XV. THE REIGN OF VICTORIA (continued)…

XV. THE REIGN OF VICTORIA (continued)

Defect of the Delhi Fortifications--The Batteries are constructed--An effective Cannonade--The Plan of Attack--The British Advance--Nicholson's Column--The Cashmere Gate exploded--Entry into the City--Campbell's Column--Nicholson mortally wounded--Failure at the Lahore Gate--Cavalry and Artillery save the Situation--A Lodgment in Delhi--Excesses of the Troops--The British possess the City--Capture of the King--The Princes shot--Significance of their Fate--Effect of the Fall of Delhi--Greathed's Column--The Relief of Agra--Affairs at Lucknow--Weakness of the Defences--The Garrison--Character of the Attack--Effort against the Redan--Explosion of Mines--The Daily Wear-and-Tear--Inglis's Report--Sir Colin Campbell at Calcutta--Havelock superseded by Outram--Position of Havelock's Army--Eyre's Exploits--Havelock crosses the Ganges--Combat of Mungulwar--Battle at the Alumbagh--The Plan of Attack--The Charbagh Bridge is won--Under the Kaiserbagh--The Goal is reached--The Scene that Evening--Havelock's Losses--Outram determines to remain--Energy of the Indian Government--The Force at Cawnpore--Sir Colin to the Front--Kavanagh's daring Deed--The Canal is crossed--Capture of the Secunderbagh--Sortie of the Garrison--The Relief accomplished--Campbell retires on Cawnpore--Death of Havelock.

The crisis in the siege of Delhi had now arrived. Although the Sepoys had shown some skill and some enterprise in defence of Delhi, our engineers, scanning the place, had long seen that they had committed a capital fault. We were forced to assail the north front of the city, because we were tied to the plateau and the ridge, by the fact that our line of communications lay in rear of the ridge, and because we could not establish any base of supplies in any other quarter. Now, the fortifications on this side consisted, starting from the Jumna, on our left, of the Water Bastion, the Cashmere Bastion, and the Moree Bastion. A curtain wall, loopholed for musketry, but not pierced or prepared for guns, connected each bastion with the other. The consequence was that guns were mounted only on the bastions, and not on the curtains; and the effect of this was that we were enabled to erect a line of batteries strong enough to silence the guns on the bastions and breach the curtain walls. Had the mutineers possessed an engineer of ordinary faculty, he would have seen the use to which the curtains could have been put. He would have caused a thick rampart of earth to be piled up behind the curtains. On these he would have mounted guns drawn from the magazine--there were 200 new pieces in store--and thus the whole of the north front, from the Moree to the Water Bastion, would have been one bristling line of batteries. Fortunately for us the enemy did not find this out until it was too late. It was not likely that an engineer so accomplished as Colonel Baird Smith would overlook the capital defect of the enemy. He did not; and his plan of attack, executed by Captain Taylor, took ample advantage of the opportunity afforded by the negligence of the foe.

The active operations of the siege began on the 7th of September. That night it was resolved that the right battery, No. 1, should be completed and armed. It was an immense undertaking, but was successfully accomplished.

As soon as it was light the mutineers in the Moree and along the curtain beheld with indignant astonishment the newly built battery, and opened upon it with a destructive fire, under which it had to be finished, gun after gun opening as it was got into its place. The effect of our fire was soon manifest, for by the afternoon of the 8th the Moree was a silent heap of ruins. Nevertheless, at intervals throughout the bombardment, the enemy sticking to the Moree, now and then opened fire from a gun until it was knocked over. On the same day, the 7th, a strong force had surprised and occupied Ludlow Castle, and the Koodsia Bagh, a garden to the left of it, and under the Water Bastion. It was in this quarter that the real siege batteries were to be constructed, and the work had been commenced on the right with the double object of crushing the Moree, and drawing off the attention of the enemy from the Cashmere Gate and Bastion. On this side four batteries were speedily made, all under a heavy fire, for they were within musketry range, and the broken ground between the batteries and the place afforded excellent cover. There were two batteries in front of Ludlow Castle, an array of eighteen guns; a mortar battery in line with them, but farther to the left; and a fourth battery near the customhouse, within 150 yards of the Water Bastion. Until all was ready the embrasures were masked with gabions, and when the time came to open fire, these were removed by volunteers, who for the time were exposed to the enemy's shot. These were great and successful operations, and without native labour could not have been accomplished. But the natives worked well for pay, and readily plied the spade and pick under a searching fire. The losses were heavy, but the work was very urgent.

The mortars had been in steady play from sunset on the 10th, and on the 11th the breaching battery of eighteen guns opened with such effect on the Cashmere Bastion, and the curtain between it and the Water Bastion, that the guns on the former ceased to reply, and the latter came clattering down in huge cantles. The shot shook down the wall, the shells tore open the parapets. Hour by hour the breach grew wider. The right of the Cashmere Bastion and the left of the Water Bastion were crumbling away under the ceaseless blows. But these were not given without a sharp return of fire. The mutineers covered their whole front with a trench, and lined it with infantry. They brought light guns on to the ramparts. They skilfully planted a battery to the left of the Moree in such a position that it took the right and centre batteries in flank, and could not itself be seen by any gun of ours; while across the Jumna there was a second battery, which enfiladed the left, though with less effect. In spite of all this our troops worked their guns with unfaltering steadiness. For three days this went on incessantly; the big guns firing by day, the mortars shelling the breaches and parapets all night. On the 13th there were two great breaches in the walls. If these were practicable, it was determined that the place should be assaulted forthwith, as the Sepoys were at length engaged in piling up earth behind the curtain connecting the Moree and Cashmere Bastions in order that they might line the wall with heavy guns. The engineers--no officers were called upon to do more, or answered the call better, than the officers of this corps--were ordered to examine the breaches, and reported that the attempt was quite feasible.

The general had already drawn up his plan of assault. The chief engineer advised that it should be delivered at daybreak the next morning. His advice was adopted, and accordingly the welcome order went through the camp, and roused the soldiers for an encounter they so sternly desired. In order to capture the city, the general formed five columns. Of these, the first, under Nicholson, consisted of the 75th Foot, the 1st Fusiliers, and the 2nd Punjabees. It was to break in at the Cashmere Bastion, through the breach. The second, under Brigadier Jones, consisted of the 8th Foot, the 2nd Fusiliers, and the 4th Sikhs. This column was directed to enter the Water Bastion breach. The third column, under Colonel Campbell, of the 52nd, consisted of the 52nd Foot, the Kumaon Battalion, and the 1st Punjabees. To them was entrusted the duty of rushing in at the Cashmere Gate after it had been blown open. The fourth column, under Major Reid, the constant and gallant defender of the Hindoo Rao's house, was formed of a detachment of British, his own Ghoorkas, and part of the Cashmere Contingent. They were to carry the suburb of Kishengunge, the enfilading battery under the Moree, and, if possible, the Lahore Gate. The fifth column, under Brigadier Longfield, formed the reserve. The whole force did not exceed 5,000 men.

Before daybreak the first three columns and the reserve moved down from the ridge towards Ludlow Castle and the Koodsia Bagh. Just before reaching the former, Nicholson marched to the left and Campbell to the right of Ludlow Castle, while Jones led his men into the jungles of the Koodsia Bagh. The whole then lay down under cover, while the 60th Rifles in advance took post in open order within musket-shot of the walls, their duty being to fire on the mutineers on the parapets of the curtain flanking the breaches. It was now seen that the enemy had improvised defences in the breaches during the night, and the batteries once more opened on them to clear away the obstructions, and to shake the courage of the Sepoys. The Rifles springing up with a cheer, and moving forward, was to be the signal for the batteries to cease firing, and for the columns to go in simultaneously. Presently the dark forms of the 60th rose from their cover; their cheering shouts were followed by the crack of their rifles; a burst of musketry from the walls replied with a steady vigour; the columns emerged, and each went as straight at the object before them as the ground would permit. With throbbing pulses, but firm, quick tramp, they swept along. So the columns closed with the enemy who had kept them at bay four months.

Nicholson's column, headed by the ladder party, which was led by the engineers, Medley, Lang, and Bingham, rushed towards the breach. But the mutineers shot closely and fast, and the party were so smitten on the edge of the ditch, that minutes elapsed before the ladders could be got down: at length the thing was done. Then the leaders and the stormers slid down the slope, planted the ladders against the scarp below the breach, and began to ascend. The enemy fought furiously and yelled furiously, and rolled down stones and sustained a terrific fire, and dared our men to come on. They got a speedy answer. Up went Lieutenant Fitzgerald, of the 75th, the first to mount, but he was instantly shot dead. But others followed fast, and seeing how resolute their assailants were, the enemy fled, and the breach was won. Swarming in, the column poured down into the main guard. They had assailed the proper right of the bastion. On the proper left was the famous Cashmere Gate, and here an exploit had been performed, which, for daring, ranks amongst the choicest exploits recorded in the history of war.

That exploit was the blowing in of the gate in broad daylight. The men ordered to perform this feat were the engineer officers, Lieutenants Home and Salkeld; the sapper sergeants, Carmichael, Burgess, and Smith, and Havildar Madhoo, with seven native sappers to carry powder-bags. With them went Robert Hawthorn, bugler of the 52nd, whose duty it was to sound the advance when the gate was blown in. Campbell's column, as we have seen, was lying down awaiting the signal. As soon as it was given, the explosion party started on their dreadful errand. Captain Medley has described the scene that ensued so well that we must quote from his pages. There was an outer barrier gate, which was found open. Through this went Home. Before him stretched a broken drawbridge spanning the ditch. Over its shattered timbers, accompanied by four natives, each carrying a bag of twenty-five pounds of powder, he went, and placed them at the foot of the great double gate. "So utterly paralysed were the enemy at the audacity of the proceeding that they only fired a few straggling shots, and made haste to close the wicket, with every appearance of alarm, so that Lieutenant Home, after laying his bags, jumped into the ditch unhurt. It was now Salkeld's turn. He also advanced with four other bags of powder, and a lighted port-fire. But the enemy had now recovered from their consternation, and had seen the smallness of the party, and the object of their approach. A deadly fire was poured upon the little band from the top of the gateway from both flanks, and from the open wicket not ten feet distant. Salkeld laid his bags, but was shot through the arm and leg, and fell back on the bridge, handing the port-fire to Sergeant Burgess, bidding him light the fusee. Burgess was instantly shot dead in the attempt. Sergeant Carmichael then advanced, took up the port-fire, and succeeded in the attempt; but immediately fell mortally wounded. Sergeant Smith, seeing him fall, advanced at a run; but, finding that the fusee was already burning, threw himself down into the ditch, where the bugler had already conveyed poor Salkeld. In another moment a terrific explosion shattered the massive gate."

Ere the roar of the powder had died away, the bugle of the steadfast Hawthorn rang out the well-known notes, which told his comrades to come on. Campbell gave the word, and the column, headed by the noble old 52nd, started forward. First went Captain Bayley and a company of the 52nd. These, rushing over the drawbridge, and through the gate, were quickly followed by fifty men from each battalion, and these by the whole force of the column. There was no resistance. The exploding powder had killed all the defenders of the gate but one, and he was soon despatched. As the men were forming afresh for work, down came Nicholson's column from the other side. So far the work had been well and quickly done. The second column in its advance on the Water Bastion breach had suffered great losses, three-fourths of the ladder-party falling, together with Greathed and Hovenden, the engineers. Part of the column, however, got in at the breach; but a large number straggled off to the right, and followed the track of Nicholson. Once inside, Campbell and Nicholson got their men into order. The work of the first was to clear the buildings near the Cashmere Gate, and then march straight forward upon the Chandni Chowk, having for object the possession of that High Street of Delhi, and the strong and lofty Jumma Musjid, which rose up just beyond it. The second undertook to sweep along the ramparts, capture in succession the Moree, Cabul, Burun, and Lahore Bastions, give admission to Reid's column, if it carried the suburbs, and, connecting with Campbell in the Chandni Chowk, press on to the Ajmere Gate. We must follow each column in turn.

Colonel Campbell's column, before it started inwards, cleared the cutchery, the church, and several houses, and sent a company into the Water Bastion, where the enemy still lingered. Then gathering up his men, and guided by Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, who knew every inch of the city, he made his way through the streets and gardens towards the Chandni Chowk. On the road the detached company, which had cleared the Water Bastion, rejoined the main body, having worked its way through the narrow streets from the waterside. The column met with little opposition. Working through the Begum Bagh, the column found the gate closed; but an adventurous native policeman, and half a dozen 52nd men, speedily broke open the gate, and the force emerged into the Chandni Chowk, and at once occupied the Kotwallee, or police-station. Then they tried the Jumina Musjid; but the enemy had closed the gate and bricked up the side arches. He had swarmed into the houses on each side, and his cavalry, even, were galloping about the streets. As Colonel Campbell had neither powder-bags nor guns, he could do nothing; so he fell back into the Begum Bagh under a smart fire. Here he waited some time, in the hope of seeing Reid's and Nicholson's men sweep up the Chandni Chowk from the Lahore Gate. They did not come; and he therefore relinquished the ground won, and fell back upon the church.

In the meantime, Nicholson had led his men along the Rampart Road, which runs the whole circuit of the city within the wall. He rapidly seized the Moree Bastion and the Cabul Gate, and was pressing on for the Lahore Gate, when the column met with a check. They had gone some distance, the 75th Foot in front, writes Mr. Cave Browne, when, "at a curve in the road, a gun in the Burun Bastion opened fire upon them. In the lane, too, was a slight breastwork with a brass gun to dispute the road; but this was soon withdrawn before the brisk fire of the 75th. Unhappily, no rush was made to capture it. The men in advance hesitated, and fell back to the Cabul Gate, with three officers--Captain Freer (of the 27th), Wadeson, and Darrell--wounded. Here Nicholson, who had mounted the Moree Bastion to reconnoitre the movements of the enemy outside, joined them, and found the aspect of affairs suddenly changed. In the lane, which had before been comparatively clear, one of the guns (originally placed at the Lahore Gate to sweep the Chandni Chowk) had now been run some distance down the lane, and another placed at the entrance to support it. The windows and roofs of the low houses on the left were also now swarming with riflemen; and where a short time before a vigorous rush might have cleared the almost empty lane, and taken the gun and carried the Lahore Gate in flank, with probably but little loss, now every inch of ground had to be fought, and the advance made in the face of a deadly fire from the field-piece, through the lane alive with a concealed foe. Nicholson saw the emergency, and resolved on recovering, if possible, the lost ground. He pushed on the 1st Fusiliers, who answered to his call right gallantly. One gun was taken and spiked; twice they rushed at the second. The grape ploughed through the lane, bullets poured down like hail from the walls and houses. Major Jobson fell mortally wounded at the head of his men; Captain Speke and Captain Greville were disabled; the men were falling fast--there was hesitation. Nicholson sprang forward, and while in the act of waving his sword to urge the men on once more--alas for the column, alas for the army, for India!--he fell back mortally wounded, shot through the chest by a rebel from a house window close by, and was carried off by two of the 1st Fusiliers. The command of the column devolved on Major Brookes, of the 75th Regiment, who, on Colonel Herbert's retiring wounded at the glacis, had taken command of that regiment. They now fell back on the Cabul Gate, which was for some time to be our advanced position. The delay had lost us the Lahore Gate and Nicholson."

It was this check which compelled the retreat of Campbell from the Begum Bagh, and of Ramsay, with his Ghoorkas from the Kotwallee, in the Chandni Chowk, a post he had held for five hours. By this time the reserve had entered the city, and Bourchier was bringing in his guns, when the aspect of affairs outside directed attention to that quarter.

The attempt to reach the Lahore Gate, by carrying the suburb in front of it, had failed. The Sepoys, who, as we have remarked, were not wanting in military qualities, had prepared for an attack on Kishengunge. Indeed, one reason for hurrying on the assault of Delhi was that they were known to be making a battery for seventeen guns in this quarter, with which to take in flank our whole line of batteries. So that when Major Reid, starting from the ridge, led his weak column from the Subzee Mundi towards the Kishengunge suburb, he found the gardens and houses full of troops, two or three breast-works in his path, plenty of guns, and several squadrons of horsemen hovering about on the watch for a chance. His troops were under the fire of the western bastions of the city, and artillerymen were so scarce that the three guns with him were under-manned. The column moved on, and came in contact with the enemy. The Cashmere Contingent, forming the right of the line, rushed prematurely into action, and ran as prematurely out of it. Their conduct obliged the handful of Rifles and Ghoorkas to precipitate their attack, and in the first onset they stormed the first line of the enemy's defences. But at this crisis, Major Reid, who had escaped scot-free in twenty-five actions, fell severely wounded in this his twenty-sixth; and the enemy, developing an immense force of all arms, Captain Muter, of the Rifles, who succeeded to the command, withdrew the whole column, covered by the fire of the ridge batteries.

This was a moment of real peril. If the victorious foe wheeled to his right, he might have swept along the line of the siege batteries, and fallen on the flank and rear of the assaulting columns. Or he might have tried to capture the ridge and camp. To prevent this, the cavalry performed a rare exploit in war. Brigadier Hope Grant, whose horsemen had been in the saddle since three in the morning, descended from the ridge with 600 sabres and lances and a few guns, led by the gallant Tombs, and rode under the city walls, so as to interpose between the assaulting troops and the enemy. "In an instant," writes Hodson, "horse artillery and cavalry were ordered to the front, and we went there at the gallop, bang through our own batteries, the gunners cheering us as we leapt over the sand-bags, etc., and halted under the Moree Bastion, under as heavy a fire of round-shot, grape, and canister, as I have ever been under in my life. Our artillery dashed to the front, unlimbered, and opened upon the enemy; and at it they both went, 'hammer and tongs.' Now, you must understand we had no infantry with us. All the infantry were fighting in the city. They sent out large bodies of infantry and cavalry against us, and then began the fire of musketry. It was tremendous. There we were--9th Lancer, 1st, 2nd, 4th Sikhs, Guide Cavalry, and Hodson's Horse--protecting the artillery, who were threatened by their infantry and cavalry. And fancy what a pleasant position we were in, under this infernal fire, and never returning a shot.... Well, all things must have an end. Some infantry came down and cleared the gardens in our front; and, as their cavalry never showed, and we had no opportunity of charging, we fell back, and (the fire being over in that quarter) halted and dismounted."

When the evening of the 14th arrived we had made a lodgment in Delhi. We held the ramparts from the Cabul Gate, along the north front, to the Jumna. We held the church and the college, and several houses. The palace, the magazine, the Selimghur, the great gardens, the Jumma Musjid--four-fifths of the city--were still in the hands of the enemy. To win what we had won had cost the little army 66 officers and 1,104 men killed and wounded--nearly a third of the whole force engaged! The position gained was fortified, and preparations were made for pushing on the work next day. But, unhappily, the troops found plenteous stores of liquor, and, demoralised by prolonged labour, with systems exhausted by the burning climate, they drank without stint, and on the night of the 14th and the morning of the 15th the Sepoys might have driven the helpless host out of the place. General Wilson was so alarmed that he talked of retreating to the ridge! Happily there were firmer minds about him, and he had sense enough to take their advice, and hold on. Nicholson's voice pealed up from his death-bed against the madness of the thought, the bare mention of which raised a storm of anger in our lines. To put a stop to intoxication, General Wilson sent a party into the warehouses to destroy every bottle of beer, wine, or spirits that could be found. It was done, and the army was saved at the expense of the sick and wounded, who needed the stimulants poured out in waste in the cellars of Delhi.

Once rescued from drunkenness, the troops steadily carried out their arduous enterprise, and at the end of six days Delhi was ours. On the 16th the walls of the magazine were breached, and the 4th Punjabees and Beloochees, going in with the bayonet, drove out or killed the defenders. The enemy, losing courage, withdrew from Kishengunge, and the Ghoorkas replaced them. On the 17th the Delhi Bank House was carried, and a mortar battery planted to bombard the palace. All this time the enemy kept up a heavy fire from every point of vantage; but this did not prevent us from making progress. On the 18th the Burun Bastion was taken by surprise, and the Rifles had sapped their way through the houses up to the palace, the main gate of which was now exposed to a severe cannonade. The people and the Sepoys were now hurrying out of the city on all sides. Hosts of women had passed through our lines towards our camp, guarded by our soldiers, for we did not make war on women. There were signs that the palace had been deserted, and, rushing in, the troops found only a few fanatics inside, and these soon received the death they sought. On the 20th we were in entire possession of the city, every large building and fortified post having been taken or abandoned.

But the King of Delhi, the descendant of Timur--the man around whom insurrection would gather its thousands--had not been taken. With the blood-stained princes of his house, he had found refuge in the Tomb of Humayoun, and the ruins of old Delhi. Hodson, who always saw into the heart of the business in hand, now felt that without the capture of the king, the capture of Delhi would be shorn of half its fruit. He therefore implored the general to allow him to take a body of his horse, and bring in the king, on the sole condition that his life should be spared if he surrendered. Wilson was obdurate. He did not want to be "bothered" with the king and the princes. He could not spare European troops, and so on. Neville Chamberlain threw the weight of his counsel into Hodson's scale, and again the words of Nicholson were forthcoming on the same side. The general gave way. He gave Hodson authority to spare the life of the king, but he declined to be responsible for the enterprise. Hodson selected fifty troopers from his Horse. The ruins were swarming with townspeople and the followers of the king. The peril was very great. Here was one white man; he had fifty faithful swordsmen with him; around him were a host of natives, chiefly Moslems. But he did not hesitate, and the king surrendered. The march towards the city began--the longest five miles, as Captain Hodson said, that he ever rode; for of course the palkees only went at a foot pace, with his handful of men around them, followed by thousands, any one of whom could have shot him down in a moment. His orderly said that it was wonderful to see the influence which his calm and undaunted look had on the crowd. They seemed perfectly paralysed at the fact of one white man (for they thought nothing of his fifty black sowars) carrying off their king alone. Gradually as they approached the city the crowd slunk away, and very few followed up to the Lahore Gate.

