mmwmmm.:- ..-.. .«f*iil^tJjt)f\*!*>W3i:flV!»«.tJir« C/ru'i'e^^iU^^ yo/" ^^^i^^^rm^ /^Cy/'Uy^'^ ^^C^/^f^'^^^ //^/// '^y/^' ¥ ^"^'/^ FIFTY-SEVEN. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT OF THE BENGAL ARMY. BY RWM GEORGE KEENE, C.I.E., M.R.A.S., AUTHOR OF *' THE FALL OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE," ETC., ETC. LONDON : W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATEELOO PLAGE» S.W. 1883. (^n rights res^erved.) D547S h:4 LONDON : PRINTED BY W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. HENRY MORSE STEPHENS CLOL^ t'^ituiiBn. TO MY COMBADES OF THE MUTINY-TIME; IN AFFECTIONATE REGARD FOR THE SURVIVORS, AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF THOSE WHO ARE NO MORE ; THESE IMPERFECT RECORDS OF THEIR SERVICES ARE INSCRIBED. 512968 [The materials of the following pages wilt be chiefly found in the oficlal " Narratives" furnished to the Government of the North- Western Provinces by Collectors and Commissioners at the time. I have not feferred to the Dehli Division which then formed a part of those Provinces. The reason is that the Civil rule was entirely overthrown, for the moment, in that Division, where the events fell -under the control of the Military authorities. Many of the Civil officers fell at their posts; including Simon Fraser the Commissioner, killed at the gate of the Palace, and the gallant John Wedderbum, Magistrate of Hissar, who refused to leave his District, and was murdered on his way home from office. Some details are given from recollection. Names of well-known places have been written according to English usage. In regard to others^ the modern system of transliteration adopted by the Didian Government lias been observed.} PEE FACE These pages are not offered as a history of the Sepoy Mutiny and consequent War, which have been ex- haustively related by professional writers. But there were special services performed in many different parts of India, and most of all in the country between the Satlaj and the Karmnasa, which were necessary, not only to the utilisation of the deeds of the soldier, but even to their very doing. An army could not take the field without due carriage, nor march without supplies and information. Leaders of troops could not tell in what direction to strike, or where to hold their hands, unless accompanied or inspired by just and resolute companions possessed of local knowledge and local influence. In many instances there were, at times, no military agents at all, either troops or leaders ; and then the local officers had to raise and command their own levies. Last, and certainly not least, must be remem- bered the urgent necessity of collecting the revenue. VI PREFACE. It was the business of such oflficers, again, when the war-tide had finally ebbed, to replace the ancient land- marks, and turn the swords into plough-shares and reaping-hooks. Some account of the manner in which this was done is now, for the first time, offered. Two lessons, at least, may be drawn from the record. One is that, whatever posts are hereafter to be made available to Asiatics,* there is one which -save in the most peaceful and orderly of neighbourhoods, perhaps — should always be reserved to men of European birth and training : I mean, of course, that of District-officer. It is sufficient to reflect what might have been the consequences had districts like Saharanpur, Meerut, or Etawa been in the hands of Asiatics during the time that is here treated of. With the greatest loyalty and good -will, Asiatic officers would be always likely to fall into one of two temptations. Either they would show weakness or they would act with undue severity. Nothing but the combination of impartial humanity with an un- impressionable firmness could possibly have nerved Spankie, Dunlop, Hume, and their contemporary District-officers, with the will and power to make head against all the troubles of their position, and to restore order and confidence at the earliest available moment. * " They are specially fit for judicial functions, much more so than for executive or administrative functions." — Lord Hartington in the House of Commons, 23rd August 1883. PREFACE. Vll The careers of de Boigne, Thomas, Perron, and other adventurers of the last century — no less than that of Avitabile under Eanjit Singh — show how much this truth was appreciated even by the comparatively un- civilised rulers to whom India was subject then. And it would be a deplorable error if this lesson were to be ignored or neglected now by a Grovernment which, in a much greater degree, has undertaken to regenerate a region so long demoralised by anarchy as Hindustan. If the native powers had to employ European adminis- trators, how much more must Britain ! The other lesson to be heedfully appropriated is the necessity of a just and discriminate use of native talent and loyalty. In most, if not all, of the districts here observed, it will be clear that the exertions of the British District-officers and their European associates — heroic, as we need not hesitate to call them — were only rendered effective by the co-operation of Asiatics, military and civil. If the assistance of Sindhia and Holkar, of Jang Bahadur and the various minor chiefs of the province of Hindustan (to say nothing of the Sikh chiefs to the north and Salar Jang in the Deccan) deserve credit, as they undoubtedly do, no less acknowledgment is due to the fidelity of the Sikhs and Gurkhas, of Hindu clans in one part and (to a less degree) of Muhamadan gentle- men in another; most of all, perhaps, to the exceptional loyalty of bodies of native troops who, amid all tempta- tions, remained "true to their salt," protecting when "VUl PREFACE. possible their ofl&cers and their officers* families, and following white leaders whom they trusted in the punishment of offenders of their own blood and religion. Nor ought we to forget the faithful among the "Amlah," or subordinate native officials: a class who had much to tempt them from the British cause, and little reason, perhaps, to love it but what they might find in hard work, bad pay, and precarious promotion ; even precarious tenure of office. Many of these men did good work. It is my earnest hope that something has been here set down to give emphasis to both the above-stated doc- trines. If India is ever to be made prosperous and happy, it must be by a combination of native merit with European direction and control. The subject races of Her Majesty's Eastern Empire are endowed with many good qualities ; but, owing to the long centuries of misrule and anarchy that — with the one brief exception of Akbar and his immediate successors — have crushed their energies, these qualities are mostly of the negative kind. To abstain from drunkenness, from disorder, from debauchery, are hardly felt as difficulties by the masses of the rural population, since they and their fathers have, for some generations, had little scope or opportunity for the practice of those vices. They have still to be taught to acquire secondary wants ; to im- prove their agriculture and commerce ; to respect them- selves and others ; to join in the application of their industry and dexterity for the welfare of the community PEEFACE. IX at large. How far they were from having learned these lessons in 1857-8 is shown by the glimpses of anarchy and civil strife that are obtained in the course of our narrative ; and it would be bold to assert that the rural population had come much nearer to tlie qualifications for Home-Eule in the quarter of a century that has since elapsed. To illustrate and impart these lessons is among the true arts of European civilisation, in spite of its many excesses and defects; and thus we may borrow the words of Virgil to Rome, and say to our country — " Hae tibi erunt artes/' If there be any other moral deducible from my story, it is surely this : that it is perilous to keep any class of the population in ignorance. If the sepoys had under- stood the merest rudiments of contemporary history, they would have known that the British could have no wish to convert them to Christianity, either by force or by fraud. If the Jats and Gujars, and other tribes of the peasantry, who availed themselves of the temporary paralysis of power in Upper India, caused by the mutiny of the Bengal army, had been at all educated, they would have known that England had other soldiers who would soon appear on the scene, and that such outbreaks as theirs must, in any case, end badly for themselves. The agitation of educated men takes a different form, and meets with a different result. How- ever disagreeable may be some of the features of political agitation, it may lead to good when addressed b X PREFACE. to hearers capable of understanding their evils and how to obtain permanent relief. But the history of all ignorant rural risings shows that, without general instruction, and something which is best represented by a free press, no political progress is possible. These efforts of brute force only lead in the direction of chaos. H. G. K. Athen^um, October y 1883. CONTENTS. PAGE Introductory . • 1 CHAPTER I. Saharanpur and Muzafarnagar 4 CHAPTER II. Meerut and Bulandshahr 23 CHAPTER III. Agra, Aligarh, and Muttra 39 CHAPTER IV. Mainpuri and Etawa .52 CHAPTER V. Cawnpore and Farrukhabad . . . . .68 CHAPTER VI. Banda and Allahabad 84 CHAPTER VII. Benares and Azamgarh 101 xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER Vm. PAGE Ghazipnr, Jaunpur, and Mirzapur . . .112 CHAPTER IX. Eohacund 122 CHAPTER X. Rohilctmd 1^1 CHAPTER XI. Conclusion 1^ INDIAN DISTKICTS DUEING THE EEVOLT. INTRODUCTOKY More than a quarter of a century has passed away since the power of Britain in th6 far East was shaken to its base. The great Native Army that had been formed by Clive in Bengal a hundred years before, and which, in combination with a small contingent of white troops, had carried the banner of England to Prome on one side and to Peshawar on another, had yielded to Praetorian pride, and had risen against its leaders and its employers in a murderous revolt. The titular " King of Dehli " had been drawn in as a nominal head, and held faded state among a turbulent host of pretended followers in the ruinous halls of his ancestors, the Mughal Emperors of Hindustan. The minor potentates looked on in anxious wonder, or gave a more or less effective support to their foreign allies, of whose ultimate triumph most of them had wisdom enough to entertain forebodings. Among the people there was much confusion ; the criminal and lawless benefited by the weakness of the restraining power ; the peaceable masses cowered in alarm, and provided as 1 ♦ c *•« It- 2 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. best they could for their own safety. In the words of an impartial observer, a month after the outbreak — The situation might be summed up as follows : — Direct communication between Calcutta, Dehli, and the Panjab was completely interrupted, and the army before Dehli, little over 4,000 strong, was scarcely able to maintain its position. Its base of operations was the Panjab by the line of Ludiana. Sir J. Lawrence, with heroic devotion, despatched his European regiments to Dehli, but it was doubtful whether the besieging force would be able to remain before the city till their arrival.* It was in this situation that the qualities and the resources of each isolated representative of British power in Upper India were taxed and strained for a period, the end of which none of them could foresee. Some of these, not unnaturally, succumbed to the appalling problem of maintaining law and order, and protecting life and property, with untrust- worthy instruments and against dangers of which no one knew the extent, but no one could possibly over-estimate the magni- tude. It is a fact that in no such instance was peace preserved for a moment after they left their stations. By far the majority, however, chose the better part, though they paid dearly for their devotion. As was remarked at the time by a civil officer who gave a splendid example of energy and daring in the administra- tion of his own district, — The civilians (superior civil officers) of this Presidency have suffered more severely than any other class of men in the country. There were, when the mutiny commenced, 153 present, about one-third of whom have been killed or wounded. Twenty-nine have been murdered, killed in action, or died of wounds ; three died from cholera, or exposure on service, and several have been wounded . . . the Gazettes take no notice of civihans' wounds. — [J%e Khakee Risullah, &c. By R. Wallace Dunlop, C.B. R. Bentley, 1858.] Nevertheless, these sufferings were not without fruit. Many of the districts were successfully defended and held by these extemporised leaders, whose ordinary professional duties did not go beyond holding trials, presiding at local boards, and the sort of work performed in England by the squires and parsons. M. de Valbezen, an impartial critic, calls attention to these '* modest " services of the civilians (official and non-official it should be added), and gives deserved prominence to the defence of the * fndia and the English. By E. de Valbezen. Allen & Co., 1883, INTRODUCTOET. 3 house at Arrah, though he unhappily deprives the magistrate, Mr. Hereward Wake, C.B., of his due credit by styling him ** Mr. Walker." In truth, these " magistrates " (taking the word in its Anglo-Indian sense, denoting the Prefects of Districts), for the most, had to work as military officers, and often as officers without men. Their staff consisted, for the most part, of their official assistants and a few planters^some, like Venables and Dunn, men of great resolution and energy. But of the rank and file little was to be expected. A few sepoys, of doubtful fidelity unless they were Sikhs or Gurkhas ; a half-disciplined jail-guard, often in sympathy with the convicts in their charge ; a handful of messengers, often faithful fellows, but with no discipline at all : such was the material with which the fiercest passions of thousands were to be stayed, and the occasional raids of dis- ciplined mutineers to be encountered, on pain of loss of life and honour, and of disaster and disgrace to the State. INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. CHAPTER I. SAHARANPUR AND MUZAFAENAGAE. Foremost among the districts thus held must be named Saharanpur. In the order of districts taken geographically, it comes first, beginning from the northern limit to which the insurrection spread. It stands, moreover, first in two other respects. It formed the bulwark of the hill stations of Mussoorie and Landom-, where was then assembled the largest white popu- lation north of Calcutta. And it was, in the whole Province, the district in which the defensive attitude of the civil power met with the most uninterrupted and untarnished success. A word about the hill stations and the geographic and social situation of Saharanpur may, therefore, be not unwelcome. Saharanpur is the official title of a *' district," or shire, con- taining 2,219 square miles, with a population of, say, 890,000, about one-third being Musalmans and the remainder Hindus by creed, though nearly 10 per cent, belong to the Gujar tribe. This is a people of unknown origin who have embraced Hinduism, though they do not reckon among the descendants of the Aryan settlers of Upper India. The district is bounded on the north by the low range of the Siwaliks, on the east by the Ganges, on the south by an imaginary line of demarcation, on the west by the Jumna. It thus stands at the head of the Dual, or interamnial country, being on one side adjacent to Kohilkhand, on another to the protected hill state of Nahan, and to other SAHARANPUR AND MU2AFARNAGAR. 6 dependencies of the Panjab. It derives its name from a Muhamadan saint of the famous order of Chist, Shah Haran by name, who founded the chief town about 1340 a.d., and whose shrine is still an object of veneration to the Muslim com- munity. Lying on one of the lines of march from Central Asia to Dehli and Hindustan, this tract has been for centuries subject to Musalman influence, many Pathan and Mughal adventurers settling there from time to time, and doing their best to proselytise among the inhabitants. The Emperors, too, resorted to the northern part of the district during the palmy days of the Mughal empire. This is attested to this day by the existence of places called Nurnagar (after Nur Mahl, the wife of Jahangir), and Badsha Mahl (where are to be seen the ruins of a hunting- lodge, built by Shahjahan, near the head-waters of the canal which he caused to be taken from the Jumna). About the date of Aurangzeb's death the Sikhs invaded it in the pursuance of their first audacious rising. They were for the time expelled and punished ; and Musalman influence revived, though under chiefs more or less practically independent. After the death of Ghulam Kadir — the oppressor of the Emperor Shah Alam, whom he blinded in 1788 — the Sikhs over-ran the country once more, but were expelled by the Mahrattas, who, with French aid, were becoming as powerful in Upper India as they had long been in the Deccan. After Lake had occupied Dehli in 1803, both Sikhs and Mahrattas became engaged with the British, who gradually, however, settled the district in spite of their resistance. Gujar outbreaks occurred in 1813 and 1824, and then the anarchic elements assumed a temporary calm. Such was the state of Saharanpur in the opening of 1857. The population of the chief town was nearly 50,000, of whom more than half were Muhamadans. The rural tracts contained a population of whom those over thirty years of age had seen anarchy and insurrection, or had heard of it from eye-witnesses. The Eajputs who had been converted to Islam were in sympathy with the King of Dehli and the Crescent generally ; the pure -%. 6 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. Muslims by descent sighed over the lost grandeur of their race ; the Gujars longed to resume the predatory habits of the past ; the rest of the Hindus, timid and apathetic, did not care what happened so long as they kept their possessions, real and personal. There were hardly any influential aristocrats to lend help to authority, the long anarchy of bye-gone years having ruined them, as the barons of England were ruined by the Wars of the Eoses. Of the 1,916 estates which composed the Domesday- book of the district, the average rental was no more than £20 a year, of which half went to Government and half was the land- holder's income. Surely a social fabric with but little promise of reserve force, whether to resist famine or sustaiu civil war. On the eastern side of the district, where the great British Canal leaves the Ganges at Hardwar, there were several places of importance. Hardwar itself is the centre of a group of holy places, visited by millions of Hindu pilgrims year by year. A few miles lower down stands Eurki, the head-quarters of the sapper corps of the Bengal army, the seat of a college of civil engineering, and the scene of a factory known as the Ganges canal workshops. At the time of the outbreak Eurki contained some oJBacers of the Bengal Engineers attached to the canal, the College, and the Sappers, a few conductors and sergeants, and some clerks. There were also a few students residing at the College — say ninety Christians in all, some of them inured to military discipline. Further north, beyond the Siwalik range, was the picturesque valley of Dehra Dun, lying at the foot of what in military parlance were called "the hills north of Dehra." Many au- thorities, named in General Newall's recent book,"^ have dwelt upon the value of garrisons in mountain-retirement, where they could be trained in a temperate climate, and hurled upon the plains in case of emergency. The advice has never been acted on by the Anglo-Indian Government ; though there were not ♦ The Highlands of India. By D. Newall, Major-General Harrison & Co., 1883. ^AHABANPUil AND MUZAFARNAGAR. ? wanting during the troubles of 1857 illustrations of its value. The " hills " were rather a source of anxiety than of aid. The Dun is a sort of annexe to Saharanpur, to which it was at one time in administrative subordination. Long since separated into an independent jurisdiction, it possesses some features of singular interest. Lying between the Himalayas and the Siwaliks, it abounds in forest, ravine, and swamp ; though the population (including the mountain tracts of Jaunsar and Bawar) hardly reaches 150,000. But a good deal of tea is grown in the valley ; the head-quarters of the Trigonometrical Survey of India are there; and it forms the approach to the important European stations of Landour and Mussooree. The former of these is only the military cantonment of the latter, and contains accommodation for about 200 sick and convalescent soldiers from the regiments in the neighbouring plain- stations. Taken together, the united town, scattered over a wide extent of cliffs and ridges, contains schools and convents, hotels and boarding-houses, a club-house and numerous ** bungalows," and contains, in the summer, a white population, which has been estimated to average 8,000 souls — mostly women and children. Here, at an elevation of between 7,000 and 8,000 feet above the level of the sea, the wives and families of the officers, who were doing their duty on the reeking plains below, sought escape from the Indian climate, or a restoration of broken and lost strength in a temperature resembling that of the south of France. They were dependent for their food upon supplies brought to them from below ; no private banks provided for their financial convenience ; but the Government kept up a treasury and public offices at Dehra, the chief town of the valley at the foot of the hills. The chief upon whom the news of the outbreak threw the duty of providing for and protecting all these varied interests of peace, and controlHng the concomitant elements of war, was Mr. Eobert Spankie, afterwards better known as a puisne judge of the High Court of Allahabad. A son of Serjeant Spankie, at one time Advocate- General of Bengal, he had been educated at Eton and 8 INDIAN DISTRICTS 1)UEING TflB EiSVOLt. Haileybury, and had served about thirteen years in India. The first alarm was given by Colonel R. Bau'd Smith (afterwards Companion of the Bath and Master of the Calcutta Mint), who was at that time Director- General of the various works of the canals, and had his post at Eurki. The Ganges canal is not only an irrigating stream, its great bulk enables it — with the help of occasional locks — to serve the purposes of navigation. Early in the year certaui Hindu contractors had entered into arrangements for supplying some of the down- country canton- ments with flom*. They brought the grain to the mills at Eurki, where it was ground by water-power ; and then sent the flour to Cawnpore and elsewhere by boat. On the 24th April 1857, before any mutiny had occurred, it was brought to Colonel Smith's notice that, while these deliveries were still going on, a rumour had suddenly found cm-rency among the native troops that the agents of Government had mixed bone-dust with the flour. One must know the superstition and almost infantile creduHty of the sepoy to understand the full mahce of this suggestion. The troops refused to receive the flour, and Colonel Smith reported the aflair to the proper authorities. But, standing by itself, the warning was not thought significant. On the 12th May unmistakable tidings reached Mr. Spankie. Meerut was given over to fire and sword, and the native troops of the garrison had made good theii* way to Dehli. Next day he sent the Christian women and children to the hills, and prepared for the storm. One of the officers then present had stated since (in a private letter) that the feeluig of the European community was at first one of disbelief in anything but a temporaiy out- break that would soon be suppressed. Mr. Spankie took another and a truer view of the situation. The Christian population was as follows : — the judge ; Mr. Spankie and two or three assistants of the '* Covenanted Civil Service " ; some clerks, white and coloured ; Captain MacDougall and Veterinary- Sm-geon Hen- derson, of the Stud, with their clerks ; Lieutenants Brownlow* * bince Colonel H. Bro^vMilow, R.E., Secretary to Government N.W.P. SABAEANPUR ANf) MUZAFARNAGAR. S and Home of the Engineers. No time was lost in raising men to serve under this staff. For the station itself fifty horse con- stables, and as many foot ; for the city a hundred officers and men ; a due proportion of police for the outlying circles being also added to the normal strength of the force. Of Government troops there was a weak company in charge of the district treasury. These men were under a native officer, and had been detached from the 29th Native Infantry, quartered at Moradabad, beyond the river Ganges. The sepoys were probably not regarded with much confidence ; the Christians took arms, and collected at Mr. Spankie's house, about a mile from the treasury. One of the first symptoms that the news of the Mutiny had fallen like a spark on the combustible anarchical material of the district, was that the Gujars and other lawless classes began to gather in large and tumultuary masses, and commit excesses which they well knew would not be permitted for a day in ordinary times. Old scores were paid off ; village bankers and quiet landholders were plundered or put under requisition ; the papers and accounts of the money-lenders were sought for, and written obligations cancelled by very summary liquidation in fire or water. Unrestrained in this private enterprise, the turbulent classes next turned their attention to the treasuries and record-rooms of outlying offices. Expeditions were at once organised, and the sepoys of the 29th found, for the time, an occupation which served to distract their thoughts from mutinous design. Partly to furnish them with such occupation, and also in order to assert authority and maintain the order whose appointed guardian he was, Mr. Spankie organised several expeditions against the predatory tribes, and was everywhere successful. Villages were visited, and — on special signs of refractoriness — set on fire ; many offenders were arrested, defaulting revenue-payers were brought to book. The state of things in the chief town, however, soon became so alarming that Mr. Spankie received orders from divisional head-quarters that he was not to leave it. On the 80th May he led the last 10 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE EEVOfiT. exi)editioii in which he took i^art : and it was well that this was so. Captain MacDougall, of the Stud, was informed, by natives on whom he could rely, that there were elements of mischief in the city that were ready to explode if Mr. Spankie did not remain permanently on the spot. The delay in dealing with Dehh, however justified by military considerations, gave natural encouragement to the disaffected among the Musalman popu- lation. Not that they were unanimous. Some of then- natural leaders attempted to keep them tranquil, if not loyal. But the head of the city police, who was of that faith, was led astray either by fanaticism or by ambition. He began corresponding with the rebel cabinet at Dehli, and received a patent creating him Nawab — Lieutenant-Governor — of the Upper Duab. Mr. Spankie felt that the time had come when, if he was to hold the district properly, he " must have help from without." On his appHcation to the Panjab authorities, ^Ir. W. C. Plowden* crossed the Jumna with a party of the 4th Bengal Cavalry under Captain Wyld, and a company of the 5th Native Infantry under Captain Garstin. An immediate check was given to religious enthusiasm of the felonious kind ; and the wealthier Hindu bankers and traders strengthened their bolts and bars and slept secure. The " Nawab " policeman continued to intrigue subterraneously, but he was openly doing his duty. Evidence was not forthcoming, and Mr. Spankie patiently allowed him all possible rope. On the evening of the 2nd June a crisis took place. Several of the men belonging to the new infantry reinforcement had shown signs of wavering fidelity, and were allowed to take their discharge. They were encamped in the beautiful grounds of the magistrate's house ; and while Captain Garstin was sitting at a table preparing to pay them up, they got hold of their arms and fell back upon the gateway of the entrance drive. Mr. Spankie came up, and with nothing but a walking-stick tried to disarm a sepoy who was making ready to fire at him. A native sergeant * Lately in charge of the Imperial Census. SAUAEANPUE AND MTJZAFAENAGAE. 11 intervened, and the man was shot. Three officers returning from a drive were at the same time fired upon. Spankie's little hill-messenger ran down from the house with his master's pistol ; Wyld called out his men, being shot at thrice while so doing. The mutineers, on this unlooked-for resistance, lost heart, and escaped to their sympathisers in the city in the quickly growing darkness. Next day arrived Major Bagot with the 3rd Gurkhas or Nasiri Battalion. Their behaviour at Simla had not been free from reproach, and had led the Deputy- Commissioner, Lord William Hay,* to order them away. They came to Saharanpur, bringing cholera with them. At the same time Mr. Spankie got informa- tion that shook his confidence in the rest of Garstin's men and in Wyld's troopers ; he also got news that the 29th (a detach- ment of which furnished his treasury-guard) had mutinied at Moradabad. The Gujars, doubtless egged on by the treacherous '' Nawab," threatened to plunder the treasury. While the defenders of the central station were exposed to these anxieties, the occupants of Eurki had gone through their share of trouble. But, as the doings there were rather military than civil, they may be here briefly disposed of by the remarks that follow. Some of the Sappers were sent away on duty, some mutinied and deserted, a few remained faithful. Colonel Baird Smith made a rough fortification round the workshops, cast guns, supplied the fire-locks and ammunition of the dis- armed Sappers to the Christian garrison, rescued two prisoners from the Kohilkhand rebels, collected a certain amount of revenue from the surrounding estates, and approved himself in all things a worthy helper of the district officer until he was summoned to a more important scene.f * Now Marquess of Tweeddale, whose services in pacifying the regiment Avere at the moment the means of saying Simla, and ultimately of enabling them to do indispensable work elsewhere, and so, indirectly, of saving Mussooree also. These services were never duly acknowledged. t As Engineer-in-Chief with Sir A. Wilson's force, he bore a most influential part in the taking of Dehli in the middle of September. (^Vide Malleson's Mutiny, vol. ii. pp. 3, 4.) l2 INDIAX DISTRICTS DUBING THE REVOLT. In the Dun, in the meantime, another kind of trouble had arisen. The ''lines" of the 1st Gm-khas, who had marched to Dehli, were occupied by the families of the soldiers, guarded by a detachment of eighty men of the regiment under a native officer. The Su^Derintendent blocked the passes by which bad characters might invade the valley without using the high road ; this was done by laying down abattis of stone and timber, and by enrolling a sort of militia- guard of trustworthy villagers. In the town of Dehra a patrol of the Christians was organised, so that two of them by roster went round the town and environs at uncertain hours of the day and night. A strong party of the Jalandar mutineers (400 infantry and 200 cavalry in full equip- ment) invaded the Western Dun in June, but were driven out by the mere rumour that the Superintendent was leading a force against them. The peace of the district remained unbroken, save by a rare foray of the lawless herdsmen of the Trans- Siwalik jungles, five of whom were taken and hanged in one instance.* What caused the chief inconvenience and difficulty of the Dun was the question of the supplies. A castle twelve miles broad and sixty miles long, with the rear open to the whole glacier-crowned Oberland of the Indo- Thibetan chain, cannot be called a small castle. None the less were the people of Mussooree in the position of a beleaguered gamson. The mountains in rear produced nothing but a little mutton, with coarse gi-ains like millet, sufficing barely for the food of the indigenous mountaineers. The Dun had never been self- supporting ; and the best lands were now being taken up for tea. Food would not be procurable for money, and money, too, was getting scarce. It has been mentioned that the Sanitaria were filled with the families of officers who were engaged in their duties down below. These gentlemen, whenever they got pay, sent it up to their families in the forms of drafts on the public treasury. The treasmy was open, but was rapidly being depleted, depending as it did upon supplies forwarded from the ♦ Vide Malleson, toI. iii. pp. 419-424. SAHARANPUE AND MUZAFARNAOAK. 13 plains, which supplies had now ceased. The Superintendent was not even able to maintain communication with the Provincial Accountant-General at Agra. In this state of things, with official bankruptcy staring him in the face, the Superintendent, after consultation with his friends, adopted a plan suggested by Lieutenant Tennent, of Engineers,* and started a paper currency. It was a somewhat hopeless undertaking ; but public confidence had not been entirely destroyed — so long as Spankie held his own at Saharanpur — and the business of life had to go on somehow. The notes floated, but they floated at a discount. The ladies, and others, who presented bills at the treasury to be cashed, were naturally unwilling to be paid in a depreciated currency; the moment was critical. In this emergency the authorities of the Panjab, ever vigilant, even where not per- sonally responsible, came to the front, and sent several remit- tances of specie. But even this was not enough ; and we find Mr. Spankie, amid all the cares created by the condition of his own district, pouring in supplies to the Dun, both in specie and in kind. The official narrative shows that, between the middle of May and the middle of September, he sent to the Dun no less than 3,300 maunds of grain, besides a quantity of bullocks ; over 12,000 rupees to the commissariat officer ; 114,000 rupees to the Superintendent of the Dun, who was thus, from this source and from the Panjab, enabled to issue a certain proportion of specie, along with a balance in paper, until the reopening of communication with the Accountant-General. It is time to return to Saharanpur. On the night of the 4th June Mr. Spankie attacked the Gujars, by whom the treasury was threatened, and repulsed them with loss, burning two of their villages. On the 8th and 9th came inspiriting rumours that the Meerut garrison had at last taken the field, and then that they had beaten a body of mutineers at Ghaziabad, on the Hindan, and established a junction with the main force of the British under Sir H. Barnard. Two parties were sent out to * Since, as Colonel Tennent. the distinguished Master of the Calcutta Mint, 14 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. endeavour to cut off the mutineers of the Jalandar brigade ; but, like the Superintendent of the Dun, failed to overtake their rapid flight to Dehli, which was the general rendezvous of all the mutineers. Messrs. Eobertson and Plowden were next sent out against refractory villages, with such bodies of troops as could be spared ; and they met with considerable success. So matters went on until the second week in July ; and to a careless or over-sanguine eye it might have seemed that the trouble was over. But the end was not yet. At 8 one evening, while the Englishmen at the magistrate's house were sitting down to their well-earned meal, and deluges of monsoon-rain were falling out- of-doors, a messenger burst in with the report that MacDougall's guard had deserted then* post, which was hard at hand. Major Bagot immediately hurried to the general treasury — a mile off — feeling that the desertion of the Stud-guard was ominous of a mutiny among the men of the 29th, by whom, in spite of the revolt of their main body at Moradabad, the offices there were still guarded. Followed by a number of his companions, Mr. Spankie also hastened to the spot. But the news of the advance had already reached the guard, who had decamped without plundering, and had, indeed, in their hurry, left pots and pans of their own to such an extent as fetched 300 rupees at auction next day. Seventy-nine sepoys, favoured by the weather and the darkness, escaped ; a good riddance ! For, though it would be utterly vain to speculate on the causes of their desertion, after so long remainmg faithful, it can hardly be doubtful that their departure was felt as a sensible relief by the Europeans. The Bengal cavalry, under Wyld, had also been drawn off across the Jumna, replaced by troopers in the employ of the Patiala state. The garrison of Saharanpur had thus been purged of all peccant humours ; and a solidarity set in which was never again dis- turbed. On the 11th July Mr. Robertson, ever prompt to carry out the orders of his chief, went to assist the reorganisation proceeding at Eurki under Captain Read, who had taken the place of Baird Smith gone to Dehli. He there attacked and SAHAEANPUE AND MUZAFAENAGAE. 15 dispersed an assembly of Banjara plunderers, and thence pro- ceeded, by Mr. Spankie's orders, to the relief of Deoband. This is an old town in the heart of the " Khata," as the country of the worst tribes was called. The peaceable citizens had done what they could in their own defence, but had suffered severely from the audacity of the insurgents. These men were, in several instances, captured with their booty in their possession ; and an examination of the town, which followed, threw some light upon the nature of the case. The quarters that had escaped plunder were those of the Gujars, the Muslims, and the labouring poor. The attack had been concentrated upon the Hindus proper, one of whose leading men was severely wounded in defending his house, while his son was carried off by the enemy before Eobertson arrived. From these services the party had to be recalled. The '' Nawab " was still at his underground work, and reliable information was received by Mr. Spankie of an impending attack by the predatory classes of the vicinity reinforced by the town mob. Spankie at once took the most energetic measures. Sending for his treacherous Muslim subordinate, he thanked and promoted him, deputing him to the post of sub -collector at Nokur, in the north-western part of the district. The jail-guard, whose fidelity was doubtful, were replaced by forty Gurkhas ; and the aid of a small body of British soldiers from the con- valescent depot of Landour was obtained, by whose aid tran- quillity was maintained through all the excitement of the great Muhamadan celebration of the ten days of Muharam. The *' Nawab " was completely blinded by Spankie's treatment of him. Thinking that now he had the ball at his feet, he became less guarded in his correspondence with Dehli. Spankie at last obtained satisfactory evidence of his guilt ; a party of Gurkhas under Lieutenant T. Boisragon,'-' visiting Nokur one morning, seized this modern Agag in the midst of his office. That officer at once marched him over to Ambala, where ('* according to arrangements previously made") he was brought to trial, and * Afterw9,rds Major-General Boisragon, and distinguished in Afghanistan, 16 INDIA^' DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. ultimatelT executed by order of Mr. Barnes, the Commissioner, acting under special powers. This little incident, running like a serio-comic thread of personal interest through the official narratives, seems very characteristic of a calm, long-headed administration; and on that account, as also by reason of its own importance, it has been dwelt on at some length. The man had been a dangerous conspirator, and might have become more so had not a touch of diplomacy been mingled with the masculine resolution of the district-officer's strong character. This was the closing scene of the local drama. But, much as Mr. Spankie had done for his own post and for the Dun, his labours were by no means confined to this immediate neighbour- hood. The two elements of Muslim craft and Gujar greed extended far down into the adjoining district of Muzafamagar. The district of Muzafarnagar bears a general resemblance to that of Saharanpur, from which it is only parted by an imaginary boundary on the northern side. Two canals traverse it from north to south, running parallel to the rivers Ganges and Jumna, from which they are respectively derived. On the eastern side are some Muhamadan landholders, Saiads by origin, and pro- fessing the Shiah, or Persian, form of the faith, which separates them in feeling and interest from the Indian Muslims generally. It is hard to say that the Shiahs are less fanatical, or more so, than the Sunnis ; but the fact that they are a minority in India probably disposes them, however slightly, in favour of a foreign and impartial government. On the western side the estates are chiefly held by village communities. In the centre are pure Hindus and Gujars, nominally Hindus, and large clusters of Pathan clans, whose head-quarters are at Thana Bhawan, and Jalalabad. The first disorders at the chief town were due to the weakness of the officers in chai-ge, who, being without trustworthy followers, showed a want of initiative for which they should not be too severely blamed. A party of the 4th Irregular Cavalry, sent to their assistance, mutinied and murdered their European officer ; SAHARANPUR AND MUZAFARNAGAB. 17 the bad characters rose, and committed excesses, and the British magistrates were obliged to seek refuge in the office of the sub- collector. This man, Imdad Hosen by name, belonged to the influential tribe of Saiads, named above as holding the lands on the Gangetic side of the district, and stoutly stood by the fallen authorities, for which he was afterwards handsomely rewarded. On the 24th of June, Mr. Spankie, ever thoughtful and provident, detached one of his civil subordinates, Mr. R. M. Edwards, to take over charge of the district, and Mr. Berford, the district officer who had already before the first outbreak been an applicant for leave of absence, by reason of ill-health, at once made over his office and left. As Mr. Edwards wrote in his Narrative, Mr. Berford had had great difficulties to contend with, the authorities at Meerut (only thirty- three miles off) having left him not only without assistance, but even for some time without authentic intelligence. The public business was, of course, much disorganised, nor was Mr. Edwards at first in a position to take very active steps to put matters straight. False rumours were in the air ; com- munications were interrupted ; revenue payments were backward. All this disconcerted the new district-officer, especially (as he observed) "coming as I did direct from Saharanpur, so well and energetically kept in hand by Mr. Spankie." Mr. Edwards does not state what were the constituents and strength of his force ; but he sent out parties east and west, and by their help the communications were restored, and some money collected. On the west, the chief cause of uneasiness was the town of Shamli, a place of some importance commercially and otherwise, where the leading citizens were Hindus of somewhat turbulent character ; while the head of the agriculturists was a man of some influence, named Mohr Singh, who was on bad terms with the sub-collector, a gallant Pathan, by name Ibrahim Khun. Mohr Singh put himself in correspondence with the rebel court at Dehli, and thus gave rise to the confusing spectacle of a Hindu doing the work of 2 18 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT, Muslim hostility, against a Muslim officer who was loyal to the Christian rulers. On the 27th August, Mr. Edwards received a reinforcement from Saharanpur. This comprised fifty bayonets of the Gurkha battalion, already mentioned as having joined Mr. Spankie there. These, from then* proved loyalty and courage were most welcome, the more so as they were accompanied by two British officers. Mr. Grant had been for some time stationed at Shamli with a small party of horse, and early in September Mr. Edwards sent some infantry and two mountain-guns to his aid, following himself soon after. In the meantime the Muhamadans of Thana Bhawan, about a day's march to the N., had broken out on hearing that one of their leaders had been executed by sentence of the court-martial at Saharanpur. Distm'bance now became general in all the north and most of the west of the district ; in fact, wherever the Jats were strong. On the 14th September, Mr. Edwards broke up from Shamli, leaving a few of the 1st Panjab Cavalry to strengthen the guard of the sub-collector Ibrahim Khan, which consisted otherwise of ten troopers at home on furlough, some jail-guards and Pathan levies, in all, nearly 100 armed men. Trusting to their efforts to maintain themselves during his short absence, Mr. Edwards first moved against the fort of Burhana, which he captured. Then, reinforced by two horse-artillery guns and 100 Sikhs, he began to turn towards Shamli. But during his absence that place had been the scene of a cruel tragedy. The Thana Bhawan insm-gents took advantage of the moment, and, falling on Shamli while Edwards' back was turned, surrounded the sub-collector's office. This was defended all day ; but the mob was enormous, and, availing itself of the services of some gypsies who crept up under cover of screens, was able to set fire to the thatch of several buildings in the enclosure that projected over the wall. Overpowered, wearied, blinded by the conflagration, the defenders capitulated on promises that were immediately set at naught. The rebels murdered 113 persons in SAHARANPUR AND MUZ AFAR J^ AGAR. 19 cold blood, and plundered the office. Mr. Edwards was prevented from immediately avenging this outrage by the most alarming reports from Muzafarnagar, on which he fell back. Neither he nor the Commissioner are good chronologers, but it would seem that about the date of the Shamli massacre Dehli was already to some extent, at least, in the possession of our troops. It is remarkable that so much audacity should have been shown at such a time, when all men who had eyes to see must have been conscious that the rebellion was about receiving its death-blow. It has been already mentioned that Mr. Edwards had been rein- forced from Meerut. About the same date he also received further aid from Saharanpur. Thus strengthened, he resolved to set out for Thana Bhawan, being under the impression that the Commissioner wished him to do so, and being advised by his military coadjutors that their force was sufficient for the purpose. He does not exactly state what that force was ; but it is evident that it consisted of Sikhs, infantry and cavalry, a party of Gurkhas, and two horse-artillery guns. He was accompanied by two gallant young civil officers, Messrs. Swinton Melville and Malcolm Low, who had been sent by Mr. Spankie with the last reinforcements. Mr. Edwards neither mentions the day on which he departed, nor that on which he reached Thana Bhawan, but this latter event cannot have occm-red sooner than the 16th September."^ The troops, on arrival, drove in the outposts of the defenders and attempted to breach ; but their guns were not of sufficient calibre, and an attempt was then made to carry the place by a rush. A storming party of Sikhs and Gurkhas was gallantly led by Captain Smith and Lieutenant Cuyler, who advanced under a smart fire of small arms from the town- Several outlying buildings were seized and occupied, and the stormers, scaling the main wall, effected their entry into the town and captured two guns. But, for some unexplained reason, the supports did not come up, and the attack had to be entirely with- * Dehli was assaulted on the 14th. The rebels must have heard of this, as they were not fifty miles away. 2 • 20 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. drawn. The loss amounted to seventeen killed and twenty-five wounded, among whom two were British officers. In the retreat Melville and Low distinguished themselves highly by leading cavalry charges, in one of which Low was severely wounded, having been mobbed in a village lane, where he received three sabre-wounds in hand-to-hand fighting. The Commissioner after- wards attempted to throw the blame of this disaster on Mr. Spankie, who, as he originally thought, might have sent larger reinforcements to strengthen the attack. But in his printed Narrative (dated November 1858), he, though somewhat lamely, admitted his error, or, at least, modified his statement. The fact was, that the strength of a force for the storming of a town is a matter for the consideration of military officers alone. Major Bagot, who commanded at Saharanpur, did not feel him- self justified in detaching more of his small party, while Mr. Edwards' military advisers on the spot considered their force sufficient for the task. The fault — if fault there were — lay with the Commissioner himself, who, having first sent Mr. Edwards peremptory instructions to " proceed at once to crush the rebels," failed to countermand those instructions in time when he found, on second thoughts, that they were prematm-e. Further reinforcements were soon received, and the place was occupied, without resistance, before the end of September. And this was the end of the trouble in Muzafarnagar. All the loyal were amply rewarded, and such punishment was meted out to the rebels as circumstances would allow. In addition to these exceptional doings, the district officer of Saharanpur carried on, as best he could, the ordinary admini- stration of his district. Money has been called *' the sinews of war " ; it is no less the objective of peace. During the four months that have been here hastily reviewed, all the land revenue had been collected except a balance of some fourteen per cent., which was reported on the 26th September as "in course of realisation." Criminal judicial duties were mostly performed by courts-martial, what in Em-ope is called " the SAHARANPUE AND MUZAFARNAGAB. 21 state of siege " having been proclaimed in the district. But Mr. Spankie took care that a civil officer was always present to assist the military members of the courts. It is pleasing to be able to add that out of a population of nearly a million only ninety-five — the worst culprits, taken red-handed — were left for execution; viz. in Saharanpur thirty-one, twenty inEurki, forty- four in Deoband, where the violence and rapine were the worst. Most of the poor rascals were flogged and discharged. The above facts have been derived either from the printed official Narrative or from personal recollections ; I have also had access to private sources of unexceptionable character. Thus Colonel Baird Smith, writing three years afterwards, conveyed to Mr. Spankie the formal acknowledgments of the Christian com- munity of Eurki, and in doing so made use of the following language : — To Robert Spankie, Esq., C.S., late Magistrate and Collector of Saharunpore. Sib, Calcutta, 31st July, 1860. With reference to your demi-official of the 15th inst., I have great pleasure in expressing to you, on behalf of the European community of Roorkee, our deep sense of gratitude for the earnest and vigorous support and assistance given by you to us during the whole of the troubled period in 1857-58. With the exception of the time I was before Delhi, I had constant opportunities of judging, from personal knowledge, of the influence of your resolute adminis- tration in maintaining peace and order within a district full of the elements of disorganisation. Having to control the chief town of the district, with its population of about six- and-thirty thousand, many among whom were discontented and fanatical Mahom- medans, with numerous other large towns restless and excited, with a rural population containing an exceptionally large proportion of turbulent aggressive and courageous tribes in active revolt against all law and order, with actual mutiny and attempted violence in the station, you had difficulties to contend with which, I have ever thought, could only have been successfully met by a rare combination of courage, decision, resource — thorough knowledge of native character, and incessant pergonal vigilance. Aided by your energetic subordinates, you made law respected throughout the district ; saved life and property, within and beyond it, to an almost inestimable extent ; for if the disaffected had mastered Saharunpore, Mussoorie must have been at their mercy with but feeble chance of resistance, and the fate of the large and chiefly helpless European communit? there can scarcely be matter of even momentary doubt. That you were, under God, the chief means of preventing such catastrophes has always been my conviction, and in common with many others I have felt heartily grateful to you for your efforts to avert them. On my own behalf I may add, that among the many civil officers from whom the necessities of the case compelled me to seek assistance for the Engineer Park 22 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. during the siege of Delhi, there was no one who met my requisitions, whether for men or materials, in a heartier or more earnest spirit of co-operation than yourself. The ability to complete the works necessary for the capture of Delhi within the short time actually employed, was not more a consequence of the indefatigable exertions of the troops in the trenches, than of the constant and laborious preparations systematically carried on for months beforehand. To the latter your aid was frequent and most important. While it would be gratifying to us, who were your associates in the times of danger now gone by, to see your services recognised in any form agreeable to yourself, otu' estimate of those services must always remain the same ; and you may be assured that the recollection of all we owed to yom' stout heart, and strong hand, is one of the few cheering memories of those dreary months, and will remain with most of us as long as we live. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient Servant, R. Baied Smith, late commanding at Roorkee. It will be seen that Colonel Smith dwells upon the aid afforded to the siege-operations before Dehli. This is a feature which has been overlooked in the story as told above ; but it is one that deserves attention, as showing that the safety of his own immediate neighbourhood was far from being the only subject of this officer's care. Mr. Spankie's services were also recognised by the Home Government : the Secretary of State, Sir C. Wood, writing under date 11th June 1860, stated that he was ** commanded to convey to him (Mr. Spankie) the gracious approbation of Her Majesty of his conduct during that critical period." Recognition, it may be thought, need not have stopped here ; but in times v/hen decorations are so widely won and worn it may be a truer distinction, as Talleyrand said of Castlereagh, to be undecorated. And one may feel pretty sure that in preserv- ing life and property, mitigating suffering, and maintaining the prestige and prerogative of his Queen and country, such a man as Eobert Spankie found his truest distinction and his best reward.* * For the sentiments of the greatest man of the class, whether as to conduct or character, see a letter by John Lawrence, under date July 21, 1858, in Bosworth Smith's Life, vol. ii. p. 333. 23 CHAPTER II. MKEEUT AND BULANDSHAHR. The next district, in geographical order, is that which takes its name from the town of Meerut. It is large, extending over the whole Duab — here wider than in the more northern tracts ; and it contained, at the time of the Mutiny, some two thousand square miles, supporting a population of considerably over a million."^ As in Muzafarnagar, the people are divided into Jats, Gujars, Brahmans, and Muhamadans ; like Saharanpur, it con- tains few of the rais, or large-landholder class. Consequently, its behaviour during the troubles of '57, has been thought to give countenance to the doctrines of the school of politicians who favour the landholder rather than the peasant. Bnt, in truth, no conclusion can be drawn from this ; for some of the peasant tribes — as will presently be seen — were loyal ; while in districts where land was held by powerful individuals, we shall find these also exhibiting great variety of conduct. The chief town is large, but not wealthy; the population in those days being about 75,000. At the time of the Mutiny, the garrison con- sisted of the 6th Dragoon Guards, 1st battalion 60th Eoyal Rifles, some batteries of Artillery, the 3rd Bengal Light Cavalry, the 11th and 20th Native Infantry. Hitherto our materials have been scanty. The Superinten- dent of the Dun evidently thought that his task — however * The present figures are 2,361 square miles, area ; and 1,313,137, population. Both area and population have slightly varied since 1867. 24 INDIAN DISTEICTS DUEING THE EEVOLT. favoured by fortune —did not justify any trumpet- blowing when such stirring scenes, and such noble exploits, were taking place elsewhere. In Saharanpur and Muzafarnagar the events, though they would have been startling enough in quiet times, were chiefly confined to the efforts of a handful of Englishmen in a somewhat obscure sphere ; and their chief actors were reticent men who did not care to say much about what they had done. But the work in the neighbourhood of Meerut was of a more sensational character, and tilled a larger portion of space and of the public mind ; and it found, consequently, more numerous and more voluminous chroniclers, so that the litera- ture of the subject is considerable, and one has no reason to complain of the paucity of matter. Imprimis, there is the report of Mr. Fleetwood Williams, C.S.I., at first the Judge, but afterwards Commissioner. Then there is an interesting paper by Major Williams, of the 29th Eegiment of Native Infantry, employed at the time on special civil duty, and afterwards commandant of the mounted volunteers. Lastly, there is the record of the services of that body by Mr. E. Wallace Dunlop, deservedly made C.B. for his conduct, which has been already briefly referred to."^ All these narratives, however, being some- what inaccessible, it may be acceptable if a digest of them is presented to the reader. It will form a remarkable story, illustrative both of the energy of a few Britons, and of the signal fidelity and loyalty of not a few Asiatics. Of the conduct of those in whose hands rested the first dealing with the Meerut outbreak, as little as possible shall be said. When the men of the 3rd Cavalry had been sent to prison, for refusing to use the new cartridges, we do not find that any particular precautions were adopted. The Commissioner, Mr. Hervey Greathed, had nothing to do with details ; he was merely a sort of Lord-Lieutenant, a controlling officer of the whole division — about as populous as the kingdom of Ireland t — of * Service and Adventure witkjhe Khaki Risala. Bentley, 1868. t Area, 11,301 square miles ; population, 6,141,204 (Census of 1881). MEERUT AND BXJLANDSHAHR. 25 which the Meerut district was a constituent shire ; and he was immediately detached to Delhi. The chief officer, or magistrate, of the district was Mr. Wallace Dunlop, who was absent on sick-leave, recruiting his health in the Himalayan Oherland. His locum tenens felt that there was danger, but was unable to do more for its prevention than placing a guard of the 20th Native Infantry over the jail where the recalcitrant troopers were con- fined. The Brigadier, Colonel Wilson, of the Bengal Artillery, — afterwards known as Sir Archdale Wilson, commanding the force that took Dehli, — held a responsibility divided with his immediate superior. Major General Hewett. Unfortunately, when the men of the cavalry, on the day following the impri- sonment (the ever -memorable Sunday, May 10th), went down to the jail and, with the connivance of the sepoy guard, enlarged their comrades, these military commanders failed to realise either the magnitude of the peril, or the strength that lay to their hands for its encounter. In the presence of a garrison of nearly two thousand white troops, of all arms, and of many native soldiers who continued staunch and stedfast to the end, the mutineers committed excesses of blood and rapine which were only exceeded by those of the furious mob whom their example stimulated ; and, during the night, the mutineers effected their escape to Dehli, to carry thither the contagion of fire and sword, while the plundering, burning, and brutality of the mob continued at Meerut till near day-break. Then, at last, a body of European troops was got together to patrol the deserted streets, to gaze at the ruined bungalows, and to collect the mutilated remains of their slaughtered countrymen and country- women in the theatre. Instances of individual heroism, occurring during that night of horror, are related by the Commissioner ; and it is pleasing to be able to say that they were not confined to the white people. Many natives imperilled their lives in endeavouring to save men, women, and children of the lately dominant race, and not always without success. 26 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. The remaining non-combatant Em'opeans now moved into a large enclosm-e used for a magazine and school of artillery instruction, at the eastern end of the cantonment. Into this, the contents of the treasury, which had been fortunately placed under a guard of the 60th Eoyal Eifles, were promptly trans- ferred. This enclosure was speedily surrounded with an en- trenchment, and became a secure refuge during the remamder of the troubles. The station, or white town, was a complete wreck, and the administration of the district lost, temporarily, to the British. But this was no more than was to be expected, Like Saharanpur and Muzafarnagar, the Meerut district con- tained numerous groups of Gujar villages, whose inhabitants rose to iDlunder and to settle accounts with their creditors. A good many of the Jat communities to north and west imitated them ; the native gentry and officials lost confidence ; the reports spread were confirmed by the testimony of eye-witnesses to the ruined bungalows and deserted barracks of Meerut ; authority almost vanished. Mr. Johnston, indeed, the officiating magis- trate, took out a party of Carabineers (6th Dragoon Guards), on the 24th May, to punish a notorious village ; the villagers fled, Johnston was killed by a fall from his horse, and (as the Com- missioner records), " little was effected beyond the proof of the existence of English troops, which, more frequently [and] energetically displayed, would have checked much evil." The place of the deceased district officer was at once assumed by a refugee from Bulandshahr, Mr. G. Dundas TurnbuU, who, with energetic aid from Mr. Williams, addressed himself to remedial measures. But they met with what must have appeared an immediate discouragement. The Brigadier left, under orders from army head-quarters, on the 27th May, and he took with him a light field battery, some horse-artillery, with 200 recruits, two squadrons of the Carabineers, a wing of the Eifles, the gallant Goorkhas of the Sirmm* BattaHon, who had come down from Dehra, a detachment of sappers, and some native horse. Meerut was left almost without defence. MEERUT AND BULANDSHAHR. 27 The next event was the rising of some Jats under a local leader, named Sah Mai, who enlisted a number of escaped convicts, and other lawless persons, and began ravaging the north-west portion of the district. But soon followed what must have seemed, to the hard-pressed officials, the first bit of blue in their stormy sky. About 125 men of the 11th Native Infantry, who had remained faithful, were suspected, and ordered to depart to their homes. Nearly the whole of these poor fellows begged so hard to be allowed to remain in Government employ, that, apparently more out of compassion than of confidence, they were allowed to stay and serve as policemen in the district. Some were slain while acting in that capacity, while about ninety-nine of them remained faithful and active, " continued to do good service, collecting revenue, guarding it, escorting it into the station, fighting or threatened constantly, openly scouted and abused as often as they came into Meerut with treasure." Truly, a marvellous record ; and pleasant it is to add that, on the restora- tion of order, these good soldiers received honours and promotion, and became the nucleus of a restored regiment of the line. On the 11th June, Major Williams arrived at Meerut ; and instead of taking refuge in the entrenchment, calmly installed himself in a house on the Mall which had escaped conflagration. Next day he was joined there by Mr. Dunlop. This intrepid officer, since he heard of the disturbances of the preceding month, had marched down from Kulu, in the mountains, pro- ceeded via Simla and Ambala to the camp at Dehli, and thence ridden over alone — only attended by four mounted constables (natives) — through the most disturbed part of the country, and assumed charge of his district. Well might a spectator write afterwards of this : — ** The facts of his return from the Hills, his trip to the rebel city, and daring ride to Meerut, showed the metal (sic) of the man. His energy of character," adds Major Williams, " soon turned the adverse tide of events in our favour, and shortly recovered for the Government the district that had well nigh slipped from its grasp." 28 INDIAN DISTEICTS DURING THE REVOLT. The Meerut officials had, about this time, received another welcome accession, in the presence of Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Cracroft Wilson, who subsequently became a prominent colonist in New Zealand. Driven from his own district of Moradabad, which had plunged into anarchy on the mutiny of the 29th Native Infantry, this gentleman placed his whole resources at the disposal of the neighbouring district officers ; and his resources were weighty. To a herculean strength, incapable of fatigue, and a heart that knew not fear, Wilson joined an influence over the natives such as those who understand them know is to be exercised by the possessor of such qualities. Mr. Dunlop, who adds a certain graphic power of drama to his vivid description of scenes quorum pars magna fuit, thus notes the arrival of Mr. Wilson: "He had come to Meerut surrounded by about thirty of the 8th Irregular Cavalry, over whom he exercised an extraordinary influence. They were men of the most dangerous class . . . yet Wilson, refusing to join our Volunteers, rode about the country with these suspicious characters, making them escort treasure, or hang criminals, as might be required." After mentioning that one of the native officers of this party was afterwards found to have been, at that very time, corresponding with the Court of Dehli with a view to promoting an attack on Meerut, he thus concludes : — *' W. is one of those men whose labours of a quarter of a century have been, as far as fame and fortune are concerned, nearly thrown away. His energy and ability, if engaged in any of our colonies, would have won for him a position and a name." All this was ultimately to follow. Wilson achieved both fame and fortune, and his name lives in one of the most progressive colonies of the Empire. But it is time to speak, more particularly, of the Volunteers. Soon after Mr. Dunlop's return, he felt the necessity of sup- plying the defect of trained troops, and proceeded to lay before the General a project for enrolling and disciplining the Christian and other loyal inmates of the entrenchment for the purpose. MBERUT AND BULANDSHAHB. 29 The picture that he drew was alarming. The Gujars were in open rebellion throughout the district. The Jats were generally loyal ; but those of Bharaut, under Sah Mai, had committed acts of insurrection. The whole forces thus arrayed were estimated at 15,000 fighting men. The communications with head-quarters before Dehli were seriously threatened. The revenue could not be collected ; and the treasury contained only some seven thousand pounds. Meanwhile, among the Eajputs, no less than among the majority of the Jats, there still continued a feeling of attachment to the Government and the existing order of things, quo ante, that only needed encourage- ment to become actively useful. But, till this was done, the district would be almost totally disorganised : '' Unless some vigorous measures are taken to assist our friends, and punish our foes, we shall be totally deserted by the mass of the people : those still faithful are becoming disgusted at our apparent apathy, and the rebellion of to-day may become a revolution.' When it is remembered that this account was given nearly six weeks after the outbreak, it will be seen that it was indeed high time for exertion. Accordingly, a Volunteer Corps was formed, armed and equipped. It included Major Williams, commandant ; Captain (afterwards Sir) Charles D'Oyly, second in command ; Captain (now Major-General) E. Tyrrwhitt, adjutant ; twenty-eight officers of the Civil Service and army, gentlemen privates ; forty- five other British troopers ; and seventeen native horsemen from cavalry regiments that had mutinied. There were also twenty- seven Christian infantrymen and sixteen faithful sepoys. They were dressed in khaki (dust-coloured) uniforms, and aided by a couple of mountain-train guns. Space does not admit of the intro- duction of Mr. Dunlop's pleasant characterisation of his com- rades : the judge in his spectacles ; the magistrate of Bulandshahr singing to them on their night marches, in " utter defiance of time and tune " ; the High Church assistant, who " took to fighting in the grade of a trooper, as an ordinary step in 80 INDIAN DISTEICTS DURING THE REVOLT. nature " ; the " squire," whose Meltonian equipment, and easy seat on horseback, were conspicuous in their expeditions ; their manners and customs at mess, when, to put the Musalman attendants on a wrong scent, bad news was always read aloud with accompaniments of cheers and laughter. These things are side-lights, but their details would now only interest a few elderly survivors and theu' immediate circle of friends. The first exploit of the Volunteers had for its object three Gujar villages notorious for their crimes. The villages were burned, and out of forty prisoners taken thirty four were hanged after inquuy. Collections of revenue quickly signalised this first success. It was followed a few days later (8th July) by another expedition, conducted by Mr. Dunlop in person, to avenge a Gujar attack upon the Jats of Begamabad, now a station of the railway between Meerut and Dehli. Taking his troop of volunteer horsemen, fifteen sepoys, twenty native Christians armed with muskets and bayonets, and the two mountain guns, manned by native gunners, the magistrate stole upon the Gujar camp in the grey of dawn, and the Khakis fought a sharp action, storming a village that was stoutly defended, laying about them like paladins, and sparing, " care- fully protecting, all women and children.'* Another side of district life is presented by Mr. Dunlop, who was as humane as all brave men ought to be. In many instances, as he is obliged to confess, the Civil officer of those days had the unenviable task of singly and alone protesting against indiscriminate or injudicious punishment. " They were the tribunes of the people " — let that singular phrase go down as their brightest and best decoration — "and had to bear the opprobrium of supporting those whom they deemed innocent against their countrymen roused to madness." None but those who were thus engaged can tell what was the weight of this unnecessary burden, added to the unavoidable anxieties of the time. Besides having to organise and conduct all sorts of measures against the common enemy, they had the special MEERUT AND BULANDSHAHE. 81 sorrow of enduring the suspicion and hostility of their friends. Take the following illustration of this statement from Mr. Bosworth Smith's recently published Life of Lord Lawrence. ** They were browbeaten or insulted in the cutcherry or at mess. * What am I to do ? ' said J. H. Batten, the Commissioner of Cawnpore ... to Sir James Outram who, like the best soldiers of the time, shrank from shedding blood otherwise than on the field of battle or after a legal trial. * Do you fear God or man ? ' replied Sir James. * If you fear God, do as you are doing, and bear the insults that are heaped upon you. If you fear man and the mess, let them hang their number every day.' " Dunlop was more fortunate. If he had been a man to be lightly insulted, his " mess " were not the men to do it. Yet he relates a touching story (p. 87 ff.), in which he shows that only by accident was a village in his district saved, which had not only protected Christian women, but had carried loyalty to the minutest details, such as guarding an orchard of ripe fruit because it belonged to Government. But it is time to come to the crowning exploit of the Volunteers. The Gujars had, as we saw, received a stunning blow ; remained the redoubtable Sah Mai, the Jat ** Sabahdar " of Bharaut. On the 18th July Mr. Dunlop went against him, accompanied by Melville — whom we have seen distinguishing himself in the subsequent work at Muzafarnagar — and by a force comprising two mountain guns, fifty Khakis, forty of the Eifles, and a motley band of some fifty native foot. This was but a small force to lead against Sah Mai, who was being reinforced from Dehli (only twenty miles off) by two regiments of native infantry, 150 cavalry, and four 9-pounder guns, and who was fighting with a rope round his neck. But the magistrate trusted to two things that seldom fail against Asiatics, audacity and celerity. As he says, a severe example was needed, revenue must be collected, the Civil establishments that had been driven out must be restored. The Dehli reinforcements made one attempt to surprise Dunlop, but being foiled went back 32 INDIAN DISTBICTS DURING THE BEVOLT. to the city. After what the Commissioner justly charac- terises as a display of " rather rash zeal," in which he con- fessedly got the worst of it, Mr. Dunlop had the satisfaction of joining his main body near Bharaut, where they were presently attacked by the whole country-side. The Khakis immediately charged, and killed thirty of the enemy, who retired, followed by the whole force, the Eifles skirmishing and driving the foe out of the trees and sugar-cane which masked the village. Sah Mai now hastened to the encounter with his main strength : but he was singled out and slain by a young planter named Tonnochy ; and then the little body (" grand " total 149) advanced on the village, driving the enemy before them. Mr. Dunlop and his followers remained masters of the field, having scattered a hostile array of 3,500 men, of whom 450 in all were slain. " Sah Mai's head being stuck upon a pole inspired our native friends with mingled satisfaction and dread." Supplies came freely in, and revenue was once more collected. Sardhana was next visited ; Narpat Singh, another rebel leader, was attacked, and killed fighting ; and a strong detachment of loyal sepoys was left for the protection of the Palace."^ Meantime, Cracroft Wilson continued his independent labours on the eastern side of the district, on one occasion carrying off Es. 14,000 in the teeth of a large body of insurgents. On the 28th August an attack was made on Galaoti, in which the Carabineers bore a distinguished part : but this belongs more properly to the Bulandshahr narrative. Fired by these examples, the Commissioner next attempted an expedition against Muradnagar, on a plan of his own ; it was only partially successful, and a very pessimist account will be found in Dunlop's book (p. 136). The date of this affair was 17th September. Dehli was now being assaulted ; and to the anxiety on this account was added that caused by the critical state of affairs in Muzafarnagar. But both were soon removed. * Built by the celebrated Begam Samm, and now the property of Lord and Lady Forester. MEERUT AND BULANDSHAHR. 38 The Khakis heard of the fall of Dehli as they were on their way to take part in the final occupation of Thana Bhawan (v. sup.), and on their return to Meerut they were honourably disbanded, after a short but glorious service, in the course of which they had completely reorganised their own district, and aided their neighbours, south and north. About the same time occurred the last fighting on a large scale among the people of the district. The Jats of Bhatauna, on the southward side, were attacked by a strong force of rebels and mutineers from Malagarh (a rebel centre in the Bulandshahr district). But the village appears to have been walled, for the Jats beat off their assailants after a gallant struggle in which the defenders lost twenty-five killed and wounded. Malagarh — of which we shall hear more anon — was evacuated on or about the 28th September ; and soon traffic recommenced, the mails began to run, and no sign but ruins and tombs remained at Meerut to show where, *' with numbers decreasing as the danger increased, a little band of Europeans, amidst thousands of rebels and within reach of Dehli, maintained the name of their country and the authority of Government." (Commissioner's Narrative^ para. 331.) The district of Bulandshahr is the next section of the Duab, and is nearly the same size as that of Meerut. But, while the numerical strength of the population is not much inferior, it is differently constituted. The western part of the district, in the Jumna, is full of Gujars, of a particularly untamed and trouble- some kind : but the Jats are much less frequent than in districts further north ; and many of the estates, instead of being the constituents of groups of villages held by connected communities, are in the hands of comparatively wealthy landholders, some of whom are the descendants of Hindus converted to Islam. The tract to the northward, known familiarly as the Bari Basti, was the home of a hardy tribes of Mohamadans, from whom many recruits used to be obtained for the irregular cavalry. To the west and north-west, many villages were held by a Christian 3 34 INDIAN DISTEICTS DUEING THE EEVOLT. landlord, a son of Colonel James Skinner, C.B., the famous leader of partisan horse in Lake's time. The district had just been made over by Mr. G. D. TurnbuU, mentioned above, to Mr. Brand Sapte. Mr. TurnbuU had not left. The other civilian officers were Messrs. Alfred Lyall (since the distinguished Lieutenant-Governor of the Provinces, and K.C.B.) and Swinton Melville, whose gallant conduct in two other districts has already been briefly noticed. Mr. Sapte had a detachment of the 9th Native Infantry from Aligarh, under Lieutenant Ross, and endeavoured further to strengthen his force by raising local cavalry. But all in vain. On the 21st May, Mr. Sapte, having heard of the mutiny of the head-quarters of the 9th at Aligarh, made an attempt to carry off the cash from his treasury to Meerut, but he was attacked by a multitude of Gujars, and forced to fly, accompanied by Mr. Melville and a few native troopers, without being able to know what had become of his remaining comrades. He reached IMeerut the following morning, where he had the satisfaction of being joined during the day by Messrs. Ross, TurnbuU, and Lyall. As soon as he was gone, the Gujars burnt down his house and the rest of the European " station," let loose the inmates of the jail, and, with their assistance, destroyed the public offices and records therein. But, on the 25th, Mr. Sapte retm-ned with some horsemen, and found the Sirmur Battalion (now the 1st Gurkhas), who had halted at Bulandshahr on their way to Dehli. Besides Ross and Lyall, he was accompanied on his return by Captain Tyrrhwitt, of the 14th Irregular Cavalry : the same who afterwards acted as adjutant of Dunlop's Volunteers. They lost no time in inflicting punishment on some of the plunderers whom they identified ; and reconnoitred the position of Mr. Skinner at Bilaspur, who fortunately proved to be safe and sound in a well-fortified enclosure. On the 27th their cavalry, for the most part, deserted ; and next day Major Reid (now Sir C. Reid, K.C.B.) was obliged to leave with his trusty Gurkhas. The important town of Sikandrabad, eight MEERUT AND BULANDSHAHR. 35 miles west of Bulandshahr, was immediately sacked by the Gujars ; and the landlord of Malagarh, a strong place four miles to the north, began to block the Meerut road. This man (who was nearly connected with the King of Dehli), though he did not at first openly break with the British, did not attempt to conceal that he had received orders from the rebel court to take charge of the district ; and his attitude soon became so openly hostile that Sapte, whose force was by this time reduced to twenty men, deemed it advisable to move once more in the direction of Meerut. The European officers reached Galaoti, about twelve miles west of Bulandshahr, on the 10th June, but next morning received news which led them to return once more. On reaching Bulandshahr they found their entry disputed, and a number of men with muskets, and three pieces of cannon, drawn up across the mouth of the main street. These they boldly faced, charging up to within thirty yards of the guns, in doing which they had several horses killed by grape. Finding themselves abandoned by their escort, they then slowly retreated upon Galaoti, having on the way dispersed a force from Mala- garh which attempted to cut them off. Thus, then, there were at last two kings of Brentford ; and the British ruler was, for the time, deposed in favour of the Malagarh man, Wali Dad Khan — " Willie Dods," as he became known to the European soldiers employed in those parts — whose fort was subsequently to acquire an evil notoriety. " Malagarh," so writes Mr. Sapte, *' became the resort of all the disaffected, far and near. Khurja and Aligarh were occupied by the followers of the rebel Nawab, to whose standard many of the fanatic Musalmans of the Bari Basti hastened to flock. The fort is about nine hundred yards from the road, which was con- sequently commanded by the guns, of which Wali Dad possessed six at the commencement of the outbreak. Communication with Agra" (then the head- quarters of Government) "was effected with extreme difficulty ; for so well was the whole line of the road and its vicinity watched, that scarcely a man could 3 * 36 INDIAN DISTEICTS DURING THE EEVOLT. pass without being intercepted. . . . This rebel really became a formidable foe." Mr. Sapte and his companions had fallen back on Meerut, where they remained, serving as troopers in the Volmiteer Horse, mitil the end of August. On the 28th of that month they returned to Galaoti, with the expedition already referred to in the description of events at Meerut. It had been ascertained that Wali Dad had posted 400 horse, with 600 of his infantry, and about 1,000 in- surgent Gujars, about nine miles from Hapur on the Agra road, and their jDickets had been advanced to Galaoti. A force of the strength noted below^ was sent to clear the road, and they advanced on the morning of the 29th, masked by some loyal Jats from Bhatauna. The enemy's pickets were driven in by the Carabineers, who sabred forty of them ; the riflemen then ad- vanced through the standing crops on each side of the road, which they cleared of rebels as they went : the guns and cavalry kept pace along the road. Thus they fought their way to near Malagarh, and drove away the enemy with a loss of seventy-two killed, besides many wounded, without a life being lost on the British side, and only five men wounded. The force returned to Meerut next day. On the 28th September, Mr. Sapte heard of the evacuation of the fort of Malagarh, and immediately returned to Bulandshahr, in company with Brigadier Greathed's column from Dehli. On the way an engagement took place with the mutineers from Jhansi, in which Mr. Lyall so distinguished himself in a cavaliy charge as to obtain honourable mention in despatches. Malagarh was occupied, and on the 1st October was demolished — a useful act, that was clouded by a melancholy incident. The explosion was conducted by Lieutenant Home, of Engineers, one of the few survivors of the gallant exploit at the Cashmere Gate at Dehli. This heroic young officer — who on that memorable occasion had entitled himself to the Victoria Cross — lost his life by * 2 H. A. guns ; 2 M. T. guns ; 50 Carabineers ; 30 Khakis : 50 H. M. 60th ; 20 armed Bandsmen ; 15 Sikh sepoys, Meeeut? and bttlandshahb. S7 the premature ignition of the exploding train in this '* petty fortress." The restoration of order was not immediate. Mr. Sapte's first act, after his final reinstatement was of a romantic, though somewhat profitless order. Tidings having been received that a Christian girl was concealed at a village not far off, in the house of a mutinous trooper, the magistrate proceeded to the spot with a party of horse. The villagers came out to oppose him ; many of them being mutineers still wearing their old uniforms. A combat ensued, in which some were killed and others taken prisoners, and afterwards — rather unnecessarily, as it may now be thought — executed by sentence of court- martial. After a tedious search, the fair fugitive was dis- covered ; but she asserted that she had married her captor, the trooper Khuda Baksh, and, on her own earnest prayer, was allowed to remain. ** I did not force her away," observes Mr. Sapte, with some 7ia'ivetey "but left her with the assurance that her husband would be hanged whenever he was caught." There is nothing said as to the fulfilment of this grim valediction : let us hope that Khuda Baksh was never caught, and that the fond pair lived happily ever afterwards. Next day Mr. Sapte returned to Bulandshahr ; where, being ably supported by Lieutenant- Colonel Farquhar, with the right wing of the First Beloch Battalion, and by a body of Pathan horse under Major Stokes, he continued to do good and useful service. Across the Ganges, now daily dwindling and becoming fordable in many places, lay the districts of Eohilkhand, still in the hands of rebels grown somewhat desperate for want of that amnesty which John Lawrence vainly sought to extract from the bewildered Government of Calcutta. All through that winter, and up to April, when Mr. Sapte was transferred to Meerut, the rebels marched distracted, trying to pass the river and obstruct the reorganisation of the Duab. But Mr. Sapte had now the upper-hand, and he maintained it. One of the Musalman landholders, the Nawab of Chitari, gave active is UmiAS DISTRICTS DUKD^O THE BEYOLT. aflsisiaiieey as did some of the TiUag^is ; and Mr. Sapte not only goaided the fords, bnt eolleeted the rerenne, and restored Older thron^oot his district. In all these efforts he was abl j seeonded fay Mr. L jail, of irham he ultimately reported that, though faat a young offieer, he had *' erineed a sound judgment and diseretian not ahrays met niQi even in men of far greater eaqterienee." To this praise, readers of the narratire iriU add a fipedal admiration for Taloor and resohition; and it is gratifying to Sir iu LyaU's Mends of those days to think that he has gone on, qmaliM ab iaeepto, distinguished by a rare eombination of qualities, nntU he has attained to the highest eleyation that the Service affbrds. Mr. Sfl^te also obtained well-deserred reputation and honour. In addition to being transferred to the agreeable and much- eoreted post of District Officer of Meemt, when Mr. Dunlop went on farloog^ he became in due time a Companion of the Batib. These honours, which were not always bestowed with equal dis- enmination, were well-deserred in the case of Mr. Sapte, of whom his official si^erior, Mr. Fleetwood WilHams, Tery properly madt honouraUe mention in his Dimdomal Narrative. His remarkable tenacity in eonfo)nting the MflagaTfa tebel and returning tune after time to his perilous guard, after being driven out by overwhelming foiiee, receiTed just commendation. And so did the tamgfrdd with idiidi he and his gallant comrades made head against the enemy, whenever they had the fsdntest chance, *^ not hesitating to charge guns pouring grape i^n them in a nanow load." It was this eheeiy manhood, this sanguine, hopeful '' pluck,' combining with an unfailing sense of duty, that, amid constant defeat and disappointment, made the peculiarity of the finally - triumphant defenee of Bulandsfaahr. 39 CHAPTER III. AGRA, ALIGARH, AND MUTTBA. The next district, according to the map, is that of Aligarh, but the events there were not sufficiently grave to furnish much matter for a special narrative. The same may be said of the adjoining district of Muttra — or, Mathura, as now written — and the magistrates of these two districts, Messrs. Bramly and Thornhill, have described their mutiny administration with such brevity and lack of literary skill, as to render the events there less interesting, even, than might otherwise be the case. Good men were there who did good deeds ; but they are in the same condition as the brave who lived their lives before Agamemnon. It will therefore be enough .if we briefly consider Aligarh and Muttra in connection with Agra, to which they served as satellites. The district of Aligarh is named after an old fort about two miles north of the city of Koil. Originally built under the Mughal Government, this fort had been strengthened by the Mahrattas and their French officers ; but it was taken by Lake in 1803 by a brilliant coup-de-7nain, as described, under the chapter of Laswari, in Colonel Malleson's Decisive Battles of India. It was not occupied during the early part of the Eebellion, and need not further detain us here. About half- way between the town and the fort stands the " Station," a small collection of bungalows grouped about the public offices. At the time of the outbreak, several neighbouring estates 40 INDIAN DISTRICTS DUKING THE REVOtil?. were in the hands of British planters, amongst whom the most noticeable were Messrs. Paterson Saunders and John O'Brien Tandy,^ cousins, and men of great spirit and influence. The force present in May consisted of 300 men of the 9th Native Infantry, commanded by Major Eld ; reinforced on the news of the Meerut outbreak by the right wing of the 1st Regi- ment of Cavalry of the Gwalior Contingent, under Captain Alexander. On the evening of the 20th the Infantry broke into mutiny, burned the ofl&ces, and carried off about thirty thousand pounds in specie, with which they marched off to the insurgent head-quarters in Dehli. The officers, civil and military, were allowed to depart to Hathras, a town south of Aligarh, on the road to Agra, which they reached in safety. Here they were joined by a planter named Nichterlein, and other refugees, Mr. Nichter- lein's son having been killed on the way. On the 26th they were reinforced by a body of mounted Volunteers raised by Mr. Saunders, and commanded by Mr. Wilberforce Greathed,t of the Bengal Engineers, one of three brothers who took very distin- guished parts in the events that were going on in the neigh- bourhood. Other members of this little force were Messrs. Arthur Cocks, t C.S., J. O'B. Tandy, Harington, and Castle; Ensign Ollivant (since a prominent officer of the Provincial Police), and Ensign Marsh. These gallant fellows, having performed the main object of their expedition — which was the relief of a factory — proceeded to Abigarh, where they reinstated Mr. William Watson, the then magistrate (who afterwards died of cholera in Agra Fort), and remained there till the 2nd of July, when they were driven out by overwhelming invasions, and retired to Agra. Meanwhile, Mr. Mark Bensley Thornhill, of Muttra, who had taken the field with a body of Bhurtpore troops under Captain * I believe Mr. Tandy was not actively concerned in the management of these estates, but had come up from Calcutta on a visit. t Afterwards Colonel Greathed, C.B., Secretary to Government, North-West Provinces. X Already distinguished duiing the Panjab campaign of 1848-9. AGEA, ALIGABH, AND MUTT^BA. 41 Nixon, was recalled to his chief station by news that the detach- ment of the 44th Native Infantry had mutinied, murdered Lieutenant Burlton, their commandant, and plundered the Treasury. This occurred on the 26th. On the morning of the 30th Mr. Thornhill returned ; but finding the Station ruined and deserted, proceeded to Agra to seek assistance. Not suc- ceeding, he returned next day — having been repeatedly shot at on the road — buried Burlton' s body (which he found naked in a ditch near the ruins of the Treasury;, and endeavoured, with the aid of some wealthy native bankers, to restore order. In this he was only moderately successful. Fifty thousand pounds had been carried off; the jail-birds had broken loose ; the police had mutinied, and spread abroad with arms in their hands ; many of the zemindars refused to pay revenue, and set them- selves up in all directions as Eajas. Thornhill seems to have done what he could in these trying circumstances. He took up his quarters in the city, which he protected by barricades ; he raised fresh police, and, on being joined by some of the Contin- gent of the Kota State under Captain Dennys, proceeded into the district, and seized one of the ringleaders of the rural revolt, who was immediately hanged for the discouragement of the others. Seven more were executed soon after, and a number of minor offenders severely flogged. The magistrate further evinced his resources by submitting to the Lieutenant-Governor at Agra a plan for utilising the loyal landowners, by giving them spe- cial powers to enforce authority, which was sanctioned and carried out. These measures, working surely, if slowly, gradually brought about some semblance of tranquillity. To return to Aligarh. It has been said that the Volunteers remained there till the 2nd of July. That is, however, not strictly true, though so stated by Mr. Bramly. The fact is, that only eleven so remained, the majority having been recalled to Agra on the 21st of June. On the 30th of that month, these eleven gentlemen performed a notable exploit. Receiving inti- mation that the rabble of Ko'il were on the way to attack them ii INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. in a factory where they were temporarily quartered, flying the green flag of Islam, and sworn to have their heads posted over the city-gates by nightfall, they mounted then* horses to receive the visit. Presently the advanced guard, a body of more than 500 men, were perceived marching up the road. Watson's party immediately charged. Fourteen of the assailants were slain ; the rest fled in every direction, and their stragglers fell into the hands of the villagers by the wayside, who stripped them to the skin. The names of Watson's intrepid comrades are given in the note,"^ for such a deed ought to be fully recorded. Outram was son of the famous Sir James, whom he succeeded in the baronetcy. Marsh and Tandy were doomed men. The former, a most promising young officer, was shot in a subsequent skirmish. On the same occasion, Tandy, reckless, as Irishmen of good birth are apt to be at the sight of combat, jumped his horse over the wall of an orchard crowded with fanatics, by whom he was immediately cut to pieces. Saunders — an equally fear- less man — lived for many years after ; and most, if not all, of the others still (1883) sm-vive to look back, as on a dream, to those stu'ring times. It is unnecessary to dwell for the present on events in these outlying districts. Early in July Watson and Thornhill were both driven from their districts and forced to take refuge in the fort of Agra, to which place our scene now changes. Agra, at the time of the outbreak, was the official capital of the province of Hindustan proper, or "North- West Pro- vinces," to use the technical term. Here were stationed the Lieutenant-Governor, at that time the Hon. John Eussell Colvin, a man of signal ability ; the Chief, or " Sudder," Court of Judicature ; the Board of Eevenue ; and the head-quarters of the several departments of the public service. The garrison comprised a battery of Horse Artillery, a newly-raised battalion » A. Cocks, C.S., Outram, C.S., Ensign Ollivant, Ensign Marsh, Messrs. P. Sfttinders, J. O'B. Tandy, H. B. Harington, Hind, Castle, and Burkinyoung, Stewart Clark, M.D AGRA, ALIGARH, AND MUTTRA. 43 of Foot — the Company's 3rd European Eegiment — and the 44th and 67th Native Infantry. This force was commanded by Brigadier Polwhele, and the chief civil officer of the district was the Hon. Eobert Drummond (brother of Viscount Strath- allan). The population consisted of about 150,000 souls, of which over 2,000 were Christians. On learning the news of the mutiny at Muttra, Mr. Drum- mond, a man of strong character, at once promised the sanction of the Government to the disarming of the sepoy regiments. This was effected on the morning of the 31st May without bloodshed, and the men dispersed " on leave of absence." This step was followed by the enrolment of the Christians capable of bearing arms ; expeditions were sent in the direction of the Bhurtpore frontier, and order was maintained, tant Men que mal, for about a fortnight. On the 16th June the force stationed at Sindhia's capital, under the designation of "the Gwalior Contingent," mutinied, and the example was followed by the detachment of that force which had been hitherto serving in the Agra district. Soon after came news of the mutinies at Nasirabad and Nimach, and of the approach of a strong body of the mutineers from those places. According to the invaria- ble practice, these men were to join the great gathering at Dehli ; but, encouraged by sympathisers at Agra, they had resolved to make a slight deviation in order to capture and kill the English at Agra on their way. This would be a good feather to wear in their caps as they presented themselves before the King, besides gratifying the instincts for slaughter and loot, which were just then very active in sepoy bosoms. Their hopes, however, were destined, to be disappointed. The encounter between the mutineers and the defenders of Agra has been described in the histories of the period (notably in Malleson's Indian Mutiny), and has no special claim to be noticed here, but for two reasons. One is that, though success- ful in so far that the mutineers were repulsed from Agra, it was attended by disasters; the other that, while not remark- 44 INDIAN DISTEICTfS DURING THJS BEtOLf . able as a specimen of military skill, it was signalised by much dash and heroism on the part of men usually falling under the tite of "non-combatants." The enemy were met at Sucheta, being computed at 2,000 foot, 600 horse, and ten field-pieces. To these the Agra garri- son could only ojDpose 600 bayonets, thirty-three mounted volunteers, and six Horse Artillery guns. Still, Englishmen in India had often been victorious over far greater odds than that; and the Brigadier was quite justified in assummg the offensive. Of the action that ensued it need only be here observed that every conceivable advantage was thrown away. With the exception of a charge by Major Prendergast, who lost twelve out of his eighteen civilian troopers, the British were demoralised by being kept back till their guns became useless by the explosion of then- tumbrils and the death of their officer, the gallant Captain D'Oyley ; and the troops had to be eventually reth'ed from the field, and escorted into their quarters in the fort by the volunteer infantry left behind as a reserve. Two officers and thirty-nine men were killed, and ninety-nine of all ranks wounded. But the enemy had also suffered, and they turned from their vainglorious purpose and went their way to Dehli, re infectd. It is no doubt to be regretted that a bolder front was not at once assumed. But the Council was distracted. Over 5,000 persons were now crowded into the narrow limits of the fort, which became a scene of the utmost confusion. " Loose horses were fighting and galloping about ; artillery-cattle lying wounded and dying with thirst; drunken soldiers bivouacking in the rain." From the ramparts a circle of fire was seen, denoting the destruction of the European habitations. It was not till the third day that, on m-gent invitation from well-wishers in the city, the local authorities were permitted to emerge from this dismal shelter. An armed demonstration was can*ied through the city on the 8th July, and " from this moment," says the author of the District Narrative, ''rapine, murder, and outrage AGEA, ALIGARH, AND MUTTRA. 45 ceased." It was not too soon. During the three days and nights of inactivity no less than seventeen men, women, and children of European blood had been gratuitously and brutally murdered by the police and other rascaldom of the native quarters. The writer hopes that he will not be charged with esprit de corps of an unjust sort if he invites the observation that these calamities were in no degree due to the civil officers. Drum- mond, though his policy in some respects incurred grave dis- approval, had energy enough and to spare. March-Phillipps and Oldfield * charged like Paladins with Prendergast — the only thing bold that was done in the battle of Sucheta. Mr. E. A. Eeade, senior member of the Kevenue Board, was con- spicuous wherever calm courage and sagacity could be of use. On the 10th July Mr. Drummond was removed with pro- motion (at that time nominal) to the post of Civil and Sessions Judge at Banda, a district then in full revolt. Mr. March- Phillipps succeeded him in charge of the Agra district. A council of the leading native citizens was convened by Mr. Eeade, and the place of the regular police — who had utterly betrayed their trust — was taken by the heads of the various Mohalas, or wards, of the city, under the control of a trust- worthy Kotwcil named Raja Ram. It is very noteworthy that this officer, who was appointed on the recommendation of the headmen of the native community, proved in every way faithful and efficient : for we have here a specimen of the elective system tried probably for the first time in an Indian city, and certainly under the most searching conditions. But, if the state of Agra itself had become reassuring, far otherwise were the feelings caused by a survey of the district at large. The inaction that followed immediately on the battle of Sucheta had given the signal for universal anarchy, of which the first symptom was an almost simultaneous attack upon all * Shot through the lungs, this officer recovered, and is now (1883) the Hon, Mr, Justice Oldfield, Puisne Judge of the High Court, N.W.P, 46 INDIAN DISTRICTS DUEING THE REVOLT. the outposts where authority was represented in the district. Some of the native officials joined the mutineers, others retired to theu' homes in distant j)laces ; those who remained and tried to do their duty were hard pressed and, generally speaking, driven away. In one case— the sub-collector having fled — the very land- holder whom he professed to fear took charge of the office, and protected the records, and the town itself, until the troubles came to an end. So various are the workings of human nature ! The first efforts of the British authorities were directed to Fatihpur-Sikri, the old country palace of the Mughal emperors, about twenty miles west of Agra, where a strong party of rebels had established themselves. The old town is steep and narrow, while the palace buildings are massively built of stone, on the top of a rock a mile and a half long, standing in a walled park. Decently defended, they might have afforded a stubborn resist- ance ; and it was but a slender column that Agra could spare for then- reduction. A body of fifty British bayonets and thn*ty mounted volunteers, under the command of Captain Patton, accompanied Mr. Phillipps to Fatihpur on the 29th of July. They were attacked in the naiTOW streets of the town by a strong force of Mewatis, a tribe of predatory Muslims, who at first drove them out. Being reinforced in the open, the magis- trate and his men charged, killing fourteen of the enemy, and capturing two prisoners, who were afterwards tried and executed. The Mewatis evacuated the palace, in which Government offices were at once established. On the 10th August, a similar expedition was sent to Itmadpur, under the joint magistrate, Mr. W. H. Lowe, and order was restored there. Shortly after, the eastern border towards Mainpm-i — a revolted district — was settled ; and here, also, the offices were re-opened ; while, on the north, matters were restored about the same time by the influence of a loyal native nobleman, the Eaja of Awa-Misa. Greater difficulty was experienced in the parts to the south-east, which were too remote to be dealt with by the dwindUng garrison of Agra Fort ; but here again I AGKA, ALIGABH, AND MUTTRA. 47 aid was obtained from the Bhadaurias, a powerful clan of Eajputs, whose chief, though not himself a man of much force of charac- ter, was kept straight by a well-disposed councillor. So wore on the month of August, during which the Christian inhabitants of Agra, many of them women and children, accustomed to every comfort when they were not sent to the hills for the summer, were exposed to the ills of climate in the most extreme form. In close rooms, or in tents under broiling heat and pelting rain, the ladies bravely bore their parts, tending the sick and wounded, and winning the respect of all. After the middle of September, disturbances were resumed by fugitives from Dehli. Some made their way across the Jumna to Eohilkand; others, under Prince Firoz,* assembled at Dhaulpur, about half-way between Gwalior and Agra ; and finally, about the beginning of October, advanced to attack the fort. Before they could carry out their purpose, however. Colonel E. Greathed, of the 8th Foot, had arrived at Hathras with a British column of all arms. Towards this officer the eyes of the British at Agra were now anxiously turned ; and on the 9th October the best information available was sent to him, in pursuance of which he hastened on. He arrived in the nick of time. On the morning of the 10th, Greathed crossed the bridge of boats, and proceeded with his column to the brigade parade-ground, south of the fort, at the very instant that the Prince's columns, in entire ignorance of his arrival, were approaching from Dhaulpur. The collision was short, sharp, and decisive. " Such was the promptitude with which the different arms formed into position, that the artillery of the right flank replied to the fourth gun of the enemy." The battery was charged, and taken, by twenty-five of the 9th Lancers, under Captain Green, who unhappily was killed in the melee ; the rebels soon took to flight, and were pursued for eight. miles. They lost 1,000 men, in killed alone; the British * Afterwards transiently troublesome in Etiwa and elsewliere ; ultimately believed to have retired to Mecca, 48 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. loss amounting to eleven killed and fifty-four wounded, four of whom were officers. This is a military incident which will be found fully described in the standard histories ; it has been only referred to here because a certain amount of blame has been sometimes thrown upon the civil officers, on account of their not furnishing Greathed with closer details of the enemy's movements. The evidence recorded in Mr. Phillipps' narrative shows that they gave all information that it was in their power to obtain, and that the surprise was perfectly unavoidable. It remains to add that Raja Ram, the new Kotwal, kept the city quiet dm'ing these events, and made public proclamation of the result of the battle as soon as he became aware of it. From that moment no fm'ther disturbance took place in the city, and the reorganisation of the district began to assume the character of " a question of time." The remaining events in Agra, and the adjacent districts of Aligarh and Muttra, may be briefly disposed of. Mention has been made of the defensible position of the old palace of Fatihpur-Sikri, so familiar to sight-seers. A body of mutineers from Dehli was harboured there by the Mewatis, already men- tioned as giving trouble in the same locality ; and an expedition went to dislodge them towards the end of October. Colonel Cotton commanded, and carried the place by storm, after a severe resistance in which the defenders lost eighty of their number. The column then moved on in the direction of Muttra, putting down recalcitrant landholders, and restoring the local officers and establishments. On the 27th of Novem- ber, Mr. Phillipps took out a small force into the ravines of the Jumna on the opposite (eastern) du-ection, where forty-five policemen had been massacred in one night while engaged in an inquiry. Mr. Phillipps was only partially successful in this demonstration, as his force was recalled to the city before its full purpose had been attained. The city had been, by this time, surrounded by a wall ; but no precautions appear to have AGRA, ALIGARH, AND MUTTRA. 