EMORIALS OF Major -General Sir Herbert B. Edwardes THE LIBRARY THE OF OF LOS UNIVERSITY CALIFORNIA ANGELES mm: •'. ' ■■.•r'<-i*«i^ mi - . "fc ** ■ MEMORIALS OF THE LIFE OF MAJOR-GENERAL SIR HERBERT B. EDWARDES K.C.B., K.C.S.I. ^MEMORIALS OF THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF MAJOR-GENERAL SIR HERBERT B. EDWARDES K.C.B., K.C.S.I. D.C.L. OF OXFORD: LL.D. OF CAMBRIUGt; By his wife ARBOR SCIEfiTKE ARB"'P VIT/E' IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I. LONDON KEG AN PAUL, TUENCII & CO., 1, PATEKNOSTEK SQUARE 1886 (The rights of translation and of reproduction are 7-eserved) DEDICATION.* " To all niy Countrymen who care for India, and espe- cially to the young whose lot is to be cast in it, this Book is dedicated ; to show how possible and good it is to unite the Statesman with the Soldier, the Philanthropist with the Patriot, and the Christian with all, in the Government of a Subject Race." * These lines were written for " Th(i Author's Dedication " to the Life of Sir Henry Lawrence," by H. B. E. 11742GO iSaijaUorbcr tl){iiQs air tnir, iililljntiSar&rr tljtugs" arc Ijoufs't, iiaijntsocbcr tijiitgs arc just, S^Ijatsarbrr tljings arc purr, ©laijatsocbcr tljing^ arc lobrln, iJSIjatsDcbrr tljtugs" arr of gontr report; If tijrrr far any tJirtuf, ^nH if tfjrrr be any ^9ra(5f, JTbinfe DM tljr^r tljt'ngs'." PiiiL. iv. 8. PREFACE. It is not intended to write the "Life" of Sir Herbert Edwardes. That was so full of stirring events and deeds of chivalry that it would be difllciilt to do full justice to the theme. My purpose is rather to bring together some letters and speeches that, like a chord of sweet music, may tell something of the harmony and beauty of that lovely mind which has passed away from earth for a while, to find its rest in the Saviour's presence. The half cannot be told ; for there are deeds of noble heroism, acts of truest self-denial (" in honour preferring one another " ) — great deeds done so secretly that they are known to none but the most intimate sharer of his inner life, which, though they won no honour here, wait for that day when the counsels of all hearts shall be made manifest, and God will give the praise. But besides these, his clear statesmanlike views ; his far-seeing, almost prophetic, grasp of the true importance of events, that made his acts so vigorous and his resource so fertile in times of danger, and inspired confidence in those who were around him and dependent on his command; his thrilling eloquence, and the tender pathos and sympathy of his letters ; — all these, and the true and fervent devotion of Vlll PREFACE. his heart to heavenly things, will shine out in the fragments now put together, and show, if it be but a glimpse, some- tliing of the beauty of a great and noble mind — f^reat in its humility. " So it is when a great and good and beloved man departs — sets, it may be, suddenly — and to us who know not the times and the seasons, too soon. We gaze eagerly at his last hours ; and when he is gone from our sight, we see his image wherever we go, and in whatsoever we are engaged ; and if we try to record in words our wonder, our sorrow, and our affection, we cannot see to do it; for the idea of his life is for ever coming into our study of imagina- tion — into all our thoughts — and we can do little else than let our mind in a wise passiveness hush itself to rest. . . . " We cannot now go very curiously to work to scrutinize the composition of his character ; we cannot take that large, free, grand, genial character and nature to pieces, and weigh this and measure that, and pronounce. We are too near as yet to him and to his loss ; he is too dear to us to be so handled. "His death (as Hartley Coleridge says) is a recent sorrow ; his image still lives, in eyes that weep for him." (John Brown, M,D., Edinburgh.) ***** These words, though written by another, express some- thing of the feeling with which this work has been under- taken, and answer in some measure the question, Why has it not been done before ? EMMA EDWARDES. 41, Onslow Squahe, Londjn, ISSG. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. CHAPTER I. 1819—1841—1845. PAGE Early Life to Regimental Life in India, and A.D.C. to Lord Gough ... 1 CHAPTER II. 1845—1846. Sikh Invasion of British India — Battles of Moodkee and Sobr&on — Treaty of Byrowal ... ... ... ... ... ... 25 CHAPTER III. 1846. The "Resident" and his "Assistants" — Cashmere — Golab Singh ... 53 CHAPTER IV. 1847—1848. Bunnoo — Treachery at Monltan — Battle of Kiuyc'reo ... ... 79 CHAPTER V. 1848—1849. Battle of SuddooB&m— Retriliution— The Fall of Moolt&n ... ... 12.3 CHAPTER VI. 1849—1850. Return to England — Marriage — Writes "A Year on the Punjab Fron- tier" ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 157 X CONTENTS. GIIArTER VII. 1851—1853. PAGE ELlurn to India— Lift' at JuUundur ... ... ... ... 195 CHAPTER VIII. 1853—1855. Hazara—rcbhuwiir— The Afghan Treaty 219 CHAPTER IX. 1855—1857. The Afghan Treaty ratified— Views upon Afghan Politics and War ... 253 CHAPTER X. 1853—1854. The Pcshawur Mission to the Afghans ... ... ... ... 297 CHAPTER XI. 1856—1857. John Nicholson — Journey to Calcutta and Return to Pcshawur ... 331 CHAPTER XII. 1857. Levies — First Opening of the Mutiny ... ... ... ... 359 CHAPTER XIII. 1857—1858. Diary and Letters during the Mutiny-Times at Peshawur (continued) 385 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE PORTKAIT OF SlR HERBERT B. EdWARDES, AFTER A PuOTOGRAPlI BY J. May ALL, JuN. ... ... ... Frontispiece Pen'-and-Ink Sketch on the Ganges ... ... ... 13 The Town of Sirinuggur, the Capital of Cashmere To face 7G Group of GRiECO-BACTRiAN Heads ... ... ... „ 84 Facsimile of Mr. Vans Agnew's Appeal ... ... „ 99 Medal given by the East India Company ... ... ... 171 Abbottabad (in 1853) ... ... ... ... To face 222 Hazara, from Doonga Gully. Mount " Mocheepoora " on the Left ... ... ... ... ... ... To /ace 224 A Faint Shadow of the Heir-apparent, Sirdar Gholam Hydur Khan, holding in his Hand the PeshIwur Treaty 258 Cashmere, looking across the " Dull Lake." Sirinuggur in the Distance ... ... ... ... ... To face 334 Colonel Edwardes's " Levies" at Peshawur, in 1857, from Mool- tan and the Derajat ... ... ... ... To face 392 CriAPTKR T. 1819—1841—1845. EARLY LIFE TO REGIMENTAL LIFE IN INDIA, AND A.D.O. TO LORD GOUGH. VOL. 1. rs MEMORIALS OF THE LIFE OF MAJOR-GENERAL SIR HERBERT B. EDWARDES, K.C.B., K.C.S.I. CHAPTER I. Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes, K.C.B., K.C.S.I., was the Born at second son of the Eev. Benjamin Edwardes, Rector of Erodes- I'^^'i'^^'^^' ley, a small country parish in Shropshire, al^out seven miles from Shrewsbury. The Rev. Benjamin Edwardes was the second son of Sir John Cholmondeley Edwardes, Bart., eighth baronet of Shrewsbury. The family is an old Welsh one, is descended from the ancient kings of Powysland, in Wales, and was seated at Kilhendre, in Shropshire, in the time of Henry I. The first of the family who assumed the name of " Edwardes " was John-ap-David-ap-Madoc, of Kilhendre, in the time of Henry VII. ; and he was great-great-grand- father of the Sir Thomas Edwardes who, for his eminent services to Charles I., was rewarded with the grant of a baronetcy in 1664. On his father's death, in 1823, at the early age of thirty- His father's one, Herbert was only four years old. ^323 ' He and bis two brothers (Henry, the elder, and Frank, the younger) were taken care of by their grandmother, the dowager Lady Edwardes, who lived at ]\Ioele Brace, near Shrewsbury. It was afterwards arranged that two of the brothers should remain with their grandmother, under whose loving care they were brought up, and educated at the High 4 SIB HERBERT B. ED WARD ES. [1828. School at Shrewsbury, under Dr. Kennedy ; and Herbert was taken charge of and adopted by another near relative, the only daughter of Sir Thomas Edwardes, who was married to John Thomas Hope, Esq., of Netley, Shropshire, Netley. Netley is only a few miles from the home of Herbert's birth, which he left too young to carry away any recollection of ; but he always regarded Frodesley with very great tender- ness, as the home of his parents and his birthplace. Frodesley. It is a little village of cottages, with a pretty vicarage house and a tiny church, a few farmhouses, and little besides, close to the Shropshire hills of the "Lawley," the " Longmyund," and the " Caradoc," which he loved so well ; for he delighted in all the beauties of that lovely country, and was proud of belonging to it, as all Salopians are. The little church stands now much as it was when his father ministered in it j and it is the burying-place of most of the Edwardes family still. Very beautiful was this dear boy of four years old, with curling fair brown hair, and large lustrous and soft-beaming eyes, as I have been told by the daughter of the house * to which he came, who welcomed him to her heart, and loved him thenceforward with tenderest love — a love which he repaid with all the tenderness and devotion of his affectionate nature. This love came to fill up something of the yearning Herbert always felt for the love of a mother, of which he had no conscious knowledge. Eor his mother did not long survive his father, and he never remembered her, though he always cherished very tenderly the thought of her. 1^28. Herbert was about nine years old when he first went to school. Afterwards he was sent to a school at Eichmond, in Surrey, kept by the Eev. Charles Delafosse. It was a large school, and had held a great reputation for many years. But Herbert never thought very much of what he learned there. He never was very keen about sports and boys' games (being always rather a delicate boy), and liked much better a pleasant book alone, or a quiet walk with a chosen friend. * This lady afterwards married Herbert's uncle, Sir Henry Edwardes, his father's eldest brother. 1837.] LIFE AT BICBMOND AND KING'S COLLEGE. 5 His master was a kind, easy, good-natured, clever man, and a good "classical scholar." Herbert was a great fiivourite with him ; for, being fond of a good joke himself, the master enjoyed the wit and talents which were con- spicuous even then in his young pupil. Herbert was always the ready cliampion of any little boy who was being bullied and unable to defend himself — he would even bear a punishment to save another boy ; thus early showing tlie germ of the noble nature that shone so conspicuously in his after-life. As has just been said, Herbert was from the first, quick in wit and ready in repartee. He was also fond of poetry and romance, and many a sweet verse he composed in his boyish days ; but there was no hand to gather them together and preserve them. His winter holidays were spent in London, with Mr. and ]\Irs. Hope ; his summer holidays, with them at their country place, Netley, Shropshire. Thus his youth was lonely. Left much to himself, he fed upon his own thoughts, and books were his companions and his enjoyment. Was this the training that made the roots strike deeper and more firmly, and made him strong and self- reliant, prepared to stand the storm and strain of the battle of life ? He must have left school about the year 1835 or 1836; for, in 1837, he was attending classes at King's College, London, His dear friend, the Rev. Cowley Powles, writes : " Wlien King's I went to King's College, Herbert was already there, in London' October, 1837, and he had been tliere some time, how long i837. exactly I do not know, but long enough to be among the leaders of tlie college. His principal forte lay in what would now be called the ' Modern Side.' In classics he did not particularly distinguish himself, nor in mathematics. His taste was more for modern literature. At that he worked liard. I don't think he did work very hard at either of the other subjects. "He was always thought 'a man of mark,' and in the ' Debating Society ' was decidedly one of the very foremost speakers." 6 Sm HERBERT B. EDWARD ES. [1839, He would sonu'tiiues airiuse himself at lecture with iiiakiii^ sketches of fi^^ures tliat struck his fancy. Now and tlicii tliis was observed, and the sketches called for, when it iiii,^ht be that the lecturer saw a likeness of himself in pen and ink. With gi-eat artistic talent, and a rare facility in drawing caricatures, Herbert had such kindness of nature and such true courtesy and goodness, that he coxdd not draw an ill- natured caricature ; and a man would see himself caricatured, and yet not be offended. Herbert never made an enemy by it in all his life. But in after years he could never be persuaded to draw caricatures at all ; for he grew more tender and more kind as his character and his nature ripened and mellowed towards perfection ; and he thought it was a faculty not good to indulge, because it led to dwelling on the weaknesses or bad characteristics of another, while he liked to search out the good qualities in other men rather than their failings. His friends Herbert's friends at King's College at this time were — Coiwe^*" Charles Kingsley, Fitz-James Stephens, Walter Dumergue, Nassau Senior, F. W. Gibbs, Benjamin Shaw, Bryan Burgess, and others. He valued and loved Kingsley always, and they were great together in the " Debating Society ; " and they and Walter Dumergue, and Benjamin Shaw, used often to walk home together, arm-in-arm, along the streets, when " college " was over, and carry on their " debates " on their way home. A close friendship between Herbert Edwardes and Cowley Powles began at this time at King's College, which continued and deepened in after years in loving intercourse that was a perpetual joy, and was only interrupted by death. To the intercourse between them we are indebted for some insight into his mind in these early days, when con- genial friends were few, and his future life lay dim before him. ^839. Ill 1839 Edwardes writes to this friend — "Your habits and mine form part of tlie 'sympathy' between us (of which speaks), " Owls we are — birds of the moon ; and I know vou feel 1839.] EARLY THOUGUTS. 7 as ] do, that the still hour of night, when men, let lis alone, when tlie world is, as it were, taken off its hinges, and the noisy machinery of life at rest, then is the time wlien individuality — call it selfishness if you will — comes in upon us, and we look into our own hearts and our own thoughts, ii\i(\.feel, without the alien impulses which other people lend when they run against and jostle with us. To my mind, there is a fascination about night which it is impossible to withstand ; there is a mysterious loneliness in it, which quite fixes my whole soul. " And when there is a moon to look out upon that space of earth, with all its gloomy trees shut in l)y a thick ' wall of darkness,' on which there is no handwriting but the stars, and those so eternal that they do not break the quiet with idea of motion, oh ! that is indeed a mass of solitude which one can enter into and possess with a tangible feeling of happiness, which is poetry to the very heart ! " Somebody had written to Edwardes to beg him to take more care of himself — " to take more sleep and preserve his constitution." lie writes in reply — " Constitution, indeed ! Life is nothing, time is no- thing, but the things for which we live and the things which take place in time are all that is to be regarded ; and if all this, which is the value of life, is to be given up to the furtherance of the mere lyrocess of living, why, e'en let a vampire suck out my brains, that I may eat and drink, and my body thrive like a beast's ! " lie writes at this time — " I lead an idle, dreamy, read-y, placid, vegetable sort of life in this country, and never, in a month's time per- chance, know the blessing of a thing to excite feeling ! "How I do loathe this state of utter inactivity! but, 8 .977? TTEHBEUT B. EDWAEDES. [1839. thank Tloavcn, 'tis an intermediate gruh state, which ends in emancipation — a sliip my chrysalis, the goodly sun of India my deliverer from cold suspension of existence." " No mother's face o'er my cradle smiled. No father's love my young cares beguiled. They died ! My passions all ran wild, And hard * was my heart from a little child! " I henrd men say there were seasons four, And each one a different livery wore ; 15ut summer to me was all frozen o'er, And the year was winter for evermore ! " Yes ; I thought for ever it should be so, Never to kindle at passion's glow ; Callous to all things, ay, even woe ; My life laid aside like a broken bow. "But it was not to be. Tho' the sea-waves chill And slumber awhile when the cold wind is still, Yet, comes but a cloud o'er old Ocean's will. Proud man in his ship shall abide it but ill. " Long had I slumbered the sleep of the proud. But the time was come now when my soul should he bowed — "When over my fortunes should pass the dark cloud Which wakes every passion to struggle aloud." Written about this time were two little pieces of poetry ■which may be inserted here. " 'Twas autumn ! I looked on the leaves as they fell From the bough of an old oak tree. And the wild winds whistled a parting knell To the old oak's third jubilee. " I watched a red withered leaf yield to the blast. And fly far from the old oak tree ; While the old oak groaned for the years that were past. And wished, like the leaf, it was free. " 'Twas summer ! I looked on the leaves as they stirred On the bough of that old oak tree ; The zephyrs were sighing. A beautiful bird Sang the old oak's praise merrily. * This is only an example of how unable he was to do justice to himself, for his sympathy and tenderness of heart were always remark- able. 1839.] EAIiLY rOKTUY. " I watchcil a yoiinj:; severed leaf yield to the blast, Whieh suddenly shook the old tree ; But tlie old oak laughed at the years that were past, And pitied the leaf that was free. " II. B. E., 1839. Here is another — " Come to the tombs of the ancient men, Come there alone at the hour wlu'U Eest to earthly spirits sent Leaves the sepulchre eloquent. " Ay, come alone When the dark grey stone, The bones of the dead concealing, Blazons a tale In the moonlight pale, The deeds of the dead revealing. " Come to the valley where fairies tread Heedlessly over the crowned head. And nature has woven a lily-mask For the brow that scowled in iron casque. " Come there alone When the moon has shone Her brightest hour, imparting A silvery hue To the gloomy yew, With the tears she sheds at parting. "Come to me then. I'll tell thee a tale I've kept so well. Though thy young cheek pale And I should die by thy father's kin. Yet she shall rest without spot of sin. " Come there alone When the wassail's done And the revellers all are slumbering. When sinners sleep. And the jnous keep Dull watch, their bead-roll numbering. " Come to the valley. Thy mother's there ; Stone there is none to tell she was fair. But oh ! the bones which whiten her grave Tell she was loved by one who was brave. 10 Slli HERBERT B. ED WARD ES. [1840. " Come there alone. Nor sigh nor groan Break tlie rest of those departed, And tlie nudnight scream Of the owl shall seem To mourn with the broken-hearted. " H. B. E., Netley, 1840." A strain of sadness runs through all these. They are but touches that show the colour of his mind in those young days — a poetic and noble soul, enshrined in a sensitive and delicate frame ; the soul impatient of its fetters, and long- ing to break them and to plunge into a real life, for which it felt the aspiration and the capacity, with ever-painful earnestness. He h:id no But it w^as not by any choice of his own that Herbert desire to go -^ycnt to India, or that he took to the military life as his ^jro- fession. He had no associations with India, and had never had any relations or friends there, except the two young brothers who had each joined a regiment there already. But Herbert had never turned his thoughts for a moment in that direction. He desired to go to Oxford and study for the bar. Not that he much cared to be a lawyer either, but he wanted to go to Oxford and really study, and to have those oppor- tunities of doing so which never yet had been within his reach, and which he knew that he could use to some purpose if he had the chance ; and he considered thab he had lost too much time in " school-routine " at Eichmond. Then he was strong in friendship, and his dearest friends were at Oxford, and this made him wish the more to share the advantages they had. Necessity, But this not being allowed by his guardians, and finding not choice, j^g must depend upon himself to find some way out of his career. Irksome inaction, he went himself to Sir Eichard Jenkins, who was a member of the old Court of Directors, and a friend of the family, and asked him to give him " a direct appointment" to India. To this Sir Eichard Jenkins con- sented at once,* and no time was lost in making the neces- sary preparations. From Sir Richard Jenkins we find a letter, written in 1848, to one 1811.] VOYAGE TO INDIA. 11 In Octol)er, 1840, EJwardes set sail fur Calcutta iu the sailing-ship the Walinrr Cas/lc, to go round the Capu. It was all very distasteful to hiiu, fur hu entered ii])on a life that had then no attractions to him, and a country that he had no desire to see. It was, to his own feelings, an exile — entire loneliness. So he went veri/ sadly ; and it was not till he got into " civil employ," and had a field opened Ijefore him of a share in the government of the country, that he found the congenial work into which he could throw him- self happily. He spent his twenty -first birthday, November 12, at sea, and landed at Calcutta in the beginning of 1841. To beguile the monotony of a long sea- voyage (which, in 1^41 those days, used to take three or four months), he edited a news])aper on board, and called it the IFalnier Castle Gazette, and in this and in many other ways was the life and soul of the generally dull voyage. For Herbert Edwardes always had great vivacity, and as in all such sensitive, highly-strung, finely-toned natures, there was a play of fancy and readiness of wit that could make sunshine of the darkest day. He could always extract, out of the passing things of life, the good or the beautiful, the ludicrous or the quaint, and rise with a magic power from the tenderest sympathy of sad thoughts to the sparkle of wit and fancy, carrying his hearers with him, like a well-tuned instrument of lovely chords well handled. We may say here, in passing, that he never lost this power to the last, in spite of all life's rough storms — of the famil}', at the time when Edwardcs's name reached England in connection with Mooltan and Buunoo. " Gatane, Saturday. " My dear Sir, " I fully intended calling upon you when I was in Salop a few days ago, to congratulate you u]5on the high name young Edwardes has gained for himself by exploits so brilliant and so advantageous to his countr}'. I feel myself much elated with the thought that I have been the means of placing such a man in the East India Company's service ; and you may be assured that his conduct is fully appreciated, and I have no doubt will be duly rewarded by those who have the power and the privilege of doing so. I return to Loudon next ^londay, and am sorry I was not fortunate enough to meet you. " Believe me, my dear sir, " Yours very truly, "(Signed) K. Jenkins." jiassenger. 12 SIR IIEIiBEIiT D. EDWAIiDES. [1841. "Tlmt liwolincss, ever in motion, which plays? I/ike tlie light ujwn autumn's soft, shadowy days ; Now licre and now there, giving warmth as it heams, Kow melting in mist and now breaking in gleams." A fellow-passenger,* who was on board the Walmer Castle, has kindly communicated, through a friend, his recollections, which give us a picture of him on board ship. " His figure at Letter of a that time was slim, and his general appearance gave the im- ll'il^lL. pression of delicate rather than robust health. He did not often join in the active games and amusements in which young men on board ship generally engage, but preferred rather to look on. His features were fully formed, and the expression of his face bright and intelligent, whilst his con- versation and remarks told of a well-informed and cultivated mind, added to a great sense of wit and humour. " The monotony of the voyage, which lasted four months, the passengers sought to relieve by the usual expedients of amateur theatricals and the publication of a weekly news- paper. In both, Edwardes was the leading and directing spirit. " The piece chosen was ' The Eivals,' the principal cha- racter, Sir Anthony Absolute, being performed by him with great life and spirit. The rehearsals, dresses, etc., were arranged chiefly under his directions. " Of the newspaper he was the editor, an ' editor's box ' being placed at his cabin-door. This little periodical fre- quently contained some well-written and witty articles, from that pen which found so vast a field for employment in after years. " He also possessed considerable talent for etching ; and the papers were generally illustrated by some well-executed caricatures of board-ship notables ; but so well did he per- form the olfice of editor and censor that nothing which could hurt the feelings of any one ever appeared. " And so the voyage wore on, until, on reacliing Calcutta, those who were then young and full of life separated, each to pursue the unknown road before him, and fight out the great battle of life. "From these slight reminiscences we cannot fail to be * Lieutenant-colonel Leigh, 7th Bengal Native Infantry. ]841.] APPOINTED TO 1st BENGAL FUSILIERS. 13 struck with the fact that he who in after life led on men to battle, and ruled thousands, was, even then, amongst his fellow-passengers, in the amusements with which they be- guiled the weariness of the voyage, the leader and director. " (Signed) R T. L." On arriving in India, Edwardes was appointed to the His arrival 1st Kegiment Bengal Fusiliers (afterwards called the 101st ''' '°'^'^- - Bengal Fusiliers, and now the Koyal Munster Fusiliers), and was ordered to join his regiment at Kurnal. He and another young officer proceeded together up the river Ganges in boats, as far as Dinapore. Letters are still lovingly preserved of this time, full of descriptions and s|>rightly wit, and his ready pen-and-ink sketches help us to follow him in his " budgerow " up the river to join his regiment. " On the mighty River Ganges, " March, 1841. " My dear Cowley, " My reception in this country has been warm En route enough^ of course, but I cannot say that it was agreeable ; *" !^'°*' for however flattering it may be to have an atmosphere of mosquitoes waiting round your couch, and printing kisses on your cheek, I do not think it worth the cost — waking in 14 SIR UEBBERT B. EDWABDES. [1841. the morning with your iiiglit-cap too small for your head, which has taken the opportunity (like all bad servants) of the master being asleep to set up for a swell, and exhibit in the glass a faithful picture of a spotted pumpkin. For a week or ten days these horrible creatures confined me in the house (albeit, my friends declared ray features were gnatty enough for anything), and one of my first reflections was that if all tlie natives were to peg into our carcases as these diminutive light infantry are wont to do, the Honourable John Co. would be (like many another) in a very bad line of business. " But enough of complaints. Let us drop the veil, or rather the mosquito-curtain, over Oriental plagues. I have plenty to tell you of Oriental pleasures, and I should be very far from candid did I not allow that I have experienced many such since I have been here. Your thoughts will naturally ask me first how I like the climate of my new land of sojourn ; and I can sincerely answer, that I do not join the outcry which is made about it. I like it much. " Were the habits of Europeans here to be the same as they are at home ; were their vocations of business and avocations of pleasure to spread over the whole day, and demand a constant restlessness of body and mind, such as they do in England ; — I can easily conceive how incom- patible such a life would be in such a climate as this. It would be insupportable. " But hear what Indian life is, and judge if the reverse is not nearer the truth. I take my own daily routine for an example, as I suppose we gentlemen in livery lead more active lives than our brethren of the pen. (They are the hntlers out of livery — civil servants, and we are regular flunkies to the company — the running footmen of great John's establishment.) "Well, a black rascal makes an oration by my bed every morning about half an hour before daylight. I wake. 1841.] HIS Fin ST DESCniPTIOiY OF INDIAN LIFF. IT) and sec him suluaminf^ with a cup of liot col'lec in his hand. I sit on a cluiir and wasli the teas[)oon till the spoon is hot and the lluid cold, while he introduces me gradually into an ambush of pantaloons and Wellingtons — if there is a parade. I am shut up in a red coat, and a glazed lid set upon my head, and thus, carefully packed, exhibit my reluctance to what I am going to do — to wit, my dutij — by riding a couple of hundred yards to the parade. "Here two or three hundred very cold people, in same condition, are assembled, and we all agree to keep ourselves warm with a game of soldiers, whereupon a very I'unny scene ensues, and we run about the plain, and wheel about and turn about, till the sun gets up to come and see what the row is about ; and then, like frightened children, wo all scamper off and make the best of our way home. Then the packing-case is all taken off again, and I resume my nap after this little interruption as j)leasantly as Homer does his epic about Achilles, after a page or two, by-the-by, on the subject of the infernal regions. This, if there is parade ; if not, I take a gallop with the dogs. " Then breakfast, after which the intellectual day may be said to dawn ; for from this till four or live p.m. your occu- pation must be among your books, your pen, your pencil, and such-like servants of the brain. " xV man whose head has been made out of a turnip, with Oppor- tunities for artificial eyes and a nose stuck thereon, to emulate the mental cn- outside of a reasoning creature, will tell you that from this i'tvorded time forth your house is not only your castle, but your '" '°^"'" 'prison; and if there be not a billiard-table in his house, or a badger in the verandah for his bull-dog to try conclusions with, he is, as it were, dead ; and, indeed, I believe him. But I think it just possible that you may understand that five or six hours laid out before you daily, to do with as you will (' for yourself,' as the schoolmaster said when he gave the head boy a halfpenny), is a thing not so much to be 10 sin HERBERT B. ED WARD ES. Ll«il- dreaded as desired. I do uot fear, tlieu, to acknowledj^e that I like the re<2;uhir api)ortioument of bodily aud mental exercise, aud enjoy another ride in the cool, clear evening, and the rendezvous at dinner about seven or eight, all the better for having been alone — left to my own devices — for a great portion of the day. You see, therefore, that the great feature of Indian life is quiet, our portraits of manners and our landscapes of scenery are all mellowed down by what artists call repose, and I must own that this is to me a luxury which is bought cheaply by the sacrifice of active out-of-door amusements when the sun is abroad. " When to this add what, perhaps, you already know ; that in all other respects our life in India is one of neces- sary indulgence — at home among the ever-active miscalled luxury which pervades all the arrangements of our homes, prescribes the cut of our tables and our chairs, models our houses, and presides at our board — I have given you a pretty general idea of the character of a life which would seem to be so congenial to human nature, that a very short time is necessary to habituate the new-comer in all its ways, strange as they must appear at first. But you must not suppose that I am going to wage war from this distance against all that I have left behind me. Fear not that I shall wound thee in thy pride of beef and double stout, and throw thee into a fit of the gout by abusing the good men and things of old England — he must be a bolder and perhaps colder man than I am to think of a comparison ; but I mean to say that the evils of India, like most other evils, have been to me much greater at a distance ; its comforts exactly the reverse. Love of " I cannot express to vou the deep feeling of love of country. , • i . , country which seems spread over all India, aud binds stranger to stranger together with that single tie. Hospitality is the outward and visible sign of this, and the grand characteristic of the European in the East ; and travel where you will, ^ 1841.] ENOLISnMEN IN PERFECTION. 