LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 
 
 SERJEANT-MAJOR TAYLOR, 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 ' SCENES AND ADVENTURES IN AFFGHANISTAN. 
 
 OBlrtttotn 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 T. c. NEWBY; 
 
 PARRY, BLENKARN AND CO. 
 
 1847. 
 
lU.7 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS ; 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " Cloth of gold ! Do not despise, 
 
 Though thou art matched with cloth of frieze ; 
 
 Cloth of frieze ! Be not too bold, 
 
 Though thou art matched with cloth of gold." 
 
 THERE are few lives, no matter how limited the 
 sphere in which they have been passed, that will 
 not furnish some passages of. interest. The re- 
 mark has been made by more profound thinkers 
 than myself, and if I avail myself of it as an 
 excuse for again obtruding on the notice of 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 the public, I shall only be imitating the ex- 
 ample of a host of other writers, who, with far 
 less opportunities of observation than chance 
 has thrown in my way, have not hesitated to 
 draw largely on their patience. 
 
 To those who may object that a deficient 
 education, or an humble position in life are in 
 themselves circumstances that necessarily inca- 
 pacitate one from contributing to the general 
 stock of amusement and instruction, I have 
 only to reply, that it is neither education, nor 
 rank, nor wealth which in this, as in most 
 worldly distinctions, determines one's claims to 
 consideration ; for the humbler the station in 
 which we may be placed, and the greater the 
 struggles we have to encounter, the more 
 likely are we to develop qualities that would 
 otherwise have lain dormant in pampered in- 
 dolence. 
 
 Let it not be supposed, from these few pre- 
 fatory observations, that I am about to inflict 
 on my readers the important nothings of an 
 
"LIFE IN THE RANKS. 3 
 
 inflated autobiography : such is far from my 
 intention. I desire to occupy no more promi- 
 nent place in the scenes I am about to describe 
 than the stage carpenter, or call boy, who, 
 with no pretensions to creative power, are 
 yet necessary to the reproduction of images 
 which are supposed to have an affinity with 
 nature. 
 
 The commencement of hostilities with the 
 Burmese empire, in 1823, rendered large drafts 
 from our home forces necessary. I was then a 
 young, and like most persons at that age, a 
 foolish and inexperienced lad, entertaining a 
 thorough contempt and dislike for every thing 
 like useful occupation ; and an equally strong 
 admiration of the pomp and circumstance of 
 military life. When I look back to this period 
 and recall the enthusiastic and ambitious hopes 
 with which my young breast was filled hopes 
 destined never to be realized I cannot help 
 smiling at my own folly. And yet the retro- 
 spect is tinged with something of a melancholy 
 B 3 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 feeling too, for there are few who can look 
 upon the past without being conscious of hav- 
 ing in some way misapplied their talents, and 
 lost opportunities that may never again fall in 
 their way. 
 
 During the heat of my military ardour, I one 
 day stumbled upon the recruiting sergeant and 
 the result is not difficult to guess. I was on my 
 way to India with a detachment of the th 
 Dragoons before I had time to reflect on the 
 consequences of the step I had taken, but reflec- 
 tion being then too late [ made up my mind 
 not too add to the disagreeable realities of my 
 position by useless repining, but to pursue the 
 career I had chalked out for myself with a 
 cheerful spirit and firm heart. 
 
 It is wonderful with what gay colours a little 
 philosophy of this sort invests life. There is 
 no state of circumstances however disagreeable 
 that may not be divested of a portion of its 
 unpleasantness by a disposition to view things 
 through a contented medium. Our joys and 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 5 
 
 our sorrows are mostly of our own creation and 
 he is a fool, who knowing this, suffers his spirit 
 to sink under the petty annoyances of life. 
 It is Dryden I think who says, and says wisely* 
 
 " Happy the man and nappy he alone; 
 
 He who can cat! to-day his own ; 
 
 He who secure within can say, 
 
 To-morrow do thy worst, for I have lived to-day." 
 
 The voyage to India crowding as it often 
 does, into a brief space of time, incidents enough 
 to fill up the measure of a life, has supplied such 
 hackuied themes to the novel writers of the 
 day that it was not at first my intention to 
 dwell upon it. On reflection, however, I see no 
 reason why the relation of actual occurrences 
 should be omitted, because fiction has taken 
 liberties with the subject. 
 
 As we approached Ascension Island, a sui- 
 cide took place, which may be cited as a proof 
 of the characteristic fondness of the Irish for 
 liquor. A seaman, named O'Neil, a fine, able- 
 bodied young fellow, having been reprimanded 
 
6 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 by the first mate for neglect of duty, turned 
 upon him and made him some insolent answer. 
 The circumstance was reported to the captain, 
 and he ordered the Irishman's grog to be 
 stopped. At eight bells, on the following day, 
 O'Neil attended at the tub, but was refused 
 his usual allowance. Casting a contemptuous 
 look on the mate, he exclaimed " Better stop 
 my wind than my grog:" and before any of 
 us were aware of his intention jumped over- 
 board. The sea was running high at the time, 
 and the ship was crowded with canvass. The 
 captain immediately ordered the vessel to be 
 put about, and the boats to be lowered ; but 
 every exertion to save the poor fellow proved 
 fruitless, as he had disappeared from view be- 
 fore any of these steps could be taken. 
 
 I had heard and read so many marvellous 
 stories about ths rapacity of the shark, that I 
 felt somewhat desirous of an opportunity of 
 judging of the truth of the yarns with which 
 the sailors entertained us gaping landsmen.. 
 
Ll'FE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 My curiosity was not long ungratified. We 
 were within view of the coast of Madagascar, 
 when it became necessary to take in water to 
 fill up the empty casks. While a Portuguese 
 seaman was employed in this duty he unfor- 
 tunately overbalanced himself, and. fell over- 
 board. The sea being tolerably calm, and the 
 man an excellent swimmer, no danger was 
 apprehended on his account. The first mate 
 and four of the crew prepared to descend to 
 his assistance in the captain's gig which hung 
 astern, but owing to the hurry of the moment 
 the boat was carelessly lowered by the run,* 
 and the whole party immersed. No time was 
 of course lost in getting out another boat, but 
 before it could be lowered the man in the fore 
 top shouted out " A shark, a shark! make 
 haste, men, for your lives." A general rush 
 was instantly made to the sides and bow of 
 the vessel, which by this time had been put 
 about, and the spars and rigging became also 
 crowded with anxious spectators. A scene 
 
8 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 of fearful interest presented itself to our view, 
 and almost every man's cheek became blanched 
 with horror. 
 
 Within about twenty feet of the first mate, 
 who was swimming towards the vessel, utterly 
 unconscious of the proximity of his dangerous 
 neighbour, was an enormous shark, whose ex- 
 tended jaws were already prepared to engulph 
 his unsuspecting victim. On seeing us point 
 at some object behind him (for hear he could not 
 at the distance) the latter looked round, and 
 became paralized with terror. The monster was 
 on the point of seizing him, when the second 
 boat arrived opportunely to his assistance and 
 picked him up. Cheated of his prey, the 
 shark made for another of the struggling men, 
 and succeeded in laying hold of a poor fellow 
 named Andrews, who could not swim, and 
 who was .supporting himself on a hen coop, 
 that had just been thrown overboard to him. 
 An imploring look, and an agonized scream, 
 that went to the heart of every one present, 
 
LIFE IN THE HANKS. 
 
 told us all was over with the unfortunate 
 man, and next minute the calm and mirror- 
 like surface of the waters was crimsoned with 
 his blood. The remainder of the party reached 
 the boat in safety ; but the fate of their com- 
 panion, and the narrowness of their own 
 escape, had such an effect upon them that 
 two of the number were confined to their ham- 
 mocks for nearly ten days after. When the 
 mate, who happened to be one of them, rose 
 from his bed, his hair had turned as white as 
 snow ! 
 
 We got becalmed for five or six weeks, after 
 crossing the line, and consequently made but 
 little progre&s. Our supply of water ran short, 
 and our daily allowance was reduced to three 
 pints. To such of my readers as have ever 
 been in these latitudes, it is unnecessary to say 
 that the privation was severely felt, and some 
 of us endeavoured to make up the deficiency 
 by resorting to a stratagem, the humanity of 
 which may perhaps be questioned. 
 B 5 
 
10 LIFE IN THE RANKS; 
 
 Our colonel had brought out a large mas- 
 tiff' with him, of a peculiarly fine breed. His 
 affection for the animal was such as usually 
 characterises the English sportsman ; and no 
 matter what privations we suffered on board, 
 he took care that Neptune should not be the 
 first to perceive them. A kennel had been con- 
 structed for him close to the boatswain's berth, 
 and the ample trough which it contained was 
 regularly filled with water two or three times 
 a day by the colonel's servant. It was sug- 
 gested to the carpenter, that by making a 
 false bottom to the trough Neptune might be 
 cheated of a portion of his daily allowance, 
 and no one be a bit the wiser. The carpenter 
 set to work, and being an ingenious follow, 
 soon improved upon the idea. Secretly re- 
 moving the trough at night, he put a false 
 bottom pierced with holes to it, and con- 
 trived so that the lower division of the vessel 
 should communicate, by a tube, with a large 
 tin can, which stood in the boatswain's berth 
 
IN THE RANKS. 11 
 
 below the level of the kennel. The conse- 
 quence was, that when the water was poured 
 into the trough, it found its way into the 
 receptacle prepared for it at the other side of 
 the partition. 
 
 Profiting largely by this simple contrivance, 
 we kept our secret closely to ourselves, though 
 circumstances were at times near betraying 
 us. We could hardly contain ourselves at 
 hearing the colonel's servant, who was a genuine 
 Patlander, soliloquising day after day pretty 
 much after this fashion : 
 
 " Musha, but you're the greedy crayture 
 Nip to take sich big dhrinks, when poor divils 
 like us are dying of drouth. May I be 
 blessed if the baste does'nt swig as much up 
 at a draught as would vittel the whole ship. 
 An' he looks up at me for more too, as 
 if he hadn't had a dhrop at all. By my 
 sowl but he's as bad as father Eooney, who 
 used to complain, after his twelfth turn- 
 
12 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 bier, that they had given him a glass with a 
 hole in the bottom of it." 
 
 Little did poor Paddy know how closely his 
 simile applied. 
 
 The dog at length became almost rabid for 
 want of water, and the colonel grew suspicious. 
 He accused Delany, his servant, of having ap- 
 propriated the animal's allowance ; but the 
 latter, than whom there was not an honester 
 or more humane fellow in the world, stoutly 
 denied the charge, and alledged, as an incon- 
 trovertible proof of his innocence, u that he 
 had a mortial dislike to cowld wather ;" a fact 
 of which the colonel appeared to have a dis- 
 tinct recollection, from the air of conviction 
 with which he heard his defence. Puzzled, but 
 not satisfied, that the dog had been fairly dealt 
 with, he resolved to see the water given to 
 him himself, and to wait while he was drink- 
 ing it. 
 
 Repairing to the kennel, followed by Paddy, 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 13 
 
 carrying a large bucket of water, the colonel 
 directed him to fill the trough, and to let the 
 dog drink. Neptune absorbed the contents of 
 the vessel in a shorter given space of time than 
 ever dog or horse had done before him. The 
 animal looked still unsatisfied the colonel puz- 
 zled, and Paddy exulting* 
 
 " Fill it again," said the colonel, u the 
 poor fellow is dying of thirst." 
 
 " Sorra a use in it, your honour, he's got a 
 stomach like a sucking pump, an' there's no 
 sich thing as satisfyin' him." 
 
 " Do what I tell you now ! that will do." 
 
 ci There again, sir, you see its jist as I 
 towld you. Its gone before you could cry 
 Jack Kobinson." 
 
 " What can be the matter with the dog," 
 said the colonel, quite concerned : " here Nep, 
 my fine fellow come here, sir." 
 
 " He won't lave the trough, your honour, 
 you see he wants more water." 
 
 ts Oh 1 that's nonsense, he has had sufficient 
 
14 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 already to satisfy a pack of hounds. There 
 must be something wrong with the dog, Delany, 
 for this insatiable thirst is not natural. You 
 had better take him to the doctor at once, and 
 get him examined." 
 
 u That's my own private opinion too, sir, 
 for it isn't right for either baste or Christian to 
 to dhrink in that way." 
 
 Neptune was accordingly taken to the doc- 
 tor, and the facts having been stated to him, 
 he shook his head incredulously at the account 
 given of his performance by Delany. He exa- 
 mined the animal carefully, and declared he 
 was free from everything like disease, but 
 could give no explanation of the phenomenon 
 which had been related to him. There must 
 be a period to thirst, he said, as well as to 
 hunger ; and it was impossible that dog or 
 human being could contain more than a certain 
 quantity of liquid. The only advice he had 
 to give was, that the animal should be kept 
 under the colonel's immediate eye, and that 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 15 
 
 his food and drink be given to him in his 
 presence." 
 
 For once, and by accident, the doctor arrived 
 at the real state of the case, and Neptune hav- 
 ing been removed to the colonel's cabin,- 
 speedily got rid of his inordinate appetite for 
 " dhrink." 
 
16 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Ah, me ! that the visions of youth, 
 Like rainbows all melt and decay, 
 
 That the vows and the pledges of truth 
 Should be things that can bind but a day. 
 
 LATE one night we were roused from our 
 sleep by a sudden shock, that made the vessel 
 reel, and led us to anticipate some terrible dis- 
 aster. On rushing to the deck, I found it 
 crowded with anxious faces, and amidst the 
 general confusion of voices the captain's was 
 predominant. 
 
 u What the d 1 induced you to let go the 
 wheel, you scoundrel," he exclaimed as seizing 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 17 
 
 the rudder with one hand and the collar of the 
 steersman with the other, he shook him with 
 violence. 
 
 The poor fellow looked aghast and owing to 
 fright or the throttling grasp of his superior, 
 was unable to utter a word for some minutes. 
 
 u Answer me, you drunken vagabond," again 
 thundered the captain, u or by all that's sacred 
 I'll pitch you overboard, and give you a cooling 
 that will soon bring you to your senses." 
 
 " I couldn't help it, sir," at length gasped 
 out the half choked steersman, pointing at the 
 same time to the body of a woman which lay 
 extended upon deck, within a few feet of the 
 binnacle. 
 
 u Hold the lantern here," cried the captain, 
 loosening his hold of the steersman, and ap- 
 proaching the object indicated. 
 
 The light was instantly directed on the spot, 
 -and revealed the features of a young woman 
 named Ellen Harvey, one of the soldier's wives r 
 
18 LIFE IN THE RAtfKS. 
 
 who had been permitted to accompany the 
 detachment. 
 
 u The abandoned strumpet," exclaimed the 
 husband who happened to be amongs-t the bye 
 standers. " Was it for this she forced herself 
 upon me. But I'll have my revenge," and 
 clenching his fists he rushed towards the 
 steersman. 
 
 " Stand back," roared the captain placing 
 himself between them. " Are you all mad !" 
 Williams," he continued, turning towards the 
 steersman, " what is the meaning of all this. 
 The lives of every one on board were in your 
 keeping, and you have shown yourself unwor- 
 thy of your trust." 
 
 *' I own, captain, that I've been wrong in 
 allowing my humanity like to get the better of 
 my duty ; but it all passed so quickly that the 
 one got to windward of the other, and I some 
 how or other lost sight of it." 
 
 " What on earth do you mean by all this 
 farrago of nonsense. I suppose you class flirt^- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 19' 
 
 ing with a worthless woman, while on duty, 
 amongst the important claims of humanity." 
 
 " You're a little out of your bearings there, 
 captain," rejoined the steersman, *' for though 
 I own to having no great dislike to the gals, I 
 never meddle with other men's property, and 
 more particularly when on duty." 
 
 u Will you come to the point at once, sir," 
 exclaimed the irritated captain, and condescend 
 to explain why you let go the wheel." 
 
 " The fact is, Captain, that about ten minutes 
 since, as I was minding my duty, and keeping: 
 a sharp look out a -head, I saw a petticoat steal- 
 ing up from the cabin and approach the side of 
 the vessel. Hearing a heavy sobbing like, I 
 mistrusted the purpose of the poor crayture r 
 and kept my eye steadily upon her, which I 
 acknowledge was wrong, seeing that it wasn't 
 in the line of my duty. Presently I saw 
 the poor girl go back a bit as if to make a 
 spring over the side, and sure enough she would 
 
20 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 have done the business if I hadn't darted for- 
 ward, and catching her by her little feet, 
 brought her to an anchor with her head down- 
 wards. When I hauled her up I found she was 
 half dead from the blow which her head re- 
 ceived against the side of the vessel, and I had 
 only time to lay her alongside there when the 
 flapping of the sails and the falling off of the 
 vessel before the wind reminded me I had 
 something else to think of." 
 
 *' If this be true, my man, I can hardly 
 blame you, though the consequences might have 
 proved serious to us all. Let some one try and 
 restore the poor woman, until we hear what 
 account she can give of the affair." 
 
 " I think, Captain, we would do well to re- 
 move her below," interposed a soldier's wife, 
 " she appears badly hurt, and it may be some 
 time before she recovers consciousness." 
 
 a You are right, ma'am ; take her down, by 
 all means. You, Jennings, take Williams's place 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 21 
 
 at the wheel, for he doesn't seem to know what 
 he's about, and now let us get the vessel well 
 up to the wind." 
 
 The inanimate subject of the foregoing con- 
 versation was conveyed below, but it was long 
 before she was restored to her senses. To most 
 of us who knew her story, the probability of 
 the facts related by the steersman required no 
 confirmation from her lips. Her's was one of 
 those dark and painful chapters of human life 
 in which the love of woman, enduring and 
 patient as it is, becomes tried to a degree 
 which renders existence an intolerable burthen. 
 Through what mental and physical sufferings 
 must a gentle being like this have passed, who 
 can look upon suicide and the terrible doom 
 it entails, as a change preferable to her present 
 state. Men are excited to acts of desperation 
 by false estimates of worldly honour or worldly 
 disgrace ; in nine cases out of ten, infidels at 
 heart, the future has no terrors for them be- 
 yond those of physical annihilation. Not so 
 
22 LIFE IN THE BANKS. 
 
 woman her tendencies are naturally religious ; 
 she derives a main portion of her happiness 
 from the holy consciousness of having dis- 
 charged her duties in obedience to the dictates 
 of a creed in which she implicitly puts her 
 trust ; and her hopes of reward point as much 
 to the future as to the present. Terrible then 
 must be the state of mind that leads her, by 
 one fatal act, to forfeit her chances of redemp- 
 tion the promised joys of a pure and well 
 regulated life, and the sweet hope of being re- 
 united to those whose memories have been long 
 treasured in her heart. 
 
 The story of Ellen Harvey is a useful and 
 impressive lesson to those who allow their 
 affections to overrule their reason. It may, 
 perhaps, be deemed out of place in the diary of 
 a rough soldier, though I do not see that there 
 is any thing in the calling to prevent us from 
 feeling for and sympathizing with the misfor- 
 tunes of others. 
 
 Daughter to a curate resident in a retired 
 
.'LITE IN THE RANKS. 23 
 
 ^village in Worcestershire, and the youngest of 
 a large family of children, Ellen was the pet of 
 her indulgent parents, who bestowed on her 
 every accomplishment that their limited means 
 could afford. Eminently gifted both in per- 
 son, and mind, she had numbers of admirers 
 before she reached the age of eighteen, and 
 could have been well married in her own 
 neighbourhood had not chance otherwise or- 
 dained it. At the house of a respectable trades- 
 man in the village., with whom her family 
 kept up a friendly intercourse, she met a young 
 man named Edward Harvey, whose fine, manly 
 person and insinuating manners made an immedi- 
 ate impression on her young heart, a circum- 
 stance which he was not slow to perceive and 
 take advantage of. 
 
 Harvey filled the situation of a commercial 
 traveller to a large woollen establishment in 
 London, and visited the village three or four 
 times a year. On his next journey he pre- 
 vailed on his friend to introduce him to the 
 
24 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 family of The clergyman, and continued regu- 
 larly to visit there. It soon became apparent 
 that he was paying his addresses to Ellen, but 
 the clergyman, who had by this time formed a 
 just estimate of his unprincipled and profligate 
 character, forbid his visits when he discovered 
 it, and told him plainly that he was not the 
 sort of person to whom he would desire to see 
 one of his daughters united. Harvey, in no 
 way discouraged by this, prevailed on the in- 
 fatuated girl to see him clandestinely, whenever 
 he came round on his journeys, and to corres- 
 pond with him in the interval. 
 
 Matters went on in this way for some time, 
 when the father accidently discovered the dan- 
 gerous position, in which his daughter stood. 
 He called her into his study, and reasoned with 
 her mildly, but firmly, on the subject. 
 
 a You must be convinced, my dear Ellen," he 
 observed, u that in what I am about to say to 
 you, I have no object but your own happiness 
 at heart. I am informed that you are in the 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS* 25 
 
 habit of privately meeting and corresponding 
 with Mr. Harvey, and having so fully and 
 so frequently expressed my sentiments with 
 regard to that person, it gives roe the deepest 
 concern to find that any child of mine should 
 encourage the addresses of a person so unworthy 
 of her, and so displeasing to me. A connection 
 like this, let me again emphatically repeat, 
 can be attended with no other consequences, 
 than future misery and disappointment, and 
 with such opinions I can never conscientiously 
 give my sanction to it." 
 
 Ellen's tears fell fast, and she threw herself 
 sobbing at the feet of her father. She urged 
 him not to make her miserable by refusing his 
 consent to a union, which had become essential 
 to her happiness, and stated her conviction, that 
 the strong affection borne towards her by her 
 lover, would give her a degree of influence over 
 him that would soon reform his habits. 
 
 6i It is useless," replied the old man, u to 
 inflict pain on me and yourself by pressing me 
 c 
 
26 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 further on this matter. My mind is made up 
 to what I conscientiously believe to be my 
 duty, and I warn you that if you persist in dis- 
 regarding my ^junctions, you will be for ever 
 discarded from my affections." 
 
 He was about to quit the room, when the 
 poor girl called after him in accents of despair. 
 u Father, do not leave me in anger I will 
 promise all that you require." 
 
 u Bless you bless you my own good child," 
 said the clergyman returning, and raising the 
 now almost fainting girl in his arms. " God 
 tempers the wind, to the shorn lamb, and these 
 regrets will pass away." 
 
 The prediction contained in the clergyman's 
 last words, was not however destined to be 
 verified., The poor girl drooped, and the 
 sorrowing parents beheld their favourite child, 
 fast pining away. The father, firm to his 
 notions of duty, adhered inflexibly to his 
 resolution, and each day seemed to be hurrying 
 her to a premature grave- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 27 
 
 The fading girl seemed at length, however, 
 to revive. She appeared to take more interest 
 than usual in what was passing around her, and 
 her spirits were occasionally wound up to a pitch 
 of excitement, that was unnatural to her placid 
 and melancholy temperament. Her friends won- 
 dered, but none arrived at any thing like a just 
 conclusion as to the cause of this sudden change. 
 
 One night, as the family were assembled at 
 supper, it was remarked that the fitful mood 
 had left her, and was succeeded by great 
 depression of spirits. Her eyes frequently 
 filled with tears and every effort made to divert 
 her thoughts only served to increase her sadness. 
 
 " You had better retire to rest, my dear," 
 said her mother at length, " you are evidently 
 far from well, and have need of repose. Come ! 
 bid your father good night, and Emma will 
 assist you to your room." 
 
 Poor Ellen rose slowly and reluctantly. 
 Crossing over to her father she threw herself 
 in his arms and burst into a flood of tears. 
 c 3 
 
28 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 The old clergyman was deeply moved, and his 
 heart questioned him whether he was right in 
 inflicting so much present misery on his child, 
 to save her from that, which might, after all, be 
 only an imaginary evil. This momentary 
 weakness however passed away and kissing the 
 cheek of his daughter he resigned her to her 
 sister and requested her to lead her away. 
 
 On the reunion of the family at breakfast, 
 on the following morning, Ellen's place was 
 vacant. Her mother supposing her still in- 
 disposed, repaired to the little chamber that 
 she usually occupied, but it was vacant, and 
 the undisturbed appearance of the bed showed 
 she had not slept there. Her drawers 
 and boxes were lying open, and articles of 
 dress lay scattered about in all directions, as if 
 a hurried selection had been made of them. 
 The truth at once flashed across the mother's 
 mind, and anxiety and distress prevailed 
 throughout the little household. 
 
 The following day brought back the re- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 29 
 
 pentarit Ellen, and her husband, Harvey, to 
 implore the forgiveness of her parents. Act- 
 ing up to the spirit of the .divine precepts, of 
 which he was so worthy an expounder, the 
 father received his erring child with parental 
 kindness, and her husband with a delicate ob- 
 liviousness of the past, which however was not 
 needed to set the vain and confident young 
 man at rest with himself. There are some 
 minds so lost to all feelings of propriety and 
 shame, that no situation, however embarrassing 
 or awkward, can disturb their self satisfaction. 
 Such was Harvey's, and the father could not 
 help regretting that he could not avert the evil 
 he had foreseen. 
 
 Harvey and his wife repaired to London 
 after a few weeks sojourn in the village, which 
 only served to confirm the clergyman's worst 
 suspicions as to his character, and to increase 
 his apprehensions for the future welfare of his 
 child. The latter also became in some degree 
 undeceived, though the blindness of her affec- 
 
30 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 tion prevented her from divining all that lay 
 beneath the surface of his as yet kind and 
 affectionate manner. 
 
 A few short months, however, soon awoke 
 her to a miserable consciousness of the utter 
 worthlessness and profligacy of the man to 
 whom she had entrusted her happiness ; and 
 yet, woman like, her love survived amidst the 
 wreck of all her fondly cherished hopes : and 
 she clung to the brutal being who rejected 
 her caresses with contempt, and even violence, 
 with an enduring devotion that excited the 
 wonder and sympathy of all who knew her. 
 
 The periodical journeys which Harvey was 
 obliged to make on the business of the house 
 that employed him aflforded her intervals of 
 comparative tranquility ; but the gradual pro- 
 longation of his terms of absence soon gave 
 rise to doubts and apprehensions, that tor- 
 mented her infinitely more than the fits of ill 
 humour and drunken caprice, to which she 
 was subjected when he was at home. She had 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 31 
 
 persuaded herself that the patient resignation 
 with which she submitted to his will would 
 have ultimately softened his heart, and that 
 her better counsels would in the end prevail 
 over the pernicious influence af the evil com- 
 panions by whom he was surrounded. The 
 conviction was however at last forced upon her 
 that he purposely absented himself from home, 
 and to crown her misery she learned that he 
 spent the intervals that he passed away from 
 her, and the money that should have gone to 
 .the support of their little household, in the 
 company of the most abandoned of her own 
 sex. 
 
 She dared not remonstrate, for the brutality 
 of his temper was such that she had every rea- 
 son to apprehend some act of violence on his 
 part, which might prove fatal either to herself 
 or the little innocent that she bore, for alas ! 
 poor Ellen was now a mother, In the mean 
 time ruin and poverty were staring her in the 
 face, for but little of her husband's salary went 
 
32 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 to her support ; and one by one she was obliged 
 to part with the little stock of ornaments and 
 dress which had constituted her wardrobe at 
 a period when it gratified her girlish vanity 
 to deck herself out. To apply to her 
 family was, she knew, useless, for her father 
 had but the small and insufficient stipend of a 
 country curate; and there were others who 
 had stronger claims upon him than her, who 
 had disregarded his parental counsels, and 
 brought this miserable fate upon herself by her 
 own wilfulness and folly. 
 
 It was not likely that dissipated habits like 
 those of Harvey could be long kept from the 
 observation of his employers ; and although the 
 ability which he displayed, when he did apply 
 himself to business, induced them for awhile to 
 overlook his irregularities, they at length be- 
 came so manifestly prejudicial to their own 
 interests that they could no longer retain him 
 in their service. 
 
 The shock which Mrs. Harvey received from 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 33 
 
 Ihis announcement brought on a premature 
 confinement, and it was a touching picture to 
 see the young mother bewailing over her new 
 born infant, the cruelty and hard hearteclness 
 of the unnatural father, who had thus left 
 them to perish of want, at a period when all 
 man's tenderness and care are usually evoked* 
 The little apartment that they tenanted in 
 itself presented an aspect of mournful priva- 
 tion, but too much in consonance with the 
 actual state of facts. Cheerless and cold, with- 
 out fire-place, or curtains to either bed or 
 windows, the keen blast of a bitter March day 
 swept at intervals through its decayed and 
 badly hung doors, piercing its shivering tenants 
 to the very heart, while the cries of the infant 
 and the sobs of the suffering mother formed 
 a melancholy accompaniment to the howlings 
 of the wind outside. 
 
 In the midst of this scene of misery and 
 desolation, Harvey staggered in, reeling from 
 the effects of the potations in which he had 
 c 5 
 
34 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 been endeavouring to drown the feelings of 
 selfish alarm and vexation, which the loss of 
 his employment had momentarily awakened in 
 his breast. Let it not be supposed that it was 
 anything like a sentiment of remorse at having, 
 by his wicked folly, deprived his wife and 
 child of sustenance that he felt: on the 
 contrary, he only regarded them as a trouble- 
 some burden, as a means of limiting his 
 sottish enjoyments; and as such, undeserv- 
 ing any other consideration than that of 
 abandoning them if he could. That he should 
 no longer have an opportunity of gratifying 
 his depraved appetite for pleasure, and drain- 
 ing the cup of vice to its very dregs, was, in 
 fact, the sole concern the loss of his situation 
 occasioned him. 
 
 Taking a seat beside his wife's bed, and 
 affecting a sort of drunken levity which, brute 
 as he was, he felt would be more appropriate 
 in her present condition than his usual sharp 
 tone, he thus addressed her : 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 35 
 
 ** I have good news for you, Nelly." 
 " Indeed ! Edward they are much want- 
 ing." 
 
 " There now! you are always whining and 
 complaining, no matter how disposed I am to 
 make things agreeable to you." 
 " Your good news ! let me hear them." 
 " I've won the 3 I bet on the cricket match 
 at Clapham. You never saw anything played 
 in better style." 
 
 Mrs. Harvey groaned, but rejoined after a 
 moment's painful reflection 
 
 " These three pounds, where are they?" 
 " You know I couldn't do less than treat 
 the party after making such a famous hit as 
 that. We had a regular jollification of it, 
 though I don't think it was fair of old Symmons 
 to run the score up to four guineas against me 
 after lodging the money in his hands." 
 
 " Great God, that you should fling away 
 money in this way, and your wife and child 
 
36 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 perishing of hunger and cold! You are in- 
 deed heartless." 
 
 u Heartless, you jade?" said the ruffian, 
 exasperated by this reproach, the only one 
 that his wife had ever addressed to him 
 u what do you mean by that? Is it not 
 enough that I took you from your psalm-sing- 
 ing beggar of a father, and ruined myself by 
 your extravagances, but that I must debar 
 myself from every sort of comfort and amuse- 
 ment, for the sake of you and your little 
 brat ?" 
 
 " Monster !" exclaimed his wife, thoroughly 
 roused by this double insult, and raising her- 
 self by a sudden effort in her bed "bitterly 
 have I reason to curse you for taking me from 
 that father ; and sorely have I paid the penalty 
 of disregarding his advice. Coward that you 
 are, you are afraid to own to yourself that it 
 is to your own reckless folly and misconduct you 
 owe your ruin, and that of those who are an- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS* 37 
 
 fortunately depending on you. But why 
 should I waste reproaches on you ; you are as 
 incapable of feeling as reflection, and must 
 only pursue the career your own wild passions 
 have chalked out for you, until it is perhaps 
 suddenly and violently checked." 
 
 For once the bully shrank before the in- 
 dignant reproaches of his outraged wife, and 
 muttering some indistinct threat, quitted the 
 apartment. 
 
 About a week after the last scene, Harvey 
 again made his appearance in the wretched 
 habitation, which still owned him master, but 
 this time it was not to insult or tyrannize over 
 his unfortunate wife. He looked haggard and 
 downcast, and scarcely dared to lift his eyes 
 in her presence. 
 
 " I am come to tell you, Ellen," he said, 
 " that I have enlisted, and shall soon be on 
 my way to India. I know I have deeply 
 wronged you, and the only atonement I can 
 make, is to rid you of my presence." 
 
38 LIFE IN THE HANKS. 
 
 Mrs. Harvey had only just risen from her 
 bed, and had not as yet recovered her strength. 
 It was not to be expected that this announce- 
 ment, sudden as it was, would have much sur- 
 prised or affected her, after the scenes through 
 which she had lately passed, and yet the emo- 
 tion with which she received it betrayed how 
 much her feelings were still interested in the 
 degraded and humbled being who stood before 
 her. She burst into tears, and burying her 
 face in her hands remained for some minutes 
 silent. At length mastering her agitation, she 
 beckoned to her husband to take a place be- 
 side her. 
 
 " Edward," she said, u come here. I once 
 more recognise you. Be to me but just and 
 kind, and whatever may be our lot whatever 
 may be our privations, we shall still find some- 
 thing to console and cheer us. The soldier's 
 life is a hard one, but what are its hardships to 
 our present miserable state of existence ? To 
 live as we have been living is as sinful as it is 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 39 
 
 disgraceful, and Heaven only knows the agony 
 it has caused me. Be to me again, Edward, 
 what you once were, generous, indulgent, and 
 forgiving; for I know I have said and done 
 much to try your temper, and I will follow 
 you to the world's end, smoothing your path, 
 and supporting you under the rude trials to 
 which you will be subjected. 
 
 " I do not expect that you will accompany 
 me," replied Harvey, embarrassed and perhaps 
 softened by this touching appeal. " It will be 
 better for you to return to your family, for you 
 are but ill fitted to brave the climate and the 
 hardships of a military life with a young infant 
 at your breast." 
 
 " When I accepted the obligations of a wife,'* 
 said this high minded woman, u I did it in all 
 sincerity, and I should be but ill discharging my 
 duty, were I to desert the father of my babe 
 when danger or sickness menaces him. Go with 
 you I will, Edward, be the consequences what 
 they may." 
 
40 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 This was a result that Harvey had not anti- 
 cipated, but seeing that it was useless to con- 
 test the point with her, he resolved to trust to 
 the chance of her being unsuccessful in the 
 drawing which was to decide the choice of the 
 limited number of women permitted to accom- 
 pany the detachment. In this, however, he 
 was disappointed, for fortune, who seldom 
 smiles on those who merit her favours, was in 
 this instance propitious, and I shall not soon 
 forget the heartfelt exclamation of thankfulness 
 with which the young mother hugged her in- 
 fant to her breast on learning that she was 
 amongst the successful competitors. 
 
 Her lady like manners and appearance so 
 distinguished her from the rude beings wth 
 whom she was classed, that general curiosity 
 was excited as to the circumstances that had 
 brought her into such a situation. This how- 
 ever she had too much good sense to gratify, 
 and it was only casually that her history became 
 known. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 41 
 
 The alteration in her husband's manner, 
 which had inspired her with such hopes c*f his 
 permanent reformation, had passed away with 
 the first feelings of self-abasement that had 
 succeeded his enlistment, and he now behaved 
 towards her with more brutality than ever. 
 Her disappointment was of course bitter in 
 proportion to the sanguineness of her expecta- 
 tions, and her gentle spirit sank under it. 
 Almost always under the influence of his evil 
 passions, he took every means in his power to 
 show her that her presence was hateful to him, 
 and yet by one of those curious inconsistencies, 
 which often mark the characters of such men, 
 he converted the universal attention and sym- 
 pathy that his conduct towards her elicited into 
 a ground of jealousy. As every pretext of this 
 sort must have an object, he selected the first 
 mate, who had interfered on one or two occa- 
 sions to prevent his using violence towards her, 
 and in one of those paroxysms of rage, which 
 had now become habitual with him, the ruffian 
 
42 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 "became so exasperated at the indignant reply- 
 she made to one of those unjust accusations of 
 infidelity, that he struck her in the face with 
 his clenched fist, and stretched her bleeding and 
 senseless on the deck. 
 