49 given complete satisfaction. The ultimate result of the revolt, for Agra, was that the seat of government was removed to the less central, but more strategic, region of Allahabad, where it has continued ever since. In the meanwhile, the districts of Aligarh and Muttra were gradually cooling down. After the battle of Sucheta had somewhat ceased to depress the military spirit at Agra, a small force under Major Montgomery was sent out, to which Mr. Cocks, C.S., was attached as Special Commissioner. The very presence of this little force produced a healthy effect on public opinion, " showing them," as Mr. Bramly naively puts it, " how vastly inferior they were to the men they were attempting to crush." On the 10th August, Montgomery marched towards Hathras, which was threatened by Ghaus Mohamad, a deputy of Walidad the " Subah " of Malagarh. The traders of Hathras, inspired by the example of a blind pensioner, named Chaube Gansiam Das (who was afterwards killed), exhibited a bold front; and Mr. Cocks, having occu- pied the place, assumed the offensive, and marched out to attack the enemy, assembled near the town of Koil. A fight ensued, in which the enemy were defeated and put to flight, with the loss of their '' Maulvi," or spiritual guide. But the fall of Dehli in September brought back the elements of disorder, for a time at least ; and Major Montgomery had to fall back on Agra before the tide of maddened mutineers pouring out from the rebel stronghold. After the defeat of Prince Firoz by Greathed, on the 10th October, Mr. Cocks returned to Aligarh, bringing with him Mr. Bramly, who had succeeded the gallant Watson in the office of district magistrate.* These officers were accompanied by a force of 150 British bayonets and 100 stout Sikhs. The old fort of Aligarh was cleared out, and utilised as a barrack ; the city was held by a Jat chief, with * It is curious that Watson, Saunders, and Tandy had all rebel blood in their own veins : the first from Colclough of Wexford, the second and third from Napper Tandy 4 50 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. a strong force of constables ; and the collection of the revenue began to proceed in the usual course. The condition of the Muttra district was for awhile less satis- factory. The country-side was overrun by mutineers; and although Mr. Thornhill's plan of administering through the local chiefs was partially successful, there were many parts which continued more or less lawless throughout the entire period of his absence at Agra. On the 5th October, however, he returned to the district, making his temporary head-quarters at Saidabad, and there taking prisoner a ringleader, who was promptly hanged. On the 1st November he got back to Muttra, under convoy of Colonel Cotton's column above mentioned, and availed himself of its aid to punish some refractory villages. The restoration of order speedily ensued. At the same time, Mr. Phillipps was doing what he could in the Agra district, while Mr. Bramly was similarly employed in that of Aligarh. Large bodies of mutinous troops continued to cross into Eohilkand, or march distractedly back. These were occasionally caught and chastised by flying columns— a state of things which was somewhat exciting, and delayed the calming of the public mind necessary for the complete resump- tion of peaceful life. At length, in March 1858, a strong column marched down under Major-General Penny, commanding the division ^ ; and no further incidents are recorded in regard to this portion of the Duab. Of the behaviour of the native population during this period, Mr. Bramly observes that it was generally "apathetic." A number of ex-landholders resumed estates from which they had been dispossessed in com'se of law ; " that the people plundered when they suddenly found authority overthrown by the mutinous troops, and anarchy ready-made, was natm-al." But on the whole, here, as in most other places, the attitude was that of expectation, and order was restored as soon as the elements * This oflBcer -was soon after killed by an ambuscade in the Etah district, his death being instantly avenged. AGEA, ALIGAEH, AND MUTTRA. 51 of disorder disappeared. Nevertheless, it is easy to see that the civilians in all three districts had arduous tasks set before them. It is hard to say which were the most tried : the officers of Muttra and Aligarh, left to their own resources among hordes of semi-barbarians tempted in every evil way ; or those of Agra, controlled by superior authority, and hampered, to a considerable extent, by military inefficiency. 4 * 52 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. CHAPTEE IV. MAINPURI AND ETAWA. North-east of Agra lies the district of Mynpoory — or Mainpuri, as now spelt — which affords but scanty material for our narrative, but that little of a somewhat peculiar character. The district officer was Mr. John Power, a name full of pleasant recollections to all who remember the stately presence, the dignified demeanour of one who, though he has been called " the Indian Brummell," was a man of a far higher type than his English predecessor. A dandy Mr. Power certainly was, but it was not in a cockney way by any means, his elegance being of a massive and monumental character. The special commis- sioner, Mr. Cocks, who was at that time district judge, represents Mr. Power, on the 19th May as " rushing into the room where he [Mr. Cocks] was sleeping, to inform him that he had just heard of the mutiny of the 9th Native Infantry at Aligarh." That might be Mr. Cocks' recollection of the event eighteen months after (his report bears date 18th November 1858), but Mr. Power recorded at the time {v. his letter in the supplement dated Mynpoory, the 25th May 1857, in the first excitement) that it was on the 22nd that the news reached him, and that he " iimnedisiiely proceeded to j\Ir. Cocks' house to consult him." Mr. Cocks was certainly wrong in the date ; Mr. Power could not be mistaken, writing at the time ; and the word "proceed " is so much more in accordance with Mr. Power's usual bearing, that we may be sure that the " rush " is a mistake also. Mr. Power could not, under any circumstances, have " rushed " in MAINPIJRI AND ETAWA. 63 any direction ; indeed, had the news by any chance reached him in his dressing-room, he would not have even " proceeded " to announce it to anyone until his toilet was completed to the last button, and the last touch of the hair-brush. The result of the consultation was that ** fourteen females, consisting of ladies, sergeants' and writers' wives, with their children (an unlimited number), left " for Agra, which they reached in safety. The military force — consisting of three companies of the mutinous 9th — was then taken out under Lieutenant de Kantzow, a very gallant young officer, a small guard being left at the Treasury. It was now past four in the morning of the 23rd, and Lieutenant Crawford, the senior officer, followed the route taken by de Kantzow, with the intention of joining the force, which was to encamp at Bhaongaon, about eight miles off. Scarcely had the civilians (Messrs. Cocks and Power, and James Power,* Dr. Watson and the chaplain, the Rev. P. Kellner), lain down to get a little sleep, when Crawford galloped back with the information that his men were in open mutiny, had j&red their muskets at him, and had probably murdered de Kantzow. Through the pretty little *' station " of Mainpuri flows the Isan, a small stream, which the road leading from the officers' bunga- lows to the public offices crosses by a masonry bridge. Here Mr. Power took post, accompanied by his brother, and here they were joined by Dr. Watson and two or three European subordi- nates. Meantime, de Kantzow had not been mm'dered, though his men mutinied and defied his orders ; many muskets were levelled at him, but the aim was always diverted by the better- disposed sepoys, de Kantzow being of a frank and generous character with many friends among the men. Dragging him with them, the mutineers returned to their lines, loading the spare ammunition contained there on camels which they appropriated for the purpose. De Kantzow' s nerve never failed him ; urgently he appealed to the men to return to * A younger brother of Mr. Power's at that time serving as his assistant. 64 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOL'f. their duty, and restrain the excesses of the lawless. Heedless of his appeals, they marched to the treasury, still taking him along with them. Here they were met by the jail-guard and native officials, who prepared to resist them, and gave de Kantzow all the assistance that could be expected from under thirty untrained men acting against ten times their number of infuriated soldiers. " For three dreary hours he stood against the rebels at the imminent peril of his life." Meanwhile, the English at the bridge, half-a-dozen in number, had been joined by Eao Bhawani Singh, cousin of the raja — the local head of the Chanhan Eajputs — with a small escort. This small force, the Eao was persuaded, would be insufficient to reinforce de Kantzow ; and a message presently came from the heroic young man begging them not to run the hazard, adding that the mutineers were, he thought, cooling down. On this the Eao resolved to go to them himself, and happily succeeded in persuading them to depart with such plunder as they had already obtained. De Kantzow now joined the party at the bridge, and they went to the office, where they found the treasury still secure. Mr. Power explains that he had held the bridge long enough to keep back the bad characters of the " city" (as it is the Anglo-Indian fashion to speak of all chief towTis), and that when the se^^oys were known to have departed, the m-ban population at once calmed down. On the 23rd came more bad news ; and Power, by sanction of Government, raised a troop of horse for the maintenance of order, which was commanded by Lieutenant de Kantzow. The magistrate himself took up his post in the " Kutcherry," or office-building, which he fortified by the aid of some sergeants serving in the Department of Public Works. One feature of the defence is too extraordinary to be left out of this record. The Chief Court of the North- West Provinces was then called '' The Sudder," and the Sudder had lately issued strict circular orders to all district judges and magistrates for the preparation and maintenance of the records of cases, upon a plan which MAINPURI AND ETAWA. 56 some of those local officials considered pedantic and trouble- some. In the height of the excitement (only two days, in fact, after the terrible morning above described), Mr. Power found himself unable to avoid a triumphant celebration of the *' base uses" to which these records had come at last. These are his words : — " All the Faujdari records " (those of criminal trials) " have been taken up to the roof of the Kutcherry, and being placed behind its railing form an excellent breastwork. This matter had better be reported to the Sudder ; but at the same time it may be mentioned that the record-room has undergone a thorough purification by the purpose to which its contents have been applied. I may also mention, for the Court's information, that a good, stout Kfidnajangi misl" (record of an affray case) ^^ prepared after the Court'' s latest rules and thickened icith false evidence, is an excellent article of defence ; and has, by experiment, been found to be bullet-proof." The italics are the present writer's. They serve to show an irrepressible fronde wielded by a gallant spirit at a time when surely few would have indulged in professional sarcasm. In this gloomy sanctuary, with perjury imployed as a protec- tion in the most unexpected and unusual fashion, the two brave magistrates and the doctor,* with two or three military officers (they had been joined by Major Hayes f and Captain Carey, Lieutenant Barber and Mr. Fayrer, who brought with them some of the Oudh Irregular Cavalry), held their own for some considerable time. The troopers were posted under Barber and Fayrer at Bhaungaon, where the road from Mainpuri falls into the grand trunk road leading to Cawnpore and Calcutta, and on the 1st June Hayes and Carey started to join them. The troopers had proceeded up the road to Karaoli, and there the officers found them, drawn up in parade order. But the native officers advanced, and warned them that treachery was intended. Hayes and Carey turned their horses' heads back, and rode in the direction by which they had arrived. The troopers spread over the plain in pursuit. Hayes was overtaken, and fell dead * Messrs. Cocks and Kellner had gone to Agra, where the former soon found other fields of usefulness, as already described. t He was Secretary to the Oudh Government, and an ardent student. His valuable library perished in the Eesidency. 56 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. with a sabre-cut over the head ; Carey, a lighter weight, escaped, and got safely back to Mainpuri ; Barber and Fayrer were mur- dered about the same time at Karaoli ; but the worthy lord of the manor, Lachman Singh (afterwards ennobled by Govern- ment), rescued all three of the bodies, and taking them to Mainpuri, delivered them to !Mr. Power, who duly buried them in consecrated ground. The rascally troopers departed to Lucknow, where they doubtless took part in the siege. Their place was taken by seventy sabres of the Gwalior Contingent (1st Cavalry), mider Major Eaikes, who accepted the services of the hard-riding Carey as his second in command. A few Sikh sepoys from disbanded corps, and about a dozen faithful sepoys of the mutinous 9th who had remained faithful to de Kantzow, formed the infantry nucleus. A telegraph-office was opened, and a couple of European refugees were brought in. The local horse, under de Kantzow, amounted to 100 sabres, with three native officers who had left various cavalry corps to come to their homes at Mainpuri on furlough. With these forces the town and station were patrolled, and some insm*gent villages punished. Early in June the}^ fought a severe engagement with a strong party of rebels at Bhaungaon ; the rebels beat them off, and killed the Thanadar, or native sub-inspector of police, who died bravely in the defence of his post. In this action de Kantzow was severely wounded. An unfortunate tm-npike-keeper was about the same time murdered on the trunk road. All the neighbouring districts were now lost, and Mainpm'i was nothing more than an imper- fect oasis of partial order in the midst of a political wilderness. The trunk road swarmed with mutineers, and the Eaja of Mainpm'i, whose kinsman had behaved so well on the 23rd May, was known to be planning a treacherous outbreak. The district got rapidly out of hand, some of the sub-collectors and police- officers fled, others joined the rebellion, but honourable exceptions were duly noted. Among these last were both Muhamadans and Hindus, the subordinate judge, the Kotwdl (head police Mainpuri and btawa. 57 officer), the deputy collector, and, chief of all, Kaja Lachman Singh of Karaoli — a charming old man, whom to know was to love — by whose good-will and vigilance authority was maintained in the teeth of almost overwhelming difficulties and dangers, and the march of mutineers constantly impeded by the abandonment of villages and absence of supplies; other landholders, here and there, evinced the same spirit, and it is indeed creditable to the Indian character that when such men were faithful it was in no ordinary measure, life and wealth being freely hazarded in the cause of the alien Government. So wore on the month of June, the worst of that bad year. The end was drawing nigh, when no prospect was apparent but a desperate attempt at escape, with the alternative of a soldier's death, or a long uncertain ride through deadly heat to a doubtful refuge. On the 28th the approach of the Jhansi mutineers, two regiments out of the entire brigade, was announced, and on the 29th their advanced guard reached Mainpuri, where they were joined by the Kaja's people and by most of Power's police and levies. They threw open the jail and commenced a regular plunder of the place ; and now the last decision had to be taken. Formally consigning the responsibility for Government property to the Eaja and Bhawani Singh, Mr. Power marched out, accompanied by Eaikes, Carey, and half-a- dozen other Englishmen, escorted by the Gwalior cavalry, and preceded by Watson, de Kantzow, and James Power. The Gwalior men deserted peaceably on the road, the rest of the party arrived in safety at Agra and joined the refugees in the fort. The district was recovered about the beginning of 1858, and order was without difficulty restored. We next come to the district of Etawa, and meet with increas- ing peculiarities. The land lies upon the Jumna, on whose banks the '' city," or chief town, is situated. The ravines have, from of old, been haunted by tribes of semi- savages, called Ahirs, whose criminal propensities are with difficulty restrained even in 58 INDIAN DISTEICTS DURING THE REVOLT. times of the profoundest peace.^ In the uplands a mixed population prevails, though the larger estates are held by Kajput colonists who have been settled there for many genera- tions. The Jumna runs through the whole district, having the Chumbal as a parallel as far as Etawa. The population at the time was about 365 to the square mile, about one in five being Musalmans. The area is 1,698 square miles. The magistrate at the time of the outbreak was a man of singular character. Hitherto w^e have had to describe the deeds of men of the old type of the Company's civil officers, born of the patrician or equestrian orders, brought up in the old miscientific public-school fashion, with no desu-e for display, doing and enduring what fell in their way with the cheerful stoicism of their class, and narrating their adventures with artless simplicity as if performing the last and least agreeable portion of an unpleasant task. Mr. Allan Octavian Hume was not altogether a man of that kind, if indeed his peculiar character can be brought into any class at all. A younger son of the late Joseph Hume — that prosperous and energetic surgeon who died, after a long and useful career of public service in 1858, amid the general respect and regret of his countrymen — Mr. Hume had entered the service about eight years before the Mutiny. Quickly distin- guished by his activity and acuteness, he had obtained the first great prize of the service — the charge of a district — in an unusually short space of time, and had been selected for what was deemed a post of special difficulty, as magistrate and collector of Etawa. His qualities are reflected in his official Narrative. Though he was absent during the greater part of fifty-seven, t and though order was not restored till the end of * In or about 1848 these people murdered an English traveller whom they mistook for Mr. Unwin, a magistrate who had offended them in the discharge of his duty. t The narrative is dated November 18th, 1858, and states in the opening para- graphs that the district contains " here and there bands of rebels too desperate or too blood-stained to listen to our gracious Queen's late message of mercy." This was a year after order had been restored in many of the neighbouring districts. MAINPTJEI AND ETAWA. 59 the following year, he contrived to give his report — written, as he assures us, in twenty-four hours — the air of a chapter of history composed in the style of the late Sir A. Alison. As we shall presently see, however, the abnormal prolongation of disorder in Etawa was not Mr. Hume's fault ; and in courage and initiative he showed himself no unworthy colleague of the Dunlops, Spankies, and others, whenever he was able to command the due amount of force. But it is a drawback to his report that it takes a triumphant tone where most men in the same position would either have said nothing, or would have been content with a more " apologetic " treatment, to use the word in its classical rather than its social sense. The early abandonment of Etawa was due, in part at least, to the same cause that led to the evacuation of Mainpuri. Here also was a detachment of the faithless 9th Native Infantry, and here, even earlier than in Mainpuri, the approach of the Jhansi mutineers made itself felt. Mr. Hume's hands were apparently, but only apparently, strengthened by the arrival of the Grenadier Kegiment of the Gwalior Contingent, by whose aid he was enabled to return to his station for a few days, after being driven out by the first outbreak. The ladies were wisely sent into Agra, and with the aid of an excellent native subordinate (still in the service), named Kunwar Lachman Singh, Mr. Hume kept order, as best he could, until the middle of June. But on the 16th of that month the news arrived that the Gwalior Contingent had mutinied and driven the Christians from Gwalior. No further dependence was to be placed on the grenadiers, who plotted treason within earshot of their commandant. Major Hennessey's record of the conversation — so far as was overheard by him that night — deserves record as a specimen of the sort of feelings that were then being disseminated by agitators : — Whispered conversation took place, of which the following caught my ear : " What is this that has happened at Gwalior ? " " They have given themselves a bad name." " True," said the emissary ; " but all the world knows that for the last three or four years the Faringhis have exercised great oppression ; they have ruined, and 60 INDIAN DISTRICTS DUEING THE BEVOLT'. taken the lands of, all respectable Zemindars and given them to Banias (mer- cantile men). It is time to get rid of them. There is no Izzat {prestige) about their system ; they will neither make an Emperor themselves nor allow anyone else to be Emperor : now, too, they attempt to destroy our religion."* Thus warned, and aware that the Jhansi mutineers were within two days' march, the British officers departed, taking up on the road some fugitives from Kalpi and Jalaun, of whom two were ladies. Detaching the faithful Lachman Singh to maintain order, and writing to all landholders in whom he confided, Mr. Hume took his post at Agra, where he served with the right half- battery in the action at Sucheta, and was not able to retm-n to his district till the end of December. This must have been felt by him as a severe misfortune ; but it hardly warrants the claims to exceptional loyalty on behalf of his district which pervades the pages of his Narrative. Constant distm^bance prevailed, though several of Mr. Hume's native friends behaved with creditable spirit ; and even when he got back on the 30th of December, he found one Eup Singh, and other " refractory Zemindars," at the head of large forces, and rendering his position, as he himself says, "a very critical one." He seems to have acted with vigour. Before the end of January he had raised a respectable force, with which, *' strengthened by a detachment of Alexander's Horse," he took the field on the 7th of February, and fought a successful action near Anantram, on the Kalpi road, in which it was believed that the rebels lost 150 men. A month later the Eaja of Euru, a rebel leader, lost heart and committed suicide. But the forces of Eup Singh remained in possession of a whole Pargana (subdivision), having a bridge of boats in their rear, by which reinforcements and supplies were constantly reaching them from the other side of the Jumna. The Western tract, spoken of by Mr. Hume as the Jumna-Chambal Duab, was held by Eaja Khushal Singh and his son, who remained in defiant occupation till September. Mr. Hume's narrative now, and for nearly twelve months * District Narrative, App. V. MAINPURI AND ETAWA. 61 more, is little but a record of fighting ; and certainly no officer of his cloth saw more pm^ely military service. It is clear, however, from his own admissions that for a long time he neither col- lected revenue nor exercised any other species of authority much beyond the limits of his own camp. Thus, at p. 13 he says : " Soon after the outbreak I, on my own responsibility, suspended the Government demand." And elsewhere he records that, up to March 1858, he " had collected no money but what was required for immediate use "; and even then it was only " the Zemindars of Bhartna and Etawa," who " were directed to pay up the revenue." In a third paragraph he states that " care was taken to do nothing, and [to] issue no order in regard to any not openly against us, calculated to provoke opposition or disobedience." He was about this time joined by a column under Colonel Kiddell — composition and strength not given. Great contention raged in and round a village, or town, called Ajitmal, a few miles south of Anantram, in the neighbourhood of which Kup Singh was maintaining disorder. On the 16th March the rebels attacked and plundered Phaphund — near to which is now a station of the East Indian Eailway — and on the 30th Mr. Hume felt himself strong enough to move against them in view of chastisement. Driving them out of Ajitmal, he chased them into the ravines of the Jumna, a trifling loss occurring on either side. All this time Kalpi was the head-quarters of a large body of mutineers, and Eup Singh, obtaining reinforcements from thence, surrounded Mr. Hume on the 11th April, and drove him back towards Etawa. General disorganisation ensued, only partially arrested by a renewed attack on the 21st. The levies then moved on to the river — horse, foot, and artillery — and seized the ferry-boat, inflicting some loss on the retreating enemy. In all these skirmishes Mr. Hume seems to have acted with great personal courage, ably seconded by Mr. Maconochie, his deputy, and Mr. C. Doyle, who had joined him from Meerut after Dunlop's Volunteers — with whom he served there — had 62 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE EEVOfiT. been broken xip. Lieutenant Furnell, another volunteer, who had been in practice at Mussoorie as a dentist, but was given a local commission for his military services in the Meerut district, also displayed signal gallantry. Both, indeed, were subsequently killed in action. The name of Mr. Furnell does not occur in Mr. Hume's Narrative, which makes it the more necessary to record it here : especially should it be noted for the chivalry of his death. When lying mortally wounded, this heroic young man — not a professional soldier, be it remembered — showed only one anxiety, and that was as to the prospect of his associate, Lieutenant Chapman, obtaining the Victoria Cross. Operations on a more conspicuous scale were at hand. In the beginning of April, Sir Hugh Kose* had taken Jhansi, and devoted the rest of the month to resting his troops, and pre- paring them for the advance upon Kalpi, where were collected almost all the remaining leaders of the revolt : the Eani of Jhansi, Tantia Topi, and the Nana's brother. The banner of the Peshwa now floated over the last stronghold of rebellion ; and Eose, with an army decimated by disease and death in battle, had to move in the terrible summer of those regions in order to remove the last barrier that restrained communica- between Central India and the main army under Lord Clyde. On the 5th May he had advanced within ten miles of Kalpi ; on the 19th, being joined by Colonel Maxwell with the Connaught Eangers, the Camel Corps, and some companies of Sikhs, Eose felt strong enough to attack the place. On the following day, after a hard-fought battle, the town was evacuated, and Her Majesty's birthday was celebrated in the last and lost fortress of the rebellion among the trophies of the previous day's victory. Tantia and the Eani doubled back on Gwalior — with what result is known to all readers of Malleson — but a large body of the rebels crossed the Duab in search of an asylum in the still- disturbed province of Oudh. These events kept the Etawa district — especially the portion * Now (1883) Field-Marshal Lord Strathnairn, G.C.S.I, MAINPURI AND ETAWA. 63 of it washed by the Jumna — in turmoil during the greater part of May and June, and large bodies of mutineers passed whom Colonel Eiddell did not feel strong enough to attack. On the 2nd July Mr. Hume was forced by ill -health to make over charge of the district to Mr. G. E. Lance, command of the local levies being assumed by Lieutenant L. Forbes of the 2nd Native Infantry. Eup Singh once more crossed the Jumna, and totally destroyed the unfortunate town of Ajitmal on the 6th. Two days later Mr. Lance, with a force consisting of 200 bayonets, 120 sabres, and 5 guns, drove them out of the ruins, and back into the ravines. This sort of work went on, slow but sure, for the* next two months. On the 6th September, the last focus of disorder fell — a place called Chakarnagar — and the last fight (with one exception), took place at Parli on the 23rd October, when some of the forces of the indefatigable Eup Singh were defeated by the local levies under Lieutenant Allen, with the loss of over thirty men, the whole of their ammunition, baggage, and means of transport. Order having been, as he hoped, finally restored, Mr. Hume — who had resumed charge of his district — wrote the Narrative^ to which we have mainly owed our information. After making mention of those who had been his chief subordinates and supporters, he proceeds to devote a few paragraphs to various details of his administration during the trying times just passed. As to finance, he explains the reason of his having left the revenue uncollected. He shrewdly remarks that, having lost five lakhs of rupees by the plunder of his treasuries, he judged that the revenue would, just then, be '' safer in the hands of a thousand landholders than in a treasury guarded by sepoys too likely to mutiny." When he set himself in earnest to the business of collection, he succeeded in realising the large sum of over twelve lakhs, and the balance was left to be recovered here- after. He had the satisfaction of reporting that in many places the village-schools had been kept open; that *'the little lads were everywhere humming away at their lessons "; and that, 64 INDIAN DISTRICTS DaRING THE REVOLT. when he wrote, there were 179 schools open with an attendance of nearly four thousand scholars. The remainder of the report is devoted to an examination of the causes to which the excep- tional loyalty of his district was to he attributed. There is also a brief account of the method by which the villages were led to " submit to arbitration the adjustment of the cost of their transgressions." Of these '' panchaiat cases," Mr. Hume informs us there were 526, " some of which included the whole of the inhabitants of one or more villages." If one of these statements should seem to militate against the other, there can be at least no doubt but that Mr. Hume sm-mounted his difficulties — whatever they were — with tact, humanity, and resolution. His greatest trial was yet to come. His report is dated November 18th, 1858. Three weeks later the district was invaded by Firoz Shah, a member of the late royal family of Dehli, and the only one who displayed courage and conduct. Escaping southwards from Lord Clyde when the Oudh Begam, the Nana, and some other leaders fled into Nepal, the heroic prince, whose hands were free from innocent blood, and who might have secured a pardon and a pension by simple surrender, preferred to cut his way through the British ten'itories. On the 6th December vague rumom-s of the approach of a force, supposed to be headed by the Nana, reached Etawa, and Mr. Hume immediately took the field, sending information at the same time to the military authorities at Cawnpore on the one side, and Agra on the other. His own force was composed of some 200 infantry, 140 cavalry, 4 guns, and a troop of the Meerut mounted police ; the whole under the command of Lieutenant Forbes already mentioned. They marched with the intention of defending a fort called Harchandpur, held by a loyal landholder ; and on the morning of the 8th, having driven in the enemy's pickets, found themselves confronted by a fine force of mutinous horse, estimated at 1,400 sabres, with nearly 200 infantry of the 28th Bengal Eegiment. The enemy's baggage MAINPURI AND ETAWA. 65 and transport were guarded by a strong reserve. These men were evidently no unskilled village-rabble, but a body of trained soldiers, whose business was to cut their way through all oppo- sition, or perish in the attempt ; and the sequel showed alike their capacity and their resolution. At first, perhaps, surprised, they speedily formed under cover of a village, sending off their baggage towards a bridge crossing the canal. Lieutenant Forbes placing the local horse — under Mr. Doyle — on his right, and the Meerut troop on his left, opened fire from the centre under Messrs. Hume and Maconochie. The enemy, accepting the challenge, advanced so as to outflank the levies, on seeing which Forbes took Doyle's horsemen against the left attack, while the guns played upon the enemy's advance. The charge was only partially successful : Doyle's horse being wounded, the rider fell and was cut to pieces ; his men retreated in more or less order. Meanwhile another party of the enemy came down on the English left, but were checked by two successive charges of the Meerut police, ably and bravely led by their Easaldar, Asadulla Khan. This excellent native officer received a severe wound in the melee. But a third body presently got round to the rear, and became engaged with the Etawa foot. Mr. Hume's position now became very critical; and probably disaster was only averted by the firmness of the remaining foot- soldiers, and the presence of mind of a non-commissioned officer named Edmunds, who was in charge of the largest of the guns. Such clouds of dust were raised by the trampling of the bold and *' ubiquitous " horsemen as, added to the smoke from the guns, prevented anything being clearly seen but the constant flash of the flickering sabres. Amid the confusion the levies formed square with commendable coolness, while Edmunds, with " conspicuous address," swung round his 12-pounder gun, and poured grape into the flank of the assailants. The horses were thrown into a state of terror, the men lost heart on seeing the resistance of the square, and the attack ceased after a duration of fully three hours. Each side drew off in good 6 66 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. order, and the Etawa force occupied their original objective — Harchandpur, while the enemy proceeded on their route. Well might the Governor- General, a man not given to dithy- rambics, characterise this as " a daring exploit," and express his ** warm commendation of the courage, skill, and determination which marked it." His Excellency gave his thanks to Lieutenant Forbes, to Messrs. Hume and Maconochie, and to Sergeant- Major Edmunds. Doyle's family received a pension, and the brave Easaldar received a decoration and the title of " Sardar Bahadm-." Mr. Hume was deservedly made C.B. The enemy, who were well mounted and equipped, comprised men of the 1st and 2nd Bengal Light Cavalry, the 11th, 12th, and 13th Irregulars, and a number of unattached rebels and mutineers, many of whom were Afghan and Sikh soldiers of fortune. They lost fifty-eight killed, among whom was the ex-Nazim of Farrukhabad — a man who had long sought to distm'b the district ; many more were wounded, most of whom were duly removed in ambulance " dooHes," or litters, with which the rebels were well provided. The British loss was twenty-one killed and nineteen wounded. Brigadier the Hon. Percy Herbert, coming up from Cawnpore, fell in with some of the fugitives — for such they soon became — and inflicted on them a further loss in material and men ; and Brigadier Showers arrived from Agi'a on the 11th, having marched seventy-five miles in forty hours : he did not, however, succeed in adding to the enemy's loss. The unfortunate prince probably separated from his men, and eventually — as it is understood — made his way to Mecca. He has never, so far as I am aware, been seen or heard of since. This was the end of disturbance in the district of Etawa, which immediately fell into its usual routine. To conclude with the gallant magistrate's fervid words : — The tide turned : and then popular goodwill blossomed out and gave fruit in the speedy restoration of peace and order : and now, though here and there * His futile attempt to co-operate with Tantia Topi is related in Malleson, iv. pp. 359 et seq. MAINPURT AND ETAWA. ^7 blackened and desolate villages and bands of rebels, too desperate or too blood- stained to listen to our gracious Queen's late message of mercy,* remind us of the past, our people are once again quiet and contented, our fields are rich with heavy crops, and we can look forward hopefully to the future, and cheerfully to the labours that shall make that future all, and more, than in the past we ever dreamed of. Strange, indeed, is the calmness with which the simple folk of Hindustan could plough their land and sow their seed in such times, and the readiness with which they accepted disorder and the restoration of order alike, " with a heart for any fate." * On November 1st 1858 the Koyal Proclamation, translated into twenty languages, and promulgated throughout the country, announced that Her Majesty had assumed the direct sway of the Indian Empire. So we created a Padshah at last I 68 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. CHAPTER V. CAWNPOEE AND EARRUKHABAD. In this and the next section the treatment must be somewhat different from that adopted hitherto. From Saharanpur to Etawa there was no interregnum of pure belligerence ; the civil officers being left to deal with the anarchy with such aid as was from time to time available. "Martial law" was generally proclaimed ; but the magistracy were, on the whole, the directors of events ; and succeeded, in longer or shorter time. In Cawn- pore and Farrukhabad, on the contrary, there was a long period when all semblance of authority was obliterated ; and the civil officers were scarcely of any weight in affairs, but were mainly restricted to fighting or foraging in association with their comrades of the army, and only gradually employed m restoring order as the tide of war subsided. Still, in order to complete a civilian's view of the country technically known as " Hindustan " — which was the focus and chief scene of the outbreak — a few circumstances may be noted such as may have escaped the attention of the ordinary historian. Cawnpore is the chief town of a district, of the same name, lying on the right bank of the Ganges, on the opposite side of which is the province of Audh — or Oude. It was selected as a cantonment so far back as 1777, and formed the basis for the attacks of the British conquerors upon Rohilkand and Dehli. At the time of the outbreak it contained a population of about 100,000, chiefly traders and operatives, in fact the ordinary OAWNPOEE AND FARKtJKHABAD. 69 Indian urban population. At Bithur — a village some miles higher up the river — lived a Mahratta of rank, named Dhundu Panth, but most commonly known by the title (not unusual among noble Mahrattas) of " Nana Sahib." He had been adopted in 1832 by the deposed Peshivay Baji Eao, and inherited his private property. But Lord Dalhousie had decided that the titular dignity of Peshwa (head of the Mahratta confederacy) should not pass under the adoption, and the political pension and salute of guns were discontinued on Baji's death in 1862. During the next few years the Nana spent a good deal of money in trying to bring his wrongs before the Queen's Government in England, employing for that purpose a Muslim adventurer named Azimulla Khan, who had been made his private secretary, and who was an accomplished rascal of the Gil Bias, or Casanova, type. While this man was intriguing with third-rate politicians, and philandering with credulous females in Europe, his master shut himself up in his palace at Bithur, where he sulked in splendour, and nursed his wrongs in the society of Baba Bhatt, Bala Eao, and other chosen companions. On stated occasions a British civil officer visited him ; and about November there was a religious fair on the river, when refreshments were provided for European visitors. But the Nana never willingly associated, in the slightest degree, with persons of that race from the day on which the Peshwa, his adoptive father, died. The garrison, at the time of the outbreak, comprised the 2nd Bengal Light Cavalry, a detail of artillery, and three regi- ments of Bengal Infantry ; all the rank and file of which were natives of India. The British troops had fallen below the pro- portion proper to such a force, a detachment having been sent to the aid of Sir Henry Lawrence at Lucknow. Those that remained at Cawnpore were as follows : — Artillery — One battery of 6 guns with 69 men ; Infantry— 60 men H. M. 84th. 74 invalids H. M. 32nd. 13 1st Madras Fusiliers. 70 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOfiT. The whole under the command of a distinguished officer of the company's army, Sir Hugh Massey Wheeler, K.C.B. The civil chief was the magistrate and collector, Mr. Hillersdon, of the Bengal Civil Service. About eighty miles higher up the river was the station of Futtehgarh, the official centre of a district named after the neighbouring city of Farrukhabad. Here was stationed the 10th Native Infantry, a regiment posted there for the protection of the gun-carriage factory in the fort. The civil officer was Mr. W. George Probyn, C.S., the military command being vested in Colonel Smith. After the receipt of the news of the Meerut mutiny, the men of the 10th continued for some time to behave well ostensibly, though in conversation with Mr. Probyn's native informants they admitted that if other sepoys were to attack the Europeans they would not oppose them in arms. All they could guarantee was that they would not kill their own officers. Amid such sinister omens the Europeans prepared for the worst. Messrs. Phillipps and Bramly came in from neighbouring districts, but passed on to Agra where we have already had occasion to notice theu' services; other refugees afterwards joined, including Mr. W. Edwards, the magistrate of Badaon in Kohilkhand, brother of the E. M. Edwards, mentioned above in connection with the Muzafarnagar district. Leaving these, to be followed hereafter in a few concise sen- tences, we retm'n for the present to Cawnpore, where General Wheeler and Mr. Hillersdon were taking counsel as to the best method of weathering the storm until they should receive the assistance that they expected from Calcutta. That city, it should be added, was 628 miles off, only a small portion of the distance being covered by a railway. The people of Cawnpore, therefore, were somewhat in the same situation as that in which the people of Edinburgh had been in 1745. For what passed at the first we have to trust chiefly to con- jecture. But I have been so far fortunate as to obtain the assistance of Mr. J. W. Sherer, C.S.I., who came up with the OAWNPORE AND TAERUKHABAD. 71 first relief in July. It is this gentleman's opinion that the steps taken by the civil and military chiefs at this crisis, which led to the disastrous results that have obtained such sad notoriety, were on the whole justified by the circumstances. It is proper to bear in mind that they had peculiar opportunities for forming a forecast. Wheeler was a thorough " sepoy-ofi&cer " : his habits and associations were those of the old school ; he understood, from a life-long experience, the feelings of native troops ; he was necessarily in receipt of the most trustworthy information. Hillersdon, for his part, had a brother in command of one of the native regiments ; and was, himself, personally intimate with many of the men, among whom the Colonel was a favourite. A month before Colonel Hillersdon told Mr. Sherer — who happened to be on a visit at Cawnpore — that his men had discussed the question of the suspected cartridges, and had declared themselves willing to use them so long as they were permitted to tear off the ends, and were not required to touch them with their teeth. This shows that ticklish topics were not avoided in intercourse with the men. Nor was the Nana openly hostile ; on the contrary, Hillersdon is believed to have had reason for hoping that, by promising to obtain the concessions so long pleaded for in vain, he might secure in the Mahratta an influential ally. It is, fm'ther, Mr. Sherer's belief that, up to the final outbreak, there was no collusion between the Nana and the sepoys. Whatever communications may have passed between Azimulla and the Court of Dehli — and it is my personal belief that such had been made — the fact that, at the first mutiny, the troops started for Dehli is a proof that they were not then acting with the Bithur people. The British authorities, I repeat, had to provide against tumult arising from the departure of the native troops, and for the safety of the seven or eight hundred Europeans until they could obtain assistance from Calcutta. It was also necessary that the magazine should be guarded, so that the bad characters of the town should not obtain arms. All now seems to point to the conclusion that the cause of the mischief was Azimulla who, on 72 INDIAN DISTEICTS DURING THE EEVOLT. returning from Eui'ope and becoming aware of the discontents of Queen Zinat Mahl at Delhi, thought he saw his way to fame and fortune as a poHtical creator. The Nana was to stand forth as Plenipotentiary of the restored Emperor ; though it might be a work of time and trouble to persuade the chiefs of the anny to accept this part of the programme. But we ought not to blame Hillersdon for not knowing all this, or for thinking that it was best, in his perplexed situation, to endeavour to outbid the sepoys for the only alliance that had a chance of safety in it. He pro- bably thought, as above suggested, that he could secure the Nana by promising a reconsideration of his case as the reward of his adherence. Only, unhappily, Azimulla had watched the Crimean collapse (see Kussell's book on the war, where he mentions having received a visit from the gay rascal in the trenches before Sebastopol). He had also been in correspon- dence with foes of England on the Continent (the letters and drafts were found at Bithur and fell into the hands of an oJBficer of Bengal Artillery). The Persian war seemed to him a part of the advance of Eussia, and he had just enough knowledge of the political drama to be " a dangerous thing," first to Hillersdon, and ultimately to himself and its cause. As will be presently shown, there is evidence that he negotiated with some agents or leaders of the sepoys before they mutinied, though their sub- sequent march towards Delhi renders it doubtful how far these negotiations had been ratified by the men in general. Certainly the first events bore out the plans of the British officials. A temporary refuge was secured on the Calcutta side of the town ; the troops moved up the Dehli road ; the Nana took charge of the magazine. Lastly, since the first batch of the 84th had actually reached Cawnpore from Calcutta, after the news of the Meerut mutiny had been received there, Wheeler was amply justified in expecting timely relief and in communicating his hopes to Hillersdon. How all turned to sorrow and destruction is known to the readers of Mr. Trevelyan's graphic work, and has been duly CAWNPORE AND FAIIRUKHABAD. 73 chronicled in history. When the troops had reached their encampment on the second stage, the Nana joined them, and succeeded in persuading them that it was not their interest to leave him. The Peshwa had, for some time before the conquest under Lake, represented the Mughal Empire, and carried on (through his Deputy) the administration of Hindustan. It was natural to identify the cause of the Nana, as Peshwa, with the cause being defended at Dehli; largesse and the promise of plunder did the rest. The troops returned to Cawnpore, and joined in attacking the entrenchment. The conduct of the Nana is an illustration of two truths that must never again be lost sight of in Indian affairs. The first is, that we cannot predict what Asiatics will do on grounds derived from our own notions of what is their duty, or even their interest. The second, that we must put no confidence in those whom we have offended in a deep and enduring manner. The implacable Mahratta and his confederates declared them- selves as foes : the skilful soldier, Tantia Topi ; the sleek tiger, Azimulla, fresh from the ill-judged hospitalities of London. On the forenoon of the 7th June, they opened their heaviest bat- teries on the rude parapets of the entrenchments, so low, that a refugee from the district one day during the subsequent siege entered by leaping his horse over them. For three dreadful weeks the wretched Europeans were sapped, bombarded, starved ; but their courage held out. Hillersdon was cut in two by a round shot ; his chief subordinate, McKillop, was shot as he was drawing water for the women from an unprotected well ; Hillers- don's brother, wife, and two children perished in the fatal enceinte. At last came the end. Despairing of succour from Calcutta, and trusting to the promises of the Nana — who offered plausible terms — Wheeler consented to evacuate the scene of horror, and moved out on the 27th to take boat at the Sati Chaura Ghat. What happened there is too well known. The banks of the Ganges were stained with innocent blood. The surviving victims were marched back in captivity, with the exception of one 74 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. boat's crew, of whom four only finally escaped, two, at least, of whom are still (1883) alive. In the meanwhile, the Fattehgarh people had gone through somewhat similar sufferings. On the 1st of June they heard of the outbreak at Shajahanpur, where poor Mordaunt Eicketts and his companions were murdered as they were worshipping in chm'ch. On the 3rd a party of Audh troops entered the station, and the 10th men fraternised. At 1 a.m. on the 4th some of the white inhabitants, 140 in number, left in boats, hoping to reach Cawnpore, and unacquainted with the state to which matters were tendmg there. All perished ultimately with a very few exceptions. Colonel Smith, Colonel Goldie, Major Eobertson (head of the factory). Majors Munro and Phillott, with some other commissioned and non-commissioned officers, and a number of women and children, remained in the Fort. The fugitives were at first guarded and assisted at Dharm- pur by Hardeo Baksh, an Audh landholder, who, indeed, con- tinued faithful to the last to all who continued to avail them- selves of his assistance. Of those in the boats, some sought shelter in this gentleman's fortified residence ; but Mr. Probyn and two others returned for a time to Fattehgarh. From hence Probyn wrote to Dharmpur, directing that it should be defended to the last, and garrisoned by 500 matchlock-men, for whose pay he would be responsible. On the 10th June he rejoined the party there, accompanied by Mr. W. Edwards and two planters, Messrs. Donald. On the 13th the bulk of the Dharmpur refugees returned to Fattehgarh, on the urgent invitation of Colonel Smith. But Messrs. Probyn and Edwards, with the family of the former, remained in the fort of Hardeo Baksh, as they did not trust the 10th Native Infantry. On the morning of the 18th then* anticipations were fulfilled, The sepoys of the 10th finally abjured their allegiance, placed the descendant of the Muhamadan Nawabs on the throne, divided the contents of the treasury, and disbanded quietly. Only one man remained faithful ; his name was Kale Khan. CAWNPORE AND FAREUKHABAD. 75 The Europeans in the fort now prepared for an attack. This ensued in a few days, being headed by the 41st Native Infantry, who had marched in from Sitapur in Audh. After a brave defence — for which he had only thirty-two men — Colonel Smith evacuated the untenable place by night on the 4th July. Some were killed on the voyage ; those who ran the gauntlet reached Bithur or Cawnpore, where they swelled the slaughter there. Only two escaped, Messrs. Churcher and Jones. The narratives — especially a supplementary one by Mr. C. K. Lindsay, Mr. Probyn's successor — afford harrowing details of some of these incidents ; but they have little relation to our subject, and their recapitulation can serve no good purpose. Sufficient to say that great courage was displayed by the unhappy fugitives. On at least one occasion they landed and chased away their pursuers with loss ; on another, to avoid the consequences of capture, the non-combatants of one boat leapt overboard, and were drowned or killed in the water. Our countrymen and countrywomen have never been exposed to more dreadful trials, and never underwent trial more valiantly. One who lost friends in those scenes may be pardoned if he declines to dwell upon them. Hardeo Baksh protected Edwards and the Probyns as long as he could, and then sent them down, disguised, by water, and handed them in safety to the British authorities (who had then recovered Cawnpore), on or about the 1st September. A momentary glance may be allowed on the other side of the Duab. At Fatehpur, Mr. Sherer, the then magistrate, executed a skilful retreat, and conducted all committed to his charge via Banda to Mirzapur, whence he himself presently proceeded to the Grand Trunk Koad, where he fell in with the avenging force under General Havelock. Kobert Tucker, the district judge, insisted on remaining where, indeed, his remaining was worse than useless. He died at Fatehpur, fighting to the last. Mount- ing to the roof of his court-house, with rifles and ammunition, he defended himself and his records desperately. It is said that some of the assailants got into a tree which commanded the 76 INDIAN DISTBIOTS DURING THE REVOLT. roof, and fired upon him till his arm was broken ; they then assumed courage to get on to the roof and cut his throat. An- other version, which one would gladly prefer, is that he was shot dead at once. At Hamirpur Messrs. T. K. Loyd and D. Grant, totally defenceless, took refuge in the ravines of the Jumna, where they were followed, and mercilessly shot down like wild animals. Such is the savage state to which the human race is soon reduced when deprived of the restraints of civilisation ! Homo homini lupus. We are not without glimpses at civil life in Cawnpore and Farrukhabad during those days of darkness. Whatever good our country may get from India, the good that India will eventually receive in return is more than compensation. But the process is slow. When the strong hand and will of the Imperial race were temporarily paralysed it was soon seen what a poor thing was the civilisation of a people that, having been reduced to anarchy beneath the heel of armed violence for nearly 800 years, had been in leading strings ever since without having learned to walk alone. Colonel Williams, whom we saw at Meerut, was sent down to Cawnpore after the restoration of order; and he took the evidence of forty-two persons who had been present in June 1857, among whom were Christians, Muhamadans, and Hindus. From these it appeared that the Nana and his brother, called " Bala Sahib," had tampered with agents of the troops as early as the 1st of the month, assisted by the rascally secretary, though — if Mr. Sherer's surmises be correct — without the troops being pledged to remain at Cawnpore; that the conspirators obtained assistance from several farmers and from the scomidrel- dom of the bazaars; that 10,000 persons assembled at the fatal ghat to witness the first massacre; and that the chiefs — accompanied by Tantia Topi — sate on carpets upon the estrade before the temple, privileged spectators at the festival of car- nage. That, during the second massacre — when, for hours, the women and children of our race were hacked to pieces in the slaughter-house — these wretches sat in a neighbouring hotel CAWNPOEE AND FAEEUKHABAD. 