Captivity of two Russian princesses in the Caucasus: including a seven months' residence in Shamil's seraglio

Preface

During the late war, Shamil, in answer to a direct application from the Sultan, confessed his inability to bring any large force into the field against the Russians ; and it was probably in return for his unavailing protestations of goodwill, that Abdul-Medjid conferred upon the mountain-chief the high-sounding but meaningless title of Viceroy of Georgia. No one could have felt the irony of this more keenly than Shamil himself, who was aware that he might as well have been named Grovernor-Greneral of Moscow. Nevertheless, some months before the emissaries of the Sultan arrived he appears to have been very willing to profit by the first opportunity to injure his constant foe; and soon after the commencement of hostilities with Turkey, when a considerable portion of the troops, forming the ordinary army of the Caucasus, had marched towards Kars, he descended, with a large

A 2 iv PREFACE.

body of mountaineers, into the plains of Georgia, and carried off two Princesses, members of the Georgian royal family. These ladies, with their children and attendants, remained in captivity for upwards of eight months. They were then set at liberty, in consideration of an enormous ransom, and the return of Shamil's son, who, many years previously, had been given up to the Eussians as a hostage, and who, at the period of the mountaineers' descent into Georgia, was serving: as a cornet in one of the regiments of the Imperial Guard.

The Princess Anna Chavchavadzey and her sister the Princess Varvara Orbeliani, independently of their rank in Georgia, had occupied distinguished positions at the Eussian court as ladies of honour to the Empress ; so that no ordinary excitement was produced among the aristocracy of Eussia by the news of their captivity. That they had been cruelly treated was too probable, but as a severe censorship was exercised over their letters by Shamil, through his interpreters, the Princesses had been obliged to confine all their communications to one subject, that of the ransom. Accordingly, when the captives were at length set at liberty, and it was known that they had lived many months in ShamiPs own house, the interest felt in their adventures was unbounded.

PREFACE.

V

To satisfy this very natural curiosity, the Princesses communicated every particular of the attack upon their chateau, their journey through the mountains, and their residence in Shamil's seraglio, to M. Verderevsky, (editor of the "Kavkas," or " Caucasus," the principal journal of Tiflis,) who, in the summer of 1856, published a full account of the highly dramatic events in which they had been such unwilling actors. But it is not for its dramatic interest alone that M. Verderevsky's book is worth reading. Its particular value consists in the light it throws upon the condition of the territory at the foot of the Caucasus, the degree of civilisation existing among the tribes governed by Shamil, and especially on the character and habits of Shamil himself. Xothing so complete, and above all, so authentic, has ever appeared on the subject of the Caucasian mountaineers and their mysterious leader: and in following the author through his interesting narrative, we shall meet with scenes, characters, and manners, all thoroughly new.

The present work is founded upon M. Verderevsky's narrative, which has been followed faithfully in every particular, though sometimes a sentence, or even a page, may be found in the original, which it has been thought advisable to condense in the translation. M. Verderev-

PREFACE.

sky's opening chapters, for instance, which are devoted to the invasion of Kahetia, and to the effect produced in Tiflis by the news, are so long that in an unabridged translation they would probably have appeared tedious to English readers ; here, in the English version, an endeavour has been made to tell the same story in fewer words. But by far the greater portion of the book has been translated, if not word for word, at all events phrase by phrase, and wherever dialogue occurs, the rendering is strictly literal. No fact has been omitted, and we need scarcely say that nothing whatever has been added, with the exception of a few foot-notes, which here and there appeared indispensable.

With regard to the most important male personage who figures in M. Verderevsky's narrative, it is surprising, when we consider how much has been written about ShaniiL, to find how little is known of him personally. His English and German biographers, while expressing in general terms their high admiration of his virtues, at the same time state that he, with his own hands, beat his mother to death : that he maintains his dignity with the Murids by deluding them into the belief that he carries on a regular correspondence with the Sultan of Turkey and the Pacha of Egypt ; that he pretends to have periodical interviews with Allah, and that he is in

PREFACE.

the habit of announcing that Mahomet has appeared to him in the form of a dove, The truth is, we have derived nearly all our information about Shamil, including even the ordinary orthography of his name, from the Germans, who, in their turn, have taken most of their facts from the Eussians ; with the exception of the accounts of his apocryphal victories, which are obtained for the most part from the Constantinople Journal. It is this coupling of Eussian facts with German enthusiasm, that produces the strange contradictions in which all the English biographies of the Caucasian Chief abound, now representing him as a barbarous marauder and a religious impostor, and again as a patriot-hero, fighting only for the liberties of his country.