 He was instantly secured and confined ; but 
 his unfortunate wife never held up her head 
 after. She was heard to utter no complaint or 
 reply to the indignant comments made on his 
 conduct by the women around her, but her 
 countenance betrayed the internal anguish that 
 she suffered, and it was evident that her heart 
 was broken. She was observed to steal into 
 the most retired parts of the vessel, and to 
 clasp her infant in terror to her breast, as if she 
 feared a repetition of the brutal violence of 
 which she had been the victim, and she en- 
 treated a Serjeant's wife to whom she had be- 
 come much attached, to take care of her little 
 one if anything should befal her. 
 
 These circumstances excited no suspicion of 
 her real purpose, for it was evident that the 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 43 
 
 brutal treatment she had received was gradually 
 undermining her health, and that she felt con- 
 scious it would soon kill her. The only sur- 
 prise expressed at her attempting suicide was, 
 that she should have endeavoured to anticipate 
 a result that was evidently so near at hand. 
 
 On being carried below, every exertion was 
 used to restore consciousness to the unfortunate 
 woman. It was found that she had received a 
 severe contusion on the head, and the Doctor at 
 first entertained doubts as to whether she was 
 not already dead. After several hours, spent 
 in chafing her temples and feet, and in ap- 
 plying restoratives, she at length betrayed 
 signs of animation, and in a few minutes more, 
 became sensible of surrounding objects. One 
 of the first uses which she made of her restored 
 faculties was to inquire for her husband, and 
 to request that he might be immediately 
 sent for. 
 
 It was with considerable difficulty that the 
 unfeeling fellow could be prevailed upon to 
 
44 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 enter the cabin where she lay, and that only 
 at the command of his superiors. When he did 
 so, it was with an air of swaggering indifference 
 that filled every one present with inexpressible 
 disgust. 
 
 " Edward," said the poor creature, " I have 
 not long to live, and I cannot die in peace until 
 you've retracted the horrible charge you made 
 against me the other day. Whatever may 
 have been my faults, you must at least own 
 that I have ever been a true and faithful wife 
 to you." 
 
 " If this is all you've brought me here for," 
 replied the fellow unmoved, " then I shall give 
 you no such satisfaction. You've been the 
 cause of all my misfortunes, and it would 
 have been well for me had you died long 
 since." 
 
 u Hard hearted scoundrel," exclaimed one of 
 the byestanders, unable to contain himself at 
 this brutal answer, " are you not afraid that 
 the Almighty will strike you dead for thus out- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 45 
 
 raging the feelings of the dying, and despising 
 this solemn manifestation of his will." 
 
 " Leave him," said Mrs. Harvey, faintly, 
 u he labours under some fatal delusion which 
 has mastered his reason, and is not accountable 
 for what he says. May God forgive and pity 
 him." 
 
 " This comes of marrying a parson's daughter," 
 sneeringly remarked Harvey, as he turned on 
 his heel to quit the cabin. " They are for ever 
 psalm-singing, sermonising, and getting up 
 scenes for the edification of the faithful. 
 Lord bless your hearts, she has seryed me the 
 same trick a hundred times before." 
 
 The effort attending this painful interview 
 completely exhausted the little strength that 
 the invalid had mustered to bear her through 
 it, and she sank into a stupor from which she 
 did not recover for some hours. A deep sigh 
 at length gave token of returning conscious- 
 ness, and she was soon able to speak to those 
 about her. 
 
46 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 " I have had such sweet dreams," she said to 
 
 the lady of Captain C , who had evinced 
 
 great interest in her, and had been for some 
 time watching beside her bed. " I have been 
 again amidst the happy scenes of my childhood, 
 and have seen my dear parents. Oh ! what a 
 smiling and tranquil picture of happiness was 
 that home, with its calm routine of duties 
 and pleasures, its sweet sympathies and 
 cheerful intercourse. Do you think, madam," 
 
 she continued turning towards Mrs. C- , 
 
 who was deeply affected, " do you think that 
 it is ever permitted us after death to revisit the 
 scenes where we have been most sensible of 
 what the world calls happiness, and to hold 
 communion with those in whom our affections 
 have been centred ?" 
 
 u It is a sweet and consoling belief, and one 
 for which authority might even be adduced 
 
 from scriptural sources," replied Mrs. C 3 
 
 unwilling to deprive the poor invalid of a hope 
 that seemed to afford her pleasure. u It is 
 
IN THE RANKS. 47 
 
 not unnatural to suppose that though divested 
 of its grosser matter, the soul may still cling 
 to those pure and holy sympathies of which 
 even our carnal nature is susceptible. 
 
 4c Thank God," fervently ejaculated the poor 
 creature, " I would gladly watch over the wel- 
 fare and happiness of those whose love I cast 
 
 aside for a worthless ," and the half uttered 
 
 expression of a conviction which had at length 
 forced itself upon her, was restrained by the 
 strong sense of duty that had supported this 
 admirable woman through her cruel sufferings. 
 
 u Will you be kind enough to tell them to 
 bring my infant to me, dear madam," she faintly 
 asjced after a pause, during which her mind was 
 evidently agitated by painful reflections. si The 
 struggle will soon be over, and I must bid a last 
 farewell to my little darling." 
 
 Her wishes were immediately complied with, 
 and the infant having been placed in her arms, 
 she strained it with passionate energy to her 
 
48 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 breast. What a terrible moment for the young 
 mother ! 
 
 The stillness that had hitherto reigned through 
 the cabin was now broken by the half sup- 
 pressed sobs of those who witnessed the mute 
 agony of this touching parting. Even the 
 Doctor, habituated as he was to such scenes, 
 turned aside to conceal his emotion. 
 
 A sudden exclamation from Mrs. C , who 
 
 had been supporting the mother's head, an- 
 nounced that all was over. In this last embrace 
 of maternal love the gentle spirit of this admi- 
 rable woman had passed away. 
 
 I need hardly say that her melancholy 
 fate left a most painful impression on all on 
 board with the exception of the heartless being 
 to whom her misfortunes were to be attri- 
 buted. Shunned and detested by his comrades 
 he wandered amongst us like a detected felon, 
 so distinctly was he branded by the finger of 
 public reprobation. Of the consistent manner 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 49 
 
 In which he terminated his career, I shall have 
 occasion to speak by and by, in the order of 
 date and locality in which it occurred. 
 
 A subscription was opened for the unfor- 
 tunate offspring of this ill matched couple, 
 and it was subsequently adopted by the kind- 
 hearted lady who had taken such interest 
 in its mother, on the express understanding 
 that Harvey should never attempt to see it 
 again, or in any way interfere with its educa- 
 tion a condition that he was but too glad to 
 assent to. 
 
50 LIFE IN THE BANKS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " And each upon his rival glared, 
 
 With foot advanced and blade half bared." 
 
 EVERY one has heard of the famous triangular 
 duel of Captain Marryatt. Now, though the 
 affair I am about to relate cannot lay claim to 
 as much singularity, its truth can be corrobo- 
 rated by stronger contemporary evidence than 
 the witty novelist can call into court. 
 
 Amongst the ladies who accompanied the 
 detachment, was the wife of an old Peninsular 
 officer, named Benham, who had but lately 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. Si 
 
 exchanged into our regiment in the hope of 
 obtaining in India, that promotion which his 
 poverty denied him at home. This officer had 
 not the good fortune to be popular with his 
 new associates, owing to the irascibility of his 
 temper, which had> no doubt, been soured by 
 the disappointment incident to an unassisted 
 career like his. Of his lady's history but little 
 was known ; but her appearance and manners 
 were of so dubious a cast, that scandal whis- 
 pered she was nothing more than his mistress, 
 and that his object in passing her off as his wife 
 was, to save the expense of her passage out. 
 The suspicion of such a fact was, in itself, suf- 
 ficient to set the wags of the detachment on 
 the alert, and they forthwith resolved to pay 
 her the most devoted attention ; as much, it 
 must be confessed, from the laudable desire of 
 annoying the waspish old officer, as of gratify- 
 ing the love of admiration, which the lady so 
 unequivocally displayed. 
 
 Though possessing some remains of beauty 
 D 3 
 
52 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 and a figure that might even be termed fine, 
 Mrs. Benham was now at that period of life 
 when ladies first begin to confess their age, and 
 coquetry yields place to something of matronly 
 dignity and seriousness. It was not so, however, 
 with this determined ever-green the fasci- 
 nating smiles into which her carefully preserved 
 features were tutored, and the meaning glance 
 of her full dark eye showed that if the fires of 
 passion were extinct in her breast, the love of 
 conquest remained unabated. 
 
 " For this hands, lips, and eyes were put to school, 
 And each instructed feature had its rule/' 
 
 Her style of dress, too, though it could not 
 be called positively vulgar, was not exactly such 
 as was calculated to inspire a feeling of respect 
 for the wearer. The taste displayed in the 
 choice of colours and mode of arrangement, 
 betrayed rather a desire to display her volup- 
 tuous beauties to advantage, than to consult the 
 dictates of modesty or good sense, while it 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 53 
 
 afforded an index to her character which might 
 be read at a glance. 
 
 From this woman, as from a moral pestilence, 
 the other ladies shrank with instinctive deli- 
 cacy, and she consoled herself for their neglect, 
 by attracting round her all the younger officers 
 of the detachment. The latter were, of course, 
 delighted at having a butt for their boisterous 
 mirth, and ministered largely to the vanity of 
 this superannuated Venus. 
 
 It was amusing, though at the same time 
 pitiable to see a woman old enough to be 
 their mother, thus enshrined as the divinity 
 ef a parcel of beardless adorers, and lavishing 
 upon them the tender regards of amorous se- 
 nility. The scene reminded one of those clas- 
 sical allegories in which love is represented as 
 defying the inroads of time. 
 
 Innumerable were the tricks played upon her 
 by her admirers ; and so completely were her 
 moral perceptions blunted by her egregious 
 vanity and self love, that nothing was too ex- 
 
54 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 travagant nothing too ridiculous for her to 
 believe. God help the simpleton of this kind 
 who happens to fall into the hands of military 
 idlers. Far better for her would it be, to be 
 thrown amongst those savage tribes who are 
 celebrated for the ingenuity with which they 
 torture their victims. 
 
 The inquiry will naturally suggest itself to 
 my readers, why her husband did not interfere 
 to protect her from the conspiracy of which she 
 was so evidently the object. Poor man ! he 
 dared not. He himself stood in a most equivocal 
 position, and he well knew that if he went 
 farther than to remonstrate with her (which, 
 with this silly woman, was totally useless) she 
 would not hesitate to denounce him to the 
 authorities for the imposition he had put upon 
 them. He therefore thought it wisest to shut 
 his eyes to the truth as long as he was able, and 
 to take no notice of it until it was actually 
 forced upon him. This line of conduct only 
 confirmed the suspicions that had been pre- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 55 
 
 viously entertained, and accelerated the result 
 he was anxious to avoid. 
 
 One evening about dusk, as the passengers 
 were on deck, enjoying the refreshing breeze 
 which had succeeded the oppressive heat of the 
 day, one of the cuddy waiters drew Captain 
 Benham aside, and asked him what he would be 
 disposed to give him if he placed in his hands 
 satisfactory proofs of the infidelity of his wife. 
 This startling, though not altogether unex- 
 pected piece of information, coming through a 
 source from whence it would, no doubt, soon 
 be disseminated all over the vessel, of course 
 rendered it imperative upon him to take some 
 notice of the matter, so he put a couple of 
 guineas in the fellow's hand, and desired him 
 to proceed with his story. The waiter then 
 produced a letter, in Mrs. Benham's hand- 
 writing, directed to a young Cornet, who had 
 rendered himself -conspicuous by his attentions 
 to her, and which left no doubt on his mind as 
 to the understanding that existed between 
 
56 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 them. This precious epistle presented a faithful 
 epitome of the writer's character, for after de- 
 claring her grateful sense of the many proofs 
 of devotion that the Cornet had manifested 
 towards her, she proceeded to explain the real 
 position in ~ which she stood towards Captain 
 Benham, whom she flatteringly described as a 
 jealous old brute, and stated that she could not 
 better testify the generous disinterestedness of 
 her regard for him than to assure him that she 
 would offer no very violent or unnecessary re- 
 sistance, if he carried her off from her pseudo 
 husband, on their arrival in Bombay. 
 
 The waiter explained that this letter had 
 been found by his wife, who was stewardess of 
 the vessel, and he supposed it had been dropped 
 or mislaid by the writer whilst waiting an op- 
 portunity of privately delivering it to the 
 Cornet. 
 
 Captain Benham desired the man to preserve 
 strict secrecy as to the affair, and to recommend 
 his wife to do the same, and then walking up to 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 6? 
 
 the Cornet, who was standing on the quarter- 
 deck in conversation with some of his brother 
 officers, he begged the favour of a few minutes' 
 private conversation with him in the cuddy. 
 The young man instantly complied with his 
 request, and followed him below. 
 
 Having shut and bolted the door of the 
 cabin, which luckily for his purpose happened 
 to be empty, the Captain turned round and 
 confronted the young officer with as much 
 coolness as he could command. 
 
 " So you are carrying on a clandestine cor- 
 respondence with my wife, Sir," he exclaimed 
 in a voice trembling with suppressed rage. 
 
 " I, Captain Benham, I protest I never even 
 dreamt of such a thing.*' 
 
 " And you are only awaiting our arrival in 
 India to carry her off." 
 
 " You must be mad," said the young man 
 staring at him in an attitude of the most ludi- 
 crous surprise, " nothing was ever further from 
 my intentions. 
 D 5 
 
58 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 " I see you do not scruple to add falsehood 
 to the treachery and rascality of your conduct, 
 Sir ; but your meanness will avail you nothing. 
 I hold proofs of what I assert in my hand." 
 
 u Then, before we go farther, perhaps you 
 will allow me to see them." 
 
 " No," said Captain Benham, who had his 
 own reasons for withholding the letter, " I will 
 afford you no further ground for equivocation 
 or evasion. 'Tis enough to say that I am fully 
 satisfied of the truth of these charges, of which 
 indeed no stronger evidence need be adduced 
 than your attentions towards Mrs. Benham 
 since her arrival on board." 
 
 The Cornet felt there was some justice in 
 the latter part of this remark, so made no fur- 
 ther attempt at expostulation. 
 
 4< I see there is no use in reasoning with 
 you. Captain Benham, though I cannot but 
 feel you are doing me a gross injustice. As 
 you are determined to hear no explanation from 
 me, you can have but one motive in bringing 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 59 
 
 me here ; and, indeed, the strong language you 
 have just used renders such a result inevitable. 
 The only thing now to be considered is, how 
 are we to effect it in a crowded vessel like 
 this?" 
 
 " Oh ! there is no difficulty about that*. 
 Secure the services of a friend, and meet me 
 jan deck at midnight. There is not much 
 chance of our being disturbed at that hour, if 
 we keep the matter to ourselves. By the bye, 
 you have pistols I believe ?" 
 
 I have." 
 
 " Then get your second to load them, and 
 bring them with you. We must lose as little 
 time as possible in making preparations on 
 deck, as it would only have the effect of at- 
 tracting attention to our movements. I have 
 no pistols with me, so shall be satisfied with 
 the choice of yours. It is agreed we meet 
 at twelve ?" 
 
 < c At twelve to the minute." 
 
 " Good morning 'till then," and the old Cap- 
 
60 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 tain touched his hat, with formal politeness, to 
 his opponent, who returned the salutation with 
 the same stiff courtesy. 
 
 The night set in unusually dark, and it was 
 difficult to discern any object distinctly at more 
 than a few paces distant. Nearly the whole of 
 the passengers had retired to rest, and of the 
 crew no one but the steersman and the look out 
 were visible on deck when the duellists stole up 
 to their appointment. 
 
 The ground was soon measured, and the 
 principals placed in a line drawn diagonally 
 from side to side, so as to leave a sufficient dis- 
 tance between them, and at the same time keep 
 the man at the helm out of pistol range. 
 
 Not a sound was to be heard, except the 
 moaning noise made by the main mast as it 
 strained under the weight of its heavy sail. 
 
 ** Are you ready," cried the seconds ap- 
 pointed to give the word. 
 
 " Ready," replied both the principals. 
 
 " Fire." 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS- 61 
 
 A terrific explosion followed, which shook 
 the vessel to its very centre. From the win- 
 dows of the fore and after cabins, the hatch- 
 ways and various other parts of the vessel sharp 
 reports and strong flashes of light succeeded 
 each other in rapid succession, and even the 
 two signal guns that stood on the quarter deck 
 simultaneously bellowed forth their contents* 
 To add to the astounding effect of this unex- 
 pected coup de theatre, piercing screams and 
 loud peals of laughter might be heard on all 
 sides, but from whom they proceeded it was 
 impossible to say, as no one was visible except 
 the man at the helm, who calmly pursued his 
 occupation without appearing in the least dis- 
 turbed by this u crash of elements." 
 
 Nothing could exceed the dismay and as* 
 tonishment of the duellists at this sudden and 
 unlocked for interruption to their proceedings. 
 They stood staring at each other for some mi- 
 nutes in mute surprise, with mouths open and 
 arms extended, like men who had succumbed to 
 
62 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 the paralizing influence of a supernatural visi- 
 tation. 
 
 The old Captain was the first to recover 
 himself, and turning on the seconds he angrily 
 said, 
 
 " It is to you we owe this piece of buffoonery, 
 gentlemen, but by heaven you shall both an- 
 swer for it on the spot." 
 
 " Excuse me, Benham," said the Colonel, 
 who had just ascended from the cabin, followed 
 by a group of merry faces. " The ladies have 
 had enough of gunpowder, and must not be 
 again frightened in this way. From what I 
 have just ascertained, from the real authors of 
 the joke, I can fully exonerate these gentlemen 
 from the charge you have brought against 
 them. Nevertheless, I shall feel it my duty to 
 place you all under arrest, unless you give me 
 your parole that we shall not have a repetition 
 of this discreditable scene." 
 
 u I shall give you no such thing, sir," fu- 
 riously replied the Captain. u I will not be 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 63 
 
 made the butt and the play-thing of a parcel of 
 silly boys." 
 
 " Then, if such be your determination, sir," 
 said the Colonel sternly. " I shall instantly 
 place you under arrest, and bring you to a 
 Court Martial as soon as we arrive in India. 
 Recollect that you are the party most to blame 
 in this affair. I will not allude more speci- 
 fically to the error you have committed, but a 
 moment's reflection will suffice to convince you 
 that, the less that is said or known about it the 
 better." 
 
 u You are right, Colonel W ," said the 
 
 old officer, restored to himself by this hint, 
 " I will do all that you require." 
 
 Thus ended this most extraordinary scene. 
 Although it may well be supposed that the 
 Captain did not feel extremely comfortable 
 uhder the sly inuendoes with which he was 
 constantly assailed on the one side, and the 
 taunts and reproaches which greeted him on 
 the other ; he bore them all with more philo- 
 
64 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 sophical resignation than might be expected 
 from his temperament, and on our arrival in 
 India rid himself both of one and the other, by 
 sending his mistress adrift, and exchanging into 
 the infantry. 
 
LIFE IN THE BANKS. 65 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " Des singes empailles, des serperrs en bouteillesy 
 On me tarirait pas sur toutes ces rnerveilles." 
 
 WE arrived within sight of the light-house of 
 Bombay, about the middle of November, and 
 those who have been pent up for months in a 
 small and crowded vessel, can well understand 
 the feelings of joy with which we hailed the 
 prospect of our approaching deliverance. 
 
 Some few there were, however, who looked 
 upon our release with very different feelings. 
 Friendships and attachments had been formed 
 
(>6 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 and cemented during the progress of the passage 
 that were destined to be interrupted or broken 
 up by this event ; and those who had abandoned 
 themselves to the delightful intercourse which 
 so soon springs up between kindred feelings 
 and tastes, could not help manifesting their re- 
 gret at its speedy termination. There were 
 others, too, who felt a sad consciousness that 
 they were approaching the European's grave, 
 and painful memories crowded upon, and de- 
 pressed them ; their pale and dejected counte- 
 nances reflecting but too faithfully the character 
 of their thoughts, and forming a sad contrast 
 with the joyous faces around them. 
 
 There is little in the appearance of Bombay 
 to impress the stranger at jfirst sight, though a 
 careful examination of its position shows that 
 it possesses advantages that few other ports can 
 boast of. The town is situated on the S.E. 
 extremity of a small island, separated from the 
 main land by an arm of the sea, and with 
 the contiguous islands of Colabah, Salsette., 
 
LJPE IN THE RANKS. 67 
 
 Butcher's Island, and Caranjah, it forms one of 
 the safest and most commodious harbours in 
 the world. The light-house stands on the 
 southern extremity of Colabah island, and it 
 may be seen in clear weather at the distance of 
 seven leagues. The point which it occupies is 
 surrounded on all sides by an extensive reef of 
 rocks which is divided into prongs, of which 
 the most dangerous stretches S.W. about three 
 miles from the light-house. 
 
 The varied and picturesque scenery of the 
 coast, so different in its character from any 
 thing we had before seen, and the singular cos- 
 tumes of the natives, who came swarming 
 round the vessel in their boats offering various 
 wares for sale, as well as the novel nature of 
 the commodities themselves, had all a new 
 interest for us, and we felt ourselves as it were 
 suddenly transported into another and more 
 primitive world, where civilization had its task 
 to commence, and where nature might be seen 
 .rioting unfettered by the hand of art. 
 
68 LIFE IN THE HANKS. 
 
 The natives are proverbial for their expert- 
 ness in diving, and we witnessed several amusing 
 feats of this sort. Some bottles were flung 
 into the sea, and the chattering occupants of 
 the nearest boats immediately plunged down 
 after them, and after a sub-marine contest, the 
 lengthened duration of which astonished us 
 Europeans, they were brought to the surface in 
 triumph. 
 
 After remaining a few days in Bombay, we 
 embarked in pattemars, and were conveyed 
 along the coast to a town called Cambay, situ- 
 ated at the mouth of the gulf of that name, at a 
 distance of about seventy miles from the Presi- 
 dency. The country surrounding it is of a wild 
 and uninteresting character, and the only pro- 
 duction for which it is remarkable is the beauti- 
 ful agate with which its sandy soil abounds. 
 Although this mineral is found in Ceylon and 
 some other parts of India, it is to be met with 
 in largest quantity and greatest perfection in 
 this district. The principal mines of agate are 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 69 
 
 situated in the principality of Rajhpepla, within 
 fourteen miles of the City of Broach. 
 
 The day after we arrived at Cambay, we lost 
 four men belonging to the detachment, the 
 intense heat producing an immediate effect on 
 such of the Europeans as were at all debilitated 
 in constitution. Horses having been sent down 
 for our conveyance, we started on the following 
 day for Kaira, which is about forty miles dis- 
 tance from Cambay. 
 
 Our road lay through a thick jungle, infested 
 by wild beasts, and abounding in game of every 
 sort. The monkey tribe attain a larger growth 
 here, than in almost any other part of India, 
 some of them measuring from four to five feet 
 in height, and possessing a degree of agility 
 and strength that renders them formidable even 
 to the human species. 
 
 The sick, amongst whom I had the ill luck 
 to find myself, were conveyed in a hackery or 
 covered cart, drawn by bullocks, and attended 
 by a native driver ; but owing to the indiffe- 
 
70 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 rence of the road we could not keep up with 
 the remainder of the detachment. Between the 
 tremendous jolting of the vehicle during the 
 day, and the incessant howling of the jackals 
 during the night, it may well be imagined our 
 situation was far from comfortable. So intole- 
 rable became the latter nuisance, that a Scotch- 
 man named Wallace, who had the charge of the 
 party, and who was the only one of us whose 
 strength was not completely prostrated, lost 
 temper, and arming himself with a stout cudgel, 
 commenced beating the jungle, in order to scare 
 the jackals away. He had hardly quitted the 
 cart, when a sudden exclamation from one of 
 the invalids, who lay nearest the curtains which 
 protected the entrance of the vehicle, called our 
 attention towards him. 
 
 u Ugh !" exclaimed the poor fellow shudder- 
 ing and shrinking back as a huge paw was 
 thrust through the curtains and planted on his 
 breast. Next moment he absolutely screamed 
 with fright, as a grinning face presented itself 
 
IN THE RANKS. f 
 
 at the opening and took a leisurely view of the 
 interior. 
 
 The moon was not yet up, and the obscurity 
 which prevailed added additional terrors to this 
 unexpected apparition. Not a man of us was 
 able to move hand or foot, so completely had 
 fever prostrated us. 
 
 " 'Tis the devil !" cried one. 
 
 u 'Tis a whole troop of devils," exclaimed 
 another, as about a dozen equally hideous faces 
 came peering curiously over the shoulder of 
 our first visitant. 
 
 cc The monkeys are upon us ! fling that bottle 
 at them, Tom." 
 
 " Monkeys be d d !" said the party ad- 
 dressed, " who ever saw monkeys like that." 
 
 In hopped the leader of the party on the 
 chest of the last speaker and stifled his utter- 
 ance. He was instantly followed by his com- 
 panions, and we had nothing for it but to lie 
 patiently and allow them to have their way. 
 
 The provisions were suspended from the ribs 
 
72 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 of the awning which covered the hackery. The 
 wine bottles and physic vials hung at the 
 sides. 
 
 " Watch that hugly looking thief how he 
 munches the biscuits." 
 
 * c They'll find out the drink presently : I 
 hear Master Jacko jingling the bottles in the 
 corner there." 
 
 " Fd give a month's grog if they'd only take 
 a taste of the black draught." 
 
 A hissing and spluttering sound, followed by 
 the cracking of glass against the side of the 
 cart, announced the consummation so devoutly 
 to be wished for. A loud burst of laughter 
 resounded from one end of the vehicle to the 
 other. The monkeys stopped short in their 
 operations, and cocking their ears, appeared 
 to deliberate as to the prudence of beating 
 a retreat. Seeing the effect our involuntary 
 merriment had produced, we hastened their 
 decision by another simultaneous shout, which 
 sent them all scampering into the road, 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 73 
 
 with the exception of a couple of old stagers 
 who remained grinning and chattering fiercely 
 on the steps of the vehicle. 
 
 At this juncture Wallace returned, and we 
 heard him laying his cudgel about him with a 
 hearty good will. Our two friends at the en- 
 trance saved themselves by jumping on the 
 roof of the cart, from whence they confronted 
 him with spiteful looks. 
 
 I should have mentioned that the native 
 driver remained an inactive spectator of this 
 curious scene, the monkey being held sacred by 
 his caste, and any attempt to molest it consi- 
 dered a serious offence against the laws of his 
 religion. 
 
 The Scotchman, unavyare of this fact, 
 began swearing at him for his cowardice, 
 when he was saluted by a volley of stones and 
 branches which came showering on him from 
 all sides of the jungle. Whilst standing com- 
 pletely bewildered by this general assault, one 
 of the malicious animals, who was perched upon 
 E 
 
74 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 the roof, made a sudden spring, and calculating 
 his distance with admirable nicety, dropped 
 with his full weight on the Scotchman's head, 
 and laid him spra wling on the earth. 
 
 The wood resounded with a chattering 
 io poean of triumph at this signal overthrow ; 
 but Wallace recovered himself in an instant, 
 and made an effort to grapple his hairy assailant. 
 The latter was, however, too nimble for him, 
 and succeeded in making his escape to a neigh- 
 bouring tree, from whence he joined in the 
 general chorus of this legion of devils. Wallace, 
 exasperated at the rough treatment he had met 
 with, loaded his gun, and soon brought down 
 Master Jacko from his triumphant perch. His 
 companions terrified at his fate, fled in all di- 
 rections, and the Scotchman had the satisfac- 
 tion of finding himself in victorious possession 
 of the field. 
 
 On the following day we arrived at Kaira, 
 which was at that time the military station of 
 Guzzerat, and the head quarters of the regi- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 75 
 
 ment to which I belonged. Its site is extremely 
 picturesque, and a neat church and commodi- 
 ous barracks give it quite the appearance of an 
 English town. It is surrounded by a lofty 
 stone wall, with semicircular bastions in good 
 repair ; and the streets included within its cir- 
 cumference are clean and well kept, though 
 narrow. The houses are solid and lofty struc- 
 tures, with sloping, tiled roofs, and the gables 
 are in general profusely ornamented with wood 
 carvings, representing obscene subjects from 
 the Hindoo mythology. 
 
 The situation of Kaira is about the worst 
 that could have been pitched upon for a mili- 
 tary station, it being annually visited by fever, 
 dysentery, and cholera morbus. 
 
 There is a temple here devoted to the worship 
 of a peculiar caste of Hindoos, called the lains, 
 but their priests would not allow us to enter it. 
 This sect holds the peacock in especial vene- 
 ration, and there was formerly a wooden idol, 
 E 3 
 
76 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 with diamond eyes representing the bird in the 
 temple, but the cupidity of the priests has, I 
 suppose, found more useful employment for the 
 eyes of the god elsewhere, as they no longer 
 dazzle the reverential gaze of its worshippers. 
 
 Most of the inhabitants of the district being 
 of this caste, peacocks are to be found in great 
 abundance in almost all the farm yards in the 
 adjoining villages. Now, this bird,, beside being 
 pretty to- look at, ia by no means bad eating, 
 though it cannot be compared to a good English 
 turkey. My comrades were in the habit of 
 making excursions in quest of it, as soon 
 as night set in, but as I have already men- 
 tioned, it was held sacred by the natives, and 
 as any invasion of their property or religious 
 prejudices was likely to be severely punished 
 by the authorities as well as revenged by the 
 owners, it became necessary to observe the 
 utmost secrecy and caution on these ex- 
 peditions. 
 
 Being young, adventurous, and new to the 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 77 
 
 country, strong inducements were held out to 
 me to join one of these marauding parties ; but 
 fortunately for myself I had not as yet been 
 sufficiently inured to Indian life to have lost 
 the power of distinguishing between justice and 
 oppression. I could not look upon the natives 
 in the same light as my comrades, who regarded 
 them as beings of an inferior stamp, whom it 
 was right to trample upon and rob whenever 
 the opportunity presented itself. It was well 
 for me that I had retained sufficient principle 
 to prevent me falling into a snare that might 
 have cost me my life, or left me subject for 
 sorrowful reflection for the remainder of my 
 days. 
 
 The details of this nocturnal adventure, as 
 related to me by one of the parties concerned, 
 are curious enough as showing how the love of 
 excitement will induce men recklessly to hazard 
 their own lives or endanger those of others. 
 
78 LIFE IN THE BANKS, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 There are human natures so allied 
 Unto the savage love of enterprise, 
 That they will seek for peril as a pleasure. 
 
 IT was a bright moonlight night, and all nature 
 seemed buried in profound repose, as four men 
 in the uniform of soldiers might be seen wend- 
 ing their way through the rich expanse of corn 
 fields in which the little village of Lucknee lay 
 embosomed. It was evident from the strag- 
 gling and unsteady gait of the party, as well 
 as the angry tone in which they debated 
 
L.FFE IN THE RANKS. 79 
 
 some disputed point, that they had been freely 
 indulging in liquor ; and although one of them, 
 who appeared to have retained some degree of 
 self-command, frequently impressed upon his 
 companions the necessity of observing a strict 
 silence as they approached the village, his ad- 
 vice, as might be expected only had the effect 
 of rendering them still more boisterous, 
 
 u You will get us into a scrape, Jamieson, if 
 you continue to make such a confounded noise," 
 said this person to the most obstreperous of the 
 party, " You really must be silent." 
 
 " You be d d," politely replied the party 
 addressed, " don't think you're going to do the 
 Captain over me," and at the same time 
 he executed a most difficult movement, by 
 letting his head and shoulders sway gracefully 
 on one side while his legs made a pirouette on 
 the other, until the equilibrium of the rebellious 
 members was restored by a desperate effort 
 from the centre. 
 
 " It will never do to make the attempt in 
 
80 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 the condition we're in at present," observed the 
 first speaker to another of the party. " There 
 is Jamieson completely cut, and Kerr is little 
 better." 
 
 " Drunk's the word," exclaimed Jamieson, 
 (i don't be ashamed of it, Bob. Drunk as a 
 lord, but what does that signify. I'm ready 
 for anything, old boy !" and he made another 
 evolution such as I have described, but with 
 less success than before, as he lost his balance 
 and came heavily to the ground. His compa- 
 nions made repeated efforts to set him on his 
 feet again, but no purpose, as he had lost all 
 power of maintaining himself when there. 
 
 u It's no use," hiccuped Kerr, who had 
 nearly equal difficulty in preventing himself 
 from falling, " he has no bones in his legs, the 
 beggar." 
 
 u What's to be done, Marshall ?" saidEoberts 
 in despair to his other companion. fi It would 
 be madness to think of persevering in our plan 
 to-night. If the lains hear us they will be 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 81 
 
 upon us in a moment, and these poor fellows 
 are too far gone either to fight or run for it/' 
 
 " The best thing we can do is to get 
 over into that tope yonder, and try what an 
 hour or two of sleep will do for us. The night 
 is early yet," 
 
 " We've nothing else for it, I fear ; so do 
 you take Jamieson by one arm, and I will hold 
 him by the other. Kerr, we're going to take 
 a snooze amongst the trees there, so come 
 along/' 
 
 " No, I'll take a stretch here/' replied the 
 latter, laying himself comfortably down. 
 
 " This will never do," said Roberts. " You 
 will certainly be discovered here, and, probably, 
 have your throat -cut." 
 
 " What does it matter if I know nothing 
 about it. It's as short a way as any of kicking 
 the bucket." 
 
 " Then kick it and be d d," said Roberts, 
 losing all patience, and leaving him to his 
 fate. 
 
 E 5 
 
82 LIFE IN TBE RANKS. 
 
 Having carried Jamieson over to the tope, 
 which afforded, as they thought, abundant 
 means of concealment, they lay down to rest, 
 and in a few minutes the whole party was snor- 
 ing soundly. 
 
 " I say, Roberts, leave off your tricks," ex- 
 claimed Jamieson, suddenly awaking, some 
 hours after, on receiving a violent chuck which 
 had the effect of thoroughly rousing him. On 
 looking up, he found himself surrounded by 
 half a dozen grinning natives, who were in the 
 act of pinioning his arms, while a number of 
 others were engaged in securing his com- 
 panions. 
 
 " You black thieves," shouted Jamieson, in 
 the impotency of his rage, " just loosen me 
 for about ten minutes, and I'll show every 
 mother's son of you the difference between 
 an honest Scotchman and a parcel of sneaking 
 Gruddars.* 
 
 * Jack-asses. 
 
LlFK IN THE RANKS. 83 
 
 The natives grinned and made some 
 in which the word chowdrle was frequently 
 employed. 
 
 u They want us to go before the native ma- 
 gistrate," said Roberts, u and as they have pos- 
 sessed themselves of our arms, and skewered us 
 like chickens, we had better yield with a good 
 grace." 
 
 " May I be d d if I do," said the obstinate 
 Scotchman. a I'll not be driven like a sheep 
 before a set of treacherous beggars like these 5 
 that I could pummel by scores if my arms were 
 free. 
 
 " What a mulish animal you are, Jamieson," 
 said Roberts, " you'll be forced to do it whether 
 you like it or not, so take a friend's advice, and 
 submit quietly to what you can't help." 
 
 " Chowdrie, chowdrie," again cried the natives 
 making significant signs to us that they would 
 use force if we did not at once proceed where 
 they indicated* 
 
 <c Let's be off," said Roberts to the other 
 
84 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 two men, u or we shan't get out of this affair 
 with whole bones." 
 
 He accordingly intimated his willingness to 
 move on, but Jamieson refused to stir from the 
 sitting posture which he had occupied during 
 this dialogue. , 
 
 The natives looked puzzled, and exchanged 
 a few words with each other. Four athletic 
 looking fellows precipitated themselves upon 
 him, and seizing him by the arms and legs bore 
 him kicking and swearing to the village. 
 
 In this manner the party made their appear- 
 ance in presence of the Chowdrie. The magis- 
 trate was seated cross-legged on a mat, but the 
 air of official gravity which he had assumed, 
 gave way at once before the grotesque appear- 
 ance which the Scotchman cut. His clothes 
 were hanging in tatters about him from the 
 efforts he had made to free himself; his 
 pimpled face was swollen to more than its 
 usually large dimensions, and was now of a 
 bright purple colour. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 85 
 
 The Chowdrie repressed the smile which had 
 lit up his really good natured features, and in 
 tolerably good English inquired their motive 
 in coming to his village. Frequent robberies 
 he said, had of late been committed in Lucknee 
 by the soldiery, and some of the natives had 
 been dangerously wounded in endeavouring to 
 defend their property. The constant repetition 
 of such offences had obliged him to set people 
 on the watch, and the suspicious circumstances 
 under which the prisoners were found in his 
 neighbourhood, rendered it his duty to make 
 some inquiry into the purpose of their visit. 
 