This adventure was followed by one still more striking, more tragic--the capture and summary execution of the felon princes. Again the general had to be entreated earnestly to permit their capture. Having obtained permission, Hodson called up his lieutenant, Macdowell, and ordered him to bring a hundred men. They set out about eight in the morning of the 21st, and arriving at the Tomb, the troopers were so posted as to invest the huge building, in which were several thousands of armed men. In spite of this support the princes surrendered. Writes Macdowell, recounting the story to a friend, "As we got about a mile off, Hodson turned to me and said, 'Well, Mac, we've got them at last;' and we both gave a sigh of relief. Never in my life, under the heaviest fire, have I been in such imminent danger. Everybody says it is the most dashing and daring thing that has been done for years (not on my part, for I merely obeyed orders; but on Hodson's, who planned and carried it out). Well, I must finish my story. We came up to the princes, now about five miles from where we had taken them, and close to Delhi. The increasing crowd pressed close on the horses of the sowars, and assumed every moment a more hostile appearance. 'What shall we do with them?' said Hodson to me. 'I think we had better shoot them here; we shall never get them in.' There was no time to be lost; we halted the troop, put five troopers across the road, behind and in front. Hodson ordered the princes to strip (that is, to take off their upper garments), and get again into the cart; he then shot them with his own hand. So ended the career of the chiefs of the revolt, and of the greatest villains that ever shamed humanity. Before they were shot, Hodson addressed our men, explaining who they were, and why they were to suffer death. The effect was marvellous--the Mussulmans seemed struck with a wholesome idea of retribution, and the Sikhs shouted with delight, while the mass moved off slowly and silently." The bodies were taken into the city, and flung down in the Chandni Chowk, in front of the Kotwallee, the very place where, four months before, they had exposed the bodies of our countrywomen whom they had slain! Our soldiers looked on this as poetic justice. To the Sikhs it had a deeper significance. Two hundred years before, the great King Aurungzebe, a fanatical Moslem, as intolerant as an inquisitor, had cut off the head of the Sikh prophet, Tej Singh, and had caused his body to be thrown on that very spot. Here, also, had come retribution for them, and the awful fulfilment of one of their cherished prophecies. There lay three scions of the hated house of Timur, on the public way. Hodson, who had fulfilled their desire of vengeance, and who had done rough justice at the same time, at once rose tenfold in their estimation.

Delhi captured, the king in captivity, the Sepoy army routed, broken, demoralised--and all without any aid from England--the back of the mutiny in the North-West was broken. This was the work of Lawrence, and Edwardes, and Montgomery, and the able men who were their assistants. That Delhi did not fall a moment too soon is shown by the fact that, contemporaneously with its fall, a rebellion broke out in Gogaira, the country lying between Mooltan and Lahore, a wilderness inhabited by predatory tribes. Nearly two months were occupied in quenching this fresh flame; but long before that the road to Mooltan was cleared. The incident itself showed what combustible material was scattered over the Punjab. Had Delhi not been taken, there would have been perhaps a general revolt. As it was, the "good fortune" of the British filled the people with awe and admiration, for nothing succeeds like success, especially in Asia. The name of Sir John Lawrence, always powerful in the Punjab, was now more powerful than ever. All doubt of our might disappeared, and recruits to any amount were forthcoming at the slightest hint that men were wanted. But this supremacy had not been reasserted without measures of extreme severity. No mercy was shown anywhere to mutineers or rebels. All caught in the act were hanged or blown from guns. The only justification for this sweeping destruction of life is the old one--necessity. It was their lives or ours. Sometimes, no doubt, men were killed who may have been innocent, but on the whole, considering the peril of the hour, justice was done.

Once established in Delhi, it became of the utmost importance to clear the Doab, or country between the Jumna and Ganges, as far as Agra, and re-open communications with Calcutta by way of Cawnpore. It was reported everywhere that we had been foiled at Delhi, and that the Padishah was still a great king. Ocular and tangible proof of the contrary was required, and on the 22nd a column 2,790 strong, with sixteen guns, traversed Delhi, crossed the Jumna, and emerged into the purer air of the open country. The whole were under Colonel Greathed. Crossing the Hindon by the suspension bridge, the scene of Wilson's first successes, the force swept round to the right, and marched on Bolundshuhur. Here a smart action ensued; but in three hours the enemy was routed, driven through the town, and his guns were captured. Crossing the Kalee Nuddee, it was found that Walidad Khan, the rebel chief, had fled from Malaghur across the Ganges. The fort was blown up, but in that operation Lieutenant Home, who had earned the Victoria Cross by his exploits at the Cashmere Gate of Delhi, was accidentally killed. Marching on, the column did justice on the road upon well-known and flagrant offenders, and had passed Alighur, when expresses came from Agra demanding instant help. For 10,000 mutineers from Delhi and elsewhere were moving from Dholpore upon Agra, and Colonel Fraser, who had succeeded Mr. Colvin, had got alarmed beyond measure.

Greathed put his troops in motion at once, and on the 10th of October, after two forced marches, filed over the Jumna, passed through Agra, and pitched his camp on the other side. His wearied soldiers little thought they were on the very threshold of a battle. He had been told that the enemy had retreated. So much for the intelligence of Colonel Fraser. A crowd of sight seers followed the soldiers to the Native Infantry parade ground, a fine open plain. Many of the troops went to sleep immediately, and officers rode off to see friends in the fort. Few tents were up, the baggage was coming in, when suddenly a round shot crashed through the camp; then another, and finally a salvo from twelve guns. The sight-seers fled at the first gun; but the war-worn and war-trained troops sprang to arms with admirable alacrity, turning out with such clothes as they had on. The enemy had surprised the camp, but he was surprised in turn, for our artillery soon answered his fire; our infantry and horse were promptly in motion. The whole force closed with the enemy, and delivered such stunning blows that he fled nine miles, almost without a halt to breathe. On his track, swift and sharp, were the horse batteries and cavalry. This splendid little action relieved Agra. After resting three days, a rest well deserved, the column, now under Hope Grant, moved out for Cawnpore, which it reached on the 26th of October.

The Punjab army had thus sent help towards, instead of receiving aid from, Calcutta. Matters had greatly changed in this quarter since we left Havelock a victor at Bithoor in August; and how the change had been brought about we must now narrate. The reader will remember that we left the small garrison of Lucknow beleaguered in its extemporised lines by the rebel force of Oude; and that we narrated the first campaign of Havelock to relieve the garrison, and its failure. The result of that campaign simply enabled us to recover Cawnpore, and to show the mutineers that we had still power to rout them in the open field; and this was an immense gain at that time. We have now to recount the story of the defence of the Lucknow Residency and its various outposts, and then to show how the noble garrison was first succoured by Havelock and Outram, and finally rescued by Sir Colin Campbell.

The defeat of the British forces at Chinhut, the abandonment of the Muchee Bowun, the defection of all but a few hundreds of the native troops, the suddenness of the disaster, created great confusion. The position occupied consisted of a number of buildings around the Residency. The defences begun early in June were still incomplete. There were large gaps at vital points. The engineers had been permitted to level only a few of the surrounding houses, and this only on the north side facing the river. Hence the enemy, as soon as he closed around, was able to occupy the near houses, and from these, as well as from the more distant buildings, the vast palaces and stronger houses, to open at once, and maintain almost without intermission, a terrible fire of shot, shell, and musketry. Consequently, the defences had to be completed under fire; and had the enemy shown the least courage, he might have stormed in at more than one point; but, strong in numbers, he was weak in bravery, and he feared to grapple at close quarters, even with the few hundreds encircled by his fire. The position occupied was a piece of table land, on the crown of which stood the Residency. The ground fell sharply towards the river, and all along the northern face ran a low rampart, eked out with sand-bags, and having a ditch in front. The north-eastern and eastern fronts consisted of lines of buildings connected by barricades and banks of earth. Here were the hospital, the Treasury, the Bailey Guard, a strong gateway well banked up with earth, Dr. Fayrer's house and enclosures, the Financial Garrison House and wall, Sago's house, and Anderson's house, which was entrenched and formed the south-eastern angle of the position. Then, looking south, came the Cawnpore Battery, so named because it swept the Cawnpore Road. From this point the line of available buildings trended in a westerly direction, until the house of Mr. Gubbins was reached. This was made by that energetic civil servant into a very strong post at the eleventh hour. The western face of the position was the series of houses connected with the north face by an entrenchment running along the brow of the high land on that side. Within the outer line were inner posts, some of which commanded those in front, and at suitable points batteries were constructed and armed with guns. Nevertheless, it was soon found that there were few spots into which the projectiles of the enemy did not make way. In fact the whole position was encircled by hosts of foes, who, from batteries placed within a hundred yards, from houses still nearer, from the roofs and upper storeys of the lofty and more distant palaces on the east, kept up an incessant hail of shot.

The garrison consisted of the men of the 32nd Foot, under Brigadier Inglis, portions of the 13th and 48th Native Infantry, some Sikhs of the 71st, many officers of the mutinied regiments, the civil servants of the East India Company, and several merchants: in all 1,692 men, of whom 765 were natives. The force of the assailants varied in numbers. Always formidable, never less than 30,000 men, the nucleus of whom were the Oude Sepoys, the number sometimes rose to 100,000. Chiefs came in from the country districts, bringing their retainers, stayed as long as they deemed expedient, and went away. Then Havelock's advance drew off a portion of the investing force for a long period. Nevertheless, the active operations of the siege went on without cessation for nearly four months. The investment all this time was so strictly maintained that until after the arrival of Outram and Havelock in September, only one messenger, Ungud by name, was able to go out with despatches and return.

Within the first week of the siege the enemy had established batteries on every side. He had also manned the houses. The round shot and shell brought down the walls of the larger buildings, and the bullets fell in every part of the place like rain. It was only by keeping close under shelter that any one escaped. In some spots balls fell so thickly that soldiers and officers crossing the space on duty, were obliged to run at speed. Many refused to run, and of these not a few fell, sacrificed to an excessive spirit of honour. It was this perpetual fire, and not the assaults of the enemy, that caused the greatest losses. The brave men among the besiegers were few. They would lead an assault and fall, and then, instead of pressing the charge home, their companions would run back to the first cover. Strict watch had to be kept night and day, and the sentries would often fire at anything mistaken for a dark form. At night the garrison were compelled, not only to repair damages, but to bury the dead, and not only the dead bodies of their comrades, and of women and children, but of the cattle and horses--the latter at first numerous--that fell under the enemy's fire. They had to cook their own food, for there were few servants in the lines, and their food soon became scanty. Fortunately they had an abundance of guns and an immense supply of ammunition. They had, also, the one thing needful--a stoutness of heart that never failed, a determination to perish rather than yield. Even the sick soldiers came out of hospital of their own accord, looking like ghosts of men, and when reproved and ordered back again, nobly replied, "Well, sir, in these times a man must do his best." The ladies and women shared in the labours and the dangers, ready to cook for the strong, and to attend on the sick; and the virtues of the tender sex never shone out more brightly than in this siege.

Up to the 20th of July the enemy contented himself with keeping up an incessant fire of cannon and musketry, to which with musketry and cannon we replied. They had been busy underground. They had begun to mine. Their first effort was against the Redan. On the morning of the 20th they sprang their mine, but it did no harm. "As soon as the smoke had cleared away," writes Brigadier Inglis in his famous report, "the enemy boldly advanced under cover of a tremendous fire of cannon and musketry, with the object of storming the Redan; but they were received with such a heavy fire, that after a short struggle they fell back with much loss. A strong column advanced at the same time to attack Innes' post, and came on to within ten yards of the palisades, affording to Lieutenant Loughnan--13th Native Infantry, who commanded the position--and his brave garrison, composed of gentlemen of the uncovenanted service, a few of her Majesty's 32nd Foot and the 13th Native Infantry, an opportunity of distinguishing themselves, which they were not slow to avail themselves of, and the enemy were driven back with great slaughter. The insurgents made minor attacks at almost every outpost, but were invariably defeated; and at two p.m. they ceased their attempts to storm the place, although their musketry fire and cannonading continued to harass us unceasingly as usual."

The action thus described was a very severe one. The enemy, in more than one place, got close under the defences, and some among our volunteers, especially the half-castes, engaged in a war of insults with the enemy, in which our own Sepoys joined. The defenders were few, the assailants many, but in no place did the latter penetrate the lines. After this struggle the old state of things recurred,--a ceaseless cannonade and fusilade, constant deaths and wounds, sleepless watchfulness. Day after day passed with a horrible monotony, varied only by the deaths of friends. Still the garrison kept up its courage, and stood ever ready to fight. The besiegers were again at work underground, and we had begun to countermine, doing considerable damage to the works of the enemy. But on the 10th of August they fired a mine on the south side, which entirely destroyed the defences of the place for the space of twenty feet, and blew in a wall, forming a breach "through which a regiment could have advanced in perfect order." Another mine was sprung on the east side, and a general attack commenced. A few went gallantly up to the first breach, but fell under a flank fire. On the eastern side some ran up under the walls, and laid hold of the bayonets through the loopholes: these were soon shot down. Another party attacked the Cawnpore Battery. They rushed on with fixed bayonets and trailed arms. They dashed through the stockade, and reached the mound in front of the inner ditch; but no farther; the fire in front and flank was too sharp and telling; the leading men all fell. Again and again the chiefs cried, "Come on, the place is taken!" but those who obeyed were soon driven back. About a hundred got under the Cawnpore Battery, carrying ladders; but a few hand grenades, dropped among them, sent them flying.

In these encounters the enemy lost immense numbers, the killed alone on the 10th amounting to 470 men, by the admission of the natives themselves. "On the 18th of August," says the brigadier's report, "the enemy sprang another mine in front of the Sikh lines with very fatal effect. Captain Orr, Lieutenants Mecham and Soppitt, who commanded the small body of drummers composing the garrison, were blown into the air; but providentially returned to earth with no further injury than a severe shaking. The garrison, however, were not so fortunate. No less than eleven men were buried alive under the ruins, whence it was impossible to extricate them, owing to the tremendous fire kept up by the enemy from houses situated not ten yards in front of the breach. The explosion was followed by a general assault of a less determined nature than the two former efforts, and the enemy were consequently repulsed without much difficulty. But they succeeded, under cover of the breach, in establishing themselves in one of the houses in our position, from which they were driven in the evening by the bayonets of her Majesty's 32nd and 84th Foot." The enemy made one more serious assault, this time on the 5th of September. He sprang two mines in succession, and strove to storm into the place. He brought up scaling ladders, and tried to mount, but could not stand against the fire of musketry and the explosion of hand grenades. On this, as on other occasions, he was routed with immense slaughter.

But these actions were not what the garrison had most to dread. The glory of the defence did not lie in these fierce combats, but in the unfaltering fortitude which enabled all to bear the incessant fire, the daily losses, the horrid stench, the ever-present dread of mines, the absence of the common conveniences of life, the want of a knowledge of the events occurring in the outer world, the fear lest all the natives should desert. The unceasing cannonade knocked down the walls, and tore through and through some of the buildings. It seemed as if, by sheer force of heavy shot, the enemy would level the defences in one common ruin. But it is astonishing what an amount of cannonading a clump of well-built houses will bear. The enemy, fortunately, did not possess a good supply of shells, so that the arrival of these destructive missiles was comparatively rare. We had shells, but no howitzer to fire them from, and to supply this want, Lieutenant Bonham ingeniously rigged a carriage for a mortar. It was called "the ship," and did good service in horizontal shell firing. The history of the mining operations is not the least remarkable. The enemy was ever employed in digging and mining all round the place, and hence we were compelled to countermine. Shafts were sunk and galleries run out in the direction of the enemy's mines, that direction being discovered by close observation above, and intense listening under, ground. In this very severe work the Sikhs and Hindostanees behaved extremely well. As there was more skill in the garrison than in the rebel army, so the former were more fortunate in their mines.

The eloquent report of Brigadier Inglis contains at once the most authentic and most touching account of the sufferings and endurance of this illustrious garrison, and we cannot do better than quote it. After a description of the mining operations, he says--"The whole of the officers and men have been on duty night and day during the eighty-seven 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 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 our fatigues 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; all have together handled the shovel for the interment of the putrid bullock; 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 the 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 fight for the lives which Providence had entrusted 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 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 native servants to desert; but the intelligence derived from such sources was, of course, entirely untrustworthy. We sent messengers daily, calling for aid and asking for information, none of whom ever returned, until the twenty-sixth 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 in 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 thirty-five 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 September 25th. 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 entirely able to get over.... 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 seemed 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."

Sir Colin Campbell had just arrived in Calcutta. When the news of General Anson's death reached London, the name of only one man occurred to the Duke of Cambridge, as that of a soldier fit to restore to us an empire in the East. By a sort of instinct, in moments of real peril, nations select their commanders; and when the Duke of Cambridge sent for Sir Colin Campbell, he only anticipated the national choice of a fit leader. The scene at the Horse Guards was characteristic. The Duke offered the command of the Indian army to the veteran who but a few months before was simply a colonel. Sir Colin accepted the appointment, and when he was asked how soon he would be ready to start, he replied--in four-and-twenty hours. He was as good as his word, and embarking for India at once, arrived in Calcutta on the 13th of August, two months and a half after the death of Anson. But the army he was to command was slowly steaming and sailing round the Cape of Good Hope. The French Emperor had offered to our Government free passage for troops through France, but we had not become so humiliated as a nation as to be in a position to accept that offer, and for the same reason Lord Palmerston rejected the proffered assistance of Belgium from full confidence that Britain "could win off her own bat." Many persons urged the Government to send the Indian reinforcements through Egypt as if Egypt were our own. Had the Government done so, a doubtful precedent would have been set, one that might have provoked unpleasant relations with certain Continental Powers. Therefore the Government wisely sent the troops by the sea route, even though in doubling the Cape an amount of time would be inevitably consumed that could hardly be spared.

As soon as he heard of Sir Colin's arrival, Havelock reported to him, and begged that he might be reinforced. The Indian Government, however, had taken the unusual step of superseding Havelock by Sir James Outram, and left the former to learn his supersession from the columns of the Calcutta Gazette. Havelock felt this keenly, but he was a good soldier, and did not complain. His friends supplied the required amount of indignation, and his biographers, from excusable motives, have not failed to censure the Government. It cannot, however, be contended that there was anything unfit in placing over Havelock the man under whom he had so recently served in Persia.

The position of Havelock at Cawnpore was one of great peril; enemies were accumulating all around him. There was a mutinous force at Futtehpore; the Gwalior Contingent, kept inactive by the skill of Scindia and his able Minister, Dinkur Rao, nevertheless threatened to move on Calpee. The Oude insurgents had occupied the abandoned position at Mungulwar, and scouring the left bank of the Ganges, threatened to strike at his line of communications with Allahabad. Agra, it must be remembered, was beset. Delhi, it should be borne in mind, had not been taken; indeed, Nicholson had only just entered the camp with the movable column. Central India was ablaze with mutiny. To hold Cawnpore we had not more than 1,000 men. Deducting the force required to guard an entrenched position covering the point of passage over the river, and a hundred men sent down the Ganges in a steamer to destroy the boats collected on the Oude bank for an inroad into the Doab at Futtehpore, Havelock could only muster 685 Europeans. Thus it was impossible that he could act in the field. Indeed, at the end of August he was forced to contemplate the fatal step of retreating on Allahabad, unless he were speedily reinforced.

But these reinforcements did not arrive very quickly. As soon as he assumed command, Sir Colin Campbell requested General Outram to push on the 5th and 90th from Behar to Allahabad, together with all the detachments available, as fast as possible. The 90th had no sooner started than the civilians called them back. Then Koer Singh reappeared in the field, and part of the troops destined for Cawnpore had to be detained to watch and counteract him. Moreover, Sir James Outram conceived a new plan of campaign--a march up the Gogra or Goomtee, combined with the advance of Havelock from Cawnpore, instead of the dash of a single column from Cawnpore on Lucknow. To this both Sir Colin and Lord Canning were opposed. And when Sir James Outram heard that Havelock could not hold Cawnpore unless reinforced he gave up his own views at once, and set his face towards Cawnpore. At the same time he apprised Havelock of his approach, and told his old comrade in arms that he would not supersede him. "I shall join you with reinforcements," so ran his message; "but to you shall be left the glory of relieving Lucknow, for which you have already struggled so much. I shall accompany you as civil commissioner, placing my military service at your disposal, should you please, serving under you as a volunteer." Well might Sir Colin Campbell say, "Seldom, perhaps never, has it occurred to a Commander-in-Chief to publish and confirm such an order."

Outram's column had reached Aong, the scene of one of Havelock's victories, when news arrived that a force from Oude had crossed the Ganges, the forerunner of a regular irruption, intent on interrupting our communications. Sir James saw at once how necessary it would be to put a stop to that, and he detached Major Eyre at the head of 150 men, two guns, and forty native troopers, under Captain Johnson and Lieutenant Charles Havelock, to attack the invaders. Eyre put his infantry on elephants, and, making a rapid march, came upon the enemy at daybreak. Detaching his horsemen, to keep them in play, and urging on his elephants, he found that the enemy had fled to his boats, and that the cavalry were gallantly engaging him and holding him to the shore. The infantry went briskly into action and the guns were brought to bear. The Oude men were smitten with terror, and bundling into the river tried to escape by swimming. So deadly was the fire of grape and musketry that only three men out of the host succeeded in recrossing the Ganges. This was a deadly blow and left a deep impression. Another body had come over, four miles above, and Eyre at once turned upon them; but they had got news of the slaughter of their comrades, and before Eyre could strike them, they had swept back into Oude. Eyre then made a forced march and joined Sir James at Futtehpore.

