THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 (J
 
 THE 
 
 CHRONICLES OE BUDGEPORE.
 
 THE 
 
 0HRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE; 
 
 Slitlcks of I'ift ill tlijitr |iii)iii. 
 
 BY 
 
 ILTUDUS PEICHARD, Esq., F.S.S., F.E.G.S. 
 
 OF GRAYS INK, BARKISTER-AT-LAW, 
 
 AUTHOR OF •'IHE ADMINISTRATION OF I.MUA FROM ISoS TO 1869." 
 ETC., ETC. 
 
 NEW EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 W. H. ALLEN & CO.. 13 WATErvLOO PLACE, 
 
 PALL MALL. S.W. 
 
 1890.
 
 LONDON 
 I'KIM'KD BY \V. H. ALLUN AND CO., lij WATEKLOO I'LACJi.
 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The following Sketclies, written at 
 various intervals snatched from more 
 serious pursuits, are intended to illus- 
 trate some characteristics of social and 
 oflB.cial life in Upper India, both in 
 European and Native society, and to 
 show the quaint results which an in- 
 discriminate and often injudicious en- 
 grafting of habits and ideas of Western 
 civilization upon Oriental stock is cal- 
 culated to produce. It may be as weU 
 to add, that there are no personal 
 allusions throughout the book. The 
 characters ara uiten^ed^ to be repre-
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 sentatives of classes, not of individuals. 
 And if, while seeking to amuse, I shall 
 have succeeded in drawing attention 
 under the disguise of fiction, to serious 
 abuses and defects too patent to all 
 who have studied British India from an 
 impartial and independent point of view, 
 I shall not have cause to regret the 
 time spent upon these pages.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHRONICLE I. 
 
 A Rash Promise and its Consequences . . 3 
 
 CHRONICLE n. 
 
 The Budgepore Municipal Commission ... 29 
 
 CHRONICLE in. 
 
 The Budgepore Exhibition. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Showing how the skilled artizan was introduced to 
 
 the collector . . . . ... 55 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 How Mrs. Fileeter led the choir, and what was the 
 
 consequence thereof ...... 87 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Showing how Colonel Macdare, single-handed, at- 
 tacked the " Departments " . . . .110 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Prize Committee 153
 
 Vili CONTENTS. 
 
 CHEONICLE lY. 
 
 The History of the Baebacks. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The early History of Budgepore, and how annexation 
 
 was forced upon us 179 
 
 CHAPTEE ir. 
 The insurrection ....... 198 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Battle of Budgepore 217 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The committee proceed to select a site for bar- 
 racks 242 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Introduces the reader to a native official . . . 270
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHEONICLE IV. 
 
 The History of the Barracks. 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The danger of interfering with native customs . 1 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The fate of the fakir ...... 36 
 
 CHRONICLE V. 
 
 Thk Lieutenant-Governor's Visit, and what came 
 
 OF IT 57 
 
 CHRONICLE VI. 
 The Overseer 75 
 
 CHRONICLE Vn. 
 A Law-Suit 89 
 
 CHRONICLE Vin. 
 
 The Visit of our Spin
 
 IV CONTENTcs 
 
 CHRONICLE IX. 
 
 The Remouxts. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A faux pas 125 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Shows how a great social problem was solved . . 157 
 
 CHAPTER in. 
 The Court-Martial 173 
 
 CHEONICLE X. 
 
 BuDGEPOKE Commercial Ixstitutioxs . . . 191 
 
 CHRONICLE XI. 
 
 The Budgepoee Political Agex'CY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A thing of beauty is a joy for ever .... 219 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 We all have our weak points . . . . .211 
 
 CHAPTER ill. 
 An unwelcome visitor ...... 271 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The cab-horse between two thoroughbreds . . 290
 
 CHRONICLE I. 
 
 A RASH PROMISE AND ITS CONSE- 
 QUENCES.
 
 THE 
 
 CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 CHRONICLE I. 
 
 It is not the slightest use for the reader to 
 begin by asking me where Budgepore is^ for I 
 have no intention of satisfying a vain and idle 
 curiosity. If it is not in the map that is not 
 my fault, for my profession is not that of a map 
 maker. It is enough for the reader^s purpose, 
 and for mine, that he be told that Budgepore is 
 in India. I will further add that Budgepore is 
 a representative place, Budgepore institutions 
 are representative institutions, and Budgepore 
 people representative people. As Budgepore 
 comprises a native city and an English settle- 
 
 1 *
 
 4 THE CHEOXICLES OF BCDGEPOEE. 
 
 ment^ — a station as it is called in India^ — it 
 follows that the Bndgeporeans consist of native 
 and English people. If the reader thinks the 
 natives have very hard names, that is not my 
 faulty I did not construct Oriental languages, 
 and Oriental appellations always have a hard 
 sound to English ears. And if it is taken as 
 matter of offence that the English people at 
 Budgepore have very queer patronymics, I 
 decline to be answerable for it. If any one is to 
 be blamed, I suppose it is the ancestors and 
 founders of the families whose descendants 
 resided at Budgepore, at the time to which these 
 Chronicles refer, and for Christian names I con- 
 clude the godfathers and godmothers are respon- 
 sible. Still there is this to be said for it, that the 
 names, although they do at first seem awkward 
 and uncouth, will generally be understood by 
 those of my readers who have been much in 
 India. And to those who have not, it can 
 make no possible difference whether a man is 
 called Mr. Bywilwuffa or Mr. Billofsale. How 
 it could ever have come to pass that any En- 
 glishman should have had such a designation as 
 Mr. Kist Bywilwuflfa, the Lieut. -Governor, or 
 Mr. Dakhil Duftar, the Collector and ^Nlagis- 
 trate, or Dr. Grolee, the surgeon, I cannot 
 possibly di\'ine. But as these gentlemen were 
 so caUed, it is plainly not my business to deprive
 
 A RASH PROMISE. 
 
 them of their family appellations or annul the 
 work of their godfathers by calling them Mr, 
 Smith or Mr. Jones. What would be thought 
 of a footman, who, in announcing Sir Llwyllwgn 
 Mautwrllg, the well-known member for Cgmwrg 
 in North Wales, was, by way of avoiding the 
 difficulty, to call out Mr. David Williams. I 
 shall therefore make no apology for the names 
 of the people who figure in these pages. They 
 would not be the same people under different 
 names ; and as they are all old friends of mine, 
 I should be very sorry to see them called by 
 any other. 
 
 A good many of the dramatis person<s that 
 appear in these Chronicles come and go like 
 the characters upon the stage. Others meet us 
 all throughout the history which, like all true 
 histories, has neither beginning nor end. There 
 is, for instance, i\Ir. Wasilbakee, a Bengal 
 civilian of high standing, who, as Commissioner 
 of Revenue of the Budgepore division, shares 
 with Mrs. Wasilbakee the dignity and responsi- 
 bility attaching to the position of the heads of 
 Budgepore society. Next to him in rank, 
 comes Basil Mooltawee, the Judge, and after 
 him, Mr. Dakhil Duftar, the Collector and 
 Magistrate. Dr. Golee is what we call in India 
 the civil surgeon, and there are many others 
 who need not be enumerated here, who will.
 
 6 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 like all sensible people^ come when they are 
 wanted, and not before. 
 
 It must not be supposed that, because the 
 Budgepore people happen to have had rather 
 peculiar names, they differed from the rest of 
 mankind in any respect. As far as I know, 
 human nature at Budgepore is no otherwise 
 constituted than elsewhere, and it must not be 
 imagined that these Chronicles are recorded for 
 the exclusive benefit of the Anglo-Indian. On 
 the contrary, I think it will be admitted that 
 Budgepore red tape and whitewash much re- 
 semble the same articles in London and Paris, 
 at any rate in the method of their application. 
 
 It remains to say a few words as to the 
 manner in which the Chronicles came into my 
 possession. 
 
 It so happened that in the circle of my dear 
 and old friends who, I may safely say, have 
 made Budgepore society what it is, there was 
 one who had collected a number of characteristic 
 anecdotes Avith which he would occasionally 
 enliven his companions at our social gatherings. 
 And as he enjoyed great aptitude for studying 
 men and manners, an untiring perseverance in 
 sifting out mysteries, and a most acute sense of 
 the ridiculous, it occurred to me that his stories 
 were too good to be lost, and at my especial 
 request he consented to put them on paper, and
 
 A RASH PROMISE. 7 
 
 to allow me to make what use of them I pleased. 
 A few years before I made his acquaintance, an 
 acquaintance that soon ripened into friendship. 
 Sir Walter Scott^s novels had been at the zenith 
 of their fame, and my old friend had taken such 
 a marvellous fancy to " Old Mortality " that he 
 was always reading and always talking about it. 
 He knew whole passages by heart, and would 
 often repeat them with so much pathos, and 
 such a thorough appreciation of their merits, 
 that he acquired the nickname of Old Mortality. 
 As such he has always been known at Budge- 
 pore, and for the last twenty years has gone by 
 no other name. 
 
 Some considerable time, however, elapsed 
 after the promise was first made without any 
 show on my friend^s part of an intention to 
 fulfil it. Professional business put the matter 
 out of my head, and it was only on my return 
 to Budgepore, after a somewhat prolonged ab- 
 sence, that the idea of collecting these anecdotes 
 through the instrumentality of Old Mortality, 
 as we called him, recurred to me. An accumu- 
 lation of correspondence, and professional de- 
 tails of various kinds, kept me fully employed 
 for some weeks after my return, during which 
 time I heard and saw nothing of the outside 
 world. I felt the burden the more as it was 
 Christmas, a period when, even at Budgepore,
 
 8 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 Englishmen snatch a holiday if they can, and, 
 gathering in social circles round their wood fires, 
 endeavour to recall in imagination the scenes of 
 early days, and the familiar, though long lost 
 faces of the old friends of youth and boyhood. 
 
 One morning, when busily engaged in my 
 office, I was suddenly accosted by the well- 
 known salutation " A merry Christmas and a 
 happy new year/' Raising my eyes from my 
 desk, I beheld my ancient friend. It is curious 
 to observe the air of superiority people assume 
 when they have just returned from Europe. 
 The fact of having been home for ever so short 
 a visit, or of being about to go, confers a kind 
 of rank which I may call Budgepore rank. In 
 possessing this, a subaltern who has just returned 
 from furlough is a personage of much more im- 
 portance in the drawing-room, the ball-room, 
 everywhere except on parade, than his captain, 
 who has been in India for the last ten years. 
 A man who has just returned wears the fact in 
 his face, in his coat, in his boots : he lets every- 
 one see that his opinions ought to carry weight. 
 What right have old fogies and old Indians — 
 bah ! — who have not been home to rub off the 
 rust in contact with civilization these ten years, 
 to put themselves on a par with him ? 
 
 So that, when Old Mortality made his ap- 
 pearance with the unmistakable air of a man
 
 A RASH PROMISE. U 
 
 just out, I scarcely paused to ask him the ques- 
 tion whether he had not been to England : I 
 took it for granted, indeed, and only said as 
 we shook hands, — 
 
 '^ You never told me you were going." 
 
 " No,-"^ said he, seating himself by the fire, 
 " I hadn^t time — and I havn^t had time either 
 to go on with those Chronicles, and that is what 
 I have looked in to say.^^ 
 
 " So you have been to England ? " 
 
 " Yes — a flying visit." 
 
 " Unexpected, wasn^t it ? " 
 
 "Decidedly." 
 
 " And what did you take home ? " 
 
 " Do you mean that, or do you mean what 
 took me home ? " 
 
 " Well, yes — either way — I meant what I 
 said." 
 
 " I will answer your first question then first. 
 What did I take home ? I took home Jimmy 
 and Totty." 
 
 " Jimmy and Totty ! and what took you 
 home ? " 
 
 " What took me home ? Jimmy and Totty.'* 
 
 " You hadn^t much time to spend on the road? " 
 
 "No, Ihadn^t.'^ 
 
 " Because I was thinking that perhaps you 
 had been spending a day or two with the 
 Sphinx.'''
 
 10 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 " Ha, Ha ! not bad ! Well now perhaps you 
 would like to hear a little more about it." 
 
 " It ? " 
 
 " Yes — I mean my trip to England." 
 
 " And about Jimmy and Tot — what is it — 
 Tottems ? " 
 
 " Jimmy and Totty — you appear to experience 
 some difficulty in mastering that name." 
 
 " Well, it is rather unfamiliar — probably it is 
 less so to you." 
 
 Old jNIortality looked at me for an instant 
 out of the corners of his eyes, and answered 
 laconically, 
 
 " Probably." 
 
 " Now Old Mortality," said I, pointing to the 
 heap of papers on my table that measured 
 exactly two feet six inches in height over the 
 whole area, "you see these papers, recollect 
 your broken promise and don^t trifle. You 
 don^t deserve to be told it, indeed you don't, 
 but if you knew how many enquiries I have 
 had as to where you were, and when the 
 Chronicles of Budgepore were to appear, you 
 would grow conceited — so I won^t tell you, but 
 pray do not take up time needlessly. Let us 
 hear all about your journey and this Johnny — " 
 
 " Jimmy, I tell you," he said angrily. 
 
 " Well, Jimmy and — the other you know." 
 
 " You don''t deserve to hear a word — indeed
 
 A RASH PROMISE. 11 
 
 yoa don't — however^ as you are an old friend 
 I'll overlook the extraordinary remissness of 
 your memory and tell you all about it." 
 
 " We were dining at Wasilbakee's one night. 
 Pretty nearly all Budgepore was there. Dakhil 
 Duftar was there and his wife, Roobakaree, too, 
 the joint magistrate, and Mrs. Roobakaree, 
 Mooltawee, the judge, and Mrs. Mooltawee, 
 Dr. Golee, Captain and Mrs. Cameltrunk, 
 Colonel Moodle and his nephew, Kamerband, 
 who, you know, commands the regiment, — were 
 all present. There was Dr. Nindi, the princi- 
 pal of the Budgepore College, Captain and Mrs. 
 Naksha, and a whole host beside, whose names 
 I don't just now recollect. Before dinner was 
 announced, malignant Fate in the person of 
 Mrs. Wasilbakee sailed up and communicated 
 to me in a mysterious whisper her wish, equiva- 
 lent to a command, that I would take Mrs. 
 Naksha in to dinner. I bowed acquiescence, 
 and shortly after, dinner being announced, I 
 offered Mrs. Naksha my arm and led her in 
 to dinner, our progress thereto only being 
 interrupted twice, by my, and then my 
 partner's, treading on the skirt of the lady in 
 front of us. 
 
 "Now there are certain duties allotted to 
 every position in life, and the duty you are 
 called on to perform when dining out is un-
 
 12 THE CHRONICLES OF BXTDGEPORE. 
 
 doubtcclly to talk. While your host provides 
 the wherewithal to eat and drink^ you are sup- 
 posed to provide conversation for yourself and 
 your neighbour. Under these circumstances I 
 find that if I think of what to say I never say 
 anything^ for if you think what to say your 
 mind inevitably passes on to thinking whether 
 what you are going to say is worth saying, and 
 I need hardly add that the answer is generally 
 in the negative, so that the process ends in 
 your saying nothing. Whereas, if you don^t 
 think what to say your flow of conversation is 
 uninterrupted . ' ' 
 
 "All which/^ said I, interrupting him, "is 
 an apology by way of preface for your having 
 said something very stupid. ^^ 
 
 " If you wish me to go on with my story you 
 must not interrupt me with any superficial 
 observations of that nature. You may keep 
 them for your readers." 
 
 "Very well/^ I replied humiliated — "no 
 more interruptions — I am anxious to hear all 
 about Tommy and the other.'^ 
 
 Old Mortality replied by a contemptuous 
 look, and proceeded. 
 
 " Mrs. Naksha and I got over the first half 
 of the period allotted to dinner very comfortably. 
 We discussed the usual topics. We mutually 
 remarked that the hot weather was nearly over,
 
 A RASH PROMISE. 13 
 
 and congratulated one another thereon. I ob- 
 served that the season had been on the whole a 
 very tolerable one^ and my companion coincided 
 with me. I hazarded an opinion that we should 
 have a delightful cold season, and Mrs. Naksha 
 endorsed that opinion. We then briefly dis- 
 cussed the various stations we had been located 
 in during our Indian sojourn, and their re- 
 spective merits. The last ball afforded material 
 for a few more remarks, and we mutually won- 
 dered when the next would be. 
 
 " We then, mot'e Indico, discussed the appear- 
 ance and dress o£ every one at the table, and 
 Mrs. Naksha told me everything she had ever 
 heard about the private concerns of each in 
 turn. Finally, the band was disposed of, and 
 then came a pause. 
 
 " 'V\e been thinking,^ said I, which was quite 
 false, because I hadn^t been thinking at all, 
 ' of taking a run to England and seeing the 
 Paris Exhibition on the way.' 
 
 " ' Oh, how nice ! ' exclaimed Mrs. Naksha, 
 ' then I shall ask you to take home Jimmy 
 and Totty.' 
 
 " I replied of course that if I carried out my 
 intention it would give me the utmost pleasure 
 to oblige her ; not having the least glimmer of 
 an idea of going at all. 
 
 " She then informed me that her husband
 
 14 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 had been ordered to Peshawur, That Jimmy 
 and Totty had arrived at that age when it was 
 absolutely necessary they should go home, that 
 they were extremely anxious to avoid the neces- 
 sity of taking them all the way to Peshawur, 
 and were looking out for some eligible oppor- 
 tunity to get Jimmy and Totty conveyed home 
 and made over to their friends in England, 
 that there was no one in all India to whom she 
 would rather entrust the responsible charge 
 than to me, and she was quite certain her hus- 
 band felt the same. To all of which and a 
 great deal more of the same kind, I replied by 
 common-place polite platitudes, interlarded with 
 asseverations that my plans were by no means 
 fixed, that the idea of going was only a passing 
 thought, which portion of my remarks made, I 
 found, very little impression on Mrs. Naksha's 
 mind. In this way the rest of the dinner 
 passed off very comfortably, and the ladies rose 
 to leave the room. 
 
 " When we joined the ladies in the drawing- 
 room I went and seated myself by the side of 
 Mrs. Wasilbakee on the sofa. 
 
 " ' How very kind of you ! ' she said, much to 
 my astonishment, just as I sat down. She had 
 not time to say any more when her husband 
 came up — 
 
 " ' So you are really off. Old Mortality, to the
 
 A HASH PROMISE. 15 
 
 Paris Exhibition ? Well done ! You are quite 
 right to go. I wish I could go too." 
 
 " ' And so very kind of him/ added his 
 wife. ' Just think how very nice it is for poor 
 Mrs. Naksha to be able to entrust her little 
 ones to such good hands as Old Mortality's.'' 
 
 " ' And I know you will be so very kind/ 
 added Mrs. Wasilbakee, 'as to take home for 
 me a small packet — it is a very small one." 
 
 " ' By the way/ said her husband, ' yes, that's 
 a good idea. Til get you to take charge of a 
 small parcel that I have had, I don't know how 
 long, waiting for an opportunity to send it 
 home. It was Mouza, the Secretary to Govern- 
 ment, gave it to me ever so long ago, and asked 
 me to send it to England by the first opportunity 
 that offered, and by Jove I forgot it.' 
 
 " ' You go by the steamer of the 23rd I sup- 
 pose,' said Dr. Nindi, coming up at this juncture 
 to take part in the conversation. ' There's a 
 great friend of mine, Cripps and his wife, 
 charming creature Mrs. Cripps, going by that 
 steamer. You will like Mrs. Cripps very much, 
 clever woman Mrs. Cripps.' 
 
 "All this time I sat as one astonished. I 
 could realize a little the feelings of ^neas when 
 he disturbed old Polydore's sleep. You recollect 
 the line, — 
 
 ' Obstupuij steteruntqne comae, et vox faucibus hcesit,'
 
 16 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 which we used to translate, '^I was thun- 
 derstruck, hairs stuck in my throat, and my 
 jaws stood erect on the top of my head ^ — a 
 most curious sensation that — it feebly describes 
 my mental condition at that moment. 
 
 " ' Oh yes ' — I stammered, ' certainly — very 
 nice — but to tell the truth — well — my plans 
 are not fixed/ 
 
 '' At that moment up came Naksha, grasped 
 my hand affectionately, and said, 
 
 " ' My dear Old Mortality, how can I thank 
 you sufiQcieutly for this great act of kindness. It 
 has relieved us of a world of anxiety. I assure 
 you there is no man in all India to whom I 
 would rather entrust the sacred charge.'' 
 
 " ^ And they are such clever, sweet children," 
 chimed in Mrs. Wasilbakee, ' so clever and so 
 interesting.' 
 
 " I groaned inwardly and thought of ^Eneas. 
 
 "There was a pause. Immediately in front 
 of the sofa where I was seated there was an 
 ottoman on which Mrs. Naksha and some other 
 ladies were sitting. In the short silence that 
 ensued after this last remark, I heard a stifled 
 sob ; it proceeded from Mrs. Naksha, who wiped 
 away a pair of small tears with a very smaU 
 piece of lace and cambric, while her friend, in 
 an audible whisper said to her, bv way of con- 
 solation.
 
 A BASH PROMISE. 17 
 
 " ' But just think, my dear, such an excellent 
 opportunity, such a good-natured, noble-hearted 
 man, he will be so kind to them/ 
 
 '' ' But it is so soon/ murmured Mrs. Nak- 
 sha. ' I cannot bear to think of it, he leaves by 
 the next mail.^ 
 
 " ' Here's our old friend Old Mortality going 
 to leave us,^ said Wasilbakee to Colonel Moodle, 
 who waddled up and joined the group by the 
 sofa. 
 
 *' ' Yes,^ said Colonel Moodle, who also 
 seemed in league against me, ' I hear he is 
 going to the Paris Exhibition.^ 
 
 " ' To England first, isn't it so ? ' said Mrs. 
 Wasilbakee. 
 
 " ' Oh yes,' said I, in my utter bewilderment 
 — 'certainly.' 
 
 " ' Business first and pleasure afterwards,' 
 said Rubakaree fi'om behind. How I hated him ! 
 
 " ' They are such interesting children,' said 
 Mrs. Wasilbakee. ' Jimmy's quite a precocious 
 boy, and as for Totty ' 
 
 " The rest of the sentence was cut short by 
 the servant handing round tea and cofifee. The 
 group in front of me separated. Mrs. Wasil- 
 bakee got up and went to lead Mrs. Rubakaree 
 to the piano. I also arose and moved to another 
 part of the room. Wherever I went it was the 
 same thing over again. One asked me when 1 
 I. 2 
 
 ^
 
 18 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 started, another wondered I had kept my in- 
 tended journey so secret, a third envied me my 
 trip, a fourth longed to accompany me, and 
 every lady in the room one after another assured 
 me I should find Jimmy and Totty delightful 
 companions, and they all seemed to think it 
 was very kind of me to take them, and that it 
 was an excellent arrangement for all parties 
 concerned. 
 
 "■ But this was not all. I soon saw another 
 danger looming in front of me. I heard the 
 word — I saw it on the lips of every one — pack- 
 ages. 
 
 " My heart sank, I looked round, there was 
 no escape. Every creature in that room had 
 marked me out for its prey. So have you seen 
 the dying camel stretched upon the sandy 
 plain. The load is taken off his back, for he 
 can no longer carry it, and the kafila, imable to 
 halt, pushes on, leaving the worn-out and feeble 
 to die upon the ground. To halt there would 
 be to sacrifice the lives of the whole caravan for 
 the sake of those, be they men or beasts, upon 
 whom death has already set its seal. But 
 scarcely has the figure of the last camel in the 
 line of the retreating kafila passed from view 
 behind the next sand-heap, when the flapping 
 of wings awakens with a thrill of horror the 
 attention of the dying creature. Instinct tells
 
 A RASH PROMISE. 19 
 
 him of the fate that is in store. First one, then 
 another, then a third, then a host of vultures 
 and carrion birds assembled for the bloody- 
 feast, flutter in a crowd above the victim, hover 
 in the air for an instant or two, and then swoop 
 down upon their living prey. That was some- 
 thing like my position. I was as helpless and 
 powerless to escape as that camel. So I set 
 my teeth firmly together, and though still 
 bewildered, yet had sufficient appreciation of 
 my position to know there was no help for it. 
 Once or twice the desperate idea seized me, I 
 would mount upon a chair and make a speech. 
 All Budgepore was there, and all Budgepore 
 would hear me. I would say, ' Ladies and 
 Gentlemen, I beg you to hear me. You are 
 under a misconception altogether. I am not 
 going to England at all, and what I said to 
 Mrs. Naksha at dinner-time was a mere remark 
 pour passer le temps, a common-place dinner- 
 table observation, of which she had no right to 
 take the advantage she has done.' 
 
 " I conned over this little speech in my mind 
 by one of those mental processes which are so 
 rapidly executed in times of emergency. I 
 learnt it by heart. I selected with my eye the 
 best position — the very chair I would stand 
 upon. It was the only hope — the only chance 
 I had. But my heart failed me. Then came
 
 20 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 the inevitable vultures upon my yet palpitating 
 carcass. I assure you there was not a single 
 lady in that room, not one that did not ask me 
 to take a package — some called it a ' parcel/ 
 some a ' small trifle/ some ' just a tiny little 
 thing/ (I found the tiny little ones the biggest 
 of all,) — they all asked me to oblige them so far. 
 A great many of the men, too, did the same, 
 but them I did not hesitate to refuse. 
 
 " I reached home that night in a condition 
 of mind more easily imagined than described. 
 How comfortable my room looked — my writing- 
 table, my books, all to be abandoned for the 
 discomfort, nay, the horrors, of a P. and O. 
 steamer. I walked up and down the room for 
 some time in a state bordering on despair. I 
 was minded to do something desperate. Was 
 there no release — no escape ? My pistol- case 
 was on the table. I opened it and took up my 
 revolver and handled it for a moment fondly. 
 It had been loaded ever since 1858. I recollected 
 that I had been afraid to fire it off lest it should 
 burst, and put it down again with a laugh. 
 Then I called my servant. He came in and 
 put his hands together as if he was going to say 
 his prayers. 
 
 " ' Pack up everything,' I said, almost in 
 distraction. 
 
 " He asked me where I was going.
 
 A RASH PROMISE. 21 
 
 " ' To England/ I said, grinning horribly in 
 despair. 
 
 " I had had this man in my service for twenty 
 years. On my saying this, he went away, and 
 abstracted from all my boxes and wardrobes 
 every single thing of every possible kind which 
 he thought I should not miss. 
 
 " Next morning, the first thing, a note was 
 put into my hands. It was from Naksha, and 
 ran thus : — 
 " ' My dear Old Mortality, 
 
 " ' I cannot express to you how deeply I feel 
 the obligation you are about to confer upon us. 
 No other arrangement could possibly have 
 suited us so well. We know youi* sterling 
 qualities, and can entrust our charge to you 
 with confidence, while we feel most grateful to 
 you for undertaking it. I enclose a cheque on 
 the Budgepore Bank for Rs. 1000 to meet 
 current expenses. Anything more you may 
 want, please let me know. We leave for Pesha- 
 wur this evening. My wife and I will bring 
 the children in the afternoon, and make them 
 over to you. Their things shall be sent over in 
 the course of the day. You have placed me 
 under a lasting obligation to you which I can 
 never sufficiently repay. 
 
 " ' Ever yours, 
 
 " ' C. Naksha.'
 
 22 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 " In the course of the morning some coolies 
 appeared with boxes (there were four boxes 
 and seven large bundles, just the kind of things 
 I thought, to be comfortable, loose in one^s 
 cabin), and then clamoured to be paid. 
 
 " In the afternoon a carriage drove up. The 
 ayah was on the box. Captain and Mrs, 
 Naksha inside with Jimmy and Totty. Mrs. 
 Naksha^s eyes were red, and traces of recent 
 tears were on her cheeks. Jimmy and Totty 
 were brought up and introduced to me, and so 
 was the ayah, who, I was informed, had under- 
 taken for the sum of one hundred and fifty 
 rupees, half of which had been paid in advance, 
 to accompany the children to England. Mrs. 
 Naksha gave me an inventory of Jimmy and 
 Totty 's things. There were three dozen shirts, 
 three dozen pairs of socks, four pairs of shoes, 
 six pairs of trousers, and six jackets, besides 
 cloaks, &c., a small bag containing a brush and 
 comb, and that instrument of torture, a smaU- 
 toothed comb, a piece of soap, and sundry bits 
 of flannel, and a sponge. Totty^s wardrobe 
 was similarly provided for, but as she was a 
 young lady, I need not specifically detail the 
 articles. 
 
 " I will not dwell upon the parting between 
 parents and children. It was sufficiently painful 
 to witness, and it was a relief when it was over.
 
 A RASH PROMISE. 23 
 
 ** After this the little packages began to arrive. 
 I devoted a room for their reception, where 
 they were stowed away as they came, upon the 
 ground. There were in all, by the time I 
 started, one hundred and twenty-seven, weigh- 
 ing in the aggregate, ninety-six pounds, eleven 
 ounces. 
 
 " It was obvious that there was nothing left 
 for me but to complete my preparations for the 
 journey. I wrote and engaged berths in the 
 next steamer, and put a bold face on the matter 
 as became a philosopher. My philosophy, 
 however, was sorely tried several times before 
 I made my charge over to the affectionate aunt 
 who was waiting at Southampton to receive 
 it. First of all, on the morning of depar- 
 ture, the ayah was not to be found anywhere. 
 Having received half the sum stipulated for 
 the journey in advance, she not unnaturally 
 disappeared. When I enquired for her, the 
 other servants said her mother was sick, and 
 thus accounted for her absence. I could not 
 get another to accompany me, and eventually 
 was obliged to put an out- door servant in 
 charge, whose especial calling it is to look after 
 goats, and this being the nearest approximation 
 to a nurse my bachelor household afforded, I 
 enlisted him into the service, and started, I in 
 one carriage, and the two children and their
 
 24 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 attendant in another. We had not gone far 
 when my carriage, which was in advance, was 
 stopped, and on enquiry I found that Jimmy 
 had fallen out. He fortunately fell into a heap 
 of soft dirt or sand, and was not hurt, so we 
 picked him up, and having enjoined on both 
 the children the necessity of keeping quiet, 
 and upon their attendant the duty of looking 
 better after them, I started again. The child- 
 ren fortunately went to sleep after this contre- 
 temps, and slept for the rest of the day. "We 
 had one night to spend in an hotel, which did 
 not pass very comfortably for me, for Jimmy 
 and Totty having been asleep all day, not un- 
 naturally stayed awake, and insisted on alter- 
 nately playing, fighting, and crying the whole 
 night. Next day we got to the rail, and so to 
 Calcutta, where I engaged a brawny Scotch- 
 woman, the wife of a soldier quartered in the 
 fort, who consented for the sum of fifty pounds 
 to leave her husband and accompany me to 
 England. After this, my troubles grew less. 
 The steamer sailed the day after I reached Cal- 
 cutta. Jimmy, Totty and I became pretty good 
 friends before we reached Southampton, where 
 I parted from them, and after spending three 
 weeks in England, I set out on my way back. 
 And here I am, come to report my arrival. 
 " The trouble which the landing and delivery
 
 A RASH PROMISE. 25 
 
 of the packages entailed^ however, is utterly 
 beyond my power o£ description. The most of 
 the time^ it was not very long certainly, that 
 my foot rested on British soil, I was busily 
 engaged in their distribution. A voluminous 
 correspondence had to be conducted, and I 
 narrowly escaped two lawsuits. There was one 
 package directed to some confounded lawyer in 
 some country town. Well, the wretched thing 
 got lost, but the creature had knowledge of it 
 somehow. I suppose the sender had written 
 and told him it was coming. However that 
 may be, I admitted having had it, and said I 
 regretted it was lost or mis-sent. Would you 
 believe it, he wrote back a lawyer's letter, and 
 said I was a something or other, I forget what 
 — I dare say you will understand, but I know 
 it ended in double ' ee,'* and I was bound to 
 u sedu e diligence in taking care of the thing. 
 Of course I had to go to a lawyer, too, to 
 defend the case. His bill for costs alone came 
 to thirty pounds. The action never came off, 
 because a day or two before the time fixed, I 
 received a letter in most indignant and angry 
 terms, from a man of the same name as this 
 lawyer, to whom the parcel had been sent by 
 mistake. The other lawsuit I got into was a 
 
 * " Bailee," probably.
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 nasty business^ owing to my having declared 
 the contents of a certain package to be what 
 the sender^ it was Mrs. Rubakaree by the way, 
 declared them to be. For some reason or other, 
 my ill luck I suppose, the Custom House 
 officers chose to pounce upon this very one out 
 of the whole lot, and opened it, when the con- 
 tents turned out to be of a very different cha- 
 racter from what Mrs. Rubakaree had inti- 
 mated, and so their suspicions being aroused 
 they opened some twenty or thirty others, 
 besides getting me fined hea^dly for a false 
 declaration. 
 
 " This is the history of my recent adventure, 
 and now you know what has prevented me from 
 fulfilling my promise. There shall, however, 
 be no more delay. I'll put my notes together 
 and let 3 ou have the first instalment in a couple 
 of days.'^ 
 
 My friend was as good as his word, and in 
 two days' time I received what you will find 
 in the next chapter.
 
 CHRONICLE II. 
 
 THE BUDGEPORE MUNICIPAL 
 COMMISSION.
 
 29 
 
 CHRONICLE II. 
 
 The Budgepore Municipal Commission. 
 
 It pleased the Hon^ble Mr. East Byewilwuffa, 
 Lieutenant- Govern or J to intimate one day to 
 Mr. Wasilbakee^ the commissioner of Budge- 
 pore, in a " demi-official," his opinion that it 
 would be very desirable that Budgepore should 
 have its municipal commission. 
 
 The municipal commission is, as we see it, an 
 institution essentially Indian. It is well known 
 that the British Government is most anxious to 
 educate the people of this country in the art of 
 self-government. There is nothing, and we 
 have been so repeatedly told it that we cannot 
 refuse to believe it, that the old Bengal civilians 
 at the head of the government more ardently 
 desire, than to see as much of the representa- 
 tive principle as possible introduced into the 
 administration of this country. This, the
 
 30 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 reader will understand, is no new policy ; they 
 have aU throughout, I mean for the last cen- 
 tury, always held these liberal opinions, and if 
 they have been judged to hold the contrary, 
 it is only a proof of want of judgment 
 among those who have ventured to criticise 
 their acts or to review their policy. The 
 people of India, however, as is well known, 
 have been subjected for many centuries to all 
 the miseries of despotic rule ; and it is only of 
 late, that is, since the British 'power became 
 dominant, that they have been able really to 
 learn what freedom is, and to enjoy its blessings. 
 It is a work of time, however, to render races 
 who have long been subjected to the dominion 
 of arbitrary despots, fit to exercise the privi- 
 leges of free men. And the present generation 
 of Indian statesmen were the first to introduce 
 the system of municipal commissions or cor- 
 porations into the larger cities of Upper India, 
 institutions which it was considered would serve 
 in some measure to instruct the people in the 
 art of governing themselves. 
 
 While I am writing this chronicle, a bill 
 is passing through the law manufactory at 
 Calcutta, considerably modifying the existing 
 regulations regarding municipal commissions. 
 The reader will understand, therefore, that the 
 Budgepore municipal commission was formed
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 31 
 
 before the present, or tlie recent bill (as it may, 
 by the time these pages are placed before the 
 public, have come into operation) became law. 
 
 It will only be necessary to remark, by way 
 of preface, that under the old law the adoption 
 of the system was entirely voluntary, under 
 the new it is compulsory, that is, whenever the 
 Government think fit to introduce it, they can 
 do so. 
 
 Well, as I have said, the commissioner re- 
 ceived intimation through a demi-official that 
 it would be desirable if the residents of Budge- 
 pore would take the first lesson in the art of 
 self-government by the introduction of a muni- 
 cipal commission. Accordingly Mr. Wasilbakee 
 communicated the idea to Mr. Dakhil Duftar, 
 the collector, and Mr. Dakhil Duftar, fully 
 entering into the spirit of the thing, intimated 
 by means of a public notice that there would 
 be a meeting of the principal inhabitants of 
 Budgepore at the cutcherry the following day at 
 7 A.M. At the same time he sent a circular 
 round the civil station inviting all the European 
 residents to be present on the same occasion. 
 
 Great was the wonderment throughout the 
 city of Budgepore as to what the " collector 
 sahib'' had summoned the inhabitants for. 
 Various reports prevailed, which became more 
 startling and sensational as the day wore on.
 
 32 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 Some said the Government had determined 
 that the principal inhabitants of Budgepore 
 should forthwith be "made Christians/' the 
 phrase " being made Christians " conveying 
 different ideas to the minds of different men 
 according to the various shades of feeling 
 with which they regarded the religion of the 
 " sahibs/' Others declared that the object of 
 the meeting was the investiture of the Budge- 
 poreans with " khilluts '' or dresses of honour 
 for their conspicuous fidelity during the rebel- 
 lion of 1857. Others averred that they knew 
 on the best authority that there was to be a 
 large sum exacted from them by way of a tax 
 or a forced loan, ^^^lile the Hindoos were 
 disquieted by a rumour that an ox had been 
 slain the day before at the cutcherry^ and they, 
 the Hindoos, were to partake for the first time 
 in their lives of a meal of genuine English 
 roast beef, as abhorrent to them as swine's 
 flesh would be to a Mahomedan. 
 
 Towards evening some more authentic infor- 
 mation reached the bewildered bazars of Budge- 
 pore. Old Gunny Lall, a very stout Hindoo 
 mahajun, or money-lender, of great repute for 
 his wealth, had oiled the palm of the kotwal 
 (or native city subordinate magistrate and 
 police officer) , and he had oiled the palm of the 
 collector's serishtadar (or record-keeper as the
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 33 
 
 word lit 6 rally meaxib c'longh its practic. I si : 
 fication might be more correctly rendered by 
 the word " factotum/') who for the considera- 
 tion thus accorded had successfully sounded 
 Mr. Dakhil Duftar's intentions, and through 
 this channel there filtered out an intimation o£ 
 the real object of the meeting to be assembled 
 on the morrow. Curiosity, however, was by 
 this means but slightly allayed, and of the 
 twenty burghers whom the kotwal had selected 
 as representatives of the mercantile community, 
 but few had much sleep that night. 
 
 Duly at the appointed time the assembly 
 met. The European community were repre- 
 sented by the commissioner, Dakhil Duftar, 
 Fitzmisl the Joint Magistrate, Dr. Golee, 
 the Civil Surgeon, Colonel Moodle, Brigadier 
 Haversack, and Fancy Goods, Esq., the Secre- 
 tary of the All Over India Trading Corpora- 
 tion (late Cork Screw and Co.). Thus you see 
 all classes were fairly represented, the oflBcial 
 classes, the military, and the trading com- 
 munity. 
 
 The European gentlemen seated themselves 
 on one side of the table, the natives on the 
 other, and Mr. Wasilbakee, as chairman, at 
 the head. On his right, at the right-hand 
 corner, sat Dakhil Duftar, next to him Fitzmisl, 
 then Dr. Golee, then the two military officers. 
 I. 3
 
 34 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 On tlic left, in the seat of honour^ was Gunny 
 Lall, next to liira Sham Dutt, one of the 
 modern Hindoo school^ a sharp fellow who 
 understood English perfectly, and who was 
 placed there at the especial request of Gunny 
 Lall, in order that he might keep him acquainted 
 with what went on, and act generally as inter- 
 preter. Next to him was Motee Lall, then 
 Scrimmage Khan, and so on, I need not 
 enumerate them all. Mr. Wasilbakee opened 
 the proceedings by explaining in English first 
 and then in Hindustani the object of the meet- 
 ing. He dwelt especially on the voluntary 
 nature of the movement, telling them that he 
 thought the time was come when Budgepore 
 might avail itself of the liberality of the 
 Government, and assume charge of its own 
 municipal institutions. He proposed that those 
 present should enrol themselves into a com- 
 mittee. Their names would be sent up to the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, and in due course of 
 time would be published in the Gazette, under 
 a notification that the Budgepore municipal 
 commission had assumed tangible shape and 
 form. The Surgeon and the Brigadier were 
 to be ex-officio members, as also of course 
 were the ci\ilians. When duly recognised by 
 Government, the commission would have au- 
 thority to levy local (or octroi) taxes, and to
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 35 
 
 expend the money so collected in local improve- 
 ments. 
 
 The English gentlemen who had discussed 
 it all before had nothing particular to say, the 
 natives replied "jo hukm'^ (as ordered), and 
 the meeting dispersed. 
 
 By that day^s post the following letter went 
 to Head Quarters. 
 
 From No. 7351 of 18—. 
 
 JuMMA Wasilbakee, Esq., C.S., 
 
 Commissioner of Budgepore, 
 
 To 
 
 Khas Mouza, Esq., C.S., 
 
 Secretarij to Govt., 
 
 Budgepore, 1st April, 18 — . 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honour to report for the 
 information of His Honour the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, that the principal native inhabi- 
 tants of Budgepore have intimated their desire 
 for the introduction of the municipal system 
 into this city. At a meeting held this day 
 at the collector's cutcherry, a report of the 
 proceedings of which I have the honour to 
 append, the following gentlemen, European 
 and native, declared their readiness to serve on 
 the commission. The movement is entirely a 
 
 3 *
 
 36 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 voluntary one, the sug;orestion having of course 
 come from me, ana uciug icadny acquiesced ij.. 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 JUMMA WaSILBAKEE, 
 
 Commissioner. 
 
 In due time the notification appeared in the 
 Gazette, containing the names of all those who 
 attended the first meeting, and the day follow- 
 ing the committee met at the same hour, 7 a.m., 
 at the same place as before. 
 
 Proceedings having been opened by the com- 
 missioner, who took the chair, the committee 
 took into consideration the question of taxa- 
 tion, — what articles should be taxed. 
 
 Dakhil Duftar proposed a tax of one rupee 
 per maund, or two shillings upon every eighty 
 pounds of atta (flour). It was seconded by 
 Fitzmisl, who remarked it was a sound principle 
 of political economy to tax the necessaries of 
 life. Fitzmisl was a competition-walla, and as 
 such looked down upon by the older civilians. 
 He had come out among one of the first batches 
 of civilians, and entered the service under the 
 new system of competitive examination. He 
 had a decent reputation as a Latin and Greek 
 scholar at Oxford, where he had got a second
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 37 
 
 class in classics at his examination for his degree. 
 His reputation by no means decreased when 
 it followed him to India, and though the old 
 school of civilians affected to look down upon 
 him, criticised unfavourably his seat on horse- 
 back, and the cut of his shooting-coat, it was 
 clear to me that they were a little afraid of 
 him. He had recently taken much to the 
 study of political economy, and was great in 
 Adam Smith. It will be seen that the infor- 
 mation acquired in that branch of study was 
 not thrown away, but brought to bear upon 
 the points that came in discussion before the 
 Budgepore municipal committee with much 
 advantage to that body. 
 
 The next articles that were voted to be 
 taxed were ghee, sugar, rice, and tobacco. No 
 objection was offered to any of these imposts, 
 except that on tobacco, of which several of the 
 native members expressed their disapprobation. 
 
 A little rise in the price of such commodities 
 as grain, ghee, sugar, &c., affected them but 
 very slightly, for they were all rich men. Had 
 they asked the thousands of pauper families 
 who thronged the crowded hovels in the bye- 
 ways and lanes of Budgepore, whether the 
 scanty meal doled out daily to their wives and 
 little children could aflPord diminution without 
 injury to their physical health, they might have
 
 38 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 been answered in the negative. As a matter 
 of course, however, no one thought of consulting 
 them. But tobacco was a hixury any increase 
 to the price of which touched, though in a very 
 slight degree, the pockets of the rich mahajuns. 
 They saw, however, that the commissioner was 
 not inclined to abandon this tax, so they said 
 "jo hukm/^ 
 
 After this there was a short pause, broken by 
 old Gunny Lall who, acting on the prompting 
 of Sham Dutt, who was a bit of a wag and 
 enjoyed a joke, proposed a tax of one rupee 
 per dozen upon " beer." At this Dr. Golee 
 smiled, Colonel Moorlle tittered, and Fancy 
 Goods, Esq., laughed outright. Mr. Wasil- 
 bakee frowned and muttered to Dakhil Duftar 
 something about gentlemanly propriety; and 
 then blandly explained to Gunny Lall that 
 " beer " was already subjected to an import duty, 
 and it would be unfair to put an additional im- 
 post upon it. 
 
 The natives during this short discussion 
 maintained the most immovable stolidity, but 
 a twinkle in Sham Dutt's eye showed that he 
 had enjoyed the joke. 
 
 It was finally resolved that a tax varying 
 in amount should be levied on the following 
 articles, — grain of all sorts, rice, sugar, tobacco, 
 cotton, jute, indigo, salt, ghee, and milk ; that
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 39 
 
 fifty policemen should be enrolled who were 
 to be stationed at the different approaches to 
 the city (each of whom levied a tax of his own 
 before the duty was demanded for the muni- 
 cipal commission), and having fixed that they 
 would meet that day six weeks so as to allow a 
 full month whereby to test the success of the 
 operation, the first meeting of the municipal 
 commission of Budgepore separated. 
 
 At the appointed time the meeting assembled 
 again. Mr. Wasilbakee as usual in the chair. 
 Mr. Dakhil Duftar was happy to report a 
 favourable result to the operations of the com- 
 mittee. He had a sum of five thousand rupees 
 at the disposal of the committee for local 
 sanitary improvements. 
 
 This announcement being communicated to 
 Gunny Lall by Sham Dutt, he rubbed his 
 stomach with the flat of his open hand, a sure 
 sign that he was well pleased, and said " Wah ! 
 Wah!^^ (bravo!) and after a whisper from his 
 mentor, asked, — 
 
 " Hum logon ka hissa kitna howega ? " (How 
 much will our share be? ) 
 
 There was a slight titter among the natives 
 at this. Fancy Goods, Esq., again disgraced 
 himself by laughing outright. Even Fitzmisl 
 smiled. Dakhil Duftar threw himself back 
 in his chair, and Mr. Wasilbakee looked stern.
 
 40 THE CHRONICLES OF BITDGEPOEE. 
 
 " Yih rupiya am ke rupiye hain/' said the 
 Commissioner, rebuking the avariee of Gunny 
 Lall. What he meant to convey was, " This 
 money is public money." 
 
 " Am ! "* quoth Gunny Lall, again rubbing 
 his stomach, " Wah ! wah ! kitne bahoot am 
 milenge." (Mangoes ! bravo ! what a quantity 
 of mangoes we shall get ! ) 
 
 Again there was a titter. Mr. Wasilbakee 
 did not condescend to any further explanation, 
 but asked if any member of the committee had 
 anything to propose. 
 
 Dr. Golee remarked, that during the past 
 month, owing as he supposed to an unusual 
 consumption of vegetables, there had been a 
 great increase of diarrhoea in the city, and he 
 suggested a duty upon vegetables. 
 
 Fancy Goods, Esq., suggested that perhaps 
 the natives consumed more vegetables in conse- 
 quence o£ the higher price of more wholesome 
 articles of food. 
 
 Mr. Wasilbakee thought this was an un- 
 reasonable conclusion, for he had been careftd 
 to make enquiries through his serishtadar. 
 
 * There are two words pronomiced by Europeans in the 
 same way. One "am," meaning "public," in the sense 
 of, for instance, deewan-i-am, a public hall of audience, 
 and " am," a mangoe.
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 41 
 
 who reported to him that the poorer classes 
 were well satisfied with the tax, and that it in 
 no way acted as a prohibitory tax upon neces- 
 sary articles of food, 
 
 Dakhil Duftar confirmed that report. His 
 serishtadar had told him the same. 
 
 Fancy Goods, Esq., looked incredulous. The 
 commissioner observed, that it was with the 
 view of determining questions of this sort that 
 the native gentlemen present were associated 
 with them as members of the committee. He 
 then, addressing them in Hindustani, asked the 
 native members if they were of opinion that the 
 taxupon the more wholesome articles of food had 
 had any effect on the consumption of vegetables. 
 To this the native members replied "jo hukm," 
 or, as ordered. The commissioner, however, 
 not being quite satisfied with that answer, pro- 
 ceeded to explain to them that there was a 
 difference of opinion among the " sahibs,^' 
 some of them supposing that the tax upon 
 grain had been followed by a larger consump- 
 tion of vegetables and other unwholesome 
 articles of diet, and others being under the 
 impression that the increased consumption of 
 vegetables was not to be attributed to that 
 cause. He added that he himself held the 
 latter view, whereupon the native members 
 unanimously remarked,
 
 42 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 " Ap kee rai buhoot daroost/' (Your honour^s 
 opinion is correct.) 
 
 A tax was accordingly voted upon vegetables. 
 The next question proposed was " what 
 should be done with the money/' and here a 
 great difference of opinion prevailed. One was 
 for making a new road from the station to the 
 city. The Brigadier thought it might be pro- 
 fitably expended in placing copings to the walls 
 in cantonments. Colonel Moodle suggested 
 that it should be expended in filling up rat- 
 holes on the parade ground. Fitzmisl proposed 
 gilded cupolas to the Court-house. Dakhil 
 Duftar an open drain through the principal 
 streets of the city. Dr. Golee thought a new 
 dispensary should be built^ and Fancy Goods, 
 Esq., suggested that the money should be 
 given back again. The native members being 
 asked what they proposed to do with it, unani- 
 mously replied "jo hukm.''^ At last Mr. Wasil- 
 bakee proposed to level and plant out with 
 young trees a vacant space of ground at that 
 time "waste and untidy in front of Dakhil 
 Duftar^s house, and right in the heart of the 
 station. The native members unanimously 
 endorsed the commissioner's suggestion, and it 
 was accordingly carried, without there being 
 any necessity of referring it to the European 
 members. Old Gunny Lall, who was deaf, did
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 43 
 
 not hear what had been determined on, and 
 asked Sham Dutt how the money was to be 
 employed. 
 
 " Collector Sahib ke waste ek bagheecha 
 bunega," (a garden is to be made for the Col- 
 lector) was the reply. 
 
 " Wah ! Wall ! " replied Gunny Lall, rubbing 
 his stomach. 
 
 Fitzraisl having been appointed • Honorary 
 Secretary, and Sham Dutt Assistant Secretary, 
 upon a salary of 200 rupees a month, the meet- 
 ing broke up. 
 
 When they met again the following month, 
 the secretary had favourable results to report. 
 The improvements on the waste ground in 
 front of Dakhil Duftar^s house had been pro- 
 ceeded with, and most of the collections from 
 the octroi for the first month expended on 
 them. There was of course a surplus in hand, 
 the fruits of the second month^s octroi ; and 
 without wearying my readers with a repetition 
 of details, I may as well state that after the 
 usual discussion, it was determined to carry out 
 Dakhil Duftar's suggestion and make a drain 
 through the principal street of the city. The 
 only difference between the resolution as first 
 put, and as carried, being that it was deter- 
 mined to have a covered drain some way below 
 the surface instead of an open one.
 
 44 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 Mr. Fileeter, the deputy collector, who was 
 supposed to be a good (amateur) engineer, was 
 requested to look after the construction of this 
 useful public work. 
 
 The drain was completed about the time the 
 rainy season set in, but there being no natural 
 drainage, and no river to carry oflF the sewage, 
 Mr. Fileeter's engineering operations resulted 
 in the acctimulation of an immense mass of 
 filth in the shape of a morass just outside the 
 city. About this time the cholera broke out 
 rather severely, and Dr. Golee was glad to 
 avail himself of the funds in the hands of the 
 municipal commissioners to enlarge his hospital 
 and dispensary. The most diligent efforts 
 were made to restrain the ravages of the epi- 
 demic. Medicines were distributed gratis, and 
 Dr. Golee wrote a report of thirteen sheets 
 of foolscap, showing how the cholera would 
 have been much worse if it had not been 
 for the trees that had been planted opposite 
 Dakhil Duftar's house, while Dr. Baragolee, 
 the Inspector-General, who visited Budgepore 
 about that time, wrote another report of twenty- 
 six sheets of foolscap, showing how the cholera 
 was owing to the large quantity of trees in and 
 about the place, which developed malaria. 
 These reports, in spite of their slightly con- 
 tradictory tendency, were published in the
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 
 
 Government Gate'te, with minute by His 
 lioi-trur the Lieutenant- Governor. 
 
 While these great and wise men were en- 
 gaged in the investigation of the causes of the 
 epidemic, my attention was directed to the 
 same subject by a remark from a very humble 
 individual, that is to say^ my syce. As I was 
 walking my horse leisurely along the road one 
 evening returning to my solitary home (ah ! 
 why was it I missed that star from heaven that 
 crossed my path and left me with seared heart 
 a bachelor for ever !) being in a conversational 
 mood, I, as was my wont on such occasions, 
 addressed myself to the only available com- 
 panion, my syce, and endeavoured to draw 
 forth by leading questions and remarks his 
 opinions upon men, manners, and the times. 
 It so happened that I pitched upon the subject 
 of the recent visitation, and made some sugges- 
 tions as to the probable cause of it, when the 
 man said, 
 
 " When ' Taccus ' came " (a tax as the per- 
 sonification of the evil principle, or evil demon) 
 — " when Taccus first came the poor people left 
 off eating grain and ate vegetables, and when 
 Taccus came to vegetables they had not enough 
 food to fill their stomachs, and when Taccus 
 came to the water, the water became bad, and 
 so all the poor people got sick and died.^^
 
 46 THE CHRONICLES OF BFDGEPOEE. 
 
 This, literally translated, is what he said to 
 me, and I pondered over his words, for there 
 seemed to be some truth hidden underneath 
 them. 
 
 I must here explain to my English reader 
 that he must not from the use of the word 
 "vegetables^' get the idea of green peas and 
 potatoes. No, the vegetables that the poor 
 of Budgepore had to resort to when their more 
 wholesome articles of food were taxed, were 
 " kaddoos," or gourds, huge masses of pulpy 
 vegetable matter like — well, I don^t know what 
 they are like. There is little or no nourish- 
 ment in them. But in some parts of the 
 country they are very cheap and grow to an 
 enormous size. I was once told of one so large 
 that a missionary and his family lived on it for 
 a week. To which I replied that I had seen 
 one so large that a missionary and his family 
 might have lived i7i it — and so they might, for 
 missionaries are always very small in stature, 
 and their families, though large in number, 
 generally small in size. The gourd I speak of 
 was an immense one. I saw it at Dr. Honig- 
 berger^s house at Srinuggur, in Cashmere. 
 
 I could not at first understand what my syce 
 meant by " Taccus ^' coming to the water. 
 But at last I discovered. I got some of the 
 water from all the wells in the citv and analvsed
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 47 
 
 it, and found unmistakable signs of the presence 
 of sewage. I then made some pertinent en- 
 quiries of Fileeter as to the course of his famous 
 drains, and the conclusion was inevitable that 
 they had been constructed so as to allow the 
 sewage to percolate into the city wells. This, 
 combined with the decrease of food, and the 
 consumption of innutritions diet, was quite 
 enough in my mind to account for the cholera. 
 So I wrote a letter to the Mofussilite, and the 
 editor took up the subject and wrote an article 
 upon it. A pretty stiff one too. The result 
 of that was the following correspondence. 
 
 " Official. No. 10567. 
 
 " August, 18 — . 
 " From 
 
 '' Khas Mouza, Esq., C.S., 
 
 " Secretary to Government, 
 "To 
 
 "Dr. Golee, 
 
 " Civil Surgeon, Budgepore. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " I have been directed by His Honour the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, to draw your attention 
 to an article and a letter in the Mofussilite 
 newspaper of the 21st July, 18 — , wherein it is 
 stated that the recent epidemic at Budgepore 
 is traceable to the pollution of the water by the
 
 48 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 construction of drains under the order of t>i 
 municipal commission. His Honour desires 
 that the matter may receive the fullest elucida- 
 tion^ and with this view I have the honour 
 under instruction to solicit the favour of your 
 making an analytical examination of the water 
 from the wells in the city, and communicating 
 the result in a report. 
 
 "1 have, &c., 
 
 (Sd.) " Khas Mouza, 
 " Secretary to Government." 
 
 By the same post came the following demi- 
 official. 
 
 " My Dear Dr. Golee, 
 
 '^ You will receive an official communica- 
 tion from me by this day's dawk respecting the 
 statement in the Mofussilite newspaper, that 
 the wells of Budgepoor have been poisoned by 
 ill-constructed drainage. H. H. is quite con- 
 vinced that there can be no foundation for this 
 report, which has no doubt been circulated 
 with the view of throwing discredit upon the 
 operations of the municipal commission. H. H. 
 will be glad to hear that his surmises are cor- 
 rect, and has little doubt that a scientific 
 analysis of the water will lead to this resultt 
 
 H. H. bids me say he is much pleased with 
 the exertions made at Budgepore to extend
 
 THE MTTNICIPAL COMMISSION. 49 
 
 medical aid to the inhabitants of the city, and 
 as the duties of che enlaiged diispensary aiid 
 hospital must entail considerable extra labour, 
 he is prepared to sanction an allowance of 
 rupees 100 a month for these duties upon appli- 
 cation. 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 " Khas Mouza.'' 
 
 Golee, who did not of course know that I 
 was the author of the letter in the Mofussilite, 
 was busy analyzing the water one morning 
 when I called at his house at chota hazree 
 (which means a sociable cup of tea and bit of 
 toast in the early morning), and told him all 
 about it. I remained there and witnessed the 
 whole operation. Dr. Golee analyzed for 
 mineral salts, and found no sewage. The 
 result was communicated in a very able report 
 to Government, which was shortly after pro- 
 duced along with the article from the Mofus- 
 silite in the Gazette, triumphantly proving the 
 unreliable nature of so unwarrantable a publi- 
 cation. 
 
 The Budgepore municipal commission has 
 now been in existence some years. It has been 
 a remarkable success. The military and civil 
 station no longer present the ruinous appear- 
 ance they formerly had. Ornamental white- 
 I. 4
 
 50 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 washed walls, which require renewal every 
 year, have been erected along all the roads. 
 The roads themselves have been improved. 
 The waste ground opposite Dakhil Duftar's 
 house has been transformed into a pretty 
 garden, where the band plays once a week. 
 The principal roads in the civil station and 
 the cantonment, are kept well watered; the 
 city kotwal has built a new and rather a stylish 
 house for himself in the Chowk or principal 
 market-place, and Sham Dutt, the Assistant 
 Secretary, has set up a carriage and pair, the 
 most showy turn-out in the whole place. 
 
 There is, it is true, another side to this 
 picture. About 20,000 of the inhabitants of 
 the city have emigrated to other places. The 
 epidemic which has visited Budgepore regu- 
 larly every year since the municipal commission 
 was established, although of course the coinci- 
 dence in point of time between the commence- 
 ment of the one and the first ^asitation of the 
 other, is only accidental, finding the poorer 
 classes of the population with their physical 
 strength below par from want of the necessary 
 amount of nutritious diet, and their frequent 
 use of vegetables as a staple article of food, has 
 yearly swept away several thousands, chiefly 
 women and children. The growers of country 
 produce, cotton, et cetera, finding that they had
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 51 
 
 to pay a tax if they carried their produce to the 
 city, took it elsewhere to other spots equally 
 favourable for transport to the coast, and the 
 bunneas and purchasers generally, having also 
 their own interests to consult in evading the 
 tax, established agencies at these spots to co- 
 operate with the producers, and thus trade 
 has fallen off immensely. The houses in the 
 bazar are fast falling into disrepair, and many 
 are ruinous, and the whole aspect of this once 
 flourishing city is one that speaks of poverty 
 and want. Fitzmisl, however, still proves that 
 the municipal commissioners have been acting 
 on the truest principles of political economy, of 
 which science he considers himself a master. 
 The commissioner makes diligent enquiries 
 through his serishtadar every month as to the 
 condition of the people, and is assured that they 
 are delighted with the municipal commission, 
 and quite proud of exercising so large a share 
 in the administration. The causes of the 
 decline of trade and general deterioration of 
 the once prosperous city, he is assured by the 
 same authority is owing to the fact of three or 
 four Europeans having become landholders in 
 the district, and to nothing else, and Mr. Wasil- 
 bakee thoroughly endorses these views, which 
 appear to His Honour most correct. So the 
 one side of the picture is shown to the public 
 
 4 *
 
 52 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE 
 
 in reports, blue books, minutes, proceedings, 
 and sel'^rtionSj whilo on tbe otber no one '•are'', 
 to look.
 
 CHRONICLE III. 
 
 THE BUDGEPORE EXHIBITION.
 
 48 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 construction of drains under the order iS t>i 
 municipal commission. His Honour desires 
 that the matter may receive the fullest elucida- 
 tiouj and with this view I have the honour 
 under instruction to solicit the favour of your 
 making an analytical examination of the water 
 from the wells in the city, and communicating 
 the result in a report. 
 
 "I have, &c., 
 
 (Sd.) "Khas Mouza, 
 " Secretary to Government." 
 
 By the same post came the following demi- 
 official. 
 
 " My Dear Dr. Golee, 
 
 '' You will receive an official communica- 
 tion from me by this day's dawk respecting the 
 statement in the Mofussilite newspaper, that 
 the wells of Budgepoor have been poisoned by 
 ill-constructed drainage. H. H. is quite con- 
 vinced that there can be no foundation for this 
 report, which has no doubt been circulated 
 with the view of throwing discredit upon the 
 operations of the municipal commission. H. H. 
 will be glad to hear that his surmises are cor- 
 rect, and has little doubt that a scientific 
 analysis of the water will lead to this result* 
 
 H. H. bids me say he is much pleased with 
 the exertions made at Budgepore to extend
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 49 
 
 medical aid to the inhabitants of the city, and 
 as the duties of che enknged dispensary aiid 
 hospital must entail considerable extra labour, 
 he is prepared to sanction an allowance of 
 rupees 100 a month for these duties upon appli- 
 cation. 
 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 " Khas Mouza.^' 
 
 Golee, who did not of course know that I 
 was the author of the letter in the Mofussilite, 
 was busy analyzing the water one morning 
 when I called at his house at chota hazree 
 (which means a sociable cup of tea and bit of 
 toast in the early morning), and told him all 
 about it. I remained there and witnessed the 
 whole operation. Dr. Golee analyzed for 
 mineral salts, and found no sewage. The 
 result was communicated in a very able report 
 to Government, which was shortly after pro- 
 duced along with the article from the Mofus- 
 silite in the Gazette, triumphantly proving the 
 unreliable nature of so unwarrantable a publi- 
 cation. 
 
 The Budgepore municipal commission has 
 now been in existence some years. It has been 
 a remarkable success. The military and civil 
 station no longer present the ruinous appear- 
 ance they formerly had. Ornamental white- 
 I. 4
 
 50 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 washed walls, which require renewal every 
 year, have been erected along all the roads. 
 The roads themselves have been improved. 
 The waste ground opposite Dakhil Duftar's 
 house has been transformed into a pretty 
 garden, where the band plays once a week. 
 The principal roads in the civil station and 
 the cantonment, are kept well watered; the 
 city kotwal has built a new and rather a stylish 
 house for himself in the Chowk or principal 
 market-place, and Sham Dutt, the Assistant 
 Secretary, has set up a carriage and pair, the 
 most showy turn-out in the whole place. 
 
 There is, it is true, another side to this 
 picture. About 20,000 of the inhabitants of 
 the city have emigrated to other places. The 
 epidemic which has visited Budgepore regu- 
 larly every year since the municipal commission 
 was established, although of course the coinci- 
 dence in point of time between the commence- 
 ment of the one and the first visitation of the 
 other, is only accidental, finding the poorer 
 classes of the population with their physical 
 strength below par from want of the necessary 
 amount of nutritious diet, and their frequent 
 use of vegetables as a staple article of food, has 
 yearly swept away several thousands, chiefly 
 women and children. The growers of country 
 produce, cotton, et cetera, finding that they had
 
 THE MUNICIPAL COMMISSION. 51 
 
 to pay a tax if they carried tlieir produce to the 
 city^. took it elsewhere to other spots equally 
 favourable for transport to the coast, and the 
 bunneas and purchasers generally, having also 
 their own interests to consult in evading the 
 tax, established agencies at these spots to co- 
 operate with the producers, and thus trade 
 has fallen off immensely. The houses in the 
 bazar are fast falling into disrepair, and many 
 are ruinous, and the whole aspect of this once 
 flourishing city is one that speaks of poverty 
 and want. Fitzmisl, however, still proves that 
 the municipal commissioners have been acting 
 on the truest principles of political economy, of 
 which science he considers himself a master. 
 The commissioner makes diligent enquiries 
 through his serishtadar every month as to the 
 condition of the people, and is assured that they 
 are delighted with the municipal commission, 
 and quite proud of exercising so large a share 
 in the administration. The causes of the 
 decline of trade and general deterioration of 
 the once prosperous city, he is assured by the 
 same authority is owing to the fact of three or 
 four Europeans having become landholders in 
 the district, and to nothing else, and Mr. Wasil- 
 bakee thoroughly endorses these views, which 
 appear to His Honour most correct. So the 
 one side of the picture is shown to the public 
 
 4 *
 
 52 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE 
 
 in reports, blue books, minutes, proceedings, 
 and selfctions, whilo on tbe otlier no one '»ares 
 to look.
 
 CHEONICLE III. 
 
 THE BUDGEPORE EXHIBITION.
 
 65 
 
 CHRONICLE III. 
 
 THE BUDGEPORE EXHIBITION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SHOWING HOW THE SKILLED ARTIZAN WAS 
 INTRODUCED TO THE COLLECTOR. 
 
 " We are to have a Budgepore exhibition^ Old 
 MortaUty, what do you think of that ? ■'•' said 
 Mrs. Dakhil Duftar to me one evening at their 
 house after dinner. 
 
 " Yes/^ said I, " I am sorry to hear it.^' 
 " Sorry to hear it ? '' said Mr. Wasilbakee, 
 coming up at the moment^ " and why^ pi'ay — 
 do you not think these exhibitions are great 
 things for developing the resources of the 
 country, giving a stimulus to trade, aiding arts 
 and manufactures, and benefiting the artizans 
 as well as the agricultural population? '^
 
 56 THE CHRONICLES OP BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 "No, indeed, I don't," I replied. "The 
 principal thing they serve to develop is the 
 rapacity of the amla and police, and the utter 
 incompetence of their European superiors to 
 control it. The chief thing exhibitions give 
 a stimulus to are corruption and bribery; what 
 they most aid in is generating ill will, and bad 
 feeling, and neither the artizan nor the agri- 
 culturist is one whit the better for them. The 
 country is not prepared for them. They are in 
 advance of the times, and worse than useless 
 for all practical purposes." 
 
 " Ah, you are a mass of prejudice — wait till 
 you see the exhibition ! But, come, let us argue 
 the point, — how on earth can an exhibition do 
 any of the things you say ? What room is 
 there for bribery and corruption ? The col- 
 lector of a district calls for the best artizan 
 in the particular branch of industry for which 
 his locality is famed. Say, he is a carpenter; 
 well, the collector sahib encourages him to pro- 
 duce the very best article he can possibly turn 
 out of his workshop. He does so, gets a 
 prize perhaps, and is a famous man for the rest 
 of his life. He is proud of his prize medal, 
 and hands it down as an heirloom to his children 
 to serve as a stimulus and incentive to them to 
 industry and perseverance. '' 
 
 " All very fine, my dear sir, not so fast. We
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 67 
 
 have not got beyond the first stage yet. How 
 many people, think you, will your prize car- 
 penter have to pay before he reaches the col- 
 lector sahiVs presence ? " 
 
 " Pay ! if the fellow is such a fool as to pay 
 money to any one that asks him, he must do 
 so. We can^t protect people who won''t help 
 themselves. ^^ 
 
 " Suppose he is forced to pay the money .^' 
 
 " I say he can^t be forced — he can refuse." 
 
 " And I say he daren^t refuse. If he does, 
 
 woe betide him. He is a doomed man from 
 
 that day forth, he will end his days in jail, 
 
 happy if not tortured to death." 
 
 " Tortured to death — pooh ! what nonsense 
 you do talk. I do believe you think every 
 ofiBcial in India a wild beast that delights in 
 torturing his fellow-creatures." 
 
 " I don^t think you delight in torturing 
 your fellow- creatures, but I think you are just 
 as guilty as if you did, for you allow others to 
 do so. You would, perhaps, be less to blame if 
 you did delight in it, for then Nature would be 
 at fault for having given you a moral organiza- 
 tion with blunted perceptions of right and 
 wrong and no feeling. As it is, you deliberately 
 blind yourself to what goes on, partly from 
 deep-rooted prejudice and partly from indo- 
 lence."
 
 58 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 Mr. AYasilbakee and I had many such little 
 encounters as this, and as we both understood 
 each other, they were followed by no bad 
 feeling or ill will on either side. But whether 
 he or I was right in our estimate of the probable 
 results of the exhibition will be apparent from 
 the following chronicle. Curiously enough, the 
 very illustration he had used in argument 
 served practically to demonstrate the truth 
 of what I averred. I am not certain that it 
 did not act as a suggestion. 
 
 It very soon became known that Mr. Bye- 
 wilwuflFa, the Lieut. -Governor, looked upon the 
 Budgepore exhibition as a pet scheme. The 
 eclat, it was thought, might serve to impart 
 a little glitter and fictitious lustre to an adminis- 
 tration otherwise weak and profitless. And all 
 the Budgepore civilians, covenanted and un- 
 covenanted, very soon began to see that their 
 best chance of favour and promotion at bead 
 quarters depended on the zeal and activity they 
 displayed in pushing forward this pet scheme. 
 The result was, that they all more or less 
 neglected their legitimate duties and spent 
 their time in looking about for curiosities, 
 or hunting up some species of country produce 
 hitherto unheard of, or getting artizans who 
 were recommended to them as peculiarly skilful 
 by one of their own amla, their clerks, or moon-
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 59 
 
 shees, or orderlies, and setting them to work 
 in their compounds and verandahs, making 
 thermantidotes that vvouldn^t work except in 
 models, punkahs that required a horse instead 
 of a man to pull them, draw-wells that operated 
 effectually with a tumbler of water on the 
 drawing-room table, carts that combined the 
 disadvantages of the country hackery with those 
 of the English waggon, &c. &c. Others pur- 
 chased expensive horses with a view to getting 
 the prize at the exhibition, or bought gigantic 
 bullocks for the same purpose. Mooltawee, 
 the judge of Budgepore, excited great envy by 
 displaying a buffalo with five legs which he 
 had picked up somewhere in the district, and 
 which every one felt sure would carry off the 
 prize in that department. Others took to 
 breeding fancy pigeons, fattening ducks, geese, 
 and turkeys. Mulligatawny, a young com- 
 petition-walla, who had been a year in the 
 country, one day saw a pony in the district 
 with red legs and a green tail, and immediately 
 purchased it at treble its value as a specimen 
 o£ a new breed. Nor did the fever of emulation 
 cease with the European officials. All the 
 native subordinate officers, the tehsildars and 
 thanadars, not to mention mookuddums, put- 
 waries, kanoongoes, and chowkedars, who im- 
 bibed but a crude and imperfect notion of the
 
 60 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 objects of the exhibition^ viz. that there was 
 a hukm of the sirkar, or order of the Govern- 
 ment, to collect everything that was " ajaib/' 
 or curious in the whole range of mineral, 
 vegetable, and animal economy, left their 
 stations and their duties and went over the 
 whole country searching for anything in the 
 shape of a vegetable or animal monstrosity 
 they could find. In every native collector's 
 compound that you entered almost you would 
 be sure to see some extraordinary freaks of 
 nature in the shape of some misshapen calves, 
 buffaloes, bullocks, or camels, waiting to be 
 taken to the great " tamasha ghur,^'' or exhibi- 
 tion. A policeman who hunted up a deformed 
 child with no legs and without arms, was as 
 sui'e of favour as if he had caught a thief. The 
 artizans who were unlucky enough to be 
 pitched upon as " skilled,'^ had to abandon 
 their work which brought them in their daily 
 bread and spent their time in manufacturing, 
 without remuneration, trinkets and knicknacks 
 of all possible and impossible sorts, that could 
 under no circumstances be of the least use to a 
 living creature. 
 
 Meantime a spot had been selected in the 
 vicinity of Budgepore for the exhibition build- 
 ing. The place was marked out and building 
 operations commenced under the supervision
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 61 
 
 of Dakhil Duftar, assisted by Fitzmisl. An 
 infepeetoi of pr^lice^ with fit'l^ men undoi^ Kim 
 was told off for the duty of collecting work- 
 men^ looking after their daily labour^ and 
 paying them. The way they managed it was 
 this. There were six villages in the immediate 
 neighbourhood of the site chosen. These vil- 
 lages contained a population each of from 150 
 to 200, men, women, and children included. 
 The whole population of one of these villages 
 was called out in turn one day in the week 
 to assist in the erection of the building, the 
 masonry work of course being performed by 
 raj-mistrees or masons from Budgepore, the 
 coolies being employed in carrying bricks, 
 mortar, earth, beams of wood, &c. Dakhil 
 Duftar would come down in the morning 
 and see a number of coolies at work, praise the 
 inspector for his ability in collecting so many, 
 and would be told of course that they all came 
 voluntarily and of their own accord. In the 
 evening they were all seated in a line on the 
 ground when Dakhil Duftar and Fitzmisl hap- 
 pened to be on the premises (when they were 
 not, the form was dispensed with) and the 
 allotted number of copper coin paid ostenta- 
 tiously into the hand of each man, woman, 
 or child for the day's labour, the inspector 
 diligently recording in a note-book every rupee
 
 62 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOKE. 
 
 thus expended. Dakhil Duftarof course could 
 not be expected to follow these coolies to their 
 homes. Had he done so, he might have seen 
 that as they were all marched in a line out 
 of the grounds, as soon as they turned the 
 corner and entered a lane lined with thick 
 cactus hedges, they had to pass between four 
 policemen, two on each side of the lane, who 
 took from each individual every coin that had 
 been paid. As was natural, of course, petitions 
 were sent to Dakhil Duftar complaining of all 
 this. Many of these were anonymous and 
 received no notice ; but one from Zalim Sing, 
 a zemindar of one of the villages, complaining 
 that his people were forcibly taken away one 
 day in the week and received no pay, did 
 receive attention. Zalim Sing was summoned 
 to the cutcherrj^, whither he went in a very un- 
 comfortable frame of mind, having been warned 
 all the way from his village to the cutcheriy by 
 the policeman who served the summons, that 
 he and his would rue the day he had ventured 
 to complain to the " sahib. ^' Arrived at the 
 cutcherry the district superintendent of the 
 police no sooner saw Zalim Sing than he told 
 the magistrate that he was a noted character, 
 and that his name would be found in the list of 
 badmashes (bad characters). The book was 
 sent for, and sure enough there was Zalim
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 63 
 
 Sing's name just as the district superintendent 
 had said; and not only that^ but the whole 
 village had a mark against it, as being a place 
 altogether of bad repute. So Zalim Sing was 
 dismissed, his word not being deemed worthy 
 of credit, and on the representation of the 
 district superintendent, a party of ten constables 
 and an inspector were ordered to be quartered 
 in the village for the next six months at the 
 expense of the inhabitants. 
 
 After this there were no more complaints 
 of non-payment. But nevertheless the work 
 progressed so slowly that Dakhil Duftar was 
 seriously afraid it would not be ready in time. 
 As it was, he and Fitzmisl had been obliged 
 to leave all their regular work to get into 
 arrears. The numbers of prisoners in the 
 hawallat (or lock-up where prisoners whose 
 cases have not been decided are kept confined) 
 had increased to fifty-eight, many of Avhom had 
 been in close confinement now for two months 
 without any trial, which was strictly against 
 the law, but who was there to see that the law 
 was enforced? While the miscellaneous cases 
 on the files of the collector and his subordinate 
 had assumed formidable dimensions. So Dakhil 
 Duftar determined to complete the work by 
 contract, and made an agreement with a 
 European named Bolt, who was what is vul-
 
 64 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 garly called '^knocking about '^ the station at 
 tlifc.t time pickii.), ap Avhattxer work he could. 
 Bolt went over the building with Dakhil 
 Uuftar, and examined the walls and masonry 
 work with the eye of an experienced builder, 
 talking very learnedly all the time and using 
 a great many technical terms, which much 
 impressed Dakhil Duftar, After a day spent 
 in examining the plans, Bolt declared his 
 readiness to undertake the contract on certain 
 terms. An agreement was drawn out on 
 stamped paper and duly signed, and an ad- 
 vance of three thousand rupees made from the 
 treasury. After this. Bolt mysteriously dis- 
 appeared, and has never, that I know of, been 
 heard of since. It is generally supposed that 
 he fell into a well on his way home, or perhaps 
 was waylaid and murdered for the sake of the 
 three thousand rupees which he carried away 
 from the treasury in a bag himself. 
 
 Dakhil Duftar was now sorely beset. He 
 began to think he had better have employed 
 the Public Works Department. Time was 
 pressing, and what if the building should not 
 be ready ! Mooltawee felt certain there would 
 be no exhibition at all that year, and as it was 
 extremely doubtful if his buffalo with five legs 
 would live for another year, he used to assemble 
 as many of his friends as he could at his house
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 65 
 
 in the morning and have the buffalo brought 
 out for a private exhibition of his own. 
 
 At this time the Budgepore railway was in 
 progress, the history of which I hope I shall 
 live to chronicle hereafter, and among the 
 engineers engaged in its construction was one 
 Sleeper, a great friend of Dakhil Duftar's, 
 And Sleeper came to the rescue, and having 
 obtained permission from the railway superin- 
 tending engineer to take up this work, he 
 consented to complete the building within the 
 prescribed time. As a railway engineer how- 
 ever, he could not, of course, be expected to 
 construct an edifice, the foundations whereof 
 had been laid by another, and he not a pro- 
 fessional man. So the walls had to be pulled 
 down and the foundations laid afresh, with 
 many alterations and improvements in the 
 original design. Of course all this cost money, 
 but money was forthcoming, for the Hon^ble 
 Kist ByewilwufiFa looked with favour on the 
 scheme, and the contract was given to Sleeper 
 for twenty thousand rupees. The material was 
 all at hand, and Sleeper had the services gratis 
 of the assistants, and overseers, and bricklayers 
 on the railway, which unimportant work was 
 allowed to stand over for the present, the 
 Government consulting engineer having given 
 it as his opinion that a few weeks^ delay would 
 I. 5
 
 66 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 not be detrimental, on the other hand it would 
 be highly beneficial, as affording time for the 
 earthwork to consolidate and the brickwork and 
 masonry to harden, 
 
 A long time before matters had progressed 
 thus far, I heard that Dakhil Duftar had given 
 notice that all the most skilful artizans of 
 Budgepore were to be registered, and were to 
 be sent to the kotwallee with specimens of 
 their handiwork before being introduced to him. 
 
 Being inclined to experimentalise a little 
 upon the ways and means of developing genius 
 through official channels, I summoned a trusty 
 domestic of my own, in whose wits I had full 
 confidence, to my counsels. I had several 
 little knick-knacks which I had purchased in 
 Paris a few years back. They were not of 
 Paris manufacture, but Swiss. They consisted 
 of very prettily carved boxes, spoons, forks, 
 paper-knives, trays, dice-boxes, and so on. 
 These I produced and a bag of rupees which 
 I had taken the precaution to mark (each 
 one separately) . 
 
 "Now,""^ said I, to my faithful domestic 
 Selim, '' you are to go and get introduced to 
 the collector sahib as one of the skilled artizans 
 of Budgepore, to compete for the prize at the 
 approaching exhibition." 
 
 "But," said the astonished Selim, who
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 67 
 
 evidently thought for a moment I was de- 
 mented^ '^ I am no artizan. Why should 
 I go ? " 
 
 " I know you are no artizan, Selim, but you 
 will go all the same. Every man who wishes 
 to be presented to the collector sahib to com- 
 pete for the prizes, is to go to-morrow morning 
 to the kotwallee and enter his name. That 
 is all you will have to do, enter your name ; do 
 you understand ? The kotwal will tell you 
 what next to do. Take these things with you, 
 and if you are asked what you can make, show 
 these. I'll be bound to say no one in Budge- 
 pore will produce better. You may want a 
 rupee or two, but don't give away more than 
 you can help, and keep an exact account of 
 how you spend it — give no more than you 
 are forced to do. But recollect you are to 
 have your name registered. There are fifty 
 rupees in this bag, and a bank-note for fifty 
 more. Do you understand." 
 
 " Yes, sahib, I understand." 
 
 " Well, go." 
 
 Next morning early Selim departed. He 
 did not return till late in the evening. 
 
 " Hallo ! " I said, pretending to be very 
 angry, "where have you been all day, Sir? " 
 
 " I have been to get my name registered," 
 said the man, rather sulkily. 
 
 5 *
 
 68 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 " Well, that only occupied five minutes, I 
 suppose, a walk to the kotwallee and back. 
 What have you been doing all day ? " 
 
 " If the sahib -won^t be angry with his slave, 
 his slave will tell him what a net of misfortunes 
 his slave has been enveloped in, owing to his 
 obedience to his master^s orders.'^ 
 
 " Go on, tell me all about it." 
 
 " I went to the kotwallee at sunrise this morn- 
 ing and told the chiprassee what I was come 
 for : and he told me to wait. There were a 
 number of others there waiting, too. We sat 
 till ten o^clock, when I saw one of the men put 
 a coin into the chiprassee^s hand, and he was 
 taken inside. After a time another did the 
 same, and then a third, but when the fourth 
 went up to follow the rest^ I saw the chiprassee 
 refuse to take the coin ; it was one rupee 
 and he made him pay two. This went on for 
 a long while ; at last I got tired of waiting, and 
 went up like the rest. 
 
 " ' I want to go and have my name registered, 
 Sir,' said I, ' please may I go in ? ' 
 
 " The man held out his hand, and I slipped 
 a rupee into it. 
 
 " ' No, no, my friend,' said he, ' I've been 
 watching you all day, you are a fine fellow with 
 a bran new turban and such shoes ! I must 
 have five from vou.'
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 69 
 
 " ' Very well/ I said^ and gave him the five 
 rupees. I was then admitted into a room 
 where I found almost all my former com- 
 panions who had got in before me seated on 
 the floor with their backs against the wall. 
 I entered into conversation with one by whose 
 side I happened to seat myself, and asked him 
 how long he had been there. ' Ah/ said he, ' I 
 saw you outside this morning, and so you have 
 only just got in. Well, we have to wait here 
 till our turn comes. But I see several have 
 gone in out of their turn by paying the chip- 
 rassee at the door something.^ 
 
 " ' How much have you to pay this one ? ■* 
 
 '' ' Oh, I don^t know : I see some giving two, 
 some three, some live rupees, and I wish I had 
 the money to give, and I would willingly give it 
 to get away. I have been here all the morning 
 and my stomach is quite empty, and my wife is 
 sick. I did not want to come here at all, but I 
 was told by one of the kotwal's men that if 
 I didn't I should be turned out of my house 
 and have to get another, and as I am in arrears 
 for my rent three months, this would ruin 
 me.' 
 
 " ' Well,' said I, ' I think I'll try. I have 
 some money and may as well spend it in this 
 way, now I have come here, but, like you, I 
 wish I had staved awav.'
 
 70 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDQEPORE. 
 
 " So I went np to the cliiprasscc at the door 
 and asked if I might go in to have my name 
 registered. 
 
 " ' Wait till your turn comes, my friend/ he 
 replied quite civilly. 
 
 " * But I am in a great hurry, Sir, and should 
 really esteem it a great favour if you would 
 allow me to go in.' 
 
 " ' I think you have a bag of money there,' 
 he said, eyeing the purse. 
 
 " ' Yes, and Fll willingly give you five rupees 
 to let me go in at once.' 
 
 " ' That cannot be, but 1^11 let you go in 
 fifth.' 
 
 " ' Take ten,' said I, pressing the money upon 
 him, ' and let me go at once.' So he took the 
 money and let me in. 
 
 *' When I got inside, I found the kotwal 
 seated there on one side and a man whom I 
 afterwards found out was the collector sahib's 
 serishtadar, on the other side. They looked at 
 one another as I entered, and then went on with 
 their writing. I made a very low salam to 
 each, and, folding my hands, addressed the 
 kotwal. 
 
 " ' May it please your majesty, this poor slave 
 has come to register his name as a skilled 
 artizan to compete for the prize in the exhi- 
 bition.'
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 71 
 
 " The kotwal beckoned me towards him 
 with a look of much majesty, and asked me 
 to show him what I could make. I produced 
 the paper-knife and other things and gave 
 them to him. 
 
 " ' Ah/ said he, ' these are very pretty, and 
 did you make all these ? ' 
 
 "^ Every one.' 
 
 " ' And what are they worth ? ' 
 
 " I told him a price, five rupees, ten, and so 
 on, just as it came into my head at the mo- 
 ment, for indeed I had never thought what 
 they were worth, nor did I expect to be asked. 
 