17 white face is sufficient passport to good services, wherever they may be required. "I am now travelling up the Ganges, with a detachment Hospitality, of the G5th Jiegimcnt of Native Infantry, en route for Dina- pore, and have already seen many instances of this good feeling. " If we anchor within reach of any European's residence — a fact of which we are most likely ignorant— the good man comes down in a fever of delight and exercise to kidnap the whole of us to dinner; and if we stop at a station, it is necessary to write on before to any friends that you may have in particular, literally to give them the start of the three- cornered billets which come tumbling down at your arrival. In short, though you cannot but regret England, you meet with Englishmen in perfection. But it is time that I left off boring you with what most probably you know as well as I do. " I demand your gratitude for not dashing over head and ears into a jungle, and telling you how sweetly every wild weed smells, and how more than sweetly do the thou- sand perfumes mingle in the air ; and how the green pigeon flutters overhead, and coos for very joy at the shower of blossoms which he scatters on one's murderous eyes when just upon the sight of a deadly ' ^Yestley Richards.' " I am already posted to the 1st European Eegiment at Pmmising Kurnal, the finest regiment in all India, I am told, for I'^'^-^r^^^*^- discipline and appointment. It has also the best band and the best mess in the service. With all these distinctions it is the last regiment which cadets hope to be posted to; they say it is expensive, and the duties laborious — not plea- sant things in their way, certainly ; but it seems to me that if a man enjoys good things, he must be content to pay good prices for the same. And if he takes any pride in the discipline of his corps, he must not grudge the labour by wliich it is bn^ight about, and which lias enabled the rogi- voi.. 1. C 18 sin HERBERT It. EDWARDES. [18-12. inont to servo with sucli great distinction all through the late war, and will enable it, I hope, to gain fresh laurels in the ono now springing up in the part of the country where I am going. " This is a cheerful prospect for us subs, and I am, at all events, lucky in being posted to a regiment which is always called upon when fighting is to be done, and in time of peace always stationed in the finest and most healthy parts of India. It is something, moreover, to have your own countrymen under your command, instead of an ebony set of soldiers, though of a truth the natives are much easier to manage." Jul ' \M'> After staying a few months at Dinapore, Edwardes moved At Kurnui. with liis regiment to Kurnal,* for we find him there in July, 1842. " A delightful station," he writes, " same climate as a healthy England." A great relief from the heat of Dinapore. But he was not idle at either of these places, although the ordinary routine duties of a regimental officer's life did not at all satisfy him, and he longed to get into " staff-employ," which means being detached from the regiment for special duties, and being entrusted with the civil and political govern- ment of the country. „, J , This was the line for which he desired to fit himself. He study, and passes in Worked resolutely m studying the different languages of three India. He passed in the Hindee, Hindoostanee, and Persian languages. ^ ' ' languages; and in November, 1845, he passed " the Inter- preter's " examination. All these languages were new to him before he left England, for he had never turned his attention to India. But he studied diligently every day with his moonshee, Sudda Sookh, and did not stop short of pro- ficiency. At intervals of leisure he would help in the regimental theatre (for the amusement of the men), of which he was the " manager," and would paint the scenes with his own hand (no slight effort in the hot season) ; and once, he writes, " I * Kurnal was afterwards abandoned by the order of Sir Charles Napier, commander-in-chief, who considered it unhealthy for the troops. 1842.] EFFORTS TO A MUSH TlIE REGIMENT. 19 stood six hours a day depictin*,' cottage scenes and lordly castles of the land we still call ' home,' on immense sheets of canvas," at Kurnal, in July, 1842, and took two parts in two diflercnt plays at the same time. The consequence of pever, an.l this was a fever that obliged him to take "leave" to Simla, sick leave in September. He was dangerously ill, and nearly died. His ready wit, wonderfully retentive memory, and powers of oratory, gave him great capacity for these displays of talent ; and the amusement to his brother officers and the men was great. To his friend Cowley Powlcs he writes — "They may talk of Lord Grey's exertions, but think of a small ensign being slapped on the back with a side-scene, and desired to rise up * Grand Duke Alexander, brother of the Emperor ! ' Oh dear me ! this is a bad time of the year 'to have honour thrust upon me!' Already has one letter informed you of my theatrical triumphs in the asth- matic and crutch-line as Sir Anthony Absolute ; and now while I stand upright, I unroll the seven and twenty towels wliich gave people to understand that there is gout in the neigh])Ourhood, take off servitude in fact, and don the iron youth of a Russian autocrat! I know how it will all end, so write you this last letter — a legacy, and, after that, going to pieces like barley-sugar in a tea-cup, and being swabbed up carefully and sent home to my afflicted relations in a pail. . . . " And so you think that tidings of you and the good people of Oxford will have no interest for me at the distance of sixteen tliousand miles ? ]\Iy dear Powles, I would fain that the same epistle which I am now writing may give you half the pleasure, though tliat is a poor word, which the bare sight of yours — the r<3cognitiou of the familiar hand, through all the vile attempts of posts and postmasters to blot it out — communicated to me two days ago when it arrived. But I fear, nay, I liope, you cannot understand it. I know you will be glad right heartily to tear open another from me ; 20 sin HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1842. luit, after all, it will bo nothing but a Idler. To me your letter is the fabled horse (not a wooden one) which traverses space in an instant, and sets me down beside you with all fiimiliar things and familiar faces round about you. You know nothing of my habits here, my whereabouts, my every- day oIkovo/h t which gives identity to things long after they are out of sight, and when I write to you it is only as if I paid you a visit ; you write to me, and I find not only a friend, but a home, for so it is in my memory, full of sun- shiny recollections without one single shadow interspersed among them. *' I met with a song the other day. Excuse my copying a verse of it in here — " ' But when we meet with older years And sadder times that tell How sorrowless were those sweet tears Which in our childhood fell, Oh, then we feel our own dear land Has some deep charm where'er we roam, And sadly press the stranger s hand Who left, like us, his native hone I ' " I know not by whom it was written, but I know that a year ago I should have written ' stuff! ' against it ; but I shall not do so now. ... I have been but three months in India, and I know what the last lines mean very well. " Now, your letter was such a stranger to me : you see what I mean ? Mine cannot be so to you." 'I'houghts About this time must he have been writing the following 01 home. lines, wliich seem to express a similar thought — "It was a childish wish of mine To make the earth an evergreen, And play all day in warm sunshine. Where winter's face is never seen. " I wished to fill the summer trees With poet-birds, like those who sing In Eastern Isles, where ever}' breeze Flies back to heaven carollino;. Ifi42.] SERMONS FROM STONES. 21 " I long to dwell where spices breatlie. And lose myself in orange-groves, Wiiosc gentle task it is to wreathe A crown for every maid who loves. " For I had read that i)leasaiit tale Which comes from Araby the blest, Aiul till 1 spread the wandering sail My foolish heart would not have rest. " Now, granted is that wish of mine, I've found a land that's ever green. And dwell for ayo in bright sunshine, Where cold and shade are never seen. " And are my days all hapjiy now ? Youth's dream is life's reality ? Are there no clouds upon my brow Because there are none in the sky ? " And do I love the matin scream Of gaudy parrots in the glade ? Or nightly mingling in my dream The little bul-bul's * serenade ? " Sing not to me, thou merry bird ; Thy song is but an Eastern tale, I'd give it for the simplest word Of England's gentle nightingale. " H. B. E." Again, in his journey up the country, Edwardes, writing to the same friend, makes some remarks that miglit read a k'sson in these days of advocacy of cremation. "The earth is very prodigal here in her fruits, and scatters them alike in the paths of the fat baboo and the skinny pariah ; but you will hardly believe that, day by day on my journey up the Ganges, I have seen the victims of this abundance brought down in crowds to die like dogs near * the holy river,' or be reduced to aslies by the pious hands of their relations. . . . " Tliey have all, or nearly all, died of cholera, and a young European cannot get a better lesson than ho may from these disgusting obsequies ; though truly, it is getting sermons * The Indian nightingale. 22 SIR HERB Eli T Ji. EDWARDES. [1842. Regiment moves to Subathoo. Desires stafr- employ. from stones, for of all men, I supi)Ose the Oriental looks on these things with the greatest apathy. ]\Ien swarm, and death is rife; and it seems an everyday thing for them to stretch the limbs of some friend's or relation's corpse. " I have watched them with my glass throughout the whole process, from laying the first stick of wood to kindling the pile, and seldom indeed have I seen anything which betrayed sorrow or that sort of love which ive feel for the dead, which shrinks from familiarity with the object and stand aloof as from something belonging to a being more sacred than ourselves. . . . " I dare say the Utilitarian thinks it well that after death the relation should emerge into the scavenger, and earth be purged as quick as may be of what no longer honours it ; but I pity the man who would teach us such a creed, and make this intellectual age look on their household dead as blots to be washed out, instead of spots to be held sacred in memory." In these letters may be seen something of the sprightly wit and temper of the writer, and at the same time of the tender gentleness of thought and feeling which distinguished him even as a boy, and was conspicuous in him as a man. He returned from Simla to Kurnal, October 20, 1842, His regiment was intended by Lord EUenborough to join the Army of Eeserve, but, Generals Nott and Pollock having returned from Cabul, the Army of Eeserve was not wanted and was broken up. Edwardes's regiment was afterwards moved to Subathoo, a station in the Himalayan Mountains, on the old road to and not far from Simla, which is tlie head-quarters of the Government in India in the hot season. Books were Edwardes's chief pleasure and his chief re- creation. He had friends, and w\irm ones, too ; for he was the life and soul of every society he was in. But India was a sad place to him in those days ; for it seemed to open no field in the larger sphere of political work, which he desired, and he felt himself a stranger still. 1845.] "77//-; BHAIIMJNF.I': ni'J.L l.F.TTF.IlSr 2'» His chief pleasure was in showing kiiKhiessaiid sympathy to every one who came in his way and needed it — a pleasure whifch clieered and li^rlitcd up liis life then, and in rdl its subsequent stawj>'"ce delight. But it was long before he could discover who wrote Kesijent at them. And when Henry Lawrence was called upon shortly Lahore, after to take the jjost of Besident at the Sikh Court at Lahore, 24 sin HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1846. Appointed A.D.C. to the Com- n);iniler-in- chief, 1845. First meet- ing with Henry Lawrence. Asks for Edwardes to be trans- ferred to be his as- sistant, 1846. he looked about to find Lieutenant Edwardes, and get liini to work with him in his new post. The vicinity of Suhathoo gave Edwardes frequent occa- sions of visiting Simla, and these visits afforded him an oppor- tunity of being introduced to Sir Hugh Gough. This was quickly followed by his Excellency making him an aide-de- camp on his personal staff. To this Edwardes always gratefully acknowledged he was indebted for his first step in advancement. But he had not held this post for many weeks when Henry Lawrence arrived, on his way from Nepal to take up his new appointment of Eesident, wishing to confer with the Governor-General, who was at that time at Simla. Here Henry Lawrence and Herbert Edwardes first met, and Lawrence soon prevailed with Sir Hugh Gough to give up his new aide-de-camp, and with Sir Henry Hardinge to appoint Edwardes to be one of his Assistants at Lahore. Edwardes had only time to serve with Sir Hugh Gough as his aide-de-camp at the battles of Moodkee and Sobraon, before taking up the new post at Lahore. CHAPTER II. 1845—1846. SIKH INVASION OF BRITISH INDIA— BATTLES OF MOODKEE AND SOBRAON— TREATY OF BYROWAL. "Blessed is he who hus found his work. Let him ask no other blessedness. He has a work — a life-purpose ; he has found it, and will follow it." — Carlyle's Past and Present. ( 27 ) CHAPTER II. In Novemljer, 1845, Edwardes was selected Ly Sir ITuij;li Gmigli to become uide-de-caini) on liis personal stall', and on December 11, in the same year, the Siklis crossed the Sutlej and invaded British India. " And how was British India prepared to meet them ? * Suffice it to say that when, after years of empty boasting, the Sikhs at last came as enemies across the Sutlej, they xhe sikh found fifteen thousand more soldiers between that river and l?y*'*f'°" °^ British Meerut than had been left there by any of Lord Hardinge's India, predecessors. " Now we see the wisdom of the Governor-General's S'^" Henry Hardinge's cautious policy. Slowly and silently and by degrees he policy: added to the regiments and gathered them together, and ^var but to silently strengthened his jiositions, anxious to avert war, P*-' ^'^^'^^' '^ but determined to be ready. Sir Henry Hardinge was something more than an old and experienced soldier, snuff- ing, like the war-horse, the battle from afar, and preparing for it with exultation. He was the statesman to whose calm and unimpassioned judgment it was given to preserve the peace of India, and he chose that middle course which, the result has proved, united the dignity of forbearance with the necessity of defence. " Troops were not massed into an army on the frontier, because this would have rendered inevitable the collision * We quote from Herbert Kdwardcs's own pen. 28 sin HERBERT D. EDWARDES. [1845-6. which Sir Heury lliinrmg-o, his Council, and his Agent on the north-west frontier (IMajor Henry Lawrence) hoped and believed to be an improbable contingency. . . . " ]>nt the troops, which a wise Governor had spread in peaceful attitude over the surface of the north-west provinces, were yet within bugle-call, and could be sum- moned to arms in time to repel an enemy. Hitherto Sir Henry Hardinge had been slow, cautious, forbearing almost to timidity ; as if peace were a strange but imperative duty that had been imposed on him." Peace " ^hc crossing of the Sikhs was like the magic word changed to y^^l\^{^>\^ woke the Seven Sleepers. It broke the spell upon his nature and disenchanted him. The cold snows of age and prudence melted and disappeared before the rekindled fire and energy of the hero of Albuera ; the identity of the accomplished statesman passed away and left a military leader in its place, presiding over the army of the Sutlej. " ' Teleraachns suddenly beheld ^linerva, She spread her regis over him ! ' " Well was the ardour of the Governor-Greneral at this crisis seconded by the more than youthful energy and activity of the commander-in-chief, whose gallant figure, dashing by the column, was wont to provoke from many a young ' sub.' the hackneyed lines — " ' Nor slack'd the messenger his pace ; He show'd the sign, he named the place — And, pressing forward like the wind. Left clamour and surprise behind. * * * * He vanished ; — and o'er moor and moss Sped forward on the fiery cross ! ' Sir Henry "It is, howevcr, but just to say that a Governor-General toidiei-" only, and such a Governor-General as Sir Henry Hardinge, statesman, jj^^ppjjy combining the statesman witli the soldier, could have brought tlie whole resources of the country at a 1845-6.] AFFAIRS IN THE SIKH KINGDOM. 29 moment's notice to bear upon the most immiuont danger that has ever threatened British India." And here it may be well to take a glance at the state of things in the Sikh kingdom which had brouglit about tliis iirst Sikli "War, after the death of Runject Singh, when lus heir -was a chihl and the Queen-mother was regent. An article written by Edwardes * at this date is full of interest, and supplies us with many a picture of the events of tliese times, when the bold and desperate games of the reckless Sirdars closed in repeated tragedies, " and the army became the real rulers, in the (nominal) Sketch of government of the Punjab. . . . Trampling upon the the sikii Constitution, they acknowledged no law but their own ^'"S'^o'"- interests ; and to protect those, combined together, with a greater singleness of purpose than ever dignified the efforts of the Mamelukes, the Janissaries, or the Praetorians of the ancient world. . . . The moving spirit of the rebellion was undoubtedly the Eani.f . , . Her infatuation at this crisis The Rani was complete. Instead of looking around her for some bold spirits who would seize with vigorous hand tlie helm of Government, she threw it, as if it were a bauble, to Jowahir Singh, her brother, a weak, vain, besotted de- bauchee. " She herself plunged into a round of festivities and voluptuousness with a paramour whom she was now at liberty to honour. The Court joined in the drunken revels ; and none perceived that, while the I\Iiuistry were thus celebrating the revolution, the Army had stepped into the Government and appropriated the power. " 'J'he Sikh soldiers now rioted at will ; took furlouo-h 'l"'>e Sikii to their homes when they liked, and returned as it suited them; governed themselves and their officers by a parlia- ment of their own, chosen from the ranks ; obeyed no other * In the Calcutta lievicw. f ^''^ Qiic'cn-Mutlii.'r. 30 SIR HERBERT Ji. EDWARDES. [1845-6. orders, overawed the Government, and set the laws at defiance. " The idiot minister, Jowahir Singh, they openly insulted, witli expressions of contempt for his imbecility and drunken- ness, and loudly called for Lehna Singh to replace him in the Wizarut. ... It might be supposed that such a state of things would soon induce so complete a disorganization that the army must dissolve, and disperse over the country in marauding bands. But nothing of the kind occurred. The Sikh On the contrary, it was the civil and social system which usurps the ^^s tom asuuder ; the executive Government, which was place of threatened with dissolution : while the army itself, riotous ment. and disorderly to all else around, was only drawn more firmly and compactly together by the bond of mutual interest. "The very name which they at this time arrogated to themselves, ' Surbut-i-Khalsa Ji,' or, the body of the Kbalsa, breathes the spirit of exclusiveness and unanimity. " Their acts, wild and bad as they were, were drawn into the focus of a single object ; and thus, while plunder and violence were rife at the capital, the provinces were left unmolested, except by their own governors. . . . Rebellion was so regulated that it might be almost called an institu- tion, and military licence had yet its bounds reducing it to conditional liberty. " Woe indeed to the wretch who disobeyed the will of the nation ! Expulsion from the ranks, mutilation of a hand, an ear, a nose — even death awaited him. Mutiny was the condition of their existence ; the Government, the Sirdars, and their own immediate officers, were their pro-- scribed enemies ; and the Treasury w^as their open aim. But to gain these ends, sure never was a debauched army so consistent in its conduct ! " We have not room, nor is it our purpose, to follow all the intrifjues of the Lahore Court. 1845.] TRAGEDIES OF THE SIKH COUIIT. .'U " Ministers in the Punjab do not resiyii wlien thuy have ' lost the confidence of the people ; ' nor are they coldly told that ' their services are not required ' when they have lost the confidence of the sovereign. In either case, the removal is complete — into another world. The unhappy woman, therefore, could not have blinded herself as to the inevit- able tendency of her intrigues." And now Jowahir Singh was to be the victim. " On September 1, they led him out in state to the Plain of Mean Meer, and, in the presence of his sister and the ]\[aharajah, he was shot down like a dog. So died the last and the worst Wazir of the Punjab Empire established by Rnnjeet Singh. Pani Junda evinced some natural affection and remarkalde courage on the occasion. She even effected the punishment of the ringleaders in the late tragedy ; and, as if roused by her brother's death and her son's danger, assumed the government, sat openly in Durbar, and ' laid aside her debaucheries with her veil.' " (" Papers," p. 10.) " But the time for prudence had gone by. The vessel of the State, too long unwatched, had drifted to the rapids' edge ; and all that skill and courage now could do was to seize the helm, put the barque's head straight, and plunge boldly into the foaming gulf. Finding that it was hopeless to oppose the army, the Eani wisely yielded, encouraged '^^^ ^^°' its excesses, called its madness reason, and urged it on in yields to the hope of guiding it to destruction. History scarcely '^ ' records a conception more bold and able ; and while repro- bating its unprincipled execution, we cannot withhold our admiration at tlio design. Punjcct Singh, in the zenith of his power, thought all sacrifices light to preserve the friend- ship of the British; Kani Junda, in the depth of her a^'^ ''c<=iJ" I ' ' i^ on war despair, when the Sikh nation was at its weakest, sought ^^''^ Hritish safety in a war with British India. . . . C>n December 11, India. 32 SIR HERBERT B. EDWARD ES. [1845. 1845, the enemy crossed the Sutlej and invaded British India. . . . "Next morning commenced the march on which the fate of two empires liung. iMarch of " '^^^ wholc road from Umballa to Eajpiira, a distance of the arniy gixtcen milcs, was covered witli advancing troops and towards ' o i WooJkee. artillery ; and the green crops in the fields, on either side of the line of march, were trodden under foot and scattered over by strings of baggage camels and camp followers, who, unable to find room upon the old highway, soon made a new one for themselves, and scrambled on in the dark through gardens and over ditches in a style more sporting than military. " What a motley and amusing scene is an Indian line of march ! Dcsciiiitio:- " Here, Jack Sepoy, bitterly cold, has tied up his head lioe'of" "" like a stage-coach traveller, and then stuck his full dress march. chako ou the top of it, much askew. Behind him, rejoicing in the privilege of his rank, jogs along on a miserable bare-ribbed tattii,* a grey-haired siibadar ; his very oldest clothes are put on economically for the occasion, but round his throat glitters through the dust his gold-beaded neck- lace, and on his left breast, perhaps, dangles on a ribbon twice too long, a medal or a star. Next, covering the whole column with dust, canters by, a devil-may-care subaltern, his forage cap cocked knowingly over his ear, and under him the best Bombay Arab that could be got for money, though it would not carry his bills. ' Bless my soul, sir,' croaks a wheezy voice on the other side of the road, ' how often must I tell you to keep that beast in the rear ? ' It is the fat major, who has pulled up in his baggy to spit the ensign's dust out of his mouth and knuckle it out of his eyes. " On one side of the road a hackery f has fallen in the dark into a ditch, and on the other, a gun. The former * Pony. t Native cart. 1845.] SCENES IN A CAMP MARCn. 33 will bo there half the day ; for the driver is smoking his liookah, and waiting till Providence sends some one to help him. The other will be all right in ten minutes ; for a dozen strapping Horse Artillerymen have 'put their shoulders to the wheel,' and are hauling away to a jolly chorus. Chaque imys, chaque mode ! " Look at that half-clad, knock-kneed wretch shufTliiig along at one untiring pace, with a pliant bamboo over his shoulder, and at either end of it a heavy green box, slung by ropes. He is a ' banghy-bearer,' and you may take an inventory of his load without opening the pitarahs ; one of them is always devoted to a guthri,* and the other to plates, dishes, and a teapot ; for woe betide the khidmutgar who has not breakfast ready the moment the regiment comes upon its ground. " But mind your head, or it will be knocked off by that half-mad camel, who is overladen with tents and *tots,'t and is dancing about the road, furious at the clattering on his back. " That red-haired grenadier with the yellow facings is one of the gallant 9th Foot, and if what he is now swearing at the camel was not pure Irish, there could not be a doubt about his country ; for at the end of his bayonet he has slung his boots, and is walking barefoot ' to warm himself.' " Whose hackery is that with a slipper-bath in it ? There are no ladies in camp. It belongs to one of the hospitals, and those three black heads poking out at the mouth of the bath are the liospital cook's children, who live in it when it isn't wanted. Such are some of the queer incidents and characteristic scenes which cheat the soldier of a laugh on the Indian line of march. But let us resume our knapsack and march on. • Giithi'i, the Indian vade mecum — 'a bundle containing^ a change of clothes and something of cA-ery tiling that " master possesses." t Tots, tin pots, out of which the European soldiers drink. VOL I. D An ompn. filled. 34 Sin nERBERT D. EDWARDE8. [1815. "Foi- the beucfit of those who have a lingeriug faith in omeus, we may as well record here that just before morning broke, on the march to Mootlkee, a brilliant star shot from its place in the firmament and fell over the Sutlej, into the dark grave of the earth's horizon. The ' Bright Star ' is the highest order in the Punjab, and those who think that the everlasting laws of stellar motion are disturbed by the convulsions of this little orb, imperceptible in space, may confirm tlieir superstition with the coincidence. It is How fill- ' stranger still,' and much more to the point, that on De- cember 2 died the venerable Fakeer Uziz-iid-din, the able minister of Eunjeet Singh, and faithful follower of his policy in all the counsels he was called upon to give to the weak successors of his master. He knew our power thoroughly, and his voice was ever for friendship and peace. The last act of his life was a remonstrance against the approaching war ; and, without superstition, with him may be said to have perished the genius of the Punjab. . . . " Three miles from Moodkee, the first indication of the proximity of an enemy reached the army of the Sutlej. George " A noto from Major Broadfoot, ever in the front, in- formed the commander-in-chief that Moodkee was occupied by the Sikhs, in what force it was uncertain. " Upon receipt of this intelligence, the column was halted, the Artillery ordered to the front, and the Cavalry to support it right and left. Thus 'squaring up,' in pugi- listic phrase, the army resumed its march, with intense anxiety looking for the enemy. " The commander-in-chief, attended by his own staff and that of the Governor-General (made over to him by Sir Henry Hardinge, who reluctantly remained behind), and supported by two squadrons of the 5th Light Cavalry, then made a reconnoissance in front, and soon met Major Broad- foot and a party of Christie's Horse coming back, a little downcast with the tidings that the village now coming into Broadfoot. 1845.] A WELCOME SIGHT! 