To this swift and sharp blow the Lower Doab was indebted for future security. The Oude borderers did not again get within reach by attempting to molest the roads in our rear. Sir James Outram reached Cawnpore on the evening of the 15th, and with him came the last of the reinforcements. The two chiefs now had all the men they could possibly obtain. Brigadier Inglis had named the 21st of September as the day he could hold out to. There was no time to be lost. Indeed, Havelock had already begun to take measures for the reconstruction of his bridge of boats. The bridge was established in three days, the enemy watching the operation supinely from Mungulwar. Leaving 400 men to guard the entrenchment at Cawnpore, Havelock on the 19th crossed the Ganges with 3,179 men and 18 guns, confident that, if he arrived in time, he should save the noble Lucknow garrison. The heavy guns and stores for thirteen days were carried over the bridge on the 20th, and on the 21st the army began its march in two brigades, the first under General Neill, the second under Colonel Hamilton, of the 78th.

The progress of the force was far more rapid than that of Havelock when he first crossed into Oude. Moving upon Mungulwar, he found the enemy posted there with six guns. Mindful of former defeats, the enemy made no stand, and being started from cover by the infantry and guns, were chased by Outram with the Volunteer Horse as far as Busserutgunge, where two guns, much ammunition, and a standard were captured. The whole force came up the same night, and slept on the scene of Havelock's three brilliant combats. The next day the troops marched fifteen miles. They found the bridge over the Sye unbroken and they encamped on the opposite bank. On the 23rd, ten miles from the Sye, they found the enemy in position at the Alumbagh. This was a large park or garden, devised as a pleasaunce for one of the favourite wives of a former King of Oude. The park was enclosed by a wall, with turrets at each angle; it was entered by a handsome gateway and contained a large palace.

The enemy had brought up 10,000 men, including 1,500 horse from Lucknow, and supported them with many guns. Part of his front was covered by a morass, his centre stood across the road, and his left was in the Alumbagh. In order to get at him, the whole column had to move along his front under fire, having the water of the swamp between it and the foe. But when once this obstacle was surmounted, and it became possible to open with heavy guns, both artillery and cavalry fell away to the rear in confusion. One gun alone remained. Its gunners were gallant well-trained regulars, and they went through their work without flinching. Suddenly a little band of horse swept down upon them and, closing in, cut them down. It was Lieutenant Johnson and his native irregulars. He was now more than half a mile in front of our line, and of course could not keep the gun, but the enemy did not go near it again. However he put two pieces into the Alumbagh, making holes in the wall, to serve as embrasures. This stood the foe in no stead, for the 5th Foot charged him, and drove him out of the garden and palace. We captured five guns, and pressed the enemy back upon Lucknow, with the Volunteer Horse at his heels.

Havelock was now in actual contact with the assailants of the garrison in Lucknow. He was within sight of the goal he had done so much to reach. It had been comparatively easy to defeat the enemy in the open field. The task of breaking into Lucknow, through its tortuous lanes and mighty buildings, was far more arduous. It had to be undertaken with resolution, but also very circumspectly: it was needful to temper daring with craft.

The 24th was spent by the generals in devising a plan of attack. First, it was wisely proposed to hold the Alumbagh, which thus served as an intermediate base of operations. It was highly defensible, and plentifully supplied with water. All the baggage was to be deposited here, and a garrison of 250 men, under Colonel M'Intyre, was entrusted with the defence. The next step--the choice of a route into Lucknow--was more difficult. One plan was to force the Charbagh Bridge, and to cut a passage to the Residency along the Cawnpore road. This plan was at once abandoned because the route which the column would have to take lay through the heart of the city, and because every yard presented an obstacle. Another plan was to move the whole column to the right, seize the Delkoosha Palace and park, and, under cover of its excellent defences, bridge the Goomtee, throw the column over, and sweeping up the left bank of the river, capture the iron bridge, and so release the garrison.

The actual plan adopted was a compromise between the two. It was resolved that the Charbagh Bridge should be carried, but that, instead of pushing forward into the city, the column should wheel to the right, and fight its way through the palaces and large houses lying to the east of the Residency. There is reason to believe that the second plan would have been adopted, as the safer and less costly in life, but it would have taken some days to execute it, and the latest communications from Brigadier Inglis painted the dangers of the garrison from mines, and the possible defection of the native troops, in such colours, that the idea was abandoned and the deadlier project adopted. Havelock determined to take with him his heavy guns, and well it was that he did so. Therefore, leaving in Alumbagh, including the sick and wounded, about 400 men, the force paraded on the 25th to fight its way into Lucknow.

The troops moved off between eight and nine. First went a brigade of infantry, followed by the guns, under Sir James Outram; then the remainder of the infantry, under Havelock himself. As soon as the skirmishers had passed the picket the column came under fire. But, in spite of this fire, on it swept; and, led by Captain Maude, the artillery got through, but with a loss of a third of the men. On the right was a large garden called the Charbagh, on the left clusters of enclosures, in front the bridge over the canal. The enemy had planted a battery of six guns to defend the bridge, and had filled all the neighbouring houses with infantry. Meeting the storm of shot at a turn in the road, the troops were ordered to lie down until the guns could be got into position. But the narrowness of the road did not enable our artillery captains to place more than two upon it, and with these two Maude contended with six. In order to bring a flank fire to bear on the bridge, Outram led a body of infantry into the Charbagh. The unequal artillery combat continued. Maude's gunners fell rapidly; infantry soldiers replaced them. General Neill, now leading the first brigade, listened anxiously for the sound of Outram's musketry. All was silent in the Charbagh. Feeling that this protracted artillery duel would not help them into Lucknow, Neill resolved to carry the bridge with the bayonet. The word had scarcely been given ere Lieutenant Arnold and a few of the Madras Fusiliers charged on to the bridge. With them went Colonel Tytler and Lieutenant Henry Havelock. The first blast of the enemy's grape swept them all down, Havelock excepted. For a moment he was seen standing alone on the bridge, a target for scores of muskets, waving his sword, and calling to the Madras Fusiliers. The next moment they were with him. With a loud cheer the Fusiliers dashed over the bridge, and bayoneted the gunners at their pieces before they had time to load again. Thus was the bridge of the Charbagh won. Sir James Outram and his men appeared on the bank of the canal just as the guns were captured.

Now the whole column rolled over the bridge. As if they were about to storm along the Cawnpore road, the 78th moved up the street, contending with the enemy in the houses, and occupied its outlet. But this was only a feint. To the surprise of the Sepoys the main column wheeled to the right, and disappeared from view. The baggage followed in a steady stream. Enraged at being thus foiled, the enemy, seeing the Highlanders without support, turned upon them. For three hours the gallant 78th kept the street against all odds. They held the houses at a point where two roads met. When the enemy became too audacious, they sallied out and scared him away. When he brought up two guns, the 78th dashed out of the houses and captured the guns, a feat which won for Captain Macpherson the Victoria Cross. The surgeon of the regiment, Macmaster, was to be seen nobly doing his duties under the hottest fire, and a Cross was granted to him also. At length the last waggon passed over the bridge. Young Havelock, who had been charged with the safety of the convoy, was now shot in the arm, just as he had ordered the 78th to withdraw.

Once through that fiery passage of the Charbagh Bridge, the column went on between the canal and the city with comparative ease, for the enemy's defences had been turned. The interval of comparative quiet was the hour occupied by the march of the main column from the bridge through the tortuous lanes as far as the building known as the Motee Munzil. On approaching this, the column moved to the left, facing westward towards the Residency; and the enemy, massed in the Kaiserbagh, a vast palace of the Kings of Oude, and in the houses, catching sight of our troops, opened a tremendous fire. Eyre brought his heavy guns to bear on the enemy's battery at the gate of the Kaiserbagh, and twice compelled the gunners to flee within the gate; while our troops and trains got under cover in the walled passages and buildings. Halting for a time, to wait for the 78th and the Volunteer Horse, the force moved once more, and crossing a narrow bridge partially under fire, they plunged into the Chutter Munzil and Furhut Buksh Palaces, out of the storm.

In the meantime the 78th and the horsemen, guided by the sound of the guns, had, on reaching a point where two roads met, quitted the track of the main body, and boldly advanced along a cross lane leading directly to the gate of the Kaiserbagh. Here they came suddenly on the flank of the enemy's battery, which they stormed at once, driving the foe into the palace. Spiking the largest gun, they pressed on and came up with the main body in the palaces above-mentioned. Here they found the whole body in great confusion, and here for a moment there was a pause.

For the generals were debating the important question whether they should rest there for the night, or push on. Outram was for halting; Havelock for completing the work that night. Little more than a quarter of a mile intervened between the troops and the Bailey Guard. The garrison were eagerly expecting them, for the watchers had seen officers in shooting-jackets and men in sun helmets, and European soldiers coming towards them, and trembled with the near prospect of deliverance. The distance, though so short, was every inch under fire. But at length Outram consented. The troops formed up, the generals rode forth at their head, the Highlanders and Sikhs leading the column; and giving a loud cheer, they dashed through an archway into the main street which led to the Bailey Guard Gate. The enemy occupied the windows and roofs of the houses on each side, and poured forth a torrent of fire. The road was cut by deep trenches, so that the artillery had to seek another road, but neither musketry nor trenches could stop that column. It was while seeing that the rear was properly brought up that Neill was shot by a party of the enemy through the ceiling of the archway under which the whole column had passed. No man who fell was more regretted. But the work had been done. Lucknow was relieved.

The garrison had seen the advance of that noble column; seen the Highlanders and Sikhs charge up the main street at a rapid pace, loading, shouting, firing as they stormed along; and almost before a cheer could be raised, Outram rode up, and dismounted at the embrasure of Aitken's Battery, near the Bailey Guard Gate. "Nothing," writes Mr. Gubbins, "could exceed their [the soldiers'] enthusiasm. The Highlanders stopped every one they met, and with repeated questions and exclamations of 'Are you one of them?'--'God bless you!'--'We thought to have found only your bones,' bore them back towards Dr. Fayrer's house, into which the general had entered. Here a scene of thrilling interest presented itself. The ladies of that garrison, with their children, had assembled in the most intense anxiety and excitement under the porch outside, when the Highlanders approached. Rushing forward, the rough and bearded warriors shook the ladies by the hand, amidst loud and repeated gratulations. They took the children up in their arms, and fondly caressing them, passed them from one to another to be caressed in turn; and then, when the first burst of enthusiasm and excitement was over, they mournfully turned to speak among themselves of the heavy loss which they had suffered, and to inquire the names of the numerous comrades who had fallen on the way. It is quite impossible to describe the scene within the entrenchment that evening. We had received no post, nor any but the smallest scrap of news, for 113 days since the date of the outbreak at Cawnpore. All had relatives and friends to inquire after, whose fate they were ignorant of, and were eager to learn. Many had brothers, friends, or relatives in the relieving force, whom they were anxiously seeking. Every one wished for news of the outer world, of Delhi, Agra, Calcutta, and of England. Everybody was on foot. All the thoroughfares were thronged; and new faces were every moment appearing of friends which one had least expected to see."

It was the Sikhs and Highlanders who had carved out a road to the Residency by the main street. The remainder of the column, with all the guns except two, were guided by Lieutenant Moorsom--a brave and accomplished young soldier--along streets and lanes that turned some of the Sepoy defences, and brought them to the place with little loss. At the same time, Lieutenant Aitken, with some of the faithful Sepoys of the 13th Native Infantry, sallying forth, materially aided the progress of the guns, and secured a parallel route to the Chutter Munzil. The loss of Havelock's force, since it crossed the Ganges on the 19th of September, was 535 killed and wounded. Thus Lucknow was relieved at the cost of a sixth of the little band that had started from Cawnpore.

It was anticipated that Sir James Outram, who now assumed command, would carry off the garrison. This was not found to be practicable, except at great risk and heavy cost of life. On making due inquiry, it was found that, with the supplies brought in, there was abundance of provisions for several weeks. Sir James, therefore, determined to remain. He divided his force into two parts. Colonel Inglis was left in command of the lines he had so long defended. Havelock was directed to take the remaining troops, and establish himself in the palaces and buildings to the east, on the road through which the troops had come in. This was done in three days. The soldiers now made themselves at home in the luxurious palaces of Lucknow. They were in comparative comfort and safety, but shut out from the rest of India: comparative, for the enemy renewed his mining operations; directing them now against the buildings under Havelock's charge. But at this work he was foiled by the skill and science of Colonel Robert Napier and Captain Crommelin. Guarding against these tricks of the enemy, enduring a fire of guns and musketry less severe and less deadly, and poorly fed, our men, without a murmur, held on for eight more weeks, when the Commander-in-Chief himself arrived, and snatched them, as it were, from the jaws of death.

The Government of India had now become fully aware of the character of the mutiny, which in Oude, Rohilcund, and Central India, had been supplemented by an insurrection. In Oude a strong spirit of hostility was manifested; and although many talookdars held aloof from the rebels, they did not join the Europeans. In Rohilcund and Central India the insurrectionary forces were masters of the field from the Ganges to the frontiers of Oude, from the Nerbudda to the Jumna. In Bombay there were intermittent signs of disaffection, and sharp remedies had to be promptly applied. Lord Elphinstone ruled with an iron hand--clad in a velvet glove, it is true, but none the less effective for that. He had his own difficulties to contend against--hostility in Kolapore, and Sattara, and Candeish; mutiny also in some recently-raised regiments--but all these he overcame. Madras was quiet, and as Bombay sent troops to the Nerbudda Valley and Rajpootana, so Madras sent a column to cover the frontier of Nagpore, and reinforcements to Bengal--European infantry, who took part in several battles, and native infantry and native guns, which did good service.

Except during the spring, neither the Indian nor the Home Government underrated the magnitude of the struggle, and the thousands of troops embarked in the summer began to pour into Calcutta by battalions at the end of September. The China troops had all been intercepted before that time, and had been sent up the country. The sailors of the Pearl and the Shannon had been landed with some of their heavy guns, and had been sent up the Ganges, with Captain William Peel and a sailor brigade, forming a part of the army rapidly gathering at Allahabad and Cawnpore. For as soon as it became certain that Outram and Havelock could not bring off the Lucknow garrison, treasure, women and children, guns and ammunition, Sir Colin began to organise a force for their relief and rescue. Throughout the month of October this force was being collected at Cawnpore. Except the China regiments, all the troops employed were those already in India. The whole strength was about 4,550 men, with forty-nine guns, including Peel's eight heavy pieces, manned by his gallant tars. This force, gradually collected, was completed by the arrival of Greathed's force from Delhi, which, we have already stated, arrived at Cawnpore on the 26th of October.

As soon as he heard of Greathed's arrival, Sir Colin Campbell quitted Calcutta, and "travelling like a courier," reached Cawnpore on the 5th of November. Part of the troops had already gone on, with large convoys, to the Alumbagh, which, it will be remembered, was held by part of Outram's force, now under the orders of Brigadier Hope Grant, who arrived in time to repel a smart attack made by the enemy. The troops had commenced the passage on the 30th of October, and the bulk of the troops were near Alumbagh by the 5th of November. On the 9th Sir Colin reached that place, and on the 11th he reviewed his army. As the Gwalior Contingent--a force of all arms, the nucleus of a large native army--had come up to Calpee, it was not without some apprehensions that Sir Colin left General Windham, of Redan renown, with about 500 men, to guard the small entrenchment that protected the bridge over the Ganges. Nevertheless, as he knew Windham would be reinforced by the troops coming daily up the Ganges from Calcutta, and as it was imperative that Lucknow should be relieved, he left Windham to do his best, and gathered up his strength for a deadly blow at the Oude insurrection.

As soon as General Outram was informed of the early approach of Sir Colin Campbell, he sent plans of the city and its approaches to the Alumbagh, and arranged with Brigadier Grant a code of signals to be worked by means of the old semaphore. The garrison also sent a guide. Fired with the desire of winning the Victoria Cross, Mr. Kavanagh, of the uncovenanted service, volunteered to join the Commander-in-Chief. The offer was accepted. Staining his face, shoulders, and hands with lampblack, putting on the gay dress, and carrying the simple arms of an irregular mutineer, Kavanagh, guided by a native scout, forded the Goomtee at night, dressed on the opposite bank, walked up the river, and recrossing at the iron bridge, made his way through the heart of the city of Lucknow. Emerging in the open country through the enemy's pickets, he pushed on and reached Sir Colin's camp. This is one of the most daring acts ever done in India, since James Outram made his way from Afghanistan to Bombay disguised as a groom. And Kavanagh had his reward, obtaining not only the Victoria Cross in due time, but a reward of £2,000 and admission into the regular civil service. The telegraph soon told not only that Kavanagh had come in safely, but that on the 14th Sir Colin would march on Lucknow.

At nine o'clock on the 14th the army was in motion. Passing to the rear of the Alumbagh, Sir Colin directed his columns upon the Delkoosha Palace and Park, and a fantastic building a little to the west of it, called the Martinière. This side of Lucknow was a mass of groves, gardens, enclosures, and palaces, with stretches of green-sward and cultivated patches between. By sweeping so far to the eastward Sir Colin avoided the defences which the Sepoy mutineers and their allies had accumulated on the canal, and about the bridge stormed by Havelock. They had dammed the canal, in order to deepen the water above, and thus outwitted themselves, for they left it dry below, and easy of passage even for heavy guns. After a brief march, the skirmishers came under fire, but pressing on, they chased the enemy through and out of the park, and entered the palace. Then, turning half left, the troops made for the Martinière. Here there was a smarter defence, for the enemy had begun to comprehend the drift of Sir Colin's manœuvre. A number of guns opened on both sides, and the rattle of musketry shook the air; but the infantry leaped over the wall, and with the bayonet soon cleared the building and the enclosure, while the horsemen, dashing through, hunted the enemy over the canal into the suburb on the other side. The troops were now in position from the canal on the right to the Delkoosha Park wall on the left. To cover that flank and protect the road to the Alumbagh, Brigadier Russell seized two villages in front of the left and garrisoned them with Sikhs. Thus posted, the troops prepared to pass the night, when suddenly the enemy assailed the whole position. The troops turned out rapidly and drove them back with great slaughter, and to guard against a similar occurrence, a strong force of all arms bivouacked on the canal. The next day the troops rested in position, and completed the arrangements essential for the safety of the baggage and the line of communications. The garrison of Lucknow were disappointed, and looked on with apprehension; but on the evening of the 15th they were rejoiced to see the telegraph at work, and to read off the signal, "advance tomorrow." For they had prepared the means of making a diversion in favour of the assailants, and the powder in the mines was getting damp during this delay.

Early on the 16th the guns and infantry, except the Sikhs, were withdrawn from the left, and the columns were formed to attack the enemy's position. This consisted of the Secunderbagh across the canal, and near to the Goomtee. Sweeping to the right, the troops moved on, and about mid-day reached the front of the enemy's lines. The Secunderbagh was surrounded by a high wall, loopholed on all sides, and flanked by towers. The whole formed a formidable front, as each group of buildings was supported by another. Nevertheless, the exterior defences were rapidly carried. The guns dashed up under a cross fire and opened on the villages, and the infantry, in open order, closing with the defenders, expelled them. The bulk of the leading brigade then turned upon the Secunderbagh, while the skirmishers stretched away to the left, sweeping the foe before them, and seizing each post of vantage. In the meantime two 18-pounders had been engaged in breaching the main wall of the garden. They had broken down a part of the wall, a small hole through which three or four men could enter abreast. Sir Colin thought his men could carry it, and he started the 93rd and 53rd and 4th Punjabees at the place. They bounded in with a cheer. The houses and the garden were full of Sepoys. Four regiments, upwards of 3,000 men, were caught in this trap. Burning with rage, our troops plied the bayonet with such good will that the enclosure, 120 yards square, became a mere pile of carcases. "There never was a bolder feat of arms," wrote Sir Colin; and rarely, perhaps never, such a horrible slaughter. Still on went the column. The work was not over. Several strong places intervened between the assailants and their friends inside. A little farther on was the Shah Nujeef. Here was another feat of arms. "Captain Peel," says Sir Colin, "led up his guns, with extraordinary gallantry, 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." This terminated the operations of the day. Indeed, the closing scenes were acted in darkness, illumined only by the fire of the guns, the rockets, and the shells. Thus far had Sir Colin penetrated towards the Chutter Munzil. Between him and it lay the Motee Munzil, to reach which he must come under the guns and musketry of the Kaiserbagh. During this contest outside, Havelock and Outram had not been idle. By dint of mine and battery they had so wrought that, not only had they cleared a part of the road between them and their friends, but had materially assisted in engaging the Kaiserbagh and other buildings full of men and guns. They had made a desperate sortie, and wrought a passage by powder, bayonet, and torch. From the top of the Chutter Munzil the whole scene--domes, minarets, palaces, groves and gardens, all alive with combatants, and mantled in smoke--was visible, and there, aloft, Outram and others, under fire from the other side of the Goomtee, watched the progress of Sir Colin, till night fell.

The next day the first step of Sir Colin Campbell was to make his left rear and line of communications more secure, and with that view he caused a body of troops to occupy a large building near the canal, called Banks's House, and a series of bungalows on the south of the lanes leading to the Delkoosha Park. When this was accomplished, he turned his attention to the Mess House of the 32nd, and the Observatory, which stood on the flank of his road into the Residency. Determined to use his guns as much as possible, Sir Colin directed them upon the Mess House, while Outram caused Eyre's Battery in our lines to join in the fire. Then the place was stormed and found to have been abandoned; but the fire from the Observatory was so heavy that the flag of the 90th, planted by Captain Wolseley, was twice shot away. Wherefore the troops turned furiously upon the Observatory, drove out the enemy, and set it on fire. Only the Motee Munzil remained, and the obstacles here offered were soon overcome. Pouring into this palace under fire from the Kaiserbagh, the troops rapidly filled it; the sappers broke through into other buildings, and the lines of the Residency were won. Forth from them came Lieutenant Moorsom, of the 52nd, ever foremost, and greeted the army of rescue. The troops emerge, Outram and Havelock issue forth, and Sir Colin has the "inexpressible gratification" of greeting them before the fighting is quite at an end. Thus the relief of the besieged garrison was accomplished, and great was the rejoicing among the battered walls, and broken minarets, and gorgeous palaces of Lucknow.