 Roberts, who acted as the spokesman of the 
 party, replied that they had been out shooting, 
 and bad no intentions of a dishonest nature. 
 He hoped that the magistrate would order 
 their arms to be restored to them, and allow 
 them to return quietly to their barracks. 
 
 u And I say old cock," added Jamieson, who 
 had not entirely recovered from the effects of 
 the previous night's potations. " If you'll just 
 
86 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 tell your black bums to loosen these confounded 
 girths, it'll do your heart good to see the 
 milling I'll give them." 
 
 c; The explanation you have given me," said 
 the Chowdrie, not appearing to notice this ill- 
 timed sally, " is far from satisfactory, and it 
 will be my duty to keep you in confinement 
 until I have time to communicate with the 
 military authorities. Remove these men to the 
 Chokey," he added to the guard, u and watch 
 them carefully, so as to prevent them making 
 their escape." 
 
 Roberts remonstrated earnestly against this 
 decision, which happened to be the thing of all 
 others that he most desired to avoid, knowing 
 well that severe corporal punishment would be 
 the consequence ; but the Chowdrie remained 
 firm, and they were marched to the Chokey or 
 guard house, Jamieson using the only mem- 
 bers he had free in bestowing occasional kicks 
 on the guards. 
 
 The building dignified with this title was a 
 
tIFE Itf THE EASKS. 87 
 
 miserable thatched hut, having a partition, 
 which separated the male and female prisoners, 
 and doors of tolerable strength. It was 
 thatched with layers of grass. 
 
 " What a pretty pickle we have got our- 
 selves into," exclaimed Roberts despondingly, 
 as he heard the doors locked upon them. 
 " What is to be done now ? If the Chowdrie 
 sends to the barracks we shall be brought back 
 by a strong guard, and tried by court martial 
 for being absent without leave." 
 
 " Any thing sooner than that, boys, we'll 
 force the crib," said Marshall, approaching the 
 doors and examining them. 
 
 " And get shot for our pains," replied 
 Roberts. " In the first place, the doors are 
 too thick, and in the next there is a guard 
 stationed outside." 
 
 u I've got out of a worse scrape than this, 
 by the aid of a little ingenuity. What 
 you say is true enough, but there are other 
 means of escaping without forcing the doors." 
 
88 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 " Let us hear your plan then." 
 
 a As soon as the evening sets in, and that we 
 have no reason to apprehend any further visits 
 we will commence working our cords against 
 the angles of the door posts, and will soon free 
 ourselves from them. I will then cut a hole 
 through the roof, without making much noise, 
 and if there be men stationed below we can 
 drop upon them and take to our heels in the 
 confusion." 
 
 " Nothing can be better, but instead of wait- 
 ing until evening to work through the cords, do 
 you commence immediately, and get your hands 
 free as soon as possible. Should any one come 
 in, you can keep them behind your back as if 
 still tied, and we will divert attention from you. 
 When the evening arrives you can liberate us, 
 and we will not be long in working through 
 the roof." 
 
 The plan having been agreed upon, no .time 
 was lost in putting the first part of it into exe- 
 cution. The ligatures were soon sawn through 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 89 
 
 by the friction of the door-posts, and Marshall 
 was at liberty. 
 
 Several visits of inspection were paid in 
 the course of the day by the chokiedar or 
 jailor ; but they became less frequent towards 
 the fall of the evening, and as soon as the last 
 meal had been served, the prisoners proceeded 
 to put their project into execution. 
 
 Having liberated his companions with a large 
 knife, which he had in his pocket, and mounted 
 the partition, Marshall began cutting away the 
 thatch with the same instrument, and in a short 
 time had made a hole large enough to put his 
 head through. He peeped cautiously out, and 
 saw three men seated immediately under him, 
 quietly smoking their chillums. Their bows 
 and matchlocks stood against the walls of the 
 hut. 
 
 u It's just as I expected/' said Marshall 
 drawing in his head. *' Let us cut away the 
 inner part of the thatch part here, and when I 
 give the word, push the remainder into the 
 
90 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 road, jumping immediately after it, so as to 
 a rail ourselves of the confusion it will oc- 
 casion. 
 
 This having been done, at a word from Mar- 
 shall, the frail roof tumbled in large masses into 
 the street, burying those below in a heap of 
 rubbish, and at the same moment the four pri- 
 soners precipitated themselves upon the con- 
 fused and astonished guard, who believed the 
 hut had fallen upon them. 
 
 To seize their swords and matchlocks was 
 the work of an instant. Stunned and bewil- 
 dered, they offered no resistance, and the 
 remainder of the guard who came up to their 
 assistance were soon overpowered. 
 
 " To the house of the chowdrie," shouted 
 Roberts, "our arms are there, and we must not 
 return without them." 
 
 The village by this time was in an uproar, 
 and men, women, and children were recklessly 
 knocked down or overturned in their progress. 
 
 Gaining the house of the magistrate, they 
 

 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 91 
 
 forced the doors and soon reached the apart- 
 ments where their arms were kept. The old 
 magistate had escaped at the first alarm. 
 
 (i Now lads," said Roberts, " the worst is to 
 come. I hear the natives assembling outside, 
 and we shall have to fight our way through 
 them. See that your pieces are loaded, but 
 only use them at the last extremity, for I fear 
 we shall have enough to answer for as it is. 
 Let us make a rush together, but do not sepa- 
 rate, or we shall all be massacred." 
 
 On emerging into the narrow passage or lane 
 in front of the house, they found an immense 
 mob armed with weapons of every sort. They 
 were received with a volley of stones and 
 arrows ; but, striking about them with the butt 
 end of their pieces, they had nearly fought 
 their way through, when Jamieson received an 
 arrow in the breast which stretched him lifeless 
 on the earth. 
 
 Exasperated at the fate of their companion, 
 they presented their guns at the crowd and 
 
92 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 swore they would shoot the first man that at- 
 tempted to stop them. Nothing intimidates a 
 mob so much as fire arms, and the threat had 
 the desired effect. They succeeded in gaining 
 the open country, and reached their barracks in 
 safety ; but were immediately placed under 
 arrest, and sentenced to three hundred lashes 
 by a court-martial summoned to investigate 
 the offence. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 93 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 And every brother rake will smile to see 
 That miracle a moralist in me. 
 
 THAT habits inimical to the health and morals 
 of the British soldier prevail to a more alarm- 
 ing extent in India than in any other of our 
 military stations, whether at home or abroad, is 
 a fact that will not admit of dispute, although 
 there may be some difference of opinion as to 
 the causes to which it is . to be attributed. 
 Notwithstanding all that has been said and 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 written on the subject, it strikes me that an 
 important feature of the inquiry has been al- 
 together lost sight of, namely, as to how far 
 the present canteen regulations may assist in 
 checking or aggravating the evil. 
 
 To most persons unacquainted with the 
 country, the assertion will no doubt appear 
 strange, that the restrictions imposed by the 
 authorities on the quantity of liquor allowed to 
 each individual, and the time at which it is to 
 be served out, are calculated to produce an 
 effect directly contrary to that which is in- 
 tended. Such is, however, my firm belief, and 
 if my readers will bestow a few minutes patient 
 attention on the subject they will perhaps con- 
 cur with me in opinion. 
 
 Equal, if not superior, in physical organiza- 
 tion to the troops of almost every other 
 country, it has often been demanded why the 
 soldiery of Great Britain stand so much lower 
 in the social scale. The answer is a simple 
 one because the whole scope and tendency of 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 95^ 
 
 military legislation is calculated to degrade the 
 soldier in his own estimation, and to leave his 
 moral feelings no room for play. He is re- 
 garded as a mere animal endowed only with 
 brute instincts, and the consciousness of this 
 humiliating fact lowers many a highly gifted 
 and sensitive mind to the common level. Once 
 a man's sense of moral responsibility is de- 
 stroyed, it cannot be expected that he will 
 become either a good soldier or a useful citizen. 
 The motives that incite other men to exertion, 
 and the feeling of self respect which prevents 
 them from yielding to temptation, are wanting 
 in his case ; for it seems the policy of the 
 military code not to encourage anything which 
 might develope his better instincts or elevate 
 his mental faculties. Dealing with the material 
 of which the mass is composed as brute matter, 
 the agency by which it is shaped, and fashioned 
 into the automaton form, dignified with the name 
 of soldier, is of corresponding harshness and 
 severity. Penal regulations and restrictions 
 
96 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 greet the unfortunate tyro at every side, and 
 the few indulgences that his hard lot admits of 
 are watched and curtailed at the pleasure of his 
 superiors. Is it to be wondered at, therefore, 
 that he should feel a sort of savage gratification 
 at breaking through restraints which those in 
 authority do not impose on their own conduct, 
 and which savour of unnecessary despotism. 
 Hatred of oppression seems a principle im- 
 planted in our nature, and to this impulse, 
 rather than to any real passion for the vice pro- 
 hibited, may be traced much of the evil com- 
 plained of. 
 
 But there is another objection to the present 
 regulations, which appears to me to possess 
 even greater force. To any person of ordinary 
 reflection it would seem impolitic on the face 
 of it, to drive the soldier from his barracks in 
 quest of an indulgence which he ought to find 
 there. In the first place, the wallop or spirit 
 of the country is one of the vilest and most 
 unhealthy compounds that was ever distilled. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 9t 
 
 and the constant use of it must ruin the con- 
 stitution. In the second, the moment he leaves 
 the barracks, he is beset on every side by 
 temptation, inveigled into the lowest and most 
 abandoned society, drawn into drunken broils 
 which often terminate fatally, and then dis- 
 graced and punished. If the love of drink be 
 so confirmed as not to be easily corrected or 
 eradicated, in what is the condition of the unfor- 
 tunate man, or the discipline of the regiment 
 benefitted by his being driven to indulge the 
 propensity abroad. Wives are generally heard 
 to say that if their husbands must get drunk, 
 they would be far more satisfied if they would 
 indulge at home, for then they would be able to 
 keep them out of mischief. If our military 
 rulers would only condescend to borrow a hint 
 from female tactics, they would find their task 
 a much easier one, and those over whom they 
 are placed would reap incalculable benefits 
 from the change. In civil legislation preven- 
 tion is held to be better than punishment, and 
 
98 LIFE IN THE RANK.& 
 
 it has the additional recommendation of being 
 more merciful towards those likely to infringe 
 its rules. I can see no reason why this prin^- 
 eiple, sound and humane as it is, should not be 
 advantageously applied to military government, 
 and the removal of the foolish restrictions to 
 which I have alluded would have a double in- 
 fluence in furthering such a result, first by 
 leaving it entirely to the good sense and manly 
 feeling of the soldier himself to use or abuse 
 the indulgence as he pleased, and secondly, by 
 retaining him under the immediate observation 
 of his superiors who would thus be in a position 
 to check his excesses, or at all events to prevent 
 him from doing mischief to himself or others, 
 by sending him to the guard-room to sleep off 
 the effect of his potations. 
 
 If there be any truth in the opinions I have 
 advanced, my readers will arrive with me at 
 the conclusion that while- a strict surveillance 
 should be kept over the soldier in reference to 
 the correct performance of hi& military duties, 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 99 
 
 it is unwise to lay unjust restrictions on 
 his moral conduct a conduct for which he 
 is alone amenable* In every other relation of 
 life we find it is not only more agreeable 
 but easier to persuade than to compel to the 
 performance of that which is right ; and I 
 cannot see why the soldier should be exempt 
 from the common influence. Satisfy him that 
 something relating to the honor of his position 
 as a member of the community something 
 having a tendency to promote his own indivi- 
 dual happiness and respectability has been left 
 to himself to perform in a word, elevate his 
 sense of moral dignity by showing a confidence 
 in his power of discriminating between 
 right and wrong, and it will be found that 
 although in some, perhaps in many instances, 
 the liberty may be abused, yet on the whole it 
 will work out a remedy much more efficacious 
 and permanent in its effects than martinet re- 
 gulations, which are based neither on princi- 
 ples of policy nor humanity. 
 F 3 
 
100 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 It has been urged as an excuse for indulgence 
 in this degrading vice that the excessive heat 
 of the climate renders a certain degree of sti- 
 mulus necessary to the constitution of Euro- 
 peans. I cannot admit the validity of such a 
 plea, for my own experience and observation of 
 others, lead me to form a directly contrary opi- 
 nion. I have frequently heard a similar expla- 
 nation given in England to foreigners who have 
 made remarks on the general tendency of the 
 people to indulge in the use of ardent spirits. 
 What analogy is there between the two cli- 
 mates which admits of an equal application of 
 the rule ? The humidity of our English at- 
 mosphere may, to some extent, justify the use 
 of spirits ; but, unfortunately for the argu- 
 ments of the Indian consumer, the temperature 
 of the districts in which drunkenness most pre- 
 vails, affords no such excuse. The inconsis- 
 tency can only be reconciled by the same 
 process of reasoning by which the natives of 
 the Green Isle have arrived at the conclusion, 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 1 01 
 
 that a great coat keeps out the heat as well as 
 the cold. 
 
 In every other climate but that of India, it is 
 considered wise to adapt one's habits to those 
 of the natives, as they must necessarily be based 
 on principles suited to the temperature or other 
 circumstances of the country. N ow the natives 
 themselves, with the exception of the veriest 
 dregs the lowest caste of society, or more 
 strictly speaking, those who belong to no caste 
 at all, are reared up to habits of the most rigid 
 temperance, and are religiously taught to ab- 
 hor all transgressions of its rules. It is 
 quite true that amongst the mussulmen, in- 
 stances are not wanting in which infractions of 
 the commandment of the prophet sometimes 
 occur, but such cases are eomparativjely rare^ 
 and being usually practised in secret, the 
 danger of a mischievous example is avoided* 
 But the most convincing proof of there being 
 nothing like a physical necessity for the con- 
 stant use of spirits is the fact, that the Euro- 
 
102 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 peans who acclimate themselves by accommo- 
 dating themselves to native habits, are those 
 whose constitutions longest resist the ener- 
 vating influence of a tropical sun and the 
 sudden attacks of epidemics to which the ex- 
 cessive heat renders them liable. 
 
 It may be thought that I am attaching too 
 much importance to this subject, but to any one 
 who is at all familiar with the extent of the 
 prejudices I have been endeavouring to combat, 
 and their fatal influence on almost every class 
 of our countrymen in India, the stress which 
 I lay upon it will not appear exaggerated. 
 Deeply, most deeply have I deplored the daily 
 occurrence of scenes occasioned by this mad 
 infatuation, which must have presented the 
 character of the Christian and the European 
 under the most disgusting and revolting aspect 
 to the pure and simple minded Hindoos. What 
 must they think of the religion to whose tenets 
 we would convert them, which cannot restrain 
 its votaries from degrading themselves below 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 103 
 
 the level of the brutes of the creation. The 
 term, mud walla, the Hindoo expression for a 
 drunkard, is strikingly appropriate, and con- 
 veys some notion of the contempt with which 
 they regard the character. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that upon the arrival 
 of a fresh batch of recruits from Europe, there 
 is not, perhaps, one out of ten who does not 
 evince a strong dislike to the spirit which is 
 served out to him on his arrival, and who does 
 not make wry faces while endeavouring to force 
 it down. In most instances it is given away, 
 and as eagerly caught at by some oid and 
 steady-going tipler. A few weeks, and even 
 days suffice, however, to produce an entire 
 revolution in opinion, caused in the first 
 instance by the raillery of others, and then by 
 an acquired taste. In a short period the youth 
 who would have shrunk from the idea of a 
 debauch, feels himself irresistibly led to adopt 
 habits ^)f his more tried Indian associates^ 
 
104 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 and in process of time becomes himself ini- 
 tiated and the initiator of others. 
 
 Under the old regulations the first thing 
 served out to the troops, whether in quarters or 
 the field, was the ration dram, which was about 
 equal in measure to what is termed in this 
 country a gill. This taken upon an empty 
 stomach was net likely to contribute to the 
 steadiness or clearness of the intellect during the 
 morning, and in almost every case it lay the 
 foundation of future mischief ; for so habitual 
 did it become, that the soldier felt that with- 
 out the accustomed stimulant nothing could 
 be enjoyed. The appetite for the morning 
 meal, paralised by the previous night's excess, 
 was by this means re-excited, while the desire 
 for more, and an eager longing for the accus- 
 tomed canteen hour, followed as a matter of 
 course. 
 
 In tracing the causes which have obtained 
 for the Anglo-Indian soldier such a bad pre- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 105 
 
 ^eminence, it would not be fair to overlook the 
 almost total want of spciety, excepting of course 
 such as is to be found within the limits of a 
 military cantonment. Nothing can be more 
 monotonous or oppressive than a state of exis- 
 tence like this to any one possessing an idea 
 beyond the performance of an unvarying 
 routine of military duties. Amongst the great 
 variety of characters that a regiment includes, 
 there are always some to be found of a stamp 
 superior to the rest some who have, perhaps, 
 foeen forced into their present circumstances by 
 .the pressure of unavoidable misfortunes, the 
 faults of others, or indiscretions of their own* 
 Many I have known whose high talents and 
 gentlemanly manners have not prevented them 
 from falling into the depths of infamy and vice^ 
 whose consciousness of their own abilities has 
 only added a double bitterness to their already 
 humiliated condition, and whose superior ac- 
 quirements,, when joined to low and depraved 
 Jiabits, have only rendered them more odious and 
 c 5 
 
106 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 contemptible to their comrades. Still more 
 numerous are those who, neither possessed of 
 education nor abilities, have nothing to regret 
 in the choice they have made, but who, for 
 these reasons, are not, perhaps, the less qualified 
 to make excellent soldiers. Amongst such a 
 medley a man may obtain companions enough, 
 but society the companionship of the con- 
 tented and cheerful spirits that make up the 
 pleasant circle of an English fire side forms no 
 feature in Indian life. 
 
 Amongst the many cases which I might 
 select in illustration of the foregoing observa- 
 tions, that of a young man named Blake, strikes 
 rne as particularly deserving of notice. This 
 person had received a good classical education, 
 and combined with it, a perfect knowledge of 
 several modern languages. He had been ori- 
 ginally destined for the medical profession, but 
 owing in all probability to his own misconduct, 
 found himself at the end of his studies in the 
 situation of a private in a dragoon regiment. 
 
;LIFE IN THE RANKS, 107 
 
 He was a fine athletic young fellow, and well 
 versed in his military duties, but his temper 
 was passionate and vindictive, and at those 
 periods when he was under the influence of 
 liquor, he became a raging devil His abilities 
 might have procured him promotion to the 
 rank of a non-commissioned officer, had he any 
 ambition that way, but he appeared to enter- 
 tain a contempt for the grade, as was natural 
 enough for a man who had fallen from a higher 
 station. Perhaps his real motive was distrust 
 of his own temper, and if so, he acted wisely, 
 for in no situation in life are the patience 
 and good feeling of a man so constantly put 
 to the test, as in that of a non-commissioned 
 officer. 
 
 By one of those strange circumstances so fre- 
 quently observable in dispositions like Blake's, 
 he had formed a close intimacy with a young 
 man belonging to the same troop, whose 
 /character was directly the reverse of his, and it 
 was a matter of surprise and remark to their 
 
108 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 comrades that a friendship between individuals 
 of such a different stamp should be so long kept 
 up. At length, however, a quarrel, produced 
 by some sudden ebullition on the part of Blake, 
 took place, and a serious rupture was the con- 
 sequence. The latter swore he would be 
 revenged, and the means he took to accom- 
 plish his purpose were as diabolical as they 
 were consistent with his previous character. 
 
 On the evening previous to the period which 
 he had fixed for the execution of his project, 
 he was observed to be more than usually excited, 
 and to pay frequent visits to the canteen. 
 Having spent all the ready money which he 
 possessed or could contrive to borrow, he dis- 
 posed of his books to his comrades for the 
 purpose of raising more. By this means he 
 kept up the fearful state of excitement which 
 must have been necessary to the contemplation 
 and execution of his infernal designs. 
 
 Early next morning, when the troop to which 
 he belonged fell in, for the purpose of field 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 109 
 
 exercise, Blake was reported absent. Little 
 notice was taken of the circumstance at the 
 time, it being conjectured, from his behaviour 
 of the preceding evening, that he had made his 
 way to the Native Bazaar, which was a favorite 
 place of resort with him. 
 
 As the regiment was about to return from 
 field drill, word was brought to the command- 
 ing officer that the body of a dead soldier had 
 been discovered, in a dreadfully mutilated state, 
 in a nullah or ditch, a few hundred yards dis- 
 tant from the horse lines. The discovery had 
 been made by some of the native followers, on 
 their way to the forage yard. 
 
 The corpse was found lying on one of the 
 banks with a pistol firmly grasped in the right 
 hand, which bore the marks of having been 
 recently discharged. But for the uniform and 
 the number of his forage cap, which too plainly 
 indicated who the unfortunate suicide was, no 
 one could possibly have recognised it as that of 
 Blake. The whole of the upper part of the 
 
110 LIFE IN THE RANKS* 
 
 skull and face was literally blown away, and 
 presented a most shocking appearance. The 
 remains were immediately conveyed to the hos- 
 pital and deposited in the dead house, to await 
 the necessary investigation, 
 
 On stripping the body, a paper addressed to 
 the commanding officer, was found, and in this 
 document were detailed, at considerable length, 
 the pretended reasons which had induced him 
 to put an end to himself. He accused himself 
 of having committed a degrading offence, and 
 charged the young man with whom he had been 
 so long on terms of intimacy, with having parti- 
 cipated in his crime. He alleged that remorse 
 and shame had so worked upon his feelings that 
 he could no longer bear the burthen of a dis- 
 graceful existence, and had consequently re- 
 solved upon destroying himself! 
 
 Such a charge coming from one who was 
 about to appear before the awful tribunal of 
 God, and who, not content with destroying 
 his own hopes of salvation, endeavoured, by 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. Ill 
 
 the solemnity of a last declaration, to effect the 
 ruin and blast the reputation of a virtuous and 
 estimable young man, whose only crime appears 
 to have been, his allowing himself to be drawn 
 into an intimacy with such a character, was so 
 revolting and incredible, that I need not say it 
 was treated with utter contempt and disbelief. 
 It could not fail, however, to wound the feel- 
 ings, and affect the peace of mind, of the indi- 
 vidual charged, although both his comrades and 
 officers testified to him, in every possible way, 
 their commisseration and sympathy. He was 
 shortly after promoted to the rank of a non- 
 commissioned officer, a reward not only merited 
 by his undeserved sufferings, but by his unde- 
 viating good conduct and strict performance of 
 his duties- 
 
 The corpse of the wretched suicide was borne 
 to the grave, not in the usual affecting manner 
 in which the remains of a brave soldier are 
 carried to their last resting place, but by the 
 hands of natives of the lowest caste, and igno- 
 
112 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 miniously interred without the precincts of con- 
 secrated ground. 
 
 Before I quit this subject, I cannot pass over 
 another sad instance of perverted talents which 
 fell under my observation. The person to 
 whom 1 allude was a man who, like Blake, 
 had moved in a respectable sphere of life pre- 
 vious to his entering the army, and who had 
 recourse to drink, to drown the consciousness 
 of his own degradation. In spite of this failing, 
 however, his natural abilities obtained for him 
 the rank of sergeant, and he even filled a staff 
 employment at the period of which I speak* 
 Notwithstanding the repeated scrapes into 
 which his favourite propensity betrayed him, 
 and the as frequent admonitions which he re- 
 ceived on the subject from his superiors, he 
 yielded to it more and more, until a serious 
 breach oi discipline brought him before a court- 
 martial, by which he was sentenced to confine- 
 ment in the congee house, or, as it is termed 
 in the regiment, the a Cocked hat." To such 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 113 
 
 of my readers as are not acquainted with the 
 nature of this punishment, a short description 
 of it may prove interesting. 
 
 The congee houses constituted a quadrangle 
 of strong cells, built in ranges, one above the 
 other ; and were entered by means of balconies. 
 Each cell was about eight feet high, and eight 
 by four square, and confinement in this narrow 
 space, joined to the overpowering heat of the 
 climate and scanty allowance of bread and 
 water served to the inmates, rendered the 
 punishment in the case of a man labouring 
 under the debilitating effects of arrack, equi- 
 valent to a sentence of death. In fact four 
 men lost their lives in them subsequent 
 to the circumstance I am about to relate, 
 and the cells were abandoned as a place of 
 punishment. 
 
 The poor serjeant, on being introduced into 
 one of these dark holes, made the observation 
 that in case the means were within his reach, 
 he would destroy himself sooner than remain 
 
114 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 any time in it. His excited manner left but 
 little doubt as to the seriousness of his purpose, 
 and the serjeant in command of the guard 
 resolved to leave no instrument within his reach 
 by which he might be able to effect it. On 
 searching him, he found a pair of cotton heel- 
 ropes, such as are generally used to secure the 
 troop horses when standing in their lines, and 
 also a razor and common table knife, both of 
 which articles were properly forbidden to pri- 
 soners. As he was about to remove them, the 
 prisoner suddenly attacked him, and endea- 
 voured to regain possession of them. Finding 
 the serjeant too strong for him, he made a 
 sudden rush past him, and overthrowing the 
 sentry, down the staircase, rushed out of the 
 building. A general chase now commenced ; 
 the fugitive clearing the enclosed space, bounded 
 across a prickly pear hedge and ran towards 
 the river, shouting and screaming like a mad- 
 man. A short space more would have sufficed 
 to enable him to gain the river and terminate 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS , .115 
 
 his career by a plunge, when he fortunately 
 stumbled, and fell. His pursuers were upon 
 him before he could collect himself for a 
 fresh run, and he was immediately restored to 
 his cell. 
 
 During the night he kept up a constant 
 uproar, and it was evident from his wild and 
 idiotic chattering that the unfortunate man was 
 fast losing his reason. Towards morning, the 
 noise abated a little, and the sergeant again 
 visited his cell. What a spectacle met his eye ! 
 Pale, haggard, and with eyes starting out of 
 their sockets, the wretched man looked as if he 
 had passed through a long and wasting illness. 
 He talked wildly and incoherently, and there 
 was no longer any doubt of the hopelessness of 
 his case. He was removed to hospital without 
 further opposition on his part, for his strength 
 appeared to be completely exhausted. The 
 utmost attention was, of course, paid to him ; 
 but he never recovered his senses, and death 
 soon after put a termination to his sufferings, 
 
116 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 About this time, two non commissioned 
 officers, who held situations of considerable 
 responsibility, were brought to trial for conduct 
 justly deserving punishment, viz. : defalcations 
 in their troop accounts ; and what aggravated 
 the offence on the part of one of the accused 
 was, the discovery that he had, for some time, 
 carried on a wholesale and systematic plunder 
 of the dead. This latter charge must not, how- 
 ever, be taken too literally, as it simply means, 
 the giving in false returns of the effects and 
 credits of a soldier deceased, in order to defraud 
 the relatives, who, in the event of no will 
 having been made, are entitled to claim the 
 amount. Frauds of this nature are of frequent 
 occurrence in India, and are regarded with a 
 severe eye by the military authorities. After 
 an investigation in which both charges were 
 clearly brought home to the prisoners, they 
 were found guilty, and reduced to the ranks, 
 the most culpable being sentenced to five hun- 
 dred lashes, and the other to three months' soli- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 117 
 
 tary imprisonment. Such a disgraceful fall 
 could not but prey heavily on the minds of the 
 unfortunate men who had hitherto borne irre- 
 proachable characters, and had served several 
 years in the regiment. One died shortly after- 
 wards from fever, brought on by excessive 
 drinking, and a broken heart terminated the 
 existence of the other. 
 
 
118 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 M I could have smiled to see 
 
 The death that would have set me free. ' 
 
 OF all punishments prescribed by the articles 
 of war, I know none which strikes the mind of 
 the soldier with so much terror as that of soli- 
 tary confinement. The lash, severe and dis- 
 graceful as it is, and even death itself are con- 
 sidered far preferable ; and with the knowledge 
 of this fact, it is surprising that men should be 
 found to object to the amelioration of our crimi- 
 nal code by the abolition of capital punishment. 
 If prevention be the policy of the law, and not 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 punishment, then, I say, let that system be 
 adopted which is calculated to make the most 
 lasting and terrible impression on depraved 
 minds, and you will do more to check the 
 spread of crime than all your melodramatic 
 executions have hitherto effected. Criminals, 
 who can look calmly upon death, and who have 
 no belief in a future state of punishment and 
 reward, cannot contemplate, without horror, 
 the prospect of being shut up for life in com- 
 pany with their own guilty thoughts, and of 
 being rendered powerless as regards the gratifi- 
 cation of their passions. The state of inaction 
 to which the vicious energies of such beings 
 are condemned, by solitary confinement, is a 
 moral death in itself infinitely more fearful to 
 them than physical extinction. 
 
 Of the extent of this feeling I had frequent 
 opportunities of judging while we lay at Kaira. 
 Scarcely a day passed without the occurrence 
 of courts-martial, too frequent held for the in- 
 vestigation of charges unworthy the notice of 
 
120 LIFE IN THE RAN&S, 
 
 such a tribunal, and at most deserving only a 
 
 slight reprimand. Here let me bear testimony 
 
 to the great improvement that has taken place 
 
 of late years in this respect. Owing to the 
 
 judicious instructions issued in 1834, by the 
 
 late Lord Hill, these inquiries are now only 
 
 instituted in cases whose magnitude calls for 
 
 solemn investigation. The consequence is, 
 
 that the tribunal itself is regarded with a 
 
 greater degree of respect, and its decisions are 
 
 not subjected to the injurious interpretations 
 
 which were formerly put upon them. At the 
 
 period at which I write, courts martial were 
 
 but too frequently made instruments of tyranny, 
 
 on the part of the subordinates in command, 
 
 and many an act of grave oppression was 
 
 cloaked under their authority. 
 
 It was during the period when the regiment 
 was in the field at Cutch Bhooj, that three 
 privates were sent down from that place to 
 Kaira, to take their trial on a charge of rob- 
 bing a public tumbrel containing specie for the 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 121 
 
 payment of the troops. A general line court 
 martial was assembled to investigate the 
 matter, and the evidence adduced was, as 
 nearly as I can recollect, as follows. The 
 tumbrel, which stood close to the guard tent, 
 was forced open during the night, and treasure 
 to a considerable amount abstracted. Several 
 pieces of coin were observed scattered about in 
 the sand in its vicinity, and a portion of the 
 bottom of the vehicle having been forced in- 
 wards, it was not difficult to conclude how the 
 robbery had been effected. Three of the guard, 
 who had relieved each other during the night 
 as sentinels at the tumbrel were discoveredin 
 the morning in a state of intoxication, and 
 though none of the missing treasure was found 
 upon, them, it was clear that if the robbery had 
 not been committed directly by them, it must 
 have been effected through their connivance. 
 After a lengthened investigation, the court 
 found all three guilty, and sentenced them to a 
 year's solitary confinement, which in such a 
 
 G 
 
122 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 climate as India, and with the severe dietary 
 regulations then in existence, was nothing short 
 of a slow and torturing death. 
 
 On the day when the sentence was to be 
 publicly announced, the regiment was ordered 
 under arms on the parade ground in the rere of 
 the barracks, and the culprits were led into the 
 square. Whilst the adjutant was reading the 
 finding of the court, the countenances of two 
 of the prisoners became ghastly pale, but that 
 of the third assumed a daring and impudent 
 expression. Coolly unloosing his jacket and 
 stock, and flinging them on the ground, the 
 latter stepped forward and addressed the com- 
 manding officer. 
 
 " Flog or shoot me at once, your honour ; 
 but do not condemn me to the Cocked Hat. 
 Five hundred lashes anything would be better 
 than that." 
 
 Such a breach of military discipline as this 
 rarely occurs. We watched the result with 
 breathless interest. ' 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 123 
 
 The Colonel, retaining his self possession, 
 replied sternly, and without the least appear- 
 ance of excitement in his manner, 
 
 " Put on your jacket instantly." 
 
 " It is horrible to condemn a man to a lin- 
 gering death like that," rejoined the prisoner. 
 " I will cheerfully undergo any other punish- 
 ment you may award me, but do not send 
 me to the Congee Houses." 
 
 Major B ," said the Colonel, " if that 
 
 man again refuses to obey, instantly run him 
 through the body." 
 
 The officer addressed advanced towards the 
 refractory culprit, and stood prepared to exe- 
 cute the orders of his superior. 
 
 " Put on your jacket this instant, or abide 
 the consequences," again cried the colonel, in 
 a voice which rang through the parade ground, 
 and found an echo in every man's heart. We 
 knew him too well to doubt that he was in 
 earnest. 
 
 The prisoner remained motionless for a 
 
 G3 
 
124 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 few seconds. The pause was one of intense 
 interest to the bye-standers. The fellow was 
 known to be a daring and reckless character, 
 and it was just a toss up which of the alterna- 
 tives he would accept. He at length put an 
 end to our anxiety by stooping down and 
 picking up his clothes, muttering at the same 
 time something about the hardship of his case. 
 
 " Silence, you scoundrel," exclaimed Colonel 
 
 W , " I have not done with you yet. For 
 
 this mutinous conduct you shall have to 
 answer when the term of your imprisonment 
 (of which you shall not be spared one day) 
 shall have expired. Your present behaviour 
 shall form subject for inquiry before another 
 court martial, and you, major, will select 
 whatever evidence may be necessary." 
 
 The prisoners were then removed to the 
 Congee Houses, but as the regiment left Kaira 
 before the term of their sentence had expired, 
 they were conveyed to the fortress of Ahmed- 
 nuggar, to finish it there. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 125 
 
 Immediately on their liberation another 
 court of inquiry was called for the trial of the 
 soldier who figured in the above scene. He 
 was sentenced to three hundred lashes ; but in 
 consideration of the long confinement he had 
 already undergone, and the favourable report 
 made of his conduct whilst in prison, his 
 other offence was forgiven on condition of his 
 publicly begging pardon in presence of the 
 assembled regiment. 
 
 One of the other two, whose general conduct 
 had always been equivocal, and who had not 
 the credit of possessing very nice powers of 
 discrimination where property was concerned, 
 was soon after brought before another court 
 martial, on a charge of peculation. This 
 fellow was an Irishman, and possessed no 
 inconsiderable share of the humour which 
 characterizes his countrymen. Notwithstand- 
 ing the exhibition of great skill and natural 
 shrewdness in his defence, poor Pat was unable 
 to convince the court of his innocence, and 
 
126 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 was condemned to the triangles. Being a 
 small man, and of a spare and delicate habit, 
 we expected that his physical powers would 
 have suceumbed under the punishment. Not 
 so, however, he not only bore the lash with- 
 out wincing, but between each round adminis- 
 tered by successive operators was ready with 
 some absurd remark, which converted the 
 whole scene into a farce, rather than an ex- 
 ample, neither officers nor men being able 
 to preserve their gravity. Amongst other 
 things he had the assurance to tell his com- 
 manding officer " that he might release him, 
 as he had now been thrashed to his satisfac- 
 tion." Like a skilful player, however, he 
 reserved his best stroke for the last, for as 
 they were casting him off from the triangles 
 he turned round, and with a countenance in 
 which fun and suffering were ludicrously 
 blended, exclaimed u Ah, you may talk of 
 tobacco, but this is the real twist." 
 
 I have elsewhere alluded to the reputation 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 127 
 
 for unhealthiness which Kaira has always en- 
 joyed amongst the military stations of India, 
 and I shall now have occasion to bear testimony 
 to its truth. The cholera broke out in the 
 month of May, 1826, and it immediately spread 
 amongst the Europeans with the desolating 
 rapidity of the plague. Notwithstanding the 
 efforts made by the medical men to arrest its 
 progress, it swept away hundreds of the regi- 
 ment, and universal gloom and consternation 
 prevailed. The majority of the officers, with 
 the exception of the Colonel and a few others, 
 fled to the Presidency, and the desertion of our 
 superiors only added to the general despair. 
 Out of the sixty men who generally occupied 
 each of the barrack rooms nearly the whole 
 were consigned to the hospital or the grave, 
 and the few that remained either awaited their 
 turn in hopeless despair or endeavoured to 
 drown their sense of the impending danger in 
 mad intoxication. Like the skeletons at the 
 Egyptian feasts a wasted and debilitated form 
 
128 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 but just escaped from the claws of death might 
 occasionally be seen presiding at these fearful 
 debauches, the revellers in the inconsistency of 
 their terrors at once dreading and courting 
 familiarity with the object of their fears. 
 