It will be observed, that the Princesses give Shamil a far higher character than his panegyrists in England, France, and Germany have ever ventured to claim for him. Yet these ladies had to thank Shamil for the destruction of their property, for a painful and prolonged captivity, and, in the case of the Princess Chavchavadzey, for the loss of a darling child.

There is another point to which we wish to call attention in favour of the truthfulness and good faith which distinguish M. Verderevsky's performance. Soon after the Princesses' return from captivity, a Prussian viii

PREFACE.

gentleman, who was serving as an officer in the Russian army of the Caucasus, published a short account of the very incidents which the editor of the (: Kavkas v was afterwards enabled to relate at length. Now, if the Eussian author had been unduly prejudiced against Shamil and his mountaineers, he would not have taken the trouble to contradict several statements to their discredit, which the German writer had put forth : yet M. Verderevsky has done this most satisfactorily.

The author of A Visit to Schamyl* reminds us of those Germans TUL Herzen speaks of, who insist on being more Eussian than the Eussians themselves. Thus, in his uncompromising hatred for the mountaineers, he makes the Princess Chavehavadzey say of them f , se They are not human beings, they are wild beasts. They have not one sentiment in common with us, and to speak to them is like speaking to a tree." u The Princesses," replies M. Verderevsky, (: do not appear to have said anything of the kind. The mountaineers are human beings and have human sentiments, but they happen not to be civilised."

The Prussian author says that ShamiFs people " held daggers over the Princesses* heads to force them to

f We Translate from the Russian version published in the Kavkas/'

I

PREFACE.

ix write/' that u frequently they wrote as many as fifteen letters before one would satisfy their jailer" and that they were " ordered to say they had everything they desired, and to praise the manner in which they were treated." " There is nothing," says M. Verderevsky, " about daggers, nor about fifteen letters, in the Princesses' narrative, nor was there any 6 jailer' in the matter."

The Prussian author states that, during the journey through the mountains, " the Princess Chavchavadzey was obliged to climb up a tree, round which the mountaineers placed themselves on the ground, so as to keep her safe." The Princesses themselves knew nothing of this.

To mention less important errors by the same author, the German writer makes Shamil fifty-five, whereas in 1856 he was only fifty; and he calls Djemmal-Eddin, Shamil's eldest son, the heir, whereas his younger brother Kazi-Machmat was proclaimed in his stead, while Djemmal-Eddin was still in Russia.

With regard to the dates, it must be stated that the Russian style has been preserved throughout.

EL S. E.

Contents

PART L

Chapter I

The last King of Georgia. — The Lesghian Cordon. — The Family at Tsenondahl ...... Page 1

CHAPTER il

Shamil on the Frontier. — The Outposts attacked. — The Repulse fi om Shildy. — Danger at Tsenondahl. — Plunder from the Chateau. — An Ambuscade. — Two Georgian Officers . . . .8

Chapter III

Plans of Defence. — A Stranger at Tsenondahl. — The Stranger's Signal. — Approach of the Marauders, — The Capture, — The "Khancha" . . . . . . .23

Chapter IV

Robbing a Baby. — A Governess in Difficulties. — Madame Drancey's Costume. — A polite Chechnian. — - Lydia restored. — Departure for the Mountains. — An inquisitive Mountaineer, — A General's Daughter. = The Surprise. — Death of Lydia . . . .34 xii

CONTEXTS.

Chapter V

Through the Wood. — Madame Drancev in strange Company, — A Family of Georgians. — The Princess Nina's Admirer. — A bad Night. — Fried Pony. — SharmTs Camp . . . Page 54

CHAPTER VL

Caucasian Roughs. — Georgian Improvisations. — A little Orphan, — Shamil's Band. — Stationery in the Caucasus. — The Captives' Toilet ........ 69

CHAPTER VH.

Shamil's Passport System. — Lesghian Nurses. — The Marauders at Prayer. — In a Cow-shed. — A Mountain Breakfast. — Children in the Caucasus. — A damp Bed. — Hospitality at Dido . .81

CHAPTER VIII.

A Night with the Bees. — The benevolent Moulla. — Disappearance of a Horse. — An affectionate Reception. — The House of the Cheese. — A Money-lender in the Mountains . . . .97

CHAPTER IX.