The chiefs of the relieved garrison, ignorant of the state of affairs on the Jumna and in the Doab, thought that Sir Colin would immediately complete the conquest of the city. Sir Colin knew better. Nothing but imperative necessity led him to advance on Lucknow before he had defeated the Gwalior Contingent. He did not know but that, at the very moment when he entered the Chutter Munzil, the enemy might not have fallen upon Windham, and driven him from Cawnpore. To withdraw the garrison and treasure was therefore his first care and his first duty. He had no secure base of operations. His army was, indeed, scattered about in groups, and every man for a week had been constantly on duty. He therefore set himself to devise a plan of taking all away with him as soon as possible. His device was very simple, yet very ingenious. He directed his heavy guns to breach the Kaiserbagh, in order that the enemy might suppose he meant to storm it. Then he ordered the whole force, the women and children, and the trains, to file through his pickets on the night of the 22nd of November. The guns that could not be brought off were burst. The women made their little packages; transport was scarce, and many had to walk; and all going out during daylight were more or less under fire. Before the troops moved, the sick and wounded, the women and children, the stores of grain, and the large mass of treasure, were safely got through to the Delkoosha. Then the troops moved off. "Each exterior line came gradually retiring through its supports, until at length nothing remained," writes Sir Colin, "but the last line of infantry and the guns, with which I was myself to crush the enemy if he had dared to follow up the pickets." Halting one night in the Delkoosha Park, the army, with its enormous train, marched off and halted at the Alumbagh, without having been molested at any point by the enemy, who had a wholesome dread of the splendid cavalry which covered the operation. All arrived safely at the Alumbagh, and Sir Colin, on the 27th of November, leaving a strong force there under Sir James Outram--3,000 men and 18 guns--started off with the rest of the troops to escort a train, ten miles long, to Cawnpore.

But before the Commander-in-Chief marched away, the army had suffered a heavy loss: General Havelock had passed away. Just as he had become the pride of England, he died. The nation exulted when there came news of Havelock's glorious campaign in the Doab, and his determined efforts to reach Lucknow. The Queen at once conferred on him the order of Knight Commander of the Bath; and Sir Colin, when he entered Lucknow, astonished his old comrade by calling him Sir Henry. But Havelock only heard five days before he died that this honour had been bestowed on him. The labour, the anxiety, perhaps the foul atmosphere of Lucknow, proved too much for his strength. On the 20th of November signs of cholera appeared. He was instantly moved out of the city to the Delkoosha Park. Lying on his bed, tended by his son, surrounded by the affection of the army, Havelock declared he should die happy and contented. "I have for forty years so ruled my life," he said to Outram, "that when death came I might face it without fear." He passed a less restless night, but at nine on the morning of the 24th he quietly passed away, dying as became a Christian soldier.

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XVI. THE REIGN OF VICTORIA (continued)

Windham at Cawnpore--His Indecision--Partial Success followed by Defeat--Sir Colin Campbell to the Rescue--Battle of Cawnpore--Seaton advances from Delhi--His Campaign in the Doab--Combats of Gungaree and Puttiala--Hodson's Ride--Campbell at Futtehghur--Condition of Central India--Relief of Mhow--Capture of Dhar--Fighting in Malwa--Battle of Mundasore--Relief of Neemuch--End of the Campaign--Rose at Indore--The Problem of the Recovery of India--Oude or Rohilcund?--Combat at Shumshabad--Plans for the Reduction of Lucknow--Waiting for the Nepaulese--Franks's March--Battle of Budhayan--Campbell's final Advance--The Enemy's Position--Outram crosses the Goomtee--Capture of the Martinière--Outram's Successes--The work of the 11th--Death of Hodson--Capture of the Imambara and the Kaiserbagh--The Loot--Outram pauses--The Fall of Lucknow--Lord Canning`s Proclamation--The Conquest of Rohilcund--Nirput Singh's Resistance--Sir Colin marches on Bareilly--Battle of Bareilly--The Moulvie attacks Shahjehanpore--It is relieved by Brigadier John Jones--Sir Colin returns to Futtehghur--End of the Campaign.

It was rather a misfortune for Sir Colin that he had been obliged to leave at Cawnpore, not a Neill or a Havelock, but General Windham, who owed his military good fortune not to especial or eminent military qualities, but to the place he occupied in correspondence from the Crimea, and to the part he played--that of a brave soldier--in the last attack on the Redan. His position at Cawnpore was an arduous one, too arduous for an officer who was simply brave. Enemies were gathering round him. He had to preserve the bridge over the Ganges into Oude, to keep up the communication with Allahabad, to watch night and day the hostile force at Calpee, of which the famous Gwalior Contingent formed the nucleus, and to improve his defences. He had general instructions, and of course he was ordered not to assume the offensive unless compelled. But these instructions supplied guides to his discretion; they did not fetter it.

The Gwalior Contingent, knowing that Sir Colin had passed into Oude, crossed the Jumna themselves in the middle of November, and approached Cawnpore. They moved slowly, and spread themselves out as if they intended to attack the place on all sides, and overwhelm the defenders by sheer weight of numbers. Had they moved rapidly they might have done so; but had Windham possessed Havelock's military skill and resolution, he would have cut them up in detail before they could reach him in masses. Unfortunately he deemed it necessary to submit every plan to the Commander-in-Chief, and even when he found that the road from Cawnpore to Lucknow was closed by roving parties of the enemy, he still deemed it his duty to wait for an answer. Windham not only delayed, but fearing that Sir Colin might be in difficulties himself--as if Sir Colin Campbell with 5,000 good troops was likely to get into a scrape--Windham parted with a body of Native Infantry from Madras, and sent them to Bunnee in Oude.

Fortunately for him, although no doubt acting on a sound principle in striking at Cawnpore, the enemy was timid in his approaches, and a long time making up his mind. Thus the hesitation was tolerably equal on both sides. In the meantime four regiments from Oude went over to the enemy, and he seemed disposed to join issue. Windham, gaining confidence as his numbers grew, encamped outside the city, with the canal covering his front. The enemy had pushed up his advanced guard to within three miles. There were 3,000 men with guns on the banks of the Pandoo Nuddee, now the mere bed of a stream. On the 26th of November Windham moved out with 1,500 men and eight guns, and falling briskly upon them, routed chem in a short time and captured three cannon. Our loss was fourteen killed and seventy-eight wounded. Although the troops defeated were not the Gwalior men, the result of this action showed the advantage of prompt and judicious offensive. But that mode of warfare had been adopted too late. When he had carried the enemy's position, Windham saw, from a hill, the main body of the enemy not far distant, and he returned to Cawnpore with the certainty that he should be attacked.

Yet even now he did not give the enemy credit for audacity greater than his own. He thought they had been checked by the stroke he had just delivered. So he went into camp among some hillocks and brick-kilns on the Calpee road outside the town. Thus the town was in his rear. When he rose on the 27th there was no sign of the foe. The Gwalior men were playing a fine game. They intended a surprise, and they succeeded, for Windham does not seem to have known how to get intelligence--a great defect in a general. In broad daylight, at ten a.m., while he was reconnoitring, the enemy, who had moved up unobserved, opened fire in front and flank, and took the general by surprise. They had advanced with much boldness, crossed the Delhi road and the Bithoor road, and thus showed a front extending from the canal on their right nearly to the Ganges. Windham met them in front with the 88th and the Rifles, and on the right flank with the 34th and 82nd. There were ten guns in action on our side, the enemy had forty. Then ensued a most unsatisfactory combat: assailed in front and flank, Windham's troops resisted for five hours. All that time the enemy confined himself to a cannonade. But he was creeping up on both flanks; and, greatly alarmed for his bridge, Windham gave orders to retreat. As the camp followers and drivers had fled, he had to abandon his standing camp to the foe. Thus he retired in the face of an enemy who had not courage sufficient to molest him in retreat!

Windham now disposed his troops in position where they could cover the entrenchment, and spent an anxious night, not knowing well what to do. He had forwarded alarming letters to Sir Colin Campbell, and three of these in succession were delivered to the Commander-in-Chief, as he was marching from Bunnee towards the cannonade, of which he could hear the noise. All that day, the 28th, as Campbell's immense train was working through the dusty roads of Oude, Windham was fighting for his post. On the left, Walpole, with the Rifles and four guns, successfully defended that flank and actually captured two pieces of cannon. On the right the enemy came on in greater force, swarming down the Bithoor road, hoping to carry the entrenchment, or at least to take positions that would give them the control of the bridge of boats. Brigadier Wilson, a zealous officer, led part of the 64th against four guns, and captured them at the cost of his life; but when taken they could not be held. The enemy came on like a tide, rolling nearer and nearer every hour, except on the left, where Walpole kept him at a distance. On the right front of the entrenchment were a church, a chapel, and the assembly rooms. These were all defensible posts, but at dark Brigadier Carthew deemed it expedient to withdraw. It was at this moment the leading troops under Hope Grant, with Peel's naval guns, arrived in sight of the bridge, and found that it was under the fire of the enemy's cannon. Staff officers rushed over to inquire for Sir Colin. He had crossed the bridge, after ordering the naval brigade to post their guns on the left bank to answer and extinguish the fire of the enemy. Sir Colin's presence rescued Windham from the plight into which he had got himself from an undue fear of responsibility. His force was diminished by upwards of 300 men. Sir Colin at once took measures to secure the bridge. He pushed the infantry, with the cavalry and some field guns, across, and during the night brought over the wounded, and women and children. The infantry and horse had, in the meantime, occupied positions covering the road to Allahabad; and under cover of these, and the fire from the left bank and from the fort, the huge convoy from Lucknow moved day by day over the bridge. It was not until the 30th that the last cart came across, and not until the 3rd of December that the convoy with the women and children had been despatched under escort for Allahabad. Two more days were consumed in caring for the wounded. All this time Sir Colin was obliged to permit the enemy to remain in Cawnpore, and to maintain a desultory skirmish, using guns when the mutineers showed any audacity. Free from his encumbrances, Sir Colin at once struck a heavy blow.

His plan of action was based on the position of the enemy. He observed that the town of Cawnpore separated the right from the left; that on the right was the camp of the Gwalior Contingent, and behind the right the road to Calpee, the line of the enemy's advance and his line of retreat. Sir Colin saw that by falling with his whole force on the right, he could smash the enemy in detail. He therefore, on the morning of the 6th, drew up his troops under cover of some old buildings on the Allahabad road, and ordered Windham to open a heavy fire from the entrenchment, to deceive the enemy into the belief that the attack was coming from that side. The camp was struck and the baggage put under a guard near the river. Then Windham opened fire about nine, and at eleven o'clock Sir Colin deployed his infantry and attacked the enemy. For a brief time the guns on both sides were engaged; then the infantry columns dashed over the bridge of a canal that covered the enemy's front, Captain Peel and a soldier of the 53rd, named Hannaford, leading over one of them with a heavy gun. The whole line, filing over, re-formed on the other side, covered by Punjab infantry in skirmishing order, and then went steadily into the heart of the enemy's right. The attack was irresistible. The enemy gave way at all points, and in two hours our troops were in his camp, and his men were flying in disorder along the Calpee road. The cavalry had been sent to the left, in order that they might get well in the rear, but, badly guided, they went too far to the left, and came up late, but still in time. Without losing a moment, Sir Colin sent them, with Bourchier's light guns, in hot pursuit, supporting them with infantry. On reaching the enemy's camp he had detached General Mansfield, his accomplished chief of the staff, with a strong column, to the right, to assail the enemy's left, now gathering round a tank, called the Soubahdar's Tank. The pursuing column, headed by the artillery, followed the fugitives closely, Bourchier's Battery going two miles without a check, and alone, and coming four times into action in that distance. Then the battery halted until the cavalry came up and the pursuit was renewed. In the meantime Mansfield had routed the enemy on the Bithoor road, and driven them off in that direction. The next day Hope Grant followed them with a strong force. He made a march of five-and-twenty miles, and coming upon the enemy as they were crossing the Ganges, succeeded in capturing all their guns and ammunition.

There was now no hostile force of any magnitude in the Doab, except that which the Nawab of Furruckabad had collected round him, and with which he domineered over the country between the Ganges and Jumna, as far to the north-west as Allyghur, and to the south-east as Etawah. Before dealing with the enemy who swarmed in the regions north of the Ganges, from Goruckpore to Rampoor, it was necessary to clear the whole of the Doab, restore and secure complete communication between Allahabad and Delhi, by way of Agra, and procure from the North-West ample supplies of transport. In order to accomplish this, a vast convoy had been collected at Delhi, and a column organised under the orders of Colonel Thomas Seaton, to escort it to Cawnpore. The plan was for Seaton to take his convoy to Allyghur, leave it there under the guns of the fort, defeat the enemy, whose bands made the roads insecure, and then join Sir Colin, whose force, divided into two columns, was, when united and reinforced by Seaton, to concentrate on Futtehghur, the fort which commanded Furruckabad and the passage of the Ganges. By these means it was thought the whole of the Doab would be cleared of the enemy; and the means proved to be equal to the end. At the same time, the engineer brigade and some Muzbee sappers, with guns and ammunition, were sent from Agra to Allyghur, there to meet Seaton. The latter force reached Allyghur on the 10th of December, and on the 11th Seaton's column and convoy came in from Delhi. Leaving his convoy under the guns of the fort, Seaton at once began active operations against the enemy, and fought a brief, spirited, and important campaign in the Doab. He had with him two regiments of infantry, the 1st Bengal Fusiliers and the 7th Punjabees, a squadron of Carabineers, and Hodson's Horse, under Hodson himself, and eight guns. At daybreak on the 12th he marched out in search of the enemy, and was not long in finding him.

Crossing the Ganges Canal a few miles from Allyghur, Seaton halted for the night at Julalee, and the next day moved on to Gungaree. Here the troops arrived about eight o'clock. The camp was pitched, and all prepared to rest for the day as usual. Suddenly the pickets began firing. Instead of waiting to be attacked in their lines at Khasgunge, the enemy, 5,000 strong, had become the assailant. This somewhat astonished the officers, and they only understood the reason later. It appears that the enemy, acting on false information, had moved out, hoping to surprise a weak detachment of the Belooch Battalion. Hence their boldness. They came on with some spirit, but were shocked to find themselves in front of a strong force of all arms. In a moment our guns dashed to the front and opened fire. The Carabineers charged the enemy's battery and took their guns, but lost three out of four officers. At the same time, Macdowell, commanding Hodson's Horse, seeing the Carabineers attacking, shouted "Charge!" and rode into the foe with such goodwill that he scattered them in all directions.

The next day the troops marched to Khasgunge, Hodson leading, and on the 16th pushed on to Suhawun. Here they heard that the enemy had rallied at Puttiala, where they had entrenched themselves, resolved to fight. On the 17th the column moved out, and the advanced guard under Hodson found the enemy in position in front of a fortified village, his right resting on a ravine, his centre across the road, covered by slight entrenchments, and his left "in the air," as the military phrase is, resting on nothing, and entirely dependent on a mass of cavalry for protection. Colonel Seaton at once determined to attack the left. Our infantry were moved out to that flank, and Hodson's Horse held in readiness. The Carabineers and four guns made a demonstration on the other wing. The artillery shook the cavalry by a smart fire of shell, and then advancing, got into position, which enabled them to rake the whole line. Hodson had followed the guns, and seeing the enemy waver, called on his men to charge. They willingly obeyed, dashing into the camp and through the village, and down upon the enemy flying in disorder towards Furruckabad. The cavalry pursued eight miles. They met with no resistance, and slew hundreds of the enemy. We lost but one man killed and one wounded. Our officers felt pity for the poor wretches whom duty compelled them to destroy. And well they might. The enemy were country folk, ignorant and misled, with no heart in the cause, and no discipline. We took that day fourteen guns and all the ammunition. The leader of the beaten army had fled at the first sound of our guns.

After halting three days at Puttiala, the column, having thus effectually scared the enemy, returned to Gungaree, to cross the Kallee Nuddee there, and then striking across country, fell into the trunk road again at Etah. The Rajah of Mynpooree had collected a force wherewith to dispute the road, and Seaton bent his steps towards him. There on the 27th he attacked the rajah and his men, and routed him out of hand, taking six guns, and following the fugitives for many miles. Thus the road down the Doab was cleared by Seaton's column, and the convoys from Agra and Allyghur began to move down towards Cawnpore. Seaton was made a brigadier and elevated to the dignity of Knight Commander of the Bath.

In the meantime Brigadier Walpole, with a small column, had marched from Cawnpore on the 18th of December, had cleared the left bank of the Jumna, and reached Etawah on the 29th. Sir Colin Campbell, with the main body, had moved up from Cawnpore towards Futtehghur. On the 29th news reached the camp of Seaton, at Mynpooree, that Campbell was at Goorsaigunge, about thirty-eight miles distant, and Hodson at once volunteered to ride over and open communication between the two columns. On the 30th, accompanied by Macdowell and seventy-five of his Horse, he started. Halting at Bewar to feed, he left fifty men there and pushed on with the rest to Chibberamow. Here he left the remaining twenty-five and with Macdowell rode off for the camp of the chief. But when he arrived at Goorsaigunge he found that the camp was fifteen miles farther off. Nevertheless thither he went, and there he found Sir Colin, who made him heartily welcome. After dinner, Hodson and his friend set off on their long ride of fifty-four miles, and reached their destination in safety after several narrow escapes. This was a daring feat, and such feats made Hodson famous among all soldiers, and adored by his own. Seaton now brought down his convoy, Walpole came in from Etawah, passing Mynpooree, and overtaking Seaton at Bewar on the 3rd of January, 1858. That day Sir Colin had reached the Kallee Nuddee. His engineers were busy repairing the suspension bridge, when the Nawab of Futtehghur brought up all his force and attacked the working party. Thus assailed, Sir Colin fell upon him, and in a short time routed him off the field and took all his guns. The same day he moved close up to Futtehghur. The nawab blew up his palace, and escaped into Oude; but Nazir Ali Khan, chief instigator of the massacres that had taken place there, was captured and hanged. The fort had been abandoned and thus was Futtehghur recovered. It was an important place. Here was the depôt of the Gun Carriage Agency, and here were stores of clothing. Seaton and Walpole having come in, headquarters were established at Futtehghur.

Here we will leave the Commander-in-Chief meditating important schemes, while we lead the reader into fresh fields, and bring up a long arrear in our narrative, to pave the way for the splendid campaign of Sir Hugh Rose in the burning plains of Central India. The tempest that broke over Bengal and the North-West had swept away every atom of our authority in Central India, except at Saugor and at Mhow, the hill fort near Indore. From the middle of June we had no representatives in the districts between the Nerbudda and the Jumna. The shock had reverberated, though faintly, in Madras and Bombay, having been counteracted in the latter presidency by the energy of Lord Elphinstone, and having only slightly affected the mounted force there. But it had been felt in the Deccan, over which ruled the Nizam, who, like the Guicowar, in Gujerat, derived his authority originally from the Great Mogul, and who now subsisted, as a native prince, by virtue of British forbearance, and the dictates of good policy, if not of justice.

The task of restoring British authority in Central India devolved upon the Bombay and Madras Governments, but especially on the former; and Lord Elphinstone was not found wanting in the hour of trial. He was not satisfied with the repression of mutiny and signs of mutiny in the territory under his rule. He sought aid from Ceylon; he intercepted the China force; he urged the instant return of the troops from Persia; and he organised a movable column at Aurungabad to march upon Mhow. On the 13th of June the 1st Cavalry of the Hyderabad Contingent--that is, the force supplied by the Nizam, refused to obey orders, then mutinied and fled. General Woodburn, to whose hesitation the disaster was due, shortly afterwards obtained leave on sick certificate, and Colonel Stuart, of the 14th, took command. The column marched from Aurungabad on the 12th of July; on the 21st it crossed the Taptee; on the 29th, after being joined by all the cavalry of the Hyderabad Contingent, under Captain S. Orr, the force effected the passage of the Nerbudda, then rapidly rising from the rains in the Vindhya Mountains; and on the 2nd of August the troops entered Mhow, which, rejoicing to be "relieved," fired a salute. Here they remained for two months, their progress stayed by the rains; and during this period they reconstructed the fort, making it larger and more easily defensible.

Neither Holkar nor Scindia, although powerful princes, could restrain their troops from mutiny. To the west of Mhow is the little State of Dhar; and since the greater princes could not control their mercenaries, it was not to be expected that the lesser should succeed in so doing. The Dhar troops revolted; the Bheels and budmashes joined them; the rajah was powerless. They seized the fort of Dhar, and harried the country side. In the middle of October the brigade set out to drive them from Dhar, and to restore order in the Malwa country. The force arrived in front of Dhar on the 22nd of October. The enemy, with more valour than prudence, left their stronghold to fight a battle. They were charged and routed by the 25th Bombay Native Infantry, their three guns were captured, and they were driven into the fort. On the 24th the siege train came in after a fatiguing march through heavy roads; and Brigadier Stuart immediately laid siege to the fort. The place was invested; batteries were thrown up; and the wall in one place was breached. The enemy, who had made a good defence, now pretended to parley. Firing was suspended; and while we parleyed with them, they examined the breach, and they rejected all terms, asserting that they could only treat with the rajah. The next day the sappers inspected the breach, and reported it practicable. The stormers rushed in, and found the place empty. The enemy had got through the cavalry outposts unobserved. In Dhar our troops took an immense booty. It was the property of the infant rajah, who was not in arms against us, but himself a sufferer; and, contrary to all justice, we declared it prize and divided it amongst the brigade. In addition to this, Dhar was annexed.

