The new guide to Delhi

Front matter

THE NEW GUIDE TO DELHI. BY LIEUT. A. HARCOURT, Assistant Commissioner, DELHI. ALLAHABAD: PRINTED BY G. A. BAVIELLE, AT THE " PIONEER PRESS." 1866. CORRECTIONS. Page 10. For " Six 4 Pounders " read " Six, 6 Pounders." „ 12. For "Tendy" read "Tandy." ,, 16. For " Jamusjee'" read " Jamseljees" " 21. For " Resume" read '■'•Resume!'1 " 85. In line si from end, for "1323 " read " 1325." ,, 117. Inline 9, for " tombs of Altomsh" read " tomb of Altomsh." „ 120. Lines 12 and 20 from "It" till "to" should be in brackets. „ 123. Iu line 14 for "see 47" read "see 57." „ 136. For " 20 Firozabad city A.D. 1851-58 " read "A.D. 1351." ,, 137. For "53 Bhootkhana, In the reign of Altomsh the pillar Era of the &c." read " In the reign of Altomsh. The pillars are of the &c."

Preface

. A few words may be said by way of preface, I commenced this book, understanding that the other works on the subject were out of print, and, feeling at the same time that there was much to tell which had been left untold, I determined to devote any spare time I might have to the compilation of a New Guide to Delhi. It can possess but slight claims to literary merit, being, as it is, composed principally of extracts from the writings of able and scientific authors, as General Cunningham, Archæological Surveyor of India ; Mr. Cooper, c.B., Commissioner, Lahore, whose work on Delhi has just been re-printed ; Mr. Beresford, who wrote a guide to Delhi some ten years ago, &c, &c. Acknowledgment has always been made when anything from the above-written works has been inserted. It may be remarked that what I have entered in the historical portion sometimes appears again in the description of buildings elsewhere, but I have adopted this plan purposely, for there are those who may never care to look at the history, and yet would like to know the facts regarding the tomb or building of which they are reading, so that if I have erred, it is for the convenience of the reader.

Many who visit the wonderful remains of ancient grandeur scattered round the city of the Great Mo gul may be inclined to think, as others have already thought, that the traces we should leave in India, if c_> * we were to quit the country, would be as naught to these stately monuments of a more ancient regime. To all such cavillers, I would answer in the words of De Quincay : — " Another argument against England " urged by the English people at this time was that '' she, in no eminent sense, has been a benefactor to " India, or expressing it in words of later date the " only memorials of our rule, supposing us suddenly " ejected from India, would be vast heaps of cham " pagne bottles. I, on the other hand, allege that " our benefits, like all true and lasting benefits (reli " gious benefits for instance), must not be sought in " external memorials of stone and masonry.

Higher " by far than the Mogul gift of lime-stone or travel " ling stations, o_ even roads and tanks, were the gift " of security, of peace, of law and settled order." What the great essayist states with regard to the benefits of the British rule may be verified by any one who chooses to impartially look around him. If a hundred years of law and order, of justice to the op pressed, of freedom to the subject, and of liberty of action and of speech to the people that we govern, confers any right of reigning on the holders of power, then, true it is, we have that right. A. H. V Visitors to Delhi may find it convenient to visit the different places of interest as below : — 1st day. — The Jumma Musjid. The Fort, including the Dewan A' am the Dewan Khass, (in which is the Museum,) the King's Bath and Pearl Mosque (Note. — Drive to the Dewan Khas, the guide there will show all that is to be seen — a trifle may be given to him, say 4 annas) ; the Kalan Musjid near the Turcoman Gate of the City, but this is only interesting to antiquarians. 2nd day. — Drive out by the Delhi Gate of the City, and en passant look at Firoz Shah's Lat or Stone Pillar and the views of the City of Firozabad, just outside the gate to the left of the road ; go on to Humayon's Tomb, and while there visit Nizam-oodeen's Tomb (a fee of 4 annas for each person is generally given) , the Chousut Kumba, and the other ruined Mosques, &c, adjacent.