 "*Verywell,^ said the kotwal, putting the 
 things down beside him with the evident inten- 
 tion of keeping them, ' I'll keep these trumpery 
 knick-knacks, they will serve as your nuzzur; 
 go to the serishtadar sahib and tell him you 
 wish your name registered.^ 
 
 '' So I went to the serishtadar, and said very 
 humbly, ' May it please your exalted highness, 
 I have come a poor carpenter to have my name 
 registered as a skilled artizan to compete for 
 the prize at the exhibition.' 
 
 " ' There are already two many names down 
 on my list,^ said he. 
 
 " ' This will be a sad disappointment,' I re- 
 plied. ' That I am skilful at such things the 
 kotwal sahib knows, as he has done your poor
 
 72 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 slave the honour to accept a few trifling articles 
 of my handiwork. If your majesty would be 
 pleased to look at these things for a moment^ 
 your highness will see that I am not an im- 
 postor, and that I can really make very pretty 
 things/ 
 
 " ' Very likely, but for all that ray list is 
 so full I cannot possibly add any more/ and 
 he went on writing. 
 
 " Fully understanding what was meant, I had 
 resort to my bag of rupees, now pretty well 
 diminished, and, taking out ten, offered them 
 to the great man. He pushed away my hand, 
 and looking sternly at me, asked me if I took 
 him for a common chiprassee that he received 
 bribes of ten rupees, 
 
 " ' Go away, go away, you son of a dog,' he 
 added, ' and donH interrupt me any more.'' 
 
 " At this I fell on my knees, and with up- 
 lifted hands prayed to be forgiven : and then 
 getting out my fifty rupee note, I offered it to 
 him very humbly, begging him to accept it as a 
 nuzzur from his poor slave. 
 
 " This had the desired effect. He took the 
 note, looked at the amount, held it up and 
 examined it before the light, and then put it 
 down on his desk. 
 
 " ' Very well,' he said, ' that will do. What 
 is your name ? '
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 73 
 
 '^Now, to this moment^ I had never thought 
 what name I should go by : it had never oc- 
 curred to me that I should be asked, although, of 
 course, if I had thought about it I must have 
 been well aware that as 1 went to get my name 
 registered, I should be certainly required to 
 state what it was. I stammered over the 
 question till the serishtadar got angry, and 
 said ' Well, fool, what is your name ? ' 
 
 " ^ Pir Khan,^ I said, at last recovering my- 
 self. 
 
 " * Go,^ said he, ' and be at the collector 
 sahiVs house to-morrow at ten o^clock, and 
 don't look quite as much like a fool there as 
 you do here.' 
 
 " On this I made a very low salam, and 
 came out. In the outer room there was many 
 an envious eye turned upon me, as I passed 
 out, from those who were still squatting there, 
 like hens hatching eggs. I exchanged a few 
 words with the man with whom I had sym- 
 pathised before. 
 
 " ' I don't think I shall wait here any longer,' 
 he said. 
 
 " ' Much better not,' I replied. ' It is better 
 to spend your money in paying your arrears of 
 rent, or in moving house, than giving it away 
 here : and ten to one, after all, if it will be 
 of any service.' So I came away."
 
 74 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 " And that is all the money you have brought 
 back?" 
 
 " Yes, sahib, that is all/' he said, counting 
 out what remained, which was thirty-five 
 rupees. 
 
 " Keep that/' I said, " you will probably 
 want it to-morrow when you go to the collector 
 sahib." 
 
 " Am I to go to the collector sahib ? " he 
 asked in much surprise. 
 
 " Yes, of course you are, didn^t you go to-day 
 and get your name written down on purpose 
 that you should go to the collector sahib ; why 
 should I waste all that money for nothing ? " 
 
 Selim went away on this, and told all the 
 rest of the servants that the sahib was gone 
 mad, and the consequence was, my servant, 
 when he brought me my dinner, eyed me 
 askance, and trembled violently when he handed 
 me the dishes and changed my plate. 
 
 Next day Selim went off at ten o'clock to 
 the collector's house, and returned about one. 
 
 " Well," said I, " how have you sped — have 
 you seen the collector sahib ? Let us hear 
 all about it." 
 
 " When I got to the collector sahib's house 
 this morning, I stood outside the door with 
 seven or eight other men who were waiting 
 there on one business or another. As no one
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 75 
 
 took any notice of me I pushed my way to the 
 front. ' Hulloo, fellow, who are yon and what 
 do you want ? ' said a chiprassee. ' Please, sir,* 
 said I, ' I am a poor carpenter. I have had 
 my name registered to compete for the prize at 
 the exhibition, and 1 was ordered to come here 
 to-day for the huzoor to see me.^ ' Well, 
 you had better wait there, and the sahib will 
 perhaps see you when he comes out to go to 
 cutcherry ; meantime, keep a little further off, 
 and don't come crowding in close to the door.* 
 ' If you please, sir,' I said, ' I am pressed for 
 time, and my wife is very sick, and there is no 
 one to give her food or medicine ; if you would 
 be so kind as to let me go in and have my 
 business over, 1 shall be very much obliged.' 
 Saying this, I slipped a rupee into the fellow's 
 hand. ' Wait a minute,' he said, ' I'll see if 
 I can manage it for you.' 
 
 " Saying this, he went away, and returned 
 shortly after with another chiprassee. ' Here,' 
 he said, ' this gentleman will take you inside ; it 
 is not every day such fellows as you get ad- 
 mittance to the " huzoor," but these are queer 
 times, and we must obey orders.' 
 
 " The second chiprassee then took me rather 
 kindly by the hand, and said, ' Come with 
 me, my good fellow, I will see whether I can 
 manage it for you. Come this way, the sahib
 
 76 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 is very busy this morning;, and it will be diffi- 
 cult. But ril do ray best/ 
 
 " We had arrived by this time in a kind of 
 outer or verandah room, where there was no 
 furniture, but a tailor was sitting down sewing 
 some embroidered work on the edge of a lady^s 
 petticoat. There were also a chemise and some 
 other articles of ladies' apparel lying before 
 him, which I suppose he had been mending. 
 I waited there patiently by the tailor's side 
 for at least half an hour, till my patience 
 was exhausted, and I ventured to ask the 
 tailor if he thought the chiprassee would come 
 again. 
 
 " ' I don't think it is at all likely he will 
 eome again unless he is called. You gave him 
 nothing — don't you know the dustoor (custom) ? 
 Did you never hear the proverb, ' the path 
 through the rich man's gate is paved with 
 silver ' ? 
 
 " ' Perhaps you will be so kind as to go and 
 look for him,' said I, offering him a rupee. 
 
 " ' Very well, I see you are a good fellow at 
 the bottom, only rather stupid at first — wait 
 here, and if any one calls me, say you are gone 
 to fetch me, and that I went away to drink 
 water.' 
 
 " So he went inside, leaving me with the 
 petticoat and the other things, and I could
 
 THE EXHIBITION. *Jl 
 
 not help admiring thera, they were so fine and 
 pretty. 
 
 " By and by he came back again, and said, 
 * Unfortunately the chiprassee who brought you 
 in was sent away on an errand, and I don^t know 
 how long he may be gone. But I have spoken 
 to the jemadar himself for you, who promised 
 to come as soon as he possibly could. Sit 
 down by me, he will be here directly.^ 
 
 " So I sat down. By and by the jemadar 
 came. He was a very tall, dignified looking 
 person, dressed in blue cloth and a silver 
 brocade belt round his waist. ' Dear me,' I 
 said to myself, ' so grand a person as this ! I 
 shall be ashamed to offer him a rupee — I must 
 offer him more.' 
 
 " ' Where is the man you spoke to me about, 
 Kaleef a ? ' said the jemadar. ' The sahib is 
 disengaged just at this moment. Now is a 
 favourable time — if we lose this opportunity I 
 fear he will be kept waiting all day.' 
 
 " ' Oh, thank you. Sir/ said I, jumping to 
 my feet, ' I am so much obliged to you.' 
 
 " With this I followed my conductor inside, 
 and found myself in a sort of hall, which had 
 three or four doors opening into it. One of 
 them was half open and I caught a glimpse of 
 my friend the serishtadar sitting at a table. 
 My conductor pointed to the door as much as
 
 78 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 to say, that is the room where the ' huzoor ' is — 
 and held out his hand to me — open. I counted 
 into it, one after another, slowly, ten rupees. 
 He did not move till I had completed the whole 
 ten : but I gave them to him very slowly in 
 orderthat, when he had as much as wasrequisite, 
 he might intimate to me he was ready to con- 
 duct me inside. Having tied up the money in 
 a corner of his turban, he went inside the room 
 where I had seen the serishtadar, and shortly 
 after returned to the door and beckoned me. 
 I stepped boldly in, and found myself in the 
 presence of Mr. Dakhil Duftar, who was seated 
 at a table, and the serishtadar opposite to him. 
 The collector sahib was writing something, 
 which the serishtadar was dictating to him in 
 Hindustani. After a second or two, he looked 
 up, and then looked at the serishtadar as much 
 as to ask, who I was. 
 
 " ' This/ said the serishtadar, ' is a carpenter 
 who has registered his name to compete for the 
 prize at the exhibition.' "" 
 
 "At last, then, you succeeded in reaching 
 the collector sahib, and what did he say to 
 you ? •"' 
 
 " He said, ' uchchha, jao ' (very well, go 
 away), and I came away.'' 
 
 If Selim had entertained any doubts as to 
 my sanity before, these doubts must have been
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 79 
 
 confirmed by the roars of laughter with which I 
 greeted this last announcement. 
 
 ''So, after two days' labour and the ex- 
 penditui'e of, let's see, how much, of exactly 
 seventy-five rupees, you received this flattering 
 encouragement, ' uchchha, jao ' from the col- 
 lector sahib. Well done ! " and I took up the 
 Gazette and read again the last paragraph of 
 the Lieutenant-Governor's minute directing 
 the Budgepore exhibition to be held. 
 
 " There can be little doubt but that the exhi- 
 bition will serve as a stimulus to industry, which 
 will aid in developing genius in arts and manu- 
 factures, and by bringing the skilled artizan 
 and the intelligent agriculturist into the notice 
 of the authorities will afford exactly that en- 
 couragement to labour and progress which the 
 country so much needs." 
 
 Next day I went to Dakhil Duftar, full of 
 confidence in the success of my scheme. The 
 kotwal had got the knick-knacks, the serish- 
 tadar the fifty rupee-note, the number of which 
 I had, and the rupees the chiprassees had 
 taken were all marked. '' Dakhil Duftar's 
 eyes will be opened not a little now I should 
 say." 
 
 I found him at home about eleven o'clock, — 
 his usual hour for going to the cutcherry varied 
 between twelve and two. I told him plainly of
 
 80 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 my scheme, its object, and success, but was 
 a little taken aback wlien he remarked, — 
 
 " Then it seems to me you have been nicely 
 duped. Your man sold the things and kept 
 the money, and has told you this cock-and-bull 
 story. All the people about me, I assiu'c you, 
 are persons o£ integrity and character.^' 
 
 " Well it is easily tested,^^ I said ; " suppose, 
 to begin with the kotwal, you ask him if he 
 has got the knick-knacks.'^ 
 
 "Certainly I will," said Dakhil Duftar. 
 " He is outside. We will call him in at once." 
 
 When he came in Dakhil Duftar motioned 
 him to a chair, and as soon as he was seated, 
 he said, — 
 
 " Kotwal sahib, this gentleman has missed 
 some little knick-knacks a carved wooden 
 paper-knife, trays, boxes, and one or two things 
 of that sort. He thinks it possible some one 
 may have taken them away with the view of 
 passing them off as his own workmanship for 
 the exhibition." 
 
 " The ' huzoor^s ' intelligence is as the sun at 
 noonday," replied the kotwal. " Certainly it 
 is so, your slave has these articles. They are 
 not here, it is true, but I will send for them at 
 once, and they will be here directly. It is as 
 the ' huzoor ' suggests. A carpenter came 
 yesterday to have his name enrolled as a com-
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 81 
 
 petitor for the prize at the exhibition, and 
 presented sundry articles to me as specimens of 
 his handiwork; they were, indeed, very well 
 executed, and I kept them by me to show them 
 to the ' huzoor,' as I did not know before that 
 any man in Budgepore could produce anything 
 like ihem, and I am sure the * huzoor' will be 
 much pleased with them.'^ 
 
 " Now,^^ said I, as the kotwal left the room, 
 feeling very triumphant at my success so far, 
 " let us try the serishtadar next, and see if he 
 cannot find the fifty rupee note. Suppose you 
 send for him and say that I have lost a note of 
 that amount, and he is to put up an advertise- 
 ment oflFering ten rupees reward to any one 
 who will produce it. And don't forget to add 
 the number, which is 047074, and that I have 
 stopped it at the bank, and let us see what 
 he says.^' 
 
 " Certainly/' said Dakhil Duftar. '' I don't 
 know about the note, but it is perfectly clear 
 the kotwal had no intention of retaining those 
 articles. If he had, why should he have con- 
 fessed to having them in his possession ? '' 
 
 By and by the serishtadar came in, and 
 Dakhil Duftar told him exactly as I had in- 
 structed him. 
 
 "What an unlucky wretch I am,'' said the 
 serishtadar, the moment Dakhil Duftar had 
 I. 6
 
 82 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 ceased speaking, " I do believe now that is the 
 very self-same note I received this morning for 
 my pony. Let me see, here it is." So saying, 
 he produced the identical note, which I recog- 
 nized immediately. 
 
 " Where did you get it ? ^^ said Dakhil Duftar. 
 
 " Where should I get it from but in pay- 
 ment of that very pony I sold this morning 
 to Mr, Archimedes DeCruze ? The cost of the 
 animal was fifty rupees, and Mr. DeCruze paid 
 me in this very note. The 'huzoor^ will see it 
 is the exact sum. Only to think of its being 
 stolen ! " 
 
 " Send for Mr. Archimedes DeCruze,'' said 
 Dakhil Duftar. 
 
 "I will call him. I saw him only this mo- 
 ment in the other room,'' said the serishtadar, 
 leaving abruptly to summon him. 
 
 Mr. Archimedes DeCruze made his appear- 
 ance in a few minutes, during which I looked 
 triumphantly at Dakhil Duftar, as much as 
 to say, " Now for the integrity and character 
 of the people about you ! " 
 
 " Did you give the serishtadar this note ? " 
 said Dakhil Duftar, showing the note to Archi- 
 medes. 
 
 " Certainly I did. Sir, — only this morning. 
 I purchased a pony from him and paid him 
 with this note."
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 83 
 
 " And where did you get it from ? " 
 
 " I got it yesterday from Bankee Lall, tlie 
 mahajun^^ (native money-lender or banker). 
 
 '' Send for Bankee Lall/' said Dakhil 
 Duftar. 
 
 We had to wait a little for Bankee LaU; 
 however, he soon came, and said, in reply to 
 a question from Dakhil Duftar, that he had 
 received the note from a man he did not know 
 the day before, who asked him to change it, 
 and he had paid four rupees, or eight per cent., 
 for the exchange. 
 
 "Who would have thought it was a stolen 
 note ! " added Bankee Lall. 
 
 ''Send for your servant, will you," said 
 Dakhil Duftar to me. 
 
 Selim was summoned. 
 
 " What is his name ? '' asked Dakhil Duftar. 
 
 "Ex uno disce omnes," said I. 
 
 " A curious name for a native," said Dakhil 
 Duftar, and then pointing to Selim and ad- 
 dressing Bankee Lall, he added " Was that the 
 man you got the note from ? " 
 
 " Certainly, it is the very same, I recognise 
 him at once," said Bankee Lall. 
 
 " Now," said Dakhil Duftar, turning to me, 
 " I think you'll admit you've been pretty well 
 duped." 
 
 "There are the chiprassees, yet," said 
 
 6 *
 
 84 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 " Let one of them be searched, and let us see 
 if any of the marked coin is found upon 
 him." 
 
 " By all means. Let us go outside. I dare 
 say we shall find one of them there somewhere 
 with the kotwal.^^ 
 
 So we went outside, and took Selim, now 
 very much chapfallen and disconcerted, and 
 who seemed to think the whole affair was a 
 trap I had laid for him. 
 
 He soon recognised one of the chiprassees 
 to whom he had given the money at the kot- 
 wallee the day before. Dakhil Duftar called 
 him up at once and asked him if he had any 
 money about him. 
 
 " Certainly I have,'^ said the man. '^ I sold 
 a ring this very morning on my way through 
 the bazar, and received five rupees for it. This 
 is how I came to have so much money about 
 me, for a poor man as your slave is does not 
 usually carry about five rupees with him." 
 
 So saying, he produced five rupees, which 
 Dakhil Duftar handed to me. I examined 
 them all, and found my initials, O.M., marked 
 on each. 
 
 " Let us come inside," said Dakhil Duftar, 
 appearing a little impressed now with what 
 I had said. 
 
 ''Look at this rupee," he added, handing
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 85 
 
 one of them to the serishtadar, " did you ever 
 see a rupee marked like this before ? " 
 
 " Oh yes/^ said the serishtadar^ " nearly all 
 the rupees current in Budgepore are marked in 
 this very same way. This is how we can always 
 tell in our villages and elsewhere whether a 
 man has come from Budgepore or not. If he 
 has money marked in this way we know he has 
 come from Budgepore, or else he must have 
 got money here somehow. Many a ' foujdary ' 
 (criminal) case has been traced in this very 
 way.^' 
 
 " Perhaps you will say the serishtadar is not 
 an impartial witness/' said Dakhil Duftar. 
 " Let us call some one else. Call Mr. Archi- 
 medes DeCruze.^' 
 
 Mr.DeCruze was accordingly again summoned 
 (I believe he had been listening all the time 
 behind the door). 
 
 ''Did you ever see rupees marked in this 
 way, Mr. DeCruze, ' OM.' ? " 
 
 "Oh yes, certainly," said Mr. DeCruze, ex- 
 amining the coin, " an immense number of 
 Budgepore rupees are marked in this way. I 
 once enquired of a mahajun what the letters 
 meant, and he said they were the initial letters 
 of a great banker who lived here formerly, 
 Omichund Mull.'' 
 
 " There, you see/' said Dakhil Duftar, put-
 
 86 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE, 
 
 ting tlie money on the table, "how you have 
 been outwitted by that scoundrel of yours/'' 
 
 "Assuredly the huzoor^s intelligence is as 
 the sun at noon-day," I said to myself, repeat- 
 ing the kotwaPs words, as I drove home. And 
 the exhibition will serve to develop genius and 
 act as an incentive to industry !
 
 87 
 
 THE BUDGBPORE EXHIBITION. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW MRS. FILEETER LED THE CHOIR^ AND WHAT 
 WAS THE CONSEQUENCE THEREOF. 
 
 The time for the exhibition drew near. The 
 building was nearly completed. The pro- 
 gramme of the opening ceremonies was being 
 arranged, and amateur performers were busy- 
 practising daily for a grand instrumental and 
 vocal concert in honour of the occasion. 
 
 A serious difficulty had arisen at this junc- 
 ture which threatened at one time to be fol- 
 lowed by fatal results as regarded the musical 
 programme. Mrs. Wasilbakee had not re- 
 turned from Simla till all the arrangements 
 had been cut and dried. She was a very good 
 performer, and had a fine voice besides ; but 
 independently of that, if she had been proficient
 
 88 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 in neither instrumental nor vocal music^ as the 
 Commissioner's wife it would have been quite 
 necessary that she should have taken a promi- 
 nent part. I say the arrangements had all 
 been completed before she came down, and 
 so they had. I don't at all know how it hap- 
 pened, from some oversight I suppose, and it is 
 really impossible always to prevent mistakes 
 in matters of this kind, but it had been so 
 clumsily managed that Mrs. Fileeter, who had 
 a very beautiful voice, and a nicely educated 
 one, too, for she had begun life as a French 
 governess and had been herself educated in 
 Paris, had been asked and had consented to 
 take a leading part in the performance. I say 
 a leading part, for if she took any part at all 
 it must necessarily have been a leading one ; 
 as she knew a great deal more about music 
 than any of the other amateurs, it was quite 
 natural she should be repeatedly referred to in 
 such matters as selection of pieces, appropria- 
 tion of parts, &c. 
 
 The first day Mrs. Wasilbakee attended the 
 practice it was at Dakhil Duf tar's house. She 
 came in a little late after they had all begun, 
 and had been in the room some five minutes or 
 so before her presence was noticed, as the 
 others were all intent on their music. She 
 looked about and beheld familiar faces with
 
 THE EXHIBITIOIf. 89 
 
 open mouths all around her. But at the piano 
 sat a lady she did not know. When the piece 
 was over she shook hands with Mrs. Dakhil 
 Duftar and a few of the other ladies who hap- 
 pened to be near the ottoman where she was 
 seated. 
 
 " Can you tell me who that lady is who has 
 been playing the accompaniment ? she has 
 splendid execution.^^ 
 
 " Oh yes, that's Mrs. Fileeter." 
 
 ^^Mrs. who?'' 
 
 " Mrs. Fileeter — the deputy collector's wife,'* 
 
 '^ How in the world did you ask her to 
 join ? " 
 
 "I didn't/' said Mrs. Dakhil Duftar, and, 
 indeed, I don't know who did. But she plays 
 most beautifully." 
 
 ^' I think I'll say good morning," said Mrs. 
 Wasilbakee, getting up to go. " My head is 
 so bad to-day that I am sure I shall not be 
 able to sing. Good-bye." 
 
 And Mrs. Wasilbakee went. But through 
 one of those undefined processes by which pub- 
 lic feeling becomes affected before undergoing 
 some great change, it began to be felt in 
 Budgepore, that Budgepore had committed a 
 faux pas in asking Mrs. Fileeter to take a part 
 in the musical programme. No doubt the 
 change was due in a great measure to Mrs.
 
 90 THE CHEONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 Wasilbakee's very strong opinion on this 
 point. Several ladies sided with her^ particu- 
 larly those who belonged to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor's party, and who happened at that 
 time to be guests of the Commissioner's wife, 
 and many of the Budgeporeans thought it 
 politic and proper to form an alliance in this 
 quarter. The matter became a subject of 
 ceaseless conversation at all the parties and 
 little assemblies where the female sex alone 
 was represented. In the drawing-room after 
 diuner_, before the gentlemen came in, at chotd 
 hazrees in the morning when no gentlemen 
 happened to be present, and especially at the 
 choir practice at the church, the pros and cons 
 were discussed, some at first siding with the 
 liberal party, who approved of Mrs. Fileeter, 
 others, and the majority, agreeing with Mrs. 
 Wasilbakee and the head-quarters ladies that 
 on no account ought she to have been asked to 
 join. Now that the mischief had been done, it 
 was exceedingly difficult to undo it. They could 
 not send Mrs, Fileeter about her business, nor 
 could the most inventive genius among the fair 
 Budgeporeans devise any decent excuse for 
 getting rid of her. Great as would have been 
 the loss of her voice and advice, her taste, her 
 accompaniment, that they were quite ready to 
 put up with, if only the greater difficulty, that 
 
 I
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 91 
 
 of Mrs. Fileeter's husband belonging to the 
 uncovenanted service, could be by any means 
 removed. This, of course, was impossible, and 
 what was to be done ? 
 
 Had Mrs. Fileeter conceived the least idea of 
 the trouble her presence was giving, she would 
 at once have relieved her friends of all their 
 anxiety by resigning her place in the exhibition 
 programme. I dare say that would not have 
 been done without a pang. Human nature 
 has its inherent weaknesses from which few of 
 us are free, and Mrs. Fileeter would have been 
 more than a woman if she had not experienced 
 a little pride and gratification in contemplating 
 the position she had been accorded in Budge- 
 pore " society." The meetings for practising 
 were generally followed by tiffins, and, as a 
 matter of course, Mrs. Fileeter remained to 
 take her part in these. After tiffin, the ladies 
 generally adjourned to croquet, and here, 
 again, Mrs. Fileeter could not by any possi- 
 bility be left out. It may readily be supposed 
 that the ladies^ croquet parties were speedily 
 joined by the gentlemen as soon as their office 
 work was over, and by the officers who had no 
 office work to keep them away, as soon as they 
 began to play. Mrs. Fileeter thus found her- 
 self within the charmed circle whose limits she 
 would not have crossed had she tried ever so
 
 92 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 hard, had it not been for the exhibition. The 
 question was, and ray Anglo-Indian readers 
 "will see at once that it was a very difficult 
 question, how was all this to be undone, — how 
 was Mrs. Fileeter to be got rid of. For I 
 grieve to have to record it, that one by one 
 Mrs. Fileeter^s supporters dropped off, till at 
 last it came to be an admitted principle, that if 
 it were possible to get rid of Mrs. Fileeter, 
 Mrs. Fileeter was to be got rid of. If it were 
 not possible, then in that case it did not 
 indeed appear exactly what would be the result, 
 but Mrs. Wasilbakee was determined that the 
 result should be the total abandonment of the 
 musical programme. In dead silence or to 
 the vulgar strains of a military band should 
 the opening ceremonies be performed. Fairly 
 beaten by the difficulty, none of them could 
 overcome it. Mrs. Wasilbakee was fain to have 
 recourse to her husband. And to him one 
 evening she opened her griefs. His vigorous 
 and manly intellect at once embraced the sub- 
 ject in all its phases. 
 
 " Pooh ! my dear, is that all — why that is 
 very easily managed." 
 
 " I declare I don^t see how. I wish I had 
 spoken to you before. You make so light of it, 
 and I am sure it^^'s given me many and many a 
 sleepless night."
 
 THE EXHIBITION, 93 
 
 " You should have taken me into your con- 
 fidence before, you see. You ladies always 
 think you can do things so much better than 
 we can, but you are obliged to come to us 
 after all/' 
 
 '' But you haven't told me how you are going 
 to do it. You will not speak to Mr. Fileeter 
 about it?'' 
 
 " Oh no, I shall do it in a much easier way, 
 by a demi-official." 
 
 " You don't mean to say you'll write to him ! 
 "Why, he'll send the letter to the papers, and 
 that will be worse than all." 
 
 " No, I'll write a demi-official to the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, and have Fileeter removed at 
 once to another district." 
 
 " There's a good creature," and Mrs. Wasil- 
 bakee rewarded her husband with a kiss, and 
 hastened to write a short note to Mrs. Dakhil 
 Duftar to tell her that the burden which had 
 been hanging like an incubus on them so long 
 was all removed as if by magic. 
 
 So Mr. Wasilbakee wrote a demi-official to 
 Mr. Khas Mouza, and Mr. Khas Mouza com- 
 municated the contents thereof to the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, and an order appeared in the 
 very next Gazette directing the removal of Mr. 
 Fileeter, who had been twenty years at Budge- 
 pore, to another district. Meantime an official
 
 94 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 letter was despatched to Mr. Fileeter telling 
 him in highly flattering terms that his services 
 were much required at Jhansie, that H, H. 
 regretted the necessity of removing so old and 
 "well tried an officer^ but that the exigencies of 
 the public service required that the Jhansie 
 treasury should have the advantage of Mr. 
 Fileeter^s experience. 
 
 The blow was a severe one to Mr. Fileeter. 
 There was no increase of pay to be looked for 
 as a compensation for the trouble and enor- 
 mous expense and loss of moving, the furniture 
 and things would have to be sold by auction, 
 for he was ordered down at a week's notice, 
 and it was too far to transport them — indeed he 
 could not aiford to pay for their transport. 
 But what could he do ? To remonstrate was 
 worse than useless. He could only console 
 himself with the reflection that the Lieutenant- 
 Governor's flattering sentences really meant 
 somethings and that Government would never 
 subject him to so much trouble and expense 
 unless they intended to make it up to him 
 hereafter in some way or other. 
 
 Of all the ladies at Budgepore, Mrs. Fitzmisl 
 sympathised the most with Mrs. Fileeter. 
 Mr. Fitzmisl had married before he came 
 out, a thing which no one but a competition- 
 walla was ever known to do. It was an innova-
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 95 
 
 tion that came in along with the competition 
 system. The old orthodox custom was for a 
 civilian as a bachelor to get himself well into 
 debt during the first few years of his service 
 and then marry. But a corapetition-walla who 
 came out married was pretty sure not to 
 get into debt. He would have to live care- 
 fully, very carefully, to screw in fact, as the 
 other and older branch of the service called it, 
 to make both ends meet upon an assistant's 
 pay. And Mrs. Fitzmisl had tasted all the 
 bitters of poverty before her husband emerged 
 into the full pay and position of a joint. It 
 had, however, taught her to acquire homely 
 habits, and habits of economy. And although 
 she mixed, of course, in a great deal of the 
 society of Budgepore, she did it against her 
 will, and in opposition to her inclinations. I 
 cannot exactly explain why this should have 
 been a bond of union between her and Mrs. 
 rileeter, but so it was. Perhaps it arose from 
 the fact that Mrs. Fitzmisl came to be looked 
 down upon a little by the rest in consequence 
 of her persistence in avoiding extravagance of 
 all kinds and keeping her husband out of debt. 
 She shared the anxiety and distress of the 
 other Budgeporeans in their difficulty about 
 getting rid of Mrs. Fileeter, when once the 
 real character of that difficulty was disclosed to
 
 96 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 her. At first she did not see, as many of the 
 others had not seen, the gross impropriety they 
 had been guilty of, till Mrs. Wasilbakee had 
 shown it to them in its true light and full 
 intensity. As soon as her eyes were opened, 
 she acknowledged its gravity, and sought in 
 vain, like the others, for some solution from 
 the difficulty. Still, for all that, she did sym- 
 pathize with Mrs. Fileeter, and, as I have said, 
 was more intimate with her than any of the 
 others. 
 
 No sooner was the transfer of Mr. Fileeter 
 notified in the Gazette, and the world of Budge- 
 pore had triumphed in the success of its scheme, 
 than its cup of joy was dashed from its lips, by 
 the announcement made by Mrs. Fileeter her- 
 self, that she did not intend to accompany her 
 husband, but should leave him to go on before 
 her, get a house, and settle, &c., and she should 
 proceed to join him after the exhibition was 
 over. Here was a blow ! But Budgepore 
 proved equal to the occasion. Gunny Lall was 
 spoken to, and it needed a few words of kindly 
 advice only from the Commissioner, for him to 
 open his money-bags and invest in ]\Ir. Fileeter^s 
 house, paying a good sum for it, on condition 
 of immediate occupation. Mrs. Fileeter's con- 
 duct had been very much blamed. Mrs. Wasil- 
 bakee thought it was exceedingly wrong of her 
 
 i
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 97 
 
 to let her husband go all alone to a new 
 station, and Mrs. Dakhil Duftar agreed with 
 Mrs. Wasilbakee, adding that it was not at 
 all like a good wife to separate from her hus- 
 band so unnecessarily. This was also the 
 opinion of most of the other ladies, but it 
 came with peculiar force from those two, who 
 steadily went to Simla every year for the six 
 months' season. However, Mrs. Fileeter would 
 now be forced to keep her marriage vows to the 
 very letter. 
 
 Fitzmisl, who knew nothing of all that was 
 going on, for Mr. Wasilbakee was the only one 
 of the gentlemen who had been taken into con- 
 fidence, one day on returning from cutcherry, 
 when his wife happened to be out, found a note 
 had just arrived from Mrs. Fileeter, and he 
 opened and answered it. When his wife came 
 home, about half an hour afterwards, he said, — 
 
 " There is a note, Jane, from Mrs. Fileeter 
 that came when you were out. I have answe 
 it, as I thought it was not worth while keeping 
 it to ask you, there can be but one reply to it.'' 
 
 Mrs. Fitzmisl read the note, and asked with 
 more excitement than Fitzmisl thought the 
 matter justified, — 
 
 " What did you say, dear ? " 
 
 " I said of course we should be happy to 
 see her, there is the spare room, you know, and 
 I. 7
 
 98 THE CHRONICLES OP BTTDGEPORE. 
 
 we have no one else coming. I am very glad 
 to be able to accommodate her." 
 
 *' What will Mrs. Wasilbakee say ? " was 
 Mrs. FitzmisFs rejoinder. 
 
 " Mrs. Wasilbakee ! I don^t see what she 
 has to say to it." 
 
 " Ah, you don^t know. You should always 
 ask me, my dear, before you answer notes of 
 this kind," — and Mrs. Fitzmisl ran out of the 
 room, stopped the carriage which was being 
 taken to the stables, and drove at once to Mrs. 
 Wasilbakee's. 
 
 That lady was again checked. Mrs. Fileeter 
 had asked the Fitzmisls to put her up till the 
 exhibition was over, and Fitzmisl had good- 
 naturedly consented. 
 
 It is an ill wind that blows nobody good, and 
 Fitzmisl had cause, though he didn't know it, to 
 congratulate himself on being so good-natured. 
 Mrs. Wasilbakee's interest with Mrs. Byewil- 
 wuffa was powerful, and, much to the amaze- 
 ment of Fitzmisl, he received a few days after a 
 letter from Mr. Khas Mouza, the secretary, 
 informing him he had been transferred to 
 another district, and he was to proceed to join 
 his new appointment at once. Fitzmisl, how- 
 ever, was a covenanted civilian, and it would 
 not do to move him without an increase of pay, 
 so he was promoted to the higher grade of
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 99 
 
 joint magistrate, upon one thousand in lieu 
 of seven hundred rupees a month. 
 
 Again did the Budgepore world triumph, 
 and again was it destined to disappointment. 
 
 Mrs. Fileeter, quite unconscious of the 
 anxiety she was causing by her movements, 
 resolved to ask the Chilians to take her in, 
 as the Fitzmisls were to break up their estab- 
 lishment at once. Chilian was inspecting Post- 
 master of Budgepore, and occupied a sort 
 of amphibious or hybrid existence^ sometimes 
 bathing himself in the full light of Budgepore 
 " society,''' and sometimes laving himself in 
 the waters situated just below that Elysium. 
 Mrs. Chilian was ambitious. He, a sensible 
 sort of man, was pretty well indifferent as to the 
 circle of society he moved in, so long as he met 
 with a welcome and found himself in the com- 
 pany of people he liked and who liked him. 
 But Mrs. Chilian was not content wdth this. 
 She grieved over the want of noble aspirations 
 in her spouse, and was resolved to force him 
 into the higher sphere by dint of her own 
 personal influence. The consequence was that 
 the Chilians were always seen at all the public 
 balls at Budgepore, but never at the private 
 entertainments of the aristocratic world. Mr. 
 Chilian gave in to his wife's whims on the 
 subject good-naturedly enough, went to the 
 
 7 *
 
 100 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 balls with her, and sat them out like a man. 
 He could, however, see, if she could not, exactly 
 how matters stood. 
 
 Airs. Chilian, in the equivocal position she 
 held, hanging, as it were, between Elysium 
 and the world below it, was not at all sorry 
 to accede to Mrs. Fileeter^s request to take her 
 in. She would have a companion to accom- 
 pany her to all the Exhibition gaieties, a com- 
 panion, too, who had made good and better 
 footing than she had within that charmed circle 
 she so much longed to enter. It was a lucky 
 day for Chilian that Mrs. Fileeter bethought 
 herself of soliciting the hospitality of his roof. 
 
 It so happened that Major Soosti, Post- 
 master-General, had just passed the Board, 
 and was on the point of going home on medical 
 certificate. He was, indeed, very ill, and 
 what made his case the more serious was, that 
 the doctors did not seem thoroughly to under- 
 stand it. However, his medical attendant 
 described the case in the certificate as a serious, 
 and what might prove a fatal, case of " Inertia," 
 and the Medical Board at Budgepore, who had 
 never heard of this disease, took for granted it 
 was a new discovery, and as none of the medical 
 gentlemen composing the board had seen an 
 English medical periodical, or a new medical 
 work, for some little time, they were afraid of
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 101 
 
 disclosing their ignorance if they sent the 
 certificate back or rejected Major Soosti's 
 application on the ground that they did not 
 recognise the peculiar disease under which 
 the applicant was suffering. 
 
 So Major Soosti, who had been Postmaster- 
 General for fifteen years^ passed the board and 
 went home^ just before Mrs. Fileeter went to 
 pay her visit to the Chilians. To Chillan^s 
 great joy he was appointed to officiate for 
 Major Soosti, and received orders to proceed 
 immediately and take charge of the office. 
 
 Mrs. Fileeter^s resources in the circle of the 
 civil community being now exhausted, she 
 betook herself to the military. She was inti- 
 mate with the Butts. Lieutenant Butt was 
 Interpreter and Quartermaster of the 78th 
 Native Infantry then quartered at Budgepore, 
 under the command of that distinguished officer 
 Colonel Gotobed. The 78th N. I. was a little 
 under-officered, as were many of the old Bengal 
 regiments in the old days, and, indeed, I do 
 not know that the new Bengal regiments of 
 native infantry are much better off in these 
 days. If the old Bengal army may be said 
 to have been under-ofiicered formerly, it may 
 perhaps be said to be un-officered now. How- 
 ever that may be, the 78th N. I., under the 
 command of Colonel Gotobed, had present with
 
 102 THE CHRONICLES OP BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 it the adjutant (a lieutenant^ of course), the 
 quartermaster and interpreter, and an ensign. 
 These thi'ee officers held all the ten companies 
 between them. The adjutant and interpreter 
 holding four each, and the ensign two. 
 
 A short time before the period of which I 
 am speaking, the junior lieutenant had been 
 removed to fill the office of sub-assistant com- 
 missary-general on probation. Lieutenant Butt 
 had applied for the appointment ; he being a 
 passed officer,* of course, as he was inter- 
 preter, but was told in reply that His Excel- 
 lency was most anxious to oblige him, but that 
 there were so many officers absent from the 
 78th N. I. on staff employ already, it was 
 impossible to remove any more; notwith- 
 standing which, within a week, the junior 
 lieutenant, who had great interest, was re- 
 moved to fill this very appointment, although 
 he had never passed. 
 
 Mrs. Wasilbakee^s interest was not confined 
 to the civil department of the service. She was 
 very intimate with the Commander-in-Chief, 
 Lady Grubb. When I call Lady Grubb Com- 
 mander-in-Chief, I mean that she was de facto, 
 though her husband, Sir Walter Grubb, was of 
 
 * An officer cannot hold the appointment of Inter- 
 preter until he has passed an examination in the Native 
 Languages.
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 103 
 
 course, de jure, Commander-in-Chief. Mrs. 
 Wasilbakee went to Simla every year, as I have 
 already stated, and there she was a strong and 
 powerful ally of Lady Grubb^s in all the little 
 social contests that eidivened existence in Simla 
 saloons. The result of all this and of Mrs. 
 Fileeter's visit to the Butts, was that Butt, 
 much to his surprise, and greatly to his satis- 
 faction, received a letter from the Military 
 Secretary, Colonel Gajur, offering him the 
 appointment of adjutant to the 28th Musal- 
 chees, an appointment he much coveted. The 
 28th Musalchees was a very crack regiment of 
 irregular horse, commanded by Captain Chum- 
 cha, who got so much fame in his campaign 
 against the Moorghies and Doongas, several of 
 which fierce and savage tribes he had slain with 
 his own hand in single combat. Mrs. Fileeter^s 
 visit at the Butts was thus cut short, for one 
 condition of the offer of the appointment was that 
 Butt should join immediately. This, of course, 
 he was delighted to do, and he lost no time in 
 selling off his furniture, and procuring a loan 
 from the Agra Bank of two thousand rupees to 
 pay for the uniform, which was very expensive, 
 as it was exceedingly gorgeous, having been 
 designed by Captain Chumcha himself, and 
 consisting of something between the uniform of 
 the Blues and that of the Russian Life Guards.
 
 104 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 The triumph of the beau monde of Budgepore 
 was again destined to be very short-lived^ for 
 Mrs. Gotobed having heard^ of course, of Mrs. 
 Fileeter's visit to the Butts being cut short, 
 very kindly wrote and asked her to come and 
 stay with them till the Exhibition was over. 
 This invitation was accepted. 
 
 And now, I dare say, you will think Mrs. 
 Wasilbakee and the fair conspirators were 
 checkmated. They had been checked several 
 times before, but this looked very like a check- 
 mate. You must, however, recollect St. Kevin, 
 
 " Ah ! the good saint little knew 
 What the wily sex can do." 
 
 One morning, the week after Mrs. Fileeter 
 had moved to the Gotobeds, while they were at 
 breakfast, a telegram was put into the ColoneFs 
 hands. 
 
 " I wonder what this can be about," said the 
 colonel, turning the red envelope over and over 
 in his hand. 
 
 " Look inside and perhaps you^ll find out," 
 laconically observed Mrs. Gotobed. 
 
 "Bless me! ^' said the Colonel, as he read 
 the telegram, "listen to this.^' 
 
 " From Quartermaster-General 
 
 " To Colonel Gotobed. Budgepore. 
 
 "The 78th N. I. is to march at once to
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 105 
 
 Mirichpoor. Written orders follow by post, 
 make immediate preparations/^ 
 
 " There must be something very serious the 
 matter at Mirichpoor/' said Colonel Gotobed. 
 
 " Some disturbance among the tribes^ I dare 
 say/' said his wife. " I hope there'll be no 
 fighting.'' 
 
 " They want an officer of experience down 
 there, no doubt/' observed the colonel. 
 
 " Well, my dear, it is an inconvenient move 
 for us to make just now, but it can't be helped." 
 
 Of course the news spread through Budgepore 
 like wild-fire, that the 78th N. I. had received 
 orders by telegram to march for Mirichpoor. 
 And in a very short time the report was supple- 
 mented by another to account for the move, 
 viz., that some serious disturbance had broken 
 out in that neighbourhood. There was, how- 
 ever, no certain intelligence, and the public 
 were left very much in the dark till a paragraph 
 appeared in the Sycophant, a paper then pub- 
 lished at Budgepoor. The Sycophant belonged 
 to a joint-stock company, and the shareholders 
 were principally officials, some of them holding 
 tolerably high appointments in the service. 
 The paper prided itself on being a Government 
 organ, and made a great deal, at least the 
 shareholders did, of sundry scraps of most 
 authentic information furnished to it from time
 
 10(3 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 to time bv those of the proprietors who had 
 access to Goverumcnt records. What Avith 
 circulating vast numbers of gratis copies^ and 
 supplying the sharehoklers with ten gratis 
 copies each, and reducing the price of their 
 advertisements to a figure below what any other 
 paper would take, they managed to make a show 
 of prosperity. Well, the Sycophant, fresh from 
 the authentic sources of official information, 
 gave its readers the following explanation of 
 the sudden move of the 78th N. I., Avhich had 
 so much puzzled the public : — 
 
 " We hear that the threatening aspect of the 
 political horizon in and about Mirichpoor has 
 necessitated the immediate move of the 78th 
 N. I., under command of that experienced 
 officer, Colonel Gotobed, from Budgepore. 
 
 " The regiment received its orders to march 
 by telegram from the Quartermaster-General 
 the day before yesterday, and there is every 
 reason to believe that the presence, on the spot, 
 of a regiment so efficient and so well trained, 
 and under an officer of Colonel Gotobed^'s 
 known reputation, will have the effect of speedily 
 restoring order in the disturbed districts.''^ 
 
 So the 78th N. I. marched exactly a week 
 after the receipt of the telegram, but Mrs. Go- 
 tobed remained behind at Budgepore, and asked 
 Mrs. Fileeter to stay and keep her company !
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 107 
 
 The official channels at the disposal of Mrs. 
 Wasilbakee, and the Head Quarters ladies were 
 now fairly exhausted. They had managed to 
 get Mr. Fileeter transferred to Jhansie, Fitz- 
 misl promoted and removed to Bareilly^ Chilian 
 had by the same means been made officiating 
 Postmaster-General, Lieut. Butt had been 
 appointed adjutant of the 28th Musalchees, and 
 last, though not least, the 78th N. I. had 
 marched to Mirichpoor. Still, Mrs. Fileeter 
 kept her place at the Exhibition choir, and used 
 to attend the practice and sing as sweetly, and 
 play the accompaniments as composedly, as if 
 not a ripple had disturbed the placid surface of 
 the waters of the Budgepore world. 
 
 We sometimes realize what unimportant and 
 helpless creatures we are in controlling the 
 course of events. All the influence of Mrs. 
 Wasilbakee and the ladies of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor's staff, which meant in reality all 
 the influence of the Government, all the 
 influence of Lady Grubb, which was another 
 word for all the power and patronage of the 
 head of the army in India, and, indeed, I may 
 say, all the power of Government beside, were 
 powerless to eff'ect the removal of a weak, 
 almost friendless woman from the station of 
 Budgepore. And yet that very end was 
 attained by the simplest of all possible means.
 
 108 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 notliinjj; more than a piece of orange-peel. It 
 happened one day that Mr. Fileeter came 
 home from cutcherry thirsty. He had been 
 there all day since ten o'clock in the morning, 
 and it was now six p.m. He would much have 
 preferred not having to return tired and jaded 
 to a solitary, dismal bungalow, and cannot one 
 of your great gloomy bungalows, whose roof 
 comes down to within about five feet of the 
 ground, excluding air and light, be gloomy and 
 cheerless when you return to it about six o'clock 
 in the evening after a hard day's work, and find 
 it, as you know, empty, — no wife to greet you 
 with a smile, no child to run up and catch 
 you round the knee — well, T was saying, Mr. 
 Fileeter returned home at six o'clock one day, 
 and, being thirsty, ate an orange. A very 
 simple process, yet attended with how im- 
 portant results ! He threw the peel out in the 
 verandah — a very untidy thing to do, but then, 
 you see, he was a grass bachelor. In the 
 evening, after dinner, before going to bed, 
 he went out to take a turn in the garden, and 
 walking across the verandah, put his foot on 
 the orange-peel, slipped and fell, and sprained 
 his ankle very severely. 
 
 A few days after, a letter was put into Mrs. 
 Fileeter's hand from her husband, telling her 
 of the accident, and saying that he was con-
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 109 
 
 fined to his bed, and likely to be so for some 
 time, and sorry as be was to interfere with her 
 plans and prevent her from having the pleasure 
 of witnessing the Exhibition and enjoying its 
 attendant gaieties, he was obliged, in his help- 
 less state, to bid her come to him. Mrs. 
 Fileeter lost no time in obeying the summons. 
 She prepared to start that very night. 
 
 Before she went, however, she wrote a note 
 to Mrs. Wasilbakee, telling her what had 
 happened, and of her intended departure, and 
 received a very kind note in reply from that 
 lady, saying how sorry they all were that Mrs. 
 Fileeter was forced to leave them, and especially 
 from such a cause, and how much they would 
 miss her, and ended by saying she hoped she 
 would find Mr. Fileeter better. 
 
 As Mrs. Fileeter^s dak carriage rolled away 
 with her that evening, Budgepore breathed 
 more freely than it had done for many a long 
 day.
 
 110 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 THE BUDGEPORE EXHIBITION. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SHOWING HOW COLONEL MACDARE, SINGLE- 
 HANDED, ATTACKED THE ^^DEPARTMENTS." 
 
 My readers, who are behind the scenes, know 
 well enough the secret springs that set in motion 
 that gallant regiment the 78th N. I. en route to 
 Mirichpoor. Not so the outside world, who 
 were informed through the veracious columns 
 of the Sycophant that it was the disturbed state 
 of the district that rendered it necessary to direct 
 the march. 
 
 This was all very well, of course, so far as 
 the good-natured, unreflecting, put-upon and 
 easily- deluded public were concerned. And 
 there is not a public in the whole of this 
 wide wide world, which is more easily con- 
 tented and thankful for smaller mercies than 
 the Indian. Of course I mean the Anglo-
 
 THE EXHIBITION. Ill 
 
 Indian public. There was a native public 
 once^ but it had such a very objectionable way of 
 maintaining its vitality^ and asserting its rights 
 that was altogether incompatible with civilized 
 life, namely, murdering unharmed men, women 
 and little children, that it became necessary to 
 put an end to its existence altogether, and it 
 was suddenly put an end to, after a short life of 
 one year, Ann. Dom. 1858. The Anglo-Indian 
 public is a patient beast, extremely like a certain 
 animal once held in much reputation in Judsea ; 
 but in modern days marked out for drudgery, 
 ill-treatment and contempt. If it lies quiet, it 
 gets kicked for being lazy, indolent and indif- 
 ferent. When it makes a noise, its gets kicked 
 for being troublesome. It has no particular 
 food given to it, but is allowed to pick up what 
 offal it can from heaps of vegetable refuse. It 
 is made to do all the hard work and carry all 
 the burdens, and although things could not go 
 on a single day without it, nevertheless it is re- 
 peatedly told between the blows that are dealt 
 upon its bony carcass, " that it has no business 
 in the country, why doesn't it go out of it, but 
 that as long as it chooses to stay, all the hard 
 work shall fall to its share, and instead of getting 
 half-pence in return, it shall have nothing but 
 kicks. '^ The fact being that the miserable half- 
 starved creature is so weak and emaciated that
 
 112 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 it has not strength to leave the country, however 
 much it might wish to do so. 
 
 I say it was all very well, so far as the public 
 went, for the Sycophant to put in that paragraph 
 explaining the sudden move of the 78th N. I. 
 But you may like to know how the intelligence 
 was received at Mirichpoor itself. And here the 
 Sycophant, as they say, counted without his 
 host, which means that he forgot that his para- 
 graph would be read at Muichpoor, and above 
 all he forgot that it would be read by Colonel 
 Macdare. 
 
 Now Colonel Macdare, who was Commissioner 
 of Mirichpoor, was about the worst man in the 
 whole of India upon whom it was safe to attempt 
 to play a trick. He was a little man, but he 
 had a large heart in a diminutive body. Though 
 small in size, he was physically well developed, 
 his bones might have been iron and his sinews 
 wire, and his limbs made by nature for a model 
 of what the human frame ought to be when best 
 adapted for vigorous active life. A dashing fear- 
 less soldier was Colonel Macdare, one of those 
 men of whom the Indian service may well be 
 proud. They were more plentiful in former 
 years than they are now. 
 
 He first came into notice in the AfFghan war 
 where his cool intrepidity and amazing powers 
 of endurance speedily attracted the attention of
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 113 
 
 such men as Sale and Pollock. Among his 
 other qualities he had that which I think more 
 than anything else contains in it the seeds of 
 greatness^ the power of influencing other men. 
 And this made him valuable as a political 
 officer in those troubled times, when Colonel 
 Macdare, as he was then, was known by his 
 personal influence over wild tribes to have kept 
 a whole district quiet, without so much as a 
 single soldier to enforce his authority. 
 
 It is a painful reflection to make, but it is 
 nevertheless perfectly true, that in our country, 
 that is either in England or India, but more 
 especially in the latter, great and noble qualities 
 and brilliant services are not in themselves suffi- 
 cient to bring a man into the position in public 
 life he is fitted to hold. Something else is re- 
 quired, a man must be to a certain extent a 
 courtier besides. He may do the most gallant 
 deeds in the world, but unless he or his friends 
 for him can manage a little of the " simpering 
 in gilded saloous,^^ his worth will not be recog- 
 nized. I know there are exceptions, and I think 
 Lord Lawrence is one of them, but these 
 exceptions prove the rule, which certainly in the 
 case of Colonel Macdare held good. Such ser- 
 vices as his were fit to be rewarded with the 
 highest appointment Government had it in 
 their power to confer. But far inferior men 
 I. 8
 
 114 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 by the process kno^ni as suction, got themselves 
 promoted, and Colonel Macdare was considered 
 sufficiently well provided for by being made 
 Commissioner of Mirichpoor. 
 
 There, as in every position in life he had ever 
 held, he set himself to do his best heartily. He 
 was an enthusiast in his work, and thought 
 nothing beneath his notice which, if well done, 
 would contribute to the happiness of a single 
 human being and which if ill done, might entail 
 inconvenience or loss on any one. He was one 
 of those men who serve the Government well. 
 They seem to think the bargain between them 
 and their employers involves the delivery on 
 their part of all the powers of their body and 
 intellect for the term of their natural life, or as 
 long as they remain employed. There is another 
 class of men who think the bargain involves yet 
 more, and who in exchange for their monthly 
 pay consider the purchaser entitled not only to 
 their intellectual and physical powers, but some- 
 thing else besides. 
 
 Colonel Macdare, however, was not one of 
 these. Government was entitled to the last 
 drop of his lifers blood, to his time, his genius, 
 his pen, his mental faculties, but to nothing 
 else. He never signed a despatch that was not, 
 every word of it, scrupulously true. He never 
 wrote one thing in an official and another in a
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 115 
 
 demi-official. He never allowed the favour of his 
 superiors or the hope of promotion to swerve 
 him one hair's breadth from the path of honour, 
 justice and truth. 
 
 There was one thing he took a real pleasure 
 in, it was his hobby, and that was the state of 
 his district. He would almost as soon have 
 listened quietly to an imputation on his wife's 
 honour, as on the condition of his district. 
 You may imagine, then, his feelings when 
 opening the Sycophant one morning at break- 
 fast time (the Sycophant was supplied gratis to 
 all officials of Colonel Macdare's rank), he read 
 the paragraph already quoted, to the effect that 
 the 78th N. I. had been ordered at once by 
 telegram to Mirichpoor on account of the dis- 
 turbed state of the district. Had a shell fallen 
 into the room he would not have started from 
 his chair more promptly, nay, it is probable he 
 would not have exhibited half the emotion he 
 did now. That any one should breathe in 
 secret that the Mirichpoor district was in any- 
 thing but a state of absolute repose, was a 
 thing not to be contemplated without emotion. 
 If he had heard such a slander uttered in a 
 small circle among his acquaintances, he would 
 have felt it deeply : it would have given him 
 no rest till it had been contradicted in the 
 fullest, most decisive manner. But that the 
 
 « *
 
 116 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 statement should appear in the columns of 
 a newspaper^ in all the imposing features of 
 editorial t^'pe ! This was too bad. English- 
 men do not tear their hair in real life. I have 
 lived two score of years with my fellow men^ 
 and never yet saw but one man tear his hair, 
 and that was a native, who was apparently 
 afflicted with the most dreadful disease that 
 can attack the sons of Adam — he was in love. 
 He did tear his hair: he tore his hair, his 
 clothes, and rolled himself on the ground at 
 the feet of the obdurate fair one in a most 
 frantic manner. And she was excessively dirty 
 and very ill-dressed, and very ill-looking, and 
 I much wondered at such an exhibition of 
 feeling on her account. But I never saw an 
 Englishman tear his hair except on the stage, 
 although I have often read of it in novels. 
 Colonel Macdare did not exactly tear his hair, 
 but he did put his two hands to his head, and 
 grasped the roots of his hair when he saw those 
 lines in the Sycophant. Mrs. Macdare was at 
 that time in England, and the Colonel was 
 residing alone, and so it happened that there 
 was no one in the room except his khitmutgar 
 when the event occurred. Had you been there 
 you might have seen Colonel ^lacdare standing 
 in the attitude I have described, his feet a little 
 apart, both his hands meeting on the top of his
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 117 
 
 head grasping the hair, gazing with horror, in- 
 dignation, wrath, and sorrow upon the columns 
 of the Sycophant, which was on the breakfast- 
 table before him, and there stood his khit- 
 mutgar just behind him, rooted to the spot and 
 trembling with fear. All the natives were very 
 much in awe of Colonel Macdare. He was to 
 them as Fate, stern, inexorable, unbending; 
 unlike Fate, in that they knew him to be just. 
 But natives are slow to understand our motives, 
 and cannot the least trace the connection 
 between our actions, and the intention or the 
 will that prompts them. So when Colonel 
 Macdare broke off suddenly in the act of crack- 
 ing his egg with an egg-spoon, started from 
 his chair and stood erect with his two hands 
 grasping the roots of his hair, the khitmutgar 
 was petrified with fear, for it at once occurred 
 to him that the Colonel had discovered some- 
 thing most awful and tremendous inside the 
 egg. The khitmutgar, whose mind was intent 
 on his master^s breakfast, did not, of course, 
 think of the newspaper as in any way connected 
 with the ColonePs great and sudden emotion. 
 So he kept his eyes fixed on the egg, trembling 
 like an aspen leaf, and expecting every instant 
 to see a huge serpent or a dragon uncoil itself, 
 and rising from the egg-shell, develop into 
 a full-grown reptile of supernatural proportions.
 
 118 THE CHRONICLES OF BITDGEPOEE. 
 
 While the Colonel was in this attitude, a 
 servant entered with the morning budget of 
 letters, and put them on the table. But, seeing 
 his master's posture, and instinctively regarding 
 the innocent egg as the cause of it^ immediately 
 ran away, and told all the servants, of whom 
 there were thirty in the establishment altogether, 
 that the " Burra Sahib " had found a " jinn " in 
 the egg, and was bewitched, as a preliminary 
 step to being devoured or transformed into a 
 
 pig- 
 
 The report spread over the whole station in a 
 
 marvellously short space of time, as reports very 
 soon spread in India, 
 
 This exciting intelligence found the public 
 mind in a condition only too well calculated to 
 receive impression. Gopal Chunder, the head 
 baboo, or clerk in the post office, always 
 liked to have the first news of everything, 
 and accordingly, by a little skilful manipula- 
 tion, known to post-office employes, it was 
 his custom every morning to open and read 
 Colonel Macdare's newspapers before they 
 were delivered to the orderly. This morning 
 he had been much astonished at the paragraph 
 in the Sycophant which had caused Colonel 
 Macdare so much emotion, and, not being a 
 very perfect English scholar, he derived from it 
 rather a confused idea of the state of afiairs at
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 119 
 
 Mirichpoor, This much was clear, that a regi- 
 ment was on its way, and disturbances vvere 
 imminent. The Sycophant got its news from 
 Government officers. He himself, when a clerk 
 in the Adjutant-GeneraFs office a year before, 
 had several times sent off little scraps by order 
 of the Adjutant-General, containing the orders 
 which were to appear in the Gazette the follow- 
 ing day, and which the Sycophant was thus 
 enabled to publish a day before, and no one, the 
 baboo thought, could possibly doubt the veracity 
 of intelligence derived from such a quarter. 
 As soon might you look for impurities in the 
 snow-flake, or the rain-drop that falls from 
 heaven. Bursting with the startling news, 
 Gopal Chunder hastened off to the bazar. 
 
 The old Eastern proverb of sowing the wind 
 and reaping the whirlwind, is well illustrated 
 by the rapidity with which, in an Indian bazar, 
 a few words of alarm take root, throw out 
 their branches, and develop their fruits. In five 
 minutes, nay, less, it was all over the town, 
 passing from mouth to mouth, gathering inten- 
 sity as it went, that something dreadful was to 
 happen, no one knew what — ^no one could tell 
 his neighbour what calamity threatened him, 
 but he could only warn him there was some 
 catastrophe approaching. 
 
 The utter absence of all foundation for the
 
 120 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 rumours only increased the gravity o£ their 
 nature, for every thing was left to the imagina- 
 tion. There was a hubbub and a buzz of 
 clattering tongues, that swelled and swelled, 
 till it filled the very air and penetrated the 
 bungalows of the European oflficers. 
 
 In his chair of office sat Major Tickli, can- 
 tonment magistrate, dispensing justice. 
 
 He had just concluded the investigation in a 
 case which had occupied two or three hours. 
 The evening before, Muddoo Khan, a police con- 
 stable, wishing to entertain a party of friends, 
 had called at the shop of a bunneea or shop- 
 keeper named Hulwaee and requested him to 
 give him two rupees^ worth of sweetmeats. No 
 coin was tendered and the shopkeeper refused 
 to accommodate the constable. He threatened. 
 The confectioner defied. 
 
 Muddoo Khan went away. That night after 
 his friends had left him, which was about ten 
 o^ clock, he called another policeman to accom- 
 pany him to the house of Hulwaee, where he 
 said he had certain information that some stolen 
 property, the police had been some time in search 
 for, was concealed. The stolen property, which 
 consisted of a little jewellery, or at least articles 
 that resembled it, was found in the very place 
 Muddoo Khan knew it would be found, for he 
 had sent and had it put there. Hulwaee was
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 121 
 
 taken away to the lock-up, and his hands being 
 tied behind his back, a brass vessel (called a 
 lota) full of wasps, was fastened on his stomach, 
 and he was informed that it would remain in 
 that position till he confessed before a magis- 
 trate.* Indian wasps are like some human be- 
 ings you occasionally meet with, easily irritated, 
 and their sting is very sharp. The first pang 
 the prisoner felt when the poisoned shafts pene- 
 trated the skin, he bore manfully, the second 
 weakened his resolution, the third caused him 
 to cry out, at the fourth he begged to be re- 
 leased and he would confess all — anything his 
 tormentors wanted. He was released, and the 
 instrument of torture taken off. Begging a 
 little cold water to relieve the burning pain, he 
 sat down in a corner of the hut, where he was 
 confined, till the morning. About eight o'clock 
 his wife, who knew too well the fate that had 
 hefallen her lord, brought him some food. She 
 was glad to escape with abuse to avoid blows, 
 and Hulwaee, with his stomach empty inside, 
 and swollen with the wasps' stings on the out- 
 side, was taken before Major Tickli, who after 
 trying the case, upon the prisoner's own confes- 
 sion, found him guilty, and had just sentenced 
 
 * A process occasionally resorted to by the police, and 
 recommended by its simplicity.
 
 122 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 him to two years^ imprisonment and thirty lashes, 
 when there was a little excitement outside, and 
 in came a mutsuddie, or native clerk from the 
 kotwallee, looking very important and bearing 
 in his hand a document w^ritten in Oordoo in 
 the usual Persian character. This turned out 
 to be a letter or report from the kotwal to the 
 cantonment magistrate, to the effect that there 
 was a panic through the whole town, the bun- 
 neeas were closing their shops, burying their 
 money and jewels, and sending their families 
 out of the place. 
 
 Major Tickli ordered his buggy and adjourned 
 the court. Rumour in India resembles car- 
 bonic acid gas or malaria-laden air. It first of 
 all creeps along the ground and then ascends. 
 There is this difference, certainly, that whereas 
 the gas or the disease-laden atmosphere loses by 
 degrees its noxious properties by mixing with a 
 purer atmosphere, and so becomes diluted, 
 rumour, on the other hand, generally gathers 
 intensity as it ascends. So it was, that by the 
 time the report set on foot by Gopal Chunder 
 had reached the ears of the European officers, 
 it had gained rather than lost in strength. 
 
 Colonel Macdare, after a while, recovered his 
 mental equilibrium so far as to be able to go on 
 with his breakfast ; but he had hardly recom- 
 menced before the noise of wheels was heard
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 123 
 
 outside, and shortly after the voice of some one 
 asking for the Commissioner Sahib, when in 
 walked Captain Johnson, the Deputy Commis- 
 sioner. 
 
 "I know what youVe come about/^ said the 
 Colonel, anticipating his visitor. " You have 
 seen the paper.^'' 
 
 " No, I've seen no paper ; at least IVe seen 
 nothing in the paper, but I have heard reports 
 that rather astonished me.^^ 
 
 " Astonished you, I should think they had. 
 Read that," and the Colonel handed him the 
 paper. 
 
 Now, Johnson, though the Colonel's sub- 
 ordinate officer, and in most respects very much 
 the Colonel's inferior, was, nevertheless, better 
 able than his chief to solve a certain kind of 
 riddle, for you see Johnson had been several 
 years secretary to the Secret Committee of the 
 Indian Circumlocution Office. Whether it was 
 that he applied the experience there gained 
 to the matter in hand, or whether it was that 
 his OAvn depraved nature suggested the idea to 
 his mind, or whether it was that he had known 
 a similar thing done before, I cannot tell. All 
 I know is that he immediately said to the 
 Colonel four words — 
 
 " I see it all.'' 
 
 " You do ! " replied the Colonel, jumping up
 
 124 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 from his seat. " It is more than I do. What 
 on earth does it mean ? Why do they send 
 this regiment down liere from Budgepore? 
 Talk of disturbances in the district ! why a child 
 in arms might walk through it from end to end 
 and not hear so much as a mouse squeak.''"' 
 
 This was a forcible simile, but the fact was 
 the Colonel was so much excited that the incon- 
 gruity of a child in arms walking about the 
 Mirichpoor district never occurred to him. 
 
 "You see," said Johnson, "this is how it is. 
 They wanted, for some reason or other, to 
 send this regiment away from Budgepore. 
 Mirichpoor was pitched upon ; why, of course, 
 I cannot say. Well, having ordered it away in 
 a hurry, people began to talk, and it was neces- 
 sary to make out there was some reason for the 
 move. So a line is sent off to the editor of the 
 Sycophant, who is kept by the Government to 
 do their dirty work, and this is the result. 
 They think Mirichpoor, being a long way off, 
 
 and the Commissioner being a a 
 
 military man, and holding his berth dum se bene 
 gesserit, the affair will never come out." 
 
 " They think so, do they ? " said Colonel 
 Macdare, starting from his chair again and 
 pacing angrily up and down the room. " They 
 think so, do they? I'll tell you what, Johnson, 
 if this is as you say, and I dare say you're right.
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 125 
 
 1^11 expose them; 1^11 track them down, the 
 defamers of my district, 1^11 track them down, 
 ril make them confess their lie before the world. 
 1^11 worry them, I will by " 
 
 Colonel Macdare didn^t swear, and he stopped 
 himself short ere the word passed his lips ; but 
 the vow he registered in his own mind was the 
 result of a determined will, just as likely of 
 fulfilment as if he had sealed it with an oath. 
 
 Here their colloquy was interrupted by the 
 noise of wheels and the entry almost immedi- 
 ately afterwards of Major Tickli and then of 
 Colonel Drew, commanding the 150th, then 
 quartered at Mirichpoor. And to make along 
 story short, I may as well state, that within half 
 an hour very nearly all the European officers, 
 civil and military, stationed at Mirichpoor, were 
 assembled in the Commissioner's room, all of 
 coiirse in high dudgeon as soon as they heard 
 that there was not a word of truth in the report, 
 although several of them went away impressed 
 with the idea, that although the Commissioner 
 and his own subordinate officer strongly denied 
 the existence of any foundation for the report, 
 this was only an official white lie, a statement 
 put forward to allay excitement and deceive the 
 public. 
 
 As soon as his visitors had left. Colonel Mac- 
 dare began to open his morning's letters, and
 
 126 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 the first of which he broke the seal^ ran as 
 follows : — 
 
 No. 791. 
 Camp, Humble-bumble, April 2\st, 18 — . 
 To THE Commissioner of Mirichpoor. 
 
 Sir, — I have the honour to report that in 
 accordance with instructions from Army Head 
 Quarters the regiment under ray command^ 
 strength as per margin, marched from Budge- 
 pore on the 7th instant in progress towards 
 Mirichpoor. 
 
 According to the route furnished me from 
 the Quartermaster- GeneraPs office and my in- 
 structions from Army Head Quarters, I ought 
 to reach the Mirichpoor district on the 6th May, 
 and shall halt at the places mentioned in the 
 margin on the dates specified ; and I have to 
 solicit the favour of your giving the necessary 
 orders for supplies to be collected at each halt- 
 ing ground, in accordance with the indent which 
 I have the honour to inclose. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedt. servt., 
 
 Alexander Gotobed, Lieut. -Col., 
 
 Commanding 78th N. I.
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 127 
 
 P.S. — I have had no instructions to proceed 
 by forced marches, but should the disturbed 
 state of the country render it advisable for me 
 to do so, I beg that you will intimate the same 
 to me, when I will leave the heavy baggage and 
 the sick behind, and push forward in light 
 marching order. 
 
 Colonel Macdare threw the letter No, 791, 
 with enclosure, on the floor, and ground his heel 
 into the paper. He then wrote to the editor of 
 the Sycophant a letter, which he desired that 
 functionary to insert in his next issue. It was 
 as follows : — 
 
 To the Editor of the " Sycophant." 
 
 Sir, — I observe in your last issue a state- 
 ment put forward, as if by authority, to the 
 effect that the 78th Regiment N. I. has been 
 ordered peremptorily from Budgepore to Mirich- 
 poor, in consequence of the disturbed condition 
 of that district. What may be the reason of 
 ordering the 78th N. I. at this season so sud- 
 denly to make a long march, I know not, nor 
 do I care ; but to the explanation of that move, 
 as set forth by you, 1 give the most unqualified 
 denial. There is not, nor has there been, during 
 the last two years, the slightest appearance of
 
 128 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 any discontent^ nor the least apprehension of 
 any disturbance in the district. 
 
 Yoiirs faithfully, 
 
 Patrick Macdare, 
 Commissioner of Mirichpoor. 
 
 This letter threw the editor of the Sycophant 
 into a fever, and for several days he hovered 
 between life and death. What should he do ? 
 If he refused it, the writer would assuredly find 
 some other channel to convey the truth to the 
 public ; and his own refusal would look bad, as 
 a clear attempt to burke the truth. If he pub- 
 lished it, what would Government say, — what 
 would be Mr. ByewilwuflTa^s feelings, — what 
 Mr. Khas Mouza''s, — what Colonel Donothing^s, 
 the Quartermaster-General ? Nay, might not 
 even the serenity of the halls of Olympus be 
 disturbed, and the Governor- General himself 
 enraged ? He suffered dreadfully in the attack, 
 became delirious, and fancied that the Quarter- 
 master-General, enraged at having something 
 to do, was perpetually measuring him with a 
 large wheel, — first from head to foot, and then 
 back again ; while Mr. Bye^nlwufi'a and Mr. 
 Khas Mouza heaped piles of correspondence, in 
 foolscap, on his head. 
 
 Colonel Macdare^s letter was, however, sent 
 in duplicate to the Mqfussilite, where of course
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 129 
 
 it appeared ; and then the people began to won- 
 der what in the world the 78th N. I. had been 
 ordered to Mirichpoor for. 
 
 I don^t suppose that anything would have 
 transpired in consequence of the letter in the 
 Mofussilite, had not Colonel Macdare, with that 
 energy and iron will for which he was famed, 
 followed it up by official correspondence, ad- 
 dressed in the first instance to Mr. Byewilwuffa, 
 that is, of course, to his secretary. In vain the 
 usual means were resorted to, — delays, obstruc- 
 tions, difficulties, references, objections ; and in 
 vain did Mr. Khas Mouza pile Pelion upon Ossa, 
 red tape upon foolscap, even as in the editor's 
 feverish dreams, — all to no purpose. Colonel 
 Macdare tossed it off, as if it were flakes o£ snow 
 accumulating upon a beaver hat. He fought 
 the paper war (and he could fight paper fights 
 as well as real battles with cold steel and gun- 
 powder) with as much desperation as if he was 
 charging at the head of his old regiment. Bred 
 in the best school of Indian military statesman- 
 ship, he could wield his pen as well as his sword. 
 He felt his honour at stake, and he was deter- 
 mined to fight it out to the last, even as once in 
 Afghanistan, when deserted by his picket in a 
 sunga, he put his back against the stone wall 
 and set his teeth, and kept at bay twenty of 
 the enemy for at least a quarter of an hour, 
 I. 9
 
 130 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 till succour came. But if Colonel Macdare 
 was a dangerous foe when on the defensive, it 
 was a much more serious matter when he as- 
 sumed the offensive, as he did in this instance. 
 Nor had he contemptible opponents. For Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa and Mr. Khas Mouza were no mean 
 foes, when the weapons wielded in the fight were 
 red tape and steel pen. Colonel Macdare, in a 
 very early stage of the conflict, saw enough to 
 confirm the impression raised in his mind by 
 Captain Johnson's suggestion as to the real his- 
 tory of the move of the 78th N. I., and the para- 
 graph in the Sycophant ; and he was resolved 
 to worm out the truth through all the turnings 
 and twistings of the circumlocution office, and 
 to force from the oflTending department, which- 
 ever it might be, as it were at the point of the 
 sword, a confession that the slur passed on his 
 district was unfounded. You see he attempted 
 a task which may fairly be regarded as Herculean 
 in its nature, while the attempt itself was Quix- 
 otic ; for he assailed a foe much larger than him- 
 self by a great many times, than the windmill 
 against which the knight rode was taller and big- 
 ger than its assailant. Single-handed and alone. 
 Colonel Macdare attacked the departments of 
 the Indian Government. Well might the gods 
 pause in their avocations in Olympus, and regard 
 the combat with attention.
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 131 
 
 The editor of the Sycophant, as soon as he 
 recovered from the fever into which he had been 
 thrown by the excitement which Colonel Mac- 
 dare's letter caused him, wrote a reply to that 
 officer^ saying that it was impossible for him to 
 insert the contradiction ; indeed, it was no 
 longer necessary to do so, as it had appeared in 
 other papers, but that his information was 
 derived from official sources, and there could be 
 no doubt as to its correctness. 
 
 Now, the editor was very ill advised to write 
 in this style. But the fact is, he had no more 
 idea of Colonel Macdare^s character, than he 
 had of the habits and customs of the people 
 who live in the moon. He thought the im- 
 posing nature of the assurance, and the grand 
 words " official sources," would at once silence 
 his opponent, and that he should hear nothing 
 more about it. Unhappy man ! This assur- 
 ance from the editor of the Sycophant was all 
 that Colonel Macdare wanted. He was now 
 thoroughly excited; his blood was warm, and 
 his spirit aroused. He literally clapped his 
 hands together, in token of triumphant joy, when 
 the editor^s ill-advised epistle reached him. 
 
 '' Now I have them," he muttered between 
 his set teeth; "now I have them." 
 
 I cannot tell you what trouble Colonel Mac- 
 dare caused by this war with the Departments. 
 
 9 *
 
 132 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDaEPOEE. 
 
 Secretaries swore when they heard his name 
 mentioned, and clerks in the offices, even the 
 chuprassees, grinned when they saw the well- 
 known " Mirichpoor Commissioner's Office " 
 stamped on the corner of the official envelope. 
 Correspondence clerks were increased in all the 
 English sections of the diflferent departments ; 
 there was actually an excess in the budget that 
 year, in the miscellaneous item of foolscap 
 paper, owing to this tremendous war. And all 
 because of what the old song says : — 
 
 " Oh, what a tangled web we weave, 
 When first we practise to deceive ! " 
 
 and because Mrs. Wasilbakee would not go to 
 the exhibition choir, when Mrs. Fileeter played 
 the accompaniment. 
 
 I may as well conclude the history of this 
 little episode while I am on the subject. But 
 you must not imagine that this war was 
 ended at the period the events occurred which 
 form the subject of this chronicle. Oh, no ! 
 The Budgepore Exhibition passed away; even 
 Colonel Gotobed's mortal remains mingled with 
 their parent dust ere this war was finished. 
 But I may as well relate the conclusion of it 
 here, merely pausing to remark, that when the 
 78th N. I. came to within five marches of 
 Mirichpoor, by which time it was the 12th of
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 133 
 
 May^ it was deemed better not to let the corps 
 complete its march in the teeth of Colonel Mac- 
 dare's vigorous declaration, that no troops were 
 wanted, and there being no particular place to 
 send it to, it was ordered by telegram to march 
 to Lahore, at which place it arrived about the 
 10th of June, and there it remained in camp 
 till the September following, when it was 
 ordered back to Budgepore. 
 
 Armed with the information supplied by the 
 indiscreet editor of the Sycophant, Colonel 
 Macdare first attacked Mr. Khas Mouza. Mr. 
 Khas Mouza referred him to the military 
 authorities, as the department that was con- 
 cerned with the movement of troops. The 
 letter of Colonel Macdare and the reply of Mr. 
 Khas Mouza, after reference to Mr. Byewil- 
 wuffa, were then sent to the Military Secretary 
 to the Commander-in-Chief, and by him re- 
 turned in due course, with the reply that His 
 Excellency had nothing to do with the move- 
 ment of troops : reference should be made to 
 the Government of India. The correspondence 
 then went to the Military Secretary to the 
 Government of India, and was by him returned 
 with a reply, directing reference to the Quarter- 
 master-General. The whole correspondence 
 then came before the Quartermaster-General, 
 who was quite taken by surprise at finding him-
 
 134 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 self with something to do, and dictated a reply- 
 to the effect that reference had better be made 
 to the Government of India in the Foreign 
 Department. Accordingly, the correspondence 
 went to the Secretary of the Foreign Depart- 
 ment, who sent it back with a letter, saying it 
 had nothing to do with that office ; reference 
 should be made to the Adjutant-General. Up 
 to the Adjutant-General it then went next, who 
 was so shocked at correspondence coming to 
 him direct, without having gone through any of 
 the usual channels, that he was ill and incapaci- 
 tated for business for a whole week. However, 
 at the end of that time, he dictated a very severe 
 letter to ColonelMacdare, andreturned the whole 
 correspondence to him, devoutly wishing that 
 Colonel Macdare was a regimental officer, so 
 that his wig might take effect. 
 
 The correspondence, which by this time had 
 grown to rather large dimensions, then went 
 back to the Military Secretary to the Govern- 
 ment of India, who returned it again. Finally, 
 Colonel Macdare forwarded it to the Military 
 Secretary to the Governor- General, who brought 
 it to the notice of His Excellency. It required 
 four stout Government House lackeys to bring 
 the massive pile of foolscap in, and put it on 
 the table before His Excellency. 
 
 The massive pile of foolscap, however, that
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 135 
 
 required four men to carry it, did not by any 
 means represent a tithe of the correspondence 
 that had taken place about this case. These 
 were only the official letters that passed between 
 Colonel Macdare and heads of the different 
 departments. For every one that was here, 
 there were at least a hundred official letters 
 written from one department to the other, and 
 as for the demi-officials, no one could number 
 them. You may get a little idea of this corres- 
 pondence from the fact told me by Chilian, who 
 you recollect succeeded Major Soosti as Post- 
 master-General, that although the burden on 
 the state for the conveyance in mail carts, &c., 
 of this enormous correspondence was so great, 
 that the mail-carts and runners had to be 
 doubled, and an extra set of bags made up for 
 every office, which cost ten annas six pie each, 
 yet the postages for the demi-officials, which 
 were stamped of course, covered the whole 
 expenditure. 
 
 The correspondence, at length, having reached 
 the Governor- General, that functionary exa- 
 mined it, and the result of his examination was 
 a pencil memorandum to the Secretary to 
 Government, Military Department, as follows : — 
 
 " 78th N. I. marched from Budgepore to 
 Mirichpoor, April, 18 — ; look for the order, 
 and see why.^'
 
 136 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 When the Military Secretary to Government 
 received this pencilled memorandum, he had a 
 search made for the old records in his office. 
 They were found, and it then appeared that the 
 move of the 78th N. I. had been ordered on a 
 recommendation to that efiFect from Budgepore. 
 The result was duly communicated to the 
 Governor- General, who directed the Military 
 Secretary to address the Budgepore Govern- 
 ment on the subject, and ascertain the grounds 
 of the recommendation. 
 
 But Colonel Macdare had carried the war 
 into a region with which he was altogether 
 unacquainted. As a military commander, he 
 never would have committed so great a blunder 
 as to invade a territory strange and unknown 
 to him, or to lead his men over ground which 
 was full of pitfalls hidden from the sight. By 
 means of that vast system of under-currents 
 which is ever in motion beneath the surface 
 of life in India, everything of importance con- 
 nected with the joe?'5owwe/of Government becomes 
 known all over the country in a marvellously 
 short space of time. That Colonel Macdare 
 was in disgrace with the authorities, that he 
 was regarded as an intolerable nuisance, a thorn 
 in the side of every secretary, every head of 
 a department, was a fact much better known 
 to all the heads of native society in Mirichpoor
 
 THE EXHIBITION, 137 
 
 than to the Colonel himself. He, indeed, was 
 ignorant of it, for he never gave the matter 
 a thought, and he forgot that during his official 
 life as ruler of Mirichpoor, he had necessarily 
 made enemies of many powerful and influential 
 men, who hated him because he had detected 
 them in malpractices, and who feared him, while 
 in power. That the day would ever come when 
 the long pent-up spirit of revenge which these 
 men harboured in their bosoms would find vent, 
 was an idea that had never once occurred to 
 him. Not that it would have made any difference 
 to him if it had. He did what he had done 
 from a sense of duty, and no consideration of 
 personal risk would have deterred him from 
 the course. The Asiatic who thirsts for re- 
 venge never grows weary of waiting. If an 
 opportunity is slow in coming, "leave it to 
 time and to me,''"' he says to himself, and goes 
 on watching. 
 
 After the reference to the Budgepore Govern- 
 ment, all official record of the war with the de- 
 partments becomes lost to view. Up to this time 
 the casualties had been two secretaries driven 
 home on medical certificate, one writer com- 
 mitted suicide, ten invalided, and 40 dak 
 horses killed from over-work. 
 
 One day people were surprised by the an- 
 nouncement of a sudden change in the adminis-
 
 138 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 tration of Mirichpoor. A gentleman^ by name 
 Rubbee, was appointed to the post of Deputy 
 Commissioner, Captain Johnson having been 
 removed to make room for him. There was a 
 new settlement to be made shortly, and this 
 was the reason alleged for Mr. Rubbee's 
 appointment. It was not very long after this 
 that sinister reports began to be whispered 
 about, that all was not right in the Commis- 
 sioner's office, and as these reports, vague at 
 first, and undefined, began to assume shape, 
 they would call forth the remark from those 
 who heard them, " Who would have thought 
 it?'' "I'll never believe it," " No, no. Colonel 
 Macdare is not the man to do that," — others 
 would shake their heads and say it was a very 
 serious matter, all of which tended to show that 
 either Colonel Macdare had been doing some- 
 thing he ought not, or that people said he had 
 been doing something he ought not. Colonel 
 Macdare himself knew nothing, for no one 
 liked, of course, to mention to him the reports 
 that were abroad. Still, there was an uncom- 
 fortable chilly feeling about the social atmo- 
 sphere of Mirichpoor society. No one seemed 
 to be quite at home with his neighbour. The 
 only man who was universally popular was 
 Rubbee, and he kept almost open house, gave 
 large shooting-parties to the officers in the
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 139 
 
 district, aiid had a dinner-party once or twice a 
 week, at which champagne flowed freely, and 
 where you were sure to meet every one in the 
 covenanted services in turn, but never Colonel 
 Macdare. If the Commissioner's name was 
 mentioned, Rubbee would look mysterious, 
 perhaps shrug his shoulders, and beg that 
 his name mightn't be mentioned, he didn't 
 wish it talked about. Now, that little word 
 "it" was a word of marvellous significance. 
 There they stood, those two little letters by 
 themselves, yet what did they not imply ! He 
 did not wish " it " talked about. 
 
 What? Ah, that was the question ; but 
 then, you see, nobody ventured to ask, and 
 so nobody got an answer. 
 
 After a short time Mrs. Rubbee joined her 
 husband, and proved quite as general a favourite 
 with both sexes as Rubbee had been witli his 
 own. Now Mirichpoor became more gay than 
 ever ; balls and dances followed the dinner- 
 parties, and pic-nics took the place of the shoot- 
 ing excursions, at which all the ladies joined, but 
 Colonel Macdare was never seen at any of 
 them. Still, with all this show of gaiety and 
 cheerfulness, there was a general impression 
 that everything was not right, though what was 
 wrong no one could have told you. 
 
 All this time Colonel Macdare kept up the
 
 140 THE CHEONICLES OP BTTDGEPORE. 
 
 war with the departments as he could. But as 
 his official letters ceased to awaken any response, 
 he referred the matter home, where he was 
 known to have considerable influence with the 
 Court of Directors. 
 
 At last it came — the crash — the electric fluid 
 with which the social atmosphere had been 
 so long laden developed itself, and Mr. Rubbee 
 presented himself at the Commissioner's with 
 an order to take over the office, for Colonel 
 Macdare was suspended upon charges of cor- 
 ruption. Then followed the explosion, the 
 lightning came first and the thunder after- 
 wards. 
 
 " I always knew there was something wrong 
 in that quarter,'' said one, 
 
 "No man ever keeps himself aloof as the 
 Colonel has done from his fellow kind when his 
 hands are clean," said another. 
 
 " I hear he was very unkind to his wife," 
 said a third, a lady speaking this time. 
 
 "Yes, they have not lived together since 
 I have been at Mirichpoor," answered her 
 friend. 
 
 Rubbee didn't object to Colonel Macdare 
 being discussed now at his dinner-table, and he 
 was discussed. And it was marvellous how 
 acute was the knowledge of human nature 
 possessed by all who met there, for there was
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 141 
 
 not one of them, either man or woman, who 
 had not known all along that Colonel Mac- 
 dare's hands were not clean, only, of course, it 
 was nobody's business to report it. They 
 all knew it, every one, and they all knew it 
 would come out some day, and so, you see, it 
 had. 
 
 A special commission sat, consisting of three 
 officers, two of them being civilians and the third 
 a military officer, to investigate the charges 
 which Rubbee brought forward. Colonel 
 Macdare, of course, attended, and much was 
 he astonished at the evidence that was adduced. 
 Six mahajuns (money-lenders and bankers) 
 whom he had known well for years, and who, 
 he was aware, bore him no good will for 
 reasons already hinted at, produced their books 
 and showed items in them of large sums paid 
 to Colonel Macdare at different times. These 
 entries were, it is true, not in the regular row 
 of entries, but apart, sometimes in the corner of 
 a page, sometimes at the bottom, sometimes at 
 the side, but as mahajuns' books are not ruled, 
 nor are their pages numbered like an English 
 ledger, it is obvious that an entry may be made 
 in any part of the page at any time, and no one 
 ever dreams, of course, of doubting an entry in 
 a mahajun's book ! They are known to regard 
 their " books " as imbued with a certain degree
 
 142 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 of sanctity, and so, of course, it is not to be 
 supposed for a moment they would ever tam- 
 per with them. In addition to which, Mr. 
 Xerxes DeSouza, head clerk in Colonel Mac- 
 dare^'s office, and now, of course, in Mr. 
 Rubbee's (for every one knew that Rubbee 
 would succeed Colonel Macdare), deposed to 
 having several times seen natives come 
 after nightfall to Colonel Macdare's house 
 with bags of money and go away without 
 them. 
 
