u 
 
 M 
 
 
i 
 
 GIFT OF 
 HORACE W. CARPENTIER 
 
LOST LINKS 
 
 IN THE 
 
 INDIAN MIJTINY. 
 
 
 BY 
 
 rpmii 
 
 HCTV^MALET, 
 
 T. CAUTLEY NEWBY, PUBLISHER, 
 
 30, WELBECK STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE. 
 1867. 
 
 fALL BIGHTS BESEBTED.] 
 
• «; 
 
 • ••< 
 
 CARPLNTIER 
 
 3 
 
 ^ A 
 
 ,• .. • 
 

 IN LOVE AND DUTY 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS LITTLE BOOK 
 
 TO MY VENEKABLE MOTHEB, 
 
 THE DOWAGER LADY MALET, 
 
 THINKINQ THAT, IMPEKPECT THOUGH IT BE, B^ WILL BB 
 
 GLAD TO FIND THAT HER EXAMPLE OF INDUSTRY, OF 
 
 MORE THAN HALF-A-CENTURY, HAS 
 
 NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN. 
 
 SHE WILL RECOGNISE IN THE ESCAPES FROM THE AFGHANS 
 
 AND THE TIGER, THE ADVENTURES OF ONE OF HER 
 
 SONS, UNDER A FEIGNED NAME, AND 
 
 1 SEE THAT AN EVER-WISE 
 
 PBOVIDENCfl RULETH 
 
 OVER ALL. 
 
 H. P. MALBT, 
 
 13th June, 1867. 
 
 ivilB(3078 
 
'i} ; 
 
 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 t:ie mahomedan can endure much. 
 
 There were no steamers for Hadjis in the 
 days T begin with, though the indefatigable 
 Waghorn had finished his explorations, and 
 had travelled from India to England in a 
 time that was then considered marvellous. 
 The little steamboat " Enterprise'' had also 
 made more than one voyage to the Red Sea, 
 in fine weather, and had returned safe. 
 
 The Eed Sea is never a very cool one; it 
 
 iO B 
 
2 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 was very Lot indeed, when the Nacodah 
 (captain) of the grab brig, " Deriah Dowlut,'^ 
 called out to his crew, " Nangar chordo." 
 
 The unwieldy, old-fashioned anchor drop- 
 ped, with a dull splash, in the oily-looking 
 water, and the large coils of the rough kaiar 
 cable disappeared rapidly over the bow. 
 
 Several pilgrims stood around, gazing, 
 with varied feelings, on the land of their 
 distant adoration, when my Mend Yusuff 
 lost in contemplation, placed a foot within 
 the coils, and was immediately carried over- 
 board, 
 
 ^^ Bismillah !" "Khismut V and several other 
 ready expressions were shouted out, by the de- 
 vout followers of the prophet, as they leaned 
 over the low bulwarks of the ship, watching, 
 with unchanged countenances, the drowning 
 man. 
 
 '^ He must have been a Sheitan Id Baita T 
 said one. 
 
 '^ He is gone to Jehannum I" said another. 
 
 *'We shall have cooler weather nowl" 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 3 
 
 said a third, provoking an audible grin 
 around him, while the poor man, struggling, 
 for a few moments on the surface, sank, with 
 an imploring look beneath the heaving wave. 
 *'YusufF! II Allah!" cried out a strong 
 
 o 
 
 voice, as, at that moment, a man rushed 
 amidst the careless throng ; in the next, he 
 had plunged headlong into the sea, just as his 
 friend was rising to" the surface ; to seize him 
 with one hand, and the now quiet cable with 
 the other, was the work of a moment. 
 
 " Wah ! wah ! God is Great ! and Mahomed 
 is His prophet. He will be a Hadji yet! — 
 his sins are washed off!" cried out the as- 
 tonished spectators. 
 
 A boat coming up, Yusuff was taken into 
 it, while his friend and preserver, Hassan, 
 climbing up by the cable, shook out his wet 
 garments on deck, surrounded by the crowd 
 of pilgrims, some expressing their admiration 
 at his courage, some their astonishment at 
 his venturing to interfere with fate, and all 
 
 B 2 
 
4 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 gathering together their worldly goods, intent 
 on performing their pilgrimage to Mecca. 
 
 "Beled al Harem!'' his Holy Land was 
 gained. What did Yusuff care for his wet- 
 ting ! — he had no worldly goods,except a few 
 precious articles on his person ; his cotton 
 carpet, at once his bed and his place of 
 prostration in prayer, was fastened round his 
 loins by a white waist cloth. He had no oc- 
 casion to go on board again, so he staid on 
 shore, prostrating himself in earnest prayer, 
 amidst a Babel of cries for Bakshish to him- 
 self, and to the ship load of mixed characters, 
 who were now coming rapidly to the landing 
 place. On rising, he made his way through 
 a dirty, hurrying crowd, to one of the 
 miserable little mosques, several of which 
 were near him. On entering, he drew out 
 one cowrie from his girdle, and gave it to the 
 officiating Moolana, saying, 
 
 '^ May the blessing of God be on the gift 
 of the pauper.*' 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 5 
 
 This done, he spread his carpet in a 
 comer, and again prostrated himself in 
 prayer. 
 
 It was no love of traffic, no love of wan- 
 dering, and no mere curiosity, that had in- 
 duced my friend, YusufF, to leave his 
 pleasant home, in Jooner — his little garden, 
 with his fig and plantain trees — his small, 
 clear fountain in the centre, which played a 
 multitude of jets on grand occasions — and his 
 pets, the fine murell fish, that sported therein, 
 taking the proffered cockroach from his care- 
 ful fingers ; it was no anxiety to escape from 
 Lis hard work of paper making — no unhappy 
 home drove him away from his much loved 
 wife, and his little daughter, Ameena, the 
 light-footed, gazelle-eyed houri, the little 
 prattler, who awoke him with a song in the 
 morning, and met him with smiles, as he 
 came home, weary with work, in the evening. 
 He had made this weary journey to offer up 
 his fervent prayers for his poor sickly wife, 
 Fatima, to offer them up with all the de* 
 
b LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 votedness of a irue and earnest Maliomedan 
 at the Kaaba, the fountain head of miracles 
 and of mercy, that she might recover her 
 health, and bear him a son ; he had dug his 
 well in charity, that the thirsty traveller 
 might drink of its water ; he had planted a 
 tree by the roadside, that the heated wan- 
 derer might find a little shade ; a son alone 
 was wanting to complete his happiness on 
 earth, and to qualify him for the abodes of 
 the blest in Paradise. He expected to find 
 everything grand and clean; his ideas of 
 holiness were associated with cleanliness and 
 splendour; he found it mean and dirty; but 
 he said to himself, " this is only Djedda, I 
 shall be more satisfied at Mecca/ ^ He felt 
 weary, his limbs ached, so he determined to 
 rest where he was for the night. 
 
 Yusuff awoke, next morning, from troubled 
 dreams — a thick cloud had enveloped him — 
 strange figures struggled within it — blows 
 were given, and blood was flowing — men, 
 women, and children sunk in death — there 
 
LOST LINKS IN ^HE INDIAN MUTINY. 7 
 
 was lamentation and laiigliter— his little 
 Ameena struggled in tlie crowd, and raised 
 lier hands in agony ; he tried to call her, but 
 she would not come ; he tried to catch her, 
 but his limbs failed him. He awoke, cold 
 and trembling— the ague fever was on him ; 
 he lay helpless in the miserable corner. 
 
 When Hassan left the " Deriah Dowlut,'* 
 he joined a kafilab, going direct to Mecca — 
 often, during that terrible journey, over fifty 
 odd miles of sandy desert, with nothing but 
 black bread to eat, and bitter water to driuk, 
 with his unaccustomed limbs shaken out of 
 their joints by the rough motion of a'heavily- 
 laden camel, did he think of what he once 
 called the annoyances of his home in Bh^ra- 
 poor : What would he not now have given 
 to get them all back again — the heavy taxes, 
 the absence of justice, the extortions of the 
 police, his hard work; and, lastly, the ^Yild 
 fancies of his unruly son, Hoossein— all and 
 each of them far better, and more endurable, 
 than the stifling heat, the choking dust, the 
 
8 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 horrible stench, the shadeless track over that 
 death-encumbered journey. There were 
 natural and artificial horrors. Hassan was 
 not a delicate individual; yet, he shuddered 
 as he heard the unbridled pilgrims sing their 
 ribald songs, and make their heartless jokes. 
 There was an end, at last, to that dreadful 
 journey — Mecca was reached; and Hassan 
 thanked God and His prophet, with more 
 sincerity than he had ever before done, that 
 he had reached it alive. 
 
 " Om el khora " (mother of cities) " Beled 
 el ameyn'' (world of believers), rose before 
 him. "Where was his own beautiful Taptee 
 river? — where the mosques, the minarets^ 
 the palaces, the splendid mausoleums, and 
 the lovely gardens of Bhoranpoor? Hassan's 
 heart sank within him, as he viewed the 
 desolation around — the mean, dirty streets, 
 the filthy people, their unknown language — 
 Al Harem, with its disproportionate colon- 
 nades, and its ugly cupolas — the world re- 
 nowned "Kaaba'' (holy of holies) in its 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE IXDIAN MUTINY. 9 
 
 centre — all miserable, yet all giving to him, 
 and uncounted numbers, the title for wbicli 
 tbey had so long and so earnestly panted. 
 His heart failed, — if he could, he would 
 have gone back ; but pride forbade him, 
 and he went on, to meet with more and 
 sadder disappointments. His own priests 
 were good and holy men, pure in their con- 
 duct, earnest for the benefit of their flocks ; 
 here he found the Muftis, Olemas, MoUahs, 
 and Moolanas, all trading, swearing, and 
 drinkino^. It was no crime for them to seek 
 wealth in the interval of prayer ; they were 
 too good, too constant in religious duties, to 
 be under the same rules as the ordinary 
 followers of Mahomed; there was nothing to 
 prevent their relaxation. " Strange !" thought 
 Hassan,as he presented the small offerings he 
 had brought with him, receiving, in return, a 
 careless and hasty benediction. 
 
 Hassan was not a devotee, not a saint, even 
 in his own estimation, but a straightforward, 
 strong, courageous man; he had kept the tiger 
 
 B 5 
 
10 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 from his herds, the wild boar from his sugar 
 canes. He had an increasing family; the 
 eldest and only son Hoossein, a fine young 
 fellow of fourteen years, was already beyond 
 the father's control ; the daughters were many, 
 but some of them dying of cholera, he stayed 
 longer than usual in the Mosque one morning, 
 when the Moolah taking notice of his earnest- 
 ness advised him to perform a Hadj to pray 
 for his son, and give thanks that he himself 
 had been preserved alive. Hassan was now 
 following this advice ; no one performed the 
 ceremonies or offered up his alms and prayers 
 with more apparent sincerity ; no one in 
 reality was more disgusted with all he saw. 
 Sad at heart, he went through the prescribed 
 duties, till in the midst of them sickness over- 
 took him, and the strong man lay writhing in 
 the agonies of cholera. His careless com- 
 panions looked on him as a dying man : death 
 was busy there. Hassan resigned himself to 
 his fate, turned his face from the glare of day, 
 and prayed for his son. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 1 1 
 
 " Hassan !'^ said a voice by Ms side. 
 
 " Who is it?" was the reply. 
 
 "lam YusufF!" 
 
 " J thought/' said the dying man, " that you 
 had gone to Paradise ; you deserve it when 
 your time comes : I do not. You perform your 
 Hadj from a sense of right; I am only doing 
 as I was bid. • There is no Paradise for me/' 
 
 " God is a better and a more merciful 
 judge than man/' replied Yusuff; "we re- 
 member our sins when His hands are laid upon 
 us in anger ; we repent of them, and make 
 good resolutions for the future.'' 
 
 " God is great, and Mahomed is His pro- 
 phet; blessed be God!" faintly ejaculated 
 Hassan ; " myflite has overtaken me; my limbs 
 are cold; the darkness of futurity falls over 
 my failing sight. Yusuff, my friend, take this 
 packet, it contains a talisman for my son, and 
 a — for — wife." 
 
 Hassan's lips quivered as he spoke, his 
 lower jaw fell, his glazed eyes opened wide, a 
 
12 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 slight convulsion passed over him, the man 
 was dead. 
 
 Yusuff buried his companion, and having 
 finished the prescribed ceremonies— all the 
 quicker on account of his poverty, his single- 
 mindedness, and his universal charity, which, 
 perceiving none of the objectionable outward 
 inconveniences of Mecca, knew it only as the 
 birth-place of him on whom all his faith and 
 hope was placed — prepared to depart He 
 joined a party going to Mocha, and having 
 waited for some time in the vain hope of find- 
 ing a vessel sailing to India, he at last followed 
 the example of his neigbours, and spread his 
 carpet on the deck of a Persian dhow. 
 
 The winds were fair down the Eed Sea, 
 through the straits of Babel Mandeb, and for 
 a short distance beyond ; then the horrors of 
 that terrible voyage commenced; the atmos- 
 phere was burning hot; the glassy sea heaved 
 with an idle, melancholy swell ; the large 
 sail hung heavily, or flapped, as the boat 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 13 
 
 rolled, witli a loud, monotonous sound; tlie 
 sun burnt them by day, and the heavy dew 
 wetted them by night. There was no escape, 
 no place to rest in, no world for those 
 weary pilgrims, but the dirty deck or the oily 
 sea. Everything seemed to combine against 
 them, and as if the elements were not suffi- 
 cient, man added his petty tyranny for the oc- 
 casion, and the vermin made their meals on 
 the enfeebled Pilgrims ; they were ordered 
 about as brute beasts, kicked and cuffed by 
 that cruel ciew ; they could get no redress, 
 they were too weak — too miserable — to help 
 themselves; their water was offensive to 
 drink, their food was loathsome to eat ; one 
 after another the poor men died. Their effects 
 were seized by the sailors, who looked over 
 the side of their ship, and laughed as they 
 watched the ravenous sharks fighting for their 
 ghastly prey. 
 
 Luckily for the few survivors, they were 
 unexpectedly relieved from their misery; a 
 
14 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 light breeze sprung up, a sail was seen, the 
 captain steered so as to speak with the 
 stranger ; he did not know where he was, and 
 found that the currents had carried him far 
 out of his course. The buggalow '^ Bhow 
 Persaud" was bound from the Persian Gulf to 
 Bombay with a cargo of horses ; the Nacoxdah 
 consented to take Yusuff and two others, 
 who joyfully accepted the change, not for- 
 getting to offer up their prayers for those 
 they left behind them, Yusuff remarking that 
 that awful ship required some special assist- 
 ance from Providence. 
 
 Gaily sailed the "Bhow Persaud;'' the 
 Nacodah was a skilful mariner, his crew were 
 brave seamen, the enormous lateen sail was 
 well handled, and in a few days the light- 
 house of Bombay was seen. The sea breeze 
 blew fresh and fair, the islands of Henry 
 Kenry were passed ; the pent up horses 
 neighed loudly as they passed, and in a few 
 minutes the vessel reached the Musjid Bun- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 15 
 
 der. YusuflF was very thankful to see it 
 again ; he went onshore, and walked quickly 
 to the house of a friend. 
 
 After a week's rest, Yusuff felt equal to the 
 •long journey before him. At the time I 
 allude to, the Concan, through which his 
 route lay, was infested by robbers; the 
 Hadji, as he was now commonly called, was 
 advised to take a guard. 
 
 "I have nothing to lose but my poverty,' ' 
 said he. " Mecca has got even the skin of 
 my teeth.'' 
 
 So he started; it was a laborious and a 
 weary march, as day by clay he trudged 
 along that dusty road. He longed to climb to 
 the top of those blue mountains, which 
 stretched their wall-like line before him. 
 Glad was he when one evening he reached 
 their base, and stepped off the road to per- 
 form his ablutions in a clear stream that 
 flowed beside it, hoping, in an hour or two, 
 to find a resting place for the night in the 
 pure night air of the summit. While he was 
 
16 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 in the water, he heard the sound of dry leaves 
 crackling ; he looked up, and on the high bank 
 of the river, some twenty yards above him, a 
 large tiger was stealthily creeping along. 
 Yusuff held his breath, and remained motion- 
 less ; on a sudden the beast stood still with 
 ears erect ; the sound of human voices came 
 down the vale; the wild animal vanished, and 
 Yusuff breathed again. While he was dress- 
 ing, he became aware that armed men were 
 round him ; they asked him who he was, and 
 what he was doing there. 
 
 " I am a poor Hadji," he replied, '' on my 
 way home." 
 
 " Just the man for us ; we require a little 
 piety amongst us; so come along on a new 
 Hadj with Eagogee Bangria. You must 
 fight for him, and avenge the poor on their 
 oppressors." 
 
 ''I fight?" said Yusuff, with horror. "I 
 come with you? impossible! Look here,*' 
 he said, holding up his lacerated feet, and 
 extending his emaciated arms ; " your battles 
 
LOST LIKKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 17 
 
 would fare badly with such miserable help as 
 
 mine/' 
 
 His excuse was of no avail; he was forced 
 to go on and on, up through bye paths^ 
 along the rugged mountain side, in the beds 
 where torrents once had run; along the edge 
 of precipices, and through dark ravines, they 
 travelled, in silence, in Indian file ; not a word 
 was spoken ; a careless footstep, or the crack- 
 ing of a dead stick beneath the foot, were the 
 only sounds heard in that stilly march. 
 Yusuff, weary ere he started, was now worn 
 out with fatigue ; often was he tempted to 
 fall down and submit to the fate which was 
 promised him; when just as he felt that it 
 was utterly impossible for him to go further, 
 the gang stopped on the edge of a deep ravine ; 
 a whispered conversation ensued ; clothes 
 were laid aside, and he was given to under- 
 stand that his duty was to stop and guard 
 them. 
 
 He was left sitting on a black rock, in 
 the black night. He was no coward, yet 
 
18 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 a feeling of dread and trouble crept over 
 liim ; it completely absorbed him, so that he 
 forgot his fatigue, his pain, and even his de- 
 sire to escape. After a time an irresistible 
 impulse to see what was going on, took posses- 
 sion of him ; he followed a small path, guided 
 by a distant flickering light, and the sound of 
 many voices. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 19 
 
 CHAPTEK 11. 
 
 HOW THE NATIVES OF INDIA EAT UP ONE 
 ANOTHER. 
 
 To enable my readers to compreliend tlie 
 position in which the Hadji is now placed, it 
 is necessary to go back for many years to 
 shew that the evil I wish to delineate is neither 
 of late origin nor of accidental birth, but that 
 it pervades Indian society as a thing of course ; 
 that forcible rapacity, as a combination of 
 ignorance and injured strength, becomes at 
 once an object of legal persecution, while 
 
20 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 secret rapacitj, the cliild of cunning educa- 
 tion, is too often left to the natural avenger, 
 and though more deeply injuring the commu- 
 nity in which it exists, it frequently escapes- 
 with complete immunity from the law. 
 
 A type of the latter came under my obser- 
 vation in the person of one Dundedass, born 
 in a small village of Eajpootana, where his 
 father kept a shop, a credit and debit account 
 with his poor neighbours, and held a small 
 quantity of land in mortgage from an unfortu- 
 nate ryot, who had expended more than he 
 could ever repay on the marriage of his son. 
 
 The naked little cherub would sit for hours 
 together watching his respected parent making 
 up his accounts from the sand-covered board, 
 and transferring them to his books; he 
 shared the old man's pleasure when a satis- 
 factory bill was fabricated ; he was quite 
 conversant with various weights and mea- 
 sures, as well as with the extra notch for the 
 balance of the scales. 
 
 Left alone in the shop one day, a poor womaa 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 21 
 
 offered a golden trinket for sale. It had been 
 brought before. Dundedass recollected it, and 
 the value his father had placed on it; the 
 youngster declared it had lost weight; the 
 woman's necessities received the smaller sum, 
 but the original value was taken from the 
 box, and entered on the board, the difference 
 being carefully concealed. 
 
 The apparent innocence, the aptitude, and 
 success in dealing of the child, soon gave 
 much of the shop business to him. Their trade 
 was increasing till a bit of rascality brought the 
 old man under the notice of the authorities. 
 
 Amongst other victims of his rapacity was 
 a fair Nautch girl. He sued Ailee, on what 
 represented her own bond, for her house and 
 for money. Ailee denied the debt, declaring 
 that the whole bond had been altered, and that 
 though she had given one for a certain sum of 
 money, this was not the same. As she had 
 frequently amused the native judge with 
 dance and song, he was inclined to listen to 
 her tale, so, contrary to the suggestions of his 
 
22 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 clerk, who well knew the value of old Dun- 
 dedass, messengers were sent to bring all the 
 shop books and records for inspection. 
 
 This was a job gladly undertaken, as many 
 small pickings were expected. 
 
 Young Dundedass was found sitting in the 
 shop ; he at once volunteered to shew every 
 thing : books were brought out, loose papers 
 shewn, pots and pans emptied of their mis- 
 cellaneous contents, and he declared that no 
 place remained unsearched. The messengers 
 were not quite satisfied; they ransacked a 
 little more, and in a dusty nook discovered 
 the boy's secret treasures. His little bits of 
 jewellery, fragments of gold and silver, stray 
 original accounts, including the very one 
 sought for (supposed by the father to be all 
 safe), with many other trifles, all very sweet, 
 because stolen, were swept away in the capa- 
 cious kumer bunds of the judge's retainers, 
 who carefully delivered to their superior all 
 the papers, books and money, retaining the 
 trifles not likely to be entered on the records. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 23 
 
 Diindedass was borror struck to see papers 
 produced which he thought were gone, now 
 carefully arranged and put together. He 
 cursed the acquisitive genius of his son, which 
 consigned him to prison, and his goods to 
 confiscation. 
 
 Ailee looked heautiful, and the judge was 
 glad that he had been of service to her. 
 
 Dundedass, finding himself thus early in 
 life on his own resources, his instinct did not 
 fail him; he coaxed some of his father's cre- 
 ditors to give him a little money for the poor 
 old man's immediate necessities; then slinging 
 his brazen lota over his shoulders, he started 
 on his worldly career. He had no letters of 
 introduction, but his handsome features, his 
 youth, his writing, and his figures, procured 
 for some years a fluctuating income. Travel- 
 ling westward, he at last reached a villago, 
 near the confines of the Deccan, named 
 "Wary Warra;" as there was no shopkeeper 
 there, and plenty of poor people in the village, 
 and in the surrounding mountains, who fire- 
 
24 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 qiiently required assistance, he made up his 
 mind to stay there. 
 
 Dundedass soon drove a thriving trade 
 amongst the ignorant cultivators of the plains, 
 and the Cooley tribes of the western Ghauts ; 
 his success procured him a beautiful young 
 bride from the neigbouring city of Nassick, 
 and his wife's wealthy brother, Luckmedass, 
 joined him in his trade ; the country around 
 was rich and fertile, the inhabitants indigent, 
 ignorant, and careless ; our Wanees made from 
 seventy-five to two hundred per cent. ; lands, 
 cattle, and human beings fell in on mortgage. 
 
 Prosperity did not improve Dundedass; 
 some said that Luckmedass was the worst of 
 the two, but they only acted on the universal 
 fashion, and got all they could ; it was indif- 
 f erent to them how they got it, provided they 
 did not iiifringe the laws. Dundedass had 
 studied these carefully ; as he read them he 
 had chuckled to himself, he had laughed 
 aloud. "Aye I "he said, one day, "stamp 
 duties to pay ? so much per cent. The heavier 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 25 
 
 I make my bills the less chance of these poor 
 people contesting them!'' Long impunitj 
 made them rash ; they took too great an ad- 
 vantage of a bad season, their well filled 
 granaries realised thousands of rupees, but 
 brought down a reckoning upon which they 
 had not calculated. 
 
 There are tribes of men living amidst 
 the fastnesses and the jungles of western 
 India, who subsist on natural productions of 
 the soil and the chase, whose cultivation is of 
 the rudest kind, and whose wants are easily 
 satisfied, yet with whom there are periodical 
 discontents. It is quite possible this may be 
 their normal condition : fear may keep them 
 quiet, or a fearless leader may bring them 
 into notice. 
 
 There was a solitary hut high up on the 
 hills, overlooking the northern Concan ; at 
 its door sat a young woman, nursing a male 
 child. Luximun Jemindar, of the Tanna 
 Police, passing by, remarked to her that he 
 
 c 
 
26 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 had hung the father, and would, in all pro- 
 bability, hang the son. 
 
 "You hang him?'' retorted the enraged 
 woman, with the volubility of her race. 
 " You shall never live to do so. If T do not 
 succeed in killing you myself, I will leave the 
 duty as a legacy to this infant. You have 
 made him fatherless, and me a widow ; even 
 now he sucks in revenge ; it shall be the only 
 lesson I shall teach him ; go ! " 
 
 Eighteen years had passed away; the 
 threat was forgotten, the woman was dead, 
 and Luximun was scouring the jangles for 
 some petty thieves; the day was breaking 
 over the high bills above him, but the deep 
 valley was still in darkness. The policemen 
 left their Jemadar in a hut to go down to 
 the trickling rill, which ran a few yards below 
 them. Luximun stood in the doorway — a fine 
 old fellow, grey headed, and white whiskered. 
 He was dressed in his uniform, with a pair of 
 beautiful pistols in his waistband, which had 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 27 
 
 been presented to him by government for his 
 activity and good conduct against the preda^ 
 tory tribes. 
 
 " I am Eagogee Bangria ! ^' said a light 
 figm'e, suddenly standing before him. '' You 
 hung my father and insulted my mother! 
 Die!" 
 
 Luximun had drawn a pistol, but it was too 
 late: he was cut down in silence. His head 
 was sent as a present to the magistrate of 
 Tanna. 
 
 Ragogee Bangria, the descendant of a long 
 line of Gooley Naigues, robbers and outlaws 
 of many generations, thus began his short 
 career as an avenger. The poor man was his 
 friend, the rich money-lender his enemy. 
 The valleys below the mountains, the plains 
 above, were visited by the gang. Eajogee 
 was here, there, and everywhere ; the rapidity 
 and the distances of his visitations were most 
 extraordinary. The police of two districts 
 were foiled, and several of them killed ; mili- 
 tary aid was called out, high rewards were 
 
 c 2 
 
28 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 ofifered for his capture, but Eagogee was, on 
 the night I allude to, at Waiy Warra. 
 
 Yusuff, as I said before, forgetting pain 
 and fatigue, crept stealthily along a small 
 path till he approached the scene of violence. 
 By the flickering light of many torches he 
 saw two tall men standing with bound hands 
 before Eagogee. He saw a sum of money 
 brought and counted ; it was not sufficient, — 
 more was demanded; it was not forthcoming. 
 
 '' Cut off their noses ! '' cried the young 
 leader. 
 
 It was done. The money was still refused. 
 
 " Bring some cotton! " ordered Eagogee. 
 
 It was brought. It was bound over the 
 limbs of the prisoners, and oil was then 
 poured over it. A demand was again made 
 for more money. Dundedass offered a valua- 
 ble jewel, and told them where to find it; it 
 was not there. 
 
 '' Tie them to the stake ! " 
 
 They were tied to the stake that stood in 
 the midst of their own threshing floor — that 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 29 
 
 stake around which bullocks, not their own, 
 had so often trod out the grain, which they 
 had neither sown nor reaped. Dry fuel was 
 heaped around them. 
 
 " Light the fire ! '' cried the leader. 
 
 Dundedass and Luckmedass prayed for 
 their lives, and they would give all they 
 had. 
 
 " You are rogues ! '' cried Eagogee. 
 "Where is the jewel?" 
 
 The straw began to blaze. A dreadful 
 scream was heard, and the young, beautiful 
 wife, tearing herself away from the ruthless 
 hands of her persecutors, rushed with torn 
 garments and dishevelled hair, through the 
 rising flames, and fell motionless on the feet 
 of Dundedass. 
 
 A streak of light vshot up in the eastern sky, 
 and a gleam of pity entered the hearts of the 
 avengers. The fire was quickly pulled away. 
 Eagogee and his gang disappeared— Yusuff 
 never knew how. So intent was he on the 
 miserable group before him, that he remained 
 
30 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 spell-bound and motionless, leaning on a 
 broken wall. 
 
 The day began to grow, voices were heard 
 approaching. Our friend YusufF was seized 
 with a cry of " Here is one of them ! " 
 
 " Tie him up ! " cried out the police officer, 
 for it was the Nassick police that had come. 
 
 The miserable group were still around the 
 stake ; the flick ering light from the still burn- 
 ning beams of the house threw a quivering 
 glimmer over a scene too sad for the sun to 
 rise upon. Dundedass and Luckmedass, faint 
 with loss of blood, were untied and attended 
 to; the beautiful and innocent Gungee was 
 picked up, a scorched and lifeless corpse. 
 
 YusufF was taken before the magistrates of 
 the district, to whom he told the details of 
 his unsought adventure, his miserable condi- 
 tion ; and his name, which was known at 
 Nassick, vouched for his truth, and he was 
 released. 
 
 A few years after this Eagogee Bangria's 
 gang was broken up ; he, after a long conceal- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 31 
 
 ment, was betrayed to an active police officer, 
 and being caught in the performance of the 
 religious duties of a good Hindoo at the cele- 
 brated temple of Punderpoor, in due course 
 of time was hung. 
 
 Dundedass and Luclcmedass, the roots of the 
 evil, had their features rectified as neatly as 
 possible, and may, even as I write, be again 
 occupied in eating up their neighbours. 
 
82 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE MAN TO RULE. 
 
 YusuFF found at Nassick Mahomedans whom 
 lie knew, and learning from them that his 
 wife and little daughter Ameena had gone to 
 Dowlutabad with his brother Yacoob, under 
 whose care they had been left, and as this 
 was a long journey, he decided on remaining 
 where he was till he felt better able to travel. 
 It so happened that during his stay the 
 annual Jatrah of Trimbuck took place ; this 
 was a Hindoo aflfair ; but his friends wishing 
 
LOBT LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 33 
 
 to see it, and feeling quite secure in their 
 orthodoxy by the presence of a veritable 
 Hadji, persuaded our traveller to go with 
 them, though he had some misgivings lest his 
 example should be a snare and a delusion to 
 others. So they made up a pleasant party in 
 vehicles, drawn by bullocks, and visited the 
 curious and sacred old city of Trimbuck. 
 
 Situated in a country remarkable for its 
 beautiful scenery, the town, with its strange, 
 fantastic, yet elegant fanes, stands at the foot 
 of a mountain, on the summit of which is the 
 nearly inaccessible fort of Trimbuck, the 
 only approach to which is by climbing up • a 
 perpendicular cliff; in this steps have been 
 cut, narrow and far apart, each step having a 
 niche cut on it, for the more secure hold of 
 the adventurous climber. 
 
 This was the first religious assembly that 
 Yusuff had seen since Mecca ; he was struck 
 with the devotion of the Hindoos, the pious 
 solemnity of their rites, the severity of their 
 penances, and the strictness with which they 
 
 c 5 
 
34: LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 performed their vows, even to their own de- 
 triment. He saw the sacred waters of the 
 Young Godavery flowing from the mouth of 
 the sculptured cow high up on the mountain's 
 side ; he traced the silver stream in its wooded 
 banks down the beautiful vale, till his eye 
 rested on the shady groves of Gangapoor, 
 where he and his friends stopped on their 
 return. 
 
 Gungapoor (city of the Gunga) is one of 
 those charming spots which Hindoo religion 
 loves to select as the threshold of the unknown 
 world — the air is cool, water plentiful, foliage 
 abundant, and the rugged hills at no great 
 distance ; here the loving friends of the 
 Brahmin widows loved to usher them, by the 
 rites of suttee, into the arms of their departed 
 husbands ; here the living and dead were 
 buried together ; and here the suttee temples 
 still shew in their neatness, their magnificence, 
 or their purity, the mournful feelings of the 
 inheriting relations. 
 
 Eastern rivers, near the places of increma- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 35 
 
 tion, are generallj sacred ; their pools are 
 full of fish, the vicinitj also produces plenty, 
 and the villages around provide fishermen. 
 The Mussulman is naturally addicted to the 
 amusement. On the day in question they had 
 their long lines in their knmer bunds ; a 
 bit of paste was the bait, and the Hadji, 
 standing- on the bank, was much amused at 
 his friends' pulling out the scaly prizes from 
 the rocky pools, where the torrents had ex- 
 cavated deep holes, where the waters eddied 
 and foamed, and where the big fish had 
 found a place to dvvell in. As the party ap- 
 proached the temples they stopped their 
 sport, wound up their lines, and went home ; 
 ill would it have fared with them if they had 
 polluted one drop of the sacred pool. 
 
 Not many years ago the writer of this tale 
 was on a visit to the magistrate of the district; 
 a fishing excursion was proposed, rods and 
 tackle prepared, and in the morning we rode 
 ofi* to the river side. Our intention had got 
 abroad ; the old Patell (head of the village) 
 
36 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 met us, and as he had heard of our intentions 
 hoped we would graciously accept the pre- 
 sent he had prepared for us, pointing, as he 
 spoke, to a cart load of silver beauties, which 
 lay kicking under a mango tree. Our dis- 
 gust may be imagined, but the intended 
 civility was accepted. We did not abuse our 
 considerate friend till out of hearing. On an- 
 other occasion the writer was fishing on the 
 verge of the sacred precincts, when a strong 
 party of angry Brahmins, intent on turning 
 him ofiP, came up, and demanded that he 
 should not kill fish; he immediately complied, 
 wound up his line, and walked with his 
 friends to the temple steps. Sitting down he 
 opened his small morocco leather case of 
 materials, and made a fresh fly ; the ferocious 
 Brahmins watching the operation intently. 
 When it was finished he offered them his rod, 
 and begged they would try to catch a fish ; 
 they did so, very much to the amusement of 
 the spectators, and much to their own as- 
 tonishment at their awkwardness. When 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 37 
 
 tired with their own futile attempts they 
 asked him if that little bit of green wool and 
 bunch of feathers really would catch a fish? 
 Taking the old Chevallier in hand, and giving 
 a very slight crack with the fly over their 
 heads, it fell light as a feather on a curl of 
 the stream beside a rock ; there was an almost 
 imperceptible whirl, but the line tightened ; 
 then came a heavy plunge, a long dash down 
 the rapid, a few struggles in the pool below, 
 and a five pound Ehoo lay kicking before 
 them. " Do not kill it on the temple steps," 
 they said. " May he be killed anywhere ?'* 
 was the reply. " As you please !" The writer 
 walked into the streani, and seeing the un- 
 feigned horror expressed in some of the faces 
 before him, he unhooked the fish and let. him 
 go. The holiest of holies were delighted. 
 How easy it is to rule such people ! 
 
 To return to my story. Yusujff wandered 
 along this beautiful river. He was told that 
 its waters were too holy for agricultural 
 or ordinary purposes; he scarcely believed 
 
38 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 tills, though he did feel mucli refreshed by a 
 wash in it. 
 
 The Hadji soon found himself getting 
 strong and hearty in his native air, so bidding 
 adieu to his friends he continued his journey, 
 in a few days reaching a place of some note, 
 Mhijee. He had timed his journey with 
 the intention of witnessing the great fair, 
 which, once a year, is held in tliis small 
 village. At the distance of some miles he 
 overtook, or was passed by many people 
 flocking to the same place. The earth was 
 dry and dusty, and over the fair hung the 
 dim canopy, shutting out the glare of the sun, 
 nearly choking the assembled multitudes. 
 