The enemy, flying from Dhar, went to Mahidpore and there were joined by the contingent of that little State. Tho palace and fort of Dhar were blown up and burned--a most unjustifiable proceeding. Leaving this ruin behind them, the column moved north-west towards Mundasore, with the legitimate object of punishing the Mahidpore Contingent, and rescuing the fertile plains of Malwa from men who were no better than robbers and marauders. They were burning villages, beating the inhabitants, and carrying off the women. On the 14th of November Captain Orr, who had closely followed the enemy, surprised him in his camp at Rawul. Giving them no time to recover their equanimity, and without waiting for reinforcements, the Hyderabad Horse, charged the guns, regardless of the shower of grape they poured forth, and fought with such good will that the enemy was routed and the guns were taken. The enemy, chiefly Arabs, fought bravely and we lost a hundred killed and wounded. The column pursued, passing through Jacra, where they were joined by the Nawab, who had remained faithful, and thence onward towards Mundasore, the headquarters of the enemy, now mustering 5,000 strong. Crossing the Chumbul without opposition, the column halted a day to try seventy-six mutineers, all of whom were shot for the murder of their European officers and non-commissioned officers. On the 21st of November the force was before Mundasore.

Here the enemy fought a battle. Their right rested on a village, their left on Mundasore, their centre stood across the parade ground. Our troops drew up opposite, the cavalry being held in readiness to charge. The combat, however, was short. Plied by a heavy fire of artillery, the enemy soon showed symptoms of weakness; and as our infantry dashed into the village, the whole of the natives began to run. Then the cavalry went forward, and drove them headlong into Mundasore. It was not Brigadier Stuart's object then to assault the town. He desired to reach Neemuch and rescue the Europeans, who, since the mutiny of the 3rd of June, had been shut up in a fort, surrounded by enemies. He therefore crossed the Sore river, and made a flank march past Mundasore on the 22nd, in order to reach Neemuch, which lay to the north-west of the rebel stronghold.

The enemy in Mundasore made a sally, which was easily repelled, and the column took up the route for Neemuch, eager to be there, for the heroic garrison was reduced to the last straits for food. Hearing of the approach of the column, the enemy quitted Neemuch and drew up across the road. Here they were found on the 23rd, posted among the tall waving crops, behind deep watercourses, full of water. After disposing of his baggage, Stuart brought up his guns, and, under cover of their fire, formed his line, infantry in the centre and cavalry on the flanks. Then ensued a very severe fight. In spite of the fire of our cannon, the enemy became the assailant, but found the 25th Bombay Regiment too much for him, while the cavalry charged and captured the guns. The enemy now fell back fighting, inflicting considerable loss upon us; while his friends from Mundasore attacked the baggage, but were driven off by the dragoons. Routed from the field and thrown into disorder at all points, a strong body established themselves in a village, and here defied the whole army. The place was set on fire with shells, but the Rohillas would not give in, and night fell, leaving them in full possession. The next day the cannonade was resumed, and continued until the village was burnt to a mere shell; yet still these brave fellows held on. A little later about 200 surrendered and then our infantry took the place by storm.

This action relieved Neemuch effectually. The pent-up Europeans came forth to tell how many desperate attacks they had beaten off and how grateful they were for their rescue. The column marched back upon Mundasore, and found that the enemy had fled on learning the issue of the combat on the 23rd. Leaving the Hyderabad Contingent in Mundasore, and breaching the wall of the fort to make it untenable, Brigadier Stuart led his column back to Indore, by way of Mahidpore and Oojein. The object of this march was to disarm Holkar's refractory troops, who did not submit to his will until they saw the head of Stuart's column moving upon the town. Holkar thus recovered his power, and we ours. Sir Robert Hamilton, a most able man, succeeded the somewhat imperious and brusque Durand, as Political Agent, and on the 16th of December Sir Hugh Rose arrived to take command of the army. The campaign in Malwa had thus ended, and it was not until January, 1858, that Rose set out on his brilliant campaign in Central India.

The mere struggle for existence had long been over. The work of regaining empire was about to begin. Nearly 30,000 men had come out from England, and the remaining part of our story will show how they were employed, and how their work was done. We left the Commander-in-Chief encamped at Futtehghur in the beginning of January, 1858. Here he remained for the rest of the month; his troops engaged in watching the enemy on the opposite shore of the Ganges, and himself occupied in an important correspondence with Lord Canning with regard to the next step in the war. The problem to be solved was whether the army, now augmenting daily, should be used against Lucknow or Bareilly, whether Oude or Rohilcund should be first conquered. It was an exceedingly difficult question. The whole country from the mountains to the Ganges as far as Allahabad swarmed with enemies. The two centres were Bareilly in Rohilcund and Lucknow in Oude. The larger number and the better forces were in Oude; the more active and threatening, so far as the upper and central parts of the Doab were concerned, the districts of Meerut and Saharunpore, were in Rohilcund. To crush the latter first, and thus remove all chance of an irruption on the Great Trunk Road, and into any part of the country on the right bank of the Ganges, seemed to Sir Colin the wiser plan; but Lord Canning thought differently. He saw less political danger from the new-born royalty of Khan Bahadoor at Bareilly than from the resuscitated royal government at Lucknow; for one of the wives of the late king had set her son on the throne. The Governor-General feared the effect upon Jung Bahadoor--now leading 9,000 of his Ghoorkas from the hills to operate in Goruckpore--of leaving the rebels in Oude untouched while Sir Colin cleared Rohilcund; and he apprehended that an attempt would be made by Oude men to break into the fertile provinces on the left bank of the Lower Ganges. It was at best a choice of evils which lay before the soldier and the statesman; and it may be presumed that, in a military point of view, the former was right; while, from the political point of view, the balance of reason was on the side of Lord Canning.

In the meantime Sir Colin kept a sharp watch upon parties of the enemy who were known to have assembled both above and below Futtehghur, intent on breaking into the Doab and plundering. Walpole watched the fords below and Hodson above. Adventurous parties of the Rohilcund forces crossed the Ganges at Soorajpore, about twenty miles up the river, and a large body prepared to follow. Well informed of their movements, Sir Colin waited until they crossed, and approached near enough to be within reach. They numbered about 9,000, and came on very confidently, and, giving out that they intended to attack Furruckabad, they encamped at Shumshabad, and were fairly in the trap. The enemy were beaten, pursued, and driven over the Ganges. Their guns and ammunition, as usual, were captured.

This action ended, Sir Colin left Walpole with a small force at Futtehghur, and marched for Cawnpore. The Governor-General had come up to Allahabad, in order to be nearer the scene of action, and thither Sir Colin went to settle, in a personal interview, the more important details of the campaign. The result of this interview was the completion of an extensive plan for the reduction of Lucknow, and the dispersion of the armed mob who held it. Sir Colin Campbell, with the main body, 18,000 strong, with 180 guns, was to march from Cawnpore; while General Franks, with 2,500 European troops, and as many Ghoorkas from Jung Bahadoor's army, now in Goruckpore, as he could obtain, was to move up the Goomtee. At the same time General Penny and General Chamberlain were to invade Rohilcund, while the Ghoorkas at Nynee Tal were to descend into the plains. Sir Hugh Rose also was afoot, marching from Indore upon Saugor; and General Whitlock, with a Madras force, was to move from Jubbulpore on Banda. Other columns were on the move from Bombay into Rajpootana, where our troops had not only relieved Neemuch, as already recorded, but had recovered Ajmere and Nusseerabad. In this quarter the Rajahs of Tonk and Bikaneer were our fast friends. Thus at the beginning of 1858 the numerous troops sent from England began to tell, and from all quarters the rebels and mutineers were threatened with certain destruction.

The main body under Sir Colin had been in great part pushed across the river from Cawnpore, and occupied camps on the road to Lucknow, Onao, which the reader knows, Nawabgunge, deeper into Oude, Bunnee, where there is a bridge over the Sye, Jellalabad, a fort near the Alumbagh, and finally the Alumbagh itself, where Outram had held his own so long in front of the insurgent army. Sir Colin was ready to march early in February; but he had to wait, until his patience was quite exhausted, for the march of Jung Bahadoor up the Goomtee. Lord Canning hoped to produce a great moral effect upon the mind of the Hindoos by showing them so stout a Hindoo as Jung Bahadoor as his ally. But the Nepaul chief moved slowly. He did not bring with him the men of the fighting caste of Nepaul. He brought the scum of the hills, and these worthies plundered every rood of ground over which they passed. Lord Canning had no sooner got them from the hills than he wished them back again; but as they were there, and as their chief was burning for military distinction, he was obliged to let them go on. Therefore Sir Colin made all his arrangements for moving on Lucknow and so disposed his troops that he could concentrate them at the Alumbagh, as soon as it was plain that Jung Bahadoor was near at hand, or that he could be stayed for no longer.

In the meantime Brigadier General Franks, who had been warring successfully near Allahabad and Jounpore, had collected a column 5,700 strong, 2,000 of whom were Europeans, the rest being Ghoorkas, with twenty-four guns at Sigramow on the road from Benares to Lucknow. His orders were to march up the right bank of the Goomtee, and arrive within one march of Lucknow by the 1st of March. The population were hostile; there were 30,000 men in arms on the line of operations; the roads were in many places unbridged, in others almost impassable; the distance to be traversed was about 130 miles. On the 18th of February Franks was at Sigramow. In his front were two bodies of the enemy, 8,000 at Chanda and 10,000 more eight miles distant. He designed to beat them in detail. He therefore gave out that he should march on the 20th. The rebel chief ordered his troops to concentrate on the 19th. But Franks moved on the 19th himself; before noon he had beaten the 8,000 at Chanda; and resting his men, turned at eventide on the 10,000 coming up on his left flank, and routed them also. The enemy were thus skilfully driven off the road to Lucknow with a loss on our side of only eleven men; and seizing the moment, Franks pushed his column, with its immense baggage train, through the defile of Budhayan, without the loss of a cart or a man. This was a fine piece of work.

The enemy, making a wide detour--which, as Franks was so encumbered, he was unable to do--reappeared on the Lucknow road two miles beyond Sultanpore. Here were collected 25,000 men, of whom 1,100 were horse and 5,000 Sepoys, with 25 guns. They occupied a compact position, showing a line a mile and a half long, the front being covered by a ravine, the left resting on the Goomtee and the right on a serai. The road to Lucknow ran through the position at right angles, and was commanded by five heavy guns at the point where it crossed the ravine. There were six guns on the right, the remaining fourteen being distributed along the front. Franks marched from Budhayan on the 23rd; and, feeling the enemy, he approached him in order of battle, brought up his troops in columns, the British Brigade in front, the Ghoorkas in rear, and making a show of assaulting the position in front, rode up with his cavalry, sixty horse, and a few score riflemen, and drove the enemy's pickets over the ravine. His design was to impress the enemy with the belief that he was about to assault their centre; and to prevent them from discovering his real intentions, he kept the horsemen close to the ravine. Riding off to the left, he hoped to find a point where he could cross the nullah, and turn their right. This he found. Then swiftly and secretly marching the British Brigade to the left, while he kept the Ghoorkas on the road, he turned the enemy's right so completely that he forced his way on to the Lucknow road, captured the guns, and pushed the enemy into the ravine. The Ghoorkas charged upon the front and finished the action. By these skilful movements, showing real soldiership, Franks, at the cost of eleven men, turned the enemy's position, killed and wounded 1,800 men, dispersed an army, and captured twenty-one guns. This was a great exploit. The fruit of it was an open road to Lucknow, by which he marched to join Sir Colin Campbell.

Sir Colin had become impatient of further delay. He knew that Jung Bahadoor was on the Gogra on the 24th, and that Franks had thrashed the enemy on the 23rd; and as he knew Franks would be up to time, and as he could do without Jung, he determined to cross into Oude. The troops, as we have said, were in camp on the road to Lucknow. The enemy, growing suspicious of all these preparations, resolved to assume the offensive. The Sepoys, horse and foot, came out of Lucknow, and assaulted Outram's camp on several occasions. On the 27th the headquarters crossed the Ganges, and on the 1st of March Sir Colin was at Buntera, ready for work. All the men were drawn together. The engineering preparations were complete. A cask-bridge had been made, whereon to cross the Goomtee. The heavy guns were up. Franks was close at hand, and Jung Bahadoor over the Gogra. Leaving his heavy guns at Buntera, Sir Colin, on the 2nd, marched with a strong force of all arms to seize the Delkoosha palace and park, in order that he might make this the base of his operations against the city. He took the post with little resistance from the enemy, and established his headquarters at Bibiapore, on the Goomtee, east of the park. On the 3rd the siege train arrived, and on the morning of the 4th General Franks marched in and joined the grand army. The same evening the siege began.

The advanced posts of the enemy were over the canal, the principal outpost being the Martinière on the left front. On the north bank of the Goomtee the enemy occupied some of the few buildings and the suburb; but he had no works on that side. This was a strong position, but it had a great defect, and of this defect Sir Colin Campbell took full advantage. As the enemy's entrenched line rested on the Goomtee, and as the other bank was not defended, by crossing the river Sir Colin saw that he could take each of the enemy's lines in reverse, and so render them untenable. He wished to capture the place with as little loss as possible, and to make his artillery do the work. Therefore he gave Outram a strong force of all arms, and directed him to cross the Goomtee at Bibiapore, march up the left bank, establish his batteries, and force the enemy out of his lines. One bridge was finished on the night of the 4th, and a party of infantry was sent over to cover the men building the second. The enemy now scented danger, brought down troopers and guns, and opened on the bridge. But the picket of infantry scared the cavalry by a random volley, and our guns, replying to the enemy, soon made him withdraw. He was now too late. The second bridge was finished, and the column ready to cross.

On the morning of the 6th, Outram's column of all arms marched through the woods to the Goomtee, and began to cross. He led it at once up the Goomtee. The enemy, becoming aware of the movement too late, hurried out to oppose him. From the Delkoosha our officers could mark his progress by the clouds of dust above the trees, coming nearer and nearer; then the rush of fugitives in white; then the clearing of the cloud by the Queen's Bays in scarlet uniform, riding with flashing sabres; finally, the Horse Artillery coming out at a bound, and trying in vain to overtake, with shot and shell, the bulk of the enemy. Outram had routed him with ease, and he encamped for the night on what was once the Lucknow race-course. This being done successfully, Sir Colin threw up batteries in his front to play on the Martinière, to keep down the fire of the enemy's line, and to attract his attention from Outram. Captain William Peel, disdaining the enemy as his wont was, took his naval guns into his battery across the open ground, the sailors conducting their guns with a coolness equal to that of their famous leader. Although a considerable impression was made on the fantastic Martinière, the enemy held on to it, and one gun seemed quite beyond our reach, for none of ours could touch it, or reduce it to silence. But another enemy was coming on them. Outram, who had been attacked on the 8th--an attack which he easily repelled--became the assailant himself on the 9th, and pushing everything before him, closed with the Goomtee, and bringing up a mass of guns, ploughed up the rear of the first line of hostile trenches. At the same time the batteries in front of the Delkoosha, especially Peel's, were rapidly smashing the Martinière; and Sir Colin, seeing how matters were going--how effective the fire was, both from his own and Outram's guns, directed the assault of the Martinière. The Martinière was very easily taken. The leading regiments were the 42nd and 4th Punjabees; the supports were the 38th, 53rd, 90th, and 93rd. The storming party used the bayonet only. The guns covered the attack. The whole force was under Lugard.

Outram had been most successful. He had pushed his conquering column up to and within the walls of the Badshahbagh, and his heavy guns had so raked the enemy's lines in front of Campbell that they appeared to be deserted. An officer volunteered to cross the Goomtee and see. Plunging in, he swam over. "Suddenly," writes Dr. Russell, who was in the Martinière, "we saw a figure rising out of the waters of the Goomtee, and scrambling up the canal parapet, which just terminates at this place. He gets up, stands upright, and waves his hand. 'What is he?' 'He must be one of our fellows, sir; he has blue trousers and red stripe.' And so it was--Butler, of the Bengal Fusiliers," had done this exploit. The Highlanders and Sikhs now dashed at the line, and were soon in possession of the extreme left, and the portion in front of the Martinière. All this time our guns were pounding the city on our left; and such was the effect of Outram's flank movement that the enemy abandoned Banks's House and the whole line, and our troops took secure possession. On the 10th we were occupied on both sides of the river in battering the place, and preparing for the next move. By the incessant exertions of Lieutenant Patrick Stewart the telegraphic wire followed the Commander-in-Chief everywhere, so that he was in direct communication with Calcutta every morning, and with Outram also, for Stewart carried a branch line over the Goomtee.

On the 11th both forces made great progress. Jung Bahadoor brought his army into camp, and was sent to hold the left on the canal. Outram made a vast stride forward. Dividing his force into two columns, he sent one to the iron bridge and one to the stone bridge. The troops advanced, literally chasing the enemy before them, and slaying hundreds. Both bridges were taken, but it was not deemed expedient to hold the stone bridge, and the right column returned to a position in a musjid west of the Badshahbagh. But the iron bridge was held by a strong force. All day Outram's batteries had been firing steadily into the huge buildings on the other bank, especially into the Kaiserbagh, and were enfilading the enemy's second line with effect. Nor were Sir Colin's batteries idle. They were breaching the Begum's Kothie. When the breach was practicable, the Highlanders, this time the 93rd, and a Sikh regiment, went at this place, and carried it with a rush. Adrian Hope led the column. Mounting to a window by the aid of his men, he tumbled through among a crowd of Sepoys, who fled at "the apparition of a huge red Celt, sword and pistol in hand." The men followed, carrying everything before them at the point of the bayonet, until the place was cleared of all except skulkers, who were even found next day, and who from dark holes slew some of our men. On the right the 53rd had carried the Secunderbagh without opposition, and even the Shah Nujeef; Captain Medley, with a handful of native sappers, gallantly holding it all night. This brought the Commander-in-Chief into direct communication with Outram over the river. The mortar batteries were at once turned upon the Kaiserbagh and the Imambara, and up towards the latter Robert Napier, a most accomplished soldier, was pushing a sap by the aid of his engineers. Thus a great day's work had been done. The Kaiserbagh and the Mess House alone remained in the enemy's hands, but the former was strong. While Mansfield was superintending the capture of the Begum's Kothie, Sir Colin had to go through the disagreeable duty of receiving Jung Bahadoor. The reputation of the Nepaulese was of ill savour; and it was not pleasant to a frank soldier like Colin Campbell to take the hand of a man who had murdered his kindred.

The work of the 11th was most satisfactory; but in the storming of the Begum's Kothie, as in the assault on Delhi, Britain suffered a great loss. At the latter fell Nicholson, at the former Hodson was mortally wounded. On his way to select a camping-ground for his Horse, he heard firing, and, riding up, found Brigadier Napier directing the attack on the Begum's Kothie. With the assaulting column, beside Robert Napier, he went into the place. It was taken; but Sepoys were still in hiding, and the soldiers were looking for them. Turning to his orderly, he said, "I wonder if any of the rascals are in there." He looked into a dark room--it was full of Sepoys; a shot was fired and, staggering back, Hodson fell. The Highlanders rushed in, and killed every man in the room; while poor Hodson's orderly, a large, powerful Sikh, carried his master out of danger. He was taken to Banks's House, and there the next day he died, in the presence of Napier and his faithful orderly, who hung over the corpse crying like a child. He was buried on the 13th, Sir Colin Campbell and a host of officers attending his funeral, to mark his regret and esteem for "the most brilliant soldier" under his command.

The work of sapping up to the Imambara, the next place to be taken, now went briskly on. Napier's sappers were engaged in opening wide communications to the rear, and in breaking through the houses in front, so that heavy guns might be brought up to breach the walls. Into the enemy's posts poured an incessant fire of shell from the batteries of Outram, as well as those of Sir Colin; and the rattle of musketry never ceased while there was daylight. The army was now extended from the Badshahbagh, on the right, over the Goomtee to the front of the Imambara; and the moment had now arrived when this building could be breached with effect. The guns were placed behind a wall thirty yards from the building, and their huge shot went crashing through the massive structure, breaking down several walls at each blow. From the house-tops and the windows and loopholes the enemy fired heavily at random, and did little harm. Then came the order to assault; and in went the 10th Foot and Braysher's Sikhs with a rush. The enemy, as usual, fled; and being pursued with much eagerness, our troops emerged through the great gateway into the main road, to find that they had turned the whole of the second line of defence. Fortune gave them the whole second line; and now, lo! they were in rear of the third. They had pushed up to the Kaiserbagh itself, having broken into the rear of the entrenchments covering the great gate. Seizing the opportunity, heavy supports were brought up from the right, and Franks and Napier determined to take the palace itself. The order was given, and the soldiers dashing in, the whole of the vast buildings fell easily into our hands, so thoroughly broken was the spirit of the enemy.

"Here and there," wrote Dr. Russell, "the invaders have forced their way into the long corridors, and you hear the musketry rattling inside, the crash of glass, the shouts and yells of the combatants, and little jets of smoke curl out of the closed lattices. Lying amid the orange groves are dead and dying Sepoys; and the white statues are reddened with blood. Leaning against a smiling Venus is a British soldier, shot through the neck, gasping, and at every gasp bleeding to death. Here and there officers are running to and fro after their men, persuading or threatening in vain. From the broken portals issue soldiers laden with loot or plunder; shawls, rich tapestry, gold and silver brocade, caskets of jewels, arms, splendid dresses. The men are wild with fury and lust of gold--literally drunk with plunder. Some come out with china vases or mirrors, dash them to pieces on the ground, and return to seek more valuable booty. Others are busy gouging out the precious stones from the stems of pipes, from saddle-cloths, or the hilts of swords, or butts of pistols or fire-arms. Some swathe their bodies in stuffs crusted with precious metals and gems; others carry off useless lumber, brass pots, pictures, or vases of jade and china. Court after court the scene is still the same. These courts open one to the other by lofty gateways, ornamented with the double fish of the royal family of Oude or by arched passages in which lie the dead Sepoys, their clothes smouldering on their flesh. The scene of plunder," he continues, "was indescribable. The soldiers had broken up several of the store-rooms, and pitched the contents into the court, which was lumbered with cases, with embroidered cloths, gold and silver brocade, silver vessels, musical instruments, arms, banners, drums, shawls, scarfs, mirrors, pictures, books, accounts, medicine bottles, gorgeous standards, shields, spears, and a heap of things, the enumeration of which would make this sheet of paper like a catalogue of a broker's sale. Through these moved the men, wild with excitement, 'drunk with plunder.' I had often heard the phrase, but never saw the thing itself before. They smashed to pieces the fowling-pieces and pistols to get at the gold mountings and the stones set in the stocks. They burned in a fire, which they made in the centre of the court, brocades and embroidered shawls for the sake of the gold and silver. China, glass, and jade they dashed to pieces in pure wantonness; pictures they ripped up or tossed on the flames; furniture shared the same fate." In a military point of view the capture of this palace was a piece of great good fortune, as it virtually gave us the command of the city. There were now only the houses and buildings towards the old Residency; and with Outram on their flank, they could easily be taken, and taken at leisure.