 Colonel Macdare had brought up Xerxes 
 from childhood, he being the son of one o£ the 
 bandsmen of his old regiment. He had married 
 a pretty Irish maid of Mrs. Macdare' s, and the 
 Colonel had settled the new-married couple 
 comfortably in a little house in his own com- 
 pound, and had supplied them with many com- 
 forts, nay, even luxuries, so that DeSouza was 
 looked upon with much envy and with a good 
 deal of respect, too, by his former associates, 
 over whose head, by his patron^s favour, he 
 rapidly rose. The eldest son the Colonel had 
 settled in life, but after the birth of her third 
 child Mrs. DeSouza died, and he, alas, took to 
 drinking to drown his sorrow, or perhaps under 
 the influence of that mental reactionary excite- 
 ment which often follows sudden emotion or 
 any great blow, and which in little minds or
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 143 
 
 minds weakly sustained by moral or religious 
 principle^ is not unapt to develop such a vice as 
 drinking. One by one the articles of furniture 
 the pictures, the little comforts that had adorned 
 his once happy home, were pawned in the bazaar, 
 and several times the Colonel had to warn him, 
 and at last to threaten him that he would be 
 dismissed if he did not mend his ways. This 
 alarmed DeSouza, for he knew the Colonel was 
 a man of his word, and he became, outwardly 
 at any rate, more respectable and more atten- 
 tive to his duties. Only the last hot season he 
 had been attacked with cholera, and owed his 
 life to the care with which the Colonel looked 
 after him, and in the crisis of the disease 
 personally superintended the operations that 
 resulted in his recovery. When he was making 
 his statement about the bags of money being 
 brought to the house. Colonel Macdare looked 
 him full in the face, steadily and fixedly, but 
 DeSouza carefully kept his eyes turned the 
 other way, and I don't suppose he would have 
 met the glance of that quiet, calm grey eye, 
 for the whole world. After he had been dis- 
 missed from his attendance at the court that 
 day he went home and got very drunk. Seldom 
 indeed, afterwards, was he seen sober. At last 
 he fell into delirium tremens, and in that 
 condition died. The state of his mind in
 
 144 THE CHRONICLES OF BITDGEPORE. 
 
 his last moments was, as it was described to 
 me, something dreadful. I would rather 
 not relate it here, as such details are always 
 painful. 
 
 Colonel Macdare must have seen how things 
 would end, for he wrote to his wife, who was 
 about to join him just when this affair took 
 place, not to come, but she had started before 
 the letter reached her ; so he desired her to 
 await him at Bombay. He was removed from 
 his appointment immediately the report of the 
 special commission was sent up. 
 
 India is supposed to be a great field for friend- 
 ship. Doubtless the accidents and circumstances 
 of Indian life do serve to foster the plant which, 
 indigenous in every land, yet somehow I cannot 
 help fancying, grows more healthily in our own 
 cold, phlegmatic clime. Rapid development is 
 generally unaccompanied by soundness of con- 
 stitution. You make your friends in India on 
 board ship, at the club, or the cricket ground, 
 or the racecourse, or as you work your guns 
 side by side in the trenches. You lead to the 
 altar and swear lifelong fidelity to the girl you 
 have met four times in yom- life, perhaps five, 
 and whom you may have seen once for a short 
 time apart from the society of others. Your 
 children scarce learn to lisp " papa,"" when they 
 are taken from you; and when you next meet
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 145 
 
 them, are course rough school hoys, or young 
 men setting out in Hfe, or young ladies thinking 
 of their love affairs, and when they will be 
 married. Your bosom friend, your chum as 
 you call him, is one morning taken iU, and the 
 next taken to his last home ; and you go to his 
 auction, and chat pleasantly with your brother 
 oflBcers, and his — but yesterday — handling the 
 different articles put up for sale, or discussing 
 their worth with a heartless indifference ; and 
 you bid for his saddle and watch with as much 
 nonchalance as if they were being sold in their 
 maker^s shop. Surely it was in India these 
 lines were penned : — 
 
 " Sleep, soldier ! thotigh many regret thee 
 
 Who stand by thy cold bier to-day ; 
 Soon, soon shall the kindest forget thee, 
 
 And thy name from the earth pass away. 
 The man thou didst love as a brother 
 
 A friend in thy place will have gained ; 
 Thy dog shall keep watch for another. 
 
 And thy steed by a stranger be reined." 
 
 I say surely these lines were written in India. 
 Perhaps those which follow were not : — 
 
 " But though hearts that now mourn for thee 
 
 Soon joyous as ever shall be ; 
 Though thy bright orphan boy may laugh 
 gladly 
 As he sits on some comrade's knee : 
 
 10
 
 146 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 There is one who shall still pay the duty 
 Of tears for the trne and the brave, 
 
 As when first in the bloom of her beauty 
 She wept o'er her soldier's grave." 
 
 You will excuse my quoting these few lines. 
 I do not often quote poetry ; and these are^ to 
 my thinking, some of the most beautiful and 
 most touching that ever were penned. 
 
 It is, I think, partly owing to the large field 
 over which the flowers of friendship have to 
 bloom in this country that their colours so soon 
 fade and petals fall off. Here to-day and away 
 to-morrow, might be our motto. We have not 
 time to link our souls with others in such close 
 union as shall defy the hand of time or the 
 rough blows of adversity. And there is all 
 throughout our Indian life a want of depth of 
 thought, which is striking to the new comer, 
 but which speedily grows upon and infects 
 the mind. The ball room, the billiard room, 
 the band, and the tittle-tattle of the drawing 
 room, tiffins, kettle-drums, or picnics, and large 
 dinner parties, alternating with the drudgery of 
 official duties, go far to make up our life. 
 
 There is, besides, among us, little of that do- 
 mestic happiness, — the social circle, the family 
 ties, the reciprocal calls upon brotherly and 
 sisterly affection ; the watching and tending of 
 declining years of parents in their old age ; the
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 147 
 
 strong associations of locality in places where 
 we have lived all our lives, and our fathers be- 
 fore us, and which invest every feature of the 
 scene with a halo of fond memories ; the com- 
 panionship of school and college days, ripening 
 ere the interests of life have broken up the even 
 surface of the soul, to sow it with the seeds of 
 care ; — there is little or none of all this that, 
 together, makes the soil where friendship blooms 
 in healthy maturity in our own beloved land. 
 But in place of it we have the race of life, official 
 zeal and rivalry, constant change of scene and 
 of companions, the glitter of a gay world, with 
 as little permanence in its colours as the bloom 
 on the wing of a butterfly, giddy moments of 
 shallow happiness, loud laughter and boisterous 
 song, or gentle tones and fleeting blushes, music, 
 flowers, champagne, and flirting ! 
 
 If you want to know the value of tropical 
 friendship, you may see it tested at times in 
 India. When a crow or a rabbit falls into adver- 
 sity, its comrades in the one case pick out its 
 feathers, and then pick its flesh off its bones ; 
 and in the other, gnaw, and bite, and torment, 
 till they have ridded themselves of the society 
 of one bad mannered enough to be unfortunate. 
 If Darwin be correct, we may all be descended 
 from crows. If it is so, it is curious how often 
 you find cases where the moral development 
 
 10 *
 
 148 THE CHRONICLES OP BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 and deflection from tlie original type has been 
 SO small. 
 
 Colonel Macdare was a sick crow. He gave no 
 dinner parties now. Rubbee did, and Rubbee's 
 champagne was good, and Mrs. Rubbee was 
 pretty, engaging, clever, lady-like, and charming. 
 
 Colonel Macdare was under a cloud. It 
 would have been troublesome to have examined 
 into the truth of the charges, — no one had time 
 for that; and, truth to tell, no one had the 
 moral courage to stand up before the world and 
 say, " I don^t believe in them.^^ So his old friends 
 avoided him, or, if forced to meet him, spoke 
 under constraint, and as if they felt it would be 
 a relief to be away from his presence. The na- 
 tive gentry, who had formerly been so glad to 
 cultivate his acquaintance, were careful never 
 to let their equipages be seen standing at his 
 door ; and the ladies who in former days had 
 danced so gaily at his parties, before Mrs. Mac- 
 dare went to England, turned their heads the 
 other way, when they passed him on the road. 
 His house and effects were sold by public auction, 
 and bought, most of them, by Rubbee ; and one 
 evening, accompanied by his only faithful friend, 
 his dog, he got into his palkee and set out on a 
 long journey to Bombay, 
 
 He never lived to reach it, and Mrs. Macdare 
 returned to England a widow. Colonel Mac-
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 149 
 
 dare was found one day by a traveller in a dak 
 bungalow between Mirichpoor and Bombay in a 
 dying state. He was speechless and scarcely 
 sensible, aud the dog that was sitting by his 
 master's bedside looking wistfully in his face, 
 could give no particulars. There were no 
 servants attached to the bungalow, as is the 
 custom in those parts, and not a soul about the 
 place but the palkee bearers, who said the sahib 
 had been taken ill the night before, and was 
 almost speechless when they reached the 
 wretched shelter where the traveller found him. 
 He attended the dying man to the last, and did 
 what he could to minister to his wants, but that 
 was, alas, but little. He never spoke, but as the 
 lamp o£ life flickered for an instant on the con- 
 fines of two worlds, a peaceful smile stole over 
 his handsome features, and ere the soul left its 
 tenement, a gleam of light shot across his dull, 
 grey eye, and there was an instant or two of 
 consciousness, but no strength to speak. He 
 turned his head, and looked wistfully at the 
 well-known face of his dog ; then he looked at 
 the traveller, who was bending over him, hold- 
 ing his cold, lifeless hand. At that moment, a 
 glance of recognition passed between the two 
 men, and the traveller's heart beat wildly, and 
 then sank again, as he saw before him the 
 wasted, emaciated form, and pain-worn counte-
 
 150 THE CHKONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 nance of the once dashing sabreur^ the staunch 
 friend, the acute statesman, the upright, un- 
 compromising, Christian soldier, Colonel Mac- 
 dare. He pressed his hand, and the dying man 
 feebly returned the sign. A smile lit up his 
 countenance, and, though he was too weak to 
 speak, the altered expression of his features told 
 as well as if he had said it in words, that it was 
 pleasing to him to feel the grasp of a true friend 
 at the last moment. The next he was gone — 
 without a struggle. The traveller with a sigh 
 closed his eyes, and then observed for the first 
 time that the dead man's left hand, for it was 
 his right he had held, grasped a book. He 
 took it up, and extricated it with a little diffi- 
 culty, for the fingers clenched it tightly, 
 stififening in death. The page was thumb-worn 
 as if the book had been a long time open at 
 that place. The Colonel, perhaps, had been 
 struggling to realize its contents, and had had a 
 hard task to do so. At any rate, a pencil-mark 
 under one of the verses showed where the 
 reader's eye and mind had been chiefly 
 directed. It was at the words, — " Lord, lay 
 not this sin to their charge. And when he had 
 said this, he fell asleep.^' 
 
 The traveller could not remain in that lonely 
 place. So, with the assistance of the palkee 
 bearers, and his own servant, he dug a grave
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 151 
 
 under a tree in the compound, as deep as he 
 possibly could make it ; and there at sunset he 
 laid the body of the Colonel, and piled a huge 
 heap of large stones over the spot, to secure, as 
 well as to mark it. In vain he tried to induce 
 the dog to leave it ; nothing could succeed. 
 There the creature sat, faithful unto death, till, 
 as the moon rose on that melancholy scene, the 
 traveller, with a heart full of sadness, set out on 
 his long journey back again, for he had to hasten 
 down to Bombay, to soften the terrible blow 
 that was about to fall on the poor widow. 
 ^ * -jf # *
 
 162 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOKE. 
 
 THE BUDGEPORE EXHIBITION. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE PRIZE COMMITTEE. 
 
 At last, the exhibition began to draw towards 
 completion. The building constructed under 
 Sleeper^s auspices and supervision with railway 
 material and labour, was now nearly roofed in, 
 and intending exhibitors began to flock down in 
 considerable numbers to the spot. There was a 
 guard of police at the gate which led into the 
 grounds, who exacted a fee of from four to eight 
 annas from every native who went in ; and the 
 consequence was, that the place was not over- 
 crowded, because no native went there unless he 
 had some article to exhibit, or some real object 
 to be gained by going. Isteefa, who had come 
 to Budgepore as joint magistrate in place of
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 153 
 
 Fitzmisl, was Honorary Secretary to the Exhi- 
 bition Committee, and, of course, having no 
 time to devote to anything else, was placed on 
 special duty, by the Honourable Mr. Byewil- 
 Avuffa's orders, leaving his legitimate duties 
 unperformed. But as the time drew near, and 
 the labour of despatching, receiving, and ar- 
 ranging the articles was really very heavy, it 
 was found impossible for one officer, or two, or 
 half-a-dozen, to get through the whole work. 
 It became necessary, therefore, to strike off 
 twenty officers altogether, covenanted and un- 
 covenanted, for this especial duty. Some of 
 these were judges ; some judges of small cause 
 courts, some magistrates, some assistants, some 
 deputy magistrates and collectors, — in short, it 
 was an omnium gatherum of officials, who, under 
 the orders of Mr. By wilwufFa, were not sorry to 
 desert the daily routine of their office work to 
 look after the great exhibition. Some of these 
 were struck off duty two months before the 
 opening, some one month before. All this time, 
 of course, cases remained undecided, prisoners 
 were detained in close confinement in the 
 hawallats, or lock-up, and miscellaneous 
 matters of a thousand different kinds, such as 
 occupy the attention of every Indian official, 
 but utterly baffle categorizing, on account of 
 their diverse and miscellaneous character.
 
 154 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDaEPORE. 
 
 remained unattended to pretty well all over the 
 province. 
 
 My friend, Mr. Archimedes DeCruzc was in 
 luck's way. Having Dakhil Duftar's interest 
 to push him on, he very easily got appointed to 
 a post in the exhibition, where the principal 
 arrangement of the different articles was left in 
 his hands. 
 
 Determined to carry out my experiment to 
 the end, I despatched Selim with a box con- 
 taining a very pretty model of a Swiss cottage, 
 for which I had written home to France, when 
 the idea first developed itself in my mind. This 
 I labelled a " bungalow,'^ knowing that it would 
 pass muster very well for a model of an im- 
 proved style of Indian dwelling-house. 
 
 I dare say it would amuse you were I to de- 
 tail all the adventures that Selim went through 
 the day he took the model down to the exhibi- 
 tion. I know that he took away twenty rupees 
 with him, and expended every one, and even 
 then he said he had a hard fight to get his 
 model in. But I had given him strict orders 
 that he was not only to get his model in, but to 
 get it put in a good place, that is in front, 
 where it could be seen, and not buried behind a 
 heap of rubbishy things. For this, however, 
 that is, for allotting him a decent place for his 
 model to stand in, he had to pay my friend, Mr.
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 155 
 
 Archimedes, five rupees. I made a rough cal- 
 culation, after I had seen the number of articles 
 there, of how much Mr. DeCruze must have 
 netted in this little business, and I came to the 
 conclusion that it could not have been a farthing 
 under five thousand rupees. But the exhibition 
 was intended to develop industry, and if that 
 was not a development of industry, it was cer- 
 tainly a development of genius. 
 
 The most remarkable development of genius, 
 however, was in the case of the Honourable Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa himself, who could not see any 
 reason why, when exhibitions are popular insti- 
 tutions in England, France, and America, where 
 they can be elaborated and conducted by the 
 people, they should not be equally successful in 
 India where there were none but the oflficial 
 classes to work out the idea and that at the 
 sacrifice of their legitimate duties. 
 
 At last the matter had progressed so far that 
 it became necessary to appoint judges and com- 
 mittees to decide upon the prizes, and this was 
 not an easy thing to do. At least it was not 
 difficult to find the committee, because one com- 
 mittee of three were capable of sitting upon half 
 a dozen diff'erent classes of articles successively, 
 but the difficulty was to find committees who had 
 any knowledge of the subjects upon which they 
 were to exercise their discernment.
 
 156 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 I was on a committee with two others. Colonel 
 Moodle and Jackson. Jackson was a young 
 ensign who had just joined the 80th Regiment 
 N. I., which had come to Budgepore in the 
 place of the 78th N. I. ordered, as you recol- 
 lect, to Mirichpoor, The subjects allotted to 
 our committee to adjudge the prizes on, were as 
 follows : — Raw Produce Department A., Sec. 
 II., Subdivision Y. Elephants, and Fancy 
 Pigeons, and on the morning appointed we 
 met at the grounds. 
 
 " I hope you are up in raw produce/^ said 
 Colonel Moodle as we met, and walked up to 
 the exhibition building, " because I really am 
 totally ignorant of the subject," 
 
 " Well, there are certainly some kinds of raw 
 produce that I should not consider it beyond 
 my province to pass an opinion upon, but what 
 particular species or kinds of raw produce we 
 may have to examine I don't know.'^ 
 
 Most fortunately for us, we found Mr. Alsorts 
 at the building ready to afford us his assistance. 
 Mr. Alsorts was an intelligent member of the 
 mercantile community of Budgepore, of the firm 
 of Alsorts, Sizes and Co., who dealt principally 
 in country produce. He had, been very active in 
 assisting the promoters of the exhibition, and, 
 in fact, had made himself generally useful, 
 having found his reward for unremitting zeal
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 157 
 
 and a great sacrifice of his time by being taken 
 a good deal of notice of by Dakhil Duftar and 
 Tsteefa, whom he used when speaking of them 
 to other people after this period, to call by 
 their surnames, thereby inducing the belief in 
 the minds of persons otherwise ignorant, that 
 these gentlemen were personal and intimate 
 friends of his. He was a member of the central 
 committee, and exhibited a large number of 
 articles, particularly in the department of raw 
 produce, himself. 
 
 " Good-morning, Mr. Alsorts," I said, " I 
 am glad to find you here. You will help 
 us, I dare say, to understand a little about 
 these matters. We are the committee on 
 country produce; Department A., isn't it, 
 Moodle?" 
 
 " Yes,'' said the Colonel, referring to a ticket 
 he had with him. " Department A., Sect. II., 
 Subdivision Y., that's what it is, and there are 
 pigeons and elephants besides." 
 
 " Walk this way, gentlemen, if you please," 
 said Alsorts, just as if he was in a shop. " I 
 shall have much pleasure in showing you the 
 department." 
 
 So we followed him till we came to a part of 
 the building which was filled with what looked 
 to me like a great heap of the agglomerate you 
 expect to find upon a spot indicated by a tall
 
 158 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 post and a board with the words, " Rubbish 
 may be shot hcre.'^ 
 
 Here, however, all the component parts of 
 the agglomerate were arranged in an imposing 
 manner. 
 
 I put on a very learned look, and determined 
 to tui'n my attention to two things, the first 
 was to pick Mr. Alsorts' brains, and the second 
 to avoid making a fool of myself. 
 
 " This, gentlemen,^' said Alsorts, attracting 
 our attention to a large mass of what looked 
 like a quantity of string frayed out into its 
 original tow ; '^ this, gentlemen, is the depart- 
 ment of fibres, perhaps the most interesting de- 
 partment in the whole exhibition. Now you 
 see this fibre, examine it, gentlemen ; you see 
 how strong it is, how coarse looking. Yet, 
 gentlemen, it is capable of being worked up into 
 the most beautiful fabric something between 
 cambric and silk, but of a far finer texture and 
 much more durable than either. And yet, 
 gentlemen, this fibre is so common in India that 
 you can get it in any quantity for a farthing 
 a pound. One pound will make, when worked 
 up — here I will show you — a simple arithmetical 
 calculation '' — showing us with a pencil on a 
 piece of paper — " you see, one pound will work 
 up into one piece of twenty yards. Now it 
 couldn't sell by any possibility under a rupee a
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 159 
 
 yard. So, you see, how profitable the discovery 
 will be.'' 
 
 " That it will, indeed/' said Colonel Moodle, 
 much struck with the idea. " I almost wonder 
 you don't work it yourself or start a com- 
 pany." 
 
 Jackson, who had hitherto not spoken, here 
 remarked, " Deuced like old tow." 
 
 This was all he said, but we at once adjudged 
 the pi'ize in fibres to Mr. Alsorts. 
 
 He took us then to the next branch of raw 
 produce, and showed us a kind of earth, or what 
 looked like common earth, but was in reality, 
 as he explained to us, earth possessing such a 
 large proportion of aluminum that you could 
 manufacture a set of a dozen spoons and 
 forks out of a spadeful of it. This valuable 
 earth was also so common in India that 
 you could get a cartful in any bazaar for a 
 shilling. 
 
 " I had no idea," said Colonel Moodle, " that 
 there was such wealth in India. Only think of 
 making spoons and forks out of that stujB: ! 
 Why, it looks for all the world like common 
 mutti (earth). I suppose you have already 
 realized a large fortune, Mr. Alsorts, by these 
 profitable discoveries of yours ? " Mr. Alsorts 
 shook his head with a knowing look and a pecu- 
 liar smile, such as a man adopts when he wants
 
 160 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 to convey the idea that he has not made such a 
 bad tiling of it. 
 
 " These/^ lie added, directing our attention to 
 a number of ores, " are ores of iron, silver, 
 nickel, platinum, and gold, all of which have 
 been tested and found to be of the best quality. 
 These ores have all been dug out of the Budge- 
 pore hills ; were a company to start and work 
 the mineSj they could not make less than three 
 hundred per cent." 
 
 " How I wish I had a little spare cash to 
 invest in some of these things/^ said Colonel 
 Moodle. " This country 's a perfect El Dorado, 
 if you only knew how to set about getting the 
 gold out of it. Only to think of all this wealth 
 lying under our very feet, as it were ! " 
 
 " This, gentlemen,^' continued the indefatig- 
 able Mr. Alsorts, showing us another kind of 
 fibre, " is a substance so common in India that 
 any quantities of it may be obtained anywhere 
 for the expense only of collecting. It is the 
 fibre of neem leaves, and when manufactured in 
 the proper way, develops into the finest cream- 
 laid note paper you ever saw."' 
 
 " Astonishing ! " said Colonel Moodle. " Can 
 you tell us, now, the apparatus that would be 
 necessary. I have a number of neem trees in 
 my compound j I'll certainly set about collecting 
 the leaves.''
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 161 
 
 " The apparatus is expensive/^ said Alsorts. 
 " In the first place you would require a steam en- 
 gine, and that would necessitate keeping a Euro- 
 pean engineer. But if you have any idea, sir, 
 of working the thing, you can command my ser- 
 vices, I assure you. As soon as you have pro- 
 cured the steam engine and the engineer, which 
 is the first step, I shall easily be able to run up 
 a building and get the machinery out. I don't 
 suppose it would cost more than 20,000 rupees." 
 
 The next thing he showed us was what looked 
 like a quantity of old sticks chopped up. These 
 we found, on enquiry, were specimens of a kind 
 of wood that elicited a most exquisite dye, some- 
 thing between magenta and mauve, and was so 
 common that you only had to send out a coolie 
 into the jungle to collect it in any quantities. 
 
 "It^s a most fortunate thing we had Mr. 
 Alsorts to show us all those things, and tell us 
 what they were," remarked Colonel Moodle, as 
 we came away : " otherwise we should inevitably 
 have exposed our ignorance." 
 
 We found Jackson, who had no taste for fibres, 
 awaiting us at the elephant ground. 
 
 There we were sadly at fault, for neither of us 
 knew in the least what characteristic feature in 
 an elephant constituted excellence. And there 
 was no Mr. Alsorts there to tell us. We had 
 left him among his fibres and his dyes. 
 I. 11
 
 162 THE CHRONICLES OP BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 ''Let US take a turn/^ I said, " and see what 
 the other committees do. I see there is a com- 
 mittee of native gentlemen there. Depend on 
 it they are occasionally as much at fault as we. 
 We may get a hint from them.^' 
 
 The native committee had been all round, and 
 had just concluded their labours, which were 
 not small; for they consisted in adjudging the 
 prizes on fifteen difi'erent kinds of articles, mostly 
 domesticated birds, vegetables, &c. Their la- 
 bour, however, was very much lightened, by an 
 excellent principle they had established for de- 
 ciding on the respective merits of the various 
 articles submitted to them. The committee, at 
 the head of which was Gunny Lall, first asked 
 if any of the specimens exhibited belonged to 
 the commissioner sahib. If the commissioner 
 sahib was found to have entered the list for 
 public competition, the prize was at once awarded 
 to him. If the commissioner had not, then per- 
 haps the collector sahib had; and in that case, 
 as being next in rank, he was entitled in the 
 second place to the prize. And so it went on 
 all down the ladder, till Mr. Fileeter^s successor, 
 the deputy-collector^s fat ducks, came into pro- 
 minent notice, and had the ticket, a little bit of 
 wood, suspended by a string, tied round their 
 necks, indicating that they had reached the 
 highest pinnacle of excellence attainable by
 
 THE EXHIBITION, 163 
 
 mortal ducks, viz., being the best of their 
 kind. 
 
 During our walk we came upon Mooltawee, 
 who was standing in the buffalo sheds. His 
 specimeUj on which he prided himself, had unhap- 
 pily not survived. Mooltawee was standing over 
 the prostrate carcass of the deceased buffalo, 
 contemplating the lifeless form with affectionate 
 regard. 
 
 " Poor thing/' he said pathetically to us, as we 
 came up, pointing to the object on the ground; 
 " I sat up with it all night and gave it gruel 
 and brandy, and five drops of chloroform every 
 two hours, out of a teaspoon, but all to no pur- 
 pose. It was just breathing when 1 got it down 
 here,'' 
 
 The committee, which came up as we were 
 speaking, however, on hearing that the dead 
 buffalo with five legs belonged to the judge 
 sahib, immediately awarded the prize to it. 
 
 " These monstrosities,'' said I " seldom live 
 to grow to maturity. There seems to be some 
 stated provision that they should not, lest 
 they should interfere with the symmetry of 
 nature." 
 
 " Yes," said Mooltawee ; " but I think in 
 this case it was the walnuts." 
 
 " Walnuts ! " 
 
 " Yes ; I gave the creature some walnuts yes- 
 
 11 *
 
 164 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 terday, and I think it just possible they might 
 have disagreed with it/' 
 
 " Not impossible/' I thought to myself; " who 
 ever heard of feeding a buffalo on walnuts ! 
 This was one of the experiments in animal 
 economy to which the exhibition had given 
 rise/' 
 
 The native committee having concluded their 
 labours at the buffalo-shed, we returned, de- 
 spondingly, to our elephants, who were all 
 standing, wagging their trunks gently to and 
 fro, and winking at us out of their little eyes as 
 if they thoroughly enjoyed the dilemma we were 
 placed in at their expense ; they looked so pro- 
 vrokingly like each other, there was no possibility 
 of making a selection. 
 
 " ^\Tiich do you think is the best ? " I asked 
 of Jackson, who, as he had been contemplating 
 them a good long time, might, I thought, per- 
 haps have conceived an idea of some sort as 
 to their relative properties. 
 
 " DamnM if I know ; they are all so deuced 
 like one another, there's no telling t'other from 
 which." 
 
 This was not encouraging. So I turned to 
 Colonel Moodle. 
 
 ''Which do you think. Colonel, is the 
 best ? " 
 
 " It is exceedingly difficult," said the Colonel,
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 165 
 
 " to say ; I never saw a batch of elephants which 
 all resembled one another so much/' 
 
 " Suppose we ask the man in charge," I said. 
 " Very often natives, who are accustomed to 
 watch the habits of the creatures, discover vir- 
 tues and faults which would wholly escape our 
 observation.'* 
 
 This remark having received the assent of my 
 colleagues, I addressed myself to a man, a sort 
 of jemadar-looking person, who appeared, to be 
 in charge of the elephant-shed. 
 
 *' Kaun hathee mazboot hai ? " (Which is the 
 strongest elephant ?) I asked. 
 
 " Kya jane — sub hathee mazboot hain," was 
 his reply. (Who knows? all elephants are 
 strong.) 
 
 " What does he say ? " asked the Colonel. 
 
 " He says they are all equally strong." 
 
 " We might choose the tallest, then/' said the 
 Colonel. "They look pretty much all of a 
 height, but I dare say the man knows." 
 
 " Kaun hathee sub se nucha kudd ka hai ? " 
 (Which is the tallest?) I asked. 
 
 " Sub ka kudd ek hee hai" (They are all the 
 same height) said the man, who seemed to deem 
 us so utterly beneath his notice, as scarcely to 
 be worth answering. 
 
 " Hem," said the Colonel. 
 
 " Suppose we find out their age, and choose
 
 166 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 the oldest," suggested Jackson. " I have heard 
 elephants live to be two hundred years old 
 sometimes/^ 
 
 " A very good idea," said the Colonel. " But 
 how shall we tell their age? " 
 
 " Oh, you can just go round and look at 
 their teeth," said Jackson. 
 
 The Colonel looked at the speaker, and then 
 at the elephant in front of him, who was still wag- 
 ging his trunk to and fro, and winking his little 
 eyes, and now flapped his ears, as much as to 
 say, " Come, and look at my teeth if you like."" 
 
 '^Fll ask the jemadar/' said I; " perhaps he 
 will be able to tell us. Kaun hathee sub se 
 bure umur ka hai? ("Which elephant is the 
 oldest?)" I added, addressing him in Hindustani. 
 
 " Kya jane/' said the man; '^ unko malum 
 hoga to hoga." (Who knows ? perhaps they 
 know.) 
 
 " What does he say ? " asked the Colonel. 
 
 " He says he doesn't know, but perhaps they 
 know themselves." 
 
 'MYell, here's one different from Ihe rest, 
 anyhow, without any tusks/' said Jackson, 
 pointing out one of the creatures. " I know 
 I've read somewhere that the finest kind of 
 elephants are those without tusks." 
 
 " I think I've read that it is the female that 
 has no tusks." said the Colonel. 
 
 I
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 167 
 
 " Then we shall be all right in selecting this 
 one, in either case/' 1 said. 
 
 " How so ? " asked the Colonel. 
 
 "According to Burns, you know. Don't 
 you recollect he says, speaking of Nature : — 
 
 " ' Her 'prentice hand she tried on man, 
 And then she made the lasses, O ! ' " 
 
 " But Burns was speaking of young women, 
 not female elephants/" objected the Colonel. 
 
 "The principle would be the same all through- 
 out nature/' I replied. " As we find the human 
 organization perfected in the lovely form of 
 woman, why not seek perfection of elephantine 
 development in the female elephant ? " 
 
 " Very well, let's have it so,'" said the 
 Colonel. 
 
 " To make sure, we'll ask the jemadar/" I 
 said. 
 
 " Kaun mard aur kaun madin hain ? (Which 
 are the males, and which the females ?) '" I 
 asked, pointing to the elephants. 
 
 " Sub madin "' (All females), said the sulky 
 fellow. 
 
 " What does he say ? " asked the Colonel. 
 
 " He says they are all females." 
 
 " Hem ! " said the Colonel. 
 
 " I vote for this one," then said Jackson, 
 pointing to another of the group.
 
 168 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 " All right/' said the Colonel, " any one you 
 like. But why this one in particular ? " 
 
 " Because it is the blackest, do you not see 
 how black it is ? It looks as if it had polished 
 its hide Avith a blacking brush this morning 
 before breakfast/' 
 
 "Very well, I agree," I said. "Let this 
 one have the prize." 
 
 " Now the next thing is," said the Colonel 
 who had charge of the prize tickets, " where 
 shall we fasten the ticket ? " 
 
 " Round his trunk," suggested Jackson. 
 
 "Or the tusk," said I. 
 
 " I suppose the creature's quite quiet," said 
 the Colonel, advancing cautiously towards the 
 elephant, with the ticket hanging by the string 
 in his hand. 
 
 " Oh, pei'fectly," said Jackson, keeping at a 
 respectful distance. 
 
 " They are very seldom violent," said I, re- 
 treating a pace or two. 
 
 Colonel Moodle got close up to the creature, 
 without its apparently perceiving his approach, 
 when suddenly it lifted its trunk perpendicularly 
 in the air above its head, opened its huge mouth, 
 and emitted a most frightful shriek, something 
 between a loud squeak and a hoarse cry. Quick 
 as lightning the Colonel turned round to run 
 away, but his foot getting entangled in the
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 169 
 
 " karbee " (stout Indian corn stalks^, that form 
 the staple of elephant's food) he fell prostrate on 
 the ground, looking as if he expected the next 
 instant to find himself securely lodged in the 
 elephant's inside. Jackson was holding his 
 sides ; I could scarce restrain my laughter. 
 
 " I think it will be the best way to find the 
 elephant's mahout (or keeper) and give him the 
 ticket/' I said, as soon as Colonel Moodle had 
 recovered his feet and joined us, a little distance 
 from the scene of the disaster. 
 
 So we found the mahout, who said his 
 elephant's name was Motee, and to him we 
 gave the ticket. 
 
 After this was over, we had only the pigeons 
 to examine, and here we had less difficulty, for 
 although none of us knew anything at all about 
 pigeons, we all unanimously fixed upon one that 
 struck us as being the prettiest, and thus con- 
 cluded our labours in the capacity of prize 
 committee. 
 
 I must say a few words in concluding this 
 Chronicle about the Exhibition, and how it 
 went off. It was opened with great eclat, and 
 the programme was carefully observed. The 
 only little mishap that occurred was at that part 
 of the proceedings where Mr. Byewilwuif a, fol- 
 lowed by Mr. Khas Mouza, and by the com- 
 mittee and the managers, secretaries, assistant-
 
 170 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 secretaries and principal visitors, two and two, 
 were to walk up the centre aisle preceded by 
 the band playing the National Anthem. Un- 
 fortunately, the band, which had come straight 
 from a funeral up to the Exhibition, had forgot- 
 ten to take off the music that was affixed to the 
 instruments, and the procession set out, Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa stalking sedately along, followed by 
 the secretary, the committee, the assistant-secre- 
 taries, the manager and assistant-manager and 
 principal ^dsitors, to the tune of the Dead March 
 in Saul. No one liked to break the order of 
 the procession and run out and speak to the 
 band-master who was in fi'ont and at the time 
 far away in the seventh heaven, for he had that 
 morning made an offer and been accepted by a 
 very pretty girl to whom he was much attached. 
 So do sorrow and mirth, laughter and weeping, 
 the wedding and the funeral, go hand in hand, 
 as it were, in this chequered life. Mr. Khas 
 Mouza waved his umbrella with the hope of 
 attracting the band-master's attention, but the 
 good man saw only his mistress waving her 
 snowy handkerchief at him and not Mr. Khas 
 Mouza's brown umbrella. The bandsmen saw 
 nothing incongruous in it, all they attended to 
 was that their music should be in tune and their 
 pace likewise. So to slow time, as the chords 
 of that magnificent piece of music, the wail of a
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 171 
 
 broken heart over some beloved idol or vene- 
 rated chief, swelled through the aisles and up 
 along the vaulted roof, till its plaintive accents 
 died away, growing fainter and fainter among 
 Mr. Alsorts^ fibres, the Honourable Kist Bye- 
 wilwuffa, bearing himself majestically and little 
 heeding the frantic gestures of his secretary, 
 who waved his umbrella as an Indian his toma- 
 hawk at a funeral dance, perambulated the 
 building, and, reaching his chair of state, de- 
 clared the Exhibition open. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Alsorts," said I, as I met that 
 gentleman two mornings after at the Exhibition 
 building, '' I hope the Exhibition has been a 
 success.''^ 
 
 " Oh, yes, most decidedly, sir, a great suc- 
 cess. I have cleared at the very least a lack of 
 rupees. ^^ 
 
 " You don^t say so ? Well, now, how did you 
 manage it ? " 
 
 " I've sold everything, you see, and got my 
 price, too.'' 
 
 '^ Had you much here ? " 
 
 " Oh, dear me, yes ; why two-thirds of the 
 whole turn-out belongs to me." 
 
 " Does it, indeed ; and have you really sold 
 all this — rubbish, I was going to say — pointing 
 to the mass of miscellaneous articles, furniture, 
 chandeliers, tables, what-nots, stools, pianos,
 
 172 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 crockery, musical boxes, English toys, shawls, 
 rugs, durries, everything, in fact, that was there 
 in such profusion. Have you really sold all 
 this ? " 
 
 " Yes, all, and I don't mind letting you into 
 my secret. You see, sir, I was very thick with 
 Mr. Dakhil Duftar and Mr. Isteef a all the time 
 the preparations were going on. They found 
 me useful. I know they don't seem quite so 
 fond of my society now. It's no more, ' Oh, 
 Mr. Alsorts, do just come here, like a good 
 fellow ; ' or, ' Alsorts, I wish you could give 
 me a wrinkle here ; ' or, ' Alsorts you must be 
 deucedly tired, come and take a glass of beer 
 and a sandwich.' Ah, well, I can see as far as 
 my neighbours j these gentlemen found me 
 useful, and, well, I thought I might one day 
 find them useful. So, seeing me so much with 
 them the natives came about my place a little ; 
 well, I pretended to take no notice, but just let 
 things run on. At last the Rajas began to 
 come into Budgepore for the Exhibition, and 
 they came to my place too. Then their vakeels 
 came next day to have a little conversation and 
 to find out for their masters what this great 
 ' shop ' really meant : ' Was the Sirkar (Go- 
 vernment) really opening a shop ? ' Well, I 
 don't say that I said as much, but if the vakeels 
 went away and told their masters that the
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 173 
 
 British Government being really very hard up 
 for cash, had hit upon this expedient for raising 
 the wind, and that every Raja was expected to 
 purchase in proportion to the extent of his 
 revenues; I say, if the vakeels told the Rajas 
 so, how could I help it ? Next day I went to 
 all the shops in the bazaar and the city, and I 
 bought up every single thing I could lay my 
 hands upon in the shape of glass, crockery, 
 clocks, anything gaudily painted and rather 
 showy, besides all the carpets, shawls, every- 
 thing in short, and sent it all here, and I've 
 
 sold every d d thing at just treble its price, 
 
 and shall I not say the Exhibition is a success ? 
 Long live Byewilwuffa, the jolly old buffer, 
 say I ! " 
 
 The last of the Exhibition ceremonies was a 
 grand durbar, at which Mr. Byewilwuffa pre- 
 seuted khilluts (presents) to four of the native 
 gentry who had been prominent, in their sup- 
 port of his pet scheme, who were also made 
 honorary magistrates. One of these was our 
 old friend Gunny Lall, who, at Mr. Wasil- 
 bakee^s suggestion, had opened his money bags 
 and given 10,000 rupees towards the Exhibi- 
 tion. Another was Salig Ram, who had been 
 imprisoned for forgery. But his forgery had, 
 besides getting him into prison, brought him 
 enormous wealth, and he presented 10,000
 
 174 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 rupees, and received the distinction and under- 
 took the duties of honorary magistrate, in which 
 capacity lie will, I hope, always recollect to 
 sympathize with men who are so unfortunate as 
 to sign other peoples^ names to bills. The third 
 was Moona Lall, money lender, who had grown 
 enormously rich by usury, and the fourth was 
 Khewut Sing, who had been tried for murder- 
 ing his father, and acquitted, but being a rich 
 man, had judiciously purchased the favour of 
 the reigning power by a grant of 15,000 rupees 
 to the Exhibition, and the loan of his elephant, 
 the very elephant, by the way, to which we had 
 adjudged the prize. 
 
 After it was all over, the remainder of the 
 articles were sold by auction, Mr. Archimedes 
 DeCruze acting as auctioneer. They fetched 
 fifteen thousaud rupees, and Mr. DeCruze 
 having to receive ten per cent, as auctioneer, 
 netted fifteen hundred by that transaction. 
 He may have netted more, for the fifteen thou- 
 sand rupees was never heard of again, nor, 
 strange to say, was Mr. Archimedes DeCruze, 
 who disappeared about that time. 
 
 Of course people wondered what had hap- 
 pened to him. Dakhil Duftar, who never had 
 any but thoroughly trustworthy persons about 
 him, thought at first he had probably fallen 
 down a well, or been suddenly seized with
 
 THE EXHIBITION. 175 
 
 cholera on his way home, and fully expected 
 some tidings would be heard of him. But 
 when time passed and nothing transpired, he 
 came to the conclusion that he had been kid- 
 napped by some of those Cabulee men who 
 once or twice a year come down from Cabul 
 with strings of camels laden with posteens, 
 dried figs, apricots, &c., and return with mer- 
 chandize from India, the real object of their 
 journey, which is not to sell their own goods so 
 much as to purchase others. Well, Dakhil 
 Duftar was fully persuaded that some of these 
 men had kidnapped Archimedes DeCruze and 
 carried him off to sell him for a slave in Tartary, 
 and so took no further steps to track him. 
 I didnH know before that these men were ever 
 suspected of kidnapping people in British India, 
 no more did Dakhil Duftar, he said, but his 
 serishtadar told him it was very frequently the 
 case. Mr. Wasilbakee was also of the same 
 opinion, and thought there was no doubt that 
 Mr. Archimedes DeCruze had been kidnapped. 
 And that opinion took the form of a settled 
 conviction, after he had consulted his serish- 
 tadar and found that he corroborated in every 
 particular the information furnished to Dakhil 
 Duftar. They thought the matter so important 
 as to justify their bringing it to the notice 
 of the Governor- General, which they did, of
 
 176 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 course through the " usual channels/' but that 
 functionary recorded his opinion that it was 
 one of those cases in which he " couldn't inter- 
 fere/' Of course no one disputed the conclu- 
 sions of Dakhil Duftar and Mr, Wasilbakee. 
 They were, no doubt, correct. Only it struck 
 me as a strange circumstance, that only the 
 very day before this unfortunate kidnapping 
 took place, as it subsequently transpired, 
 DeCruze had realized on all his Government 
 securities to the full amount of the fifteen thou- 
 sand rupees, the proceeds of the auction, in 
 addition to fifteen thousand more which he had 
 in Government five per cents. 
 
 There was a small deficit of forty thousand 
 rupees altogether from the whole affair, but 
 this was easily replaced, thanks to the elasticity 
 of the resources of India, which financial people 
 are so fond of talking about, and an additional 
 rupee per maund on grain to be devoted ex- 
 clusively to public works, being laid on by the 
 octroi in the principal cities in the province, 
 the surplus with something out of the nuzzool 
 fund, filled up the deficit, and as Mr. Byewil- 
 wuffa wrote in his minute on the subject, 
 " The Exhibition was in every way a great 
 success."
 
 CHRONICLE IV. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 
 
 12
 
 4
 
 179 
 
 CHRONICLE IV. 
 
 THE HISTOEY OF THE BAEEAOKS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE EARLY HISTORY OF BUDGEPORE^ AND HOW 
 ANNEXATION WAS FORCED UPON US. 
 
 In the consulship of Emilius Flaccus, Quintus 
 
 Metellus being Master of the Horse 
 
 what have I been writing, I meant to say, when 
 the Hon'ble Kist ByewilwuflFa was Lieutenant- 
 Governor and Mr, Khas Mouza, Secretary, 
 there came an order for European barracks to 
 be built at Budgepore. You will ask what 
 the barracks had to be built for ? Well, for 
 European soldiers to live in. And why were 
 European soldiers to be quartered at Budge- 
 pore? 
 
 12 *
 
 180 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDOEPORE. 
 
 The necessity of repljdng to this question 
 reminds me that I have never yet clironiclcd 
 the old history of Budgcpore, nor put on record 
 the events which led to that rich and fertile 
 province coming under British sway. This 
 I shall now proceed to do, very briefly. You 
 need not be afraid, reader, of my taking up 
 your time with a long disquisition upon the 
 ancient history of this part of India. I shall 
 merely trace the succession of events that led 
 to the annexation of Budgcpore. And if you 
 have never heard or read this episode in Indian 
 History, it must be because, like every one 
 else, you never studied Indian History at all. 
 
 I shall not need to go back further than the 
 time of Mahmoud of Ghazni in the year 1000, 
 in whose train one of the most fierce and war- 
 like of the Pathan tribes called the Talwarries 
 came into Hindoostan, conquered and held the 
 province of Budgcpore. 
 
 We now pass over a considerable interval, 
 till the time of Warren Hastings. When that 
 great man held the reins of Government, 
 Budgepore was a distant province, ruled over 
 by a Nawab, who was always called the Nawab 
 of Budgepore. I don't suppose he had any 
 name, just as the Nawab of Rampore, the 
 Maharajah of Jcyporc, and other independent 
 Princes and Sovereigns, it is well known, have
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARBACKS. 181 
 
 no names, as how could tliey, seeing that they 
 have neither god-fathers nor god-mothers ? 
 
 Now having arrived at this stage of my 
 chronicle, we will, if you please, leave Budge- 
 pore for the present and return to London. 
 
 One afternoon, as Mr. Leopold Scheinfeldt, 
 a rich goldsmith of the city of London, and 
 one of the proprietors of India Stock, was 
 stepping into the Bear and Bull dining rooms 
 in Cornhill to have his midday meal, he en- 
 countered in the coffee room of that tavern 
 Captain Robertson, of the E. I. C. Navy, who 
 commanded one of the East India Company's 
 ships, half merchantman, and half man-of-war. 
 The two gentlemen greeted one another warmly, 
 and sitting down at the same table, entered 
 into conversation, in the course of which Cap- 
 tain Robertson, remarking upon the dividends 
 upon India Stock, observed, that it was a 
 mystery to him the East India Company did 
 not look after their interests better than they 
 did, for that if the Directors of the Company 
 only did their duty to the proprietors, and pro- 
 tected them from being robbed by the servants 
 of the Company in the settlements (the posses- 
 sions of the Company in India were always 
 called "the settlements" in those days), the 
 dividends would be quite double what they 
 were. Being asked to enter into particulars,
 
 182 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDaEPOEE. 
 
 Captain Robertson proceeded to dilate upon 
 the state and magnificence^ the luxury and 
 grandeur of the menage maintained by the 
 governors and officers of the Company abroad. 
 He said much upon the resources of the country, 
 the interior of which he had visited, having 
 been up as far as Chandernagore, and he im- 
 pressed on his hearer's mind very forcibly, 
 that if stringent requisitions were sent out to 
 the Governor of Bengal and other officers abroad, 
 to double the revenues or the dividends, they 
 could be doubled without any difficulty what- 
 ever. 
 
 After dinner they parted, and Mr. Leopold 
 Scheinfeldt went back to his shop ; but instead 
 of remaining there, as was his wont at that time 
 of the afternoon (in those days it was the custom 
 to dine early), he desired his assistant to remain 
 in the shop, and passed along into his own little 
 back room, where he remained for an hour or 
 more, with some account books before him, im- 
 mersed in thought. The good man was taking 
 stock, and reckoning what his property would 
 be worth if the dividends on the India Stock 
 were only doubled. The demon of covetousness 
 had long had possession of that man's soul. 
 
 The following morning on his way to the city, 
 for even then the more wealthy of the citizens 
 had begun to adopt the habit of having their
 
 THB HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 183 
 
 residences westwards,, he called at the office of 
 Mr. Lloyd Frankfort, one of the Directors of 
 theE. I. C, and to him he told all he had heard 
 from Captain Robertson the day before. 
 
 The following week there was a general meet- 
 ing of proprietors, at which Mr. Leopold Schein- 
 feldt spoke his mind, and said, from private 
 information which had reached him, he felt as- 
 sured that they, the proprietors, received much 
 smaller dividends than was right ; and that if a 
 little pressure were put upon the Governors and 
 other officers at the settlements, much larger 
 remittances would be made. No resolution was 
 proposed upon this, and the meeting broke up ; 
 but Mr. Leopold Scheinfeldt was much gratified 
 when one of the gorgeously- dressed beadles who 
 used to vegetate in the India House came up to 
 him, in the presence of many of the other pro- 
 prietors, and said, that the Chairman of the 
 Court of Directors had sent his compliments, 
 and, if convenient to Mr. Leopold to afford him 
 a few minutes' conversation, he should be glad 
 if he would step into his private room. Thither, 
 accordingly, Mr. Leopold went ; and there he 
 met a small and secret conclave of those great 
 men, — the directors. What passed it is out of 
 my power to record. What resulted was this : 
 that the next ship that left the docks for Cal- 
 cutta took out a large bundle of despatches,
 
 184 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 addressed " To our well-beloved and trusty Go- 
 vernor, "Warren Hastings, Esq., at Fort William, 
 Bengal," one of which contained a missive, 
 marked' 'private and important," which caused 
 Warren Hastings much thought. In this de- 
 spatch it was intimated to that ofl&cer, that un- 
 less the remittances to England were doubled 
 in the course of the year, he would be recalled. 
 
 The contents of this despatch were not com- 
 municated to the Council; and this may be one 
 reason why it is not to be found among the 
 records of Government in Fort William. One 
 reason, I say; for another reason which may 
 easily account for it is, that the white ants may 
 very possibly have devoured it. 
 
 After dismissing the Council, Warren Hastings 
 returned to his private room, and sent for his 
 native private secretary, or meer munshi, — a 
 man, you may be sure, of very great influence, 
 and very great talent : of very great influence, 
 for the meer munshi of the Governor was sure 
 to have enormous influence ; of very great talent, 
 for Warren Hastings was not likely to be served 
 by any one but a man of very great talent. 
 This meer munshi kept what may be called the 
 " Indian Doomsday Book " ; that is to say, — a 
 book wherein was entered the name, history, 
 antecedents and surroundings, of every chief 
 and man of note in India, the amount of wealth
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 185 
 
 he was possessed of, how he had acquired it, the 
 amount of his revenues and how collected, his 
 habits of life, his physical and intellectual attain- 
 ments ; in short, all that could be found out 
 about him. It was a great book, that; great I 
 mean not only in size, but in importance, and 
 was kept in an iron safe under lock and key, in 
 the strong room, where the meer munshi depo- 
 sited his jewels and treasure. The Nawab of 
 Budgepore you may be sure had a page to him- 
 self in that book. 
 
 On this occasion the record was consulted. 
 Warren Hastings leant back in an easy chair, 
 close to the open Venetian window looking out 
 upon the waters of the Hooghly, his forehead 
 fanned by the evening southern breeze ; while 
 the meer munshi sat at a table near him, and 
 read out the history and the antecedents of the 
 Nawab of Budgepore, and all that was known 
 about him. It was there recorded, that the 
 Nawab was enormously rich; that he had, or 
 was said to have, amassed ten crores* of rupees 
 in jewels and cash ; that he was a parsimonious, 
 miserly old man, who spent most of his time in 
 his harem, leaving the affairs of state pretty much 
 to the management of an astute Hindoo minister, 
 or dewan, Roy Chund ; that the dewan also was 
 
 * A crore is a million.
 
 186 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 reported to be very wealthy, and to be connected 
 with nearly all the large banking houses through- 
 out the principal cities of India. 
 
 The meer munshi finished, closed the book, 
 and took his departure ; but Warren Hastings 
 sat in the same place without moving for a full 
 hour, till the shades of evening had fallen, and 
 the noisy crows intimated their intention of re- 
 tiring to rest on the neighbouring trees. 
 
 Next day the following Minute passed the 
 Council : — 
 
 Extract from the Minute Book. 
 
 TheEast India Company^s Settlements, Ben- 
 gal. Dated Fort William, 1st April, 17 — . 
 
 Proceedings of Council. 
 
 The following resolution was passed this day : 
 That, with a view to increase the trade be- 
 tween the Settlements of the Honourable theEast 
 India Company and Great Britain, it is desirable 
 to enter into communications with the Nawab 
 of Budgepore, for the purpose of opening up 
 the trade of that part of the country with the 
 Settlement of Calcutta ; and that Captain Diaper 
 be deputed, under special instructions, to be 
 communicated to him direct from the Governor, 
 with suitable presents &c. for the Nawab, to ar- 
 range a commercial treaty with that prince.
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 187 
 
 What Captain Diaper's instmctions were I 
 cannot exactly say, because the copy he took 
 with him was destroyed during the course of 
 events that subsequently ensued ; and the copy 
 that was no doubt retained in the Foreign 
 Ofl&ce, must also have perished by those 
 destructive little creatures, the white ants. I 
 know he had some demi-official written instruc- 
 tions, at any rate, and this is the way the in- 
 formation reached me. Captain Diaper was 
 sent for by Warren Hastings, and had a long 
 private interview. What passed, of course no 
 one can tell now. There was a young gentle- 
 man at that time in Hastings' employ as a sort 
 of assistant private secretary and librarian. He 
 used to conduct a good deal of the Governor's 
 private correspondence, look after his papers and 
 books, &c., and in short, was a sort of unattached 
 aide-de-camp. He was drowned in the Hooghly 
 about two years after this, but his family pre- 
 served some letters of his and a diary which he 
 kept, and knowing that I was engaged in 
 writing these chronicles, they kindly volun- 
 teered to let me have the use of the diary and 
 letters. In the former I find this entry : — 
 
 "Captain Diaper having private interview 
 with the Governor — Go in, as he is about to 
 leave, to get some papers out of the escritoire, 
 and hear him say : ' Well, your Excellency will
 
 188 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 excuse my speaking so plainly, but it will be 
 necessary for my own protection should any- 
 thing happen to your Excellency, which God 
 forbid ! during my absence ; that I should be 
 able, if necessary, to produce your Excellency's 
 written instructions/ Upon that, Hastings took 
 a pencil and wrote as much as would fill a sheet 
 of note paper on the four sides, signed it, and 
 pushed it across the table to Captain Diaper, 
 saying, as he did so : ' This will be quite suffi- 
 cient for you. Captain Diaper/ And Captain 
 Diaper, after reading what had been written, 
 replied : ' Quite so, your Excellency,'' and took 
 his leave." 
 
 This is all that is known about it. Captain 
 Diaper lost his life on the mission on which 
 he went, but neither the private letter of in- 
 structions nor the official one was found or 
 recovered. The papers he had with him were 
 probably destroyed, and the office copy, as I 
 said, has no doubt been consumed by the white 
 ants. 
 
 Captain Diaper proceeded to Budgepore, 
 where he was courteously received by the 
 Nawab, delivered his presents and credentials, 
 and took up his abode in a house allotted to 
 him, which was subsequently called the Resi- 
 dency. I have no means of knowing what 
 passed between Captain Diaper and the Nawab,
 
 THE HISTOKY OF THE BAEEACKS. 189 
 
 but after he had been there a short time, en- 
 gaged, no doubt, in arranging a commercial 
 treaty, and confining his attention exclusively 
 to the development of trade, symptoms of dis- 
 agreement showed themselves between the 
 Nawab and his Dewan, which speedily ripened 
 into an open quarrel. At last Roy Chund 
 began to assemble, and enlist armed men. The 
 Nawab^s security was threatened, an emeute or 
 two took place, and Captain Diaper as British 
 Agent retired across the frontier and took up 
 his abode in the nearest friendly state, on what 
 might be considered British territory. He had 
 not been there long, before he received overtures 
 from the Nawab, soliciting the assistance of the 
 British Government. These despatches were 
 duly forwarded to Calcutta, and in a short time 
 a reply was received tendering the aid of a 
 military force, providing certain sums of money 
 were paid down as expenses. The end of it was 
 that a force consisting of a regiment of sepoys, 
 two hundred Europeans, and three galloper 
 guns, as light field guns were called in those 
 days, were despatched to the aid of the Nawab, 
 and five crores of the Nawab^s rupees were sent 
 in hard cash down to Calcutta, and duly 
 shipped for England. Soon after their arrival 
 there, Mr, Leopold Scheinfeldt was elected into 
 the Direction.
 
 190 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDGEPOEE. 
 
 Meantime Roy Chund had taken the field at 
 the head of ten thousand infantry^ and five 
 thousand horse with thirty guns. But the 
 British Contingent, ably handled by Colonel 
 Arbuthnot who commanded, and which con- 
 sisted of the eight hundred sepoys, two hundred 
 Europeans, and the three galloper guns, and 
 aided by the Nawab's army of twenty thousand 
 men, who all ran away directly the first shot 
 was fired, easily routed them, and Roy Chund, 
 a fugitive, was glad to seek and obtain protec- 
 tion in British territory. The Nawab was then 
 reseated on the throne which he had actually 
 vacated, having run away from fear directly 
 Roy Chund took the field, but three crores of 
 rupees more were demanded and received by 
 the East India Company for the expenses of the 
 war. Roy Chund managed, through his friends 
 the bankers, to get most of his treasure sent 
 away, but his palace was looted, and Colonel 
 Arbuthnot the next year retired from the 
 service and went home, where he bought a 
 large estate, was called the Nabob, and went 
 into parliament. Captain Diaper now returned 
 to Budgepore as Political Agent, while the 
 Nawab^s crown was confirmed to him and his 
 heirs " quamdiu se bene gesserint." Arrange- 
 ments being entered into for the regular pay- 
 ment of a British force required to maintain
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 191 
 
 tranquillity and secure the tlirone to its pos- 
 sessor. 
 
 This payment soon fell into arrears, for the 
 disturbed state of the country had prevented 
 the revenue being collected, and one tract of 
 territory after another was " ceded " to the 
 British Government in lieu of payment, till 
 all the Nawab had left was the garden round 
 his palace. 
 
 Meantime, the Nawab, having spent all his 
 money, and Roy Chund having plenty at his 
 command, the latter easily fomented disturb- 
 ances, and collecting an army, marched towards 
 the frontier. An emeute took place in the city. 
 Roy Chund forced the British troops to retreat, 
 drove out the Nawab, and seated himself upon 
 the " musnud '^ or throne. The British Go- 
 vernment then sent a force to restore order, and 
 finding Roy Chund de facto sovereign, they 
 confirmed him in the hereditary possession of 
 the crown, which was guaranteed to him and 
 his heirs in consideration of the payment of 
 three crores of rupees. 
 
 All these changes did not happen without 
 disturbance and emeutes, in one of which Cap- 
 tain Diaper was killed and the Residency 
 plundered. And it was on this occasion that 
 the papers I spoke of just now were in all 
 probability destroyed. At Roy Chund's death
 
 192 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 the country was involved in anarchy. The 
 Nawab was dead also, having left a son and 
 heir to the de jure sovereignty, while Roy 
 Chund had left an adopted son, to whom he 
 had bequeathed the " musnud,^' or throne. 
 
 The country was for the next few years in- 
 volved in such anarchy, that the British 
 Government, out of compassion to the people, 
 virtually annexed it, that is, they took the 
 revenues and maintained a Political Agent, 
 with a considerable force under his orders at 
 the capital. 
 
 When the two minors came of age, the 
 British Government being obliged to choose 
 between them, selected the heir of the Nawab 
 as a rightful claimant of the throne, and he was 
 installed into the office. Incessant disturbances 
 ensued, which lasted several years. The Na- 
 wab's son and Eoy Chund's adopted son died, 
 leaving adopted sons, legitimate sons, and il- 
 legitimate sons, all of whom adopted heirs, dis- 
 inherited them, and then re-adopted them, and 
 finally they all adopted one another, till the 
 whole question of the succession became in- 
 volved in inextricable confusion. And so 
 matters went on, till a few years before the 
 period when my chronicle takes up the thread 
 of the story, the Government was forced to 
 annex the country altogether, and Mr. Kist
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 193 
 
 Byewilwuffa, then a young civilian of ten or 
 fifteen years' standing, was deputed on special 
 duty to " settle " it. 
 
 Mr. Kist Byewilwuffa had gained a great 
 name in the service as a rising man, having 
 distinguished himself very much at Haileybury, 
 where he had gained the highest honours in law. 
 This he had done in a fair and open field of 
 competition, for the course of study, consisting 
 of the second volume of Blackstone and the 
 portion of Hallam relating to the feudal system, 
 and the other students having gone in to the 
 examination without reading the works men- 
 tioned, which Mr. Byewilwufi'a had done, he 
 easily distanced his competitors, secured the 
 prize, was most honourably noticed at the 
 public examination where Mr. St. George-and- 
 the-Dragon, the President of the Court of 
 Directors, spoke of him in terms of the highest 
 eulogy, and prophesied a glorious and brilliant 
 career for the distinguished scholar. 
 
 So Mr. Byewilwuffa on special duty, with 
 two assistant-collectors, aided by seven hundred 
 native " ameens/' proceeded to '' settle " the 
 new province. A thorough and sound real 
 property lawyer, as was Mr. Byewilwuffa, 
 thanks to his study of Blackstone, Vol. II., lie 
 of course set to work to investigate the titles 
 and the customs under which land tenures liud 
 1. 18
 
 194 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOKE. 
 
 previously existed. In doing this, the two col- 
 lectors and the seven hundred native ameens 
 were of the utmost possible assistance, because, 
 while the collectors went out shooting/ the 
 ameens, three hundred and fifty of which were 
 allotted to each collector, went about among 
 the ryots and the zemindars (the labourers and 
 landed proprietors), and investigated the ancient 
 titles and the nature of the land tenures. The 
 result of these researches was duly communi- 
 cated to ]\Ir. Byewilwufi'a, who at the end of 
 two years drew up a most lucid and valuable 
 report, which has long been looked upon as the 
 chef d'ceuvre of the civil service, and upon this 
 report the " settlements " were made. 
 
 It would of course be out of place here were 
 I to enter much into detail. I may, however, 
 just mention one or two points, which show how 
 completely Mr. Byewilwutfa had mastered his 
 subject, and established the system of land 
 tenures upon the soundest possible basis, that 
 is to say, the old and pre-existing customs of 
 the country, with which the government were 
 careful not to interfere. 
 
 Thus it was ascertained that a ryot (labourer) 
 who had occupied land for the space of two 
 years, and had buried any of his relations in it, 
 acquired proprietary rights, which could not be 
 interfered with, unless within twenty days from
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 195 
 
 tlie date on which lie deposited the remains of 
 his relations in the soil, he had either dug a 
 well or built a wall anywhere on the holding, 
 in which case the title was forfeited. Thus also 
 the occupier of a dwelling-house, if he had a 
 child born in it, acquired a proprietary right, 
 subject to the payment of rent, however. This 
 proprietary right determined upon the death of 
 the child. There was another class of sub- 
 proprietary rights in the soil which arose in this 
 way : — When a ryot had occupied an estate for 
 a period sufficiently long to enable him to get 
 two crops successively from the soil, and had 
 afterwards dug a pukka (masonry) well, if the 
 zemindar fell into it, provided he was taken out 
 of the well defunct, the ryot acquired what was 
 called a sub-proprietary right, that is to say, he 
 could not be ousted as long as he paid the head- 
 man of the village a certain sura, and maintained 
 a certain number of indigent Brahmins. 
 
 I must not, however, dwell any longer on 
 these dry details of land tenures, lest I should 
 weary my readers. Suffice it to say that the 
 " settlement " of Budgepore secured Mr. Bye- 
 wilwuffa's fame ; he rose rapidly in the service, 
 and wrote a standard work on "land settle- 
 ments,'' besides giving government very valu- 
 able advice in passing the great rent-law act. 
 Of Mr. Byewilwuffa's assistants, who aided him 
 
 13 •
 
 196 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 in this great settlement, one of the collectors 
 fell into one of the '' pukka wells," which acci- 
 dent resulted in his gaining a freehold o£ six 
 feet of ground in the Budgepore territory, the 
 other became Commissioner. The seven hun- 
 dred native ameens were appointed to various 
 posts, lumberdars, tehsildars, thanadars, jema- 
 dars, and I don^t know how many other '^ dars/' 
 Each ameen had been allowed seven mes- 
 sengers, of whom there were therefore 4,900, 
 who were all provided for in various offices in 
 the new territories. Each of these messengers 
 had five brothers, who also found occupation 
 under government, to the number of 2-1,500. 
 The pro\dnce was portioned out into districts, 
 to each of which ten uncovenanted deputy 
 collectors were appointed, and twenty petty 
 judges or moonsiffs. Each deputy collector had 
 five messengers, and each moonsiff four. Jails 
 were built everywhere, and ^' thanas " (small 
 district police stations), a force of 20,000 police 
 were raised from the other provinces and lo- 
 cated in the new territories, and the province, 
 to complete its happiness and prosperity, was 
 incorporated into British dominion, and came 
 under the ''regulations." 
 
 And it is one of the most extraordinary and 
 unaccountable phenomena I ever met with in 
 the history of any people, that in spite of
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 197 
 
 all these beneficial measures, in spite of the 
 expense the government went to^ in spite of the 
 admirable settlement of a man of genius like 
 Mr. Byewilwuffa, the country languished, trade 
 grew faint, the soil degenerated into waste land, 
 the cities and villages became comparatively 
 depopulated, and so besotted and sunk in ignor- 
 ance were the people, that, instead of welcoming 
 with open arms the advent of British rule, the 
 old savage spirit of the Talwarry race still occa- 
 sionally showed itself in symptoms of disaffec- 
 tion.
 
 198 THE CHBONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE INSURRECTION. 
 
 The disturbed state of the province of Budge- 
 pore at length attracted the notice of govern- 
 ment, and they resolved to send their best man 
 there as Commissioner. Accordingly, Mr. Kist 
 Byewilwaffa, although the appointment was no 
 promotion to him then, was solicited to proceed 
 to Budgepore and endeavour to reduce the pro- 
 vince to order. He received a most flattering 
 letter from government, and, of course, he ac- 
 cepted the ofl&ce. 
 
 So Mr. Kist Byewilwuffa found himself a 
 second time at Budgepore. On this occasion, 
 as before, he went accompanied by his serish- 
 tadar. And he had not been there long before
 
 THE HISTOET OF THE BARRACKS. 199 
 
 disturbances were quelled^ and the district be- 
 came as quiet and orderly as any in the whole 
 country. For Mr. Kist Byewilwuffa had an 
 admirable recipe for settling disaflFected pro- 
 vinces. He had no sooner taken up the reins 
 of government than he caused it to be publicly 
 known, that it was his method never, on any 
 account, to enquire into charges against sub- 
 ordinate officers. Under his regime authority 
 was always supported. Such a thing as a com- 
 plaint against the police for torture or bribery 
 was never to be entertained. And the result 
 was that everything appeared on the surface 
 eminently satisfactory, and Mr. Byewilwuffa's 
 reputation rose in proportion. 
 
 After Mr. Byewilwuffa had been a year or 
 two in his office as special Commissioner, the 
 Court of Directors, for some reason or other, 
 wrote out and called for a report upon the state 
 of the province. I hardly know the object that 
 prompted the enquiry, probably it was because 
 there was a scheme on foot for reducing the 
 army, and they wanted to know if this province 
 was sufficiently well affected and tranquillized 
 to enable them to adopt that measure with 
 safety. On receiving the order to report, Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa sent to all the collectors directing 
 them to report each on his own district, and 
 the collectors sending each for his native clerk.
 
 200 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORK. 
 
 described what was wanted, and desired that 
 the report might be ready that day week. So 
 the reports all came in due time, when Mr. Bye- 
 wilwuffa wrote a general report, reviewing the 
 minor reports of the collectors, and the whole 
 amounting to a Blue Book of 750 pages folio 
 was transmitted to the Court of Directors, and, 
 eventually, laid upon the table of the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 But I must not anticipate. The day after 
 the report left — I need hardly say, that in it the 
 province of Budgepore was represented as being 
 in a most satisfactory condition, the people well 
 affected, crime almost unknown, the revenue 
 regularly paid, and the people cheerful and 
 happy under British rule — the day after the 
 report left, as Mr. Byewilwuffa was returning 
 from his morning ride through the city, he 
 found all the shops shut in the main street. 
 Now he thought this was odd at that hour in the 
 morning; at least, it was not usual. By the 
 time he had ridden (he was walking his horse) 
 half way up the street, he was fired at from be- 
 hind. The bullet whizzed past his ear, uncom- 
 fortably close. Mr. Byewilwuffa was not a 
 coward. He knew he had been shot at. He 
 knew he had had as narrow an escape as possible 
 of his life, and he could not but expect that a 
 second attempt would be made. But he did
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 201 
 
 not quicken his pace. He might have put spurs 
 to his horse and galloped off; he did no such 
 thing. He merely turned round, and marked 
 with his eye the position of the houses he had 
 just passed, and rode on still at a foot pace. 
 He had not gone ten yards before another shot 
 was fired, and again the ball missed him, but 
 only by a fraction of an inch as it seemed. Still 
 he would not ride on. No other attempt was 
 made, and Mr. Byewilwuffa reached home in 
 safety, and bathed, and had his breakfast as 
 usual. After breakfast he sent for his serish- 
 tadar, told him what had happened, and asked 
 him whether the attempt was that of a private 
 assassin or was it a symptom of wide-spread 
 disaffection. The serishtadar replied that, "by 
 his Honour's favour, the country was never in 
 a more tranquil state, as was it not proved to 
 be so by the report which His Honour had only 
 the day before sent to government ? " Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa at once saw the force of this 
 argument, and admitted it. He then desired 
 the serishtadar to make enquiries, and that 
 functionary left the house for the purpose of 
 doing so. 
 
 Now it so happened, that there was a rich 
 banker in the street where the shot had been 
 fired, to whom the serishtadar was indebted one 
 thousand rupees, and had been in debt for the
 
 202 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 last twelve months, during which time interest, 
 at twenty- four per cent., had been duly accu- 
 mulating. Of late the creditor had been rather 
 impatient, and had once or twice rashly ventured 
 upon dunning. It is dangerous work, some- 
 times, dunning people ; and Heera Lall Seth, of 
 Budgepore, found it so to his cost. 
 
 After an hour^s absence, the serishtadar re- 
 turned to Mr. Byewilwuffa and told him that 
 he had discovered the whole plot, — for plot there 
 was ; and in the evening he would take him to 
 the house of a certain man in the city, in the 
 upper room of which — so certain was his infor- 
 mation, — a double-barrelled fowling-piece woidd 
 be found which had recently been fired off. Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa, I suppose instinctively, suggested 
 whether it would not be better to go at once and 
 search the house, but the serishtadar assured 
 him that was not at all the proper thing to do, 
 for expecting a search, the perpetrator of the 
 deed would have concealed the weapon; by 
 evening, no steps having been taken, he would 
 be thrown off his guard, and the search would be 
 likely to be much more effectual. I need not 
 add, that Mr. Byewilwuffa entirely concurred 
 with his serishtadar : he had entu'ely concurred 
 with him for seven and twenty years, ever since 
 he had been his munshi at Writer's Buildings, 
 Calcutta, and kept his accounts; and was it
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS, 203 
 
 likely he should commence to difiFer from him 
 now? 
 
 Accordingly, in the evening, Mr. Byewilwuffa 
 himself, accompanied by a native officer, two 
 mounted police, and the serishtadar, repaired 
 to Heera LalFs house. The shops in the bazar 
 were still closed. The commissioner followed 
 the serishtadar into an upper room. There, by 
 the window, they found a double-barrelled fowl- 
 ing-piece, which, on examination, proved to have 
 been recently used. There was no one in the 
 house or on the premises but a watchman. And 
 a warrant was issued at once for the apprehen- 
 sion of Heera Lall. 
 
 I may as well here anticipate a little, so as to 
 complete this episode of my story. Heera Lall 
 was tried for an attempt at murder. Fifty wit- 
 nesses for the prosecution deposed to having seen 
 the prisoner station himself at the window, gun 
 in hand, and fire, as the commissioner rode up 
 the street. Fifty witnesses for the defence, de- 
 posed that, during the day in question, Heera 
 Lall had been in his shop the whole morning, 
 transacting his ordinary business. These wit- 
 nesses were customers and constituents; and 
 their testimony was to a certain extent borne 
 out by the banker's day-book, which contained 
 entries, dated the day in question, relating to 
 matters to which the witnesses had deposed. The
 
 204 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 principal feature iu the case for the prosecution 
 was the production of the fowling-piece, which 
 had been discovered on Heera LalFs premises. 
 During this part of the trial the prisoner's native 
 advocate tendered evidence to show that thefowl- 
 ing-piece was an old fowling-piece of Mr. Bye- 
 wilwuffa's, which he had once given to his serish- 
 tadar as a present ; but the judge cut that part 
 of the case short by telling the advocate not to 
 worry the court by irrelevant nonsense ; for, if 
 the fowling-piece had been used for an unlawful 
 purpose by the prisoner, it could make no differ- 
 ence whether it had been the property of the 
 serishtadar, Mr. Byewilwuffa, or any one else. 
 Upon which the advocate folded his hands, and 
 murmuring, "jo hukm,''^ or, "as you order," 
 sat down ; and when Heera Lall was sentenced 
 to be hanged, consoled his client by telling him 
 it was his " kismat," or destiny, which did not 
 appear to convey much comfort to the prisoner, 
 though it was doubtless quite true. 
 
 The sentence of course went up to the S udder, 
 or Supreme Court, for confirmation ; and there 
 being some peculiar circumstances attending it, 
 a full bench met to consider it. Mr. Momjama, 
 then senior judge, delivered a long and elaborate 
 argument, setting forth his reasons for confirm- 
 ing the sentence passed by the lower court ; and 
 after he had finished, Mr. Lifeffa, the second
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 205 
 
 jiidge^ said : " Well, I don^t understand all that, 
 but I say. Wind him up ^' ; a formula for a 
 capital sentence not unfamiliar to the criminal 
 side of the Sudder Court. 
 
 The other judges having concurred, Heera 
 Lall was in due time, in the language of the 
 court '' wound up.^' 
 
 " Bless my soul ! '' said Mr. Byewihvuffa, the 
 day after the execution, examining the fowling- 
 piece, " how very extraordinary ; I declare this 
 is the very identical old fowling-piece I gave 
 Nusseer Khan (that was the serishtadar's name) 
 in Calcutta, years and years ago. How on earth 
 did that old rascal, Heera Lall, get hold of it, 
 I wonder ? " 
 
 The same day that Heera Lall was hanged, 
 the report on Budgepore left the Governor- 
 General's hands for transmission to the Court 
 of Directors, and His Excellency in Council 
 despatched a very flattering letter to Mr. Kist 
 Byewilwufi'a, complimenting him very highly 
 upon the favourable report he had sent in, and 
 adding that he had in his despatch to the Court 
 of Directors spoken in high terms of the valuable 
 services Mr. Byewilwuffa had rendered to the 
 state. That complimentary letter, however, 
 never reached Mr. Byewil wufEa, for this reason, 
 that the runner who carried the letter-bags was 
 murdered. For a dangerous insurrection had
 
 206 THE CHRONICLES OF BtJDGEPORE. 
 
 broken out in Budgepore. The Talwarries 
 were such a barbarous and ignorant race that 
 they were not content with the mild rule of the 
 British Government. The stupid people could 
 not see the great advantages of having jails 
 built at their expense all over the country, 
 and police-stations with secure lock-up houses 
 attached. They could not realize the advantage 
 of open courts, and a free channel of justice 
 where a man had only to pay for what he 
 wanted and got it directly, provided he paid 
 enough ; they were, in short, altogether too 
 barbarous to recognise the blessings Heaven 
 had sent them in giving them a government 
 like that of Mr. Byewilwuffa^s. So they pre- 
 ferred running the risk of an insurrection. 
 
 In those days the Bengal army was in its 
 prime. Its laurels were, you may say, never 
 greener or more fresh. No regiment was ever 
 inspected by a (Company^s) General officer, but 
 he left it on record that he considered the drill, 
 discipline, and appearance of the th regi- 
 ment of Native Infantry far superior to that of 
 any English regiment he had ever met. Gene- 
 ral officers declared, at the mess tables of native 
 regiments, that they would far rather go on 
 ser\'ice with native troops than with Europeans. 
 And it was a proof at the same time of the 
 sincerity and disinterestedness of these officers
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 207 
 
 that when there was a campaign^ they all made 
 strong favour at Head Quarters to avoid getting 
 posted to the command of a Black Brigade. 
 (A Black Brigade meant a brigade exclusively 
 of native troops.) The Governor- General 
 wrote most flattering eulogies to the Court of 
 Directors upon the state of the native army_, 
 and recommended diminishing the force of 
 Europeans in the Company^s employ^ and 
 getting as many of the royal regiments as they 
 could, sent home. 
 
 At the time I speak of, the 77th N. I. 
 was quartered at Budgepore. It was considered 
 the crack regiment in the service, and had been 
 made '' Light Infantry " for its services in 
 Afi'ghanistan. Colonel Moodle commanded 
 the regiment. (That was before the amalgama- 
 tion, since which he has been superseded by 
 his nephew, Captain Kummurbund.) Young 
 Sticklebat was adjutant. He afterwards got 
 into the choir at Simla church, when Lady 
 Amethyst Jones' husband was Commander-in- 
 Chief. I mention him in this way, because 
 it was well known that Sir Amethyst Jones left 
 everything in the hands of his wife, who, with 
 the assistance of the military secretary, com- 
 manded the army. From the choir Sticklebat 
 got command of the Meddlesore contingent, one 
 of the best appointments, in those days, going,
 
 208 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 for you were allowed to draw cavalry pay^ and 
 a contingent allowance for all the horses in the 
 two regiments of cavalry, which were always 
 returned as cavalry, but were in reality infantry. 
 Colonel Moodle was a strict disciplinarian. He 
 was unfortunately rather corpulent, but that 
 was his misfortune, not his fault. He used 
 to go to parade always in a palanquin, but 
 when on the parade ground he always mounted. 
 He had his charger drawn up alongside of the 
 palanquin : his orderly serjeant assisted him to 
 get on the roof, from whence the passage to 
 the saddle was easy. The groom carried his 
 spurs, and when the parade was half over and 
 the charger had carried its rider (nineteen 
 stone) for about an hour, he put on his master's 
 spurs, I mean he fixed the spurs in the boxes of 
 his master's boots. I don't mean that the 
 groom himself put on the spurs, that would be 
 absm'd. 
 
 During the hot weather there were no parades, 
 except one for inspection and the manual and 
 platoon on Saturday afternoons. In the rainy 
 season, when the ground was very wet, officers 
 commanding companies used to go to parade 
 with an orderly carrying two bricks. These 
 bricks the orderly placed on the ground in front 
 of the centre of each company, a few yards off, 
 and the officers got out of their palanquins or off
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 209 
 
 their horses^ and stood upon the bricks while 
 they put their companies through the manual 
 and platoon exercises, and thus kept their feet 
 dry.* Altogether there was the best possible 
 feeling between the officers and men of the 77th 
 Light Infantry. The mess was a very pleasant 
 little mess to dine at, the few ladies that were 
 with the regiment were great favourites, and 
 altogether a young man might find himself in 
 a more uncomfortable billet than that of a 
 subaltern in the 77th Native Light Infantry at 
 Budgepore. 
 
 The disturbance at Budgepore broke out one 
 evening early in July, 18 — . A number of 
 the citizens assembled in large crowds outside 
 the city, which, like most of the cities of Upper 
 India, was surrounded with gardens and garden 
 walls and country houses that formerly belonged 
 to the nobility and gentry of the district. Here 
 and there were vacant spots of ground of con- 
 siderable extent, and upon these vacant spots of 
 ground the multitude assembled. Many came 
 armed with drums, others with horns, and 
 others with guns, matchlocks, and fire-arms 
 
 * There is, I am told, still extant an old Order-book at 
 Barrackpore, directing officers to discontinue the practice 
 of having bricks taken down for them to stand uj^on while 
 inspecting their companies, the same being an unmilitary 
 practice. 
 
 I. 14
 
 210 THE CHKONICLES OF BXJDGEPORE. 
 
 of various descriptions. Those wlio had drums 
 beat them, those who had horns blew them, 
 those who had fire-arms fired them off in the 
 air, and those who had neither drums, horns, 
 nor fire-arms, talked as loud as they could, or 
 ran about hither and thither bawling at the 
 top of their voices. 
 
 As soon as news of the insurrection reached 
 the civil station, which was between the city 
 and the military cantonment, the residents 
 were of course much alarmed. There were 
 about five bungalows occupied by civilians 
 and their families, and about ten or twenty 
 more tenanted by uncovenanted clerks, pen- 
 sioners, and others. Almost all these were 
 bungalows, that is to say, one-floor houses or 
 large cottages, with thatched roofs of dry grass. 
 Mr. Byewilwuffa, however, lived in what is 
 called a large pukka house, that is to say, a 
 house built of masonry, brick and mortar, and 
 roofed with beams of wood laid horizontally 
 and covered with mud mixed with lime, brick, 
 &c., and a few of the rooms were roofed with 
 large flat stones. This building, being of course 
 much stronger and less liable to fire than the 
 bungalows, was the rendezvous for all the 
 civilians and their families who left their own 
 houses when the noise and hubbub began, as 
 their servants told them there was a disturb-
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAKBACKS. 211 
 
 ance, and that they had better get out of their 
 houses lest the thatch should be set on fire 
 by some evil-disposed persons. Accordingly 
 they all repaired to the Commissioner's house 
 and assembled in the dining room^ the door 
 of which they carefully shut and barricaded 
 with furniture^ leaving only one door open for 
 egress or ingress. 
 
 Meantime, a half-witted idiot boy, who 
 used to be always roaming about Budgepore, 
 and being perfectly harmless was never ill 
 treated, and allowed to go and do pretty much 
 as he liked, becoming violently excited at the 
 noise the people were making outside the city, 
 ran across some of the compounds (or court 
 yards) in the civil station, making the best of 
 his way to the point of attraction, the place 
 where all the noise and bustle and blowing of 
 horns was going on. As he passed through 
 one of the compounds he accidentally came 
 upon some loose charcoal cinders alight on 
 the ground. They had either been thrown out 
 of a pipe-bowl or had been let drop by some 
 servant who had been taking some lighted 
 charcoal for cooking purposes from one part of 
 the premises to another. "What possessed the 
 boy it is impossible to say, but the idea seemed 
 to seize him of doing mischief for the first time 
 in his life. I suppose it was that he was in an 
 
 14 •
 
 212 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEB. 
 
 extraordinary state of excitement owing to the 
 noise and the effect it had upon his nerves. 
 Anyhow, he took up some dry straw he found 
 lying about, and applying the lighted charcoal 
 to it, with his breath soon fanned it into a flame, 
 and then he deliberately set fire to the thatch 
 of the bungalow. The brilliant blaze of light 
 seemed to incite him to extend his experiment, 
 and he went from house to house unnoticed 
 and uninterrupted, and set fire to some half 
 dozen bungalows one after the other. 
 
 Meantime, Mr, Byewilwuffa had sent a 
 mounted messenger to Colonel Moodle desiring 
 him to call out his regiment at once and pro- 
 ceed to the focus of the insurrection and put it 
 down. Colonel Moodle, on receipt of the 
 requisition for military aid, wrote to the 
 Adjutant directing him to call out the regi- 
 ment immediately, and the Adjutant sent an 
 order to the Sergeant-Major to sound the 
 assembly and bring the men on parade. As 
 soon as he could get his horse saddled and 
 himself dressed, the Adjutant rode down to 
 the parade, where, instead of finding the regi- 
 ment turned out, he saw no one but the Ser- 
 geant-Major and the Havildar-Major (native 
 Sergeant-Major) and the Pay Havildars, or 
 Sergeants of Companies, who told him that 
 the men objected altogether to turn out, as the
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 213 
 
 weather looked threatening, and they thought 
 it was going to rain. Whereupon the Adjutant 
 went home, and wrote the following public 
 letter to the Colonel : — 
 
 Sir, — I have the honour to report that in 
 pursuance of the instructions conveyed in 
 your demi-official of to-day^s date, I trans- 
 mitted the necessary orders to the Sergeant- 
 Major to turn out the men^ and proceeded 
 myself to parade immediately afterwards. On 
 arriving there I found that the men objected 
 to turn out, owing to the threatening appear- 
 ance of the weather. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 
 Junius Sticklebat, 
 Adjutant, 77th Native {Light) Infantry. 
 Budgepore, 7th July, 18 — . 
 
 On receipt of the letter. Colonel Moodle 
 wrote to Mr. ByewilwufFa as follows : — 
 
 Sir, — I have the honour to inform you that 
 in accordance with the requisition contained in 
 your demi-official of to-day's date, I issued the 
 necessary orders at once for the regiment under 
 my command to turn out, but I regret to find 
 that owing to the threatening appearance of
 
 214 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 the weather, the men of the regiment under 
 my command object to get under arms. 
 
 I have directed a court of enquiry to sit to- 
 morrow for the purpose of investigating the 
 cause of this apparent dereliction of military 
 duty, when the matter will be thoroughly 
 sifted, and a report forwarded to Army Head 
 Quarters through the usual channel. 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient Servant, 
 Augustus Maximilian Moodle, 
 Commanding 77th N. Light Infantry. 
 Budgepore, July 7th, 18 — . 
 To KisT Byewilwuffa, Esq., C.S., 
 Commissioner of Budgepore. 
 