 The stalls, shops, or open sheds, were full 
 of costly and useful articles, from all parts of 
 the world. England and America were re- 
 presented by their cotton fabrics ; there were 
 shawls from France, and watches from 
 Geneva; China had sent her ivory, feather 
 punkahs, and her coffee cups ; there were 
 bales of rich fabrics from Cashmere ; tissues 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 39 
 
 and pictures from Delhi ; curiosities in gold 
 and silver from Madras; guns and swords 
 from Persia ; and hanging out in long festoons 
 were the light and elegant muslins of Dacca. 
 The streets were full of divers nations and 
 languages, strange in character, curious iu 
 costume. 
 
 In the bed of the river, now nearlj drj, 
 two elephants were goaded into a slow race 
 to exhibit their unwieldy speed ; many pairs 
 of bullocks, warranted to draw any weight, 
 were endeavouring to pull laden carts through 
 the impassable sand, suffering excruciating 
 twists of their imfortunate tails, which, in 
 the drivers* opinion, were only made to 
 be twisted ; there were you ng horses curvet- 
 ting, prancing, galloping, and stopping dead 
 under the control of the Mahratta bit ; there 
 was a tame royal tiger, walking about behind 
 its master, ready to eat up any goat that was 
 given to it, and no other. There were many 
 other curiosities in the animal line, which did 
 not attract much of Yusuff's attention ; he 
 
40 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 looked at, and was sorry for a miserable 
 fa queer, who had stood so long on one leg, 
 that the other was shrunk up into a useless 
 limb of skin and bone. Close behind him 
 stood a ghastly man, covered with ashes; his 
 oflFending hand clasped tightly together for 
 so long a time, that his finger nails had 
 grown through, and out at the back. A little 
 farther on, a pair of dirty black feet stuck up 
 in the air, whilst all the rest of the Hindoo 
 owner was buried in the ground, expiating 
 some unheard of sin, and expecting alms for 
 his endurance. 
 
 On the high bank of the river, so that every 
 one could see the performance, a poor deluded 
 victim was swinging round in the air, suspend- 
 ed by an iron hook, passed through the mus- 
 cles of his back, fastened to a horizontal pole, 
 balanced on an upright one by heavy 
 weights at the other end, with a string at- 
 tached, so that the officiating priest might 
 give an extra jerk now and then, when he 
 thought any passers by would be induced to 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINT. 41 
 
 give him an extra piece for the agonj 
 endured. 
 
 Yusuflf wondered at all this ; his own vowa 
 rose in troubled memories before him. Few^ 
 very few Hadjis would do this. "We endure 
 a good deal, no doubt, but we forget our sor- 
 rows ; these men can never forget theirs." 
 
 Yusuff wandered observingly amidst the 
 crowd ; he wondered how all the concourse 
 were gathered together in this out-of-the-way 
 corner. He was told it was an old fashion ; 
 that it had been in disuse for some years 
 during the times of the Pindarees and the 
 Bheels ; that since General Wellesley Sahib 
 had conquered the Mahrattas, and Outram 
 Sahib had quieted the Bheels, the magistrate 
 himself, or one of his assistants, yearly en- 
 camped on the spot to preserve order ; that 
 the trouble taken by the authorities in secur- 
 ing safety to life and property, encouraged 
 traders to assemble. 
 
 " Look there," said a man, to whom he 
 was speaking, pointing to a long line of white 
 
42 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 tents ; " there is the magistrate's camp ; any 
 offender is taken there at once, and no one 
 complains without his meeting with imme- 
 diate attention/' 
 
 The attractions of Mhijee ended, Yusuff 
 pursued his journej, and soon saw the range 
 of hills, on the top of which he hoped to be 
 re-united to his family. As the evening 
 closed in, he climbed the ascent to Eosa ; and 
 in one of the tombs he found Fatima, his 
 wife, and Ameena, his daughter, with the 
 children of his brother Yacoob. 
 
 An East Indian Mahomedan girl, of ten 
 years old, is sometimes a charming picture. 
 Yusuff gazed on such an one, while little 
 Ameena trimmed the wicks of the lamp, 
 which ever shed its light on the tomb of the 
 renowned dervish. Her skin was a light 
 olive brown, soft and velvety, a darker shade 
 suffusing the cheek occasionally. This cheek 
 was round, and full to perfection ; her little 
 chin vras dimpled and movable, the lips 
 seldom seemed quite to close — or, if they did 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 43 
 
 meet, the ivory teeth glittered through the 
 rosy joining. The nose was the most imper- 
 fect feature, but if inclination cavilled at it, 
 admiration again resumed its sway in the 
 black and lustrous eyes, which, full of soft 
 expression, gazed with love on the weather- 
 worn face of her father, as he recountered his 
 adventures to the little circle. 
 
 Yusuff forgot all his troubles in this hal- 
 lowed dwelling ; to his spirit the spot was 
 sacred. The mausoleums held the remains of 
 the great departed, the trees around had been 
 planted so as to give perpetual ver,dure, and 
 a grateful shade. But not alone on the hill 
 top was he happy ; there were delights and 
 wonders on the abrupt mountain sides. It 
 was a pleasure to all the circle to roam 
 through the caves of Ellora. There was the 
 elaborate cave temple of Khylass; there were 
 also many others completed, and many 
 the finishing of which had been prevented 
 by one of those extraordinary accidents which 
 
44 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 will sometimes happen, even to so all foresee* 
 ing a divinity as Juggernath. 
 
 There, in front of the mighty cave, he sits 
 with his never-failing slaves, Jay and Blgel^ 
 waiting on him, surveying his labours with 
 infinite satisfaction. His obsequious attend- 
 ants, Sud and Bud, stand attentive at the 
 door of the Temple, ready to act as grooms 
 of the chamber, when Juggernath shall please 
 to walk ; but time was lost in contemplating 
 the never failing wonders, and the extraordi- 
 nary works of Bishkurna (World Creator) 
 head carpenter to the ruler Eamchindur^ 
 who, with wise forethought and care to pre- 
 vent interruption to these works, as well as 
 to the extraordinary excavations then in pro- 
 gress for the great hill fortress of Deoghur, 
 now Dowbutabad — had bespoken a night of 
 six months' duration, and the whole of the 
 works were in a satisfactory condition ; wlien 
 a wild young jungle cock, forgetting the in- 
 junction to silence which he had received^ 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 45 
 
 jumped up on a bough of a tree, flapped his 
 wings three times, and crowed as loud as he 
 could. 
 
 Of course the morning awoke with its 
 every -day occupations ; and all the workmen 
 gathered together from great distances with 
 much labour, went away to their usual 
 avocations. Much work was left undone, but 
 Juggernath remains, contemplating the scene; 
 there he still sits, as he sat when this oc- 
 curred, all the same, barring natural decay, 
 as the excavations and temples were then 
 unfortunately left. 
 
 Lot us take a peep at the objects of the 
 god's inspection. There are wonderful cave 
 temples all around the hill side ; the most 
 beautiful is Khylass. The outer area is a 
 square of one hundred and eight feet ; the 
 inner one measures two hundred and forty- 
 seven, by one hundred and fifty feet. In the 
 midst of this stands the sacred shrine, not 
 built with mortar, but hewn from the hard 
 black rock of the mountain side ; its archi- 
 
46 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 tecture and sculpture displaying science, in- 
 genuity, patience and perseverance, prompt- 
 ing our admiration of tlie skill of a people 
 who produced such wonderful results. 
 
 The gateway, rich in battlements, bastions, 
 and turrets, welcomes fresh arrivals with 
 cherubs and seraphs smiling of face, joyous 
 in attitude. Here are rooms for those who 
 hang about the portals, like the poor ghosts 
 who wandered by the shores of the Styx, un- 
 able to pay the cost of the ferry. Above is 
 the orchestra for dulcimer and sackbut ; here 
 blew out the horn to the new moon, and all 
 kinds of music ushered the blessed into the 
 sacred realms, where the light of Heaven, 
 descending through the excavated shaft, glim- 
 mers dimly and scantily on its grand and 
 everlasting blackness. Its pillars, turrets, 
 walls, caves, and roof, inside and outside, are 
 carved full of grotesque shapes of mythical 
 figures, divine, human, and animal, of varied, 
 strange, yet elegant arrangement. There is 
 an upper and lower paradise, there are narrow 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 47 
 
 paths for the careless to miss, there are 
 bridges for the rash to fall over, there are 
 horrid anim.ils and serpents to frighten the 
 timid, while temptations of divers forms, in 
 strong relief, are festooned around to attract 
 the uncertain, and to confirm the steadfost. 
 
 Gods and goddesses of eastern prowess 
 are here in peace and quietness ; attendants, 
 favourites, and victims are all delineated in 
 the unfeeling stone, all telling their mar- 
 vellous tales to a now nearly satisfied 
 credulity. Paradise is well filled ; there is 
 scarcely room for more without inconvenient 
 crowding. Time has corroded much, the 
 curiosity and acquisitiveness of man has de- 
 stroyed more, but enough remains to satisfy 
 the most anxious — to weary the most patient 
 inspector. 
 
 Many have inspected these works of art 
 with greater results than the god Juggernath. 
 They have brought away with them pictures, 
 measurements, and full descriptions, recon- 
 dite and profuse, which are supposed to be 
 
48 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 somewhere amidst the dusty archives of the 
 Indian office, to which I take the liberty of 
 referring any one in whom I may succeed in 
 stirring up the faintest interest towards these 
 wonders of India. 
 
 Our Hadji would have gladly remained in 
 the neighbourhood of the sacred places of 
 Bramah and Budda. His was a pleasant rest- 
 ing place in the mausoleums of dervishes ; 
 and great men, whose names and tombs had 
 lasted hundred of years. More than one 
 Oriental dynasty was commemorated on 
 this spot, which alone retained the impression ; 
 and as Yusuff looked on the thick jungle, 
 the deserted villages, and the broken roads, 
 he almost dreaded to start again on a jour- 
 ney; but the dying message of his friend, 
 Hassan, had to be delivered — the son, 
 Hoossein, had to be discovered. 
 . Yusuff had no dread of any visitation 
 from Providence. Ever since he was a boy, 
 he had heard of the Bheels of Khandesh, as 
 robbers and murderers. The vision still 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 49 
 
 haunted liiin, and rose up vividly, as tlie day 
 of his departure approached. His friends 
 assured him that the roads were safe, that 
 all the Bheels in the country through which 
 his road ran were now industrious and 
 peaceful people; that they lived in huts, in- 
 stead of on the hill-side, and would never 
 rob or murder again. They told him how a 
 single young Englishman had effected the 
 change; how he had held a talk with the 
 old, and collected the young men into an 
 army ; that he had hunted with them on the 
 hill-tops, and had visited their mountain 
 fortresses ; and how the old Bheel Naiques, 
 whose hands had been against every man, 
 had visited Outram Saheb Bahadoor, in his 
 grand house, at Durungaum. Such a house 
 had never been seen by them — large and 
 grand, with lofty rooms and cool verandahs, 
 with great pictures and splendid trophies of 
 the chase ; they loved to look on the skins of 
 the lion and the tiger — to handle the long tusk 
 of the boar, the claw of the bear, the horn 
 
 D 
 
50 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MU TliNY. 
 
 of the bison; they looked around that recep- 
 tion room, and found no wild animal, within 
 their knowledge, unrepresented. Then there 
 were the implements of the chase, such as they 
 had never seen or dreamed of — everything 
 around attracted their respect, an acquaint- 
 ance with the man produced a veneration — 
 such a man had never been heard of. There 
 could be no use in opposing one who would 
 as soon face the tiger as the hare — whose 
 horse could catch the buffalo — who would 
 beard the bear in his den — who could, in 
 fact, do everything. 
 
 On these representations Yusuflf started. He 
 met with no adventures ; but where anarchy 
 and ruin had been, he found the people con- 
 tented, happy, and recovering their prosperity. 
 The encroaching jungles were reduced,cultiva- 
 tion increased; and the chaos, which had 
 existed only a few short years before, was gone. 
 
 '' Who has done it all?" was the repeated 
 enquiry of the Hadji. 
 
 The only reply he received was, " It is all 
 done by James Outram Saheb Bahadoon" 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 51 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HOOSSEIN — BEN HASSAN, AND HIS MOTTO. 
 
 CiiOTEE Ma sat by her house-door, looking 
 out on the lovely Taptee river. She was a 
 lone woman now — her husband far away, her 
 young son seldom with her. There was a shade 
 over her existence, like that which now, at 
 eventide, fell on the mirror-like surface of 
 the stream before her; her hopes had flitted 
 away like the shadows of the lofty minarets 
 and gilded cupolas — like those of the strong 
 towers of the palaces of kings. They would 
 
 D 2 
 
52 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 not staj, but lengthened and spread ; eveiy 
 moment they climbed the further banks of 
 the river, sprung over the abrupt and tangled 
 sleeps beyond, enveloped the wide forests, 
 then crept up the distant hills, till all was 
 wrapped in the hazy purple of an eastern 
 sunset, except the pinnacle of a distant 
 mountain ; her eyes w^ere fixed on this one 
 light spot of the charming landscape — her 
 hopes had dwindled to a smaller point — her 
 thoughts were as slow and quiet as the sum- 
 mer river at her feet, and she heard not the 
 footsteps of the man who now stood before 
 her. 
 
 Yusuff quietly announced himself, and in 
 a few w^ords told his tale. The darkness of 
 night enveloped her, as it did the scene but 
 just now before her. There was no more light 
 for her, Hassan could not come back, and 
 Hoossein would not remain at home. She 
 Bat, for a time, helpless in her sorrow; then 
 thoughts of hospitality crept over her; she 
 lighted her oil vase, she was preparing her 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 53 
 
 evening meal, when a light step entered the 
 room. 
 
 Yusuff looked up ; a brilliant youth of 
 some fifteen summers stood before them, 
 faultless of feature, daring of carriage, ardent 
 in expression. 
 
 ''Like his father, the Hadji," said YusnfiF, 
 as he undid a girdle from his waist. 
 
 " My talisman !" exclaimed Chotee Ma, 
 as a small silver box was exposed to view. 
 " Your father is dead, Iloossein ; no one 
 could have got this while he was alive/* 
 She took it from Yusuff's hand, and, opening 
 a clasp, said, ' See here, my son ; here Is your 
 genealogy, — for one hundred and seventy 
 generations the name has remained un- 
 changed. Your family have reckoned kings 
 and princes among them. Your ancestors 
 have been the greatest in the land, and your 
 progenitor Avas our Holy Prophet, blessed be 
 his name ! And here, my Seyud son, is your 
 nativity, cast while yet you were, but one 
 
54 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 hour old. On this are inscribed the signs of 
 your future existence." 
 
 " tet me see" it," said Hoossein, seizing the 
 little roll of paper rather roughly. " Ah !*' 
 he cried, "here they are — an antelope, a 
 roomal, a swallow, a tortoise, a serpent ; then 
 there are great flames and smoke, human 
 figures and raging tigers, a woman with dis- 
 hevelled hair, a tree with only one bough, and 
 a scroll at the bottom, with 
 
 ' What thou doest, do.' 
 
 " Of course I shall,'' laughingly remarked 
 the young man. 
 
 '^ Why do you laugh ?" said his mother. 
 " Your father is dead.'' 
 
 " Yes, I know it," he replied. " I saw it 
 in a dream. My father died in a miserable, 
 dirty hole — insects and lizards crawling about, 
 and only this old friend attending his first 
 steps towards Paradise. I knew he would 
 come and brin<:c the amulet. How I have 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 55 
 
 longed to see it ; and now it has come, I can 
 make nothing of it. I thank you, friend of 
 it^j father, for bringing it safe, through all 
 the troubles you have seen on your journey. 
 I have watched you often, and I feared that 
 you would never come." 
 
 " But you never said anything about it,*' 
 meekly observed his mother. 
 
 "If I told you all I saw in my dreams, 
 mother, you would not own me for your son, 
 or believe that I am human. I hold long 
 converse with Shitan, and walk through the 
 furnaces of Jehannum. I am familiar with 
 unknown monsters, and talk with the spirits 
 of those who have left us. There are but 
 few of my friends in Paradise, but many who 
 have got into difficulties on the way. 
 Mother, can we do nothing for my father? — 
 he is still knocking at the outer gate, and no 
 one comes to open it." 
 
 Yusafif here observed that flippant conver- 
 sation was neither pleasant to others or 
 becoming to himself. 
 
56 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 "I was never more serious/' replied the 
 young man. " I have never ceased to dream 
 of these things since I saw the strange mon- 
 sters in the caves of Ellora, when I was be- 
 trothed to Ameena. I must now cease 
 dreaming, and act for myself. As soon as the 
 funeral rites are performed, I start on ray 
 career of life. The fates have been consulted, 
 and I am to enter the service of a Fering- 
 Lee." 
 
 "When your father's affairs are settled 
 you can go/' said Cbotee Ma. " There are his 
 fields and his houses." 
 
 " Keep them yourself, mother/' said 
 Hoossein, " and what you do not want, give 
 to the Moollah, it will alleviate my father's 
 anxiety, and be a prepayment of prayers for 
 his son ; he will req[uire plenty if he fulfils 
 his destiny." 
 
 Nothing more was said ; the obsequies were 
 duly performed, and in a few days Hoossein 
 became a servant in the house of an English 
 military ofl&cer. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 57 
 
 No oae was more assiduous in his duties 
 than Hoossein ; he found time to learn the 
 English language, he became a great favourite 
 in the establishment ; there was no one so 
 oblioino- or so attentive to the commands of 
 the Mem Saheb, or so good natured to the 
 little children, with whom, when duty per- 
 mitted, he would play for hours. This happy 
 time was soon over. Before two years expired 
 an agent of the King of Delhi took notice of 
 him, and Hoossein was hired as one of the 
 running footmen to the Mirror of Justice, the 
 King of the Universe. 
 
 *^ I am an antelope," thought the young 
 man, as dressed in a robe of pure white, with 
 red kumer bund, he, with several others, ran 
 in procession before [the Admiration of the 
 World, and when neither duty nor pleasure in- 
 duced his Mijesty to leave the seraglio, these 
 young men lounged about the palace chatting 
 together, and looking at the forbidden lat- 
 tices. 
 
 Hoossein at this time never doubted but 
 
 D 6 
 
63 L OST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 that the shaking, bejewelled old man was in- 
 deed the greatest king of the world. His 
 palace was a large one, his zenana was a fall 
 one ; his pomp, his magnificence could never 
 be equalled. Ambition is prone to copj what 
 it sees succeed, so Hoossein hung the skirts of 
 his faith on the decrepid fabric of indulgence. 
 
 It was an idle state of existence, and the 
 young men caused much anxiety in the heart 
 of the superintendent of the seraglio. 
 
 The eunuch, Sooba, was a very useful 
 guardian, and right honestly did he serve his 
 master; but as to the rest of creation, he con- 
 sidered it only as subservient to one great end 
 — his Majesty's will and pleasure. It was his 
 duty to minister to these, and therefore it was 
 no consequence to him whether he dealt with 
 the living or the dead ; it was thought that 
 he had a strong leaning to the latter, par- 
 ticularly if his own hand had been instru- 
 mental in the transfer. It was supposed 
 advisable to conciliate Sooba by presents, if 
 life was valued. Young men occasionally 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUriNY. 59 
 
 disappeared no one knew how, and it was 
 whispered that faces had vanished from the 
 lattices like meteors from the heavens. 
 Sooba's hand was always on his dagger,hi3 eye 
 was full of suspicion, and his diabolical coun- 
 tenance did not belie him ; the king knew 
 his value, and reposed full confidence in him. 
 Sooba, however, could not be every where 
 at once, so, as his liaunts and habits were well 
 known, it did not require much ingenuity to 
 cast dust in his eyes. The ladies understood 
 this art remarkably well, and though they 
 fully comprehended the risk they ran, yet they 
 ventured to try, and managed to succeed in 
 attracting the attention of the new Juwan. 
 Immunity begat carelessness, and as Hoossein 
 was one day talking to the magnificent and 
 imperious Tara, he was detected by Sooba him- 
 self. The guardian said nothing, but as he 
 passed, Hoossein caught the glance of that 
 villanous eye, and feeling that he was in 
 danger, stood upon his guard. All that night, 
 and for several nights, Hoossein was aware of 
 
60 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 certain watches put over Inm ; lie could not 
 sleep, for tie knew fche fate tliat would over- 
 take him ; he found that his food was tam- 
 pered with — he left it untouched ; he 
 endeavoured to get out of the palace, but on 
 one excuse or another he was prevented. 
 There seemed to be no escape ; he might keep 
 off the danger for a time, but he was almost 
 wearied out, and began to look upon death as 
 a relief from his trouble. While drawing this 
 conclusion, nature was giving way, and he 
 almost slept. He started ; something touched 
 Lis face. 
 
 "Silence! Follow me!'' was said in a 
 whisper close to his ear. 
 
 Hoossein arose, and stepping lightly fol- 
 lowed a female form, carrying a dim light, 
 through several open doors, all of which 
 were carefully locked after them. 
 
 "I can get yontio farther,*' said his guide. 
 " Here are clothes for you,'* and b2fore he 
 could think about it he was enveloped in 
 female garb, with a thick veil over his face. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 61 
 
 It was in the early grey of the mornmg 
 that Sooba came to look after the guards he 
 had placed to destroy Hoossein if an oppor- 
 tunity occurred of doing it quietly. They 
 were asleep, and his intended victim gone. 
 He looked out of the open lattice on to a 
 descent of seventy feet ; it was too dark to see 
 plainly, but it struck him that something like 
 the form of a man lay below. 
 
 *' If," thought he, " the young man is there, 
 he will be devoured in an hour by pigs and 
 dogs." 
 
 Then he thought he must have gone that 
 way, for if he had succeeded in escaping the 
 special watches, he could not have gone past 
 tbe regular guards of the palace without 
 being seen. 
 
 There was indeed a concealed door leading 
 to the zenana, a door which he had himself 
 used at midnight, when he found Hoossein on 
 the watch, but the key was on his girdle ; he 
 never thought of the master key, or if he did 
 it was safe in the care of Zeenaut Mahal 
 
62 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Be^um, the favouiite lady of the harem, but 
 she 'was the dear friend of Tara. In fact, 
 the guardian was puzzled, and he did not dare 
 to make any stir in the matter, for fear of at- 
 tracting that attention from his Majesty 
 which would have closed his own career. 
 
 Hoossein kept no record of the days he 
 passed in concealment; he knew that there 
 was a perpetual alarm, and fear of detection, 
 possibly increased and exaggerated by the 
 women, who, not understanding the whole 
 truth, were yet aware that there was a secret 
 in the harem. There was much uneasiness 
 attending this sort of existence, with a pretty 
 clear idea how it would end if detected, so 
 that he felt much relieved when he was re- 
 quested to follow two female figures through 
 the long arcades of the garden. They led the 
 way through a narrow low door, and as he 
 passed a female voice whispered in his ear to 
 get into the bullock gharee he would find 
 outside, to do as he was told to do, and in the 
 morning he would find friends. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 63 
 
 Hoossein gladly obeyed tliese instructions. 
 The cart was a covered one, as if it contained 
 women. He heard the pass-word given, at 
 the gate, and some jokes that went on be- 
 tween his driver and the guard ; after a time 
 he looked out, and was aware that the road 
 ran through many ruins of mosques, temples, 
 and tombs of generations long passed away. 
 In about two hours the driver stopped, and 
 told Hoossein to get out and conceal himself 
 in one of the court yards of a mosque beside 
 them — that in the morning some one would 
 come and tell him what to do. 
 
 Hoossein hesitated for a moment before 
 stepping into the dark, dismal, solitary build- 
 ing before him, but he was very weary — he 
 had not slept for many nights, so in he went, 
 almost careless of consequences, and sought 
 a quiet corner amidst the mass of lofty 
 columns which rose before him in the dim 
 light of the midnight rising moon ; at last he 
 crept into one of the domed corners of the 
 quadrangle^ in the midst of which stood the 
 
64 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 iron pillar of Feroze Shall. Here Iloossein 
 took off Ins female dress, and rolling it into a 
 pillow, soon fell fast asleep. 
 
 The sun was shining into the great square 
 of Khootab Mina, when Hoossein was awoke 
 by the sound of many voices and much 
 laughter. 
 
 " Fie is in the Jumna,'' said one. 
 
 " The tortoises will like him !'' said 
 another. 
 
 " Perhaps he is buried in the garden,'' was 
 remarked. 
 
 ''Good for the custard apples," was re- 
 joined. 
 
 "Yes ; arsenic will improve their flavour," 
 hinted another of these light hearted g3ntry. 
 
 " He is here," said a tall, black bearded 
 man, whom Hoossein had seen before, and 
 who accosted him as Sayud Hoossein Saheb. 
 
 In a corner not far off two or three men 
 were busy preparing breakfast ; there were 
 sundry little fires with iron plates over them, 
 resting on the corners of rough stones. Oa 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 65 
 
 these the everlasting roti was preparing; rice 
 was boiling in a large earthen pot; one man 
 was busy skewering up, on bits of reed, kabobs 
 composed of meat, onions, and green ginger; 
 another was mixing, on a flat stone, a quantltj 
 of brown material — by him called masallah, 
 by lis curry ; and soon the whole party sat 
 amidst the wondrous relics of greater days 
 to make their breakfast in the midst of reli- 
 gious emblems of a more devout race. 
 Mussulman and Hindoo, Bramaand Bud, had 
 each selected that place for their buildings. 
 Gods and men, monkeys and animals of 
 varied kind, in studied sculpture, looked down 
 with their stony eyes on the equally hard 
 hearts of this Thug fraternity. 
 
 Jemidar AH Bux, for it was that noted 
 individual who spoke, now sat down, and 
 invited Hoossein to partake of breakfast, an 
 invitation gladly accepted by a young man 
 who for some time past had been fed by little 
 bits, stealthily conveyed to him at uncertain 
 hours of the day or night. His escape was a 
 
66 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 great topic of conversation ; the men had heard 
 of the fact, while Hoossein supplied some 
 of the details. 
 
 '' Yes !" remarked an elderlj man, with 
 what was intended to be a grin through his 
 hair development ; " there is a quantity of fine 
 young foDd thrown away to the fishes and 
 pigs out of those upper windows ; and the 
 blue spirits of the departed are often seen 
 rising from the old unused wells in the gar- 
 den. If I was a stranger I would as soon sit 
 down to dine with our Jemidar Saheb as go 
 inside those high walls." 
 
 This little bit of sentimentality provoked 
 much laughter. 
 
 While they are engaged in their morning 
 meal let us take a more critical view of the men 
 into whose society Hoossein was thus strangely 
 thrown. 
 
 Ali Bux is a fine, handsome, muscular man, 
 some fifty years of age ; his deep sunken eyes 
 are quiet now, but when any remark is made 
 they twinkle in their dark recesses, showing 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 67 
 
 that they can act at a thought's notice^ and 
 that they can on occasion become balls of 
 fire ; his moustache and beard are black as 
 jet, curled and combed to perfection, and 
 falling in graceful profusion half way down 
 his expanding chest; his dress is scrupulously 
 neat ; the pugree of white muslin has a little 
 fringe of gold tissue hanging jauntily over 
 the left shoulder. The peculiar swagger of 
 it was well known and much envied by the 
 young copyists of Delhi and Lucknow. His 
 angrica, of the finest long cloth from Man- 
 chester, was beautifully embroidered on the 
 breast ; there are little button holes sewn 
 with golden thread, and little golden knots to 
 fasten them with; they are open now, and 
 disclose an emerald green silk vest, fitting tight 
 to the body ; his waist is loosely girded with' 
 a rich green fabric from Cashmere ; his faulty 
 legs are clothed in red satin pljamas, fitting 
 tight, with many wrinkles below the knees. 
 His feet have on a pair of white cotton stock- 
 ings, and a pair of red gold embroidered 
 
68 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 slippers complete the' costume of an unex- 
 ceptionable Mussulman gentleman, starting 
 on a pleasure trip of some six montlis' dura- 
 tion, for the unconcealed purpose of murder 
 and robbery ; the instruments for which, 
 concealed carefully within his kumer bund, 
 consisted of two roomals, some fragments of 
 bone and pottery for Jadoo, and a well worn 
 set of Chinese puzzles; a stock in trade, small, 
 simple, but effective. Curiosity, mystery, 
 and gambling attract most people in all parts 
 of the world ; but in case they failed Ali Bux 
 was provided with song, dancing, and music; 
 the web of the spider was woven with care, 
 and flies were expected in plenty. 
 
 The rest of the party are chiefly nice look- 
 ing young men, neatly dressed, witli some 
 swagger about them, betokening a life of easy 
 indolence. The elderly man whom I men- 
 tioned above was the most ordinary looking 
 fellow of the lot. He was neither well lookinor 
 nor well dressed, but he was a person of some 
 consideration [ he was a wag and a story 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 69 
 
 teller, improvisatore, that deliglit of Asiatics. 
 Bis very looks made strangers smile, and lie 
 was honoured with the name of Seuliman 
 ITadji, to denote. his sanctiiij and wisdom. 
 All were armed with some weapon or another, 
 and it appeared bj the conversation that the 
 ostensible occupation of the company was the 
 protection of a lady of high rank, who occu- 
 pied, with her attendants, several bullock 
 carringes, and who was bound on a pilgrim- 
 age to some distant shrine. 
 
 It may be instructive here, as showing the 
 advantage of English officers looking into 
 details in person, shortly to explain how I 
 became acquainted with this lady. 
 
 Being on a hunting excursion on the bor- 
 ders of the province entrusted to my care, I 
 one day fell in with several neatly dressed men, 
 who were as unexpectedly there as I was. 
 On enquiring to whom they belonged, they 
 replied, 
 
 " To the Baiza Bha^.^' 
 
TO LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 "Whor I said; "to the Baiza Bhah 
 Scindia?' 
 
 " Ho, Sahib !'' was the reply. 
 
 Now I knew her highness well, and be- 
 lieved her to be at that moment in a far dis- 
 tant part of the country, so I sent a message 
 to the lady, whose camp was not far off, ask- 
 ing if I might come and pay my respects to 
 her. The reply was that she would have had 
 much pleasure in seeing me, but that she was 
 travelling in haste, with no sufficient equip- 
 age to do honour to my kindness ; but hoped 
 soon to see me again at Nassick. Acting on 
 secret . information which my messenger 
 picked up, I sent a police party to request the 
 Baiza Bha^ to pay me a visit, as I had some- 
 thing of consequence to tell her. A refusal was 
 not attempted, and she came; well dressed, 
 deeply veiled, and well attended, the lady 
 entered my presence. There was some tit- 
 teri ng behind me, as after I had gravely paid 
 her highness the usual compliments, I took 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 71 
 
 the liberty cf begging her to unveil. It was 
 a difficult business, so she was assisted, and 
 exposed a wrinkled face and skinnj?; arm, very 
 unlike those of the fine old lady who re- 
 ceived the respects of Arthur Wellesley on the 
 battle field of Assaye. 
 
 '' You have been very ill, I fear. You are 
 much changed," I said, gravely. 
 
 The old woman shook violently. I called 
 forward an officer of police, who said before 
 the assembly, 
 
 " This woman's name is Seu. She was 
 once a dancing girl, then an attendant on 
 them, then a fruit and opium seller at 
 Nuggur, which place she left several years 
 ago. Do you not recollect me?'* he said to 
 the lady. 
 
 I did not wait for an answer — it was evi- 
 dent how the case stood ; so, as I had no in- 
 formation of any criminal act, I dismissed the 
 party with a hint that they had better keep 
 out of my district. 
 
 To continue my tale, Hoossein was called 
 
72 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 ^side by Ali Bux, and after a long conversa- 
 tion it was settled that our young friend was 
 to be one of tliem in a tour of the provinces 
 of Western India. 
 
 It was jokingly said by Seuliman Hadji, 
 that they never started with a better omen, 
 Bince they now had with them a man who 
 had escaped from the clutches of Shitan in 
 Jehannum itself. 
 
 The fraternity started ; their little tent was 
 pitched on some river bank, beneath some 
 shady tree, by some charitable well, near 
 gardens, or by mango groves. All the tricks 
 of the profession were practised, and soon 
 Hoossein saw the unwary travellers falling 
 lifeless on the ground; he helped to plunder 
 and to bury them in their shallow graves, and 
 to conceal the spot by a fire made upon it. 
 In the course of time he was admitted to the 
 full privileges of the society, and the fatal 
 roomal was concealed in his girdle. 
 
 " My nativity is true,'* thought Hoossein. 
 For two or three years these pilgrimages 
 
LOST LIxNKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 73 
 
 continued ; the Golgotha of Punderpoor was 
 visited, the corpse paved banks of the Kishna ; 
 and Hoossein's last victim floated away on the 
 flooded stream of the Seena ; either that body 
 was found, or some one gave information. 
 The gang was captured ; Hoossein consented 
 to become an approver. 
 
 Ali Bux, with five more, were hung, and 
 their sculls were sent to a Phrenological 
 Society in England, which reported them to 
 have belonged to good-tempered, harmless 
 men. It was observed at the time that 
 bumps arise on men's heads by knocking 
 againt the obstructions of the law ; hence, if 
 Thugs do murder under the sanction of a 
 Divinity, they have nothing to knock 
 against. 
 
 I made Hoossein's acquaintance as an 
 
 approver under Captain H , at Poona, 
 
 where, after dinner conversation gave me 
 some of the outlines of my sketch ; and where 
 I submitted my neck to his manipulations, 
 with a satisfied conviction that a gentle twist 
 
 £ 
 
74 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 of his thumb and fore finger would have freed 
 my spirit from this tenement. 
 
 Soon after this, the Thug department was 
 closed, the approvers were discharged on sur- 
 veillance, an existence by no means suited to 
 our young friend, who will turn up next 
 under very different circumstances. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 75 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE INVOLUNTARY MIGRATION. 
 
 The evening was warm, the housei* was dis- 
 agreeable, and the room was low and long. 
 Its dingy, yellow washed walls, were hung 
 round thinly with pictures, chiefly of ships in 
 full sail, with flags of all nations flying in the 
 breeze, and the white spray flakes flying mer- 
 rily over the bounding prows. The floor was 
 boarded, and plentifully strewed with yellow 
 sand ; the windows were all open from top 
 to bottom, from floor to ceiling. It was dark 
 
 E 2 
 
76 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 outside, but several oil lights, suspended by 
 wires, threw a hazy light over as strange 
 a group of human beings, as that dirty region 
 of Calcutta ever beheld. 
 
 The company consisted of Chinamen, 
 Malays, Indians, Portuguese, Dutch, Ameri- 
 cans, English, Spaniards, Austrians, and 
 French, Their language was a sound of 
 utter confusion, yet an understanding was 
 maintained in this mixed society. 
 
 An elderly negro sat on the floor by one of 
 the windows, holding close converse with a 
 fine-looking Arab seaman. There was a 
 good deal of smoking going on ; and the long 
 table was covered with the remains of a meal, 
 while glasses, full and empty, stood about in 
 plenty. 
 
 A broad-faced Dutchman was boasting in 
 a rollicking way of his good ship the, — ■- — 
 
 " ' Slow and sure ' was her motto ; there 
 was many a ship passed her on the wide 
 ocean, but none of them ever got to port be- 
 fore her ; and as for her emigration business, 
 
LOSr LINKS IxN THE INDIAN MUTINY. • 7 
 
 why, there was her picture before thein, 
 crowded with fine young men, going from 
 Calcutta, to make fine fortunes in the West 
 Indies. Then, she was the ship to sail in — 
 well found, never lost a rope yarn, a sail, or 
 a sailor ; and as to coolies, why they would 
 die out of spite now and then ; but while 
 other ships, as he knew of, had lost half their 
 cargo, she never lost but a dozen or so. 
 There's old Hevelead, our captain, as jolly a 
 skipper as one would wish to see ; puts things 
 to rights before-hand, knows when the storm 
 is coming, and makes all snug ; puts the pas- 
 sengers down below, and battens down the 
 hatches to keep'm dry, he does ; then brings 
 her head up to wind under a storm sail, lashes 
 the helm, takes a bottle to bed with him, and 
 smokes till it's quiet again. Few skippers 
 like old Hevelead ; here's his good health, 
 and luck to him. Grog tub always open, and 
 such grog,'* said the seaman, as he took a 
 pull at his glass. 
 