77 looking on at a "nautch^^; that all sorts of incompetent ruffians were employed as police officers ; and that plunder of the respectable citizens raged unchecked and encouraged. A court, composed of Baba Bhatt, Azimulla, and some pleaders, was formed on the 17th, which sat to hear criminal cases ; but the accused were of the humbler classes and the punish- ments were cruel and capricious. A gypsy had his hand cut off on a charge of theft ; some poor men's huts were razed to the ground ''for disreputable livelihood.'^ Supplies, extorted by torture, were openly stolen by the officers and men as they came in. On the 1st of July the Nana was solemnly enthroned as Peshwa, and persons were sent into the district to collect revenue ; on the 3rd the troops showed signs of disaffection, and were appeased by distribution of pay. The Nana passed most of his time in pleasure at Bithur, till compelled by his followers to show himself and return to Cawnpore. The arrival of Havelock scattered the ruffians, never to meet again ; and the British were received by the people with every sign of joy and welcome. Mr. Sherer, who had — as we saw — joined Havelock on the road after successfully leading his party into a place of tem- porary safety, assumed some kind of authority at Cawnpore, and at once attempted to form administrative outposts. But the attempt was premature ; and after two of his police officers had been killed by the enemy. General Neill directed him to stay further efforts for the present. A military police, under Captain Bruce, of the Bombay army, was organised for the city and immediate neighbourhood, and Mr. Grant (then in charge of the civil administration, and afterwards, as Sir J. P. Grant, the successful governor of Jamaica) sanctioned these measures, which were deemed necessary on military grounds, to which just then all was necessarily subordinated. Bruce was an able and energetic man, and Sherer gave him full and willing co-operation, confining himself to transit and commissariat work, in which he was admirably seconded by a Brahmin Tah- seeldar named Bholanath, whom he had known at Fatehpur. 78 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. An idea, however, arose — as ideas will rise in times of general excitement — that Mr. Grant and his civil subordinates resented General Xeill's arrangements ; and this got so much credit in England, that the late Charles Dickens was led to embody it in a tale in Household Words, in which much sport was made of the pompous obstructiveness of "Mr. Commissioner Pordage." Like most things of the sort, it was short-lived, and I believe the tale has dropped — as it was only proper that it should — out of all collections of Mr. Dickens's works. Neither at Cawnpore nor anywhere else did Mr. Grant obstnict any good work ; nor is it needful that this statement should be made, were it not that the calm wisdom of that really distinguished official is not so generally recognised as might have been the case had he possessed the love of display and advertising power that are sometimes found in public men. Mr. Sherer well remembers referring to him about some tempo- rary difficulty about the use of the telegraph, and receiving Mr. Grant's answer: "Whatever you do, give no offence to the military authorities." On another occasion, the late Sir James Outram — one of Britain's truest heroes — wrote to the same officer : "So far from taking offence, or relaxing your en- deavours to aid us, you ever exerted yom* utmost influence in the district, with the most unwearied, unceasing personal labom's in om- behalf. Yom- hearty, cordial good-will and fi'iendly assist- ance were deeply felt by us all." This much upon an uninviting subject. Neill and Sherer and Bruce all worked thoroughly in concert, and there was never the least misunderstanding between red-coats and black-coats. After Havelock's arrival, the farmers began to negociate about payment of land-revenue ; but, of course, the money was the only proof of their sincerity, and much had yet to be done and endured before much of that demonstration could be achieved. It became clear soon that Cawnpore was only a military post, and that the troops collected there were not immediately intended for the pacification of the Duab, but for more remote purposes. The new-born desire to conciliate subsided; men OAWNPORE AND FABRUKHABAD. 79 turned to Gwalior for a new dawn of disorder which had more promise of permanence. The best of the Eajput clans and their leaders were not more than neutral. When Sir James Outram arrived, reorganisation proceeded more rapidly ; then came the certainty of the fall of Dehli, and renewed offers of money, but not much actual payment. Some native gentlemen undertook the duty of temporary tahsildars (sub-collectors), but their want of business habits crippled their efficiency ; still, it was felt to be a beginning. The tracts bordering on the Jumna (where Gwalior influences were strongest) continued in open rebellion ; even at Bithur a number of Bruce's police were surprised and slaughtered at the great November festival of the Dasahra. The fall of Dehli again filled all the tracts bordering on the Trunk road with a demoralised soldiery ; but Greathed's column cleared the way. Then the commander-in-chief crossed the Ganges and proceeded to relieve Lucknow ; Cawnpore was left to the protection of General Windham's small force ; and the Gwalior contingent at length arrived and delivered the most suc- cessful attack that was made by any of the enemy during the whole war. When Sir Colin returned, on the 28th November, his first care was naturally the safe departure of the rescued women and children from Lucknow; the force under Windham was then cooped up in the entrenchment, the whole town being in the enemy's hands. On the 1st December, Captain Bruce made over charge to Sherer, the two despatching their business in a house which was being raked by round shot. But the triumph of the mistaken mutineers was soon lost. As soon as Sir Colin heard of the safe arrival at Allahabad of the precious convoy he had done so much to rescue, he turned fiercely upon the enemy, whom he chased from the district before proceeding to relieve Farrukhabad. At that place, as we have already seen, power had been con- ferred by the mutineers upon a titular Nawab who lived there on a pension, being, in fact, the lineal representative of a Eohilla family who had usurped power there during the decline of the 80 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. Mughal Empire. Towards the end of June the mutineers inaugurated his reign by the massacre of a score of Christian captives who had survived the previous troubles. The day was rainy, but the spectacle attracted a large crowd to the parade- ground where it took place. The district was then made into two grand divisions, the east and west, each being placed under Nazims, or commissioners, one of whom was an imbecile drunkard, the other a ruthless tyrant. There was also a court of two {military officers) ^ for the hearing of appellate causes; under these were Muftis, or Judges, men who had formerly held subordinate posts in the British administration. The Nawab himself was a man of quiet character, much absorbed in the fine arts, as understood by him; and his insignificance was recognised after the return of the British, when his life was spared on condition of his retiring permanently to Mecca. His share in the administration was confined to the promulgation of rules, borrowed from the British, for the administration of justice and the collection of the revenue. On paper the rules look fair enough, therefore ; but Mr. Lindsay got together abundant proof that they had but little effect in practice. ** Each man ruled as he liked ; the Tahsildars became nonenti- ties ; there was much writing, as in our courts ; in lieu of stamp-papers, fees were levied. Some of the decisions are cm'ious enough ; in one case a Hindu murderer was released on promising to become a Muhamadan. In a case of rape, the defendant was fined two rupees and dismissed." The following is a precept addressed to a police ofl&cer in a murder-case : — "You are directed to go in person to the village, and collecting fifty of the most respectable inhabitants, write their depositions in the following manner : ' We have not killed the deceased, nor are we aware who were the mm-derers.' . . . But, if they know who the criminals are, you shall write their depositions thus : * We have not killed the deceased, but certain other persons have. We say this by our faith and on our oath.' And, when taking these depositions, you must administer the oath in the h CAWNPORB AND FABRUKHABAD. 81 following manner : * We swear by the Almighty God, who made us and the universe.' " It does not appear that any result ensued on this strange pro- ceeding, which only shows the childish imitativeness of people who have observed forms without discovering their principle. The sentences, however, were sometimes very severe : the penalty for theft was amputation of the right hand ; in a case of undoubted murder the sentence was that the culprit was to give up his property to the complainant, or to be killed by him ; on the failure of either of these alternatives, he was to be blown away from a gun. The slaughter of oxen was prohibited, they were not even to bear burdens ; this, being, of course, a conces- sion to the Hindu sepoys. A system of barrier-dues was imposed in the town, the proceeds of which, together with the excise, went to the privy purse of the Nawab. Most articles bore an ad valorem duty, which in some cases reached a rate of seven per cent. Prices were trebled, and the trade in piece-goods became a monopoly. On one occasion the proceeds of the Farrukhabad octroi rose to 1,700 Es. in one day. Similar duties were raised in outlying towns, the proceeds being realised by the sepoys. Civil war went on from time to time, and one of the Nazims — the drunkard — received a wound and lost his influence, which had been founded on a belief that he was invulnerable. Farrukh- abad continued for seven months to be a centre to which unsuccessful leaders repaired from time to time as they were beaten out of other places. At length this place had to take its turn, too. In the end of December Sir Colin appeared upon the scene. The Nawab fled on the 2nd January 1858, accompanied by Firuz Shah and another of the Dehli princes who had joined him ; next day British authority was restored on the Western side of the Ganges. About the 18th, Brigadier Adrian Hope won a battle over the rebels at Shamsabad, and the enemy sustained a final defeat at the hands of Sir T. Seaton on the 7th April at Bangaon. After May, order was rapidly and perma- nently restored, 6 82 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. In the Cawnpore district the progress of events was neces- sarily somewhat different. The apparent ebb and flow of British success, already noticed, continued for some time to puzzle the waiters on events. There was no enthusiasm felt for the Nana, who was soon seen to be a mere obese voluptuary with no talent for affairs and no courage in the field. But there was, among the humbler classes, a revival of the lawless element that had come down in the blood from the great anarchy of the last century — a factor never to be overlooked in the social questions of Hindustan. There was also a revival of old clan-feeling, the pleasure of foray and reprisal, unclouded by the fear of the police, or the shadow of the tax-gatherer. The people were out for a holiday, and enjoyed it like badly-taught school-boys. Lastly, the dread that the return of British power would be accom- panied by the return of the auction-pm-chaser — an evil, perhaps necessary, and which must apparently cling to a civilisation whose resources come from land-revenue — enlisted many interests against the cause of order. Bacon long ago remarked : — " It is certain, so many overthrown estates so many votes for troubles."* But after the final reduction of the great rebel stronghold at Lucknow in the spring of 1858, all began to cool down. The southern parganas (hundreds) continued to feel the effect of the long disorders in Central India. But then came Sir Hugh Eose's victory at Kalpi, referred to in treating of Etawa. Temporary distraction was caused by Prince Firoz's last appearance ; but it was only temporary. By the winter the district was entirely reoccupied and composed. Mr. Sherer's printed narrative is dated 13th January 1859 ; and it concludes with a pleasing picture : — I followed but the other day close upon the retreating footsteps of Feroze Shah ; but I found the ploughman in the field, the boy singing at the well as he urged the buUocks down the slope, the old woman sitting at her door twisting her little cotton- gin, and her daughters grinding millet : all supremely unconscious of the descendant of Tunoor, who with unseemly haste had made but yesterday a royal progress through their village. * Sherer's Narrative, p. 16, OAWNPORE AND FARRUKHABAD. 88 One more subject connected with the civil administration of Cawnpore deserves at least a passing notice. In an earlier chapter a story told in Mr. Bosworth Smith's Life of Lawrence^ was quoted as an illustration of the difficulties that attended the efforts of the civil officers to prevent hasty reprisals at the expense of more or less innocent natives of India. As such the anecdote may pass ; but as an incident of life at Cawnpore, it is neither correct nor well-fancied. The "Mess "at Cawnpore consisted of men like Frederick Gubbins, Sherer, Power, Mowbray Thom- son, Dr. Tresidder, Martin, and others, with Inglis, W. H. Eussell (of The Times), Layard, Grenfell, &c. for guests, none of whom were likely to "insult" Mr. Batten on account of due or undue leniency had he wished to show it, or had the power of doing so. In fact, I believe Mr. Batten had very little voice in the earlier part of the administration ; and those who had were for the most part successful and efficient enough to be independent of harsh procedure. As soon as the revenue was collected at all, it came in without need for coercive measures. A fine was imposed upon the city, which was promptly paid, with one unsuccessful protest conducted by an English solicitor. Neither during the rebellion nor afterwards was a single sepoy blown from guns at Cawnpore. Four or five officers held special commissions, and persons accused of crimes were tried by them, of whom some were properly executed, others acquitted; the sentences being invariably reported to the Government. General Neill's melodrama, of making the people clean the slaughter-house, was played once and then withdrawn, two persons in all being made to take part in it. Comparing the conduct of the authori- ties at Cawnpore with the reprisals of most conquerors — even with those of others in the like situation at the time in other parts of India — the recovery of power there was marked by a most singular and creditable moderation. 84 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT, CHAPTER VI. BANDA AND ALLAHABAD. The Allahabad ** Division " — of which the district of Cawnpore is a constituent — forms the eastern extremity of the famous Duab with which we have hitherto been concerned. In addition to Cawnpore the other sections are the districts of Fatehpur, Hamirpur, Banda, and Allahabad. Regarding the two former there is no more to be said than what has incidentally come before us in looking at Cawnpore. Banda and Allahabad, how- ever, will furnish illustrations of some characteristics of the out- break, though (principally from want of literary ambition on the part of the narrators) the material is not all that could be desired. The district of Banda contains a little over three thousand square miles, and the population, at the time of the outbreak, may have been something more than half a million, chiefly Raj- puts of more or less pure blood. As in the rest of Bundelkhand (to which, from a scientific point of view, it belongs) the physical properties of the soil have had a good deal to do with the state of the people. Studded with isolated rocks, interspersed among tracts of dry basaltic black soil, it is unfertile unless irrigated, and when irrigated peculiarly unwholesome. In the Banda district there are few large estates or rich landholders ; but at the chief town there resided, in 1857, a mediatised prince, the Nawab Ali Bahadur, representative of a bastard family of BAN DA AND ALLAHABAD. 8-5 Mahratta origin who had usurped power there in the anarchy of the last century, and had embraced the creed of Islam. The town stands on the right bank of the river Ken, an important affluent of the Jumna, and is about ninety-five miles south- west of Allahabad. At the time of the outbreak the chief civil officer was Mr. F. 0. Mayne, who — in spite of his friendly sobriquet of * 'Foggy" — was a man who exercised considerable personal influence over those with whom he came in contact. Any defect of insight or scholastic culture was more than compensated by rectitude and energy ; the power to see the duty nearest to his hand, the will to carry it out. He died some years ago ; a handsome building at Allahabad testifies to the respect and regard of his comrades and subordinates. It is to this gentleman's Narrative that we are chiefly indebted for the sketch that follows. Shortly after receiving news of the disasters at Dehli and Meerut, Mr. Mayne found it necessary to strengthen his police force at out-lying stations, and to put an embargo on the ferries of the Jumna by which persons of a dangerous character might otherwise pass into his territory and stir up a rebellious spirit among the people. The roads were patrolled by horsemen, and strong posts stationed at all the approaches to the town. The English officers personally visited the town police-posts by night, and some of the native gentry and traders were allowed to entertain armed men for their own protection. Help was also obtained from the chief of Ajigarh and other places in the neighbourhood; and these measures were for some time efficacious in maintaining tranquillity. The regular troops con- sisted of three companies of the 1st Native Infantry, commanded by Lieutenant Bennett. But the elements of disaster were too strong. First, there was the depressed condition of the people of the district, ** ruined " — it is the Magistrate and Collector who says so— " by over-assessment and . . . half-starving." Then came pro- clamations issued by the British authorities at Agra, apparently 86 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE EEVOLT. without Mr. Mayne's consent. Released convicts from the broken jails of the neighbouring districts soon poured in, con- firming and exaggerating the news of trouble elsewhere. The first outbreak in the district was not a military mutiny but a rural rising ; a Tahsili (Sub-Collector's office) was sacked, and the records were destroyed by the villagers, "in order (as they said) that no record of their liabilities might remain to the new government." The process was repeated in other quarters; and Mayne saw the tide of rebellion rising rapidly all round him as he sate at his solitary post at Banda; his deputy, Mr. Cockerell, holding a still more lonely watch at the head-quarters of the sub-division of Ku'wi. The native officials, generally, showed much staunchness, remaining at their posts as long as they could do any good by remaining ; not a few being killed or wounded in the defence of Government property. Still, it is plain that there was not in Banda that backbone of popular energy and good-will which existed in some districts and which enabled Dunlop, for example, to make such short work with revolt in Meerut. A warning against the too frequent practice of treating unpleasant districts as penal settlements for unsuc- cessful or disfavoured officers, a practice to which was probably attributable the depressed condition of the Banda peasantry. On rare occasions — as in Mayne's own case — a distinguished officer would be sent to a place like this, being promoted for the purpose before his time ; but usually the other course is believed to have been adopted. Men who were not esteemed by " Govern- ment " were deputed to these stations ; feeling themselves dis- credited and ill-used, they worked sulkily and without zeal ; and the people, as of old, suffered for the folly of their rulers, and bore them no affection. Nor was the condition of the town itself much more assuring. Mutinous talk was heard among the sepoys, though as a body they were still trusted ; Mayne even went the length of sending much of his treasm-e to other districts under guards of these men, and confiding the balance to the care of the detachment, in ^ANi)A AND ALLAHABAD. 87 whose lines he deposited the specie. An attempt was made to fortify the jail as a place of refuge, but this had to be subse- quently abandoned on sanitary grounds. On the morning of the 8th June, as Mr. Mayne was sitting in his office, word was brought that a body of horse was approaching the bridge of boats at Chilatara on the Jumna. An emeute in the town took place at once and plundering com- menced. The police were employed with effect, and the ladies were removed into the Nawab's palace. In the meanwhile it was discovered that the supposed invaders were in truth the English refugees from Fatehpur, conducted by Mr. Sherer ; and this party arrived in Banda the same evening. But unfortu- nately the native officer stationed at the bridge had thought fit to accompany them ; the road being thus left open, bands of rebels followed, and general demoralisation was soon displayed. The ladies therefore remained in the palace, which was guarded by some of the English gentlemen, while others — among whom Sherer was conspicuous — took part in patrolling the town. On the night of the 12th, in spite of these precau- tions, two bungalows were burned, and the English began to make the palace defensible. Whatever they could do against outward enemies they seem to have done ; unhappily some, at least, of their foes were of their own household. On the 14th the detachment of the 1st received news of the mutiny of the regiment at Cawnpore. The 53rd broke out on the same day at the neighbouring station of Hamirpur and murdered the Christians at that station. Bennett reported his men as being utterly beyond control, and was accordingly put in command of a small body of the Nawab's men, with whose aid Mayne proposed to disarm the men of the 1st and make them give up the ammunition and treasure in their possession. Bennett showed the utmost coolness and resolution ; the Nawab wavered and vacillated for awhile, but was kept up to the mark by Mayne. The attack, however, proved a failure; Bennett's subalterns, Eraser and Clerk, were chased from the parade* ^8 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOfiT. ground with jeers, and esteemed fortunate in being able to join the refugees in the palace. All was over, for the time. The detachment was in successful mutiny, joined by the Nawab's men ; and all that was left for Mayne and his associates was to make the best retreat in their power, hampered as they were by the presence of seventeen women and a number of children, for whose safety they were responsible. Mr. H. B. Webster* with a few volunteers clearing the way, they left Banda at 8 o'clock that evening, reaching the friendly fort of Kalinjar at the end of their first march. They had hardly left the town before the station (European) was in a blaze, which lighted them ten miles on their way. Meanwhile Cockerell had also left his untenable post at Kirwi. On the morning after Mayne' s departure (15th June) he rode into Banda, where he was shot down at the gateway of the palace. The refugees reached Mirzapm* after a long but unmolested march ; and Sherer, proceeding to Allahabad, joined Havelock's advance on Cawnpore, while Mayne remained for the time watching his opportunity to recover his district. Meantime the Nawab had endeavoured to take charge, some- times obeyed, sometimes opposed by the sepoys. All the remaining Christians were gradually hunted down and mur- dered. The contagion spread rapidly through the district; old Bcores were paid, auction-purchasers and decree-holders were ousted, caravans were stopped and plundered, the reign of anarchy prevailed as in the old days before the British conquest. " Never was revolution more rapid, never more complete." [Mayne]. The sepoys marched off to Cawnpore on the 19th with the treasure and ammunition; and the Nawab, relieved by their departure, set to work to form a government, though with a heavy heart, and secret wishes for the return of the British. With them he attempted to open correspondence through Mayne, by whom, however, his letters were not answered. The fort of ♦ Since the able Inspector-Greneral of Police, N.W.P. BANDA AND ALLAHABAt). 89 Kalinjar continued to be held by Lieutenant Remington, of the 12th Native Infantry. The rest of the district became more and more a moral wilderness, though imperfect order was maintained in the precincts of the town of Banda, whose citizens were harried by pecuniary requisitions. About the beginning of April, 1858, the chief 's eyes began to be opened to his false position. While he had been doing his best to guard against small bodies of British troops crossing the Jumna, he suddenly heard of the approach of the Madras column from the south-west under General Whitlock. The first action was fought at Kalrai, twenty-four miles from Banda, on the 17th April, when the Nawab's troops retreated and saved their guns. On the 19th they were again driven off from a nearer field, and pursued up to the banks of the Ken, on which the town of Banda stands : the town itself was occupied without resistance on the following day. *' In a district," says Mr. Mayne, " in which our prestige had suffered so severely, from which we had been nearly a year absent, and where so many different bands of mutineers from time to time had congregated, and where the rebel government had been so long supreme, it was necessary that our return should be accompanied with a force sufficient to make a strong demonstration, to overawe all opposition, and at once to disarm and disperse the disaffected." Having this requisite, the magistrate resumed his duties on the 29th April, and at once set to work to re-establish his authority. He adds, however, the humiliating confession that the conduct of the British troops was for several weeks far from what was suited to reassure '* the frightened and doubting natives." And there were two chiefs still at Kirwi, retaining possession of the eastern half of the district, with 15,000 men and forty pieces of artillery ; moreover, tact and judgment were required in restoring order where the whole district had rebelled, and ** there was not a village marked in the map that had not, more or less, committed itself." He therefore wisely determined 90 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. to single out a few of the most guilty in each Pargana, in which alone extreme severity should be exercised ; contenting himself with levying pecuniary compensation for the offences committed by the others. A column of demonstration swept the country, being everywhere well received, save in two places which har- boured notorious offenders, and where due examples were made. Major Dallas, who commanded this column, was an officer of judgment and intelligence, whose firm yet conciliatory proceed- ings met with due acknowledgment from the able magistrate. A new police force was organised, the Tahsilis were reopened, and on the 1st June the general proceeded in person to the reduction of Kirwi. At the same time the rebels were driven from Kalpi by Sir Hugh Eose ; and the tranquil occupation of the entire district quickly ensued. About fom'-and-twenty villages that had obtained an evil prominence in crime were burned, and their head men hanged or flogged, while a few more armed demonstrations sufficed for the entu*e restoration of order. Mr. Mayne modestly attributes this rapid progress to all causes except his own great determination and local knowledge ; and he concludes his report with the quaint suggestion that *' no greater boon could be bestowed on the North-West Provinces than to dissolve the Regulations and Acts altogether.'^ This naif aspiration for the substitution of personal government for the reign of Law was fortunately disregarded ; it is only mentioned here as an illustration of the absence of statesman-like insight which is not inseparable from great administrative capacity in the ranks of the Indian Civil Service. The concluding words are alike characteristic of the humanity and of the loyalty of the class : — " Since closing the report the Queen's proclamation assuming the government of the country has been issued. . . . and all prisoners under trial who came under the amnesty have been released, to the number of upwards of 300 men. " God save the Queen." BANDA AND ALLAHABAD. M In Book XVII. of his History of the Indian Mutiny (Vol. III., p. 399 of the first edition), Colonel Malleson gives some sample sketches of the work of civil officers during the revolt which it has been our present business to study in detail. In speaking of Allahabad, the author mentions, as fully as the proportions of his work allowed, the condition of the town and station ; but it will be here necessary to expand those terse and just para- graphs, and to endeavour to give some idea of the events not only there, but in the outlying tracts of which Allahabad was the centre. The " Division," or Commissionership of Allahabad contains, as already stated, a large tract of country divided into adminis- trative districts, in some of which authority was, for a time, entirely swept away. The district especially named after the city is of considerable extent — the area being 2,765 square miles^ — and the population is very various, being marked off with some sharpness by geographical limits. The principal rivers are the Jumna and the Ganges, the latter partly flowing within its borders, partly separating it from Mirzapur and Oude. The total number of inhabitants in 1857 was about one million, almost all Hindus ; in the Duab, however, (the portion between the two great rivers,) the estates were largely held by Muslims. Led by them, the people rose in actual rebellion ; the Brahmans who lived by the pilgrimages to be presently described took the same line : a man of obscure origin who assumed the title of ''Maulvi" (Mollah, or Doctor of Divinity), raised the green flag and preached a crescentade ; the district police joined, and general anarchy was for a time established. Beyond the Ganges, so far as it intersects the district, there were other classes and other interests. Here the estates were large and held by Eajput clans, some of whom, ruined by their own mis- management, had been dispossessed by mortgagees and judgment-creditors ; but still maintained their prestige among the cultivating classes, who are believed to have paid them tribute out of which they maintained some degree of comfort and dS INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. position, supplemented by plunder, even in the quietest times. In the parts south of the Jumna, where neither set of conditions prevailed, three well-affected chiefs preserved some show of order, one of them especially — the Manda Eaja — taking charge of the public treasure and managing the police. In the town itself great elements of confusion ^ existed. Although, as a Mughal settlement, it was not a place of any but strategic importance, it had preserved traditions of sanctity from the days of Asoka, the contemporary of the ancient Macedonian Empire, whose obelisk still stands in the fort, bearing the cele- brated edicts of the reforming monarch. In a grotto close by stands the Akshai Baty representative of the sacred tree of Buddha, watered by subteiTanean droppings believed by the Hindus to be the reappearance of the Saraswati, ''the lost river" of the Sii'hind plain, which, according to them, re- appears here to join the Jumna and Ganges in their united progress to the sea. Thus honoured, the " meeting of the waters " has for two thousand years continued, in spite of political, even of religious, revolutions, to be the holiest spot in Hindustan; the " field of bliss," where it is more meritorious to bestow the smallest copper coin in alms than it would be to la'sdsh the largest sums elsewhere. Natm-ally, such a place would be the hunting- ground of religious mendicants, the scene of some of those bathing-fau's that form, in so many sacred river-sites, the combined resorts of pleasure and piety among the simple folk of Hindustan. As at Hardwiir, Muttra, Benares, so here, numerous gatherings take place on various festal days ; while in the pleasant season of Indian winter the plateau between the Jumna and the fort is frequented by a special attendance that collects on an average little less than a quarter of a million of human beings. To minister to the zeal of the pilgrims, to slake their thirst for instiniction, and to initiate them into the accurate observance of rite and mystery, a large confraternity of idle friars has been formed whom ignorant Europeans are in BANDA AND ALLAHABAD. 98 the habit of designating by the name of Fakirs (borrowed from Muhamadanism) , but whose special description is Pragwals, or *' Brothers of the Confluence." Mention has been made of the fort. The obelisk and grotto point to the conclusion that the place was considered important as far back as the days of the Palibothran Empire. But the present structure dates from a.d. 1575, when the great Mughal monarch, Akbar, was engaged in the final struggle with the Sharki, or Eastern, dynasty of Afghan kings. It was then that he saw the advantage of establishing a place of arms at the spot where his dominions in Hindustan were most open to invasion, and whence they could most profitably direct the channel of attack. The old castle has lost much of its mediaeval aspect in being adapted to the purposes of modern warfare under its present masters, the British. In the words of Heber, " the lofty towers have been pruned down, the high stone ramparts topped with turf parapets, and obscured by a green sloping glacis." Massive barracks and magazines conceal or even replace the council-halls and seraglios of the Mughals; whose great gateway — still a splendid relic in Heber's days — is now completely masked by the modern stucco-and-brick-work of " the Wellesley-Eavelin." In the spring of 1857 the garrison comprehended a wing of the Sikh " Eegiment of Firozpur," and the 6th Native Infantry ; two troops of Irregular Cavalry, under Captain Hardinge and Lieutenant A. Alexander, came in from Partabgarh, by order of Sir H. Lawrence ; and — most valuable of all — sixty British artillerymen were sent for from the invalid depot at Chunar, under command of an old Haileybury man. Lieutenant the Hon. C. J. D. Arbuthnott, who afterwards did excellent service with the levies in Bahar. The morning of the 6th June dawned in apparent quiet. Some of the white folks had sought safety in the fort, which was garrisoned by the invalided gunners and the Sikhs. These latter w^re not yet trusted. It Tpyas known that men of that 94 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. class had misconducted themselves at Benares, where indeed a sister regiment had just met with punishment, as will be shown hereafter. It was not known that the Sikh nation, and the people of the Punjab in general, were to make common cause with the British against their old enemies the Hindustanis. It is even stated by Mr. Fendall Thompson, the writer of the official Narrative, that the authorities of Allahabad had been warned against trusting their Sikh sepoys by Sir Henry Lawrence himself, the friend of that race. The treasure, therefore, was not entrusted to the Sikhs nor brought into the fort, although one hundred and ten volunteers had been armed from the arsenal and added to the strength of the garrison. The chiefs of the British administration were Mr. Charles Chester, the Commissioner, and Mr. M. Court, the Magistrate. On the latter devolved, in virtue of his office, the responsibility of not moving the treasure and the whole details of preparation. The day passed on. In the afternoon a parade was held in cantonments for the purpose of reading to the men of the 6th the letter of thanks addressed to them by the Governor- General in Council on their volunteering to march against their insurgent comrades at Dehli. At 8 p.m. the different detachments of the garrison marched to their respective batteries, and sentries posted on the ramparts kept a brisk look-out. They had not long to wait. At 9 o'clock a rocket was seen to rise from the bridge of boats, answered by a similar signal from the lines of the 6th Native Infantry in cantonments. Shortly after firing was heard ; and presently a note was brought from Lieutenant Harward, K.A., announcing that the sepoys had carried off two guns, and that he had gone in pursuit with two troops of Irregular Cavalry under Lieutenant Alexander. The rest is well known. Alexander was shot in charging the guns; Harward and others swam the river twice and got into the fort ; five officers of the 6th and eight unposted cadets were murdered in or near the mess-house; the jail was thrown open, the station was fired, plunder and slaughter BANDA AND ALLAHABAD. 95 raged ; by morning thirty-nine persons of Christian blood had perished. At the inner main-gate of the fort — near the above-mentioned Wellesley EaveHn — a company of the 6th remained, sympa- thising perhaps with their comrades outside but afraid to follow their example. These were at once disarmed by the volunteers and expelled from the fort. This measure was ably carried out by Lieutenant Brasyer, of the Sikh Regiment, one of those veterans almost peculiar in those days to the East India Company's service, who had risen from the ranks, and was destined to rise still higher. But it is not my part to dwell on military merit, however conspicuous. I return to my own subject. The disarming being happily accomplished without bloodshed or accident of any sort, the English in the fort began to breathe freely. On the 9th some confusion was caused by the misconduct of some of the volunteers who, being sent to remove stores from the Steam-Agency premises, took to plundering and drunkenness on their own account. But this was not followed by any serious consequences at the moment ; and on the 11th Colonel Neill, arriving from Calcutta with forty men, at once assumed command, and began to restore discipline among the volunteers and the Sikhs who had followed the example of disorganisation. In the meantime the mutineers of the 6th Native Infantry had crossed the river with their plunder ; but they had thrown away their arms for greater convenience in carrying bags of specie, and as soon as they crossed the river they were set upon by the villagers and spoiled of their ill-gotten gains. Disarmed and demoralised, they dispersed and became tramps, so that, as a body, they were never heard of more. Of the Irregulars many remained faithful ; and, being sent out into the district, rescued a party of beleaguered Christians — Major and Mrs. Ryves and some rail- way employes — all of whom were safely conducted into the fort with the exception of the lady, who unhappily sank under her fatigues. 96 INDIAN DISTKICTS DURING THE EEVOLT. At this time the city and suburbs were in open rebellion under the Maulvi already mentioned, whose preaching had commended him as a leader to the disaffected population. His head-quarters were at the Khushru Garden, opposite the railway-station, whither he had conveyed the two guns taken from Lieutenant Harward on the night of the outbreak. Having first secured the bridge of boats, Neill organised an expedition against these rebels. On the 13th the suburbs near the fort were cleared ; on the 14th the steamer Jumna arrived with further reinforcements; on the 17th a party of volunteers, under Mr. H. D. Willock, the joint magistrate, supported by some men of Neill's famous regi- ment, the Madras Fusiliers, and by two howitzers under Harward, proceeded up the river, and, in co-operation with another party headed by Neill, drove the rebels from the town. The Maulvi and his followers abandoned their guns and fled ; Mr. Court, proceeding to the chief police-station, restored his authority over the town and reinstated his officers ; on the 18th the " station " (White Town) was occupied, and the cantonments were penetrated. Unfortunately, the exposure and licence of the past began to tell, in the shape of a violent outbreak of cholera, to which no less than forty of the priceless Fusiliers at once succumbed. Neill immediately thinned the population of the fort by ordering out all non-combatants, and (the re-occupation of the station and cantonment rendering this easier) the epidemic disappeared as suddenly as it had broken out. Drafts of men now arrived daily, and soon nothing remained to hinder the advance upon Cawnpore but the difficulty of procuring transport in a locality that had been so scourged and ravaged. On the 30th, Major Eenaud was able to start with a small column. Alas ! Wheeler had already capitulated — with consequences that we know. On the 1st July General Havelock reached Allahabad, and on the 11th joined Eenaud at Khaga with a strong column of foot and three guns. Next morning they had their first brush with the enemy, headed by Hikmat-Ulla, revolted deputy-collector BANDA AND ALLAHABAD. 97 of Fatehpur. Mr. Willock, being with the " faithful " Irregulars, was put to flight by a charge of the 2nd Bengal Cavalry, no doubt owing to the sympathising of his men, who were soon after disbanded by order of General Havelock. Let it be men- tioned, however, that the British officers displayed their usual gallantry, and that the Eisaldar (native captain) of the Irregulars was killed bravely doing his duty. Mr. Willock may now be left, as he has proceeded beyond the limits of his district, and we return to Mr. Court at Allahabad. Here the work of retribution and restoration was in stern pro- gress. Numbers of those who had taken an active part in the disturbances that ensued upon the mutiny of the 6th were in hiding in and about the town, and it was upon them that ven- geance was in the first instance directed. On the 22nd July " special commissions " were issued to certain individuals, one of whom was a well-known railway contractor, and the work of reprisal began in fatal earnest. *' The result of these measures," writes Mr. Thompson, " was soon visible in a wholesome fear pervading all classes of natives — plundered property was cast into the fields and roads by those who felt that its possession was unsafe." The sentence contains more than, perhaps, was meant. Fear — whether ** wholesome " or not, was certainly felt by " all classes " — whether criminal or not. A terreur blanche was set up. " Zealously," writes an observer who was present,^ "did the commissioners use their powers; and, in the short time which elapsed before their recall, one of these private indi- viduals had sentenced sixty, the second sixty-four, and the civil surgeon fifty-four, to the gallows. No record remains of crime or evidence, but we gather that one man was hanged for having a bag of new copper coin in his possession Thirteen were hung another day for a similar offence. Six were hung for plying a ferry for the convenience of the rebels " (by whom they must have been shot if they had refused). Mr. Cust, however, adds that the proceedings of the trained officials, sensible of * Gust's " District during the Rebellion," — Calcutta Review. 98 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. responsibility and accustomed to balance proof and disproof, were more deliberate. Indeed, it is to be hoped so. At all events, Allahabad was now safe. But the country was much disturbed. The usual agrarian outrages set in ; landmarks were removed, new proprietors evicted, vendettas enforced, Europeans hunted down. The Pragwal Brahmans spread over the villages, abusing their supposed sanctity and their personal influence to mislead the simple credulous villagers ; and the Maulvi flaunted his green banner. When authority recovered the upper hand these tracts were entirely deserted, and great difficulty and delay were experienced before the operations of peace could be renewed there. It has already been mentioned that the tracts beyond the Jumna had escaped the general demoralisation. Here three chiefs, the Kajas of Manda, Dahia, and Barra, had frowned upon all attempts at misconduct, and were prepared to receive the Government officers with open arms and a clear conscience. Beyond the Ganges, on the other hand, the Eajput clans had seized the opportunity to sweep away all that opposed the resumption of the power that they had forfeited by a long career of idleness and extravagance. Strong in the sympathies of the tenantry, they long continued to maintain a guerilla warfare against the Government that had, in their opinion, caused their losses. They were assisted by escaped convicts and, doubtless, by mutinous sepoys ; and it was not till the beginning of 1858 that serious measures could be taken for their suppression. In January a force, under Brigadier Campbell, left Allahabad, which, driving all opposition before it, occupied the Grand Trunk road and surrounding country, as far as Phulpur. Then came fugitive troops from Oude, flying before the column commanded by General Franks,^ and causing fresh disorganisation. " Order cannot," concludes Mr. Thompson's Narrative^ "be said to have been effectually restored until Brigadier Berkeley took the strong- hold of Dehion (Dahain) on the 14th of July. With that event the * Malleson, ii. 328-9, BANDA AND ALLAHABAD. 99 disturbances consequent on the mutiny may be said to have been subdued in the district of Allahabad." [Vide Malleson, iii. 280. J Some pictures of civil administration in this troublous time have been extracted by Colonel Malleson^ from Mr. Gust's most valuable paper. In addition to his other powers, Mr. Court was entrusted with authority for the levying of fines upon offenders, individual and corporate, and for the confiscation of estates. Lord Canning went to Allahabad in the beginning of 1858, and took over the local government from Mr. J. P. Grant, who, having administered firmly during a most trying time, returned to Calcutta to take up the post of President of the Supreme Council. The Lieutenant-Governorship of the province was vacant, and Allahabad became henceforth marked out as the future seat of government. Supported by the immediate presence of the Governor- General (no longer fettered by any assessors), Mr. Court proceeded with his arduous duties. In all things he displayed the moral and intellectual resources of a well-born and well-trained English officer. His work was varied and complicated to a degree bordering on distraction. Unadjusted items, of the smallest and also of the largest amount, swelled his inefficient balance, arising from payments that had often to be made on the spur of the moment, and must sometimes have been unsupported by vouchers. Thus, it is asserted by Mr. Cust that spies and emissaries had to be occasionally rewarded by being allowed to dip their hands into a bag of silver and appropriate as much as they could grasp ! Supplies of cash, and not of cash only, had to be constantly made to advancing columns, and assistance promptly rendered to officers of the commissariat and ordnance departments. The writer calls to mind a case in which one of such items remained unadjusted for nearly ten years. At the same time, though treasure was continually pouring in from Calcutta, revenue had in due course to be realised from the villages, wasted by war and rapine, and from fields often deserted * Vol. iii. pp. 442 ff. 7 * 100 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. by their cultivators ; or, where not reaHsed, formal proceedings of suspension, equally of course, had to be recorded. For, as Mr. Cust (himself a high revenue authority) most justly remarks, it often became " a grave moral question how far a government is justified in demanding the payment of taxes when it has notoriously failed in its duty of protection." Other features of the district officer's care-ridden career will be found most graphi- cally pictured in Mr. Gust's pleasant paper, among which may be noted the keeping of an unpaid hotel. For his house at Allahabad became known as the rendezvous of visitors; and many survivors, officials and travellers, must still recollect the rough but ready hospitality of " The Eed Lion." " No wonder," concludes Mr. Cust, " if some grey hairs showed in his beard, if his heart sometimes palpitated from over-excite- ment, and his liver sometimes troubled him He had much to bear ; and the rebellion fell heavily on his estate, his family, and his health. He was mentioned in no despatches,"'^ the thanks of Government reached him not ; and, when he saw that the tide had turned and that the country was saved, he hurried to England, on the chance of rest bringing back tone to his body and change of scene restoring equanimity to his mind." Mr. Court is, I believe, still enjoying the otium cum dignitate of a country gentleman in his native land. If the labours of other officers were more martial and, so far, more conspicuous, few of his contemporaries exceeded him in those equally useful exertions by which the work of the sword is supported and rendered possible. * Vide Extract from Dunlop in introductory remarks. I 101 CHAPTEK VII. BENAEES AND AZAMGAEH. The Benares division, at the time of the outbreak, was of great extent, containing nearly twenty thousand square miles, with a population of some nine millions, of which all but about ten per cent, was of Hindu origin and creed. Taken alphabetically the districts may be thus described : — 1. AzAMGABH, 2,565 square miles, with a population of about one million and a quarter. More than a quarter of the area was barren, consisting either of salt-desert, swamp, or ravine. The district officer was, at first, Mr. Home, afterwards relieved by Mr. K. H. Davies. This officer subsequently, as Sir Henry Davies, became Lieutenant-Governor of the Panjab. Other civil officers did service of various kinds during the troubles at Azam- garh in the vicinity, but by far the most conspicuous of the non- military leaders were two planters : one, Mr. Venables, ulti- mately died of wounds received in action, and his deeds were commemorated by Lord Canning * ; the other, Mr. M. P. Dunn, long survived the mutiny, but no public recognition of his conduct was ever made, though (as the Commissioner pointed out at the time) " it was he who first persuaded Venables to return ; and his courage and daring on every occasion is {sic) spoken of by everyone with admiration." f * Vide Despatch (Canning to Chamber of Commerce), Malleson, vol. ii p 546 t Commissioner's Narrative, dated 6th November 1858. 102 INDIAi^ t>ISTRlCTS DURING THE REVOLT. 2. Benares. This district is only 996 square railes in area, but the number of inhabitants is — and was even then — large for the area, being three quarters of a million at least. It was therefore an unusually dense population, living in towns, on market gardens, and on highly-cultivated farms. The chief town, or city, stands about half-way between Dehli and Calcutta ; the site of an ancient Brahmin settlement, and containing some thousand Hindu temples, in addition to bathing-places and shrines. Besides its sanctity Benares is an important entrepot, both of manufactures and agricultural produce. The chief civil officers were Messrs. H. C. Tucker, the commissioner ; F. B. Gubbins, judge ; F. M. Lind, district-officer ; and two gentlemen who have since become better known, the late Archibald S. Pollock; and E. G. Jenkinson, at present (1883) the very success- ful police under- secretary in Ireland. These officers held, as will be presently seen, firm possession of their posts throughout. The English town is at Secrole, some three miles away from Benares. 