentally the best governor for India; he -feared that a council would render the governing body practically -irresponsible to the nation. Lord Stanley, on the other hand, insisted -that it was quite impossible for any minister to act efficiently in such -a difficult office without the aid of advisers possessing special -information on Indian affairs; and as the House generally concurred in -this view, Mr Roebuck’s amendment was negatived without a division. Two -evenings, June 7th and 11th, were spent in discussing two resolutions. -On the 14th the House was engaged many hours in considering whether the -council should be elective, or nominated, or both; great diversity of -opinion prevailed; and the speakers, tempted by the peculiarity of the -subject, wandered very widely beyond the limits of the immediate -question. Lord John Russell thought that the members of the council -ought to be wholly appointed by the Crown, on the responsibility of the -minister; Sir James Graham thought that the Court of Directors ought to -be _ex officio_ members of the council, to insure practical knowledge on -Indian affairs; but Lord Stanley contended that the advantages of two -systems would be combined if one half of the council were nominated by -the Crown, and the other half elected by a constituency of seven or -eight thousand persons interested in or connected with Indian affairs; -and the House, agreeing with this view, voted a resolution accordingly. - -Midsummer was approaching. The House of Lords had not yet had an -opportunity of discussing the Indian question either in principle or in -detail; and it began now to be strongly felt that, as the resolutions -really did not bind the Commons to any particular clauses in the -forthcoming bill, their value was doubtful. Accordingly, on the 17th of -June, after a long discussion on desultory topics, Lord Stanley -proposed, amid some laughter in the House, to withdraw all the remaining -resolutions—a proposition that was assented to with great alacrity, -shewing that the legislators were by no means satisfied with the wisdom -of their past proceedings. - -Thus was completed the third stage in this curious legislative -achievement. Lord Palmerston’s ‘India Bill No. 1’ was laid aside, -because he was expelled from office; Mr Disraeli’s ‘India Bill No. 2’ -was abandoned, because it was ridiculed on all sides; and now the -‘resolutions’ were given up when half-finished, because they were found -to be inoperative and non-binding. Some of the supporters of the East -India Company claimed, and not illogically, a little more respect for -the Company than had lately been given; the difficulty of framing a new -government for India shewed, by implication, that the old _régime_ was -not so bad as had been customarily asserted. - -The ‘India Bill No. 3’ was brought in by Lord Stanley on the -evening (June 17th) which witnessed the withdrawal of the -resolutions. The bill comprised sixty-six clauses—of the more -important of which a brief outline may be given here, to furnish -means of comparison with bills ‘No. 1’ and ‘No. 2:’ The government -of India to revert from the Company to the Crown—A Secretary of -State to exercise all the powers over Indian affairs hitherto -exercised by the Court of Directors, the Secret Committee, and the -Board of Control—The Crown to determine whether to give these -powers to one of the four existing secretaries of state, or to -appoint a fifth—The Secretary to be assisted by a ‘Council of -India,’ to consist of fifteen persons—The Court of Directors to -elect seven of those members from among its own body, or from -among persons who had at any time been directors; the remaining -eight to be nominated by the Queen—Vacancies in the council to be -filled up alternately by the Crown and by the council assembled -for that purpose—A majority of all the members to be chosen from -among persons who had served or resided at least ten years in -India—Every councillor to be irremovable during good behaviour, to -be prohibited from sitting in the House of Commons, to receive -twelve hundred pounds a year as salary, to be allowed to resign -when he pleases, and to be entitled to a retiring pension varying -in amount according to the length of service—Compensation to be -given to such secretaries or clerks of the Company as do not -become officers of the new department—The Secretary of State to be -president of the ‘Council of India,’ to divide the council into -committees for the dispatch of business, and to appoint any member -as vice-president—Council meetings to be called by the Secretary, -or by any five members; and five to be a quorum—Questions to be -decided in the council by a majority, but the Secretary to have a -_veto_ even over the majority—The Secretary may send and receive -‘secret’ dispatches, without consulting his council at all—Most of -the appointments in India to be made as heretofore—Patronage of -cadetships to be exercised partly by the council, but principally -by the Secretary of State, and to be given in a certain ratio to -sons of persons who have filled military or civil offices in -India—The property, credits, debits, and liabilities of the -Company, except India stock and its dividends, to be transferred -from the Company to the Crown; and the council to act as trustees -in these matters—The council to present annual accounts to -parliament of Indian finance and all matters relating thereto—The -council to guarantee the legalised dividend on India stock, out of -the revenues of India. - -The ‘Bill No. 3,’ of which the above is a slight programme, came on for -second reading on the 24th of June. Lord Stanley—who, as admitted by -opponents as well as supporters, entered with great earnestness upon the -duties of his office—stated that he had endeavoured to avail himself of -all the opinions expressed during the various debates, to prepare a -measure that should meet the views of a majority of the House. In the -discussion that ensued, Mr Bright wandered into subjects that could not -possibly be treated in the bill; he reopened the whole topic of Indian -misgovernment—disapproved of governor-generals—condemned -annexations—suggested new presidencies and new tribunals—and told the -Commons how he would govern India if he were minister. The speech was -vigorous, but inapplicable to the subject-matter in hand. The bill was -read a second time without a division. - -The East India Company were not silent at this critical period in their -history. A meeting of proprietors on the 23d was made special for the -consideration of ‘Bill No. 3,’ which was to be read a second time in the -Commons on the following day; and at this meeting there was a general -expression of disappointment that the Company had been treated as such a -nullity. The only source of consolation was in the fact that seven -members of the new council were to be chosen by the Court of Directors, -from persons who then belonged or had formerly belonged to that court. -The opinions of the Company were embodied in a letter addressed to Lord -Stanley by the chairman and deputy-chairman, and presented to the House -of Commons. - -On the 25th, the House went into committee on the bill. Lord Palmerston -proposed two amendments—that the members should be twelve in number -instead of fifteen, and that all should be appointed by the Crown; but -both amendments were rejected by large majorities as being inconsistent -with the recent expression of opinion. At a further sitting on the 1st -of July, the ministers shewed they had obtained a considerable hold on -the House; for they succeeded in obtaining the rejection of amendments -proposed by Lord Palmerston, Mr Gladstone, Sir James Graham, and Mr -Vernon Smith. Lord Stanley, however, proposed many amendments himself on -the part of the government; and these amendments were accepted in so -friendly a spirit, that a large number of clauses were got through by -the end of a long sitting on the 2d of July. One of the most interesting -of the questions discussed bore relation to the Secret Committee of the -past, and the proposed exercise of similar powers by the Secretary of -State. Lord John Russell and Mr Mangles advocated the abolition of those -powers altogether; while Sir G. C. Lewis recommended great caution in -their exercise, if used. Mr Mangles, the late chairman of the Court of -Directors, stated that the powers of the Secret Committee had been much -more extensive than was generally supposed. ‘During many years after the -conquest of Sinde, the whole government of that province was conducted -by the Secret Committee, and the Court of Directors knew nothing about -it. He believed that much mischief had arisen from the Secret Committee -undertaking to transact business with which it had no right to -interfere. The real fact was, that nine-tenths of that which came before -the Secret Committee might with safety be communicated to the whole -world. He wished, therefore, that there should be no Secret Committee in -future. It was a mere delusion and snare. The Court of Directors had -shewn themselves to be as competent to keep a secret, when there was -one, as the cabinet of her Majesty; and he had no reason to think -otherwise of the proposed Indian Council.’ The ministers, however, -received the support of Lord Palmerston in this matter; and the -continuance of the secret powers was sanctioned, although by a small -majority only. On the 5th and 6th, the remaining clauses and amendments -were gone through. Mr Gladstone proposed a clause enacting, ‘That, -except for repelling actual invasion, or under sudden or urgent -necessity, her Majesty’s forces in India shall not be employed in any -military operation beyond the external frontier of her Indian -possessions, without the consent of parliament.’ Lord Palmerston opposed -this clause; but Lord Stanley assented to it as a wholesome declaration -of parliamentary power; and it was agreed to. - -At length, on the 8th of July—five months after ‘Bill No. 1’ had been -introduced by Lord Palmerston, and three or four months after the -introduction of ‘Bill No. 2’ by Mr Disraeli—‘Bill No. 3’ was passed by -the House of Commons, after a vehement denunciation by Mr Roebuck, who -predicted great disaster from the organisation of the ‘Council of -India.’ Lord Palmerston’s bill was withdrawn on the next day: it never -came on for a second reading. - -The House of Lords justly complained of the small amount of time left to -them for the discussion of the bill; but there was now no help for it, -short of abandoning the measure for the session; and therefore they -entered at once on the discussion. On the 9th, the bill was brought in -and read a first time. Between that time and the second reading, the -East India Company made one more attempt to oppose the measure. They -agreed to a petition for presentation to the House of Lords. It was in -part a petition, in part a protest. The propriety of adopting the -petition was urged by such considerations as these: ‘If we do not -protest, every wrong that may be done for years to come will be laid at -our doors; but with this protest upon record, history will do us the -justice of stating that we have been deprived of our power without -inquiry.’ The Court of Proprietors also discussed whether counsel should -be employed to represent the Company before the House of Lords. Many of -the directors assented to this—but only so far as concerned technical -and legal points; for, they urged, it would be very undignified to -employ any hired counsel to argue the moral and political question, or -to defend the conduct of the Company and the rights of India. It -remained yet, however, an unsettled point whether counsel would be -permitted to appear at all. - -On the 13th of July, after a feeble attempt to attach importance to the -Company’s petition and protest, the bill was read a second time in the -Lords. The most remarkable speech made on this occasion was that of the -Earl of Ellenborough, Lord Stanley’s predecessor at the Board of -Control. He declared that, whether in or out of office, he could not -approve of the measure, the parentage of which he gave to the House of -Commons rather than to the government. He disapproved of the abandonment -of popular election in the proposed council; disapproved of the strong -leaven of ‘Leadenhall Street’ in its composition; disapproved of -competitive examinations for the Indian artillery and engineers; and -expressed a general belief that the scheme would not work well. When the -bill went into committee on the 16th, the earl proposed that the members -of the council should be appointed for five years only, instead of for -life; but this amendment was negatived without a division. Lord -Broughton, who, as Sir John Cam Hobhouse, had once been president of the -India Board, opposed the whole theory of a council in the strongest -terms. He described in anticipation the inconveniences he believed would -flow from it. ‘The council would only embarrass the minister with -useless suggestions and minutes on the most trifling questions; and, if -they were rejected, the minority would always be able to furnish weapons -of attack against the Secretary in the House of Commons. The minister -would gain no advice or knowledge from the council he could not obtain -from others without the embarrassment of having official councillors.’ -The Earl of Derby contested these assertions simply by denying their -truth; and they had no effect on the decision of the House. All the -clauses were examined during three sittings, on the 16th, 19th, and 20th -of the month, and were adopted with a few amendments. During the -discussions, the Earl of Derby appeared as the friend of the ‘middle -classes.’ The Earl of Ellenborough having repeated his objection to -competitive examination for the engineers and artillery of the Indian -army, on the ground that it would lower the ‘gentlemanly’ standard of -those services, the premier replied that, ‘He was not insensible to the -advantages of birth and station: but he could not join with his noble -friend in saying that because a person happened to be the son of a -tailor, a grocer, or a cheesemonger, provided his mental qualifications -were equal to those of his competitors, he was to be excluded from -honourable competition for an appointment in the public service.’ - -On the 23d of July the India Bill was read a third time and passed by -the House of Lords, with only a few observations bearing collaterally on -Indian affairs. The Archbishop of Canterbury and some of the bishops -made an appeal for the more direct encouragement of Christianity in -India; but the Earl of Derby made a very cautious response. ‘Due -protection ought to be given to the professors of all religions in -India, and nothing should be done to discourage the efforts of Christian -missionaries. On the other hand, he deemed it essential to the -interests, the peace, the well-being of England, if not also to the very -existence of her power in India, that the government should carefully -abstain from doing anything except to give indiscriminate and impartial -protection to all sects and all creeds; and that nothing could be more -inconvenient or more dangerous on the part of the state than any open or -active assistance to any attempt to convert the native population from -their own religions, however false or superstitious.’ The Earls of -Shaftesbury and Ellenborough joined in deploring the vindictive feeling -which had sprung up between the Europeans and natives in India, and -which, if continued, would neutralise all attempts at improvement. The -Anglo-Indian press was severely reproved for the share it had taken in -originating or fostering this feeling. - -The Lords having introduced a few amendments in the India Bill, these -amendments required the sanction of the Commons before they could be -adopted. One of these affected the secret service of the new council; -another, the mode of appointing the higher officials in India; a third, -the principle of competitive examinations; a fourth, the application of -Indian revenues; and so on. The Commons rejected some of these -amendments, and accepted the rest, on the 27th. On the 29th the Lords -met to consider whether they would abandon the amendments objected to by -the Commons. This they agreed to do except in one instance—relating to -competitive examinations for the Indian artillery and engineers; they -still thought that commissions in these two services should be given -only to ‘gentlemen,’ in the conventional sense of the term. The -government, rather than run into collision with the Lords, recommended -the Commons to assent to the slight amendment which had been made; and -this was agreed to—but not without many pungent remarks on the course -which the Upper House had thought proper to pursue. Sir James Graham -adverted to a supercilious allusion by the Earl of Ellenborough to the -‘John Gilpin class,’ and added—‘Where is hereditary wisdom found? In -what consists the justice of the tenet that India must henceforward be -governed by gentlemen, to the exclusion of the middle classes—a -gentleman being defined to be something between a peer and those who buy -and sell. Is this, I would ask, the only argument that can be advanced -against the system of competitive examinations? Who, let me ask, -founded, who won our Indian empire?—Those who bought and sold. Who -extended it?—Those who bought and sold. Who now transfer that empire to -the Crown?—Those who bought and sold; a company of merchants—merchants, -forsooth, whose sons are now not thought worthy to have even inferior -offices in India committed to their hands. But are not the sons of those -who buy and sell entitled to the appellation of gentlemen? Definitions -are dangerous; but I should, nevertheless, like to know what it is that -constitutes a gentleman. Why, sir, it appears to me that if a man be -imbued with strong Christian principles, if he have received an -enlightened and liberal education, if he be virtuous and honourable—it -appears to me that such a man as that is entitled to the appellation. -And who will tell me that among the sons of those who buy and sell may -not be found men possessing literary attainments and a refinement of -mind which place them in a position to bear comparison with the highest -born gentlemen in India? Who, let me ask, were the conquerors of the -country? From what class have they sprung? Who was Clive?—The son of a -yeoman. Who was Munro?—The son of a Glasgow merchant. Who was -Malcolm?—The son of a sheep-farmer upon the Scotch border. These, sir, -are the men who have won for us our Indian empire; and I entertain no -fear that the sons of those who buy and sell, and who enter the Indian -service by means of this principle of open competition, will fail to -maintain a high position in our army, or that they will do anything to -dishonour the English name.’ - -When the India Bill finally passed the Lords, the Earl of Albemarle -recorded a protest against it—on the grounds that the home government -established by it would be inefficient and unconstitutional; that the -council would be too numerous; that it would be nearly half composed of -the very directors who were supposed to be under condemnation; that -those directors, by self-election to the council, would establish a -vicious principle; that the members of the council would be -irresponsible for the use of the great amount of patronage held by them; -that the change in the mode of government was too slight to insure those -reforms which India so much needed; that it was pernicious, and contrary -to parliamentary precedent, to allow the members of the council to hold -other offices, or to engage in commercial pursuits; that the practical -effect of the council would be merely to thwart the Secretary of State -for India, or else to screen him from censure; and that efficient and -experienced under-secretaries would be far better than any council. - -The bill received the royal assent, and became an act of parliament, on -the 2d of August, under the title of ‘An Act for the Better Government -of India;’ 21st and 22d of Victoria, cap. 106. A brief and intelligible -abstract of all the provisions of this important statute will be found -in the Appendix. - -One clause in the new act provided that the Court of Directors should -elect seven members to the new council of India, either out of the -existing court, or from persons who had formerly been directors of the -Company. On the 7th of August they met, and chose the following seven of -their own number—Sir James Weir Hogg, Mr Charles Mills, Captain John -Shepherd, Mr Elliot Macnaghten, Mr Ross Donelly Mangles, Captain William -Joseph Eastwick, and Mr Henry Thoby Prinsep. Many of the public journals -severely condemned this selection, as having been dictated by the merest -selfish retention of power in the directors’ own hands; but on the other -side, it was urged that these seven gentlemen possessed a large amount -of practical knowledge on Indian affairs; and, moreover, that the -Company, owing the legislature no thanks for recent proceedings, were -not bound to be disinterested in the matter. - -A remarkable meeting was held by the East India Company on the 11th of -August, to consider the state of affairs produced by the new act. The -directors and proprietors met as if no one clearly knew what to think on -the matter. They asked—What _is_ the East India Company now? What does -it possess? What can it do, or what has it got to do? Has it any further -interest in the affairs of India? Is there now any use in a Court of -Directors, or a Court of Proprietors, further than to distribute the -dividends on India stock handed over by the new Council of India out of -Indian revenues? Is the regular payment of that dividend well secured? -Are the _trading_ powers of the Company abolished; and if not, is there -any profitable trade that can be entered upon? Are they to lose their -house in Leadenhall Street, their museum, their library, their archives; -and if so, why? If the Company at any time become involved in -law-proceedings, will the costs come out of the dividends, or out of -what other fund? The answers to these various questions were so very -conflicting, and the state of doubt among all the proprietors so -evident, that it was agreed—‘That a committee of proprietors be -appointed to act in concert with the chairman and deputy-chairman of the -Court of Directors, for the purpose of obtaining counsel’s opinion as to -the present legal position of the Company under previous acts of -parliament, as well as the present act—more especially as to the -parliamentary guarantee of the Company’s stock, and the position of the -Company’s creditors, Indian as well as European.’ - -The 1st of September 1858 was a day to be recorded in English annals—it -witnessed the death of the once mighty East India Company as a governing -body. ‘On this day,’ said one of the able London journals, ‘the Court of -Directors of the East India Company holds its last solemn assembly. -To-morrow, before the shops and the counting-houses of our great -metropolis shall have received their accustomed inmates, the greatest -corporate body the world has ever seen will have shrivelled into an -association of receivers of dividends. The great house in Leadenhall -Street will stand as it has stood for long years, and well-nigh the same -business will be done by well-nigh the same persons; but the government -of the East India Company will have passed into a tradition. Thousands -and tens of thousands, including many of the greatest and wisest in the -land, intent upon pleasure at this pleasure-seeking period of the year, -will, in all human probability, not give the great change a thought. But -the first and second days of September 1858, which witness the -extinction of the old and the inauguration of the new systems of Indian -government, constitute an epoch in our national history—nay, in the -world’s history, second in importance to few in the universal annals of -mankind. On this day the East India Company, which hitherto, through -varied changes and gradations, has directed the relations of Great -Britain with the vast continent of India, issues its last instructions -to its servants in the east. On this day the last dispatches written by -the authoritative “we” to our governor-general, or governors in council, -will be signed by their “affectionate friends.” To-morrow the _egomet_ -of her Majesty’s Secretary of State will be supreme in the official -correspondence of the Indian bureau. It may or may not be for the good -of India, it may or may not be for the good of England, that the -government of the East India Company should on this day cease to exist; -but we confess we do not envy the feelings of the man who can -contemplate without emotion this great and pregnant political change.’ -There was a disposition, on this last day of the Company’s power, to -look at the bright rather than the dark side of its character. ‘It has -the great privilege of transferring to the service of her Majesty such a -body of civil and military officers as the world has never seen before. -A government cannot be base, cannot be feeble, cannot be wanting in -wisdom, that has reared two such services as the civil and military -services of the East India Company. To those services the Company has -always been just, has always been generous. In those services lowly -merit has never been neglected. The best men have risen to the highest -place. They may have come from obscure farmhouses or dingy places of -business; they may have been roughly nurtured and rudely schooled; they -may have landed in the country without sixpence or a single letter of -recommendation in their trunks; but if they have had the right stuff in -them, they have made their way to eminence, and have distanced men of -the highest connections and most flattering antecedents.... Let her -Majesty appreciate the gift—let her take the vast country and the -teeming millions of India under her direct control; but let her not -forget the great corporation from which she has received them, nor the -lessons to be learned from its success.’ - -[Illustration: - - Old East India House, Leadenhall Street. -] - -The last special General Court of the Company was held, as we have said, -on the 1st of September. The immediate purpose was a generous one: the -granting of a pension to the distinguished ruler of the Punjaub, Sir -John Lawrence; and this was followed by an act at once dignified and -graceful. It was an earnest tender of thanks, on the part of the East -India Company generally, to its servants of every rank and capacity, at -home and in India, for their zealous and faithful performance of duties; -an assurance to the natives of India that they would find in Queen -Victoria ‘a most gracious mistress;’ an expression of hearty belief that -the home-establishment, if employed by the Crown, would serve the Crown -well as it had served the Company; a declaration of just pride in the -sterling civilians and noble soldiers at that moment serving unweariedly -in India; and an earnest hope and prayer ‘That it may please Almighty -God to bless the Queen’s Indian reign by the speedy restoration of -peace, security, and order; and so to prosper her Majesty’s efforts for -the welfare of her East Indian subjects that the millions who will -henceforth be placed under her Majesty’s direct as well as sovereign -dominion, constantly advancing in all that makes men and nations great, -flourishing, and happy, may reward her Majesty’s cares in their behalf -by their faithful and firm attachment to her Majesty’s person and -government.’ - -The East India House in Leadenhall Street was chosen by Lord Stanley as -the office of the new Council for India, on account of its internal -resources for the management of public business. During more than two -centuries and a half, the city of London had contained the head-quarters -of those who managed Anglo-Indian affairs. The first meeting of London -merchants in 1599, on the subject of East India trade, was held at -Founders’ Hall. The early business of the Company, when formed, was -transacted partly at the residences of the directors, partly in the -halls of various incorporated companies. In 1621 the Company occupied -Crosby Hall for this purpose. In 1638 a removal was made to Leadenhall -Street, to the house of Sir Christopher Clitheroe, at that time governor -of the Company. In 1648 the Company took the house of Lord Craven, -adjoining Clitheroe’s, and on the site of the present India House. In -1726 the picturesque old front of this mansion was taken down, and -replaced by the one represented in the above cut. Finally, in 1796, the -present India House was built,[193] and remained the head-quarters of -the Company. Acquiring skill by gradual experience, the Company had -rendered this one of the most perfectly organised establishments that -ever existed. Ranged in racks and shelves, in chambers, corridors, and -cellars, were the records of the Company’s administration; prepared by -governor-generals, judges, magistrates, collectors, paymasters, -directors, secretaries, and other officials abroad and at home. These -documents, tabulated and indexed with the greatest nicety, related to -the whole affairs of the Company, small as well as great, and extended -back to the earliest period of the Company’s history. Declarations of -war, treaties of peace, depositions of native princes, dispatches of -governor-generals, proceedings of trials, appeals of natives, revenue -assessments, army disbursements—all were fully recorded in some mode or -other. The written documents relating to a hundred and fifty-five years -of the Company’s history, from 1704 to 1858, filled no less than a -hundred and sixty thousand huge folio volumes. These documents were so -thoroughly indexed and registered that any one could be found by a very -brief search. It was mentioned with pride by the staff of the India -House, that when Lord Stanley, in his capacity as Secretary of State for -India, made his first official visit to Leadenhall Street, he was -invited to test the efficiency of this registration department, by -calling for any particular dispatch, or for any document bearing upon -any act or policy of the Court of Directors, throughout a period of a -century and a half; a promise was given that any one of these documents -should be forthcoming in five minutes. His lordship thereupon asked for -a report on the subject of some occurrence which took place under his -own observation while on a tour in India. The document was speedily -produced, and was found to contain all the details of the transaction -minutely described. - -After the Court of Directors had elected seven members to the new -council, the government nominated the other eight. The greatest name on -the list was Sir John Laird Muir Lawrence, who was expected to return to -England, and for whom a place at the council-board was kept vacant. The -other seven nominated members were Sir Henry Conyngham Montgomery, Sir -Frederick Currie, Major-general Sir Robert John Hussey Vivian, Colonel -Sir Proby Thomas Cautley, Lieutenant-colonel Sir Henry Creswicke -Rawlinson, Mr John Pollard Willoughby, and Mr William Arbuthnot. It was -considered that the fifteen members, in reference to their past -experience of Indian affairs, might fairly represent the following -interests: - - Bengal Civil Service, Prinsep, Mangles. - Madras Civil Service, Montgomery. - Bombay Civil Service, Willoughby. - Bengal Army, Cautley. - Madras Army, Vivian. - Bombay Army, Eastwick. - The Punjaub, Lawrence. - Afghan Frontier, Rawlinson. - Native States, Currie. - Indian Law, Hogg, Macnaghten. - Shipping Interests, Shepherd. - Finance, Mills. - Indian Commerce, Arbuthnot. - -This classification, however, was not official; it was only useful in -denoting the kind of knowledge likely to be brought to the council by -each member. When, in the early days of September, Lord Stanley presided -at the first meetings of the new council, he grouped the members into -certain committees, for the more convenient dispatch of business. This -grouping was based in part on the previous practice of the East India -Company, and in part on suggested improvements. The committees were -three in number, of five members each—partly nominated, and partly -elected. The functions and composition of the committees were as follow: - - FINANCE, HOME, AND PUBLIC WORKS. - Sir Proby Cautley, } - Mr Arbuthnot, } Nominated. - - Mr Mills, } - Mr Macnaghten, } Elected. - Captain Shepherd, } - - POLITICAL AND MILITARY. - Sir John Lawrence, } - Sir R. Vivian, } - Sir H. Rawlinson, } Nominated. - Mr Willoughby, } - - Captain Eastwick, Elected. - - REVENUE, JUDICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE. - Sir H. Montgomery, } - Sir F. Currie, } Nominated. - - Sir J. W. Hogg, } - Mr Mangles, } Elected. - Mr Prinsep, } - -Lord Stanley appointed Sir G. R. Clerk and Mr Henry Baillie to be -under-secretaries of state for India; and Mr James Cosmo Melvill, late -deputy-secretary to the East India Company, to be assistant -under-secretary. Mr John Stuart Mill, one of the most distinguished of -the Company’s servants in England, was earnestly solicited by Lord -Stanley to assist the new government with his services; but he declined -on account of impaired health. With a few exceptions, the valued and -experienced servants of the Company became servants of the new council, -as secretaries, clerks, examiners, auditors, record-keepers, &c.; for -the rest, arrangements were to be gradually made in the form of -compensations, pensions, or retiring allowances. - -One of the first proceedings under the new _régime_ was the appointment -of a commission to investigate the complicated relations of the Indian -army. The heads of inquiry on which the commission was to enter included -almost everything that could bear upon the organisation and efficiency -of the military force in the east, under a system where the anomalous -distinction between ‘Company’s’ troops and ‘Queen’s’ troops would no -longer be in force. Such an inquiry would necessarily extend over a -period of many months, and would need to be conducted partly in India -and partly in England. - -In closing this narrative of the demise of the powerful East India -Company as a political or governing body, it may be remarked that all -the well-wishers of India felt the change to be a great and signal one, -whether for good or harm. There were not wanting prophets of disaster. -The influence of parliament being so much more readily brought to bear -upon a government department than upon the East India Company, many -persons entertained misgivings concerning the effect of the change upon -the well-being of India. Before any long period could elapse, submarine -cables would probably have been sunk in so many seas, and land-cables -stretched across so many countries, that a message would be flashed from -London to Calcutta in a few hours. Lord Palmerston once jocularly made a -prediction, ten years before the Indian mutiny broke out, to the effect -that the day would come when, if a minister were asked in parliament -whether war had broken out in India, he would reply: ‘Wait a minute; -I’ll just telegraph to the governor-general, and let you know.’ A war in -India did indeed come, before the period for the fulfilment of this -prediction; but the time was assuredly approaching when the -‘lightning-post,’ as the natives of India felicitously call it, would be -in operation. What would be the results? Some of the foreboders of -disaster said: ‘In any great crisis, it is true, which demands prompt -action on the part of the governing country, this rapid -intercommunication will be a source of strength; the resources of -England will be brought to bear upon any part of India four or five -weeks sooner than under existing circumstances. But, on the other hand, -the ordinary work of government, at either end of the wire, will be -greatly complicated and embarrassed by this frequent intercommunication -of ideas. The Council of India will probably not be overanxious to -fetter the movements of the governor-general; nor will the Secretary of -State for India be necessarily prone to send curt sentences of advice or -remonstrance to the distant viceroy; but it is doubtful whether -parliament would suffer the council or the Secretary to exercise this -wise forbearance. There would be a tendency to govern India by the House -of Commons through the medium of the electric telegraph. A sensitive -governor-general would be worried to death in a few months by the -interference of the telegraph with his free action; and an irritable one -might be stung into indignant resignation in a much shorter time.’ All -such fears are groundless. If a message from England were perilous in -its tendency through its ease and quickness of transmission, a message -from India pointing out this perilous tendency would be equally easy and -quick. The electric messenger does its work as rapidly in one direction -as the other. A governor-general, worthy of the name, would take care -not instantly to obey an order which he believed to be dangerous to the -welfare of the country under his charge; the wire would enable him to -converse with the authorities at home in a few hours, or, at any rate, a -few days, and to explain circumstances which would probably lead to a -modification of the order issued. The electric telegraph being one of -the greatest boons ever given by science to mankind, it will be strange -indeed if England does not derive from it—in her government of India, as -in other matters—an amount of benefit that will immeasurably outweigh -any temporary inconveniences. - -[Illustration: - - Calcutta.—Company’s Troops early in the Nineteenth Century. -] - ------ - -Footnote 191: - - Some of the documents here adverted to will be given _verbatim_; - others in a condensed form. - -Footnote 192: - - See Chap, xxvii., p. 451. - -Footnote 193: - - See Engraving, p. 452. - -[Illustration: - - W. & R. CHAMBERS LONDON & EDINBURGH -] - -[Illustration: - - ORMUZ—Entrance to the Persian Gulf. -] - - - - - SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER. - - § 1. THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION, 1856-7. - - § 2. THE CHINESE AND JAPANESE EXPEDITIONS, 1856-7-8. - - § 3. ENGLISH PROSPECTS IN THE EAST. - - -Not the least among the many extraordinary circumstances connected with -the Revolt in India was this—that England, at the very time when the -Revolt began, had two Asiatic wars on her hands, one eastward and the -other westward of her Indian empire. True, the Shah of Persia had -consented to a treaty of peace before that date; true, the Emperor of -China had not yet actually received a declaration of war; but it is -equally true that British generals and soldiers were still holding -conquered positions in the one country, and that hostilities had -commenced in the other. We have seen in former chapters, and shall have -occasion to refer to the fact again, that Viscount Canning was most -earnestly desirous, when the troubles in India began, to obtain the aid -of two bodies of British troops—those going to China, and those -returning from Persia. It must ever remain an insoluble problem how the -Revolt would have fared if there had been no Persian and Chinese -expeditions. On the one hand, several additional regiments of the -Company’s army, native as well as European, would have been in India, -instead of in or near Persia. On the other hand, there would not have -been so many disciplined British troops at that time on the way from -England to the east. Whether these two opposing circumstances would have -neutralised each other, can only be vaguely guessed at. - -There are other considerations, however, than that which concerns the -presence or absence of British troops, tending to give these two -expeditions a claim to some brief notice in the present work. The -Persian war, if the short series of hostilities deserve that name, -arose, mainly and in the first instance, out of apprehensions for the -future safety of British India on the northwest. The Chinese war arose, -mainly and in the first instance, out of that opium-traffic which had -put so many millions sterling into the coffers of the East India -Company. Other events, it is true, had tended to give a different colour -and an intricate complication to the respective quarrels; but it can -hardly be doubted that the India frontier-question in the one case, and -the India opium-question in the other, were the most powerful -predisposing causes in bringing about the two wars. Two sections of the -present chapter are appropriated to such an outline of these two warlike -expeditions as will shew how far they were induced by India, and how far -they affected India, before and during the Revolt. Any detailed -treatment of the operations would be beyond the scope of the present -volume. The expedition to Japan will claim a little notice as a peaceful -episode in the Chinese narrative. - - - § 1. THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION, 1856-7. - -Examining a map of Asia, we shall see that the country, called in its -widest extent Afghanistan, is bounded on the east by India, on the west -by Persia, and on the north by the territories of various Turcoman -tribes. Whatever may be the fruitfulness or value of Afghanistan in -other respects, it includes and possesses the only practicable route -from Central Asia to the rich plains of India. So far as Persia, -Bokhara, and Khiva are concerned, England would never for a moment think -of doubting the safety of India; but when, in bygone years, it was known -that Russia was increasing her power in Central Asia, acquiring a great -influence over the Shah of Persia, and sending secret agents to -Afghanistan, a suspicion arose that the eye of the Czar was directed -towards the Indus as well as towards the Bosphorus, to India as well as -to Turkey. Alarmists may have coloured this probability too highly, but -the symptoms were not on that account to be wholly neglected. About -midway between the Punjaub and the Caspian Sea is the city of Herat, -near the meeting-point of Persia, Afghanistan, and Turkistan or -Independent Tatary. It was this city, rather than any other, which -caused the war with Persia. To what state does Herat belong, Persia or -Afghanistan? The answer to this question is of great political -importance; for as Russia has more influence in the first-named state -than in the second, any aggressive schemes of the court of St Petersburg -against India would be favoured by a declaration or admission that Herat -belonged to Persia. In the course of twenty centuries Afghanistan has -been in succession under Persian, Bactrian, Scythian, Hindoo, Persian, -Saracenic, Turcoman, Khorasan, Mongol, Mogul, Persian, and Afghan rule; -until at length, in 1824, three Afghan princes divided the country -between them—one taking the Cabool province, another that of Candahar, -and another that of Herat. There are therefore abundant excuses for -Persians and Turcomans, Afghans and Hindoos, laying claim to this -region, if they think themselves strong enough to enforce their claims. -It is just such a complication as Russia would like to encourage, -supposing her to have any designs against India—just such a -complication, we must in justice add, as would lead England to seize -Afghanistan, if she thought it necessary for the safety of her Indian -empire. When Lord Auckland was governor-general of India, in 1837, he -interfered in Afghan politics, in order to insure the throne of Cabool -to a prince friendly to England and hostile to Russia and Persia; this -interference led to the first Afghan war in 1838, the disastrous -termination of which brought on the second Afghan war of 1842. Since the -year last named, the Cabool and Candahar territories have remained in -the hands of princes who were bound, by treaties of alliance, to -friendly relations with England. Herat, however, further west and more -inaccessible, became a prey to contentions which brought on the Persian -war in 1856. - -About the year 1833, disputes arose between Herat and Persia which have -never since been wholly healed. The Shah claimed, if not the ownership -of Herat, at least a tribute that would imply a sort of protective -superiority. This tribute was suddenly withdrawn by Kamran Mirza, Khan -of Herat, in or about the year just named; and certain clauses of a -treaty were at the same time disregarded by him. Thence arose a warlike -tendency in the court of Teheran—encouraged by Count Simonich, Russian -ambassador; and discouraged by Mr Ellis, British ambassador. -Negotiations failing, a Persian army began to march, and the Shah -formally declared Herat to be a province of the Persian empire. The -fortress of Ghorian fell, and after that the city of Herat was invested -and besieged. Russia proposed a treaty in 1838, whereby Herat was to be -given to the Khan of Candahar, on the condition that both of these -Afghan states should acknowledge the suzerainty of Persia: the -fulfilment of the conditions being guaranteed by Russia. This alarmed -Sir John M’Neill, at that time British representative at Teheran; he -suggested to Lord Palmerston that the British should send an army to -support Herat, as a means of preventing the falling of the whole of -Afghanistan into the clutches of Russia. Herat was defending itself -bravely, and there might yet be time to save it. The Shah refusing to -listen to M’Neill’s representations, and various petty matters having -given England an excuse to ‘demand satisfaction,’ an expedition was sent -from India to the Persian Gulf in the summer of 1838. Nominally a -dispute about Herat, it was really a struggle whether England or Russia -should acquire most ascendency over the Shah of Persia. Three years of -negotiation, on various minor grievances and differences, led to a -treaty between England and Persia in 1841. There then followed many -years of peace—not, however, unalloyed by troubles. Persia, urged on -secretly by Russia, continually endeavoured to obtain power in the Herat -territory; while the oriental vanity of the officials led them into many -breaches of courtesy towards English envoys, consuls, and merchants. In -1851, it came to the knowledge of Colonel Sheil, at that time British -minister at the court of Teheran, that Persia was quietly preparing for -another attack on Herat. In spite of Sheil’s remonstrances, the Shah -sent an army against that city in 1852, captured the place, set up a -dependent as subsidiary chief or khan, coined money with his own effigy, -imprisoned and tortured many Afghan chiefs, and formally annexed the -Herat territory as part of the great Persian empire. Colonel Sheil, -failing in all his endeavours to counteract the policy of the Persian -court, sent home to recommend that the British should despatch an -expedition to the Persian Gulf. Under the influence of English pressure, -the Shah signed another treaty in 1853—engaging to give up Herat; not to -attack it again unless an attack came previously from the side of Cabool -or Candahar; and to be content with the merely nominal suzerainty which -existed in the time of the late Khan. The Persians, nevertheless, threw -numberless obstacles in the way of carrying out this treaty; insomuch -that Colonel Sheil was engaged in a perpetual angry correspondence with -them. Faith in treaties is very little understood in Asia; and the court -of Persia is thoroughly Asiatic in this matter. While this wrangle was -going on, another embarrassment arose, out of the employment by the Hon. -A. C. Murray, British representative, of a Persian named Mirza Hashem -Khan, against the Shah’s orders. A seizure of Hashem’s wife by the -authorities was converted by Mr Murray into a national insult, on the -ground that Hashem was now in the service, and under the protection, of -the British crown. Murray struck his flag from the embassy house, until -the matter should be settled. A most undignified quarrel took place -during the winter of 1855, and far into 1856—Mr Murray insisting on the -supreme rights of the British protectorate; and the Persian authorities -disseminating scandalous stories as to the motives which induced him to -protect the lady in question. - -The scene was next transferred to Constantinople; where, early in 1856, -the Persian minister discussed the matter with Lord Stratford de -Redcliffe, deploring the rupture, and laying all the blame on Mr Murray -and the other British officials. In a memorandum drawn up at Teheran, -for circulation in the different European courts, M’Neill, Sheil, -Murray—all were stigmatised as mischief-makers, bent on humiliating -Persia, and on disturbing the friendly relations between the Shah and -Queen Victoria. In an autograph document from the Shah himself, Mr -Murray was designated ‘stupid, ignorant, and insane; one who has the -audacity and impudence to insult even kings.’ - -Before this Murray quarrel was ended, hostilities broke out again at -Herat. There were rival parties in that city; there was an attack -threatened by Dost Mohammed of Cabool; an appeal was made to Persia for -aid, by the Khan who at this time ruled Herat; and Persia marched an -army of 9000 men in that direction. The British government, regarding -this march as an infringement of the treaty of Herat, demanded the -withdrawal of the troops, and threatened warlike proceedings if the -demand were not attended to. The Persians, whether emboldened by secret -encouragement from Russia, or actuated by any other motive, made a -pretence of negotiating, but nevertheless proceeded with their -expedition, captured Ghorian, and laid siege to Herat. Hereupon -instructions were sent out to the governor-general of India, to prepare -a warlike force for service in the Persian Gulf. Before those -instructions could reach Bombay, Ferukh Khan arrived at Constantinople -with full powers from the Shah to settle all points of difference -between Persia and England. Lord Stratford de Redcliffe was empowered to -treat with this plenipotentiary; they made great advances towards the -settlement of the terms of a treaty; but while they were discussing (in -November), news arrived that the Persians had captured the city of Herat -after a long siege. This strange confusion between diplomacy at -Constantinople and war at Herat, stringent orders from London and -warlike alacrity at Bombay, totally disarranged the negotiations of -Ferukh Khan and Lord Stratford de Redcliffe; those ministers could do -nothing further. The governor-general declared war against Persia on the -1st of November, and the Persian plenipotentiary left Constantinople for -Teheran in December. - -Thus arose the Persian expedition—out of circumstances so complicated, -that it is difficult to bear in mind the relations of one to another. -The existence of intrigues among contending parties in the state of -Herat; the frequent strife between the Afghans of Cabool and Candahar -and those of Herat; the well-remembered and never-abandoned claims of -Persia upon the last-named state; the open desire of Russia to obtain a -hold over the Persian court; the concealed desire of the same astute -power to approach nearer and nearer to the gates of India; the anxiety -of England to see Afghanistan remain as a barrier between India and the -centre of Asia; the tendency of Persia to disregard those courtesies to -western nations which oriental potentates have never willingly -conceded—all were concurrent causes in bringing about the British -expedition to the Persian Gulf in 1856. The most powerful incentive, -probably, although never acknowledged in diplomatic correspondence, was -the wish to keep Russia as far as possible away from India. - -But, it may be asked, what had the East India Company to do with this -war? Why was India put to the expense of providing an armament for -invading Persia? This, in truth, was one of the anomalies connected with -the ‘double government’ of India. It was a war declared by Lord -Palmerston’s cabinet; but as it was founded on considerations relating -to the safety of India, it was treated as an India war, to be conducted -by the authorities in British India. - -The providing of the army for the Persian Gulf devolved chiefly upon -Lord Elphinstone, as governor of Bombay. The army was in two divisions, -one of which left Bombay several weeks before the other. Numerous -transport-vessels were chartered, besides many of the large -mail-steamers, to carry troops, guns, and stores to the Persian Gulf. -The commissariat and quarter-masters’ departments had to make great -preparations—a thousand baggage-cattle; fodder for these, for -draught-bullocks, and for cavalry and artillery horses; framework for -fifteen hospitals; hutting for many thousand soldiers, &c. Means of -transport had to be provided for most of these, as it would not be safe -to rely on supplies obtained in an enemy’s country. - -Gradually, as the troops, guns, and stores reached the shores of Persia, -the organisation of the force proceeded. It was thus constituted: - - FIRST DIVISION. - - { H.M. 64th foot. - 1st Infantry Brigade, { 20th Bombay N.I. - - { 2d Bombay Europeans. - 2d Infantry Brigade, { 4th Bombay Rifles. - - { 3d Bombay native cavalry. - Cavalry Brigade, { Poonah Horse. - - Artillery Brigade, Various detachments. - - SECOND DIVISION. - - { H.M. 78th Highlanders. - 1st Infantry Brigade, { 26th Bombay N.I. - - { 23d Bombay N.I. - 2d Infantry Brigade, { Light Batt. B.N.I. - - { H.M. 14th Dragoons. - Cavalry Brigade, { Jacob’s Sinde Horse. - - { Troop horse-artillery. - Artillery Brigade, { Two field-batteries. - -The several divisions and brigades were thus commanded: The first -division was placed under Major-general Stalker; and the four brigades -of which it consisted were commanded by Brigadiers Wilson, Honner, Tapp, -and Trevelyan. The second division was under Brigadier-general -Havelock—who lived to become so famous in connection with the wars of -the Indian mutiny; and the four brigades which it comprised were -commanded by Brigadiers Hamilton, Hale, Steuart, and Hutt. -Brigadier-general Jacob commanded in chief the cavalry of both -divisions; while Major-general Sir James Outram held supreme command of -the whole force. - -The first division, as we have said, preceded the second by several -weeks. General Stalker took his departure from Bombay on the 26th of -November, with a fleet of nearly forty vessels under Admiral Sir Henry -Leeke—a few of them war-steamers, but chiefly steam and sailing -transports, carrying 10,000 soldiers, sailors, and men of all grades and -employments. Stalker and Leeke, having brought all the troops and stores -past Ormuz and up the Persian Gulf, captured the island of Karrack as a -military depôt, and then effected a landing at Hallila Bay, about twelve -miles south of Bushire. Although the opposition, from a few hundred -Persian troops, was very insignificant, the landing was nevertheless a -slow process, occupying three days and two nights—owing chiefly to the -absence of any other boats than those belonging to the ships. There -being no draught-cattle landed at that time, the troops were without -tents or baggage of any kind; they therefore carried three days’ rations -in their haversacks. After being thus engaged on the 7th of December and -two following days, Stalker and Leeke advanced towards Bushire—the one -with the troops along the shore, the other with the fleet at easy -distance. Bushire is an important commercial town on the northeast side -of the gulf; whoever commands it, commands much of the trade of Persia. -Stalker found the defences to be far stronger than he had anticipated. -On the 9th he dislodged a body of Persian troops from a strong position -they occupied in the old Dutch fort of Reshire. On the 10th, after a -short bombardment, Bushire itself surrendered—with a promptness which -shewed how few soldierly qualities were possessed by the garrison; for -the place contained sixty-five guns, with a large store of warlike -supplies. The governor of the city, and the commander of the troops, -came out and delivered up their swords. The troops of the garrison, -about two thousand in number, having marched out and delivered up their -arms, were escorted by cavalry to a distance, and then set free. By the -evening of the 11th the tents and cooking-utensils were landed; and an -intrenched camp was formed outside Bushire as a temporary resting-place -for the force—sufficient detachments being told off to hold the city and -fort safely. So entirely had the expedition been kept secret from the -Persians, that when, on the 29th of November, the first vessels of the -fleet hove in sight, the governor of Bushire sent to Mr Consul Jones to -ask what it meant; and he only then learned that our army and navy had -come to capture the city. This plan was adopted, to obtain a ‘material -guarantee’ sufficiently serious to influence the double-dealing Persian -government. - -Here the troops remained for several weeks. The second division, and the -real head of the force, had not arrived; and General Stalker was not -expected or authorised to undertake anything further at present. His -camp, about a mile from Bushire, assumed every day a more orderly -appearance; and steady trading transactions were carried on with the -towns-people. The transport ships went to and fro between Bushire and -Bombay, bringing guns and supplies of various kinds. - -The political relations between the two countries, meanwhile, remained -as indefinite as before. Mr Murray came from Bagdad to Bushire, to -confer with the military and naval leaders on all necessary matters, and -to negotiate with the Shah’s government if favourable opportunity for so -doing should offer. Herat remained in the hands of its conquerors, the -Persians. Sir John Lawrence, in his capacity as chief authority in the -Punjaub, held more than one interview with Dost Mohammed, Khan of -Cabool, in order to keep that wily leader true to his alliance with -England; and it was considered a fair probability that if Persia did not -yield to England’s demands, a second expedition would be sent from the -Punjaub and Sinde through Afghanistan to Herat. - -It was not until the last week in January, 1857, that Sir James Outram -and his staff reached the Persian Gulf; nearly all the infantry had -preceded him, but much of the artillery and cavalry had yet to come. Sir -James sighted Bushire on the 30th; and General Stalker, long encamped -outside the town, made prompt preparations for his reception. Outram was -desirous of instant action. Stalker had been stationary, not because -there was nothing to do, but because his resources were inadequate to -any extensive operations. Shiraz, the most important city in that part -of Persia, lying nearly due east of Bushire, is connected with it by two -roads, one through Ferozabad, and the other through Kisht and Kazeroon; -the Persians were rumoured to have 20,000 men guarding the first of -these two roads, and a smaller number guarding the second. These reports -were afterwards proved to be greatly exaggerated; but Sir James -determined that, at any rate, there should be no longer sojourn at -Bushire than was absolutely needed. - -Information having arrived that a large body of Persians was at the foot -of the nearest hills, Outram resolved to dislodge them. The troops were -under Soojah-ool-Moolk, governor of Shiraz, and formed the nucleus of a -larger force intended for the recapture of Bushire. Leaving the town to -be guarded by seamen from the ships, and the camp by about 1500 soldiers -under Colonel Shephard, with the _Euphrates_ so moored that her guns -could command the approaches—Outram started on the 3d of February, with -about 4600 men and 18 guns. He took no tents or extra clothing; but gave -to each soldier a greatcoat, a blanket, and two days’ rations; while the -commissariat provided three more days’ rations. He marched round the -head of Bushire creek to Char-kota, and on the 5th came suddenly upon -the enemy’s camp, which they had precipitately abandoned when they heard -of his approach. This was near the town of Borasjoon, on the road to -Shiraz. On the next two days he secured large stores of ammunition, -carriages, camp-equipage, stores, grain, rice, horses, and -cattle—everything but guns; these had been safely carried off by the -enemy to the difficult pass of Mhak, in the mountains lying between -Bushire and Shiraz; and as Sir James had not made any extensive -commissariat arrangements, he did not deem it prudent to follow them at -that time. - -On the evening of the 7th, Outram began his march back to Bushire—after -destroying nearly twenty tons of powder, and vast quantities of shot and -shell; and after securing as booty such flour, grain, rice, and stores -as belonged to the government rather than to the villagers. But now -occurred a most unexpected event. The Persian cavalry, which retreated -while Outram had been advancing, resolved to attack while he was -retreating. They approached soon after midnight; and the British were -soon enveloped in a skirmishing fire with an enemy whom they could not -see. Outram fell from his horse, and Stalker had to take the command for -a time. The enemy having brought four guns within accurate range, the -position was for a time very serious. Stalker was enabled by degrees to -get the regiments into array, so as to grapple with the enemy as soon as -daylight should point out their position. When at length, on the morning -of the 8th, the British saw the Persians, seven or eight thousand -strong, drawn up in order near the walled village of Khoosh-aub, they -dashed at them at once with cavalry and horse-artillery, so irresistibly -that the plain was soon strewed with dead bodies; the enemy fled -panic-stricken in all directions; and if Outram’s cavalry had been more -numerous (he had barely 500 sabres), he could almost have annihilated -the Persian infantry. By ten o’clock all was over, the Persians leaving -two guns and all their ammunition in the hands of the British. In the -evening Outram resumed his march, and re-entered Bushire during the -night of the 9th. His troops had marched ninety miles over ground -converted into a swamp by heavy rains, and had seized a camp and won a -battle, in a little more than six days. In a ‘Field-force Order,’ issued -on February 10th, and signed by Colonel (afterwards Sir Edward) Lugard -as chief of the staff, Outram warmly complimented his troops on this -achievement. - -After this dashing affair at Khoosh-aub, the patience of Sir James was -sorely tried by a long period of comparative inactivity—occasioned in -part by the rainy state of the weather, and in part by the non-arrival -of some of the artillery and cavalry, without which his further -operations would necessarily be much impeded. Brigadier-general Havelock -arrived about this time, and took command of the second division, which -had hitherto been under a substitute. The feeding of the army had become -a difficult matter; for the Persian traders came in less readily after -the battle of Khoosh-aub. Rumours gradually spread in the camp that an -expedition was shortly to be sent out to Mohamrah, a town near the -confluence of the Euphrates and the Karoon, about three days’ sail up -from Bushire; these rumours gave pleasurable excitement to the troops, -who were becoming somewhat wearied of their Bushire encampment. Much had -yet to be done, however, before the expedition could start; the -northwest winds in the gulf delayed the arrival of the ships containing -the cavalry and artillery. On the 4th of March, Sir James made public -his plan. General Stalker was to remain at Bushire, with Brigadiers -Wilson, Honner, and Tapp, in command of about 3000 men of all arms; -while Outram and Havelock, with several of the brigadiers, at the head -of 4000 troops, were to make an expedition to Mohamrah, where many -fortifications were reported to have been recently thrown up, and where -10,000 or 12,000 Persian troops were assembled. During many days -troop-ships were going up the Persian Gulf and the Euphrates—some -conveying the troops already at Bushire; and others conveying cavalry -and artillery as fast as they arrived from Bombay. The enemy eagerly -watched these movements from the shore, but ventured on no molestation. - -During the three weeks occupied by these movements, events of an almost -unprecedented character occurred at Bushire—the suicide of two British -officers who dreaded the responsibility of the duties devolving upon -them. These officers were—Major-general Stalker, commanding the first -division of the army; and Commodore Ethersey, who had been placed in -command of the Indian navy in the Persian Gulf when Sir Henry Leeke -returned to Bombay. Stalker shot himself on the 14th of March. On that -morning, Sir James Outram and Commander Jones had breakfasted with him -in his tent. He displayed no especial despondency; but it had been -before remarked how distressed he appeared on the subject of the want of -barrack-accommodation for his troops—fearing lest he should be held -responsible if the soldiers, during the heat of the approaching summer, -suffered through want of shelter. On one or two other subjects he -appeared unable to bear the burden of command; he dreaded lest Outram, -by exposing himself to danger in any approaching conflict, might lose -his life, and thereby leave the whole weight of the duty and -responsibility on him (Stalker). Shortly after breakfast, a shot was -heard in the tent, and the unfortunate general was found weltering in -his blood. Commodore Ethersey followed this sad example three days -afterwards. For three months he had been labouring under anxiety and -despondency, haunted by a perpetual apprehension that neither his mental -nor physical powers would bear up under the weight of responsibility -incurred by the charge of the Indian navy during the forthcoming -operations. Memoranda in his diary afforded full proof of this. An entry -on the day after Stalker’s suicide ran thus: ‘Heard of poor Stalker’s -melancholy death. His case is similar to my own. He felt he was unequal -to the responsibility imposed on him.... I have had a wretched night.’ -So deep had been his despondency for some time, and so frequently -expressed to those around him, that the news of his suicide on the 17th -excited less surprise than pain. - -It had been Outram’s intention to proceed against Mohamrah directly -after his return from Borasjoon and Khoosh-aub; but the unexpected and -vexing delays above adverted to prevented him from setting forth until -the 18th of March. He was aware that the Persians had for three months -been strengthening the fortifications of that place; he knew that the -opposite bank of the river was on Turkish ground (Mesopotamia), on which -he would not be permitted to erect batteries; and he therefore -anticipated a tough struggle before he could master Mohamrah. His plan -was, to attack the enemy’s batteries with armed steamers and -sloops-of-war; and then, when the fire had slackened, to tow up the -troops in boats by small steamers, land them at a selected point, and at -once proceed to attack the enemy’s camp. The Persian army, 13,000 -strong, was commanded by the Shahzada, Prince Mirza. Outram’s force was -rather under 5000, including only 400 cavalry: the rest having been left -to guard Bushire and the encampment. Outram and Havelock arrived near -Mohamrah on the 24th, and immediately began to place the war-ships in -array, and to plant mortars on rafts in the river. On the 26th, the -ships and mortars opened a furious fire; under cover of which the troops -were towed up the river, and landed at a spot northward of the town and -its batteries. The Persians, who had felt the utmost confidence that the -landing of a British force, in the face of thirteen thousand men and a -formidable array of batteries, would be an impossibility, were -panic-stricken at this audacity. When, at about two o’clock, Outram -advanced from the landing-place through date-groves and across a plain -to the enemy’s camp, the Persians fled precipitately, after exploding -their largest magazine—leaving behind them all their tents, several -magazines of ammunition, seventeen guns, baggage, and a vast amount of -public and private stores. As Outram had, at that hour, been able to -land not even one hundred cavalry, he could effect little in the way of -pursuit; the Persians made off, strewing the ground with arms and -accoutrements which they abandoned in their hurry. Commodore Young -commanded the naval portion of this expedition, having succeeded the -unfortunate Ethersey. - -This action of Mohamrah scarcely deserved the name of a battle; for as -soon as the ships and mortars had, by their firing, enabled the troops -to land, the enemy ran away. Outram had scarcely any cavalry, and his -infantry had no fighting—rather to their disappointment. The Persians -having retreated up the river Karoon towards Ahwaz, Outram resolved to -send three small armed steamers after them, each carrying a hundred -infantry. Captain Rennie started on the 29th, in command of this -flotilla: his instructions being, ‘to steam up to Ahwaz, and act with -discretion according to circumstances.’ He proceeded thirty miles that -day, anchored at night, landed, and found the remains of a bivouac. On -the 30th he reached Ismailiyeh, and on the 31st Oomarra. Arriving near -Ahwaz on the 1st of April, Rennie came up with the Persian army which -had retreated from Mohamrah. Nothing daunted, he landed his little force -of 300 men, advanced to the town, entered it, and allayed the fears of -the inhabitants; while the Persians, thirty or forty times his number, -retreated further northward towards Shuster, with scarcely any attempt -to disturb him—such was the panic into which the affair at Mohamrah had -thrown them. Captain Rennie, having had the satisfaction of putting to -flight a large Persian army with a handful of 300 British, and having -given to the inhabitants of Ahwaz such stores of government grain and -flour as he could seize, embarked a quantity of arms, sheep, and mules, -which he had captured, and steamed back to Mohamrah—earning and -receiving the thanks of the general for his management of the -expedition. - -Just at this period a most sudden and unexpected event put an end to the -operations. Captain Rennie’s expedition returned to Mohamrah on the 4th -of April; and on the 5th arrived news that peace had been signed between -England and Persia. Outram’s army, European and native, was rapidly -approaching 14,000 men; such a force, under such a leader, might have -marched from one end of Persia to the other; and both officers and -soldiers had begun to have bright anticipations of honour, and perhaps -of prize-money. It was with something like disappointment, therefore, -that the news of the treaty was listened to; there had not been fighting -enough to whet the appetites of the heroic; while soldiers generally -would fain make a treaty at the sword’s point, rather than see it done -in the bureaux of diplomatists. Captain Hunt of the 78th Highlanders, -who was concerned in the operations at Mohamrah and Ahwaz, and who wrote -a volume descriptive of the whole campaign, told very frankly of the -dissatisfaction in the camp: ‘The news of peace with Persia having been -signed at Paris on the 4th of March damped the elation of all, and -considerable disgust was felt at this abrupt termination to what had -promised to prove a brilliant campaign.’ - -How and where the treaty of peace was concluded, we must now shew, in -connection with the proceedings of ministers, legislators, and -ambassadors. - -When the Persian expedition was determined on, parliament was not -sitting, and no legislative sanction for the war could be obtained; but -when the session opened in February 1857, the policy of the government -was severely canvassed. Ministers were charged with involving the -country in a war, without the nation itself being acquainted with the -causes, or even consulted at all in the matter. The Earl of Clarendon -explained the course of events at considerable length. He went into the -case of Mr Murray, and the quarrel with the Persian government on -matters of diplomatic etiquette—justifying that envoy in all that he had -done. But the earl was particular in his assertions that the Murray -dispute was not the cause of the war. The siege and capture of Herat -furnished the _casus belli_. He dwelt on the immense value of that city -as a military station. ‘Herat is altogether a most important place for -military operations; and an enemy once in possession of it is completely -master of the position. Every government of this country has desired -that Afghanistan should be protected; and it clearly cannot be protected -if Herat remains in the power of Persia.’ He expressed a conviction that -‘the Russian government and the whole of the Russian people are under a -belief that their destiny is to go forward, to conquer, and to hold new -territory;’ and that this disposition would be greatly tempted if -Persia, backed up by Russia, were permitted to seize Herat. He stated -finally that the Persian ambassador at Paris had recently expressed a -wish to renew negotiations for peace, and that the British government -would willingly listen to any overtures for that purpose. Lord -Palmerston gave similar explanations in the House of Commons. The Earls -of Derby and Malmesbury, Earl Grey, Lord John Russell, Mr Gladstone, and -Mr Disraeli, all spoke disparagingly of the Persian expedition—either -because it was not necessary; or because, if necessary, parliamentary -permission for it ought to have been obtained. The latter was the strong -point of opposition; many members asserted, not only that the nation was -involved in a new war without its own consent, but that no one could -understand whether war had been declared by the Crown or by the East -India Company. Earl Grey moved an amendment condemnatory of the -ministerial policy; but this was negatived. The ministers declined to -produce the diplomatic correspondence at that time, because there was a -hope of renewed negotiations with Furukh Khan at Paris. - -At the close of February it became known to the public that the East -India Company had, not unnaturally, demurred to the incidence of the -expenses of the Persian war on their revenues. It appeared that, so -early as the 22d of October the Court of Directors had written to the -president of the Board of Control—adverting to ‘the expedition for -foreign service preparing at Bombay, under the orders (it is presumed) -of her Majesty’s government, communicated through the Secret Committee;’ -and suggesting for his consideration ‘how far it may be just and proper -to subject India to the whole of the charges consequent on those -orders.’ The directors, as a governing body, had no voice whatever in -determining on the Persian war; and yet their soldiers and sailors were -to take part in it, and the Indian revenues to bear all or part of the -burden. It was ultimately decided that England should pay one-half of -the expenses, the other half being borne by the Company out of the -revenues of India. - -Before the British public could learn one single fact connected with the -landing of Sir James Outram or of the second division in Persia, they -were surprised by the announcement that Lord Cowley and Furukh Khan had -succeeded in coming to terms of pacification at Paris—the Persian -ambassador having received from his sovereign large powers for this -purpose. A provisional treaty was signed on the 4th of March, of which -the following is a condensed summary: Peace to be restored between -England and Persia—British troops to evacuate Persia as soon as certain -conditions should be complied with—All prisoners of war to be released -on both sides—The Shah to give an amnesty to any of his subjects who -might have been compromised by and during the war—The Shah to withdraw -all his troops from Herat and Afghanistan within three months after the -ratification of the treaty—The Shah to renounce all claim upon Herat or -any other Afghan state, whether for sovereignty or for tribute—In any -future quarrel between Persia and the Afghan khans, England to be -appealed to as a friendly mediator—England to display equal justice to -Persia and Afghanistan, in the event of any such appeal—Persia to have -the power of declaring and maintaining war against any Afghan state in -the event of positive insult or injury; but not to make such war a -pretext for annexation or permanent occupation—Persia to liberate all -Afghan prisoners, on condition of Persian prisoners being released by -Afghans—All trading arrangements between England and Persia, in relation -to consuls, ports, customs, &c., to be on an equal and friendly -footing—The British mission, on its return to Teheran, to be received -with due honours and ceremonials—Two commissioners to be named by the -two courts, to adjudicate on British pecuniary claims against Persia—The -British government to renounce all claim to any ‘protection’ over the -Shah’s subjects against the Shah’s consent, provided no such power be -given to [Russia or] any other court—England and Persia to aid each -other in suppressing the slave-trade in the Persian Gulf—A portion of -the English troops to remain on Persian soil until Herat should be -evacuated by the Persians, but without any expense, and with as little -annoyance as possible, to the Persian government—Ratifications to be -exchanged at Bagdad within three months. - -This treaty—which, if faithfully carried out, would certainly debar -Persia from any undue interference with Afghan affairs—was signed at -Paris on the very day (March 4th) when Sir James Outram announced to his -troops at Bushire the intended attack on Mohamrah. Such was one of the -anomalies springing from diplomacy at one place and war at another many -thousand miles distant. Furukh Khan proceeded, on the 19th from Paris to -London, where he was received by Queen Victoria as plenipotentiary -extraordinary from the Shah of Persia, and where the arrangements for -the fulfilment of the treaty were further carried out. The treaty having -been forwarded to Teheran, was ratified by the Shah of Persia on the -14th of April, and the ratification arrived at Bagdad on the 17th. The -English nation was still, as it had been from the beginning, without the -means of judging whether the Persian war had been necessary or not; the -government still withheld the state papers, on the ground that, as the -ratification of the treaty would speedily be effected, it would be -better to wait until then. When, later in the year, the Chancellor of -the Exchequer asked the House of Commons for a vote of half a million -sterling, ‘on account of the expenses of the Persian war,’ many members -protested against the vote, on the ground that parliament had not been -consulted in any way concerning the war. On the 16th of July Mr Roebuck -moved a resolution—‘That the war with Persia was declared, prosecuted, -and concluded without information of such transactions being -communicated to parliament; while expensive armaments were equipped -without the sanction of a vote of this House; and that such conduct -tends to weaken its just authority, and to dispense with its -constitutional control over the finances of the country, and renders it -requisite for this House to express its strong reprobation of such a -course of proceeding.’ The government policy was censured on many -grounds by Mr Roebuck, Lord John Russell, Mr Gladstone, and Mr Disraeli; -the first of these speakers even went so far as to attribute the mutiny -in India to the withdrawal of troops for the Persian war. The House of -Commons agreed, however, pretty generally in the opinion, that although -the ministers might reasonably have been more communicative before they -commenced hostilities with Persia, there was ground sufficient for the -hostilities themselves; and the resolution was negatived by 352 to 38. -The question was reopened on the 17th, when the House granted the -half-million asked by the Chancellor of the Exchequer towards defraying -the expenses of this war; renewed attacks were made on the Asiatic -policy of the Palmerston government, but the vote was agreed to; and -nothing further occurred, during the remainder of the session, to -disturb the terms of the pacification. - -It is unnecessary to trace the course of events in Persia after the -ratification of the treaty. The British officers, and the troops under -their charge, had no further glory or honour to acquire; they would be -called upon simply, either to remain quietly in Persia until Herat was -evacuated, or to go through the troublesome ordeal of re-shipment back -to Bombay. The troops all assembled in and near Bushire, where they -resumed their former camp-life. The officers, having little to do, took -occasional trips to Bassorah, Bagdad, and other places on the banks of -the Euphrates and Tigris; while the soldiers were employed in destroying -the fortifications of the encampment, now no longer needed. On the 9th -of May Sir James Outram issued a ‘Field-force Order’—thanking the troops -for their services during this brief and rather uneventful war, and -announcing the break-up of the force. Some of the regiments and corps -were to return to India, as rapidly as means of transport could be -obtained for them; while the rest, under Brigadier-general Jacob, were -to form a small compact army, to remain at Bushire until all the terms -of the treaty were fulfilled. Outram, Havelock, and a large number of -officers, embarked within a few days for India; and by the time they -reached Bombay and Madras, according to the place to which they were -bound, the startling news reached their ears that a military mutiny had -broken out at Meerut and Delhi. What followed, the pages of this volume -have shewn. As to Persia, much delay occurred in carrying out the terms -of the treaty, much travelling to and fro of envoys, and many months’ -detention of British troops at Bushire; but at length the Persians -evacuated Herat, the British quitted the Gulf, and the singular ‘Persian -war,’ marked by so few battles, came to an end. - -[Illustration: - - BUSHIRE. -] - - - § 2. THE CHINESE AND JAPANESE EXPEDITIONS, 1856-7-8. - -The occurrences westward of India having thus been briefly narrated, -attention may now be directed to those on the east. - -Viewed in relation to the circumstances which immediately preceded -hostilities, it might almost be said that England declared war against -China because a few persons went on board a small vessel to search for -certain offenders, and because a Chinese official would not civilly -receive visits from a British official. These trifling incidents, -however, were regarded as symptoms of something greater: symptoms which -required close diplomatic watching. To understand this matter, a brief -summary of earlier events is needed. - -During the first thirty years of the present century, in like manner as -in earlier centuries, Europeans had no recognised right of residing in -China, or even of visiting its ports. Merchants were allowed to reside -at Canton, by official connivance rather than sanction; and even this -was possible only at certain times of the year—they being required in -other months to retire to Macao. They were liable to be expelled from -Canton at any time, with or without assigned cause; their trade was -liable to be stopped with equal suddenness; and, under the designation -of ‘barbarians,’ all negotiation was denied to them except through the -medium of a mercantile community called the Hong merchants. During many -years, Indian opium was the chief commodity sold by the English to the -Chinese, in exchange for tea and other produce. This opium-trade was -always declared illegal by the Chinese government, though always -covertly favoured by the Chinese officials. Quarrels frequently arose -concerning this trade, and the quarrels sometimes ended in violence. The -import of opium became so large that the exports were insufficient to -pay for it; and when silver was thus found necessary to make up the -balance, the imperial anger waxed stronger and stronger. The -‘barbarians’ were commanded not to bring any more opium; but, finding -the trade too profitable to be abandoned, they continued their dealings -in spite of the mandates of the celestial potentate. - -The year 1831 may be said to have commenced the political or -international stage of this difficulty. The governor-general of India -wrote a letter to the governor of Canton, complaining of the conduct of -the Chinese authorities, and demanding explanations, &c. Why his -lordship, rather than any functionary in England, did this, was because -the East India Company in those days sold opium on its own account, and -made use of its political power to render that trade as profitable as -possible—one of the pernicious anomalies arising out of the Company’s -double functions. In 1832, the governor of Canton vouchsafed a partial -explanation, but only to the Hong merchants—refusing with superb scorn, -to communicate either with the Company’s merchants, or with the -governor-general. In 1833 an imperial edict forbade the introduction of -opium; but this, like many that preceded it, remained inoperative. In -1834 the Company’s trading monopoly ceasing, private merchants thereupon -engaged in the tea-trade with China. The English government sent three -commissioners—Lord Napier, Mr (afterwards Sir) J. F. Davis, and Sir G. -B. Robinson—as ‘superintendents of British commerce in China.’ The -Chinese authorities refused to acknowledge these commissioners in any -way, in spite of numerous invitations; while on the other hand the -commissioners refused to retire from Canton to Macao. These disputes led -to violence, and the violence brought a British ship-of-war up the -Canton river. A compromise was the result—the commissioners retiring to -Macao, and the Chinese authorities allowing the resumption of the -opium-traffic. Lord Napier died towards the close of the year, and was -succeeded as chief-superintendent by Mr Davis—Captain Elliot being -appointed secretary, and afterwards third superintendent. During the -next three years trade continued; but the Chinese officials were -uniformly rude and insulting. The British government would not permit -Captain Elliot to submit to these indignities; missives and -counter-missives passed to and fro; and the year 1837 ended with -threatening symptoms. In 1838 Admiral Maitland arrived in Canton river -with a ship of war, to protect British interests—by cannon-balls, if not -by friendly compact. The nearest approach to equality between the two -nations was in an interview between Admiral Maitland and the Chinese -Admiral Kwan; in which Maitland assured his brother-admiral that he -would remain peaceful—until provoked. In 1839, as in previous years, the -opium-trade was often violently interrupted by the Chinese authorities. -The officers of the English government, political and naval, were placed -in an embarrassing position in this matter; their duty was to protect -Englishmen; but they could not compel the Chinese to trade in opium—for -the Chinese government held the same power as all other despotic -governments, of prohibiting or encouraging trade with other countries. -In this year, when Maitland was absent, Elliot became powerless at -Canton; he and all the English were made prisoners, and could not obtain -release until they had destroyed all the opium in the English -stores—more than twenty thousand chests. This was done: Elliot -guaranteeing that the English government would repay the merchants. -Commissioner Lin saw that the opium was wholly destroyed; and by the end -of May almost every European had quitted Canton. - -It was thus that commenced the first Chinese war—a war which had a bad -moral basis on the English side; since it arose more out of the forced -sale of an intoxicating drug, than out of any other circumstance. The -British government, finding themselves bound by Captain Elliot’s promise -to pay an enormous sum for the opium destroyed, and feeling the -importance of maintaining British supremacy in the east, resolved to -settle the quarrel by warlike means. Fighting and negotiating alternated -during 1840 and the two following years. At one time, Sir Gordon Bremer, -at another, Sir Hugh Gough, commanded troops on the Chinese coast, -acting in conjunction with ships-of-war; and according to the amount of -naval or military success, so did the Chinese authorities manifest or -not a disposition to treat. Commissioner Lin, then Commissioner Keshen, -and afterwards Commissioner Key-ing, conducted negotiations—a perilous -duty; for their imperial master did not scruple to punish, or even to -put to death, those diplomatists who made a treaty distasteful to him; -and nothing but the noise of cannon induced him to respect treaties when -made. The chief military and naval events of the three years, in -connection with this struggle, were the following: The British ship -_Hellas_ attacked by junks, and many of the crew killed; an attempt to -burn the British fleet by fire-rafts; Chusan taken by the English; naval -action near Macao; attack and capture of Chuen-pe and Tae-cok-tow; -Hong-kong taken by the English; the Bogue forts, with 460 guns, taken by -Sir Gordon Bremer; Canton attacked by the British, under Sir Hugh Gough, -and only spared on the prompt payment of five million dollars; Amoy, -with 300 guns, taken by the British; the cities of Ting-hae, Ching-hae, -Ning-po, and several others on the coast, captured; several military -engagements in the vicinity of the captured cities; an advance of a -powerful squadron up the Yang-tsze-kiang; and a threatening of the great -city of Nankin, which brought the emperor effectually to terms—all the -previous offers of negotiation on the part of the Chinese having been -mere expedients to save time. - -The war ended thuswise. Sir Henry Pottinger arrived in the Chinese -waters in April 1842, with full power as representative of the British -Crown; and it was he who procured the important ‘Treaty of Nankin,’ -signed by the respective plenipotentiaries in 1842, and the -ratifications exchanged by the respective sovereigns in 1843. This -treaty having had an important bearing on the later or second war with -China, we will epitomise a few of its chief conditions: Lasting peace -and friendship established between England and China—China to pay -21,000,000 dollars for the opium destroyed, and for the expenses of the -war; the payments to be spread over four years—The ports of Canton, -Amoy, Fuh-choo-foo, Ning-po, and Shang-hae, to be thrown open to British -merchants, with consular facilities, and just and regular tariffs—The -island of Hong-kong to become a permanent British possession—All British -subjects, at that time confined in China, to be at once and -unconditionally released—The Chinese emperor to give an amnesty to all -his own subjects, in respect of any proceedings on their part friendly -to the British—Correspondence in future to be conducted on terms of -perfect equality between the officers of the two governments—The islands -of Chusan and Kulangsoo to be held by the British until the fulfilment -of all the conditions of the treaty, and then given up. - -Under the influence of this Treaty of Nankin, trade rapidly extended -between England and China. Instead of being confined to Canton, and -conducted in a stealthy and undignified manner, it was openly carried on -at five ports. The British government did not undertake to protect the -opium-trade more than that in any other commodity; on the contrary, the -representatives of the English government would gladly have seen that -trade diminish; but in truth, the East India Company realised several -millions sterling a year profit by it, and English merchants reaped many -additional millions: insomuch that a very powerful influence was brought -to back up this trade. - -A ‘Supplementary Treaty’ was signed in October 1843, for regulating the -terms of commercial intercourse at the five ports, and providing for the -courteous reception of British representatives by the Chinese officials, -in matters relating to mutual trade. During the thirteen years following -the signature of the Treaty of Nankin, the trade between England and -China gradually increased, though not at so rapid a rate as had been -hoped by British manufacturers and merchants. The English had trading -establishments, with consuls and other officials, at the five ports, and -a colony or military settlement at Hong-kong; while there were always a -few ships-of-war in the Chinese waters. The relations, however, were not -wholly peaceful. The inhabitants of Canton had a general ill-will -towards the English; so had the imperial viceroy; and violence arising -out of this ill-will led to a brief period of hostilities. In April -1847, the English seized the Bogue Forts, in the Canton river, in order -to obtain redress for various insults; this seizure was followed by a -new convention. - -Thus matters continued until October 1856. On the 8th of that month, an -incident occurred, trivial in itself, which gave rise to the ‘Second War -with China.’ Sir John Bowring was at that time chief representative of -British interests in China, with Hong-kong as his head-quarters; Admiral -Sir Michael Seymour commanded the royal ships in those seas; Commodore -Elliot was under Seymour in the Canton and Hong-kong district; and Mr -Parkes was consul at Canton. These were the English officials more -immediately concerned in the matter. On the day here named, a Chinese -officer and a party of soldiers boarded a _lorcha_ or small vessel -called the _Arrow_, anchored off Canton; and then seized twelve out of -fourteen of the crew, bound them, and carried them away. The _Arrow_ had -a colonial register from the governor of Hong-kong, which placed it -under British protection; the master, an Englishman, protested against -the seizure, but was not listened to. The British flag, too, was hauled -down from the lorcha. This was the statement on the part of the British. -Most of the accusations, however, were stoutly denied by the officials -of Canton, who asserted that the lorcha was Chinese, that the owner was -Chinese, that the crew were Chinese, and that the boarding was effected -simply to take into custody men who had committed some offence against -Chinese laws. - -When the seizure of the men from the _Arrow_ became known, Mr Parkes -remonstrated with the Chinese officer, on the ground that the crew were -under British protection. No notice being taken of this remonstrance, Mr -Parkes communicated with the highest dignitary in that part of China, -whose name was Yeh Mingchin, and whose office was variously designated -imperial commissioner, governor, and viceroy. The letter sent by Parkes -to this functionary demanded that the twelve men should be brought back -to the lorcha by the same officer who had taken them away, that an -apology should be made, and an assurance given that the British flag -should in future be respected. The men were sent back, after much -negotiation; but Mr Parkes complained that the return ‘was not made in -the public manner which had marked the seizure, and that all appearance -of an apology was pointedly avoided.’ The facts were communicated to Sir -John Bowring, and by him to Admiral Seymour. No real injury had been -done, for the men had been reinstated; but there was an insult, which -the English representatives conceived themselves bound to resent. They -had often been piqued at the absence of respect shewn by the officers of -the Celestial Empire, and were willing to avail themselves of any -reasonable opportunity for bringing about a more diplomatic state of -affairs. - -The first act of war occurred on the part of the British. Sir John -Bowring recommended to the admiral the seizure of a Chinese junk or -war-boat, as a probable mode of bringing an apology. Sir Michael -accordingly directed Commodore Elliot, of the _Sybille_, to carry out -Bowring’s instructions; and placed at his disposal the _Burracouta_ -steam-sloop and the _Coromandel_ tender. A junk was seized; but this was -a profitless adventure; for, being found to be private property, the -junk was given up again. The admiral next sent the steam-frigates -_Encounter_ and _Sampson_ up the Canton river; ‘in the hope that the -presence of such an imposing force would shew the high-commissioner the -prudence of complying with our demands.’ The Chinese viceroy remained, -nevertheless, immovable; he made no apology. Mr Parkes thereupon went -from Canton to Hong-kong, to consult with Bowring and Seymour as to the -best course to be adopted. They all agreed that the seizure of the -defences of the city of Canton would be the most judicious, both as a -display of power without the sacrifice of life, and of the determination -of the English to enforce redress—‘experience of the Chinese character -having proved that moderation is considered by the officials only as an -evidence of weakness.’ - -Then commenced the second stage in the proceedings. On the 23d of -October, Sir Michael Seymour went in person up to Canton, with the -_Coromandel_, _Sampson_, and _Barracouta_, and accompanied by the -marines and boat-crews of the _Calcutta_, _Winchester_, _Bittern_, and -_Sybille_. He captured four forts a few miles below Canton, spiked the -guns, destroyed the ammunition, and burned the buildings. Another, the -Macao fort, in the middle of the river, mounting 86 guns, he retained -and garrisoned for a time. Mr Parkes was then sent to announce to Yeh -that the British admiral had come to enforce redress for insults -received, and would remain in the river until redress was obtained. The -high-commissioner sent a reply which was not deemed satisfactory. On the -morning of the 24th, marines and sailors were sent to capture the -‘Bird’s Nest Fort,’ the Shamin Fort, and others near Canton; this they -did, spiking the guns and destroying the ammunition. On the afternoon of -the same day, strong reinforcements were sent to the British factory, or -trading-station of the merchants, to protect it from any sudden attack, -and to guard against the floating of fire-rafts by the Chinese on the -river. - -‘Apology’ was the demand made by the British representatives; but no -apology came; and thereupon the siege of Canton was proceeded with. On -the 25th, a fort called the Dutch Folly, immediately opposite the city, -was captured. The 26th being Sunday, nothing was done on that day. On -the 27th, the admiral heightened his demands. He caused Consul Parkes to -write to the Chinese commissioner, to the effect that as the required -apology and reparation had not been given, the terms should be made more -stringent. Henceforward, the field of contest was widened; it was no -longer the lorcha and the flag alone that constituted the grievance. Sir -John Bowring probably thought that the same amount of threat and of -fighting, if fighting there must be, might be made to settle other -annoyances, as well as those more immediately under notice. No reply -being sent to Parkes’s letter, the guns of the _Encounter_ and -_Barracouta_ were brought to bear upon the Chinese commissioner’s -residence, and upon some troops posted on the hills behind a fort named -by the English Gough’s Fort. This enraged Yeh Mingchin, who issued a -proclamation, offering a reward of thirty dollars for every Englishman’s -head. - -Sir Michael, resolved to punish this obstinate viceroy, made -preparations for a much more serious attack. He sent Captain Hall on -shore, to warn the inhabitants of Canton to remove their persons and -property from the vicinity of a certain portion of the city; this they -did during the night of the 27th. On the 28th, a bombardment was kept up -from the Dutch Folly, with a view of opening a clear passage to the wall -of the city; and when this passage was opened by noon on the 29th, a -storming-party was sent in under Commodore Elliot. Marines and sailors, -with two field-pieces, advanced to the wall, and speedily obtained -possession of the defences between two of the city-gates. One of the -gates was then blown to pieces by gunpowder, and another body of seamen -advanced to that spot under Captain Hall. Soon afterwards, Seymour, -Parkes, and Elliot entered the city through this shattered gate, went to -the high-commissioner’s house, inspected it, remained there some time, -and then returned to the ships. The motive for this visit was a singular -one, unusual in European warlike politics, but having a significance in -dealing with so peculiar a people as the Chinese; it was simply (in the -words of the admiral’s dispatch) ‘to shew his excellency that I had the -power to enter the city.’ - -The month of November opened ominously. The British were determined to -humble the pride of the Chinese officials; whereas, these officials -shewed no signs of yielding. Admiral Seymour now addressed a letter in -his own name to the high-commissioner, adverting to the case of the -_Arrow_; pointing threateningly to the fact that Canton was at the mercy -of cannon-balls, and inviting him to terminate the unsatisfactory state -of affairs by a personal interview. He claimed credit, rather than the -reverse, for his conduct towards the city. ‘It has been wholly with a -view to the preservation of life, that my operations have hitherto been -so deliberately conducted. Even when entering the city, no blood was -shed, save where my men were assailed; and the property of the people -was in every way respected.’ Commissioner Yeh’s reply to this letter was -not deficient in courtesy or dignity; whether or not he believed his own -assertions, he at least put them forth in temperate language. He -maintained, as he had before asserted to Consul Parkes, that the seizure -of the twelve men on board the _Arrow_ was perfectly legal; that some of -them had been released on their innocence of an imputed crime being -proved; that the other three were given up when Parkes demanded them; -that the _Arrow_ was a Chinese vessel; that the authorities had no means -of knowing that she had passed into the hands of an Englishman; that no -flag was flying when the vessel was boarded, and, therefore, no flag -could have been insultingly hauled down. The non-admission of English -representatives into Canton was defended on the plea that, the less the -two nations came in contact, the less were they likely to quarrel. Again -was a letter written, and in more threatening terms than before. Sir -Michael refused to discuss in writing the case of the _Arrow_, and -insisted that nothing short of a personal interview between himself and -Yeh, either on shipboard, or in Canton city, could settle the quarrel. -Nothing daunted, Commissioner Yeh replied on the 3d, reiterating his -assertions of the justice of his cause, and acceding to no propositions -for a personal interview. - -On the 6th a naval engagement took place on the river. The Chinese -collected twenty-three war-junks in one spot, under the protection of -the French Folly fort, mounted with twenty-six heavy guns. This fort was -a little lower down the river than the Dutch Folly. Seymour resolved to -disperse this junk-fleet at once. Commodore Elliot headed an attack by -the guns, the crews, and the boats of the _Barracouta_ and _Coromandel_. -A fierce exchange of firing took place: the Chinese having no less than -a hundred and fifty guns in the junks and the fort. The fort was taken, -the guns spiked, and the ammunition destroyed; the Chinese were driven -out of the junks, and twenty-two of those vessels were burned. No -fighting took place on the 7th. On the 8th the Chinese made a bold -attempt to burn the British ships by fire-rafts; but the intended -mischief was frustrated. The commissioner still being immovable, Bowring -now suggested to Seymour that the next step ought to be the capture and -destruction of the Bogue Forts—four powerfully armed defences on which -the Chinese much relied. This was done after more fruitless negotiation. - -[Illustration: - - Chinese War-junks. -] - -Admiral Seymour had thus, by the middle of November, obtained full -command of the Canton river; and he then stayed his operations for a -while. The original cause of dispute, comparatively trifling, had now -given place to a very grave state of affairs; and it remained to be seen -whether the Palmerston ministry would lay all the blame on the obstinacy -of Commissioner Yeh, or whether Bowring and Seymour would be considered -to have exceeded their powers and their duties. So far as concerns the -attitude of the Cantonese themselves, three deputations from the -principal merchants and gentry waited on Mr Parkes between the 8th and -12th of November, to express their wishes that an amicable termination -of the quarrel could be brought about; but at the same time to assert -their conviction that, such was the inflexibility of the -high-commissioner’s character, he would never alter his expressed -determination to refuse the English representatives admission into the -city. - -It may be well to remark in this place that the opium difficulty, which -was unquestionably paramount above all others in the first war with -China, had now lost much of its importance. The imperial government had -in later years issued very few edicts against the traffic in this drug. -Perhaps the quietness in this matter was mainly due to the fact that the -export of silver to pay for the Indian opium was no longer needed—the -increased sale of tea and silk being sufficient to make up an -equivalent. - -On the 26th of the month, other armed forts in the Canton river were -taken by the English. The Chinese, in revenge for these proceedings, -burned and destroyed almost all the European factories, mercantile -buildings, and banks at Canton—leaving so little but ruins that Admiral -Seymour could hardly find a roof to cover the seamen and marines when -they afterwards landed. The commercial losses might be repaired; but an -irreparable consequence of the incendiarism was the destruction of Dr -Williams’s printing establishment; including the large founts of Chinese -type with which Morrison’s Dictionary was printed; and comprising also -more than 10,000 unsold volumes of books. - -In this sort of piecemeal war, each successive attack irritated in its -turn the opposite party; but the burning of the factories determined -Bowring and Seymour to the adoption of a sterner policy than had -hitherto been displayed. They resolved to bombard Canton itself, and to -send an application to the governor-general of India for military -aid—trusting that the home-government would hold them justified in -adopting this course under difficulties and responsibilities of no light -kind. - -The year 1856 came to a close. The new year was ushered in with an -attack by the Chinese on Dutch Folly on the 1st of January. Six guns -mounted on the Canton shore, and four on the opposite shore, fired into -the Folly; but the small English force there stationed soon quelled this -attack. On the 4th, a fleet of war-junks opened fire on the _Comus_ and -_Hornet_ at the barrier in Macao Passage. No sooner did news of this -attack reach Admiral Seymour, than he hastened forward in the -_Coromandel_, towing all the available boats of the other ships. On -nearing the junks, some of them undauntedly attacked the _Coromandel_, -the boats, and a fort called the Teetotum Fort, which the English had -before captured. The junks were heavily armed, and some of them had long -snake-boats lashed to each side to row them along. A third fleet came -down Sulphur Creek, and attacked the _Niger_ and the _Encounter_. This -was altogether a new aspect of the quarrel; the Chinese, not in the -least humbled by the demands of Bowring and Seymour, became the -assailants in the Canton river, and fought with a resolution hardly -expected by their opponents. The attacks were not attended with very -definite results. Not one junk was taken; they retired and collected -into a somewhat formidable fleet of nearly four hundred. - -The state of affairs was in every sense unsatisfactory to the English -authorities. Commissioner Yeh was as firm as ever, and severely reproved -the Canton gentry and merchants who had sent deputations to Sir Michael. -He issued proclamations, denouncing the ‘barbarians’ in fiercer terms -than before. Cruel massacres took place, whenever an isolated Englishman -chanced to fall into the hands of the Chinese. Proclamations in the -native language found their way to Hong-kong, inviting the seventy -thousand Chinese residing in that island to rise against their English -employers. Some of these Chinese were detected in attempts to introduce -poison into the bread made for and sold to the English residents by the -Chinese bakers. Against all this Bowring and Seymour could do little; -and yet something, it was felt, must be attempted; for British trade at -Canton was for a time ruined; and if matters were allowed to remain in -their present state, the triumph of the Chinese would be most -humiliating and pernicious to the English. - -During the month of January (1857), while no progress was made in -settling the differences at Canton, the spirit of the Chinese at -Hong-kong became more and more hostile to the British; nor were those at -Singapore unaffected by the taint. The warlike movements of the month—so -far as that can be called war where no war had yet been -declared—exasperated the Chinese, without making any impression on the -obstinacy of Yeh. They consisted in the destruction of a portion of the -city of Canton. Early on the morning of the 12th, bodies of marines and -sailors set forth, armed with fireballs, torches, steeped oakum, &c.; -they were conveyed in ships’ boats, and landed on different parts of the -suburbs of the city. The boats then retired a little way from the shore, -while the _Barracouta_, _Encounter_, and _Niger_, kept watch in the -middle of the river. The men advanced into the outer streets of the -city, and commenced the work of destruction. The houses being mostly -built of wood, they were easily ignited, and the breeze within an hour -united all the fires into one vast sheet of flame. To increase the -destruction, shot and shell were poured into the city from the ships and -the fort. Throughout the whole of the day, did this miserable work -continue—miserable in so far as it inflicted much suffering on the -inhabitants, without hastening the capture of the city. On the 13th the -attack ceased; Sir Michael Seymour made what arrangements he could to -retain command of the passage of the Canton river; while the Cantonese -provided for their houseless towns-people in hastily built structures. -The British naval force under Sir Michael Seymour, comprising all the -ships in the India and China seas, was by this time very formidable. It -comprised the _Calcutta_ (84), _Raleigh_ (50), _Nanking_ (50), _Sybille_ -(40), _Pique_ (40), eight other sailing-vessels varying from 12 to 26 -guns, twelve war-steamers, and seven steam gun-boats. These could have -wrought great achievements in action at sea, with their 5000 seamen and -marines; but there were scarcely any regular troops to conduct -operations on land. - -During February, the English consuls and traders could not but observe -the increasing hostility of the Chinese. Dastardly assassinations -occasionally took place; piracy was more rampant than ever; war-junks -made their appearance wherever an English boat appeared to be -insufficiently guarded; and proclamations were issued in the name of the -emperor, applauding the firmness of Yeh. The merchants wished either -that the affair of the _Arrow_ had never been taken notice of by the -British authorities, or else that the warlike operations had been -carried on with more resolute effect. All the commercial relations had -become disturbed, without any perceptible prospect of a return to -peaceful trade. One of the worst features in the state of affairs was -this—that as the English throughout the whole of the China seas were at -all times few in number, they were obliged to employ Chinese servants -and helpers; and these Chinamen were found now to be very little -trustworthy. On the 23d of the month, the passenger-steamer _Queen_ was -on its way from Hong-kong to Macao; when suddenly the Chinese passengers -joined with the Chinese crew in a murderous attack on the English -passengers and officers, by which several lives were lost. - -March arrived, but with it no solution of the Chinese difficulty. Even -supposing Sir John Bowring, by this time, to have received instructions -from home, warlike or otherwise, there had been no time to send him -reinforcements of troops; and until such arrived, any extensive -operations on land would be impracticable. Sir John and his colleagues -waited until their hands were strengthened. - -In April, Seymour as well as Bowring remained quietly at Hong-kong, -effecting nothing except the destruction of some junks. On the 6th, -Commodore Elliot, with a fleet of armed boats from the _Sampson_, -_Hornet_, _Sybille_, and _Nanking_, captured and destroyed eleven -war-junks and two well-armed lorchas, after a chase and an engagement -which lasted all day. Documents fell into the hands of the authorities -at Hong-kong, tending to prove the complicity of the mandarins and many -inhabitants of Canton in the various plots of incendiarism, kidnapping, -and assassination, which had imperiled the persons and property of the -English at that island. There were no present means of punishing these -conspirators; but the discovery led to increased watchfulness. - -The month of May witnessed no advance towards a settlement of Chinese -difficulties. A great rebellion was distracting many inland provinces of -the gigantic empire; but it did not appear that this could in any way -help the English. Commissioner Yeh remained in his official residence at -Canton, promising nothing, yielding nothing, and endeavouring to -strengthen the city against the English. The Chinese, on the 3d, made an -attempt to blow up the _Acorn_ sloop-of-war in the Canton River, by -means of a large iron tank filled with gunpowder, which was exploded -close to the sloop; and a similar tank was afterwards found close to the -_Hornet_—the first was exploded with little damage; the second was -discovered before explosion. - -Now occurred the sudden and startling outbreak in India, which wrought a -most signal influence on the progress of affairs in China. Before this -influence can usefully be traced, it will be necessary to glance briefly -at the proceedings in England having reference to the Chinese quarrel. - -It will be remembered that Sir John Bowring had incurred the heavy -responsibility of commencing hostilities in October 1856, without -special Foreign-office instructions; and that Sir Michael Seymour was -equally without Admiralty instructions. These officers could not -possibly receive an expression either of approval or condemnation, of -advice or command, from England, until four or five months after the -commencement of the troubles. It was near the close of the year when the -British government received particulars of the first operations against -Canton; and it was about the beginning of 1857 when the British -newspapers and the nation took up the subject in earnest. - -Immediately on the opening of the session of parliament in February -1857, ministers were eagerly pressed for information concerning the -hostilities in China; because there was a general impression that an -unduly severe punishment had been inflicted by Bowring and Seymour on -the Chinese for a very small offence. On the 5th of February, the Earl -of Ellenborough asked for the production of papers which might throw -light on the affair of the lorcha _Arrow_, and prove whether it was an -English or a Chinese vessel. The Earl of Clarendon, after promising the -production of all the needful documents, stated that Sir John Bowring -had not received any special instructions to demand admission into -China; but that his general instructions authorised him ‘to bear in mind -the desirableness of obtaining that free access to Chinese ports which -was mentioned in the treaty, and more particularly as regarded Canton.’ -Whether the means adopted by Bowring to obtain this free access were -commendable, was a question on which the Houses of Parliament soon -became fiercely engaged. Sir George Bonham, Bowring’s predecessor, had -not thought the admission into Canton a matter of great moment; and as -Bowring was appointed by the Whigs, the Conservatives soon contrived to -make a party question of it. Among the papers made public by the -government about this time, was a dispatch written by the Earl of -Clarendon to Sir John Bowring on the 10th of December 1856. The earl had -just learned all that occurred at Canton between the 8th and the 15th of -October; and he expressed an approval of the course pursued by Bowring -and Parkes. Referring to voluminous documents which had been transmitted -to him, he declared his opinions that the lorcha _Arrow_ had a British -master, British flag, and British papers, and was therefore a British -vessel under the terms of the existing treaty; that if the Chinese -authorities suspected there were pirates among the crew, they should -have applied to the English consul, and not have taken the law into -their own hands by boarding and violence—in short, he approved of what -the British officials had done, so far as concerned the single week’s -proceedings which had alone come to his knowledge. Another mail brought -over news of the seizure of the junks, and of the forcible entry of Sir -Michael Seymour into Commissioner Yeh’s house. This conduct met with the -marked and clearly expressed commendation of the Earl of Clarendon, who, -in a dispatch written on the 10th of January, complimented Seymour, -Bowring, and Parkes on the moderation they had displayed under difficult -circumstances. - -On the 24th of February, the Earl of Derby moved a series of resolutions -in the House of Lords: ‘That this House has heard with deep regret of -the interruption of amicable relations between her Majesty’s subjects -and the Chinese authorities at Canton; arising out of the measures -adopted by her Majesty’s chief-superintendent of trade to obtain -reparation for alleged infractions of the Supplementary Treaty of the -8th of October 1843. That, in the opinion of this House, the occurrence -of differences on this subject rendered the time peculiarly unfavourable -for pressing on the Chinese authorities a claim for the admittance of -British subjects into Canton, which had been left in abeyance since -1849; and for supporting the same by force of arms. That, in the opinion -of this House, operations of actual hostilities ought not to have been -undertaken without the express instructions, previously received, of her -Majesty’s government; and that neither of the subjects adverted to in -the foregoing resolutions afforded sufficient justification for such -operations.’ These resolutions at once threw the whole blame on Sir John -Bowring; his ‘measures adopted’ caused the ‘interruption of amicable -relations,’ and the House ‘heard with deep regret’ this news. Of course, -the ministers could not sanction the resolutions; they had already sent -over approval of Bowring’s conduct, and now they must manfully defend -him. Hence arose a most exciting debate. The Treaty of 1842, the -Supplementary Treaty of 1843, the Convention of 1847—all came into -discussion, as well as the documents which had passed between the -British and Chinese authorities. It became a party battle. All or nearly -all the Whigs defended Sir John; all or nearly all the Conservatives -attacked him. The judicial peers on the one side declared that the -papers proved the _Arrow_ to be a British vessel; those on the other -asserted that the registry of that vessel at Hong-kong had not been so -conducted as to render this fact certain. The statesmen on the one side -argued that Bowring was right to insist on being admitted into Canton by -virtue of the treaty; those on the other contended that the right was -not such as to justify him in bombarding the city. The general adherents -of the one party believed the statement that the flag of the _Arrow_ had -been insultingly hauled down by the Chinese; those of the other credited -the Chinese statement that the flag had not been hauled down. And so -throughout the debate. It was quite as much a contest of Conservative -against Whig, as of Bowring against Yeh. The Earl of Derby made a -vehement appeal to the peers, for their condemnation of Sir John’s -conduct in going to war without express orders from home; and an earnest -exhortation to the bishops ‘to come forward on this occasion and -vindicate the cause of religion, humanity, and civilisation from the -outrage which had been inflicted upon it by the British representatives -in Canton.’ He declared that ‘he should be disappointed indeed if the -right reverend bench did not respond to this appeal.’ The legal argument -was very strongly contested against the government; Lords Lyndhurst, St -Leonards, and Wensleydale all contending that, owing to some -irregularities in the registry, the _Arrow_ was virtually a Chinese -vessel in October 1856, and that the Chinese authorities had a right to -board it in search of pirates. On a division, the resolutions were -negatived by 146 against 110—the bishops, notwithstanding the Earl of -Derby’s appeal, being as much divided as the other peers. - -[Illustration: - - CANTON. -] - -On the 26th the Commons took up the subject, in connection with a -resolution proposed by Mr Cobden—‘That this House has heard with concern -of the conflicts which have occurred between the British and Chinese -authorities in the Canton river; and, without expressing an opinion as -to the extent to which the government of China may have afforded this -country cause of complaint respecting the non-fulfilment of the treaty -of 1842, this House considers that the papers which have been laid upon -the table fail to establish satisfactory grounds for the violent -measures resorted to at Canton in the late affair of the _Arrow_; and -that a select committee be appointed to inquire into the state of our -commercial relations with China.’ This motion was more important than -the one in the Lords, since it led to a dissolution of parliament. The -debates extended through four evenings. Sir John Bowring was attacked by -Mr Cobden, Sir E. Bulwer Lytton, Lord John Russell, Mr Warren, Mr -Whiteside, Lord Goderich, Sir John Pakington, Sir F. Thesiger, Mr Sidney -Herbert, Mr Roundell Palmer, Mr Milner Gibson, Mr Henley, Mr Roebuck, Mr -Gladstone, and Mr Disraeli; while he was defended by Mr Labouchere, Mr -Lowe, the Lord Advocate, Admiral Sir Charles Napier, Admiral Sir Maurice -Berkeley, the Attorney-general, Sir George Grey, Sir Fenwick Williams -‘of Kars,’ Mr Serjeant Shee, Mr Bernal Osborne, and Lord Palmerston. It -was not merely a contest between Liberals and Conservatives; for the -Derby party were joined here by the small but influential Peel party; -while the names of Russell, Cobden, Goderich, Milner Gibson, and Roebuck -will shew to how large an extent the Liberals were dissatisfied with the -proceedings in China. The arguments employed were such as have been more -than once adverted to—that the _Arrow_ was rather a Chinese than an -English vessel; that the Chinese authorities had a right to board it, to -search for pirates; that no British flag was hauled down, because none -was flying on the lorcha at the time; that the return of the crew by the -authorities ought to have satisfied Mr Parkes; that as Commissioner Yeh -gave explanations, a demand ought not to have been made upon him for an -apology also; that Sir John Bowring ought not to have extended the -quarrel so as to include the question of his admission into Canton; that -the seizure of the junks was illegal; and that the bombardment of Canton -was not only illegal, but ferocious and unbefitting Christian men. Every -one of these positions was disputed by the government; nevertheless the -House of Commons sanctioned them, or the resolutions which implied them, -by a majority of 263 over 247. This vote, arrived at on the 3d of March, -determined Lord Palmerston to appeal to the country by dissolving the -existing parliament and assembling a new one. - -During the interregnum between the two parliaments, public opinion was -much divided concerning Chinese affairs. Lord Palmerston was at that -time in much favour, and his courage was admired in defending an absent -subordinate when fiercely attacked; still it was not without a painful -feeling that the nation heard of a great city being bombarded for -trivial reasons. Those who most warmly defended Sir John Bowring were -those who best knew the faithlessness of the Chinese authorities. By a -combination of various causes, direct and indirect, a new House of -Commons was elected more devoted to Lord Palmerston than the one which -preceded it; and the Chinese war then became a settled question, so far -as that branch of the legislature was concerned. During the interval of -more than two months, between the adverse vote on the 3d of March and -the assembling of the new parliament on the 7th of May, the government -were making arrangements for bringing the Chinese difficulty to a -satisfactory termination. They told off certain regiments to be sent to -China; they appointed General Ashburnham to command them; they sent over -the Earl of Elgin with large powers to control the whole of the -proceedings; and they arranged with the French government a joint plan -of action for obtaining, if possible, free commerce at all the Chinese -ports. This scheme of policy was formed and partially put in execution; -but the various portions of it were only by degrees made publicly known. - -When parliament reassembled in May, numerous questions were put to the -ministers in both Houses—concerning the appointment of General -Ashburnham; the poisonings at Hong-kong; the treatment of Chinese -prisoners; the relations between the East India Company and China in -reference to the opium trade; the condition of Hong-kong as a British -colony; the emigration of Chinese coolies—and other matters bearing upon -the state of affairs in the Chinese seas. It speedily transpired that -the French government had appointed Baron Gros, to act with the Earl of -Elgin in the political negotiations with the Chinese; that the United -States government would also send out a plenipotentiary; and that the -Russian governor of the sterile provinces on the banks of the Amoor -would be intrusted with similar powers by the court of St Petersburg. If -peaceful efforts should fail to bring the Chinese government to amicable -relations, war was to be carried on more energetically than before. In -addition to the regiments of troops, the British government sent out the -_Furious_ steam-frigate, the _Surprise_ and _Mohawk_ dispatch-boats, -thirteen steam gun-boats, and a steam transport. The Earl of Elgin left -England on the 21st of April; General Ashburnham had started two or -three weeks earlier; and the troops had gradually been shipped off as -transport for them could be obtained. Certain regiments had been -assigned to India, to relieve other regiments which had been long -stationed there; but it was now proposed to send them first to China, -whence, after settling the troubles, they might be transferred to India. - -Little did the English government foresee how strangely their plans -would be overturned by the formidable Revolt in India. In the earlier -half of the month of June, the English nation directed no particular -attention to the affairs of the east. The Persian war had come to a -close; the Chinese difficulty was languidly waiting for a solution; and -news of the Indian Revolt had not yet arrived. But the close of the -month witnessed a different state of things. The terrible tragedies at -Meerut and Delhi were now known; and legislators and the press alike -demanded that the comparatively unimportant Chinese expedition should -not be allowed to absorb the services of Queen’s troops so much needed -in India. On the 29th, in the House of Lords, the Earl of Ellenborough -said: ‘We have sent to China that naval force which should, in my -opinion, be left upon the shores of England, to give security to this -country even under the auspices of the most profound peace. That naval -force has been despatched to the Chinese waters—for what?—to carry on a -contest between Sir John Bowring and Commissioner Yeh! Six battalions of -troops have been sent out there for the same purpose; but I cannot help -thinking that those six battalions will be found insufficient to bring -under our control the numerous population of Canton. The consequence -will be, that we shall find ourselves under the necessity of sending out -further reinforcements. But are we, with India in danger, to fight the -battle of the government? Are we, my lords, determined, happen what may, -to persevere in that fatal policy which her Majesty’s ministers have -adopted?’ Similar animadversions were made in the House of Commons by Mr -Disraeli. The ministers, while announcing the immediate dispatch of more -troops to India, did not promise that the Chinese expedition should be -diverted from its purpose; for they underrated at that time the serious -import of the sepoy revolt. Soon afterwards, however, when the news from -India became more and more gloomy, orders were issued that some of the -troops not yet embarked should be sent to India instead of China. As no -such catastrophe as a mutiny in India could reasonably be anticipated -when the Earl of Elgin was sent out, the ministers could not tell how -far that plenipotentiary might accede to any application made to him by -the governor-general of India for the use of the troops already -approaching or in the Indian seas. - -Such being the progress of opinion and of preparation in England in -reference to the Chinese quarrel, we may resume the rapid sketch of -operations in China itself. - -When, at about the middle of May 1857, Viscount Canning received news at -Calcutta of the disasters at Meerut and Delhi, he instantly, as we have -seen in a former chapter,[194] transmitted telegraphic messages to -Bombay, Ceylon, and Madras. He inquired whether the Earl of Elgin and -General Ashburnham had arrived at either of those stations, on their way -to China; and made earnest applications that the troops sent from -England to China might be diverted from that route, and despatched to -Calcutta instead. Canning and Elgin had both been intrusted by their -sovereign with extensive powers; both, when they came to communicate, -saw that the events in India were more critical than those in China; and -both were of opinion that the Queen’s troops were more wanted on the -Jumna and Ganges than on the Canton or Pekin rivers. Hence arose an -almost entire stoppage of the operations in the China seas till towards -the close of the year. The slight events that marked the summer and -autumn may be noticed in a few brief paragraphs. - -Towards the close of May, before any considerable reinforcements could -reach China, an attack was made by the British on a fleet of Chinese -war-junks with very considerable effect. One of the many channels which -the Canton river presents, called by the English Escape Creek, being -known to contain a large fleet of junks, Commodore Elliot was ordered to -make a vigorous demonstration in that quarter. On the 25th he entered -the creek, with the _Hong-kong_, _Bustard_, _Staunch_, _Starling_, and -_Forbes_, towing boats filled with men from the _Inflexible_, _Hornet_, -and _Tribune_. He found forty-one mandarin junks, all heavily armed, -moored across the creek; a brisk engagement ensued; and it was not until -after the loss of many men, on the 25th and two following days, that the -junks were destroyed. - -The month of June opened with an engagement of more importance—the -battle of Fatshan. This city is about seven miles distant in a straight -line from Canton, but lying upon a different affluent of the Canton -river. The expedition was not so much against Fatshan itself, as against -a fleet of junks lying in the Fatshan branch or channel. Sir Michael -Seymour himself accompanied this expedition. The channel was too narrow -to admit any except small-craft; and therefore the work was to be done -by gun-boats and row-boats. At three in the morning of the 1st of June -the expedition started forth, the _Coromandel_ towing three hundred -marines in open boats. Many heavily armed forts line the Fatshan creek -near the city, and these speedily opened fire as the boats advanced. -When the _Coromandel_ had nearly reached the town, the _Hong-kong_, -_Haughty_, _Bustard_, _Forester_, _Plover_, _Opossum_, and other -gun-boats, steamed up, each having its few but formidable guns, and each -towing ships’ boats full of ‘blue-jackets.’ The men landed at the foot -of a hill which was crowned with a fort mounting twenty large guns, and -which from that day was called Fort Seymour. The rush up the hill was -exciting; commodores, captains, lieutenants, seamen, marines, all ran -up, equally regardless of danger; and after a few rounds from the fort’s -guns, the Chinese, dismayed at the boldness of the English, took flight, -and ran away from their guns. The assailants then hastened to attack the -junks, which, mounting twelve guns each, were able to pour forth a -tremendous fire of shot and shell. How the British escaped with so -little loss in this encounter is a marvel. The seamen were in ecstasies -at the boldness of the duty assigned to them. The boats’ crews baffled -the shots from so many hundred guns by rowing right up to the junks, -_beneath_ the line of fire of the guns; and when there, they did not -cease till they had set fire to the junks, from which the crews escaped -precipitately over the opposite sides. Out of the seventy-two junks, -sixty-seven were destroyed. - -Anxious were the speculations whether these renewed successes would or -would not lead to any decisive termination of the struggle. Bowring and -Parkes among the civilians, Seymour and Elliot among the naval -commanders, knew well enough that without a military force this could -not be done. They knew, moreover, that until the Earl of Elgin should -arrive, they could not be placed fully in possession of the views of the -home-government. They anxiously counted the days before the new arrivals -would be announced. The Earl of Elgin and General Ashburnham were at -Bombay on the day when the disastrous news from Meerut and Delhi reached -that city. The general went on to Hong-kong, where he arrived on the -10th of June; but the earl, after reaching Singapore, gave orders that -two of the approaching regiments should be diverted from the Chinese -expedition to the service of Viscount Canning. This was ominous of the -cessation of any effective operations on the China coast. Elgin, -moreover, issued orders that, if Canning should make pressing -application for more aid, other regiments should be similarly diverted -to Calcutta. Meanwhile, at Canton, Yeh remained as impassable as ever; -he did not yield an inch. The rich were flying from the city, the poor -were half starved by the stoppage of all trade; nevertheless these -miseries, bad enough to the Chinese themselves, did not improve the -position of the English. - -Early in July the Earl of Elgin arrived in the _Shannon_ war-steamer. A -large staff of military officers had now assembled at Hong-kong; but -there was nothing for them to do, seeing that the regiments had not -arrived, nor did it appear probable how soon Canning could spare them. A -fleet and a staff of military officers were now in the Canton river -almost in a state of idleness. The active correspondent of the _Times_, -having no fighting to witness, made those rambling visits to Shang-hae -and elsewhere which enabled him to give so graphic an account of the -Chinese in their homes and shops and places of amusement. On the 13th -the French admiral arrived at Hong-kong, to confer with Elgin on the -policy to be pursued. At first there was an intention of steaming up to -the Pei-ho river, on which the imperial city of Pekin stands, to bring -the emperor to a conference. Within a few days, however, an urgent -dispatch arrived from Viscount Canning, announcing that the revolt was -spreading widely in India, and asking for further aid. The Earl of Elgin -at once changed his plan. He set off to Calcutta, taking with him a -force of fifteen hundred seamen and marines, mostly belonging to the -_Shannon_ and _Pearl_ war-steamers. It was these hardy men who -constituted the ‘Naval Brigades’ so often mentioned in past chapters of -this work, and in service with which the gallant Captain Sir William -Peel met his death. Elgin’s determination was arrived at in part from -this circumstance—that Baron Gros, the French high-commissioner or -plenipotentiary, was not expected at Hong-kong until September; and that -any negotiations at Pekin would be weakened in force unless the two -countries acted in conjunction through their respective representatives. - -August found the English officers and seamen very little satisfied with -their position and duties in the Chinese waters. An occasional junk-hunt -was all that occurred to break the monotony. Of fighting, such as -men-of-war’s men would dignify by the name, there was little or none. -Yeh continued to govern Canton; the Cantonese continued to suffer by the -suspension of their trade with the British. The four northern ports -managed to retain a trade which was very lucrative to them—selling tea -and silk to the English, and buying opium, which the Chinese dealers -sold again at an enormous profit in the upper or inner provinces. As for -the emperor at Pekin, the English authorities at Hong-kong had no means -of determining to what extent he was cognizant of affairs in the south, -nor how far he sanctioned the immovable line of policy followed by his -viceroy at Canton. - -In the early part of September, Yeh took advantage of the lull in -warlike operations; he built more junks, cast more cannon, raised up -several guns which had been sunk by the English, and collected a fleet -of two hundred war-junks in the Canton and Fatshan waters, ready to -encounter the ‘barbarians’ again in time of need. As a means of -ascertaining what was in progress in this quarter, Commodore Elliot set -forth from Hong-kong to make a reconnaissance. He started up the Canton -river on the 9th, taking with him the gun-boats _Starling_, _Haughty_, -and _Forester_, and the heavy boats of the _Sybille_ and _Highflyer_. He -steamed through some of the channels, which are so numerous as to -convert the banks of the river into a veritable archipelago, difficult -to explore on account of the shallowness of the water in the channels. -He met with a vast array of trading-junks, which he did not molest -because they were engaged in peaceful commerce; and a few war-junks, -which he destroyed; but he did not reach any spot where war-junks in -large numbers were congregated. One event of this month was the -appearance of Russia on the scene. Admiral Count Putiatine, who had been -appointed governor of the Russian province of Amoor, and who had made a -rapid overland journey from St Petersburg to the mouth of the Amoor in -seventy days, steamed from that river to the Pei-ho on a diplomatic -mission. The purport of this mission was not revealed to the English; -but there were many at Hong-kong who surmised that Russia, like the -United States, was secretly planning that a goodly share of any -contingent advantages arising from the struggle should fall to -her—leaving all the odium of hostilities on the shoulders of England and -France. - -When October arrived, the stormy state of the China seas rendered it -doubtful how soon the Earl of Elgin’s diplomatic expedition to Pekin -would take place. The British community at Hong-kong rather rejoiced at -this; for they had all along advocated the simple formula—take Canton -first, and negotiate with the emperor afterwards. The earl’s intention -to postpone his visit becoming clearly known, many of the staff-officers -who had been in enforced idleness at Hong-kong took their departure—some -to Calcutta, some to other places. When Baron Gros arrived in the -_Audacieuse_, which was not until the middle of October, the talk of the -fleet was that Canton would be really and effectually besieged, as a -preliminary to any proceedings further north. The _Imperador_ arrived -towards the close of the month, bringing five hundred marines direct -from England; and large accessions of warlike stores denoted a -resolution on the part of the government to bring about some definite -termination of this Chinese quarrel. - -In November, General Ashburnham, apparently tired of doing nothing in -China, gave up the military command and went to India, where a proffer -of his services was courteously declined by Lord Canning and Sir Colin -Campbell. His sudden return to England, without leave, gave rise to much -comment in and out of parliament. General Straubenzee now became -military commander in China, that is, commander of the British troops -whenever they should arrive. Captain Sherard Osborne was collecting -gun-boats from various quarters. Baron Gros undertook that France would -operate in the capture of Canton, with three frigates, two corvettes, -and four gun-boats, containing altogether about a thousand men. Mr Reed -arrived in the _Minnesota_, as American commissioner to represent the -interests of his country, but without any intention of taking part in -the hostile demonstration. Throughout the whole affair, indeed, the -United States ‘fraternised’ much more freely with Russia than with -England and France. - -At length the month arrived (December 1857) which was to witness the -conquest of Canton. At the beginning of this month the European -war-vessels in Chinese waters were really formidable in number. Besides -the _Calcutta_ (80), there were, including everything from -steam-frigates down to gun-boats, a total of 70 European and American -war-vessels, of which no less than 49 were British. On the 12th of the -month, the Earl of Elgin sent a formal letter to Commissioner -Yeh—announcing his arrival as ambassador extraordinary from Queen -Victoria to the Emperor of China, and as plenipotentiary to settle all -existing differences; expressing the pleasure which England would feel -in being on friendly terms with China; enumerating the causes of -complaint against the Chinese authorities; demanding ‘the complete -execution at Canton of all treaty engagements, including the free -admission of British subjects into the city,’ and ‘compensation to -British subjects and persons entitled to British protection for losses -incurred in consequence of the late disturbances;’ threatening a seizure -of Canton if these terms were not acceded to; and hinting that the terms -would in that case be rendered much more severe. On the 14th Yeh sent a -reply, very tortuous and cunning, justifying the conduct of himself and -his countrymen, but evading any direct notice of Elgin’s demand and -threat. On the 24th the British plenipotentiary wrote to announce that, -as his desire for a peaceful termination of the dispute had not been -properly met, he should at once prepare for war. The next day -(Christmas-day) brought a second letter from Yeh, repeating his former -arguments in a very discursive fashion, but evading everything in the -way of concession. - -When December had brought what few troops the home-government and Lord -Canning thought they could spare for China, the available numbers -appeared as follow—800 men of various services, principally of the 59th -foot, from the garrison of Hong-kong; 2500 marines belonging to the -various ships; 1500 naval brigade formed from the ships’ crews for -service on shore; and 900 French troops and seamen—making a total of -5700 men. These were aided by about 1000 Chinese and Malay coolies, as -carriers and labourers—men who readily sold their patriotism for silver -and copper. On the 16th, while the attempt at negotiation with Yeh was -still going on, the English and French took possession of Honan, as a -measure of precaution. This is an island just opposite Canton; its shore -forms the Southwark of the great city. The merchants and traders were -allowed all possible facilities for removing their families and goods -from such buildings as the captors chose to appropriate—the wish being -to inflict as small an amount of suffering as possible on the Chinese -people, whom the Earl of Elgin carefully distinguished from the Chinese -government. From the 16th to the 23d, steamers and gun-boats were daily -arriving, and taking up positions mostly between Canton and the island. -On the 22d a council was held, at which the Earl of Elgin and Baron -Gros, having virtually declared war against China, gave up the command -of the operations to the general and the two admirals—namely, General -Straubenzee, Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, and Admiral R. de Genouilly. -On the 23d, several military and naval officers steamed in gun-boats -past the whole length of the city, landed at a point beyond its -northwestern extremity, walked a mile and a half under the escort of a -party of marines and sailors, mounted a hill, made accurate observations -on a series of forts north of the city, and returned without the loss of -a man. On the 24th there was a similar reconnaissance east and northeast -of the city. These examinations satisfied the officers that the capture -of the northern forts must be made from the east rather than the west. -Christmas-day and the two following days were spent in making -preparations for the bombardment; and in distributing papers along the -shore, announcing to the Cantonese what calamity was in store for their -city if Yeh did not yield before midnight on the 27th. The viceroy -remained as immovable as ever, and so the terrible work began. - -At daylight on the morning of the 28th of December the guns opened fire. -Their number was enormous—some in war-steamers, some in gun-boats, some -on Honan Island, some in the captured forts. The general orders were to -fire at various parts of the city-wall, and over the city to the -northern forts, but to work as little mischief as possible to the -inhabited streets. Meanwhile the troops, marines, and naval brigade -gradually effected a landing at about a mile from the eastern extremity -of the city; they landed guns and vast quantities of stores and -ammunition, and then proceeded by regular siege-operations to capture -all the forts on the northern side of the city—the bombardment of the -southern and western wall still continuing. These fearful operations -continued throughout the last four days of the year, during which an -immense number of fragile wooden buildings were burned—not purposely, -but of necessity. The Chinese soldiers did not shew in any vast numbers, -nor did they display much heroism; the assailants conquered one fort -after another, until they held the whole of the eastern and northern -margin of the city—having free communication with their ships by a line -of route to their unmolested landing-place. Great as was the amount of -burning of wooden tenements, the loss of life was very small; the allied -killed and wounded were less than 150, and the Chinese loss was believed -to be not more than double that number—so careful had the soldiers and -sailors been to avoid bringing slaughter into a place containing a -million of human beings. - -Rarely has a city been held under a more singular tenure than Canton was -held by the English and French on New-year’s Day 1858. They were masters -of all the defences, and naturally inferred that the city would formally -yield. Nothing of the kind, however, took place. The Cantonese resumed -trade in their streets and shops, but Yeh and his officers kept wholly -out of sight. The ordinary usages of war were ignored by this singular -people. Elgin, Gros, Straubenzee, Seymour, Genouilly—all came to the -captured forts on the northern heights, and all were perplexed how to -deal with these impassible Cantonese. On the 2d of January and two -following days the captors lived in much discomfort on the heights; but -on the 5th a very decided advance was made. Mr Parkes, and a few other -Englishmen who were familiar with the Chinese language, had been busily -engaged collecting information concerning the hiding-places of the -dignitaries within the city; and, acting on the information thus -obtained, Straubenzee sent several strongly armed parties into different -districts of the city. The results were very important. The explorers -captured Commissioner Yeh, the lieutenant-governor Peh-kwei, the Tatar -general of the Chinese forces in and near Canton, fifty-two boxes of -dollars in the treasury, and sixty-eight packages of silver ingots. - -From the 5th of January to the 10th of February the city was placed -under very anomalous government. In the first place, Yeh was sent as a -sort of prisoner to Calcutta. In the next place, Yeh’s palace became the -head-quarters of the allied authorities; while other large buildings -were appropriated as barracks. The Earl of Elgin decided that the Tatar -general and the lieutenant-governor of Canton should be liberated. The -general, Tseang-keun, was obliged to disarm and disband his troops, as a -condition of his liberation. Elgin thought it prudent that Peh-kwei -should be formally made governor of the city, to save it from pillage. -On the 9th the installation of this functionary took place, in the -presence of Elgin, Gros, Bowring, Parkes, Straubenzee, Seymour, -Genouilly, and other officials. Colonel Holloway, Captain Martineau, and -Mr Parkes were appointed commissioners, or a council of three, to assist -Peh-kwei in his municipal duties. The city now became safely traversable -by the English and French without much danger; the Chinese soldiers were -disbanded; and the citizens were willing enough to go on with such trade -as was left to them. The council of three insisted on organising an -efficient street-police; on expediting the administration of justice; on -visiting all the prisons; and on liberating such wretched captives as -appeared to have been unjustly incarcerated. Although Peh-kwei protested -loudly against this interference with his supreme authority, he was -obliged to submit. This period was a saturnalia for pirates; the regular -government being subverted, thousands of lawless men on the river -carried on with impunity that system of piracy and plunder which the -numerous creeks around Canton rendered so practicable. When this became -fully known to the authorities now in the ascendant, Sir Michael Seymour -put in force a severe measure of attack and reprisal against them. - -How far the objects of the war had been attained, remained still a -problem. Canton, it is true, was seized; but the imperial court at Pekin -was invisible and inaccessible, and much evidently remained yet to be -done. On the 10th of February the blockade was raised. The Canton river -was speedily swarming with trading junks; the Honan warehouses were -reopened and refilled; British merchants resumed their dealings with -Chinese merchants; and within a few days many million pounds of tea were -on their way to England. Shortly after the removal of the blockade, the -Earl of Elgin and Baron Gros opened communications with Count Putiatine -and Mr Reed; they proposed, in the names of England and France, that -Russia and the United States should take part in the demands still -necessary to be made upon the Emperor of China. These overtures were -promptly met; but it must in justice be stated that, in the subsequent -operations and negotiations for obtaining treaties, the Russian and -American plenipotentiaries adopted a more secret and selfish policy than -comported with the liberal offer made on the part of England and France. -Elgin and Gros determined that Canton should remain in their power until -full and satisfactory treaties had been obtained from the emperor. It -affords a curious illustration of the indomitable perseverance of the -English newspaper press, that the _Times_ correspondent, Mr Wingrove -Cooke, after seeing all the fighting in the Canton waters, and incurring -as much hazard as his colleague Mr Russell had incurred in similar -duties in the Crimea, contrived to obtain a passage in the ship (the -_Inflexible_) which conveyed Yeh to Calcutta, and to draw forth many -peculiarities in the character of that redoubtable Chinaman—a personage -who, through the columns of that newspaper, soon became familiarly known -in nearly every part of the globe; a man whose shipboard life was thus -summed up, ‘he eats a great deal, sleeps a great deal, and washes very -little.’ - -Early in March, after the forwarding to Pekin of official dispatches -under such circumstances as to render probable their receipt by the -emperor, Elgin and Gros moved towards the north. This conveyance of -letters was, as is usual in the Celestial Empire, a most complicated -affair. Mr Lawrence Oliphant, the Earl of Elgin’s private secretary, and -Viscount de Contades, secretary of legation to Baron Gros, went from -Canton to Shang-hae, bearing letters from the English and French -plenipotentiaries, and also from those of America and Russia. After -reaching Shang-hae, and being joined by the British, French, and -American consuls, they pushed on in boats up the river, on whose banks -stands the city of Soo-choo, the capital of that part of China. The -governor endeavoured by every means to avoid an interview; but as the -messengers would not be refused, he received them with an unwilling -courtesy, and undertook to forward their letters to Pekin. The envoys -then returned to Shang-hae. Certain arrangements were now made for the -safety of Canton and Hong-kong, and vast stores were sent up to -Shang-hae, in preparation for any contingencies. The Earl of Elgin and -his suite, on their way to Shang-hae, sojourned for a while at -Fuh-choo-foo. All the plenipotentiaries arrived at Shang-hae during the -latter half of the month. They received answers from the court of Pekin -to their several letters. The Chinese authorities endeavoured so to -treat the subject as to keep the plenipotentiaries as far away from -Pekin as possible. They alleged that, whether Yeh had or had not misused -his authority at Canton, he was now dismissed, and was replaced by a -viceroy who would be ready to listen to any reasonable representations; -they recommended that the English and French plenipotentiaries had -better return to the south, there to resume their superintendence of -peaceful commerce; that the Russians should return to the north, and the -Americans remain quietly at the trading ports. These replies did not -purport to come from the emperor, who was too lofty a personage to -recognise the plenipotentiaries; they came through the governor of the -Shang-hae province, and were worded in the customary style of Chinese -magniloquence. - -The month of April found the Chinese quarrel apparently as far from -solution as ever. The advice of the imperial authorities, that they -should keep away from Pekin, and attend to their trading affairs, was -not likely to be followed by the plenipotentiaries—one of whom, at any -rate, had come from Europe for a far different purpose. Affairs did not -progress very favourably at Canton. Pirates continued to infest the -river; while an army of rebels—equally hostile to the imperialists and -to the ‘barbarians’—was marching towards the city from the interior. -Many of the inhabitants, rendered uneasy by the strange confusion in the -government and ownership of their city, fled from Canton. The English -merchants found their trading arrangements sadly checked by these -sources of disquietude; and they sighed for the return of those times -when opium, and tea, and silk brought them large profits. Finding, as -they had all along surmised, that nothing effectual could be done except -in the immediate vicinity of Pekin, the plenipotentiaries took their -departure from Shang-hae, and steamed northward. Count Putiatine, in the -_America_ steamer, anchored off the Pei-ho river on the 14th; a few -hours afterwards arrived the _Furious_ and the _Leven_, in the former of -which was the Earl of Elgin; Mr Reed, in the _Mississippi_, made his -appearance on the 16th; Baron Gros, in the _Audaiceuse_, joined his -brother-plenipotentiaries on the 23d; and Admirals Seymour and Genouilly -arrived on the 24th. Letters were now sent off to Pekin, demanding the -appointment of an official of high rank to meet the representatives of -the four courts, to confer on the matters in dispute; and allowing six -days for the return of an answer. This decisive step produced a more -immediate effect than any course yet adopted; the emperor, unless wholly -deceived by those around him, had now ample means of knowing that a -formidable armament was at the mouth of the river on whose banks the -imperial city is situated, and that Russia and America had joined -England and France in this demonstration. Before the six days had -expired, a messenger arrived to announce that Tao, or Tān, -governor-general of the province, had been appointed as envoy to meet -the plenipotentiaries. Meanwhile, the month of May was a troubled one in -Canton. The new governor Hwang, and the lieutenant-governor Peh-kwei, -were frequently detected in manœuvres not quite satisfactory to the -English and French officers left in charge of the city. Many of the -Cantonese themselves believed that Hwang had received secret orders from -Pekin to retake Canton while the allies were engaged in the northern -waters. There were machinations at Pekin, rebel armies in the inner -provinces, restless Tatars in the Canton province, pirates in the river, -and unreliable Chinese authorities everywhere; insomuch that the -continuance of quietude in the city was very problematical. During the -month, about 1200 sepoys arrived from Calcutta; they had belonged to the -47th and 65th Bengal native infantry, disarmed in India as a matter of -precaution, but not implicated in actual mutiny; the 70th had preceded -them, and had behaved steadily in China. - -The Earl of Elgin and Baron Gros experienced the customary difficulty in -bringing the Chinese to anything like a candid agreement or -understanding. The new envoy, Tao, was long in making his appearance; -and when he did appear, his powers of treating were found to be so -limited, and his attempts at evasion so many, that the aid of -cannon-balls was again found to be necessary. Steamers were quickly sent -down to Shang-hae, Hong-kong, and Canton, for reinforcements; and on the -20th of May hostile operations began. The banks of the Pei-ho being -defended by forts, these forts were attacked one by one, and captured. -The plenipotentiaries were by this means enabled to advance higher up -the river, increasing their chance of a direct communication with the -authorities at Pekin. The Chinese had not been idle; for throughout the -month they had been seen drilling their troops in the forts, and sinking -junks to bar the navigation of the river; but the gun-boats which the -English and French had now brought up, and the boats of the war-ships, -made light of these obstructions. The Russian and American ambassadors -were pretty well satisfied with the trading concessions offered to them -by the Chinese authorities; but the English and French were determined -to be satisfied with nothing less than a definite settlement of all the -points in dispute; and hence the attack on the forts, which evidently -produced an immense excitement higher up the river. - -June began with a battle, or at least, a skirmish, outside -Canton—shewing that a peaceful occupation of that city was not readily -to be looked for. A military force of ‘braves’ or Chinese soldiers -having gradually been approaching from the north, General Straubenzee -deemed it necessary to encounter and crush or disperse them at once. On -the 2d, accompanied by Mr Parkes, he started off to the hills on the -north of the city, having with him about a thousand men supplied with -three days’ rations. The braves, who were soon met with, kept up a -skirmishing fight all day on the 3d, and then retired without much loss. -Straubenzee returned to Canton on the 4th, also without much loss in -actual fighting; but his soldiers had been stricken down in considerable -number by the terrible heat of the sun. The expedition was scarcely to -be considered satisfactory; for the braves were still hovering among the -hills, very little disheartened by their defeat. As the month advanced, -the state of affairs at Canton became worse and worse. Rockets were -frequently fired at night into the posts held by the allies; the suburbs -were full of armed ruffians ready for any mischief; the streets became -unsafe to Europeans unless armed or guarded; occasional attacks were -made on the police, and even on the sentries; headless bodies of -Europeans were sometimes found in the river; two or three sailors were -waylaid, cut down, and carried off; and placards were posted up about -the city, couched in the most ferocious language against the ‘foreign -devils.’ One of these placards designated the British consul as ‘the -red-haired barbarian Parkes.’ - -The state of affairs further north, during this month of June, was more -favourable. The destruction of the forts on the banks of the Pei-ho had -the effect of bringing the Chinese authorities again into a disposition -for negotiation. The river was carefully examined from Ta-koo up to -Tien-sing—a city of 300,000 inhabitants, situated on the high road to -Pekin, at a point where the Great Canal of China enters the Pei-ho. The -four plenipotentiaries steamed up to Tien-sing, where they were allowed -to remain: seeing that the Chinese government, paralysed by the capture -of the forts, no longer made an attempt to obstruct them. Governor Tao -was dismissed, for having managed matters badly; and two mandarins of -high rank, Kwei-liang and Hwa-sha-na, were appointed to negotiate with -the barbarians. The plenipotentiaries took up their abode on shore, in a -house provided by the mandarins; and a renewed series of negotiations -commenced. Meanwhile, all hostilities were suspended; the war-junks and -the gun-boats remained peacefully at anchor, and the trading-junks were -allowed to pass up and down the river. About the middle of the month, -some of the inhabitants of Tien-sing manifested a disposition to molest -the plenipotentiaries and their suites; whereupon Sir Michael Seymour -ordered up a few seamen and marines—who, perambulating the walls and -streets of the city for a few hours, gave such a check to the citizens -as to induce a more peaceful demeanour. One of the first definite -results of the conferences which now ensued, was a treaty between China -and the United States, signed on the 18th of June by Mr Reed and the two -Chinese mandarins. America had from the first sought to obtain the best -terms for herself, without much consideration for the other powers; and -as her demeanour was more courteous than threatening, more submissive -than dignified; as, moreover, her demands were not so extensive as those -of England—she found less difficulty in settling the terms of a -commercial treaty, which would open up a door for increased American -trading with China; and with this Mr Reed was well satisfied. Count -Putiatine about the same date signed a treaty as the representative of -Russia. The policy of his court was to keep the other great powers as -far from Pekin as possible, in order that nothing might check the -gradual growth of Russian influence on the northern frontier of the -Chinese empire. The terms of the Russian treaty were far more important -than those of the American; they included the cession to Russia of a -large area of country near the mouth of the great river Amoor, and of an -amount of trading privileges such as had never before been conceded by -China to any other country whatever. - -[Illustration: - - HONG-KONG. -] - -The English and French treaties, especially the former, being more -comprehensive in their character, could not be settled so readily as the -American. Commissioner Key-ing, who had concluded the treaty of Nankin -with Sir Henry Pottinger in 1842, was sent from Pekin to Tien-sing to -assist Kwei-hang and Hwa-sha-na in the present instance; but the Earl of -Elgin, seeing that Key-ing was disposed for a course of cunning and -trickery, refused to treat with him; and the negotiations were left to -the other two commissioners. All difficulties being gradually removed by -three weeks of negotiation, treaties were at length signed on the 26th -and 27th of June respectively by the Earl of Elgin and Baron Gros, with -the two Chinese commissioners. The provisions were nearly the same for -England and for France, except an indemnity to be given to the former -nation for the expenses of the war and for certain losses incurred by -the merchants. The more important clauses of the English treaty may be -thus thrown into a summary: Confirmation of the former Treaty of -Nankin—Agreement to appoint British ambassador at Pekin, and Chinese -ambassador at London—Family and suite of British ambassador to have -residence and security at Pekin, and facilities for travelling, -transaction of business, and transmission of letters—British ambassador -to correspond on terms of equality with the Chinese minister for foreign -affairs—Christianity, whether Protestant or Catholic, to be tolerated, -and Christian missionaries protected throughout the Chinese -Empire—British subjects permitted to trade and to travel in the -interior—Chin-kiang, on the great river Yang-tsze-kiang; Niuchwang, in -Manchooria; Tang-choo, in the Gulf of Pe-che-lee; Tae-wan, in the island -of Formosa; Swatow and Kiung-choo, in the island of Hainan, to be -declared free ports; in addition to Canton, Amoy, Fuh-choo-foo, Ning-po, -and Shang-hae, the five already opened; and in addition, also, to three -other ports on the Yang-tsze-kiang, as soon as they should be freed from -rebels—An Anglo-Chinese commission to prepare a commercial tariff, which -is to be revised every ten years—Inland transit dues to be commuted for -an _ad valorem_ rate—Official correspondence to be conducted in English -as the text or original, with a Chinese translation as an -accompaniment—The Chinese character or symbol denoting ‘barbarian’ to be -in future omitted in Chinese official documents relating to -foreigners—British ships-of-war permitted to visit any ports in the -empire, and their commanders to be treated on terms of equality by the -Chinese officials—Both nations to assist in suppressing piracy in -Chinese waters—Amount of indemnity to be settled by a separate article. - -The Earl of Elgin would not quit Tien-sing until he had clearly -ascertained that the emperor understood and accepted the terms of the -treaty: this done, he returned on the 6th of July to Shang-hae. - -It is impossible to avoid seeing that such a treaty, if faithfully -carried out, would greatly revolutionise the commercial and social -institutions of China. If British ships-of-war be permitted to visit any -of the ports, and trading-ships have free entry to nearly a dozen of the -number; if the great Yang-tsze-kiang be made a channel up which British -manufactures may penetrate; if Christian missionaries may teach and -preach, print and distribute, without opposition from the government; if -a British official may reside at the imperial city, and the Chinese -emperor condescend to appoint an ambassador to London; finally, if the -vain assumption of superiority be discontinued in Chinese official -documents relating to the English—an immense advance will have been made -towards bringing China into the fraternity of nations. The great doubt -was, whether so vast a change would not be too extensive to be made at -once—too humiliating, in the Chinese view, for the imperial government -to adopt in its integrity: especially as the British did not offer to -assist the emperor against the rebels who ravaged his dominions. It was -not expected that the formalities of ratification could all be completed -before the summer of 1859. The Hon. Mr Bruce, brother to the Earl of -Elgin, conveyed the treaty to England. No sooner was the tenor of the -treaty known, than English merchants began to make inquiries and -calculations concerning increased exports, of salt and other -commodities, to the China seas. The indemnity question was felt to be -one which could not be settled without long delay, in treating with so -peculiar a people as the Chinese. Commissioners on both sides were to -decide how much should be paid by China, for injury inflicted on British -property at Canton, and for the expenses of the British expedition; they -were also to decide on the revised tariff for imports and exports. - -While the terms of this treaty were being settled at Tien-sing, the -state of Canton became more and more disturbed. Street-murders were very -frequent; bags of gunpowder were exploded in the streets, at moments -when patrols were expected to pass; and missiles were hurled, from -unseen quarters, into all parts of the city where Europeans resided. -Many of the more peaceful citizens left Canton, and their houses were at -once seized by ruffians, who posted up proclamations of most -ultra-Chinese character. One of these proclamations was to the effect -that, ‘We have ascertained that there are only two or three thousand -English and French dogs in the city; but our numbers are thousands on -thousands; and if every one of us carry but a sword to kill every -foreigner that we meet, we shall soon kill them all. If any one trade or -supply provisions to the foreign dogs, we shall arrest and punish him -according to the village regulations. All those who are in the employ of -the foreign dogs must leave their employment in one month’—and terrible -denunciations were hurled against all those who should disobey these -behests. General Straubenzee and the other officials were much perplexed -how to deal with this state of things; they began to fear that nothing -less than a bombardment of the city would drive out the ‘braves,’ and -restore peaceful trade; and yet it would be an anomaly to use cannon and -muskets, beheading and imprisonment, against the subjects of an emperor -with whom we had just made a treaty of peace. In this exigency, Sir John -Bowring caused large posting-bills to be printed in Chinese—announcing -that a treaty of peace had been signed between the two countries; that -all animosity ought now to cease; that many Chinese, hitherto residing -at Hong-kong as servants and traders, had been frightened away by -threatening proclamations from some of the authorities on the mainland; -that surreptitious attempts had been made to check the supply of -provisions to Hong-kong; and that many inconveniences had thence arisen. -The placard proceeded to warn all persons and communities against any -interference with the peaceful resumption of commerce between the two -nations. An attempt to distribute this placard or proclamation was -clumsily made, and led to disaster. Two British officers, knowing the -Chinese language, went with a few seamen in the gun-boat _Starling_, to -the coast of the mainland nearly opposite the island of Hong-kong. Some -difficulty being experienced in obtaining an interview with the official -authorities, the sailors landed under a flag of truce, and attempted to -post up the placards in the water-side suburbs of the town of Namtow; -they were, however, attacked by Chinese soldiery, and driven back to the -gun-boat, with the loss of one of their number and the wounding of -another. - -This untoward failure of course led to further fighting. As the attack -made by the Chinese on the sailors was in defiance of a flag of truce, -Sir John Bowring deemed himself justified in inflicting a punishment on -the town. He made a requisition to General Straubenzee, who thereupon -organised a small expeditionary force. He selected 700 men—59th foot, -artillery, engineers, marines, and naval brigade—who were commanded by -himself and Commodore Keith Stewart. They landed near Namtow on the 11th -of August, and gave notice to the inhabitants that no injury would be -done to them if they remained neutral; the attack being intended against -the ‘braves’ or Chinese soldiers, who had originated the contest. Within -a few hours a fort was attacked, the Chinese troops driven out, the fort -destroyed, and two large brass guns brought away as trophies. The object -in view was, not to injure the town or the inhabitants, but to prove to -the authorities that any disregard of a flag of truce would subject them -to a hostile demonstration. - -Throughout these strange operations, in which war and peace were so -oddly mingled—the one prevailing at Namtow, the other at Tien-sing—the -city of Canton continued in a disturbed state. On the 21st of July, the -‘braves’ outside the city went so far as to plan an attack for the -expulsion of the English and French altogether from the place. They were -speedily beaten off. As before, however, it was a discomfiture, not a -suppression; for the braves settled down in an encampment about four -miles from Canton, ready for any exigencies. During a considerable time -after the signing of the treaty at Tien-sing, Governor Whang either did -not know of it, or else disregarded it; but in the course of the month -of August, evidence gradually appeared that he had been officially -informed of the treaty. He forbade the braves to make any further -attacks. Many Chinese traders, who had been driven in disquietude from -Canton, now returned; and Hong-kong began again to look out for Chinese -servants and work-people. Governor Whang’s proclamation, dated August -17th, contained a statement which bore an aspect of considerable -probability: ‘There are, both within and without the city, many villains -and thieves who, pretending they are braves, take advantage of the state -of affairs to create disturbances in order to plunder and rob, and from -whose hands the citizens have suffered much. If such rascality be not -speedily suppressed, how can the minds of the people be set at ease, or -tranquillity restored? And unless the villains be apprehended, how can -the districts be purged?’ Wherefore he gave orders for the suppression -of violence and hostile manifestations. - -During the months of September and October—with the exception of a -stroke of diplomacy at Japan, presently to be adverted to—Lord Elgin -remained in the China seas, chiefly at Shang-hae, waiting for the -Chinese commissioners who were to settle with him the minor details -supplementary to the treaty. Former experience having shewn that the -Chinese authorities viewed the obligations of a treaty somewhat lightly, -it was not deemed prudent either to give up Canton, or to withdraw the -powerful naval force from the China coast, until all the conditions of -the treaty had been put in a fair train for fulfilment. Canton gradually -recovered its trade and quietude; Hong-kong gradually got back its -Chinese servants and artisans; and the English fleet vigorously put in -operation that clause of the treaty which related to the suppression of -piracy. Expeditions were fitted out from Hong-kong, which captured and -destroyed hundreds of piratical junks. - -One of the most remarkable episodes in this remarkable Chinese war bore -relation to Japan—an empire consisting of many islands, lying -northeastward of China. Until a few years ago, the Japanese traded only -with the Chinese and the Dutch. The Dutch were allowed to establish a -trading station on the small island of Desima, which was connected with -the larger island of Kiusiu or Kioosioo by a bridge. At the Kiusiu end -of the bridge was the city of Nagasaki or Nangasaki, with the -inhabitants of which only the Dutch were allowed to trade. One ship -annually, and one only, was permitted to come to Desima from Java, -bringing sugar, ivory, tin, lead, bar-iron, fine chintzes, and a few -other commodities, and conveying away in exchange copper, camphor, -lackered-wood ware, porcelain, rice, soy, &c. The Chinese, like the -Dutch, were confined to the little island opposite Nagasaki, but their -trading privileges were greater; at three different periods of the year -they were wont to send laden junks from Amoy, Ning-po, and Shang-hae, -and exchange Chinese commodities for Japanese. Such was the state of -matters until a short time previous to the Russo-Turkish war; when the -United States, taking advantage of an insult offered to American ships, -induced or compelled the Japanese government to permit intercourse -between the two countries, to be conducted at certain ports under -certain regulations. Some time afterwards, similar privileges were -accorded to Russia and England. The convention with England, signed at -Nagasaki on the 9th of October 1855, provided for very little more than -this—that British ships might resort to the three ports of Nagasaki, -Simoda, and Hakodadi, for the purpose of effecting repairs, and -obtaining fresh water, provisions, and such supplies as they might -absolutely need. It was a denial of such aid to distressed ships that -had led the United States to threaten the Japanese. France, not to be -left behind by other nations, sent an expedition to obtain shipping -privileges similar to those conceded to America, England, and Russia. On -the 25th of May 1856, M. de Montravel presented himself before the -governor of Nagasaki, accompanied by rather an imposing array of -officers; he had no difficulty in procuring the desired concession. On -the 11th of December in the same year, two British merchant-ships, about -to enter the harbour at Nagasaki, to purchase certain supplies, were -refused admission; whereupon the two captains sailed up close to the -town, landed, and marched with a strong escort to the residence of the -governor. He declined to receive them, but undertook that any letter -from them should be conveyed to the emperor at Jedo or Yedo, the capital -of Japan. This letter obtained the desired result; an imperial edict -being issued on January 26, 1857, that ships from any of the four -nations might enter Nagasaki as well as the other two ports—provided -that none of the crews attempted to penetrate into the interior. This -letter was, in fact, nothing more than the carrying out of an agreement, -which the governor of Nagasaki had on a former occasion evaded. On the -17th of June 1857, Mr Townshend Harris, acting under the United States -consul at Hong-kong, signed a treaty at Simoda with two Japanese -commissioners. This treaty was a great advance, in commercial -liberality, on anything previously known in that region. - -Thus matters remained until the autumn of 1858; when, expeditions to -China having been sent from England, France, Russia, and America, -advantage was taken of the proximity of Japan to obtain by and for the -first three countries the same trading privileges as had been granted to -America. It was, throughout, a very singular race between four great -nations, in which America obtained the first start. The Japanese had, -during three or four years, seen much more of Europeans and Americans -than at any former period, and had begun to acquire enlarged notions of -international commerce; moreover, they had lately heard of the powerful -armaments on the Canton and Pei-ho rivers, and of the treaties which -those armaments had enforced; from whence the Earl of Elgin inferred -that he might probably meet with success in an attempt to obtain an -improved treaty of commerce. On the 3d of August he entered the port of -Nagasaki, with the _Furious_, _Retribution_, and _Lee_—taking with him a -steam-yacht as a present from Queen Victoria to the Emperor of Japan. On -the following day he was joined by Sir Michael Seymour, with the -_Calcutta_ and _Inflexible_. It being deemed best that the yacht should -be presented at Jedo if possible, the expedition set forth again, and -proceeded to Simoda. Here it was ascertained that Mr Townshend Harris, -United States consul, had just returned from Jedo with a new and very -advantageous treaty of commerce between America and Japan; that Count -Putiatine was at that very moment negotiating for a similar treaty -between Russia and Japan; and that Mr Donker Curtius, Dutch consul, had -been trying in a similar direction for Holland. The Earl at once saw -that no time was to be lost, or he would be distanced by the other -diplomatists. Procuring the aid of a Dutch interpreter, through the -courtesy of Mr Harris, his lordship proceeded from Simoda towards Jedo -on the 12th. Disregarding the rules laid down by the Japanese government -concerning the anchoring-places of ships, the squadron, led by Captain -Sherard Osborne, boldly pushed on to the vicinity of the city—to the -utter astonishment of the natives, official and nonofficial. Boats -approached, containing Japanese officers, who earnestly begged the -British representative not to approach the great city, which had never -yet been visited by a foreign ship; but as he was deaf to their -entreaties, they prepared to give him a courteous reception on shore. -Although the city was strongly protected by forts, there was no -indication of a hostile repulsion of the strangers. During eight days -did Elgin reside within the great city of Jedo, treated with every -attention—possibly because there were British ships-of-war and a -gun-boat just at hand. All the naval officers had opportunity of -traversing the city during this interval, and met with signs of -civilisation such as induced them to write home very glowing -descriptions. The earl at first met with difficulties, arising from the -circumstance that a conservative had just supplanted a liberal ministry -(to use English terms) at Jedo, strengthening the prejudice against -foreigners. Indeed, this change of ministry had arisen two or three days -before, in consequence of the signing of the liberal treaty with -America. Elgin, however, triumphed over this and all other difficulties; -he arrived at Shang-hae again on the 3d of September, bringing with him -a treaty of commerce between England and Japan, signed at Jedo on the -26th of August. - -The treaty thus obtained was written in Dutch as the original, with -English and Japanese translations. The chief clauses comprised the -following provisions: England may appoint an ambassador to Jedo, and -Japan an ambassador to London—The ambassadors to be free to travel in -the respective empires—Each power may appoint consuls at the ports of -the other—The ports of Hakodadi, Nanagawa, Nagasaki, Nee-e-gata, Hiogo, -Jedo, and Osaca, to be opened to British traders at various times by the -year 1863—British traders may lease ground and build dwellings and -warehouses at those ports—The British may travel to distances within a -certain radius of each port—In any dispute between British and Japanese, -the British consuls to act as friendly arbitrators—If arbitration fail, -British offenders to be tried by British laws, and Japanese by those of -Japan—British residents may employ Japanese as servants or -workmen—British may freely exercise their religion—Foreign and Japanese -coin may be used indifferently for commercial purposes—Supplies for -British vessels may be stored at certain ports free of duty—Japanese -authorities to render aid to stranded British vessels—British captains -may employ Japanese pilots—Goods may be imported at an _ad valorem_ -duty, without any transit or other dues, and may be re-exported duty -free—British and Japanese to aid each other in preventing -smuggling—Money, apparel, and household furniture of British subjects -residing in Japan to be imported duty free—Munitions of war to be -prohibited—All other articles to pay an _ad valorem_ import-duty, -varying from 5 to 35 per cent., according to a tariff to be specially -prepared—Any trading privileges, granted hereafter to any other nation, -to be granted equally to England. - -This very important treaty—even more liberal in its provisions than that -concluded with China—was to be ratified by the two courts, and the -ratifications exchanged, within one year from the signature. - -[Illustration: - - SIR EDWARD LUGARD. -] - - - § 3. ENGLISH PROSPECTS IN THE EAST. - -When, by the month of October 1858, it was known that the object of the -Persian expedition had been fulfilled by the complete withdrawal of the -Persians from Herat; that the purpose of the Chinese expedition had been -even more than fulfilled, supposing the advantageous treaty made by the -Earl of Elgin to be faithfully observed; and that a remarkable -commercial treaty had been signed with Japan—the English nation felt, -not unjustly, that their prospects of advancement in the east were -greatly heightened. All depended, however, or would depend, on the -result of the struggle in India; if that ended satisfactorily, the power -of England in Asia would be greater than ever. That the Indian struggle -_would_ have a favourable termination, few doubted. There was much to be -done; but as the whole empire cheerfully supported the government in the -preparations for doing it, and as those preparations had been widely -spread and deeply considered, success was very confidently looked -forward to. - -The arrangements for the final discomfiture (if not extinction) of the -mutineers, and for bringing back a misguided peasantry to habits of -order and of industry, will be noticed presently; but it may be -desirable first to glance at two important subjects which much occupied -the attention of thoughtful men—namely, the probable causes of the -Revolt; and, consequent on those causes, the general character of the -reforms proper to be introduced into the government of India, as an -accompaniment to the change from the Company’s _régime_ to that of the -Queen. - -The complexity of Indian affairs was very remarkable; and in no instance -more so than with reference to the first of the above two subjects of -speculation. Down to the closing scene, men could not agree in their -answers to the question—‘What was the cause of the mutiny?’ Military -officers, cabinet ministers, commissioners, magistrates, missionaries, -members of parliament, pamphleteers, writers in newspapers, as they had -differed at first, so did they differ to the end. This discrepancy -offers strong proof that the causes were many in number and varied in -kind—that the Revolt was a resultant of several independent forces, all -tending towards a common end. It may not be without value to shew in -what directions public men sought for these causes. The following -summaries present the views of a few among many who wrote on the -subject: - -Mr Gubbins,[195] who was financial commissioner of Oude (or Oudh) when -the mutiny began, was requested by Mr Colvin, lieutenant-governor of the -Northwest Provinces, to express his opinions concerning the causes of -that catastrophe. He wrote out his opinions; and stated that Sir Henry -Lawrence, shortly before his death, concurred mainly with them. In the -first place, he did not attribute the mutiny to Russian intrigue—an -explanation that had occurred to the minds of some persons. In the -second place, he disbelieved that the mutiny was due to a Mohammedan -conspiracy; the movement began among soldiers, of whom four-fifths or -more were Hindoos; and certain Mohammedan sovereigns and leaders only -joined it when they saw a probable chance of recovering dominion for -their race and their religion. In the third place, Mr Gubbins equally -denied that it was a national rebellion, a rising of a nation against -its rulers; for, he urged, the villagers were throughout more disposed -to remain neutral than to aid either side; we had no right to expect any -great loyalty from them; and we received all that could fairly be looked -for—the sympathy of some, the hostility of others, but the neutrality of -the greater number. In the fourth place, he denied that the annexation -of Oude caused the mutiny; there were certain persons—courtiers of the -deposed king, shopkeepers at Lucknow, soldiers of the late king’s army, -and budmashes—who had suffered by the change; but the mass of the -population, he contended, had been benefited by us, and had neither -ground nor wish for insurrection. Having thus expressed his dissent from -many modes of explanation, Mr Gubbins proceeded to give his own views, -which traced the mutiny to three concurrent causes: ‘I conceive that the -native mind had been gradually alarmed on the vital subjects of caste -and religion, when the spark was applied by the threatened introduction -of the greased cartridge; that this spark fell upon a native army most -dangerously organised, subject to no sufficient bonds of discipline, and -discontented; and, above all, that this occurred at a time when Bengal -and the Northwestern Provinces were so denuded of European troops as to -leave the real power in the hands of the natives.’ - -Mr Rees,[196] confining his observations to the province with which he -was best acquainted, attributed the mutiny to the mode of governing Oude -by the English, superadded to the fierce hostility of the Mussulmans to -Christians in general. Thousands of natives had been thrown out of -employ by the change of government, and with them their retainers and -servants; all alike were rendered impoverished and discontented. The -shopkeepers of Lucknow, who had made large profits by supplying the -palaces and harem of the king before his deposition, lost that advantage -when an English commissioner took the king’s place. New taxes and duties -were imposed, as a means of substituting a regular for an irregular -revenue; and these taxes irritated the payers. The Mohammedan teachers -and fanatics, he urged, enraged at the substitution of a Christian for a -Moslem government, were ready for any reactionary measures. Lastly, -there were innumerable vagabonds, bravos, and beggars in the city, who -had found bread in it under native rule, but who nearly starved under -the more systematic English government. Hence, Mr Rees contended, the -great city of Lucknow had for a year or more been ripe for rebellion, -come from what quarter and in what way it might. - -Colonel Bourchier,[197] like many military officers, sought for no other -origin of the mutiny than that which was due to the state of the native -army. The enormous increase in that army—by the contingents raised to -guard the newly acquired territories in Central India, the Punjaub, and -Oude—with no corresponding increase in the European force, encouraged a -belief on the part of many of the natives that they had a fair chance of -being able to drive the English altogether from the country. The colonel -quoted an opinion expressed by the gallant and lamented Brigadier -Nicholson, who possessed an intimate knowledge of the native -character—‘Neither greased cartridges, the annexation of Oude, nor the -paucity of European officers, was the cause of the mutiny. For years I -have watched the army, and felt sure they only wanted an opportunity to -try their strength with us.’ - -Mr Ludlow[198] ridiculed the idea of the mutiny being sudden and -unexpected. He pointed to the fact that Munro, Metcalfe, Napier, and -other experienced men, had long ago predicted an eventual outbreak, -arising mainly from the defective organisation of the military force. Mr -Ludlow himself attributed the mutiny to many concurrent causes. The -Brahmins were against us, because we were gradually sapping the -foundations of their religion and power; the Mussulman leaders were -against us, because we had reduced the Mogul rule to a shadow, and most -of the nawabships likewise; the Mahrattas were against us, because we -had gradually lessened the power of Scindia, Holkar, the Guicowar, the -Peishwa, the Nena, and other leading men of their nation; the Oudians -were against us, because, in addition to having deposed their king, we -had greatly lessened the privileges and emoluments of the soldiery who -had heretofore served him; and lastly, the Hindoo sepoys were turned -against us, because they believed the rumour that the British government -intended to degrade their caste and religion by the medium of greased -cartridges. Mr Ludlow treated the cartridge grievance as the spark that -had directly kindled the flame; but he believed there were sufficient -inflammable materials for the outbreak even if this particular panic had -not arisen. - -Mr Mead,[199] who, in connection with the press of India, had been one -of the fiercest assailants of the Company in general, and of Viscount -Canning in particular, insisted that the mutiny was a natural result of -a system of government wrong in almost every particular—cruel to the -natives, insulting to Europeans not connected with the Company, and -blind even in its selfishness. More especially, however, he referred it -to ‘the want of discipline in the Bengal army; the general contempt -entertained by the sepoys for authority; the absence of all power on the -part of commanding officers to reward or punish; the greased cartridges; -and the annexation of Oude.’ The ‘marvellous imbecility’ of the Calcutta -government—a sort of language very customary with this writer—he -referred to, not as a cause of the mutiny, but as a circumstance or -condition which permitted the easy spread of disaffection. - -Mr Raikes,[200] who, as judge of the Sudder Court at Agra, had an -intimate knowledge of the Northwest Provinces, contended that, so far as -concerned those provinces, there was one cause of the troubles, and one -only—the mutiny of the sepoys. It was a revolt growing out of a military -mutiny, not a mutiny growing out of a national discontent. Ever since -the disasters at Cabool taught the natives that an English army _might_ -be annihilated, Mr Raikes had noticed a change in the demeanour of the -Bengal sepoys. He believed that they indulged in dreams of ambition; and -that they made use of the cartridge grievance merely as a pretext, in -the beginning of 1857. The outbreak having once commenced, Mr Raikes -traced all the rest as consequences, not as causes.—The villagers in -many districts wavered, because they thought the power of England was -really declining; the Goojurs, Mewatties, and other predatory tribes -rose into activity, because the bonds of regular government were -loosened; the Mussulman fanatics rose, because they deemed a revival of -Moslem power just possible; but Mr Raikes denied that there was anything -like general disaffection or national insurrection in the provinces with -which he was best acquainted. - -‘Indophilus’[201]—the _nom de plume_ of a distinguished civilian, who -had first served the Company in India, and then the imperial government -in England—discountenanced the idea of any general conspiracy. He -believed that the immediate exciting cause of the mutiny was the greased -cartridges; but that the predisposing causes were two—the dangerous -constitution of the Bengal sepoy army, and the Brahmin dread of reforms. -On the latter point he said: ‘In the progress of reform, we are all -accomplices. From the abolition of suttee, to the exemption of native -Christian converts from the forfeiture of their rights of inheritance; -from the formation of the first metalled road, to covering India with a -network of railways and electric telegraphs—there is not a single good -measure which has not contributed something to impress the military -priests with the conviction that, if they were to make a stand, they -must do so soon, else the opportunity would pass away for ever.’ - -The Rev. Dr Duff,[202] director of the Free Church Scotch Missions in -India, differed, on the one hand, from those who treated the outbreak -merely as a military revolt, and, on the other, from those who regarded -it as a great national rebellion. It was, he thought, something between -the two—a political conspiracy. He traced it much more directly to the -Mohammedan leaders than to the Hindoos. He believed in a long-existing -conspiracy among those leaders, to renew, if possible, the splendour of -the ancient Mogul times by the utter expulsion of the Christian English; -the Brahmins and Rajpoots of the Bengal army were gradually drawn into -the plot, by wily appeals to their discontent on various subjects -connected with caste and religion; while the cartridge grievance was -used simply as a pretext when the conspiracy was nearly ripe. The -millions of India, he contended, had no strong bias one way or the -other; there was no such nationality or patriotic feeling among them as -to lead them to make common cause with the conspirators; but on the -other hand they displayed very little general sympathy or loyalty -towards their English masters. Viewing the subject as a missionary, Dr -Duff strongly expressed his belief that we neither did obtain, nor had a -right to obtain, the aid of the natives, seeing that we had done so -little as a nation to Christianise them. - -Without extending the list of authorities referred to, it will be seen -that nearly all these writers regarded the ‘cartridge grievance’ as -merely the spark which kindled inflammable materials, and the state of -the Bengal army as one of the predisposing causes of the mutiny; but -they differed greatly on the questions whether the revolt was rather -Mohammedan or Hindoo, and whether it was a national rebellion or only a -military mutiny. It is probable that the affirmative opinions were -sounder than the negative—in other words, that every one of the causes -assigned had really something to do with this momentous outbreak. - -We now pass to the second of the two subjects indicated above—the views -of distinguished men, founded in part on past calamities, on the reforms -necessary in Indian government. And here it will suffice to indicate the -chief items of proposed reforms, leaving the reader to form his own -opinions thereon. During the progress of the Revolt, and in reference to -the future of British India, a most valuable and interesting -correspondence came to light—valuable on account of the eminence of the -persons engaged in it. These persons were Sir John Lawrence and Colonel -Herbert Edwardes—the one chief-commissioner of the Punjaub, the other -commissioner of the Peshawur division of that province. Both had the -welfare of India deeply at heart; and yet they differed widely in -opinion concerning the means whereby that welfare could be best -secured—especially in relation to religious matters. Early in the year -1858, Colonel Edwardes published a _Memorandum on the Elimination of all -unchristian Principles from the Government of British India_. About the -same time Mr MacLeod, financial commissioner, published a letter on the -same subject; as did also, some time afterwards, Mr Arnold, -director-general of public instruction in the Punjaub. Sir John -Lawrence, on the 21st of April, addressed a dispatch to Viscount -Canning, explanatory of his views on the matters treated by these three -gentlemen, especially by Colonel Edwardes. The colonel had placed under -ten distinct headings the ‘unchristian elements’ (as he termed them) in -the Indian government; and it will suffice for the present purpose to -give here brief abstracts of the statements and the rejoinders—by which, -at any rate, the subject is rendered intelligible to those who choose to -study it: - -1. _Exclusion of the Bible and of Christian Teaching from the Government -Schools and Colleges._—Edwardes insisted that the Bible ought to be -introduced in all government schools, and its study made a part of the -regular instruction. Lawrence was favourable to Bible diffusion, but -pointed out certain necessary limits. He would not teach native -religions in government schools; he would teach Christianity only (in -addition to secular instruction), but would not make it compulsory on -native children to attend that portion of the daily routine. He would -wish to see the Bible in every village-school throughout the empire—with -these two provisoes: that there were persons able to teach it, and -pupils willing to hear it. Who the teachers should be—whether clergymen, -missionaries, lay Bible-readers, or Christianised natives—is a problem -that can only very gradually receive its solution. Lawrence insisted -that there must be no compulsion in the matter of studying Christianity; -it must be an invitation to the natives, not a command. The four -authorities named in the last paragraph all differed in opinion on this -Bible question. Colonel Edwardes advocated a determined and compulsory -teaching of the Bible. Mr MacLeod joined him to a considerable extent, -but not wholly. Mr Arnold strongly resisted the project of teaching the -Bible at all—on the grounds that it would infringe the principle of -religious neutrality; that it would not be fair to the natives unless -native religions were taught also; that it would seem to them a -proselyting and even a persecuting measure; that it might be politically -dangerous; and that we should involve ourselves in the sea of -theological controversy, owing to the diversities of religious sects -among Christians. Sir John Lawrence, as we have seen, adopted a medium -between these extremes. - -2. _Endowment of Idolatry and Mohammedanism by the Government._—In -British India, many small items of revenue are paid by the government -for the support of temples, priests, idols, and ceremonies pertaining to -the Hindoo and Mohammedan religions. Edwardes urged that these payments -should cease, as a disgrace to a Christian government. Lawrence pointed -out that this withdrawal could not be effected without a gross breach of -faith. The revenues in question belonged to those religious bodies -before England ‘annexed’ the states, and were recognised as such at the -time of the annexation. They are a property, a claim on the land, like -tithes in England, or like conventual lands in Roman Catholic countries. -They are not, and never have been, regarded as religious offerings or -gifts. We seized the lands; but if we were to withhold the revenues -derived from those lands, on the ground that the religious services are -heathen, it would be a virtual persecution of heathenism, and, as such, -repugnant to the mild principles of Christianity. Lawrence believed that -the payments might so be made as not to appear to encourage idolatry; -but he would not listen to any such breach of faith as withholding them -altogether. - -3. _Recognition of Caste._—Colonel Edwardes, in common with many other -persons, believed that the British government had pandered too much to -the prejudices of caste, and that this system ought to be changed. -Lawrence pointed out that it was mainly in the Bengal army that this -prevailed, and that the custom arose out of very natural circumstances. -Brahmins and Rajpoots were preferred for military service, because they -were generally finer men than those of lower castes, because they were -(apparently) superior in moral qualifications, and because they were -descended from the old soldiers who had fought under Clive and our early -generals. Our officers became so accustomed to them, that at length they -would enlist no others. Being more easily obtained from Oude than from -any other province, it came to pass that the Bengal army gradually -assumed the character of a vast aggregate of brotherhoods and -cousinhoods—consisting chiefly of men belonging to the same castes, -speaking the same dialects, coming from the same districts, and -influenced by the same associations. It was the gradual growth of a -custom, which the Revolt suddenly put an end to. Lawrence denied that -the government had shewn any great encouragement to caste prejudices, -except in the Bengal army. He believed that an equal error would be -committed by discouraging the higher and encouraging the lower castes. -What is wanted is, a due admixture of all, from the haughty Brahmin and -Rajpoot castes, down to the humble Trading and Sweeper castes. Whether -all should be combined in one regiment, or different regiments be formed -of different castes, would depend much on the part of India under -notice. Christianised natives would probably constitute valuable -regiments, as soon as their number becomes sufficiently great. On all -these questions of caste, the two authorities differed chiefly -thus—Edwardes would beat down and humble the higher castes; Lawrence -would employ all, without especially encouraging any. - -[Illustration: - - Fort St George, Madras; in 1780. -] - -4. _Observance of Native Holidays in State Departments._—Native servants -of the government were usually allowed to absent themselves on days of -festival or religious ceremony. Edwardes proposed to reform this, as -being a pandering to heathen customs, unworthy of a Christian -government. Lawrence contended that such a change would be a departure -from the golden rule of ‘doing unto others that which we would they -should do unto us.’ A Christian in a Mohammedan country would think it -cruel if compelled to work on Sunday, Good Friday, or Christmas-day; and -so would the Hindoo and Mussulman of India, if compelled to work on -their days of religious festival. Lawrence thought that the number might -advantageously be lessened, by restricting the list to such as were -especial religious days in the native faiths; but beyond this he would -not curtail the privilege of holiday (holy day). He adverted to the fact -that the Christian Sunday is made obvious to the natives by the -suspension of all public works. - -5. _Administration by the British of Hindoo and Mohammedan -Laws._—Edwardes deemed it objectionable that England should to so great -an extent suffer native laws to be administered in India. Lawrence -replied that it is the policy of conquerors to interfere as little as -possible in those native laws which operate only between man and man, -and do not affect imperial policy. He drew attention to the fact that -Indian legislation had already made two important steps, by legalising -the re-marriage of Hindoo widows, and by removing all possible civil -disabilities or legal disadvantages from Christian converts; and he -looked forward to the time when it might perhaps be practicable to -abolish polygamy, and the making of contracts of betrothal by parents on -behalf of infant children; but he strenuously insisted on the importance -of not changing any such laws until the government can carry the -good-will of the natives with them. - -6. _Publicity of Hindoo and Mohammedan Processions._—It was urged by -Edwardes that religious processions ought not to be allowed in the -public streets, under protection of the police. Lawrence joined in this -opinion—not, however, on religious grounds, but because the processions -led to quarrelling and fighting between rival communions, and because -the Hindoo idols and pictures are often of a character quite unfitted -for exhibition in public thoroughfares. - -7. _Display of Prostitution in the Streets._—This aspect of social -immorality is far more glaring in many parts of India than in European -cities, bad as the latter may be. Edwardes recommended, and Lawrence -concurred in the recommendation, that the police arrangements should be -rendered more stringent in this matter. - -8. _Restrictions on Marriage of European Soldiers._—Great restrictions -were, in bygone years, imposed by the Company on the marriage of -European soldiers; and a shameful disregard shewn for the homes of those -who were married. Edwardes condemned this state of things; and Lawrence -shared his views to a great extent. He asserted that men are not better -soldiers for being unmarried—rather the reverse; and that women and -children, in moderate numbers, need not be any obstruction to military -arrangements. Some change in this matter he recommended. He pointed out, -however, that in reference to the comfort of married soldiers, great -improvements had been introduced into the Punjaub, and improvements to a -smaller extent in other parts of British India. He fully recognised the -bounden duty of the government so to construct barracks as to provide -for the proper domestic privacy of married soldiers and their families. - -9. _Connection of the Government with the Opium-trade._—Edwardes dwelt -on the objectionable character of this connection. Lawrence replied that -the English were not called upon to decide for the Chinese how far the -use of opium is deleterious; and that, until we checked our own -consumption of intoxicating liquors, we were scarcely in a position to -take a high moral tone on this point. He nevertheless fully agreed that -it was objectionable in any government to encourage the growth of this -drug, actively supervising the storing and selling, and advancing money -for this purpose to the cultivators. It was a revenue question, -defensive wholly on financial grounds. How to provide a substitute for -the £4,000,000 or £5,000,000 thus derived would be a difficult matter; -but he thought the best course would be to sever the connection between -the government and the opium-trade, and to lay a heavy customs duty on -the export of opium from India. - -10. _Indian Excise Laws._—It was contended by Edwardes that the -government encouraged intemperance by farming out to monopolists the -right of manufacturing and selling intoxicating drugs and spirits. -Lawrence contested this point. He asserted that there is less -drunkenness in India, less spirit-drinking and drug-chewing, than under -the former native rule, when the trade was open to all. As a question of -morals, the Indian government does no more than that of the home -country, in deriving a revenue from spirituous liquors; as a question of -fact, the evils are lessened by the very monopoly complained of. - -Sir John Lawrence, in a few concluding remarks, expressed a very strong -belief that Christian civilisation may be introduced gradually into -India if a temperate policy be pursued; but that rash zeal would produce -great disaster. ‘It is when unchristian things are done in the name of -Christianity, or when Christian things are done in an unchristian way, -that mischief and danger are occasioned.’ He recommended that as soon as -the supreme government had organised the details of a just and -well-considered policy, ‘it should be openly avowed and universally -acted on throughout British India; so that there may be no diversities -of practice, no isolated or conflicting efforts, which would be the -surest means of exciting distrust; so that the people may see that we -have no sudden or sinister designs; and so that we may exhibit that -harmony and uniformity of conduct which befits a Christian nation -striving to do its duty.’ Finally, he expressed a singularly firm -conviction that, so far as concerns the Punjaub, he could himself carry -out ‘all those measures which are really matters of Christian duty on -the part of the government:’ measures which ‘would arouse no danger, -would conciliate instead of provoking, and would subserve the ultimate -diffusion of the truth among the people.’ - -It wants no other evidence than is furnished by the above very -remarkable correspondence, to shew that the future government of India -must, if it be effective, be based on some system which has been well -weighed and scrutinised on all sides. The problem is nothing less than -that of governing a hundred and eighty millions of human beings, whose -characteristics are very imperfectly known to us. It is a matter of no -great difficulty to write out a scheme or plan of government, -plentifully bestrewed with personalities and accusations; there have -been many such; but the calm judgment of men filling different ranks in -life, and conversant with different aspects of Indian character, can -alone insure the embodiment of a scheme calculated to benefit both India -and England. Whether the abolition of the governing powers of the East -India Company will facilitate the solution of this great problem, the -future alone can shew; it will at any rate simplify the departmental -operations. - -The Queen’s proclamation, announcing the great change in the mode of -government, and offering an amnesty to evildoers under certain easily -understood conditions, adverted cautiously to the future and its -prospects. Before, however, touching on this important document, it may -be well to say a few words concerning the military operations in the few -weeks immediately preceding its issue. - -These operations, large as they were, had resolved themselves into the -hunting down of desperate bands, rather than the fighting of great -battles with a military opponent. Throughout the whole of India, in the -months of October and November, disturbances had been nearly quelled -except in two regions—Oude, with portions of the neighbouring provinces -of Rohilcund and Behar; and Malwah, with portions of Bundelcund and the -Nerbudda provinces. Of the rest—Bengal, Assam and the Delta of the -Ganges, Aracan and Pegu, the greater portion of Behar and the Northwest -Provinces, the Doab, Sirhind and the hill regions, the Punjaub, Sinde, -Cutch and Gujerat, Bombay and its vicinity, the Deccan under the Nizam, -the Nagpoor territory, the Madras region, Mysore, the South Mahratta -country, the south of the Indian peninsula—all were so nearly at peace -as to excite little attention. Of the two excepted regions, a few -details will shew that they were gradually falling more and more under -British power. - -In the Oude region the guiding spirit was still the Begum, one of the -wives of the deposed king. She had the same kind of energy and ability -as the Ranee of Jhansi, with less of cruelty; and was hence deserving of -a meed of respect. Camp-gossip told that, under disappointment at the -uniform defeat of the rebel troops whenever and wherever they -encountered the English, she sent a pair of bangles (ankle-ornaments) to -each of her generals or leaders—scoffingly telling him to wear those -trinkets, and become a woman, unless he could vanquish and drive out the -Feringhees. This had the effect of impelling some of her officers to -make attacks on the British; but the attacks were utterly futile. There -were many leaders in Oude who fought on their own account; a greater -number, however, acknowledged a kind of suzerainty in the Begum. If she -did not win battles, she at least headed armies, and carried on open -warfare; whereas the despicable Nena Sahib, true to his cowardice from -first to last, was hiding in jungles, and endeavouring to keep his very -existence unknown to the English. The military operations in Oude during -the month of October were not extensive in character. Sir Colin Campbell -(Lord Clyde), waiting for the cessation of the autumnal rains, was -collecting several columns, with a view of hemming in the rebels on all -sides and crushing them. That they would ultimately be crushed, -everything foretold; for in every encounter, large or small, they were -so disgracefully beaten as to shew that the leaders commanded a mere -predatory rabble rather than a brave disciplined soldiery. These -encounters were mostly in Oude, but partly in Behar and Rohilcund. In -the greater number of instances, however, the rebels ran instead of -fighting, even though their number was tenfold that of their opponents. -The skilled mutinied sepoys from the Bengal army were becoming daily -fewer in number, so many having been struck down by war and by -privation; their places were now taken by undisciplined ruffians, who, -however strong for rapine and anarchy, were nearly powerless on the -field of battle. Thousands of men in this part of India, who had become -impoverished, almost houseless, during a year and a half of anarchy, had -strong temptation to join the rebel leaders, from a hope of booty or -plunder, irrespective of any national or patriotic motive. Sir Colin, -when the month of November arrived, entered personally on his plan of -operations; which was to bar the boundaries of Oude on three sides—the -Ganges, Rohilcund, and Behar—and compel the various bodies of rebels -either to fight or to flee; if they fought, their virtual annihilation -would be almost certain; if they fled, it could only be to the jungle -region on the Nepaul frontier of Oude, where, though they might carry on -a hide-and-seek game for many months, their military importance as -rebels would cease. In the dead of the night, between the 1st and 2d of -November, the veteran commander-in-chief set forth from Allahabad with a -well-selected force, crossed the Ganges, and advanced into Oude. His -first work was to issue a proclamation,[203] sternly threatening all -evildoers. A few days earlier, at Lucknow, Mr Montgomery, as -chief-commissioner, had issued a proclamation for the disarming of -Oude—requiring all thalookdars to surrender their guns, all persons -whatever to surrender their arms, all leaders to refrain from building -and arming forts; and threatening with fine and imprisonment those who -should disobey. It was intended and believed that the three -proclamations should all conduce towards a pacification—the Queen’s -(presently to be noticed) offering pardon to mutineers who yielded; the -Commander-in-chief’s, threatening destruction to all towns and villages -which aided rebels; and the commissioners’, lessening the powers for -mischief by depriving the inhabitants generally of arms. With Sir Colin -advancing towards the centre of Oude by Pertabghur, troops from -Seetapoor, Hope Grant from Salone, and Rowcroft from the Gogra at -Fyzabad, the Begum and her supporters were gradually so hemmed in that -they began to avail themselves of the terms of the Queen’s proclamation -by surrender. It was to such a result that the authorities had from the -first looked; but never until now had all the conditions for it been -favourable. One of the first to surrender was Rajah Lall Madhoo Singh, a -chieftain of great influence and energy, and one whose character had not -been stained by deeds of cruelty. - -In the Arrah or Jugdispore district, in like manner, the close of the -scene was foreshadowed. Ummer Singh and his confederates had long -baffled Brigadier Douglas; but now that troops were converging from all -quarters upon the jungle-haunt, the rebels became more and more isolated -from bands in other districts, their position more and more critical, -and their final discomfiture more certain. Sir H. Havelock, son of the -deceased general, and Colonel Turner, pressed them more and more with -new columns, until their hopes were desperate. One excellent expedient -was the cutting down of the Jugdispore jungle, 23 miles in length by 4 -in breadth; this useful work was begun in November by Messrs Burn, -railway contractors. - -In the other region of India above adverted to—comprising those -districts of Malwah, Bundelcund, &c., which are watered by the Betwah, -the Chumbul, the Nerbudda, and their tributaries—the leading rebel was -Tanteea Topee, one of the most remarkable men brought forward by the -Revolt. He had most of the qualities for a good general—except courage. -He would not fight if he could help it; but in avoiding the British -generals opposed to him, he displayed a cunning of plan, a fertility of -resource, and a celerity of movement, quite note-worthy. The truth seems -to have been, that he held power over an enormous treasure, in money and -jewels, which he had obtained by plundering Scindia’s palace at Gwalior; -this treasure he carried with him wherever he went; and he shunned any -encounters which might endanger it. He looked out for a strong city or -fort, where he might settle down as a Mahratta prince, with a large -store of available ready wealth at hand; but as the British did not -choose to leave him in quietude, he marched from place to place. Between -the beginning of June and the end of November he traversed with his army -an enormous area of country, seizing guns from various towns and forts -on the way, but usually escaping before the English could catch him. -Former chapters have shewn by what strange circumvolutions he arrived at -Julra Patteen; and a detail of operations would shew that his subsequent -movements were equally erratic. He went to Seronj, then to Esagurh, then -to Chunderee, then to Peshore, then arrived at the river Betwah, and -wavered whether he should go southward to the Deccan or northward -towards Jhansi. Everywhere he was either followed or headed, by columns -and detachments under Michel, Mayne, Parkes, Smith, and other officers. -Whenever they could bring him to an encounter, they invariably beat him -most signally; but when, as generally happened, he escaped by forced -marches, they tracked him. He picked up guns and men as he went; so that -the amount of his force was never correctly known; it varied from three -to fifteen thousand. One of the most severe defeats he received was at -Sindwah, on the 19th of October, at the hands of General Michel; -another, on the 25th, near Multhone, from the same active general. It -was felt on all sides that this game could not be indefinitely -continued. Tanteea Topee was like a hunted beast of prey, pursued by -enemies who would not let him rest. When it had been clearly ascertained -by General Roberts, in Rajpootana, that the fleet-footed and -unencumbered rebel soldiery could escape faster than British troops -could follow them, a new mode of strategy was adopted; columns from four -different directions began to march towards a common centre, near which -centre were Tanteea and his rebels; if one column could not catch him, -another could head him and drive him back. Thus it was considered a -military certainty that he must be run down at last. And if he fell, the -great work of pacification in that part of India would be pretty well -effected; for there was no rebel force of any account except that -commanded by Tanteea Topee. After his defeat at Multhone, Tanteea was in -great peril; Michel literally cut his army in two; and if he had pursued -the larger instead of the smaller of these two sections, he might -possibly have captured Tanteea himself. On the last day in October, the -rebel leader crossed the Nerbudda river, thereby turning his back on the -regions occupied by the columns of Roberts, Napier, Michel, Smith, and -Whitlock. During November, he made some extraordinary marches in the -country immediately southward of the Nerbudda—being heard of -successively at Baitool, the Sindwara hills, and other little-known -places in that region. He was no better off than before, however, for -forces were immediately sent against him from Ahmednuggur, Kamptee, and -other places; he had lost nearly all his guns and stores, his rebel -followers, though laden with wealth, were footsore and desponding; and, -for the first time, his companions began to look out for favourable -terms of surrender. The Queen’s proclamation was eminently calculated to -withdraw his misguided followers from him; and the Nawab of Banda, the -most influential among them, was the first to give himself up to General -Michel. - -Not only was a large measure of forgiveness held out to those who would -return to their allegiance; but the British troops in India were -becoming so formidably numerous as to render still more certain than -ever the eventual triumph of order and good government. The Queen’s -troops in India at the beginning of November, those on the passage from -England, and those told off for further shipment, amounted altogether to -little short of one hundred thousand men. It affords a striking instance -of triumph over difficulties, that between November 1857 and November -1858 the Peninsular and Oriental Steam-navigation Company conveyed no -less than 8190 officers and soldiers to India by the overland route—in -spite of the forebodings that that route would be unsuitable for whole -regiments of soldiers; the burning Egyptian desert and the reef-bound -Red Sea were traversed almost without disaster, under the watchful care -of this company. - -The 1st of November 1858 was a great day in India. On this day the -transference of governing power from the East India Company to Queen -Victoria was made known throughout the length and breadth of the empire. -A royal proclamation[204] was issued, which many regarded as the Magna -Charta of native liberty in India. At Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Lahore, -Kurachee, Delhi, Agra, Allahabad, Nagpoor, Mysore, Rangoon, and other -great cities, this proclamation was read with every accompaniment of -ceremonial splendour that could give dignity to the occasion in the eyes -of the natives; and at every British station, large or small, it was -read amid such military honours as each place afforded. It was -translated into most of the languages, and many of the dialects of -India. It was printed in tens of thousands, and distributed wherever -natives were wont most to congregate—in order that all might know that -Queen Victoria was now virtually Empress of India; that the -governor-general was now her viceroy; that the native princes might rely -on the observance by her of all treaties made with them by the Company; -that she desired no encroachment on, or annexation of, the territories -of those princes; that she would not interfere with the religion of the -natives, or countenance any favouritism in matters of faith; that creed -or caste should not be a bar to employment in her service; that the -ancient legal tenures and forms of India should, as far as possible, be -adhered to; and that all mutineers and rebels, except those whose hands -were blood-stained by actual murder, should receive a full and gracious -pardon on abandoning their acts of insurgency. When these words were -uttered aloud at Bombay (and the ceremony was more or less similar at -the other cities named) the spectacle was such as the natives of India -had never before seen. The governor and all the chief civilians; the -military officers and the troops; the clergy of all the various -Christian denominations; the merchants, shipowners, and traders; the -Mohammedans, Hindoos, Mahrattas, Parsees—all were represented among the -throng around the spot from whence the proclamation was read, first in -English, and then in Mahratta. And then the shouting, the music of -military bands, the firing of guns, the waving of flags, the -illuminations at night, the fireworks in the public squares, the -blue-lights and manning of the ships, the banquets in the chief -mansions—all rendered this a day to be borne in remembrance. Sir -Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, the Parsee baronet, vied with the Christians in the -munificence of rejoicing; and indeed, so little did religious -differences mar the harmony of the scene, that Catholic chapels, -Mohammedan mosques, Hindoo pagodas, and Parsee temples were alike -lighted up at night. It may not be that every one was enabled to assign -good reasons for his rejoicing; but there was certainly a pretty general -concurrence of opinion that the declared sovereignty of Queen Victoria, -as a substitute for the ever-incomprehensible ‘raj’ of the East India -Company, was a presage of good for British India. At Calcutta, the -proclamation had the singular good-fortune of winning the approval of a -community always very difficult to please. The Europeans consented to -lay aside all minor considerations, in order to do honour to the great -principles involved in the proclamation. The natives, too, took their -share in the rejoicing. A public meeting was held early in the month, at -which an influential Hindoo, Baboo Ramgopal Ghose, made an animated -speech. He said, among other things: ‘If I had power and influence, I -would proclaim through the length and breadth of this land—from the -Himalayas to Cape Comorin, from the Brahmaputra to the Bay of -Cambay—that never were the natives more grievously mistaken than they -have been in adopting the notion foisted on them by designing and -ambitious men—that their religion was at stake; for that notion I -believe to have been at the root of the late rebellion.’ Some of the -more intelligent natives rightly understood the nature of the great -change made in the government of India; but among the ignorant, it -remained a mystery—rendered, however, very palatable by the open avowal -of a Queen regnant, and of a proclamation breathing sentiments of -justice and kindness. - -[Illustration] - ------ - -Footnote 194: - - Chapter xiii., p. 211. - -Footnote 195: - - _Account of the Mutinies in Oudh._ - -Footnote 196: - - _Personal Narrative of the Siege of Lucknow._ - -Footnote 197: - - _Eight Months’ Campaign against the Bengal Sepoy Army._ - -Footnote 198: - - _British India; its Races and its History._ - -Footnote 199: - - _The Sepoy Revolt; its Causes and its Consequences._ - -Footnote 200: - - _Notes on the Revolt in the Northwest Provinces._ - -Footnote 201: - - _Letters of Indophilus to the ‘Times.’_ - -Footnote 202: - - _The Indian Rebellion: its Causes and Results._ - -Footnote 203: - - ‘The Commander-in-chief proclaims to the people of Oude that, under - the order of the Right Hon. the Governor-general, he comes to enforce - the law. - - ‘In order to effect this without danger to life and property, - resistance must cease on the part of the people. - - ‘The most exact discipline will be preserved in the camps and on the - march; and when there is no resistance, houses and crops will be - spared, and no plundering allowed in the towns and villages. But - wherever there is resistance, or even a single shot fired against the - troops, the inhabitants must expect to incur the fate they have - brought on themselves. Their houses will be plundered, and their - villages burnt. - - ‘This proclamation includes all ranks of the people, from the - thalookdars to the poorest ryots. - - ‘The Commander-in-chief invites all the well-disposed to remain in - their towns and villages, where they will be sure of his protection - against all violence.’ - -Footnote 204: - - See Appendix. - - - - - APPENDIX. - - - _East India Company’s Petition to Parliament, January 1858._—(See p. - 563.) - -To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the -Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and -Ireland in Parliament assembled; The humble Petition of the East India -Company, Sheweth: - -That your petitioners, at their own expense, and by the agency of their -own civil and military servants, originally acquired for this country -its magnificent empire in the East. - -That the foundations of this empire were laid by your petitioners, at -that time neither aided nor controlled by parliament, at the same period -at which a succession of administrations under the control of parliament -were losing to the Crown of Great Britain another great empire on the -opposite side of the Atlantic. - -That during the period of about a century, which has since elapsed, the -Indian possessions of this country have been governed and defended from -the resources of those possessions, without the smallest cost to the -British exchequer, which, to the best of your petitioners’ knowledge and -belief, cannot be said of any other of the numerous foreign dependencies -of the Crown. - -That it being manifestly improper that the administration of any British -possession should be independent of the general government of the -empire, parliament provided in 1783 that a department of the imperial -government should have full cognizance of, and power of control over, -the acts of your petitioners in the administration of India; since which -time the home branch of the Indian government has been conducted by the -joint counsels and on the joint responsibility of your petitioners and -of a minister of the Crown. - -That this arrangement has at subsequent periods undergone -reconsideration from the legislature, and various comprehensive and -careful parliamentary inquiries have been made into its practical -operation; the result of which has been, on each occasion, a renewed -grant to your petitioners of the powers exercised by them in the -administration of India. - -That the last of these occasions was so recent as 1853, in which year -the arrangements which had existed for nearly three-quarters of a -century were, with certain modifications, re-enacted, and still subsist. - -That, notwithstanding, your petitioners have received an intimation from -her Majesty’s ministers of their intention to propose to parliament a -bill for the purpose of placing the government of her Majesty’s East -Indian dominions under the direct authority of the Crown: a change -necessarily involving the abolition of the East India Company as an -instrument of government. - -That your petitioners have not been informed of the reasons which have -induced her Majesty’s ministers, without any previous inquiry, to come -to the resolution of putting an end to a system of administration which -parliament, after inquiry, deliberately confirmed and sanctioned less -than five years ago, and which, in its modified form, has not been in -operation quite four years, and cannot be considered to have undergone a -sufficient trial during that short period. - -That your petitioners do not understand that her Majesty’s ministers -impute any failure to those arrangements, or bring any charge, either -great or small, against your petitioners. But the time at which the -proposal is made, compels your petitioners to regard it as arising from -the calamitous events which have recently occurred in India. - -That your petitioners challenge the most searching investigation into -the mutiny of the Bengal army, and the causes, whether remote or -immediate, which produced that mutiny. They have instructed the -government of India to appoint a commission for conducting such an -inquiry on the spot; and it is their most anxious wish that a similar -inquiry may be instituted in this country by your [lordships’] -honourable House, in order that it may be ascertained whether anything, -either in the constitution of the home government of India, or in the -conduct of those by whom it has been administered, has had any share in -producing the mutiny, or has in any way impeded the measures for its -suppression; and whether the mutiny itself, or any circumstance -connected with it, affords any evidence of the failure of the -arrangements under which India is at present administered. - -That were it even true that these arrangements had failed, the failure -could constitute no reason for divesting the East India Company of its -functions, and transferring them to her Majesty’s government. For, under -the existing system, her Majesty’s government have the deciding voice. -The duty imposed upon the Court of Directors is, to originate measures -and frame drafts of instructions. Even had they been remiss in this -duty, their remissness, however discreditable to themselves, could in no -way absolve the responsibility of her Majesty’s government; since the -minister for India possesses, and has frequently exercised, the power of -requiring that the Court of Directors should take any subject into -consideration, and prepare a draft-dispatch for his approval. Her -Majesty’s government are thus in the fullest sense accountable for all -that has been done, and for all that has been forborne or omitted to be -done. Your petitioners, on the other hand, are accountable only in so -far as the act or omission has been promoted by themselves. - -That under these circumstances, if the administration of India had been -a failure, it would, your petitioners submit, have been somewhat -unreasonable, to expect that a remedy would be found in annihilating the -branch of the ruling authority which could not be the one principally in -fault, and might be altogether blameless, in order to concentrate all -powers in the branch which had necessarily the decisive share in every -error, real or supposed. To believe that the administration of India -would have been more free from error, had it been conducted by a -minister of the Crown without the aid of the Court of Directors, would -be to believe that the minister, with full power to govern India as he -pleased, has governed ill because he has had the assistance of -experienced and responsible advisers. - -That your petitioners, however, do not seek to vindicate themselves at -the expense of any other authority; they claim their full share of the -responsibility of the manner in which India has practically been -governed. That responsibility is to them not a subject of humiliation, -but of pride. They are conscious that their advice and initiative have -been, and have deserved to be, a great and potent element in the conduct -of affairs in India. And they feel complete assurance, that the more -attention is bestowed, and the more light thrown upon India and its -administration, the more evident it will become, that the government in -which they have borne a part, has been not only one of the purest in -intention, but one of the most beneficent in act, ever known among -mankind; that during the last and present generations in particular, it -has been, in all departments, one of the most rapidly improving -governments in the world; and that, at the time when this change is -proposed, a greater number of important improvements are in a state of -rapid progress than at any former period. And they are satisfied that -whatever further improvements may be hereafter effected in India, can -only consist in the development of germs already planted, and in -building on foundations already laid, under their authority, and in a -great measure by their express instructions. - -That such, however, is not the impression likely to be made on the -public mind, either in England or in India, by the ejection of your -petitioners from the place they fill in the Indian administration. It is -not usual with statesmen to propose the complete abolition of a system -of government of which the practical operation is not condemned. It -might therefore be generally inferred from the proposed measures, if -carried into effect at the present time, that the East India Company -having been intrusted with an important portion of the administration of -India, have so abused their trust, as to have produced a sanguinary -insurrection, and nearly lost India to the British empire; and that -having thus crowned a long career of misgovernment, they have, in -deference to public indignation, been deservedly cashiered for their -misconduct. - -That if the character of the East India Company were alone concerned, -your petitioners might be willing to await the verdict of history. They -are satisfied that posterity will do them justice. And they are -confident that, even now, justice is done to them in the minds, not only -of her Majesty’s ministers, but of all who have any claim to be -competent judges of the subject. But though your petitioners could -afford to wait for the reversal of the verdict of condemnation which -will be believed throughout the world to have been passed on them and -their government by the British nation, your petitioners cannot look -without the deepest uneasiness at the effect likely to be produced on -the minds of the people of India. To them—however incorrectly the name -may express the fact—the British government in India is the government -of the East India Company. To their minds, the abolition of the Company -will, for some time to come, mean the abolition of the whole system of -administration with which the Company is identified. The measure, -introduced simultaneously with the influx of an overwhelming British -force, will be coincident with a general outcry, in itself most alarming -to their fears, from most of the organs of opinion in this country, as -well as of English opinion in India, denouncing the past policy of the -government on the express ground that it has been too forbearing, and -too considerate towards the natives. The people of India will at first -feel no certainty that the new government, or the government under a new -name, which it is proposed to introduce, will hold itself bound by the -pledges of its predecessors. They will be slow to believe that a -government has been destroyed, only to be followed by another which will -act on the same principles, and adhere to the same measures. They cannot -suppose that the existing organ of administration would be swept away -without the intention of reversing any part of its policy. They will see -the authorities, both at home and in India, surrounded by persons -vehemently urging radical changes in many parts of that policy. -Interpreting, as they must do, the change in the instrument of -government as a concession to these opinions and feelings, they can -hardly fail to believe that, whatever else may be intended, the -government will no longer be permitted to observe that strict -impartiality between those who profess its own creed and those who hold -the creeds of its native subjects, which hitherto characterised it; that -their strongest and most deeply rooted feelings will henceforth be -treated with much less regard than heretofore; and that a directly -aggressive policy towards everything in their habits, or in their usages -and customs, which Englishmen deem objectionable, will be no longer -confined to individuals and private associations, but will be backed by -all the power of government. - -And here your petitioners think it important to observe, that in -abstaining as they have done from all interference with any of the -religious practices of the people of India, except such as are abhorrent -to humanity, they have acted not only from their own conviction of what -is just and expedient, but in accordance with the avowed intentions and -express enactments of the legislature, framed ‘in order that regard -should be had to the civil and religious usages of the natives,’ and -also ‘that suits, civil or criminal, against the natives,’ should be -conducted according to such rules ‘as may accommodate the same to the -religion and manners of the natives.’ That their policy in this respect -has been successful, is evidenced by the fact that, during a military -mutiny, said to have been caused by unfounded apprehensions of danger to -religion, the heads of the native states and the masses of the -population have remained faithful to the British government. Your -petitioners need hardly observe, how very different would probably have -been the issue of the late events if the native princes, instead of -aiding in the suppression of the rebellion, had put themselves at its -head, or if the general population had joined in the revolt; and how -probable it is that both these contingencies would have occurred if any -real ground had been given for the persuasion that the British -government intended to identify itself with proselytism. It is the -honest conviction of your petitioners, that any serious apprehension of -a change of policy in this respect would be likely to be followed, at no -distant period, by a general rising throughout India. - -That your petitioners have seen with the greatest pain, the -demonstrations of indiscriminate animosity towards the natives of India -on the part of our countrymen in India and at home, which have grown up -since the late unhappy events. They believe these sentiments to be -fundamentally unjust; they know them to be fatal to the possibility of -good government in India. They feel that if such demonstrations should -continue, and especially if weight be added to them by legislating under -their supposed influence, no amount of wisdom and forbearance on the -part of the government will avail to restore that confidence of the -governed in the intentions of their rulers, without which it is vain -even to attempt the improvement of the people. - -That your petitioners cannot contemplate without dismay the doctrine now -widely promulgated, that India should be administered with an especial -view to the benefit of the English who reside there—or that in its -administration any advantages should be sought for her Majesty’s -subjects of European birth, except that which they will necessarily -derive from their superiority of intelligence, and from the increased -prosperity of the people, the improvement of the productive resources of -the country, and the extension of commercial intercourse. Your -petitioners regard it as the most honourable characteristic of the -government of India by England, that it has acknowledged no such -distinction as that of a dominant and a subject race; but has held that -its first duty was to the people of India. Your petitioners feel that a -great portion of the hostility with which they are assailed, is caused -by the belief that they are peculiarly the guardians of this principle, -and that, so long as they have any voice in the administration of India, -it cannot easily be infringed; and your petitioners will not conceal -their belief that their exclusion from any part in the government is -likely, at the present time, to be regarded in India as a first -successful attack on that principle. - -That your petitioners, therefore, most earnestly represent to your -[lordships’] honourable House that even if the contemplated change could -be proved to be in itself advisable, the present is a most unsuitable -time for entertaining it; and they most strongly and respectfully urge -on your [lordships’] honourable House the expediency of at least -deferring any such change until it can be effected at a period when it -would not be, in the minds of the people of India, directly connected -with the recent calamitous events, and with the feelings to which those -events have either given rise, or have afforded an opportunity of -manifestation. Such postponement, your petitioners submit, would allow -time for a more mature consideration than has yet been given, or can be -given in the present excited state of the public mind, to the various -questions connected with the organisation of a government for India; and -would enable the most competent minds in the nation calmly to examine -whether any new arrangement can be devised for the home government of -India uniting a greater number of the conditions of good administration -than the present, and if so, which, among the numerous schemes which -have been or may be proposed, possesses those requisites in the greatest -degree. - -That your petitioners have always willingly acquiesced in any changes -which, after discussion by parliament, were deemed conducive to the -general welfare, although such changes may have involved important -sacrifices to themselves. They would refer to their partial -relinquishment of trade in 1813; to its total abandonment, and the -placing of their commercial charter in abeyance in 1833; to the transfer -to India of their commercial assets, amounting to £15,858,000, a sum -greatly exceeding that ultimately repayable to them in respect of their -capital, independent of territorial rights and claims; and to their -concurrence, in 1853, in the measure by which the Court of Directors was -reconstructed, and reduced to its present number. In the same spirit, -your petitioners would most gladly co-operate with her Majesty’s -government in correcting any defects which may be considered to exist in -the details of the present system; and they would be prepared, without a -murmur, to relinquish their trust altogether, if a better system for the -control of the government of India can be devised. But as they believe -that, in the construction of such a system, there are conditions which -cannot, without the most dangerous consequences, be departed from, your -petitioners respectfully and deferentially submit to the judgment of -your [lordships’] honourable House their view of those conditions, in -the hope that if your [lordships’] honourable House should see reason to -agree in that view, you will withhold your legislative sanction from any -arrangement for the government of India which does not fulfil the -conditions in question in at least an equal degree with the present. - -That your petitioners may venture to assume that it will not be proposed -to vest the home portion of the administration of India in a minister of -the Crown, without the adjunct of a council composed of statesmen -experienced in Indian affairs. Her Majesty’s ministers cannot but be -aware that the knowledge necessary for governing a foreign country, and -in particular a country like India, requires as much special study as -any other profession, and cannot possibly be possessed by any one who -has not devoted a considerable portion of his life to the acquisition of -it. - -That in constituting a body of experienced advisers, to be associated -with the Indian minister, your petitioners consider it indispensable to -bear in mind that this body should not only be qualified to advise the -minister, but also, by its advice, to exercise, to a certain degree, a -moral check. It cannot be expected that the minister, as a general rule, -should himself know India; while he will be exposed to perpetual -solicitations from individuals and bodies, either entirely ignorant of -that country, or knowing only enough of it to impose on those who know -still less than themselves, and having very frequently objects in view -other than the interests or good government of India. The influences -likely to be brought to bear on him through the organs of popular -opinion will, in the majority of cases, be equally misleading. The -public opinion of England, itself necessarily unacquainted with Indian -affairs, can only follow the promptings of those who take most pains to -influence it; and these will generally be such as have some private -interest to serve. It is, therefore, your petitioners submit, of the -utmost importance that any council which may form a part of the home -government of India should derive sufficient weight from its -constitution, and from the relation it occupies to the minister, to be a -substantial barrier against those inroads of self-interest and ignorance -in this country from which the government of India has hitherto been -comparatively free, but against which it would be too much to expect -that parliament should of itself afford a sufficient protection. - -That your petitioners cannot well conceive a worse form of government -for India, than a minister with a council whom he should be at liberty -to consult or not at his pleasure, or whose advice he should be able to -disregard without giving his reasons in writing, and in a manner likely -to carry conviction. Such an arrangement, your petitioners submit, would -be really liable to the objections in their opinion erroneously urged -against the present system. Your petitioners respectfully represent that -any body of persons associated with the minister, which is not a check, -will be a screen. Unless the council is so constituted as to be -personally independent of the minister; unless it feels itself -responsible for recording an opinion on every Indian subject, and -pressing that opinion on the minister, whether it is agreeable to him or -not; and unless the minister, when he overrules their opinion, is bound -to record his reasons—its existence will only serve to weaken his -responsibility, and to give the colourable sanction of prudence and -experience to measures in the framing of which those qualities have had -no share. - -That it would be vain to expect that a new council could have as much -moral influence, and power of asserting its opinion with effect, as the -Court of Directors. A new body can no more succeed to the feelings and -authority which their antiquity and their historical antecedents give to -the East India Company, than a legislature, under a new name, sitting in -Westminster, would have the moral ascendency of the Houses of Lords and -Commons. One of the most important elements of usefulness will thus be -necessarily wanting in any newly constituted Indian Council, as compared -with the present. - -That your petitioners find it difficult to conceive that the same -independence, in judgment and act, which characterises the Court of -Directors will be found in any council all of whose members are -nominated by the crown. Owing their nomination to the same authority, -many of them probably to the same individual minister whom they are -appointed to check, and looking to him alone for their re-appointment, -their desire of recommending themselves to him, and their unwillingness -to risk his displeasure by any serious resistance to his wishes, will be -motives too strong not to be in danger of exercising a powerful and -injurious influence over their conduct. Nor are your petitioners aware -of any mode in which that injurious influence could be guarded against, -except by conferring the appointments, like those of the judges, during -good behaviour; which, by rendering it impossible to correct an error -once committed, would be seriously objectionable. - -That your petitioners are equally unable to perceive how, if the -controlling body is entirely nominated by the minister, that happy -independence of parliamentary and party influence which has hitherto -distinguished the administration of India, and the appointment to -situations of trust and importance in that country, can be expected to -continue. Your petitioners believe that in no government known to -history have appointments to offices, and especially to high offices, -been so rarely bestowed on any other considerations than those of -personal fitness. This characteristic, but for which, in all -probability, India would long since have been lost to this country, is, -your petitioners conceive, entirely owing to the circumstance that the -dispensers of patronage have been persons unconnected with party, and -under no necessity of conciliating parliamentary support; that -consequently the appointments to offices in India have been, as a rule, -left to the unbiassed judgment of the local authorities; while the -nominations to the civil and military services have been generally -bestowed on the middle classes, irrespective of political -considerations, and in a large proportion on the relatives of persons -who had distinguished themselves by their services in India. - -That your petitioners therefore think it essential that at least a -majority of the council which assists the minister for India with its -advice, should hold their seats independently of his appointment. - -That it is, in the opinion of your petitioners, no less necessary that -the order of the transaction of business should be such as to make the -participation of the council in the administration of India a -substantial one. That to this end it is, in the opinion of your -petitioners, indispensable that the dispatches to India should not be -prepared by the minister, and laid before the council, but should be -prepared by the council, and submitted to the minister. This would be in -accordance with the natural and obvious principle, that persons, chosen -for their knowledge of a subject, should suggest the mode of dealing -with it, instead of merely giving their opinion on suggestions coming -from elsewhere. This is also the only mode in which the members of the -council can feel themselves sufficiently important, or sufficiently -responsible, to secure their applying their minds to the subjects before -them. It is almost unnecessary for your petitioners to observe, that the -mind is called into far more vigorous action, by being required to -propose, than by merely being called on to assent. The minister has -necessarily the ultimate decision. If he has also the initiative, he has -all the powers which are of any practical moment. A body whose only -recognised function is to find fault, would speedily let that function -fall into desuetude. They would feel that their co-operation in -conducting the government of India was not really desired; that they -were only felt as a clog on the wheels of business. Their criticism on -what had been decided, without their being collectively consulted, would -be felt as importunate as a mere delay and impediment; and their office -would probably be seldom sought, but by those who were willing to allow -its most important duties to become nominal. - -That, with the duty of preparing the dispatches to India would naturally -be combined the nomination and control of the home establishments. This -your petitioners consider absolutely essential to the utility of the -council. If the officers through whom they work are in direct dependence -upon an authority higher than theirs, all matters of importance will in -reality be settled between the minister and the subordinates, passing -over the council altogether. - -That a third consideration to which your petitioners attach great -importance, is, that the number of the council should not be too -restricted. India is so wide a field, that a practical acquaintance with -every part of its affairs cannot be found combined in any small number -of individuals. The council ought to contain men of general experience -and knowledge of the world, also men specially qualified by financial -and revenue experience, by judicial experience, diplomatic experience, -military experience; it ought to contain persons conversant with the -varied social relations, and varied institutions of Bengal, Madras, -Bombay, the Northwestern Provinces, the Punjaub, and the native states. -Even the present Court of Directors, reduced as it is in numbers by the -act of 1853, does not contain all the varieties of knowledge and -experience desirable in such a body; neither, your petitioners submit, -would it be safe to limit the number to that which would be strictly -sufficient, supposing all the appointments to be the best possible. A -certain margin should be allowed for failures, which, even with the most -conscientious selection, will sometimes occur. Your petitioners, -moreover, cannot overlook the possibility, that if the nomination takes -place by ministers at the head of a political party, it will not always -be made with exclusive reference to personal qualifications; and it is -indispensable to provide that such errors or faults in the nominating -authority, so long as they are only occasional, shall not seriously -impair the efficiency of the body. - -That while these considerations plead strongly for a body not less -numerous than the present, even if only regarded as advisers of the -minister; their other office, as a check on the minister, forms, your -petitioners submit, a no less forcible objection to any considerable -reduction of the present number. A body of six or eight will not be -equal to one of eighteen in that feeling of independent self-reliance -which is necessary to induce a public body to press its opinion on a -minister to whom that opinion is unacceptable. However unobjectionably -in other respects so small a body may be constituted, reluctance to give -offence will be likely, unless in extreme cases, to be a stronger -habitual inducement in their minds than the desire to stand up for their -convictions. - -That if, in the opinion of your [lordships’] honourable House, a body -can be constituted which unites the above enumerated requisites of good -government, in a greater degree than the Court of Directors, your -petitioners have only to express their humble hope that your endeavours -for that purpose may be successful. But if, in enumerating the -conditions of a good system of home government for India, your -petitioners have, in fact, enumerated the qualities possessed by the -present system, then your petitioners pray that your [lordships’] -honourable House will continue the existing powers of the Court of -Directors. - -That your petitioners are aware that the present home government of -India is reproached with being a double government; and that any -arrangement by which an independent check is provided to the discretion -of the minister, will be liable to a similar reproach. But they conceive -that this accusation originates in an entire misconception of the -functions devolving on the home government of India, and in the -application to it of the principles applicable to purely executive -departments. The executive government of India is, and must be, seated -in India itself. The Court of Directors is not so much an executive as a -deliberative body. Its principal function, and that of the home -government generally, is not to direct the details of administration, -but to scrutinise and revise the past acts of the Indian government—to -lay down principles and issue general instructions for their future -guidance—and to give or refuse sanction to great political measures, -which are referred home for approval. These duties are more analogous to -the functions of parliament than to those of an executive board; and it -might almost as well be said that parliament, as that the government of -India, should be constituted on the principles applicable to executive -boards. It is considered an excellence, not a defect in the constitution -of parliament, to be not merely a double but a triple government. An -executive authority, your petitioners submit, may often with advantage -be single, because promptitude is its first requisite. But the function -of passing a deliberate opinion on past measures, and laying down -principles of future policy, is a business which, in the estimation of -your petitioners, admits of and requires the concurrence of more -judgments than one. It is no defect in such a body to be double, and no -excellence to be single, especially when it can only be made so by -cutting off that branch of it which, by previous training, is always the -best prepared—and often the only one which is prepared at all—for its -peculiar duty. - -That your petitioners have heard it asserted that, in consequence of -what is called the double government, the Indian authorities are less -responsible to parliament and the nation than other departments of the -government of the empire, since it is impossible to know on which of the -two branches of home government the responsibility ought to rest. Your -petitioners fearlessly affirm that this impression is not only -groundless, but the very reverse of the truth. The home government of -India is not less, but more responsible than any other branch of the -administration of the state; inasmuch as the president of the Board of -Commissioners, who is the minister for India, is as completely -responsible as any other of her Majesty’s ministers; and, in addition, -his advisers also are responsible. It is always certain, in the case of -India, that the president of the Board of Commissioners must have either -commanded or sanctioned all that has been done. No more than this, your -petitioners would submit, can be known in the case of the head of any -department of her Majesty’s government. For it is not, nor can it -rationally be supposed, that any minister of the Crown is without -trusted advisers; and the minister for India must, for obvious reasons, -be more dependent than any other of her Majesty’s ministers, upon the -advice of persons whose lives have been devoted to the subject on which -their advice has been given. But in the case of India such advisers are -assigned to him by the constitution of the government, and they are as -much responsible for what they advise, as he for what he ordains; while, -in other departments, the minister’s only official advisers are the -subordinates in his office, men often of great skill and experience, but -not in the public eye, often unknown to the public even by name; -official reserve precludes the possibility of ascertaining what advice -they give, and they are responsible only to the minister himself. By -what application of terms this can be called responsible government, and -the joint government of your petitioners and the India Board an -irresponsible government, your petitioners think it unnecessary to ask. - -That, without knowing the plan on which her Majesty’s ministers -contemplate the transfer to the Crown of the servants of the Company, -your petitioners find themselves unable to approach the delicate -question of the Indian army, further than to point out that the high -military qualities of the officers of that army have unquestionably -sprung, in a great degree, from its being a principal and substantive -army, holding her Majesty’s commissions, and enjoying equal rank with -her Majesty’s officers; and your petitioners would earnestly deprecate -any change in that position. - -That your petitioners having regard to all these considerations, humbly -pray your [lordships’] honourable House that you will not give your -sanction to any change in the constitution of the Indian government -during the continuance of the present unhappy disturbances, nor without -a full previous inquiry into the operation of the present system. And -your petitioners further pray, that this inquiry may extend to every -department of Indian administration. Such an inquiry your petitioners -respectfully claim, not only as a matter of justice to themselves, but -because, when, for the first time in this century, the thoughts of every -public man in the country are fixed on India, an inquiry would be more -thorough, and its results would carry much more instruction to the mind -of parliament and of the country, than at any preceding period. - - - _E. I. Company’s Objections to the First and Second India Bills: April - 1858._ (See p. 567.) - -It is the duty of your Directors to lay before the Proprietors the two -bills which have been introduced into parliament by the late and by the -present ministry, for divesting the East India Company of all -participation in the government of India, and for framing a new scheme -of administrative agency. - -On former occasions, when the ministers of the Crown have submitted -measures to parliament for altering, in any manner, the constitution of -the Indian government, the substance of the measures has been officially -communicated to the Court of Directors, and an opportunity allowed to -them of offering such remarks as their knowledge and experience in -Indian affairs might suggest. The correspondence being afterwards laid -before the Court of Proprietors, formed the most appropriate report -which the Directors could make to their constituents on the measures -under consideration by the legislature. In the present instance, this -opportunity not having been afforded to them, it appears desirable that -they should adopt the present mode of laying before the proprietary body -the observations which it is entitled to expect from its executive -organ, on the bills now before parliament, and on the present posture of -the Company’s affairs. - -The Directors cannot but advert with feelings of satisfaction to the -altered tone which public discussion has assumed in regard to the -character of the East India Company, and the merits of the -administration in which the Company has borne so important a part. The -intention of proposing the abolition of the Company’s government was -announced in the midst of, and it may be surmised in deference to, a -clamour, which represented the government of India by the Company as -characterised by nearly every fault of which a civilised government can -be accused, and the Company as the main cause of the recent disasters. -But in the parliamentary discussions which have lately taken place, -there has been an almost universal acknowledgment that the rule of the -Company has been honourable to themselves and beneficial to India; while -no political party, and few individuals of any consideration, have -alleged anything seriously disparaging to the general character of the -Company’s administration. So far, therefore, the stand made by the -Company against the calumnies with which they have been assailed, may be -considered to have been successful. - -But the admission generally made, and made explicitly by the proposers -of both the bills, that the existing system works well, has not had the -effect of inducing doubt of the wisdom of hastily abolishing it. Neither -does it seem to have been remembered, that if the system has worked -well, there must be some causes for its having done so, and that it -would be worth while to consider what these are, in order that they -might be retained in any new system. If the constitution which has made -the Indian government what it is, must be abolished, because it is -thought defective in theory, what is substituted should at least be -theoretically unobjectionable. But the constitution of the East India -Company, however anomalous, is far more in accordance with the -acknowledged principles of good government than either of the proposed -bills. - -The nature of the case is, indeed, itself so anomalous, that something -anomalous was to be expected in the means by which it could be -successfully dealt with. - -All English institutions and modes of political action are adapted to -the case of a nation governing itself. In India, the case to be provided -for is that of the government of one nation by another, separated from -it by half the globe; unlike it in everything which characterises a -people; as a whole, totally unacquainted with it; and without time or -means for acquiring knowledge of it or its affairs. - -History presents only two instances in which these or similar -difficulties have been in any considerable degree surmounted. One is the -Roman Empire; the other is the government of India by the East India -Company. - -The means which the bills provide for overcoming these difficulties -consist of the unchecked power of a minister. There is no difference of -moment in this respect between the two bills. The minister, it is true, -is to have a council. But the most despotic rulers have councils. The -difference between the council of a despot and a council which prevents -the ruler from being a despot is, that the one is dependent on him, the -other independent; that the one has some power of its own, the other has -not. By the first bill, the whole council is nominated by the minister; -by the second, one-half of it is nominated by him. The functions to be -intrusted to it are left, in both, with some slight exceptions, to the -minister’s own discretion. - -The minister is indeed subject to the control of parliament and of the -British nation. But though parliament and the nation exercise a salutary -control over their own affairs, it would be contrary to all experience -to suppose that they will exercise it over the affairs of a hundred -millions of Hindoos and Mohammedans. Habitually, they will doubtless be -hereafter, as they have been heretofore, indifferent and inattentive to -Indian affairs, and will leave them entirely to the minister. The -consequence will be, that in the exceptional cases in which they do -interfere, the interference will not be grounded on knowledge of the -subject, and will probably be, for the most part, confined to cases -where an Indian question is taken up from party motives, as the means of -injuring a minister; or when some Indian malcontent, generally with -objects opposed to good government, succeeds in interesting the -sympathies of the public in his favour. For it is not the people of -India, but rich individuals and societies representing class interests, -who have the means of engaging the ear of the public through the press, -and through agents in parliament. And it is important to remark, that by -the provisions of either of the bills, the House of Commons will be -rendered even less competent, in point of knowledge of Indian affairs, -than at present, since by both bills all the members of the Council of -India will be excluded from it. - -The government of dependencies by a minister and his subordinates, under -the sole control of parliament, is not a new experiment in England. That -form of colonial government lost the United States, and had nearly lost -all the colonies of any considerable population and importance. The -colonial administration of this country has only ceased to be a subject -of general condemnation since the principle has been adopted of leaving -all the important colonies to manage their own affairs—a course which -cannot be followed with the people of India. If the control of -parliament has not prevented the habitual mismanagement of countries -inhabited by Englishmen like ourselves, who had every facility for -representing and urging their grievances, it is not likely to be any -effectual protection to Mussulmans and Hindoos. - -All governments require constitutional checks; but the constitutional -checks applicable to a case of this peculiar kind must be found within -the governing body itself. - -Though England, as a whole, while desiring nothing but to govern India -well, is necessarily ignorant of India, and feels, under ordinary -circumstances, no particular interest in its concerns, there are in -England a certain number of persons who possess knowledge of India, and -feel an interest in its affairs. It seems, therefore, very desirable, -for the sake of India, that England should govern it through, and by -means of, these persons. This would be the case if the organ of -government principally consisted of persons who have passed a -considerable portion of their lives in India, or who feel that habitual -interest in its affairs which is naturally acquired by having aided in -administering them; and if this body, or a majority of it, were -periodically elected by a constituency composed of persons in England -who have served the government for a certain length of time in India, or -whose interests are connected with that country by some permanent tie. -It would be an additional advantage if this constituency had the power -of requiring information, and compelling a public discussion of Indian -questions. These are conditions which, to a considerable extent, the -existing constitution of the East India Company fulfils. - -The other great constitutional security for the good government of India -lies in the forms of business. This is a point to which sufficient -importance is not generally attached. The forms of business are the real -constitution of India. - -From the necessity of the case, recognised in both the proposed -measures, the administration must be shared, in some proportion, between -a minister and a council. The council may consist of persons possessing -knowledge of India. The minister, except in very rare cases, can possess -little or none. He is placed in office by the action of political party, -which is governed by considerations totally unconnected with India; and, -in the common course of politics, he is removed from office by the time -he has been able to learn his duty. Even in the unusual case, of which -present circumstances are an example, when the minister has made himself -acquainted with India through the discharge of high functions in India -itself, his knowledge is but the knowledge of one man; and one man’s -knowledge of a subject like India, until corrected and completed by that -of other men, is, it may safely be affirmed, wholly insufficient, and if -implicitly trusted, even dangerous. The good government, therefore, of -India, by a minister and a council, depends upon the amount of influence -possessed by the council; and their influence depends upon the forms of -business. - -However experienced may be the council, and however inexperienced the -minister, he will have the deciding voice. The power will rest with one -who may know less of the subject than any member of the council, and is -sure to know less than the council collectively, if they are selected -with ordinary judgment. The council will have no substantive power, but -only moral influence. It is, therefore, all-important that this -influence should be upheld. Unless the forms of business are such as to -insure that the council