 " A regular trump," was remarked by 
 
78 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 several duskj-looking men, and many said 
 they should like to sail with Captain Heve- 
 lead. 
 
 " You can do so if you like," said a thin, 
 wiry Malay, with round eyes, that sparkled 
 like diamonds. " I have the book here to 
 
 fill up, with fifteen good hands — pay 
 
 dollars a month, good messing, and grog 
 every day ; extra in stormy weather, and we 
 make more of that than most ships. Blue 
 Peter is flying ; she'll sail with the morning 
 tide ; the launch will be at the Ghaut by 
 midnight, and any man who enters shall have 
 a passage down in her.'' 
 
 The book was put on the table, the Dutch- 
 man entered several names in it, and the 
 Malay repeating " Twelve o'clock to-night, 
 at the Ghaut," left the room. 
 
 '' That fellow will run a muck some day, 
 or my name is not Dan," said a curly-headed 
 old negro, with one eye. " Look here, lads, 
 when I was cook aboard the *Lowgee 
 Family,' I said to a Malay chap, when he 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 79 
 
 asked me for a bit of baccy, ' cut up your 
 cap and smoke it ;' so he up witb the red hot 
 poker, and jams it into my eye — that's the 
 one that's gone — and then dashes along the 
 deck, knocks over the boatswain, sets fire to 
 the mate, and before he was caught and put 
 in irons, there was plenty of doctor's work. 
 I never trusted those glittering eyeballs since 
 — too much opium in them ; however, I wish 
 you all a good voyage, mates." 
 
 The mess room of the sailors' home was 
 empty ; some had retired to rest, some had 
 got their chests, and had gone to the landing 
 place. The clock was striking twelve, tide 
 was running up strong, and along with the 
 ripple of the stream came the splash of heavy- 
 oars. 
 
 A large boat pulled alongside the Ghaut; 
 several men jumped ashore, and disappeared 
 in the darkness. 
 
 " Are you there, Ali ?" said a gruff voice 
 from the boat. 
 
 " Aye, aye, Saheb," was the replj. 
 
80 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 '* How many of tliem are there ?" asked 
 the same voice. 
 
 " A full cargo/' was the laughing reply. 
 
 "Never mind/' said another, "the more 
 the merrier. We can stow away a nice lot ; 
 they weigh light, and they won't sink us with 
 talking, I'll be bound. The worst part of it 
 is getting them up the ship's side ; some of 
 them begin to get right about that time, and 
 kick and roar like all the bulls of Basan." 
 
 " I suppose," remarked the first speaker, 
 " that they would not be missed if one or two 
 of the roarers fell into the river quite acci- 
 dentally?" 
 
 " Ah !" was the reply, " we ain't over par- 
 ticular, but we don't often get into trouble in 
 shipping them. It's done pretty well, and 
 cheap into the bargain, since it's called a 
 volunteer departure ; besides, we want all we 
 can get, as we are paid by the head." 
 
 " Why is it called a volunteer departure ?" 
 asked another voice. 
 
 " Oh I that's the proper title for it, else 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 81 
 
 they would not call it by that name in Exeter 
 Hall/' said one, with a significant shrug of 
 his shoulders ; " but I like, them better than 
 regular niggers from Benin ; they have some 
 civilisation, these oriential coolies, and don't 
 quite poison a fellow when he gets into the 
 hold to doctor them." 
 
 " So much tbe better for me,'' replied a 
 voice, from a young man, who just then stood 
 up in the boat. 
 
 " Sit down, doctor, can't you?" said a 
 voice, sharply ; " they are coming." 
 
 The conversation was stopped, by the 
 clatter of many feet, coming down the steps. 
 Several men cast the burdens they carried 
 into the boat, and then a number of sailor- 
 looking men jumped in, followed by Yemma, 
 the Malay. 
 
 " Who are these, Yemma ?" asked a voice 
 from the stern sheets. 
 
 "Foremast! all right !" was the quick reply. 
 
 "Cast off!" And the heavy boat swung 
 lazily into the thick and steamy darkness. 
 
 E 5 
 
82 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 There was a tinge of light in the east, 
 when she glided silently alongside a large 
 ship, anchored in mid-stream. The cargo was 
 quickly transferred ; not one of the living 
 bundles awoke — the drugs had done their 
 work well ; there was no kicking — no 
 screaming. 
 
 "Where's the doctor?'' asked the boat- 
 swain, as he scanned each individual coming 
 on board. 
 
 No one knew, and Yemraa, of the diamond 
 eyes, said " he was not in the launch when 
 he jumped in. All the captain's fault, for 
 letting him come, on the plea of humanity — 
 all humbug. I thought he did not like his 
 berth ; however, we have got his stores and 
 his mate all right." 
 
 The launch swung slowly astern, the 
 whistle sounded, the capstan was manned, 
 the fiddle struck up, the sails, lightly flap- 
 ping in the breeze of the morning, were 
 sheeted home, the anchor was tripped, soon, 
 hanging on the cat head, and the good ship 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 83 
 
 sailed smoothly down the Hooglej, 
 
 on the top of the ebbing tide. 
 
 The deck was a scene of utter confusion — 
 ropes laying about, packages, chests, and 
 bundles, of various sorts and sizes, wer^ 
 scattered here and there ; amongst this chaos 
 were figures of human beings, in varied atti- 
 tude. Now and then one would move, or 
 groan, then relapse into quietude. Soon 
 several of them began to sit up, looking 
 about — weak and incapable, they held their 
 racking heads in fevered hands — got up, 
 rolled about, and asked for water; then 
 wondered where they were, and where they 
 
 were going to. 
 
 Standing amazed, in this miserable group, 
 is one we know, Hoossein Ben Hassan — the 
 lineal descendant of the prophet, is here, a 
 drunken man, and an involuntary emigrant 
 coolie. How came he here? The tale is 
 soon told, the business of approver had 
 filled his pockets from many sources — an 
 accusation of Thugism was worth buying 
 
84 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 off; but when his occupation ceased, findings 
 that his old companions looked coldlj on 
 him, and wishing to change his abode, he re- 
 solved to go to Calcutta, and set up in some 
 honest occupation, so he coaxed Yusuff, 
 with his wife and daughter, Ameena, to go 
 with him, with full intention of completing 
 his betrothal to the latter as soon as he was 
 settled, and well rid of his former associates. 
 With this resolve, he had reached the City of 
 Palaces, and the crimps fell in with the san- 
 guine young stranger ; hence his racking head 
 and his terrible situation. 
 
 Hoossein was awe-struck; he knew that 
 something dreadful had happened — his senses 
 still wandered — he was not quite sure that 
 he did not dream ; but the sounds, and the 
 language around him, were strange — the 
 scene was new ; the tall masts, the big sails, 
 the deck, the ropes, the confusion, all tended 
 to convince him that he was, unfortunately, 
 awake. Then, a peremptory order for him 
 to go below, convinced him that he was not 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 85^ 
 
 even his own master. He was told that he 
 was a coolie; he declined to believe this — it 
 was a catastrophe he could not as yet realize, 
 till the darkness of the hold, the stench, his 
 own language around, and the common tale 
 of all, led him to believe it true. 
 
 It was not Hoossein's nature to despair. 
 As health and strength returned, he bestirred 
 himself to do something. A certain number 
 of coolies were allowed to come on deck at 
 a time; he saw that escape was out of the 
 question, so he endeavoured to make himself 
 useful. There were some English sailors on 
 board ; they befriended him, chiefly because 
 he looked on his situation with the eye of a 
 fatalist — calm under all circumstances, un- 
 disturbed by the distress and frenzy around, 
 and quite confident that whatever was, must 
 be endured. 
 
 Hoossein had heard Yusufif talk of the 
 horrors of his pilgrim ship; but he had not 
 realised them, and thought that the Hadji 
 had taken the license of a traveller, and im- 
 
86 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 posed on his 3^outliful credulitj. Those 
 second-hand troubles appeared small and 
 trivial, to those around him ; yet the know- 
 ledge that others had suffered sorrows on the 
 ocean, and had survived to tell the tale, 
 enabled him to bear with greater equanimity 
 those which overtook his miserable ship. 
 
 Before they had been a week at sea, 
 cholera, small pox, and deadly fevers raged 
 amongst the unhappy coolies. Sad at heart, 
 unused to the sea, and with every element of 
 evil around them, it was not to be wondered 
 at if they fell victims to any disease that 
 afflicted them. 
 
 There was an individual on board called 
 the doctor, a young half caste, very boyish- 
 looking, but calling himself twenty years of 
 age. He had tumbled up quite accidentally 
 —first in camp life ; then he had gathered a 
 little reading and writing, and got into an 
 office under Government, before competitive 
 examinations were invented. It was not in 
 the lad's nature to sit down for twelve hours 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 87 
 
 in the day, as his companions, the native 
 clerks, did, to copy difficult writing, so he 
 threw up the situation in disgust, and when 
 tired of doing nothing, he obtained occupa- 
 tion in an indigo factory; but the work re- 
 quired of him not bein^ congenial, he stayed 
 for a short month, and then coaxed himself 
 into a lawyer^s office, where he picked up 
 various frao^ments of knowledo;e, one of 
 which was, that if he could only reach 
 England, he would find a quantity of money 
 waiting for him. While pondering on this 
 subject, an advertisement, requiring a doctor's 
 assistant, on board an emigrant ship, bound 
 to the West Indies, met his eye — all expenses 
 paid. He knew enough of geography to 
 understand that the West were nearer to 
 England than the East Indies, so he offered 
 his services, which were at once accepted by 
 the doctor, who, as he had made up his mind 
 not to go himself, did not care who he got to 
 assist him ; so, as this gentleman had slipped 
 away in the darkness and confusion at the 
 
88 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Grliaut, our young friend, Harry, found hi n- 
 self in sole charge of the ship's crew and 
 passengers, some three hundred souls, all 
 told. The captain cheered him up, shewing 
 him all the medical stores and comforts, care- 
 fully provided by the contractor, and slap- 
 ping him on the back, said, " Why, it will 
 make a man of you." 
 
 The situation was enough to alarm a 
 young fellow, who had no more experience 
 of illness than the curing of a bad headache 
 on hard working days had given him. But 
 Harry took it calmly; he had been brought 
 up in a rough way — no sympathy had been 
 wasted on his childhood, so that he felt little 
 for anyone else. As for the crew, he thought 
 they could take care of themselves; and as 
 for the coolies, why, as they were allowed to 
 go from a country where they were wanted 
 to one where — he could never understand 
 why — they were not ; and as many of them 
 had come on board in a very promiscuous 
 fashion, evidently unthought of and un- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 89 
 
 cared for, lie naturally concluded them to be 
 unworthy of much consideration from him ; 
 his philosophy, indeed, carried him so far, 
 that he actually imagined that coolies were 
 born to suffer ; and having arrived at this 
 conclusion, he thought it quite right that the 
 captain should make as much money as pos- 
 sible, by giving the smallest quantity of food ; 
 and that his own precious self should go on 
 to England as pleasantly as possible, while 
 the cargo died off like cattle, smitten by the 
 murrain. 
 
 Under the influence of these feelings, Harry 
 measured out the cholera mixture by the rule 
 of thumb, put the small-pox patients over- 
 board as quickly as possible, and handed over 
 fever cases to his assistant Hoossein Ben 
 Hassan, who administered mercury and 
 quinine with the greatest discrimination and 
 industry. 
 
 Hoossein had worked himself into this- 
 situation by his wonderful experience in 
 corpses, making himself very useful to Harry.. 
 
90 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 He was rather dreaded by his companion 
 Coolies, who gave him the title of the 
 " Great Medicine," which stuck to him for 
 many years. 
 
 A volume might be written on the miseries 
 and atrocities committed and endured on 
 that voyage ; but as my hero is not likely to 
 be much beloved for his conduct, I will leave 
 the horrors of the scene to be painted by 
 vivid imaginations, and inform my reader 
 that the result of the accidental and fortunate 
 treatment by the medical gentleman, and his 
 native Indian assistant, was highly satisfactory; 
 for, at the end of a prolonged voyage of 
 ninety days, after having been af&icted by 
 Providence with those inscrutable diseases, 
 cholera, small-pox, jungle fever, and other 
 maladies ; yet, by the greatest care, the num- 
 ber of coolies (a race peculiarly liable to die) 
 was only reduced from two hundred and 
 thirty-three to one hundred and forty-five, or 
 an actual loss of eighty -eight, not quite one 
 death in a day 1 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 91 
 
 Under these circumstances, the captain re- 
 ceived his certificate of good management, 
 while Harry and Hoossein received something 
 more substantial in consideration of their 
 volunteering to perform extra work and their 
 humane conduct; the ship retained the 
 official character given to it by the Dutchman 
 in the Sailors' Home. 
 
 As for the voyage in general, it was very 
 similar to all voyages, where Captain Heve- 
 lead commanded. They fell in with a thunder 
 storm off Madagascar, but all was made snug 
 before hand; the captain observing, before 
 he got there, that as no spot on the wide 
 ocean saw so much damage to ships, he for 
 one would take all reasonable precautions; 
 this he said with a sly look at a large square 
 bottle on his cabin table; the mate laughed, 
 the gruff boatswain laughed, and Iloossein, 
 who did not quite comprehend the joke, went 
 off into fits of laughter, upon which Captain 
 Hevelead thought him a clever fellow. The 
 Malay did not run a muck, but attended care- 
 
92 \0ST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 fully to his duties as quarter master. Nothings 
 could exceed tlie punctuality of the voyage. 
 At four hundred miles distance, the day of 
 reaching Table Bay was announced; as fresh 
 departures were desired, the island of St. 
 Helena was nearly run down in the dark ; 
 Ascension was made exactly at the hour fore- 
 told ; the rock of St. Paul turned up on the 
 larboard just as the glasses were looking for 
 it on the starboard bow ; while looking out 
 for Tobago, Trinidad was discovered. He 
 kept extra looks out while sailing through the 
 narrow seas, and as tornados were frequent, 
 he got down his royal masts and took in his 
 flying jib-boom; no one should say that he, 
 Captain Hevelead, ever lost a rope yarn, when 
 a little forethought could save it. So, in good 
 time, the old ship sailed safely into the 
 land-locked harbour of Kingston, Jamaica. 
 
 For some days before arriving, Hoossein 
 had been busy with a long, thin canvass bag^ 
 he borrowed the sail- maker's needle, finished 
 off the work with a strap and buckle, and 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 93 
 
 while all the eyes in the ship were looking at 
 the charming scene before them, he filled the 
 bag with what he called the funeral charges, 
 fastened it carefully round his waist, and 
 considered himself lucky in discovering that 
 the trade of a doctor was better than that of 
 a Thug. He was lost in a train of thought 
 on this subject, his elbows resting on the 
 bulwarks, when he was aroused by the flutter 
 of many wings above him ; he looked up, a 
 flight of swallows passed over. 
 
 " My nativity is true again. I am a 
 swallow !'' 
 
 Before closing this chapter, I will venture 
 a remark on coolie emigration, which, though 
 managed better now than in the days of w^hich 
 I write, still occasionally furnishes dreadful 
 tales of loss by shipw^reck, or by disease. 
 
 How was it that emigration was ever per- 
 mitted from the British Empire in the East ? 
 True, there is a large population, and famines 
 are frequent local visitors ; but there are 
 large tracts of food producing lands only re- 
 
94 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 quiring inhabitants to convert them Into use 
 from the jungles which now occupy them ; great 
 works are sometimes stopped from insufficient 
 labour — works that would benefit the people, 
 and enrich the government; the price of 
 labour in India has more than doubled within 
 the last twelve years ; yet, in the face of this 
 great demand for labour on the spot, we have 
 suffered many thousands of able-bodied men 
 to leave a country where they were and are 
 wanted, to go to other regions (from whence 
 only a small proportion return) to satisfy a 
 demand for labour created by our own mis- 
 management. 
 
I.OST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 95 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 THE ASIATIC LEARNS A LESSON FROM THE 
 AFRICAN. 
 
 It is of no consequence to my tale how the 
 fusion of Asiatics and Africans took place in 
 so distant a land from their respective abodes 
 as the islands of the West Indies ; there are 
 curious natural currents in the ocean and in 
 the atmosphere, but there is no current so 
 strange as this artificial one made by man. I 
 trust to be excused for diverging a little from 
 
96 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 mj path up the fertile vale from which my 
 stream is flowing. 
 
 We have reached Jamaica, a lovely island, 
 remarkable for its sugar, its rum, and its 
 yellow fever. England obtained possession of 
 it accidentally: Oliver Cromwell was very 
 anxious to take St. Domingo, but as that was 
 not to be had, his admiral and general cap- 
 tured Jamaica from the Spaniards in the year 
 1655. Since then the island has been 
 afflicted with many troubles. There have been 
 earthquakes, tornados, floods, yellow fever, 
 cholera, insurrections, fires, and emancipa- 
 tion ; even since I began to pen this tale, there 
 has been another plot, another rebellion, and 
 another Nemesis allowed in a man fitted for 
 the occasion. 
 
 Notwithstanding these frequent drawbacks, 
 Jamaica was a very desirable possession; no 
 soil was more productive, few productions 
 more lucrative. We found a slave popula- 
 tion on it, and as slavery was not very ob- 
 jectionable in those days, we used it to sup- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 97 
 
 ply the agricultural demands ; and for many 
 years the old stock of slaves left by the 
 Spaniards was replenished by fresh impor- 
 tations from Africa. 
 
 When opulence and trade in due time at- 
 tracted attention to the locality, it was dis- 
 covered by those who had no self-interest in 
 it, that the slaves were badly treated ; that 
 they were whipped, scantily fed, unedu- 
 cated, and utterly demoralised. It was a fine 
 opportunity for the display of pure philan- 
 thropy ; so fine speeches were made, and a 
 large quantity of agitation was supplied to 
 get the English nation into a proper sense of 
 liberality and propriety — the one in reference 
 to interfering with matters not belonging to 
 them ; the other only extending to a shadow, 
 called compensation, for serious losses caused 
 by the emancipation of the slaves, which 
 Great Britain, in her pride and authority, 
 effected. 
 
 So sanguine were the good people who 
 carried this point, in the righteousness of the 
 
 F 
 
98 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 cause, and the humanity of the act, that they 
 hoped and expected the inhabitants of central 
 Africa would benefit by the occasion ; but, 
 unfortunately for them, the old curse still 
 held good, and the negro was still to be '^ a 
 servant of servants '^ to other nations, so that 
 the abolition of slavery, however grand it 
 may sound in the history of the world, never 
 has been effected, while the efforts to effect it 
 have actually caused more inconvenience and 
 distress to those it was intended to benefit. 
 Population increased over the fertile terri- 
 tories, watered by the rivers running from the 
 Mountains of the Moon ; and as the slaves did 
 not go off so quickly as the}'- used to do, the 
 King of Dahomey, still, like the uncovered 
 cause of the first great curse, dressed up in 
 the sanguinary costume of a cocked hat and 
 feathers, sacrificed thousands for his amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 It is too late to lament his victims, or the 
 less fortunate thousands who were sacrificed 
 under the horrors of the middle passage; 
 
LOST LINKS IN TUE INDIAN MUTINY. 99 
 
 neither can any good accrue from a disserta- 
 tion on the justice or injustice of slavery; but 
 I will venture one paragraph on the subject 
 of the emancipation. 
 
 There was work to be done. It was done 
 by slaves. These were emancipated ; it was 
 hoped they would work as free men ; but 
 they were incapable or unwilling to do so* 
 After a time, labour was furnished by British 
 subjects from East India. They served for a 
 time, and then had the option of returning to 
 their homes. Some died, some went back 
 richer, and some, as we shall presently see, 
 all the worse for the society they had met 
 with. 
 
 I ask the question seriously — Did not Eng- 
 land lose a great opportunity by this sudden 
 emancipation ? Would she not have done 
 better to have held the slaves for a certain 
 term of years, under a system of education 
 and morality ? Would not some of these 
 men have returned to their native land more 
 fitted to do good there, than when they left 
 
 p 2 
 
100 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 it ? We send the coolies back to India, and 
 we might have done the same with the negro. 
 If he had elected to remain in the colony, he 
 would, in many instances, have been found 
 fitted for civilised society ; instead of being, 
 as late events have proved him to be, the 
 same plotter and murderer, as his brother in 
 Central Africa appears to be by the interest- 
 ing travels of Sir Samuel Baker. 
 
 Whether England was right or wrong in 
 emancipation, it is not my object to prove. 
 One thing is certain — that the sweat was 
 wiped away from the brow of the African, 
 but not from that of the Asiatic ; no good can 
 come when idleness is encouraged in any 
 one. 
 
 Again, would it not have been better to 
 have laboured longer and more earnestly to 
 obtain the consent of all nations to the aboli- 
 tion of slavery ? By our hastiness we added 
 much to the troubles of those unfortunates, 
 who were the victims of the traffic ; while we 
 lost ground in public opinion, for declaring a 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 101 
 
 thing accomplishecl, which was very far from 
 being so. I fear that the vanity of old Eng- 
 land hurried her into a step, which, though 
 she may have regretted, she could not recall. 
 There have been moments, when her sons 
 have recoiled in horror at the disclosures of 
 the slave trade on the coast of Guinea, on 
 the Indian ocean, and in Central Africa ; 
 where, even now, cows and human beings are 
 about equal in value ; on the Indian ocean, 
 where hundreds of human beings have rotted, 
 and died together between the narrow decks ; 
 on the coast of Guinea, where whole cargoes 
 of living negroes have been cast into the ocean 
 of eternity, to prevent their being found on 
 board the ship. 
 
 Our medical men, only a few years since, 
 were accustomed to bleed their fever patients, 
 the disease obtaining a most fatal character ; 
 under more gentle measures it is disarmed 
 of its fatality. Is it too late to try other mea- 
 sures for the suppression of the slave trade ? 
 The bleeding principle has been tried long 
 
102 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 enougli ; our sailors are required elsewhere ; 
 and though, our money, which is gone, can- 
 not be recovered, yet smaller sums expended 
 judiciously, would be of more use than the 
 millions which have gone. 
 
 We left Hoossein, struck with the convic- 
 tion that he was a migratory creature ; while 
 still thinking on the subject, he was accosted 
 in his own language by a well-dressed 
 Mahomedan, who gave his name Muckbar 
 Khan. He was, he said, a steward, and after 
 some conversation, Hoossein engaged himself 
 as a mucuddum (an overseer) of labourera, 
 for three years, on very considerable payment. 
 
 So Hoossein went on shore ; he had no 
 trouble about luggage, though he had some 
 difficulty in making the clothes upon him 
 hold together. There was nothing to be ad- 
 mired in Kingstown, except dust and dirt ; 
 everything seemed to be neglected, and 
 Hoossein felt glad when they turned round 
 and saw the town behind them. In front 
 there was a beautiful region, rich in verdure, 
 
Lost links in the indian mutiny. 103 
 
 and charming in variety of colour. In a few- 
 hours he reached his destination, a large, 
 tumble-down sort of a house, with wide, open 
 verandahs, like some he had seen in the east. 
 The windows were broken, and the place was 
 empty. On one side were several small huts 
 in little enclosures, all neatly kept. To 
 one of these Hoossein was introduced as his 
 own ; it was provided with everything neces- 
 sary, but there was a difficulty about his 
 clothing. A Derzi on the establishment soon 
 fitted him out, and our hero found himself 
 with a weir filled girdle on his hips, in a snug 
 abode, with some sixty coolies under him, all 
 of whom were, in the course of a few hours, 
 his most obsequious slaves. 
 
 The Bengali gave him little presents for 
 concealing what he considered his little de- 
 linquencies ;. the Mussulman gave him con- 
 tributions for the mosque and musjeed he 
 intended to build, for their khubristan which 
 he proposed to repair, and for the tazzia he 
 
104 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 was preparing for their grand festival of the 
 Mohurrum. 
 
 Hoossein had an acquisitive genius; he 
 understood the policy of minute collections 
 from those beneath him, and he never lost an 
 opportunity of realising dustoori from those 
 above him. Those under him found their ad- 
 vantage in pleasing Hoossein ; and, as he 
 found it paid well, he tried to please his 
 master. 
 
 Their salaries were paid regularly, and a 
 certain amount of work was to be done in a 
 given time. Nothing else was cared for ; no 
 moral influence was exercised. Their moolahs 
 and their priests had not come with them ; a 
 few of the outward signs of their respective 
 religions were attended to, but the rules of 
 caste were laid aside. Most of them dis- 
 covered that rum was sweet, and there was 
 no synod to denounce the offenders. 
 
 As a body, the so-called coolies were a de- 
 ceived set. False representations, drugs, and 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 105 
 
 force had been employed to obtain them. 
 They felt they were victims, so did not con- 
 sider it necessary to be honest. They knew 
 that as long as they could work they would 
 get paid ; but health and life were little 
 thought of, and the only improvement to be 
 found in those who survived the course of life 
 up to the period of their return, was in their 
 pocket, and this not so much the result of 
 their own pay, as from gambling, or picking 
 and stealing from their deceased friends. 
 
 Hoossein having fulfilled his three years to 
 thfe satisfaction of his employers, but with a 
 weary monotony to himself, declined to con- 
 tinue his service, and accepted the invitation 
 of an old negro (one Sambo), who lived 
 amongst the hills, to be one of them ; " wq 
 are a happy party,' ^ said the old fellow, with 
 a grin, *' plenty of sleep V 
 
 After several days of lazy travelling, the 
 new friends entered a sunny vale in the 
 eastern part of Jamaica, through which a 
 small rivulet ran into the Yellahs river. 
 
 F 5 
 
106 LOST LIKKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Jutting into this vale was a little spur from 
 the mountains. They slowly climbed the gentle 
 ascent ; there were beautiful hills, and thick 
 forests above, and before them ; on the 
 plateau close to them was a cluster of huts, 
 with men, women, and children sitting, or 
 sauntering about ; around were some small 
 pretensions to cultivation, and behind 
 stretched the magnificent, but neglected 
 valley, stretching in its richness to the 
 distant sea. 
 
 Hoossein sat down to look at the scene, 
 rich and glorious. All around were the am'ple 
 gifts of nature— a garden of Eden, tilled by 
 the careless hands of those who once were 
 slaves, who in their servitude had not 
 acquired industry or ambition, who were 
 content to cultivate only to such extent as 
 was necessary, and that consisted chiefly in 
 restraining wild luxuriance ; yet the simple 
 wants of the colony were gratified. Their 
 ostensible occupation was agriculture, but 
 work came only by fits, and starts ; they had 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 107 
 
 but few dealings with the outward world, and 
 those only when clothes or other things were 
 wanted, which their fruitful valley did not 
 supply. Time was passed basking in the sun- 
 shine, card playing, drinking, smoking, and 
 an occasional fit of religious enthusiam under 
 the title of " Revival,'' a rare and spasmodic 
 attack, dangerous if it had been frequent, 
 more harmless as a little fragment of 
 existence; they delighted in story telling, 
 mythical legends of unrecorded generations, 
 horrors only heard of in Africa, or from the 
 lips of the African, things which would make 
 a Christian weep, but which curled up the 
 lips of the young negroes with a smile. Then 
 there were later tales of blood to revel over, 
 insurrections, earthquakes, hurricanes, and 
 fires. The observations of a late traveller 
 regarding them were very true ; no sense of 
 shame could be detected in them, they 
 pilfered, and told lies, breaking the most 
 sacred promises, resorting to violence without 
 any occasion, laughing at torture ; ignorant 
 
108 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 of science, sound, or colour, tliej would 
 endeavour to paint and sing, and fall into 
 fits of laughter at their absurd failures. They 
 were savage, superstitious, and cowardly. 
 They called themselves Baptists, not from 
 any knowledge of the subject, but because 
 they had been told to do so. It was a different 
 title from the established religion of the white 
 man, and something thej thought was gained 
 by the distinction. 
 
 Into this den of professed idleness and vice 
 the oriental Mahomedan was now intro- 
 duced, and soon found himself domesticated. 
 
 It was Hoossein's chief delight, when the 
 gentle sea breeze blew softly through the 
 overhanging bananas, when the luscious fruit 
 hung down in clusters, wooing the appetite, 
 to sit in a snug corner looking out upon the 
 distant sea, with Sambo as his companion, 
 exchanging tales of their atrocious adven- 
 tures. 
 
 The only reason for supposing that Sambo 
 was not personally engaged in the rebellion 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 109 
 
 of the slaves in 1831, was that he said he 
 had been; for the same reason, we may hope 
 that the string of horrors which he drew 
 from that eveut had no foundation in fact. He 
 had a whole volume of dread tales, told in 
 divers manners, to suit his audience, but his 
 favourite theme was the destruction of the 
 property upon which he had been employed 
 as a child, where he had nothing to complain 
 of but too much love and kindness, where he 
 had a chance, if any slave ever had it, of 
 being reclaimed from the wild jungle in which 
 he lived, from the ferocity in which he 
 revelled. Even after the lapse of many years 
 his dull eyes rolled in excitement, as he re- 
 counted the burning of the homes of the store 
 houses and the dwellings ; he laughed aloud 
 as he described the flight of the women and 
 children from the fire ; their capture by the 
 slaves around, how the little ones were 
 hurled, midst cries, imprecations, and en- 
 treaties, back again into the hissing and crack- 
 ling flames ; and the women were kept for 
 
110 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 insult and torment, the living victims of tlicir 
 drunken orgies, till in weariness of vengeance 
 for no offence, tliej threw the sufferers, for a 
 lingering' and cruel death, in the smoking 
 embers of their former happy homes. 
 
 Hoossein, too, had his adventures and his 
 murderous experiences to amuse Sambo, and 
 the old man eyed the young one as he would 
 look on a divinity, as he told him how on 
 one occasion the people to be strangled were 
 more numerous than ^the stranglers ; at his 
 (Hoossein's) earnest solicitation the fatal roomal 
 was entrusted to him, and a fair young girl 
 was his allotted victim ; no feeling of mercy 
 no compunction at the destruction of youth 
 and beauty, had any sway with him, but by 
 accident he bungled in the- execution ; the 
 girl saw all her friends killed before her face 
 in an instant 5 she had time to think, and to 
 turn an imploring look on her intended 
 murderer— even to offer her innocent self as 
 a sacrifice for her life, with a promise on her 
 bended knees, with uplifted haj^ds, of per- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. Ill 
 
 petual and inviolable secresj ; " but/' said 
 Hoossein, with that hissing tone, denoting 
 excitement, *' I remembered my motto on the 
 talisman, my dead father rose upon my 
 memory, ' what thou doest do,' and so the 
 roomal was readjusted, and she seemed to 
 fall asleep.*' 
 
 Such were the common amusements of 
 these congenial spirits. The negro was dia- 
 bolical by nature, the Asiatic by accident. 
 If he fell in with it, he did the evil ; and 
 so they killed the time, and fed on the 
 fruits around them, the orange, the banana, 
 the shaddock, and the pineapple ; they drank 
 rum, and soothed themselves with tobacco ; 
 the climate was luxurious, the scene around 
 was beautiful, and existence was the very 
 perfection of idleness^ 
 
 Before Hoossein left India, he had neither 
 experience nor the opportunity to judge of 
 the English character ; he had heard his 
 father and Yusufif speak of them on the 
 western coasts as great kings, just and 
 
112 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINT. 
 
 energetic ; he had himself fallen under the 
 criminal laws in those provinces, for deeds 
 which had been perpertrated in the central 
 districts with impunity. It is true he had 
 been conditionally pardoned, but what little 
 respect he might have had for the authori- 
 ties was not increased by this lenity, which 
 like all orientals he considered a mistake. 
 While he was in the Bengal provinces he 
 seldom heard the name of an Englishman, — 
 the native officials were the great men there ; 
 but yet his instinct taught him to consider 
 the English as a great people. 
 
 It was a warm and a thirsty day, when 
 Sambo undertook to correct this erroneous 
 opinion. 
 
 " Great men !'* said the sable philosopher, 
 as he rose from his reclining position, resting 
 his head on his hand ; " they are not a great 
 people ; they never have been great, and they 
 never will be great; they are a narrow 
 minded, selfish race, jealous and distrustful ; 
 they are all traders, and will sacrifice every- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. IIS 
 
 thing for money. They always want a 
 change, and never know when they are well 
 off; they have strong laws, and they are 
 called brave people, but they seldom take 
 advantage of their bravery. Uncertain and 
 vacillating, they will convict a man of 
 murder, but decline to hang him. They send 
 rascals to gaol, but let them out again to 
 prey on the community.'* Hoossein winced. 
 " Tell me," said the orator, warming on his 
 subject, as he smacked his knee with his left 
 hand, '' would great men injure themselves 
 by keeping engagements with nothing to 
 bind them ? would they ruin their friends for 
 the chance of benefiting an alien ? Psha f 
 My master was better off when we were 
 slaves, and we were better off also, but we 
 frightened them into setting us free. If we 
 gave them the chance,*' (and Sambo drew his> 
 fore finger across his throat), " they would 
 make us slaves again. They can be frightened^ 
 and plagued into anything; they prefer lies 
 and diplomacy to bloodshed and the sword ^ 
 
114 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 they are bigotted and narrow minded; they 
 have what they call a church, but dispute 
 how to serve it ; some are over religiouSj and 
 sonie have no religion at all ; they split 
 straws, and make mole hills into mountains^ 
 Their king great, indeed ! Ha ! ha ! he lets 
 his subjects do as they like. If I was king I 
 would hang all who did not pray as I did. 
 We would soon see who T^as great then ; this 
 universal sufferance will be the ruin of thcm^ 
 and the sooner it comes the better. I only 
 hope that I may live to see it. I hate them — I 
 abhor them !" 
 
 Sambo foamed and raved. Hoossein looked 
 at him with awe. The old man's eyes rolled 
 in frenzy, his words came fast and strong, as 
 he continued — 
 
 " Great people? I will exterminate them,, 
 I will ! There is the sea, blue and calm ; I 
 will ruffle its smoothness into waves with 
 their kicking, and turn its blueness into red 
 with their blood.'' 
 
 He gnashed. with his white teeth, and tore 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 115 
 
 wltli his thick fingers, as if pulling to frag- 
 ments some detested thing ; then suddenly 
 subsiding, he seized Ho ossein by the hand^ 
 and whispered, vehemently, 
 
 '^ Will you help us? There will be glory 
 in the deed, and a recompense when it is 
 done." 
 
 He waved his hand and said, 
 
 " See ! all this shall be ours 5 we will turn 
 them out of it. They took it by force ; let 
 them lose it by force. We have no home 
 but this ; we will keep it as our own, and 
 you, you were stolen from your friends and 
 your country. Does no feeling of revenge 
 rankle in your breast? We are nearly ready 
 to strike. Will you help us ? or are you too 
 silly to see, too timid to seize the opportu- 
 nity ?' 
 
 *' Hold !" said Hoossein, calmly, " there is 
 no opportunity now ; there are soldiers in 
 plenty, and you are scattered far and wide. 
 You have no combination, or plan. You 
 require unity, secresy, and determination. 
 
116 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 You get excited when you ought to be calm. 
 You talk and gossip, and are, therefore, un- 
 fitted to be plotters. If you beat the air 
 while talking on the subject, what would you 
 do when the moment for action arrived ? I 
 fear you are not to be trusted in so serious a 
 matter.'^ 
 
 " Enough," said Sambo, angrily; " I have 
 found you out. You are as useless as a 
 tortoise !" 
 