Yet, the action on the 13th might have been more successful. When the Kaiserbagh fell, the troops on the right swept forward from the Shah Nujeef nearly up to the old Residency, and the 20th Foot caught a host of Sepoys in the engine-house, and slew nearly every man. At this time Sir James Outram was ready to burst across the iron bridge. His column was prepared, his men were eager. Lieutenant Wynne, with some sappers, had gallantly thrown down the breastwork across the end of the bridge--a service which won for him the Victoria Cross. But Outram did not advance. His orders were precise, and he construed them literally. He was to advance; but on the condition that he could do so without the loss of a single man. Seeing a gun bearing down the long street which led to the bridge, a gun steadily fired, Outram knew that if he charged across, he must lose at least one man, perhaps many. He obeyed the conditional order, and the Sepoys escaped. But had he crossed at the moment the Kaiserbagh fell, he must have inflicted a terrible loss upon the enemy, though suffering some loss himself.

Virtually Lucknow was now taken, but much still remained to be done. The troops rested on the 14th, except the gunners, who were rarely or never quiet. On the 15th, Sir James Outram, leaving a force near the iron bridge, crossed the Goomtee, and a general attack was made on the buildings west of the Kaiserbagh. A great deal of irregular fighting ensued, but the enemy stood nowhere. Outram's column worked up through the old battered Residency to the iron bridge; and as the enemy fled in disorder over the stone bridge higher up, our guns on the iron bridge kept up a heavy fire. That night we occupied the Muchee Bowun, and by the 18th every place was captured, except the Moosabagh, out in the country; the city itself was occupied, and direct communication established with the Alumbagh. Prize agents had now been appointed to secure the plunder; but order was not restored, and every street and house had its horrible scenes. The place was full of powder; our men were careless, and explosions were frequent, in one of which Captain Clarke, Lieutenant Brownlow, and thirty men were killed. On the 19th a concerted attack was made on the Moosabagh. Here were the resolute Moulvie, stout and cunning; the courageous and undaunted Begum, who had been the soul of the defence, her cowardly paramour Munnoo Khan, her son, the titular King of Oude, and some 8,000 men. The object was to catch them, but the combination failed. Somehow the cavalry sent out to cut off the fugitives lost their way. The enemy stayed just long enough to see the approach of the infantry and guns; then their hearts failed them and they fled. There was one more desperate skirmish in the city with a band of budmashes; that was the last fight, and the capital of Oude was recovered, after being so many months in the possession of the enemy. We took 120 guns, tons of ammunition, and much treasure; and so splendidly was the work done that our loss did not exceed 700 men killed and wounded.

The Governor-General now issued a proclamation, which, after setting forth the wickedness of the rebellion, and rewarding some talookdars by granting them a hereditary right to their lands, declared that, with these exceptions, the proprietary right in the soil of Oude was confiscated to the British Government. To those who made immediate submission, life and honour were promised, but nothing more. Those who had murdered Europeans were to expect no mercy. This proclamation created a great ferment in India and in England. It was held to be monstrous that Lord Canning should confiscate a province, though it is remarkable that when in the previous year he had drawn up a proclamation which distinguished the guilt of the rebels, he was scoffed at as "Clemency Canning." Sir James Outram resigned rather than carry out the scheme; and Mr. Montgomery, who succeeded him, obtained full permission to deal with each case on its merits. In England, Lord Ellenborough, then at the Board of Control, was so angry that he wrote a most insolent despatch to Lord Canning, on mere newspaper report; and, not satisfied with this, he published it before he posted the document to Lord Canning. It was an uncourteous and an ungentlemanly act, and Lord Ellenborough had to resign his seat to save the Derby Cabinet from censure. The fact is, the proclamation was completely misunderstood. The confiscation was not permanent deprivation. It enabled the Government to take a position in Oude calculated to restore men to their real rights--to reward the faithful and punish the wrong-doers; and, above all, under the settlement made by Mr. Montgomery, and his successor, Mr. Wingfield, all those proprietors held from the Crown. In the end the measure worked well, and was essentially just and politic; and, in a long despatch, Lord Canning fully refuted the melodramatic impertinences of Lord Ellenborough.

But in the spring of 1858, not only Oude but Rohilcund had to be conquered. For a time the proclamation was a dead letter; the army had still to be employed; and in April, Sir Colin, after an interview with Lord Canning at Allahabad, broke up his force and proceeded to the work of conquest. General Walpole started, on the 7th, with a fine brigade towards Rohilcund. Sir Edward Lugard, with another, set out eastwards towards Gorruckpore, where Koer Singh and a host of enemies were afoot. A garrison was left in Lucknow, which was to be strongly fortified, and the remaining troops marched for Cawnpore on the 13th, to move up the Doab and enter Rohilcund from Futtehghur. The plan of campaign now was this: Sir Colin was to effect a junction with Walpole on the Ramgunge, opposite Futtehghur, and thence march on Bareilly by Shahjehanpore; while General Penny, with a brigade collected at Roorkee, and Brigadier Jones, from Moradabad, crossed the Ganges, and also made for Bareilly. Walpole marched his column by Sundeela. Near Rhodamow he came upon a mud fort in the jungle, occupied by a force under Nirput Singh. The place was reconnoitred, and the cavalry reported that it could be easily assailed in the rear; but Walpole thought that he could take it by rushing at the front. He did not even use his heavy guns, but sent the 42nd and 93rd against the rampart. They were driven back by the fire of the enemy. Many men fell killed and wounded; but the greatest loss was Adrian Hope, the pride of his brigade. The Highlanders were on the verge of mutiny, and the officers were savage with this unskilful mode of warfare. In the night, Nirput Singh, knowing his own weakness, ran away, and then it was seen how easily the place might have been taken. Walpole marched on towards the Ramgunge. On his way he heard that a body of the enemy were guarding a bridge of boats over that stream; and dashing on with cavalry and guns, he surprised and routed them with heavy loss. Sir Colin, marching by Cawnpore and Futtehghur, crossed the Ganges on the 27th, and joined Walpole at Tingree. In the meantime that gallant sailor and hope of the British navy, Sir William Peel, had died of small-pox at Cawnpore (April 27th).

Sir Colin entered Shahjehanpore on the 30th of April without meeting any resistance. Here he learned that Penny, leading his column through Budaon, misled by a civilian, who trusted to native information, got into an ambuscade and lost his life. His troops carried the position occupied by the enemy, and marched on. Jones also had made progress, and was approaching Bareilly from Moradabad. On the 2nd of May Sir Colin moved out of Shahjehanpore, leaving behind a small force with four guns to hold the gaol. He had not gone far before the energetic Moulvie, bringing a great body of all arms, fell upon Shahjehanpore; and although he failed to take it out of hand, he invested it, and put the little garrison in peril. Sir Colin got news of this, but he was then near Bareilly, and had a large army in his front whom it was necessary to fight.

Disregarding the Moulvie, and his skilful onslaught on the rear, Sir Colin pursued his march to Bareilly, where Khan Bahadoor Khan had 40,000 or 50,000 men of all arms, and forty guns. Here, in front of Bareilly, on the 5th of May he engaged the enemy. Penny's force had already joined him; Brigadier Jones was on the other side of the city. While Sir Colin attacked the enemy on the east, Jones broke into the place from the west. The enemy were defeated, but managed to escape in a disordered and broken state, some flying for the Ganges and some for Oude. During this action a body of Ghazees--fanatic Moslems--made a dash on the 93rd and 42nd. Sir Colin was near the Highlanders, but the Ghazees came on so rapidly that he had only time to call on his men to stand firm, and bayonet them as they came on, before the dare-devils were in their midst. A number of them got round the flank of the 42nd, dragged Colonel Cameron from his horse, and cut General Walpole over the head. Both were saved by the Highlanders. "Sir Colin had a narrow escape. As he was riding from one company to another, his eye caught that of a quasi-dead Ghazee, who was lying, tulwar in hand, just before him. The chief guessed the ruse in a moment. 'Bayonet that man!' he called to a soldier. The Highlander made a thrust at him, but the point would not enter the thick cotton quilting of the Ghazee's tunic; and the dead man was rising to his legs, when a Sikh, who happened to be near, with a whirling stroke of his sabre, cut off the Ghazee's head at one blow, as if it had been the bulb of a poppy!" The enemy's troopers also got round the rear and did considerable mischief before they were driven off. But Bareilly was captured, and the enemy dispersed. Sir Colin's first thought was for the safety of Shahjehanpore. He sent off Brigadier Jones with his brigade to relieve Colonel Hale; and, having established a garrison in Bareilly, followed himself. Jones easily drove off the Moulvie's troops on the 11th, and covered the place. Sir Colin himself marched from Bareilly on the 15th. Arriving at Shahjehanpore on the 18th, he marched through the town, and drew up on the eastern side. There the Moulvie had made a demonstration with an immense force of horsemen. The action, however, was almost wholly carried on by the artillery. When the infantry were deployed and developed, the enemy retired. Sir Colin now handed the army over to the command of Brigadier John Jones, and with a weak escort set off suddenly for Futtehghur. Jones marched on Mohumdee, the last stronghold of the rebels on the eastern frontier of Rohilcund; but the enemy would not wait for him. This ended the campaign for the summer in Oude and Rohilcund. While the Commander-in-Chief had been thus engaged, Sir Hope Grant, with a flying column from Lucknow, had scoured the country towards Fyzabad, and had surprised and defeated the enemy at Nawabgunge. Sir Edward Lugard had relieved Azimghur, and, following up Koer Singh, had passed the Ganges, driven the valiant old chief into the jungle, and restored confidence in Behar. The troops were put under cover as far as possible, but there was still considerable fighting at different points in the Doab, and north and south of Allahabad; while Colonel Rowcroft kept down the rebel element on the north of Goruckpore, and facilitated the march of Jung Bahadoor and his plunder back to the mountains of Nepaul.

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XVII. THE REIGN OF VICTORIA (continued)

The State of Central India--Objects of Rose's Campaign--The two Columns--Capture of Ratghur--Relief of Saugor--Capture of Gurrakota--Annexation of the Rajah of Shahghur's Territory--Capture of Chandaree--Rose arrives at Jhansi--The Ranee and Tantia Topee--Bombardment of Jhansi--Tantia Topee beaten off--Jhansi is stormed--Battles of Kooneh and Calpee--Tantia Topee captures Gwalior--Smith and Rose rescue the Place--Lord Elphinstone's Proceedings--Flight of Tantia Topee--Lawrence in the Punjab--Banishment of the King of Delhi--Other Rewards and Punishments--The Subjugation of Oude--Hope Grant's Flying Column--Britain does her Duty--Transference of the Government to the Crown--The Queen's Proclamation--Clyde enforces the Law--The Hunt for Bainie Madho--Further Flights and Pursuits--An Accident to Lord Clyde--His Last Action--Disappearance of the Begum and Nana Sahib--The Country at Peace--The Last Adventures of Tantia Topee--His Flight into Oodeypore--He is headed from Rohilcund--And from the Deccan--He joins Feroze Shah--Disappearance of the latter and Execution of Tantia Topee--Settlement of India--The Financial Question--The Indian Army--Increase of European Troops--The Native Levies--Abandonment of Dalhousie's Policy.

Sir Hugh Rose, it will be remembered, arrived at Indore on the 16th of December, 1857, and assumed command of the Central India Field Force, mustering 6,000 men, of whom nearly one half were Europeans. He had a severe task to accomplish with these means. The whole country north of the Vindhya range of mountains was in the hands of the enemy. The only British post was Saugor, where several hundred Europeans were shut up in a fort, but where, strange to state, the 31st Native Infantry and part of the 42nd were faithful. Deeper in the country, towards the Jumna, the Ranee of Jhansi held the town and district of that name, and kept up communication with the disaffected subjects of Scindia, the remains of the Gwalior Contingent reorganising itself at Calpee, and the rebel bands who wandered up and down the Jumna, and made dashes into the Doab, from Allahabad to Agra. Sir Hugh Rose was entrusted with the duty, first, of relieving Saugor, then of capturing Jhansi, and finally of making his way to Calpee. He was to be supported on his left by another column from Bombay, under General Roberts, which was collected at Nusseerabad, in Rajpootana; and on his right by a Madras column, under General Whitlock, whose starting-point was Jubbulpore, on the higher waters of the Nerbudda. Thus, while Rose swept the country between the Sinde and the Beas, and Whitlock marched on his right between the Beas and the Sone, his object being Banda, Roberts was to march eastward by Kotah, then in the hands of the rebels and mutineers, into the Gwalior country.

Sir Hugh Rose divided his force into two columns or brigades. The first, under Brigadier Stuart, was formed at Indore; the second was collected at Sehore, about ninety miles to the north-east, on the road to Bhopal. The first was ordered to march on Chandaree, a very strong place on the left bank of the Betwa. The second, or right brigade, with which Rose himself marched, was directed from Sehore upon Ratghur and Saugor. Stuart's brigade was not to leave Indore until Rose had started for Bhopal, so that the two columns, although separated by a wide interval, might march in parallel lines, and then converge to a point north of Chandaree. Stuart's course lay down the left bank of the Betwa, and he had no serious hostility to apprehend until he approached Chandaree.

Rose's column was joined on the 15th of January, 1858, by the siege-train from Sehore. After executing 149 mutineers of the Bhopal Contingent, Rose started on the 16th. On the 21st the column entered Scindia's territory, and encamped at Bilsah, famous for tobacco. Three more marches brought the brigade in front of Ratghur, the first obstacle to be overcome on the road to Saugor; for the enemy had occupied the fort, and showed a readiness to bar the road. On the 24th Rose drove in the outposts of the enemy, and invested the place. Having disposed his troops around the place, keeping a good look-out towards Saugor, whence interruption might come, he pushed his siege guns, under a sufficient escort, up the hill and through the jungle, making a road for the heavy pieces as he advanced. All this time the troops around the town were engaged in constant skirmishes against irregular forces on the outside. By dint of perseverance these were driven off, and the town was occupied. Then the heavy guns were mounted in a battery, made by the Madras Sappers, most efficient soldiers, on the north hill, within 300 yards of the north wall, and opened fire, while other guns shelled the fort from the plain, and the Enfields were busy duelling with the matchlock-men. The breach had been examined, and declared to be practicable. It was supposed that it would be stormed on the 29th; but when that day dawned, two enterprising officers, suspecting the quiet, climbed up the breach, and found that the enemy had fled. The garrison had scrambled down a precipice, women and all, and had got away through the lines of the Bhopal Contingent, who were supposed to be guarding that side. The cavalry went in pursuit, but were not able to catch the fugitives: indeed, the latter halted eight miles distant. Sir Hugh went out to attack them, and defeated them, yet could not take their guns. But the effect of these actions was that the roads to Saugor and Indore were freed from the enemy; and, on the 3rd of February, the Europeans shut up so long in Saugor were liberated by the arrival of Sir Hugh. They drove out to meet him, "looking pale and careworn," as it was natural they should look after eight months' imprisonment.

The next obstacle to be removed was a body of mutineers, men of several regiments, who had thrown themselves into the fort of Gurrakota, which fifty years before had defied a European army. This fort lies over the Beas, east of Saugor, and until it was taken Rose could not move on Jhansi nor Whitlock on Banda. The Sepoys entrenched the road into the fort from the south. But the troops advanced from the west. The horse artillery ranged up and opened fire in this unexpected quarter. Whereupon the Sepoys, greatly to their credit, sounded the advance and, moving boldly out, seemed disposed to charge the guns. Upon this the 3rd Europeans came into play and drove them back. Not satisfied yet, the enemy re-formed and came up with great steadiness and obstinacy, and were not broken and routed until they were close upon the guns. When they fled, the Hyderabad horsemen were soon amongst them, and their charge split them in two, one body hurrying into the fort, the other rushing off to the south and suffering loss at every step. Batteries were at once erected to breach the west face. The enemy worked their guns with vigour and coolness, but they were soon silenced, all but one, and this one was finally knocked over by Lieutenant Smith, of the Bombay Artillery. On the 13th of February the enemy were seen escaping from the fort, and the infantry, hastening in upon them, found that nearly all had gone. The fugitives were pursued five-and-twenty miles by the Hyderabad Horse. In the fort were found great stores of provisions, and quantities of plunder taken from Europeans in the mutiny. Provided for a long siege, the Sepoys had been ousted in three days, and such of the provisions as could not be carried away were given to the starving villagers whom they had so long oppressed. Gurrakota was blown up by the sappers. The troops returned to Saugor on the 17th, and halted until they could be adequately furnished for a long march through Central India.

The troops rested ten days, Sir Hugh Rose marching for Jhansi at two a.m. on the 27th, the time when Sir Colin crossed the Ganges into Oude. There were two means of access--the Pass of Malthon and the Pass of Mudanpore. Malthon was the northern outlet and stood directly in front of the line of march followed by the column. Here the enemy were supposed to be encamped, and indeed it was soon found that they held the fort of Barodia as an outpost. From this they were rapidly expelled by a few shells. This also helped the purpose of Sir Hugh, which was to deceive the enemy and make them believe that he intended to storm the Malthon Pass, while he really turned it by Mudanpore. But the enemy were not wholly deceived, for they occupied both passes. Leaving a small party of all arms to attack Malthon, or rather keep the enemy occupied, Sir Hugh, with the bulk of the brigade, went south along the foot of the hills through the pathless jungle. He then turned toward the gorge and at once came under fire. The Rajah of Shahghur, in whose territory the pass was situated, headed the enemy, and his general, late a Sepoy sergeant, had occupied the hills on both sides of the pass. Thence he opened such a storm of cannon shot and musketry that he brought our men to a halt, and even obliged Sir Hugh, whose horse was shot under him, to withdraw the guns farther to the rear. The check was only momentary. Keeping up a hot fire, Sir Hugh directed his infantry upon the flanks of the pass, and Europeans and Hyderabad natives went with shouts into the jungle. This was more than the enemy could endure, and without waiting for the assailants, they ran down the hills into the pass and through it, carrying off their guns. Our troops followed towards the town. The enemy endeavoured to stand once more, but his heart soon failed him. Nevertheless, he got away with his guns. Encamping near the fort of Soorai, the troops halted while this fort was destroyed. On the 6th of March the brigade moved on Murowa, seized the fort, and declared the territory of the rebel rajah to be annexed to the British possessions. While here the detachment sent against Malthon came into camp. They had marched through with little opposition, as the men who were to hold it grew alarmed when they heard the cannon at Mudanpore and, alarm becoming panic, they ran away.

In order to protect the friendly ruler of Tehree, Sir Hugh sent thither the Hyderabad Contingent and marched himself upon Baunpore, where he came within hearing of the cannonade directed by his 1st Brigade against Chandaree. This brigade had laid siege to the strong fort in due form, and was reducing it with heavy guns. Quitting Baunpore, Sir Hugh, having determined to clear his right effectually, marched upon Tal Behut, from which the Hyderabad Contingent, that most active force, had driven the enemy. He arrived on the 14th of March. The fort had been abandoned, luckily for him, as it was a place of very great strength and might have been defended for weeks. Having opened communication with the 1st Brigade, and having learned that it was making good progress, Sir Hugh detached the sappers and contingent to secure the fords of the Betwa; then, turning westward, he marched the whole column to the river, and crossed it on the 17th of March. That day the 86th Foot and the 25th Bombay Infantry had carried Chandaree by storm; the 86th, an Irish regiment, fighting none the worse because it was St. Patrick's Day.

Having heard of the fall of Chandaree, Sir Hugh Rose marched at once upon Jhansi. On the 19th the brigade halted, while cavalry and guns reconnoitered Jhansi, and on the 21st the whole force set out and halted before that place. Jhansi, the reader will remember, was the scene of one of the bloodiest tragedies in India, the scene of a foul massacre, accomplished by treachery, and only exceeded in magnitude by that at Cawnpore. The brave but vicious Ranee was, like the Begum of Oude, determined to hold her own. Since she had been in full possession she had repaired the strong walls surrounding the city, mounted guns upon them and on the flanking bastions, cleared out the ditches, erected outworks well devised and well built, and even when the British encamped before her stronghold, her willing subjects were still hard at work throwing up fresh defences. She had been aided by Tantia Topee, a retainer of Nana Sahib. This remarkable man had served in the Bengal Artillery. He was a weaver by trade--hence his name, which means the "weaver artilleryman." After leaving the British service he entered that of Nana Sahib at Bithoor, and when the latter struck for empire, the talents of his artilleryman soon came into play. Tantia Topee had the brain of a soldier without the heart. He could plan, and scheme, and raise armies, and direct their movements, but he could not lead them. An avowed coward, the natives regarded his cowardice as an infirmity, and were willing to accept his services without demanding from him qualities he did not possess. As Sir Hugh Rose appeared before Jhansi, Tantia Topee rode off to Calpee, there to organise a relieving army around the wreck of the famous Gwalior Contingent.