shall exercise its judgment on all questions; -that all matters requiring decision shall be considered by them, and -their views recorded in the initiatory stage, before the minister has -committed himself to an opinion—they will possess no more weight or -influence than the same number of clerks in his office, whom also he can -consult if he pleases; and the power of the minister will be practically -uncontrolled. - -In both the bills these considerations are entirely disregarded. The -first bill does not establish any forms of business, but leaves them to -be determined by the minister and his council; in other words, by the -minister. Even, therefore, if the minister first appointed should be -willing to establish forms which would be any restraint upon himself, a -subsequent minister would have it in his power to alter the forms in any -manner he pleased. - -The second bill, unlike the first, does establish forms of business; but -such alone as would effectually prevent the council from being a -reality, and would render it a useless pageant. - -To make the council a merely consultative body, without initiative, -before whom subjects are only brought after the minister has made up his -mind, is already a fatal inroad upon its usefulness. But by the second -bill the council are not even a consultative body. The minister is under -no obligation to consult them. They are not empowered to hold any -regular meetings. They are to meet only when the minister convenes them, -or on a special requisition by six members. He may send orders to India -without their knowledge when the case is urgent, of which urgency he is -the sole judge. When it is not urgent, his orders must be placed in the -council-room for the perusal of the members for seven days, during which -they are not required, but permitted, to give their opinion, not -collectively, but individually. Their only power, therefore, is that of -recording dissent from a resolution not only taken, but embodied in a -dispatch. And as if this was not enough, provision is made that an -office, always invidious, shall be incapable of being fulfilled in any -but the most invidious manner. The members of council must come forward -individually in declared opposition to the minister, by volunteering a -protest against his announced intentions, or signing a requisition for a -meeting of council to oppose them. Such a council is fitted to serve as -a shield for the minister’s responsibility when it may suit him to seek, -and them to accord, their adhesion; rather than as a restraint on his -power to administer India according to his individual pleasure. - -The Directors are bound to admit, that the first of the bills contains -several provisions indicative of a wish to assure to the council a -certain, though small, amount of influence. The administration is to be -carried on in the name of the president in council, and not, as by the -second bill, in that of the Secretary of State alone. The council, as -well as the president, has a voice in the appointment of the home -establishment; while in the second bill all promotions and all -appointments to the principal offices under the council, rest with the -Secretary of State, exclusively; a provision which divests the council -of all control or authority over their own establishment. Again, by -Section XII. of the first bill, no grant involving increase of -expenditure, and no appointment to office or admission to service, can -be made without the concurrence of half the council. This, as far as it -goes, is a real power; but its value is much diminished by the -consideration that those by whom it is to be exercised are the nominees -of the minister, dependent on him for their continuance in office after -a few years. - -In some other points the provisions of the second bill seem to have the -advantage. Its council is more numerous; to which, however, little -importance can be attached, if the council has no substantial power. It -also recognises that the whole of the council ought not to be nominated -by the minister, and that some part of it should be elected by a -constituency specially qualified by a knowledge of India. But even in -these, the best points of the bill, it is, in the opinion of the -Directors, very far from unexceptionable. The nomination of even half -the council by the minister, takes away all security for an independent -majority. It may, indeed, be doubted whether there is any sufficient -reason for the minister’s nominating any portion, except the supposed -reluctance of some eligible persons to encounter a canvass. The -proportion of one-third, whom the minister now nominates to the Court of -Directors, seems the largest which, consistently with full security for -independence, can be so appointed. - -The provision that each of the members nominated by the Crown shall be -selected as the representative of some particular branch of the service -in India, is still more objectionable. Not only would it preclude the -nomination of the most distinguished man, if the seat in council -appropriated to the department in which he had served were not at the -time vacant, but it would introduce a principle which cannot be too -strongly deprecated—that of class legislation. The council should -comprise the greatest attainable variety of knowledge and experience; -but its members should not consider themselves as severally the -representatives of a certain number of class interests. - -The clause which continues to the Proprietors the power of electing some -portion of the council is, so far, deserving of support; and the -principle of enlarging the constituency by the addition of persons of a -certain length of Indian service and residence is, in itself, -unexceptionable; but unless guarded by provisions, such as have never -yet been introduced into any electoral system, so large and scattered a -constituency as that proposed would greatly add to the inconvenience of -canvass: especially as it is not certain that the new electoral body -would adopt, from the old, the salutary custom of re-electing, as the -general practice, whoever has been once chosen, and has not, by -misconduct or incapacity, deserved to forfeit their confidence. The -duties of a member of council would be entirely incompatible with a -continually-recurring canvass of the constituency. - -Respecting the proposition for giving the choice of five members of -council to the parliamentary constituencies of five great towns, the -Court of Directors can only express a feeling of amazement. It is not -the mere fact of election by a multitude that constitutes the benefits -of the popular element in government. To produce those benefits, the -affairs of which the people are enabled to control the management must -be their own affairs. Election by multitudinous bodies, the majority of -them of a very low average of education, is not an advantage of popular -government, but, on the contrary, one of its acknowledged drawbacks. To -assign to such a constituency the control, not of their own affairs, but -of the affairs of other people on the other side of the globe, is to -incur the disadvantages of popular institutions without any of the -benefits. The Court of Directors willingly admit the desirableness, if -not necessity, of some provision for including an English element in the -Council of India; but a more objectionable mode than the one proposed of -attaining the object, could scarcely, in their opinion, be devised. - -Besides the provisions which relate to the organ of government in -England, the bills contain provisions relating to India itself, which -are open to the strongest objection. - -The appointments to the councils at Calcutta and at the subordinate -presidencies, which are now made by the Court of Directors, with the -approbation of the Crown, are transferred by both bills to the -governor-general, and to the governors of Madras and Bombay. The Court -of Directors are convinced that this change would greatly impair the -chances of good government in India. One of the causes which has most -contributed to the many excellences of Indian administration is, that -the governor-general and governors have always been associated with -councillors selected by the authorities at home from among the most -experienced and able members of the Indian service, and who, not owing -their appointments to the head of the government, have generally brought -to the consideration of Indian affairs an independent judgment. In -consequence of this, the measures of a government, necessarily absolute, -have had the advantage, seldom possessed in absolute governments, of -being always preceded by a free and conscientious discussion; while, as -the head of the government has the power, on recording his reasons, to -act contrary to the advice of his council, no public inconvenience can -ever arise from any conflict of opinion. These important officers, who, -by their participation in the government, form so salutary a restraint -on the precipitancy of an inexperienced, or the wilfulness of a -despotically tempered, governor-general or governor, are henceforth to -be appointed by the great functionary whom they are intended to check. -And this restraint is removed, when the necessity for an independent -council will be greater than ever; since the power of appointing the -governor-general, and of recalling him, is taken away from the Company, -and from the body which is to be their substitute. It may be added that -the authorities at home have had the opportunity of being acquainted -with the conduct and services of candidates for council from the -commencement of their career. The governor-general or governor would -often have to nominate a councillor soon after their arrival in India, -when necessarily ignorant of the character and merits of candidates, and -would be entirely dependent on the recommendation of irresponsible -advisers. - -Another most objectionable provision demands notice, which is to be -found only in the second bill. A commission, appointed in England, is to -proceed to India, for the purpose of inquiring and reporting on the -principles and details of Indian finance, including the whole revenue -system, and, what is inseparably involved in it, the proprietary rights -and social position of all the great classes of the community. The Court -of Directors cannot believe that such a project will be persisted in. It -would be a step towards the disorganisation of the fabric of government -in India. A commission from England, independent of the local government -of the country, deriving its authority directly from the higher power to -which the local government is subordinate, and instructed to carry back -to the higher power information on Indian affairs which the local -government is not deemed sufficiently trustworthy to afford, would give -a most serious shock to the influence of the local authorities, and -would tend to impress all natives with the belief that the opinions and -decisions of the local government are of small moment, and that the -thing of real importance is the success with which they can contrive -that their claims and objects shall be advocated in England. Up to the -present time, it has been the practice of the home government to uphold -in every way the authority of the governments on the spot; even when -reversing their acts, to do so through the governments themselves, and -to employ no agency except in subordination to them. - -From this review of the chief provisions of the bills, which embody the -attempts of two great divisions of English statesmen to frame an organ -of government for India, it will probably appear to the proprietors, -that neither of them is grounded on any sufficient consideration of past -experience, or of the principles applicable to the subject; that the -passing of either would be a calamity to India; and that the attempt to -legislate while the minds of leading men are in so unprepared a state, -is altogether premature. - -The opinion of your Directors is, that by all constitutional means the -passing of either bill should be opposed; but that if one or the other -should be determined on for the purpose of transferring the -administration, in name, from the East India Company to the Crown, every -exertion should be used in its passage through committee to divest it of -the mischievous features by which both bills are now deformed, and to -maintain, as at present, a really independent council, having the -initiative of all business, discharging all the duties, and possessing -all the essential powers of the Court of Directors. And it is the -Court’s conviction, that measures might be so framed as to obviate -whatever may be well founded in the complaints made against the present -system—retaining the initiative of the council, and that independence of -action on their part which should be regarded as paramount and -indispensable. - - -_E. I. Company’s Objections to the Third India Bill: June 1858._ (See p. - 570.) - -1. Although the bill which has been newly brought in by her Majesty’s -ministers ‘for the better government of India,’ has not yet been -formally communicated to the Court of Directors, the Court, influenced -by the desire which they have already expressed to give all aid in their -power towards rendering the scheme of government, which it is the -pleasure of parliament to substitute for the East India Company, as -efficient for its purposes as possible, have requested us[205] to lay -before your lordship,[206] and through you before her Majesty’s -government, a few observations on some portions of the bill. - -2. Having in documents which have been presented to parliament expressed -their sentiments fully on all the general features of the subject, the -Court refrain from offering any further arguments on points upon which -the government and the House of Commons seem to have pronounced a -decided opinion. The joint government of a minister and a council, -composed in majority of persons of Indian experience, deriving their -appointments only partially from ministerial nomination, and all of them -holding office on a tenure independent of the minister, is a combination -which fulfils to a considerable extent the conditions of a good organ of -government for India. The Court would have much preferred that in the -constitution of the council more extensive recourse had been had to the -elective principle. But if they cannot hope that this course will be -adopted, they see many advantages in the provision by which one-half the -number, instead of being named by the government, will be selected by a -responsible body, intimately connected with India, to whom the -qualification of candidates will in general be accurately known, and who -will be under strong inducements to make such a choice as will tend to -increase the credit and consideration of the body. - -3. With regard to the qualifications prescribed for members of council, -the Court desire to offer a suggestion. Her Majesty’s present government -have, on many occasions, expressed a desire to secure the Crown -appointments against the evils of abuse of patronage. The security -against such abuse has hitherto consisted in the strict limitation of -the appointments to persons who have served a considerable number of -years in India. While the Court fully agree with her Majesty’s -government in recognising the desirableness of an English element, it -does not seem to them advisable that this element should extend to -nearly half the council, only a bare majority being reserved for persons -of Indian experience. Knowledge of India is, after all, the most -important requisite for a seat in the Indian Council; while it is -chiefly in the English nominations that there is any present danger lest -appointments should be obtained through political or parliamentary -influence—from which influence, unless introduced through that channel, -the council, like the Court of Directors, may be expected to be -altogether free. The Court, therefore, recommend that the qualification -of ten years’ Indian service or residence be made imperative on at least -two-thirds instead of a mere majority of the fifteen members of council. -They also think it questionable if the interests of India will be -promoted by the exclusion of the whole of the members of the council -from seats in parliament. These are the only modifications which we are -requested to suggest in the provisions respecting the composition of the -council. - -[The remaining objections made by the Directors were little more than a -repetition of those made against the first and second bills (given _in -extenso_ in a preceding page); and need not be reproduced here. The -Directors expressed a dislike or apprehension of the subordinate -position in which the Council would be placed; of the autocratic power -to be possessed by the Secretary for India; of the transference of the -powers of the Secret Committee wholly and solely to him; of the proposed -mode of making appointments and exercising patronage; of any disturbance -in the mode of auditing accounts; and of the appointment of any -Commission of Inquiry in India which should appear derogatory to the -dignity of the local governments. Many of these objections were listened -to, and were productive of modifications during the discussion of the -bill. The result will be seen in the next article of this Appendix.] - - -_Abstract of Act for the Better Government of India—21 and 22 Vict. cap. - 106.—Received Royal Assent August 2, 1858._ (See p. 573.) - - - _Transfer of Governing Powers._ - -I. Governing powers transferred from the East India Company to the -Crown. - -II. All rights, territories, revenues, and liabilities similarly -transferred. - -III. A Secretary of State to exercise all the governing powers -heretofore exercised by Court of Directors, Court of Proprietors, and -Board of Control. - -IV. Provision concerning sitting of secretary and under-secretary in -House of Commons. - -V. Concerning re-election of secretaries to House of Commons. - -VI. Secretary of State for India to receive salary equal to those of -other secretaries of state. - - - _Council of India._ - -VII. A Council of India, of 15 persons, to be formed. - -VIII. Court of Directors to elect 7 members of this Council, from among -persons possessing certain qualifications; and the Crown to appoint the -other 8. - -IX. Vacancies among the 8 to be filled up by the Crown; and among the -other 7, by election by the Council. - -X. Nine members of the Council, at least, must have had not less than -ten years’ experience in India. - -XI. Members to hold office for life, or during good behaviour. - -XII. Members not to sit in parliament. - -XIII. Annual salary of £1200 to each member. - -XIV. Members may resign; if after ten years’ service, on a pension of -£500, subject to certain conditions. - -XV. Secretaries and other officers of Company to become officers of -Council of India—subject to any changes afterwards made by Privy Council -and sanctioned by parliament. - -XVI. Secretary in Council to make all subsequent appointments in the -home establishment. - -XVII. Compensation to such officers of the Company as are not retained -permanently by the Council. - -XVIII. Any officer of the Company, transferred to the service of the -Council, to have a claim to the same pension or superannuation allowance -as if the change of government had not taken place. - - - _Duties and Proceedings of the Council._ - -XIX. Council to conduct affairs of India in England; but all -correspondence to be in the name of the Secretary of State. - -XX. Secretary of State may divide the Council into committees. - -XXI. Secretary of State to sit and vote as president, and appoint -vice-president. - -XXII. Five to be a quorum; meetings convened by Secretary of State not -fewer than one each week. - -XXIII. Secretary of State to decide questions on which members differ. -Any dissentient member may require his opinion to be placed upon record. - -XXIV. Secretary’s proceedings to be open to all the Council, except in -‘secret service’ dispatches. - -XXV. Secretary to give reasons for any exercise of his veto against the -decision of the majority. - -XXVI. Secretary allowed to overrule the two preceding clauses in urgent -cases. - -XXVII. Functions of the ‘secret committee’ transferred to Secretary of -State. - -XXVIII. Dispatches marked ‘secret’ not to be opened by members of -Council. - - - _Appointments and Patronage._ - -XXIX. Of the high appointments in India, some to be made by the Crown, -some by the Council, and some by the Governor-general. - -XXX. Inferior appointments to be made as heretofore, except transference -of patronage from Court of Directors to Council. - -XXXI. Special provision for civil service in India. - -XXXII. Secretary in Council to make rules for examination of persons -intended for junior situations in civil service of India. - -XXXIII. Appointments to naval and military cadetships to vest in the -Crown. - -XXXIV. Competitive examinations for engineers and artillery of the -Indian army. - -XXXV. A certain ratio of cadetships to be given to the sons of persons -who have served in India. - -XXXVI. All the other cadetships to be in the gift of the members of the -Council, subject to approval; the Secretary of State to have twice as -many nominations as an ordinary member. - -XXXVII. In all unchanged rules concerning appointments, power of Court -of Directors to be vested in Council. - -XXXVIII. The same in reference to any dismissal from service. - - - _Transfer of Property._ - -XXXIX. Company’s property, credits, and debits, to revert to the -Crown—except the _East India Stock_ and the dividends thereon. - -XL. Secretary in Council may buy, sell, or borrow, in the name of the -Crown, for the service of India. - - - _Revenues._ - -XLI. Expenditure of revenues in India wholly under Secretary in Council. - -XLII. Liabilities of Company, and dividends on India stock, to be borne -by Secretary in Council out of revenues of India. - -XLIII. Secretary in Council to keep a cash account with the Bank of -England, and to be responsible for all payments in relation to India -revenue. - -XLIV. Transfer of cash balance from the Company to the Council. - -XLV. A stock account to be opened at Bank of England. - -XLVI. Transfer of stock accounts. - -XLVII. Mode of managing Council’s finances at the Bank. - -XLVIII. Transfer of Exchequer bills, &c., from Company to Council. - -XLIX. Power of issuing bonds, debentures, &c. - -L. Provisions concerning forgery. - -LI. Regulations of audit department. - -LII. The Crown to appoint auditor of Indian accounts, to whom all -needful papers are to be sent by Secretary in Council. - -LIII. Annual accounts to be furnished to parliament of the revenue and -expenditure of India; accompanied by reports on the moral and material -progress of the several presidencies. - -LIV. War in India to be made known to parliament within a specified -period. - -LV. India revenues not to pay for wars unconnected with India. - - - _Existing Establishments._ - -LVI. Company’s army and navy transferred to the Crown, but with all -existing contracts and engagements holding good. - -LVII. Future powers as to conditions of service. - -LVIII. All commissions held under the Company to be valid as under the -Crown. - -LIX. Regulations of service to be subject to future change, if deemed -necessary. - -LX. Court of Directors and Court of Proprietors cease to hold power in -reference to government of India. - -LXI. Board of Control abolished. - -LXII. Records and archives of Company to be given up to Council—except -stock and dividend books. - -LXIII. Powers of Governor-general, on assuming duties of that office. - -LXIV. Existing enactments and provisions to remain in force, unless -specially repealed. - - - _Actions and Contracts._ - -LXV. Secretary in Council may sue and be sued as a body corporate. - -LXVI. And may take the place of the Company in any still-pending -actions. - -LXVII. Treaties and covenants made by the Company to remain binding. - -LXVIII. Members not _personally_ liable for such treaties or covenants. - -LXIX. A Court of Directors still to exist, but in smaller number than -before, and having powers relating only to the management of the -Company’s dividend and a few minor subjects. - -LXX. Quarterly courts not in future obligatory. - -LXXI. Company’s liability ceases, on all matters now taken under the -care of the Council. - - - _Saving of Certain Rights of the Company._ - -LXXII. Secretary in Council to pay dividends on India stock out of India -revenue. - -LXXIII. Dividends to constitute a preferential charge. - - - _Commencement of the Act._ - -LXXIV. Commences thirty days after day of receiving royal assent. - -LXXV. Company’s orders to be obeyed in India until the change of -government shall have been proclaimed in the several presidencies. - - - _The Indian Mutiny Relief Fund._ (See p. 226.) - -This noble manifestation of kind feeling towards the sufferers in India, -which originated in a public meeting held in London on the 25th of -August 1857, assumed munificent proportions during the next following -year, when the colonists and Englishmen residing abroad had had time to -respond to the appeal made to them. In a report prepared by the -Committee, on the 1st of November 1858, it was announced that the sum -placed in their charge amounted, up to that time, to £434,729. They had -remitted £127,287 to India, there to be distributed by auxiliary local -committees; they had assisted sufferers after their return to, or during -their residence in, the home country, to the extent of £35,757; and -their management expenses had amounted to £6224. There remained, -invested at interest, the sum of £265,461, applicable to further cases -of need. It is interesting to notice the kind of persons to whom relief -was afforded, on account of the varied privations to which the mutiny -had subjected them. The sum of £35,757 expended in England, was mostly -in donations to the following numbers and classes of persons: - - 32 Military officers. - 86 Widows and children of officers. - 25 Wives of officers. - 25 Orphans of officers. - 51 Other relatives of officers. - 13 Disabled soldiers. - 298 Widows of soldiers. - 423 Children of soldiers. - 82 Other relatives of soldiers. - 10 Clergymen and missionaries. - 6 Widows of Clergymen. - 1 Wife of missionary. - 23 Widows and orphans of civilians. - 75 Planters, railway officials, &c. - - - _Queen Victoria’s Proclamation to the Princes, Chiefs, and People of -India.—Read in the principal Cities of India, November 1, 1858._ (See p. - 612.) - -VICTORIA, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain -and Ireland, and of the Colonies and Dependencies thereof in Europe, -Asia, Africa, America, and Australasia, Queen, Defender of the Faith. - -Whereas, for divers weighty reasons, we have resolved, by and with the -advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons in -Parliament assembled, to take upon ourselves the government of the -territories in India, heretofore administered in trust for us by the -Honourable East India Company: - -Now, therefore, we do by these presents notify and declare that, by the -advice and consent aforesaid, we have taken upon ourselves the said -government; and we hereby call upon all our subjects within the said -territories to be faithful and to bear true allegiance to us, our heirs -and successors, and to submit themselves to the authority of those whom -we may hereafter from time to time see fit to appoint to administer the -government of our said territories, in our name and on our behalf. - -And we, reposing especial trust and confidence in the loyalty, ability, -and judgment of our right trusty and well-beloved cousin and councillor, -Charles John Viscount Canning, do hereby constitute and appoint him, the -said Viscount Canning, to be our first Viceroy and Governor-general in -and over our said territories, and to administer the government thereof -in our name, and generally to act in our name and on our behalf: subject -to such orders and regulations as he shall, from time to time, receive -from us through one of our principal Secretaries of State. - -And we do hereby confirm in their several offices, civil and military, -all persons now employed in the service of the Honourable East India -Company, subject to our future pleasure, and to such laws and -regulations as may hereafter be enacted. - -We hereby announce to the native Princes of India that all treaties and -engagements made with them by or under the authority of the Honourable -East India Company, are by us accepted, and will be scrupulously -maintained; and we look for the like observance on their part. - -We desire no extension of our present territorial possessions; and while -we will permit no aggression upon our dominions or our rights to be -attempted with impunity, we shall sanction no encroachment on those of -others. We shall respect the rights, dignity, and honour of native -princes as our own; and we desire that they, as well as our own -subjects, should enjoy that prosperity and that social advancement which -can only be secured by internal peace and good government. - -We hold ourselves bound to the natives of our Indian territories by the -same obligations of duty which bind us to all our other subjects; and -those obligations, by the blessing of Almighty God, we shall faithfully -and conscientiously fulfil. - -Firmly relying ourselves on the truth of Christianity, and acknowledging -with gratitude the solace of religion, we disclaim alike the right and -the desire to impose our convictions on any of our subjects. We declare -it to be our Royal will and pleasure that none be in anywise favoured, -none molested or disquieted, by reason of their religious faith or -observances, but that all shall alike enjoy the equal and impartial -protection of the law; and we do strictly charge and enjoin all those -who may be in authority under us that they abstain from all interference -with the religious belief or worship of any of our subjects, on pain of -our highest displeasure. - -And it is our further will that, so far as may be, our subjects, of -whatever race or creed, be freely and impartially admitted to offices in -our service, the duties of which they may be qualified, by their -education, ability, and integrity, duly to discharge. - -We know and respect the feelings of attachment with which the natives of -India regard the lands inherited by them from their ancestors, and we -desire to protect them in all rights connected therewith, subject to the -equitable demands of the State; and we will that, generally, in framing -and administering the law, due regard be paid to the ancient rights, -usages, and customs of India. - -We deeply lament the evils and misery which have been brought upon India -by the acts of ambitious men, who have deceived their countrymen by -false reports, and led them into open rebellion. Our power has been -shewn by the suppression of that rebellion in the field; we desire to -shew our mercy by pardoning the offences of those who have been thus -misled, but who desire to return to the path of duty. - -Already in one province, with a view to stop the further effusion of -blood, and to hasten the pacification of our Indian dominions, our -Viceroy and Governor-general has held out the expectation of pardon, on -certain terms, to the great majority of those who in the late unhappy -disturbances have been guilty of offences against our government; and -has declared the punishment which will be inflicted on those whose -crimes place them beyond the reach of forgiveness. We approve and -confirm the said act of our Viceroy and Governor-general, and do further -announce and proclaim as follows: - -Our clemency will be extended to all offenders, save and except those -who have been or shall be convicted of having directly taken part in the -murder of British subjects. - -With regard to such, the demands of justice forbid the exercise of -mercy. - -To those who have willingly given asylum to murderers, knowing them to -be such, or who may have acted as leaders or instigators in revolt, -their lives alone can be guaranteed; but in appointing the penalty due -to such persons, full consideration will be given to the circumstances -under which they have been induced to throw off their allegiance; and -large indulgence will be shewn to those whose crimes may appear to have -originated in a too credulous acceptance of the false reports circulated -by designing men. - -To all others in arms against the government, we hereby promise -unconditional pardon, amnesty, and oblivion of all offences against -ourselves, our crown and dignity, on their return to their homes and -peaceful pursuits. - -It is our Royal pleasure that these terms of grace and amnesty should be -extended to all those who comply with their conditions before the first -day of January next. - -When, by the blessing of Providence, internal tranquillity shall be -restored, it is our earnest desire to stimulate the peaceful industry of -India, to promote works of public utility and improvement, and to -administer its government for the benefit of all our subjects resident -therein. In their prosperity will be our strength, in their contentment -our security, and in their gratitude our best reward. And may the God of -all power grant unto us, and to those in authority under us, strength to -carry out these our wishes for the good of our people. - - - _Viscount Canning’s Proclamation.—Issued at Allahabad, November 1, - 1858._ (See p. 612.) - -Her Majesty the Queen having declared that it is her gracious pleasure -to take upon herself the government of the British territories in India, -the Viceroy and Governor-general hereby notifies that from this day all -acts of the government of India will be done in the name of the Queen -alone. - -From this day, all men of every race and class who, under the -administration of the Honourable East India Company, have joined to -uphold the honour and power of England, will be the servants of the -Queen alone. - -The Governor-general summons them, one and all, each in his degree, and -according to his opportunity, and with his whole heart and strength, to -aid in fulfilling the gracious will and pleasure of the Queen, as set -forth in her royal proclamation. - -From the many millions of her Majesty’s native subjects in India, the -Governor-general will now, and at all times, exact a loyal obedience to -the call which, in words full of benevolence and mercy, their Sovereign -has made upon their allegiance and faithfulness. - -[Illustration] - ------ - -Footnote 205: - - The chairman and deputy-chairman. - -Footnote 206: - - Lord Stanley, president of the Board of Control. - - - - - CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. - - - Events in India. - - 1857. - - Jan. 22. Cartridge disturbances began at Dumdum. - Feb. 6. Cartridge grievances inquired into at Barrackpore. - Feb. 11. General Hearsey warned government of disaffection. - Feb. 26. 19th Bengal N. I. riotous at Berhampore. - Mar. 26. Cartridge disturbances at Umballa. - Mar. 27. Proclamation explaining Cartridge question. - Mar. 29. 34th B. N. I. riotous at Barrackpore. - Mar. 31. 19th B. N. I. disbanded and dismissed. - Apr. 24. Cartridge disturbances at Meerut. - May 1. Cartridge disturbances at Lucknow. - May 3. 7th Oude Infantry mutinied at Lucknow. - May 5. 34th B. N. I. disbanded and dismissed. - May 9. 3d B. N. C. punished at Meerut. - May 10. COMMENCEMENT OF THE GREAT REVOLT AT MEERUT. - May 10. Troops in Company’s pay on this day—38,000 Europeans, - 200,000 Natives. - May 11. Meerut mutineers (11th and 20th B. N. I., and 3d B. N. - C.) marched to Delhi. - May 11. 38th, 54th, and 74th B. N. I., mutinied at Delhi. - May 13. 16th, 26th, and 49th B. N. I., and 8th B. N. C., disarmed - at Meean Meer near Lahore. - May 14. General Anson departed from Simla, to head troops. - May 16. B. N. Sappers and Miners mutinied at Meerut. - May 17. 25th B. N. I. riotous at Calcutta. - May 19. Anson’s Proclamation concerning cartridges. - May 20. 55th B. N. I. mutinied at Murdan. - May 20. 9th B. N. I. mutinied at Allygurh and vicinity, - May 21. First siege-column left Umballa for Delhi. - May 21. Europeans at Cawnpore began their intrenchment. - May 22. 24th, 27th, and 51st B. N. I., with 5th B. N. C., - disarmed at Peshawur. - May 24. Colvin’s proclamation—disapproved by Viscount Canning. - May 24. Portion of Gwalior Horse mutinied at Hattrass. - May 24. General Anson left Umballa for Delhi. - May 27. General Anson died at Kurnaul - May 27. Wilson’s Field-force left Meerut for Delhi. - May 28. Reed succeeded Anson provisionally. - May 28. 15th and 30th B. N. I. mutinied at Nuseerabad. - May 30. Portions of 13th, 48th, and 71st B. N. I., with 7th N. - C., mutinied at Lucknow. - May 30. Wilson defeated Delhi rebels at Ghazeeoodeen Nuggur. - May 31. Wilson defeated Delhi rebels, near the Hindoun. - May 31. Barnard left Kurnaul to command army against Delhi. - May 31. 28th B. N. I. mutinied at Shahjehanpoor. - June 1. 44th and 67th B. N. I. disarmed at Agra. - June 3. 17th B. N. I. mutinied at Azimghur. - June 3. 41st B. N. I., 9th and 10th Oude Irreg. I., and 2d Oude - Mil. Police, mutinied at Seetapoor. - June 3. 29th B. N. I. mutinied at Mooradabad. - June 3. 72d B. N. I., and a wing of 1st B. N. C., mutinied at - Neemuch. - June 4. 37th B. N. I., 13th Irreg. C., and Loodianah Sikhs, - mutinied at Benares. - June 4. 12th B. N. I., and 14th Irreg. C., mutinied at Jhansi. - June 5. 1st, 53d, and 56th B. N. I., and 2d B. N. C., mutinied at - Cawnpore. - June 5. Wing of Loodianah Sikhs mutinied at Jounpoor. - June 6. Barnard and Wilson joined forces at Bhagput. - June 6. 6th B. N. I. mutinied at Allahabad. - June 6. ? Hurrianah Battalion mutinied at Hansi. - June 6. ? Bhurtpore Levies mutinied at Bhurtpore. - June 7. 36th and 61st B. N. I., and 6th B. C., mutinied at - Jullundur. - June 8. 22d B. N. I., and 6th Oude I., mutinied at Fyzabad. - June 8. ? Massacre of Europeans at Jhansi. - June 8. Barnard defeated Delhi rebels at Badulla Serai. - June 8. Barnard arrived with siege-army before Delhi. - June 9. 15th Irreg. C. mutinied at Sultanpore. - June 9. Europeans driven from Futtehpoor by rebels. - June 10. 1st Oude Irreg. I. mutinied at Pershadeepore. - June 10. Wing of 12th B. N. I., and 14th Irreg. C., mutinied at - Nowgong. - June 10. ? Europeans driven from Neemuch by rebels. - June 11. Neill relieved Allahabad from the rebels. - June 11. 60th B. N. I. mutinied at Rohtuk. - June 12. First boat-party from Futteghur massacred by Nena Sahib. - June 13. Press ‘Gagging’ Act passed at Calcutta. - June 13. 45th and 57th B. N. I. mutinied at Ferozpore. - June 14. 43d and 70th B. N. I. and 2d N. C. disarmed at - Barrackpore. - June 14. Gwalior Contingent mutinied at Gwalior. - June 15. King of Oude under surveillance at Calcutta. - June 18. 10th B. N. I. mutinied at Futteghur. - June 19. Defeat of Nuseerabad rebels outside Delhi. - June 23. Nagpoor Irreg. C. disarmed at Nagpoor. - June 23. Severe Battle outside Delhi. - June 26. 33d and 35th B. N. I. disarmed at Phillour. - June 27. First news of the Revolt reached England. - June 27. Boat-massacre at Cawnpore, by Nena Sahib. - June 30. Disastrous Battle of Chinhut, near Lucknow. - June 30. 4th Irreg. C. mutinied at Mozuffernugger. - June 30. Europeans at Saugor intrench themselves in fort. - July 1. Europeans driven out of Indore. - July 1. 23d B. N. I. mutinied at Mhow. - July 1. Siege of Europeans in Lucknow began. - July 2. Severe Battle outside Delhi. - July 2. Rohilcund mutineers entered Delhi. - July 3. Mussulman Conspiracy discovered at Patna. - July 4. Death of Sir H. Lawrence at Lucknow. - July 4. Kotah Contingent mutinied at Agra. - July 5. Death of Sir H. Barnard outside Delhi. - July 5. Reed took command of siege-army. - July 5. Disastrous Battle of Shahgunje, near Agra. - July 7. 14th B. N. I. mutinied at Jelum. - July 7. 58th B. N. I. disarmed at Rawul Pindee. - July 7. Havelock’s column left Allahabad for Cawnpore. - July 7. 42d B. N. I., and 3d Irreg. C., mutinied at Saugor. - July 9. 46th B. N. I., and 9th C., mutinied at Sealkote. - July 11. Second boat-party from Futteghur arrived at Bithoor. - July 12. Nicholson defeated Sealkote mutineers. - July 12. Havelock defeated rebels at Futtehpoor. - July 12. Sir Colin Campbell left England for India. - July 14. Severe Battle outside Delhi. - July 15. Havelock defeated rebels at Aong. - July 15. Havelock defeated rebels at Pandoo Nuddee. - July 15. Massacre at Cawnpore, by Nena Sahib. - July 16. Havelock defeated Nena Sahib at Aherwa. - July 17. Havelock entered Cawnpore victoriously. - July 17. Havelock defeated Nena Sahib near Bithoor. - July 17. Reed resigned command before Delhi—Wilson succeeded. - July 20. Fierce Attack by rebels on Lucknow Garrison. - July 24. 12th Irreg. C. mutinied at Segowlie. - July 25. Havelock crossed Ganges into Oude. - July 25. 7th, 8th, and 40th B. N. I. mutinied at Dinapoor. - July 26. Nearly 6000 persons sheltered in Agra Fort, of whom 2000 - children. - July 27. Mr Wake’s defence of Arrah commenced. - July 29. 26th B. N. I. mutinied at Lahore. - July 29. Havelock defeated rebels at Onao. - July 29. Havelock defeated rebels at Busherutgunje. - July 30. Captain Dunbar’s disaster at Arrah. - July 31. Ramgurh Infantry mutinied at Ramgurh. - July 31. Siege-army before Delhi = 6918 effectives, and 1116 sick - and wounded. - Aug. 1. 63d B. N. I. and 11th Irreg. C. disarmed at Berhampore. - Aug. 1. Severe Battle outside Delhi. - Aug. 1. 27th Bombay N. I. mutinied at Kolapore. - Aug. 2. Vincent Eyre defeated Koer Singh near Arrah. - Aug. 8. 59th B. N. I. disarmed at Umritsir. - Aug. 8. Nicholson arrived with his Column at Delhi. - Aug. 10. Severe Battle outside Delhi. - Aug. 12. Havelock’s second victory at Busherutgunje. - Aug. 12. Vincent Eyre defeated Koer Singh at Jugdispore. - Aug. 13. Havelock retreated across Ganges to Cawnpore. - Aug. 14. 5th Irreg. C. mutinied at Berhampore. - Aug. 15-18. Hodson defeated rebels outside Delhi. - Aug. 16. Havelock defeated Nena Sahib at Bithoor. - Aug. 20. Fierce attack by the rebels on Lucknow Residency. - Aug. 22. Jhodpore Legion mutinied at Erinpoora. - Aug. 24. Montgomery defeated rebels at Allygurh. - Aug. 25. Nicholson won Battle of Nujuffghur near Delhi, - Aug. 25. Meeting in London at the Mansion-house, to establish - Indian Mutiny Relief Fund. - Aug. 28. 51st B. N. I. mutinied at Peshawur. - Sep. 5. Outram’s Column left Allahabad for Cawnpore. - Sep. 5. Fierce attack by rebels on Lucknow Residency. - Sep. 7. Indore mutineers captured Dholpore. - Sep. 7. Siege-army before Delhi = 13,000 men. - Sep. 9. Mr Colvin died at Agra. - Sep. 11. Cannonading of Delhi commenced. - Sep. 11. Viscount Eyre defeated rebels at Koondun Puttee. - Sep. 14. Delhi entered by storm—death of Nicholson. - Sep. 15-20. Gradual Conquest of Delhi city and fortifications. - Sep. 15-20. Outram joined Havelock and Neill at Cawnpore. - Sep. 16. 50th B. N. I. mutinied at Nagode. - Sep. 18. 52d B. N. I. mutinied at Jubbulpoor. - Sep. 19. Outram and Havelock crossed Ganges into Oude. - Sep. 20. Goorkhas defeated rebels at Mundoree. - Sep. 21. Hodson captured King and Princes of Delhi. - Sep. 23. Outram and Havelock captured the Alum Bagh. - Sep. 25. Outram and Havelock entered Lucknow Residency. - Sep. 25. Death of Neill at Lucknow. - Sep. 27. Outram and Havelock besieged in Residency. - Sep. 28. Greathed defeated Delhi rebels at Bolundshuhur. - Oct. 3. Peel’s Naval Brigade arrived at Allahabad. - Oct. 5. Greathed defeated Delhi rebels at Allygurh. - Oct. 9. 32d B. N. I. mutinied at Deoghur. - Oct. 10. Greathed defeated Indore rebels near Agra. - Oct. 15. Gwalior Contingent took the field, as a rebel army. - Oct. 15. Rajah of Kotah’s troops mutinied. - Oct. 19. Greathed and Hope Grant retook Minpooree. - Oct. 26. Greathed and Hope Grant arrived at Cawnpore. - Oct. 28. Sir Colin Campbell started from Calcutta, for scene of - hostilities. - Nov. 1. Peel’s Naval Brigade defeated rebels at Kudjna. - Nov. 9. Mr Cavanagh’s adventure at Lucknow. - Nov. 9. Europeans besieged in Fort of Neemuch. - Nov. 9. Sir Colin Campbell crossed Ganges into Oude. - Nov. 12. Sir Colin Campbell captured Jelalabad Fort. - Nov. 14-17. Sir Colin Campbell fought his way into Lucknow. - Nov. 18. Wing of 34th B. N. I. mutinied at Chittagong. - Nov. 20. ? 