 " Ah !" thought Hoossein to himself, as he 
 rose from his seat, " I am a tortoise, and have 
 been so for two years. My destiny pro- 
 gresses !'' 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 117 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 AMEENA, 
 
 While Hoossein ekes out his time in Jamaica, 
 we will take a look at those he left behind. 
 
 It was a sultry evening in the month of 
 September, 18 — , when an English cavalry 
 regiment encamped on the bank of river, in 
 front of a thick grove of mangoe trees. 
 
 The season was early for marching; but 
 unusual things were transacting in those days. 
 India enjoyed an unusual Governor-General, 
 and political reasons of extreme moment 
 
118 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 existed as an excuse for exposing troops to 
 unusual exposure. The monsoon was scarcely 
 over, the jungles were wet and unhealthy, 
 and the rivers were still deep, and rapid 
 torrents. 
 
 As might have been expected, fever and 
 cholera did make their appearance on the 
 second day's march, but not to such an extent 
 as to alarm the Colonel, who knew that the 
 quicker he moved on, the sooner he would be 
 out of danger. It was a favourite expression 
 of his, " give men no time to be ill ; keep up 
 excitement," he would say to his surgeon, 
 *' I will give them excitement^ and they will 
 not require much of your medicine/' And 
 so it proved. Sickness was soon out-marched, 
 and everything was going on as satisfactorily 
 as the season would allow. 
 
 A large double-poled tent occupied the 
 front centre of the camp ; the flag of old 
 England was too damp to flutter in the light 
 breeze. A ten days old moon sent her fitful 
 light on departing day, and shone on the 
 
LCST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 119 
 
 white jackets of tlie servants, as ttey moved 
 backwards and forwards from cook to tent. 
 An Indian kitchen is a large one — the wide 
 vault of heaven, a level sward, a ploughed 
 field, a bare rock. A dinner fit for a king 
 can be cooked with few appliances. A few 
 stones form the fire-places ; wood from the 
 nearest jmigle the fuel ; this kitchen is only 
 a few paces from the tent, and the dishes 
 go in smoking hot. 
 
 By degrees the rapid circulation stops, the 
 dishes have been brought out and washed and 
 packed. Each servant takes off his master's 
 service, and the lamp-light in the tent grows 
 hazy under the clouds from Manilla cheroots. 
 
 Seated at the middle of the table was a 
 stout, hale man, of ruddy complexion, with 
 kind and twinkling light blue eyes. At the 
 sound of the bugle he rose from his seat and 
 said, 
 
 " Now, then, youngsters, good night. Off 
 to your roosts. First bugle half-an-hour 
 before cock-crow in the morning.'* 
 
120 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 In a few minutes the tent was empty, and 
 the Calassies were busy striking and packing 
 it, to send it on to the next encampment. 
 
 One of the youngsters alluded to, Cornet 
 Charles Eglington, did not go to roost ; but 
 bringing an easy chair outside his tent, sat 
 himself down in it to finish his cheroot, and 
 to meditate on the far-off home he had so 
 lately left, with a pair of bright brown eyes, 
 which still formed his beacon light. 
 
 His thoughts were very chaotic — full of 
 bewildering fancies, like the confused ripple 
 of the stream that ran before him, glittering 
 in the moonbeams. He stood up and watched 
 the silvery waters glide away. Where did 
 they go to ? where did they come from ? and 
 lie would have thought on and on in a dreamy 
 state incident to such a situation, had not his 
 attention been attracted by strange sounds 
 rising from the river — they sounded like 
 groaning, weeping, and talking. 
 
 Charles walked in the direction of the 
 sounds, and on reaching a turn of the river 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 121 
 
 bank, He discovered a human being grovelling 
 in shallow water, using wild gestures, and 
 wilder speech, mixed with laughter and 
 lamentation. He approached it : it was a 
 native female, hanging over what appeared 
 to be a corpse. 
 
 " Hs will not hear me,*' she cried ; " he 
 will not speak. Ibrahim ! oh, Ibrahim !'* 
 she screamed, " come back — come back, to 
 me ! It is Ameena who calls vou. The men 
 are waiting for their water. Come ! oh, 
 come!" 
 
 Charles ventured to say that the man was 
 dead. 
 
 " Oh ! no — no — no — ^* she cried, without 
 looking up, "he is not dead — he cannot be 
 dead. He told me he would fetch the water, 
 and come back. Get up, Ibrahim ! Oh ! do 
 get up." 
 
 She pulled up the man's hand, which fell 
 back with a dull, heavy splash in the passing 
 stream. 
 
 a 
 
122 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 " Dead ! dead ! then Ameena will go witli 
 with you. She will be your houri in Para- 
 dise. No one else shall pillow your head 
 amidst the beautiful, the never-fading flowers." 
 
 " I come ! I come !" she cried, and rushed 
 out upon the moonlit stream. 
 
 Charles with all the eagerness of youth, 
 and the courage of an Englishman, unheed- 
 ing the depth or the rapidity of the river, 
 rushed to the rescue, and soon drew the 
 dripping girl to the shore. What was to be 
 done ? She was quite unconscious. He did 
 not like to disturb the camp, by calling for 
 aid, so, as she could not walk, he carried her 
 to his tent and laid her on the bed. He 
 thought she was dead, but as he watched 
 over her, and had just determined to call the 
 doctor, a strong spasm crossed over her, her 
 breast heaved, her eyes opened and life re- 
 gained its sway. Still she raved, and reason, 
 ■was unseated. For some time Charles did 
 not dare to leave her, till by degrees she 
 became quiet. He then wrapped her in a 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 123 
 
 blanket, and going to his cliair sat in it, half 
 sleeping, half waking, till the bugle sounded. 
 
 His adventure rose, misty and dream-like 
 
 before him . " My situation is like the morning 
 
 two hours before daybreak, cold and gloomy," 
 
 he said to himself. He did not feel quite sure 
 
 that he had not dreamed. His clothes, however, 
 
 were still wet ; he looked into his tent, "Ah ! it 
 
 is quite true," he muttered, '' she is there." 
 
 The oil light flickered on his table ; he took 
 
 it up and looked at her. What beautiful 
 
 features ! but they were nothing to him ; he 
 
 only thought of, what is to be done? 
 
 " By Jove ! " he said, as a sudden thought 
 struck him ; " I will go and tell old Bones " — 
 this was the familiar title of the regimental 
 surgeon — " 1 dare say that good old soul will 
 lend me a dooly." 
 
 So off he ran to his friend's tent. 
 
 " Hilloa, Bones ! " he cried on reachino; it 
 " Are you up ? " 
 
 " Of course I am, and getting my beard off. 
 Who are you, and what do you want ?' 
 
 a 2 
 
124 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Charles explained that he had come for a 
 dooly and bearers. 
 
 ''Who is ill? " asked the doctor. 
 
 " A poor girl I found in the river last 
 night." 
 
 " Ah ! ah ! " cried the doctor, in the inter- 
 vals of his shaving. " Water nymphs, 
 naiads, and mermaids. I will be over and 
 see about it in a minute." 
 
 Charles was fastening on his sword when 
 Bones came in. 
 
 "You are a nice young fellow," he began; 
 but on looking at the pale, anxious face he 
 spoke to, the doctor stopped, and after a 
 moment's hesitation, he continued, " I have 
 brought a dooly, so let me see the patient." 
 
 She still slept, and in that state was placed 
 in the conveyance ; a Mussulman servant was 
 sent on with instructions regarding her, and 
 Charles instituted inquiries on the subject. 
 
 He discovered that a bheestie (water carrier) 
 was missing. He told the men where to find 
 the body, but the stream had risen during the 
 night, and it was not to be found. 
 
^^ 
 
 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 123 
 
 The bugles sounded, the march began, and 
 Cornet Charles Eglington attended to his 
 duties. 
 
 The next camp was reached, the horses 
 were picketed with head and heel ropes, they 
 were groomed and fed, stables were over, and 
 the officers went to breakfast. 
 
 Before they had finished this meal, which 
 is a more important one in India than in 
 England, an elderly native entered the tent ; 
 he was rather short, very black, with thin 
 grey hair streaming out here and there under 
 his turban, small piercing eyes, very little 
 clothing, legs the very picture of muscular 
 development, and a bamboo shafted spear in 
 his hand. 
 
 This was old Duttoo, the well-known 
 shikaree of the hunt. 
 
 He was at once greeted with smiles and 
 questions. 
 
 " There are hogs ! '' he said. 
 
 A general rise took place. 
 
 '' Where ? How many ? Dant Wallah ? '* 
 
126 I^OST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 with many other questions, were put without 
 obtaining answers. 
 
 Some familiar slaps were bestowed on the 
 old man's back ; tea was offered him, which 
 he did not take, and brandy, which he did. 
 
 Then Duttoo said, 
 
 " They are on the move ; they are al- 
 most in sight. I have left men watching 
 them, and there, on yonder ground, is a man 
 waving his pugree ; quick, Sahebs, quick ! " 
 
 Horses were ordered and saddled, hunting 
 gaiters or boots pulled on, and in less time 
 then I can write the tale, there were seven as 
 gallant hunters as ever carried spear, canter- 
 ing up the gentle slope to the signal man. 
 
 No one was more devoted to sports of all 
 sorts than Charles Eglington ; bred up in the 
 routine of country life, he had learned hunt- 
 ing in Leicestershire, shooting in Norfolk, fish- 
 ing in Scotland and Wales. His fishing tackle^ 
 guns, and spears were always ready, and 
 although on this occasion he had some 
 anxieties which he could express to no one^ 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 127 
 
 his good horse, Exmouth, was saddled, his 
 long sambre skin gaiters were pulled on, and 
 with light rein and lively heel, he cantered 
 off as jovial as the rest. 
 
 The signal man was soon reached ; he 
 pointed out a small patch of Banbul jungle, 
 into which, he said, the hogs had just gone. 
 He advised, a long detour to meet them, and 
 so drive them back on to better ground than 
 that which lay before them, where the culti- 
 vated lands would soon give the hog a chance 
 of escape. 
 
 But " The Sounder Boar was on before, " 
 so at them at once was the order of the day. 
 In the meantime the quick eared pig had taken 
 alarm at the sound of horses' feet and the 
 talking of man, and slipped off unseen. The 
 tracks were soon found. 
 
 " Away ! away ! '' shouted the leader. 
 
 Along the rugged banks of the broad 
 water course, a long stern chase ; above, the 
 ground was rotten, full of large holes and 
 thorny bushes. The bed of the ravine, 
 
128 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 strewed with rocks and boulders, was generallj 
 impracticable to horses. 
 
 After a gallop of a mile the chase was 
 seen. 
 
 " Eide, boys ! ride ! " shouted Danvers, the 
 secretary, who waived his glittering blade on 
 high. 
 
 The old grey boar heard the sound and 
 stopped ; for one moment he glanced behind 
 him on his pursuers, shewing his long white 
 tusks " and his whiskers grey ;'* one moment 
 more he took to consider which way to go, 
 and then the bristly beast ran right down 
 the water course at a thundering pace, for 
 his garden of Eden — the nearest sugar cane 
 field. 
 
 Hot and furi ous rode the men on the banks 
 of the ravine, with " tightened rein and 
 bloody spurs,'' some on one side, some on 
 the other ; on a sudden the boar took a small 
 path which led to the left. Charles was the 
 leading rider on that side ; he lowered his 
 spear for the thrust, but just before him ran a 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 129 
 
 deep sharp ravine, with thick bushes on 
 either bank. There was no escape, he must 
 go over or in. Exmouth jumped it clean, but 
 stuck immovable in the thick, strong jungle 
 on the opposice bank. 
 
 Young Skyman, riding on the other side of 
 the water course, marked the turn of the 
 boar, and crossing on his track, came up the 
 pathway at racing speed, drawing first blood 
 from the beast, as he passed close in front of 
 Charles still entangled in the thicket. 
 
 As soon as the boar reached the open field 
 he turned to bay. It was of no avail that his 
 tusks gnashed, his eyes glared, and his mouth 
 foamed; there were practised hand and bold 
 steeds that never flinched, coming to meet 
 him. Allegro and Mayday, Red Rover and 
 Kremlin, all as daring as himself; and so he 
 fell — that monster boar — with tusks eleven 
 inches and a half long. 
 
 "Who will ride home and send out a tattoo 
 for me ?" said Charles, as he extricated himself 
 *' I fear Exmouth has broken down." 
 
 a 5 
 
130 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Skyman galloped away. 
 
 " Where are Fred and Dan vers ?" said 
 some one. 
 
 " After the sows," was the reply. 
 
 And the rest of them rode back to see what 
 more sport they could get. They had not 
 gone far before they met men running, who 
 said Danvers Saheb was killed ; but it turned 
 out that he was still at the bottom of a 
 ravine, with his leg broken, attended to by 
 Fred. No one knew him by any other name 
 — though it may be supposed he had one^ 
 and he having volunteered to ride a friend's 
 runaway horse, and being, as luck would have 
 it, a strong rider, capable of holding an ele- 
 phant, kept Guardsman well in hand, wit- 
 nessed the catastrophe, and immediately 
 assisted poor Danvers. 
 
 " It is not broken, is it ? " he said, in reply 
 to an exclamation from the latter. 
 
 " If it was not," said the poor fellow, " I 
 could not feel the bones grating together in- 
 side my leg.*' 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 131 
 
 Fred immediately rode away, and sent off 
 a man to camp, who, at the moment I have 
 come to, was returning with the surgeon, 
 Fred's servants, who thought their master 
 was the injured person; and several troopars, 
 all of whom were anxious to help their dearly- 
 beloved Fred Saheb. There was not a man 
 in the regiment who would not have followed 
 Captain Fred to perdition; they were sorry 
 for Danvers, but there were signs of joy when 
 they discovered that their pet officer was not 
 the injured one. 
 
 As Danvers was now in safe hands, all but 
 Fred rode away, returning to camp about 
 tiffin time, with plenty of hog's flesh for chops, 
 and the inevitable souse. 
 
 " Oh r' groaned the colonel, as he entered 
 the tent, where beer mug was all the fashion, 
 " a broken down charger, and a broken legged 
 captain — a very serious hour's amusement! 
 If it goes on like this there will be none of 
 you left for the Afghans." 
 
 Looking round the horses was the next 
 
132 LOST LTKKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 thing to be done. Exmoutt, that gallant 
 silver gi'ey, stood upon three legs ; Wallen- 
 stein, the dun, with ebon points, writhed in 
 pain from multitudes of long thorns in his 
 limbs, over which a hot embrocation plaster 
 of white ants' earth was. being applied by 
 careful grooms ; Kremlin had fallen on his side, 
 and was gashed by sharp rocks from shoulder 
 to hock; Eed Eover had been amongst the 
 stones, a cut on his heel was being blown up 
 with gunpowder, and his wounded fetlocks were 
 washed with salt and water. 
 
 Skyman stopped with Exmouth, and 
 thinking that something had been omitted, 
 asked the horsekeepers where their master 
 was ; on being told in his tent, he went there. 
 He was on the point of entering without 
 ceremony ; but as he was doing so he heard 
 a female voice say, 
 
 " I must die ; I have nothing left to live 
 for — nothing upon earth." 
 
 The young man withdrew ; but as he did 
 so, he stepped on the surgeon's toes. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 133 
 
 "That's right/' said the latter; "that 
 comes of hog and mug, and something has 
 happened to Charles/' 
 
 " Did he send for you ?" said Skyman. 
 
 " I suppose he did," was the curt reply. 
 
 Skyman put it down to the corns, and 
 walked away. 
 
 Whatever joke was ready, on the smiling 
 face of the Doctor, as he pulled aside the 
 perdah, was suppressed by a glance inside the 
 tent. 
 
 " Mad—mad T he asked. 
 
 " Yes, mad !" said Charles. 
 
 " Mad — ^mad ! both of you," repeated the 
 Doctor in tones of deep compassion. 
 
 He took the girl's burning hand in his, and 
 said, quietly, 
 
 " Do you still wish to die?" 
 
 "Oh, yes!" she cried; "I must die 
 directly. Ibrahim calls me often, and tells 
 me to make haste :; but they vex me, and say 
 I must not die, that he can do without me ; 
 but that is impossible. May I not die, Doctor 
 
134 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Saheb? You are always good to poor 
 Ameena." 
 
 '^ Yes ; you can go if you like. Paradise 
 must be much pleasanter than this world/^ 
 said the Doctor. 
 
 " How good, how kind of you. Ibrahim 
 will thank you, and he shall be your water 
 carrier, and will bring it cool and sweet 
 for you. "What a nice bungalow you will 
 have, when you go there, Doctor Saheb; such 
 punkahs and such mirrors/' and Ameena 
 laughed a delirious laugh, 
 
 " Now then, take this," said the Doctor, 
 holding a glass of liquid to her mouth ; 
 " this will send you to Paradise." 
 
 •"Will it?'' said the girl, eagerly seizino^ 
 it. 
 
 "Yes," said the Doctor; "you will go 
 there so pleasantly." 
 
 She swallowed the draught. 
 
 "Now," said Bones to Charles, "leave 
 your tent standing to-morrow; Saturday 
 your man can come on with it, and cateh us 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 135 
 
 on Sunday. In the meantime pig witb. me. 
 I will leave an old woman to look after her; 
 but, my boy, you must send her away." 
 
 Charles felt uncomfortable, as he muttered, 
 
 "Oh! of course I shall." 
 
 The Sunday morning service was never 
 
 omitted by Colonel — , and as Charles 
 
 left the tent where it was held, he saw that 
 his own tent had been pitched. He walked 
 towards it, feeling an unknown tremour pass- 
 ing through him. He entered. Ameena was 
 seated on the ground ; the tremour passed 
 over him again. He spoke — she arose, and 
 said she was better. 
 
 Charles was astonished at the perfection of 
 beauty he saw before him. A plain red saree 
 hung over the head, and enveloped the whole 
 body ; its lines of symmetry were visible un- 
 der the soft texture of her dress ; her ebon 
 hair escaped on one side ; her forehead was 
 higher than usual for an oriental, with high 
 arched eyebrows ; the eye lashes were long, 
 nearly concealing the timid glance which she 
 cast on the young man. He shunned the 
 
136 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 look, yet he knew the look was given, and he 
 felt that those lustrous black ejes looked 
 kmdly on him. 
 
 She knew but little of what had passed \ 
 but she was better, and they stood for a few 
 moments not knowing what to do next ; he 
 incapable of saying go ! 
 
 Then she spoke in trembling accents. She 
 almost wished she had been allowed to go to 
 Ibrahim ; but she was told that she owed her 
 life to a good and brave young man ; she was 
 told that she ought to feel grateful ; but her 
 life was of so little value that her gratitude 
 was too small to express. She could only- 
 give her simple thanks to him for doing what 
 was good and humane, and she hoped G od 
 would reward him for doing his duty to a 
 fellow creature, however undeserving of it ; 
 as for her future, as Providence had so willed 
 it that she should not die, she would be con- 
 tent to trust in God for the future. 
 
 Her effort was over, and she relapsed into 
 gentle sobbing. 
 Charles Eglingtonhadno experience in these 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 137 
 
 things. He tried to calm her, but got con* 
 fused himself; he expressed his sympathy 
 with her sorrow in such Hindoostanee as he 
 could muster. He could not tell her to go.. 
 He had never spoken an unkind word to any- 
 one — it was not his nature to do so; he was 
 not selfish ; he thought that she would go of 
 her own accord. He had indeed thought she 
 would go ; but she did not. She waited to 
 be told to go ; he waited for her to do so* 
 There was an acknowledged sympathy, which 
 prevented either from acting; their very 
 natures assimilated. 
 
 She was as soft and gentle as a child ; she 
 had obeyed, respected, and attended to her 
 husband ; no voice sang as sweetly as hers, 
 when the women sat down at the grinding ; 
 no smile was more joyous than hers, as she 
 prepared the mid day repast for her husband ; 
 in fact, she was very cheerful, and took things 
 pretty much as they came. She was very 
 young and very innocent. She had never acted 
 for herself, so she staid where she was. She 
 
138 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 would not have liked to go, for tHere was kind- 
 ness and attention around her, which she had 
 never before experienced; there were con- 
 gratulations on her good luck, and hopes that 
 she would befriend them, when she could. 
 Ameena had got into a new atmosphere ; it 
 was not unpleasant ; she did not know it was 
 unhealthy, and so Ameena staid in the tent 
 of the Englishman. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 13^ 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 ENGLISH OFFICERS. 
 
 There are tides in the affairs of man — the 
 flood and the ebb 5 there are currents and 
 eddies in the lives of all. Few attend to 
 them, or if they do, they commonly pass 
 them over, with the observation, " a narrow 
 shave that !'^ or, •" what a bit of luck !'' 
 
 A little whirlpool in existence is contained 
 in the following narrative ; but the impres- 
 sion it made on the real actor in the scene 
 was not lightly looked on, his salvation 
 
140 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 was considered as coming direct from Provi- 
 dence, for the intent and purpose tliat his life 
 might be occupied in doing good. 
 
 Some days have passed away. The march 
 was resumed early on one Monday morning ^ 
 the route lay through a thick grassy country, 
 reported to be full of game. The white tents 
 of the encampment were just visible on a ris- 
 ing ground, some four or five miles distant, 
 when the Shikarees brought intelligence to 
 the officers of a marked down tiger. 
 
 Permission having been obtained, Fred,. 
 Charles Eglington, and several others, taking 
 their guns and rifles, went off with the 
 Shikarees. On reaching the place, they in- 
 spected it with anxious eyes ; it was a flat,, 
 bushy locality, cut up by ravines, on the 
 edges of which was generally a tangled 
 jungle; while below the grass was thick and 
 rank — here and there was a stunted tree. 
 
 The spot was a dangerous one, and some 
 time was occupied in a careful examination 
 of the ground, before deciding on the plan of 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 141 
 
 attack; but when the well-practised and 
 •cool sportsman, Fred, toldEglington to come 
 with him, and directed the others to various 
 points, with cautions to take care of them- 
 selves, matters looked progressive. 
 
 A few beaters, who had been arranged by 
 the Shikarees, were now signalled to advance 
 from the upper end of the ravine, in which 
 the tiger was supposed to be. 
 
 There was a sudden yelling of discordant 
 voices in that quiet and secluded vale — torn 
 toms began to beat, and tin utensils to jingle; 
 then came the crackling of squibs, as, tied to 
 stones, they were lighted, and thrown into 
 likely bushes — nearer and nearer came the 
 men, full of excitement — louder and more 
 incessant ca ne the shouting and the din. On 
 a sudden, a shot was fired, and up came, 
 from the thick grass, the well-known rattle 
 of a tiger's roar. 
 
 Fred, touching Charles on the shoulder, 
 pointed to a thicket below them. At the 
 
142 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 same moment Charles fired. There was a 
 quick, sharp growl, from an unseen beast, 
 and the long grass waved and bent, as an 
 animal rushed through it, at speed, and then 
 all was silent. The beaters had retired — 
 some were perched on the little trees, some 
 had gone away as quick as possible ; while 
 the well-trained Shikarees had" collected, for 
 mutual protection, on a plot of bare rock. 
 
 No one saw where the tiger had gone to ; 
 he had not gone past a certain spot ; but the 
 cover was thick and impervious, so that he 
 might be anywhere. 
 
 Skyman, who had fired the first shot, which 
 gave him a title to the skin, went with 
 another young man to the spot where he shot 
 <\tthe tiger. The closest inspection found no 
 blood. They then went to where the last 
 shot was fired, and following the tracks for a 
 few yards, blood was found on the broken 
 blades of grass; but tracking was voted 
 dangerous in that thick cover. They thought 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 143 
 
 of the beaters ; but Fred called out that not 
 a man should go into that place, where they 
 were afraid to go themselves. 
 
 The young men, with their servants, and 
 some Shikarees, then made as close a search 
 as thty could, without success. The mid- 
 day sun was getting hot, they had had no 
 breakfast, and it was voted a bad job. 
 
 Fred and Charles had to cross a small 
 branch ravine, to join the rest of the party. 
 While doing so, Fred stepped aside to examine 
 a likely-looking thicket, at a short distance. 
 Charles went on; but just as he had climbed 
 the bank, he heard a roar, a shot, and a rush 
 behind him. He looked back, and saw the 
 tiger in the very act of springing on his 
 friend. There was a moment of shaking and 
 tearing, and then the gun rose steadily to his 
 shoulder — the trigger was pulled, and the 
 bullet sped ; but the beast still lay upon his 
 friend. There was an instant of time, in 
 which Charles thought, " Shall I fire again ? 
 if I do I may kill Fred." Still, he was on 
 
144 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 the point of firing, when the yellow tiger, 
 sleek and glossy, rolled over, and the man 
 arose. Where was his cap ? — still crunched 
 in the animal's mouth ; a small trickle of 
 blood ran down Fred's cheek. 
 
 "Thank God!'* said Fred, as he picked 
 up his old Joe Manton ; " that was a good 
 shot of yours, Charles, and the old gun is 
 not much hurt. Look here ! as I fell, I held 
 it across the brute's mouth ; his teeth have 
 left their mark on the stock and the rib." 
 (The gun bears the mark to this day.) 
 
 On examining the tiger, they found one 
 fihot through the spine, which gave him the 
 death wound, at the very instant his tooth 
 had penetrated through the thick cap, a silk 
 liandkerchief, and the skin of Fred's head. 
 There was another wound on the hip ; and 
 -as that was on the side from which Charles 
 had fired his first shot, the skin was awarded 
 to him ; but he laughed at the idea of having 
 it, and insisted on Fred keeping it. "Of 
 course," he said, " the skin will be an ac- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 145 
 
 companiment to the wondrous tale of your 
 escape. And oh ! how thankful I feel, that 
 I was allowed to be the humble means of 
 your delivery/' 
 
 The two men squeezed one another's hands 
 — a more expressive action than words, and 
 all the party trotted on to camp. 
 
 Pale and uneasy with the new excitement 
 he had just endured, Charles entered his 
 tent. Ameena was there ; and her woman's 
 wit was already calming the over-worked 
 feelings of the young man, when the doctor 
 entered the tent, to enquire, as he said, about 
 the tiger accident, of which strange rumours 
 were already circulating in camp. 
 
 " Yes," said Charles, " it was a strange 
 thing ; I scarcely know now how it all hap- 
 pened. I thought I might kill Fred ; but I 
 knew the tiger would if I did not shoot, and 
 God guided my aim, I was never more 
 astounded and delighted, than when Fred 
 kicked the beast from off him." 
 
 " Ah !'' said the good doctor, " that is an 
 
 H 
 
148 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 event wLicli you will never forget wliile the 
 pulses of your heart beat. To retain your 
 senses, calm and manageable, when the life 
 of a fellow creature depends on that calm- 
 ness, is one of those gifts, so touch in gly 
 described by the ' Path finder.' We all have 
 gifts of sorts, seldom discovered, till accident 
 displays them. There is,'' said the doctor, 
 hesitating a little, as if to collect his ideas 
 from the tiger scene, " a gift, which, of all 
 others, is most essential to tlie young man, 
 as he first enters on the scenes of life. If I 
 had been possessed of it, I should not now 
 be speaking to you. It was because I had 
 not the gift of denial that I am here. Then 
 again, none of us can look into futurity ; and 
 if I had said ' no,' I might not have been of 
 the same service to my fellow creatures, as I 
 have been. Listen to me, young man, for a 
 few moments;" and the doctor rubbed his 
 hard hand across his eyes. " She was not 
 beautiful — she was not young ; but she was 
 very kind to me, and I w^as grateful to her. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 147 
 
 I had not then known what real love was. 
 She thought I loved her; and when her 
 brother spoke to me on the subject, I could 
 not say that little word, ' no.' The day was 
 fixed for making me a rich bridegroom, with 
 every worldly comfort about me. I accepted 
 the congratulations of my friends, on mj 
 escape from the arm}"-, to which I was des- 
 tined. I thought it would be very pleasant 
 to do nothing all my life ; but the day before 
 ihe wedding, poor Anne was taken ill, it 
 turned out to be the small pox, and she died. 
 The time for my commission had passed 
 away, my chance of wealth was gone, and 
 nothing was left but to work. It was up 
 hill all the way, till I took to the study of 
 medicine; that suited me, and here I am. 
 I have been behind hand all my life ; I hope 
 I am not too late now. I have — though I 
 onght not to say so — been useful to more 
 than one young man, and I feel happy^ when 
 such opportunities come before me, to do my 
 best for my fellow- creatures. I am willing 
 
 H 2 
 
148 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 to try now ; and should be only too glad if 
 my efifort is successful. Can I induce you, 
 Charles Eglington, to use the gift which I 
 Lad not. Will you say no?" The old man's 
 voice trembled ; but he continued, in a low 
 and earnest tone, " say no, man ; and say it 
 soon." He laid his hand on the young man's 
 shoulder, and again repeating, "say it!" he 
 strode hastily away. 
 
 There was something on Charles' mind 
 which weighed heavier than the kind, fatherly 
 advice of the surgeon. He remembered the 
 parting with his much loved mother, and the 
 words she whispered in his ears while em- 
 bracing him for the last time. They were 
 lost upon him then, and passed like the summer 
 breeze, but now the whisper again sounded in 
 his ear, and he understood the meaning of 
 "Charles, have nothing to do with native 
 women." He resolved to act upon them, and 
 obey his mother. 
 
 It was night ; a small light flickered in his 
 tent. Ameena reclined upon a carpet, Charles 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 149 
 
 knelt beside her, and taking her small hand 
 in his, he s^iid, 
 
 " You are well now, Ameena ; you must ^ 
 go! 
 
 Ameena^s face fell upon his hand as she 
 said, 
 
 "Go? What for? What have I done ? 
 Where can I go to ? Oh, let me stay ; do not, 
 send me away now." 
 
 " It is not right that you should stay," he 
 said. 
 
 "Aha!'^ she cried. ''Not right? Why 
 not? Why did God save me? Why were 
 you sent to the rescue; you alone of all the 
 thousand men that slept within the hearing of 
 my calls ? If it is not right for me to stay, 
 it was not right of you to save me, or to take 
 care of me, or to call the doctor to me." 
 
 '' My coming was an accident,'' he said ; 
 " and all the rest was common humanity due 
 to any one of God's creatures." 
 
 "No! no! it was no accident !" she cried. 
 " Was it accident that brought you into the 
 
150 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 world? Was it accident tliat sent you to 
 India ? Did you save your friend from the 
 tiger by accident? Tell me, Eglington 
 Saheb," she said, slowly, and firmly looking 
 him full in the face, " why was I saved by 
 you ?' 
 
 Charles was no casuist ; there was a temp- 
 tation before him, but he scarcely saw the 
 danger ; his was not the time of life to look to 
 consequences; the arguments used were 
 plausible, and carried him away from the 
 main point, so, in a careless tone, he said, 
 
 '' I do not know !" 
 
 " I know ! " cried Ameena. " It was your 
 kismut and my kismut/' 
 
 Yes ! It was the kismut of that Maho- 
 medan woman to live in the tent of the 
 Christian. 
 
 Time slips on ; the quiet routine marches 
 through a friendly country are over; the 
 Indus river has been crossed, the arid wastes 
 of Scind are left behind, the Balan pass, with 
 its wild and rugged mountains, has been 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 151 
 
 passed in safety, and tlie rougli country oi 
 Affghanistan has been gained. 
 
 History tells how gallantly the Bombay 
 column held its own, and upheld its glittering 
 name ; but my tale confines itself to indivi- 
 duals. The regiment I am speaking of 
 formed a portion of that army, and though I 
 must sometimes embrace historical subjects, I 
 shall, as far as possible, confine myself to my 
 tale. 
 
 One day, just as the march was finished 
 and the men were getting the morning meal, 
 an alarm was raised that the grass cutters of 
 the regiment had been attacked, and cut up 
 by the Affghans. 
 
 There was a saddling in hot haste, a buck- 
 ling on of spurs, and a girding on of swords. 
 In a few minutes three hundred men were 
 galloping away to avenge the slaughtered 
 foragers ; for five long miles they galloped 
 on, and still no foe was seen ; the horses were 
 getting fatigued, for they had gone through a 
 
152 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 long march, had no time for feeding, and now 
 their greatest strength was needed. 
 
 A few dead bodies of grass cutters were 
 found, stripped and mutilated ; the per- 
 petrators of the slaughter of these unarmed 
 men were invisible, but a small flag fluttered 
 in the breeze on a neighbouring hill ; towards 
 this the commanding officer led his men. 
 
 As they approached the foot of the hills, 
 they became gradually alive with men, wild 
 hill men, mounted on their small but active 
 horses, armed with matchlock, spear, and fal- 
 chion, as formidable an enemy as could well 
 be met with. 
 
 Fred took the liberty of suggesting to the- 
 Colonel that the horses should be rested, or 
 that a feigned retreat should be made, so as 
 to entice the enemy into the plain. He was 
 not attended to, but on they went, and the 
 bugle sounded the charge. 
 
 Up the steep hill the gallant horses labour 
 hard ; their fatigue, the broken ground, des- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 153 
 
 trojed the line, and the charge could not be 
 completed. 
 
 The wild foe watched their opportunity- 
 their country, their homes, their freedom were 
 at stake ; they were on their own hill side ; 
 fierce and strong, down they came on the 
 disorganised cavalry like an avalanche from 
 the mountains ; the attack was irresistible, 
 individual bravery was of no avail, the clat- 
 tering torrent could not be stopped, and 
 quicker than the description of the misfortune 
 a hundred saddles were emptied. 
 
 Eavenswood and Moncton were down; 
 several other officers, Eglington amongst 
 them, Avere wounded; the troops, no longer in 
 control, sought safety in flight, while Fred 
 alone, calmly and slowly, came down the hill 
 with a heavy heart. These men whom he 
 had so often led on to victory, were now 
 routed and disorganised, and it was not their 
 fault. 
 
 Fred found himself almost alone; he 
 diverged a little from the line of pursuit, in 
 
 H 5 
 
154 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 which the Affo:hans were now collectino* their 
 plunder, in which occupation, others who 
 were near him were so anxious to be engaged, 
 that the J did not notice him, but while in this 
 dangerous vicinity Fred saw one of his own 
 men struggling to free himself from his fallen 
 horse, to dismount and disentangle the man 
 from the dead animal was the work of a mo- 
 ment, to get him up behind on his own good 
 horse ; was the work of another, but they had 
 not gone far before they met two Affghans re- 
 turning from the pursuit; these, expecting an 
 easy victory, at once attacked them. One 
 man attempted to cut the bridle, but it was a 
 chain one, which entangled his sword for a 
 moment, giving Fred an opportunity of cut- 
 ting clean through his strong right arm ; the 
 other man aimed a savage blow at Fred's 
 head, but the falling weapon only scratched 
 the face, as he fell, shot through the heart by 
 the trooper. 
 
 There was much rejoicing and great ap-. 
 plause when Fred and the trooper rode into 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 155 
 
 campj and when the men heard their com- 
 rade's tale, they looked upon their dearlj 
 loYed officer as if he was a divinity. 
 
 Marches, little fights, and great alarms, had 
 passed away ; Ghuzni had been stormed, 
 Candahar had been taken, and occupied for 
 many weary months with fears and strong 
 forebodings that not a man would return to 
 Hindoostan. Yet they did return with little 
 loss, first witnessing the uncalled for and re- 
 vengeful destruction of the Cabul Bazaar ; 
 then the bleaching bones of our unpractised 
 commanders of our deluded array, and the 
 "unthought of though numerous followers in 
 the dark, dismal defile of the Kbyber ; there 
 were deep groans and deeper vows from 
 Sepoys, Sowars, and Lascars, that they would 
 never be seen there again. 
 
 The broken walls of Jellalabad, with the 
 heroic memories of Sale and his comrades 
 were left behind, and many a heart leaped 
 with joy as the narrow passes of the grey 
 
156 LOST LIKKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 mountains expanded into tlie valleys and 
 plains of the Panjaub. 
 