35 view had merely been occupied by the advanced picket of the Khalsa Army, who had fallen back hastily upon their own main body ; not, however, without carrying off Captain E. Biddulph, of the 45th Native Infantry, who had tlie evening before got so far on his way in a gallant but impru- dent attempt to join Tait's Irregulars at Ferozepore. " The momentary excitement over, the weary, foot-sore troops dragged themselves on to Moodkee, which they reached at noon ; and what a welcome sight then met their view ! Beneath the walls of the fort spread a wide, clear tank of water ; and the reader who has not the memory of that long march of twenty-one miles, with heavy sand under- foot and the air thick with dust, disturbed by fifteen Halt and thousand men, cannot paint the eagerness with which men l^Q^t. ' and horses rushed to the bank, and tried to slake a thirst which seemed unquenchable. *' In ten minutes the lake was a mass of floiting mud, yet fresh regiments kept coming up, and fresh tliirsty souls kept squeezing their way in, and thinking it was the sweetest draught they had tasted in their lives. Between two and three o'clock, the baggage of the troops was befrianine: to struggle in, and the men to cook their breakfast, when Major Broad foot again galloped into camp with the news — this time true enough — that the enemy was advancing in force in front. " Away with knives and forks, and out with swords and iiow soon pistols! Camels, elephants, camp-followers, and other lumber to the rear! Trumpets sound to horse; bugles, drums and fifes to arms; and the whole army, which but two hours ago had made a march of unusual severity, now turned out, as if fully recruited, to the battle. . . . " Once more the Governor-General, with a courteous bow that would have done honour to St. James's, waved his dashing staff over to the brave chief of that brave army, and then fell back upon the Infantry. 36 SIR TIERBEET B. EDWARDES. [1845. The bnttle " '^^^'^ Artillery was in the centre of the front line, ofMoodkee. ^^^^]^ ^j^^ Cavalry on either flank; the main body of the Infantry, in contiguous columns behind, and a reserve in rear of all. A mile and a half at least from their own camp did the British advance in this order before they came under the fire of the Sikh guns ; but then the ' long bowls ' came bounding in among them with deadly aim and that peculiar ivhirr which makes the young soldier bob his head. Now tumbrils begin blowing up, and Artillerymen dropping from their saddles ; the mutual roar of cannon reverberates over the plain, and smoke obscures the vision. Closer and closer approach the hostile armies; and a staff oflBcer, almost simultaneously from right and left, gallops up to Sir Hugh, with a report that the Sikh Cavalry in clouds are turning both his flanks. Eight and left he launches his own Cavalry upon them ; right and left their brilliant charge makes the enemy's Horse give way. The British Infantry deploy and advance rapidly in line. A finer sight no man ever saw than that deployment and advance. The jaded men, worn out with forced marches and want of food, forgot all their troubles in their eagerness to close, and nearly the whole of an unusually large staff might at one time have been employed in galloping up and down the line to keep the regiments from doubling into action. " And now all hands are at it ! Cavalry charging cavalry. Artillery thundering on the flanks, and In- fantry exchanging a roar of musketry in the centre. The battle is at its height ; it rages ; but the British still advance; and it is a fact, which has not been noticed by any writer yet that we have seen, not even by his Excellency the commander-in-chief in his own despatch, that the charge of the British Cavalry was the turning-point of the battle of Moodkee. Up to that moment every arm of the Sikh force. Cavalry, Artillery, and Infantry, had been 1845.] THE TURNINO-POINT OF THE BATTLE. 37 advancing; aud tliougb tlie Artillery and luluutry still stood and struggled manfully after Lai Singh's cavalry had fled, tjet they never gained another foot of ground, and the last two hours of battle were a series of dogged stands and skirmishing retreats on the part of the Sikh troops, of sharp struggles, gun captures, and pursuits by the British, over five miles of the worst ground that ever two armies fought for. Night closed the contest, or rather the pursuit, and the British army was left in possession of the field and nineteen of the enemy's guns. " Thus ended the battle of Moodkee, and the victory of Unequal •^ numbers. December 18, 1845, must be acknowledged to have been no mean achievement. It is no easy matter, at any time, for fourteen thousand men to thrash between thirty and forty thousand ; nevertheless, as was the case in our early Indian battles, the discipline was all on the side of the minority. Those days have long passed away. We have now been teaching the art of war to Asia for upwards of a century ; and though not exactly reduced to the sad pass of that celebrated grandfather who taught his grandson draughts, * until at last the old man got beaten by the boy,' yet there is no longer that vast disparity between the discipline of the native and British Indian armies that we can afford to give them, as of old, the odds which Clive thought very fair at Plassy." It was at this battle of Moodkee, when carryiufr Sir r.-iwanies Hugh Gough's orders to recall the flank detachments back ^^^"" ^' " tt) their line, that Edwardes Avas severely wounded by a bullet through his thigh. The following incident will be worth recording, as illus- trating the feeling of brotherhood and kindness of which Edwardes has written in the former chapter * — one of those tender things to which even the stern scenes of a battle-field can often bear witness. Edwardes was riding along, on this occasion, on a fine ♦ At end of chap. i. 38 SJB IlERBERT B. EDWABDES. [1846. clicsnut Arab charger that he had lately bought. The blood was streaming from his thigh, and he was getting faint, wlien he met a friend and brother officer* who A friend on stopped him, and said, " Edwardes, you are badly wounded ; field ^'^ ^' 8*^^ °^ ^ gun-carriage, and go into hospital. You can't ride off the field." " IS o," said Edwardes ; " if I throw the reins on my Ruby's neck, I shall never see him again. I will ride on." And his friend, in a moment, tore off the long turban he had twisted round and round his helmet, and bound up his thigh with it to staunch the bleeding — no trifling act at such a time, and in the midst of the exposure of a battle- field on the plains of India. With help of this, Edwardes rode safely off the field, and went into hospital for his wounds. As it is not our purpose to write a history of the Sikh War, but only to touch upon those points and events of it in which our biography is concerned, we need not pursue the subject further than to tell, that when the second battle (Ferozeshah) was fought, Edwardes was still in hospital ; but he was sufficiently recovered to take part in the battle of Sobraon, which closed the Sikh campaign. He writes — ^ ^^j,l " It was yet dark, on the morning of February 10th, 1846, contest ap- \v]ien the army of the Sutlei moved out at last from their preaches. "^ "^ lines at Nialki, and advanced to a final contest with the invading Kbalsa. " Halfway between the British outpost at Rhodawala and the Sikh camp stood three trees, the only ones upon the plain. In the upper branches of these trees, the Sikhs had erected muchaus, or platforms, for sentries to sit in, and watch the movements of our troops at Ehodawala. "A deep ditch and bank were thrown round the spot, * The name of this officer deserves to be recorded. But alas! he is gone from amongst us, and in a sad and cruel way. He was the Colonel Holmes who, with his wife, was shot by his own men whom he trusted, during the Mutiny of 1857. His wife was the daughter of Lady Sale. Both were driving together in an opeu carriage, when one of his own troopers rode up and shot them both dead, without a warning. of S wliiit gravely if I have inailc iiu dTurt to settle this nialtcr without bloodshed ? Yes, I have o(Teicd the Sheikh his life, and a fair trial for his property, if he eonies in to me without striking another hlou. JJiit I have not waited for his answer. " There is no arguing in this country without foree to baek you. A rebel never gives in till the avenger is within a nuireh of him. If you have his life at heart, threaten to take it. ' Make a pass ' at your enemy's liver, and your sword goes over his shoulder ; for he kneels to eseape it. "This very day ought to bring me the Sheikh's reply, and it is in an anxious interval that I am now writing to you. "As far as my own judgment goes, I think he will come in ; but the more I see of Asiatic character and European di[)lomacy, the more convinced am I that ice have no means of judging correctly of the conduiit of natives. " The principles on whicli they argue are so widely difter- eut, the axioms from which they start are so opposed to ours that it is impossible we can ever come to the same conclu- sions. Long experience and familiarity with the natives may and must do something to give us a clue to their modes of thought ; but it does very, very little. " When we think we have estimated them rightly, some new prejudice, or some old superstition, an almost impossible suspicion, or a downright mad contrivance, flits before their eyes, and leads these grown-up children in full chase after a feufoUet. "Their utter depravity is one thing which always involves natives in a mesh of their own spinning. They cannot iunigine such a thing as honesty for honesty's sake. The English in India are renowned for truth; i.e. in its narrow sense — truth of the tongue, not of the heart and mind. They say we always perform our promises and make good our tlireats. But when we perform some romantic act vol-. I. F 66 sin jir.niiKnT n. kdwaudks. [i846. of good laitli (stu'li as payiiio- a banker wlio lias lost your note of hand), tlicy look puzzled, sliako tlioir heads, and say, 'Well, it is very funny. T wonder wliat his reason was.' " Thus, in great affairs of State, when a Governor-General with slow dignity keeps on the even tenor of his way in all integrity, marching upon a point of diplomacy which he has openly avowed, the native Prince with whom he deals cannot believe that he wants what he asks, or is going where he says, but suspects treachery, and becomes guilty of it him- self. He perishes, and with his last breath says, ' That cunning Governor-General ! ' " I have laid it down, therefore, as a rule on which I mean invariably to act, so long as health and fortune keep me in the political department of this country, never to assume that a native will do anything, but hope that he will do the test, and 2)repare for his doing the worst. "But 'Where is the villain? Let me see his face!' I think I hear you exclaim. My dear Powles, I could not think of showing you my royal tiger till I had kept you standing at the door of his den for some while, to excite your curiosity. But now you may ' walk up,' as the showmen say, and behold Maharajah Golab Singh. "I shall describe him to you like the little guide at the Bodleian, whom well do I remember standing before the picture of King William and Queen Adelaide, and inform- ing us accurately, in the same breath, of their birthday and the price of the frames. When shall I again stroll with you through the Bodleian ? " It is now nearly forty years ago since a courtier in some favour with Runjeet Singh, the old lion of the Punjab, made interest for a young relation of his own, named Golab Singh, and got him enlisted in one of the Cavalry regiments, on the humble pay of Rs.20 a month. " The Punjab Cavalry was famous ; it had earned for iHKi.] liUNJEICT SISCIirS TIlOOPERS. <)7 itself a name, and for Ilunjeet a kingdom; and its ranks were filled by the yeomen of tlie land, who took a pride in their loader, and were in turn rep^arded with partiality. " On a spring morning, when tlie green meadows between tlio palace at Lahore and the llavcc River invited ltunje(,'t out to see these troops at exercise, a more gallant spectacle could perhaps not have been imagined than the Sikh Ghorchurruhs pouring in clouds along the plain, with their long tapering bamboo lances bending in the air, their many-coloured scarves flaunting saucily about, their silver- bossed shields rattling against sword and pistol, and their large well-managed horses gaily caparisoned, bounding to the spur or curvetting at the rein. ' Wall ! Wah ! Shah- bash ! ' (* Well done ! ') * Bravo ! ' would shout the energetic liunjoet, as his keen one eye watched the liglitning wheels of two young scamps \\\\o, with Oriental licence, had escaped from the ranks, and were chasing each other with quivering spear across the grass. " ' Let them be rewarded. The young fellows ride well ! ' " For one service or another there was scarcely a trooper (in the later years of Ilunjeet Singh) who had not one or more grants of land, from a icelV s-ivatering of the ground to a village. (' A icell of land ' is an idiom in this country ; it means as much as can be cultivated with so much water. It is Oriental, and, I think, picturesque.) It must not be concluded, therefore, because our hero Golab Singh enlisted as a common trooper, that therefore he was a peasant or of low extraction. " On the contrary, he was a young cadet of an old but ])oor family in the Kohistau or hill country, the Highlands of the runjab; and to this day I know not whether he is prouder of having gained a kingdom for himself, or of having ha describes him to be a bad man ; but most Sikh cliiofs wore bad men ; their school was one of tyranny and barbarous disregard of human life and all finer human feelings. In the course of my late residence at his Court, however, I saw the heast in his lair; and I prophesy that Cashmere, now reduced to nearly the lowest point of misery which men endure before they expatriate themselves for ever, will, under his iron rule, be depopulated in a few years ! "Oh, what a field is that valley at this moment for that noble animal, a Just ruler ! In five years I would under- take to raise its revenue to a million, and its people from Irish poverty to what Providence designed them to enjoy — scriptural milk and honey. " Tins brings me back to the unfinished thread of the Cashmere Insurrection. '* On October 19, Meerza Fukeer Oolluh of Rajawur, the mainstay and ally of Sheikh Imam-iid-din, came in to me and submitted. " The army still advanced, and had reached the foot of Barangulla Pass into Cashmere, when the rebellious Sheikli wrote to say he would meet me at Barangulla, on October 30. This was a niarcli ahead of our Army. " I went with two regiments to guard against treachery. "Late at night, Imam-iid-din, worn out with a forced mountain-march of forty miles, in the course of which he had been drenched in a snowstorm, arrived ; and, sur- rounded by his officers, made his submission to the British Government (which I hope you can imagine me repre- senting !). " On November 1, I had the pleasure of conducting him to the tent of Colonel Lawrence, the Governor-General's Agent, who had a few days before come up with the army. " And thus ended the rebellion. "At this present (November 11), I am on my road to Lahore, in charge of tlie Sheikh and his army — leading, in fact, my own bear into town. 7(1 "s- tated, in spite of tlieir lionost endeavours to remain in tlic VOL. I. G 82 /sin HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1847. EtTorts to develop the resources of the country. New code of laws. Henry Lawrence takes leave to England. Edwardes deputed to Bunnoo. Object of the expedi- tion. Plans pro- posed. background, to assume a more prominent position in the actual direction of affairs. "The formality of the Sikh Durbar was there, but the real administration was our own ; and the Inroad stamp of British beneficence was upon it. " After the maintenance of general tranquillity, the de- velopment of the resources of a neglected co\mtry was the chief thought of the English officer ; and he worked as strenuously towards the attainment of this great end as though the country had been actually our own. " The whole country had been surveyed and the system of taxation laid down on fixed principles ; the fiscal and excise systems had been readjusted, and oppressive duties and Government monopolies of all sorts abolished. A census had been made, and the population and trades of Lahore determined ; and the Durl^ar had sanctioned the outlay of £30,000 on roads and bridges, to be increased to £60,000 when the state of the country allowed." (Buist's "Annals of India" for the year 1848.) To this it may be added that Colonel Henry Lawrence, anxious to have a very simple code of laws, founded on Sikh customs, reduced to writing, and administered by the most respectable men from their own ranks, assembled for the purpose, at Lahore, some fifty Sikh heads of villages — grey- beards, of good local reputation, under the immediate super- intendence of Lena Singh, one of the Sikh Sirdars ; and they had prepared a code, when Colonel Lawrence was compelled by ill-health to proceed to England for a time. Edwardes had not been long at Lahore when he was detached on special duty to Bunnoo, by Colonel Lawrence. It was in February, 1847, that he M'as deputed, in com- mand of a Sikh force, to make, if possible, an amicable financial settlement of Bunnoo, an Afghan valley, west of the Indus, which had long been in arrears of revenue, and had failed to pay its annual tribute to Lahore ; and Eunjeet Singh, " The Lion of the Punjab," as he was called, had been unable, for a quarter of a century, to bring them to obedience. Edwardes proposed to the Eesident the plan of a regular military reduction and occupation of the valley ; and this 1817.] DEPUTED ON SPECIAL DUTY TO DUNNOO. 83 ])lan, recommonded by the Piosident, and approved l)y the (loveriior-CJeneral (Sir Henry Ilardinge *), was at once en- trusted to Edwardes to carry out. He was despatched with five liundred men and two troops Military of Horse Artillery, and in the brief space of three months he levelled the walls of four hundred fortified villages, built a strong fortress in their stead, and ran a military road through tlie heart of the valley, by these means entirely subjugat- ing it. His own words tell the story best, and the details are fully described in " A Year on the Punjab Frontier," which he published when he was at home in 1850. He says in the preface — " This book is simply what it professes to l)C— the result ^ I'loodiess i •' ^ conquest. of a Inisy year, on an important frontier, in a country and at a crisis which have excited the national attention of Englislimon. In writing it, the object I have in view is to put on record a victory which I myself remember with more satisfaction than any I helped to gain before Mooltan — the bloodless conquest of the wild valley of Bunnoo. It was accomplished, not by shot or shell, but simply by balancing two races and two creeds. For fear of a Sikh Balancing 1 •! ^^^ races army, two warlike and independent Mohammedan tribes and two levelled to the ground, at my bidding, the four hundred "■'^*^'^^- forts which constituted the strength of their country ; and, for fear of those same Mohammedan tribes, the same Sikh army, at my bidding, constructed a fortress for the Crown, which completed the subjugation of the valley. "It was a year of intense labour in great public duties, with never any certainty of life for four and twenty hours." This i)eaceful subjugation of the valley of Bunnoo de- mands our attention.! * He became Lord Ilardinge in May, 184G. t From "A Year on the Punjab Frontier" we extract a description Description of Bunnoo. " In spring it is a vegetable emerald, and in winter its many- of the val- colourod harvests look as if Ceres had stumbled against the great Salt ^^J^ Kange, and spilt half her cornucopia in this favoured vale. Most of the 84 SIJi HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1847. Ill the district of Bunnoo, at Akra and Kliafr-Khot (by translation " The Infidels' Fort "), and profusely scattered over other provinces of the Punjab, occur the remains of Grseco-Bactrian cities, vestiges of the conquering steps and permanent dominion of Alexander and .his Macedonians. In the second Cabul Campaign, the monument erected by Alexander over his favourite horse Bucephalus, was passed by the British army in nearly as perfect a state as the day when it was erected, and Greek coins were found on the spot. These ancient " mounds " are frequently met with in different parts of these wild frontier lands, and mark the course of this great warrior of old. Mingling of Some of the pieces of ancient stone-carving found dis- the lines of ^jnctlv show the mingling of the stiff figures of Indian Buddhist -^ 1 r-i • andGrecian sculpturc with the morc graceful lines of Grecian art. *'■*• A photograph, representing some of these Buddhist and Grseco-Bactrian heads, collected and placed in the museum at Lahore — some of them dug out of ruins at Taxila (now " Shah-ki-deyree," or the Mounds of the Ejings), in the Eawul Pindee district — will enable the reader to trace this for himself. "What a pity that such treasures as these, and others like Akra, in Bunnoo, whether Greek or Buddhist, should lie at our feet, as full of meaning as the obelisks of Egypt, and not, like them, be forced to give up their secrets ! About this time, a friend, having felt inclined to shrink from the first proposal to undertake a certain responsibility, draws from Edwardes a letter on the subject, which exhibits fruits of Cabul are found wild, and culture would bring them to perfection. As it is, the limes, mulberries, and melons are delicious. Roses, too, without which Englishmen have learnt from the East to think no scenery comj^lete, abound in the upper part at the close of spring. "Altogether Nature has so smiled on Bunnoo that the stranger thinks it a paradise ; and, when he turns to the people, wonders how such spirits of evil ever found admittance. Its people. " The Bunnoochees are bad specimens of Afghans. Could worse be said of any human race? They have all the vices of the Puthans rankly luxuriant, the virtues stunted. The introduction of Indian cultivators from the Punjab, and the settlement of numerous low Hindoos in the valley, have contributed, by intermarrying, slave-dealing, and vice, to complete the mongrel character of the Bunnoo pe >ple." ;i;ii| ]■ OF GR^COltACTKI.W IIKAIi 1817.] IlEADINESS TO UNDERTAKE RESPONSIBILITY. 85 a pliase of his own character ; and the circumstances that called it forth need not to be further entered upon here. " Camp Biiunoo, December 17, 1847. " ]\Iy dear , "... Concerniug the other matters treated of in your letter, 1 am not offended that you felt uncertain of my sympathy or ridicule. In this world we know little of our neighbours, and, as it was in tlie days of Wiekliffe, so it seems to be pretty much now, that those who have Bibles are obliged to hide them. " To me the principles you avow seem the highest on which either a public or ])rivate person can act in all situa- tions of life ; and if you have succeeded in so disciplining your mind as to see God in everything, and realize His jiresence around and al)out you at every hour of the day, and refer all questions of life and duty, great or small, to the awful tribunal before which you thus perpetually are standing, — why, you are, in my opinion, as much to be respected as envied by every right-thinking man. "But excuse me if I ask you whether the fears you express of encountering responsibility are consistent with your reliance on the overruling Power which drives events before it like so many straws? Are you not, with so happy a morale, the last man who should feel a moment's uneasiness under any amount of responsibility imposed upon you ? " I do not say that it follows that, because you trust in God, you must succeed. The inscrutable laws which are made for a world's conduct cannot turn aside for an individual ; and it is well known that the best men are often most unfortunate in life. Means also are prescribed for the working out oiends ; and the plans of a fool, however good his intentions, by accident only occasionally meet with the same success as those of a wise and prudent man. " The reverse would be a miracle, and the infatuated bigot who, on the strength of his intense trust in God .should 86 ,577? HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1847. undertake to a('Conij)lisli ends without the visible material means (siieh as an uneducated man to read Hebrew, a civilian to manoeuvre an army, a tailor to make shoes, a divine to excel in handicrafts which he had never learnt, or a woman to lift up the Pyramids), would assuredly, in these days of no-direct Divine interferenco, be doomed to bring shame on himself and ridicule on his religion. " But to take the instance in point. Possessed of sound sense by nature, and more of the advantages of education than fall to the lot of most men, you are furnished with adequate means for the accomplishment of any ends short of the highest flights of that semi-inspiration genius. And therefore I think you should have more self-confidence than I ; and while I blame you greatly for the feelings you entertain upon this particular point, I feel ashamed almost at the calmness — no, not calmness, more than that, the enthusiasm — which possesses me whenever great trust is laid upon me. "For the first time I begin to ask myself if this is presumption and windy self-conceit ? If the result of my self-examination is to make me a moral coward, I shall never forgive you ! . . . "The result will very likely be that . . . ivill come, and I gather from your note that you will accuse yourself of having thus interfered with your destiny, instead of leaving it to be decided for you by others. . . . " That lack of confidence and those misgivings I hold, in your case, to be self-imposed delusions, which you might blow away like tobacco-smoke ; which you ought to and ivill conquer ; for, depend upon it, my dear , they will else be frightful stumbling-blocks in your public path ; and that a continual mental struggle, however lofty and virtuous be its aspirations, is not the frame of mind in which to watch over the ' respublica.' . . . " I have written this in the midst of a thousand inter- 1847.] TRIBES RESIGN THEIR INDEPENDENCE. 87 riiptions, and if any expression seems harsh, pray pass over it the sponge of forgiveness. " Believe me, ever, my dear , " Yours very sincerely, "(Signed) Herbert 13. Euwardes." On December 17, 1847, the powerful, brave, and liitherto The tribes unconqucred Vizecree tribes resigned their indei)endence and resign 1 -1 T -lie 1 • their inUe- consented to pay tribute. On December 18, the loundations pendence. of the fort of Dhuleepgurgh were laid. On May 5, the people and chiefs were ordered to throw down their forts, about four hundred in number. These chief results had l)een accomplished in less than Results, three months ; but besides these, a new town had been founded, which to this day is flourishing ; a military and commercial road made through a roadless valley ; tracts of country, from which the fertilizing mountain streams had been diverted by lawless feuds, had been brought back to cultivation by the protection of a strong Government ; others, disputed and l}'ing waste, had been settled and occupied and sown once more ; canals had been designed and cut, turning a desert into a fruitful land ; while, still nearer to civilization, a people who had worn arms as we wear clothes, and used them as we use knives and forks, had ceased to carry arms at all, and, though they quarrelled still, had learnt to bring their differences to the bar of the civil courts, instead of the sharp issue of the sword. In a word, the valley of Bunnoo, which had defied the Sikh arms for twenty-five years, had in three months been peacefully annexed to the Punjab and subjugated without a shot being fired. This was a conquest of peace, won by influence — personal influence — such influence as every political officer should exercise in the country under his charge. As I'ldwardes says — " Such I am proud to think every other assistant to the PersoiLil Tt • 1 Ti 11 -I'l- !•• n influence. Kesident at Lahore had acquired in his own district. See how the Hazara tribes took James Abbott for their Khan ! See how the Eurofzaes loved Lumsden ! See how the men 88 SJPi TIEUnERT n. EDWARDES. [1847. of Rawul rindeo followed Nicholson ! When the Mooltan Kebolliou first broke out, I had been, off and on, about a year among the Trans-Indus people. I had gone to them at the head of great armies, on great errands, and met with great success. A master who had confidence in me entrusted me with almost despotic power, for good or evil ; and I trust the people never saw me wield it except for good. I found five different countries oppressed by one tyrant, and removed liim. I found three chiefs in exile, and restored them. Those countries and those chiefs rallied round me in the hour of need, and were my army. Civilized "Another source of influence was fixedness of purpose civil"zTd — a, determination to make many barbarian wills give way govern- ^ ^^^ ll^^^ ^^^g civilizcd. In British India, the mind of ment con- ' tiasted. Government is registered in laws and regulations for tlie people's good. . . . "Far different is the condition of the half-subdued frontier of an ill-governed native state. There laws exist not, and he who rules must rule the people by his will. If his will be evil, the people will be far more miserable than it is possible for any people to be in the corner of British India which is administered with least ability ; but if his will be good as well as strong, ' happy are the people that are in such a case ; ' for a benevolent despotism is the best of all governments. " In my little sphere I gave my whole soul to the establishment of that vast and priceless blessing, peace ; and can truly say that no man assisted me without being rewarded, and no man opposed me without being punished. This was well known ; and when I held up my hand for soldiers, the soldiers came ; and when I turned my back upon the province during an imperial war, peace still reigned undisturbed behind me." * * A local journal, culled the Indian Public Opinion and Punjah Tirnea, makes the following comments upon these times and events : — " The success with which Edwardes reduced the turbulent valley of 18n.] ON INFLUENCE. 