On way back leave the carriage outside the Fort of Purana Keela, and walk (about half a mile) to Shir Shah's Mosque, which is well worth seeing. 3rd day. — Drive towards the Kootub, passing the ruins of the Junter Munter or Observatory on the left, and Sufter Jung's Mausoleum on the right, both well worth seeing. The various Tombs and Galleries at the Kootub will employ the rest of the day. In the evening walk round the top of the wall of Lalkot Fort to the left of the Minar; ladies could hardly manage this, as the pathway is composed, on the West and most interesting and best preserved side, of large loose stones : sleep at the Kootub Dak Bungalow. VI 4_/J day. — Go to Mausoleum of Sooltan Gari; the chuprassie of the Bungalow can give every information. In the evening drive to Toogluckabad, three miles from Kootub, visit the ruined city, and the Tomb of Toogluck Shah, return to Kootub, and next morning come back to Delhi.

These are merely rough hints for those who have not time to see much, but should the visitor to Delhi have leisure, he could spend seven or eight days in rambling over the various buildings and antiquities. CONTENTS. Page. Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . i Directions to Visitors. . . . . . . . . . iii Account of the Changes of Capitals . . . . . . 1 Siege of Delhi . . . . . . . . . . 9 Delhi as it is . . . . . . . . . . 18 Resume of Sovereigns of Delhi . . . . . . 21 House of Toogluck . . . . . . . . 24 Ditto Lodi . . . . . . . . . . * 25 Ditto Timour . . . . . . . . ib. Ditto Sur 27 House of Timour restored (Akber) . . . . . . 30 The Emperor Jehangir . . . . . . . . 36 Ditto Shah Jehan . . . . . . 39 Ditto Aurungzib (or Alumgire) . . . . 42 Invasion of the Persians under Nadir Shah . . 63 Delhi taken by the British . . . . . . 73 Palace of Delhi . . . . . . . . . . 74 Dewan A' am . . . . . . . . ib.

Dewan Khass . . . . . . . . 75 The Pearl Mosque and King's Baths . . . . 77 Jumma Musjid . . . . . . . . ib. Selimgurh . . . . . . . . . . 79 Kalan Musjid . . . . . . . . ib. Kirkhee 80 Sut-poolla Bund . . . . . . . . 81 Begumpore Village . . . . . . . . ib. Buddee Munzil — Hous Khass — Junter Munter . . 82 Roshun Chirag, Delhi — City of Toogluckabad . . Huzar Seitoon — Barber's House — Toogluck Shah's Tomb 88 Firoz Shah's Lat 90 Remains of the City of Pirozabad . . . . . . 92 Ditto Delhi Shir Shah . . . . 93 The Jail— Sufter Jung's Tomb 94 Group of four Tombs facing Sufter Jung's Tomb . . 96 The Tir Boorja— Mobarikpore Kotla . . . . 97 Purana Keela . . . . . . . . 98 Keela Kona Mosque . . . . . . . . . . 100 Sher Mundil 101 Kala Mahul — Lai Bungalow . . . . ib. Arab ke Serai — Leela Boorj . . . . . . 102 Mukburrah Khan Khanna . . . . ib.

Emperor Humayon's Tomb . . . . . . . . 103 Bara Pool — Chousut Kumba . . . . . . 106 Nizam -oodeen's Tomb . . . . . . . . 107 The Poet Khusroo's Tomb 108 Mirza Jehangire's Tomb — Jehanara's Tomb . . 109 Tomb of Mahomed Shah 110 Well near Nizam-oodeen's Tomb — Jumaat Khana Mosque .. .. .. Ill Syud Abid's Tomb — Musjid Eesa Khan . . . . ib. Tagah Khan's Tomb ib. Tomb in Garden of Humayon's Tomb — Doorga YoosoofKutal 112 Sooltan Gari's Mausoleum . . . . . . . . ib. The Kootub Minar ib. Bhoot-Khana, or Idol Temple . . . . ..117 Musjid-i-Kootub-ool-Islam . . . . . . . . 118 Altomsh's Tomb 120 Ala-oodeen's Palace . . . . . . . . . . 121 Ditto Gateway . . . . . . . . 122 Emam Zamin's Tomb — Top of Kootub Minar . . Unfinished Minar 124 Adam Khan's Tomb— The Iron Pillar . . . . 125 Fort of Lalkot 127 „ Rajah Pitthora 130 Rose Beh's Tomb — Joomalie Koomalie . . . . 131 Musjid of Jelal Khan — Metcalfe House — Diving Wells 132 Ruins below Meltalfe House . . . . . . 133 Royal Tombs in Mehrow lie . . . . ..ib. Chronological Index to Buildings, &c. . . . . 134 „ „ Sovereigns of Delhi . .