 The hostile land was left behind, but 
 memories of bitter things remained; there 
 were hardships and losses of beloved com- 
 rades, and dire defeat ; the Mahomedan felt 
 that he had been fighting against his own 
 creed — a thing forbidden ; our own regiment 
 of cavalry had sad memories — they had left 
 many behind them with unmarked graves, 
 but every officer and man remaining knew 
 that they had done their dut}^, and now as 
 they marched homewards, with many a weary 
 mile to go, a strange duty was imposed upon 
 them. 
 
 .The vain glory of our Governor-General 
 required a trophy, a symbol of victory where 
 victory was not, but an escape was, and he 
 selected for that purpose the old gates of the 
 loDg since celebrated temple of Soranath ; 
 they would, he fancied, gratify the Hindoos. 
 Did he think they would disgust the Mahome- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 157 
 
 dans? He had captured tliem from the 
 strongest citadel in Affghanistan, and thej 
 were fitting trophies to restore to the 
 Hindoos. 
 
 Strange histories those old gates could tell, 
 cut and fashioned bj cunning carpenters, of 
 strange device, and heavy beam. They had, 
 in years gone by, witnessed the pious congre- 
 gations of Hindoo devotees, their long pro- 
 cessions and rich offerings, which, with ex- 
 cited crowds, had poured through their open, 
 portals to the shrine of Somnatho 
 
 Then they had witnessed the hordes of 
 conquering Mahomedans, in countless 
 legions and with unbridled sway, pouring 
 from the north with religion on the sword 
 point, enforcing the outward sign of their 
 own stronn; faith, and deluo;ino; the cities with 
 torrents of dark red blood, from unoffending 
 human beings ; fanaticism and extermination 
 were hand in hand. The Hindoo temples 
 were destroyed, and these wondrous gates, of 
 the holiest shrine of Western India were car- 
 
158 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 ried away by the Maliomedans as religioua 
 trophies, to the far famed fortress of Ghusni. 
 
 They could tell of the ribald jests of the 
 Moslem host, of the insults they endured 
 during their long weaiy march, of the danger 
 they underwent of sharing the fate of their 
 burnt fathers, and of the ignominy they felt 
 at the remarks of those who assembled to 
 witness thdir triumphant arrival. 
 
 They could tell of the perpetual troubles 
 that shook the regions of central Asia, of 
 fierce and unrelentino^ contests, of brave fio-hts 
 and treacherous murders, of brothers less 
 forgiving than strangers, more cruel than the 
 savage beasts of the jungles. 
 
 And now these patched up, battered gates 
 were plucked away from the proud Mahorae- 
 dan by a Christian, whose creed dictated 
 charity to all, to whom a warlike trophy 
 might be considered as a glory, to whom a 
 religious trophy was a sad disgrace. Why 
 should he tread on the faith of the millions 
 who owned his sway, by taking from them, 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 159 
 
 and restoring to Hindoos, a forgotten portion 
 of a once sacred fane. 
 
 The deed was done, and these old logs of 
 wood were on their road back to Somnath, to 
 hang upon hinges which no longer existed. 
 The Mussulmen were disgusted, the Hindoos 
 smiled, and the fort of Agra was reached. 
 
 Then these gates could tell, if anything 
 there is to tell, why they got no further ; why 
 the order of their triumphant march was not 
 continued ; and why to this day they still re- 
 main rotting, and uncared for in some dark 
 corner of the Agra Fort. 
 
 The insult was already inflicted on the 
 Mahomedan, and now a slight was put upon 
 the Hindoo. 
 
160 LOST LIxVKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 YUSUFP AND HOOSSEIN MEET AGAIN. 
 
 YusuFF, the Hadji, sought all over Calcutta^ 
 without success, for Hoossem, on the morn- 
 ing after the departure of the emigrant coolie* 
 Calcutta was a large place ; everyone in it 
 was busy about his own affairs. Yusuff could 
 find no one to search with him, to give him 
 any Information, or even to sympathise in his 
 loss, which indeed appeared to be a very com- 
 mon one, and the insatiable Ganges invari- 
 ably bore the blame. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 161 
 
 Chotee Ma was inconsolable 5 she would 
 not be persuaded that her son was possibly 
 alive; she knew better— he was washed away 
 in those turbid corpse laden waters, so she 
 lighted ber little oil light, on a fragment of 
 cocoa-nut shell, and sending it adrift on the 
 waters, waited a whole week on the Ghaut^ 
 in the fond hope that the little flickering 
 lamp would guide her only son back again 
 to his widowed mother. He came not, but 
 despair did. She could never see him more 
 on earth, and she prayed earnestly to go to 
 Paradise. The river fogs, the pestilential 
 exhalations, and scanty food fulfilled her 
 wishes, and she died within a fortnight of her 
 son's departure. 
 
 As Yusuff had visited Calcutta for the sole 
 benefit of the young man, at the earnest soli- 
 citation of the widow, with the intention of 
 helping the son of the friend who saved his 
 life into some good situation, there was now 
 no furthur occasion for his staying there. 
 
 The good old man was quite unhappy at 
 
162 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 the melancholy result of his labours; he 
 knew that a large circle of relations bewailed 
 the troubles that had clouded the young 
 man's existence, and he earnestly hoped ta 
 have been able to give them a satisfactory- 
 account of his progress. A night's lodging^ 
 a burra khana, depended on it, in more places 
 than one ; he had a thousand miles to travel 
 by himself, and no good news to tell. There 
 would be no dinners for the unwelcome 
 guest. 
 
 It turned out, however, that his intelli- 
 gence was received without regret. Hoossein 
 was gone — it was his kismut ; so the Hadji 
 slept, and eat all the food that was given to 
 him, much the same as usual, till he reached 
 the end of his journey, the old Peer, at Eoza, 
 
 To tell the truth, Yusuff had made the last 
 few journeys with a slow foot and heavy 
 heart. He rather dreaded the reception he 
 should meet with, and the effect of the news 
 on his fair daughter, Ameena. He knew that 
 certain arrangements had been made for the 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 163^ 
 
 marriage ; the event depended much on th& 
 news he brought back. Fatima had quite 
 made up her mind that Calcutta would soon 
 put all former mistakes to rights ; that the 
 young man would find no evil associates 
 there ; In short, that the climate would do him 
 as much good as a change of air benefits a 
 sick person, and she whispered to her Hadji^ 
 as he departed, 
 
 *'It is very desirable, for more reasons 
 than one, that the marriage should take place 
 soon/' 
 
 With all this on his mind, Yusuff was as- 
 tonished and rather hurt to find his news 
 taken calmly ; Fatima expressed no grief, and 
 as for the girl she had almost forgotten him.. 
 Young people do forget soon ! Some years 
 had passed since they met ; she only thought 
 of him as her future husband, in compliance 
 with the wishes of her parents* 
 
 " To be sure,'' said Ameena, " he was a very 
 line young man, a very promising fellow ; but 
 there were many more left." 
 
164 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 The Hadji was more astonislied, when he 
 saw the reception given to a fine, good looking 
 young man, Ibrahim, Tvho walked into their 
 abode as if he felt at home there. 
 
 The antecedents of Ibrahim were not very 
 satisfactory •, he had been for some time in 
 rather' suspicious service at Aurungabad ; he 
 had the reputation of beating the tom-tom 
 beautifully, with the correct shrug of his 
 shoulders, and expression of face, to be a 
 capital master of ceremonies on natch nights ; 
 but at present he was a water carrier 
 (bheestie), attached to the cavalry regiment 
 
 stationed at . He was now on leave j 
 
 there was no impediment to the marriage on 
 his part, and as Hoossein was dead, there 
 could now be none on the part of the lady. 
 
 Circumstances brought about the ceremony 
 rather quicker than was intended ; Ibrahim 
 received orders to join, as his regiment waa 
 under marchino- orders. Great battles were 
 expected, and all hands ordered to join imme- 
 diately. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 165 
 
 Fatima was naturally very unhappy, at tlie 
 idea of losing her only comfort, and the 
 more so as fighting was expected ; but she 
 consoled herself by remembering that her 
 husband had once seen warfare, that she was 
 by his side, that she cooked his daily bread; 
 and as Ameena was actually born in regi- 
 mental lines — why, she was used to it. 
 
 The marriage was duly solemnised with all 
 the usual Mahomedan ostentation, and 
 Ibrahim having placed his mussuchs (water 
 bags) on his bullock, slinging a few house- 
 hold utensils over the hump, his bed, and his 
 young laughing wife on the top of all, trudged 
 merrily away to camp. 
 
 It was now about that period, when paddle 
 wheels disturbed the placid wave of the 
 Indian Ocean, when the overland route, 
 through Egypt, was accomplished in litters, 
 or chairs carried by two donkeys, by riding 
 on them, or on camels, and the well known 
 cart, drawn by four unbroken, runaway 
 horses ; only as they ran to the next stage 
 
166 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 and there stopped, the coachman always 
 asked for his backsish with a satisfied smile. 
 
 These facilities in the journey betweeu 
 England and India induced great men to 
 consider a short banishment, with a full 
 purse, rather better that the ups and downs 
 of old England with an empty one. The 
 responsibility of an em.pire in the East was 
 not considered very onerous, and the speech 
 on taking leave of the East Indian Directors 
 was an after-dinner one. 
 
 There had been, for long years, a normal 
 occupation to be gone through in the East, 
 a gorgeous ceremony, leading captive the 
 'Governors-General, forcing them, at times 
 against their will, to fight with Peshwas, 
 Eajahs, Maha-Majahs, and all the hosts of 
 rulers over provinces contiguous to their own, 
 to which the said provinces were in due time 
 imaexed. 
 
 Of course, by this process, our empire 
 became very large and very valuable, so that, 
 -when rumour brought the intelligence that the 
 
LOST LIKKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 167 
 
 Kussians were tampering with our warlike 
 northern neighbours, with the intention of 
 invading this empire, it was very natural for 
 our Governor-General to turn the tables, and 
 invade them, either with a view of coercing 
 the men beyond the mountains into an alli- 
 ance with us, or coaxing into friendship men 
 who had never been friends. 
 
 We have seen in the last chapter the un- 
 happy results of some of these gorgeous 
 ceremonies. It was the fate of India never 
 to remain quiet. 
 
 There was an old prophecy, that when the 
 English crossed the Indus in arms, they 
 would lose Hindostan. The rumour was 
 talked of everywhere. The Punjaub heard 
 of it. The Kalsa army, drilled by Europeans, 
 well armed, brave men, the bequest of Eun- 
 jeet Sing, talked of it. They had seen our 
 defeat in the Khyber; they had witnessed 
 our distress, and had given us their protec- 
 tion. Our friend, the old Lion of the Pun- 
 jaub, had gone, so the Kaba army determined 
 
168 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 to win some glory for itself. In strong hope, 
 confident of victory, their great host crossed 
 the Sutlej river, and invaded the English 
 empire in the year 1845. 
 
 Yusuff found himself entangled in the war- 
 fare that followed ; he was a sutler, but dis- 
 guised it under the name of merchant. He 
 supplied the wants of the Mussulman soldiers 
 in the British camp, buying and picking up 
 articles found on the battle fields. There were 
 golden-hilted swords, jewelled pistols, ivory- 
 handled daggers, and inlaid matchlocks. The 
 fights of Moodkee and Ferozeshah had sup- 
 plied a goodly load. It was a very exciting 
 time. The old man said it made him young 
 ^gain — yet he always expected to be robbed 
 and murdered. No one was more punctual 
 on the field of battle. If there was carnage, 
 li3 was in it almost before the strife had 
 •ceased. He was considered a dexterous hand 
 at collecting valuables from the dead ; and if 
 a wounded man attempted resistance, there 
 was something at hand to keep him quiet. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 169 
 
 The Hadji was busy in his vocation on the 
 evening of the 10th of February, 1846. The 
 Sikhs, dislodged from their entrenchments at 
 Sobraon, their guns taken, and their whole 
 army in confusion, were endeavouring to cross 
 the Sutlej by their bridge of boats. Yusuff 
 was led on by the rapidity of the pursuit, till 
 he reached the banks overlooking the river ; 
 there he was picking up valuables, quicker 
 than usual, intently occupied, when he was 
 saluted by a slap on the back, and an excla- 
 mation of " Shah-bas, Hadji Saheb !" 
 
 There was no time for explanation. Yusuflf 
 was in much consternation at the unexpected 
 meeting. Visions of discord sprang up before 
 him — anticipations of he scarcely knew what 
 came over him. But at that instant the 
 British artillery crowned the bank beside 
 them. 
 
 Unsparing, never missing, the deadly 
 weapons sent their grape-shot, in rattling 
 volleys, amidst the confused mass of the Sikh 
 soldiers as they struggled and fought among 
 
170 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 themselves for tHe narrow passage of the 
 reeling bridge over that terrible river, across 
 which they had passed in hope and exulta- 
 tion only a few months before. They hoped 
 it would protect them now. Vain hope ! 
 Masses on masses crowded on ; masses on 
 masses rolled over. The shaking platform 
 was a trap and a snare. No shot missed 
 their entangled numbers; the very planks 
 were broken, and they tumbled through — the 
 dead, the wounded, and the living, formed 
 one heaving, conglomerated mass. Weaker 
 and weaker became the swaying bridge, as 
 chain and rope were shot away, till at last 
 the swinging fabric gave way in several 
 places. The hindmost men perceived it not, 
 but still pressing on, in frightened and un- 
 heeding haste, drove their comrades into the 
 surging wave, and followed themselves, until 
 there was a thick, writhing mass of drowning 
 men. 
 
 Uprose from that shattered host a wailing 
 cry, loud and long. Close to YusufiTs ear 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 171 
 
 there sounded a rattling laugh — at that 
 moment a strange and unwelcome sound. 
 The scene was too dreadful for laughter, 
 thought the Hadji, as he turned round to 
 rebuke the levity, and there, close beside 
 him, sitting on his heels, with his elbows on 
 his knees, his chin on his fists, was the face of 
 the long lost Hoossein, gloating over the 
 slaughter and destruction in that fatal river. 
 
 " It will all go to the bottom ! Shitan 
 will get it all,*' were the words he uttered, as 
 the firing ceased. "We shall never find 
 anything." While they still contemplated 
 the scene, the lurid sun vanished, the day 
 was done, and the two found their way back 
 to YusufFs tent. 
 
 To the inquiries of the latter, where he had 
 come from ? how long he had come ? had he 
 been dead ? and many other questions, Hoos- 
 sein replied that " he had come from the other 
 end of the world." He had been up in time 
 to see the Sikhs cross in their glory, and a 
 few of them go back in despair. " I was,'* 
 
 12 
 
172 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 he said, " in hopes that they would have stood. 
 I did all I could to help them. Our cavalry 
 attended to my wishes, and would not charge; 
 but that cursed artillery of the English has 
 been the ruin of the thing. If it had not 
 been for that, they would have been eaten up, 
 driven into the sea, and — " Hoossein made a 
 significant gesture with both hands round his 
 neck. 
 
 " You see, Hadji Sahib," he continued, " 1 
 hate the English. I came away from Jamaica 
 because they told me I should be hanged if 
 I staid. The fact was a great many rich 
 coolies died in my house. I could not help 
 their getting ill and coming there to rest. It 
 was no fault of mine that they died. What 
 they left behind them was not enough to pay 
 for their funeral expenses. However, I 
 thought it best to be on the safe side, so got 
 stowed away in a ship as a bit of cargo, and 
 came to Calcutta. There was no one there, no 
 business to be done, so I came on here, where 
 it seems lively enough. I have got my little 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 173 
 
 tent with the cavalry, so good night, Hadji 
 Sahib ; we shall meet again/' 
 
 The old man, for various reasons, did not 
 wish to see Hoossein again, so the next morn- 
 ing he packed up his goods, and went away. 
 
 Quick of eye, dexterous of hand, cruel and 
 determined, Hoossein rapidly accumulated so 
 much, that he set up shop for himself. He 
 pitched a handsome tent; he placed neat 
 divans around it; he entertained musicians 
 and Natch girls. He had picked up some 
 refiliements in the West, which he adapted to 
 Oriental tastes, and his tent soon became the 
 favoiu'ite resort for the idle Mahomedan 
 troopers of the army. 
 
 In the meantime there was but little rest 
 while a man of the enemy remained under 
 arms. The army pressed on to Lahore ; that 
 noble old soldier, Sir Eobert Sale, died of his 
 wounds, content to go to his rest, with his 
 untarnished sword beside him. 
 
 Victorious and successful, a treaty of peace 
 was signed. The Governor-General and the 
 
174: LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Commander-in-Chief were honoured by their 
 Sovereign with the peerage, and thanked by 
 the Parliament of England, and the East 
 India Company. 
 
 History will some day find out that the 
 rewards were small for winning so heavy a 
 stake. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 175 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 HOOSSEIN SWIMS AGAINST THE STREAM. 
 
 HoossEiN pitched his tent near the mauso- 
 leum of the great conqueror Jehanj ire. He 
 bought and sold without any reverence for 
 that beautiful building, for its sacred inscrip^ 
 tions, its elegant mosaics, or its overpowering 
 reminiscences ; it was a fine place for the ex- 
 ercise of his abilities. There was a grand 
 mixture of young men in and about Lahore, 
 so that the talim khana, established by 
 Hoossein, in one of the courts of the tomb, 
 
1 76 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 was the resort of the highest native officers of 
 the Anglo-Indian army. 
 
 The Natch girls, the new inventions — those 
 happy mixtures of opium, of tobacco, of 
 spirits, under names which did not outrage 
 the feelings of the strictest Mahomedans, 
 yet had the effect of introducing indulgers to 
 a temporary sojourn outside the gates of 
 Paradise. The wrestlers, the jugglers, and 
 the card-playing, filled the dimly-lighted 
 divan nightly to ovei flowing. 
 
 Hoossein felt he was going on very well, 
 but having consulted his high priest, or the 
 high priest having intimated to him that he 
 ought to enter into the bonds of matrimony, 
 he informed the venerable Moolah, under a 
 promise of secresy, that he was already b e- 
 trothed, but knew not where the lady was to 
 be found. 
 
 The Moolah enjoined the strictest search, 
 the most minute enquiry, and engaged, if it 
 could be proved that the girl was dead, or 
 otherwise disposed of, that Hoossein should 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 177 
 
 be absolved from Ms vows, and be at liberty 
 to make fresh ones. 
 
 Under this arrangement, Hoossein began to 
 live merrily ; he became intimate with seve- 
 ral Sikh gentlemen, who had seen something 
 of the world, and profited by their wander- 
 ings ; who quite understood Hoossein's aspi- 
 rations, and desired to help them on for the 
 benefit of their own nation in general, and 
 themselves in particular. They entered into 
 all his feelings against the English; they 
 were fully aware that what he said was true, 
 that they had been too hasty, and had not 
 kept sufficient reserves in hand, and, as night 
 after night they chatted over the situation, 
 they began to see a light in the horizon. 
 
 The Earl of Dalhousie, ^''ora et Labora^*' 
 had assumed the reins of India with a firm hand. 
 Nothing was to be left in doubt by him ; so 
 as the distant region of Mooltan seemed in 
 that condition, and as policy required a safe, 
 high road in that direction, it was resolved to 
 clear it up. 
 
 I 5 
 
178 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Two promising young men, Mr. Vans 
 Agnew, and Lieutenant Anderson, were 
 ordered off to Mooltan, with small escort, to 
 ascertain precisely the feelings of the Dewan 
 Moolraj towards the Government of India. 
 
 It was so arranged by the Sikh gentlemen 
 and Hoosseiu, that a friend of theirs should 
 accompany this party. It reached Mooltan 
 in safety ; the ambassadors had an interview 
 with Moolraj, and then they were ruthlessly 
 and cruelly slaughtered, upholding in their 
 last sad moments, the truth, dignity, and 
 bravery of their country. 
 
 This murder of peaceful ambassadors was 
 the cause of a renewal of the war in a distant 
 country, far away from the usual resources of 
 the Indian Government, against an enemy 
 who knew that his last hope of independance 
 was in the scale. The second Sikh war 
 proved — if proof were wanting — that no 
 orientials, however well led, however deter- 
 mined, and however numerous, could hold 
 their own against the determined courage 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 179 
 
 and tlie magnificent discipline of the English 
 army. 
 
 To return to Mooltan : it so happened that 
 an Englishman turned up unexpectedly, but 
 very opportunely. There was no army, no 
 money, no stores, no arms, no ammunition, 
 within many hundred miles ; yet there was 
 one Englishman, not far ofiF, in civil charge of 
 a province, and he took on himself the extra- 
 ordinary task of avenging the cold-blooded 
 murder. 
 
 This hero. Lieutenant Edwardes, collected 
 money, supplies, and men ; he made, or he 
 found ammunition ; he expended a great 
 ]nany English promises (promises never 
 broken), and in two months time, this solitary 
 officer engaged, and defeated the forces of 
 Moolraj, drove them into Mooltan, and kept 
 them there. 
 
 What was so far accomplished by this un- 
 drilled and badly supplied force, could not 
 be finished by a General at the head of a 
 large army from Bengal ; the Dewan or his 
 
180 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 fortress could not be captured ; tte Sepoys 
 refused to work in the trenches (every man 
 should have been buried in them) ; and the 
 General had to raise the siege, till a Bombay 
 army, unaffected with the secret springs of 
 evil, enabled him to begin again, and to take 
 the place. 
 
 On what chances the fate of kingdoms de- 
 pend ! Had it not been for Edwardes, the 
 \yhole of the Mooltan army would have been at 
 liberty to join Shere Shing, who, like the 
 bydra sprung up again to fight. On the 
 22nd of November, 1848, he had forty thou- 
 sand men, and twenty-eight guns, and was 
 beaten at Eannuggur. On the 13th January, 
 1849, he was beaten at Chillian wallah, with 
 great loss, and suffered severely in several 
 smaller engagements. Yet on the 21st of 
 February, his army had increased to sixty 
 thousand men, with fifty-nine guns — so ready 
 were the men of this country to rally for the 
 fight round the standard of their race. 
 
 When Hoossein found that a Bombay force 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 181 
 
 tad come to the rescue at Mooltan, lie im» 
 mediately left that place, with the expres-* 
 si on, 
 
 ^' I never liked the Mahrattas." 
 
 When the Sikh force was utterly discom- 
 fited at Goojerat, he was at one time in great 
 danger of being cut off with an unfulfilled 
 destiny. He was, it is true, pretty well in the 
 rear of the army ; but though he knew the 
 Sikhs could run well, he never expected a 
 pursuit to continue, as it did, for fifteen or 
 twenty miles; he, his Natch girls, and fid- 
 dlers, were enveloped in the crowd ; the 
 British sabre swung unsparingly. There 
 was William Havelock to be avenged, but it 
 was spared from shedding such blood as that 
 of Hoossein's. 
 
 Hoossein's arrow had missed its aim. He 
 had fondly hoped that the Sikhs would drive 
 the English into the sea ; he began to doiibt 
 if all that Sambo had told him, was true. 
 Sambo never saw an army of twenty-five 
 thousand men, commanded by an English 
 
182 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Lord Saheb, beat an army of sixty thousand 
 good and very brave soldiers. Sambo must 
 have seen ^some bad specimens, or Sambo 
 must have told lies. At any rate, the British 
 army had persevered ; it had fought through 
 great difficulties to the end; and the Sikh 
 army surrendered unconditionally. The vast 
 kingdom of the Punjab was annexed to the 
 British Empire in the east. Lord Go ugh had 
 gone home in triumph, Sir Charles Napier 
 had succeeded him as Commander-in-Chief of 
 the Indian army, and with no one left to make 
 war with on the Indian Peninsula, the hori- 
 zon appeared, to casual observers, as one of 
 peace, civilisation, and prosperity. 
 
 When all was settling down into the usual 
 routine of camp life, an accidental meeting 
 with a trooper roused the dormant venom in 
 Hoossein's heart. 
 
 The army was at rest ; there was no foe; 
 men got leave. Delhi, the abode of Hoossein 
 for the present, was also the home of a great 
 many men of the Indian army. The divans 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 183 
 
 filled well. Yusuff was there, and had ex- 
 plained all about Ameena's marriage, expres- 
 sing his surprise at never hearing anything 
 about her, when one evening, as Hoossein 
 was recounting his adventures with the 
 Hadji near him, a stranger happened to men- 
 tion the regiment of cavalry, Yusufif 
 
 immediately asked after his son-in-law, 
 Ibrahim. 
 
 " Ah !" said the trooper •, " Ibrahim, our 
 bheestie, he was soon gone; he was not 
 strong enough to hold so fair a prize as the 
 lottery of life had given him. He was 
 washed ofiF, far away, and never came back to 
 tell the truth ; cunning hands, nearly as safe as 
 Thugs," — Hoossein turned to listen— ''did 
 that business, only they kept the houri. It is 
 rumoured that she has been seen in the tent 
 of the Sahib L5g.'' 
 
 "Is that true?" asked Hoossein. 
 
 '• I was told so by one I believed," replied 
 the man. 
 
 " Did you say Ibrahim was drowned ? 
 
184 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. . 
 
 Who drowned him?*' enquired Hoossein^ 
 sharply. 
 
 "How should I know?'' was the reply. 
 " I only tell you what I heard from another. 
 The Sahib's name I heard was Eglington 
 Sahib. If you want to know more you had 
 
 better go to , and find out for yourself. 
 
 One would think, by the manner of your 
 asking, that you have an interest in the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 Hoossein was silent for a moment ; a sudden 
 light seemed to gleam upon him. 
 
 " Yes," he said ; " these are the stings we 
 bear in silence, and have borne for years, but 
 at last the venom spreads over the system, 
 like the poison of the cobra " — he hesitated 
 for a moment, as the memory of his nativity 
 sprung up like a phantom before him, — " till 
 the whole body becomes dormant, insensible 
 to its suffering, and dies out like the lamp 
 without its oil. So shall we die, my friends ; 
 burden after burden is placed upon us, we 
 are covered with ignominy, the castes of the 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 185 
 
 Hindoos are laughed at, the religion of the 
 Mahomedan is scorned, our women are de- 
 filed, and all of us are called niggers. 
 
 " The English have now no more enemies ; 
 they will devote their time to trample on us. 
 Look around, see how they drive the poor 
 ignorant cultivators into the bonds of slavery. 
 They have forbidden suttee to the Brahmins, 
 the Eajpoots can no longer destroy their new 
 born daughters. Is this their love to them? 
 or is it love to the women ? They are inno- 
 vations on your rights, and a destruction of 
 your ceremonies. Look to it ! consider the 
 gates of Somnath 5 look at the indignity and 
 insult ! Our bread has been defiled by the 
 Caffir. 
 
 " It is my advice to all. I call it out here, 
 and on the house top, in my early prayer, and 
 when I repeat my neemaz at the sunset* 
 Stick up for your religious rites, for your caste 
 privileges ; let not the slightest tittle escape 
 you. If you give in on one point, you may as 
 well give in on all ; if we do not determine to 
 
186 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 hold together we may as well say so. We 
 shall then know that we have no common 
 cause, that we are no longer brethren in 
 affliction. We have won an empire for the 
 Englishman, with the sweat of our bodies 
 and the blood of our hearts. We, a vast 
 multitude, powerful and courageous, are yet 
 afraid to blot out our oppressors from the 
 land. 
 
 " My friends," continued Hoossein, in his 
 low lisping notes, *'if we do not drive them 
 into the sea, they will take our women and 
 destroy our religions/* 
 
 The speech was received with some sensa- 
 tion ; no one replied to it at once ; but the 
 company fell into little knots, talking amongst 
 themselves. 
 
 After a time an old Soubadar, while quietly 
 smoking his callioon, said, 
 
 "Hoossein Sahib, I have been thinking 
 over what you said just now. You talk of 
 driving the English into the sea ; I was quite 
 a young man in 1803, in the service of the 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 187 
 
 Eajah of Berar. My master and Scindiah 
 Maharajah thought as you do, they 
 threatened to drive the English into the sea* 
 My father was a brave man ; I stood at his 
 side at the head of his regiment. He told 
 me it was as easy to curb the ocean as to 
 stop the Topee Wallahs, as they marched on 
 to the attack at Assaye ; and so it proved, 
 for they utterly routed ten times their num- 
 ber. 
 
 " I shall never forget that evening, as we 
 sat on the banks of a stream with no supper 
 to eat, with the lamentations of the wounded 
 ringing in our ears. How my father talked 
 to me and one or two others. ' It is of no 
 use,' he said, 'fighting against these Gora 
 Log.' Suraj Dowlah put one hundred and 
 fifty of them into a cage, where ten men 
 would have died in a night; and behold, 
 when the morning came, there were fifty of 
 them still living. After that, he, with an 
 army of fifty thousand men, was beaten by 
 Clive Saheb with three thousand. Could all 
 
188 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 this have happened if it had not been 
 destiny ? 
 
 " My father went on to tell us that the 
 white man was just and true, that he never 
 took needless revenge, as the Mahomedan 
 King of Persia had done at Delhi, when an 
 indiscriminate massacre was ordered, and 
 continued till his weary soldiers walked knee 
 deep in human blood; when one hundred 
 and fifty thousand men, women, and children 
 were known to have perished ; and thousands 
 more were never heard of^ who had trusted 
 the clemency of the wild beast of the jungle 
 in preference to the unrelenting fury of man. 
 All this was done under pretence of Mahome- 
 dan sanctity. 
 
 " It is true that the English fight and kill 
 all they can by fair means ; but I myself 
 have seen a white soldier aiding a wounded 
 enemy. I have been with them ever since 
 the battle I told you of. I have risen from a 
 Sepoy to be an officer. From youth nearly 
 to the end of natural life'' — here the old man 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 189 
 
 curled his thin white moustache — " but have 
 never seen any intention amongst them of 
 taking our women, or abusing our religions. 
 
 *' I have brothers and relations who culti-i 
 vate the white man's land. In former times 
 they lived in villages with high walls and 
 lofty turrets, on which the watchmen stood to 
 give warning of marauders ; the towers and 
 the walls are now in ruins, the goats and the 
 cattle feed upon their sites, and the watch- 
 men are not wanted. There is but little rob- 
 bery, the taxes are light, there is security for 
 'life, and we can now get rich without the fear 
 of being plundered by our rulers. Even in 
 my own time, under the Mahratta or the 
 Mahomedan rule, you, Hoossein Saheb, 
 would have had to pay your way, while now 
 you escape all taxation. 
 
 " There is more than this; they educate us, 
 they make roads for us, they give us employ- 
 ment, and pay honestly for work done. I 
 have seen some and heard of other great 
 works, of former days, where Mussulman 
 
190 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 kings and Mahratta cliiefs sat by, and saw 
 their subjects working till they died, and 
 their unpaid corpses were buried beneath the 
 works they helped to raise. The English do 
 not do these things. Do you, Hoossein 
 Saheb, wish to bring us back to such doings? 
 
 '' The English are here as our conquerors. 
 In my poor opinion, they act with wisdom and 
 moderation, compared with those I have 
 known. They rule us with justice and with 
 mercy. Would any of us do so, if destiny 
 placed us in their position ?'* 
 
 The Soubadar had smoked quietly till he 
 €ame to the last few words, when some strong 
 whiffs finished his callioon and the conversa- 
 tion. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 191 
 
 CHAPTER XT, 
 
 MAHOMEDANS AND MAHRATTAS. 
 
 HoossEiN could not rest. His conscience 
 was uneasy. Yet did lie seize every oppor- 
 tunity of scattering his venom. For many 
 montlis lie met with small success. The 
 remembrance of the late actions were fresh; 
 there was extra pay unspent ; some plunder 
 to consume, and a weariness of labour en- 
 joying itself in rest. 
 
 There was an eagle's eye at the head of 
 the army. Regarde bieUy his wings were 
 
192 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 closed, but ready to open and pounce on any 
 fitting quarry. He knew full well that there 
 was a feeling of discontent abroad. He had 
 marked the regiments which had refused their 
 duty ; he had watched, with careful atten- 
 tion, the little demands, the last complaints 
 and unreasonable petitions ; he had marked, 
 with sorrow, the growing inclination to give 
 all that was asked for ; he had, of all others, 
 attended carefully to the real wants of the 
 soldier, and omitted nothing, in reason, tend- 
 ing to their comfort and convenience. 
 
 But this care had a limit. His wings were 
 kept closed, as they longed to flutter in kind- 
 ness over his army. He was restrained by 
 the Governor-General from doing what he 
 considered right and just, and sooner than 
 stay at the head of the soldiers whom he 
 could not rule as he wished, he gave up his 
 magnificent command, with a warning that 
 the Bengal Sepoy should be carefully watched. 
 
 Best and indulgence, idleness and discon- 
 tent, followed fast in each other^s footsteps. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 193 
 
 The finest figured soldier in the world began 
 again to grumble at nothing. 
 
 There was an unclean thing in his path — 
 the shadow of an unbeliever in Krishna fell 
 upon his bread — he had not sufficient time for 
 his poojah — Christians had more privileges 
 than Brahmins — and English officers laboured 
 to convert Hindoos from the faith of their 
 fathers. 
 
 When they found these trivial things 
 attended to, complaints became more fre- 
 quent, rights were demanded as if from 
 equals, obedience to orders and the perform- 
 ance of duty depended on the Sepoy's pleasure, 
 and several regiments had been pronounced 
 in a state of insubordination. 
 
 Ho ossein began to travel about rapidly. 
 He visited Lahore, Agra, Meerut, Lucknow, 
 Barrackpoor, Cawnpore, and many other 
 large camps. He inserted his poison fang 
 in all, and in all found many followers, eager 
 and anxious for the fray. He discovered that 
 
 K 
 
194 LOST LIKKS IN UHE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 there was no vanity in the world equal to 
 that of the Purdasee Sepoy ; and while work- 
 ing on that vanity, he hoped to make it 
 instrumental to the advancement of the 
 Mahomed ans. 
 
 With these he plotted carefully. No act 
 of theirs was to bring down suspicion upon 
 them. He even found fault with them for 
 their too open hatred to the English in the 
 Sikh war. They were to be the most humble 
 and obsequious soldiers of the state, and 
 Hoossein Avas deliglited to find that the Mus- 
 sulman trooper was a very careful and con- 
 siderate man. 
 
 Often at this time did the conversations of 
 Sambo recur to his memory. " How is it/' 
 he said one day, *' that you soldiers, for many 
 generations, iire afraid to do what the African, 
 who is not a soldier, will not hesitate to 
 perform ?" 
 
 '' It is just that which makes the differ- 
 ence," said a Sepoy. '^ The negro does not 
 know the danger he incurs. We do.'' 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 195 
 
 *' Then," retorted Hoossein, " you confess 
 you are afraid." 
 
 " The tiger and the cobra are not afraid/* 
 replied the young man, '' but wait the oppor- 
 tunity. The negro is like the timid antelope, 
 which attacks the wolf as it springs upon her 
 fawn/' 
 
 " And dies," said the other. 
 
 " Not always," replied the Sepoy ; " their 
 rashness sometimes carries them clear/' 
 
 " But,'^ said Hoossein, " the negro is not 
 timid in all things. He has no hesitation in 
 shedding blood ; he rather delights in it. Ort 
 occasion he will stab the paramour of his 
 wife, and walk to the gallows, glorying in the 
 deed. Yet it is difficult to induce him to ride 
 a horse." There was a laugh. " We can do 
 the latter, yet not the former. If blood is to 
 be shed, you are content to shed it by cutting 
 off the noses of the women." 
 
 " And serve them right," was the reply. 
 '' If we cannot get justice done us, of course 
 we take the vengeance on ourselves." 
 
 K 2 
 
196 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 '*Whj cannot you get justice?" cried 
 Hoossein ; "I can tell you — because the 
 judges are bribed, or share in the crime. 
 There is nothing done without money." 
 