 While these military operations were in pro- 
 gress, the state of mind of the inmates of 
 Mr. Byewilwuffa's house may be more easily 
 imagined than described. There were five 
 ladies with their children there. Two of the 
 husbands only of these ladies were present, 
 the other three were out in the district, shoot- 
 ing. Those who happened to be present were 
 the Judge and Collector, and these gentlemen 
 were seated one in a neem tree and the other 
 in a peepul tree in the compound of Mr. Bye- 
 wilwuffa's house, double-barrelled rifle in hand.
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 215 
 
 awaiting the approacli o£ the insurgents. Each 
 had five chuprassees who stood five under each, 
 tree. One chuprassee carried a cheroot-box, 
 one an earthern jar containing water^ one a 
 tumbler, one a bottle of brandy, while the fifth 
 looked on. 
 
 All this time Mr. Byewilwuffa was inde- 
 fatigable in his exertions to calm the fears of 
 the ladies, who gazed through the closed 
 windows at the burning bungalows, and listened 
 with beating hearts to the sound of the drums, 
 horns, and voices of the insurgents, who, how- 
 ever, judging from the sounds, did not appear 
 to be approaching nearer. Mr. Byewilwuffa 
 attempted to allay their fears by assuring them 
 that he had sent off early intimation of the 
 state of affairs to Colonel Moodle, and that in a 
 very short time the military would be on the 
 spot, the insurrection trampled out, and order 
 restored. What were his feelings when Colonel 
 Moodle's letter was put into his hands ! He 
 had, however, scarcely time to realise the full 
 effect of the communication, when his attention 
 was attracted by piercing shrieks from the 
 opposite side of the room, near the open door. 
 He hastened to the spot, and found that the 
 alarm had been occasioned by the approach of 
 Mr. D'Rozario, the head writer in the Col- 
 lector's office, armed with a brace of pistols,
 
 216 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEB. 
 
 and accompanied by his wife and five children, 
 who Mere making for the rendezvous. 
 
 All minor considerations were now resolved 
 into the determination of the question as to 
 whether Mr. D'Rozario, the head clerk in the 
 Collector's office, should be admitted or not. 
 Meanwhile the door was shut and bolted, while 
 the question was being discussed. And it was 
 at length resolved that, in consideration of his 
 brace of pistols, Mr. D'Rozario should be ad- 
 mitted, but not his wife and children. 
 
 So the door was partially opened, and the 
 result of the conclusion which the garrison had 
 arrived at duly communicated to Mr. D'Rozario, 
 who, much to the astonishment of the besieged, 
 walked off, with his wife and five children fol- 
 lowing behind. 
 
 Meantime, however, the flames of the burn- 
 ing bungalows had caught the eye of Colonel 
 Moodle, who ordered his charger and resolved 
 upon immediate action.
 
 217 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 When Colonel Moodle reached the parade 
 ground^ he found the quarter- guard had turned 
 out. On seeing the Colonel approach, the 
 jemadar (native officer) formed his men in line 
 at open order, and stood ready to present arms. 
 After this ceremony he walked up to the 
 Colonel, and lowering his sword in military 
 salute said without drawing a breath, — 
 
 "Kotalgardmenekjemadardohavildarcharnaik 
 beessepahidonishanektumboorekchowkeedobocc 
 usdohazarcharsowrupeeahospitalmenpainteessic 
 kmanoursubacha/^ 
 
 Which being interpreted signifies, — 
 
 " In the quarter-guard there are one jemadar,
 
 218 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDaEPOEE. 
 
 two liavildars, four naiks^ and twenty sepoys, 
 two colours, one drum, one chair, two boxes, 
 two thousand four hundred rupees, in the 
 hospital thirty. five sick, and all is well." 
 
 While this announcement was being made, 
 the Sergeant-Major came up, followed by a 
 bugler who had been going about incessantly 
 sounding the " alarm," and the " assembly,"" 
 but without effect. At the command of the 
 Colonel the bugler now sounded the '^ quick 
 march," followed by " fix bayonets," and im- 
 mediately some two or three hundred men 
 appeared at the head of the lines advancing 
 towards the parade ground. The sergeant- 
 major and the pay sergeants then came forward 
 and said, that " the whole regiment knew that 
 the Colonel sahib was their father and mother, 
 but there were in the quarter-guard a thousand 
 rupees of half mounting (that is, belonging to 
 the recruit's clothing fund), two hundred rupees 
 of deserters' money, eight hundred belonging 
 to the captains of companies, and four hundred 
 belonging to the officers' mess and band funds ; 
 if the Colonel sahib would order the money to 
 be distributed, there would be just three rupees 
 to each man, the Colonel sahib was their father 
 and mother, and he knew that the regiment 
 was perfectly ready at that moment to follow 
 him to England if necessary, but that if only
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 219 
 
 the money was distributed the men would turn 
 out with alacrity/' 
 
 With the flames of the burning cantonments 
 casting a lurid light upon the heavens^ the 
 distant sounds of the insurrection in his ears, 
 the British Indian empire trembling in the 
 balance,, was that a time to shirk responsibility ? 
 No, he would be answerable for the money ! 
 So the order was given that the money should 
 be distributed among his " children/^ and within 
 a short hour afterwards the 77th Native (Light) 
 Infantry were drawn up in column of com- 
 panies right in front, and all ready accoutred 
 with forty rounds of service ammunition in 
 pouch, prepared to follow their Colonel to the 
 cannon's mouth. So the Colonel gave the 
 word " quick march/'' and to the inspiriting 
 strains of the band, which played a march to 
 the air of " Go where Glory waits Thee," with 
 variations by Mr. DeSouza, the band-master, 
 the 77th moved in column of companies across 
 the military cantonment, and through the part 
 of the settlement occupied by the civil residents 
 towards the doomed city. On their way they 
 halted for a few minutes while the Colonel 
 detached Ensign Hughes with No. 7 Company 
 to the Commissioner's house to protect the 
 families of the residents. 
 
 On arriving there, Ensign Hughes was joy-
 
 220 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 fully welcomed by the ladies and courteously 
 received by the Judge and the Collector^ who, 
 from the branches of the trees where they had 
 located themselves, directed their servants below 
 to supply the officer with brandy-aud-watei 
 and cheroots. Mr. ByewilwuflFa then desired 
 Ensign Hughes to detach a corporaFs party for 
 the protection of the Collector's cutcherry (an 
 office where the clerks and others had taken 
 refuge, to the number of a hundred and seventy 
 souls, and where there were twenty lacs of 
 treasure), and having mounted his horse and 
 made over the civil charge to the Judge, and 
 leaving Ensign Hughes in military command 
 of the position, rode off to join the column 
 under Colonel Moodle. 
 
 Ensign Hughes directed his men to pile 
 arms, and lighting his cigar, seated himself on 
 the compound wall. 
 
 By this time the moon had risen, and the 
 light afforded by its rays was of great service 
 to the troops in enabling them to weud their 
 way among the gardens and through the lanes 
 that formed the suburbs of the city. The 
 insurgents, the moment they heard that the 
 regiment was on its way, threw aside their 
 drums, and horns and firearms, and ran away 
 for several miles, when they hid themselves in 
 the fields, leaving the city perfectly empty, and
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 221 
 
 Colonel Moodle made good his approach right 
 up to the end of the main street without the 
 least opposition. There he halted and detached 
 No. 5 aud No. 6 companies under Lieutenants 
 Grimstone and Stokes, to advance in skirmish- 
 ing order round the city on both flanks, availing 
 themselves o£ whatever shelter might be afforded 
 by the garden walls, the hedges and the cultiva- 
 tion. These officers were enjoined to proceed 
 with caution, not to fire till they saw the 
 enemy, and to sweep round the city one to the 
 right and the other to the left, till they met at 
 the opposite side, when the Colonel, who was 
 about to charge through the main street, after 
 carrying the position, would effect a junction 
 with them. 
 
 As soon as these movements had been indi- 
 cated, and the two skirmishing companies had 
 started. Colonel Moodle marched the Grenadier 
 or No. 1 company, as it was more properly 
 called, the corps being Light Infantry, up to 
 the entrance of the main street. There, how- 
 ever, a difficulty presented itself. The company 
 was in line, the street would only allow of men 
 four abreast passing through it. So the Colonel 
 halted the company a few moments to consider ; 
 the remaining six companies having been ordered 
 to form up in close column and halt where they 
 were till required.
 
 222 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 Witli a view of effecting the necessary change 
 of position to enable him to form four deep and 
 so sweep the city. Colonel Moodle gave the 
 word "No. 1. On your centre right about 
 wheel /^ The movement was efiPected with as 
 much precision as if the regiment had been on 
 parade instead of in the presence of an enemy, 
 but when completed he found he was no nearer 
 his object than before, the only difference being 
 tliat he had now the company with their backs 
 to the street instead of their faces. The 
 Adjutant, seeing his commander's difficulty, 
 suggested wheeling the company on its centre 
 to the right. So the Colonel gave the word 
 " No. 1, On your centre right wheel ! " This 
 brought them up with their right flank upon 
 the end of the street. " Right four deep ! " said 
 the Colonel triumphantly, and as the men formed 
 in fours facing the street, he gave the word " Fire 
 a volley and prepare to charge. — Charge ! " 
 
 Now some of my readers may think that firing 
 a volley with a whole company in "Fours," would 
 be awkward for those in front. But this would 
 show great ignorance. The Bengal army was 
 quite equal to the crisis, as well as to many 
 others, for on this as on other occasions it fired 
 in the air. 
 
 With a deafening " Jye jye, Mahadeo ! " the 
 company charged up the street, sending the 
 
 I
 
 THE HISTOET OF THE BARRACKS. 223 
 
 Coloners charger with such force against the 
 nearest house^ as to cause the rider to fall 
 against the door of a shop^ which burst open and 
 let the Colonel down gently upon a quantity of 
 parched grain and sweetmeats put out for sale. 
 He speedily recovered himself, however, and, 
 remounting his charger, the floor of the shop 
 being on a level with the saddle, kept up with 
 the rear of his column. 
 
 The two companies who had started in skir- 
 mishing order as directed, obeyed to the letter 
 the instructions given them^ except as to not 
 firing. The Bengal sepoy has a peculiar dispo- 
 sition to discharge his musket when skirmish- 
 ing. In the isolated position he then holds^ being 
 separated from his comrades, he requires a little 
 artificial aid to keep up his pluck, and it is just 
 this aid which is imparted by the report of the 
 musket. So, as was very natural, both the com- 
 panies as they made good their advance, kept 
 firing, and as they fired in the air, and the 
 volley of No. 1 company had also been dis- 
 charged in the same direction, it was not unna- 
 tural that the bullets should descend, and that 
 a good many of them should come in contact 
 with the heads and shoulders of some of the 
 men in all three of the companies that were 
 engaged, one in the centre of the city and the 
 other two outside.
 
 224 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDQEPORE. 
 
 The fact of the balls striking them from above, 
 making wounds^ as the medical officer expressed 
 it in his report, "from above downwards," 
 naturally enough impressed the men with the 
 idea that they were being fired upon from the 
 upper stories and the roofs of the houses in the 
 main street and the suburbs. 
 
 By the time No. I Company had completed 
 its gallant charge, had cleared the city, and 
 emerged into the open ground on the other side, 
 where it halted for orders. Colonel Moodle had 
 reached the front of the column. He found his 
 men halted in " fours,^^ breathless and excited. 
 Firing was going on to the right and left of 
 them, for by this time the two companies on 
 their flank caught sight of the bayonets and 
 musket barrels flashing in the moonbeams, and 
 also became aware by other signs that they were 
 in the neighbourhood of a body of armed men, 
 so they advanced more cautiously but fired 
 more rapidly. Colonel Moodle thus finding 
 himself surrounded and his small party in immi- 
 nent danger of being cut ofi", behaved with 
 great presence of mind. He adopted the same 
 manoeuvre that Brigadier Colin Campbell, after- 
 wards Lord Clyde, did at Chillianwalla, when 
 he swept the Sikh position after the check our 
 arms received upon that famous field. He first 
 of all formed line from "fours,^' and then
 
 THE HISTOEY OP THE BAERACKS. 225 
 
 ordered the rear rank to " right about." He 
 then gave the word " Front and rear ranks fire a 
 volley,, and file firing from right to left ! " The 
 firing was kept up until all the ammunition was 
 expended, and then it ceased. Meantime the 
 two skirmishing companies having expended 
 their ammunition, also ceased firing. 
 
 Colonel Moodle finding now that all opposi- 
 tion had ended, thought it would be useless to 
 attempt to follow up the enemy, because he had 
 not the least idea in which direction they had 
 retreated ; he determined therefore upon return- 
 ing to his lines, the object with which he had 
 been called out having been satisfactorily ac- 
 complished. So he marched his men back 
 again, taking the wounded with him, of whom 
 there were a great many. Several severe con- 
 tusions had occurred from the bullets striking 
 the men in their descent, and, besides that, 
 charging in the formation known as " fours 
 deep " is not one of the movements down in 
 " Torrens," the drill book at the time in vogue, 
 and the 77th Native (Light) Infantry had never 
 practised it. The consequence was that except 
 the four men in the rear rank who were unhurt, 
 there was not a single sepoy in the whole com- 
 pany who was not more or less injured by 
 bayonet thrusts. Some of the wounds were 
 very serious indeed, and a few actually proved 
 I. 15
 
 226 THE CHRONICLES OF BXJDGEPOEB. 
 
 fatal. But I need not enter more into detail 
 upon this part of the subject. 
 
 Upon rejoining the main column, Colonel 
 Moodle sounded the " assembly " and called in 
 the two skirmishing companies, and prepared to 
 march the regiment back to its lines. Another 
 casualty had meantime occurred. 
 
 The Christian drummers, expecting a night 
 of it, had brought out with them a good deal of 
 liquor, and Mr. DeSouza, the band-master, 
 having partaken too freely of it, unfortunately 
 seated himself with considerable violence on the 
 big drum, the parchment gave way, and Mr. 
 DeSouza was precipitated into the drum, into 
 which he fell in a very awkward position, for 
 being a very stout man he was wedged in, his 
 head and feet sticking out in a most helpless 
 state. It was with much difficulty he was ex- 
 tricated, when, having sufficient sense to per- 
 ceive the possible consequence of his intem- 
 perance, he made out that he had been struck 
 on the head by a spent ball. ' 
 
 As soon as all arrangements for conveying the 
 wounded were completed, the regiment marched 
 back to their lines, the band playing, " See, the 
 Conquering Hero comes," with variations. 
 
 Mr. Byewilwuffa, who exposed himself almost 
 recklessly the whole time to fire, riding about 
 here and there with the view of procuring inf or-
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 227 
 
 mation, left the column as they passed through 
 the civil lines and repaired to his house, where 
 he found the inmates had make themselves com- 
 fortable for the night, and had gone to sleep. 
 Ensign Hughes remained at his post, sitting on 
 the compound wall, still smoking cigars. The 
 judge and collector had both fallen asleep ; the 
 one in the neem, the other in the peepul tree ; 
 and the five chuprassees had followed their ex- 
 ample, lying at full length upon the ground at 
 the foot of the trees. The judge's attendants 
 were, however, rudely awakened by that gentle- 
 man in his sleep shifting his position, and so 
 falling down, when he alighted upon the five 
 chuprassees, who made a great deal out of the 
 story afterwards, and spread the report that the 
 " hazoor " had been struck by a spent ball, and 
 might have hurt himself severely in his fall, 
 had not his faithful slaves caught him in their 
 arms. 
 
 The following is a copy of the despatch for- 
 warded by Colonel Moodle, and contains the 
 official, and therefore the correct account of the 
 afi'air; although it will be seen that it differs 
 in no material point from the account I have 
 given, but enters of course less into detail. 
 
 I must explain, that the Budgepore command 
 was at this time a sort of semi-independent 
 command ; that is to say. Colonel Moodle, who 
 
 15 *
 
 228 THE CHRONICLES OF BITDOEPORE. 
 
 commanded the station without having the rank 
 of a brigadier, corresponded direct with the 
 Major-General commanding the division. 
 
 Budgepore, July lOth, 18 — 
 No. 73674. 
 From 
 Lieutenant-Colonel A. M. Moodle, 
 Commanding 77th Native [Light] Infantry. 
 To 
 
 Captain Grampion Norval, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General, 
 
 Nursingpore Division. 
 Sir, 
 
 1. I have the honour to report, for the in- 
 formation of Major-General Cradle, command- 
 ing the Nursingpore division, that a dangerous 
 insurrection having broken out in Budgepore 
 on the 7th instant, Mr. Byewilwuffa, C. S., 
 Commissioner and Governor-General's Agent, 
 sent a requisition to me to proceed to the spot, 
 with the 77th Native (Light) Infantry, under 
 my command, and aid the civil authorities. 
 
 2. Accordingly, I marched from the parade 
 ground about 8 p.m. on the 7th instant, with 
 800 bayonets, 40 rounds per man in pouch, and 
 200 in reserve. 
 
 3. The reserve ammunition did not follow
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 229 
 
 the column^ as directed, in consequence of the 
 absence of the Commissariat Gomashtah in 
 charge of the Government camels, who had gone 
 to a wedding. 
 
 4. I halted the column in the civil station 
 for the purpose of detaching Ensign Hughes 
 with No. 8 Company, 77th Native (Light) In- 
 fantry, to protect the civil residents, the Go- 
 vernment records and treasure. 
 
 5. I have the honour to record here my 
 high sense of the very efficient manner in which 
 Ensign Hughes conducted these operations. 
 Owing to the judicious measures adopted by 
 that officer the lives of the civil residents were 
 protected, the Government records preserved, 
 and two lacs of treasure saved to the State. 
 
 6. After detaching Ensign Hughes upon 
 this duty, I proceeded with the remainder of 
 the 77th Native (Light) Infantry, now reduced 
 to 720 bayonets, to the focus of the insurrection, 
 the city of Budgepore. 
 
 7. Upon the approach of the column, the 
 enemy, who had previously taken up their posi- 
 tion in the open plain near the city, whence they 
 deputed bodies of men to fire and plunder the 
 bungalows of the civil station, retreated, to take 
 up a stronger and much more formidable posi- 
 tion within the city itself. 
 
 8. I would mention here, that throughout
 
 230 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 the whole of the operations that followed, I was 
 accompanied by Mr. Kist ByewilwufFa, C. S., 
 whO; in spite of a heavy fire, was unceasing in 
 his efforts to procure information. 
 
 9. Having reason to believe that the enemy 
 were now determined to oppose us with street- 
 fighting, — the most difficult military operation 
 to conduct effectually with native troops, owing 
 to their high spirit and generally uncontrollable 
 ardour in the field and when under fire, — I 
 detached two companies, Nos. 5 and 6, under 
 Lieutenants Grimstone and Stokes, to proceed 
 on either flank of the city in skirmishing order, 
 taking advantage of such shelter as might be 
 afforded bv the suburbs and the cultivation, 
 with instructions to make good their advance 
 and clear the ground of such bodies of the enemy 
 as might be lurking behind the walls and in 
 buildings, and cultivation round the city. 
 
 10. Having seen this movement in progress, 
 I formed up No. 1 company under my own 
 command ; and after firing a well-directed vol- 
 ley at the roofs and upper storeys of the houses 
 of the main street, charged through the street 
 and swept it completely from end to end. 
 
 11. After clearing the city, I halted on the 
 opposite side in tolerably open ground, where for 
 some time I was exposed to a pretty constant 
 fire from both flanks. In imminent danger of
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 231 
 
 being cut off if I allowed the enemy to gather 
 strength from confidence and approach too close, 
 I faced my rear rank to the rear, which thus 
 became their front, and maintained a steady 
 fire from right to left. 
 
 12. This effectually quelled the enemy. He 
 retreated with such rapidity as to prevent me 
 from following him up, from my inability to 
 discover the direction in which he had retreated. 
 
 13. In spite of the rapidity of his retreat, 
 the rebels carried away with them the whole of 
 their killed and wounded, which, to judge from 
 the nature of the fire that we kept up, must 
 have been very numerous. 
 
 14. Upon finding that the operations de- 
 tailed above had completely succeeded in their 
 object, I, with the concurrence of Mr. Kist 
 Byewilwuffa, moved off the ground, which a 
 single company of the 77th Native (Light) 
 Infantry had so gallantly won and bravely held 
 against overwhelming odds, and rejoined the 
 main column, which, I forgot to remark, I had 
 left drawn up in quarter-distance column, under 
 command of Captain Chashma, about two hun- 
 dred yards from the entrance to the city. 
 
 15. I was here in due time rejoined by 
 Lieutenants Grimstone and Stokes, with the 
 men under their command. A report from 
 these officers, detailing the operations con-
 
 232 THE CHRONICLES OF BtJDGEPORB. 
 
 ducted SO efficiently and successfully by them, 
 accompanies this letter. 
 
 16. It is not to be expected that military 
 operations requiring the dislodgment of an 
 enemy well provided with arms and ammuni- 
 tion, from a post so strong as the walls and 
 houses of a native city, could be conducted 
 without some casualties. And I regret to add 
 that ray loss was severe. In No. 1 Company I 
 had seventy-six men wounded ; twenty-six 
 severely, three or foui* I fear mortally, and the 
 rest slightly. The precision of the fire, and 
 the effective nature of the charge, is shown by 
 the fact, that the only four men in this detach- 
 ment who escaped altogether were the four men 
 in the rear. 
 
 17. Many of the wounds are severe bayonet 
 thrusts, the others mostly contusions from spent 
 balls. 
 
 18. The enemy had no artillery. 
 
 19. In Nos. 5. and 6 Companies, that were 
 engaged in operations on the two flanks of the 
 city, there were no casualties beyond a few 
 severe contusions from spent balls. 
 
 20. It is now my pleasing duty to bring to 
 the notice of the Major- General those indi- 
 vidual members of the force whose behaviour 
 on the occasion was such as to call forth my 
 warmest encomiums, and to suggest the hope
 
 THE HISTORT OF THE BAREACKS. 233 
 
 that the Major-General will be good enough to 
 bring their names to the favourable notice of 
 His Excellency the Comraander-in-Chief and 
 the Government of India. 
 
 21. My second in command. Captain 
 Chashma, ably held the position entrusted to 
 him with the main column. He was well sup- 
 ported by Lieutenant Higginbottom, and 
 Ensign Scattersmalls, of whose conduct he 
 speaks most favourably. 
 
 22. The eminent services performed so 
 efficiently by Ensign Hughes, whose gallantry 
 and coolness is only equalled by the modesty 
 with which he disclaims all merit for his ser- 
 vicesj I have already touched upon. 
 
 23. Lieutenants Grimstone and Stokes de- 
 serve my warmest commendation, for the dis- 
 tinguished manner in which they carried out the 
 difficult and arduous duties entrusted to them. 
 TheMajor-Generaljbeinganofficerof much expe- 
 rience, knows too well for me to enlarge upon it, 
 the difficulty of dislodging an enemy strongly 
 posted in the suburbs of a native city. 
 
 24. Ensign Peajacket, who led No. 1 Com- 
 pany, under my immediate orders, behaved 
 most gallantly. The manner in which, sword 
 in hand, he headed the detachment through the 
 street of Budgepore, exposed to a heavy galling 
 fire, cannot be too highly spoken of.
 
 234f THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 25. Subadars Pandy Tewary, Tewary Pandy, 
 Chowbey Pandy, Pandy Chowbey, Tewary 
 Pandy Chowbey, Chowbey Pandy Tewary, 
 Ajoodia Tewary, Hunnooraaa Chuckemup 
 Doorbijie Ilunamak, and Seetal Lickemup, 
 behaved in a soldier-like and most exemplary 
 manner. Cool under fire, they e^^.uced that 
 presence of mind which in a body of native 
 officers is the sure prelude to success. 
 
 26. Jemadars (here follow the names of ten 
 jemadars, which I need not transcribe), were 
 equally as worthy of commendation as their 
 immediate superiors. 
 
 27. It would be impossible for me by any 
 words I could use, to do adequate justice to the 
 gallant and steady conduct of havildars — (native 
 sergeants] (here follow the names of forty ha- 
 vildars) . 
 
 28. Equally praiseworthy was the behaviour 
 of the following non-commissioned officers (here 
 follow the names of all the naiks or native cor- 
 porals in the regiment) . 
 
 24. Quartermaster- Sergeant Grimes made 
 the most efficient arrangements for the recep- 
 tion of the ammunition camels, which, how- 
 ever, did not arrive. 
 
 30. To Sergeant-Major Russell I am deeply 
 indebted, for the efficient manner in which, at 
 the head of the convalescents, he remained in
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARBACKS. 235 
 
 his bungalow, and held out the position at the 
 same time that he protected the lines, the 
 quarter-guard, the rear-guard, the bells of arms, 
 and the hospital. 
 
 31. For these services I trust 1 may be 
 excused, if I venture to suggest that Sergeant- 
 Maior Russell might not be unaptly rewarded 
 with a commission. 
 
 32. Of the medical arrangements, it is im- 
 possible for me to speak too highly. Assistant- 
 Surgeon Pickemup was at his post the whole 
 time, having taken up an excellent position 
 under cover of a wall, where he was ready to 
 attend to the wounded and relieve their suffer- 
 ings. As it was a sultry night, the Assistant- 
 Surgeon had had the forethought to come pro- 
 vided with a stock of iced water, which, with 
 the spirits he also had in readiness, was of the 
 utmost service in relieving the thirst of the 
 wounded men. 
 
 33. The dooly bearers behaved in a manner 
 that is quite beyond all praise. As there are 
 only two and a-half allowed by regulation to 
 each dooly, and only one dooly (as we had not 
 time, so sudden was the emergency that called 
 us into the field, to get our service comple- 
 ment), considerable difficulty was experienced 
 in making the necessary arrangements, which, 
 nevertheless, the Assistant-Surgeon did succeed
 
 236 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDQEPOEE, 
 
 in making most effectually, for the accomoda- 
 tion of all the wounded. 
 
 34. It may not perhaps be out of place, and 
 I trust I shall not be considered overstepping 
 the limits of my duty, if I bring to the notice 
 of the Major-General, for subsequent reference 
 to Government, should the Major-General con- 
 sider ray suggestious worthy of such reference, 
 that the allowance by regulation of two and a- 
 half men to each dooly is occasionally productive 
 of some inconvenience, especially when a regi- 
 ment is called upon suddenly, as on the present 
 occasion, to take the field. 
 
 35. I have the honour to annex official re- 
 turns of killed and wounded, and to be. 
 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Augustus Maximilian Moodle, 
 Commanding 77th Native [Light] Infantry. 
 
 Return of killed and wounded in the 77th 
 Native (Light) Infantry, in the military opera- 
 tions at Budgepore : — 
 
 Killed 
 
 ( Mortally 4 
 
 Wounded \ Severely 26 
 
 (slightly 56 
 
 Miscellaneous : — Band-master DeSouza 
 knocked into the middle of the his drum.
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 237 
 
 Enclosure. 
 From No. 1. 
 
 Lieutenant Grimstone, 
 
 Commanding No. 5 Company, 
 77th Native [Light) Infantry. 
 To 
 
 Lieutenant Sticklebat, 
 
 Adjutant 77th N. L. I., 
 Sir, Budgepore, July 10, 18 — 
 
 I have the honour to report that in pur- 
 suance of verbal instructions from Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Moodle, commanding the regiment, on 
 the night of the 7th July, No. 5 Company under 
 ray command advanced in skirmishing order to 
 the right of the city of Budgepore, with orders 
 to sweep the right flank of the city and clear 
 the suburbs. 
 
 The diflEicult nature of the ground, consisting 
 of brick walls, gardens, garden houses and occa- 
 sional cultivation, rendered it necessary to pro- 
 ceed with the utmost caution. The enemy had 
 a very strong position, and so effectually were 
 they concealed under cover of the walls and the 
 cultivation, that during the whole of the opera- 
 tions they effectually succeeded in screening 
 themselves from view. The admirable beha- 
 viour, however, of the men of No. 5 Company 
 under my command enables me to report a most 
 successful accomplishment of the object intended
 
 238 THE CHRONICLES OF BITDQEPOEB. 
 
 to be effected by our advance. Making good 
 our ground inch by inch we proceeded without 
 a single check from the spot where we left the 
 main column right round the right flank of 
 the city in skirmishing order, firing as we 
 advanced, till we reached the extremity of the 
 city walls. Here, for some time, a very sharp 
 fire was maintained. 
 
 The enemy retreated so rapidly as to render 
 hopeless any attempt to overtake them. They 
 also succeeded in carrying away with them the 
 whole of their killed and wounded, which, judg- 
 ing from the rapidity and precision of the fire 
 kept up, must have been very great. 
 
 I have the honour to bring to the notice of 
 the officer commanding, the names of the fol- 
 lowing non-commissioned officers and men of 
 No. 5 Company, who especially distinguished 
 themselves upon this occasion. (Here follow 
 the names of the havildars, naiks, and all the 
 men of No. 5 Company.) 
 
 I have the honour to annex an official return 
 of the casualties in the company under my 
 command. 
 
 And to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 Sulphur Grimstone, Lieut., 
 Commanding No. 5 Company, 77th N. L. I. 
 
 i
 
 THE HISTOET OF THE BARRACKS. 239 
 
 Return of killed and wounded in No. 5 Com- 
 pany at the battle of Budgepore on tlie night of 
 the 7th July, 18— 
 
 Killed 
 
 {Mortally 
 
 Severely 
 
 Slightly 
 
 Total 10 
 
 Lieutenant Stoke's despatch was the same as 
 Lieutenant Grimstone^'s, mutatis mutandis, ex- 
 cept that his return of casualties was a good 
 deal more serious than that of No. 5 Com- 
 pany. 
 
 The results of this affair as concerns the 
 officers and the regiment engaged were as 
 follows : — 
 
 Lieutenant- Colonel Moodle was made a C.B., 
 Captain Chashma obtained his brevet majority. 
 All the native officers received the order of the 
 Star of India — I mean the Order of British 
 India, and the 77th Native (Light) Infantry 
 were allowed to carry the name " Budgepore " 
 upon their colours, and were to be known hence- 
 forward by the distinctive appellation of the 
 " Governor-GeneraFs Own." While Sergeant- 
 Major Russell was rewarded with an ensign's 
 commission.
 
 240 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 Now it so happened that the report of Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa representing everything at Budge- 
 pore as couleur de rose was accidentally delayed 
 in transit. It consequently reached the Court 
 of Directors at the same time as the subsequent 
 report detailing the military operations. You 
 might, perhaps, run away with the notion that 
 the Court of Directors would not be very well 
 pleased at receiving on one and the same day 
 two reports varying so materially as did the two 
 official documents from Mr. Byewilwuflfa. But 
 the fact is the discrepancy proved the stepping- 
 stone to Mr. Byewilwuffa's attainment of the 
 Lieutenant-Governorship. For, argued the 
 Directors, this officer has shown a marvellous 
 degree of penetration, and a prudence which 
 cannot be too highly commended, in that he has 
 forwarded the official reports in so convenient a 
 form, a form which enabled the Honourable 
 Court to suppress altogether one set of de- 
 spatches and to lay the other before the pro- 
 prietors, the public, and the House of Commons. 
 "Whether the second report containing the ac- 
 count of the military operations, should be 
 published or not, depended upon whether the 
 morning papers next day contained any allusion 
 to them. The Times, however, was silent. 
 The fact is that an account of the battle of 
 Budgepore had been sent to it and to the
 
 THE HISTOET OF THE BARRACKS. 241 
 
 Daily News, but nothing having been previously 
 known of the existence of any causes likely to 
 eventuate in military operations, the Times 
 thought it a hoax, and before publishing anything 
 determined to make enquiries at the India 
 House. The reply to these enquiries was that 
 no account of any military operations had 
 been received with the last Indian Mail. So 
 the Times was silent, and the Daily News, which 
 waited to see what the Times said, was silent 
 too. 
 
 Mr. Byewilwuffa had thus, as it appeared, 
 helped the Court out of a dilemma, and saved 
 it from the disagreeable duty of announcing 
 unpleasant news. Which conduct recommended 
 itself so strongly to them that in their next 
 despatch to India they directed that Mr. Bye- 
 wilwuflFa should be nominated to the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governorship of the province on the 
 first vacancy. 
 
 This was one result. The other result was 
 the order to quarter for the future a European 
 regiment at Budgepore, and so barracks were 
 ordered and estimates called for. 
 
 I. 16
 
 242 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPOEB. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE COMMITTEE PROCEED TO SELECT A SITE 
 FOR BARRACKS. 
 
 I HAVE related in a previous chapter the cir- 
 cumstances that led to the location of a Euro- 
 pean regiment at Budgepore; that is to say, 
 to the order for barracks to be erected. And 
 as the first step, how estimates and plans were 
 called for. 
 
 The reader, perhaps, may ask how it was 
 that the preliminary step was taken so long 
 before the design was carried out; for at 
 least two years elapsed from the date of the oc- 
 currence related in the last chapter, to the 
 period when the committee assembled to select 
 a site for the barracks. 
 
 The fact is, the estimate had to go before the
 
 THE HISTOEY OP THE BARRACKS. 243 
 
 Military Board, and the Board being at that 
 time occupied in a very important investigation, 
 the estimates were laid aside till the more press- 
 ing business was completed. 
 
 It was the practice in those days, as I dare 
 say many of my readers will recollect, for every 
 regiment in the Company^s army to send in 
 twice a year, on the 1st May and the 1st No- 
 vember, what was called a half-yearly return. 
 This was a return of all the arms, accoutrements, 
 ammunition, camp equipage, &c., attached to 
 the regiment. There were eight columns in 
 this return : three showing the articles with 
 the regiment up to date of last half-yearly 
 return, " serviceable, " repairable,^^ and " un- 
 serviceable.^^ Then there were two columns, 
 " received and expended " during the past 
 half year; and three more columns, show- 
 ing what were then in store, " serviceable,^' 
 " unserviceable," and " repaii-able." These 
 returns were very carefully examined by the 
 Assistant Secretary to the Military Board, who 
 drew his pay and staff salary of about seven 
 hundred a month besides. They were then ex- 
 amined by seven baboos, who in regular grada- 
 tion as 1st assistant, 2nd assistant, and so on, 
 aided the Assistant Secretary in his duties. If 
 any discrepancy in the figures was observed, it 
 was pointed out to the Assistant Secretary, who 
 
 16 •
 
 244 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDQEPOEE. 
 
 brought it to the notice of the Deputy Secre- 
 tary, who reported it to the Secretary, who 
 laid it before the Board. 
 
 Now it chanced that the half-yearly return 
 sent in from the 77th Regiment Native Light 
 Infantry, the very same corps that so distin- 
 guished itself at the battle of Budgepore, as 
 has been reported above in these Chronicles, two 
 years before, had a discrepancy. Under the 
 head, " Scabbard bayonet Musket,''^ present 
 at tlie termination of the half-year preceding, 
 there were 1356. None were down as received 
 or expended during the year ; and in the column 
 of articles in store at the date of the return 
 there appeared 1355. There was, therefore, 
 one missing ! 
 
 The matter was reported to the officer com- 
 manding the 77th N. L. I., who referred it to 
 the Interpreter and Quarter Master, Lieutenant 
 Jenkins ; who replied that, in taking over charge 
 from his predecessor, he had signed a receipt, 
 certainly, for 1356 bayonet scabbards, but in 
 taking stock he had found there were actually 
 only 1355; so he had entered the exact num- 
 ber. As he was to blame for the slight inac- 
 curacy, he was quite ready to reimburse the 
 Government the value of the article lost. A 
 new bayonet scabbard was priced eight annas, 
 or one shilling ; as this was an old and unser-
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 245 
 
 viceable one^ its probable value was about three 
 annaSj or fourpence-halfpenny . 
 
 This method of settling the matter, however, 
 did not at all satisfy the Military Board ; and 
 after an enormous deal of official correspondence 
 the whole case was sent up to the Commander- 
 in-Chief. Sir Amethyst Jones at that time held 
 the appointment. Sir Amethyst Jones consulted 
 Lady Jones, Lady Jones consulted the Adjutant 
 General, and the Adjutant General consulted 
 the Judge Advocate General; and again the 
 case was returned to the Military Board. 
 
 In the meantime one of the seven baboos in 
 the Secretary's office had discovered, in looking 
 over some musty old records, that the number 
 of bayonet scabbards, 1356, was the number 
 which was inserted in the half-yearly return of 
 the regiment on the 1st November, 1806, and 
 that on the 1st May, 1806, the number was 
 1355. The discovery was duly laid before the 
 Board, who directed the whole of the returns to 
 be examined between that date and tlie present 
 year. This involved a great deal of trouble, 
 because many of the records were mislaid, and 
 many missing ; and the records in the offices of 
 the Assistant and Deputy Quarter-Masters 
 General all over the country had to be searched 
 and ransacked. It was owing to this that the 
 estimates and plans of the Budgepore barracks
 
 246 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 became forgotten ; indeed, they were overlooked 
 altogether. 
 
 I Avill now, in afew words, relate how it came to 
 pass that the estimates and plans were recovered 
 from the oblivion into which they had fallen. 
 
 You will recollect that I stated at the com- 
 mencement of this Chronicle, that it was in 
 the time of Mr. Kist Byewilwuffa that the bar- 
 racks were built ; that is, when this eminent 
 official was Lieutenant Governor. You will 
 also recollect that it was when he was Com- 
 missioner of Badgepore, some years before, that 
 the insurrection took place, which was followed 
 by the battle of Budgepore, and that again was 
 followed by the determination of Government, 
 upon Mr. Byewilwuffa^s report, to quarter a 
 European corps at the station. 
 
 The overland mail one day brought the Hon. 
 Kist Byewilwuffa a letter, which caused him at 
 least five minutes'* thought. It was from an 
 old friend of his family, Lady Cecilia Toddleton, 
 and ran thus : — 
 
 My dear Mr. Byewilwuffa, 
 
 My nephew, James Stuart, has been now 
 five years in India. He is in the Engineers. 
 In what part of India he may be, I have not 
 the least idea, but I am told he went to Bengal 
 some five years ago : and as he has not been back
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 247 
 
 since, I presume he is there now. Ellen tells 
 me he has not got on at all, having no one out 
 there to give him a helping hand. If you can 
 do anything for him, please do. 
 
 I do not know enough about military affairs 
 in India to suggest any particular line in which 
 his interests may best be served. But if you 
 could make the poor boy a general or a colonel, 
 or something of that sort, I dare say it would 
 be as much as he could look for. 
 
 Clara and Adelaide were over here in the 
 spring ; they have promised to come and see 
 me at Christmas, and I hope Joe will spend 
 part of his Christmas holidays at the hall. 
 Believe me, yours sincerely, 
 
 Cecilia. 
 
 Clara and Adelaide were Mrs. Byewilwufla^s 
 two elder daughters. Lady Toddleton had a 
 very pretty house and estate in Sussex, and 
 a comfortable income of about ten thousand a 
 year. Mr. Byewilwuffa, therefore, was very 
 glad to keep on good and friendly terms with 
 the kind old lady, who in their younger days, so 
 it was said, had been a sort of flame of his. It 
 was no small advantage to his girls to have the 
 entree of Lady Toddleton^s house, where they 
 not only enjoyed their visits very much, but 
 met all the best county families.
 
 248 THE CHRONICLES OF BtJDaEPORE. 
 
 I must here, at the risk of digressing un- 
 warrantably, pause for an instant, to relate how 
 it came to pass that Mr. Byewilwuffa had a son 
 Avitli such a plebeian name as Joe. I might as 
 well relate the little incident here, otherwise I 
 may forget it altogether. For, not only was 
 Mr. Byewilwuft'a^s son named Joe, but Joe was 
 his eldest son, and this is how he came to be 
 called by that name. 
 
 Being on very intimate terms with Mr. Bye- 
 wilwuffa, I was asked to stand proxy godfather 
 when the infant Joe, the son and heir of the 
 house of Byewilwuffa, was christened. The 
 name was duly given to me beforehand, and it 
 was to be Hastings Clive Prinsep. What could 
 have made me forget myself I cannot tell. But 
 my head was running on all sorts of nonsense 
 during the time the service was being read, 
 which was exceedingly wrong, I know; but 
 sometimes you have not that power over your 
 thoughts which you ought to exercise. And to 
 tell the real, honest truth, I was in my mind 
 quizzing my good friend Byewilwuffa a little, 
 and thinking that such a complete, thorough- 
 bred official as he was, ought to give his children 
 appropriate Christian names. So_, when the 
 chaplain turned his head toward me, and said 
 abruptly, " Name this child,'' I inadvertently 
 replied, " Jo hukm ■" ; a formula, meaning '•' As
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 249 
 
 you order/' in the mouth of every native when- 
 ever he receives anything in the shape of 
 instructions from his European superior. Upon 
 my saying this, Short, that was the chaplain's 
 name, went on with the service " Jo hukm," 
 &c., and Mr. Byewilwuffa's son and heir be- 
 came " Jo Hukm ByewilwufFa." 
 
 Now you will, I know, say at once that such 
 a thing was totally impossible, because Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa would have himself perceived the 
 mistake in time to stop the chaplain. But, if 
 you had ever heard Short read the service, you 
 would not say so. Short was his name, and 
 short his nature. He was as thorough-bred an 
 Indian chaplain as Mr. Byewilwuffa was in his 
 way an official. I do not mean so much in 
 respect of his social qualities, as his profes- 
 sional habits and capabilities. Socially speaking, 
 he was a valuable member of society. He had 
 a good seat on horseback; looked after the 
 Budgepore pack, about which I may have 
 something to say one of these days, was a 
 capital hand at billiards and whist. If you 
 might judge of the importance he attached to 
 his clerical duties by the amount of time he 
 spent over them, you might say he hardly gave 
 them their due weight. He made a bet once 
 in my hearing, that he would get through the 
 morning service, sermon and all, in seventeen
 
 250 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDOEPOEB. 
 
 minutes and a half, and the bet having been 
 taken, he set the clerk to time him. I need 
 hardly say he won. You required to " look 
 alive/^ as they say, on going to church, when 
 Short performed the service. He was a little 
 man, and very rapid in his motions. He had 
 a method of locomotion more like hopping than 
 anything else. He hopped up the aisle into 
 the reading desk, gabbled away the preliminary 
 exhortation, down on his knees, up again, jumped 
 through the psalms, shot through the lessons, 
 down on his knees again, away through the 
 prayers with most irreverent haste, up again, 
 out of the reading desk, up into the pulpit, 
 down again and back to the vestry, so that you 
 really felt as if you could not draw a breath 
 from the time you entered the church till you 
 left it. So the fact was, that Short having got 
 the name from me, rattled through the re- 
 mainder of the service, and was at the end of 
 it before Mr. Byewilwuffa, whose presence of 
 mind totally deserted him, had time to realize 
 the mistake, or the necessity of correcting it. 
 Then, when all was over, with a reproachful 
 look at me, he followed Short into the vestry. 
 Not an instant scarcely, as it seemed to us, had 
 elapsed, since Short had completed the service 
 and retired, and we had rejoined him in the 
 vestry ; yet, in that short space of time, he had
 
 THE HISTOEY OF THE BARRACKS. 251 
 
 half divested himself of his surplice, and -was 
 lighting a cheroot^ the clerk holding a lighted 
 coal in a small tongs, the church-bearer standing 
 behind with Mr. Short^s cheroot box. ISIr. 
 ByewilwuflFa remonstrated, but in vain. He 
 insisted that the intended Christian name of his 
 son should be inserted in the register, but Mr. 
 Short wouldn^t hear of it. And the aggrieved 
 father was forced to content himself with the 
 reflection that the initials J. H. would look like 
 Joseph Henry ; and for the rest, if his son went 
 through life by the name of " Joe,^-* it would 
 always be supposed that it was the usual abbre- 
 viation for Joseph. 
 
 But to return. The Lieutenant-Governor 
 had Lady Cecilia^s letter in his hand, and was 
 still cogitating upon the contents, when Mr. 
 Khas Mouza, the Secretary, came in with some 
 papers for signature. After they were signed, 
 Mr. Byewilwuff'a asked his Secretary if there 
 was any vacancy in the Public Works Depart- 
 ment in any situation which might be appropri- 
 ately filled by an Engineer officer of about five 
 years' standing. Mr, Khas Mouza couldn't 
 recollect, but intimated that if His Honour 
 wanted to oblige any of his friends, it would 
 not be difficult to recommend the institution of 
 some public work. It was very desirable, he 
 thought, that another canal should be under-
 
 252 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 taken, from the Ram Jumna into the Budge- 
 pore district. I say " another/' because one 
 had already been executed; but as in its con- 
 struction it seemed to have been designed for 
 taking water up hill, it had not succeeded so 
 well as might have been expected. Mr, Bye- 
 wilwufFa thought the Supreme Government 
 would hardly sanction another canal, at any 
 rate till the bed of the old one had got filled up 
 somehow. Mr. Khas Mouza then suggested 
 a branch from the Grand Trunk Road, Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa enquired where the branch was to 
 run to, but Mr. Khas Mouza thought that was 
 a secondary consideration altogether, and that 
 it might be led round the neighbouring villages 
 over an area of a few thousand square miles, so 
 as to develop the resources of the district. Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa, however, said he was not prepared 
 to recommend that, as no progress having as yet 
 been made with the Grand Trunk Road at all 
 in the province, it might look premature to 
 commence upon the branches, Mr. Khas 
 Mouza then suggested the erection of a masonry 
 pier and landing-place at Gurmuckteser, with 
 wharves and steps for men to go down to the 
 water, and a covered way for women ; for, as 
 the Secretary suggested, it was very desirable 
 to prevent indiscriminate bathing by both sexes 
 at one spot. After some discussion, Mr. Bye-
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 253 
 
 wilwufFa rejected this proposition^ on account of 
 the large outlay that would be required. Mr. 
 Khas Mouza then suggested a new church at 
 Budgepore. To this also the Lieutenant- 
 Governor had some objection^ " but/^ said he, 
 " this allusion to Budgepore reminds me that 
 some years ago barracks for a European regi- 
 ment at Budgepore were sanctioned and esti- 
 mates called for; what became of those esti- 
 mates, Mouza, and why were the works never 
 commenced ? " 
 
 Mr. Khas Mouza said he didn^t know, but 
 would see if there was any record in the office 
 that would give the required information. 
 
 The result of this conversation was, that after 
 about three months^ correspondence the esti- 
 mates were disentombed from some crowded 
 shelf where the records of the Military Board 
 were kept, and in due time the necessary 
 orders were issued for the construction of 
 the barracks. Lieutenant James Stuart being 
 appointed by Government to supervise the 
 works. 
 
 Stuart^s senior officers gnashed their teeth at 
 so good an appointment being thrown away upon 
 so young a man, but they did not wonder at it, 
 for his connection with Lady Cecilia Toddleton 
 was well known in the regiment. 
 
 The next step was the selection of a site for
 
 254 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDaEPOEE. 
 
 the barracks. And for this a committee was 
 appointed, — the members of which were the 
 Superintending Surgeon of the Budgepore divi- 
 sion Dr. Tincture, the Brigadier, whose name 
 was Haversack, and the senior Engineer officer 
 on the spot, Major Wrangler of the Engineers, 
 the Commissioner of Budgepore being requested 
 to attend. The committee was exceedingly well 
 selected for the purpose. None of the members, 
 except Major Wrangler, had ever had anything 
 more to do with European troops than just 
 seeing them on parade or in barracks. Briga- 
 dier Haversack had been thirty-eight years 
 with a native regiment, and only recently pro- 
 moted, and there were no European troops at 
 all under his command. Dr. Tincture was a 
 little aged. He had been an able man in his 
 time, and had written two or three works to 
 prove that malaria was generated by vegetation. 
 This was his favourite theory, and one that he 
 carried out in practice as far as he could. He 
 had all the trees, shrubs, flowers and plants of 
 every kind rooted up from his garden, and the 
 grass and weeds that made their appearance 
 occasionally on the surface, regularly scraped 
 away directly they showed their faces above 
 ground. During the rainy season I have seen 
 as many as thirty men at a time in his com- 
 pound, all engaged in waging war with nature
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 255 
 
 and repressing its rather energetic efforts to 
 clothe the ground with verdure. 
 
 If he had been allowed he would^ of course, 
 have carried out this principle in the canton- 
 ment also, but this was put a stop to by the 
 Brigadier, who had a contrary opinion, and 
 thought the growth of trees and vegetation 
 most beneficial. Of late years Dr. Tincture 
 had become rather crotchety. He was getting 
 old, and ought to have been invalided or pen- 
 sioned. One of his quaint conceptions that 
 every now and then seized upon his mind was, 
 that he was a heap of grain. And when under 
 the influence of this peculiar delusion, it was 
 sometimes painful, at the same time ludicrous, 
 to witness the state of alarm into which he 
 was thrown if a horse, or a cow, sheep or goat 
 approached him. 
 
 Major Wrangler had a most hearty con- 
 tempt, as you may suppose, for his coadjutors. 
 He was a thoroughly scientific man, devoted to 
 his profession, in the prime of youth and vigour, 
 and looked with some disdain, as I am sorry to 
 say young men sometimes are prone to do, 
 upon the infirmities of old age and those labour- 
 ing under them. Conjoined .with this disdain 
 for age, was a somewhat similar feeling for every 
 one who did not belong to the Engineers. The 
 feeling was, you will allow, very foolish in both
 
 256 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 cases, because in the first it is folly for us to 
 despise that which most likely will one day be 
 ours, and which, if it is not, we shall wish most 
 heartily it might be. We must either grow 
 old, or die before we grow old. And in the 
 latter case we should certainly prefer the other 
 alternative. To despise old age, therefore, is 
 foolish, if no harsher term can be applied to it. 
 I speak feelingly on this point, being an old 
 man myself, and having occasion sometimes to 
 think that if the present generation of young 
 men were a little more mindful of the principle 
 *' seniores priores,^^ than they are, it might be 
 better. But let that pass. I will not moralise, 
 my business is to tell stories. 
 
 As to the other of Major Wrangler's notions, 
 his contempt for men who did not belong to the 
 Engineers, this was equally silly, for what would 
 become of the world if everybody was an Engi- 
 neer? Why, it would be scooped inside out, 
 and there would be no place left to live in. 
 
 The first morning the committee met they 
 resolved, nemine contradicente, that the best 
 plan would be for each member to make an 
 expedition by himself, riding or driving or walk- 
 ing, just as he might fancy, and take a look at 
 the ground. They might then meet and com- 
 pare notes, and any particular spot that ap- 
 peared eligible to any two of them, might then
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 257 
 
 be visited by the committee collectively. So 
 they all set out, Major Wrangler going across 
 country on horseback, Brigadier Haversack in 
 a buggy and Dr. Tincture in a palanquin. 
 
 Two of the members of the committee were, 
 however, destined to meet without appointment. 
 For as Major Wrangler was returning home 
 after scouring the country in all directions 
 for about fifteen miles, he espied what at a 
 distance looked like a buggy hood standing 
 upon the ground. On reaching the spot he 
 found it was, indeed, a buggy that had sunk in 
 soft earth up to the axles and a little over, the 
 horse, of course, being proportionately enve- 
 loped also, that is to say, being stuck fast up to 
 his hips. 
 
 As Major Wrangler rode up, the groom, who 
 was standing up inside the buggy, leaning 
 against the splashboard, made signs to him 
 to beware of something and to advance cau- 
 tiously. So he called out, " What's the 
 matter ? " 
 
 "Who's that?'^ said Brigadier Haversack, 
 thrusting his head out through the opening in 
 the hood behind. " Oh, is that you. Wrangler ? 
 Ride back to cantonments, that's a good fellow, 
 as hard as you can, and get some assistance. 
 Desire Cameltrunk to send out an elephant 
 and ropes with the least possible delay. I have 
 1. 17
 
 258 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDQEPOEE. 
 
 got stuck fast here. And I'm afraid the buggy 
 is momentarily sinking further." 
 
 " But how on earth did you get there, Briga- 
 dier ? There is no road here/' 
 
 " Road ! of course there's no road. If we 
 confine ourselves to beaten tracks, how shall 
 we ever do our duty properly ? I came here in 
 accordance with our resolution to look for a site 
 for the barracks. I thought this plot of ground 
 would do admirably, and was driving across it, 
 when all of a sudden I got into this slough of 
 despond ; and here I am, you see. Make haste, 
 there's a good fellow ; send the elephant." 
 
 *' And was this the place you selected for a 
 site for barracks ? " 
 
 But Major Wrangler did not wait for a reply. 
 He had recognised the spot and understood the 
 state of affairs, and felt really anxious to get 
 assistance as speedily as possible. 
 
 The Brigadiei*'s position was a great deal more 
 awkward than he himself believed. 
 
 The plot of ground he had approved was a 
 spot which had been selected a year or two 
 before by a committee of civilians for a grand 
 " sanitatary " experiment. Mr. Byewilwufifa 
 had directed three of the commissioners of dis- 
 tricts to meet together and consult as to the 
 best method of disposing of the filth and refuse 
 of jails and large cities ; and they had unani-
 
 THE HISTOET OF THE BARRACKS. 259 
 
 mously resolved to try the plan of digging an 
 enormous pit in the ground_, some miles outside 
 the city of Budgepore, as an experiment^ and 
 there depositing the matter which it was deemed 
 desirable to get rid of. The pit, after being- 
 filled, had been covered over with a layer of 
 earth ; and it was thus, in this eligible site for 
 barracks, that the Brigadier had met with this 
 mishap. 
 
 The circumference of the pit was about sixty 
 yards, and its depth twenty feet. The treach- 
 erous soil had borne the superincumbent weight 
 of the buggy for a yard or two, and then had 
 given way all round. The horse floundered 
 dreadfully ; the Brigadier whipped him on, and 
 he managed to extricate himself and the buggy 
 by struggling on to a portion of the soil which 
 happened to be a little firmer than the rest. 
 And there they were upon an island, as it were, 
 in the centre of a bog or slough, which, however, 
 gave uncomfortable premonitory symptoms of 
 breaking up ; and already the horse's legs and 
 half the wheels had become imbedded. 
 
 Major Wrangler thought he perceived symp- 
 toms of the earth altogether giving way; in 
 which case nothing could have saved the Briga- 
 dier, the syce and the horse, from destruction. 
 
 Such a fate was too horrible to contemplate; 
 
 so, although his contempt for the Brigadier was 
 
 37 *
 
 260 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOBB. 
 
 80 great that he really thought it would be no 
 loss to the world if he were totally submerged, 
 yet better feelings overcame him ; and, setting 
 spurs to his horse, he never drew rein till 
 he reached Captain Cameltrunk^s door. 
 
 Captain Cameltrunk was, you recollect, the 
 Executive Commissariat officer of Budgepore ; 
 and when Major Wrangler arrived he was in 
 the bath, — a large swimming bath in the com- 
 pound in which Captain Cameltrunk and his 
 friends disported themselves in the morning and 
 evening during the warm weather. It was a 
 good-sized bath, being fifty feet long and 
 twenty-five wide, and seven feet deep. It was 
 kept filled from a well close by, the water 
 being drawn up by Government, otherwise 
 called commissariat, bullocks, which, by the 
 regular exercise thus afforded them, were kept 
 in good health. When Major Wrangler mounted 
 the steps and entered the bath room, he had 
 some difficulty in distinguishing his friend 
 Cameltrunk from among forty other individuals, 
 all in the same costume exactly, that is to say, — 
 well, all in their bathing costume, which was very 
 simple and unpretending, and remarkably uni- 
 form. Of the forty individuals in the water, 
 at least twenty were poised upon mussucks, or 
 inflated sheep-skins, in which water is carried 
 in the east, and which, when filled with air and
 
 THE HISTOET OF THE BARRACKS. 261 
 
 put in on all fours upon tlie water^ float upon 
 the surface, so that bathers can sit astride upon 
 them and paddle themselves about as if they 
 were riding on horseback. 
 
 This is a very favourite amusement with 
 Anglo-Indians ; and various are the sports, feats 
 of skill in horsemanship, if I may use the word, 
 to which the use of this innocent method of re- 
 creation gives rise. Wrangler, after a while, 
 discovered Cameltrunk ; but it was no wonder 
 he had a little difficulty in finding him out amid 
 such a crowd, for he was floating on his back, 
 with a lighted cigar in his mouth, his legs ex- 
 tended at right angles, straight up in the air, 
 and balancing on the up-turned soles of his 
 feet a " mussuck,'" or inflated sheep-skin, with 
 a little native boy seated on the top. This 
 peculiar attitude he had assumed by reason of a 
 wager laid with a brother officer, that he would 
 maintain that position a certain time. At 
 Wrangler's call, however, and on hearing that 
 some business of importance required his im- 
 mediate attention, he surrendered the mussuck 
 and the little boy to his neighbour, who took 
 them upon his back, and swam to the side of 
 the bath. 
 
 " What is it, old fellow ? " 
 
 " The Brigadier is in a deuce of a mess; I 
 don't know how the devil to get him out of it.
 
 262 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 I want you to let rae have an elephant and 
 some ropes, directly/' 
 
 He then proceeded to describe the position 
 in which he had left the Brigadier. Camel- 
 trunk, meantime, had scrambled up the side of 
 the bath, and was drying himself with a towel, 
 making that peculiar noise, half hissing, half 
 whistling, that all ostlers do when they are 
 cleaning horses, and some other men when they 
 are cleaning themselves. Cameltrunk was rapid 
 in his movements, and by the time Wrangler 
 had finished his story was already half dressed. 
 
 " I'd send the elephant with pleasure," said 
 he ; '^ but I don^t see how it's to be done. Who's 
 to sign the indent ? " 
 
 " Sign the indent; why you don't mean to 
 say, that when the Brigadier is in danger of 
 losing his life by a fate too horrible to think 
 of, you stickle about an indent ! " 
 
 " I can't help it. Wrangler. I'm very sorry 
 for the Brigadier, but I couldn't let the elephant 
 go without having the indent signed, and it 
 must be signed by the officer commanding the 
 station." 
 
 " Can't the second in command sign it ? 
 Colonel Sungeen, won't his signature do ? " 
 
 " Why, man, you know as well as I do, that 
 it won't do," said Cameltrunk, irritated by his 
 friend's ignorance of standing orders — " of
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 263 
 
 course it won^t do; Brigadier Haversack com- 
 mauds the station.'^ 
 
 "He won^t command it much longer. Well, 
 look here, you order the elephant down sharp 
 and a coil of ropes. I'll get the indent drawn 
 out meanwhile, and we'll make the Brigadier 
 sign it before he is pulled out. Will that do ? " 
 
 '^Well, I suppose, under the circumstances, 
 I should be justified in reading the regulations 
 so as to admit of that arrangement ; but we 
 cannot supply our ropes, you must get them 
 from the barrack-master's yard." 
 
 " Oh, all right, that will be very easily done,'' 
 said Wrangler, intimating that in the Engineer's 
 department there were no fetters put upon the 
 discharge of obvious duties by a punctilious 
 adherence to silly regulations. 
 
 So leaving Cameltrunk, who by this time 
 was dressed, and was already surrounded by a 
 crowd of nude inquirants asking while they 
 dried themselves what the deuce was up. 
 Wrangler hastened off to the Brigade- Major's 
 office to tell the baboo to make out an emer- 
 gent indent in duplicate for an elephant '^ on 
 command" — thus it was expressed by the 
 rules of the service — and then rode down to the 
 barrack-master's yard, which was in his own 
 department, but not presided over immediately 
 by him, but by an officer junior to him.
 
 264 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 Here he found Sergeant Stack, the Barrack 
 Master Sergeant, a good trustworthy non-com- 
 missioned officer, who had been in the depart- 
 ment for eleven years, and had sole charge of 
 everything. His pay was 120 rupees or ^612 
 a month, and he was so thrifty that he had 
 saved enough to build himself one of the best 
 houses in the place, where he lived in state and 
 style quite equal to that of the Brigadier him- 
 self. 
 
 Here he got a coil of good strong rope which 
 had been sent from England for the church 
 bells. This was sent up to his house. As soon 
 as the necessary arrangements were complete, 
 he got into his buggy, and taking with him the 
 ropes and a couple of very long bamboos, drove 
 to Cameltrunk's house to pick up that officer 
 who also got into the buggy with the indent, a 
 portable inkstand and a pen, and the two drove 
 off together ; the elephant had preceded them, 
 having been sent ofiP at once with orders to the 
 mahout or driver to make all possible speed 
 to the place where the Brigadier was imbedded. 
 
 When they got there, what was Wrangler^s 
 horror to see no trace any longer of the Briga- 
 dier's buggy and horse, or of the syce, or the 
 Brigadier himself ! 
 
 " Good heavens ! " he exclaimed, " how 
 shocking ; we are too late ! "
 
 THE HISTORY OP THE BAEEACKS. 265 
 
 " Who on earth will sign the indent ! " was 
 Cameltrunk's remark. 
 
 But Wrangler did not hear it. He had leapt 
 out of the buggy, and beckoning to a labourer, 
 whom he recollected having seen near the spot 
 before, to come up, he advanced to the edge of 
 the morass or pit and began sounding with one 
 of the long bamboo poles. His object, of 
 course, was to find out where the buggy had 
 sunk, so as to get out the vehicle and recover 
 the bodies of the unfortunate Brigadier and his 
 servant. But without avail. He toiled and 
 toiled till the perspiration (for the sun was 
 fiercely hot) streamed down his face, but no trace 
 of the lost ones could be discovered. 
 
 It may be as well to state here in a few words 
 what had befallen the Brigadier. 
 
 About three minutes after Major Wrangler 
 had ridden away, a zemindar of the neighbour- 
 hood, who was called Raja Tukht Sing, came 
 by, with one or two followers, on an elephant. 
 Seeing the buggy imbedded in the morass, he 
 immediately called to the labourer who was in 
 a field close by, and told him to go to the next 
 village and get a rope. The rope was brought, 
 and after about half an hour's labour the buggy 
 and its occupants were extricated, and the 
 horse, none the worse for the mishap, except 
 being a good deal bespattered and bedaubed
 
 266 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 with mud, &c. The Brigadier tendered his 
 hearty thanks for the timely aid thus afforded 
 him, and drove home. 
 
 Major Wrangler, at last, being worn out and 
 in despair, sat himself down, and, turning to the 
 labourer (Cameltrunk having remained in 
 the buggy all the while an inactive spectator of 
 the scene), asked him to point out the exact 
 spot to which their researches should be directed. 
 The man indicated the place, which was pre- 
 cisely where Major Wrangler supposed it to be. 
 He then put the question, — 
 
 " When did the buggy sink ? " 
 
 " It did not sink,^"* replied the man ; " it is 
 gone away/^ 
 
 " Gone ! " said Wrangler, leaping to his feet. 
 " Gone ! and why didn't you tell me before ? " 
 
 Whereupon he took to cuffing the labourer 
 most unmercifully about his head and ears. 
 After giving vent to his feelings in this manner, 
 he rejoined Cameltrunk and told him it was all 
 right, the Brigadier had gone home. 
 
 Cameltrunk looked hard at his friend — 
 hard and anxiously. He was afraid he was 
 suffering from aberration of intellect. He had 
 come to him in a most excited state that morn- 
 ing, and told him a most improbable story, 
 which was utterly uncorroborated by circum- 
 stances : he had asked him to " issue " an
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 267 
 
 elephant without an indent, and had ended by 
 beating a labourer who had been patiently ren- 
 dering him all the assistance in his power. 
 
 " Hadn^t you better let me drive home ? " 
 said Cameltrunkj taking the reins as Wrangler 
 got into the buggy. Wrangler seated himself 
 in silence, and allowed his companion to drive 
 him back to cantonments. 
 
 Meantime, for it was now mid-day, the la- 
 bourer also went home. His dwelling was a 
 hut, built of mud, and about twelve feet square, 
 plastered inside with mud mixed with cowdung, 
 and containing for furniture an old clumsy cot 
 and an earthern pot for water. His wife was 
 squatting on the ground near a few embers pre- 
 paring the homely dinner, which consisted of 
 a few cakes made of meal ; these she was patting 
 in her hands over the fire. Two small children, 
 perfectly naked, and covered with flies, lay on 
 their stomachs on the floor beside her. That 
 was the labourer's domestic circle, and the de- 
 scription of his home will pass for a description 
 of the home of many tens of millions of the 
 peasantry of India, who, as is well known, are 
 so exceedingly well off under British rule. The 
 head of the family and master of the house, sat 
 down on the ground in the doorway, and his 
 wife put a pipe into his hands in silence. He 
 took a whiff or two, and then his conversational
 
 268 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 powers being developed^ he told his wife all 
 that had happened that morning, and ended 
 by asking her " And, now, why did the sahib 
 beat me ? " 
 
 He had been revolving that question in his 
 mind ever since. 
 
 " The sahibs always beat every one," said the 
 wife, still patting the cakes, — first on one hand, 
 then on the other. 
 
 '' You speak like an ignorant woman," said 
 the man. " It is not so. I say, why did the 
 sahib beat me ? " 
 
 " If I am an ignorant woman, why do you 
 ask me," said the wife, oflFended. 
 
 The labourer, who was a philosopher in his 
 way, saw the force of that remark, and was 
 silent. At last he said, muttering to himself, 
 " One sahib gets into the slough. Raja Tukht 
 Sing comes by and sends me to get ropes. I 
 get ropes, and the sahib is taken out. Then 
 the other sahib comes and looks for the first 
 sahib, and when he does not find him he beats 
 me; he is angry because I helped to get the 
 first sahib out." 
 
 That was the only conclusion the laboiirer 
 could arrive at. He was a philosopher, you 
 see ; and being aware that effects must have a 
 cause, he endeavoured, in his simple and un- 
 tutored mind, to trace the connection.
 
 THB HISTORY OP THE BARRACKS. 269 
 
 Meantime Cameltrunk and Wrangler drove 
 back in silence, being lost in thought. Camel- 
 trunk, however, was the first to break the 
 silence ; and, as he got down, he said : 
 
 " Deuced unlucky ; who is to sign the in- 
 dent?" 
 
 You see he was a philosopher as well as the 
 labourer : which was the greater philosopher 
 of the two, I leave you to judge. 
 
 So Wrangler drove on to the Brigadier's, 
 where he found him at breakfast, and had the 
 pleasure of congratulating him on his escape.
 
 270 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDOEPOEB. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 INTRODUCES THE READER TO A NATIVE 
 OFFICIAL. 
 
 The mishap which befel one of the members of 
 the committee appointed to select a site for the 
 barracks at Budgepore_, as related in the last 
 chapter, did not in any wise damp the ardour of 
 the other members of the committee, or prevent 
 them from doing their duty. There were, in 
 fact, only two sites in the neighbourhood at all 
 suited for the purpose. One was a plateau of 
 high ground, well drained, and well raised above 
 the level of the surrounding country, to the north 
 of the city. The other was a piece of waste 
 land, that is, common land, to the south of the 
 city, which was of a much lower elevation, and 
 consequently during the rainy season very much 
 in the condition of a marsh.
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 271 
 
 Dr. Tincture and Major Wrangler preferred 
 the northern site : the latter, on account of its 
 elevation and drainage ; the former, because it 
 was a bare waste with only one tree upon it. 
 The other members of the committee preferred 
 the lower site, on account of the vegetation, 
 but being outvoted, the committee was directed 
 formally to assemble at the spot selected by 
 Dr. Tincture and Major Wrangler; and Mr. 
 Wasilbakee, the Commissioner, was requested 
 to attend. 
 
 I have said there was only one tree on the 
 spot. That tree was a large peepul, that threw 
 its ample and refreshing shade over a hut, and 
 a petty shrine, the one inhabited, and the other 
 tended by a Hindoo fakir of great repute in 
 the neighbourhood for sanctity. The hut was 
 a small shanty, with mud walls and a roof of 
 thatch. The shrine consisted of a small heap 
 of stones, built up in the shape something of a 
 Jewish altar, upon which stood the sacred 
 symbol of the most debased feature of worship 
 in the degenerate Pooranic religion of the 
 Hindoos, called the "lingam." 
 
 The whole was surrounded by an enclosure, a 
 thorny hedge about two feet high. The tree 
 grew in the centre, and at the foot of it was a 
 deep well of masonry, down which if you looked 
 you might see at a little distance the roots of
 
 272 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORB. 
 
 the peepul, every now and then appearing from 
 between the stones that lined the sides of the 
 well ; many of them had been loosened ; some 
 had been displaced altogether, and had fallen 
 down. The water was sweet, and the fakir 
 drove rather a thriving trade by selling the 
 water; a brass lotah full at a time, to travellers 
 and wayfarers, who stopped to rest under the 
 grateful shade of the spreading boughs of the 
 old peepul during the heat of the day. But 
 besides this source of income, the old fakir was 
 constantly resorted to by the city people and 
 others of both sexes, who made him their con- 
 fidant, and entrusted to his safe keeping many 
 family secrets which were told in confidence, 
 under the seal of confession, as it were, by 
 those who wished to consult him on some afi'air 
 of importance. 
 
 Women particularly resorted to him for 
 advice, when suffering from the curse of bar- 
 renness, and many a childless parent had be- 
 come the possessor of a full quiver, from, it is 
 said, the prayers of the old fakir, and the 
 blessings that followed upon a devout adoration 
 of the small piece of stone that formed the 
 object of attraction to so many devotees. 
 
 It so happened, that on the morning when 
 the committee went to inspect the proposed 
 site for the barracks, Shekh Futtoo had mounted
 
 THE HISTOKT OF THE BAEEACKS. 273 
 
 his cob and ambled down to the hut to consult 
 the fakir. A wonderful cob was that. Its 
 body was white, it had red eyes and a pink tail, 
 and its legs below the knees were gi-een. The 
 English reader may feel inclined to be sceptical, 
 and to scout the idea of a horse having a coat 
 of as many different colours as the skin of a 
 chameleon. I can only say that as India is a 
 country of marvels, so have I often seen horses 
 of all colours, white, red, blue, green, and pink 
 and yellow. It is not at all uncommon. How 
 they become so is another matter altogether, 
 the investigation of which belongs to a natural 
 philosopher or a physiologist, not to me. 
 
 Nor need the reader quarrel with me because 
 I have related that a Mahomedan gentleman 
 went to consult a Hindoo fakir, for so renowned 
 for sanctity was this fakir, that Mahomedans 
 very frequently resorted to him for advice, al- 
 though of course they held in rigliteous abomi- 
 nation the idolatrous symbol that had such 
 charms for the Hindoos. 
 
 Shekh Futtoo was in great trouble. Trou- 
 bles will befal the most prosperous ; and, al- 
 though the Shekh's cup of prosperity was very 
 well filled, and had been so for many years, yet 
 of late he had been heavy at heart, and felt 
 as if evil fate had already marked him out as a 
 victim for her malignity. And the Shekh's 
 J. 18
 
 274 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 cause of trouble was this, that for the first time 
 in twenty years he had failed to twist round 
 his fingers the master whom he had throughout 
 that time nominally served, but in reality ruled. 
 Was he about to shake himself free from the 
 trammels? Was he about to break the web 
 that had been wound so skilfully round and 
 round him that he could move neither hand nor 
 foot ? Forbid it, fate ! For the Shekh well 
 knew that the day he fell from his post would 
 be an evil day for him. Twenty years he had 
 grown fat and wealthy upon corruption and 
 bribery. For twenty years he had kept the 
 avenues to his employer's ears and eyes. For 
 Mr. Wasilbakee, the Commissioner of Budge- 
 pore, had been twenty years in India. As a 
 writer in Writers' Buildings, he had engaged the 
 Shekh as a moonshi. When he became an 
 assistant, he had put him in the ofiice, in a sub- 
 ordinate position at first, but soon managed to 
 get him promoted. As a joint magistrate and 
 a collector, he had employed him as his facto- 
 tum in different capacities, and finally as Com- 
 missioner of Budgepore, he found the Shekh 
 as useful, intelligent, honest and faithful a ser- 
 vant of Government, as serishtadar, as he had 
 ever been in the other capacities in which he 
 had served. When he became commissioner, 
 he brought the eminent services of his depen-
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 275 
 
 dant to the notice of Government, and begged 
 that he might be rewarded with a title, and the 
 Governor- General had consented^ and at a dur- 
 bar held at Agra in 185 — , the Hon'ble Mr. 
 Byewilwuffa conferred on the fortunate reci- 
 pient the honorary title of Sirdar Bahadoor. 
 
 When luck first threw the Shekh in the path 
 of Mr. Wasilbakee, he was a poor man, an 
 adventurer, seeking his fortune in the Presi- 
 dency. He was now a wealthy man. I don't 
 suppose he could have counted up all his 
 wealth had he tried. He had purchased land 
 and villages in almost all the districts of the 
 province. He had two lacs of rupees in Go- 
 vernment paper. He had horses and carriages, 
 and well-built houses in Agra, Delhi, Meerut, 
 and half the great cities in those provinces. 
 All his family were well provided for, one of 
 his sons was a " talookdar," another was a 
 serishtadar in the Sudder Court, and his brother 
 was the confidential moonshi of Mr. Khas 
 Mouza, the Secretary to Government. But 
 the Shekh had not been unmindful of the 
 claims of more distant relatives. His uncles 
 and nephews, his cousins, were all in Govern- 
 ment employ, in one capacity or another, and 
 I need hardly add that he was held in much 
 esteem by the natives. You need not suppose 
 for a moment that Mr. Wasilbakee had any 
 
 18 *
 
 7 6 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBB. 
 
 idea that his friend and confidant was so 
 wealthy and influential as he was. Had he 
 known it, seeing that when he entered his 
 employ he was a poor man, glad to take service 
 for twenty rupees a month, he might have pon- 
 dered over the strange metamorphosis, and his 
 reflections might have led to some inquiry as 
 to how the man amassed such enormous wealth. 
 But Mr. Wasilbakee had no more idea that 
 Shekh Futtoo Sirdar Bahadoor, was a wealthy 
 man, than you had before I told you. Men of 
 Mr. Wasilbakee's mental calibre seldom do 
 know anything at all, except what it suits their 
 factotums to let them know, and what comes 
 to them through " the usual channel." Had 
 they known more about the people, we might 
 have been saved some trouble and expense in 
 1857. 
 
 Now that I have told you of this, you will 
 understand why Shekh Futtoo was so much 
 disturbed and alarmed at the otherwise appa- 
 rently unimportant fact, that for the first time 
 for twenty years Mr. Wasilbakee had proved 
 unmanageable. Divers ways of management 
 had Shekh Futtoo ; divers were the arts he 
 employed to gain his ends. You must not sup- 
 pose that he ever officiously volunteered his 
 advice when unasked, that he ever presumed 
 to differ outright with his employer, much less
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 277 
 
 that he ever ventured to disobey him. No, 
 the Shekh was far too clever to go to work in 
 any such clumsy method_, nor did he ever inter- 
 fere in any matter beyond his province. But 
 enough matter was there within his legitimate 
 province to occupy his attention, and prove a 
 source of ample revenue. If opportunity was 
 slow in coming, he waited, and it always came. 
 A word, a gentle hint, that he was aware of the 
 secret springs of action in such and such a case, 
 that he could give explanation if asked for, 
 that he had sources of information which he 
 could develop, and he was sure to be applied to. 
 Not once during the twenty years did Mr. 
 Wasilbakee ever for a moment dream that the 
 Shekh was anything but the pink of honesty. 
 To him, he was a faithful servant, an honest, 
 upright, zealous, indefatigable assistant, and I do 
 not exaggerate in the least when I say that Mr. 
 Wasilbakee would rather have taken the Shekh''s 
 opinion upon any matter of law, revenue, and 
 executive duties than that of any other living 
 person. He came at last to consult him on 
 every occasion, to refer to him on every point, 
 to discuss with him every matter that came 
 before him in his official duties. Most uncon- 
 sciously, he always followed his advice. Once, 
 only, during all that time had he differed from 
 him, and that was what caused the Shekh so
 
 278 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBB. 
 
 much uneasiness, that he determined to consult 
 the Hindoo fakir. 
 
 But the reader ignorant of India will be at 
 a loss to understand why the mere fact of Mr. 
 Wasilbakee for once proving unmanageable in 
 the hands of the Shekh Futtoo, upon a matter 
 of such trifling importance that I have not 
 thought it necessary to break the thread of my 
 story to relate it here, why should that have 
 given the good man so much anxiety ? It was 
 because the Shekh knew what would happen if 
 he fell into disfavour. If it was once mooted 
 abroad that Shekh Futtoo had been frowned 
 upon by the " great sahib/' there was the 
 greatest probability that some one out of the 
 many thousands of those upon whom he had 
 been forced to trample in his career to greatness 
 might raise his head from the dust, and tell the 
 story of his wrongs. While in favour with Mr. 
 Wasilbakee, the brittle fabric of his fair fame 
 and good fortune untouched, no one dare to 
 throw the first stone. There was hardly a 
 central jail in the whole province that did not 
 contain five or six wretched victims of the 
 Shekh^s scheming, men whom it was necessary 
 for him to destroy, to crush, in order to secuie 
 some prize that he coveted, men who had paid 
 him handsomely in former days for some ser- 
 vice he promised to render, suitors probably
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAREACKS. 279 
 
 in some case before his employer^ whose cause 
 he promised to win for them. The bribe had 
 been paid, and either because the opposite party 
 had bribed higher^ or the cause was not to be 
 won, the disappointed suitor deprived of what 
 he thought his right, and robbed of the money 
 he had paid in bribery, had in an evil moment 
 threatened, unless the money was returned, to 
 disclose the fact to the " sahib." In an instant 
 the Shekh resolved on action. The next day 
 the discontented client would be in the hands of 
 the police, charged with some criminal offence, 
 tortured till he confessed, and then consigned 
 to jail, from which the head jailor had been well 
 feed never to let him pass out alive. 
 
 There was not a record in the revenue office 
 of Budgepore that had not been tampered with, 
 provided that it was of such a nature that any 
 tampering with it could benefit any one who 
 was willing to pay handsomely for that benefit. 
 All this was not accomplished without much 
 risk. Jailors, police, witnesses, chuprassies, all 
 recipients of bribes, were so many trains laid to 
 which the match might at any moment be ap- 
 plied. Two, at least, of the native subordinates 
 of the Commissioner's court were cognizant of 
 the fact of the records of the office being tam- 
 pered with. Widows whose husbands, orphans 
 whose parents had been put to death by the
 
 280 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 slow torture of "jail discipline " for the sake of 
 removing a witness, or silencing a complainant, 
 might at any time have poured the tale of woe, 
 oppression and crime into the ear of some Euro- 
 • pean official who would have seen justice done. 
 So you would suppose, reader, if you had never 
 lived in India, never taken the pains to look 
 below the surface, where corruption, and infamy 
 and crime lurk benerth the fair exterior pre- 
 sented to your view. But in reality the truth 
 was this. Not one of these people, who might 
 have revealed the true state of things, dare 
 utter a word, for to breathe a word against the 
 Shekh was almost certain death to the man 
 bold enough to utter it ; and not only death, 
 but death in its most revolting form, and dis- 
 grace and ruin to his family. 
 
 So have you seen the monarch of the Bengal 
 jungle, the lordly tiger, walking proudly in his 
 domain. At his approach the herd of jackals 
 skulk away into the depths of the forest, and 
 hide themselves lest the eye of the tyrant should 
 flash upon them and mark them out for his 
 prey. No one of that countless host of meaner 
 beasts that haunt the wide domains which the 
 bounteous hand of nature has granted to them 
 all in common, dare even to show its face in the 
 tiger^s path. But, one day, the rifle of the 
 hunter wounds the lordly beast. He retires to 
 
 i
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAREACKS. 281 
 
 liis fastness to die, to die alone in his majesty, 
 that his craven-hearted subjects shall not see 
 him whom they feared, at whose approach they 
 trembled, lying humbled, weak and powerless. 
 His limbs almost refuse to carry him, but he 
 has reached his lair, and there, weak and ex- 
 hausted, he lays him down to die alone. But, 
 hark ! the scent of the hungry jackal has 
 found him out, the shrill, prolonged yell 
 echoes through the jungle and calls together 
 the skulking confederates by tens and twenties. 
 Then first one, and then the other approach the 
 majestic form of the wounded monarch of the 
 forest. Unable to resist, he sees the creatures 
 gather round him whom his very look would ere 
 while have scared, and he is torn to pieces while 
 his mangled limbs quiver with vitality in the 
 very jaws of the devourers. Shekh Futtoo 
 Sirdar Bahadoor, well knew that his word was 
 law. But he knew that if once only the mean- 
 est part of the glittering fabric he had built up 
 for himself was to be assailed, the birds would 
 gather from the four winds of heaven to feast 
 on his living carcass. So he was careworn and 
 anxious, and went to consult the fakir. 
 
 He knew all this without reading History, 
 but if he had read it, he would have learnt 
 some lessons which would have taught him that 
 his fears were not unfounded.
 
 282 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORB. 
 
 While the committee were discussing the 
 advantages of the proposed site, the Shekh was 
 consulting his adviser. The coloured cob was 
 tied up to the trunk of the peepul tree, and 
 neither of the European officers on the ground 
 observed it. But the astute Mussulman ob- 
 served them, and having of course heard of the 
 project of erecting European barracks at Budge- 
 pore, he at once guessed what the officers were 
 about, and communicated the result of his ob- 
 servations to his companion. The latter natu- 
 rally was not very well pleased at the idea of 
 barracks for European soldiers being erected so 
 near his abode, and he foresaw the not very 
 improbable result of the removal of his hut and 
 his shrine, to make way for swine and beef eating 
 unbelievers in the sanctity of the lingam. This 
 removal must be prevented. He and the Shekh 
 easily understood one another, and when the 
 latter mounted his many-coloured cob to ride 
 home, he had engaged to use his influence to 
 prevent the removal, with the promise of a hand- 
 some present if he succeeded, and armed at the 
 same tine with one or two potent charms in 
 the shape of iron and brass lockets, enclosing 
 " muntras " or charms, and unintelligible hiero- 
 glyphics, which he was directed to wear as an 
 armlet, and which he was assured would have 
 the effect of restoring the confidence of the
 
 THE HISTOEY OF THE BARRACKS. 283 
 
 " sahib/^ and preventing any ill effect from ac- 
 cruing from the blow already given to bis 
 influence. 
 
 Tbe committee decided upon the site, the 
 Brigadier having yielded an unwilling consent ; 
 it only remained for the Commissioner to en- 
 quire if the land was available, and if there was 
 any objection to its being taken up for the 
 purpose. That enquiry he promised to make, 
 immediately upon going to office. With Mr. 
 Wasilbakee "enquiry" meant consulting his 
 serishtadar. 
 
 What came of that enquiry will best be 
 learnt from the following letter : — 
 
 No. 733. 
 From 
 
 The Commissioner of 
 
 Budgepore. 
 To 
 
 Brigadier Haversack, 
 President of Special Committee, Budgepore. 
 
 February 18, 185 — . 
 Sir, — With reference to the site selected by 
 the Special Committee, of which you are Presi- 
 dent, for the erection of barracks, I have the 
 honour to inform you that there are very grave 
 objections to the ground being taken for the 
 purpose specified. I have received a memorial
 
 284 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 sisrned by upwards of a thousand of the most 
 respectable and influential natives resident at 
 Budgepore, praying that the spot in question 
 may not be given up to Government for the 
 erection of barracks, as it is the site of a shrine 
 of great sanctity held in much veneration by 
 the people. The erection of the barracks there 
 would be incompatible with the maintenance of 
 the shrine in its present site, and the removal 
 of the latter would cause a great deal of dis- 
 satisfaction among the natives, and I shall feel 
 it my duty to remonstrate strongly against it. 
 
 The other site to the south of the city, equally 
 eligible for the required purpose, will be much 
 more easily available, and I should recommend 
 the Committee to settle upon that as the site 
 for the proposed barracks. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 JUMMA WaSILBAKEE, 
 
 Commissioner. 
 
 There was some more correspondence on the ^ 
 subject, all of which went up to the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, who endorsed Mr. Wasil- 
 bakee's views. The Governor- General, without^ 
 reading the papers, endorsed Mr. Byewilwuffa's 
 views, and the barracks were ordered to bej
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 285 
 
 erected on the south side of the city, much to 
 the satisfaction of the Brigadier, who told every- 
 body how he had disagreed with the other 
 members of the Committee, how the corres- 
 pondence had gone up to the Governor- General, 
 who had acted upon his, Brigadier Haversack^s, 
 opinion and recommendation. 
 
 Tenders for contracts for bricks and building 
 materials were then called for, and the 15th of 
 May was the day fixed upon which the sealed 
 tenders were to be opened. The advertisement 
 calling for these tenders was published in the 
 Mofussilite, which none of the people likely to 
 contract, that is to say the rich natives of 
 Budgepore, ever saw. But the matter got 
 mooted abroad, and five men offered. I have 
 their names before me, but I shall be better 
 understood if I call them contractor No 1, 
 contractor No. 2, and so on up to No. 5. 
 
 Contractor No. 5 offered to furnish the bricks 
 at three rupees a thousand. No 4 at three rupees 
 four annas. No. 3 at three rupees twelve annas. 
 No. 2 at four rupees, and No. 1 at five rupees. 
 Of these, Nos. 2, 3, and 4 failed to furnish the 
 required security. No. 1 was a rich man, a 
 nephew of Shekh Futtoo, who very easily per- 
 suaded No. 5 to withdraw, promising to give 
 him the sub- contract for the whole at thirtv- 
 five per cent, more than the rate he had
 
 286 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 tendered for. The agreement between them 
 was drawn out and signed. No. 5 withdrew^ 
 No 1 was accepted^ and his tender went on to 
 the Superintending Engineer for confirmation. 
 