3. Ghazipur. a district of 2,167 square miles, with a popula- tion of about a million and a quarter, is an alluvial plain, per- meated by three rivers, the Ghagra, Gumti, and Ganges, the last of which, in the rainy season, is often four miles across from shore to shore. The lands are much exposed to flooding, and the population has long been depressed in character and decreasing in numbers. The magistrate of this district was Mr. Andrew Boss, an officer who is believed to have served in the Boyal Navy before entering the service ; and among his subordinates were Mr. John Bax — afterwards Bax-Ironside, C.B. — and Mr. Leslie Probyn, brother of the well-known General Sir Dighton Probyn, K.C.S.I. and Y.C. As will be seen, the mutiny administration was successful. 4. Jaunpur, area 1,655 square miles, and population about one million, had long enjoyed the doubtful blessings of a ** per- manent settlement " of the land-revenue, under which the follow- ing state of things had come about — [the quotation is from an official report of the period]: — BENARES AND AZAMGARH. 103 The changes in the ownership of land have occurred in all cases at the instance of the civil coui-ts. Old oflBcials, law-agents, and money-lenders, are still supplant- ing those of the original proprietors that are left. . As a rule they are hard, exact- ing, had landlords Theh- large profits are not expended in improving the estates. . . . the tenantry are hostile, abject, and thoroughly discontented. Mr. H. P. Fane was the chief, or district magistrate at the commencement of the outbreak ; but his place was ere long vacated, and Mr. Lind, from Benares, took charge of the district. It need only be here added that the country is generally flat and fertile, and that the chief town is a decayed Musalman settle- ment. 5. The last district to be mentioned is the enormous county called, from its chief town, Miezapue. It consists of no less than 5,217 square miles, though the population hardly exceeded a million in those days. The district abounds in forests and mountain ranges (which is a characteristic more favourable to the sportsman and the lover of nature than to the farmer or merchant), though the town of Mirzapur, being on the bank of the Ganges, has some note as a mart for produce, and for manufactures of carpets and piece-goods, and is also an entre- p6t for cotton. The district at the time was in charge of Mr. St. George Tucker. Another enormous tract, originally attached to the Benares division, is Gorakhpur, a fragment of the ancient kingdom of Kosila, or Audh. But it is not included in the Commissioner's narrative, and was not the scene of any considerable events. It is an alluvial and verdant tract lying at the foot of the Nepalese Himalayas. It was abandoned in August 1857, and, after lying vacant for some time, was occupied on behalf of the Government by Sir Jung Bahadur, the minister of the Alpine kingdom, in January 1858. The district was then for some time made into a separate commissionership. The attempts of Messrs. Wynyard, Paterson, and Bird to maintain order, in the teeth of insurmountable difficulties, are well told by Malleson (vol.iii. p. 447 ff.) It has been said above that the '* Station," or White- town, of 104 INDIAN DISTBICTS DUBING THE REVOLT. Benares is at Secrole ; this is a village three miles N.W. of the city, containing the public offices, cantonments, and garden- houses, or "bungalows" of the officers civil and military; also, in 1857, a mint. In May the garrison consisted of the 37th Native Infantry, the 13th Irregular Cavalry, and a portion of a Sikh Eegiment of Ludiana, in all about two thousand troops. About the middle of the month arrived news of the mutinies at Meerut and Dehli, and the terrible sufferings that they had drawn on the Europeans at those places. The people of Benares, as it chanced, were at that time suffering from a dearth of food, and were consequently in a somewhat dangerous frame of mind ; and the Hindu sepoys, scarcely concealing their fanatical aspira- tions for a revolution, sent away their guru or chaplain, lest (as they said) he should sustain harm in the coming troubles. Messrs. Gubbins and Lind at once addressed themselves to these present evils, now patrolling the streets with parties of horse, now trying their powers of persuasion to obtain diminution of the prices demanded by the grain-dealers, or listening to the reports of emissaries who — as soon appeared — gave them truer information of the feelings of the native soldiery than was obtained by the military commanders themselves. The Mint was fixed on as the rendezvous for the Christians in case of serious alarm ; but on further consideration this plan was so far modified that the civil residents were to congregate first at the collector's office, a lofty building adjoining the Treasury. Here were amassed not only the cash belonging to the State, but also the jewels of the Ex-Eani of the Panjab (the mother of H.H. the Maharaja Dhulip Singh). It was hoped that the civilians, by collecting there in arms, would be enabled to overawe the guard and save all this property, valued at more than a quarter of a million of money. It is memorable that this plan, which was crowned with eventual success, was not decided on without opposition from high military authority. The officer commanding the artillery (afterwards to acquire great renown as Major, and ultimately BENAEBS AND AZAMGABH. lO General, Olpherts) concurred with the chief engineer in thinking that the Secrole positions were all untenable, and half succeeded in impressing his strong will upon Colonel Gordon, the officer next in rank to the Brigadier, and inducing him to order a retreat upon the fort of Chunar. But Mr. Lind, strongly dissenting, refused to stir from his post without the decision of a council ; and when^ the council met, and Mr. Tucker, the Commissioner, seemed also inclined to give way, Lind and Gubbins used the strongest arguments against the movement. "I," said the Judge, " will go on my knees to you, to beg that you will not leave Benares." ** And I," replied Gordon, *' am right glad to hear you say so. The move on Chunar would be a false one, I see, and I was persuaded into approving of it against my will." This amendment, then, being jfinally disposed of, the original design (as modified) was carried ; and the British officers pre- pared for the worst. That was on the 3rd of June. Next day the council reassembled to discuss the disarming of the 37th Native Infantry, and, while still sitting, were informed of the mutiny at Azamgarh, to be described hereafter. As they were dispersing after having come to a final agreement, the roar of guns was heard from the parade-ground. Obedient to the pre- concerted arrangement, the civilians repaired to the Collector's office, well armed, and took possession of the treasure. On their way they were fired at in crossing a bridge ; three of them were driving in a carriage, but Mr. Jenkinson was on horseback, and with impulsive heroism threw himself in front of his companions, so as to intercept the cartridges intended for them. Such unsel- fishness is not often heard of, but it rests on the testimony of Mr. F. B. Gubbins, one of those in the carriage. The firing that had been heard was due to the attack made upon the sepoy lines by Colonel Neill, at the head of two hundred of the 1st Madras Fusiliers who had just arrived from Calcutta, supported by Olpherts with his half-battery. The sepoys fought well for a few minutes, and the Sikhs, taken by surprise, joined them. But the resistance was quickly overpowered by rapid 106 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. discharges of grape ; the sepoys were dispersed with a loss of two hundred, the loss on the British side being only two officers and the like number of men. Next day the civilians proceeded to the Mint, which was hastily fortified ; the contents of the Treasury were placed under European guard ; and Mr. Pollock, who had gone out into the district on the 3rd, began taking active measures to push on the reinforcements that were arriving by driblets from Calcutta. Communication with Allahabad was maintained by Mr. Jenkinson, who took charge of the road with a party of Native Cavalry under Lieutenant (afterwards Major-General) Palliser; and special legislation speedily bore fruit in " a few instances of crime com- mitted after breakfast and avenged before dinner." Jenkinson next proceeded to raise fresh mounted police, whom he sent, under Mr. Chapman, against some Eajputs from a village in the Jaunpur district, who were cutting off communication with Azamgarh. The force returned on 30th June after having inflicted severe chastisement ; but the tenacious Rajputs returned to the attack, and marched within nine miles of Benares, only to be again trounced, after which they gave no further trouble. Messrs. Gubbins and Lind, however, continued to feel natural anxiety for the very important post in their charge (on which, indeed, depended the due advance of the troops from Calcutta to the Upper Provinces), and in this interest pressed earnestly upon the military authorities the need of some more important and— so to speak — aggressive place of strength at Benares than the improvised defences of the Mint. They freely offered convict-labour ; and finally obtained sanction to an estimate from the Government, which was not then in a very thrifty mood. The result was the erection of the fortification, irregular but strong, that, standing on the site of an old Hindu castle, commands the approach at Eajghat, whether by water or by land. We must now turn for a while to Azamgarh. The outbreak of the sepoys at Benares had been precipitated by events occuiTing in the vicinity. The troops at Azamgarh BMAEES AND AZAMGARH. 107 consisted of the 17th Native Infantry, a regiment that had been lately brigaded with the 19th Native Infantry at Lucknow, and had contracted much intimacy with men of that regiment. In the latter part of May, some men of the 19th being on a visit in the lines of the 17th, a small but discreditable breach of discipline was committed on parade, which Major Burroughs, the officer in command, did not feel competent to notice, as he dared not inflict due punishment in the circumstances by which he was surrounded. But he fortified the Collector's office with loop-holed walls and sand-bags, and placed a gun in position guarded by those of his men whom he deemed most worthy of confidence. On the 2nd June, Mr. Home, the district officer, attempted in vain to detain some treasure which had been called in from Benares. On the night of the following day a convoy was actually despatched with no less than seven lakhs of rupees under a guard of cavalry. This seems to have been too much for the sepoys, who immediately sprang to arms, shot their English quartermaster- sergeant, and put the officers — civil and military— to flight. The jail-guard joined, releasing the prisoners, and the men at the Collector's office murdered Lieu- tenant and Adjutant Hutchinson and seized the gun."^ The remainder of the white people, male and female, found a tempo- rary refuge on the fortified roof ; and, when the coast was clear, retreated on Ghazipur. The mutinous sepoys meanwhile pursued the treasure, which they brought back with them to their lines, whence they ultimately departeid to Faizabad in Oude. On the 16th Mr. Dunn returned to Azamgarh, accom- panied by Mr. Yenables and some mounted constables placed at their disposal by the magistrate of Ghazipur, their primary object being to search for and, if possible, rescue any refugees who might be lurking in the villages. In this they were succes- ful, as also in getting rid of some men of the 13th Irregular * The sepoy who shot the Adjutant was afterwards taken by a detective (to whom he rashly confided the narrative of his exploit), while serving as a pointsman on the East Indian Railway. He was tried before the present writer, and hanged : as fine a man as could be seen. 108 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. Cavalry, who seemed at first inclined to dispute their possession of Azamgarh. They remained, and were invested with magis- terial power by order of the Commissioner. Along with them also remained Messrs. Legge, Dodsworth, and Niblett. It is to be remarked that from the 2nd to the 16th Mr. Niblett, who was the Collector's head clerk, had been sheltered by a Muhamadan colleague named Ali Baksh, who had during all these days con- tinued to frustrate all attempts at the formation of a rebel administration, organised a native committee of public safety, and even contrived to send daily reports to the Commissioner at Benares. Ali Baksh was rewarded by promotion. I do not know whether he still lives, but his name deserves to be recorded perpetually as that of a true hero and faithful servant of an alien Government whose salt he had eaten. Indeed, anxious as the writer of these pages naturally is to lose no fitting occasion of commemorating the services of his brother-officers of the Covenanted Ci\il Service, he cannot for- bear to call attention to the singular spectacle presented at this crisis by the district of Azamgarh. Abandoned by all its official guardians and administrators, it was dependent on the corn-age and vigilance of a few planters and subordinate employes, Venables, though in no degree the superior in moral qualities to Dunn, was the better man of business, and assumed the chief authority. It was no sinecure. On the western side the Eajput clans were in open hostility, strengthened by a fortnight's licence. "The police, helpless with terror, the provisional council unable to rule even the neighbouring villages, had not dared to cope with these audacious plunderers ; and Mr. Ven- ables soon found that he must try his power against them in the field, or be forced to save his own life by again abandoning the station." [Official Narrative.]* His force was small, consist- ing of 150 of the 65th Native Infantry, seventy-five mounted constables, and an old gun. The enemy were numerous, and • This narrative, by 3*Ir. Robert Taylor, is one of the best of the series ; and it has been a pleasure to use it. BENAEES AND AZAMGARH. 109 well-provided with foirtified places and with military stores. The first attempts against them met with but poor success, and 500 of them stormed the police-station in broad daylight and released some of their friends who had been captured and con- fined there. About the 12th of July Mr. Venables, having managed to obtain some more (apparently faithful) sepoys, attacked the Eajputs of the Palwar clan at Koilsa. But the sepoys misconducted themselves, and Venables was forced to fall back on Azamgarh, pursued by the enemy at a respectful distance. By the 18th they had arrived, however, within two miles of the city. At this juncture, fortunately, Messrs. Davies and James Simson, civil officers, came in, bringing with them ten military officers marching to join the Gurkha force sent down from Nipal ; twenty-five sabres 12th Irregular Cavalry, and a raw levy from Benares under Captain Catania. The bulk of the 65th men at the same time returned to their head-quarters at Ghazipur. With the force that remained the attack was resumed, while Mr. Simson remained at Azamgarh with Catania's men for the protection of the public offices, breast- works having been thrown up across the approaches. Some newly-raised matchlockmen were also posted in various parts of the town. Again was Venables doomed to disappointment ; he found the enemy too strongly posted for attack. Presently he had to assume the defensive ; the defence became a retreat ; but for his gun and some of his horsemen he would scarcely have been able to retire, as he did, without serious loss. During the night the question of retreat on Ghazipur was seriously discussed, and the only voices for remaining are said to have been those of James Simson, Lieutenant Havelock, and Venables himself; but in the morning the minds of the defenders of Azamgarh were relieved by finding that the enemy had also had their misgivings, and had melted away. The fight of the day before had been long, and the loss of the enemy turned out to have been more severe than had been at first supposed. The gun had done fatal service with its fre(juent 110 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. discharges of grape ; the horsemen, led by Venables and Dunn, had used their sabres well ; the Palwars had retired to their villages with the loss of two hundred and fifty of their best men. After this matters went on quietly till the 28th July, when news arrived of the mutiny of the 12th Cavalry at Sigaoli ; and then it was felt that no confidence could be reposed in the detachment of that regiment at Azamgarh. Next day came news of the mutiny at Dinapore, together with a note from Mr. Tucker, the Commissioner at Benares, authorising evacuation, which was accordingly decided on. It was a dreary march, followed by a long line of carts, in which the townspeople were removing their property. The tide of rapine closed on their departure, and the town was given up to plunder before the troops were well clear of the suburbs. With some difficulties and alarms the column achieved its march to Ghazipur ; but behind them all was confusion. The faithful native employes having shared the evacuation and retreat, there was no material left for a committee of safety. The police-stations, with two excep- tions, were deserted by their occupants ; the Palwars seized the town and levied a pecuniary requisition. It deserves to be mentioned that the native officials of Nagra and Muhamadabad continued to conduct the business of their posts. Their names were Asghar Ali and Muhamad Taki. On the 20th August the Gurkhas arrived under Colonel Wroughton, followed on the 3rd September by Messrs. Wynyard and Birch, C.S. ; and on the 20th September Wynyard and Venables, accompanied by a Gurkha force under Colonel Shamshir Singh and Captain Boileau, fought the brilliant action at Man- dori (described by Malleson, vol. ii. p. 317 ff.)> in which they killed nearly three hundred of the enemy and took three guns. On this occasion Venables helped to take the first gun, and killed three rebels with his own hand. No wonder if the rebels offered a reward for his head. Mr. Bird soon after took another party of Gurkhas out, who demolished two forts and reoccupied the BENABES AND AZAMGARH. Ill station of Mahul ; and this, for the time, restored the Government throughout the district. Soon after Mr. Pollock assumed charge, and — while amusing the Palwars with negotiations — fell upon the Grorakhpur rebels who had been driven towards him by the Gurkhas. Aided by the fire of a gun well-directed by Mr. Hercules Eoss, C.S., Mr. Pollock drove them across the river ; and then, turning his attention to the Palwars, set out at the head of a sufficient force, to make a tour through their country. Having made certain examples of them and demolished some of their strong places, he brought them to terms ; and although the district was after- wards twice invaded, the Palwars never gave any further trouble. The remaining operations in the district of Azamgarh were chiefly military; and the successful campaigns of Longden, Lugard, and Lord Mark Kerr have been amply described by the accomplished historian of the mutiny. The town — which had been occupied by the notorious Kunwar Singh — was finally recovered on the 14th April 1858 ; but the victory was dearly bought by the death of the gallant Venables, who was mortally wounded in the pursuit of the enemy on that occasion. Kunwar Singh was soon after driven out of the district, in which order was promptly and permanently restored. 112 CHAPTER VIII. GHAZIPTJE, JAUNPUR, AND MIRZAPUR. Considerable space has been given to Azamgarh, the events there having been of a peculiar type. The original outbreak there exercised a powerful influence on events in the neighbour- ing districts, especially Benares ; and that most important post itself owed its ultimate safety to the final success of the military leaders in Azamgarh, directed and aided by the fighting planters. We have now to see what had been going on in the remaining districts. The events in the district of Ghazipur may be disposed of briefly. Of the chief, Mr. A. Eoss, the Commissioner — Mr. F. Gubbins — observes that, " his prudence and firmness as magi- strate had a great effect in preserving the peace of his jm-isdic- tion." From the circumstances mentioned in the opening description this had always been a troublesome district to manage ; and minor disturbances soon broke out. Luckily, in spite of the Treasury being full of cash, the troops — the 65th Native Infantry — did not mutiny as was so generally the case elsewhere. But the mutiny at Azamgarh had its effect there, no less than at Benares. The fugitives from Azamgarh arrived, as we have seen, in safety, but the district rose behind them ; by the 6th of June civil war became almost universal through- out the Ghazipur district. " The police were helpless, and robberies were perpetrated to the very door of the Court House itself." The treasure was sent into Benares by steamer; GHAZIPUR, JAUNPFR, AND MIRZAPUR. 113 "martial law was proclaimed," implying the subordination of the civil power ; and military officers conducted expeditions to the worst-behaved parts of the district where they inflicted exemplary punishment ; by the 16th order seemed in a fair way to being restored. On the 7th July, however, Mr. Bax had to take a party (native horsemen and a handful of British troops) for the protection of an indigo factory belonging to a Mr. Matthews, and to destroy a recalcitrant village. On the 14th came news of the outbreak of Kunwar Singh at Arrah, followed on the 27th by the yet more disquieting announcement of the mutiny of the native garrison at Dinapore. The 65th had already announced that their own loyalty was only conterminous with that of their brethren at this station, so that the rising there might be taken as the signal for a rising at Ghazipur. "Still they stood in unstable loyalty; why, no one knows." Mr. Bax proceeded with Vincent Eyre to Arrah, and the news of the memorable relief of Arrah was followed up by the disarming of the 65th, which was effected without bloodshed. Mr. Boss had the satisfaction (in which he stood almost alone among his colleagues at the time) of being able to carry on his duties in comparative tranquillity. A part of those duties was, however, of extraordinary character and exceptional usefulness — namely the collection of stores, supplies, and carriage for the European troops constantly hurrying westward. These modest labours deserved, perhaps, more recognition than they have hitherto received. In 1858 trouble was renewed. Eastern Ghazipur became demoralised by the wake of Kunwar Singh's final retreat. ** Far from the centre station, unpierced by roads, bounded by two great rivers, by crossing either of which the fugitives would be in another province and under another law, that tract seemed marked out for an Alsatia." The conditions and elements of disturbance that had always characterised it, and under which the police, even in the most tranquil times, had always been unequal to their work, now broke forth in full conflagration, 8 114 INDIAN DISTEICTS DURING THE REVOLT. Fugitive sepoys, whose homes were in its inaccessible hamlets, formed so many centres of petty rebellion; the whole region was a very ant-hill of microscopic confusion. About the middle of May serious measm-es were taken with it ; and Mr. Leslie Probyn, C.S., having obtained the aid of a party of troops under Colonel Cumberlege, took the fortified village of Baragaon, and returned to Ghazipur, after destroying the houses of the ring- leaders. South of the Ganges, however, order was not so soon restored; rapine and arson raged without repression; every person who had served the State or aided European individuals was murdered with every circumstance of atrocity. The police were thoroughly cowed by this reign of terror ; " no language can describe too strongly the utter disorganisation of the end of June." Early in July Mr. Bax moved out to Ballia. The rebels had broken down a bridge on his line of advance, but he forded without opposition. Ballia was evacuated; and leaving Mr. Probyn there with a garrison of Sikhs, Mr. Bax marched towards the confluence of the Ghagra and Ganges. Here he was in some danger of being surrounded, but was relieved by the advance of Brigadier Douglas. For a general view of this officer's operations the reader should consult Malleson, vol. ii. p. 484 ff. The story of the civil administration of Ghazipur presents no further important featm-es. The subdivision of Zamania was held throughout August, the north and east were completely tranquillised, by the end of October the entire district was cleared of rebels. Bax was made C.B., the only subordinate officer who (so far as I know) obtained that distinction. Turning to Jaunpur, we find what Mr. Taylor calls " a strange scene " ; of which the opening is easy, though not particularly pleasant, to relate. The conditions mentioned in om- preliminary description were sufficient to justify the belief that the district was not likely to escape the contagion of disaffection and dis, tm-bance. The estates had largely changed hands; but the ex-proprietors, though ruined, remained on the spot and main- GHAZIPUR, JAUNPUE, AND MIRZAPUR. 115 tained their local influence. Absorbed in agrarian quarrels the natives of the district seem to have made no preparation for the coming troubles ; the Christian planters had been more prescient, and had collected together in the chief town as a place of safety. On the morning of the 5th June, the Europeans being all collected at the Collectorate with arms in their hands, the news of the outbreaks at Benares and Azamgarh arrived. The Treasury-guard (a detachment of the Sikh Eegiment that had been so unfortunately implicated at Benares) was roused to fury by the tidings of their comrades' slaughter. They shot their commandant ; and meeting Mr. Cuppage, the joint- magistrate galloping down to the jail, they murdered him like- wise. Each man then helped himself to a bag of the silver coin in the Treasury, and the whole detachment, with arms in their hands, marched off in good order to Lucknow. The English first sought safety in the house of Kai Hingan Lai ; but being driven thence by a turbulent Kajput clan, they retired upon a factory at some distance in the country, whence they were brought in to Benares on the 9th June by a party of volunteers who went out for the purpose. No sooner had they departed than " the plunder of the Treasury was completed by decrepit old women and street boys, who had never seen a rupee in their lives"; the bungalows of the English were plundered and destroyed. A committee was improvised by the natives, as at Azamgarh ; and Mr. Fane, returning for a day, formally installed Eaja Sheoghulam, the head of the Dubes (the clan mentioned above) as temporary chief. This latter appoint- ment does not appear to have been popular. The peace of the town was disturbed ; in the district at large no vestige of authority remained, anarchy became universal. " Those who had lost their estates under our rule," so writes Mr. Taylor, " thought this a good time to regain them ; those who had not, thought they could make a little profit by plundering their weaker neighbours ; the bolder spirits thought to secure more brilliant advantages by intercourse with the rebel powers in 8 * 116 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. Oade; and in tliis stat« they remained till the arriTal of the GurUias on September 8th restored a semblance of anthority to the British GoTemment." Charge was then assumed by Messrs. F, M. Lind, and E. G. Jenkinson, C.S., both of whom have been already mentioned in these pa^es ; with them being Mr, Falriek Camegy, an *' nncoTemoited depnty " of whom an aeooant may he fomid in Malleson, vol. ii. p. 339. Of all these officers it is reo(»ded that they performed the work of soldiers inadlditioii to their own ; aooon^anjing the Gnrkhas thronghont llie campajgn Uiat led to tiie reoocupation of the district, dmring which they "exhibited great gallantry in the field, and were moet ind^akigable in the performance of their duties." (Com- iniHBionfr to Govemmait, 6th November 185S.) Nor should tiie oames of tiiOBe peareons be forgotten who, though not in the 8»Tioe of tiie State, came forward in the general trouble to aid in the maintenance of order. Of such were Messrs. Waleski, indigo-planters who, **out of pure loyalty, accompanied the authorities on their return to Jaunpur, and then shared the i^H^ of the subsequent campaign. . . . Hingan LH, who ga^ shelter. ... to the Jaunpur fugitives. . . . Madhu Singh, Zemindar of Bisharatpur, who sheltered a considerable party of planters . . . and has ever since proved a loyal subject of GoTanm^Lt . . . Baja Mahesh Narain, ever since the re- accapt&m a wann partisan of ours, giving us a number of majbchlockmen to assist our police, and rendering every other asBiHtance in his poww,'' and Eaja Sheog^ulam Dube, mentioned ahoTe.* Bai Hxngan Ul re-established the outpost of Kirftal, and was appointed Beputy-Magfetrate and Collector ; the forces of the other oulposts were strengthened, and strict orders were issoed ftat tiie oflficials in charge should engage in no rash adventures; the soathem and eastern tracts began to settle down; a reinforcement was even sent to aid the garrison of A wngarh ; and a lebd leader (Iradat Jahan), who had con- stitnted himeelf NmSk Ndojm, was attacked, and made a stubborn ComznisaogtiBr, «h* Afw^ GHAZIPUE, JAUNPUE, AND MIEZAPUR. 117 resistance. He collected a force, and held out in his house, which he had fortified. Guns had to be employed, on which he surrendered at discretion ; and, being sentenced by court- martial, was hanged along with another Muslim chief. This was on the 28th September; and the next day witnessed a similar expedition against the fort of another rebel leader, a Hindu named Amr Singh, who had been planning an attack upon Jaunpur. A fight ensued, in which Amr Singh was killed, with some fifty of his men. After some minor operations, the Magistrate, Mr. Lind, returned to Jaunpur with his force on the 5th October. A few days later, he took the field again with the force under Colonel Wroughton, on the tidings that Mehndi Hasan, a Ncizim from Oude, had collected five thousand men at Sultanpur, with whose aid he proposed to attack Jaunpur. On the 19th October the expedition arrived at Singra Mau, and seized the Zemindar, after a good deal of trouble. The force then advanced cautiously through high autumn-crops, and surprised the leaderless foe, who was routed with great slaughter. The rebels evacuated their fort at Chanda, and joined the force under the Ncizim^ which, by this time, had reached Hasanpur. Finding that a great number of ex- sepoys were rallying round the hostile standard, Mr. Lind deemed it advisable to hurry up Colonel Longden, for which purpose he left his camp and hastened to Jaunpur. During his absence, however, the Gurkhas attacked the enemy, whom they routed with great loss, capturing his guns, seven in number. This action (fought 20th October) will be found described by Malleson (vol. ii. p. 319 ff) . Longden then returned to Jaunpur, from which, however, he again moved on Singra Mau on the 22nd November. Unable to make head against the increased force of the Nazim — now swollen to 16,000 men — Longden held a council of war, by whose advice he once more fell back on Jaunpur. The ruffians of the neighbourhood took heart ; the police were driven from theii' posts; a loyal native. Pandit Kishn Naraua, was beaten at Tigra on the 24th December, and forced to join his 118 INDIAN DISTRICTS DUETNG THE EEVOLT. superior officers at Jaunpur. No further disaster ensued. The rebels did not pursue their advance ; Eaja Mahesh Narain watched them with his levies ; and " no further occasion for military support occurred till after General Franks' s final departure from the district on the 19th February." The Nizam's motley array was finally attacked and dispersed by Sir E. Lugard, who passed into Shahabad in the beginning of May. The only subsequent event of importance was an attack on the town of Machli-Shahr later on in the same month, but the townspeople defended themselves with resolution till relieved by the civil authorities. And thus ended the troubles in the Jaunpm- district, in a manner most creditable to all concerned. Mr. Lind, an officer of remarkable capacity, has since passed away, unrewarded in this world, save by the consciousness of duty well-performed. While these things were going on in the northern and eastern parts of the Division, it is not to be supposed that the wide tract to the south, between the boundaries of the Benares district and those of the independent State of Eewa, could escape the epidemic. The great extent and wild character of the district of Mirzapur have been already stated. At the time of the outbreak, Mr. St. G. Tucker, the district magistrate, had for his military force a wing of a Sikh corps, with which he took post at his cutcherry on the 21st May on hearing the sound of firing to the eastward. It was soon ascertained that the discharges were but a part of the noisy celebration of a native wedding ; on which discovery the officers returned to their dwellings, leaving the Sikhs encamped at the office. On the 7th arrived a portion of the 47th Native Infantry, under Colonel Pott ; but by this time the Bengal sepoys had become anything but popular with the British, and the gallant Colonel was persuaded to grant furlough to all but a few trusted men. On the 8th, the Sikhs were called in from Allahabad, and departed with some treasure in then- charge, leaving a quantity of arms and ammunition in the magazine. Colonel Pott at GHAZIPUR, JAUNPUR, AND MIRZAPUE. 119 once threw into the river the spare cartridges and the nipples of the muskets, thus reducing that element of danger to a minimum ; the rest of the treasure was at the same time taken to Benares by a river- steamer. On the 9th the British denizens of Mirzapur became alarmed by sinister rumours, and fled to the neighbouring fortress of Chunar, leaving Mr. St. G. Tucker to bear the brunt alone. On the 10th he availed himself of the arrival of an exceptional body of sepoys (belonging to the 50th Native Infantry, who had brought in a prisoner from Nagode) to march out a few miles and chastise some marauders who had plundered the property of the East India Bail way Com- pany. On the 13th a party of the 1st Madras Fusiliers (Neill's Begiment) arrived, and accompanied a detachment of the 47th in a punitive expedition against an offending village on the right bank of the Ganges, near the border of the Allahabad district. The inhabitants of this village (called Gaura) had been peculiarly daring in their misconduct, and prepared for resistance; but the men of the 47th were well handled, and while the white soldiers attacked the rebels in front, crossed the river with the view of taking them in the rear. Some of the leaders were captured, but the surrounding had been incom- plete, and the bulk of the rebels made their escape. The right bank of the river was pacified by this step, and by an almost simultaneous movement under Mr. P. Walker, an " un- covenanted" deputy magistrate; but the left bank required more serious exertions. Here a number of townships that had fallen into the possession of the Baja of Benares were still the homes of the dispossessed Bajput clan, to whom they had originally belonged ; and their chief proclaimed himself Baja of the Hundred of Bhadiii, and appointed two agents for the collection of the revenue. Not content with this display of independence, he then enrolled a force, with the aid of which he plundered his weaker neighbours, and closed the Grand Trunk Boad leading from Calcutta to the North-West. The management of the Baja of Benares's estates was at that time in charge of 120 INDIAN DISTRICTS DUEING THE REVOLT. Mr. Moore, C.S., the Joint-Magistrate of Mirzapur; and this officer offended the people by doing his duty and vindicating the rights of the Eaja. A native agent contrived to obtain possession of the persons of the rebel chief and one of his agents ; and the pair, being tried and condemned by a court- martial, were promptly hanged. Sentence of death was at once passed in return upon Moore by the popular VeJun; and measures were taken to carry it into effect. On the 4th July this officer arrived at the Indigo Factory of Pali, bringing with him another set of brigands whom he had taken captive. The house was presently surrounded by the followers of the late chief of Bhadui ; and Moore and the two managers of the factory, being captured in a sortie, were forthwith put to the sword. Moore's head was cut off and carried to the chiefs widow, who had offered three hundred rupees for it ; Lieut. Woodhouse and a party of H. M. 64th, who came too late for rescue, had only the moderate satisfaction of burying the bodies. Next day they were joined by Mr. Tucker with some of the 47th Native Infantry, and a planter named Chapman came up from another direction. All was in vain, the murderers could not be surrounded ; and they escaped, for the time at least. Then- flight, however, accelerated the pacification of the district, which was not again disturbed for more than a month. But on the 11th August distm'bance was renewed by the irruption of the Dinapore mutineers escap- ing from their defeat at Arrah by Vincent Eyre. They remained in the neighbourhood, subsisting by plunder, till the 20th, when they set then- faces in the direction of Mirzapur, some fifteen hundred strong. About seventeen miles from the town, they were encountered by three hundred men of Her Majesty's 5th (now the Northumberland) Fusiliers, and were ingloriously routed at the first fire. They fled into the Allahabad district. On the 14th of the same month another part of the district was invaded by a party of mutineers from Hazaribagh, and on the &th September the redoubted Kunwar Singh also visited its confines. Both parties, however, passed through into indepen- GHAZIPUB, JAUNPUE, AND MEEZAPUE. 12l dent principalities without doing much damage. Charge of the southern part of the district was then made over to Mr. Mayne, the energetic officer already mentioned in connection with the Banda district, and his exertions were successful in maintaining safe transit on the Grand Trunk Koad. October went by tran- quilly ; an **unpassed" young officer, named Elliott, conducted a successful attack to the north-west, in which, with some Sikhs and the Benares police-levy, he chastised the people of two notorious villages there ; the guns and stores that had been collected at Mirzapur were consigned to the fortress of Chunar. Kebel bands traversed the district ; but the popular mind had now righted, and they met with no sympathy. On the 16th December some policemen were murdered on the Kewa border by some villagers who escaped. The magistrate then proceeded to attack the Chandels of Bijaigarh, who had broken out in furtherance of a family feud. A claimant to the chiefship had proclaimed himself *' Rajah "; and had driven away the Tahsil- dar (native sub-collector) who had attempted to serve him with a summons to appear and answer for his presumption at Mirza- pur. On Mr. Tucker's approach, the pretender fled into the forest, where he was attacked on the morning of the 9th January 1858, after a long night-march. Several of the rebels were killed on the spot, others were taken and brought to justice, a quantity of stolen property was recovered, and the residue of the offenders fled across the river Sone. Soon after this it became apparent to Mr. Tucker that the Eajah of Singraoli was giving them countenance, and preparing to defend the fort of Gahrwar, in which some of them were probably harboured ; and a mes- senger was sent to warn him of the probable consequences. But the proclamation of the amnesty stayed further proceedings; and thus the story of Mirzapur in revolt comes to an abrupt termination. Besides Mr. St. G. Tucker and his assistants Elliott and Walker, the Commissioner's report makes favourable mention of the Raja of Kantit and his brother. 122 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. CHAPTER IX. EOHILOUND. The province of Eohelkhand, or Eohilcund, as more commonly spelt, was (in the North-Western Provinces) the one in which British power was most completely overthrown. It will not, therefore, present materials for the treatment hitherto pursued. Instead of the narratives of administration more or less main- tained, and expedients, often successful, to cope with the dis- organisation consequent on the evil deeds of the sepoys and the temporary paralysis of lawful authority, we have now to deal with reports of disaster unretrieved, murder unavenged, attempts at flight, hiding, escape, or — at most— successful adventure. This sub-province — bounded on the west and south by the Ganges, on the north by the sub-Himalayan range, on the east by Oude — constituted a civil division containing six districts, besides the protected state of Kampur ; it comprised over eleven thousand square miles, and the population was over five millions, of whom the majority were Hindus, a considerable minority being Muhamadans, mostly Pathans descended from Afghan military colonists. The past history of the country is peculiar, and has been more prominently brought before the general reader than that of most parts of India. In the decay of the great Mughul empire of the middle ages it was occupied by Afghan military adventurers, who subdued, without exter- minating, the Hindu population, and established a semi-inde- ROHILOUND. 123 pendent principality under a dynasty of their own. In the last half of the eighteenth century, this family being represented by a minor, power devolved upon his guardian, Kahmat Khan — known by his title of " Hafiz," or Protector. The land, being fertile and lying on the borders of Audh (or Oude), attracted the attention of its neighbours. In 1773, when the Mahrattas had been for the time expelled from Hindustan, the Nawab of Oude, who was titular Vazir of the empire, obtained from the Court of Dehli sanction to chastise the Kohillas, who had been intriguing with the Mahrattas, and to occupy the country. The English ruler, Warren Hastings, agreed to assist, a proceeding for which he was severely censured ; his conduct formed part of the Parliamentary impeachment of which Mr. Hastings was afterwards the object, but the count was not sustained. In another work*' I have attempted to show that the verdict was a just one, in spite of the unfavourable opinion so strongly expressed by Macaulay in his famous Essay, Be that as it may, the resistance of the Eohillas was overcome at the battle of Kattrat (23rd April 1774), where the Protector was slain. After the conquest under Lake, Kohilcund fell, with the rest of Hindustan, into the hands of the British, and became part of what are now called the North- West Provinces. In 1857 Rohilcund was (as it is still, indeed) a Division, or Commissionership, consisting of six districts, which were called, respectively, Philibhit, Moradabad, Bijnaur, Bareli (or Bareilly), Badaon, and Shahjahanpur. [There was a small enclave of in- dependent territory held by the Nuwab of Kampur, a descendant of the old reigning family of Eohillas.] The first was a forest tract at the foot of the Kamaon hills, and the events there call for no particular remark. Bijnaur was held for a time, and then perforce abandoned, by the magistrate of the district, Mr. A. Shakespear {vide Malleson, vol. iii. p. 400 ff., for an interesting * Fall of the Mughul Empire, 111 £f. t Or, Miranpur Kattra, the scene of another action in 1857, where his grandson was defeated. 124 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. account of the interregnum that ensued). Badaon also ejected its British chief, Mr. William Edwards, whose escape has been glanced at in treating of events at Farrukhabad. Of the doings of the civil officers at the other three we have pretty full accounts, of which an epitome may be here given. In the district of Moradabad the senior officer was the judge, Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Cracroft Wilson, of whose energetic character a description was given in the chapter on events in Meerut. The other officers were Mr. C. B. Saunders (subsequently Eesident at Haidarabad), district magistrate, and Mr. J. S. Camp- bell (brother of Sir G. Campbell, M.P., and afterwards Judge of the Chief Court of the Punjab). As these officers were not only of much lower standing in the service, but also devoid of his peculiar local knowledge and experience, the Judge volunteered the direction of affairs, an offer which was at once accepted by the Government of Agra. His first step was to ride over to Kampur and endeavour to enlist the sympathies of the chiefs of that small state on the British side. This was on the 14th of May. On the 18th, hearing that a party of mutineers was approaching from the westward, Wilson went out to attack them with some troopers, who had come to their homes in the district on furlough, and a detachment of the 29th Native Infantry, of which the head-quarters were stationed at Moradabad. The troopers behaved well, and a number of prisoners were taken, with cash in their possession, who turned out to belong to the 20th Native Infantry, a detachment that had mutinied — as already related — at Muzafarnagar. Next morning, the force having gone back to Moradabad, some more mutineers were seized in that sta- tion, and one of them was shot by a man of the 29th. Unhappily, the dead man proved to be brother to another of the 29th, and on this becoming known some men of that corps — who had doubtless been already tampered with and prepared for mutiny — hurried to the jail where the prisoners were confined. With the con- nivance of the guard they threw open the jail, releasing all the convicts, of whatever class. Wilson mounted his horse and went ROHILCUND. 125 to the spot, accompanied by some military officers ; but, finding the task beyond the strength of his party, turned round and galloped off to a neighbouring garden where there was a body of the Nuwab's cavalry encamped. Here he was refused assistance in insolent terms ; but, not to be baulked, he next hastened to the lines of the 29th, where he found that the adjutant of the regiment had already gone after the convicts with a party of faithful sepoys. Having persuaded a non- commissioned officer to follow him with a few men, Wilson pursued and captured some of the convicts, having been in the pursuit at one moment surrounded and obliged to shoot three of them in self-defence. Some villagers came to the spot on hearing the firing, and with their aid nine more were secured. Altogether, including captures made by the adjutant, the officers had recaptured no less than 150 of the escaped prisoners. That day the ladies took refuge in the Court-house and in another building, where they were resolutely guarded by some natives, the head of the Collector's office ( Jawad Ali) standing sentry over the door with a drawn sword. In the afternoon the Rampur cavalry were reported by their native commandant to be in a state of insubordination amounting to mutiny; and a parade of the Company's troops in undress was ordered for 6 p.m. At that hour the Judge proceeded, purposing to address the men, and rode up to the guns which were pointed at him, the artillerymen standing by them with lighted portfires. Overawed by his bold bearing, they let him pass without firing. The British officers joined him here ; but the sepoys had not paraded as ordered.- Being allowed to provide themselves with ball-cartridge, however, and assured that no treachery was meant, they at length emerged from their huts, and assembled on the parade-ground. A hollow square having been formed, Mr. Wilson delivered his harangue, concluding by swearing upon the Bible that he would use his influence with the Governor- General to pardon the past offences. The men took an oath of fidelity in turn ; confidence was re- stored ; and a general feeling ensued that all was safe for the 126 INDIAN DISTRICTS DUEING THE EEVOLT. time. Next day the native officers busied themselves in soothing the men, a party of whom followed Lieutenant Clifford and a party of troopers in punishing some Gujars of a village eight miles off, who had opened prematurely the campaign of plunder. On the 21st a mob from Eampur advanced on Moradabad flying the green flag of martyrdom, and led by a policeman of that city dressed in green, in token of being a soldier of the Crescent. Wilson went out to meet them at the bridge of boats, accom- panied by some troopers and a party of the 29th, under Captain Faddy, of that regiment. The leader and a dozen others were arrested, and the rest fled; the prisoners were handed over to the Eampur authorities on the following day. The next ten days were signalised by minor adventures and expeditions, in some of which the 29th men showed a good spirit, and not a day passed without the untiring Judge going to theu' lines and con- versing with the native officers and men. But the fact was that all these exertions were in vain. With the exception, possibly, of Sikh and Gurkha corps, every regi- ment in the Bengal army had long since been inoculated with the virus ; and on the 1st of June rumours became current that the brigade at Bareilly had mutinied en masse. It soon became certain that the 29th would follow the example, and the civil officers attempted to remove the treasure. While loading it on tumbrils they were guarded with wonderful fidelity by two native officers, who at length interposed their own bodies between the Judge and the Collector on one side and the loaded muskets levelled at them on the other. The officers, civil and military, then thought, and thought rightly, that they had done all in their power. A little after 3 o'clock, in a blazing sun, four English officers, four ladies, and a discharged British gunner, set off on theh forlorn march to Meerut, attended by twenty-five troopers of the 8th Irregular Cavalry and some of the furlough men. On the road they met with much kindness. " Tears were shed, and milk was offered by villagers while we waited at their village " for the officers of the 29th, who never appeared. On EOHILCUND. 127 the bridge at Garhmukteswar the refugees were met by Mr. Fleetwood Williams; and about 5 o'clock in the morning of Friday, June 5th, they reached Meerut. Here the British refugees were hospitably received by their companions in mis- fortune, while the faithful horsemen of their escort were promoted on the spot by the general commanding the division. Thus ends the narrative of the mutiny at Moradabad, and of the attempts made by civil officers to check or retard it. For some time to come Mr. Wilson and his troopers were occupied in collecting revenue and keeping the peace on the eastern side of the Meerut district, separated from Eohilcund by the river Ganges, as already related in our chapter dealing with events in that district. It was not till towards the end of October that he was again engaged in the affairs of Eohilcund. In the meantime, we may turn to see what had been going on at Bareilly, the chief town of the division. Here were posted Messrs. Kobert Alexander, the Commissioner (an accomplished gentleman of good Irish family), G. D. Eaikes and D. Eobertson, Judges ; J. Guthrie, district magistrate ; G. B. Pasley, joint magistrate — all of the Civil Service; Drs. Hay (civil surgeon) and Hansborough (superintendent of jail), with Dr. Buch (Principal of college), and several minor officials. The force (consisting of half a battery of field artillery, the 8th Irregular Cavalry, the 18th and 68th Eegiments Bengal Native Infantry), formed a brigade commanded by Brigadier Sibbald, C.B. There were also a number of clerks and European tradesmen. The ladies and children were sent to Naini Tal, in the Kamaon hills, on the receipt of news of the Meerut mutiny and massacre ; on the 31st May the infantry and artillery broke loose from the control of their officers, but the cavalry were still considered staunch. Indeed, in the earlier days of the Mutiny, it was universally hoped that the " Irregulars " would escape the contagion. And this particular corps had borne privation and done good service in the Burmese war, four years earlier. It will be seen that those who remained true vindicated these expectations by 128 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. the most faithful and valiant conduct. Mr. Alexander had done what he could to keep the people of the city quiet, but a number of the Muslim citizens were evidently in an excited and untrustworthy condition; the landlord of a township called Kiara, in the immediate vicinity, combined with them, though a Hindu. A grandson of the ill-starred "Protector," of the last century — Khan Bahadur Khan — professed to second the Commissioner's exertions ; and a Maulvi attached to the College delivered a discourse at the Mosque, showing that it was unlawful to rebel against the Government. But on the 30th May Khan Bahadur had an interview with Mr. Alexander, in which he candidly declared that " the case was hopeless " ; and, taking his hand, said, ** Provide for your own safety." When, there- fore, on the morrow, the news of the mutiny was known, it found Mr. Alexander to some extent prepared. Though ailing at the time, he contrived to mount his horse and ride to a pre- concerted rendezvous, in the cavalry lines ; and there he met Colonel Colin Troup, who, in the absence of the Brigadier, pro- posed that all present should ride with him across country in the direction of Naini Tal. Mr. Guthrie, the magistrate, however, preferred to remain with Lieutenant Mackenzie, of the 8th, and try the effect of one charge with the cavalry. The attempt failed, and then they followed the rest of the fugitives, accompanied by twenty-five good and faithful horsemen, almost all native officers. They did not loiter long on the road, reaching Naini Tal on the morning of the 1st, say seventy-five miles in about twenty-four hom'S. The station, civil and military, was at once given up to rapine, arson, and murder. Messrs. Eobertson, Hay, and K. Orr (the last an uncovenanted deputy-collector), took refuge in the house of a Muhamadan sub-judge, where they were murdered by ruffians of the town. A like fate overtook Messrs. Eaikes and Buch. Dr. Hansborough defended his jail till it was broken ; he managed to conceal himself during the night, but was taken in the morning and brought before Khan Bahadur, by whose sentence he was put to death. This forms an indelible stain BOHILOCJND. 