 *' That is very true," remarked another. 
 *' I recollect once, many years ago, when I was 
 with the Pulton at Salapoor, we Sepoys got 
 into a row with the citizens, about the women. 
 The police joined against us ; but we had 
 some good latees, and licked them well. The 
 case came before a young Sahib, who, to tell 
 the truth, was anxious to do justice ; but we 
 got up a little purse in the Pulton, bribed 
 witnesses, clerks, and police, so that no one 
 could tell, for a certainty, whether there had 
 or had not been a fight." 
 
 " There was a talk the other day,'' said a 
 young cavalry Naique, " that in Western 
 India, a great man, hand in hand with the 
 Lord Sahib, big wigs, and great ladies, is 
 bought up by [the people to interfere with 
 judges, magistrates, and police, and that as 
 it was becoming notorious, an inquiry was to 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 197 
 
 be made into this almost undisguised Khut- 
 Put." 
 
 " We had better remedy this state of 
 things," said Hoossein. " Let us turn out 
 those who will not give justice to the people. 
 Let us exterminate them, and make Dewanees 
 and Foujdarees, where justice will be ad- 
 ministered without bribery and without 
 favour. We will issue our zairnamahs, that 
 all who wish for justice shall come to — " 
 Hoossein paused. 
 
 " Hoossein Ben Hassan, the mirror of 
 justice," cried a man, laughing, ''He will 
 be the only one of us who objects to receive 
 value for his work. A very honest man, who 
 lives on the welfare of his neighbours without 
 their knowing it ; who takes the honey from 
 the flower, but robs it of no sweetness; who 
 drinks the water from the chattie, yet always 
 leaves it full ; whose buttie does not burn its 
 oil ; and whose impartiality cannot distinguish 
 the beggar from the king.'' 
 
198 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 " Hoossein Ben Hassan, tlie picture of Insaf, 
 shall be our judge/' cried another. " He has 
 seen a great deal of the world, and learned 
 Bomething from that clever fellow, the African, 
 No one knows better than Hoossein, when 
 our rulers do wrong. It seems to be pretty 
 often. As we cannot correct each individual, 
 it will be as well to take Hoossein's advice, 
 and exterminate them. But they are scattered 
 all over the country, and how are we to get 
 at them. I once heard a reciter tell a tale of 
 'some big monster with a hundred heads — a 
 dangerous and a savage beast; but he was to 
 be killed. So they cut, and they burned, and 
 they strangled, and shot, and pounded, and 
 sliced; but there were always heads left. So 
 "will it be now, if we don't look out, — and 
 heads with sharp teeth in them." 
 
 " Who cares for the teeth ?" said Hoossein, 
 *' they can do no harm against numbers ; we 
 can kill this one as they did the other beast ; 
 the Bengal army is strong enough to drive 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 199 
 
 them into the sea; the Madras army could do 
 the same ; it is only the cringing Mahratta 
 who prefer the chains of slavery." 
 
 "No!" cried a small, black, bright eyed 
 man from a distant part of the room, and he 
 stood erect on his wiry legs as he spoke, 
 " The Mahratta does not cringe. We are a 
 conquered race, and we eat the salt of our 
 conquerors with content ; we fight his battles 
 and receive his pay ; under other masters we 
 never got the pay, though we did fight; we 
 got no pensions, now we do; there is no 
 forced labour, then there was ; there was no 
 prize money, now there is; if I found a brace- 
 let on the battle field it was taken from me, 
 now it is not; there are no murdering Tliugs 
 or Dacoits, then there were ; there were 
 ravishing Pindarics, there are none now ; the 
 collectors of revenue misapplied their collec- 
 tions, they do not do so now; the cultivators 
 were always debtors to the state, they are not 
 so now; they were plundered by Mussulmen 
 and by Brahmin, the English take no more 
 
200 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 than their due ; they give no leases, but never 
 .turn a man out of his field, as long as he pa js 
 his land tax." 
 
 " Stop !" cried a well-dressed man, in a 
 white, long-cloth angrica, a fine cotton turban 
 on his head, cotton gloves on his hands, and 
 cotton stockings on his feet. " You are an 
 indolent race. You will not work unless you 
 are obliged to do so. and the more you are 
 called on to pay, the more you will exert 
 yourselves.*' 
 
 " The tyrants of olden days," replied the 
 Mahratta, " found that out ; they discovered 
 that when they had ground us down to the 
 bone, we could neither work nor fight. Do you 
 think that the English could have conquered 
 our empire if the people had been taught to 
 love, and not to hate their rulers. I speak of 
 all, Mussulman, Eajpoot, Sikh, and Brahmin, 
 they all plundered the people — the company 
 . Sirkar does not ; may they meet with their 
 reward ! The Zemindar," he continued, 
 "speaks of his own people, whom he under- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 201 
 
 stands. The Mahrattas are not an idle race ; 
 the Coonbees are good men and true, and 
 very thankful that they are not under the 
 Zemindary system, where labour and property 
 have been appropriated by the landholder ; 
 and, as far as my poor senses can see, I think 
 it is better policy for a Government to have 
 thousands of good wills, than the sole good 
 will of a Zemindar; it is true that his culti- 
 vators would possibly follow his opinion, but 
 you must allow that one man is more likely 
 to be influenced by caprice than a thousand, 
 each one of whom had an interest in the soil 
 he tills, and the Sirkar that protects him." 
 
 " See how we have been protected ; there 
 are many of us Merasdars, who have held the 
 same property from the Peishwas, to the 
 English rule ; it is our own and held sacred ; 
 what native government would have done 
 this?" 
 
 " Ah!" said the Zemindar, " those Meras- 
 dars, of whom you speak, are now in course of 
 disinheritance by the Enam commission 5 they 
 
 K 5 
 
202 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 had, it appears, in many instances, no real 
 claim on their possessions ; there must be a 
 great cry against a government for treating 
 occupants so shamefully." 
 
 " You mistake the case," . replied the 
 Mahratta; '' not a single Merasdar has been 
 turned out of his Meras tenure ; they are 
 Enamdars whom you allude to, and many of 
 them may thank their stars that they enjoyed 
 their estates so long, when they had no title to 
 them. Formerly there was a court of Serdars 
 in the Deccan, to attend to the affairs of the 
 nobles, but that court could not, or did not 
 look into anything, unless it was brought 
 formally to its notice; it was no one's business 
 to report lapse of service or failures of lineal 
 descent ; indeed, it was more likely to have 
 been the interest of many not to mention such 
 things. 
 
 " In course of time, discord, family disputes, 
 and native jealousy, brought hidden things to 
 light. The Enam commission was appointed, 
 and has resumed many properties illegally 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 203 
 
 enjoyedo Some of these people may have been 
 Merasdars; if so, they enjoy those rights 
 still." 
 
 " But/' said the Zemindar, "your money is 
 all taken from you, and never spent in the 
 country. Mine is all spent on the spot." 
 
 " What comes to your share may be," was 
 the reply ; " but with many Zemindars that is 
 not the case. Some of them never go near 
 the estates, unless to collect the revenue, and 
 as much more as they can find, and spend 
 their share in very irregular living elsewhere. 
 Of late years, the spare money which the" 
 wars have left, has been expended on roads, 
 bridges, tanks, and aqueducts, so that the 
 money, or some of it, which we pay as revenue 
 comes back for our benefit." 
 
 " Are you not all in debt ?" was then asked, 
 " and are you not all slaves to your money 
 lenders ?' 
 
 • " We are a careless race," the Mahratta 
 answered ; " but I believe that there are many 
 in the world worse off than we are. We like to 
 
204 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 see our sons make a good start in life, and we 
 do not curtail the wedding expenditure ; we 
 should be bad Hindoos if we did. The 
 Shroffs tease and annoy us, but we are not 
 slaves to them. We cannot blame the autho- 
 rities on these accounts, and there is no cause 
 of anger between us." 
 
 " I believe," said Hoossien, '* that although 
 you are a soldier, you are a coward, Gunnoo 
 Saheb ; that you only speak up for your 
 Sirkar, because you are afraid of evil conse- 
 quences." 
 
 The jet black eyes of Gunnoo flashed like 
 living balls of fire for a moment ; then in the 
 same calm voice, he said, 
 
 "History will tell the Mahomedan that 
 the Mahratta is no coward ; you yourself, 
 Hoossein Saheb, have seen our Pultuns 
 march up to the guns which Bengal Sepoys 
 refused to take ; you have seen us scramble 
 up the breach which the Bengal Sepoy had 
 recoiled from. As for myself, I would not 
 wish this assembly to think that I am a coward ; 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 205 
 
 I am small, and the men around are large, 
 but I am willing to try a fall in your talim 
 khana with any man you please to bring 5 I 
 will do my best !" 
 
 '' Sha-Bass, Gunnoo !^' was loudly repeated 
 through the room, as the now excited company 
 rose from their seats, and repaired to the 
 talim khana. 
 
206 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 FASHION. 
 
 The talim khana, into wMcli the young men 
 retired, was a spacious shed, with raised ter- 
 races all round for the spectators to sit upon; 
 there was an oblong excavation in the centre, 
 about twenty feet long,^by sixteen feet wide. 
 The shed was dimly lighted up by several oil 
 lights, suspended from the roof, hanging over 
 the pit. 
 
 The lamps shone on two fine young men, 
 having a trial of strength for their own 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 207 
 
 amusement. As soon as one of tliem was 
 thrown, the saw dust in the pit was raked 
 level, some fresh dust was thrown down, and 
 the place was declared ready for the struggle 
 of the evening. 
 
 The company quietly seated themselves, in 
 full expectation of seeing Gunno exterminated 
 by Persaud Sing, the young man selected for 
 the occasion by Hoossein, out of many aspi- 
 rants to the honour. 
 
 Bets, as long as the purses, were offered on 
 the Bengali, with no takers, one unknown in- 
 dividual only accepting, as a favour, a few of 
 the long odds. 
 
 Persaud Sing stepped into the arena first, 
 with a smile of anticipated victory ; he 
 salamed to the spectators, as he stood in the 
 centre of the pit to be looked over. 
 
 He was a fine young man, in fair condition, 
 slightly too fleshy for hard work; he was 
 about twenty-five years of age ; rather more 
 than six feet high; with great breadth of 
 shoulders, a fine tapering waist, rather slack 
 
208 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 about the loins, with powerful hips and 
 thighs, but deficient in his legs. No one 
 could look apon his long powerful arms with- 
 out feeling that, once within their grasp there 
 would be no escape. 
 
 Persaud Sing was, indeed, the most power- 
 ful wrestler the cantonment could boast of; 
 he had been known to hurl his opponents 
 from one end of the arena to the other ; in 
 fact, he had disabled so many of his com- 
 rades, that they had been forbidden to wrestle 
 with him in earnest. Strangers were not in- 
 cluded in the coloners orders. 
 
 When Gunnoo sprang into the ring, and 
 made his obeisance to the company, there was 
 a general inclination to smile. He did not 
 reach to the shoulders of his opponent, but as 
 he walked round with a grave and undisturbed 
 countenance, with a firm step, and dauntless 
 air, the spectators could not but admire his 
 sinewy figure; he was about twenty- eight 
 years of age, in the full vigour of manhood ; 
 his head was small, and remarkably round, 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 209^ 
 
 sitting with singular ease on a muscular neck, 
 falling off witli a beautiful slope to strong 
 shoulders, and wiry arms ; his chest was full 
 and broad, covered with thick, curly hair ; 
 his loins and hips were finely developed, run-^. 
 ning down into enormous thighs, with little 
 short knees, and calves full of sinew, but 
 rather ungainly in shape, finishing off- with 
 ugly feet ; the insteps were well arched, but 
 there was an undue extension of the heel, 
 with a spreading of the toes, not conducive to 
 beauty. He excited much admiration, and 
 some pity. 
 
 The two men were naked, with the excep- 
 tion of the cloth round their loins, and that 
 was rolled into a strong, tight band. 
 
 Hoossein gave the signal to begin. 
 
 The opponents stood fronting one another;- 
 both now salamed, and touching each other's 
 hands, they smacked their bent arms, and the 
 hollows of their thighs, eyeing each other in- 
 tently, while withdrawing to a little distance. 
 
 Persaud, smiling, walked towards Gunnoo, 
 
210 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 with an easy, off-hand way, endeavouring to 
 seize his waist. This was evaded, by a slight 
 bound backwards; Gunnoo now, with hia 
 hands on his knees, with head bent forward, 
 and eyes scanning every thought and motion 
 of his adversary, kept moving backwards and 
 forwards, or circling round. Persaud made 
 many. efforts to seize him, which were avoided 
 with the greatest ease. 
 
 The Mahratta moved like a cat, the Bengali 
 laboured hard to catch him; the excitement 
 — great at first — began to calm down a little, 
 as several minutes passed in these futile at- 
 tempts to close. 
 
 The spectators cried out that both men 
 were afraid. 
 
 Persaud renewed his efforts, but all were 
 still evaded. Suddenly, Gunnoo sprang from 
 one end back to the centre of the arena, and 
 there, for the first time, stood erect, with both 
 arms extended to the side, and his left foot a 
 little advanced. 
 
 "Hoi" cried Persaud, as he sprang to- 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 211 
 
 wards him, with his long arms, in the act of 
 embracing him. 
 
 A bend of the. body, a side inclination, 
 and Gunnoo was inside of — but below — the 
 young giant's arms, while his own grasped 
 that slim waist. 
 
 Persaud was raised from the ground ;. 
 Gunnoo made one small step forwards, and 
 his foe, apparently without much effort, was 
 tossed fairly over his right shoulder, with a 
 tremendous crash, right into the centre of the 
 pit. 
 
 " Wah ! wah ! Sha bas !" cried the as- 
 tonished spectators. 
 
 " The Mahratta is not afraid," said Gunnoo,. 
 in his quiet, but clear voice, as he stooped to 
 help up his antagonist. 
 
 There was a convulsive move of the hands 
 of the large man, as he lay on the sawdust,. 
 as if clutching at some moving or unseen 
 thing. There was a quivering of the legs, 
 but the head laid back beneath the motionlesa 
 shoulder. 
 
212 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 " He is dead,'' cried one. 
 
 "Bring some vinegar," said another. 
 
 ''It is of no use," said Hoossein, who had 
 stepped into the pit, and raised the body. 
 "He is dead ! His neck is broken ! I thought 
 so." 
 
 No one ventured to dispute such an expe- 
 rienced opinion. 
 
 Gunnoo retired to clothe himself, and sub- 
 mit — as he was told he must — to a court of 
 enquiry. 
 
 The dark stranger gathered up his bets, 
 and the company, rising from their seats, re- 
 turned to the divan, to talk over the very 
 strange event. 
 
 "A capital pilewan, and an old hand," was 
 generally allowed, till the betting man re- 
 marked that he was not a very old hand at 
 it, neither was he considered very good. 
 
 A tall young fellow, laughing, said, 
 
 " Not a good one ? Why, he must be, to 
 kill our best man." 
 
 " We have a great many who can beat 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 21^ 
 
 Gunnoo," was the reply. " You thought 
 your man good, because he had never been 
 tried except among yourselves. If you go 
 a.bout the world a little, you will find your 
 level ; you flatter yourselves too much." 
 
 The circle was in no humour to hear 
 further taunts ; symptoms of irritation arose, 
 and it might have become unpleasant to the 
 stranger, who had just made so many enemies, 
 when a white-haired old man, of fine bear- 
 ing, cried out, 
 
 " Bus ! silence !" and thus continued : " I 
 have often told you the same, young men. 
 You live alone, and you get all you ask for. 
 You are let off half your duty, if you refuse 
 to work, on the plea of religion or caste ; your 
 pleas are allowed. I do not see where it will 
 all end ; but this I do see, that you are an 
 idle, dissipated lot ; and if I live long enough, 
 I shall see some of you Sepoys and troopers 
 hung. As for you. Zemindars, you will go 
 on skinning your slaves, and defrauding 
 Government, till one or the other skin you. 
 
214 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 You aspire to be kings now. I would advise 
 you to remain quiet ; your doings will not 
 bear enquiry. 
 
 This old man was a privileged -scold; he 
 had been one of them, but was now a pen- 
 sioner for wounds and distinguished services; 
 his harangue caused much laughter. General 
 smoking and general conversation ensued ; 
 the company broke up into small parties for 
 coffee or card playing, and the evening re- 
 lapsed into its usual routine. 
 
 A set of musicians came into the room with 
 the inexpressible music of the East, then 
 flowers were strewed upon the floor, a few 
 garlands were distributed, some sandal-wood 
 oil and attar of roses were sprinkled on gar- 
 ments and kerchiefs, while those who had 
 been so honoured, rose to depart. 
 
 Those intending to remain now removed to 
 one end of the room, and presently a set of 
 Natch girls entered. Their tom-tom beat its 
 dull monotonous sound, their sitars and geet- 
 tars twanged their wiry strings, the women 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 215 
 
 twisted, and turned, and wriggled, and moved 
 about, tinkling their bracelets, their armlets, 
 and anklets, in the most approved style. 
 
 There is an unaccountable fashion in every 
 thing, and these three girls were now all the 
 
 fashion at P Poor. They were all ugly, 
 
 one of them was growing wrinkles— these 
 come very early in the East, Natch girls live 
 very hard lives. 
 
 Ailee, the eldest, had never known any 
 thing else but hardship ; she had been sold as 
 a child by. her own mother in a time of 
 famine, to keep herself and two younger 
 daughters alive, but Ailee was ugly, so that 
 her price only fed the rest of her family 
 a few days, and then they all died. As she 
 was cheap, she was not cared for, but placed 
 on drudgery and menial occupations. She 
 was sent out at night with the other girls to 
 carry the lantern, and to hold the slippers, to 
 punka her companions, when hot, and to 
 drive off mosquitoes. 
 
 Some how or another no one ever thought 
 
216 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 of Ailee except to scold her ; slie did not re- 
 collect ever doing anj thing right in her 
 juvenile years, except not to grow ; she did 
 not do it on purpose, but she thought it quite 
 right, as she never had a kind word said to 
 her except in reference to her size, " What a 
 nice little girl,'' and then the frequenters of 
 the house petted her because she was so small, 
 and Ailee was at last coaxed to sing, and her 
 voice was called a sweet little voice, and very 
 like the little Bulbul; and then Ailee had 
 been coaxed to dance — such dancing, en- 
 veloped in old muslin and embroidered gar- 
 ments, with a great ugly necklace, which hung 
 very heavy on her little neck; so did the 
 other ornaments hang very heavy on her de- 
 licate shoulders ; but they were all fashion- 
 able, so she learned to wear them till she 
 became fashionable herself, and gave the 
 right swagger in the dance, and tuned up her 
 notes just when the touching music of the 
 soft tom-tom required it, and cast up her eyes 
 just when people expected her to do so, and 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 217 
 
 shook her bracelets and toe rings when the 
 pleasant soft cymbals prevented any one 
 hearing them, and advanced, and retired, and 
 wriggled about In the most fashionable style of 
 dancing girls ; so it was not to be wondered 
 at that in time Ailee came into fashion her- 
 self, and sTie was more in fashion this night 
 than usual, for a good deal of excitement had 
 been got up, and fresh people were still com- 
 ing in to hear how the unfortunate termination 
 of the wrestling match occurred ; it was, in 
 fact, a sensation night at Hoossein Sahib's 
 divan, and it was very well known that little 
 Ailee had very much patronised Persaud 
 Sing ; and there were many young men who 
 would have been very glad to step into his 
 slippers. 
 
 Persaud's pretty turban had been given to 
 him by Ailee ; she had a high character for 
 liberality, in fact she was all the fashion, and 
 it would have been very wrong for any one 
 not to wish to be noticed by her. When she 
 liked it she had many fascinating bewitching 
 
218 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 little ways, and slie tried some of them with 
 the betting stranger, flinging a necklace of 
 Mogree flowers round his neck, and bringing 
 her face very close to his while doing so ; 
 then she sidled towards him as she sang 
 ^' The land of the stranger;" but he never 
 even looked at her; he did not know that she 
 was in fashion ; so he was given up, and a little 
 bouquet of jessamine was given to a young 
 Hindoostan man, who accepted it with a very 
 grateful smile, for he knew the value of it, 
 and the fashion of the thing. So Ailee was 
 pleased, and sang with vehemence, songs 
 about " Heroes in War," and " Heroes in 
 Love," which the tall young man put in his 
 kumer bund, having no pocket, and volun- 
 teered to carry Alice's lantern home for her, 
 as it was a dark night; he hoped to get an 
 invitation to supper, but he did not, and was 
 left out in the cold and in the dark, with a 
 streak of red glare from an upper window 
 streaming across the street; and Eamdeen 
 looked up to see where it came from, aud saw 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 219 
 
 an open lattice, with European soldiers sit- 
 ting in it, and while he looked up, Ailee 
 stepped up and talked to them, at which they 
 appeared to be much pleased ; but he was not, 
 and vowed a great vow by all the worst in- 
 habitants of Jehannum, that he never would 
 speak to Ailee again ; and he did not 
 sleep sound that night by reason of the very 
 hot people he invoked to carry Ailee away ; 
 but he was a good natured fellow, and got 
 cool next morning, and was very glad after 
 parade to get a glance from the wrinkled 
 syren of fashion, with a pawn leaf, containing 
 a little chunam and a little supare nut, 
 which he chewed, and listened to Ailee while 
 she abused the Europeans, and told him of a 
 great many things which they had not done, 
 but which he believed they had, and for the 
 doing of which he hated them exceedingly, 
 and went to consult Hoossein on the subject of 
 immediate vengeance. 
 
 Hoossein gave him very good advice, beg- 
 ging him to do nothing of the sort in a hurry, 
 
 L 2 
 
220 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 and repent of it at leisure, but if he had a 
 grievance (he would he a rare mortal if he 
 had not), he should consider how to square 
 accounts with the greatest possible con- 
 venience to himself ; he also advised him not 
 to call on so many of the old. people of the 
 Hhidoo mythology to help him in so small a 
 matter, which some of themselves had, in all 
 probability, placed before him on purpose to 
 see how his nerve or his genius would get 
 over it ; and that it was quite vanity to think 
 that they would leave their comfortable quar- 
 ters in wood, or stone, or brass, to extricate a 
 mortal from difficulties of his own making; 
 that his wit was given him for the purpose of 
 planning, and his sinews to enable him to 
 execute the plot so as to make all straight. 
 
 Now this advice was very well taken by 
 Kamdeen, and he repeated it, with additions 
 of his own, to many others, who all thought 
 Hoossein very clever and very good natured 
 to say so much. 
 
 Then he went and told Ailee all about it, 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 221 
 
 and she asked a great deal more about Hoos- 
 sein, and Eamdeen gave her much valuable 
 information, for which she had a ready mar- 
 ket, and some of which cropped up afterwards. 
 
222 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CLOUDS. 
 
 When two electric clouds meet in the atmos- 
 phere, the result is a thunder storm. 
 
 Certain combinations within the bosom of 
 this globe, produce earthquakes. 
 
 Two currents of water meeting, produce a 
 bore. 
 
 As with the elements, so is it with man : 
 there is not room enough for some of them to 
 live together. If they clash in civilized society, 
 the law is called in to smooth down the bore ; 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 223 
 
 if in uncivilized society, then the earth 
 swallows up her prey, with strong convul- 
 sions ; if in mixed society, the clouds may for 
 a time be heavy, but are eventually scattered 
 by civilization and knowledge. 
 
 Meteorologists may foretell storms, but get 
 no credence. When the Sikhs lost their 
 country, in consequence of the pride, the 
 ignorance, and the rapacity of their own 
 soldiery, a similar cloud had for some time 
 been gathering in our own provinces. The 
 storm was foretold, but the prophets of evil 
 were not believed. 
 
 When little clouds burst at Eawul Pindee, 
 Jeelum, and Wuzeerebad, the poor Sepoys 
 were told that they were very naughty, and 
 must do their duty better in future ; when a 
 Sepoy regiment refused to cross the Sutlej, it 
 was coaxed into compliance by extra leave of 
 absence — the men laughed at the manoeuvre j 
 when the Fortress of Gowendghur was seized 
 by a rebellious regiment, it was disbanded, 
 and the men were scattered over the country, 
 
224 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 as fragments of a thunder cloud are scattered 
 over the skj. 
 
 Hoossein found his elements getting so dis- 
 cordant, and his clouds collecting so rapidly, 
 that he became anxious on the subject; his 
 divan was frequented by men eager for the 
 fray, strong, active, drilled men — idle, poor, 
 and proud. He found it difficult to restrain 
 them ; they told him that there was no reason 
 for delay, there was nothing to fear ; if any 
 Sahebs were left from the slaughter, they 
 would only say, don't do it again ! Hoossein 
 argued, that their plans were not matured," 
 that the south and west of India were not 
 drawn within the vortex, that nothing could 
 be done properly, unless all India should join 
 in the common cause. 
 
 Some laughed at, and some applauded 
 Hoossein, but while they were talking, and 
 plotting, other currents, combinations, and 
 clouds, were all driving in the right direc- 
 tion. 
 
 Hoossein hurried on his preparations. He 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY.' 225 
 
 saw the signs of the times, and remembered 
 Sambo's advice : " Never throw away an 
 opportunity !'* 
 
 There was a legend in the army, much 
 talked of at this time, that it might have taken 
 India to itself many years before, when the 
 current of liberality from Lord Combermere, 
 met the current of economy from the Court 
 of Directors, with Lord William Bentinck to 
 guide it, a mighty bore arose, the danger was 
 seen, safety valves were opened, the current 
 of economy flowed over the ofi&cers, that of 
 liberality over the Sepoy, who was at once 
 convinced that the Sirkar could not do with- 
 out him. The vanity of the army retained 
 this legend better than the dusty archives of 
 Leadenhall'Street. 
 
 Now again, the liberal current was guided 
 by Sir Charles Napier ; while that of economy 
 was guided by the inflexible Lord Dalhousie ; 
 resolute and self confiding, he refused 
 credence to danger, or if he did believe it, his 
 imperious temper might have wished to bring 
 
 L 5 
 
226 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 it to a head, that he in his firmness might 
 subdue it. 
 
 Sir Charles Napier, like Lord Comhermere^ 
 retired from a post, the responsibility of which,^ 
 was shared in by another. He left his warning 
 of danger behind him, apparently unheeded 
 and un thought of. 
 
 So little did Lord Dalhousie think of the 
 rising storm, that he undertook to pay off 
 a heavy sum of the Government debt, from 
 money not fairly available for the purpose, 
 and in a short time he was again compelled 
 to borrow to replace the money he had ex- 
 pended. This finance transaction depreciated 
 the Government securities to such an extent, 
 that much discontent was caused. 
 
 Hoossein seized the moment to send emis- 
 saries in every direction ; his instructions to 
 them were short. 
 
 " It is time to rule ourselves ', the date of 
 the old prophecy has expired. The com- 
 pany Sirkar must go ; faith can no longer be 
 reposed in them. All the money was taken 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 227 
 
 out of the country, and they were deceived. 
 The rulers lost their dignity, and disputed 
 with each other. No rewards were given to 
 any one ; the territory was increased, but the 
 expenditure was decreased. The Sirkar had 
 got all they wanted, and spurned the men 
 who got it for them. Suttees and adoption 
 were forbidden. Lands were taken from the 
 people; officers and civilians were occupied 
 in conversion. Religions and castes were 
 despised.'* 
 
 Such was the substance of the text ; the 
 messengers were instructed to entice all good 
 Mussulmen and all true Hindoos to flock to 
 the rescue of their country. 
 
 A wrinkled, hard looking man, a Eru- 
 macharee, undertook to convey the message 
 to the West ; there could not have been a 
 better selection ; his vow of celibacy procured 
 his admission every where, while his temper 
 and his knowledge peculiarly fitted him for 
 the occasion. 
 
 His burden was a heavy one, but while 
 
228 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 travelling through the north-west territory 
 and the Nerbuddah districts, he was relieved 
 of it pleasantly enough. The Sepojs, already 
 inoculated, were only wishing the auspicious 
 moment to arrive. The Zemindars were 
 ready, provided their estates were confirmed 
 to them ; in fact the Brumacharee was well 
 pleased, for he obtained attentive listeners, and 
 many promised to do as all the rest did. 
 
 As he travelled further he found fewer lis- 
 teners, and no promises . 
 
 In .tbe fine old Mohammedan city of 
 Bhorampoor, where the magnificent palaces 
 still shew the splendour of that proud dyn- 
 asty, he found people who remembered 
 Hoossein ; they were not under the Eaj of 
 the Company, and thought the subject a very 
 interesting one, and a matter in which they 
 should be very happy to help ; but that such 
 a grand project should be mentioned to them 
 as coming from their rather despised towns- 
 man, was, to say the least of it, rather sus- 
 picious, considering that he had been drowned 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 229 
 
 many "years ago in Calcutta. This remark 
 rather abashed the Brumacharee, who had 
 not been entrusted with the adventure. 
 
 There were Purdasee Sepoys at Malligam, 
 the next camp our messenger stopped at, who 
 were glad to hear of their friends in BengaU 
 He had many remembrances to many people 
 and as long as he told them pleasant anec- 
 dotes, such as the wrestling match, and other 
 little affairs arising from it, he had no reason 
 to complain of his reception ; but when he 
 came to the pith of the story, the Brumacharee 
 found no sympathy. All were contented with 
 their lot, all had faith in their Sirkar. Their 
 officers were good, so were the paymasters. 
 
 '' Shew us,'' they said, " who are better. 
 We have not forgotten the want of faith, and 
 the deficient pay of the Mahratta. We are 
 well off now, and hope to remain so ; as long 
 as we do our duty there is no fear of our los- 
 ing our salt, our pensions, or our caste. It 
 was only yesterday that our Soobedhar was 
 presented with a pair of beautiful silver 
 
230 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 mounted pistols in public Diifbar, as a small 
 acknowldgement of tlie attention he had 
 given to his duties for many years. If your, 
 men in Bengal do not get presents, it confirms 
 the tales we hear, that they do not deserve 
 them. Your message does not concern us, 
 Brumacharee Saheb/' 
 
 In the villages of Khandesh he met with 
 no success. 
 
 '' I am an old man now/' said one of his 
 audience, " but my memory luns back to vil- 
 lage walls, lofty and thick ; our population 
 was reckoned by thousands; the people were 
 prosperous, and the cattle covered the hills ; 
 the song of the grinding was heard in the 
 morning, the song of the moat all night, and 
 the sound of the sugar mills in the day ; our 
 looms rattled, our bread was sweet, and our 
 nights were passed in peace. Then came that 
 war which you wish to come again ; after the 
 war came the Pindarees, and then the Bheels 
 of the hills ; between these misfortunes all 
 was changed ; the looms and the cotton were 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 23 1 
 
 burned, the sugar was trodden under foot, the 
 sound of the grinding had ceased, the women 
 were carried off, the men were killed, the 
 children starved, our village walls were 
 broken down, and all our cattle driven awaj. 
 Now we require no walls, for we have had 
 peace for many years. Outram Saheb Baha- 
 door gave it to us; he told us that we could 
 keep it as long as we pleased. We live under 
 a good rule ; we wish for no change/' 
 
 The Brumacharee passed on to Nassick, 
 that stronghold of Brahminical intolerance. 
 Here he touched on conversion. 
 
 " Look to history,'^ he said, " and see how 
 all conquerors have converted the conquered. 
 The Company Sirkar has beaten all its 
 enemies, taken all their Mooluks ; there is 
 nothino^ else to be done now but to convert us 
 to their own religion, and such a religion that 
 no two men can agree upon it. They will 
 mix us all up together. There are to be 
 no castes: Mussulman, and Hindoo, and 
 Feringhee are to be all the same ; they are 
 
232 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 making iron roads on whicli to grind those 
 who refuse ; and you, men of Nassick, you 
 listen to the Missionary Sahibs, who come to 
 convert you, and make you enemies of your 
 own people. You were good Brahmins once. 
 Your temples and your suttees witness in your 
 favour, yet you will accept conversion, and 
 become apostates to your faith. You will 
 contaminate the waters of your sacred river.'* 
 As he spoke the last word he stopped, dis- 
 turbed b}^ a commotion in the audience 
 making way for an old man who was 
 getting down from the pedestal of a pillar, 
 and crying out in feeble tones for the Bru- 
 macharee to stop. 
 
 • " Hold !" cried Jhe old man, trembling with 
 agitation, " we are not apostates, though we 
 can do without our Suttees. The incremation 
 never was an ordinance of our Shaster ; but it 
 had grown into a horrid custom, originating 
 with those who objected to maintain the 
 widow. I, for one, am glad that the act of 
 Suttee is forbidden. We stand in no danger 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 233 
 
 of conversion from tlie Missionary Saliebs 
 who come amongst us; they have been 
 pleasant people, with whom I loved to hold 
 converse ; their house is like a mine of 
 polished diamonds, their conversation like a 
 string of pearls, their anecdotes are like the 
 trickling streams, and their breath like the 
 whispers of the breezes in the spring ; as to 
 their religion, I tell them they are vain to 
 think that they only know the truth ; they tell 
 me that I am bigoted ; T tell them that mine 
 is the oldest religion, that theirs is a new one, 
 incomprehensible even to themselves ; there 
 is no fear of our Nassick Missionaries con- 
 verting any one who has an idea of his own, 
 or bread to eat. Now, as for contaminatinp: 
 our sacred river, which flows from the Ghey 
 Mookh (cow's mouth), we shall not do it ; but 
 were it not for that misfortune, I would advise 
 you, Mr. Brumacharee, to do as our young men 
 are now doing, look at them going down the 
 foaming wave, and passing through the narrow 
 pass on the smooth falling water into the 
 
234 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 troubled basin down below ; it might cleanse 
 you from your sins. I am sorry to cast dis- 
 credit on any one, especially on a sacred 
 character, and I am ready to believe that the 
 facts are as you have stated them, on your 
 side of India ; here they are different, neither 
 officers nor civilians exert themselves to make 
 converts ; they are strictly prohibited from 
 doing so ; moreover, if any cases come before 
 magistrate or judge, in which a question of 
 religion arises, it is referred to the Shastrie 
 or the Moolah for their opinion. If religious 
 questions are not so managed with you, I 
 think you have a grave cause of complaint.'^ 
 
 The Brumacharee had been getting very 
 uneasy, when the washing was alluded to y 
 but, after a few common-place expressions, 
 as to his pleasure at finding them all so 
 happy and contented, he bade the circle 
 adieu, and went on his way. 
 
 In a few days he arrived at Poena, where 
 he found old friends of his own, and friends 
 of the Peshwa's family, remembrances af 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 235^ 
 
 whom he had brought with him from 
 Benares. There were the Bhosla, the Eastia, 
 the Vinchoorken, the Putwurdur houses, and 
 many others, who held high state in years, 
 gone by, supplying large quotas of troops to 
 the army of the Peshwa — their influence was^^ 
 all gone ; they had no authority ; all were in 
 decay, and the- messenger felt that it would 
 not do to open all his plans to those who had 
 lost their energy and ability, and deemed- 
 themselves contented to live under a foreign 
 sway, with scarcely a remembrance of their 
 lost power. In consideration of all this, he 
 attempted to feel his way with the question 
 of adoption. 
 
 " That is a melancholy subject to many of 
 us," said a sunken-eyed, hollow- cheeked, old 
 man ; " that is how the company^ s Raj ob- 
 tains provinces. They have only lately obtained 
 the principality of Peint, in that way ; and 
 there are many others that I could mention. 
 It is hard on the people to prevent a con- 
 tinuance of the name, if fate has denied a son." 
 