The British troops encamped on a plain without shelter of any kind, for, with great judgment, the Ranee had caused the trees to be destroyed. As soon as he encamped, Sir Hugh Rose surveyed the place thoroughly, riding all day in the burning sun and seeing everything for himself. Thus he was enabled to direct the investment of Jhansi with his cavalry, a work that was completed on the 22nd. That night the first battery was constructed, about 300 yards from the town wall. It was done silently and effectually. But daylight disclosed the work and the enemy began to pound it, soon getting the range, and to raise a counter-battery intended to enfilade it. By the 24th four batteries were constructed and in action. Their shot silenced several guns and demolished the works of the enemy and their shells set fire to the town; while the infantry, spread out in front, skirmished with the Sepoys in the cottages and enclosures. The force was now strengthened by the arrival of the 1st Brigade from Chandaree, and Sir Hugh immediately extended his front of attack and established batteries on his left. For the next five days the bombardment continued. The enemy fought his guns admirably, and showed great determination. Our troops grew excited with the work. They were eager to storm and sack a city infamous for the murder of so many of their countrymen and countrywomen, and they laboured in the summer heat with a cheerfulness and constancy that must have made glad the heart of Sir Hugh Rose.

On the 31st a new danger, not wholly unforeseen, appeared. Sir Hugh, anticipating a movement of the rebel army at Calpee, had established a telegraph on the hills to the east, worked with flags. On the 31st the flags waved saying, "Here come the enemy in great force from the north." Sir Hugh was not at all disconcerted. He had expected that an effort would be made to relieve the place and had meditated on the best mode of thwarting it. As soon as he heard, therefore, that Tantia Topee had brought 20,000 men from Calpee, and placed them on his right flank, close to the city, he knew what to do. It was evening when the news came. Knowing where the enemy was, the general prepared a surprise for them. He determined to fight the enemy and continue the siege--one of the hardiest resolutions ever taken by any general, especially when we consider the fact that he had only 1,200 men available for battle. As soon as it was dark he caused his 1st Brigade to strike tents, and then he marched them silently into a position on the left flank of the foe. Then he reinforced it by two 24-pounders, so placed that they swept the road to the city. The enemy were the more elated because they saw but few tents in our camp, and they halted at dusk close on the front of the 2nd Brigade and made merry. But morning showed them another sight. At daylight we opened on them with artillery, cutting up their left flank. The unexpected fire of the 1st Brigade guns soon shook them; and, swiftly discerning symptoms of unsteadiness, our cavalry went in with a crash, Rose leading one body, Prettyjohn another. The flank was rolled up in a moment, and the infantry following the cavalry, the enemy was driven back with great slaughter. Then the infantry, moving across the battle field, fell upon the opposite flank, cut the rebels off from the city and followed them up with vigour. Tantia Topee had prepared a second line, but Rose left him no time to use it. Bursting in on both flanks, our troops forced the enemy to retreat upon the Betwa, and pursued so sharply that they drove the rebels over the river with the loss of every gun brought into the field. Thus did 1,200 men, of whom only 500 were Europeans, defeat 20,000, while their comrades carried on the siege with unrelenting vigour. This battle was fought on the 1st of April; on the 3rd it was resolved that Jhansi should be taken by storm. From the right batteries the walls were to be carried by escalade; on the left the stormers were to sweep in through a breach; the signal was to be the opening of guns on the west face, as though an attack were to be made there.

The moon shone brightly as the columns marched out of their camps to the appointed places. The Sappers, the 3rd Europeans, and the Hyderabad Infantry were to scale the walls; the 86th Foot and the 25th Native Infantry were to go in at the breach. The signal was given and the men emerged from cover into the broad moonlight. The enemy were on the alert and met the columns with a storm of shot. "We had upwards of 200 yards to march through this fiendish fire," writes Mr. Lowe, who, as medical officer to the Sappers, accompanied the right column, "and we did it. The Sappers planted the ladders against the wall in three places for the stormers to ascend; but the fire of the enemy waxed stronger, and amid the chaos of sounds, of volleys of musketry, and roaring of cannon, and hissing and bursting of rockets, stink-pots, infernal machines, huge stones, blocks of wood, and trees, all hurled upon their devoted heads--the men wavered for a moment, and sheltered themselves behind stones. But the ladders were there, and there the Sappers, animated by the heroism of their officers, keeping firm hold until a wound or death struck them down beneath the walls. At this instant, on our right, three of the ladders broke under the weight of men, and a bugle sounded on our right also for the Europeans to retire. A brief pause, and again the stormers rushed to the ladders, led on by the engineer officers," and carried the position.

As soon as they were in, they heard the shouts of the left column, who had broken in at the breach and came rushing along the ramparts. The two columns joined and dashed into the town. No quarter was given. The city and its people were held to be accursed. There were fights in every street, almost in every house; and in the palace and stables, battle and slaughter and conflagration. The Ranee, who had fled into the fort, kept up a fire on the palace. The Sepoys and rebels were surrounded in the town and out of it and very few escaped who stayed to bear the shock of fight. This went on all the 3rd and 4th, and on the 5th Lieutenant Baigrie, of the 3rd Europeans, found the fort had been abandoned. Our loss in this storm of Jhansi was 300 killed and wounded.

The weather was now so hot, and the force so exhausted, that Sir Hugh found himself obliged to give the troops some rest, and also to replenish his stores. He halted three weeks, and then, after leaving a garrison in the place, resumed active operations. The 1st Brigade marched for Calpee on the 25th; the 2nd a few days afterwards. The sufferings of the troops on the march were dreadful, chiefly from want of water--a want that the transport animals, even the camels, felt keenly. On the 5th of May the two brigades, reinforced by the 71st Highlanders, united. The enemy made a stand at Koonch and was routed, with the loss of eight guns. The battle of Koonch would have been more disastrous for the enemy had not Brigadier Stuart held back his brigade. The sun killed more on our side than the enemy and Sir Hugh Rose himself was prostrated three times with the heat.

The enemy, weakened and disheartened, drew up at Calpee. Here were the Ranee of Jhansi, the Nawab of Banda--driven off by Whitlock's column, which had slowly and without adventure worked its way as far as Banda--and Tantia Topee. Here they drew up among the tombs and ravines on the south side of Calpee. But Sir Hugh Rose swept round to the east, and encamping on the Jumna, entered into communication with Colonel Maxwell, who held his brigade on the opposite bank of the river. It was now the 15th of May. The strong front of the enemy's position had been turned, but he found in the ravines that ran between Sir Hugh's camp and Calpee endless facilities for attack; and every day until the 22nd the enemy made repeated attacks. On the 20th Maxwell sent over a few troops, and on the 21st his artillery shelled the town. On the 22nd the enemy came out in great force, and attacked Sir Hugh in position at Gowlowlee. This combat was, perhaps, the sharpest in which Sir Hugh had been engaged. The enemy, in thousands, not only attacked the front with great resolution, but repeatedly tried to turn the left flank. Several times his infantry charged up to the guns. For some time, so numerous were the assailants, it was with the greatest difficulty that our soldiers held their ground; and had not the right been promptly reinforced it must have been overpowered. But Sir Hugh Rose, at the right moment, assaulted the enemy's right with a vigour that was irresistible; and then, advancing the whole line, drove the enemy in disorder from the field. He retired to Calpee; but on the 23rd of May he was driven out without much trouble, pursued by the cavalry, and relieved of all his guns.

Such seemed to be the natural termination of this astonishing campaign in the hot season. The troops had traversed Central India from Indore to Calpee, had been four months in the sun, and were literally exhausted. But now came startling news. Gwalior was in the hands of the rebels, and the Maharajah Scindia a fugitive at Agra. Defeated at Gowlowlee, driven out of Calpee, Tantia Topee and his shattered troops hurried off towards Gwalior. It was a bold stroke, worthy of the subtle brain of the ablest leader of the Hindoos. Scindia had not befriended the rebel cause: nay, he and his sagacious Minister, Dinkur Rao, had helped the Europeans in every way; yet the Gwalior people were hostile to the British. Why not, then, dethrone Scindia and, seizing Gwalior, hoist the Mahratta flag in the capital of that great Mahratta State? Tantia Topee was equal to the emergency. Preceding the army by forced marches, he secretly entered Gwalior and began to intrigue with the leaders of the disaffected. The fruits were soon seen. Hearing of the approach of the rebel force, Scindia marched out to attack them on the 30th of May. But when the combat began, half his army threw down their arms and fled. The Maharajah's body-guard of horse alone fought, charging the enemy repeatedly, and only retiring when two-thirds were slain. Then the faithful remnant hurried their chief out of the field. They took the direction of Agra, and falling in with a troop of British horse, Scindia entered Agra a fugitive on the 3rd of June. Tantia Topee entered Gwalior in triumph and proclaimed Nana Sahib Peishwa of the Mahrattas. It was the news of this that brought Sir Hugh Rose from his sick bed and set his weary brigades in motion once more. They marched at once, one from Calpee, the other from Jaloun, to unite at Indoorkee.

A great movement of concentration on Gwalior was in progress. A body of Europeans marched out of Agra. Orders were sent to Brigadier Smith operating in the heart of Scindia's country, to hasten on to Gwalior from Goona. It was needful that a severe blow should be struck, and struck at once, lest Tantia Topee should succeed in raising the whole country south of the Jumna, and in spreading the contagion to the Deccan, where the Nizam's Minister, Salar Jung, another able Hindoo, held down the disaffected with difficulty; therefore the troops marched with rapidity under the scorching sun. Sir Hugh pushed up close to Gwalior, and then waited for Scindia, whose presence with the army gave it a moral weight and, it was hoped, would save the city from plunder. On the 17th Brigadier Smith, issuing from the Pass of Antree, south of the town, found himself in front of the rebel army. It was led by the Ranee of Jhansi, who, it is said, was dressed like a man and who fought like one. Brigadier Smith, after surveying the enemy's position, drove off their cavalry by a charge of the 8th Hussars, who had to ford a ravine full of water before they could get at the enemy. Then the infantry went in and, fighting and marching all day, expelled the enemy from his position and drove him back upon Gwalior. Smith encamped within range of the enemy's guns, and they pounded him at intervals, although the troops were not allowed to light fires. The next day Sir Hugh Rose arrived and the two columns, united, assailed the enemy with such fury, on the 19th, that, after a sharp combat of five hours, they drove him away. Tantia Topee fled to the west pursued by the British cavalry. The Ranee of Jhansi, mortally wounded on the 17th, was carried from the field, and Rose wrote, "the best man upon the side of the enemy was the woman found dead." All night the fort fired guns at intervals; but in the morning, when the troops entered, it was found that this was the work of eleven fanatics, only two of whom knew how to load and fire a gun.

As soon as Gwalior fell, the Agra brigade came up, and Scindia was ceremoniously restored to his throne by Sir Hugh Rose. Thus, within the space of three weeks, the Mahratta prince had been worsted in battle and driven from his capital by men of his own race and religion; and they in turn had been routed from the field and he had been restored by the white men from the Western world. A great danger had been met with energy and overcome. The lesson was not lost on the native princes far and near. It made our hold on the neighbouring Doab more secure, and it relieved the mind of Sir Colin Campbell of any apprehension he might have felt touching an irruption on his flank and rear from the south of the Jumna. On the 28th of June Sir Hugh Rose, having done his work and being really ill, resigned his command and started for Bombay.

The reader will be naturally solicitous to know how Brigadier Smith came to be at Goona and thus in a position to aid Rose in the vital operation of recovering Gwalior. The brigadier's column had come from the west. Lord Elphinstone's first care had been to recover Indore and reassure Holkar. This was effected by the troops Rose had collected at Mhow and Indore and by Stuart's campaign at Malwa. Lord Elphinstone's next care was to assemble troops in Western Rajpootana, in order to recover that country, keep the enemy out of Gujerat and, by a forward movement to the east, defeat the mutineers and rebellious chieftains between the Sinde river and the Chumbul. As reinforcements arrived from England, they were sent into Rajpootana. Camps were formed in the winter of 1857-8, and when Rose moved from Saugor, General Roberts, who commanded in Rajpootana, marched upon Kotah. On the 30th of March, the day he attacked the place, he was joined by 1,500 horsemen, who had marched from Cutch. Having dispersed these rebels, the division under Roberts broke up and engaged in diverse harassing expeditions during the whole of the year. Part of the force (Smith's brigade) marched over the Chumbul into the Gwalior country. When Sir Hugh Rose had captured Jhansi, the rebels, pressed from the west by Roberts, assembled in detached bodies in Rose's rear, and Smith's brigade was occupied in marching and fighting and dispersing the enemy. It was thus that, in June, he was at Goona and was called up to drive Tantia Topee out of Gwalior city.

After that defeat the rebel chief hurried westward, was defeated again, with the loss of his remaining guns, and pursued by Sir Robert Napier, who succeeded Rose in command of the Central India Field Force. But although the weaver-artilleryman attracted towards himself a host of enemies--Napier from Gwalior, Showers from Agra, Roberts from Nusseerabad--he managed to slip through their hands; to raise fresh armies as often as his soldiery were surprised and broken; to steal artillery from native rajahs; to fight and fly, and fly and fight, and to keep all the troops between the Jumna and Nerbudda constantly employed for six months. His great object was to reach the Deccan or Candeish; and to accomplish this he made incredible efforts. But the story of his wanderings and adventures belongs to a later stage in the revolt.

While Campbell had been capturing Lucknow and Bareilly, and Rose had marched and fought from Indore to Gwalior, by way of Calpee, the great force that held down the North-West and made the Punjab a tower of strength had not ceased to exert itself for the weal of the empire. Mr. Montgomery had issued an order in the very midst of our troubles, declaring that the system of caste could no longer be permitted to rule in our service; that soldiers and Government servants should be entertained irrespective of class, caste, or creed, and inviting native Christians to seek our service, promising to appoint those who were properly qualified. This was a great step; not taken before it was needed. Moreover, the Punjab Government determined that all loyal natives who had suffered in consequence of the acts of mutineers should be compensated by contributions levied in the offending districts--thus rewarding the faithful at the expense of the malcontents. Sir John Lawrence in the summer of 1858 was able to organise a plan for relieving himself of the huge army of disarmed Sepoys. He separated the faithful from the faithless. He sent off all the latter to their homes, passing them on in small batches of twenty a day, under escort, until they reached their native States, and then turned them adrift. Only two regiments, those at Mooltan, resisted and they met with terrible punishment. Three regiments and one wing of a fourth were re-armed. Another body, faithful men from several regiments, was formed into a new regiment, to be known in future as the Wuffadar Pultun, or faithful regiment; while the 21st, which had been armed all along, which had resisted every appeal from its fellows, and the Khelat-i-Ghilzies, were all that remained untouched in any way of the 41,000 Bengal Sepoys who in May, 1857, were in the Punjab and the Upper Doab.

During the spring of 1858 the King of Delhi had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to banishment. It was clearly proved that he was guilty of rebellion and murder. The rebellion was patent: he had proclaimed himself Emperor of India. The murders were proved: it was shown that he gave express permission for the massacre of the forty-nine women and children whom he had in confinement, and that one of his sons took an active part in the foul work. The old man was fairly tried; had not Hodson, with the sanction of General Wilson, promised him life, he would have been hanged. As it was, he was banished to Burmah. Thus Mohamed Bahadoor Shah, the last of the Moguls, terminated the dynasty of Timour; and in the words of the Advocate-General, he was degraded by his crimes to a felon, and the long glories of a dynasty were effaced in a day.

Before the trial of the king had come to an end, the rebel Nawab of Jhujhur and the rebel Rajah of Bulubgurh had been hanged; both having been proved to be accomplices of the king and participators in the rebellion. At the same time the Maharajah of Puttiala, the Rajahs of Jheend, Nabha, and Kuppoorthulla--all of whom had given unhesitating aid in men, money, and provisions, and who had taken the field in person--were amply rewarded by an increase of dignity and territory. Besides these several minor chiefs in the same district also received acknowledgments for their services. Thus, justice and political equity and expediency were alike satisfied. We showed those chiefs that in trusting to us they trusted not only to the strong, but to the just. By able and judicious measures Sir John Lawrence rapidly organised the territories over which he exercised unquestioned sway, and turned all the strength at his disposal to the promotion of the Imperial cause.

In another quarter the work to be done was of a different kind. The presence of such large masses of rebels in Oude led to great disturbance on the eastern frontier of that country. The marches and battles of Franks, and the progress of Jung Bahadoor had not crushed opposition, nor had the capture of Lucknow reduced Oude. It was in this extensive district that Colonel Rowcroft, with a small force of European and Ghoorka infantry, and Sotheby's Naval Brigade, chiefly sailors of the Pearl, and a mere handful of Bengal yeomanry cavalry, made head against an enemy who outnumbered them ten to one. It was to their exertions, aided by detachments from Dinapore, that Sarun was saved from invasion, and that the rebels could gain no footing in Azimghur and Goruckpore. Sometimes acting together; sometimes working in detachments; now repelling with heavy loss an attack; now beating up the enemy's quarters and shattering his masses, this energetic and much-enduring force did most admirable service. Throughout the year, and with unvarying fortune, our soldiers and sailors continued the combat, shielding the eastern provinces of Bengal, north of the Ganges.

During the hot months, also, Sir Hope Grant, justly styled indefatigable, had moved about Oude with a flying column, to prevent the enemy from establishing himself too strongly at any point. In June Sir Hope returned to Lucknow from one of these expeditions. He had received information that the Begum had collected an army at Nawabgunge Bara Bankee, the place selected for a rendezvous by the Oude regiments at the outbreak of the mutiny, and whence they advanced upon Chinhut and finally to Lucknow. Now Sir Hope Grant determined to attack them. He had with him about 4,000 men and eighteen guns. The enemy mustered 20,000 men and an unknown quantity of guns. They were routed from the field with a loss of 600 killed. One advantage of this action was seen in the great moral effect that it produced in the country north of the Goomtee.

The cause of the Oude rebels had grown desperate. They had lost their ablest leader, the famous Moulvie, who fell in a fight before a mean mud fort; and now, their largest force beaten at Nawabgunge, they began to see that they had little, indeed no, hope of winning the game. Yet, with a good deal of fortitude, the Oude chiefs held out, and there was yet to be a cold weather campaign before the conquest of Oude was complete. Hope Grant marched from his camp at Nawabgunge in July to Fyzabad, and drove off a body of the enemy who were besieging Maun Singh, the most powerful talookdar in those parts, and who now unhesitatingly rallied to our side. From Fyzabad he detached Brigadier Horsford, an excellent soldier, to Sultanpore, where he defeated the enemy; and, being reinforced by Grant himself, drove him from all his works and secured that part of the country. Thus the summer campaign ended. There were only two Oude armies of any strength at large. The Begum was on the north-east of the Gogra, between that river and the Raptee; and Bainie Madho, of Amethie, held Roy Bareilly and the country around south of the Goomtee, and between that river and the Sye. The Begum had an open line of retreat to the hills. Bainie Madho was supposed to be surrounded by our posts. When these two were defeated, Oude would be again in our possession.

Britain had not forgotten India. In 1857 she sent out thousands of troops, as in duty bound, to suppress the mutiny, and her patriot sons and daughters subscribed tens of thousands of pounds to relieve the sufferings of those who had fallen a prey to the merciless Sepoys. For the dead nothing could be done; for the living much--and much was done. Britain had been filled with horror, and her horror was succeeded by a rage that, for a time, overpowered every other feeling. In 1858 she sent more troops--nearly 30,000; but she did more. Her Legislature effected a grand reform in the Government of India, and a measure undertaken by Lord Palmerston was carried out, with great improvements, by Lord Derby. An Act was passed that abolished the rule of the East India Company and transferred the government of India to the Crown. Thenceforth, instead of a Board of Directors and a Board of Control, there were to be a Council of India, and a responsible Minister--a Secretary of State for India--through whom and by whom all business was to be transacted. The Company, which had endured so long and had been so mighty, ceased to have any political power and continued to exist solely because its machinery was required to look after certain pecuniary interests and distribute dividends upon East India Stock. As a matter of course the local European army was afterwards absorbed into and amalgamated with the Queen's army and the civil and military servants in India became servants of the Crown. This was an immense change, not only in name, but in principle; for thus India became virtually a part of Britain, and directly under the control of British Governments. On the passing of the Act a proclamation by the Queen in Council was addressed to the princes, chiefs and people of India, and sent to Lord Canning, who was appointed "first Viceroy and Governor-General," to administer the Government in the name and on behalf of Queen Victoria. This proclamation was received in the autumn of 1858, when Oude alone remained to be reconquered; and when Colin Campbell, then just raised to the peerage by the title of Lord Clyde, was preparing to overthrow the rebel hosts of the Begum and Nana Sahib. It was determined that before he marched into Oude the Queen's proclamation should be published; and Lord Clyde, all being in readiness on his part for action, went to Allahabad, at the end of October, to be present when the Governor-General solemnly published the proclamation. This was done on the 1st of November. A platform was erected near the fort. Lord Clyde and General Mansfield accompanied Lord Canning to this appointed spot, and there the first Viceroy read the document that created a revolution in the fundamental principles of Indian government. The ceremony, we are told, was tame and spiritless; but the fact behind it was one of the most solid and substantial in India. The pith of the proclamation was the transfer of power--the extinction of the Company Bahadoor. But it also went on to describe the spirit in which the Queen, through her Viceroy, would rule in the land.

"We hereby announce," said the Queen, "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....

"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 any wise favoured, none be 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....

"Already in our 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 apportioning 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 shown to those whose crimes may appear to have originated in 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 offence 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 to us and to those in authority under us strength to carry out these our wishes for the good of our people." The last sentence was, says Sir Theodore Martin, added by the Queen's own hand.