 I for some time escaped the influence of the 
 contagion and was accordingly selected to per- 
 form the duties of hospital orderly. Being of 
 a naturally strong constitution I undertook this 
 dreaded office with less apprehension than 
 others, and to this feeling I attribute my having 
 so easily escaped the disease as I have invariably 
 observed timidity to be a strong predisposing 
 cause of it. 
 
 The scene that presented itself when I 
 entered the ward assigned to me, was however 
 calculated to shake the strongest nerves. From 
 thirty to forty of my comrades lay either 
 writhing in the agonies of death or in a state 
 of hopeless prostration. The temperature, 
 owing to the excessive heat of the weather, 
 and the crowded state of the apartment, was 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 129 
 
 absolutely suffocating, and joined to this a pe- 
 culiar and most disagreeable odour, such as 
 usually proceeds from animal substances in a 
 state of putrefaction, prevailed throughout the 
 wards and passages. Agonizing groans and 
 cries everywhere saluted the ear, and wherever 
 the eye fell it was shocked by the blue or livid 
 hues which mark the phases of this terrible 
 
 On some natures, hardened by familiarity 
 with human suffering or brutalised by indul- 
 gence and excess, spectacles like these either 
 produce no effect or afford subject for drunken 
 ribaldry. I turned away in disgust from the 
 hospital serjeant an over-fed ignorant clod 
 of a Yorkshireman, as he observed on induct- 
 ing me in my duties, " Here you sir, here are 
 six foxing chaps to take care of, they are 
 all croakers so, you mustn't humour them too 
 much." 
 
 On making a round of the patients entrusted 
 to my charge, I was struck by the appearance 
 G 5 
 
130 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 of a young man named Whelan, a native of 
 Ireland. He had been counted one of the 
 finest men in the regiment, his figure being a 
 model of manly beauty, and his strength her- 
 culean. He was evidently near his end, and I 
 was struck by the wild and horrified expression 
 which lit up his ghastly features. 
 
 " Whelan, my poor fellow," said I, " is there 
 anything I can do for you ?" 
 
 u Yes," he exclaimed seizing my hand with 
 a frenzied grasp. " You can get me a priest : 
 for the love of God fetch him instantly, for 
 there is something on my mind which I wish 
 -to confess before I die." 
 
 " I fear it will not be in my power to comply 
 with your request, as there is no Catholic 
 priest to be had here. The Eev. Mr. Payne 
 who is now in the other ward, will however 
 pray with you should you desire it." 
 
 u No ! no ! not for the world," screamed the 
 dying man, " do you think I want to turn 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 131 
 
 heretic the priest the priest as quick as 
 you can, or it will be too late." 
 
 Having pacified him by promising I would 
 endeavour to procure one, I left him for a few 
 minutes, and sought out Mr. Payne. Having 
 called him aside, I communicated to him my 
 suspicions that Whelan had something of a 
 startling nature to disclose, adding at the same 
 time, that as the dying man was a Catholic, I 
 was afraid he would not accept his services. 
 
 The clergyman appeared struck with what I 
 told him, and hastening to Whelan's bed, 
 began to impress upon him mildly, the necessity 
 of preparing himself like a Christian for the 
 solemn change that was about to take place ; 
 when the wretched man exclaimed with a 
 terrific oath, " that no Protestant parson should 
 come near him." Mr. Payne endeavoured to 
 reason him out of this resolution, but finding it 
 in vain withdrew. 
 
 I remained at the bed side for some minutes 
 
132 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 in silence. The invalid lay motionless with 
 his face buried in his hands. 
 
 " William," he suddenly exclaimed in a trem- 
 ulous voice, while the tears streamed down his 
 cheeks, " for the love of the virgin mother of 
 God, fetch me a Catholic priest. I cannot die 
 contented until I see one." 
 
 " If there is one to be had in the neighbour- 
 hood rest assured he shall be brought," was my 
 reply. " Here is the doctor, so I will now 
 leave you for a while, and see what is to be 
 done." 
 
 At this time there was only one Catholic 
 priest to a district comprising two hundred 
 square miles, and he was a Portuguese, speaking 
 but a few words of English. The Rev. Mr. 
 de Souza, the gentleman in question, resided 
 at Kaira, which was several miles distant from 
 the barracks, and he could only come over 
 every third or fourth Sunday to perform divine 
 service. As the ritual was entirely in Latin 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 133 
 
 and Portuguese, the worthy clergyman might as 
 well have remained at home for any spiritual 
 benefit the soldiery obtained from his instruc- 
 tions. The only advantage they might 
 be said to have derived from his coming was 
 their being spared the drill to which they were 
 subjected under a broiling sun, while we Pro- 
 testants went to church. 
 
 It has often occurred to me that a govern- 
 ment, professing to be paternal, and which has 
 made some advances towards toleration, ought 
 not so long to have overlooked the religious dis- 
 advantages under which the Catholic soldiery 
 labour in India. It is, I know, customary to 
 argue that so long as there is a national church, 
 it would be dangerous to its interests to take 
 any step which might imply a recognition of 
 the rights of any other establishment, and our 
 sensitiveness and jealousy on this point has been 
 ludicrously exemplified in the use made of Lord 
 Ellenborough's famous proclamation respecting 
 the Somnauth gates. There may be force for 
 
134 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 aught I know in the arguments used against 
 the appointment of catholic chaplains to the 
 troops in India ; but at all events, there is not 
 much consistency, for we endow a college for 
 the education of Catholic priests, and yet refuse 
 their aid where their services might be most bene- 
 ficial to the state. The veneration in which the 
 lower orders of the Irish hold their pastors is 
 proverbial ; and I have no hesitation in saying 
 that their admonitions would have more effect 
 in restraining the excesses of the Catholic sol- 
 diery than the severest military enactments. 
 It is hard, indeed, that the poor soldier who 
 has braved the dangers of war and climate, in 
 the service of his country, and who yields at 
 length to their effects, should, in his last mo- 
 ments, be denied the only consolation that can 
 render the termination of his career a happy or 
 contented one. Christianity claims the Catholic 
 as well as the Protestant amongst her children, 
 and it would be well for the sentimental piety 
 which groans and turns up its eyes at highly 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 135 
 
 drawn pictures of Hindoo ignorance and Suttee 
 superstition, and which sends out missionaries 
 at vast expense, to convert an unwilling people, 
 if it would turn a look of commiseration 
 on the state of religious destitution in which 
 the poor Catholic soldier finds himself in 
 India. 
 
 To return from this digression, as soon as I 
 had obtained leave, I despatched a messenger 
 to Kaira for Mr. De Souza, requesting his im- 
 mediate attendance, as it was uncertain whether 
 the sick man would survive the night. The 
 reply was, that the clergyman was ill, but 
 would come over in the morning, if able to 
 do so. 
 
 I returned to my charge, and found him 
 asleep. The Doctor had given him a composing 
 draught, but informed me there was little or no 
 chance of his recovery. 
 
 At nine o'clock the disease reached its crisis, 
 and the patient sank rapidly ; he inquired des- 
 pondingly if there was any chance of the priest's 
 
136 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 arrival. I communicated to him the reply I 
 had received from Mr. De Souza. 
 
 " It will be too late," groaned the unfortu- 
 nate man. "This is terrible, to die like a hound 
 by the road side, without absolution for one's 
 crimes, or even a word of hope to cheer one's 
 last moments." 
 
 * 4 Come, come, my poor fellow," said I, " you 
 must not give way to despair like this. God is 
 merciful, and will pardon those who ar& sincere 
 in their penitence. A contrite heart is always 
 acceptable to Him, even though it may not 
 be sanctified by the forms of the church." 
 
 " Oh, that I could think so. There are some 
 crimes that an eternity of suffering cannot ex- 
 piate." 
 
 ^ Listen to me, Whelan, and weigh my 
 words well. The mercy of the Almighty is 
 infinite, and there is no offence in his eyes so 
 great as not to admit of atonement. If your 
 contrition be full and sincere, there is room for 
 

 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 137 
 
 hope, even though it manifests itself at the 
 eleventh hour." 
 
 (i I would willingly believe you ; but iny 
 heart tells me that mine is a crime which can 
 never be forgiven." 
 
 " I do not want to force myself on your con- 
 fidence, but I should be better able to advise 
 and console you were I made acquainted with 
 the cause of your despair." 
 
 " It would frighten and shock you," was 
 his reply. " I dare not communicate it to 
 you, and yet I feel it would relieve my mind 
 of some portion of the fearful load which is 
 weighing it down. And after all," he mut- 
 tered to himself, u what have I now to dread 
 from its disclosure. I have nothing more to 
 fear on earth." 
 
 A pause of a few minutes succeeded. The 
 invalid raised himself on his elbow with an 
 effort, and casting an anxious and inquiring 
 look towards the beds of the other patients, 
 motioned to me to stoop towards him. His 
 
138 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 eyes glared with a wild and unnatural fire, 
 and the violence of his emotion became so 
 great, that after twice trying to speak, his 
 voice only became audible in a hissing 
 whisper. 
 
 " I am a murderer," was the brief, but terri- 
 ble import of his communication. I bounded 
 to my feet horror stricken, and notwithstanding 
 the spirit of Christian charity which had dic- 
 tated the few words of consolation I had 
 addressed to him, it was some minutes before 
 I could regain my self possession, and venture 
 to look again towards him. When I did so I 
 found that he had sunk back upon the bed 
 exhausted, and from the drawn and livid ap- 
 pearance of his features it was evident that 
 the hand of death was upon him. 
 
 u I knew that there was no hope for me," 
 he despairingly exclaimed us he watched the 
 result of the internal struggle, which this dread- 
 ful disclosure had occasioned in me." 
 
 " Think not so," I replied, when I observed 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 139 
 
 the effect which my agitation had produced 
 upon him. " I have already said that the 
 mercy of God is as boundless as his power. 
 Your crime is great, but if your repentance 
 be proportionate, there is no ground for des- 
 pair. " 
 
 " Thanks, thanks," he faintly ejaculated, 
 " your words bring comfort to my heart. Sit 
 down beside me, and while I have strength 
 left I will tell you my story." 
 
 Painfully as my curiosity was excited, I 
 begged of him not to attempt it in his then 
 state, for I saw that the slightest further effort 
 would only accelerate his end. 
 
 " You must hear the particulars now," was 
 his reply, " for fearful as has been my crime, I 
 do not like to leave you under the impression 
 that it has been committed in cold blood, or 
 with any base or sordid design. You must 
 know that I am the son of a respectable farmer 
 in the South of Ireland. I was educated ^for 
 the priesthood, but feeling that I had no voca- 
 
140 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 tion for the profession,! returned home from col- 
 lege and took the superintendance of my father's 
 farm. I had not been long installed in my new 
 duties when I fell in love with the daughter of 
 a small shopkeeper in our neighbourhood of the 
 name of Lanigan, and being young and toler- 
 ably good looking the feeling was soon returned 
 by the girl. The match was approved of 
 by the parents of both, and but a few weeks 
 were to elapse before the marriage, when one 
 morning a labourer who worked upon my 
 father's farm came and informed me that Mary 
 and her father were playing me false, for they 
 were encouraging the addresses of another 
 suitor of the name of Me Donnell, who had 
 just come from America on a visit to his family, 
 who were in the same class of life as ourselves. 
 My informant added that Me Donnell had ob- 
 tained old Lanigan's consent to take his 
 daughter back with him to America by the 
 promise of a loan of money to assist in extrica- 
 ting him from some difficulties he was in, and 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 141 
 
 that the girl's head had been turned by the 
 splendid promises he had made her. You may 
 judge of the rage into which I was thrown by 
 the baseness and perfidy of their conduct and 
 seizing a stout cudgel I ran, or rather flew, to 
 Lanigan's farm. My anger and mortification 
 were in no way diminished on looking through 
 the window of the little sitting room where the 
 family usually passed their evenings, by seeing 
 my rival with his arm round the waist of my 
 promised bride. Bursting in the door, I sud- 
 denly stood before the affrighted group. The 
 old man turned pale as a sheet, and trembled 
 violently, Mary screamed and held down her 
 head, while Me Donnell appeared fidgety and 
 uneasy. 
 
 u ' Is this true, Mary ?' I exclaimed. ' Can 
 you be so lost to all sense of shame as to break 
 your plighted troth and give me up for a 
 stranger? Is this a dream, or am I to believe 
 the evidence of my own eyes ?' 
 
 Mary sobbed but ventured no reply. 
 
142 LIFE IK THE RANKS, 
 
 u And you are a party to this Lanigan," I 
 said turning to her father after a short pause. 
 " Mercenary old fool that you are, you have 
 sold your own and your daughter's honor to the 
 first comer, who gave you your price. Were 
 it not for your grey hairs, I would teach you 
 what it is to break faith with an honest 
 man. 
 
 " It seems to me, young gentleman" sneer- 
 ingly interposed Me Donnell, who had evidently 
 screwed up his courage, and was determined to 
 brave out the matter, " that you are not a 
 very welcome guest here, and I therefore 
 advise you to take yourself off as speedily as 
 possible." 
 
 " Scoundrel," I exclaimed. " How can 
 you face the man you have so deeply injured, 
 and add insult to your other villany. Out of 
 my way this instant, or I will brain you on the 
 spot," 
 
 " Two can play at that game, my young 
 game cock, so bottle your anger, and take your 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 143 
 
 pretty face to some other market, or I may- 
 spoil its beauty." 
 
 This was too much. With a blow of my 
 cudgel I stretched the fellow lifeless on the 
 earth. The blood streamed in torrents from 
 his nostrils, and Mary threw herself screaming 
 on his body. I rushed from the house. 
 
 " Late that night I received notice that the 
 officers of justice were in pursuit of me. Me 
 Donnell was dead, and I was a proscribed mur- 
 derer, with a price set upon my capture. 
 
 u Obtaining a little money from my father, I 
 proceeded as quickly as possible to Dublin, and 
 from thence crossed the channel. Finding a 
 regiment on the point of embarking for India 
 
 1 enlisted in it, and have by that means suc- 
 ceeded in escaping detection. I have not 
 however been equally successful in drowning 
 the stings of conscience. Sleeping and 
 waking the bloody features cf Me Donnell 
 have been always present to me, and remorse 
 has rendered my life insupportable. The first 
 
144 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 ray of hope or comfort that has since dawned 
 upon me has been drawn from your words, and 
 I feel now as if my heart was relieved from a 
 portion of the weight that has so long op- 
 pressed it. I thank you from my soul," added 
 the poor fellow, grasping my hand fervently ; 
 u you have divested my last moments of a por- 
 tion of their bitterness, and I have only one 
 request more to make of you. Under my 
 head you will find a prayer book, given to me 
 at parting by my poor mother. Should you 
 ever return to England forward it to her, and 
 tell her that wicked and thoughtless as I have 
 been, I have never parted with her last gift, 
 although I have made but a sorry use of it. 
 It will I know gratify the poor old woman, 
 and afford her some consolation for the loss of 
 an unworthy son." 
 
 " I am glad, for both our sakes, that you 
 have made this disclosure to me," was the ob- 
 servation I made when he had concluded. 
 " Your first avowal left a painful impression on 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. . 145 
 
 my mind, but it has been in some degree re- 
 moved by the facts you have just communicated 
 to me. Although it is a fearful thing to take 
 the life of a fellow creature, the degree of 
 criminality attaching to the act must, of course, 
 depend on the circumstances under which it 
 has been committed. Smarting under the sense 
 of one of the greatest injuries that can be in- 
 flicted on one, and provoked almost to madness 
 by the insulting conduct of a successful rival, 
 some excuse may be made for the hasty and 
 unpremeditated crime into which you were be- 
 trayed. I dare say that at the time, you had 
 no more serious intention than to inflict sum- 
 mary chastisement/' 
 
 " Examining my own feelings at the time 
 impartially, I am afraid that I cannot thus 
 easily acquit myself. My evil passions had 
 become so excited, that I felt my rival de- 
 served to die upon the spot, and I fear that 
 the wish was but father to the act. I am not 
 H 
 
146 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 sure that it was not even resolved upon before 
 I entered Lanigan's house." 
 
 u I should hope not, Whelan, for much of 
 one's accountability, for acts such as these, de- 
 pends on the degree of premeditation with 
 which they are committed. Let me, now, 
 take this prayer-book oi ? which you speak, 
 and read a portion of its contents to you. 
 There is nothing which so composes and tran- 
 quillizes the mind as prayer." 
 
 Taking the volume, I read several of the 
 beautifully worded and impressive passages 
 with which the Roman Catholic ritual abounds, 
 and I was rejoiced to perceive that they pro- 
 duced a soothing effect on his mind. He at 
 first shed tears, but gradually became calmer, 
 and it was evident he was more at peace with 
 himself. 
 
 " Are you inclined to sleep ?'' I at length 
 inquired, shutting the book. " If you will 
 try and compose yourself to rest, it will, per- 
 haps, do you good." 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS, 147 
 
 u I feel a sense of drowsiness stealing over 
 me. Draw the covering over my shoulders, 
 and I may perhaps sleep awhile." 
 
 I did as he requested, and went to attend to 
 my other patients, whom I had wholly for- 
 gotten in the interest excited by his narrative. 
 When I returned to his bed side, the poor fel- 
 low was dead. 
 
 H 3 
 
148 LIFE IN THE RANK9. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " Some men employ their health, an ugly trick, 
 In making known how oft they have been sick." 
 
 I WAS at length attacked by the epidemic, but 
 thanks to the strength of my constitution, it 
 manifested itself in a modified form. Its effects 
 were, however, so debilitating, that when the 
 cantonments at Kaira were broken up, I was 
 sent to Bombay with the sick, whilst the re- 
 mainder of the regiment proceeded to the 
 Deccan. 
 
 It was now the month of September, and 
 
IN THE RANKS. 149 
 
 though the heat of the season had in some 
 degree abated, the sun was still powerful. We 
 proceeded in doolies to Cambay, which was 
 about three day's march from the hospital, and 
 were there embarked in a number of small 
 and rudely constructed boats, having a co- 
 vering of bamboo rods, stretched loosely along 
 the gunwale^ so as to form a sort of temporary 
 deck. Owing to the deep mud which lined the 
 banks of the river, we could only get to the 
 boats on the shoulders of the natives, and in 
 some instances they missed their footing, and 
 capsized us. Ill and exhausted as we were, 
 these accidents did not the less afford us subject 
 for banter and amusement. Nor did our mis- 
 haps end here. In the hurry and confusion of 
 erabarcation the medical stores were forgotten, 
 and even water became scarce. The individual 
 deemed himself fortunate, who was able to pro- 
 cure a cup-full from the native boatmen, who 
 gave it reluctantly enough, owing to repug- 
 nance of caste. They invariably break the 
 
150 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 vessel which has once been touched by Euro- 
 pean lips, and this prejudice occasioned a most 
 distressing scene on our passage. Two of my 
 comrades, who lay stretched in the agonies of 
 death in the hold of one of these little vessels, 
 vainly endeavoured to reach a small brass bowl 
 which happened to lie at a short distance from 
 them. Through anxiety to possess themselves 
 of the prize, and jealousy of each other, neither 
 could reach it ; so they rolled about in a firm 
 embrace, uttering fierce threats and impreca- 
 tions. The native boatmen looked on unmoved 
 at this painful struggle, and did not make the 
 least attempt to assist them. 
 
 The bodies of several of our unfortunate 
 comrades were committed to the deep, during 
 the passage through the gulf, but in conse- 
 quence of the insufficiency of the measures 
 taken to sink them, they were carried after us 
 by the tide, and were to be seen constantly 
 floating round the boats. A trooper and his 
 wife died raving mad, cursing each other in 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 15 1 
 
 their last moments in the most horrible manner. 
 Several hours' interval occurred between their 
 deaths, yet, singular to relate, although the 
 body of the man was flung into the sea early 
 in the morning, and that of the wife not till the 
 afternoon, they were found floating side by side, 
 the same evening. The superstitious discovered 
 in a circumstance simple and natural enough in 
 itself a fruitful subject for their sage specula- 
 tions. 
 
 The influence of the sea breeze soon began 
 to manifest itself in the improved condition of 
 the sick. The convalescent felt an increase of 
 strength, the desponding began to hope, and 
 the dying to shew some returning symptoms of 
 life. The run occupied about three days, and 
 it was joyful news to all, when it was an- 
 nounced that the light-house of Bombay was in 
 sight. On entering the harbour, we were dis- 
 embarked at the Bundar steps, and immediately 
 conveyed in doolies to the general hospital. 
 
 We found everything in a state of complete 
 
152 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 and comfortable preparation for our reception, 
 beds having been made up for nearly three 
 hundred men. A transition from the hardships 
 we had lately undergone, to the comforts of an 
 establishment like this, soon produced the 
 effects that might have been anticipated. 
 Though some cases terminated fatally here, 
 the unaccustomed comforts and able medical 
 assistance, so liberally provided us, were un- 
 questionably the means of preserving many 
 a life that would have otherwise fallen a sacri- 
 fice. As we improved in strength, we were 
 drafted into the town barracks, a large building 
 situated within the fort, where, in our early 
 morning walks on the esplanade, we inhaled 
 the fresh and invigorating sea breeze, and 
 Avere, in a few weeks, completely restored to 
 health. The regiment having by this time 
 arrived at Painwell, a town situated about 
 seventy miles from Bombay, we received or- 
 ders to repair to head quarters, and embarked 
 for that place early in February. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 153 
 
 My comrades having been, for a considerable 
 period, deprived of their usual allowance of 
 spirits, some of them procured a few bottles of 
 it the evening previous to our departure, in 
 order to make merry during the passage ; but, 
 alas ! how delusive are the pleasures of hope. 
 The basket in which the precious cargo was 
 deposited did not escape the vigilant eye of 
 our worthy chief, who demolished its contents 
 with a kick, during its transit from the beach to 
 the boat, while the disappointed owners, know 
 ing well that remonstrance or grumbling would 
 only add to their offence, were but too glad 
 to disclaim all knowledge of the interdicted 
 liquor. 
 
 We accomplished the distance from Bombay 
 to Pamwell in little better than twelve hours. 
 After leaving the harbour, and coasting along 
 the shore to the south for a league or two, we 
 entered the Pamwell river, the scenery of 
 which is extremely beautiful. Winding through 
 a richly wooded and mountainous country, and 
 H 5 
 
154 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 broken at intervals by small islands clothed with 
 verdure, this fine river presents at every turn 
 an ever varying succession of delightful views. 
 As its waters begin to narrow, you catch sight 
 of the ridges of some lofty mountains which 
 form part of the stupendous Ghauts, a passing 
 gleam of sunshine occasionally gilding their 
 rugged tops, or penetrating the obscurity of 
 their tremendous ravines. Here and there may 
 be seen a towering and detached peak whose 
 cone, wooded to the summit and crowned by 
 the lofty and feathering palm, casts its long 
 shadow over plains covered with rich fields of 
 grain, and dotted with smiling villages. 
 
 There is always something gratifying to one's 
 feelings in the prospect of an approaching re- 
 union with friends. After an ordeal such as 
 we had passed through, in which uncertainty 
 prevailed as to who had escaped or fallen vic- 
 tims to the terrible visitation by which we had 
 been afflicted, it was not surprising that our 
 arrival at head quarters should have been re- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 155 
 
 garded with more than ordinary interest. For our 
 own parts we were but too well pleased to escape 
 the nostrums of the doctors, and the dietary 
 regulations, not to look forward to this meeting 
 with equal eagerness. We disembarked at Pam- 
 well, at an early hour of the morning, and were 
 immediately surrounded by our good natured 
 comrades, who shook us warmly by the hand,, 
 and inquired with affectionate interest after 
 those who were missing. Alas! there had 
 been fearful ravages made in our ranks 5 and 
 many a poor fellow might be seen turning 
 away with a tearful eye, as he received the 
 news of the loss of an old friend or brother in 
 arms. 
 
 We found a capital breakfast prepared for 
 us by the thoughtful kindness of our comrades, 
 I do not think I ever made a meal in my life 
 with so much relish^ so excellent a sauce ie 
 a hearty welcome on the part of one's enter- 
 tainers. 
 
 Pamwell, if we are to judge from the anti* 
 
156 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 quated appearance of its buildings, must be a 
 town of very old date, and though it is not con- 
 sidered a place of commercial importance, it 
 possesses a numerous population. It is situated 
 on the great road leading to the Bore Ghauts, 
 and forms the direct medium of communication 
 with the Deccan country. These advantages, 
 joined to the convenience of its spacious Bun- 
 der, to which boats of the largest burthen can 
 come up from Bombay, afford support to its 
 inhabitants without the necessity of exerting 
 themselves in home production. Excellent inns 
 and taverns are to be found here, and the 
 traveller, whom business or amusement induces 
 to visit the Deccan, will readily find convey- 
 ances to all parts of it. A stage coach has 
 been lately started between Pamwell and 
 Poona, and although the fares are high the 
 speculation has been found to answer extremely 
 well. 
 
 After remaining about three weeks at Pam- 
 well, the regiment proceeded by detachments 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. . 157 
 
 to Kirkee. Having ascended the Ghauts, we 
 halted for a day on a sort of natural platform, 
 formed by the junction of two immense rocks. 
 Here an adventure occurred which caused us 
 some alarm. 
 
 The Ghauts it is well known are infested 
 with tigers, which though of a smaller species 
 than those of Bengal, are not the less dange- 
 rous to encounter. The natives often fall vic- 
 tims to their rashness in venturing across the 
 mountain tracks without being properly armed, 
 and so frequent became accidents of this nature, 
 that it was found necessary to post up a govern- 
 ment notice, in the Hindostanee language 
 cautioning travellers not to quit the high 
 road. 
 
 Undeterred by this warning, three of our 
 men determined to ascend the stupendous hill 
 that overlooks the Lover's Leap, a deep ra- 
 vine gained by a pathway winding down 
 the other side of the mountain, but which is 
 rarely frequented, from its being known to be a 
 
158 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 favourite resort of these animals. Having 
 toiled up to the brow of the declivity, it was 
 proposed that they should descend into the 
 ravine, but two of the party showed the white 
 feather, the dark and suspicious aspect of the 
 chasm beneath not being of the most inviting 
 character. The third remained firm to his ori- 
 ginal intention. 
 
 Claridge was the name of this man. He was 
 brave to temerity, and once he had taken a 
 resolution there was no shaking it. He took 
 his gun, and having seen to the priming of 
 it, prepared to descend the mountain, after 
 making an engagement with his comrades 
 that he would meet them on the same spot in 
 an hour. 
 
 Having wandered about during the interval, 
 in search of game, his companions returned to 
 the place where they had appointed to meet 
 him, but he had not as yet made his ap- 
 pearance. They waited some time ; but at last 
 got impatient, and began hailing him from dif* 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 159 
 
 ferent points, in the hope of making him hear, 
 but all their efforts proved fruitless. 
 
 They now became really alarmed, and held 
 counsel as to what was to be done. Their 
 fears prevented them from descending into the 
 ravine and satisfying themselves at once, and 
 the only alternative that remained was, to re- 
 turn to the camp and inform their officers of 
 the circumstance. As soon as the facts were 
 stated to the Colonel, he lost no time in pro- 
 curing the assistance of a number of waggries 
 or beaters, men trained from infancy to hunt 
 down and exterminate the tiger. Mustering 
 about forty in number, and carrying torches of 
 pine and bundles of dried grass, for dusk had 
 now set in, they proceeded to the spot, accom- 
 panied by a number of soldiers with loaded 
 fire arms. 
 
 Having been shown the spot where Claridge 
 had descended, the leader of the waggries, a 
 grey-headed, but powerfully built Mussulman, 
 shook his head significantly. 
 
160 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 u Quick," said the Colonel, observing his in- 
 decision. ei The man may be lost while you 
 hesitate." 
 
 " Allah is great," was the reply, u and he 
 only can save your comrade. I know the place 
 well, Sahib it is full of tigers, and I wouldn't 
 descend into it for fifty gold mohurs." 
 
 " Burn them out, then," exclaimed an old 
 pensioner, who had lived for some years on 
 the Ghauts. " It is the only chance the poor 
 fellow has." 
 
 Some bundles of lighted grass were, accord- 
 ingly, thrown into the nullah, and on its 
 catching the dry brushwood, the whole ravine 
 was soon enveloped in flames. The spectacle 
 was magnificent, for night had now set in, and 
 the red tints reflected back from the charged 
 atmosphere, invested the wild scenery around 
 with new and still more imposing features. 
 
 We held our breaths in the intenseness of 
 our anxiety, and not a sound was heard, except 
 the occasional roar of one of the wild denizens 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 161 
 
 of the jungle, who, driven from his lair by the 
 flames and smoke, gave vent to his rage in 
 terrific bellowings. The flames spread with 
 extraordinary rapidity, the ravine being choked 
 up with weeds and light brushwood, and as they 
 cleared away the obstacles to our view, we 
 could penetrate, at a glance, its deepest re- 
 cesses. 
 
 a A purse of gold," shouted the colonel, eC to 
 the first man who descends and examines the 
 nullah." 
 
 Several of the soldiers started forward, and 
 were on the point of diving down the precipice 
 when they were restrained by a loud exclama- 
 tion from the old beater, who was at the head 
 of the party, and who pointed eagerly to a part 
 of the jungle which he had been for some time 
 attentively examining by the light of the 
 flames which were rapidly advancing towards 
 it. We ran in a body towards the spot, where 
 he stood, but our eyes not being so practised as 
 
162 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 his in this sort of work, we could at first ob- 
 serve nothing. 
 
 " In the tall tree to the right, immediately 
 under that j utting rock, do you not see a dark 
 form," said the beater impatiently. 
 
 u I see nothing," replied the colonel, " your 
 eyes deceive you." 
 
 " I am no child, Sahib, to mistake a Wag 
 for an Adammy. That is your comrade, and 
 he will be lost if some effort is not immediately 
 made to release him from his present situation. 
 In half an hour more he will be surrounded by 
 the flames." 
 
 " Then let us descend at once to his 
 assistance," cried the colonel. u Who will 
 accompany me." 
 
 /. " Hold/' cried the old Mussulman, in a tone 
 of authority. " Are ye all mad, or tired of 
 your lives. Remain quiet, and 1 will save 
 him." 
 
 Calling two of his men aside, he conferred a 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 163 
 
 few moments with them. Then taking a strong 
 rope, and descending the hill to the right, so as 
 to skirt the jungle they were presently lost to 
 view. In a few minutes more they were again 
 visible at the opposite side of the ravine, im- 
 mediately above the rock which projected over 
 the tree to which our attention had been 
 called. 
 
 This rock formed a sort of natural platform, 
 or shelf about ten feet in length and extremely 
 narrow, but the descent to it was precipitous 
 and dangerous, and could only be attempted by 
 those who were practised mountaineers, and 
 had confidence in their own skill. The distance 
 was only twenty feet, but so steep was it that 
 the least error in calculation or accidental 
 slip would have precipitated the whole party 
 into the fearful abyss beneath. Laying hold 
 of the stump of a tree which grew on the brow 
 of the declivity, the leader of the party hung 
 suspended in the air while his companions 
 glided one after another down his body, the 
 
164 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 second man grasping firm hold of his feet, 
 and affording support to the third in his turn. 
 This feat, of course, could only be effected 
 by great nerve and bodily strength. Securing 
 a firm footing on the ledge of rock the last 
 descended served as the base of this human 
 ladder, while the remainder of the party made 
 good their descent. 
 
 Having spent a few seconds in examining 
 their position, a rope was tied round the waist 
 of one of the party, while the other two, by 
 one of those ingenious contrivances which are 
 often resorted to by mountaineers, formed a 
 sort of windlass of the stump which had helped 
 their descent, and gradually lowered their 
 companion. We watched their proceedings 
 with the greatest interest, for we could not 
 but perceive the risk they ran, and at 
 length had the gratification of perceiving the 
 beater ascending from amidst the clouds of 
 smoke, which were drifted down the ravine, 
 with the body of our insensible comrade in his 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 165 
 
 arms. A loud cheer burst from us at this 
 glad sight, and in a few minutes the poor fel- 
 low was placed in safety on the summit of the 
 hill. He was half dead from fright and suffo- 
 cation, and was immediately conveyed to the 
 camp in a litter. He was, however, soon re- 
 stored, and his adventurous spirit received a 
 check from the circumstance, which proved of 
 no small advantage to his subsequent career. 
 
 Starting at three o'clock next morning, we 
 arrived at Carlee, about seven, and as soon as 
 the tents were pitched, I availed myself of the 
 opportunity of visiting the celebrated eaves 
 of the same name, which are situated about 
 three miles from the village. 
 
 The approach to the spot is by a narrow and 
 difficult pathway, winding round the sides of a 
 steep mountain, and for the most part concealed 
 or choked up by weeds or brushwood. The 
 caves, of which there are several formed one 
 above the other, are hewn out of the solid 
 rock, and are situated about eight hundred 
 
166 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 feet above the level of the plain. They are 
 profusely ornamented with sculptures from the 
 heathen mythology, which have considerable 
 merit as works of art. 
 
 The visitor at first passes through a mean 
 and ruinous temple, dedicated to the Goddess 
 Siva, which forms the principal entrance to 
 the excavations. Here he is received by a 
 set of naked but merry urchins, who beset 
 him with importunate offers of service, re- 
 minding one forcibly of the good-humoured 
 perseverance of the Irish guides. 
 
 On entering an inner chamber we saw some 
 beautiful columns, having capitals shaped like a 
 bell, surmounted by elephants, with inter- 
 twined trunks, and bearing groups of male and 
 female figures. 
 
 I made some inquiries of an old Faquir r who 
 was seated in this chamber, respecting the 
 foundation of the temple, but the only thing 
 I could collect from the confused mass of 
 tradition with which he overwhelmed me 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 167 
 
 was, that the name of its builder was King 
 Poondoo. 
 
 Immediately over the entrance, at a consi- 
 derable height from the platform on which we 
 stood, were some eagles' nests, one of which 
 contained a noble bird. The men who accom- 
 panied me threw stones at her in order to dis- 
 lodge her ; but their efforts proved fruitless, as 
 the majestic-looking creature appeared to look 
 down upon them with contempt, and to regard 
 the huge flints which assailed her on every side 
 as so many pebbles. 
 
 Exasperated at her indifference, a man of the 
 name of Fulton, determined to ascend to the 
 spot, and put her to flight. Throwing off his 
 jacket, and arming himself with a stout cudgel, 
 he climbed to a ledge of rock which overlooked 
 the nest, and commenced belabouring the bird 
 with all his force. Unaccustomed to such 
 rough usage, the eagle flew out, and flapping 
 its huge wings in his face, deprived him of 
 sight and tumbled him down the precipice. He 
 
 
168 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 luckily fell on the platform, and thus escaped 
 being dashed to pieces, which he certainly 
 would have been, had he missed it ; but he was 
 so much bruised and injured by the fall, that 
 we had to carry him in a sort of litter to the 
 encampment, where it was some time before he 
 recovered. 
 
 A few marches more brought us to Kirkee, 
 the new head quarters of the regiment. The 
 barracks were not as yet completed, and we 
 were obliged to continue under canvas for 
 nearly four months. 
 
 The monsoon set in this season with great 
 severity. As early as the month of May the 
 sky began to threaten an unusual fall of rain, 
 an indication termed in these parts the Ele- 
 phanta, and which generally precedes as well 
 as terminates the rainy season The prospect 
 of being exposed to the fury of an Indian 
 season while under canvas was any thing but 
 agreeable, and many a longing eye was directed 
 towards the barrack which was now beginning 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 to assume a somewhat regular and habitable 
 appearance. 
 