The Snobs of Chechni. — Fraternity among the Tribes. — An old Hag

— A Mountain Road, — The lost Child. — Proposed Separation 110

CHAPTER X.

The Great Aoui. — The benevolent Moulla again. — A Cobbler in Chechni. — A forlorn Hope. — A Mountain Thief. — News from Home.

— Madame Drancev Drinks ..... 122

CONTENTS, xiii

PAET II.

CHAPTEE L

Shaniil at Home. — His Wives. — His French Confectioner. — A nice Breakfast. — A Visit from Shamil. — His Daughters. — His Household. — The Seraglio ..... Page 137

CHAPTEE II.

A Chechnian Lady-Doctor. — The two Wives in Chief. — A Parcel from Home. — Traduttore Traditore. — Shouanette's Cousins. — The three Eivals . . . . . . . 1 52

CHAPTEE III.

The Wife and the Housekeeper. — Zaidette indisposed. — Queen Victoria's Wealth. — Zaidette indignant. — The young Wife . .164

CHAPTEE IV.

Arrival of Kazi-Machmat. — Messengers from Home. — An Addition to the Family. — Naming the Child. — A Massacre in the Seraglio. — Nina the Unclean. — Shamil's Eussian Son . . .174

CHAPTEE V.

Ingenious Project. — A Visit to the Aoul. — A Eussian Attack. — Accommodation for the Winter. — Hadjio's Departure. — Machmat- Shabi in Mischief. — The Eussian Deserter. — An Interview with Oscar . . . . - . . .188

CHAPTEE VI.

Shamil's Family Troubles. — A mysterious Visitor. — The Viceroyalty of Georgia. — An Earthquake. — Aminette asserts herself. — Aminette insurgent . . . . . . .207 xiv

COXTENTS.

CH APTER VII.

Shouanette's Reminiscences. — A Captive in Despair. — Infidelity of Selim. — A Wedding in the Seraglio. — A Tartar Governess Page 219

CHAPTER Yin.

ShamiPs Threats. — The Princess and Kazi-Machrnat. — Letter to the Prince. — A delicate Proposition. — Djemmal-Eddin the Elder. — The Song of the Murids. — A generous Mountaineer . . 230

CHAPTER IX.

Kazi-Machmat's Wife. — Family Treasures. — Mahometan Modesty. — A Caucasian Lady. — The last Evening . . .246

CHAPTER X.

The Departure. — A Captive detained. — An agreeable Meeting. — Precautions. — Russian Deserters ..... 257

PAET III.

Chapter I

The Negotiations. — First Proposition. — First Counter- proposition. — Letter from Bariatinsky. — Letter to General Read. —Answer of Djemmal-Eddin . . . . • .267

CHAPTER H.

The Russian Trans -Caucasians. — Ker-Effendi the Inseparable. — The Siege of Sebastopol. — Sharail in Action. — GramofT at Vedenno. — Gramoff and the Council. — Shamir s Defences. — What is a Million ? —A false Interpreter. — The Sinews of War.— Gramoff's Return 278

CONTENTS.

XV

Chapter VI

" A Visit to Shamil." — The Exchange. — Baron Nicolai's Sword 326

EPILOGUE,

A Change of Costume. — Djemmal Eddin's Parewell. — Testimonial to GramofT. — Letters to the Emperor. — The Captives at Church.— Russia's Protection of Georgia. — Djemmal-Eddin in the Caucasus ........ 333

CAPTIVITY OF RUSSIAN PRINCESSES

THE CAUCASUS.

CHAPTER L

The first news of the descent of the Lesghians into Kahetia was received in Tiflis on the 18th July, 1854, The intelligence caused the greatest astonishment ; for the mountaineers had hitherto never dared to cross the Alazan. But all other feelings gave place to one of indignation and pity when it was heard that the Princess Chavchavadzey and the whole of her family, including her sister-in-law the Princess Orbeliani, had been carried off by the marauders. For some time no one knew the details of the affair, and therefore no one could come to any conclusion as to the proper measures for rescuing the captives. However, two officers in the Russian service, one a captain, the other a colonel in the imperial guard, and both moving in the highest society of Tiflis, offered, at the risk of their own liberty, to proceed at once to Shamil's residence in the mountains, and ascertain by what means the liberation of the Princesses

B

CAPTIVITY IN THE CAUCASUS.

could be effected. General Bead*, who commanded the army in the Caucasus, and was also governor of the Caucasian and Trans-Caucasian provinces, refused to sanction this project, which certainly was not calculated to lead to any favourable result.