 On the evening of the same day that the 
 contract was accepted by Lieutenant Stuart, 
 Doolchund, his head writer, received from Con- 
 tractor No. 1 four bags containing two thou- 
 sand five hundred rupees each, for which he 
 gave the following receipt : — 
 
 " Received on account of Captain James Stu- 
 art from Noor Khan, contractor, ten thousand 
 
 rupees. 
 
 (Signed) Doolchund, 
 Head Writer, 
 
 Engineer's Office. 
 
 " Who has been with you all this time ; din- 
 ner is quite cold," said Mrs. Stuart to her hus- 
 band, as he came in to dinner on the evening 
 the tender was disposed of. 
 
 "Doolchund has been with me about these 
 contracts. I am sorry I have kept you waiting. 
 An excellent man that Doolchund is; I am 
 very fortunate to get him just as I was setting 
 up my new office here." 
 
 " Who recommended him ? " 
 
 "Old Shekh Futtoo, Sirdar Bahadoor, the 
 Commissioner's Serishtadar, brought him to 
 me."
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 287 
 
 " I don^t like the look of the man/^ said his 
 wife. 
 
 After which they sat down to dinner and dis- 
 cussed other topics. 
 
 END OF VOL. I.
 
 LOK DOK : 
 P;!I.VTl:li [iT \v. H. ALISN AMD CO., 13 WATIBLCO PliCE.
 
 THE 
 
 CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE DANGER OF INTERFERING WITH NATIVE 
 CUSTOMS. 
 
 About a week after this, as Stuart was returning 
 very early from a morning ride in the country, 
 he had occasion to pass a small police chowkee 
 or station. As he rode by, his attention was 
 attracted by the sound of low, continuous moan- 
 ing, varied by an occasional half- suppressed 
 shriek or cry, uttered in a shrill voice, but ap- 
 parently stopped either by the effort of a strong 
 will or violence. As the gate was shut, and 
 there was no one visible outside, Stuart, think- 
 ing that perhaps there might be some one very 
 ill inside, and wanting assistance, dismounted, 
 and tying his horse up to a neighbouring tree, 
 went to the gate, and by a sharp and vigorous 
 II. 1
 
 Z THE CHRONICLES OF BXJDaEPOEB. 
 
 effort pushed it open and entered. He found 
 himself in a small, square courtyard, surrounded 
 with low, mud-built walls, and a row of huts on 
 the further side against the opposite wall. In 
 one corner of the courtyard two wooden posts 
 had been erected on the ground, with a cross- 
 beam on the top, connecting them like a gallows. 
 Upon this cross-beam was suspended the body 
 of a man, hanging by his two thumbs, which 
 were tied tightly by thin cords to the beam 
 in such a position that while his body, hanging 
 with all its weight from the thumbs, was 
 stretched to the utmost, the points of the toes 
 were just the least bit above the ground. The 
 man was stark naked, with the exception of a 
 cloth round his loins. The expression of agony 
 in his features was most painful to witness ; and 
 the low moaning sound which had attracted 
 Stuart^s attention proceeded from him. Unable 
 to support in silence the intolerable torture oc- 
 casioned by suspension, for a length of time, of 
 the whole weight of the body hanging by the 
 two thumbs (in reality a species of crucifixion), 
 the poor wretch every now and then uttered a 
 shriek, which was, however, speedily suppressed 
 by a threatening gestui'e from one of two men 
 who stood by him, and who, as Stuart afterwards 
 learnt, had prevented their victim from allowing 
 himself a louder vent to his feelings, by giving 
 
 I
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 3 
 
 his body a push every time he commenced utter- 
 ing the piercing cry. The swinging motion thus 
 imparted to the man^s frame aggravated his 
 sufferings so intensely, that even in the ex- 
 tremity of his anguish he had presence of mind 
 enough to suppress the shriek and confine his 
 expression of suffering to a low moan. When 
 Stuart entered and advanced towards the 
 group, the two men who were standing by the 
 instrument of torture glanced at one another, 
 and then turned angrily upon the intruder. 
 Stuart was not likely to be influenced much by 
 any gesture of impatience on their part, and at 
 once ordered them, with the voice of authority, 
 to release the man, and demanded by whose 
 orders they were committing this atrocious out- 
 rage, and who they were. Seeing them rather 
 disinclined to acknowledge his right to order 
 the man's release, he took his penknife from 
 his pocket, and standing upon a low stool he 
 found close by, he speedily cut the string that 
 was fastened round the man's thumbs, and re- 
 leased him. Exhausted by the suffering he had 
 endured, he was unable to stand, and fell sense • 
 less at the young officer's feet. 
 
 Again Stuart turned angrily upon the two 
 men, and demanded who they were, and by 
 whose authority they had been inflicting those 
 tortures. By this time they had had leisure 
 
 1 *
 
 4 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 for reflection. Detected flagrante delicto, it 
 was useless to take refuge iu a denial. Their 
 only course was to confess the truth. And so 
 one of them, to whom Stuart had principally 
 addressed himself, as he appeared to be the 
 senior of the two in age as well as rank, replied, 
 that he was jemadar of the police, and that the 
 prisoner was in custody on a charge of rape and 
 murder, and he had been subjected to the usual 
 process to induce him to confess, according to 
 the custom of the law in like cases, and in 
 this especial instance by the express order of 
 Shekh Futtoo. 
 
 After obtaining this information from theje- 
 madar of police, Stuart turned his attention to 
 the prisoner, and calling for cold water, which 
 the other policeman rather officiously brought, 
 endeavoured to restore him to animation. After 
 a time he succeeded so far that the man was 
 just barely able to speak, and Stuart, leaning 
 over him, asked him who he was, and what he 
 had done. The man replied, his name was 
 Beharee; that he had unfortunately incurred 
 the enmity of Shekh Futtoo, because he had 
 sent in a contract for the bricks, which contract 
 had not been taken ; but he had subsequently 
 taken a sub-contract from the man whose tender 
 had been accepted. This person was a relative 
 of Shekh Futtoo, and he had offended both him
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 5 
 
 and his powerful relative by threatening, if he 
 was not paid certain moneys then due to him, 
 to send an urzee or letter to the '' sahib/^ in- 
 forming him that he had been one of the 
 original tenderers for the contract, but had 
 found it remunerative enough to take the sub- 
 contract, under the man whose contract had 
 been accepted ; thus showing that, in taking 
 this contract, Government were paying fifty 
 per cent, more than they ought to have paid. 
 Two days after this threat had been made, 
 Beharee had been arrested by the police and 
 taken before the magistrate on a charge of rape 
 and murder. The magistrate had ordered him 
 to be retained in custody of the police, pending 
 further investigation ; .and the result Stuart had 
 witnessed. 
 
 ''This,''' thought Stuart, as he rode home 
 after giving the poor wretch what encourage- 
 ment he could, bidding him be of good cheer, 
 and if any further violence were offered him, 
 he, Stuart, would take signal vengeance on his 
 persecutors, " this is the way which we English 
 take to enlist the affections and sympathies of 
 the people of India. Here is an accidental 
 revelation made, one instance of the diabolical 
 practices pursued over the whole country 
 brought to light, by the exceptional circum- 
 stance of my happening to be riding this mom-
 
 6 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 ing past the police station. How infamous is 
 the system that allows of such practices as 
 these ! How tremendous the guilt incurred 
 by those European officers who tacitly permit 
 the enactment of such atrocities. At any rate 
 there will be an exposure now. I will go to 
 the magistrate directly I get home and tell him 
 all. And, by Jove, if he does not get the per- 
 petrators of it properly punished, I^U report it 
 to Government, and, better still, send it to the 
 papers,^' 
 
 So ruminated Stuart on his way home. 
 Wliat came of the report and the exposure will 
 appear in the sequel. 
 
 " I have had a very extraordinary communi- 
 cation from Stuart this morning,'^ said Mr. 
 Dakhil Duftar, to Mr. Wasilbakee, as he sat 
 down in the room where the latter was enjoying 
 his after-breakfast cheroot, on the same morn- 
 ing that the occurrence took place. " I have 
 come over straight to tell you about it, as I 
 don't see very clearly what to do. He says as 
 he was I'iding home this morning, and passing by 
 the Palampore station, he heard groans inside ; 
 he went in and found a man in the last extremity 
 of torture tied up by the thumbs, he cut him 
 down, and the man fainted immediately. There 
 were two of the police there, a jemadar and a 
 man whose name he does not know. The jema-
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 7 
 
 dar, whose name was Soorut Singh, told him 
 that they had been torturing the man to con- 
 fess to a charge o£ rape and murder. I remem- 
 ber the case. It came before me the other day, 
 and was remanded for further inquiry. One of 
 the most curious parts of the story, however, is 
 that the jemadar told him he had received 
 orders to inflict the torture from your serish- 
 tadar, Shekh Futtoo. The man himself said 
 that he had been charged with this crime im- 
 mediately after threatening to divulge the fact 
 that he had tendered for some contract to the 
 Public Works Department, and that his tender 
 had been refused, but he had taken the sub- 
 contract and was actually furnishing the articles 
 supplied to Government at fifty per cent, less 
 than the price paid by Government for them/' 
 " What a rigmarole,'''' was Mr. Wasilbakee^s 
 rejoinder. '^ However, it is a serious charge 
 against my serishtadar. I thiuk it will be only 
 fair to hear what he has to say about it. You 
 know there's a deal of bosh talked about this 
 torture. What, after all, is it, tying a man up 
 by the thumbs ? I don't see anything so very 
 shocking in it. That fellow Stuart is just the 
 kind of chap to find a mare's nest ; he is an 
 enthusiastic young man, rather addicted to 
 psalm singing, I believe. Such people, you 
 know, sometimes, are subject to mental hallu-
 
 8 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 dilations. We'll see what the Shekh has to 
 say about it. I''ll bet any money it is some 
 trumped up story. It is astonishing how many 
 enemies that man has. Every good native 
 always has. Did you ever observe it, whenever 
 you get a really good man to serve you faith- 
 fully and honestly, you may be sure there will 
 be intrigues and plots against him," 
 
 " What do you think I had better do about 
 the man. Suppose he were to be tortured to 
 death, and the papers get hold of it, or Go- 
 vernment." 
 
 "The papers be d , and as for Govern- 
 ment, why, all they will do will be to call for 
 a report, and if you don't know how to write a 
 report by this time, Dakhil Duftar, you ought 
 to, that's all 1 know. Have a cheroot ? " 
 
 " But if the poor devil has really been tor- 
 tured in this way," said Dakhil Duftar, lighting 
 his cheroot, " surely we ought to make an ex- 
 ample of the police." 
 
 " Fiddlestick — tortured to death ! A nice 
 nest of hornets you will stir up if you punish 
 the police for torture ; why not an officer in the 
 whole district will have a day's peace for the 
 next five years. At least a thousand cases of 
 ' tortured to death ' will be reported at once, 
 and will have to be investigated. No, no, 
 Dakhil Duftar, take my advice, don't stir
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. i* 
 
 muddy water. We are bid not to interfere 
 with the established institutions of the country, 
 and if torture is one of them, what is it to us, 
 we didn't introduce it ? " 
 
 " We sanction it, though." 
 
 " No we don't, we simply obey orders, and 
 don't interfere with an established custom of the 
 country/'' 
 
 '^ It seems to me deuced like sanctioning it, if 
 we don't punish for it when it is brought to our 
 notice." 
 
 " Here comes the Shekh, now let us hear 
 what he says." 
 
 The serishtadar's portly figure had just made 
 its appearance in the verandah as Mr. Wasil- 
 bakee pronounced these words. He usually 
 called at the house on his way to office to have 
 a little private conversation with his master and 
 take orders, for Mr. Wasilbakee seldom went to 
 his office, as he transacted most of his business 
 at home. 
 
 Dakhil Duftar watched narrowly the serish- 
 tadar's countenance as Mr. Wasilbakee was re- 
 counting to him the story, and thought he 
 detected a curious expression passing over his 
 features. It was very slight and very momen- 
 tary, for the Shekh was not in the habit of 
 allowing men to read his thoughts in his coun- 
 tenance. StUl there was a change in expres-
 
 10 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDOEPORE. 
 
 sion, a change which Dakhil Duftar felt sure 
 would not have occurred if he had been listen- 
 ing to the details of a story with which he was 
 really unconnected in any way. When Mr. 
 Wasilbakee came to that part of it where the 
 Shekh's name was introduced^ he smiled slightly, 
 but said nothing. When Mr. Wasilbakee had 
 finished, he said, — 
 
 " Those who serve great men faithfully always 
 have enemies and backbiters. Doubtless this 
 is a shocking outrage, and, of course, the sahib 
 speaks the truth. As we know, sahibs are not 
 like the natives of this country in this particular. 
 But still it is very strange that such a thing 
 should happen in the Budgepore district where 
 all the world knows the police are so honest and 
 so well looked after by the collector sahib and 
 your honour. Your servant does not think any- 
 thing of his name being used ; that is so often 
 done that your honour will not require him to 
 bring any proof that the whole thing is a fabri- 
 cation as far as your servant is concerned. But 
 if your honour would send for the man who has 
 been tortured, and ask him about it, perhaps 
 that would be the best way. We shall then 
 hear all about the affair at once.^'' 
 
 Both Wasilbakee and Dakhil Duftar were 
 completely pursuaded, by the ShekVs manner 
 rather than his words, that he had been very
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 11 
 
 badly used by having his name mixed up with 
 the affair at all. The former, indeed, had 
 adopted this conclusion from the first, being led 
 thereto from sheer force of habit. 
 
 " You are right/^ replied Mr. Wasilbakee ; 
 " vfe'W send for the man, and have him here at 
 once." 
 
 Saying this, the commissioner called out to a 
 servant, with the view of giving the order to 
 have the man brought. 
 
 " Pardon me,'' said the Shekh ; " there is no 
 need of haste in the matter. I will become 
 answerable that no more injury is done to the 
 poor man. There is a case of the very utmost 
 importance requiring your honour's immediate 
 attention. I have the papers with me, here ; 
 and if your honour will attend to it at once, 
 I will, with your honour's permission, go on to 
 court and get over the current business there 
 and return here in the afternoon, when the man 
 can be brought up and examined." 
 
 "As you please," said the commissioner; 
 " don't be later than three o'clock. I have an 
 engagement at four. Meantime, what's this 
 important case ? I don't recollect it." 
 
 " Your honour has forgotten the application 
 from the villages of Meeanpore and Akalabad 
 for remission of revenue. The zemindars are 
 very impatient, and they are a very discontented
 
 \2 THE CHRONICLES OF BtTDGEPOEE. 
 
 and disaffected set in those parts; and your 
 servant heard yesterday that some agrarian dis- 
 turbance was inevitable. The only thing to 
 pacify them is to attend to this application for 
 remission." 
 
 " Indeed ; are they so rebellious as that ? 
 But don't let us have a disturbance — that would 
 get to the ears of Government. I hate a dis- 
 turbance, of all things ; there is no end to the 
 trouble, reports and despatches, and statements ; 
 and the troops have to be called out, and the 
 crops get trampled down, and then there are 
 compensation claims, and the very devil. Where 
 are the papers ? '' 
 
 The Shekh went out to fetch the papers, which 
 were in a large bundle his attendant carried. 
 From the position the papers were in, and the 
 time it occupied to rake up that particular bundle 
 out of the mass, it certainly would not have oc- 
 curred to a bystander that the serishtadar had 
 anticipated the necessity of this case being called 
 for so promptly. 
 
 The serishtadar waited till Mr. DakhilDuftar 
 had left the commissioner's house and repaired 
 to his office, where he knew he would be]_closely 
 occupied all day till five o'clock. Then, after 
 having given the papers to the commissioner, 
 he set out himself on the road towards his own 
 office. Instead, however, of going there, he
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 13 
 
 stopped at a turning in the roadj despatched his 
 attendants to the courts desiring them to say 
 he would be there himself shortly, but had some 
 private business to transact elsewhere. Hav- 
 ing given these instructions he got his many- 
 coloured steed into a brisk amble, and jogged 
 away in the direction of the Palampore police 
 station. 
 
 What took place there I cannot exactly tell. 
 But I know that he had a few minutes^ conver- 
 sation with the police jemadar, after which he 
 went away. 
 
 In the evening of that day Stuart received 
 the following note from Dakhil Duftar : — 
 
 My dear Stuart, 
 
 You must have been strangely mistaken 
 about the story you told me to-day. The man 
 Beharee was sent for by the commissioner and 
 examined by him, and he denied ever having 
 been subjected to any torture at all, nor had he 
 any marks of it upon his person. He said he 
 had seen you. He is the same who was in cus- 
 tody upon a charge of murder, which turns out 
 now to be unsubstantiated by any prima facie 
 case against him ; and he is now at large. 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 Dakhil Duftar. 
 Budgepore, May 25.
 
 14 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 Before writing that note Dakhil Duftar had 
 received the following from Mr. Wasilbakee : — 
 
 My dear Duftar, 
 
 Wonders will never cease. I was right. 
 Your friend Stuart must have been labouring 
 under some strange hallucination this mornings 
 or mental aberration. The man Beharee was 
 brought to me this afternoon. I carefully ex- 
 amined him. He denies most positively ever 
 having been subjected to any ill-usage ; on the 
 contrary, he says he has been particularly well 
 treated ever since he has been in custody. 
 
 He has no marks on his person of any ill- 
 treatment, nor do even his digital appendages 
 show the faintest trace of having supported the 
 whole weight of his body, as represented. If 
 you think you can suspend a man by his thumbs 
 for twelve hours without the latter showing any 
 signs of having been put to such abnormal uses, 
 I recommend you to try the experiment upon 
 yourself. 
 
 He states, however, that he did see your friend 
 Stuart, who came into the police station this 
 morning in a most excited state ; that he spoke 
 to him, but could not understand what he said, 
 and thinks it very possible Stuart sahib, as he 
 calls him, misunderstood him. I examined 
 both the policemen separately, and they both 
 gave the same account of Stuart's appearance :
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 15 
 
 their statement does not vary in tlie slightest 
 particular. The serishtadar and the police 
 jemadar are both very hot upon prosecuting 
 Stuart for defamation, but I advised them not. 
 I certainly think, however, that a man subject 
 to such fits of mental aberration is hardly fit 
 to be at large, much less to be intrusted with 
 such important duties as he now has in charge; 
 and I shall send a private report of the circum- 
 stances to Government, with a view to his either 
 being removed or closely watched. I have, 
 however, heard some strange things about him, 
 with reference to his accounts and money 
 matters, which have set me thinking. 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 JUMMA WaSILBAKEE. 
 
 Budgepore, May 25. 
 
 On receipt of Dakhil Duftar's note, Stuart 
 was fairly puzzled. He was the last man in 
 India to justify the commissioner's opinion and 
 suggestion of mental aberration. Cool, clear- 
 headed, and practical in all the ordinary con- 
 cerns of life, no man was less likely to have 
 been deceived. What he had described he had 
 seen with his own eyes, and heard with his own 
 ears, and yet there was arrayed against him 
 such a mass of evidence, that for a second or 
 two he was almost startled into a disbelief of
 
 16 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 his own identity. A few moments' reflection, 
 however, convinced him that the commissioner 
 and the magistrate were dupes in the hands of 
 their subordinates, no rare phenomenon, and 
 he resolved at once to investigate the matter 
 further. With this view he ordered his horse, 
 and rode out to the village where he knew the 
 man Beharee lived. He did not jfind him, but 
 he learnt from the neighbours that he had been 
 released and had been to his house, but had 
 gone out again with some relatives, who had 
 come to congratulate him on his escape. Leav- 
 ing word with his next door neighbour that he 
 wanted to speak to him, when he had leisure 
 to come into Budgepore, he rode back, after 
 vainly endeavouring to procure an interview 
 with Mrs. Beharee, who, being a " purda na- 
 sheen,'' or a woman who will not show herself 
 to strangers, refused to see him. 
 
 '• Have you had any dispute with the Wasil- 
 bakees or the Duftars ? " asked his wife of 
 Stuart, when she came in from her evening 
 drive. 
 
 '' No ; why do you ask ? " 
 
 " Because I saw them at the band, and Mrs. 
 Dakhil Duftar and the commissioner, who is 
 usually so polite and friendly, both seemed as 
 if they wanted to cut me. I thought you 
 must have had some quarrel with them/' 
 
 1
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 17 
 
 " No, I have had no quarrel with them, but 
 a very curious thing has happened to-day, 
 which may possibly have made them feel ill- 
 disposed towards me ; but yet I can hardly think 
 so, it must have been your fancy. ""^ 
 
 " No, Vva. sure it was not fancy. I don^t 
 take such fancies into my head easily. But 
 what is it that has happened ? " 
 
 He then told her what he had been too much 
 occupied during the day to tell her before, the 
 strange story about the man Beharee. 
 
 Nothing more happened that day, but the 
 following night, just as Stuart was preparing 
 to go to bed, his servant came and told hhn 
 that there was a villager outside, who had come 
 in from the district, and wanted to speak to 
 him. 
 
 He went out, and found a lad of about fifteen 
 or sixteen years of age, who told him that he 
 was Beharee^s son, and that his father had been 
 taken very ill that evening with terrible pains 
 in the stomach. His wife and the neighbours 
 were very much alarmed about him, and he 
 had desired that the sahib might be sent for at 
 once, as there was something he wanted to tell 
 him before his death, which he said he felt sure 
 was near at hand. Stuart immediately ordered 
 his buggy, and taking the boy with him drove 
 out to the village. It was past eleven when he 
 II. 2
 
 18 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDaEPOEE. 
 
 reached the place, and leaving his buggy in 
 the road, he walked across the fields to the 
 village "where Beharee's house was situated. 
 On entering the house, or hut, as we should 
 call it in England, he found Beharee stretched 
 upon a rude bedstead, by the side of which his 
 wife was seated on her haunches, with her head 
 resting on her knees, swaying her body to-and- 
 fro, and uttering a low moaning sound, indica- 
 tive of the agony of despair. A few of the 
 neighbours stood round the bed, where the 
 almost lifeless form of Beharee lay, the dismal 
 scene lighted up by a miserable oil lamp, that 
 emitted as much smoke as light. 
 
 As he advanced to the bedside, the natives 
 respectfully withdrew. He merely glanced at 
 their faces, but among them was one that 
 seemed familiar to him. At the moment he 
 did not call to mind where he had seen him 
 before, but he recollected afterwards that the 
 features he recognized were those of the second 
 policeman, whom he had seen in the court-yard 
 of the police-station. He took the dying man^s 
 hand in his, and asked him how he felt. At 
 the sound of his voice the man opened his eyes, 
 and when he saw who it was, a gleam of recog- 
 nition and an expression of relief passed over 
 his pallid, agony-stricken features. He at- 
 tempted to speak, but his voice was so weak, j
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 19 
 
 that his visitor had to put his ear close down 
 to his lips before he could distinguish what 
 he said. And what he did say was uttered in 
 broken sentences, and at times almost inarticu- 
 late words. 
 
 The substance of his communication may be 
 paraphrased into something like the follow- 
 ing :— 
 
 " I sent and begged you to come and see me 
 before I die^ that my wife and children may 
 have some one to take care of them- It was 
 yovL, sahib^ that delivered me from the tortures 
 of hell ! worse than hell ! but it was only that I 
 might die by poison ; and when I am dead, 
 the enmity of those who hate me, because I 
 escaped their hands and got them into trouble ; 
 will fall on my helpless widow and orphan chil- 
 dren.^' 
 
 Stuart then elicited from him by a number 
 of questions, that he had been taken ill with 
 vomiting and violent pains in the stomach that 
 day, immediately after eating his dinner, at a 
 sort of feast or convivial gathering, given in 
 celebration of his escape, by his uncle. There 
 were no strangers, none but members of his 
 own family present, except, and this only came 
 out after rather a close examination of the 
 dying man, one person, the policeman whose 
 features Stuart had noticed but not recognized, 
 
 2 •
 
 20 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 and who had been especially invited, on accoimt 
 of his sympathy with Beharee. 
 
 "But/' asked Stuart, noticing the swollen 
 appearance of the man^s thumbs, and the nails 
 blackened with the blood that had been forced 
 under them, and the marks where the cord had 
 cut inio the flesh, '^how came you to tell the 
 commissioner sahib that you had not been 
 tortured or ill-treated at all ? " 
 
 " I never told him so,^' was the substance of 
 the man^s reply. 
 
 Again Stuart asked him if he had not been 
 to the commissioner's house the day before, and 
 he declared most positively he had not; and 
 " if I had," he added, " could not the com- , 
 missioner sahib have seen this," intimating, by H 
 a slight motion of his thumbs, that it was to 
 them he was referring. 
 
 It was impossible to continue the conversa- 
 tion further. The substance of what I have 
 related, so far as communicated by the dying 
 man, was elicited with much patient painstaking 
 by his questioner, and the process occupied a 
 considerable time, for the man's strength was 
 failing fast, and latterly Stuart had had to make 
 a long pause before he could get any answer at 
 all from him. He remained by the bed of death 
 till all was over, and then, leaving the sorrowing 
 widow and orphan child to utter their lamenta-
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAREA.CKS. 21 
 
 tions alone over the corpse o£ the husband and 
 the father^ he drove home in melancholy mood. 
 The next morning, early^ he rode over to 
 Dakhil Duftar's house, in order to find him 
 before he went out for his usual morning ride, 
 and told him what had passed. That gentleman 
 admitted that the affair looked suspicious, but 
 could not believe that so respectable a man as 
 Shekh Futtoo could lend himself to so deep a 
 plot as to take a substitute for Beharee before 
 the commissioner, which Stuart declared he 
 must have done. However, the result was^ 
 that Dakhil Duftar promised to see Mr. Wasil- 
 bakee about it that morning; and meantime 
 the body of Beharee was brought into Budge- 
 pore, where a,post mortem examination was made 
 by the civil surgeon, who reported that the 
 deceased died of inflammation in the bo w' els, 
 brought on by natural causes, and that there 
 was no appearance of any mineral poison having 
 been used. Vegetable poisons the doctor 
 declared himself unable to detect. He would 
 have sent the viscera to the Chemical Examiner 
 at Allahabad ; but as the order from the head 
 of the medical department directed that in such 
 cases the substances requiring examination are 
 to be put into old tart fruit bottles, and as there 
 were none at that time to be had at Budgepore, 
 he did not consider himself justified in assuming
 
 22 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE, 
 
 the rcspousibility of sending them in any other 
 way.* There were no external appearances of 
 violence or injury that could have resulted in 
 death. The only marks were marks upon both 
 the thumbs, which might have been caused by 
 cords being tied tightly round them, or what 
 was more likely, by the deceased having bitten 
 his thumbs very violently during the agonies he 
 suflPered from the disease of which he died ; and 
 this, the doctor added, he had learnt from care- 
 ful inquiries, was the ease. 
 
 The careful inquiries consisted in his asking 
 the policeman who came in with the body, how 
 the deceased got those marks on the thumbs ; 
 in reply to Avhich the policeman told him, the 
 deceased had bitten both his thumbs constantly 
 ever since he had been taken ill. 
 
 Dakhil Duftar went up to the commissioner's 
 after breakfast, and while he was there the me- 
 dical report of the results of the post mortem ex- 
 amination came in. Mr. Wasilbakee listened to 
 all Dakhil Duftar had to say, and^then replied : — 
 
 " I don't see anything in it, Duftar. It is 
 not at all likely Shekh Futtoo would lend him- 
 
 * The chemical examiner having represented that a 
 supply of glass jars or bottles was required for the pur- 
 pose of sealing up and forwarding subjects for examina- 
 tion, in cases of suspected j^oisoning, the head of the 
 medical department directed that in all such cases oli tart 
 fruit bottles were to be used.
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 23 
 
 self to such a dangerous plot, and deceive rue 
 in a matter in which there must be at least fifty 
 witnesses to the truth, any one of whom has 
 him in his power. Besides, what object could 
 be served ? what has he to gain by it ? Ad- 
 mitted that he is a knave, for the sake of argu- 
 ment, yet he is no fool ; on the contrary, he has 
 a deuced long head of his own. And do you 
 mean to tell me he would ever do anything 
 so foolhardy as to put his neck in a noose for 
 nothing ? No ; it is a great deal more likely 
 to be true, as the doctor says, that this man 
 did bite his thumbs till they bled, in the agonies 
 of his last sickness." 
 
 Dakhil Duftar did not look convinced. He 
 did not know what to think. And the Com- 
 missioner, after a pause, went on ; — 
 
 " However, it is a matter very easily settled. 
 If there is truth in Stuart^s story, the only way 
 the afiair could have been managed was, that 
 they must have substituted some one else for 
 Beharee, and brought another man here the 
 day before yesterday instead of him. It is 
 exceedingly improbable ; but that all doubts 
 may be cleared up, we'll just call three or 
 four of these chuprassees that are here now, 
 and see what they say. At any rate, they are 
 not under the influence of Shekh Futtoo, and 
 he is not present.'^
 
 24 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 This conversation, together with the deter- 
 mination of Mr. Wasilbakee, had been listened 
 to by the jemadar of that gentleman^s chupras- 
 sees, who understood English, reader, pretty 
 nearly as well as you do, but who assumed a 
 blank, stolid look, of utter indifference, as long 
 as the English language was being spoken when 
 he was present. Quick as lightning he vanished 
 from the doorway, where, ensconced behind the 
 curtain, he had posted himself directly Mr. 
 Duftar made his appearance, as it was likely 
 that the collector sahib had something of im- 
 portance to communicate to the Commissioner 
 sahib by his coming at that rather unusual hour 
 to his house. I need hardly tell you that every 
 chuprassee and servant in the establishment of 
 Mr. Wasilbakee was the creature of Shekh 
 Futtoo, whom any of them would as soon have 
 offended as he would have walked into a tiger's 
 den. The consequence was, as you may readily 
 guess, that when Mr. AVasilbakee called the 
 chuprassees and asked them if they were quite 
 sure that the man brought to his house two 
 days before, was really Beharee, and not some 
 one substituted for him, they were not very 
 likely to deny his identity, seeing they all 
 knew what had been going on just as well as 
 you do after reading these chronicles. 
 
 So Dakhil Duftar went away quite satisfied
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 25 
 
 that Stuart's suspicions were altogether un- 
 founded. As for Mr. Wasilbakee he had never 
 been of any other opinion. 
 
 It was extraordinary how Stuart's popularity 
 declined. By degrees the strangest rumours 
 became circulated about him — no one could say 
 definitely what there was against him, no one 
 could tell whence the rumours came. The 
 result was apparent enough in cold looks turned 
 upon him and his wife, and bitter words behind 
 their backs. Nobody knew exactly what to say 
 or what to think, but no one in the whole place 
 had the moral courage to associate with the 
 Stuarts as formerly ; they were regularly under 
 a ban. The officials took their cue from Mr. 
 Wasilbakee, who shook his head gravely when- 
 ever Stuart's name was mentioned, and used to 
 "pity his poor wife." Mrs. Dakbil Duftarhad 
 no pity for Mrs. Stuart, she had always disliked 
 her, she said, and thought tbere was something 
 very odd about her, and that it was very strange 
 she, a subaltern^s wife, should be the best 
 dressed lady in the station; her dresses and 
 bonnets came out direct from Paris, and could 
 not cost her less than two or three hundred 
 pounds a year. 
 
 A bad calculation, that of Mrs. Dakhil Duf- 
 tar, and showing how the head is likely to be 
 influenced by the heart, for I knew the Stuarts
 
 26 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 intimately, and I know that all she had to dress 
 herself upon was fifty rupees a month. 
 
 The officers of the different regiments at 
 Budgepore followed the general example. They 
 ceased to ask Stuart to dine at their messes on 
 guest nights, and treated him so coldly at the 
 bath and the racket court, that at length he 
 declared he could bear it no longer, and ab- 
 sented himself. His wife was in weak health 
 and quite unable to get about, so that they did 
 not feel the want of society so much as they 
 might otherwise have done; and Stuart, who 
 was conscious enough of the general feeling to- 
 wards him, but totally unable to divine the 
 cause, kept his troubles to himself, and would 
 not let his wife be worried about them. He 
 was a man of rather reserved character, fond of 
 reading a great deal and thinking, and not at 
 all disposed to court popularity. He was 
 zealously devoted to his work, in which he 
 laboured assiduously to do his duty. He put 
 down the treatment he met with abroad to his 
 own want of geniality of disposition, and the 
 quiet, and, to a certain extent, unsociable cha- 
 racter of the life which his wif e^s state of health 
 rendered incumbent on him to observe. He 
 used to say the world always treats you as you 
 treat it : they could not entertain nor go into 
 society, and so as they avoided the world, it was
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 
 
 27 
 
 no wonder the world avoided them and left 
 them to themselves. All would come right in 
 the end. His wife would^ doubtless, regain 
 her health and strength, and be able to go out 
 more, and they should be able to ask friends to 
 their house, and matters would right them- 
 selves. 
 
 One very curious effect of the Indian climate 
 has never received the attention it deserves. 
 Elsewhere, so long as a man or woman gives 
 no colour to a scandalous report, the thing 
 dies out generally, and people cease to believe 
 ill of one Avhose outward conduct is irreproach- 
 able. But in India there seems to be some 
 evil principle at work, or some noxious moral 
 disease that infests the whole tone of society, 
 such a proneness to speak ill of your neighbour, 
 to encourage ill-natured tittle-tattle, such a 
 shameless indifference to truth, such a pitiful 
 eagerness to take advantage of another, as if 
 in every walk in life, in the social as well as the 
 official circle, every man and every woman was 
 a rival to every other man and woman, that 
 society seems to catch at the idea of a scanda- 
 lous report, however infamously unjust, as if it 
 had found a prize. It is a wonder that the 
 blistered tongue has never been set down in the 
 list of Indian diseases. 
 
 One reason of this may be, I think, that in
 
 28 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 India, like everytliing else, religion is a Go- 
 vernment institution. The chaplain draws his 
 pay for reading service every Sunday and 
 preaching his sermon. Were he to open his 
 church on a week day, or to intimate that re- 
 ligion was a thing ever to be taken note o£ 
 except on Sundays, or that people were to have 
 regard to its principles in their conduct in the 
 drawing-room, the cutcherry, the parade ground, 
 and the battle-field, '' Indian society " would 
 regard him with a stare, and inquire if he was 
 a missionary. 
 
 I was astonished one day to hear that charges 
 would be sent in against my friend Stuart of a 
 serious nature connected with his professional 
 duties. 
 
 Much as I dislike being the bearer of bad 
 news, I drove over to his house as soon as I 
 heard it. But bad news travels quick, they say, 
 and prompt as I had been, the news was there 
 before me. I found him just leaving his wife's 
 room in company with the doctor. He attended 
 him to the door, then returned and took my 
 hand ; tears were in his eyes. 
 
 " I know it all,'' he said, anticipating from 
 my look what I was about to say. " I know it 
 all, but I do not understand it. God knows, I 
 have laboured and striven to do my duty con- 
 scientiously. I know that, somehow, that man
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 29 
 
 Shekh Futtoo is at the bottom of all this, but 
 the threads he weaves his net with are too 
 deeply hidden for me to trace their course. 
 Thank God she is ignorant of it, and'' — here 
 he fairly broke down, and added, as he sobbed 
 like a child, " she will remain so till the end.'' 
 
 " Is it indeed so ? " said I. " Has the doctor 
 given such a bad report? While there is life 
 there is hope." 
 
 " No, no — it is not so — I cannot speak of it 
 just now — I shall be calmer by and by. Sit 
 down and wait here a little, there is a good 
 fellow. I will come in again when I am calmer, 
 and tell you all. This double blow, that has 
 fallen upon me all at once, is too much, I 
 can scarce bear it, I cannot bear it now, but I 
 shall be better by and by.'^ 
 
 So saying he left me, and I waited. I heard 
 his voice lowly murmuring in the next room, 
 as he whispered consolation to his pain-stricken 
 wife, he, alas, more needing consolation to be 
 spoken to him. 
 
 By and by he returned. " She is better 
 now," he said : " more easy, and will, I think, 
 get a little sleep. But the doctor has warned 
 me to anticipate the worst. Yes, it is God's 
 will, but oh ! how difficult to understand ! 
 Wifeless, childless by the same blow, I shall 
 stand alone to confront the world's cold heart-
 
 30 THE CHKONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 lessness and treachery ! Do you know the 
 brigade major has been here^ and I am under 
 arrest, and a general court-martial assembles 
 as soon as possible. I hope it will not be till 
 I am relieved from duty here. 1 do hope^ I 
 pray that I may be spared to tend her, to 
 soothe her last moments. If 1 am away she 
 will not understand it, and it would break her 
 heart to hear of it. Oh ! I hope that the secret 
 may be kept from her to the last.""^ 
 
 " But she will not believe it. Her faith in 
 your unsullied honour will not be broken.^' 
 
 " No, no ; but it would be so difficult to 
 make her understand, and the shock alone 
 would be so sad to witness. Oh ! have men 
 no mercy for one another ? Do men never 
 pause to think while heaping misery on others, 
 and that they themselves may cry out for mercy 
 and relief and not be heard ? " 
 
 " But tell me more about it. What charges 
 could they possibly bring against you ? " 
 
 " A trumped-up charge of receiving money 
 from contractors, and conspii'acy to defraud the 
 Government, supported, I suppose, by some 
 lying evidence. Truth I do not fear, but now 
 as I am, broken-hearted, crushed, with only 
 half my usual faculties about me, how am I to 
 confront cunning and malice by skill, patience, 
 and perspicuity ? One thing is, if I am only
 
 THB HISTORY OF THE BAERACKS. 31 
 
 spared to support and console lier in the last 
 trialj I do not care what becomes of me. Even 
 honour stained by false calumny seems to me a 
 light thing, compared with this great sorrow 
 that looms before me. And what I dread most 
 of all is, that sometimes under all this I feel 
 as if my faith in God would almost be 
 shaken.-"^ 
 
 '* No, not that Stuart," said I, shuddering as 
 the shadow of despair for an instant threw a 
 deeper gloom over his saddened features. And 
 I added in a low voice, half speaking to myself : 
 " What I do thou knowest not now, but thou 
 shalt know hereafter." 
 
 Soon after this I left him, promising to re- 
 turn on the morrow, and wondering as I drove 
 home how it is you so seldom meet an Indian 
 chaplain in the house of sorrow, where you 
 Avould find an English clergyman with words 
 of consolation on his lips. 
 
 Mrs. Stuart lingered on upon her bed of 
 death much longer than the doctor had ex- 
 pected, Stuart gave himself almost wholly up 
 to her, and seldom left her bedside, or took any 
 interest in the preparations for his approaching 
 trial. Thoroughly imbued with an idea of his 
 guilt, which had by dint of long acceptance of 
 it as an undoubted fact (though it rested only 
 on the baseless foundation of the purest slander
 
 32 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 malice ever invented) become familiar to their 
 minds, the members of the court-martial had 
 to go through what was in reality a form, viz. 
 hearing the trial. The case for the prosecution 
 rested on Doolchund^s evidence, who swore that 
 he received 10,000 rupees from the contractor 
 in hard cash the day the contract was signed, 
 for Stuart. The men who brought the money 
 to his house came forward and deposed to the 
 fact, and other native witnesses swore they had 
 taken the cash to Stuart^s house and counted 
 it out before him. The contractor produced 
 Doolchund's receipt given in Stuart's name, 
 and showed that he had sublet the contract, 
 though the sub- contractor, who was Beharee, 
 was dead : yet there was plenty of evidence to 
 prove that the articles contracted for had been 
 supplied at fifty per cent, less than the sum 
 tendered and accepted. 
 
 Even Stuart's own domestic servants were 
 with meanness (I was going to say unparalleled, 
 but that would be wrong) called to show that 
 his monthly expenditure had far exceeded the 
 income derived from his pay. 
 
 He met it all with a simple denial. He 
 could not prove a negative, and he was too 
 broken-hearted to cross-examine the lying wit- 
 nesses with any effect. He saw that the court 
 were against him from the first, and seemed
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRA-CKS. 33 
 
 indifferent to the result. The sentence, of 
 course, was not immediately made known, but 
 he felt morally certain what it would be. 
 
 The thing that grieved him most was his 
 enforced absence from his wife, during the time 
 the trial was proceeding, but happily, she was 
 generally in an unconscious state, and I was 
 there all day in case she revived, to minister 
 what consolation I could, and disarm her fears 
 and suspicions. At last the farce was over, 
 and Stuart could remain at home to face the 
 reality. 
 
 The day that the sentence was promulgated 
 was the last day of his melancholy duties. I 
 went to the house, and finding the drawing- 
 room as usual empty, advanced on tiptoe to the 
 bed-room door. Not a servant was about the 
 place. It seemed as if every living creature 
 had deserted this sorrow- stricken man. I heard 
 no sound, and, anticipating events, lifted the 
 curtain (which it is the custom frequently in 
 Indian houses to suspend across a doorway, so 
 as to ensure privacy without preventing a 
 current of air from entering), and looked in. 
 
 He knelt by her bed-side with her hand 
 clasped to his lips. As I entered he raised his 
 head, his features almost as wan and pale and 
 worn as hers upon which death had laid its icy 
 touch. He rose and grasped my hand. 
 II. 3
 
 34 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 " 1 know it all/' he said, " I know the worst, 
 thank God my prayer was heard, and she 
 knows it not! Now welcome poverty, welcome 
 disgrace, I can bear it all, — and more — since 
 she is spared the bitterness/' 
 
 Stuart was cashiered. Soon afterwards he 
 left Budgepore, intending to seek his fortunes 
 in Australia. He gave me a commission, which 
 was to see that a young cypress tree and some 
 rose bushes close to a grave in the cemetery were 
 kept watered and tended during the dry season, 
 and that was the last I have heard of him. 
 Yet there was no one in Budgepore who could 
 be made to see through the plot and understand 
 that the whole case against Stuart was a false 
 one. 
 
 Such things will, I suppose, one of these 
 days be inquired into. 
 
 The barracks were completed under the 
 superintendence of Stuart's successor. They 
 cost seven lacs, that is £70,000, in building. 
 They were not, however, occupied, for when 
 the Commander-in-Chief came round on his 
 tour of inspection, he condemned the site as 
 unhealthy, and summoned a special committee 
 of superintending surgeons, who, it is needless 
 for me to add, quite concurred in His Excel- 
 lency's opinion. 
 
 Being found unhealthy for troops, the barrack-
 
 THE HISTOET OP THE BARRACKS. 35 
 
 rooms were divided into separate apartments, 
 and made over to the families of the uncove- 
 nanted servants of Government attached to the 
 civil offices at Budgepore, each family having 
 to pay ten rupees a month rent for the accom- 
 modation. 
 
 3 *
 
 36 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAREACKS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE FATE OF THE FAKIR. 
 
 At the conclusion of my last Chapter, I told 
 you that the barracks, after all, were never used 
 for the soldiers. The site was found unhealthy, 
 which is not much to be wondered at, seeing it 
 was selected just in front of what for four or 
 five months in the year was a pestilential marsh. 
 So the buildings were abandoned by the mili- 
 tary authorities, and another range of barracks 
 built where you now see them on the high 
 ground to the north of the city. 
 
 You will recollect that this was the site origi- 
 nally selected by the committee, but not adopted 
 in consequence of objections raised on the part 
 of the commissioner, objections which were in 
 reality founded on the existence there of a
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 37 
 
 Hindoo fakir^s hut and his shrine, and how 
 was it that they were removed to make way for 
 the beef-eating European ? 
 
 It happened on this wise. You may readily 
 suppose that the events which preceded Stuart's 
 misfortune made some little impression on an 
 inquiring nature like mine. They set me think- 
 ing. Was that man, Beharee, poisoned ? And 
 if so, who poisoned him, and what was the 
 motive ? 
 
 I dare say you have observed how sometimes 
 ideas cross your mind whose association you are 
 utterly unable to trace, but which are, never- 
 theless, fraught with important consequences, 
 perhaps to yourself, perhaps to others. Very 
 often the most momentous actions of our lives, 
 or conduct that eventuates in some momentous 
 decision influencing much of our future fortunes, 
 is undertaken upon some sudden impulse, some 
 idea or suggestion that comes we know not 
 whence. It seems like inspiration. Perhaps 
 in those cases when really momentous and 
 important consequences are the result, it would 
 not be far wrong to call it inspiration. When 
 less important consequences are involved you 
 call it " a happy thought.'^ Well, it was a 
 happy thought, I suj)pose, that crossed my 
 mind one day shortly after the events related 
 in my last chapter occurred, as I was riding
 
 38 THE CHRONICLES OF BFDOEPOEE. 
 
 past the fakir's hut. It came athwart my mind 
 like the shadow of a cloud that suddenly and 
 for a moment obscures the sunlight on a summer 
 day, the suspicion " that man is concerned in 
 this poisoning business.'' The idea would not 
 leave me. 1 turned it over in my mind, I 
 criticised it, I endeavoured to persuade myself 
 it was a baseless, groundless, imjust suspicion ; 
 why should I harbour it ? " No matter," the 
 idea said to me, "you may treat me just as you 
 please, ridicule me as much as you like — all 
 your mental logic won't affect me in the least. 
 Here I am, and here I intend to stay, till you 
 choose to act upon me.'" 
 
 And the idea did stay, I couldn't get rid of 
 it. I acted on it. Later in the day, after me- 
 ditating over my folly and trying in vain to talk 
 myself out of it, I summoned a faithful do- 
 mestic of mine by name Sookha. 
 
 " Sookha," said I, taking my cigar out of my 
 mouth (it was the third I had smoked that 
 morning, but the " idea " was solely answer- 
 able for that excess), "Sookha, I have an 
 idea." 
 
 Sookha folded his hands in an attitude of 
 prayer and replied, rather illogically, that ^'I 
 was his father and mother." 
 
 Then, thought I, in that case, your relation 
 to me is very like that of my idea. " But
 
 THE HISTOET OF THE BAEBACKS. 39 
 
 listen/^ I said^ aloud. " Do you know that old 
 fakir's hut under the peepul-tree on the com- 
 mon, near the Toghluckabad road ? " 
 
 " Why shouldn't I know it ? " answered the 
 illogical Sookha. 
 
 "Very well/' said I, "now I'll tell you what 
 you must do. You are a clever man " (a very 
 low salaam followed the abrupt announcement, 
 and a second assurance that I was his father 
 and mother), "you must go and play a little 
 trick for me upon the fakir. Dress yourself up 
 like a villager from your native country, Oude, 
 take a pack on your back and old clouted shoes," 
 — such as the Gibeoidtes wore when they went 
 to take in the Israelitish host, I added, men- 
 tally, — " and go and get into conversation with 
 that old fakir. Tell him you come from a dis- 
 tant part of the country, where in your own 
 village there resides a man who has done you 
 a mortal injury, upon whom you wish to take 
 your revenge. Make up a story, and then get 
 the fakir to sell you exactly as much poison as 
 will kill a man and leave no trace behind. Do 
 you understand ? There are some poisons that 
 can be traced in a man by certain devices, which 
 the doctor sahibs, who are very clever, know 
 how to employ, and some that don't leave any 
 trace at all. Make a bargain with the fakir, 
 pretend you are very poor, and get the medicine
 
 40 THE CHRONICLES OF BtJDGEPOEE. 
 
 for as small a sum as you can, and bring it 
 to me." 
 
 Sookha made a salaam, and having received 
 his instructions, departed to carry them out. 
 
 It was tolerably late that evening, when 
 Sookha returned with a small packet contain- 
 ing a little whitish-grey powder, which he told 
 me the holy man had assured him was quite 
 sufficient for the purpose, and for which, after 
 some bargaining, he had parted with for eight 
 annas,''^ or one shilling. 
 
 "Very good, Sookha/^ said I, "now go out 
 and tell the sweeper to catch a pariah dog." 
 
 A pariah dog was very easily caught. 
 
 I put about a tenth part of the powder on a 
 piece of bread and gave it to the animal, which 
 devoured it eagerly. 
 
 I watched it, and in half an hour it was 
 seized with a shivering fit. This was followed 
 by drsadful spasms indicating great pain, vomit- 
 ing and purging. This was succeeded by a 
 state of collapse, under which the animal sunk, 
 and in two hours it was dead. 
 
 * This same thing occiirred at another place beside 
 Bndgepore ; the story was related to me by an officer 
 who had done exactly as I did, and whose suspicions had 
 been aroused by having a valuable horse poisoned close 
 to a bunnea's shop on the road-side. This happened near 
 Amritsur a few years ago. The officer who told me the 
 story is now dead.
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 41 
 
 So^ thought I — the idea was not unreasonable 
 in its importunity. Now for the connection 
 between the fakir, Beharee, and this Shekh 
 Futtoo. 
 
 The next day I did a foolish thing. " Ne- 
 mo omnibus horis sapit/' which means that a 
 man must make a fool of himself sometimes. 
 And in this case did 1, Old Mortality, behave 
 like one bereft of reason. Instead of confiding 
 in my own idea, I outraged the sensitive feelings 
 of that good and trusty friend. I went to con- 
 sult — I can hardly find it in me to register my 
 own weakness and folly — yes, I went and con- 
 sulted Dakhil Duftar, of all the people in the 
 world ! My idea was so ashamed of me for 
 this act of folly that it completely abandoned 
 me and left me to reap the result of my con- 
 duct — failure. 
 
 Dakhil Duftar was in his court. He received 
 me most courteously, as he always did, made 
 room for me to seat myself by him on the 
 bench, and stopping the business that was going 
 on, turned to me with an inquiring air. 
 
 Most of the amla, or native SL^-jwiLniiatcs 
 about the court, left when the cessation from 
 the current business of the day took place. I 
 was all the better pleased at this, and took no 
 note of the chuprassee who was standing behind 
 Dakhil Duftar^s chair brushing away the obse-
 
 42 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 quious flics from liis master's head with a 
 chowry. A cho^n•y is a sort of thing like the 
 tail of an animal, with a wooden or ivory handle, 
 used in India to drive away flies fi'om a dinner 
 or breakfast table. Some people who affect 
 state have a man with a chowry always behind 
 their chairs keeping off the flies when engaged 
 in reading or writing. The best instruments of 
 this kind are made from the tail of the yak, 
 the hairs of which are very long, silky and fine. 
 You might make an excellent chowry with the 
 silken tresses of your lady-love, and a very 
 pleasing and sentimental souvenir it would be. 
 And I dare say an ordinary chignon, unravelled 
 or combed out, would answer, that is, if chignons 
 do unravel, a little matter upon which I could 
 not speak with certainty, as I am not sufiiciently 
 intimate with any lady friend to borrow one 
 to try. 
 
 In a few words, I told Dakhil Duftar of my 
 idea and its results. He seemed fully to appre- 
 hend its importance, and said he would at once 
 have the fakir's hut searched. 
 
 " Would it not be better," I said, " to con- 
 duct the search yourself. I can take my servant 
 down there, who will show you the spot and 
 how the poison was concealed." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said he, " that will be the best 
 way ; one is so much in the power of the amla,
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 43 
 
 you know, that I always like to do these things 
 for myself. I never trust them on a delicate 
 inquiry of this kind, never." 
 
 So it was arranged that as soon as the day's 
 work was over, we should drive down together 
 to the fakir's hut and conduct this investiga- 
 tion. 
 
 Was it by accident or coincidence that just 
 at this juncture the chuprassee, who had been 
 doing the chowry business all this time, found 
 it was necessary that he should be relieved? 
 At a sign from him, another man stepped up 
 to take his place ; he resigned the instrument 
 o£ ease into his successor's hand, and disap- 
 peared. 
 
 " Does that man understand what we have 
 been saying ? " said I, uneasily. 
 
 " Who ? " said Dakhil Duftar, rather aston- 
 ished. " What, that chuprassee ? My dear 
 fellow, what an absurd question ! No, we are 
 not quite so surrounded with spies as all that. 
 He is one of the dullest and stupidest men in 
 the whole establishment — understand English ! 
 he scarce understands his own mother tongue, 
 let alone English." 
 
 Nevertheless, that stupid dull man under- 
 stood English just as well as I, and if he had 
 not he would not have been where he was. 
 Conceive the opportunities a man has who is
 
 44 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 always present, always looking over the collec- 
 tor's shoulder^ hearing his private conversation 
 with friends, his remarks on cases " sub ju- 
 dice ! " He ignorant of English ! of what use 
 would he be ? No_, it is not so the machinery 
 is managed by which the wires are worked that 
 make the dolls and puppets dance. 
 
 When I got home and told Sookha he was to 
 go with me to point out to me and the collector 
 sahib where the fakir kept his store of poisonous 
 drugs, he was as much affected as if he had him- 
 self taken some of the poison. He threw him- 
 self at my feet and grovelled in the dust ; he 
 besought me with tears in his eyes to spare him, 
 he pleaded in the most piteous tone, he asked 
 what fault had he committed that he should be 
 subjected to such punishment ; he called to 
 mind his faithful services to me, extending over 
 many years, his devotion, his zeal, the very 
 identical service of the day before which had 
 brought him into all this trouble. In vain I 
 expostulated with him, reasoned with him, per- 
 suaded, scolded, commanded; — he retained the 
 same attitude, grovelling at my feet like a 
 criminal who had just been condemned to death 
 by my mandate. My heart is not made of 
 stone, and I could not help feeling for the man's 
 distress. But why all this fuss ? 
 
 The day he accompanied me on such an
 
 THE HISTORY OP THE BAKEACKS. 45 
 
 errand would be his last^ he said. The fakii' 
 would be taken to prison^ perhaps punished, 
 and upon his, the informer's, head, would fall 
 all the odium of that deed ; besides, it was well 
 known that the fakir had powerful friends — he 
 had friends in the police, among the jail esta- 
 blishment, in the court amla, and some said that 
 even the commissioner sahib's serishtadar was 
 numbered among his adherents. Finally, the 
 principle of combativeness or antagonism, which 
 even in the most abject animals may be de- 
 veloped by despair, evinced itself. He declared 
 he would not go. I might beat him, torture 
 him, hang him, but go he would not, and if 
 dragged to the spot he would declare he knew 
 nothing and had seen nothing. 
 
 I tried the motive of avarice. I offered him 
 as much money as would make him comfortable 
 for life, but he rejected it. I assured him of 
 protection, of the segis of the very collector 
 sahib himself, the man shook his head and 
 would have none of it. The case was hopeless. 
 I turned away in despair, angry witli Sookha, 
 but still more angry with myself, for, lo ! my 
 idea flashed across my brain again, and said to 
 me almost as plainly as if it had spoken out 
 in so many words, " Bah, couldn't you have 
 foreseen this ? " 
 
 I need not occupy much time by relating how
 
 46 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 after this Dakhil Duftar and I had a fool's 
 errand. The fakir expected our visit with as 
 much certainty as old Mrs. Tabby expects her 
 friend whom she has invited to tea, when the 
 tea is made and the muffins are being kept warm 
 at the fire. Search ! We might have as well 
 searched Budgepore for an honest man as have 
 looked for poisonous drugs in the fakir's hut, or 
 anywhere near it. 
 
 It's an ill wind, however, that blows no good. 
 And this miserable failure of mine, nevertheless, 
 resulted in poetic justice being done. A few 
 months more and the fakir was on his way to a 
 penal settlement, and his shrine had been re- 
 moved by the department of public works ! 
 For Shekh Futtoo now perceived that the 
 hounds were not far from his scent. The fakir 
 knew a good deal too much. At any moment 
 the secret of his dealing in poisons might be out, 
 and then there was no doubt about it, the dis- 
 closure of his, the Shekh's, complicity with his 
 guilt would inevitably follow. He knew human 
 nature pretty well, did the Shekh, and the 
 nature of the men he had to deal with, The 
 slightest accident — a straw blown by the winds 
 of heaven — might at any time reveal the whole 
 story of the fakir's guilty trade. There were 
 at least a hundred men in the city of Budge- 
 pore who were cognizant of it. But the fakir
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BAEEACKS. 47 
 
 ever since the great Shekh had let himself fall 
 into his toils^ felt perfectly secure. No harm 
 could happen as long as he was befriended by 
 him. But once in danger, and that influence- 
 not exerted to befriend him, and he had hinted 
 as much, he would reveal the whole story of 
 the death of the man Beharee, and the circum- 
 stance that led to it, the purchase of the poison 
 by the Shekh, and beyond this the fakir cared 
 not to know. 
 
 It was not an easy task the Shekh had ugat 
 to accomplish. The fakir was respected in the 
 city, and held in repute pretty well all over the 
 district. He was no ordinary foe to be trampled 
 upon at once — no ordinary prey to be entrapped 
 in the usual stereotyped manner, by a formal 
 charge, and perjured witnesses and confession 
 to police under the influence of torture. The 
 blow, if struck at all, must be a grand coup — a 
 blow that would annihilate the fakir^s reputation 
 for sanctity, at the same moment that it laid 
 him low at his rivaFs feet. And it was a grand 
 coup — a master-piece of amla audacity. 
 
 An examination of the jail records showed the 
 Shekh that about ten years before, a man whose 
 descriptive roll was among those records, and 
 which answered in every particular with the 
 external appearance of the fakir, allowing for 
 changes consequent upon lapse of time, had been
 
 48 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 sentenced to transportation for life for an at- 
 tempted murder. There were hundreds of 
 others who had been transported also from 
 Budgepore within the period embraced by that 
 bulky file of records, which the Shekh so cau- 
 tiously scanned. But there were two reasons 
 why this particular one was selected. One 
 reason was that the descriptive roll answered 
 to the fakir's appearance, and the other was 
 that in this particular instance it was recorded 
 that the prisoner who had been transported had 
 died at the penal settlement. So far, well. 
 
 One day, shortly after this, a petition was 
 presented to Dakhil Duftar, from a jemadar of 
 police in the Budgepore district, which set forth 
 that the writer, having recently been promoted, 
 and being moved thereto by his zeal for the 
 Sirkar, or Government, wished to rectify a great 
 error he had been the instrument of many years 
 ago. When engaged in the duty of escorting a 
 prisoner condemned to transportation, from 
 Budgepore to Calcutta, whose name was Sun- 
 gram Sing, the party of police in charge, which 
 consisted of himself and three others, had 
 allowed this particular prisoner to escape. It 
 had happened one night, when the escort with 
 the prisoners under their charge, of whom there 
 were ten, in irons, were bivouacked under a 
 tree near the village of Makampore, in the
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 49 
 
 Ghazeepore district. "V\Tien the writer of the 
 petition and his comrades were asleep, a rush 
 was made upon them by several men. Sun- 
 gram Sing was seized, and his irons being 
 struck oif, restored to liberty ; and he escaped, 
 but one of his liberators remained behind after 
 the rest had run away, and told the dis- 
 comfited police that they need be under no 
 apprehension of suffering for their negligence, 
 for that he, being inclined thereto for divers 
 weighty reasons, which it did not concern the 
 police to scan too closely, was ready and 
 willing to go into transportation in place of 
 Sungram Sing, and to undergo that worthy 
 man^s sentence as deputy. The number of 
 prisoners they had to deliver up to the authori- 
 ties in Calcutta would thus be complete, no 
 inquiry would be made, and all parties would 
 be satisfied. 
 
 Sungram Sing having fairly escaped out of 
 their hands, the police had consulted their own 
 interests, and consented to the arrangement, 
 putting the substitute into the irons that had so 
 recently impeded the free action of Sungram^s 
 limbs. And this very identical Sungram Sing, 
 the petition went on to say, was now to be seen 
 in the guise of a fakir living under the peepul 
 tree, on the common outside the city of Budge- 
 pore, on the Toghluckabad road. 
 
 II. 4
 
 50 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 After hearing the petition read to hira, (it is 
 the custom in India for all documents to be 
 read to officials, whether they are petitions, or 
 statements of cases, or depositions, or death 
 waiTants, or what not, so that the official 
 hears and signs, if the document be for signa- 
 ture, what the reader wishes or chooses to make 
 him hear; for of the document itself in the 
 vernacular, he could not, if he tried, read one 
 word,) Dakhil Duftar passed an order summon- 
 ing the writer to his presence. 
 
 He made his appearance in due time, and was 
 examined by Dakhil Duftar as to the facts 
 stated in his petition. His answers were con- 
 sistent, and the story he told seemed plausible, 
 and a warrant was issued for the arrest of the 
 fakir. 
 
 I was a good deal surprised to hear of it, for 
 from what little I had been able to gather about 
 the fakir's influence with the amla, I did not 
 expect he would meet with any molestation 
 from that quarter. After thinking over it for 
 some time, I began to see a glimmer of light 
 breaking in upon the afiair. What motive had 
 Shekh Futtoo for wishing to compass this man's 
 destruction ? A very obvious one ; my suspicions 
 became then more confirmed. 
 
 " The villain is caught in his own net,^^ was 
 my remark to Dakhil Duftar, after he had told
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 51 
 
 me about tlie discovery of the escaped convict, 
 though I had of course heard of it before. 
 
 " What do you mean ? '' said he. 
 
 " Why, that although the man is altogether 
 innocent of this charge, he deserves the fate 
 that is impending over him." 
 
 '' Innocent ! What a fellow you are. How 
 can he be innocent ? Why here's the very man 
 who had him in charge, who went with him 
 half way to Calcutta, from whom he escaped, 
 who must have seen him every day — he swears 
 to his identity.'' 
 
 " Very likely," said I, " and what does the 
 man say himself ? " 
 
 '' Oh, as a matter of course, he swears he has 
 been there for the last twenty years under that 
 tree, as if that were likely, you know. As if it 
 were likely that he could be there all that time, 
 and not a single soul in all Budgepore can be 
 found to say he ever saw him there more than 
 five or six years back. Why, if it were true, 
 there must be a thousand men and women at 
 least in Budgepore who could have recognised 
 him." 
 
 " And will no one come forward ? " 
 
 " No ; I tell you the thing 's absurd. Here 
 is the descriptive roll answering exactly to his 
 appearance. Here are three police constables 
 who took him down in charge, from whom he 
 
 4 •
 
 62 THE CHRONICLES OF BITDGEPOEE. 
 
 escaped, and seventeen other witnesses, who all 
 swear he is Sungram Sing and no one else ! " 
 
 I will not detain you over this story. The 
 fakir was committed for trial, upon the charge 
 of having escaped from custody, when under 
 sentence of transportation. The seventeen wit- 
 nesses all swore to his identity, so, of course, 
 did the policemen. He was found guilty and 
 sentenced to transportation, and did not escape 
 this time. At least half the city of Budgepore 
 knew the truth, but not a soul would come 
 forward. Perhaps they did not do so for the 
 same reason that I did not, for I knew perfectly 
 well that the old fakir had been there certainly 
 for five-and-twenty years, as I had seen him 
 scores of times off and on during that period. 
 But I was determined to leave the old villain to 
 his fate, for I had found out that he made a 
 practice of dealing in poison, and I am sure he 
 was guilty of Beharee^s death. 
 
 So he met with his deserts, but not in the 
 way intended. And had he been really an 
 innocent man, as I suspect very few of these 
 fakirs really are, it is dreadful to think of the 
 ease and simplicity with which he was got rid 
 of, for of course nothing that he might say now 
 about the sale of poison to Shekh Futtoo or 
 anyone else, would be believed. 
 
 So the old fakir went to end his davs at
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE BARRACKS. 53 
 
 Penang, and the shrine and hut were removed, 
 and the beef-eating European smokes his pipe 
 over the spot erst sacred to the lingam. The 
 well has been walled in, to prevent the children 
 from the barracks falKng in, but it is still used 
 for the soldiers, for the water is as sweet and 
 wholesome as it ever was.
 
 CHRONICLE V. 
 
 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR'S VISIT, 
 AND WHAT CAME OF IT.
 
 CHRONICLE V. 
 
 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR'S VISIT, AND 
 WHAT CAME OF IT. 
 
 It was a great day for Budgepore wlien His 
 Honour the Lieutenant-Governor came to our 
 station on one of his tours. He was expected 
 on Saturday, and was to stay over Sunday, and 
 leave on Monday morning. 
 
 Great preparations were made to give the 
 dignitary a fitting reception, and Crawford, who 
 was then our collector and magistrate, looked 
 forward to getting a little " kudos,'' for the 
 condition in which his district was. And I 
 must say he deserved it. Crawford was an ener- 
 getic man, straightforward, and wonderfully 
 free from the prejudices which detract so much 
 from the usefulness of most officials in his po- 
 sition. He was fully alive to the responsibilities 
 of his office, and knew well what a curse to the 
 country a magistrate and collector becomes, as 
 soon as he allows himself to be made a tool of 
 by his serishtadar and the natives about the
 
 68 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 courts. As far as possible he looked into every- 
 thing for himself ; and never allowed himself to 
 be biased by the opinions, or guided by the 
 intrigues of the amla or police. He was a man 
 of active habits, and spent as much of his time 
 as he could spare from other duties in his dis- 
 trict. And his district was in first-rate order. 
 It was commonly said, that as soon as you came 
 into the Budgepore district, you were safe from 
 being robbed. The fact is, Crawford carried 
 things with a high hand sometimes, and not 
 seldom set aside the law and regulations quietly, 
 when he found they interfered with the public 
 weal. If he caught a man out in a crime he 
 would not unfrequently punish him on the spot, 
 without waiting for the tardy process of even 
 summary trial. But he never did this except 
 he either saw with his own eye, or knew from 
 his own knowledge, that he had the real culprit 
 in his hands. All the badly disposed feared 
 him. The police and amla hated him. The 
 bulk of the native community liked him. 
 
 One little thing he did on the occasion of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor's visit, illustrates his cha- 
 racter. It got wind that there were several 
 natives of a village called Hajeepore, who had 
 been summarily punished by him for cattle- 
 stealing, or some such crime, who had prepared 
 and were going to present to the Lieutenant-
 
 THE lilEUTENANT-GOVERNOR'S VISIT. 59 
 
 Governor a petition^ setting forth how unjustly 
 they had been treated. 
 
 These men he clapped in jail^ and kept them 
 there till His Honour had left the district, when 
 they were released. This stroke of policy was 
 an effectual one. Had the Hajeepore petition 
 been presented, some five hundred others would 
 have followed. But no sooner was it noised 
 abroad that the petitioners were thus taken care 
 of, than the other five hundred petitions were as 
 speedily as possible committed to the flames. 
 
 At that time we had an amateur choir in our 
 little church. Our padre, whom I shall call 
 Mr, Shanks, was a little spare man, with reddish 
 sandy hair, and wore shoes. The choir was 
 conducted by Mrs. Crawford, and by Mrs. Ham- 
 ilton the wife of our officiating Sessions Judge. 
 When I say the choir was conducted by these 
 ladies, I do not of course mean that they both 
 conducted it together. That would have been 
 quite as great a feat as squaring the circle, or 
 discovering perpetual motion. What I mean 
 is, that Mrs. Crawford usually managed it, and 
 as she was not able to be there always (for she 
 very often accompanied her husband into the 
 district), when she was absent, Mrs. Hamilton 
 took the duties. You will not forget that 
 Hamilton was only officiating Sessions Judge 
 the dijfference therefore between the rank and
 
 60 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 standing of tliese ladies was not so very- 
 great. 
 
 Of course when so great an event as the visit 
 of the Lieutenant-Governor was expected^ all 
 the residents were in the station^ and the con- 
 sequence was that the choir bid fair to be well 
 attended. 
 
 There were^ besides the ladies I have men- 
 tioned, other members — Mrs. Dickenson, whose 
 husband was a Lieutenant in the 80th Native 
 Infantry, then stationed at Budgepore. Dick- 
 enson married as an Ensign, under the impres- 
 sion that an officer could live more economically 
 married than single. He was very much in 
 love, but I am sorry to say it is too true, that 
 when poverty comes in at the door, love very 
 often flies out at the window ; and, before three 
 years were over, poor Dickenson found himself 
 with an increasing family, and he also made the 
 discovery, that the notion of a man's expenses 
 not being necessarily increased by his marriage 
 was a sad fallacy. At the time I speak of 
 they had seven children. It is true he had 
 meantime got his lieutenancy and the adjutancy. 
 But these aids came too late, he was hopelessly 
 in debt, and what is worse, broken-hearted. 
 
 The following year he died, kiUed by his 
 cares, if ever a man was killed by anything. 
 And Mrs. Dickenson found herself one morning
 
 THE LIEUTENANT-GOVEKNOe's VISIT. 61 
 
 with nothing but a single change of clothes for 
 herself and each of her children^ and her hus- 
 band^s sword. The Committee of Adjustment 
 put their seal upon everything else in the house. 
 Dickenson was carried to his last home, and a 
 subscription was got up in the station to help 
 to pay his widow^s expenses to England, whither 
 she betook herself; and it was pleasing to find 
 that what with her own and her children's pen- 
 sions, she was more comfortably off and happier 
 than she had been since the first year of her 
 marriage. 
 
 But I am digressing. The rest of the choir 
 was composed of one of the young officers of 
 the 80th, and three or four of the Christian 
 drummers, as they were called. " Christian '^ 
 drummers, I have often thought that adjective 
 a good illustration of the principle of derivation 
 involved in the phrase lucus a non lucendo. I 
 am not one of those who believe that the 
 calamities of '57 shoidd necessarily be regarded 
 as a judgment of Providence. But assuredly 
 if there was anything in the old system that 
 reflected disgrace upon the officers of the old 
 Bengal army, and represented responsibilities 
 ignored, it was the frightful state of ignorance 
 and immorality in which the so-called Christian 
 drummers of the old native army were suffered 
 to live.
 
 62 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOKE. 
 
 One raorumg tliat week I got a note from 
 ShankSj asking me to go over and breakfast with 
 him. I went, and found him in a ludicrous 
 state of perplexity. The fact was, he said, 
 there was to be a choir-meeting at the church 
 that morning for practice, and the ladies were 
 anxious to have some special musical addition 
 to the service in honour of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, who was sure to attend church, and 
 Mr. Shanks was afraid there might be a little 
 difference of opinion, tastes differed, and so on 
 
 — in fact well, in short, he was nervous, 
 
 and asked me if I could accompany him and 
 give the aid of my advice if necessary, 
 
 " Certainly,'^ said I, " I will go with pleasure. 
 But it seems to me that although it may be 
 quite right and proper for civilians^ wives instead 
 of singing to 'the praise and glory of God,' to 
 sing to the praise and glory of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, I think if I were you, Shanks, 1 
 should set my face against any interference 
 with the usual services.^' 
 
 Poor Shanks ! I knew him at Oxford. He 
 belonged to Exeter, and got a third the year 
 Mandamus, who was lately Attorney-Generab 
 got his double first. Mandamus knew him too, 
 and used his influence to get him an Indian 
 chaplaincy. He was a bachelor, and dreadfully 
 shy, timid in ladies^ society, and very much in
 
 THE lieutenant-governor's VISIT. 63 
 
 awe of the two fair beings who had taken his 
 church by storm. 
 
 That shyness which some men feel in ladies' 
 society, and which seems to be affected so much 
 by the dress^ is a curious characteristic of hu- 
 man nature, and worthy a deeper study than I 
 have time to give the subject. A man who is 
 fearfully shy and timid in the presence of a 
 well-dressed woman, will be comparatively bold 
 and forward with a badly-dressed one. What 
 is the reason ? 
 
 It would seem that the act of dressing ele- 
 gantly and tastefully has some of the properties 
 of magnetism which repels as well as attracts. 
 For you see some men repelled just in propor- 
 tion as others are attracted by that indefinable 
 something, I suppose I may call it " force ^' — 
 force means anything you like now-a-days, 
 from an arm-chair to an invisible atom of 
 infinity — which indicates the presence of a well- 
 dressed woman. 
 
 Is it the rustling of silk and muslin, or the 
 fragrance of " Early Spring Flowers," or any 
 other of Piesse and Lubin^s productions, or the 
 combination of colours, or the loveliness of the 
 bonnet of the latest Paris cut, or the edge of 
 an embroidered or frilled petticoat peeping out 
 from underneath the dress, or is it the quiet 
 self-possession and graceful demeanour of ladies
 
 64 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 accustomed to move in good society, that makes 
 the heart of a man constituted like Shanks sink 
 within him as a stone, when he comes under 
 the influences which to men of another stamp 
 are so attractive? Shanks would have gone to 
 a funeral quite cheerfully, but to meet Mrs, 
 Crawford and Mrs. Hamilton — poor wretch, he 
 was afraid. I call him poor wretch rather with 
 reference to his subsequent fate, than his present 
 fears. Unwilling, because too shy, to find a wife 
 from among his equals in birth and education, 
 he got caught, when on furlough, by the daugh- 
 ter of a lodging-house-keeper in London, and 
 married her, and didn^t he lead a life of it ! 
 
 There was a great consultation at the church. 
 Mrs. Crawford had some high church ten- 
 dencies, and was bent upon having an anthem 
 in the proper place, of course in the middle of 
 the prayers. Mrs. Hamilton with a like object 
 in view, but opposite tendencies, insisted on 
 having " From Greenland's icy mountains," 
 after the sermon instead of the anthem. I did 
 not myself see the aptitude of the selection, but 
 I thought I would not expose my want of taste 
 by asking. Perhaps the "icy mountain" 
 might have some reference to Nynee Tal or 
 Simla. 
 
 Shanks of course was referred to, and he, as 
 weak men always do, tried a middle course.
 
 THE LIETTTENANT-GOVERNOe's VISIT. 65 
 
 My opinion was asked, and I recommended 
 Brady and Tate, Ps. 15, not with any special 
 reference to the present occasion, but because 
 I thought it ought to be sung by order of the 
 Governor-General in Council in every church 
 in the Mofussil once every Sunday, and twice 
 on Sunday in all hill stations, the 3rd verse 
 being repeated. You recollect it, of course. 
 
 Who never did a slander forge 
 A neighbour's fame to wound, 
 
 Or hearken to a false report 
 By malice whispered round. 
 
 I need hardly add that after making my 
 suggestion, I basely deserted Shanks and left 
 him. The result was a compromise, and the 
 Lieutenant-Governor had both the anthem and 
 " From Greenland's icy mountains," 
 
 On Sunday evening we all dined with His 
 Honour. This state ceremony was not marked 
 with that funereal gloom that distinguished the 
 state camp dinners of one of his successors (the 
 late Lieutenant-Governor) where you hardly 
 knew which was the coldest, the plates, the 
 dinner, the reception, or the reception tent. 
 Still, it was stiff enough. It was a cold winter 
 evening, and did not feel a pleasant change 
 from the comfort of one's " ain fireside " to the 
 "cold blast" of a large doublc-poled tent, 
 though that was the Lieutenant-Governor's. 
 II. 5
 
 66 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPORE, 
 
 When I got there all the other guests had 
 arrived. The ladies were sitting in a semi- 
 circle, the gentlemen standing about in groups, 
 no one saying a word, but ladies and all looking 
 exactly as if they had all come there to be 
 wigged. Indeed, I thought the whole scene 
 would have made an excellent group for Ma- 
 dame Tussaud. His Honour was standing with 
 his back to a stove in the centre of the tent, 
 conversing slowly, as if anxious not to exhaust 
 the subject too rapidly, upon the weather, with 
 Colonel Sungeen. No one else spoke a single 
 word. 
 
 The duties of an aide-de-camp, except in the 
 field, are not those which call into play the 
 noblest parts of man's nature. Still I have 
 always thought it very unreasonable that a man 
 should grumble at having no more onerous or 
 responsible duties to perform than to dress well 
 and sit all the morning in a nicely furnished 
 drawing-room, and hand ladies to and from 
 their carriages and pass them through the 
 ceremony of introduction. Any way, whatever 
 a man is paid for doing he ought to do it, as 
 Solomon says, with all his might. Now, his 
 Honour's aides-de-camp, I am bound to say, 
 did not bend the undivided energies of their 
 minds to the performance of the duties which 
 their destiny had allotted to them. I am rather
 
 THE LIETJTENANT-GOVERNOR's VISIT. 67 
 
 afraid they thought, or affected to think it be- 
 neath them, the consequence o£ which was on 
 the present occasion that they managed the 
 introduction so clumsily, that they left the im- 
 pression on His Honour's mind that Mrs. 
 Crawford was Mrs. Hamilton, and that Mrs. 
 Hamilton was Mrs. Crawford. 
 
 It was a great relief when dinner was an- 
 nounced. But I doubt whether if an earth- 
 quake had set all the tables and chairs dancing, 
 there would have been as much consternation 
 as now took possession of the Budgepore monde. 
 For His Honour, on dinner being announced, 
 walked slowly and with digniHed mien up to 
 where the ladies were seated, passed quite close 
 to Mrs. Hamilton, and offering his arm to Mrs. 
 Crawford, led her off. Ten thousand thunders ! 
 Had the earth opened at Mrs. Hamilton's feet, 
 and the dark mysteries concealed beneath the 
 roots of the everlasting mountains been revealed 
 in the depth of the yawning abyss, it would 
 have been to her, comparatively, an incident of 
 slight importance. For a whole month after that, 
 whenever any two of the residents o£ Budgepore 
 met together, that event formed the sole topic 
 of discourse. Every conceivable motive and 
 many inconceivable motives were ascribed to 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, who, as you know, 
 had merely acted under a mistake. Crawford,
 
 68 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 as you may easily gather from the little I have 
 said about him, was no favourite with his 
 brother officers. A man who will choose out 
 his own course of action instead of walking in 
 the beaten track, never is a favourite with his 
 fellows. If he succeeds in life, they envy him, 
 if he does not succeed^ they hate him. The 
 Lieutenant-Governor had spoken highly in 
 praise of the state in which he found Crawford^s 
 district, and now every one took for granted 
 he was to be promoted immediately over the 
 heads of his seniors. Mrs. Hamilton's feelings 
 did not recover the shock they received from 
 His Honour's extraordinary disregard of the 
 laws of society, all the evening. Nor were they 
 at all softened by an unfortunate remark he 
 made later in the evening. With the best in- 
 tention in the world, and acting still as Lieu- 
 tenant-Governors sometimes, but very rarely 
 do, on incorrect information, he went up to 
 Mrs. Hamilton and complimented her on the 
 success of her efforts in the choir, and especially 
 on the beauty of the anthem. 
 
 Next day the camp took its departure, and 
 Budgepore was left to chew the cud. The Ha- 
 jeporee petitioners were soon afterwards re- 
 leased, for Budgepore was only two marches 
 from the next district. Small-pox was raging 
 in the jail where they had been temporarily
 
 THE lieutenant-governor's VISIT. 69 
 
 confined, two of the petitioners died of the 
 disease in jail, a third died of it in his village, 
 and the disease having been thus taken into 
 the district, it raged for several months, till 
 whole villages were nearly depopulated. It 
 was so bad that Dr. Macbole was sent to 
 write a report, which he did, filling therewith 
 twenty sheets of foolscap. The report was 
 sent to the Secretary to Government, North- 
 West Provinces, who|^ had it docketed and tied 
 with red tape and safely placed in a box. 
 
 The hot season of that year Mrs. Crawford 
 spent at Mussoorie. Mrs. Hamilton was there 
 also. I had a great regard for Crawford and 
 his wife, and was much pained to hear various 
 reports unfavourable to the character of the 
 latter. All my letters from Mussoorie, written 
 by gossiping correspondents, contained some 
 allusion to the way Mrs. Crawford was talked 
 about. I need hardly say, that knowing so 
 well as I do how often reports of this kind 
 have no foundation whatever, except in malice, 
 I put no faith in them whatever. But they 
 reached Crawford's ear and he was exceedingly 
 indignant. 
 
 He refused all explanation, he would not 
 even ask for any. His wife, conscious of her 
 imnocence, resented his unworthy suspicions, 
 and an angry altercation ensued between bus-
 
 70 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 band and wife, who had hitherto lived together 
 on the most affectionate terms. There are 
 few things more painful to see than a quarrel 
 between husband and wife, both of whom love 
 each other dearly and would give the world, if 
 they could be reconciled, yet neither will be 
 the first to offer to make amends. Bitter 
 thoughts and angry feelings take the place of 
 warm affection, and grow in intensity from 
 the very necessity each is under of justifying 
 the course they are pursuing to their own con- 
 sciences. So the breach grows wider and the 
 heart grows sorer, till at last, in desperation, 
 one or the other takes a decided step and re- 
 solves to banish from the heart all former feel- 
 ings of attachment. If it is the husband who 
 takes the first step, he becomes a misogynist 
 and rails against all the sex. If it is the 
 woman, she not unfrequently gives colour to 
 all the previously unfounded suspicions against 
 her, by engaging in real and dangerous flirta- 
 tion. Such, I am sorry to say, was the case 
 with Crawford and his wife. Both had been 
 warmly attached to one another till the demon 
 jealousy, aroused by scandal, came between 
 them. They were, each, too proud to acknow- 
 ledge their faults, or to seek to make up the 
 quarrel. Without returning to Budgepore, 
 she made arrangements to go to England, and
 
 THE LIETITENANT-aOVEBNOR's VISIT. 71 
 
 as he coldly intimated his acquiescence in the 
 plan, and tried to persuade himself that he saw 
 in it a fresh proof of the suspicions he enter- 
 tained, she went straight down from Mussoorie 
 to Calcutta and sailed for England in the Hin- 
 dost an. They never met again. 
 
 1 felt for Crawford, but he was too reserved 
 a man to admit even me very closely into his 
 confidence. I, however, went up to Mussoorie, 
 determined to worm out the affair, and trace 
 the unhappy scandal to its source. It was not 
 till the following year I succeeded in doing so, 
 and then I found it had originated entirely 
 with Mrs. Hamilton, who, actuated as I cannot 
 but believe by unworthy motives, and with de- 
 liberation, spread a report injurious to her 
 old friend's character. What she said was, 
 speaking of Mrs, Crawford to a lady notoriously 
 fond of tittle tattle, and to whom you had only 
 got to breathe a word in confidence with a 
 request that it might go no further, to ensure 
 its being all over the station by the next day — 
 what she said was, that she went into Mrs. 
 Crawford's one day, and found her with Captain 
 Smith, " and she saw — well, she would not 
 like to say what she saw.'' That was all. The 
 seed was sown, the snowball was set rolling, 
 and the happiness of two loving hearts was 
 marred for ever this side the grave.
 
 72 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDOEPORE. 
 
 Crawford, I am sorry to say, did not bear up 
 against his troubles. Perhaps he wanted that 
 alone which could have borne him up against 
 them, — religious principle. He tried to drown 
 his grief by intemperate drinking, and while 
 he was to the last degree bitter against the 
 opposite sex, he nevertheless adopted habits 
 which showed how little independent he was of 
 them. Thus, when people heard of his domestic 
 troubles, they used to pity Mrs. Crawford, and 
 say, " No wonder she had to leave a man who 
 led the life her husband did.^^ So you see, the 
 Lieutenant-Governor's visit to Budgepore was 
 followed by some rather important conse- 
 quences.
 
 CHRONICLE VI. 
 
 THE OVERSEER.
 
 76 
 
 CHRONICLE VI. 
 
 THE OVERSEER. 
 
 I HAVE already given some description of Budge- 
 pore, its locale, society, &c., and shall therefore 
 say no more on that head here. 
 
 In 183 — there was an overseer in the Public 
 Works Department stationed there, named 
 Thomas Clarke. He had been a private soldier, 
 aud had taken his discharge and obtained em- 
 ployment in the department, in which he re- 
 mained till his death, which took place under 
 the most distressing circumstances, so distress- 
 ing that it is painful for me to recall them to 
 memory, and put them down in writing. 
 
 It happened that the head native in the 
 department under Clarke, named Omichund, 
 embezzled some public money. This Omichund 
 was a sharp man, one of a type very commonly 
 met with. He was an eminently useful man^
 
 76 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 and he knew it, and, native-like, took every 
 pains to get into the good graces of the officials. 
 
 f any of them wanted anything done to their 
 houses or gardens, Oraichund was sent for. 
 He of course never took a contract himself, 
 that would have been improper, as he was in 
 Government employ, but he always brought a 
 man to take the contract, and the work was 
 always well done, and on reasonable terms, 
 Omichund himself superintending so far as to 
 see that the interests of the " sahibs " were well 
 
 ooked after, and the " sahibs " themselves put 
 to no trouble. He was a wealthy man, and 
 kept a number of horses, and whenever any of 
 the " sahibs " wanted to lay a dak to a neigh- 
 bouring station, or to the foot of the hills, 
 which was only about sixty miles off, Omichund's 
 horses were always promptly lent. In this and 
 a thousand and one other ways, which I need 
 not particularise, this man managed to worm 
 himself into the attachment of the local autho- 
 rities, especially the magistrate, whose wife 
 went to the hills steadily every year, and who 
 was accordingly glad to get up to the hills him- 
 self once or twice during the season, on which 
 occasions Omichund^s horses were found very 
 convenient. 
 