 If there be any one thing more trying than 
 another to the temper of the soldier, it is the 
 necessity of living under canvass. There is no 
 season of the year that has not its attendant 
 miseries; alternately starved by the cold, or 
 broiled by the rays of a tropical sun, subjected 
 to a close and uncomfortable association with 
 a variety of characters not always the most 
 obliging or agreeable, and brought into perpe- 
 tual collision with petty interests and jealousies, 
 I know no situation in life which puts one's 
 patience and forbearance so severely to the 
 test, 
 
 But in a monsoon season these miseries are 
 doubly aggravated by circumstances perhaps 
 trifling in themselves f but presenting such a 
 perplexing combination of annoyances, that it 
 requires more than an ordinary share of philo- 
 sophy to bear up against them. Numerous rep- 
 tiles infest the ground under and about you 
 
170 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 there is not a stone or blade of grass in your 
 vicinity which does not conceal a lurking foe in 
 the shape of the centipede, or the still more 
 venemous scorpion, whose sting is not easily to 
 be forgotten, while myriads of buzzing insects 
 dispute your meals with you. In short there 
 is hardly a redeeming feature in that unenvi- 
 able state of existence denominated a camp life. 
 All is crowd, bustle and confusion you have 
 not a spot which you can call your own not 
 even the narrow space which you lie upon 
 and the pleasurable sensation of being suddenly 
 roused from sleep by the falling in of the tem- 
 porary fabric above your head, and finding 
 yourself immersed in mud and water, while 
 your traps are perhaps making an excursion of 
 some hundred yards from their owner, is but a 
 mere trifle in the every day life of a soldier 
 while in the field. 
 
 That which annoys you most perhaps, is the 
 fact that these mishaps produce no relaxation 
 in the responsibilities of your situation. The 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 171 
 
 morning appears calm and smiling, and the 
 disasters of the night are forgotten. The field 
 day must be attended to as if nothing unusual 
 had occurred your arms and accoutrements, 
 though mixed pell mell with the debris of the 
 demolished tents, and scarcely distinguishable 
 from the mud in which they are embedded, 
 must be sought out, and restored to their usual 
 pipe-clay order. Duty, stern and unrelenting, 
 admits of no excuse, and the soldier must fall 
 into his ranks at the general parade call as if 
 he had passed his night in calm and refreshing 
 slumber. 
 
 It was after such a night as this, when our 
 tents lay prostrate on the ground, and the camp 
 presented a scene of unparalleled confusion, in 
 which it was difficult to say whether the ludi- 
 crous or distressing predominated, that we re- 
 ceived the long expected order to pack up and 
 prepare for the occupation of our new barracks. 
 The river Moola had become swollen to an un- 
 usual height, and it became doubtful whether 
 i 3 
 
172 LIFE IN THE RAtfKS. 
 
 our troops would be able to cross the bridge 
 which separated the encampment from the can- 
 tonments. This bridge was situated about half 
 a mile from where we lay, and was the only 
 spot where the river could be passed. It was 
 constructed partly of stone and partly of wood, 
 the centre arch being elevated about sixty or 
 seventy feet above the bed of the river. So 
 high was the then state of the flood, that the 
 water was dashing over the middle arch, while 
 the rush on the banks was tremendous, the sur- 
 rounding country being inundated for miles 
 round. 
 
 The camp followers having been ordered to 
 cross first, it w r as with considerable difficulty 
 they were induced to attempt it. Composed of 
 motley groups of men, women and children of 
 all countries and castes^ and having in]their trains 
 as curious a variety of conveyances, their pas- 
 sage was not unattended with interest Cooks 
 laden with culinary utensils dobies, or native 
 washerwomen, mounted on, or driving before 
 
tIFE IN THE RANKSo 173 
 
 them their buffaloes ; Ghorrawallas leading 
 asses, on which were seated groups of chatter- 
 ing urchins, and hadjims, or barbers with their 
 large shaving boxes, and girdles stuck round 
 with razors, followed each other in slow succes- 
 sion, and with evident anxiety and trepidation. 
 Nor was their alarm entirely without cause, for 
 several narrowly escaped being washed away 
 by the flood. One poor woman, with an infant 
 in arms, had reached the centre of the bridge, 
 when finding the water ascending above her 
 knees, she lost her presence of mind, and let- 
 ting her child fall, it would have been swept 
 into the current the next moment had not a 
 stout Bheesty, who happened to be near her, 
 caught the falling infant, and with one hand 
 placed it on the leathern bag of his buffalo 
 while with the other he supported the fainting 
 and terrified mother, and bore them both in 
 safety to the extremity of the bridge. 
 
 As the troopers were crossing the bridge, three 
 a breast, the horse of a man named JVl'Donald 
 
174 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 became frightened, and suddenly rearing, backed 
 against the slight wooden parapet of the bridge, 
 broke it with his weight, and was precipitated 
 into the stream with his rider. The man was 
 an excellent swimmer, and managing to disen- 
 gage himself from the animal, contrived to land 
 in safety lower down. The horse was however 
 lost. 
 
 The cantonments at Kirkee presented at that 
 time a very different appearance from their 
 present improved condition. Not a vestige of 
 a road was then to be seen, and our cattle were 
 up to their saddle girths in mud, as we traver- 
 sed the distance from the bridge to the barracks. 
 But insufficient as the buildings, and other 
 accommodations prepared for us, proved, we 
 felt but too thankful to have the protection of 
 a roof over our heads, and to exchange the 
 damp ground for the luxuries of a dry floor 
 and comfortable cot. Our cattle, however, did 
 not appear to be of the same opinion, for the 
 night being again stormy they broke from 
 
'LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 -their fastenings in the barrack yard, and gallop- 
 ed back to the old encampment. How they con- 
 trived to re-cross the river without accident is 
 surprising, for the flood did not abate till late 
 on the following day. Finding the usual com- 
 missariat allowance was not forthcoming they 
 were soon glad to return to their quarters, 
 and it was not a little amusing to see these 
 animals straggling back to their lines after the 
 lapse of two or three days, completely subdued 
 in spirit, and following each other with a do- 
 cility which nothing but their tired and ex- 
 hausted state could have produced. 
 
 The custom of living with native females in 
 a state of concubinage is a practice notoriously 
 prevalent amongst the European soldiery in 
 India. In most military cantonments a spot 
 adjacent to the barracks is set apart for the 
 erection of huts for the accommodation of those 
 who feel disposed to enjoy the pleasures of a 
 benedict's life without any of its annoyances. 
 This place is designated, in the language of the 
 
176 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 country, the patchery, and the occupants are 
 permitted to furnish their own mess like married 
 soldiers. That such a mode of life is anything 
 but conducive to the welfare of the soldier 
 will hardly admit of dispute. It is, however, 
 sanctioned in too many instances by the ex- 
 ample of his superiors ; and I do not re* 
 member ever to have heard this glaring breach 
 of morality denounced by the lips of the 
 preacher. Surely such a wide field for prac- 
 tical instruction should not be left uncultivated. 
 When we regard the physical as well as moral 
 degradation likely to arise from this depraved 
 state of existence, it is not too much to say 
 that it is the duty of the philanthropist, but 
 more especially that of the ministers of religion 
 to combat the evil wherever it is to be 
 found, and to impress on persons in authority 
 the necessity, if not of suppressing it, by 
 restrictive measures but at all events of re- 
 fraining from sanctioning or encouraging it 
 themselves. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS, 177 
 
 Such connexions, the result of passion (for 
 it would be absurd to give it any other desig- 
 nation) on the one hand, and of purely inte- 
 rested motives on the other, cannot be otherwise 
 than productive of ruin and debasement to 
 'those who form them. The attractions of the 
 native females are considerable, and the in- 
 fluence, I might even say the tyranny which 
 they exercise over their infatuated victims is 
 such as to mar or effectually destroy the useful- 
 ness of the young soldier ; nor is youth alone 
 -the sufferer. The old stager whose head has 
 grown grey in the service, and whose expe- 
 rience might be supposed to have taught 
 him wisdom, is but too frequently the slave 
 of their seductions. A numerous offspring 
 is, perhaps, the consequence, and the father is 
 thereby deprived of all hope, or even wish of 
 returning to his native country. He has either 
 formed ties which cannot be readily broken off, 
 or from long association he has become so iden- 
 tified in character and habits with the natives, 
 i 5 
 
178 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 that he has no longer any desire of escaping the 
 state of degradation into which he has fallen. 
 Results like these are deeply to be deplored, 
 whether we regard their effect on public mo- 
 rality, or the discipline of the service ; and it is 
 a great pity that .the authorities should either 
 wink at them, or afford them encouragement 
 in their own persons. 
 
 A tragical incident, arising out of this anoma- 
 lous state of society, occurred shortly after our 
 arrival at Kirkee. A man of the name of 
 Cooper was selected as an assistant to the waiters 
 of the officers' mess, and this employment ne- 
 cessarily brought him in frequent contact with 
 the native women usually attached to these es- 
 tablishments. Amongst the latter was a young 
 female of great personal attractions, and Cooper 
 had not been long acquainted with her when 
 he took her into keeping as his mistress- The 
 lady, though she lived on the resources of her 
 new lover, saw no necessity for complying with 
 the advice of the song, which recommends 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 179 
 
 that the old one should be first discarded, and 
 accordingly bestowed her favours with equal 
 impartiality on one of the native waiters in the 
 establishment. On discovering this fact Cooper 
 became furious, and determined to take a signal 
 revenge. Borrowing a fowling-piece under 
 pretence of enjoying a day's shooting, a practice 
 common amongst the dragoons, he watched his 
 opportunity, and as his unfortunate rival was 
 in the act of depositing some dishes on the floor 
 of an outbuilding adjoining the mess-room, he 
 fired at him through an open window and shot 
 him through the head. 
 
 The report of the gun brought a crowd im- 
 mediately to the spot, and a strict search was 
 instituted after the murderer. No person had 
 witnessed the act, but the discharged gun lay 
 outside the window, and it was immediately re- 
 cognised as that which Cooper had borrowed. 
 
 The officers and the regimental Serjeant 
 Major immediately proceeded to his quarters, 
 <and found him in bed, feigning profound sleep. 
 
180 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 He was ordered to arise, and dress himself, on 
 which he betrayed symptoms of alarm, and on 
 being questioned relative to the soiled appear- 
 ance of his clothes, but more particularly his 
 shoes, he gave a confused account of himself. 
 It should be mentioned that this occurred du- 
 ring the monsoon, and a great deal of rain 
 having fallen his footsteps had been traced to 
 his barrack room from the window where the 
 murder had been committed, and on comparing 
 his boots with the fresh imprints, they were 
 found to correspond. He was immediately 
 placed in a congee house for greater security, 
 and two sentinels with loaded fire arms were 
 stationed at his door. An investigation of the 
 affair took place the following day, and the ne- 
 cessary evidence having been collected he was 
 sent under a strong escort to Bombay, and 
 turned over to the civil authorities. 
 
 During the interval that elapsed between his 
 apprehension and final trial, the conduct of this 
 man was characterised by the most heartless 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 181 
 
 indifference, which might in some degree be 
 attributed to the notion, at that time prevalent 
 among the European soldiery, that there was 
 an unwillingness on the part of government to 
 proceed to extremities against them where the 
 crime affected the native population only. How 
 this absurd and mischievous idea got abroad I 
 am wholly at a loss to conceive, but the result 
 of it nevertheless was, to invest the trial of this 
 man with a degree of interest which it would 
 not otherwise have excited. 
 
 Various were the speculations afloat as to 
 the line of defence likely to be adopted against 
 evidence, circumstantial it is true but yet so 
 conclusive, that no one could entertain a moral 
 doubt as to the guilt of the prisoner. A feel- 
 ing of jealousy was known to have existed on 
 his part against the deceased the gun had 
 been borrowed and prepared with an evident 
 and deliberate intention, and seen in the pos- 
 session of the accused a short time previous to 
 the murder it was found on the spot from 
 
IB 2 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 whence footsteps corresponding with the size of 
 the prisoner's boots were traced to the barrack 
 room in which he slept, and the confused ac- 
 count which he gave of himself when awakened 
 from his pretended sleep, formed altogether as 
 complete a chain of circumstances as it was 
 possible to link together. 
 
 To the indictment, when arraigned, the 
 prisoner pleaded not guilty, and when the evi- 
 dence was gone through, to the astonishment of 
 every one present, he acknowledged his having 
 shot the man, but asserted that his death was 
 purely accidental, as the piece had gone off 
 whilst he (the prisoner) was in the act of clean- 
 ing it. He accounted for his subsequent con- 
 duct by the alarm which he felt at the chance 
 of the accident being misconstrued, and a se- 
 rious charge brought against him. 
 
 Strange as it may appear, this defence, per- 
 haps the best which could have been suggested 
 by the ingenuity of counsel, might have been 
 the means of saving him, if he could have 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS, 188 
 
 proved that he had made a similar statement 
 previous to his trial, and could produce any one 
 witness in support of it. This chance was 
 offered him, and had he only been aware in 
 time that it would have been afforded him, it is 
 not improbable he might have procured some 
 one who would have got him off by hard swear- 
 ing. It was necessary however that the party 
 to whom the communication had been made, 
 should be named at once. This was a poser, 
 which even the fertile resources of his counsel 
 could not relieve him from, and the jury, after 
 a brief but emphatic charge from the learned 
 judge, brought in a verdict of guilty. He was 
 sentenced to be executed in front of the jail at 
 Bombay, and met his fate with the same reck- 
 less indifference which he had betrayed through- 
 out the whole of the affair. 
 
184 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 *' II n'y a pas de meilleur soldat que Phomme ennemi 
 de 1'oppression/ 
 
 IT is contended that the severity which charac- 
 terises our military enactments is essential to 
 that perfect state of subordination which should 
 prevail amongst properly organised troops, and 
 it is not for me to dispute the assertion. I wish 
 only to show that the arbitrary powers placed 
 in the hands of our officers to effect this object 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 181* 
 
 are but too frequently abused, and that indivi- 
 duals are sacrificed in order to attain it. To 
 those who are in the habit of looking beneath 
 the surface of things, it may not be uninterest- 
 ing to know that the stern and rigorous rules of 
 military discipline are partial in their operation, 
 and that there is a large amount of silent, but 
 undeserved suffering amongst the great body of 
 the soldiery, who have neither the right to 
 complain against, nor the power to resist, the 
 wanton tyranny to which they are subjected. 
 
 It is customary in the army to perform the 
 .barrack room fatigue duty by rotation, one or 
 two men as the case may be, being daily re- 
 quired to clean out each of the rooms, or perform 
 other necessary duties connected with them. A 
 portion of their time is employed in carrying 
 the messes from the cooking house to the rooms, 
 and for this purpose the orderlies, as they are 
 termed, fall in, and are marched under the 
 .command of a non commissioned officer to tbe 
 
186 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 former, a few minutes before the bugle sounds 
 for dinner. 
 
 It one day happened that a dragoon named 
 Kennedy, known by the soubriquet of " Know- 
 ing Joe," was amongst the persons called upon 
 to perform this duty. This man belonged to 
 a class of persons generally denominated 
 amongst us, military lawyers, fellows who con- 
 trive to breed a good deal of mischief, and who 
 are particularly obnoxious to the authorities. 
 He had got involved in various scrapes from 
 time to time, but owing to his superior tact 
 and cunning, had generally contrived to escape 
 punishment. His turn, however, came at last, 
 and that too for an offence which was far 
 from proportionate to the punishment meted 
 out to it. 
 
 On the orderly men falling in previous to 
 marching off for fatigue duty, Kennedy was 
 reported absent. A moment after he made his 
 appearance, and stated that he was going to 
 
-LIFE IN THE RANKS. 187 
 
 wash his hands at the pump at the rere of the 
 barracks, not more than a few yards distant, 
 when he would return and join the party. 
 
 " Fall in immediately, sir," shouted the cor- 
 poral, a tyrant in his petty way, and known to 
 have an inveterate dislike to Kennedy. 
 
 *' When I have washed my hands," was the 
 reply of the latter, as he ran to perform his 
 ablutions. 
 
 This was all tihat passed on tlie occasion. 
 The vindictive corporal immediately placed him 
 under arrest, and a court martial having been 
 called next day to investigate the charge, un- 
 fortunate Joe was found guilty of a breach of 
 discipline, and sentenced to three hundred 
 lashes, which were duly administered in the 
 riding school, in the presence of the assembled 
 regiment. 
 
 Our worthy commandant wound up a long 
 lecture, which he delivered on the enormity of 
 the offence, by the following injudicious, and 
 undignified remarks : 
 
188 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 u And now, sir, I have long waited for this 
 opportunity of teaching you better manners 
 and a proper respect for military authority. 
 You are well known as an old, and, I fear, 
 incorrigible offender, and are sufficient to spoil 
 ^the younger soldiers in the regiment by your 
 example. I will teach you and all who hear 
 me, that fatigue is a duty, and a very impor- 
 tant one too. I trust this will be a warning 
 that you will recollect to the latest hour of 
 your existence. Take him down." 
 
 How far the punishment inflicted was in pro- 
 portion to the offence, or the allocution justified 
 by the occasion, I will leave others to judge, 
 This much I may be permitted to observe, that 
 had the culprit been any other than poor Joe, 
 the offence would, in all probability, have been 
 overlooked or treated as a joke. I admit that 
 in a depot where there are generally to be 
 found characters of the lowest and most motley 
 description, and these too, principally composed 
 of young men, but recently subject to the 
 
IN THE RANKS. 189 
 
 bonds of military restraint, a certain degree of 
 strictness, perhaps more than is generally ob- 
 served with the older members of a regi- 
 ment, may be necessary. But it may be fairly 
 questioned if scenes such as I have described 
 are not rather calculated to strike the young 
 soldiery with disgust and hatred, than to im- 
 press them with a high notion of the justice or 
 impartiality of military legislation. This I 
 know that desertions have been but too fre- 
 quently the result of them. 
 
 Another exemplification of the manner in 
 which " the little brief authority" of the army 
 is abused, will be found in a circumstance that 
 occurred to myself. It is, or at least was, in 
 those days, the practice on a Saturday after- 
 noon, as a relaxation from the ordinary routine 
 of drill, to give over the garrison to the 
 Quarter Master and his subordinates for fatigue 
 duty. The men were told off in parties some 
 to assist in cleaning the barrack yard, some in 
 making roads or wheeling gravel, and others in- 
 
190 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 exercising their iaste for horticultural pursuits 
 in the commandant's garden. Some of duller 
 capacity had easier tasks assigned them, such 
 as cleaning windows ; and others, luckier still, 
 were set to clean the knives and forks or the 
 boots of the serjeant-major and his wife. 
 
 To my lot fell the window cleaning, and it 
 so happened that a pane of glass, which had 
 been previously cracked, in the serjeant-major's 
 window, gave way while I was in the act of 
 rubbing it, and fell to pieces on the pavement. 
 This was certainly no fault of mine, so I duly 
 reported the accident, and at the same time 
 pointed out the state of the window when I 
 commenced nay task. The serjeant said the 
 thing was impossible he could not have mis- 
 taken the original condition of the sash, nor 
 was the evidence of the other soldier who was 
 employed in the same room with me deemed 
 worthy of the slightest credit, A non com- 
 missioned officer is never knowu to fall into 
 error, but more particularly in a case where the 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 191 
 
 acknowledgment of the fact in dispute may be 
 attended with expense to himself. The pane 
 was smashed and I was the delinquent, or at all 
 events I was the party selected to make good 
 the damage, 
 
 As a preliminary step, and to record how 
 impartially justice was administered, it became 
 imperative upon me to go down to the Quarter 
 Master's office, where a book was kept in which 
 all deficiencies or repairs chargeable to the 
 soldier were duly registered, and to which he 
 was required to affix his signature as a voucher 
 for the correctness of the claim. This was 
 too much not only to compel me to pay for 
 damage which I had not occasioned, but to 
 place upon record my having done it. I con- 
 sidered it a duty to resist, and flatly refused 
 to comply with what I could not help consider- 
 ing a most impudent attempt at imposition. 
 
 I was immediately ordered to hold myself 
 in readiness to appear before the commandant 
 at the office, and was shortly after brought be- 
 
 
1:92 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 fore him. Having stated the grounds on which 
 I declined paying the demand, and expressed a 
 hope that he would not enforce it, I was not a 
 little confounded by the reply which I re- 
 ceived. 
 
 " So you persist in refusing to pay for the 
 glass which it appears was broken by your 
 carelessness. You have been long enough in 
 garrison to know better ; but if you are still 
 ignorant of your duty, I must endeavour to 
 
 teach you. Mr. M C C ," he added, turning 
 
 to the adjutant, " have the goodness to direct 
 the trumpeter to sound orders, and let a gar- 
 rison court martial be immediately assembled. 
 You shall have the justice of your case in- 
 vestigated as fully as you can wish, and it 
 will be my duty to see the decision of the 
 court carried into effect whatever it may be." 
 The conclusion of the sentence was uttered with 
 a significance that left little doubt on my mind 
 as to what the probable result would be, and I 
 now felt anxious to back out of the affair as 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 193 
 
 quickly as possible. In this I was assisted by 
 the adjutant, who had himself risen from the 
 ranks, and who, notwithstanding some little 
 eccentricities of character, was, on the whole, a 
 good natured and well meaning man. Observ- 
 ing me completely crest-fallen, he remarked to 
 the commandant that being but a very young 
 soldier, I might possibly be ignorant of the 
 danger I incurred by my refusal, and at his 
 request I was again afforded an opportunity of 
 recalling it. 
 
 Perceiving no alternative, and having the 
 recent affair of Kennedy before my eyes I was 
 but too glad to avail myself of it, and consented 
 that the damage should be set down against me 
 in my monthly account. The commandant 
 drily observed to me, u I am glad that you 
 have at length come to your senses. I will 
 overlook your conduct for once, but take care 
 that you are not again brought before me while 
 you remain in this garrison." 
 
 Comment on these cases would be super- 
 K 
 
194 LIFE IN THE RANKS* 
 
 fluous ; yet they form but " trifles light as air^ 
 in the category of military abuses, which my 
 memory recalls at this moment, and which I 
 cannot help thinking might be remedied with- 
 out detriment to the discipline of the service. 
 Respect for authority can only be ensured by 
 convincing those in subordinate stations that it 
 is exercised with impartiality and discretion. 
 This rule applies to military as well as civil life, 
 and were it more frequently acted on in the 
 former, I have no doubt that the service, as 
 well as the individual, would be materially 
 improved. 
 
 The strength of the regiment having been 
 greatly reduced by the mortality which lately 
 prevailed amongst us, no time was lost in rein- 
 forcing it by large drafts of men from England. 
 Kews having been received at head quarters 
 that a body of recruits, amounting to one hun- 
 dred and eighty-five men, had just arrived at 
 Bombay, a detachment, in which I was inclu- 
 ded, was immediately despatched to the Presi- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 195 
 
 dency for them, together with a few recovered 
 men who had been left in the hospitals. 
 
 We remained but a short time at Bombay, 
 and it having been determined that we should 
 return to our cantonments by land, we reached 
 Baroda in the latter part of September. 
 
 Baroda is a rich and populous city, situated 
 about two hundred and eighty miles north of 
 Bombay and fifty due east of the gulf of 
 Cambay. It is the capital of the petty mo- 
 narchy established in Guzzerat by a chief of 
 the Guicowar family, who, at the head of an 
 army of Mahrattas in the pay of the then 
 reigning sovereign of Sattara, invaded and 
 plundered Guzzerat in the early part of the 
 eighteenth century. The population amounts 
 at present to upwards of two hundred thou- 
 sand. 
 
 One of the most conspicuous objects in the 
 town is the house of the resident, Mr. Williams, 
 which is built in the English style and sur- 
 rounded by handsome gardens, bearing evidence 
 K 3 
 
196 LIFE IN THE RANKS* 
 
 to the liberal mind and cultivated tastes of the 
 proprietor. Mr. Williams is a keen sportsman 
 as well as a skilful horticulturist, and numerous 
 are the stories current of the feats he has per- 
 formed 
 
 Shortly previous to our arrival, several of the 
 inhabitants of a village called Myee, about 
 sixty miles from Baroda, came in and reported 
 that a large tiger was infesting the surrounding 
 district, and that during his nocturnal visits 
 he had killed and carried off several children. 
 The alarm became so great, that the inhabitants 
 began to desert the place, none of them being 
 hardy enough to face him. The moment the 
 Resident heard of the circumstance, he deter- 
 mined on extirpating this terrible animal, and 
 taking his native servant, Abdallah, who 
 generally accompanied him on expeditions of 
 this nature, he rode down to Myee the follow- 
 ing day. 
 
 Having put up at the village for the night, 
 the two adventurous sportsmen sallied out 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 197 
 
 early next morning, armed with spears and 
 double-barrelled guns, and plunged at once 
 into the jungle where the animal was supposed 
 to have his lair. A deep growl soon indicated 
 where he lay, and Abdallah, taking a circuitous 
 route, gained a nullah unobserved by the tiger, 
 and thus placed him between them. 
 
 Taking a steady aim from his lurking-place, 
 Abdallah fired, and wounded the animal in the 
 throat. The tiger bounded towards the spot 
 from whence the shot proceeded, and the ser- 
 vant pulled the trigger of his second barrel. The 
 gun missed fire, and flinging it aside, he coolly 
 received the enraged animal on his spear. Mr. 
 Williams had by this time come up, and dis- 
 charging both the barrels of his gun, laid the 
 tiger dead at the feet of his servant. One of 
 the balls unfortunately glanced off a tree and 
 buried itself in the shoulder of Abdallah. The 
 poor fellow swooned away, from the loss of 
 blood, and hastily binding up the wound with 
 his handkerchief, Mr. Williams returned to the 
 
198 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 villagers for assistance, which was readily and 
 gratefully afforded him, the object of their 
 terrors having ceased to exist. 
 
 Abdallah recovered from his wound in a few 
 weeks, and was the narrator of the story. He 
 exhibited to me, with no small degree of pride, 
 the skin of his formidable adversary, which is 
 to be seen amongst various other relics of the 
 chase, in the hall of the Residency. 
 
 Orders having been issued by the Rajah that 
 the short sojourn of the detachment at Baroda 
 should be rendered as agreeable as possible, 
 various sports and athletic feats were got up for 
 our amusement. An elephant fight was fixed 
 for the day succeeding our arrival, and having 
 been long curious to witness a spectacle of this 
 sort, I made my way about five o'clock in the 
 morning, to a large plain in the vicinity of the 
 town where it was announced to take place. 
 Here I found an extensive arena dug in 
 the ground to the depth of from twelve to 
 fourteen feet. On each side two small cham- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 199 
 
 bers, accessible only by a narrow aperture, 
 were excavated so as to afford temporary shelter 
 to the chures or criminals, engaged in this 
 combat, in case the elephant should push them 
 to extremities. Over the entrances to these 
 chambers were suspended the arms of the 
 chures, which consisted of two spears, a bow 
 and arrows, a piece of red and white cloth, 
 about three yards in length, and a shield of 
 highly burnished steel, with coloured devices in 
 the centre. 
 
 At the western extremity, and close to the 
 very edge of the arena, stood a platform 
 gaily decorated with drapery of various colours, 
 and crowned by a gilt canopy, containing a 
 splendid velvet ottoman fringed with gold lace, 
 and having four enormous tassels of the same 
 precious material. This was the Rajah's seat, 
 and immediately on the left were placed two 
 chairs for the Resident and his sister, a young 
 lady about nineteen, and possessed of great 
 personal attractions. To the right were the 
 
200 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 places allotted to his Highness's son and 
 ministers. 
 
 About six o'clock the discharge of artillery 
 and the discordant music of the native bands 
 in his Highness's service announced the ap- 
 proach of the Rajah. By this time the sides 
 of the arena were thronged by thousands 
 of turbaned spectators, but owing to the 
 kind precautions of our princely entertainer a 
 place was set apart for the Europeans, and we 
 enjoyed the spectacle without being crowded, 
 or in any way inconvenienced. 
 
 On the Eajah taking his seat, the sable mul- 
 titude made the usual obeisance, while the 
 Europeans uncovered, and received his High- 
 ness with other marked demonstrations of res- 
 pect. Silence having been proclaimed, four 
 criminals were brought into the arena, heavily 
 chained, and they were asked by the Rajah 
 whether they preferred death by stran- 
 gulation to taking their chance of an attack 
 from such savage beasts as he chose to let loose 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 201 
 
 upon them. Desperate as it was, they of 
 course preferred the latter alternative ; and 
 their irons having been knocked off, and their 
 friends permitted to speak with them, they 
 were ordered to prepare for action, and to 
 choose their weapons of defence and attack. 
 
 To Europeans unaccustomed to inhuman and 
 brutalising scenes like these, the painful sus- 
 pense which precedes the arrival of the feroci- 
 ous animal which is to be made the instrument 
 of death or torture, is nearly as great as to the 
 criminals themselves. The principal actors in 
 the scene are kept in ignorance until the last 
 moment as to which of the brute tribes 
 their fearful antagonist belongs, and it may 
 well be imagined that their state of mind 
 during this brief interval must be one of in- 
 tense anxiety. So sensibly was this apparent 
 ,to me, and so strongly were my own feelings 
 moved, that I would almost have preferred 
 being in the place of one of those poor devils, 
 to remaining a passive spectator of such a 
 K 5 
 
202 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 scene. Shocked and disgusted, I would gladly 
 have left the spot, had the crowd which blocked 
 me up on all sides permitted me to do so. 
 
 It was reported amongst us that a tiger or 
 leopard would be let loose instead of an 
 elephant, but this notion was soon put an end 
 to by the appearance of a fine young animal of 
 the latter species, which was led blindfolded 
 into the arena. At first young Chung was not 
 to be moved, but stood majestically regarding 
 the vast multitude by which he was surrounded. 
 One of the culprits commenced pricking him 
 with his spear, while another tormented him by 
 dancing the coloured cloth before his eyes, and 
 the animal becoming enraged, at length turned 
 suddenly on one of his assailants, who had 
 barely time to evade him by darting into one 
 of the chambers above described. He then 
 gave chase to another, who avoided him with 
 great nimbleness, and being driven mad by the 
 joint attacks of his four persecutors, the sport 
 was at its climax, when an accident occurred 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 203 
 
 which added an unexpected and fearful interest 
 to the scene. Two opulent natives, who had 
 possession of the inner seats, not being satisfied 
 with the view they enjoyed, pressed forward in 
 the excitement of the moment to the edge of 
 the arena, and being pushed by others behind, 
 accidentally tumbled in. The elephant instantly 
 espied them, and, making for the spot where 
 they lay prostrate, crushed one of them to 
 death and tossed the other high in the air, his 
 lifeless body falling in the midst of the gaping 
 niussulmen, and bruising several in its descent. 
 The sun being now at its meridian the Rajah 
 ordered the sport to be put an end to, and his 
 Highness having, to their great joy, pardoned 
 the criminals, retired with his attendants from 
 the scene. 
 
 On the following morning the sports were 
 renewed with wild rams, who, after inflicting 
 some severe contusions on their assailants, were 
 despatched, and a tiger substituted in their 
 place. The latter had been recently caught, 
 
204 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 and though not full grown, was strong and 
 healthy. He was brought into the arena in an 
 iron cage on a cart, the keeper being mounted 
 on the top of the former, so as to let go the 
 fastenings of the door at a signal from the 
 Rajah. Two athletic young men, who had 
 been condemned to death for a murder com- 
 mitted in one of the neighbouring villages, were 
 led in heavily chained, and their fetters being 
 knocked off, they were directed to furnish 
 themselves with the necessary weapons, and to 
 prepare to defend themselves. Each man took 
 a spear, shield, and dagger, and the other pre- 
 parations being completed, the tiger was let- 
 loose. 
 
 On bounding from his cage the animal stood 
 still for a few moments in the middle of the 
 arena. A stuffed goat was thrown in to him, 
 but he detected the cheat at once, and walking 
 two or three times round it, lay quietly down at 
 a little distance. The men were ordered to 
 attack him, and the foremost launched his spear 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 205 
 
 at him, which grazed the beast's shoulder, and 
 had the effect of thoroughly rousing him. 
 Uttering a deep growl, he bounded to his feet, 
 and sprang on his assailants. 
 
 The man who had wounded him with the 
 spear, and who displayed extraordinary cool- 
 ness and presence of mind throughout the affair, 
 received him on one knee, his body being pro- 
 tected by his shield and his right hand prepared 
 to strike him with a dagger when a favorable 
 opportunity offered. The tiger precipitated 
 himself upon him with his whole weight, and 
 laid him prostrate on the earth withlris shoulder 
 blade broken by the blow. The furious animal 
 was about to make quick work of him when a 
 well directed arrow struck him in the head, 
 and penetrating the brain, stretched him lifeless 
 beside his intended victim. The wounded man 
 was then removed, and the Eajah's pardon ac- 
 corded to him and his companion. 
 
 Satiated with spectacles of blood, we left 
 Baroda after a sojourn of about ten days, and 
 
206 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 resumed our route through a country present- 
 ing a delightful variety of scenery and extreme- 
 ly fertile. We reached the city of Broach 
 after a pleasant march, and encamped on the 
 northern bank of the Nerbudda. 
 
LIFE IN THE BANKS. . 207 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 " Roving as I rove, 
 
 Where shall I find an end, or how proceed ? 
 As he that travels far oft turns aside 
 To view some rugged rock or mouldering tower, 
 Which, seen, delights him not j then, coming home 
 Describes and prints it, that the world may know 
 How far he went for what was nothing worth.*' 
 
 ONE of the most singular institutions in the 
 world is to be found here namely an asylum 
 for the reception of sick and infirm animals, and 
 even the different varieties of the feathered and 
 insect tribes are included in its benevolent pro- 
 visions. This establishment is richly endowed, 
 and the sleek Brahmins to whom the administra- 
 tion of the funds is entrusted show, in their own 
 
208 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 persons, that the comforts provided by the libe- 
 rality of the deceased donors are not limited to 
 the brute creation. 
 
 As might be expected from the character of 
 the inmates, as well as from the well known 
 habits of the keepers, the building appropriated 
 to this purpose is filthy in the extreme, and 
 requires no small degree of nerve on the part 
 of a stranger to enter it. If his sense of smell 
 be not over acute, however, and he is at all 
 curious to see how association will soften 
 down and harmonize the most antagonist in- 
 stincts, the offence to his nostrils will be amply 
 repaid by the sight of this collection. Here 
 are to be found superannuated beasts and birds 
 of every description, from the lion to the house 
 cat, and from the eagle to the linnet, while 
 rows of small boxes, ranged round on shelves, 
 contain swarming multitudes of insects which 
 are elsewhere regarded as the most troublesome 
 and disgusting to the human race. 
 
 As I was leaving the hospital, I was forcibly 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 20$ 
 
 struck by one of those strange inconsistencies 
 which are calculated to disgust man with 
 his species A wretched mendicant came 
 tottering up to the entrance in the last 
 stage of physical exhaustion, and implored 
 relief The Brahmins turned a deaf ear to his 
 supplications, but a soldier who was with me, 
 and who had more charity in his breast than 
 these ministers of misplaced bounty, gave him 
 a few pice. The poor fellow gratefully thanked 
 him, and was proceeding on his way, when his 
 strength failed him, and he sank fainting on the 
 ground. The Brahmins no sooner observed 
 this, than they surrounded the inanimate wretch 
 and commenced picking off the vermin with 
 which he was covered, to add to their live 
 stock. We turned thoroughly disgusted from 
 the spot. 
 
 As we are on the subject of misplaced affec- 
 tion for animals, I cannot help mentioning a 
 circumstance that occurred while I was at 
 
210 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 Poona, and that occasioned me much amuse- 
 ment at the time. 
 
 I was one day sent to the lady of an officer, 
 then on field duty, with a letter from her hus- 
 band, which had just arrived by an orderly, 
 and I was desired to ask if she had any reply 
 to forward by the same opportunity, as the 
 man was to start in a few hours. On arriving 
 at her bungelow the letter was taken in to her, 
 and I was kept waiting some time in the 
 ante-chamber. 
 
 I presently heard some one sobbing, and ex- 
 claiming in accents of heartfelt grief 
 
 " My poor Mimi, my sweet pet am I going 
 to lose you. Unfortunate woman that I am to 
 be thus bereaved, one after the other, of all I 
 hold most dear." 
 