89 In illustration of the forcj^oing remarks may be fjuoLed in iiiustra- the lolhnving happy ending of a lung-susLained " boundary ^"'"• feud : " *— " Knowing their superstitious natures, I called in a holy Settling a priest, and explaining to him my earnest wish to put an end f^^j ^'^^ to this bloody strife, I l)ade him take up his Koran, and follow mo to the bank of tlie Indus, where I had already assembled the chiefs and followers of the contending sides. Then, leading in the priest, I addressed the assembly, recounted the forays of the last few years, and the barren fields and desolate hearths they had occasioned ; the con- sequent poverty of the people, and resentment of the Government ; and my own determination to treat either party as an enemy who should in future bring disgrace upon my head, by appealing to the sword, instead of me, for justice. " 'You Jcnoiv your own boundaries w'ell enough,' I said; * they are written down in your hearts, though you say you have got no papers ; and Allah sees them, though I cannot. This holy man will swear you both on the Koran. Tell him a lie at your peril. Declare your boundaries now, once for all, and I will see you stick to them. Then there will be peace ; and you will all cultivate, and get rich, and be Bunnoo to obedience, persuaded the wild tribes to pay revenue, and pulled down the lour hundred forts in the valley, was, in our opinion, a greater proof of genius tliau all his victories over the troo])s of Dewan Moolraj. " The difllculty of the undertaking can hardly be exaggerated. Tho Bunuoochees had never, voluntarily, paid a rupee of revenue. A Sikh army, it is true, every two or three years, made a raid npon the valley, and carried olf whatever they could jjlunder ; and this they called collecting the revenue. And yet, at tho persuasion of Edwardes, these wild, lawless people submitted, and beat their swords into ploughshares. The forts were all pulled down by a certain day ; and Bunnoo has, ever since, been as peaceful as any district on the frontier. Edwardes had immense influence over natives; and it was a remarkable sight to see him in a 'jirgah,' or council, arguing with the chiefs, persuading and gesticulating with such good luimour and skill, that he generally won them to his side of the argument before he had finished." * Their quarrels are generally about land. 90 sin jiKiujEiiT n. euwaudes. [1817. good friends with Grovernment, and there will be no necessity for an army to come with guns, and blow all your villages away like a whirlwind. As for the past, everybody's honour is satisfied. The Kusranees pride themselves on being thieves, and tliey stole the Ooshtu- rannees' cattle ; the Ooshtuicuinecs pride themselves on being brave, and they killed the Kusranees in the fight. Now begin a new score ; shake hands ; and when you have done swearing, come along to my tent, where there is a new turban for every follower, a shawl for every chief, and a good dinner for everybody.' I then left them to the priest, who frightened them dreadfully, I was told ; and then made them sw^ear on the Koran to keep the peace and their own boundaries ; after which they all got dresses of honour, and dined together without stabbing any one.' " Once only during the war did I hear of this peace being disturbed. Futteh Khan, Ooshtiirannee, followed me to Mooltau, with all his retainers, and one day he came to me, boiling with rage, and requested a furlough — so many days to go home, a day to stay and shoot a Kusranee who had stolen one of his goats, and so many days to come back again. On his honour he wouldn't overstay his leave, and hoped there would be no fight while he was away ! " I had very great trouble to prevent his going, and he was sulky for a long while afterwards at having been made to pocket an affront ; however, I have little doubt that he has shot the man since." Terms of By the Treaty of Byrowal, which was concluded in INIarch Jh^Treaty ]^847, Lord Hardingc had undertaken that the Punjab should be managed during the minority of ]\Ialiarajah Dhuleep Singh. Lord Hardinge engaged to control the civil internal administration of the country and to maintain tranquillity within, as well as to provide for its external security ; and this he engaged to do at the especial instance of the Lahore Sirdars. 18i8.] AONEW AND ANDKItSON. 01 The coiisei[iieiice of this iimiui^eiueiit was that a peace Peace en- ensued in the I'uiijalj to which it had Ltiig been a stranger. ]iut ill A] nil, 1848, occurred the treacherous murder, at Howdis- MooUaii, of two young Englislimcn, Mr. Vans Agnew, of the t"'^'^^'*- Civil Service, and Lieutenant W. A. Anderson, of the 1st Bombay Fusiliers — "Young men of great promise and who liad already Agnew an.i distinguished themselves. Tlie former is described by the ^^ '"''"*""■ Acting-llesident at Lahore, Sir Frederick Currie (Henry Lawrence was obliged by sickness to take leave to England in 1847-48), as 'the oldest political officer on this frontier, and a man of much ability, energy, and judgment, with considerable experience in administrative duties.' . . . And Lieutenant Anderson is spoken of as an excellent Oriental scholar, who was for some time Deputy-Collector in Sindh under Sir Charles Napier, and has travelled through the whole of the IMooltan districts." * These two young men were chosen at Lahore to proceed Truth to Mooltan on special duty. And here conies in a romance t^a'n'Hc^- of history, more vivid and exciting than any romance of tion. fiction. IMoolraj Avas the Governor of IMooltan under the Sikh Moolraj Government ; but failing in his payment of tribute or in his ^eg^en^" faculty for wielding independent authority, and, from the protection afforded by the English power at Lahore, being unable to oppress his people to his heart's content, he came to Lahore and pressed upon the Durbar his proposal to resign. Every opportunity was given to him to recall his wish to be relieved of his office as Dewan or Governor of Mooltan, l)ut \\v. persisted in it. It was therefore arranged that two English officers should go to him two months before his resignation ; that he should instal them in charge, and initiate them himself. It was at his own earnest desire, and not in any way to take his government from him, that they were sent. And * See Blue-Book, ['age 120. 92 sin iiEnnERT b. ebwahdes. [i848. this, nftor repeatedly giving liiin tlic njitioii of retracting his iirst voluntary proposal. These remarks are made to show the treachery of the deeds that follow. As Edwardes says — " Into tlie elear hearts and open acts of the British officers you may look for ever, and find no cause for the rebellion.* " The hot weather was beginning, and they were induced by tlie heat to proceed by water, while their escort marched by land. The Sikh escort f consisted of about fourteen hundred men, the Goorkha regiment of Infantry six hundred strong, seven hundred Cavalry, and one hundred Artillery- men with six guns. Arrival and " They all met together at Mooltan on April 18, ment. and encamped in the Jiiedgah, a spacious Mahommedan building within cannon-shot of the north face of the fort, and about a mile from Moolraj's residence, which was a garden-house outside the fort, called the Am-Khas. " Early on the morning of April 19 the two British officers and Sirdar Khan Singh | accompanied Moolraj into the fort. They were shown all over it ; received the keys ; were invited by Moolraj to install their own Goorkhas in possession, and plant their own sentinels. Tney mustered Moolraj's garrison, who seemed angry at the prospect of losing employment ; allayed their fears with promise of service, and prepared to return, Mr. Agnew speaking kindly to them, and assuring them that they should be kept in their present service and their present grades. " The whole party then mounted, Mr. Agnew going on with Moolraj, followed by Lieutenant Anderson with Khan Singh. They passed forth, and on to the bridge over the ditch. Two soldieis of Moolraj were standing on the bridge. * " A Year on the Punjab Frontier," vol. ii. page 58. t All Datives. % The uew Nazim. 1848.] TIIEACIIERY AT MOOLTAX. 03 "One of them, named Umoer Chiind, j^;i/e(l for ;i momont at the two umirmcd Eiiglislimcn, and then struck ]Mr. Agnew 80 unexpectedly with a spear in the side that ho unhorsed him, and Agnew sprang to his feet ; at the same instant ]\r()ulnij's horse reared, and he forthwith I'ode off to the Am-lvhas, making no attempt to interfere. "Agnew, who was ignorant of fear, struck liis as.-jaihmt with tlie riding-stick in liis hand. The ruffian threw away liis sjiear, and, rusliing in with liis sword, inflicted two severer wounds. He would probably have killed jMr. Agnew on the spot had he not been knocked into the ditch by a horseman of the escort. The scuffle was now known ; the crowd pressed round to see what was the matter. News was cariied back into the fort that swords were out on the bridge ; an uproar rose within ; and in another moment the whole garrison came pouring forth. " ]\[oolraj had got safe back to the xVm-Khiis. Nor was this all ; his own personal Sowars turned back ludf-u'ciy, and j)ursued Lieutenant Anderson, who had, till now, escaped. "Who can tell now who ordered them to go back ? These men sought out Anderson, attacked and cut him down with swords, so that ho fell for dead upon the ground, where he •was found afterwards by some of his own Goorkha soldiers, who put him on a litter and carried him back to the Eedgah. ]\Ieanwhile Sirdar Khan Singh extricated Agnew from the mob, lifted him on his own elephant, and hurried away, roughly binding up his wounds as ho went along. "The road lay past the end of IMoolraj's garden, but Mcohaj's . , 1 1 1 J2 1 COIuluct. findinir e;uns were bemjr drawn out and matchlocks tired, they took another road. iNFoolraj was inside. If he had not ordered them to fire, how came they to do so ? " At the Eedirah, whence they had started, the two friends Meeting of IT 11 i-p the two met. A sad meeting for them, who had gone out full of life, friends. and health, and zeal to do their duty. Their wounds dressed, Mr. Agnew drew up a report of these occurrences to wai-coun- 04 Sm HERBERT B. EDWARD ES. [1848. Appeal to the Resident at Lahore ; addressed a letter to Moolraj, '' expressing a generous disbelief in his participation, but calling on him to justify this opinion by seizing the guilty parties, and coming himself to see them at the Eedgah." This Avas at eleven, and at two Mr. Agnew wrote off to Edwardes and Cortlandt for assistance.* His reply. " ]\[oolraj briefly sent a message he could neither give up Conduct of tlie guilty nor come himself. Agnew behaved with con- lishmen." summatc calmness and heroism. He pointed out to the messenger how absolutely indispensable it was for Moolraj to come to them, if he wished to be thought innocent. But IMoolraj never came, and his message briefly advised them to see to their own safety. Moohaj's "The messenger on his return found his master now presiding in a war-council of his chiefs. The Puthans of the garrison were setting their seals to an oath of allegiance on the Koran ; the Hindoos, on the Shastras ; the Sikhs, on the holy Grunth. " The Sikhs were fastening a war-bracelet on the wrist of JMoolraj himself! " On the evening and night of April 19 the whole of the * A transcript of poor Agnew's last wordsmay be added in a note. The original is still preserved, scrawled ia a hurried hand. " Mooltan, 2 p.m. April 19. "My dear Sir, " You have been ordered to send one regiment here. Pray let it march instantly, or, if gone, hasten to top speed. If you can .spare another, pray send it also, " I am responsible for the measure. I am cut up a little, and on my back. Lieutenant Anderson is much worse. He has five sword-wounds ; I have two in my left arm from warding sabre-cuts, and a poke in the ribs with a spear. " I don't think Moolraj has anything to do with it. I was riding with him when we were attacked. He rode off, but is now said to be in the hands of the soldiery. " Hum Singh and his people all right. " Yours in haste, " (Signed) P. A. Vans Agnew. "To General Cortlandt, or Lieutenant Ivlwardes, Bunnoo." Irfl8.] MOOLItAJ DECLARES REBELLION. W') carriiifj^o-cattle of the officers and tlieir escort, wliicli were out grazing, were carried off. No flight was pos-*ible. But tliese brave men thought not of flight. " ]\rorning broke, and IMr. Agnew made one last effort to avert tlie coming tragedy. "Ho forwarded to I\rooIraj's officers the puruannas of the Lastappcnl Maharajah, ordering them to make over the fort to Sirdar "" ^^^' Khan Singh, and obey all ]\[r. Agnew's orders. " The messengers found Moolraj again engaged in council with his chiefs and organizing the rebellion. " These messengers were told Moolraj was their master, and they would only obey him. Tliis extinguished hope. "Agnew wrote to the British Agent at Bhawulpoor to bring troops to his assistance, intending to hold out in the Eedgah till this reinforcement could arrive. " All disguise was now cast aside. The guns of the fort opened on the Eedgah. The Lahore Artillerymen refused to serve the guns. The fire of the rebels never slackened. ... " And now arrived an Embassy from Moolraj in return for ]\Ir. Agnew's. IMoolraj invited the escort to desert the Ihitish officers, and promised to raise the pay of every soldier who came over. " One Golab Singh, commandant of the Ghorchurruhs of the escort, led the way, and went over to Moolraj, who tricked the traitor out with gold necklaces and bracelets, and sent him back as a decoy. In vain Mr. Agnew bestowed money on the troops to hold out for three days only. It was honest money. " The troops went over — Horse, Foot, Artillery ; all had deserted by the evening, except Sirdar Khan Singh, some eight or ton faithful horsemen, the domestic servants of tlio British officers, and the moonshees of their office. "Beneath the lofty central dome of that empty hull, so strong and formidable that a very few stout hearts couM iiave 96 sm iJEnnEirr n. ejjwahjje.s. [isis. defemled it, stood this luiscrablu group, around the beds of tlie two wounded Englishmen. All hope of resistance being at an end, IMr. Agnevv had sent a party to ]\loolraj to ask for peace. A conference ensued, and in the end it was agreed that the ofTicers were to quit the country, and that the attack upon them was to cease. Too late ! " The sun had gone down, twilight was closing in, and the rebel army had not tasted blood, A cry fur " xVu indistinct and distant murmur reached the ears of the few remaining inmates of the Eedgah, who were listen- ing for their fate. Louder and louder it grew until it became a cry — the cry of a multitude for blood ! "On they came, from city, suburbs, fort — soldiers with their arms ; citizens, young and old, and of all trades and callings, with any weapon they could snatch. " A company of Moolraj's Muzbees (or outcasts, turned Sikhs) led the mob. A cruel " It was an appalling sight, and Sirdar Khan Singh beireed of Mr. Agnew to be allowed to wave a sheet and DO O sue for mercy. AYeak in body from loss of blood, Agnew's heart failed him not. He replied, 'The time for mercy is gone ; let none be asked for. They can kill us two if they like, but we are not the last of the English. Thousands of Englishmen will come doivn here ivhen we are gone, and annihilate Moolraj and his soldiers, and his fort. . . . " The crowd now rushed in with horrible shouts, made Khan Singli prisoner, and, pushing aside the servants with the butts of their muskets, surrounded the two wounded officers. " Lieutenant Anderson from the first had been too much wounded even to move ; and now Mr. Agnew was sitting by his bedside, holding his hand, and talking in English. Doubtless they were bidding each other farewell for all Time. " But the time was short. 1818.] SCENE IN MOOLRAJ' S COURT. 07 " Goodhur Sinirli, a Muzbee, so deformed and crippled The end of ° • 1 1 the tragedy. with wouuds that he looked more like an imp than mortal man, stepped forth from the crowd with drawn sword, and, after insulting ]\Ir. Aguew with a few last indignities, struck him twice upon the neck, and with a third blow cut off his head. Some other wretch discharged a musket into the life- less body. " Then Anderson was hacked to death with swords ; and afterwards the two bodies were dragged outside, and slashed and insulted by the crowd, and left all night under the sky. . . . " Morning assembles the crowd again ; no longer furious, but content. Whither go they ? To the Am-Khas, Moolraj's palace, for he is now a king. . . . " There sits the arch-rebel, in High Durbar, taunting Scene in iloolraj's Sirdar Khan Singh, late his rival, now his prisoner. Goodhur court. Singh, the murderer, approaches, and presents a head — noble still in death. The crowd make way for him as for some good man, and call him the second prophet. UmeerChund, who assaulted Agnew at the fort, is called the first. " Moolraj rewards the second prophet with an elephant, some money, and the horse bis victim rode ; and long after- wards poor Aguew's servants, peeping from their hiding- places in the suburbs, could see their master's assassin capering through the street on their master's well-remem- bered horse. "The head was then thrown into the lap of Sirdar Khan Singh, who is told to 'take the head of the youth he had brought donn to govern at jMooltan.' " The Sirdar, thinking over many kindnesses and benefits he had received at the hands of Mr. Agnew, burst into tears. The head was immediately taken from him. It was not allowed to be wept over. Indignities followed which it can indignities c\ PC • \ 11 tothemur- serve no good purpose to repeat. Sufnce it that, as all dered Eng- things pall in this world, so Moolraj and the multitude ''^•*™®°' VOL. I. H 98 SIR HERBERT B. EDWARD ES. [1818. outside at last grew weary of dishonoui'iug the murdered Englishmen. " Moolraj ordered them to be buried, and they were laid in a hasty grave among the tufts of grass by the Eedgah, near the place of their murder. " Twice the people of Mooltan tore them up, to rob them of the clothes that wrapped them. A third time they were buried, and a sentry placed over the spot till they were for- gotten by their murderers, Mooiraj's " Such was Dowaii Moolraj's rebellion in its rise. Can rebellion in r, i • i • i- n o its rise. any one pity such a rebel in his tall t " Moolraj is not less a murderer because he was one on a large scale, and murdered with an army instead of a kitchen-knife. He was the assassin of his invited guests; the traitor who dethroned the dynasty under which his family rose from insignificance to honour; the rebel who, striking selfishly for his own independence, ri vetted the chains of his country." The commotion caused by this event was not limited to Mooltan, but spread from thence into other provinces, and resulted in a general insurrection of the Punjab. Agnew's AVhile this terrible scene was enacting at Mooltan, poor letter Agiiew's letter, written on April 19, 1848, was making its reaches o ' . Edwardes, way to Edwardes's camp. It reached him on the 22nd, and at once he hastened to their succour. Edwardes tells the story — " It was towards evening of the 22nd, at Dera Futteh Khan, on the Indus, that I was sitting in a tent full of Beloochee zamindars,* who were either robbers, robbed, or witnesses to the robberies of their neighbours, taking evidence in a trial. Loud footsteps, as of some one running, were heard without, came nearer as we all looked up and listened, and at last stopped before the door. There was a whispering, a scraping off of shoes, and brushing off of dust from the * Owners of land. 1848.] AGNEW'S LETTER liEACHES EDWARDES. 09 wearer's feet, and then the purdah (curtain) of the door was lifted, and a kossid (running messenger), stripped to the waist and steaming with heat, entered and presented a letter- bag, whose crimson hue proclaimed the urgency of its contents. " * It was from the Sahib in Mooltan,' he said, ' to the Sabib in Bunnoo ; but as I was here I might as well look at it.' " I took it up, and read the Persian superscription on the bag: *To General Cortlandt, in Bunnoo, or wherever else he may be.' " It was, apparently, not for me, but it was for an officer under my orders, and the messenger said it was on important public service. I had, therefore, a right to open it, if I thought it necessary. But there was something in the kossid's manner which aliJce compelled me to open it and forbade me either to question him before the crowd around me, or show any anxiety about it. " So I opened it as deliberately as I could, and found an English letter enclosed, directed to either General Cort- landt or myself. It was a copy taken by a native clerk of a public letter addressed to Sir Frederick Currie by Mr. P. Vans Agnew, one of his assistants on duty at Mooltan, with a postscript in pencil, written by Mr. Agnew and addressed to us. " Appended is a faithful fac-simile, which will be re- garded with mournful interest as the last tracings of a hand, ever generous, ever brave, which held fast honour and pul»lic duty to the death. "During the perusal of this letter I felt that all eyes were upon me, for no one spoke, not a pen moved, and there was that kind of hush which comes over an assembly under some indefinite feeling of alarm. I never remember in my life being more moved, or feeling more painfully the necessity of betraying no emotion. After lingering over the last few 100 SJIi HERB E It T B. EDWAIWES. [1848. sentences as long as I could, I looked up at the kossid, and said, ' Very good ! Sit down in that corner of the tent, and I'll attend to you as soon as I have done this trial.' Then turning to the gaping moonshees, I bade them ' go on with the evidence ; ' and the disappointed crowd once more bent their attention on the witnesses. But from that moment I heard no more. My eyes, indeed, were fixed mechanically on the speakers, but my thoughts were at Mooltan, with my wounded countrymen, revolving how I ought to act to assist them." * His design Although he had at his disposal only a single Infantry for relief, native regiment, and an inadequate force for such an enter- prise, he conceived the daring design of driving the rebel Moolraj into his fortress of ]\Iooltan, and of rescuing the whole of the country around ]\Iooltan from his grasp. But his first act was to send off a letter in reply to Agnew, to assure him that he should lose no time in hastening to his assistance. " Camp, Dera Futteh Khan, April 22, 1848. Reply to " My DEAE AgNEW, "Your letter of April 19 to General Cortlandt reached my camp at three p.m. to-day, and I fortunately opened it, to see if it was on public business. " I need scarcely say that I have made arrangements for marching to your assistance at once. I have one Infantry regiment and four extra companies, two Horse Artillery guns, twenty zumbooruks ; f and between three and four hundred horse. This is a small force, but such as it is you are welcome to it, and me. " Your position is one of immense peril ; but God will bring an honest man out of worse straits, so trust in Him, and keep up your pluck. . . . Rely on it, it shall not be my * "A Year on the Punjab Frontier." t Camel-mounted guns. uaix^'i .-:h... ^ -,LIUM.'a3D^''-i SM3N0V HOC -01 HVAa ATIM -as: insiTH' MQ-aH^ HIS O hW jo 3J.VDIT NMOa '8t'8T 11 i72: t-^U I'lTY^i / e,^^ ■^'^'Z^,,^ '^^X-^L-^^e^y^''^^ Y~Zau^^^t^ /^^C-^^i^ '^i:^''*^*^^. <^-v^ 'C/ «_-p ■^r; ^-^^-^v ^ "Hj c f. .^^-- '^f':. >;^ '^^.^^li- yC-^^^ --c) 1/ ? f7 / 1818.] MEASURES TAKEN AOAINST MOOLRAJ. 101 fault if we are a day later than the 27t]i ; but the very suiind of our approach will be a check to your rascally enemies ; and to you as refreshing as the breeze which heralds the rising suu at morning. " If you are pressed, pray bring away Anderson, and join me. AVith all my heart I hope you are both safe at this moment. Write — write ; and believe me, with the sincerest wishes, in weal or woe, " Yours aye, "(Signed) Herbert B. Edwardes." The cheery ring from this glowing Iieart would have Too late! encouraged the brave fellows if it had ever reached them. But they were past all succour before Edwardes's return- messenger reached Mooltan. Startled from his plans of legislative improvement and Measures moral regeneration in Eunnoo in this rough \?ay, Edwardes aLi^nst quickly set himself to raise the mountain tribes, to discipline Moolraj, raw levies, with the view to drive back the rebel chieftain behind the very walls of the fortress from whose citadel lie had long oppressed the surrounding country, and within which he had now crowned his oppression of his own people by murder and rebellion. How Edwardes gathered his army, and maintained and How fed ]xaid his soldiers, may best be told in his own words. We '^° ^^' * liave already noted how, when he held up his hand for soldiers, the soldiers came ; and now he had real need of them. The force that he raised, was fed and paid out of the revenues of the country which it conquered. " I commenced tlie war," he says, " with a few thousand rupees in hand, and maintained it for nine months with an expenditure, civil and military, of two lakhs of rupees a month, without receiving more than one lakh from the Sikh and another from the British Government. " Commissariat I had none at first ; but the war was in a fat country, and to find corn we had only to find money. 102 SIR HER BERT D. EDWARDES. [1848. Geneial Cortlandh Wild dis- cipline. Existing rivalries controlled. Concernine plunder. " In the extensive financial arrangements which such wants and expenditure required, I was assisted more than I can sufficiently express by General Cortlandt, one of the best coadjutors ever man had. The soldiers, being poor, were paid regularly every fortnight throughout the war. " As to discipline ; there was no time to attempt what regular soldiers call discipline. The men had to fight the day after they were enlisted, and they could only fight their own way. All I did was to make the best of their way ; to draw tight such discipline as they had. "So while Foujdar Khan gathered all his ]\rooltanee Puthans around him, I encouraged Futteh Khan To- wannuh to summon his father's friends. " Bitter and deadly hatreds and jealousies raged between them ; but separate ends of the encampment were assigned to each, and morning and evening, when I held Durbar, native fashion, on the ground, to please my men, the various officers of either party ranged themselves behind the young Mullick or Foujdar, on opposite sides of the carpet, and viewed each other with subdued resentment. Occasionally a rush would be made by both parties to get on my right hand, but by equal kindness and access to both, by equal- izing their pay, and advising them in their squabbles, I soon got them to lie down together like the lion and the lamb, and at last, little more of their former enmity remained than served as a useful rivalry in the field. " With regard to plunder ; discipline was steadily en- forced. Had the smallest offence of this kind been over- looked, the whole force would have become a band of robbers, and I made instant and severe examples of every offender. If a soldier ivanted his discharge without pay, he had nothing to do but to go to a field and steal a sugar-cane, when he was followed by the screaming husbandman to my tent, and took the consequences. " It is a pleasing reflection to me that, under the pro- 1848.] EFFEQTIVE DISCIPLINE SAVED CROPS. 103 tection of the irregular force, while blockading Moolraj, Effective ., 77/'77 Tir? discipline Moolraj s tenants saved the fields around Mod fan. saved the " As to fighting ; this is a very easy matter if men Moo'haJ'g are brave, and ou the Indus frontier the population lived *^<^°^'»'s- in a state of feud. . . " As for a reserve ; I never permitted such a thing. A Reserve, regular army may rally and return to the charge. " I have seen my own glorious corps, the 1st Bengal Fusiliers, return a third time to the attack of a Sikh entrenchment higher than their heads, after two cruel repulses, and with two hundred of their men and officers down on the ground. That was at Sobraon. Did they get in? Of course they got in. Such troops must get in! But it is a very different thing with undisciplined armies. "They are either successful or defeated at once. There is no middle course ; no doubt about the matter. No reserve will ever stop their flight; but the 'reserve' will run, and run, with the advance that has been repulsed. "The force was kept together during nine months of varying success, by regular pay and kind treatment. "The officers I learnt to know well — their characters, influence. their circumstances, and their wants ; and by living the same life they did, wearing the same dress, talking the same language, and sharing with them all dangers and fatigues, they became attached to me and I to them. " I believe that, when the war was over and we had seen our mutual enemy subdued, to part was a mutual sorrow. " Wild, barbarous, indififereut to human life, they were yet free, simple as children, brave, faithful to their masters, sincere towards their God. During the wholo war I never lost by desertion one man of all whom I had enlisted. . . . "The crowded city has its virtues, but so has the desert and the mountain ; and he who walks the world aright will 04 Sm II Eli BERT n. EDWAHDES. [1848. find sometLing good wliercver be finds man, and nothing barren from Dan to Beersheba." * This was the material with whicli Edwardes prepared to do his work. The generous confidence, as well as the vigorous hand and the masterly intellect with which he performed it, tell their own tale. He saw the disastrous consequences of defeat on the frontier and of delay, which would allow IMoolraj to get possession of the country, collect the revenue, gather recruits, and strengthen himself at Mooltan. And if the British army could not take the field till after the rains, all our difficulties would only increase. * Archdeacon Hare, in his "Guesses at Truth," p. 411, has noticed with approval Edwardes's confidence in his fellow-men. He says, " I cannot deny myself the pleasure of confirming what is here said, by the authority of one of those great soldiers and statesmen whom our Indian empire breeds, and who has exemi)lified the power of these principles by his own wonderful achievements, both pacific and military, on the banks of the Indus. Llajor Edwardes, in his 'Year on the Punjab Frontier,' after speaking of an expedition he undertook into the country of the savage Yizeeree tribes, relying on the honour of one of their chiefs, adds, ' I pause ujxin this apparently trifling incident for no foolish vanity of my own, but for the benefit of others ; for hoping, as I earnestly do, that many a young soldier, glancing over these pages, will gather heart and encour- agement for the stormy lot before him, I desire above all things to put into his hand the staff of confidence in his fellow-men. " Candid and generous and just, Boys care but little whom they trust, — An error soon corrected ; For who but learns in riper years That man, when smoothest he appears, Is most to be suspected ? " — is a verse very pointed and clever, but quite unworthy of the " Ode to Friendship," and inculcating a creed which would make a sharper or a monk of whoever should adopt it. The man who cannot trust others is, by his own showing, untrustworthy himself. Suspicious of all, depending on himself for everything, from the conception to the deed, the ground-plan to the chimney-pot, he will fail for want of the heads of Hydra, and the hands of Briareus. If there is any lesson that I have learnt from life, it is that human nature, black or white, is better than we think it, and he who reads these pages to a close will see how much faith I have had occasion to place in the rudest and wildest of their species, how nobly it was deserved, and how useless I should have been without it ' (from ' Year on the Punjab Frontier ')." 