 Poor Clarke was a good, honest, quiet sort of 
 fellow; he married when he got the appoint-
 
 THE OVERSEEK. 77 
 
 ment, and at the time I speak of had six chil- 
 dren, his pretty wife still retaining her good 
 looks. She was a neat, nice little body, the 
 daughter o£ European parents. Her father had 
 been an old pensioner, and Budgepore being a 
 favourite station, with a number of little bun- 
 galows and gardens all about in the outskirts 
 of the town, a good many old pensioners made 
 it their place of residence. Mrs. darkens house- 
 keeping was perfection, as, with their narrow 
 means she managed to bring up her children 
 and look after the house, which was always tidy 
 and well kept, as well as the pretty little garden 
 which surrounded it. Her children were 
 always clean and nicely dressed, and she herself, 
 like a good wife, was very careful about her 
 personal appearance, and was always ready to 
 welcome her husband with a smile when he 
 came back from his office or his work in the even- 
 ing. They were very regular attendants at our 
 little church, and altogether, though the great 
 folk in the station troubled not their heads 
 about them, I will be bound to say there was 
 no happier home and no more decent, respectable 
 family in Budgepore, than that of darkens. 
 
 Poor fellow ! He was too conscientious to 
 allow the misdeeds of Omicbund to pass unno- 
 ticed, and though, as he told me afterwards, 
 he had a presentiment no good would come
 
 78 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDQEPOEE. 
 
 it, he thought it his duty to bring the charge 
 he did against him for misappropriating the 
 public money. He did not succeed in proving 
 it, though there could have been no moral 
 doubt that the man was guilty. However, Omi- 
 chund asserted his innocence, and what vrith 
 the extreme difficulty of getting any witnesses to 
 come forward against a man of so much in- 
 fluence, and what with the good opinion always 
 entertained of Omichund by the officers in the 
 station, the charge fell to the ground,and Clarke 
 incurred some odium for having brought it. 
 
 It was about a year after this that Mrs. 
 Clarke came over to me one morning crying 
 bitterly, to tell me that her husband had been 
 that morning arrested on a charge of miirder, 
 and the magistrate was then investigating the 
 case. In reply to my question she told me 
 that the night before her husband had been 
 called out to speak to a man who had come to 
 see him on some business connected with the 
 roads. He went out, taking in his hand a little 
 switch cane which he always carried with him, 
 especially when he went out after dark, because 
 their garden was infested with snakes, and 
 once or twice he had narrowly escaped treading 
 upon one. He came back rather disturbed in 
 mind, and told her he had done what he very 
 seldom did, struck the man across the shoulder
 
 THE OVEESEEE. 79 
 
 with the switch, because he had been grossly 
 insolent to him. He expressed regret for what 
 he had done, but said he had never been so 
 insulted before by any native or European. 
 They shortly after retired for the night. After 
 they had been in bed about half an hour, Mrs. 
 Clarke, who happened to be awake, heard 
 sounds in the garden, as if people were about. 
 Apprehending thieves, she got up and looked 
 out, and saw the figures of one or two men 
 leaving the garden. As there did not appear 
 to be any cause for alarm, and she supposed 
 the men had come to steal a few flowers and 
 shrubs perhaps, and as they had now left the 
 place, and as there was very little prospect of 
 overtaking them, she went to bed again and 
 did not disturb her husband. 
 
 Next morning at day-break there was a 
 great fuss. Some police came in and declared 
 that there was the dead body of a man lying 
 under the trees in the garden. Clarke was 
 horrified and rushed out to see, and sure enough 
 there was a corpse there, just on the very spot 
 where he had stood the night before and had 
 the altercation of which I have spoken. Well, 
 the usual proceeding was taken, a post mortem 
 was made, and the doctor declared the man 
 had died of a ruptured spleen. 
 
 I did what I could to comfort poor Mrs.
 
 80 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDOEPOEB. 
 
 (.Jlarke, and went down to the magistrate's cut- 
 cherry to see what was going on. 
 
 Two policemen had just been examined, who 
 swore that the night before they had been on 
 the I'oad outside Clarke's garden and had dis- 
 tinctly heard an altercation between him and a 
 native. They also swore they heard the sound 
 of a blow, and a noise in the branches of the 
 shrubs as of a body falling. In the morning 
 they found the body of the deceased, and by it 
 a garden hoe. 
 
 The case looked bad. I felt for poor Clarke, 
 for I knew him to be a quiet, good sort of man, 
 who would never intentionally have done any 
 harm to a fellow creature. A native woman, 
 a prostitute of the town, next swore that she 
 knew the deceased, and that he had told her 
 the evening before that he had to go and speak 
 to Clarke, and that he was rather afraid to go 
 because he had reason to believe the sahib 
 was angry with him. Clarke was thereupon 
 sent to jail, and the case went down to Calcutta 
 to go before the grand jury. 
 
 Never shall I forget the look of distress and 
 misery on Mrs. darkey's face that afternoon 
 after she had taken a sorrowful leave of her 
 husband. He said to her at parting, '^ Keep 
 up your spirits, Annie, and look after the poor 
 children. And whatever you do, never believe
 
 THE OVERSEER. 81 
 
 me guilty of this crime. I am innocent of it, 
 as innocent as you^ but it is a plot, I know, 
 set on foot by Omicliund, who vowed he would 
 be revenged on me. Let us put our trust in 
 God, and, whatever happens, submit patiently 
 to His will.'' 
 
 This occurred in the month of May. A 
 burning hot wind was blowing at the time, and 
 as European prisoners were scarce in Budge- 
 pore, there was very little, in fact no accommo- 
 dation for them in the jail there. Clarke was 
 confined in a small square room, with but im- 
 perfect ventilation. A punkah was allowed 
 him indeed, but it was pulled by the prisoners, 
 who did not see why they should be made to 
 work gratis for the benefit of a fellow prisoner, 
 and you may be sure that they did not exert 
 themselves very much. The darogah of the 
 jail was the son-in-law of Oraichund, and this 
 man did everything he could (and it was a 
 good deal) to make poor Clarke's confinement 
 as irksome and painful as it could possibly be. 
 His wife was allowed to visit him daily, but 
 the darogah took care that a native under- 
 strapper should be in the room at the time, 
 who insulted and annoyed them in every 
 possible way. She used to send his meals to 
 her husband, but they had to pass through the 
 hands of the jail officials, who brought them 
 II. 6
 
 82 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 to him in such a disgusting state, covered with 
 flies and filth, that it was impossible for him to 
 touch them, while the water given him to drink 
 was more like soap than Avater, mixed with 
 mud and all sorts of impurities. Of course 
 Clarke complained to the doctor who regu- 
 larly visited him, and the doctor reported his 
 complaint to the magistrate, who sent for the 
 jail officials and examined them ; you may easily 
 understand what sort of answer they gave. 
 The darogah then complained to the magistrate 
 of Clarke's violence. He said he was so 
 abusive that he was afraid to go near him : 
 and once or twice he had threatened to use 
 violence, and did on one occasion strike one 
 of the jail officials. Again the magistrate ex- 
 amined the jail officials, and you may easily 
 understand what they said. Poor Clarke was 
 then put under constraint and kept handcuffed, 
 in which state the police and jailors frequently 
 jeered at him and spat in his face. All these 
 things were repeated to me by Mr. Clarke, and 
 I of course called on the magistrate and en- 
 deavoured to enlist his sympathy for the poor 
 man. It was of no avail. He said Clarke's 
 account of the treatment he was subjected to 
 rested only on his own statement, whereas that 
 of the darogah was confirmed by as many as a 
 dozen witnesses. Neither I nor the doctor
 
 THE OVEESEER. 83 
 
 could do anything. Of course we understood 
 how the case really was^ but what could we say 
 in reply to the magistrate's averment, which 
 was in itself true, except that we believed 
 Clarke's statement and disbelieved that of the 
 natives. All he said was, that he differed with 
 us, and believed the natives, and that as a 
 magistrate he was bound to believe and act 
 upon the evidence of a number of officials rather 
 than the unsupported statement of a prisoner. 
 Of course they took care that none of these 
 outrages should be committed while any of us 
 were by, but we could not remain with him all 
 day, and no sooner were our backs turned, 
 than the tormentors commenced their malicious 
 work upon their victim. 
 
 It is a painful story. Mrs. Clarke, from 
 going backwards and forwards to the jail in the 
 heat of the sun, was prostrated with fever, and 
 the consolation of her visits was thenceforward 
 denied to her husband. This last blow proved 
 too much, and I was one day called to go and 
 see him in a hurry, for he was very ill. I went 
 with the doctor, and found him in that stifling 
 hot room stretched upon his wretched charpoy, 
 with the shadow of death plainly darkening 
 over him. 
 
 There had been one or two cases of cholera 
 in the jail, and the depression caused by the 
 
 6 *
 
 84 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDOEPOEE. 
 
 painful circumstances in which he had been 
 placed exposed him very much to the influence 
 of that disease^ which seems to affect the 
 mental almost as much as the corporeal part of 
 our frame. He was past recovery when I went 
 in. I had put my prayer-book in my pocket 
 as I left the house, for a presentiment came 
 upon me that something of the sort was the 
 matter. He took my hand as I seated myself 
 beside him, and in a very faint voice asked 
 after his wife. Alas! I had no good news to 
 tell him. She was worse. He murmured, " It 
 is the will of God.^^ He said in answer to my 
 question that he felt no pain, though he had 
 suffered dreadfully during the night. He was 
 calm and resigned. I poured into his willing 
 ear the consolatory words of Holy Writ, and 
 remained with him till the last, and so did the 
 doctor, and when we both came away, we were 
 so aflected that it was long before we could 
 speak. On our way home we visited poor 
 darkens cottage. Alas, what a change was here ! 
 The little rooms which used to be so neat, and 
 tidy and cheerful, were all in disorder, the carpets 
 unswept for days, the furniture untouched. The 
 children had all been taken away by a kind 
 neighbour, the wife of one of the pensioners, who 
 lived close by. Mrs. Clarke was the only occu- 
 pant of the once happy home, besides a sweeper
 
 THE OVERSEER. 86 
 
 woman who had been brought up in the family 
 and remained with her in her hour of trial. 
 
 Why linger over these reminiscences? 
 
 The bereaved widow was herself sinking. The 
 fever had left her, indeed^ but she was too much 
 weakened to rally. In a faint voice she asked 
 after her husband. I was obliged to tell her. 
 Poor soul ! it would be a comfort rather than 
 a distress to her to know, that he she 
 loved had already gone before her and was even 
 now waiting to welcome her with his old loving 
 smile. She closed her eyes; my hand was still 
 on hers. I felt a convulsive twitching of her 
 slender fingers, and saw her breast heave with 
 a stifled sob, and all was over. She had met 
 her husband in a land where the cry of the 
 widow, and the orphan, and the oppressed, is 
 never pleaded in vain. 
 
 The house, and garden and furniture were 
 sold the week after, and Omichund purchased 
 them. 
 
 The next week the case was sent back from 
 Calcutta. The grand jury had thrown out the 
 bill. 
 
 Ten years afterwards I was talking one day 
 to an old malee, or gardener, who had been three 
 or four years in my service. His child had 
 been ill of fever, and some quinine and medi- 
 cines I had given the old malee for him brought
 
 86 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORK. 
 
 the patient round. He expressed the utmost 
 gratitude to me, and volunteered the following 
 story, which he said he had long wanted to tell 
 me, but had felt afraid. It was, that ten years 
 before, he had been bribed by a present of six 
 rupees to go one evening to the house of a 
 " sahib " who lived there (pointing in the 
 direction of what had been poor Clarke's 
 cottage), and to be insolent to the sahib, so as, 
 if possible, to induce him to strike him; he was 
 then to go away to a village in another district 
 several miles off, where, as long as he remained, 
 he would receive two rupees a month. He did 
 so, and had received the two rupees regularly 
 for four or five years, when the payments sud- 
 denly ceased; and he then resolved, why he 
 hardly knew, to come back to Budgepore with 
 his family for work. He did not know what 
 he was paid for, nor why he had been asked to 
 insult the " sahib " and induce him to use vio- 
 lence. But as he left the garden that evening 
 he recollected, he said, seeing two policemen 
 on the road outside, and by them, underneath 
 the wall, there was something wrapped up in 
 cloth, which looked like a man's body. He 
 was afraid to take any notice of it or to say 
 anything about it. But he had heard that it 
 was Omichund who had supplied the money 
 which was paid to him.
 
 CHRONICLE VII. 
 
 A LAW-SUIT.
 
 89 
 
 CHRONICLE VII. 
 
 A LAW-SUIT. 
 
 " I HAVE been unfortunate enough to be involved 
 in one or two law- suits, during my residence 
 at Budgepore. One of them resulted from my 
 having foolishly invested a little money in the 
 purchase of a native house in the city I did 
 not live there, of course, or intend living there, 
 but I let the house for a very decent rent. I 
 had not been in possession long, before a rich 
 native built a brick wall up within two feet in 
 front of the door of the house. This, as you 
 may easily see, was inconvenient to my tenants 
 (one of whom was rather stout), and they all 
 immediately vacated. 1 was obliged to bring 
 au action against the trespasser. It was filed 
 in the court of the native Civil Judge, of 
 course, that being the court of first instance in 
 which all original suits must be tried, unless
 
 90 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 the European Judge can be prevailed upon by 
 having good and satisfactory cause shown^ to 
 send for any particular case, and try it in his 
 own court. My case was numbered 35, and a 
 day fixed for first hearing. Well, I went there 
 on the day fixed, and then found I was mis- 
 taken ; the number of the suit was 135 and not 
 35, and another day was fixed. I went, and 
 to my astonishment found the suit was not 
 numbered 135 at all, but 235. Again a post- 
 ponement. But I cannot tell you how many 
 times I went, only to have to go away again. 
 At last I did what I ought to have done at 
 first, inquired into the cause, when I found 
 that the defendant was a creditor of the serish- 
 tadar, or head clerk of the Court, who owed 
 him a thousand rupees. 
 
 " I then applied, and had the suit brought 
 into the Judge^s court. But here I was des- 
 tined to no better success. I engaged a native 
 advocate, to whom I entrusted all the papers 
 in the case. This did not improve matters : the 
 defendant easily bought him over, and he lost 
 all the papers, and I had the trouble and ex- 
 pense of getting fresh ones. At last the case 
 came on for settlement of the issues, when 
 what was my astonishment, to hear the pleader 
 for the defendant suggest in the first issue, 
 whether there was any door at all. I lost my
 
 A LAW-STTIT. 91 
 
 temper and got very angry, but I found, sure 
 enough, that their first plea was that there was 
 no door at all. It reminded me of the American 
 case about the kettle, which the plaintiflF alleged 
 the defendant had borrowed, and returned 
 without the spout. ' I shall prove,' said the 
 counsel to the jury, ' that in the first place the 
 kettle had no spout when it was borrowed; 
 secondly, that it never was borrowed ; and 
 thirdly, that there was no kettle at all.' 
 
 " As soon as the day's business was over, I 
 got into my buggy and drove down to look at 
 the premises, and to see what the man could 
 possiblv mean by saying there was no door, 
 when I had seen it scores of times. To my 
 utter astonishment, I found he was correct ; 
 there was no door, and to all appearance there 
 never had been one. No vestige of such a 
 thing could be traced anywhere on the wall, so 
 adroitly had it been built in, and the place 
 concealed. I got in through one of the windows, 
 and examined the inside wall, and found that 
 that exhibited no more trace than the outside 
 wall. I asked the neighbours if they could not 
 swear there had been a door there, but they all 
 denied ever having seen one. I went to the 
 kotwal, and he said he had already promised 
 the defendant to depose to the fact that the 
 house never had had a door. In despair, I
 
 92 THE CHRONICLES OF BtTDGEPORE. 
 
 went to the man from whom I purchased the 
 housCj and he calmly assured me that this was 
 the very reason why he had sold the house, 
 because it had no door, and he had found resi- 
 dence there inconvenient in consequence. That 
 was the state of my case, and now tell me, for 
 you have had some experience in these matters, 
 what do you think of it ? " 
 
 " Well, Old Mortality," said I, " your 
 chance of a decree was not worth much. Why 
 didn't you get proper legal assistance in the 
 first instance? ^Vhy didn't you get a barrister 
 from Calcutta ? " 
 
 " I did try, bul I found the expense too 
 great. My attorneys in reply to my letter, 
 asking what Mr. Small Talk would take up the 
 case for, intimated it would be necessary for 
 me to pay the fees beforehand — that of course 
 I knew, but when they said that Small Talk 
 would not come for less than ten thousand 
 rupees down, and a thousand rupees an hour 
 from the time he left till the time he returned 
 to Calcutta, I thought it was too much. So 
 I determined to be my own lawyer, and set to 
 work to study the decisions of the S udder 
 Dewany from 1857, and I conducted the case 
 myself. I have brought you the judgment, 
 which you can read.
 
 A LAW-SUIT. 93 
 
 " In the Court of the Civil Judge of Budgepore. 
 Old Mortality versus Salig Ram. 
 Claim, 3,000 Rupees. 
 Judgment. 
 " The plaintiff in this suit purchased a house 
 in the city of Budgepore a short time ago. He 
 claims 3^000 Rs. damages from defendant, who, 
 he alleges, erected a brick wall two feet from 
 the door of that house, thereby destroying its 
 utility as a place of residence, and in fact 
 ruining the property. The main difficulty in 
 this case is the fact, that the existence of the 
 door, the approach to which is said to have been 
 blocked up by the erection of the brick wall by 
 the defendant, is disputed by the defendant. 
 The evidence on this point is all in favour of 
 the defendant. But I find certain admissions 
 in the evidence of some of the defendant's wit- 
 nesses, that go far to shake the confidence I 
 might otherwise feel in a train of testimony so 
 well substantiated by witnesses of the most re- 
 spectable character. The principal witness for 
 defendant, Jootharam, who built the house, and 
 from whom the plaintiff purchased it, declares 
 he built it without a door. This in itself is a 
 suspicious circumstance. For of what use could 
 a house be without a door ? The witness him- 
 self says his object in having no doorway was
 
 94 THE CHRONICLES OF BITDGEPOBE. 
 
 to keep the cats out ; but it is in evidence that 
 he built a window, and it seems inconsistent 
 to build a house for human habitation with a 
 window, by which the ingress and egress of cats 
 could be accomplished, and at the same time to 
 put no doorway, by which the ingress and 
 egress of its occupants could be effected. Had 
 there been neither a window nor a door, then 
 the original design of the builder would not 
 have been inconsistent with the course he 
 alleges he pursued, because the Court cannot 
 but see that the object of keeping cats out 
 would be very effectually accomplished by the 
 construction of a house without doors or win- 
 dows. But to erect a dwelling-house with a 
 window, by which the cats might undoubtedly 
 effect an entrance, and yet to put no door, by 
 which the occupants of the house could go in 
 and out, seems to the Court so extraordinary 
 an act, that the assertion of its commission 
 must be received with great caution. 
 
 " The city kotwal, a man of undoubted 
 veracity and most respectable character, deposes 
 that the house never had a door ; yet he ad- 
 mitted that he knew certain parties who resided 
 in it. When asked how, in the absence of any 
 door, these parties went in and out of the 
 house, he replied, that they were not in the 
 habit of going in and out.
 
 A LAW-SUIT. 95 
 
 " The Ameens appointed by the Court to 
 examine the premises^ report that there clearly 
 never was any doorway, but at the same time 
 they put in a list of articles that they found 
 inside, among which I observe a cot included, 
 which could not by any possibility have been 
 taken in through the window. 
 
 " Although, therefore, the testimony of the 
 defendant's witnesses is absolutely unimpeach- 
 able, the whole of them being men of the 
 highest respectability and undoubted veracity, 
 yet I find myself totally unable to adopt their 
 conclusion, in face of the very strong pre- 
 sumption raised on the other side, viz. the 
 presumption of the existence of a door. 
 
 " As the defendant has rested his whole case 
 upon the denial of the existence of the door, 
 and does not attempt to show that he did not 
 build the brick wall in front of it, and so block 
 it up, I find both the first issues for the 
 plaintiff". 
 
 " The question of damages remains only to 
 be considered. 
 
 " It is quite clear to this Court, that, what- 
 ever may have been the previous condition of 
 the house, its present condition is not such as 
 to allow of occupation by any tenants but such 
 as can find ingress and egress through the win- 
 dow. Such tenants would no doubt principally.
 
 96 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 if not wholly, belong to the class the exclusion 
 of which was contemplated by the witness Joot- 
 harani,when he constructed the edifice. There 
 are no data before the Court by which the 
 Court can derive any accurate idea of the pro- 
 bable rental derivable from that class of 
 tenants. 
 
 " The value, however, o£ the bricks and ma- 
 terial used to construct the wall erected by the 
 defendant, is in evidence^ and the Court con- 
 siders that it will meet the equity of the case by 
 awarding a decree to the plaintiff of the amount 
 expended by defendant in constructing this 
 wall, or 200 rupees. This decree will carry 
 with it the costs of the suit.^^ 
 
 (Signed) Basil Mooltawee, 
 
 Judge.
 
 CHRONICLE VIII. 
 
 THE VISIT OF OUR SPIN. 
 
 II.
 
 99 
 
 CHRONICLE VIII. 
 
 THE VISIT OF OUR SPIN. 
 
 Oh, it was a great day for Budgepore when — 
 I must really be excused for using that horribly 
 vulgar Anglo-Indianism — the spin arrived. The 
 spin, did I say ? Yes, for you know there had 
 not been one at Budgepore within the recollec- 
 tion of the oldest inhabitant ! I say, before 
 she arrived, the excitement was at boiling-pitch. 
 We heard of her expected arrival a month 
 before she came, A month's notice was rather 
 a short notice, and when viewed in connection 
 with some circumstances that transpired subse- 
 quently, which I shall detail all in good time, 
 I may say it was a suspicious circumstance. 
 Because, you see, in those days — I am speaking 
 of 1840 — you generally heard of the expected 
 arrival of so important a personage as " a spin " 
 
 7 ♦
 
 100 THE CHRONICLES OF BtTDGEPOEE. 
 
 at least three months, sometimes six, before the 
 event happened. For before the young ladies 
 left England it was always known to their 
 friends to whom they were coming;, when they 
 might be expected, and they, of course, would 
 naturally enough spread the report abroad. So 
 that, in fact. Miss Smith or Miss Jones was 
 expected at Muddlepore, or Hotchpotchabad, 
 even while the interesting girls were engaged 
 in shopping in London, selecting silks and 
 muslin, laces and cambrics that were destined 
 to commit havoc among the hearts of the male 
 dwellers at Muddlepore and Hotchpotchabad. 
 
 " I say, old fellow, have you heard the 
 news ? " said young Anderson^ coming into my 
 room one morning. 
 " No, what news ? " 
 " She^s to be here to-morrow.'' 
 " You don't say so ! Who told you ? " 
 " Mrs. Gregory — I've just met her." 
 One word about Mrs. Gregory and her worthy 
 husband. The Gregorys were the jolliest couple 
 I ever knew. They had married early in life ; 
 they seemed to have no cares, enjoyed good 
 health, and never dreamt of going to the hills. 
 At the time I speak of he had reached the 
 rank of Major, and was enjoying the otium cum 
 dignitate of that very easy birth, a Major in a 
 native regiment commanded by a Lieutenant-
 
 THE VISIT OF OUR SPIN. 101 
 
 Colonel, with little to do but to draw his 750 
 Rs. a month. 
 
 Mrs. Gregory, though a good many summers, 
 and those Indian summers, had passed over her 
 head, had lost none of the freshness and vivacity 
 of youth. She was acutely sensitive to the 
 ridiculous, and no one understood or appre- 
 ciated a joke better than she. Perhaps, for a 
 lady, she was a little too fond of jokes, even 
 practical ones. I knew her so well that I 
 could always tell by a peculiar twinkle in the 
 corner of her eyes, when she was up to mis- 
 chief, and took care to be prepared accordingly. 
 
 The next evening Robertson came in, as a 
 small party were sitting down to dinner at my 
 house, in a state of great excitement. 
 
 " IVe seen her ! " he said. 
 
 " Have you ! " we all cried simultaneously. 
 Not that I individually felt much interest in 
 this young person, but I did not like to show 
 indifference to a matter in which they were all 
 so much concerned. 
 
 " What is she like ? " two or three asked at 
 once. 
 
 " Is she tall or short ? " 
 
 " What colour eyes and hair ? " 
 
 " How docs she dress? " 
 
 " Where did you see her ? '' 
 
 " What about her paces ? "
 
 102 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDGEPORE. 
 
 These ai\d several more queries of a like kind 
 were hurled at poor Robertson before he had 
 had time to throw his cap on a chair, and draw 
 another chair to the table. 
 
 Nobody had asked her name — that was left 
 for me to do. 
 
 " Sophy Wilkins.^' 
 
 " Now 1^11 describe her to you/' said Robert- 
 son when he had finished his soup, " and answer 
 all your questions at once. Our new spin — she 
 won't be a spin long, I take it — is the most 
 angelic creature I ever set eyes upon. Her 
 hair — well, I don't know what colour her hair 
 is — I scarcely saw it ; in fact, I think she has 
 very little, but what there is, is light; her eyes 
 are blue, her figure perfection, and her man- 
 ners " 
 
 A shout of laughter at this crisis drowned 
 Robertson's voice, and prevented us from hear- 
 ing the remainder of the description he was 
 prepared to give. He blushed up to the eyes, 
 and looked ashamed of himself. It was clear 
 he was already head and ears over in love, and 
 his friends had no delicacy in telling him so. 
 
 Sophy Wilkins was very pretty, there is no 
 doubt, and Robertson's enthusiastic description 
 of her did her but justice. I noticed that 
 mischievous twinkling in the corner of Mrs. 
 Gregory's eye when she introduced me to her
 
 THE VISIT OF OUR SPIN. 103 
 
 pretty niece, and I said to myself, " You are 
 up to some mischief, I know ; perhaps you 
 are anticipating the pleasure of seeing Old 
 Mortality in love/' 
 
 Those were gay days for Budgepore. Budge, 
 pore hardly knew itself. It was the cold 
 weather, and we had pic-nics, and archery 
 parties and riding parties, balls and amuse- 
 ments without end. We mustered altogether 
 about ten ladies, all of them, of course, except 
 the last arrival, married. It is hardly neces- 
 sary to say all the young men lost their hearts, 
 and all were ready to propose to Sophy after 
 slie had been there a week. The first that did 
 propose, and was accepted, too, was poor 
 Robertson. The older officers shook their 
 heads at the imprudence of such a match. I 
 went so far as to remonstrate with my old 
 friend Mrs. Gregory, for Robertson was only 
 a lieutenant ; but she merely gave me another 
 malicious twinkle, and said it would be all 
 right. I took her to mean that young ladies 
 were proverbially fickle, and that the match 
 would be broken ofi', or that Sophy Wilkins 
 was a rich banker^s or merchant's daughter, 
 and an heiress. 
 
 At first all went well, Robertson was seen 
 out riding with his affianced bride for two 
 evenings, and they rode together round and
 
 104 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 round the band-stand. After a few days there 
 began to prevail sinister reports about the en- 
 gagement. Sophy was observed to bestow her 
 favours upon Sharpe^ the adjutant, and poor 
 Robertson looked more and more crest-fallen. 
 
 I donH know how these things are managed, 
 never having had any experience of the world 
 of matrimony myself, but I do know this, that 
 Sophy Wilkins managed to jilt Robertson and 
 took Sharpe into favour. 
 
 Of course everybody observed it, and Robert- 
 son got jealous ; still, he could not believe that 
 his goddess was faithless, and hoped on, though 
 his rival daily grew in favour. 
 
 One evening we had a dance at the mess. 
 It was the Thursday evening, the week after 
 her arrival. I had just concluded a set of 
 quadrilles with Sophy Wilkins, when she 
 slightly pressed my arm with her taper fingers, 
 and asked me to take her outside. She seemed 
 suddenly depressed, excited, pained at some- 
 thing. Was she ill? No. As I turned to 
 lead her out, I saw the cause of her discom- 
 posure. There stood her adorer (number one) 
 the picture of sadness and grief, leaning with 
 his arms folded against the door, and looking 
 most woe-begone. Only that week she had 
 confessed to him her love, had sworn to be 
 true and faithful, and now she had been flirt-
 
 THE VISIT OP OUR SPIN. 105 
 
 ing all the evening with this fellow and that, 
 and especially with Sharpe_, the adjutant. 
 
 When we reached the garden. Miss Sophy 
 seated herself upon a rustic bench underneath 
 a magnificent peepul tree, whose leaves and 
 branches the rays of the full moon were 
 bathing in a flood of silvery light. She mo- 
 tioned me to seat myself beside her, which I 
 did, at least as well as I could, for there was 
 only a very little bit of the seat left just at 
 the end, four-fifths of it being enveloped with 
 the folds of her snowy tarlatan dress, a mass 
 of dazzling drapery that shone in the moon- 
 light, the emblem of virgin purity. I did not 
 venture to remove it, much less to sit upon it, 
 but placed myself respectfully at the edge ot the 
 seat, in a position that caused me very shortly 
 to suff'er from cramp. 
 
 I had begun to take a considerable interest 
 in this young girl. She seemed at times so 
 artless and innocent, one trembled to think of 
 her being exposed to the temptations of the 
 world, and at other times her genius would 
 flash out in remarks and suggestions, that in 
 one less child-like would have seemed like 
 being very wide awake. " Does she intend, I 
 wonder,'* said I, mentally addressing myself, 
 "to try it on with me — me — Old Mortality? 
 no, hardly that ! "
 
 106 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 " Are you unwell, Miss Wilkins ? " said I, in 
 my blandest tone, and most sympathetic manner. 
 
 She sighed. 
 
 " Worse and worse/^ thought I. " I hope 
 she won't cry." 
 
 An awkward silence ensued — a very awk- 
 ward one. What was I to do? Did she 
 expect me to take her hand, and press it with 
 gentle sympathy ? Yes ; perhaps that will be 
 the best way. 
 
 I took it. " My dear Miss Wilkins/' said I, 
 at the same moment, " Do tell me if you are 
 unwell ; is there any great grief weighing upon, 
 your spirits, any sorrow you are longing for 
 sympathy under ? I am an old man, old 
 enough to be your father ; confide in me, if 
 I can comfort you, I will; if I can advise you, 
 you shall have my advice ; if " 
 
 " Yes, Old Mortality," she said in her sweet- 
 est tones. She had a sweet voice, and it 
 seemed somehow in harmony with the soft 
 evening air, and the bright moonlight. 
 
 " Yes ; I have a deep sorrow — poor Gerard ! " 
 — (that was Robertson,) "his reproachful yet 
 tender look cut me to the heart — how could 
 I have been so cruel ! " 
 
 And she put the loveliest cambric hand- 
 kerchief, bordered with the loveliest Maltese 
 lace, to her eyes. I knew she was weeping.
 
 THE VISIT OF OUR SPIN. 107 
 
 " Is it the case then ? but excuse me, I 
 have no right to ask the question ; Gerard 
 Robertson is jilted, is he ? and Sharpe is the 
 happy man ? " 
 
 I had no sooner said the words, somehow, 
 than I felt as if I had been a brute ; and I 
 wished the earth would open, or, what was 
 much more likely of attainment, that a large 
 cobra would open his mouth and swallow 
 me up. 
 
 But she did not turn on me and spurn me. 
 She withdrew her handkerchief from her eyes 
 and raised those glorious blue orbs, still glis- 
 tening with pearly drops, upwards through 
 the branches of the noble old tree, to where 
 the stars in heaven were sleeping in the calm 
 moonlight. 
 
 Then she turned them full upon me, and said, 
 
 " You have saved me, oh, so much pain. 
 You have expressed, curtly, it is true, but 
 with manly vigour, what I was trying in vaiu 
 to get my foolish woman^s heart to say to 
 you. Yes, Gerard and I must part. Our 
 souls are not in unison. Were we to marry, 
 and he has only lieutenant's pay, two hun- 
 dred and fifty-six — ten and a company, we 
 should be unhappy for life. I feel that I 
 have wronged him, but do you think you 
 could do me a favour ? "
 
 108 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 1 am quite certain that if she had asked rae 
 to climb up to the top of the tree^ I should 
 have attempted it. 
 
 "I will do anything I can for you^ Miss 
 Wilkius/' I said. 
 
 " Oh, thank you — thank you a thousand 
 times. This is what I want you to do ; to go 
 and break it to Mr. Robertson — in the gentlest 
 way you can. He is here to-night, go now 
 and tell him.^^ 
 
 I went upon the unpleasant duty, and per- 
 formed it like a man, and returned to the 
 garden seat to receive her thanks. She asked 
 me if he seemed to feel it very much. I said 
 yes, I thought he did. 
 
 She signified her intention of returning to 
 the ball-room. Obedient as a slave, I rose and 
 offered her my arm. 
 
 When we returned, Robertson was gone. 
 Sharpe was, however, there, and the next 
 minute she was whirling round with him in 
 the dance, his arm clasping her waist and her 
 head reclining graceiully upon his shoulder. 
 
 Next day it was given out that she was en- 
 gaged to him, and they rode together side by 
 side round the band-stand. 
 
 Sharpe was a pattern adjutant, the man of 
 most influence in the regiment next to the 
 native doctor. He was a well-made man, of
 
 THE VISIT OF OUR SPIN. 109 
 
 about six feet one, with well-developed chest 
 and muscular limbs. He had a great idea of 
 the dignity of his office, and used to wig the 
 junior officers as if he were commandant. He 
 was generally to be seen, except, of course, 
 upon parade, with a service letter in his hand, 
 to the contents of which he would ever and 
 anon refer, even while in conversation, as if 
 the whole business of the administration rested 
 upon him, and he had no leisure to attend to 
 matters of minor import. That he should have 
 cut out Robertson was not, we thought, to be 
 wondered at, so much as that he should have 
 condescended to accept the post of suitor 
 No. 2. 
 
 As soon as the engagement was complete, he 
 began, recklessly almost, to prepare his house 
 for the reception of his bride. The verandah 
 was thronged with a crowd of carpenters and 
 work-people ; he began to have his rooms 
 painted, at least coloured, and bought a silver 
 tea-pot and a pony-carriage. 
 
 I left Budgepore for a few days about this 
 time, and when I came back I drove over to 
 the colonel's. Finding Mrs. Sungeen alone in 
 the drawing-room, I entered into conversation 
 with her, as I was curious to hear the news. 
 And she did not keep me long waiting. Of 
 course Sophy Wilkins was the theme.
 
 110 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 " What a girl that is, to be sure ! " she said. 
 " I never knew a girl behave so shamefully as 
 she has done, upon my word I never did/^ 
 
 I supposed she was alluding to her having 
 jilted Robertson, and said, — 
 
 " Yes, but I have always understood it was 
 a privilege ladies were allowed to indulge in. 
 Robertson was foolish to make so much of it. 
 I^m sure if it had been I, I wouldn't have cried 
 my eyes out ; stuff and nonsense, all women 
 are alike, and — " 
 
 " All good for nothing, you think. Old Mor- 
 tality, I know. No, it was not Robertson I 
 was thinking of, but there's poor Sharpe, hcs 
 spent already three thousand rupees in fur- 
 niture and horses.'' 
 
 Mrs. Sungeen, you observe, used to call the 
 officers of her husband's regiment by their sur- 
 names. It was a common practice in those 
 days, I don't know whether it is so now. 
 
 " Well," I replied, " it is not too much. 
 Any man who marries such a pretty girl as 
 Sophy Wilkins ought to have his house nicely 
 furnished. If she was my wife she should 
 have everything of the best." 
 
 I was pretty safe in saying that, and chuckled 
 inwardly while I said it. 
 
 "Everything of the best! Then it seems 
 you haven't heard."
 
 THE VISIT OP OUR SPIN. Ill 
 
 "What?'' 
 
 " Why, the last ? " 
 
 " Pray do not drive me to distraction, Mrs. 
 Sungeen/' said I, irritated beyond endurance. 
 " I really like this girl, — that is — I — take an 
 interest in her — a fatherly interest, you know, 
 — tell me, has anything happened to interfere 
 with her engagement with Sharpe ? " 
 
 " Anything happened ! — Yes, a little. She's 
 engaged to Cocker, that stuck up young assis- 
 tant civilian, you know." 
 
 Now Cocker was not at all particularly 
 " stuck up." He was a very good fellow. But 
 Mrs. Sungeen hated a civilian as a wild bull 
 does a piece of red cloth. In her eyes all the 
 service were " stuck up." 
 
 I was so astonished at this communication 
 that I actually jumped off my chair. 
 
 " Lawk a mercy ! Old Mortality, you needn't 
 be so much astonished at that. It's just what 
 I expected. I am thankful of one thing, at 
 any rate, that that girl does not come into the 
 regiment." 
 
 " But how did all this come about, do teU 
 me, I am dying to know." 
 
 " Well, it was easy enough coming about. 
 Young Cocker saw her at the band, and met 
 her two or three times, proposed, and was 
 accepted, and what do you think the heartless
 
 112 THK CHRONICLES OF BUDQEPORE. 
 
 creature said ? I spoke to her, I was deter- 
 mined I would speak to her, she shouldn't 
 break the heart o£ all my boys this way, with- 
 out my having a word with her. So I told 
 her 1 thought she ought to have known her 
 own mind better than to break poor Robert- 
 son's heart (the poor boy has hardly smiled 
 since ; he has been over to dinner every day, 
 and I do my best to cheer him, but it's no 
 use), and there's Sharpe, he has not only 
 broken his heart, but he's furnished his house, 
 which is a much more serious thing. Now 
 what do you think she said ; " You don't know, 
 Mrs. Sungeen, how I hate myself for the way 
 I have behaved to these young men ; but a 
 poor helpless orphan as I am, must take care 
 of herself. Now Mr. Cocker is a civilian, and 
 a civilian is j6300 a year, dead or alive.' 
 That's what she said, the very words, — ' dead 
 or alive.' " 
 
 " Upon my word, she is a cool young lady. 
 But, do you know, I rather respect her for 
 having the honesty to speak out her senti- 
 ments ; and how does Sharpe bear it ? " 
 
 " Oh, very well. He has sold all the fur- 
 niture and carpets and the silver teapot to 
 Mr. Cocker, who has taken them off his hands 
 at cost price." 
 
 Cocker's engagement lasted long enough for
 
 THE VISIT OF OtTR SPIN. 113 
 
 Miss Sophy to lame both his horses, and for 
 him to buy a new Arab for 1,200 rupees on 
 the strength of a loan from the Agra Bank, 
 which he sent up with a bran new saddle and 
 bridle one morning to Gregory "s house. After 
 a short time, Molyneux, the Collector, who 
 had been out in the district, returned to the 
 station, and Cocker rather proudly introduced 
 him to his affianced bride the first evening 
 after his return. 
 
 There was something rather peculiar, I 
 thought, about Miss Sophy. She never ap- 
 peared except in the evening. If you called 
 at the Gregorys' house, you did not see her, 
 though on one or two occasions, after keeping 
 them waiting a long time, she had vouchsafed 
 to gladden the eyes of her lovers with her 
 presence. She never went to church. Was 
 she a dissenter, I used to wonder ? She used 
 to enjoy dancing and riding, and the pleasure 
 of her society in these two pastimes was 
 the only one she ever allowed her lovers to 
 enjoy. 
 
 The day following that of Molyneux's in- 
 troduction. Cocker had orders to go out into 
 the district and complete the work that his 
 superior had left uncompleted. He went re- 
 luctantly enough, poor fellow. Mrs. Sungeen 
 said she knew very well how it would be. 
 II. 8
 
 114. THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 But, then, it is very easy to be wise after the 
 event. How it came about I do not know, 
 but within a week of Cocker's departure Sophy 
 had engaged herself to Molyneux. Cocker 
 was very angry at first, and insisted on calling 
 him out, hut it ended in Molyneux paying the 
 costs, that is, taking the furniture and the 
 carpets and the silver tea-pot off Cocker's 
 hands. They used to say at Budgepore that 
 it was quite a common thing to see the carts 
 laden with the furniture going from house to 
 house, indicating the direction in which Sophy's 
 affections had been transferred. But this was 
 an exaggeration, because they, I mean the 
 chairs, tables, &c., &c., had only been moved 
 twice — once from Sliarpe's to Cocker's, and 
 once from Cocker's to M0I3 neux's. 
 
 Molyneux was now the happy man. And 
 no sooner did it become noised abroad in the 
 district that the Collector Sahib was about to 
 take a wife, a wife with whom, moreover, he 
 was desperately in love, than the affectionate 
 and attached inhabitants of the villages, ze- 
 mindaries and jageers round about Budge- 
 pore came in to pay their respects to the Col- 
 lector's wife that was to be, bringing with them 
 or sending before them such little offerings 
 in the shape of fat kine, goats, baskets of 
 fruit and vegetables, and other presents of
 
 THE VISIT OF OUB SPIN. 116 
 
 a more costly nature, that Mrs. Gregory was 
 put to her wit's end to know what to do with 
 them. 
 
 Molyneux, in addition to the furniture, sent 
 down a large order to Shearwood to the amount 
 of 5,000 rupees, for spring chairs, sofas, foot- 
 stools, a cheval glass, dressing-tables, &c. 
 
 Alas for human hopes and human wishes ! 
 We were playing pool in the hilliard-room, a 
 lot of us, one afternoon, Molyneux being of 
 the party, when a pink-coloured envelope was 
 put into his hands. He took it into the 
 verandah on pretence to get more light to read 
 it by. Artful man. / saw him. His back 
 was no sooner turned and his face, as he 
 thought, out of sight, than he pressed the 
 seal, I mean the part where the seal ought 
 to have been, to his lips, and then he opened 
 it. Ah, he should have opened it first ! And 
 reader, do you learn a lesson from this. 
 Never kiss a letter till you have mastered its 
 contents. 
 
 The note was as follows : — 
 
 My dear Mr. Molyneux, — 
 
 Before this reaches you we shall have 
 parted for ever. Do not ask me why. Do 
 not seek to follow me. Do not rend still 
 
 8 *
 
 116 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 further my broken heart by forcing me to 
 explanations, painful because they will so for- 
 cibly recall the sweetness of the past, now 
 fled from me — from us, for ever. Duty, more 
 bindinj^ than the vows of an affianced wife, 
 calls me elsewhere. Adieu. I am gone. 
 
 Yours, heart-broken, 
 
 Sophia Wilkins. 
 
 Molyneux turned deadly pale. He threw 
 down the billiard cue, snatched his coat and 
 rushed out of the house, jumped into his 
 buggy, and drove off towards Gregory^s. I 
 followed, for I feared some catastrophe. 
 
 But what was the good of our going except 
 to be laughed at by Mrs. Gregory? I do 
 not mean that she openly ridiculed Moly- 
 neux^s sorrow, but I saw by the twinkle of 
 her eye that there was no real sympathy in her 
 bosom. 
 
 Sophy Wilkins' sojourn among us and her 
 sudden departure had had something the same 
 effect upon the secluded little circle of Budge- 
 poreans that the failure of a bank would have 
 had. Robertson was the only one of the 
 victims to the fair enslaver who escaped with- 
 out both an empty pocket and a broken heart. 
 And in consequence, having only one sorrow
 
 THE VISIT OF OUE SPIN. 117 
 
 to mourn over, he felt it all the more deeply. 
 Molyneux soon got married, and Shearwood's 
 consignment came up just in time. Cocker, 
 who had manfully struggled against debt, and 
 with success, hitherto, now being below the 
 water, gave up the attempt to keep any longer 
 above, and eventually became very heavily 
 involved. 
 
 About a couple of months after this, I 
 passed through Umballa on my way to the 
 
 hills. The Lancers were quartered there, 
 
 and I put up with one of them on my way 
 through. It happened there was a theatrical 
 performance by the officers the evening of my 
 halt, and as I was to start for Kalka at twelve 
 at night, I willingly consented to accompany 
 my friend to the regimental theatre. One of 
 the pieces played was the " Lady of Lyons." 
 TTiru„4- „,„c wnT nleasurable surprise to see the 
 principal part in the piece l^^... i,,^ ^j^ 
 
 though still young friend, Sophy Wilkins, u, 
 at least a young lady as like her as one pea to 
 another. There were the same rosy cheeks, 
 the same blue eyes, the same clear complexion, 
 the same short hair, the same grace of manner, 
 that had charmed us all at Budgepore.
 
 118 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 Walking home with my friend Quartly and 
 his chum Howard, they asked me how I liked 
 the play ? 
 
 " Very much," said 1 ; " and it adds to the 
 charm of a thing of this kind, where you get 
 ladies to take a part. I wish it was more 
 generally the custom in India, as it might be 
 in well-managed amateur theatres, where the 
 actors are all gentlemen, and belong to one 
 corps." 
 
 My sage remarks, to my surprise, were 
 greeted with shouts of laughter from my two 
 companions. 
 
 " What are you laughing at? " said I. 
 
 Quartly was about to say something, when 
 Howard nudged him, and said in an under-tone> 
 but not so softly but that I could hear, 
 
 '' Don't tell him.'' 
 
 We had by that time reached the compound 
 gate, and I found my palkee and bearers ready 
 waiting. I was busy adjusting the contents of 
 the palkee when my two friends nnccPfi rino *-r. 
 
 ,.11 ousL at that moment I heard 
 
 enter the ri*^'-- 
 
 ^ pony's hoofs clattering along the road, and 
 by the time I had finished my arrangement 
 and had got inside the house, where supper was 
 laid out, the pony had brought its rider to the 
 door. 
 
 " Come in. Chaffers," said Quartly, going
 
 THE VISIT OF OUR SPIN. 119 
 
 Gilt to the verandah. "^ Come and have some 
 supper.^' 
 
 " Well, I don't mind if I do. Those petti- 
 coats are devilish hot,''^ 
 
 " Oh, is that Chaffers ? " said Howard, putting; 
 down a bottle of champagne he was just mani- 
 pulating, and running out. 
 
 " Come in ! — there's one of your Budgepore 
 friends here.^' 
 
 The estimable Chaffers, whoever he was, had 
 just reached the doorway, when Howard uttered 
 tlie last few words. He turned like a flash of 
 lightning, with a little scream you might have 
 taken for a woman's just before a fit of hysteria, 
 leaped on his pony, and in an instant almost, 
 judging from the sound of the animal's hoofs, 
 WHS out of the compound, galloping down 
 the road at least ten miles an hour. 
 
 When I returned to Budgepore in November, 
 tliecold weather had set in. There was a large 
 dinner party shortly after my return, and as 
 usual, ^ _„^ ^^ ^^jp station was present. 
 
 Ki)W, thought I, I will pay her out. 
 
 It was during the awkward period, before 
 diuner was announced. There happened to be 
 a dead silence. No one spoke a word. I went 
 and stood in the centre of the group, and
 
 120 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 addressed myself pointedly to Mrs. Gregory, 
 who was at a little distance from me, so neces- 
 sarily everyone in the room heard what passed. 
 This was just Avhat I wanted. 
 
 "I had a very pleasant visit at Umballa on 
 my way through, ]\Irs. Gregory/' said I. 
 
 "Indeed!" 
 
 Everybody's attention was now attracted to 
 us, not because they were particularly interested 
 in my visit to Umballa, but simply because no 
 one had anything else to attend to. 
 
 " Yes,'' said I. " 1 had the pleasure of wit- 
 nessing a very pretty wedding." 
 
 " Indeed ! " said Mrs. Gregory, not exactly 
 understanding why I addressed such a pointless 
 observation to her. 
 
 " And pray Avhose was it? '' 
 
 "Your niece's, Sophy Wilkins, did you not 
 know, she — is married ? " 
 
 Mrs. Gregory's eye did not twinkle with mis- 
 cbief at me then. It implored pity, it prayed 
 silence — it besought me for mercy. 
 
 I felt like an executioner — at least like what 
 
 I suppose an executionei*^'^'"''- J " "" '^^ ^"3^ 
 t>,^ ^^j^^ xwuua the victim's neck, and thinks of 
 
 the majesty of public justice. 
 
 " Dinner is ready," said the old khansania 
 in Hindustani ; and this saved her. 
 
 Mrs. Gregory is my friend for life. I can
 
 THE VISIT OF OTJR SPIN. 121 
 
 make her do my slightest bidding, and she 
 dare not thwart my will, lor I have something 
 over her in terror em. I don^t know how her 
 husband likes the relative position in which we 
 stand, but then I never intend to ask him.
 
 CHRONICLE IX. 
 
 THE REMOUNTS.

 
 125 
 
 CHRONICLE IX. 
 
 THE REMOUNTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A FAUX PAS. 
 
 The events which I purpose briefly to chronicle 
 in the following- pages occurred at Budgepore 
 in the year 18 — . 
 
 I have already taken the measure of the 
 society at Budgepore. There were, however, 
 some important characters whom I have not 
 yet introduced to my readers. When I say 
 " characters " in the plural, I speak, perhaps, 
 scarcely with grammatical correctness, for I 
 intend to designate the famous firm of Cork, 
 Screw & Co. That is to say, the Budgepore 
 branch of that illustrious firm was represented 
 by one individual only, and that was Screw
 
 126 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 Septimus, the seventh son of old Screw, and 
 the nephew of the gentleman who, as one of 
 tlie principal shareholders in the firm, lent his 
 name to the partnership. One of these days, 
 perhaps, I may chronicle the history, the rise, 
 progress, and decay and ultimate fate of this 
 enterprising house, how, beginning from small 
 things they grew to great, then having reached 
 the zenith of prosperity and fame they became 
 transmogrified into a joint-stock company 
 under the title of the " All India Europe 
 Goods Association,^^ how the shareholders fell 
 out^ and went to law, and the whilom pros- 
 perous concern flowed gently into the hands 
 of a liquidator, who liquidated so successfully 
 that after two short years there was nothing 
 left for the shareholders to fight about any 
 more, which, as you will easily see, was the 
 most fortunate termination that the affair could 
 possibly take, inasmuch as the shareholders 
 were after that always contented and good 
 friends, whereas before they had always been 
 quarrelling. 
 
 The firm of Cork, Screw & Co. has else- 
 where been described by an abler pen than 
 mine, I have, therefore, no intention of dwelling 
 upon it here. I merely allude to it, as their 
 premises happened to be the place where I one 
 morning picked up a piece of news. 
 
 I
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 
 
 127 
 
 There was at that time residing at Budge- 
 pore, Colonel Cliugli, who having reached that 
 stage of promotion where there was nothing left 
 for him to get but a brigade command, took 
 up his abode at Budgepore during the cold 
 weather months, and always went to Simla in 
 the hot. He had one of the best houses and 
 nicest gardens in the place. He did not enter- 
 tain, but he gave, or rather I should, perhaps, 
 say, he held, for people do not " give " but they 
 " hold," prayer meetings. He was a dissenter, 
 and belonged, I believe, to one of the one hun- 
 dred and seventeen sects of Independents. I 
 do not know which, and I rather doubt if he 
 did. However, that is nothing to the purpose. 
 But he was always to be found at Screw's in 
 the morning, meandering, or as it is less poetic- 
 ally, but more forcibly expressed, ^' mooning " 
 about the shop, not buying any thing in par- 
 ticular, but he went there, I fancy, as a great 
 many others did, as a sort of morning lounge 
 where you might hear all the news, id est the 
 scandal and tittle tattle of the day before, 
 which, after dripping through the minor 
 channels of the coffee-shops, formed itself into a 
 pretty large stream and ran merrily through the 
 premises of the great dealer in " Europe goods." 
 
 The "coffee-shop" is an essentially Indian 
 institution, and a very estimable institution it
 
 128 THE OHRONICLKS OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 is in its way. The habit of early rising, and 
 of taking out-of-door exercise before the sun 
 gets hot, necessitates a meal before the usua 
 breakfast hour. And so the custom has grown 
 up among us of meeting at one another's houses 
 in the morning after parade is over, or on our 
 return from our morning walk or ride. In a 
 shady nook in the garden, or in a summer- 
 house, these social gatherings take place, where 
 from half an hour to an hour, or even longer, 
 those who are very intimate meet round the 
 breakfast-table, for so it must be called, discuss 
 the news, open their letters or newspapers, 
 talk gossip, and, when there are ladies, usually 
 practise archeiy, or play some other game on 
 the lawn. 
 
 I once asked young Screw if Colonel Chugli 
 made many purchases at his shop. I don^'t 
 know what business I had to ask the question. 
 But one does get into a bad habit of thinking 
 and talking a great deal about one^s neigh- 
 bour's private affairs in India, you know. I 
 suppose the reason is that peoples' "private 
 affairs " are so often dragged before the public 
 in the Commander-in-Chiefs orders, that 
 curiosity becomes involuntarily excited. And 
 I had seen the Colonel so constantly at the 
 shop that I imagined he spent a share of his 
 income, proportionate to his time, there.
 
 THE EEMOTJNTS. 129 
 
 " Oh no, Sir/^ said young Screw, in reply- 
 to my question, " he never bought anything but 
 once, and that was at auction/' 
 
 " Indeed ! and what did he buy then ? " 
 
 " Why, he made rather an unfortunate pur- 
 chase; at least, it was a mistake: but the 
 Colonel behaved like a gentleman, and there 
 was no disturbance about it. He bought a 
 gross of green gooseberries." 
 
 " A gross of green gooseberries \" said I, 
 much astonished. 
 
 " Yes, Sir, and he was taken very ill after 
 it. It happened in this way, you see, Sir. 
 We had an auction, selling off all the old 
 stock to make room for the new. Among the 
 old stock there was a gross of green gooseberry 
 tart fruit. We put them up at two annas a 
 bottle, and the Colonel thinking he was bidding 
 for a bottle only, bought the whole stock at 
 five annas a bottle. Wasn't he mad when they 
 were sent home ! He had them put out in a 
 row in the verandah, like a regiment of soldiers, 
 and walked up and down in front of them for 
 full half an hour, as if he was inspecting them 
 on parade." 
 
 " I wonder he did not send them back, you 
 would not do me in that way, I can tell you.'' 
 
 " Well, sir, if he had sent them back we 
 would have taken them back, of course, upon 
 II. 9
 
 130 THE CHRONICLES OP BTJDaEPORE. 
 
 the mistake being explained. But the Colonel, 
 he made a good thing of it/' 
 
 " How did he manage that ? " 
 
 " Well, sir, it is a curious story rather. But 
 the way was this ; about nine months before 
 this occurred there was a chemical examiner 
 appointed to Government. His business is, 
 when it is supposed anybody has -been poisoned, 
 to get the insides of the persons that have been 
 poisoned and analyse them.'^ 
 
 " Analyse them ? " 
 
 " Yes, analyse them, to see what they died 
 of. A day after the appointment appeared in 
 orders, Mr. Gerkin, Joint Magistrate of Ah- 
 medpore, reported that seven children and the 
 father and mother had all died under suspicious 
 circumstances. The Civil Surgeon had made 
 a, post mortem examination, and all the insides 
 were readily packed in separate parcels to send 
 to the chemical examiner. Dr. Machnonochy^ 
 the same that had the harness depot at Cawn- 
 pore. Well, Mr. Gerkin wrote an official letter 
 to the Magistrate who wrote an official letter to 
 the Commissioner, who wrote another to the 
 Deputy Inspector- General of the division, who 
 sent it back, recommending the Commissioner 
 to apply to the Public Works Department for 
 bottles or jars to put the insides into. The 
 Public Works Department returned the appli- 
 
 i
 
 THE EEMOTTNT8. 131 
 
 cation, and said the Commissariat was the 
 proper quarter to apply to. So the Commis- 
 sioner wrote to the Commissariat officer, who 
 referred him to the Deputy Commissary of 
 Ordnance. The Deputy Commissary of Ord- 
 nance sent the letter on to the Deputy In- 
 spector, who was travelling then upon a tour 
 of inspection, but the letter reached him after 
 about three weeks, and he wrote to say that he 
 thought the department could not interfere with- 
 out orders from Calcutta ; but he thought either 
 the Clothing Agency or the Gun-Carriage 
 Agency at Futteghur would be able to do 
 what was necessary. Meantime the Civil 
 Surgeon at Ahmedpore was almost wild with 
 vexation and annoyance. He had been obliged 
 to move out into tents with his family and 
 abandon the house, and, indeed, not only was 
 the house abandoned, but no one could drive 
 along the road past the gate. For, you see, 
 sir, the articles having been taken out and 
 packed up under suspicious circumstances, 
 couldn^t be buried without being examined. 
 The Doctor, he wanted to bury them, but the 
 Joint Magistrate said if he did, he would be tried 
 at the High Court on suspicion of having 
 poisoned the parties himself. So he was de- 
 termined to do something, and he addressed 
 the Lieutenant-Governor on the subject. The 
 
 9 •
 
 132 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDOEPORE. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor sent the letter back, with 
 a wig, saying, he was to address him through 
 the proper channel, his immediate superior. 
 So he wrote to the Deputy Inspector and begged 
 that his letter might be forwarded to the In- 
 spector-General. When the Inspector-Gene- 
 ral found what was wanted, he addressed the 
 Government, recommending them to purchase 
 in the bazaar a number of empty tart-fruit 
 bottles,^ and distribute them about the country 
 among the different civil officers. So Colonel 
 Chugli heard of it, and when tenders were 
 called for, his was the lowest and largest. For 
 no one else had a gross of empty tart-fruit 
 bottles to spare, and he sold them at a profit 
 of six pie on each bottle. And that is the his- 
 tory of the tart-fruit bottles." 
 
 I have rather digressed, however, from the 
 main point of my chronicle, which was to re- 
 late what Colonel Chugli told me that morning. 
 
 He asked me if I had heard the news. I 
 said no. Then he told me, at least I gathered 
 it from his observation, that young Twemlow of 
 the Stud had got into trouble. 
 
 The Budgepore Stud, I must tell you, was 
 an institution of the class its name intimates. 
 
 * Ofl5cial instructions have recently been issued by the 
 head of the Medical Department for the employment of 
 empty tart-fruit bottles for these purposes.
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 133 
 
 It was situated about twenty miles from the 
 station. It was a favourite appointment, that 
 of Superintendent of the Stud, and Twemlow 
 had been considered very lucky to get it. 
 
 I must confess when I heard this news I 
 was a little taken aback and conscience-stricken. 
 I was taken aback, because I could not conceive 
 how Twemlow, who I knew was the soul of 
 honour and as upright a man as ever breathed, 
 could have possibly done anything that was 
 wrong. I was conscience-stricken, because the 
 day he got intimation of the appointment he 
 happened to be passing through Budgepore and 
 putting up with me. If it had not been for 
 my persuading him I do not think he would 
 have taken it. Appointments in India are 
 given away without the slightest regard to a 
 recipient's fitness or unfitness for them. Twem- 
 loVs name was down in the Governor- Gene- 
 ral's list for the first staff appointment, and it 
 happened to be a Stud appointment, and he 
 got it. 
 
 ''Do you know. Old Mortality ,'' he said, 
 after telling me what the letter contained — the 
 letter that had brought him the ofifer of the 
 appointment — '' I cannot possibly accept this 
 offer. It's very kind of Tudor to offer it, but 
 it's deuced unlucky it was a Stud appointment 
 that fell vacant."
 
 134 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDOEPOBE. 
 
 " But why not/' said I, " why not take it ? 
 You must not fly too high at first. It is a 
 great catch for you to get away from your 
 regiment at all. You are the last one that 
 can get away, you know, for they have their 
 full compliment of absentees. Besides, it 
 is a very nice berth. You will be able to be 
 married now, and it is a healthy place you 
 live at, and a capital house and easy work, and 
 very tolerable pay. Upon my word, Twem- 
 low, I do think you are rather hard to please. 
 "Why, bless my soul, when I was at vour 
 age'^ 
 
 " Oh, stop that, please. There's nothing I 
 hate more than to hear a man saying ' when I 
 was your age,' as if every one that had not 
 reached a certain age must be a fool. No, no, 
 you misunderstand me. What I mean is, how 
 can I have the face, the bare brazen-faced im- 
 pudence to take an appointment in the Stud 
 when I should not know a horse from a cow, 
 except for the horns. I hate the very smell 
 of a stable, and only get on the back of a horse 
 when I am obliged. I'm perfectly and utterly 
 ignorant of all and every duty connected with 
 the Stud. The idea of my breeding horses, 
 and looking after mares, and stallions, and 
 oats and head-stalls ! Oh, dear ! Oh, dear ! 
 And yet if I don't take this appointment I'm
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 135 
 
 done for. I shall never get another such an 
 oflfer^ indeed I shall never get another offer at 
 all, for Stubbs, you know, has been promised, 
 and if he gets away from the regiment then 
 I'm shelved, and my marriage must be put off 
 and the devil to pay/* 
 
 " Don't bother yourself, my good fellow," 
 said I ; " take the appointment, and do your 
 best. No man can do more. Ten to one, aye, 
 a hundred to one, you will find some old baboo 
 "who has been in the office for the last thirty 
 years, who will show you all the office work ; 
 and as for the horses and mares, why, if I were 
 you, I should leave them pretty much to them- 
 selves. Any way your assistant, who will pro- 
 bably be a man who lives in a stable and under- 
 stands the thing thoroughly, he'll put you up 
 to it all." 
 
 '' But I shall look such a fool, talking about 
 things I don't understand." 
 
 " Then why talk about them ? can't you 
 listen? Why, I've known men go through 
 life with the reputation of being exceedingly 
 clever and very deep, and yet they were dolts ; 
 only they had sense enough to keep their 
 mouths shut, and society put them down for 
 philosophers. Depend on it, if you want people 
 to be afraid of you, and to think you wise, 
 you have only got to be always silent."
 
 136 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDaEPORE. 
 
 So Twemlow took the appointment, and was 
 married on the strength of it. 
 
 I was determined to hear more of this, if 
 possible, so I drove over to Mrs. Thwaites's 
 house. Mrs. Thwaites was one of the gems 
 of Budgepore. Her husband was at that time 
 Civil Surgeon, and a very popular man he was, 
 a good doctor, and a useful member of our 
 little circle ; always ready and willing to taks 
 a foremost part in any little piece of innocent 
 gaiety, a dance or a picnic, or amateur theatr- 
 cal performances got up pro bono publico for 
 the good of our little commonwealth. Mrs. 
 Thwaites, who was the doctor's second wife, 
 was some ten years younger than her husband. 
 She was pretty and amiable, attractive without 
 being a flirt ; with all that charming grace of 
 manner and liveliness of disposition, and at 
 the same time an abundance of good sense, 
 that makes such a woman in the little coteries 
 of Anglo-Indian society all-powerful for good 
 in the beneficial influence she exercises. 
 
 Her morning assemblies were extremely 
 popular. She had a pretty little summer-house, 
 and a very nicely-kept garden, with an archery 
 ground ; croquet in those days had not been 
 discovered. The greatest attraction, however, 
 to these charming little reunions were the grace 
 and vivacity with which the hostess hersel 
 
 i
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 137 
 
 presided over them, and made the occasion a 
 pleasant one for all her visitors. 
 
 Her appearance in the morning was enough 
 to refresh the spirits of a dry old bachelor like 
 myself, and make my memory wander back 
 down the vista of past years, to the time when 
 youth gilded the horizon of life, and I could 
 not help thinking how different an aspect would 
 that life have worn, if it had been enlivened all 
 through its course with the constant presence 
 and society of one so bright, and innocent, and 
 fresh as the peerless creature that cheered, like 
 a beam of sunshine in an English house, the 
 pathway of our friend Thwaites. Lucky fellow ! 
 But you did not feel envious or jealous of him, 
 he had such a good heart, and was so devoted 
 to his pretty lovely wife ; and she was so fond 
 of him ! 
 
 Like a flower freshened with the early dew, 
 she used to appear in the morning, with the hue 
 of health upon her cheek, even in that climate, 
 clad all in white, pure and spotless as her own 
 soul, and perform all the little duties of her 
 homely hospitality with as much innate grace 
 and such winning ways, that half an hour spent 
 in her society in the morning, seemed to give 
 a pleasant, healthy tone to your spirits all the 
 day. 
 
 The Thwaiteses did not entertain largely ;
 
 138 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGBPORI. 
 
 his income would not allow it, for he had a 
 young, rising family. But Mrs. Thwaites was 
 immensely popular, for all that ; and, although 
 they did not gather nightly a large assemblage 
 round their mahogany, nor give their guests, 
 when they did entertain, great feasts, yet you 
 were always sure to meet at Mrs. Thwaites^s 
 at the hour when it was known she received 
 visitors, pretty well everyone in Budgepore 
 who was not kept away by duty from her 
 charming circle. 
 
 One more trait in Mrs. Thwaites's character 
 and I close my panegyric, and that was, that 
 you never by any chance saw those beautifully 
 chiselled rosy lips open to emit a single ill- 
 natured remark, nor a word of scandal. That 
 scandal was talked at her morning breakfast 
 parties was a necessity, for did she not live and 
 breathe at Budgepore ? And was not Budge- 
 pore an Indian station ? and did not every- 
 body in Budgepore almost meet at Mrs. 
 Thwaites's in the morning ? But, though scandal 
 was talked there, as indeed how could it not 
 be ? it was a sort of contraband. And whereas 
 at other ladies^ houses, and at other gatherings, 
 it formed the staple of conversation, here the 
 little choice morsels of tittle tattle were re- 
 peated or invented in almost an under-tone, 
 and at odd times, between neighbours who sat
 
 THE BEMOTJNTS. 139 
 
 close enough together to talk to one another 
 without addressing themselves to the general 
 public. When any scandalous story was re- 
 peated to her, or was mentioned in such a way 
 that it would be affectation to pretend to ignore 
 it, or make believe she did not hear it, she 
 would always turn it off, or draw out the sting 
 in her own pretty way, just as she performed 
 all the simplest and most ordinary common- 
 place actions of daily life. Men adored her, 
 women envied, though they could not help 
 loving, while they wished they could imitate 
 her, and with it all, she never, as far as I knew, 
 and I did know most things that went on 
 at Budgepore, — as far as I knew, she never 
 gave her husband cause for one instant to be 
 jealous. 
 
 I knew I should be sure to hear all there 
 was to hear at Mrs. Thwaites^s, because I knew 
 I should meet Mrs. Cameltrunk there, and 
 Mrs. Mountjoy, and Mrs. James, and Miss 
 Graham, besides a whole host of bachelors — 
 everybody ; in fact the world of Budgepore ; 
 what need I say more ? So to Mrs. Thwaites's 
 1 went. 
 
 " Oh, have you heard the news ? " said Mrs. 
 Mountjoy, as I took the only vacant chair by 
 her side. 
 
 " What news ? " said I.
 
 140 THK CHK0NICLE3 OF BUDGBPOEI. 
 
 "Oh, about young Twemlow at the stud, 
 such a shocking thing; and his young wife 
 too ! " 
 
 " Yes, indeed ! I pity her," said I, " if any- 
 thing has happened to her husband, they are so 
 devoted to one another, and she, poor girl ! so 
 little able to battle with the world ! " 
 
 '' I don't see that she is to be pitied so much 
 as all that. I do pity her, of course, as I 
 have a woman's heart. But I cannot say I see 
 her great beauty; and after all, if one does 
 marry a swindler " 
 
 '' Mary, what's that you're talking about ? " 
 said Mountjoy, with his mouth full of muffin. 
 
 " Not about you, George." 
 
 " No ; I should hope not, by gad. You 
 ladies make use of strong words sometimes. 
 Twemlow 's as honest a fellow as ever breathed." 
 
 " Amen to that," said I, hoping that I 
 should hear something by-and-by to put me 
 on the right track. 
 
 " Honest, you may call it," said Camel- 
 trunk, who was the Executive Commissariat 
 officer at Budgepore, " I don't call it honest. 
 Though what the fellow can have been about 
 I can't imagine. But it is just these things 
 that give the service such a bad name. I say 
 a black sheep should be marked and turned out 
 of the flock, and every white sheep who does
 
 THE EEMOTJNTS. 141 
 
 not want to be blackened too should help to 
 turn him out/' 
 
 " Even so/' said I, " let every one try and be 
 the first to cast the first stone/' 
 
 " Stone, yes, stone him. I wish the old 
 Jewish practice was in vo^e in these days. 
 It was a right good custom, that. Society pro- 
 tected itself by destroying the man that turned 
 against it. Every member of the community 
 that was wronged had a hand in the punish- 
 ment, and so it ought to be now.'' 
 
 '^It's your turn, Mrs. Cameltrunk," said 
 Mrs, Thwaites, coming up just at this moment 
 from shooting, with her bow in her hand. " I 
 have got two reds, and a bull's eye, see if you 
 can beat that. How do you do, Mr. Old Mor- 
 tality ? " she added, holding out her hand to me. 
 She had heard what we were talking about, but 
 she did not choose to notice. Mrs. James 
 came with her, and I shook hands with her 
 just afterwards. She also had overheard our 
 conversation, for the two ladies had arrived at 
 the spot where We were seated a second or two 
 before, and we had not noticed them. As 
 Mrs. Thwaites was there, of course it was the 
 centre of attraction, and there were several 
 people on the spot, as it were, by magic. 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Mrs. James, taking up the 
 thread of the discourse, "James told me all
 
 142 THE CHRONICLES OF BtTDaEPOBE. 
 
 about it. Captain Twemlow has ridden away 
 with all the horses in the stud." 
 
 There was a little amusement caused by this 
 remark, though no one seemed to know 
 whether it was intended as a joke or not. 
 
 " How the devil did he manage to do that, I 
 wonder ? " said Major Carshore, who had a 
 great dislike to Mrs. James, for he had loved 
 her once, and she had snubbed him, having 
 preferred a young civilian upon three hundred 
 and fifty rupees a month to an elderly captain 
 on four hundred and fifteen. And he very 
 often had an opportunity for showing his con- 
 tempt for his whilom mistress, for she was not 
 very wise, and occasionally used to make the 
 most absurd remarks, putting the cart before 
 the horse without knowing it, or letting some- 
 thing dreadfully malapropos fall plump in the 
 middle of your feelings. 
 
 I found that the little observation I have re- 
 corded, and several of the same tenor that I 
 have not recorded, all being very much in 
 Twemlow's favour, simply because I was deter- 
 mined not to prejudge my young friend^s case, 
 had made me for the time unpopular. They 
 seemed suddenly to recollect that Twemlow was 
 a friend of mine : so they le the conversation 
 drop. The only one that kept it up was Camel- 
 trunk, and he went on harping upon the old
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 143 
 
 subject ^^ black sheep/* and the necessity of 
 expelling them from the flock lest they should 
 taint the immaculate. So finding I could get 
 nothing here, I soon left and came away, deter- 
 mining that after breakfast I would go and ask 
 the brigadier, and I knew the good-hearted old 
 gentleman would not disappoint me. On my 
 way home, however, I was intercepted by a 
 messenger on an errand of some import, and I 
 was detained at home all that day in conse- 
 quence. 
 
 In the evening I was engaged to dine with 
 Mrs. Forceps. This lady's husband was then 
 Commissioner of Budgepore, and she was the 
 Commissioner's wife. It may at first sight 
 appear mere tautology to state this, as it would 
 appear to follow from the premises. But I 
 should not be doing Mrs. Forceps justice if 
 I did not give her a sentence all to herself. If I 
 had left it as it stood, it might have been per- 
 ceived that she was Forceps' wife, but I wished 
 to express a little more, viz. that she was the 
 wife of the Commissioner. 
 
 Just a word about her antecedents. She 
 came out to India when a young girl of two 
 and twenty, good-looking, well educated, and 
 with lady-liKC manners, as a governess in the 
 family of the judge of Mamlukabad. Being 
 the only marriageable young lady at that in-
 
 144 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDGEPOEE. 
 
 teresting place^ where there were exactly four- 
 teen young bachelors all eager to marry if they 
 could find an English lady to lead to the altar, 
 it is not very surprising that she had the 
 prospect before long of a position, better, as 
 the world usually regards such things, than 
 that of a governess in a civilian's family, where 
 she had every possible comfort, was treated in 
 every respect as a lady in her situation should be 
 treated, and enjoyed all the pleasures of society 
 without sharing in its responsibilities and 
 cares. So she was engaged to young Fair- 
 brother of the 77th N. I., and as it was the hot 
 weather and the chaplain was in the hills at 
 Paharpore, he was written to and requested to 
 come down and perform the marriage ceremony. 
 The day was fixed, and the guests invited, and 
 the breakfast ordered, when a letter came from 
 the Reverend Mr. Freeman, saying that it was 
 as much as his life was worth for him to come 
 through the terai (the jungle at the foot of the 
 hills) at that time of the year, and the young 
 couple might wait. Young Fairbrother, who 
 was hotly in love, was frantic. He became 
 quite a poet in the sublimity of his indignation 
 against " a mercenary priesthood,''' "pampered 
 ecclesiastics,'' and " idle drones." The Colonel 
 said it was a great shame, and took the matter 
 up and wrote to the General, who wrote back
 
 THE BEMOTTNTS. 145 
 
 to say he couldn^t interfere. Then he wrote 
 to the Commander-in-Chief, who forwarded the 
 letter on to the Bishop, who sent it back, say- 
 ing that the chaplains, as regards their move- 
 ments, were under military orders. 
 
 While this correspondence was going on, 
 young Forceps came down from Paharpore and 
 put up with his aunt and uncle, saw Miss 
 Fleetwood, and loved. He was an assistant, 
 just then about to develop into a " joint." 
 Emily Fleetwood was young and fascinating, 
 and if married had a prospect of increasing 
 expenses in her household. Fairbrother was a 
 lieutenant and adjutant of a marching regiment. 
 But, then, he was madly in love. The corre- 
 spondence with the authorities seemed endless. 
 He wrote and offered Freeman three hundred 
 rupees to come down. Freeman, wise in his 
 generation, wouldn''t stir without money. The 
 money was sent, and he came in time to unite 
 in the bonds of matrimony — Emily Fleetwood 
 and Charles Forceps. 
 
 Forceps gave him two hundred rupees more, 
 and he returned to his flock at Paharpore. 
 Fairbrother was saved from the cares of a 
 young family and a straitened income. Free- 
 man invested his five hundred rupees in the 
 Budgepore Bank, which was formed before the 
 days of " limited liability,'^ and stopped pay- 
 II. 10
 
 146 THE CHKONICLES OF BXTDGEPOEE. 
 
 ment one morning. He never knew an hour's 
 peace after that for many years^ and his five 
 hundred rupees cost him as many thousands. 
 
 Mrs. Forceps filled to perfection the position 
 fate had placed her in, she made a good wife 
 and an excellent mother, and was at the time I 
 write queen of Budgepore. 
 
 Like the famous minister who rose from a 
 humble labourer to be ruler of a kingdom, acd 
 kept locked up in a room the soiled garments 
 he had worn in the days of his poverty, in order 
 that he might frequently, by seeing them, be 
 reminded of his former state, she allowed the 
 recollection of her past position to adorn the 
 station she now filled as the first lady of Budge- 
 pore. 
 
 Among the official residents at that favoured 
 station were a Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. Mr. 
 Thomas was in every respect a good, worthy, 
 upright, and honest man, but he had U.S.,'^ 
 the mark of the beast, upon him. Still, as he 
 filled a very responsible official position, he was 
 occasionally visited, at least I mean his wife 
 was, by the civilians and the officers in the 
 station. 
 
 Mrs. Thomas had been a schoolfellow of Mrs. 
 Forceps, and they had both started in the world 
 
 * Uncovenanted Service.
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 147 
 
 simultaneously in their career as governesses. 
 The one, fortune had led to India and wedded 
 her to an embryo commissioner ; the other, 
 fate had kept at home, where Thomas one day, 
 being on furlough, met and loved her. Mrs. 
 Thomas, a sensible woman, neither courted nor 
 shunned the opportunities afforded her by the 
 position of her old schoolfellow, of entering 
 into society, but took matters as they came, 
 received with lady-like courtesy but without 
 any affectation the visitors that chose to call, 
 saved as much money as she could for her hus- 
 band out of his hard-earned and slender income, 
 and looked after her children. 
 
 Mrs. Forceps, had she been left to herself, 
 would have allowed none of the artificial con- 
 ventionalities of Indian life to interfere with 
 her good nature and regard for her old school- 
 fellow, though the two girls as children had 
 never been very intimate. But she was fettered 
 by her husband's prejudices, and once or twice 
 during their married life had provoked him 
 into using unchivalrous and unmanly words, 
 when, resisting her importunities to allow her 
 to break through the barrier of social prejudice 
 and renew her intimacy with Mrs. Thomas, he 
 had forgotten himself so far as to taunt her 
 with her position before marriage. 
 
 However, he was always ashamed of himself 
 
 10 *
 
 148 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDaEPORE. 
 
 after these outbursts of temper, and her quiet, 
 lady-like dignity of demeanour was much more 
 than a match for his littleness of mind. So it 
 came to pass that after one of these little ex- 
 hibitions of domestic strife, his repentant feel- 
 ings led him so far as to beg his offended wife 
 to ask the Thomases to dinner. And it so 
 happened that on this occasion I, with many 
 other Budgeporeans, were invited and went 
 accordingly. 
 
 The Forceps had a tolerably large family, 
 and almost every five years Mrs. Forceps went 
 to England with relays of children to be located 
 with relations, guardians, and wives of clergy- 
 men on the sea-coast, who took charge of 
 '' Indian children.^' At present the eldest of 
 the little ones who cheered their home with 
 their bright sunny faces and merry voices, was 
 rather a precocious child. Miss Lucinia. She 
 was a liltle over five, a pretty girl with blue 
 eyes, delicate complexion, and long flaxen hair 
 that curled down over her alabaster neck and 
 shoulders, for she always wore a low frock in 
 the evening, and it was in the evening that I 
 generally saw her. 
 
 There were the elements of a pleasant little 
 party assembled when I arrived, and I was the 
 last of the guests. I do not recollect now who 
 there were particularly, some fourteen or fifteen
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 
 
 149 
 
 in all. But I do recollect that the Thwaiteses 
 were there, and the Mountjoys, and young 
 Perkins the adjutant, whose soul was in his 
 profession, and who looked on every being in a 
 black coat as at least one degree removed below 
 Perkins in a red jacket, in the scale of creation. 
 
 And of course there were the Thomases. 
 Although no such thing was hinted at by word 
 of mouth or in writing, yet one felt that the 
 people of the party were the Thomases. There 
 they were, heaven scaled at last ! Mr. and 
 Mrs. Thomas, bearing U.S., the mark of the 
 beast, though there was no external indication 
 whatever of it either in their dress, their de- 
 meanour, or their conversation ! No matter, 
 there was a feeling among that little group 
 that Mr, Forceps had immolated himself on 
 the altar of domestic peace, and sacrificed at his 
 hearth the time-honoured prejudices of the 
 traditions of a century. 
 
 No man could be more studiously and yet 
 unostentatiously polite than was Forceps. 
 Neither by word, nor sign, nor gesture did 
 he let it be understood, that to-day, for the 
 first time, had the barrier of his ofiicialized 
 social circle been invaded by the mark of the 
 beast. Nevertheless, in spite of all, there was 
 a feeling there, that the Thomases were the 
 people of the party.
 
 150 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORB. 
 
 My entrance apparently caused a break in 
 a conversation, with difficulty sustained^ about 
 the weather, and after I had shaken hands and 
 seated myself in a vacant chair by Mrs. 
 Thwaites, there ensued one of those awkward 
 and rather uncomfortable pauses in the con- 
 versation before dinner among a small party, 
 w^here you feel the necessity of adopting the 
 ■worst possible method of keeping up or origi- 
 nating a conversation, that is, thinking of 
 something to say. When, among a number of 
 people, there is a silence, no matter for how 
 short a time, the first person who speaks, 
 speaks as it were in public, and all men are 
 not used to public speaking, so I suppose it 
 comes to pass, sometimes, that before dinner 
 you think of something to say and don't say 
 anything, and at dinner you don't think of 
 anything to say and talk a good deal. Any 
 how, there was a dead silence, till little Lucy, 
 — Lucy she was called, though her name was 
 Lucinia, — broke the silence and said, — 
 
 " Mamma, dear ! " 
 
 She was standing then by her mother's 
 knee. 
 
 " Yes, Lucy," said her mother. 
 
 " Do the uncovenanted go to heaven when 
 they die?" 
 
 I suppose if a shell had fallen into the middle 
 
 i
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 151 
 
 of US we should all have jumped up and run 
 away. As it was^ we were fixed to oiir seats. 
 Mrs. ThwaiteSj who thoroughly appreciated a 
 good joke (not the least pleasant trait ia her 
 character) was very nearly committing herself 
 by a peal of laughter. She was covering as 
 much of her face as she could with her hand- 
 kerchief, but by the quivering of her bust I 
 could see she was with difficulty stifling her 
 merriment. No one exactly seemed to know 
 which way to look. There was an awkward 
 pause for a second or two. It was Forceps' 
 duty to fill the breach. 
 
 " What very silly questions you do ask, 
 Lucy," said her father, taking her upon his 
 knee; "of course, all people who are good go 
 to heaven; it makes no matter, you know, 
 when you die what you are so long as you 
 are good, even soldiers " 
 
 There was a sort of stifled snort from Per- 
 kins, who was sitting on the other side of Mrs. 
 Thwaites, at this second faux pas, and he gave 
 an incipient wriggle in his chair at the same 
 time. I was most afraid of my next neighbour, 
 for she was literally shaking with subdued 
 laughter. 
 
 " What a distressing accident that is to the 
 Lieutenant-Governor," said I, acting under a 
 sudden fit of inspiration, and perfectly desperate.
 
 152 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 " What is it ? " asked two or three at once. 
 My purpose was gained. 
 
 " Oh, haven't you read it in the Delhi,^* 
 replied I, seeing that, having accomplished my 
 purpose, it was necessary for me to look out 
 for a retreat, 
 
 " No ; there is nothing that I see," said 
 Mountjoy, with the paper in his hand. 
 
 " He fell into the lake while out fishing," I 
 said, thinking that better than making his gun 
 burst. 
 
 " Dinner is ready," said the khansama at the 
 door. 
 
 I took Mrs. Thwaites in to dinner. She 
 had not stopped laughing when the salmon was 
 taken round. 
 
 '' Is this some of the fish the Lieutenant- 
 Governor caught? " she said. 
 
 "Yes," said I; "just before he fell in. 
 Never mind him, I think you owe me some- 
 thing. Another second, and propriety would 
 have been shocked by a peal of laughter." 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor's dip into the lake 
 had saved society at Budgepore. But I have 
 forgotten all about Twemlow. 
 
 Later in the evening, after the ladies had left 
 the dining-room, I found myself next to Apple- 
 tree, of the 77th. He always went by the 
 sobriquet of "Apples." And to him I ad-
 
 THE EEMOITNTS. 163 
 
 dressed the question, as to the matter which 
 was then uppermost in my mind, I mean what 
 it was that had happened to my young friend, 
 Twemlow. 
 
 "Oh, yes; of course, I know all about it,^' 
 said Apples, directly I mentioned it. " I heard 
 it all at Chugli^s last night. Why don^t you 
 go there, if you want to hear the news ? It^s 
 the best place in the station for finding out the 
 gossip." 
 
 " You don^t mean to say," said I, inexpres- 
 sibly shocked, " that you would have me 
 go to a prayer-meeting in order to pick up 
 scandal ! " 
 
 " Well, I don^t know," replied Apples ; " you 
 have such a queer way of putting things ; in 
 that sense, perhaps, it is not quite the thing, 
 but anyhow, that's where I always get the 
 news, and I go regularly." 
 
 After this, we went into the drawing-room. 
 I asked six different people that night the 
 same question, and they all gave me different 
 answers, and there was not one of them that 
 could give the least clue as to the source of the 
 information, or from what quarter the report 
 originally came. One said, Twemlow had been 
 embezzling money ; another, that he had run 
 away with the horses; a third, that he had 
 purposely burnt his house down to destroy the
 
 164 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 accounts ; a fourth, that he had been making 
 money by the leases of the stud lands to culti- 
 vators ; a fifth, that he had killed an overseer ; 
 and a sixth, that he had been giving bills on 
 bankers or agents, with whom he had no assets. 
 
 As we were coming away, and were saying 
 good-night to Mrs. Forceps, I happened to be 
 the last in the room. So I said : — 
 
 " Do you know, Mrs. Forceps, what is this 
 about the Twemlows ? " 
 
 " No, I do not,^' she said *' except that they 
 are in some trouble. It is totally impossible 
 to believe the accounts you hear. It was to- 
 day I heard it, when I was out calling in can- 
 tonments. And some very unkind remarks 
 were made in my presence. So, directly I got 
 home I wrote to Mrs. Tweralow, and sent the 
 letter out by a mounted messenger; and I told 
 her I heard something was amiss, and that if 
 they had to come into the station, she would 
 find rooms and everything ready for them here. 
 I thought he might be obliged to come in here. 
 You know them, don't you ? " 
 
 " Yes, very well indeed. I am quite sure 
 there is no truth in any report that attributes 
 anything dishonourable to my friend Twem- 
 low.^' 
 
 " Good-night." 
 
 " Good-night."
 
 THB REMOITNTS. 155 
 
 The gentlemen guests were lighting their 
 cheroots under the porch ; Forceps was stand- 
 ing at the doorway. They were talking about 
 cheroots, and Forceps was just saying he had 
 recently got a new batch up from Mackenzie 
 LyaU^s. 
 
 " Good-night, Forceps," I said ; " you're a 
 lucky fellow/' 
 
 He thought I referred to the new batch of 
 cheroots.
 
 157 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SHOWING HOW A GREAT SOCIAL PROBLEM WAS 
 SOLVED. 
 