 " Poor mother," said I to myself, u she is 
 about to lose one of her children. There is 
 nothing more admirable than a mother's love, 
 nothing more touching than her grief." 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 211 
 
 *' Please, Serjeant," said an Ayah entering 
 the room, " my mistress begs you will sit down 
 and wait a little : she is in trouble and can't 
 see you just yet." 
 
 " Oh, by all means child very bad de- 
 spaired of ?" 
 
 c4 Very bad indeed," replied the Abigail with 
 a smile on her features. Cc Not expected to 
 live another hour." 
 
 u A heartless jade that," was the reflection 
 that occurred to me. " Had I not better leave 
 my message?" 
 
 " Oh dear no my mistress desires particu- 
 larly to see you, and will soon be out." 
 
 Tripping out of the room with the most un- 
 concerned air imaginable, she left me moraliz- 
 ing on the selfishness of human nature in gene- 
 ral and of waiting maids in particular. 
 
 In the mean time the sobbing gradually 
 ceased, and at the end of about a quarter of an 
 hour Mrs. S made her appearance. Her 
 
212 LIFE IN THE &AN&S. 
 
 eyes were red with weeping, and her whole ap- 
 pearance denoted the most profound woe. 
 
 u I regret having kept you waiting so long, 
 Serjeant," she said, " but I have been so en- 
 grossed in the sufferings of my poor little darl- 
 ing, that I have not been able to bestow a 
 thought on any thing else." 
 
 " Don't mention it, ma'am hope he's better 
 sorry to see you in such trouble," 
 
 " Trouble, Serjeant, you can have no idea 
 how my heart has been wrung. The prospect 
 of losing a little angel, who has formed the 
 solace and delight of one's existence is really 
 dreadful to contemplate," and the flood-gates of 
 the lady's grief were again let loose. 
 
 " It grieves me to see you take it so much 
 to heart, ma'am. May I ask what is his com- 
 plaint?" 
 
 u I really cannot tell, and this adds to my 
 affliction." 
 
 " Can't tell, ma'am. Have you not sent for 
 the Doctor?" 
 
* 
 
 LIFE IN THE RANKS* 213 
 
 " Why, to tell you the truth, I have not* 
 The ladies of the regiment are so very fond of 
 quizzing^ that I am afraid to do so." 
 
 u Good God, ma'am, you surely don't mean 
 that in a case like this you would be deterred 
 from doing your duty by idle tongues." 
 
 cc But I'm not sure that the Doctor would 
 come, Serjeant, if I were to send for him." 
 
 cc What the devil can all this mean," I men- 
 tally ejaculated, " this is the weakest minded 
 of all the female fribbles I ever came across." 
 
 " Perhaps you will let me see your little 
 patient, ma'am." I said after a moment's 
 pause. 
 
 " By all means step this way." 
 
 Leading the way into the drawing-room, the 
 lady pointed to a bundle of flannel which lay 
 carefully arranged on an ottoman, and stooping 
 down I uncovered the contents. 
 
 I started back in astonishment at seeing, in- 
 stead of a delicate infant, one of the smallest of 
 all the diminutive varieties of the monkey tribe, 
 
214 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 to be met with in this part of India. My sen- 
 sibilities having been previously worked up to 
 the highest pitch, it may readily be conceived 
 that the revulsion of feeling which I experi- 
 enced, was as ludicrous as it was unexpected. 
 Notwithstanding my respect for the wife of my 
 superior, I became convulsed with laughter, 
 and the irritated expression of her countenance 
 so far from repressing, only increased my mirth. 
 
 " You forget yourself, Serjeant," she at 
 length exclaimed in an angry tone. " Your 
 merriment is as unbecoming to you as it is in- 
 sulting to me." 
 
 <c I beg pardon, ma'am, but, the fact is, I 
 mistook Jacko for one of the children, and am 
 only laughing at my own mistake." 
 
 This excuse pacified her a little, and she 
 begged that I would examine the monkey, and 
 see if I could do any thing for him. I found 
 the little animal nearly lifeless, and could only 
 recommend her to pour a little warm wine 
 down his throat. This was immediately done, 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 215 
 
 and Mimi revived, to the great delight of his 
 affectionate mistress. On enquiring next day 
 however I found the animal dead, and the 
 Captain's bungelow in mourning. 
 
 About two miles from Broach stands the 
 celebrated Bur or Banyan tree, called by the 
 natives Kiveer Bur, after the person who planted 
 it. Some notion may be formed of the extent 
 of this enormous mass of foliage, when I state 
 that between three and four hundred natives 
 constantly dwell under its shade. 
 
 Further down the river, on the opposite 
 bank, stands a large Sammy house, or Hindoo 
 temple, containing an effigy of Vishnu about 
 four feet in height, the eyes of which it was 
 reported were composed of two large diamonds 
 of the finest water. 
 
 This rumour having, reached the camp, 
 through the medium of some of the native fol- 
 lowers who had been on a pilgrimage to the 
 temple, a fool-hardy young fellow named Berry, 
 who had been a working jeweller, determined 
 
216 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 to ascertain the truth of it. Being thoroughly 
 conversant with the language and manners of 
 the country, he succeeded in obtaining ad- 
 mission into the temple, and returned with word 
 that the report was correct, and that the value 
 of the diamonds could not be less than a 
 thousand pounds each. 
 
 This excited the cupidity of the persons to 
 whom he confided the result of his visit, and 
 a plan was laid to rob the idol of its precious 
 orbs. The parties of whom Berry made choice 
 for his companions in this dangerous affair were 
 Harvey, the man who has already figured in 
 the commencement of these pages, and another 
 unprincipled and reckless character, named 
 Austin. 
 
 The night fixed upon for this daring attempt 
 was that of Sunday. Having taken every pre- 
 caution necessary to elude the vigilance of the 
 sentries, and appointed the hour of midnight 
 for a rendezvous, the three men stole out of the 
 camp at different periods of the evening, and 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 217 
 
 repaired to the spot agreed upon. Every thing 
 appeared propitious to their purpose, the night 
 being extremely dark (a circumstance of rare 
 occurrence in this beautiful climate,) and the 
 rain descending in torrents. It was not likely 
 that on such a night the lazy priests would feel 
 inclined to keep watch, or devotees to frequent 
 the temple. 
 
 Having cautiously crossed the little wooden 
 bridge which spanned the river, Berry advanced 
 noiselessly to the temple, and ascending the 
 broad steps that led to the entrance, cast a 
 hasty glance into the interior. A number of 
 lamps were burning in front of the idol, and 
 the priests whose duty it was to watch over its 
 safety lay buried in sleep on their mats, in a 
 remote corner of the building. 
 
 The wind blew in fierce gusts through the 
 trees which surrounded the temple, and the 
 uproar of the elements was so great that it 
 drowned all lesser noises. Satisfied with the 
 result of his inspection, Berry returned to his 
 
218 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 companions, and a plan was agreed upon which 
 was immediately put in execution. 
 
 The idol was hewn out of a solid block of 
 stone weighing several hundred weight, and they 
 were puzzled how to get it out of the temple 
 without making such a noise as would have the 
 effect of awakening its guardians. As to 
 getting the eyes out where it stood it was out 
 of the question, as the noise of the mallet and 
 chisel would certainly be heard. Berry 
 proposed that he should creep in on his 
 hands and knees, from one of the side entrances 
 and laying the idol prostrate on the pavement, 
 tie a rope round it, so as they might draw it 
 gently out without attracting the attention of 
 the slumbering Faquirs- The idea was excel- 
 lent, and was as cleverly executed as planned. 
 The deity was deposed from his shrine, and 
 ignominiously dragged from his consecrated 
 dwelling, and the only thing that now remained 
 to be done, was to convey him out of the hear- 
 ing of the inmates of the temple, so as to enable 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 219 
 
 them to set to work with the hammer and 
 chisel. 
 
 The veranda in which they stood was about 
 forty feet from the ground, and it immediately 
 overlooked the river. It therefore became 
 necessary to lower the idol from the parapet by 
 means of the rope, and to drag it across the 
 bridge. 
 
 They had succeeded in accomplishing the 
 former of these objects when they were sud- 
 denly interrupted from a quarter they least 
 expected. A Faquir who happened to be re- 
 turning to the temple from the direction of the 
 bridge, came suddenly upon them as they were 
 trailing their singular prize after them, and was 
 so struck with horror at this daring and impious 
 act, that he stood staring at them in 
 speechless amazement. Before he could re- 
 cover himself, Harvey had seized him by the 
 throat, and brandishing a knife threatened 
 to stab him if he uttered a word. The fright- 
 ened priest submitted quietly, and squatted 
 L 3 
 
220 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 himself in silent despair on the ground. Harvey 
 was left to keep guard over him, while Berry 
 and Austin dragged the idol across the bridge 
 Into a field of joharra, where they proceeded to 
 hew out the precious objects which were to 
 reward all this labour and risk^ 
 
 Much to their surprise they found that the 
 eyes were moveable, and were only retained in 
 their sockets by a spring. Had they been 
 aware of this fact, what a world of trouble it 
 would have saved them ! 
 
 Cries of alarm were now heard in the direc- 
 tion of the temple, and it was evident the 
 robbery had been discovered. 
 
 Knowing with what vindictive feelings the 
 natives regard anything like insult to their 
 religious prejudices, and having reason to fea^ 
 from the approaching shouts which saluted their 
 ears on every side, hat they would &oon be 
 upon them, they dared not return to look for 
 their companion, and accordingly left him to his 
 fate. They succeeded in regaining the camp 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 221 
 
 with their booty, but on proceeding to examine 
 the value of it they discovered to their 
 great mortification that they had been 
 tricked by the Faquirs, the diamond eyes being 
 always removed at night and glass ones sub- 
 stituted in their stead. 
 
 In the course of the following day the dead 
 body of Harvey was found on the banks of 
 the river, the natives having massacred him 
 where he stood, and mutilated his corpse in the 
 most shocking manner. Not satisfied with 
 this, the priests repaired in a body to the 
 camp, and complained to our commander of 
 the outrage committed on their temple. A 
 reward of one thousand rupees >was offered for 
 the discovery of the other culprits, but with- 
 out effect; they kept their secret until all 
 danger attending its disclosure had passed 
 away. 
 
 Leaving Broach we crossed the Nerbuddar, 
 and after a couple of days march arrived at 
 Surat. It is a large and well-built town, and 
 
222 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 carries on an extensive trade in cotton and 
 ivory, the workmen in the latter article being 
 considered the most ingenious in India. The 
 fort is neither remarkable for its scientific con- 
 struction nor strength ; but it contains within 
 its walls a neat little church, and a library for 
 the use of the troops, which at this period con- 
 sisted of only forty men belonging to the 
 Honourable Company's foot artillery. 
 
 A singular custom of burying the dead pre- 
 vails in this district. The corpse is covered 
 with roses and fragrant herbs, and being placed 
 on a bier, is carried in procession to the houses 
 of all the relatives. On reaching each habita- 
 tion the bier is lowered, and the attendants 
 set up a howl resembling the Irish keen ; after 
 which the inmates come out, and embracing 
 the corpse, strew more flowers upon it, and 
 distribute coin amongst the attendants. Then 
 falling into the procession, they proceed to 
 the house of the next relative, where the same 
 ceremonies are observed; and thus the funeral 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 223 
 
 cavalcade continues to swell its ranks until it 
 arrives at the banks of the river, where a pile 
 of wood, saturated with ghee or oil, has been 
 previously erected* The corpse having been 
 divested of its silver ornaments is placed on 
 the pile, and the latter being set on fire, is 
 soon enveloped in flames. At a signal from 
 one of the bye-standers, the women who 
 have been all this time closely hooded take 
 their departure, and the men remain until the 
 body is entirely consumed. 
 
 After staying here nearly three weeks, 
 we proceeded to Kirkee, which we reached 
 about the commencement of the new year, and 
 were agreeably surprised at the improved ap- 
 pearance of the cantonments. The barracks 
 had been completed, commodious stabling 
 erected, roads cut in all directions, and various 
 other steps taken to render them convenient 
 and comfortable. It is astonishing what a 
 revolution can be effected in a short time by 
 the energy and industry of man. 
 
224 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 We found the whole place in commotion 
 owing to a frightful accident which had occurred 
 just before our arrival, and which was at- 
 tended with circumstances of rather a singular 
 nature. 
 
 Amongst the ladies who had come over with 
 us from England was the sister of a lieutenant 
 of the second troop. She had not been many 
 months at Kirkee, when she married an as- 
 sistant surgeon belonging to the 19th Native 
 Infantry, then stationed at Poona; but this 
 did not prevent her frequently coming over to 
 our barracks on a visit to her brother. 
 
 In these occasional trips Mrs. JB was 
 
 generally accompanied by the daughter of the 
 adjutant of the same regiment, to whose society 
 she had become extremely partial, and they 
 spent much of their time wandering about the 
 neighbourhood of the cantonments. The spots 
 most favoured by them were the government 
 gardens at Dapoolie, and a grave yard, ro- 
 mantically situated on the banks of the Moola. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 225 
 
 In this latter place there was much to cap- 
 tivate the fancy, and the associations connected 
 with it only served to invest it with a melan- 
 choly sort of interest, that poetical and super- 
 stitious minds are generally susceptible o 
 Situated at an angle of the river, midway 
 between the wooden bridge and a gentle cas- 
 cade, which empties its waters into the broad 
 stream ; it commands several picturesque 
 views, the value of which is enhanced by being 
 seen at glimpses through the dense foliage of 
 the grave yard, 
 
 rLate one night, as Mrs B was returning 
 
 to Poona in a buggy, driven by a native ser- 
 vant, she was overtaken by a storm at a 
 distance from any place of shelter. Flashes 
 of lightning, followed by loud claps of thunder 
 and torrents of rain, soon rendered their situa- 
 tion most distressing, and to add to their alarm 
 their horse took fright. The native driver the 
 worst possible dependence in such an emerg- 
 ency lost all presence of mind, and with it 
 L 5 
 
226 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 all command over the animal. The horse 
 bolted across a nullah into some corn fields, 
 and overturned the vehicle, the unfortunate 
 lady being thrown out and dashed against a 
 tree, where she lay for some time insensible. 
 
 The driver who had only been momentarily 
 stunned, endeavoured to restore his mistress to 
 animation, but in vain. He then hastened to 
 seek for assistance, and having with difficulty 
 obtained it, had her conveyed back in this state 
 to Kirkee. 
 
 On examining the injuries she had received, 
 the doctor pronounced them so serious as not 
 to admit of the slightest hope of her recovery. 
 After the lapse of a few hours she recovered 
 consciousness, and begged that her husband, 
 who was on detachment duty in the Deccan, 
 should be immediately sent for. Brain fever 
 soon after set in, and it was evident that she 
 had not long to live. An hour previous to her 
 decease her husband arrived, and had barely 
 time to receive the poor lady's last adieus, 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 227 
 
 and to comfort her by an assurance, which 
 she exacted from him, that her remains should 
 be interred in her favorite grave-yard, on the 
 banks of the Moola. 
 
 As soon as the violence of his grief had 
 subsided, he sent for a carpenter named White 
 and gave him the necessary instructions 
 for carrying his wife's last wishes into effect. 
 
 In compliance with another of her 
 requests, the Doctor gave orders that she 
 should be interred in her bridal garments, and 
 that her diamond ear-rings, and other orna- 
 ments, amounting in value to upwards of two 
 hundred pounds, should be buried with her. 
 The carpenter and his wife were the only 
 parties, beside her brother, entrusted with the 
 knowledge of this fact. 
 
 The heat of the climate renders immediate 
 interment necessary after a decease, and there 
 not being sufficient time to arch the grave 
 over with brick-work, it was temporarily 
 planked up for the night, White receiving in- 
 
228 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 structions to procure some gindy-inen, or native 
 bricklayers, to complete the work next morn- 
 ing. 
 
 Now his wife, or the devil, or both, put it 
 into White's head to rob the corpse of its 
 valuable ornaments, by suggesting that it was a 
 pity that so much treasure should lie buried use- 
 lessly in the earth, when it might be turned to 
 some better account. The carpenter had 
 always borne an excellent character previous to 
 this ; he was an old soldier, and had distin- 
 guished himself by his gallantry during the 
 Peninsular war, as well as by his general good 
 conduct. By a process of reasoning, natural 
 enough perhaps to an ignorant mind like his, 
 he succeeded in convincing himself that there 
 could be no harm in taking, what was valueless 
 and unprofitable to others ; and this conclusion 
 arrived at, he lost no time in carrying his pro- 
 ject into effect. 
 
 Having communicated his intentions to a 
 man named Macaulay, to whom he promised 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS* 229 
 
 share of the spoil, it was agreed between them 
 that after night set in they should meet at a 
 place called " the Cobbler's fall," which was 
 situated on the banks of the river at a short 
 distance from the scene of operations. 
 
 The night was unusually dark, but flashes 
 of lightning occasionally illuminated the atmos- 
 phere, and indicated the route. They reached 
 the grave yard about midnight, and immedi- 
 ately set to work. 
 
 The planks were soon removed, and the 
 carpenter proceeded to unscrew the lid of the 
 coffin. They were busily engaged in this 
 operation when a sudden noise made them both 
 start to their feet. They peeped cautiously 
 out. and hurriedly examined the surrounding 
 objects. 
 
 A dark figure dimly visible in the obscurity 
 of the night stood at a few paces distance, 
 quietly regarding the grave. The fear of 
 being discovered, and severely punished, was 
 the first apprehension that flashed across their 
 
230 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 nrinds, but this soon gave place to superstitious 
 terror on finding that this unexpected appari- 
 tion preserved a death-like stillness, and con- 
 tinued to watch their proceedings in silence. 
 
 Both were stout hearted men as any in the 
 regiment, but a guilty conscience will make 
 cowards of the bravest, and they became so 
 paralysed and helpless that they could neither 
 satisfy themselves as to the reality of the object 
 nor make an effort to escape. 
 
 This anxious state of suspense was at length 
 broken by deep sobs, which seemed to proceed 
 from the quarter where the figure stood. A 
 sound resembling any thing human proved a 
 relief, even though it announced the proximity 
 of a danger of a more material character than 
 that which had previously alarmed them. 
 
 The carpenter and his companion felt that 
 discovery was now certain, and crouch- 
 ing under the planks of the grave, they 
 deliberated in whispers as to what was to be 
 done. It was evident that the new comer had 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 231 
 
 not seen them, though the noise they had made 
 might have reached his ears, and momentarily 
 arrested his steps. 
 
 White was a quick witted fellow, and recol- 
 lecting the fright he had received, he reflected 
 that by working in the same way on the super- 
 stitious fears of their unwelcome visitor, they 
 might be enabled to effect their escape. 
 
 Quick as thought he divested the corpse of a 
 portion of its white habiliments, and wrapping 
 them around him, popped his head through the 
 opening which he had made in the planking of 
 the grave, just as the unknown, satisfied the 
 noise he had heard was a delusion, was about to 
 approach it. 
 
 <c Great God, is it possible ?" esxelaimed 
 
 Doctor B , starting back in consternation as 
 
 the supposed figure of his wife rose slowly out 
 of the grave, extending itself to a length which 
 bore little proportion to life. u Speak to me, 
 I beseech you, Jane, and tell me if there is 
 
232 LIFE IN THE RANKS* 
 
 aught that I have left undone which troubles 
 your gentle spirit?" 
 
 The carpenter slowly raised his right arm, 
 and extending it majestically towards the en- 
 trance to the grave yard, motioned the Doctor 
 to depart. 
 
 "Strange! most strange!" uttered the be- 
 wildered husband. " Am I dreaming ? Again 
 I implore of you to speak to me," he added, 
 suddenly approaching the spectre, " and to tell 
 me if there is any other wish of yours left un- 
 fulfilled." 
 
 " Begone," screamed the carpenter in tones 
 intended for a sort of sepulchral mimicry of 
 the female voice, but which were in reality 
 tremulous from alarm. 
 
 " How can you thus treat one who has shown 
 himself so devoted to you," continued the 
 Doctor pursuing the retreating ghost, and 
 endeavouring to seize it in his arms. Instead of 
 grasping thin air or shadowy form he found the 
 portly figure of the carpenter in his embrace. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 233 
 
 " Who the devil is this ?" exclaimed the as- 
 tonished Doctor. 
 
 6i It's me, sir it's the carpenter," replied the 
 trembling culprit. 
 
 u And may I ask what brought you here, 
 Mr. Carpenter?" 
 
 <c I came to measure the span of the arch, to 
 prepare the woodwork for the bricklayers in the 
 morning, sir." 
 
 " Indeed ! and pray what is the meaning 
 of all this white paraphernalia you have got 
 about you ?" 
 
 The carpenter, like all practised liars, did not 
 stick at trifles, so he answered boldly. 
 
 " When I heard you entering the enclo- 
 sure, sir, I thought it was some one coming to 
 rob the grave, so I just put on a sheet to frighten 
 them." 
 
 " A likely story, you lying thief, we'll 
 see if you cannot invent a better one for the 
 Court of Inquiry. Is there any one with you ?" 
 
 " Only Macaulay, the smith, sir." 
 
234 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 " And where is he skulking ?" 
 
 " He's here, sir. Jem, come up, here's the 
 Doctor." 
 
 The smith dragged his slow length out of the 
 grave, but did not attempt to utter a word in 
 justification of himself. 
 
 The Doctor ordered them to nail the planks 
 down again, and as soon as they had complied 
 with his directions marched them back to the 
 barracks. 
 
 They were brought before a Court Martial 
 on the following day and sentenced to 300 
 lashes each. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 235 
 
 CHAPTEE XL 
 
 " Are all our braving enemies shrunk back y 
 Hid in the fogges of their distempered climate, 
 Not daring to behold our colours wave ?" 
 
 THE Rajah of Kolopoor, a tributary to the 
 Company, having in 1829 refused to pay up 
 his arrears, Mr. Wilmot, the resident, left his 
 territories, and it was resolved to despatch a 
 strong force to bring him to reason. 
 
 Accordingly, in the month of September, 
 a body of troops, consisting of two hundred of 
 the 4th Light Dragoons, two troops of Horse 
 
236 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 Artillery, her Majesty's 20th regiment of foot, 
 one wing of the Queen's Royals, and several 
 of the native corps, amounting in all to about 
 five hundred men, left Poona for the scene 
 of operations. 
 
 The weather was extremely favourable when 
 we started, and we were all in high spirits, 
 for this was the first time for several years 
 that the Bombay army had been called into 
 active service. 
 
 Crossing the Ghauts, a short distance above 
 Poona, we proceeded towards the bridge of 
 Nara, a plain, heavy looking structure, span- 
 ning a deep and rapid river. To ensure the 
 early arrival of the tents the following morn- 
 ing, it was determined to start them in advance 
 of the main body, under the charge of a sergeant 
 and twelve men, the non-commissioned officer 
 selected for the purpose receiving instructions 
 from the Quarter- Master-General's oce, to 
 proceed by a particular route, so as to reach 
 the bridge by day-break. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 237 
 
 Instead of obeying these orders the Serjeant 
 thought fit to follow the advice of the guide, 
 who suggested a nearer road, and proposed that 
 they should ford the river at a place which he 
 assured him was perfectly safe. The moon 
 was shining in full splendour, and the Serjeant 
 had the satisfaction of seeing the whole of the 
 heavy baggage passed over in safety. The 
 men prepared to follow in single files, when the 
 horse of a young man named Gal way became 
 restive, and losing his footing, was carried with 
 his rider down the stream. 
 
 The Serjeant quickly divested himself of his 
 uniform, and plunged in after the unfortunate 
 young man, but though he strained every 
 effort to save him, the force of the current was 
 such that he found himself unable to stem it. 
 After an hour's fruitless exertion he returned 
 to the ford in an exhausted and depressed state, 
 well knowing that the responsibility of this 
 unfortunate casualty would rest with him, and 
 
238 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 that he would be severely punished for the dis- 
 obedience of orders which had occasioned it. 
 
 On the arrival of the detachment he reported 
 the circumstance to the Adjutant, and was im- 
 mediately placed under arrest. A court-martial 
 was held the following day, and he was found 
 guilty on all the charges brought against him. 
 The sentence was not proclaimed, but it was 
 generally supposed that in addition to his being 
 reduced, corporal punishment would be in- 
 flicted. 
 
 Being a young man of excellent previous 
 character and high spirit, he determined that he 
 would not submit to the disgrace of the latter. 
 The night previous to the publication of the 
 sentence he succeeded in making his escape 
 from the guard tent, and proceeding to a 
 nullah in the vicinity of the camp cut his 
 throat with a razor. Some villagers, who 
 happened to pass the spot next morning, found 
 him lying in a pool of blood, but not yet 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 239 
 
 dead. They conveyed him to hospital, but 
 although the wound he had inflicted on him- 
 self was not a dangerous one, his mental 
 sufferings were such that brain fever set in 
 and carried him off. 
 
 We passed through Sattara on our road, 
 and the Rajah being friendly to us gave a 
 nautch) or native dance, in honor of our arrival, 
 followed by a magnificent display of fireworks. 
 We left our sick here and proceeded through 
 a fine country covered with cotton planta- 
 tions. We were daily in expectation of meet- 
 ing with the enemy, but they fell back as we 
 advanced in order to gain reinforcements. 
 
 On our arrival at the Kishna, a wide and 
 rapid river, we encamped on its banks for a 
 few days to give time for the Madras army 
 under the command of Major-General Sir 
 Thomas Walsh to form a junction with us on 
 the opposite side, where the enemy were said 
 to be in full force, and desirous of giving us 
 battle. 
 
240 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 On the following day a party of our grass 
 cutters was attacked in the vicinity of the 
 camp, and driven in with the loss of several of 
 their ponies. This little affair put our com- 
 mander on the qui vive, and the necessary pre- 
 cautions were taken to guard against a surprise. 
 
 A picket of one hundred men was ordered 
 out, fifty to remain on duty with loaded arms, 
 and positive orders to shoot any one who could 
 not repeat the countersign. 
 
 The dews were heavy, and as it was impos- 
 sible to provide tents for the whole of the force, 
 numbers had to bivouac in their cloaks, in con- 
 sequence of which the cholera broke out to an 
 alarming extent, the young recruits who 
 had lately arrived from England being the first 
 to fall victims to it. 
 
 The enemy were not long before they dis- 
 covered this fact, and believing the moment 
 favorable determined on an attack. 
 
 It so happened that I was on picket when 
 the affair commenced. Oar party consisted of 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 241 
 
 fifty men, thirty-five dismounted cavalry and 
 twenty-five sepoys, while the chain of sentries 
 was composed of twenty-four men, and ex- 
 tended along the banks of the river as far as 
 the bridge so as to prevent the enemy crossing 
 at the only place where it was fordable. 
 
 The night was pitch dark, and with the ex- 
 ception of the howling of the jackall, every 
 thing was still. Towards midnight I fancied I 
 heard a slight noise, in the direction of the 
 bridge, and mentioned it to the next sentinel, 
 desiring him at the same time to pass the word 
 along. We held ourselves in readiness, and 
 waited some time in breathless attention. 
 
 To our rear lay a dense plantation of sugar- 
 cane which flanked the camp and approached 
 almost to the edge of the river, barely leaving 
 space for the line of sentinels to patrol up and 
 down. This afforded ready means of conceal- 
 ment to the enemy, should they succeed in 
 crossing the bridge without notice, and although 
 we felt pretty confident they had not escaped 
 
242 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 our vigilance we still cast uneasy glances to- 
 wards it. 
 
 After an interval of about ten minutes my 
 notice was again attracted towards the planta- 
 tion, and listening attentively I heard the fo- 
 liage distinctly rustling. I challenged, and 
 receiving no answer, fired in the direction from 
 whence the noise proceeded. In an instant about 
 sixty Arabs rushed upon our little party, and a 
 hand to hand fight ensued. The conflict was des- 
 perate, and numbers were killed on both sides. 
 Early in the melee I received a severe cut on 
 the head from a sabre, which laid me senseless 
 on the ground, and would certainly have been 
 despatched, had not a sepoy gallantly rushed 
 to my assistance, and by a timely thrust of his 
 bayonet, brought my assailant down. The 
 noise^of the firing having reached the inlying 
 picket, they speedily came up, and the enemy 
 took to flight, leaving from twenty to thirty 
 killed and wounded. We had four men killed 
 and several wounded. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 243 
 
 An ensign belonging to the sepoys, who was 
 on duty with the inlying' picket, and who was 
 little more than sixteen years of age, was 
 amongst the first who came up to our assis- 
 tance. He engaged with a gigantic Arab, and 
 being an expert swordsman, not only baffled 
 every exertion of his huge antagonist to reach 
 him with his knife, but inflicted some severe 
 wounds upon him. Maddened by pain and 
 mortification at being thus baffled by a strip- 
 ling, the Arab at length threw away his knife, 
 and seizing the blade of his young opponent's 
 sword with his left hand, threw himself upon 
 him, and encircled his slender form with a 
 grasp of iron. The gallant youth struggled 
 ineffectually to free himself, but finding that 
 his assailant was gradually forcing him towards 
 the river in order to cast him into it, he made 
 a lasi effort, and dragged him in with him. 
 The Arab endeavoured to disengage himself but 
 in vain ; despair gave the brave boy strength, 
 M 3 
 
244 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 and down they both went, firmly locked in each 
 other's embrace. 
 
 The failure of this attack dispirited the 
 enemy, and they did not attempt to dispute 
 the passage of the river. Next day we formed 
 a junction with the Madras division, and the 
 enemy fell back on Kolopoor. 
 
 We lost no time in advancing towards that 
 place ; but as the fortress was built upon a 
 steep rock, and was extremely difficult of ap- 
 proach, we were compelled to halt a few days 
 preparatory to an attack. Negotiations were 
 in the mean time opened by the Rajah, more, 
 I suspect, with a view of gaining time than 
 of capitulating, as he was daily expecting a 
 large force of Mahratta horse to come to his 
 aid. 
 
 Distrusting the intentions of the enemy, our 
 commander was resolved to be doubly watchful, 
 and the picket duty became extremely severe. 
 A raw youth, from the land of potatoes, who 
 rejoiced in the euphonious patronymic of 
 
9 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 245 
 
 M'Nulty, was one night placed on sentry at the 
 furthest extremity of the camp, and ordered 
 by the corporal to challenge every one who 
 approached his post, and in case of his not 
 receiving an answer, to fire. 
 
 It so happened that the night was most un 
 favorable for M'Nulty's first experience of the 
 pleasures of field duty, for the rain descended in 
 torrents, and sentry-boxes not being just then 
 in fashion, poor Paddy was drenched to the 
 skin. His hour of duty having expired, he 
 began to think that the corporal had forgotten 
 him, which was not far from the truth, as the 
 latter was then snoring comfortably in his tent. 
 The serjeant went round with the other relief, 
 but not having been made acquainted with the 
 fact of a sentry being posted where M'Nulty 
 stood, he passed him by, and thus between the 
 two the poor fellow was left another hour on 
 his uncomfortable post. 
 
 The unlucky sentry shouted lustily for relief, 
 but the wind was so high, that his voice was 
 
246 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 borne in every direction but the right one. 
 His vexation at this u dirty turn of the cor- 
 poral," as he called it, was such, that he de- 
 bated with himself whether any court martial 
 that had " sinse or raison" could find any man 
 to blame for leaving his post under such a com- 
 bination of unpleasant circumstances. 
 
 Fortunately for him the officer of the picket 
 happened to come by before he had arrived at 
 any satisfactory conclusion. M'Nulty, whose 
 ears were sharp, heard the noise of the dis- 
 tant footsteps, and roared out in a voice of 
 thunder. 
 
 " Who goes there ?" 
 
 u A friend," replied the officer. 
 
 u The Lord save us from our friends," re- 
 plied M'Nulty, in a tone of concentrated bit- 
 terness, " it's a quare way you have of shewin' 
 your regard, Mr. Corporal. Has your mother 
 any more of such tendher hearted chickens ; if 
 she has, faith it's myself 'ud like to wring the 
 necks off the whole of them, just to privint 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 247 
 
 them tormenting themselves with the misery 
 of their fellow craytures." 
 
 u My good fellow," commenced the officer, 
 convulsed with laughter. 
 
 " Ah, thin, is it laughin' you are, you crooked 
 
 nosed son of a . Wait till you take me 
 
 off my post, an' if I don't make you laugh at 
 the wrong side of your face, may I never see 
 sweet Tipperary agin." 
 
 " What is the matter, my honest fellow ?" 
 said the officer, approaching him, so as that 
 the sentry could now clearly distinguish his 
 rank. 
 
 ^ May I be blessed if I didn't take your 
 honour for the corporal. He has left me here 
 two hours by the clock, an' I haven't a dry rag 
 left on me. Between the rain an' the mud, 
 one might as well be shwimmin' in the bog of 
 Allen." 
 
 " You shall be immediately relieved, and 
 I'll punish the lazy rascal for his gross neglect 
 pf duty." 
 
248 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 " Thank your honour ; an' I'll take an airly 
 opportunity myself of letting him into the 
 eaycret of my own notions on the subject. I 
 advise him to keep out of my way, or it'll be 
 worse for him, the spalpeen." 
 
 u I have a bit of advice to offer you my 
 good fellow, and that is to keep your notions 
 to yourself, for the corporal is your superior, 
 and the articles of war do not altogether ap- 
 prove of such confidential communications as 
 you are disposed to make to him. It is my 
 business to see that his conduct shall not go 
 unpunished." 
 
 u Your honour has raison," replied the senti- 
 nel, " such low varmint as that isn't worthy of 
 a thrashing." 
 
 It is hardly necessary to add that the Corpo- 
 ral was reduced, and that M'Nulty was relieved 
 from one embarrassment only to encounter 
 another in the raillery of his comrades. 
 
 After remaining idle nearly three weeks, it 
 was at length determined to commence opera- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 249 
 
 tions. Two companies of the 20th Regiment 
 of Foot as stormers, one wing of the Queen's 
 Royals, two regiments of native infantry, and 
 one company of Foot artillery moved down to- 
 wards the fort, and took up a commanding 
 position. The cavalry were stationed at the 
 rear of the fort so as to prevent the escape of 
 the Rajah or any of his family. 
 
 The enemy were fully prepared for us, and 
 gave us a hearty welcome, for the fortress 
 mounted some thirty guns of good size and cali- 
 bre which were well manned. The neighbouring 
 rocks and declivities were held by a numerous 
 body of armed men, who kept up a constant 
 fire from their matchlocks. We opened upon 
 the fort, and our infantry were about to move 
 down, when the enemy unexpectedly ceased 
 firing, and a Faquir was observed issuing from 
 the fort with a flag of truce. He requested 
 an interview with our commander, which was 
 immediately granted, and after a short confe- 
 rence, he not only acceded unconditionally on 
 M 5 
 
250 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 the part of the Rajah to the terms demanded, 
 but agreed to pay the whole of the expenses of 
 the war. 
 
 Little or no damage had been done by the 
 firing on either side. The only casualty we had 
 to record, was the loss of Lieutenant Davis of 
 the 4th Madras Native Infantry and four of his 
 men. The deceased officer had command of a 
 small picket, whose duty it was to patrol 
 the lines, so as to prevent the enemy's 
 stragglers from burning or plundering the tents. 
 During the attack on the fort they came across 
 a small body of Arabs, who were going to the 
 relief of the Rajah, but who finding how matters 
 stood were making the beat of their way back. 
 The foremost of the party was challenged, and 
 not answering, Lieutenant Davis attempted to 
 make him prisoner. The man fled, and Lieute- 
 nant Davis pursued him, but stumbling into a 
 nullah in the chase, the Arab turned upon him 
 and buried his crease in his side before any of 
 his men could come to his assistance. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 251 
 
 The remainder of the Lieutenant's little 
 party maintained an unequal contest with the 
 enemy for some time, and would soon have 
 been overpowered had not a party of cavalry, 
 attracted by the firing, galloped up to their 
 assistance. The Arabs fled in all directions, 
 leaving a number of killed and wounded. 
 
 Thus finished the Kolopoor campaign. Our 
 duties were now entirely confined to patrolling 
 the camp, a precaution rendered necessary by 
 the numbers of disbanded mercenaries dis- 
 charged from the Rajah's service, who were 
 prowling about the country, killing and plun- 
 dering every one they met. Finding this a 
 precarious as well as dangerous mode of exist- 
 ence they at length emigrated to a more distant 
 part of Hindostan, and the district was restored 
 to a comparative state of tranquility. 
 