1848.] STRENGTH OF ARMY OF MOOLIiAJ. 105 " The only move wbicli can save tliis frontier," Edwardes writes, "is, in my opinion, the advance of ]iha\vul Khan's army across the Sutlej, so as to threaten Mooltiin, and oblige Moolruj to recall his frontier expeditions." He writes to the Kesident at Lahore — " 1 see by the papers that the idea has got about that Moolraj has sixty thousand soldiers ; at present he has not more than ten thousand. But if Mooltan is not invested, however slightly, and a few months elapse before any steps are taken to check his present career of iujpunity, those who best know the military resources of this frontier are quite of opinion that he may gather fifty thousand; from what I see, I quite agree with them."* The scenes rapidly deepen in interest, but they are fully told in Edwardes's own book ; and our space obliges us to content ourselves with a glance only at some of them — a hasty sketch and a few extracts. Those who want to follow him closer tlirough these nine months of scenes of danger and of chivalry, should take up liis " Year on the Punjab Frontier," and they will not be disajipointed. " General Cortlandt was already co-operating nobly with Edwardes, and none saw clearer than he to what end events were tending; none new better the value of every hour." Now comes a letter from the Resident at Lahore (June 5, 1848)— " The account you give of your force is highly satis- * In the Calcutta lieuiew. No. 43, April, 1854, tliero is au article by Sir Henry Lawrence (in answer to some assertions made by Sir Charles Napier), in which he says, writing of Edwardes, " Since the days of Clive no man lias done as Edwardes, nor do I know many who could and would have acted as he did, on the Mooltan outbreak. Few indeed, with his means, wouhl have taken the same decided step, and fewer could liave carried it out."' lOG SIB nERBERT B. EDWABDES. [1848. factory, and reflects the greatest credit ou your zeal and perseverance, ^Yhicll have raised the greater part of it and made it what it is in the short space of a month." And to the Secretary of the Government of India, by the same, and same date — *'I forward a letter from Lieutenant Edwardes. His Lordship will perceive that this enterprising and energetic oflicer has entirely succeeded in performing the duty assigned to him of getting possession of and holding the whole of the Mooltan districts Trans-Indus." Edwardes writes to the Eesident — Nawab of " I havc Urged Bhawul Khan to put his troops across pore CO- the Sutlej, and co-operate. . . . The Nawab has a very fine operates. Yi^Wq force of from ten thousand to twelve thousand men, well equipped and disciplined, and composed almost entirely of fighting Puthaus. . . . He is desirous that a British o£Scer should be with his force." Lieutenant Edward Lake (Engineers), Acting Deputy- Commissioner at Jullundur, w^as deputed to Bhawulpore. The Eesident writes : " He is a very intelligent, active officer, with great knowledge of the natives, and peculiar tact in managing them and gaining their regard." Here, then, were two brother-assistants of Henry Lawrence's old band at work together again. Xn old " Lieutenant Lake was, in fact, constituted the Com- friend mandcr-in-chief of tbe Daoodpootra army," says Edwardes. the scene. How well he justified that unusual trust, to the mutual honour of his own Government and that of the troops he led, appears abundantly in Edwardes' s reports. He gives the following testimony to his friend, and the insertion of it may be pardoned now. "By his instructions from the Resident, he was not put 1848.] FRIENDS IN COUNCIL. 107 under my comruancl. It seemed enough to tell Lim * to co-operate accordiug to his own judgment and discretion.' But he did more. Events brought us irresistibly together. Before Lieutenant Lake could reach his army, I had crossed the Chenab, and saved the Dauodpootras from a disastrous defeat at Kinyeree ; and, finding me in the successful execution of my own plans, Lake at once put himself under my command, and, without one selfish thought, devoted his rare abilities and energy to second the operations of another. I felt the generosity of the action then ; but I do more full justice to it now, when I can look back calmly on those stormy times, and remember how impossible it was that two younfr heads should always think alike, however true tlieir F'ien'is m JO J ' council. hearts kept time ; yet never was there anything but unity of action in the field. " Seldom, indeed, did we differ, even in the council-tent ; but if we had two plans, Lake manfully exposed the weak- nesses of mine, and if I \\as not to be convinced (as I own I very seldom was), he gave up his own better judgment, and made mine perfect by the heartiness of his assistance in giving it efi'ect. " My peaceful readers, whose experience of ' heroes ' has happily been confined within the limits of the biographical dictionary or the smooth historian's page, may think so well of soldier-nature as to deem Lake's magnanimity and lack of jealousy a thing of course ; but others who have lived in camps will know both its rarity and its value, and esteem it the most unfading of the laurels won by Edward Lake under the walls of Mooltan. ' Better is he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.' " Nothing so mean as jealousy could exist between two such noble spirits and firm friends. It is dwelt upon here in a parenthesis, as a pleasant picture of Indian life. But it was one only out of many ; for all the band of A giimpso noble brotherhood gathered at Lahore under Henry Lawrence 108 SIR nERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1848. the As- iu 184G, and since scattered over the wild country, are doing sustauts glorious work — Lieutenant Key ncll Taylor iu Bunnoo; Major George Lawrence and Nicholson in Peshawur; Captain James xVbbott in Hazara ; John Becher at Batala, and all rejoicing in each other's success. There was no rivalry, but in achiev- ing good results. On June 10 the Eesident at Lahore wrote to Edwardes, giving him carte-hlanche to act as he thought best, and on June 18 was fought the first battle with Moolraj's troops — the l)attle of Kinyeree. Battle of " The rebel army of from eight to ten thousand Horse vinjLiee. _^^^ Foot and ten guns, commanded by Moolraj's brother-in- law, Rung Ram, and the Daoodpootra army of about eight thousand five hundred Horse and Foot, eleven guns and thirty zumboorahs, commanded by Futteh Mahommed Khan, were on the left bank of the river. "My force, consisting of two divisions (one of faithful regulars, Foot and Artillery, of the Sikh service, about fifteen hundred men and ten guns, under General Cort- laudt ; and another of about five thousand irregulars. Horse and foot, and thirty zumboorahs, under my own personal command), was upon the right bank, on June 17. " A strong division of three thousand Puthan Irregulars crossed that day, and Foujdar Khan (who by this time had become the Adjutant-General of the Puthan levies) led them on to join the Daoodpootras, which they did a little before sunrise." Edwardes determined to cross with the rest of the force the following morning. His own pen will tell the story best. June 18. " I slept that night on the right bank, intending to take Kinyeree. o^^r a sccoud divisiou as soon as the fleet returned from its first voyage. But at six a.m. on the 18th no fleet was to be seen. Two little ferry-boats had, however, come up from another ferry, and getting into these, with a few horsemen 1848.] OPENING OF FIRE. 100 and servants, and leaving General Cortlandt to pass the rest of the force over as rapidly as he could, I pushed ofT for Kinyeree. " About a hundred yards from the left lank I was Opening ^f •' _ the nre. roused from a * brown study ' — not unnatural amid plans so doubtful in their issue, so heavy in their responsibility — by a burst of Artillery within a mile or two of the shore. A second cannonade replied, was answered, and replied again, and two t^iU opposite columns of white smoke rose out of the jungle, higher and higher at every discharge, as if each strove to get above its adversary ; then broke and pursued each other in thick clouds over the fair and peaceful sky. . . . " Gazing at this unmistakable symbol of the fight below, Different I could scarcely forbear smiling at the different specula- tfo'i^rcaused tions of my companions in the boat. The servants, men of thereby. peace, declared and hoped it was only a salute fired by the Daoodpootras in honour of the allies who had just joined them; but the horsemen knit their brows, and devoutly cried, * Al- lah ! Al-lah ! ' at every shot, w ith an emphasis like pain on the last syllable. They quite felt there was a fight going on* " For my own part I felt so too ; and as I stepped on shore, and buckled the strap of my cap under my chin, I remember thinking that no Englishman could be beaten on June 18. " Nor am I ashamed to remember that I bethought me Trust. of a still happier omen and a far more powerful aid — the goodness of my cause, and the God who defends the riglit. A young lieutenant, who had seen but one campaign, alone, Discoumge- and without any of the means and appliances of such war as ™'^"** I had been apprenticed to, I was about to take command, in the midst of a battle, not only of one force whose courage I had never tried, but of another that I had never seen ; and to engage a third, of which the numbers were uncertain, with the knowledge that defeat would immeasurably extend the 110 SIB UEBBEIiT B. EBWABDES. [1848- rebellion which I had undertaken to suppress, and embarrass A critical \\^q Government I had volunteered to serve. Yet, in that great extremity, I doubted only for a moment — one of those long moments to which some angel seems to hold a micro- scope, and show millions of things within it. It came and went between the stirrup and the saddle. It brought with it difficulties, dangers, responsibilities, and possible con- sequences terrible to face ; but it left none behind. " I knew I was fighting for the right. I asked God to help me to do my duty, and I rode on, certain that He would do it. Who shall " On the shore not a creature was to be seen ; so we had guide*"? to take the smoke and roar of guns for our guides to the field of battle. But how to find out my own side was a difficulty, and not to fall into the hands of the enemy. On one side the firing was regular, and apparently from guns of equal calibre ; on the other side, irregular and unequal, as if from guns of different sizes. Obliged to choose between them, I paid the enemy the compliment of supposing their guns would be the best, and those of Bhawul Khan the worst, and rode straight through the jungle to the latter. " At the village of Kinyeree I got a wretched peasant to put us on our road, though he would not go a yard along with us ; and soon we met a horseman who had been despatched by Foujdar Khan to tell me what had happened and con- duct me to the field. . . . "From him I learnt that Kung Ram, the rebel com- mander, had taken up a strong position on the salt-hills of the village of Noonar, and then opened on the allies. Hot- tempered, brave, but ignorant of fields, and consequently rash, the Daoodpootra levies lifted up their voices in one vast shout of their master's name, then rushed impetuously forward, without waiting for an order or asking for a plan. Their very baggage was mixed up with them ; the Artillery was entangled ; and the fire which poured down upon them 1848.] THE GENEBAL OF THE ALLIES. 1 1 1 from the heights of Noonar was so diflferent from the match- lock volleys of their own border warfare, that they staggered, stopped, and finally fell back in a mass of confusion upon a village in their rear. . . . " It was at this moment of confusion that I arrived at the field — a plain covered with jungle, amongst which loaded camels were passing to the rear, out of range of the enemy's guns, and detachments of wild-looking warriors, with red hair and beards,* were taking up a line of posts. Suddenly A pleasing a European stepped out of the crowd, and advanced in a hurried manner, wiping his forehead and exclaiming, ' Oh sir, our army is disorganized ! ' — a pleasing salutation on arriving at a field of battle ! He then told me his name was Macpherson, and that he commanded one of the Nawab's two regular regiments. I asked him where his general was. He laughed, and pointed to a large peepul tree, round which a crowd gathered. I galloped up, and, looking over the shoulders of the people, saw a little old man, in dirty clothes, and with nothing but a skull-cap on his head, sitting under the tree, with a rosary in his hands, the beads of which he was rapidly telling, and muttering in a peevish, helpless manner. ' Ulhumdoolillah ! TheGenemi Ulhumdoolillah ! (' God be praised ! God be praised ! ') apparently quite abstracted from the scene around him, and utterly unconscious that six-pounder balls were going through the branches, that officers were imploring him for orders, and that eight or nine thousand rebels were waiting to destroy an army of which he was the General. " He had to be shaken by his people before he could comprehend that I had arrived ; and as he rose and tottered forward, looking vacantly in my face, I saw that excitement had completed the imbecility of his years, and that I might as well talk to a post. * The Daoodpootras are fund of staining their hair red, as others are of stainius it black. 112 SIR HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [18J8. "Turning, tbcrefore, to the many Lnive and experienced oflBcers of his staff, and to Peer Ibralieem Kiian, who now came up, I learnt the general nature of their position ; and A critical then struck out a plan for the day. ' Nothing,' I said, ' can be emeigeac). ^^^^ ^^.^^l^ ^^ army SO disorganized as this, or with guns such as Peer Ibraheeni describes yours to be. The enemy has taken up a strong position, and will probably prepare to be attacked. It is not likely that he will attack us until he thinks we don't mean to attack him. I will write to Faces the General Cortlandt to send over the guns, and not a move po,i ion. jjjust be made till they come. In the meanwhile, occupy yourselves with recovering the order of your force, make the whole lie down in the jungle, keep them as much under cover as possible, and let your Artillery play away as hard as they can on the enemy's guns. Above all, stand fast and be patient.' " I then betook myself to the left where my own three thousand men were posted ; and as I rode down the Daoodpootra line, and received the loud greetings of the soldiers, I saw how timely had been my arrival. I had not joined them in a moment of triumph, but of trial. They found their ally for the first time when (in Asia at least) allies are most seldom found — in the hour of diflSculty ; and seeing a single British officer come amongst them to share dangers they were encountering for the British Government, they felt its justice, and took heart again. . . . Fniijdiir " I found mv own three thousand men, who had stuck good ally, their standards upright in the turf, and were lying down in a beautiful line between them. This was the work of Foujdar Khan, and I loudly praised all the otlier officers as they flocked around me, " I now dismounted from my horse, and asked, without much hopes if any one had got pen and paper. " ' Sahib ! ' replied a well-known voice behind me, and, turning, I beheld Sudda Sookh, the monnshee of my office, 1848.] A FAITIIFL'L MOONSIIEE. 11 .'J pulling out a CasLmere penbox {unn liis girdle, just as f]ui<.'tly us if he bad been in Cutcherry. He had no sword or other implements of war, but merely the writing materials, with which it was his duty to be furnished ; and, though he looked si'rious and grave, he was perfeetly calm amid the roar of hostile cannons and men's heads occasionally going off before his eyes. " ' What are you doing here, Sudda Sookh ? ' I asked A faithful nidonsht'c, in astonishment. Sn i.b "He put up his hands respectfully, and answered, 'My "" '" place is with my master. I live by his service; and when he dies, I die ! ' A more striking instance of the quiet endurance of the Hindoo character I never saw.* " Seating myself under a bush, I wrote two short notes to Cortlandt, informing him of our critical position, and my belief that I could hold out until three p.m., by which time be must send me guns, or the battle would be lost. " They were written at eight, and what I had engaged to do was to stave off Rung Ram's army for seven hours. Those seven hours I should never forget if I lived seven centuries. "The firing on both sides continued for six hours with- Diflkulty out slackening ; and though the Daoodpootra Artillery drew ^ '^'' '^"^'"' the heaviest fire to the right of our line, yet my Puthaus got so much more than they were ever used to in the petty raids of their own frontier, that they were continually springing up and demanding to be led on against the enemy. * Look here ! ' they cried ' and there, and there ! ' (pointing to men as they were hit). ' Are we all to be killed without a * Tliis fine fuUow was the moonsliee who fir.->t tauglit Edwardes languages when he was a subaltern with his regiment, and lie became so attached and faithful that he never left his service, but was the head niooushee In his udice to the last day of Edwanies's labours in India. He was a man of noble bearing and tlio strictest probity, never taking a bribe nor falling into any native vices. He was renowned as a good man, and universally respected, VOL. I. I Hi ;S77i' HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [18.18. blow? What sort of war do you call this, 'where Ihere is iron on one side and only flesh and blood on the other ? Lead us on, and let us strike a blow for our lives! '. . . Then the officers crowded round, and every one thought he was a general, and if only I would listen to liim (pulling me by the sleeve to interrupt my rebuke to some one else), the battle would be mine. " But of all the advisers, I must do them the justice to say that none counselled a retreat. Every voice was for attack. Wait for " Foujdar Khan and one or two others alone supported the guns. . . • p /^ i i j my opinion, that we must wait lor Lortlandt s guns. " Happily I had no doubt or misgiving in my own mind. I never bad a clearer conviction in my life than I had that day that I was right, and they were wrong ; and with a patience, which in the ordinary affairs of life I never had possessed, I strove hour after hour to calm the rash and excited throng, and assure them that when the proper moment should arrive, I myself would lead them on. Thestiain. "And SO I sat out those seven hours under a June sun, with no shade but that of a bush, and neither a drop of water nor a breath of air to lessen the intolerable heat. . . . " The enemy at last were not to be kept back, but advanced with such an overpowering strength in Cavalry and Artillery that a desperate expedient became necessary. " Imploring the Infantry to lie still yet a little longer, I ordered Foujdar Khan and all the chiefs and officers who had horses, to mount, and, forming themselves into a compact body, charge down on the rebel Cavalry, and endeavour to drive them back upon the Foot. ' Put off the fight,' I whispered to Foujdar Khan, 'or not a man of us will leave this field.' " Gladly did these brave men get the word to do a deed so desperate ; but with set teeth I watched them mount, and wondered how many of my choicest officers would come back. 1848.] THE WELCOME QUNS. 115 " Spreading their liuuds to heaven, the noble band a moment solemnly repeated the creed of their religion, as though it bravery. were their last aet on earth ; then passed their hands over their beards with the haughtiness of martyrs, and, drawing tlieir swords, dashed out of tlie jungle into the ranks of the enemy's horse, who, taken wholly by surprise, turned round and fled, pursued by Foujdar and his companions to within a few luin(hed yards of the rebel lino, which halted to receive its panic-stricken friends. " In executing this brilliant service Foudjar Khan received two wounds, and few who returned came back untouched. IMany fell. "The purpose, however, was completely answered. . . , At The wcl- that moment of moments might be heard the bugle-note of '^°"'*' S"ds. Artillery in the rear. ' Hush ! ' cried every voice, while each ear was strained to catch that friendly sound again. Again it sounds, again, and there is no mistake. The guns have come at last, thank God ! " Quick, quick, orderlies, and bring them up. There's not a moment to be lost ! Now, ollicers, to your posts ; every one to his own standard and his own men. Let the Infantry stand up and get into as good a line as the jungle will allow ; let none advance until I give the word, but when the word is given, the duty of every chief is this, to keep the standard of his own retainers in a line with the standards right and left of him. Break the line, and you will be beaten ; keej) it, and you are sure of victory.* " Away they scattered, and up sprang their shouting brotherhoods. Standards were plucked up and shaken in the wind, ranks closed, swords grasped, and matches blown, and the long line waved backwards and forwards with agitation as it stood between the coming friend and coming foe. * This is tlio only mainjcuivu I ever alteiiiiited to instil iuto that inipaticnt mass." ilG ,S7A' li Ell U FAIT 11. EDWARD ES. W'6^'6. Thcclaih. " LouJer and lousier grcw the murmur of llie aJvaneiiij; rebel host, more distiuct and tdear the bugles uf the friendly guns. And now the rattling of tlie wheels is heard, the crack of whips and clank of cliains, as they labour to come up. The crowd falls back, a road is cleared, we see the fore- most gun, and amid the shouts of welcome it gallops to the front. "Oh, the thankfulness of that moment! the relief, the weight removed, the elastic bound of the heart's maiuspring into its place, after being pressed down for seven protracted hours of waiting for a reinforcement that might never come ! Now all is clear before us. Our chance is nearly as good as theirs; and who asks more? Cort- " One, two, three, four, five, six guns had come ; and lief^ panting after them, with clattering cartridge-boxes, might be seen two regiments of Regular Infantry — Soobhau Khan's corps of Mussulmans, and General Cortlandt's Sooruj Mook- hee. It was well thought of by the General, for I had only asked for guns; but he judged well that two regiments would be worth their weight in gold at such a pinch. " There was scant time for taking breath, for the enemy was close at hand ; so, bidding the guns come with me, the two regiments to follow on the guns, and the whole Irregular Cavalry line advance steadily in rear, under command of Foujdar Khan, I led the Artillery through the trees on to the cultivated plain beyond. There we first saw the enemy's line. . . . The Clash. " Iiound went our guns, and round went theirs, and in an instant both were discharged into each other. It was a complete surprise ; for the rebels believed truly that all the guns we had in the morning had left the field with the Daoodpootras,* and of the arrival of the others they were ignorant. Down sank their whole line among the long * Who had slipped away and retired towards the river witliout any orders or necessity. 1818.] FIRE cmAPE INTO EACH OTHER. 117 stalks of tlie sugar-cane; and, as we afterwards learnt from a Goorkha prisoner, the fatal word was passed that * the Sahib had got across the river with all his army from Dera Ghazee Khan, and led them into an ambush.' "To and fro rode their astonished and vacillating colonels ; and while the guns maintained the battle, the intelligence was sent by swift horsemen to tlic rebel general. Hung Warn, who, seated on an elephant, lookeil safely down upon the fight from the hills around the village of Noonar. " Meanwhile the Sooruj IMookhse and Soobhau Khan's regiments had come up, closely followed by the line ; and I made the two former lie down on the left and right of the Artillery, and the latter halt under cover of the trees. " The gunners were getting warm. * Grape ! grape ! ' at length shouted the commandant ; ' it's close enough for grape.' And the enemy thought so too, for the next round rushed over our heads like a flight of e;iglos. " And there, for the first time and tlie last in my short experience of war, did I see hostile Artillery firing grape into each other. It was well for us that the enemy were taken by surprise, for they aimed high and did little mischief. General Cortlandt's Artillery were well trained and steady, and their aim was true. " Two guns were quickly silenced, and the rest seemed A charge, slackening and firing wild. A happy charge might carry all. I gave the order to J^oobhan Khan's regiment to attack ; and away they went, Soobhan Khan himself, a stout heavy soldier, leading them on, and leaping over bushes like a boy. Before this regiment could reach the battery, an incident characteristic of Irregular troops occurred : a cluster of half a dozen horsemen dashed out from the trees behind me, and, passing the regiment, threw themselves on the enemy's guns. Their leader received the ball full in his face, and fell over the 'cannon's mouth.' It was Shah Niwaz Khan of Esaukhevl, whose family I had recalled 118 ^TR lIEnnEUT U. KDU'ARDES. [1848. from exile to rule over tlioir own country. Tlie regiment followed, and carried at the point of the bayonet the only gun which awaited their assault. " Another gun lay dismounted on the ground. " While this was doing, our guns poured grape into the cover where the rehel Infantry were lying, and these, hearing their own Artillery retire before Soobhan Khan's charge, retreated hastily through the high crops with which the fields were covered, but suffered heavily from the fire behind them, and formed again in great confusion when they reached their guns. " At this point a small body of Cavalry were approaching, and I asked an orderly if he knew who they were. A nanow " J{q thought thcv were Foujdar Khan and the mounted escape. o .^ chiefs of the Puthans, and I had just turned my horse to ride towards them with an order, when a single horseman advanced, and, taking a deliberate aim, discharged a match- lock at me within fifty or sixty yards. " The ball passed first through the sleeve of the brown holland blouse wliich I had on, then through my shirt, and out aerain on the other side through both, and must have been within a hair's-breadth of my elbow. The crash " Aud now I gavo the word for the whole line of wihl Puthans to be let loose upon the enemy. One volley from our battery, and they plunged into the snKjke-enveloped space between the armies, with a yell that had gathered malice through hours of impatient suffering. The smoke cleared off, and the Artillerymen of two more rebel guns were dying desperately at their posts ; their line was in full retreat upon Noonar, and the plain was a mass of scattered skirmishers. " Once more our Artillery galloped to the front and harassed the disordered enemy. In vain the rebels tried to rally and reply. Our Infantry was on them, and another and another jj^un wore abandoned in the flight. of conflict. 1848.] COMPLETE liOUT OF THE ENEMY. 119 " Txnw% Ram, tlieir general, had long since fled. ]\[ool- raj's rutliiui Cavalry, who had stood aloof throughout the battle, were supposed to have gone over; the regular regi- ments, and especially the Goorkhas (who had deserted Agnew and Anderson at ]\rooltan, and now fought with halters round their necks), had borne the brunt of the day, and suffered heavily. IMore than half the Artillery had been lost. " The pursuit was hot, and fresh and overwhelming numbers seemed to be pouring in upon both flanks ; for at this juncture the Daoodpootras had come up again, and were burning to retrieve their place. "Tlius, without a general, without onler, and without Complete ' b » ^' _ rout of hope, the rebels were driven back upon Noonar ; and, having the enemy. placed its sheltering heights between them and their pur- suers for a moment, they threw aside shame and arms, and fled, without once halting, to jMoolian. " But of ten guns that the rebels brought into the field of Kinyeree, but two returned to INFooltun. "Their camp at Noonar and all their ammunition fell into our hands, and the former furnished many of our Irregular levies with tents for the first time. " And so ended the battle of Kinyeree, which began a little after seven a.m., and was not decided till half-past four p.m. " At five p.m., after nine hours' constant exertion of mind Happy con- 111 1 n T 1 I 1 • • elusion. and body under a fiery sun, 1 leave the reader to imagine the feeling of thankfulness with which I sat down at Noonar, on the very ground occupied by ]\roolraj's army in the morning, and penned a hurried despatch to the Resident, announcing our victory." Edwardcrf ends liis desjiatch to the iJe.'^ident — "God be praised for a most signal victory, gained under the most discouraging circumstances; but to be followed, I hope, by most encouraging results." 120 sin IIERDFAtT B. EDWAllDES. [1848. ('■niousco- rpjjj^ y^^^^^^ ^^ KinYorcc has been called " the Waterloo of iiiLulence. -^ the ruiijab," havinportunity, in my public or private letters, of ackuow- lediriiiir how much of the success was due to them. " General Cortlaiidt's situation is most peculiar, and his General .. 1.11 Til 1 T -ii- \ Cortlandt. conduct in it admiral)le. 1 declare tliat 1 consider liim the only servant to the little Maharajah who has been * true to his salt.' If ever it should lie in your Lordship's power, may I hope that you will say a good word for a man who combines in no ordinary degree the qualities of a good soldier and a good civil oflicer," Although Edwardes was not at this moment satisfied by the promotion of his friend Edward Lake, he had abundant reason to be so afterwards ; for he lived to see him win honours and renown, and rise to be Financial Commissioner of the runjab, which office he gave up when he left India to retire to England in 1866. Nor does it appear that either he or General Cortlandt were left out in tlie pultlic thanks; for tliere is a letter — From the Resident at Lahore to Lieutenant Lal-e. " Lahore, July 10, lb48. " I have received the description of this second victory gained by the forces of our ally, Nuwab Bhawul Khan. . . . While I request that you will communicate to Futteh Mahommed Khan Ghoree and the officers of the force my appreciation of their courage and services, I feel that to your- self my thanks and admiration are peculiarly duo, for the skill and gallantry with which you directed the movements and operations of the force, to which Lieutenant Edwardes bears such ample testimony, and to wliich the success of the Bhawulpore army is in an eminent degree attributable. " 1 am satisfied that the CTOvernor-Geueral in Council will af)preciate and acknowledge the great value of your services on this important occasion." 