129 on Khan Bahadur's career. The officers of the 18th Native Infantry were spared by their men, but some afterwards fell slaughtered in a village ; others were protected and eventually rescued. The Brigadier was shot by his orderly as he was riding to the cavalry lines. Lieutenant Tucker, of the 68th, was slaugh- tered by his own men as he was mounting his horse in front of the officers' mess-house. An Irish lunatic, named Healy, appears to have been the only white man who was spared ; he was dis- covered in confinement when Bareilly was re-occupied by Sir Colin Campbell a year later. Altogether, some thirty-five adults were slain in cold blood, besides an almost equal number of children. It is no imputation upon Messrs. Alexander and Guthrie to say that all this crime and suffering might have been diminished, if not entirely avoided, had the place been in charge of a Wilson or a Gubbins. Such men are exceptional ; Mr. Alexander, though in bad health and deceived by his native advisers, took all ordinary measures ; but the non-official com- munity omitted to send away their families while it was yet possible, or to repair to the appointed rendezvous themselves in good time, and the military officers fell, as soldiers should, in the discharge of their duty. Still, it can hardly be said that all possible precautions were taken ; and the events at Bareilly are not among the most creditable occurrences of the time. The fact is that the events of the time were so startling that no one who was an eye-witness would think of judging severely officers who, in a position of responsibility, were taken by surprise or thrown off their balance. They were not bred to war — cradled, indeed, in a long and profound peace ; used to the most complete and obsequious deference from all by whom they were surrounded ; suddenly assailed by forces on which they had never reckoned, and which they were wholly without the means of appreciating or resisting. The departure of the authorities from Bareilly was clearly un- avoidable in the circumstances ; they were not blamed ; and Mr. Alexander ultimately obtained the 3rd class Order of the Bath. 9 130 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. Khan Bahadur assumed the reins of power, a native officer named Bakht Khan becoming commander of the troops. Many Hindus of distinction joined them at first, the remainder bowed to the blast. The district fell into total anarchy ; the people (as Mr. J. Inglis, the writer of the principal Narrative relates), " at once rose, not so much in rebellion against the British as against all government; every man " (it is the old story) "pre- pared to wreak his vengeance on his private foe, or take violent possession of land to which he considered himself to have a claim." A Hindu, named Sobha Eam, who had served in the British Commissariat, was appointed Diwdn (finance commis- sioner) of the district; other officials, Hindu and Musalman, were appointed to various posts ; the bankers suspected of pro- British sympathies were tortured and despoiled of their money ; on the 11th June the sepoys left for Dehli, under Bakht Khan ; an income-tax and property-tax of 10 per cent, was imposed ; a semblance of authority was established, which, however, did not extend far beyond the confines of the town. Measures were taken to secure the co-operation of the Thdkurs (leaders of the Eajput clans), and several of them tendered their allegiance with the usual propitiatory gifts. The British, under Colonel Ramsay, continued to hold the Kamaon hills and to defend Naini Tal against all comers. 131 CHAPTER X. EOHILCUND. Let us now turn to the adjoining district of Shahjahanpur, where equally tragic events, if on a smaller scale, had been going forward. On the 17th May Mr. Bramly — whom we have seen doing good service in connection with Aligarh — made over charge of the district to Mr. Mordaunt Eicketts, a fatal, if unavoid- able, instance of ** swopping horses while crossing a stream." Mr. Eicketts was a man of chivalrous courage and romantic character ; but he had no local knowledge or influence, and could only adopt the ordinary precautionary measures. The 28th Native Infantry was the corps present, and the officers believed that about five hundred of the men, of whom 150 were Sikhs, might be trusted to remain faithful if the remainder were to rebel. On the 31st May — the day of the Bareilly mutiny, and the date believed to have been fixed on by the conspirators for the general insurrection, had not events been precipitated at Meerut — the regiment broke out. The English were at church, the day being Sunday. A small party of the worst characters among the sepoys went to the building, and rushed in, armed with swords and clubs. Eicketts was at once cut down, the ladies climbed into the belfry. Some other officers were shot in escaping, or near the lines. But the residue were rescued, for the time, by the better-disposed sepoys, and held a council as to their best future course. As the bungalows 9 * 132 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. of the station were by this time in a blaze, it was decided by the next senior officer, Mr. Charles Jenkins, that the non-combatants should be at once escorted to Powain, the fort of a neighbom-ing native nobleman, who, however, refused (from mere timidity) to take them in. This was the same chief who, in a later stage of affairs, assumed courage to kill the celebrated "Maulvi " of Oude. They accordingly passed on to the civil station of Muhamdi, not far off, where they were hospitably received by the district-officer, Mr. Thomason. Twelve officers, a sergeant, seven ladies, and two children, reached Muhamdi on the morn- ing of the 2nd June. All, I believe, were ultimately slaughtered. Mr. A. Smith, the Assistant-Magistrate, was left behind sick, and was at once murdered by the mutineers. They then pro- ceeded to Eosa, the sugar-factory of Messrs. Carew, which they plundered and burned. The gentlemen in charge of the property escaped with their lives, but afterwards perished in the Oude jungles. Seven Europeans in all had been murdered in the first outbreak ; some well-disposed Muslims gave the bodies decent sepulture in the church-j^ard. The decheance of the British Government was proclaimed, and the usual efforts were made to create a native administration, under a local chief, the Nawab Ghulam Kadir Khan. The remainder of the official Narrative is devoted to a description of this interregnum, and to the characterisation of the numerous faithful natives (official and non-official) who continued to correspond with the Commissioner at Naini Tal : it is observable that of all these only one took service, even ostensibly, under the rebels. Their administration lasted until the 30th April 1858 ; adoptmg — so far as possible — the methods, and even the phraseology, of the British system, which was restored without difficulty after the rebels had been driven out. This restoration took place on the 2nd of May. Meanwhile, affairs in Bareilly had gone from bad to worse. The Hindu leaders chafed under the rule of the Pathans (so are the Indian Afghans named), and Khan Bahadur found himself obliged to raise a considerable army, which ultimately rose to tlOHILOUND. ] 33 twenty-nine battalions and forty-four squadrons. These quarrels, and the continued reports of British successes in the surround- ing districts, caused constant trouble at Bareilly and elsewhere in Eohilcund ; while the unmolested presence and occasional resistance of a large party of British at Naini Tal, under the Commissioner, Colonel (now Lieutenant-General the Hon. Sir) H. Eamsay, acted as a perpetual menace and thorn-in-the-side. On the morning of the 2nd October it was determined to make a display, and an attempt to recover lost prestige. Under pre- tence of having received a patent with a dress of honour from the rebel Court at Dehli, Khan Bahadur held a solemn durbar. But it was a festival of Herod. Attended by his ministers, in gala costume, mounted on elephants, and followed by a shouting rabble, the usurper proceeded, gorgeously appareled, to a garden near the town, where preparations had been made for the solemnity. He took his seat, facing the crowd, like an Imperial Satrap. After his investiture a royal salute was fired. And then a messenger from Dehli, stepping softly behind the great man, whispered in his ear that the rebel head-quarters there had been stormed by the British, and that the king — his foun- tain of honour — was a captive in their hands. Turning as pale as his complexion would permit, Khan Bahadur rose and left the assembly ; nor did he ever after take part in public civil proceedings. About this time authentic intelligence began to reach Wilson, on the further side of the Ganges, of the presence of Christian refugees of various classes and of both sexes in the villages of Eohilcund. In the beginning of October, he and his faithful followers (of the 8th Irregular Cavalry) had allowed themselves a fortnight to rest. On the morning of the 20th, being at Aligarh with Mr. Bramly, he opened a letter brought over by a couple of native messengers, addressed to the Chief Civil Officer at Meerut. It proved to be from Captain J. Y. Gowan, and contained " a touching appeal for the rescue of himself and thirty other Christians, survivors of the Bareilly massacre," 134 INDIAN DlSTEtCTS DURING THE REVOLT. and now concealed at a village near to the town of Kattra (the scene of Hafiz Eahmat Khan's defeat and death in the last century). Sending word to the Chief Commissioner at Agra, Mr. Wilson left a note for Gowan (written in the Greek character) with Mr. Bramly, which the latter promised to send on to Gowan with the Chief Commissioner's reply, when it arrived from Agra. The purpose of Wilson's note was to inform Gowan that, whatever might be the decision of the Government, he (Wilson) would surely be at a certain ford on the 28th, prepared to rescue the refugees. When the Chief Commissioner's answer arrived, one of the messengers took it, with Wilson's enclosed, to the village where Gowan and some six of his companions, adults and infants, were awaiting his return — with what anxiety may be partly imagined. When the envelope was hastily opened, nothing at first appeared but a precept from the Government offering a reward of ten thousand rupees " to any native who would escort in safety to Aligarh all the Christian refugees now lying concealed in Eohilcund." This was cold comfort ; and Gowan, with sinking heart, was in the act of destroying the envelope when he felt the enclosure and read Wilson's Greek note. Great as had been his disappoint- ment was the consequent reaction. It is on record that the seven forlorn creatures, who felt that they had passed from death into life, fell simultaneously upon their knees in the shed where they were lurking, and offered their tribute of pious thanks to the Almighty ; and a historical painter could hardly desire a more pathetic subject for his art. Hastening, then, to his earthly protectors, the native villagers, Gowan consulted with them ; and the result of the consultation was the despatch of a second letter, written in Greek like that to which it was a reply, and fixing another rendezvous for the 29th — the earliest date, as it would seem, on which he could come down with his company to the river-side. Wilson received this note at 7 p.m. of the 28th. In another hour he had started with 100 horsemen and four fast elephants ; and the native officer, Buland Khan, was the BOHILOUNI). 135 only person to whom the secret of their destination was con- fided. It was a service of danger ; Khan Bahadur had some five thousand men in the neighbourhood (some of whom soon afterwards fought only too well !), but Wilson secured the boats at the ford of Kuchla (the first that he had named to Gowan), amused the enemy with feints, and then, marching in the cold autumn night thirty miles down the river, reached the place where he expected the refugees, only to meet with fresh dis- appointment. To cut a long story short, Wilson reached the fort of Kadirganj early on the morning of the 31st, got a break- fast out of the " Nawab " (as the man in charge called himself), by a mixture of boldness and conciliation, and had the pleasure soon after of receiving a cart, escorted by matchlockmen, and containing Gowan, with Sergeant and Mrs. Belcham, and their children. The good native officer, Buland Khan, when he saw the children, turned aside to hide his tears, and muttered, "And these are the darlings whom those infidels seek to murder — God's curse on them ! " On the 2nd November Wilson's party marched with them into Aligarh, and the following morning brought them safely into Meerut. This is only one specimen of the wisdom and courage of this truly remarkable man, whose humanity was only equalled by his energy. First and last, Mr. Wilson was instrumental in rescuing sixty-four Christian refugees in Kohilcund ; and surely, of all the gallant " Cucherry Hussars " of the time, none better deserved the honours that he received, or the subsequent prosperity that awaited him in his long retirement in New Zealand. The behaviour of his followers was excellent; and he lived for months among them, speaking Persian and Hindustani, and wearing the dress and accoutrements of a native officer. He told a tale of his meeting Mr. Cocks in this disguise, which showed a vein of humour. On another occasion he rode up just in time to prevent his men being attacked by the daring Paterson Saunders, who mistook them for mutineers. Gowan also did good work through the winter campaign. It was not till May 1^6 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. that Wilson returned to Moradabad, which he had left as a fugitive nearly twelve months before ; when he did return he was accompanied by Captain Gowan, and by Sergeant Belcham, promoted to Sergeant-Major. Khan Bahadur and his Diwdn made good their escape, and — so far as I am aware— were never again authentically heard of. It only remains to state briefly what was the state of popular feeling in Rohilcund at the time. It is Mr. Alexander's deliberate opinion that, neither from fact, document, or oral testimony, can it be inferred that there had been, out of the lines of the regiments, any organised conspiracy for the overthrow of the existing Government, or the establishment of one to take its place. The nature of the administration that ensued aids — in his opinion — to disprove the idea of any pre-existing plot ; though there might be deemed to be something suspicious about the early adhesion of the Hindu landholders. But it is quite certain that many Hindus — especially among the moneyed interest — held aloof from the first, and of the rest a good number soon fell away. No early communication with Dehli was traced, as would have been surely the case if the rising, as a political movement, had been pre-concerted ; though after Khan Bahadur's usurpa- tion had been consummated, he naturally aspired to the sanction of '' Imperial " patronage and countenance. Furthermore, both among Muslims and Hindus, there were not wanting many who preserved their fidelity under the most searching trials. Thus, Badr-ud-Din, the Kottvdl, or Head Inspector of Bareilly, Amir Ali, and Zakaria Khan, of the Eevenue Department, Abdullah Khan, Kotwal of Philibhit, and a few native subordinates, accompanied their European oflficers to Naini Tdl, and remained there with them, at considerable personal inconvenience to themselves, till the restoration of order in May 1858. Four other native officials remained in their districts, doing such service as was possible ; like the former group they were all Muslims. Among non-official natives who either actively assisted the Government, or at least did not ROHILOUNi). 13? assist the rebels, the Commissioner mentions seven prominent Hindus and a Muhamadan. Of the first three (Eajput land- holders of Bijnaur district) he says that they " displayed valiant deeds against the common enemy"; adding that "all their strength, and all their pecuniary resources, were put forth to aid the Government and re-establish order " ; when unsuccessful, two of them retired beyond the Ganges, the third falling into the hands of the rebels. Others, it should be added, kept up a correspondence with the Commissioner at Naini Tal ; and, though they may have been somewhat in the position of trimmers, it must be remembered that the mere act of writing to the British authorities at such a time was one of considerable danger, and if discovered would have cost them their lives. 138 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. CHAPTER XL CONCLUSION. And this brings me to the conclusion of my task. I have not thought it necessary to trace the doings of the civil officers beyond the confines of Hindustan Proper — or the North- West Provinces — of which alone I have personal knowledge, and in regard to which there are full civil official Narratives forth- coming. But I hope the reader will pardon me if — seeing that it was here that the revolt arose, and had its focus — I add a few words as to the probable origin of this great disaster. Frequent allusions have been made in the course of our narrative to discontents arising from the transfer of landed property under decrees of Court. But this painful consequence of civilisation would never by itself cause a general rebellion ; so long, at least, as the Government was strong. We have seen Mr. Alexander's opinion as to the absence of evidence in respect of a general, pre-arranged, national rising ; and we have, I think, had reason, in studying the other narratives, to concur in his view. Had there been such a wide-spread and well-organised plot, it would seem that one of two things must have occurred. Either those loyal tribes, and chiefs, who afterwards held aloof from the revolt or actively joined in its suppression, would have given information to the authorities when they were tampered with or else (if we are to suppose that they were left out) the conspi- rators and their emissaries must have acted with superhuman wisdom and vigilance in selecting those on whom they practised, and in keeping back all knowledge of what was going on from ooNOLUsloiJ. 139 those they could not bring themselves to trust. On the other hand, general as was the indiscipline and high the praetorian spirit among the native soldiers, the support that they immediately received at places like Dehli and Cawnpore leads me (in my individual capacity) to believe that political discontent, and even political incendiarism, must have had a considerable share in causing the outbreak. I do not say that I am supported by con- clusive authority ; but it is my own humble though unhesitating opinion that Azimulla, the N ana's Secretary, returned from Europe in 1856 with a readiness to rebel, founded on a belief in the weakness of Britain, and the will and desire of Kussia to use the Persian trouble as a stepping-stone to an attack on British India. That he fell into communication with Queen Zinat of Dehli, of whose discontents I had some personal knowledge when serving under Mr. Simon Fraser in the Dehli territory in 1854. That the scheme of restoring the Mughal Empire with Mahratta agency (the status quo ante preceding British conquest) about this time occurred to the Queen and to others. And that they saw, in the disorderly and contumacious spirit that had long been growing in the Bengal army, a stock of explosive matter. Lastly, that they found, in the greased cartridges, the spark of fire wherewith to ignite the mine that, as they hoped, was to blow into the air all that obstructed the execution of their designs. It was certainly, to change the metaphor, a most unhappy coincidence that, while the germs of political discontent were thus fermenting at Dehli, stimulated by events in the Crimea and in Persia, there should have been such a nidus for the reception of the poison as was presented by the condition of the Bengal army. It was at one time thought that religious fanaticism contributed another unhappy factor to the general confusion; and of this there may be some evidence, but it is neither abimdant nor strong. That there was anything like a universal fear of Christianity being propagated by force may be fairly doubted. The missionaries were not just then 140 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. making unusual efforts, nor was the Government giving them any unusual countenance or aid. Their schools, in which the study of the Bible was imperative, were attended as willingly as were the Governmental schools from which the Bible was excluded. But there was one religion, warmly acknowledged wherever the system of caste existed ; the worship of " the Almighty Eupee." Men whose neglect of ritual observances had led to their excommunication were heavily fined on re- admission to the intercom'se of their respective brotherhoods: and an all-powerful Government could always expose its troops to these penalties. More than a generation had elapsed since a sort of passive mutiny due to that cause had been violently extinguished and quenched in blood at Barrackpore : yet the Government had continued to tamper with the caste-rules of their native soldiery, and, by so doing, to render them liable to social penalties. Again, the religion of the rupee had been attacked in another way by recent reforms of the pension-establishment; stringent rules having been issued for the guidance of invaliding committees whereby the pensions that the sepoys had been accustomed to consider secured to length of service were withheld until the applicant could produce a medical certificate of not being able to stand up under his arms. This might relieve the pension-list, but could it have a good effect either on those in the service or on their friends outside ? - Then there was the annexation of Oude, the home of BO many of the sepoys ; whereby not only was a shock given to the public conscience but also to the prestige of the native soldier. The profligacy and maladministration of the Court of Oude might be distressing to ideas of official purity derived from a different form of civilisation ; but people might well ask whether such considerations necessarily led to the exile of a friendly prince and the sequestration of the whole revenues of his principality — a principality which we had ourselves erected into a kingdom. It was felt by others than natives that a less arbitrary and less revolutionary measure might have secured CONOLUSION. 141 the welfare of the people of Oude. Those among them who were connected with the army were absolutely injured by the annexa- tion ; for they lost privileges which they had hitherto enjoyed as servants of the paramount power domiciled in a tributary state.^ Nor were these the only causes of discontent : innumerable faults had weakened the military system. The regiments were in a high state of pipe-clay, but they were too much alike. It may be an objection to organising an army in corps of different races and creeds that they will show jealousies and create disturbances when cantoned or brigaded together ; but the opposite evil was now seen to be far greater. When (with the sole exception of a few non- Hindustanis in distinct corps, none of which joined the revolt) you had Sikhs, Pathans, and Hindustanis blended together in equal proportions in all corps, the Bengal Infantry resembled a country in which the same strata pervaded the whole structure of the land. A connection of comradeship was substituted for the dissidences of blood and belief ; the shock of a convulsion once communicated ran through the whole body in which the new solidarity prevailed. Further, the commandants had lost their free scope of action, and with it their hold over their men ; centralisation had brought its procrustean uniformity, its dead- level of mechanical mediocrity. A battalion's appearance in peace was taken as a sign of its efficiency for war ; the colonel was saved the trouble of originality by a code of the minutest regulations ; corporal punishment was abolished for the sepoys, though they were paraded to see their white comrades flogged ; the sentence of a regimental court-martial was liable to probable reversal on appeal or reference; the younger English officers were sometimes spoken of as "the refuse," when they were really disappointed men, rotting in undesired idleness, because they had nothing to do in their regiments, and wanted the interest requisite to the obtaining of staff- employ. t That they * It should be noted that in Oude — though in Oude only — the rising was both national and universal, and inspired by a really patriot spirit. t It should here be noted that Haileybury students -who failed to qualify for the Civil Service, were usually sent out to India as niilitary officers, 142 INDIAN DISTRICTS DURING THE REVOLT. were not intrinsically bad material, may be inferred from the good service performed by their contemporaries who obtained civil preferment or were attached to the staff of the army, and from the universal courage and confidence in their men that they themselves showed at a time when confidence had ceased to be well-founded or courage to be of use. But that could not be a good system which taught a young man, on entering the ranks of the army, to make it his constant object to get away from them, and which led him to regard his regiment as a place of punishment,^ and to look upon his native comrades as the instruments of his tortm-e ; while, in the meantime, the for- tunate emancipated ones were kept free from military duties till they almost changed their nature, and then, on promotion, returned to their corps, which they were to manage without power, and lead without experience. Given these conditions, can we wonder at the result ? They may be thus summarised : — 1st. A body of pampered mercenaries, over - disciplined, wrongly enregimented, threatened in their caste, their privi- leges, their pensions. 2nd. Inefficiency of regimental officers, combined with a starved military administration. For example, the means of transport had been abolished for a saving of seventy thousand rupees per annum. The consequence was seen when it took the head- quarters a month to get from Ambala to Dehli after the outbreak in May. 3rd. Weakened confidence in British probity. This affected all classes at the time — some less, some more. The Native Army, in this state of demoralisation, would form a fit subject for treasonable tampering on the part of friends of the dethroned King of Oude and the threatened family of Dehli. A day fixed for a rising — Mr. Wilson, in his intercourse with the soldiery, learned that the 31st of May had been the day * Regimental employ was actually so used in the case of officers whose offences yrere npt considered heinous enough to require trial by court-martial. CONCLUSION. 143 originally determined ; imperfectly concerted plans ; action pre- cipitated by injudicious conduct (over-ruled by Britain's fortune to a happy result) ; such seem sufficient causes to account for the origin of the great rebellion. Most, if not all, of the evils and dangers above signalised, have now been removed ; and the suggestions here made may perhaps seem to deserve to be consigned to the category of post- eventual wisdom. I may, however, add that many civil olB&cers of those days were aware of the unsatisfactory state of things in the Bengal Army ; and that the above statements are taken, with but trifling alterations, from a letter which the present writer addressed to a friend in England on the 6th June 1857. His excuse for reproducing them here is that, so far as he is informed, the truths that they may contain ought never to be lost sight of nor forgotten. The love of uniformity and paper- symmetry will never be banished from the average official mind. All sorts of financial mirage will always tempt rulers thirsting for money to make a show with. But the great need of public life, without which the devotion of civil administrators loses half its effect, will always be — in one word — Discipline. And this is the one thing that the average official mind is too prone to sacrifice. Let a final remark be permitted as to the effect of that much- debated institution, the system, so-called, of Caste : — Among other difficulties attending the scheme, if such there was, for taking advantage of the temporary weakness of Government to promote a general rising of the country, must be noticed the extraordinary absence of solidarity in a land peopled, like India, by discordant tribes. What is generally known as " the system of caste " must, no doubt, have the effect of hampering any united effort for national independence. Indeed, a vast region so inhabited can hardly be called " a country," so as to be conceived of as animated by a spirit of common patriotism. What takes that form in other parts of the world, will be here split up and represented by a hundred or a thousand displays of what the natives call " brotherhood." That 144 INDIAN DISTEICTS DUEING THE EEVOLT. spirit, arising out of the archaic Aryan institution of the Corporate Family, causes the members of each tribe to feel as if they were all of kin, and will also lead to a feeling of smoulder- ing but real hostility against every other tribe, and thus prevent effective combination. In this respect the British in India have an advantage over the French in Algeria, and over the Eussians in Central Asia. On the other hand, it must be allowed that this spirit some- times acted unfavourably on the efforts of the Government to maintain order. The native officials often tried to do their duty. But they could not combine for administrative purposes as did their British colleagues. This has been lately pointed out by an intelligent writer who has been contributing some papers to the Pioneer, an excellent local journal. It is conclusively shown in all the Narratives from which our story has been gathered that "A. P. W." — whether or no he was present at the time — is quite justified in his description of the difficulties encountered by those native officials who remained faithful. On the whole, therefore, and without any conscious yielding to Chauvinist bias, it will be probably admitted that the presence of one or two well- selected English officers in every coimty of British India was an absolute advantage to the cause of order, next only in value — if in any degree subordinate — to the presence of loyal and trustworthy bodies of troops. It would have been of little avail to kill or expel the mutinous sepoys, or to burn down the hovels of rebellious villagers, if there had not been intelligent, humane, impartial agents at hand to encourage the well-affected and heal the ravages of fire and sword. At the same time it is equally plain that, when once rebellion had broken out, the best efforts of civil officers would have been of little avail without the gallant concurrence of the soldiers and their brave leaders. If India was saved, it was ta^n Marte quam Mercurio, the exploit of the " United Service." Lonaon: Printed by W. H. Allen & Co., 13 Waterloo Place. S.W, 145 APPENDIX.— P. 110 ff. The sentence " On the 20tli August the Q-urkhas arrived under Colonel Wroughton, followed on the 3rd," &c., &c. should he read as follows : — "On or about the 26th August the Gurkhas arrived under Colonel Wroughton, accompanied by Mr. W. Wynyard, C.S., his subordinate, Mr. Bird, remaining for the time (against advice), at Gorakhpur, whence he escaped, ultimately, to Ballia." And for "Mr. Bird soon after took another party,'* should he read: — " Mr. Wynyard soon after took out a party consisting of a wing H. M. 10th Foot, with some Gurkhas and Bengal Artillery," &c. The Author regrets that these corrections — which are from good authority — did not reach him in time to he emhodied in the text. 10 GREAT REDUCTIONS IN THE PRICKS OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF MESSRS W. H. ALLEN S CO., LONDON, JUST PURCHASED BY JOHN GRANT, EDINBURGH. PAGE Miscellaneous Works - - - - - 2 Scientific Works ------- 29 Natural History. Botany. Mosses, Fungi, &c. Veterinary Works and Agriculture - - 34 India, China, Japan, and the East - 36 The Reduced Prices of these Books can be had on appHcation to any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. The Published Prices are affixed to each book. The Trade supplied direct, or through Messrs SiMPKiN, Marshall & Co., London. Great Reductions in this Catalogue CATALOGUE. ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, D.D. {Dean of Wcstminsicr). Scripture Portraits cuid other Miscellanies collected from his Published Writings. By Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, D.D. Crown 8vo, gilt top, 5s. Uniform with the above. VERY REV. EREDERICK IV. 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The most remarkable anecdote of this part of his journey is concerning the prosecution of the Jews, for an alleged insult to Mohammedanism, not unlike the pretext of Christian persecutors in the days of the Crusaders. From St Petersburgh, Captain Abbott returned to England, where he gives an amusing account of the difficulties, and mental and physical distresses of his Afghan follower. The book concludes with the author's return to India, and with notices of the fate of some of the individuals in whom we have been most interested by his narrative. " The work will well repay perusal. The most intrinsically valuable portion is perhaps that which relates to the writer's adventures in Khaurism, and at the Court of Khiva; but the present time imparts a peculiar interest to the sketches of Bussian character and policy." — London Economist. MRS R. K. VAN ALSTINE. Charlotte Corday, and her Life during the French Revolution. A Biography. Crown 8vo, 5s. "It is certainly strange that when history is ransacked for picturesque and interesting subjects, no one has yet told in English— for so Miss van Alstine remarks, and our own recollection supports her negatively — the romantic story of Charlotte Corday. The author has carefully studied her authorities, and taken pains to distin- guish fact from fiction, for fiction, it need hardly be said, has mixed itself plentifully with the story of Charlotte Corday. Miss van Alstine has been able to add to this story several genuine details that greatly heighten its effect. "—S^^cc^aior. EDWARD L. ANDERSON. ' How to Ride and School a Horse, with a System of Horse Gymnastics. Fourth Edition, revised and corrected, crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. " An admirable practical manual of riding." — Scotsman. " The book deserves perusal by all who have dealings with horses." — Birmingham Gazetle. " Though practice is of course essential, it is equally necessary that the practice should be guided by some principle, and the aspirant who adopts the methods ex- plained and recommended by Mr Anderson is not likely to regret his choice of an in- structor." — Morning Post. D. T. ANSTED and R. G. LATHAM. The Channel Islands. Revised and Edited by E. Toulmin Nicolle. Third Edition, profusely illustrated, crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. " A useful and entertaining book. The work is well done, and to those who have not even paid a Hying visit to this beautiful group it is calculated to cause a strong desire to explore and enjoy its attractions." — Daily Chronicle. "Wo are extremely glad to see a new edition of this fascinating work. . . . All who linow the Channel Islands should read this admirable book ; and many who read the book will certainly not rest until they know the Channel Islands."— ZJ/oc* and White. PROFESSOR D. T. ANSTED. Water, and Water Supply. Chiefly with reference to the British Islands. With Maps, 8vo, i8s. Towns and their water-supply is becoming a clamant grievance. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. Great Reductions in this Catalogue MAJOR J. H. LAWRENCE-ARCHER, Bengal H. P. The Orders of Chivalry, from the Original Statutes of the various Orders of Knighthood and other Sources of Information. With 3 Portraits and 63 Plates, beautifully coloured and heightened with gold, 4to, coloured, £(i. 6s., Plain, £i. 3s. " Major Lawrence- Archer has produced a learned and valuable work in his account of ' The Orders of Chivalry.' He explains that the object of the book is to suppl3- a succinct account of the chivalric orders in a convenient form. The literar}- form of the work ia amply convenient for reference and study. Its material form could be convenient only to some knig:ht of the times when armour was worn in the field, and men were stronger in the arm than they are now. It is a handsome volume. The size of the book is doubtless due to the introduction of a series of en5,'raved plates of the badges and crosses of the various orders described. These plates are executed in a finished style, and give the work an exceptional value for students of heraldic symbolism. The author may be congratulated on the successful issue of a laborious and useful task."— ,Scoti(/«ayi, 14th May 1888. SIR EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., Author of The Light of Asia," ^c. The Book of Good Counsels, Fables from the Sanscrit of the Hito- padesa. With Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Autograph and Portrait, crown 8vo, antique, gilt top, 5s. The Same. Superior Edition, beautifully bovmd, 7s. 6d. " It is so long since Sir Edwin Arnold's Indian fables were in print that they may practically be regarded as a new book. In themselves they are almost the fathers of all fable, for whereas we know of no source whence the ' Hitopad^sa ' could have been borrowed, there are evidences of its inspiration and to spare in Bidpai, in .lEsop, and in most of the later fabulists." — Pall Mall Gazette. "Those curious and fascinating stories from the Sanskrit which Sir Edward Arnold has retold in ' The Book of Good Counsels ' give us the key to the heart of modern India, the writer tells us, as well as the splendid record of her ancient gods and glories, quaint narratives, as full of ripe wisdom as the songs of Hiawatha, and with the same curious blending of statecraft and wood-magic in them."— Z>a% Telegraph. " A new edition comes to hand of this delightful work — a fit companion to '.(Esop's Fables' and the 'Jungle Book.' Sir Etlwin has done well to republish this record of Indian stories and poetical maxims from the Sanskrit. And the illustrations, a speci- men of which we gi^^B here, what shall we say of them? Simply that they are equal to the text. No more pleasant series of ' Good Counsels' is it possible to find, and we are convinced that it is not an ill counsel— far from it— to advise our readers to forth- with get this charming work. They will derive not a little pleasure, and perchance instruction, from a perusal of the story of the jackal, deer, and crow, of the tiger and the traveller, of the lion, the jackals, and the bull, of the black snake and golden chain, of the frogs, and the old serpent, and of all the other veracious chronicles herein set forth." — Whitehall Review. S. BARING- GO ULD, M. A., A lUhor of ' ' Mehalah ," &^c. In Troubadour Land. A Ramble in Provence and Languedoc, with Illustrations by J. E. Rogers. Medium 8vo, 12s. 6d. " The title of Mr Baring-Gould's book only indicates one of the many points of interest which will attract the intelligent traveller during a tour in Provence and Languedoc. Besides troubadours, there are reminiscences of Greek colonisation and Roman Empire, of the Middle Ages, and of the Revolution. . . . The illustrations which adorn the pages of this very readable volume are decidedly above the average. The arm-chair traveller will not easily find a pleasanter compa/jnon de voyage.'— St James's Gazette. " A most charming book, brightly written, and profusely illustrated with exquisite engravings."- G^a^ouJ Herald. "A charming book, full of wit and fancy and information, and worthy of its sub j ect. ' '—Scotsma n. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen ^ Co.^s Publications. SIR E. C. BAYLEY. The Local Muhammadan Dynasties, Gujarat. Forming a Sequel to Sir H. M. Elliott's " History of the Muhammadan Empire of India," demy 8vo, 2 is. WYKE BA YLISS. The Enchanted Island, the Venice of Titian, and other studies in Art, with Illustrations. Ciown 8vo, 6s. 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" The writing is that of a scholar and a gentleman, and though the critical faculty is often evinced in a subtle and discriminating form, all allusions to individuals are made with so much of the kindliness of true good taste, that we are almost conscious of a reluctance in disagreeing with the author." — The Spectator. " Mr Wyke Bayliss is at the same time a practical artist and a thoughtful writer. The combination is, we regret to say, as rare as it is desirable. . . He deals ably and clearly — notably so in this present book — with questions of the day of practical and immediate importance to artists and to the Art public. . , Wo prefer to send the reader to the volume itself, where he will find room for much reflection." — The Academy. " One of the most humorous and valuable of the general articles on Art is Mr Wyke Bayliss' ' Story of a Dado.' "—The Standard. MISS SOPHIA BEALE. The Churches of Paris from Clovis to Charles X., with numerous Illustrations. Crown Svo, 7s. 6d. CONTENTS:— Notre Dame; Notre Dame des Champs; Notre Dame de Lorette; Notre Dame des Victoires; Qenevi6ve; Val de Grace; Ste. Chapelle; St Martin; St Martin des Champs ; Etienne du Mont; Eustache; Germain I'Auxerrois; Germain des Pr6s; Gervais; Julien ; Jacques; Leu; Laurent; Merci; Nicolas; Taul ; Eoch; Severin ; V. de Paul ; Madeleine ; Elizabeth ; Sorbonne ; Invalides. " An interesting study of the historical, archa3ological, and legendary associations which belong to the principal churches of Paris."— Tmes. "A comprehensive work, as readable as it is instructive. The literary treatment is elaborate, and the illustrations are numerous and attractive,"— 67o&e. "For the more serious-minded type of visitor who is capable of concerning himself in the treasures of art and store of traditions they contain, Miss Beale has prepared her book on the Churches of Paria. It is more than an ordinary guide-Vjook, for it mingles personal opinion and comment with curious information "drawn from the old and new authorities on the history and contents of the more ancient and celebrated of the Paris c\mrc\iC9."— Scotsman. " A monument of historical research and judicious compilation is The Churches of Paris from Clovis to Charles X., by Sophia Beale (Allen and Co.). This valuable work, copiously and gracefully illustrated by the author, is destined to serve as a complete vade-mecum to those British visitors to the French capital who take a special interest in ecclesiastical architecture and in the curious mediasval lore connected with several of the venerable Parisian fanes that have survived wars and sieges, revolutions and spasms of urban ' improvement,' throughout from six; to eight centuries."— Daily Telegraph. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. Great Reductions in this Catalogue MONSEIGNEUR BESS ON. Frederick Francis Xavier de Merode, Minister and Almoner to Pius IX. His Life and Works. Translated by Lady Herbert. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. "The book is most interesting, not only to Catholics, but to all who care for adventurous lives and also to historical inquirers. De Merode's career as an officer of the Belgian army, as a volunteer in Algeria with the French, and afterwards at the Papal Court, is described with much spirit by Monscigneur Besson, and Bishop of Nimes, who is the author of the original work. The book, which is now translated, was written with permission of the present Pope, and is, of course, a work agreeable to the authorities of the Vatican, but at the same time its tone leaves nothing to be desired by those who are members of the communions." — Athenceum. SIR GEORGE BIRD WOOD, M.D., K.C.LE., (S-c. Report on the Old Records of the India Office, with Maps and Illustrations. Royal 8vo, 12s. 6d. "No one knows better than Sir George Bird wood how to make 'a bare and short- hand ' index of documents attractive, instructive and entertaining, by means of the notes and elucidatory comments which he supplies so liberally, and so pleasantly withal, from his own inexhaustible stores of information concerning the early relations of India with Europe." — Times. '• The wonderful story (of the rise of the British Indian Empire) has never been better told. ... A better piece of work is very rarely met with."— 7"^^ Anti-Jacobin. "Official publications have not as a rule any general interest; but as there are ' fagots and fagots' so there arc reports and reports, and Sir George Bird wood's Report on the Old Records of the India Office is one of the most interesting that could be read." — Journal des Debats. HENRY BLACKBURN, Editor of ''Academy Notes." The Art of Illustration. A Popular Treatise on Drawing for the Press. Description of the Processes, &c. Second edition. With 95 Illustra- tions by Sir John Gilbert, R.A., H. S. Marks, R.A., G. D. Leslie, R.A., Sir John Millais, R.A., Walter Crane, R. W. Mac- l>eth, A.R.A., G. H. Boughton, A.R.A., H. Railton, Alfred East, Hume Nisbet, and other well-known Artists. 7s. 6d. A capital handbook for Students. " We thoroughly commend his book to all whom it may concern, and chieflj' to the proprietors of the fjopular journals and magazines which, for cheapness rather than for art's sake, employ any of the numerous processes which are now in vogue."— Atheiueum. " Let us conclude >*ith one of the axioms in a fascinating volume : ' Be an artist first, and an illustrator afterwards.' " — Spectator. " ' The Art of Illustration ' is a brightly written account, by a man who has had arge experience of the ways in which books and newspapers are illustrated nowadays. ... As a collection of typical illustrations by artists of the day, Mr Blackburn's book is very attractive."— T/ie Timfg. "Mr Blackburn explains the processes— line, half-tone, and so forth— exemplifying each by the drawings of artists more or less skilled in the modern work of illustra- tion. They are well chosen as a whole, to show the possibilities of process work in trained hands."— Safurdaj/ Review. " Mr Blackburn's volume should be very welcome to artists, editors, and pub- 1 ishers. "—The A rtist. "A most useful book. "—.Studio. Juyr the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen 6^ Co.'s Publications. E. BON AVI A, M.D., Brigade- Surgeon^ Imiian Medical Service. The Cultivated Oranges and Lemons of India and Ceylon. Demy 8vo, with oblong Atlas volume of Plates, 2 vols., 30s. "The amount of labour and research that Dr Bonavia must have expended on these volumes would be very difficult to estimate, and it is to be hoped that he will be repaid, to some extent at least, by the recognition of his work by those who are interested in promoting the internal industries of India." — Hovm News. " Dr Bonavia seems to have so thoroughly exhausted research into the why and wherefore of oranges and lemons, that there can be but little left for the most enthusiastic admirer of this delicious fruit to find out about it. Plunging into Dr Bonavia's pages we are at once astonished at the variety of his subject and the wide field there is for research in an everyday topic. Dr Bonavia has given a very full appendix, in which may be found a few excellent recipes for confitures made from oranges and lemons."— TAe Pioneer. R. BRAITHWAITE, M.D., F.L.S., ^'c. The Sphagnaceae, or Peat Mosses of Europe and North America. Illustrated with 29 plates, coloured by hand, imp. 8vo, 25s. "All rauscologists will be delighted to hail the appearance of this im- portant work . . . Never before has our native moss-iiora been so carefully figured and described, and that by an acknowledged authority on the subject. " — Science Gossip. " Mosses, perhaps, receive about as little attention from botanists as any class of plants, and considering how admirably mosses lend themselves to the collector's purposes, this is very remarkable. Something may be due to the minuteness of the size of many of the species, and something perhaps to the difficulties inherent in the systematic treatment of these plants ; but we fancy the chief cause of comparative neglect with which they are treated is to be sought in the want of a good illustrated English treatise upon them. In the work which is now before us, Dr Braithwaite aims at placing the British mosses on the same vantage-ground as the more favoured classes of the vege- table kingdom ; and judging from the sample lately issued, he will succeed in his endeavours." — Popular Science Review. '' TOM BOWLING.'' Book of Knots (The). Illustrated by 172 Examples, showing the manner of making every Knot, Tie, and Splice. By "Tom Bowling." Third P>lition. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. Edited by JAMES BURROWS. Byron Birthday Book. i6mo, cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 6d. A handsome book. B. CARRINGTON, M.D., F.R.S. British Hepaticae. Containing Descriptions and Figures of the Native Species of Jungermannia, Marchantia, and Anthoceros. With plates coloured by hand. Imp. 8vo, Parts i to 4, all published per set, 15?. 6". WELLS WILLIAMS, LL.D., Professor of the Chinese Language and Literature at Yale College. China — The Middle Kingdom. A Survey of the Geography, Govern- ment, Literature, Social Life, Arts, and History of the Chinese Empire and its Inhabitants. Revised Edition, with 74 Illustrations and a New Map of the Empire. 2 vols., demy 8vo, 42s. " The work now before us is second to none in thoroughness, comprehensivenesfi, and all the tokens of accuracy of which an 'outside barbarian' can tako cognisance." —A. P. PEABODY. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. Great Reductions in this Catalogue SURGEON-MAJOR L. A. WADDELL, M.B. The Buddhism of Tibet. With its Mystic Cuhs, Symlx)lism, and Mythology, and in its relation to Indian Buddhism, with over 200 Illustrations. Demy 8vo, 600 pp., 31s. 6d. Synopsis of Coxtexts :— Introductory. Historical — Changes in Primi- tive Buddhism leading to Lamaism — Rise, Development, and Spread of Lamaism — The Sects of Lamaism. Doctriiud — Meta.physical Sources of the Doctrine — The Doctrine and its Morality — Scriptures and Literature. Mon- astic— The OrAer of Lamas — Daily Life and Routine — Hierarchy and Rein- carnate Lamas. i?M?7'7m^s— Monasteries— Temples and Cathedral — Shrines (and Relics and Pilgrims). Mytholoay and (jorfs— Pantheon and Images — Sacred Symbols and Charms. Ritual ami Sorccnj — AVorship and Ritual — Astrology and Divination — Sorcery and Necromancy. Festivals and Plays — Festivals and Holidays— Mysic Plays and Masquerades and Sacred Plays. Popular Laraaishi — Domestic and Popular Lamaism. Appetxdices — Chrono- logical Table— Bibliogiaphy — Index. "By far the most important mass of original materials contributed to this recondite study." — The Times. "Dr Waddell deals with the whole subject in a most exhaustive manner, and gives a clear insight into the structure, prominent features, and cults of the system ; and to disentangle the early histor}- of Lamaism from the chaotic growth of fable which has invested it, most of the chief internal movements of Lamaism are now for the first time presented in an intelligible and sj'ste- matic form. The work is a valuable addition to the long series that have precedetl it, and is enriched by numerous illustrations, mostly from originals brought from Lhasa, and from photographs by the author, while it is fully indexed, and is provided with a chronological table and bibliography." — Lirerptool Courier. " A book of exceptional interest." — Glasgow Herald. **A learned and elaborate work, likely for some time to come to be a source of reference to all who seek information about Lamaism. ... In the appendix will be found a chronological table of Tibetan events, and a bibliography of the best literature bearing on Lamaism. There is also an excellent index, and the numerous illustrations are certainly one of the dis- tinctive features of the book." — Morning Post. "Cannot fail to arouse the liveliest interest. The author of this excel- lently ])roduced, handsomely illustrated volume of nearly six hundred pages has evidently si)ared no pains in prosecuting his studies. . . . The book is one of exceptional value, and will attract all those readers who take an interest in the old religions of the far East." — Publishers' Circular. " The author is one of few Europeans who have entered the territory of the Grand Lama, and spent several years in studying the actualities of Lamaism as explained by Lamas. A Lamaist temple with its fittings was purchased, and the officiating priests explained in full detail the symbolism and the rites as they proceeded. Other temples and monasteries were visited and Lamas employed for copying manuscripts, and searching for texts bearing upon the author's researches. Enjoying special facilities for penetrating the reserve of Tibetan ritual, and obtaining direct from Lhasa and Tasbi-lhunpo most of the objects and explanatory material needed, much information has been obtained on Lamaist theory and practice which is altogether new." •' The internal developments and movements of Lamaism are now for the first time presented in an intelligibie and systematic form. Details of the principal rites, mystic and other deep-rooted demon worship and dark sorcery, the religious Plays and Festivals, are given fully." With numerous illustrations from originals brought from Lhasa, and from photographs by the author. /v'/- t//e Reduced Prices apply to of Me SSI'S W. H. Allen 6^ Co,^s Publications. M. C. COOKE, M.A., LL.D. *^* For fuller notices of Dr Cooke's works see under Scientific, pp. 29, 30. The British Fung-i : A Plain and Easy Account of, With Coloured Plates of 40 Species. P'iflh Edition, Revised, crown 8vo, 6s. Rust, Smut, Mildew, and Mould. An Introduction to the Study of jNIicroscopic Fungi. Illustrated with 269 Coloured Figures by J. E. Sowerby. Hfth Edition, Revised and Enlarged, with Appendix of New Species. Crown 8vo, 6s. Handbook of British Hepatlcae. Containing Descriptions and Figures of the Indigenous Species of Marchantia, Jungermannia, Riccia, and Anthoceros, illustrated. Crown 8vo, 6s. Our Reptiles and Batrachians. A Plain and Easy Account of the Lizards, Snakes, Newts, Toads, Frogs, and Tortoises indigenous to Great Britain, New and Revised Edition. With Original Coloured Pictures of every species, and numerous woodcuts, crown Svo, 6s. F. C. DANVEKS. Report to the Secretary of State for India in Council on the Portuguese Records relating to the East Indies, contained in the Archivo da Torre de Tombo, and the Public I^ibraries at Lisbon and Evora. Royal Svo, sewed, 6s. net. REV. A.J. D. D'ORSEY, B.D., K.C., P.O.C. Portuguese Discoveries, Dependencies, and Missions in Asia and Africa, with Maps. Crown Svo, 7s. 6d. Contents. Book I. Book \\\.