Such are the principles upon which the future government of India was to rest. Armed with this proclamation, and one issued in his own name, in which he promised protection to all who submitted, Lord Clyde, that same night, crossed the Ganges and entered Oude to enforce the law and reduce the last remaining rebels to obedience. We have already stated that one great body of rebels, led by Bainie Mahdo, held the forts and jungles between the Goomtee and the Ganges. It was against him that the Commander-in-Chief directed his first efforts. His own camp was near Pertabgurh on the Sye, and his troops formed the main central column. On the right was Sir Hope Grant, near Sultanpore; on the left Colonel Wetherall, near the Ganges. These columns were to sweep the country before them, and concentrate on Amethie, a strong mud fort held by the rajah of that ilk, and garrisoned by 20,000 men of all sorts with thirty guns. The rajah, after much shuffling, surrendered.

Dismantling the fort, Lord Clyde despatched three columns in pursuit of the fugitives; and conjecturing rightly that they would in the main make for Shunkerpore, the stronghold of Bainie Madho, the columns marched towards that place, halting at Oodeypore. But Bainie Madho had fled. From Shunkerpore Lord Clyde continued the pursuit of the enemy; but, as intelligence of the whereabouts of Bainie Madho was contradictory, he halted a few hours near Roy Bareilly in order to obtain exact information. It did not come, but some information came which warranted a move, and the army defiled through Roy Bareilly and went up the Sye. Colonel Evelegh, commanding a light column, was ordered to follow and not lose sight of Bainie Madho, while the army crossed the Sye above Roy Bareilly. Then in came a courier from Evelegh, with certain news that he had tracked the foe to Dhondiakera, on the Ganges. Lord Clyde immediately marched on the fort. A bridge was thrown over the Ganges below the rebel position, from the opposite bank, and a force crossed over, while cavalry and guns from Cawnpore patrolled the Doab shore. It was supposed that Bainie Madho had about 8,000 Oude Sepoys and many thousands of irregular levies; and the British brought up 6,000 men. For a brief space there was brisk exchange of musketry, then the enemy opened with cannon, and our guns were ordered up to the front, just as our line pushed on. From that time the British advance was continuous, Lord Clyde still leading the eager skirmishers. After a brief but heavy cannonade, our "advance became a run. The men cheering, broke out into a double, at last into a regular race, Lord Clyde himself leading them on." The ridge was crowned just in time to see the enemy in full flight up and down the banks of the Ganges. In a moment the cavalry and horse artillery and some of the foot went off in pursuit, while another body, with two guns, opened upon a host of fugitives who were trying to escape across the Ganges. But the rebel chief escaped with his treasure, and lost only some hundreds killed and his stronghold. Nevertheless the blow was in one sense effective. The rebel force was broken up; its leaders were convinced that there was no safe place for them south of the Goomtee, and they fled even beyond the Gogra.

Lord Clyde, directing his army from Lucknow, encamped there a short time. More talookdars surrendered. Practically, Southern Oude was free from organised revolt, and it now only remained to deal with the Begum, reinforced by Bainie Madho, and with Nana Sahib, all of whom had been driven to seek refuge in Beyratch, with their backs to a pestiferous belt of forest land, called the Terai, that skirts the foot of the Himalayas. The British forces were now widely distributed in posts all over the country, and when in December Lord Clyde heard that the rebels were assembling on the Gogra, not far from Nawabgunge, he had to collect a column wherewith to attack them. He marched north from Lucknow on the 4th of December. On the 6th he heard that the enemy were in force at Beyram Ghat on the Gogra. Directing the infantry to follow, he made a forced march with the cavalry and four guns, hoping to surprise the enemy and drive them into the river before they could destroy their boats. But, although he rode at speed all the way, he reached the river only to find that the enemy had just fled.

The army was next marched to Fyzabad, and thence it crossed the Gogra into Beyratch. Maun Singh and his brother accompanied the force. Halting for some days in the town of Beyratch to receive and answer letters from the rebel leaders, some of whom were willing to come in on terms, Lord Clyde would not listen to anything but unconditional surrender, and finding it impossible to effect an arrangement, the army marched on Nanparah. A few miles beyond, the troops came up with a body of the enemy in the jungle, but the latter would not stand an attack. They fled in all directions before the cavalry and the guns. Here it was that Lord Clyde met with a severe accident. Galloping over the fields, his horse put one foot in a hole, and coming down threw the Commander-in-Chief with such force that his right shoulder was dislocated. This was soon remedied by the surgeons, but Lord Clyde was much shaken and obliged to follow the troops in a litter.

The operations were now rapidly coming to an end. On the 27th of December, hearing that a body of the enemy had collected in the fort of Mejidiah, Lord Clyde marched upon them, drove them out with his guns and then went in and took their artillery. It was a very strong place and its easy capture showed that the enemy had lost confidence. On the 30th Lord Clyde was informed that Nana Sahib and Bainie Madho were at Bankee, twenty miles north of Nanparah. He determined to march all night, and if possible, surprise them. This was the last action of the war on this side and resulted in a complete defeat of the enemy, who made hardly any stand. Nana Sahib, unhappily, got away. He was in a wood, two miles in rear of the position, when the guns opened. He gave orders for flight at once, and with elephants, bearing himself and his treasure, dashed over the Raptee into the Terai and Nepaul. Sir Hope Grant had followed his brother, Bala Rao, into the jungle beyond Toolsepore, and had dispersed his soldiery, taking fifteen guns. "Thus," says Lord Clyde, in his official report, "the contest in Oude has been brought to an end, and the resistance of 150,000 armed men subdued with a very moderate loss to her Majesty's troops, and a most merciful forbearance towards the misguided enemy." One after another the chiefs surrendered, and Major Barrow held his court to receive these rebels, who acknowledged that they had lost the game. The rebels, with the Nana and the Begum, were held fast in the Terai, where they perished one by one. The Nana and the Begum never reappeared. They may have found shelter in Nepaul or Tibet, but the probability is that they were eaten by wild beasts. All the other leaders, except Feroze Shah, of Delhi, were either captured, killed in action, or surrendering, were punished according to the nature of their crimes. Oude was disarmed, the forts of the talookdars were demolished; Lucknow was fortified, and the province was permanently occupied. Mr. Montgomery, and after him Mr. Wingfield, were left to reorganise the government. Lord Clyde went to Simla to restore his health, and Lord Canning returned to Calcutta to undertake the gigantic task of reorganising the whole Government of India on the new basis of Imperial rule, and as a fundamental step was obliged to take in hand the finances, which the mutiny had so greatly disordered. After the end of January, 1859, there were combats and skirmishes here and there with bodies of turbulent men, the dregs of the native armies raised by the rebellious chiefs; but they only measured the regular subsidence of the great tempest which had swept over the land. With one exception, we have now followed the track of every rebel leader to its close. That exception is the career of Tantia Topee, who, with Kour Singh, was the only able man thrown to the surface by these great events. His romantic course is worth sketching, at least in outline.

Driven from Gwalior, Tantia rode off to the westward. Pursued and stricken by Robert Napier, turned aside by the appearance of Brigadier Showers with the Agra troops at Futtehpore Sikri, he made with all speed for Jeypore, seizing camels, horses, elephants, carts, provisions, as he went. His object was to seize some large town and plunder it, taking arms and cannon and coin, and getting together as large a mass of mounted men as he could. The native ruler of Jeypore was on our side and there was, therefore, a double motive for saving him. Accordingly, General Roberts, as soon as he learned that Tantia was marching on Jeypore, broke up his camp at Nusseerabad and, by rapid forced marches, interposed just in time between the rebel and his prey. Frustrated in his move upon Jeypore, Tantia turned abruptly southward and rode straight for Tonk, a town and native principality on one of the affluents of the Chumbul. Roberts now followed and other columns closed from different quarters towards the rebel line of march. Tantia was first at Tonk. The rajah shut himself up in his fort and kept the enemy at bay, but he plundered the town and carried off four guns. Colonel Holmes now took up the chase, but was soon stopped by want of carriage. Then Roberts went on and by long marches overtook the enemy, forced him to an action and routed him. The light-heeled rebels rushed away towards Oodeypore. Roberts followed and overtook them again, this time getting well among them with his horsemen, cutting them up and retaking the Tonk guns. The enemy scattered to avoid the pursuing cavalry, and then crossing the Chumbul, and being reinforced by the desperadoes of the country-side, laid siege to and took the important town of Julra Patun. Here they levied very heavy contributions and obtained a large number of guns. This was Tantia's greatest triumph. He had sacked Julra Patun in the teeth of our troops.

But he dared not halt. Roberts was following. Smith's troops on the Agra trunk road were approaching him. The Mhow force, under General Michell, was preparing to strike. Tantia's object was now the Bhopal State; his ultimate design being to cross the Nerbudda and the Taptee, and breaking into the Deccan or Nagpore, raise a mighty insurrection and gather the Rohillas to his flag. This was a great danger, and it was necessary to strain every nerve to ward it off. Smith detached Robertson, of the 25th Bombay Native Infantry, and Michell moved up from Mhow. Robertson overtook part of the rebel force at Bajapore, mostly Sepoys, many wearing medals. He came upon them as they were cooking, drove them into and over a river, and killed many hundreds. Michell had even better fortune, for he routed the main body on the 13th of September, and took nearly thirty guns, the spoil of Julra Patun. Thus, headed off from Bhopal, Tantia hastened to Seronge, on the Betwa, and halted to refit and recruit. But he dared not stay long. His spies told him that columns were afoot, east, west, north, and south. So he broke up from Seronge a few hours before Captain Mayne rode in with part of Smith's force, and going northwards, attacked and captured Esaughur, a fortress belonging to Scindia. Smith and Mayne followed him, making a march on Esaughur in concert with troops from Jhansi and Gwalior. Again the rebel rapidly retreated, striking in between the advancing troops, and making eastward for the Betwa. He crossed this river on the 9th of October, intending to seize and plunder the friendly native State of Tehree. Here he had the aid of an ally. The Nawab of Banda came up the river on the left bank to oppose Michell advancing from Seronge, while Tantia sacked Tehree. But on the very day when Tantia crossed the Betwa, Michell met the nawab and, fighting him at once with characteristic vigour, routed him with great loss. In the meantime Tantia had formed a column on the road to Tehree; and when, on the 11th, he was moving back to the Betwa, Michell, who had crossed that river at Mungrowlee, fell in with Tantia at Sindwah and took four of his guns.

Thus frustrated and defeated, this persevering partisan fled first towards the north, but doubling back, stole away between his pursuers, and made for the Nerbudda, by way of Ratghur. He had not effected this movement without suffering one more defeat at the hands of the energetic and tireless Michell. In spite of these defeats Tantia was now apparently nearer than ever to the object of his endless manœuvres; for, at the end of October, he actually crossed the upper waters of the Nerbudda, east of Hoosingabad. He had but to pass one line of posts, and he would be in Nagpore, or the Deccan. This was the one moment of great peril for us. If Tantia, with even a broken force of 7,000 men, entered the Deccan, he would in a week have been at the head of 100,000 men. The Government was really alarmed; but as the danger was greater, so were the means of parrying it greater, since Lord Elphinstone had pushed up a large force of European and native cavalry to render the hunt after Tantia more effective; while, from Kamptee, in Nagpore, to the Gulf of Cambay, there was a great stir of troops, and a readiness to move at the shortest notice to guard the passes, and fords, and great roads southwards. And the measures adopted proved to be effective. Tantia found he could not get farther than the hills of Sindwarra. Out of these he was forced by Lieutenant Kerr. Flying by devious routes, he sought the Nerbudda again; but, being headed, he turned westward, and traversed the hills between the Taptee and Nerbudda at racing speed. It is assumed that his aim was Candeish. Moving into Nimar, he actually prevailed on 1,000 men of Holkar's Horse to desert and join him, and with this reinforcement rode off to Burwanna, evading our troops. Finding it impossible to remain in the valley of the Nerbudda, or to break into Candeish, he once more crossed the great river and hurried into Malwa; not, however, before he had been hit very hard by a new enemy--the Camel Corps; that is, infantry mounted on camels. It was this force that drove Tantia over the river. Brigadier Parke now came up. He formed a flying column, all horsemen, except 100 Highlanders. With these he crossed the river, and marched 241 miles in nine days; he caught Tantia near Chota Oodeypore. Forced to fight, the rebel chief showed his usual judgment in the selection of a position on broken ground. Parke put his handful of Highlanders in the centre, and placed horse on the flanks, and formed a reserve wholly of cavalry. Then, although overlapped on both flanks, he charged in upon the foe, drove him from his strong ground, and pursued him for miles. He fled deeper into Malwa.

In the meantime Feroze Shah, who had been fighting in Oude, found a gap in Lord Clyde's line, and crossing the Goomtee, he made his way over the Ganges into the Doab. Here Brigadier Percy Herbert marched upon him, and, wresting from him his only gun, drove him over the Jumna. Feroze Shah made for the west. Robert Napier, hearing at Gwalior of the advent of this new foe, took with him 300 men, horse and foot, and marching 140 miles in four days, came up with the rebels at Runnode, smote them heavily and forced them to turn towards Kotah. Met at various points, Feroze Shah wound in and out and at length succeeded in crossing the Chumbul near Inderghur. Tantia Topee, smarting under the rough punishment inflicted by Parke, now sought to join the Delhi Shazadah. In spite of numerous defeats, he made for the Chumbul again, crossed it, and joined Feroze Shah somewhere in the Jeypore country. The whole of these operations were performed at racing speed between the 20th and 30th of December. Brigadier Showers got wind of their whereabouts, and marching ninety-four miles in three days, overtook the two worthies on the 16th of January, 1859, and slew some of their followers, but failed to catch chiefs who were so prone to fly at the sound of the cannon. Thus reduced to extremities, Feroze Shah disappeared and was never captured. Tantia Topee, making a fruitless effort to break into Bikaneer, doubled back again to Central India and, his fightings and flyings over, took to the jungle. Beset on all sides, having made many enemies, he dared not venture abroad, and his very life now depended on the fidelity of those who knew his secret. In April a native betrayed him; he was captured in the jungle near Seronge, tried by court martial, and hanged at Sepree, having furnished for ten months ample occupation to all the troops in Central India. With the capture and execution of Tantia Topee the war came to an end.

The struggle was over then, but now a new one arose. The stupendous exertions required to suppress the mutiny had created great confusion. Order, in another sense, had to be restored. The mutinous Sepoys, the rebellious rajahs and their followers, had been exterminated or quelled. Now it became of the last consequence to revive public confidence, to bring back order and solidity to the finances of the country, to re-establish the principles of government, and to reorganise the army. This gigantic task Lord Canning, aided by the Home Government, had to undertake and accomplish; a task not so exciting as that of suppressing a mutiny backed by insurrection, but perhaps even more laborious and exhausting, because more tedious.

A very few figures will serve to prove the magnitude of the financial undertaking. Just before the mutiny the Indian Budget showed a small surplus--contrary to the rule, which was that it should show a deficit. But the mutiny, as a matter of course, rapidly restored, in an aggravated form, the normal state of the finances. With a revenue of nearly £32,000,000, the Budget of 1857-8 showed a deficit of nearly £9,000,000, which in the next year rose at a bound to nearly £15,000,000, making a total deficit in two years of £24,000,000. The revenue, by dint of taxation, had actually increased during the first year of the mutiny; a fact that testified to the wonderful elasticity of the resources of India. The great deficit was provided for by loans, nearly one-half of which were raised in India itself, showing that public confidence in British power and good fortune had not been impaired, although the debt rose in two years to £81,500,000, and in three to £95,000,000. The question for Lord Canning and the Home Government to solve was, how to balance revenue and expenditure. In order to effect this, Sir Charles Wood determined to present India with a Chancellor of the Exchequer. In England, as all know, the Chancellor who has to meet the expenditure has also to provide the ways and means, and has, of course, considerable power and influence in the Government which decides on the policy, and, as a consequence, the expenses to be incurred. But in India the department that provided the money had no connection with the department that spent it. There were consequently carelessness, extravagance, and confused accounts. The first remedy, then, was to send out Mr. James Wilson, the well-known economist, a statesman familiar with our mode of keeping accounts, to take charge of the Indian department, with power and authority sufficient to combat and overcome the tendency to delay and obstruct but too common among the servants of both the great branches of the Government. Mr. Wilson went, restored order to the finances, and died in his duty; a great loss to India and to England. In addition to the gain we looked for by the adoption of a sound system worked out with vigilant superintendence, the Indian Government was obliged to have recourse to extra taxation. These labours began as soon as the insurrection was suppressed; and within five years of the end of these great troubles not only had the revenue increased, but the expenditure was appreciably diminished, and the Government of India was even able to reduce taxation and secure a small surplus.

The army presented difficulties as great as the finances. No sooner was one mutiny at an end than Government was threatened with another. We have already recorded the transfer of authority from the Company to the Crown. Under that Act the army became, of course, the Queen's army. Here, however, arose a serious difficulty. There were nearly 20,000 European soldiers who had enlisted to serve, not the Queen, but the Company. Technically, no doubt, they had all along been servants of the Queen, whose agent the Company was. But soldiers do not understand these refined distinctions; and when the men were simply told that they would in future be Queen's soldiers, they first murmured and then mutinied. The act of mutiny is always indefensible. In this case, however, it admits of some excuse; for, as the men said, the Government had no right to transfer them from one service to another, "like cattle." It was true: they had no moral and only a barely legal right. If, instead of dealing with the soldiers as if they were cattle, the Government had told them of the transfer, and given them a small bounty, the men would have been pleased with the consideration displayed; as it was, every one sympathised with the men who were punished, and even the Queen's troops betrayed a strong inclination to take their part, and gave unmistakable signs of their anger. And, after all, the Government had to do with an ill grace what it should have done at first with a good grace. And at great cost; for a bounty of £2 sterling per man would have amounted to only £40,000; whereas the course adopted--that of giving every man the option of taking his discharge--cost nearly a million; and many of the men, when brought home, re-enlisted.

This European mutiny had a very important political consequence. At first, after the abolition of the Company, the Home Government seemed disposed to increase rather than diminish, much less abolish, the army raised for local service in India. Many were of opinion that we should have a separate army for service in India, China, the Cape, Australia, New Zealand, and the islands we hold in the Indian Ocean. The mutiny of the Company's Europeans, mild though it was, turned the scale in favour of abolishing them altogether. The consequence was an Act that amalgamated the Company's European troops with the Queen's army, and thus the European infantry became regiments of the line. In order to prevent that abstraction of officers from their regiments to do staff duty, civil as well as military, so common under the Company's régime, a Staff Corps was organised, admission to which was obtained by undergoing an examination. For a long time, of course, it was difficult to pronounce any opinion on the working of these extensive changes, but on the whole it was thought that they worked well.

The result of the mutiny was to bring about an enormous increase in the number of European troops in India. The number of Europeans, including officers of native regiments, was, before the mutiny, only 45,522; the number of native troops was 249,153, giving a total of 294,675. But at the end of 1859 there were in India no fewer than 110,320 Europeans--an enormous drain upon our resources in men. There were of native troops 207,765, one-half of whom were new levies, enlisted during the fight. So that of regular soldiers there were 318,085, and if we add to these the Military Police, a thoroughly military body, there was a total of 407,914.

Here, then, was the field for reduction, and a fine rich field it was. By dint of great resolution and an unsparing pen in 1864 there were 30,000 fewer European, and perhaps 100,000 fewer native troops. Still it was a subject of serious reflection to statesmen that India should require and receive from us 70,000 or 80,000 British soldiers to hold a land that we once held with 50,000 at the outside. It was obvious that from this point of view our Indian Empire weakened our force and diminished our weight in Europe; and that so long as we felt it needful to keep 80,000 soldiers in India, we could not again take that part in European questions which we had taken up to that time. As to the native army, which, after all, we could not do without, it was composed mainly of Sikhs and Punjabees, and it was believed to be organised on sounder principles than the rotten Bengal machine which exploded in 1857. But there were not wanting those who anticipated a Sikh mutiny.

One other great change must not be forgotten. In 1858-9 Lord Canning made a royal progress throughout the North-West, even into the farthest Punjab. He held durbars, and rewarded the faithful native princes, some with gifts of honour, some with fair speeches, others with more solid gifts of territory. During this progress he hinted here and there at the coming change of policy--the concession of the right of adoption to all the princes of India. At a later period this momentous concession was made in a formal shape. What did it mean? It meant the renunciation of the policy of annexation, nothing more nor less, and it gave assurance that the native States would in future be maintained as a part of our internal policy. Lord Dalhousie had made annexation a system. He had annexed four kingdoms and five territories. It is assumed that, had he remained to carry out his policy, India would have been one homogeneous military monarchy. This is doubtful; but it is not doubtful, it is certain, that when he retired the whole fabric fell with a crash. The mutiny and insurrection rooted up the fundamental principle of the Dalhousie system of foreign policy. The native States allowed to survive broke the force of the revolt. The Cis-Sutlej States enabled Sir John Lawrence to retake Delhi. Bikaneer and Bhawlpore and Jeypore were stumbling-blocks in the way of the enemy. The loyalty of Scindia, Holkar, and the Nizam saved Bombay and Madras from the fate of the North-West. Rewah served to curb Kour Singh. The minor rajahs and ranees, in many places, furnished material support and aid. It is to Lord Canning's credit that he perceived not only the changed position of affairs, but the mode in which that change might tend to consolidate the supremacy of the Crown. A diplomatist of less acumen would have guaranteed the States as independent powers. Lord Canning took from them the last vestige of independence; called them openly feudatory princes; compelled the proudest to retire backwards from the chair of the Viceroy, and then guaranteed their rights as barons of the empire. The concession was accepted with delight. The concession was the right to adopt an heir when they had no issue, a privilege that secured the continuance of the State as an entity. Thus we have gone back to the period before Lord Dalhousie ruled, or rather we have adopted, with considerable emphasis, a new principle--that native States are desirable. The working of this principle is the more easy in India because there the princes have never claimed independence in the European sense. They have always been taught to look up to a paramount power, and the British Viceroy, far more effectually than the Great Mogul ever played that part, is, indeed, a paramount lord.

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