236 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 The Brumacharee thought he was rather 
 successful at Poona, and went rejoicing on 
 his beautiful journey to Sattera. He looked 
 at the magnificent reservoir, which formerly 
 supplied Poona with water j but now the 
 Katrass Lake was nearly silted up. The old 
 paved road, over the mountain, was broken 
 down, and nearly gone ; but the magnificent 
 temple of Whie remained, with its shady 
 tree, and its clear river, and its cholera 
 climate. He met friends here, who gladly 
 escorted him on to the city. 
 
 Here everything exceeded his most san- 
 guine hopes. The old native gentlemen 
 hated the existing state of things; they had 
 not forgotten the Eajah, and all the amuse- 
 ments of that Mahratta court ; they had for- 
 gotten the military power of the British, and 
 thought how easy it would be to destroy them. 
 Vain people, when the time came, they were 
 held in check by one civilian. 
 
 From Sattara the Brumachareer went on to 
 Beljaumun and Darwa. Here, for the first 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 237 
 
 time, he was glad to find tliat Mahratta 
 sepoys were ready to listen to tlie voice of 
 reason. There had been disturbances in 
 these districts not many years previous, and 
 a spirit of discontent was still abroad. Ee- 
 cruits had been raised from these people, who 
 were now in the regiments stationed there. 
 They were still sore with the unexpected 
 defeat they had met with in their mountain 
 fortress ; and in spite of their fresh oath of 
 servitude, they were ready to follow anyone 
 to independence or plunder. They were ur- 
 gent for immediate action, and there was 
 some difficulty in obtaining their promise to 
 await the signal. 
 
 Here also the Brumacharee found allies 
 amongst the cultivators — men whose enaras 
 had been resumed; whose friends and ad- 
 herents, after living on them all their lives, 
 were now driven to work for their daily 
 bread— all of these were ready to aid in the 
 good cause, provided their estates were 
 guaranteed to them. 
 
238 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 " You had better not!'* interposed a wise- 
 looking, consequential Mussulman. " I was 
 ouce in the service of the Sirkar. I was dis- 
 missed for peculation. I tried every possible 
 way of getting back again. I was told that 
 bribery could do everything. I spent all my 
 money; and here I am a wiser and, I hope, 
 a better man, with a tolerable knowledge of 
 the power that rules us — of its honesty and 
 its determination. Did you ever consider 
 that you ill-treated the Sirkar every moment 
 in which you held your enams beyond the 
 term of tenure? Do you not see how 
 leniently you have been treated, in not 
 having to pay up arrears ? Only think what 
 ii native government would have done. 
 What ransom would you have given for your 
 noses, if you had held the enam one day 
 longer than your sunnud allowed you ? You 
 had service tenures, improving tenures, and 
 time tenures. Some of these were given, 
 when the Government which gave them was 
 tottering to the fall, when those who signed 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 239 
 
 the papers never knew what they were doing ; 
 yet all these doubtfully obtained possessions 
 have been confirmed to you as they were 
 found ; and many of you have enjoyed them 
 far beyond the time allowed. None of you 
 have improved them, and none of you have 
 done the services for which they were given. 
 It is, I allow, a strong cause of enmity, to be 
 forcibly deprived of what you unjustly kept; 
 but with all your ill-will to the rulers, you 
 can scarcely wish to bring back on yourselves 
 troubles worse than those you endured a few 
 years ago. You have not forgotten how 
 grateful you were to Outram Saheb Bahadoor, 
 for reducing Mansinfosh so quickly. The 
 only difference in your feelings is this, — that 
 whereas at that time you thought you had 
 something to lose, now you know that you 
 have nothing; yet would it be well to re- 
 member that your neighbours have." 
 
 A murmur of approbation followed this 
 speech, and the Brumacharee thought to 
 himself, " this Outram Saheb must be a great 
 
240 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 man; I hear of him everywhere." So he 
 'went on to Bellary, 
 
 The old man's pony had but little rest 
 here. The Madras Sepoys were happy and 
 contented — their cantonments were small 
 colonies — wives, sweethearts, and children, 
 he had never seen anything like it in Bengal. 
 He travelled on to Bangalore ; it was the 
 same thing over again — content was every- 
 where. 
 
 After a long, hot, and feverish journey, he, 
 at last, reached Vellore. Here he was talk- 
 ing of the necessity of a change — of the evils 
 poured down on their poor heads — of the 
 pleasures everyone enjoyed under a Govern- 
 ment of their own construction. He was in 
 the midst of his warmest harangue, when he 
 was interrupted by a loud stamping on the 
 floor. 
 
 A grey-haired, white-bearded pensioner, 
 with a wooden leg, was stumping up towards 
 him. He was partially paralyzed, and 
 nearly blind. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 241 
 
 " I have come close to you/' he said, as 
 he touched the Brumacharee, " that my poor 
 old eyes may see the man who ventures to 
 talk as you do. I am old — very old. I have 
 been a pensioner for thirty years. My leg 
 was shot oflf at Pegu. I have seen many 
 wars, and I have known brave men. I am 
 not a coward myself; but I have never 
 known so brave a man as you. When I was 
 young, the Sepoys talked as you do now. 
 They were many, and they encouraged one 
 another ; but you stand here alone, and in- 
 cite your hearers to deeds of valour — against 
 whom? Do you know that, on the very 
 ground where you now stand, I have seen 
 vast heaps of mutineers — dead, festering in 
 the sunshine? I have forgotten many things 
 since that day, but it returns now on my 
 memory, as the blossoms that come in the 
 spring time, Gillespie Saheb was the man 
 to do and to dare. The silly men were 
 mowed from the face of the earth, as the corn 
 is mowed by the mower. One event of that 
 
 M 
 
242 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 kind lasts for a long life, and I never wish 
 such a thing to happen again. You had 
 better take your departure. I have seen 
 you, and I understand you — go !" 
 
 The Brumacharee did go ; he had col- 
 lected all he could. The rivulets of discon- 
 tent were few in the circle entrusted to him ; 
 but he hastened back to Bengal, to add his 
 cloud to the heavy atmosphere, and to aid 
 liis friends to the utmost of Ms power, in 
 bringing on the approaching earthquake. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 243 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 THE SIGNAL. 
 
 Currents were running in all directions, 
 thunder clouds gathered around, and a rumb- 
 ling sound in the atmosphere proclaimed the 
 approach of a storm. 
 
 From the borders of fair Cashmere, from 
 the Himalaya mountains, from beyond the 
 Indus, and from far Kurachee, his messengers 
 had some time since returned to Hoossein. 
 There had been many meetings, and much 
 talk. 
 
 M 2 
 
244 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Iloossein was well pleased with most of 
 what he heard. If now and then a doubt dis- 
 turbed him, he threw it fiercely aside ; if the 
 intemperate zeal of the Sepoys harassed him, 
 he said "their blood be upon their own 
 heads; they shall not disturb my great work." 
 He had only one object in life, and he was 
 doing it. His heart was alive with hope, and 
 so eager with expectation, that he saw not 
 the obstacles in his way ; he was a fine ex- 
 ample of human nature, as sketched by his 
 great progenitor the prophet : " man is weak." 
 
 Hoossein lay stretched on his red and green 
 sutringe, with his face, as he hoped, towards 
 Mecca ; he was going through the ordinary 
 prayers of a devout Mahomedan ; no one 
 knew how to lay his carpet with greater pro- 
 priety ; no one could prostrate himself with 
 greater ease or grace ; he had studied the at- 
 titude — the clasping of his hands, the upturn- 
 ing of his eyes, and the movement of his lips, 
 were all done with thought and with a pur- 
 pose. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 245 
 
 No one would douLt the truth of a man, 
 who was such an attentive observer of out- 
 ward forms. There were many who watched 
 him, many who copied him ; but while Hoos- 
 sein was thanking God and His Prophets for 
 throwing his enemies into his clutches, and 
 for enabling him to be the humble means of 
 liberating his country, they thought that he 
 was only doing as he said he was, praying for 
 forgiveness of his past offences. 
 
 " What tJiou doest do^^' was Hoossein's 
 motto. He did not care how. 
 
 There was another man in the east, who 
 held a smilar motto, " ora et Lahora^ In high 
 position, with simple faith and honesty he 
 laboured. His prayers had been heard, his 
 enemies had disappeared, his empire had in- 
 creased, the ten talents entrusted to his care 
 had multiplied. There was no danger now ; 
 his kingdom was complete ; his vision was 
 filled with far-off scenes of recompense and 
 reward, which might well engross his facul- 
 ties ; he had been in the east long enough to 
 
246 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 understand the intrigues of Asiatics. There 
 was no danger while he was there ; he was 
 equal to any occasion, and took but little 
 notice of the forebodings of evil around him ; 
 he, in person, could never come in contact 
 with such as Hoossein. But he could not re- 
 main for ever. His time of service was nearly- 
 over. 
 
 It will be for the historian to tell us, how 
 far his desire to serve two masters — the East 
 India Company and the people of England 
 — drove Lord Dalhousie into the narrow 
 groove ; suffice it for me to say, that with ac- 
 quisition on one side, and economy on the 
 other, with the danger of these elements 
 fairly laid before him, he refused to take pre- 
 cautions. He would not see things as they 
 were ; he had reached India when affiiirs 
 in general were on the change. He laboured 
 hard to perfect those changes. The over- 
 land communication with England had been 
 brought nearly to perfection, raih'oads were 
 winding their level paths through the valleys, 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 247 
 
 over the mountains; electric wires whispered 
 unheard from one end of the territory to the 
 other; strange things were growing rapidly 
 before the eye of the Asiatic ; but mythical 
 legends were departing, and plain matter of 
 fact supervening ; the delicacy of touch the 
 fine handling, were all gone ; the filmy veil 
 was ruthlessly drawn aside by decided hands ; 
 a picture was disclosed to the oriental, harsh, 
 and unpleasing ; but like a pre-Kaphaelite, it 
 had much truth in it. 
 
 '^ ' Coming events cast their shadows before 
 them !^ '' exclaimed Hoossein. '' Let all be 
 destroyed ; let us cast them all together in 
 the sea," hissed out his low voice, as snake- 
 like he entered the divan, where the Bruma- 
 charee had promised to meet him. 
 
 They had met in private since the messen- 
 gers' return ; and in a long midnight talk, 
 with only one small lamp shining in dim 
 splendour upon them, these two men, a cun- 
 ning Brahmin, and a determined Mahom- 
 edan, reconstructed and manufactured a 
 
S48 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 fable, wHcli, in their vanity, was to ruin one 
 dynasty, and set up another. The outlines 
 had been picked up in his travels, and the 
 hard old bachelor thought he could fill up hi s 
 sketches to the satisfaction of any eastern 
 audience. 
 
 As the Brumacharee entered the long 
 saloon, with its low, dark ceiling, supported 
 on carved wooden pillars, the evening light 
 pouring softly in through the narrow win- 
 dows, on a red and blue carpet, spread from 
 end to end of the room. He was aware of a 
 very villanous-looking company; audacious 
 men were there, some in their own beautiful 
 costume, some in the uniform of their mas- 
 ters, whom they still served, and whose salt 
 they still eat and whose eyes they blinded 
 with dust of obedience ; there were rich mus- 
 lin turbans, and gay shawls from Cashmere ; 
 satin piejamis, and gold about the slippers ; 
 the wearers representing landholders, idlers, 
 and representatives of each arm of the kala 
 pultun of Bengal — men in a good service, 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 249 
 
 With ample pay for their small wants, with 
 little to do, and a pension in a not distant 
 horizon — all of them hanging the skirts of 
 their hope on the heartrending thorns of dis- 
 content and treason ; and the girdles of their 
 faith on the avalanche of that oriental charity 
 which had been falling and crushing their 
 forefathers, long before history could re- 
 member. 
 
 Hoossein was standing at the further end ; 
 he was a fine-looking fellow, in the prime of 
 life; his hair was slightly tinged with grey, 
 but his beard and moustache were black as 
 jet, and beautifully polished. 
 
 He took the Brumacharee by the hand, and 
 standing by one of the pillars, he said, in a 
 clear voice, 
 
 '* Here, my friends, is the man who has 
 just returned from his feathered journey to 
 the west and to the south ; his little plumes 
 have grown into the feathers of an eagle, and 
 each has had the eyes of the peacock ; his 
 feet have rivalled the fleetness of the ante- 
 
 M 5 
 
250 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 lope, and his tales, like tlie wondrous legends 
 of Arabia, will set your hearts at rest. Hear 
 what he has to saj, my friends, and then 
 judge to how many millions of our race 
 your success will be like the sunshine suc- 
 ceeding a thunderstorm. '* 
 
 The Brumacharee, standing by Hoossein's 
 side, began, 
 
 " My tale is like the summer drought ; the 
 moisture of the country is gone, the herbage 
 is withered, the sticks are gathered, they will 
 not kindle in the flame, and no smoke 
 arises. 
 
 ''The poor Mahratta has but three gar- 
 ments, his coarse pugree, his home spun 
 cumlie, and his unbleached* langoo tee, every- 
 thing else, his lota, and his cooking utensils 
 are with the Soucar. He is his slave ; from 
 him he gets his daily bread ; from him comes 
 the marriage festival for the son, the beggar. 
 The hearts of the people are sick, and a great 
 medicine is needed. 
 
 " Princes, with time honoured names, have 
 
LOST ]JNKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 251 
 
 risen in the hills to put down this oppression 
 of the Soucars ; their noses have been taken 
 from them, and some have been burnt in the 
 fires of Jehannum, so that their names have 
 been lost on their accounts ; the poor people 
 would have become free, but then came the 
 evil Genii, who hover o'er this land; the 
 Princes were destroyed, the oppressors were 
 encouraged. 
 
 " Listen to the tale of the Western Ghauts ! 
 
 "EajogeeBangria is pursued ; his life is re- 
 quired to sacrifice at the shrine of oppression ; 
 he is a fugitive in the jungle. 
 
 " A follower of his is caught and is ordered 
 to betray his master. 
 
 "He replied : ' I will ! when the darkness of 
 night has made them secure ; when their feet 
 are weary with the march; when sleep is 
 upon them, I will shew the Saheb the resting 
 place of my master; when I say *'Now!" 
 then will the Saheb, and his army rush on, 
 and secure all he finds. 
 
 " The paths are narrow, the mountains 
 
252 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 high, tbe precipices steep, and the niglit is dark 
 and stormy. 
 
 *' The fearless follower, with a pistol held to 
 his head, guides the Saheb in safety ; ' they 
 are close,' he whispers ; then, with a voice 
 which echoes from rock to rock, from wood 
 to wood, he cries out, 'Now!' and dashes 
 on. 
 
 Amidst the distant echoes of his frantic cry, 
 other sounds come up from the deep abyss — 
 sounds like the sighs of those who go to 
 Jehannum. A curse was howled out from the 
 faithful man, as he fell alone, and found that 
 no one had followed to the resting place. 
 
 " The shapeless mass of the true man, who 
 would not betray his master, is still unburied 
 amidst those mountain dells. He must be 
 avenged — the mountain coolie expects his 
 sun to rise. 
 
 " Listen to the tyranny to the Sirkar. The 
 
 people of S 1 groaned beneath the sceptre 
 
 of a cruel native ; their backs were broken ; 
 there were heavy burdens on their heads in 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 25S 
 
 the hot sunshine ; pepper bags were tied on 
 their faces ; hot pincers tore their tender 
 bodies ; their toe nails were pulled out ; their 
 houses were burned, and their goods 
 plundered; their hearts sang the silent songs 
 of sorrow, and the Tyrant was dressed in 
 robes of white. 
 
 " It happened that a good Saheb (an excep- 
 tion to the rule), one of those who worked 
 for the people, and not for himself, whose 
 beacon was built on the rock of honesty, 
 proposed to draw out the teeth of the op- 
 pressor. 
 
 " ' I have no teeth ! My lips are of honey ; 
 my hands are bathed in the purity of the 
 morning dew ; let the curse of dismissal fall 
 on the head of my calumniator,' cried the 
 Tyrant. 
 
 " The teeth of derision rattled in the mouth 
 of the liar ; the good Saheb was put on the 
 shelf of poverty, and the streets of the city 
 were washed with the tears of bitterness. 
 
 " A white Tyrant sat on the seat of judgment. 
 
254 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 A debtor was brought before him; he could ^ 
 not pay— he was ill ; he could not explain — • 
 he was beaten ; his very weakness was used 
 against him, so he departed to the world where 
 there are no debts. 
 
 " The wings of the white man were clipped, 
 but they grew again. Justice flew away on 
 the wings of night ] the Tyrant was liberated ; 
 he smiled neath the eye of his ruler. Let 
 the fish-hooks of remorse enter his heart, and 
 the ghost of the dead man hold the lines. 
 
 " White gloves and garments are worn by 
 the dealers in Khutput ; they wear their shoes 
 in the palaces, and smile on the ladies within 
 them. Sore is the foot of him who tried, in 
 his justice, to curb them. Outram the great 
 is gone, sunk in his contest with Khutput ; 
 songs are now dipped in blood — songs of this 
 Sirdar, this Eustum, this Outram is nobody 
 now. Khutput will help you to slay him.'' 
 
 "We can do that without help/' cried 
 more than one voice from the listening 
 .circle. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 255 
 
 The Brumacharee smiled a straiige smile, 
 and continued, 
 
 " The dignity of nobles has departed ; they 
 fight with themselves, instead of working for 
 the people ; bribery and corruption defile the 
 names of the rulers. 
 
 " There are no longer good governors ; the 
 light of truth and respectability has departed, 
 
 " Our money flows away like the waters of 
 the Ganges, and never comes back again. 
 They are perpetually coining fresh rupees, 
 and each coinage has more alloy. 
 
 " The Sirkar is rapacious, and takes from 
 the people the gifts that were given for good 
 conduct ; the name of tbe Sirkar is odious, 
 and the land is covered ^ith groaning. 
 
 " There are fine cities, palaces, mosques, 
 and temples ; there are hill feves and moun- 
 tain forts, the gateways of which have been 
 destroyed by the white man ; their con- 
 sciences told them they might be used against 
 them : you can take all these forts as easy as 
 you scale your beds. 
 
256 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 " There Is mucli wealth scattered over the 
 land ; the women and children are covered 
 with gold, silver, and jewels; the English 
 wish to get it all : the sooner it falls into other 
 hands the better. 
 
 " The Parsees are friends of the English ; 
 they have great houses, much wealth, and 
 broad lands, but they spend thoughtlessly ! 
 their property should be taken care of. 
 
 " There are pleasant herbs growing on the 
 hills of Sattara : it is a rich country, and re- 
 quires cultivation. 
 
 " What can we expect of a Sirkar with new 
 names — names unknown to our fathers, who 
 wore silk and satins, when theirs were painted, 
 and wore skins for dresses, who now call us 
 niggers? They come thousands of miles to 
 rule us, becau# the road is easy, and they 
 want our money ; yet these men cannot rule 
 us, because they are subservient to others in 
 England, of whom we know nothing except by 
 report ; the examples before us give us a bad 
 idea of the whole. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 251 
 
 '* These men call themselves free — that is^. 
 every one does as he likes ; a liberty which 
 has ere now brought confusion in its train ; 
 their sovereign has no proper control over 
 them ; they are always divided into two 
 parties, neither of which ever succeeds in 
 doing right; their rulers are selected by the^ 
 length of their purses ; they call themselves^ 
 the representatives of the people, and they 
 talk a great deal about India, and control our 
 affairs ; they take from, or add to the authority 
 of our government, and they sometimes talk 
 of taking it all away; between the two parties 
 we can get nothing done ; our Governor- 
 General Saheb is no longer a man of power,^ 
 what he does is undone ; there is no authority 
 over us; if we do as we please, we are sure to 
 please one of the home parties ; so, as we have 
 no proper ruler, let Hoossein Saheb Bahadoor, 
 or the King of Delhi, be our King ; both of* 
 them are wise and generous — let us serve 
 them/' 
 
 The Brumacharee was interrupted hy 
 
258 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 sounds of approbation, and a confused talk- 
 ing. 
 
 When silence was obtained, the old man 
 resumed. 
 
 " Let us, I say, select our own rulers — 
 rulers to whom we can tell our own wants ; 
 who will be on the spot to attend to them 5 
 who will rule us as we love to be ruled, as 
 Asiatics must be ruled, honestly and de- 
 cidedly. 
 
 "I have made a long journey ; I have 
 braved the hot winds, and the south-west 
 monsoon; I would sooner,- my friends, live 
 under the everlasting inconvenience of either 
 of these natural inflictions than under the 
 rule of those whom nature never imposed 
 upon us ; down with them now that you have 
 the power ! submit no longer to those whose 
 very weakness invites you to tbeir destruction^ 
 whose very blindness bids you lead them into 
 the pit I down with them ! let them be as the 
 dust of the burning desert, or as the spray of 
 the stormy sea.*' 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 259 
 
 The Brumaclaaree stopped for a moment^ 
 then, making a low salam to the company, he 
 continued, 
 
 " Is a stronger breeze required to fan the 
 flame? You will soon have it. Let the 
 whirlwind sweep up the spray and the dust ; 
 let neither be seen again upon earth ; let us 
 eat our own bread, and let us rule ourselves; 
 let the time come when the ever-springing 
 Lotus is bright on the face of the waters. I 
 have said it !'' 
 
 There was a murmur of assent*, the assembly 
 gave themselves to gravity, and the sound of 
 the hubble-bubble increased. 
 
 At this moment a well-dressed Ghuprassie 
 stepped up to Hoossein with a note. 
 
 " See !'^ cried Hoossein, with a smile, '' how 
 our destiny works out our wishes. See how 
 that little wire sends its message through all 
 space in a moment of time. There is, my 
 friends, a war in Persia ; all the white army 
 left Bombay this morning, in ships, for the 
 Persian Gulph; all the rest of the white army 
 
260 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 of India has to go there. Some of the 
 Bombay Kala Pultun has also gone. No 
 ^Sepoys of the Bengal army will ever go over 
 the Kala Panee again." 
 
 He was stopped by loud applause. 
 
 "The Persians/* continued Hoossein, "are 
 Mahomedans ! Some of you, my brothers, 
 fought against the Afghans ; they were of your 
 own faith. You were excused on account of 
 your ignorance; this cannot be your plea 
 again. None of you will go to this war, but 
 when the pure Lotus rises from the bosom of 
 the purer stream, be ready ! And now I ear- 
 nestly request your attention to the few more 
 words I have to say to you." 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 261 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE SERPENT. 
 
 HoossEiN paused for a few moments, during 
 which the assembly moved, settling them- 
 selves into attitudes of deep attention. 
 
 The silver stick in waiting having then 
 called out, 
 
 " Listen, ye nobles, to the words of the 
 world creator, the eternal justice, the saviour 
 of the universe, the father of wisdom, the 
 holy Seyud Hoossein Ben Hassan Saheb 
 
2Q2 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY; 
 
 Bahadoor. God is great, and Mahomed is 
 his prophet; blessed be God !" 
 
 For another moment Hoossein stood count- 
 ing his beads, and scanning the congrega- 
 tion with a careful eye ; then, with a humble 
 mien and a quiet voice, he began. 
 
 " I wish," he said, " this grand occasion 
 had fallen to the lot of some one who would 
 have been more capable than myself of doing 
 justice to it. 
 
 " The poor attention which I have been 
 able to bestow upon the subject has been in- 
 terrupted by many things, over which I had 
 no CO ntrol. I have travelled far and fast, I 
 have communed with your brethren in all 
 places; I have sent emissaries into distant 
 lands; they have collected intelligence, and 
 spread in secret your wishes. I have spared 
 neither time nor trouble in obtaining a know- 
 ledge of those things so necessary for our 
 undertaking. I know where the guns and 
 the small arms are kept; I have discovered 
 the magazines and th^ commissariat stores. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 263 
 
 I know the number of guards on all, and I 
 understand how thej may be secured; I 
 know the customs of the English, and I see 
 how easily they may be destroyed. When I 
 have detailed to you the reasons for their 
 destruction, you will be able to comprehend how 
 necessary it is, for our own safety as well as 
 for the safetj of those who come after us, 
 that it should be done speedily, and with 
 secresy. 
 
 '' You have all heard of the iniquitous 
 proceedings, the corrupt practices, the un- 
 dignified conduct of some of our rulers ; you 
 have heard how our religious rites are inter- 
 fered with, and our old customs are abolished ; 
 how meanness and rapacity go hand in hand, 
 and liberality and generosity are forgotten. 
 
 " I have more to tell you, to enable you to 
 see the full light of our misfortunes, to make 
 you comprehend the full greatness of our- 
 selves, the insignificance of those who op- 
 press us, and the necessity of getting rid of 
 this miserable oppression. 
 
262 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 " Many years ago, when peace reigned over 
 the land, when the drum, and the fife, and 
 the bugle were silent, it was attempted to 
 reduce the pay of the army; but your 
 brethren of those days resented it, and flew 
 to arms ; then their pay was continued ; but 
 that of the white man was reduced. You 
 were of more value than the officer — there 
 was something left for you to do. 
 
 " Since that time whole regions have been 
 gained to the Sirkar by your exertions, yet 
 no reward, no enams, no dresses, have been 
 bestowed on you — not even a medal. Your 
 pay is likely to decrease, while the price of 
 food is on the increase. If there was any- 
 thing more for you to do, you would be safe; 
 but nothing is left to be done here. 
 
 " See how this plundering propensity pro- 
 gresses; see how Hindoos, Sikhs, Eajpoots, 
 and Mahomedans are all brought under the 
 »way of this insatiable foreigner. 
 
 "A few years ago there was a Saheb — 
 Secunder Burnes — sent on a spying mission 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 265 
 
 to endeavour to deceive tliem whom it was 
 death to play with. This man was well 
 received everywhere (for the name of the 
 English was great at a distance) ] he eat the 
 salt of friendship, while the mantle of safety 
 was held above his head. 
 
 " This false man was the advance guard of 
 deceitful actions. Province after province, 
 that he visited, was attacked by the English; 
 even the distant region of Afghanistan was 
 invaded, and while the Kaffir caressed the 
 daughters of the north, behold the avenger 
 was upon them ; their limbs shivered in the 
 cold, their faces were as white as the snow- 
 there was no place of safety, no sun to warm 
 them. 
 
 " Secunder Burnes Saheb was sent to those 
 regions that reward deception. 
 
 '' The child, Macnaghten Saheb, who had 
 been entrusted with the conduct of the busi- 
 ness, was found asleep by a single Mahom- 
 edan, who at mid day, in the midst of his 
 army, slaughtered him with impunity. 
 
 N 
 
266 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 '' The white haired general of the army 
 mingled his worn out locks with the snows of 
 Khyber Pass his brains were gone before; 
 but his head believed an Afghan — an enemy ! 
 
 " My friends, let us leave children and old 
 men to take care of our women at home. 
 
 " The sword of the Mahomedan has been 
 red on the tip with the blood of the white 
 n.en ; let it now be red to the hilc. 
 
 " Some one may ask why the Sirkar attacked 
 fcuch distant countries. It is difficult to say. 
 It has been said that the Euss King was at 
 enmity with it, and was seeking the friend- 
 ship of the Mahomedan of the mountains; 
 but I look on it as like the fable of the wolf 
 and the lamb at the water ; the wolf wanted 
 all, and so did the Sirkar. Who, I ask, was this 
 Euss, this Eustom? Who, with the aid even of 
 the mountaineers, could have injured India, 
 if you, my friends, having been treated pro- 
 perly, fought for the Sirkar ? It was a false 
 fable, and under its deceitful feathers the 
 Mahomedan was led against his brother, 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 267 
 
 and your comrades were swallowed up in the 
 snow drifts of the bitter north ; there was a 
 grievous wrong done to both of us. True, it 
 was avenged ; but it is our duty to see that 
 we are not so used again ; it is not right that 
 the Asiatic should pander to the deceit of 
 the European. 
 
 " Look around : it is all fraud, violence, and 
 rapacity. Scinde, far away beyond the Indus, 
 our natural boundary, has been seized, on the 
 plea that it was badly governed. What does 
 this mean ? Only that it did not belong to 
 them ; the Government was of no importance 
 to the English, but they wished to get the 
 revenues of a province, which were then ex- 
 pended in itself. No one ever complained of 
 a bad government, and if they had done so, 
 what right had the white man to take away the 
 little sunshine which was left ? 
 
 " Look at the Punjaub. We all knew the 
 old lion who held it so long and so well. 
 While he lived our Sirkar was bis friend: his 
 teeth were sharp, his claws were strong; 
 
 N 2 
 
268 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 when lie died there was talk of annexation. 
 The Kalsa Fouj was strong, but the whelps 
 Lad not the wisdom of the old lion ; so, 
 although they poured down upon our terri- 
 tory like the avalanche of the mountain, yet 
 you drove them back again like the chaff be- 
 fore the wind. You defended the land of the 
 stranger from fire and sword ; you slaughtered 
 the enemy in great battles ; the plains were 
 covered with his corpses, and the rivers ran 
 red with their blood. 
 
 " You will now reap the reward of your 
 sacrifices and of your valour. You will be 
 reduced. There are no enemies left. You 
 will not go across the Kala Panee, and as 
 they seek for foes there now, they will get 
 other men for their soldiers. The news is 
 come that a great army is gone, or going to 
 Persia ; let us not lose our opportunity. 
 
 " There was once on a time a Mahomedan 
 Ameer, with the wisdom of Seuliman and the 
 forethought of the prophet, blessed be his 
 name 1 He also received the spy, Secunder 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 269 
 
 Bures, with kindness and hospitality, and 
 listened to his honey words of deceit. He 
 looked, and behold ! his neighbours were gone ; 
 the kings of the countries visited by Burnes 
 were fugitives, like antelopes scattered by the 
 wolf; they had no place to rest on, their 
 ground was taken from their feet. 
 
 " When his eyes were dry from their weep- 
 ing, he looked again, and behold ! one of the 
 Feringhees was in his toils — Colonel Stoddart 
 Saheb — what did he do there ? alone^ far 
 from his own people. Did the English do 
 things without an object? Never! They 
 shall get nothing from me ! 
 
 " So he looked out with a smile, for Stod- 
 dart Saheb was safe ; and lo ! another spy 
 wandered through the land, the sunshine of 
 pleasure on his face,- the moonlight of folly 
 on his brow. 
 
 '' As the decoy bird entices the wild one, so 
 the false pen of Stoddart lured Connolly into 
 the nets of the Ameer, who stretched out the 
 
270 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 sliarp sabre of caution, and struck off the 
 beads of tbe false ones. 
 
 " This Ameer is safe in bis kingdom ; the 
 English prefer fighting against Persians, who 
 have done them no harm, while Bokhara has 
 killed their people. 
 
 " Let us, I repeat, never lose an opportunity, 
 and never neglect so bright an example ; let 
 your blades be sharp, and your aims be true; 
 your country has been long in the hands of 
 the alien, but our hearts are free ; let them 
 no longer be hung up in the bonds of slavery. 
 The African was a slave, but is now free ; 
 Lis own right hand procured his freedom, and 
 the fickle councils of England confirmed it. 
 Why should not we be free, and living like 
 the Africans, in ease, indolence, and plenty ? 
 
 " Think of the miserable pittance you get ; 
 think on what you may obtain ; make up 
 your mind to get it; be wise as serpents, 
 but secret as the cat, 
 
 " I tell you that the signal for the rising is 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 271 
 
 gone forth — the bread to tell you that every man 
 must get his own ; the lotus to tell you when 
 to rise: when that fair divinity, the symbol of 
 creation, appears on the waters, then is our 
 time; then communication will be difficult, 
 and travelling impossible. 
 
 '' Time flies rapidly, but be patient; curb 
 your own, curb the impatience of those yoa 
 meet. If we are rash, and act hastily, all 
 will be lost, and a hundred years will have 
 passed in vain. 
 
 " Be patient, and be united ; be firm and 
 be collected, and I, Hoossein Ben Hassan, 
 will promise you a freedom you have never 
 dreamed of. No longer shall your caste rites 
 be infringed on ; no longer shall the shadow 
 of the infidel fall upon jour bread ; no longer 
 shall the circumcised be the slave of the un- 
 circumcised. Our women shall be our own ; 
 we will do as we please with our wives and 
 children. In short, my friends, we will no 
 longer eat the bitter cake of bondage, for the 
 
272 LOSr LINKS in the INDIAN MUTINY. ' 
 
 white man shall be gone, and we shall be at 
 liberty." 
 
 Hoossein ceased speaking. 
 
 The assembly had been held as a secret 
 one; all outward signs of approbation had 
 been strictly forbidden, yet was there again a 
 murmur loud and continued, words of praise 
 and signs of encouragement ; there were men 
 who stood up to say a word, but it was all 
 repetition, except one sentence, and that was 
 spoken by a man whom no one knew ; it was 
 short and suggestive. 
 
 "If," said the voice, ''we are successful, I 
 will give Hoossein Saheb Bahadoor a golden 
 serpent ; if we are not, he will find a live 
 one." 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 273 
 
 CHAPTER XVL 
 
 THE DAUGHTERS OF DELHI. 
 
 Khooda Bux brought in his master's break- 
 fast ; there was much familiarity between 
 them, and the servant said, 
 
 " Did Hoossein Saheb see the carriage pass ? 
 — a carriage with two gazelles inside, whose 
 pearly teeth were not hidden by the rose 
 leaves around them — whose eye lashes glitter 
 in perpetual sunshine/' 
 
 "I saw no carriage," replied Hoossein; 
 "my thoughts are busy with serious matters." 
 
 N 5 
 
274 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 " While tlie master is eating his break- 
 fast, may his slave wander to the gates 
 of Paradise, and discover who those fair 
 hoiiris may be ? he may bring back some - 
 thing to awake his lord from his sadness/' 
 
 Khooda Bax walked out with a cm-ious 
 expression on his ugly face. 
 
 "There must be something going on, or 
 T should not have been allowed to go." 
 
 Hoossein dipped his fingers in his rice and 
 eat. His pillau was good ; he eat slowly, 
 and then stopping, as if weary with the ex- 
 ertion, he rested his chin on his hand. 
 
 "It is my fate,'* he muttered to himself, 
 *' every thing within and without tends to one 
 point; streamlets starting from the same 
 place will take opposite courses. The Indus 
 and the Ganges have their sources in the 
 same hills, but their waters sweeten very dis- 
 tant seas. The European and the Indian have 
 different origins, yet are they running in one 
 direction, and will enter the unknown Kala 
 Pani together. It is a salt sea, its waves are 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 275 
 
 bitter, heaving, and undefined ; there are 
 rocks beneath its bosom, rough and hard, 
 breaking to pieces those who are dashed 
 against them. Thef tempest is commencing, 
 foam is ah-eady seen on the breaking wave, 
 the wild bird screams with joy, and flits about 
 on the swift pinions of expectation; the wild 
 fox and the jackal sit howling on the sand 
 covered shores of hope.'' 
 
 Hoossein eat a little, and drank some cool 
 water, then relapsed into his train of thought. 
 
 " Strange ! I devised this ruin, but I 
 asked not that they should aid in their own 
 destruction. How is it that they help me ? 
 As it was with the negro, so is it with us. 
 There are people in England who advocate 
 our cause, who wish us to be put in high 
 places, and to rule our own people —who wish 
 to destroy the Sirkar as it now exists. How 
 is this ? Where did the idea come from? 
 Did some demon of discontent whisper it in 
 the ears of the credulous. Let there be a 
 change, they say, let the wings of the old 
 
276 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 company be clipped ; divide the power (aye, 
 and the spoil) ; let us know what is going on, 
 and keep some control over them. Good ! 
 What control can distant England keep over 
 us? While the Punchayet talks it forgets 
 that we are not consulted. Our affairs are 
 mentioned, and we are supposed capable of 
 great things, such as ruling ourselves ; but 
 none of us are admitted into that Punchayet, 
 which claims to itself the power of controlling 
 us. It is high time for us to make a Punch- 
 ayet of our own. 
 