—conlimicd The Archbishop of Qoa. Introductory. The Portuguese in Europe and Asia. xiie Synod of Di.araper Portugal and the Portuguese The Triumph of Rome.' Portuguese Discoveries in the Fifteenth Century , t ^- • *u Book IV. Portuguese Conquests of India in the c< , x nr- • • ci ^i t 1. Sfxteenth Century Subsequent Missions in Southern India, Tho Port„.„e,o Empfrc in the Sixteenth BMSrKL'forraoa. ""' "^*"" ^*'"^"'^^- The Madura Mission. Book II. Portuguese Missions in the Carnatic. The Portuguese Missions in Southern Syrian Christians in the Seventeenth India. Century. Early History of the Church in India. Syrian Christians in the Eighteenth First Meeting of the Portuguese with the Century. Syrians. Rnnk- v Pioneers of the Portuguese Missions. rsooK v . The Rise of the Jesuits. The Portuguese Missions, with special The .Jesuits in Portugal. reference to Modern Missionary St Francis Xavier's Mission in India. efforts in South India. Subsequent Missions in the Sixteenth The First Protestant Mission in South Century. India. _ , -j^ English Missions to the Sj-riane ISOG-lfi. liookill. English Missions and the Syrian The Subjugation of the Syrian Church. Christians. Roman Claim of Supremacy. The Disruption and its Results. First Attempt, by the Franciscans. Present State of the Syrian Christians. Second Attempt, by the Jesuits. The Revival of the Romish Missions in The Struggle against Rome. India. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. Great Reductions ifi this Catalogue a L. EASTLAKE. Notes on the Principal Pictures in the Royal Gallery at Venice. Crown Svo, 3s. 6d. VERY REV. FREDERICK W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S. , {Archdeacon of Westmituter). Words of Truth and Wisdom, by Very Rev. Frederick W. Farrar, D.D., F.R.S. Crown Svo, gilt top, 5s. Contents. Christian Statesmanship. The Conquest over Temp- The Monks. Legislative Duties. tation. The Earlj' Franciscans. The Use of Gifts and Oppor- Too Late. The Herniits. tunities. The Souls of the Departed. The Missionaries. The Brotherhood of Man. What Heaven is. The Martyrs. Energy of Christian Service. No Discharge in the War Seneca. Christianity and the Human against Sin. Seneca and St Paul. Race. The Dead which die in the Gallio and St Paul. Christianity and Individual. Lord. Roman Society in the days The Victories of Christianity. The Resurrection of the of St Paul. TheChristianRemedyagainst Dead. Sanskrit. the Frailties of Life. The Blighted Life. Greek and Hebrew. Prayer, the Antidote of Wisdom and Knowledge. Aryan Migrations. Sorrow. The Voice of History. Words. " In theological views he might be described as standing botween the Evangelical party and the Broarl Church ; but his knowledge, coloured by a jioetic temperament, his suix;rabundant fertility, and eloquent lu.xurianee of stjie, have gained for him a unique position in the theological thought of the last twenty j-ears." — Celehriiies of the Century. GENERAL GORDON, C.B. Events in the Taeping Rebellion, being Reprints of MSS. copied by General Gordon, C.B., in his own handwriting; with Monograph, Introduction, and Notes, by A. Egmont Hake, Author of " The Story ofChine.se Gordon." With Portrait and Map, demy Svo, i8s. "The publication of this volume completes what may be called the personal narrative of General Gordon's eventful life told in his own words."— J/ancMs/w Ouardian. " There is no doubt that a wide circle of readers will like to read the story in the very words of the gallant leader of the ' Ever Victorious Army.' "—Daily Qraphic. A handy book of reference. Companion to the Writing Desk ; or. How to Address, Begin, and End Letters to Titled and Official Personages. Together with a Table of Precedence, copious List of Abbreviations, Rules for Com- position and Punctuation, Instructions on Preparing for the Press, &c. 32mo, IS. A useful manual which should be in every office. BARON CUVIER. The Animal Kingdom, with considerable Additions by W. B. Carpenter, M.D., F.R..S., and J. O. Westwood, F.L.S. New Edition, Illustrated with 500 Engravings on Wood and 36 Coloured Plates, imp. Svo, 21S. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen &> Co.'s Publications. ii M. GRIFFITH. India's Princes, short Life Sketches of the Native Rulers of India, with 47 full-page Illustrations. Demy 4to, gilt top, 2 is. The contents are arranged in the following order:— The Punjaub— H.H. The Maharaja of Cashmere, H.H. The Maharaja of Patiala, H.U. The Maharaja of Kapur- thalla. Ra.iputana— The Maharaja of Onidpur, The Maharaja of Jeyporo, The Maha- rjija of Jodhpur, The Maharaja of Uwar, The Maharaja of Bhurtpur. CwsTRAii India —H.H. The Maharaja Holkar of Indore, H.H. The Maharaja Scindia of Gvralior, H.H. The Begum of Bhopal. The Bombay PaESTDENCY— H.H. The Qaikwar of Baroda, H.H. The Rao of Outch, H.H. The Eaja of Kolhapur, H.H. The Nawab of Juarrghad, H H. The Thakore Sahib of Bliavnagar, H.H. The Thakore Sahib of Dhangadra, H.H. The Thakore Sahib of Morvi, H.H. The Thalcore Sahib of Gondal. Southern India— H.H. The Nizam of Hyderabad, H.H. The Maharaja of Mysore, H.H. The Maharaja of Travancoro, &c. " A handsome volume, containing a series of photographic portraits and local views with accompanying letterpress, giving biographical and political details, carefully com- piled and attractively presented."— ymes. GEORGE GRESSWELL. The Diseases and Disorders of the Ox. Second Edition, demy 8vo, 7s. 6d. •'This is perhaps one of the best of the popular books on the subject which has been published in recent years, and demonstrates in a most unmistakable manner the great advance that has been made in Bovine and Ovine Pathology since the daj's of Youatt. ... To medical men who desire to know something of the disorders of such an important animal— speaking hygienically— as the Ox, the work can be recommended."— TAfi Lancet. C. HAMILTON. Hedaya or Guide, a Commentary on the Mussulman Laws. Second Edition, with Preface and Index by S. G. Grady, 8vo, 35s. The great Law-Book of India, and one of the most important monuments of Mussul- man legislation in existence. " A work of very high authority in all Moslem countries. It discusses most of the subjects mentioned in the Koran and Sonna." — Mill s Mohammedanism. " A valuable work." — Allibone. JOSEPH HA YDN. Book of Dignities, containing lists of the Official Personages of the British Empire, Civil, Diplomatic, Heraldic, Judicial, Ecclesiastical, Municipal, Naval, and Military, from the Earliest Periods to the Present Time, together with the Sovereigns and Rulers of the World from the Foundation of their respective States ; the Orders of Knighthood of the United Kingdom and India, and numerous other lists. Founded on Beatson's " Political Index " (1806). Remodelled ajid brought down to 1851 by the late Joseph Haydn. Con- tinued to the Present Time, with numerous additional lists, and an Index to the entire Work, by Horace Ockerby, Solicitor of the Supreme Court. Demy 8vo, 25s. " The most complete official directory in existence, containing about 1,300 different lists." — Times. " The value of such a book can hardly be overrated." — Saturday Review. "A perfect monument of patient labour and research, and invaluable for many purposes of telctance."— Truth. "This valuable work has cost its editor, Mr Horace Ockerby, a great deal of labour, and does infinite credit to his research and industry." — World. Any Bookseller at Home aiid Abroad. Great Reductions in this Catalogue Rev, H. R. HAWEIS, M.A., Author of ''Music and Morals^ Sir Morell Mackenzie, Physician and Operator, a Memoir, compiled and edited from Private Papers and Personal Reminiscences. New Edition, with Portrait and copy of Autograph Letter from the Queen, crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. Contents. Fatnil}' Tree. Private Practice. The Respite. Surroundings. Leisure Hours. The Last Voj-age. Boj'hood. The Emperor. Last Glimpses. A Vocation. The German Doctors. The End. The Throat Hospital. The Book. " Mr Haweis writes not only fearlessly', but with remarkable freshness and vigour. He is occasionally eloquent, and even pathetic. In all that he says we perceive a transparent honesty and singleness of purpose."— Safwrofrtt/ Revieiv. "A deeply interesting book, and one which challenges in a most striking and fear- less manner the stem verdict which Sir Morell's own profession so generally passed upon his conduct before and after the death of his illustrious patient the Emperor. . . The volume is full of absolutely interesting details, many among them new." — Daily Telegraph. HOWARD HENSMAN, Special Correspoiident of the ''Pioneer'' {Allahabad) and the " Daily News " {London). The Afghan War, 1879-80. Being a complete Narrative of the Capture of Cabul, the Siege of Sherpur, the Battle of Ahmed Khel, the ISIarch to Candahar, and the defeat of Ayub Khan. With Maps, demy 8vo, 2IS. " Sir Frederick Roberts says of the letters here published in a collected form that ' nothing could be more accurate or graphic' As to accuracy no one can be a more competent judge than Sir Frederick, and his testimony stamps the book before us as constituting especially trustworthy material for history. Of much that he relates Mr Hensman was an eye-witness ; of the rest he was informed by eye-witnesses immedi- ately after the occurrence of the events recorded. There could, therefore, be little doubt as to the facts mentioned. Credibility might be concurrent with incorrect deductions, but we are assured by Sir Frederick Roberts that Mr Hensman's accuracy is complete in all respects. Mr Hensman enjoyed singular advantages during the first part of the war, for he was the only special correspondent who accompanied the force which marched out of Ali Kheyl in September 1S79. One of the most interesting portions of the book is that which describes the march of Sir Frederick Roberts from Cabul to Candahar. The description of the Maiwand disaster is given with combined clearness, simplicity, and power, and will be read with the utmost interest. Indeed, the book is in every respect interesting and well written, and reflects the greatest credit on the author."— .4(/j«MBM»i. SIR JOHN F. W. HERSCHEL, Barf., K.H, &'c., Member of the Institute of France, &^c. Popular Lectures on Scientific Subjects. New Edition, crown 8vo, 6s. '* We are reminded of the rapid progress made by science within the last quarter of a century by the publication of a new edition of Sir John Hersehel's Popular Lectures on Scit^nti^fic Sabjecls. In 18GI. spectrum analysis, as applied to the heavenly bodies, was referred to as a possibility ; now it is not only an accomplished fact, but the analysis of the gases contained in the sun has led to the discovery of one of them, helium, upon the earth. Some of the lectures, such a.s that on light, are practically popular treatises on the particular subject to which they refer, and can l)e read with advantage even by advanced students."— TAc WeMminsier Review. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen 6^ Go's Publications. 13 REV. T. P. HUGHES. Dictionary of Islam. Being a Cyclopaedia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies, and Customs, together with the Technical and Theological Terms of the Muhanimadan Religion. With numerous Illustrations, royal 8vo, £2. 2s. " Such a work as this has long been needed, and it would be hard to find any one better qualified to prepare it than Mr Hughes. His ' Notes on Muhammadanism,' of which two editions have appeared, have proved decidedly useful to students of Islam, especially in India, and his long familiarity with the tenets and customs of Moslems has placed him in the best possible position for deciding what is necessary and what superlluous in a ' Dictionary of Islam.' His usual method is to begin an article with the text in the Koran relating to the subject, then to add the traditions bearing upon it, and to conclude with the comments of the Mohammedan scholiasts and the criticisms of Western scholars. Such a method, while involving an infinity of labour, produces the best results in point of accuracy and comprehensiveness. The difficult task of compiling a .dictionary of so vast a subject as Islam, with its many sects, its saints, khalifs, ascetics, and dervishes, its festivals, ritual, and sacred places, the dress, manners, and customs of its professors, its .commentators, technical terms, science of tradition and interpretation, its superstitions, magic, and astrology, its theoretical doctrines and actual practices, lias been accomplished with singular success ; and the dictionary ^*ill have its place among the standard works of reference in every library that professes to take account of the religion which governs the lives of forty millions of the Queen's subjects. The articles on 'Marriage,' 'Women,' 'Wives,' 'Slavery,' ' Tradition,' 'Sufi,' 'Muhammad,' 'Da'wah' or Incantation, 'Burial,' and 'God,' are especially admirable. Two articles deserve special notice. One is an elaborate account of Arabic ' Writing' by Dr Steingass, which contains a vast quantity of useful matter, and is well illustrated by woodcuts of the chief varieties of Arabic script. The other article to which we refer with special emphasis is Mr F. Pincott on ' Sikhism.' There is something on nearly every page of the dictionary that will interest and instruct the students of Eastern religion, manners, and customs."— ^(/jenojMm. Dictionary of Miihanuncuian Theology. Notes on Muhammadanism, by Rev. T. P. Hughes. Third Edition, revised and enlarged. Fcap. 8vo, 6s. . " Altogether an admirable little book. It combines two excellent qualities, abun- dance of facts and lack of theories. ... On every one of the numerous heads (over fifty) into which the book is divided, Mr Hughes furnishes a large amount of very valuable information, which it would be exeeedingly difficult to collect from oven a large library of works on the subject. The book might well be called a ' Dictionary of Muhammadan Theology,' for we know of no English work which combines a methodical arrangement (and consequently facility of reference) with fulness of information in so high a degree as the little volume before u.s."—The Academy. " It contains muHuin in parvo, and is about the best outlines of the tenets of the Muslim faith which we have seen. It has, moreover, the rare merit of being accurate ; and, although it contains a few passages which we would gladly see expunged, it can- not fail to be useful to all Government employes who have to deal with Muhammadans ; whilst to missionaries it will be invaluable." — T/ie Times of India. " It is manifest throughout the work that we have before us the opinions of one thoroughly conversant with the subject, and who is uttering no random notions, . . . We strongly recommend 'Notes on Muhammadanism.' Our clergy especially, even though they are not missionaries, and have no intention of labouring amongst Muham- madans, or consorting with them, ought to have at least as much knowledge of the system as can be most readily acquired, with a very little careful study, from this use- ful treatise." — The Record. SIR W. HUNTER. Bengal MS. Records. A Selected List of Letters in the Board of Revenue, Calcutta, 1782- 1807, with an Historical Dissertation and Analytical Index. 4 vols., demy 8vo, 30s. A Statistical Account of Bengal. 20 vols. , demy 8vo, £6. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad, 14 Great Reductions in this Catalogue J. HUNTER^ late Hon. Sec. of the British Bee-keepers' Association. A Manual of Bee-keeping. Containing Practical Information for Rational and Profitable Metliods of Bee Management. Full Instruc- tions on Stimulative Feeding, Ligurianising and Queen-raising, with descriptions of the American Comb foundation, Sectional Supers, and the Ixjst Hives and Apiarian Appliances on all Systems. Fourth Edition, with Illustrations, crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. " Wc are iudebted to Mr J. Hunter, Honorary Secretary of the British Bee-keepers' Association. His Manual of Bee-keeping, just published, is full to the very brim of choice and practical hints full}' up to the most advanced stages of Apiarian Science, and its jicrusal has afforded us so much pleasure that we have drawn somewhat largely from it for the benefit of our readers." — Bee-keepers' Magazine (Xetc York). " It is profusely illustratod with engravings, which are almost always inserted for their utility. . . . There is an old saying that ' easy writing is hard reading,' but we will not say thug much of Mr Hunter's book, which, taken as a whole, is perhaps the most generally useful of any now published in this country."— The Field. MAJOR LEIGH HUNT, Madras Army, and ALEX. S. KENNY, M.R. C.S.E., A.K. C, Senior Demonstrator of Anatomy at King's College, London. On Duty under a Tropical Sun. Being some Practical Suggestions for the Maintenance of Health and Bodily Comfort, and the Treatment of Simple Diseases ; with remarks on Clothing and Equipment. Second Edition, crown 8vo, 4s. "This little book is devoted to the description and treatment'of many tropical diseases and minor emergencies, supplemented by some useful hints on diet, clothing, and equipment for travellers in tropical climates. The issue of a third edition proves that the book has hitherto been successful. On the whole we can commend the hints which have been given for the treatment of various diseases, but in some places much has been left to the knowledge of the reader in the selection and application of a remedy." — Scottish Geographical Magazine. " Is written more especially for the rougher sex, and is only less important than Tropical Trials ' because it has had many more predecessors. It is now in a third edition, and contains practical suggestions for the maintenance of health and bodily comfort, as well as the treatment of simple diseases, with useful remarks on clothing and equip- ment for the guidance of travellers abroad."— X»a% Telegraph. Tropical Trials. A Handbook for Women in the Tropics. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. " Is a valuable handbook for women in the East, and, we are glad to see, now in its second edition. It does not treat theoretically of the maladies incidental to Europeans in hot climates, or go deeply into those matters which properly belong to the experi- enced doctor, but it gives plain, wholesome advice on matters of health, which, were it scrupulously followed, it is not too much to say would add fifty per cent, to the enjoyment of our countrywomen abroad. She could scarcely have a better guide as to what to do and what not to do than this excellent handbook, which deser^'es to be include in every woman's foreign outfit."— Z)oi7j/ Telegraph. JOHN H. INGRAM. The Haunted Hatnes and Family Traditions of Great Britain. Illustrated. Ciown Svo, 7s. 6d. Epitomised in One Volume by R. O' BYRNE, E.R.G.S., ^c. James' Naval History. A Narrative of the Naval Battles, Single Ship Actions, Notable Sieges, and Dashing Cutting-out Expeditions, fought in the days of Howe, Hood, Duncan, St Vincent, Bridport, Nelson, Camperdown, Exmouth, Duckworth, and Sir Sydney Smith. Crown Svo, 5s. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen 6^ Go's Publications. 15 MRS GRACE /OHNSON, Silver Medallist Cookery, Exhibition. Anglo-Indian and Oriental Cookery. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6cl. " Overflows with all sorts of delicious and economical recipes."— /'aZZ MoAl Budget. " Housewives and professors of the j^entle art of cookery who deplore the dearth of dainty dishes will find a veritable gold mine in Mrs Johnson's hook."— Pall Mall Gazette. Appeals to us from a totally original standpoint. She has thoroughly and com- pletely investigated native and Anglo-Iiidian cuisines, and brought away the very best specimens of their art. Her pillau and kedgrec are perfect, in our opinion ; curries are scientifically classed and explained, and some of the daintiest recipes we have ever seen are given, but the puddings particularly struck our fancy. Puddings as a rule are so nasty ! The pudding that is nourishing is hideously insipid, and of the smart pudding it may truly be said that its warp is dyspepsia, and its woof indigestion. Mrs Johnson's puddings are both good to taste and pretty to look at, and the names of some of her native dishes would brighten any menu. //. G. KEENE, CLE., B.C.S., M.R.A.S., C^c. History of India. From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. For the use of Students and Colleges. 2 vols, with Maps. Crown 8vo, 1 6s. " The main merit of Mr Koene's performance lies in the fact that ho has assimilated all the authorities, and has been careful to bring his book down to date. He has been careful in research, and has availed himself of the most recent materials. Ife is well known as the author of other works on Indian history, and his capacity for his self- imposed task will not be questioned. We must content ourselves with this brief testi- mony to the labour and skill bestowed by him upon a subject of vast interest and importance. Excellent proportion is preserved in dealiunr with the various episodes, and the stylo is clear and graphic. The volumes are supplied with many useful maps, and the appendix include notes on Indian law and on recent books about India," — Globe. " Mr Keene has the admirable element of fairness in dealing with the succession of great questions that pass over his pages, and he wisely devotes a full half of his work to the present century. The appearance of such a book, and of every such book, upon India is to be hailed at present. A fair-minded presentment of Indian history like that contained in Mr Keene's two volumes is at this moment peculiarly welcome." — Times. An Oriental Biographical Dictionary. Founded on Materials collected by the late Thomas William Beale. New Edition, revised and enlarged, royal 8vo, 28s. "A complete biographical dictionary for a country like India, which in its long history has produced a profusion of groat men, would be a vast undertaking. The suggestion here made only indicates the line on which the dictionary, at some future time, could be almost iudeflnitely extended, and rendered still more valuable as a work of reference. Great care has evidently been taken to secure the accuracy of all that has been included in the work, and that is of far more importance than mere bulk. The dictionary can be commended as trustworthy, and reflects much credit on Mr Keene. Several interesting lists of rulers are given under the various founders of dynasties." — India. The Fall of the Moghul Empire. From the Death of Aurungzeb to the Overthrow of the Mahratta Power. A New Edition, with Correc- tions and Additions, with Map, crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. This work fills up a blank between the ending of Elphinstone's and the commence- ment of Thornton's Histories. Fifty-Seven. Some Account of the Administration of Indian Districts during the Revolt of the Bengal Army. Demy Svo, 6s. Any Bookseller at Hot7ie and Abroad. 1 6 Great Reductions in this Catalogue DR TALBOTT, and others. Keble College Sermons. Second Series, 1877- 1888, crown 8vo, 6s. " To those who desire earnest, practical, and orthodox doctrine in the form of short addresses, these sermons will be most acceptable ; and their lofty tone, their eloquent wording-, and the thoroujjh manliness of their character, will commend them to a wide circle of readers."— J/ornm*/ Post. " Dr Talbot has a second time thoughtfully placed on public record some of the lessons which were taught during his Wardenship in Sennons preached in the Chaj/el 0/ Keble College, Oxford, 1877-1888. The sermons are fresh and vigorous in tone, and evidently come from preachers who were thoroughly in touch with their youthful audience, and who generally with much acuteness and skill grappled with the spiritual and intellectual ditticulties besetting nowadays the University career."— Church Times. G. H. KINAHAN. A Handy Book of Rock Names. Fcap. 8vo, 4s. "This will prove, we do not doubt, a very useful little book to all practical geo- logists, and also to the reading student of rocks. When a difficulty is incurred as to a species of deposit, it will soon vanish. Mr Kinahan's little book will soon make it all clear. The work is divided into three parts. The first is a classified table of rocks, the second part treats of the livjcaite rocks, and the third part deals with those rocks which are styled Derivate. Dana's termination of ijte has been most generally used by the author, but he has also given the ite terminations for those that like them. The book will be pxirchased, for it must be had, by every geologist ; and as its size is small, it will form a convenient pocket companion for the man who works over field and quarry." — Popular Science Review. REV. F. G. LEE, D.D. {Vicar of All Saints', Lambeth). The Church under Queen Elizabeth. An Historical Sketch, By Rev. F. G. Lee, D.D. (Vicar of All Saints', Lambeth). Second Edition. Crown Svo, 7s. 6d. "There is the same picturesqueness of detail, the same vigorous denunciation, the same graphic power, which made the earlier book pleasant reading even to many who disagree heartily with its tone and object. . . Dr Lee's strength lies in very graphic description." — }sotes and Queries. " This is, in man}' ways, a remarkably fine book. That it is powerfully written no one acquainted with Dr Lee's vigorous style would for a moment dispute*. "—JHforMtny Post. " Presentuig a painful picture of the degradation into which the Church had sunk in Elizabeth's rav^n."— Daily Tclc'jraph. Sights and Shadows. Being Examples of the Supernatural. New Edition. With a Preface addressed to the Critics. Crown 8vo, 6s. " This work will be especially int-eresting to students of the supernatural, and their name is legion at the present moment. It deals with more than one branch of what is commonly known as spiritualism. The introduction gives a brief resume of various forms of magic and divination which have obtained credence in all ages, and later on we find well-authenticated accounts of apparitions, supernatural warnings, hypnotic experiments, and miracles of healing. Mr Lee evidently believes that ' there are more things in heaven and earth than arc dreamt of in our philosoph}-,' and few sane people will disagree with him, though they maj- not be inclined to accept all his opinions and assertions as they stand." — Lady. " Here we have ghostlj' stories galore, which believers in supernatural visitations will welcome as upholders of the faith that is in them. Dr Lee is a hard hitter and a vij^orous controversialist, with a righteous contempt for your Darwins and Stuart Mills, and such like folk, and is not above suggesting that some of them have a decided worship of the god Self. As for ' the pompous jargon and silly cynicism which so many public scribes again and again make use of to throw discredit upon any phase of the supernatural,' I have nothing to say. They can take care of themselves. This much I know, that 'Sights and Shadows' gives one an eerie feeling as midnight approaches and the fire flickers on the he»,rt)i."-^Gentlewoman. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen (5^' Go's Publications. 17 COL. G. B. MALLESON. History of the French in India. From the Founding of Pondicherry in 1674, to the Capture of that place in 1761. New and Revised Edition, with Maps. Demy 8vo, i6s. "Colonel Malleson has produced a volume alike attractive to the general reader and valuable for it8 new matter to the special student. It is not too much to say that now, for the first time, we are furnished with a faithful narrative of that portion of European enterprise in India which turns upon the contest waged by the East India Company against French inffiience, and especially against Dupleix." — Edinburgh Review. " It is pleasant to contrast the work now before us with the writer's first bold plunge into historical composition, which splashed every one within his reach. He swims now with a steady stroke, and there is no fear of his sinking. With a keener insight into human character, and a larger understanding of the sources of human action, he com- bines all the power of animated recital which invested his earlier narratives with popularity. " — Fortnightly Review. " The author has had the advantage of consulting the French archives, and his volume forms a useful supplement to Orme." — Athenceum. Final French Struggles in India and on the Indian Seas. New Edition. Crown 8vo, 6s. " How India escaped from the government of prefects and sub-prefects to fall under that of commissioners and deputy-commissioners; why the Penal Code of Lord Macaulay reigns supreme instead of a (Jode Napoleon ; why we are not looking on helplessly from Mahe, Karikal, and Pondicherry, while the French are ruling all over Madras, and spending millions of francs in attempting to cultivate the slopes of the Neilgherries, may be learnt from this modest volume. Colonel Malleson is always painstaking, and generally accurate ; his style is transparent, and he never loses sight of the purpose with which he commenced to write." — Saturday Review. " A book dealing with such a period of our history in the East, besides being interesting, contains many lessons. It is written in a style that will be popular with general readers."—^ thcncnutn. " It strikes one as the best thing he has yet done. Searching, yet easy, his pen goes with unflagging power through the military wonders of a hundred years, connecting the accounts of battles by a sufficient historic ihresiA."— Academy. History of Afghanistan, from the EarHest Period to the Outbreak of the War of 1878, with map, demy 8vo, i8s. " The name of Colonel Malleson on the title-page of any historical work in relation to India or the neighbouring States is. a satisfactory guarantee both for the accuracy of the facts and the brilliancy of the narrative. The author may be complimented upon having written a History of Afghanistan which is likely to become a work of standard authority." — Scotsman. The Battle-Fields of Germany, from the Outbreak of the Thirty Years' War to the Battle of Blenheim, with maps and one plan, demy 8vo, 1 6s. " Colonel Malleson has shown a grasp of his subject, and a power of vivifying the confused passages of battle, in which it would be impossible to name any living writer as his equal. In imbuing these almost forgotten battle-fields with fresh interest and reality for the English reader, he is re-opening one of the most important chapters of European History, which no previous English writer has made so interesting and instructive as he has succeeded in doing in this volume." — Academy. Ambushes and Surprises, being a Description of some of the most famous instances of the Leading into Ambush and the Surprises of Armies, from the time of Hannibal to the period of the Indian Mutiny, with a portrait of General Lord Mark Ker, K.C.B., demy Svo, iSs. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. 1 8 Great Reductions in this Catalogue JAMES IRVIN LUPTON, F.R.C. F.S., author of '' The External Anatomy of the Horse ^'^ ^c. The Horse : as he Was, as he Is, and as he Ought to Be, with Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6(1. " Written with a good object in view, namely, to create au interest in the important Ruhject of horse-breeding, more especially that class known as general utility horses. Tho book contains several illustrations, is well primed and handsomely bound, and we hope will meet with the attention it deserves."— ZtVe Slock Journal. T. MILLER MAG LURE, M.A., LL.D. American War — Campaigns in Virginia, 1861-2, wiih Maps. Royal 8vo, paper covers, 3s. 6d. MRS MANNING. Ancient and Mediaeval India. Being the History, Religion, Laws, Caste, Manners and Customs, Language, Literature, Poetry, Philo- sophy, Astronomy, Algebra, Medicine, Architecture, Manufactures, Commerce, &c., of the Hindus, taken from their Writings. With Illustrations. 2 vols., demy 8vo, 30s. ' IRVING MONTAGU {tate Special War Correspondent ''Illustrated London News "). Camp and Studio. Illustrated by the Author. New Edition. Crown 8vo, 6s. " His animated pages and sketches have a more than ephemeral interest, and present a moving picture of the romance and the misery of countries and populations ravaged by great opposing armies, and many a picturesque episode of perional ex- periences ; he is pleasant and amusing enough."— 7)ai7j/ Hews. " Mr Irving Montagu's narrative of his experiences as war artist of the Illustrated London Xews during the Russo-Turkish war, though late in appearing, may be read with interest. War correspondents and artists usually enjoy a fair share of adventure ; but Mr Montagu appears to have revelled in dangers which seem anything but desir- able when studied in cold blood. Mr Montagu has much that is interesting to tell about the horrors of the siege of Kars and the prowess of the fair young Amazon who commanded a troop of Bashi-Bazuks, and even seduced a Russian general to her side. How he got to the front in spite of Russian prohibition, disguised as a camp follower, how his portmanteau was shelled a few inches behind his back, what he risked and what he saw in the memorable lines before Plevna, will be read with great interest. The book is well illustrated by many vigorous sketches, some of which are exceedingly humorons."— Atheiueuni. "A bright chatty record of wars, scenes, and adventures in various parts of the world." — tJcho. Wanderings of a War Artist. Illustrated by the Author. New Edition. Crown 8vo, 6s. " Mr Montagu is to be congratulated on an eminently readable book, which, both in stvle and matter, is above the average of productions in this kind." — The Momiivj Post. " This is an enchanting bock. Equally as writer and as artist, Mr Irving Montagu is a delightful companion. This beautiful and exceptionally interesting volume does not by any means exhaust the literary and artistic achievements of the well-known • si>ecial ' of the Ilhistrated London News."— The Daily Nevn. " His own adventures are largely seasoned with stories of other people and anec- dotes he picks up. He went through the second siege of Paris under the Commune, and some of the best reading in the book is the picture he gives of the state of poor, beautiful Paris, seen hy the eye of an observing, impartial man, who has no object in either exaggerating or under-colouring the work of the Commune." — The Spectator. " The adventures of Mr Montagu are narrated with humour, and arc seldom dull reading." — Olasffmo HeraUl. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen 6^ Co.^s Publications. 19 /. MORRIS, Author of " The War in Korea,'' dr'c., thirteen years resident in Tokio under the fapanese Board of Works. Advance Japan. A Nation Thoroughly in Earnest. With over 100 Illustrations by R. Isayama, and of photographs lent by the Japanese Legation. 8vo, 12s. 6d. "Mr Morris evident!}" knows the country well, and is a strong believer in its future ; his book will be found a useful sunnnary of recent history, abounding in good character sketches, accompanied with photographs, of the leading men." — Times. " Is really a remarkably complete account of the land, the people, and the institu- tions of Japan, with chapters that deal with matters of such living interest as its growing industries and armaments, and the origin, incidents, and probable outcome of the war with China. The volume is illustrated by a Japanese artist of repute ; it has a number of useful statistical appendices, and it is dedicated to His Majesty the M\\iS.Ao."— Scotsman. " Mr Morris, who writes, of course, with thorough local knowledge, gives a very complete and eminently readable account of the countrj', its government, people, and resource. . . The work, which contains a large number of portraits and other illustra- tions, is decidedly ' on the nail,' and may be recommended not only as a book to read, but as of value for reference." — Westminster Gazette. " Puts before us a clear view of the point which has been reached. His work is historical, social, and descriptive ; we see in it the Japanese of to-day as he really is. Mr Morris has also something to say on the Japanese at home— how he eats, how he dresses, and how he comports himself ; while wider issues are discussed in the chapters treating of the administration of the islands, their ports, communications, trades, and armaments. "—Crio^e. " A well-proportioned sketch of the Japanese of to-day, so recent as to include the results of the war. . . There is much else I should like to quote in this able and interesting book. It has a good chapter on natural history, and an excellent chapter on diet, dress, and manners ; it gives just enough of Japanese history to help the ordinary reader who wants to learn his Japan on easj-^ terms ; it has also most useful and attractively conveyed information in its brief account of the principal cities of Japan, communications and armament, language and literature, mines and minerals." —Qtteen. " He summarises clearly, concisely, the existing knowledge on the Japanese Parlia- mentary system, territorial and administrative divisions, natural history, domestic and national customs, dynastic changes, old feudal institutions, town populations, industries, mineral and other natural resources, railways, armaments, the press, and other subjects too many for enumeration. Even the chapter on language and litera- ture makes an appalling subject interesting. ... Mr Morris has brought his very use- ful account of Japan up-to-date. He gives a good summary of the recent war with China, and then proceeds to make some well-considered suggestions on a matter of supreme importance to Europe no less than to the two Empires of the Far East." CHARLES MARVIN. The Region of the Eternal Fire. An Account of a Journey to the Caspian Region in 1883, New Edition. With Maps and Illustra- tions. Crown 8vo, handsomely bound, 6s. "The leading authority of the English Press on the Central Asian Question is Charles Marvin, a man of iron industry, who has wielded his comprehensive knowledge of the region in such a manner as to render eminent service to his country."— Oj:>imo7i of Arminius Vambery. "Charles Marvin's services in respect of the Russo-Afghan Question have been invaluable. He has heard with his own ears the opinions expressed on the subject by Russian generals and diplomatists, and, for the love of England, has spent his own money to warn England's people."— Opinio?i of Colonel Malleson, " The Russo-Afghan Qxiestion," p. 55. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. 20 Great Reductions in this Catalogue IV. a CONNOR MORRIS. Great Commanders of Modern Times, and the Campaign of 1815. Turenne — Marlborough — Frederick the Great — Napoleon — Welling- ton — Moltke. With Illustrations and Plans. Royal 8vo, 21s. " Mr Morris certainl}' brings to his task vast reading and exhaustive research."— AtheiKKXim. " We gladl}- welcome this handsome volume by Judge O'Connor Morris, which gives evidence on every page of careful reading and correct judgment. . . . An admirable book to place in the hands of any student who wishes to get some idea of the history of the art of war." — Academy. " To the students of war this book will prove of the utmost interest and the greatest possible acrvice."— National Observer. " Writes vividly and well." — Times. CARDINAL NEWMAN. Miscellanies from the Oxford Sermons of John Henry Newman, D. D. Crown 8vo, gilt top, 5s. "All the resources of a master of English stjie— except, perhaps one, description- were at his command ; pure diction, clear arrangement, irony, dignity, a copious command of words, combined with a reserve in the use of them — all these qualities went to make up the chiirni of Newman's style, the finest flower that the earlier system of a purelj' classical education has produced." — Athenceum. "The pieces presented to us here are carefully chosen, and answer the purjwse of the present volume. The selections which are contained in it happily avoid any of these passages which have been the grounds of controversy. As a general rule we are able to take in the teachings of this book without any arrit-re-jyensi'e, without any feeling that we have here the genu of those theories which estrange their author from us."— Athejumim. COL. F. A. WHINYATES, late R.H. A., formerly commanding the Battery. Military Regiments— From Corunna to Sevastopol, the History of "C" Battery, "A" Brigade, late "C" Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, with succession of Officers from its formation to the present time. With 3 Maps, demy 8vo, 14s. EDWARD NEWMAN, F.Z.S. British Butterflies. With many Illustrations. Super royal Svo, 7s. 6d. DEPUTY SURGEON-GENERAL C. T. PASKE, late of t/ic. Bcnqal Army, and Edited hy F. G. AFLALO. Life and Travel in Lov^er Burmah, with Frontispiece. Crown Svo, 6s. " In dealing with life in Burmah we are given a pleasant insight into Eastern life ; and to those interested in India and our other Eastern possessions, the opinions Mr Paske offers and the suggestions he makes will be delightful reading. Mr Paske has adopted a very light style of writing in ' Myamma,' which lends an additional charm to the short historicar-cura-geographical sketch, and both the writer and the editor are to be commended for the production of a really attractive hook."— Public Opinion. For the /■^educed Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen &" Co.'s Publications. 21 Translation of the famous Passion Play. Passion Play at Oberammergau, The, with the whole Drama translated into English, and the Songs of the Chorus in German and English ; also a Map of the Town, Plan of the Theatre, &c. 4to, cloth, 3s. 6d. ; paper, 2s. 6d, " The author of ' Charlts Lowder ' has done a real service in publishing a transla- tion of ' The Passion Play at Oborammergau,* with a description of the play and short account of a visit there in 1880. To those who have already seen it, this little book will recall vividly the experience of what must be to ail a memorable day, while to those who are j,''oiiig in 1890 it is gimply invaluable."— Gjmrciian. MARY A. PR A TTEN. My Hundred Swiss Flowers, with a short account of Swiss Ferns. With 60 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, plain plates, 12s. 6d. ; with plates coloured by hand, 25s. "The temptation to produce such books as this seems irresi.stible. The author feels a want ; the want is undeniable. After more or less hesitation he feels he can supply ifc. It is pleasantly written, and affords useful hints as to localities." — Atkenceuvi. R. A. PROCTOR. Watched by the Dead, a loving study of Dickens' half-told tale. Crown 8vo, cloth, is. 6d. ; boards, is. " Mr Proctor here devotes much study and much ingenious conjecture to restoring the plot of ' The Mystery of Edwin Drood.' It would not be fair were we to attempt to give in a small compass the result of his labours. It must suffice to say that those who have occupied themselves with this curious problem will be interested in the solution here offered for their acceptance."— ,Sf/>gc;a?or. WILLIAM PROCTOR, Stud Groom. The Management and Treatment of the Horse in the Stable, Field, and on the Road. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged, Illustrated. Crown Svo, 6s. " There are few who are interested in horses will fail to proflt by one portion or another of this useful work." — Sportsman. " We cannot do better than wish that Mr Proctor's book may find its way into the bands of all those concerned in the management of the most useful quadruped we possess." — Enijland. " There is a fund of sound common-sense views in this work which wUl bo interest- ing to many owners." — Field. " Coming from a practical hand the work should recommend itself to the public."— SiH)rtsman. WILLIAM RAEBURN ANDREW. Raeburn (Sir Henry, R.A.), Life by his Great-Grandson, William Raeburn Andrew, with an Appendix comprising a list of his works exhibited in the Royal Academy, Edinburgh. Svo, lOs. 6d. " Mr Andrew's book, which on this occasion appeals to a wider puldic, makes no pretence to do more than to bring together the biographical fragments concerning Raeburn gathered out of various publications and to 'make them coherent with a little cement of his own.' Possibly a fuller and more original biography of the greatest of our portrait-painters, who was at the same time one of the greatest ornaments of the Edinburgh Society of the beginning of the century, may yet see the light ; and in the meantime we can be grateful to Air Andrew for bringing together and arranging so rich a store of topographical and personal details connected with his illustrious ancestor. In an appendix ia a useful annotated catalogue of the 1876 exhibition of llaeburn's works." — Scotsman. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. Great Reductions in this Cataloifue K. KIMMER, F.L.S. The Land and Freshwater Shells of the British Isles. Illustrated with lo Photographs and 3 Lithographs, containing figures of all the principal Species. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 5s. " This handsomel}- got up little volume supplies a long-falt want in a verj' ingenious and tru3tworthy manner. The author is an enthusiastic conchologist, and writes both attractively and well, and in a manner so simple and natural that we have no fear that any ordinarily educated man will easily understand every phrase. But the feature of this hook which strikes us most is that every species of British land and freshwater shell has been photographed, and here we have all the photographs, natural size in the albert>T>e process, so that the mereat tyro will find no difficulty in identi- fying any shell he may find. "—Science Gossip. ALEXANDER ROGERS {Bombay Civil Service, Retired). The Land Revenue of Bombay, a History of its Administration, loo\''— Pall Mall Gazette. " This is the best and most practical book on the wild game of Southern and Eastern India that we have read, and displays an extensive acquaintance with natural history. To the traveller proposing to visit India, whether he be a sportsman, a naturalist, or an antiquarian, the book will be invaluable : full of incident and sparkling with anecdote."— Bailey's Magazine. "This— the fifth edition of a work as charming to read as it is instructive— will be welcomed equally by lovers of sport, and of natural history. Though he met with and shot many other kinds of wild beasts, the bulk of the volume, well written, well illus- trated, and generally well got up, deals chiefly with the elephant, the tiger, the bison, the leopard, and the bear. Mr Sanderson, with exceptional powers of observation, cultivated friendly intercourse with the natives ; and he was consequently able to utilise to the utmost the singularly favourable opportunities enjoyed by him as director of elephant-capturing operations in Mysore and Chittagong. The result is a book which to graphic details of sporting adventures far surpassing the common, adds a correct natural history' of the animals chiefly dealt with, and particularly the elephant. From this real king of beasts, Mr Sanderson carefully removes every exaggeration made both for or against him, which had been repeated without any good foundation by one writer after another ; he substitutes for fables a description of elephantine anatomy, size, habits, and character which may be said to sum up all that we know for certain about the animal, and nearly all that one can wish to know. We should have wished to see this edition brought up to date. The book is more fascinating than a romance ; and we have read it now the third time with as great a zest as when we revelled over the perusal of the first edition." — Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Revieio. PROFESSOR SHELDON The Future of British Agriculture, how Farmers may best be bene- fited. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. "Fortunately Prof. Sheldon has no mind to play the part of a prophet, but from the plenitude of a long experience gives sage counsel how to farm abreast of the time and be ready for whatever may ensue. . . . This little book is well worth reading, and it is pleasant to find that the Professor by no means despairs of the future of agriculture in En<;\a,nd."~ Academy. " We welcome the book as a valuable contribution to our agricultural literature, and as a useful guide to those branches in which the author is especially qualified to instruct."— iVafttre. "In this beautifully printed and well-bound little book Professor Sheldon, in his usual happy style, surveys the agricultural field, and indicates what he thinks is the prospect in front of the British farmer. Like a watchman he stands upon his tower — and when asked. What of the night ? he disavows not that we arc in the night, but earnestly declares that the morning cometh apace. The professor is an optimist ; he does not believe that the country is done, and still less does be favour the idea that, taking a wide survey, the former days were better than these. On the contrary, he urges that the way out of the wilderness is not by any by-path, but by going right ahead ; and, ere long, the man who holds the banner high will emerge triumphant." — Scottish Farmer. J. SMITH, A.L.S. Ferns : British and Foreign. Fourth Edition, revised and greatly enlarged, with New Figures, &c. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. 24 Great Reductions in this Catalogue G. BARNETT SMITH, Author of ''History of the English Parlia?)ient.^' Leaders of Modern Industry. Biographical Sketches. Contents : — The Stephensons, Charles Knight, Sir George Burns, Sir Josiah Mason, The Wedgwoods, Thomas Brassey, The Fairljairns, Sir William Siemens, The Kennies. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. " ' Leaders of Modem Industry ' is a volume of interestinj? biog^raphical sketches of the pioneers of various phases of industry, comprising the Stephensons, Charles Knight, Sir George Bums, Sir Josiah Mason, the Wedgwoods, Thomas Brassey, the Fairbairas, Sir William Siemens, and the Kennies." — World. Women of Renown. Nineteenth Century Studies. Contents : — Frederika Bremer, Countess of Blessington, George Eliot, Jenny Lind, Mary Somerville, George Sand, Mar)' Carpenter, Lady Morgan, Rachel, Lady Hester Stanhope. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. Mr Barnett Smith continues his biographical activitj'. It is not many weeks since a volume appeared from his pen on " Christian Workers of the Nineteenth Century " ; now we have " Women of Renown : Nineteenth Century Studies." The later is the larger and more elaborate work of the two, but in design and execution it is not gnreatly dissimilar from the earlier volume. Desirous of showing what the women of eminence whom he has chosen for delineation really were— how they lived, moved, and acted— the author has presented them wherever he could "as painted by them- selves or their contemporaries." Autobiographies and biographies are thus, as far as available, laid under contribution. In the hands of so capable a compiler as Mr Bamett Smith sach materials have been skilfully utilised, and the result is a series of brightly written sketches. The Life and Enterprises of Ferdinand de Lesseps— The only full and Complete English Account of. New Edition. Revised, and brought up to the time of his death, with Portrait. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. " A great part of M. de Lesseps' career already belongs to history, and is invested with a lustre which nothing can obscure. Mr G. Barnett Smith makes this clear in his useful and painstaking compilation. ... It is skilfully executed, and illustrates aptly and not altogether inopportunely, both the poetry and the prose of M. de Lesseps' extraordinary career." — The Times. "A very comprehensive life of Ferdinand de Lesseps has been produced by G. Barnett Smith, who has already proved his ability as a faithful and painstaking bio- grapher. The career of M. de Lesseps was one of great achievements and great vicissitudes. This biographer lauds his achievements. The facts of the prosecution in connection with the Panama Canal project are elaborately set forth in this volume, to which all readers interested in the question should refer for information on a matter which to people not resident in France must have appeared unusually complicated."— Westminster Review. ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, D.D. {Dean of Westminster). Scripture Portraits and other Miscellanies collected from his Published Writings. By Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, D.D. Crown Svo, gilt top, Ss. " In virtue of his literary genius, his solid acciuirements, his manly sense, and his sympathetic and generous piety, he ranks among the most eminent and estimable of Christian teachers." — Chambers's Eitcyckiptedia. "These essays range over a period of twenty years (1850-1870), and they furnish a series of singularly interesting illustrations of the great controversies which have agitated that time. . . . Every one, indeed, of his essays has achieved in its day a success which makes a recommendation unnecessary."— A lliboxe. J*br the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen &^ Co.'s Publications. 25 E. CE. SOMERVILLE and MARTIN ROSS, THE AUTHORS OF ''AN IRISH COUSIN" Through Connemara in a Governess Cart. Illustrated by W. W. Russell, from Sketches by Edith Gi. Somerville. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. " The quaint seriousness, the free and hearty fun, the sly humour of this narrative, are charmingly bright and attractive." — World. "A bright and breezy narrative of two ladies in Connemara who preferred inde- pendence and a mule to society and a mail car. Their simple story is divertingly told."