Part I

1. Delhi with an account of the Changes of Capitals from the various old Cities. 2. The Siege of Delhi in 1857. 3. Delhi as it is. I. AN ACCOUNT OF THE CHANGES OF CAPITALS FROM THE VARIOUS OLD CITIES. The ruins that surround Modern Delhi, or Shahjehana bad, " extend from the South end of the present city to the " deserted Forts of Rae Pitthora and Toogluckabad, a dis " tance often miles ; the breadth at the Northern end, oppo " site Firoz Shah's Kotla, is about three miles ; and at the " Southern end, from the Kootub Minar to Toogluckabad^ " is rather more than six miles ; the whole area covered with " ruins being not less than forty-five square miles." — (Gene " ral Cunningham) According to a popular and well-known tradition, Dilli, or DhUi, was built by Rajah Dilu, or Dhilu . the date, however, is uncertain : it would probably be about 57 B. C. The city was not resided in by the sovereigns of the reigning dynasty for over 790 years, except at intervals ; but it seems to have been occupied by Rajah Dhava, who erected the iron pillar which stands in the square at the Kootub, about the year 319 A. D. The ancient city of Dilli may be considered to have occupied almost the same site as the Fort of Rae Pitthora.

With the exception of the iron pillar there are no traces left of this old city. The pillars at the Kootub are certainly Hindoo, but General Cunningham, the Archæological Surveyor of India, considers there are none of these older than the 10th century A. D. Ddli was apparently re-built by Anang Pal I., the first sovereign of the Tomara dynasty, but is supposed not to have been the metropolis of the Kings of Upper India, as the later Rajahs of the Tomara family seem to have resided at Kanouj. The year 736 A. D. saw the commencement of the Tomara or Toar dynasty of Dilli, which terminated in the 19th Sovereign (who is variously termed Akr Pal Akhsal,, Mokund Pala, or Ane Pala,) in the year 1130 A. D. From A. D. 1130 to A. D. 1151 there is a blank. Anang Pal IL, the successor of Kumara Pala, established himself in Dilli in A. D. 1052, and built the Fort of Lalkot, (to the left of the Kootub Minar,) which was probably finished in A. D. 1060.

Anang Pal's name is mentioned in one of the inscrip tions on the iron pillar. The Chohan dynasty commenced in A. D. 1152, and continued about forty years. The last Hindoo sovereign was Rajah Pitthora, or, as he is otherwise termed, the Prithvi Rajah. General Cunning ham reports : — " The only work which is attributed to Rajah " Pitthora is the extensive fort to the North and East of " Anang Pal's Lalkot, which is still called Killah Rae Pit s' thora. From the North-west angle of Lalkot the lines of " Rae Pitthora's walls can still be distinctly traced running " towards the North for about half a mile. From this point " they turn to the South of East for one and a half miles " then to the South for one mile, and lastly, to the West " and North-west for three-quarters of a mile, where they " join the South-west angle of Lalkot, which, being situ " ated on higher ground, forms a lofty citadel that com " pletely commands the Fort of Rae Pitthora.

The entire " circuit of the walls of the two forts is four miles and three " furlongs, or rather more than half the size of the modern " city of Shahjehanabad." We thus find that Rajah Dhava was in possession of the site of Rae Pitthora's Fort (that is, the ground around the Kootub) in probably 57 B. C. Passing through various hands, Dilli was re-built by Rajah Anang Pal I., but Anang Pal II. seems to have been the only sovereign of that period who resided in it. The Lalkot was finished by Anang Pal II. in A. D. 1060, and no further additions took place till the reign of the last Hindoo sovereign, who, to protect the town under the Fort of Lalkot, built Killah Rae Pitthora, the walls of which are here and there still visible. In A. D. 1193, Shahab-oodeen Altomsh defeated Rajah Pitthora and took his stronghold.