The first thing necessary was to obtain positive information respecting the position of the Princesses ; but in the meanwhile their father, the Prince of Georgia, had to be apprised of the misfortune which had befallen them, and accordingly the general lost no time in despatching the following letter to him at Moscow.

" It has pleased heaven to allow the mountaineers, in spite of all possible human foresight, to make a successful incursion into Kahetia ; and your daughters and grandchildren have been the first victims of their marauding expedition.

" Such a calamity is overwhelming, as will also be the grief of your highness on receiving this information. I consider it my duty to express to you my sincere condolence for the great loss you have sustained ; but, at the same time, I cannot but console myself with the hope that all chance of obtaining the liberation of your unhappy family from the hands of these brigands has not yet been lost. Providence, which has sent this affliction upon your family, and through them upon ourselves, will, at the same time, not forget to send us the means of alleviating their misfortunes." f

* This General afterwards lost his life in the Crimea.

f The news of the Princesses' captivity did not reach the Prince alive. He died four days before General Read's despatch arrived in Moscow.

THE LAST KINGl OF GEORGIA.

Tiflis, we have said, was thrown into a state of profound agitation by the news of the calamity which had befallen the Princesses Chavchavadzey and Orbeliani ; and yet Tiflis, being in the vicinity of perpetual warfare, is in the habit of receiving intelligence which is not only of the most sanguinary character, but which also concerns personally a large number of its inhabitants. What caused such universal dismay, when the captivity of the Princesses was made known, was the conviction that these helpless ladies and their children, of whom there were six, would be subjected to every kind of suffering and degradation. Every one knew that not only were the mountaineers of the Caucasus not Christians, but that they had on several occasions proved themselves incapable of the slightest compassion for the misfortunes of those who had fallen into their hands.

There were also reasons of a less universal character which caused the inhabitants of Tiflis to take a special interest in the fate of the captives. The Princesses were granddaughters of George XIII., the last sovereign of Georgia*; and the names of Orbeliani and Chavchavadzey were also known and beloved in connection with the history of the province. The sympathy which was felt throughout Tiflis for the fate of the two Princesses was increased, in the case of the Princess Orbeliani, by the knowledge that only six months previously she had

* George XIII., whose kingdom had been overrun during his lifetime alternately by the Turks and Persians, bequeathed it on his deathbed to the Emperor Paul. Georgia, which has been a Christian country since the fourth century, had long been the prey of the neighbouring Mahometan nations and tribes, who plundered it without mercy.

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CAPTIYITY IN THE CAUCASUS.

lost her husband and her eldest child. The former, ageneral in the Russian army, had been killed in an action with the Lesghians ; the latter, a little boy, only a few months old, had died from illness about the same time ; and the father and son were buried together.*

But the position of both sisters excited not only the commiseration of Tiflis and Georgia, but of all Russia, — a fact of which the writer holds in his possession abundant evidence, in the numerous letters sent from all parts of the empire to the office of the KavJcas newspaper (Tiflis), to inquire after the fate of the Princesses.,

In the meanwhile Prince David Chavchavdzey had in a few days lost all his family, and nearly all his fortune. The Prince's magnificent estate of Tsenondahl, which is situated in Kahetia (a province which had always been regarded as the brightest gem in the crown of the Georgian kings), thanks to its sheltered position, the mildness of its climate, and the richness of its soil, boasts the finest fruit-gardens in all Georgia, The wines of Kahetia are celebrated, and the land is generally so fertile that the peasants who cultivate it are prosperous and even rich. Tsenondah], the most beautiful estate in the province, is seven verstsf from Telaff, and extends along the banks of a river which fails into the Alazan. The balcony of the chateau of Tsenondahl commands a beautiful view of the valley of

* It is a remarkable fact, that Prince Orbeliard was himself a prisoner of Shamil's for eight months in 1842. His father was for some time a prisoner with the Persians ; and this fate would almost appear to be an hereditary misfortune in the family.

f Nearly five miles.

THE LESGHUlN CORDON.

the Alazan with its rich gardens, and beyond it the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus rising one above the other in a series of steps towards heaven. Tsenondahl was celebrated for its hospitality, and was well known to all the illustrious persons who had visited the Caucasus, while the picturesqueness and grandeur of its scenery have been celebrated by one of our national poets.