154 SIR TIER BEET B. EDWARVES. [1849. From II. M. Elliot, Esq., Secretary to the Government of India, to the Honourable Sir F. Currie, Bart., Ading-Besident at Lahore. " Fort William, Calcutta, July 29, 1848. " I am directed to request that you will convey to Lieu- tenant Edvvardes and to Jjieutenant Lake the highest appro- bation of the Governor-General in Council of their conduct in the action, and the strong sense the Government entertain of the gallantry, energy, determination, and skill which these officers have displayed." * Of General Cortlandt, the Resident writes in a public letter to Edwardes — • " Lahore, July 10, 1848. " General Cortlandt has again distinguished himself. His skill in managing his troops, and his intrepidity in action, are in the highest degree creditable to him, and entitle him to the warmest thanks of the Maharajah and myself. . . . " The Durbar have at my instigation, addressed a pur- wanna to the officers and men of General Cortlandt's regiment ; and have, in a proclamation to the troops of their army, spoken of the conduct and services of these corps in terms which will, I trust, be gratifying to them, while it is to be hoped that their conduct, with its reward, may have the effect of stimulating the other Durbar troops, to the exhibition of similar fidelity to the Government." f Reward to The services of Foujdar Khan, whom we have seen acting Khan'^^ as Edwardes's adjutant-general at Kinyeree, and, in spite of 1849. his wounds, leading the Cavalry at Suddoosam, were even- tually rewarded by Lord Dalhousie with the title of Khan Bahadoor, for we find the copy of a letter from Edwardes, in which tlie honour was conveyed to him (dated Lahore, July 12, 1849), which we will here insert. * Blue-Book page 248. t Blue-Book, p. 247. 1840.] LETTERS TO FOUJDAR KITAN. 155 Draft of a Persian letter to Foiijtlar Khan (Alizye), for- warding,' his sunnud of " Khan liahadoor-ee " from Lord Dalhousie. " Lahore, July 12, 1849. " ]\Iy FlUENI), " I feci as great pleasure in sending you this sunnud of Khan Bahadooree from the Governor-General as I did in receiving my own lionours from the Queen of England. " T(jgether we shared the danger of our position at Leiah, when we had few soldiers, and most of them traitors ; together we shared the labour of raising an army to meet the rebels and defend the frontier under my charge ; we sat under one bush at Kinyeree throughout that fiery day in June, waiting for our guns; we fought together at Suddoosam and throughout the siege of Mooltan ; and it is right that you should share, not merely in the victory, but its rewards. " I rejoice, therefore, in the title that has been conferred on you ; I think you earned it well by your bravery, fidelity, wisdom in council, and equanimity in trouble ; and I hope you will long live to enjoy it and the jageer* which Lord Dalhousie has promised you. " Thus, my friend, have the exertions of one year enriched you for life, and put you out of the reach of want and the caprice of a Maharajah or his Sirdars. A year ago, when commander of only twenty-four horsemen, you could never (even in vour dreams) have hoped for such good fortune. Let the rest of your life, therefore, justify the reputation of your tribe for fidelity and gratitude. " In time of peace speak well, among your country- men, of the British Government, and in time of war bo over ready with the good sword Sir lU-nry Lawrence gave you to assist it. * A "jageer" is a grant of land given by Government as a reward for services. 156 SIR HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1840. Valno of j)er.sonal intluence. Fruits gathered in after- vears. " Thus shall I ever be proud that you were my oHicer, 8ir Henry Lawrence that he recommended you to honour, and the Governov-General that he conferred it upon you. "(Signed) Herbert Edwardes." Such words as these, and such generous appreciation of services, it is that build up most securely our influence in the East, and cement our country's rule with the personal injlucnce Avhicli a strong and generous mind (such as this we are studying now) brings to bear upon its work, with these brave untutored races. The strong personal attachment which they are capable of forming is tlie secret of many of the great deeds of faithful service, and even chivalry, with which our Indian history in the past is filled. And Edwardes was an example of this, which young soldiers would do well to mark for their own imitation. His brave, genial, generous, noble nature made the natives love him ; his confidence in them bred confidence in return ; and his good judgment taught him where it was safe to trust. And they knew that if he had a strong hand to punish the guilty, he had an open, generous hand for those who were deserving. Years afterwards, when the stormy days of difficulty at Peshawur came, it was seen how the fy^uit of this time we are passing through now was grdhered. When Edwardes and Nicholson raised their flag in 1857, at Peshawur, and called for " Levies " to take the place of disarmed mutineers, up sprang readily the men of this same country to ansM'er to the call ; and at their head we shall see again Foujdar Khan, ready to go to the front and serve again in Afghanistan the master whom he served so well at Kinyeree. CHAPTER Vr. 1849—1850. RETURN TO ENGLAND— MARRIAGE— WRITES "A YEAR ON THE PUNJAB FRONTIER." " As cold waters to a thirsty soul, So is good news from a far country." Rov. XXV. 25. ** All blessedness of heaven, and earth beneath, Of converse high, and sacred home Are yours, in life and death." Keble. ( 1^>9 ) CHAPTER VI. When the "year on the Punjab frontier" was completed, and the Mooltan Campaign was at an end, Edwardes proceeded to Lahore to make his official returns, and to put affairs into order, to enable him to take his furlough home to England. Sir Henry Lawrence had now returned from England, sir Hemy He had received the honour of a K.C.B.-ship at home, April reVmnsTo 28, 1848. He had hurried back to India when the news of Lahore, the siege of Mooltan reached him, anxious to be at his post at Lahore again ; disappointed to find that his generous His disap- policy and labours for Sikh independence and good self- at't'^h"^"'^ government were being thwarted by the recklessness and failure of faithlessness of the people themselves. JV^ gf^^'* Edwardes had gone through great exposure under canvas independ- at Mooltan and Bunnoo during the whole summer heat, and ^^'^^' at a time ^\hen the commander-in-chief thought it impossible to bring British soldiers into the field, and made this a reason for delaying the siege of Mooltan. Throughout this time Edwardes had kept the field, fought Moolraj, and defeated him in two pitched battles, shut him up in his fort, and kept him at bay till the army could be assembled. In the course of this service Edwardes had many hair- Hair- breadth escapes and wonderful deliverances. Once, as was ^'■•^*'^'^ ^'*" told in chap, iv., a bullet passed througli his sleeve, entering at the wrist and passing out at the elbow, without touching him. Again, when the muzzle of a gun was held up against him in a melee, and he thought that nothing could have saved him, it flashed in the pan and he was unharmed, and, putting 160 SIR HERB Eli T B. EDWARDES. [1849. spurs to his horse before his antagonist could draw his sword, he escaped. At another time, when an assassin came into his tent for murderous purpose, and there was only the small camp- table he was writing at between them, the sentry rushed in and seized the man before he could touch him. Moolraj had set a price on his head, and had sent spies into his camp to bribe his servants to poison him. The plot was discovered by Edwardes and all his guests l)ecoming at the same time very sick one day, after partaking of dinner together ; and through accidently overhearing the conversation of some natives in the verandah of his tent, he discovered the cause, that the soup was poisoned. Some emissary of Moolraj 's had offered himself to fidl a vacancy in the kitchen establishment, and had been accepted unwarily by the head servant. Out of such and many other dangers he had been safely brought; but now, when the duty was done, and he had come with great honour and unexampled success from the field of Mooltan — Moolraj defeated, Mooltan taken, and the campaign over; — the return to Lahore, and hot weather in the plains in one of the hottest stations of the Punjab, and the very hard grind of office-work there, were more than he was physically equal to endure. Sir Henry Lawrence urged him, however, to try and carry the official work connected with Bunnoo and Mooltan through the office before he left India ; and he was himself anxious to bring to notice the services of those natives and officers who had served under him. But it was working the willing horse too much, and it was no wonder that, soon after taking up Illness. the heavy office-work at Lahore, he was struck down with fever, and was for some time very seriously ill. Furlough On recovering from this fever sufficiently to travel, there to ng an . ^q^j^ -^q j^q longer any further delay, and Edwardes was allowed to take his "leave" to England. He had private reasons, too, for desiring it ; for his own personal happiness (and not only his own) was deeply concerned in tliis journey. From such a sacred and holy shrine it is difficult to lift the veil. But yet the story of Edwardes's life would not be truly told if we were to leave out of it that one true, deep^ 1810.] "OLD RESIDENCY" DAYS. J(il earnest, and guiding passion of his whole existence. From a boy his heart was set and fixed in one true love, and it was the pole-star that led hitn on to realize his hopes. Deter- mined that, till he saw what his future was to be, his lot should be unshared, he waited only to feel his foot upon the ladder, and this he did when Sir Henry Lawrence selected him for Lahore. Then he took Sir Henry Lawrence into his counsel, and a story so like his own readily won Sir Henry's chivalrous sympathy and a})proval. There need have been no more delay ; but then came the expedition to Bunnoo, and after that swept in the rebellion of ^loolraj, the siege of ^looltan and all the stirring and al)Sorbing events connected with it. Unhesitatingly Edwardes could set aside his own personal wishes and objects to follow a course of duty ; but now, with his duties accomplished, he longed to be free. One would expect, in a nature so rare in depth of tender- ness, so strong and true, so romantic and at the same time so noble, so keen in enjoyment, so sensitive to pain, so finely- strung with Nature's keenest sensil)ilities, and yet so towering above all the littlenesses and cruelties of man — one would expect that in a nature such as this, a home was a necessity, and that he would be as rare in love as he was in other things — rare in the constancy of one great affection. And will the reader wonder if now the truth is not with- held by her who all her life has owned so rich a wealth of possession, and owns it still ? But before passing on, it may be permitted to take a parting look at the life of the " Old Besidency " at Lahore, presently about to pass away in the change and struggle of the coming days ; for it will never come again ! AVhen Edwardes returned to India, all had changed into a more regular form of life. One wave courses over another with all tlie freshne-ss and power of tiie present ; but there is no time to gather up the lessons, unless we learn them as they pass. It was a wnndorfully nud and happy life in those early Picture of days of the "Old Kesidency " at Lahore. Here was a band Residemy " of strong, and young, and earnest men, all bent on doing good, e said ? But the time approached when Edvvardes could take his longi'd-for rest at home. His friends, John Lawrence and his wife, urged him to take charge of their two little girls. Their ages, of six and seven, made the first parting from their parents necessary. And Edwardes undertook the unusual charge confided to him, and never had any little girls more loving and careful protection. Children always loved liim. His bright, genial nature always attracted them to his side, and he was ever ready with some bright story or fairy-tale to tell them that riveted their love ; or he was ready for a game of play with them on the shortest notice. So it was like a lioliday to take a journey with Edwardes, and the tears of parting soon dried up with them. In the end of the year 1849, Edwardes left Lahore, and his friend John Nicholson also intending to take his furlough home, the two friends gladly agreed to start together. They dropped down tlie Indus in boats to Bombay (which Edwardes was the slow way in which the journey then was made), l^^ {^^^y° ' stopping every night to let the boatmen rest, and to give Lnhore to- the little girls a run on the land to hunt for tiger's footprints ^'^ on the sandy shore. The pleasant companionship of the two friends beguiled the tedium of the river-journey, and gave time for thought ; and we can fancy how these two earnest, brave men would exchange their thoughts about the country they had been ready to give their lives for, and figlit their battles over again, lioth had been trained by the same master, Henry Lawrence ; both were in entire heart-sympathy with each other. Tiiis is the first time we have had occasion to notice the friend.ship of these two men, which remained strong and deep throughout their lives, as friendship in such strong and noble matters must be, when founded, as in this case, upon the priil'ound respect and admiration in which eacii held the 1G4 .S7A' lIKnilEirr n. EDWARDES. [1849. otlicr. Knowing each other most intimately in the trying and difficult circumstances in which their lives had been cast in these stormy days of the early history of the Punjab, they were more than brothers in the tenderness of their whole lives henceforth, and the fame and interests of each other were dearer to them both tlian tlieir own.* \n,\\an ^ue great charm of Indian life is the fast friendships that friendship, jj makes for life. Being thrown into circumstances of diffi- culty and danger that can never be experienced in quiet lives at home, men liave a need they never know in the ease of home life, and find that need is answered in some brave and noble friend whom it has been their good fortune to be linked with in their public duty. And thus these two brother-assistants of Sir Henry Lawrence's choice were welded together in the strong, true love and friendship that w^as a mutual joy in their whole after- lives, interrupted only by death, when, in 1857, this same John Nicholson — at the time we are now speaking of soon to be made major and C.B. for his services in the Punjab, then the General John Nicholson to whom so large a share of the honour of taking back Delhi from the mutineers is due — fell, in leading the assault of that city. This may seem a digression somewhat out of place, but may be pardoned ; for it is im})ossible to those who know and love him to leave the name of John Nicholson with only a passing mention. To return, we left the travellers gliding down the river * As an instance of this, we xn^y coi)y fioni a local paper. " We may mention hero an instance of Major Edwanles's great and singular modesty with respect to his own high merits. When he was the 'Lion' of the day in 1849, and was on one occasion feted at the Mansion House, his name coupled with ' The Health of the Indian Army,' proposed by the chairman as one of the toasts of the evening, the Duke of Wellington and other distinguished officers being present . . . rising to speak, and turning towards his friend Major Nicholson, he said, ' Here, gentlemen, fiere is the real author of half the exploits which the world has been so ready to attribute to me.'" The effect was instantaneous and almost electrical, and will never be forgotten by those who witnessed it. " In the interesting Parliamentary Papers relating to the Punjab, which were published in May, 1849, we find not a word of self-landation or assumption of credit, but much of ]>ruilence, intelligence, and foresight, and a deep insight into the native character." 18111.] SKETCH OF A riiOL'IlETICAL INDIAN NOVEL. i(]3 to KuiTiichee, ami bcguiliii;.,' their way willi bo(jk.s and talk. Droj.ping It was at this time that Edwardes wrote a curious fore- ^.""'" !''* shad(nvin<^ of a storm that really burst in terrible force over India in 1857. It is a mere memorandum written by him in his common- place Ijook, and is copied as it stands. " Memorandum. " A good story might be written by way of proijhecij, or I would rather say coaming, of the sudden and unexpected overthrow of the British Indian emi)iro by the liritish Indian army. "Scene, — Lahore. Time — Fifty years hence, or a.d. 1900. :Materials as follows :— " The native army, according to a system introduced by a Lord Napier, who was commander-in-chief about 1850, has been for the last forty-five years massed upon great points, such as Cabul (annexed about 1880), Peshawur, Lahore, L^mballa, Delhi, Dinapore, and Calcutta, in Ben- gal ; in jMadras, . . . ; and in Bombay . . . The ex- tension of the empire by the annexation of Khorassan has rendered a vigorous economy necessary, and prevented the increase of the Europ' an army. Pressure of parties in England has transferred the Government of India from the East India Company to the Crown, which lias introduced the same colonial system as prevails over its other depen- dencies, and has lately lost Canada. "* Lord Frederick Verisophts ' are now Commissioners of provinces, and young barristers come out as magistrates. To meet their convenience, law is aut of all the honours I have received, the dearest to me have been the cheers which have greeted me this day in my native county." On another occasion, at this time of " welcome home " at Shrewsbury — we quote from one of Edwardes's speeches — he says, describing some of the scenes at the battle of Moodkee : "This was the beginning of November, 1845, and in a few days afterwards, the Sikh army invaded British India, and we were plunged into the first Sikh War. Here was I, then, at once placed in a position to study war practically, on the hirgest scale, and under the greatest advantages, at the right baud of Sir Hugh. And I can tell you that the man who rides by the right hand of Hugh Viscount Gough through a campaign is, as the Irishman would say, ' in a mighty convanient place to see a good dale of fighting.' If a young soldier wants an insight into the principles of war, I would advise him to volunteer to such a situation, and he will meet witii a good many eye-openers in it. I can tell you a story in illustration of this. " At our very first battle of iMoodkee, on December 18, before the two hostile lines of infantry had met, two staff officers simultaneously dashed in from right and left, and rode up to the commander-in-chief. " ' The enemy's Cavalr}-, your Excellency, have out- flanked us on the right,' said one. ' The enemy's Cavalry have outflanked us on the left,' said the other. " So there were fifteen thousand horsemen on the one hand, and fifteen thousand on the other, turning both our flanks at the same moment, and our small armv in the 1850.] INTRODUCTION TO THE AIlT OF IVAH. i . 7 middli!. Without oue moment's hesitation, Lord Gough gave directions that charges of Artillery and Cavalry sliould be made to both flanks ; and it was iu this movement to repulse the Sikhs that her Majesty's 3rd Dragoons commenced that series of remarkable achievements which have since stamped them as the noblest Cavalry regiment that ever went out to India. " The charges were made, and the repulse was complete on both flanks. Our Artillery and Cavalry went through the enormous line of the enemy and got into the rear, so as to become an object of the deepest anxiety to Sir Hugh Gough. " It was at that time he turned to two of his aides- de-camp, and commanded them to recall the flank detach- ments back to their own line. "I was one of them, and I leave you to judge whether it was a pleasant office. However, it was performed, and I, perliaps, shall bear witli me the memorial of it to the grave, in the scar of a uiusket-ball through my thigh. " Sucli was iny introduction to the art of war at the hands of my earliest patron in India, Hugh Viscount Gough. "I recovered from that wound in time to serve as his Lordship's aide-de-camp at the closing light of Sobraon. That battle was one of the most noble sights which, perhaps, man ever saw, and it was most complete in its results. " An extended plain was in front, and a broad and rapid river at the back of the enemy's position. To u.so a soldier's phrase, which all military men will understand, we turned our rigiit shoulders to the enemy and drove them into the river. " It was a most magnificent and instruetivc siglit for a young soldier. Thus the campaign closed. " Lord Gough recommentled me to Lord Hardinge, the Governor-General, for promotion to the great political VOL. I. N 178 SIR HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1850. staff which was then required for the Punjab, and for this great step in life I am materially indebted to those two illustrious men. " Bat while I express my gratitude to those powerful friends who gave me these great opportunities, let me never forget the master who taught me how to use them— Sir Henry Lawrence, wlio at this very moment * but a captain of Artillery, has made himself, by his high purposes and indomitable energies, the foremost man in India, and a bright example to every Indian soldier. He it was who, through three years of the British occupation, was my political master and my private friend. It was sitting at his feet, amid great political events, that I trust I learned this noble lesson — to live, not for myself, but for my country." But all the public honour with Avhich he was welcomed home could never dull his heart, or make him forget or be careless towards his old friends ; and a sprightly, genial letter was written about this time to his old and valued college friend, which is very characteristic. " Sansaw Hall, March 4, 1850. " It is more than probable, my dear Cowley, that Octavius Csesar would have cut Tully dead, in the Via Sacra, had he met him in the triumphant moment of his entry to Rome, with Antony and Lepidus. As it was, he sent slaves to do it at Tusculum. " Therefore, reasoning in the fashion of Arnold from ancient to modern times, I have little doubt, you are, this blessed moment, expatiating on the vices of ingratitude and ambition as deadening the heart, stifling the finer feel- ings, etc., of your old friend Herbert Edwardes. " And truly, Tully, I have treated thee abominably in not answering thy ' De Amicitia;' but let it be some expiation * 1850. 1810.] nONOUBS AT OXFORD. ITO that, before settiug off to Netley to be dragged in triumphal chariot, I now have sat down to tell thee that I yearn to see thee as raueli as if I had written it and paid the post. I icould iiave written from London if I could, but, believe me, it was not possible, " I came home for peace and repose, and find a campaign of hospitality. My hand aches with ' How d'ye do's ; ' my lips with kisses ; and my ear with praise. One while I feel repaid for many hardships and many strivings after service to the Government ; and then, again, afraid of some great evil overtaking me after all this pride and adulation. It is not wholesome ; but I must try and think large quantities of salt to season it. '■ I have no time to say more now than that I shall leave Shropshire on Tuesday night to be present at the Uvee on AVednesday, and if you can manage to meet me, we can both have the happiness of meeting after ten years of separation. "Believe me, " Ever yours, "H. 13. E." In ]\Iay, 1850, he received the honorary degree of D.C.L. at Oxford, among others to -whom that honour was awarded at the Commemoration of that year. There he was warmly received and hospitably entertained at Exeter College by his' friend Cowley l*owles, who was then Fellow of that college. Another interesting letter of Edwardes, kindly given by Archdeacon Browne, may be inserted here. It was Mritten in return for kind congratulations on his successes at Mool- tan, and shows the warmth of affection he preserved for Kiufr's College, London. "Camp, Moot tan, January 13, 1849. "My dear Sir, "I believe it is something of the same feeling which makes us throuKh life love our own village better 180 SIR EEBBEBT D. EDWABDES. [1849. than all the wurld, that implants in every man's niiud a lower ' faith ' that there never Avas any school or alma mater like the one where he was birched or philosophized. " Shelley and Byron have declared themselves exceptions to this rule ; but then, poor people, they were expelled ! " For my own part, I have ever been ready to do battle with all heathens upon two cardinal points of my belief, that there never was seen the like of Delafosse's school at Richmond, or the equal of King's College, London. "The former, to be sure, was a point of affectionate honour with me, partly because the Eev. Mr. D , or * Charles,' as w^e irreverently called him, never flogged me without making a pun, to show he was not angry in his heart; and partly because his daughter Theresa won my young love with bread-aud-jam and kisses. " But the latter tenet, the peerlessness of King's, was, I assure you, a pure conviction of reason, unsullied by jam, and unrevealed by the light of azure eyes, unless, indeed, she, the real yXavKw-mg 'AOrivri, may have looked kindly on at the argument. "Judge, therefore, my dear sir, how very happy I must have been to receive the congratulations of one so intimately associated in ray memory with the excellences of King's College as yourself ; for it showed that the tie between the pupil and professor was felt by both. " It gave me very great pleasure to learn that the scholars of King's have gone forth successfully into the arenas where academic prizes are contended for. One of my most valued friendships was formed at King's with Cowley Powles, now tutor of Exeter, a scholar wdiose accomplishments Oxford has long since acknowledged. He has, from time to time, given me most interesting accounts of the eminence of Cayley in mathematics, Kingsley in the wide sphere of metaphysics, and others of my term, whose track I follow with solicitude throuoh life. 1849.] OPINIONS CONCERNING KING'S COLLEGE. 