 " Sambo was a true oracle ; there are two 
 parties : one wishes to rule us, the other that 
 we should rule ourselves. The latter speaks 
 'with a hidden object, the former do not know 
 how to rule Asiatics. It will never do to 
 send a great man to rule our army, and 
 another great man to rule him, and other 
 greater men to control him, and a king or 
 queen to govern all. The centralisation of 
 power in so distant a place is an error ; there 
 should be a supreme ruler in each province. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 27 7 
 
 My sirdars shall be in plenty, and each shall 
 govern his district with a rod of iron^ It is 
 said in England that the Mahomedan is 
 lazy, and incapable of work. Ah ! ah ! they 
 shall see ! They talk of work, when every 
 thing is done by Khutput, and the money 
 owners take their complaints to England. 
 They had better go to Jehannum. They talk 
 of abolishing our language, our weights and 
 measures. The only good the men have done 
 is removing the Lord Saheb, the only man I 
 ever feared, and have sent out a Governor- 
 General Saheb, who will make us all Chris- 
 tians if he can ; he will have railroads, fire and 
 water to help him ; then those talking wires 
 — ah ! it will give him the power of Shitan." 
 
 Hoossein started, he had been so intent on 
 his subject, that he had not heard a footstep 
 approaching. 
 
 " It is only me," said Khoda Bux, with a 
 smile. " Did you expect him of whom you 
 were talking to come and help you to finish 
 your uneaten breakfast T' 
 
278 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 "I was not speaking, was I?" asked 
 Hoossein. 
 
 " Well, it was more a hiss than a talk ; but 
 one word was very audible,** said Khoda 
 Bux. " I have come to tell what I have 
 seen, and perhaps my master will change his 
 mind as to the company he wishes to see. 
 Did you ever, Hoossein Saheb, see the picture 
 of the Beebe Sahibs in the palace of Delhi?*' 
 
 Hoossein said nothing-, he had seen the 
 originals of more than one picture. 
 
 Khoda Bux went on, 
 
 " She is the Tara of the picture, with the 
 same youth, beauty, and vivacity ; he painted 
 the very length of eye lashes, and the grace- 
 ful shape of her arm. There is a little differ- 
 ence, for the picture has mild eyes, while 
 the real one has the fiery eyes of Hoossein 
 Saheb. I saw them flash as she was told that 
 she could not enter the house, because the 
 Beebe Saheb Ameena was there. 
 
 " If my master is thinking of other thin gs, 
 and his inclination turns not towards the 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 279 
 
 new flowers of creation, then Klioda Bux will 
 
 go- 
 
 " Go on," said Hoossein. " Where did 
 
 she go to ?" 
 
 " She staid there." 
 
 " How was that ?' 
 
 " Her will ! She said she must ; she had 
 been told to stay there, so she would stay. I 
 offered my services to her attendants, to get 
 the baggage into the house — such dresses, 
 such jewellery, such shawls of cashmere, 
 scattered about the hackery, and all come 
 from Delhi." 
 
 " Did you say her name was Tara?" 
 
 " I did ; and a Tara she is.'' 
 
 *' What did you say about Ameena ?" 
 
 " T said she was in the house." 
 
 " Well, what about her?" 
 
 "Not much. While the other Beebe 
 talked to the people, she looked out of the 
 window, and seeing the face below, cried out 
 that, if she could find room, she was welcome 
 to come in, I went upstairs. She sat at 
 
280 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 breakfast with her daughters, the two moon- 
 beams; and Tara Saheb, finding thej were 
 Mahomed ans, sat down with them. All her 
 servants had not arrived, as there was some 
 tumasha on the road — execution, or some- 
 thing of that sort. There has been a boberie 
 somewhere." 
 
 " How old are the daughters ?" asked 
 Hoossein. 
 
 *' I suppose,from fourteen to sixteen years.** 
 
 '* What is Ameena like T 
 
 "Why do you ask about her, when the 
 other beebe is here. Go and see thera, 
 Saheb, and judge for yourself.'* 
 
 " How came they here ?'* 
 
 " Tara Saheb is come from Delhi, I was 
 told she has come from Hoossein Lush- 
 keree." 
 
 '* Hoossein Luskheree, the wise man. Ah I 
 I will see these beebe Sahebs.** 
 
 In the evening of that day, Hoossein 
 dressed himself in a new white muslin dress, 
 fitting close to his neck. The sleeves were 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 281 
 
 tight below the elbows, and were rolled, in 
 many wrinkles, round his arm ; the green 
 satin vest showed through the thin muslin j 
 a green, gold-embroidered shawl, was folded 
 neatly round his waist ; his turban was of 
 fine white Delhi tissue, one end of which^ 
 fringed with golden threads, hung over his 
 left shoulder ; a pair of silver-mounted 
 pistols were partly concealed in, and an 
 ivory-hilted dagger was conspicuous in front 
 of his kumer bund. 
 
 Hoossein had received many visitors that 
 day ; they came in a hurry, and went away 
 with seeming anxiety, expressing some 
 doubts as to Hoossein's sincerity in the great 
 cause. Whatever he may have felt, however 
 anxious the intelligence he heard might have 
 made hira, nothing could be gained from 
 his face ; it was never more composed than 
 when he went up to the house pointed out by 
 the servant. 
 
 " Could he see the Tara Saheb," he asked^ 
 *' on business of great importance T^ 
 
282 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 He was asked what business. 
 
 " A Bijlee message from Hoossein Lusli- 
 keree." 
 
 Hoossein was then conducted upstairs. 
 There was a dim light from one window, and 
 strong scent of sandal wood oil. Two 
 females sat on a low divan, 
 
 Hoossein salaaming low, said, " a friend of 
 Hoossein Lushkereeiscome to paj his respects 
 to his daugliter, and to tell her that the great 
 man, who lives in the sunshine of the King 
 of the Universe, has, hy his wonderful 
 knowledge of the stars, foreseen that the sun 
 and the moon are about to change places.' 
 Discord will happen in the transit. He 
 wishes that the Tara who guides the mariner 
 should not be disturbed, and requires her ta 
 shine at Plassey immediately — to go towards 
 it this very night.'' 
 
 '' How am I to know that this is true ?'^ 
 asked the lady. 
 
 Hoossein made a sign, which was re- 
 cognised. 
 
LOST LINKS IN TH£ INDIAN MUTINY. 283 
 
 '^ When must I go ?" 
 
 "Now. Great things are in progress* 
 You must make haste ; the hand of man is 
 small to guide so fair a star. Delaj not, for 
 your dear life's sake !'' 
 
 There was an impressive kindness in the last 
 words which attracted the attention of Tara» 
 
 " May I not wait till to-morrow ?" she 
 asked. 
 
 " If a star stops in its course, it drops from. 
 Heaven. See," said Hoossein, pointing into 
 the night, " there is a misguided star, which 
 has fallen from its high abode, and rushes 
 through empty space into utter darkness — its 
 place knows it no more. The daughter of 
 Delhi will go where knowledge guides her.'' 
 
 "Where shall I go!" exclaimed the 
 alarmed girl. 
 
 "To Plassey. Everything is arranged; 
 your attendants are prepared ; your vehicle 
 is ready ; the friend of the Lushkeree takes 
 his leave of the daughter of Delhi." 
 
 So they parted, the attendant whispering, 
 
284 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 "That man is tlie very image of yourself, 
 Tara Salieb/' 
 
 "I wish I was as beautiful/^ she said. 
 
 Hoossein walked quietly downstairs. At 
 the street-door he met a man, to whom he 
 handed a bag of money, saying, " See, Sool- 
 tan, that my daughter of Delhi reaches 
 Plassey in safety. I have written to Mohamed 
 to receive her. When you have done this, 
 join me at Delhi as soon as possible. Time 
 is short ; and I find that while I am working 
 to make the centre sound, and our foundation 
 strong, some one is working wheels which 
 may destroy all my contrivances. Even I 
 may not be in time ; and she — ah ! see, Sool- 
 tan, that she reaches in safety. The night is 
 dark; see that she does not stumble.^' 
 
 As he spoke, the females came — a glare of 
 torchlight fell on their veiled faces. Hoos- 
 sein touched gently the hem of a garment ; 
 the vehicle, with the white bullocks, drove 
 on, and Hoossein retired into a lower cham- 
 ber. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 285 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE OLDEST FRIENDS. 
 
 *' Where is the Beebe Ameena?^' said Hoos- 
 sein, to an attendant, wlien the bustle of the 
 departure was over. 
 
 '' Gone to her repose/' was the reply. 
 
 " Awake her, and tell her that her oldest 
 friend upon earth will be glad to speak to 
 her, on a very important subject/' 
 
 The servant, startled at the imperious 
 order, did as she was bid. 
 
286 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 " Is it Ameena, the daughter of Yusuflf 
 Hadji, that I am speaking to?" enquired 
 Hoossein. 
 
 ' ' May the daughter of Yusuif ask who it 
 is that speaks to her?'* said Ameena. 
 
 " A spirit of olden days/' was the quiet 
 reply, " come to tell you that your father is 
 dead, and to ask you, what has become of 
 Hoossein, your betrothed ?'' 
 
 *' He was drowned !" 
 
 " And your husband, Ibrahim ?" 
 
 "He is dead r 
 
 " And where is Eglington Saheb?' 
 
 " He is dead also," said the woman, tremb- 
 ling, but she mastered her weakness, and said 
 in firm voice, '' who is the spirit of olden 
 days, who is my oldest fiiend upon earth ? 
 On what Eubject would he wish to speak? 
 Ameena, the daughter of YusufF, listens I" 
 
 " Does Ameena remember the Caves of 
 Ellora and the Eoza of the Dervish?*' 
 
 ''I do." 
 
 '^Does she remember the wild flowers 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 287 
 
 growing on the steep rocks, tlie little short 
 lived flowers of blue?" 
 
 " Yes, I remember them." 
 
 " And tbe sweet honey from the rocks. 
 Who got the honey for Anieena, and who made 
 the wreaths of little flowers?" 
 
 " Yes, I remember, Hoossein made the 
 wreaths, and he got the honey ; it was very 
 sweet." 
 
 " Who was it that brought the pretty little 
 quail to Ameena?' 
 
 " Hoossein !" 
 
 " Who was it that fell into the water at 
 Ellera, while getting the pure white lotus for 
 Ameena? — and did Ameena weep when he 
 was brought insensible to the shore?" 
 
 " Oh, yes ! I remember I wept, because I 
 thought my friend Hoossein had gone away." 
 
 " Does Ameena recollect a little white 
 fawn, that fed from her hand, and slept on 
 her carpet ? — did Ameena weep when it was 
 stolen away?" 
 
 " Ameena did weep." 
 
2S8 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 
 
 *' Ameena had a tender heart. Did she 
 spurn with her little foot the dead leopard, 
 that had stolen the fawn ?'' 
 
 ^' She did r 
 
 " Would Ameena spurn those who stole 
 Hoossein ?" 
 
 " No one stole him ; he was drowned/' 
 
 ''Who told you so?" 
 
 "Yusuff." 
 
 " Did Ameena weep ?" 
 
 " Ameena does not recollect/' 
 
 '' Ameena has a good memory ; she recol- 
 lects the things of more than thirty years 
 ago, yet she forgets if she wept when her 
 betrothed was drowned ; she did not weep 
 then ; her heart had changed, and she does 
 nat now recollect her oldest friend." 
 
 "Are you Hoossein?'' gasped Ameena. 
 
 '' I am ! Look here," and he showed her 
 a talisman, with which in her childhood she 
 had loved to play. 
 
 " Yes," she said, " it was his, but they told 
 me he was dead." 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 289- 
 
 " For all jou cared he was !*' 
 
 " Have you risen again to torment me?*' 
 said Ameena. "I never intentionally in- 
 jured you, I was told that you had gone. I 
 was ordered to marry Ibrahim." 
 
 " Will Ameena tell me how he died ?" 
 
 " I will," she said, '' if you do not frighten 
 me, but it is easier to say I remember things 
 when brought to my notice, than to recall 
 circumstances which are not mentioned ; the 
 fact I know, but the details are dim before 
 me. He died, — yes !— he died in the water 1" 
 
 ''Was he drowned?" 
 
 "Oh nor 
 
 ^' What killed him ?" 
 
 "He died!" 
 
 "Of what?'' 
 
 " Oh 1 do not speak like that ; you did not 
 speak roughly when you brought the honey. 
 Ha died. Yes, he was ill with fever, and he 
 had to get water for the men, then there was 
 some one there, and Ibrahim fell down, and I 
 found him there, and he died !" 
 
 o 
 
290 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 '' Did some one kill him ?" 
 
 "Oh, no!'^ 
 
 "What did he die of, then?" 
 
 " Oh ! do not frighten me, Hoossein !" 
 
 "Who was there?" 
 
 " No one." 
 
 " You just said that some one was there; 
 who was it ?" 
 
 " Oh yes ! he came after — " 
 . ''Did he kill Ibrahim?" 
 
 " He kill him ? Oh no ! he never did harm 
 to any one but himself. I wanted to die, too. 
 I remember all now: he would not let me die, 
 but he took me away, and called the doctor. 
 Then they went to bury Ibrahim ; but the 
 river had risen, and Ibrahim had gone away 
 with it." 
 
 "I was told,'* said Hossein, " that the 
 Saheb had killed him for your sake.*' 
 
 " I was told," retorted Ameena, " that you 
 were dead ; and that is not so great a lie as 
 the other. The young Hoossein believed in 
 Ameena; he is dead. The old Hoossein 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 291 
 
 does not believe in her or anyone else. He 
 kill Ibrahim ? What for ! No, no ! Egling- 
 ton Saheb loved everyone, and everyone loved 
 hira.^' 
 
 " You did not spurn him then as you did the 
 leopard that stole your pet fawn ?" 
 
 '' Hoossein Saheb ! he did not steal my 
 fawn; he did not ask for my love ; he was 
 kind, and he was good ; he nursed me in my 
 madness, as if I had been his sister. The 
 water was cold, and my head was hot. I was 
 ill, very ill. I did not know myself. I was 
 on the road to the unknown world. I awoke, 
 with that rough world before me, cold and 
 dreary. It was the Saheb poured the dew of 
 heaven on my parched lips. I thought he was 
 an angel, sent to meet me at the gates. 
 Would not you, Hoossein, have loved an angel ? 
 And then the Saheb was ill, and I nursed him ; 
 and so he loved me. We loved one another. 
 But he died two years ago, and left me with 
 two daughters, I am now on my way to 
 Calcutta." 
 
 o 2 
 
292 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 "Alone?" asked Hoossein. 
 
 " I am alone now ; but a Saheb awaits me 
 there." 
 
 " I thought so," lisped Hoossein. "You have 
 become a Christian woman ; and jou live 
 with the Cliristian man.'' 
 
 " I am not a Christian. No one has ever 
 tried to convert me. I have never forgotten 
 my faith. Eglington, Saheb sa id to me, ' Go on 
 in the religion you were brought up in. 
 Adhere to the faith of your fathers, through 
 all trials, and all temptations. If you lightly 
 reject that for an earthly love, you will be 
 like a ship at sea without a rudder ; you will 
 toss about where the waves throw you, and 
 know not right from wrong. But,' he said, 
 *' if at any time you feel a conviction that 
 your creed is wrong, that it leads you into 
 error — that you neglect your God, reject his 
 precepts, and do ill to your neighbour— then, 
 if you wish it, I will consult those who are 
 learned A the subject, and thank my Saviour 
 if it leads to good,' I felt, Hoossein Saheb, 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 293 
 
 that this was right. I have tried to do my 
 duty to my neighbours, and to fulfil my 
 destiny with thankfulness/' 
 
 " Did the Saheb teach you this ?" asked 
 Hoossein. 
 
 " He did ; and a great deal more of good." 
 
 " If all had been like him, we should not 
 be about to kill them," whispered Hoossein. 
 
 " Kill whom ?" said Ameena, in alarm. 
 
 *' Be silent ! all the Feringhis." 
 
 " You kill them all ? You are mad, 
 Hoossein — you have been mad from your 
 childhood — they all said you were mad, when 
 you killed the leopard. You cannot kill 
 them ; you do not know how numerous they 
 are — as soon as one goes, two come in his 
 place. You must not try to kill them.'* 
 
 "We shall kill them all, and rule this 
 country ; we will do our own people good, 
 and make all followers of the Prophet." 
 
 " You should not trust me with this," said 
 Ameena ; " I am bound by the strongest ties 
 of gratitude to the English — to the ladies in 
 
294 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 particular ; they nursed me when I was ill, 
 and fed me when I was hungry, and clothed 
 me when I was naked. Sit down, Hoossein, 
 and listen to me ; I have a long tale to tell 
 you. I am to go on in the morning, so I must 
 tell you now, if you will listen." 
 
 So they sat down on the carpet. 
 
 "You remember me, Hoossein, a merry, 
 thoughtless child. I could laugh at joy and 
 smile at sorrow. My first serious affliction was 
 that you sent me no message for me to follow 
 you when I thought you were gone ; night 
 after night I sent my little light afloat on the 
 waters to guide you back, but you never saw 
 my star. Will you do so now ? 
 
 " When Yusuff came home and told us of 
 your death, I was persuaded to marry Ibra- 
 him ; but I was not happy for some time — I 
 thought I had done wrong — then the feeling 
 wore away. He was very good to me ; I obeyed 
 him, attended to him, and thought it very 
 cruel that I was not allowed to go away with 
 him. You, Hoossein, first taught me to 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 295 
 
 accept my destiny, whatever It might be, but 
 there was much to endure — captivity, cold, 
 and hunger. I alone ministered to the pri- 
 soners, because I was a Mahomedan. I con- 
 veyed to them news from the outer world; 
 the guards searched me daily, but they got 
 careless when they found nothing — one day 
 a Saheb upset the ink bottle ; the guard heard 
 it, and we all expected to be executed, but I 
 was suddenly seized with a fit, and, sitting 
 down on the ink, I wiped it up with my 
 dress, and I felt I had done a good thing, and 
 saved many lives of the good and brave. I 
 was so happy at being able to do good, and a 
 daughter was born in my captivity; then, 
 through the kindness of Mahomedans, we 
 escaped, through frost and snow, over path- 
 less mountains and raging streams. Egling- 
 ton Saheb was advised to leave me and our 
 child to our fates ; his duty required of him 
 to leave us ; but he said that I had been en- 
 trusted to him, and while life lasted he would 
 be true to his trust. So in the end we got 
 
296 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 back to his own people, and we lived a quiet 
 life, and another daughter was born ; they 
 both sleep in that room. We are here on our 
 way to Calcutta, where a great and a good 
 man is to meet us; you must not kill him— he 
 is so good; if you knew these people as I do, 
 you would not wish to kill them. You do 
 not know how they work for your good ; they 
 educate us ; they shew us all useful things ; 
 they are very wise. I thought my father, 
 Yusuff, was a wise man, but he was like a 
 little child compared with the white men ; 
 they know all the stars of Heaven and all the 
 regions of the world ; they travel from one end 
 of the world to the other by the aid of boiling 
 water ; they talk in an unheard language all 
 round the world, they get the sun to paint 
 pictures for them ; and you, who know nothing 
 'of all these wonders, think that you can 
 destroy them. Wisdom is power, Hoossein ! 
 When y ou know more, you will either be un- 
 willing to injure them, or you will be unable 
 to do it.'' 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 297 
 
 " All they do, all they think of is, to destroy 
 caste, and to pervert our religions," said 
 Hoossein. 
 
 " Nonsense !" said Ameena ; " they will 
 never interfere with one or the other ; a few 
 may talk of religion, and some may talk of 
 caste, but that is no reason why we should 
 bear animosity to those who do not. I have 
 heard our own people say that caste preju- 
 dices do more harm than good ; if this is true, 
 we should be s-rateful to the Eno^lish for 
 breaking down the system, but, unfortunately 
 for your theory, the English have rather con- 
 firmed caste rights, by granting every request 
 founded on them ; and now that there is no 
 more to ask for on that plea, they are asking 
 for greater things. . And you, Hoossein, are 
 one of that party; you were one of those who 
 joined with the men who refused to work at 
 Mooltan ; who eat the salt of, bat refused the 
 work, of the masters ; who reviled the Bombay 
 soldiers, because they performed a soldier's 
 duty and obeyed their masters. Are you, 
 
 o 5 
 
298 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Hoossein, one of those who sympathised with 
 the men who, calling themselves troopers, re- 
 fused to follow their officers to the charge at 
 Modkee ? If so, you cannot be the Hoossein I 
 knew — he was bright and chivalrous; as 
 such, I was taught to look up to him as the 
 first, most excellent man on earth. But you 
 are not the old friend — you are a new man. 
 Tell me, Hoossein, from whence did you get 
 this impulse to murder ?" 
 
 " It is my destiny," was the reply ; '* it will 
 be accomplished. The black people on the 
 other side of the world have done it, and so 
 will we do it ; they live in ease and enjoy- 
 ment, while we are slaves to these English, 
 and find it difficult to live amidst plenty ; 
 they are tyrants, Ameena ; they rob us, they 
 consume us." 
 
 " No ! no !" cried Ameena ; 'Hhey do not rob 
 you — they are no tyrants ; look at the Maho- 
 medans — were they tyrants, when they killed 
 hundreds of thousands on the score of religion ? 
 were the Hindoos tyrants when they laid 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 299 
 
 waste whole regions for a similar purpose ? 
 Talk of destiny, indeed ! — there is no destiny 
 in it, till the thing is done. A Mahomedan 
 must not follow him on whom there is an 
 everlasting curse ; it is in our Koran, Hoos- 
 sein ; the African is a ' servant of servants,' 
 the very scum of the earth, and you would 
 follow his base example and murder those 
 who do you good. Do not disgrace our creed 
 by doing this.*' 
 
 " It is done, Ameena ; it is written in this 
 scroll : ' What thou doest, do.' The waters are 
 already overflowing — the flood is rolling on ; 
 look to thyself, Ameefla ! I came but to warn 
 you — depart from hence ; it is an unsafe place 
 for any one who befriends the English ; thera 
 are those at hand who will respect neither sex 
 or age of those who befriend the white man." 
 
 " I go !'' said Ameena. 
 
 " Go !" said Hoossein. 
 
 And thus the oldest friends parted — -one to 
 make preparations for the slaughter of, the 
 other to warn the English of their danger. 
 
BOO LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINT, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 THE TREE WITH ONE BOUGH, 
 
 It was a strong dam, Sare fully prepared ; it 
 had stood the storms of many years, but now 
 came a flood trickling over the top, and sap- 
 ping the foundation below ; its strength was of 
 no avail — a large breach was made ; there was 
 a spring of evil in itself, and now the foaming 
 torrent poured through, raging and boiling ; 
 the embankments gave way, and the broken 
 fragments were hurried on to mix with the 
 sediment of things departed, to be lost in the 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 301 
 
 chaotic mass of mixtures never again to be 
 recognised as portions of what they once had 
 been — never again to be heard of as bits of 
 the Bengal Sepoy Army, but still to be found 
 by the curious, mixed up with the soil of the 
 earth. 
 
 Stealthily, almost unnoticed, quite ig- 
 nored, the flood had gathered a strong head; 
 no wonder, when the spring undermined the 
 foundation, that the structure fell. Frac- 
 4;ures and rents had been badly repaired : 
 the superintendent refused to credit the bad 
 condition of the building ; his employers be- 
 lieved his assertions, that all was right ; there 
 were clumsy workmen about, lax, unskilled, 
 and given to other occupations. The masonry 
 was soft, the cement unadhesive, so the work 
 gave way, astonishing only the head man 
 and his employers. 
 
 The storm was awful ; there were fire balls 
 falling from the heavens, meteors glaring 
 over the earth, and dusky red patches of 
 flickerino; lirrht on the far horizon. 
 
302 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Hoossein was alarmed as he strode out 
 into the night. There were signs of the end of 
 the world, and the question that had of late 
 more than once been put to him, rose in its 
 phantom shape before him, blue and ghastlj, 
 
 "Who are you who trj to control us?'* 
 were words replied to with sarcasm, ridicule, 
 or reason — depending on the circle from which 
 the question came ; but when his own con- 
 science asked him the question alone in tlie 
 darkness, there was another reply, "Who 
 ami?" 
 
 Hoossein answered himself, " No one ! '^ 
 He felt that all was lost, yet he said to himself 
 as he stepped hastily along towards the up- 
 roar and the din, " I may do something yet." 
 
 As Hoossein gathered a few of his followers 
 together, a confused noise sounded in his ear ; 
 the flash of fire arms fell upon his eye ; there 
 were flickering flames and crackling timber, 
 crashing falls and clouds of dust;]^he met 
 some running from, and others passed him, 
 running to the scene of confusion. 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 303 
 
 The Sepoy lines were all in flames, the 
 bungalows of the officers were fiercely blazing, 
 crowds of men were around them, and the 
 sounds were as if Jehannum had sent out its 
 legions of evil for the occasion. 
 
 Here and there, across the clear, open parade 
 ground, white people had escaped, pursued 
 by a rabble of black men ; there were little 
 knots of men collected here and there to wit- 
 ness, 'neath the glaring light of their own 
 houses, the last indignities practised by 
 fiendish tormentors on the overtaken run- 
 aways. 
 
 The lurid glare was dying away as Hoos- 
 sein came upon the scene ; there was no more 
 matter to burn, no more life to destroy. 
 There was a tinge of grey light in the east, 
 but the atmosphere was murky ; it smelled of 
 smoke and the funeral pile. 
 
 Through all this the surging, yelling masses 
 ran ; the chase was up ; there was more to 
 be done in the city, ^so on they ran, roaring 
 like tigers, howling like wolves ; they were 
 
304 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 not contented witli simple death, they hacked^ 
 they tore, they tormented. There were hiss- 
 ing of flames, the screams of the tortured, 
 and roars of laughter ; men demanding death, 
 women imploring to be killed; and midst all 
 this, there lay the mutilated bodies of little 
 white children. The reality of the scene sur- 
 passed even Hoossein's ideas of horror, and 
 almost eclipsed his desire of vengeance, but 
 on he went with the roaring crowd. 
 
 Eapine and plunder were all the fashion. 
 Feringhis had been concealed by friends; 
 houses were ransacked, the inmates were ill 
 treated, a chaotic confusion reigned. His 
 worst fears were realised ; zeal and order were 
 confounded, like the confused waves of a 
 troubled sea. Wickedness overthrew order, 
 as the salt tide rolls up the river ; the efforts 
 made to stop its current were like a chiUFs 
 sand heap on the margin of the ocean — like a 
 lump of clay endeavouring to turn the stream 
 of molten lava from the volcano. 
 
 Hoossein had added "Bahadoor" to his 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 305 
 
 name, but it gave him no authority over 
 those at a distance, or over those whom ha 
 did not pay. Before this night he had tra- 
 velled far and fast; he had argued, he had 
 coaxed, and threatened ; he was abused, and 
 called a coward ; he condescended to explain 
 many times. " Wait for the waters to help us 
 — wait and live ; be impatient and die!" 
 
 His arguments were all lost ; his title did 
 not impose on the furious Hydra. Its blood 
 was up, there was no guider, and at last a 
 panic seized on all. Eeligion, caste, pride^ 
 jealousy, rapacity, insubordination, contempt, 
 and fear contended with hesitation, inability^ 
 economy, faith, patience, fortitude, and reli- 
 gion ; all but the three last gave way before 
 the storm. 
 
 Now the prison doors were opened. In 
 liberating the prisoners, an accumulated mass 
 of evil was sluiced out on [the unfortunate 
 locality. Years and years of cooped up un- 
 forgotten sin revelled again in unforgotten 
 liberty. The murderer, the dacoit, the bur* 
 
306 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 glar, the torturer, the child robber, and the 
 petty thieves, all intelligent in their vocation^ 
 acquiring more dexterity than the ordinary 
 routine of life requires, all more eager for 
 indulgence from long restraint, more delighted 
 from unexpected and forcible liberation, all 
 rushed unbridled on the scene. 
 
 " What a scene,'' thought Hoossein, to him- 
 self, as he sought in vain to find a ringleader 
 to this miserable outbreak, ." and into this 
 scene are accidentally thrown the only beings 
 upon earth whpm I should wish, to be far 
 .away — one, my unseen, my unacknowledged 
 daughter ; the other, my betrothed. I have 
 saved the former, now for the latter. Yusuff's 
 dream is coming true." 
 
 As he passed along he was suddenly aware 
 of a palanquin turning up a side street ; the 
 door was open, and to his astonishment he 
 recognised Tara. 
 
 " Where are you going ?'' he asked. 
 
 " There was danger, so I came back ; I am 
 safe now !" 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 307 
 
 Hoossein was aware of an armed guard, 
 but lie said, 
 
 '' There is danger everywhere ; where is 
 Soultan?" 
 
 " Gone to look for you ; Ameena wants 
 you. There are your people yelling about 
 the house !" 
 
 "The floods are let loose/' said Hoossein. 
 *' Wait for me at the Musjeed," and he hur- 
 ried on to the house which he had left only a 
 few hours before. 
 
 As he approached the place, there was a 
 crash, as of a hundred guns firing at once ; 
 round about was a crowd of people, of all 
 sorts, all castes, and all creeds ; men who so 
 lately cavilled about minute questions and 
 caste privileges, mingled all together, rush- 
 ing on for one common object. There were 
 houses to be plundered, mischief to be done, 
 and people to be murdered. 
 
 Burning houses threw a lurid light on the 
 morning dawn, casting unncertain lights on 
 the heated and frantic demons at their work 
 
308 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 of destruction. On they surged, with fierce 
 yells, to a tall house. Flames issued from the 
 windows, smoke issued from the door-way, 
 shrieks were heard within, screaming and the 
 wailing of women in distress. There was to 
 be no mercy ; they were English, or the 
 friends of the English. 
 
 It was a scene of utter confusion. The 
 dust and smoke rendered things indistinct; 
 the early light and lurid flames shone for a 
 moment throu2:h the smoke in the door- way. 
 One glance was sufficient. 
 
 Ameena, his youthful friend, was struggling 
 with the fiends ; she was imploring pity for 
 herself and children. They were all true 
 Mahomed ans. At that moment she saw 
 Hoossein. 
 
 '' Oh, save us ! save us !" she cried. 
 
 A few followers were still around Hoossein. 
 He required their aid to rescue true Mahome- 
 dans. Then, without waiting to see if he 
 was obeyed,vhe rushed on, crying, 
 
 " I am Hoossein Bahadoor." 
 
LOST LIKKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 309 
 
 He plunged his dagger to tlie hilt in the 
 tack of a man, who was holding Ameena's 
 hair to the ground ; then, drawing a pistol, 
 he shot a ruffian, who had held her hands. 
 She was liberated, and placed under protec- 
 tion. The daughters were not to be found. 
 The smoke, thick and suffocating, issued from 
 within, and screams of agony were heard. 
 
 While endeavouring to find an entrance in- 
 to these rooms by a back door, Hoossein was 
 aware of a volley of musketry; then he 
 heard the measured tread of military, and 
 turning round he saw that he was surrounded 
 by a party of English soldiers, who took his 
 arms from him, and led him away. 
 
 " I thought how it would be," thought 
 Hoossein. " Those idiots, straining at a gnat, 
 have swallowed the camel, priding them- 
 selves on their high caste. They are now 
 contaminated with the lowest of the low, and 
 with all manner of abominations. This comes 
 of working with those who act solely on 
 their own passions ; men who, taking service 
 
310 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 as soldiers, could never submit to discipline ; 
 men serving a people who, as Sambo said, were 
 too intent on their own gains, pleasures, or 
 idleness, to control those whom accident had 
 placed under their rule ; a people who, in- 
 stead of making religion their starting point, 
 impressing every one with its importance, try 
 to govern other creeds without it, to influence 
 all classes by moral power without a stan- 
 dard of morality, themselves living in utter 
 disregard of it. Yes! what could I expect, 
 but chaos and confusion?" 
 
 There was but little time for thought. The 
 party hurried on with several prisoners ; the 
 gates of the old city were passed. A long 
 line of troops was drawn up on the plain be- 
 beyond. Hoossein looked towards the Mus- 
 jee 1, that place in which he had so often ex- 
 cited the admiration of the spectators, by his 
 devout behaviour, his elegant prostrations, 
 and his neat carpet. He passed close by it, 
 and he looked on this place of prayer and 
 meeting; standing near it was a bullock 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 311 
 
 gharee, with white bullocks 5 there was also 
 a palanquin ; a native female stood by it, un- 
 veiled, with Europeans beside her. They were 
 talking of him, and the woman Tara laughed. 
 
 The spirit of helpless wrath raged within 
 him. Soultan was there ; he called on that 
 faithful friend to aid him, as he attempted to 
 escape. Soultan never acknowledged the re- 
 quest. 
 
 Hoossein was overpowered, handcufPs were 
 put on him. Pinioned, beaten, and wounded, 
 compelled to go on, with a bayonet touching 
 his back, he turned round for one more 
 look. There was a smile, but no pity upon 
 Tara's face. 
 
 The bitterness of death rushed over Hoos- 
 sein's frame, as the pestilential blast destroys 
 the herbage of the field. In a moment he 
 was a broken man, and shook like the leaf 
 that falls before the breeze. He thought that 
 he deserved to die for many things that he 
 had done, but not for what had happened 
 that morning. 
 
512 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 
 
 Hoossein, with several other prisoners, was 
 led up to a large tent, to await their trial. A 
 drum stood before it ; round the drum sat 
 several officers — one a grey-haired, calm old 
 man, who seemed deeply impressed with the 
 solemnity of his duty. One by one, or in 
 small parties, the prisoners were tried, and 
 led off. Many of them were cavalry men, 
 Mahomedans, some of whom recognised 
 Hoossein, who understood that they were to 
 be blown away from the artillery guns, a 
 number of which stood unlimbered near. 
 
 Hoossein was brought up the last of all. 
 The accusation against him was, that he had 
 that morning killed two men. 
 
 The white-haired Englishman asked him 
 Iiis name. 
 
 " Hoossein Ben Hassan,'' he replied. 
 
 " Hoossein Ben Hassan was in my service 
 
 twenty-eight years ago, at . Are you the 
 
 aame ?" 
 
 ''lam/' 
 
 " Go on. Provost Marshal." 
 
LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTINY. 313 
 
 " This man, Hoossein Saheb, as lie is com- 
 monly called, was seen this morning to stab 
 one man, who was picked up dead. He also 
 shot another, who is here, and likely to die. 
 Hoossein Saheb is notorious about the native 
 camps, as an owner of divans and houses of 
 bad fame. His houses have been the resort 
 of the evil- disposed for many years ; his 
 haunts have been at Agra, Delhi, at Dam 
 Dum, Barrackpoor, Moorshedebad, Lucknow, 
 and Bareilly. He has been heard of at Mool- 
 tan and Lahore ; a native woman, one Ailee, 
 can give evidence regarding him extending 
 over many years." 
 
 '* Is this charge true ?" asked the presi- 
 dent. 
 
 " It is," said Hoossein, '' but I killed the 
 man this morning because he was injuring a 
 woman." 
 
 " Hang him as a murderer !*' was the only 
 reply. 
 
 Hoossein Ben Hassan was turned round. 
 At the distance of a few yards stood a tree ; 
 
 p 
 
314 LOST LINKS IN THE INDIAN MUTJNT. 
 
 from a bough, denuded of its leaves and 
 branches, dangled a rope. 
 
 The prisoner walked towards it with a 
 haughty air, and a firm step. He placed him- 
 self beneath the noose. As it was adjusted 
 round his neck, he said, with a smile, in his 
 last breath, 
 
 " I have fulfilled my destiny ! ' What thou 
 doest do!' Here is the tree with the one 
 bough." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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