73d B. N. I. mutinied at Dacca. - Nov. 23. British evacuated Lucknow. - Nov. 24. Stuart defeated Bundela rebels near Mundesoor. - Nov. 25. Death of Havelock, outside Lucknow. - Nov. 27-28. Windham beaten by Gwalior rebels near Cawnpore. - Nov. 29. Lucknow Garrison recross Ganges to Cawnpore. - Dec. 6. Sir Colin defeated 25,000 rebels at Cawnpore. - Dec. 9. Hope Grant defeated rebels at Serai Ghât. - Dec. 14-17. Seaton defeated rebels in Minpooree district. - Dec. 19. Government announced to East India Company an approaching - change in Company’s powers. - Dec. 28. Osborne reconquered Myhere from Bundela rebels. - Dec. 30. Wood defeated rebels near Sumbhulpore. - Dec. 31. East India Company protested against the proposed - legislation for India. - - 1858. - - Jan. 1. Bareilly mutineers defeated at Huldwanee. - Jan. 3. Sir Colin Campbell arrived at Futteghur. - Jan. 6. Jung Bahadoor and his Goorkha army entered Goruckpore. - Jan. 6. Raines defeated a body of rebels at Rowah. - Jan. 12. Outram defeated 30,000 rebels outside Alum Bagh. - Jan. 27. Adrian Hope defeated rebels at Shumshabad. - Jan. 27. Trial of the King of Delhi commenced. - Jan. 28. East India Company petitioned Parliament against - government proceedings. - Feb. 3. Rose liberated the Europeans at Saugor. - Feb. 4. Sir Colin returned to Cawnpore from Futteghur. - Feb. 4. Maxwell repulsed Gwalior rebels at Chowra. - Feb. 9. Sir Colin and Canning met at Allahabad. - Feb. 9. Delhi and Meerut divisions placed under Punjaub - government. - Feb. 10. M’Causland repulsed Bareilly rebels at Sunda. - Feb. 11. Great convoy of women and children left Agra. - Feb. 12. Lord Palmerston brought in India Bill No. 1. - Feb. 12-18. Debates thereon—government majority, 318 to 173. - Feb. 19. Franks defeated Bunda Hossein at Chundah. - Feb. 19. Franks defeated Mahomed Hossein at Humeerpoor. - Feb. 20. Palmerston Ministry resigned. - Feb. 21. Derby Ministry formed—Lord Ellenborough at the India - Board. - Feb. 21. Outram repulsed 20,000 rebels at Alum Bagh. - Feb. 23. Hope Grant took Meeangunje from Oude rebels. - Feb. 26. Goorkhas captured fort of Mobarukhpoor in Oude. - Feb. 28. Sir Colin crossed Ganges, to head his army. - Mar. 2. Sir Colin advanced to the Alum Bagh. - Mar. 2-21. Gradual conquest of Lucknow from rebels. - Mar. 3. Viscount Canning’s Proclamation to the Oudians. - Mar. 4. Rose defeated Bundelas at Mudenpore Pass. - Mar. 5. Rowcroft repulsed 12,000 rebels at Goruckpore. - Mar. 5. Goorkhas defeated Oude rebels at Kandoo Nuddee. - Mar. 10. Rose defeated rebel Rajah of Shagurh. - Mar. 10. Roberts headed the Rajpootana Field-force. - Mar. 11. Jung Bahadoor joined Sir Colin outside Lucknow. - Mar. 11. Showers defeated a body of rebels at Bah. - Mar. 16. Return of the Guide Corps to Peshawur. - Mar. 17. Stuart captured Chendaree from rebels. - Mar. 21. Rose with Siege-army arrived before Jhansi. - Mar. 21. Lucknow finally conquered by British. - Mar. 22. Millman repulsed by Azimghur rebels at Atrowlia. - Mar. 22. Roberts with Siege-army arrived before Kotah. - Mar. 25. Moncrieff routed a body of Coles at Chuckerderpore. - Mar. 26. Mr Disraeli brought in India Bill No. 2. - Mar. 29. Army of Oude broken up into separate columns. - Mar. 30. Roberts captured Kotah. - Apr. 1. Rose defeated Tanteea Topee outside Jhansi. - Apr. 2. Rose captured Jhansi—Ranee escaped. - Apr. 2. Kerr defeated Dinapoor rebels near Azimghur. - Apr. 2. Death of Captain Sir William Peel at Cawnpore. - Apr. 6. Seaton defeated Minpooree Rajah at Kankur. - Apr. 7. East India Company protested against both India Bills. - Apr. 12. House of Commons determined to proceed by Resolutions on - India Bill. - Apr. 14. Disaster at Rhodamow under Walpole. - Apr. 14. Death of Adrian Hope at Rhodamow. - Apr. 17. Rowcroft defeated rebels at Amorah. - Apr. 17. Jones defeated Rohilcund rebels at Nagul. - Apr. 18. Sir Colin resumed operations from Cawnpore. - Apr. 18. Douglas defeated Koer Singh at Azimutgurh. - Apr. 18. Douglas defeated Koer Singh at Muneer Khas. - Apr. 19. Ellenborough’s ‘Secret Dispatch’ written. - Apr. 19. Whitlock took Banda, and defeated Nawab. - Apr. 21. Le Grand’s disaster at Jugdispore. - Apr. 21. Jones defeated Rohilcund rebels at Nageena. - Apr. 21. Koer Singh eluded Douglas, and crossed Ganges. - Apr. 22. Walpole defeated rebels at Sirsa. - Apr. 25. Jones recovered Mooradabad from Oude rebels. - Apr. 25. Sir Colin reached Futteghur. - Apr. 27. Sir Colin entered Rohilcund. - Apr. 28. Sir Colin joined Walpole at Ramgunga. - Apr. 30. Sir Colin entered Shahjehanpoor. - Apr. 30. Penny’s Column won Battle of Kukerowlee. - Apr. 30. Death of Penny at Kukerowlee. - Apr. 30. Mr Disraeli brought in ‘Resolutions’ in House of Commons. - May 3. Lugard crossed Ganges in pursuit of Koer Singh. - May 3-11. Hall held fort of Shahjehanpoor against 8000 rebels. - May 5. Sir Colin defeated rebels outside Bareilly. - May 7. Sir Colin captured Bareilly—rebel leaders escaped. - May 7. Corps of Bengal European Cavalry determined on. - May 9. Lugard defeated Koer Singh at Jugdispore—Koer Singh - killed. - May 9. Rose marched in pursuit of Tanteea Topee and the Ranee. - May 11. Rose defeated them at Koonch. - May 11. Jones relieved Hall at Shahjehanpoor. - May 11. Ellenborough resigned—Lord Stanley appointed to Board of - Control. - May 12. Lugard defeated Ummer Singh near Jugdispore. - May 12. Hope Grant defeated 16,000 Oude rebels at Sirsee. - May 14-21. Great debates in parliament, on Canning’s Proclamation - and Ellenborough’s Dispatch. - May 15. Jones attacked in great force at Shahjehanpoor. - May 15-23. Rose in fierce conflict with Tanteea Topee in and near - Calpee. - May 17. Jung Bahadoor returned to Nepaul. - May 18. Sir Colin repulsed rebels at Shahjehanpoor. - May 21. Light summer clothing ordered for troops. - May 22. Coke joined Sir Colin from Pileebheet. - May 23. Rose captured Calpee—Tanteea Topee, Ranee of Jhansi, and - Nawab of Banda, fled towards Gwalior. - May 24. Incendiarism at Allahabad. - May 24. Sir Colin captured fort of Mohumdee. - May 26. Railway opened from Allahabad to Futtehpoor. - May 28. Sir Colin returned to Futteghur from Rohilcund and Oude. - May 28. Sir Colin thanked his army for past services. - May 30. Rebel leaders from Calpee arrived at Gwalior. - June 1. Scindia defeated by Tanteea Topee and Calpee rebels. - June 2. Rebels captured Gwalior—Scindia fled to Agra. - June 4. Lugard defeated rebels in Jugdispore jungle. - June 7. Lord Stanley resumed India debates in House of Commons. - June 9. Mahomed Hossein defeated at Amorah. - June 9-11. Moncrieff defeated rebels at Chuckerderpore. - June 13. Hope Grant defeated 16,000 rebels at Nawabgunge. - June 15. The Moulvie killed in action at Powayne. - June 16. Rose arrived near Gwalior. - June 16-19. Great Battle in and near Gwalior. - June 17. Death of the Ranee of Jhansi at Gwalior. - June 17. Lord Stanley brought in India Bill No. 3. - June 17. Canning’s reply to Ellenborough’s Secret Dispatch. - June 18. Mahomed Hossein defeated at Hurreah. - June 20. Rose recaptured Gwalior, and reinstated Scindia. - June 21. Napier left Gwalior in pursuit of Tanteea Topee. - June 23. East India Company’s objections to Bill No. 3. - June 24. India Bill read second time in Commons. - June 29. Mr Manson murdered by Rajah of Nargoond. - End of month. 30th and 31st Bombay N. I. formed, to contain faithful - men from mutinous 21st and 27th. - End of month. Faithful men of mutinous 3d, 36th, and 61st Bengal N. I., - formed into a new regiment in Punjaub. - July 2. Roberts with Rajpootana Field-force reach Jeypoor. - July 8. India Bill passed the Commons. - July 9. India Bill read a first time in Lords. - July 9. Tanteea Topee plundered Tonk—soon afterwards driven out - by Holmes. - July 12. Rajah of Nargoond hanged at Belgaum. - July 13. India Bill read second time in the Lords. - July 14-20. Berkeley captured several small forts in Oude. - July 17. Rattray captured rebel chiefs at Dehree. - July 21. Hope Grant set out from Lucknow to confront rebels. - July 23. Roberts left Tonk in pursuit of Tanteea Topee. - July 28. Hope Grant relieved Maun Singh from siege at Shahgunje. - July 29. Hope Grant entered Fyzabad, and drove out rebels. - July 30. Cavanagh defeated a body of rebels in Muhiabad. - July 31. India Bill passed the Lords. - July 31. Outbreak of prisoners at Mymensing. - Aug. 1. Bundela rebels seized Jaloun—expelled by Macduff. - Aug. 2. India Bill (Act) received royal assent. - Aug. 3. Man Singh captured Paoree. - Aug. 7. Court of Directors elected seven members for new Council - of India. - Aug. 8. Roberts defeated Tanteea Topee at Sunganeer. - Aug. 11. Parkes headed a column from Neemuch, to check Tanteea - Topee. - Aug. 12. Tanteea Topee checked at Marwar frontier, by Erinpoora - force. - Aug. 13. Horsford retook Sultanpore from Oude rebels. - Aug. 13. Carpenter defeated rebels near Kirwee. - Aug. 14. Roberts defeated Tanteea Topee at Kattara. - Aug. 20. Tanteea Topee crossed Chumbul to Julra Patteen. - Aug. 23. Napier drove Man Singh out of Paoree. - Aug. 25-29. Hope Grant fighting with Oude rebels outside Sultanpoor. - Aug. 29. Brahmin plot discovered at Gwalior. - Aug. 31. Disarmed 62d and 69th B. N. I. mutinied at Moultan. - Aug. 31. Man Singh encamped at Sirsee, north of Goonah. - Sep. 1. Ashburner defeated rebels near Mahoni. - Sep. 1. Last day of E. I. Company’s governing power. - Sep. 2. New Council of India commenced its sittings. - Sep. 5. Napier defeated Man Singh at Bujeepore. - Sep. 15. Michel defeated Tanteea Topee at Beora. - Sep. 16-30. Continuous chase after Tanteea Topee, by various British - columns. - Oct. 3-8. Dawson besieged by Oude rebels at Sundeela. - Oct. 5. Eveleigh defeated rebels at Meeangunje. - Oct. 8. Barker and Dawson defeated rebels at Punno. - Oct. 19. Tanteea Topee defeated by Michel at Sindwah. - Oct. 25. Tanteea Topee defeated at Multhone. - Oct. 29. Beni Madhoo defeated at Poorwa. - Oct. 30. Mehndee Hossein defeated at Sufdergunje. - Oct. 31. Tanteea Topee crossed the Nerbudda. - Nov. 1. Queen’s Proclamation issued. - Nov. 1. Sir Colin’s final plans laid. - November. Gradual defeat and surrender of rebels in Oude and Behar. - November. Gradual defeat and surrender of rebels in Central India. - - - Events in Persia. - - 1856. - - (Summer). Persia sent an army against Herat. - Aug. 22. Orders received at Bombay to prepare fleet and army - against Persia. - Oct. 22. East India Company protested against expense of Persian - Expedition. - Oct. 22. Orders received at Bombay for force to embark. - Oct. 26. Persians captured Herat. - Nov. 1. Governor-general declared war against Persia. - Nov. 20. Outram departed from England to command Persian - Expedition. - Nov. 26. Stalker left Bombay for Persian Gulf. - Dec. 7. Stalker and 1st Division landed near Bushire. - Dec. 10. Stalker and 1st Division captured Bushire. - - 1857. - - Jan. 30. Outram arrived at Bushire, with 2d Column. - Feb. 3. Debates in Parliament concerning Persia. - Feb. 3. Outram marched from Bushire to Borasjoon. - Feb. 9. Night-attack by Persians at Khoosh-aub. - Feb. 12. ? Havelock arrived at Bushire. - Mar. 4. Treaty of Peace between England and Persis signed at - Paris. - Mar. 14. Suicide of Stalker at Bushire. - Mar. 17. Suicide of Ethersey at Bushire. - Mar. 19. Treaty of Peace ratified at London. - Mar. 26. Outram defeated Persians at Mohamrah. - Apr. 1. Rennie defeated Persians at Ahwaz. - Apr. 5. News of the Treaty reached Bushire. - Apr. 14. Treaty ratified at Teheran. - May 9. Outram’s army in Persia broken up. - May 12. ? Outram and Havelock left Persia for India. - (Autumn). Evacuation of Herat by the Persians, and consequent - evacuation of Persia by the British. - - - Events in China and Japan. - - 1856. - - Oct. 8. Affair of the Lorcha _Arrow_ near Canton. - Oct. 23-25. Seymour captured Forts in Canton river. - Oct. 28-29. Partial Bombardment of Canton. - Nov. 3. Yeh refused a personal conference. - Nov. 6. Naval action with junks in Canton river. - Nov. 8. Chinese employed fire-rafts against British ships. - Nov. 26. British captured other Forts below Canton. - Dec. 10. Bowring’s proceedings approved by home government. - Dec. 11. Dispute at Nagasaki with Japanese authorities. - - 1857. - - Jan. 1-4. Attacks and counter-attacks in Canton river. - Jan. 10. Bowring’s further proceedings approved. - Jan. 26. Japanese edict favourable to English ships. - Feb. 3. Debates in parliament on Chinese affairs. - Feb. 12. Partial destruction of Canton by the British. - Feb. 24. Great debate in House of Lords on China. - Mar. 3. House of Commons condemned Chinese War—Ministers - therefore dissolved parliament. - Apr. 6. War-junks destroyed in Canton river. - Apr. 7. ? Ashburnham left England for China. - Apr. 21. Elgin left England for China. - May 25. Attack on junks in Escape Creek. - June 1. Attack on junks in Fatshan Creek. - July (early). Elgin arrived at Hong-kong. - July (end). Elgin proceeded to confer with Canning at Calcutta. - Sep. 9. Elliot made reconnaissance of Chinese junk-fleet. - Dec. 12. Elgin sent formal demands on Yeh. - Dec. 24. On Yeh’s refusal, Elgin resolved on stern measures. - Dec. 28-31. Cannonading and fighting around Canton. - Dec. 31. British captured all the defences of Canton. - - 1858. - - Jan. 5. Parkes captured Commissioner Yeh. - Jan. 9. Provisional government established at Canton. - Feb. 10. Blockade of Canton river ended. - Mar. (end). Elgin proceeded to Shang-hae. - Apr. 24. Elgin sent his demands to the emperor at Pekin. - Apr. 30. Emperor appointed a plenipotentiary. - May 20. Negotiations failing, Elgin resumed hostilities. - May 20. Forts on the Pei-ho destroyed by English. - June 3. Straubenzee encountered Chinese outside Canton. - June 26. Elgin signed Treaty with China at Tien-sing. - July 6. Elgin returned to Shang-hae. - Aug. 3. Elgin went to Nagasaki in Japan. - Aug. 11. Namtow punished for breach of flag of truce. - Aug. 16. Elgin arrived at Jedo. - Aug. 26. Elgin signed Treaty with Japan at Jedo. - Sep. & Oct. Gradual settlement of details of Chinese tariff. - -[Illustration] - - - - - INDEX. - - - Act, abstract of, for changing government of India, 226 - - Agra, situation and description, 109 - - ——, condition at different dates, 174, 284 - - ——, number of persons in fort, 285 - - ——, mutiny of Kotah Contingent, 283 - - ——, battle near, and partial destruction of city, 283, 284 - - ——, Greathed’s arrival, and victory over rebels, 352 - - Ahwaz. [Persia.] - - AKBAR THE GREAT, 61 - - ALEXANDER, Mr, Civil Commissioner of Rohilcund, 496 - - Allahabad, head-quarters of Canning and Sir Colin, 546 - - ——, situation and description, 107, 488 - - ——, mutiny and devastation, 158 - - Allygurh, position and description, 111 - - ——, mutiny at, 112 - - Almora, ladies and children at, 286 - - Alum Bagh, operations at, 262, 334, 363 - - AMHERST, Earl, power of Mogul lessened by, 67 - - Amorah, victory over 3000 rebels at, by Rowcroft, 470 - - ANDREWS, Captain, blown up at Ghazeeoodeen Nuggur, 233 - - ANGELO, Lieutenant, intrepidity at Mooradabad, 491 - - ANSON, General, Commander-in-chief in India, 118 - - ——, operations, and death at Kurnaul, 118, 231, 233 - - Area and population of India, 31 - - Army, British, in India, details relating to, 24, 49, 118, 211, 220, - 390, 426, 483, 495, 609 - - Arrah, disasters at, 270, 271, 470 - - ——, Wake’s defence of Boyle’s House at, 269 - - ——, operations in and near, 269, 272 - - _Arrow_, lorcha. [China.] - - ASHBURNHAM, General. [China.] - - Assam, operations against mutineers, 339 - - Aurungabad, disaffection at, 291 - - AURUNGZEBE, Mogul emperor, 62 - - Azimghur, mutiny and operations at, 154, 478 - - - BABER, Mogul emperor, 61 - - Badulla Serai, engagement at, 235 - - BAJEE RAO MAHARAJAH, Peishwa of Mahrattas, 122 - - BANKS, Major, commissioner of Oude—death, 165, 325 - - ——, house at Lucknow, fortified, 418 - - BARBER, Lieutenant, cut to pieces near Minpooree, 113 - - Bareilly, mutiny at, 114, 170 - - ——, mutineers’ march to Delhi, 241 - - ——, recaptured by Campbell and Jones, 492, 494 - - BARNARD, Sir Henry, takes command of Delhi force, 47, 233 - - ——, engagements before Delhi, 236, 239 - - ——, death, 242 - - Barrackpore, disturbances and inquiry at, 38, 39 - - ——, 19th B. N. I. disbanded at, 400 - - Barracks, description of, at Company’s stations, 28 - - BATSON, Mr, eventful escape from Delhi, 80 - - BATTYE, Captain, of the Guide Corps, death at Delhi, 238 - - BEATSON, Captain, death at Cawnpore, 253 - - Begum Kothee, palace at Lucknow, 418 - - —— of Oude, character and proceedings, 610 - - —— Sumroo, convent of, at Sirdhana, 57 - - Behar. [Arrah; Jugdispore; Lugard; &c.] - - Benares, situation and description, 104 - - ——, mutinies and operations at, 105, 154, 156, 279 - - Bengal Army, proposed reconstruction of, 483 - - —— Presidency, description, &c., 16, 25 - - Beora, Tanteea Topee defeated by Michel at, 558 - - Berhampore, disaffection and disarming at, 40, 266 - - BERKELEY, Brigadier, operations near Soraon, 545 - - Berozepoor, fort taken by Goorkhas, 403 - - Bhotuck. [Rhotuk.] - - Bithoor, situation and description, 122 - - ——, battles at and near, 254, 258 - - ——, massacres at. [Cawnpore; Nena Sahib.] - - BOILEAU, Captain, won battle of Mundoree, 341 - - Bombay mutinous regiments erased from Army List, 534 - - —— presidency, description and army of, 16, 26 - - —— army strengthened, 559 - - ——, rejoicings at Queen’s Proclamation, 611 - - Boodayoun, disturbances at, 115 - - BOURCHIER, Colonel, on causes of mutiny, 606 - - BOWRING, Sir John. [China.] - - BOYLE’S House at Arrah, defence of, 269 - - British army in India. [Army.] - - —— possessions in India, 4, 14 - - Bundelcund, situation and description, 179 - - Burmah, policy of king of, 430 - - BURTON, Major, and sons, killed at Kotah, 354 - - Busherutgunje, Havelock’s two victories at, 255, 256 - - Bushire. [Persia.] - - - Cadets, education of, 26 - - Calcutta, description and population, 98, 99 - - ——, excitement and demonstrations, 99, 149, 264 - - ——, rejoicings at Queen’s Proclamation, 612 - - Calpee, town and fort taken by Sir Hugh Rose, 506 - - Camp before Delhi, description of, 298 - - CAMPBELL, Sir Colin [Lord Clyde], characteristics of, 222, 496 - - ——, left England for India, 222 - - ——, at Buntara and Cawnpore, 364, 391 - - ——, relieved garrison at Lucknow, 366 - - ——, strength of his army of Oude, 409, 415 - - ——, finally conquered Lucknow, 425 - - ——, interview with Jung Bahadoor, 418 - - ——, interview with Lord Canning, 466 - - ——, general orders by, 423, 433, 547 - - ——, at Futteghur, 473 - - ——, victory near Shahjehanpoor, 497 - - ——, troops thanked by, 498, 514 - - ——, proceedings in Nov. 1858, 611 - - ——, plan for final subjection of Oude, 611 - - CANNING, Viscount, hostility to, in Calcutta, 212, 213 - - ——, orders and congratulatory letters, 214, 220, 312, 350 - - ——, Oude Proclamation, debates on, 450 - - ——, reply to Ellenborough’s dispatch, 541 - - ——, Proclamation accompanying Queen’s Proclamation, 624 - - Canton, [China.] - - Cartridges, commencement of troubles relating to, 36, 89 - - CASE, Colonel, death of, at Lucknow, 134 - - Cashmere Gate, Delhi, blowing up of, 307 - - Castes and Creeds in Indian army, 162 - - Cavalry, consequences of deficiency in, 212, 253 - - CAVANAGH, Mr, adventure at Lucknow, 371 - - CAVANAGH, Private, gallantry of, at Onao, 256 - - Causes of Mutiny, opinions on, 605-608 - - Cawnpore, position and description, 122 - - ——, messages denoting insecurity, 124, 139 - - ——, Wheeler’s preparations, 125, 126 - - ——, sufferings in the intrenchment, 126, 130, 136, &c. - - ——, Nena Sahib’s deceitful promises, 126, 136, 137 - - ——, boat massacre, and partial escapes, 137-139 - - ——, death of Sir Hugh Wheeler, 139 - - ——, frightful scenes in the house of slaughter, 131, 139, 141-143, - 144-145 - - ——, battle and capture by Havelock, 252, 253 - - ——, Neill assumes military command, 254 - - ——, Windham’s defeat by Gwalior rebels, 377 - - ——, decisive victory by Sir Colin Campbell, 378 - - Central India Field-forces, services of, 507, 516, 553 - - Chandnee Chowk, Delhi, description of, 435 - - CHEEK, Ensign, heroism and death, at Allahabad, 159 - - CHESTER, Colonel, killed at Badulla Serai, 235 - - China, Retrospect of intercourse with England, 585 - - ——, Lorcha _Arrow_, seized by Chinese authorities, 587 - - ——, Sir John Bowring resolved on forcible measures, 587 - - ——, Sir Michael Seymour captured forts near Canton, 588 - - ——, Commissioner Yeh, correspondence with, 588 - - ——, destruction of junks in Canton river, 589 - - ——, European factories burned at Canton, 589 - - ——, Canton partly burned by English, 590 - - ——, debates in parliament concerning, 591 - - ——, Bowring, Seymour, and Parkes, difficulties of, 592 - - ——, Elgin, Ashburnham, and Straubenzee sent out, 593 - - ——, great destruction of junks at Fatshan, 594 - - ——, operations delayed by mutiny in India, 595 - - ——, bombardment and capture of Canton, 597 - - ——, Yeh sent as prisoner to Calcutta, 598 - - ——, Elgin, Gros, Putiatine, and Reed, proceeded to Shang-hae and - Tien-sing, 598 - - ——, destruction of forts on Pei-ho river, 599 - - ——, Plenipotentiaries sign treaties at Tien-sing, 600 - - ——, untoward conflict at Namtow, 601 - - ——, final pacification, 602 - - Chunar, sacred Hindoo fort near Benares, 106 - - Chupatties, mystery of their transmission, 35 - - Chuttra, English’s defeat of mutineers at, 343 - - Civil service, India, regulations, 5 - - Civilians, honours to distinguished, 485 - - CLARK, Lieut., at Jubbulpoor, frustrates conspirators, 346 - - CLYDE, Lord. [Campbell, Sir Colin.] - - COCKBURN, Lieutenant, gallant services at Hattrass, 112 - - COKE, Brigadier, services against rebels, 241, 496 - - COLVIN, Mr, proclamation disapproved by government, 110 - - ——, disarms 44th and 67th B. N. I. at Agra, 111 - - ——, death, services, and character, 348 - - Compensation to sufferers, arrangements for, 484 - - Cost of English soldiers in the East, 26 - - COTTON, Colonel, supersedes Polwhele at Agra, 285 - - Council of India, names of members, 575 - - Courts-martial on mutineers, arrangements, 51 - - Covenanted and uncovenanted service of E. I. Company, 443 - - Crime, lessening of, under recent Indian reforms, 6 - - CROWE, Lieut., earns the Victoria Cross by gallantry, 258 - - CURRIE, Captain, mortally wounded at Cawnpore, 253 - - - DALHOUSIE, Marquis of, career as Governor-general, 2, 87, 218 - - Darjeeling, proposed colonisation at, 518 - - Deesa, military operations at, 293, 550 - - DELAFOSSE, Lieutenant, gallantry at Cawnpore, 135 - - Delhi, history and description, 63, 67 - - ——, arrival of mutineers from Meerut, 52 - - ——, mutiny of native troops, 73 - - ——, atrocities and sufferings at, 74-79 - - ——, king of Delhi assumes command, 74, 75 - - ——, operations of siege army, 231, 236, 239, 243, 301, 303 - - ——, Cashmere Gate blown in, 307 - - ——, storming and capture, 306-310 - - ——, state of, after the siege, 311, 355, 383, 435 - - ——, king of, mutineers sanctioned by, 74 - - —— ——, captured by Hodson, 313 - - —— ——, behaviour and treatment in confinement, 356 - - —— ——, submitted to trial, 404 - - DEWAN MOOLRAJ, rebellion of, 3 - - Dholpore, mutineers plan attack on Agra, 351 - - Dil Koosha, palace at Lucknow, 369 - - Dinapoor, mutiny, and its consequences, 268, 274 - - Distances in India, table of, 12 - - District-regulations, 15 - - Doab, important towns in, 107 - - ——, operations in. [Allahabad; Cawnpore; &c.] - - DORIN, Mrs, killed at Lucknow Residency, 327 - - Dorunda, plundered by Ramgurh mutineers, 342 - - DOUGLAS, Captain, killed at Delhi, 74 - - D’OYLEY, Captain, killed at Agra, 284 - - DUFF, Rev. Dr, on causes of mutiny, 606 - - Dumdum, cartridge troubles commenced at, 38 - - Dumoh evacuated by Europeans, 347 - - DUNBAR, Captain, killed at Arrah, 271 - - Dust and hot winds of India, 465 - - - East India Company. [Army; British India; Covenanted Service, &c.] - - East India Company, discussions concerning, 561-573 - - ——, petition to parliament, 613 - - ——, disclaim selfish policy in India, 615 - - ——, object to 1st and 2d India Bills, 618 - - ——, object to 3d India Bill, 621 - - ——, statute ending governing powers, 622 - - ECKFORD, Lieutenant, narrow escape at Kukerowlee, 492 - - Educational establishments for natives, 6 - - EDWARDES, Colonel, Commissioner of Peshawur, 199 - - ——, opinions on Indian government, 607 - - EDWARDS, Mr, exciting escape from Boodayoun, 115 - - Electric Telegraphs in India, 9, 416 - - ELGIN, Earl of. [China.] - - ELLENBOROUGH, Earl of, secret dispatch, 541, 564, &c. - - ELLIOT, Commodore. [China.] - - ELPHINSTONE, Lord, governor of Bombay. [Bombay.] - - Enfield rifles, effect on enemy, 250 - - ENGLISH, Major, defeats rebels at Chuttra, 343 - - ETHERSEY, Commodore. [Persia.] - - Eurasians, or half-castes of India, 98 - - European troops. [Army, British.] - - Europeans in India, and the government, 214 - - Excise laws in India, 609 - - EYRE, Major Vincent, defeats rebels at Koondun Puttee, 261 - - —— —— ——, defeats rebels at Arrah and Narainpore, 272 - - - FAGAN, Captain, killed at Mhow, 186 - - Fatshan. [China.] - - FAYERS, Lieutenant, killed near Minpooree, 113 - - Ferozpore, disturbances at, 195, &c. - - FINCH, Captain, cavalry attack in Saugor territory, 553 - - FINNIS, Colonel, killed at Meerut, 52 - - FISHER, Colonel, killed at Sultanpoor, 168 - - Fort William. [Calcutta.] - - FRANKS, Brigadier, operations in Oude, 402, &c. - - FRAZER, Mr, killed at Delhi, 74 - - FRERE, Mr, Commissioner of Sinde, controversy with missionaries, 530 - - Fund, Indian Mutiny Relief, 226, 623 - - Furlough, peculiarities in native, 36 - - Futteghur, mutiny, flight, and murder of Europeans, 134 - - Futtehpoor, outbreak at, 172 - - Fyzabad, mutiny, flight of Europeans, 165-167 - - - GABBETT, Lieutenant, killed at Nujuffghur, 300 - - Ganges, towns and canal of, 8, 104 - - GARDINER, Sergeant, gallantry at Bareilly, 494 - - GOLDNEY, Colonel, killed during flight from Fyzabad, 167 - - Goorkhas, characteristics and services, 378, 348, 393, 529 - - GORDON, Captain, killed at Delhi, 72 - - Goruckpore, contests with rebels at, 393, 431 - - GRAHAM, Dr, killed at Sealkote, 203 - - GRANT, Mr, temporary Lieutenant-governor of Central Provinces, 214-280 - - GRANT, Sir Hope, defeats rebels outside Delhi, 238 - - —— —— —— —— at Serai Ghat, 380 - - —— —— —— —— at Meeangunje, 404 - - —— —— —— —— at Towrie, 499 - - —— —— —— —— at Nawabgunge, 523 - - —— —— —— —— in Fyzabad district, 543 - - ——, Sir Patrick, temporary Commander-in-chief, 211 - - GREATHED, Brigadier, services against rebels, 350, 352, &c. - - ——, Mr H. H., killed at Delhi, 314 - - GROS, Baron, French plenipotentiary. [China.] - - GUBBINGS, Captain, killed at Sultanpore, 168 - - GUBBINS, Mr, Commissioner of Oude, on causes of mutiny, 605 - - Guide Corps, march, services, and return from Delhi, 234-437 - - Gujerat, disarmed by Sir R. Shakespear, 501 - - Gulowlie, Rose’s victory at, 506 - - Gwalior, position and description, 187, 510 - - ——, mutiny at, 112, 188 - - ——, capture and recapture of, 509-512 - - ——, conspiracy defeated, 559 - - - HALIBURTON, Captain, disperses rebels near Benares, 279 - - HALL, Colonel, gallant defence at Shahjehanpore, 495 - - HARRIS, Lord, on newspaper press of India, 217 - - ——, Major, killed at Mhow, 186 - - Hattrass, refugees, and fighting at, 112 - - HAVELOCK, Sir H., commenced operations in the Doab, 247 - - —— —— ——, victory at Futtehpoor, 249 - - —— —— ——, —— at Aong, 251 - - —— —— ——, —— at Pandoo Nuddee, 251 - - —— —— ——, —— at Cawnpore, 251 - - —— —— ——, actions on road to Lucknow, 254, &c. - - —— —— ——, second defeat of Nena Sahib, 258 - - —— —— ——, difficulties after retreat to Cawnpore, 259 - - —— —— ——, death at Lucknow, 369 - - ——, Lieutenant, won Victoria Cross by gallantry, 253 - - HAYES, Major, killed near Minpooree, 113 - - Hazarebagh, mutiny at, 274 - - ‘Headman’ of a village, position and duties, 119 - - Heat of India, influence on Europeans, 66, 519 - - Herat, cause of the Persian war. [Persia], 578 - - HEWETT, Major-general, conduct at Meerut, 53 - - Hindoos, characteristics of, 105, 438, &c. - - HODSON, Major, defeat rebels near Rohtuk, 299 - - —— ——, capture King of Delhi, 313 - - —— ——, killed at Lucknow, 426 - - ——, Mrs, account of visit to King of Delhi, 356 - - HOLKAR, one of the Mahratta princes, 182 - - HOLMES, Major, killed at Segowlie, 274 - - HOME, Lieutenant, services and death, 315, 351 - - Hong-kong. [China.] - - Honours conferred on faithful natives, 546, 548 - - Hoogly river, described, 98 - - HOPE, Brigadier Adrian, services at Bithoor and Shumshabad, 391, 394 - - HOPE, Brigadier Adrian, killed at Rhodamow, 473 - - Hospitals, periodicals supplied to by government, 538 - - - India Bills, discussions on, in parliament, 561-573 - - Indian Native army, on reorganisation of, 386 - - Indore, mutiny and murder of Europeans, 185, 186 - - Industrial development of India, 7 - - INGLIS, Sir J., heroic defence of Lucknow, 165, 259, 324, 327, 336 - - - JACOB, Brigadier, of the Sinde horse, 206, 207, &c. - - Jacobabad, station for Jacob’s Sinde horse, 207 - - JAMSETJEE JEJEEBHOY, Sir, Parsee baronet, 501, 612 - - Japan, Elgin’s expedition to Nagasaki, 603 - - ——, thence to Jedo, 603 - - ——, treaty of commerce signed by Elgin, 603 - - Jedo. [Japan.] - - JEHANGHIRE, Mogul emperor, 61 - - Jelpigoree, conflict of mutineers, 375 - - Jelum, Sepoy mutinies at, 202 - - JENNINGS, Rev. Mr, killed at Delhi, 74 - - Jhansi, mutinies and fighting at, 179, 440, 478, 479 - - ——, Ranee of, 180, 478 - - Jheend, Rajah of, rewarded for fidelity, 549 - - JONES, Brigadier, operations at Nageena and Shahjehanpore, 472, 496 - - Jowra Alipore, Gwalior rebels defeated by Napier at, 515 - - Jubbulpoor, precautions against mutiny, 178, 281, 346 - - Jugdispore taken by Lugard, 487 - - Jullundur, precautions against mutiny, 196 - - Julra Patteen, occupied by Tanteea Topee, 557 - - Jumma Musjid at Delhi, description, 65 - - Jumna, immolation of devotees in, 107 - - JUNG BAHADOOR, character and proceedings, 169, 423, 519 - - Junks, destruction of. [China.] - - - Kaiser Bagh, palace and garden at Lucknow, 421 - - KANTZOW, Lieutenant de, gallantry at Minpooree, 113 - - Kattara, Tanteea Topee defeated by Roberts at, 557 - - KERR, Lord Mark, contest with rebels at Azimghur, 469 - - KHAN BAHADOOR KHAN, rebel leader at Bareilly, 170 - - Khoosh-aub, victory at. [Persia.] - - KIRK, Dr, killed at Gwalior, 189 - - Kirwee, treasure captured at by Whitlock, 552 - - KOER SINGH, leader of Dinapoor rebels, 269, 344, 469, 487 - - Kolapore, mutiny and murders at, 289 - - Kotah, recaptured from rebels by Roberts, 442 - - Kukerowlee, victory of Jones at, 492 - - Kumaon battalion, fidelity and bravery of, 529 - - - Lahore, mutiny of native troops at, 204 - - ——, position and description of, 193 - - LAKE, Lord, reminiscences of, 67 - - LAWRENCE, Colonel, in Rajpootana, 354 - - ——, Sir H., difficulties of position at Lucknow, 89-95 - - —— ——, disastrous battle of Chinhut, 164 - - —— ——, Muchee Bhowan fort blown up by, 164 - - —— ——, death and character, 165, 322 - - ——, Sir J., energetic measures in Punjaub, 199-204 - - —— ——, siege-army for Delhi formed by, 240 - - —— ——, invaluable services to India, 384 - - —— ——, pension granted to, 574 - - —— ——, opinions on government of India, 607 - - LESLIE, Sir Norman, killed at Rohnee, 151 - - LLOYD, Major-general, disasters at Dinapoor, 267, 268 - - Lorcha _Arrow_, cause of Chinese war. [China.] - - Lotus flower, transmission among natives, 36 - - LOWTHER, Captain, Rajah of Assam captured by, 339 - - Lucknow, situation and description, 84 - - ——, first symptoms of mutiny, 89, 96 - - ——, invested by rebels, 164 - - ——, details of siege by rebels, 317-333 - - ——, effects of heat, flies, and impurities, 325, 326 - - ——, sufferings of ladies and children, 325, 330, 335 - - ——, scarcity, and high prices of provisions, 330, 332 - - ——, brilliant achievements of defenders, 328, 331, &c. - - ——, great losses among garrison, 259, 263, 335, 366 - - ——, relieved by Havelock and Outram, 263, 335 - - ——, second relief, by Sir Colin Campbell, 368 - - ——, spoliation of palaces, 360 - - ——, evacuation by the British, 368 - - ——, state of, after the evacuation, 413 - - ——, reconquered by Sir Colin Campbell, 425 - - ——, condition of in May 1858, 522 - - LUDLOW, Mr, on causes of mutiny, 605 - - LUGARD, Sir E., Koer Singh defeated by, at Azimghur, 469 - - ——, ——, various victories over rebels, 487 - - LUMSDEN, Lieutenant, killed at Nujuffghur, 300 - - LYELL, Dr, killed at Patna, 153 - - - M’CAUSLAND, Colonel, Bareilly rebels defeated by, 406 - - MADHOO SINGH, surrender to Sir Colin Campbell, 610 - - Madras presidency and city, 15 - - ——, number of troops, 26 - - ——, 8th native cavalry disarmed, 288 - - ——, troops in Central Provinces, 280 - - ——, general fidelity of native troops, 288 - - ——, missionary dispute, 535 - - Magazine at Delhi, blown up by Willoughby, 71 - - —— at Lucknow, blown up by Lawrence, 164 - - MAHOMED HUSSEIN, rebel leader in Oude, 166, 487 - - Mahrattas, nation, territory, and characteristics, 62, 181 - - Mail post, Indian runners, dâks, and eckas, 22 - - Malagurh Fort, blown up—Lieutenant Home killed, 351 - - MAN SINGH, rebel chief in Gwalior territory. [Gwalior] - - MANSON, Mr, assassinated near Nargoond, 532 - - March of Indian armies described, 29 - - Martial law proclaimed, 213 - - MARTIN, Lieutenant, shot at Mhow, 180 - - Martinière, college in Lucknow. [Lucknow.] - - Massacres. [Cawnpore; Delhi; Jhansi; Meerut; &c.] - - MAUN SINGH, of Shahgunje, 465, &c. - - MAXWELL, Colonel, rebels defeated by, at Chowra, 403 - - MEAD, Mr, on causes of mutiny, 606 - - Meean Meer, cantonment for Lahore, 194, 287 - - Meerut, position and description of, 49 - - ——, mutiny and massacre at, 50-53 - - —— mutineers march to Delhi, 52 - - ——, Wilson’s brigade march from, 232 - - METCALFE’S House, outside Delhi, struggles at, 297 - - Mhow, mutiny at, 186 - - MICHEL, Major-gen., victories over Tanteea Topee, 558, 611 - - Military stations and divisions in India, 208, 209, 293 - - MILL, Major, killed near Fyzabad, 167 - - ——, Mrs, and children, eventful escape of, 167 - - MILLER, Colonel, rebels defeated by, at Konee, 347 - - MILLMAN, engagement with rebels at Atrowlia, 431 - - Minpooree, re-occupation of, 353 - - Mirzapore, description and defences, 106, 279 - - Missionaries, controversy with, at Hyderabad, 530 - - Missionary dispute at Madras, 535 - - Mohamrah, victory at. [Persia.] - - MONTGOMERY, Mr, Chief-commissioner of Oude, 465 - - ——, proclamation for disarming Oude, 610 - - ——, Major, defeat of rebels at Allygurh, 286 - - Mooradabad, mutiny at, 171 - - ——, rebel chieftains captured, 491 - - Moosa Bagh, palace at Lucknow, 424 - - Moultan, disarming and mutiny at, 551 - - Moulvie of Fyzabad, stronghold captured, 425 - - —— ——, characteristics, 498 - - —— ——, killed at Powayne, 524 - - Muchee Bhowan, fort, at Lucknow, 322 - - Multhone, Tanteea Topee defeated by Michel at, 611 - - Mundoree, action at, 341 - - MUNRO, Sir T., opinions on press of India, 215 - - Murdan, mutineers captured at, 198 - - MURRAY, Honourable A. C. [Persia.] - - Mutiny, discussions on causes of, 389, 605 - - —— Relief Fund, 623 - - - NABAH, Rajah of, rewarded for fidelity, 549 - - NADIR SHAH, early conqueror of India, 62 - - Nagasaki. [Japan.] - - Nagode, mutiny and disaster at, 282 - - Nagpoor, position and defences, 176 - - Namtow, operations at. [China.] - - NAPIER, Brigadier R., operations against Gwalior rebels, 515, 555, &c. - - Nargoond, Rajah, treachery of, 532 - - Narratives of Delhi fugitives, 75-77 - - Naval Brigade, arrived at Benares, 340 - - —— ——, services at Lucknow, 366 - - ——, —— at Chuckerderpore, 518 - - ——, —— at Hurreah, 525 - - —— value of services, 539 - - —— [Peel; Sotheby.] - - Native regiments. [Army.] - - Nawabgunge, Grant’s victory at, 523 - - NEAVE, Lieutenant, killed at Gwalior, 511 - - Neemuch, mutiny and contests, 184, 386 - - NEILL, Brigadier, services at Benares and Allahabad, 155, 157, 160 - - ——, in command at Cawnpore, 144, 254 - - ——, repulsed enemy at Cawnpore, 255, 258 - - ——, killed at Lucknow, 632 - - NENA SAHIB, history and character, 122 - - ——, treacherous promises, 126, 127, 130 - - ——, joined the rebels as leader, 129 - - ——, massacred fugitives from Futteghur, 133 - - ——, dreadful massacre at Cawnpore, 142 - - ——, issued vaunting proclamations, 146 - - ——, defeated by Havelock at Bithoor, 253 - - ——, second defeat by Havelock at Bithoor, 258 - - ——, chosen as Peishwa by Gwalior rebels, 508 - - ——. [Cawnpore; Havelock; Wheeler.] - - Nepaul. [See also Goorkhas; Jung Bahadoor], 169 - - NEWBERRY, Cornet—killed at Nuseerabad, 183 - - Newspaper correspondents, 400 - - ——. [Press.] - - Newspapers of India, native, 46, 217 - - ——, English, 205 - - NICHOLSON, Brig., character and services, 298, 314 - - ——, operations against Sealkote mutineers, 204 - - ——, disarmed native troops at Umritsir, 287 - - ——, defeat of enemy at Nujuffghur, 299 - - ——, killed at Delhi, 307 - - Nizam of the Deccan, fidelity to the English, 560 - - Non-regulation, provinces and districts, 15 - - Nowgong, mutiny and eventful escapes, 180, 181 - - Nowsherah, station destroyed by river-torrent, 551 - - Nujuffghur, Nicholson’s victory at, 299 - - Nuseerabad, mutiny at, 183 - - Nynee Tal, refuge at hill-station, 114, 115, &c. - - - Onao, battle won by Havelock, 255 - - Opium Trade. [See also China], 609 - - ORR, Mrs and Miss Jackson, sufferings at Lucknow, 423 - - Orthography of Oriental names and terms, 13 - - OSBORNE, Captain, skilful management at Rewah, 180 - - Oude, history and description, 83 - - ——, royal family, relations of E. I. C. with, 84-88 - - ——, queen, goes to England, 88 - - —— ——, petition from, 161 - - —— ——, discords in royal family, 520 - - ——, army, mutiny, military events, 89, 399, 426, 543, 610, &c. - - ——, gradual pacification, 610 - - ——. [Campbell; Havelock; Lawrence; Lucknow; &c.] - - OUTRAM, Sir James. [Persia.] - - ——, plan for reconquering Oude, 250 - - ——, nobly yielded command to Havelock, 262 - - OUTRAM, Sir James, wounded in entering Lucknow, 263 - - ——, appointed to hold Alum Bagh, 370 - - ——, defeated 30,000 rebels at, 391 - - ——, defeated 20,000 rebels at, 401 - - ——, operations in taking Lucknow, 415, 422 - - ——, military councillor at Calcutta, 467 - - ——, volunteer cavalry thanked by, 526 - - - PALMERSTON, Lord, India Bill, 564 - - ——. [India bills; Parliament.] - - Paoree, Man Singh defeated by Napier at, 555 - - PARKES, Mr. [China.] - - Parliament, discussions on the mutiny, &c., 218, 221, 448 - - —— discussions, on India bills, &c., 564 - - Parsee address to Lord Elphinstone, 289 - - —— rejoicings at Bombay, 611 - - Patna, disturbances and precautions, 152, 153, 267 - - PEEL, Captain Sir W., services with naval brigade at Kudjna, 364 - - PEEL, Captain Sir W., services with naval brigade at Lucknow, 366 - - PEEL, Captain Sir W., wounded at Lucknow, 417 - - —— —— —— ——, died at Cawnpore, 475 - - PEH-KWEI, governor at Canton. [China.] - - Pei-ho, operations in river. [China] - - PENNY, Colonel, killed at Nuseerabad, 183 - - ——, General, operations against rebels, 355, 491 - - —— ——, killed at Kukerowlee, 491 - - Pershadeepore, mutiny at, 168 - - Persia, disputes concerning Herat, &c., 578 - - ——, war declared against, 579 - - ——, expeditions to, 580 - - ——, capture of Bushire, 580 - - ——, action at Khoosh-aub, 581 - - ——, suicide of Stalker and Ethersey, 582 - - ——, operations at Mohamrah and Ahwaz, 582 - - ——, Treaty of Peace, 583 - - Peshawur, mutinies and precautions, 197-199, 204 - - Phillour, precautions against mutiny, 197 - - PLATT, Colonel, killed at Mhow, 186 - - PLOWDEN, Mr, his position at Nagpoor, 177 - - ——, Captain, services with Goorkhas, 432 - - Plunder, Sir Colin Campbell’s order concerning, 423 - - POLEHAMPTON, Rev. Mr, killed at Lucknow, 329 - - Police system of India, 200, 480 - - Poonah, precautions against rebellion, 290 - - POWELL, Colonel, killed at Kudjna, 364 - - Presidencies, area and population, 31 - - Press of India, 46, 205, 215, 218, 400 - - ——, liberty restricted, 215 - - ——. [Newspapers.] - - Proclamations, Viscount Canning’s, 450, 624 - - ——, Sir Colin Campbell’s, 610 - - ——, Mr Montgomery’s, 610 - - ——, Queen Victoria’s, 611, 623 - - ——. [Campbell; Canning; Ellenborough; &c.] - - Prophecies and mysteries, native, 485, 531 - - Punjaub, history and description, 191, 192 - - ——, precautions against mutiny, 200, 201 - - ——. [Lahore; Lawrence; Moultan; Nicholson; Peshawur; Sealkote; Sikhs; - &c.] - - Putialah, Rajah of, rewarded for fidelity, 549 - - PUTIATINE, Admiral Count. [China; Japan.] - - - Queen of Oude. [Begum; Oude.] - - Queen Victoria’s proclamation, 609-612, 623 - - - RAIKES, Mr, on causes of mutiny, 606 - - Railways of India, lengths, &c., 119, 157, 224, 477 - - RAINES, Major, rebels defeated at Rowah, 395 - - Rajahs, honours for fidelity of, 549 - - Rajpootana, situation and description, 189 - - ——. [Napier; Nuseerabad; Roberts; Tanteea Topee; &c.] - - RAMSAY, Capt. (Major), operations near Nynee Tal, 115, 357 - - Ranee of Jhansi, killed at Gwalior, 511 - - ——. [Calpee; Gwalior; Jhansi; Tanteea Topee.] - - RATTRAY, Captain, services of Sikh battalion, 275, &c. - - Rebels, discussions on punishment of, 455 - - REED, Mr, American plenipotentiary. [China.] - - ——, Major-gen., brief services against rebels, 235, 242 - - ——, resigned command at Delhi, 243 - - REES, Mr, on causes of the mutiny, 605 - - Regiments. [Army; Stations; &c.] - - Regulation districts, 15 - - REID, Major, gallant achievements outside Delhi— 241, 297, &c. - - Relief Fund, Indian Mutiny, 623 - - Religions of India, discussions concerning, 607 - - ——, orders for respecting, 41 - - RENAUD, Major, killed at Cawnpore, 254 - - RENNIE, Capt., defeat of Persians at Ahwaz by. [Persia.] - - Residency at Lucknow. [Inglis; Lawrence; Lucknow; &c.] - - Revolt. [Barrackpore; Cartridge; Meerut; &c.] - - Rewah, gallantly held by Osborne, 180, 345, &c. - - Rhodamow Fort, disaster at, 473 - - ROBERTS, General, operations against Tanteea Topee, 555, 557, &c. - - Rohilcund, position and description, 170 - - ——, operations in, 114, 467, 495, 496, 610 - - ——, rebel leaders in, 467 - - ROSE, Lieutenant, killed at Gwalior, 513 - - ——, Sir Hugh, operations at Mudenpore, 438 - - —— —— —— at Jhansi, 478 - - —— —— —— at Koonch, 505 - - —— —— —— at Gwalior, 510, 516 - - —— —— ——, address to his army, 516 - - ROWCROFT, Brigadier, operations against rebels, 470, 610 - - RUSSELL, Mr W. H., graphic descriptions by, 400, 414, &c. - - - SALAR JUNG, prime-minister to Nizam, 560 - - SALKELD, Lieutenant, heroism at Delhi, 315 - - Satara, Mahratta proceedings at, 290, 480 - - Saugor, fight between native troops at, 281 - - —— and Nerbudda territories, 178, 345, 553 - - SCINDIA, history and family, 182 - - ——, offered aid to British, 110 - - ——, difficulties with mutineers, 351, 507 - - ——, expulsion from Gwalior, 508 - - ——, reinstatement at Gwalior, 514 - - Sealkote, mutiny at, 202, 203 - - —— mutineers. [Nicholson.] - - SEATON, Brigadier, services against rebels, 382, 475, &c. - - Secrole, noticed, 105 - - Secunder Bagh, palace and garden at Lucknow, 365 - - Secunderabad, Rohillas defeated at, 291 - - Seetapoor, mutiny at, 168 - - ——, operations commence from, 610 - - Seetabuldee, fort of Nagpoor, 177 - - Sepoys. [Army; Regiments; Troops.] - - SEYMOUR, Admiral Sir Michael [China.] - - SHAHJEHAN, Mogul emperor, 62 - - Shahjehanpore, mutiny and massacre at, 171 - - ——, military operations, 495, 496, &c. - - Shah Nujeef at Lucknow, 365 - - ——, Peel’s services at, 366 - - Shang-hae. [China.] - - SHOWERS, Brigadier, operations against Delhi, 297 - - Sikhs, origin and description, 192 - - ——, fidelity during mutiny, 156, 275, 344 - - SIMPSON, Sergeant, gallantry at Rhodamow, 473 - - Sinde, details concerning, 205-207 - - Sirmoor battalion of Goorkhas, fidelity of, 529 - - SMITH, Brigadier, operations at Gwalior, &c., 511, &c. - - Soldiers, English in India. [Army; &c.] - - Sonthal Pergunnahs, mutiny at, 151 - - SOORUT SINGH of Benares, services to the English, 156 - - Soraon Field-force, services, 545 - - SOTHEBY’S Naval Brigade, services of, 402 - - SPENCER, Major, killed at Meean Meer, 287 - - SPOTTISWOODE, Captain, killed at Nuseerabad, 183 - - SPRING, Captain, killed at Jelum, 202 - - STALKER, Major-general. [Persia.] - - STANLEY, Lord, India Bill and Council of India, 570 - - STEUART, Brigadier, operations in Deccan, 385 - - STEVENS, Captain, killed at Chinhut, 164 - - STRAUBENZEE, General. [China.] - - STUART, Brigadier, at Mundisore and Chendaree, 385, 439 - - Sultanpore, actions by Franks and Hope Grant, 402, 610 - - Sunstroke, fatal effects of, 496, &c. - - - TANTEEA TOPEE, manœuvres and marches of, 478, 508, 555, 558, 611 - - ——. [Michel; Napier; Roberts; &c.] - - TAYLER, Mr, proceedings at Patna, 470, 476 - - ——, removed from office, 476 - - Telegrams. [Electric telegraph.] - - TIEN-SING. [China.] - - Tola Narainpore, rebels defeated by Eyre at, 272 - - Thalookdars and Thalookdaree, 360, 525 - - Thugs and Thuggee, 11 - - Travelling in India, 18, 20 - - ——. [Marching; Railways; &c.] - - Troops, number, clothing, &c., 25, 26, 29, 224, 250, 302, 535, 609 - - ——, disarming, 149, 150, 194, 198, &c. - - ——, marching and transport of, 29, 222, 501, 611 - - ——. [Army; &c.] - - TUCKER, Mr, killed at Futtehpoor, 172 - - Twigs, mystery of, in Gujerat, 531 - - - Umballa, occurrences at, 118, 231 - - ——, effects of cholera at, 201 - - Umritsir, position and description, 195 - - - Vellore, revolt in, a premonitory symptom, 33 - - VENABLES, Mr, success against rebels, 278, 341 - - —— ——, death, and honourable testimonial, 519 - - Victoria Cross, bestowal for valour, 315, 464, 550 - - Vocabulary of Indian terms, 13 - - Volunteer cavalry of Oude, 526 - - - WAKE, Mr, heroic defence of house at Arrah, 268 - - WALLEE DAD KHAN, rebel leader near Meerut, 174 - - WALPOLE, General, disaster at Rhodamow, 473 - - ——, victory at Sirsa, 473 - - WATERFIELD, Major, killed near Ferozabad, 500 - - WHELER, Colonel, and the religion of the sepoys, 101 - - WHEELER, Sir Hugh, defensive operations, sufferings, and death. - [Cawnpore; Nena Sahib.] - - ——, Miss, heroic conduct of, 139 - - WILLOUGHBY, Lieutenant, Delhi magazine exploded by, 71 - - WHITLOCK, General, operations in Bundelcund, 479 - - ——, capture of treasure at Kirwee, 552 - - WINDHAM, General, disaster at Cawnpore, 376 - - WILSON, Sir Archdale, Meerut column headed by, 232 - - —— —— ——, victories of Ghazeeoodeen and Hindoun, 232 - - WILSON, Sir Archdale, at siege of Delhi, 243, 245, 298, 306, 311 - - ——, honoured and rewarded, 314 - - ——, commanded cavalry in Oude, 409 - - WINGFIELD, Mr, commissioner at Goruckpore, 487 - - - YEH MINGCHIN, Chinese viceroy. [China.] - - YULE, Colonel, killed outside Delhi, 238 - -[Illustration: THE END.] - - Edinburgh: - Printed by W. and R. Chambers. - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES - - - 1. Corrected for to four on p. 96. - 2. Corrected withinside to within on p. 314. - 3. Silently corrected typographical errors. - 4. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 6. Superscripts are denoted by a carat before a single superscript - character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in - curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of the Indian Revolt and -of the Expeditions to Persia, China , by George Dodd - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE INDIAN REVOLT *** - -***** This file should be named 53360-0.txt or 53360-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/3/6/53360/ - -Produced by Richard Tonsing, Brian Coe 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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