The Mahomedan conquerors probably continued in Killah Rae Pitthora and the Lalkot adjoining, adding to the works where necessary. Sultan Ala-oodeen founded the city of Siri to the North east of the Kootub, as it were an offshoot of the old Dilli. In this reign the Moguls under Turghai Khan invaded India in A. D. 1303, and advanced on Ala-oodeen. The latter intrenched himself apparently at Siri (now Shahpore,) and on the sudden retreat of the Moguls caused a palace to be built on the spot where his camp had been. " On this side," says General Cunningham, " the suburbs of the old Dilli extended " for a considerable distance. We know also that they " were without walls, because the Moguls plundered them " during their stay, and because they were afterwards " enclosed by Mahomed Toogluck, when they received the " separate name of Jehan Punnah.

Immediately in front of " these suburbs and facing towards the enemy is the old " ruined Fort of Shahpore, and inside the West half of this " fort there still exist the remains of a very extensive palace. " This palace I believe to be the celebrated Kasr-Hazar " Situn, or Palace of the Thousand Pillars, which Ala-oodeen " built on the spot where he had intrenched himself. This " palace was called Hazar Minar, or Thousand Minarets." — " Siri," adds General Cunningham, " cannot be identified " with the citadel that surrounds the Kootub Minar, for the " walls of Siri were pulled down and the material removed " by Shir Shah (between A. D. 1540 and 1545), while the " walls of the Kootub Minar citadel are still standing. And, " further, it seems almost certain that Shahpore must be Siri, " because of its vicinity to the new site of Shir Shah's fort, " for it is hardly possible to believe that the King would " have brought his building stones from the Kootub Minar, " a distance of seven miles, when he could have obtained " them from Shahpore, which is only half the distance.

" That he did obtain his materials from the latter place, and " not from the former, may be regarded as almost certain, " for the very sufficient reason that the walls of Shahpore " have actually been removed, while those of the Kootub " citadel are still standing." — " The next city built was " Toogluckabad, a half hexagon in shape, with three faces " of rather more than three-quarters of a mde in length " each, and a base of one mile and a half, the whole circuit " being only one furlong less than four miles." It was commenced in A. D. 1321, and finished in A. D. 1325, during the reign of Toogluck Shah. " His son, Mahomed Toogluck " Shah, fortified the extensive suburbs of Old Delhi, lying " between the Hindoo fort of Rae Pitthora and the Mus- " sulman citadel of Siri. These suburbs had been plundered " in the early part of the siege of Ala-oodeen, and their " unprotected state fully justified the vast outlay which the " King must have incurred upon their defence.

The North- " west wall is one mile and three-quarters in length and " the South wall is two miles, the whole length of the walls " being just five miles, or somewhat more than the circuit " of the Fort of Rae Pitthora. A considerable portion of " the South wall still exists, but the East and North-west " walls have been pulled down and are now only traceable " by their ruins. Sharif-oodeen states that Jehan Punnah " had thirteen gates, six being to the North-west and seven " to the South-west." (General Cunningham.) The city of Adilahbad, opposite Toogluckabad, was also commenced by Mahomed Toogluck, but very few traces of it are now to be seen. The seven forts of Old Delhi are given as below by General Cunningham : — 1. Lalkot, built by Anang Pal II. about A. D. 1052 2. Killah Rae Pitthora, built by Rae Pitthora about „ 1180 / 3.

Siri, or Killah Alai, built by Ala-oodeen „ „ 1304 4. Toogluckabad, built by Toogluck Shah „ „ 1321 5. Citadel of ditto, built by Toogluck Shah „ „ 1321 6. Adilahbad, built by Mahomed Toogluck „ „ 1325 7. Jehan Punnah, built by Mahomed Toogluck „ „ 1325 The next city of importance was Firozabad, commenced by Firoz Toogluck Shah in A. D. 1354. " It extended from " the Fort of Indraput to the Kooshak Shikar, or Hunting " Palace, a length of five coss. The Kooshak Shikar seems " to have been on the low range of hills to the North-west " of the Modern Delhi. But the exact position is absolutely " determined by the mention that the second stone pillar from " Meerut was erected within the precincts of the palace, as " the stone pillar is now lying in five pieces on the top of " the hill close to Hindoo Rao's house."* (General Cun ningham.)