— Times. "The delightful wilderness of mountain, peat bog, and heather, and all that they said and did, are graphically described in this chatty and extremely readable volume." —Daily Tele(jraph. " Sketches of Irish Life, the eccentricities of wandering Saxons, and descriptions of local scenery, are worked up in a manner which makes the book a pleasant companion. Mr Russell has in his illustration ably supported the writers." — Morning Post, By the same Authors. In the Vine Country —Bordeaux and its Neighbourhood, Illustrated. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. " The genuine fund of wit and humour which sparkles throughout will be enjoyed by all. " — Glasgow Herald. " The authors have the knack of jiutting their readers in the situation in which they themselves were, and so the book, light and smart as it is, is heartily enjoyable." — ^Scotsman. " A bright, artless narrative of travel."— T/mes. "There is not a dull line in the volume from the first page to the \a,at."—Ladif's Pictorial. J. E. TAYLOR, F.L.S., F.G.S., dr'c. For fuller notices of Dr Taylor's Works, see Scientific, pp. 33, 34,. Flowers : Their Origin, Shapes, Perfumes, and Colours. Illustrated with 32 Coloured Figures by Sowerby, and 161 Woodcuts. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. The Aquarium : Its Inhabitants, Structure, and Management. Second Edition, with 238 Woodcuts. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. Half- Hours at the Seaside. Illustrated with 250 Woodcuts. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. Half-Hours in the Green Lanes. Illustrated with 300 Woodcuts. Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d, E. THORNTON. A Gazetteer of the Territories under the Government of the Viceroy of India. Last Edition. Revised and Edited by Sir Roper Lethbridge, CLE., and A. N. Wollaston, CLE. Demy 8vo, 1,070 pp., 28s. PERCY M. THORNTON. Harrow iSchool and its Surroundings. With Maps and Plates. Demy 8vo, 15s. Atiy Bookseller at Home and Abroad. 26 Great Reductions in this Catalogue W. M. TORKENS. History of Cabinets. From the Union with Scotland to the Acquisition of Canada and Bengal. 2 vols. Demy 8vo, 36s. "It is almost impossible— and, alas! now useless as regards the writer— to praise this book too hij^hly. It is a clever, sincere, and painstaking contribution to the making of modern history, and all students of constitutional and parliamentary history will find much to interest and instruct them in these able volumes. In all the minor matters of references, indexing, and printing every care has been taken. Indeed, all is praiseworthy, and the pity is that the writer should have passed away without receiving the thanks of students." — St James's Bud'jet. " ' A History of Cabinets' from the beginning of the Eighteenth Century down to the death of George II., which the late Mr M'Cullagh Torrens regarded as ' the work of his life,' was published yesterday. It consists of two volumes of considerable bulk, showing at once that something more than the origin and progress of the Cabinet system had occupied the attention of the author. In fact, a history of Cabinets is a history of Governments, and a history of Governments is, in a great measure, a history of England."— TAc Standard. A.J. WALL. Indian Snake Poisons. Their Nature and Effects. Crown 8vo, 6s. Contents. The Physiological Effects of the Poison of the Cobra (Naja Tripudians). — The Physio- logical Effects of the Poison of Russell's Viper (Dabola Kussellii).— The Physiological Effects produced by the Poison of the Bungarus Fasciatus and the Bungarus Coeruleus. — The Relative Power and Properties of the Poisons of Indian and other Venomous Snakes. — The Nature of Snake Poisons.— Some practical considerations connected with the subject of Snake-Poisoning, especially regarding prevention and treatment. — The object that has been kept in view, has been to define as closely as possible, the con- ditions on which the mortality from Snake-bite depends, both as regards the physio- logical nature of the poisoning process, and the relations between the reptiles and their victims, so as to indicate the way in which we should best proceed with the hope of diminishing the fearful mortality that exists. JOHN WATSON, F.L.S. Ornithology in Relation to Agriculture and Horticulture, by various writers, edited by John Watson, F. L.S., &C. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. List of Contributors.— Miss Eleanor A. Ormerod, late Consulting Entomologist to the Royal Agricviltural Society of England ; O. V. Alpin, F.L.S. , Member of the British Ornithologists' LTnion ; Charles Whitehead, F.L.S., F.G.S., &;c., author of "Fifty Years of Fruit Farming"; John Watson, F.L.S., author of " A Handbook for Farmers and Small Holders " ; the Rev. F. O. Morris, M.A., author of "A History of British Birds" ; G. W. Murdoch, late editor of The Fanner; Riley Fortune, F.Z.S. ; T. H. Nelson, Member of the British Ornithologists' Uniou ; T. Southwell, F.Z.S. ; Rev. Theo. Wood, B.A., F.LS. ; J. H. Gurney, jun., M.P. ; Harrison Weir, F.R.H.S. ; W. H. Tuck. "Will form a textbook of a reliable kind in guiding agriculturists at large in their dealings with their feathered friends and foes alike." — Glasgoio Herald. "This is a valuable book, and should go far to fulfil its excellent purpose. . . . It is a bojk that every agriculturist should possess." — Land and Water. "It is well to know what birds do mischief and what birds are helpful. This book is the very manual to clear up all such doubts." — Yorkshire Post. "In these days of agricultural depression it behoves the farmer to study, among other subjects, ornithology. That he and the gamekeeper often bring down plagues upon the land when they fancy they are ridding it of a pest is exceedingly well illustrated in this series of papers." — Scotsman. For t/ie Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen 6^ Co.^s Publications. 27 SAMUEL WILBERFORCE, D.D. {Bishop of Winchester). Heroes of Hebrew History. Crown 8vo, gilt top, 5s. "The tales which he relates are all good, and have a moral aim and purpose.'"— Athenmuin. " It is written with a natural and captivating fervour." — London Quarterly Revietv. " An interesting historical account."— Lovuion Lit. Gaz. " Using his influence as a man of the world for the purpose of modifying those about him for good, and making them serve as his instruments for the furtherance of the objects which he had at heart. He was the most delightful of companions, and the wittiest talker of his time. Of his extraordinary versatility and extraordinary powers of work, it is impossible to speak at length here, but both qualities are abundantly illustrated in his life by Canon Ashwell." — Celebrities of the Century. S. WELLS WILLIAMS, LL.D., Professor of the Chimse Language and Literature at Yale College. China — The Middle Kingdom. A Survey of the Geography, Govern- ment, Literature, Social Life, Arts, and History of the Chinese Empire and its Inhabitants. Revised Edition, with 74 Ilhistrations and a New Map of the Empire. 2 vols. Demy 8vo, 42s. Dr S. Wells Williams' Middle Kingdom has long occupied the position of a classic. It is not only the fullest and most authoritative account of the Chinese and their country that exists, but it is also the most readable and entertaining. This issue is practically a new work— the text of the old edition has been largely re-written and the work has been expanded so as to include a vast amount of new material collected by Dr Williams during the late years of his residence in China — as well as the most recent information respecting all the departments of the Empire. Many new illustrations have been added and the best of the old engravings have been retained. An important feature of this edition is a large map of the Chinese Empire from the best modern authorities, more complete and accurate than any map of the country hitherto published. HARRY WILLIAMS, R.N. {Chief Inspector of Machinery). Dedicated, by permission, to Admiral H.E.H, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Steam Navy of England. Past, Present, and Future. Contents: — Part L — Our Seamen; Part IL — Ships and Machinery; Part in. — Naval Engineering; Part IV. — Miscellaneous, Summary, with an Appendix on the Personnel of the Steam Branch of the Navy. Third and enlarged Eldition. Medium 8vo, 12s. 6d. " It is a series of essays, clearly written and often highly suggestive, on the still unsolved, or only partially and tentatively solved, problems connected with the man- ning and organisation, and propulsion of our modern war-ships, . . . being laudably free from technicalities, and written in a not unattractive style, they will recommend themselves to that small, but happily increasing, section of the general public which concerns itself seriously and intelligently with naval affairs." — Times. " Mr Harry Williams, a naval engineer of long experience and high rank, discusses the future requirements of the fleet. He is naturally most at homo when dealing with Ijoints which specially affect his own branch of the service, but the whole book is well worth study." — Manchester Guardian. " Must bo pronounced a technical book in the main, although its author expressly states that he wrote it ' not so much for professional as non-professional men.' Its manifest object is to promote the efiiciency of our steam navy in times to come, keeping which aim steadfastly in view Mr Williams has brought great knowledge and ability to bear upon the endeavour to forecast what provision it would be well to make in order to meet the full naval requirements of the British nation. His highly instructive work is divided into four parts, under the respective titles of ' Our Seamen,' ' Ships and Machinery,' ' Naval Engineering,' and ' Miscellaneous,' which again are carefully summarised in some flfty pages of eminently readable matter. The three chapters of miscellanea deal principally with the coal-endurance, engine-room complements, elec- tric lighting, and steam-steering machinery of Her Majesty's ships." — Daily Telegraph Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. 28 Great Reductions in this Catalogue Professor H. H. WILSON, author of the " Standard History of Indian Glossary of Judicial Terms, including words from the Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, Uriya, Maralhi, Giizarathi, Telugu, Karnata, Tamil, Malayalam, and other languages. 4to, cloth, 30s. Wynter's Subtie Brains and Lissom Fingers. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. Contents. The Buried Boinan City in Britain. "Silvertown." Advertising. Vivisection. Tlie New Hotel System. Tlic Eestoration of our Soil. Half-Hours at the Keusingtou Museum. Mudie's Circulating Library. Fraudulent Trade Marks. Superstition: Where docs it End? The New Counterblast to Tobacco. Air Traction, Illuminations. Boat-Building by Machinery. The Effects of Railway Travelling upon Health. Th6 Working-Men's Flower Show. Messages under the Sea. Town Telegraphs. The Bread We Eat. Early Warnings. Dining Rooms for the Working Classes. Railway and City Population. A Day with the Coroner. The English in Paris. The Timc^ Newspaper in 1798. The Under-Sea Railroad. Oh, the Roast Beef of Old England. Physical Education. Advice by a Retired Physician. The Clerk of the Weather. Portsmouth Dockyard. Village Hospitals. Railways, the Great Civilisers. On taking a House. Photographic Portraiture. Doctor's Stuff. Smallpox in London. Hospital Dress. Excursion Trains. " Altogether ' Subtle Brains and Lissom Fingers' is about the pleasantest book of short collected papers of chit chat blending information with amusement, and not over- t*sking the attention or the intelligence, that we have seen for a good v/hUe."— London Reader. LTEUT. G. J. YOUNGHUSBAND, Queen's Oum Corps of Guides. Eighteen Hundred Miles in a Burmese Tat, through Burmah, Siam, and the Kcxstern Shan States. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, 5s. '• There is a good deal of jocular description in this book, which, as the reader will easily see, has been introduced with an eye rather to amusement than to accuracy; but after all the volume will have repaid the reader for the few hours which may be spent in its perusal if it conveys to him, as it is calculated to do, a fair impression of the difficulties which beset the wayfarer in a strange land who, when in search of the pleasures of travel, begins his journey where he should leave off, and ends it where he should have started.'' — Athennetim. "Mr Younghusband's account of his adventures is written simply and without exaggeration, but on the whole we think we would rather read about the Shan country than travel in it." — Literary World. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen 6^ Co.^s Publications, 29 Sctenttfic limorfts : IncUiMnG Botany, IRatural E. BOiVAVIA, Af.D., Brigade-Surgeon, hidian Medical Sei-vice. The Cultivated Oranges and Lemons of India and Ceylon. Uemy 8vo, with oblong Atlas Volume of Plates, 2 vols. 30s. A'. BRAITHWAITE, M.D., F.L.S., ^'c. The Sphagnaceae, or Peat Mosses of Europe and North America. Illustrated with 29 Plates, coloured by hand. Imp. 8vo, 25s. " All muscologists will be delighted to hail the appearance of this important work. . . . Never before has our native moss-flora been so carefully figured and described, and that by an acknowledged authority on the subject." — Science Goxsip. " Mosses, perhaps, receive about as little attention from botanists as any class of plants, and considering how admirably mosses lend themselves to the collector's purposes, this is very remarkable. Something may be due to the minuteness of the size of many of the species, and something perhaps to the difficulties inherent in the systematic treatment of these plants ; but we fancy the chief cause of comparative neglect with which they are treated is to be sought in the want of a good illustrated English treatise upon them. In the work which is now before us, Dr Braithwaito aims at placing the British mosses on the same vantage-ground as the more favoured classes of the vegetable kingdom ; and judging from the sample lately issued, he will succeed in his endeavours." — Popular Science Review. B. CARRINGTON, M.D., F.R.S. British Hepaticas. Containing Descriptions and Figures of the Native Species of Jungermannia, Marchantia, and Anthocetos. Imp. 8vo, sewed, Parts i to 4, plain plates, 2s. 6d. each ; coloured plates, 3s. 6d. each. M. C. COOKE, M.A., LL.D. The British Fungi : A Plain and Easy Account of. With Coloured Plates of 40 Species. Fifth Edition, Revised. Crown Svo, 6s. " Mr (Jooke writes for those whose education and means are limited, and with pre- eminent success. It is really a pleasure to road the manuals which he has published, for they are up to the mark, and so complete as to leave hardly anything to be desired. The new work on the fungi appears to be equally valuable with those which he has already printed. It contains descriptions of the esculent fungi, the manner in which they are prepared for the table, how to discriminate the nutritious from the poisonous species, details of the principles of their scientific classification, and a tabular arrange- ment of orders and genera." Handbook of British Hepaticae. Containing Descriptions and Figures of the Indigenous Species of Marchantia, Jungermannia, Riccia, and Anthoceros, Illustrated. Crown Svo, 6s. " It is very creditable to Mr Cooke that the drawings in his book are all sketches from nature made by his own pencil. This shows work, and is more respectable than the too common practice of copying engravings from the authorities in the particular branch of science. This little l)ook is valuable, because in some respects it is certainly a good guide-book to a number of edible fungi unknown to the public."— /•opwZar Science Review. "Probably no group in the British flora has received so little attention as the Hepaticae. Dr M. O. Cooke has now filled up the gap by producing a ' Handbook of the British Hepatica;,' containing full descriptions of all the species, about two hundred in number, known to inhabit the British Islands." — Nature. M. C. Cooke's Books continued. A?ty Bookseller at Hoi?ie and Abroad, 30 Great Reductions in this Catalogue M. C. COOKE, M.A., LL.D.— continued. Our Reptiles and Batrachians. A Plain and Easy Account of the Lizards, Snakes, Newts, Toads, Frogs, and Tortoises indigenous to Great Britain. New and Revised Edition. With original Coloured Pictures of every Species, and numerous Woodcuts. Crown 8vo, 6s. Contents. Eeptiles and Snake-stones. The Blind Worm. The Common Frog. The Common Lizard. The Common Snalje. The Edible Frog. The Sand Lizard. The Smooth Snake. The Common Toad. The Green Lizard. The Viper, or Adder. Common Smooth Newt or The Natterjack. Great Water Newt. Eft. Palmate Newt. Gray's Banded Newt. The Hawk's-Bill Turtle. The Leathery Turtle. Amphibia or Batrachians. Appendix. " Mr Cooke has especially distinguished himself as a student of the fungi and the fresh- water algro, his works on these orders being the standard treatises in English. He has also paid some attention to zoology and chemistry, his education in these as in other sciences being obtained by persistent self-instruction."— Ce/t&rt^ie* of the Century. Rust, Smut, Mildew, and Mould. An Introduction to the Study of Microscopic Fungi. Illustrated with 269 Coloured Figures by J. E. Sowerby. Fifth Edition, Revised and Enlarged, with Appendix of New Species. Crown 8vo, 6s. Those of our readers who are the happy possessors of microscopes would welcome this book with delight, as opening the way to a definite study of a most interesting branch of plant life. The minute fungi, here so faithfully depicted by Mr Sowerby, and so carefully described by Dr Cooke, have not only beauty of form and colour, but wonderful life-histories. Every hedge or lane or piece of waste ground, even in the suburbs of large towns, will provide specimens, which may be easily preserved on the plants which they attack or mounted as microscope slides. Impoi-ta7tt to Botanists and Stndettts of Natural History. European Fungi (Hymenomycetum) — Synoptical Key to. Cooke (M. C.) and Quelet (L., M.D., &c.) — Clavis Synoptica Hymenomy- cetum Europceorum. Fcap. 8vo, 7s. 6d. ; or, interleaved with ruled paper, 8s. 6d. " Without pretending to high scientific quality, the work throughout is well fitted to instruct and to attract a class of readers who might shrink from grappling with a scientific text-book. " — Saturday Review. BARON CUVIER. The Animal Kingdom. With considerable Additions by W. B. Carpenter, M.D., F.R.S., and J. O. Westwood, F.L.S. New Edition, Illustrated with 500 Engravings on Wood and 36 Coloured Plates. Imp. 8vo, 21s. J. HUNTER, late Hon. Sec. of the British Bee-keepers' Association. A Manual of Bee-keeping. Containing Practical Information for Rational and Profitable ISIethods of Bee Management. Full Instruc- tions on Stimulative Feeding, Ligurianising and Queen-raising, with descriptions of the American Comb Foundation, Sectional Supers, and the best Plives and Apiarian Appliances on all systems. Fourth Edition. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. •* We cordially recommend Mr Hunter's neat and compact Manual of Bee-keeping. Mr Elunter writes clearly and well." — Science Gossip. " We are indebted to Mr J. Hunter, Honorary Secretary of the British Bee-keepers' Association. His Manual of Bee-keeping, just published, is full to the very brim of choice and practical hints fully up to the most advanced stages of Apiarian Science, and its perusal has afforded us so much pleasure that we have drawn somewhat largely from it for the benefit of our readers." — Bee-keej>ers' Magazine {New York). For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen c^* Co.'s Publications. 31 G. H. KINAHAN. A Handy Book of Rock Names. Fcap. 8vo, 4s. *' This will prove, we do not doubt, a very useful little book to all practical geologists, and also to the reading student of rocks. When a difBculty is incurred as to a species of deposit, it will soon vanish. Mr Kinahan's little book will soon make it all clear. The work is divided into three parts. The first is a classified table of rocks, the second part treats of the Ingenite rocks, and the third part deals with those rocks which are styled Derivate. Dana's termination of yte has been most generally used by the author, but he has also given the ite terminations for those that like them. The book will be purchased, for it must be had, by every geologist; and as its size is small, it will form a convenient pocket companion for the man who works over field and quarry."— Popular Science Review. Professor E. LANKESTER. The Uses of Animals in Relation to the Industry of Man. New Edition. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, 4s. Silk, Wool, Leather, Bone, Soap, Waste, Sponges, and Corals, Shell-fish, Insects, Furs, Feathers, Horns and Hair, and Animal Perfumes, are the subjects of the twelve lectures on " The Uses of Animals." " In his chapter on ' Waste,' the lecturer gives startling insight into the manifold uses of rubbish. . . . Dr Lankester finds a use for everything ; and he delights in analysing each fresh sample of rejected material, and stating how each of its com- ponent parts can be turned to the best account."— J^t^enoertm. Practical Physiology : A School Manual of Health. With numerous Woodcuts. Sixth Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 2s. 6d. Contents. Constitution of the Human Body. Breathing, or the Function of Respira- Nature of the Food supplied to the Human tion. Body. The Structure and Functions of the Digestion, and the Organs by which it is Skin. performed. The Movements of the Human Body. Nature of Blood and its Circulation by the The Brain and Nerves. Heart. The Organs of the Senses. "Writing for schoolboys, Dr Lankester has been careful to consult their tastes. There are passages in this little work which will make it popular, and the instructor will probably be hailed by a name which is new to people of his class, that of a ' regular brick.' " — Athenceum. MRS LANKESTER. Talks about Health : A Book for Boys and Girls. Being an Explana- tion of all the Processes by which Life is Sustained. Illustrated. Small Svo, is. The Late EDWARD NEWMAN, F.Z.S. British Butterflies. With many Illustrations. Super royal Svo, 7s. 6d. " The British butterflies have found a good friend in Mr Newman, who has given us a history of their lives— from larva to imayo, their haVjits and their whereabouts— which is one of the most perfect things of the kind. And we are glad to read the author's statement that his work has attained, while in progress, a sale that is almost unattainable in English scientific works. Firstly, the work consists of a series of notices to the young who may be disposed to go butterfly-hunting. And in them we find the author's great experience, and we commend this part of his work to our readers. The next part deals with the subjects of anatomy, physiology, and embryo- logy of the insects ; and finally we come to the separate account of each species. This latter is admirably given. First comes a capital engraving, life size, of the species, and then follows in order the life, history, time of appearance and locality, occupying from a page to a page and a half or two pages of a large quarto (or nearly so) volume. All this is done well, as we might expect from the author ; it is clear, intelligilile, and devoid of much of the rubbish which abounds in books of this kind generally. We must conclude by expressing the hope that all who are interested in insects will make themselves aquainted with the volume." — Popular Science Review. Any Bookseller at Home and Abroad. 32 Gi'cat Reductions i?i this Catalogue MARY A. PRATTEN. My Hundred Swiss Flowers. With a Short Account of Swiss Ferns. With 60 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, plain plates, 12s. 6d. ; coloured plates, 25s. "The temptation to produce such books as this seems irresistible. The author feels a want ; the want is undeniable. After more or less hesitation he feels he can supply it. It is pleasantly written, and afifords useful hints as to localities."— AthetKRura. S. L. PUMPHREY. A Little Brown Pebble, with 10 full-page cuts. Fcap. 4to, 3s. 6d. " In the storj' of ' A Little Brown Pebble,' its writer endeavours to introduce geo- logical science into the nursery, showing what strange creatures lived in the ancient seas, what monsters inhabited the primeval forests, and how our country alternated between torrid heats and an arctic cold. The accuracy of the information is guaran- teed by competent authorities, and the illustrations are spirited. There is no reason why the attempt should not succeed." — Academy, 2l8t December 1889. R. R/AIA/ER, F.L.S. The Land and Freshwater Shells of the British Isles. Illus- trated with 10 Photographs and 3 Lithographs, containing figures of all the principal Species. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 5s. " This handsomely got up little volume supplies a long-felt want in a very ingenious and trustworthy manner. The author is an enthusiastic conchologist, and writes both attractively and well, and in a manner so simple and natural that we have no fear that any ordinarily educated man will easily understand every phrase. But the feature of this book which strikes us most is that every species of British land and freshwater shell has been photographed, and here we have all the photographs, natural size in the albcrtype process, so that the merest tyro will Qnd no diflficulty in identi- fying any shell he may find." — Science Review. J, SMITH, A.L.S. Ferns : British and Foreign. Fourth Edition, revised and greatly en- larged, with many illustrations. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. " Each genus is described, and the technical characters t:pon which it is founded are shown in the accompanying illustrations, and the indispensable technical terms are explained by examples The meaning and derivations of the botanical names of ferns are also given in sufficient detail and with sufficient accuracy to meet the wants of amateurs, if not of scholars. But perhaps the most valuable part of the work is that devoted to instruction in the cultivation of ferns, which occupies some seventy pages of the book. A bibliography of the subject and an excellent index make up the remainder of this useful volume, which we recommend to all persons desirous of know- ing something more about ferns than being able to recognise them by sight."— i^i«?fZ. " Mr Smith's work entitles him to admiration for his industry and for the manifest care with which he has studied his subject ; and his present enlarged work will certainly become and be a standard library book of reference for all pteridologists and orna- mental gardeners (whether professional or amateur) who devote attention to filiculture. And there really is no family of plants which is more elegant than are ferns. Indi- ofenous British ferns alone afford a most interesting 8Cope_of research and collection." — WhitehaH litview. "This is a new and enlarged edition of one of the best extant works on British and foreign ferns which has been called for by the introduction, during the interval of ten years which has elapsed since the issue of the first edition, of a number of exotic species which have been collected and arranged under their respective genera and tribes as an appendix. There are thus introduced 234 entirely new species. The sixty pages devoted to a treatise on the culti\ ation of ferns are inX'aluable to the fern-grower, professional or amateur, describing the conditions under which ferns grow in their native country— knowledge which is essential to their really successful cultivation in t\m."— Rural World. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Altssrs W. H. Allen c^ Go's Pyblicatio?is. 33 /. E. TAYLOR, F.L.S., F.G.S. Flowers : Their Origin, Shapes, Perfumes, and Colours, Illus- trated with 32 Coloured Figures by Sowerby, and 161 Woodcuts. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, 7s. 6d. Contents The Old and New Philosophy of Flowers— The Geological Antiquity of Flowers and Insects — The Geographical Distribution of Flowers— The Structure of Flowering Plants— Relations between Flowers and their Physical Surroundings— Relations between Flowers and the Wind— The Colours of Flowers— The External Shapes of Flowers— The Internal Shapes of Flowers— The Perfumes of Flowers— Social Flowers —Birds and Flowers— The Natural Defences of Flowering Plants. " This is an altogether charming book, full of wisdom, cheerful, simple, attractive, and informed throughout with a high purpose. Its object is to place within reach of the general public in an agreeable form the results of the most recent and compre- hensive botanical research. The author is so bold as to ask why flowers were made, and is not without means to answer the question reverently and truthfully. He connects them by the aids that science supplies with the history of creation, and the records of the rocks, and with the history of man, and the progress of the agricultural and horticultural arts. He tells us how they are influenced by soil and climate, how changed and multiplied liy insects and other agencies, how their seeds are blown about the world, and how by innumerable divine appointments it at last comes about that the life of a man is environed and beautified with flowers. The work is rich in the results of travel, and it happily connects the vegetable products of the globe with the conditions that favour them and the wants they satisfy. It is therefore a book for all ages, and for botanists and gardeners, as well as for such as rather too gladly confess they know nothing about plants. We should like to see it on every family table in the whole length and breadth of the United Km^&om."— Gardeners' Mof/azine. The Aquarium : Its Inhabitants, Structure, and Management. Second Edition, with 238 Woodcuts. Crown Svo, 3s. 6d. " Few men have done more to popularise the natural history science than the late Dr Taylor. The work before ns, while intended as a handbook to public aquaria, is responsible for many attempts, successful and otherwise, at the construction of the domestic article. The book is replete with valuable information concerning persons and things, while the directions for making and managing aquaria are very clear and- concise. The illu.strations are numerous, suitable, and very good," — Schoolmasttr. "The ichthyologist, be it knosvn, is not such a fearful or horrific ' sort of wild- fowl ' as his name would seem to argue him. The prevalence of the breed, the extent of its knowledge, the zeal of its enthusiasm, and the number of the aquaria it has built for itself in town or country, are all part and parcel of that ' march of science ' which took its impetus from Darwin and the ' Origin of Species.' Those who do not already know that useful book, ' The Aquarium,' by Mr J. E. Taylor, Ph.D., F.L.S., &c., should procure this new edition (the sixth). It forms a convenient handbook or popular tuanual to our public aquaria. The aquarium, its inhabitants, its structure and its management, are the author's especial care. And with the help of well-ki. a works and a wide experience he has managed to put together a most praisewortny book."— Science Si/tings. Half- Hours in the Green Lanes. Illustrated with 300 Woodcuts. Fifth Edition. Crown Svo, 2s. 6d. " A book which cannot fail to please the young, and from which many an older reader may glean here and there facts of interest in the field of nature. Mr Taylor has endeavoured to collect these facts which are to be recorded daily by an observant country gentleman with a ta&te for natural history ; and he has attempted to put them together in a clear and simp'e style, so that the young may not only acquire a love for the investigation of nature, but may also put up (by reading this little book) an im- portant store of knowledge. We think the author has succeeded in his object. He has made a very interesting little Tolume, not written above the heads of its readers as many of those books are, and he has taken care to have most of his natural history observations very accurately illustrated."- Po^>Miar Science Review. J. E. Taylor'' s Books continued. Any BcokseUer at Ho7ne and Abroad. 34 Great Reductions in this Catalogue J. E. TAYLOR, F.L.S,, F.G.S.— continued. Half- Hours at the Seaside. Illustrated with 250 Woodcuts. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. " The love of natural history- has now become so prevalent, at least among purely English readers, that we hardly meet a family at the seaside one of whose members has not some little knowledge of the wonders of the deep. Now, of course, this love of marine zoology is being vastly increased by the existence of the valuable aquaria at the Crystal Palace and at Brighton. Still, however, notwithstanding the amount of admirable works on the subject, more especially the excellent treatises of Gosse and others, there was wanted a cheap form of book with good illustrations which should give a clear account of the ordinary creatures one meets with on the sands and in the rock pools. The want no longer exists, for the excellent little manual that now lies before us embraces all that could be desired by those who are entirely ignorant of the subject of seaside zoology, while its mode of arrangement and woodcuts, which are carefully drawn, combine to render it both attractive and useful "—Po^jiM^ar Science Review. IRiMuG, Ueterinarv?, an^ Bonculture. EDWARD L. ANDERSON. How to Ride and School a Horse. With a System of Horse Gym- nastics. Fourth Edition. Revised and Corrected. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. " He is well wonhy of a hearing." — litU'f. Lift. " Mr .Anderson is, without doubt, a thorough horseman." — Tiie Field. " It should be a good investment to all lovers of horses." — The Farmer. "There is no reason why the CAreful reader should not be able, by the help of this little book, to train as well as ride his horses.'— Z-anc/ and Water. JAMES IR VINE L UPTON, F. R. C. V.S. The Horse, as he Was, as he Is, and as he Ought to Be. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. " Written with a good object in view, namely, to create an interest in the im- portant subject of horse-breeding, more especially that class known as general utility horses. The book contains several illustrations, is well printed and handsomely bound, and we hope will meet with the attention it deserves." — Live Stock Journal. WILLIAM PROCTOR, Stud Groom. The Management and Treatment of the Horse in the Stable, Field, and on the Road. New and Revised Edition. Crown Svo, 65. "There are few who are interested in horses will fail to profit by one portion or another of this useful work. Coming from a practical hand the work should recommend itself to the public." — SporUman. " There is a fund of sound common-sense views in this work which will be interesting to many owners." — Field. GEORGE GRESSWELL. The Diseases and Disorders of the Ox. Second Edition. Demy 8vo, 7s. 6d. " This is perhaps one of the best of the popular books on the subject which has been published in recent years, and demonstrates in a most unmistakable manner the great advance that has been made in Bovine and Ovine Pathology since the days of Youati. . . . To medical men who desire to know something of the disorders of such an important animal— speaking hygienically— as the Ox, the work can be recommended.' — The Lancet. •' It is clear, concise, and practical, and would make a very convenient handbook of reference." — .'Saturday Review. Fo7- the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen a^ Co.'s Publications. 35 PROFESSOR SHELDON. The Future of British Agriculture. How Farmers may best be Benefited. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d. " Fortunately Prof. Sheldon has no mind to play the part of a prophet, but from the plenitude of a long experience gives sage counsel how to farm abreast of the time and be ready for whatever may ensue. . . . This little book is well worth reading, and it is pleasant to find that the professor by no means despairs of the future of agriculture in England." — Academy. "We welcome the book as a valuable contribution to our agricultural literature, and as a useful guide to those branches in which the author is especially qualified to instruct." — Nature. "In this beautifully printed and well-bound little book of 158 pp., Professor Sheldon, in his usual happy style, surveys the agricultural field, and indicates what he thinks is the prospect in front of the British farmer. Like a watchman he stands upon his tower — and when asked, "What of the night ? he disavows not that we are in the night, but earnestly declares that the morning cometh apace. The professor is an optimist ; he does noc believe that the country is done, and still less does he favour the idea that, taking a wide survey, the former days were better than these. On the contrary, he urges that the way out of the wilderness is not by any by-path, but by going right ahead ; and, ere long, the man who holds the banner high will emerge triumphant." — Scottish Farmer. JOHN WATSON, F.L.S. Ornithology in Relation to Agriculture and Horticulture, by various writers, edited by John Watson, F.L.S., &c. Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d. List op Contributors. — Miss Eleanor A. Ormerod, late Consulting Entomologist to the Royal Agricultural Society of England ; O. V. Aplin, F.L.S., Member of the British Ornithologists' Union; Charles Whitehead, F.L.S., F.G.S., &c., author of "Fifty Years of Fruit Farming"; John Watson, F.L.S. , author of "A Handbook for Farmers and Small Holders"; the Rev. F. O. Morris, M. A., author of "A History of British Birds" ; G. W. Murdoch, late editor of The Farmer; Riley Fortune, F.Z.S. ; T. H. Nelson, Member of the British Ornithologists' Union; T. Southwell, F.Z.S. ; Rev. Theo. Wood, B.A., F.I.S. ; J. H. Gurney, jun., M.P. ; Harrison Weir, F.R.H.S. ; W. H. Tuck. " Will form a textbook of a reliable kind in guiding agriculturists at large in their dealings with their feathered friends and foes alike." — Glasgoxo Herald. " This is a valuable book, and should go far to fulfil its excellent purpose. ^ . . It is a book that every agriculturist should j)ossess." — Land and Water. "It is well to know what birds do mischief and what birds are helpful. This book is the very manual to clear up all such doubts." — Yorkshire Post, "In these days of agricultural depression it behoves the former to study, among other subjects, ornithology. That he and the gamekeeper often bring down ]>lagiies upon the land when they fancy they are ridding it of a pest is exceedingly well illustrated in this series of papers." — Scotsman. Any Bookseller at Hotne and Abivad. 36 Great Rediiciio7is in this Catalogue 5nt)ia, Cbina, Japan, anO tF^e East. SURGEON-MAJOR L. A. WAD DELL, M.B., EL.S., F.R.G.S., Member of the Royal Asiatic Society, Anthropological Lnstitute, erV. The Buddhism of Tibet, with its Mystic Cults, Symbolism, and Mytho- logy, and in its Relation to Indian Buddhism, with over 200 Illustra- tions. Demy Svo, 31s. 6d. Syxopsis of Contexts :— Introductorj-. Historical : Changes in Primitive Bud- dhism leading to Lamaism— Rise, Development, and Spread of Lamaism— The Sects of Lamaism. Doctrinal : Metaphysical Sources of the Doctrine— The Doctrine and its Moralit}— Scriptures and Literature. Monastic : The Order of Lamas— Daily Life and Routine— Hierarchy and Reincarnate Lamas. Buildings: Monasteries— Temples and Cathedrals— Shrines (and Relics and Pilgrims). Mythology and Gods : Pantheon and Images— Sacred Symbols and Charms. Ritual and Sorcery: Worship and Ritual- Astrology and Divination— Sorcery- and Xecromancy. Festivals and Plays : Festivals and Holidays— Mystic Plays and Masquerades and Sacred Plays. Popular Lamaism: Domestic and Popular Lamaism. Appendices: Chronological Table— Bibliographj- — Index. •' By far the most important mass of original materials contributed to this recondite study."- TAe Times. '• Dr Waddell deals with the whole subject in a most exhaustive manner, and gives a clear insight into the structure, prominent features, and cults of the system ; and to disentangle the early history of Lamaism from the chaotic growth of fable which has invested it, most of the chief internal movements of Lamaism are now for the first time presented in an intelligible and systematic form. The work is a valuable addition to the long series that have preceded it, and is enriched by numerous illus- trations, mostly from originals brought from Lhasa, and from photographs by the author, while it is fully indexed, and is provided with a chronological table and biblio- graphy."— Lirery^ooZ Courier. " A book of exceptional interest."— Glasjow Herald. "A learned and elaborate work, likeh- for some time to come to be a source of reference for all who seek information about Lamaism. ... In the appendLx will be found a chronological table of Tibetan events, and a bibliography of the best literature bearing on Lamaism. There is also an excellent index, and the numerous illustrations are certainly one of the distinctive features of the hook."— Morniuii Post. " Cannot fail to arouse the liveliest interest. The author of this excellently pro- duced, handsomely illustrated volume of nearly six hundred pages has evidently spared no pains in prosecuting his studies. . . . The book is one of exceptional value, and will attract all those readers who take an interest in the old religions of the far East. ■ — Publ ishers Circ v. la r. SIR EDWIN ARNOLD, M.A., Author of '' The Light of Asia,'' ^c. The Book of Good Counsels. Fables from the Sanscrit of the Hitopadesa. \Vith Illustrations by Gordon Browne. Autograph and Portrait. Crown Svo, antique, gilt top, 5s. A few copies of the large paper Edition (limited to 100 copies), bound in white vellum, 25s. each net. " ' The Book of Good Counsels,' by Sir Edwin Arnold, comes almost as a new book, 60 long has it been out of print. Now, in addition to being verj' tastefully and prettily reissued, it contains numerous illustrations by Mr Gordon Browne. As some few may remember, it is a book of Indian stories and poetical maxims from the Sanskrit of the Hitopadesa. The book is almost a volume of fairy tales, and may pass for that with the younger generation, but it is a little too heavily overlaid with philo- sophy to be dismissed wholly as such. In fact, like all that Sir Edwin Arnold has brought before us, it is full of curious fancies, and that it is a charming little book to look at is its least merit." — Daily Graphic. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen i> Co.'s Publications. 37 CAPTAIN JAMES ABBOTT. Narrative of a Journey from Herat to Khiva, Moscow, and St Petersburgh during the late Russian invasion at Ivhiva. With Map and Portrait. 2 vols., demy 8vo, 24s. The real iaterest of the work consists in its store of spirited anecdote, its enter- tainina: sketches of individual and national character, its graphic pictures of Eastern life and manners, its simply told tales of peril, privation, and suffering encountered and endured with a soldier's courage. Over the whole narrative, the naivete and frank- ness of the writer east a charmTthat far more than covers its occasional eccentricities of style and language. It has seldom fallen to our lot to read a more interesting narrative of personal adventure. Rarely, indeed, do we find an author whose constant presence, through almost the whole of two large volumes, is not only tolerable, but welcome. Few readers will rise from a perusal of the narrative without a strong feeling of personal sympathy and interest in the gallant Major : even though here and there unable to repress a smile at some burst of ecstasy, some abrupt apostrophe, such as would never have been perpetrated bj- a practical writer, and a man of the world. SIK E. C. BAYLEY. The Local Muhammadan Dynasties, Gujarat. Forming- a Sequel to Sir H. M. Elliott's "History of the Muhammadan Empire of India." Demy 8vo, 21s. "The value of the work consists in the light which it serves to throw upon dis- puted dates and obscure transactions. As a work of reference it is doubtless useful. Regarding the way in which its learned translator and editor has acquitted himself of his task it is scarcely necessary to write ; a profound scholar and painstaking in- vestigator, his labours are unusually trustworthy, and the world of letters will doubt- less award him that meed of praise, which is rarely withheld from arduous and con- scientious toil, by assigning him, in death, a niche in the temple of fame, side by side with his venerated master, Sir Henry Elliott." — Academy. " This book ma\' be considered the first of a series designed rather as a supplement than complement to the ' History of India as Told by its own Historians.' Following the Preface, a necessarily brief biographical notice— written in the kindly and appre- ciative spirit which ever' characterises the style of the learned editor of *Marco Polo, whose initials are scarcely needed to confirm his identitj^ — explains how on Professor Dowson's death, Sir Edward Clive Bayley was induced to undertake an editorship for which he was eminently qualified by personal character and acquaintance with the originator of the project which constituted his raison d'Hre. But the new editor did not live to see the actual publication of his first volume. Scarcely had he completed it for the press, when his career was brought to a close. A singular fatality seems to have attended the several able men who have taken the leading part in preserving this particular monument of genuine history. Henry Elliott, John Dowson, Edward Clive Bayley, and more recently still (during the current year), Edward Thomas, the high- class numismatist, all have passed away, with hands upon the plough in the very field of Oriental research. Without asking to whose care the preparation of any future volumes may be entrusted, let us be thankful for the work, so far completed and — at this time especially— for the instalment which has just appeared."— J.(/i(?n(«f«n. SIR GEORGE BIRD WOOD, MD. Report on the Old Records of the India Office, with Maps and Illustrations. Royal Svo, 12s. 6d. '• Those who are familiar with Sir George Birdwood's literary method will appreciate the interest and the wealth of historical illustration with which'he invests these topics." —Times, Feb. 26. 1891. " Sir George Birdwood has performed a Herculean task in exploring, sorting, and describinsr the masses of old India Office records, which Mr Danvers has now got into a state of admirable arrangement, so that, with the help of Sir George's Index, they may be reidilv and proitably oon<»ulted by stndpntP." — Scot!ft7ian. Any Bookseller at Home and Abi-oad, 38 Great Reductions in this Catalosrue E. BONA]'IA, M.D., Brigade- Surgeon, Indian Medical Service. The Cultivated Oranges and Lemons of India and Ceylon. Demy 8vo, with Atlas of Plates, 30s. '• The amount of labour and research that Dr Bonavia must have expended on these volumes ^ould be very difficult to estimate, ami it is to be hoped that he will be repaid, to some extent at least, by the recognition of his work by those who are interested in promoting the internal industries of India." — Home yews. " There can be no question that the author of this work has devoted much time and trouble to the study of the Citrus family in India. That the preph. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. AUeti 6^ Go's Pidblications. 39 REV. A. J. D. D'ORSEY, B.D., A'.C, P.O.C. Portuguese Discoveries, Dependencies, and Missions in Asia and Africa, with Maps. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6cl. Contents. Book I. Introductory. The Portuguese in Europe and Asia. Portugal and the Portuguese. Portuguese Discoveries in the Fifteenth Century. Portuguese Conquests of India in the Sixteenth Century. The Portuguese Empire in the Sixteenth Century. Book IT. The Portuguese Missions in Southern India. Early History of the Church in India. First Meeting of the Portuguese with the Syrians. Pioneers of the Portuguese Missions. The Rise of the Jesuits. The .Jesuits in Portugal. St Francis Xavier"s Mission in India. Subsequent Missions in the Sixteenth Century. Book III. The Subjugation of the Syrian Church. Roman Claim of Supremacy. First Attempt, by the Franciscans. Second Attempt, by the Jesuits. The Struggle against Rome. Book I [I. — contimied. The Archbishop of Goa. The Synod of Diamper. The Triumph of Rome. Book IV. Subsequent Missions in Southern India, with special reference to the Syrians. Radiation of Mission of Qoa, The Madura Mission. Portuguese Missions in the Carnatio. Syrian Christians in the Seventeenth Century. Syrian Christians in the Eighteenth Century. Book V. The Portuguese Missions, with special reference to Modern Missionary efforts in South India. The First Protestant Mission in South India. English Missions to the Syrians 1806-16, English Missions and the Syrian Christians. The Disruption and its Results. Present State of the Syrian Christians. The Revival of the Romish Missions in India. GENERAL GORDON, C.B. Events in the Taeping Rebellion. Being Reprints of MSS. copied by General Gordon, C.B., in his own handwriting ; with Monograph, Introduction, and Notes. By A. Egmont Hake, author of "The Stor)^ of Chinese Gordon." With Portrait and Map. Uemy 8vo, 1 8s, " A valuable and graphic contribution to our knowledge of affairs in China at the most critical period of its history." — Leeih Mercury. " Mr Hake has prefixed a vivid sketch of Gordon's career as a ' leader of men,' which shows insight and grasp of character. The style is perhaps somewhat too emphatic and ejaculatory— one seems to hear echoes of Hugo, and a strain of Mr Walter Besant — but the spirit is excellent." — Athen?eum. " Without wearying his readers by describing at length events which are as familiar in our mouths as household words, he contents himself with giving a light sketch of them, and fills in the picture with a personal narrative which to most people will he entirely new." — Saturday Rerieir. F. V. GREENE, Military Attache to the U.S. Legation at St Petersbitrg. Sketches of Army Life in Russia. Crown 8vo, 9s, Any BooJzseller at Home and Abroad. 40 Great Reductiojis in this Catalo}:;ue M. GRIFFITH. India's Princes. Short Life Sketches of the Native Rulers of India, with 47 Portraits and Ilhistrations. Demy 4to, gilt top, 2 is. List of Portraits. The Punjacb. H.H. the Maharaja of Cashmere. H.H. the Maharaja of Patiala. H.H. the Maharaja of Kapurthalla. Rajpi'tana. The Maharaja of Oudipur. The Maharaja of Jeypore. The Maharaja of Jodbpur. The Maharaja of Ulware. The Maharaja of Bhurtpur. Central India. H.H. the Maharaja Holkar of Indore. H.H. the Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior. H.H. the Begum of Bhopal. " A handsome volume containing a series of photographic portraits and local views with accompan3ring letterpress, giving biographical and political details, carefully compiled and attractively presented."— rime*'. C. HAMILTON. Hedaya or Guide. A Commentary on the Mussulman Laws. Second Edition. With Preface and Index by S. G, Grady. 8vo, 35s. '• A work of very high authority in all Moslem countries. It discusses most of the subjects mentioned in the Koran and Sonna." — Mill's Muhammadanism. The great Law-Book of India, and one of the most important monuments of Mussul- man legislation in existence, "A valuable work."— Alli box E. Synopsis of Contents. Of Widda or Deposits. Of Areeat or Loans. Of Hibba or Gifts. The Bombay Presidexcy. H.H. the Gaikwar of Baroda. H.H. the Riio of Cutch. H.H. the Raja Kolhapur. H.H. the Xawab of Junagarh. H.H. the Thakore Sahib of Bhavnatrar. H.H. the Thakore Sahib of Dhangadra, H.H. the Thakore Sahib of Morvi. H.H. the Thakore Sahib of Gondal. SOITHEBX IXUIA. H.H. the Nizam of Hyderabad. H.H. the Maharaja of Mysore. H.H. the Maharaia of Travancore. Of Zakat. Of Xikkah or Marriage. Of Rizza or Fosterage. Of Talak or Divorce. Of Ittak or the Manumission of Slaves. Of Eiman or Vows. Of Hoodood or Punishment. Of Saraka or Larceny. Of Al Seyir or the Institutes. Of the Law respeciiug Lakects or Found- lings. Of Looktas or Troves. Of Ibbak or the Absconding of Slaves. Of Mafkoods or Missing Persons. Of Shirkat or Partnership. Of Wakf or Appropriations. Of Sale. Of Serf Sale. Of Kafalit or Bail. Of Hawalit or the Transfer of the Kazee. Of the Duties of the Kazee. Of Shahadit or Evidence. Of Retractation of Evidence. Of Agency. Of Dawee or Claim. Of Ikrar or Acknowledge. Of Soolh or Composition. Of Mozaribat or Co-partnership in the Proflts of Stock and Labour. Of Ijaro or Hire. C'f Mokatibes. Of Willa. Of Ikrah or Compulsion. Of Hijr or Inhibition. Of Mazoons or Licensed Slaves. 01 Ghazb or Usurpation. Of Shaffa. Of Kissmat or Partition. Of Moz-area or Compacts of Cultivation. Of Mosakat or Compacts of Gardening. Of Zabbah or the Slaying of Animals for Food. Of Uzheea or Sacriflce. Of Kiraheeat or Abominations. Of the Cultivation of Waste Lands. Of Prohibited Liquors. Of Hunting. Of Rahn or Pawns. Of Janayat or OiTences against the Person. Of Deeayat or Fines. Of Mawakil or the Levying of Fines, Of Wasaya or Wills. Of Hermaphrodi?96. For the Reduced Prices apply to of Messrs W. H. Allen (5^ Go's Publications. 41 HOWARD HENS MAN, Special Correspondent of the ''Pioneer'' {Allahabad) and the " Daily Neius " {London). The Afghan War, 1879-80. Being a complete Narrative of the Capture of Cabul, the Siege of Sherpur, the Battle of Ahmed Khel, the March to Candahar, and the defeat of Ayub Khan. With Maps. Demy 8vo, 2IS. " >ir Frederick lloberts says of the letters here publifshed in a collected form that * nothing could be more accurate or graphic' As to accuracy no one can be a more competent judge than Sir Frederick, and his testimony stamps the book before us as constituting especially trustworthy material for history. Of much that he relates Mr Hensman was an eye-witness; of the rest he was informed by eye-witnesses immedi- ately after the occurrence of the events recorded. "We are assured by Sir Frederick Eoberts that Mr Hensman's accuracy is complete in all respects. Mr Hensman enjoyed singular advantages during the first part of the war, for he was the only special corre- spondent who accompanied the force which marched out of Ali Kheyl in September 1879. ,One of the most interesting portions of the book is that which describes the nnrch of Sir Frederick Roberts from Cabul to Candahar. Indeed, the book is in every respect interesting and well written, and reflects the greatest credit on the author.'' — Athen