181 " I do not know whether you will agree with nic, whc n I own that it is not in the records of Oxford and Cambridge that I should look for the proofs of the soundness of the system you pursue at King's. " Peter the Great studied all trades, that as a king he might think justly of the classes who pursue them, and it is said that he even laboured at shipbuilding ; yet he could not have gone into a dockyard and striven for wages with a common shipwright, though the shipwrights knew nothing of other handicraft as Peter did. " The education at our two old universities is, in my opinion, a class education, and those who aim at its prizes must concentrate their faculties into ix, focus on one or two subjects. " At King's your academia is built on a broader basis, and you throw open all the windows of knowledge — north, south, east, and west — admitting floods of light from wherever they may come. " Your students are attracted to the history of their own country as Mell as that of the old world ; to compare Bacon with Aristotle, not translate the latter for a degree. In one hall you read to them the periods of Cicero, and in another teach them that it is not ungentlemanly to spell English correctly, nor unscholastic to write their own language as elegantly as that of Athens. " Poor Daniells is no more ; but when I was at King's, the student might pity the punishment of Prometheus in one room with you, and. sin with him in the next among Daniells's electric wires. It is impossible, I think, that science and knowledge, in so many forms could be forced upon the student's mind without giving it a more catholic tone of utility than if it had only been taught to scan and calculate. " In a word, I would seek the King's collegians in the world, not in the Tripos or the Double First. " At this moment there are two students of King's far i82 sin EEBBEItT D. EDWARD ES. [1849. ahead of their contemporaries on the road to fame in this very country of the Punjab. " One is Frederick Pollock,* son of the great lawyer, and nephew of Sir George, a subaltern in his corps, but com- manding thousands as a political officer. When General AVhish, on September 16, 1848, retired from tlie siege of Mooltan, Pollock, witli two thousand of my Horse and six of my guns, covered the rear all through the day. He promises to be a fine officer, and the college may be as proud of him as an eVeve as I am of him as an assistant. " The other is Herbert, of the 18th Native Infantry, who was an assistant to Major George Lawrence at Peshawur, and, when the rebellion broke out, was put into the fort of Attock, on the head of the Indus, a post which he has since most nobly defended with a handful of Afghans against a Sikh army of besiegers. " The feat is so extraordinary that I hope to see him knighted as a reward, in spite of the envious cries of older men, who were never kissed by the sweet maid Opportunity ! " The siege of Mooltan, you will be glad to hear, is now drawing to a close. Before a week the breach will be stormed and — God willing — carri(jd. General Whish's army ■will then move up to join Lord Gough's, and I shall be left in quiet possession of my pro-consulate. "And now, having strayed so long among the quiet cloisters of the past, I feel loth to issue out again into the din of ' hammers closing rivets up ; ' but each to his own, so, as of old, I reverently touch my cap, and beg you, my dear sir, *' To believe me ever, " Your very grateful pupil, " (Signed) Herbert B. Edwardes, " Associate of King's College. "To the Rev. E. W. Browne, M.A., Professor of Classics, King's College, London." * Kow Sir Richard Pollock. F. R. being his initials, he must have been called " Frederick " by his early friends. — E. E, 1850.] WELCOME AT KING'S. 183 With these feelings we can understand that amongst many welcomes and public entertainments was one much prized from his own college (King's, London). lie writes — "They have made me an Honorary Fellow, whicli was the highest honour in their power, and has pleased me sincerely. In my own heart, amidst my great and unex- pected successes, I have owned that I owed much to the catholic sort of learning I got at King's." A public dinner was given to him by the College on May 15, with a great gathering to welcome him as a new Fellow, at wliich his speech will show the feeling he bore towards them. "My Lord Feversham and gentlemen — Your cheers are Speech at •' ° ^ King s Col- not only one of the heartiest, but one of the most gratifying, lege, 1850. welcomes which I have met with in England, coming as they do from tlie voices— and I hope hearts — of six hundred gentlemen, who are more or less connected by past or present associations with King's College, an institution which must ever be dear to me for many reasons — because it was within those walls that I passed three happy years of student life ; reading, as none but the young book-lover ever reads, with a tbirstiness of curiosity and reverent enthusiasm for the great fathers of knowledge, whose bodies lie embalmed in russia upon the shelves of libraries, and whose memories are canonized in the calendar of learning ; because it was within those walls that I formed friendships wliich I hope will accompany me through life ; and lastly, but noi least, because it was within those walls that I received the most valuable part of my education, to which I should be un- grateful indeed if I did not acknowledge that I owe any success I have obtained in life. " Yes, the smiles of Venus may coax even Vulcan to forge arms for Achilles ; but be sure that the patron goddess of all soldiers is Minerva. Her armoury is the 184 Sm HEIiBEIiT B. EDWABDES. [1850. bibliotheca ; her forge, tlio study ; and practical hnowledge is the trenchant blade which she puts in the tyro's hand, and says, ' Go forth and conquer.' And if we search the academic halls of England for practical knowledge, I know of no institution where it can be found in the same perfection as at King's College. " There, the future physician learns from nature, in a laborious course of chemical manipulation, the hidden secrets of amalgamation which make poisons blessed balm in the hands of the adept ; and balms, jealous of each other's virtues, poisons from the hands of the ignorant. " There, that great magician of the age, the civil engineer, begins his course; and what an interesting sight it is, low down in the stone galleries of the college, to see the students' academic cap bending over the whirling lathe or fiery forge, moulding thus early to his will the iron which is to be his future slave ! "There, the future pastor, no longer satisfied with Polemic lore, studies the statistics of public health and principles of sanitary reform amongst the poor. " There, the younger soldier, compass in hand, imagines to himself a foe (some desperate murderer, perhaps, and rebel in his stronghold), and draws around him the invest- ment and the sap, which by slow but inevitable approach will surely enable justice to overtake him. " There, lastly, may students destined for any walk in life, lay that best foundation for success of any kind — know- ledge of their own language, of their own glorious literature, and of the free and happy laws of their own country. "The course of education in all these branches has been rendered much more practical than it was in my time ; but even then, twelve years ago, it had begun to meet the wishes of the age in a wise spirit, and lead the love of usefulness into healthy cliannels ; and I would adduce, as proofs of it, the names of Major Herbert and Lieutenant 1850.] BECEPTION AT LIVERPOOL. 185 Pollock, two officers who obtained an honourable fame during the late war by defence of important posts. It was indeed impossible that the shadows of such spirits as Otter, Hugh James Rose, and Lonsdale should not rest for life on the character where they fell ; and in proportion as I for one gratefully remember the instruction which I gained at King's College, so do I rejoice that life has furnished me with an opportunity of doing anything to benefit the College. " Nero is said to have wished that all Rome had but one head, in order that he might cut it off. The liberty I am about to take is a more human one, though the victims have bled like Romans in our cause. I must beg you to unite together in your own minds the three hundred gentlemen who have extended us their patronage, and drink Lord Fevcrsham's health as their single representative. "I have now to propose to you a toast which requires no recommendation whatever from any one. It is that of the Council of King's College and Lord Harrowby. " This is the illustrious and learned body of men by whose ability and zeal the affairs of this great institution are conducted, and anybody who glances over their names will feel a national pride in the reflection that so many noblemen and gentry, so many dignitaries and lawyers, should take delight in promoting religious education. The best commentary on their labours is the rising prosperity of King's College in every department. Like the architect of St. Paul's, they may stand amidst the work of their own hands and say, ' Circumspice ' (' look around '). I give you the Council of King's College and Lord Harrowby." Speech at a public reception and banquet in Liverpool Town Hall. « Mr. Mayor and gentlemen of Liverpool,— I thank you L-verloi. warmly for the distinguished honour you have paid me on 186 SIR IlEItDERT B. EDWARDES. [1850. the occasion of my visiting your neighbour, Sir Edward Cust, by inviting me to dine with the mayor and corpora- tion of the second city of the kingdom. To be the honoured guest of that city under any circumstances would be felt to be a great distinction by any Englishman who understands and values the municipal institutions of this country and the rights of self-government, which those institutions at once recognize and represent. But when I remember what it is that has made Liverpool tlie second city in the kingdom ; when I reflect that it owes its importance to its commerce ; that its ships are in the ports of all our colonies, giving them what they cannot produce in exchange for what they cannot consume ; that, as the capital of the British colonial empire, it is dependent on colonial pros- perity, and has the deepest interest in our foreign policy and possessions ; — then, indeed, I feel as one who has laboured for that policy, and fought for those possessions, that there is a peculiar honour in the approbation of your citizens. "No man can bear greater or more grateful testimony than myself to the warm interest taken by all classes of our countrymen at home in the affairs of British India ; but in no other part of England can these affairs have been lately watched with the same anxiety and attention, or be so fully understood, as in the city of Liverpool ; and, attaching, therefore, the highest importance to your opinion, I feel, I assure you, that the approval of my conduct implied in this hospitable reception is the highest honour. On colonies "There are few chaneres which strike me more, after ami then- ° ' use. a ten years' absence from England, than the change of feeling on the subject of England's colonies. ' New kings have arisen w ho know not Joseph ; ' and it has become a moot-point, whether colonies are of any use at all. As a matter of history, I should have thought it sufficient to appeal the question to either Eome in her prosperity or Spain in her decline. 1850] ON COLONIES AND THEIR USE. 1S7 " In the court of St. James's the other Jay, when 1 looked around on all the great men of this generation, I thought that England could ill spare to blot one of those great names from out her records, as this day I think she could not afford to blot this city from her map. " The experience of other nations and our own have ceased to be convincing, alike fail to avert the novel question. What is the use of colonies? " Citizens of Liverpool, I would answer that question The use of thus — The use of colonies is not to abuse them. A colony well treated and liberally governed is certain to repay the mother-country with interest and honour, with commerce in peace and sympathy in war. *' If such is the condition of many of England's colonies at this moment; if many of them seem to be bound to us by bonds which they would fain break, instead of ties which they would willingly draw closer ; if irritation in time of peace threatens separation in time of war; if, in short, there be any of our dependencies which remind us of America, and which reproach us Avith not having profited by American experience ; — then can I with pride, as a servant of the Honourable East India Company, ask you to turn with me to the administration, condition, and prospects of British India. "There are doubtless many men at tliis table who know India much better than I do, and I gladly call upon them to add their testimony to mine, that in no other dependency of the British crown is there to be found the same pro- portionate amount of good government, improvement, prosperity, and contentment. " Yet British India is not a colony, it is only a depend- India as a ency. it is not peopled with our citizens, but with our ency. Xot subjects; it is not a land which has been freely given, but ^utan'^' an empire which we have grasped. What is the reason of empire, this anomaly? It is this, that the administration of 188 STR TIEIiBERT D. EDWAItDES. [1850. ]>ritish India is wholly aii'l solely grounded upon theivelfare of the people. Yes, I fearlessly assert that the prime and motive principle of the Anglo-Indian Government is to secure the prosperity of the native population. Any other benefit, any other ulterior advantages that may be derived by this country are secondary to that great end. India ruled " True, thousauds of our countrymen are, year by year, benefit of deriving wealth and honour from that distant land ; but "' '''^" that wealth is the wages of a life-time spent under a burning sun in administering the justice of which I speak ; that honour is given to England (let the Peace Society say what it will), not to those who carry fire and sword into distant lands for their own ambition, but to those who vt'illingly give their own blood to maintain in Asia that best blessing — peace, which Asiatic rulers never gave it. " I may be told that this is not the origin of the East India Company's charter — that the merchant princes spread their wandering sails in ships freighted with long-cloths, not with laws ; inspired by commerce, not with philan- thropy. But this is the very conclusion and the moral which I would wish to draw. " The Government of India was indeed not so begun, but it has so ended. It commenced in selfish policy and selfish legislation ; but it has grown into better things, and lives and lasts by making home dividends secondary to colonial welfare. " And I rejoice most heartily to have had this oppor- tunity of expressing before the first citizens of Liverpool, whose welfare is so intimately bound up with our colonial empire, the deep conviction which I as a colonial servant feel, that the time has come when the whole colonial policy of the Crown of England must be remodelled or fall into decay. We must take a deeper interest in colonial legisla- tion. We must deem the smallest colonies deserving of the best men of our aristocracy for governors, and not insult 1850.] SPEECH AT KING'S COLLEGE. 189 tlicm with our worst ; not deem that British India is the only dependency which cannot safely be misruled by a King Log or a King Stork. "We must cease, once for all, to look upon them as ^y^^at '» ' ' ^ _ the ulti- inalienablo possessions, as so much property entailed on mate result England in perpetuity. That relationship can never be ruie? maintained longer than the youth and weakness of a colony; and wo should, of our own free will, prefer that more beautiful relationship of parent and child, which ex- hibits the mutually noble spectacle of kindly protection during infancy, separation without asperity in youth, lasting attachment during manhood, and grateful assistance in old age." Speech at a festival in aid of the building and endowment funds of King's College Hospital, London, April, 1850. " My Lords and gentlemen, — I believe there is no day in Speech at the year in which the health of her Most Gracious Majesty lege. Queen Victoria would not be a most welcome toast at any table, public or private, in the happy land over which she rules ; and it must be a matter of congratulation to all Englishmen that the toast, uhich would always by courtesy head the list, is spontaneously lifted to that position by the prayers of a religious people, who hail with enthusiasm on a throne the virtues which make private life illustrious. " To-day, however, there is a happy felicity in the toast, Q"cen's birthJay for it is the day on which our Sovereign's birthday is speech, celebrated, and I am sure you will all heartily unite in wishing that her life may long be spared to our country. The Queen. " My lords and gentlemen, having wished long life and happiness to her Majesty, I am sure we must not separate her from that royal consort in whose union is found so bright an example for our English homes. "I give you the health of Prince Albert and the Royal 100 sin UEIiBERT R EDWARDES. [1850. Family, among whom let us gratefully remember the Duke of Cambridge for liis active assistance this morning, and tlioir lloyal Highnesses the Duchesses of Kent, Cambridge, and Gloucester, all of whom are patronesses of our concert. His lloyal Highness Prince Albert. The "The next toast is one which will be received with reverence by every well-wisher of King's College ; for it is the very foundation on which that college stands, the key-stone of its every arch — The Church. " The head of the Church seems, ex-officio, to be the head also of King's College ; but it would have been im- possible for the present primate to have so heartily assumed the connection of his lamented predecessor with King's College, unless a deep bond of union had been found in a community of high and holy objects. May they long continue to be a mutual support. The Church. " The toasts which we have already drunk — the Queen, the Royal Family, and the Church — are used by established custom at the anniversaries of all public bodies as so many steps whereby to climb to the great object of the day, which stands conspicuous on this moral elevation. " The object with which it is my duty to-day to crown this basis of loyalty, reverence, and national pride is one well worthy of .the eyes of this great assembly. It is, next to a temple, the noblest piece of moral or national architec- ture of which man is capable — a hospital for his suffering fellow-men. " The festival which we are assembled to celebrate in part this day is in aid of the building and endowment funds of King's College Hospital. This hospital has been sustained through ten years of infancy by the annual contributions of a very large body of charitable friends, and having survived its early troubles and struggled on to a vigorous youth, it now demands a more permanent and certain provision for its support. Its parents are beginning 1850.] KING'S COLLEGE nOSPITAL. 101 to be ashamed of its poor appearance. It is too big to be running about the streets of the Strand with so little clothes on ; too old to be begging sixpences from every well-dressed gentleman who enters the gates of King's College. In the language of fathers and mothers, it is high time that it was provided for, "Now, it is my duty to-day, in as few words as I can, to point out the claims which this hospital has upon the public for such provision, and I beg the kind indulgence of this large assembly while I endeavour to do this. "And, first, let me ask you to fix in your minds and remember one fact, that the office of the King's College Hospital is twofold : first, as a charity, as a simple hospital ; second, as a school of practice and illustration for the medical students of King's College. " And first, as a hospital. During the past nine years no less than 11,747 patients have been admitted and treated within the walls of the hospital, and 138,448 outside the walls, making a glorious total of 150,195 cases of suffering poor whom this hospital has relieved. " It is impossible that you can have read that without feeling the liveliest gratification at so much good having been accomplished ; but it is possible that you may also have felt satisfied with that amount of good, and soothed your minds with the belief that nothing remained here to do — no sickness unattended to. But it is my painful duty to disabuse you of so pleasing a delusion, and to inform you that in the course of every year hundreds of cases fit for admission are obliged to be refused admittance to the hospital for want of room" (with further details, which were interesting at the time, but need not be repeated here). " Coming as I have from a foreign country, after ten years' absence, it has been a source of the greatest happiness and patriotic enthusiasm to me to mark the very prominent increase of benevolent institutions in this country, and 192 Sm HERBERT B. EDWARDES. [1850. especially in the neighbourhood of London, since I left England. It is impossible to go out of London by any railroad without being attracted by the numerous asylums, almshouses, and provident institutions which stud the road- side. There is scarcely a company or a trade which has not got its refuge for broken and superannuated brethren. Look, too, at the public baths and washhouses, the lodging-houses for artisans of both sexes, and the ready sympathy which the grievances of any class of poor are certain to attract. This surely is a new and a delightful spirit, a genial change in public feeling, which is awakening daily more and more to the responsibilities of wealth to poverty and of the strong towards the weak. And if we need any further instance of this awakening, we surely have it here this day. " It 1847 it is recorded that ' nearly three hundred people sat down to the anniversary dinner.' But three years have passed, and those years not years of prosperity or accumulation of wealth, but years of social and commercial trouble, in which the classes who support such charities as these may be supposed to have suffered great diminution of private wealth. Yet, notwithstanding all this, we have on this occasion as many patrons as in the anniversary of 1847 there were guests. " What does this show but that the heart of educated man is expanding under the influence of extended know- ledge, that true Christian charity is increasing with our need of it, and that the rich and poor are, in our day, drawing nearer to those mutual relations so classically pictured by a modern poet. " ' Then none were for a party, But all were for the State ; Then the rich man liclped tlie poor, And the poor man loved the great.' " Most gratifying to Edwardes was all this unlooked-for appreciation of his services, and his public welcome at home. 1850.] MABIilAQE. 193 But his own personal happiness, and not only his own (as wo have said), was very deeply concerned in this coming home. His duty (which he had put first) was done; the desire of his heart could now be accomplished. Long years, weary waiting, and an anxious and prolonged campaign had swept in between him and a long-cherished dream of happiness — the happiness that his noble, pure, true, and devoted heart had nursed tenderly in full confidence of hope ever since he was a boy. And now the clouds had swept away, the weary time was over for Ijoth ! On July 0, 18;j0, lie was married at Petersham Church, near rachmond, in Surrey, to Emma Sidney, the youngest daughter of James Sidney, Esq., of Eichmond Hill, Surrey — the wife who mourns him still, and whose hand traces this outline-story of a most beloved life. " Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing more courageous, nothing higher, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller nor better in heaven and earth ; because love is born of God, and cannot rest but in God, above all created things." * "Thrice blest, whose lives are faithful prayers, Whose loves in hic;her love endure; Wliat souls possess themselves so pure, Or is there blessedness like theirs ?"t During this, which he used to call his " first happy year," Writes "A he wrote, 'A Year on the Punjab Frontier,' for happiness the Punjab could never mean idleness with him. This gives a full Frontier." account of his work in Bunnoo and IMooltan ; and to that we would refer the reader who may wish to follow the details of that year's work further than the scanty sketch that has found its place in this volume will enable him to do. But he found it difficult to find a quiet corner to write it in, and his time was short, for he was soon to be back in India. The desire for quiet was at last satisfied at Festiuiog, North Wales, and the book was written there. We will close the cha})ter with a sprightly note of invita- tion to his wedding, written to his fiiithful friend and corre- spondent, who had just taken the step in advance of him. * Thomas a Kempis. f Tennyson. VOL. I. O 194 SIR 11 En n Ell T n. edwahdes. [i850. "My dear Cowley, " Where are you ? Whence shall I summon you ? Into what bowers of bliss am I intruding, to drag you down from the empyrean of love to the lower heaven of friend- ship? " Go forth, 0, postman ! and do what postman may, in search of my lost friends. And if (as is not impossible) thou shouMst arrive at their retreat, when, hand-in-hand, sitting all silently, they shall have presumed to undo all creation since the Fall, and in their spirits' crucible reduced the world to Eden, and mankind to Cowley and ]\[ary ; then, be not weak or human, but with the stern unbending righteousness of a Wesleyan preacher, startle them with a stout rap ! rap ! "Cowdey, you must come, and IMary too, if you can ; but if you cannot without great \vrestling with railroads and post-chaises, then, nevertheless, shall I know that you are present in heart, and wish Emma and myself all the happi- ness which you yourselves know how to value. " Ever yours affectionately, " Herbert B. Edwardes." This slight extract, given as a specimen, serves to sliow the sprightly genial nature of the man, and the easy and rapid way in which his thoughts flowed when he took pen in hand to answer even the simplest note or write of ordinary things, ever lighting up with wit and fancy even the most prosaic subject, or beautifying with deep feeling and tender pathos from the storehouse of his own true heart the real things of life. These letters miglit be greatly multiplied did our space allow it. CHAPTER Yir. 1851—1853. RETURN TO INDIA-LIFE AT JULLUNDUR. "The nobleness of life depends on its consistency, clearness of purpose, quiet and ceaseless energy." — John Ruskin. ( 1^'7 ) CHAPTER VII. Ox March 20, 1851, Edwardes and his wife returned to India. Returns to lie found time to write liis farewell to his friend Nicholson, whom he left behind, intending to extend his tour in Europe before returning to India. " Radio's Hotel, Southampton, March 20, 1851. "My dear Nicholson, " Good-byo ; we sail to-day. IMay you have a Farewell /■•-r-i 1 Ti '111- letter to sejow m Europe, as pleasant as i know you will make it Nicholson. jirojitahle. " If possible, take our station in your way through the Punjab. A late letter from India tells me I am to go to JuUunduy. " It is a principle of mine to go wherever I am sent ; so say no more. " 'My judgment also opposes my tvislies in the matter ; for I feel sure that this arrangement has been made by friends who wished me to go through a course of regulations, and so promote my more speedy fitness for a Commissionership. " There was nothing said about Pcsliawur. I'robably Lumsden keeps it ; and I am sure he will do well there. If Lumsden has it not, you ought to get it. Perhaps there may be some prejudice against married men in my exclu- sion. If you return a bachelor, this may be in your favour; but, if your heart meets one wortliy of it, return not alone. *' I cannot tell you liow good it is for our best purposes 19S SIR TIEItDEIlT II. EDWARDES. [1851. to be helped by a noble wife wlio loves you better than all men and women, but God better tlian you. " Adieu, and believe me ever, my dear Nicholson, *' Your sincere friend, " Herbert Edwardes." Appoint- nicnt to Jiillundur as Deputy- Commis- sioner. First home at Jullun- dur. Description of his court of justice. Edwardes's first appointment was Deputy-Commissioner of Jullundur. This was a rich tract of country called the Jullundur Doab, adjoining the hills in British possession, which had been taken (with the Cis-Sutlej territory of Lahore) as indemnity for the war at the end of the first Sikh War. It was a fertile and beautiful country, and the people were happy and peaceful. Nothing could be happier than our lives were there. Dangers and anxieties, long waitings, and the heart-sickness of hope deferred, all past ! It was " as the days of heaven upon earth." His time fully occupied and well spent in raising and ameliorating the condition of the people, he made himself accessible to all, and even the poorest man who had " a grievance " knew that he could bring it into a court where the judge would himself give him a hearing, and not allow a bribe to be taken by one of his official attendants ; and if it became necessary, in order to settle the dispute fairly, to see the ground (the people's quarrels are generally about land), he would ride out and investigate it for liimself. So the people soon came to know him as their best friend and protector, and his Commissioner, Mr. Donald McLeod (afterwards Sir Donald, his immediately superior officer in command), put on record (in sending up to Government the usual " report " on Edwardes leaving that appointment) that Major Edwardes's court was so renowmed among the people for its purity and justice, and his decisions were felt by themselves to be so accurate, that, in a difficult decision, the guilty person liad been known to betray himself by trembling when brought before him for his opinion ; the fame of his justice and discernment had spread so much among the people over whom he ruled.* This is given on the authority of Mr. McLeod himself. 1851.] EFFECT OF PliOSPERITY UPON CHARACTER. 100 The return to work was in itself welcome ; and to return to work among the many friends who had together laboured in the early days of the new province of the rimjalj was very congenial to his taste. And ii" any one ever thought that the reception he had Result of met with at home, or the public honours that had been and 'hoDour awarded him, had raised him in his own estimation or had upon cha- made him careless of liis old friends, they had made a great '^'"-■'*^'- mistake ; for every success, and the increase of the world's honours, had on him the effect that tliey have on all truly great and noble characters, and made him more really humble in his estimation of himself, and very notably to the end of his life only more considerate and generous in his estimation of others. There is a characteristic letter on tliis subject, written to a friend soon after arriving at Jullundur. " July 3, 1851. " My dear , " Your lengthened peck at your own breast to feed hungry friends, assures me that yoii, are still the good * Pelican ' * of former days, and therefore I am both sad and sorry that you should have been found in the same plight with those commoner birds, who hate the lark as much as the eagle, and believe that up — up there in the clouds, where the high winds have borne it, it despises the whole feathered race, instead of * singing at heaven's gate ' its own humble song of gladness. How could you, who have seen somotliing of me, believe that I should have been rendered indifferent to old friendships in this country by having met with universal kindness in England ? * This allusion to " Pulicau " may need some explatiatiou. In the happy days of tlie times of the Old Residency, wlieu Sirlleury and his wife, Iloiioria Lawrence, were the centre of a large and merry party of Assistants, all living together in one hvrgo house, and where the intervals of heavy work were relieved by tliu most conlial and friendly intercourse, it pleased the fancy of Lady (Henry) Lawrence to choose familiar names for most of them, wliicli she thought suited them ; and so it happened that this correspondent was the one to whom she had attached the name of " Pelican." Hence tiie allusion. 200 SfR lIKltBKllT II EDWARD ES. [1851. " That I WHS much gratified by all the honours I re- ceived, is true ; how could it — why should it be otherwise? The more so that I really did not expect it; for having been vilely abused by half the press and two-thirds of the army in India for daring to serve my country, I had retreated within myself, and begun to fancy that I truly had been in a dream of imaginary utility, but was, in sober earnestness, a most scurvy knave, whom it was every man's duty to kick. " That was the kind of mood in which I left Lahore, and it was only disturbed at Bombay by the most generous and unjoalous hospitality.* " I was prepared to sneak into England very quietly, and go and * shoulder my crutch, and show how fields were won,' by my own fireside. " Dickens tells us of a squire who was reckoned a great poet by his wife and six children in Yorkshire. Ihere was yet hope, therefore, that I might, among my own dear ones, so far at least approximate the ideal of a hero as to be acquitted of cowardice, lying, and a few other infirmities of the flesh. " If I ever thought of it at all, this was the outside of my English hopes — to find a haven from abuse, jealousy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness. The overwhelming shouts of thousands on the pier at Southampton, which, after crowning the venerable head of Lord Gough, were turned upon me, awoke me for the first time to the fact that there was a whole class of persons in the world who deemed that I had done well. " It was pleasant in such a case to find them my own countrymen, the English ; and so long as I remained among them I enjoyed such immunity from slander that only one libel appeared against me, and that was extracted out of the Mqfussilife ! t * This was from Sir Bartle Frcre, who entertained him at Bombay in a most kind and cordial manner, t An Indian newspaper. 1851.] rnOSPERITY A SEVEUE TOUCHSTONE. 