The whole distance from Indraput to the top of the ridge * Any one driving by Hindoo Bao's house will see it just outside the entrance. by Hindoo Rao's house is said to have been filled up with mosques, houses, gardens, &c, but as this includes the whole of Modern Delhi, it is probable that all this space was not occupied. " It is certain, however, that some considerable " portion of the site of Shahjehanabad (or Delhi) was well " populated, as the Kala Musjid, which was built in Firoz " Shah's reign, (and which was inside Firozabad,) is situ " ated at some distance within the Turkoman Gate of the " present city." (General Cunningham.) Gheias-oodeen Bulbun, between A. D. 1266 and A. D. 1286, appears to have largely built, and the celebrated Ruby Palace is alleged to have been constructed by him.

Keikobad, who succeeded, and who only reigned two years, resided in the city, which was on the site of the present village of Kelo keree; but it is a matter of doubt as to whether the cities resided in by these two sovereigns were other than off-shoots of the imperial city. General Cunningham, the greatest authority on these matters in India, says nothing in his writings of any cities founded in their reigns. Firozabad began to decline about A. D. 1416, some sixty years after it was founded. Mobarikabad was built in A. D. 1435, in the rule of Seiad Mahomed. Sekundur Lodi, who reigned from A. D. 1488 to A. D. 1516, seems to have lived entirely at Agra, but in the reign of Shir Shah the city bearing his name was enclosed and fortified. Delhi Shir Shah extended from where Humayon's Tomb now is to the stone pillar of Firoz Shah (just outside the Delhi Gate of the present city,) and the South Gate of his city was between the Mausoleum of Humayon and the eleven-arched bridges beyond it.

The circumference of Delhi Shir Shah was about twice as great as that of Modern Delhi. Shir Shah only reigned from A. D. 1540 to A. D. 1545, and it is supposed the walls were completed before his death. Selim Shah, his successor, built the Fort of Selim Ghur, which is just without the Calcutta Gate of the Delhi of our day. The Emperor Humayon, in A. D. 1533, repaired or built the Fort of Indraput or Deen Punnah : according to General Cunningham, he built it, — as there is not a trace of the old tombs to be seen on the spot, — and made this his principal residence. His son, the great Akber, resided principally in Agra, as apparently did Jehangire, who succeeded him. The present Delhi, or properly speaking Shahjehanabad, was built by Shah Jehan, who commenced it in A. D. 1648, and beyond a few alterations and repairs to the battlements and glacis, the city is much the same now externally as it was in the days of the Great Mogul.

It may not be out of place here to take a rapid glance at some of the vicissitudes of this famous capital of the Maho medan sovereigns of India. Timour or Tamerlane, in A. D. 1398, defeated Mahomed Toogluck, and for five days the city was given up to plunder and the inhabitants to slaughter. The city referred to was the Firozabad of Firoz Shah, Commenced in A. D. 1354. The present city, built by Shah Jehan, was entered by the Persian conqueror Nadir Shah in A. D. 1739, when the Emperor Mahomed Shah, after having been defeated, was led back by the conqueror to his capital. A report arose that Nadir Shah had been killed, and the people rose on the Per sian guard. The Indian nobles gave over to be murdered the Persian soldiers placed over their houses to prevent any exaction from the troops of the invading army, but notwith standing these outrages Nadir Shah endeavored to still the tumult.

At last he was wounded, and one of his chiefs was slain by his side, upon which he gave the order for a general massacre, he sitting at the Dureeba Gate, inside the city, to see how his orders were carried out, and from morning till night the wholesale slaughter continued. The Emperor, it is said, with tears in his eyes, .entreated Nadir Shah to give orders for the cessation of the massacre, and that order being given, — such being the discipline of the Persian army, — was immediately obeyed. It was on this occasion that all the wealth accumulated by the great Mogul Emperors, Akber, Jehangire, Shah Jehan, and Aurungzib, was lost to Hindoos tan. The Peacock Throne of Shah Jehan, worth six millions of pounds, together with jewels of countless price, and gold and silver of an almost incalculable value, were carried off ; the extortions of the Persians were carried out on high and low, and torture was not spared to induce the sufferers to reveal where their wealth lay.

The empire never recovered from this disastrous invasion. In A. D. 1756 Ahmed Shah Dourani defeated the Emperor Alumgire II. , and again the dreadful scenes of the Persian in vasion were re-enacted, the city being given over to the troops. In A. D. 1758, Ragoba (the Mahratta,) the Peishwa's brother, besieged Delhi, which fell after one month's siege. In A. D. 1759, the Mahrattas, under Sedasheo Bhao, took Delhi after a short defence, and on this occasion the palaces, tombs and shrines were defaced ; all that had been left by former conquerors was carried off ; and the silver ceiling of the Hall of Audience, spared till then, was melted down and coined into £170,000. In A. D. 1803, the English army defeated M. Louis Bour quien and occupied the city, and in A. D. 1804 Holkar attacked the place, but the Resident, Colonel Ochterlony, held him at bay till the English reinforcements came up, when he raised the siege and retired again to his own province.