 As positive orders were issued that no Euro- 
 pean or native soldier should enter the fortress 
 of Kolopoor, I am unable to give my readers 
 a description of the place. 
 
252 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 An extensive bazaar was formed at a short 
 distance from camp, and the merchants came 
 from the fortress to offer their goods for sale 
 there. They were not a little surprised at the 
 cheerful manner in which we paid our money 
 for every thing. Amongst the number of 
 traders who flocked to the place were several 
 shroffs or native bankers, who were daily to 
 be seen sitting in their stalls, surrounded by 
 piles of gold pagodas and boxes containing 
 costly jewels and ornaments, deposited with 
 them as security for sums advanced on loan. 
 
 These temptations proved too strong for the 
 honesty of some of our men. Two of the 
 Madras Native Infantry laid a plan to rob one 
 of the bankers, which was attended w T ith suc- 
 cess, owing to the ingenuity with which it was 
 devised. 
 
 Towards dusk one of them went to a shroff, 
 and having obtained change of some coins pre- 
 tended he was cheated, in order to occupy the 
 attention of the choprasses or native policemen. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 253 
 
 During the temporary confusion which ensued, 
 his companion, who had disguised himself as a 
 native, and blackened his face and hands, passed 
 over to a shroff at the opposite side, and throw- 
 ing the contents of a snuff box in his eyes com- 
 pletely blinded him, and made off with a case 
 containing jewels to a large amount. 
 
 The shroff having recovered from his 
 surprise, roared out u chure I chure !" and 
 the uproar became general. The choprasses 
 gave chase, but the darkness of the night 
 favoured the thief, and he succeeded in baffling 
 his pursuers for some time. 
 
 Becoming exhausted with fatigue, and hear- 
 ing voices near him, he plunged into a deep 
 nullah, but lights were soon moving along its 
 banks, and he saw that his retreat could not 
 long remain undiscovered. Knowing well that 
 whether he restored the property or not, he 
 would be severely punished, he resolved to 
 secure it while there was yet time, and with 
 
254 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 his bayonet dug a deep hole, in which he 
 buried the casket. Restoring the surface to 
 the same state in which he found it ; he twisted 
 the bushes so as to mark the spot, and creeping 
 along on his hands and knees emerged from the 
 nullah, and again took to his heels in the di- 
 rection of the camp. 
 
 As ill luck would have it he stumbled on a 
 corporal, and party sent in pursuit of him, 
 and was immediately seized and brought prisoner 
 into camp. His companion had been taken into 
 custody by the choprasses. 
 
 The two men were tried by a court martial, 
 and sentenced to seven hundred lashes each ; and 
 they received their punishment in presence of 
 the assembled brigade. The Colonel, who was 
 an exceedingly humane man, entreated of them 
 to disclose where the box was hid, and promised 
 a remission of a portion of their sentence if they 
 would do so ; but the fellow who had buried it 
 remained firm, and received his full comple- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 255 
 
 ment without wincing. The other became in- 
 sensible before he had received half the number, 
 and was released by order of the Colonel. 
 
 This ill gotten wealth did not much benefit 
 the thieves : they sold it, and sent the greater 
 portion of the money out of the country for 
 greater security, but the acquisition of so large 
 a sum turned their heads, and they abandoned 
 themselves to every sort of excess. One of 
 them died of fever brought on by drink ; and 
 the other purchased his discharge and returned 
 to England. He opened an inn somewhere in 
 Cambridgeshire, but neglecting his business 
 his affairs went to wreck, and he ended his 
 days in the work house. 
 
256 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " Jamais, non jamais de grace, 
 Pour 1'insolent que Ton va chatier, 
 Nous aliens voir punir 1'audace, 
 De ce coquin de braconnier." 
 
 PREVIOUS to our departure for Kirkee an assas- 
 sination was committed on the person of one of 
 our officers, which, owing to the circumstances 
 that provoked it, was very differently viewed 
 by the Europeans and native followers. 
 
 As I have already mentioned, the disbanded 
 troops of the Rajah had formed themselves 
 into bands of plunderers, and scarcely a night 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 257 
 
 passed, without cattle or other property being 
 stolen from the encampment. The apparent 
 impossibility of their penetrating our lines 
 without being detected by the sentries, for some 
 time prevented suspicion from falling in the 
 right quarter, and milch goat after milch goat 
 was nightly carried off, in spite of the efforts 
 made to guard against these depredations. 
 
 In order the more effectually to secure them 
 from the thieves, the goats were placed in the 
 routy, a small tent appropriated to the use of 
 the native servants, who had strict orders to 
 fire upon, or arrest any one seen prowling 
 about the tent after nightfal. 
 
 One would have supposed that precautions 
 like these would have completely put an end to 
 the thefts, but such was not the case. The 
 goats were missing in even greater numbers than 
 before, and the only way in which these daring 
 robberies could be accounted for was, by col- 
 lusion between the native servants and the 
 thieves. 
 
258 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 An officer named Murray, who had lost se- 
 veral of these useful animals, at length became 
 so annoyed at it, that he determined to keep 
 watch himself for a few nights, in the hope of 
 detecting the plunderers. During his vigils, of 
 course none of his goats disappeared ftvm his 
 routy, nor did anything occur to fix his suspi- 
 cions upon any one. The Lieutenant got tired, 
 gave up the watch, and the moment that he 
 did so, the old system was renewed. 
 
 The servants to whom the care of the routy 
 was entrusted consisted of an old Mussulman, 
 named Ramar, who performed the duties of 
 butler, a Ghorra-walla, or native horsekeeper, 
 named Goom Singh, and a dressing-boy, aged 
 sixteen, the son of the latter. All three bore 
 irreproachable characters. 
 
 The lieutenant rose one morning in no very 
 amiable humour. To say the truth he was not 
 the best tempered man in the world. 
 
 " Here Ramar," he shouted, u send Sere 
 Singh to me directly. I am going out shooting*" 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 259 
 
 " Sahib," replied Ramar, u Dooser buckra 
 bogjow" (another goat is stolen.) 
 
 *' D n the buckra and you too," exclaimed 
 the impatient lieutenant, '' send Sere Singh to 
 me." 
 
 <c Sere Singh," called out Ramar in his turn. 
 u Mut jildee, Sahib muntur" (make haste, 
 master wants you.) 
 
 The dressing boy was no where to be found. 
 The officer's suspicions were aroused, and he 
 ordered Groom Singh, the father, into his 
 presence. 
 
 " That young looty walla (thief in grain) of 
 yours has made off with the buckra, and mark 
 my words well, sirrah, if I do not find him 
 here on my return from shooting, I'll give him 
 cherry merry bamboo" (a severe beating with a 
 stick.) 
 
 The Ghorra-walla salaamed his master, but 
 made no reply, well knowing that any attempt 
 at remonstrance would only render him still 
 more violent. 
 
260 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 The lieutenant returned about eight o'clock, 
 and having been unsuccessful in his expedition, 
 his ill humour was but too glad to find some- 
 body to vent itself upon. 
 
 " Ramar, you d d black scoundrel," said he 
 to his butler, " have you found the goat ?" 
 
 u No, Sahib me no see buckra." 
 
 u Talk English, sir, or I'll cut you in two/' 
 exclaimed the lieutenant, raising his whip over 
 the shrinking form of the domestic. 
 
 u Ah Sahib," replied the poor devil, " who 
 take away goat no mallum, (I don't understand) 
 the devil come for him, for no adama puckar, 
 (nobody could have taken him away)." 
 
 < c And the boy Sere Singh." 
 
 u Here, sahib," exclaimed the lad, coming 
 forward. 
 
 " Where were you this morning when I 
 called you ?" inquired the lieutenant. 
 
 " I went to look after the goat, sahib." 
 
 u More likely to sell it, you young chure. 
 Take him to the guard tent, Ramar, and to- 
 morrow I'll have him well flogged." 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 261 
 
 The boy hearing this, began to cry, and 
 begged to be let off. It was no use, however, 
 he was consigned to the guard tent, and next 
 morning was brought before his master. 
 
 rt Tell me where you were yesterday when 
 I called you," said the lieutenant, addressing 
 the trembling lad, u and prove that your state- 
 ment is true." 
 
 The boy held down his head, and did not 
 reply. 
 
 *' Do you hear, sir, if you do not answer 
 me this instant, I'll flog you to the back 
 bone." 
 
 u Hum.) medium ney, sahib , am ney decco } am 
 no puckar, (I don't understand you, sir ; I know 
 nothing about it ; I did not steal it.) 
 
 c4 You lying scoundrel I'll flog the truth out 
 
 J O O 
 
 of you. What have you to say, Goom," he 
 added turning to the father. 
 
 The latter addressed the boy in Hindostanee and 
 called on him to swear to the truth of what he had 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 stated. The lad unhesitatingly took the pre- 
 scribed oath. 
 
 u I believe him innocent, Sahib," replied the 
 father. 
 
 u The devil you do," said the incensed Lieu- 
 tenant. u I have no doubt you know some- 
 thing of the matter yourself. I have a great 
 mind to flog you both, and then I may get at 
 the truth." 
 
 u Marr bok marr, Sahib 9 n replied the old 
 man, u um munter, um choker a no marr choker a 
 na mallum. (Flog away, Sir, I'll bear it pa- 
 tiently, but don't beat my poor boy, he knows 
 nothing about it.) 
 
 At the same time he flung off his garments, 
 and desired the choprassee, or native policeman, 
 to lay on. 
 
 " Seize the youngster," cried the Lieutenant, 
 " and give it to him 'till I tell you to stop." 
 
 Four stout Ghorra-wallas laid hold of the lad, 
 and each seizing a limb held him suspended in 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 263 
 
 the air, with his face towards the ground, while 
 the choprassee began beating him with a stout 
 bamboo. 
 
 The old butler threw himself at the feet of 
 his master, and with tears in his eyes implored 
 of him not to commit such an injustice, for he 
 was satisfied the boy was guiltless of the charge. 
 
 u It's no use," said the Lieutenant, " I've 
 been robbed by some one, and I'll flog you all 
 round till I find the thief," a threat which he % 
 was likely enough to put in execution. 
 
 The boy bore his punishment without even 
 a sob escaping him. As soon as he was let 
 loose his father called him over to him. 
 
 u Come here, my child," said the old man 
 embracing him. u They have disgraced you 
 for life. Let us quit this accursed spot/' 
 
 " You will do so at your peril," exclaimed 
 the Lieutenant. (i If you attempt to stir one 
 step from the encampment I will have you both 
 flogged until there is not a morsel of flesh left 
 upon your backs." 
 
264 LIFE IN TUE RANKS. 
 
 The old man made no reply, but bowed in 
 apparent submission. That same night, how- 
 ever, he and his son made their escape. It was 
 said they had fled to Guzzerat, 
 
 About a week after the Lieutenant <vas re- 
 turning from the mess of the Madras Native 
 Infantry, accompanied by his head servant, 
 when, as he was crossing a field between the 
 two lines, he fancied he was dogged by some one. 
 " Bring the light here, Kamar," he shouted to 
 his attendant, who preceded him at a short dis- 
 tance with a lanthorn. " There is some fellow 
 skulking after us." 
 
 The attendant turned quickly, and as he did 
 so, heard a heavy fall and a groan. On run- 
 ning to the spot, he saw his master prostrate 
 on the ground, while Goom Singh stood over 
 him with a brandished knife. 
 
 The butler became so terrified that he could 
 make no effort to seize the assassin. The latter 
 cried exultingly, " My boy is revenged," and 
 fled. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 265 
 
 Ramar ran for assistance, and returned in a 
 few minutes with the infantry picket. The 
 unfortunate officer was conveyed to his quar- 
 ters, where he breathed his last shortly after 
 his arrival. 
 
 Every exertion was made by the authorities 
 to bring the murderer to justice. Large re- 
 wards were offered for his apprehension, and 
 tempting promises held out to the son, who was 
 discovered lurking in the neighbourhood, but all 
 their efforts were fruitless, he was never after 
 heard of. 
 
 Every thing being now arranged for our de- 
 parture, we left Kolopoor in March, and ar- 
 rived at Kirkee shortly before the setting in 
 of the monsoon. 
 
 Here we found a new Colonel, who had just 
 arrived from England. He had the reputation 
 of being a terrible martinet, and the first op- 
 portunity he had of addressing the regiment, 
 did not diminish the unpleasant impression 
 
 N 
 
266 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 which such a character is calculated to make 
 on those placed under his command. 
 
 The morning after our arrival he ordered a 
 foot parade, and the regiment having been 
 formed into a square, he rode into the centre 
 and addressed us in the following characteristic 
 style. 
 
 " Non commissioned officers and men, I have 
 a few words to say to you they shall be brief, 
 but take care and pay attention to them. I 
 have been honoured by his Majesty with a com- 
 mission in this regiment ; and as I am deter^ 
 mined to do my duty, you will save me and 
 yourselves a great deal of trouble by doing 
 yours. Come before me as seldom as you can, 
 for whenever you do, you'll find you have no 
 lamb to play with." 
 
 Our commander had closed this short but 
 significant harangue when the Adjutant stepped 
 forward and whispered something in his ear. 
 The Colonel immediately called out : 
 
 u Men, I quite forgot to tell you that Go- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 267 
 
 vernment has been pleased to build nine pretty 
 little cottages (congee houses) for your use. It 
 will do you no harm to take a look at them in 
 the course of the day ; but for my part I must 
 candidly tell you, I don't much like these new 
 fashioned contrivances ; there is nothing like 
 getting your full allowance, and having done 
 with it at once." 
 
 In consequence of the decrease in our 
 numbers, occasioned by the cholera and Guz- 
 zerat fever, it became necessary to obtain 
 volunteers, wherever they could be procured. 
 Unfortunately for us His Majesty's 41st regi- 
 ment of foot happened at this time to be on 
 the eve of its departure for England, and about 
 forty men volunteered from that corps. It was 
 the first and only instance of the kind that fell 
 under my observation and the result of the ex- 
 periment was not a happy one. With one or two 
 exceptions, the whole of the new draft turned 
 out bad and inefficient dragoons, whether from 
 the inconsistency of the habits of the two ser- 
 N 3 
 
268 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 vices or individual incapacity, I cannot take 
 upon myself to say. In vain the riding master 
 endeavoured to initiate them in the mysteries 
 of horsemanship ; they daily met with severe 
 accidents at field exercise, which laid them 
 up in hospital, and rendered them unfit for 
 duty. 
 
 A representation of the fact having been 
 made to the authorities, they abandoned any 
 further attempt to reconcile habits so entirely 
 at variance with each other. 
 
 Amongst the new volunteers that joined us 
 was a desperate character, named Madill, whose 
 fame had preceded him from his former regi- 
 ment, and whose exploits amongst us proved 
 that his evil qualities had not been exaggerated. 
 Like most reprobates who embrace a military 
 life, as the last resort of a profligate and aban- 
 doned career, this man had received a good 
 education, which served only to place his vices 
 in a more detestable light. So great was the 
 horror entertained of him in his own regiment. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 269 
 
 that when it became known he wished to vo- 
 lunteer into the dragoons, the Quarter Master 
 who had previously served with us, and who 
 had a strong regard for his old corps, endea- 
 voured to dissuade him from his purpose, offer- 
 ing even to furnish him with a complete kit, if 
 he would confer the benefit of his services on 
 one of the infantry regiments in Madras or 
 Bengal. 
 
 u It's no use, sir," replied Madill, "I've been 
 handling brown Bess and Pompey long enough^ 
 and I'll now ride and dragoon it a bit for my 
 own pleasure." 
 
 He had not long joined us at Kirkee, when 
 he discovered that in abandoning Brown Bess 
 and Pompey for the dragooning life, he had not 
 made an exchange for the better. The diffi- 
 culty of acquiring the necessary qualifications 
 for a dragoon, at all times great, seemed to him 
 insuperable. He either could not, or would 
 not accustom himself to the stable duties. 
 Punishment necessarily followed neglect, and 
 
270 LIFE IN THE HANKS. 
 
 and then all the evil qualities of the man be- 
 came again aroused. 
 
 Being a muscular and powerfully built man, 
 he never lost an opportunity of bullying or 
 oppressing those who were weaker than himself. 
 Ferocious and vindictive, in character, he re- 
 sorted to treachery where he knew open force 
 could not be employed with safety. Such a 
 happy junction of qualities could not fail to 
 render him at once a bad soldier and a worse 
 comrade. 
 
 To such an extent was this ruffian dreaded, 
 that it was with evident reluctance the men 
 obeyed the order to convey him to the guard- 
 house whenever he misconducted himself. It 
 was a service of danger, for he did not scruple 
 to employ his teeth where he was deprived of 
 other means of resistance. 
 
 In one of his drunken fits he was sent as 
 usual to the guard-house, where he found him- 
 self face to face with a serjeant for whom he 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 271 
 
 kad conceived an inveterate hatred, and whose 
 life he had frequently threatened. 
 
 Madill was in one of those rabid humours in 
 which it became dangerous to approach him. 
 He no sooner saw the serjeant than he com- 
 menced loading him with the most opprobrious 
 epithets, and exhibited a disposition to assault 
 him. The serjeant told him to be quiet, or he 
 would place him in confinement in the congee 
 houses. 
 
 "Will you, by G ," exclaimed Madill, 
 snatching a sword from the wall. " Then I'll 
 give you something to make you remember me 
 before I go." 
 
 Making a lunge at the serjeant, he would 
 have run him through the body, had not the 
 latter evaded the thrust, by slipping aside. The 
 guard instantly rushed upon him, and secured 
 him with handcuffs after a desperate resistance, 
 in which his teeth were, as usual, employed 
 upon his assailants. It now became advisable, 
 for the safety of all, that he should be removed 
 
272 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 to a place of confinement, where he would have 
 no opportunity of exercising his cannibal pro- 
 pensities, and the assistance of some of the 
 native followers having been called in, he was 
 carried, or rather dragged, to the congee 
 houses. 
 
 It unfortunately so happened that at this 
 period none of the cells were tenantless, and it 
 became necessary to place him in company 
 with another culprit. Some one suggested 
 that it would be better to put three of the 
 other prisoners together ; but this could not be 
 done, as there was a strict order against more 
 than two being confined in the same cell. 
 
 The cell selected was already occupied by a 
 dragoon named Devine, who belonged to the 
 same troop as Madill, and was known to be 
 at enmity with him. How this circumstance 
 should have been overlooked by the non com- 
 missioned officer surprises me, as frequent fights 
 had occurred between the parties, and their 
 hostility was notorious to every one. 
 

 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 273 
 
 I have heard Devine subsequently declare, 
 that he never, in his life, entertained a sensation 
 of fear, until he saw the door of his cell opened 
 to admit this ferocious ruffian. In his first 
 alarm, he attempted to rush out, but was in- 
 stantly struck back by the guard, who, having 
 by time unbound Madill, (not a little stupified 
 by the force which had been employed to convey 
 him to his cell) by a simultaneous and vigorous 
 push, drove him headlong into his prison. 
 The double doors were instantly secured, and 
 Devine lay crouched in a corner watching the 
 movements of his enemy. 
 
 Madill lay for some time perfectly quiet, 
 and appeared to have fallen into a profound 
 slumber. His companion began to hope that 
 his strength had been exhausted in the 
 struggle, and that he would feel no disposition 
 to molest him, for he well knew that unless 
 such were the case, there was but little chance 
 of his escaping his fangs. He also comforted 
 himself with the reflection that as the cell was 
 N 5 
 
274 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 extremely dark, there was a possibility of his 
 not recognising him ; but he did not know his 
 man, for it mattered little to Madill on whom 
 he vented his rage. 
 
 At the expiration of about a quarter of an 
 hour he awoke and shook himself with a growl 
 not unlike that of a tiger. Hearing the breath- 
 ing of another in the cell, he demanded with 
 an execration who it was ? Devine feigned 
 sleep, but that would not do ; Madill started 
 up, and shaking him roughly, again enquired 
 who he was. 
 
 The poor fellow disguised his voice as well 
 as he was able, in the hope of deceiving him, 
 but being an Irishman, the ruse did not suc- 
 ceed, and a roar of savage exultation announced 
 he was detected. He bounded instantly to 
 his feet, and prepared for a contest which he 
 felt was inevitable. The other sprang upon 
 him, and seizing him by the throat, held him 
 at arm's length for several minutes. 
 
 u So you thought I didn't know you, De- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 27-5 
 
 e," exclaimed the ruffian. 6i Know you. In- 
 deed ! I'd smell an enemy in the dark, and 
 I'll have your blood now, if I am to swing 
 for it." 
 
 " You surely do not mean to murder me ? w 
 replied the other. " What have I done to 
 you ?" 
 
 " Ell tell you what you have done, you 
 chicken-hearted spy. You told the serjeant 
 of the room that I hadn't been in bed the 
 night the canteen was broken open, and since 
 then they've kept a close eye on me. Your 
 pimping and tale-bearing have brought me into 
 disgrace, and I'll teach you what it is to meddle 
 with other men's affairs/' 
 
 Devine was a strong, active young fellow, 
 though inferior in physical power to the other. 
 Despair, however-, lent him strength, and cdn- 
 vinced that his assailant would take his life, he 
 resolved to sell it as dearly as he could. 
 
 The struggle that ensued was a desperate 
 one. The two nren became locked together, 
 
276 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 and rolled about the floor gnashing their teeth 
 with rage, and endeavouring to throttle each 
 other. At length Madill began to use his teeth, 
 and bit large pieces out of the flesh of his oppo- 
 nent. The latter cried aloud for help, in his 
 agony. 
 
 The sentry on duty hearing the noise, passed 
 the alarm to the serjeant of the guard ; but the 
 latter did not make his appearance for upwards 
 of a quarter of an hour. During this time the 
 cries of the unfortunate Devine were becoming 
 fainter and fainter, and at length wholly 
 ceased. 
 
 On the doors being opened, the scene that 
 presented itself was truly shocking. In a 
 corner of the cell lay Devine apparently dead, 
 his features hardly retaining a vestige of hu- 
 manity, so lacerated were they by the nume- 
 rous wounds inflicted by the teeth of his mur- 
 derous assailant. The latter lay stretched 
 across his body in almost as helpless a state, 
 but in reality more exhausted than injured. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 277 
 
 Devine was removed to hospital in a state of 
 insensibility. The injuries he had received 
 proved of so serious a nature that he was inca- 
 pacitated for further service, and was ultimately 
 discharged. 
 
 Madill was brought before a court martial, 
 and sentenced to severe corporal punishment. 
 This, however, had no effect in correcting the 
 ferocity of his character, and he was at length 
 sentenced to a long term of solitary confine- 
 ment. His constitution, impaired by excess, 
 soon gave way, under this punishment, and he 
 was removed from prison only to finish his ca- 
 reer in the hospital. 
 
278 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " I will show you, slaves, 
 How you should be commanded, and who led you." 
 
 IN order to form the regiment after the ac- 
 cession of so many inexperienced volunteers, 
 it became necessary to have daily field drills, 
 so as to be in a state of tolerable preparation 
 for the ensuing half yearly inspection. 
 
 The officers, on first joining, are also sub- 
 jected to frequent drilling, more particularly in 
 that branch called field exercise. The sooner 
 the officer makes himself thoroughly acquainted 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 with his duties, the more agreeable he will 
 find his position, as it must be any thing but 
 pleasant for patrician blood to find itself under 
 the orders of a serjeant major. 
 
 One field day, it so happened that a young 
 Cornet who had lately exchanged from the in- 
 fantry, found himself placed under the com- 
 mand of a serjeant major, named Donovan, 
 who, though a good disciplinarian, was un* 
 fortunately addicted to intemperate habits, and 
 on this particular occasion, was not entirely 
 recovered from the effects of his previous 
 night's libations. 
 
 On the formation of the squadrons Cornet, 
 G , the officer in question, had the com- 
 mand of the right troop, another subaltern that 
 of the left, while the serjeant major commanded 
 the squadron from the centre. 
 
 The squadron having been properly told off, 
 proceeded with the others to the drill ground. 
 I should mention that our new Cornet was a 
 
280 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 consummate fop, and, like all young officers, 
 impatient of the least reply on the part of the 
 men, whom he was in the habit of committing 
 to the guard room for the most trifling and 
 imaginary offences. These facts rendered the 
 scene I am about to describe highly amusing. 
 
 As the troop was manoeuvring, under the 
 orders of the Colonel, who was exceedingly 
 rapid in all his movements, the Serjeant Major 
 discovered that Cornet G was utterly in- 
 capable of managing his men. 
 
 u Troops, right wheel, forward," shouted the 
 Serjeant Major in quick succession, as we broke 
 into column, preparing to countermarch upon 
 our centre. 
 
 The Cornet got bewildered, took up the word 
 of command as 6i left wheel," and gave it ac- 
 cordingly. The troop wheeled to the reverse 
 hand, when the Serjeant Major finding every 
 thing thrown into confusion, thundered out, 
 
 " Threes right, right wheel, front form.'' 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 281 
 
 This brought the troop again into its proper 
 place ; and the Serjeant Major, turning round 
 to the Cornet, angrily addressed him, 
 
 " What the devil are you about, sir ? An- 
 other mistake, after all the pains I have taken 
 with you," and then turning half aside, he mut- 
 tered audibly, " May I be d d if he isn't as 
 stupid as an ass." 
 
 The officer bit his lips with vexation, but had 
 the good sense not to make any reply. The 
 men enjoyed his humiliation, and a general 
 titter ran through the troop. 
 
 u Into line," was the next order. This brought 
 us into our proper position. 
 
 "By the flank, march off threes; right 
 thrown back," again shouted the Colonel. 
 
 " Threes right," repeated the Serjeant Major, 
 and off we proceeded at a canter to our new 
 alignement. 
 
 By another unfortunate mischance the Cornet 
 got placed in a wrong position. Instead of 
 
282 LIFE IN THE RANKS, 
 
 being in front of his troop he found himself at v 
 the rear. 
 
 " Here, Sir," roared the Serjeant Major, en- 
 raged beyond all power of self-controul. u You 
 must be infernally stupid to make such a blun- 
 der as that. If you go on in that way you will 
 bring me and my squadron into disgrace with 
 the Colonel." 
 
 This proved too much for the Cornet, who, 
 perceiving that the men were grinning at him, 
 angrily replied : 
 
 " You are drunk, and I'll report you to the 
 Colonel for your impertinence. 
 
 u Front," shouted the Colonel, u the line 
 will attack." 
 
 " Perhaps, Sir," said the Serjeant Major 
 addressing the Cornet in a jeering tone, u you'd 
 like to take up the squadron." 
 
 The Cornet believing him serious, replied 
 instantly. 
 
 < c I shall do so. Change places," 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 283 
 
 As the Serjeant Major anticipated, the Cor- 
 net was not a sufficiently good horseman to 
 keep up the advance. The consequence was 
 that as soon as the charge sounded he found 
 himself hustled about in the centre of the 
 squadron by the men, who owed him no good 
 will, and ultimately in the rear, just where he 
 ought not to be. 
 
 The halt now sounded, and the Serjeant 
 Major was of course obliged to resume his 
 place in order to restore something like order." 
 
 The Cornet had by this time made his way 
 to the front foaming with rage. 
 
 ct 111 have every man of you sent to drill," 
 he exclaimed, u how dare you ride over rne? 
 You are all leagued against me by that rascally 
 serjeant-major." 
 
 The latter who had been chuckling at the 
 mortification of the young officer, now addressed 
 him in rather a peremptory tone. 
 
 u Be good enough to go to the rear, sir. 
 
284 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 Here Serjeant," he added, turning to another 
 non-commissioned officer, " take the troop." 
 
 The Cornet, unable to control his anger, rode 
 directly to the Colonel. The latter was then 
 too much occupied to attend to him, and 
 directed him to wait till the field day was over. 
 
 At the conclusion of the drill, he heard the 
 Cornet's complaint, and sent the adjutant to re- 
 port if the serjeant> major was drunk as had 
 been represented to him. The latter reported 
 in the affirmative, and Donovan was immedi- 
 ately placed under arrest. He was brought to 
 a court martial, and reduced to the rank and 
 pay of a private. Owing to his abilities as a 
 drill, he was however shortly after restored to 
 the rank of serjeant. 
 
 Of the Cornet I have only to add that he 
 never made a good cavalry officer. He has 
 since exercised a sound discretion in again ex- 
 changing into an infantry regiment. 
 
 Having just at this period attained the rank 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 285 
 
 of Serjeant I found myself as it were transfer- 
 red to a new station in society, and appreciat- 
 ing the comforts and enjoyments it afforded me, 
 I determined to keep it if I could by my good 
 behaviour. I had long experienced the want 
 of some other resource than the canteen for 
 the occupation of my leisure hours, and finding 
 a disposition on the part of the other Serjeants 
 to second my efforts, I determined on forming 
 a library for the non commissioned officers, and 
 accordingly made an application to the Colonel 
 for leave to write to London for books. 
 
 The old martinet stared at me as if he did 
 not exactly comprehend me. 
 
 " A what," said he. 
 
 " A library, sir a non-commissioned offi- 
 cer's library." 
 
 " A library, and what the devil do you 
 want with a library? No, no, you want to 
 make the men all lawyers, and we have too 
 many of them already. If things go on like 
 this, you'll soon take the command of the regi- 
 
286 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 inent out of my hands. The only two books 
 fit for a soldier, are the articles of war and 
 the bible." 
 
 " Then, sir, since you'll not allow us to 
 have books, perhaps you'll give us leave to 
 subscribe for a few newspapers." 
 
 " To teach you sedition, and make you more 
 rebellious than you are. May I ask which are 
 the newspapers and the politics to which you 
 pin your faith, serjeant?" 
 
 I felt the sarcastic tone in which this 
 was uttered, but dare not of course make 
 any reply, further than to state that we 
 wished to have the Atlas, Sunday Times, and 
 Weekly Despatch. 
 
 The Colonel bounded from his chair as if 
 struck by a bullet on hearing the name of the 
 latter paper, which about this time contained 
 a series of excellent articles on corporal punish- 
 ment. 
 
 " How dare you propose such a thing ?" 
 he exclaimed in one of those bursts of 
 
LIFE IN THE HANKS. 287 
 
 anger which rendered him unsafe to ap- 
 proach. " Admit a lying, seditious publica- 
 tion like that amongst his Majesty's troops 
 I'd sooner cut off my right arm first, and I've 
 a great mind to put you under arrest for your 
 impertinence in even naming it." 
 
 " Why, sir, the Despatch is already received 
 in the regiment by some of the men." 
 
 " That is no reason why I should allow the 
 evil to spread further. Once for all I tell you 
 that I am not one of your <c march of intelli- 
 gence" men. I never knew a good soldier yet 
 who was fond of your trashy books or seditious 
 newspapers, and I shall not be the first to 
 introduce such a bad precedent into the ser- 
 vice." 
 
 Against such arguments as these, there was 
 of course, no use in reasoning, and I left the 
 Colonel's presence completely crest fallen, and 
 determined not to take any further step in the 
 matter until another change took place in the 
 command of the regiment, an event which I 
 
288 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 had not long to wait for, owing to the climate, 
 and a splenetic temperament rendering a return 
 to England an alternative of life or death with 
 our anti " march of intelligence" commander. 
 
 Our new Colonel was a man of enlarged views 
 and cultivated mind, and so far from raising 
 objections to my plan gave it his ready patron- 
 age and assistance, and in a short time we laid 
 the foundation of an excellent library both for 
 non commissioned officers and men. To show 
 the success which attended the experiment, I 
 have only to mention that the twenty-five 
 pounds a quarter subscriptions^ with which 
 we commenced, had risen to one hundred 
 by the time we left India. 
 
 I do not know anything more calculated to 
 reform dissipated habits, or prevent the young 
 soldier from degenerating into them than re- 
 sources of this kind. There are many men 
 in the army who have really no taste for the 
 drunken and noisy atmosphere of the pot- 
 house, who are driven to it by the absence of 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 289 
 
 mental occupation. Once there the effects of 
 drink, or the force of example, betrays them 
 into other excesses, and degradation and punish- 
 ment follow as a matter of course. 
 
 In May, 1827, the officers of one of his 
 Majesty's regiments stationed at Poona deter- 
 mined on giving a ball and supper on a large 
 scale, so as to include the civilians and their 
 wives as well as the whole of the officers of the 
 brigade. Extensive preparations were accord- 
 ingly made a large marquee was added to the 
 already spacious mess room of the regiment 
 bricklayers were set to work to pull down and 
 reconstruct, and the services of every one who 
 had the least talent for decoration were put in 
 requisition. 
 
 The evening fixed for this long talked of 
 fete arrived, and the appearance which the 
 rooms presented was pretty enough. 
 
 An arcade formed of evergreens and tempo- 
 rarily floored and covered with matting formed 
 the entrance to the suite, and being tastefully 
 o 
 
290 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 lit up with variegated lamps had an extremely 
 
 gay effect. The ball room was decorated 
 with the colours of the regiment, the memo- 
 rials of their Peninsular exploits, and the royal 
 aim? with the motto "welcome all" crowned 
 the whole. 
 
 Amongst the officers of our regiment present 
 was Lieutenant G , one of the finest men in 
 the army, but a noted duellist. He had only 
 just arrived from Bengal, where he had fought 
 a Lieutenant Colonel commanding a regiment 
 of Native Infantry, and severely wounded him. 
 
 A waltze having been struck up by the band, 
 Lieut. Gr -, who excelled in this accomplish- 
 ment, led out Mrs. W , the wife of an old 
 Captain of the Madras Native Infantry, who 
 was then playing piquet in the card room. The 
 lady was young, beautiful, and graceful, and 
 the waltzing of this highly gifted couple at- 
 tracted universal attention. 
 
 As soon as supper was announced, Captain 
 W rejoined his lady, but returned again to 
 
LIFE IN THE HANKS. 291 
 
 the card table as soon as the dancing was re- 
 sumed, 
 
 When he had concluded his game he sought 
 his wife for the purpose of taking her home, as 
 it was now late, and they had a considerable 
 distance to go. The lady was, however, no 
 where to be found, and by a suspicious coinci- 
 dence Lieut. G was also missing. 
 
 To render the case still stronger against the 
 latter, one of the native servants stated that he 
 
 had seen an officer put Mrs. W into a 
 
 palankeen about an hour before. 
 
 The Captain became furious at this intelli- 
 gence, and happening to meet a brother officer 
 and particular friend of Lieut. G at the 
 entrance to the ball room as he was prosecut- 
 ing his enquiries, he said to him in a tone of 
 voice which could be heard by all the servants 
 in the passage. 
 
 " You are a friend of Lieut. G , Sir?" 
 
 " I have that honour, Captain W ." 
 
 o 3 
 
292 LIFE IN THE RANKS* 
 
 " Then you are the friend of one of the 
 greatest scoundrels that ever breathed." 
 
 fi You had better reserve those expressions 
 for Lieut. G himself, Captain." 
 
 u I would if I knew where to find him. In 
 the mean time you will do me a favour by com- 
 municating them to him." 
 
 u Oh, as for that matter he will soon be 
 here," replied the other. " William, go to the 
 
 billiard room, and tell Lieut. G that he is 
 
 wanted here directly." 
 
 " If he is in the billiard room," said Captain 
 W , *' you need not send your servant. The 
 more public the opportunity of exposing him 
 the better I shall at once go there." 
 
 " You will please to recollect, Captain W ," 
 said the other, " that I have the first claim 
 upon you, as you have grossly insulted me by 
 connecting me with the atrocious language you 
 have just uttered." 
 
 " I will meet you, sir, but Lieut. G- is 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 293 
 
 first on my list. If you like to follow me, 
 you will have the gratification of hearing me 
 repeat to your friend what I have just said to 
 you." 
 
 Striding towards the billiard room, he entered 
 it just as Lieut. G was on the point of 
 making a stroke. 
 
 " What have you done with my wife, Sir ?" 
 cried Captain W as he rushed up the room. 
 " Answer me without equivocation or I'll 
 brain you on the spot !" 
 
 Lieut. G arrested the movement of his 
 queue, and looking towards the Captain re- 
 plied with imperturbable coolness, " I shall be 
 at your service presently," and next minute 
 holed his adversary's ball. 
 