But Tsenondahl is like a beautiful estate at the foot of Vesuvius, being constantly exposed to the incursions of the marauders. The Kahetians are only separated by one range of heights from the Lesghians, their ancient and irreconcilable enemies, from whose secret and unexpected attacks they have suffered from time immemorial. In the present day the Kahetians are always, to a certain degree, prepared for these plundering expeditions, and never go about unarmed. But in spite of this the enemy sometimes make their appearance so unexpectedly, or in such force, that their success is certain. Even the regular army which forms the Lesghian cordon, as it is called, does not suffice. For a distance of 160 versts* the soldiers occupy the most advantageous posts from which to issue rapidly and check the ingress of marauders into Kahetia. But these posts are established at such distant intervals along the line, that many roads are left open, along which light bodies of mountaineers can easily pass. Accordingly it sometimes, though rarely, happens that the Lesghians traverse the cordon, in which case the soldiers endea-

* One hundred and seven miles.

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CAPTIVITY IN THE CAUCASUS.

vour to intercept their return, and make them pay for their exploit.

This was precisely what occurred in 1854.

The Princess Chavchavadzey only arrived at her estate about two weeks before the Lesghians made their descent. She had invited her sister, who was still suffering acutely from her two recent bereavements, to pass the summer with her at Tsenondahl : and the Princess Orbeliani accepting her invitation, brought with her her only surviving child, a little boy only six months old, in whom all the affection of the young widow and mother were now concentrated, and her niece the Princess Nina Baratoff, a beautiful girl of eighteen.

Here we may as well mention the names of all the inhabitants of Tsenondahl, every one of whom suffered more or less from the incursion of the Lesghians. They were as follows : —

First, the proprietor of the estate, Prince David Alexandrovitch Chavchavadzey, thirty-seven years of age, lieutenant-colonel in the army, and aide-de-camp to the general commanding the corps cTarmee of the Caucasus ;

His wife the Princess Anna Elinichna, Princess of Georgia in her own right, and formerly lady of honour to the Empress, twenty-eight years of age ;

Prince David's sister Xina Alexandrovna Grribaiedovna* widow of our celebrated poet :

* The Russian family names have masculine and feminine terminations. This lady's husband was Gribaiedoff, the author of " Gore ot Ouma" (Grief from Wit), one of the best comedies in the Russian lan-

THE FAMILY AT TSENONDAHL.

Prince David's aunt the Princess Tinia Orbeliani, widow of Prince Greorge Orbeliani, and cousin to Prince David's father the late Prince Alexander Chavchavadzey, an old woman seventy-four years of age ;

The children of Prince David and Anna Elinichna, — Salonie, a little girl six years old, Marie five years old, Elena four years old, Tamara three years old, a little boy Alexander five years old, Lydia a baby of only four months.

The above were the ordinary inmates of Tsenondahl ; but Nina Alexandra Gribaiedovna, and Elena, the Princess Chavchavadzey's third child, were absent on a visit to the Princess of Mingrelia. On the other hand, we have said that there were visitors at the chateau. These consisted of the Princess Orbeliani *, aged twenty-six, with her little boy and her niece the Princess Nina Baratoff already mentioned, and Madame Drancey the governess of the Princess Chavchavadzey's children. This lady had been only eighteen days in Tsenondahl, and had not left France more than six months.

Among the other visitors we must not forget to mention Ensign Gamgrelidzey, the Prince's steward, and his wife Daredjana ; a retired captain named Achverdoff ; a nurse ninety-seven years old, who had outlived three generations of the Chavchavadzeys ; twelve female servants, and a little boy.

guage. In consideration of his high literary merit, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the court of Persia, and at Teheran was assassinated by the populace. The details of this affair are giyen by Lady Sheil in her recent work on Persia, j

* The Princess Orbeliani had also been appointed one of the Empress's ladies of honour.

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CAPTIVITY EN TEE CAUCASUS.

Chap. II

Prince Dayid Chayckayadzey had lately arrived in Kahetia to take the command of the local militia. The soldiers were billeted in different villages; but in case of need, they had orders to assemble and place themselves under his command. During the month of June the militia quitted the right bank of the Alazan, on which Tsenondahl stood, and crossed over to the side next the mountains. Up to the end of the month there was no 'sign of danger, and the Prince continued to pass the greater part of his time on his own estates. But on the 30th he received a message from the officer commanding the left of the line of forts composing the Lesghian cordon, to the effect that Shamil had arrived with a detachment of 15,000 men at Karaty (an aoid or village at the top of the mountains, from which the enemy could direct themselves upon any point), and that it was necessary, by way of precaution, to assemble the militia and concentrate it at Hando, about two miles in advance of Shildy on the left bank of the Alazan.