 Next morning, after breakfast, I determined 
 to hear the truth about my friend Twemlow, 
 and drove over to the Brigadier's in time to 
 catch the old gentleman at his after-breakfast 
 cheroot, and before the Brigade-Major came 
 for the day^s orders. I found the Brigadier, as 
 I expected, in his room. He was always glad 
 of a chat, and invariably began, as it was ob- 
 served, much to our amusement, with abusing 
 his Brigade-Major. No matter to whom he 
 was talking, he always, as it were, lifted up the 
 sluice-gate and let off all his superfluous spleen 
 by a little hearty abuse of Baker the Brigade- 
 Major, and then he was comfortable. 
 
 " Do you know,'' he said to me in a confi- 
 dential sort of whisper, as I sat down, " that 
 
 fellow Baker's the d est fool that ever was 
 
 bom." This superlative was a favourite expres-
 
 168 THE CHRONICLES OP BITDaEPOBB. 
 
 sion with the Brigadier, who was not very choice 
 sometimes in his language. 
 
 It was, as I say, his ordinary method of 
 beginning the conversation to make some re- 
 mark to the above effect, no matter whom he 
 was addressing, and he always waited for a re- 
 ply; it was necessary to say something — 'Mn- 
 deed," or " I'm sorry for it," or " what a pity,'' 
 or " he doesn't look so," meaning that Baker 
 did not look such a fool or such a reprobate 
 as the Brigadier always described him. On 
 the present occasion he said, in answer to my 
 commonplace '^indeed," on hearing that he 
 
 was " the d est fool that ever lived ; " 
 
 '^ "What d' you think he's done now? " I said 
 I really could form no idea of the excesses into 
 which Baker's folly was not capable of leading 
 him. " Well," he said, " he 's gone and ordered 
 the brigade to parade to-morrow in quarter- 
 distance column instead of in line ! " And he 
 looked at me as much as to say. There, now, 
 can it enter into the imagination of man's head 
 to conceive such an unpardonable act of idiotcy 
 as that ? Then he added, " He 's a fool, that 's 
 what he is, and so were his father and mother 
 for begetting him." 
 
 I could not help thinking how much easier 
 it would be to write three lines with a pencil on 
 a scrap of paper, which would at once rectify
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 159 
 
 the unpardonable folly which Baker had been 
 guilty of in the Brigadier's eyes ; but then it 
 was a habit of his^ and now that the surplus 
 muddy water had run through the sluice, it had 
 left the reservoir behind it tolerably clear. 
 
 " Do tell, me. Brigadier/' said I, " the real 
 truth about this affair of Twemlow's. I cannot 
 make head or tail of what I hear." 
 
 " No, I should think not,'' he said, after a 
 hearty laugh. " No, I should say not. Neither 
 could I. So I got on my horse yesterday and 
 rode out there. I have seen Twemlow, and he 
 has told me all about it ; " and again he went 
 off into a hearty laugh. 
 
 " I am glad to see by the way you treat the 
 matter that it is nothing serious. I felt sure 
 Twemlow could never be guilty of any dis- 
 honourable conduct." 
 
 " My dear fellow," said the Brigadier, " I 
 really wonder at you, with your reputation 
 for wisdom and philosophy speaking in that 
 way." He was quite serious now. " I was 
 laughing at Twemlow's story, and I'll tell it to 
 you. But don't ever talk to me about a man 
 not being guilty of dishonourable conduct, and 
 therefore you know no harm can come to him. 
 It doesn't follow, I can tell you. I could 
 count them off on my fingers now — one, two, 
 three, four, five, six — these six that I recollect
 
 160 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 now off hand, and if I were to sit down to 
 think I should recollect as many more, I dare 
 say — men that I have known in my time; 
 known, mind you, and to my certain knowledge 
 ruined, cashiered, reduced, transported, by 
 gad, one of 'em was, when there had been 
 nothing more dishonourable in their conduct 
 than there has been in yours or mine. You 
 don't know what a place India is." 
 
 "Is it true Twemlow is under arrest ? " 
 " Yes, it is. I put him under arrest by order 
 from the General,'' and here the Brigadier 
 again burst out laughing. 
 
 " I'll tell you what he has done," he said, 
 wiping the tears from his eyes from excess of 
 laughter. " Poor Twemlow, you know, hasn't 
 the least idea of his duty, at least when he 
 went to the stud, he hadn't. Not a single 
 thing did he know about it. As ill-luck would 
 have it, the overseer was laid up with fever, 
 and the head baboo had gone away to be 
 married, and there wasn't a soul there that 
 could put Twemlow up to anything. He hadn't 
 been there a day before in comes an indent 
 duly passed from Fitzburr for a lot of remounts 
 for his troop. The troop was just going on 
 escort with the Governor- General, and Fitzburr 
 was glad to get fresh horses, as he likes to 
 cut a swell with his troop, you know. Twem-
 
 THE EEMOUNTS. 161 
 
 low, it seems, had one idea, and only one idea, 
 about stud horses, and that is, that they were 
 always marked with an R., which he thought 
 meant ' Remount/ So when this indent came 
 in he got hold of the marking iron, and he had 
 them all stamped R. before he sent them off ! " 
 
 The reader, who it is possible may understand 
 almost as little about the custom and practice 
 in the stud as did my friend Twemlow when he 
 went to take charge of that establishment at 
 Budgepore, must be told that Government 
 horses, when they become unserviceable, are 
 inspected by a committee and " cast,'^ as it is 
 called, that is, set aside to be sold by auction, 
 when they are stamped on the buttock with the 
 letter R. 
 
 When the horses reached Umballa, and 
 Major Fitzburr went to see them, he gazed with 
 horror and consternation at the fatal letter. 
 
 " ' What,^ he said to his Adjutant, ' have 
 they sent me all castors ! By George, Fll 
 condemn them all instanter ! Where's White ? ' 
 White was the Vet. White came. 'Mr. 
 White, do you see they have sent us all cas- 
 tors ? ' ' Yes, sir,' says White, who, although 
 he was 'Vet,' knew just as much about a horse 
 as horses did about him. ' Examine them,' 
 says Fitzburr, * and a regimental committee will 
 assemble this evening.' So White drew up the 
 II. 11
 
 162 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDQEPORE. 
 
 report, and there every horse figured ; one was 
 spavined, another had a sand crack, one had 
 this and another had that : he found out some- 
 thing the matter with them all, because, you 
 know, he daren^t expose his ignorance and re- 
 port a castor sound " (here the old Brigadier 
 laughed till the tears literally rolled down his 
 cheeks). "There isn't a complaint or a disease 
 that a horse ever had since the day they came 
 two and two out of Noah's ark that some of 
 these hadn't had. The regimental committee, 
 of course, signed the papers, and then there was 
 a station committee ordered. The President of 
 the station committee was Colonel Crawfoot, 
 who may be a good judge of a camel, but I'm 
 blest if he is of a horse. Well, he went down 
 to the parade ground, saw the Vet, who showed 
 him the R., whereupon he signed the papers 
 and went home. By-and-by the two members 
 of the committee came one after the other, 
 and did the same. So the remounts were in 
 due time ordered to be sold by auction. And 
 I don't know if it's true, but I hear the 
 Vet bought some five or six for a mere song, 
 and so I believe did each of the subalterns of 
 Fitzburr's troop, and Fitzburr himself got a 
 pair for his carriage. 'Well, of course, there 
 was a deuce of a row about it, and the upshot 
 of it is that Twemlow is under arrest."
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 163 
 
 " And what is he charged with ? " 
 
 " I don^t know. I haven't seen the charge, 
 and I am rather curious to do so ; for yonng 
 Simmons knows just as much about military- 
 law and drawing up a charge as Twemlow does 
 about breeding horses." 
 
 Shortly after this, Twemlow came into Budge- 
 pore under arrest, and I learnt from him that 
 the circumstances of the case were just as the 
 Brigadier had told them to me. 
 
 There was a great discussion at Budgepore 
 as to what should be done with regard to 
 calling on the Twemlows when they came in. 
 I happened to be present on most of the occa- 
 sions when the thing was discussed, but I never 
 let out that I was the only one that did know 
 that Mrs Forceps had asked them to put up 
 at their house. I kept that to myself, and 
 quietly watched the stream as it flowed along. 
 I think nearly all the married ladies were to- 
 gether one morning when it was discussed, at 
 least I recollect Mrs. Mouutjoy, Mrs. Camel- 
 trunk, Mrs. Smithies, Mrs. James, and Mrs. 
 Fantail were there, and they unanimously 
 resolved that society demanded of them to cut 
 Mrs, Twemlow, because her husband was tem- 
 porarily under a cloud. They each, I suppose, 
 acted in conformity with the wishes and views 
 of their husbands, and it was in vain for me 
 
 11 *
 
 164 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDaEPORE. 
 
 to utter the commonplace remark about a 
 man being innocent till proved guilty, and so 
 on. The fair conclave pronounced their ver- 
 dict, and I said nothing more. 
 
 The Budgepore world, of course, bowed its 
 head meekly to the decision of these august 
 powers. And, in consequence, it is utterly 
 out of my capacity to depict the consternation 
 that overwhelmed society when, on the evening 
 after the Twemlows came in, Mrs. Twemlow 
 appeared in Mrs. Forceps' carriage at the band! 
 It was a sort of moral earthquake, a bursting 
 of a social shell right under their noses. Mrs. 
 Mount joy thought Mrs. Forceps was so eccen- 
 tric, there was no knowing what she wouldn't 
 do. Mrs. Cam el trunk said, what could you 
 expect from a ci devant governess. Mrs. 
 Smithies confided to Apples at that evening 
 prayer-meeting that Mrs. Forceps was known 
 to have Popish tendencies, and that, as Apples 
 knew, would account for a great deal. Mrs. 
 Fantail, the Collector's wife, thought Mr. For- 
 ceps would be removed when the Lieutenant- 
 Governor heard of it, and Mrs. James said it 
 would be very awkward for Mrs. Forceps, she 
 thought, when Captain Twemlow was trans- 
 ported. However, they all made a secret com- 
 pact that none of them would call at the Com- 
 missioner's while the Twemlows were there. In
 
 THE REMOXTNTS. 166 
 
 fact there was a sort of rebellion. Mrs. Forceps 
 was voted " deposed " from her throne as the 
 leading star of Budgepore, and Mrs. Fantail was 
 elected, constitutionally to succeed to her place. 
 I say, constitutionally, because, if Mrs. Forceps 
 was constitutionally deposed, it was quite right 
 that Mrs. Fantail should succeed her. It was a 
 difficult question to decide, however, and on the 
 whole, I am of opinion that there was no change, 
 that Mrs. Fantail never was legally promoted, 
 because Mrs. Forceps never was legally de- 
 posed, and certainly she never resigned. 
 
 It happened that a short time after the 
 revolution or the rebellion, for a revolution is 
 an accomplished rebellion and I don't think this 
 ever was actually accomplished, the disaffected 
 were electrified at the astounding intelligence 
 that the Lieutenant-Governor was coming 
 through Budgepore and was going to put up 
 with the Commissioner ! 
 
 Now here was a pretty piece of business ! 
 Wasn't Mrs. Fantail in a way about it ! The 
 Lieutenant-Governor's untoward arrival just 
 then, and his putting up with the Commissioner, 
 would not only deprive her at once of the 
 dignity she had acquired as the head of the 
 malcontents, but it would condemn them all 
 in their conduct towards the Twemlows, and 
 worse than all, it was so vexatious that she was
 
 166 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPOEB. 
 
 bound by compact and by honour not to call, 
 and the Lieutenant-Governor and Mrs. Bye- 
 wihvuffa would go through Budgepore without 
 her paying her devotions at their shrine ! 
 
 There is nothing I know of that so nearly 
 approaches idolatry as the feelings which civil 
 servants, from collectors downward, as well as 
 their wives, bear towards the Lieutenant- 
 Governor. The Honourable Kist Byewilwufla 
 was no exception. I suppose it arises from 
 their coming to view the Lieutenant-Governor 
 as the impersonation of the spirit of the order. 
 And assuredly in Mr. ByewilwufFa's case they 
 were not far out. A man more perfectly use- 
 less in his position, it is impossible to con- 
 ceive ; yet they looked on him as a Solon in 
 law, a Demosthenes in eloquence, a Socrates 
 in philosophy, in short, as little less than di- 
 vinity in everything. The fact to other eyes 
 being that he was a very ordinary mortal with 
 less than the average amount of intellect, totallj'' 
 void of every generous impulse, every good 
 feeling, dead, in fact, to every consideration 
 but the interests of his own service. All the 
 routine work of the office which is generally 
 dignified by the word " Government," was con- 
 ducted by the Secretary, Mr. Khas Mouza, 
 who went usually by the nickname Moses, 
 among those who were profane enough to nick-
 
 THE REMOTTNTS. 167 
 
 name one who stood so near to the object of 
 adoration as did Mouza to the Honourable Kist 
 Byewilwuffa. 
 
 Of course it was a crushing blow for Mrs. 
 Fantail, the Lieutenant-Governor's arrival at 
 Budgepore. She was not only condemned and 
 stultified in the eyes of the faction, but she 
 felt all the mental horror of a devotee, when 
 his demon-god seems to frown at him for some 
 act of disobedience. But if she could by any 
 possibility get out of that foolish compact and 
 go and call, it would not be so bad, because 
 she would have the pleasure of dipping her 
 wings in the sunbeams of official greatness, 
 and if she was the only lady (oh the pretty little 
 traitress !) out of all Budgepore, who was asked 
 to meet the Hon'ble Mrs. Kist Byewilwuffa, 
 why it was not in nature that she would not 
 be able to make an impression on the Hon'ble 
 Mr. Kist Byewilwuffa. There were only three 
 days. They were to be there on Monday, 
 and that was Thursday. She must call on 
 Friday, or not at all. 
 
 Yes ; she did ! She ordered her carriage 
 without even telUng her husband where she 
 was going, and drove to Mrs. Forceps and paid 
 the visit, the preparatory visit, that would be 
 followed by an invitation to meet the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor and his wife on Monday. Oh
 
 168 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGKPOBE. 
 
 treachery ! tempora ! O mores ! Unworthy 
 descendant of Boadicea ! The queen of the 
 faction thus betrayed her cause ! 
 
 The visit was paid. She had a ten minutes' 
 chat with Mrs. Forceps and Mrs. Twemlow, 
 and Captain Twemlow handed her to her 
 carriage. 
 
 Not half pleased with herself, she was driving 
 out of the compound when another carriage 
 met hers. It was the Smithies' equipage. 
 She leant back very far into the comer, among 
 the morocco cushions, and squeezed in the 
 flounces of her dress and her stiff embroidered 
 petticoat, that peeped out from underneath, 
 into the smallest possible compass, in the vain 
 hope she might pass undiscovered, for she never 
 dreamed that there was anybody but Mr. 
 Smithies in the carriage, going, of course, to pay 
 a visit upon the Commissioner. But Smithies 
 would see her, and would be sure to mention 
 to his wife her, Mrs. Fantail's treachery. All 
 these considerations, thoughts, movements, and 
 artifices were the work of the two seconds 
 that elapsed after the heads of the horses in 
 the other carriage were within sight of Mrs. 
 FantaiPs pretty hazel eyes. Her heart seemed 
 to leap into her mouth as she saw Mrs. Smithies 
 in the carriage, sitting forward to see who it 
 was in Mrs. FantaiFs conveyance ! There was
 
 THE REMOUNTS, 169 
 
 no doubt about it ! Both ladies blushed, but 
 there was no one there to see them. 
 
 Mrs. Smithies on the way home met Mrs. 
 James goings and the latter as she returned 
 met Mrs. Camel trunk and Mrs. Mountjoy, 
 who went together. So they all were traitresses 
 to each other, but each one, except Mrs. 
 Cameltrunk and Mrs. Mountjoy thought the 
 secret was confined to the other. But it soon 
 came out, because Mrs. Smithies told Mrs. 
 Fantail she had seen Mrs. James going, and 
 the latter of course confided to her that she 
 had met Mrs. Cameltrunk and Mrs. Mountjoy. 
 
 And so Mrs. Twemlow was visited. 
 
 It was all a canard about the Lieutenant- 
 Governor's coming ! He never came at all, 
 and was never expected ! It was Apples who 
 set the report going from malice prepense. He 
 had been taken into Mrs. Smithies' confidence, 
 and heard all about the compact, and in the 
 depths of his own moral consciousness he con- 
 ceived the idea of circulating the report about 
 the Lieutenant-Governor, on purpose to see if 
 it would not produce the very results it did ! 
 Whether he learned it or not at the prayer- 
 meetings at Chugli's house, he had a mar- 
 vellous knowledge of human nature, had 
 Apples. 
 
 At last a copy of the charge against Twemlow
 
 170 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBK. 
 
 came. The original was sent up to head- 
 quarters for approval. The charge was as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 "That he, Augustus Theophilus Twemlow, 
 &c., &c., being a stud officer, serving 120 miles 
 from Fort William, had committed an offence 
 to the prejudice of good order and military 
 discipline, in that^ 
 
 1st. On or about the 27th November, 18—, 
 he passed into the service as serviceable, four- 
 teen unserviceable horses. 
 
 2nd. That on or about the 27th November, 
 he, &c., &c., stamped, or caused to be stamped, 
 on the back, fourteen serviceable horses, the 
 property of Government, with the letter R. 
 against the peace of our sovereign lady the 
 Queen, her crown and dignity.''^ 
 
 The Judge-Advocate-General returned the 
 charge with a slight alteration, he took out the 
 words " on the back," and inserted " fraudu- 
 lently " in their place. 
 
 The charges, however, had to pass through 
 the office before they went to Budgepore, and 
 in the office they fortunately had to go through 
 a purifying process in the hands of a head 
 writer named Richelieu, who supplied all the 
 legal knowledge required at head-quarters, and 
 so they eventually arrived in a proper shape, 
 under which Twemlow was to be tried on two
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 
 
 171 
 
 counts ; one for fraudulently, the other for 
 carelessly^ stamping serviceable remounts as 
 unserviceable and condemned horses. 
 
 The court-martial was ordered to assemble 
 on the 15th of March.
 
 178 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE COURT-MARTIAL. 
 
 There was a good deal of excitement at Budge- 
 pore when the court-martial began. Colonel 
 Sungeen was President. I need not detail the 
 rest of the officers' names that composed the 
 Court. Another officer, I forget his name now, 
 was the prosecutor. Simmons, the Deputy- 
 Judge- Advocate, delayed, that is to say, con- 
 ducted, the proceedings. I have already stated 
 that Twemlow was to be tried on two counts, 
 one with having fraudulently passed unservice- 
 able horses into the service in lieu of serviceable 
 ones, and the other count was for carelessly and 
 negligently allowing serviceable horses to be 
 passed as unserviceable, condemned and sold. 
 Deprived of the technical language in which
 
 174 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 the legal law of Riclielieu, the uncovenanted 
 head of the Judge-Advocate-GeneraPs office, 
 had folded them, the above is the sum and 
 substance of the charges. 
 
 The prosecutor commenced with making a 
 statement which I will not weary you with, 
 and then called his first witness Major Fitz- 
 burr, who stated that, when the remounts 
 arrived at Umballa, he went down to the parade 
 ground to see them, and found to his astonish- 
 ment that they were all castors. He had 
 directed the Veterinary Surgeon, Mr. White, 
 to examine them, who had found them all 
 more or less unserviceable, and committees 
 having been assembled in the usual manner, 
 and the horses having been condemned, they 
 were sold by auction. 
 
 Major Fitzburr's evidence lasted till tiffin 
 time. After tiffin, the prisoner proceeded to 
 cross-examine. 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) Did you examine the 
 horses ? 
 
 A.— Yes, I did. 
 
 Q. — And what did you find the matter with 
 them? 
 
 A. — I found them all stamped R., and con- 
 sequently unserviceable. 
 
 Q. — Did you never see a serviceable horse 
 stamped with an R. before ? 
 
 I
 
 THE EEMOTJNTS. 175 
 
 The prosecutor objected to this question, and 
 the Court was closed to decide. 
 
 Upon the Court re-opening, the President 
 announced that it was the opinion of the Court 
 that the question should not be put. 
 
 It being four o'clock, the Court adjourned. 
 
 Second Day. 
 
 Cross-examination of Major Fitzburr was 
 resumed. 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) Where are the horses 
 now ? 
 
 The prosecutor having objected to this ques- 
 tion, the Court closed to consider. 
 
 Upon re-opening the Court, the President 
 announced that the Court were unanimous that 
 the question should not be put. The Court, 
 at this stage of the proceedings, it being now 
 one o'clock, adjourned for tiffin. 
 
 After tiffin, the cross-examination was re- 
 sumed. 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) Have you got any of 
 the horses in your possession ? 
 
 The prosecutor having objected to this ques- 
 tion, the Court closed to consider, and, on re- 
 opening, the president announced that the 
 Coui't were of opinion that the question might 
 be put.
 
 176 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 A. — Yes, I have. 
 
 Q. — How many ? 
 
 The prosecutor having objected to this ques- 
 tion, and the Court having closed to consider, 
 decided that this question should not be put. 
 
 It being now four o^clock, the Court ad- 
 journed. 
 
 Third Day. 
 
 Cross-examination of Major Fitzburr re- 
 sumed. 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) How much did you pay 
 for the horses you bought at auction ? 
 
 The prosecutor having objected to this ques- 
 tion, the Court, having closed to consider, 
 decided it might be put. 
 
 A. — I paid twenty rupees for one, sixteen 
 for another, twenty-five for another, thirty for 
 another, and thirty-eight for another. 
 
 It being now tiffin time, the Court adjourned. 
 
 After tiffin the cross-examination of Major 
 Fitzburr was resumed. 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) Which of the officers of 
 your troop, besides yourself, purchased horses 
 out of this batch at the auction ? 
 
 This question having been objected to by 
 the prosecutor, the Court was closed ; on re- 
 opening they decided it should not be put.
 
 THE BEMOUNTS. 177 
 
 The Court then adjourned, it being four 
 o^clock. 
 
 Fourth Day. 
 
 The cross-examination of the witness was 
 resumed. 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) Did any of the officers 
 of your troop purchase any of the horses out 
 of the batch at the auction ? 
 
 A.— Yes. 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) "Will you be good 
 enough to let us know their names ? 
 
 The prosecutor having objected to this ques- 
 tion^ the Court was closed to consider, and, 
 upon re-opening, decided it might be put. 
 
 It being now one o^ clock, the Court ad- 
 joiirned to tiffin. 
 
 After tiffin the cross-examination was re- 
 sumed. 
 
 A. — Andrews, Smith, and Jones. 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) Were any of these 
 officers on the committee that condemned the 
 horses ? 
 
 Prosecutor objected to this question, and a 
 long discussion ensued ; after which the Court 
 closed to deliberate, and on re-opening, de- 
 cided that the question might be put. 
 
 A. — Yes, Andrews and Smith were. 
 II. 12
 
 178 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 Q. — Did they consider the horses really un- 
 serviceable ? 
 
 A.— No, they did not. 
 
 Q. — How do you know ? 
 
 A. — Because Andrews told Smith he thought 
 there was nothing the matter with the horses 
 except the R., and that when that was got rid 
 of, they would be first-rate ones. 
 
 By Court. — Was that in your hearing? 
 
 A. — No, not in my hearing. 
 
 Q. — What was Joneses opinion about them ? 
 
 Prosecutor objected to this question, and 
 after a long discussion the Court adjourned, 
 at 4. P.M. 
 
 Fifth Day. 
 
 The discussion of yesterday was resumed 
 this morning. At length the Court closed to 
 consider, and on re-opening, decided the question 
 might be put ; but as it was now tiffin time, 
 they adjourned for half-an-hour. After tiffin, 
 the cross-examination was resumed, 
 
 A. — He thought they were first-rate horses. 
 
 Q. — Were either of those officers on the 
 regimental committee? 
 
 A. — Yes, two of them were members of the 
 committee, and the third was president.
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 17 
 
 Q. — (By prisoner.) Which was the president? 
 
 The prosecutor objected very strongly to 
 this question, and read several passages out of 
 a number of formidable-looking law books, to 
 show why the question should not be allowed. 
 It was referred to the Deputy- Judge-Advocate, 
 who said he thought it really did not matter. 
 The Court having closed to consider, decided 
 that the question should not be put. 
 
 It being foui" o'clock, the Court adjourned. 
 
 Sixth Da\ 
 
 Shekh Sachai Khan, Jemadar, Budgepore 
 Stud, called and sworn (examined through 
 interpreter.) 
 
 Q. — (By prosecutor.) How long have you 
 been in the Budgepore Stud ? 
 
 A. — Forty years. 
 
 Q. — Are any of the horses in the stud 
 marked with the letter R. ? 
 
 A. — Yes, all. 
 
 Q. — Are all the horses marked with R. when 
 they are in the stud ? 
 
 A. — Yes. All the Sirkar^s (Government 
 horses are born with the mark upon them. 
 
 Prisoner declined to cross-examine. 
 
 12 *
 
 180 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 Coiu't adjourned to tiffin. 
 
 Jemadar Peer Bux was the next witness. 
 
 Q. — (By prosecutor.) Did you take a batch 
 of horses, remounts, from the Budgepore Stud 
 to Umballa in November last ? 
 
 A.— Yes. 
 
 Q. — Were they stamped with the letter R. 
 when they were made over to you ? 
 
 A. No, they were not. They were not 
 stamped at all, either when they were made 
 over to me, or when I made them over to the 
 Major Sahib at Umballa. 
 
 Q. — What non-commissioned officer went 
 with you ? 
 
 A. — Havildar Ahmed Khan. 
 
 Prisoner declines to cross-examine. 
 
 It being four o^ clock, the Court adjourned. 
 
 cJeventh Day. 
 
 Havildar Ahmed Khan sworn. 
 
 Q. — (By prosecutor.) Did you go on com- 
 mand with the Jemadar, the last witness, to 
 Umballa, in November last, in charge of 
 horses ? 
 
 A. — Yes, I went on command with the Je- 
 madar, the last witness, to Umballa in No- 
 vember last, but there were no horses with us. 
 
 I
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 
 
 181 
 
 The President of the Court here remarked 
 that perhaps the witness had not exactly under- 
 stood the question. Would the interpreter 
 explain more clearly what was meant ? 
 
 The interpreter, addressing witness : — Look 
 here. When you went to Umballa, had you 
 no horses at all with you ? 
 
 A. — Not one. 
 
 The President thought perhaps the witness 
 was confounding the word " ghora/' a horse, 
 with " gora/' a European. 
 
 The Interpreter. — Look here, I am not 
 asking you about white men, but about horses ; 
 do you mean to say you took no horses to Um- 
 balla? 
 
 A. — Yes, sahib. 
 
 The Interpreter. — Then what did you take ? 
 
 A. — Animals, sahib. 
 
 Q. — What animals ? 
 
 A. — Goats, sheep, buffaloes — 
 
 Q,. — No horses ? 
 
 A. — No, sahib. 
 
 Prisoner declined to cross-examine. Court 
 adjourned. 
 
 Next witness. Lieutenant Andrews, sworn. 
 
 Q.. — (By prosecutor.) Were you president 
 of the regimental committee appointed in 
 November last to report upon remounts re- 
 ceived from the Budgepore Stud ?
 
 182 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDGEPORE. 
 
 A. — I was. 
 
 Q. — In what state were the horses ? 
 
 A. — I don't know. 
 
 Q. — Didn't you examine them ? 
 
 A. — Noj the Veterinary Surgeon did that, 
 and reported them unsound, and the Major 
 said as they were all castors they were to be 
 condemned. 
 
 Cross-examined by prisoner. 
 
 Q. — Did you buy any of the remounts when 
 they were sold by auction ? 
 
 The prosecutor objected to this question, 
 and the Court closed to consider it ; upon re- 
 opening, the Court ruled that it might be put. 
 
 It being 4 p.m., the Court then adjourned. 
 
 Eighth Day. 
 
 Lieutenant Andrews gives reply to the ques- 
 tion of the previous day. 
 
 A. — I did buy some of the horses. 
 
 Q.— What for ? 
 
 The prosecutor having objected to this ques- 
 tion, the Court was closed to consider it ; before 
 re-opening, as it was one o'clock, the Court 
 adjourned to tiffin. 
 
 The Court having decided that the question 
 should be put, witness replied. 
 
 A. — I bought them because I wanted them.
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 183 
 
 Q. — If they were unserviceable^ what did you 
 intend to do with them ? 
 
 A. — I did not say they were unserviceable. 
 
 Q. — Did you not report them unserviceable 
 in the Committee Report ? 
 
 A. — Yes, but that is a totally different thing 
 from considering them unserviceable in the 
 sense of useless for one^s own purposes. 
 
 Q. — Then you consider these horses, though 
 condemned, were serviceable ? 
 
 A. — They were unserviceable because they 
 had E,. upon them. 
 
 Q. — How does the letter R. make them un- 
 serviceable, if in other respects they are ser- 
 viceable ? 
 
 A. — It makes them castors, and castors are 
 unserviceable. 
 
 It being 4 p.m., the Court adjourned. 
 
 Ninth Day. 
 
 Colonel Crawfoot called and sworn. 
 
 Q. — (By prosecutor.) Were you President 
 of the Station Committee that assembled at 
 Umballa in November last to survey and report 
 upon remounts from Major FitzbuiT^s troop ? 
 
 A. — I was. 
 
 Q. — Did you examine the horses ? 
 
 A.— No.
 
 184 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 Q. — "Were you not President of the Com- 
 mittee ? 
 
 A. — Yes, but I was not directed to examine 
 the horses. 
 
 Q. — Did you report them unserviceable ? 
 
 A.— Yes. 
 
 Q. — Why did you do that without examining 
 them ? 
 
 A. — Because they were marked with the 
 letter R., which made them castors. 
 
 Prisoner declined to cross-examine, and the 
 Court adjourned to tiffin. 
 
 Next witness, Mr. Veterinary Surgeon 
 "N^Tiite, sworn. 
 
 Q. — (By prosecutor.) Did you examine 
 the remounts that came up from the Budge- 
 pore Stud to Umballa in November last ? 
 
 A.— Yes, I did. 
 
 Q. — Was there anything peculiar about 
 them ? 
 
 A. — There was ; they were all castors. 
 
 Q. — How do you know they were castors ? 
 
 A. — They were stamped with the letter E,. 
 
 Q. — In other respects, were they unservice- 
 able? 
 
 This was the most important witness on the 
 trial, and we, that is, all the spectators, were 
 very anxious to know what answer would be
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 185 
 
 given to this. The witness hesitated, stam- 
 mered, and at last said, — 
 
 A. — 1 don't think I should have condemned 
 them if they had not been marked. 
 
 Q. — Were they sound? 
 
 A. — No, they were not sound. In the com- 
 mittee report I entered every case and the 
 description of attack from which the animal 
 had been suffering. 
 
 Witness shown the committee report, and 
 asked if it is his handwriting. 
 
 Cross-examined by prisoner. 
 
 Q. — Did you buy any of the horses at the 
 auction ? 
 
 The Court here adjourned for tiffin. After 
 it re-assembled, the witness replied, — 
 
 A.— Yes, I did. 
 
 Q.— What for ? 
 
 A. — For my own use. 
 
 Q. — Then the horses were serviceable? 
 
 A. — Yes, in that sense they were serviceable. 
 For a private individual they were of use, for 
 government service not. 
 
 Q.— Why not ? 
 
 A. — Because they were marked with the 
 letter R. 
 
 Here the examination of witnesses ended, and 
 the prisoner read his defence. I shall not delay 
 you with recording it. It was a very able one.
 
 186 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 We were all kept in suspense for three weeks 
 before we knew the upshot of the trial, and 
 then it came out, Tn^emlow -was acquitted on 
 the first charge, and found guilty on the second, 
 and sentenced to be reprimanded. The fol- 
 lowing were His Excellency's (Sir Walter 
 (irubb was Commander-in-Chief in those days) 
 remarks. 
 
 " His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, 
 while confirming, though, at the same time, 
 taking into consideration, which is out of the 
 question in the present case, although his 
 approbation of the sentence has the effect 
 Avhich if circumstances arose similar to those 
 under which that result recently arrived at by 
 the members of the court-martial independently 
 altogether of such considerations as are con- 
 nected with and in some measure more or less 
 directly dependent on other contingencies in 
 the event of which the result that has now 
 occurred might have been otherwise shown, 
 does not wish to imply what it would seem if it 
 is allowable in these cases to be guided by the 
 ordinary rules in other instances, especially 
 when analogy in circumstances may be looked 
 for, the Court, might not have intended, so far 
 as intention can be presumed or gathered, in- 
 dependently of that alternative, must be aware 
 that in such cases which His Excellency
 
 THE REMOUNTS. 187 
 
 cannot but consider called for considerable 
 intelligence in the transaction more particularly 
 as regards such duties with which the prisoner, 
 in view of that position when under oi'dinary 
 circumstances nothing less could have been ex- 
 pected does not understand what the Court 
 evidently in respect of the other alternative 
 might not, if the evidence which considering 
 the character and position of the witnesses 
 who if they had not possessed those advantages 
 if as His Excellency assumes, those advantages 
 to be, in the former alternative, peculiarly 
 adapted, as will be seen by reference to the 
 standing orders, trusts that for the future in 
 circumstances where devotion to the interests 
 of the state in duties connected with the Stud 
 Department, will not yield to responsibilities 
 that in all positions in life more particularly in 
 that under consideration involve/^ 
 
 " This order will be read out to Capta in 
 Twemlow in presence of all the officers at 
 present quartered at Budgepore. After which 
 it will be translated and read at the head of 
 every native regiment/^ 
 
 By order, 
 
 Pat. Green, 
 Adjutant-General of the Army, 
 
 Head Quarters.
 
 188 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORB. 
 
 Within a month from this date I noticed 
 that five interpreters were sent to England on 
 medical certificate ; whether the task of trans- 
 lating the order had not something to do with 
 it I do not know, but 1 have often thought it 
 may have. 
 
 After this, Twemlow returned to the stud, 
 and I never heard of his ever getting into any 
 other scrape through his zeal for the service.
 
 CHRONICLE X. 
 
 BUDGEPORE COMMERCIAL 
 INSTITUTIONS.
 
 » 
 
 % 
 
 I
 
 191 
 
 CHRONICLE X. 
 
 BUDGEPORE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 A GREAT many fortunes have been made and 
 lost at Budgepore in my time. This has been 
 more especially the case since the joint-stock 
 company mania a few years ago. My earliest 
 reminiscences, however, go back to a much 
 earlier date, to the day, for instance, when the 
 Bank of Budgepore was set going, and which, 
 by confining itself to true banking business, 
 that is, in a Budgepore sense, lending money 
 as loans in small sums to needy subalterns and 
 spendthrift civilians, on two personal securities, 
 at enormous interest, realized a good deal. If 
 it was easy to lose money in those days, I am 
 speaking of ten or twenty years ago, it Avas 
 easy enough to get it. 
 
 Tom Pringle, an ensign on a hundred and
 
 192 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 ninety rupees a month, wanted a couple of 
 thousand to buy a horse and a gun, to pay off 
 a few trifling debts. Jimmy Hare, a lieutenant 
 in the same corps, wanted the same. So did 
 Stubbs, a captain, also of the gallant regiment. 
 One day at tiffin, in comparing notes, the three 
 made the discovery that they were each and all 
 exactly in the same condition of impecuniosity. 
 So the matter was easily arranged. Pringle 
 got the loan papers first, and filled them up. 
 Hare and Stubbs being his securities. The 
 doctor of the regiment filled up the insurance 
 papers, and Pringle was rich for the time. 
 Then Hare went through the same formalities, 
 Pringle and Stubbs being his securities, and 
 last of all, Stubbs obtained his accommodation 
 on the personal security of Pringle and Hare. 
 As a matter of course, the instalments, after 
 the first few months, when they were regularly 
 paid, fell off, and finally stopped altogether. 
 It was not the bank's business to complain, 
 nor to warn, and so the interest went on accu- 
 mulating merrily. Stubbs never paid his in- 
 stalments, but he took for granted Pringle and 
 Hare paid theirs regularly. Each of the two 
 latter was under exactly the same impression 
 with regard to the other two. Meantime, 
 years passed on, the interest at 12 per cent., 
 compound interest, too, accumulated for-
 
 BUDGEPOEE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 193 
 
 midably. Stilly all were in happy ignorance. 
 Pringle died after two years, Stubbs got into 
 a scrape, and was obliged to leave tbe service, 
 and Jimmy Hare found himself saddled with a 
 debt of a little short of fifteen thousand rupees, 
 running on at compound interest, which he 
 had to pay out of his three hundred or less 
 a month he received as lieutenant in command 
 of a company. When he became junior cap- 
 tain the debt reached 20,000, and as his step 
 was worth that sum to his juniors, they gave it 
 to him, and he resigned after spending twelve 
 years in India, without any pension, and having 
 realized by his step just enough to pay off the 
 bank debt. 
 
 This style of business, as you may under- 
 stand, by easy multiplication, was very profit- 
 able, for the bank very seldom indeed drew 
 blanks. Its business increased. Officers in 
 the army took small loans and civilians large 
 ones. The ready facility with which money 
 could be obtained was too tempting a bait to 
 young men who had been, perhaps, a little ex- 
 travagant. They had but to get two names, 
 names of brother officers, who very possibly 
 were under similar obligations themselves to 
 others, and the thing was done. So this in- 
 lamous system grew and grew, till like a 
 monstrous boa constrictor it threw its coil 
 II. 13
 
 194 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 around three-fifths of the members of the 
 services. 
 
 Debt_, debtj debt, was the burden of the 
 melancholy song, the wail uttered from one 
 end of the land to the other. The hard-won 
 earnings of a life of toil and danger in a tro- 
 pical clime. were sacrificed to this; the princely 
 salaries which might have cheered the years of 
 declining life with ease and luxury, were 
 squandered upon this. The portions of the 
 widow and the orphan were snatched away to 
 fill the coffers of the usurers. One small 
 moiety of the service, who had taken shares in 
 the Budgepore Bank, grew rich at the expense 
 of their brethren. 
 
 It is an ill wind, however, that blows no 
 good, and one advantage that accrued from 
 these money-lending institutions, was that 
 there was less need for judges and magistrates 
 and other ofl&cial persons to go into debt with 
 the natives. 
 
 Another of the institutions was the "Budge- 
 pore Fire Insurance Company." This Com- 
 pany was remarkably prosperous, and had 
 accumulated a large reserve fund ; when 
 about the time that Sir Amethyst Jones was 
 to retire, his period of command of the army 
 having expired, he and his adjutant-general, 
 and some others of the Staff, bought up a large 
 
 1
 
 BTJDGEPOEE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 195 
 
 number of tlie shares at a considerable premium. 
 They then called a general meeting of share- 
 holders, and proposed to wind up the company 
 and divide the reserve fund. Having a pre- 
 ponderance of votes at the meeting, they 
 carried their point, and the Budgepore Fire 
 Insurance Company was wound up, and a di- 
 vision of the assets made among the share- 
 holders. 
 
 Perhaps, altogether, the grandest speculation 
 Budgepore ever saw, was the conversion of the 
 famous firm of Cork, Screw and Co. into a 
 joint-stock company. This scheme was pro- 
 jected after Mr. Cork had retired from busi- 
 ness, when Mr. Screw was the only one of the 
 original partners in the house. 
 
 Messrs. Cork, Screw and Co. were dealers in 
 "Europe goods,^' and did a large business. 
 Shop-keeping or store-keeping, as it ought 
 more properly to be called in India, is a very 
 different thing indeed from similar business 
 in England. There is, at least in Upper India, 
 so little competition, that the ordinary rela- 
 tions between customer and vendor are reversed, 
 and it is a favour rather than anything else 
 for the latter to attend to a customer's requisi- 
 tions. 
 
 It was generally believed that Messrs. Cork, 
 Screw and Co. had been doing a very thriving 
 
 13 *
 
 196 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEB. 
 
 business, and when the senior partner retired, 
 which he did one day, to Cheltenham, where 
 he set up a large house and establishment, and 
 caDed himself Major-General Cork of the Indian 
 army, a proposition was put forward to pur- 
 chase the good-will, stock,^and business, a joint- 
 stock company being started for the purpose. 
 
 There were at the time one or two old gentle- 
 men at Budgepore who had saved a little money, 
 and wanted a good " investment. '^ There was 
 Sergeant Kunkur, who had been road overseer 
 through six generations of executive engineers. 
 He had the best furnished house in the place, 
 everything from Shearwood^s. There was not 
 a chair in his drawing-room that cost under 
 seventy rupees, as he has often told me. He 
 knew a thing or two about the Public Works 
 Department. He has gone home now, and 
 bought a little estate in Ireland. Then there 
 was Colonel Moodle of the 46th N. I. He held 
 rather a curious position in the army, by the 
 way, did Colonel Moodle, which illustrates 
 practically the operation of the amalgamation 
 rules. I call him colonel, but he was properly 
 only lieutenant-colonel, that is by brevet. 
 He was, however, in reality a subaltern, doing 
 subaltern^s duty with the corps which was 
 commanded, would you believe it, by his own 
 nephew. Captain Kummerbund ! After being
 
 BUDGEPOEE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 197 
 
 tMrty years in India^ I suppose the Colonel 
 found that a subaltern^ s duties were too con- 
 fined a limit for his abilities and intellect to 
 range within^ and he sighed for something 
 better. He sought and found it in specula- 
 tion. Then there was the Reverend Erasmus 
 Chillblain, baptist minister at Budgepore. He 
 was not averse to a little speculation. He had 
 saved a little money out of his stipend^ and he 
 must needs jeopardize it, not that anyone ever 
 thought of jeopardy in connection with the 
 joint-stock company. Oh_, no ! We were all 
 to be rich, so rich we should not know what 
 to do with our money. I say we, and you will 
 ask, '^ What ! did you too. Old Mortality, take 
 shares ? " " Certes I did, and wherefore not ? 
 Am I not also mortal ? " And how should 1 
 have been able to write my chronicle about it, 
 if I had not? More than that, I was a 
 director — yes, on the board of directors. 
 
 We called our company the " All Over India 
 Europe Goods Association.^^ The managing 
 agent was called " The secretary ; '^ the deputy 
 shop boy, " assistant secretary ; " the book- 
 keeper, " The cashier ; ''•' the shop was " The 
 Rooms," the " All Over India Europe Goods 
 Association's Rooms." The little den adjoin- 
 ing the shop, where the books were kept, was 
 the " Secretary's office," and so on.
 
 198 THE CHEONICLES OP BTJBGEPORE. 
 
 The first meeting was attended by Colonel 
 Moodle, Sergeant Kunkur, Erasmus Chillblain, 
 myself, and Screw. The only one of the whole 
 lot who knew anything about business^ being of 
 course Screw. Kunkur it is true understood 
 business of a certain kind, but it was the 
 business of the D. P. W., which you know is 
 not at all like business in other branches. 
 
 Colonel Moodle was asked to take the chair 
 out of respect to his rank, and Mr. Screw pro- 
 ceeded to lay before the meeting the prospectus. 
 There was to be a capital o£ three lacs, raised 
 by three thousand shares, of a hundred rupees 
 each. The accounts were drawn out in ship- 
 shape order, and laid before the meeting. 
 
 This is an abstract of them from memory : — 
 Capital . . . . Rs. 3,00,000 
 Outstanding credits . . . 50,000 
 
 
 Rs. 
 
 3,50,000 
 
 Paid to Cork, Screw and Co. 
 
 
 for stock and good-will. 
 
 
 
 business premises, &c. 
 
 Rs. 
 
 1,78,000 
 
 To liabilities, purchase of 
 
 
 
 stock, &c., &c. 
 
 
 1,00,000 
 
 Reserve .... 
 
 Rs. 
 
 72,000 
 
 
 3,50,000
 
 BTJDGEPORE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 199 
 
 This looked all right. There was no doubt 
 that the stock and good-will were remarkably 
 cheap at a lac and seventy-eight thousand, and 
 then Cork-, Screw and Co. guaranteed the share- 
 holders twelve per cent, for the first two years. 
 This bait took immensely ; Erasmus was ap- 
 pointed officiating secretary, and he had appli- 
 cations for shares from all quarters of India. 
 Private soldiers^ sergeants with large families 
 dependent oa them, retired officers, hundreds 
 of every rank and position of society invested, 
 or wanted to invest their money iu the concern. 
 Cork, Screw and Co.'s reputation was good, 
 and their guarantee was looked on as making 
 the thing as safe as a church. And so it was 
 — quite safe. 
 
 The first day, on examining the prospectus 
 and the statement of accounts, I did not like 
 to be too inquisitive. It would look as if I 
 suspected Screw, and I was unwilling to hurt 
 his feelings in any way. It did occur to me, 
 however, that the 72,000 rupees " reserve '' 
 required some explanation. 
 
 However, no one said anything about it, and 
 the matter was passed over. The next day, 
 however, I did call on Mr. Screw, to ask him 
 to explain that item about the 72,000 rupees. 
 
 '^Oh, Mr. Screw,'^ I said, after I had sat 
 with him for about five minutes ; " I just
 
 200 THE CHBONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 wanted to ask a question about a little matter 
 in that prospectus, you know. It is not for 
 myself that 1 want any explanation. I am 
 perfectly satisfied myself that everything is all 
 right, but as I am a director, you know, I 
 might be called upon by some intending share- 
 holder to explain matters; it is just as well 
 that I should be in a position to answer any 
 question that may be asked of me/' 
 
 " Certainly, my dear Sir, your desire is most 
 reasonable. I shall only be too happy, I 
 assure you, to give you any information in my 
 power.'' 
 
 " Well," I said, " it is that item, 72,000 
 that I don't understand." 
 
 " Oh, indeed ! that is very simple. It is 
 the interest. You see, twelve per cent, on 
 the three lacs comes to thirty-six thousand 
 rupees a year, or seventy-two thousand in the 
 two years. Well, the interest you know is 
 guaranteed for the first two years, and it is 
 always customary to set apart a sum to meet 
 the interest. Suppose the profits the first two 
 years were not to be sufficient to meet it, it 
 would be very awkward, you know, guaranteed 
 and all." 
 
 " Certainly, I see," said I, and went away 
 quite satisfied, and feeling rather sorry that I 
 had given so much unnecessary trouble.
 
 BTJDGEPOEE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 201 
 
 So the company was launched. Screw took 
 his lac and seventy-eight thousand and went 
 home. We got our interest regularly for the 
 first two years, " Twelve per cent, per annum/' 
 how fine it looked in the prospectus, and the 
 report of the half-yearly meetings. At the 
 end of the two years, however, the Secretary 
 resigned and went home, and after that every- 
 thing went to the bad. Some said the Secre- 
 tary could not show a clear balance sheet ; some 
 said this, and some said that. All I know is, 
 that the company went into liquidation. I 
 believe myself the chief reason why it broke 
 down was, because every shareholder con- 
 sidered himself entitled to take goods and 
 never to pay his bill. And when I came to 
 examine the ledger, I was a little surprised 
 to find that there were no other customers 
 except shareholders. 
 
 It is now a year and more since the All- 
 Over-India resolved upon liquidation. There 
 was a meeting at Budgepore about it. Colonel 
 Moodle was in the chair. There were all our 
 old friends present — Mooltawee and Dakhil 
 Duftar, Dr. Golee, Fitzmisl, myself, Sergeant 
 Kunkur, Erasmus Chillblain, Captain Kummer- 
 bund, and some three or four officers of the 
 150th, whose names I do not recollect; and 
 last, though not least, our respected Secretary,
 
 202 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 Fancy Goods, Esq., and several others. You 
 know, matters had not been going on quite as 
 they should. It was in liquidation a very 
 long time, but it never seemed to be any 
 nearer being liquidated. At least all the men 
 who had been appointed liquidators left the 
 country and went home, and the affair was 
 brought into court. Well, the Judge, Mool- 
 tawee, asked me if I would undertake the 
 office of liquidator, and, as I had more time to 
 spare than the others, and moreover, as I had 
 a very good legal adviser at hand in my friend 
 Watson, you know — he has the law at his 
 fingers' ends — I consented. Would you believe 
 it ! such was my ill-luck, that very day Watson 
 was taken ill, and went away to Simla, and 
 thence to England, and I never saw him again. 
 Still, I knew Mooltawee would give me every 
 assistance in his power, so far as direction and 
 advice went, and I was not deterred from 
 undertaking the office. Fancy Goods, Esq., 
 sent over to my house all the books, ledgers, 
 letters, bills, &c., &c., which filled two carts, 
 and I stowed them away very carefully, taking 
 every precaution, as I thought, to prevent 
 them from being eaten by white ants, and 
 next day I went over to Mooltawee's court to 
 get my first lesson in my new duties. 
 
 '' ' Your duties ? ' said Mooltawee, as soon as
 
 BUDGEPORE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 203 
 
 I had communicated the object of my atttend- 
 ance at his court. ' Yes, I'll tell you what the 
 duties of a liquidator are. They are very 
 simple. First, you have to pay the debts of 
 the company.'' 
 
 " ' Pay the debts ! ' and my breath almost 
 went out of my body — ' why, they amount to 
 somewhere about four lacs.' 
 
 " ' The amount does not make any difference/ 
 said Mooltawee. ' Here you see, it is laid down 
 in paragraph 10, section 149 of the Act, ' the 
 liquidators shall pay the debts of the com- 
 pany.^ That ^s clear, isn^t it ? Then, the next 
 thing you have to do is to find the contribu- 
 tories.^ 
 
 " ' But they have been trying to find the 
 contributories for the last year or two : and 
 have not succeeded. The contributories have 
 all vanished into thin air. The most subtle 
 gas, a shower of rain in a gale of wind, are but 
 feeble representations of the faculty for dis- 
 persion and disappearance evinced by the con- 
 tributories.^ '' 
 
 " ' No matter,'' said Mooltawee, ' you must 
 findthem.^'' 
 
 I returned home disconsolate, to talk the 
 matter over with my friends, co-sharers, and 
 creditors. 
 
 We determined to get counsel's opinion, and
 
 204 THE CHRONICLES OF i«UDQEPORE. 
 
 under the idea that in the multitude of coun- 
 sellors there is wisdom, we laid the case before 
 two eminent barristers of Calcutta. In due 
 course of time the opinions came, when what 
 was our consternation to find them diametri- 
 cally opposed to one another. We had another 
 consultation, and it was proposed to get the 
 opinion of a third. We did so ; and you may 
 imagine what our feelings were when we found 
 the third differed essentially from the other 
 two. I had already expended 2,500 rupees in 
 law expenses. . But there was no help for it, 
 we felt ourselves forced to lay the ease before 
 a fourth counsel. To make a long story 
 short, we got altogether opinions from six 
 different counsel, each of which differed from 
 the other, and the whole presented such a 
 mass of complications to our unprofessional 
 minds that we were fairly bewildered. 
 
 As there really seemed no way out of the 
 labyrinth of difficulties that had accumulated 
 around us, and as my interests were to a great 
 extent concerned in a rapid and easy solution 
 of these difficulties, I volunteered to set out, 
 like Coelebs in search of a wife, or Keeper in 
 search of his master, in quest of contributories. 
 And as the name of the Company is the All- 
 Over-India Europe Goods Association, so is its , 
 nature.
 
 BUDGEPORE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 205 
 
 I have visited in the course of my travels 
 almost every large town from Peshawur^ in 
 the north,, to Hyderabad, in the south of India, 
 but without much result, for you will be able 
 to gather from this judgment of Mooltawee's, 
 in a case that came before him, to establish 
 the liability of a contributory, that it is not 
 so easily done even after you have found your 
 contributory. ; 
 
 Mooltawee^s judgment is interesting, apart 
 from the ability and ingenuity with which he 
 deals with the legal subtleties of the case, as 
 it gives a sketch of the rise, progress, and col- 
 lapse of the company, and affords a very fair 
 insight into the history of commercial specu- 
 lation at Budgepore. Here is the judgment 
 iu extenso. 
 
 In the Civil Court of Budgepore. 
 
 In the matter of the All-Over-India Europe 
 Goods Association, Limited, the Liquidators, 
 plaintiffs, versus Kissa Khan, defendant. 
 
 This is a suit brought to establish the lia- 
 bility of the defendant as a contributory to 
 the company in liquidation, represented by the 
 plaintiffs as liquidators. 
 
 The company, as it appears from records 
 before the Court, was established a few years
 
 206 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDGEPORE. 
 
 ago, and subsequently undertook to purchase 
 the stock J business, outstanding debts, and 
 goodwill of the firm of Cork, Screw, and Co,, 
 formerly general merchants and traders in 
 Budgepore. 
 
 The affairs of the firm appear to have been 
 in a very prosperous condition up to the 
 period when the senior partner, Mr. Cork, sold 
 out and retired to England. The remaining 
 partner, Mr. Screw, then appears to have en- 
 tered into several very heavy speculations. 
 He established an All-Over-India Dawk Com- 
 pany, intended, as far as one can judge by 
 the prospectus, to convey travellers to and from 
 any spot between Peshawur and Cape Comorin. 
 But this failed. He then entered into a con- 
 tract to supply a million sleepers to two or 
 three Railway Companies. But the Railway 
 Companies being under the control of Direc- 
 tors in England, some of whom were large iron 
 masters, just about that time came to a reso- 
 lution, grounded on accui'ate data received 
 from India, that there was no wood in the 
 country suitable for railway sleepers, and it 
 was necessary to ship from England iron 
 sleepers. Mr. Screw, it seems, had contracted 
 with the Railway for five rupees a sleeper, 
 and had also entered into certain arrangements 
 with sub-contractors, by which the sleepers
 
 BTJDGEPORE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 207 
 
 were to be cut and delivered in Budgepore for 
 three rupees eight annas per sleeper, and had 
 advanced these gentlemen twenty thousand 
 rupees to meet current expenses. The railway 
 authorities in England^ having decided upon 
 adopting iron sleepers^ refused to ratify the 
 contract with Mr. Screw^ and he was forced 
 into a court of law to recover what he con- 
 sidered due to him as damages for breach of 
 contract and compensation for losses. In the 
 court of first instance Mr. Screw lost the case 
 with costs, but on appeal the judgment was 
 reversed^ and Mr. Screw gained a decree for 
 the whole amount, with costs^ in the lower, as 
 well as the upper court. The proceedings, 
 however, occupied two years, and the Railway 
 Companies then carried the case to the Privy 
 Council, but the record was lost on the way to 
 England, the papers having been accidentally 
 consumed in a fire which destroyed the mail 
 when in course of transit to Calcutta. A fresh 
 set of papers had to be prepared from the 
 originals which were in the court, and were 
 transmitted by another route ; but they did not 
 reach England, owing to the mail by which 
 they were being conveyed to Bombay having 
 been robbed by dacoits in the Gwalior terri- 
 tory. The record had to be transcribed a 
 third time, and on this occasion it reached
 
 208 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 England safely. This occurred three years ago, 
 since which nothing more has been heard of 
 this case, but it is supposed to be nearly ready 
 for hearing by the Privy Council, and may 
 possibly be heard two years hence. 
 
 By this time Mr. Screw's losses had been so 
 heavy that he was unable to meet his engage- 
 ments, and he resolved upon selling his busi- 
 ness to a joint-stock company ; this company 
 was at first called the " Budgepore Joint- Stock 
 Company, Limited," and had been got up as 
 the prospectus sets forth, for the purpose of 
 purchasing anything that might be offered for 
 sale, and selling by auction anything anybody 
 could be induced to buy. This company un- 
 dertook to purchase the business, stock, out- 
 standings, and goodwill of Mr. Screw^s firm, 
 but they had no money to pay for it. This 
 difiiculty was, however, obviated by a resort 
 to the Budgepore Bank, a new bank got up 
 mainly by the directors of the "Budgepore 
 Joint-Stock Company, Limited,^' assisted by 
 Mr. Screw. This gentleman and the Directors 
 each took one share in the new bank ; but the 
 other shares were rapidly sold, the principal 
 purchasers of them being military officers and 
 members of the civil service. The bank having 
 been thus formed, their first transaction was a 
 loan of three lacs to the Budgepore Joint- Stock
 
 BUDGEPOEE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 209 
 
 Company, Limited, for the purpose of pur- 
 chasing the business, stock, outstandings, and 
 goodwill of Mr. Screw's business; upon the 
 security of the stock then in hand, valued at 
 one lac, and some house property belonging 
 to Mr. Screw at Budgepore and elsewhere, 
 represented as worth three lacs. When the 
 transaction was complete, Mr. Screw made 
 over his property to the Budgepore Joint- 
 Stock Company, Limited, upon payment in 
 cash of one lac and a half of rupees, and an 
 equal sum in shares in the company, which 
 now changed its name to the " All-Over-India 
 Europe Goods Association, Limited.''^ 
 
 After paying Mr. Screw a hundred and 
 seventy-eight thousand rupees, the company 
 had still in hand remaining from the original 
 sum borrowed from the Budgepore Bank, one 
 hundred and twenty-two thousand rupees. 
 This would appear from the account books of 
 the company to have been thus disposed of : — 
 
 To Mr. Screw, the promoter . Rs. 5,000 
 Bonus to six directors _ . . 6,000 
 
 Interest at 12 per cent, for three 
 years guaranteed to shareholders 
 at 36,000 per annum . . 1,08,000 
 For working expenses . . 3,000 
 
 Total . 1,22,000 
 
 II. 14
 
 210 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 The affairs of the corapauy seem to have 
 been conducted for many years on the most 
 approved (Budgeporean) commercial principles. 
 An account was opened with all shareholders, 
 who were allowed their goods at cost pricC;, an 
 additional twenty per cent, being added to the 
 price of articles sold to the general body of 
 constituents to compensate for the loss on sales 
 to shareholders. The three thousand rupees 
 which had been set aside for working capital 
 was expended in defraying the travelling ex- 
 penses of Fancy Goods, Esq., who came out 
 from one of the first London houses to take 
 charge of the company's affairs as General 
 Manager. It is due to this gentleman to state 
 that at the first annual meeting of shareholders 
 he brought to their notice the financial pros- 
 pects of the company, and represented that 
 nine-tenths of the constituents were share- 
 holders who were allowed a heavy discount on 
 purchases : that in the nine months which had 
 elapsed between the purchase of the business 
 by the company and his, Mr. Fancy Goods', 
 assuming charge, there had accumulated a lacj 
 of rupees of outstandings, of which seventy- 
 five per cent, would have to be written off to] 
 profit and loss, while a large sum was due in' 
 England for stock which had been supplied, 
 amounting to £12,000. An extraordinary]
 
 BUDGEPORE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 211 
 
 general meeting of shareholders was shortly 
 afterwards held, and the condition of the 
 company's affairs laid before them. Two al- 
 ternative courses were suggested, either a 
 fresh call of five hundred rupees a share, or 
 the payment of the debts then due by share- 
 holders for purchases effected. The meeting 
 unanimously rejected the latter course, but 
 consented to a call of ten rupees per share. 
 
 The business was carried on for another 
 year, when at the annual meeting it was re- 
 solved that as the original debt to the Budge- 
 pore Bank with interest had now risen to 
 4,020,000 rupees, they should apply to the 
 bank for another loan of six lacs, out of which 
 the original debt was to be liquidated, and the 
 balance paid by instalments of 10,000 rupees 
 per annum. The directors of the bank being 
 most of them shareholders in the company, 
 the proposition was favourably entertained, 
 and the loan was negotiated. 
 
 The guaranteed interest of 12 per cent, 
 having been paid regularly from the fund set 
 apart for that purpose, the shares had risen 
 considerably in value, and had been purchased 
 by many persons at a distance, who were, no 
 doubt, induced to make the investment by the 
 regularity with which so handsome a dividend 
 was annually declared. 
 
 14 *
 
 212 THE CHRONICLES OP BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 The affairs of tlie Bank of Bud^epore, how- 
 ever, were not altogether satisfactory to the 
 shareholders, and at the next annual meeting;, 
 which was held subsequently to the negotiation 
 of the loan of six lacs, some of the share- 
 holders pressed the directors for explanations, 
 which, after a threat to resort to legal pro- 
 ceedings, were at last offered, and the result 
 was that a new manager was appointed, and 
 steps taken to obtain regular payment of in- 
 terest from the All- Over-India Europe Goods 
 Association, Limited. It will be suflScient to 
 add that these proceedings resulted in the 
 company being put in liquidation. 
 
 It now remains to be seen how far the 
 defendant is fixed with the liability of a con- 
 tributory. The plaintiff asserts that he has 
 been from the first a shareholder in the com- 
 pany, that his application for shares was duly 
 entered in the register, that scrip was issued 
 in accordance with that application, and that 
 dividends to the extent of 12 per cent, have 
 been paid to him regularly as well as to other j 
 shareholders. The plaintiff adds, and supports 
 the statement by a large amount of evidence, j 
 that he is unable to produce parol vouchers,] 
 or the register showing the entry of defen- 
 dant's application, and the issue of scrip and 
 his receipts for the yearly payment of divi-
 
 BUDGEPORE COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 213 
 
 dends, because these documents have been 
 destroyed by white ants. 
 
 Defendant denies his liability on the follow- 
 ing grounds : — 
 
 1st. — Because he is a Mussulman and has 
 been circumcised. 
 
 2nd. — Because he behaved with exemplary 
 loyalty in the disturbances in 1857, in support 
 of which he files the originals of certificates 
 from the Commissioner of the division. 
 
 3rd. — Because in a suit brought by one 
 Gunnee Lall, for the recovery of the purchase- 
 money of certain villages, he is not described 
 in the plaint as a shareholder. 
 
 4th. — Because in seven other suits all 
 brought subsequently to the period at which 
 it is stated by the plaintiff he became a share- 
 holder, he is not described as such either in 
 the plaint or in the decree of the court, or 
 in any other document connected with the 
 proceedings. 
 
 5th. — Because there is no entry in any of 
 his (defendant's) books to show that he ever 
 purchased shares or received any dividend. 
 
 6th. — That on the day on which it is alleged 
 he made an application for the shares he was 
 away at his brother's wedding at a place thirty 
 miles distant from Budgepore, and did not 
 return for a week.
 
 214 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OP BITDGEPOEE. 
 
 7th. — That he had to defray the expenses of 
 his brother^s wedding, and was not in funds 
 to purchase shares. >' 
 
 8th. — That the plaintiff has not adduced re- 
 liable evidence to establish his liability. 
 
 At the first hearing of the case the follow- 
 ing issues were drawn. 
 
 1st. — Is the defendant as he alleges a Ma- 
 homedan, and how does that affect his lia- 
 bility ? 
 
 2nd. — Is the defendant the person alluded 
 to in the certificate of loyalty in 1857? 
 
 3rd. — If the facts as stated in the 3rd and 
 4th pleas are correct, in what way do they 
 affect defendant's liability ? 
 
 4th. — Similarly what is the effect of the 
 allegations, in paras. 5, 6 and 7 of the defen- 
 dant's statement, and are the facts as there 
 stated ? 
 
 5th. — Has the plaintiff adduced satisfactory 
 proofs of defendant's liability ? 
 
 At the second hearing of this case, both 
 parties being represented by their respective : 
 pleaders, the evidence was recorded. 
 
 As the 5th issue lays the burden of proof] 
 upon the plaintiff, it will not be necessary to i 
 enter into a consideration of the evidence on 
 the other issues until this has been disposed of. 
 
 The plaintiff ought to have produced vouchers
 
 BUDGEPORE COMMEECIAL INSTITUTIONS. 215 
 
 for his statement, but he accounts for the ab- 
 sence of this all-important evidence by the fact 
 of the documents having all been destroyed by 
 ■white ants. These insects, it is true, are very 
 destructive, and particularly so in Budgepore. 
 And although it is quite possible that valuable 
 records should be destroyed in this manner, 
 because it is known that white ants^ destruc- 
 tive faculties are indiscriminately applied, that 
 insect not being able to distinguish between 
 what are and what are not valuable documents, 
 yet it is a very remarkable coincidence indeed 
 that in this case the ants should have made a 
 selection of documents and devoured only those 
 which were applicable to this case. There is 
 no exception to be taken to the parol evidence 
 which the plaintifl' has adduced. Three wit- 
 nesses of the utmost respectability depose to 
 having seen the defendant write the letter for- 
 warding the application for the shares. Three 
 others of equal respectability depose to having 
 seen the application received and entered in 
 the register, and the scrip signed and de- 
 spatched in accordance with the application. 
 These witnesses are all native clerks in the 
 service of the plaintiffs^ for the rejection of 
 whose testimony no good reason has been ad- 
 duced by the defendant. The most conclusive 
 evidence of all is that of witness No. 7, who
 
 216 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 deposes to ha\'ing seen the white ants in the 
 act of destroying the very documents alluded 
 to. Witness No. 8 says he himself despatched 
 the various sums which it is alleged were paid 
 to defendant as dividends on his shares; but 
 he does not produce the receipt, for the same 
 reason that the other vouchers were not forth- 
 coming, viz. because they were devoured by 
 the white ants along with the other papers. 
 The defendant seeks to impugn the veracity 
 of the plain tifiV witnesses on the ground that 
 in the coui'se of his business as money-lender 
 or banker the plaintiflPs' witnesses have become 
 indebted to him, and he has at various times 
 sued them at law and got decrees against them . 
 
 Although I do not consider that the defen- 
 dant has succeeded in his attempt to impugn 
 the testimony of these witnesses, yet as I con- 
 sider that the plaintiifs were bound to put the 
 vouchers in a place where white ants could not 
 reach them, and that the production of them 
 (the vouchers) is necessary to support the 
 plaintiffs' case, and as they have not been 
 produced, I shall dismiss the claim. 
 
 The decree will carry costs. 
 Signed, 
 
 Basil Mooltawee, 
 Judgre.
 
 CHRONICLE XI. 
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL 
 AGENCY.
 
 219 
 
 CHRONICLE XI. 
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOR EVER. 
 
 The English reader will not see anything 
 worthy of remark in the heading of this chap- 
 ter, but the Indian will immediately say to 
 himself, " Political agency of Budgepore ! 
 How comes there to be a political agency 
 there?" 
 
 But there really was a political agency at 
 Budgepore. And this is how there was one. 
 I have already chronicled the political history 
 of Budgepore, aud traced its destinies from 
 Warren Hastings' time downwards. The 
 Nawab of Budgepore was still an independent 
 prince. The capital and palace were situated 
 about twenty-seven miles from the military and
 
 220 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 civil station and the native city of Budgepore. 
 But the whole province went by this name. 
 The political agency was an average one in 
 point of emolument, and a very desirable and 
 coveted appointment it was. It was at the time 
 I write held by Captain Kummakl. Kumraakl 
 was the son and grandson of two old Bengal 
 civilians. The family name was Carmichael, 
 but the natives always pronounced it Kummakl, 
 and the grandfather, after he retired from the 
 service, wishing to perpetuate the fond associa- 
 tions that gilded the horizon of his memory in 
 the sunset of his days, left all his money to his 
 son on condition that he should change the 
 family name to Kummakl. There were several 
 of the family in the different services, and Cap- 
 tain Lionel Kummakl was, as I have said, poli- 
 tical agent of Budgepore. He lived in one of 
 the NawaVs palaces, and a very beautiful resi- 
 dence it was, in the centre of a large garden 
 which bordered on a lake. In the middle of the 
 lake there was an island partly natural and 
 partly artificial, in which stood the picturesque 
 ruins of an ancient Hindoo temple, whose rug- 
 ged edges of brown stone peeped here and 
 there from underneath the foliage of the peepul 
 tree and the luxuriant creepers that almost 
 overwhelmed it in their embrace, There was 
 a boat on the lake, and plenty of good fishing
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 221 
 
 and good shooting in the neighbourhood. You 
 will say Kummakl ought to have been happy 
 in such a place. And so he would have been, 
 but for one thing. He was like Adam alone 
 in paradise — he sighed for an Eve to keep him 
 company, and enjoy life with him. 
 
 Julia Congreve was the prettiest girl that 
 ever came to India. This is saying a good 
 deal, I allow, and I have reflected a moment 
 whether I ought not to qualify the assertion. 
 But when I recall to mind her figure, her ex- 
 quisitely shaped head and hands, her dark grey 
 eyes, " fringed,^' as a novel writer would say, 
 but it is more philosophical to call it "pro- 
 tected " by long eye-lashes ; her complexion, 
 which Madame Rachel might have taken for a 
 model ; not sickly white, but pure and trans- 
 lucent, like alabaster, coloured with nature's 
 loveliest tint which she has given to the rose 
 and reproduced in the bloom of youth and 
 beauty ; I say when I recall this image to my 
 memory I find no reason to modify my state- 
 ment, sweeping though it is. In this brief 
 allusion to a few out of her many charms, I 
 must not forget her hair. In those days that 
 peculiar tint of ladies' hair which was lately in 
 fashion and has now gone out, was not gene- 
 rally admired. I have heard monsters with no 
 taste and no eye for the beautiful speak slight-
 
 222 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 ingly of her hair and call it red. Red ! well, 
 it was red in the same sense that that deep 
 golden-tinted cloud at sunset all glowing amid 
 a blaze of rosy light may be called red. What 
 would you think of the man who pointed to 
 such a sunset scene and remarked, " Look at 
 that red cloud ? " Why, you would feel the 
 same as I felt when I heard men remark on 
 Julia's hair and call it red. She was just 
 seventeen when she first came to India. Her 
 father was a civilian, and at the age of five Julia 
 had been sent home to school. Her mother 
 died a year after, and Julia remained at school 
 and under the charge of her friends till she 
 was sixteen and a half, during which time she 
 had never seen her father, and then came out 
 to India. He was not at Budgepore, but slie 
 was then on a visit at her aunt's, Mrs. Mool- 
 tawee, who was a good woman enough, but 
 rather too fond of match-making. The night 
 after Julia's arrival there was a ball, and she 
 made her first appearance in the Budgepore 
 world on that occasion. Her beauty was 
 striking anywhere, how much more when en- 
 hanced by the accomplishments of an elegant 
 and tasty toilet. Ah, me ! what havoc she 
 made among the hearts of bachelors. Poor 
 Kummakl was there. I don't know why I 
 should call him poor, except for the condition
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 223 
 
 in which he went home that night after danc 
 ing twice with Julia. He had to return next 
 day to the Agency, but he managed to find 
 time to call at Mrs. Mooltawee's, and there 
 he saw Julia more beautiful, if possible, in 
 her simple morning attire of glistening white 
 than in all the glories of white satin and 
 lace flounces. Her manner was perfection, 
 her conversation sprightly and cheerful, and 
 Kummakl returned to his solitary palace in 
 the garden by the lake in a mood bordering 
 on distraction. He thought to himself what 
 bliss it would be to see that fairy creature 
 seated opposite to him at the dinner-table, 
 to see her in the drawing-room, to hear her 
 light foot-fall on the carpet and the rustling 
 of her dress, to ride with her, to walk in the 
 garden with her, to gather flowers for her, 
 to row her on the lake, to be her slave, in 
 short, and wait upon her everywhere from 
 morning to night. It seemed to him as if 
 his palace would be a palace, indeed, graced by 
 the presence of an angel. 
 
 When a man is addicted to intellectual 
 pursuits, or immersed in business, that all 
 day long absorbs the utmost powers of his 
 mind, a fit of love may do him no harm ; on 
 the contrary, it may do him a great deal of 
 good. Bat love is fed by fancy, and lives on
 
 224 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDOEPOEE. 
 
 imagination. A very busy man, as Bulwer 
 somewhere remarks, has not time to be in love. 
 Now Kuramakl was not a busy man. Few 
 political agents are, and if they are, it is 
 generally in doing mischief, and then trying to 
 undo it. A political agent of long experience, 
 much longer experience than any of the po- 
 litical agents of the present day can boast of, 
 once remarked to me, in reply to an observa- 
 tion that So and So did nothing, that that was 
 the best thing he could do. And that had 
 reference to a critical time, too. How Kum- 
 makFs fit of love would have ended I don^t 
 know. He might have drowned himself in the 
 lake, or shot himself ; he was just mad enough 
 for either, till one day the idea struck him, 
 why not marry Julia? That would be better 
 than killing himself out of love for her, or 
 dying by inches. He looked round at the 
 handsome suite of apartments in which he lived, 
 and thought that with a little outlay they 
 might be made worthy of such a goddess. 
 Then he got up and looked at himself in the 
 glass ; and that did not dissatisfy him. He was 
 a good-looking fellow enough, tall, well-built, 
 with dark hair, and a neat moustache. What, 
 if Julia could be brought to love him one 
 tithe, one millionth part as much as he loved 
 her ! The thought was maddening, but the
 
 THE BTJDGBPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 225 
 
 idea after simmerinof in his excited brain for 
 half an hour^ resulted in a call for his servant. 
 
 " Pack up my things/' he said : " I shall 
 go to-morrow morning into Budgepore, and 
 remain there a week — no, a fortnight, per- 
 haps more/' 
 
 On reaching Budgepore, Kummakl went and 
 called on Mrs. Dakhil Duftar, who was a great 
 friend of his, and took her into his confidence. 
 Mrs, Dakhil Duftar was delighted to be con- 
 sulted in a love affair, what lady is not ? and 
 entered into the thing with much interest. Her 
 advice was consolatory to KummakFs feelings. 
 
 " Why should not you try. Captain Kum- 
 makl ? Julians a sweetly pretty girl and well 
 educated, and will I dare say look a little high, 
 but I don't see why you should not succeed. 
 You've a capital appointment, and live at a 
 delightful place ; — it is true I know her aunt 
 wants her to marry in the service, but I don't 
 think in your case that would be an insuperable 
 objection. You are not so good as a district, 
 but much better than a joint. ''^ I advise you 
 to try. There are a good many already in the 
 field, I hear, Isteefa for one ; but he has no 
 
 * I must explain that a magistrate and collector in 
 charge of a district draws ujjwards of two thousand ru- 
 pees a month ; a joint, or joint magistrate, the grade 
 below, from aevea hundred to a thousand. 
 
 II. 15
 
 226 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 chance. Julia can't bear him. Don't be too 
 shy. Faint heart, you know, never wins fair 
 lady ; and don't be too spooney, girls like 
 Julia don't like men to be too spooney." 
 
 '' I'll try," said Kummakl, getting up to go ; 
 " many thanks, for you have quite encouraged 
 me. You'll keep my secret, won't you ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ; you may depend on me. Good- 
 bye and good luck." 
 
 Captain Kummakl needn't have made a point 
 about his secret, as he called it, being kept. 
 He was an honorary member of the 159th mess, 
 and always dined there when in cantonments. 
 After he left that night there was a good 
 deal of betting whether Kummakl, Isteefa, or 
 which of the half-a-dozen others who were well 
 known to be running for Julia's hand would 
 be successful. Kummakl was the favourite. 
 After some further discussion, a gold mohur 
 lottery was proposed and forthwith started. 
 Captain Spot, who drew Kummakl, sold him 
 for five gold raohurs the minute after to Black- 
 bum, who had drawn Isteefa, and Blackburn 
 got ten gold mohurs for the two the next day. 
 
 In India society lives pretty much in a glass 
 house, and as making love forms a part of most 
 men's lives, they enjoy the unenviable privilege 
 of making love in glass houses. Alexis fancies 
 that his penchant for Lucinda is a secret — when
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 227 
 
 there are fifty pairs of eyes watching his talk- 
 ing to her at the first ball, and when he rides 
 up to her carriage at the band, Lucinda's less 
 favoured admirers make way for him, and leave 
 them together as a matter of course. Two 
 doves that sit together cooing on the branch 
 of a tree in the open face of heaven, in no 
 deeper seclusion than that aflbrded by the 
 somewhat scanty foliage of the surrounding 
 branches, enjoy as much privacy as you, when 
 you off'er the lady of your love in an Indian 
 drawing-room those little attentions which are 
 construed into intended matrimony. 
 
 This may be an uncomfortable reflection for 
 those who have a reputation or wish to gain a 
 reputation for being wiser than their fellow 
 men. Some statesman, I think it was Sir 
 B/obert Peel; said it was as impossible for a tax 
 to be popular as for a man in love to be wise. 
 I suppose it is a law of nature that the propor- 
 tion between the two should be maintained 
 everywhere. For if the difficulty of discovering 
 a popular tax in India is tenfold greater than 
 in England, it is certainly ten times as difficult 
 to make love in that country and throw a veil 
 of privacy over an amiable weakness as it is 
 at home. 
 
 Next day Kummakl called. Julia was there 
 in the drawing-room looking more lovely than 
 
 15 •
 
 228 THE CHRONICLES OP BTTDGEPORE. 
 
 ever. He prolonged the morning call as long 
 as he could with decency, asked permission to 
 accompany the ladies in their morning ride, 
 and took his departure. 
 
 Mrs. jSIooltawee had a dinner party that 
 evening, but Kummakl had not been invited. 
 I dare say he would have been if he had been 
 in Budgepore when the invitations were sent 
 out, or even if Mrs. Mooltawee had known he 
 was coming in ; but then he had come in so 
 suddenly, and not told anyone of his intention. 
 So he dined at mess and was moody and ab- 
 stracted all the evening, and went home early, 
 when he sat for full two hours in the verandah 
 smoking a great many more cigars than were 
 good for him, and thinking of Julia, how she 
 looked in the carriage at the band when he had 
 exchanged a few words with her, her bonnet, 
 her ribbons, her gloves, her dress, and how she 
 was probably dressed at that very moment 
 while Kummakl was sitting in the verandah 
 with his legs up against the pillar dreaming 
 of her. I say dreaming, for it was nothing 
 else. How she looked at the band he had a 
 sort of right to dwell upon, for it was a bond 
 fide exercise of memory, but as to how she was 
 dressed for the evening was a matter Kummakl 
 had no business at all to reason about, because 
 he had no better data to go upon than most
 
 THE BUDGEPOE.E POLITICAL AGENCY. 229 
 
 members when they bring a bill into council ; 
 that isj he took for granted his facts^ grounded 
 on some general ideas about ladies^ dress, and 
 drew his conclusions^ being perfectly satisfied, 
 because he had only himself to satisfy as to 
 their correctness. And was Julia thinking of 
 Kummakl ? I am afraid not. The standing 
 programme, with all the young butterflies who 
 hovered round her, and burnt off their legs and 
 wings, seemed to be ceaseless merriment. 
 They were always saying funny things — at 
 least they were always laughing. How they 
 found so much to laugh about at Budgepore 
 I cannot imagine. I think Julia must have 
 been very tired of all this when night came 
 and she laid her pretty head upon her pillow. 
 But then Julia's intellectual education had not 
 been thought very much of. You see, she was 
 brought up at one of the first schools for young 
 ladies. She was taught every possible accom- 
 plishment, from music and painting to getting 
 into a carriage gracefully — and out. A carriage 
 was brought twice a week in the afternoon to 
 the door of Miss Minimis seminary and the 
 young ladies of the head class went through 
 the lesson, a branch of education deemed so 
 important that Miss Minim, who delegated 
 most of the other branches to assistants, super- 
 intended this herself. She stood just by the
 
 230 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 carriage doorj wliich was held open by a footman 
 in gorgeous livery, who preserved, all the time, 
 a countenance as solemn as if he was looking 
 down into the graves of each young lady as 
 she tripped up the carriage steps. One after 
 another, dressed as for a drive, they came out 
 of the hall door, advanced to the carriage steps, 
 put their little feet gracefully upon them, 
 attending all the time to Miss Minim's instruc- 
 tions as to adjustment of dress, position of 
 hands, and every movement, like a soldier going 
 through the old-fashioned manual and platoon. 
 Each young lady had to seat herself in the 
 carriage, and then go through' the reverse 
 process of coming down again. 
 
 After it was all over Miss Minim used to go 
 for a drive, taking with her one of the govern- 
 esses, or one of the young ladies who had 
 earned a claim to this distinction by superior 
 gracefulness of deportment. 
 
 Julia learnt to write a delicate lady -like hand, 
 and to read ; she learnt a little geography and 
 a little arithmetic as far as addition. French, 
 of course, and enough Italian to be able to 
 pronounce properly the words of Italian songs, 
 and to know their meaning — when they had 
 any. She learnt to dance, of course, and took 
 lessons in riding, and when these and other 
 minor contributory accomplishments were
 
 THE BUUGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 2ol 
 
 mastered J her education was completed. On 
 Sunday, the young ladies went to church once 
 in the morning, where Miss Minim had two 
 long pews in the very centre of the aisle of St. 
 Bonavia's, the fashionable church. The after- 
 noon was spent in walking about the garden 
 in summer in twos and threes, talking gene- 
 rally about their love affairs, real or imagi- 
 nary. In winter the girls crowded over the 
 fires in their rooms and talked on the same 
 subject. The religious instruction imparted 
 to the minds of her pupils by Miss Minim 
 consisted in a chapter of Mrs. Triramer^s anno- 
 tations, which she read every evening at prayer 
 time. The curate of the parish, Mr. Mildmay, 
 had made one or two advances in proposing 
 to attend at stated times and give the young 
 ladies religious instruction. But Miss Minim 
 did not see the matter in the same light at all 
 as Mr. Mildmay, and resolutely kept the young 
 priest at arm^s length. She did her duty, did 
 Miss Minim. She professed to give her young 
 ladies the best and most accomplished educa- 
 tion, and she did so. She did not undertake 
 to give instruction in Latin and Greek or 
 mathematics. If parents wished their daugh- 
 ters to learn such things as these, they must 
 send them to some inferior establishment. 
 Miss Minim's institution was intended only
 
 232 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 for young ladies of position ; she undertook to 
 l)ring; them up so that they could be ornaments 
 to society, and I only wish every professor in 
 the world succeeded in doing what they under- 
 take to do as well as Miss Minim. That lady 
 used to boast that she knew the world ; and 
 I think she did not overrate herself in this 
 respect. " I don't care so much/' she used to 
 say, " about a girl's looks. Of course, it is all 
 the better if she is good-looking; but nice, 
 lady-like manners and a graceful bearing in a 
 drawing-room, and good taste in dress, go 
 further in society a great deal than mere beauty 
 of features." 
 
 " Go further in society," — that was the 
 standard Miss Minim worked up to. That 
 was her rule of life, as it were, — the high- 
 water mark of her principles and her designs. 
 That there was any other object in education 
 never for one instant crossed her mind. There 
 is one advantage in not setting one's self a very 
 high standard, namely, that you can the more 
 easily attain to it ; and Miss Minim perfected 
 her scholars, whereas, had she set herself to 
 train them for immortality, possibly she might 
 not have succeeded so well. 
 
 Beings like Julia Congreve really seem as 
 if they were born exceptions to the conditions 
 under which the human race comes into the
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCT, 283 
 
 world^ as if the curse, passed upon Adam and 
 his posterity, did not reach them. As soon as 
 she was born, she had two servants besides her 
 mother to attend to every babyish caprice. 
 When a little older, her two servants were 
 increased to three, to thirty in fact, for every 
 member of her father's somewhat numerous 
 household vied in devotion to the little girl. 
 When she went to England she lived with an 
 aunt, who had no childrsn of her own, and so 
 doted on the little Julia, who was a queen 
 without the cares of state, from her very birth. 
 Having naturally a gentle disposition, never 
 ti'ied or crossed by the exactions of elder 
 brothers or sisters, she never gave occasion for 
 any chastisement harsher than a gentle rebuke. 
 And when she went to school, she fell under 
 Miss Minim's principle of education for young 
 ladies, viz., that refinement, and ease, and 
 grace of manner were incompatible with 
 labour of any kind. Up to the age of eighteen 
 she never knew a care more weighty that the 
 selection of a ball-dress. A hard or unkind 
 word had never met her ear, or been addressed 
 to her. She did not know her mother, and 
 therefore her death was no cause of real grief 
 to her young mind. Her aunt, with whom she 
 was living when that event occurred, felt a 
 mother's kindness for her, and saw no reason
 
 234 THE CHEONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 why she should cause her young idol's tears to 
 flow for a loss whicli could only be brought 
 home to her by the aid of imagination, and 
 forbore to dwell upon the reality of the loss 
 to Julia. Her path of life from the very cradle, 
 was, as if it were strewn with flowers, — with 
 flowers that bear no thorns. Compare the 
 existence of such an one with the lot of the 
 sons and daughters of toil and care, and say 
 whether they do not appear to belong to diffe- 
 rent races. 
 