 " Seven, five," he continued addressing the 
 marker, then turning to Captain W who 
 became still more enraged at the impassability 
 of his manner, he said, " you did me the favour 
 of addressing me just now." 
 
294 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 " I did. Sir. I desire to know what you 
 have done with iny wife ?" 
 
 " Upon my honour, Captain W , I know 
 nothing whatever of the lady." 
 
 " Liar and villain !" exclaimed the hus- 
 band. ifc Take that to teach you what it is to 
 trifle with the feelings of others," and raising 
 his clenched hand he struck him full in the 
 face. 
 
 The Lieutenant staggered under the force of 
 the blow, but recovering himself in a moment 
 said, in the same unmoved tone of voice, 
 
 " I need not tell you, Captain W . that 
 the outrage you have just committed on me is 
 one that must be promptly satisfied." 
 u The sooner the better, sir," replied the other. 
 
 " I have only to send for my pietols to Kir- 
 kee and I shall be ready. In the mean time 
 you had better get a friend, and you will find 
 me in the Wood Yard in an hour from this." 
 
 u I shall be there to the moment." 
 
 Lieut. G immediately left the room, and 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS, 295 
 
 chancing to meet me in the passage called me 
 aside, and told me to saddle his pony and gallop 
 to his quarters for a small mahogany case 
 which was to be found in his drawers. 
 
 I knew nothing of what had occurred, and 
 of course obeyed his orders without a moment's 
 hesitation* I reached Kirkee in about half of 
 an hour, and having obtained what I was sent 
 for, returned to Poona in about the same time. 
 
 On re-entering the billiard room I found 
 Lieut. G quietly pursuing his game. The 
 moment he saw me he quitted it, and took the 
 ease from me, after thanking me for the haste 
 I had made, 
 
 I turned into the lazarette, or refreshment 
 room, and there I saw Captain W folding up 
 and sealing some letters. As soon as he had 
 done he looked at his watch, and quitted the 
 room. I had not been more than from fifteen 
 to twenty minutes in the lazarette when the 
 report of fire arms was distinctly heard above 
 
296 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 the music of the band, and the hum of voices 
 in the ball room. 
 
 Half suspecting from the errand on which I 
 had been sent that something was wrong, I ran 
 out in the direction of the Wood Yard, from 
 whence the reports proceeded. 
 
 Several others, who were either aware of 
 what had occurred or who had been attracted 
 like myself by the noise, were to be seen 
 hurrying towards the same spot. 
 
 The Wood Yard was a large quadrangle 
 formed by logs of wood, and was about fifty 
 feet square and twenty high, with an entrance 
 at the south side. On gaining the interior a 
 melancholy scene presented itself. 
 
 By the light of a couple of torches borne by 
 native servants, and throwing a strong glare on 
 the faces of the group, several officers were to 
 be seen stooping over the body of a wounded 
 man, whose features were already convulsed by 
 the agonies of death. At a little distance stood 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 297 
 
 Lieut. G , and practised duellist as he was he 
 seemed as terror stricken as the most guilty 
 murderer. His face was ghastly pale, and his 
 whole frame trembled with agitation. Two of 
 his friends were endeavouring to hurry him 
 from the spot ; but he paid no attention to 
 their entreaties, so completely was his mind en- 
 grossed by the terrible spectacle before him. 
 Finding persuasion useless, they were eventu- 
 ally obliged to drag him away by force. 
 
 The news had by this time reached the ball 
 room, and threw the gay scene into confusion. 
 The near presence of death is at all times a 
 subject for grave reflection, but the lesson is 
 doubly impressive when it comes to us in the 
 midst of enjoyment. 
 
 The body of Captain W~ was conveyed to 
 his quarters, and a court of enquiry held upon 
 it. His unhappy opponent made his escape, 
 but soon after surrendered and took his trial. 
 He was honourably acquitted, it having been 
 o 5 
 
298 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 shown that he had received the most unme- 
 rited provocation, Mrs. W having in fact 
 
 eloped with another officer, who had long been 
 paying her attention. 
 
LIFE IN THE BANKS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ** That I have ta'en away this old man's daughter, 
 It is most true ; true I have married her ; 
 The very head and front of my offending 
 Hath this extent no more." 
 
 THE cavalry regiments in India are, for the 
 most part, supplied with horses by the Arab 
 or Persian dealers, who visit the presidencies 
 twice or thrice a-year. 
 
 In 1833, I was sent to Pamwell with a ser- 
 jeant named Morgan, to meet one of these 
 horse dealers, and bring back about fifty head 
 of cattle, which had been passed by the 
 
300 - LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 committee of inspection at Bombay. We 
 
 were accompanied by a numerous body of 
 
 
 
 Grhorra wallas. 
 
 On reaching our destination, we found Ab- 
 dallah Khorassan, the well known Persian 
 dealer awaiting our arrival. He had pitched 
 his tent under the shade of a large tamarind 
 tree, near which stood a hackery, which served 
 both as the travelling equipage and sleeping 
 place of his daughter. 
 
 Report spoke highly of the beauty of this 
 maiden, and the occasional glimpses we caught 
 of her graceful figure and tiny feet, encased 
 in slippers of green and gold, iii creased the 
 desire we felt to behold her features. The 
 jealous watchfulness of the father, who had 
 only been prevailed on to allow her to accom- 
 pany him on this expedition, by the pressing 
 entreaties of some of her mother's relations at 
 Surat, who were anxious to see her, and the as 
 wakeful vigilance of the driver of the hackery, 
 who was an old and attaehed servant of Ab- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 3'01 
 
 dallah combined 3 however, for some time to 
 
 defeat our wishes. 
 
 '* 
 We were obliged to remain at Pamwell 
 
 about a week, in order to await the orders of 
 the commissariat, and during this interval we 
 availed ourselves of every possible opportunity 
 of obtaining a sight of the young Persian. 
 Chance at length favoured my comrade. 
 
 I should have mentioned that Morgan was 
 the son of an old soldier who had volunteered 
 from the 17th Light Dragoons into our regi- 
 ment, and who had passed most of his life 
 in India. This young man was only seven 
 years old when he arrived in the Presidency, 
 and as children are quick in acquiring lan- 
 guages, he was not long in obtaining such a 
 proficiency in Hindostanee, that he spoke it 
 almost like a native. He was a fine, dashing 
 young fellow, about six feet in height, and one 
 of the best horsemen in the regiment. 
 
 Amongst the cattle which Abdallah had 
 brought with him, were a beautiful Arabian 
 
302 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 horse, valued at five hundred pounds, which 
 had been purchased from him by Major Mans- 
 field, who kept a racing stud at Poona, and a 
 cream-coloured pony of the same breed, which 
 was intended for a lady in Bombay, but who 
 left it on his hands on account of the exorbi- 
 tancy of the price asked for it. This latter was 
 as vicious a little animal as I ever met with, 
 but an especial favourite with its owner, who 
 had it attached to his tent, and never suffered 
 it to be removed from under his own eye. 
 
 Having formed a favourable opinion of Mor- 
 gan's abilities in the management of horses, 
 Abdallah asked him if he would undertake to 
 lunge his pony for him. To this proposition 
 the other joyfully assented, knowing that it 
 would bring him into the immediate neighbour- 
 hood of the hackery, and perhaps give him 
 an opportunity of conversing with the fair 
 Persian. 
 
 This propitious circumstance was not long 
 in producing the desired result, As Morgan 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 303 
 
 exercised the pony, he could detect a pair of 
 bright eyes watching his movements through 
 an aperture in the covering of the vehicle, and 
 by degrees a sort of telegraphic communica- 
 tion was established between them. This, how- 
 ever, did not satisfy the ardent desires of the 
 adventurous serjeant and he eagerly watched an 
 opportunity of having an interview with her. 
 
 He had not long to wait. Learning that she 
 usually left the hackery before sun rise, to 
 perform her ablutions at a neighbouring stream, 
 he cautiously followed her, and concealing 
 himself behind the trunk of a large banyan 
 tree, awaited a fitting moment to present him- 
 self before her. Ignorant of a spectator being 
 so near, she removed her veil, and displayed 
 features which at once riveted the chains of the 
 enamoured serjeant. 
 
 On his making his appearance, she screamed 
 with terror, and hastily replaced her veil. 
 Morgan addressed her in soothing tones and 
 assured her that his only motive in following 
 
304 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 her was to protect her from the tigers who were 
 in the habit of descending to water from the 
 neighbouring mountains. 
 
 She thanked him for his kindness, and tell- 
 ing him she would inform her father of it, was 
 about to return to the tents when Morgan 
 threw himself at her feet and seizing her hand 
 poured forth the most extravagant protestations 
 of love, and modestly entreated her to reward 
 his devotion by eloping with him. 
 
 The girl became terrified at his earnestness, 
 and fancying he meant to offer her violence 
 swooned away. 
 
 The Serjeant supported her in his arms, and 
 soon revived her by sprinkling cold water on 
 her face. He could not however help imprint- 
 ing two or three kisses on her beautiful features 
 whilst the opportunity offered, and it was the 
 half consciousness of this, or the novel sensa- 
 tion of finding herself in the arms of a stranger, 
 that suffused her face and neck with deep 
 blushes as she recovered animation : 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 305 
 
 " Begone," she faintly uttered, " for if my 
 father finds us thus he will kill you." 
 
 u I will not leave you," said Morgan, " until 
 you first promise me that you will turn a 
 favourable ear to my prayers." 
 
 " Alas ! Christian," she replied, " what 
 would you have of me. The laws of your 
 religion forbid your marrying any one but a 
 member of your own creed, and your mistress 
 I can never be." 
 
 " And what is to prevent your becoming a 
 Christian," said Morgan encouraged by the 
 half yielding tone of this reply, *' and thus 
 removing the only obstacle to our happiness." 
 
 " Never," cried the girl with sudden energy, 
 as she escaped from his grasp and fled with the 
 fleetness of a fawn towards her father's tents. 
 
 Morgan returned full of hope, and communi- 
 cated to me the particulars of the morning's 
 interview. I saw nothing in them to warrant 
 the sanguine expectations he had formed ; but 
 he appeared convinced he should be able ta 
 
306 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 conquer the girl's obstinacy, and told me he had 
 made up his mind to carry her off. 
 
 u Have you reflected on the consequences of 
 the step you are about to take?" I asked. 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I shall probably lose my 
 rank, but I shall have gained what I prize in- 
 finitely more." 
 
 We next day received the route for Kirkee, 
 and set out the same evening for Choke, ac- 
 companied by Abdallah and his daughter. We 
 reached Capoolee at the foot of the Bhor 
 Ghauts on the following morning, and after 
 resting ourselves for the day prepared to ascend 
 these stupendous heights. 
 
 Morgan led the advance with the Ghorra- 
 wallas, preceded at a short distance by the 
 hackery. Abdallah and myself rode together 
 in the rear, and owing to the age of my com- 
 panion we made but slow progress compared 
 with that of the remainder of the party. 
 Morgan had at least three quarters of an hour's 
 start of us, and he took care to avail him- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 307 
 
 self of it. On arriving at the platform which 
 crowns the summit of the ascent, he managed 
 to send the driver of the hackery to a neigh- 
 bouring village in search of provisions, and 
 thus obtained another opportunity of convers- 
 ing with the young Persian. 
 
 On coming up with him, I asked him to 
 take charge of the lines, and then went with 
 Abdallah as far as the commissariat stores to 
 draw forage for the use of the cattle. The 
 waggons containing the stores were situated at 
 the distance of about a quarter of a mile from 
 the tents for the convenience of water, and we 
 were detained there about half an hour. 
 
 On returning to the lines, the horse dealer 
 proceeded straight to his tent, and the evening 
 meal being ready, I sent one of the Ghorra 
 wallas to look for Morgan. He was no where 
 to be found. 
 
 Being rather hungry ad impatient of delay, 
 I sat down, but had not been many minutes at 
 
308 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 my meal when I saw Abdallah approaching, 
 with an air of extreme alarm. 
 
 On reaching me, he demanded if I knew 
 what had become of his daughter. 
 
 " How should I know more than yourself ?" 
 I replied. <; I have not left you since our ar- 
 rival here." 
 
 u Where is Morgan Sahib ?" he anxiously 
 inquired, as if a new idea had struck him. 
 
 " I know not," I answered. u I have sent 
 several persons to look after him, and he is 
 no where to be found." 
 
 " Dogs of Christians," said the old man, 
 tearing his hair and rolling himself in the dust. 
 * c You have conspired to rob me of my child. 
 Oh that I should ever have been induced to 
 trust her amongst you ! " 
 
 At this moment the driver of the hackery, 
 who had been to the village to look for provi- 
 sions, came running *up to his master, and 
 informed him he had met Morgan, mounted 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 309 
 
 en his favourite Arabian steed, with his 
 daughter seated behind him. The horse was 
 galloping at such a pace, that it was impossible 
 to arrest their flight, and the fugitives had taken 
 the direction of the village of Wargam. 
 
 Nothing could equal the distraction and fury 
 of the bereaved father. He made three several 
 attempts to stab himself, and it was only by 
 force that I could restrain him. As soon as 
 he was restored to something like calmness, 
 he sent the whole of his followers down the 
 Ghauts after them, naturally concluding they 
 would take shipping at Pamwell, and proceed 
 to Bombay. Instead of that, however, they 
 dashed right across the country, and succeeded 
 in baffling all pursuit. 
 
 On arriving at head quarters, I immediately 
 made a report of the circumstance to the Ad- 
 jutant, and the father went to lodge his com- 
 plaint before the Colonel himself. 
 
 Early on the following morning, the Arabian, 
 which had been taken, was sent to the barracks, 
 
310 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 with a note addressed to me, containing a re- 
 quest from Morgan that I would inform Ab- 
 dallah his daughter was perfectly safe, and that 
 he would make him the only reparation in his 
 power by marrying her. 
 
 This only served to exasperate the old man 
 still more. He stormed and raved, and finally 
 quitted the barracks swearing by all his gods 
 he would never see her again. 
 
 Every effort was made by the authorities to 
 discover the retreat of the fugitives, but in 
 vain ; and it was not till some weeks after that 
 Morgan returned to his duty, accompanied by 
 his young Christian wife, whose beauty became 
 the theme of admiration amongst his comrades, 
 and the envy of their wives. 
 
 As the Colonel could not overlook so glaring 
 a breach of discipline, he had the serjeant 
 brought before a court martial, and he was 
 sentenced to be reduced and imprisoned for a 
 short term. 
 
 Owing to the peculiar circumstances of the 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 311 
 
 case, and his previous irreproachable character, 
 he soon regained his former rank, and his was 
 amongst the few instances of happiness in the 
 married state that have fallen under my obser- 
 vation in the army. 
 
 Abdallah continued to visit the cantonments 
 as usual, twice or thrice a-year, but he never 
 could be prevailed on to see his daughter 
 again. 
 
 The greatest embarrassment which a young 
 officer experiences on entering a cavalry regi- 
 ment is in the equitation drill. The better the 
 horseman he may have been in private life, the 
 more difficult it is to break him into the cavalry 
 system. Many a ludicrous proof of this has 
 fallen under my observation. 
 
 Being attached to the riding department as 
 drill serjeant, I went one evening to receive 
 my orders from our worthy riding master. 
 
 u Let me see! the first ride of young men 
 may have their swords : and let your ride take 
 up stirrups to-morrow. Cornet Sherman will 
 
312 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 join your ride, for the others can make no- 
 thing of him. Try if you can succeed. It is a 
 pity that so fine a young fellow cannot ride." 
 
 " I will do my best. Sir," I replied, and 
 withdrew. 
 
 Next morning the Cornet made his ap- 
 pearance in the riding school and enquired for 
 me. 
 
 " This way, Sir," I called out, " please to 
 step into the riding school, and I'll join you 
 in a few minutes." 
 
 I then went and selected a horse which I 
 knew would put the Cornet's equestrian skill 
 to a severe test. I should mention that the 
 riding school was covered with tan, and that a 
 fall was not likely to be attended with serious 
 consequences. 
 
 u A fine horse this, Sir," said I, leading the 
 vicious brute into the riding school, where the 
 Cornet stood. <c As gentle as a lamb, though 
 full of spirit." 
 
 " Beautiful animal indeed, Serjeant." 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 313 
 
 " Been much accustomed to riding, Sir ?" 
 
 u Since my childhood. I have been living in 
 a famous sporting country, and have been in 
 the habit of going out twice a week with the 
 hounds." 
 
 <c Oh, then I haven't much to teach you. 
 Sir. You'll find every thing come easy to 
 you." 
 
 The Cornet winced, recollecting his pre- 
 vious failures in the riding school, but said 
 nothing. 
 
 The ride of young men having been formed, 
 I called to Mr. Sherman to mount, and to 
 fall in two files from the right. 
 
 He had not been many minutes in the saddle 
 when his horse commenced kicking furiously, 
 owing to his being held badly in hand. 
 
 The Cornet, who I verily believe had never 
 mounted a horse before he joined us, held 
 valiantly with both hands to his holsters, and 
 cried out in great alarm 
 p 
 
314 LIFE IN THE RANKS* 
 
 
 
 u For God sake assist me, Serjeant, or I 
 shall be off." 
 
 I seized the reins, and helped the frightened 
 officer to descend. 
 
 " What is the matter. Sir ; you must have 
 mismanaged your horse, for he is one of the 
 gentlest in the regiment." 
 
 " Matter ! he's been near breaking my neck, 
 the d d brute. Give me another, for I shall 
 not mount him again." 
 
 u Why I thought from what you told me 
 just now, sir, that you would mount any 
 thing," 
 
 " Yes, anything but such an incarnate devil 
 as that. He does nothing but kick." 
 
 " Well, try this one, sir. Here, Hardy, 
 change horses with this gentleman. A lady 
 might ride him." 
 
 The Cornet mounted, and having fallen in, I 
 called out : 
 
 u Ride ! attention ! by your right march. 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 315 
 
 Cornet, sit down in your saddle, and keep your 
 body upright. Shoulders well back, if you 
 please." 
 
 u Eight, turn ! Very well. Leading file, 
 circle. Now, men, I'll try a trot ; every horse 
 off at the same time* Trot 1" 
 
 The Cornet swang terribly in his saddle, and 
 received bump after bump from his horse, which 
 was a famous trotter, until his nether man 
 must have been pounded into a most woful 
 condition. He endeavoured to prevent us per- 
 ceiving what he was suffering, and his coun- 
 tenance betrayed a ludicrous struggle between 
 pain and affected ease. 
 
 " Leading file, change. Trot out ! Eight, 
 turn ! Steady, Cornet. Shorten your reins, 
 sir." 
 
 < c Stirrups up !" 
 
 " You surely do not mean that, Serjeant. I 
 shall never be able to keep my seat if you take 
 iny stirrups from me." 
 
 " You an old huntsman, and not to be able 
 p 3 
 
316 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 to ride without stirrups, sir. I never heard of 
 such a thing." 
 
 " But it's different riding over a clear country, 
 and amongst a crowd in a confined space like 
 this." 
 
 u Come, come sir, you must have your stir- 
 rups up, or I shall have them taken away." 
 
 Seeing that he had nothing for it but to 
 obey, he reluctantly took them up. 
 
 < 4 Left, turn." 
 
 The Cornet again caught hold of -the holsters 
 as this manoeuvre was performed. 
 
 As the files came wheeling round, I suddenly 
 shouted out, " Halt," which brought the cor- 
 net's horse to a stand still, and his rider plump 
 into the tan. 
 
 " No bones broken, I hope, sin" 
 
 " It isn't your fault that I haven't, Mr. Ser- 
 jeant," replied the discomfited officer, as he 
 gathered himself up. 
 
 <c My fault !" said I, with the most innocent 
 air imaginable. u I cannot see how I am to 
 
UFE IN THE RANKS. 317 
 
 blame, sir ; I have only put you through the 
 ordinary riding-school lesson." 
 
 " If that be the case, I'll have no more of 
 your lessons. It was never intended that a 
 man should ride without stirrups." 
 
 u Oh, this is only what occurs to every one 
 commencing the cavalry drill, sir ; you must 
 not let it discourage you. Try again, and my 
 life on it, you will succeed better." 
 
 <c But will you let me have my stirrups ? w 
 
 " If you will have it so, sir, though it's 
 rather against the rules. That's right, Cornet, 
 I see you don't mind a fall. Ill tell you what, 
 men, if I see any more tittering, I'll send some 
 of you to the guard room. Ride ! attention ! 
 tell off by files from the right ! Trot I Form 
 double ride. Eight and left, turn." 
 
 The Cornet's horse not being kept well in 
 hand, flew at the opposite file. In an instant 
 the two animals were on their haunches, and 
 the unfortunate officer lay sprawling again in 
 the dust 
 
318 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 Jumping to his feet, in the fear of being 
 trampled on by the furious animals, his hair and 
 features smothered in tan, the frightened cornet 
 rushed to the door of the riding school ; but 
 finding it locked, he cried out to me to let him 
 out. 
 
 " I hope you are not really hurt, sir," said I, 
 as I approached the door to comply with his 
 wishes. 
 
 (i You d d rascal," he replied, " I'll report 
 you to the riding master, for your conduct. 
 What do you mean by putting me on a furious 
 kicker, and then on a rabid biter like that." 
 
 " They are the horses used in the school, 
 sir, and if you are not able to manage them, it 
 is not my fault. If you had not told me you 
 were in the habit of going out to hunt I might 
 probably have mounted you on one of the 
 ladies' ponies." 
 
 This was too much for him, so vaulting over 
 the half door of the riding school, he posted 
 straight to the Biding Master with his com- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 319 
 
 plaint. The latter could not help smiling at 
 the plight in which he appeared. 
 
 " What another tumble, Cornet," Ke ex- 
 claimed. " This is really too bad, it shows a 
 great falling off in your horsemanship," and 
 the worthy officer chuckled at the pun he had 
 made. 
 
 "It is the fault of that d d scamp you 
 employ then. He picks me out the most 
 vicious brutes in the riding school list, in order 
 to break my neck or have my head bit off. It 
 has been nothing but trot trot all the morning 
 with stirrups up. I have a great mind to go to 
 the colonel and make him a present of my com- 
 mission, in order to have the satisfaction of 
 thrashing that fellow," 
 
 4c Take my advice," observed the Biding- 
 Master, u and say nothing more on the subject 
 You are only experiencing what every one else 
 has had to go through on entering the cavalry, 
 and if you make any work about it, you will 
 only expose yourself to the jests and ridicule 
 
320 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 of your brother officers. Come to the riding 
 school in the morning, and we will see if you 
 cannot make better progress than this." 
 
 The Cornet had good sense enough to take 
 the hint, and having conquered his foolish 
 fears, soon became as good a horseman as any 
 in the service. 
 
 The regiment having been now nearly twenty 
 years in India, we looked forward with eager- 
 ness to the news of our recall ; not so much 
 from discontentment with our position, as from 
 a natural desire to revisit our native land, after 
 so long an absence. In fact, I know no part 
 of her Majesty's dominions where the soldier is 
 better off as regards mere physical comforts, 
 and it would be ungrateful not to acknowledge 
 the care and attention bestowed upon his health. 
 This admission however in no way affects what 
 I have been endeavouring to urge in these 
 pages, that there is room for extensive reforms 
 and improvements in our military service both 
 at home and abroad ; and I think I have de- 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 321 
 
 monstrated that attempts to repress by direct 
 and penal restrictions vices that tend to affect 
 the bodily health will, in most cases, fail^ 
 unless they are accompanied by measures 
 calculated to elevate the moral condition as 
 well. 
 
 It is not to be wondered at, that of all our 
 military stations, India should be preferred by 
 the lower classes of the army. The duty is 
 not severe, and the luxuries as well as the ne- 
 cessaries of life are within the reach of the 
 humblest purse. Here are no manorial or 
 river rights, the invasion of whose privileges 
 is attended with fine or imprisonment. The 
 soldier may range over hill and dale, through 
 savannah and jungle, waging war against all 
 created things, without being called on to 
 render ah account of his actions, at least dur- 
 ing the term to which his leave extends. 
 When he returns, fatigued after his day's sport, 
 he may sit down and regale himself off fish and 
 p 5 
 
322 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 game, such as is not often to be found on the 
 tables of the great. 
 
 Owing to these advantages there was for- 
 merly a great unwillingness on the part of the 
 soldiery to exchange the Indian for the home 
 service ; and, when a regiment was recalled, it 
 was usual for numbers to volunteer into that 
 which succeeded it. The habit has diminished 
 within the last few years, but this is entirely 
 attributable to the regulation issued from the 
 Horse Guards in 1836, that instead of a shil- 
 ling a day pension, for twenty four years' 
 service, the soldier shall only receive sixpence, 
 for the extended period of twenty eight. It is 
 true that the latter regulation has this condi- 
 tion annexed to it, that every soldier who may 
 have obtained four good conduct stripes at the 
 period of his discharge, shall be entitled to an 
 additional fourpence a day : but when it is re- 
 collected how stringent are the rules of the 
 service, and how various the accidents of a 
 military life, the best conducted man may 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 323 
 
 reasonably despair of being placed within this 
 favoured category. 
 
 Leaving aside all considerations of humanity, 
 and viewing it as it was intended, simply as an 
 economic measure, it will not be difficult t 
 show that the arrangement is far from being an 
 advantageous one to the country. On being 
 replaced by the 14th Dragoons, out of three 
 hundred men who had joined us from England, 
 within the previous two years, not ten could be 
 found to volunteer into that or any other of 
 the cavalry regiments in India, although the 
 bounty was as high as 3 10. Being curious 
 to ascertain the cause of a fact so opposed to 
 all former experience, I questioned several, 
 and the uniform answer I received was, that 
 after a twenty-eight years' service in India, a 
 man would be good for nothing in his own 
 country, and that sixpence a day was too 
 miserable a pittance to look forward to as 
 a dependance ^when his strength for work 
 iad failed him. 
 
324 LIFE IN THE RANKS. 
 
 The consequence was, that the majority of 
 those newly arrived soldiers returned to Eng- 
 land, and owing to the regulation as regards 
 height, not being so strict for the Indian as for 
 the home service, they were discharged almost 
 to a man, as being under the proper standard. 
 
 The country had, therefore, to pay the ex- 
 penses of their passage out and home, as well 
 as of their clothing and sustenance, during 
 their training at the cavalry depot, for a period 
 of service little exceeding the time employed 
 in the probation and voyage. 
 
 Comment on these facts would be super- 
 fluous. 
 
 And now, gentle reader, I must bid you 
 farewell. If in these light and unpretending 
 sketches I have at all contributed to your 
 amusement, or if I have thrown out sugges- 
 tions that may be considered useful or practical 
 in their bearing on the welfare of a class which 
 has but few organs, though many grievances, I 
 shall be amply compensated for the risk that 
 
LIFE IN THE RANKS. 325 
 
 I run of being hunted down by the critics. 
 Should they weigh me in the balance of literary 
 merit and find me wanting, I must only appeal 
 to your indulgence, and ask you to throw the 
 shelter of your protecting wing over one who, 
 though he has grown old in your service in 
 one capacity, is as yet unfledged and timid 
 in the other. 
 
 THE END. 
 
T. C. NEWBT, Printer, 65, Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square. 
 
65, Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, 
 
 August 1st, 1843. 
 Mr. Newly has just Published, 
 
 I. 
 
 In 3 vols. post 8vo. 5 
 
 THE SMITHS. 
 
 By the Author of " Wedlock," " The Maid's 
 
 Husband," &c. 
 
 *' This is one of the best novels we have had since the publi- 
 cation of Frederika Bremer's ' Home.' It is full of thoughts, 
 some searching, one or two deep. We recommend * The 
 Smiths ' to the acquaintance of that much-be-talked and much- 
 be-written class, -the Mothers of England. Athenaeum. 
 
 In 3 vols. post 8vo., 
 FRIEND, OK FOE? 
 
 By the Author of " Nan Darrell," " The Fright," &c. 
 
 " Miss Pickering still improves ; her situations and effects 
 are striking. Altogether, * Friend or Foe' is a capital novel 
 for the circulating library." Spectator. 
 
 " We trace in * Friend or Foe' evidence of quick feminine 
 sagacity, knowledge of character, and an easy, unaffected style 
 of writing." Court Journal. 
 
 " Miss Pickering has soared high in this her last literary 
 flight ; and we admire the spirit that prompted, and the energy 
 that sustained her so well throughout the undertaking." 
 
 Argus. 
 
GABRIELLE; 
 
 OR, PICTURES OF A REIGN. 
 
 By the Author of " A Summer Amongst the Bocages and 
 the Vines," &c. 
 
 " In the power of painting historical characters, we cannot 
 but think Miss Costello comes nearest the truth, while her 
 delineations fall little short in force of the famous French 
 novelist." Athenaeum. 
 
 " Successful in every department of Literature, Miss Costello 
 has, in her present work, greatly increased the reputation which 
 her former publications have gained for her. * Gabrielle' de- 
 serves to take its place beside the best fictions of the day.' 
 Morning Herald. 
 
 " The narrative is animated and picturesque, and the 
 number of events and persons introduced never allows the 
 reader's attention to flag." Morning Chronicle. 
 
 " The reader who cannot find in this agreeable work inte 
 resting and amusing pastime, must be, indeed, difficult to 
 please.' Literary Gazette. 
 
 " Whatever may be the subject that Miss Costello takes up 
 she is sure to treat it delightfully.' Naval and Military 
 Gazette. 
 
 " Three remarkably piquant and witty volumes, which will 
 attain deserved popularity.' Court Journal. 
 
 In 1 vol. post 8vo., 
 A PEDESTRIAN TOUR THROUGH 
 
 CALABRIA AND SICILY. 
 
 By Arthur Strutt, Esq. 
 
In 3 vols. post 8vo. with Illustrations, 
 BEN BKADSHAWE; 
 
 THE MAN WITHOUT A HEAD. 
 
 ' This is a thoroughly English novel, rich with humour, 
 overflowing with fun ; and in its scenes, as full of life and 
 whim as the best of Maryatt's novels.' Bell's Weekly 
 M e s se nge r . 
 
 ' Nothing more agreeable has for a long time fallen in our 
 way.' N aval and Military Gazette. 
 
 4 This is a capital story, abounding in humour, and sparkling 
 with wit. Ben has afforded us infinite store of mirth. The 
 author strongly resembles his mighty master, Boz. Like him, 
 his iudividuality is strongly developed.' A 1 1 a s . 
 
 ' The most entertaining work that we have read for many 
 years. We advise all persons to read Ben Bradshawe, and 
 they will rise rejoiced in heart, elevated in thought, and 
 pleased beyond measure with a story replete with incident a 
 story which is equal to anything Boz ever wrote.' Black- 
 wood's L. Magazine. 
 
In 3 vols. post 8vo. 3 
 THE MAN OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 By the Author of " The Prince, Duke, and the Page." 
 
 * This romance has one great fault it is too well written,' 
 Morning Post. 
 
 * A very remarkable story, told with great power and vigour 
 introducing historical scenes and characters quite startling. 
 Morning Herald. 
 
 ' We do not remember to have read a book which is so near 
 the very first rate/ Weekly Chronicle. 
 
 * The Author shows both knowledge of character and nar- 
 rative and dramatic power.' Morning Chronicle. 
 
 4 This is one of the best works produced this season.' 
 Court Gazette. 
 
 1 Mr. Rosenberg's creations are as clear and distinct as if 
 they were portraits daguerreotyped from the real life. Court 
 Journal. 
 
 ' Among the latest and best publications is The Man of 
 the People, a work which everybody should read/ Cham- 
 bers' Journal. 
 
 1 Mr Rosenberg has a power over the picturesque above 
 the average.' Athena?um. 
 
 4 A tale of the French Revolution, displaying considerable 
 talent in the construction of the story, and also much research 
 in the portraitures of the men of the time.' Literary 
 Gazette. 
 
 In 1 vol. fc. 8vo., 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN PILGRIM, 
 
 A POEM OF PALESTINE; 
 
 BY EDMUND PEEL, ESQ. 
 
In 1 vol. post, 8vo., price 9s-. 
 SCENES AND ADVENTURES 
 
 IN 
 
 AFF G H ANISTAN, 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM TAYLOB, 
 
 Troop Serjeant-Major of the Fourth Light Dragoons. 
 
 * Every thing relating to Afghanistan that bears reasonable 
 evidence of a faithful narrative must have great present interest, 
 but independently of this, the book before us is remarkably 
 clever and attractive. Short as it is, it is full of matter, well 
 observed and well written.' Ex a miner. 
 
 ' The particulars of the march from Bombay through the 
 Passes, so often referred to as replete with dangers and diffi- 
 culties to a European army, are given with graphic effect. 
 Globe. 
 
 * This is the work evidently of a practical man ; one who is 
 mixed up and identified with the narrative he has given with 
 so much tact. We recommend this little volume to the public 
 with peculiar satisfaction.' A r g u s . 
 
 1 Serjeant Taylor is really a clever fellow, a quick observer, 
 with as much of reflection as might be looked for in a non- 
 commissioned officer, or even a subaltern. Of lively traits of 
 various kinds, we might cull a large batch without difficulty.' 
 S pect a tor. 
 
In 3 vols. post 8vo. 
 
 THE POLES 
 
 IN 
 
 THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 In 2 vols. post 8yo. with plates, 
 A DOMESTIC RESIDENCE 
 
 IN 
 
 SWITZERLAND. 
 
 BY 
 
 ELIZABETH STRUT T, 
 
 Author of " Six Weeks on the Loire." 
 
In 3 vols. post 8vo,, 
 
 AKL E I GH; 
 
 OR THE 
 
 MINOR OF GREAT EXPECTATIONS. 
 BY W. H. M. HOLMES, ESQ. 
 
 AUTHOR OF ** LIFE IN THE WEST," &C. 
 
 " Mr. Holmes makes startling facts the episodes in his 
 novel, and thus affords a new incentive to persons to look at 
 the bye- gone transactions in Ireland." Bell's Messenger. 
 
 " The treatment of Ireland by the despots that wielded her 
 destinies during the rebellion which they produced, is exhi- 
 bited in these pages with a truth and vividness which makes 
 the blood cool in our veins," Atlas. 
 
 " This is a work of very great merit. The story is laid in 
 one of the most exciting periods of Ireland's history. If 
 merit be any recommendation, there can be little doubt that 
 the work will be extensively circulated aad read.'* Sunday 
 Times. 
 
In 2 vols. post 8vo. ? Plates and Plans, 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF SYRIA, 
 
 And Fragments of a Journal and Letters 
 FROM THE HOLY LAND. 
 
 BY LIEUT.-COLONEL NAPIER. 
 
 Author of " Scenes and Sports in Foreign Lands," 
 " Excursions along the Shores of the Mediterranean,' 5 &c. 
 
 '* There is in his style a family frankness and straightfor- 
 wardness which disguise nothing about friend, foe or self, 
 but taking the reader into confidence, making him familiar 
 with all the writer's feelings or opinions, exhibiting things as 
 they are. without disguise or conventional humbug." Spectator. 
 
 " All the Napiers are clever fellows, and Lieutenant Colonel 
 E. Napier is no degenerate son. His military appointment 
 gave him facilities of traversing in safety the wildest and most 
 dangerous districts of the country, and of diverging widely 
 from the accustomed route of former travellers." Na^al and 
 Military Gazette. 
 
 " In the Reminiscences'of Syria and the Holy Land, Colonel 
 Napier has given us a book full of the most valuable details." 
 Bell's Messenger. 
 
 In 3 vols. post 8vo., 
 THE MEMOIRS OF A BRAHMIN. 
 
 By the Author of " Pandurang Hari," &c. 
 
 ' A genuine oriental romance of modern life. It is a very 
 spirited and interesting story.' Court Journal. 
 
 ' A peculiarly interesting and amusing work. It is emi- 
 nently deserving attentive perusal.' Sunday Times. 
 
 ' The best story we have perused for many a day.* 
 Examiner. 
 
JRN 
 
 CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 
 
 202 Main Library 
 
 N PERIOD 1 
 >AAE USE 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 
 lewals and Recharges may be made 4 days prior to the due date. 
 >ks may be Renewed by calling 642-3405 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 3 2 2 1996 
 
 .BERKELEY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 

 i