On that very day Prince David Chavchavadzey's adjutant, Prince Eoman Chavchavadzey was despatched to call out the militia; and the day follow-

SHAMIL ON THE FRONTIER.

ing, Prince Chavchavadzey himself set off for Hando, leaving his family in fancied security at his estate. No measures were taken for the protection of Tsenondahl, on the ground that since the year 18 OCX, when Omar Khan of Avaria, at the head of 20,000 Lesghians, marched within fifty versts* of Tiflis before he was defeated, there had been no instance of the enemy crossing the Alazan. Almost every year the family at Tsenondahl saw flames on the left bank ; but they had never any fears for their own personal safety, as they were aware that at the slightest sign of danger they could always obtain help. In their vicinity was a battalion of infantry of the line, and Telaff, the district town, was seven versts distant ; so that in default of assistance, they could have no trouble in finding a safe asylum. These considerations, apparently well founded, prevented the family from entertaining any notion of danger.

On the 1st of July, Prince Chavchavadzey arrived at Hando, rode round the environs, established ambuscades, and then returned as far as Shildy. This village was composed of houses surrounded by gardens, and was defended by a small fortress, which was, however, old and unprovided with cannon.

On the 2nd of July, Prince Chavchavadzey, who was still at Shildy, had received no notice of the enemy's approach. In the afternoon he visited the camp of the militia, numbering 440 men, and remained there until late in evening. On his return to Shildy he paid a

* Thirty-three miles.

CAPTIVITY IN THE CAUCASUS.

visit to Prince Batieff, who commanded the fortress with a garrison of sixty men.

At midnight, while Prince Chavchavadzey and his host were at supper, they were interrupted by a militiaman, who had just arrived from the Pohali tower, the most advanced point of the Eussian outposts in Kahetia. He announced that the tower was already surrounded, and that the mountaineers were making rapidly for Shildy.

On the receipt of this intelligence, Prince Chavchavadzey left Prince Eatieff with his garrison to defend the fortress, and himself hurried forward with fifteen militiamen to the village of Hando. Here all the people were in arms, a state of things which confirmed the news brought to Shildy from the Pohali tower.

Taking into consideration the defenceless state of Hando, the Prince was for some time undecided whether to await the enemy there or retreat to Shildy, where a more effectual resistance could be offered by a small body of men. To determine the point, it was necessary first to ascertain whether the invaders consisted of an ordinary detachment of Lesghians, or whether Shamil himself was at their head ; in the latter case it would certainly be more prudent to retreat to Shildy. But the desired information was not received until half-past two in the morning, when some militiamen arrived from the Pohali tower with the news that the enemy's cavalry were advancing in two parties, of which one was following the course of the river Chalty, while the other was bearing more to the left. The word " cavalry" soon relieved the Prince of all indecision. He at once knew that Shamil himself must be in the village of

THE OUTPOSTS ATTACKED*

Pohali with all his forces ; and in accordance with this conviction, he at once recalled his ambush-parties, and retreated to Shildy.

Here he issued orders to the commandant, Prince Groorguenidzey, to the effect that the inhabitants should place all their families and goods inside the fortress, and that he himself should join the militia. Unfortunately, through the carelessness of the inhabitants, the Prince's precautionary measures were not carried into execution.

At the same time Prince David sent a hundred and fifty militiamen to strengthen Prince Ratieff's garrison, while he distributed the remainder of his troops in the gardens along the road leading to the fortress, and inside some of the houses, in the proportion of about ten men to each house.

The defenders of Shildy remained all night in the positions assigned to them; but the expected attack was not made, and the only signs of the enemy's proximity consisted in signal-guns discharged at intervals from the Pohali tower. In this manner the time passed on until the next morning.

On the third of July, at seven o'clock, Shildy was attacked; and after a brisk fusilade had been kept up for some time in the houses, gardens, and along the road, the village burst into flames in several places at once. With the exception of an assault on the market-place, which was repulsed, the engagement, though it lasted until two in the afternoon, was of the most irregular character. However, at the foot of the hedges, walls, and embankments, there were ample proofs of the