 Kummakl couldn't sit in his verandah 
 dreaming of Julia all night, so, although the 
 subject to his somewhat narrow mind was by 
 no means exhausted, he gave it up and went to 
 bed, to continue his dream in the land of sleep. 
 But he awoke an hour before daylight, and 
 looked at his watch. He was determined to be 
 early at Mrs. Mooltawee's, for there might be 
 some other fellows there bent on the same 
 errand as himself, and he was resolved to have 
 the pleasure of assisting Julia to mount her 
 horse. He had planned that little plot the 
 night before — indeed he had dwelt upon all the 
 contingencies connected with it for full three- 
 quarters of an hour. Such elastic things our 
 minds are. We can contract them to the 
 smallest dimensions, that the veriest trifle can 
 fill the whole area of the mental vision, or
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 235 
 
 expand them to take in an idea of infinity. 
 And a man^s mind does contract a good deal 
 when he is under the influence of any passion, 
 for then the minutest point, no bigger than a 
 pin's head, will swell and swell like Satya- 
 vrata's fish, till it fills the whole field of view. 
 Kummakl was up and dressed, and had had 
 his cup of cofi'ee, and yet it wanted half-an- 
 hour of gun-fire, which means a little after day- 
 light. He waited till the gun fired, and then, 
 afraid that after all he should be late, cantered 
 along to Mrs. Mooltawee's. Here he found 
 no sign of any one stirring, so he gave his 
 horse to the syce and walked about the garden, 
 looking at his watch every two minutes. A 
 quarter of an hour passed before the ladies' 
 horses were brought round, and then he came 
 up a little nearer the house. Then an ayah 
 made her appearance, walking leisurely across 
 from the servants' huts, and disappeared inside 
 a bathing-room door. He wondered whether 
 that was her ayah, and his heart began to warm 
 towards the woman, as if she were a priestess 
 consecrated to the service of his goddess. I 
 ventui'e to say if a genii — a jin, more correctly 
 speaking — had appeared at that moment, and 
 offered to change his identity with that of the 
 ayah's, Kummakl's destiny in the world would 
 have seemed a cheap price to pay for the bar-
 
 236 
 
 THE CHRONICLES OP BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 gain. He was tliinking of this when another 
 ayah apj)eared, and he didn't know which was 
 Julia's, and he laughed as he thought how the 
 genii might have taken him in. Another 
 half hour passed, when a light step and a rustle 
 of a lady's dress made him look up, and he 
 beheld Mrs. Mooltawee in her riding habit. 
 Julia had a headache, she said, that morning, 
 and was not going out. Ah, poor Kummakl ! 
 All the fabric he had been twining through 
 so many hours turned out to be made of 
 gossamer thread after all, and broken up at 
 once ! 
 
 Mrs. Mooltawee, however, saw his disap- 
 pointment, and asked him to come to tiffin, 
 and she thought Julia perhaps would like to 
 ride in the evening. So Kummakl's hopes 
 revived with the idea of a tete-a-tete ride, and 
 he was cheerful and companionable enough ; 
 and when he assisted Mrs. Mooltawee to dis- 
 mount at the door on their return, she thought 
 he would not be so bad a match for Julia 
 after all. 
 
 I have always heard, for I am obliged to 
 speak on these matters from the experience of 
 others, that when a man who has been very 
 much in love gets married, he feels an immense 
 relief, like a ship long tossed on tumultuous 
 seas, he is in harbour at last. No more toil-
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 237 
 
 ing and watching, no more waiting for an hour 
 or two for the chance of a look, an opportunity 
 for a word, an occasion for some petty, trifling 
 service, too ludicrously trifling to be described ; 
 no more anxious hours and sleepless nights, no 
 more plunges into the depths of despair because 
 a passing shade crosses the features of your 
 lady-love. If your whole happiness and peace 
 of mind for a day, or a week, or a month, is 
 liable to be destroyed by a cross word or a cold 
 look, it is obvious that your happiness stands 
 on very unstable ground. When you are once 
 married, all this fever and anxiety are at an 
 end. A cross word or a cold look does not 
 then signify so much — there is time to heal 
 the wound, or let the cloud pass away. So 
 that I think our Indian code — I do not mean 
 the Penal Code, but the code of Indian social 
 law — ^is"very merciful, for it shortens materially 
 the period of trial a lover has to undergo. 
 Kummakl had danced twice with Julia, had 
 exchanged a few words in a morning call, and 
 fewer still at the band ; he had been one tete- 
 a-tete ride with her, had helped her once on 
 her horse, and once to dismount. The next 
 time he saw her was at a large evening party 
 at Mrs. Mooltawee^s the day after the ride, 
 when he inveigled her into the verandah, and 
 there by moonlight took her hand, as if he
 
 238 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 was touching the hand of a being of a superior 
 order from himself, and told her of his love. 
 She withdrew her hand, but manifested no 
 displeasure. She neither said'" yes " nor " no/' 
 but rather sternly, as he thought for her, de- 
 sired to go inside. He offered his arm in 
 silence, and led her in. Just as they crossed 
 the threshold, they confronted Mrs. Mooltawee, 
 and Kummakl, whose sense of perception was 
 wound up to an inconceivable pitch of acute- 
 ness, augured well from a glance which Julia 
 gave her aunt, and which the latter returned 
 with the rapidity of an electric spark. 
 
 While the weighty question which Kummakl 
 had put remained unanswered, he felt it was 
 impossible to hold any kind of conversation 
 with Julia, and as the silence was irksome 
 beyond measure, he led her to a seat, and 
 returned to the verandah alone, for he felt as 
 if the eyes of every one in the room were upon 
 him ; a great mistake, for no one probably was 
 even thinking of him at the time. 
 
 As he was standing alone gazing out on the 
 scene before him, bathed in the splendour of 
 an Indian moonlight, he felt a light touch on 
 his arm. He looked round, and Mrs. Mool- 
 tawee stood beside him. 
 
 "So you have proposed to my niece? " she 
 said. ■
 
 THE BTJDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 239 
 
 " Did she tell you ? Yes^ I have. Oh, I do 
 so hope you will all consent," said Kummakl 
 incoherently. 
 
 ** Her father must be written to. I don't 
 suppose he will object. I don't.'' 
 
 " And she ? " 
 
 '' I do not think she will say no." 
 
 This was not very decisive, but it raised 
 Kummakl to the seventh heaven. He pressed 
 Mrs. Mooltawee's hand in silent gratitude, and 
 she left him with a smile. His eyes followed 
 her as she went in, and soon sought out Julia. 
 There she was, chattering and laughing with 
 a young fellow of the 159th, as if there was 
 very little weighing on her mind. Kuramakl's 
 heart sank for a moment, as the idea crossed 
 him, " Is that the woman to whom I have just 
 made an offer of marriage, and she doesn't 
 seem to consider it worth thinking about ? But 
 then she is such an angel." 
 
 Kummakl had the good sense to feel that he 
 was not fit company for any one but himself, 
 and slipped out of the room quietly and went 
 home. 
 
 " Well, my dear, you know he has eighteen 
 hundred a month," said Mrs. Dakhil Duftar 
 to Mrs. Mooltawee apologetically, as the two 
 ladies were exchanging a few words on the 
 subject of the offer.
 
 240 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 " Yes, but the military peusious are so bad.'^ 
 
 " Well, 1 confess I should have preferred a 
 district for Julia ; still, you know, she might 
 have done worse : she might have fallen in 
 love with one of those young officers/' 
 
 '' I don't think Julia will ever fall iu love," 
 was Mrs. Mooltawee's reply. " Good night.-'' 
 
 " Good night.''
 
 241 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WE ALL HAVE OUR WEAK POINTS. 
 
 So they were married. Some philosophers 
 will tell you that hopes fulfilled are never equal 
 to the anticipation. In Kumraakl's case it 
 certainly was not, as I don^t suppose any man 
 could have been happier than he was. His 
 brightest dreams had all come to pass. There 
 was Julia, the goddess enthroned in the very 
 shrine he had built for her. There was he, the 
 worshipper, with the being he worshipped for 
 his own, and, as it seemed, no cloud in the 
 sky to darken the sunlight of his bliss. As 
 for Julia, the destiny to which she seemed 
 bom continued to attend her, the pathway of 
 her life was strewn with flowers as it had 
 ever been. She had a beautiful house in a 
 beautiful spot ; she had a boudoir exquisitely 
 furnished with every artificial luxury that an 
 II. 16
 
 242 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 upliolstcrer^s skill could supply. She had her 
 music and her painting and her embroidery. 
 Her husband was her devoted slave, too loving 
 to bore her with attentions, but ever ready 
 to gratify her slightest whim, to read to her, 
 to ride with her, to walk in the garden with 
 her, and gather flowers for her, to row her 
 on the lake. She had the newest novels, they 
 were the only sort of literature for which her 
 education had given her a taste, and as much 
 society as she wanted, as her Budgepore 
 friends were always glad to come out to spend 
 a day whenever she asked them, and the 
 NawaVs carriages and horses were always at 
 her disposal to bring them out and send them 
 back. She was still a queen as she always had 
 been all her life : every creature that came near 
 her seemed but too glad to do her the slightest 
 service, and she accepted it all with a kind- 
 ness and grace of manner that captivated 
 every heart. 
 
 And here I find myself face to face with a 
 matter which no chronicler of Indian social 
 history can shirk. He may avoid it, or pass 
 t by for a time, but sooner or later it is sure 
 to force itself upon him. Here were two 
 human beings, Lionel and Julia, who knew no 
 more of each other's character than you do of 
 the man who brushes by you in the Strand
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 243 
 
 on your way to the city, yet tliey had sworn 
 before the altar to live together as man and 
 wife till death should part them. Now it is no 
 use to pretend to ignore the fact, it is undeni- 
 able, and forces itself on our attention every 
 day we read the papers or listen to what goes 
 on around us, that in spite of marriage vows, 
 something a long way short of death does very 
 often interfere to sever the union of Indian 
 married life. And the majority of those who 
 consider the subject, account for it by the 
 tropical rapidity with which courtship ripens 
 into matrimony. In former days, it was the 
 common thing for a man, if he heard there was 
 a nice girl at a neighbouring station, to get 
 leave between musters, that is, leave for thirty 
 days, go over, see her, speak to her, dance 
 with her, make an offer and marry her. Some- 
 times he would complete it all in the one 
 month. At others, he would put it off, and 
 get another thirty days' leave a month or two 
 later, and then go and get married. Now-a- 
 days, " leave between musters " is out of 
 fashion, but in nine cases out of ten your 
 Indian marriages are consummated between 
 people who venture their life's happiness upon 
 the most superficial acquaintance of the one 
 whom they make their life's partner. Of 
 course I shall be called cynical, and the opinion 
 
 16 *
 
 244 THE CHKONICLES OF BUDGEPOBB. 
 
 will be put down to the withering of the heart's 
 affections under the blighting influence of the 
 disappointed hopes that have left rne an old 
 bachelor. But^ like Diogenes, I can study 
 from my tub the manners and customs of other 
 .nen who do not live in tubs. And I believe 
 that our Indian social laws have been blamed 
 for that for which they are not answerable. 
 Marriage is a lottery, and out of a thousand 
 men and women who do marry^ not ten know 
 each other's character before they speak the 
 vows that bind them indissolubly together. 
 
 If the marriage is one of convenience, as 
 many in the highest circles of society at home 
 are, there is, of course, little or no attempt to 
 read character. Among the middle classes in 
 England and society generally in India, such 
 marriages are less common, for they are con- 
 tracts between parties who put wealth against 
 rank, and in India there is little or none of 
 either. On the other hand, our marriages are 
 generally made between persons of mature age, 
 whose characters are formed. But love is pro- 
 verbially blind, and no wonder, for lovers, when 
 together, wear a mask. And neither will dis- 
 cover the true features underneath the mask, 
 no matter whether the courtship lasts for one 
 month or for twenty. No, the unhappy fatality 
 that attends so many Indian marriages is not
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 245 
 
 to be attributed to tbe brevity of courtship. It 
 is attributable to tbe habit, in so many eases a 
 necessity that necessity is always taken for 
 granted, of frequent temporary separations be- 
 tween man and wife, and the tone and habits 
 of society in our modern Capuas. No more 
 fatal lesson can be learnt by a wedded pair 
 than that the society of one is not necessary 
 to the happiness of the other. When Alexis 
 and Lucinda have once discovered that they 
 can do without one another, the chain that 
 binds them together is reduced to one link, the 
 social, or moral obligation to observe the mar- 
 riage vows, and the extent to which that ob- 
 ligation is recognised varies not only in different 
 people, but at different times in the same person. 
 The natives about the agency admired Julia 
 with a sort of distant veneration. They were 
 never tired of extolling her beauty, and the 
 Nawab of Budgepore heard so much about her 
 that he fell desperately in love on hearsay, as 
 the princes in the Arabian Nights and the 
 Bagh-o-Bahar always do with princesses they 
 have never seen. Though he would willingly 
 have given up half his revenues for a Begum 
 like her, he felt it was out of the question his 
 ever possessing one, but he knew that a fresh 
 element had been introduced into the ma- 
 chinery of the agency, and like a wise man he
 
 246 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 began to turn over the matter in his mind, 
 and ponder upon the method by which it might 
 be used to his advantage. 
 
 No European can form the smallest idea 
 of the extent to which the whole life of the 
 Asiatic is made up of intrigue. From the 
 bottom to the top of the social ladder it is 
 the same. Your servants spend all their spare 
 time in intriguing to get a larger share of 
 your favour, and outdo their fellows. They 
 will plot, and plan, and scheme for a whole 
 year to get some member of youi' large house- 
 hold dismissed and another installed in his 
 place, a relative, a friend, perhaps a creditor. 
 What appears to you a mere trifle not worth 
 a minute's thought, a native will willingly 
 spend days and weeks upon, and think the 
 time well spent if he succeed. And if you 
 like to see how the principle holds good in the 
 highest walks in Asiatic life, read Indian his- 
 tory, and there you will find how the whole 
 of it is nothing but a record of intrigues com- 
 mencing with diplomatic scheming and ending 
 in war. To displace a favourite, to dethrone 
 a reigning prince, to subvert a dynasty, were 
 the ends and aims of statesmen and warriors 
 in former days. Dethroning princes and sub- 
 verting dynasties are matters now generally 
 beyond the compass of either diplomacy or
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 247 
 
 war. But the very same love of intrigue, 
 though confined to limits where the results 
 are necessarily less apparent than they were 
 before British power became predominant, still 
 finds a vent, and is as actively indulged in now 
 that the prize is comparatively small, as it was 
 in the days of Akbar and Aurungzebe. 
 
 The prime minister, or dewau, as he was 
 called at Budgepore in the days I am writing 
 about, was a Hindoo, by name Dowlut Rao. 
 He had been installed as dewan before Kum- 
 makFs time by his predecessor, the man who 
 was dewan before him, a Mahomedan noble 
 named Mustafi'a Khan, having been displaced 
 to make room for a successful rival. For 
 Mustafi'a Khan had got into disgrace with the 
 former political agent, who procured his dis- 
 missal and the installation of Dowlut Rao. 
 
 But an Asiatic takes all such instances of 
 the ups and downs of life very stoically. He 
 knew he had been out-witted. He had made 
 a series of bad moves, and was checked for 
 the time, but not checkmated. There was 
 only one power that could checkmate him, and 
 that was the angel of death, and there had 
 been no summons from that quarter, so that 
 it was clear that fate intended he should oue 
 day reverse the order of things and check, 
 perhaps checkmate, his rival in his turn.
 
 248 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 The Nawab, who hated Dowlut Rao, and 
 against whose will Mustafia Khan had been 
 turned out, was quite ready to intrigue to get 
 the latter back again^ and, indeed, Kummakl's 
 chief duties lay in thwarting the efforts which 
 the Nawab was incessantly making to get his 
 favourite reinstated. 
 
 All sorts of accusations were sent to the 
 Political Agent against Dowlut Rao, and backed 
 up by the Nawab. But Kummakl was duly 
 instructed from the Foreign Office how to deal 
 with these attempts, and to thwart every effort 
 of the Nawab and Mustaffa Khan^s party. 
 Mustaffa Khan had tried to poison Dowlut 
 Rao, and Dowlut Rao had tried to poison 
 Mustaffa Khan. The most crafty and deep- 
 laid plots were set on foot to embroil Dowlut 
 Rao with the British Agent, and the most 
 crafty and deep-laid schemes were set on foot 
 to bring Mustaffa Khan somehow or other 
 within reach of the criminal law. But beyond 
 an incessant bubbling at the surface, these 
 attempts produced no real fermentation in the 
 social element at Budgepore. So matters had 
 been going on ever since Kummakl had taken 
 up the reins of office. He, of course, could no 
 more vie with the authors of all these intrigues 
 in subtlety and cunning, than he could have 
 ventured in competing with a pearl-diver for 
 
 /
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 249 
 
 the treasures of the deep. Both parties in 
 turn tried to make him their tool, and both 
 failed, simply because a certain amount of 
 common sense and English straightforwardness, 
 or, as an Asiatic would call it, English ob- 
 tuseness and want of subtlety, kept him from 
 being made a tool of either. Had he laid 
 himself open to be bribed by money by either 
 party, he might have made a fortune long 
 ago. But he had not been long enough there 
 for the natives to have sounded his character 
 to the bottom. They were a little uncertain 
 about him. The very deficiencies in his cha- 
 racter puzzled them, and they had none of 
 them dared to venture on the dangerous ex- 
 periment of a bribe, and as he, of course, 
 never suggested anything of the kind, he had 
 never been subjected to the temptation. 
 
 Now, however, a new element altogether 
 was introduced into the complex machinery. 
 Kummakl was the slave of his wife, she was 
 a woman, and if she was to be won, the party 
 that won her would be sure of victory. But 
 how to win so unapproachable a creature? 
 That was the theme that many wise heads and 
 subtle minds spent whole days in pondering 
 upon, after Julia had been a month at the 
 Budgepore Political Agency. 
 
 Meantime the subordinates attached to the
 
 250 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 Agency had a fine time of it. The head clerk, 
 whose name was Cynthea Jones, was sub- 
 sidized by both parties. He received a hun- 
 dred rupees a month from Dowlut Rao to 
 secure his influence in his interest, and an- 
 other from Mustaffa Khan to bind him to 
 his, besides dalles, or presents, from each of 
 the noblemen on every Hindoo holiday from 
 the one, and on every Mahomedan holiday 
 from the other. These dalles, as they are 
 called, consisted chiefly of vegetables and sweet- 
 meats, cakes, &c., but there was always a 
 gold mohur, or two, neatly wrapped up either 
 in a bunch of plantains or tomatos. Besides 
 this the Nawab, who was not above securing 
 his services, made him handsome presents 
 about twice in the year, taking good care, of 
 course, not to let his minister knoAv of the 
 subsidy. But Cynthea Jones was not the only 
 man who profited considerably by the state of 
 politics at Budgepore. There was not a ser- 
 vant attached to KummakFs household, as 
 long as he was a bachelor, who did not receive 
 a gratuity equivalent to his pay from eacli of 
 the rival factions, for each servant individually 
 represented ,to the servants, respectively of 
 Dowlut Rao and Mustaffa Khan, that he was in 
 high favour with his master, and could influence 
 him by a word dropped into his ear now and again.
 
 THE BUDGBPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 251 
 
 When Julia came and it was seen what in- 
 fluence she possessed, you may easily imagine 
 how anxious the contending parties were to hit 
 upon some scheme either to get access to her 
 or to secure her interest, if it were possible. 
 Mustaffa Khan in this matter exhibited the 
 greatest ability or capacity for intrigue, which 
 in an Asiatic passes for ability. He, in think- 
 ing over the matter, came to the conclusion 
 that if it was too high a flight of ambition to 
 aim at the mistress, the next best thing was 
 to secure the maid. And so as Julia had two 
 ayahs, an upper and a lovrer lady's maid, and 
 as the upper one was, as is usually the case, a 
 Mahomedan woman, he soon set the Nawab 
 on the scent, and the result was overtures of 
 friendship from the women servants in the 
 Nawab's household. If among the Asiatics 
 the male sex look upon intrigue as one of the 
 main objects of life, the female live but to in- 
 trigue. Their capacity for it is something 
 marvellous. The tenacity of purpose, the skill 
 and cunning with which they weave the fine 
 web of their plots and schemes, even about the 
 merest trifle, is an interesting study in the 
 book of human nature. Perhaps this charac- 
 teristic is not confined to the Asiatic woman 
 only. I have met with English women almost 
 as fond of the pursuit, but compared with
 
 252 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPOEE. 
 
 their Aryan sisters they are but clumsy ope- 
 rators. The ayah was not long in under- 
 standing how the land lay, and you may be 
 sure she was not slow in turning it to good 
 account. It soon became a common thing tor 
 her to spend some portion o£ every day in the 
 NawaVs seraglio. 
 
 Every man has a weak point somewhere in 
 his character, for every human beiDg is open to 
 flattery. There are many kinds of flattery. I 
 do not mean by flattery, necessarily, the ap- 
 plication of coarse butter by a clumsy hand, a 
 dull Boeotian sounding of a man^s praises in 
 his presence or his ear. But there are other 
 sorts of flattery, consisting of the discovery of 
 the weak points of the character, and a skilful 
 playing with them when found. Many of the 
 greatest minds are subject to some petty vanity, 
 such as you might, indeed, be prepared to find 
 in a girl just fresh from school, but which you 
 are surprised to meet with in a philosopher, a 
 poet, or a statesman. 
 
 And as the weak point may be manipulated 
 by flattery, so it may be made to secure a pur- 
 pose by the opposite treatment. If the skilful 
 flatterer can discover the small aperture be- 
 tween the joints of the harness where he may 
 reach the skin, you may be sure a subtle enemy 
 will be able pretty nearly always to flnd a
 
 THE BtTDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 253 
 
 similar place where he may wound. Kum- 
 makl was like other men. He was certainly 
 not above the average in intellect, and I do not 
 know but in this respect he was very much 
 below it. He had a weak point like the rest 
 of us, and a vveak point very curiously 
 situated. Frederick Schlegel, it is said, was 
 so vain of his features that he had a little 
 mirror inside the lid of his snuff-box wherein 
 he was fond of contemplating the reflection 
 of his face even while lecturing. KummakPs 
 weak point — you may smile as you read it, 
 but can you lay your hand on your heart, my 
 friend, and say you have no similar little vanity 
 — was his feet. He was excessively, inordi- 
 nately, ludicrously vain about his feet. I can^t 
 tell you how many pairs of boots and shoes 
 he had not collected in his dressing-room. If 
 you do not believe me, ask his bootmaker how 
 much his yearly account for boots and shoes 
 amounted to. When a man has a weak point 
 like this, of course, all those who live with him 
 and about him become aware of it. Do you 
 think your native servants do not know your 
 pet particular weakness ? Why, it is the sub- 
 ject of constant discussion with them, and 
 many a joke is made at your expense on the 
 basis of it, in the kitchen. 
 
 Of course Julia soon found out her husband's
 
 254 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 little foible, but it was a very harmless one 
 indeed, and it amused her to watch its occasional 
 development. One morning, about three months 
 after their marriage, she was walking with him 
 in the garden ; arm in arm they were saun- 
 tering down the path, pausing every now and 
 then to gather flowers, and chatting pleasantly, 
 when something caused Julia to stop a few 
 seconds. Ere they continued their walk, she 
 burst out laughing. 
 
 " What are you laughing about, Julia ? " 
 asked her husband. 
 
 " A very absurd idea crossed my mind just 
 at the moment, some nonsense my ayah told 
 me this morning, as she was doing my hair. 
 I encourage the girl in tittle tattle, it amuses 
 me, and your attitude just this moment *Li,' 
 (she always called him ' Li,') reminded me of 
 something the silly girl said to me this morn- 
 ing — it is too absurd to repeat, really .'' 
 
 " Never mind if it made you laugh — in con- 
 nection with me too, and has evidently created 
 an impression of some sort in your mind; you 
 may as well tell me, it will make me laugh too, 
 perhaps." 
 
 "Well, she said, — you know she gets to- 
 gether with the women servants in the Nawab's 
 palace, and Dowlut Rao's women go there too, 
 and they all talk scandal and nonsense, as
 
 THE BTTDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 255 
 
 women will, and she retails a great deal of it 
 to me. They say that Dowlut Rao makes a 
 joke about your being vain about your feet, 
 Li, — what do you think of that ? you know I 
 think it is a little tvee bit true — now confess, 
 isn't it?" 
 
 " Pish, what stuff, Julia, you do listen to,'' 
 said Kummakl, pretending to treat the trifle 
 with the scorn it deserved. They neither of 
 them alluded to the subject again, but Julia 
 had to put a little extra force into her winning 
 ways, ere she could chase away the cloud that 
 that laugh of hers, and the remarks it called 
 forth, had conjured up. 
 
 When a man has some of the petty little 
 vanities or conceits I have spoken of, or the 
 weak point the flatterer or the enemy may 
 aim at, nothing galls him so much as to have 
 it exposed and ridiculed. If Kummakl had 
 had any work to do that absorbed his attention, 
 or really occupied his mind, it is certain the 
 disagreeable feeling occasioned by this trifling 
 incident would have been speedily obliterated. 
 As it was, he had nothing the least engrossing 
 to take up his attention. His mornings were 
 generally spent in reading aloud some novel to 
 Julia, and if he had any work, it was nothing 
 more than casting his eyes over the copy of 
 some letter, comparing it with the draft, and
 
 256 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 signing it. Perhaps once or twice a week he 
 had an hour's work in his ofhce, but not more. 
 This morning Julia happened to be engaged 
 in something else, and did not want to be read 
 to, and Kumraakl spent the time in walking 
 up and down the verandah, thinking, brooding 
 rather, over the slight put upon him by Dowlut 
 Rao, in making him the common talk of 
 menials in his own or other households. 
 When you take a trifling annoyance or a petty 
 wrong to your bosom, and cherish it with the 
 warmth of your concentrated attention, it is 
 astonishing how it grows and grows till it 
 assumes the most disproportionate dimensions. 
 Any man in this way may make himself as 
 miserable as he likes, and many men do make 
 themselves very miserable. Kummakl did so, 
 and not only that, but he made himself very 
 angry too. And the poisoned shaft went on 
 rankling in the wound, creating a festering 
 sore that grew worse and worse every minute. 
 A man of stronger character would have taken 
 out the arrow and laid it aside, and not have 
 allowed his mind to dwell upon the matter, 
 seeing how much it discomposed him. But 
 Kummakl had not a very strong character, and 
 his vanity was piqued. 
 
 He began from that moment to look on 
 Dowlut Rao with an unfavourable eye. Every-
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 257 
 
 thing lie did or said, if susceptible of two inter- 
 pret ations, appeared to Kummakl's view in the 
 light the least favourable to the minister. It 
 is astonishing, when once you take a prejudice 
 against a man, and what trifles will give rise to 
 a prejudice we all know, how difierent an 
 aspect everything that man has to do, in con- 
 nection with you, begins to wear. Before you 
 conceive the prejudice, every little fault or mis- 
 take he committed you would explain away or 
 excuse. Now, however, under the influence of 
 another feeling, you have no allowance to make 
 for him. You judge him by another standard 
 altogether. You hold him guilty before you 
 try him, whereas before you held him innocent 
 till you were convinced unmistakably of his 
 guilt. 
 
 The most important events of our lives, may 
 we not say even the most important events in 
 history, frequently arise seemingly from the 
 smallest and most insignificant cause. In the 
 life of nations, as in the life of individuals, 
 events are so linked together, that you may 
 often trace the chain all the way back to the 
 occurrence out of which the change of a nation's 
 destiny, or of an individual's whole character 
 and fortunes arose. Most men, if they nar- 
 rowly scan the past, will find that the great 
 crisis in their lives was generally determined by 
 II. 17
 
 258 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 some accident, as they call it, or some fortuitous 
 circumstance, which they might have controlled 
 had they been previously aware of its approach, 
 or warned to be on their guard. It is a truth 
 which is worth thinking about ; that any day, 
 you know not when, you may have to encounter 
 some crisis, petty and insignificant perhaps at 
 the time, which is nevertheless the turning- 
 point of your life's fortunes. 
 
 It so happened that just as Kummakl had 
 blown the smouldering fire till it made the 
 kettle boil, and his feelings against Dowlut 
 Rao were anything but charitable, a chuprassee 
 appeared, and announced the very man him- 
 self. Now this was an unlucky accident ! 
 What brought Dowlut Rao there on that day, 
 of all days in the week or month ? He did 
 not often visit Kummakl, not oftener than once 
 perhaps in three weeks, unless Kummakl sent 
 for him. What made him come to-day ? I 
 don't know, but I do know that in our every- 
 day life occurrences of this sort do very con- 
 stantly happen, and this is one instance of what 
 I have just said, that any day we may, any one 
 of us, be called unexpectedly to confront some 
 seeming trifle, which is, nevertheless, destined 
 to colour the whole future course of our 
 destiny. 
 
 The reason of Dowlut Rao's visit was this>
 
 THE BUDaEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 259 
 
 and Kummakl recollected it as he was going 
 inside to receive his visitor. A short time 
 before, the minister had requested Kummakl 
 to give a berth in the agency office, then vacant, 
 to a relation of his, and Kummakl had replied 
 that, so far as he was concerned, he should be 
 glad to recommend the appointment of Dowlut 
 Rao's relative, but that he, Kummakl, had not 
 the appointment in his gift, the patronage 
 belonging to the head of the department. 
 This was what Dowlut Rao had come about, 
 and Kummakl, as he went inside, resolved in 
 his heart that he would disappoint the man who 
 had insulted him. 
 
 The interview began by Dowlut Rao thanking 
 Kummakl for his recommendation of his 
 nephew, which recommendation had been con- 
 firmed by Colonel Boozey, the Governor- Gene- 
 ral's Agent, when Kummakl cut him short by 
 saying curtly, and, indeed, rudely, that he 
 was very sorry that other arrangements had 
 been made. Dowlut Rao at first did not under- 
 stand him, and Kummakl repeated what he 
 had said rather more curtly than before. The 
 other replied, without exhibiting in his tone 
 the slightest disturbance of temper, that he was 
 very sorry, because he had sent for hi s nephew 
 all the way from Benares, and he was expected 
 to arrive that very day, that he would not 
 
 17 *
 
 260 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 only thus be put to a great expense needlessly, 
 but that, what was worse, he would be held 
 up as a laughing-stock to all his family : the 
 respect in which he was held, his honour and 
 reputation (there is no exact English transla- 
 tion for the word izzut), was injured irrecover- 
 ably, and he hoped the Political Agent would 
 rescind his decision. 
 
 Kummakl sat silent all through this little 
 speech, and then replied as before, with a little 
 asperity of temper. Dowlut Rao then rose to 
 go, intimating, in the politest possible phrase- 
 ology, that he was sorry for what had occurred, 
 but he hoped Captain Kummakl would have no 
 objection to the matter being referred to higher 
 authority, which, considering that the appoint- 
 ment had to be confirmed by that higher 
 authority, was reasonable enough. 
 
 It is not worth while to follow this matter 
 out further. The reference, indeed, ended in 
 Dowlut Rao's nephew being installed in the 
 post in spite of KummakFs opposition, but 
 from that day forward there was a deadly feud 
 between these two men. 
 
 It was about a fortnight after this that 
 Kummakl came into his wife's room one 
 morning, after he had been into his office, and 
 said, 
 
 " I'm glad the Mooltawees are coming over
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 261 
 
 here, Julia, to-morrow, because you will not be 
 alone. I have to go out into the district for 
 a day or so, and must start at once.'"' 
 
 " Where are you going, Li ? can^t I come 
 too ? '' 
 
 "No, dear — unless you can ride a camel. 
 There has been a row in a village about twenty 
 miles from here, and I must go and see what 
 it is all about. Several lives have been lost, 
 and a lot of property destroyed." 
 
 It was as Kummakl told his wife. There 
 had been an affray or a disturbance in a large 
 village, or a cluster of villages, about twenty 
 miles from the capital, and most conflicting 
 were the reports of it brought in to the agency. 
 So that Kummakl had no choice left him but 
 to repair to the spot himself. 
 
 When he got there it was all over. The 
 dead bodies o£ those slain in the fight had been 
 burnt and buried, and it was impossible even 
 to find out how many lives had been lost. But 
 on inquiring into the casus belli, Kummakl 
 was told by all the people who belonged to the 
 party of the aggressors, that the reason they 
 had risen was on account of the oppressions 
 and exactions of the Dewan, Dowlut Rao. 
 
 Kummakl had not ridden far on his way 
 back before he fell in with a native gentleman, 
 a petty chief and zemindar, who had an estate
 
 262 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 in that neighbourhood, and was going out 
 hawking. Thinking that he might be able to 
 give some information about the late disturb- 
 ance, Kummakl joined him and rode a little 
 in his company. In reply to the question as 
 to whether he knew anything about the affair, 
 Inayet Ali, for that was the man's name, said, 
 '' Oh yes, it is noised all over the country ; 
 everybody about here knows that Mustaffa 
 Khan, the ex-minister, induced these people to 
 create this disturbance, and then to say they 
 were driven to it by the Dewan^s exactions, 
 because, as every one has heard of the disagree- 
 ment between the Dewan and your honour, 
 Mustaffa Khan thought it a good opportunity 
 to light a fire/' 
 
 " So," thought Kummakl, as he rode home- 
 wards, " every one in the province, it seems, 
 knows about the little tiff between the Dewan 
 and myself; they know, of course, that that 
 old meddler Col. Boozey decided against me in 
 that case. I wonder if what Inayet Ali says is 
 true, he is a Mahomedan too, and his interests 
 must lie, one would think, the other way.'' 
 
 When Kummakl, as Virgil says, " revolving 
 these things in his breast," reached his ofl&ce, 
 he was met by the head clerk, Mr. Cynthea 
 Jones, who said he had a man waiting whom 
 he had met with accidentally in the city, and
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 263 
 
 discovered equally accidentally that he had some 
 important information to give about the dis- 
 turbance. 
 
 The fortuitous nature of Mr. Cynthea Jones' 
 connection with the man with valuable infor- 
 mation consisted in the fact that he had that 
 morning received in hard cash a hundred gold 
 mohurs, or sixteen hundred rupees, to intro- 
 duce the " man with valuable information " 
 to the Political Agent. 
 
 The valuable information served to compli- 
 cate the matter still further, and sadly to per- 
 plex poor KummakFs brains. The man whom 
 Mr. Cynthea Jones introduced was a very re- 
 spectable Hindoo banker of the city, and he 
 said he would undertake to swear that the 
 disturbance had been got up by the Dewan, 
 who had instructed people to say that it had 
 been ^got up by Mustaffa Khan to throw dis- 
 credit upon him. And the man moreover 
 said that he had overheard the Dewan him- 
 self giving instructions. 
 
 The day of his return Kummakl did not see 
 much of his wife alone, as the Mooltawees were 
 still there. The next day they left early in 
 the morning, and Julia complained of not 
 feeling well, and did not get up. He took no 
 great notice of her ailment, supposing it to 
 be a temporary indisposition that would soon
 
 264 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 pass off. She got up in the afternoon, and 
 then he could not help observing traces of 
 illness upon her features which he had not 
 noticed before, and which gave him some 
 alarm. Upon mentioning to her his appre- 
 hensions, and hinting about sending for Dr. 
 Golee, she at once quieted his fears, saying 
 there was nothing really the matter with her, 
 and on no account was he to send all :hat 
 distance for Dr. Golee. 
 
 ^' By the way, Li,^^ she went on to say, 
 " about this affair, you know, that you have 
 been away about. There is a man, my ayah 
 tells me, who is capable of giving you some 
 very valuable information. I know it was a 
 difficult matter to unravel, from what I have 
 heard you say, so I told her I would tell you, 
 but I didn't know whether you would care to 
 hear what the man has to say.^^ 
 
 " Oh, yes, I have no objection to hear what 
 he has to say ; tell her to send him to me to- 
 morrow." 
 
 " Oh, no ! that won^t do at all. You see, 
 Li, the man says he is afraid his life will be 
 taken if he is seen giving the important evi- 
 dence he has to give : you must see him here, 
 or in some private place where there are no 
 witnesses." 
 
 " It will be very difficult to find such a place,
 
 THE BTJDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 265 
 
 Julia. If I wanted to get a man into the 
 Agency without its being known, I don't 
 believe I could do it, however much I tried.^' 
 
 " Well, I'll tell her to bring the man here 
 to-morrow to my room; he can come as a 
 cloth-seller"" (kaprawalas, men who are walk- 
 ing milliners' and linen-drapers' shops in India, 
 which thus come to the ladies instead of the 
 ladies going to them) , " and you can see him 
 here.'' 
 
 This little manoeuvre, which was successfully 
 carried out, put three hundred rupees into the 
 ayah's pocket. Kummakl saw the man, who 
 showed him a scrap of paper covered with 
 writing in the Hindee character, and said it 
 was part of some written instructions the 
 Dewan had given to the people in the neigh- 
 bourhood, who were his own tenants, to say 
 that it was Mustaffa Khan who had originated 
 the disturbance with the view of throwing 
 discredit upon him, the Dewan. All this in- 
 formation, you must know, Kummakl duly 
 recorded. 
 
 That evening, after dinner, he had retired to 
 the verandah to smoke a cigar, and his bearer 
 or valet, wlio had just brought him a light, 
 said he had an " urzee " or petition to make. 
 Kummakl asked him what it was, when he 
 said that he had a brother who lived at the
 
 266 THE CHRONICLES OP BTJDGEPORB. 
 
 village where the disturbance had taken place, 
 who had had his house burnt and almost all 
 his property destroyed, and he wanted to 
 know to whom he ought to apply for com- 
 pensation, that was all. 
 
 " This man," thought Kummakl, " will be 
 able to give me some useful information. He 
 appears to have been on the spot, and being 
 a poor man and not mixed up with the in- 
 trigues of these people, will, no doubt, tell an 
 unbiassed tale." He asked where the man 
 was, and the bearer said he had just that in- 
 stant left him to return to his home, but if the 
 " huzoor " would see him, he had no doubt 
 he would be able to overtake him and bring 
 him back. Kummakl told him to go at once 
 and fetch him, and off the bearer went, suc- 
 cessful beyond anticipation, and hearing the 
 two hundred rupees, he was to receive for the 
 night's job, chink in his imagination. 
 
 Kummakl examined this man very closely 
 as to the whole occurrence, which he related 
 in the minutest detail, describing the position 
 of his own house in the village, and giving the 
 names of his neighbours, telling him how the 
 disturbance began, and in fact the whole his- 
 tory from beginning to end. 
 
 It was cleverly done, for the narrator, al- 
 though it was quite true that he was the
 
 THE BTJDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 267 
 
 " bearer's " brother, yet came from Seetapore 
 in Oude, and had never been to Budgepore 
 before in all his life, and had only arrived two 
 days previously. He declared, however, that 
 he witnessed the whole thing, and saw and 
 heard MustaflFa Khan's emissaries first, and 
 then Mustaffa Khan himself lay the plot, in- 
 stigate the people to rise, and instruct them to 
 say that the disturbance was got up by the 
 Dewan with the view of implicating him, Mus- 
 taffa Khan, by inducing his own tenants to 
 swear that he, Mustaffa Khan, did originate it. 
 Next morning early, as Kummakl was going 
 out for his morning ride alone, for Julia very 
 often did not accompany him now, his sweeper 
 came up and made a low salaam and begged 
 for leave of absence for a few days, as his 
 father, who lived in the village where the dis- 
 turbance had been, had been killed during the 
 affray, and there was no one left but a younger 
 brother, whom he wanted to look after, as well 
 as to bring away whatever of the property 
 there might be left about the place. Of course 
 he got the leave granted, and was told to bring 
 his younger brother to Kummakl on his return. 
 Lucky fellow, he pocketed a hundred and 
 twenty-five rupees by that stroke of policy. 
 Two days after, he came with his brother, a 
 lad of about fifteen, who repeated word for
 
 268 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 word what the bearer's brother had said about 
 MustafEa Khan. 
 
 But my chronicle will swell to the same size 
 as poor Kummakl's record if I put down all 
 the stories that were told him. 
 
 Of course the matter was sent up to Go- 
 vernment^ and Kummakl was ordered to make 
 a full investigation (which he did, taking the 
 evidence of a hundred and twenty witnesses) 
 and write a report. No doubt the case was a 
 difficult one rather to unravel ; still there was 
 not so much difficulty about it, but what 
 Kummakl would have been able to arrive at 
 a clear and just conclusion, had he set about 
 it with an unprejudiced mind. But Mustaffa 
 Khan, who in reality had originated the whole 
 thing from the very commencement, was far 
 too astute to introduce the finale of his piece 
 before the introductory part had been played 
 out. He knew perfectly well that if the affiray 
 and the inquiry into it took place while Dow- 
 lut Bao was on good terms with Kummakl, it 
 would inevitably end in the whole thing being 
 found out and the decision going against him. 
 He waited, therefore, till either he could hit 
 upon a scheme for getting up a bad feeling 
 between the two, or until something should 
 occur which would enable him to sow distrust 
 in the mind of the Political Agent against the
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 269 
 
 Dewan. The ouly difficult part of the game 
 to play was the first step : all beyond that was 
 plain sailing. 
 
 We have seen how he succeeded in that. 
 The visit of Dowlut Rao to Kummakl on the 
 very day that his feelings were first aroused 
 against him was an accident — one of those ac- 
 cidents that constantly occur to favour the 
 designs of a bold man playing for a high stake. 
 The fatal error Kummakl made was in allow- 
 ing his mere private feelings to influence his 
 conduct. But it is an error into which many 
 men of his position would have fallen, and one 
 into which any man of his mental calibre 
 would be sure to have fallen. He went into 
 the case with a strong bias against Dowlut E-ao, 
 and reported against him. The Government, 
 of course, had nothing to guide them but this 
 report, and the result was that Dowlut Rao 
 was turned out of the Dewanship and Mus- 
 taffa Khan installed in his place. This move, 
 however, only had the effect of changing the 
 position of the pieces on the board. Dowlut 
 Rao naturally commenced plotting and in- 
 triguing to recover the advantage he had lost. 
 Kummakl, between two such men as Dowlut 
 Rao and Mustaffa Khan, may be compared 
 to a London hack cab-horse trying to over- 
 take two thoroughbreds. By reason of race
 
 270 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 and position, Kummakl was their superior, 
 but in intellect they were very far his supe- 
 riors. It was not a very high order of in- 
 tellect, you may say, seeing that subtlety and 
 cunning formed so large an element in it. 
 But I do not know that KummakFs was much 
 higher. No doubt, in a display of physical 
 courage, they would have had no chance with 
 the British officer, but then the three parties 
 were not in a position where the display of 
 physical courage or muscular development was 
 likely to be called forth.
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 271 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 AN UNWELCOME VISITOR. 
 
 KuMMAKL^s anxiety about Julia's health was 
 not allayed by her repeated assurance that 
 there was nothing particular the matter. She 
 so resolutely declined to have Dr. Golee sent 
 for, that her husband, who always yielded to 
 her wishes in everything, did so in this case 
 also. She had given up her out-of-door exer- 
 cise, her rides, her walks in the garden. Day 
 by day she appeared to Kummakl, who watched 
 her with the anxious eye of love, to be grow- 
 ing weaker and weaker. And when the autumn 
 came, and it was refreshing after the heat of 
 the day to sit in the verandah in the evening 
 and watch the sun setting over the hills, she 
 was so weak that she could not walk that dis- 
 tance without the support of her husband's
 
 272 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 arm. Still, to all his anxious inquiries, and to 
 all his entreaties to let him send for medical 
 advice, she only returned the answer that she 
 was merely suflFering from temporary lassitude 
 brought on by the heat of the weather. 
 
 This delusion, however, could not last for 
 ever, and one evening, as Kummakl seated 
 himself beside her, after arranging her easy 
 chair and placing her on it, so that she faced 
 the setting sun, and the rosy tints on the 
 western horizon seemed to be reflected from 
 her mass of golden hair, she said, taking 
 LioneFs hand in her own, — 
 
 '^Do you know, dear Li, I think I have 
 done wrong in persisting in not having the 
 doctor sent for. I don't think he will do me 
 any good, but you may send for him to-morrow 
 I don't feel worse, exactly, this evening, but 
 I do feel as if there was something the matter, 
 and I have been thinking to-day about mam- 
 ma's early death, and trying to recall the little 
 1 ever heard about it." 
 
 " Wait one instant," said her husband, " I'll 
 be back directly." 
 
 He left her to go and send an express off to 
 Dr. Golee, and then returned and re-seated 
 himself at her side. He did not encourage 
 her to speak of her ailments, but feeling an 
 inexpressible relief from her having allowed
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 273 
 
 him to send for Dr. Golee^ he led her thoughts 
 and conversation away as much as possible 
 from the present. They talked over the past ; 
 they did not talk of the future. Minds are 
 diflFerently constituted^ and some like dwelling 
 on the pastj and others on the future. When 
 people are very happy in the present they 
 do not care to dwell upon the future ; they 
 would rather think and talk of the past, and 
 trace the steps by which they have mounted 
 to the culminating point of their bliss. They 
 do not care to look forward, because, as there 
 is a condition in life when any change must be 
 for the better, as we commonly express it, 
 though what we mean is that the chances are 
 very much in favour of any change being for 
 the better, so there is a conditicn in life when 
 you can hardly conceive any change but what 
 must be for the worse. You are happy with 
 the fulfilment of your highest hopes, and then 
 — if fate would but let things remain, your 
 happiness might be permanent. So Lionel 
 and Julia talked over the past, how they had 
 first met, and what was the impression they 
 each derived of the other, and Julia acknow- 
 ledged that it was only after they had married 
 that Lionel had really won her love. Before 
 that she had not known what love was. She 
 had consented to marry him because her friends 
 II. 18
 
 274 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 thoHglit it a good match and every one spoke 
 of him as a man likely to make a woman 
 happy. They talked together calmly and 
 peacefully, yet there was a tone of sadness in 
 their words as there was a weight and pre- 
 sentiment of coming trouble on the heart of 
 both. As evening drew on, Julia said she did 
 not feel equal to sitting up at dinner and 
 would go to bed. So she went, and Kummakl 
 repaired to his solitary dinner-table. He did 
 not expect Dr. Golee out before the following 
 evening ; but he felt as if there was no further 
 cause for anxiety, for he fancied that all his 
 wife wanted was some tonic medicine. In fact 
 both of them had been foolishly speculating 
 on their own little knowledge, you may say 
 ignorance, of physics, and had adopted alto- 
 gether erroneous conclusions as to the cause 
 of Julia's declining health. But when Dr. 
 Golee the following evening came out of her 
 room after his examination of the patient, he 
 had a very grave face indeed. 
 
 " Your vrife, Kummakl," he said, " is very 
 ill indeed, much worse than I had any idea of.'' 
 
 " She would not let me send for you before. 
 I have entreated and begged her to let me 
 send for you, but she said no, it was no con- 
 sequence, it would all pass off, and so on." 
 
 "Don't reproach yourself the least about
 
 THE BUDGEPOKE POLITICAL AGENCY. 275 
 
 that. If I am right in what I conjecture, for 
 I cannot make up my mind at once very cer- 
 tainly, I may be misled by appearances — ^but 
 if I am right, it would have made no diffe- 
 rence at all whether you sent for me before 
 now, or later. Do you know what it was her 
 mother died of?^' 
 
 " No ; I never heard, and she does not 
 know either. She was in England at the time, 
 and it seems her friends never talked to her 
 much about her mother." 
 
 " Well, I will write a prescription for some 
 simple medicine, which can be made up in your 
 native dispensary here, and then 1 will be off. 
 But I will come back in a couple of days. I 
 do not think it is a case where medical at- 
 tendance can be of much avail. All you have 
 to do is to follow the directions on the bottle, 
 and keep up her strength and spirits as much 
 as possible. I shall be able to judge when I 
 see her the second time better as to whether 
 my first conclusions are sound or not/' 
 
 The first person Dr. Golee visited when he 
 returned to Budgepore, was Mrs. Mooltawee, 
 and the first question he asked her, and rather 
 abruptly as she thought, was, 
 
 " What did Mrs. Congreve die of ? " 
 
 '^ Rapid consumption. '^ 
 
 " Very rapid ? " 
 
 18 *
 
 276 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 " Yes. So rapid, that six months before her 
 death, no one dreamed there was anything the 
 matter with her. Why do you ask ? " 
 
 " Because Mrs. Kummakl is very ilh I was 
 sent for to see her for the first time the night 
 before last, and went over yesterday. My 
 worst fears of her case are confirmed by what 
 you have now said. It is a similar case to her 
 mother's.^^ 
 
 " Poor Lionel ! " said Mrs. Mooltawee, " he 
 is so devoted to her ! " 
 
 Poor Lionel indeed ! Never for one instant 
 had the thought crossed his mind that his idol, 
 his darling, his cherished Julia, the only being 
 in the whole universe he cared for, the only 
 being he worshipped, should be taken from 
 him. He knew, of course, that death is the 
 lot of all mankind, but he never reaJized in 
 the slightest degree, never contemplated for a 
 single moment, that the stern reaper would 
 have the heart to cut down his beautiful flower. 
 If you had asked him the question, whether 
 he thought Julia was immortal, and whether 
 his present happiness was to last for ever, he 
 would have answered o£ course in the negative, 
 with some of the commonplace platitudes 
 people keep for the subject of mortality and a 
 future state, as old-fashioned ladies bring out 
 their best china tea -cups to do honour to some
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 277 
 
 respected guests, whose visits are few aiid far 
 between, and always occasions of considerable 
 ceremony. But for death — hideous death, to 
 come into his house and scatter with one blow 
 all that made life dear to him, was something 
 as new as it was terrible. He stood rooted to 
 the spot where Dr. Golee had left him_, for 
 some five minutes, and never stirred a muscle. 
 Then, with a very deep sigh, such as would 
 have made anyone sad to hear, he sunk into 
 a chair and covered his face with his hands. 
 The squall had come upon him suddenly, when 
 he least expected it. There was no ballast, 
 and he was shipwrecked. 
 
 He remained in that posture till summoned 
 to assist Julia into the open air. He forgot 
 he had not been to see her since Dr. Golee's 
 visit. Was she, too, aware of the nature of 
 her illness? He must be careful, and not 
 show by any sign or expression the serious 
 view the doctor took of the case. 
 
 '^Did Dr. Golee tell you what he thought 
 of me ? " was the direct question she put her 
 husband, scanning his countenance closely as 
 she spoke, as if conscious there was some- 
 thing to conceal, and determined it should not 
 escape her. 
 
 " Yes, dearest ; he said that you were worse 
 than he expected.''
 
 278 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 " Was that all, Li ? Now, don't try to con- 
 ceal anything/' she said, half in earnest and 
 half in sport. '' I will know what he said, and 
 you have never disobeyed me yet — tell me." 
 
 "Well," said Kummakl, hesitatingly, "let 
 me see, he did not certainly say what he thought 
 about your case, because he said he had not 
 definitely made up his mind, but he did say 
 you were worse than he expected." 
 
 "You told me that before, you foolish old 
 creature. Do you think I can't see that there 
 is something you are trying to keep back 
 from me? Come Li, I must know You 
 once swore you would never refuse to do any- 
 thing I told you; and I tell you to let me 
 know what Dr. Golee said about me." 
 
 " I declare I have told you everything, Julia, 
 that he said. He did say one thing more, cer- 
 tainly ; he asked me if I knew what your 
 mamma died of." 
 
 " Ah ! " said Julia to herself, " that was it 
 then." 
 
 After a long pause, during which she re- 
 mained buried in thought, her large grey eyes 
 fixed on the sky, she turned her head towards 
 her husband, and said, 
 
 "Li, dear, you will be very, very lonely 
 without me." 
 
 Man as he was, he burst into tears. She
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 279 
 
 alone of the two remained unmoved, to all out- 
 ward appearance. Ashamed of the betrayal 
 by his emotion of all his worst fears and the 
 doctor's impressions, he rapidly recovered him- 
 self. She was the first to speak. There was a 
 little of reproach in her tone. 
 
 ^^Are those tears for yourself, or for me, 
 Li?" 
 
 " Forgive me, Julia, for being so weak and 
 foolish. I cannot bear to think of your being 
 so ill, and — •" 
 
 " And what ? " she said, seeing him hesitate, 
 " and no hope, is that it, Li ? " 
 
 Kummakl had determined not to let her see 
 or know how anxious he was, and what the 
 doctor thought of her case, but fate was too 
 strong for him. Every word he said, he seemed 
 to make the matter worse. 
 
 '^ No, not that Julia — and I not able to do 
 a thing to relieve you.'' 
 
 Again there was a pause — which was broken 
 by Julia, as if she was giving expression to 
 some conclusion she had arrived at after a long 
 train of thought, saying half out loud and half 
 to herself, 
 
 " What a mistake ! — what a mistake ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Lionel, " I wish you had let 
 me send for Dr. Golee before." 
 
 " It was not that I was thinking of, and
 
 280 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 don't let that prey on your mind^ for it was 
 my fault, Li, and if Dr. Golee had come ever 
 so long before he could have done no good. 
 It was not that I was thinking of, but what a 
 mistake my life has been ! " 
 
 Kummakl looked at her anxiously. He 
 thought that, perhaps, she was regretting their 
 marriage. 
 
 She went on, half speaking to herself, 
 
 " Yes, what does it all come to ? What is 
 it all worth? I was never taught to think. 
 I never had anything put before me more 
 serious to think about than the preparations 
 for a picnic or the trimming of a dress. I was 
 taught to dance, to play, to paint flowers, to 
 dress well, to make an impression in a drawing- 
 room full of weR dressed idlers, and what is it 
 all worth now? What will it be worth to me 
 ten days hence perhaps — when I am face to 
 
 face with Oh, Li,^' she added, turning her 
 
 face towards him, " why didn^t you tell me of 
 these things ? •" 
 
 " Indeed, Julia, I wish you would not talk 
 about these things. It makes me so wretched 
 to hear you. You are not yourself now — you 
 are so ill and weak, these gloomy thoughts 
 crowd on your mind, and you cannot throw 
 them off. Let us go on with the novel I was 
 reading when Dr. Golee came.''
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 281 
 
 "No, Li, I won^t finish that novel. The 
 page is turned down where you left off reading 
 
 to me, you can finish it yourself when Oh, 
 
 Li ! what would I give, what thousands of 
 worlds if I had them, had I been taught to read 
 fewer novels, and to think and read more 
 about this." 
 
 "Julia, you are an angel. No angel in 
 heaven is purer or lovelier than you." 
 
 " Hush, Li, don^t talk like that now. An 
 angel of earth I might have been, for don^t 
 you see I was taught to be one, to dress and 
 to dance, and to make myself agreeable, but 
 the angels in heaven must be very different 
 sort of beings. The fact is, I have had this 
 journey all my life before me, I never made 
 any preparation for it, and now I am all un- 
 prepared. Go and get a Bible, Li, and read 
 me something out of it.'^ 
 
 Kummakl did as he was bid, but he felt 
 some doubt as to whether there was such a 
 thing as a Bible in the house at all. At last he 
 recollected seeing one under a heap of old 
 papers in his office ; thither he went, and there 
 he found the book he was in quest of, very 
 dusty. 
 
 " What part shall I read, Julia ? " he said, 
 seating himself by the side of her couch, for 
 she had meantime been wheeled into her room.
 
 282 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 and turning over the leaves listlessly like a man 
 who has a new book and does not know where 
 to begin. 
 
 Julia gave him no answer, but intimated 
 that she left that to him. I think perhaps 
 she would have found it difficult to have re- 
 ferred him to any part in particular. 
 
 So Kummakl, left to his own devices, and 
 by a vigorous effort recalling some remini- 
 scences of his childhood connected with the 
 book before him, turned to the early part of 
 Genesis, where he recollected he used as a 
 child to find the story of Noah and the flood. 
 And having found the place, he began, and 
 read to his wife the whole of that wonderful 
 history of the destruction of the human race, 
 with the exception of the few saved in the ark. 
 And Julia, though she had been told the story 
 when she was young, and though she had 
 heard the portions of the same narrative read 
 occasionally as the first lesson in church when 
 her mind was running on the latest fashion in 
 dress or her last flirtation, or the bonnet of 
 the lady in front of her, she now seemed to 
 hear it for the first time. 
 
 " Ah, Li,^'' she said, when he had finished, 
 " I dare say people used to go to balls and 
 picnics in those days, one round of gaiety 
 from morning to night, till all of a sudden the
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 283 
 
 flood came, and then it was too late ; there was 
 a chance for them before that, though — eh, 
 Li, what do you think ? " 
 
 Kummakl had never had such a proposition 
 put before him, and was totally unable to deal 
 with it. 
 
 " I don't know,'' he said, and they both 
 relapsed into silence. 
 
 Thus these two young and loving hearts, 
 like two children suddenly benighted when out 
 at play together are scared when they are 
 brought face to face with some real and terrible 
 danger, went groping along, as it were, in the 
 dark, trying to find for themselves a way out 
 of the woe that encompassed them. Each 
 loved the other so dearly that either would 
 willingly have sacrificed life for that other's 
 sake. Lionel would, if he could, have given 
 up his own life for the sake of accompanying 
 his darling on that gloomy journey that lay 
 before her. But all his love and devotion 
 could avail nothing in the present crisis. 
 
 Of a future state, of death, of immortality, 
 in the view religion places these things before 
 men's minds, they had between them not so 
 much knowledge as any one of the mass of the 
 heathen by whom they were surrounded. 
 They, at any rate the Hindoos and the Ma- 
 homedans, had so far realized those great
 
 284 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 truths that they had attended to the outward 
 forms of religious worship all through their 
 lives. As for their morality and their obedience 
 to the divine law written in their hearts^ if 
 the heathen had broken that; Lionel and Julia 
 might have done the same, had they ever been 
 tested. His knowledge of Christianity actu- 
 ally was confined to uncertain reminiscences 
 of the story of the fall, of the flood, just now 
 recalled in all its fulness to his memory, of 
 the passage o£ the Israelites over the Red Sea, 
 and Pharaoh with his army being drowned, 
 and of David killing a giant with a stone. 
 Even his knowledge, or rather recollection, of 
 these incidents was vague. Vaguer still and 
 more misty was his idea of the fundamental 
 truths of the Christian religion. That a Re- 
 deemer had died to save mankind he had often 
 been told, but he never knew what it meant, 
 in fact never thought about it, or tried to find 
 out what it did mean. 
 
 Julians ideas were still more cloudy. She 
 had a beautifully bound church-service, with 
 crimson velvet covers, gold rim and clasp, and 
 a gold cross on the outside, which her god- 
 mother gave her for a present when she left 
 school to come to India. She had been in the 
 habit of going to church at Budgepore once on 
 Sunday in the morning, before she was married,
 
 THE BTTDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 285 
 
 when she heard Green Baize, the chaplain, 
 gabble over the service, and then read very 
 badly what sounded very like a part of the pre- 
 face of some old book on divinity. As for 
 Kstening, or directing her attention or thought 
 to either the service or the discourse, she 
 didn't know any body was expected to. She 
 had been confirmed when she was sixteen, and 
 then had had to learn by rote the church 
 catechism and to read with a number of other 
 girls all through Seeker, which was done as 
 mere drudgery; when it was over she had a 
 ticket given her, and went along with the 
 others all dressed in white muslin up to the 
 altar rails, where the ceremony was performed 
 and the bishop's hands were laid on her head. 
 She had never taken the sacrament, and if she 
 had been asked what it was, could have given 
 no answer. She had been carefully educated 
 in all the refinements of civilized life, but no 
 one ever dreamed of teaching her to think. 
 Her aunt, with whom she lived for a few years 
 in her childhood, had taught her to say her 
 prayers every morning and evening, but when 
 she went to school the other girls laughed at 
 her for doing it, and she left it off, and speedily 
 forgot even the words she used to repeat by 
 rote. All through her life every effort had 
 been made by those about her to strew her
 
 286 THE CHRONICLES OF BTTDGEPORE. 
 
 path vrith flowers, and to keep carefully away 
 every idea that could cloud with a passing 
 gloom the sunshine of her pleasures. She 
 had been accustomed from her infancy to be 
 flattered, and caressed and admired, and yet 
 the excellence of her natural disposition was 
 such that all this flattery and admiration had 
 never made her vain or exacting, or even 
 thoughtless of the happiness of others. Brought 
 up amid all the refinements and elegances of 
 life, no coarse ideas dimmed the natural purity 
 of her mind. With her exquisite beauty, her 
 loveliness and winning ways, and her gentle 
 and amiable temper, she seemed to want but 
 the training for heaven to make her indeed an 
 angel. But now she was face to face with 
 death, and she was called to go forth into the 
 unknown region alone, and for the first time in 
 her life she was forced to think of what her lot 
 would be there. 
 
 After the conversation, a portion of which 1 
 have related, and which continued for some 
 little time in the same strain, the two loving 
 hearts so soon to be parted, groping as it were 
 after Truth, Kummakl rose and left her upon 
 some household business. He had not been 
 away half an hour when he was startled by 
 the ayah's scream. He hurried back to her 
 room, and there he found the ayah standing
 
 THE BTJDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 287 
 
 wringing her hands over the prostrate form of 
 JuHa, who was on her knees with her head upon 
 the couch and her hands clasped over her head. 
 She was apparently lifeless. Lionel had 
 never before seen her in the posture of prayer, 
 for such it was, though "she had fainted. With 
 the ayah's assistance he raised her and laid her 
 on her bed and took off her dress, when he 
 was inexpressibly relieved to observe signs of 
 returning animation. He left her for a mo- 
 ment and hurried out to send an express for 
 Dr. Golee, and then returned to the bedside, 
 where he found her sufficiently recovered to 
 recognise him. They put her into bed, and 
 she fell asleep, clasping her husband's hand. 
 He was afraid to move it lest he should disturb 
 her, and he sat there hour after hour till his 
 whole body ached from remaining so long in 
 one posture that the pain was almost unen- 
 durable ; still he did not stir till two o'clock, 
 when Dr. Golee arrived. His entry into the 
 room, though silently made, awoke her. He 
 heard what had happened, ordered some fresh 
 stimulants, gave a few directions to Kummakl, 
 and then hurried back, for he had to be at 
 Budgepore in the morning to attend a com- 
 mittee upon a bottle of port wine supplied by 
 the Commissariat to the hospital, which had 
 been reported unsound.
 
 288 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 The next day Mrs. Mooltawee came over, 
 but Kummakl refused to give up his place at 
 Julia's bedside. Her aunt was inexpressibly 
 shocked at the ravages disease had already 
 made on the form of her lovely niece. Her 
 good feeling prevented her from intruding 
 much upon the grief and sympathy of the 
 young husband and wife, but her mere pre- 
 sence in the house was an immense relief to 
 Lionel. During the day Julia bade him read 
 to her again, and told him to select some 
 part of the New Testament, and he by chance 
 opened it at the latter part of the Gospel of 
 St. John, which he read through to the end. 
 It was strange how the old neglected Bible 
 which had lain so long covered with dust 
 under a heap of papers in the office, rose in 
 value. It was their only mainstay in the 
 sudden calamity which had overwhelmed them 
 both. 
 
 But I have lingered too long over the scene. 
 Day by day Julia got weaker. Kummakl never 
 left her day or night except for a few minutes 
 at a time. Once or twice the thought had 
 crossed his mind that he would destroy himself 
 so as to die at the same moment with his 
 beloved idol, and accompany her to the un- 
 known region whither she was travelling so 
 fast, for strange as it may seem, he believed
 
 THE BUDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 289 
 
 in the immortality of the soul, and felt that 
 there was an existence after and apart from 
 life which he would fain have shared with her. 
 But some instinct bade him chase the idea 
 from his mind. It was not love of life, for 
 life he did not care for without her; it was 
 not fear, for he fancied he should be with her, 
 and whatever there might be of a fearful 
 nature to be apprehended, he would willingly 
 have encountered for the sake of supporting 
 her under it. But it was some instinct that 
 warned him off the path, and he endeavoured 
 to dismiss the notion from his thoughts, 
 though it would rise again and again, till it 
 was too late to carry it out, for Julia was 
 gone, and he did not feel certain that he 
 should overtake or find her in the laud whither 
 she had fled. 
 
 II. 19
 
 290 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 THE BTJDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CAB-HORSE BETWEEN TWO THOROUGHBREDS. 
 
 Utterly worn out by long watching and grief, 
 Kummakl had hardly physical strength or 
 consciousness left to realize the truth when 
 they tried to force it upon him. He was alone 
 in the world, and how inexpressibly lonely he 
 felt ! But there was work for him to do, for 
 all the time of Julians illness he had neglected 
 everything, and now had to bring up arrears. 
 
 Dowlut Rao had retired to his estate upon 
 his dismissal from the dewanship, and then 
 set himself to work to discover some means 
 of unravelling the plot by which his rival had 
 supplanted him. Among his own tenants who 
 were all more or less cognizant of the trans- 
 actions which had preceded the outbreak in
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 291 
 
 the village, he had famous opportunities for 
 discovering the truth. But it was one thing 
 to discover it so as to satisfy himself, and 
 another to make matters so clear as to 
 satisfy the authorities who were prejudiced 
 against him. 
 
 Mustaffa Khan, meantime, enjoyed to the 
 full the emoluments and powers of his office, 
 and none the less because he dwelt in fancied 
 security. The agent he had employed in the 
 duty of inciting the people to the affray was 
 the brother of his favourite wife, a man named 
 Jaifer Ally Khan. There was, indeed, one 
 circumstance that occasionally caused him a 
 little uneasiness, and that was the fact that 
 Jaifer Ally, who was far too prudent a person 
 to undertake the work entrusted to him with- 
 out some written instructions from the then 
 ex-dewan, had received and was in possession of 
 a document signed and sealed under Mustaffa 
 Khan's own hand conveying those instructions. 
 The latter had no suspicion of his brother-in- 
 law's fidelity, but in this whirligig world theie 
 was no foreseeing what might not turn up, 
 and it might so happen that Jafl'er Ally one 
 day or other should conceive the desire of 
 doing him, Mustaffa Khan, an injury, and in 
 such a contingency there was no concealing 
 the ugly truth that he had the means ready to 
 
 19 *
 
 292 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 hand. Dowlut Rao had also become aware 
 of the existence of this document^ and would 
 have given a very large sum of money to get 
 hold of it. Many an offer he did make to 
 Jaffer Ally in a roundabout way, all of which 
 offers were duly reported, of course, to Mustaffa 
 Khan, who was forced to reward fidelity, and 
 to secure it, too, by large presents. And 
 Jaffer Ally made a good thing of it, for while 
 he held possession of the papers the dewan 
 was in reality his slave. So matters went on, 
 and so I daresay they would have continued 
 to go on some time longer, had not Mustaffa 
 Khan^s passions intervened. So long as Jafi'er 
 Ally's sister held her sway in the harem and 
 her husband's affections were undisputedly 
 hers, she had no cause to mix herself up in the 
 intrigues ; but in an evil moment for them both 
 she got a very pretty maid into the harem to 
 wait upon her, against whose charms Mustaffa 
 Khan's philosophy and self-interest were alike 
 powerless. His wife discovered one day the 
 intrigue (indeed it had passed far beyond the 
 preliminary stages of intrigue) between her 
 husband and the slave girl, and a domestic 
 fracas ensued. High words passed, mutual 
 reproaches that between husband and wife can 
 never be forgotten, and seldom are forgiven. 
 j\Iustaffa Khan made a deadly enemy of the
 
 THE BFDGEPOEE POLITICAL AGENCY. 293 
 
 woman wlio through her influence with her 
 brother had his fate in her hands. She com- 
 municated what had occurred to Jaft'er Ally^ 
 who bade her to beware of poison^ and came 
 and resided himself near the dewan^s residence 
 on purpose to watch over his sister's welfare. 
 
 The warning which sprang from a thorough 
 acquaintance with Mustaffa Khan's unscru- 
 pulous character was not misplaced. One 
 nighty JaflPer Ally received from the hand of 
 a trusty messenger a packet containing some 
 sweetmeats which his sister sent him, with a 
 message, saying she had reason to believe they 
 were poisoned, for her husband had, after a 
 hasty and suspicious reconciliation, sent them 
 to her as a peace-offering. Jaffer Ally expe- 
 rimented with them upon a dog, and the rapid 
 death of the animal, in horrible convulsions, 
 left no doubt on his mind of his sister's danger 
 and her husband's intentions. Next day he 
 called on Mustaffa Khan and demanded, as 
 the price of safety, an immense sum of money, 
 or a large grant of land in lieu of it, and an 
 instant divorce or separation from his sister, 
 whose life was no longer safe under his roof. 
 Mustaffa Khan refused, denied the charge, and 
 desired him to do his worst. Jaffer Ally then 
 left. It was about six o'clock in the evening, 
 and after enclosing the document in a cover
 
 294 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPORE. 
 
 sealed with his own seal addressed to Kum- 
 maklj he left it at the Agency, mounted his 
 horse, and rode straight off towards Dowlut 
 Rao's estate. He never lived to reach it. 
 Just as evening drew on, as he was crossing a 
 lonely moor, he was fired at from behind a 
 bush. The shot missed. He reined in his 
 horse and faced about, drawing his pistol at 
 the same time. At that moment two men 
 rushed upon him, one seized his horse's bridle, 
 and the other thrust a spear through his body, 
 but not before he had fired with an unerring 
 aim. He fell with his assailant, the latter 
 dying instantly, for he was shot through the 
 heart ; the other lingering in agony, in which 
 condition the man who had seized his horse, 
 after letting the animal go, came and searched 
 all over his person carefully, as if looking for 
 some article concealed about him. Next 
 morning it was reported to Kummakl that 
 Dowlut Rao had assassinated a servant of 
 Mustaffa Khan's, and his brother-in-law Jaffer 
 Ally. 
 
 This tragedy took place about three months 
 after Julia's death, during which Kummakl 
 had been dragging out a wretched existence, 
 finding life almost insupportable, and longing 
 to get away from a scene so full of sad remi- 
 niscences, and the gloomy shadow of happiness
 
 THE BUDGEPOKE POLITICAL AGENCY. 295 
 
 that had flown for ever. That evening he was 
 sitting alone in his room, meditating over his 
 past life and longing for the means of retiring 
 from the service and the country, when Mus- 
 taffa Khan was announced. Kummakl had, of 
 course, received the packet left by Jaffer Ally, 
 and through his private moonshee (for he could 
 not read the language himself) had mastered 
 its contents. His genius, however, never very 
 acute, and blunted, perhaps, by the domestic 
 sorrow he had recently undergone, failed to 
 trace any connection between the tragedy of 
 the preceding evening and the document itself. 
 Mustaffa Khan knew, of course, by this time 
 where the paper was. Had he known it in 
 time to stay the execution of his plans, Jaffer 
 Ally might have been alive, for it was no part 
 of his business to incur useless risks, and the 
 murder of his brother-in-law had turned out 
 to be a most useless one. No sooner had 
 KummakFs private and confidential moonshee 
 left the room after reading the paper to his 
 master, than he sent a short note over to the 
 dewan, telling him he had sonietliing of im- 
 portance to communicate. The dewan came 
 over to the Agency and in the moonshee^s pri- 
 vate room saw the paper which had been to him 
 the cause of so much uneasiness. The moon- 
 shee, of course, was ready to assist with any
 
 296 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPORE. 
 
 advice or device he could suggest, but the 
 ordinary resources in such cases were of no 
 avnil here. If the alteration of a date or a 
 name, or the insertion of a few words here and 
 there, such as can easily be managed with 
 most vernacular documents so as entirely to 
 alter their whole purport and meaning, could 
 have been effected in this case, all difficulties 
 might have been removed at once. But the 
 nature of the contents of the document was 
 such that no tampering with the words or 
 sentences or dates could have the slightest 
 effect upon its general tenor. Some of my 
 readers may like to see a translation of it. 
 The document was as follows : — 
 
 " To the honoured brother of the harem of 
 his faithful servant Jaffer Ally Khan greeting 
 (salam) . 
 
 " Be it known that for certain reasons, it is 
 necessary that the fire of discord should be 
 lighted in the mouzas (villages) of Mobaruck- 
 pore, &c. (here follow the names of several 
 villages which need not be transcribed). This 
 is to show that I have authorized Jaflfer Ally 
 Khan to act for me in this matter, and will 
 confirm all that he deems necessary to do in 
 the prosecution of this design. 
 
 " At the Sheesmehal of Budgepore, ]5th 
 Rubbee-ool-awwul, A. H. 1278/'
 
 THE BtTDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 297 
 
 " What a cursed thing it is/' said Mustaffa 
 Khan, after conning it over two or three times, 
 twisting it about between his finger and thumb 
 as he spoke. " There is no doing any thing 
 with it at all ! We might as well try to alter 
 the texts of the holy book itself ? " 
 
 'Yes," said the moonshee, ''your Highness 
 should have sent for me to draw it up and not 
 attempted it yourself. It was the work of a 
 scribe, not a minister, to write out a paper of 
 this kind — scribes know how to do it properly. 
 My father, who was a wise man " 
 
 " Yes, I know, he was — I wish he was here 
 now to tell me what I had better do — well, but 
 what of him ? " 
 
 " He used to say to me — he was, your High- 
 ness knows, one of the record keepers of the 
 Civil Court at — he used to say to me, and he 
 taught me how to do it, never to write a docu- 
 ment in such a way that it could not easily be 
 corrected. '^ 
 
 " Corrected, yes that is right, documents 
 should always be capable of being corrected — I 
 wish I could correct this," said Mustaffa Khan, 
 with a dry satirical humour, foreign to the 
 Asiatic character. " Cannot we correct this — 
 we have the words ' £asad-i-atish ' (fire of dis- 
 cord) — ^if that phrase was altered, — but let me 
 see, what shall it be ? "
 
 298 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 But the dewau was puzzled — he looked aud 
 looked again at the paper, and shook his head 
 and muttered, as if saying words over to him- 
 self, '' alif dal,^^ and so on, mentioning the 
 letters by their alphabetical names. 
 
 The moonshee watched him with an amused 
 expression of countenance. Perhaps he enjoyed 
 the other^s dilemma — as he relished an intrigue 
 — or he foresaw golden opportunities before 
 him. At any rate, it was not to his profit 
 to help the dewan out of his difficulties at this 
 stage. 
 
 '^ It^s no use,'^ he said at last. '' Even if we 
 could think of anything to alter this ' f asad-i- 
 atish ' into, it would be of no use, the sahib 
 particularly noticed the expression, made me 
 repeat it three times over, and then repeated it 
 to himself. He has written it in his memory." 
 
 With an oath, which I do not care to repeat, 
 invoking some very unpleasant consequences 
 upon Kummakl's head, whom he designated as 
 that accursed Kaffir, Mustaffa Khan tossed the 
 paper on the table, and got up to leave the 
 room. 
 
 He went straight from the moonshee's apart- 
 ment to Kummakl's. By the time he had 
 reached the latter, his feelings bore no trace of 
 the anger or vexation they had worn a minute 
 previously.
 
 THE BTJDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 299 
 
 The dewan^s object in visiting Kummaklj was 
 mainly to discover if he could learn what that 
 officer thought about the revelation recently 
 made. He calculated that he would probably 
 lead the conversation to it himself, nor was 
 he mistaken^ for after a few remarks had passed 
 between them on the usual topics of mere for- 
 mality, Kummakl said, 
 
 " 1 am very sorry to see, dewan sahib, that 
 it was you, after all, who stirred up the ill- 
 feeling at Mobaruckpore.''^ 
 
 Mustaffa Khan laughed a pleasant little 
 laugh. 
 
 " The sahib has seen it, then ! Is it not 
 cleverly done ? Even my seal and signature 
 so well imitated, that it would be difficult to 
 discover the forgery/' 
 
 " Forged you say it is ! " said Kummakl, 
 looking him steadily in the face. " It had 
 every appearance of being genuine." 
 
 " Nevertheless, I shall show your honour 
 that it is a clever forgery."' 
 
 " Well,"' said Kummakl, " I shall do nothing 
 further in the business till I have reported the 
 matter, and then, if I am ordered to investigate 
 the case, I will call on you to substantiate what 
 you have said. If you can do so, I shall be 
 very glad." 
 
 Before Mustaffa Khan went home, he had
 
 300 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 an interview with the raoonsheefor two minutes 
 in his private room, and exacted a promise that 
 he would call at his house that night and bring 
 the paper with him. 
 
 When the moonshee got there, Mustaffa 
 Khan was waiting for him, and, as soon as the 
 attendant had withdrawn, he produced another 
 document, the counterpart of the genuine one 
 in the moonshee\s possession, and desired the 
 latter to compare the two. He did so very 
 carefully, but confessed himself unable to 
 detect the slightest difference. Mustaffa Khan 
 watched him with an amused expression of 
 countenance, and, when he had completed his 
 examination of the papers, he said, 
 
 " Now, let us exchange papers, you see there 
 can be no harm in your taking this one and 
 letting me have the other, for they are so 
 exactly alike, that you can detect no difference 
 whatever between them.^^ At the same time^ 
 he put into his hand an order on a native 
 banking firm in the town for five thousand 
 rupees. The argument was conclusive. The 
 exchange was made, and the moonshee next 
 morning placed the document received the night 
 before from Mustafia Khan, with the other 
 papers in the case, wondering much what the 
 astute minister could possibly mean by giving 
 him a really genuine document, signed by him-
 
 THE BITDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 301 
 
 self^ and sealed with his own seal^ in lieu of one 
 which was indeed the exact counterpart of the 
 other^ but had come from the custody of one 
 who might have been his enemy. 
 
 Kummakl of course reported the affair^ and 
 solicited orders how to act ; meantime, events 
 occurred which served still further to com- 
 plicate matters. 
 
 One or two evenings after his interview with 
 Kummakl, Mustaffa Khan, on returning from 
 the Nawab^s palace, where he had been de- 
 tained nearly the whole day on business, was 
 distressed by the announcement that the girl 
 to whom he was so much attached, and his 
 passion for whom had been at the bottom of 
 his recent misfortune, was dangerously ill. 
 It was so indeed. He found her stretched on 
 the floor in convulsive agonies most painful to 
 witness. A physician had been sent for as 
 soon as the symptoms appeared, by some of 
 the household, and was in attendance when 
 Mustaffa Khan reached home, but his services 
 were of no avail. The shrieks of the poor 
 girl and her sufferings were terrible to watch, 
 but as with many oriental houses belonging to 
 the better classes, the building was so con- 
 structed that the sounds could not penetrate to 
 the outer air, and it is perhaps just as well 
 they cannot.
 
 802 THE CHRONICLES OF BTJDGEPORE. 
 
 The day passed uncomfortably enough for 
 the dewan, who was distracted between his 
 love for the girl, and distress at witnessing 
 her sufferings, which terminated towards even- 
 ing in death, and his anger at the perpetrator 
 of the deed, for no one in the household 
 doubted that the girl had been poisoned by 
 Jaffer Ally Khan's sister Zeenut Mahal, in re- 
 venge for her brother's death. He vowed him- 
 self revenge too, but would take it by-and-by 
 at his own time. 
 
 In the evening, Kummakl was waited on by 
 Dowlut Rao, who had come in haste on a sum- 
 mons, secretly conveyed to him from Zeenut 
 Mahal, imploring him to save her and avenge 
 her brother's death. He lost no time in obey- 
 ing the summons, but found difficulty iu acting 
 now he had arrived. He could not gain access 
 to Mustaffa Khan's harem of course without 
 violence, and he knew it would be useless to 
 attempt to influence the Nawab; so, after 
 turning the matter over in his mind, he went 
 to Kummakl, and told him the w^hole story. 
 JafFer Ally had been waylaid and murdered by 
 MustaflFa Khan's own men, and in order to 
 secure possession of the document which was 
 now in the Sahib's possession (Kummakl won- 
 dered how Dowlut Rao came to know this). 
 His sister was an inmate of Mustaffa Kh n's
 
 THE BUDGEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 303 
 
 household, aud in danger of her life. Would 
 not the sahib be convinced at last that he, 
 Dowlut Rao, had been a victim of a conspiracy, 
 and unjustly ejected from the dewanship ? 
 
 Kummakl replied, of course, that he, Dowlut 
 Rao, was suspected of having instigated the 
 murder, the more so because the possession 
 of the document would be of more use to him 
 than to any one else. In vain the ex-dewan 
 protested his innocence, and urged all the 
 arguments he could in support of it. Kum- 
 makl shook his head, and said that of course 
 he could give no decision in the case, but 
 should await the orders of Government. So 
 Dowlut Rao left and returned to the house 
 where he was accustomed to put up when he 
 visited the city, whence he despatched a mes- 
 senger to communicate privately with Zeenut 
 Mahal, whose co-operation he saw would now 
 be absolutely necessary. 
 
 It would lengthen out my story into an 
 " Arabian Night '^ were I to relate in detail 
 all the plotting and counterplotting that went 
 on between the foes and their retainers. It 
 will be sufficient to say that eventually Zeenut 
 Mahal managed to escape from her husband's 
 house, and to the intense horror and scandal 
 of all pious Mussulmans and virtuous Hindoos 
 in the city of Budgepore, took refuge under
 
 304 THE CHRONICLES OP BUDGEPOEE. 
 
 the protection of no less a person than Dowlut 
 Rao himself. There was, of course, great excite- 
 ment in the city, though no violence was 
 attempted. Zeenut Mahal was a valuable wit- 
 ness on Dowlut Rao^s side, for she was cogni- 
 zant with the part her brother had taken in 
 the afiair, and with all that had transpired 
 since. But Mustaffa Khan upset all the in- 
 ferences deducible from her testimony _, and 
 declared that the word of such a perfidious 
 woman, who could abandon her husband^s 
 house and seek the protection of a stranger 
 and an unbeliever, was not worthy of any 
 credit. Poor Kummakl was fairly bewildered, 
 and when at last an order came to him to send 
 up a report of the whole occurrence, he found 
 his literary powers scarce able to bear the 
 strain put upon them. 
 
 According to promise he sent for Mustafla 
 Khan, and told him that he was about to re- 
 port on the affair, and that if he had anything 
 to urge in substantiation of his averment that 
 the document which afforded so important a 
 link in the chain was a forgery, he was ready 
 to hear it. Mustaffa Khan, who had come 
 prepared for the inquiry, began by drawing 
 KummakPs attention to the paper. 
 
 " You see, sahib,''^ he said, " it has every 
 appearance of being genuine.^'
 
 THE BTJDaEPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 305 
 
 " It has, indeed/' 
 
 " Very well, and now the signature is easily 
 imitated/' 
 
 " But the seal — is not that your seal ? " 
 
 It must here be explained that the kind of 
 seal referred to in use among orientals in 
 Mustaffa Khan's position, is not an impression 
 upon wax as the word would ordinarily denote, 
 but a device stamped on the foot of a document 
 by the seal impressed in ink. 
 
 " Has the sahib a magnifying glass ? " 
 
 Kummakl unscrewed the magnifying lens from 
 a pair of binoculars and handed it to the dewan. 
 
 " Now," said he, " there are in this office 
 hundreds of official documents bearing my seal ; 
 will the sahib send for a bundle of them ? " 
 
 A pile of about a hundred and fifty vernacu- 
 lar documents, all impressed with the dewan's 
 seal, were brought by the moonshee, who made 
 the errand a pretext for remaining in the room, 
 as he was really anxious to learn what line of 
 argument the dewan was about to adopt. He 
 took the official documents one by one, laid 
 each one separately on the table before 
 Kummakl, and placed his seal over the mark 
 impressed on them, showing that the edge of 
 the seal exactly fitted the circumference of the 
 impression. It took some time, but he went 
 patiently through them all, and there was not 
 II. 20
 
 306 THE CHRONICLES OF BUDGEPOBE. 
 
 one where there was the difference of a hair's 
 breadth between the impression and the seal. 
 
 " Now/' he said, " we will try the same test 
 \nihi this/' and placing the document which he 
 averred to be a forgery upon the table and 
 smoothing it out with his hand, he applied the 
 seal to the impression, and showed that there 
 was about an eighth of an inch between the 
 outer circumference of the impression and the 
 edge of the seal itself. It was apparent when 
 carefully compared, but any one might have 
 looked at it a thousand times without the actual 
 test and not observed the least difference. 
 
 The dew an then put the lens in Kummakl's 
 hand and desired him to examine carefuUy 
 the lines of the letters on the impressed stamp 
 with those of the seal itself and of the mark 
 on the other documents. Kummakl did so, 
 and found that although to the naked eye 
 there was not the slightest difference observ- 
 able, yet when examined with the magnifying 
 glass the letters did not at all correspond. 
 Kummakl was then desired to examine equally 
 closely the signature, and that, too, on in- 
 spection under the glass, exhibited many 
 slight differences which would readily escape 
 the naked eye of even an accurate reader. 
 
 There is no need to lengthen out my tale. 
 The document was pronounced a clever forgery.
 
 THE BXJD&EPORE POLITICAL AGENCY. 307 
 
 and Mustaffa Khau was acquitted of all com- 
 plicity in the transaction imputed to him. 
 The Nawab confiscated Dowlut Rao^s jagheers 
 (estates) and he left the territory and took 
 service as a native officer in the — regiment of 
 Irregular Cavalry. But the moonshee vras 
 in possession of too dangerous a secret for the 
 dewan to allow him to remain at Budgepore, 
 and an accusation was very easily brought 
 against him which procured his dismissal. 
 Mustaffa Khan then sued him in the Nawab's 
 civil court for the five thousand rupees, which 
 he said was a loan, and of course got a decree , 
 which he executed ruthlessly against the moon- 
 shee, who had accumulated a good deal of 
 property. It was, however, all seized in exe- 
 cution of the decree and for the expenses of 
 the suit, and he left Budgepore a beggar. He 
 afterwards met Dowlut Rao, and told him 
 the story of the exchanged documents, which 
 Dowlut Rao told his commanding officer, and 
 so the story came round to me. The com- 
 manding officer interested himself much in 
 the case, and referred it to G-overnment, who, 
 however, " declined to interfere,^' and admini- 
 stered a severe reproof to the officer for exceed- 
 ing the limit of his official duties in meddling 
 with the case at all.
 
 l.OS DON : 
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 1890