201 "]\rucli iiidebted, tlicieforc, lun I to llie English people — ubether to the jiobles for letting me behold the great, the befiutiful, and the luxurious in their own unequalled halls; the merchants for their hospitable feasts; the unwashed for their hoarse good-will ; the women for their smiles, copies of verses, locks of luiir and acrostics. Yea ; wliy should I exclude that tear, drojiped by the Welsh chambernuiid over my wounded hand, when she reflected that, but for the major, she might have been that moment making the * char- poy ' (or bod) of a great horrid Sikh ? " In short, my dear , everybody did what he or she could, to make me forget that I was mortal — to fill me with conceit and pride. This I grant ; but I do. . . . "Juhj 8. — 'Here the manuscript is blotted,' as the novelists say. A tide of horrid necessities has come in between the nominative case and the verb; and every day's delay in this reply is confirming you in your opinion. " I was going on to say that I do not plead guilty to the moral wreck to which I was exposed. I believe my soul has performed no transmigration, but still inhabits that old body with the long nose and beard, which men call Herbert Edwardes. " My dear , can there be a meaner dog than he who runs mad on good victuals, and behaves like a hound when he is starved ? Answer me that, an' you be a student of character ! Prosperity is doubtless a severe touchstone, and men, observing that it often leads to arrogance, go a step too far, and lay down the axiom that all who rise are proud. Herbert Edwardes has risen, therefore ho is proud. " It is certainly very diflicult to know ourselves. Juvenal says * it comes from Heaven ' to do so ; and so I may be mistaken ; but if I know anything of myself, I am a far humbler man now, far more conscious of my own short- comings and of the true source whence all merit comes, than 1 was when ensign in the Honourable Company's 1st 202 sin TIER BERT B. EDWARDES. [1851. ]']iir()pi'iui liiglit Infantry — conscious of powers above tlie luoistcuing of pipeclay, and writing ' Braliminee Bull ' letters, to get away from my reginieut. " At least I feel so ; aud God is my witness. But I know that this is not the opinion of that large majority of the Indian world wlio liavo no personal knowledge of me, and judge only on general principles ; and it is, I confess, a sorrow in my lot that envy, and jealousy, and miscon- struction pursue me wherever I go, in my oivn presidenci/. " It is a trial, probably, which every public man should aforehand be tauglit to contemplate as the natural con- sequence of his own ambition. " Let no man leave his own fireside for the arena of public life unless he is prepared to be hated by two-thirds of his fellow-beings. Speaking from my own Indian ex- perience, I should pray for any child of mine to be blessed with common sense — very common sense, a contented mind, and a humble heart. Let not any one whom I love be afflicted with the ability to rise. "It is only the ability to inflict fancied injury on those left below — the ability to be envied, misconstrued, and deeply wounded. If you must rise, live yourself up to the mark ; and when the deaths of your contemporaries have left you a major-general and a dotard, you may hope to be recognized as a good public servant. The ghost of your former self will be admitted to be a most proper man ! " Now let us have done with this. It is seldom I give way to such gloomy views of human nature ; but finding you (* mine own familiar friend, whom I trusted ') on the world's side, made me angry. " Many, many thanks for your lively panorama of old associations at Lahore. Your running commentary is almost equal to that of Mr. Stocqueler, who is showman to the * Overland Route to India,' in Waterloo Place, London. " Gladly would I seize any opportunity of revisiting 1H52.] APPREHENSIONS OB' A W'AU WITH lU-nMAII. 203 those old haunts in the Sikh capital. There is no more beiiufil'iil alchemy than that by wiiich tinu^ turns by- gone dtiys of toil, and danger, and sickness into pleasant memories. Those very jahgeer statements seem jests in re- trospect; and I laugh as I read them backwards, and see Ilunjeet's Sirdars proving their rights in a back parlour to a Feringce in a flannel waistcoat and pijaniahs. " Thanks to you for your kind congratulations on my marriage. It has, indeed, added much to my happiness, or rather created it. I wish you could find time to come and pay us a visit in the cold weather or any weather. We would make you quite as iiappy as a bachcdor is capable of in our spare room. . . . " Your affectionate friend, " Herbert B. Edwardes." In the summer of 1852 this happy life at Jullundur was disturbed by apprehensions of a war with Burniah ; and the 1st European Fusilier lieginient being untler orders for service, there was no certainty that Edwardes would not be called upon to join it — a call which no soldier would wish to disobey. A fever had forced his wife to the hill-station of Dliurum- salah in advance of him, and this separation made the anxiety fall heavier on both. But this danger passed away. Edwardes, writing to a relative at home, says, dated Jul- lundur, September 3, 1852 — " I write to set your minds at rest about the Burmah trip, which seemed to threaten me when last I wrote. "The anxiety about it continued till the very end of August, when Government announced to the Board at Lahore that I should not be required. ... I cannot say how thankful I am that my dear wife has been spared the lengthened separation, and painful anxieties, and rumours of death, and \M)unds, and defeat which a campaign brings so ruthlessly home to aU who are not in it. 204 sin nERDEBT B. EDWAHDES. [1852. "Tlii-< news has been to Emma like permission to get well, and free leave for the lirst time to see the mountains, and watch the lights and shadows carrying on their, from time to time, everlasting struggle on the hills and vales of this world. From that moment she has begun to feel quite well, and when I reach there, and she gets out with me to ramble along the hill, the exercise and air and happiness of our being once more together, will, please God, all help to restore her strength. " She is determined to return to the plains when I do, and says she will never leave me any more, though October is the loveliest of all the months in the year in the Himalayas. . . . Henry Lawrence left Lahore on September 1, and goes by Chumba to meet us at Dhurumsala, where we shall all be together under the roof of Mr. IMcLeod, Donaiii the Commissioner, who only left me the day before yesterday, after staying a few days. He is a rare and excellent character, one whose life is one even career of duty to God and man, and whose mind and heart do not apparently contain one selfish tliought. He is by nature blessed with at once the best of intellects and the kindest of dispositions ; and an industry of study, stimulated by the desire to be useful, has given him a range of knowledge on all subjects bearing on the welfare of the people of India, such as I do not know that I ever saw equalled. Yet few people hear of him, and in the noisy world the ripple of his gentle stream of goodness is altogether drowned. But it fertilises, never- theless, and when I come to compare my own brawling fame with the secluded usefulness of this good man, I quite shrink with shame, and positively rejoice that there will be a light in which the true value of things will stand revealed. " Yours very afiectionately, « H. B. E." There is also an interesting correspondence, preserved by 1852.] ON NATIVE VUKEELS IN ENQLISn COURTS. 205 Sir Donald ]\IcLeoil, wliicli shows the affectionate terms on which they worked together, the Commissioner and the Deputy-Commissioner, from which a few extracts may be made here. " JuUuudur, February 11, 1852. '* My dear McLeod, " Just as I had prepared all for moving into camp, a tremendous case sprang up against one of the vukeels here, named Ahmud Hoossein, who had got an unhappy village into mortgage, and was determined to keep it there, with or without law. I have a great feeling against vukeels in general, believing they are only another Vukeeis, obstacle interposed between the people and their rulers, '^^ *^*^° '* increasing litigation, protracting decisions, and swelling costs. The late orders of the Board seem to show a similar feeling in higher quarters. My attention was therefore rather attracted to this particular case, and though it has greatly fatigued me, I am very glad for the general weal that it came into my net. " It is beyond all comparison the worst case I have seen in these courts, and it has ended in my committing A. H. and his accomplice to your sessions for trial, with, as I believe, an irresistible mass of evidence. If my view is correct, any punishment I could have given him would have been ludicrously inadequate. " This, however, leads me to consult you on a wider question. Have I the power to dispense with all the vukeels ? I mean professional practisers, Udt private servants. *' The Board says discouraire them. But why iiermit ^" native . •' . '^ . . vukcoU in them? I have eight in my court, and I will, if you allow our English me, tell them all to seek their fortunes in more genial climes. If you think this principle must be recognized of afford- ing a professional adviser to the suitor, then at least there will be no objection to reducing the eight to two. "But if ever wc are to be honest with ourselves and throw aside all shams and humbugs, it is in a new countrv. 206 sin iiERBEirr b. edwardes. [1852. arrange- ments. First Christmas at Lahore. Why be fettered in the Piinjnl) with a principle wliich is allowed to have worked unmitigated evil in Hindoo.stan ? 'J'he genius of the East is not yet honest enough for this link of English procedure, and it is a pity to perpetuate the errors of our older provinces. " If it is the honest suitor who is to be considered, I am quite sure he will prefer the stream of justice from the source, such as it is, rather than be filtered through the fingers of a vukeel. If it is the dishonest suitor who wants advice, I say at once, let him want ! " The much-talked-of choongee (octroi, or town dues) has been at last arranged for Jullundur, and starts on June 1. I have arranged that there shall be a parish meeting every Monday to audit accounts, and these I shall attend myself. We had a full meeting of the citizens at Cutcherry yesterday to discuss the details, and everything was done with the good will and voice of the majority. " I trust the choongee may become a bond to bind up the parties in this ill-conditioned city, and elicit the virtue of public spirit. The interest evinced yesterday was very great, and I took pains to show them that all were interested in preventing evasion of the duty. " I return you John Lawrence's memo, on the Doab Jageers * with many thanks. They are marked with the seal of Cromwell, a truth and determination which one cannot but consent to and admire, but an absenr'e of the tenderness to spare, which is often to be regretted." The first Christmas was spent at Lahore ; and a happy visit to Sir Henry Lawrence was heavily clouded by the crash which fell about that time upon the Punjab, in the change of the Government by the loss of Sir Henry La\vrence, wdio was transferred to the post of Governor-General's Agent in Eajpootana, leaving liis brother John Lawrence, with Mr. Iiobert IMontgomery and Mr. Mansel, as the Governing Board at Lahore. * Government assignment of land. 1852,] CAMP LIFE IN INDIA. 207 This was notliinj:^ less than a personal grief to the many i^ss of who loved their chief; for few had a greater ])ower of attach- '''''■ '^enr7 ing men with chivalrous devotion than Sir Henry Lawrence. Anil now that he was taken from the country that he had made his own, where he was surrounded by the men he had gathered about him liy his own choice, mIio had looked on him as the father of their public life, and liad caught from liim their inspiration, and felt sure at all times of his support and a})proval, and his generous acknowledgment of all their services, what could the Punjab be to them without their head ? It seemed at the time like a watch in which the mainspring was broken, and with a heavy heart the journey l)ack to Jullundur was undertaken, to return to work again. But the spirit that Sir Henry Lawrence had evoked The feeling and cherished would continue with them still ; and the the^Pu*^!"*^ Itroviuce that he had started so brilliantly and successfully jab. had caught a lire that could not easily be put out. And so the brave, bright spirits went forth again with fresh energy to carry on tlie labours that had been begun so well under tliei]- beloved chief, and knowing in their hearts that it would please him best that they should stay and work where he had placed them. One of the pleasant duties of an Indian ofhciars life is Camp life, the winter march into the interior of the country. Taking up house and home under canvas, and marching on from day to day, or resting in one place for a few days, as the work may require, — a district officer is brought face to face with all the ] )eople under his government ; and, pitching his tents outside a village or a town, he opens his court amongst them, and they can flock in and explain their grievances, their diffieidties, or their quarrels, and he can judge for himself of the facts of a case that might be greatly misrepresented at a distance. Edwardes's bright, genial nature gave the peojde confidence and trust ; and they soon understood that they had a friend as well as a governor in their midst. This work goes on for most of the cold-weather months. Its enjoy- IJiding on in the early morning, fifteen or twenty miles, you ™"^° *' find the tents pitched in a pleasant place (for the native servants are very clever in selecting good ground), perhai)s in some shady corner, under beautiful trees, near .sonu> running water or some shadv {^arden ; breakfast laid ; and the sun servants. 208 SIR IIEBBERT B. EDWAIiDES. [1852. linvinu just begun to be bot enough to make shade welcome, you get off your liorse, tbankful for the h(jnie-like tents pre- pared to receive you. Tbere you are well sheltered during the heat of the day ; and, when the sun goes down, you can come out and enjoy the gipsy life and the surroundings of the country. Then the tents you left behind you are carried on to the next encampment, so that you can spend the night quietly where you are, and go on next morning, to find the same accommodation awaiting you, if there is nothing to detain you more than one day. Or, sometimes, several days may be iiuiian spent ou the same ground. " Wonderfully good servants," the reader will say. And so they are, for there is no lack of any comfort on the table or in any other place ; and you may ask a number of friends to dinner if they come across your path (as they often do), and you will find no difficulties of supplies. (It would be well if our pampered English servants could sometimes learn a lesson from these good servants !) And this was the life to which Edwardes and his wife now returned in the Jullundur District. Edwardes writes to a dear friend in England — " Camp Nakdour, in the District of Jullundur, " Night of February 19, 1852. "My dear Powles, " How ill I have treated yon ! and with wliat a gentle band you ' heap coals of fire on my head ' ! " Such a reproof should never have come to me before I bad written to you in answer to your last, and yet it has found me only surrounded by regrets and good intentions. Let me not waste the precious time, however, but say how welcome your affectionate letter was to u>!, and how reci- procally we had ourselves felt for you at Cbristmas-time. We went for a true English holiday to Lahore, and I took there with me a long list of home letters to be written, as a duty well fitted to that season of remembrance. " Among the list no name pressed more upon my thouglits tlian yours ; and I had lioarded up the idea of 1852.] CHRISTMAS AT LAlIOliK. 209 writing to }()U (jiiite elu'Mislily aiid freslily, uiid l'<>r nil the Murld as if I were not thirty-two ! " l>ut when I got to Laliore, Sir II gave me so much work to do that my 'holiday' proved oidy a 'change of legs,* like the poor cab-liorse's halt. " And so tlio d.iys went on among the hard demands ot" the present, and I saw the dear past no more, except at cake and pnddiiig time, with a flickering of childhood round the hurut mincepies. *' I brought my unanswered letters back witli me to Jnlluiidur, and laid them by with a sigh. But now I must and will write to yon, and confcs-:, for the good of my soul, how niucli wrong 1 have done yon. Very, very welcome, my dear friend, were your Christmas wishes and your wife's to me and mine. IMay God, indeed, bless them to us, and b'ess ours in your belialf. It is, without going farther, a blessing to be tlianklul for that we can all four think tlms, and feel thus, for each other. It is a stout staff this, in our hands, as we go plodding on, that we have a friend. And what a paltry obstacle is space in 8uch meditations, which defy the isolation of the exiled body, and are at home again ^\ith a distinctness that may be sworn to in the witness-box ! " At this moment I am at home with you, and have left my mind's clothes sitting upright in a chair at Nakodur. " Now, then, let me sit with you both on the sola, on the left hand of the fire in the library, and tell you my story. . . . "Of myself I have much that I could tell yon if lime permitted, but now shall oidy say that, aft: who had worked the change — a single Englishman. lie had literall}' lived among them as their ]iatriarch — an out-ol-door, under-tree life. Eveiy man, wonian, and child in tiie country knew him ])ersonally, and hastened Irom their occupations to welcome and salute him as he cai.ie their way. Tlie children esjMcially were his favourites. 'i"h«'ew " The sting of tins punishment was, that tlie people, having to trade through the medium of their neighbours, only got their supplies after paying a heavy tax in the shape of loss through being cheated. " Edwardes had not adopted this policy long before he had ample opportunity of testing its usefulness and showing the measures. 1853.] PUNISHMENT OF OFFENDERS. 231 Hill men that he was master of the position, and more than a match for them in resource and strength. " One of these instances was in the case of the Sheranee tribe, a people living some distance up the Khyber. " A member of this tribe had a personal quarrel with our An ex- native ambassador, who, he heard, was al>out to pass through ""'P'«- the Sheranee territory on his way to Cabul. Tlie man jhe sin waited for him behind a rock at a sudden turn of the road, ranees. and fired a pistol close to him. The bullet, fortunately, struck on the hilt of the sword and glanced off, leaving his side bruised by the blow. The man escaped up the mountain and was soon safe among his people. " The ambassador, however, wrote to Edwardes, complain- ing that he had been fired on by a Sheranee, and, as this was done to a representative of the Government, the insult and injury had to be atoned for. "The tribe would not give up the offender, so Edwardes issued immediate orders of excommunication from Peshawur against the whole of the Sheranees. "This excommunication was kept up for a whole twelve- month, when, thoroughly worn out and disgusted with the distress of the situation, the tribe sent a greybeard to Edwardes to propose terms of accommodation. " He was shown into the Commissioner's presence, who talked over the matter, and received from the greybeard the strongest assurance of the regret the tribe felt at the in- dignity shown to the Ambassador of the great Sircar (Govern- ment), and their anxiety that a friendly understanding should be resumed with them. Edwardes, thinking in his own mind that a fine would be the easiest way of settling the difficulty, asked how many matchlock-men the Sheranees could turn out in case of need ? The Asiatic greybeard, not tliiukiiig of tlie purpose of the question, and anxious to seize what he thought a favourable opening for the expression of a fine sentiment and devotion, replied that a tliousand match- lock-men were at any hour ready to serve the British Govern- ment when required. " Edwardes then said he would compromise the present difficidty by arranging that each matchlock-man should pay a fine of one rupee, and so the tribe would condone the insult to the Government of India. 232 SIR EEItBEItT n. EDWARDES. [1853. " The old greybeard felt obliged to acquiesce in the mode suggested of settling the matter. It was a mode of raising money Edwardcs knew was familiar to these men, as all matchlock-men were able-bodied, and equal to the payment of a rupee. " The old man would have answered more discreetly as well as truly if he had said that three or four hundred men would be available from liis tribe as allies of the Government in a difficulty. His desire, liowever, to magnify his tribe and speak largely, ruined his reputation as a wily diplomatist, and compelled his people to pay a sum, the loss of which would be heavily felt. " The money was paid, and the Sheranees have since been allowed to go and come to Peshawur at their will. " Another complication occurred with a different tribe, but connected with the same ambassador. An expcn- " Shortly after going to Cabul, he fell sick with fever, and qiliVine^to wrotc to Edwardcs, begging that some quinine might be sent the Koo- up to him. Edwardes immediately procured an ounce of tribe^ ^^ ^^^*^ precious medicine, paying sixteen rupees (or thirty -two shillings) for the same. " He at once sent this off by a kossid, or native Queen's messenger, to the Elchee at Cabul. The kossid had to go by the Khyber Pass, the name of which is but too familiar to all of us, in connection with the disastrous retreat of our troops from Afghanistan. When the messenger reached the mouth of the pass, distant only some ten or twelve miles from Peshawur, he was met by a party of young men belonging to the Kookee-Kheyls, a section of the great Afreedie tribe, who hold the pass and live in the neighbourhood. " This party stopped the messenger, and asked him where he was going. He said he was taking a bottle of quinine to the Elchee at Cabul, from the Sircar at Peshawur. " They asked to see it, and, on being shown the bottle, took it from the kossid, saying that they knew it was good stuff for fever, and telling the man he need not trouble himself more about it. He could not resist them, and, indeed, was but too glad to get off with his life, for the usual policy of these men was to murder the people they plundered, and thereby escape notice. When out of their sight, he started 1853.] AN EXPENSIVE DOSE OF QUININE. T.)Z off at a run, and made for rcshawur as quickly as he could. " On arrivin;^ at tlic niafristrate's court-liouse, he ruslied into Edwardes's presence, Hung himself on tlie frround at his feet, and, in Oriental phrase, begged that his life slionhl l)e taken, as, after the loss of the ([uinine, lie was no longer iit to live. " Edwardes made him get up and tell what had happened, and, on hearing the simple story of his having been robbed of the quinine, and strange to say, unharmed in person, by the Kookee-Kheyls, he quieted and comforted him. He then called for all the moonshees (native writers) aljont the court, and dictated an order, as many copies of which were written on tlie spot as there were outposts and police-stations in the neighbourhood. " The order was to the effect that every man belonging to the Kookee-Kheyl tribe who might be in Peshawur, or within the British border, should be cauglit and placed in confine- ment. A reward was at the same time offered, for each common man of twenty rupees (£2), and fifty rupees (£5) for a chief. So well was the order acted on tliat, before dark, three liundred rupees worth of Kookee-Kheyls were safely lodged in prison, of whom one was a chief. " The story of the capture of the cliief was instructive. The chief of a neiglibouring clan which had a feud with the Kookee-Kheyls happened to be in Peshawur. His knowledge of the country led him to think his enemy would seek to fly by an unfrequented route, wliicli would avoid, too, the frontier outposts. Taking some friends with him, he went off, and, hiding in a ditch through wliich the road passed, waited till after dark for his prey. As he calculated, the Kookee-Kheyl chief, seeing no danger, walked straight into the ambuscade, and was brought back to I'eshawur. "Nothing was heard from the frontier that night; but early the next morning a messenger came to say that the greybeards of the Kookee-Kheyl tribe had come to Peshawur, and asked for an interview with the Sahib. This was at once granted, and, on being introthiced intt) Edwardes's presence, the chief spokesman i)roduced the bottle of ipiinine, which he begged to return. " lie tlicn be^an a long story about some unmannerly 234 ,S77? IIEUBERT J!. EDWAIWES. [1853. and cvil-ininckul young mun ul' thu tribe, who had disgraced their body hy taking a bottle of quinine from the kossid of the great (Jovernnient of Hindoostan. The chiefs, he said, luul come in a Ijody to return it, and to beg forgiveness, and for a restoration of the good feeling which existed between them, on tlie part of the great rulers of India. Not a word was said by them of their friends Ijeing locked up in the Pesliawur Jail, as they handed ])ack the quinine. Nothing was said, either, of a quarter of the bottle being empty. Edwardes received it, and expressed liis satisfaction at their expressions of eternal friendship, and the proper feeling which led them to return the quinine. In an off-hand way he remarked, however, that there was a little bill remaining due by the Kookee-Khcyls to the great Sircar, and, until tliat was settled, all could not be quite straight on the part of the Kookee-Kheyls. " Calling the treasurer, he asked what the amount was, and found that three hundred rupees were due to his treasury. Edwardes then told them what he had thought it necessary to do in giving rewards for apprehending members of their tribe, all of which he knew they had heard before, and on that account had taken the trouble to come and humble themselves before him. " A man was sent off to the head-quarters of the tribe, from wliich, in the course of the day, the money was witli more or less difficulty brought ; and in the evening the £30 worth of prisoners left, safe and well, but wiser, for their homes. "The kossid was despatched again to Cabul with the quinine, where he arrived unmolested. The Kookee-Kheyls, no doul)t, thought it too expensive to give another £30 for a quarter of an ounce of (piinine, and did not care to spend another night in the Peshawur Jail, even though the quarters were free. "Edwardes was glad at the peaceful ending of the Easiness, for a little mismanagement might have led to a more or less serious disturbance of the frontier. He taught a lesson also to this and to the other tribes ; that witliout bloodshed he could humble them, and make it wortli their w4iile to be respectful and peaceable neighbours." 1853.] OPENING OF A NEW POLICY. 235 TliLs sl i p/> • i • -i • >> to his own all the merit oi the anair, whatever it may be, is yours. opinions. But, in spite of the Cliief Commissioner's adverse criti- cism, the work went on successfully, and in 1855, a friendly treaty, that bygones should be bygones, being ready for signature, Dost Mahommed determined to entrust the honour and duty of representing himself and signing the treaty to his eldest and favourite son and heir-apparent, Sirdar Gholam Hydur Khan. News came that the Sirdar would start from Cabul on January 17, accompanied by Foujdar Khan, to stay at Jella- labad until arrangements were made for the meeting at Peshawur with the British authorities. ]\Iajor Edwardes wrote to Lord Dalhousie — Conclusion " The visit is evidently looked upon as a trial of our work! feelings and sincerity, and the Ameer is desirous himself to come at some future time to meet your Lordship, if his son is well received." Calcutta At this poiiit of the proceedings, a public letter came from Govern- Calcutta from the Governor-General in Council, gi\ang orders ment _ > a o orders. that as the whole work was Ms own from first to last, it was only right that Major Edwardes should be empowered to bring it to a conclusion himself ; and full orders were given him to meet the Ameer's representative in full Durbar and sign the treaty on the part of Government, and thus put the finishing stroke to his own work. * A letter from the Chief Commissioner to Edwardes at this time says, " I would determine nothing about the reception of Ilydur Khan until the Government orders arrive." Up to this time we see John Lawrence still unconvinced of any value in the treaty, and strenuousl}' repudiating any connection with it. isr,.-,.] LETTERS AND NEGOTIATIONS. 241 The letter was couched in the most honourable and llattor- ing terms, and may Ite <|Uuled in this place, for the details are interesting. From G. F. Edmonstone, Esq., Secretary/ to the Government oj India, to John Lawrence, Esq., Chief Commissioner of the Panjah. " Fort William, January 25, 1855. " Sill, "With my despatch, No. , dated November p.^^^^ ^^^^ ^_ 14 last, I had the honour of forwarding to you the reply of fiom Cai- the Most Noble the Governor-General to a letter whicli had final been addressed to his Lordship by the Ameer of Cabul, '^"■'''^■■''• Dost Mahommcd Khan. The Ameer was thereby informed of the readiness of the Government of India to condone the past ; he was assured of its good will ; and he was invited to establish, by a formal treaty, those relations of friendship for the renewal of which he had expressed an earnest desire in his address to the Governor-General. " There is every probability that his Highness will meet the views of the Government of India, and will send an envoy to Peshawur duly accredited for the negotiation of a treaty between the two States. It appears, therefore, to the Governor-General in Council expedient that, in order to avoid delay, an officer should be accredited on the part of the Government of India, and that he should be furnished with the draft of such a treaty as the Government would be willing to conclude, and with instructions for his guidance during the negotiations that may be carried on. "The Governor-General in Council has resolved to en- trust the duty of negotiating with the expected envoy from Cabul to ]\[ajor Herbert Edwardes, C.B., the Commissioner of Teshawur. He is the principal officer on the frontier, and is thus the person to whom such a duty would naturally and most conveniently be allotted. The well-known abili- ties of Major Edwardes, and the temper, discretion, and VOL. I. R 242 677? n Eli HER T n. KDWAUDES. [1855. jiidgmcut ho lias shown