The final siege of Delhi may be said to have concluded on the 19th of September 1857, when the city was cleared of the mutinous solidery of the Bengal Army by a series of brilliant and dashing attacks on the part of the British. Of that siege and attack a short account will now be given A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE SIEGE OF DELHI. Of the Mutiny of the Native Troops of the Bengal Army, it is not necessary here to enlarge ; suffice it to say that, on the llth of May 1857, the mutinous regiments from Meerut swarmed into the city of Delhi, their comrades in Delhi Can tonments at once joining them. The European residents, who could escape, fled to different places of safety, but a great number were ruthlessly massacred. The puppet sove reign of Delhi at that period was Bahadur Shah ; he was supported by the British Government in his visionary kingdom, though, except within the walls of his palace, he was an Em peror but in name.

Whether he, or those who acted in his name, were the leading movers in the Rebellion, can matter little ; he identified himself with the cause of the rebellious soldiery, and, at any rate, tacitly consented to the deeds of horror that were enacted under his palace windows. The British Forces, under the command of General Anson, the Commander-in-Chief, after collecting a siege train moved towards Delhi. General Anson dying was succeeded by General Bernard, who again on his death was succeeded by Brigadier- General Archidale Wilson, who commanded the besieging army till after the city was captured. To call the force outside the walls a besieging one is a misnomer ; at the time of the actual attack, it was not 7,000 strong, whereas the native soldiery within Delhi numbered over 60,000 men. It is not necessary here to follow the different operations of the contending forces.

For the general reader it will suffice if the final position of the British Army and the arrangements for the attack are detailed. A heavy Battery, termed No. 2 Battery, was placed in front of Ludlow Castle (the Commissioner's residence outside the Cashmere Gate) . It consisted of two 18-pounders and nine 24-pounders and seven 8-inch howitzers. The Cashmere b Bastion was the object of their fire, and the dreadful state of ruin which it now (eight years after the siege) lies in, attests the accuracy of the fire of the British guns. The main breach was made at the Cashmere Gate. On the top of the ridge stands Hindoo Rao's house, which was the main picket of the — if it must be so called — besieging force, and close by is a much injured domed building, which was also used as picket.* On the extreme right of the ridge, which is considerably higher than the city, some 1,200 yards from the walls, is the site of what was once the Right Battery under command of Captain Fagan.

The well-known Sammy House, a small temple below this, was the chosen battle-ground on several occasions, where there was a picket of the besiegers ; and so closely was the attacking force sometimes pressed, that this advanced picket often could not be relieved for days. The Subzee Mundee and Roshunara Gardens were on the right flank of the British, on the left lay the Jumna and broken ground, while the rear was protected by the force of the Rajah of Puttiala, who, in those trying times, came gallantly to the assistance of the English Government. A Battery of six 4-pounders and two 24-pounders under Remington had been placed under Hindoo Rao's house, so as to play on the Moree Bastion, and another Battery, within 700 yards of the walls, was planted in advance of this — six guns directed against the Moree Bastion, and four against the Cashmere Bastion.

The Batteries in this position were under command of Major Brind.t It was after this that Ludlow Castle fell into the hands of the British. In the Koodsiah Bagh a Mortar Battery of ten pieces was * It may be here mentioned that the Flag-staff Tower on the ridge was where the European residents on the llth of May 1857 took refuge before fleeing from the place. t Now Brigadier-General Brind, Inspector General of Artillery. planted under Major Tombs :* another Battery was also established at the Custom House under Major Scott. " Brind's " Battery to the right had been at work ever since the morn " ing of the 8th of September, pounding away on the Moree " Bastion and dropping long shots into the Cashmere gate " way ; two days after the Ludlow Castle Batteries opened ; " the next morning the Koodsiah Bagh Battery was un " masked, and with that of the Custom House took up the " game, and now some fifty pieces of artillery were in full " play on the doomed city.